133 dries hauptfleisch facilities management: an analysis of evolving educational needs in a developing profession peer reviewed abstract internationally the development of property, being part of the creation of fixed investment and wealth, is taking place unabated. the absence of a universally acknowledged profession, designated to manage and optimise the utilisation of the ever compounding fixed investments in the products of the collective built environment (buildings, engineering structures and infrastructure), is observed. in practice it manifests itself in the attempts, by various professions and others, to cast themselves into the role of facilities managers. the problem at hand is to extract, from the present practice of facilities management, a knowledge profile and secondly to contextualise the results in terms of other applicable managerial concepts. the main objective is to structure a tertiary education programme. there are reasons to believe that facilities management is in the process of becoming a driving force, not only in the scientific management and optimisation of fixed assets, but as an initiator of development in the built environment. a literature study was undertaken to make an overview analysis and a limited statistical sample was made regarding the views of practising delegates attending continuing education short training courses in facilities management. the outcomes indicate some consistent omissions in the literature, while the views of practitioners contribute to form an overview. keywords: facilities management, knowledge profile, managerial concepts, built environment abstrak internasionaal vind eiendomsontwikkeling, as voertuig vir die skep van vasteinvestering en welvaart, onverpoosd plaas. die afwesigheid van ’n universele erkende professie, aangewese om die groeiende vaste-investering produkte van die kollektiewe bou-omgewing (geboue, ingenieurstrukture en infrastruktuur) te bestuur en te optimiseer, is opvallend. in praktyk word dit gemanifesteer deurdat verskeie professies en andere, hulself in die rol van fasiliteitbestuurders bevind. die probleem ter sake is om uit huidige fasiliteitbestuurpraktyke ’n kennisprofiel saam te stel en tweedens, die resultate daarvan binne konteks van ander toepaslike bestuurskonsepte te plaas. die hoof oogmerk is om struktuur te verleen aan ’n tersiêre onderwysprogram. daar is rede om te glo dat fasiliteitbestuur in die proses is om ’n dryfveer te word, nie net ten aansien van die wetenskaplike bestuur van, en optimisering van vaste-investering nie, maar as inisieerder van ontwikkeling in die bou-omgewing. ’n literatuurstudie kommentaar •commentary prof. ac hauptfleisch, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, south africa. tel. 082 8200 690, email: <eldec@iafrica.com> acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 134 is onderneem om oorkoepelende waarnemings in dié verband te maak en ’n beperkte statistiese opname is gemaak aangaande die sienswyses van praktisyns tydens deelname aan voortgesette onderwys kortkursusse in fasiliteitbestuur. die uitkoms van voorgaande dui op konsekwente onderbeklemtoning van sekere aspekte in die literatuur, terwyl die sienswyses van praktisyns ’n bydrae lewer om ’n oorsigtelike beeld daar te stel. sleutelwoorde: fasiliteitbestuur, kennisprofiel, bestuurskonsepte, bou-omgewing 1. introduction investment in properties, as fixed assets, is growing continuously internationally. these property development activities are served by a multitude of highly skilled professionals such as engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, construction managers, project managers, town planners, land surveyors and others. the absence of a universally acknowledged profession of the same standing, designated to manage and optimise the utilisation of the ever compounding fixed investments in the products of the collective built environment (buildings, engineering structures and infrastructure), is remarkable. this situation may be explained by the fact that, in the present day accepted vocabulary, facilities management as a managerial concept developed in the united states of america only during the 1970’s, when a facilities management institute was founded and the first known formal symposium was held in washington dc in 1989 (binder, 1989). though these events started approximately 30 years ago, the development and spread were slow, and in comparison with the other built environment professions, it is still in its infancy. however, although perhaps lacking some of the prestige associated with other professions, there are reasons to believe that facilities management is one of the fastest growing ’new professions’ in the built environment. furthermore, it is becoming evident that facilities management is in the process of becoming a driving force, not only of scientific management and optimisation of fixed assets, but as an initiator of development in the built environment. 2. methodology the problem at hand is to extract a body of knowledge from the present practice of facilities management, and secondly, to contextualise the results in terms of other applicable managerial concepts. this was done through literature study and by obtaining feedback from facilities management practitioners attending continuing education short courses (in order to create a limited statistical sample), and from non-quantified observations in practice. figure 1 shows the generally perceived position of facilities management, in context hauptfleisch • facilities management: an analysis of evolving educational needs in a developing profession 135 figure 1: facilities management in context of asset management • structure of portfolio • strategic vision/creativity/planning • geographics/demographics • life cycle • finance • etc • owner/tenant relations • tenant/churn management • post occupancy evaluation • environmental (sheq) • space planning • fm strategy/tactics • etc • maintenance (planned)/repairs/restore/upgrade • cleaning/hygiene • etc asset management buildings/ infrastructure/ construction (mainly fixed assets) property development property management facilities management maintenance management investment strategy rent collection • human resources • systems • vehicles • furniture • equipment • etc acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 136 of overall asset management, within an enterprise that holds built environment assets. this diagramme was tested for general correctness by subjecting it to 6 different groups of facility management practitioners taking part in continuing education short courses over a period of four years. from the above it is clear that the research done was not hypothesis testing. the intention was to establish current thinking regarding facilities management, thus contributing towards the development of academic programmes, pre-empting the needs of industry, resulting in a structured knowledge profile. 3. validation of literature literature was selected by undertaking a web search in order to identify and obtain suitable works regard facilities management and by identifying and utilising known local south african works, commonly used by training and education providers. the contents of the following literature have thus been analysed in order to establish what appears to be representative of a general knowledge profile in literature (see barret & baldry, 2006; bender, 2002; best, langston & de valence, 2003; cloete, 2001a; cloete, 2001b, cloete, 2002a, cloete, 2002b; collins & porras, 2000; cornwell, 1973; cotts & rondeau, 2004; crocker, 1990; de vries, 2001; grulke, 2001; gross, 2002, friday & cotts, 1995; hauptfleisch, 1999; hauptfleisch & sigle, 2007; magee, 1988; means company, 1996; south africa. occupational health and safety act, 2004; owen, 1993; pearce & robinson, 2000; project management institute, 2004; robinson, 1999; rondeau, brown & lapides, 2006; seeley, 1987). to this was added those knowledge areas regarded to be of importance in continuing education programmes and in formal academic degree programmes. table 1 provides an analysis flowing from surveying the sources as described above, divided into three categories: firstly dealing with the ‘contextualising of the managerial challenge’, secondly with the ‘practice’ of facilities management and thirdly with ‘property maintenance’. the topics contained in table 1 are in main heading format, synthesised from comprehensive subdivisions. it should be noted that the literature survey covers sources from 1973 to 2007 but that the bulk of it has been published since 2000. for this reason no attempt was made to place the development of a knowledge profile on a development time scale over the publications’ time span. table 1 therefore represents an attempt to provide a contemporary ‘balance sheet’ rather than a ‘developmental pathway’ over time. hauptfleisch • facilities management: an analysis of evolving educational needs in a developing profession 137 4. under-emphasised knowledge areas the knowledge areas that are perceived as important for practicing facilities management and the relevant emphasis of each in the surveyed literature are reflected in table 1. this analysis is not substantiated by quantitative and triangulated research procedures, but has value as an attempt to observe general tendencies to under-emphasise perceived important knowledge areas, required in a validated knowledge profile for the development and practice of facilities management. table 1: facilities management knowledge profile knowledge area coverage in literature often seldom 1 2 3 4 a. facilities management: contextualising the managerial challenge 1. introduction to facilities management • 2. an overview of facilities management • 3. development of facilities management • 4. facilities management practice models • 5. general management fundamentals • 6. strategic management • 7. project management • 8. human resources • 9. law and contractual arrangements • 10. finance • 11. marketing of services • 12. total quality management • 13. service level arrangements • 14. information technology • 15. successful facilities management • facilities management: practice 1. structuring the organisation • 2. client and/or user needs evaluation • 3. design to satisfy client and/or user needs • 4. space management • 5. construction technology building services and components • 6. quantification and tendering • acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 138 knowledge area coverage in literature often seldom 1 2 3 4 7. principles of life cycle costing • 8. general services • 9. capital planning • 10. procurement & outsourcing • 11. risk management • 12. post occupancy evaluation • 13. benchmarking • 14. the structure of the built environment • 15. occupational health and safety act and regulations • c. facilities management: property maintenance 1. introduction to maintenance management • 2. maintenance categorisation • 3. planning and programming of maintenance execution • 4. operational management • 5. pest control in buildings • 6. maintenance finance • 7. construction renovation and maintenance work • 5. analysis of continuing education short courses evaluation table 2 is based on the results obtained from a limited quantified 100% covered survey, assessing broad disciplines covered during continuing education short courses, soliciting recommendations regarding course content. delegates are also prompted to make alternative suggestions. this survey has been conducted six times (from 2004 to 2007) amongst delegates, after they have completed a five-day continuing education short course offered to middle (and top) management practitioners of facilities management. table 2 contains the results that emanated from the last three courses offered during 2006 and 2007. these courses are always well subscribed. delegates that are required to take part in the above survey are also evaluated by way of assignments, in order to support continuous quality improvement. hauptfleisch • facilities management: an analysis of evolving educational needs in a developing profession 139 table 2: recommendations for programme content weighting knowledge areas actual lecture % recommended lecture % management (assets property facility general) 35 34.1 client care 6 7.1 finance 15 13.9 legal 18 17 2 quality 13 12.9 maintenance 13 14 8 total 100 100 from the results reflected in table 2 it is concluded that the respondents that have attended continuing education short courses, are satisfied that the course content is on target. 6. conclusions it may be concluded that the knowledge gained from offering continuing education short courses, expanded with the analysis of a literature survey and non-quantified observations of academia and practice, a first attempt in structuring a knowledge profile of facilities management renders useful information. being a “new” discipline makes it a moving target that requires continuous evaluation and development, particularly regarding the structuring of a tertiary education programme. the next step to be taken is the structuring of a three year educational programme on national qualification framework (nqf) level 6, in order to satisfy the perceived needs of industry. the proposed contents of this programme are to be subjected to quantified evaluation by prospective students as well as by organised industry. once the educational programme has been introduced, continuous evaluation processes will be implemented to further develop evolving educational needs, to be reflected in a facilities management knowledge profile. references barret, p. & baldry, d. 2006. facilities management: towards best practice. 2ed. oxford: blackwell science. bender, p.u. 2002. leadership from within. toronto: the achievement group. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 140 best, r., langston, c. & de valence, g. 2003. workplace strategies and facilities management. oxford: butterworth heinemann. binder, s. 1989. corporate facility planning. an inside view for designers and managers. new york: mcgraw-hill book co. cloete, c. (ed.) 2001a. principles of property maintenance. sandton: the south african property education trust. cloete, c. (ed.) 2001b. risk management in property. sandton: the south african property education trust. cloete, c. (ed.) 2002a. management of commercial and industrial properties. sandton: the south african property education trust. cloete, c. (ed.) 2002b. introduction to facilities management. sandton: the south african property education trust. collins, j.c. & porras, j.i. 2000. built to last. london: random house business books. cornwell, p.b. 1973. pest control in buildings. london: hutchinson benham ltd. cotts, g.c. & rondeau, e.p. 2004. the facility manager’s guide to finance and budgeting. new york: american management association. crocker, a. 1990. building failures: recovering the cost. oxford: bsp professional books. de vries, m.k. 2001. the leadership mystique. london: prentice hall. gross, j.m. 2002. fundamentals of preventive maintenance. new york: american management association. grulke, w. & silber, g. 2001. lessons in radical innovation. johannesburg: @one communications. friday, s. & cotts, d.g. 1995 quality facility management: a marketing and customer service approach. new york: john wiley & sons, inc. hauptfleisch, a.c. (ed.) 1999. building practice, volume 1&2. sandton: the south african property education trust. hauptfleisch, a.c. & sigle, h.m. 2007. structure of the built environment in south africa. 4th ed. pretoria: conqs. magee, h.m. 1988. facilities maintenance management. kingston: r s means company, inc. hauptfleisch • facilities management: an analysis of evolving educational needs in a developing profession 141 means, r.s. 1996. cost planning and estimating for facilities maintenance. kingston: r s means company, inc. owen, d.d. 1993. facilities planning and relocation. kingston: r s means company, inc. pearce, j.a. & robinson, r.b. 2000. strategic management: formulation, implementation, and control. 7th ed. singapore: mcgraw-hill. project management institute, inc. 2004. a guide to the project management body of knowledge. 3rd ed. pennsylvania: project management institute, inc. robinson, r.r. (ed.). 1999. issues in security management: thinking critically about security. oxford: butterworth heinemann. rondeau, p.r., brown, r.k. & lapides, p.d. 2006. facility management. 2nd ed. hoboken: john wiley & sons, inc. seely, i.h. 1987. building maintenance. 2nd ed. london: macmillan education ltd. south africa. 2004. occupational health and safety act (act 85 of 1993, revised construction regulations 2003). johannesburg: lexisnexis butterworths. 39 olatunji ayodeji aiyetan, john smallwood & winston shakantu a linear regression modelling of the relationship between initial estimated and final achieved construction time in south africa peer reviewed abstract the estimation of contract completion time has always been inaccurate despite there being a need for certainty regarding the completion of projects. this article reports on an investigation of the relationship between initial and final contract time with the aim of developing an equation for reasonably estimating project period. data for the study was secured from a total of eightyeight questionnaires and sixty-five projects. the sample population consisted of architects, contractors, quantity surveyors, structural engineers and clients. five metropolitan cities in the provinces of the eastern cape, free state, gauteng, kwazulu-natal, and the western cape, namely bloemfontein, cape town, durban, johannesburg and port elizabeth, constitute the geographical area in which the study was conducted. inferential statistical analysis, including regression analysis, was used to evolve, inter alia, a model and linear equations for estimating building construction time. the equations involved in the respective phases of the study are y = 9.9 + 1.0586x for phase one, and y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x for phase two. during phase two of the study, it was determined that 35.3% additional time needs to be added to the amount of the initial contract period in order to estimate final contract time. it is recommended that either the equation y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x be used, or that 35.3% additional time be added to the amount of initial contract time to estimate the final contract time. keywords: relationship, initial & final construction time, project delivery dr olatunji ayodeji aiyetan department of construction management faculty of engineering the built environment and information technology nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +234 70 67446925 email: <oaiyetan@yahoo.com> prof. john julian smallwood department of construction management faculty of engineering the built environment and information technology nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790 email: <jonh.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> prof. winston shakantu department of construction management faculty of engineering the built environment and information technology nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2799 email: <winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 40 abstrak die skatting van die konktrakvoltooiingstydperke was altyd inkorrek ten spyte daarvan dat daar ‘n behoefte is vir sekerheid betreffende die voltooiing van projekte. hierdie artikel doen verslag oor ‘n ondersoek na die verhouding tussen aanvanklike en finale kontraktydperke met die doel om ‘n berekening vir redelike geskatte projekperiodes te ontwikkel. data vir die studie is verkry uit ‘n totaal van agt en tagtig vraelyste en ses en vyftig projekte. die steekproefpopulasie het bestaan uit argitekte, kontrakteurs, bourekenaars, strukturele ingenieurs en kliënte. vyf metropoolstede, in die provinsies van die oos-kaap, vrystaat, gauteng, kwazulu-natal en wes-kaap, naamlik bloemfontein, kaapstad, durban, johannesburg en port elizabeth, het die geografiese gebied gevorm waarin die studie gedoen is. inferensiële statistiese analise, insluitende regressive analise is gebruik om, onder andere, ‘n model en lineêre vergelykings om boukonstruksie tydperke te skat, te ontwikkel. die vergelykings wat ontwikkel is in die onderskeie fases van die studie is y = 9.9 + 1.0586x vir fase een, en y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x vir fase twee. gedurende fase twee van die studie, is dit vasgestel dat 35.3% addisionele tyd tot die aanvanklike kontrakperiode bygevoeg behoort te word om die finale kontraktydperk te kan skat. daar word aanbeveel dat die vergelyking y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x eerder gebruik word, of dat 35.3% addisionele tyd tot die getal van die aanvanklike kontraktydperk bygevoeg word om sodoende die finale kontraktydperk te kan skat. sleutelwoorde: verhouding, aanvanklike en finale kontraktydperke, projek lewering 1. introduction success with respect to delivery of a building project could be referred to as the completion of a building within specified time, budget limits, quality standards, and void of accidents. this indicates the level of management control on the project and a measure of competence. observation has revealed that peculiar problems concerning project management still exist (jha & iyer, 2005: 314). there are many means of control in the delivery of projects: activity planning, labour, materials, and plant and equipment planning, as well as supervision of work in the form of allocation of daily tasks, specification of work direction and guidance, the designing of temporary works, and the sequencing of activities. these require firm control in order to deliver the project as designed. various stakeholders on a project, namely clients, contractor, and designers, as well as external influences contribute to the process of delivery of a project. the objective of this article is to determine the relationship between these factors and the delivery dates achieved on projects. aiyetan et al • a linear regression modelling 41 2. project delivery time based on the aforementioned, the influences on project delivery time were identified from previous studies conducted by sambasivan & soon (2007: 522), assaf & al-hejji (2006: 352-353), and faridi & el-sayegh (2006: 1171-1172). seventy-six factors were identified (sub-problems), which were then grouped into twelve categories (problem category). table 1 indicates these groups and the number of factors associated with each group. these form the theoretical framework of the study. table 1: problem categories which influences project delivery time s/no problem category sub-problem 1 client understanding of the design procurement and construction processes 5 2 quality of management during design 7 3 quality of management during construction 7 4 motivation of staff 8 5 site ground conditions 8 6 site access 3 7 constructability of design 7 8 management style 8 9 management techniques used for planning and control 2 10 physical environmental conditions 5 11 economic policy 6 12 socio-political conditions 3 each of these problem categories will now be discussed: • clients’ understanding of the design and construction processes means the level of their contributions to the design and construction teams, and the ability to quickly make authoritative decisions regarding the progress of the project; • quality of management during design – this refers to the extent of competence of engineers and architects regarding building design. the ease of construction depends on the level of freeness from ambiguity relative to design. factors for consideration include dimensional accuracy; revision of drawings; conflicting design information; missing information, and expediting shop drawings; acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 42 • quality of management during construction implies the various efforts put into the construction stage of the project, such as analysis of construction methods and resource; work sequencing to adhere to and maintain workflow, and monitoring and updating of plans to appropriately reflect work status; • motivation of staff – the degree of labour performance depends largely on motivation. motivation is defined as inducement given to enhance productivity. these are: job security; a sense of belonging; recognition of contribution made; opportunity to improve skills, and career advancement; • site ground conditions – an indication of the nature of the site soil, and related factors. frimpong, oluwoye & crawford (2003: 325) state that ground problems such as extent of ground contamination and archaeological finds; the height of the water table, and underground services impact on the speed of delivery of a project; • site access reflects the ease of traffic ingress and egress, both vehicular and people. factors for consideration include congestion at ingress and egress points, and road conditions; • constructability of design – this is the ease at which a design can be constructed. constructability requirements are major factors necessitating the integration of construction experience into building designs. oyedele & tham (2006: 2093) schedule factors that could be used to assess constructability, inter alia: flexibility of design to changes; dimensional coordination of elements; scope and complexity of off-site fabrication; appropriateness of design tolerance, and working space; • management style – machines and systems are operated by people, but generally the nature of people tends towards not wanting to work, except being coerced. griffith & watson (2004: 57) identify three main types of management style, namely autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire; • management techniques used for planning and control. these are the various scheduling tools available and employed in activity sequencing and executing them. these include critical path method; bar chart; line of balance; horse blanket, and s-curves; • physical environmental conditions – this refers to the influence of weather and natural occurrences, which negatively impact on the speed of construction. they are: natural hazard/fire; aiyetan et al • a linear regression modelling 43 flood; adverse local weather – rainfall and temperature differences; adverse light, and noise; • economic policy – this refers to government policies such as restriction on importation of building materials; interest rates, and inflation which may negatively affect construction period (koushki & kartam, 2004: 127-128), and • socio-political conditions. these are government policies and its effects on projects and individuals. factors include civil strife or riots; influence of civil action groups, and disruption due to environmental concerns. 3. previous predictive studies on construction duration table 2 presents the results of previous predictive studies undertaken by several researchers in different parts of the world. table 2: predictive model equations ogunsemi & jagboro (2006: 257) country of study: nigeria predictive equation: t = 118.563 – 0.401c (c > 408) or t = 603.427 * 0.610c (c >408) r2 = 0.765 (high predictive power) where: c is in millions of naira. love, tse & edwards (2005: 192) country of study: australia predictive model: log (t) = 3017.8 + 0.274 log (gfa) + o.142 log (floor) where: t = completion time gfa = gross floor area and floor = number of floors. moselhi, assam & el-rayes (2005: 356) country of study: canada and usa model equation: tpi = hcoi/phi where: tpi = time impact of change or a period hcoi = actual change order hours during period i phi = planned hours during period i and i = period when change order occurs i = 1-5. al-moumani (2000: 55) country of study: jordan model equation: y = 82.87 + 1.0016x where: y = number of days of actual construction and x = number of days specified in the contract. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 44 chan (2001: 226) country of study: malaysia model equation: y = 269c0.32 where: t = time of completion and c = project estimated cost. stoy, dreier & schacher (2007: 79) country of study: germany model equation: ln(y) = 4.753 + 0.0002x1 – 0.001x2 where: y = construction speed (m2 gross external floor area/ month) x1 = absolute size (m 2 gross external floor area) and x2 = project standard (building construction cost/m 2 gross external floor area) ling, chan, chong & ee (2004: 180) country of study: singapore predictive model: y = 145 + 0.017 gross floor area + 133 contractors design capability (1) r2 = 0.93 (very high predictive power) y = 3.462 + 0.024 gross floor area – 464 project scope definition completion when bids are invited – 443 extent to which the contract period is allowed to vary during bid evaluation – 180 design completion when budget is fixed.(2) r2 = 0.90 (very high predictive power). xiao & proverb (2003: 326) country of study: japan uk and usa model equation: y = 5.458 + (-6.403e – 02)delayedt + 0.489lifeemp2 + 0.172cstime + 0.415psubcon2 + (-2003e – 03)dcarati r2 = 0.52 (good predictive power) where: delayedt represents the typical delay on similar projects as percentage of the original contract time lifeemp2 is a dummy variable for a commitment towards lifetime employment (one for “yes” and zero for “no”) cstime represents the importance contractors allocate to construction time to satisfy clients (on a scale of one to ten where one represents totally unimportant and ten very important) psubcow2 is a dummy variable for the partnering with subcontractors (one for “yes” and zero for ”no”) and dvariati represents the typical number of design variations during construction. proverbs & holt (2000: 663) country of study: uk model equation: y = 14.439 = 13.377 (“concrete pump” transportation method) + -4.125 (“property” types of formwork) + -3.609 (productivity of erecting formwork to floor slabs) + 1.690 (number of supervisions). r2 = 0.473 (average predictive power). it is observed from table 2 that researchers in each country have a distinctive predictive model for the estimation of final completion time of projects. this cannot be separated from the following: the aiyetan et al • a linear regression modelling 45 construction business environment for each country differs; sociopolitical conditions and policy of each country differ; the prevailing weather and geo-physical conditions of regions differ, and the technological developments of countries are different. these key construction performance factors have associated subfactors that influence each main factor, with a consequential result on project delivery time. as a result, a particular model developed in a country cannot be used for the estimation of project completion time in other countries based on the foregoing argument. therefore, this study was embarked on to establish a model for the estimation of final project delivery time in south africa. 4. methodology both the quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used in this study. probability sampling techniques were employed in the selection of the sample for the study – proportional stratified, simple random, and systemic sampling. the concept of these sampling techniques is to allow each sample equal opportunity of occurrence. relative to the proportional stratified samples, details of respondents were documented alphabetically from a to z. these constitute layers from which sample sizes of each layer were calculated before drawing from each layer, in a box, the required number of samples. systemic sampling is that process that allows samples to be picked at regular interval. the geographical areas included in the study are the three most active areas of south africa in terms of construction, namely gauteng, kwazulu-natal, and the western cape. the eastern cape was used as a proxy. respondents to the study included architects, contractors, clients, structural engineers, and quantity surveyors. these were drawn from the south african institute of architects (saia), the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs), the south african property owners association (sapoa), civil engineers of south africa (cesa), and master builders associations (mbas). the questionnaire was based on the twelve problems categorised, which formed the framework for the study, and the associated subproblems evolved from the survey of the literature which initially identified seventy-six factors. these were crystallised and developed into questions that addressed the issue of delays in the delivery of projects. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 46 the statistical tools used for the analysis of data include descriptive and inferential statistical tools. cronbach’s alpha; cohen’s d, and factor analysis loading were used to test for reliability and consistency of data. the data for the study was collected in three phases using questionnaires. relative to phase 1, the primary survey of the study, eighty-eight questionnaires were analysed, representing a response rate of 6.1%. relative to phase 2, the historical survey (in this phase, data relative to causes of delay on projects were obtained and the extent of delay in weeks), twenty-four questionnaires were analysed (the number of projects handled previously were considered, in this case, and data from a total of fifty-six (56) were obtained and analysed), representing a response rate of 33.5%. the phase 3 survey is not applicable to this article. in order to test the reliability of the data, a cronbach’s coefficient test was conducted and found that values for all the categories of factors were > .70, which is regarded as adequate proof of internal consistency of the factors. factor analysis loading for sample sizes of 88-99 is 0.60. most factors have a loading greater than 0.60. this is an indication that factors adequately describe the constructs. respondents over the age of thirty years and above predominate (76.5%) in the sample investigated. the most common academic qualifications of respondents are bachelors (25%), honours (23%), and b.tech (17%), totalling 65%. managing directors/managing members/principal (35%), senior staff (20%) and managers (17%) predominate in terms of respondents’ status. the mean number of years of experience of respondents is 17. the type of facility with which respondents were involved include residential; commercial offices, and institutional facilities in the form of education, health, and others. the mean value of projects with which respondents have been involved is r866.63 million. 4.1 linear regression a linear regression test was conducted to determine the relationship between the start and the finish times of contracts. the conditions relative to the data and the tests are discussed as follows. it should be noted that, in terms of the study, working days and not weekdays represent a week. the start date was when a contractor started work on site, and the end date was the date of handing over of a site to the client or his/her representative. the specified duration and actual duration are not inclusive of the retention period. actual duration provided by respondents was accurate, because acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 50 initial time: final time: y = 16 7912 + 1.0778*x r = 0 8869 p = 0.0000 r2 = 0 7866 initial time fi na l t im e 160 180 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 figure 4: scatter plot for initial and final contract duration (private sector) figure 4 presents the result of the linear regression analysis for the private sector. the value for r = 0.90, which indicates that a strong linear relationship exists between the initial and final contract duration. given that the p value is < 0.05, a statistically significant relationship exists between both times. the predictive ability r2 = 0.82 is high. therefore, the equation y = 16.7912 + 1.0778x can be used to predict the final completion time of a project, where y is project final contract duration and x is initial contract duration. when comparing the results of the linear regressions analysis for the private and public sector it will be observed that the results obtained from the private sector have greater predictive ability. therefore, the combined result is recommended for use. respondents were asked to indicate the number of weeks from one to eight and over relative to the twelve problem categories identified as contributors to delay, that were experienced in the delivery of contract or projects during the first phase of the study. note that this is the opinion of the respondents. table 3 presents the result. aiyetan et al • a linear regression modelling 51 table 3: percentage delay on project delivery time problem category frequency of respondents standard deviation percentage mean (%) quality of management during construction 12 10.63 4.9 physical environmental considerations 12 10.02 4.8 client understanding of design procurement and construction processes 9 6.39 3.4 economic policy 8 7.91 3.2 site ground conditions 8 5.54 3.0 constructability of design 7 6.42 2.9 quality of management during design 7 5.30 2.9 management techniques used for planning and control 6 4.04 2.4 management style 5 4.23 2.2 socio-political conditions 5 4.91 2.2 motivation of staff 5 3.46 1.8 site access 4 3.28 1.6 total 88 35.3 the percentage mean was computed for the delays caused by factors in various categories. respondents were asked to indicate the actual delay experienced on the project in terms of days or weeks with reference to the problem category. the percentage delays were calculated relative to the specified project durations. these were then added up to obtain the percentage contribution of the problem categories to delay. the standard deviation was included to enable the ranking of the problem categories. it was found that the factors identified in the research could cause 35.3% addition of time, which is the delay with respect to the initial contract duration. 5. conclusions based on the regression analysis conducted in phases 1 and 2, the equation for predicting the actual contract duration based on the initial contract duration is given as: acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 52 • for the phase 1 study: ° y = 9.9 + 1.0586x • for the phase 2 study: ° y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x the difference between the two equations is not statistically significant. therefore, the equation from the phase 2 survey is suggested for use. the quality of management during construction such as the level of supervision, activity sequencing and ineffective coordination of resources negatively affects the completion time of projects. physical environmental conditions such as rainfall and high and low temperatures negatively affect delivery time of projects. 6. recommendations it is recommended that the regression equation y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x be used for the estimation of final contract duration of projects in the south african construction industry. based on the minimum percentage of delay, the twelve problem categories of the study could contribute 35.3%, i.e. additional time to the contract duration. the difference in these two results is insignificant, that will be obtained, when using the regression equation, and adding a percentage to initial contract duration for computing final contract duration. therefore, both are recommended for use, depending on the initiative of the user. clients should evaluate the quality performance of contractors before awarding contracts. this will reduce the incidence of delay on projects. yasamis, arditi & mohammadi (2002: 221) propose a model for evaluating contractors’ quality performance (figure 5). this model is recommended for evaluating contractors’ quality performance in south africa. note that the actions to be taken at each stage are specified in the various boxes. the benefit of this is a motivation for contractors to improve and document their quality management approach in order to be competitive and maintain a continuous flow of business. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 54 one major advantage of the cqp evaluation model is that it moves existing contractor evaluation methods to a new baseline that includes the evaluation of contractor quality performance. this is expected to allow the owner to select a quality-oriented contractor and consequently avoid some of the problems related to construction quality (rework resulting in delay) and client satisfaction. based on these, a reasonable delivery date of projects could be calculated with no delay experienced, and the result of the model for the calculation of completion duration will be accurate when used. contractors’ technical and financial performance should be evaluated. this will result in a better understanding of the contractors’ overall capabilities. the hiring of a materials manager to independently supervise and monitor the progress of the construction work will contribute significantly to on-time delivery of materials to sites. the construction industry should provide quality management guidelines to be enforced by consultants on projects. stakeholders should be committed to quality management, designers included. designers’ quality management should focus on the following: • commitment to providing a quality service; • production of correct and complete drawings and specifications; • coordinating and checking of design documentation; • conducting design verification through design analysis reviews; • conducting constructability reviews, and • off-site prefabrication should be encouraged in areas susceptible to heavy rainfall. references list al-moumani, h.a. 2000. construction delays a quantitative analysis. international journal of project management, 18(1), pp. 51-59. assaf, s.a. & al-hejji, s. 2006. causes of delay in large construction projects. international journal of project management, 24(7), pp. 349-357. chan, a.p.c. 2001. time-cost relationship of public sector projects in malaysia. international journal of project management, 19(4), pp. 223-229. aiyetan et al • a linear regression modelling 55 faridi, a.s. & el-sayegh, s.m. 2006. significant factors causing delay in the uae construction industry. journal of construction management and economics, 24(11), pp. 1167-1176. frimpong, y., oluwoye, j. & crawford, i. 2003. causes of delay and cost overruns in construction of groundwater projects in developing countries: ghana as a case study. international journal of project management, 21(5), pp. 321-326. griffith, a. & watson, p. 2004, construction management principles. new york: palmgrave macmillan. jha, k.n. & iyer, k.c. 2006. critical determinants of project coordination. international journal of project management, 24(4), pp. 314-322. koushki, p.a. & kartam, n. 2004. impact of construction materials on project time and cost in kuwait. engineering, construction and architectural management, 11(2), pp. 126-132. ling, f.y.y., chan, s.l., chong, e. & ee, l.p. 2004. predicting performance of design-build, and design-bid-build projects. journal of construction engineering and management, 130(1), pp. 175-183. love, p.e.d., tse, r.y.c. & edwards, d.j. 2005. time-cost relationships in australia building construction projects. journal of construction engineering and management, 131(2), pp. 187-94. moselhi, o., assem, i. & el-rayes, k. 2005. change orders impact on labour productivity. journal of construction engineering and management, 131(3), pp. 354-359. ogunsemi, d.r. & jagboro, g.o. 2006. time-cost model for building projects in nigeria. construction management and economics, 24(3), pp. 253-258. oyedele, l.o. & tham, k.w. 2006. clients’ assessment of architects’ performance in building delivery process: evidence from nigeria. building and environment, 42(5), pp. 2090-2099. proverbs, d.c. & holt, g.d. 2000. a theoretical model for optimum project (time) performance based on european best practice. construction management and economics, 18(6), pp. 652-665. sambasivan, m. & soon, y.w. 2007. causes and effects of delays in malaysian construction industry. international journal of project management, 25(5), pp. 517-526. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 56 stoy, c., dreier, f. & schacher, h.r. 2007. construction duration of residential building projects in germany. journal of engineering construction and architectural management, 13(1), pp. 62-81. xiao, h. & proverbs, d. 2003. factors influencing contractor performance: an international investigation. engineering, construction and architectural management, 10(5), pp. 322-332. yasamis, f., arditi, d. & mohammadi, j. 2002. assessing contractor quality performance. construction management and economics, 20(3), pp. 211-223. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 68 charles chiocha, john smallwood & fidelis emuze health and safety in the malawian construction industry peer reviewed abstract construction health and safety (h&s) is of significant importance to the improvement and sustainability of the construction process. this is why at various levels of the construction process, clients, project managers, architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and manufacturers have endeavoured to improve h&s management practices in construction. however, the implementation of h&s in construction has not resulted in a commensurate improvement in the industry. the thrust of the issue is the assessment of the level of knowledge of legislation through the devolution of responsibilities to stakeholders; and perceptions relative to h&s in malawi. therefore, for objectivity purposes, a quantitative survey was conducted among key construction industry stakeholders such as clients, architects, engineers, project managers, and contractors. selected findings include that the status of h&s in malawian construction is sub-optimal, and that the contributions of clients, project managers, architects, engineers, building and civil engineering contractors have been sporadic, rather than significant. notably, poor h&s recurs in construction, and h&s is perceived to be the duty of site managers. keywords: construction, health and safety, malawi abstrak gesondheid en veiligheid binne die konstruksie-industrie is baie belangrik vir die verbetering en volhoubaarheid van die konstruksieproses. dit is waarom daar by verskeie vlakke van die konstruksieproses, kliënte, projekbestuurders, argitekte, ingenieurs, projekbestuurders, kontrakteurs, sub-kontrakteurs, verskaffers, en vervaardigers gepoog word om gesondheiden veiligheidsbestuurspraktyke in konstruksie te verbeter. nietemin, die implementering van veiligheid en gesondheid in konstruksie het nie eweredig verbeter in die industrie nie. charles chiocha department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031. phone: +265 (0) 160 4673 mobile: +265 (0) 999 867 475 email: <cchiocha@poly.ac.mw> prof. john smallwood head of department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: (041) 504 2790 fax: (041) 504 2345 email: <john smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> fidelis emuze phd candidate department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: (041) 504 2399 fax: (041) 504 2345 email: <fidelis.emuze@nmmu.ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles chiocha, smallwood & emuze • health and safety in malawian industry 69 die kruks van die saak is die assessering van die vlak van kennis oor wetgewing deur die oorgang van verantwoordelikhede van aandeelhouers, en persepsies oor veiligheid en gesonheid in malawi. daarom, vir doeleindes om objektief te wees, is ’n kwantitatiewe opname gedoen onder sleutel konstruksieaandeelhouers soos kliënte, argitekte, ingenieurs, projekbestuurders, en kontrakteurs. bevindinge sluit in dat die status van veiligheid en gesondheid in die malawiese konstruksie-industrie sub-optimaal is, en dat die bydrae van kliënte, projekbestuurders, argitekte, ingenieurs, bouers en siviele ingenieurskontrakteurs sporadies, eerder as merkwaardig is. dit is belangrik om waar te neem dat daar swak veiligheid en gesondheid in konstruksie is, en dat veiligheid en gesondheid gesien word as die plig van terreinbestuurders. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, gesondheid en veiligheid, malawi 1. introduction the h&s at work act for different countries realises responsibilities for employers, designers, principal contractors, and other construction project participants. statutory responsibility for enforcing these regulations rests with governmental departments tasked with h&s monitoring and inspection. for instance, in the united kingdom (uk), the health and safety executive (hse) exercises inspection and monitoring duties relative to h&s (hse, 2004: 3). however, inadequacies related to h&s legislation, and increased litigation in construction amplifies the need for collective effort and commitment in order to advance the level of h&s in construction. in addition, in order to eliminate injuries and fatalities on site, it is paramount to engender cost-effective h&s programmes that entail subcontractor selection and management (hallowell, 2010a: 33). furthermore, there is a need to raise the level of h&s awareness in developing countries because recent findings suggest that in developing countries such as botswana, construction h&s awareness is low. in addition, implementation of h&s is not only inadequate, but also top management commitment to h&s is lacking in spite of the fact that documented literature suggests that the level of h&s awareness needs to be improved relative to construction multistakeholders in order for the impact of h&s in construction to be appreciated (musonda & smallwood, 2008: 88). for example, in the case of malawi, h&s lapses could be responsible for accidents such as the reported accident involving three workers at the kayelekera mine construction site. the nyasa times of 18 march 2009 reported that three workers were severely burnt on 16 march 2009 while working at the mine construction site (nyasa times, 2009: online). although empirical research findings that focus on h&s in malawian construction are presumably relatively non-existent and/or scarce, acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 70 findings emanating from countries sharing similar characteristics with malawi in the region provide a pointer to what may be occurring in the malawian construction. in particular, the disparity of construction h&s performance between developing and developed countries was ascertained in a comparative study undertaken in a developing country, south africa, and a developed country, singapore by teo, haupt & feng (2008: 497). the study revealed that management commitment, supervisory environment, and training and competence level were identified as the major sources of the disparity of h&s performance in developing and developed countries. although this finding is further supported by the difference in the incidence of different causes of accidents that resulted in injuries and fatalities on construction sites in south africa and singapore, the findings of the empirical study imply that construction h&s in a developing country such as south africa lags behind that of a developed country such as singapore in the three main areas mentioned above. similarly, empirical findings emanating from tanzania, another developing country in the region, suggest that the main reasons for the appalling situation of h&s on construction sites are due to the lack of the necessary commitment from key stakeholders that include the government (mwombeki, 2006: 426). the study findings indicate that the government and its agencies have been weak in monitoring and enforcing the laws governing h&s on construction sites, while a general lack of human and financial resources has marginalised the ability of regulatory bodies to promote and enforce h&s on construction sites. in addition, it is notable that the study findings suggest that there has not been a commensurate improvement in h&s in spite of the availability of enabling legislation in tanzania. even in ghana, another country in the region, an exploratory study revealed that, although the country has the necessary institutional infrastructure for effective management of h&s, the lack of government commitment that is exemplified by logistical constraints facing inspectorate departments limits the operational efficiency of these departments that are deemed to be responsible for h&s management in the country (kheni, gibb & dainty, 2006: 281). clearly, these findings indicate that construction h&s could be a cause for concern in sub-saharan countries, and by implication h&s could be a problem in malawi. hence, there is a need to examine the state of h&s in the malawian construction industry. chiocha, smallwood & emuze • health and safety in malawian industry 71 2. literature survey clients, project managers, architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, professional and industry associations as well as other stakeholders in construction contribute and influence h&s in various forms (cidb, 2009: 24). however, empirical findings suggest that built environment professionals are not adequately using their influence to reduce the rate of incidents and fatalities in construction (geminiani, 2008: 226). the uniqueness of the industry, which collectively poses a challenge in terms of construction h&s, may provide a platform for holistic improvement initiatives (smallwood, 2000: 467-471). in addition, although comparatively the construction industry may have some similarities with other production-oriented industries, the uniqueness of construction tasks, environment, materials, equipment, and people necessitates addressing construction h&s in a construction context rather than in a general context (geminiani, 2008: 215). nevertheless, the industry could improve how it engenders and sustains h&s culture on construction sites. although in many cases top management’s commitment to h&s may be lacking, the amplification of the importance of h&s with respect to future organisational profitability and sustainability may reorient priorities in the industry (hallowell, 2010b: 412). for instance, when issues relative to h&s become business priorities for firms involved in construction, a platform for the improvement of h&s is thus enacted without the need for constant changing of laws and/or regulations (dulaimi, ling & ofori, 2004: 709). however, research undertaken in developing countries that included african countries such as botswana, egypt, malawi, nigeria, and south africa revealed that (gibb & bust, 2006: 65-77): clients are not supportive of h&s initiatives;• h&s priorities are not the same as in developed countries;• h&s regulations are inadequately enforced by authorities;• lifting operations are done in ways not consistent with • practices in developed countries; workers’ use of power/hand tools is unsatisfactory;• women are not able to carry out work without increasing risk • relative to their h&s, and construction vehicles are used in an unsafe manner.• acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 72 therefore, the continuing poor h&s performance of the construction industry in the form of fatalities, injuries, and disease; the number of large-scale construction accidents, and the general ‘nonparticipation’ by key project stakeholders such as clients and designers provided the catalyst for a new approach to construction h&s (smallwood & haupt, 2005: 2). reducing occupational diseases and accidents would not only improve and save people’s lives, but also reduce the hundreds of millions of rand paid annually to victims of work-related accidents, and relieve the pressure placed on the country’s financial situation (cidb, 2009: 37-40). 2.1 legislation just as the 2003 construction regulations in the republic of south africa (rsa) address h&s in south african construction, the national construction industry act no. 19 of 1996 established the national construction industry council of malawi, and addresses h&s in the country. in particular, the act provides, inter alia, for the establishment of the ncic, for the promotion and development of the construction industry in malawi, for the registration of persons engaged in the construction industry, and for the coordination of training of persons engaged in the construction industry (brushett & seth, 2005: 2). in fulfilment of its mandate, therefore, the ncic has 1355 firms registered in its database as at 2010 (salephera consulting, 2010: 9). of these firms, 80% are registered in the categories of civil and building contractors, 10% in the category of electrical contractors, while consultants constitute 4% of the population. even so, regardless of geographical boundaries and industry structure, most h&s-related legislation spells out responsibilities of participants in the construction process in terms of written policy statements, noise and h&s in the workplace, equipment and machinery usage, control of dangerous substances, welfare facilities on site, risk assessment, first-aid facilities, and other legal requirements (hse, 2004: 9; south africa, 2003: 17). although the south african construction regulations are to a large extent performance-based, it is perceived that they had an impact among project managers and contractors, in particular. although not statistically quantifiable, the regulations also seem to have had a positive impact on reducing h&s accidents (cidb, 2009: 16). therefore the significance of appropriate regulations cannot be over-emphasised. however, it is important to note that the enforcement of regulations poses another challenge to h&s. for example, geminiani (2008: 225) discovered that the department of labour (dol) inspectorate charged with enforcement responsibilities chiocha, smallwood & emuze • health and safety in malawian industry 73 in south africa is perceived to be more ineffective than effective, and that its influence and role are reactive rather than proactive. 2.2 perceptions relative to h&s anecdotal evidence suggests that the dynamics of the construction process demand that effort devoted to h&s planning be proportionate to the risks and complexity inherent in projects. that is, when deciding what needs to be done in order to comply with h&s regulations, the focus should always be on action necessary to reduce and manage risks and eliminate hazards. in fact, hare, cameron & duff (2006: 447) contend that integration of h&s plans with pre-construction planning processes may reduce h&s problems in the construction process. therefore, the dynamics related to construction activities/tasks that leads to changes during construction induces unsafe behaviours, and may also preclude the effectiveness of straightforward h&s defensive measures (musonda & smallwood, 2005: 58). these behaviours are mostly rooted in workplace culture, which is collectively made up of values, vision, goals, mission, assumptions, and purposes espoused in organisations (hallowell, 2010b: 411). accordingly, smallwood & haupt (2005: 3) suggest that top h&s performance must be accepted as an achievable goal to realise an optimum h&s culture. goals must be set at a high level. if an organisation sets goals at a low level it will probably attain such goals. improving the industry norm marginally relative to h&s is unlikely to be of much comfort. therefore, ‘zero accidents’ as an attainable goal is worth the collective commitments of project stakeholders. 2.3 h&s duties of clients, consultants, and contractors the international labour office (ilo) (1992: 9) specifically states that designers should receive training in h&s; integrate the h&s of construction workers into the design and planning process; not include anything in a design which would necessitate the use of dangerous structural or other procedures or hazardous materials which could be avoided by design modifications or by substitute materials, and take into account the h&s of workers during subsequent maintenance. similarly, the hse (2004: 17-20) suggests that it is pertinent for clients, architects, project managers and engineers to plan, manage and monitor construction phases in liaison with contractors; prepare, develop and implement a written plan and site rules; give contractors relevant parts of the plan; ensure that suitable welfare facilities are acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 74 provided from the start and maintained throughout the construction phase; check the competence of all appointees; ensure that all workers have site inductions and any further information and training needed for the work; consult with the workers and liaise with their co-ordinator regarding ongoing design, and secure the construction site. in addition, contractors are required to plan, manage and monitor their work and that of their subcontractors; check the competence of all their appointees and workers; train their employees; provide information to their workers; comply with the specific requirements in part 4 of the regulations; ensure that there are adequate welfare facilities for their workers; provide any information needed for the h&s file; inform clients and consultants of problems with the plan and of reportable accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences on site. 3. research methodology the quantitative study addressed h&s management in terms of knowledge of legislation (its existence); perceptions relative to h&s; aspects of h&s culture, and management practices/interventions. 3.1 the data the survey instrument was designed to capture stakeholders’ actions or lack thereof, and their perceptions as they are the direct executors of project objectives. because of the type of data that was required, the survey of concerned stakeholders on construction sites using questionnaires was deemed appropriate for the research. the research was limited to architects, clients, building and civil engineering contractors, engineers, and project managers operating in the malawian construction industry. the sample stratum consisted of 5 per group – a total of 30. 3.2 results out of the 30 questionnaires circulated to 5 of each of the architect, client, building and civil engineering contractor, engineer, and project manager groups, 21 responses were received, which were included in the analysis of the data. this equates to a response rate of 70%. tables 1, 2, and 3 indicate the respondents’ degree of concurrence relative to 4 statements and 2 drivers that addressed the ‘status quo’ pertaining to h&s in the malawian construction industry in terms of responses to a scale of 1 (never/strongly disagree/not important) chiocha, smallwood & emuze • health and safety in malawian industry 75 to 5 (always/strongly agree/very important), and a mean score (ms) ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. table 1: status of h&s in malawian construction statements response (%) msnever…………………………….always 1 2 3 4 5 reporting h&s lapses 0.0 4.8 14 3 19.0 61.9 4.38 poor h&s recurs in construction 9.5 4.8 38.1 23.8 23.8 3.48 table 1 indicates the frequency of reporting of h&s lapses in the malawian construction industry. of the respondents, 61.9% affirm that upon the discovery of h&s lapses, they always report such lapses/shortcomings. the ms of 4.38 effectively indicates that h&s lapses are often to always/always reported. this may be attributed to respondents’ awareness of the consequences of poor h&s, since poor h&s appears to occur in the malawian construction industry. in this context, poor h&s refers to the frequency of incidents and accidents that can be deemed to be detrimental to the wellbeing of construction workers and the general public. in addition, the ms of 3.48 indicates that there is considerable scope for the improvement of h&s in malawi as its occurrence can be deemed to be between sometimes to often/often. the ms is deemed to be associated with respondents’ perceptions of how often they encounter inadequacies relative to h&s in the malawian construction industry. table 2 indicates the respondents’ perceptions relative to h&s in malawi relative to two statements. it is notable that 61.9% of the respondents strongly agree that ‘h&s is the duty of site managers’. the resultant ms of 4.38 indicates that the concurrence can be deemed to be between agree to strongly agree/strongly agree. although site managers are responsible for h&s and have substantial influence thereon, empirical research findings indicate that in order to realise substantive improvement in construction h&s, all stakeholders in the construction process need to be collectively responsible for h&s (cidb, 2009: 1). more than 50% of the respondents agree and strongly agree that ‘h&s is a good public relations tool’. the ms of 3.52 indicates that the concurrence can be deemed to be between neutral to agree/agree. injuries and accidents have always resulted in a negative image of the industry, and organisations operating in the industry that do not recognise the importance of optimum h&s risk negative publicity. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 76 table 2: perceptions relative h&s in malawian construction statement response (%) msstrongly disagree……strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 h&s is the duty of site managers 4.8 0.0 9.5 23 8 61.9 4.38 h&s is a good public relations tool 14.3 4.8 23.8 28 6 28.6 3.52 therefore, it is not surprising that ‘negative publicity related to h&s lapses’ is one of the drivers of organisational interest in h&s (table 3). the ms of 3.43 relative to ‘negative publicity related to h&s lapses’ indicates that the importance can be deemed to be between important to more than important/more than important. it is notable that ‘corporate h&s code of conduct’ has a higher ms, namely 4.24, which indicates that the importance can be deemed to be between more than important to very important/very important, and therefore can be deemed to be a significant driver of h&s in malawi. the reasons for this are that subscription to such a code reflects organisational commitment to h&s, and readiness to act in respect of failures relative to h&s. table 3: drivers of h&s improvement drivers response (%) ms not important……………..very important 1 2 3 4 5 corporate h&s code of conduct 4.8 0.0 14.3 28.6 52.4 4 24 negative publicity related to h&s lapses 14.3 9.5 23.8 23.8 28.6 3.43 nevertheless, the inability, or rather the apparent reluctance of organisations to allocate adequate ‘budget towards investigations relative to h&s issues’ is notable (table 4). only 28.6% of the respondents responded in the affirmative. furthermore, only 47.6% of the respondents have ‘written construction site specific h&s policy statements’ in their organisations. these findings do not constitute top management commitment to h&s, which is crucial for any h&s improvement initiative. chiocha, smallwood & emuze • health and safety in malawian industry 77 table 4: evidence of top management commitment to h&s statements yes (%) budget devoted to investigations relative to h&s issues 28.6 written construction site specific h&s policy statements 47.6 4. conclusions and recommendations in spite of having the necessary legislation in place, the study confirmed that construction h&s could be a major issue in developing countries. though findings emanating from the study are primarily related to the construction industry in malawi, anecdotal evidence suggests that the situation is not significantly different in other developing countries. however, there is significant scope for improving h&s in developing countries and, by implication, malawi. the perception that h&s is the contractor’s responsibility, the limited financial provision for h&s, and the limited availability of h&s policies does not reflect h&s leadership and management commitment to h&s in malawi. however, it is acknowledged that h&s is a strategic issue, and that h&s failures negatively impact on organisational image. optimum h&s leadership, management commitment to and management involvement in h&s, increasing awareness, and appropriate enforcement of legislation should therefore result in a decline in the number of construction-related fatalities and injuries. accordingly, recommendations arising from the study include: re-orientation and continuing professional development of • built environment and construction industry practitioners in terms of their h&s responsibilities is necessary; construction h&s should be included in the tertiary education • curricula of all built environment stakeholders; all stakeholders should provide h&s leadership, be committed • to h&s, and view h&s as a strategic issue, as opposed to an operational issue; all stakeholders should budget relative to h&s, and• all construction workers should receive h&s training.• acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 78 references boyd, d. 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(eds.). evolution of and directions in construction safety and health: proceedings of cib w99 international conference, 9-11 march 2008, gainesville, florida, pp. 485-499. 71 derham groves the art of the brick reviewed abstract to celebrate australia’s strong tradition of brick architecture, as well as the largely unsung art of bricklaying, australian architect and curator, derham groves, organized two complementary public exhibitions of full-scale brick structures designed by various architects and artists. the results were an intriguing mixture of art and the everyday, as groves describes in the following article. keywords: bricks, architecture, bricklaying abstrak derham groves, die australiese argitek en kurator het twee openbare uitstallings oor volskaalse steen strukture wat deur verskeie argitekte en kunstenaars ontwerp is, georganiseer om die sterk australiese tradisie van steen argitektuur asook die kuns van messelwerk te vier. die resultaat was ’n intrigiese mengsel van kuns en die alledaagse soos wat deur groves in die volgende artikel beskryf word. sleutelwoorde: stene, argitektuur, messelwerk internasionaal • international dr. derham groves is a senior lecturer in architecture at the university of melbourne, australia. 1. the ubiquitous brick bricks are part of everyday life. they are the fabric of countless buildings – everything from cathedrals to privies. they also hold open doors, support drawing boards and prevent cars from rolling down hill. before the advent of the half-flush toilet, two bricks placed inside the cistern worked very nicely. children contentedly play for hours with toy bricks, constructing imaginary worlds on the living-room floor. significantly, one of the first lessons we learn as children is that a brick house is far superior to one built of either straw or wood. in the popular nursery tale, “the three little pigs”, bricks not only represent durability and strength, but also security and wisdom. therefore, it is not surprising that most people in australia live in a brick house. we all want to be like the third little pig. bricks are also the source of some very colourful expressions: a dependable person is sometimes described as ‘a brick’, while a fool is said to be as ‘thick as a brick’, and who wants to ‘hit a brick wall’, or worse still, ‘shit a brick’, either literally or metaphorically? in australia, melbourne boasts so many splendid brick buildings that it might justly claim to be the brick capital of australia. however, locals largely overlook this unique aspect of melbourne’s architecture due mainly to the fact that the humble clay brick is simply taken for granted. a good example is the impressive domestic brick chimneys found around melbourne that demonstrate the variety and versatility achievable with brick construction. on one hand, chimneys are part of our cultural ‘dna’. for example, santa claus climbs down the chimney to leave christmas presents. a person who smokes too much is said to ‘smoke like a chimney’. a child’s drawing of a house invariably has a chimney with smoke pouring out of it. in “the three little pigs”, the wolf falls down the chimney and into a pot of boiling water. american poet robert frost wrote a poem called “the kitchen chimney” (1923). in the walt disney film, mary poppins (1964), a chimney sweep named bert falls in love with mary poppins. people once fixed a tree branch to the chimney to placate woden, the anglo-saxon god of fury and violent death. people now fix an artificial tree branch – a tv aerial – to the chimney to obtain a clear tv picture. british author agatha christie wrote a crime novel called “the secret of chimneys” (1925). the stork delivers babies down the chimney – and so on. 72 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) on the other hand, few people have noticed that brick chimneys are slowly disappearing from the australian suburban skyline, due to technological advances in heating and cooking and also concerns about polluting the atmosphere. as authors elaine and douglas baglin noted more than twenty years ago in their book, “australian chimneys & cookhouses” (1979: 8): houses don’t have chimneys now and cookhouses are regarded as a nightmare of complex inefficient technology. when the australian chimney and cookhouse began to disappear, a stable creative healthy life style went with it. perhaps it is safe to say that family life also was the poorer as the focal point of warmth and conversation had to a large extent been lost. to celebrate australia’s strong tradition of brick architecture, as well as the largely unsung art of bricklaying, i organized two complementary public exhibitions of full-scale brick structures – the first was called the brick show in 2000, and the second was called “not brick chimneys” in 2003. both exhibitions were sponsored by the clay brick and paver association of victoria, erected by students from the bricklaying department of holmesglen institute of tafe, and held in the park around the monash gallery of art in the outer melbourne suburb of wheelers hill, a brick stronghold. following is a description of “the brick show and not brick chimneys”. 2. the brick show ten architects and artists were invited to each design a polychrome brick wall, twenty-six bricks wide and thirty-one bricks high. pairs of walls were built back-to-back, so there were five freestanding walls in the park. at the end of the exhibition’s three-month run (20 february – 31 may 2000), the walls were demolished. the idea conveyed was that not all brick structures are ‘permanent’. melbourne printmaker and painter mary newsome is interested in images of small iconic domestic objects, such as cakes, slippers and teacups. for example, in her series of artworks entitled “the art of the cake” (1999), she documented parisian patisseries in digital image prints, collages and glass paintings. bricks are laid in certain bonds or patterns for strength, with the most common one being stretcher bond. newsome’s brick wall, entitled “zip”, highlighted the similarity in appearance between bricks laid in this particular 73 groves • the art of the brick 74 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) way and a zipper. at the same time, it also emphasized the contrast between a heavy, immovable, rigid, brick wall and a light, speedy, flexible zipper. joy smith is a melbourne tapestry artist. her brick wall, “under southern skies”, featured a pair of kangaroos standing either side of the southern cross constellation, bordered by geometric patterns. the stylized kangaroos and patterns helped to point up the similarities between knitting and bricklaying. the process of knitting stitch after stitch row upon row is like laying brick after brick row upon row, and the different styles of stitches in knitting are akin to the different styles of bonds in bricklaying. for many years, smith has been interested in the australian nationalist style of architecture called federation, which was most popular between the late 1890s and the end of the first world war, 1918. the kangaroo motif was a characteristic of federation, and she has also incorporated kangaroos into her work on other occasions, most notably in her woven tapestries. melbourne architectural firm six degrees undertakes a varied range of projects including housing, bars and restaurants, sporting venues, and retail. inspired by the stoical role that a brick wall sometimes image 1: ‘zip’ by mary newsome. plays in children’s games, the firm designed a wall that would make an impassable wicket-keeper in a game of backyard cricket, a target to practice handballing an australian rules football, and an opponent with an unbeatable return-of-serve in a match of backyard tennis. hence the wall was called “brickochet”, after ‘ricochet’. six degrees steered away from a flat design. the brick bull’s eye at the centre of the target protruded from the face of the wall and the bottom panel of bricks, which represented a tennis-net, was laid ‘higgledy-piggledy’. in 1985, malaysian artist anthony sum immigrated to australia, and lives in melbourne. trained in both chinese and western art, he was selected as the artist in residence at the national gallery of victoria in 1997. in china, a freestanding screen wall is sometimes built a short distance in front of a doorway to block the path of evil spirits or sha qi. sum’s brick wall, “dancing of life”, featured two rearing chinese dragons. it was reminiscent of the famous, larger, freestanding nine dragon screen wall in beihai park, beijing. in addition, according to the chinese horoscope, 2000 was a year of the dragon. 75 groves • the art of the brick image 2: ‘brickochet’ by six degrees 76 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) melbourne artist karen casey works in a variety of media including painting, printmaking and installation. her works are often informed by her experience of natural environments and their regenerating and transformative potential. her brick wall, “ochre field”, looked like a cross-section through the earth’s strata. two vertical lines of white bricks ‘pulsated’ through the wall, to symbolize seismic energy. her design emphasizes two important facts: (1) bricks are made from clay; (2) the colour of the clay determines the colour of the bricks to a large extent. melbourne architect peter corrigan is arguably australia’s foremost brick architect. in 1999, he was included in the prestigious “allgemeines kunstlerlexicon” – the international reference published in leipzig on artists of all periods, regions and cultures. a blank wall is an open invitation to a graffiti artist. before graffiti became an art form, graffiti artists often drew pictures of a comic character named ‘foo’, peering over the top of a wall nose first. this helps to explain the inscription “foo too” which was ‘punched-out’ of the brick wall designed by corrigan. the letters had a mirror backing for emphasis. of the ten designs, this one proved the greatest test for the apprentice bricklayers. image 3: ‘foo too’ by peter corrigan. born and educated in england, sculptor andrew leicester immigrated to the united states in 1970, and lives in minneapolis. he has created over twenty major public art works since 1980, which range in size and scope from small courtyards and amphitheatres on university campuses to municipal plazas, park entrances and water gardens. lecister’s brick wall, “wordplay”, also made reference to writing on walls. it took the form of a giant crossword puzzle. to achieve a grid of squares, the bricks were laid using stack bond. the numbers in the squares of the crossword puzzle were sandblasted into the bricks. when leicester first visited australia in 1984, he was so taken with melbourne’s polychrome brick buildings that polychrome brickwork has featured in most of his projects ever since, such as his award-winning “cincinnati gateway”. the bricks that make up a brick wall are analogous to the pixels that make up a television picture. this was the main idea behind melbourne artist james verdon’s brick wall, “(frame) reticle”. it resembled a huge, old-fashioned, dot matrix computer screen, perpetually switched on ‘play’. he spelled out the word ‘play’ in red bricks on a background of white bricks. verdon works primarily with time-based media and emerging technologies. in 1996, melbourne architects (and brothers) corbett, cameron and carey lyon established lyons, an architectural firm with a strong passion and commitment to the intellectual and cultural qualities of architecture and urban design. in recent years lyons has designed some of the most exciting brick buildings in victoria, such as the swinburne institute of tafe (2000) in lilydale, the sunshine hospital (2001) in sunshine, and the department of botany (2002) at the university of melbourne. the pixilated quality of polychrome brickwork was particularly evident in lyons’ brick wall, “babyface bricks”, which featured a baby’s eyes and nose. the title is a play-onwords. “face bricks” is the term used for “bricks of pleasing but not necessarily uniform colour and satisfying texture, used to cover common brickwork”, (scott, 1974: 128). 77 groves • the art of the brick 78 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) image 4: ‘babyface bricks’ by lyons image 5: ‘equinox solar fire’ by james birrell sculptor mark stoner teaches at the victorian college of the arts in melbourne. in recent years he has made several installations using bricks, which have engaged with ideas of the module and also the role of the single unit within the greater whole. stoner’s brick wall, “continuum”, utilized the tonal quality of bricks, ranging from white to chocolate brown. perhaps more than anyone else, he used the bricks like paint. certainly from the bricklayers’ point of view, laying the bricks was like painting-by-numbers. although stoner’s ‘painting’ was over six metres wide and nearly three metres high, it appeared to be merely a tiny fragment of some much larger ‘canvas’. artists andrew leicester and mark stoner and architects peter corrigan and lyons were obvious participants in this exhibition because of their previous excellent work in brick. the other exhibitors were selected because i thought that their style of work would translate successfully to the ‘new’ medium. 3. not brick chimneys in “the roof-tree” (1938), author james kenward described the evolution of the humble domestic chimney. at first, smoke from the fire escaped out of the house wherever it could. then a hole was made in the roof above the fire. but smoke still drifted about indoors, so a ceiling was built to separate the smoke from the living quarters. when the living quarters expanded into the space above the ceiling, a flue was built from the fire to the hole in the roof. finally, when the flue was extended beyond the roof, the chimney was built. “not brick chimneys” was an exhibition of 3-d brick structures designed by 10 architects and artists after they had pondered the future of the brick chimney. only five of the 10 structures were constructed. like “the brick show”, after the exhibition’s three-month run (4 may – 3 august, 2003), the structures were demolished. james birrell is a brisbane architect who has designed some of australia’s finest modernist buildings, such as the wickham terrace carpark (1958-61) in brisbane, queensland, which is an abstract work of art in concrete. for the exhibition, he designed an “equinox solar fire”, an aztec-style structure that echoed the brickwork of his agriculture and entomology building (1966-69) at the university of queensland, which is one of my favourite brick buildings. it was one of the structures to be built (although the bricklayers had terrible 79 groves • the art of the brick 80 image 6: ‘glimpse’ by warren langley acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) trouble following the architectural drawings). there is an interesting story about the bricks that birrell used in the agricultural and entomology building, which illustrates his innovative approach to architecture in general. when the time came for construction of the building to start, the brickyard had hardly any bricks in stock apart from a huge pile of speckled and splattered seconds that nobody wanted. as the markings on these bricks reminded him of jackson pollock’s paintings, and the bricks were selling at half price to clear, he decided to use them to stunning effect. so much so, in fact, that when the time came to construct the second stage of the building, these bricks had become so popular that they had trebled in price. to avoid going over budget, he had to plead with the brickyard to sell him the bricks at the original price, arguing that he was responsible for making them fashionable in the first place. warren langley is a sydney artist who usually works with glass – a big contrast to working with bricks. his “not brick chimney”, entitled “glimpse”, was perhaps best described as a deconstructed chimney. it had two perpendicular red brick walls, representing the chimney, with several rectangular openings in them, representing 81 groves • the art of the brick the smoke hole, each housing a tree branch, representing the firewood, which were painted blue, representing the smoke. as he explained, the structure explored the thought processes triggered when somebody catches a glimpse of something. the mind’s eye kicks in and fills in the blanks. this was another of the structures to be built in the park. gregory burgess is a melbourne architect with the remarkable ability to design buildings that appear to grow out of the ground, such as the brambuk living cultural centre (1990) at halls gap, victoria. his “not brick chimney” had two polychrome brick cylinders, one tapered in the middle and the other bowed in the middle, which touched each other at the top and bottom. both cylinders had a semi-circular opening at the base, like a fireplace, and a spiral column at the centre, representing smoke. he specified an interesting ‘hit and miss’ style of brickwork, which was similar, at least in spirit, to the brickwork of his church of st. michael and st. john (1987) in horsham, victoria, where mortar oozes between the bricks in places (a technique also used by james birrell in his agriculture and entomology building), and the rough patches of cream brickwork around the windows give the false impression they were installed well after the apricot coloured wall was built. traditionally, architects have used chimneys to make a statement. for example, spanish architect antonio gaudi designed whimsical spiral chimneys, while american architect frank lloyd wright designed serious rectangular chimneys. but melbourne architect suzanne dance, a specialist in the housing field, is not sad to see chimneys go for environmental reasons. her “not brick chimney” had five twisted, polychrome brick columns, which were arranged in a southern cross constellation pattern on a square brick base. she explained that it “represents our ambivalence toward this symbol of the happy hearth and home, now that we are aware of the destructive consequences of its emissions”. the columns did not symbolize chimneys, as one might have assumed, but the trees ‘that have survived the logger’s axe’. while the visual reference to the southern cross was perhaps a reminder ‘that australia’s reputation as one of the industrialized world’s largest producers of greenhouse gas per capita is assured.’ post modern architecture will never die in melbourne, thank goodness, so long as architect norman day is still in practice. for the exhibition, he designed “a chimney for cooling”, which worked like 82 image 7: aedicule’ by leo morrissey acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) the wind-scoops featured in the book: “architecture without architects” (1964) by bernard rudofsky. it consisted of a hollow, foursided, polychrome brick ‘cube’, which appeared to balance on one edge. inside the cube was a polychrome brick screen wall. day made a cardboard model of the structure to demonstrate how it worked, which gave me an idea. the post modern thing to do, which would have also made life much easier for the builder, 83 groves • the art of the brick would have been to build the cube from sheets of fake brick, which were used in the past to give weatherboard houses a brick appearance. although not everyone would have agreed with my idea–least of all, perhaps, the sponsor of “not brick chimneys”, the clay brick and paver association of victoria. garry martin is a melbourne architect with a true passion for fine brickwork and its application in modern buildings. he believes: when you are faced with a whole facade of brickwork, you can create a change of texture with pattern. what the eye reads is not pattern but texture. you can change the texture of brickwork by recessing planes and different brick patterns. he put these principles into practice, for example, in his design of randall hall (2000) at scotch college in melbourne. his “not brick chimney” was a garden retreat in the form of a gothic-style, square, polychrome brick tower, with one tall arch on each of the north and south sides, and one squat arch on each of the east and west sides. at the centre of the tower was a square polychrome brick column, which was attached to the sidewalls by a small arch on each side. american artist leo morrissey lives in melbourne, florida, and draws inspiration for his art from his time as a construction worker. his “not brick chimney” took the form of a surrogate hearth, a place where people could sit and talk. it was a 3-d development of some paintings he did of candy-striped houses, which were influenced by candy-striped canvas sunblinds. hence his structure had a gabled form and bands of coloured brickwork. the best word to describe it was ‘aedicule’. according to summerson (1964: 3), a british architectural historian the latin word … for a little building is “aedicula” and this word was applied in classical times more particularly to little buildings whose function was symbolic – ceremonial. it was applied to a shrine placed at the far end, from the entrance, of a temple to receive the statue of a deity – a sort of architectural canopy in the form of a rudimentary temple, complete with gable – or, to use the classical word, pediment. it was also used for the shrines – again miniature temples – in which the “lares” or titular deities of a house or street were preserved. morrissey’s aedicule was the third structure to be built. 84 image 8: ‘ladder’ by cathy drummond acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) melbourne artist cathy drummond was invited to participate in “not brick chimneys” because her paintings of brick buildings capture the colours and pointillist nature of brickwork extremely well. drummond’s structure, entitled “ladder”, was a brick staircase to provide easy access to the roof of a house. as the james taylor song ‘up on the roof’ says: “on the roof, it’s peaceful as can be/ and there the world below don’t bother me, no, no”. furthermore, a staircase would have made life a lot easier for santa claus. drummond did three paintings of the staircase, and i enjoyed the processes of trying to turn them into architectural drawings. i even roughly built part of the staircase in my backyard, to see how it worked. drummond wanted the extruded bricks laid unconventionally facedown, so the holes in the sides of the bricks would have been in full view. a fresh approach to brickwork design was what i was hoping for, especially from the artists in this exhibition. jason pickford is a design tutor at the university of melbourne. his wonderful pen and ink drawings of ruins, inspired by the etchings of italian architect giovanni battista piranesi, have in turn inspired countless architecture students over the years. jason designed two “not brick chimneys”, which both took the form of sham ruins. one consisted of 11 parallel brick walls, each 50 mm apart and crumbling at both ends, which looked like a large block of sliced cheese gnawed by a plague of huge mice. he explained: apart from the romantic melancholy associated with ruins, the serrated edge of a ruined wall makes a strong comment on the overwhelmingly normal straight edges and joints in most architecture. it is anarchic. compositionally interesting. sometimes a structure yet to be is imagined differently to one which once was. a sham ruin teases us into remembering what never was. it steals its qualities from the real thing. a novel, not a biography. disorder ordered by a designing mind. and often more fun. fakes, including human ones, can be like that … bricks, being made from earth, take on its colours, browns, yellows, reds, which are also the colours of autumn leaves. today a “solid” brick wall is one built in two layers, separated by a gap. each layer is called a leaf … present day rome stands upon the metres-thick rubble of its old self. it is as if the modern city sprouted from the leaf mulch of the dead past. that is probably hopeful. i think these things are what my “not brick chimney” is about. pickford’s other structure, entitled “secrets”, was one of those built. it consisted of a cream brick box that encased a smaller red brick box. a hole smashed through the front walls of the two boxes revealed a toilet inside the red box. a cut on the back wall of the cream box appeared to ooze blood (red paint). pickford wrote: imagine the distant future, and us in it. perhaps we are archeologists. clearly, the newly discovered “tomb” (or is it a treasury?) has been broken into, violated. the object seen through the hole is marked “e. a. poe”. it might be a casket or a vessel for offerings of some kind, a ceremonial vessel, because of its beautiful shape and its remarkable 85 groves • the art of the brick 86 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) image 9: ‘secrets’ (detail) by jason pickford material. the word “poe” suggests something, but what? why is the inner compartment red? are there other compartments? should we rupture the skin elsewhere? if our motives are pure, breaking through may not be considered a violation. would what undoubtedly has been stolen from it have helped us understand this monument/tomb/ womb/treasury (and certainly not a brick chimney) and those who made it? has anyone associated with it become ill, or died prematurely, will they? there are many difficulties! my own “not brick chimney”, entitled “footy replay”, was designed to support a tv aerial. this was not only practical, but also very symbolic, as the introduction of television in australia in 1956 marked the beginning of the end for chimneys in this country. most people put the tv set in the lounge room, however, they were afraid that it might overheat if it was too close to the open fire. so they put the set as far away from the fire as possible, and consequently ‘froze’ in winter, which gave them a good reason to get a more efficient gas or electric heater, neither of which required a proper chimney. and the fact that the tv aerial on my not brick chimney was not connected to a tv set was also symbolic of the early days of television, when some people felt so ashamed that they could not afford a tv set, they bought a tv 87 groves • the art of the brick image 10: ‘footy replay’ by derham groves aerial just to fool their neighbours. in “you’re certain to have one of these gadgets on the roof” (1955: 35), the australasian post journalist, charles roberts, wrote: the average american family man without a tv aerial on his roof is a social pariah; he condemns himself as being unprogressive, insane, or just plane mean. so he buys an aerial. until he can afford to buy a receiver he lives a strange life. when neighbours dim the lights in their lounge rooms to watch tv, he must do the same, for appearance sake. a new york clerk [confessed]: “we were ruining our eyes trying to read in the dimmed-out lounge room, so moved to the kitchen. we sat there, reading behind shutters, until the tv station went off the air, then limped to bed. when we expected guests, we had to hire a [tv] receiver for one dollar a night.” 88 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 4. conclusion “the brick show” and “not brick chimneys” clearly demonstrated the artistic possibilities of brickwork at the present time in australia. without doubt, they helped to change many people’s staid views about brickwork, including even some members of the brick industry, who were amazed to discover that the humble clay brick can be interesting, let alone artistic! they also demonstrated the potential for creative collaborations between art and industry, attracting generous support from arts’ funding organizations including the australia council and vicarts, and the building industry. furthermore, they generated plenty of healthy discussion in the media about the links between architecture and art. there is no reason for boring brickwork, in my opinion. often the problem is that many architects and builders do not design brickwork, but allow it happen of its own accord. references baglin, e. & baglin, d. 1979. australian chimneys & cookhouses. sydney: murray child. christie, a. 1956 (1925). the secret of chimneys. london: pan books ltd. frost, r. 1923. the kitchen chimney [online] new hampshire, http://www. americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/thekitchen.shtml kenward, j. 1938. the roof-tree. london: oxford university press. roberts, c. 1955. you’re certain to have one of these gadgets on the roof. australasian post, pp. 34-35, december 8. rudofsky, b. 1964. architecture without architects: a short introduction to non-pedigreed architecture. garden city, new york: doubleday & company. scott, j.s. 1972 (1964). a dictionary of building. harmondsworth: penguin. summerson, j. 1963 (1945). heavenly mansions and other essays on architecture. new york: w. w. norton & company inc. 74 fanie buys & daluxolo ludwaba the potential of built-environment professionals’ contribution towards emerging contractor development peer reviewed abstract emerging contractors have enjoyed greater privileges since the advent of the new south african dispensation. the state has put many resources, ranging from enabling legislative laws and regulations to the funding of training and development programmes, to assist these contractors. the intended outcomes, however, seemed to be elusive in government-funded projects. the business environment still poses some challenges to the emerging contractors; hence the question: can built-environment professionals contribute to emerging contractor development? the purpose of this article is to indicate to what extent built-environment professionals can contribute towards contractor development within the existing contractual parameters. although built environment professionals ensure that there are open communication channels between them and emerging contractors, there is some cause for concern regarding the effectiveness of written and graphic communication. built-environment professionals do not necessarily spend much time in training emerging contractors, but more than normal time is given in inspecting work done by emerging contractors, even though building contracts do not make provision for this. the value of the findings outlined could assist in improving success through collaboration between project role players at minimal input costs. keywords: collaboration, emerging contractors, built-environment professionals, contractor development prof. fanie buys, department of quantity surveying, po box 77000, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41-5042023, email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> daluxolo ludwaba, department of quantity surveying, po box 77000, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41-5042669, email: <s196278070@live.nmmu.ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 75 1. introduction after the demise of the so-called unjust ‘apartheid’ system that prevented the vast majority of south africans from realising their full economic potential in the construction industry, the current government put forward measures for redress. redress measures included the proclamation of laws to create an enabling environment for new entrants into the industry, as substantiated by hauptfleisch, lazarus, knoetze & liebenberg (2007: 2), and government-sponsored contractor development programmes, namely the extended public works programme, the emerging contractor development programme and the contractor incubation programme (cidb, 2009). despite the above-mentioned efforts by government, the intended outcomes have remained elusive in most government-sponsored construction projects in south africa. it was reported that emerging contractors still faced challenges and that they are often unable to sustain business operations beyond the first year (dpw, 2006). consequently, the focus has shifted from enabling legislation to contractor mentorship models and contractor performance standard models, as reported by dlungwana & rwelamila (2005: 4208-4215); hauptfleisch et al. (2007: 1-12), and the eastern cape economic development cooperation (2007: 6). this has led to the need to determine what role built-environment professionals can play in facilitating the intentions of government, focusing on strategic collaboration between these professionals and emerging contractors, in order to improve contractor-development programmes in south africa. a great many resources have been invested in contractor development by the south african government, but emerging contractors face enormous challenges, ranging from lack of skills to inhibitive business environments. the primary objective of this article is to determine what construction professionals can do to create an enabling business environment that can promote emerging contractor development and to obtain their viewpoint on the effectiveness of these methods/strategies. 2. review of the literature in the following brief literature review, an attempt has been made to examine various strategies for, and collaboration between built-environment professionals and emerging contractors as a strategic tool in emerging contractor development; the conditions that necessitate, as well as those that enable the proliferation of acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 76 collaborative strategic alliances, and how contractor development in the south african context could benefit from such collaboration. this overview will provide some insight into the various strategies and show how professionals can assist with emerging contractor development. 2.1 collaboration and alliances business alliances with suppliers or service providers have proven profitable in the long term and more so in research and development projects (dunning & boyd, 2003: 85). collaborative strategic alliances between built-environment professionals and emerging contractors should be considered no differently. eriksson & laan (2007: 387) summed up some of the problems in the construction industry such as poor productivity, cost overruns, decline in construction quality, a decrease in customer satisfaction, conflicts and late completion. root causes for the inefficiencies can be attributed to the industry’s fragmentation, the uniqueness of construction as a product, the divorce between design and construction, obsolete procurement methods, and lack of trust and cooperation between the various actors. 2.2 nature of alliances the nature of alliances is related to the end results that initially led to the alliances’ inception. love, irani, cheng & li (2002: 4) put forward two kinds of alliances, namely long-term and short-term alliances. long-term strategic alliances are cooperative, whereas short-term strategic alliances are collaborative. in this article, collaborative strategic alliances are used as the platform for debate, due to the short-term nature of construction projects. 2.2.1 rationale for strategic alliances construction projects such as business ventures have a factor in common: an uncertain future and, therefore, an element of risk. beyerlein, freedman, mcgee & moran (2003: 34) advocated that collaborative efforts be supported by the following principles: • focused collaboration on achieving business results. • aligned organisational support systems to promote ownership. • articulation and enforcement of a few strict rules. • exploitation of the rhythm of convergence and divergence. • management of complex trade-offs on a timed basis. buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 77 • creation of higher standards for discussion, dialogue and information-sharing. • fostering of personal accountability. • alignment of authority, information and decision-making. • treatment of collaboration as a disciplined process. • design and promotion of flexibility. it should be noted that alliances, unlike contracts, are not governed by rules, but by principles. love (1997: 29) suggested that people react negatively to rules, by concentrating on doing things against the set parameters, and end up producing unintended results. alliances, referred to as partnerships in the construction industry, yield numerous benefits that will be elaborated on in the following subsections. 2.2.2 information-sharing information is one of the pillars that ground the principles of partnering. dainty, briscoe & millett (2001: 845) support the view that the root of problems experienced by construction teams is deficient or inaccurate information. 2.2.3 resource-combining a combination of forces against the challenges on the factors of production, namely finance, human capital, natural resources and entrepreneurship, produce more than the sum of their separate contributions. imparting skills by built-environment professionals to emerging contractors ranks high on a table of scores for design team competencies (crafford, 2007: 104). 2.2.4 partnering and ethics wood, mcdermott & swan (2002: 4) postulated that sustainable relationship-building starts from a no-trust/low-ethics foundation that shifts to a trustful/ethical relationship. in addition, these authors argued that, in construction, trust denotes ethical contracts. 2.2.5 public-private partnerships (ppp) collaboration between public entities and private companies is formed to add value to service delivery. the project development facility (pdf) is a single-function trading entity created within national treasury in accordance with the public finance management act (pfma). its purpose is to pay moneys for services rendered by acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 78 consultants, called transaction advisors, in accordance with the terms of the contract between a department or public entity, to which the pfma applies, and the transaction advisor. when appropriate, disbursed funds are recovered from the successful private-party bidders at the financial close of a public private partnership (ppp) that has operated under the pfma or section 120 of the municipal finance management act (south africa, 2005). 2.3 emerging contractor development in south africa the role of emerging contractors in the construction industry is crucial for job creation, especially in developing economies (dlungwana & rwelamila, 2003: 411). the south african government, in pursuing this ideal, has made considerable progress in creating an enabling environment for new entrants into the construction industry. a number of emerging contractor-development models (ecdms) and emerging contractor-development programmes (ecdps) are used interchangeably, as they have been created in an endeavour to configure and accelerate contractor development. this enabling environment that has been created leaves the construction fraternity with the challenge of creating a working model to achieve the stated objectives within the unique demographics of south africa (hauptfleisch et al., 2007: 3). various models exist to enhance contractors’ and construction professionals’ collaboration in benefiting the success of a project. 2.3.1 emerging contractor-development models emerging contractor-development models (ecdms) refer to a structured methodology that comprises measures designed to help contractors develop the technical and management skills that are required in order to grow their business enterprises (dlungwana & rwelamila, 2005: 4212). 2.3.1.i south african construction excellence model (sacem) sacem is a contractor-performance assessment tool which comprises a comprehensive, systematic model intended to promote the concept of total quality management at both business and construction site levels. sacem’s approach to excellence is through a systematic, continuous improvement of eleven key performance criteria. while the model is diagnostic, its strength lies in directing management towards a lasting, holistic approach to managing a construction firm. sacem is based on the principles of the buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 79 south african excellence foundation’s model, called the south african excellence model (saem). previous training, such as dpw’s incubator programme (cip) managed by the ecdp unit, has not contained a quality-assurance component nor does the current expanded public works programme (epwp). consequently, they lack the capacity to determine the effectiveness, value for money and level of development taking place (hauptfleisch et al., 2007: 83). the sacem was thus construed to address the shortcomings. 2.3.1.ii integrated emerging contractor-development model (iecdm) the eastern cape economic development cooperation (ecdc) embarked on collaborative research in response to its mandate as a development agency of the state with respect to emerging contractor development to concentrate on general building contracting (ecdc, 2007). the research culminated in an integrated emerging contractor-development model (iecdm). the successes of the model that were recorded from the pilot programme were significant and shortcomings were also highlighted. the relevance of the model to the south african setting led to an assertion by hauptfleisch & verster (2007: 41) that the iecdm’s success in empowering emerging contractors is assured by the involvement of accredited mentors. the success of the model, according to the closeout report, was realised in the improvement of business management skills; tendering skills; business growth; cidb grading, and increased employment chances (dlungwana & hauptfleisch, 2011: 359-360). 2.3.2 contractor-development programmes 2.3.2.i extended public works programme (epwp) at its inception, this programme was designed to increase employment opportunities by the provision of an infrastructure, by using economically viable labour-intensive construction (dpw, 2005: 15). the programme developed a learning programme to assist subsistence contractors into sustainable business entities. 2.3.2.ii contractor incubation programme (cip) the cip caters for capable emerging contractors who have already progressed from the lower grades and are eligible for contracts of over zar 1 million. the cip is used in conjunction with the cidb register of contractors (dpw, 2005: 19). the programme’s duration acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 80 manya et al • governance structures of three years posed a challenge as mostly small projects last for a fraction of the mentioned duration. the above brief overview outlined the rationale behind collaboration, the endeavours of government to fulfil its constitutional as well as political mandates, and efforts by government to accommodate all the stakeholders, especially previous disadvantaged individuals (pdis), by instituting developmental programmes for emerging contractors. however, a perceived grey area is evident with respect to whether government agents, namely built-environment professionals, contribute to any of these contractor-development programmes. 3. research methodology research by crafford (2002: 139) to establish whether construction professionals’ skills render it conducive to work with emerging contractors and how government could assist in creating an environment for collaborative efforts between the various builtenvironment role players identified the following skills as important to work with emerging contractors. the ability to: • demonstrate an awareness of the special needs and process of their satisfaction. • interact amicably, yet professionally, with emerging contractors. • communicate effectively with emerging contractors. • invest additional inspection/supervision input to work involving emerging contractors. this article is founded on web-based and email-based surveys used to secure primary data from built-environment professionals. the quantitative method of research was implemented whereby ordinal scales were analysed through nonparametric statistical tests, by using the mean scores, as advocated by jamieson (2004: 1217). survey research, according to leedy & ormrod (2005: 183), involves acquiring information about one or more groups of people on their characteristics, opinions, attitudes and so forth, by asking questions and tabulating the answers. the survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire distributed electronically to built-environment professionals in the eastern cape province, according to the list of consultants registered with the eastern cape department of public works. the population consisted of all fifty-four professionals who had worked with emerging contractors in government-funded projects. the response group buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 81 included architects (31%), quantity surveyors (54%) and consulting engineers (15%), and the majority (77%) were mostly involved in public sector projects, while the remaining 23% were mostly involved in private-sector projects. the majority (73%) have had more than 15 years’ experience in the construction industry. this respondent profile indicates that respondents should have the necessary experience and knowledge to provide reliable information. the questionnaire was designed to determine built-environment professionals’ views on two aspects: • their role in communicating with emerging contractors. • their involvement in mentoring emerging contractors. the response rate was 24% and this falls within the 7%-40% range regarded by moyo & crafford (2010: 68) as adequate for contemporary built-environment surveys. questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality. it was assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses, as they were assured of their anonymity. a 5-point rating scale, also known as the likert-type scale (leedy & ormrod, 2005) was used to elicit participants’ opinions on various statements. 4. results and findings for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following terminology was used regarding mean scores: ‘strongly disagree’ (≥1.0 and ≤1.8); ‘disagree’ (>1.8 and ≤2.6); ‘neutral’ (>2.6 and ≤3.4); ‘agree’ (>3.4 and ≤4.2) and ‘strongly agree’ (>4.2 and ≤5.0). 4.1 communication between built-environment professionals and emerging contractors respondents were requested to state to what extent they agreed with the statements regarding their role in communicating with emerging contractors, where 1=fully disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=fully agree. table 1 shows the responses. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 82 table 1: communication with emerging contractors statement response (%) ms1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 there are open channels of communication between professionals and emerging contractors 0 0 0 87 13 4.13 verbal communication with emerging contractors is effective 0 20 20 47 13 3.53 written communication with emerging contractors is effective 13 13 20 40 14 3.29 graphic communication (e.g., information on drawings) with emerging contractors is effective 13 7 33 47 0 3.14 table 1 shows that the majority of respondents: • ‘agree’ that there are open channels of communication between professionals and emerging contractors (ms=4.13). it is, therefore, clear that built-environment professionals ensure that there are open communication channels between them and emerging contractors; there is, therefore, no need for major improvements. • ‘agree’ that verbal communication between builtenvironment professionals and emerging contractors is effective (ms=3.53). although not very conclusive, it seems that verbal communication with emerging contractors is fairly effective. • are ‘neutral’ regarding the effectiveness of their written communication with emerging contractors (ms=3.29). • are ‘neutral’ regarding the effectiveness of their graphic communication with emerging contractors (ms=3.14). the above two ‘neutral’ results with respect to written and graphic communication are a cause for concern, considering that contracting work in the construction industry relies heavily on these two communication methods. these results are supported by research conducted by crafford (2007: 138) where communication (generally) is ranked 3rd most important on a list of 29 architectural competences, while the level of proficiency therein is only listed as 8th. buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 83 oral, written and graphic communication are ranked 6th, 12th and 27th, respectively, on the importance list of twenty-nine contractor competences, compiled by smallwood (2000), in crafford (2007: 55). 4.2 involvement in mentoring emerging contractors respondents were requested to state to what extent they agreed with statements regarding their involvement in mentoring emerging contractors, where 1=fully disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=fully agree. table 2 shows the responses. table 2: involvement in mentoring emerging contractors statement response (%) ms1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 additional time is given to train emerging contractors 20 13 27 27 13 3.00 advice is given to emerging contractors with respect to their contractual responsibilities 0 7 0 80 13 3.99 advice is given to emerging contractors with respect to compliance issues 0 7 0 73 20 4.06 additional time is given to inspect work done by emerging contractors 0 7 0 60 33 4.19 close monitoring and guidance on site may improve emerging contractors’ performance 0 20 0 20 60 4.20 it is essential to mentor emerging contractors 0 7 0 33 60 4.46 building contracts do not make provision for more frequent (than normal) inspections of work done by emerging contractors 0 0 13 27 60 4.47 a system whereby emerging contractors can be monitored is currently non-existent 0 0 13 27 60 4.47 built-environment professionals’ appointments do not make provision for compensation to mentor emerging contractors 0 0 10 27 63 4.53 built-environment professionals’ appointments should be modified to make provision for the mentoring of emerging contractors 0 0 7 20 73 4.66 acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 84 table 2 shows that the majority of respondents: • are ‘neutral’ in agreeing that additional time is given to train emerging contractors (ms=3.00). this indicates that emerging contractors do not really get any training from builtenvironment professionals during construction. • ‘agree’ that advice is given to emerging contractors with respect to their contractual responsibilities (ms=3.99) as well as with compliancy issues (ms=4.06). many emerging contractors may not be fully conversant with legal matters, of which building contracts form a very important aspect of their work. fortunately, the results indicated that built-environment professionals do assist emerging contractors regarding their contractual responsibilities and compliance issues. • ‘agree’ that additional time is given to inspect work done by emerging contractors (ms=4.19). additional time given by built-environment professionals can be very beneficial to emerging contractors as it would ensure that the quality of their work is maintained throughout the construction period, minimising the need for any re-work. • ‘agree’ that close monitoring and guidance on site may improve emerging contractors’ performance (ms=4.20). it is quite clear that built-environment professionals are of the opinion that on-site monitoring and guidance could be beneficial to emerging contractors. this is also evident from the results that show that built-environment professionals ‘strongly agree’ that it is essential to mentor emerging contractors (ms=4.46). • ‘strongly agree’ that building contracts do not make provision for more frequent (than normal) inspections of work done by emerging contractors (ms=4.47). it is quite evident that there is no provision in building contracts for more frequent inspections. as more (than normal) inspections would point out and/or eliminate any defective work, emerging contractors could benefit greatly by more frequent inspections by builtenvironment professionals. • ‘strongly agree’ that a system, whereby emerging contractors could be monitored, is currently non-existent (ms=4.47). it is evident that such a system does not really exist; if such a system is implemented, emerging contractors could be monitored regularly to improve their performance and productivity. • ‘strongly agree’ that built-environment professionals’ appointments do not make provision for compensation for buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 85 mentoring emerging contractors (ms=4.53), and ‘strongly agree’ that built-environment professionals’ appointments should be modified to make provision for mentoring emerging contractors (ms=4.66). it is quite clear that builtenvironment professionals are not being compensated for mentoring emerging contractors and that they believe that their appointments should be modified to make provision for this. this would have a positive impact on their willingness to mentor emerging contractors and government’s need to rectify this problem urgently. research conducted by crafford (2007: 106) indicated that the competence ‘to work with emerging contractors’ is ranked 10th highest on a list of 33 quantity-surveying competences, while it is ranked 12th on a list of 30 civil-engineering competences (2007: 103) and 22nd on a list of 29 architectural competences (2007: 102). it is thus fairly important for built-environment professionals to be competent to work with emerging contractors, while government, professional bodies and tertiary educational institutions should ensure that systems are put in place to facilitate this. a gap analysis of competence importance and possessed competence indicated that the biggest gap of all competencies for architects, quantity surveyors and consulting engineers was ‘skills to work with emerging contractors’ (crafford, 2007: 155-156). 5. conclusion collaboration and alliances between both built-environment professionals and emerging contractors are vital for emerging contractor development. this could result in numerous benefits, not only for emerging contractors, but also for built-environment professionals and the public at large. these collaboration efforts should, however, be based on specific principles such as focused collaboration on achieving business results, aligned organisational support systems to promote ownership and articulation, and the enforcement of strict rules. various emerging contractor-development models (e.g., sacem and icedm) and contractor-development programmes (e.g., epwp and cip) already exist, but these should be implemented more fully. this, however, needs the full support and collaboration of builtenvironment professionals. the following are some of the results emanating from the survey among built-environment professionals to determine their role in acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 86 communicating with emerging contractors and their involvement in mentoring emerging contractors: • built-environment professionals should ensure that there are open communication channels between them and emerging contractors. • there is some cause for concern regarding the effectiveness of written and graphic communication between builtenvironment professionals and emerging contractors. • built-environment professionals do not really spend much time in training emerging contractors, but more than normal time is given to inspecting the work done by emerging contractors, even though building contracts do not make provision for this. 6. recommendations the following recommendations resulted from the study: • built-environment professionals should assist in training emerging contractors during construction. • built-environment professionals should assist in on-site mentoring and guidance. • building contracts should make provision for more (than normal) inspection of works which would point out and/or eliminate any defective work. • a mentoring system should be implemented to improve the performance and productivity of emerging contractors. • although some legislation for mentorship now exists, built-environment professionals should ensure that they are appointed (and compensated) for both consultant and mentor, if they are requested to assist in mentoring emerging contractors. although determining built-environment professionals’ competence and skills to work with emerging contractors did not form part of this research, evidence indicated that there may be a need for improved competence. further research could also be conducted to determine emerging contractors’ views on communication with, and mentoring by built-environment professionals, as well as the effectiveness of the various collaboration and alliance systems and programmes provided by government. further research on the role played by well-established contractors through subcontracting out to emerging contractors would also assist in emerging contractor development. buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 87 the results of this survey are based on perceptions of builtenvironment professionals in the eastern cape province and may differ somewhat from respondents elsewhere in south africa. this creates an opportunity for further research to obtain a wider perspective on the issue of collaboration between built-environment professionals and emerging contractors. references list beyerlein, m.m., freedman, s., mcgee, c. & moran, l. 2003. beyond teams: building collaborative organizations. san francisco: jossey-bass/pfeiffer. cidb (construction industry development board). 2009. status quo report: march 2009. [online.]. available from: <http://www. cidb.org.za/documents/kc/cidb_publications/ind_reps_other/ind_ reps_sa_contractor_development_programmes.pdf> [accessed: 8 june 2009]. crafford, g.j. 2002. design team’s view on quantity surveying competencies. unpublished m.sc. dissertation.. port elizabeth: nelson mandela metropolitan university, construction economics. crafford, g.j. 2007. client’s view on construction and design team competencies. unpublished ph.d. thesis. port elizabeth: nelson mandela metropolitan university, construction economics. dainty, a.r.j., briscoe, g.h. & millett, s.j. 2001. subcontractor perspectives on supply chain alliances. construction management and economics, 19(1), pp. 841-848. dlungwana, w.s. & hauptfleisch, a.c. 2011. a quantified emerging contractor development report: a case study in pursuance of best practice. in: proceedings of the 6th built environment conference, johannesburg 31 july-2 august 2011, pp. 348-364. dlungwana, w.s. & rwelamila, p.d. 2003. the role of performance assessment tools in improving contractor performance in developing countries. pretoria: csir boutek. dlungwana, w.s. & rwelamila, p.d. 2005. contractor development models for promoting sustainable building – a case for developing management capabilities of contractors. in: proceedings of the 2005 world sustainable building conference, tokyo, japan, 27-29 september, pp. 4208-15. dpw (department of public works). 2005. national workshop report: april 2005. 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[online.] available from: <http://researchspace. csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/1850/1/hauptfleisch_2007.pdf> [accessed: 25 september 2012]. jamieson, s. 2004. likert scales: how to (ab)use them. medical education, 38(12), pp. 1212-1218. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th edition. new jersey: pearson. love, p.e.d., irani, z., cheng, e. & li, h. 2002. a model for supporting inter-organisational relations in the supply chain. engineering, construction and architectural management, 9(1), pp. 2-15. love, s. 1997. subcontractor partnering: i’ll believe it when i see it. journal of management in engineering, 9(1), pp. 2-15. buys & daluxolo • the potential of built-environment 89 moyo, a. & crafford, g.j. 2010. the impact of hyperinflation on the zimbabwean construction industry. acta structilia, 17(2), pp. 53-83. south africa. 2005. municipal public-private partnership regulations. government gazette no. 27431. pretoria: government printers. wood, g., mcdermott, p. & swan, w. 2002. the ethical benefits of trust-based partnering: the example of the construction industry. business ethics a european review, 11(1), pp. 4-13. 33 navorsingsartikels • research articles colin gewanlal & michiel bekker project manager attributes influencing project success in the south african construction industry abstract the south african construction industry has suffered the loss of many qualified middle-management-level project managers in recent years. this has resulted in many young, inexperienced project managers being forced to manage large complex projects. in addition, senior project managers, who are still practising locally, are too busy to mentor and guide the younger project managers, due to the shortage of professionals in the local industry. this article reports on a study done to identify the most important attributes that influence project success in the south african construction industry, by extracting a list of factors identified in the existing literature and grouping these factors into six main categories. each category contains six factors. a questionnaire was compiled and distributed via an online survey tool. the data was analysed using statistical methods including concordance and correlation. the results indicated that ‘interpersonal factors’ was considered the most important category, followed by ‘application of theory’. ‘personal contribution’ and ‘personal character’ were considered the least important categories. however, the most important attributing factors were ‘communication skills’ and ‘leadership style’, neither of which was listed under the top two categories. in general, a low level of concordance was achieved, confirming the belief that level of knowledge, experience and mutual agreement among participants in the industry is low. keywords: project manager attributes, project experience, construction management, project manager profiles. abstrak die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf het in die afgelope paar jaar baie gekwalifiseerde middel-bestuursvlak projekbestuurders verloor. dit het daartoe gelei dat baie jong, onervare projekbestuurders gedwing word om groot komplekse projekte te bestuur. hierdie artikel rapporteer die resultate van ʼn studie gedoen om die belangrikste faktore wat die projeksukses in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf beïnvloed, te identifiseer. ʼn literatuurstudie is gedoen om die belangrikste suksesfaktore te bepaal en in ses kategoriëe te groepeer. elke kategorie bevat ses faktore. ‘n vraelys is saamgestel en aanlyn gestuur aan moontlike deelnemers. die data is ontleed met behulp mr colin m. gewanlal, m.eng student, graduate school of technology management, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27(0) 12-420-2822. dr michiel c. bekker, senior lecturer, graduate school of technology management, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27(0) 12-420-2822, email: <michiel.bekker@up.ac.za> acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 34 van statistiese metodes, insluitend konkordansie en korrelasie. die resultate het getoon dat die belangrikste kategorie was ‘interpersoonlike faktore’, gevolg deur ‘toepassing van teorie’. ‘persoonlike bydrae’ en ‘persoonlike karakter’ is beskou as die kategoriëe met die minste impak. die belangrikste faktore vir projeksukses was ‘kommunikasievaardighede’ en ‘leierskapstyl’, waarvan beide nie onder die top twee kategoriëe verskyn nie. oor die algemeen is ‘n lae vlak van konkordansie bereik wat bevestig dat die vlak van kennis, ondervinding en eenstemmingheid tussen deelnemers in die industrie baie laag is. sleutelwoorde: projekbestuurvaardighede, projekondervinding, konstruksie bestuur, projekbestuurprofiel 1. introduction since the mid-1990s, the south african construction industry has witnessed a significant loss of qualified and experienced project managers to other countries, other sectors of the economy, and retirement (lawless, 2007: 1). notwithstanding the lack of experienced and skilled project managers, the south african government has identified infrastructure development as a means to stimulate the economy (south africa. national planning commission, 2011: 137). a survey conducted by lawless (2007: 2) revealed that the number of graduates and the quality of education in all spheres of education was declining. this resulted in young and inexperienced project managers being deployed to manage large and often, complex projects. apart from the inexperience, the shortage of qualified project managers also resulted in young project managers being overloaded with work. as the key pin to all activities and relationships, the project manager contributes significantly to the success or failure of construction projects. even though a number of international studies were done on the topic of project competence (crawford, 2005; muller & turner, 2010; dolfi & andrews, 2007), limited knowledge exists regarding the key attributes required of project managers in the south african construction industry to deliver successful projects. the problem statement for this research is: ‘the most important project management attributes required for successful projects in the south african construction industry is unknown’. given the problem statement, the aim of this study was to identify those project management attributes that extend beyond formal qualifications in the construction industry. a second objective was to assess members of the construction industry’s understanding and agreement of what the most important attributes are. in conclusion, the results should guide project managers, recruitment officers and organisations, in general, to assess their current status and approach gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 35 to project management development in order to improve the likelihood of developing and implementing successful projects. 2. factors influencing project performance in the construction industry in various research outputs, belassi & tukel (1996) found that there was a great deal of variation among different types and sectors of projects. the construction industry have seen project performance research focusing on individual countries, contribution of stakeholders such as clients, contractors and consultants, as well as technical aspects such as, among others, level of design accuracy, constructability and safety. baloyi & bekker (2011: 62) conducted research on the causes of cost overruns and project delays on the 2010 fifa world cup stadia in south africa. from a contractor’s perspective, one of the most significant causes for cost overruns was the lack of skilled labour. however, for project delays, the contributing factors were again the lack of skilled labour, poor planning and scheduling, as well as labour disputes and strikes. ahadzie, proverbs & olomolaiye (2007: 684) investigated the critical success criteria for building projects in ghana and concluded that the “current and future success of an enterprise is a reflection of the effectiveness of the senior team, their vision and leadership, and the combined knowledge and skills of the organisation’s workforce”. project leadership and supervision featured as key factors in the research conducted by odusami (2003: 525) on nigerian construction projects. this study tested the effect of a team leader’s professional qualifications, profession, leadership style and project team composition on the overall success of construction projects. the results indicated that the project leader’s qualification significantly affected project performance. muller & turner (2007: 22-23) investigated the interaction of the project manager’s leadership style with project type and the effect of these two factors on the overall success of the project. project managers’ leadership styles were modelled in terms of intellectual, emotional and managerial competence and compared to the success of their most recent projects. seven traits of effective project managers were identified: problem-solving ability; results orientation; energy and initiative; self-confidence; perspective; communication, and the ability to negotiate. chua, kog & loh (1999: 148-149) listed ten critical success factors for construction projects. apart from technical requirements, the list also acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 36 included project manager attributes such as competency as well as commitment and level of involvement. crawford (2000: 13-14) studied the profile of a competent project manager. she presented an analysis of research-based literature concerning the criteria whereby project success is determined, the factors that contribute to the success of projects, as well as the project managers’ knowledge, skills and personal attributes that are expected to lead to the achievement of successful project outcomes. in a follow-up study, crawford examined senior management’s perceptions of a project manager’s competence. the results suggested different perceptions and expectations of project management competence between project managers and their supervisors or senior management. she defined competence as “an underlying characteristic that is causally related to criterion-referenced effective and/or superior performance in a job or situation” (crawford, 2005: 8, 15). 3. categorising project manager attributes schultz, slevin & pinto (1987: 34) created two broad categories, namely ‘strategic’ and ‘tactical’ requirements. bellasi & tukel (1996: 142-143) grouped the success factors into five areas, namely factors related to the ‘project’, ‘project manager’, ‘project team members’, ‘corporate organization’, and ‘external factors’. ahadzie et al. (2007: 684-687) found four clusters of criteria, namely ‘project environment’, ‘customer interaction and satisfaction’, ‘product quality’, and ‘value and time’. crawford (2005: 12) contended that competence could be inferred from attributes, which included knowledge, skills and experience, personality traits, attitudes, and behaviours. in reviewing the above literature and studying the specific traits in the defined categories of the mentioned authors, with specific reference to the findings by crawford (2005: 12-15), the following six categories for project manager attributes were identified: interpersonal factors, application of theory, personal character factors, personal contribution factors, personal skills, and practical application. each category was further divided into six factors, as explained in table 1. table 1: categories for project manager attributes category 1 – interpersonal factors (attributes concerning interaction with team members) 1.a supervision of project team 1.b ability to delegate authority 1.c ability to motivate team members 1.d sense of teamwork gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 37 1.e stakeholder management (parent organisation) 1.f stakeholder management (client) category 2 – application of theory (professional qualifications and application of theoretical planning , controlling and monitoring tools) 2.a professional qualifications 2.b monitoring and controlling (time) 2.c planning (integrative) 2.d monitoring and controlling (integrative) 2.e monitoring and controlling (cost) 2.f planning (time) category 3 – personal character (personal motivation and character traits) 3.a leadership style 3.b emotional intelligence 3.c results orientation 3.d energy and initiative 3.e self-confidence 3.f optimism category 4 – personal contribution (management actions taken to achieve project success) 4.a ability to determine cost – time trade-offs 4.b level of involvement in the project 4.c ability to determine quality – time trade-offs 4.d ability to establish an appropriate organisational structure 4.e commitment to meet cost, time and quality constraints 4.f desire to achieve success and recognition category 5 – personal skills (managerial skills to apply to projects) 5.a communication skills 5.b technical skills 5.c organising skills 5.d coordinating skills 5.e negotiating skills 5.f decision-making and problem-solving skills category 6 – practical application (practices to implement during projects) 6.a ability to implement an effective safety programme 6.b ability to implement an effective quality assurance programme 6.c relevant work experience 6.d control of subcontractors’ work 6.e adaptability to changes in the project plan 6.f define and follow strategic direction it can be argued that all the attributes identified and summarised in table 1 are important. however, some attributes might be more important than others in the south african construction industry. to find the “perfect” project manager remains an elusive goal, but acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 38 guidance in selecting the best candidate should help improve the likelihood of project success. based on the attributes identified, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to potential participants in the south african construction industry, with the aim to identify the most important attributes required for project managers in the industry. 4. research methodology the required attributes, skills and competencies for project managers have been well researched. this research aims to identify those attributes that are most important for the south african construction industry. in order to identify the most important attributes from a given selection, the rank kendall w concordance method was selected (legendre, 2005: 227). the kendall w method analyses ordinal values and is a normalisation of the friedman test. for this research, the absolute value of each attribute is the main value of significance, with agreement among participants secondary. for this reason, the kendall w method is sufficient as opposed to friedman or even spearman rho testing. primary data was created through the distribution of a questionnaire to construction project managers. the instrument took the form of a self-administered questionnaire containing multiple-choice questions related to the respondent’s personal details as well as six categories of six attributes each of project managers to be completed in a rank order from one being the most important1 attribute to six being the least important attribute. the process and equations of analysing the ordinal rank-order data with the kendall w method is given below. if attribute i is given the rank ri,j by respondent number j, with n attributes and m respondents, then the total rank given to attribute i is: ri = σ ri,j m j = 1 1 the evaluation criteria assigning one as the most important was clearly set as such and communicated to the participants. gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 39 the mean value of the ranks is then calculated as: r = σ ri n i = 1 1 n the sum of the squared deviations s is then calculated as: s = σ (ri r)2 n i = 1 kendall w, also known as the kendall coefficient of concordance, is then calculated as: w = 12sm2(n3 n) the value w provides an indication of the degree of unanimity among the respondents. if w is 1, then all the respondents are unanimous about their views, whereas a value of 0 indicates no agreement. intermediate values indicate the lesser or greater degree of agreement. all surveys were complete anonymously. a request was posted to the south african institute of civil engineering south africa (saice) to forward the questionnaire to their members via email. a bulk email was sent; but the exact number of successful recipients could not be confirmed, due to email not being delivered or no longer existing. it is estimated that approximately 5,000 questionnaires were emailed; this also included emails to project management companies, engineering consulting firms, engineering contractors, and government departments such as the department of public works and the department of water affairs. a total of 163 responses were received, giving an approximate response rate of 3.3%. even though the response rate was low, the number of responses was satisfactory. 4.1 analysis of data and interpretation of findings the data received was entered into a database and analysed using microsoft excel. the demographic profile of the respondents was significant. a total of 53.4% of the respondents had between one and ten years’ experience. only 20.3% of the respondents had over 20 years’ experience, with only 18% aged over 50 years. this confirms the observation by lawless (2007) that the current workforce is fairly young. the respondents were well educated, with 67% of them acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 40 completing bachelor’s degrees and 18% masters degrees. the majority of the respondents (87%) were from consulting companies, with the remainder evenly split between construction and owner organisations. the gender response was 69% for males and 31% for females; this is a fair reflection of the industry profile. 4.1.1 ranked attributes for each category the results of the ranked attributes are given in table 2. although the coefficient of concordance w was low in all the studies, the sample for all the questions was statistically significant at both the 95% and the 99% levels. table 2: ranked attributes for each category categories and associated attributes rank frequency r rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 category 1 – interpersonal factors 1.a supervision of project team 44 36 33 23 8 19 2.83 1 1.c ability to motivate team members 21 31 39 32 30 10 3.3 2 1.f stakeholder management (client) 35 31 22 14 29 32 3.41 3 1.b ability to delegate authority 23 27 30 43 23 17 3.41 4 1.d sense of teamwork 35 18 22 32 27 29 3.52 5 1.e stakeholder management (parent organisation) 5 20 17 19 46 56 4.53 6 category 2 – application of theory 2.c planning (integrative) 54 39 31 21 12 6 2.48 1 2.f planning (time) 36 50 24 15 19 19 2.93 2 2.b monitoring and controlling (time) 14 30 40 49 24 6 3.35 3 2.d monitoring and controlling (integrative) 12 16 36 40 36 23 3.87 4 2.e monitoring and controlling (cost) 10 13 28 28 58 26 4.16 5 2.a professional qualifications 37 15 4 10 14 83 4.21 6 category 3 – personal character 3.a leadership style 81 32 25 12 10 3 2.06 1 3.b emotional intelligence 31 38 31 27 21 15 3.09 2 3.c results orientation 16 35 43 29 21 19 3.37 3 3.d energy and initiative 14 30 28 54 23 14 3.52 4 3.e self-confidence 18 22 23 26 62 12 3.79 5 3.f optimism 3 6 13 15 26 100 5.18 6 gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 41 category 4 – personal contribution 4.b level of involvement in the project 47 31 28 23 25 9 2.85 1 4.a ability to determine cost – time trade-offs 27 42 38 40 12 4 2.88 2 4.e commitment to meet cost, time and quality constraints 45 27 21 19 38 13 3.1 3 4.c ability to determine quality – time trade-offs 9 24 48 35 39 8 3.58 4 4.d ability to establish an appropriate organisational structure 19 23 17 39 39 26 3.82 5 4.f desire to achieve success and recognition 16 16 11 7 10 103 4.77 6 category 5 – personal skills 5.a communication skills 78 37 25 16 3 4 2.02 1 5.f decision-making and problem-solving skills 43 47 29 10 10 24 2.81 2 5.b technical skills 23 34 29 26 25 26 3.45 3 5.c organising skills 11 24 43 44 29 12 3.56 4 5.d coordinating skills 5 16 25 46 47 24 4.14 5 5.e negotiating skills 3 5 12 21 49 73 5.01 6 category 6 – practical application 6.f define and follow strategic direction 66 31 21 9 14 22 2.63 1 6.c relevant work experience 42 19 32 23 25 22 3.22 2 6.b ability to implement an effective quality assurance programme 20 32 39 30 32 10 3.32 3 6.e adaptability to changes in the project plan 15 47 28 27 29 17 3.36 4 6.a ability to implement an effective safety programme 18 22 19 38 31 35 3.9 5 6.d control of subcontractors’ work 2 12 24 36 32 57 4.56 6 the first category evaluated was “interpersonal factors”. this group consisted of factors describing project managers’ interaction with other project role-players. it gauged the importance of the project managers’ interaction with the project team, client and parent organisation. the factor ‘supervision of project team’ was chosen well ahead of all the other factors for this question. this selection seems logical, since the project manager remains the ultimate responsible person and occupies a leadership role. the majority of the respondents ranked the factor ‘stakeholder management (parent organisation)’ very low; it had one of the worst average ratings in the entire study. with a great deal of emphasis on stakeholder management in recent publications such as the project management body of knowledge acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 42 (2013: 391) and the british standards institution’s iso 21500 (2012: 6) this low ranking was surprising. the remaining factors had a very small spread in the middle of this group. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.089, which means that the general agreement among participants was low. the “application of theory factors” category dealt with the theoretical base from which project managers operate. it describes the project managers’ ability to plan, monitor and control cost and time parameters as well as the integration of various activities in running projects. the effect of the project managers’ qualifications on the success of projects is also included in this group. the factor ‘planning (integrative)’ was chosen ahead of all the other factors for this question. the majority of the respondents ranked the factor ‘professional qualification’, followed closely by ‘monitoring and controlling (costs)’, very low. the remaining factors were approximately evenly spread in the middle of this group. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.141. the “personal character” category encompassed the innate psychological make-up of project managers. it consisted of attributes that are generally developed over the life of an individual rather than those that can be thought in a class. the factor ‘leadership style’ was chosen well ahead of all the other factors and, in fact, had the best average rating of all the factors in the study. the majority of the respondents ranked the factor ‘optimism’ very low. it had the worst average rating in the entire study. this is in contradiction to the findings of the study by dolfi & andrews (2007: 681) who found that optimism was an important attribute for successful project managers. the remaining factors had a minimal spread in the middle of this group. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.29. the “personal contribution” category examined how the project managers physically contributed to the success of the project by their involvement and decision-making on a daily basis. management of cost, time and quality parameters played a major role in influencing this group. the factors ‘involvement in project’ and ‘ability to determine cost/time trade-offs on project’ were chosen as the two most important factors in this group. the majority of the respondents ranked the factor ‘desire for accomplishment/success/recognition’ very low. it had one of the worst average ratings in the entire study. the remaining factors had a minimal spread in the middle of this group. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.15. gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 43 the “personal skills” category combined attributes related to the project manager;s talents. these are factors for which some project managers may have a predilection ahead of other project managers, despite them all receiving the same training. the factor ‘communication skills’ was chosen well ahead of all the other factors for this question. the majority of the respondents ranked the factor ‘negotiating skills’ very low. it had one of the worst average ratings in the entire study. the remaining factors had a reasonably large spread in the middle of this group. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.305. the “practical application” category consisted of those ‘hands-on’ attributes related to actually running a project. it considered strategic elements of project execution, safety and quality as well as controlling external factors and the relevant work experience of the project manager. the factor ‘ability to define and follow a strategic direction in projects’ was ranked most important, with the factor ‘control of subcontractors’ work’ ranked least important. the remaining factors had a very small spread in the middle of this group. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.124. this final question required the respondents to rank the six categories of factors relative to each other (table 3). the category ‘interpersonal factors’ was ranked as the most important. this observation supports the findings by ahadzie et al. (2007: 684) and odusami (2003: 525). the ‘personal contribution’ factor group was ranked as least important by a large margin. the remaining factor groups had a very small spread. the coefficient of concordance w calculated for this question was 0.073. this means that there was a great deal of disagreement among respondents. again, the concordance of the sample for this question was significant at both the 95% and the 99% levels. table 3: overall ranking of categories rank frequency 1 2 3 4 5 6 r rank category 1 interpersonal factors 57 28 32 18 15 13 2.66 1 category 2 application of theory 23 44 26 24 18 28 3.33 2 category 5 personal skills 25 26 28 32 28 24 3.52 3 category 6 practical application 36 26 16 20 22 43 3.58 4 category 3 personal character 16 27 30 34 29 27 3.7 5 category 4 personal contribution 6 12 31 35 51 28 4.21 6 acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 44 some interesting observations were noted when viewing the results in terms of the demographic information. although the majority of the respondents were male, no notable differences could be observed in the responses from males and females. the male and female subsets ranked the same factors as being the most important for all the groups, with the exception of the ‘personal contribution’ category. in the ‘personal contribution’ category, the males ranked ‘involvement in project’ as the most important factor, whereas the females ranked ‘ability to determine cost/time tradeoffs’ as most important. similarly, for the least important factors in each category, all but one group was ranked the same by the male and female subsets. in the ‘application of theory’ category, the males ranked ‘monitoring and controlling (costs)’ as least important, whereas the females ranked ‘professional qualifications’ as least important. since the margins of differences were almost negligible, no significant conclusion could be made from these observations. a total of 85% of the respondents had a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 15% had a technical or matriculation qualification. this may have introduced bias into the study, as it is not representative of the construction industry in south africa. the two subsets of respondents ranked the same factors as being the most important in that category for all the groups. on the final question, in which respondents were required to rank the categories, the subset with the higher qualifications ranked ‘interpersonal factors’ as the most important category, whereas the subset with the lower qualifications ranked ‘application of theory factors’ as most important. for the least important factors in each category, all but one group was ranked the same by the two subsets. the attribute ‘professional qualification’ in the ‘application of theory’ category had a significant discrepancy in terms of the rating and was ranked more important by the subset with 10 years’ experience or less. this suggests that, as a project manager gains experience in the construction industry, the perception that having the highest formal qualifications may not guarantee the project management capabilities. this, however, contradicts the findings of odusami (2003: 519), namely that the project leader’s qualification significantly affects project performance. the results indicate some disparity among the levels of qualifications; however, in general, there seems to be overall agreement. gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 45 with respect to years of experience, respondents with less than 10 years’ work experience and the subset with more than 10 years’ work experience had the closest split of all the stratified data in terms of relative size of the subsets, with 60% and 40% of the sample, respectively. the two subsets ranked the same factors as being the most important for all the categories, with the exception of the ‘personal contribution’ category. in the ‘personal contribution’ category, the subset with more than 10 years’ work experience ranked ‘ability to develop an appropriate organisational structure’ as the most important factor. the subset with 10 years’ work experience or less ranked ‘ability to determine cost/time trade-offs’ as most important. similarly, for the least important factors in each category, all but one group was ranked the same by the two subsets. in the ‘application of theory’ category, the subset with 10 years’ work experience or less ranked ‘monitoring and controlling (costs)’ as least important, whereas the other subset ranked ‘professional qualifications’ as least important. one factor stands out for its extreme rating score, namely ‘leadership style’ in the ‘personal character’ category, with an average rating of 1.85 from the subset with 10 years’ work experience or less. this is the lowest average rating of any factor for any subset of the sample in the study. 5. conclusions and recommendations the ten most important relative factors across the six categories are given in table 4. table 4: top ten ranked attributes across categories categories and associated attributes rank frequency r rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 5.a communication skills 78 37 25 16 3 4 2.02 1 3.a leadership style 81 32 25 12 10 3 2.06 2 2.c planning (integrative) 54 39 31 21 12 6 2.48 3 6.f define and follow strategic direction 66 31 21 9 14 22 2.63 4 5.f decision-making and problem-solving skills 43 47 29 10 10 24 2.81 5 1.a supervision of project team 44 36 33 23 8 19 2.83 6 4.b level of involvement in the project 47 31 28 23 25 9 2.85 7 4.a ability to determine cost – time trade-offs 27 42 38 40 12 4 2.88 8 2.f planning (time) 36 50 24 15 19 19 2.93 9 3.b emotional intelligence 31 38 31 27 21 15 3.09 10 acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 46 in reviewing the top ten relative factors, it is notable that the first seven factors are all related to the project manager’s managerial and personal behaviour, as opposed to his/her technical skills. factors ranking high are associated with leadership, strategic direction, communication, problem-solving and supervision. this observation highlights the fact that peers continue to view the project manager as an authoritative figure who needs to be able to lead the team through a project. these observations support the findings of odusami (2003: 525) as well as of muller & turner (2007: 22-23). with technical capabilities also among the top ten out of 36 factors, the importance of a balanced skills set for project managers is once again confirmed and should be considered when designing project management training and skills development programmes. despite the various sources, the relatively low number of potential respondents, and the potential of some bias in this study, the findings are interesting and may ultimately still be representative of the south african construction industry. the results of this research and the low level of concordance, to some extent, support the general findings by lawless (2007) that the civil engineering and construction industries are currently in disarray. the relative disagreement of what should be expected from project managers can cause potential tension during the recruitment and appointment of personnel. it is, therefore, critical that a common understanding be developed among stakeholders of what key attributes are required for project managers in the construction industry. references list ahadzie, d.k., proverbs, d.g. & olomolaiye, p.o. 2007. critical success criteria for mass building projects in developing countries. international journal of project management, 26(6), pp. 675-687. baloyi, l. & bekker, m.c. 2011. causes of construction cost and time overruns: the 2010 fifa world cup stadia in south africa. acta structilia, 18(1), pp. 51-67. belassi, w. & tukel, o.i. 1996. a new framework for determining critical success/failure factors in projects. international journal of project management, 14(3), pp. 141-151. british standards institution (bsi). 2012. iso 21500, guidance on project management. geneva, switzerland: bsi standards limited. gewanlal & bekker • project manager attributes... 47 chua, d.k.h., kog, y.c. & loh, p.k. 1999. critical success factors for different project objectives. journal of construction engineering and management, 125(3), pp. 142-150. crawford, l. 2000. profiling the competent project manager. in: project management research at the turn of the millenium: proceedings of pmi research conference, 21-24 june 2000, paris, france. sylva, nc: project management institute, pp. 3-15. crawford, l. 2005. senior management perceptions of project management competence. international journal of project management, 23(1), pp. 7-16. dolfi, j. & andrews, e.j. 2007. the subliminal characteristics of project managers: an exploratory study of optimism overcoming challenge in the project management work environment. international journal of project management, 25(7), pp. 674-682. lawless, a. 2007. numbers and needs in local government: civil engineering – the critical profession for service delivery. midrand: saice. legendre, p. 2005. species associations: the kendall coefficient of concordance revisited. journal of agricultural, biological and environmental statistics, 10(2), pp. 226-245. muller, r. & turner, r. 2007. matching the project manager’s leadership style to project type. international journal of project management, 25(1), pp. 21-32. muller, r. & turner, r. 2010. leadership competency profiles of successful project managers. international journal of project management, 28(5), pp. 437-448. odusami, k.t. 2003. the relationship between project leadership, team composition and construction project performance in nigeria. international journal of project management, 21(7), pp. 519-527. project management institute (pmi). 2013. a guide to the project management body of knowledge (pmbok® guide). 5th ed. newtown square, pa: project management institute inc. (electronic book). schultz, r.l. slevin, d.p. & pinto, j.k. 1987. strategy and tactics in a process model of project implementation. interfaces, 17(3), pp. 34-46. south africa. national planning commission. 2011. national development plan – vision for 2030. south africa: the presidency. 118 adebayo oladapo, olusola aladegbaiye & ajibade aibinu the development of location adjustment factors for construction price estimating in nigeria peer reviewed abstract this article explored the use of location factors (lfs) as an empirical tool for converting construction price at one location to price at another location. the objective was to generate lfs for selected locations to provoke interest in the concept. firstly, locational factors influencing construction price were identified from literature. then, based on a hypothetical project and using lagos, ibadan, port harcourt and abuja as pilot locations (with lagos as the base location), lfs were calculated for the four locations. the lfs obtained were validated using tender prices for the primary school projects of the universal basic education programme financed by the federal government of nigeria. the results showed that tender price levels were higher in abuja and port harcourt and lower in ibadan, compared to lagos (the base location) on the basis of their location differences. although the results underestimated the actual values of the lfs by only 8%, which is well within the acceptable level of early price estimating accuracy for quantity surveyors, the insufficient and scanty data used limits their statistical reliability. it is hoped that more detailed studies, based on more locations and using more project samples, would be carried in the near future to further the development of lfs for construction price estimating in nigeria. keywords: price estimating, project management, location adjustment factors, construction industry, nigeria abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die gebruik van plek faktore (pf) as ’n empiriese hulpmiddel vir die oorskakeling van konstruksiepryse vanaf een plek na prys op ’n ander plek. die oogmerk was om pf’s vir geselekteerde plekke te genereer om sodoende ’n belangstelling in die konsep aan te wakker. eerstens is plekfaktore wat konstruksiepryse beïnvloed deur middel van ’n literatuurstudie geïdentifiseer. daarna, gebasseer op ’n hipotetiese projek is lagos, ibadan, port harcourt en abuja (met lagos as die basis plek) as loots plekke gebruik om pf’s vir die vier dr adebayo akanbi oladapo, senior lecturer, school of civil engineering, surveying and construction, university of kwazulu-natal, durban, south africa. tel: 032-2601183, e-mail: <oladapoa@ukzn.ac.za> mrs olusola bosede aladegbaiye, lecturer in construction,construction centre, barnsley college, old mill lane, barnsley, south yorkshire. s70 2la, uk. e-mail: <solaaladegbaiye@yahoo.co.uk> mr ajibade ayodeji. aibinu, lecturer, faculty of architecture building & planning, university of melbourne, victoria 3010, australia. e-mail: <aaibinu@unimelb.edu.au> oladapo, aladegbaiye & aibinu • location adjustment factors for construction price estimating in nigeria 119 plekke te bereken. die verkrygde pf’s is waardes toegevoeg deur tenderpryse te gebruik vir skoolprojekte van die universal basic education programme wat deur die federale regering van nigerië gefinansier is. die resultate het gewys dat tenderprysvlakke hoër was in abuja en port harcourt en laer in ibadan, vergelykend met lagos (die basis plek) op die basis van hulle plekverskille. alhoewel die resultate wys dat die ware waardes van die pf’s met slegs 8% onderskat is, wat goed is in vergeleke met die aanvaarbare vlak van voorafprysskatingsakkuraatheid vir bourekenaars, het die onvoldoende en geringe data wat gebruik is die statistiese betroubaarheid daarvan verminder. daar word gehoop, dat meer uitgebreide studies, gebaseer op meer plekke en deur gebruik van meer projekvoorbeelde, in die toekoms uitgevoer sal word vir die ontwikkeling van pf’s vir konstruksieprysskatings in nigerië. sleutelwoorde: prysskattings, projekbestuur, plekaanpassingsfaktore, konstruksie-industrie, nigerië 1. introduction estimating, according to the chartered institute of building (1997), is the technical process of predicting the cost of construction. it involves the building up of rates for building elements and components based on the cost of labour, material and plant. the sum of the costs of the various elements and components that make up a project is the cost of the project to the contractor. the addition of the contractor’s profit and overhead margins as well as the relevant taxes converts a cost estimate into a tender price (kwakye, 1994). thus the cost estimate serves not only as a basis upon which a tender figure is derived for the selection of a suitable contractor (ashworth, 2002) but also as a basis for a project’s ultimate funding by the project owner (trost & oberlender, 2003). early price estimating forecasts a contractor’s tender sum (ashworth, 1994). a good estimator can readily estimate the cost of a project in his area of operation, but it may not always be so for projects outside his area of operation (russell, 2002). this is because, according to humphreys (2005), while cost engineers, quantity surveyors, and project managers are generally very familiar with the major sources of cost data in their areas of operation, they are often unaware of useful sources of cost data and related information in other areas. this problem arises because there is usually lack of time to perform a proper search for information about key factors that can impact the estimate for particular geographic locations. a location adjustment factor enables an estimator to adjust the historical price data for construction in a particular location to estimate the price of a similar project in another location (yoshihara & tametoh, 2002) location has a significant impact on the major components of construction cost and price, namely materials, labour and plant acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 120 (bilginsoy & philips, 2000; pearl et al., 2003; wilmot & cheng, 2003). thus, according to seeley (1996), material, labour and plant costs in construction projects are dependent not only on the geographical location of the project but also on the site conditions. construction projects unlike the products of the manufacturing industry are never the same. each project, according to peansupap & walker (2005), is unique in its location. hence construction projects are exposed to locational variations in addition to a whole range of design factors. this is why project location has been identified by ahmad & minkarah (1988), shash (1998) and akintoye (2000) as one of the significant factors influencing contractors’ tender price levels. this article is a preliminary investigation to quantify the effect of locational differences on construction prices for some selected cities in nigeria using lagos as the base location. the article was aimed at provoking interest in the concept of locational adjustment factors among cost professionals. lagos was chosen as the base location because of its strategic position not only as nigeria’s major seaport but also as its commercial capital which has the highest concentration of construction firms and professionals in any single city in the country (dada, 2005). 2. an overview of locational factors and their influence on construction price location affects construction price via institutional and market factors, and through geographical realities. the institutional factors include local regulations (russel, 2002) and the level of taxation (seeley, 1996) while demand and supply of construction inputs are some of the market factors. geographical realities include such things as accessibility and topography (seeley, 1996, singh, 2007), local climate (ferry & brandon, 1991; parker & dell’isola, 1991; singh, 2007). according to avery (1982), some of these factors have a bearing on the cost (and hence the price) of executing work and consequently concern tenderers as well as estimators. also, in a global study of factors affecting contractors’ tender margins, ling (2005) found that project location had a significant impact in many countries. generally, the more remote a project location is, the more expensive it will be because of the cost of transporting construction materials and equipment to the site (avery, 1982, parker & dell’isola, 1991; akintoye, 2000). remote locations, according to mutunga & talukhaba (2004), are those characterised by low levels of investments in terms of both communication infrastructure and facilities, as is common in a lot of rural set ups of most of the developing world. oladapo, aladegbaiye & aibinu • location adjustment factors for construction price estimating in nigeria 121 in britain, for example, anderson (1988) has observed that there are regions within the british isles where market conditions are so distorted that any interpretation of standard cost data is fraught with difficulty. within a country there may exist regions exhibiting what anderson (1988) described as extreme regionality such that economic and social conditions within the areas, regions, states or localities can be isolated from other areas, regions, states or locality to the extent that extrapolation of cost data can be very inaccurate. avery (1982) identified remoteness from source of materials and plant supply, labour cost and productivity, water and power supply for the works, climate and weather, regional market conditions or tendering climate and local tendering customs as the locational factors that may have an impact on the cost of executing work to any given design. according to herbsman & ellis (1991) and motwani et al. (1995), location is one of the critical factors that affect construction productivity. the effect of location also expresses itself in the fact that restricted urban construction sites always pose considerable difficulties for contractors with regard to logistics and planning. these stem from the inherent problems in offloading materials from confined locations, the lack of storage space within which materials can be stockpiled and local traffic and delivery restrictions to protect the city centre environment within office hours (ison et al., 2004). as a result of these factors, the cost of construction varies from place to place even for projects of similar design, magnitude and size. this variation could increase the total cost of a project by as much as a third from one location to another (stallworthy & kharbanda, 1983). it is not surprising therefore that several authors including akintoye (2000) and an et al. (2007) have ranked location among the significant factors that influence construction price estimates. 3. the need for locational factors in construction price forecasting in nigeria nigeria is a vast country occupying a land area of 923768 square kilometres. it is situated between longitude 3° and 15° east and latitude 4° and 14° north (central bank of nigeria, 2000). the longest distance from east to west is about 767 kilometres, and from north to south is about 1605 kilometres. the landscape comprises lowlands, plains, highlands and plateaux. the country also exhibits very wide geographical and climatic variations, comprising the mangrove forests at the coast, evergreen rainforests, deciduous forests, guinea savannah in the middle belt, sudan savannah in most parts of the north, and the sahel, semi-arid desert at the extreme northeast acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 122 (central bank of nigeria, 2000). it operates a federal system comprising 36 autonomous states and the federal capital territory (abuja) as well as 774 local government councils. the country has a market economy. it can be argued that all the locational factors discussed above are relevant in nigeria due to its large size and geographical diversity. these factors should therefore be of concern to both professional quantity surveyors and contractors’ estimators in the construction industry. indeed in nigeria, the prices of construction inputs and hence construction prices vary from state to state and local government area to local government area. this is because the country operates a free market economic system and taxation levels differ between the states (central bank of nigeria, 2000). in a developing country like nigeria where most development projects, such as the construction of schools, health facilities and housing are sponsored by the government, the use of location adjustment factors should be especially useful. the use of location adjustment factors will make it possible for the government (and its project consultants) to estimate the contract price of a prototype design for different parts of the country without going through the lengthy process of collecting cost data for each location. contractors could also use it to prepare tender estimates for projects all over the country without necessarily visiting every locality to collect estimating data. 4. conceptual framework and research methodology preliminary price estimating by quantity surveyors predict contractors likely tender sums and enable construction clients to have an idea of their financial commitments early in the project cycle (ashworth, 1994; seeley, 1996). the estimates are usually based on historical cost data generated from completed buildings to provide a reasonably accurate prediction of the construction price of a new project (smith, 1995). these estimates are produced at a specific point in time for a specific location and the prices used therein are (unless other parameters are specifically set) relevant only for that date and location. for this reason, adjustments need to be made to reflect differences in price levels and project characteristics including location (phaobunjong & popescu, 2003). thus estimates based on historical cost data need to be adjusted for inflation or price levels (chau, 1990; parker & dell’isola, 1991; singh, 2007), and locational differences (parker & dell’isola, 1991; elhag & boussabaine, 1999; al-harbi et al., 1994; singh, 2007), among other factors. oladapo, aladegbaiye & aibinu • location adjustment factors for construction price estimating in nigeria 123 4.1 adjustment of estimates using tender price indices price indices are used to update the price of goods and services over time to reflect variations in inflation and price levels (yu & ive, 2006). they provide a comparison of price changes from period to period for a fixed quantity of goods or services (williams, 1994). beyond tender price inflation, the index should also reflect regional differences, differences in pricing level resulting from size of the contract, site problems (other than those which have design implications) and any other factor which has influenced the price quoted by the accepted tenderer. according to yu & ive (2006), the three common types of price indices are the laspeyres price index, the paasche price index and the fisher ideal index. the laspeyres price index is a base weight index which uses the relative quantities of the base period to provide the weighting for the respective prices. on the other hand, the paasche price index is a current weight index. the laspeyres price index has been found to overstate inflation while the paasche price index understates it (yu & ive, 2006). the fisher price index takes the average of these indices as a better approximation to the true measure of inflation (fisher, 1921 cited in yu & ive, 2006). costello & watkins (2002) and yu & ive (2006) give details of the mathematical calculations of the three indices. the bcis tender price index series which measures the trend of contractors pricing levels in accepted tenders is a commonly used index in the uk construction industry (yu & ive, 2006). this index is adjusted for location using the following formula (elhag & boussabaine, 1999): c adjusted = c actual * * equation 1, where: c adjusted = adjusted lowest tender price c actual = actual lowest tender price tpi base = average tender price index for the base year tpi actual = tender price index at tender date of a specific project m.l.f. = mean location factor of uk for base year c.l.f. = county location factor of a specific project the basis of the adjustment for location in equation 1 above is yet to be modelled (yu & ive (2006). tpi base tpi actual m.l.f. c.l.f. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 124 4.2 adjustment of estimates for location a tender price index is most commonly used to adjust an estimate based on historical data to current price level (ferry & brandon, 1991; yu & ive, 2006; singh, 2007). the need to adjust for locational differences has been widely established in literature. a location adjustment factor is an instantaneous, overall, total adjustment factor for converting a base construction estimate from one geographical location to another (humphreys, 2005). it identifies disparities in construction materials costs, labour hourly rates, productivity, freight rates and taxes, among others, between different project locations (mcconville, 1994). however, the cost of land, scope/design differences for local conditions and codes, and differences in operating philosophies are not included in a location factor (pietlock, 1994). also, if the designs are not identical for different locations, the cost differences are not generally accounted for by locational factors alone (humphreys, 2005). the formula for updating a construction price from a base year (y b ) to a current year (y c ) is generally given as (after phaobunjong & popescu, 2003). price for y c = price for y b x equation 2 based on equation 1 and equation 2, the location factor (lf) for location a relative to location b is defined for this study as: lf a = , equation 3 where b is the base location. this formula assumes that only locational variations as discussed earlier in the literature account for the differences in price between the two locations (with all other factors already taken into consideration). adopting the method used by olukoju (1995), proverbs et al. (1999) and xiao & proverbs (2002a; 2002b), this study used an appropriate hypothetical project (a prototype single-storey block of classrooms) as the basis of a price survey. the unprized bill of quantities of the prototype project was sent to practising quantity surveyors in the cities of lagos, abuja, ibadan and port harcourt to price simultaneously. index for yc index for yb price of construction at location a price of construction at location b oladapo, aladegbaiye & aibinu • location adjustment factors for construction price estimating in nigeria 125 the respondents were also asked to list the factors peculiar to their locations which they took into account in pricing the bill. using the average costs returned for the cities, and with lagos as the base city, the location factor (lf) for each city relative to lagos was calculated using the formula in equation 3. thus the lf for location x is given by lf x = equation 4 the predicted lfs were subjected to an empirical validity test using real case study projects in the same selected locations. this was necessary to measure how closely the lfs calculated with the hypothetical project approximated those calculated with the real case study projects (law & mccomas, 1990). the validation serves to show the authenticity and usefulness of the predicted lfs by measuring the extent to which they accord with those for the real projects. the relative measure of accuracy used was the mean variance ratio (after wilson, 1994 and odeyinka & yusif, 2003) between the predicted and the real lfs. the results are shown in table 4. for the validation, the tender prices of the federal government of nigeria universal basic education (ube) primary school projects were obtained for the selected cities. the projects comprised the construction of blocks of classrooms similar in scope and design to the hypothetical project used in this study. since the pricing of the bills of quantities for the hypothetical project and the construction of the real case study projects were within the same time period, it was not necessary to adjust the project values for time and inflation. 5. results and discussion the estimated tender prices of the hypothetical projects and the real (universal basic education) projects in the four locations are shown in table 1. price of the hypothetical project at location x price of the hypothetical project at base location (lagos) acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 126 table 1: project costs location estimated tender price of hypothetical project (n)* tender price of the real project ((n)* lagos abuja ibadan port harcourt 4 814 520.00 4 932 310.00 4 573 640.00 6 121 608.00 5 019 205.34 5 019 205.34 4.416 900.90 5 270 165.60 * n120 is equivalent to us$1 in table 2, some of the peculiar factors the respondents considered in pricing the bill of quantities for the hypothetical projects in their locations are listed. they include, among others, “high level of multiple taxations by the three tiers of government” in lagos and “high level of insecurity due to political agitations by youths resulting in a very high level of administrative costs” in port harcourt in the volatile niger delta region. these factors reflected mostly the differences in the rate of taxation and cost of construction inputs due to different market situations in the four locations. table 2: locational factors considered by respondents location factors influencing pricing levels lagos abuja ibadan port harcourt materials labour and plant readily available compared to other cities. high level of multiple taxation by the federal state and local governments. high cost of living makes administrative cost very high. high cost of living because it is the seat of government skilled labour is not readily available no special features it is just average construction labour very scarce because of the attraction of the oil industry prices of goods generally high due to high cost of living high level of insecurity due to political agitations by youths resulting in a very high level of administrative costs (niger delta crisis). oladapo, aladegbaiye & aibinu • location adjustment factors for construction price estimating in nigeria 127 applying the formula in equation 4 and using the data in table 1, the predicted and the actual lfs were computed. table 3 shows the figures obtained. table 3: predicted and actual location adjustment factors location predicted location factor (lf p ) actual location factor (lf a ) lagos (base location) ibadan abuja port harcourt 1.000 0.950 1.025 1.272 1.000 0.880 1.000 1.050 to validate the results obtained, the two sets of lfs were subjected to variance analysis to measure the accuracy and usefulness of the predicted lfs. the mean variance ratio (v) is expressed by wilson (1994) as: = , equation 5 where v i = (lf a ) i / (lf p ) i v = variance ratio lf a = actual location factor lf p = predicted location factor n = number of observations the results of the variance analysis are shown in table 4. table 4: variance analysis of actual and predicted location factors (lfs)* location actual location factor (lf a ) predicted location factor (lf p ) v i = lf a /lf p accuracy level (%) ibadan abuja port harcourt 0.880 1.000 1.050 0.950 1.025 1.272 0.93 0.98 0.83 7 2 17 = 0.92 *lf a = lf p = 1 for lagos (the base location) according to wilson (1994), ideally = 1 when the predictions are 100% accurate. as shown in table 4, the mean variance ratio is 0.92. this means that, on the average, the actual location factors were v n ∑ i=1 vi n v v acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 128 underestimated by 8%. this degree of accuracy is within the accuracy range of -5% to +10% for early price estimates (oberlender, 1993; harbuck, 2002) and is quite acceptable for an exploratory study of this nature. however, due to the fact that only one project and a few locations were used in this study, the statistical validity of the results may be in doubt. 6. conclusion and recommendation this article has examined the concept of location adjustment factors in construction price estimating and demonstrated a very simple and straightforward approach to developing them. the results showed that, compared to lagos, location factors (and hence tender price levels) were higher in abuja and port harcourt and lower in ibadan. however, the results obtained in this article are fraught with limitations due to the insufficient and scanty data used. the results are based on only 4 cities and only a sample project was used in generating the factors. this casts some doubts on the statistical reliability of the results as the study violates the requirement for a large volume of data for constructing good and reliable location factors (stallworthy & kharbanda, 1983). it is our belief that in spite of the limitations acknowledged above, the results should explain to some degree the regional differences in the construction prices published by the nigerian institute of quantity surveyors and 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assessment methodologies and their relevance to developing country contexts. the review finds that many of these methodologies have limited applicability to developing countries and, therefore, an alternative methodology, termed the sustainable building material index (sbmi), is proposed. the sbmi methodology draws on both a life-cycle assessment approach and an expanded definition of sustainability, which includes social and economic aspects as well as environmental impacts, to develop a sustainability impact index of building products. the article describes and critically evaluates the sbmi and makes recommendations for further research. it appears that the sbmi has potential as methodology for establishing, and presenting, sustainability impacts of building products in developing countries. it is innovative as it provides a way of capturing simple socio-economic sustainability aspects related to building products that do not include other building product assessment methodologies. this aspect makes it particularly relevant to developing countries where there is a strong interest in using construction and related industries to create beneficial social and economic impacts such as job creation and training. keywords: sustainability, building materials, methodology, sustainable building material index (sbmi) abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die volhoubaarheidsimpak van bou-produkte tydens die produksie-fase in ontwikkelende lande. ’n literatuurstudie is gedoen ten einde huidige bou-produk assesseringsmetodes te bepaal en vas te stel wat hul relevansie binne die konteks van ontwikkelende land is. die oorsig het bevind dat baie van hierdie metodes beperkte toepaslikheid binne ontwikkelende lande het en dus word ’n alternatiewe metode, die volhoubare boumateriaal indeks (sbmi), voorgestel. die sbmi-metode maak gebruik van beide ’n lewensiklus assesseringsbenadering asook ’n uitgebreide definisie van volhoubaarheid wat maatskaplike en ekonomiese aspekte asook omgewingsimpakte insluit, om sodoende ’n volhoubaarheidsimpak indeks van bou-produkte te ontwikkel. dr jeremy t. gibberd, adjunct senior lecturer, university of pretoria, south africa; principal researcher, csir, pretoria, south africa, and specialist, gauge, pretoria, south africa, po box 14738, hatfield, pretoria, south africa, 0028. phone: +27 82 857 1318, email: <itshose@gmail.com> acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 70 die artikel beskryf en evalueer krities die sbmi en maak aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing. die sbmi kom voor as ’n potensiële metode vir die stigting en aanbieding van volhoubaarheidsimpakte vir bou-produkte in ont wikkelende lande. dit is innoverend, want dit bied ’n manier om eenvoudige sosio-ekonomiese volhoubaarheidsaspekte wat verband hou met bou-produkte wat nie in ander bou-produk assesseringsmetodologieë ingesluit is nie, vas te vang. hierdie aspek is veral relevant vir ontwikkelende lande waar daar ’n sterk belangstelling is in die gebruik van die konstruksie en verwante bedrywe om voordelige sosiale en ekonomiese impak soos werkskepping en opleiding te skep. 1. introduction the assessment of materials in terms of sustainability is still in its infancy and is not well understood (ding, 2008: 451-464). current methodologies tend to focus on environmental issues and rely on life-cycle assessment or similar processes (jönsson, 2000: 223-238). however, these systems tend not to address social or economic aspects and, therefore, cannot be said to assess sustainability (cole, 2005: 455-467; cooper, 1999: 321-331; liu, li & yao, 2010: 1482-1490; zuo & zhao, 2014: 271-281). in developing countries, the lack of social and economic sustainability criteria and assessment is a significant shortcoming, as there is a strong interest in using construction and related industries to create social and economic impacts such as job creation and training (gibberd, 2014: 49-61). this article draws on a definition of sustainability, which includes social, economic and environmental aspects, and applies it to building products. the definition is analysed to develop environmental, social and economic criteria that can be used to assess the sustainability impacts of building-product manufacture. this is combined with concepts from a life-cycle assessment (lca) approach in order to develop an index that can be used to compare building products. this index is referred to as the sustainable building materials index (sbmi). the article describes and critically reviews the sbmi and develops recommendations for further research. 2. sustainability impacts of building materials the building-product industry has very substantial environmental impacts. conventional building processes mean that buildings require a vast quantity and variety of materials. in spain, for instance, it is estimated that every habitable square meter of a conventional building requires a total of 2.3 tonnes of more than 100 types of materials (zabalza bribián, valero capilla & aranda usón, 2011: 1133-1140). approximately 50% of all materials extracted from the earth’s crust are manufactured into construction materials and products. gibberd • sustainability impacts of building products 71 consequently, these materials also account for 50% of the waste stream (koroneos & dompros, 2007: 2114-2123). in europe, minerals extracted for building materials amount to 4.8 tonnes per inhabitant per year, 64 times the average weight of a person (zabalza bribián et al., 2009: 1133-1140). the production of materials is also energy intensive and produces significant carbon emissions. for instance, the embodied energy of materials is estimated to account for between 15% and 60% of a building’s life-cycle energy consumption (huberman & pearlmutter, 2008: 837-848; liu et al., 2010: 1482-1490). carbon emissions from one industry, the cement industry, are estimated to produce 5% of global carbon emissions (pulselli, simoncini, ridolfi & bastianoni, 2008: 647-656). the very significant impacts of building materials and products indicate that it is important to understand how this can be assessed in terms of sustainability. 3. defining sustainability the world conservation union, the united nations environment programme and the world wide fund for nature define sustainable development as “... improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems (international union for conservation of nature, 1991: 1-223). this provides clear objectives, namely ‘improving quality of human life’ and ‘living within carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems’. the world wildlife fund (wwf) quantifies these objectives to define sustainability as a state within which societies have an ecological footprint (ef) of less than 1.8 global hectares per person and a human development index (hdi) value of above 0.8 (wwf, 2006: 1-44). an ef is an estimate of the amount of biologically productive land and sea required to provide the resources a human population consumes, and absorb the corresponding waste. these estimates are based on consumption of resources and production of waste and emissions in the following areas: • food, measured in type and amount of food consumed. • shelter, measured in size, utilisation and energy consumption. • mobility, measured in type of transport used and distances travelled. • goods, measured in type and quantity consumed. • services, measured in type and quantity consumed • waste, measured in type and quantity produced. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 72 the area of biologically productive land and sea for each of these areas is calculated in global hectares (gha) and then added together to provide an overall ef (wackernagel & yount, 2000: 21-42). this measure relates impacts to the earth’s carrying capacity of 1.8 global hectares (gha) per person. the hdi was developed by the united nations to measure ‘quality of life’ and as an alternative to economic indicators for establishing development progress (undp, 2007: 1-224). the measure is based on: • a long healthy life, measured by life expectancy at birth. • knowledge, measured by the adult literacy rate and combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio. • a decent standard of living, as measured by the gdp per capita in purchasing power parity (ppp) in terms of us dollars. the hdi is based on widely available data and provides an internationally acceptable definition of quality of life. this article focuses on building-product manufacture impacts related to ef and hdi performance. while this is complex, an understanding of these fields can be developed by analysing the subcomponents of the ef and hdi and applying these to a building-product manufacturing site. this process can be informed by an understanding of life-cycle assessment processes that aim to establish the environmental impacts of products. 3.1 life-cycle assessment (lca) a growing awareness of the environmental impacts of materials has led to a wide variety of claims in manufacturers’ literature (cole, 2005: 455-467). these aim to appeal to the architect and the client wishing to achieve a green building. however claims can be selective and highlight only positive aspects, while obscuring areas of poor performance. there is, therefore, a need for standardised, rigorous and objective assessment methods. this gap is being addressed by a range of systems, including eco-quantm, athena, envest 2, becost and bees, that aim to understand and assess the environmental impacts of building materials. eco-quantum is an australian life-cycle assessment method based on iso 14040. it assesses environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions of products over their entire total life cycle. athena is an american life-cycle assessment tool for building and building assemblies. the process also complies with iso 14040. envest 2 was developed by the british research establishment to assess and present gibberd • sustainability impacts of building products 73 environmental and life-cycle costs of different material and building assembly options. twelve criteria, ranging from climate change to toxicity, are used to measure environmental impacts, and these are agglomerated into a single ecopoint score. becost was developed by vtt technical research centre in finland. the tool can be used to assess and present environmental impact data and maintenance costs. bees (building for environmental and economic sustainability) was developed by the national institute of standards and technology in the usa. it measures the environmental performance of building products using a life-cycle approach aligned with iso 14040. all of these assessment methodologies are based on life-cycle assessment approaches (rincón, castell, pérez, solé, boer & cabeza, 2013: 44-552; hertwich, pease & koshland, 1997: 13-29; peris mora, 2007: 1329-1334; esin, 2007: 3860-3871; malmqvist, glaumann, scarpellini, zabalza, aranda, llera & díaz, 2011: 900-1907; ekvall, 2005: 351-1358; zabalza bribián et al., 2009: 2510-2520). a number of benefits are associated with life-cycle assessment approaches. the methodology provides a structured process whereby often complex data sets can be acquired, assimilated and analysed in order to provide a picture of the impacts of product or building throughout its life cycle. it can be used to identify areas with significantly negative impacts and evaluate options for improving this. in addition, the results of life-cycle assessments support environmental labelling of buildings and can contribute to the setting of environmental targets for buildings and the building sector as a whole (zabalza bribián et al., 2009: 2510-2520). life-cycle assessment approaches can support significant reduction in environmental impacts associated with building materials. for instance, gonzález & garcía navarro (2006: 902-909) show that 30% reductions in carbon emissions can be achieved through the careful selection of materials. morel, mesbah, oggero & walker (2001: 1119-1126) also show that the use of local materials can reduce the energy used in building materials by up to 215% and the energy used in transportation of materials by 453%. life-cycle assessments of building materials can also identify the benefits of different production processes and the value of recycling waste materials. demir & orhan (2003: 1451-1455), for instance, demonstrate that 30% of the consumption of raw materials and production of waste, by mass, can be reduced in clay-brick manufacture by recycling fired waste bricks in production. however, life-cycle assessments may also be regarded as overly complex and costly. acquisition of data may be a problem, as acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 74 manufacturers do not readily share this with customers and lca tool developers. the proliferation of systems and the differing results achieved with different systems also mean that there are concerns about the lack of a standard interface and potentially arbitrary results. finally, there are also reservations about the accuracy of the results, in some instances (zabalza bribián et al., 2009: 2510-2520). this may be the reason for the slow adoption of lca approaches within building-certification processes, green-building rating systems and in-building regulations. difficulties related to acquisition of data, cost, and technical capacity to undertake life-cycle assessments are likely to be even more acute in developing countries. 3.2 developing country contexts a review of the literature indicates that product life-cycle assessment is rarely applied to contexts in developing countries. this may be due to the lack of required data and the perception that the processes are overly complex and expensive (malmqvist et al., 2011: 1900-1907). it may also be a result of the environmental focus of life-cycle assessment systems. while environmental issues are important, social and economic impacts are also of significant interest to developing countries. in these contexts, construction and related industries are often regarded as a means of creating beneficial social and economic impacts such as jobs and training. in south africa, this is reflected in standards developed to promote preferential procurement of local products and materials, such as south african technical standard (sats) 1286 (sabs, 2013: 1-5). sats 1286 provides a protocol for measuring the local content of materials and products, in order to support the local industries. it enables local content requirements to be specified in tender documents and to be monitored during construction. standards are also being developed to ensure that construction processes result in improved levels of education. examples of this are the training targets set within the standard for developing skills through construction works contracts (cidb, 2012: 1-5). this standard sets out specific training requirements related to the construction value of projects and applies to both the professional teams and the construction workers. in addition, it could be argued that environmental life-cycle assessment processes, by not measuring social and economic impacts, cannot claim to measure the broader concept of sustainability which includes social and economic aspects (ortiz, castells, & sonnemann, 2009: 8-39). there is, therefore, a need to develop a simple methodology that is able to measure the social, economic and environmental sustainability gibberd • sustainability impacts of building products 75 impacts of building products for contexts in developing countries. it is envisaged that assessments using this methodology, or the ‘indication of the sustainability impact’, of a building product will make a valuable contribution to understanding how sustainability principles can be integrated into building products (ding, 2005: 3-16). 4. research methodology an index of sustainability impacts related to the manufacture of a building product can be developed by drawing on the definition of sustainability provided earlier in this article, and combining this with aspects of a life-cycle approach. this can be used to synthesise a ‘hybrid’ methodology, termed the sustainable building material index (sbmi). the steps in developing this index are as follows. • establish a specification for the sbmi based on contexts in developing countries. • define sustainability indicators by applying an appropriate definition of sustainability to a building-product manufacturing system and develop an assessment framework. • apply the concept of a functional unit to the assessment framework, in order to standardise calculation methods and allow comparisons between different products. • define performance tables that enable results to be classified in a scale of 0 to 5 and develop an appropriate report. this study focuses on building-product manufacture, as this is within the sphere of influence of the building-product industry rather than a full life-cycle assessment approach which includes many aspects such as building operation and demolition that are not directly under their control. 4.1 specifications for a sustainable building material index in the context of a developing country, environmental, social and economic data related to building materials are not readily available. there are no detailed environmental databases for materials such as those used for life-cycle assessment in europe and the us. similarly, detailed industry-specific social and economic statistics are not readily available to support analysis. this means that data used for sustainability assessments of building materials must be sourced directly from building-material manufacturers. a lack of available data makes undertaking detailed calculations to ascertain direct ef and hdi impacts of building materials complex acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 76 and time consuming (malmqvist et al., 2011: 1900-1907). in this context, it is proposed that proxy indicators, or equivalent factors, be used to make the process of sustainability assessment practical (hertwich et al., 1997: 13-29). as the capacity of small manufacturers to collect data may be limited, it is suggested that a restricted set of key sustainability indicators be developed. in addition, it is proposed that these be restricted to data that is readily available and easily collected by building manufacturers. therefore, the assessment methodology should: • use readily available data. • measure social and economic impacts related to sustainability as well as environmental impacts; • be simple enough to be carried out by small building-product manufacturers, and • provide reports that will enable materials and products to be assessed and compared in terms of their sustainability impacts. 4.2 the building manufacturing industry as a system the first step in developing appropriate sustainability indicators is to describe the building-manufacturing industry as a system, with inputs, outputs, as well as social and economic impacts, as illustrated in figure 1. building manufacturer • employment • training • mentoring • health and safety • ill health outputs • carbon emissions • pollution • waste outputs • building product directly related enterprise • employment inputs • resources • water • energy • land use figure 1: a building-product manufacturing system source: author, 2014 gibberd • sustainability impacts of building products 77 tables 1 and 2 describe in more detail indicators identified by means of this process. table 1 describes ecological indicators and aims to provide a proxy for ef impact of building materials. table 2 describes human development and aims to provide a proxy for hdi impact of building materials. table 1: ecological indicators ecological indicator units description resource consumption (kg/year) this measures the quantity of material consumed to produce the building product. carbon emissions (co2equiv/year) this measures the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted to produce the building product. water consumption (kl/year) this measures the quantity of water consumed to produce the building product. land use (ha/year) this measures the quantity of land area used to produce the building product. waste (kg equiv/year) this measures the quantity of waste generated to produce the building product. pollution (kg equiv/year) this measures the quantity of waste generated to produce the building product. source: author, 2014 table 2: human development indicators human development indicator units description employment (fte employment years/year) this measures the employment required to produce the building product. employment in related enterprises (fte enterprise years/year) this is a measure of employment in related enterprises, such as catering, transport and security industries, required to produce the building product. formal training (formal training hours/year) this is a measure of education and training of employees during the production of the building product. formal mentoring (formal mentoring hours/ year) this is a measure of education and is the extent of mentoring of employees during the production of the building product. health and safety (incidents/year) this is a measure of health and is the extent of health and safety incidents experienced to produce the building product. ill health per year (absenteeism days/year) this is a measure of health and is the extent of absenteeism experienced to produce the building product. source: author, 2014 acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 78 tracking these indicators on a manufacturing site can be used both to support improved understanding of the sustainability impacts associated with a building product and to establish a measure of the impact per building product. this is calculated by dividing annual ecological or human development impacts associated with a manufacturing process by the number of products produced within the same time period, as indicated in figure 2. figure 2: ecological impact per product source: author, 2014 human development impacts per product are established in the same way, and can be calculated by substituting ecological impact with human development impact in the equation in figure 2. this calculation, while useful for measuring sustainability performance of manufacturing processes, does not support comparisons between different materials. this requires further standardisation, and the application of the concept of a functional unit. 4.3 functional unit the functional unit concept was developed within the life-cycle assessment methodology in order to support environmental impact comparisons between products. iso 14044 defines the functional unit as the “quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit” (iso, 2006: 1-46). in the building industry, this can be applied by defining products in terms of quantities of ‘final useful constructed elements’ such as ‘an area of compliant wall assembly’. ‘compliant’, in this context, means that the wall assembly meets required local performance standards related to thermal resistance, structure, as well as fire and water resistance (such as those found in national building regulations). thus, environmental and human development impacts can be ascertained, and then compared, for the same functional unit, such as a square metre of compliant wall area. in this way, the use of a functional unit supports comparisons of different materials and products (kellenberger & althaus, 2009: 818-825). therefore, if the impacts of clay bricks are to be compared with those concrete blocks, wall assemblies of both materials that achieve gibberd • sustainability impacts of building products 79 the same, or similar, performance (such as thermal resistance, fire resistance, structural integrity, and so on) need to be modelled. from each of these wall assemblies, quantities of materials (bricks and blocks) can then be calculated. once these quantities have been calculated, they can be multiplied by the respective human development and ecological impacts of the unit of building product, as calculated in the equation in figure 2. this process provides a full set of ecological and human development impacts per functional unit of the different products enabling the two to be compared on a like-for-like basis. including performance in the concept of the functional unit is valuable, as it encourages innovation and improvement not only in the manufacturing process, but also in the design of complete buildings. for instance, if an innovative design was able to attain ‘compliant’ performance with fewer bricks, a lower ecological impact per functional unit could be achieved. this concept can be applied to all functional products and materials used in buildings, including components such as water taps and roof sheeting. an example of its application to a building envelope is show in figure 3. figure 3: building envelope functional units source: author, 2014 4.4 sustainable building material index the final stage is the conversion of the sustainability impacts calculated per functional unit into an index. the index could consist of values from ‘0’ to ‘5’, with ‘5’ being the worst performance and ‘0’, the best performance. index values could be calculated in the following way. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 80 sustainability impacts could be identified for each functional unit and ‘5’ set as the value for average performance. the values for best performance can also be calculated in terms of optimum impacts. for instance, in the case of carbon emissions, this could be carbon neutrality, and would equate to a ‘0’. the values between ‘0’ and ‘5’ would then be equally spaced between these limits to define the respective index values between ‘0’ and ‘5’. a graphical and tabular report on these index values for a material could then be developed, with an example provided in figure 4. 5. discussion a critical review of the sbmi methodology suggests that this has potential as a means for assessing building products and materials in terms of their sustainability impacts. however, the level of detail of the assessment is low compared to life-cycle assessment approaches. in addition, the sbmi does not assess the individual manufacturing processes that are used on a site and, therefore, it is not useful as a diagnostic tool for a building-product manufacturer wishing to improve these processes. neither does it provide overall life-cycle impacts associated with different materials and products, which would be of interest to an architect and client. however, by providing a high-level indication of sustainability impacts of materials, the sbmi does provide a manufacturer with a useful methodology for tracking the performance of production lines and plants. the methodology also lends itself to simple modelling, enabling a manufacturer to rapidly establish the impacts of different options. for instance, the ecological impacts of different processes can be calculated to inform decision-making. the methodology also provides a structured way in which manufacturers can assess their own products and, therefore, improve their sustainability performance over time. the methodology offers a way for building designers to take sustainability into account when specifying products. ecological and human development impacts of different products can be compared, in order to identify products with the most beneficial impacts. minimum sustainability targets for materials can also be set and used as a way of improving manufacturing processes of building products and ensuring that required impacts are achieved. gibberd • sustainability impacts of building products 81 sustainable building material index (sbmi) v2 site address thulamela site analysis period 30 june 2013 1 july 2014 analysis period (days) 365 ecological resource consumption per year (kg/year) 3 carbon emissions per year (co2equiv/year) 4 water consumption per year (kl/year) 5 land use hectares (ha/year) 3 waste per year (kg equiv/year) 3 pollution per year (kg equiv/year) 4 human development employment per year (fte employment years/year) 1 employment in related enterprises per year (fte) 1 formal training per year (formal training hours/year) 1 formal mentoring per year (formal mentoring hours/ year) 2 health and safety incidents per year (incidents/year) 3 ill health per year (absenteeism days/year) 3 ecological 3.67 human development 1.83 overall 2.75 resource consumption carbon emissions water consumption land use waste pollution employment enterprise training mentoring health and safety ill health 1 0 2 3 4 5 figure 4: sustainable building material index (sbmi) v2 report source: author, 2014 acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 82 6. conclusion the sbmi methodology appears to have potential as a way of providing an indication of the sustainability impacts of building products. in particular, it is innovative as it provides a way of capturing simple socio-economic sustainability aspects related to building products, which has not been included in many other buildingproduct assessment methodologies. the escalating interest in sustainability and socio-economic impacts of building materials will make this methodology, and research in this field, increasingly relevant. it is recommended that further research be carried out to develop the methodology further and investigate how this can be applied to improve the sustainability impacts of building products. references list cole, r.j. 2005. building environmental assessment methods: redefining intentions and roles. building research & information, 33(5), pp. 455-467. cidb (construction industry development board). 2012. standard for developing skills through construction works contracts. 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regulating the built environment abstrak binne die artikel word ‘n kontemporêre definisie van ‘n bouregulasie en boustandaard gebruik ten einde die eerste voldoeningstandaard, asook die oorsprong van bouregulasies vir suider-afrika, te bepaal. daar word spesifiek verwys na die periode 1650 tot circa 1740. die gebruik van die gemelde bouregulasie-definisie illustreer die universele geldigheid van die oorspronklike argument. sleutelwoorde: bouregulasies, oorsprong van bouregulasies, boustandaarde, boukodes, wet van hammurabi, jan van riebeeck, kontrole van die bouomgewing 1. methodology the desk study focuses on the origin of building regulations of the built environment and is presented from a historic perspective (in chronological order). the first section of this article serves as an introduction that provides a brief overview of the origin of the regulatory framework. thereafter a comprehensive definition of building regulations is provided and the relation between regulations and standards is stated. these aforementioned definitions are used dr jacques laubscher lecturer university of pretoria po box 95469 waterkloof 0145. phone: +27 (0)72 226 4579 fax: +27 (0)12 420 2578 email: <jacques.laubscher@up.ac. za> laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 81 to trace the origin of building regulations for southern africa. specific focus is given to the period between 1650 and circa 1740. 2. introduction in early settlements, development associated with population growth continued to widen the gap between natural and man-made, thus further distancing man from his habitat. glazewski (2000: 230) argues that the origin of planning can be traced to north africa, where the “… ancient egyptians used the familiar grid pattern to house workers on the pyramids in the third millennium bc”. when herodotus of halicarnassus visited giza in circa 450 bce, he was informed that it had taken 400.000 men 20 years to finish the pyramid of cheops. by contrast, “… the british archaeologist petrie estimated that 100.000 men would have sufficed” (york, 1997: 4). notwithstanding the difference in estimates, a laissez-faire approach to the built environment would have inhibited development. it could therefore be argued that specific regulations were introduced in order to manage the man-made environment, building works and associated processes. according to david (2003: 56-59), it was necessary to organise the sites that housed the royal workmen, craftsmen and labourers. often the sites “… were chosen because they were near to the worksite … even the proximity of a good water supply was not considered essential to these town sites, the requirements of isolation and security being greater” (david, 2003: 59). however, these built environment regulations mostly focused on the man-made, while negating the possible symbiotic relationship between architecture and nature. advances in medicine impacted on the built environment in terms of additional health requirements. descriptive examples can be found in, for instance, the roman system for sewerage removal and the aqueducts constructed for the provision of fresh water. population estimates indicate that at its peak rome had approximately one million inhabitants. according to cowan (1985: 68), “… the ad 300 census of rome listed 1.797 domus (houses) and 46.602 insulae (blocks of flats) …”. with the development of civilisation, man increasingly exerted his influence on the natural habitat, using its resources to support his endeavours. unfortunately, events of catastrophic proportions usually necessitated the refinement of the rudimentary requirements employed to provide order within the built environment. after the great fire of ad 64, emperor nero issued a decree limiting the height of buildings, acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 82 banning mid-walls between insulae, requiring accessible roofs for firefighting at porticoes, and restricting the use of timber. in addition, he cut straight wide roads through the burnt-out areas of the city to act as fire breaks and to provide access for firefighters (cowan, 1985: 68-70). in more recent history, the fire of london in 1666 is perhaps the most widely recognised such event (tricker & algar, 2006: xiii). in 1667 the british parliament passed the london building act, which restricted the use of timber, specified a minimum thickness for external walls, and banned inflammable roof coverings (cowan, 1985: 205, 209). the origin of building regulations in southern africa displays similar characteristics, and is discussed later in more detail. since the industrial revolution, development within the built environment has continued unabated with associated control measures being introduced. however, the relationship between architecture and nature has changed to one of master and servant. glazewski (2000: 11) states that “… virtually all environmental problems stem from the way we decide how to use and manage land”. he further elaborates on this by claiming that “… the form of tenure on specific land invariably has environmental consequences …” (glazewski, 2000: 11). 3. definitions of building regulations the dictionary of architecture and building construction (davies & jokiniemi, 2008: 52-53) does not differentiate between building codes and building regulations, and provides the following overall definition: a statutory code which regulates the construction, alteration, maintenance, repair, and demolition of buildings and structures. likewise, watermeyer (2003: 6) does not distinguish between the two terms, and defines a building code or regulation as follows: a document used by [a] local, state or national government body to control building practice through a set of statements of ‘acceptable’ minimum requirements of building performance. this is usually a legal document. acceptable requirements are typically established on the basis of sociopolitical and/or community considerations. the book entitled building regulations in brief (tricker & algar, 2006: [i]) provides the most concise description of a building regulation: a statutory instrument, which sets out the minimum requirements and performance standards for the design and construction of buildings, and extensions to buildings. laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 83 for the purposes of this article, a building regulation is acknowledged as: a regulating instrument, that• describes a minimum standard, that• should be implemented during the building process (that • initiates with design, and continues through construction, maintenance, alteration and repair to demolition of buildings and/or structures), with the aim of protecting public health and safety during• the construction, occupation and post-occupation phases of • buildings and/or structures.• 3.1 the relationship between building regulations and building standards in the construction industry, a building regulation often refers to a building standard, and it is important to note the distinction between the directive and the yardstick with which its implementation is measured. watermeyer (2003: 6) presents a standard as a benchmark, claiming that essentially it is “a series of technical documents that standardise … some activity in relation to building and construction)”. in the 2008-edition of the dictionary of architecture and building construction, davies & jokiniemi (2008: 360) do not specifically include the term ‘building standard’, but provide the following definition for a standard: “any product, method, process or procedure which has been established as an exemplar … or otherwise represents the norm”. a norm, on the other hand, is described as a “standard, an officially recognised exemplary standard of measurement, quality, regulative legislation or classification” (davies & jokiniemi, 2008: 251). a building standard could thus be defined as: an official technical point of reference, that• standardises building and construction activity,• o (generally) in terms of ‘quality’, or ‘performance,’ and o (occasionally) in terms of size, or procedure thus providing measurement criteria.• acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 84 according to the dictionary of architecture and building construction (davies & jokiniemi, 2008: 52) building codes of practice are described as: legal documentation setting out the requirements to protect public health and safety, and outlining standards of good practice with regard to the construction and occupation of buildings. 4. the origin of building regulations 4.1 the code of hammurabi watermeyer (2003: 25) claims that “… building standards have been in place since man was able to capture his thoughts in writing”. according to cowan (1985: 27), the oldest surviving building code can be traced back to the reign of king hammurabi in mesopotamia. hammurabi’s code of laws is inscribed on a basalt stele (figure 1) that is on display in the louvre. the code dates back to circa 1780 bce, and was originally translated by l.w. king in 1910 and edited by richard hooker in 1996 (hooker & king, 1999: online). figure 1: the 2 25 m high basalt stele erected by king hammurabi of babylon source: iselin 2011: online the first translator of the code, charles f. horne, argued in 1915 that hammurabi’s code implied the existence of an earlier set of laws (king & horne, 2006: online). this claim is corroborated by researchers at the louvre who maintain the source of the hammurabi code as “… two sumerian legal documents drawn up by ur-namma, king of ur (c. 2100 bc) and lipit-ishtar of isin (c. 1930 bc)” (iselin, 2011: online). nonetheless, the hammurabi code is considered “… laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 85 the most important legal compendium of the ancient near east” (king & horne, 2006: online), and it represents the earliest known example of a ruler proclaiming publicly to his people an entire body of laws. the code is grouped into different chapters that focus on family law, slavery, and professional, commercial, agricultural and administrative law (iselin, 2011: online). it was displayed publicly, and comprised 282 different codes of laws. cuneiform script was used, and stockdale (2005) notes its efficiency in “… the expansion of literacy, and subsequent governmental regulation and authority over an increasingly literate public”. six specific codes refer to the built environment. code 228 deals with payment after the completion of a successful building project, while the remaining five codes (229-233) list different manners of recourse, should a structure prove unsafe. it could be argued that this set of six official codes represents the origin of contemporary building regulations (table 1). it is noteworthy that the largest part of the code refers to a minimum standard – requiring the builder to guarantee the safety of the construction. these objectives remain relevant to this day, and echo the primary purpose of architecture; to safely house man and his possessions. table 1: a synopsis of hammurabi’s code of laws according to the various requirements, subsequent events and the relevant obligations or recourses hammurabi’s code of laws: no. requirement ► event + post-event = obligation or recourse objective 1: erection of the structure and its associated cost: 228 if a builder builds a house and ► the builder completes it + none = payment (fee/surface) objective 2: should a structure prove unsafe during its occupation the following recourses are available (it is presumed that the house was paid for in accordance with code 228): 229 if a builder builds a house and it is not properly constructed and it ► collapses (falls in) and + kills the owner then = death to the builder see 232.b that is implied although it might be difficult to achieve see 232.c that is implied although it might be difficult to achieve acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 86 no. requirement ► event + post-event = obligation or recourse 230 if a builder builds a house and it is not properly constructed and it ► collapses (falls in) and + kills the son of the owner then = death to the builder’s son see 232.b that is implied but not expressly stated see 232.c that is implied but not expressly stated 231 if a builder builds a house and it is not properly constructed and it ► collapses (falls in) and + kills a slave of the owner then = the builder has to pay slave for slave see 232.b that is implied but not expressly stated see 232.c that is implied but not expressly stated 232 if a builder builds a house and it is not properly constructed and it ► collapses (falls in) and + damages the owner’s goods then = the builder has to compensate the owner for the ruined goods and re-build the house at his own cost (own means) 233 if a builder builds a house and it is not properly constructed and the ► walls fail (seem toppling) + none = the builder has to re-build the walls at his own cost (own means) source: adapted from hooker & king 1999: online the hammurabian codes focus on the relationship between owner and builder, while the interests of a larger settlement (and by implication the interests of the neighbours) are not explicitly addressed. it could be argued that the stratification of society according to class and community structure implied settlement patterns and associated rules of engagement. however, as the number of inhabitants in a particular settlement increased, it inevitably led to an increased number of risks. 4.2 the growth of settlements klitzke (1959: 173) states that “… ever since man began to use fire as his servant, he discovered … that it frequently could not be controlled. when man congregated in cities, the servant turned master even more often”. watermeyer (2007: 26) supports this point of view, and argues that settlement growth brought “… the scourge of fire and health risks associated with poor sanitation”. larger communities therefore necessitated a form of orderly settlement planning through regulation. laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 87 arguably the best known assimilation of these regulations could be found during the reign of the roman empire. the encyclopaedic dictionary of roman law provides the following definition for the construction of a house (berger, 1991: 353): aedificatio: building a house. the construction of houses is governed by building regulations (statutes, senastusconsulta, imperial enactments) and is subject to the supervision of magistrates (aediles, censores for public buildings, under the empire the praefectus urbi and his staff). among the imperial enactments the building regulation by emperor zeno is the most important. the interests of the neighbors are protected by operis novi nuntlatio, a kind of protestation against a new construction which may be detrimental to the owners of adjacent buildings or lands. on the other hand, the house builder who gives sufficient guaranty is protected by a special interdict no vis fiat aedificanti (= that force should not be used against the builder of a house) against disturbance. unless special permission is granted, building on public places is prohibited. demolition of constructions already erected may be enforced by an interdictum de locis publicis. from the above it is evident that the roman empire introduced a hierarchical structure to govern the construction of buildings within the empire. emphasis was placed on a larger environment, with specific rights and obligations assigned to neighbouring properties. in addition, the construction process was supervised by a governing authority. similar laws that fall within the ambit of building regulations in the encyclopaedic dictionary of roman law are: ambitus:• describes the open space between neighbouring houses (berger, 1991: 360). lex municipalis tarentina:• a municipal charter that contains provisions about the building regulations, among others (berger, 1991: 557). lex iulia de modo aedificiorum:• a building regulation that determines the maximum height of houses and the thickness of walls (berger, 1991: 554). lex iula municipalis:• although caesar’s authorship and the date of the law are debatable, some of the topics dealt with in the tabula heracleensis are building and traffic regulations (berger, 1991: 554). servitus altius non tollendi (sc. aedes):• this “urban servitude imposed on the owner of a building the duty not to build higher over a certain limit. a counterpart was a servitude ius acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 88 altius tollendi which gave the beneficiary the right to build higher” (berger, 1991: 703). servitus ne prospectui officiator: • according to this servitude, the owner of an immovable property has the “right to prevent his neighbour from building a house or planting trees which might impede the beneficiary’s pleasant view” (berger, 1991: 703). servitus oneris ferendi:• this urban servitude involves the right of a beneficiary to have his building supported by a neighbour’s wall. “the latter was bound to keep his wall in good condition” (berger, 1991: 703). cowan (1979: 90) finds that fire damage and structural failure have featured in safety regulations from a very early time, and specific building regulations in this regard in the city of london go back as far as the 12th century. 5. the origin of building regulations in southern africa in 1650 the united east india company decided to occupy the cape of good hope as a refreshment station, and tasked governor jan van riebeeck to build a fort in table bay (figure 2). just over two weeks after arriving in 1652, van riebeeck (and his party) managed to mount a canon on 3.75 metre-high earthen ramparts. these walls tapered from six metres at ground level to five metres at their highest point (hartdegen, 1988: 6-7). laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 89 figure 2: map of the fort erected under the guidance of jan van riebeeck source: castle of good hope 2010: online unfortunately, the earth was barely workable and because the “company instruction did not specify alternative solutions … the ramparts were a leaky crumbly structure[s]” (hartdegen, 1988: 7). the imminent failure of the walls required immediate maintenance. ras (1959: 23) notes that heavy rain caused the collapse of one side of the walvis bastion and the partial collapse of the curtain walls in august 1654. the company instruction above is most probably the first prescriptive specification implemented in southern africa. however, the failure of the ramparts of the fort could also be described as the first failure of a prescriptive standard imposed on the south african built environment. according to the publication our building heritage (hartdegen, 1988: 7), “… much of south africa’s building heritage rests on a building system derived almost exclusively from mud, stone, shells, reed, thatch and timber, developed and refined by the european pioneers of the seventeenth century”. hartdegen (1988: 7) also describes the experimentation with various building methods and acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 90 materials by a hundred men (including eight masons) to construct stores, sheds and living quarters within the fort. in his diary, van riebeeck noted: “although we have found reeds for thatch, we want people who know how to lay them on, for what has already been done, has been done in such a slovenly and insufficient manner that it must be taken off again” (hartdegen, 1988: 9). the third volume of h.b. thom’s translation of van riebeeck’s diaries includes the following inscription entered on wednesday, 7 january 1660 (1952: 173): line no. …after mature deliberation, and in the interests of the hon. company and for the security of the said buildings and the goods stored in them, it has been considered essential, and has also been decided that the thatch should be removed from the roofs of all the company’s buildings and replaced by baked tiles. furthermore it has been decided that we should try and sell the thatch to the free burghers so as to defray the additional costs as far as possible. to this end an agreement has been reached with the free brick and tile maker, wouter cornelissen mostert, who is also the free miller, whereby he shall forthwith make as many tiles for the hon. company as are required for the said purpose at a rate of 40 guilders a thousand, counted whole on the roof, each tile being in rhineland measure, 6 inches wide and 12 inches long. the hon. company shall at its own cost convey the tiles by cart or wagon from the oven. and as straight laths must be sawn for such a tiled roof, an agreement has also been made with the free sawyer, leendert cornelissen of seevenhuijsen, to deliver laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 91 the required laths (each to be sawn not less than one inch square) at a rate of 13 guilders per hundred foot of plank from which they are cut. resolved and affirmed in the fort of good hope on the above date. (signed) jan van riebeecq, roeloff de man, abraham gabbema, pieter evrards and gijsbert van campen (secretary) if the earlier definition of building regulations is applied to the journal entry (table 2), this inscription could be interpreted as the first official transcribed building regulation for southern africa. table 2: a comparison of the diary entry by jan van riebeeck with the requirements of a building regulation the first building regulation in southern africa definition: building regulation selected keywords from the journal of jan van riebeeck: 7 january 1660 (thom, 1952: 173) line no: a) a regulating instrument that … in the interests of the hon. company … ii … considered essential … ii … resolved and affirmed … xviii b) describes a minimum standard that … decided that the thatch should be removed from the roofs … iv … and replaced by baked tiles … v c) should be implemented during the building process (that initiates with design and continues through construction maintenance alteration and repair to demolition of buildings and/ or structures) with the aim of it is implied that the changing of the roofing materials should take place during the alteration/replacement/maintenance phase of the buildings’ lifespan n/a d) protecting public health and safety during … security of the said buildings and the goods stored in them … ii-iii e) the construction occupation and postoccupation phases of see c f) buildings and/or structures. … all the company’s buildings … iv-v acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 92 the journal entry proposed a standard in addition to the regulation. when the regulation is further investigated it becomes evident that the specification for the roof tiles and battens follows a performance approach. an agreement is reached with a free burgher to manufacture as many baked tiles as necessary for the purpose of providing a fire-resistant roofing material. a price per 1.000 units (counted per whole tile on the roof) is agreed on, as well as the size of the tiles and the standard of measure (rhineland)1. in a similar agreement with carpenter seevenhuijsen, he is to provide laths that are cut in straight lengths of a minimum size. the rate of payment is determined per length of timber from which the battens are cut. it could be presumed that the company was responsible for the supply of the timber and the carpenter was only required to saw it to the correct size, while the actual batten lengths were of less importance. this building regulation was formulated in accordance with a contextual approach. the danger of fire necessitated the change of a particular roofing material, while cost dictated that an indigenous solution be sought. this regulation was only applicable to certain company buildings inside the fort, although the settlement continued to expand. outside the walls of the fort, in the village of de kaap, the first homes consisted of single-storey rectangular wooden frameworks with wattle-and-daub walls. where thatch was used as a roofing material, the reeded ceiling was usually smeared over with a coating of clay to form a “… brandzolder, or fire ceiling in the event of fire. in later years, thatched roofs were prohibited because of the fire hazard, and a tax of two shillings a month was levied on each chimney” (hartdegen, 1988: 11). it could be argued that the risk of fire necessitated the development of the first official building regulations for southern africa. in accordance with the arguments presented earlier (see par 4.2), the community and authorities shared an interest, and the introduction of a tax levy on each chimney is possibly the first time that building regulations in the european tradition were enforced locally. nevertheless, the associated cost of exchanging one roofing material for another remained excessively high, and it was only once the risk grew too great that alternatives were implemented. 1 to accept these terms mostert must have had adequate faith in the strength of the fired tiles their loading and transport from the oven to the buildings their possible storage and finally their installation on the roof because mostert’s involvement in the process after manufacture is not entirely clear. laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 93 de bosdari (1953: 47) indicates that in 1712 the thatched village of de kaap had grown to 170 private dwellings and this required a form of settlement planning, which is described by bierman (1955: 13) as follows: reeds vroeg in die bestaan van die dorpie in die tafelvallei gryp die owerheid in om sindelikheid en orde te bewaar. die valsrivier kry gemesselde walle en sluise en ’n deftige naam, die heerengracht; strate wat mekaar reghoekig oorkruis word uitgelê, en die boupersele weerskante raak aan streng bou-ordonnansies onderhewig. om brand in die rietdak te voorkom, mag die dak nie te na aan die grond sak nie; om brandverspreiding deur die rietdakke te verhoed, mag geboue nie teenmekaar staan nie. onder dié toestande raak die tradisionele boerehuise uit die tafelvallei weg – hy trek binneland toe – en sy plek word deur die stadshuis ingeneem, want korte jare na die stigting, is ,,de caabse uithoek” reeds ’n stad.2 according to bierman (1955: 34-35), traders in the kaap often built double-storey houses, with the bottom storey used to store products, and the living quarters situated above. frequent conflagrations resulted in the abandonment of thatch after the 1717 instruction by the council of policy (de bosdari, 1953: 47). within the built-up area, flat roofs were proposed as an alternative. however, the resulting problem of water tightness was difficult to overcome. the council of seventeen of the united east india company issued the following recommendation on how to construct a new flat roof (hartdegen, 1988: 11): the walls of the building being finished and the beams laid thereon, laths or ribs are to be laid upon them, each three or four inches, the broadest (sic) side resting on the beams. no planks are to be used; otherwise the defects of the roof will not be visible from below. over these ribs, grey or other burnt bricks which are made here, eight by four inches, are laid with the heads meeting each other on the laths. the floor having been thus laid, the builder is to take four parts of stamped lime shells taken out of the oven (kiln) and two parts 2 very early on in the existence of the table valley village the authorities stepped in to preserve cleanliness and order. the vals river received built embankments and sluices and a dignified name the heerengracht streets that intersected at right angles were laid out and the adjacent building sites became subject to strict building regulations. to prevent fire in the thatched roofs they were not to descend too close to the ground to prevent fire spreading through the thatched roofs buildings were not allowed to stand too close to each other. under these circumstances the traditional farmhouse of the table valley disappeared – it migrated inland – and its place was taken by the townhouse because a few short years after its establishment the remote cape hamlet had already become a town (translated by author 2011). acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 94 ordinary mason lime and two parts finely powdered bricks. all these materials are to be well mixed whilst dry, and gradually cocoa-nut oil is to be thrown until the whole is thoroughly prepared like dough. it is then at once to be laid on one and a half inches thick, and rubbed in with the trowel and steadily beaten together as much as possible with wooden mallets. the mallets are not to be too heavy and the beating must be gentle or moderate lest the bricks are broken. whilst busy with this, the second layer is to be prepared, viz, ten parts finely sifted lime, three parts finely sifted gravel of baked bricks and one part of bengal gor or sediment of sugar (draf zuker = molasses). this composition is to be treated in the same way as the first and to be put on when ready, about one inch thick, and carefully beaten down on the other layer. finally a liquid composed of lime, oil and gor is made with a strong hand and a smooth trowel well rubbed on the last coat. in 1736, five houses were gutted by a fire fanned by a southeaster. one of the houses was rebuilt with a flat roof, and “… many other people followed … [t]his example … at the beginning of the 18th century cape town was a thatched village: by the end of it, the fear of fire has changed it into a flat-roofed town” (de bosdari, 1953: 47). the establishment of a settlement and its associated growth necessitated the development of some form of regulation. the various municipalities performed this regulatory function and individually developed their own sets of municipal by-laws that addressed the built environment, among others. holden (2006: [1]) states that “… every town council in south africa had its own set of building by-laws, many of which were archaic and convoluted”. according to watermeyer (2007: 26), the 19th-century lawmakers developed building laws to ensure proper sanitation and to diminish possible conflagrations, while 20th-century lawmakers “developed minimum standards for the construction and maintenance of buildings, designed to protect public health, safety and general welfare”. 6. conclusion this article determines the origin of building regulations for southern africa by revisiting the diary of jan van riebeeck. unfortunately, the diary documents the first failure of a performance specification in southern africa. comparing the entry dated 7 january 1660 with a contemporary definition of a building regulation highlights the relevance of regulatory requirements in the built environment and alludes to the limited changes of these constraints over the years. laubscher • tracing the origins of the sa building regulations 95 references berger, a. 1991. encyclopedic dictionary of roman law (1953). philadelphia: american philosophical society. bierman, b.e. 1955. boukuns in suid-afrika: ‘n beknopte oorsig van ons boustyle en bouwyse. kaapstad: balkema. castle of good hope. 2010. castle of good hope [homepage of castle control board]. [online]. available from: <http://www. castleofgoodhope.co.za/images/image4.jpg> [accessed: 24 may 2010]. cowan, h.j. 1985. the master builders: a history of structural and environmental design form ancient egypt to the nineteenth century. new york: wiley. david, r. 2003. the pyramid builders of ancient egypt, a modern investigation of pharaoh’s workforce. london: routledge. davies, n. & jokiniemi, e., 2008. dictionary of architecture and building construction. 1st ed. oxford: architectural press. de bosdari, c. 1953. cape dutch houses and farms: their architecture and history together with a note on the role of cecil john rhodes in their preservation. cape town/amsterdam: aa balkema. glazewski, j. 2000. environmental law in south africa. 1st ed. durban: butterworths. hartdegen, p. (ed.). 1988. our building heritage: an illustrated history. johannesburg: ryll. holden, r.m. 2006 last update. building plans approval. 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(last update). hammurabi’s code [homepage of department of history, university of central florida], [online]. available from: <http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/d/267/ whm.html> [accessed: 24 may 2010]. tricker, r. & algar, r. 2006. building regulations in brief. 4th ed. amsterdam: elsevier bh. watermeyer, r.b. 2003. performance-based building regulations and their usage in south africa. civil engineering sivili enjeneereng, 11(2), pp. 6-8. watermeyer, r.b. 2007. promoting sustainable development in the construction industry through standardization. iso focus, pp. 25-28. york, d. 1997. in search of lost time. canada: crc press. 107 mulima phiri & john smallwood the impact of corruption on the malawian construction industry peer reviewed abstract the background of corruption dates back to 2000 years ago. corruption takes the form of bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, graft, and embezzlement. the main medium of corruption is poorly functioning institutions, with policies that undermine free trade and competition. the objectives of this article are as follows: first, to establish the impact of corruption regarding tender procurement; secondly, to evaluate corrupt practices which create dominance of particular contractors over others, and lastly, to examine corruption regarding the maintenance of the built environment. the survey was limited to community development projects based in and around the blantyre commercial district. the respondents were sampled for their knowledge, experience, education and expertise regarding community development projects. the findings indicate that all tender board officials are imminently enticed into corrupt practices relating to their respective positions held in the organisation; oligopolism is the main factor in the dominance of contractors over others in the malawian construction industry, and corruption leads to relatively lower fund allocation for the maintenance of the built environment. the article concludes that corruption does impact on the malawian construction industry in various ways. recommendations to limit corruption include the implementation of the following corruption-mitigating measures: break the taboo against discussing corruption; demonstrate how corruption occurs; mobilise key constituencies, and implement anti-corruption policies. keywords: corruption, bribery, tender, contractors abstrak die agtergrond van korrupsie dateer van 2000 jaar gelede. korrupsie kom voor in die vorm van omkopery, afpersing, bevoordeling, voortrekkery, nepotisme, knoeiery en verduistering. die hoofmedium van korrupsie is die swak funksionering van instellings, met beleide wat vrye handel (of bedryf) en kompetisie ondermyn. mr mulima anaclet phiri package project manager acc and turbine generator medupi power station 68 platkroon road onverwacht lephalale 0557 south africa. phone: +27 82 964 3282 email: <mulimaphiri@yahoo.com> prof. john julian smallwood head of department department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth south africa. phone: +27(0) 415042790 fax: +27(0) 415042345 email: <john.smallwood@nmmu. ac.za> phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 109 kenny (2007: 49) corroborates that the impact of corruption goes beyond bribe payments to poor quality of constructed infrastructure with low economic returns, and low funding for maintenance. in the malawi construction industry, corruption plays a major role in tender awards, in terms of bribery. guash (2005: 47) concurs that some contractors use bribery in order to be awarded contracts. these bribes may in fact be a percentage of the total contract sum, which is high relative to its profit margin. gulati & rao (2006: 132) argue that all forms of government are susceptible to corruption in the form of bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, graft, and embezzlement. soreide (2006: 172) refers to oligopolistic tendencies as an art of corruption, in which large firms connive with other firms to dominate a specific market, usually infrastructure projects. the main objective of this article is to present the impact of corruption with regard to the following: tender procurement; dominance of some contractors over others, and the maintenance of the built environment. 2. literature review 2.1 origins of corruption melnikov (2008: 2) elaborates, in the centre for international private enterprise (cipe), on the qualification of corrupt acts and broadly defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for personal gain. he (melnikov, 2008: 2) states that three specific conditions must apply for an act to be considered corrupt: the arm’s-length principle is violated the two• parties in a transaction display bias for working with each other that is inconsistent with impartial treatment; the bias or conflict of interest must be• intentional, and there must be some advantage for both parties to• commit this violation. this advantage need not be monetary in nature; it could involve favouritism or non-monetary gifts. according to broadman & recanatini (2000: 76), corruption is rooted in poorly functioning institutions, as well as in policies that undermine free trade and competition. the main parameters which drive corruption in the malawian construction industry are greed, power, selfish desires, and success (phiri, 2010: 1). acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 110 melnikov (2008: 2) reiterates broadman & recanatini’s (2000: 76) research findings that corruption has multiple roots, but can generally be attributed to the poor design of institutions. he (melnikov 2008: 2-3) analyses the roots of corruption; the stages in mitigating corruption, and the measures to combat corruption. studies by begovic (2005: 6) on mitigating corruption state that “the vested interest of corrupt politicians is unlikely to be abated by any study”. however, melnikov (2008: 5) lists essential mitigation measures as an ideal remedy. sullivan & shkolnikov (2004: 234) argue that there are two measures to combat corruption: the demand side measures (public sector) and the supply side measures (private sector). melnikov (2008: 6) concurs with sullivan & shkolnikov (2004: 234) and lists the demand side measures (public sector) which are likely to combat corruption. 2.2 corruption in tender award phiri (2010: 93) corroborates that the malawian construction industry has three commonly used forms of tender awards, namely clientnominated award; tender board award, and appointment by the project committee. these forms of tender awards are subject to corrupt practices, and their subsequent impact is now discussed. 2.2.1 tender manipulation relative to the malawian construction industry setting, opportunities to influence a tender by means of corruption are grouped into the following two categories: hidden violations of procurement rules – no flaws in the • procurement regulations are evident, and misuse of legitimate deviations from procurement procedures • – rules of exception and exemption are exploited (ng’ong’ola, mangisoni, wiyo & mzandu, 2001: 35). the malawian construction industry also displays two corruptionbased categories, which are particularly relevant in tender manipulation of infrastructure projects as contended in the business survey (transparency international, 2005: 26): diplomatic and political pressure, and• lack of whistle-blower reactions against corruption. • theoretically, the opportunities presented by the above four categories are present in all industries. several surveys conducted by transparency international indicate that infrastructure projects phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 111 are particularly prone to tender manipulation. transparency internationals’ bribe payers index is the result of a survey conducted in 14 emerging market economies (transparency international, 2005: 79). during the survey, 835 business people were asked about the propensity of companies from 21 leading exporting countries to offer bribes. the sector most prone to corruption was ‘construction/ public works.’ transparency international’s corruption barometer (transparency international, 2005: 81) and price waterhouse coopers’ global economic crime survey (price waterhouse coopers, 2005: 212) support these results, and find corruption to be relatively more common in infrastructure industries. it is important to formulate policies so that they do not exert pressure on firms to contravene laws and regulations in order to increase the competitiveness of their bid. bid documents and contracts can specify costs and obligations related to regulatory compliance in areas such as health and safety as well as building codes and standards. by inserting compliance obligations in bid documents and contracts, regulatory compliance moves from a burden on a competitive bid to a service to be paid for and monitored during implementation. ng,ong’ola et al. (2001: 47) state that: ensuring maximum competition in bidding should reduce the scope of collusion and therefore reduce prices. this involves not only ensuring competition within the process, but also rules banning direct negotiation with firms on the basis of unsolicited proposals and strict controls on renegotiation. knack & azfar (2003: 58) argue that: competitive bidding alone is clearly inadequate to ensure better outcomes. to support the bid design process, whatever the level of competition, there is a significant role for benchmarking prices to provide guidelines for output-based pricing and also to provide a ‘red flag’ for overbidding. 2.2.2 tender award methods and flaws 2.2.2.1 client-nominated tender award this form of tender award is ideal for selecting specialist subcontractors on a project. bloom et al. (2005: 42) explain this method of tender award as “when the client has the technical ability and knowhow of the project deliverables, he may nominate a specialist contractor to carry out the works as specified.” the flaws in this method are that: acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 112 clients may take prejudiced decisions – with regard to • state contracts, the clients representatives’ chances of manipulating decisions regarding award of contracts may easily be influenced by corrupt encounters; clients may repeatedly nominate a particular contractor • based on previous experience on similar projects undertaken for them – the failure to justify corrupt endeavours leading to the monotonous use of a particular contractor, and clients attain all decision-making powers – there are relatively • fewer individuals to bribe in order to influence the tender awards decision as compared to tender board appointments or project committee appointments. irrespective of the form of tender award, the client has the final say regarding project award. in client-nominated tender awards, there is no other party to justify the selection. prejudice is a common phenomenon in client-nominated projects. continuous selection of a specific contractor creates dominance in the industry. however, competitiveness in the nomination process may realise balance. emerging contractors need to be competitive and should be afforded the opportunity to gain experience (bloom et al., 2005: 45). the prerogative to award a project rests with the client. although the vested authority is paramount to the indispensability of the client, power may be used or abused according to the vested interest of the client. 2.2.2.2 tender board award the tender evaluation board is a tool that produces desired results in appointing main contractors on projects. in a brief summary, the tender evaluation and assessment undergoes criteria, weighting, and tender submissions which are issued to the tender board evaluation members (tbe), prior to the meeting, to allow for individual evaluations to be conducted. the tenderers comlete the score cards and the tender board members undertake the assessment. ng’ong’ola et al. (2001: 31) list the following as the main areas of score card assessment: bill of quantities (boq) tendered amount;• current capacity, capability and past performance;• occupation health and safety (oh&s) management • systems; phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 113 task appreciation and methodology, and• environmental requirements.• the tbes finally meet and agree on the scores relative to the assessed score cards; a contractor is then selected and appointed relative to the score card outcome. if the score card is designed with an opinionated affiliation, then the variation of the scores by the tbes will be high; and the joint evaluation will be biased towards the most influential members (knack & azfar, 2003: 52). health and safety (h&s) management has recently been incorporated into bid documents. levitt & samelson (1993), cited in smallwood & haupt (2009), advocate that h&s should be included as a criterion for contractors and subcontractors to pre-qualify to bid on projects. they state that experience indicates that pre-qualifying and/or selecting contractors and subcontractors, in part or on their expected h&s performance, will help to decrease accidents. 2.2.2.3 appointment by the project committee knack & azfar (2003: 58) argue that the project committee appointments are favourable for selected subcontractors who eventually conduct works under the jurisdiction of the main contractor. this also constitutes smaller bid sums relative to the main contractor’s contract price. the project committee consists of representatives from the client, main contractor and the project managers. the performance of the selected contractor is the responsibility of the main contractor; his payments and bond are at the onus of the main contractor. 2.3 corruption and market dominance 2.3.1 oligopolism oligopolistic competition may elicit a wide range of different outcomes. in some situations, the firms may employ restrictive trade practices, for instance collusion, and market sharing, to raise prices and restrict production in much the same way as a monopoly. in a cartel there is a formal agreement for such collusion. a primary example of such a cartel is the organisation of petroleum exporting countries (opec) which has a profound influence on the international price of oil (hammes & wills, 2005: 504). acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 114 firms often collude in an attempt to stabilise unstable markets in order to reduce the risks inherent in these markets for investment and product development. there are legal restrictions on such collusion in most countries. a formal agreement for collusion to take place is not necessary. for instance, in some industries, there may be an acknowledged market leader which informally sets prices to which other producers respond, known as price leadership (soreide, 2006: 173). 2.3.2 bribery the construction industry in malawi is ranked as one of the most corrupt industries (figure 2). figure 2: comparison of bribery in construction in selected countries source: business enterprise and environment project surveys (beeps) (2004: 6) large bribes are made to gain or alter contracts and circumvent regulations. kenny (2007: 49) corroborates that the impact of corruption goes beyond bung payments to poor quality of constructed infrastructure with low economic returns, and low funding for maintenance. corruption plays a major role in the awarding of contracts in terms of bribery. guash (2005: 47) concurs that some contractors use bribery in order to be awarded contracts. these bribes may in fact be a percentage of the total contract sum, which is higher accordingly. moon (2002: 29) agrees that corruption poses a serious development threat. in the political realm, it undermines 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 70 bribe for construction permit bribes to labour inspector bribes for operating licence so ut h a fri ca el s al va do r h on d ur a s le so th o in d o ne sia u g a n d a se n e g a l m a la w i m a li eg yp t v ie tn a m n ig e r be ni n le b a no n c a m e ro o n in d ia phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 115 democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking. in an approach based on transparency international business principles, it was agreed among piping companies in colombia’s water sector to reduce bribery. this resulted in significantly lower bid award prices for projects, with equality among the participating companies (lee & larnemark, 2007: 49). oed (2006: 278) cited by soreide (2006: 167) confirm the following examples of scandals in infrastructure procurement, including: the lesotho highlands water project, where the project’s • chief executive was found guilty of receiving bribes from multinationals to secure contracts, and the telecom case in haiti, where the president allegedly • received kickbacks from us telecom companies to provide them with benefits on infrastructure contracts. corruption can have a particularly invasive effect if it skews incentives such that the impact of corrupt payments is felt far beyond the project itself. it appears that corruption is a factor behind the pressure to overspend on new construction rather than to maintain existing infrastructure (kenny, 2007: 16). considering the competitive nature of the sector, there is little justification for state ownership of construction firms, and removing the government as an owner will also help to simplify the political economy of contract award and, in particular, monitoring for quality. what is known about corruption in the construction sector in eastern europe and central asia suggests that a private sectordominated industry may be less prone to corruption. evidence from beeps’ (2004: 7) surveys suggests that state-owned firms are more likely to bung for government contracts and licenses. 2.4 quality and maintenance of structures bloom, chilowa, chirwa, lucas, mvula, schou & tsoka (2005: 28) reiterate datta’s (2000: 355) view that in the malawian setting of district-based community development, masaf was designed to disburse usd 56 million over a five-year period. unfortunately, due to the governments’ determination to accelerate implementation; the credit was fully committed to over a two-year period. a second loan was launched in 1998, and a third in 2002. the capital disbursed in all loan phases had no allocation for maintenance. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 116 maintenance of the structures was entrusted to the communities. however, communities have very little understanding of maintenance specifications and technical expertise relative to structures. the capital for maintenance was not structured due to the belief that the built environment was to cater for the community and the community was to be responsible for the misuse, and therefore also liable for the maintenance. a study conducted by ng’ong’ola et al. (2001, and cited by bloom et al., 2005: 28) relating to the maintenance of classroom blocks, boreholes and bridges constructed under masaf reported that the majority of the communities were aware that they had to maintain the assets. some formed maintenance committees and maintenance funds and requested training for their committees. however, they expected government to help with major repairs. there was uncertainty in the role of relevant ministry departments in financing and carrying out repairs. the general impression was that maintenance issues had not been resolved. 3. research methodology 3.1 sample stratum the sample stratum consisted of three stakeholders in the form of 14 contractors, 13 tender board officials, and 9 consulting engineers. a total of 36 respondents were included in the sample stratum; 23 responses were received and included in the analysis of the data, which equates to a response rate of 63.9%. the 23 responses received included: 10 from contractors;• 8 from tender board officials, and• 5 from consulting engineers.• 3.2 case study the projects referred to regarding this research were all communitybased development projects. knowledge, experience and expertise from community-based development project officials provided the background of the study. phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 117 3.3 admissibility of the data the data was collected from individuals, who either: had been in the community based development industry for • not less than 5 years; had a tertiary diploma/degree with respect to their field of • work, or had strong knowledge and expertise in their field of work.• 4. results and findings a number of questions in the questionnaire entailed responses to a five-point likert scale. the differences between the lower and upper ends of the five-point continuum are: 1 – very rarely; 2 – rarely; 3 – sometimes; 4 – often, and 5 – very often. however, the extent of ranges was determined by dividing the number of continuums, which is 4.00, by the 5 relative points. therefore the ranges between the relative points equates to 0.80. the mean score (ms) was calculated for all data and the value was compared to suit the relative range. the ranges relative to the ms are defined as follows: > 4.20 ≤ 5.00 (often to very often/very often); > 3.40 ≤ 4.20 (sometimes to often/often); > 2.60 ≤ 3.40 (rarely to sometimes/sometimes); > 1.80 ≤ 2.60 (very rarely to rarely/rarely), and > 1.00 ≤ 1.80 (very rarely to rarely). 4.1 likelihood of corrupt activities relative to contractor registration the questionnaire survey explored the probability of corrupt activities with regard to contractor registration relative to national construction industry council (ncic) functions. the functions include ncic officers, ncic inspectors, ncic management, registration referees, and ncic board members. the responses to the likelihood of corrupt activities relative to the registration of contractors are summarised in table 1. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 118 table 1: likelihood of bribery of ncic functions activity response (%) ms rank unsure very rarely.…………..very often 1 2 3 4 5 bribing the ncic officers 4.3 12.0 16.3 4.3 35.9 31.5 3.59 1 bribing the inspectors 12.0 10.9 20.6 12.0 33.7 22.8 3.37 2 bribing the ncic management 7.6 27.2 37.0 7.6 19.5 8.7 2.46 3 bribing the referees 2.2 45.6 22.8 2.2 19.6 9.8 2.25 4 bribing the ncic board 10.9 51.1 28.2 10.9 7.6 2.2 1.82 5 the responses indicate that there is a likelihood of bribery relative to all functions. however, mss > 3.00 indicate that the likelihood is often, as opposed to rarely in the case of mss ≤ 3.00. a ms of 1.82, which is > 1.80 ≤ 2.60 (very rarely to rarely/rarely), indicates that ncic board members (1.82) are the least likely individuals to be bunged, followed by referees (2.25) who arbitrate the registration of companies, and then the ncic management (2.46). a ms of 3.59, which is > 3.40 ≤ 4.20 (sometimes to often/often), indicates that the most likely individuals to be susceptible to bribery are the ncic officers, followed by the inspectors involved in the registration of contractors. 64.2% (27.2%+37.0%) of the 92 respondents indicated that ncic managers are very rarely and rarely susceptible to bribery. it can be deduced relative to bung-related findings that ncic officers and the inspectors are the two most likely functions to be bunged. ncic officers and inspectors have a similar entrance qualification grade, which is at technician band level. the salary range of this band is not as competitive; thus the likelihood of bung victimisation. the board members and ncic managers have the same minimum grade of qualification and professional registration status. this criterion enhances the construction etiquette and work ethics among this band of employees; thus making them a lower potential target for bribery. phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 119 4.2 likelihood of individuals being reprimanded the questionnaire survey investigated the likelihood of reprimand to be imposed on registration officers, inspectors, managers, and board members. this enquiry also reiterates the point that for an individual to be reprimanded a corrupt activity should have occurred. this confirms the fact that corruption does exist in the ncic department. in addition, this enquiry provides insight regarding the higher risk individuals into corruption in this department of the malawian construction industry. the responses to the frequency at which individuals are reprimanded or disciplined on grounds of corruption are presented in table 2. table 2: frequency of functions being reprimanded function response (%) ms rank unsure very rarely……..……..very often 1 2 3 4 5 registration officer 1.1 9.8 21.7 1.1 31 5 35.9 3.62 2 inspector 3.2 8.7 18.5 3.2 25 0 44.6 3.78 1 manager 1.1 40.2 30.4 1.1 18 5 9.8 2.27 3 board member 0.0 53.3 33.7 0.0 8.7 4.3 1.77 4 a ms of 3.78, which is > 3.40 ≤ 4.20 (sometimes to often/often), confirms that inspector is the most reprimanded function on the grounds of corruption, followed by registration officer, with a ms within the range > 3.40 ≤ 4.20: between sometimes to often/often. 69.6% (25%+44.6%) of the 92 respondents indicated that the most reprimanded function was inspector, followed closely by 67.4% (31.5%+35.9%) relative to registration officer. conversely, the results deduced that the least reprimanded function is board member, with a ms of 1.77, which is > 1.00 ≤ 1.80 (very rarely to rarely); superseded by managers (2.27). 87% (53.3%+33.7%) of the respondents indicated that board member is the least reprimanded function, while 70.6% (40.2%+30.4%) indicated that manager is the least reprimanded function. the results indicate that there is more emphasis on the pointer to the least reprimanded than there is for the most reprimanded. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 120 the statistics relative to board members and managers are influenced by the power and authority vested in them over the fear by subordinates of victimisation. senior employees are disciplined and reprimanded in confidence while middle management and technicians are reprimanded more openly. there is therefore more publicity regarding a junior being reprimanded than a senior being reprimanded. the results confirm the previous results, namely that the most likely bribery source is the most reprimanded, and conversely, the most unlikely bribery source is the least reprimanded. the results confirm that the arm of the law does extend to senior employees who possess power and influence, thereby acknowledging that governance on corruption mitigation is applied to all. 3.2% of the respondents were unsure; the question concerned the frequency at which inspectors are reprimanded on the grounds of corruption. a similar version of the question was presented in table 2, which attracted 12.0% of the response, indicating that respondents did not understand either the question or the function of the individual. in conclusion, the question was clear, but the understanding of the inspectors’ roles and responsibilities was not clear. 4.3 likelihood of contract award due to corrupt endeavours the objective of this section of the questionnaire was to determine the likelihood of corrupt endeavours influencing contract award relative to the different forms of project contracts in the malawian construction industry. the types of project contracts addressed include public project contract, parastatal project contract, private project contract, and grant-aided project contracts. the results of the likelihood of project contracts being award due to corrupt endeavours are presented in table 3. table 3: likelihood of contract award due to corrupt endeavours project type response (%) ms rank unsure very rarely……..……..very often 1 2 3 4 5 public 0.0 9.8 12.0 0.0 38.0 40.2 3.87 1 parastatal 3.3 16.3 22.8 3.3 31.5 26.1 3.28 2 private 16.3 22.9 31.5 16.3 14.1 15.2 2.67 3 grant-aided 2.2 33.6 45.6 2.2 10.9 7.6 2.10 4 phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 121 the findings indicate that 78.2% (38.0%+40.2%) of the 92 interviewees contended that public contract awards are influenced by corrupt endeavours, while 79.2% (33.6%+45.6%) of the sample stated that grant-aided project awards, with a ms of 2.13, which is > 1.80 ≤ 260 (rarely to neutral/rarely) are very rarely and rarely affected by corrupt endeavours. relative to parastatal project awards, 57.6% (31.5%+26.1%) of the respondents contended that corrupt activities often and very often influence contract awards, whereas 39.1% (16.3%+22.8%) of the respondents declared that parastatal projects are very rarely and rarely influenced by corrupt activities. 3.3% of the respondents were not sure what the question entailed, or lacked the knowledge regarding parastatal projects. 18.5% (10.9%+7.6%) of the respondents contended that corrupt activities influence contract awards on grant-aided projects. alternatively, the ms of 3.28, which is > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, indicates that the influence can be between rarely to sometimes/sometimes. 54.4% (22.9%+31.5%) of the respondents stated that private contract awards are very rarely and rarely influenced by corrupt activities, whereas 29.3% (14.1%+15.2%) responded that private contract awards are often and very often influenced by corrupt activities. the ms of 2.67, which is > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, indicates that the influence is between rarely to sometimes/sometimes. in essence, corrupt activities do occur in the awarding of contracts relative to the four project types. the difference lies in the extent to which it occurs. 4.4 efficiency of common corruption mitigation measures the responses clarified the efficiency of corruption mitigation measures on a five-point likert scale, the continuum spanning from 1 completely ineffective; 2 nearly ineffective; 3 neutral; 4 effective, and 5 very effective. the responses relative to the efficiency of common corruption mitigation measures are presented in table 4. table 4 indicates that 86.9% (52.2%+38.8%) of the 92 respondents identified dismissals as the most effective measure of mitigating corruption, with a ms > 3.40 ≤ 4.20 (neutral to effective/effective); whereas the least effective method of mitigating corruption was the publishing of names (2.00). acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 122 the second most effective corruption mitigating measure with a ms of 3.89, which is > 3.40 ≤ 4.20 (neutral to effective effective) as denoted from this survey was civil action, with 76.1% (42.4%+33.7%) of the sample noting that civil action is effective and very effective in mitigating corruption. thirdly, the ms of suspensions falls within the range > 3.40 ≤ 4.20: between neutral to effective/effective. table 4: degree of effectiveness of mitigation measures mitigation measure response (%) ms rank unsure completely ineffective….…..very effective 1 2 3 4 5 dismissals 2.1 2.2 8.7 2.1 52.2 34.8 4.09 1 civil action 3.3 0 20.6 3.3 42.4 33.7 3.89 2 suspensions 2.2 7.6 17.4 2.2 45.6 27.2 3.67 3 training 8.7 6.5 18.5 8.7 48.9 17.4 3.52 4 poster awareness 6.5 0.0 37.0 6.5 33.7 22.8 3.42 5 increase in salaries 1.1 22.8 28.3 1.1 27.2 20.6 2.95 6 publishing of names 0.0 42.4 30.4 0.0 19.5 7.6 2.00 7 finally, these results suggest that there is a degree of confidence with regard to measures used to mitigating corruption. 5. conclusion corruption is relatively rampant in the malawian construction industry. mitigation measures, as listed in melnikov (2008: 4) relative to the ncic, confirm the results that reprimanding of corrupt individuals does occur, and that measures to combat corrupt activities are in place, but their implementation is questionable. tender award is the epitome of corruption in the malawian construction industry. as indicated in the results, tender board members are crucial in making or breaking a contractor in terms of contract award. the findings in the literature review concur that corruption plays a major role in the awarding of contracts in terms of bribery. guash (2005: 47) reiterates that some contractors use bribery in order to be awarded contracts. the bribes may in fact be a percentage of the total contract sum, which is on higher accordingly. in the review of related literature, phiri & smallwood • the impact of corruption 123 however, moon (2002: 29) agrees that corruption poses a serious threat to development. in the political realm, corruption undermines democracy and good governance by flouting, or even subverting formal processes. corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking. the research indicates that all active personnel in tender awards have experienced relative pressure to indulge in corrupt practices. regarding dominance of certain contractors over others, the research findings indicate that contracts are more likely to be awarded to contractors who bribe and influence contract decisions due to corrupt practices. one form of this corrupt practice in the malawian construction industry is oligopolism. firms often collude in an attempt to stabilise unstable markets, in order to reduce the risks inherent in these markets for investment and product development. although there are legal restrictions relative to such collusion in most countries, a formal agreement is not necessary for collusion to take place (soreide, 2006: 173). finally, regarding maintenance of structures, a study conducted by ng’ong’ola et al. (2001, and cited by bloom et al., 2004: 28), relating to the maintenance of classroom blocks, boreholes and bridges constructed under masaf, reported that the majority of the communities were aware that they had to maintain the assets. some formed maintenance committees, established maintenance funds, and requested training for their committees. however, they expected government to help with major repairs. there was uncertainty as to the role of the relevant ministry departments financing and carrying out repairs. the general impression was that maintenance issues had not been resolved. in conclusion, this article presented the adverse effects and impact of corruption in the malawian construction industry with regard to tender procurement, dominance of certain contractors over others, and below par quality, and the maintenance of the built environment. references begovic, b. 2005. corruption: concepts, types, causes, and consequences. 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[online]. available from: <http://www. transparency.org> [accessed: 10 november 2008]. 1 fidelis emuze & john smallwood infrastructure project performance in the south african construction sector: perceptions from two provinces peer reviewed abstract in recent times, project performance improvement, especially in developing countries, has captured the interest of a number of construction management researchers, as indicated in notable journals and conferences in the domain. the quest for excellence, waste elimination, and value creation underpins such research endeavours that encompass the interest of clients, consultants, and contractors so that cost overruns, low productivity, and poor quality can be reduced in the industry. the driving force behind this discourse is the need to examine management strategies that could engender performance improvement in infrastructure construction from the south african perspective. the survey was conducted among general contractor (gc) members of the south african federation of civil engineering contractors (safcec), consulting engineer members of consulting engineers south africa (cesa), and selected public sector clients. using inferential statistics such as cronbach’s alpha, t test and cohen’s d effect size measures for data analysis led to a range of findings. such findings show that inadequate coordination between project partners may indeed result in high levels of defects, rework, and non-conformances in construction; poor interface between multidisciplinary designers could lead to delays in projects, and inefficient and unstable logistics management may, in fact, lead to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management. in essence, it can be argued that being quality focused, managing construction logistics optimally and making sure that consultants who are working on a project are collaborating effectively offers significant scope for performance improvement in the construction of infrastructure projects in south africa. keywords: construction, infrastructure, project performance, south africa dr fidelis emuze, senior lecturer, school of civil engineering & built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3648, fax: +27 51 507 3254, email: <femuze@cut.ac.za> prof. john smallwood, head of department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790, fax: +27 41 504 2345, email: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> navorsingsartikels • research articles acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 2 abstrak deesdae, stel ‘n hele aantal konstruksiebestuurnavorsers belang in projekbestuurverbetering veral in ontwikkelende lande soos aangedui in noemenswaardige tydskrifte en konferensies in hierdie domein. die soeke na uitnemendheid, afvaleliminaise, en die skep van waarde vorm die grondslag van sodanige pogings sodat kosteoorskryding, lae produktiwiteit en swak gehalte in die bedryf verminder kan word. die dryfkrag agter hierdie diskoers is die behoefte om bestuursstrategieë wat prestasieverbetering in infrastruktuurkonstruksie kweek vanuit ‘n suid-afrikaanse perspektief te ondersoek. die opname is gedoen onder algemene kontrakteur (gc) lede van die suid-afrikaanse federasie van siviele ingenieurskontrakteurs (safcec), raadgewende ingenieurslede van raadgewende ingenieurs suid-afrika (cesa), en geselekteerde openbare sektor-kliënte. die gebruik van inferensiële statistiek soos cronbach se alfa-, t-toets en cohen se d effekgrootte vir data-analise, het gelei tot die bevindinge. sodanige bevindinge toon dat onvoldoende koördinasie tussen die projekvennote kan lei tot hoë vlakke van defekte, take oordoen, en nieooreenkoms in konstruksie; swak interaksie tussen multidissiplinêre ontwerpers kan lei tot vertragings in die projekte, en ondoeltreffend en onstabiel logistieke bestuur kan eintlik lei tot lukraak verwerking van bestellings, die berging van materiale, en swak voorraadbestuur. in wese kan daar aangevoer word dat om gefokus te wees op kwaliteit, konstruksie-logistieke optimaal te bestuur, en seker te maak dat konsultante wat aan ‘n projek werk effektief saamwerk, bied ‘n merkwaardige omvang vir die verbetering van prestasie in die bou van infrakstruktuurprojekte in suid-afrika. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, infrastruktuur, projekprestasie, suid-afrika 1. introduction it is widely recognised that time and cost overruns plague projects in the construction industry so much so that strategies for improving performance have been propagated. for example, love, edwards & irani (2008: 244) proposed a model that encourages firms to embrace inter-organisational collaboration and learning so that the menace of design-induced rework can be eliminated in projects. they contend that firms should re-examine their work practices and methods in order to reduce rework and improve project performance. rework and defects are not the only major issue in construction in terms of performance, as most construction industry indicators (cii) in south africa have recently called for drastic improvement relative to quality, client satisfaction, payment to contractors and profitability (emuze & smallwood, 2011a: 111). in particular, selected gcs in the eastern cape perceive that the extent and frequency of rework in south african construction can be considered to be average, while the top three causes of rework include unclear design information, poor supervision, and poor site management (emuze & smallwood, 2011b: 106). in fact, 3 it can be argued that, in south africa, performance-related issues do exist in construction. based on this observation, it was decided to seek remedies that could improve the situation. while a number of management interventions rooted in lean construction, supply chain management and system dynamics were explored in the empirical study, interventions rooted in general management formed the basis of this discourse. the research objectives include: • the assessment of performance improvement management strategies, and • the recommendation of robust ways in which these management strategies can be used in order to improve the construction of infrastructure projects in south africa. in an attempt to realise these objectives, eight hypotheses related to management strategies that are being propagated in the construction management research (cmr) domain were postulated (emuze, 2012: 11-13, 17-55). the hypotheses pertaining to this article include: 1. unacceptable coordination and regard for health and safety (h&s) upstream and downstream of the construction supply chain may indeed result in recurrent accidents, injuries, and ill-health on construction site. 2. inadequate coordination and integration of quality standard requirements within the supply chain may result in an unusually high level of defects, rework, and non-conformance relative to quality at construction project completion. 3. poor interface between multidisciplinary design advisors/ consultants leads to delay and rework relative to construction activities. 4. inefficient and unstable logistics management leads to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management. 2. management strategies in order to take effective management actions/decisions, actions should be analysed at both the strategic and operational levels, as effectiveness is mainly dependent on how well the strategic perspective and operational details of a project are not mismatched (pena-mora, han, lee & park, 2008: 701). in other words, a mismatch between strategic and operational analysis emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 4 is one of the major reasons for poor performance in construction (pena-mora et al., 2008: 701). based on this assumption, the study examined management strategies such as health and safety (h&s), quality management, collaboration among designers, and logistics management that entail perspectives in both the strategic and operational management of projects. 2.1 management of h&s the 2003 construction regulations provide a legislative platform for addressing h&s in south africa, and have implications for all stakeholders involved in construction. the philosophy behind the regulations is to inculcate optimum h&s practices among clients, consultants in the form of designers and project managers, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other stakeholders in the construction process. this implies that all the participants in a project undertaking are responsible for on-site and off-site construction h&s. therefore, the coordination, respect for, and implementation of h&s are significant elements of the construction process. however, the recently published construction h&s status report in south africa indicates, inter-alia, that (cidb, 2009: 9): • the fatality rate in the construction industry is approximately 20 per 100.000 workers, or approximately 150 fatalities per year, excluding construction-related motor vehicle accidents. • there is a high rate of non-compliance with the requirements of the construction regulations manifested in approximately 50% of construction sites found to be non-compliant during the august 2007 ‘construction blitz inspections’. • h&s in the construction industry in south africa lags significantly behind that in developed countries. • the construction industry currently has the third highest prevalence of hiv-positive workers, and the industry faces increasing lost workdays due to absenteeism and productivity decreases, coupled with skills shortages and increased costs of construction, due to rising overheads. • the cost of accidents (coa) is estimated to be approximately 5% of the value of construction costs, which ultimately are passed onto clients. • inadequate or lack of h&s negatively affects other project parameters such as productivity, quality, and cost. • the total coa exceeds the cost of h&s and, therefore, h&s is in essence a profit centre. 5 emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project the above findings from the cidb report attest to the suboptimal performance of construction h&s in south africa and underscore the persistent call for improvement. 2.2 management of quality the cidb report entitled construction quality in south africa: a client perspective revealed that public-sector clients are neutral or dissatisfied with the quality of construction on approximately 20% of all projects. approximately 12% of the projects surveyed had levels of defects considered to be inappropriate (cidb, 2011: 1-7). the report noted that client dissatisfaction with the quality of completed works on approximately 2% of the projects surveyed in 2009 translates to dissatisfaction on completed work in the public sector to a value of approximately r3.5 billion per year. the report then postulated that the majority of those cases in which clients were not satisfied with construction quality could probably be attributed mainly to procurement-related barriers, including fraud and corruption in the appointment of contractors who were not capable of undertaking the required works (cidb, 2011: 32). it further postulates that the majority of those cases in which clients are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with construction quality could probably be attributed chiefly to designor construction-related barriers, or to barriers in the role of the client’s agent not ensuring quality. in terms of construction-related barriers to quality, the report indicates that key barriers to quality include poor site management; focus on time and cost; skills and competence issues; lack of quality improvement processes, and lack of worker participation in quality circles and quality improvement teams (cidb, 2011: 31). clearly, the report amplifies the argument that the achievement of optimum quality in south african construction is confronted with a range of barriers. 2.3 management of the interface between designers information that is classified as a key resource in the construction process gives supply chain members unique advantages in decisionmaking (ugwu, anumba & thorpe, 2005: 102). however, presently delays, rework, and errors occur, because most construction tasks and projects are not only geographically dispersed, but the exchange of information is also slow and unreliable. it is notable that, despite the advantages of information and communication technology (ict), the use of paper as a form of communication acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 6 is still the main medium of information transfer and sharing within the industry. this medium of communication exposes an organisation and the entire supply chain to errors, because it is extremely difficult for clients and contractors to obtain up-to-date information and virtually impossible to resolve processes such as requests for information (rfis) within the required time (sommerville & craig, 2006: 89). during times of uncertainty and crisis, previous research indicates that communication breakdown often occurs between project team members (emmitt & gorse, 2003: 10). therefore, it can be argued that communication breakdowns, which can either be minor or major, portend negative consequences for projects. 2.4 management of construction logistics in general, construction logistics can be divided into supply logistics and site logistics. supply logistics are related to cyclic activities in the production process such as the specification of supply resources such as materials, equipment, and labour, supply planning, acquisition of resources, transport to a site, and delivery and storage control. site logistics are related to the physical flow of on-site processes such as the management of handling systems, h&s equipment, site layout, defining activity sequence, and resolving conflicts among various production teams related to the on-site activities (jang, russell & yi, 2003: 1 134). the importance of construction logistics to project managers in the industry cannot be overemphasised. the work of jang et al. (2003: 1-141) demonstrates this importance, when they report that key construction material logistics factors such as personnel, material flow, schedule adherence, contractors’ organisations, and information flow have significant relationships between the construction logistics process and satisfaction of project managers. however, the situation in the south african construction industry relative to logistics and its management is in need of improvement. in particular, based upon multi-case study research conducted in cape town, shakantu, tookey, muya & bowen (2007: 437) point out that the logistics of building materials in terms of construction and demolition (c&d) waste are not integrated and that the movements for both material delivery and c&d waste are suboptimal. they contend that integration of incongruent logistics would not only provide scope for utilisation of spare capacity, but also improve logistics in the industry. emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 7 3. the research the descriptive survey method was employed to process the data obtained through observation. leedy & ormond (2005: 179) suggest that this type of research involves either identifying the characteristics of an observed phenomenon or exploring possible correlations among two or more phenomena. the survey was designed with closed-ended questions and one openended question so that respondents could identify performance impediments and their effects based on the literature reviewed, and offer general comments. the questions related to the previously mentioned hypotheses pertain to how the operations inherent in the physical transformation/conversion processes that occur on site can be improved. on-site processes in construction are often diligently managed in order to enhance performance concerning h&s, quality, logistics and so on. thus, it can be argued that the improvement of the operational dynamics, as opposed to the strategic project requirements of a construction undertaking, significantly motivated the questions that were compiled for the study. respondents were able to identify performance impediments, using a five-point scale: (1) minor extent; (2) near minor extent; (3) some extent; (4) near major extent; (5) major extent. in order to score the effects of the impediments, respondents were provided with a five-point scale: (1) totally disagree; (2) disagree; (3) neutral; (4) agree; (5) totally agree. in all instances in which the likertscale type question was used, an ‘unsure’ option was provided for the respondents. one hundred and fifty-four (154) clients, consultants and general contracting organisations that are active in the south african infrastructure sector constituted the sample size. the respondents were mainly sourced from the eastern and western cape provinces. after the survey period that spanned eleven weeks, only fifty-four (54) validly completed questionnaires were returned and included in the analysis of the data, which equates to a response rate of 35.1% (table 1). table 1: survey response rate respondent group sample size (no.) response (no.) response rate (%) public sector clients 42 11 26.2 members of safcec 56 15 26.8 members of cesa 56 28 50.0 total 154 54 35.1 acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 8 4. interpretation of the results inferential statistics related to the hypotheses include cronbach’s alpha internal reliability test, average inter-item correlation, and the test of means against a reference constant. cronbach’s alpha is used for combining items in likert-type scales that use each individual item to measure an observable fact that has an original quantitative measurement range (gliem & gliem, 2003: 82). although there is no lower limit to the coefficient, cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient normally ranges between 0.0 and 1.0 (gliem & gliem, 2003: 87). the closer cronbach’s alpha is to 1.0, the greater the internal consistency of the items in the scale, that is, the higher the alpha coefficient, the more reliable the test (yu, 2001: 3; gliem & gliem, 2003: 87). to be succinct, george & mallery (2003: 231) provide the following rules of thumb: > .9 excellent; > .8 good; > .7 acceptable; > .6 questionable; > .5 poor, and < .5 unacceptable for interpreting cronbach’s alpha coefficients. in addition, a statistical significance test only means that the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true is very small (less than 0.05), without providing information about the size and practical importance of the difference or relationship between variables despite the fact that cohen (1990, cited in lecroy & krysik, 2007: 243) argues that the main product of a research inquiry is one of measures of effect size as opposed to measures of p values. this realisation led to the inclusion of effect size measures in the analysis. lecroy & krysik (2007: 243) argue that measures of effect size provide vitally different information from alpha levels, as they address the practical importance of the results through the assessment of the size of the effect. in other words, one reason to use effect size measures is that they provide a platform whereby the practical importance of research findings can be considered apart from the statistical significance (lecroy & krysik, 2007: 243; meline & wang, 2004: 204). therefore, reliability tables and test of means against a reference constant table are provided to support the test of each hypothesis in this study. although there are other effect size measures, the cohen’s d was used. according to lecroy & krysik (2007: 245) and meline & wang (2004: 205), cohen’s d is the most prevalent method used for reporting effect sizes and interpreting their value range between small effect size (≤ 0.35), medium effect size (≤ 0.65), and large effect size (> 0.65). in brief, in terms of this particular study: the null hypothesis is h0: p = 3, and the alternative hypothesis is h1: p > 3. emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 9 5. the results 5.1 hypothesis 1 table 2 shows that the individual mean scores of the variables relative to unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s can be safely combined into a single mean with an excellent internal reliability of 0.91, and the variables can also be deemed to be properly correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.68. table 2: reliability for unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s (q6) practices valid n ms std. dv. rank inadequate knowledge relative to nature of work 51 3.76 1.1 1 h&s competence of project participants 52 3.60 1.2 2 collective organisation values relative to h&s 49 3.43 1.3 3 h&s management procedures/systems 52 3.35 1.4 4 poor comprehension of project characteristics 49 3.27 1.2 5 cronbach’s alpha: 0.91 average inter-item correlation: 0.68 table 3 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to the effect of unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s can be safely combined into a single mean with an excellent internal reliability of 0.93, and the variables can also be deemed to be properly correlated with average inter-tem correlation of 0.76. table 3: reliability for effect of unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s (q7) situations valid n ms std. dv. rank ineffective h&s monitoring and inspection 52 3.40 1.4 1 poor status of h&s within the construction process 52 3.27 1.5 2 work stoppages, injuries, and fatalities 52 3.23 1.5 3 lack of project-specific h&s specification 52 3.13 1.3 4 lack of project-specific h&s plan 52 3.10 1.3 5 cronbach’s alpha: 0.93 average inter-item correlation: 0.76 acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 10 therefore, based on the statistics in table 4, it can be assumed that for hypothesis 1: • in terms of q6, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted, and • in terms of q7, the mean is not significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 cannot be deemed rejected, and h1 cannot be deemed accepted. it is equally notable that, while the results for q6 have medium effect size measures with cohen’s d value of 0.48, the results for q7 have small effect size measures with cohen’s d value of 0.19. in other words, the results relative to hypothesis 1 are of medium and small practical importance. specifically, results for q6 indicate that it is statistically significant and practically important, while those for q7 indicate that it is statistically non-significant and of little practical importance. therefore, in practical terms: h0 = unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s upstream and downstream of the construction supply chain does not result in recurrent accidents, injuries, and ill-health on construction site. h1 = unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s upstream and downstream of the construction supply chain may indeed result in recurrent accidents, injuries, and ill-health on construction site. consequently, table 4 shows that unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s upstream and downstream of the construction supply chain may or may not result in recurrent accidents, injuries, and illhealth on construction sites. there may be other contributing factors to the occurrence of poor h&s on construction sites. nevertheless, q6 suggests that unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s upstream and downstream of the construction supply chain may indeed result in recurrent accidents, injuries, and accidents, while q7 can be deemed to suggest that the results are not conclusive. table 4: test of means against reference constant relative to hypothesis 1 question mean std. dv. number rc t-value df p-value cohen’s d q6_ave 3.49 1.02 52 3 3.46 51 0.00110 0.48 m q7_ave 3.23 1.23 53 3 1.37 52 0.17697 0.19 s emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 11 5.2 hypothesis 2 table 5 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to inadequate management of quality can be safely combined into a single mean with a good reliability of 0.84, and the variables can also be deemed to be properly correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.53. table 5: reliability for inadequate management of quality (q8) practices/situations valid n ms std. dv. rank poor work procedures/methods 54 3.89 1.1 1 poor understanding of quality 54 3.85 1.3 2 poor project specifications 54 3.65 1.3 3 poor exchange of project information 54 3.52 1.2 4 poor project cost and schedule data 53 3.42 1.2 5 cronbach’s alpha: 0.84 average inter-item correlation: 0.53 table 6 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to the effect of inadequate management of quality can be safely combined into a single mean with a good internal reliability of 0.89, and the variables can also be deemed to be properly correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.64. table 6: reliability for effect of inadequate management of quality (q9) situations valid n ms std. dv. rank defects and rework 54 4.06 1.1 1 increased project duration and cost 52 3.85 1.1 2 client dissatisfaction 53 3.83 1.3 3 high built asset maintenance cost 51 3.31 1.3 4 injuries and fatalities 53 2.89 1.2 5 cronbach’s alpha: 0.89 average inter-item correlation: 0.64 acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 12 therefore, based on the statistics in table 7, it can be assumed that for hypothesis 2: • in terms of q8, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted, and • in terms of q9, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted. it is equally notable that the results for q8 have large effect size with cohen’s d value of 0.73, while those for q9 have medium effect size measures with cohen’s d value of 0.60. in other words, the results relative to hypothesis 2 are of large and medium practical importance. thus, in practical terms: h0 = inadequate coordination and integration of quality standard requirements within the supply chain does not result in an unusually high level of defects, rework, and non-conformance relative to quality at construction project completion. h1 = inadequate coordination and integration of quality standard requirements within the supply chain may result in an unusually high level of defects, rework, and non-conformance relative to quality at construction project completion. consequently, table 7 shows that inadequate coordination and integration of quality standard requirements within the supply chain may indeed result in an unusually high level of defects, rework, and non-conformance relative to quality at construction project completion. table 7: test of means against reference constant relative to hypothesis 2 question mean std. dv. number rc t-value df p-value cohen’s d q8_ave 3.67 0.92 54 3 5.33 53 0.00000 0.73 l q9_ave 3.59 0.99 54 3 4.40 53 0.00005 0.60 m 5.3 hypothesis 3 table 8 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to poor multidisciplinary interface between consultants can be safely combined into a single mean with a questionable internal reliability emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 13 of 0.65, and the variables can also be deemed correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.28. table 8: reliability for poor multidisciplinary interface between consultants (q13) practices valid n ms std. dv. rank unequal design expertise 11 4.00 0.6 1 change in personnel during the project duration 13 3.77 0.7 2 behavioural tendencies within project teams 13 3.77 0.8 3 commitment to different project objectives 11 3.73 0.9 4 paper transmission of project information 12 3.33 1.0 5 cronbach’s alpha: 0.65 average inter-item correlation: 0.28 table 9 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to the effect of poor multidisciplinary interface between consultants can be safely combined into a single mean with a good internal reliability of 0.82, and the variables can also be deemed to be properly correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.54. table 9: reliability for effect of poor multidisciplinary interface between consultants (q14) practices valid n ms std. dv. rank delay and rework on site 13 4.38 0.8 1 unclear design and specification 13 4.38 0.8 2 extensive revisions of design 13 4.38 0.8 3 constant rfis from site management 12 4.17 0.8 4 costly design changes 12 4.08 1.0 5 cronbach’s alpha: 0.82 average inter-item correlation: 0.54 therefore, based on the statistics in table 10, it can be assumed that for hypothesis 3: • in terms of q13, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted, and • in terms of q14, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 14 it is equally notable that the results for q13 and q14 have large effect size measures with cohen’s d value of 1.41 and 2.14, respectively. in other words, the results relative to hypothesis 3 are of large practical importance. therefore, in practical terms: h0 = poor interface between multidisciplinary design advisors/ consultants does not lead to delay and rework relative to construction activities. h1 = poor interface between multidisciplinary design advisors/ consultants leads to delay and rework relative to construction activities. consequently, table 10 shows that poor interface between multidisciplinary design advisors/consultants leads to delay and rework relative to construction activities in south african construction. table 10: test of means against reference constant relative to hypothesis 3 question mean std. dv. number rc t-value df p-value cohen’s d q13_ave 3.72 0.51 13 3 5.08 12 0.00027 1.41 l q14_ave 4.28 0.60 13 3 7.72 12 0.00001 2.14 l 5.4 hypothesis 4 table 11 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to inadequate management of logistics can be safely combined into a single mean with an acceptable internal reliability of 0.77, and the variables can also be deemed correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.39. table 11: reliability for inadequate management of logistics (q15) practices valid n ms std. dv. rank lack of site management competence relative to logistics 13 4.46 0.8 1 lack of formal training relative to logistics 13 4.00 0.9 2 poor site material flow management 14 3.93 0.7 3 poor work schedule control 14 3.86 0.7 4 poor material supply, storage, and handling 14 3.50 0.8 5 poor infrastructure and equipment location 14 3.50 1.3 6 poor site layout 14 2.79 1.2 7 cronbach’s alpha: 0.77 average inter-item correlation: 0.39 emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 15 table 12 shows that the individual mss of the variables relative to the effect of inadequate management of logistics can be safely combined into a single mean with a good internal reliability of 0.83, and the variables can also be deemed correlated with average inter-item correlation of 0.42. table 12: reliability for effect of inadequate management of logistics (q16) situations valid n ms std. dv. rank poor quality and time management 14 4.43 0.6 1 added cost in the project 14 4.29 0.9 2 under-utilisation of construction vehicles 14 4.14 0.8 3 material loss due to defects and theft 14 4.07 0.9 4 high level of construction waste on site 14 4.07 1.1 5 added risks relative to h&s 14 3.64 1.1 6 poor image of the industry in terms of climate change 11 3.45 1.1 7 long material offloading time on site 14 3.29 1.2 8 cronbach’s alpha: 0.83 average inter-item correlation: 0.42 therefore, based on the statistics in table 13, it can be assumed that for hypothesis 4: • in terms of q15, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted, and • in terms of q16, the mean is significantly greater than the reference constant; hence, h0 can be deemed rejected, while h1 can be deemed accepted. it is notable that the results for q15 and q16 have large effect size measures with cohen’s d value of 1.10 and 1.51, respectively. in other words, the results relative to hypothesis 4 are of large practical importance. therefore, in practical terms: h0 = inefficient and unstable logistics management does not lead to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management. h1 = inefficient and unstable logistics management leads to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 16 as a result, table 13 shows that inefficient and unstable logistics management may, in fact, lead to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management. table 13: test of means against reference constant relative to hypothesis 6 question mean std. dv. number rc t-value df p-value cohen’s d q15_ave 3.69 0.63 14 3 4.10 13 0.00126 1.10 l q16_ave 3.99 0.66 14 3 5.64 13 0.00008 1.51 l 6. discussion and conclusions as indicated in table 4, the findings relative to hypothesis 1 are inconclusive. particularly, the findings indicate that unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s upstream and downstream of the construction supply chain may or may not necessarily result in recurrent accidents, injuries, and ill-health on sites, due to other contributing factors that were not considered in the study. however, practices such as inadequate knowledge relative to nature of work, h&s competence of project participants and collective organisational values relative to h&s contributing to unacceptable coordination and regard for h&s support the hypothesis. nevertheless, it is important to address h&s-related issues as h&s performance in south african construction can still be improved. in terms of hypothesis 2, the findings show that inadequate coordination and integration of quality standard requirements within the supply chain may indeed result in an unusually high level of defects, rework, and non-conformance relative to quality at construction project completion. this is supported by the results such as poor work procedures/methods; poor understanding of quality; poor project specifications; poor exchange of project information, and poor project cost and schedule data, which can be deemed to be practices contributing to inadequate management of quality in south african construction. based on these practices and other related factors, defects and rework, increased project duration and cost, and client dissatisfaction may eventuate. therefore, it is imperative to address the management of quality in south african construction. the results indicate that poor interface between multidisciplinary design advisors/consultants leads to delay and rework in construction. emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 17 the importance of hypothesis 3 cannot be overemphasised, as the construction management literature is inundated with publications linking design with the occurrence of rework in construction. the hypothesis is further supported by the findings presented in tables 8 and 9. in particular, practices such as disparity in design expertise, change in personnel during the project duration, behavioural tendencies within project teams, and commitment to different project objectives must be addressed. in addition, consequences of poor multidisciplinary interface between consultants such as delays and rework on site, unclear design and specification, extensive revisions of design, constant rfis from site management, and costly design changes strengthen the need to improve the interface between consultants involved in projects. findings emanating from the study indicate that logistics management-related issues could be problematic in south african construction. the statistical test relative to hypothesis 4 is not only significant, but its effect size can also be deemed large in terms of practical importance. in addition, practices such as lack of site management competence relative to logistics, lack of formal training relative to logistics, poor site material flow management, poor work schedule control, poor infrastructure and equipment location, and poor material supply, storage, and handling can be deemed to contribute to inadequate management of logistics in south african construction. in addition, consequences of inadequate management of logistics such as poor quality and time management, added cost in the project, under-utilisation of construction vehicles, material loss due to defects and theft, high level of construction waste on site, and added risks relative to h&s support the argument that inefficient and unstable logistics management may, in fact, lead to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management in construction. 7. recommendations with respect to h&s (hypothesis 1), although the hypothesis result can be deemed inconclusive, the findings in the literature suggest that efforts devoted to h&s improvement are not wasted (see cidb, 2009: 37-40). in particular, it is recommended that project stakeholders should collectively value h&s and regard a minor h&s oversight by any party as having the potential to lead to accidents, and even fatalities. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 18 findings relative to quality suggest that, in order to prevent defects, rework, increased project duration and cost, as well as client dissatisfaction from marginalising projects, it is important to address problematic areas such as poor work procedures/methods and poor understanding of quality in south african construction (hypothesis 2). it is thus recommended that project stakeholders should adopt principles of total quality management (tqm), and ensure that standard work procedures/methods are used in construction. in addition, it is important that all employees in an organisation should understand quality; that project specifications should be produced without mistakes, and that information exchange between project partners should be correct, adequate, timely and consistent. according to the results, it is imperative to address the poor interface between designers involved in the realisation of a project. the interface should be examined and improved upon so as to prevent delays and rework on construction sites, unclear design and specifications, extensive revisions of design, constant rfis emanating from site, and costly design changes. it is further suggested that consistent design expertise among designers, avoidance of changes in personnel during project execution, elimination of negative behavioural tendencies among project teams, and the alignment of project objectives offer improvement opportunities with respect to the interface between consultants (hypothesis 3). in addition, in order to halt the consequences of poor logistics management such as poor quality and time management, it is imperative to address a number of practices that perpetrate inadequate management of logistics in south africa. for instance, it is vital that site management should be competent in terms of logistics. they should undergo some form of logistics-related training so as to ensure adequate management of the flow of material on site (hypothesis 4). references list cidb (construction industry development board). 2009. construction health & safety in south africa: status & recommendations. pretoria: cidb. cidb (construction industry development board). 2011. construction quality in south africa: a client perspective. pretoria: cidb. emmitt, s. & gorse, c. 2003. construction communication. oxford: blackwell publishing. emuze & smallwood • infrastructure project 19 emuze, f.a. 2012. performance improvement in south african construction. unpublished ph.d. thesis. port elizabeth: nelson mandela metropolitan university, construction management. emuze, f.a. & smallwood, j.j. 2011a. construction industry development: a south african perspective. in: proceedings of the 2011 cib-w107-construction in developing countries international conference, 1-3 november, hanoi vietnam, pp. 109-113. emuze, f.a. & smallwood, j.j. 2011b. rework due to human error in south african construction. in: proceedings of the 2011 cib-w107construction in developing countries international conference, 1-3 november, hanoi vietnam, pp. 103-108. george, d. & mallery, p. 2003. spss for windows step by step: a simple guide and reference. 11.0 update (4th edition). boston: allyn and bacon. gliem, j.a. & gliem, r.r. 2003. calculating, interpreting, and reporting cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for likert-type scales. in: 21th annual midwest research-to-practice conference on adult, continuing, and community education, 8-10 october, columbus oh, pp. 82-88. jang, h., russell, j.s. & yi, j.s. 2003. a project manager’s level of satisfaction in construction logistics. canadian journal of civil engineering, 30, pp.1133-1142. lecroy, c.w. & krysik, j. 2007. understanding and interpreting effect size measures. social work research, 31(4), pp. 243-248. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th edition. new jersey: pearson prentice hall. love, p.e.d., edwards, d.j. & irani, z. 2008. forensic project management: an exploratory examination of the causal behaviour of design-induced rework. ieee transaction on engineering management, 55(2), pp. 234-247. meline, t. & wang, b. 2004. effect-size reporting practices in ajslp and other asha journals, 1999-2003. american journal of speechlanguage pathology, 13(3), pp. 202-207. pena-mora, f., han, s., lee, s. & park, m. 2008. strategic-operational construction management: hybrid system dynamics and discrete event approach. journal of construction engineering and management, 134(9), pp. 701-710. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 20 shakantu, w., tookey, j., muya, m. & bowen, p. 2007. beyond egan’s supply chain management: advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry. acta structilia, 14(1), pp. 93-115. sommerville, j. & craig, n. 2006. implementing it in construction. oxford: taylor & francis. ugwu, o.o., anumba, c.j. & thorpe, a. 2005. agent-support for collaborative design. in: anumba, c.j., ugwu, o.o. & ren, z. (eds.). agents and multi-agent systems in construction. oxford: taylor and francis, pp. 102-161. yu, c.h. 2001. an introduction to computing and interpreting cronbach coefficient alpha in sas. proceedings of the 26th annual sas users group international conference, nc: sas, pp. 246-252. 19 olatunji aiyetan, john smallwood & winston shakantu a systems thinking approach to eliminate delays on building construction projects in south africa peer reviewed abstract it is obvious that the performance of firms and their market competitiveness hinge on project delivery time. many approaches have been used to reduce the effect of the potential factors of delay on project delivery time. in this study, the systems approach has been employed and validated. inferential statistical analysis was conducted to analyse eighty-eight questionnaires returned during the primary study and twenty-four during the validation phase. the holistic role of professionals in the construction industry was illustrated with the aid of causal loop analysis, showing cause and effect relationships. based on the findings that eight out of the twelve categories of problems of delays are construction-related, the study identified seven stages of construction project delivery and various activities in these stages that could reduce the negative influence of delay factors on project delivery time. the interventions category, which has the most influence on the elimination of delays in project delivery, occurs during the construction stage, followed by interventions during the briefing/design stage. the interventions category with the least influence is pre-qualification of suppliers. the study recommends that adequate planning, pre-qualification of suppliers, provision of work schedule, and prompt payment of interim certificates be focused on to mitigate delays in project delivery time. furthermore, the following courses should be included in all built-environment education programmes: operational planning; quality; design, and generic management. keywords: systems thinking, building construction projects, south africa dr olatunji aiyetan department of construction management faculty of engineering built environment and information technology nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth south africa. phone: 234-70-67446925 email: <oaiyetan@yahoo.com> prof. john smallwood head of department of construction management faculty of engineering the built environment and information technology nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth south africa. phone: 041-504 2790 email: <john. smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> prof. winston shakantu department of construction management faculty of engineering the built environment and information technology nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth south africa. phone: 041-504 2394 email: <winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 20 abstrak dit is duidelik dat die prestasie van firmas en hul markmededingbaarheid om projek-voltooiingstyd draai. baie benaderings is al gevolg om die effek van die potensiële faktore van vertraging op projek-voltooiingstyd te verminder. in hierdie studie is die sisteembenadering gebruik en gevalideer. inferensiële statistiese analise is gebruik om die agt-en-tagtig vraelyste teruggestuur gedurende die primêre studie en vier-en-twintig gedurende die validasiestadium te bestudeer. die holistiese rol van professionele persone in die konstruksieindustrie is geïllustreer met die hulp van oorsaaklike lusanalise wat gevolg en effek-verhoudings aandui. gebaseer op die bevinding dat agt van die twaalf kategorieë van probleme van vertragings met konstruksie verband hou, het die studie sewe fases van konstruksie projekvoltooiingstyd asook verskeie aktiwiteite in hierdie fases geïdentifiseer wat die negatiewe invloede van vertragingsfaktore op projekvoltooiingstyd verminder. die intervensieskategorieë wat die meeste invloed op die eliminasie van vertragings van projekvoltooiings gehad het, is dié gedurende die konstruksiestadium, gevolg deur intervensies gedurende die opdrag-/ ontwerpstadium. die intervensieskategorie met die minste invloed is prekwalifikasie van verskaffers. die studie beveel aan dat daar genoeg gefokus moet word op beplanning, prekwalifikasie van verskaffers, voorsienning van werkskedule, en vinnige betaling van tussentydse sertifikate om vertragings in projekvoltooiingstyd te verminder. verder, behoort die volgende kursusse in alle bou-omgewingsonderrigprogramme ingesluit te word: operasionele beplanning, kwaliteit, ontwerp en generiese bestuur. sleutelwoorde: sisteembenadering, bou-konstruksie projekte, suid-afrika 1. introduction the principle of right-first-time holds great value. right-first-time requires accuracy and precision. accuracy means reflecting the realities (specifications), whereas precision implies meeting the specific dates. the processes of construction demand accuracy and very high precision. the capacity of prediction of estimated period of a building construction project indicates level of accuracy. the prediction of project completion time is a means of realising client satisfaction and will result in competitive advantage, all other things being constant. however, both external and internal forces influence the delivery time of projects. the ability to comprehend these influences on project delivery from inception to completion is dependent on experience and the level of training obtained by the planner, best summarised as competence. furthermore, sambasivan & soon (2007: 527) state that the inability of the client and his representatives in the project team to have a comprehensive overview of the construction process from inception to completion of the project, and environmental effects on the process, are very likely aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 21 reasons for the non-realisation of projected delivery dates. lack of project management competence could adversely affect delivery time of a project (dainty, cheng & moore, 2003: 189). according to cooke-davies (2001: 185), project management is a tool for project success. the site-based nature of projects characterised by complexity, uncertainty, poor communication in the form of timing, extent, and content, inadequate coordination of organisations and activities, and inadequate integration of tasks, organisations, and personnel, provide an ideal climate for the empowerment of individuals and teams (tuuli, rowlinson & koh, 2010: 205). therefore, the project management competence level is directly proportional to the level of success a project may attain. 2. literature review there is a plethora of literature pertaining to the subject of delay in the delivery of projects: aibinu & jagboro (2002: 593-599) in nigeria; belout & gauvreau (2004: 1-11) in canada; koushki & kartam (2004: 126-132), assaf & al-hejji (2006: 349-352), and faridi & el-sayegh (2006: 1167-1176) in saudi arabia; frimpong, oluwoye & crawford (2003: 321-326) in ghana; bryde & robinson (2005: 622) in the uk, and toor & ogunlana (2008: 395-406) in thailand. based on the survey of the literature, seventy-six potential factors that could influence project delivery time were identified and classified into twelve categories. these classifications and the factors that constitute each classification are: client understanding of the design, procurement and • construction process. lim & ling (2002: 303-394) identify the following as factors that lead to this problem: clients’ understanding of the project constraints; the ability to effectively brief the design team; the ability to contribute ideas to the design and construction processes; the ability to make authoritative decisions quickly, and the stability of these decisions. quality of management during design. project success is • dependent on, inter alia, the performance of the design team. defective designs adversely impact on project performance, and the participants are responsible for many construction failures (andi & minato, 2003: 297). failure at the conceptual planning and design stages may lead to significant problems in successive stages of the project. oyedele & tham (2007: 2097) provide a listing of clients’ ranking of designers’ performance criteria among which were those that relate to acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 22 quality of design coordination, smooth flow of work, vis-à-vis conflicting design information, timeliness of issuing of revised drawings, missing information, dimensional inaccuracies as well as delay of release of shop drawings. quality of management during construction. dainty • et al. (2002: 217) cited cooke-davis (2001) who declares that project management competence represents only one of many criteria upon which project performance is contingent. according to ponpeng & liston (2003: 281), problems such as schedule delays, budget overruns, non-achievement of quality standards, as well as a large number of claims and litigation result to a large extent from not selecting the best contractor to construct the facility. quality of management during construction concerns the steps taken to ensure that products are in accordance with the quality standards and measure the effectiveness/competency of consultants and contractors. the factors that contribute to quality of management during construction are forecasted planning data such as analysis of construction methods; analysis of resource movement to and within site; analysis of work sequencing to achieve and maintain workflow; monitoring and updating of plans to appropriately reflect work status; responding to, and recovering from problems or taking advantage of opportunities present; effective coordination of resources, and the development of appropriate organisational structure to maintain workflow. motivation of staff. productivity in the construction industry • has been steadily declining. labour efficiency has been cited as poor, resulting in delays. several techniques can be used to positively influence workers’ behaviour. two of these techniques are the behavioural and economic approaches. the former views motivation from the workers’ psychological requirements, and the second views it from the economic approach, placing emphasis on monetary rewards (andawei, 2002: 2). motivation variables that could impact on construction time are: pay and allowances; job security; a sense of belonging and identification with the project team; recognition of contribution made; opportunity to extend skills and experience through learning; equitable rewards relative to others’ input into the project, and the exercise of power and opportunity for career advancement for future benefit. site ground conditions. the inherent site conditions of a • project affect the speed of delivery (frimpong et al., 2003: aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 23 325). this is often due to a lack, or poor investigation of site ground conditions to obtain data regarding site soil conditions. the research of frimpong et al. (2003: 325) found that ground problems and unexpected geological conditions contribute to delays. other ground factors that impact on the speed of construction include the nature of demolition of work; the nature of restoration work; the structural stability of ground; the extent of ground contamination; the extent of archaeological finds; the impact of the water table; the impact of underground services, and the impact of underpinning existing structures. site access. the condition of site access to a project will • determine the rate of flow of materials, machines and people to the project site (griffith & watson, 2004). where there is difficulty in getting to the site, in the form of bad road surfacing, narrowness of the road or a long distance between storage space and entry point, these factors will negatively affect construction speed. according to toor & ogunlana (2008: 406), these cause delays in construction. constructability of design. mbamali, aiyetan & kehinde (2005: • 1268) define the extent to which a building design facilitates the ease of construction as buildability, the british term, or constructability, the american term, which is defined as the grouping of similar work components and the use of modular dimensions in design to reduce construction cost and time. oyedele & tham (2007: 2091) provide a list of factors that could be used to assess constructability, inter alia, flexibility of design to changes; dimensional coordination of elements; knowledge of performance of materials and components; effective constructability review of design; effective participation in site inspection and control; the scope of offsite fabrication; complexity of off-site fabrication components; appropriateness of design tolerances; appropriateness of working space; implication upon trade coordination; impact of materials storage and movement, and impact on smooth activity workflow and activity sequencing. management style. people undertake work, which is complex, • and they have varying personality traits and characteristics. supervision is required to enable workers to meet scheduled targets. the following factors could be used in assessing the management style of those in positions of authority: setting specific goals employees are to accomplish; organising the work environment for people; setting timelines; providing acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 24 specific direction; conducting regular updates on progress; providing support and encouragement; involving team members through discussion of work, and seeking people’s opinions and concerns. management techniques used for planning and control. • project-controlling techniques indicate the direction of the project at each time and reveal progress. according to burke (2006: 130), there are various types of planning tools, namely the gantt (bar) chart, network diagrams, and the cpm, as well as the programme evaluation review technique (pert). others include line of balance, horse blanket, and s-curves. physical environmental conditions. these are factors over • which no party to a contract has control (faridi & el-sayegh, 2006: 1108). mbachu & nkado (2006: 43) contend that sociocultural issues and unforeseen circumstances constitute these factors and constrain successful construction project delivery in south africa. they include the impact of natural hazards such as fire, and floods; adverse local weather conditions such as rainfall and high temperatures; ambient noise beyond tolerance level, and either the lack or intenseness of lighting conditions. economic policy. this refers to the level of general economic • activity and resources available to carry out construction work. koushki & kartam (2004: 127) identify twenty-five such factors that could impact on construction time. those applicable to this study include the availability of materials; the availability of equipment; the availability of trades/ operatives; the availability of supervision/management staff; the indirect impact of interest rates/inflation and insolvency, and bankruptcy. socio-political conditions. the socio-political environment • concerns projects or individuals while the political environment is concerned with government policy and the effect of political decisions on projects. political sociology is defined as the study of power and the intersection of personality, social structure, and politics. factors which constitute this are civil strife or riots, the influence of civil action-groups, and disruptions due to environmental concerns. aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 25 3. methodology both the quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. the sample consisted of architects, clients, contractors, quantity surveyors, and structural engineers in the south african construction industry. eighty-eight practitioners were surveyed during phase one of the study and twenty-four during the validation of the model. these were used as proxy, and were randomly selected from samples in phase one. the samples for the phasetwo investigation are adequate, relative to the statistical tool used for the analysis. inferential statistical analysis was conducted, which included reliability tests and factor analysis. relative to phase one, respondents that were over the age of thirty years predominated (76.5%). the highest academic qualifications of respondents were bachelors (25%), honours (23%), and btech (17%), collectively totalling 65%. managing directors/managing members/principal (35%), senior staff (20%), and managers (17%) represent the distribution of respondents’ status. the mean number of years of experience of respondents is 17. the types of facility with which respondents are involved include residential, commercial offices, and institutional facilities such as education, and health. the mean value of projects with which respondents have been involved is r866.63 million. 4. presentation of results and discussion table 1 presents the ranking of mean scores (mss) on the factor categories investigated. table 1: ranking of the influences of factor categories on project delivery time factor category ms rank construction planning and control techniques 3.98 1 management style 3.92 2 economic policy 3.76 3 the quality of management during construction 3.73 4 site access conditions 3 54 5 site ground conditions 3.49 6 motivation of workers 3.40 7 constructability of designs 3 37 8 socio-political conditions 3.16 9 client understanding of the design procurement and construction processes 3.12 10 the quality of management during design 3 06 11 physical environmental conditions 2 87 12 acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 26 table 1 reveals that construction planning and control techniques (ms = 3.98) used for activity scheduling is the most influential factor category regarding the delivery of projects with reference to time, followed closely by management style (ms = 3.92), and then distantly by economic policy (ms = 3.76), and quality of management during construction (ms = 3.73). the least influential factor category is physical environmental conditions (ms = 2.87). table 1 also indicates that, with the exception of economic policy, the categories of factors ranked from 1 to 7 are construction-related. this means that the primary cause of delays in the delivery of projects is constructionrelated. based on this, a system model was developed to address this problem. 5. introduction to systems thinking the evolution of a systems model for this study is an approach to develop a holistic understanding of the delivery process of building construction projects, the complexity of the interrelationships of tasks, the actions of professionals, and the influence the environment has on the process and delivery time of projects. given that the study investigated the relationship between actions initiated by professionals in the process of construction of a facility and its delivery time, and that illustration 1 presents a graphic review of the salient conclusions using a primary causal loop analysis and modelling, it is necessary to address systems thinking. senge (2006: 1-6) states that the art of systems thinking lies in being able to recognise increasingly dynamic and/or complex and subtle structure amid the wealth of details, pressures and crosscurrents that attend all real management settings. in fact, the essence of mastering systems thinking as a management discipline lies in seeking patterns where others see only events and forces to react to. figure 1 presents the holistic role of influences on construction project delivery time in industry performance. the right-hand ellipse in figure 1 indicates the holistic role of the prequalification of contractors, commitment of designers to improve design, tendering documents and tqm contractors in overall performance, directly and indirectly, and ultimately the image of the construction industry. clients are the initiators of a project. whatever affects the client has a direct or indirect effect on other stakeholders in the industry. a lack of client commitment leads to a lack of designer and contractor commitment to the processes of construction. a client lack of commitment as a result of poor aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 27 performance will cause, inter alia, clients’ non-release of funds and slowness in decision-making, ultimately resulting in the contract falling behind schedule. a lack of client commitment results in client prioritisation of cost which, in turn, results in budget pressure on the contractor in an endeavour to be price competitive, marginalises h&s and engenders accidents, injuries and fatalities which result in absenteeism and reduced productivity. further, it engenders the use of inadequate/ poor materials and unskilled labour, which ultimately results in rework and the project being behind schedule. inadequate/poor skills, inadequate materials, as well as inadequate plant and equipment, engender poor practices, which result in accidents, poor labour productivity, rework, and poor schedule performance. however, the aforementioned result in poor performance as a result of both their individual impact and the negative synergy between the other manifestation of poor practices, fuelled by the catalysts of accidents and rework. a lack of client commitment manifests in, inter alia, a lack of prequalification of contractors and subcontractors constituting poor practice. a lack of designer commitment manifested in, inter alia, the lack of design qa also constitutes poor practice. although poor performance results in client, designer, contractor and workers’ dissatisfaction due to, inter alia, late completion, increased supervision and reduced profit directly as a result of rework and accidents, a further aspect is that of poor image. poor image marginalises the ability of the industry to attract ‘suitable’ human resources at both management and worker level. a problem associated with poor image is the perception that ‘anyone can contract’, which results in unqualified people entering the industry at both management and worker level. these, in turn, force skilled human resources, at management and worker level, to leave the construction industry for other industries owing to the working and other conditions. the aforementioned merely worsens the situation relative to the level of skills. the left-hand ellipse indicates that the only way to break the cycle represented by the right-hand ellipse, represented by the break in the arrow between poor performance and client/designer/ contractor/owner dissatisfaction, lack of designers’ commitment and lack of contractors’ commitment is for the industry and the primary construction industry stakeholders to acknowledge that poor performance can be remedied. the acknowledgement of acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 28 a problem and the fact that the problem can be remedied is a prerequisite for commitment. industry commitment is essential. registration of contractors based on criteria engenders a core of suitable contractors. practitioners and industry associations should embrace; promote and engender ‘best practice’, so too tertiary education and other training bodies, which contribute to the production of ‘optimum’ human resources. professional and industry associations can develop ‘best practice’ guidelines and benchmarks, and enforce construction activities to be practised according to the benchmarks of industry stakeholders. industry commitment reinforces client, designer and contractor commitment, which is engendered by benchmarking, optimum human resources and ‘suitable’ contractors. client commitment engenders designer and contractor commitment and is essential to realise the selection of an appropriate procurement system for the practice of pre-qualifying contractors, for effective project delivery as well as for constructability reviews. contractor commitment is important for the implementation of an h&s programme, the proper planning of resources, plant and equipment, materials, adequate sequencing of activities, and the engagement of skilled workers, which collectively realise total quality management (tqm) contractor and facilitate tqm. designer commitment engenders contractor commitment and is essential to realise the selection of an appropriate procurement system, for the implementation and practice of design qa as well as for effective constructability reviews. an appropriate procurement system facilitates constructability reviews and engenders the pre-qualification of contractors. design qa complements constructability reviews and the practice of tqm. tqm results in enhanced h&s, improved labour productivity, and enhanced quality and schedule, which individually and as a result of the synergy between them, result in enhanced performance. enhanced performance results in enhanced client, designer, contractor and worker satisfaction which, in turn, results in the project being delivered on schedule, as well as enhanced image, which reinforces the acknowledgement and awareness that poor performance can be remedied. however, a critical aspect is that enhanced image increases the ability of the industry to attract ‘suitable’ human resources, culminating in improved productivity and projects delivered on schedule. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 30 6. proposed model for the delivery of projects on time the research findings enabled the identification of the factors that are problematic and require attention. these can be summed up as poor performance practices in the building construction industry in south africa, which lead to the late delivery of projects. the identification of the problem resulted in the identification of the related aspects linked to each problem. the problem of delays from the findings is mainly construction-related. a construction stagerelated problem has associated links to all other stages of project delivery. these stages begin with the briefing up to the handing over of the project. therefore, the model proposes an intervention at the various stages in order to ensure project delivery on time. the model is discussed in this section and unfolds in the following sequence: basis for the model;• the model flowchart;• elements constituting the model;• validation of the model, and• summary of the validation of the model.• 6.1 basis for the model in developing the model, the aim was to provide a structured systemic process which practitioners in the building industry can adopt in realising building facilities without delays, stemming from the most significantly influencing factor category, which is management style and construction-related. this implies that the construction stage is crucial to the delivery of projects and that whatever transpires in the construction stage affects the project delivery time. therefore, the construction stage is the focus. but the construction stage cannot on its own be the only determining stage to projects being delivered on time of all the stages of facility procurement. it is important to note that client briefing and quality of design have an impact on the speed of construction, and that client commitment to the project success has an impact on the construction stage of a project. the contributions of the client towards the project success are in terms of commitment to an appropriate procurement system, such as the pre-qualification of contractors/subcontractor/supplier, i.e., sourcing for tqm contractors. based on the foregoing, six stages of construction were identified, namely briefing/design, pre-qualification of contractors/subacta structilia 2011: 18(2) 32 6.3 elements constituting the model in order to achieve the purpose of the development of the model, which is the improvement of the delivery of construction projects, the model processes commence with a description of the stages involved in the realisation of a project. it is based on the fact that the initiator of a project does not need to acquire a built environment qualification before s/he can build. the model consists of seven stages, hereafter referred to as interventions category. the stages, commencing with the briefing/ design stage are: the briefing/design;• pre-qualification of contractors/subcontractors;• pre-qualification of suppliers;• tendering;• construction;• testing of installation before handing over, and• built environment tertiary education.• 6.4 validation of the model a survey was conducted among twenty-four practitioners in the building construction industry in order to validate the model presented (illustration 2). they included architects, quantity surveyors, contractors, and clients. the ms, percentage frequency and test of means difference were employed in the analysis of the data. to enable interpretation of the ms, the ms range used during the interpretation of means of data from the first phase questionnaire analysis was used. 7. data presentation and analysis the cronbach’s α value for interventions category are all ≥ 0.70. based on these, the internal consistency of the data can be deemed reliable. table 2 presents the mss of the interventions per category. aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 33 table 2: ranking of interventions categories intervention category u n su re responses (%) m s r a n k minor................................major 1 2 3 4 5 construction stage: weekly/monthly meeting with key staff/subcontractors 0.0 0.0 4.2 8.3 29.2 58.3 4.42 1 determining to what extent planning work two weeks before it takes place will contribute to eliminating delay in project delivery 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.8 25.0 54.2 4.33 planning ahead activities of work that weather could affect 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.8 29.2 50.0 4.29 prompt inspection and approval of work by consultants 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.7 37.5 45.8 4.29 contractor monitoring of subcontractors’ work 0.0 0.0 4.2 20.8 29.2 45.8 4.17 prompt issuance of instructions 4.2 4.2 0.0 4.2 41.7 45.8 4.13 prompt payment of interim certificates and payments 0.0 4.2 9.3 8.3 37.5 41.7 4.04 testing of concrete strength regarding ascertaining of its strength against rework 0.0 0.0 4.2 20.8 41.7 33.3 4.04 contractor and consultant checking quality of materials supplied as they arrive on site and carry out steel strength test 0.0 0.0 8.3 16.7 45.8 29.2 3.96 briefing/design stage: adequate briefing by the client 0.0 0.0 8.3 12.5 25.0 54.2 4.50 2 accurate coordination of design 0.0 4.2 0.0 12.5 33.3 50.0 4.25 reviewing constructability of design at design stage 0.0 0.0 4.2 16.7 45.8 33.3 4.08 well-defined functionality of design 0.0 0.0 12.5 20 8 33.3 33.3 3.88 adequate estimation of project cost 0.0 0.0 8.3 29.2 33.3 29.2 3.83 ascertaining client financial capability 0.0 4.2 4.2 29.2 33.3 29.2 3.79 lack of dimension ambiguity 0.0 0.0 20.8 20.8 33.3 25.0 3.63 acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 34 intervention category u n su re responses (%) m s r a n k minor................................major 1 2 3 4 5 built environment tertiary education: operational planning (work planning) relative to each discipline 0.0 0.0 12.5 8.3 45.8 33.3 4.00 3quality management competencies 0.0 0.0 8.3 25.0 29.2 37.5 3.96 design management 0.0 0.0 12.5 8.3 45.8 33.3 3.88 generic management 0.0 4.2 8.3 25.0 41.7 20.8 3.67 testing of installation before handing over: testing mechanical (plumbing) installation 4.2 0.0 0.0 20.8 37.5 37.5 4.00 4 testing electrical installation 4.2 0.0 4.2 16.7 37.5 37.5 3.96 ascertaining the functionality of windows fixed 4.2 4.2 12.5 25.0 37.5 16.7 3.38 checking roof for leakages 4.2 4.2 4.2 33.5 37.5 16.7 3.46 checking drains/spouts against blockage 4.2 0.0 25.0 12.5 37.5 20.8 3.42 tendering stage: inclusion of work schedule in tender document by contractor 0.0 4.2 8.3 25.0 41.7 20.8 3.67 5 inclusion of plant and equipment schedule in tender documents 4.2 0.0 8.3 33.3 41.7 12.5 3.46 inclusion of human resource schedule in tender document by contractor 4.2 0.0 12.5 33.3 33.3 16.7 3.42 inclusion of quality assurance plan in tender document by contractor 4.2 0.0 12.5 41.7 25.0 16.7 3.33 pre-qualification of contractors/ subcontractors: ascertaining the financial capability of contractors 0.0 0.0 4.2 16.7 33.3 45.8 4.21 6 ascertaining past record of a contractor 4.2 0.0 8.3 8.3 45.8 33.3 3.92 ascertaining contractor’s health and safety plan 4.2 0.0 15.5 25.0 37.5 20.8 3.50 verification of quality assurance plan of the contractor 0.0 8.3 16.7 29.2 29.2 16.7 3.29 verification of equipment plant and tools 4.2 4.2 29.2 41.7 12.5 8 3 2.79 aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 35 intervention category u n su re responses (%) m s r a n k minor................................major 1 2 3 4 5 pre-qualification of suppliers: ascertaining the financial capability of suppliers 16.7 8.3 20.8 12.5 25.0 16.7 2.71 7 accessing the past record of a supplier 16.7 8.3 20.8 16.7 29.2 8.3 2.58 ascertaining the educational qualification of a supplier regarding materials performance knowledge 20.8 12.5 12.5 29.2 16.7 8.3 2.33 owned assets of supplier such as light delivery vehicles 16.7 12.5 16.7 37.5 8.3 8.3 2.33 the most important interventions to minimise or eliminate delays in the delivery of projects are those interventions at the construction stage. this stage has the highest mean ms of the seven categories of interventions. furthermore, it is notable that, although the intervention contractor and consultants inspection of quality of materials on site as they arrive, and conducting of steel strength test has the lowest ms in the category (3.96), it is nonetheless higher than the mss of most factors in other intervention categories. briefing/design stage category of interventions is second in ranking, followed by built environment tertiary education, testing of installations before handing over, tendering stage interventions, pre-qualification of contractor and subcontractor, and pre-qualification of suppliers. arguably, if pre-qualification of contractors and subcontractors, which is the only screening done to select the best constructor, could be rated the second to the last option in the chain of intervention categories, the judgement of the respondents may be deemed inappropriate. the same contention applies to the intervention category ‘pre-qualification of suppliers’. 8. conclusions relative to validation of the model the most important category of interventions is that of the construction stage. the interventions at the construction stage have an average ms of 4.19. the ms of 4.19 falls within the range > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, and therefore respondents can be deemed to be of the opinion that the interventions relative to this intervention category have between a moderate influence to near major/near major influence on the delivery of projects on time. however, the ms falls just outside the upper category, namely > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, which indicates the interventions relative to this intervention category have between a near major to major/major influence. furthermore, given that all acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 36 the mss are > 3.00, it can be concluded that all the interventions at the construction stage could eliminate delays in project delivery. the interventions that have a major influence in this category are weekly/monthly meetings with key staff/subcontractor (ms = 4.42); planning work two weeks before it takes place (ms = 4.22); planning activities that weather could affect (ms = 4.29); prompt inspection and approval of work by a consultant (ms = 4.29); contractor monitoring of subcontractors’ work (ms = 4.17); prompt issuance of instructions (ms = 4.13), as well as concrete cube and steel tests (ms = 4.04). based on the average mss of intervention categories, it can be concluded that respondents deemed all interventions proposed at each stage of construction to have between a moderate influence to a near major/near major influence on the delivery of projects in south africa. the only category of interventions that falls outside the abovementioned range is the pre-qualification of suppliers (ms = 2.49), which has between a minor to near minor influence/near minor influence on eliminating delays on projects. however, it could be argued that interventions at the construction stage are deemed as most effective by the respondents for the elimination of delays on project delivery time. the requirements suggested for contract documentation as interventions at both the pre-qualification of contractors/subcontractors and suppliers stage are in place, required for facilitating the smooth flow of activities during construction are ranked sixth and seventh. this amplifies the importance of the interventions at both the pre-qualification of contractors/subcontractors and suppliers categories. from the foregoing, it can be concluded that interventions at all stages of construction proposed in the model are important for the completion of projects on time. 9. recommendations from the validation of the model the following courses/modules are recommended for inclusion in built environment tertiary education programmes for all disciplines: quality management; operational planning; design management, and generic management. the pre-qualification of suppliers is suggested. a brief description of requirements for consideration during the pre-qualification are assessing the past records of the suppliers; ascertaining the financial aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 37 capability of supplies; ascertaining the educational qualification of suppliers regarding their materials performance knowledge, and owned assets, such as light delivery trucks. at the brief/design stage, attention should be paid to adequate briefing, confirmation of client financial capability, and design quality assurance/constructability reviews. at the construction stage, focus on adequate planning/resource management, work schedules, and monitoring of subcontractors’ work, and prompt payment of interim certificates will contribute to eliminating delays in projects. at the tendering stage the following should be made part of the tender documents, including pre-tender programme; primary materials; method statement; site layout; subcontractor schedule; human resources schedule; plant and equipment schedule; quality plan, and work schedule. references aibinu, a.a. & jagboro, g.o. 2002. the effects of construction delays on project delivery in nigerian construction industry. international journal of project management, 20(4), pp. 593-599. andawei, m.m. 2002. motivation: an alternative to improve workers’ performance in today’s construction industry. the quantity surveyor, 40(3), pp. 2-6. andi, s. & minato, t. 2003. representing causal mechanism of defective designs: a system approach considering human errors. journal of construction management and economics, 21(3), pp. 297-305. assaf, s.a. & al-hejji, s. 2006. causes of delay in large construction projects. international journal of project management, 24(7), pp. 349-357. belout, a. & gauvreau, c. 2004. factors influencing project success: the impact of human resource management. international journal of project management, 22(1), pp. 1-11. bryde, d.j. & robinson, l. 2005. client versus contractor perspective on project success criteria. international journal of project management, 23(8), pp. 622-629. burke, r. 2006. project management planning and control techniques. 5th ed. hong kong: burke publishing. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 38 cooke-davies, t. 2001. the ‘real’ success factors on projects. international journal of project management, 20(3), pp. 185-190. dainty, a.r.j., cheng, m. & moore, d.r. 2003. redefining performance measures for construction project managers: an empirical evaluation. journal of construction management and economics, 21(2), pp. 209-218. faridi, a.s. & el-sayegh, s.m. 2006. significant factors causing delay in the uae construction industry. journal of construction management and economics, 24(11), pp. 1167-1176. frimpong, y., oluwoye, j. & crawford, l. 2003. causes of delay and cost overruns in construction of groundwater projects in developing countries: ghana as a case study. international journal of project management, 21(5), pp. 321-326. griffith, a. & watson, p. 2004. construction management principles and practice, 1st ed. new york: palgrave macmillan. koushki, p.a. & kartam, n. 2004. impact of construction materials on project time and cost in kuwait. engineering, construction and architectural management, 11(2), pp. 126-132. lim, h. & ling, f.y.y. 2002. model for predicting clients’ contribution to project success. journal of engineering construction and architectural management, 9(5-6), pp. 388-395. mbachu, j. & nkado, r. 2006. conceptual framework for assessment of client needs and satisfaction in the building development process. construction management and economics, 24(1), pp. 31-44. mbamali, i., aiyetan, a.o. & kehinde, j.o. 2005. building design for buildability: an investigation into the current practice in nigeria. building and environment, 40(9), pp. 1267-1274. oyedele, l.o. & tham, k.w. 2007. clients’ assessment of architects’ performance in building delivery process: evidence from nigeria. building and environment, 42(5), pp. 2090-2099. ponpeng, j. & liston, j. 2003. contractor ability criteria: a review from the thai construction industry. journal of construction management and economics, 21(3), pp. 267-282. sambasivan, m. & soon, y.w. 2007. causes and effects of delays in malaysian construction industry. international journal of project management, 25(5), pp. 517-526. senge, p.m. 2006. the fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organisation. london: random house business books. aiyetan, et al. • a systems thinking approach 39 toor, s. & ogunlana, s.o. 2008. problems causing delays in major construction projects in thailand. construction management and economics, 26(4), pp. 395-408. tuuli, m.m., rowlinson, s. & koh, t.y. 2010. dynamics of control in construction project teams. construction management and economics, 28(2), pp. 189-202. 24 rudolph (r) claasen, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2669, email: <rudolph.claasen@nmmu.ac.za> roy (r) cumberlege, senior lecturer and head, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 3020, email: <roy.cumberlege@nmmu.ac.za> rudolph claasen & roy cumberlege discounting of quantity surveying fees in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract the discounting of professional fees has become a cause for concern among south african quantity surveying practitioners. these discounts are often 30% to 40% and, in some cases, substantially below the tariff of professional fees published by the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp). the firms which offer these excessively high discounts may be pricing their services well below their in-house operational costs which, with the quality of their professional services, eventually become unsustainable. a quantitative approach was used to conduct a research study to determine the effect of discounting of fees on the quantity surveying profession. the data was obtained by circulating a structured web-based questionnaire to registered professional quantity surveying firms in all nine provinces in south africa. results indicated that when quantity surveyors discount their fees, this impacts negatively on the quality of their professional services. respondents further recommended that there should be some form of regulation regarding the discounting of fees, while others suggested that the current sacqsp recommended fee scale be replaced by the re-introduction of a statutory minimum fee scale which was applied prior to 1988. the findings arising from this research could support potential efforts by the sacqsp to resolve issues regarding this practice and serve to raise awareness among quantity surveying practitioners of the dangers inherent in, and resulting negative consequences of discounting their fees. keywords: discounting, professional fees, quantity surveying, service quality abstrak afslag op professionele fooie het ‘n bron van kommer geraak onder die geledere van die suid-afrikaanse bourekenkunde praktisyns. hierdie afslag is soms tussen 30% en 40% en in sommige gevalle ver minder as die tarief vir professionele fooie soos gepubliseer deur die suid-afrikaanse raad vir die bourekenaars professie (sarbrp). firmas wat hierdie buitensporige hoë afslag aanbied, mag moontlik hul direkte operasionele kostes onderprys, wat met die kwaliteit van hul dienste, uiteindelik onvolhoubaar raak. ‘n kwantitatiewe benadering is gebruik vir hierdie navorsingstudie om die effek van afslag op fooie, op die bourekenaars professie te bepaal. die data is verkry deur ‘n gestruktureerde claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 25 web-gebaseerde vraelys aan geregistreerde professionele bourekenaars in die nege provinsies van suid afrika te sirkuleer. resultate het aangedui dat waar bourekenaars afslag op fooie toestaan, dit ‘n negatiewe effek het op die kwaliteit van hul profesionele dienste. respondente het verder aanbeveel dat daar ‘n vorm van regulering moet wees betreffende die toestaan van afslag op fooie en sommige het voorgestel dat die huidige sarbr-fooieskaal vervang moet word met die her-instelling van die statutêre minimum fooieskaal wat van toepassing was voor 1988. die uitslae van die studie kan van hulp wees vir die sarbrp om oplossings te vind rakende kwelpunte rondom hierdie aspek asook om bourekaars te waarsku van die gevare en die negatiewe uitwerkings, waar afslag op fooie toegestaan word. sleutelwoorde: afslag, professionele fooie, bourekenkunde, dienskwaliteit 1. introduction in 2008, the world credit crisis and the ensuing global economic recession did not spare the south african construction industry. a modest amount of work was available to firms which negatively affected their annual turnover and growth. the south african construction industry had a large economic injection from the 2010 fifa soccer world cup. however, this benefitted mainly large professional firms and ultimately forced smaller practices to compete for smaller projects. to keep their firms in business and to ensure cash flow, firms resorted to intensified offers of discounts on their professional services to prospective clients. the above was confirmed during a general debate session at the 2011 sacqsp research conference in port elizabeth. the quantity surveyors’ (private) act 1927 and the quantity surveyors’ act 1970 (act no. 36 of 1970) limited practitioners to charging statutory (minimum) fees for their professional services which, in effect, prohibited competitive tendering on the basis of fees, or offering discounts on fees, thereby preventing firms from cutting their fees to the extent that they would not be able to cover their operating costs or price themselves into bankruptcy, as well as limiting opportunities for bribery and corruption. however, on 12 december 1987, an amendment to act 36/1970 was gazetted which: • introduced a recommended tariff of professional fees for quantity surveying professional services to be applied instead of the previous statutory tariff, and coincidentally • removed the section which had prohibited firms from advertising their services. subsequently, the recommended tariff and permission to advertise within limits prescribed by the south african council for the quantity acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 26 surveying profession in its code of professional conduct (30 september 2005) have been maintained in terms of the most recent legislation, viz. the quantity surveying professional act 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000). accordingly, while there is no legal prohibition that prevents practitioners from granting ‘fare’ discounts on their fees, this could encourage unethical behaviour. furthermore, the national media portray government tenders as often being linked to fraudulent deals. this has fuelled perceptions with regard to ‘normal’ discounts as a form of bribery or corruption to ‘buy commissions’. it was further debated and revealed at the 2011 sacqsp research conference debate that, after quantity surveying consultants started offering fee discounts, clients responded by not only requesting reduced fees, but, in some instances, also forcing the discounting issue in their quest for the best deal or lowest project price. these actions by clients have forced quantity surveying firms into competition with one another, creating another form of tendering. competition on the basis of fee discounts does not appear to take cognisance of whether or not the discount will support practice/operational sustainability of the firm that wins the tender. a recent report (adendorff, botha, van zyl & adendorff, 2012: 131) mentioned that, since 2008, conditions for consultants operating in the built environment industry have unrelentingly become more challenging. by july 2010, professionals’ fee income had decreased by 8%, compared to the prior six months, or by 16.9% year-on-year adjusted for inflation as per the 2011 consumer price index. the high level of discrepancies among consulting firms indicated that, while some firms had managed to report an increase in earnings, the majority of firms reported a decrease. although a larger number of consulting firms were dissatisfied with their profit margins, the majority remained of the opinion that profit margins ranged between satisfactory and good. it is argued that competition generally increases during a time when the availability of work decreases, and intensifies during periods of severe work shortages. currently, competition undoubtedly remains fierce in the construction industry in south africa. it can further be argued that, since 2008, levels of competition escalated significantly, leading to increased rates of discounts offered by firms on fees (adendorff et al., 2012: 131). furthermore, 43% of consulting engineering firms were discounting their fees at a rate of 20% or more, the highest being 45%. larger claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 27 firms leveraged their discounts at an average rate of 21% during 2009 (adendorff et al., 2012: 131). similar action is evident in the quantity surveying profession. this article reports on a research study done to determine the effect of discounting of fees on the quantity surveying profession which tested the hypothesis: discounting of fees have a negative effect on the rendering of quantity surveying services. 2. literature review 2.1 what is a “profession”? a profession has been defined as a “career founded upon specific educational training, where the principle is to supply unbiased counselling and services to others, for an express and distinct compensation, separately from the hope of other business gain” (webbs, 1917, cited in the uk monopolies and mergers commission, 1977: 44). consulting quantity surveyors provide professional services to clients for which they receive payment based on an agreed scale of fees. nokes & kelly (2007: 295) define tendering (also known as “bidding”) as the action of confirming a price offered to a client, for performance of specified tasks/activities (in accordance with a prescribed method), and the client responds by accepting the offer and engaging in a procurement process to acquire products and services. 2.2 services rendered by quantity surveyors according to the system of national accounts (sna) of 1993, services are not separate entities over which ownership rights can be established. it cannot be traded separately from its production, and services are heterogeneous outputs produced to order and typically consist of charges in the condition of the consuming units realised by the activities of the producers at the demand of the customers (un, 2002: 148). quantity surveyors apply their skills to offer services to determine the feasibility and cost of construction projects. these services can be classified into two distinct groups, namely traditional and nontraditional services. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 28 2.2.1 traditional quantity surveying services the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs, 2014: online) stipulates that the quantity surveyor’s duty is essentially one of cost control. this involves the measuring and valuating of work in progress, determining the value of variations to the contract in order to establish the final contract value of the contract. according to burnside & westcott (1999: 93), a general overview of traditional quantity surveying services is: • preparation of tender documents; • examination and appraisal of tenders; • interim valuation of contractors’ work for payment certificates; • cash-flow prediction and cost reporting; • measurement and valuation of variation orders/contract instructions; • advising on anticipated final project costs, and • preparation and agreement of final accounts. burnside & westcott (1999: 93) further refer to additional services that can be rendered by quantity surveyors, including: • the preparation of feasibility studies and estimates to establish project budgets; • analysis of the effects of design changes on project budgets; • cost planning, and • preparation of contract documents. the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs, 2014: online) lists the following range of services that can be offered by quantity surveyors: • estimating and cost advice; • cost planning; • property development advice; • advice on tendering procedures and contractual arrangements; • financial control over contracts; • valuation of work in progress, and • cash-flow budgets and final account in respect of the contact. figure 1 illustrates a typical project life cycle, indicating the modest range of quantity surveying services rendered during the early claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 29 stages of project development in comparison with the broader scope of services potentially applicable during the latter phase of a construction process. figure 1: project life cycle source: bennett, 2003: 7 according to the sacqsp (2013: 10-13), quantity surveyors may claim remuneration for their services during the following stages: • stage 1: inception • stage 2: concept and viability • stage 3: design and development • stage 4: documentation and procurement • stage 5: construction • stage 6: close-out. when quantity surveying services include the preparation of bills of quantities (boq), the fee is payable as follows: • 2.5% of their total fee is payable during stage 1; • 5% during stage 2; • 7.5% during stage 3; • 35% during stage 4; • 45% during stage 5, and • 5% during stage 6. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 30 this clearly indicates that the major portion (80%) of fees becomes due and payable during the documentation and construction stages of a contract which includes boq. cruywagen & snyman (2006: 29) state that the sacqsp tariff of professional fees is used for fee negotiation and that the economic conditions in 2006 created a market that forced quantity surveyors to submit discounted fee proposals that fall far below the recommended fee scales which will ultimately compromise quality of service. hoxley (2007: 181), however, concludes from a research study done on competitive fee tendering and client’s perceptions of service quality in the united kingdom’s property industry that, although fees were discounted at high levels and clients did not perceive any decline in service quality, professional firms must have become efficient by still offering services of reasonably accepted standard as required. the above practice of discounted fees has given rise to the following questions: • on what basis is the tariff of professional fees calculated? • are there differences between types of construction projects? • how do quantity surveyors determine their proposed fees on construction projects? • how can an affordable fee be calculated on construction projects? (cruywagen & snyman, 2006: 30). mbatha (2013: 11) is of the opinion that, before quantity surveyors decide to discount their fees, they need to be aware of their own in-house cost structures as minimal, if any, surplus funds will be available to cover skills development which is essential to maintain quality services. in predicting erosion of the foundation of professional services, he anticipated the demise of training and development, expert workmanship, research and the good reputation of quantity surveying as a respected profession, which would eventually result in the services traditionally provided by quantity surveyors being perceived as unnecessary and becoming redundant. the south african government’s drive to create transparency in procurement processes includes a proposal that consultants should tender to provide professional services, stating price and black economic empowerment (bee) status. generally, price is the major issue, regardless of many other factors that should also be taken into account. the reduced quality of professional services, resulting claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 31 from consultants’ having discounted their fees, cannot be justified as a way of cutting overall project costs, particularly when the overall negative effects on the project are evaluated. staff turnover experienced in government departments has been exacerbated by the intake of mainly untrained junior staff which needs mentorship and skills training. this highlights the importance of total project cost as the pivotal factor, rather than ensuring that tenders are awarded on the basis of experience and competence (mbatha, 2013: 11). clause 3.7 of the sacqsp code of professional conduct (2005: 3) states that registered quantity surveyors “must provide work or services of a quality, scope, and to a level, which are commensurate with accepted standards and practices in the profession”. if, due to the excessive fee discounts granted to clients, a quantity surveying firm knowingly cannot afford to render the required standard of professional services, this constitutes a breach of the code and improper conduct in terms of section 27(3) of the quantity surveying profession act 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000). 2.2.2 non-traditional services in addition to the customary means of income generation, implemented by quantity surveying or cost consultancy firms, include providing services related to project management and facilities management (page, pearson & pryke, 2001: 2). quantity surveying services are also offered in the fields of dispute resolution, civil engineering works, banking and finances (taxation, guarantees and bonds, security and indemnity insurances), process engineering, chemical engineering plants and oil rigs, maintenance and demolitions (rics, 2010: online). 2.3 recommended fees for quantity surveyors clause 2 of the 2013 tariff of professional fees schedule, gazetted by the sacqsp in accordance with section 34 of the quantity surveying profession act 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000), describes three alternative methods of calculating fees to be charged by a registered professional quantity surveyor (prqs) for building work, engineering work, management and supplementary services, viz: the fee shall be a basic fee, multiplied by an appropriate percentage and shall be apportioned as set out in the distribution of fees to stages provided that: • the basic fee shall be calculated on the value for fee purposes in the case of building work and engineering work acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 32 on the value for fee purposes but with exclusions for building work where the final value of any mechanical and electrical installations and of any civil engineering works ancillary to building works in respect to the quantity surveyor only performs a minor service, not applicable in the case of management and supplementary services. • where a singular contract includes categories covered by more than one appropriate percentage the basic fee shall be apportioned to each category before multiplying each apportionment by the applicable appropriate percentage, or • where, in respect of replication, minor differences and work measured provisionally, are individually adjusted in the final account, the value of measured work of both omissions and additions in respect of such adjustments shall be added to the value of non-replication work for fee calculation purposes. 3. research methodology a quantitative research method was employed, described by borrego, douglas & amelink (2009: 54) as good for approaches, in which a theory or hypothesis justifies the variables, the purpose statement, and the direction of the narrowly defined research questions. the hypothesis ‘discounting of fees have a negative effect on the rendering of quantity surveying services’ is being tested through the phrasing of the research questions which all aim to determine to what extent quantity surveyors allow discount on their fees for professional services rendered. the review of the literature resulted in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two sections, namely a biographical section and a section related to discounting practices. the biographical section was included in order to test for significant differences between the selected biographical factors. the section on discounting practices consisted of five questions pertaining to the construction life cycle stages. closed-ended questions were preferred, as they reduce the respondent’s bias (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the respondents were given the opportunity to make relevant personal opinions and general comments at the end of the questionnaire. structured questionnaires were distributed electronically, with the assistance of the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs), to a random sample of 67 quantity surveying firms to avoid claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 33 bias of views. it must be noted that the views of clients on discounting of fees did not form part of this study. the data were captured using a micro-soft excel spreadsheet, upon which the findings were evaluated and deduced in terms of the benchmarks derived from the foregoing literature review. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary builtenvironment survey response rates range from 7% to 40% in general. the questionnaire achieved an acceptable response rate of 40.3%. from analysis of the data provided, conclusions were reached and recommendations formulated. although strict confidentiality was guaranteed, the majority of the respondents were hesitant to disclose information regarding their discounting or “fee-cutting” practices, which resulted in some questionnaires being somewhat incomplete. 3.1 data analysis and interpretation of findings a 5-point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. leedy & ormrod (2005: 185) maintain that likert scales are effective to elicit participants’ opinions on various statements. for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores: ‘never’ (≥1.0 & ≤1.8); ‘seldom’ (>1.8 & ≤2.6); ’frequently’ (>2.6 & ≤3.4); ’usually’ (>3.4 & ≤4.2) and ‘always’ (>4.2 & ≤5.0). when using likert scale-type scales it is imperative to calculate and report cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency reliability for any scales (gliem & gliem, 2003: 88). reliability is the extent to which a measuring instrument is repeatable and consistent (maree & petersen, 2007: 214). maree & pietersen (2007: 216) suggest the guidelines for the interpretation of cronbach’s alpha coefficient as follows: 0.90 – high reliability, 0.80 – moderate reliability and 0.70 – low reliability. 4. results and findings 4.1 responses the majority of responses were received from senior quantity surveying practitioners: • seventy-two percent (72%) were between 30 and 59 years of age; • eighty-three percent (83%) were male; acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 34 • sixty-four percent (64%) held an honours degree, and • sixty-four percent (64%) were the firm’s managing director, director or partner. the above profiles indicate that the responses were received from senior members of the quantity surveying profession and that the results could thus be considered reliable. 4.2 project costs and relative discounts figure 2 reflects project costs ranging from r500 000 to r16 million, and related fee discounts offered. of the respondents, 3% indicated that they were willing to allow up to 5% discount; 14% were prepared to allow between 5% and 10% discount; 17% would allow between 10% and 15%, while 10% of the respondents would grant discounts of between 15% and 20%. figure 2: discounts per project cost ranges respondents also commented that, for projects exceeding r100 million in value: • discounts of between 25% and 40% had been given; • any discount below 25% would provide a good return for services rendered; • a project of straightforward design and larger in value would elicit a higher discount, while lower discounts would apply to more complicated designs of lesser value, and • regular clients would receive preferential discounts of 10% (average). claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 35 a number of respondents mentioned that they made use of a proportionate scale of discounting linked to construction costs. for example, up to a certain project cost, discounting would be at a flat rate which would decrease proportionately as the project costs increased. furthermore, the survey results clearly illustrated that the higher the project cost, the greater the willingness on the part of consultants to allow discounts on their professional fees. 4.3 construction life cycle stages this section focused on the traditional services rendered by quantity surveyors during the construction life cycle from inception through to project close-out in terms of the sacqsp tariff of professional charges, 2013. although respondents indicated different discount rates for the various stages of the project cycle, it is evident that quantity surveyors ultimately give an overall discount rate on the total fee package. the results as per stages were according to the questionnaire structure. the cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability was determined for each of the scale scores derived from the group items, as indicated in tables 1 to 5. the results are shown in each table. cronbach’s alpha interpretation levels as evidence of reliability (internal consistency) are described as ‘excellent’ (≥ 0.80) (nunally, 1978: 85). the fact that the alphas are almost equal to 1.00 implies that the items per factor are highly correlated. 4.3.1 stage 1: inception with the core project deliverable for stage 1, advising on the procurement policy for the project, the majority of the respondents (68%) frequently to always allowed a discount on their fees during stage 1. it could be argued that quantity surveyors are willing to allow for a discount factor (in some instances, a substantial discount rate) due to the relatively low input during this stage. no table needed to present the results, as only 1 variable is applicable. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 36 4.3.2 stage 2: concept and viability table 1 represents core activities rendered during the concept and viability stage of a project. these activities were tested individually to determine whether discount is allowed on the fees for professional services rendered. table 1: concept and viability services 1 = never, 3 = frequent, 5 = always u ns ur e m e a n 1 2 3 4 5 agreeing the documentation programme with the principal consultant and other professional consultants 7% 18% 29% 18% 25% 3% 3.37 attending design and consultant meetings 4% 25% 21% 21% 25% 4% 3.41 reviewing and evaluating design concepts and advising on viability in conjunction with other professional consultants 4% 32% 14% 21% 21% 8% 3.27 preparing preliminary and elemental or equivalent estimates of construction cost 7% 24% 29% 11% 29% 0% 3.29 liaising, co-operating and providing necessary information to the client, principal consultant and other professional consultants 11% 22% 19% 15% 30% 3% 3.31 preliminary estimate(s) of construction cost* 12% 31% 23% 7% 27% 0% 3.08 elemental estimates* 11% 37% 19% 14% 19% 0% 2.93 average 3.24 cronbach’s alpha: 0.96 (high reliable) * project deliverables according to the responses presented in table 1, the majority of the respondents (67%) frequently to always allow a discount in attending design and consultation meetings; over half (56%) of the respondents frequently to always grant a discount on the review and evaluation of design concepts and advice on project viability, and 69% allowed a discount in the preparation of preliminary and elemental or equivalent estimates of construction cost. regarding preliminary estimates of construction cost and elemental estimates, more than half of the respondents (57% and 52%, respectively) frequently to always allow a discount. claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 37 an average mean score of 3.24 related to all activities listed in table 1 clearly indicates that quantity surveyors frequently discounted fees relating to stage 2. 4.3.3 stage 3: design and development table 2 represents core activities rendered during the design and development stage of the project cycle. these activities were tested individually to determine whether discount is allowed on the fees for professional services rendered during this stage. table 2: design and development services 1 = never, 3 = frequent, 5 = always u ns ur e m e a n 1 2 3 4 5 reviewing the documentation programme with the principal consultant and other professional consultants 7% 31% 29% 18% 11% 4% 2.93 attending design and consultant meetings 4% 39% 14% 25% 14% 4% 3.07 reviewing and evaluating design and outline specifications and exercising cost control in conjunction with the other professional consultants 7% 36% 18% 21% 14% 4% 3.00 preparing detailed estimates of construction cost 11% 36% 18% 21% 14% 0% 2.93 preparing detailed estimates of construction cost 11% 28% 18% 21% 18% 4% 3.07 detailed estimate(s) of construction cost* 15% 48% 11% 15% 11% 0% 2.59 average 2.93 cronbach’s alpha: 0.97 (high reliable) * project deliverables the results illustrate that the majority of the respondents (63%) seldom or never allow discounts on detailed estimate(s) of construction cost, and that the highest percentage of respondents per activity falls in the ‘almost never’ range. it can be interpreted that quantity surveyors are reluctant to allow any form of discount during stage 3 of the project cycle due to the extent of input during this stage. this is further supported by an average mean score of 2.93. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 38 4.3.4 stage 4: documentation and procurement table 3 indicates the core activities relative to the documentation and procurement stage of the project. these activities were tested individually to determine whether discount is allowed on the fees for professional services rendered during this stage. table 3: documentation and procurement services 1 = never, 3 = frequent, 5 = always u ns ur e m e a n 1 2 3 4 5 attending design and consultants meetings 7% 33% 26% 19% 11% 4% 2.92 reviewing working drawings for compliance with the approved budget of construction cost and/or financial viability 7% 37% 26% 19% 7% 4% 2.81 preparing documentation for both principal and subcontract 11% 25% 39% 11% 14% 0% 2.93 assisting the pa 11% 39% 25% 11% 11% 3% 2.70 assisting with financial evaluation of tenders 11% 37% 22% 7% 19% 4% 2.85 assisting with preparation of contract documentation for signature 11% 31% 31% 11% 12% 4% 2.80 budget of construction cost* 19% 42% 19% 12% 8% 0% 2.46 tender documentation* 15% 27% 35% 15% 8% 0% 2.73 financial evaluation of tenders* 15% 35% 27% 12% 11% 0% 2.69 priced contract documentation* 15% 31% 27% 15% 12% 0% 2.77 average 2.77 cronbach’s alpha: 0.98 (high reliable) *project deliverables results revealed that the majority of quantity surveyors frequently to never allow some form of discount on fees during this stage. with a supportive average mean score of 2.77, indicating lesser willingness of quantity surveyors to allow for a discount, it could be argued that quantity surveyors are of the opinion that due to the time spent during this stage, lesser discount, if any, will be granted. 4.3.5 stage 5: construction table 4 stipulates the core quantity surveying functions during the construction stage. these functions were tested individually to determine whether discount is allowed on the fees for professional services rendered during this stage. claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 39 table 4: construction services 1 = never, 3 = frequent, 5 = always u ns ur e m e a n 1 2 3 4 5 preparing schedules of predicted cash flow 4% 39% 25% 25% 7% 0% 2.93 preparing pro-active estimates for proposed variations for client decision-making 4% 43% 21% 25% 7% 0% 2.89 adjudicating and resolving financial claims by the contractor(s) 11% 43% 18% 18% 10% 0% 2.75 assisting in the resolution of contractual claims by the contractor(s) 18% 39% 14% 18% 11% 0% 2.64 establishing and maintaining a financial control system 14% 39% 22% 14% 11% 0% 2.68 preparing valuations for payment certificates to be issued by the principal agent 7% 50% 18% 14% 11% 0% 2.71 preparing final account(s) for the works on a progressive basis 11% 48% 15% 19% 7% 0% 2.63 schedule(s) of predicted cash flow* 11% 43% 21% 18% 7% 0% 2.68 estimates of proposed variations* 7% 43% 29% 14% 7% 0% 2.71 financial control reports* 14% 43% 18% 14% 11% 0% 2.64 valuations for payment certificates* 7% 39% 29% 14% 11% 0% 2.82 progressive and draft final account(s)* 10% 43% 25% 11% 11% 0% 2.68 average 2.73 cronbach’s alpha: 0.99 (high reliable) *project deliverables it is evident from table 4 that, with an average mean score of 2.73, quantity surveyors almost frequently allow for discounts on fees during stage 5 of the project cycle. however, table 4 also reflects that more than half of the respondents never to almost never (rankings 1 and 2) allowed discounts on their fees for services rendered during the project construction stage. it can be interpreted that this stage generates the highest proportion of professional fees, and that discounts allowed could be detrimental (to the client, the firm and the project) in terms of the delivery of services. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 40 4.3.6 stage 6: close-out table 5 shows the core activities for the close-out stage. these activities were tested individually to determine whether discount is allowed on the fees for professional services rendered during this stage. table 5: close-out services 1 = never, 3 = frequent, 5 = always u ns ur e m e a n 1 2 3 4 5 preparing valuations for payment certificates to be issued by the principal agent 14% 36% 25% 11% 14% 0% 2.75 concluding final account(s) 18% 36% 21% 11% 14% 0% 2.68 valuations for payment certificates* 18% 32% 25% 14% 11% 0% 2.68 final account(s)* 19% 31% 23% 15% 12% 0% 2.69 average 2.70 cronbach’s alpha: 0.99 (high reliable) *project deliverables opinion was equally divided (50%) on discounting of fees to be charged for preparing valuations for payment certificates and final accounts, but fees due for concluding final accounts would be discounted by only 46% of the respondents. responses supported by the average mean score of 2.70 reflected in table 5 indicate that quantity surveyors frequently allow discounts on stage 6 of the project cycle. 4.4 respondents’ general opinions/comments respondents were given the opportunity to express general comments related to discounting of fees. the comments could be summarised as follows: • respondents were aware that fees were discounted at various levels and that this practice has a negative impact on the quality of services rendered. • discounting of fees encourages negative unethical behaviour among professionals in the built environment. • less than half of the respondents (42%) commented and are of the opinion that procurement documents do not meet the pre-requisite minimum standard. • the majority of the respondents admitted that they have discounted their fees. claasen & cumberlege • discounting of quantity surveying fees 41 in response to the question as to whether or not they would approve a return to the statutory minimum professional fee scale (withdrawn on 12 december 1988) rather than maintain the current recommended tariff of professional fees, the majority of the respondents: • 67%, stated their supportive agreement; • 81%, strongly recommended that the current sacqsp recommended tariff of professional fees be expanded to include a clause that would regulate fee discounts. the majority (78%) of the respondents reported an increasing frequency among clients who expected a discount on consultants’ professional fees, and 74% noted that these demands had significantly increased since 2008. in response to the question related to the effect of discount on service quality, which also tested the hypothesis, results indicated that 74.5% of the responding quantity surveyors agreed that, where discount is given, it will have a negative impact on the quality of services to be rendered. furthermore, less than half (46%) of the responding quantity surveyors spend less time on estimating, while 48% of the respondents admitted that they have reduced the input time in producing procurement documents, which resulted in incomplete documents. over half (57%) of the respondents also indicated that they ‘cut time’ on the preparation of the final account; instead, they are leaving it up to the contractor to do most of the work. 5. conclusions as indicated in the results in tables 4 and 5 (the two stages where the most discounts are allowed) as well as in 4.4, the findings relative to the hypothesis show that, where discount is given, it will indeed have a negative impact on the quality of services to be rendered. this is supported by the results of less time spent in producing procurement documents and ‘cutting time’ on the preparation of the final account. findings emanating from the study indicate that, under current south african economic conditions (dating from 2008 to current), discounting of professional fees is widely practised by prqss. many of the practitioners are taking advantage of discounting merely as a tool to compensate for the shortage of work due to the shrinking economy. however, this practice rests on a two-edged sword. when a firm enjoys sustained cash flow arising from a substantial number of appointments, the increased turnover will support discounts being acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 42 granted to clients. however, when work is scarce during low-growth, highly competitive market conditions, fewer projects are developed, firms’ cash flow (generally) is reduced and discounting of professional fees should be treated with caution. furthermore, firms that have engaged in allowing excessive discounts over an extended period may find that their financial stability is severely threatened beyond break-even point and eventually be unable to absorb their day-today operating expenses, resulting in insufficient funds being available to cover unforeseen expenditure. it is further confirmed by prqss that discounting of fees has a negative effect on service quality to a certain extent; this is detrimental to the quantity surveying profession and constitutes a breach of the code of professional conduct (2005). 6. recommendations with respect to the hypothesis, the findings show that an effort to investigate the effect of discounting on quantity surveyors’ fixed fee agreements is necessary. in addition, it is recommended that further research be conducted on discounting of fees charged by quantity surveyors for rendering non-traditional services. according to the results, it is imperative that the sacqsp should introduce regulations governing the rate of discount offered by quantity surveyors for professional services rendered, to be linked to the value of the project. it is recommended that the current international economic environment necessitates assessment and, accordingly, adaptation of the sacqsp recommended tariff of professional fees schedule. acknowledgement the authors acknowledge the statistical assistance by dr danie venter of the nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa. references list adendorff, c., botha, b., van zyl, a. & adendorff, g. 2012. financial implications for built environment consultants working at risk in south africa. acta structilia, 19(1), pp.126-152. akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construction: the uk contractor’s perception. engineering, construction and architectural management, 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(eds). proceedings of the 2001 rics cobra conference, glasgow acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 44 caledonian university, 3-5 september 2001. london: royal institution of chartered surveyors, pp. 1-24. pretorius, p. 1993. dispute resolution. cape town: juta & co, ltd. rics (royal institution of chartered surveyors). 2010. your pathway to qualifying in quantity surveying and construction: assessment of professional. [online]. available from: <http://www. joinricsineurope.eu/uploads/files/quantitysurveyingguide. pdf> [accessed: 2 november 2012]. sacqsp (the south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2005. code of professional conduct, published in terms of the quantity surveying profession act, 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000). sacqsp (the south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2011. conference: beyond 2020. 1 september-2 october 2011, port elizabeth, south africa. sacqsp (the south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2013 tariff of professional fees schedule. amendment of tariff of professional fees. quantity surveying profession act, 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000). south africa. 1927. architects and quantity surveyors (private) act, act 18 of 1927. pretoria: government printer. south africa. 1970. quantity surveyors act, act 36 of 1970. pretoria: government printer. the uk monopolies and mergers commission. 1977. architects’ services: a report on the supply of architects’ services with reference to scale fees. london: stationery office books. un (united nations). 2002. manual on statistics of international trade in services. new york: international monetary fund. un (united nations). 1993. system of national accounts. brussels/ luxembourg, new york, paris, washington, d.c: inter-secretariat working group on national accounts. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles juan olwagen, roy cumberlege & ian moss continuing professional development in the quantity surveying profession: quantity surveyors’ perceptions peer reviewed and revised september 2015 abstract this research study was conducted in order to investigate continuing professional development (cpd) in the south african quantity surveying profession. the study further aimed to establish the reasons why some quantity surveyors do not acquire the required cpd hours and face losing their professional registration with the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp). practising quantity surveyors’ perceptions in terms of cpd was investigated in order to establish whether there are factors restricting their participation in cpd as well as to determine whether quantity surveyors regard cpd as beneficial and value adding to them as individual as well as the profession. data to conduct the study was gathered via a national web-based questionnaire. the questionnaire was structured to investigate the respondents’ perceptions regarding the importance of cpd as well as relating evidence to various aspects of cpd, as drawn from the literature. one hundred and thirtyeight registered quantity surveyors participated in the survey. the research established that quantity surveyors regarded handing in their cpd records on time as the most important factor when participating in cpd. it was found that quantity surveyors lack a structured approach to cpd, suggesting that they merely engage in cpd when they have adequate time. with regard to cpd category 1, respondents regard seminars as the most important; however, the majority of the respondents participate in acta structilia by completing a short questionnaire relating to published articles. with regard to cpd category 2, respondents regard mentoring of professional candidates as the most important, and most often engage in this activity. respondents indicated that the most significant barrier to participation in cpd is time related, with work commitments restricting participation. respondents were neutral to the statement that quantity surveyors not complying with cpd requirements mr juan (j.) olwagen, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2669, email: <juan.olwagen@nmmu.ac.za> mr roy (r.) cumberlege, head of department, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 404 3020, email: <roy.cumberlege@nmmu.ac.za> mr ian (i.) moss, senior lecturer, department of construction management and quantity surveying, walter sisulu university, po box 1421, east london, 5200, south africa. phone: +27 43 709 4009, email: <imoss@wsu.ac.za> mailto:juan.olwagen@nmmu.ac.za mailto:roy.cumberlege@nmmu.ac.za mailto:imoss@wsu.ac.za acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 2 should be de-registered. respondents regarded cpd as beneficial as well as a value adding activity, although it takes up much of their valuable time. the study identified changes made to the cpd system and explains how the processes differ from those of previous years. the study will be beneficial to the sacqsp in improving the cpd system and highlighting its shortcomings, benefitting the quantity surveying profession as a whole. keywords: continuing professional development, quantity surveying, perception abstrak hierdie navorsingstudie is uitgevoer om voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling (vpo) in die suid-afrikaanse bourekenaarsprofessie te ondersoek. die studie het verder probeer om vas te stel waarom sommige bourekenaars nie voldoende vpo-ure verkry nie en gevolglik die risiko loop om professionele registrasie te verloor. die persepsies van bourekenaars in terme van vpo is ondersoek om vas te stel of daar faktore is wat deelname in vpo beperk, sowel as om te bepaal of bourekenaars vpo as ‘n waardetoevoeging en as voordelig vir hulself asook die professie beskou. data om die studie uit te voer, is ingesamel deur middel van ‘n nasionale web-gebaseerde vraelys. die vraelys is gestruktureer om die respondente se persepsies ten opsigte van die belangrikheid van vpo te ondersoek, sowel as om bewyse te ondersoek na die verskillende aspekte van vpo, soos uiteengesit in die relevante literatuur. een honderd agt en dertig geregistreerde bourekenaars het aan die opname deelgeneem. die navorsing het getoon dat bourekenaars die inhandiging op tyd van hul vpo rekords as die belangrikste faktor beskou. daar is ook gevind dat bourekenaars in gebreke bly tot ‘n gestruktureerde benadering tot vpo wat daarop dui dat hulle bloot betrokke raak in vpo wanneer hulle genoeg tyd tot hul beskikking het. met betrekking tot vpo kategorie 1, beskou respondente seminare as die belangrikste; respondente neem meestal deel in acta structilia in die voltooiing van ‘n vraelys rakende gepubliseerde artikels. met betrekking tot vpo kategorie 2, beskou respondente mentorskap van professionele kandidate as die belangrikste en hulle raak meer dikwels betrokke in hierdie aktiwiteit. respondente het tydverwante werksomstandighede wat deelname beperk, aangedui as die grootste struikelblok tot deelname aan vpo. respondente was neutraal tot die stelling dat bourekenaars wat nie aan vpo-vereistes voldoen nie, hul registrasie moet verloor. oor die algemeen beskou respondente vpo as voordelig, sowel as ‘n aktiwiteit wat waarde toevoeg tot die professie, al is dit tydrowend. hierdie studie sal die veranderinge tot die vpo-stelsel identifiseer en verduidelik hoe die prosesse verskil van dié van vorige jare. advies sal tot hulp wees vir die sarbp om die vpo-stelsel te verbeter asook om die tekortkominge in die vpostelsel tot algehele bevordering van vpo in die professie uit te lig. sleutelwoorde: voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling, bourekeningkunde, persepsie 1. introduction “the most important thing regarding education is appetite. education does not begin with the university and it certainly ought not to end there” – winston churchill. olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 3 the above statement holds true for continuing professional development (cpd) in the quantity-surveying profession which, according to cruywagen (2007: 92), aims to ensure professional competence and sustainability among registered professionals, past initial training and throughout their career. research done on cpd in the south african quantity-surveying fraternity shows that, for some or other reason, not all registered quantity surveyors are able to submit their cpd details on time. this creates the possibility of being de-registered from the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp), which means that the member is no longer allowed to function as a registered quantity surveyor. the primary objective of this article is to identify reasons why professionals do not acquire sufficient cpd hours. the secondary aim is to establish the quantity-surveying professionals’ general perception towards the cpd process. the article also focuses on gaining a better understanding relative to quantity surveyors’ views on the current cpd system and to investigate any deficiencies of the current cpd system as well as barriers professionals face that restrict participation in cpd events. the outcome of the research will be of great significance for incorporation by the sacqsp and quantity-surveying chapters, relative to assisting and further enhancing performance of registered quantity surveyors managing their cpd profile much more acceptably, thus ensuring long-term success. 2. review of the related literature 2.1 what is cpd? according to clyne (1995: 15), cpd can simply be defined as “[t]he way in which professionals keep themselves up-to-date and maintain their standards as professionals in the practice of the work they do”. houle (cited in clyne, 1995: 15) defines cpd as “[t]he ways in which professionals try, throughout their active lives of service, to refresh their own knowledge and ability and build a sense of collective responsibility to society”. the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics) (2015: online) defines cpd as “[a] commitment by members to continually update their skills and knowledge in order to remain professionally competent”. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 4 rics (2008) describes cpd in detail, breaking it up and describing each word as follows: • continuing, because learning never ceases, regardless of age or seniority; • it is professional, because it is focused on professional competence in a professional role; and • it is concerned with development, because its goal is to improve personal performance and enhance career progression, which arguably is much wider than simply formal training courses. in south africa, cpd for the quantity-surveying profession is administered through the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp), in accordance with the quantity surveying profession act (act no. 49 of 2000; government gazette, 2000) (sacqsp, 2007: 3). the primary objectives of the cpd system, as set out by the sacqsp (2007: 3) are: • to enrich professional skills while supporting development in the quantity surveying profession; • to meet the requirements of the act; • to serve as one of the means for renewal of registration, and • to develop the quantity-surveying profession as an educated society of skilled professionals. clyne (1995: 17) explains that the initial training period, such as tertiary education, prepares one for practice. once a person starts gaining practical experience, the circumstances change once again and professionals in practice require continuous learning from a variety of sources. professional bodies constitute the most effective approaches to cpd in providing professionals with structured and unstructured learning experiences. an important characteristic of cpd is that it has the ability to be tailormade to suit each individual’s needs; it is not a one-size-fits-all system, as described by clyne (1995: 48). 2.2 the need for cpd according to clyne (1995: 48), “[p]rofessional people can no longer depend on their initial education and training to equip them for their entire working life”. olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 5 the everincreasing complexity in construction has, to a great extent, contributed to the need for cpd in order to facilitate ‘lifelong learning’. clyne (1995: 48) further states that other changes such as changes in construction techniques, materials, quality control, changes in the traditional roles of various professionals, and radical changes in information technology make cpd an invaluable tool for any profession in order to keep up-to-date in these ever-changing times. according to allen & van der velden’s study ([n.d.]), nearly a third of the skills obtained by graduates were obsolete only seven years after graduation. the main causes of obsolescence could be attributed to shortcomings in education as well as changes in fields of work. a similar study conducted by rochester (1993, cited in le roux, 2004) revealed that qualification obsolescence sets in after a mere five years, resulting i n that the holder of the obsolete qualification finds it difficult to compete in the labour market, reinforcing the importance of cpd throughout a professional’s career. 2.3 cpd in the south african quantity surveying profession the cpd system was introduced on 1 january 1991 in south africa. the quantity surveyors’ act 1970 (act no. 36 of 1970) mandated the south african council for quantity surveyors (sacqs) to implement a policy of continuing professional development (cruywagen, 2007: 91). in spite of this opportunity enshrined in the act, the council did not elect to do so at the time. nevertheless, in the 1990s, encouraged by senior academics at tertiary institutions in south africa and by the rics, the council became increasingly sensitive to its own statutory accountability with regard to the maintenance of quantity-surveying professional standards and the quality of tertiary education, as well as developing an acute awareness of the direct impact of legislation on the registration of all professional practitioners allied to the construction industry. on 5 november 1998, the sacqs accepted the recommendation of the national board of the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs, 1997) that cpd should become a prerequisite for renewal of the statutory registration of professional quantity surveyors (prqs) and accordingly, taking into account the south african qualifications authority act, 1985 (act no. 58 of 1995); the skills development act, 1998 (act no. 97 of 1998); the council for the built environment act (draft bill as at 29 september 2000); the quantity surveying profession act (also a draft bill as at acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 6 29 september 2000), and the cpd requirements of the international cost engineering council (2000), the sacqs mandated the asaqs to draft the terms of a policy with which prqss would be required to comply with effect from 1 january 1999, and which the asaqs would administer on behalf of the council. accordingly, the asaqs published its policy entitled ‘continued professional development system’ (effective date 1 january 1999). while the sacqsp actively supported the introduction and implementation of the asaqs cpd system on 1 january 1999 and notwithstanding the contents of the soon-to-be promulgated quantity surveying profession act 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000), nearly eight years passed before action would be taken on 13 october 2006 by the sacqsp to prescribe compliance with the cpd system as a prerequisite for renewal of prqs’ registration in terms of sections 22(1) and (2) of act no. 49 of 2000. 2.4 sacqsp policy amendments to the asaqs cpd system on 13 october 2006, the sacqsp resolved that the cpd system, initially introduced by the sacqs and administered by the asaqs, would, with effect from 1 january 2007, be amended and administered by the sacqsp in terms of its obligations under act no. 49 of 2000, and published under the title continuing professional development policy. in addition to withdrawing the administration/management of the policy from the asaqs and transferring these functions to the council’s registrar’s office, the sacqsp amendments to the terms of the renewed policy were far-reaching insofar as prqs’ were concerned, because i. commencing on 1 january 2007, compliance with the policy would be a prerequisite, leading to renewal of registration with the council; ii. five-year renewal of registration would be an administrative process for those who met the cpd requirements and the first date of compulsory re-registration was to be 1 march 2008; iii. minimum/maximum cpd credits (hours) were to be obtained in two categories (accumulated annually) (category 1: 10 hours minimum and category 2: 15 hours maximum); iv. submission of cpd records would be in a new format; the council issued a form for this purpose; v. an application form titled 5-yearly application for renewal of registration was approved by the council on 16 october 2007 olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 7 and circulated to all prqss with a view to their renewed registration effective on 1 april 2008; and vi. disciplinary measures to be applied by the council in the event of non-compliance with the cpd policy, was structured and published on the council’s website. on 20 november 2013, the council again revised the policy, with emphasis on the types of cpd activities recommended within categories 1 and 2 and the annual time allocations applicable to each category. category 1 relates to formal and external activities, including conferences, workshops, lectures, seminars, distancelearning seminars, web-based training such as ccn, publication/ presentation of research conducted, individual learning, and self-study such as golearning and acta structilia. category 2 relates to informal and internal activities, including in-house skills training, organised or formal small-group discussions, professional administration, self-study, undergraduate/postgraduate teaching, postgraduate research supervision, mentoring of candidate practitioners, examination, evaluation, and assessments (sacqsp, 2013). the council once again revised the cpd policy, stipulating that all registered candidates and professionals must undertake annually a compulsory online assessment of their understanding of the council’s code of professional conduct (sacqsp, 2015). 2.5 relevance of cpd for the cpd system to be relevant for quantity surveyors, it would have to: • encourage professionals to achieve and maintain their competence to best serve the needs of their clients; • ensure that professionals receive credit and recognition for cpd activities which deliver an advanced level of technical expertise appropriate to professional practice activities; and • take into consideration that individual professionals all have varying needs; for example, some professionals have better general management skills, commercial competence or interpersonal communication skills, while others might be lacking in one or more of these areas. the introduction of a properly structured cpd policy enhances the credibility of both the professional body and its members. furthermore, a professional body will be perceived as supporting the needs of its members, rather than imposing “more regulations on them from on high a condition that” the cpd system is communicated well acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 8 to its members and not simply haphazardly implemented overnight (le roux, 2001: 29). mandated by the sacqsp, the asaqs via the edutech centre (the educational and technical support arm of the asaqs) provides events that members can attend in order to keep their cpd portfolio up to date. this is done through chapters, relevant tertiary institutions as well as a web-based service called “golearning” facility. the asaqs have a policy in place to reach each chapter with two annual cpd events. the asaqs negotiate with cpd training providers to reduce costs to bring it to the chapters at a considerably reduced fee, which is often half of the commercial fee. any profit made in the larger chapters is used to subsidize the smaller chapters. 2.6 non-compliance with cpd as stated by the registrar of the sacqsp, “one can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force [it] to drink …” (sacqsp e-letter 36, 2012). three weeks prior to the end of the five-year cpd cycle ending december 2012, less than 25% of professional quantity surveyors managed to submit their full quota of cpd records. a sixty-day automatic extension of time was granted to professionals who were not fully compliant. on 31 may 2013, when the sixty-day deadline expired, the sacqsp reported that there were still registered professionals who were not cpd compliant. the names of the non-compliant professionals were published on the sacqsp’s website as well as in the government gazette and they were informed that they will be struck off the councils’ register and be prohibited from continuing to practise as registered quantity surveyors (sacqsp e-letter 42, 2013). each of these professionals was notified at least twice within the sixty-day extension period, during which they were advised of the repercussions of their reluctance to adhere to the requirements of the act. in 2013, a total of 182 registered professionals were formally de-registered from the sacqsp due to non-compliance (sacqsp e-letter 47, 2013). a number of these members corrected this and re-applied according to the rules as per the sacqsp; in 2014, only 55 remained de-registered, of whom five resigned from the profession and one passed away. 2.7 benefits of cpd cpd has far-reaching benefits that extend much further than merely the professional and the firm in which they are employed (chartered institute of purchase and supply, [n.d.]). olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 9 national and public benefits: oladiran (1999: 161) asserts that “cpd stimulates movement and exchange of professionals, information and sharing of diminishing resources among neighboring states”. harper & thomas (2001: 31) confirm this view, stating that skilled professionals are not confined to their physical location. benefits of cpd to the professional: cpd gives professionals the ability to build up confidence and credibility; potentially generates higher income by showcasing their achievements; assists professionals in dealing with change by constantly updating their skill set, and identifies gaps in the professionals’ knowledge and experience allowing them to address those problems and improve efficiency (cipd, 2012). benefits of cpd to the firm: cpd allows organisations to maximize staff potential by linking knowledge gained from cpd activities to practice; assisting human resource personnel to set objectives for training that are more closely linked to specific business needs, and increasing the firms’ image by employing competent and informed professionals (cipd, 2012). a quantity-surveying firm consists of individual quantity surveyors; therefore, the benefits experienced by individual professionals from cpd also impact on the firm. a survey conducted by le roux in 2004 revealed that benefits arising from cpd/skills enhancement activities accrue to: • nations, in terms of national targets, establishment of standards, and promotion of new initiatives (oladiran, 1999; senior, 1999; saqs act 1995; sda act 1998; mdlalana, 2003); • the public, insofar as confidence is mentioned and respect is generated for those responsible for upgrading and sustaining their professional knowledge and technical skills (thomas & harper, 2001; poitot, cited in kehl, 1996); • communities at large, although the management and development of personnel improving the knowledge and expertise of individuals permeates through their employer organisations and society at large (oladiran, 1999; icpd, 2003); • professional organisations, by releasing human potential in the working environment and creating positive perceptions that the good example set and visible actions taken by those who undertake cpd supported by their colleagues and professionals in other disciplines to commit themselves to the same development concept (young, 1996); • firms and businesses where cpd is recognised as enhancing an organisation’s human resources ‘capital’ and a vital acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 10 means of assessing an individual staff member for progression/ promotion (kanter, 1990), and • individual practitioners/service providers (senior, 1999). literature abounds with references to the advantages and benefits accruing to individuals as a result of their participation in cpd activities (le roux, 2004: 122, 123, 208-211). 3. research methodology primary and secondary data for this research study was obtained in order to gain further understanding of, and a firm background to the process of cpd. for the purpose of this study, the empirical or primary data was gathered via a structured online questionnaire. this type of survey is easy, cheap and fast to conduct (struwig & stead, 2010). quantitative research techniques involving statistics, tables and graphs were used to analyse data from the sample in order to establish the results. a questionnaire structured into four sections was administered. section a consisted of questions aimed at capturing demographic data such as age, gender, qualifications, position within the firm, and number of years practising as a quantity surveyor. section b consisted of questions relating to cpd requirements as well as participation in cpd activities. section c consisted of questions aimed at determining the quantity surveyors’ perceptions of the current cpd system and whether they find it beneficial. section d consisted of general questions relating to the questionnaire and gave respondents an opportunity to provide their comments. five hundred and seventy two (572) registered quantity surveyors were requested to participate in the research survey nationally. a total of fifty-six (56) e-mails were undelivered. five hundred and sixteen (516) registered quantity surveyors received the questionnaire. one hundred and thirty-eight (138) completed responses were received four weeks after the first email was sent, representing a response rate of 26%. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. a 5-point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. leedy & ormrod (2005: 185) maintain that likert scales are effective to elicit participants’ opinions about various statements. the microsoft excel ranking function was used to compute the rank of mean scores recorded in the data analysis. this ranking method enabled the researcher to evaluate olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 11 the importance of problems, parameters and individual statements relative to each other. for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following scale measure ment was used regarding mean scores: ‘never/not important’ (>1 & ≤1.8); ‘seldom/slightly important’ (>1.8 & ≤2.6); ‘sometimes/ important’ (>2.6 & ≤3.4); ‘usually/very important’ (>3.4 & ≤4.2) and ‘always/critical important’ (>4.2 & ≤5.0). 4. findings and discussion this section presents the analysis and discussion of the findings obtained from the copies of the administered questionnaires. 4.1 demographic profile the findings indicate that the majority of the respondents (86%) are male, 60% are older than 45 years, 83% are married, while 57% are senior professionals with over 20 years’ experience. the majority of the respondents (97%) are currently in senior positions, which explains that nearly all the respondents have been exposed to, and are familiar with the cpd system. 4.2 obtaining cpd hours by registered quantity surveyors 4.2.1 category 1 cpd activities this section seeks to establish how important respondents view the category 1 activities and how evident it is in the real working environment. table 1 shows that respondents regarded ‘seminars’ as the most important cpd activity (ms=3.03). ‘workshops’ and ‘lectures’ were regarded as equally important (ms=2.99). other cpd activities respondents regarded as being important, in order of mean score, were: “individual learning” (ms=2.84), “formal tertiary studies” (ms=2.77), “distance-learning seminars” (ms=2.71), and “acta structilia” (ms=2.66). respondents regarded the construction communication network (ccn) as the least important activity (ms=2.23). the analysis shows that respondents regard category 1 activities as ‘slightly important’ to ‘important’. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 12 table 1: category 1 cpd activities (importance) statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) conferences 17.4 34.1 32.6 15.2 0.7 0 2.48 congresses 20.3 38.4 27.6 13.0 0.7 0 2.36 workshops 6.5 18.9 44.9 29.0 0.7 0 2.99 lectures 7.2 16.7 46.4 29.0 0.7 0 2.99 seminars 7.3 17.5 43.1 29.2 2.9 0 3.03 distance-learning seminars 10.9 33.6 33.6 16.1 5.1 0.7 2.71 individual learning, such as skills training or short-term study at a tertiary institution 12.3 23.2 36.2 20.3 5.8 2.2 2.84 golearning 14.5 29.0 31.9 10.1 4.4 10.1 2.56 acta structilia 15.2 25.3 32.6 14.5 5.1 7.3 2.66 ccn 19.3 36.3 25.2 5.9 0.7 12.6 2.23 formal tertiary studies 13.8 29.0 29.0 19.6 7.2 1.4 2.77 publications in peerreviewed journals 12.5 33.8 39.7 11.8 0.7 1.5 2.54 papers presented at accredited conferences or congress/poster presentations 21.0 35.5 27.5 12.3 1.5 2.2 2.36 table 2 shows that respondents either sometimes or rarely participated in the cpd activities under category 1, with no activity clearly standing out. however, respondents indicated that they most often use the ‘acta structilia’ as a source of cpd hours (ms=2.94). the second most preferred activity was ‘seminars’ (ms=2.92). it is also evident that respondents rarely engage in ‘papers presented at accredited conferences or congress/poster presentations (ms=1.83). the analysis shows that respondents indicated that there is seldom to sometimes evidence relating to category 1 activities. olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 13 table 2: category 1 cpd activities (evidence) statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) conferences 26.1 29.0 26.1 15.2 3.6 0 2.41 congresses 29.7 33.3 22.5 13.0 1.5 0 2.23 workshops 11.7 18.2 46.7 23.4 0.0 0 2.82 lectures 12.4 27.8 37.2 21.9 0.7 0 2.71 seminars 8.0 23.2 40.6 25.3 2.9 0 2.92 distance-learning seminars 38.0 25.5 23.4 11.7 0.7 0.7 2.11 individual learning, such as skills training or short-term study at a tertiary institution 31.1 21.0 29.7 16.7 0.0 1.5 2.32 golearning 39.9 23.2 18.8 9.4 3.6 5.1 2.09 acta structilia 19.6 17.4 23.9 21.7 14.5 2.9 2.94 ccn 43.5 29.0 15.9 5.1 1.4 5.1 1.86 formal tertiary studies 51.5 22.1 15.4 9.6 0.7 0.7 1.85 publications in peerreviewed journals 47.1 24.6 17.4 8.0 2.9 0 1.95 papers presented at accredited conferences or congress/poster presentations 53.6 18.8 18.1 7.3 1.5 0.7 1.83 4.2.2 category 2 cpd activities this section seeks to establish how important respondents view the category 2 activities and how evident it is in the real working environment. table 3 shows that respondents regard ‘mentoring of registered candidates’ as ‘important’ to a ‘very important’ activity (ms=3.64). other activities regarded as important, in order of mean score, were ‘self-study’ (ms=3.36), ‘in-house skills training sessions organised by individual practices’ (ms=3.35), ‘professional administration’ (ms=3.25), ‘organised, formal small group discussions’ (ms=3.13), and ‘undergraduate/post-graduate teaching’ (ms=2.80). respondents regarded ‘supervision of postgraduate research studies’ as the least important activity (ms=2.57). the analysis shows that respondents regard the majority of category 2 activities either slightly important or important. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 14 table 3: category 2 cpd activities (importance) statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) in-house skills training sessions organized by individual practices 5.8 15.2 29.0 38.4 11.6 0 3.35 organized, formal smallgroup discussions 5.8 17.4 40.6 30.4 5.8 0 3.13 professional administration 5.1 11.7 40.9 35.0 5.8 1.5 3.25 self-study 2.9 12.3 39.1 37.7 8.0 0 3.36 undergraduate / postgraduate teaching 12.3 29.7 29.9 18.8 7.9 1.4 2.80 supervision of postgraduate research studies 18.2 25.5 32.1 18.3 1.5 4.4 2.57 examinations, evaluations and assessments 18.1 28.3 28.3 18.8 2.9 3.6 2.59 mentoring of registered candidates 5.1 5.8 30.4 35.5 21.7 1.5 3.64 table 4 shows that respondents frequently engaged in ‘mentoring of professional candidates’ (ms=3.45). however, respondents only sometimes or rarely engaged in the remaining activities under category two. the second most preferred activity was ‘professional administration’ (ms=3.32). respondents least participated in ‘examinations, evaluations and assessments’ (ms=1.96). the analysis shows that respondents overall indicated that there is rarely to sometimes evidence relating to category 2 activities which could be interpreted as that respondents find it more difficult to obtain category 2 cpd hours. table 4: category 2 cpd activities (evidence) statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) in-house skills training sessions organized by individual practices 11.6 18.1 23.2 37.0 10.1 0 3.16 organized, formal smallgroup discussions 11.6 18.8 33.3 31.9 4.4 0 2.99 professional administration 11.6 9.4 27.5 36.2 13.8 1.5 3.32 self-study 5.8 13.8 35.5 36.2 8.7 0 3.28 olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 15 statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) undergraduate/ postgraduate teaching 43.5 21.0 18.1 10.1 5.8 1.5 2.13 supervision of postgraduate research studies 48.5 18.1 17.4 11.6 2.9 1.5 2.01 examinations, evaluations and assessments 50.7 18.8 15.9 8.0 5.1 1.5 1.96 mentoring of registered candidates 37.5 6.3 3.1 9.4 0.0 43.7 3.45 4.2.3 factors affecting cpd participation this section determines to what level certain factors restrict the participation in cpd activities. table 5 shows that respondents indicated that their participation is frequently affected by work commitments that restrict participation (ms=3.96); the high cost of some cpd events (ms=3.79), and the duration of activities such as those spanning over multiple days (ms=3.72). this reinforces the fact that the quantity surveyors often have high workloads and tight deadlines, making it difficult to attend formal cpd activities. furthermore, it suggests that it places a financial as well as a time burden on professionals. it is noteworthy to mention that respondents’ participation is rarely affected by a lack of interest (ms=2.53) in the cpd activities presented. cruywagen’s (2007) survey also reflects a similar result. the analysis shows that current activities are stimulating. this also supports the fact that respondents regarded the majority of cpd activities under both categories 1 and 2 as important. table 5: factors affecting cpd participation statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) geographic 21.7% 18.8% 19.6% 21.7% 17.5% 0.7% 2.94 financial 2.9% 10.9% 19.6% 36.2% 29.0% 1.4% 3.79 work commitments 1.4% 3.6% 22.5% 42.0% 30.5% 0% 3.96 duration of activity 1.4% 9.4% 30.5% 32.6% 26.1% 0% 3.72 firm structure 16.7% 18.1% 20.3% 16.0% 26.1% 2.8% 3.17 not interested 18.8% 24.6% 42.9% 12.3% 1.4% 0% 2.53 acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 16 4.3 quantity surveyors’ opinions about cpd this section determines the respondents’ views on cpd. table 6 shows that respondents agreed that cpd is beneficial to the quantity surveyor and to the profession (ms=3.55). furthermore, respondents were ‘neutral’ when asked whether: • cpd is a wasteful activity; • keeping their cpd records up to date takes up much of their valuable time; • it is difficult to acquire the minimum required cpd hours, and • the current cpd system is user friendly. however, as far as perceptions regarding cpd, as illustrated in table 6, are concerned, it is notable that over half (53.7%) of the respondents disagree to strongly disagree (ms=2.61) when asked whether cpd is a wasteful activity, suggesting that quantity surveyors perceive that cpd participation adds value in terms of professional skills enhancement and is not a waste of time. less than half of the respondents (47.8%) noted that acquiring the sacqsp prescribed minimum hours is not onerous (ms=2.87). however, maintaining cdp records is a timeconsuming (negative) activity (ms=3.37) experienced by half (50.8%) of the respondents. furthermore, only 39.2% of the respondents considered the current cpd system to be user friendly (ms=3.05). the analysis revealed the lack of time (ms=3.37) in completing cpd records. this is further supported by the time factor related to work commitments (ms=3.96) (table 5). cruywagen’s (2007) survey also revealed that lack of time is the most important issue. table 6: perceptions about cpd statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) the current cpd system is user friendly 8.7 21.0 29.7 34.9 4.3 1.4 3.05 it is difficult to acquire the minimum required cpd hours 10.1 37.7 18.9 21.7 11.6 0 2.87 keeping your cpd records up to date takes up much valuable time 1.4 23.9 23.9 37.8 13.0 0 3.37 cpd is a wasteful activity 14.6 39.1 23.2 15.2 7.2 0.7 2.61 olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 17 statement 1 = not important, 3 = important, 5 = critical unsure (%) mean score (ms) 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) cpd is beneficial to you as a quantity surveyor and to the profession 5.8 13.0 18.8 44.9 17.5 0 3.55 5. conclusion respondents regard submitting their cpd records on time as the most important factor when undertaking cpd, in contrast to the evidence suggesting that professionals lack a structured approach to cpd and merely engage in cpd activities when they can find the time or when an event presents itself. with regard to cpd activities relating to category 1, respondents most often participate in attending workshops, lectures, seminars, and acta structilia questionnaires, all of which they regard as being important cpd activities. regarding category 2 activities, respondents most often participate in mentoring of registered candidates, professional administration, self-study, in-house skills training sessions, and organised formal small-group discussions, all of which respondents regarded as important activities. it is also notable that participation in cpd is most frequently affected by work commitments restricting participation; this has a detrimental impact on small and one-man firms. hence, it can be said that, due to the nature of their work, quantity surveyors are extremely busy and lack adequate time to participate in cpd activities on a regular basis. participation is further affected by the high financial cost and the duration of some cpd events. the findings further suggest that quantity surveyors are aware of the potential benefits to them as well as to the quantity surveying profession. furthermore, respondents do not regard cpd as a wasteful activity, but rather as one adding value to the profession as a whole. however, respondents are still of the opinion that cpd takes up much of their valuable time, time that could otherwise have been spent on work-related activities. respondents were neutral when asked whether the current cpd system was user friendly. however, they agreed that there is room for improvement. in an effort to establish whether there is a link between cpd activities and the core competencies as prescribed by the sacqsp, it was acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 18 found that current cpd activities on offer rarely or never assist professionals with updating their skills and knowledge on the core functions of quantity surveying. 6. recommendations in order to encourage cpd participation, it is recommended that: • events relating to practical aspects of the profession, for example, marketing a built-environment profession, risk in built-environment professional practice and guarantees in construction projects, should be arranged; • a ‘sunset’ period could possibly be considered whereby a practitioner with substantial working experience is not obliged to participate in cpd activities; • greater effort should be made to ensure cpd activities are more accessible in terms of cost and presented to members in all provinces and not only focused in main centres; • all asaqs chapters should strive to arrange cpd events for members, and • quantity surveyors working on unique and challenging projects should be rewarded with cpd hours where they have to educate themselves in terms of new construction methods, materials or systems. acknowledgement the authors are extremely grateful to prof. (emeritus) gaye le roux, original initiator of the cpd system for the quantity surveying profession in south africa, for the valuable contribution to this study. references list allen, j. & van der velden, r. [n.d.]. when do skills become obsolete, and when does it matter? [online]. available from: <http://www. roa.unimaas.nl/cv/vandervelden/pdf/skillsobsolescence.pdf> [accessed: 2 march 2013]. asaqs (association of south african quantity surveyors). 1997. unpublished minutes of the board meeting held on 25 july 1997 at the asaqs headquarters, waterfall park, midrand, south africa. chartered institute of personnel and development. 2012. fresh thinking on cpd the value of what you do. [online]. available olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 19 from: <http://www.cipd.co.uk/cpd/aboutcpd/whatiscpd.htm> [accessed: 7 march 2013). cips (chartered institute of purchase and supply). [n.d.]. continuing professional development. [online]. available from: <http://www. cips.org/careers/continuingprofessionaldevelopment/> [accessed: 21 august 2013]. clyne, s. (ed.) 1995. continuing professional development: perspectives on cpd in practice. london: kogan page. cruywagen, h. 2007. continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa. acta structilia, 14(2), pp. 91-103. harper, e.s. & thomas, p. 2001. cpe: changing with the profession. american institute of certified public accountants. the cpa journal, pp. 31-33, february. icpd (institute of continuing professional development). 2003. [online]. available from: <http://icpd.org.> [accessed: 13 march 2014]. kanter, r.m. 1990. when giants learn to dance. new york: simon & schuster. kehl, r.j. 1996. are there benefits to continuing professional development? civil engineering, 66(10), p. 52. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th ed. upper saddle river, nj: pearson. le roux, g. 2001. continuing professional development. part 2: cpd corner. projectpro: ‘the journal for project professionals’, 11(1/2), p. 29, february. le roux, g.k. 2004. the role of continuing professional development in sustaining professional practice in the built environment professions. unpublished phd thesis, port elizabeth: university of port elizabeth. moyo, a. & crafford, g.j. 2010. the impact of hyperinflation on zimbabwean construction industry. acta structilia, 17(2), pp. 53-83. oladiran, m.t. 1999. continuing professional development for practicing engineers in developing countries. ieee transactions on education, 42(3), pp. 161-166. rochester, j. 1993. professional activities council for engineers (pace). in: proceedings of the professional communication conference, 1993. ‘the new face of technical communication: people, processes, http://icpd.org http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostrecentissue.jsp?punumber=4622 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostrecentissue.jsp?punumber=4622 acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 20 products’, 5-8 october 1993, philadelphia, pennsylvania. new york: institute of electrical and electronics engineers, inc., pp. 234-238. rics (royal institution of chartered surveyors). 2015. continuing professional development (cpd). [online]. available from: <http:// www.rics.org/za/regulation1/compliance1/continuing-professionaldevelopment-cpd/> [accessed: 2 december 2015]. rics (royal institution of chartered surveyors). 2008. lifelong learning – a new approach. [online]. available from: <http://www. rics.org/myrics/regulation/life+long+learning+a+new+appro ach.htm> [accessed: 25 march 2013]. senior, c. 1999. a global view of cpd. people management, 5(10), p. 62. struwig, f.w. & stead, g.b. 2010. planning, designing and reporting research. cape town: pearson education south africa. sacqs (south african council for quantity surveyors). 1998. unpublished minutes of the council meeting held on 5 november 1998 at the asaqs headquarters, waterfall park, midrand, south africa. sacqs (south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2007. continuing professional development policy (revised august 2012). [online]. available from: <http://www.sacqsp.org.za/resource/ collection/da46d206-7ecc-4b3e-841f-00b5e2fefcc1/cpd_policy_ (revised_24_august_2012).pdf> [accessed: 26 february 2013]. sacqs (south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2013. continuing professional development policy (revised november 2013). [online]. available from: <http://www.sacqsp.org.za/resource/ collection/da46d206-7ecc-4b3e-841f-00b5e2fefcc1/cpd_policy_ (revised_20_november_2013).pdf> [accessed: 7 september 2015]. sacqs (south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2015. continuing professional development policy (revised march 2015). [online]. available from: <http://www.sacqsp.org.za/resource/ collection/da46d206-7ecc-4b3e-841f-00b5e2fefcc1/cpd_policy_ (revised_30_march_2015).pdf> [accessed: 7 september 2015]. sacqs (south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2012. e-letter 36 – cpd crises. 13 december 2012, p. 1. sacqs (south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2013. e-letter 42 – 5-year continuing professional development (cpd) non-compliance. 4 april 2013, p. 1. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostrecentissue.jsp?punumber=4622 olwagen, cumberlege & moss • continuing professional development 21 sacqs (south african council for the quantity surveying profession). 2013. e-letter 47 – the quality of future prqs and other matters. 10 september 2013, p. 3. thomas, p. & harper, e.s. 2001. cpe: changing with the profession. american institute of certified public accountants. the cpa journal, pp. 31-33, february. young, c. 1996. how cpd can further organizational aims. people management, 2(11), p. 67. 22 hoffie cruywagen towards the establishment of a relevant national tender price index for the south african building industry peer reviewed and revised abstract there is currently only one published tender price index available in south africa for use by built-environment practitioners. the purpose of this article is to report on an investigation into the nature of a more recent tender price index. a literature study was conducted to examine the theory of indices in order to establish which type of index as well as which formula would be appropriate for use in south africa. thereafter, the priced bills of quantities of a selected number of projects were analysed in order to identify representative indicator items as well as the weighting thereof for an index. thirty-two indicator items were identified that could be used for calculating an index. in addition, sourced priced bills of quantities for a number of projects over a six-and-a-half year period were analysed to calculate average rates for the 32 selected indicator items. these rates, together with the established weightings of items, were used to calculate an index. the main finding that emerged from the research was that, by using the above methodology, an alternative tender price index could be determined for use by the south african building industry. keywords: indices, bills of quantities, rates abstrak daar is tans slegs een gepubliseerde tenderprysindeks beskikbaar in suid-afrika vir gebruik deur bou-omgewing praktisyns. die doel van hierdie artikel is om verslag te lewer oor ’n studie wat gedoen is oor hoe ’n meer onlangse tenderprysindeks daar sou uitsien. ’n literatuurstudie is uitgevoer om die teorie van indekse te bestudeer. dit is gedoen ten einde te bepaal watter tipe indeks asook watter formule die mees geskikte sou wees vir gebruik in suid-afrika. daarna is die gepryste hoeveelheidslyste van geselekteerde projekte ontleed om verteenwoordigende aanwyseritems te bepaal asook die gewigte daarvan. twee-en-dertig verteenwoordigende aanwyseritems wat gebruik kan word vir die berekening van die indeks is geïdentifiseer. verdere ontleding van ingewinne gepryste hoeveelheidslyste van ’n aantal projekte oor ’n ses-en-’n-halfjaar tydperk is gedoen om gemiddelde tariewe vir die gekose 32 aanwyseritems te bepaal. mr hoffie cuywagen, senior lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. telephone: +27 12 4204973, email: <hoffie.cruywagen@up.ac.za> cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 23 hierdie tariewe, saam met die bepaalde gewigte van die items, is gebruik vir berekening van ’n indeks. die belangrikste bevinding van die studie is dat deur gebruik te maak van bostaande metodologie kan ’n tenderprysindeks daargestel word vir alternatiewe gebruik deur die suid-afrikaanse bou-industrie. sleutelwoorde: indekse, hoeveelheidslyste, tariewe 1. introduction construction-cost indices are used on a daily basis in the industry for cost planning (kirkham, 2007); forecasting (flemming & tysoe, 1991: 18, 21; yu & ive, 2008: 694; ashworth, 1991); updating cost estimates (brook, 1974: 54; ferry, brandon & ferry, 2003: 154); updating of tenders (van der walt, 1992: 1.1; seeley, 1996: 224; segalla, 1991: 44); monitoring price movements (ferry et al., 2003: 176); replace ment cost of buildings (segalla, 1991: 47; kilian, 1980; akintoye, bowen & hardcastle, 1998: 161); monitoring the national economy (statistics norway, 2007), and negotiation of contracts (brook, 1974: 55; statistics finland, 2001: 52). according to mohammadian & seymour (1997: 1), a number of role players in the building industry, such as producers and purchasers of construction projects, suppliers and manufacturers of construction products, designers, quantity surveyors, cost estimators and budget managers, can use cost indices. as there is currently only one tender price index in use in south africa (the index of the bureau of economic research [ber] of the stellenbosch university) which uses 22 representative indicator items (marx, 2005: 8), the author identified the need to conduct a study on the use and compilation of cost indices which might lead to the construction of a possible new tender price index for the south african building industry. in order to construct a possible new tender price index for the south african building industry, 32 representative indicator items were sourced from priced bills of quantities over a six-and-a-half year period to calculate average unit rates which, in conjunction with the established weightings of items were used to calculate a new index. if the ber index, which, as deemed by some, is outdated and, therefore, no longer accurate, it could have a negative influence on a number of activities of these industries. on the other hand, if the ber index is still accurate, a new index would still be useful, as quantity surveyors and other users of the index could then use it as a checking mechanism in conjunction with the ber index. a new index would, therefore, make an important contribution to the quantity-surveying profession in south africa. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 24 2. index theory 2.1 indices in general steyn, smit, du toit & strasheim (2007: 250) define an index as “[a] ratio that measures relative change”, whereas flemming & tysoe (1991: 1) state that “[i]ndex numbers of cost and prices provide a convenient means of expressing changes over time in the cost or prices of a group of related products in a single measure”. another way of explaining an index is to state that index numbers are intended to show the average percentage changes in the value of certain products at a specific time, compared to another time. furthermore, marx (2005: 3) is of the opinion that indices only measure relative numbers and can, at best, only give an indication of the measure to which a variable, compared to an earlier period, has changed. therefore, most index figures cannot be very accurate, being unable to reflect information regarding the actual level of a variable. 2.2 types of indices steyn et al. (2007: 252) are of the opinion that one must distinguish between simple and composite indices, on the one hand, and un-weighted and weighted indices, on the other. a simple index is used to represent the price change of a single commodity, whereas a composite index represents the price changes of more than one commodity. in addition, when an un-weighted composite price index is calculated, the price changes of all commodities are regarded as equal, while in a weighted composite index, different weights are allocated to the different commodities. all the important indices used in the construction industry are weighted composite indices. according to yu & ive (2008: 704-705), the two most popular indices used are the following: the laspeyres price index, for which the formula for calculating the index is: pl = 𝛴 pnqo x 100 (price in current period x base weight) x 100 𝛴 poqo (price in base period x base weight) this formula thus calculates a base-weighted (or fixed basket) index, where the relative quantities of the base period provide the weighting. the paasche index has the following formula: pp = 𝛴 pnqn x 100 (weight in current period x price in current period) x 100 𝛴 poqn (weight in current period x price in base period) cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 25 this formula calculates a current weighted price index, where current prices are compared with the base-year prices. 2.3 indices in the construction industry flemming & tysoe (1991: 41, 57, 133) and eurostat (1980: 89-90) state that the following three main types of indices are used in the construction industry. 2.3.1 input price index the primary objective of such an index is to reflect local market prices and it can, therefore, be used to reimburse the contractor in respect of cost increases in labour and material. an example of such indices is the construction price adjustment provision indices published by statistics south africa on a quarterly basis. 2.3.2 output/tender price index such indices attempt to measure the total cost of construction of a completed structure in each location, taking into account local conditions, changes in productivity, and contractors’ profit margins. for these type of indices, both the laspeyres index (example: ber building-cost index) as well as the paasche index (example: building cost information services (bcis) index in the uk) may be used. 2.3.3 seller’s price index such an index, according to statistics norway (2007), includes not only all the costs of the completed construction project, but also the cost of land, finance costs, professional fees, vat, and the seller’s profit. this type of index is not used a great deal in the south african building industry. 2.4 factors influencing the composition of indices the following factors influence the composition of indices and should be taken into account when constructing a new index. 2.4.1 availability of data sufficient data in the correct format should be available on a continual basis for any index to succeed (akintoye, 1991: 27). for a tender price index, priced bills of quantities can be used as a data source if there are a sufficient number of projects available on a long-term basis. priced bills of quantities provide a valuable source acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 26 of information on unit rates of the various building elements. van der walt (1992: 3.3) is of the opinion that an index based on starting rates, as is found in tender documents, will be of greater value than using final account rates. 2.4.2 selection of items selecting the items for inclusion can be difficult when constructing an index, especially if there are a number of possible items that can be included. steyn et al. (2007: 261) suggest that a representative sample of items be selected from the survey population and that only these items be used in the index. 2.4.3 base period/year a number of authors (akintoye, 1991: 27; flemming & tysoe, 1991: 33; steyn et al., 2007: 260) conclude that the period chosen as the base (or reference) period should be one of relative economic stability with no ‘unusual’ occurrences such as wars, abnormal climatic conditions, serious recessions, and so forth. 2.4.4 choice of weights as discussed earlier under “selection of items”, it is possible to achieve a reliable index by significantly reducing the number of items that form part of the index. when these selected items are not of equal importance, the choice of weights for these items becomes very important. akintoye (1991: 27) opines that the weights assigned to various items reflect their relative importance and should be carefully chosen in order to avoid biased and misleading results. this principle is commonly known as selecting a ‘basket of goods’. when using bills of quantities to be used in an index, seeley (1996: 228) concludes that the major items incorporating the largest price extension in each trade of the bills of quantities should be included in the index. marx (2005: 6) cites mitchell (1971) who has shown that, by selecting various items which represent as little as a 25% sample of the total contract value, an accepted level of reliability may be achieved. however, marx (2005: 7) cautions that, after a period of time, such weights will have to be revised in order to accommodate changes in the quality of materials, improved construction techniques, and so forth. statistics finland (2001: 18) as well as the statistics directorate, european union (1997: 33) support this observation by mentioning that weights for construction indices should be revised every five to ten years. cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 27 2.4.5 method of construction as discussed earlier, the most frequently used indices in the building industry are the laspeyres and the paasche indices (yu & ive, 2008: 704-705). 2.5 problems with indices there are some inherent problems in the use of tender price indices. the following are some of the major problems as indicated in the literature: 2.5.1 accuracy of the index van der walt (1992: 4.72) mentions that an index is relative; in other words, it is not its absolute value that matters, but its tendency over time. it is, therefore, more of an economic model giving a general trend of change over time. 2.5.2 sample size to determine an adequate number of respondents is, to a large extent, a sampling question: the larger the number of respondents, the more detailed will the index be that is produced. ferry et al. (2003: 193) mention that, in a tender-based index, a good sample of priced bills of quantities is required to avoid bias such as regional variations. although the literature is vague about the actual number of priced bills of quantities that are required for an index, authors that comment on the bcis’s tender price index conclude that the bcis aims at sampling 80 projects per quarter, although this requirement is seldom met. 2.5.3 changes in quality building quality and specifications have changed over time because of advances in building technology. as a typical index will measure the trend of building costs of a typical building, these changes in quality may not be taken into account. one way of overcoming this problem is to review the basket of items on a regular basis so that the components and their weights reflect the changes in standards and technology (marx, 2005: 7). 2.5.4 unit rates according to marx (2005: 8), the unit rates in bills of quantities can differ markedly. the reasons for these are the different approaches by tenderers to determine such rates, allowances made for inflation, and so forth. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 28 3. indices in south africa van der walt (1992: 2.3) states that no officially published building cost-related indices existed in south africa until the 1960s. some local firms developed their own indices, mostly by re-pricing existing bills of quantities, but these were never officially published. 3.1 the building-cost index of stellenbosch university’s bureau of economic research during the early 1960s, a quantity surveyor responsible for research and development at the then department of public works (dpw) in pretoria, d. brook, developed an index for use by the dpw (brook, 1974). the bureau of economic research (ber) of the stellenbosch university was seeking a deflator for building prices in the mid-1960s and, according to kilian (1980: 30), obtained permission from the dpw to take over this index. marx (2005: 5) reports that the index is based on a 100m2, single-storey building to which a concrete slab was later added. from this building, 22 cost components were selected and expressed as quantities. segalla (1991: 55) states that the reason for using these 22 components is that they are representative items from the original building and are weighted in proportion to the role they play in the total cost. the index is obtained by multiplying each of the 22 weighted components with the current tariff of the items. the information on which the index is based is supplied by quantity surveyors and is submitted on a standard form supplied by the ber. the sum of the current market-related tariffs, multiplied by the base-period quantities, is then divided by the sum of the base-period tariffs multiplied by the base-period quantities. it is thus clear that the ber index is a laspeyres index. segalla (1991: 56) notes that, in order to ensure that correct comparisons are made, the index allows a 5% “p & g” amount (currently referred to as “preliminaries”) per project. according to segalla (1991: 56), the 5% was derived from norms established during previous analyses. quantity surveyors who submit information to the ber on completed projects are also required to indicate the amounts for electrical work, lifts, air conditioning, and rates for different types of sanitary fittings. in this regard, segalla (1991: 48) mentions that the amounts for electrical work, lifts and air conditioning are calculated as percentages of the specific contract and, when the index is published, the average percentages for this work section in a specific quarter are given. these cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 29 percentages, as well as the published average rates per sanitary fitting, have no bearing on the index and are given as additional information. 3.2 the contract price index for buildings very little is known about this index, except that it was compiled by van der walt, a quantity surveyor in private practice in pretoria. the research that was done in the compilation of the index was adapted and presented as part of a phd thesis in 1992 at the university of pretoria, but the study was already done in the early 1970s (van der walt, 1992: ii). the details of the index were made available to the then central statistical services (css), currently known as statistics south africa, and published as statistical newsletter p0153 since 1980. due to budget cuts in the css, this publication was discontinued in june 1998 (klaas, 2011: personal communication). the methodology used for this index was also based on a laspeyres index with fixed base-year weights. the rates of approximately 270 items that appeared in bills of quantities were surveyed from quantity surveyors and used to publish a contract price index for buildings as well as the weighted average price indices according to region on a quarterly basis (van der walt, 1992: 5.2). 4. constructing a new index based on the literature reviewed, the factors that should be considered before constructing an index include a selection of the constituent items as well as the choice of the weights. after determining these factors, the steps towards calculating the index can be followed. for purposes of this article, the following steps have been followed: • draw sample of bill of quantities; make adjustments. • detail analysis of trades using 5% value (for weights). • select indicator items from step 2. • request further bills of quantities. • analyse rates of indicator items per quarter. • average unit rates; smooth out (3-quarter moving average). • calculate index. 4.1 constituent items in the choice of formula, it was decided to steer the investigation in the direction of a fixed weight, short-list method with priced bills of quantities as basis (laspeyres index). the main reason for not using acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 30 the paasche index is because of the unavailability of a so-called ‘price book’ as in the united kingdom. such a price book is compiled annually and can be used to re-price bills of quantities with base rates, as has been done by the bcis. preliminaries form an important part of any contract and can fluctuate between contracts and varying economic climates. the ber allows a 5% fixed amount per project. for this article, however, it was decided to spread the preliminaries as priced for each project as a percentage across all rates. neither the ber nor the bcis makes any provision for provisional amounts/sums in their indices. as provisional amounts, as currently priced in contracts in south africa, can be as high as 40% to 50% of the contract amount, it is considered to be an important item that should form part of a new index. the decision was, therefore, made to include the amounts for the main items such as electrical and mechanical installations on own merit in the index. influence of region and site – although it is anticipated that there will be differences in the prices of labour and material across different regions, only the rates will be influenced by it. this problem can be overcome if a sufficient number of priced bills of quantities can be sourced and averaged rates used. regarding differences in site conditions, this will be reflected in the rates for poor soil conditions and no other rates would be influenced by it. 4.2 determination of a new basket of items and their weights it was mainly decided that the calculation of a new index will be based on fixed weight, short-list method of indicator items, because priced bills of quantities are freely available, as it is still one of the preferred procurement methods in south africa. in order to establish weights for such an index, it was decided to use the analysis of a variation of buildings to compose an ‘average’ representative building. this method is, in essence, using the analysis of a variation of different building types to compose an ‘average’ representative building. using averages is an accepted method of calculating construction price indices, as indicated by van der walt (1992: 4.32) who states that a set of standard weights may be used for all buildings. in finland the weights of the building-cost index are based on the estimated share of four different types of projects (flats, houses, offices and warehouses) (statistics finland, 2001: 8). first, in order to determine these weights, a sample of buildings that could be regarded as representative of the south african building cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 31 industry were determined. the information used for this was that published by statistics south africa, viz. statistical release p5041.3, selected building statistics of the private sector as reported by local government institutions, 2008 (statistics south africa, 2009). table 1 shows the selected sample. table 1: value of completed buildings by municipalities, 2008 building type total value (r’000) % of total office and banking space 4 805 301 35 shopping space 3 636 047 27 industrial and warehouse space 3 714 338 27 schools, nursery schools, hospitals, and so on 145 406 1 churches, sport and recreation clubs, and so on 282 209 2 all other non-residential spaces 137 826 1 hotels, holiday chalets, tourism accommodation, and so on 892 815 7 total 13 613 942 100 source: adapted from statistics south africa statistical release p5041.3 secondly, the actual amount of priced bills of quantities needs to be analysed in order to have sufficient information to determine weights that could be regarded as representative of an average building in south africa. as the literature does not indicate anything specific in this regard, it was decided, in conjunction with the department of statistics at the university of pretoria, to first analyse 20 buildings, then another 10, and finally another 10. at this stage, it was found that the difference in the average percentages that were calculated for the various trades decreased as the number of projects increased. it was thus decided to analyse only 40 priced bills of quantities of different projects. in terms of the sample of building types that were identified previously from data published by statistics south africa, a proportional allocation could be made for the 40 projects that were to be sourced. table 2 shows the number of bills of quantities per project type; however, in comparison with the percentages as calculated in table 1, it was decided to reduce the number of industrial buildings. at the same time, it was decided to increase the number of schools and hospitals and to include a block of flats in order to provide a better balance to the projects. housing was deliberately excluded from the selection because of the different nature thereof (e.g., mostly single storeys with moderate levels of specification), compared with more sophisticated projects such as offices, shops, and so on. provision was made in acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 32 the selection for single-storey buildings to include a single-storey primary school. table 2: number of bills of quantities per project type building type number % of total office space 12 30 shopping space 10 25 industrial space 8 20 schools and hospitals 3 7,50 churches 1 2,50 all other non-residential spaces 1 2,50 hotels, holiday chalets 4 10 flats 1 2,50 total 40 100 4.3 steps towards calculating the index step 1: draw sample of bill of quantities and make adjustments purposive sampling was used to collect bills of quantities for the analysis. a number of well-known quantity-surveying firms throughout south africa were contacted via e-mail with the request to submit priced bills of quantities for new or so-called ‘green fields’ projects that were executed between 2005 and 2008. a number of firms responded and a total of 183 priced bills from 27 different firms were received. from these projects another purposive sample was drawn to match the selection of 40 projects needed. first, some adjustments were made, viz. by omitting allowances for contingencies and the external works trades, and then adjusting the preliminaries amounts pro-rata. secondly, the arithmetic mean for each trade per project was calculated and this average was then expressed as a percentage of the arithmetic mean of all projects. it became evident from this analysis that not all trades, as indicated in the standard system of measuring building works (asaqs, 1999), are always present in a project. as a result, the less represented trades such as alterations, lateral support, piling, precast concrete and paperhanging, were omitted from inclusion in the index. table 3 shows the chosen trades, expressed as percentages (or possible weights), of an ‘average’ building. cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 33 table 3: trades’ percentages trade percentage earthworks 2.70 concrete, formwork and reinforcement 20.00 masonry 8.40 waterproofing 1.10 roof coverings 3.50 carpentry and joinery 4.60 ceilings, partitions and access flooring 3.40 floor coverings, wall linings, and so on 1.10 ironmongery 0.70 structural steelwork 6.20 metalwork 6.80 plastering 3.40 tiling 3.30 plumbing and drainage 3.90 glazing 0.20 paintwork 1.80 provisional sums 28.90 total 100 the chosen projects were all measured according to the standard system of measuring building works (asaqs, 1999) with no or little alteration works involved; it was sourced from the entire country (seven of the nine provinces were represented), and the value of the projects ranged between r2.78m and r568m. step 2: detailed analysis of trades using 5% value (for weights) step 2 included a detailed analysis of all the trades in the various bills of quantities. in order to keep to the objective of identifying the minimum number of items to make up a short-list of items, each project’s bills of quantities were analysed by selecting all the measured items with a monetary value of more than 5% of the total value of that particular trade. the 5% value is an arbitrary value, as the literature is not clear on this aspect. in this article, on a trial-anderror basis, 5% of the trade value was deemed to give an acceptable lower line of demarcation prior to items becoming insignificant in value. it was found that, with the 5% rule that was adopted, the average number of items selected amounted to 24.7% of the total. these items represented 75.6% of the total adjusted contract amount and, therefore, compares favourably with the bcis index, where 25% of the items are considered to be adequate for evaluation. table 4 gives an example of the trade analysis of one project. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 34 table 4: extract for bills of quantities analysis trade trade total 5% of trade item value % of trade % of adj. tender c, f & r 2 357 886 117 849 25mpa r.conc. in strip footings 333 500 14.14 2.03 25mpa r conc. in surface bed 322 872 13.69 1.97 25mpa r conc. in slabs, beams 271 400 11.51 1.65 rough formwork to soffits 167 485 7.1 1.02 193 fabric reinforcement 175 240 7.43 1.07 high tensile 20-32mm 141 450 6.00 0.86 high tensile 10-16mm 317 860 13.48 1.90 total 1 729 810 73.36 10.53 as is clear from table 4, the value for the trade concrete, formwork and reinforcement of this project was r2 357 886, with 5% of this amounting to r117 894,30. seven items were identified with amounts of over 5% of the trade value, as indicated. these seven items represent just over 73% of the trade value and 10.5% of the adjusted tender amount. step 3: select indicator items from step 2 in step 3, all the identified items in step 2 were carried to a spreadsheet indicating all items for all trades to determine which could be selected as indicator items in terms of both the frequency of occurrence and the weight they represent. after some adjustments were made, especially in the preliminaries trade, the provisional amounts allowed for measurable trades (such as structural steel, aluminium windows and doors, timber fittings, plumbing and drainage, floor and wall tiling, and so forth) were removed and allocated to the various trades where they belong. of these items, those with the most frequent occurrence were identified. an example of this is the concrete, formwork and reinforcement trade, where a total of 35 items were identified as having a value of over 5%. the most frequent items were the following: • 25mpa reinforced concrete in strip footings (37 out of the 40 projects). • 25/30mpa reinforced concrete in surface beds (39). • 25/30mpa reinforced concrete in slabs and beams (34). • rough/smooth formwork to soffits of slabs 1.5 to 3.5m high (34). • high tensile steel reinforcement 20 to 32mm in diameter (33). • high tensile steel reinforcement 10 to 16mm in diameter (37). cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 35 four clear groups can be identified from this trade, with the following distribution: • concrete: 8.80% • formwork: 3.46% • reinforcement: 7.22% • other: 0.52% • total percentage for trade: 20.00% the same principles were followed with all other trades, some of which were more complex than others, with a large number and variety of items, e.g., ironmongery, plumbing and drainage, and so forth. resulting from this, 32 indicator items were identified that could be used for calculating an index. there is no indication in the literature on how many items should be necessary to calculate an index (a similar index in finland consists of 60 items [statistics finland, 2001], while one in ireland uses 40 [farrely, 2010: personal communication]). from the methodology that was followed, however, the 32 items can be deemed to be adequate to satisfy the requirement of having enough representative items in terms of monetary value to calculate an index. the final weightings for the various groups and items are indicated in table 5. table 5: final weights according to groups and indicator items categories and indicator items % (items) % (category) earthworks 2.70 excavate not exceeding 2m deep for trenches 2.00 extra over excavations for carting away surplus material from site 0.70 concrete, formwork & reinforcement 20.00 25/30mpa reinforced concrete in surface beds 3.40 25/30mpa reinforced concrete in slabs, beams, inverted beams 5.60 rough/smooth formwork to soffits of slabs propped 1.5-3.5m high 3.60 high tensile steel reinforcement 10-16mm diameter 7.40 masonry 8.40 one-brick walls 7.10 extra over ordinary brickwork for face brickwork 1.30 waterproofing 1.10 250-micron waterproof sheeting under surface beds 0.30 4mm waterproofing system on concrete roofs 0.80 roof coverings 3.50 0.6mm galvanised steel sheet roof coverings with chromadek finish 3.00 insulation with roof coverings 0.50 carpentry and joinery 4.60 wrought hardwood skirting 2.20 acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 36 categories and indicator items % (items) % (category) single semi-solid door with veneer both sides 2.40 ceilings, partitions and access flooring 3.40 600x600x12.5mm vinyl suspended ceilings below concrete slab 3.40 floor coverings, plastic linings, and so on 1.10 500x500mm carpet floor tiles to screeded floors 1.10 ironmongery 0.70 two-lever mortise lockset 0.70 structural steelwork 6.20 welded and bolted columns, beams, and so on 6.20 metalwork 6.80 galvanised pressed steel single rebated frame for door 813x2032mm suitable for half-brick walls 0.40 aluminium windows and doors 6.40 plastering 3.40 25mm thick cement mortar screed on floors 0.90 one coat 1:5 internal cement plaster on brick walls 2.50 tiling 3.30 300x300mm ceramic tiles fixed to walls with tile adhesive 1.00 400x400mm ceramic tiles fixed to floors with tile adhesive 2.30 plumbing and drainage 3.90 110mm upvc soil pipes in ground not exceeding 1m deep 1.10 white vitreous china wc close coupled pan and matching 9-litre cistern and double flap seat 2.10 150-litre 400kpa electric water heater complete with control valve, safety valve, vacuum breakers, and so on 0.70 glazing 0.20 6mm silvered float glass copper-backed mirror size 400x600mm high fixed with mirror screws 0.20 paintwork 1.80 one coat primer and two coats interior quality pva emulsion paint on internal walls 1.40 three coats clear varnish on timber doors 0.40 provisional sums 28.90 electrical installation 16.70 mechanical installation 12.20 total 100.00 100.00 in determining the unit rates, all the selected indicator items were transferred from the spreadsheet to another spreadsheet. this meant that, where more than one unit rate was selected from the priced bills of quantities, now only one would be selected (those that were closest to the original list of indicator items where there was no exact match). only the rates inclusive of the respective preliminary percentages were used. cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 37 for purposes of this article, the base year to which the estimated weightings related was 2006, as it complied with most of the requirements for a “normal” year, as set out in the literature, e.g., no abnormalities in the levels of production and devoid of abnormal conditions such as war, droughts, floods, and so on (akintoye, 1991: 27). it also complied with another requirement, namely that it should not be too far in the past (steyn et al., 2007: 260). resulting from the above, 2006 was chosen as the base year with a value of 100. step 4: request further bills of quantities once the weightings, unit rates and base year were established, further bills of quantities could be requested in order to calculate the index. in order to obtain a representative sample, another purposive sample was done by requesting price bills of quantities from quantity-surveying firms. a request was e-mailed to firms across south africa and, ultimately, the bills of quantities of 231 projects received from 37 firms were used. the projects covered the period january 2006 to june 2012 and represented 26 quarters in total. the distribution per year is indicated in table 6. table 6: number of projects used per year year number of projects 2006 29 2007 31 2008 39 2009 36 2010 48 2011 36 2012 12 (1st and 2nd quarters) total 231 step 5: analyse rates of indicator items per quarter in step 5, all the projects from the bills of quantities were analysed, using an excel spreadsheet, going through the bills of quantities of each project and listing the tariff of the various items that were selected as indicator items to make up the weighting, as discussed earlier. in the first phase of the analysis, more items were extracted from the bills of quantities than those listed. the reason for this was that, in some instances, the exact item as listed might not have been available, but a close substitute was. an example of such items could be found in the formwork trade, where items with different propping height and/or acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 38 different slab thicknesses occurred similar to the original indicator item. as decided erlier, the amount for preliminaries for each project was added proportionally to the rates of that project. once the above process was concluded for all projects, the analysis was refined by drawing up another spreadsheet, containing only the rates for one indicator item (those that matched or the closest to the original). step 6: average unit rates and smooth out (3-quarter moving average) during step 6, when analysing the unit rates captured, it was found that there were substantial differences in the unit rates for the same item during the same time period. various options were considered on how to deal with such outliers in the rates. one option was to set upper and lower limits (e.g., 30% above and 20% below) to the mean rate. if any rates exceeded these upper or lower limits, they were substituted with either the maximum or the minimum rate. another option mentioned by van der walt (1992: 4.34) was to calculate the standard deviation from the mean rate and use this as a limit. however, van der walt (1992: 4.34) concluded that by using this method, too many rates would fall outside this limit and, therefore, change the distribution dramatically. both of these options were tested. however, after consultation with the statistics department at up, it was decided to use a more simplistic method, where only the highest and lowest rates were discarded from a series of similar rates and the mean of the remaining rates calculated. these figures would then be used as the base rate for that quarter. the advantage of using this method is that the majority of the rates in a series are considered. this is beneficial where a low number of rates have been received in a particular series. once the above calculations were made, the averaged rates were transferred to another spreadsheet. even though the rates had been averaged, it became apparent that there was still a large amount of fluctuation among the rates from one quarter to another. after further discussions with the statistics department at up, it was decided to smooth the rates further by calculating a three-quarter moving average for each rate for the time period under investigation. according to steyn et al. (2007: 227), the principle of using a moving average within a time series is to smooth out short-term fluctuations. step 7: calculate the index after completion of steps 1 to 6, the complete index for the time period under investigation could be calculated. this was achieved by following the principles of the laspeyres index, as discussed earlier, cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 39 viz. by calculating the total of the base-year quantities at current rates, divided by the total of the base-year quantities at base-year rates, multiplied by 100. this was done for each quarter in the study period. the calculation, for example, for quarter one, 2007, would be as follows: 273 344,67 x 100 243 535,96 = 112.24 similarly, the calculation for quarter two, 2007, would be: 287 057,59 x 100 243 535,96 = 117.87 the calculation for the full time period, first quarter 2007 to end of second quarter 2012, analysed, is shown in table 7. table 7: calculation of price movement: 2006 to 2012 (2nd quarter) 2006 100 q1 2007 112.24 q2 2007 117.87 q3 2007 117.22 q4 2007 114.72 q1 2008 113.44 q2 2008 133.13 q3 2008 153.80 q4 2008 158.99 q1 2009 157.90 q2 2009 139.93 q3 2009 131.25 q4 2009 111.34 q1 2010 106.94 q2 2010 106.24 q3 2010 110.18 q4 2010 113.22 q1 2011 114.28 q2 2011 115.48 q3 2011 115.87 q4 2011 115.54 q1 2012 112.68 q2 2012 110.41 figure 1 shows the above movement graphically. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 40 figure 1 figure 2: combined ber/up 2006 indices 0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00 160.00 180.00 3-quarter moving average 2006 to 2012 series1 0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 20 06 q 1 20 07 q 2 20 07 q 3 20 07 q 4 20 07 q 1 20 08 q 2 20 08 q 3 20 08 q 4 20 08 q 1 20 09 q 2 20 09 q 3 20 09 q 4 20 09 q 1 20 10 q 2 20 10 q 3 20 10 q 4 20 10 q 1 20 11 q 2 20 11 q 3 20 11 q 4 20 11 q 1 20 12 q 2 20 12 combined ber/up 2006 ber up=2006 figure 1: three-quarter moving average 2006 to 2012 (2nd quarter) 5. discussion as indicated earlier, a tender price index is an indication of the movement of a basket of rates over a period of time. the new index under scrutiny should be examined in that context (for research purposes, the index can be referred to as the ‘up 2006’ index). the index, as depicted in figure 1, shows an upward curve from 2006 (up 2006 = 100) to about the end of 2008, where the index peaked at 158.99. this represents an increase in prices of almost 60% over the two-year (or eight quarters) period or an average of approximately 7.5% per quarter. as indicated earlier, this was a period in the history of the south african building industry which overlapped with a worldwide boom in the construction activity, especially in the light of the then upcoming 2010 soccer world cup. therefore, the general movement of this peak in the up 2006 index seems to be defendable. after the construction boom period, there was a sharp decline in construction activities. this could be attributed to the conclusion of the world cup projects and to the worldwide economic recession, which also started to have an impact on the south african economy. the up 2006 index shows a similar movement with the trend going down from the 158.99 figure in the fourth quarter of 2008 to a low of 106.24 in the second quarter of 2010. this represents a decline of 33.18% over a six-quarter period, with an average of approximately 5.5% per quarter. after this, the up 2006 index shows a relatively consistent movement over the following two years until the end of the research period, the second period of 2012. this movement seems consistent with what emerged from the cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 41 projects that were investigated over this period, viz. that tendered rates did not show a significant amount of increase during this twoyear period. 6. comparison of indices in order to determine whether it is possible to construct a new tender price index based on accepted norms and standards regarding index theory, a comparison was made between the ber building cost index and the up 2006 index. to compare the two indices over the same time period, it was necessary to extract information for the ber index from information published by medium term forecasting associates (2008 to 2013) for the same time period, and then to extrapolate the data. figure 2 shows that there is a reasonable degree of correlation between the two data sets. the biggest difference is shown from the second half of 2009, where the up 2006 trend is sharply downwards, and the ber trend is more gradual. figure 1 figure 2: combined ber/up 2006 indices 0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00 160.00 180.00 3-quarter moving average 2006 to 2012 series1 0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 20 06 q 1 20 07 q 2 20 07 q 3 20 07 q 4 20 07 q 1 20 08 q 2 20 08 q 3 20 08 q 4 20 08 q 1 20 09 q 2 20 09 q 3 20 09 q 4 20 09 q 1 20 10 q 2 20 10 q 3 20 10 q 4 20 10 q 1 20 11 q 2 20 11 q 3 20 11 q 4 20 11 q 1 20 12 q 2 20 12 combined ber/up 2006 ber up=2006 figure 2: combined ber/up 2006 indices 7. conclusion based on the reasonable degree of correlation between the ber and up indices, it may be concluded that it is possible to construct a new tender price index based on accepted norms and standards regarding index theory as laid down in the literature and in studies conducted on other similar indices. in order to test the validity of the up 2006 index, it is suggested that comparisons be made with the movement of the economy in general over a longer time period. it will also be beneficial if a larger sample of priced bills of quantities be acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 42 obtained to make it statistically more stable. to achieve this, a new method of collecting these projects will have to be considered, e.g., in collaboration with the asaqs. the up 2006 index can also be made available to the quantity-surveying community on a quarterly basis for comments and to test it in a commercial environment. references list akintoye, a., bowen, p. & hardcastle, c. 1998. macro-economic leading indicators of construction contract prices. construction management and economics, 16(2), pp. 159-175. akintoye, s.a. 1991. construction tender price index: modelling and forecasting trends. phd thesis. university of salford, uk. ashworth, a. 1991. cost studies of buildings. essex, uk: longman. association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs). 1999. standard system of measuring building works. 6th revised edition. midrand: asaqs. brook, d.e. 1974. building cost index. how it works and how to use it. ber building survey, 21, pp. 5-18. farrely, b. 2010. (the society of chartered surveyors, dublin, ireland). personal communication on tender price indices in ireland. date of communication: 5 january 2010. ferry, d.j., brandon, p.s. & ferry, j.d. 2003. cost planning of buildings. 7th edition. oxford: blackwell publishing. flemming, m.c. & tysoe, b.a. 1991. spon’s construction cost and price indices handbook. london: e & fn spon. kilian, w.f. 1980. an assessment of the ber building cost index. building survey no. 44, january 1980. university of stellenbosch, stellenbosch, south africa. kirkham, r. 2007. ferry and brandon’s cost planning of buildings. 8th edition. oxford: blackwell publishing. klaas, r. 2011. (senior statistician, statistics south africa). personal communication on statistical newsletter p. 0153. date of communication: 15 november 2011. pretoria, south africa. marx, h.j. 2005. correctness of the ber building cost index. research report: department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein. june 2005. cruywagen • towards the establishment of a relevant national ... 43 mohammadian, r. & seymour, s. 1997. an analysis of some construction price methodologies. statistics canada, price division. catalogue no. 62, f0014, mpb, no. 2. april. seeley, i.h. 1996. building economics. 4th edition. london: macmillan press. segalla, u. 1991. the ber building cost index – an overview. journal for studies in economics and econometrics, 15(1), pp. 43-57. statistics directorate, european union. 1997. sources and methods: construction price indices. luxembourg: statistical office of the european community. statistics finland. 2001. building cost index 2000 = 100: user’s handbook. helsinki: hakapaino oy. statistics norway. 2007. construction price indices and house and property price indices 2006: results and methods. oslo: statistics norway. statistics south africa. 2009. selected building statistics of the private sector as reported by local government institutions, 2008. statistical release p5041.3. embargoed: 29 june 2009. steyn, a.g.w., smit, c.f., du toit, s.h. & strasheim, c. 2007. modern statistics in practice. 7th edition. pretoria: van schaik publishers. van der walt, p. 1992. ’n kontrakprysindeks vir geboue in die republiek van suid-afrika. phd proefskrif. universiteit van pretoria, pretoria. yu, m.k.w. & ive, g. 2008. the compilation methods of building price indices in britain: a critical survey. construction management and economics, 26(7), pp. 693-705. 66 justus agumba, jan harm pretorius & theo haupt health and safety management practices in small and medium enterprises in the south african construction industry peer reviewed and revised abstract considering its share in, and impact on national economies, the construction industry receives additional attention in terms of its performance and productivity, especially among small and medium contractors. however, with the extensive workforce it employs, health and safety (h&s) issues have become important, since the industry still has the reputation of being one of those with the highest fatality and accident rates. it has been well established from literature and previous studies (fernandez-muniz, montes-peon & vazquezordas, 2007: 636; rajendran & gambatese, 2009: 1072) that managing h&s helps to ensure that construction organisations are achieving their h&s objectives. as such, h&s management practices constitute a vehicle to improve h&s performance. given the dominance of small and medium contractors in the construction sector, the challenge is to determine what needs to be measured and practised by these small and medium construction enterprises (smces) at project level. the objective of this article is to validate the h&s practices that small and medium construction enterprises practise in order to improve h&s performance at project level. a descriptive survey was done and data collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of 31 practices. these practices were categorised in terms of five elements developed from an extensive review of literature and the participation of 20 h&s experts, 16 of whom completed all four iterations of the delphi survey. a convenience sample of 1.450 smces was used to gather data. a total of 228 questionnaires were returned, of which 216 responses were usable for analysis. the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 20 was used to determine the convergent validity and the reliability of the proposed h&s practices. furthermore, the respondents’ perception on h&s practices was also determined. the five elements, namely upper management commitment and involvement in h&s, employee involvement and empowerment in h&s, project supervision, mr justus n. agumba, lecturer, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, corner siemert and beit streets, doornfontein, 2028, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 11 559 6488, email: <jagumba@uj.ac.za> prof. jan harm pretorius, professor in the faculty of engineering and the built environment, university of johannesburg, university way, auckland park, 2028, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 11 559 3377, email: <jhcpretorius@uj.ac.za> prof. theo c. haupt, visiting professor, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, corner siemert and beit streets, doornfontein, 2028, johannesburg, south africa. email: <pinnacle.haupt@gmail.com> agumba et al • health and safety management practices 67 project h&s planning and communication in h&s, as well as h&s resources and training were considered key factors of h&s for smces at project level. however, employee involvement and empowerment in h&s was the least rated h&s attribute within the smces. it was, therefore, recommended that employees needed to be engaged in h&s at the project level of smces. keywords: elements, small and medium construction enterprises, validation abstrak die konstruksiebedryf ontvang op grond van sy aandeel in en impak op die nasionale ekonomie bykomende aandag ten opsigte van sy prestasie en produktiwiteit onder veral klein en medium kontrakteurs. met ʼn uitgebreide werkersmag in hul diens het gesondheidsen veiligheidskwessies (g&v) belangrik geword, aangesien die bedryf steeds die reputasie het van een van die bedrywe met die hoogste sterfteen ongevallesyfers. die literatuur en vorige studies (fernandez-muniz, montes-peon & vazquez-ordas, 2007: 636; rajendran & gambatese, 2009: 1072) bevestig dat die bestuur van g&v help om te verseker dat die konstruksie-ondernemings hul g&v doelwitte bereik. as sodanig, bied g&v-bestuurspraktykte ʼn middel om g&v-prestasie te verbeter. gegewe die oorheersing van klein en medium kontrakteurs in die konstruksiesektor, is die uitdaging daarin geleë om vas te stel wat op projekvlak deur hierdie klein en medium konstruksie-ondernemings (smces) ondersoek moet word en watter maatreëls ingestel moet word. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die g&v-maatreëls wat in die klein en medium konstruksie-ondernemings ingestel is geldig te verklaar vir die verbetering van g&v-prestasie op projekvlak. ʼn beskrywende opname is gedoen en data is ingesamel deur die gebruik van ʼn gestruktureerde vraelys bestaande uit 31 praktyke. hierdie bedrywe is geklassifiseer volgens vyf elemente wat uit die uitgebreide literatuurstudie ontwikkel is asook die deelname van 20 g&v-kundiges van wie 16 aan al vier iterasies van die delphi opname deelgeneem het. ʼn gerieflikheidsteekproef van 1.450 smces is gebruik om die data te versamel. ʼn totaal van 228 vraelyste is terug ontvang waarvan 216 response bruikbaar was vir ontleding. die statistiese pakket vir die sosiale wetenskappe (spss) weergawe 20 is gebruik om die konvergente geldigheid en betroubaarheid van die voorgestelde g&vpraktykte te bepaal. voorts is die respondente se persepsies van die g&vpraktyke bepaal. die vyf elemente, naamlik topbestuur se verbintenis tot en betrokkenheid in g&v, werknemerbetrokkenheid en -bemagtiging in g&v, projektoesig, g&v-projekbeplanning en kommunikasie in g&v en g&v-hulpbronne en -opleiding is beskou as die sleutelfaktore van g&v vir smces op projekvlak. werknemerbetrokkenheid en -bemagtiging in g&v was as die swakste attribuut binne die smces beskou. dit word dus aanbeveel dat werknemers op projekvlak binne smces daadwerklik by g&v betrek moet word. sleutelwoorde: elemente, klein en medium konstruksie-organisasies, bekragtiging 1. introduction the south african occupational health and safety act no 85 (south africa, 1993: 8) highlights that every worker has a right to a healthy and safe working environment. however, poor health and safety performance within the construction industry in south africa, acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 68 especially among small and emerging construction enterprises, has been anecdotally experienced (construction industry development board [cidb]), 2008: 22). this poor h&s performance has, therefore, driven h&s stakeholders, the south african government, in particular, to take h&s seriously. arguably, the poor h&s performance could inevitably be helped by continuous monitoring and review of h&s management practices. h&s management refers to the tangible practices, responsibility and performance related to h&s, including the association between h&s management, climate and culture. h&s climate is perceived to be the precise indicator of overall h&s culture, while h&s management practices reflect the h&s culture of upper management. consequently, good h&s management practices are reflected in the enhanced h&s climate of all employees (mearns, whitaker & flin, 2003: 644). according to azimah, abdullah, spickett, rumchev & dhaliwal (2009: 55), h&s management will not only resolve h&s challenges, but also enhance overall legal compliance. however, legislation by itself is inadequate to address the problems of managing workplace h&s. 1.1 challenges and constraints facing small and medium construction enterprises (smces) the south african smce sector is, to a large extent, underdeveloped and lacking the managerial and technical skills and sophistication enjoyed by larger well-established contractors. smces are left on the periphery of the mainstream economy and do not participate fully in the economy (department of public works [dpw], 1999). martin (2010) opined that lack of knowledge, including knowledge of pricing procedures, contractual rights and obligations, law, management techniques and principles as well as technology are a challenge to smces. despite these general challenges faced by smces, the cidb 2008 report highlighted specific challenges faced by small contractors to manage h&s. anecdotally, the report indicated that medium to large contractors and subcontractors working with large contractors tended to address h&s to greater degrees than small and emerging contractors, as well as the majority of housing contractors (cidb, 2008: 22). further, small and emerging contractors faced challenges and constraints in h&s training and competence. the contractors registered in the lower grades of the cidb register of contractors were more likely to have limited formal education, based on a construction craft or trade training such as carpentry, plumbing, agumba et al • health and safety management practices 69 electrical installation and bricklaying. this training was probably in the form of the recently introduced learnerships (cidb, 2008: 22). financial resources for h&s were more likely to be provided for by contractors in the upper grading of the cidb register of contractors who were normally large contractors in grades 7, 8 and 9. smces did not provide sufficient h&s financial resources in their projects (cidb, 2008: 22). past studies in south africa had revealed constraints and challenges of capacity and financial resources among smces (agumba et al., 2005: 63). given their limited resources and capacity, smaller contractors in grades 2 to 4 would demonstrate poorer h&s practices and h&s culture (cidb, 2008: 23). the effective implementation of h&s management systems, rules and procedures were challenges facing small contractors. they were less likely to possess any formal h&s management systems. furthermore, management of h&s in smces would, to a large extent, be less structured and based on the prior contract experience of the owners. it was also likely that these contractors would not be aware of the demands and requirements of the south african generic occupational health and safety act and construction h&s legislative framework (cidb, 2008: 23). furthermore, small contractors were exposed to h&s risks when they used power tools and working where they could be struck by falling objects. these challenges reinforce the need to develop an h&s performance improvement model tailored for smces in the south african construction industry (cidb, 2008: 23). these challenges and constraints exacerbated the current state of poor h&s performance of smces in south africa. 2. health and safety status of the south african construction industry while recent south african government initiatives to improve safety and quality performance on construction sites have reduced accidents, construction sites continue to be among the most dangerous workplaces in the economy, and rework levels remain comparably high (cidb, 2004). approximately 160 deaths occurred on construction sites in 2007/2008 (cidb, 2008: 3). the construction industry was ranked third after mining and transportation, with 74 deaths recorded on site in 2003 (cidb, 2004: 33). furthermore, the most recent report by the department of labour (2012) indicated that, in the period 2007 to 2010, the construction industry incurred 171 fatalities and 755 injuries. the industry further paid over r287 acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 70 million for occupational injuries in 2010/2011. these statistics are inclusive of smces. the continuing poor h&s performance of the construction industry in terms of fatalities, injuries, and diseases, the number of large-scale construction accidents, and the general non-participation by key project stakeholders such as clients and designers, provided the catalyst for a new approach to construction h&s in the form of consolidated construction h&s legislation such as the construction regulations of 2003. this framework required new multi-stakeholder interventions (smallwood & haupt, 2005). however, according to the cidb, there was very limited commitment to complying with basic requirements, let alone promoting a culture of h&s. smces could barely maintain their tools and equipment and regarded h&s interventions as luxury items. even where protective clothing and equipment were provided, workers often avoided their use (cidb, 2004: 33). 2.1 measurement of construction health and safety performance health and safety performance measurement permits the comparison of h&s performance between projects and can be used internally to maintain line accountability for h&s and to pinpoint problem areas where preventive action should be undertaken. it also provides feedback regarding h&s initiatives (mitchell, 2000: 326). health and safety performance measurement can be broadly classified in terms of two types of indicators, namely lagging indicators and leading indicators or positive performance indicators (ppis) (toellner, 2001: 42). leading indicators can either be subjective in the form of perception measures or objective indicators in the form of the number of occasions an activity has been administered (grabowski, ayyalasomayajula, merrick, harrald & roberts, 2007: 1019). unfortunately, the construction industry continues to rely heavily on traditional lagging indicators such as accident and workers compensation statistics (mohamed, 2002: 375). when using leading indicators, a more thorough and constant surveillance is required than when using lagging indicators. the real value of using leading h&s indicators on construction projects lies in the changes that can be made and interventions that can be introduced early to address weaknesses before an accident occurs. the use of leading indicators instead of lagging indicators is increasingly advocated (hinze, 2005: 10-11). unfortunately, there is no consensus of what elements and measuring indicators are considered to be critical for improvements to h&s culture agumba et al • health and safety management practices 71 (fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 628) which, according to grabowski et al. (2010: 264) and hinze, thurman & wehle (2013: 24), is a leading indicator of h&s. 2.2 previous h&s performance improvement models many h&s performance improvement and measurement models have been developed in recent years. for example, teo & ling (2006: 1587) developed a model to measure the effectiveness of h&s management of construction sites. the model was based on 3p + i, namely policy, process, personnel and incentive factors. these core factors were measured by 590 attributes. the large number of attributes might not be practical in the context of smces. fernandez-muniz et al. (2007: 636) developed a positive h&s culture model that consisted of management commitment, employee involvement and h&s management system (sms). the sms included h&s policy, incentives, training, communication, planning and control. the model could be applied to more than one type of industry of different sizes. chinda & mohamed (2008: 127) developed an h&s culture model adapted from the european foundation quality model (efqm). the enablers that were identified were leadership, policy and strategy, partnerships and resources, and processes and h&s outcome or goals. the model was validated using large contractors in thailand. it might be possible to test this model or a modified model within smces. this is because smces and large organisations are different in terms of their characteristics. large organisations are more properly resourced and organised than smces. molenaar, park & washington (2009: 495) established that, for h&s performance to improve the corporate h&s culture, it should include h&s commitment, h&s incentives, subcontractor involvement, h&s accountability and disincentives. it is, therefore, evident that there is no consensus on what the critical h&s elements on construction projects are and their impact on h&s performance at that level. 2.3 elements of health and safety management the literature review identified a number of potential h&s elements as important h&s attributes that could improve h&s performance. many studies have indicated the importance of upper management commitment and involvement in h&s (fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636; aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 725; agumba & haupt, 2008: 197) acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 72 as an element to improve h&s performance. it is important for upper management to be committed and involved in h&s matters at smce project level. employee involvement and empowerment has been identified as influential in enhancing h&s performance improvement (fernandezmuniz et al., 2007:636; aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 725). it is important for employees to be empowered and involved in h&s by, for example, being able to refuse to do dangerous and unsafe work (teo, theo & feng, 2008: 494; agumba & haupt, 2008: 196). workers should further be involved in developing h&s policy, providing written suggestions on h&s, being informed of the provisions of h&s plans, being involved in h&s inspections, being consulted when the h&s plan is compiled, and being involved in the development of h&s rules and safe work procedures (teo et al., 2008: 494; agumba & haupt, 2008: 196). for smces to improve their h&s performance, upper management or owners and their workers need to adhere to the proper implementation of occupational h&s management systems (ohsms). eight elements or leading indicators were identified that constituted an ohsms: • appointment of h&s staff (sawacha, naoum & fong, 1999: 313; findley, smith, tyler, petty & enoch, 2004: 20). the employment of staff members with h&s training on each project was advocated by ng, cheng & skitmore (2005: 1352). • formal and informal written communication in the form of, for example, written circulars or brochures that inform workers about the risks associated with their work and the preventive measures to reduce risk (sawacha et al., 1999: 314). • formal and informal verbal (oral) communication (fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636). various forms of this type of communication include providing clear verbal instructions to both literate and illiterate employees about h&s; h&s information verbally communicated to workers before changes are made to the way their work activities are executed; organising regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the risks associated with their work, and organising regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the preventive h&s measures of risky work. • h&s resources (abudayyeh, fredericks, butt & shaar, 2006: 173; fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636). the allocation agumba et al • health and safety management practices 73 of resources will include human, financial and personal protective equipment. • project planning of h&s involves procedures to evaluate risks and establish necessary h&s measures to avoid accidents and includes organised planning in the case of emergencies (sawacha et al., 1999: 313; fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636). • project supervision is an internal concept that verifies the extent to which goals have been fulfilled, as well as compliance with internal norms or work procedures (fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636; aksorn & hadikusumo 2008: 725). • training in h&s (sawacha et al., 1999: 313; ng et al., 2005: 1351; fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636; aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 725). • h&s policy includes a proper implementation of h&s management system; written in-house h&s rules and regulations for all workers reflecting management’s concern for h&s; principles of actions to achieve h&s, and objectives to be achieved (ng et al., 2005: 1351; fernandez-muniz et al., 2007: 636). 3. research approach a survey instrument was developed after four iterations of a delphi study, in which 16 international h&s experts participated. the panel of experts concurred on those h&s practices that were considered to be important and could have a major impact on improving the h&s performance of smces at the project level. the delphi questionnaire consisted of 64 h&s practices categorised in terms of 10 h&s elements. after the fourth iteration, 31 h&s practices emerged as being very important and having a major impact on improving h&s performance at the project level of smces. a few of these h&s elements were combined in the final survey instrument completed by smces. these elements were formal and informal verbal communication and project planning of h&s. they were renamed h&s planning and communication. furthermore, h&s resources and training in h&s were combined and renamed h&s resources and training. the combination of these elements was based on the reduced number of h&s practices that achieved consensus. according to kline (2013: 178), this situation would make it difficult to conduct factor analysis when an element contained fewer than three measurable attributes. furthermore, three h&s elements were eliminated as their h&s practices did not attain acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 74 consensus. these h&s elements were appointment of h&s staff, formal and informal written communication, and h&s policy. eight smces piloted the survey instrument to establish whether they easily understood the questions and the expected rate of response for the final administration of the survey. the pilot survey satisfied the face validity of the 31 h&s practices presented to the construction smces. these h&s practices addressed five h&s elements. they constituted the final questionnaire that was administered to the sample of smces. a part of the questionnaire was designed to profile the participants in terms of their position in the company, gender, race, their experience in the construction industry and qualification. the questionnaire also profiled the organisation in terms of its type of business and geographic location. after pre-testing via the pilot study, the final version was presented to 1.450 conveniently sampled smces. the data was collected using email and dropand-collect methods. only 228 questionnaires were returned, representing a 15.72% response rate. this low response rate concurs with the findings of kongtip, yoosook & chantanakul (2008: 1358). furthermore, 216 questionnaires were deemed eligible for analysis. the statistical package for social science (spss) version 20 was used to conduct descriptive statistical analysis of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviation. spss was further used to determine the factor analysability of the h&s practices. similarly, exploratory factor analysis (efa) was used to determine the unidimensionality of the h&s elements and their reliability. reliability was tested using cronbach’s alpha with a cut-off value of 0.70 as recommended by hair, black, babin, anderson & tatham (2006: 102). 4. research results and discussion 4.1 respondents’ profile table 1 shows the profile of respondents. it is evident that the majority of the respondents were either owners or managers of their smces (67%), male (87%), black african (62%), had either matriculation (28.4%) or a certificate (24.7%) or a higher national diploma (hnd)/diploma (24.7%), and had 10 years’ or less experience in construction (51.4%). agumba et al • health and safety management practices 75 table 1: respondents’ profile frequency percentage position owner 63 30.00% manager 24 11.00% owner/manager 32 15.00% project manager 25 12.00% other 67 32.00% 211 100.00% gender male 186 87.00% female 29 13.00% 215 100.00 race asian/indian 7 3.00% african/black 132 62.00% coloured 7 3.00% white 65 31.00% other 2 1.00% 213 100.00% highest education qualification doctorate degree 2 0.90% master’s degree 6 2.80% honours/btech/bsc 12 5.60% hnd/diploma 53 24.70% certificate 53 24.70% matriculation 61 28.40% basic schooling 26 12.10% no qualification 2 0.90% 215 100.00% years of experience in construction 1-5 years 40 18.90% 6-10 years 69 32.50% 11-15 years 39 18.40% 16-20 years 32 15.10% 21-25 years 6 2.80% 26-30 years 12 5.70% 31-35 years 6 2.80% over 36 years 8 3.80% 212 100.00% acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 76 4.2 smces profile it is evident from table 2 that most smces were either subcontractors (37.56%) or general contractors (36.15%), operating in gauteng province (91.16%). however, the subcontractors either worked for a main contractor or were single trade contractors. table 2: smces profile type of contractor frequency percentage general contractor 77 36.15% subcontractor 80 37.56% civil contractor 9 4.23% specialist contractor 21 9.86% home building contractor 12 5.63% other 14 6.57% 213 100.00% province eastern cape 3 1.40% free state 5 2.33% gauteng 196 91.16% kwazulu-natal 1 0.50% limpopo province 4 1.86% mpumalanga 4 1.86% north-west province 0 0.00% north cape 0 0.00% western cape 2 0.93% 215 100.00% 4.3 factor analysis the five h&s elements, namely upper management commitment and involvement in h&s, employee involvement and empowerment in h&s, project supervision, project h&s planning and communication in h&s, and h&s resources and training, were subjected to exploratory factor analysis (efa) to assess their unidimensionality and reliability. maximum likelihood with promax rotation was selected as the extraction and rotation methods. the respondents’ perception on element was also measured. 4.3.1 efa upper management involvement and commitment in h&s it is evident from table 3 that there were 11 practices measuring upper management commitment and involvement in h&s. agumba et al • health and safety management practices 77 table 3: upper management commitment and involvement in h&s eigen value 5.107 % of variance 46.427 cronbach alpha 0.868 item action mean standard deviation cronbach level after deletion factor loading rank umc 1 i/we encourage and support worker participation, commitment and involvement in h&s activities. 4.48 0.751 0.867 0.452 1 umc 5 i/we take responsibility for h&s by, for example, stopping dangerous work on site, and so on. 4.48 0.678 0.854 0.667 1 umc 10 i/we ensure that the h&s equipment is bought, for example hardhats, overall, and so on. 4.55 0.585 0.857 0.618 3 umc 9 i/we regularly conduct toolbox talks with the workers. 4.44 0.776 0.857 0.604 4 umc 8 i/we encourage discussions on h&s with employees. 4.43 0.661 0.849 0.728 5 umc 6 i/we actively and visibly lead in h&s matters by, for example, walking through the site, and so on. 4.42 0.600 0.855 0.672 6 umc 7 i/we regularly visit workplaces to check work conditions or communicate with workers about h&s. 4.42 0.650 0.850 0.717 6 umc 3 i/we communicate regularly with workers about h&s. 4.40 0.663 0.847 0.786 8 umc 4 i/we actively monitor the h&s performance of the projects and workers. 4.32 0.706 0.844 0.778 9 umc 2 i/we accord workers h&s training when there is less work in the project. 3.95 0.882 0.865 0.491 10 umc 11 i/we reward workers who make an extra effort to do work in a safe manner. 3.79 1.025 0.873 0.465 11 the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.868, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.890 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000 were also obtained, indicating consistency acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 78 with the recommended kmo cut-off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2007: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. all 11 practices (umc1, umc2, umc3, umc4, umc5, umc6, umc7, umc8, umc9, umc10 and umc11) expected to measure the upper management commitment and involvement in h&s loaded together on this factor. the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.452 which were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by field (2005: 647) and hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigen value greater than 5.107 was established in this factor which explains 46.427% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. this finding is in line with the study of fernandez-muniz et al. (2007: 634) and that of findley et al. (2004: 19). they found that the practices were valid and reliable measures of upper management commitment and involvement. the result in table 3 indicates that nine of the 11 practices were considered to be practised by the smces, as their mean was above 4.00. the two highest ranked h&s practices were: “encouraging and supporting worker participation”, “commitment and involvement in h&s activities” and “taking responsibility for h&s by, for example, stopping dangerous work on site, and so on”, with a mean value of 4.48. these were also reliable measures of upper management commitment and involvement in h&s. the reliability values were above the recommended value of 0.70, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). however, the least ranked h&s practice was “rewarding of workers who make an extra effort to do work in a safe manner”, with a mean value of 3.79. 4.3.2 efa employee involvement and empowerment in h&s it is evident from table 4 that there were five practices measuring worker involvement and empowerment construct. table 4: employee involvement and empowerment in h&s eigen value 3.079 % of variance 61.577 cronbach alpha 0.842 item action mean standard deviation cronbach level after deletion factor loading rank wis 3 our workers can refuse to work in potentially unsafe, unhealthy conditions. 4.26 0.788 0.857 0.458 1 agumba et al • health and safety management practices 79 eigen value 3.079 % of variance 61.577 cronbach alpha 0.842 item action mean standard deviation cronbach level after deletion factor loading rank wis 1 our workers are involved in h&s inspections. 4.04 0.884 0.832 0.598 2 wis 2 our workers help in developing h&s rules and safe-work procedures. 3.87 0.931 0.776 0.839 3 wis 5 our workers are consulted when the h&s plan is compiled. 3.68 1.047 0.791 0.814 4 wis 4 our workers are involved in the production of h&s policy. 3.64 1.006 0.778 0.863 5 the findings indicate that the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.842, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2006:102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.819 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000 were also obtained, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut-off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2007: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.458 reported in table 4, which were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by field (2005: 647) and hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigen value greater than 3.079 was established in this factor which explains 61.557% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. this finding concurs with the study of fernandez-muniz et al. (2007: 634) and that of agumba et al. (2008: 196). they found that the practices were reliable and valid for this element. furthermore, the findings in table 4 indicate that two of the five practices were considered to be practised by the smces as their mean was above 4.00. these highest ranked practices were: “workers can refuse to work in potentially unsafe, unhealthy conditions” and “workers are involved in h&s inspections”, with mean values of 4.26 and 4.04, respectively. they were also reliable measures of employee involvement and empowerment in h&s. the reliability values were above the recommended value of 0.70, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). however, the least ranked h&s practice within employee involvement and empowerment in h&s was “workers are involved in the production of h&s policy”, with a mean value of 3.64. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 80 4.4.3 efa project supervision it is evident from table 5 that there were six practices measuring project supervision. table 5: project supervision eigen value 3.640 % of variance 60.662 cronbach alpha 0.868 item action mean standard deviation cronbach level after deletion loading factor rank psp 1 i/we allow supervision of work by staff trained in h&s. 4.23 0.768 0.837 0.786 1 psp 4 i/we allow local authorities and h&s enforcement agencies to visit sites for inspection. 4.22 0.759 0.850 0.693 2 psp 5 i/we undertake informal h&s inspection of the workplace daily. 4.17 0.801 0.837 0.781 3 psp 2 one of our employees trained in h&s identifies dangerous activities. 4.09 0.878 0.848 0.718 4 psp 3 i/we undertake formal h&s inspection of the workplace daily. 4.08 0.870 0.850 0.714 5 psp 6 i/we regularly undertake h&s audits of projects. 4.07 0.845 0.854 0.666 6 the result indicates that the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.868, indicating acceptable internal reliability (hair et al., 2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.868 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000 were also obtained, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut-off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2007: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. all six practices (psp1, psp2, psp3, psp4, psp5 and psp6) expected to measure the factor project supervision loaded together on this factor. the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.666 reported in table 6, which was greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by field (2005: 647) and hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigen value greater than 3.640 was established in this factor which explains 60.662% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. this finding is in line with the study of fernandez-muniz et al. (2007: 634). agumba et al • health and safety management practices 81 furthermore, the result in table 5 indicates that all six practices were considered to be practised by the smces, as their mean was above 4.00. the two highest ranked practices were: “allow supervision of work by staff trained in h&s” and “allow local authorities and h&s enforcement agencies to visit sites for inspection”, with mean values of 4.23 and 4.22, respectively. they were also established to be reliable measures of project supervision. the reliability values were also above the recommended value of 0.70 considered by hair et al. (2006: 102). 4.4.4 efa project health and safety planning and communication it is evident from table 6 that there were four practices measuring project h&s planning and communication. table 6: project health and safety planning and communication eigen value 2.786 % of variance 69.644 cronbach alpha 0.852 item action mean standard deviation cronbach level after deletion factor loading rank ppc 4 i/we organise regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the risks and preventive measures of their work. 4.27 0.779 0.850 0.665 1 ppc 3 i/we include h&s in our projects programme. 4.23 0.753 0.784 0.822 2 ppc 2 our firm uses procedures to identify possible h&s dangers on site. 4.16 0.790 0.788 0.833 3 ppc 1 i/we consider h&s when layout of site is done. 4.08 0.858 0.823 0.769 4 the result indicates that the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.852, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as indicated by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.764 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000 were also obtained, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut-off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2007:190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.665, as reported in table 5, which were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by field (2005: 647) and hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigen value greater than 2.786 was established acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 82 in this factor which explains 69.644% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. the findings in table 6 indicate that all four practices were considered to be practised by the smes, as their mean was above 4.00. the two highest ranked practices were: “organising regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the risks and preventive measures of their work” and “include h&s in our projects programme”, with mean values of 4.27 and 4.23, respectively. these practices were also established to be reliable measures of project health and safety planning and communication. the reliability values were also above the recommended value of 0.70, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). 4.4.5 efa health and safety resources and training it is evident from table 7 that there were five practices measuring h&s resources and training. table 7: health and safety resources and training eigen value 3.281 % of variance 65.628 cronbach alpha 0.864 item action mean standard deviation cronbach level after deletion factor loading rank hsr 2 i/we provide correct tools and equipment to execute construction work. 4.61 0.561 0.832 0.782 1 hsr 1 i/we buy hardhats, gloves, overalls, and so on for workers. 4.59 0.678 0.847 0.708 2 hsr 5 i/we ensure that workers are trained to do the work safely. 4.49 0.692 0.830 0.771 3 hsr 3 i/we conduct induction of all workers on h&s before commencing work on a particular site. 4.46 0.793 0.835 0.751 4 hsr 4 i/we ensure that our workers are properly trained to take care of and use personal protective equipment. 4.41 0.726 0.834 0.763 5 the result indicates that the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.864, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.801 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000 were also obtained, indicating agumba et al • health and safety management practices 83 consistency with the recommended kmo cut-off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05 recommended by pallant (2007: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. all five practices (hsr1, hsr2, hsr3, hsr4 and hsr5) expected to measure h&s resources and training loaded together on this factor. the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.708, as reported in table 7, which were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by field (2005: 647) and hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigen value greater than 3.281 was established in this factor which explains 65.628% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. this finding is supported by choudhry, fang, lew & jenkins (2007) and agumba et al. (2008: 196-197). furthermore, the findings in table 7 indicate that all five practices were considered to be practised by the smces, as their mean was above 4.00. the two highest ranked practices were: “providing correct tools, equipment to execute construction work” and “buying hardhats, gloves, overalls, and so on for workers”, with mean values of 4.61 and 4.59, respectively. they were also established to be reliable measures of project supervision. the reliability values were also above the recommended value of 0.70 considered by hair et al. (2006: 102). 4.4.6 reliability of the five h&s elements the result in table 8 indicates the reliability of the five h&s elements. table 8: summary of statistics and cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the h&s elements construct mean standard deviation number of items cronbach alpha rank h&s resources and training. 4.51 0.56 5 0.864 1 upper management commitment and involvement. 4.33 0.48 11 0.868 2 project h&s planning and communication. 4.19 0.66 4 0.852 3 project supervision 4.14 0.64 6 0.868 4 employee involvement and empowerment. 3.90 0.73 5 0.842 5 the cronbach alpha values for each element are satisfactory. they were all above the cut-off point of 0.70, which is the minimum recommended value by hair et al. (2006: 102). the result further acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 84 indicates that h&s resources and training was ranked higher than the other four h&s elements, with a mean value of 4.51. however, employee involvement and empowerment in h&s was the least ranked, with a mean value of 3.90. 5. conclusions this research established that the h&s elements, namely upper management commitment and involvement in h&s, employee involvement and empowerment in h&s, project supervision, project h&s planning and communication in h&s, and h&s resources and training, that were identified through literature review and verified by h&s experts using the delphi process and a pilot survey with eight construction smces, were valid and reliable h&s practices performed/implemented by the smces in the south african construction industry. the respondents’ perception on the various h&s practices of the five h&s elements indicated that, of the 31 individual practices, 26 were rated above the mean value of 4.00, indicating strongly agree to agree. however, five individual h&s practices were rated below the mean rate of 4.00, namely accord workers h&s training when there is less work in the project, and reward workers who make an extra effort to do work in a safe manner. these two practices were measured under the element upper management commitment and involvement in h&s. previous studies by fernandez-muniz et al. (2007: 636) and aksorn & hadisukumo (2008: 725) established that upper management commitment and involvement in h&s was an important element that influences h&s performance. the low rating of these two practices within the south african context could be driven by the financial constraints experienced within construction smces, as indicated in the cidb report (2008: 22). these h&s practices were financially driven and could, therefore, lead smes not to favour practices which would impact on their limited budgets. the other practices were measuring employee involvement and empowerment in h&s, namely: • our workers help in developing h&s rules and safe work procedures; • our workers are consulted when the h&s plan is compiled, and • our workers are involved in the production of h&s policy. this finding suggests that the low rating of these three practices could be the result of employees who are employed in projects agumba et al • health and safety management practices 85 when such practices have already been carried out by upper management personnel; for example, the owner as indicated by maloney, cameron & hare (2007: 303). furthermore, the respondents’overall perception was that employee involvement and empowerment in h&s was the least practised. this is an indication that smces did not involve and empower their employees to a great degree in h&s. however, the smces indicated that they provided resources and training of h&s at their project level. this h&s element might be implemented because of the current requirements of the south african government through occupational h&s legislation, regulations and trade unions that all stakeholders such as, for example, employers and contractors should observe health and safety in their projects. it can, therefore, be concluded that the findings of this study enhance h&s knowledge in the south african construction industry especially within smces. these h&s elements are proactive measures and could inform smces of their h&s performance. as proactive measures, they could also be used to alleviate any accidents or incidents before they occurred. these h&s practices also reflected the h&s culture of smces at project level in south africa. acknowledgement this project would not have been possible without the research funding support of the national research foundation (nrf). references list abudayyeh, o., fredericks, k.t., butt, e.s. & shaar, a. 2006. an investigation of management’s commitment to construction safety. international journal of project management, 24(2), pp. 167-174. agumba, j.n., adegoke, i.o. & otieno, f.a.o. 2005. evaluating project management techniques in small and medium enterprises delivering infrastructure in south africa’s construction industry. in: proceedings of the 3rd postgraduate conference, construction industry development, 9-11 october. eskom convention centre, midrand, johannesburg, south africa, pp. 52-65. agumba, j.n. & haupt, t. 2008. perceptions of construction health and safety performance improvement enablers. in: proceedings of association of schools of construction of southern africa (asocsa), 3rd built environment conference, 6-8 july. westin grand, cape town, south africa, pp. 184-200. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 86 aksorn, t. & hadisukumo, b.h.w. 2008. critical success factors influencing safety performance program in thai construction projects. safety science, 46(4), pp. 707-727. azimah, n., abdullah c., spickett t.j., rumchev, b.k. & dhaliwal, s.s. 2009. assessing employees’ perception on health and safety management in public hospitals. international review of research papers, 5(4), pp. 54-72. chinda, t. & mohamed, s. 2008. structural equation model of construction safety culture. engineering, construction and architectural management, 15(2), pp. 114-131. choudhry, m.r., fang, d., lew, j.j. & jenkins, l.j. 2007. assessing safety climate in construction. a case study in hong kong. in: proceedings of associated schools of construction (asc), 43rd annual conference, 11-14 april. northern arizona university, flagstaff, arizona, usa, cd-rom. cidb (construction industry development board). 2008. construction health and safety in south africa, status and recommendations. pretoria: cidb. cidb (construction industry development board). 2004. sa construction industry status report. pretoria: cidb. department of labour. 2012. department of labour to sign a construction health and safety accord to help stem casualty list. 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(eds), proceedings of the cib w99 14th international conference on evolution of and directions in construction health and safety, 9-11 march. gainesville, florida, usa, pp. 485-499. toellner, j. 2001. improving safety and health performance: identifying and measuring leading indicators. professional safety, 46(9), pp. 42-47.ciae etumquas nissi nem que in restiustem re, tem earum nulpa quiatis se etur, torum unt. 1 paul bowen, keith cattell & greg distiller south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace peer reviewed abstract a web-based questionnaire survey of the opinions of sa quantity surveyors was undertaken to establish genderand race-based differences in job satisfaction. issues explored included demographic factors, issues of gender and race in the workplace, and gender and racial harassment and discrimination at work. ‘significant’ differences on the basis of gender exist on a number of issues. women, more than men, have strong positive feelings regarding their levels of job satisfaction, feel that their career expectations have been fulfilled, would choose the same career again, and would unequivocally recommend the career to others. females see qs practices as male-dominated, see themselves as being blocked from advancement to managerial ranks, participating less in decision-making, and remunerated at a lower level than equivalent colleagues. issues important to women include: gender representivity in the profession, flexible working hours and maternity leave above the statutory minimum. although both gender groups report racial harassment and discrimination at work, women experience significantly more sexual and gender harassment and religious and gender discrimination than do males. ‘significant’ differences on the basis of race are evident concerning: feelings of job satisfaction and views on maternity / paternity leave above statutory minima. ‘highly significant’ differences on the basis of race arise over issues of: being subjected to greater supervision because of race, not being allowed to contribute meaningfully to the decision-making process, viewing pdi status as a valid basis for promotion, seeing race representivity in the profession as important in combating discrimination at work, having personally experienced racial harassment and discrimination at work, and seeing respect for individual diversity in the workplace as important with ‘whites’ viewing these issues less ‘empathically’ than their ‘non-white’ counterparts. the results provide valuable indicators for how the quantity surveying firms can create a more conducive work environment for professional staff, particularly females. keywords: job satisfaction, gender, race, harassment, discrimination, quantity surveyors, south africa navorsingsartikels • research articles prof. paul bowen, head of department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town, south africa. tel: 021 650 3443, email: <paul.bowen@uct.ac.za> prof. keith cattell, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town, south africa. tel: 021 650 2452, email: <keith.cattell@uct.ac.za> mr greg distiller, department of statistical sciences, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town, south africa acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 2 abstrak ‘n internetgebaseerde vraelys opname is gedoen oor die opinie van suid afrikaanse bourekenaars rondom geslagen rasverskille ten opsigte van werkstevredenheid. sake soos demografiese faktore, geslag en ras in die werksplek, geslagen rasteistering asook diskriminasie by die werk is ondersoek. merkwaardige verskille oor verskillende sake op die basis van geslag is gevind. vrouens, meer as mans, het sterk positiewe gevoelens oor vlakke van werkstevredenheid, voel dat hul loopbaanverwagtinge vervul is, sal dieselfde loopbaan weer kies en sal onomwonde dieselfde loopbaan aan andere aanbeveel. vrouens beskou bourekenaarpraktyke as mansgeorïenteerd, sien hulself as uitgesluit van bevordering tot bestuursposte, neem minder deel in besluitneming en ontvang vergoeding op ’n laer skaal as mans op dieselfde vlak. sake wat belangrik is vir vrouens sluit in: geslagsverteenwoordiging in die professie, fleksiewerksure en kraamverloftyd meer as wat wetlik bepaal is. alhoewel beide geslagsgroepe rasseteistering en diskrimansie in die werksplek aangedui het, het vrouens meer seksuele-, geslagsen gesloofsteistering rapporteer as mans. merkwaardige verskille op die basis van ras sluit ook in: gevoelens van werkstevredenheid en die beskouing dat kraamverlof meer moet wees as die wetlike minimum. hoogs merkwaardige verskille op die basis van geslag sluit in: persone voel onderworpe as gevolg van hulle ras dat daar meer toesig oor hulle gehou word, word nie toegelaat om by te dra tot betekenisvolle besluitnemingsprosesse, beskou ‘voorheen benadeelde individu’ status as ’n geldige basis vir bevordering, sien rasverteenwoordiging in die professie as belangrik in die bekamping van diskriminasie in die werksplek, het persoonlik rasseteistering en diskriminasie by die werk ervaar, en beskou respek vir individuele diversiteit in die werksplek as belangrik ‘wittes’ is minder empaties teenoor hierdie sake as hulle ‘nie-wit’ ampsgenote. die resultate verskaf waardevolle aanduidings vir hoe die bourekenaarsprofessiefirmas ’n meer bevorderlike werksomgewing vir professionele personeel in besonder, vrouens, kan skep. sleutelwoorde: werkstevredenheid, geslag, ras, teistering, diskriminasie, bourekenaars, suid-afrika 1. introduction according to fogarty (1994), job satisfaction refers to the extent to which persons gain enjoyment or satisfaction from their efforts in the workplace. locke (1976: 1300) puts it more simply, defining job satisfaction as “… a pleasurable or positive emotional experience resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.” positive attitudes towards one’s job are associated with high levels of job satisfaction. the converse is also true (wilson & rosenfeld, 1990). there is a subtle difference between job satisfaction and motivation. job satisfaction describes or measures the extent of a person’s ‘contentment’ in his or her job. motivation, on the other hand, explains the driving force(s) behind the pursuit or execution of particular activities or a job. put in another way, job satisfaction measures ‘what is’ – the level of job satisfaction while motivation measures ‘why’ – the bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 3 explanation(s) for the level of job satisfaction. the concepts are clearly linked and invariably used interchangeably in practice. loosemore, dainty & lingard (2003) have highlighted the importance of job satisfaction and motivation to the wellbeing of the construction industry. however, despite the wealth of research into job satisfaction and motivation generally, comparatively little research has been undertaken concerning its application to the construction industry (asad & dainty, 2005). this is particularly true in respect of the job satisfaction of building design team professionals. ‘job satisfaction’ research in the construction industry has almost solely dealt with ‘motivation’. moreover, it has almost exclusively focused on construction ‘worker’ motivation (see ogunlana & chang, 1998; baldry, 1995; olomolaiye, 1990; 1988; mcfillen & maloney, 1988; olomolaiye & ogunlana, 1988; maloney & mcfillen, 1986; 1983). no study to date has focused solely on the job satisfaction of quantity surveyors. even more scarce is literature examining the differences in job satisfaction of quantity surveyors on the basis of either gender or race. the purpose of this article is to report on a study examining levels of job satisfaction of male and female, and ‘non-white’ and ‘white’ (see notes 1 and 2) professional quantity surveyors in south africa. a web-based national questionnaire survey of the opinions of south african quantity surveyors was undertaken to establish their levels of job satisfaction. issues explored included demographic factors; gender and race issues at work; and genderand race-based harassment and discrimination at work. the article provides valuable indicators for how quantity surveying firms can create a more conducive work environment for professional staff. recommendations for future research are made. 2. gender and job satisfaction a number of researchers have examined the relationship between gender and job satisfaction (e.g. mason, 1995; goh, koh & low, 1991), but the results of many studies have been contradictory. some studies have found females to be more satisfied with their jobs than males (e.g. clark, 1997), whilst other have found the reverse to be true (e.g. forgionne & peeters, 1982). according to campbell, converse & rogers (1976), such differences can be explained on the basis that women have different expectations with regard to work; in essence, careers are of central importance to men but not as important to women. research has indicated that men and acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 4 women may use different qualitative criteria in their assessment of work (oshagbemi, 2003). arguably, women are socialised to have different expectations, or society expects women to have different expectations. according to oshagbemi (2003), however, there is no compelling reason to believe that, given equal education, employment and advancement opportunities, women should be any less (or more) satisfied than men with their jobs. a relationship is, however, said to exist between employee age and job satisfaction, regardless of gender (oshagbemi, 2003). kiely & henbest (2000) report on sexual harassment at work (see note 3), noting that the increase in the numbers of women at work has been accompanied by a rise in the number of complaints. whilst many women choose not to formally report sexual harassment (baugh, 1997). gutek (1985) report that this misconduct is widespread and that about 10% of women leave their jobs because of it. sexual harassment and discrimination exact a high price from both employers and employees alike, representing a serious risk to employees’ psychological and physical wellbeing (schneider, swan & fitzgerald, 1997). the issue of women in construction has been examined by, for example, gurjao (2006), gilbert & walker (2001), court & moralee (1995), sommerville, kennedy & orr (1993), dorsey & minkarah (1993), and gale & skitmore (1990). an examination of this literature reveals similar global issues (gilbert & walker, 2001), namely, justification of the need to increase the number of women in construction, perceptions of the industry by female school-leavers, increasing but unequal numbers joining the industry, and low retention rates of qualified women. the issue of male dominance within the industry has been highlighted. this dominance is said to have led to male orientation of the industry (court & moralee, 1995), and a lack of promotion prospects, maternity leave, child care facilities and flexible working hours (sommerville et al., 1993). ellison (2001) comments on organisational barriers to promotion of women in firms of chartered surveyors, and the low representation of women at senior management levels. gurjao (2006) and court & moralee (1995) highlight the issue of retention of female labour within the industry. women are leaving the industry in their early thirties (court & moralee, 1995), often to start a family. the perception on the part of many women that they feel obliged to make a choice between a career and a family is noted by dainty, bagilhole, & neale (2000). factors resulting in women leaving the construction industry in the uk can be bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 5 classified into two groupings: working environment characteristics and private life demands (court & moralee, 1995). sinclair (1998) proposed the existence of a number of masculine subcultures, and that these encourage ritualism relating to sex and sports, bullying, and paternalism. 3. race and job satisfaction a number of north american studies have examined the racioethnic differences in various job-related outcomes. friday, s.s. & friday, e. (2003) report that such research has focused on differences in job satisfaction (e.g. lankau & scandura, 1996), organisational commitment (e.g. tsui, egan & o’reilly, 1992) and turnover intentions (e.g. davis, 1985). with respect to job satisfaction, mixed results have emerged. for example, studies by brenner & fernstein (1984) and jones, james, bruni & sell (1977) found that ‘black’ employees reported higher levels of job satisfaction than did ‘white’ employees, whilst studies by tuch & martin (1991) and greenhaus, parasuamn & wormley (1990) found the opposite to be the case. these studies covered a variety of occupations; inter alia, blue-collar employees, white collar workers, nurses, and social work staff members. friday, moss & friday, (2004) concluded that the literature clearly provides conflicting empirical evidence on racial differences in job satisfaction. none of the above studies relate to the south african context, nor do they focus on design team professionals in general, and quantity surveyors in particular. recent literature (e.g. friday et al., 2004) has suggested that the descriptive variable ‘race’ is not sufficient in explaining racial differences in job satisfaction. they suggest that other dimensions of racioethnicity, such as the socioethnic dimension, may better explain or provide additional insight into differences in job attitudes between races. friday et al. (2004) propose the use of ‘orthogonal cultural identification theory’, in terms of which an individual may identify with cultures other than the racial group to which he or she belongs, without ‘losing’ identity with that original group. a unique facet of this theory is that it acknowledges that an individual’s cultural environment is constantly evolving (friday et al., 2004). the application of orthogonal cultural identification theory is clearly beyond the scope of this article given its purpose. none of the above studies focused on the quantity surveying profession in general or on gender or race differences in particular. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 6 4. post-apartheid south africa: a contextual background to the research the apartheid legacy in south africa provides a unique context to examine genderand race-based differences in quantity surveyors’ job satisfaction. in terms of apartheid legislation, persons were racially classified as ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘coloured’, or ‘asian’. the term ‘coloured’ was used to describe south africans who are from mixed descent. the ‘asian’ classification included indians (a large minority grouping in south africa). for the purposes of enforcing apartheid, persons were generally categorised as either ‘white’ or ‘non-white’ (see notes 1 and 2). post-apartheid south africa saw the introduction of ‘positive discrimination’ or ‘affirmative action’ as a vehicle to assist previously disadvantaged persons (pdis) (‘non-whites’ and women) (south africa, 1996). black economic empowerment (bee) and affirmative procurement policies are examples of mechanisms used to facilitate change. within the context of the construction industry, affirmative action has, for example, taken the form of preferential procurement in the award of building contracts and the appointment of professional consultants. the latter point has relevance here, as anecdotal evidence suggests that some quantity surveying practices accelerate the advancement of pdi staff (‘window dressing’ or ‘fronting’) in order to gain an advantage in the award of public sector commissions, in terms of which the number of pdis in the practice in general, and in managerial positions in particular, are important considerations. given the legacy of apartheid and the current policy of the government to address the inequities of the past, it is considered appropriate to provide the racial ‘classification’ of respondents i.e. ‘non-whites’ and ‘whites’. this classification will be referred to where considered appropriate in the analysis of the data. 5. the quantity surveying profession in south africa in south africa only persons registered with the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp), a statutory body in terms of the quantity surveying profession act (no. 49 of 2000) (south africa, 2000) and regulations promulgated in terms of the act., are permitted to call themselves ‘quantity surveyors’, adopt the letters ‘pr.qs’, and perform work reserved for quantity surveyors. the requirements for registration generally consist of the holding of a 4-year degree in quantity surveying, 3-year’s post-graduation bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 7 practical experience (‘articles’) under the mentorship of a pr.qs, and successfully passing an assessment of professional competence (apc). as at june 2007, the sacqsp report 1756 registered quantity surveyors. of this total, 218 (12.4%) are women. no such figures are available with regard to race. 6. methodology and data collection the data for this study were collected via a web-based, online questionnaire survey. this data collection instrument was adopted as it would facilitate the comparatively easy (and inexpensive) national coverage of every registered quantity surveyor in south africa. the range of issues included in the survey instrument was drawn from the previous studies undertaken by, for example, uppal (2005), asad & dainty (2005), gilbert & walker (2001), smithers & walker (2000), and olomolaiye (1988). a pilot web-based study was conducted with the co-operation and involvement of the cape town branch of a national firm of quantity surveyors. the questionnaire was tested with regard to respondent understanding, as well as in terms of the mechanics of data collection per se. the pilot study demonstrated that all questions were easily understood, data were collected successfully on the system, and so no changes were made. the full survey was launched in may 2007. the sacqsp emailed all registered quantity surveyors for whom email addresses were on record (n = 1448), requested their participation in the survey, and provided a link to a url where the questionnaire could be completed on-line (see <http://webdav. uct.ac.za/research/cemjobsat/index.html>). a period of 3 weeks was allowed for responses and contact details were provided in the event of queries. by due date 98 responses had been received, representing a response rate of 6.77%. to increase the number of returns the deadline was extended by two weeks, by which time 146 submissions had been received. of these, 23 (16%) are women; exceeding the proportion of women (12.4%) registered as quantity surveyors (population). the final response rate of 10.08% (n = 146) is considered adequate for a survey of this nature (oppenheim, 1992). the data were analysed using spss for windows. 7. discussion of the results the findings indicate that the majority of the respondents may be considered to be ‘white’, male south africa citizens, senior professionals, with considerable experience. most consider themselves to be paid an average, to above average, salary. most report being acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 8 employed in the private sector, in professional quantity surveying practices, and holding a four-year full-time degree or equivalent. all respondents are members of the asaqs, with membership of other professional bodies (e.g. rics) being considerably less. the vast majority of participants report being married (or in a relationship) and having children. whilst the single largest age grouping for both male and females is the ‘45 and older’ age group (males: 49%; females; 26%), racial differences exist. more specifically, although 51% of ‘white’ respondents fall into the ‘45 and older’ age category, the single largest grouping for ‘non-whites’ is the ‘30-34’ year category (30%). 7.1 issues relating to gender at work earlier work by gale (1991) and gilbert & walker (2001) investigated whether men and women perceive the same issues (variables) at work to be motivating and de-motivating. the relatively low numbers of women in the industry is said to be related, directly or indirectly, to perceived male ‘domination’ at work. as stated earlier, this dominance is said to have led to male orientation of the industry (court & moralee, 1995), and a lack of promotion prospects, maternity leave, child care facilities and flexible working hours (sommerville et al., 1993). in south africa, women, together with ‘non-white’ persons, have been classified as pdis for the purposes of affirmative action. the majority of quantity surveyors rate highly the ‘principle’ of remuneration being fair and equitable regardless of gender, and there was no significant difference between responses from males or females in this regard (p=0.13). the same holds true for the rating of the need for equality in recognition by the employer, with no differences between gender (p=0.59). when the ‘reality’ of the situation is examined, significant differences are apparent between males and females regarding remuneration (p<0.01) with 35% of females compared to 6% of males stating that they feel that they are being remunerated at a level lower than equivalent colleagues due to gender. the fact that the proportion of women participating in the survey (16%) exceeds their representivity in the general population of registered quantity surveyors (12.4%) permits the assertion that gender differences are significant based on evidence from the data. there is no difference between the groups (p=0.76) regarding the recognition by their employers of achievements regardless of gender. these results accord with those of ellison (2001). whilst there is considerable support for flexible working hours, significant gender differences of opinion exist in respect of both the bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 9 importance (p<0.01) and presence (p=0.05). more specifically, women had a higher tendency to support strongly the need to be away from work during normal working hours and consider such flexibility to be very important. the same gender differences are apparent with respect to the ‘importance’ of maternity and paternity leave above statutory minimum entitlements (p=<0.1). whilst it appears that the vast majority of employers adhere to statutory minima, 68% of the females hold the view that entitlements above the minimum are ‘important’ or ‘very important’. only a third of the males support this contention. these results mirror the findings of sommerville et al. (1993). whilst a secure working environment [safety needs] is deemed important by the vast majority of both male (89%) and female (96%) quantity surveyors, a greater proportion of females (87%) compared to males (41%) see it as a very important issue. over a quarter of both groups claim not to work in a safe and secure environment. there was no significant difference between the way males and females responded to the presence of a secure working environment (p=0.60), but women did find this factor to be more ‘important’ than males (p<0.01). given current crime levels in south africa, security is an important consideration. in keeping with the findings of court & moralee (1995), the management of the vast majority of respondent quantity surveying firms is male dominant, although significant differences are apparent between the two groups over this issue (p<0.01). where such male dominance exists, nearly 50% of female respondents (males: 3%) feel that advancement of females to managerial ranks is blocked by management. clearly, perception differences by gender exist regarding advancement possibilities for women (p<0.01). these findings support those of ellison (2001). similar views are held by women in respect of not being allowed to contribute meaningfully to the decision-making process, albeit to a lesser degree where the gender difference is not significant (p=0.23). an important message stems from these results. whether grounded in fact or not, the perceptions of women regarding barriers to advancement, lack of participation in decision-making, and consideration of issues such as flexible working hours are important and cognisance needs to be taken of them by management. few male or female quantity surveyors feel that they are subject to a high degree of supervision in the workplace because of their gender, with no significant differences between the two groups (p=0.24). acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 10 notwithstanding the fact that ‘affirmative action’ or ‘positive discrimination’ is permitted (for pdis) in terms of the constitution of south africa (south africa, 1996), the vast majority of male and female respondents see promotion on the basis of pdi status (positive discrimination) to be ‘unacceptable’. no significant differences in the opinions of men and women exist in this regard (p=0.92). regarding whether or not professional status is important in combating perceptions of discrimination in the workplace, the vast majority of quantity surveyors (males: 71%; females: 78%) stated that it was (p=0.34). when similarly questioned regarding gender representivity, 26% of males and 52% of females ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that it was important. females had a greater tendency than men to support the issue of gender representivity (p=0.03). 7.2 issues relating to race at work unlike the work of gale (1991) and gilbert & walker (2001) dealing with the perceptions of men and women, no similar, race-based research appears to have been conducted in the construction industry. the majority of quantity surveyors (‘non-whites: 88%; ‘whites’: 93%) rate highly the ‘principle’ of remuneration being fair and equitable regardless of race, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.69). when the ‘reality’ of the situation is examined, whilst a majority of ‘non-whites’ and ‘whites’ stated that they are not discriminated against in terms of salary, large proportions of both groups (‘non-white’: 42%; ‘white’: 28%) claim that they are. the difference between the groups is not significant (p=0.27). both groups consider equality in recognition of achievements by employers to be important (p=0.88). in reality, however, significant differences (p=0.01) in this regard between the groups emerge with 44% of ‘non-white’ compared to 76% of ‘whites’ ‘agreeing’ or ‘strongly agreeing’ that this is in fact the case. employers need to take account of these feelings of marginalisation on the part of ‘nonwhites’. whilst there is considerable support from both groups (>70%) for flexible working hours, differences by race in respect of both the importance (p=0.14) and presence (p=0.63) of this factor are not significant. a clear majority of both groups (>80%) report that their organisations adhere to the statutory minimums with respect to maternity and paternity leave (p=0.88), although ‘marginally’ significant differences (p=0.06) exist between the groups with more bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 11 ‘non-whites’ (55%) than ‘whites’ (37%) seeing entitlements above the minimum as ‘important’ or ‘very important’. regarding a secure working environment [safety needs], there was no significant difference between the way ‘non-whites’ and ‘whites’ responded to the presence (p=0.23), or importance (p=0.67), of a secure working environment. insofar as ‘race in the workplace’ is concerned, significant differences are clearly evident. whilst the majority (84%) of all respondents see promotion on the basis of one’s pdi status rather than on ability as unacceptable, clear differences between the two race groups are evident (p<0.01); with 22% of ‘non-whites’ compared to 3% of ‘whites viewing it as an acceptable practice. management needs to be sensitive to this issue. although a majority of both race groups (’non-whites: 57%; ‘whites’: 90%) do not see themselves as being subjected to a high degree of supervision because of their race, more ‘whites’ (55%) than ‘non-whites’ (17%) are emphatic about this. significant differences exist between the two groups on the issue of supervision and race (p<0.01). significant differences also exist between the two groups regarding not being allowed to contribute meaningfully to the decision-making process (p=0.02), with 33% of ‘non-whites’ (compared to 10% of ‘whites’) claiming this to be the case. most respondents (‘non-whites’: 96%; ‘whites’: 87%) stress the importance of participation in decision-making, with a marginally significant difference between the groups (p=0.07). management needs to be cognisant of this issue. regarding whether or not professional status is important in combating perceptions of discrimination in the workplace, although more ‘non-whites’ (83%) than ‘whites’ (71%) state that it is, the difference between the groups is not significant (p=0.13). when similarly questioned regarding race representivity, the difference in responses between the groups is significant (p=0.02); with 42% of ‘non-whites’ compared to 27% of ‘whites’ stating that it is important. 7.3 gender and racial harassment and discrimination at work respondents were requested to provide details regarding the extent to which genderand/or race-based harassment and discrimination at work had personally been experienced. whilst incidences of ‘harassment’ do occur, their frequency is comparatively small with females experiencing proportionately more sexual (17%), racial (17%), and gender (30%) harassment than their male colleagues. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 12 statistically significant differences between the two groups occur in the cases of sexual (p=0.01) and gender (p<0.01) harassment. although a larger proportion of women experience racial harassment (see gutek, 1985), though there is no significant difference on the basis of gender (p=0.51). of those who claim to have experienced racial harassment, a larger proportion are ‘non-white’ (29%), with a significant difference between the two groups (p=0.02). few respondents from either race group report sexual harassment at work (p=0.26). harassment on the basis of gender (p=0.65), sexual orientation (p=0.17), and religious affiliation (p=0.13) appears minimal. clearly, any form of harassment is unacceptable and management needs to be alert to these practices and implement remedial and supportive action where necessary. perceived ‘discrimination’ in the workplace appears to be more widespread, particularly with regard to race, gender, and educational background. racial discrimination appears to be the most widespread, being reported by more than a third of all respondents. there is a statistically significant association between gender and discrimination on the basis of gender (p<0.01) and religious affiliation (p=0.05). close to a majority of female respondents (48%) report having experienced gender discrimination at work. these results mirror those of gurjao (2006). incidences of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and physical disability are minimal. racial discrimination appears to be the most widespread, being reported by 58% of ‘non-whites’ and 31% of ‘whites’ (p=0.02). it is not clear whether the incidences of racial discrimination are ‘active’ rather than in a ‘passive’ form associated with affirmative action. more ‘non-whites’ (17%) than ‘whites’ (5%) report discrimination on the basis of educational background, with a marginally significant difference between the groups (p=0.06). this feeling of discrimination may result from the fact that 39% of ‘non-whites’, compared to 19% of ‘whites’, do not hold a 4-year university degree or its equivalent. respondents from both groups (13%) have experienced gender discrimination, but the group differences are not significant (p=1.00). incidences of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, religious affiliation and physical disability are minimal and differences between the groups not significant. these results support those of ellison (2001). again management needs to be sensitive to these issues. finally, whilst an overwhelming majority of both male and female respondent groups regard respect for individual diversity in the workplace to be important, there is a significant difference between bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 13 males and females (p<0.01), with more women (78%) than men (44%) citing it as ‘very important’. whilst the majority (‘non-white’: 100%; ‘white’: 87%) regard respect for individual diversity in the workplace to be ‘important’ or ‘very important’, there is a significant difference between the two race groups in this response (p=0.01) with 45% of ‘whites’ (compared to 71% of ‘non-whites’) seeing it as ‘very important’. such intolerance is contrary to the provisions of the south african constitution (south africa, 1996). 7.4 overall levels of job satisfaction – gender and race perspectives although the vast majority of participating quantity surveyors appear to like the work they do, significant differences exist between the male and female respondents (p<0.01) with 68% of females reporting that they ‘like it very much’ or ‘love it’, compared to 38% of the males. these results conflict with those of oshagbemi (2003). when asked whether or not they would recommend a career in quantity surveying to others, significant differences are apparent between the two gender groups (p=0.02). more specifically, whilst a majority of males (75%) and females (79%) said they would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ do so, far more females (48%) than males (19%) were emphatic. over a quarter of both gender groups said they were unlikely to recommend the career to others. most male (85%) and female (83%) respondents claim to have ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ experienced fulfilment with regard to their career expectations, although far less males (19%) than females (48%) said so with absolute conviction; giving rise to a significant difference between the groups (p=0.01). when asked if they would choose the same career again, significant differences exist between the two gender groups (p<0.01) with a greater proportion of females (44%) than males (17%) stating that they would. again, these results conflict with those of oshagbemi (2003). whilst more ‘whites’ (46%) than ‘non-whites’ (22%) report that they ‘like it very much’ or ‘love it’, the differences overall are not significant (p=0.22). a small minority of both race groups appear indifferent to the job. when asked if they would choose the same career again, whilst a clear majority of each racial group said that they ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ would, nearly 30% of both race groups claimed that they most likely would not. differences between the race groups are not significant (p=0.57). interestingly, ‘non-whites’ and ‘whites’ differ significantly (p=0.03) as to whether they would consider moving into a different field of employment within the built environment, with acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 14 more ‘non-whites’ (21%) than ‘whites’ (10%) emphatic about this. when asked whether or not they would recommend a career in quantity surveying to others, no significant differences exist between the race groups (p=0.85) with 79% of ‘non-whites’ and 75% of ‘whites’, respectively, stating that they would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ do so. comparatively few quantity surveyors experience high levels of job dissatisfaction at all times; certain aspects of the work obviously giving rise to job dissatisfaction to a greater or lesser degree – most notably the measurement of builders’ work, project administration, and the preparation of final accounts. reasons cited under ‘other’ included: perceived incompetence of other professionals; poor documentation from, and lack of faith in, designers; bureaucracy; dealing with government officials (political interference); disparaging attitudes displayed towards ‘white’ women by ‘black’ male clients; contractual disputes; professional appointments made on the basis of affirmative action; and dealing with ‘incompetent’ emerging contractors. the provision of cost estimates appears to give rise to the least job dissatisfaction. differences between the gender and race groups are not significant. 8. conclusions the focus of this article has been a genderand race-based comparison of the opinions of quantity surveyors in south africa regarding job satisfaction. an overview of research relating to the nature of job satisfaction was provided. previous research into job satisfaction and motivation in the construction industry was discussed. the dearth of literature relating to quantity surveyors’ job satisfaction in general, and gender and racial differences in particular, was noted. the focus of this research centred on a number of issues, namely: issues relating to gender and race at work; personal experiences of genderand/or race-based harassment and discrimination at work; and levels of job satisfaction experienced by the different groups. ‘significant’ differences of opinion between the male and female respondents exist on a number of issues. more women (68%) than men (38%) have strong positive feelings regarding their levels of job satisfaction. similarly, considerably more women (48%) than men (19%) feel that their expectations regarding the career have been fulfilled. proportionately far more females (44%) than males (17%) would choose the same career again, and considerably more women (48%) than men (19%) would emphatically recommend a bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 15 career in quantity surveying to others. the females rated having flexible working hours far more highly than men. it is common cause that the management structures of quantity surveying practices are male dominated. female quantity surveyors see this as giving rise to male-dominated management actively blocking female advancement to the managerial ranks (50%) and being remunerated at a lower level than equivalent colleagues (35%). although the difference is not significant, more females (25%) than males (12%) claim not to be allowed to contribute meaningfully to the decision-making process. women, significantly more than men, see gender representivity in the profession as a means of combating discrimination at work. issues of maternity / paternity leave above the statutory minimum and working in a secure environment are significantly more important to women than men. instances of sexual, racial and gender ‘harassment’ at work are not uncommon. women experience significantly more sexual (males: 2%; females: 17%) and gender (males: 2%; females: 30%) harassment at work than their male counterparts. both males and females report suffer from racial harassment (males: 12%; females: 17%), but the difference between the two groups is not significant. similarly, instances of ‘discrimination’ occur in the workplace. significant differences between the two groups occur in the cases of religious affiliation (males: 2%; females: 13%), and gender (males: 6%; females: 48%). it is noteworthy that nearly half of all female respondents report gender discrimination. both groups report racial discrimination (males: 37%; females: 26%), but group differences are not significant. whilst a vast majority of both groups consider respect for individual diversity within the workplace to be important, the females are more emphatic in this regard. ‘significant’ differences of opinion between the ‘non-white’ and ‘white’ respondents exist on a number of issues. more ‘whites’ (46%) than ‘non-whites’ (22%) have strong positive feelings regarding their levels of job satisfaction. conversely, more ‘non-whites’ (21%) than ‘whites’ (10%) would consider moving to a different field of employment in the built environment. more ‘whites’ (82%) than ‘non-whites’ (68%) have positive feelings about recognition by employers of achievements regardless of race, this disparity becoming more pronounced when considering those who are emphatic about this issue. ‘non-whites’ (55%), significantly more than ‘whites’ (37%), see maternity / paternity leave above statutory minimums to be important. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 16 ‘highly’ significant differences between ‘non-whites’ and ‘whites’ arise over issues of: being subjected to greater supervision because of race; not being allowed to contribute meaningfully to the decision-making process; viewing pdi status as a valid basis for promotion; seeing race representivity in the profession as important in combating discrimination at work; having personally experienced racial harassment and discrimination at work; and seeing the importance for respect for individual diversity in the workplace – with ‘whites’ viewing these issues less ‘empathically’ than their ‘nonwhite’ counterparts. these results provide valuable indicators for how quantity surveying firms can create a more conducive work environment for professional staff, particularly with regard to a safe and secure working environment; feelings of marginalisation on the part of ‘non-whites’; attitudes of ‘whites’ to promotion on the basis of pdi status; feelings of ‘non-whites’ regarding the need to be included in decision-making and being subjected to greater levels of supervision on the basis of race; and combating harassment and discrimination at work. further research could explore the discrepancy between women being more satisfied in their jobs than men, but displaying greater levels of dissatisfaction than their male counterparts with the way they perceive themselves to be treated in the profession. similarly, the intersection between race and gender is worthy of examination; particularly the low levels of job satisfaction being experienced by “non-white’ females. notes 1. in terms of the apartheid legislation of the pre-1994 government in south africa, persons were racially classified as ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘coloured’, or ‘asian’. the term ‘coloured’ was used to describe south africans of mixed descent. the ‘asian’ classification included indians. for the purposes of enforcing apartheid, persons were generally categorised as either ‘white’ or ‘non-white’. while the latter term has some pejorative connotations, it remains a useful label for categorising several groups of people who were formerly disadvantaged due to their ethnicity. it has been solely used in that capacity in this research. 2. given the legacy of apartheid and the policy of the current government of south africa to address the inequities of the past using mechanisms of ‘positive discrimination’ and ‘affirmative action’, it has been considered appropriate to use the racial classifications bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 17 of survey respondent groups for some of the data analysis. in most cases, however, the complete sub-groupings were too small for reliable analysis, and the larger ‘white’ and ‘non-white’ sub-groups (as explained in note 1 above) have been used. 3. the definition of sexual harassment is sometimes subject to wide interpretation. in 2001 the us supreme court defined sexual harassment as discrimination based on the sex of the employee dealing with their compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment (moyes, williams & koch, 2006). references asad, s. & dainty, a.r.j. 2005. job motivational factors for disparate occupational groups within the uk construction sector: a comparative analysis. journal of construction research, 6(2), pp. 223-236. baldry, d. 1995. a study of constructive operative workplace attitudes and the influence upon industrial performance. in: proceedings of the 11th arcom conference, 18-20 september, york, vol. 2, pp. 645-654. baugh, s.g. 1997. on the persistence of sexual harassment in the workplace. journal of business ethics, 16(9), pp. 899-909. brenner, o.c & fernstein, j.a. 1984. racial differences in perceived job fulfilment of white collar workers. perceptual and motor skills, 58(2), pp. 643-646. campbell, a., converse, p. & rogers, w. 1976. the quality of american life. new york: russell sage. clark, a. 1997. job satisfaction and gender: why are women so happy at work? labour economics, 4(4), pp. 341-372. court, g. & moralee, j. 1995. balancing the building team: gender issues in the building profession. brighton, uk: institute of employment studies. dainty, a., bagilhole, b. & neale, r. 2000. a grounded theory of women’s under achievement in large uk construction companies. construction management and economics, 18(2), pp. 239-250, march. davis, l.e. 1985. black and white social work faculty: perceptions of respect, satisfaction, and job performance. journal of sociology and social welfare, 12(1), pp. 79-94. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 18 dorsey, r.w. & minkarah, e.c. 1993. women in construction. in: proceedings of the cib w-65 ‘organisation and management of construction: the way forward’ conference, trinidad, west indies. ellison, l. 2001. senior management in chartered surveying: where are the women? women in management review, 16(6), pp. 264-278. fogarty, t. 1994. public accounting experience: the influence of demographic and organizational attributes. managerial auditing journal, 9(7), pp.12-20. forgionne, g.a. & peeters, v.e. 1982. differences in job motivation and satisfaction among female and male managers. human relations, 35(2), pp.101-118. friday, s.s. & friday, e. 2003. racioethnic perceptions of job characteristics and job satisfaction. journal of management development, 22(5), pp.426-442. friday, s.s., moss, s.e & friday, e. 2004. socioethnic explanations for racioethnic differences in job satisfaction. journal of management development, 23(2), pp.152-168. gale, a.w. 1991. what is good for women is good for men. action research aimed at increasing the proportion of women in construction. chapman and hall, london. gale, a.w. & skitmore, r.m. 1990. women in the construction industry: a discussion of the findings of two recent studies of the construction industry sector, in: ireland, v., cheetham, d., miller, d. & soderberg, i. 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from:<http://www.info.gov.za/gazette/acts/2000/ a49-00.pdf>, [accessed 11 july 2007]. tsui, a.s., egan, t.d. & o’reilly, c.a. 1992. being different: relational demography and organizational attachment. administrative science quarterly, 37(4) pp. 549-579, dec. tuch, s.a. & martin, j.k. 1991. race in the workplace: black/white differences in the sources of job satisfaction. sociological quarterly, 32(1), pp.103-116. uppal, s. 2005. disability, workplace characteristics and job satisfaction. international journal of manpower, 26(4), pp. 336-349. bowen, cattell & distiller • south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace 21 wilson, d.c. & rosenfeld, r.h. 1990. managing organizations. london: mcgraw-hill. acknowledgements the authors are indebted to karen le jeune for her input to the questionnaire design, the staff of the sacqsp for emailing registered quantity surveyors inviting them to participate in the survey, john bilay for his assistance with the logistics of the web-based survey and the processing of the data, dr titus oshagbemi of the school of management and economics, the queens university of belfast, for his comments on the difference between job satisfaction and motivation, the quantity surveying firm of bham tayob khan matunda inc. for participating in the pilot survey, and the anonymous referees for their constructive criticism. acta structilia-13(2) 90 manfred spocter a macro analysis and gis application of urban public space closures in cape town, 1975 — 2004 peer reviewed abstract citizens in cape town have been claiming urban public space for private use since the 1970s. this article endeavours to trace the extent, identify patterns and investigate the processes utilised by citizens in the claiming of urban public space in the city. this article aims to add to the growing corpus of knowledge on the erosion of urban public space by focussing on the micro, erf-sized level, by seeking to understand the history of the erosion of urban public space as entrenched in legislation and to highlight the impact that individual citizens, not major real estate developers or large organisations, can have on the shaping of urban public space within the urban landscape. keywords: cape town, urban public space, gis abstrak inwoners het al sedert die 1970s aanspraak op stedelike publieke ruimtes in kaapstad gemaak. hierdie artikel poog om die omvang, patrone en prosesse wat burgers van die stad gebruik om stedelike publieke ruimtes op te eis. die artikel het ten doel om ’n bydra te lewer tot die groeiende korps van kennis oor die erosie van stedelike publieke ruimtes deur te fokus op die mikro, erfgroote vlak, deur die geskiedenis van die erosie van stedelike publieke ruimtes soos geimplementeer is deur wetgewing te ondersoek, en derhalwe om die rol wat die burgers van die stad, en nie groothandel ontwikkelaars of groot organisasies kan hê in die vorming van stedelike publieke ruimte binne die stedelike landskap. sleutelwoorde: kaapstad, stedelike publieke ruimte, gis mr manfred spocter, department of geography and environmental studies, university of the western cape , private bag x17, bellville, 7535, south africa. telephone: +27 21 403 8177, email: <mspocter@pgwc.gov.za> 91 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town 1. introduction the roots of the spatial patterns that are manifested in contem-porary urban south africa are embedded in the segregationistpolicies of the apartheid era (robinson, 1996). the result of these policies has been a unique urban morphology that needs to be undone in order to create the conditions, for what the current administration of the city of cape town envisions itself, as: a sustainable city, a dignified city, an accessible city, a credit city, a competent city, a safe and caring city and a prosperous city (city of cape town, n.d.: online). ten years after the transition to a democratic dispensation in south africa in 1994, great strides have been made to provide services to those south africans that were marginalized by apartheid policies. however, in spite of these gains, research has shown that huge inequalities still exists amongst the population (roberts, 2000; desai, 2005; roberts, 2005). this inequality is manifested, inter alia, in the urban morphology of the cities and towns of post-apartheid south africa. the wealthier urban sector have tended to create residential laagers of opulence, walled off from the surrounding urban landscape, thereby creating private, supposedly safe, residential areas, in which the residents are ‘protected’ from the unwanted attentions of the urban poor and those surviving on the fringes of urban society. the polarisation of urban space continues unabated in the postapartheid era (turok, 2000; turok & watson, 2001). areas of urban space have been gated, barricaded and controlled in an attempt to safeguard the lives and possessions of urban residents. the result of the gating of urban space is a patchwork of fortified areas within cities (landman, 2000a), exclusive zones that are privatised by those who can afford to shut out the rest of the city. much research has gone into the gated community phenomenon, internationally (gooblar, 2002; leisch, 2002; webster, glasze & frantz, 2002; wu & webber, 2004) and in south africa (landman, 2000b; van de wetering 2000; hook & vrdoljak, 2002; jürgens & gnad, 2002; landman, 2002; landman & schönteich, 2002). the repeal of the group areas act, influx control, the demise of statutory apartheid1 in the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s 1 this article uses the terms white and black as was entrenched in apartheid legislation. for the purposes of this paper, black refers to the apartheid grouping of black african, coloured and indian; except where the individual groupings are used. 92 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 2 the first was ordinance 20 of 1974, promulgated on 29 november 1974 and published in the province of the cape of good hope official gazette of 3 december 1974. all gazetted urban public space closures from 7 february 1975 to 30 january 2004 were enacted under ordinance 20 of 1974, after which the city of cape town by-law relating to the management and administration of the city of cape town's immovable property was utilised to enact urban public space closures. the city of cape town by-law was published in the provincial gazette of the province of the western cape on 28 february 2003 and the first urban public space closure enacted under it took place on 13 february 2004. and the creation of a democratic south africa in 1994 have had a profound effect on urban areas that were negatively affected by apartheid laws. the resultant growth in urban areas has had a tendency to mirror the huge economic disparity in the population of south africa, a post-apartheid disparity reflected in the urban morphology of south african cities and towns. in cape town, those that are economically able tend to reside in wealthy, previously advantaged suburbs and display a tendency to protect their assets by various means; which includes the fortification of living space, the purchasing of dwellings in security estates and increasing the level of surveillance of private homes (lemanski, 2004; saff, 2004). it is important to note that the rise of gated communities, security complexes, the fortification of living space and the surveillance and control of urban public space is a global phenomenon as those individuals and organisations who can afford to, seek to protect themselves from the economically less privileged. in cape town, long before the above-mentioned strategies became vogue; there was a means that could be used by citizens to claim urban public space. this article endeavours to trace the extent, identify patterns and investigate the processes utilised by citizens in the claiming of urban public space in cape town. this article aims to add to the growing corpus of knowledge on the claiming and closure of urban public space by focussing on the micro, erf-sized level, by seeking to understand the history of the claiming of urban public space as entrenched in legislation. the study also highlights the impact that individual citizens, not major real estate developers or large organisations, can have on the shaping of urban public space within the urban landscape. 2. methodology: a gis application two pieces of legislation, which enacted and facilitated urban public space closures, were promulgated during the 1970s and in 2003.2 a total of 2 378 provincial gazettes were consulted in order 93 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town to source the urban public space closures in the study area. a total of 1 018 gazetted closures were found. the data recorded from the provincial gazettes included: the gazette number, the gazette date, the suburb in which the closure occurred, the type of closure and the reference number linking the gazetted closure to an individual map reference. the individual map reference number, known as an s-number, corresponded to a4-sized maps at the city of cape town: land information management department. these maps showed the precise location of the closure, the size of the closure, the names(s) of the applicant(s), a reference number to a document file and a reference number to a large roll map. each closure location was verified on the roll map to accurately determine where each closure was located. the data that was collected on each suburb was entered into a geographic information system from which maps could be produced. the reference number to the document file allowed access to correspondence entered into between all the role-players in each closure application. all correspondence of all closures in camps bay and mitchell’s plain were investigated and entered into the statistical package for the social sciences (spss™) to conduct a qualitative analysis of the data. the collected data was analysed on a microsoft access database that contained twelve variables, resulting in 10 161 individual entries of information. the primary objective was to extract annual and fiveyearly segment timelines to graphically express the number of closures in the different closure groups and present it expressed as a percentage or numerically. in addition to the graphs, the database allowed for the numeric calculation and tabular presentation of closure numbers per closure group and per suburb; the total and average size of closures and the percentage of closed space per suburb. variables from the microsoft access database, together with the results of calculations conducted with the data, were exported to a geographic information systems (gis). the gis package used was arcview 3.3 and it facilitated the production of maps from the data. a gis suburbs layer was sourced from the city of cape town: environmental management department from which the 80 suburbs in the study area was isolated and 21 data fields were added for each suburb, resulting in 240 individual entries. the maps created with the gis visually displayed the study area, closure trends in 94 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) each of the suburbs over the study period and the percentage of closed space per suburb. the closure data transcribed from the provincial government gazettes can be deemed to be error-free as provincial gazettes are legal documents and any error could impact negatively on the legality of the closures. the gis base data layer is used by all gis users with in the city of cape town and is the most accurate, up-to-date suburbs layer available. thus, the data produced in the analysis and the resultant presentation of maps, graphs and tables has a high degree of accuracy. unfortunately, 16% of the map records at the city of cape town: land information management department did not have a value for the amount of closed space and this was a constraint in determining the total amount of closed urban public space in the study area. a political timeline of the study area is necessary for contextualisation. the area represents a cross-section of differences of class, socio-economic conditions, apartheid race groupings, employment levels, literacy levels and ownership of material goods, which can be found between and within suburbs in the city of cape town. the suburbs within the study area each have their own particular history and unique character and have been either advantaged or disadvantaged through the processes that have shaped cape town’s urban history. it is against this backdrop of differences between suburbs in the study area that the analysis of urban public space closures takes place and allows for the examination of intersuburban patterns and processes. 3. local authority background according to the city of cape town official geographical information systems suburbs layer created in january 1999, there are eighty suburbs in the central city substructure. however, this was not always the situation as suburbs were either part of the cape town municipality; were municipalities on their own or were governed by apartheid-era racially based local government structures at any given time between the study timeline of 1975 and 2004. in 1975 most of the study area fell under the jurisdiction of the city council of cape town, which was an amalgamation of various municipalities that took place in 1913 and 1927. pinelands, the exception, acquired municipal status in 1948 and functioned as such; 95 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town separate from the city council of cape town, until 1995 when it was incorporated into the city of cape town. two of the black african townships in the study area, namely, langa and nyanga, fell under the jurisdiction of the cape peninsula bantu affairs administration board, which was created in 1973 (weichel, smith & putterill, 1978; city of cape town, 1982; cameron, 1999). the third black african township in the study area, crossroads, was proclaimed as an emergency camp in june 1976 and came under the control of the divisional council of the cape (weichel, smith & putterill, 1978). in 1979 the cape peninsula bantu affairs administration board amalgamated with the south western cape administration board to form the western cape administration board (city of cape town, 1982). after 1987, the black african suburbs of langa, nyanga and guguletu, falling under black local authority jurisdiction, were known as the ikapa town council (cameron, 1999). by 1975, most coloured suburbs were under the municipal jurisdiction of the city council of cape town (cameron, 1999) with the implementation of the group areas act in 1950. residents of older, racially mixed suburbs of, for example, mowbray, district six and simon’s town were displaced to housing estates and township developments on the cape flats (western, 1996; urban problems research unit, 1989; jeppie & soudien, 1990; field, 2001). outlying suburbs in the southeast of the study area, except mitchell’s plain, fell under the jurisdiction of the divisional council of the cape, which was responsible for the development of the, at the time, peri-urban coloured and indian areas (city of cape town, 1982). the establishment, in 1983, of the tri-cameral representation in parliament for whites, coloureds and indians meant a change in local government structures was necessary to complement the changes taking place in the national government structure. the change in local government structures was facilitated by the promulgation of the regional services act of 1985 that allowed the greater cape town regional services council to replace the cape divisional council. this change at local government level allowed coloureds and indians in cape town to administer their, what were termed, ‘general’ and ‘own affairs’ (cameron, 1993). thus, the regional services councils were not recognised by the government “… as fully fledged metropolitan authorities … (but) … as an extension of existing primary local authorities” (cameron, 1995: 405). 96 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) figure 1: cape town, with previous municipal substructure regions, including the study area source: spocter, 2005: own drawing the southeast portion of the study area, previously controlled by the cape divisional council came under the jurisdiction of the greater cape town regional services council. the system of regional services councils, which started functioning on 1 july 1987, was vehemently opposed by the white liberal city councils, such as cape town (cameron, 1986; 1993; 1995). however, the blaauwberg municipality city of tygerberg city of cape town south peninsula municipality oostenberg municipality helderberg municipality atlantic ocean false bay unicity boundary (after 6/12/2000) blaauberg municipality city of cape town (study area) city of tygerberg helderberg municipality oostenberg municipality south peninsula municipality 97 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town functions of the regional services council were only dissolved after the transition to a democratic south africa. the local government transition act of 1993 provided the basis for democratically elected local government structures (cloete, 1995). the process of demarcation of boundaries in the cape metropolitan area was long, arduous and fraught with difficulties as “… the cape metropolitan area was the most fragmented of south africa’s metropolitan areas” (cameron, 1999: 137). in spite of the complexities, south africa entered a new era of democratically elected local government structures after the november 1995 local government elections. the adoption of the six metropolitan substructures took place after the 1996 local government elections. the amalgamation of the cape metropolitan council and the six metropolitan substructure regions took place on 6 december 2000 and the new unified city of cape town came into being (figure 1). however, the previous council substructures will continue to administrate their areas until the new corporate structure is implemented (city of cape town, 2004: online). 4. types of urban public space closures the urban public spaces that are closed are described in the government gazettes by the types of urban public spaces that they are. the urban public space classification types were narrowed down into a manageable number of categories to simplify the data analysis and extraction, resulting in the creation of three broad categories of urban public space closure types. the criteria used to categorise the 36 urban public space closure types were the size, purpose and general use of the closed space3 (table 1). the total number of successful urban public space closures in the study area and study period was 1 018 closures. 3 a different word order was used in describing what essentially would be the same phenomenon, for example, ‘closure of road’ and ‘road closed’. 98 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 1: groups of urban public space closure types group 1: motorised-use spaces group 2: non-motorised use spaces group 3: recreation and vacant land spaces closure of public road closure of public footpath public place closed road closed public passage closed public open space closed public street closed closure of lane closure of city land closure of public street passage closed closure of erven level crossing closed closure of passage portion of public placeclosed public road closed pedestrian way closed closure of portion of public place closure of portion of avenue closure of service alley portion of city land closed portion of public street closed portion of public passage closed portion of public open space closed portion of public road closed portion of passage closed portion of erf closed portion of street closed portion of lane closed closure of portion of erf closure of portion of street closure of portion of public footway portion of thoroughfare closed portion of drainage passage closed portion of public thoroughfare closed portion of road closed group 1 closures included spaces used by motorised vehicles and that are wide enough to allow motorised vehicles to drive in/on them. group 2 closures consist of spaces that are associated with a nonmotorised use, as used by cyclists and pedestrians. this group of urban public space closures were also narrower in width than the first group. in many instances, this group of closed spaces were remnants of 18th century urban planning that facilitated the use of narrow spaces for walking and fire control purposes (shell, 1994). furthermore, apartheidera low-cost housing township planning also used these spaces for people to access transport corridors from the square layout of housing structures (mills, 1989). group 3 closures are spaces that are large and usually associated with a recreational land use or vacant land. 4.1 closure according to years figure 2 shows the number of applications per group over the study period. the grouping of urban public space closures into three total group 1 closures: 609 total group 2 closures: 142 total group 3 closures: 267 99 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town groups made it easier to document and structure the data in order to extract patterns in the study area. certain suburbs within the study area displayed a tendency to a specific type of closure. the largest percentage of urban public space closures came from group 1 (60%), followed by group 3 (26%) and group 2 (14%). 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 19 75 19 76 19 77 19 78 19 79 19 80 19 81 19 82 19 83 19 84 19 85 19 86 19 87 19 88 19 89 19 90 19 91 19 92 19 93 19 94 19 95 19 96 19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 years n o . o f c lo su re s group 1 group 2 group 3 figure 2: number of closures per group over time source: spocter, 2005a: own graph 4.2 closures according to suburbs the study period has been divided into time periods of five years. within each cohort, different suburbs have different numbers of closures. figure 3 has three categories of number of closures, namely; 0-7, 8-14 and 15-21, to which the labels of low, medium and high could be ascribed to represent closure intensity within a particular period. in the first period utilising the new closure legislation (1975 — 1979), the suburb with the number of closures in the high category is central cape town — the central business district. the two suburbs with closures in the medium category are claremont and pinelands, with the rest of the suburbs in the low category. the cbd and claremont are major nodes of economic activity, while pinelands is a highincome residential area. 100 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) green point camps bay vredehoek salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlone nyanga philippi lentegeur tafelsig strandfontein rondebosch claremont green point camps bay vredehoek salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlone nyanga philippi lentegeur tafelsig strandfontein rondebosch claremont 0 7 (low) 8 14 (medium) 15 21 (high) closures per suburb ������ figure 3.1: closures per suburb, 1975 — 1984 source: spocter, 2005b: own drawing 101 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town green point camps bay vredehoek salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlone nyanga philippi lentegeur tafelsig strandfontein rondebosch claremont green point camps bay vredehoek salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlone nyanga philippi lentegeur tafelsig strandfontein rondebosch claremont 0 7 (low) 8 14 (medium) 15 21 (high) closures per suburb ������ figure 3.2: closures per suburb, 1985 — 1994 source: spocter, 2005b: own drawing 102 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) green point camps bay vredehoek salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlone nyanga philippi lentegeur tafelsig strandfontein rondebosch claremont green point camps bay vredehoek salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlone nyanga philippi lentegeur tafelsig strandfontein rondebosch claremont 0 7 (low) 8 14 (medium) 15 21 (high) closures per suburb ������ figure 3.3: closures per suburb, 1995 — 2004 source: spocter, 2005b: own drawing 103 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town the first half of the 1980s found the suburbs of once again, central, claremont and pinelands, together with athlone, have closure numbers in the medium intensity category. the number of closures in athlone, a black area, in this period could be ascribed to the impact of the construction and widening of jan smuts drive on the closure of feeder roads joining it. closures that took place in the latter half of the 1980s showed a tendency to be confined to suburbs on the slopes of table mountain and signal hill. suburbs with a high closure rate were central, woodstock and camps bay; while those with a medium closure rate were green point, rondebosch, newlands and claremont. there is thus a tendency for these closures to be clustered in high-income areas on the slopes of table mountain and it coincides with the period in which there was the highest number of closures in the study area. the period marking the abolishment of apartheid (1990 — 1994), witnessed a high closure rate in camps bay; a clustering of medium closure rates in the city bowl suburbs of vredehoek, tamboerskloof and central, and in manenberg. manenberg, a low-income, apartheid-era, black township housing scheme on the cape flats has a medium closure rate due to, mostly, the high number of group 1 type closures. the second half of the 1990s saw a high closure rate in central and camps bay and a medium closure rate in sea point, newlands and portlands. the established trend of high and medium closure rates continue in high-income suburbs and in the cbd. the exception here is portlands, a lowincome suburb in mitchell’s plain, which has a medium closure rate in this period owing to all closures, except one, belonging to group 3 type closures. the 2000 — 2004 period only shows a medium closure rate in pinelands, newlands, camps bay and bantry bay. this is a continuation of an established trend of closure numbers in suburbs within traditionally high rates of closures. the one exception being bantry bay a high-income area that witnessed nine closures in this period consisting of mostly group 1 closures. the pattern of closures in suburbs shows that most closures took place in high-income older established suburbs clustered in the city bowl, the slopes of the mountain or in major economic nodes. most of the older, established suburbs in the study area have seen development take place by 1900. one could argue that development in long-established, built-up suburbs has used most space available and that any land deemed to be under-utilised or vacant would be a sought-after commodity with the potential to 104 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) be assimilated into existing properties. thus, persons and organisations have tried to maximise land use by purchasing and privatising available pockets, strips and slivers of land around their properties. research into gated communities in johannesburg shows that the highest demand for road closures came from those in middleand high-income suburbs (jürgens & gnad, 2002). one can juxtapose this with the large number of micro-privatised spaces in cape town situated in middleand high-income areas. thus, middleand highincome suburbs tend to have more privatised space, not only because they can afford to buy the property, but also for any other reasons that they may have, including security. studies have shown that people with a higher socio-economic status are more likely to contact the authorities to report municipal problems or use any municipal client service (sharp, 1982). it could also be that high-income earners would want to protect their assets as best they can and that if the closure of urban public space would help, then they would do that. the only suburbs on the cape flats with a high and medium closure rates are the middle-income, previously whites-only suburb of pinelands and low-income black suburbs of athlone, manenberg and portlands. building density might be lower in these areas and there might be more land available on the cape flats, thus the need to closure and privatise land is not as great as in established areas. one could postulate and suggest that as the city sprawls, older suburbs on the cape flats could follow the trend set by older, high-income areas, as the demand for land in these areas increase and infill takes place. 4.3 closures according to former race/space categories the division of urban areas into racial categories has imprinted an indelibly unique morphology on south african cities. for all the liberal leanings of the cape town city council during the apartheid-era, they have not prevented the designation of urban space in cape town for the exclusive use of different race groups. figure 4 indicates, within the study area, the clustering of white suburbs mainly around and on the slopes of table mountain, lion’s head and signal hill, visibly separate from black suburbs. black suburbs are situated on the cape flats, a windswept low-lying plain, away from the cbd. there are also four industrial areas and the philippi agricultural area that is the largest suburb in size within the study area. 105 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town figure 4: suburb classification based on former group areas source: spocter, 2005c: own drawing white suburbs constitute 41% of the suburbs in the macro study area, but they account for 69% of the total number of closures. conversely, black suburbs constitute 53% of suburbs, but only account for 28% of closures (table 2). table 2: number of closures per suburb classification suburb classification no. of suburbs no. of closures former white group areas 33 701 former black group areas 42 288 industrial 4 28 urban agricultural 1 1 total 80 1018 legend suburb classification based on former group areas former white suburbs former black suburbs other land uses industrial urban agricultural study area table mountain nature reserve false bay atlantic ocean this could be because, as mentioned earlier, citizens in economically better-off white suburbs, are more inclined and confident to access municipal services; have the means to familiarise themselves with municipal requirements and by-laws; and more whites than blacks have the capital to purchase additional land. furthermore, most black suburbs tend to be ‘younger’ than white suburbs and vacant and under-utilised land might not be as scarce in black suburbs as in white suburbs. 106 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) more than two-thirds of closures are concentrated in white suburbs. this is reflective of the disparity between whites and blacks in so many other facets of south african society. however, the analysis of the sheer closure numbers alone belies the intricacies of closure patterns on the race/space level. the investigation of the physical extent of closures in white and black suburbs would further explain the differences of closures in the various suburbs. 4.4 the physical extent of closures the city of cape town: land information management department have mapped records of most of the 1 018 gazetted, successful citizen-driven urban public space closure applications. these mapped records display, inter alia, the size of the closed space; mostly in square metres, but also in hectares and square feet in the case of older maps. the uniform measurement of square metres (m2) was applied to all closures and those not in m2 were converted to it. unfortunately, 158 map records did not have a figure for the size of the closed space and this represented 16% of the total amount of closures. the reasons for the missing values were because the map was missing; the size of the closed area was not indicated on the map; the closure only affected vehicular access or it was due to administrative errors. nevertheless, 860 closures, representing 84% of the total closures had a size value and it was possible to calculate the total closed space in the study area for the study period (table 3). table 3: size values of different urban public space closure groups source: compiled by author from city of cape town: land information management department group 1 closures account 54% of closed space, group 3 closures for 44% of closed space and group 2 closures for 2% of closed space. the large percentage of group 3 closures testifies to the earlier observation that increasing numbers of portions of recreational space and closure group total no. ofclosures no. of closures with a m2 value no. of closures without a m2 value total closed space (in m2) average size of closures group 1 609 513 96 527 818m2 1 029m2 group 2 142 117 25 22 507m2 192m2 group 3 267 230 37 421 733m2 1 834m2 total 1018 860 158 972 058m2 1 130m2 107 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town vacant land are being closed. furthermore, the closure of vacant, state-owned land would increase as it is proposed that south africa’s urban housing needs would be addressed by building high-density housing projects on vacant urban land (philp, 2004). studies that identify vacant land for use for various purposes, including housing, have been commissioned by different local authorities (western cape regional services council, 1994; cape metropolitan council, 1998). group 3 closures has the largest average size of the closure types and this could be as a result of recreation and vacant land spaces being larger, on average, than the other closure groups. the small percentage of group 2 closures adds credence to the fact that small spaces make up this closure type, which is further affirmed by the low average size of 192m2. the total area of closed space is 972 058m2, at an average of 32 401m2 per annum. to give this some perspective, one could fit 152 international size (100m x 64m) soccer fields or 32 401 reconstruction and development plan houses of 30m2 in that area. the total closed space represents an area similar in size to the suburb of tamboerskloof (figure 5). legend total amount of closed space in study area: 972 058 square metres tamboerskloof (971 385 m2) study area (223 589 440 m2) table mountain nature reserve atlantic ocean false bay figure 5: graphic representation of total closed space (in m2) in the study area source: spocter, 2005d: own drawing 108 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) former white suburbs have 69% of the total amount of closures, but they only constitute 55% of the total closed space. a significant observation is that former black suburbs, although having little more than a quarter of the total number of closures, have close to 40% of the total extent of closures. this could be because, as there is less vacant and under-utilised land in older and established white suburbs, the size of the closed space is less — an average of 759m2. black suburbs on the sprawling cape flats have more vacant and under-utilised land, resulting in an average size per closure of close to 1 300m2 (table 4) industrial areas have the largest average size per closure, at 2 327m2. industrial erven tend to be much larger than residential erven in order to accommodate the large size of factories, which could be the reason for the large average closure size. business organisations would also tend to have the capital outlay to purchase large tracts of vacant and under-utilised land. table 4: percentage of total closed urban public space per suburb classification suburb classification no. of closures % of total closures total size of closures (in m2) % of total closed space average size per closure (in m2) former white 701 68.8% 531 876m 2 54.7% 759m2 former black 288 28.3% 374 113m 2 38.5% 1 299m2 industrial 28 2.8% 65 155m2 6.7% 2 327m2 agricultural 1 0.1% 914m2 0.1% 914m2 most suburbs have less than 25 000m2 of closed urban public space. six suburbs have between 25 001m2 and 50 000m2 of closed space while five suburbs have more than 50 000m2 of closed urban public space (figure 6). this indicates that the size of the cumulative closed urban public space in suburbs is not high and those suburbs that do have a relatively high cumulative size of urban public space are dispersed in the study area, with a cluster in the adjoining suburbs of rondebosch, claremont, rondebosch east and crawford. 109 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town atlantic ocean false bay closed urban public space per suburb (in m2) 0 25 000 25 001 50 000 50 000 + study area table mountain nature reserve legend camps bay vredehoek green point salt river maitland pinelands langa kew town athlonerondebosch claremont nyanga philippi lentegeur strandfontein tafelsig % closed space suburb 3.0% and more rondebosch east (7.04%) crawford (3.18%) central (3.09%) 2.0% 2.9% newfields (2.87%) camps bay (2.2%) thornton (2.09%) less than 2.0% rest of the suburbs figure 6: total of closed urban public space per suburb, 1975 — 2004 (in m2) source: spocter, 2005e: own drawing the calculation of closed space as a percentage of suburb size shows a similar trend. the suburbs of rondebosch east, crawford and central have the highest percentage of urban public space privatised, followed by newfields, camps bay and thornton (table 5). the high percentage of closed urban public space in rondebosch east can be, in part, attributed to a single group 1 closure of 58 700m2 that was gazetted on 10th december 2004. the rest of the suburbs have less than two percent of their total suburb area privatised. table 5: closed urban public space as percentage of suburb size5 5 the total area (in m2) of each suburb was divided by its total closed space (in m2) and expressed as a percentage. 110 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) the total coverage of the study area is 223 589 440m2, thus the closed and privatised urban public space represents 0.43% of that total (see figure 5). one could infer that at face value, these closures do not seem to impact the city morphology on a broad scale and that large parts of the study area are not being privatised. however, these closures do have an impact on the fine scale personal/private space of citizens. 5. conclusion the macro analysis of urban public space closures identified certain trends pertaining to closures from 1975 to 2004. the number of closures was relatively low after the introduction of the closure ordinance in 1974, but increased substantially in the latter half of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, a period in which three peaks of number of closures was identified. furthermore, there has been a shift to increasing numbers of closures of recreation space and vacant land. closures tended to take place in highand middle-income formerly white suburbs, but the average size of closures were higher in industrial areas and formerly black suburbs. notwithstanding the seemingly large areas of closed space, these closed spaces only formed a fraction of a percentage of the total study area size. thus, urban public space closures seemed to have more of an impact on the personal/private space of individuals rather than the broader city morphology. there were 1 018 gazetted urban public space closures that were cartographically recorded on variously sized paper maps by the city of cape town: land information management department. a dire need remains for the compilation of a gis database of all urban public space closures. this would allow the city of cape town to monitor the time-space patterns of urban public space closures and the different scales of impact on the city. the same gis database could contain information regarding the location of gated communities and secure estates in the city. a central gis depository of urban public space closure information could inform policyand decision-making and could assist the city in curbing polarisation within the urban sphere. by using gis as a decisionmaking tool to influence urban public space policy, the city of cape town would be able to move closer to the vision of it being a sustainable city, a dignified city, an accessible city, a credit city, a competent city, a safe and caring city and a prosperous city. 111 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town references cameron, r. 1986. devolution without power: regional services councils and the western cape. in: bennett, m., mason, a.j. & schlemmer, l. 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[online]. available from: <http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ csds/publications/28.pdf> [accessed 23 june 2005]. roberts, b. 2005. ‘empty stomachs, empty pockets’: poverty and inequality in post-apartheid south africa, in daniel, j.; southall, r. and lutchmann, j., (eds), state of the nation: south africa 2004 — 2005. pretoria: human sciences research council. [online]. available from: <http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/ u s e r _ u p l o a d s / t b l p d f / 2 0 5 5 _ 1 8 _ s t a t e _ o f _ t h e _ n a t i o n _ 2 0 0 4 2005~16112004111 750am.pdf> [accessed 23 june 2005]. robinson, j. 1996. the power of apartheid: state, power and space in south african cities. oxford: butterworth — heinemann. saff, g. 2004. walls of change: the fortification of post-apartheid south african suburbia, paper presented at the association of american geographers annual conference held in philadelphia on 19 march. 113 spocter • urban public space closures in cape town sharp, e.b. 1982. citizen-initiated contacting of government officials and socio-economic status: determining the relationship and accounting for it. american political science review, 76(1), pp. 109 — 115. shell, r. c-h. 1984. children of bondage: a social history of the slave society at the cape of good hope, 1653 — 1838. johannesburg: witwatersrand university press. spocter, m. 2005. map of cape town, with previous municipal substructure regions. (drawing by author). cape town. spocter, m. 2005a. graph of number of closures per group over time. (drawing by author). cape town. spocter, m. 2005b. map of closures per suburb in cape town, 1975 — 2004. (drawing by author). cape town. spocter, m. 2005c. map of suburb classification based on former group areas in cape town. (drawing by author). cape town. spocter, m. 2005d. graphic representation of total closed space (in m2) in cape town. (drawing by author). cape town. spocter, m. 2005e. map of total of closed urban public space per suburb, 1975 — 2004 (in m2) in cape town. (drawing by author). cape town. turok, i. 2000. persistent polarisation post-apartheid? progress towards urban integration in cape town. discussion paper number 1, urban change and policy research group, department of urban studies, university of glasgow. turok, i. & watson, v. 2001. divergent development in south african cities: strategic challenges facing cape town. urban forum, 21(2), pp. 119 — 138. urban problems research unit. 1989. an overview of development problems in the cape town metropolitan area. cape town: the urban foundation. van de wetering, a. 2000. enclosed neighbourhoods in perspective. unpublished b.trp thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria. [online]. available from: <http://www.gatedcomsa.co.za/docs/enclosed_neighbour.pdf> [accessed on 16 october 2003]. webster, c., glasze, g. & frantz, k. 2002. the global spread of gated communities. environment and planning b: planning and design, 29(3), pp. 315 — 320. weichel, k.; smith, l. c. and putterill, m. s. 1978. nyanga and crossroads: some aspects of social and economic activity. urban problems research unit working paper, cape town: university of cape town. western cape regional services council. 1994. land availability study: the identification and mapping of all vacant and underdeveloped land within municipalities (excluding the city of cape town) in the cape metropolitan area, draft report, cape town: rsc engineering services. western, j. 1996. outcast cape town, berkeley : university of california press. wu, f. & webber, k. 2004. the rise of ‘foreign gated communities’ in beijing: between economic globalisation and local institutions. cities, 21(3), pp. 203 — 213. << 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 79 oorsigartikels • review articles robert taylor systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education peer reviewed abstract deriving from a critique of the theory of management that has influenced the practice of project management, this article explores an alternative paradigm in the form of systems thinking. the known multi-disciplinary usefulness of systems thinking is proposed as a means of reconsidering project planning, implementation and control, leading to potential implications for the education of project managers. the appropriate selection of systems approaches for use in the planning and control of complex projects in any development sector, including construction, is considered. although the specific details of any specific ‘process-based’ systems approaches are not presented, the conceptual rationale for such approaches to project planning and control is presented. this is done within a framework of critical consideration of those factors that are argued to contribute to failure to meet key project outcomes, especially in complex projects. contemporary literature (extensively referred to in this article) increasingly suggests that there are limits to the established ‘rational-oriented’ approaches to project management. the current body of practice knowledge requires the addition of complementary, ‘process-based’ approaches for a new generation of strategic project managers. specific recommendations for educational development in this regard are made. this article explores the influence of contemporary organisational theory on project management and hence the need to add critically necessary soft skills capacity to the current body of knowledge. keywords: project management, systems thinking, complexity theory, project management education abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek ’n alternatiewe modelwoord in die vorm van sisteemdenke wat afgelei is van ’n kritiek oor die teorie van bestuurswese wat ’n invloed op projekbestuur gehad het. die bekende multidissiplinêre bruikbaarheid van sisteemdenke is voorgestel as ’n manier om projekbeplanning, implementering en beheer te heroorweeg, wat kan lei tot potensiële implikasies vir die opleiding van projekbestuurders. die toepaslike seleksie van stelselsbenaderings vir gebruik in die beplanning en beheer van komplekse projekte in enige sektor van ontwikkeling, insluitende konstruksie, word oorweeg. alhoewel dit nie die aanbieding van die spesifike prof. robert g. taylor director leadership centre university of kwazulu-natal durban south africa. phone: +27 31 260 1297 fax: +27 31 260 1610 email: <taylorr@ukzn.ac.za> acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 80 besonderhede van enige spesifieke ‘proses-gebaseerde’ stelsels voorstel nie, word die konseptuele rasionaal vir sulke benaderings aan die projekbeplanning en beheer voorgestel. dit word gedoen binne ’n raamwerk van kritiese oorweging van die faktore wat aangevoer word om by te dra tot versuim om te voldoen aan die belangrikste projek-uitkomste, veral in die komplekse projekte. kontemporêre literatuur (volledig uitgebrei en na verwys in hierdie artikel) dui toenemend daarop dat daar grense is aan die gevestigde ‘rasionele-georiënteerde’ benaderings tot die projekbestuur. die huidige liggaam van die praktykkennis vereis die byvoeging van addisionele ‘proses-gebaseerde’ benaderings vir ’n nuwe generasie van strategiese projekbestuurders. spesifieke aanbevelings vir die opvoedkundige ontwikkeling word in hierdie verband gemaak. hierdie artikel ondersoek die invloed van eietydse organisatoriese teorie op projekbestuur en vandaar die nodigheid om krities nodige sagte vaardighedekapasiteit tot die huidige liggaam van kennis toe te voeg. sleutelwoorde: projekbestuur, sisteemdenke, komplekse teorie, projekbestuur opleiding 1. introduction projects typically represent a form of targeted organisational activity intended to bring about changes that may be mostly technical (as is usually the case in engineering projects) or process-redefining (as is usually the case in business transformation projects). the impacts of projects are seldom only ‘technical’ or only ‘transforming’ but typically a combination of both. it is believed that this combination (or balance) and the consequent approaches to project planning and control hold the key to improved project performance (stoneham & ainsworth, 2003: 1; morris, 2004; holmquist, 2007). the development of the matrix organisational form as a device for multidisciplinary action for organisational change provided the early institutional framework for the emergence of project management. projects therefore do emulate some of the attributes of organisations in terms of planning, implementation and systems of control. many of these attributes reflect the industrial era or rationalist approaches to management which some writers consider to be a key problem for organisational management in general (ackoff, 1999; jackson, 2000) and for project management in particular (jaafari, 2003; kurtz & snowden, 2003; morris, 2004) projects also possess certain specific attributes that set them apart from organisations. these specific attributes are well-known, and are included in most definitions of projects. for the most part, definitions of projects would explicitly include words such as ‘unique’ and ‘temporary’ hence adding further dimensions of challenge that place projects in an area which, for most managers, would provide taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 81 challenge beyond that which is normal in the already confusing organisational world. definitions of projects would also implicitly include the idea of change, meaning the intention to bring about improvement in some or other situation. it is hard to imagine that it would be otherwise. change that catalyses decline or degradation would not be what any right-minded project manager would have in mind! yet many projects, on completion, are not shining examples of initial intent. neither planning, nor implementation, nor systems of control seem to work, as is evidenced by late completions and budget overspends. viewed in hindsight, which is where clarity of understanding is always best, many projects in both their execution and impact simply do not meet the expectations that accompanied their inception. indeed, there are some shameful examples of projects where short-term success has soon been overtaken by long-term embarrassment. it appears that learning does not occur and that mistakes whose symptoms are so clear continue to be repeated, and have come to pervade the literature on project management. attempts to enable improvement in project performance typically target the refinement of existing tools and techniques. a growing body of academic and practitioner opinion does not share the view that the road to improvement rests in refining what already exists. these opinions prefer to question the conceptual foundations on which project management has been built, thus suggesting a paradigm shift at a fundamental level. morris (2000), koskela & howell (2002a), sterman (2006) and leybourne (2007), among others, critically reflect on the state of project management, mostly to emphasise its lack of the relevant and comprehensive theoretical capacity that could enable improved project management practices, especially in the post-industrial era. singh, h. & singh, a. (2002: 24) consider that all projects have some semblance of complexity, even chaos, associated with them: in many respects, projects are like wars and military battles – there is wild confusion, disorder, discontinuity in information flow, and application of mistaken strategy events that make projects spin out of control into complexity. it is indeed time to review the theoretical foundations that inform project management practices, and specifically to consider the usefulness of process-based approaches to the planning and control of projects. these approaches are embodied in a broader engagement of systems thinking in the management of projects. the essential purpose of this article is not to deny the considerable contribution of systems approaches already in use, such as systems acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 82 engineering, but to recognise the latent potential that other systems approaches offer for improved project management practice in the context of complexity. to facilitate this purpose and to provide a framework for critical reflection, it is necessary to acknowledge that projects and their management cannot be completely abstracted from the organisational world and the bodies of theory that frame that world. reflections on change and proposals for change are therefore preferably done from a position that first considers significant contemporary organisational challenges and debates. these challenges are many and diverse and cannot be fully explored in this instance. it is not the intention of this article to provide detailed examples of the use of alternative systems models or techniques. this article aims to suggest that there are well-developed, more appropriate, and contextually relevant planning and control frameworks in existence which can offer alternative planning decision support and control frameworks for more effective practice. therefore, although project management has developed a language and set of practices that set it apart from general management, it is also true that a great deal of the language and practices of project management are derived from the world of general management. the developments in those areas are therefore relevant in setting a trajectory for debate and development in the field of project management itself. it is to that more general context that discussion is directed in the first instance. the concerns are therefore first, a synoptic overview of the essential characteristics (and critique of) the dominant scientific paradigm (or rational-positivism) that influences a great deal of current business management, including the practice of project management; secondly, to understand the nature of the contemporary context for organisational and project management; thirdly, to consider the realised and latent potential of systems thinking as a ‘processbased’ approach to project planning and control and, fourthly, to offer suggestions regarding what could be part of the education of strategically minded project managers. 2. synoptic overview of the characteristics and assumptions of scientific management it has always been known that the universe is both complex and mysterious. throughout history, people have sought to unravel the complexity in order to understand the mystery. this has been done mostly by means of the familiar newtonian process whereby complex taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 83 problems are reduced into constituent parts (commonly known as ‘reductionism’). such a pursuit of better understanding has kept the scientific community active and has enabled great advances in knowledge and application, particularly in the furtherance of human technological competence. the familiar systematic analytical processes of science have indeed delivered much that is positive and empowering. the same analytical processes have, perhaps ironically, also led to a growing understanding of how limited those processes can be in relation to problems that analysis alone cannot resolve. there can be little doubt that newtonian science, as translated into the business context by f.w. taylor, gantt (and others) of the scientific management school has left a heavy imprint on the organisational world. scientific management has formed the philosophical foundation for how business has organised itself, and how it has attempted to achieve its purposes. this is most starkly evident in bureaucracies where divisional separation, strictly defined hierarchies, assumptions about the linear nature of causes relative to effects, belief in the integrity of planning systems and a passion for control (or capacity to exercise control) would be some central distinguishing characteristics. the major production successes of the industrial age were an outcome of this prescriptive ‘command and control’ approach to organisational management. the management systems that evolved from scientific roots were well suited to the needs of the industrial era. in brief, scientific management as a conceptual basis for management practices was founded on a belief system that assumed a relatively static and well-ordered environment (ackoff, 1999). such a conceptual framework for management practice led to the belief that sound management resided in robust systems of planning and tight controls, and that both were possible, even though early studies in cybernetics (e.g. ashby, 1956) had identified the impossibility of effective control of large, multi-variable systems, irrespective of the quality of planning. it also espoused the belief that environmental complexity could be accommodated and successfully managed by analytical processes and that cause and effect are closely related in time and space. perturbations could therefore reasonably be anticipated and either managed to extinction or accommodated by statistical method. this, in general, is no longer true. this does not mean that considerable innovation in business practice has not occurred. most will be familiar with the acronyms tqm (total acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 84 quality management), bpr (business process re-engineering), jit (just in time), lean manufacturing, among others, all claiming to be the panacea for one or other organisational malaise. jackson (1995) refers to the ‘faddish’ nature of these developments, suggesting that organisations have, in the face of rapidly changing times, been particularly receptive to anything that might hold some potential for improvement or gain in a confusing and often unintelligible world. the details of these and other developments are not important. what is important is that the majority, if not all, of these have really been located within the long established scientific management paradigm that possesses certain very distinctive characteristics that make certain assumptions about the nature of the world. in the contemporary context, these assumptions are probably no longer valid. the ‘fingerprints’ of scientific management are also indelibly evident in project management. the assumptions of reductionist positivism pervade the practice space of project management in general. for example, the familiar (and centrally significant) work breakdown structure (wbs) in project management is an overt manifestation of reductionist thinking. this does not deny its usefulness as a means to detail and define the project in systemic terms, but the wbs disguises the essential reality that events and relationships are dynamic and fluid. this gave cause for sterman (1992) to assert that, while the wbs, gantt charts, critical path method (cpm) and programme evaluation review technique (pert) are important and useful, they fall short in their ability to deal with dynamic complexity in the way systems dynamics can, for example. jaafari (2003), stoneham & ainsworth, (2003), and morris (2004) support the view that, while scientific approaches, as typified by the wbs, can expose and facilitate the management of combinatorial complexity, they are less useful in the case of the dynamic complexity that typifies the contemporary context. 3. nature of the contemporary context world economic and social events are known to have profound local impacts with sudden and to a large extent unpredictable effects. the phenomenon of globalisation, the ascendancy of the knowledge economy, a high rate of technological innovation, the development of advanced communications systems, and a growing concern with sustainable futures do not lend credibility to systems of management that are based on a belief in the capacity to plan accurately and that embody a passion for control. projects are not taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 85 exempt from such influences. like general management, project management is also challenged to enrich its repertoire of planning and control responses relative to a more complex world. holmquist (2007: 46), writing in the context of project management, identifies a negative relationship between complexity and rationality, hence arguing for the need for alternative, more creative approaches to project management. figure 1: the impact of new language introduced by a living systems approach source: dervitsiotis 2005: 941 structures, norms and practices of management in a context of uncertain and complex socio-cultural and environmental influences require acknowledgement of the need for a paradigm of management that is increasingly ‘process-based’ rather than based on the all-too-familiar mechanistic ‘rationalist’ (or control-oriented) prescription that typifies the experiences of many. dervitsiotis (2005: 941) speaks of the need for a ‘new language’ (summarised in figure 1) as a vehicle to enable new thinking about the practice of management, so as to provide the means for the liberation of creative collective energy in the resolution, and management, of the complex problems. this language characterises a shift from that which is associated with the assumptions of predictability and acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 86 certainty to that which focuses on assumptions of movement and uncertainty. as such it facilitates a dialogue about the nature of management itself in a complex and changing world. this language also typifies the shift from scientific paradigms of management to systemic paradigms of management. previous work (taylor, 2004) has summarised the development of management thinking in relation to the evolving socio-economic context in which that thinking was developed. assumptions of relative predictability have had to make way for assumptions of relative unpredictability; assumptions about the nature of control and capacity to exercise control have had to be reconsidered; assumptions about unity of organisational purpose have had to make way for the understanding of diverse perspectives and individual consciousness,and assumptions about relative individual and organisational isolation from a broader socio-economic environment have had to make way for organisational integration into the broader socio-economic environment. inherent in each of these assumption shifts is that which also defines complexity and the complex. these emphasise a management that can increasingly comprehend the dynamic interplay between individual, organisation and society at large. contemporary reality is thus characterised by the descriptors usually associated with systems thinking and complexity theory, namely the unpredictable, unintended consequences, positive and negative feedback loops, non-linearity and emergence, to name a few. in brief, complexity cannot be understood and managed by analysis alone. nor can responses be enacted by decree or reduced to codes, rules, policies and procedures, however well-intended those may be. this distinguishes the complex from the complicated. that which is ‘complex’ differs from that which is ‘complicated’ in the sense that the complicated can be codified in terms of rules and procedures and consequently managed by those rules and procedures (cilliers, 2000: 41; richardson, 2008: 19). as a system of concern expands, it is increasingly difficult to translate from the ‘complex’ into the ‘complicated’ and hence also less easy to predict the behaviour of that system. similarly kurtz & snowden (2003) and stoneham & ainsworth (2003: 2) argue that the ‘complicated’ becomes ‘complex’ as time becomes compressed, for example through fast tracking approaches that serve to accelerate feedback within systems that cannot cope with such effects. kahane (2004: 31) further characterises complex systems by means of three related dimensions of complexity that can be found taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 87 singularly or in combination in any problem situation. the first is ‘dynamic’ complexity that defines the connection time between cause and effect. for example, how close is the coupling between events, their detection and the effect of actions arising from those events? the second is ‘generative’ complexity that defines the degree of predictability that attends any given action. the third is ‘social’ complexity that identifies differing value positions between individuals and groups to be relevant to the manner in which decisions are made and action occurs. social complexity, as defined in this instance, is embedded in the self-reflective and perceptual capacity of stakeholders. in brief, systems are defined by the way in which they are perceived by participants in them and observers of them, thus leading to multiple subjective interpretations of the world itself and the conclusion that stakeholder reality is mostly a social construct (leybourne, 2007: 68) objective reality is thus only a partial, limited reality. subjective reality – ways of seeing that are also ways of not seeing enables insight and interpretation that is driven by what is ‘perceived’ and how it is ‘understood’ by the ‘observer’. this leads to multiple dynamic influences that collectively lead to inevitable instability. this view is consistent with the established view embodied in systems thinking – i.e. that systems exist mostly as interpretations of reality (jackson, 2000), hence favouring a more process (or ‘learning’ or ‘soft’) approach to planning, implementation and control as a means to mediate complexity. to elaborate, figure 2 illustrates environmental influences (ea, eb, ec, ed and ee) that inform the stakeholders (designated sa, sb, sc and sd). these influences may emanate from within the project and its immediate environment or they may emanate from outside the project boundaries as is the case with ed and ee in figure 2. while these influences facilitate experiences of practical, tangible change, they can also dynamically affect the relationships and perceptions of stakeholders of each other and of the project itself on an ongoing (and unpredictable) basis. any act of change, with the exception of the most trivial or the most glaringly obvious (about which there is little potential for dissent), is therefore likely to be complex and turbulent. it is therefore not sensible to plan or manage complex projects as if they are simple and controllable. it is not clear that management has adjusted to the implications of such an indeterminate, subjective world. lewin & regine (2000), among others, argue that the complexity inherent in real world systems defies not only the capacity to anticipate, but also the ability to effectively act or define outcomes. conventional acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 88 organisational practice assumes that the simplification of inherent complexity is possible, when it is not. project management itself has been broadly criticised (e.g. morris, 2004, koskela & ballard, 2006, cicmil & hodgson 2006, leybourne, 2007: 62, holmquist, 2007: 46) for normative assumptions that promote systems of project governance that do not recognise contemporary reality. it is their collective view that the much-lamented failures of project management practice may not be attributable to poor practice but rather that they could be a product of operating assumptions and paradigms that are simply not fit for the purpose in all cases. figure 2: schematic diagram showing mutual stakeholder and environmental influences source: adapted from laszlo 2006: 103 4. systems thinking and its latent potential in project planning systems and ‘systems thinking’ is not new; nor is it new to project management where valuable systems approaches have been in use for some time (e.g. systems engineering). the ideas have attracted the attention of many. considerable evolution of the taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 89 core ideas has occurred since the early writings of von bertalanffy (1968), when his general system theory directed thought towards a theory of management based on explicit recognition of holism and connection. jackson (2009) has provided a succinct outline of the major developments in systems thinking whereby the trends in thinking are explained to be a product of a recognition of the interplay between complexity and practice. in brief, his work highlights how system type and stakeholder relationships (and value positions) determine the nature of the system to be managed. this, in turn, enables understanding of inherent complexity so as to more effectively engage in planning, implementation and control activities. what then about project management and the development of project managers? how could a more comprehensive adoption of systems approaches be useful in the management of complex projects? in their critique of project management theory, koskela & howell (2002b: 293) claim that “the underlying theory of project management is obsolete.” others (e.g. stoneham & ainsworth, 2003: 1) claim that project management is rooted in the practices of the early industrial era. these practices are not well-adapted to accommodate complexity. sterman (2006) concurs, as does morris (2004) who views project management as representing an ‘execution’ view of projects. this is evidenced by the vocabulary of project management that reflects the language of newtonian physics (see figure 1). these assertions are based upon the observation that, where organisation theory is in search of new operating models that are closer to contemporary reality, so also should project management be seeking new theoretical and methodological platforms for practice that can better accommodate the type of complexity outlined earlier. other writers take this further. for example, koskela & ballard (2006) write of the diverse perspectives of a number of authors. these perspectives include those of barnes (2002) who supports the idea that a vibrant theory of project management can evolve, but is confused at present. morris (2000) considers project management to be predominantly about the personal experimental practices of practitioners who simply need support frameworks for those practices in order to improve their project outcomes. in other words, he does not consider that a theoretical foundation can be developed. leybourne (2007) agrees that project management is substantially practitioner-based and that academic respectability acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 90 rests on the development of a sound theoretical foundation. such a foundation would (at least) recognise a move away from positivist considerations to a more interpretive epistemology. a more radical perspective is that of jaafari (2003) who claims that project management faces ‘obsolescence’ unless new models are developed to deal with change and complexity. cicmil & hodgson (2006: 119) also identify the considerable eclectic but ‘noisy’ discontent that exists in the academic literature about the practice of project management. their conclusions are threefold but speak to areas of contemporary organisational concern; i.e. the project organisation as a potential site for ‘oppression and exploitation’; the re-definition of that which constitutes project success to embrace notions of social and environmental justice, and the potentially transformative role of projects relative to stakeholders, stakeholder communities and societal thinking in general. one could add the views of morris (2004), leybourne (2007), jafaari (2003) and pa consulting group (undated monograph) who collectively argue the need for a more creative reflective (or learning) approach to project management, as embodied, for example, in soft systems methodology (ssm). the majority of the above-referenced authors regard the fluid, less prescriptive practice of ssm as one of the theoretical anchors that could provide project management with an alternative suite of systems thinking tools that are more suited to planning, implementation and control in complex project settings. the critique presented in this instance is not so much about questioning the need to engage in planning, implementing and controlling, as it is about the manner in which these activities might occur in order to better accommodate complexity. this, in turn, has a bearing on the theoretical frameworks and assumptions that appear to inform the practice of a great deal of project management. various writers have been bold enough to claim that neither planning, nor effective implementation, nor control is possible. mintzberg (1994), referring to strategic planning, speculates on the inherent impossibility of planning; koskela & howell (2002b: 300) refer to johnston & brennan (1996) in claiming that the effective implementation of plans resides less in the explicit dictates of the plan itself, but rather in “tacit knowledge and improvisation at the operational level.” ashby (1956) holds the view (on mathematically provable grounds) that it is impossible to control large, multi-variable systems by directive process. these writers would, however, also support the view that, for management to have any meaning at all, planning, implementing and controlling all need to occur. the question is, how? taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 91 there are probably numerous potential answers to this question. as suggested earlier, concepts embodied in systems thinking are instructive and helpful. the majority of project managers would be familiar with the work of kerzner (2001) whose seminal text on project management is subtitled “a systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling.” deriving from this, many would understand systems thinking to imply holistic thinking, on the one hand, and connectivity, on the other. kerzner’s (2001) view on systems is mostly limited to the system ‘within’ the management of the project itself, with some extension of the concept to include the dynamic nature of the environments within which projects are planned, executed and controlled. it is also true to say that a view of systems that only considers holistic thinking and connectivity between system variables is a limited one. a fuller exposition should, at the very least, also include the role of positive and negative feedback, boundary definitions as defining value positions and multiple perspectives that impact understandings and perceptions of systems – i.e. the system resides in the ‘changing’ and ‘changeable’ mind of the observer, rather than in reality. in addition, a fuller understanding of the systems approach contemplates not only short-term, but also long-term impacts, thus giving status to what is sustainable, as opposed to what might represent short-term gain at long-term expense. aspects of systems thinking have long been embodied in the practice of project management. jackson (2000, 2009) refers to the practice, value (and limitations) of systems engineering a systems approach whose worth is mostly realised under assumptions of certainty of project objectives. this has led jackson (2000) and sterman (1992) to argue that systems engineering is a ‘hard systems’ approach whose value is diminished in contexts of social complexity. in a similar vein the usefulness of systems dynamics is promoted by sterman (1992; 2000) as an appropriate approach to overcoming some of the limitations of linear thinking in complex systems. using examples that define construction projects as highly complex endeavours, he reflects on the inadequacy of cpm, pert, and similar tools of project management in dealing with the dynamic complexity inherent in even ‘hard’ construction projects. in summary, these developments have been valuable and useful but there is latent potential residing in systems thinking that warrants consideration. much of this latent potential is associated with the difference between the ‘complicated’ and the ‘complex’ (richardson, 2008: 13-15). as noted previously, the ‘complicated’ is capable of objective definition, albeit with some difficulty; the acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 92 ‘complex’ is not. in the language of systems thinking, the difference between the ‘complicated’ and the ‘complex’ is that which distinguishes ‘hard’ systems from ‘soft’ systems. systems receive inputs, transform these and deliver outputs, and may do this well or badly. for project management this would all be familiar. projects do indeed receive inputs, make transformations and deliver outputs that make a difference. figure 3 illustrates the core input, transform, output relationship. it also illustrates the influence relationships that typically exist between projects and the immediate systemic environment and the overall environment beyond the immediate influence space of the project. the challenge presented by complexity is multifaceted but reduces to a number of key factors, most of which reflect the idea that reality is socially constructed (leybourne, 2007). for project management the challenge would translate into the awareness of a problem that requires attention but with no easily identifiable solution(s); or a multitude of solutions that reflect the positions of a multitude of stakeholders. it would further be characterised by changing perspectives and positions among stakeholders that serve to shift objectives and defy control. such projects would also require flexibility in the transformation processes engaged and an enhanced capacity to adapt the project as learning occurs, rather than strict adherence to pre-determined objectives and a rigidly controlled plan. holmquist (2007: 51) suggests that complex projects require process skills that can survive instability and accommodate dialogue. unlike rationalist approaches that begin with ‘clear goals’ and ‘starting points’, process approaches would support a ‘starting phase’ and ‘more open, less well defined goals.’ in these situations, the author would propose that a useful definition of a project would be: a project is a purposeful, adaptive, learning system of intervention intended to improve the achievement and further development of the agreed purpose(s) of a functioning system in an ethical and sustainable manner. this definition embodies the idea that complexity means that objective definition of purpose is not possible at project commencement. similarly the means of project execution is not well defined and the possibility of changes in ‘ends’ and ‘means’ is highly probable. these characteristics define complex reality and require the engagement of management practices that form the basis of ‘soft’ systems thinking. taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 93 figure 3: a general model of systems source: adapted from banathy 1996: 78 it has already been acknowledged that not all systems are of a particular type and it has not been argued that the existing practices of project management are without value. but it is so that the research opinion referred to identifies areas in which project outcomes are sufficiently less than satisfactory. these opinions also suggest that there are planning and control methods embodied in systems thinking that are under-utilised in the practice of project management. foremost among these is soft systems methodology (ssm). the real immediate issue is how, from among the range of much used (and little used) systems methods available for project planning, can an informed choice be made in order to determine which method will best address the specific project planning challenges? in an attempt to consolidate thinking that acknowledges systems thinking as a basis for effective planning, flood & jackson (1991: 42) have produced a matrix, partly reproduced and adapted in figure 4, of situation characteristics that identify two key dimensions: • the nature of the system, and • the nature of the participants in the system, from a perspective of the nature of the relationships between them. for example, figure 4 shows that a system could be defined to be simple/unitary (su), complex unitary (cu), simple pluralist (sp), etc. such categorisation enables an informed choice of the approach acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 94 to be engaged in the planning of interventions, so that the chosen approach recognises the essential characteristics of the system of concern. space does not permit a full exposition of all dimensions of the matrix contained in figure 4, but even limited explanation indicates how the matrix could guide decision-makers towards an appropriate planning approach. hence, this typology may be used to describe an approach to defining the system of concern so that intervention can be considered in an appropriate, more effective manner. where figure 3 assists in understanding those factors that comprise and influence system behaviour at a fairly crude level, figure 4 enables an appreciation of the extent to which diverse stakeholder relationships are relevant to any planning which might follow and which methodologies would be most relevant. participant characteristics unitary (meaning essentially consensual) pluralist (meaning divergent but reconcilable) coercive (meaning uncompromising differences)system type simple (typically well defined objectives with or without complicated interactions) systems analysis systems engineering operational research soft systems critical systems complex (typically many variables complex interactions) systems dynamics soft systems thinking post-modern approaches planning intervention defined by system characteristics that indicate the possible tools and techniques appropriate to the system of concern figure 4: classification of system types and participant characteristics so as to inform identification of dominant and subservient systems for more effective change intervention source: adapted from flood & jackson 1991: 42 traditionally practised project management is broadly located in the ‘su’ ‘zone’ of the matrix shown in figure 4. the adoption of such a planning approach in the management of complex projects that also have ill-defined and changeable stakeholder objectives may well contribute to project time and cost overruns. complex projects are usually of such a nature as to be located in the ‘sp’ or ‘cp’ area of the above matrix. this implies the recognition of complexity and stakeholder diversity as being endemic to such projects and hence a recognition of the need to adopt ‘learning approaches’ to change. for example, checkland’s (1993) soft systems methodology (ssm) provides a framework for planning and implementation that taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 95 recognises complexity as well as the shifting perspectives that typically form part of the project and therefore have consequential effects for project management. change has never been easy. knowing what to change and how, especially in the real world of diversity and difference, is complex. deriving from the core ideas presented, it appears that a responsible approach to large-scale change is one whereby: • project planning considers and maps the nature of the system of concern; • project planning recognises that more than one system of concern might exist and that interventions for improvement may not be very effective if undertaken at a technical level only, without understanding the characteristics of the system of concern; • project planning seeks to secure points of maximum system ‘leverage’ for maximum advantage; • project managers recognise that systems thinking hold latent potential for an improved definition of the nature of the system of concern leading to better selection of appropriate planning tools and implementation practices, and • project management of complex projects accommodates the essential characteristics of process approaches that seek to actively learn and adapt goals and purposes so as to recognise that actions have both technical and perceptual consequences that give rise to the need to continuously reframe and redirect projects as they progress. projects are change interventions, very often undertaken in complex, dynamic environments. the tools and techniques to understand these environments and to map, model and simulate product and process, already exist. rationalist competence that derives from scientific management (and forms the basis of the pmbok) needs to be considerably augmented with process competence that is embodied in relatively unexplored areas of systems thinking. this signals the need to learn from the realities of practice and to look to build an alternative theoretical platform for project management that is more aligned with the complex, uncontrollable real world. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 96 5. systems thinking and its latent potential in project implementation and control in their article on the management of complex development projects, schwaninger & koerner (2000: 8) have identified three organisational levels at which project control is exercised, for differing purposes: • the organisation itself whose concern is a normative one, that is essentially ‘sustainability seeking’; • the project for which the organisation carries responsibility where the concern is a strategic one that seeks to achieve ‘effectiveness’, and • the sub-projects (or tasks) that cause the project to be realised where the concern is one of ‘efficiency’. as schwaninger & koerner (2000: 8) point out, the exercise of these three layers of control as part of a unitary control system is likely to be ineffective in complex projects. such ineffectiveness derives from the essential nature of hierarchical systems whereby decisions required from the top become backlogged, and the problems encountered during operations do not have fluent passage up and down the hierarchy. this becomes a vicious spiral whereby problems accumulate in the system and resolution is deferred with detrimental effect. similarly, koskela & howell (2002a: 9) reflect on the need for more localised and proactive control systems. these, in turn, imply more empowered coalface personnel. in their view “the two lower control levels are geared towards learning and knowledge creation whereas the upper level takes care of the time-cost issues of the whole project.” these views represent nothing less than an articulation of the principles of the self-organising system as encapsulated in the viable system model (vsm) described by beer (1985). it is useful to briefly explain the essential characteristics of self-organising systems and then to translate these into the vsm in order to accommodate the three levels of control identified by schwaninger & koerner (2000: 8). systems can indeed self organise. this is not new, nor is the concept limited by circumstance or context. lewin (1992), for example, reflects upon the inherent, though seemingly mystical capacity, of complex systems in general to gravitate towards certain states, defined by the existence of certain strange attractors. order and taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 97 orderliness, attributed to such strange attractors, is that which serves to bound the system and to define the range of possible states that it may adopt without external intervention. the observation of a wide range of natural and social systems has confirmed the capacity for self-organisation. the process of natural evolution over time has illustrated the adaptive capacity of systems in the absence of overt control. organisations have, however, demonstrated only limited capacity for the absorption and practice of self-regulation. the idea has been viewed as theoretically appealing, but dangerously impractical. much of the perceived danger lies in the discomfort associated with less control, notwithstanding recognition that large, multi-variable systems defy control. semler (1994) actively built the self-organising enterprise. organisation ‘happens’, despite inherent complexity and notwithstanding intended controls. adaptation to changed environmental circumstances also ‘happens’, specifically (and most significantly) driven from the bottom up. in a certain, albeit mechanistic, sense, total quality management (tqm) and the quality movement, in general, have recognised the significance of the so-called ‘bottom’ as that area from which adaptation and change might occur. certain paradigms of leadership have also afforded central status to this. greenleaf’s (1991) book, the servant as leader, for example, explains the apparent paradox of the leader in the service of subordinates, hence to invert the traditional thinking about leaders, followers and decision-making. senge, kleiner, roberts, ross, roth & smith (1999) have also written about leadership as the collective act of a community in the determination of its own future. these are concepts of (and about) self-organisation. prevailing paradigms of organisation are open to challenge, and are being challenged, not by new knowledge, but by a rediscovery of the ‘old’ and by an observation of the natural order of things that have long been ignored or overridden. human attempts to subvert and manage natural phenomena have proven to be damaging, if not subversive of social, environmental and organisational well-being. control need therefore not be located at the top, but may be distributed in the belief that such distribution will lead to more locally relevant solutions more quickly. this implies a system of control that devolves power from the overall organisation to project and subproject levels, respectively. beer’s viable systems model (vsm) enables each project and sub-project element to be defined as a control system in its own right. such a localised control system enables acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 98 the project membership to define direction and exercise control in terms of what needs to be done, rather than in strict observance of what was originally planned, and duly ordained from above by a project manager who is usually sufficiently removed from the action so as not to have complete clarity of judgement. figure 5 illustrates the essential ingredients of the vsm. the vsm can be criticised for simplifying the potentially illogical and counter-intuitive nature of human behaviour. the essential message in figure 5, however, is that each level of control in projects, including the relationship with the commissioning organisation, should be self-regulating. in brief, each level of control (i.e. organisation, project and sub-project) embodies all the essential characteristics of an effective and complete control system, i.e. the control system has recursive characteristics. each level would therefore display the characteristics and components of every other level, i.e. capacity to monitor the environment, take operational decisions (as appropriate to the level in question) and implement these, pass information up to the next level in the system and receive information from the next level, and so on. by such a process and adoption of the principle of self-organisation, decisiontraffic in the system is reduced and control is more effective and direct. under such a scheme, the role of project manager is exercised at the interface between the various control levels so as to regulate information and communications flows at those points. figure 5: graphic depiction of the principles of the viable systems model for the control of complex systems source: adapted from schwaninger & koerner 2000: 9 taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 99 6. educating a profession for change at the outset it was stated that this article would close with some reflections on the state of project management education and that this would also serve to draw conclusions emanating from the major arguments presented in this article. jafaari (2003) ventures to suggest that the approach to project management as embodied in project management courses and literature is of limited value in the face of accelerated change and increased complexity. this probably overstates the situation but highlights the need to reflect on alternative approaches to project management that might go some way to address the prevalent concerns about the adequacy of practice relative to contemporary complex reality. in the first instance, it has been stated that project management has been heavily influenced by the scientific approach to planning, implementation and control. as such, project management, as conventionally understood and practised, is deficient in the art of accommodating the realities of the real world. this deficiency is believed to contribute to project failures and to give cause for reconsideration of the theoretical foundations that underpin project management. the contemporary era is typified by complexity and profound uncertainty. the capacity to deal with these realities needs to become part of the knowledge domain of practising project management. successful outcomes are unlikely to be achieved by analysis alone. nor, it has been argued, is improvement likely to be the product of redefining and refining practices within old paradigms by using existing tools and techniques. secondly, project management needs to become adept at understanding the nature of the planning space in which it seeks to bring about change and implement projects. the careful identification of the nature of the system of concern can serve to validate the relative usefulness of ‘rationalist’ or ‘process’ approaches (or a suitable combination of both) to planning according to the levels of complexity inherent in the project. systems thinking holds a useful array of planning tools, many of which are not utilised in the practice of project management but are theoretically sound and practically robust. the management of the system ‘within’ the project is laudable, but there is also the need to be able to intelligently interrogate the broader ramifications of project activity, not only in the short term, but also in the long term. projects exist in an input/output relationship with their environment, exacerbated acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 100 by the perceptual influences that generate added complexity especially in projects with highly diverse stakeholder groupings and lack of initial clarity of project objectives. thirdly, a growing concern with the consequences of uncertainty as affecting management planning has resonance for how control relative to plans is exercised. it is in this sense that the case for self-organising systems, as exemplified by the vsm, is made. the capacity to respond to change quickly and locally is a common theme in the literature of strategic management. hierarchical forms of management have outlived a great deal of their usefulness. the same is true of project management where complex reality requires that project control systems be designed to ensure local viability of product and process in response to environmental changes. some of this capacity is undoubtedly already part of project management practice. systems thinking, through the vsm, suggests that this can be extended and can contribute significantly to the more efficient management of projects. logic indicates that this ought to be so. fourthly, our current world is almost certainly not going to be the world of tomorrow. the future is profoundly unknown and unknowable in a finite sense. complex projects entail an anticipation of an improved future, yet the capacity to know the future is limited, as indeed is the capacity to fully comprehend the impacts of changes during the life of a project. it has therefore been argued that project management requires a ‘learning capacity’, as embodied in the methods of soft systems methodology (ssm), for more effective results in an uncertain world. the potential to simulate projects through systems dynamics also exists as an aid to the exploration of (and learning about) potential project futures, but does not typically enter the decision frames of project management. in summary, therefore, project managers need to be technically astute, as indeed good project managers typically are. they also need the insights and foresights that are central to the creation of better futures in a changing world. being exclusively ‘technicist’ is probably not good enough in a world that expects much more of its decision-makers and change managers. this brings with it huge responsibilities for project managers relative to society at large. the paradigms of business are changing. briefly, it is time to educate the profession of project management for change and for more appropriate, dynamic forms of practice in a complex world. in so doing it is also probable that the theoretical foundations of taylor • systems thinking for project management: implications for practice and education 101 project management will be expanded and strengthened so as to capacitate the profession to respond more convincingly, especially in conditions of complexity and uncertainty. references ackoff, r.l. 1999. ackoff’s best. new york: wiley. ashby, w.r. 1956. introduction to cybernetics. london: methuen & co. banathy, b.h. 1996. designing social systems in a changing world. new york and london: plenum press. barnes, m. 2002. a long-term view of project management – its past and its likely future. paper presented at the16th world congress on project management, berlin 5th june. beer, s. 1985. diagnosing the system for organisations. chichester: wiley. checkland, p. 1993. systems thinking, systems practice. chichester: wiley. cicmil, s. & hodgson, d. 2006. new possibilities for project management theory: a critical engagement. project management journal, 37(3), pp. 111-122. cilliers, p. 2000. rules and complex systems. emergence, 2(3), pp. 40-50. dervitsiotis, k.n. 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(eds.). conversations in leadership: south african perspectives. johannesburg: knowres publishing, pp. 162-179. von bertalanffy, l. 1968. general system theory. harmondsworth: penguin. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles tinus maritz doubts raised on the validity of construction and payment guarantees peer reviewed abstract it has become common practice in the building industry for contractors to provide employers with a construction guarantee. these guarantees, which are defined as being on call or on demand, usually provide that a certificate issued by the agent or the principal agent will provide conclusive proof that the employer is entitled to call in the guarantee (fenster, 1998). in a number of recent decisions, such a conclusive proof provision has been the subject of judicial scrutiny, and there is now an ever-increasing doubt as to the validity of these guarantees. the joint building contracts committee (jbcc) 1991 suite of contracts was the first in south africa to introduce the concept of construction and payment guarantees that provided the requisite cover available on call from approved financial institutions. in the process the construction guarantee replaced the performance guarantee (surety) that prevailed in addition to the retention fund in construction contracts. various standard forms, which embodied the terms and conditions of the guarantees, were prepared for this purpose by the jbcc. these terms and conditions had been negotiated by the jbcc with the legal/ technical committees of the banking and insurance institutions and were fully approved by them. however, for some time now concerns have been raised regarding the difficulties experienced in getting all banks and/or their property finance divisions to comply with the jbcc guarantees. because the construction and payment guarantees are so closely linked to the terms and conditions of the jbcc principal and nominated/selected subcontract agreements, changes made to the pro forma guarantees or agreements, which disturb the risk of the guarantor, could very well render the guarantee null and void. this article will report the interpretation of construction and payment guarantees as held in recent court decisions, the findings of an investigation conducted on perceived problems being experienced by the south african construction industry with regard to these guarantees, and will present what is considered to be best practice to ensuring the continued effective use thereof. keywords: building industry, guarantees, performance, risk management, securities prof. marthinus j. maritz head of department department of construction economics faculty of engineering built environment and information technology university of pretoria pretoria 0002 south africa. phone: (012) 420 2581 email: <tinus.maritz@up.ac za> acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 2 abstrak deesdae is dit algemene praktyk vir aannemers in die boubedryf om aan bouhere ’n konstruksiewaarborg te voorsien. hierdie waarborge, wat gedefinieer word as beskikbaar op aanvraag of oproep, voorsien gewoonlik dat ’n sertifikaat wat deur die agent of die hoofagent uitgereik word afdoende bewys sal wees dat die bouheer geregtig is om die waarborg op te roep (fenster, 1998). in ’n aantal onlangse hofuitsprake het hierdie ongekwalifiseerde toepassing van oproepbaarheid in gedrang gekom weens regterlike ondersoeke en daar bestaan nou ’n groterwordende twyfel oor die geldigheid van hierdie waarborge. die gesamentlike boukontraktekomitee (gbk) se 1991-kontraktestel was die eerste in suid-afrika om die konsep van konstruksieen betalingswaarborge in te stel. hierdie waarborge verskaf die vereiste dekking wat, wanneer dit benodig sou word, deur goedgekeurde finansiële instellings beskikbaar gestel word. hiermee is die prestasiewaarborg (borgakte), wat naas die retensiefonds algemeen in konstruksiekontrakte in gebruik was, deur die konstruksiewaarborg vervang. die gbk het verskeie standaardvorms, wat die terme en voorwaardes van die waarborge omvat het, vir hierdie doel voorberei. die gbk het op ‘n deurlopende grondslag met die regsof tegniese komitees van die banken versekeringsinstansies oor gemelde terme en voorwaardes onderhandelinge gevoer ten einde hulle volle goedkeuring en die ongekwalifiseerde toepassing daarvan te verseker. daar word egter reeds vir ’n geruime tyd kommer uitgespreek oor die probleme wat ondervind word om te verseker dat al die banke en/of hul eiendomfinansieringsafdelings die terme en voorwaardes van die gbk-waarborge nakom. omdat die terme en voorwaardes van die konstruksieen betalingswaarborge ten nouste verbind is met dié van gbk se hoof boukontrakooreenkomste en genomineerde of geselekteerde subkontrakooreenkomste, mag wysigings aan die pro forma-waarborge en -ooreenkomste – wat verband hou met die risiko van die waarborggewer – daartoe lei dat hierdie waarborge van nul en gener waarde is. onlangse hofbeslissings met betrekking tot die interpretasie van konstruksieen betalingswaarborge en bevindinge van ‘n ondersoek na beweerde probleme wat deur die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf ondervind word met betrekking tot die waarborge word in hierdie artikel rapporteer, en ‘n beste praktyk riglyn om te verseker dat hierdie waarborge steeds effektief gebruik word, word voorgestel. sleutelwoorde: boubedryf, waarborge, prestasie, risikobestuur, sekuriteit 1. introduction uncertainty about future events creates the potential of losses occurring, because available security often does not completely liquidate the exposure, and inevitable losses are accepted as part of property finance. efforts to reduce the severity and variability of such losses are an ongoing risk management function requiring the constant monitoring, developing and refining of policies, procedures, skills and knowledge (wight & ghyoot, 2008). in an effort to reduce risks and to protect the interests of the contracting parties, various types of securities have over the years maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 3 been introduced into standard building agreements. as the contents of agreements became more sophisticated and included new provisions, inventive ways are continuously being developed to protect the risks and interests of the parties with greater certainty. therefore, when the jbcc’s new parcel of contract documents was introduced to the south african building industry in 1991, brink & botha (1991: 2) pointed out that the aims of the jbcc, inter alia, were to: review the areas of uncertainty that exist in the documents • then in use; re-examine the distribution of risks;• find a way of improving cash flow to the contractor and his • subcontractors; provide better and more cost-effective security to the • employer, and encourage better and greater discipline in the industry.• it is essential that the project team establishes and understands clients’ requirements as accurately and as quickly as is appropriate and possible, and these requirements must reflect their needs and objectives. the latham report (1994) suggested that the project needs of a client are: obtaining value for money;• ensuring the project is delivered on time;• having satisfactory durability;• incurring durable running costs;• being fit for its purpose;• being free from defects on completion;• having an aesthetically pleasing appearance, and• being supported by meaningful guarantees• (author’s emphasis). a number of standard contracts are currently being used in south africa. according to the south african construction industry status report, prepared by the construction industry development board (cidb 2004: 50), the following forms of contract were considered to be meeting the principles of modern contracting if utilised unaltered: fédération internationale des ingénieurs-conseils• (fidic – french acronym for international federation of consulting engineers); acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 4 general conditions of contract for construction works (gcc • 2010); new engineering contract (nec – now referred to as the • engineering and construction contract, ecc), and the joint building contracts committee (jbcc series 2000).• these modern forms of contracts are supposed to appropriately allocate risks, responsibilities and obligations and contain administrative procedures that enable proactive management of the delivery process. as part of their supplementary documents these contracts offer pro forma deed of suretyship and guarantee forms. informal observation that will be evaluated in this article has indicated that these forms are regularly changed leading to poor interpretation and increased risk to the contracting parties. this article focuses primarily on the guarantees incorporated into the jbcc series 2000 suite and more specifically on its variable construction guarantee, which must be provided by the contractor/ subcontractor, and its payment guarantee, which must be provided by the employer/contractor. in the absence of a specific agreement, the contractor is generally not obliged to provide any form of security for the due fulfilment of his obligations. loots (1995: 647) stated, however, that it is customary to require the contractor to furnish a security of the contractor’s performance of the contract with an undertaking to be bound in a specified sum until (and unless) such performance is achieved. the security may either be in the form of a suretyship or a performance (or “on-demand”) guarantee or indemnity. forsyth & pretorius (1992: 26) defined suretyship as: an accessory contract by which a person (the surety) undertakes to the creditor of another (the principal debtor), primarily that the principal debtor, who remains bound, will perform his obligation to the creditor, and secondarily, that if and so far as the principal debtor fails to do so, the surety will perform it or, failing that, indemnify the creditor. the performance (or “on-demand”) guarantee, on the other hand, is usually an undertaking whereby the guarantor unconditionally and irrevocably undertakes to pay certain amounts (as may be specified in the agreement) on demand and without proof of any breach of contract. according to uff (2009: 345) the notice usually requires no more than an assertion of default on behalf of the contractor and the money will be paid irrespective of any disputes that may exist, either in relation to the underlying contract, generally, or in relation to the purported reason for calling the security, in particular. maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 5 it is also the opinion of uff (2009: 346) that the demand for this type of security has increased as international trade and construction in particular have grown. 2. jbcc construction guarantees the 1991 edition of the jbcc suite of documents was the first in south africa to introduce the concept of a construction guarantee aimed at replacing the retention fund. in the process the construction guarantee also replaced the performance guarantee that, at that time, prevailed in addition to the retention guarantee in construction contracts (finsen, 2005: 100). both performance guarantees and retention guarantees were initially drafted in the form of a suretyship, which – after the guarantor had been made a co-principal debtor and had renounced his benefits of excussion and division – still had the defence in law of challenging the right of the employer to call up the guarantee and to challenge the quantum of the guarantee before paying over the money. in short, a suretyship is not tangible money. it has to be earned, often by taking recourse to the courts (uff, 2009: 344). the standard guarantee forms, which were prepared by the jbcc in their earlier editions, did not guarantee payment of loss once established. according to mcdonald (2002), problems initially existed in the wording. in the matter of basil read (pty) ltd v beta hotels (pty) ltd and others 2001, judge van reenen stripped the jbcc 1991 construction guarantee of all its guarantee status and dignity, exposing it for what it really was, namely a simple suretyship. the current jbcc series 2000 guarantees have rid themselves of the words “in respect of expense and loss”, and the destroyer of all guarantees, “by virtue of non-performance”, in an effort to provide the market with a “true blue” guarantee, without the cumbersome obligations of a suretyship. the wording of the construction guarantee (jbcc code 2122, 2007c), relevant part quoted below for ease of reference, now makes it explicitly clear that the guarantor undertakes to pay the employer the certified amount upon receipt of the following three prescribed documents, which will serve as conclusive proof that the employer is entitled to call up the guarantee: a copy of a first written demand issued by the employer to the 1. contractor stating that payment of an amount certified by the principal agent in an interim or final payment certificate has not been made in terms of the agreement and, failing such acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 6 payment within seven (7) calendar days, the employer intends to call upon the guarantor to make payment. a first written demand issued by the employer to the guarantor at 2. the guarantor’s physical address with a copy to the contractor stating that the period of seven (7) calendar days has elapsed since the first written demand, and that the amount certified has still not been paid, therefore the employer calls up the construction guarantee and demands payment from the guarantor. a copy of the said payment certificate which entitles the 3. employer to receive payment in terms of the agreement. understandably employers prefer to receive ‘on-demand’ guarantees because these guarantees can be called up without having to first prove the contractor’s default in arbitration or litigation, which can be costly and time consuming. guarantors likewise prefer ‘on-demand’ guarantees because in this instance they do not need to read the building agreement, investigate the contractor’s alleged default and assess the employer’s entitlement to compensation (uff, 2009: 345). the current jbcc construction guarantee provides, in clauses 4 and 5, for specific events that would trigger an obligation on the guarantor to make payment in terms of the guarantee. clause 4 deals with those circumstances where the principal agent issued a certificate certifying a balance due by the contractor to the employer. there is no concomitant duty on the employer to account to the guarantor as the statement by the principal agent already justifies the amount due and payable by the contractor to the employer. clause 5 contemplates two different trigger events, namely: cancellation of the contract by the employer, due to the default 1. by the contractor, or sequestration/liquidation of the contractor.2. clause 5 reads as follows: subject to the guarantor’s maximum liability referred to in 1.0 or 2.0, the guarantor undertakes to pay the employer the guaranteed sum or the full outstanding balance upon receipt of a written demand from the employer to the guarantor at the guarantor’s physical address calling up this construction guarantee stating that: 5.1 the agreement has been cancelled due to the contractor’s default and that the construction guarantee is called up in maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 7 terms of 5.0. the demand shall enclose a copy of the notice of cancellation; or 5.2 a provisional sequestration or liquidation order has been granted against the contractor and that the construction guarantee is called up in terms of 5.0. the demand shall enclose a copy of the court order. in the event where the guarantor receives a demand under 5.1 or 5.2 of the guarantee, it is obliged to pay the full amount for which it is liable in terms of the guarantee. clause 7 provides that where a claim is made by the employer he shall, after completion of the works, account to the guarantor and shall submit an expense account showing how all monies received have been expended and shall refund to the guarantor any resulting surplus. the jbcc construction guarantee constitutes a principal obligation on the part of the guarantor and is an independent contract between the guarantor and the employer, totally separate from the principal agreement. this fact is reiterated by clause 3 of the guarantee which states that any reference in the guarantee to the agreement is for purposes of convenience only and shall not be construed to create any accessory obligation. see jbcc code 2201, 2007e for a summary of all the available construction guarantees (security) to be provided by the contractor. 3. jbcc payment guarantees relevant to the south african construction industry, a payment guarantee could be defined as a contractual undertaking by a third party, the guarantor, towards the contractor, that the guarantor will pay to the contractor the amount of works done under the construction contract, up to the guaranteed amount or a percentage of the price of the works done, in case the employer defaults in its payment obligations. of the four cidb endorsed contract documents (supra), only the fidic redbook and the jbcc pba contracts expressly provide for the use of payment guarantees. (see clause 3.1, jbcc principal building agreement, code 2101, pba 2007a and the example clause on page 17 of the guidance notes of the fidic redbook). both contracts have pro forma payment guarantee forms that could be used by the parties. in terms of the jbcc agreement the employer is obliged to provide a payment guarantee (jbcc code 2124, 2007d) if he requires the acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 8 contractor to waive his lien, and likewise if the contractor states in his tender that he requires such guarantee. the onus is on the contractor to specify the amount of the guarantee required in his tender as there are no specific percentages provided in the principal agreement as is the case with the construction guarantee. finsen (2005: 106) remarks that little guidance can be offered to a tenderer as to what would be an appropriate amount, and if the tenderer should stipulate for an amount disproportionately higher than his competitors, he runs the risk of the rejection of his tender. in the nominated/selected subcontract agreement (jbcc n/sa code 2102, 2007b) the quantum, however, is given and a payment guarantee shall be provided by the contractor for an amount equal to 10% of the subcontract sum. 4. general the jbcc’s pro forma construction and payment guarantees are simple documents that make no attempt to describe in detail the specific liabilities of the guarantor and its obligation is restricted to the payment of the guaranteed sum. the guarantees do not impose on the guarantor any obligations that are separate from, or in addition to, those assumed by the contractor/employer. by the same token, by being bonded, the parties assume no additional obligation that they have not already assumed by their agreement or by operation of the law. the guarantee can be invoked only if the defaulting party is in breach of contract and the guarantee must be in writing and signed to be enforceable. 5. recent court decisions summarised 5.1 sasfin (pty) ltd) v beukes1 this case arose after sasfin, a financier, agreed to loan money to beukes, a doctor. a number of the provisions in their written contract were attacked as being unconscionable and therefore against public policy and unenforceable. the appellate division focussed on two clauses, in particular. the first provided that the amount owing by beukes would be determined and proved by a certificate issued by a director of sasfin, and the second that such certificate would constitute conclusive proof of the amount owing. the effect of these two clauses was therefore that sasfin would determine how much was owed and once it had 1 sasfin (pty) ltd v beukes 1989 (1) sa 1 (a). maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 9 issued the certificate beukes would be obliged to pay the amount certified. the matter went to the courts and the appellate division found that the contract was unconscionable, against public policy and therefore illegal. the question which then arose was whether these certificates would always be invalid or whether they were invalid in certain citations only. two subsequent decisions were obliged to interpret sasfin v beukes and they came to conflicting decisions on this point. in the first, nedbank ltd v abstein distributors (pty) ltd, the court held that a conclusive proof certificate will always be invalid. in the second decision, donnely v barclays national bank ltd, the court found that the effect of the sasfin case was not to render all conclusive proof certificates invalid. the appellate division was approached for a ruling and asked to assess whether conclusive proof certificates are always invalid or whether they will be invalid under prescribed circumstances only. it found that conclusive proof certificates will be valid, legal and enforceable when the author of the certificate is someone who has some measure of independence from the creditor. the important question is, therefore, whether the agent in a construction contract is sufficiently independent of the employer. one would argue that the agent is sufficiently distant in most cases, especially when appointed under the jbcc agreement, but if the agent is a permanent employee of the employer, then he may not be sufficiently distanced and the guarantee will therefore be invalid and unenforceable. 5.2 ab construction v furstenburg property development & others (2009)2 ab construction (contractor) concluded a standard jbcc building contract in connection with the construction of a residential development in east london. the contractor arranged for constantia insurance company (guarantor) to provide for the requisite construction guarantee in favour of furstenburg property developments (employer). during the course of the contract various disputes arose between the contractor and employer, which resulted in the employer, after issuing an appropriate breach notice, cancelling the agreement. 2 petric construction cc t/a ab construction v toasty trading t/a furstenburg property development and others 2009(5) sa 550 ecg acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 10 foreseeing the probability that the employer would try and call in the construction guarantee, the contractor requested the guarantor not to accede to any demand under the guarantee, but the guarantor explained that it was bound to honour the guarantee unless the contractor was able to obtain a court interdict prohibiting payment under the guarantee. the court agreed that the construction guarantee is analogous to a letter of credit and held further that the disputes between the contracting parties had nothing to do with the obligations of the guarantor to honour the guarantee. the fact that the employer’s cancellation was disputed by the contractor or whether or not the employer was in material breach at the time of its purported cancellation were considered to be wholly irrelevant to the guarantor’s liability to pay. as a result the court found that the employer, having complied with the requirements of the guarantee and there being no evidence of any fraud, the guarantor was obliged to make payment in terms of the guarantee. 5.3 lombard insurance co ltd v landmark holdings (pty) ltd and others (2010)3 a construction company had been liquidated and the employer had called up the guarantee in terms of the conditions specified in the document. lombard (guarantor) paid the amount demanded, thereafter seeking reimbursement from landmark (landmark having agreed to indemnify the guarantor in the event that it had to meet its obligations under the guarantee). landmark refused to indemnify the guarantor on the basis that the principal agent, in terms of the underlying construction agreement, had perpetrated a fraud in order to obtain the benefits of the guarantee. the lower court, finding in favour of landmark, dealt with the matter on the basis that the guarantee had to be considered in conjunction with the underlying construction contract. on appeal, the supreme court of appeal (sca) ruled that as the guarantor had undertaken to pay, upon liquidation of the construction company, and the guarantee having been called up in accordance with its conditions, the guarantee was payable. as the guarantee had to be construed independently of the underlying construction contract, and as there was no obligation on the guarantor to investigate the propriety of the claim, payment by the guarantor was validly made. 3 lombard insurance co ltd v landmark holdings (pty) ltd and others (2010) (2) sa 86 sca maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 11 5.4 kwikspace modular buildings ltd v sabadala mining company sarl and nedbank ltd (2010)4 the sca was called again to determine whether the contractor could rely on a term in the building contract to interdict the employer from presenting the guarantee to the bank for payment. the courts regard on-demand bonds independently of the underlying contract (supra); a guarantor is therefore obliged to make payment in terms of an on-demand bond presented to it provided only that the conditions specified in the bond are met. this is clearly confirmed by the following quote from the judgment of the sca, in the recent lombard decision. the guarantee by lombard is not unlike irrevocable letters of credit issued by banks and used in international trade, the essential feature of which is the establishment of a contractual obligation on the part of a bank to pay the beneficiary (seller). this obligation is wholly independent of the underlying contract of sale and assures the seller of payment of the purchase price before he or she parts with the goods being sold. whatever disputes may subsequently arise between buyer and seller is of no moment insofar as the bank’s obligation is concerned. the bank’s liability to the seller is to honour the credit. the bank undertakes to pay provided only that the conditions specified in the credit are met. the only basis on which the bank can escape liability is proof of fraud on the part of the beneficiary. the underlying contract in this matter provided that it was subject to australian law and kwikspace (contractor) argued that, because of this fact, the contract contains a clause qualifying the right of the employer to present the guarantee. the lower court had found that the building contract did not contain a clause qualifying the right of the employer to present the guarantee, and on that basis the contractor’s application to interdict the employer from presenting the guarantee failed. the sca expressly refrained from considering whether there was any room for a contention that the position in south africa should be the same as in australia, i.e. that an underlying building contract between the contractor and employer could, as a matter of law, qualify the right of the employer to present an unconditional guarantee for payment to a guarantor. the decision of the lower court was upheld. 4 kwikspace modular buildings ltd v sabadala mining company sarl and nedbank ltd (2010) sca acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 12 5.5 dormell properties v renasa insurance company and others (2010)5 synthesis projects cape (pty) ltd (contractor) entered into an agreement with dormell properties 282 cc (employer) for the construction of a shopping centre. it became apparent at the beginning of february 2008 that practical completion would not be achieved before the expiry date of the guarantee, namely 28 february 2008. in light of this the principal agent demanded that the contractor arrange for the construction guarantee to be extended until 15 april 2008, failing which the employer would cancel the contract. the contractor refused to extend the guarantee and the employer then cancelled the contract on the 28th of february 2008. a demand was submitted on the same day to renasa insurance company (guarantor) for payment of the amount available under the guarantee on the basis that the contract was cancelled by the employer, which is one of the grounds for calling up the guarantee. the contractor disputed the employer’s right to cancel the contract which was treated as a repudiation of the contract. the dispute was referred to arbitration and the arbitrator found that the termination of the contract by the employer was invalid as he had no right to do so. the issue initially came before the johannesburg high court and it held that the employer was not entitled to the rectification of the guarantee and that in any event the guarantee had expired at midnight on 27 february 2008 before it had been called up. the employer appealed this decision to the sca. on the issue of the expiry of the guarantee the sca held that where time has to be computed in accordance with a contract, one looks first at the terms of the contract. in this case the contract clearly expressed the expiry date of the guarantee being 28 february 2008 and there was accordingly no warrant for construing the guarantee as having expired prior to that date. on the issue of rectification, the sca held that it was obvious to all the parties that the beneficiary of the guarantee was intended to be the employer under the contract. the sca, however, held that the effect of the arbitrator’s award in favour of the contractor was to destroy the basis upon which the employer had called up the guarantee, namely the employer’s cancellation of the contract, and as such the employer has lost the right to enforce the guarantee. 5 dormell properties 282 cc v renasa insurance company ltd and others (491/09) sca maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 13 the sca accordingly ruled that the guarantor was not obliged to pay out under the guarantee and dismissed the employer’s appeal. the sca nonetheless affirmed the nature of the jbcc guarantee as being a demand guarantee akin to a letter of credit. in other words all that is required ordinarily to obtain payment is compliance with the formalities specified in the guarantee. 5.6 minister of transport and public works, western cape v zanbuild construction (2011)6 the sca was once again called upon to consider the legal nature of construction guarantees in south african law. the facts of the matter, briefly stated, were as follows. two independent, but substantially similar, guarantees were issued by absa bank ltd (absa) in favour of the western cape department of transport and public works (department), as security for the obligations of zanbuild construction (pty) ltd (zanbuild) under two separate construction contracts. the guarantees provided inter alia that, “… the bank been given 30 (thirty) days written notice of its intention to do so, provided the employer shall have the right to recover from the bank the amount owing and due to the employer by the contractor on the date the notice period expires.” absa notified the department in writing that it wished to withdraw the guarantees, and that each of the guarantees would be cancelled thirty days from the date of the written notice, whereafter no further claims or payments would be considered by absa. upon receipt of absa’s notice, the department demanded immediate payment of the full amount of both guarantees citing, as its basis for such demand, that zanbuild was in default under both contracts. zanbuild, in the western cape high court, applied for an interdict preventing the department from claiming, and absa from paying, the amounts claimed under the guarantees. the interdict was granted with leave to appeal to the sca. on appeal, zanbuild’s contention was the guarantees were not “on-demand guarantees” but rather “conditional guarantees” and argued that absa’s liability under the guarantees was akin to a suretyship relationship in that the guarantees were inextricably linked to the contracts. as such, zanbuild argued, absa’s liability under the guarantees was limited to the extent that the department can demonstrate a monetary claim against zanbuild under the contracts 6 the minister of transport and public works, western cape v zanbuild construction 2011 sca 10 acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 14 prior to the withdrawal of the guarantees. the department, on the other hand, argued that the guarantees were in fact on-demand guarantees and that all that was required from the department in order to obtain payment of the full amount of the guarantees, was to demand payment under the guarantee and provide a statement to absa that zanbuild was in default under the contracts. the court remarked that the question as to whether or not a guarantee is conditional or on demand is dependent on the interpretation of the terms of the guarantee concerned, and found that, on its interpretation of the terms of the guarantees, the guarantees were not on-demand but rather conditional guarantees. the reasons for the court’s finding were inter alia as follows: first, the court held that the language and content of the guarantees were akin to suretyships in that the guarantees provided that they were provided as “security for the compliance of the contractor’s performance of obligations in accordance with the contract” and the “due and faithful performance by the contractor” and, secondly, the guarantees provided that “with each payment under this guarantee the bank’s obligation shall be reduced pro rata”. as such, the court held, this was a clear indication that the department’s interpretation of the guarantee (i.e. that any default of zanbuild under the contracts irrespective of liability on the part of zanbuild would render the full amount of the guarantees payable) was clearly incorrect, and if this interpretation were correct, there would be no need for multiple draw downs on the guarantees. the court consequently held that, as the department had failed to establish that, prior to the withdrawal of the guarantees by absa, the amounts claimed by the department from absa were due to it by zanbuild, the department was not entitled to demand payment under the guarantees from absa and dismissed the department’s appeal. 6. investigation into perceived problems being experienced with regard to construction and payment guarantees 6.1 research methodology to establish quantitative criteria whereby the effectiveness of the guarantees could be evaluated, a questionnaire was circulated via email to a target population of randomly selected contractors and employers in the gauteng province in order to capture the requisite data. the target population was divided into the following two categories: maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 15 contractors – a selection of main contractors in the building 1. industry that are registered with the construction industry development board (cidb) with a grading designation of at least 7. employers – a selection of clients or developers undertaking 2. and being responsible for the funding of larger building projects (the party engaging in contract with the contractor). respondents were requested to respond to nine statements dealing with the application and effectiveness of the jbcc construction and payment guarantees on condition that the following instances were present, namely: a recognised bank or insurance company provides the • guarantees; jbcc construction and payment guarantees are utilised;• jbcc terms and conditions are applicable, and• work to be executed is building-related.• a 5-point likert scale ranging from “strongly agree (sa)” to “strongly disagree (sd)”, where sa represented 5 and sd 1, respectively in the frequency tables hereinafter, was deemed appropriate for all statements. one hundred and six questionnaires were emailed to the target population of which 31 emails failed to deliver (user unknown) and a further three emails were returned with the comment that the questionnaire was not applicable to their knowledge field. of the 72 emails read, 18 responses were obtained, 11 of which were from contractors and the balance from developers, which represented a 25% response rate (see table 1). a qualitative approach that utilised personal interviews was adopted to obtain the requisite data from the banking sector which underwrites construction and payment guarantees for the south african building industry. the target population was made up of representatives from the legal departments of the selected five ‘mainstream’ banks, who were deemed-to-be knowledgeable on the application of the jbcc guarantees. the content and purpose of the study were first explained to these representatives, whereafter structured interviews (see table 2) were conducted in order to ascertain perceptions and viewpoints on the importance, application and effectiveness of the jbcc guarantees. due to the small size of the target populations in both the quantitative and qualitative approaches the surveys did not require sampling. every effort to eliminate the likelihood of biased data was made, acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 16 but should such data be identified, it is acknowledged. buys (cited in buys & tonono, 2007: 80) defines bias as “any influence, condition, or set of conditions that may singly or together distort the data from what may have been obtained under the conditions of pure chance”. subsequent to these methods of data-gathering, three selected deemed-to-be knowledgeable individuals on the application of the jbcc guarantees (d’arcy-donnelly, spence & fourie, 2008) were contacted via email, two of whom were employed in the legal departments of corporate financial property divisions acting as separate divisions from their main banks, and the other the ceo of the master builders south africa (mbsa). this was done to obtain a more complete picture of the sourced data. these three individuals were asked to respond to only one question; i.e. what the impact is should a guarantor tamper with the wording of the guarantees as has been agreed between the jbcc and the banking sector. the results of these communications are included in the comments following table 2. 6.2 trends indicated by the data collected table 1: application of the jbcc construction and payment guarantees as viewed by contractors and developers statement sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 mean 1 the introduction of construction guarantees provided by financial institutions in place of the retention fund and performance surety has been well accepted by all stakeholders in the building industry no 5 10 3 0 0 4.1 % 28% 56% 17% 0 0 2 the obligation on the parties to furnish construction and payment guarantees is so fundamental that failure to do so by the start of the construction period is sufficient grounds for cancellation of the agreement no 7 5 1 3 2 3.7 39% 28% 6% 17% 11% maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 17 statement sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 mean 3 the reduced cover in the 5th edition of the jbcc construction guarantees remains adequate to protect the interests of the employer no 5 9 4 0 0 4.1 % 28% 50% 22% 0 0 4 lack of uniformity in the wording of construction and payment guarantees often results in inadequate or defective protection no 4 10 3 1 0 3.9 % 22% 56% 17% 6% 0 5 the construction and payment guarantees are truly ‘on-demand’ guarantees no 0 5 11 1 1 3.1 % 0 28% 61% 6% 6% 6 construction guarantees curtail the liquidity of established contractors no 2 9 2 4 1 3.4 % 11% 50% 11% 22% 6% 7 construction guarantees are available to emerging contractors no 5 10 2 0 1 4.0 % 28% 56% 11% 0 6% 8 the lapsing of the construction guarantee after its expiry date leaves the employer with little recourse against the contractor no 5 2 2 6 3 3.0 % 28% 11% 11% 33% 17% 9 employers are often caught unawares in that the construction guarantee lapses because the expiry date on the guarantee is generally set too early no 3 4 6 3 2 3.2 % 17% 22% 33% 17% 11% the responses to the statements in table 1 are reported in the order corresponding with the statements in the table, together with the respective mean. 1) the respondents indicated that the introduction of on-demand guarantees has been well accepted by the industry (mean = 4.1) acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 18 and 2) that it is an obligation on the parties to furnish such guarantees at the commencement of the project (mean = 3.7). 3) the reduced cover currently available to employers should the contactor default was regarded as still adequate (mean = 4.1). 4) the respondents indicated a concern that amendments to the pro forma wording of the guarantees may result in inadequate or defective protection (mean = 3.9). 5) the respondents were undecided whether banks will make payment forthwith when called upon. this can possibly be attributed to the fact that they may not have had any experience in this regard as no demands for payment had previously been lodged by them (mean = 3.1). 6) the respondents generally were in agreement that liquidity of established contractors is curtailed by having to provide guarantees (mean = 3.4) and 7) that this is more prevalent in the case of emerging contractors when considering the respective percentages in the table (mean = 4.0). 8) the respondents were not overly concerned that the lapsing of the construction guarantee might leave the employer with little recourse against the contractor for rectification of latent defects (mean = 3.0) nor 9) that employers might be unaware that the expiry date on construction guarantees might be set too early that may leave them without protection (mean = 3.2). table 2: application of the jbcc construction and payment guarantees as viewed by the banking sector statement sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 mean 1 underwriting jbcc guarantees is an important commercial business for banks no 5 0 0 0 0 5.0 % 100% 0 0 0 0 2 jbcc guarantees are regarded as “true blue” guarantees on-demand no 5 0 0 0 0 5.0 % 100% 0 0 0 0 3 banks do not get involved in the dispute between contracting parties no 5 0 0 0 0 5.0 % 100% 0 0 0 0 maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 19 statement sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 mean 4 banks are kept informed on the latest revisions of the guarantee forms as and when published by the jbcc no 0 1 0 4 0 2.4 % 0 20% 0 80% 0 5 the standard jbcc guarantee forms are available on banks’ electronic server system and the wording is not tampered with no 1 3 0 1 0 3.8 % 20% 60% 0 20% 0 6 except for what is referred to in the guarantee form banks do not require any additional documentation to be submitted when a guarantee is called up no 0 4 1 0 0 3.8 % 0 80% 20% 0 0 7 data on turnover and number of guarantees called up are annually collected and made available no 0 0 0 5 0 2.0 % 0 0 0 100% 0 the findings in table 2 are based on the responses provided by the selected representatives of the five ‘mainstream’ banks in south africa (absa, firstrand bank, nedbank, rand merchant bank and standard bank) and are reported in the order corresponding with the statements in the table together with the respective mean. 1) all the interviewees regarded the underwriting of jbcc guarantees as an important part of the banks’ day-to-day business (mean = 5.0). 2) there was consensus among the interviewees regarding the undertaking by banks to pay out the amount available on call or on demand without getting involved in the dispute (mean = 5.0), and 3) that banks do not unilaterally amend the wording of the guarantees (mean = 5.0). 4) the interviewees, however, acknowledged that they are not always informed about the revised wording of new editions as and when issued by the jbcc (mean = 2.4). 5) they agreed that the forms are readily available on their systems and that the wording is not tampered with (mean = 3.8) and 6) that they would adhere to the conditions in the guarantee when a guarantee is called up (mean = 3.8). 7) no statistics on the application of the acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 20 guarantees are kept by banks although all interviewees agreed after being confronted by the interviewer that such information will have significant value (mean = 2.0). the statements dealing with uniformity in the wording of the guarantees in table 1 (statement 4) and table 2 (statement 5) did not clearly correspond with each other and the responses received were not entirely helpful when attempting to interpret the impact that tampering with the wording of the guarantees has had on the industry, and also with what the industry has experienced in this regard through casual observation by the author. further investigation was deemed necessary and the author proceeded to contact specific deemed to be knowledgeable individuals for further information. this investigation revealed that the responses would have been significantly different in table 2 if responses were based on the policies adopted by the mainstream banks’ corporate property finance divisions, particularly those of nedbank corporate property finance and fnb corporate property finance, the institutions that were contacted. this was especially the case when a payment guarantee forms part of the development loan finance structure between the property finance institution and the client/borrower. according to these interviewees, the wording of the payment guarantee the bank would give to the contractor (normally in exchange for a waiver of the builder’s lien from the contractor) has to incorporate the following additional aspects that the jbcc payment guarantee does not provide for: the jbcc payment guarantee is for a fixed amount and • usually equivalent to three months projected payments at any one time. a property development loan is approved on the basis of a defined expenditure amount. in the event of valid variations issued in terms of the jbcc contract between the employer and the contractor, the bank’s guaranteed amount would, in terms of the wording of the guarantee, inherently guarantee these additional amounts occasioned by the variations, notwithstanding that the bank has not agreed to the variations (there is no mechanism for this). the net effect by the end of the project is that the bank’s total loan exposure could be substantially higher than the total amount originally approved. property finance institutions generally have a standard • requirement that the work, while signed off by the relevant professional, must be vetted by the bank’s agent before maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 21 payment is made. it is not always possible for the bank to rely solely on the professional’s sign-off, as they do not owe the bank a duty of care, nor does the bank obtain cession of their professional indemnity cover, nor can the bank always ensure that the cover is up to date and valid. the fact that the bank utilises its agent to verify the works is not uncommon and, in fact, prudent. banks issue a guarantee which indicates the full facility • available to the contractor. this amount does not always constitute the full contract amount and the employer may be required to initially pay a portion from his/her own resources. the jbcc guarantee does not provide a mechanism where banks do not guarantee the full contract amount. the guarantees by property finance institutions provide • for payments to be made on a balance to complete. in other words, upon payment of a draw, the bank must have a sufficient facility to fund the completion of the work. a typical example of such an amendment is the insertion of the following subclause in the payment guarantee: the guaranteed amount shall be reduced automatically to the extent that the value of the remaining portion of the works is less than the value of the guaranteed sum. accordingly, on final completion of the works, as contemplated in the original scope of the works, the guaranteed sum shall be nil inherent in the above is the fact that banks do not • automatically assume full liability for all and any overruns. in the event that a “buffer” facility is required by the contractor over and above the agreed contingency amount provided, this would need to be a defined amount and the borrower/ employer would need to furnish the bank with appropriate security for this additional facility. this is an additional credit risk which banks do not automatically assume as is envisaged by the jbcc payment guarantee, but if banks were required to assume it, it would need to be quantified and secured. the expiry date in the jbcc payment guarantee does not • necessarily coincide with the bank’s facility. if a loan is settled from the proceeds of the units as they are transferred, the contingent liability that remains in terms of the guarantee would necessitate banks holding back the proceeds from the transfers pending finalisation of the accounts which may take some time. this would clearly not be acceptable to the employer/borrower. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 22 as the jbcc payment guarantee is normally a standard • annexure to the jbcc contract, it is usually the employers who find themselves in a difficult position. this is due to the fact that they are legally required to procure the financial guarantee in accordance with the annexure, which they may be unable to do under certain of the above circumstances. 7. conclusion the research has identified that the jbcc guarantees have largely met the aims set by the jbcc (supra), but that the following problem areas exist, which may have an influence on the effectiveness of the guarantees: the insistence by banks (more specifically their corporate • property finance institutions) to amend or add special conditions to the wording of the pro forma jbcc guarantees. it is generally accepted that• contractors are more exposed to risk of payment default towards the end of the contract and final account stage, and acceptance of the insertion of any additional subclauses (supra) would dilute the contractors’ protection, as and when the guaranteed sum gets exhausted. contractors require the payment guarantee to expire only on • payment of the final payment certificate, which date cannot be accurately determined at the start of the construction period, but banks insist on an expiry date that is certain. the principal agent’s certification is final and constitutes a • liquid document, but often payment guarantees are subject to the bank’s own quantity surveyor or valuer’s approval, which is not acceptable to contractors as such a provision could be abused by the issuing financial institution. banks are uncomfortable with their position where the • employer and contractor have agreed to numerous variation orders, resulting in a substantial increase in the original contract amount, without notifying the bank and allowing the bank to participate in the discussions in order to protect its own interest. it appears that the bank may be at risk where no certificate is issued in circumstances where substantial variations to the original contract were agreed to. regardless of whether or not the courts’ interpretations of the • guarantees are correct, it is likely that the decision, inter alia, maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 23 in the zanbuild case (supra), will cause some confusion as to the legal nature of construction and payment guarantees in south african law, and in light of this and other decisions, prudent developers and contractors should ensure that the language of the guarantees purporting to be on-demand construction and payment guarantees do in fact entitle them to claim amounts owing, on demand. a failure to do so could potentially result in them having no claim under the construction and payment guarantee concerned. according to the sa builder (2008), the national government, local government and private companies who award tenders to contractors are all too familiar with the dangers within the construction industry. contractors likewise must ensure that their risks are covered as best it can be managed and not leave it to when the problem manifests. those that will benefit most are those who can best decrease the damage caused by these inherent dangers by: recognising the characteristics of problems so that they can • be identified when they appear; utilising techniques to manage risks when they appear;• applying methods to minimise losses that occur, and• profiting from these risks.• one of the tools available to manage risk includes the transfer of risk, but no company will be willing to accept such an agreement without careful analysis and taking due care. the next step is the credibility of the guarantee. the third party itself must be respected, so that an employer/contractor/subcontractor will accept the guarantee. it should, however, be appreciated that the jbcc construction and payment guarantees are ‘stand alone’ documents where the conditions are set by the bank or issuing institution, and that these conditions are not affected by a change in the wording of the building agreement which is to be signed. 8. recommendation the jbcc provides model forms of building agreements to the southern african building industries including performance and payment guarantees, which are mostly issued by financial institutions such as banks and their respective property finance divisions. the wording, format, etc. have, from time to time, been discussed and agreed with some of the major banks through the legal commission of the banking council. in terms of recent developments, certain banks, and more specifically their property finance divisions, have acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 24 experienced problems in particular to payment guarantees. for this reason these banking and insurance institutions often wish to customise the wording of standard forms for their specific requirements. however, they should be made aware of the fact that such modifications could affect the validity of these guarantees, and that this practice could increase the risk of the parties concerned. it is therefore recommended that the jbcc and the legal commission of the banking council, as well as other relevant stakeholders such as the mbsa and the south african property owners association (sapoa) should engage more regularly to discuss and find solutions for the problems that have been identified in this study including other concerns that may be voiced from time to time. the ceo of the jbcc (bold, 2008) confirmed that regular meetings were held soon after the introduction in 1991 of the jbcc suite of contracts, but that it has for some time now largely been neglected, mainly because of the poor attendance by delegates from the banking council. the demand of construction and payment guarantees that provide the requisite cover available on call from approved financial institutions has increased as international and construction work, in particular, have grown. informal observation has indicated that frequent requests are being made by neighbouring countries for the use of the local developed standard forms of contract, more particularly the jbcc. this article has revealed that considerable problems remain in the application of the ‘on-demand’ guarantees as endorsed by the jbcc. it is therefore a matter of great importance that these issues be dealt with fully in the discussions between jbcc, the banks and other stakeholders, so that the industry can benefit as a result of better risk management by employers and contractors, which, in turn, should assist in the effective administration and the overall reduction of cost of construction projects. references bold, p. 2008. (ceo: joint building contracts committee [jbcc]). personal communication. 4 june, johannesburg. brink, w.a.c. & botha, p.c. 1991. know the jbcc agreements: comparison with existing documents. braamfontein: w.a.c. brink & p.c. botha. buys, n.s. & tonono, e. 2007. reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector. acta structilia, 14(2), pp. 76-90. maritz • doubts raised on the validity of construction 25 cidb (construction industry development board). 2004. construction industry status report. pretoria: cidb. d’arcy-donnelly, r. 2008. (nedbank corporate property finance legal). personal communication. 19 may, johannesburg. fidic (fédération internationale des ingénieurs-conseils) (french acronym for international federation of consulting engineers), fidic, 1999. fenster, g. 1998. doubts raised on construction guarantees. sa builder/bouer, p. 45, august. finsen, e. 2005. the building contract: a commentary on the jbcc agreements. 2nd ed. cape town: juta & co ltd. fourie, p. 2008. (ceo: master builders south africa). personal communication. 6 may, midrand. forsyth, c.f. & pretorius, j.t. 1992. the law of suretyship in south africa. 4th ed. kenwyn: juta & co ltd. gcc (general conditions of contract for construction works) 2010. saice. jbcc (joint building contracts committee). 2007. series 2000. jbcc (joint building contracts committee inc.). 2007a. principal building agreement (pba). 5th ed. code 2101. johannesburg: jbcc. jbcc (joint building contracts committee inc.). 2007b. n/s subcontract agreement (n/sa), 5th ed. code 2102. johannes burg: jbcc. jbcc (joint building contracts committee inc.). 2007c. construction guarantee for use with the jbcc principal building agreement. code 2122. johannesburg: jbcc. jbcc (joint building contracts committee inc.). 2007d. payment guarantee for use with the jbcc principal building agreement. code 2124. johannesburg: jbcc. jbcc (joint building contracts committee inc.). 2007e. guide to valuation, certification & payment. code 2201. johannesburg: jbcc. latham, m. 1994. constructing the team: final report of the government/industry review of procurement and contractual arrangements in the uk construction industry. london, uk: the stationary office. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 26 loots, p.c. 1995. construction law and related issues. kenwyn: juta & co ltd. mcdonald, t. 2002. choose your guarantee. quest: science for south africa, 3 of april 2002. academy of science of south africa (assaf). nec (new engineering contract). (now referred to as the engineering and construction contract, ecc), ice, 1998. sa builder. 2008. risk transfer as a management tool. johannesburg, p. 66. september. spence, p. 2008. (fnb corporate property finance). personal communication. 19 may. johannesburg. uff, j. 2009. construction law. 10th ed. london, uk: sweet & maxwell. wight, a. & ghyoot, v. 2008. the property finance business. 2nd ed. pretoria: unisa press. 44 victor okorie, fidelis emuze, john smallwood & jacobus van wyk(†) the influence of clients’ leadership in relation to construction health and safety in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract the south african construction regulations realise the contributions by each member of a project team to health and safety (h&s) improvement. these regulations amplify the roles and contributions of clients to project realisation. the tenets of the regulations conform with the observation that clients’ h&s leadership and behaviours are an effective means of improving construction h&s performance in the industry. this article reports on a study that examined current clients’ leadership approach and expectations in terms of h&s in south african construction. the review of relevant literature provides the platform for the research survey, which was conducted among selected clients of the industry. the findings show that clients’ h&s leadership roles and behaviours have a significant influence on construction h&s performance in south africa. findings reveal that unethical behaviour, in terms of procurement and contract awards, is a serious challenge to the improvement of h&s performance in the industry. keywords: behaviours, clients, construction, leadership, health and safety, south africa abstrak die suid-afrikaanse konstruksie regulasies besef die bydraes van elke lid van ’n projekspan om beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid (h&s) te verbeter. hierdie regulering versterk die rol en bydraes van kliënte teenoor projekverwesenliking. die beginsels van die regulasies stem ooreen met die waarneming dat kliënte se leierskap en gedrag ten opsigte van h&s ’n doeltreffende manier is om konstruksie h&s-prestasie in die bedryf te verbeter. hierdie artikel gee dr victor okorie, phd (construction management) graduate at the department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (041) 504 2790, email: <v.okorie@yahoo.com> dr fidelis emuze, senior lecturer and head, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3089, email: <femuze@cut.ac.za> prof. john smallwood, professor and head, department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (041) 504 2790, e-mail: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> prof. jacobus van wyk, professor, department of building and human settlement development, nelson mandela metropolitan university, south africa. († 1 february 2014). okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 45 bevindinge oor ʼn ondersoek wat gedoen is om huidige kliënte in die konstruksieindustrie se leierskapsbenadering en verwagtings oor h&s in suid-afrikaanse konstruksie te ondersoek. die literatuurstudie het die onderbou gevorm vir die navorsingsondersoek, gedoen onder uitgesoekte kliënte in die industrie. die bevindinge toon dat kliënte se leierskapsrolle ten opsigte van h&s ʼn groot invloed het op h&s in suid-afrika. onetiese gedrag in terme van aankope en kontraktoekenning is ʼn groot uitdaging vir die verbetering van h&s-prestasie in die industrie. 1. introduction construction sites remain one of the most dangerous and hazardous workplaces, due to the high number of reported and unreported cases of injuries and fatalities (coble & haupt, 1999: 211; bust, gibb & pink, 2008: 585; fewings, 2010: 165; spangenberg, 2009: 112). according to the international labour organisation (ilo, 2011: 1), the risk of injuries and fatalities in construction is 7-10 times more than that in other industries. in south africa, the construction industry development board (cidb) (2009: 3) reports that accidents in the industry are among the highest in all industry sectors, resulting in a third of all work fatalities. construction accidents and incidents cost national economies over 5% of their gross domestic product (gdp) (ilo, 2010: 2). exposure to various hazards when working at heights, under water and/or with hazardous chemical substances forms part of daily work routines on construction sites (cidb, 2009: ii; coke & sridhar, 2010: 139). the discovery that construction workers are often at risk of an accident, ill health and fatality at work when compared to other industrial sectors is cause for concern for individuals, stakeholders, and governments (kheni, 2008: 54; mcaleenan, 2010: 39). in south africa, previous research focused on the causes of site accidents and occupational safety: occupational safety (matthysen, 1984: 10); the role of project managers in construction h&s (smallwood, 1996: 227); implementation of h&s on construction sites (coble & haupt, 1999: 211); the cost of construction accidents (pillay & haupt, 2008: 268); the economic and social impact of site accidents (mthalane, othman & pearl, 2008: 78); a model to improve the effectiveness of the occupational h&s inspectorate (geminiani, 2008: 23), and the impact of h&s culture on construction site performance (okorie & smallwood, 2010: 380). despite this research, a gap exists between effective leadership of the key project leaders in h&s management and its positive impact on industry performance. set against these previous studies, this gap may be connected to clients’ poor h&s leadership and behaviour, acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 46 causing contracts to be awarded to contractors with poor h&s records. for the purpose of this article, the influence of the critical leadership and behaviours of the clients in south african construction that could be used to proactively influence measures for effective h&s management were examined. this exploratory article forms a basis for a more in-depth study into the drivers for client involvement and commitment to improving construction h&s. 2. the construction client the south african construction regulations (rsa, 2003: 8) define clients as the people who, in the course of furtherance of business or operation, seek or accept the services of others which may be used in carrying out projects for themselves. in the context of construction projects, clients could be individuals, corporate bodies or government departments (okorie, 2014: 151). as owners of projects, the clients have a substantial influence on the way in which a project is run (cidb, 2009: 18). mcaleenan (2010: 101) asserts that the governance of any project begins and ends with the client. 2.1 clients’ h&s leadership roles and behaviour behm (2005: 24) and huang & hinze (2006: 174) stress the importance of clients’ h&s leadership, particularly decisions made at the early project-planning phase through the appointment of the design team, contractors, selection of professional advisors, and procurement methods. in addition, public-sector clients are governed by legislation that requires them to treat all contractors equally, without discrimination, and to act in a transparent and appropriate manner (mcaleenan, 2010: 101). the south african construction regulations (rsa, 2003: 12) require that clients appoint competent professional designers, project managers, and quantity surveyors. emphasising the importance of client leadership roles for effective h&s management, hinze (2006: 87), mcaleenan (2010: 42), and oloke (2010: 30) argue that accidents are caused by inappropriate responses to certain constraints and the environment. all of these factors impact on h&s and are directly influenced by clients. conversely, clients’ lack of visible leadership in the appointment of competent professionals often leads to awarding contracts to contractors without adequate h&s records (musonda, pretorius & haupt, 2012: 71). for example, unethical behaviour and non-adherence to the procurement process in clients’ organisations have been noted as major factors contributing to poor h&s performance (cidb, 2011: ii). okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 47 2.2 clients’ h&s leadership in the appointment of the design team the construction regulations (rsa, 2003: 8) require clients to verify the competencies of designers such as architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, and project managers before appointing them. it is very important at the project-planning stage that clients’ h&s commitment and leadership should reflect on the appointment of the project team, as their competencies have a direct and indirect influence on overall construction h&s performance. the composition of the design team is very important with respect to their advice regarding the appointment of a competent contractor. according to hinze (2006: 316), the need for clients’ commitment to project h&s stems from the rising costs of workers’ compensation claims and high costs of litigation associated with poor construction h&s performance. 2.3 clients’ h&s leadership in the provision of h&s information the construction regulations (rsa, 2003: 8) require clients to provide information and instructions that might affect the h&s of a worker doing work. during the design stage, clients have a legal duty to provide adequate information with respect to the site or premises to the designers who are responsible for designing h&s into the project (cidb, 2009: 19; haslam, hide, gibb, gyi & atkinson, 2005: 22). changing weather, cyclical economic downturns, natural occurrences such as weather, information regarding what lies beneath the ground are factors impossible of predicting and may bring uncertainty (brauer, 2006: 167). regardless of the argument of uncertainty in predicting the future, clients’ provision of adequate h&s information to the design team has a significant impact on project h&s performance (gambatese, toole & behm, 2008: 12; cidb, 2009: 19). the level of non-compliance with this important role by some clients suggests poor leadership and a lack of commitment to project h&s. 2.4 clients’ h&s leadership in the provision of adequate financial resources the construction regulations (rsa, 2003: 4) require clients to make adequate financial provision for their projects. by obtaining cost advice relative to construction h&s during the project-planning stage, a client proactively takes cost risk-control measures, such as adequate budgeting for h&s and problems arising during construction (steven, 2010: 63-64). clients’ lack of adequate financial provision for h&s during the project-planning stage has been noted as a vital challenge for h&s management (gambatese et al., 2008: 13; cidb, 2009: 18). acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 48 2.5 clients’ h&s leadership in pre-qualification of contractors contractor pre-qualification is crucial to both the client and the contractor organisations, as it helps them meet regulatory compliance and achieve h&s improvement performance (cidb, 2009: 17). pre-qualification is an effective means of identifying which contractors meet the client’s requirements to perform the work in the most effective and efficient manner. pre-qualification enables clients to assess relevant information with respect to contractors’ h&s management systems such as h&s historical and performance records, insurance records, workers’ h&s training, and employees’ competencies. clients evaluate the information against pre-established criteria to determine whether the contractor is qualified to bid for the work and, if not, client organisations can exclude unsafe contractors from client lists (lutchman, maraj & ghanem, 2012: 174). client organisations’ lack of h&s pre-qualification allows contractors, without the prerequisite competencies, to carry out their construction projects; this often results in fatalities and injuries on site. 2.6 clients’ h&s leadership in the contract-procurement process procurement is the process of clients selecting or appointing the most economically viable or competent contractor to carry out construction projects (mcaleenan, 2010: 111). however, construction process and contractual relationships between clients and contractors differ from other ordinary contracts in many respects. construction-project contracts are governed by legislation and regulations at both provincial and national levels. for example, the construction regulations (rsa, 2003: 12) require that clients, who wish to procure a construction project, should take every reasonable step to ensure that the person (contractor) appointed or engaged is competent to carry out the work in the safest and most efficient manner. notably, the public sector is the largest client of the south african construction industry, with the responsibility of providing quality products. in meeting this obligation, public-sector clients are governed by legislation that requires them to treat all contractors equally, without any discrimination, and to act in a transparent manner (mcaleenan, 2010: 111). according to mcaleenan (2010: 112), clients that have visible leadership and that are committed to follow a procurement policy governed by ethical behaviour enable best values to be achieved and encourage the improvement of the procurement process early in the supply chain (mcaleenan, 2010: 112). okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 49 2.7 clients’ h&s leadership in the awarding of contracts to contractors awarding a contract to a successful bidder (contractor) by a client organisation (public and private) follows a due process. construction-procurement guidelines for the public sector (clients), that set common minimum standards for procuring and awarding contracts to contractors, can be found in terms of the national home builders registration council (nhbrc) and the preferential procurement policy framework act (pppfa) (rsa, 2001: 2). the nhbrc outlines the following conditions under which registered contractors’ tenders will be evaluated for awarding contracts: financial capability; technical competency; construction experience, and management. instances have shown that the council does not strictly adhere to these guidelines. as noted by the cidb reports (2011: 21), the poor quality of work completed by some contractors who are registered under the nhbrc raises a big question as to how contracts were awarded to them. investigations as to why contracts were awarded to these contractors showed that the tender process was poorly managed and, more specifically, that it was open to abuses such as bribery, fraud, corruption, and nepotism (cidb, 2011: 21). these abuses constitute unethical behaviour and indicate poor leadership. the consequences of awarding contracts to contractors without adequate competencies are poor project performance, including h&s. the preferential procurement policy framework act (pppfa) (rsa, 2001: 2) provides for both the evaluation of tenders and the awarding of contracts in the public sector on the basis of price and preference; response to the proposed scope of work or project design; quality control practices and procedures; qualifications and demonstrable experience of the key staff, and demonstrated experience of the tendering entity with respect to specific aspects of the project and comparable projects. conversely, these policies and procedures are hardly adhered to by the appointed construction h&s officers in construction, as noted by fourie (2009: 45). the non-adherence to these procedures is a manifestation of poor leadership and a lack of commitment (fourie, 2009: 41). the cidb (2011: 22) report also notes that there have been instances where contracts are not awarded in accordance with a client’s procurement policy, for example, overturning the recommendations of a tender evaluation committee, due to political interference. a survey conducted by the cidb construction industry in 2009 indicated the extent of contracts that were not awarded in accordance with client-procurement acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 50 policies to be: 22% for provincial, 16% for national corporations, 7% for national departments, and 7% for local authorities. it has also been noted that political interference and lack of transparency frequently result in the appointment or awarding of contracts to contractors that do not have the necessary abilities to carry out the work in a safe and efficient manner (cidb, 2011: 23). comparing the criteria for tender evaluation in both the nhbrc and the pppf act 2001, there was no reference to h&s. the lack of inclusion of an h&s management system as a pre-qualification criterion in the south african procurement policy and guidelines could be a factor for clients’ inadequate budgeting for h&s during the project-planning stage (cidb, 2011: 27). the cidb (2011: 28) notes in a report that lack of commitment to h&s, and lack of transparency during tender evaluations resulted in the awarding of contracts to contractors without adequate h&s records. 2.8 clients’ h&s leadership in the appointment of contractors oloke (2010: 39) and musonda et al. (2012: 71) contend that clients have a pivotal leadership role in setting and achieving high standards in construction h&s performance. the consensus of various h&s researchers regarding the influence of clients in improving construction h&s converges on the central idea that clients’ h&s leadership is desirable for effective h&s management (brauer, 2006: 12; huang & hinze, 2006: 175; gambatese et al., 2008: 2; spangenberg, 2009: 56; conchie, taylor & charlton, 2011: 1209). they set the tone for projects, have overall control of contracts and the way projects are undertaken, make key decisions such as those related to budget and time, and appoint the design team and contractors. huang & hinze (2006: 178) and musonda et al. (2012: 23) argue that high standards of h&s are achieved on projects where clients are committed and demonstrate transparent leadership. the importance of clients’ h&s leadership in both the public and the private sectors, leading to the award of a contract to a competent contractor, is highly desirable for effective h&s management. 2.9 h&s project monitoring by clients as the owners and financiers of construction projects, clients have a legal obligation to monitor and ensure that the principal contractors have put in place all arrangements with respect to a construction-phase h&s plan on site. lingard & rowlinson (2005: 163) maintain that effective h&s management entails adequate monitoring and reporting of performance and process to review okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 51 performance and make improvements. according to musonda et al. (2012: 111) and hinze (2006: 121), active and reactive monitoring provides clients with the information needed to review activities and decide how to improve workers’ h&s on site. hinze (2006: 121) argues that successful h&s management requires clients to regularly attend site h&s meetings to discuss h&s matters. clients’ visible h&s leadership, commitment to workers’ h&s and active involvement through monitoring their project h&s can contribute to effective h&s management. krause (2003: 3) and hopkins (2008: 31) point out that the ultimate success of project h&s management is, to a large extent, dependent upon clients’ h&s leadership and commitment. the influence of clients can be found in the work of huang & hinze (2006: 23), which shows that construction h&s performance can be measured and ultimately changed through the various commitments of clients as the owners and financiers relative to a particular construction project. these commitments depend on their visible leadership in the appointment of the design team; provision of h&s information; allocation of adequate financial resources to h&s; pre-qualification of contractors on h&s; contract-procurement process; awarding of contracts to contractors with good h&s records, and monitoring workers’ h&s on sites (musonda et al., 2012: 75). documented research findings (behm, 2005: 2; hinze, 2006: 102; huang & hinze, 2006: 2; suraji, duff & peckitt, 2006: 1; chinda & mohammed, 2008: 2; musonda & smallwood, 2008: 2; cidb, 2009: 39) maintain that clients can contribute to improvement in construction h&s performance. 3. research methodology a qualitative research approach is commonly employed in studying complex situations, particularly in research involving people (sutrisna, 2009: 57). according to borrego, douglas & amelink (2009: 54), qualitative research is good for approaches in which a theory or hypothesis justifies the variables, the purpose statement, and the direction of the narrowly defined research questions. the hypothesis: ‘clients’ poor h&s leadership and behaviours lead to the award of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records’ is being tested through the phrasing of research questions which aim to determine to what extent clients exude h&s leadership and commitment in construction projects. the review of the literature resulted in the formulation of a structured questionnaire, which forms the basis for the semi-structured questions for the focus-group discussions. focus-group interviews acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 52 were conducted among public and private clients in the four major provinces of south africa, namely eastern cape, gauteng, kwazulu-natal, and western cape. the selection of the interviewees was conducted by searching the data bases of the national and provincial offices of the department of public works (dpw) and the south african property owners association (sapoa). the purposive sampling technique was used for selecting directors and senior managers considered to be sufficiently knowledgeable for the enquiry. time, cost, experience, and a small sample needed for the group discussion were the special circumstances that were considered in the choice of the purposive sampling technique for this study (sutrisna, 2009: 71). the participants from the public sector included architects, quantity surveyors, and h&s officers; while those from the private sector were in top-management positions. for the questionnaire, closed-ended questions were preferred, as they reduce the respondent’s bias (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). from the 560 questionnaires distributed, 143 were returned; this resulted in a response rate of 25.5%. the response rate achieved for this research is similar to that achieved in other surveys (sutrisna, 2009: 84; collins, 2010: 43). it could be inferred from sutrisna (2009: 56) and dainty (2008: 6) that performing a statistical analysis in a survey with response rates equal to, or above the threshold of thirty (30) is acceptable. thus, 143 responses achieved in this survey provide reasonable data for analysis. open-ended semi-structured questions were developed to guide the focus-group discussions. the questions allowed the participants to share as much or as little as they wished with respect to their h&s practices and behaviours that can bring about h&s performance improvement in south african construction. the questions allowed the participating clients to discuss the following areas that involve their leadership skills and behaviours: appointment of the design team; provision of adequate h&s information; financial provision for project h&s; pre-qualification of contractors on h&s; procurement policies, guidelines and contract award; monitoring and implementation of project h&s plans, and clients’ h&s leadership. out of the thirty (30) people who were invited to participate in the study, only eleven (11) took part in the focus-group discussions. the number of participants was considered sufficient for a quorum, since gillen, kool, mccall, sum & moulden (2004: 235) and babbie (2007: 56) suggest that three to six participants should be brought together in a typical focus-group discussion. gillen et al. (2004: 23) further contend okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 53 that smaller groups increase participants’ opportunity to fully express ideas without interruptions. multiple methods of outreach, including the posting of the structured open-ended questions, telephone contact, and e-mails, were employed to contact participants. the discussions were conducted with due regard to ethical considerations governing research of this nature. although qualitative research involves studying respondents in their true setting, no research can truly capture the full effect of the setting or respondents, because they are complex entities (sutrisna, 2009: 56). 3.1 data analysis and interpretation of findings 3.1.1 questionnaire for the questionnaire survey, a 5-point likert-scale measurement was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. leedy & ormrod (2005: 185) maintain that likert scales are effective to elicit participants’ opinions on various statements. for the purpose of analysis and interpretation of mean scores, the following scale measurement was used: 1 = minor extent; 2 = near minor; 3 = some extent; 4 = near major extent; 5 = major extent. the statistica (version 10.0) statistical analysis software package was used to generate the descriptive and inferential statistics. the microsoft excel ranking function was used to compute the rank of mean scores recorded in the data analysis. this ranking method enabled the researcher to evaluate the importance of problems, parameters and individual statements relative to each other. when using likert scale-type scales, it is imperative to calculate and report cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency and reliability for any scales (gliem & gliem, 2003: 88). maree & pietersen (2007: 216) suggest the following guidelines for the interpretation of cronbach’s alpha coeffient: 0.90 – high reliability; 0.80 – moderate reliability, and 0.70 – low reliability. the questionnaire survey shows a moderate reliability cronbrach’s alpha of 0.89. 3.1.2 focus group for the focus-group discussions, the principal researcher served as the group leader to facilitate the discussion and the debriefing. the participants were reminded of the voluntary nature of their participation in the study as well as the ethics of group confidentiality. discussions that were transcribed verbatim were recorded on iphone with permission of the participants. the transcribed versions were sent acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 54 to the participants to vouch for accuracy. at the end of the one-day group discussion, the data was captured on a computer. the facilitator of the group discussions listened several times to the recordings and personally transcribed them. to enhance the validity of the findings, the transcribed versions were sent to the participants who vouched that accurate versions of the discussions had been realised. 3.1.3 hypothesis in testing the hypothesis, the p-value, which is the level of significance for the t-test, was 5%. this suggests that the p-value may be assumed to be less than 0.05. the smaller the p-value, the stronger the evidence is against the null hypothesis (agresti & franklin, 2007: 369). the p-value, which was calculated by presuming that the null hypothesis hₒ is true, is the probability that the test statistics equal the observed values or a value even more extreme (samuels, witmer & schaffner, 2012: 45). 4. results and findings 4.1 questionnaire responses the majority of the responses (66%) were received from practitioners in the public sector. over 50% of the respondents have been involved in construction for over 15 years; 91.6% have tertiary qualifications; 62.2% hold management positions; 23.8% work for clients; 20.3% work for general building contractors; 14.7% are designers; 2.3% are project managers; 10.5% are general civil contractors; 7.7% are quantity surveyors; 11% are others; 30.8% are managers, and 22.4% are managing members and principals. the data analysis reveals that the respondents fall within the key project participants and, therefore, their perceptions can be deemed reliable and valid. the respondents are academically qualified to comprehend the questions and their judgements are reliable, as they have the experience to make sound judgements. 4.2 questionnaire results a five-point likert-scale questionnaire that provides for ‘unsure’ was used to examine the contributions and behaviour of clients to poor h&s performance. table 1 indicates the perceived behaviour or contributions of clients in the construction industry to poor construction h&s performance (at-risk work practices or unsafe behaviour). okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 55 table 1: client-related h&s behaviour contributing to poor construc tion h&s performance behaviour/ contributions valid n unsure response (%) ms sd rankminor ………………… major 1 2 3 4 5 failure to ensure that the contractor has made adequate financial provision for h&s 143 2.1 7.0 11.2 23.8 32.9 23.1 3.54 1.17 1 inadequate monitoring to ensure that contractors comply with the h&s plan 143 1.4 6.3 16.9 22.5 30.3 22.5 3.46 1.19 2 non-facilitation of financial provision for h&s 143 4.2 7.7 12.6 28.0 30.1 17.5 3.37 1.14 3 inadequate addressing of h&s matters during contract negotiation/ tendering process 143 2.5 3.5 18.9 31.5 23.1 19.6 3.36 1.10 4 lack of prequalification of contractors on h&s 143 2.8 4.9 18.2 28.7 28.0 11.2 3.35 1.11 5 inadequate provision of financial resources for h&s 143 0.7 8.4 16.8 26.6 30.1 17.5 3.31 1.19 6 inadequate h&s specification provided to the design team 143 3.5 9.8 18.9 28.7 28.0 11.2 3.12 1.14 7 inadequate project duration 143 3.5 14.0 16.8 28.7 20.3 16.8 3.09 1.27 8 poor choice of procurement system 143 6.3 8.4 19.6 34.3 18.9 12.6 3.08 1.11 9 inadequate provision of h&s information to the design team 143 5.6 8.5 25.4 32.4 17.6 10.6 2.96 1.09 10 poor project brief provided to the design 143 4.2 12.0 21.1 32.4 19.0 11.3 2.96 1.16 11 average 3.23 1.15 cronbach’s alpha: 0.89 (moderate reliability) average inter-item: 0.45 acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 56 table 1 indicates the respondents’ perceptions of the extent to which identified behaviour related to clients’ h&s leadership and behaviour contributes to at-risk work practices or unsafe behaviour. it shows this in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. it is notable that nine mss were above the midpoint of 3.00, which, with an average ms of 3.23, indicates that the respondents perceive that client-related h&s behaviour contributes to at-risk practices or unsafe behaviour of workers on site. the findings indicate that the respondents perceive that the following can be deemed to contribute significantly to at-risk work practices: • failure to ensure that clients have made adequate financial provision for h&s; • inadequate monitoring to ensure that contractors comply with the h&s plans; • non-facilitation of financial provision for h&s, and • inadequate addressing of h&s matters during contract negotiation/tendering process. although inadequate provision of h&s information to the design team and poor project brief provided to the design team have the lowest mss in table 1, these critical client leadership roles should not be overlooked in this context. 4.3 focus-group responses and discussion in addition to the questionnaire responses, the questions for the focus-group discussions allowed the participants to share as much or as little as they wished with respect to their practices and behaviour that can realise h&s improvement in south african construction. 4.3.1 clients’ h&s leadership roles and behaviour the following question related to clients’ h&s leadership attributes that can realise improvement in the area of construction h&s performance was posed to participants: “despite the interventions that have been mentioned in the course of this discussion, do you think that leadership abilities/ attributes can improve construction h&s performance?” one of the participants commented that visible leadership is critical to the promotion of h&s culture in construction. the participant succinctly stated the following: “we should be a role model when we visit site by wearing our safety hats” and “talk to workers as human okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 57 beings”. these comments indicate that there is a need for leaders at all levels of management to demonstrate visible leadership when visiting construction sites, since workers tend to emulate their good or bad behaviours. as one of the directors put it, workers hear what we say, but what they do reflects on what we do. therefore, leaders at all levels should demonstrate attributes or qualities that inspire, and reflect trust and respect to workers when visiting sites. in addition, the participants were asked to provide their perceptions regarding poor h&s leadership and client organisations’ lack of commitment to workers’ h&s. responses included inadequate financial budgeting for h&s; lack of pre-qualification of contractors on h&s; inadequate monitoring to ensure that contractors comply with project h&s plans, and inability to ensure that contractors have made adequate financial provision for h&s in their tenders. furthermore, references were made to bribery, corruption, and political interference that exist in clients’ organisations as being poor behaviour and a lack of commitment, thus contributing to workers’ unsafe behaviour on sites. however, bribery, corruption, and political interference, particularly among public-sector clients, have become endemic in society. these practices are not only limited to public clients, but also apply to private clients. such social ills are prevalent in developing nations and are becoming increasingly more dominant in south africa. the resultant effects of this poor leadership and behaviour among clients often lead to circumventing procurement guidelines and polices. as a consequence, contracts are awarded to contractors with poor h&s records, resulting in site fatalities, injuries, and diseases. 4.3.2 clients’ h&s leadership in the appointment of the design team two questions addressed the important issue related to the appointment of the design team that implies that designers have the responsibility to improve construction site h&s performance through their design decisions, particularly during the project-planning and design stages. “based on your experience, do you think designers’ h&s critical decisions impact on workers’ h&s behaviour on site?” participants’ comments included: • “h&s information is not incorporated into designs”. • “hazard identification and risk assessment are not carried out on the intended project”. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 58 the above comments by the participants indicate the extent to which designers’ roles can contribute to at-risk work practices or unsafe behaviour. designing h&s into construction entails that designers should give due consideration to workers’ h&s during the project-planning and design stages. designers should uphold designing h&s into construction, by ensuring that h&s information is provided in the drawings, by conducting hazard identification and risk assessment, and not specifying any hazardous materials. “what are the criteria adopted or used in your organisation in the appointment of consultants such as architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors at the project conception and design stages?” in response to this, one of the participants commented: “we have a selected list of consultants that we use for each project” and “we ensure that they are registered members of their professional institutes”. although these statements were made by public-sector clients, the cidb (2011: ii) reports on the investigation into the barriers to quality in construction, which include the traditional barriers within the design, procurement, and construction processes, namely corruption, political interference, and institutional barriers in the appointment of consultants, that were not capable of undertaking the necessary work, could be attributed, to a large extent, to poor leadership in the procurement process in south african construction. the above examples point out the extent of poor leadership and unethical behaviours among clients relative to the construction project-procurement processes. of specific interest in the report are indications that corruption is increasing in south africa. 4.3.3 clients’ h&s leadership in the provision of h&s information as far as the importance of h&s information relative to construction sites is concerned, the participants were asked to give their opinion on the following question: “based on your experience, do you think preliminary site investigations have an impact on workers’ h&s behaviour on sites?” a director in the private sector responded as follows: “in all our projects we endeavour to carry out detailed site investigations” and “we also ensure designers incorporate site information into designs”. private clients such as members of sapoa can be deemed to carry out detailed preliminary site investigations, as they are profit oriented. the case is contrary to public-sector clients, where the leaders and some okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 59 politicians circumvent all stages of the construction project delivery chain, due to corruption and political patronage (fourie, 2009: 48). 4.3.4 clients’ h&s leadership in the provision of adequate financial resources to address the importance of financial provision for h&s during the project-planning and tendering stages, the following question was asked: “what effect does inadequate financial provision for h&s at the tendering stage have on the ability of contractors to ensure adequate on-site h&s interventions?” in discussing the above question, the participants commented as follows: • “h&s is not considered as important as quality.” • “contractors price h&s items very low in order to win the tender.” • “some private clients do not use the services of quantity surveyors.” the perception that h&s is not considered as important as the other project parameters (cost, quality, and time) indicates why clients do not budget or allocate adequate financial resources for h&s in their projects. contractors tendering competitively often ignore h&s items or price them very low in the boqs. the consequence is lack of funds for h&s interventions on sites. the most complex aspect of this problem is that clients and contractors do not make use of quantity surveyors, who are experts in terms of construction costs. 4.3.5 clients’ h&s leadership in pre-qualification of contractors the question regarding the pre-qualification of contractors is notable, as all the participating clients unanimously agreed that pre qualification of contractors contributes to workers’ h&s behaviours, when asked to answer the question: “in your opinion, do you agree that lack of pre-qualification of contractors on h&s can contribute to workers’ unsafe behaviours?” 4.3.6 clients’ h&s leadership in procurement policies and guidelines and the awarding of contracts to contractors participants were asked to comment on the extent to which they adhere to contracts’ procurement policies and guidelines in their organisations. specifically, participants from the public-sector clients acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 60 commented: “we follow due process in the selection of contractors in our department” and “we ensure that contractors we select have made adequate provision for h&s in their tenders”. however, as noted by fourie (2009: 45), evidence indicates that the appointed officers hardly adhere to these policies and procedures. the cidb (2011: 22) report notes that there have been instances where contracts were awarded in violation of procurement policy such as overturning the recommendations of a tender evaluation committee, due to political interference. a survey conducted by the cidb in 2009 showed the extent to which contracts were not awarded in accordance with clients’ procurement policy to be: 22% for provincial entities, 16% for national corporations, 7% for national departments, and 7% for local authorities. comparing the criteria for tender evaluation in both the nhbrc and the pppf act 2001, there was no reference to h&s, but at the international level, h&s is included as one of the pre-qualification criteria for tender evaluation and contract award. in response to the information in the cidb report, a second question addressed opinions regarding the awarding of contracts to contractors: “is it possible that poor leadership and lack of commitment to h&s by clients qcontribute to the award of contracts to such contractors?” participants unanimously answered “yes”, “corruption is too much”, “contracts are awarded only to top politicians”, and “the top management are not transparent”. these comments indicate that clients’ h&s leadership is poor, particularly the public-sector clients, as exemplified by the fact that contractors without adequate h&s records are awarded contracts. a contractor without adequate h&s records increases not only accident and injury rates on sites, but also fatalities, and the cost of medical care for the government. it could be argued that poor leadership and lack of transparency among the top leaders are possible reasons for the award of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records in the south african construction industry. 4.3.7 clients’ monitoring and implementation of project h&s plans to address the issue of clients as the owners and financiers of construction projects, who have a legal obligation to monitor and ensure that principal contractors have implemented the necessary arrangements with respect to construction h&s plans on site, respondents were asked to reply to the following question: okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 61 “in most construction projects that you were/are involved, have you encountered the use of an h&s plan?” the participants noted: “in major projects, contractors have written h&s plans for the projects”, but “implementation of h&s plans is the problem”. these comments indicate that monitoring of project h&s plan implementation by clients and their appointed agents is inadequate. monitoring provides information with regard to performance. poor monitoring of project h&s plans by clients, designers, and project managers will definitely result in inadequate implementation by contractors on site. a project h&s plan is vital for construction-site h&s management, as it identifies environmental restrictions and existing on-site risks peculiar to a project. 4.4 implications of the results the test of means was used to determine whether there is a statistical significance between the respondents’ responses and the hypothetical statements. the significance is the result obtained from testing a null hypothesis against an alternative hypothesis with the aim of determining the p-value (probability value) as the output result. the p-value is a numerical measure of the statistical significance of a hypothesis test. the researcher making the decision should choose significance level α. the common choices are α ꞊ 0.10, 0.05, and 0.01. for the purpose of this article, in the choice of p-value, if the p-value of the data is less than or equal to α, the data is judged to provide statistical evidence in favour of the alternative hypothesis (hı), and the null hypothesis (hₒ) is rejected. on the other hand, if the p-value of the data is greater than the significance level α, it could be concluded that the data provides insufficient evidence to claim that hı is true, and that the hₒ is not rejected. these criteria were adopted in drawing conclusions from testing the research hypotheses in this article. as shown in table 2, the statistical software (statistica version 10.0) provided the test statistics (t-value) of 3.56 and p-value of 0.000253 for the hypothesis that has been tested in terms of means, and not proportions. the simple sample t-test tested whether the sample mean on each of the constructs is significantly greater than 3, which is the middle (mid-point) of the 5-point scale. the results from the software show that the mean of 3.24 is significantly greater than 3. thus, the hypothesis testing was conducted without a comparison between t-value and critical value. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 62 table 2: test of means against reference constant (value) for hypothesis mean sd n r t-value df p-value 3.24 0.80 143 3 3.56 142 0.000253 the following conditions were used for testing the postulated research hypotheses: • the significance level α ꞊ 5% (0.05); • the confidence level at 95%; • the null hypothesis is hₒ: p ꞊ 3, and • the alternative is hı: p ≤ 3. the null hypothesis states: poor h&s leadership and behaviour by clients does not lead to award of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records. the alternative hypothesis states: poor h&s leadership and behaviour by clients lead to the award of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records. if p-value < 0.05, then hₒ is rejected, but p-value ꞊ 0.000253, p < 0.05. since p < 0.05, the alternative hypothesis (hı), which states that poor h&s leadership and behaviour by clients lead to the awarding of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records, is supported. in conclusion, the data provide statistically significant evidence that poor h&s leadership and behaviour by clients lead to the awarding of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records. 5. discussion the results show that clients in both the public and the private sectors are well aware of the hazards and risks workers face on construction sites. both public and private clients emphasised the importance of leadership and ethical behaviours in all stages of constructionproject delivery so as to improve workers’ h&s behaviours. however, the participating clients agreed that some senior managers and public office holders collude with some contractors to circumvent the construction-procurement guidelines, due to corruption, nepotism, and political interference to award contracts to contractors without adequate h&s records. the need for visible leadership, and commitment to workers’ h&s among the clients, is apparent. okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 63 the participants also expressed the need for the assessment of competencies among consultants, construction management systems and contractors’ previous performance relative to h&s as criteria for pre-qualifying contractors and awarding of contracts to contractors. they also recognised and acknowledged corruption, bribery, fraud, nepotism, political interference, and institutional barriers, particularly in the design of permanent works, appointment of quantity surveyors, and project managers. of great concern is the observation that such political interference is growing rapidly in the public sector, frequently resulting in the appointment of consultants and contractors that do not have the necessary competencies to manage construction projects effectively. the results have been poor project performance, including h&s. as owners and initiators of construction projects, clients have responsibilities to appoint competent professionals. this is achievable through visible leadership and commitment to workers’ h&s. it is important to view workers’ rights to a healthy and safe workplace as a moral claim, something employers are morally obliged to do, even if it is not required of them by law or corporate policy. thus, employers’ behaviours and commitment towards workers should be viewed as a moral responsibility to provide a healthy and safe work environment to save the nation from wanton destruction of precious lives and property. it can be argued that the construction process needs clients as leaders to inspire trust, exercise power where necessary, and demonstrate honesty and integrity in their behaviours. thus, effective h&s leadership among clients is highly desirable. however, there are several limitations to this study. the study population was limited to only four provinces in south africa. secondly, the clients in the form of directors, senior managers, and managers who participated in this study may have been more likely to be more interested in workers’ h&s than others. another limitation is the issue of qualitative findings that do not allow extensive generalisation. furthermore, the nature of the research topic and sensitiveness attached to h&s leadership and behaviours of the clients made it difficult for the participants to discuss inadequacies relative to h&s management in their respective organisations. the constructs applied in this study were drawn from the literature review. the study focused on the critical h&s leadership and behaviours of the clients, and excluded the contributions of workers to the causes of at-risk work practices or unsafe behaviours of workers. this is, to a certain degree, a limitation to the study. however, despite these limitations, the survey acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 64 provided important findings on clients’ leadership approach towards construction h&s management: • poor leadership, lack of commitment to, involvement and participation in h&s exist among the top management among clients; • unethical behaviours are prevalent among top leaders; • project h&s plans are inadequate and inappropriate, thus militating against contractors complying with legislative requirements and achieving healthy and safe workplaces; • h&s is not accorded status equal to that afforded to cost, quality, and time in respect of project success parameters, the consequence being, inter alia, inadequate financial provision for project h&s by clients in the boqs, and contractors’ inability to make adequate financial provision for h&s in their tenders, and • the complex and dynamic nature of construction-site workplaces further shows that inadequate construction h&s workplace planning impacts on workers’ unsafe behaviours or at-risk work practices. 6. conclusions and recommendations based on the research results, it can be concluded that clients’ poor h&s leadership and behaviour lead to the award of contracts to contractors with poor h&s records. the major consequence of poor clients’ h&s leadership, lack of commitment and involvement in project h&s is a lack of funds for contractors’ h&s interventions on sites. this results in an increase in site fatalities, injuries, ill health, poor h&s training, and inadequate provision of ppe to workers. therefore, adequate financial provision for project h&s during the planning phases, pre-qualification of contractors on h&s, and adequate monitoring to ensure that contractors comply with the project h&s plans in the clients’ organisations should be adequately implemented. in addition, causes of workers’ unsafe behaviour and poor construction h&s relative to clients’ poor h&s leadership and behaviour, such as the appointment of contractors with poor h&s records and inadequate financial allocation for project h&s, should be addressed. clients should, as a matter of importance, provide h&s information to the design team during the project-planning phases. okorie, emuze, smallwood & van wyk • the influence of clients’ ... 65 references list agresti, a. & franklin, h. 2007. statistics: the art and science of learning from data. upper saddle river, new jersey: pearson prentice hall. akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construction: the uk contractor’s perception. engineering, construction and architectural management, 14(6), pp. 597-617. babbie, e. 2007. basics of social research. 3rd edition. belmont, california: 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business’ progress towards achieving its strategic goals (as determined through its planned objectives). financial ratio analysis promises to be a simple but effective way of analysing financial statements for interpretation. it is, however, not a ‘complete’ method of analysis as it is directed at measuring financial objectives only. the ‘traditional’ method of analysis and interpretation of financial statements evolved over a period of approximately a century (mainly due to major developments in management concepts). thereafter industrious researchers explored the possibility of effecting changes to these existing methods, formulae and uses of financial ratios to explore their predictive abilities. it was assumed to be an inherent attribute of ratio analysis. although there is no real consensus, the conclusion is that failure-or-success-prediction-models suffer from poor predictive abilities. therefore this study was directed at the principles of applying the ‘traditional’ approach to financial ratio analysis. the references to the ‘modern’ models, techniques and their applications are made for contextual purposes only. the aim of this study is twofold. the first aim is to determine whether residential property developers apply financial ratio analysis in analysing the financial information contained in their financial statements. developers indicated that they do use ratio analysis for this purpose. the second aim is to illustrate how important the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the basic principles and techniques of financial ratio analysis is to non-accountants (such as the average property developers and built environment professionals) in applying financial ratio analysis in their decision-making. section 8 in this study serves as guideline to practitioners, based on results and conclusions of the empirical study of the article. there is no internationally accepted theoretical framework or standard for applying and using financial ratio analysis to assist managers in the assessment of business performance. this should not create the perception that ratios are felix le roux, senior lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. phone: 012 4203836, email: <felix.leroux@up.ac.za> gert abraham lowies, department of financial management, university of pretoria, south africa. phone: 012 4203404, email: <braam.lowies@up.ac.za> navorsingsartikels • research articles acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 2 merely an accumulation of tools and techniques. each ratio is an integral link in a chain of financial ratios. managers in the built environment should be encouraged to gain knowledge and apply financial management tools and techniques to enhance their financial management expertise. non-financial managers and directors can no longer avoid financial management responsibilities by deferring these to the financial professionals. rather, managers and directors need to adopt an attitude of the buck stops here. keywords: property development, ratio analysis, south africa abstrak finansiële state word gelees, ontleed en vertolk deur ’n diverse groep belanghebbendes. een groep is die eienaars, direkteure en bestuurders wat finansiële state bestudeer ten einde die inligting aan te wend vir beplanningen kontrole-doeleindes. dit is van uiterste belang om onderliggende of ontluikende tendense of ander kenmerkende eienskappe te identifiseer, ten einde te bepaal of ’n besigheid se strewe na bereiking van sy strategiese mylpale, soos vasgestel deur die onderneming se doelwitte, bereik word. finansiële verhoudingsontleding beloof om ’n eenvoudige maar effektiewe metode te wees om ontledings vir die vertolking van finansiële state te doen. dit is egter nie ’n volledige metode van prestasie meting, ontleding, interpretasie en bestuur nie, aangesien dit slegs meting van finansiële doelwitte aanspreek. oor die tydperk van ongeveer ’n eeu het die metode van ontleding genaamd ‘tradisioneel’ ontstaan (hoofsaaklik weens vooruitgang in bestuurstegnieke). daarna het navorsers die moontlikheid ondersoek om die voorspellingsmoontlikhede van verhoudingsontleding te ontgin deur geringe veranderings aan die ‘tradisionele’ metodes aan te bring. daar is nie algemene ooreenstemming nie, maar dit blyk die gevolgtrekking te wees dat mislukkingen-sukses-modelle min voorspellingswaarde inhou. daarom was hierdie studie daarop gerig om die toepassing van die ‘tradisionele’ metode van ontleding van finansiële state te ondersoek. verwysing na die ‘moderne’ modelle, tegnieke en hulle toepassing word slegs gemaak vir kontekstuele doeleindes. die doel van die studie is tweevoud. eerstens om te bepaal of residensiële eiendomsontwikkelaars verhoudingsontleding gebruik in die vertolking van hulle ondernemings se resultate. eiendomsontwikkelaars het aangetoon dat hulle inderdaad van finansiële verhoudingsontleding gebruik maak. tweedens om te illustreer hoe belangrik kennis en begrip van finansiële verhoudingsontleding asook die basiese beginsels en tegnieke van verhoudingsontleding vir nie-finansiële bestuurders (soos die gemiddelde eiendomsontwikkelaar en bou-omgewing professionele persone) is in die toepassing van finansiële verhoudingsontleding met betrekking tot besluitneming. punt 8 van die artikel word daaraan gewy om advies te verskaf aan gebruikers van verhoudingsontleding in die bouomgewing. daar bestaan geen internasionaal aanvaarde teoretiese raamwerk of standaard vir die gebruik en toepassing van finansiële verhoudingsontleding om bestuurders te ondersteun in die evaluering van hulle ondernemings se resultate nie. dit moet egter nie die indruk skep dat verhoudings bloot ’n versameling van verhoudings en tegnieke is nie; elke verhouding is ’n integrale skakel in ’n ketting van verhoudings. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 3 bestuurders in die bou-omgewing behoort aangemoedig te word om die nodige kennis in te win en toepassings van gebruike en tegnieke van verhoudingsontleding te beoefen aangesien dit die enigste manier van verkryging van ondervinding is. nie-finansiële bestuurders durf nie langer die finansiële bestuursverantwoordelikhede vermy deur dit aan rekeningkundige persone oor te dra nie. bestuurders en direkteure moet ’n houding van die verantwoordelikheid eindig hier inneem. sleutelwoorde: eiendomsontwikkeling, ratio analise, suid-afrika 1. introduction whittington(1980: 219) defined the basic assumption of ratio analysis as that of: proportionality, i.e. it is assumed that a proportionate relationship exists, or ought to exist, between the two variables whose ratio is calculated. mcdonald & morris(1984: 89) observed that: ratio analysis has been popularized not by its structural validity, but by its convenience. coetzee, stegmann, van schalkwyk, & wesson (2002: 199) regard ratio analysis as: … the most noted and useful tool for analysers of financial statements. even so, it is sometimes misunderstood and its importance underestimated. ratio analysis lacks explicit theoretical structure and the user of ratios is required to rely upon the authority of an analyst’s experience. ratio analysis is replete with untested assertions about which ratios should be used and what their proper levels should be. in general, the expected relationships of various ratios have not been formulated. the major part of ratio analysis literature consists of instructions on how to compute ratios (horrigan, 1968). this has not changed since horrigan made the observation in 1968. horrigan(1968) indicated the basic ratio shortcoming and the need that exists for analytical devices which will enable analysts to compare financial statements between firms and over time periods. ratio analysis is a simple, quick method of comparison. available evidence suggests that ratios do have predictive value, even if only in respect of financial distress. horrigan suggested that the shortcomings of ratio analysis be remedied and predicted that ratios would play an important role in the future. ratios should at least be useful to the small firm for internal analyses and to most external analysts for investment and credit evaluations. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 4 mckosker (1998) stated that when ratios are interpreted with care it allows managers to concentrate resources in the correct areas. good management and appropriate accounting systems accompanied by relevant controls is needed to maintain direction or correct the lack thereof. gitman (2003) cautioned that financial ratios should be meaningful and there should be a logical relationship between the units being used. according to brigham & gapenski (1996: 47), ratio analysis is useful as a starting point for planning actions that will influence the future course of events. chabotar (1989) stated that by itself, a ratio almost never provides sufficient evidence for panic or pride and there is much about an organisation that cannot be quantified by means of ratio analysis, such as leadership and reputation. ross (2005) pointed out that financial statement information is subject to legitimate estimates, timing decisions and illegitimate manipulation. adrian (1979: 123) states that each firm and the industry in which it performs is unique as to its product, objectives and financial structure resulting in the fact that each firm is unique to the values of its financial ratios. this can result in a negative assessment of a specific firm, although it may have a sound financial structure. this led to the question whether residential property developers apply financial ratio analysis in analysing the financial information contained in their financial statements? the hypothesis that residential property developers do apply financial ratio analysis in practice and decisionmaking will be tested. this article aims to illustrate the importance of knowledge regarding financial ratio analysis as applied by residential property developers. ratio analysis evolution seems to move toward a structure as illustrated in figure 1. this structure forms the basis of the empirical study discussed hereafter. financial ratio analysis traditional method dupont system discriminant and other methods figure 1: spectrum of ratio analysis available le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 5 2. traditional ratio analysis according to gitman (2003), financial ratios can be divided into five basic categories. liquidity, activity and debt ratios primarily measure risk. profitability ratios measure return. market ratios capture both risk and return. figure 2 illustrates this concept. market ratios risk liquidity debt activity return profitability figure 2: traditional ratios liquidity refers to a firm’s ability to meet its obligations over the short term. this means to have the necessary cash available to pay for costs and expenses and to make payments due to creditors. the availability of adequate levels of cash is measured by the current ratio and refined by the quick (acid-test) ratio. a company’s ability to survive over the long term is related to its debt position. the debt position of a firm indicates the amount of nonowner or non-self-generated funds used by the business. in general, the more debt a firm uses, the higher the risk. due to the influence of financial leverage, debt could actually increase the return to owners, but at the risk of possible insolvency should the company be unable to service its debt. debt or solvency ratios are the debt ratio, times interest earned ratio and fixed-payment coverage ratio. activity ratios measure the speed (in terms of days or number of times per year) with which assets and liabilities are converted into cash. activity ratios are inventory turnover ratio, average collection and payment periods ratios and total asset turnover ratio. this can be considered a measure of assurance for uncertain liquidity ratios. profitability ratios evaluate a firm’s profits by expressing them in terms of level of income (turnover), certain levels of assets, as well as the owners’ investment. profitability ratios are gross profit margin, operating profit margin, net profit margin, earnings per share (eps), return on total assets (roa) and return on common equity (roe). acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 6 market ratios relate the firm’s market value measured by its current share price to certain accounting values. these ratios give an indication on what investors in the marketplace feel the firm is doing in terms of risk and return. market ratios are price/earnings (p/e) ratio and market/book (m/b) ratio. according to salmi, virtanen & yli-olli (1990), financial ratios are widely used for modelling purposes by both practitioners and researchers. many distinct areas of research involving financial ratios can be discerned. they stated that historically one can observe several major themes in the financial analysis literature. there is overlapping in the observable themes, and these do not necessarily coincide with what theoretically might be the best founded areas. salmi & martikainen (1994) developed the above theme concept further. where both the numerator and the denominator are market based they suggested the use of the term ‘market-based ratio’ and the use of the term ‘financial ratio’ for ratios and other similar data derived from financial statements, with and without the marketbased element. traditional ratios are part of a structure as illustrated in figure 2. financial ratios are not a random group of calculations. a clear and logic sequence, interdependence and reliability exist in their compilation. figure 2 illustrates the structured concept of ratios. 3. a structure for traditional ratio analysis gitman(2003: 53), melicher (2006: 154), coetzee et al. (2002: 199) and faul, pistorius, van vuuren, vorster, & swanevelder (1997: 806807) roughly agree on traditional ratios as illustrated in figure 2. the most important and often overlooked wisdom contained within the diagram can be illustrated by comparing the diagram with a book. a book contains the complete story or message, so does the diagram. if each ratio is regarded as a chapter within the book, then without any one of them the message is not only different; but also incomplete. one ratio, like one chapter, cannot be expected to convey the full story or message that unfolds in the book as a whole. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 7 figure 3: llustration of ratios in groupings source: faul et al. 1997: 807 adapted source management performance financial health fi n a n c ia l st a te m e n ts st o c k m a r k e t profitability activity productivity liquidity solvency / debt market value shareholders earnings financial leverage return on investment enterprise’s rate of return earnings risk net profit ratio gross profit percentage cost ratio cost-volumeprofit ratios asset turnover non-current asset turnover current asset turnover debt collection period inventory turnover rate of return on own equity debt equity ratio and leverage effect earnings per share price-earnings ratio dividend per share liquidity static ratios current ratio acid-test ratio dynamic ratios cash flow projections solvency solvency ratio and debt ratio interest cover acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 8 4. the dupont method of analysis the traditional method is better illustrated and understood alongside the dupont method of analysis which includes the financial statements. the dupont system evolved from the traditional method and, by focusing on certain key ratios, the dupont method is in fact an alternative presentation of the traditional method. melicher (2006: 175) defined dupont as: the technique of breaking down return on total assets (roa) and return on equity (roe) into their component parts. roa is calculated as: net profit margin x total asset turnover roe is calculated as: net income or roa x flm shareholders equity the dupont corporation needed a method of performance measurement and the ‘dupont identity’ method proved to be the answer. the distinguishing aspect of this analysis is that it results in a measure of an entity’s profitability, namely, roe. the dupont model is a structured analytical technique often used in practice. the model assumes that the single aim of a business is to increase the return of shareholders’ funds (thus maximise roe). the model combines risk and return as both sides are linked to the roe. according to gitman (2003), dupont combines the net profit margin, which measures the firm’s profitability in sales, with total asset turnover, which indicates how efficiently the firm has used its assets to generate sales. the product is return on total assets (roa). the second step is the modified formula and relates the firm’s return on total assets (roa) to its return on common equity (roe) which is calculated by multiplying the return on total assets (roa) by the financial leverage multiplier (flm), the ratio of total assets to common equity. angell & brewer (2003: 1) commented on “the deficiency of the dupont system of analysis in most textbooks and provides an alternative that more accurately aligns the analytical measures to the factors affecting a firm’s return on equity”. they added net profit available to the owners to the equation and labelled it “net leverage multiplier”. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 9 penman (1991) concluded that the roe is best interpreted as an effective profitability measure, not a risk measure. by contrast, de wet & du toit (2007: 59) determined as follows when the return on equity (roe) is weighed up against the present favourite, economic value added (eva): “it is clear that the debate about the effectiveness of traditional accounting performance measures, as well as the search for the real drivers of shareholder value, will continue and increase in intensity. although roe has some appeal because it links the income statement (earnings) to the balance sheet (equity), it has some serious flaws as a measure of performance”. figure 4 illustrates that roe (a gauge of profit-generating efficiency) is affected by: operating efficiency (net profit margin, indicated as 1 in • figure 4) asset use efficiency (total asset turnover, indicated as 2 in • figure 4), and financial leverage (financial equity multiplier, indicated as 5 • in figure 4). the dupont method of analysis (illustrated in figure 3) starts with the components of the financial statements and works towards the roe. the upper portion of the diagram summarises the income statement in income and expense activities and the lower portion of the diagram summarises the balance sheet in net balance sheet activities. it is important to note that step one determines the return on total assets (roa) ([4] in figure 4: calculated as [2] on the figure divided by with [3] on the figure) and the second step the multiplication of roa with the financial leverage multiplier (flm) ([5] in figure 4) to calculate return on equity (roe) ([6] in figure 4]. it is otherwise calculated as profit available to the owners ([1] in figure 4) divided by owners’ equity. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 10 fi g u re 4 : d u p o n t sy st e m o f a n a ly si s so u rc e : m e lic h e r (2 0 0 6 : 1 7 6 ) & g it m a n ( 2 0 0 3 : 1 4 0 ) a d a p te d sa le s d ire c t c o st o v e rh e a d s fi n a n c e c o st s ta xe s p re fe re n c e d iv id e n d n o n -c u rr e n t a ss e ts c u rr e n t a ss e ts lo n g -t e rm li a b ili ti e s c u rr e n t lia b ili ti e s sh a re h o ld e rs ’ e q u it y e a rn in g s a v a ila b le to t h e o w n e rs sa le s n e t p ro fit m a rg in sa le s to ta l a ss e ts to ta l l ia b ili ti e s to ta l e q u it y to ta l a ss e t tu rn o v e r to ta l e q u it y a n d li a b ili ti e s to ta l e q u it y r e tu rn o n to ta l a ss e ts fi n a n c ia l le v e ra g e m u lt ip lie r r e tu rn o n e q u it y income statement balance sheet 1 2 3 4 5 6 le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 11 5. discriminant and other methods of ratio analysis according to joy & tollefson (1975: 723), discriminant analysis research has substantially increased; however, these studies have experienced problems with interpretation. they remarked that “the conclusions and generalizations that can be drawn from such studies are frequently tenuous and questionable.” kaufmann, gadmer & klett (2001: 1); feroz, kim, & raab (2003); gattoufi, oral & reisman (2004), and thannasoulis, boussofiane & dyson (1996) researched the method of analysis called dynamic financial analysis (dfa). kaufmann et al. (2001: 1) remarked that dfa combines so many economic and mathematical concepts and methods that “it is almost impossible to identify and describe a unique dfa methodology.” gallizo & salvador (2003: 267) contributed to “the understanding of the behaviour of financial ratios by means of a hierarchical bayesian analysis of the partial adjustment model of financial ratios.” seay, pitts & kamery (2004: 9), on the other hand, sought to “enhance the understanding of the ratio adjustment phenomenon by investigating the association between certain firm-specific factors and the rates of ratio adjustment and of expectation (target) adjustment.” chen & shimerda (1981: 51) undertook an empirical analysis of useful financial ratios. they concluded that there is one recurring question in the use of financial ratios: “which ratios, among the hundreds that can be computed easily from the available financial data, should be analyzed to obtain the information for the task at hand?” the existing controversy and contradictions in the constant search for a fixed set of ratios and benchmarks are best explained by the following quotations. these clearly indicate a diverse but honest opinion of what financial ratios are and/or what they are not. according to altman (1968: 589), academics appear to • be moving toward the elimination of ratio analysis as an analytical technique in assessing the performance of the business enterprise, and theorists downgrade arbitrary rules of thumb, such as company ratio comparisons, widely used by practitioners. “although attacks on the relevance of ratio analysis emanate from many esteemed members of the scholarly world, does it mean we bridge the gap between traditional ratio ‘analysis’ and the more rigorous statistical techniques or rather sever the link”. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 12 deakin (1976: 90) stated that the recent application of • advanced statistical techniques to the traditional financial ratio analysis of companies has raised some questions concerning the usefulness of these ratios for persons external to the firm. eisenbeis (1977: 895) stated that there exist pitfalls in the application • of discriminant analysis in business, finance and economics. “the applied discriminant analysis papers that have appeared in the business, finance, and economics literature to date, most have suffered from methodological or statistical problems that have limited the practical usefulness of their results”. laínez & callao (2000: 65) concluded that “business activity • has acquired an international dimension and financial information needs to be understood both inside and outside its country of origin”. regarding property companies barkham (1997: 441) remarked that they are a key group in the economy of the built environment: “the entrepreneurs that run property companies are responsible for initiating development projects and managing them. the risk incurred by participants in the development process, such as banks and construction firms, is related not only to the risk of the project being undertaken but also to the financial risk associated with the property company that initiates and manages the project.” traditional ratio analysis, and therefore the dupont method, that focus on the roa and roe are considered to be the basic route to be taken by non-accountants and non-financial managers and therefore formed the basis of the empirical study and research of this article. the area of discriminant methods is still unclear to the majority of analysers. 6. methodology the property development industry in south africa entails residential, commercial and industrial development. it was decided to limit the scope of this study to residential property developers to prevent the study from becoming too general, too time-consuming and too expensive. the aim of this study is to determine whether residential property developers in gauteng apply financial ratio analysis in the development of property. this will be determined by using descriptive statistics based on data obtained by means of a questionnaire. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 13 6.1 development of the questionnaire the data needed to address the main research question was located with residential property developers and was secured by means of a questionnaire directed at residential property developers. the data was interpreted and correlations (if any) were drawn between the sizes of the selected property developers and the use of financial ratio analysis. the questionnaire was designed to be as brief as practically possible in view of the amount of information needed for the study. the four questions posed were designed to obtain relevant information in terms of the use of financial ratio analysis. the questions were designed with the traditional approach to financial ratio analysis as basis by focusing on the relevant areas of liquidity, activity, solvency and profitability. the aim of the questionnaire was to determine whether respondents used the method of financial ratio analysis in analysing and interpreting their financial statements (for the purpose of internal management) by applying the traditional approach. 6.2 sample size all the registered residential property developers in gauteng were initially included in the original sample. only residential property developers registered with the gauteng home builders association were used in this study. in deciding on the size of the sample, practical considerations such as reliability and accuracy, as well as time and cost constraints, had to be considered. a small sample of 20 residential property developers, registered at the gauteng home builders association was considered. the statistical relevance of the variables was tested by applying fisher’s exact test (see attachment 1). 6.3 sampling method at the time of the sampling, a total of 33 residential property developers were registered at the gauteng home builders association. when an attempt was made to contact all these developers, it was found that a number of them were no longer operating. this limited the sample. in the end, only 20 registered residential property developers were selected from the remaining group. a questionnaire was presented telephonically to each residential property developer selected. a covering letter explained the purpose of the research. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 14 6.4 representative of the response all 20 of the telephonic interviews conducted were satisfactorily completed. in addition, there is no reason to believe that the questions contained in the questionnaire would cause bias in the answers received, because every single respondent was asked the same questions in the same manner. the response was therefore considered to be acceptably representative of the sample. 7. research results having explained the research method followed in the study, attention is now paid to the statistical analysis of the data collected, as well as the results obtained from the data. special attention is paid to ascertaining the extent of the use of financial ratio analysis, as well as any relationship between the size of respondents’ businesses and financial ratio analysis as business tool. 7.1 number of years in the property development business in relation to the use of financial ratio analysis table 1: number of years in the property development business in relation to the use of financial ratio analysis number of years use of financial ratio analysis yes (frequency) no (frequency) total % 0-10 years 3 5 40.00 11-20 years 5 2 35.00 21+ years 5 0 25.00 total 13 7 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.0934 table 1 places the number of years that the respondents have been in the residential property development business in relation to their use of financial ratio analysis in their businesses. the following trend is clear: developers who have been in the market for less than ten years tend not to use financial ratio analysis. a small percentage of developers who have been in business between 11 and 20 years still do not use financial ratio analysis but more of these developers do use financial ratio analysis. developers who have been in the developing business for more than 20 years all use financial ratio analysis in their businesses. fisher’s exact test shows that there is no statistically significant relationship between the variables (p > 0.05). le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 15 7.2 the use of liquidity ratios by residential property developers in relation to their applicability table 2: the use of liquidity ratios in relation to their applicability use of liquidity ratios applicability of liquidity ratios low medium high total % never 3 1 2 31 58 sometimes 0 1 3 21 05 always 0 0 9 47 37 total 3 2 14 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.0101 table 2 indicates that there is a relationship between how often residential property developers in gauteng use the liquidity ratio and how applicable this ratio is to them. a total of nine of the 20 respondents (47.37%) always use liquidity ratios in their businesses. these respondents also have a high regard for the applicability of the liquidity ratio. in terms of fisher’s exact test of 0.0101, there is a statistically significant relationship between the two variables (p< 0.05). 7.3 the use of solvency ratios by residential property developers in relation to their applicability table 3: the use of solvency ratios by residential property developers in relation to their applicability use of solvency ratios applicability of solvency ratios low medium high total % never 3 3 0 31.58 sometimes 0 3 4 36.84 always 1 0 5 31.58 total 4 6 9 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.0079 table 3 examines whether there is a relation between how often residential property developers in gauteng use solvency ratios and how applicable this ratio is to them. only four respondents said that they only sometimes use solvency ratios, but they regard these as highly applicable indicators of business performance. a total of five respondents always use solvency ratios and regard these as highly applicable. fisher’s exact test indicates that there is a definite statistically significant relationship between the two variables (p< 0.05). acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 16 7.4 the use of profitability ratios by residential property developers in relation to the applicability of the return on assets (roa) table 4: the use of profitability ratios by residential property developers in relation to the applicability of the roa use of profitability ratios applicability of roa low medium high total % never 2 1 1 21.05 sometimes 1 1 0 10.53 always 1 3 9 68.42 total 4 5 10 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.077 table 4 shows information on the use of profitability ratios in relation to the applicability of the roa of residential property developers in gauteng. it clearly shows that nine respondents (47.37%) always use profitability ratios and have a high regard for the applicability of roa, and that 68.42% of the respondents always apply profitability ratios as an indicator of business performance. ten respondents regard the return on assets ratio as highly applicable, but fisher’s exact test shows that there is no statistically significant relationship between the variables, as p > 0.05. 7.5 the use of profitability ratios by residential property developers in relation to the applicability of the return on equity (roe) table 5: the use of profitability ratios by residential property developers in relation to the applicability of the roe use of profitability ratios applicability of roe low medium high total % never 2 1 1 21 05 sometimes 0 1 1 10 53 always 1 2 10 68.42 total 3 4 12 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.1429 table 5 examines whether there is any relationship between profitability ratios, as used by residential property developers, and le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 17 the roe ratio. ten respondents (52.63%) always use profitability ratios and regard the roe ratio as highly applicable. fisher’s exact test shows that there is no statistically significant relationship between profitability ratios and the applicability of the roe ratio as an indicator of business performance, as p > 0.05. 8. challenges to the application of ratios analysis in the built environment although there is no generally accepted theoretical framework for the use of financial ratio analysis, there seems to be agreement on the following: basic principles (underlying assumptions), simplicity of calculation and application, limitations to the analysis, and the intricacy (pitfalls) of the interpretations of the results of the analysis. non-accountants and non-financial managers who are still deciding whether or not to utilise ratio analysis should understand why they need to make certain choices and decisions regarding ratios. figure 5 can serve as a start to this process. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 18 8.2 examples of lesser known pitfalls in ratio analysis all textbooks that include ratio analysis convey extensive examples of the more obvious pitfalls in ratio application. lesser known pitfalls should also be borne in mind, such as: an isolated ratio could create a wrong impression. the liquidity • ratio without the profitability ratio is incomplete information on the sustainability thereof. company goals and objectives could be asset accumulation-• based, profit realisation-based, human resource or infrastructure 8.1 process of choices in the application of ratios figure 5: decision structure to managers who decided to use ratio analysis owners, directors and managers do you manage your business with the use of financial ratio analysis? if the answer is: yes if the answer is: you employ outside accountants these facts should be borne in this choice means that in future: the objectives and financial structure of the entity are pre-determined and will have a direct bearing on all future financial ratios. all calculations, interpretations and suggested corrections will be done by qualified accountants who are specialists in accounting but not necessarily experts in your line of business and it will affect the advice given. the body of knowledge on financial managemnt is gained by means of formal academic schooling and practical experience competitive advantage is not recognised or applied there are advantages and disadvantages to ratio analysis understanding. you are deprived of the opportunity of a deeper and more complete insight into the management of your business analysts will make use of ratio analysis and other means of interpretation. ratios are based on calculation and interpretation principles. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 19 development-based or social responsibility-directed. the progress towards its success requires different measurements. the objectives of the company should be expressed in the • form of target ratios over the full spectrum of financial ratios to indicate the effect thereof on all the ratios. it must be expressed what effect one ratio will have on other important ratios. this might also explain why certain ratios can be considered to be positive although they might be lower than industry standards. budgeted target ratios should equal the period of all other financial budgets. external influences on internal ratios are sometimes difficult to • measure and can easily be overor undervalued in explaining substantial ratio changes. absolute amounts versus percentages are sometimes • forgotten in the interpretation. the mere size of amounts can lead to decreased percentages. ratio analysis is not merely the calculation of a given ratio. • the interpretation of the ratio value is more important. a meaningful basis for comparison is needed, otherwise increases and decreases can be misleading. comparison to industry averages is popular but can easily be • misleading. it is important to investigate significant deviations to either side of the industry norm, as it might indicate other problems related to the specific ratio. any year-to-year changes might not seem significant but • might point to major problems if the cumulative effects over longer periods are investigated. certain trends or expected occurrences cannot be detected • by any single ratio or group of ratios, e.g. balances arising from contractual agreements in the construction industry. 8.3 knowledge and skills required by any user of ratios the following is a short list of some of the more important background requirements to financial ratio analysis: the aspects of the theoretical framework of accounting • (ac000), such as: the principles on which they are based (underlying ° assumptions); acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 20 the qualitative characteristics of financial reports, and ° interaction between qualitative characteristics and ° constraints. the principles of presentation of financial statements • (ac101:ias1), such as: objective and components; ° overall considerations, and ° basic disclosure requirements. ° the synergy achieved by the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, the directors’ report and the notes to the financial statements. according to vorster, koen, koornhof, oberholster & koppeschaar (2003: 17): a close relationship exists between these statements that together form the annual financial statements, as each reflects different aspects of the same transactions and events... no single statement will, in itself, provide all the necessary information to the users of the statements. the fact that financial statements are a report on historic • events (it can or cannot assist in predicting future events). the traditional approach to financial ratio analysis is a simple • but effective way of analysing and interpreting financial statements if correctly applied. the knowledge and skills needed are summarised in table 6. table 6: summary of knowledge and skills needed when ratios are applied no. discipline owners, directors and managers need to understand 1 accounting director’s report (chairman’s review)• balance sheet• income statement• statement of changes in equity• cash flow statement • 2 information systems the information system designed implemented and maintained must supply such data that will enable the accountants to prepare the entity’s financial statements according to the requirements of ac000 and ac101/ ias101 and enable the users of financial ratios to calculate fundamental ratios with reliable accuracy. 3 management which parties are interested in the financial statements • (and why). how the financial statements will be analysed by both • internal and external parties regarding various aspects of performance and how this will affect the value of the firm. the cautions to be exercised in using financial ratios (and why).• le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 21 4 marketing the effects their decisions will have on the financial • statements particularly the income statement and cash flow statement how analysis of a ratio such as the return on equity (roe) • measures the return on shareholders’ investment in the entity and how this may affect the firm’s decision on financing policies selling prices or rental levels. 5 operations how the cost of operations is reflected in the financial • statements. how the analysis of ratios such as return on total assets • (roa) measures the overall effectiveness of management in generating profits with the available assets. this may affect future decisions regarding assets and facilities. 6 financial management how to read financial statements.• the types of financial ratios available.• how and when to use and rely on financial ratios.• internal and external effects of financial ratios on long-• term financing and planning. source: adapted from gatman 2003: 40 figure 6: available ratio analysis model to the property investment industry ratio analysis externally generated and predetermined standards and/or objectives projected balance sheet projected income statement projected cash budget constant monitor and update of internal pre-determined standards and objectives 8.4 application – proceed with caution melicher (2006: 153) determined that “comparing a firm’s ratios to other companies or to the average for the industry requires a degree of caution”. the following cautions are advised: caution one • managers need to learn to ‘read and understand’ financial statements. the moment that the information and message contained in the financial statements are understood no method of analysis can supply more information. ratios (and the analysis and interpretation thereof) will assist in ‘zooming in’ on the problems and strengths identified. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 22 caution two • decide on a method of analysis, namely horizontal analysis (evaluating data on a whole series of statements over a period), vertical analysis (statement data expressed as a percentage of a base amount) or ratio analysis (identification, measurement and evaluation of financial relationships or ratios of the financial position and results). in the case of ratio analysis, a decision must be made whether to use trend or time-series analysis (evaluate a firm’s performance over time), cross-sectional analysis (compare different companies at the same point in time), industrycomparative analysis (compare a firm’s ratios against average ratios for other companies in the same industry) or any combination of the previous. caution three • obtain a basic textbook on the subject of financial analysis/ratio analysis and work through the calculations. textbooks focusing on property are not freely available. in the authors’ opinion it is advisable to work through a general financial management textbook first and then move on to industry-specific text. management style is related to personality characteristics. managers need to incorporate financial and other management principles into their evolving management style. books available are (listed in order of ‘user friendliness’): faul et al. (1997: 806-807), coetzee et al. (2002: 199), melicher (2006: 154) and gitman (2003: 53). a certificate course in financial management for non-financial managers is an excellent start. caution four • only proceed to methods such as dupont style analysis and articles on the topic once a thorough understanding of ratios, their advantages and disadvantages are mastered. caution five • attempt ratios that are not generally accepted by practitioners and academics, such as discriminant or any other more advanced analysis method. figure 6 illustrates the summarised route available to practitioners seeking benchmarks and comparable standards in the analysis process. 8.5 available interpretation tools and comparative measures coetzee et al. (2002: 199) state that the analyser has a variety of tools at his disposal. table 7 presents an evaluation in terms of availability to the practitioner. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 23 table 7: available interpretation tools tools available notes 1 comparative financial statements seldom a 2 ratio analysis financial statements b 3 structural analysis financial statements c 4 index changes financial statements d 5 specialised analysis cash budgets• analysis and changes in financial position• changes in gross profit percentage• break even analysis• financial statements or management statements e coetzee (2002: 199) cautions that the evaluation of the above must always be considered against one or more of the comparative measures contained in table 8. table 8: comparative measures comparative measures available notes 1 objective, pre-determined standard or objective (budget) management statements f 2 historical data peculiar to the enterprise corresponding analyses for previous periods of comparable and related figures management statements g 3 data from outside the firm corresponding analyses of the industry or other enterprises in the industry (similar enterprises or similar industry) seldom h 4 empirically accepted standards (including the experience and background of the analyst) yes but be aware i notes to tables 7 and 8 comparative financial statements• competitors’ (private companies’ and partnerships’) statements are seldom available. ratio analysis• determined by availability and frequency of compilation of own financial statements. structural analysis• acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 24 the evaluation of movements in amounts is highlighted by interconnected ratios. index changes• it is extremely difficult to find an adequate base amount to express all other amounts. specialised analysis• this analysis would be crucial to management on a pre-determined period basis. pre-determined standard or objective• when ratio calculations are based on projected statements and budgets it results in maximum management planning and control. targets and their success are clear. historical data peculiar to the enterprise• although restricted by historical policies it is very helpful in performance measurements. data from outside the firm• information would not be specific but will constitute industry averages. empirically accepted standards • empirical standards are seldom accepted by practice due to specific characterisation qualities attached to every industry type, management team, finance policy, etc. 9. conclusion 9.1 the sample residential property developers in gauteng apply financial ratio analysis in the management of their property development entities. it is clear that there is a tendency to use components of financial ratio analysis, especially where developers have been in the property development business for more than ten years. statistically significant relationships were found in terms of liquidity and solvency. the analysis showed that the majority of the respondents (60%) have been in the residential property development business for more than ten years. developers who have been in the business for less than ten years tend not to use financial ratio analysis as a financial technique. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 25 there was no clear statistically significant relationship between the number of years spent in the residential property development business and the use of financial ratio analysis, but it was clear that developers who have been in the development business for more than ten years tend to a large extent to use financial ratio analysis in their businesses. there is a statistically significant relationship between the use of liquidity ratios and their applicability within the residential property development business in gauteng.. the majority of the respondents use liquidity ratios and regard them as highly applicable. as discussed above, liquidity refers to the company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations. the same level of statistical significance was found in terms of the use of solvency ratios and their applicability. the company’s solvency status refers to its use of debt financing. it can therefore be deduced that residential property developers regard both their short-term position and their debt position over the long term as important. both these components of financial ratio analysis relate to the risk position of the business. with regard to the use of profitability ratios and the applicability of the roa and the roe, there was no statistically relevant relationship between the variables. despite this, the majority of those respondents who use profitability ratios regard the roa and roe as highly applicable. these ratios refer to the use of own funds and assets to create profits and maximise the wealth of the owners of the company. in terms of the research conducted it is clear that financial ratio analysis is used by residential property developers but not to the extent that it may be used. 9.2 ratio analysis financial ratio analysis is widely used by managers to monitor their firm’s performance and to add substance to decisions. there is always the danger that the sheer volume of data can overwhelm managers. this is sometimes the reason why only a few key ratios are used to summarise the firm’s liquidity, activity, solvability and profitability. the fact that the financial ratio analysis can illustrate, in a way, what management techniques were applied emphasises its importance as a management aid in property development. financial ratio analysis gives an indication of future financial trouble areas which can lead to corrective action and act as cornerstone for planning and control. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 26 the built-environment professionals should take note that accountants differ on the success and reliability of discriminative ratio analysis. rather adhere to what you know and make the transition at a time when it can be attempted with more assurance. 10. recommendations although there is no internationally laid down standard for financial ratios, a company’s financial position and performance must be assessed against some type of industry benchmark, and financial ratios assist management to ask the right questions (rather than provide the right answers). each time ratio analysis is attempted, the following illustration of a general misinterpretation should be borne in mind. according to dewey (2007: online) “when the perceptual system forms a percept or gestalt, the whole thing has a reality of its own, independent of the parts. the gestalt psychologist kurt koffka made a famous statement about this: ‘the whole is other than the sum of its parts.’ this statement is often translated into english as: ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.’ koffka did not like that translation. he firmly corrected students who substituted ‘greater’ for ‘other’ (heider, 1977). ‘this is not a principle of addition’, he said.” financial management skills enable managers to make educated decisions on all other management functions such as marketing, purchasing and human resources. management need this fundamental skill which cannot be passed on to their accountants and be expected to contribute equally to their understanding of the challenges facing them in management. as all management decisions contain a financial component (which is frequently quite substantial), the concern arises: how is management expected to come to a decision if they only possess part of the skills required to perform the task competently? financial management competency assists managers in general to make decisions concerning their entities. although the exact amount of financial management skill and knowledge required by general managers is unknown, what is known is its importance. remember the motto: avoid making correct decisions based on wrong information. le roux & lowies • residential property development and financial ratio: a south african perspective 27 attachment 1: fisher’s exact test it is sometimes only possible to obtain limited amounts of data, especially if the sample tested is very small, as in this case. when the numbers in a table are small, it may be best to compute exact probabilities rather than one-sided alternatives for either probability models or a situation in which all marginal totals are fixed (steel & torrie, 1980: 504). the test used in such calculations is called fisher’s exact test. it determines whether the probabilities (p) are statistically significant. in this kind of test we require a comparison or standard against which the answer (p) can be tested. 1. the process of performing fisher’s exact test 1.1 notation for notation in the steps outlined below, let a, b, c, and d be cell entries; let r and c be row and column totals; and let n be sample size, as in the table below: table a: notation a b r 1 c d r 2 c 1 c 2 n 1.2 computation of fisher’s exact test fisher’s exact test directly computes p, the probability of getting a table as strong as the observed table or stronger. this requires computing fisher’s formula below for the given table, as well as for all stronger tables, then summing the separate p’s to get the total probability of a table that is strong or stronger, as explained below. 1.3 specify the observed table and all stronger tables reduce the cell with the lowest count by one in steps to create the tables stronger than the observed table. table b: computation observed table next stronger strongest table 7 2 9 5 6 11 12 8 20 8 1 9 4 7 11 12 8 20 9 0 9 3 8 11 12 8 20 acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 28 1.4 computing the probability by means of fisher’s exact test: p = (r 1 !r 2 !c 1 !c 2 !)/n!a!b!c!d! p observed = 9!11!12!8!/20!7!2!5!6! = .132 p stronger = 9!11!12!8!/20!8!1!4!7! = .024 p strongest = 9!11!12!8!/20!9!0!3!8! = .001 p total = .157 note that factoring is denoted by ! the arithmetic operation of multiplying 1 times 2 times 3, etc., up to n, is for the case of n! 1.5 interpreting fisher’s p interpreting fisher’s p is straightforward. in the example above, p is .157, meaning that there is a 15.7% chance that, given the sample size and distribution of the observed table, we would get a table as strong or stronger by chance sampling alone. since scientists ordinarily consider .05 to be the cut-off point for the acceptability of significance levels, we would conclude that the distribution in the observed table cannot be said to be significantly different from chance. references adrian, j.j. 1979. construction management: financial, managerial, auditing, and tax. virginia: reston publishing company. altman, e.i. 1968. financial ratios, discriminant analysis and the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. journal of finance, 23(4), pp. 589-609. angell, r.j. & brewer, 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surveyors in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract this article examines the workplace discrimination and harassment experiences of professional quantity surveyors in south africa and explores the relationship between harassment, discrimination and perceived workplace stress. an online survey is administered and 177 responses (12.2% of the target population) received. descriptive and inferential statistics are used to analyse the response data. a minority of respondent quantity surveyors claim to experience workplace harassment and discrimination on gender and ethnic grounds. respondents also indicate that they feel underpaid and that their ethnicity adversely affects their job security. the article reports on sexual harassment and gender-based harassment and discrimination. harassment and discrimination are found to correlate with higher perceived levels of workplace stress. strategies designed to address and counter harassment and discrimination in quantity-surveying practices should be implemented or reinforced as part of broader stress management programmes. employers have a major role to play in this, but professional associations should also take part. previous research into work stress focused on the experiences of workers in developed countries. this research provides insight into the problem of workplace harassment and discrimination in the unique context of post-apartheid south africa. it supports the link between harassment and discrimination and perceived levels of personal stress in this context. keywords: harassment, discrimination, workplace stress, quantity surveyors, south africa prof. paul (p.a.) bowen department of construction economics and management university of cape town private bag rondebosch 7701 cape town south africa. phone: +27 (0)21 650 3443 email: <paul.bowen@uct.ac.za> dr peter edwards program director – construction management (offshore) school of property construction & project management rmit university gpo box 2476 melbourne 3001 australia. phone: +61 3 9925 2198 email: <peter.edwards@rmit.edu.au> prof. helen lingard school of property construction & project management rmit university gpo box 2476 melbourne 3001 australia. phone: +61 3 9925 3449 email: <helen.lingard@rmit.edu.au> prof. keith (k s.) cattell head of department of construction economics and management university of cape town private bag rondebosch 7701 cape town south africa. phone: +27 (0)21 650 2452 email:<keith.cattell@uct.ac.za> bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 51 abstrak die artikel ondersoek diskriminasie in die werkplek en teisteringervarings van professionele bourekenaars in suid-afrika en ondersoek die verband tussen teistering, diskriminasie en oënskynlike werkstres. ‘n aanlyn-opname is gedoen en 177 antwoorde (12.2% van die teikenbevolking) is ontvang. beskrywende en afgeleide statistiek is gebruik om die data te ontleed. ‘n onbeduidende aantal van die bourekenaarrespondente dui aan dat daar teistering in die werkplek sowel as geslagsen etniese diskriminasie ondervind word. respondente dui ook aan dat hulle onderbetaal word en dat etnisiteit hul werksekuriteit negatief beïnvloed. seksuele en geslagsgebaseerde teistering sowel as diskriminasie is aangemeld. teistering en diskriminasie korreleer met hoë waargenome vlakke van werkstres. strategieë wat ontwerp is om teistering en diskriminasie aan te spreek, moet geïmplementeer of versterk word in bourekenaarpraktyke as deel van ‘n breër stresbestuurprogram. werkgewers het ‘n groot rol om te speel hierin, maar professionele verenigings moet ook betrokke wees. vorige navorsing oor werkstres het gefokus op die ervarings van werkers in ontwikkelde lande. hierdie navorsing bied insig oor die probleem van werkplekteistering en diskriminasie in die unieke suid-afrikaanse post-apartheid konteks. dit bevestig die verband tussen teistering en diskriminasie en waargenome vlakke van stres in hierdie konteks. sleutelwoorde: teistering, diskriminasie, werkplekstres, bourekenaars, suid-afrika 1. introduction construction is a high-risk industry for work-related stress (lingard & francis, 2004: 991; pocock, skinner & williams, 2007: 31; love, edwards & irani, 2010: 650). project work is characterised by considerable dynamism and uncertainty, elevating its stressful nature. work hours in construction are long and unexpected events often compromise the ability to meet project objectives (lingard, francis & turner, 2010: 1085). the construction industry has also traditionally been characterised by interpersonal and inter-role conflict, known work stressors (leung, skitmore & chan, 2007: 1064; loosemore & galea, 2008: 127). workrelated stress is a major challenge to the health of working people (health and safety executive (hse), 2006: 31). houtman (2005: 2) reports that, in the 2000 european working conditions survey (ewcs), work-related stress was the second most common work-related health problem across 15 european union countries. previous research has found that sexual and racial discrimination and harassment are commonplace in the construction industry in several parts of the world. in the usa, goldenhar, swanson, hurrell, ruder & deddens (1998: 26) reported that 51% of a sample of female construction workers had experienced sexual harassment or discrimination in the 12 months preceding a survey. loosemore & chau (2002: 96) found that 40% of asian construction workers in an australian sample felt that they had suffered discrimination at work. dainty & lingard (2006: 113) report the comparative prevalence of acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 52 subtle, but damaging forms of sex discrimination in the construction industries of the uk and australia. the present research forms part of a larger study examining the workplace stress experienced by construction professionals in south africa. the study focuses on the relationship between workplace stress and job demand, control and support factors, the effects of workplace stress, the coping mechanisms adopted by professionals in an attempt to militate the effects of stress, and the role of harassment and discrimination as work-related stressors. data were collected from architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, as well as from project and construction managers via an online survey (n=676). earlier papers have reported on the comparative levels of perceived job stress and job demand, control and support (jdc/s) factors (bowen, edwards & lingard, 2013a); the comparative relationship between job stress and harassment and discrimination at work (bowen, edwards & lingard, 2013b); stress, stress effects and coping mechanisms (bowen, edwards, lingard & cattell, 2013a), and predictive modelling of stress as a function of jdc/s factors (bowen, edwards, lingard & cattell, 2013b). using the data emanating from the quantity surveyor respondents, this article reports on the relationship between quantity surveyors’ workplace stress and experiences of harassment and discrimination at work. the research aims to compare and contrast the harassment and discrimination experiences of quantity surveyors juxtaposed against their perceived levels of workplace stress, with particular focus on gender and ethnicity. issues explored include unwanted physical contact, and unwanted references of a sexual nature, by line managers and colleagues. it also examines harassment and discrimination by line managers and colleagues, feeling underpaid for work done, and experiencing job insecurity – each in terms of language, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual preference. south africa’s apartheid legacy provides a unique context to examine workplace stress among construction professionals. the contribution of this work lies in its examination of the work stress experienced by quantity surveyors in a developing country characterised by economic hardship and social problems. 2. background to the study under pre-1994 apartheid legislation, persons were racially classified as ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘coloured’, or ‘asian’. the term ‘coloured’ was used to describe south africans of mixed race descent. the ‘asian’ bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 53 classification included indians (a large minority grouping in south africa). for the purposes of enforcing apartheid, persons were generally categorised as either ‘white’ or ‘non-white’ (using this term as a broad, non-pejorative descriptor). klug (1999: 5) highlights complexities associated with the ‘language of race’ – focusing on the definition and use of the words ‘racial’ and ‘ethnic’; the vocabulary of colour (‘black’, ‘white’, etc.) in the language of race, and the notion that ‘white’ is an ethnic category. post-apartheid south africa saw the introduction of ‘positive discrimination’ or ‘affirmative action’ as a vehicle to assist previously disadvantaged individuals (pdis) who were broadly identified as ‘non-whites’ and women (rsa, 1996: s.217(2-3)). black economic empowerment (bee) and affirmative procurement policies are examples of mechanisms used to facilitate change. within the construction industry, affirmative action has taken the form of preferential procurement in the award of building contracts and the appointment of professional consultants in terms of which the number of pdis in the practice, in general, and in managerial positions, in particular, is an important consideration. women, along with ‘black’ people have been deemed to be ‘historically disadvantaged individuals’ (hdis) for the purposes of affirmative action policies (rsa, 2000: s.2(1)(d); dpw, 2001: cl.2; dtpw, 2002: cl.1.7). in the period january-march 2013, the construction industry employed just over one million people, or 7.5% of the employed population of 13.6 million. of these economically active persons, 6.4% are in professional occupations and, of these, 57% are male. gender discrimination persists in the labour force, with women continuing to be distinctly over-represented in clerical, service, and health-related occupations, while men tend to be over-represented in management, professional, craft, operator and elementary occupations. of the persons employed in the construction industry, 88% are male (mutedi, 2013: 16). compared to professional women in the general economy, the percentages of professional women in construction are reportedly far lower (cbe, 2013: 7), specifically engineers (3%); architects (19%); quantity surveyors (15%), and project and construction managers (3%). similarly, in january-march 2013, the ethnic distribution of persons employed in the economy was ‘black’ 71%; ‘coloured’ 11%; indian 4%, and ‘white’ 14% (stats sa, 2013: 4). according to the cbe (2013: 8), ‘whites’ account for 77% of registered professional engineers, 73% of architects, 74% of quantity surveyors, and 82% of project acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 54 and construction managers. clearly, ‘whites’ are disproportionately represented as professionals in the south african construction industry. 2.1 discrimination discrimination is defined as “a set of behaviors that create societal, psychological and physical barriers that prevent minority group members from obtaining parity with majority group members” (landry & mercurio, 2009: 193). discrimination includes sexist or racist ‘put downs’ and unfair treatment by employers, supervisors or co-workers (goldenhar et al., 1998: 21; caplan, aujla, prosser & jackson, 2009: 22). discrimination is related to negative mental health outcomes (williams, neighbors & jackson, 2003: 200; pavalko, mossakowski & hamilton, 2003: 29) and is a risk factor for work-related stress (king, 2005: 202; dollard, skinner, tuckey & bailey, 2007: 3; de haas, timmerman & höing, 2009: 391). discrimination may be conceived as a more significant stressor than general ‘daily hassles’, because it threatens a person’s goals and sense of value as a person (landry & mercurio, 2009: 193). consistent with the conceptualisation of discrimination as a stressor, the experience of discrimination is reported to impact negatively on job satisfaction (ensher, grant-vallone & donaldson, 2001: 56) and mental health (landrine, klonoff, corral, fernandez & rosesch, 2006: 80; hoobler, rospenda, lemmon & rosa, 2010: 438). in addition, ong, fuller-rowell & burrow (2009: 1267) explored the process whereby racial discrimination leads to diminished mental health, and reported that stressors have a tendency to multiply and create other stressors, in a process known as stress proliferation. wadsworth, dhillon, shawbhui, stansfeld & smith (2007: 18) show that there is a strong association between racial discrimination and perceived work stress, and that ‘black’ women who reported experiencing racial discrimination at work have higher levels of psychological distress. ferfoija (2005: 51) points to the damaging effects of discrimination based on sexual preferences; specifically, threats of dismissal, forced resignations, and implicit harassment (structural violence). cobas & feagin (2008: 390) identify the racism in language struggles, and how the language of ‘whites’ can be used to sustain their political-economic domination. thus, the experience of chronic discrimination predicts more frequent experiences of daily discrimination and negative events, resulting in higher levels of distress. some research has not distinguished between the concepts of discrimination and harassment; however, in the present study, the concepts are examined separately. bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 55 2.2 harassment like discrimination, harassment can be sexual or ethnic or based on another point of difference between people, such as language, religion or sexual preference. however, whereas discrimination involves unequal treatment and/or the lack of positive opportunities, harassment involves threatening verbal or physical conduct or exclusionary behaviour that is directed at the recipient because of his/her ethnicity/race, language, religion, sex or sexual preference. harassment of various forms has been identified as a significant stressor. for example, schneider, hitlan & radhakrishnan (2000: 4) report that ethnic harassment is negatively related to well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, post-traumatic stress, and health conditions). sexual harassment and general workplace harassment have also been linked to maladaptive coping behaviours, including problem drinking (rospenda, 2002: 142). sexual harassment is a specific category of harassment that includes such behaviours as making “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature” (schneider, swan & fitzgerald, 1997: 401). schneider et al. (1997: 411) also report that even relatively low levels of sexual harassment have a significant impact on mental health, over and above the effects of general job stress. in addition, raver & nishii (2010: 238) indicate that gender and ethnicity-based harassment have a cumulative negative effect on workers’ psychological well-being. that is, when more than one form of harassment is experienced, each new type of harassment adds to the target individual’s level of stress and strain outcomes. nielsen & einarsen (2012: 309) state that exposure to bullying is associated with both job-, healthand well-being-related outcomes, such as mental and physical health problems, symptoms of post-traumatic stress, burnout, increased intentions to leave, and reduced job satisfaction and organisational commitment. biaggio (1997: 89) points to homophobic prejudice at work against lesbians, impacting on lesbians in the form of negative attitudes and denigrating or destructive acts, and by means of actual discrimination, whether overt or subtle. 2.3 workplace stress transactional models of stress suggest that stress occurs as a result of the relationship between a person and his/her environment when the environment is perceived as taxing, exceeding a person’s resources and threatening his/her well-being (lazarus & folkman, 1984: 19). acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 56 previous research has also shown that construction professionals experience high levels of work stress. however, this research has nearly always taken place in developed economies such as australia (lingard & sublet, 2002; love et al., 2010), the united kingdom (uk) (djebarni, 1996) or hong kong (leung, chan & olomolaiye, 2008). consequently, the extent to which the findings apply to developing countries such as south africa is not known. furthermore, little research has considered harassment and discrimination as work-related stressors in the construction sector, despite the research evidence suggesting that discrimination/harassment occur in construction and are linked to the experience of work stress. it is, therefore, important that the relationship between discrimination, harassment and stress be better understood in the construction context. this research aims to: • explore experiences of discrimination, harassment and work stress among quantity surveyors in the developing nation of south africa, and • examine the relationship between discrimination, harassment and perceived levels of workplace stress in the south african construction industry context. 3. research method a questionnaire survey was developed. the survey sought demographic, cultural and professional background information from respondents; determined levels of perceived workplace stress, and examined a range of stressors, including participants’ experiences of harassment and discrimination in the workplace. the catalogue of survey items includes closed, dichotomous, declarative and rating questions. questions are drawn from the works of loosemore & chau (2002) on racial discrimination in construction; ferfoija (2005) on discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation; sang, dainty & ison (2007) on gender as a risk factor for occupational stress; cobas & feagin (2008) on language as a vehicle of oppression; caplan et al. (2009) on ethnic and religious discrimination in the construction industry; raver & nishii (2010) on ethnic and gender harassment, and love et al. (2010) on workplace stress, support and mental health. survey participants were asked whether they had been harassed or discriminated against as a result of their language, race, religion, gender or sexual preference in the twelve months preceding the survey administration. this period was chosen to reflect recent bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 57 (and thus more reliable) rather than past memory. the questions were posed in relation to their interactions with colleagues as well as their line manager. response options are “yes” (indicating that harassment or discrimination had occurred); “no” (no occurrence), and “not applicable”. the “not applicable” option is included to cater for instances such as a 1-person practices or branch offices. the analysis excludes those responses. this scale was internally consistent (α = 0.90). survey participants were also asked to indicate whether they had experienced unwanted suggestions about, or reference to sexual activity; or unwanted physical contact or unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature in the same twelve-month period. this scale was internally consistent (α = 0.83). they were asked whether they felt that they were underpaid for their efforts or that their job security was affected/threatened due to their language, race, religion, gender or sexual preference. this scale was internally consistent (α = 0.64). the cronbach’s alpha for each scale ranged from 0.64 to 0.90, indicating internal consistency. while no definitions of the various constructs per se were provided, the information in the covering letter to the questionnaire, the information in the introduction to the questionnaire, and (indeed) the actual questions themselves provide ample insight into the issues of stress, harassment, and discrimination. the pilot study also served to confirm the efficacy of the questionnaire. exploratory factor analysis (efa) was not performed on the variables. efa is a data-reduction technique, essentially reducing a large set of variables into smaller sets or components (pallant, 2010: 181). it is used in the compilation of tests and scales. factor analysis (fa) helps create coherent subscales from an initial, large number of individual scale items or questions. we are not developing a psychometric scale. when the observed variables are dichotomous, as in this instance, fa is not really appropriate. binary variables yield counts which can be analysed using contingency tables – as was done in this study. in the south african context, language (e.g. english, afrikaans, zulu, xhosa, etc.) and religion (e.g., christian, hindu, muslim, etc.) can be used pejoratively or as a means of discrimination. given south africa’s apartheid past, issues of ethnicity, culture, and gender are particularly important in any consideration of workplace harassment and discrimination. participants were also asked to assess their own stress levels on a 1 to 10 scale, ranging from 1=minimum (‘feeling little or no stress’) to 10=maximum (‘highly stressed’). no intermediate scale intervals acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 58 were defined. occupation stress indicator (osi) scales (involving appropriate subscales of [and sub-subscales within]: job satisfaction; mental and physical health; personality type; control; job pressure; and coping with stress) are extremely complex and not without considerable criticism (kline, 2000a: 631). the development of such a scale is beyond the scope of this article. the 10-point stress ‘scale’ used in this article can more properly be described as a form of ‘perception metric’, indicating the degree of a condition being perceived to be felt at a point in time. such metrics are used by social psychologists (kline, 2000b: 122). it is not possible to construct a scale involving only one, interval-based, variable. nor is it possible to undertake factor analysis on such a ‘scale’. the purpose of this article is not to examine the causal relationships between a dependent variable (stress) and a series of predictor variables. it was never the intention to derive a predictive model; hence, regression analysis (logistic or hierarchical) is not performed. the research aims to compare and contrast the harassment and discrimination experiences of professional quantity surveyors juxtaposed against their perceived levels of workplace stress. the survey was administered online to all registered quantity surveyors (professional registration is a legal requirement in south africa). following a pilot online study to test the adequacy of the questionnaire, the full survey was conducted between september and november 2010. registered quantity surveyors were emailed using an email address list provided by the registrar of the sa council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp), provided with an explanatory letter, given a url where the questionnaire could be accessed online, and asked to participate. using a web-based distribution method encourages potential respondents to express their views in a simple and ‘safe’ way, particularly when issues may be sensitive. undertaking this study through the auspices of a respected statutory council provides a valid way of targeting sample groups. however, care is needed in over-generalising the findings of such surveys, since the sample is, to a large extent, self-selecting. the difficulty associated with demonstrating validity in questionnaire surveys is acknowledged (platt, 2001: 33). the analysis is based mainly on statistical significance testing. consequently, the results do not establish with any certainty a causal link between any of the demographic, harassment, and discrimination factors, and reported stress at work. the results may be suggestive of such links but, more in-depth research would be necessary to establish its validity. this bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 59 study adopted a self-reporting survey measurement method. therefore, the findings may have the potential risk of common method variance and the validity of data may be questioned. the sample size, to some extent, militates against validity concerns, as do the significance of the correlations between perceived workplace stress level and the harassment and discrimination variables. ethical considerations in the form of the absence of deception; privacy and confidentiality, and accuracy were observed (christians, 2005: 139). institutional ethical clearance was also obtained. the data were analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) (ver. 21.0 for mac) software application. where crosstabulation was used to establish degrees of association between categorical variables, pearson’s chi-square test (or fisher’s exact test where applicable) for independence was applied at the 5% (p=0.05) level of significance. the mann-whitney u test was used to examine whether respondents who had, or had not experienced various forms of harassment or discrimination reported significantly different levels of perceived stress. ethnic differences were analysed by grouping the ‘non-white’ categories (‘african’, ‘indian’, and ‘coloured’) together, because of the comparatively smaller numbers of respondents in each of these four categories. a total of 1.449 quantity surveyors received the request to participate in the survey, and 177 completed the questionnaire online (n=1449; n= 177). discounting email ‘bounces’, this represents a response rate of 12.2%. this level of response is typical for web-based surveys of this nature (fricker, 2008: 207). 4. results 4.1 sample profile the majority of the respondents are male (80%; n=139), ‘white’ (81%; n=143), married (including common law marriages) (77%; n=137), english-speaking (53%; n=93), and older than 40 years (59%; n=104). while nearly two-thirds of all respondents are at least 40 years old, 40% (n=71) are older than 50 years. the majority of the respondents are located in the populous provinces of gauteng (44%; n=74), western cape (22%; n=37), kwazulu-natal (12%; n=21) and the eastern cape (11%; n=19). the dominant religion of respondents is reported to be christianity (86%; n=150). compared to the most recent sacqsp statistics, females are over-represented in this study (20% compared acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 60 to 15%), as are ‘whites’ (81% compared to 74%) (cbe, 2013: 7-8). the biases of the sample in terms of gender, ethnicity, and age need to be acknowledged when drawing inferences from the data. missing data account for slight differences in reported percentages. years of experience in the construction industry vary between respondents. specifically, nearly half (49%; n=84) report more than 20 years’ experience. by contrast, only a quarter (n=43) have at least 10 years’ experience. years of experience is significantly related to gender (p=0.005) and to race (p<0.001), with ‘white’ men having worked longer. of all the respondents, 40% (n=70) have been with their present firm for five or less years. nearly a quarter (22%; n=39) of the respondents have been with the same firm for over 20 years. service length is significantly related to gender (p<0.001) and race (p=0.004). again, ‘white’ males have worked longer for their current firms. overall, the construction industry professionals who participated in the survey may generally be described as experienced practitioners in private practice, mostly ‘white’, male, english-speaking, in a stable relationship, and in a stable work environment. these sample characteristics will be borne in mind in the following sections. 4.2 overall levels of workplace stress using a 10-point scale (1=minimum stress; 10=maximum stress, with no defined intermediate scale intervals), survey respondents were asked to rate the level of stress they perceive to experience at work. the results are shown in table 1. table 1: survey respondents’ self-assessment of workplace stress (n=160) perceived levels of workplace stress frequency(%) (n) level 1 (minimum) 4% (n=6) level 2 6% (n=10) level 3 10% (n=16) level 4 9% (n=14) level 5 10% (n=17) level 6 16% (n=25) level 7 21% (n=33) level 8 17% (n=27) bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 61 perceived levels of workplace stress frequency(%) (n) level 9 6% (n=10) level 10 (maximum) 1% (n=2) mean score (+/standard error) 5.76 (+/0.18) note: scale values: 1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress (no intermediate scale interval definitions). for the perceived workplace stress variable, a median-split method (lingard, francis & turner, 2012: 654) was used to effectively position the responses for this variable into one of two (categorical) groups, namely values falling below the median, and values equal to, or exceeding the median. the median value for the level of workplace stress reported by respondents is 7.0 (on a scale of 10) (see table 1). participants’ responses were, therefore, ‘grouped’ into those below 7.0, and those equal to 7.0 or above. quantity surveyors appear to be highly stressed at work (45%; n=72 reporting a stress level of ‘7’ or above). only 39% (n=63) of the respondents report a stress level of ‘5’ or less. the mean stress level scale value reported is 5.76. stress level is not significantly related to ethnicity (p=0.719), age (p=0.636), location (p=0.992), marital status (p=0.413), home language (p=0.793), or religion (p=0.287), but it is to gender (p=0.042), with proportionately more women respondents than men reporting high levels of stress compared to their male counterparts. the reasons per se for the differences in perceived stress levels between different groupings are not covered in this article. this aspect warrants further investigation to examine the roles played by family status, life stage, and nature of the work per se, in determining perceived stress levels. this is the subject of our on-going research. 4.3 harassment and discrimination at work tables 2 and 3 show the incidence of harassment and discrimination experiences of survey respondents, at the hands of line managers and work colleagues, respectively. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 62 table 2: workplace harassment reported by survey respondents (‘yes’/‘no’) types and sources of harassment experienced in the previous 12 months frequency (%) (n) reporting ‘yes’ unwanted suggestions about or references to sexual activity by: line manager (n=105) 4% (n=4) colleagues (n=127) 6% (n=8) unwanted physical contact by: line manager (n=107) 4% (n=4) colleagues (n=130) 5% (n=6) unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature by: line manager (n=108) 3% (n=3) colleagues (n=130) 2% (n=2) harassed by your line manager because of your: language (n=111) 2% (n=2) ethnicity (n=113) 5% (n=6) religion (n=110) 2% (n=2) gender (n=109) 4% (n=4) sexual preference (n=107) 0% (n=0) harassed by your colleagues because of your: language (n=138) 5% (n=7) ethnicity (n=140) 14% (n=19) religion (n=138) 4% (n=5) gender (n=137) 7% (n=10) sexual preference (n=130) 2% (n=3) note: these statistics exclude ‘not applicable’ responses. for some harassment factors, experiences during the previous 12 months were reported by as many as 14% (n=19) of the respondents (e.g., harassment from colleagues on ethnic grounds); 7% (n=10) indicated they had been harassed by colleagues because of their gender, and 6% (n=8) had received unwanted suggestions about, or references to sexual activity by their colleagues. unwanted physical contact by colleagues was reported by 5% (n=6) of the respondents, bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 63 as was harassment by line managers in terms of respondents’ ethnicity (5%), and by colleagues on the basis of language (5%). table 3: workplace discrimination reported by survey respondents (‘yes’/‘no’) types and sources of discrimination experienced in the previous 12 months frequency (%) (n) reporting ‘yes’ discriminated against by your line manager because of your: language (n=111) 4% (n=4) ethnicity (n=111) 14% (n=15) religion (n=108) 2% (n=2) gender (n=111) 7% (n=8) sexual preference (n=106) 3% (n=3) discriminated against by your colleagues because of your: language (n=137) 6% (n=8) ethnicity (n=139) 17% (n=24) religion (n=137) 2% (n=3) gender (n=137) 10% (n=13) sexual preference (n=129) 2% (n=3) underpaid for your efforts due to your: language (n=165) 4% (n=6) ethnicity (n=166) 16% (n=27) religion (n=164) 0% (n=0) gender (n=164) 10% (n=16) sexual preference (n=162) 1% (n=1) job security affected/threatened due to your: language (n=163) 7% (n=11) ethnicity (n=166) 43% (n=71) religion (n=163) 1% (n=1) gender (n=163) 13% (n=21) sexual preference (n=161) 0% (n=0) note: these statistics exclude ‘not applicable’ responses. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 64 for discrimination, the response data reveal slightly higher incidence levels, with 14% (n=15) and 17% (n=24) of the respondents indicating that they had experienced discrimination from their line managers and colleagues, respectively, because of ethnicity. a further 16% (n=27) of the respondents felt that they were underpaid due to their ethnicity, and 43% (n=71) felt that their ethnicity affected their job security. for gender-based discrimination, 7% (n=8) and 10% (n=13) of the respondents report that they have been discriminated against by their line managers and colleagues, respectively. a further 10% (n=16) felt that they were underpaid because of their gender and 13% (n=21) felt their job security was adversely affected by their gender. discriminatory experiences involving colleagues were reported to be more frequent than those involving line managers. significant differences were also found between males and females, with significantly more women (proportionately) reporting gender-based discriminatory behaviour or harassment from both line managers and colleagues (p<0.039 in all instances). differences in harassment and discrimination experiences between ‘whites’ and ‘non-whites’ were significant in terms of harassment from line managers on the basis of ethnicity (p=0.013) and harassment from colleagues on the basis of religion (culture) (p=0.037). in all instances, proportionately more ‘non-whites’ than ‘whites’ believed that they were being harassed. differences were not significant in terms of discrimination either by line managers or colleagues, job security, or feeling underpaid for work done. it is noteworthy (p=0.057) that more ‘whites’ maintain that their job security is compromised because of their ethnicity than do their ‘non-white’ counterparts, thus indicating the possible presence of a ‘reverse-apartheid’ anxiety arising in the construction professions post-1994. when harassment and discrimination are considered in terms of age, none of these factors are significantly related to age. however, proportionately more older than younger respondents feel underpaid due to their race (p=0.013). 4.4 the relationship between harassment, discrimination and stress the relationship between the level of perceived workplace stress and the harassment and discrimination factors was initially explored using pearson’s correlation coefficients (data analyses for these factors is not tabulated, in this instance). the findings show that workplace stress is significantly correlated with gender, age, feeling harassed by colleagues due to one’s religion, and feeling underpaid due to bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 65 one’s gender (discrimination). stress is not significantly correlated with race. correlations are noteworthy (p<0.10) with respect to feeling harassed by colleagues due to one’s sexual preference, and experiencing job insecurity due to one’s religion (discrimination). these patterns of correlations support more detailed analysis. the mann-whitney u test was used to examine the differences in perceived workplace stress for respondents who did, and did not, indicate that they had experienced various forms of harassment and/or discrimination at work in the twelve months preceding the administration of the survey. table 4 shows the median perceived stress scores for respondents who did, and did not indicate that they had experienced various forms of harassment at work. table 4: perceived stress levels among respondents who reported they either had or had not experienced harassment at work (‘yes’/‘no’) survey question median stress score (‘yes’) median stress score (‘no’) ‘u’ value ‘z’ value p-value ‘r’ value (effect size) have you had unwanted suggestions about or reference to sexual activity directed at you by your: line manager? (n=101) 6.00 6.00 179 -0.26 0.79 0.03 colleagues? (n=123) 7.00 6.00 375 -0.88 0.38 0.08 have you had unwanted physical contact by your: line manager? (n=103) 6.50 6.00 194 -0.08 0.94 0.01 colleagues? (n=126) 7.00 6.00 287 -0.85 0.40 0.08 have you had unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature by your: line manager? (n=104) 6.00 6.00 145 -0.14 0.89 0.01 colleagues? (n=126) 7.00 6.00 92 -0.63 0.53 0.06 acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 66 survey question median stress score (‘yes’) median stress score (‘no’) ‘u’ value ‘z’ value p-value ‘r’ value (effect size) have you ever felt you were harassed by your line manager due to your: language (n=107) 7.50 6.00 57 -1.12 0.27 0.11 race (n=108) 6.00 6.00 215 -0.64 0.53 0.06 religion (n=106) 4.50 6.00 72 -0.76 0.45 0.07 gender (n=105) 7.00 6.00 189 -0.23 0.82 0.02 sexual preference (n=103) 6.00 have you ever felt you were harassed by your colleagues due to your: language (n=133) 7.00 6.00 429 -0.12 0.90 0.01 race (n=134) 7.00 6.00 958 -0.57 0.57 0.05 religion (n=133) 4.00 6.50 174 -1.75 0.08 0.15 gender (n=132) 7.00 6.00 525 -0.74 0.46 0.06 sexual preference (n=125) 8.00 6.00 70 -1.85 0.06 0.17 notes: scale values for ‘stress’: 1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress (no intermediate scale interval definitions). these statistics exclude ‘not applicable’ responses. mannwhitney u test for between-groups comparisons. the mann-whitney u test revealed no significant differences in the level of perceived stress between people reporting that they had, or had not experienced the various forms of harassment. the effect size (r-value) is considered very small, using cohen’s criteria (pallant, 2010: 230). whilst not significant, noteworthy differences were found in respect of harassment by colleagues on the basis of religion (p=0.080) and sexual preference (p=0.064). respondents, who indicated harassment by colleagues because of their religion (culture), presented lower median stress scores than their counterparts (4.00 versus 6.50). conversely, those reporting harassment from colleagues on the basis of sexual preference had higher median stress levels (8.00 versus 6.00). religion is the only variable for which the median stress scores of respondents experiencing harassment on the basis of religion are lower than those of their counterparts. bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 67 table 5 shows the median perceived stress scores for respondents who did, and did not indicate that they had experienced various forms of discrimination at work in the twelve months preceding the administration of the survey. table 5: perceived stress levels among respondents who reported that they either had, or had not experienced discrimination at work (‘yes’/‘no’) survey question median stress score (‘yes’) median stress score (‘no’) ‘u’ value ‘z’ value p-value ‘r’ value (effect size) have you ever felt that you were discriminated against by your line manager due to your: language (n=107) 7 50 6.00 154 -0.87 0.38 0.08 race (n=106) 6 50 6.00 600 -0.42 0.68 0.04 religion (n=104) 4 50 6.00 71 -0.75 0.45 0.07 gender (n=107) 7 00 6.00 332 -0.77 0.44 0.07 sexual preference (n=102) 8 00 6.00 90 -1.18 0.24 0.12 have you ever felt that you were discriminated against by your colleagues due to your: language (n=132) 7 00 6.00 447 -0.47 0.64 0.04 race (n=133) 7 00 6.00 1025 -1.45 0.15 0.13 religion (n=132) 5 00 7.00 109 -1.31 0.19 0.11 gender (n=132) 7 00 6.00 656 -0.91 0.36 0.08 sexual preference (n=124) 8 00 6.00 105 -1.27 0.21 0.11 have you ever felt that you are underpaid for your efforts due to your: language (n=158) 7 00 6.00 394 -0.57 0.57 0.05 acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 68 survey question median stress score (‘yes’) median stress score (‘no’) ‘u’ value ‘z’ value p-value ‘r’ value (effect size) race (n=159) 7.00 6.00 1359 -1.74 0.08 0.14 religion (n=157) 6.00 gender (n=157) 8.00 6.00 583 -2.91 <0.01 0.23 sexual preference (n=155) 8.00 6.00 25 -1.19 0.24 0.10 have you ever felt that your job security is affected or threatened due to your: language (n=157) 7.00 6.00 660 -0.99 0.32 0.08 race (n=159) 6.00 6.00 2719 -1.36 0.18 0.11 religion (n=157) 2.00 6.00 11 -1.51 0.13 0.12 gender (n=157) 7.00 6.00 1288 -0.73 0.47 0.06 sexual preference (n=155) 6.00 notes: scale values for ‘stress’: 1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress (no intermediate scale interval definitions). these statistics exclude ‘not applicable’ responses. mannwhitney u test for between-groups comparisons. respondents who felt that they were underpaid for their efforts because of their gender reported significantly (p=0.004) higher levels of stress than those who did not feel this way. none of the other factors of job security, discrimination by line managers, or discrimination by colleagues was significantly related to higher levels of workplace stress. again, religion is the only variable for which the median stress scores of respondents experiencing discrimination on the basis of religion are lower than those of their counterparts. 5. discussion 5.1 levels of workplace stress quantity surveyors in south africa appear to experience high levels of workplace stress, confirming the findings of leung et al. (2007: 1072) relating to the hong kong construction industry. stress is significantly related to gender, but not to race or age. this finding is also consistent with previous research which revealed that women working in the bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 69 construction industry experience higher levels of stress than males in similar employment (e.g., goldenhar et al., 1998: 20; caven, 2004: 519; sang et al., 2007: 1305). this warrants further investigation of the role played by family status and life stage in determining stress levels and coping among quantity surveyors. 5.2 harassment and discrimination the findings show that ‘non-white’ professionals in south africa continue to experience harassment and discrimination in residual forms of apartheid. of the respondents, 14% indicated that they had recently experienced harassment; 17% reported experiencing discrimination, by their colleagues because of their ethnicity; 14% also indicated experiencing discrimination by their line manager because of their ethnicity; 16% felt that they were underpaid for their efforts because of their ethnicity, and 43% felt that their job security was threatened because of their ethnicity. thus, harassment and discrimination based on ethnicity are apparently experienced to a concerning degree across the quantity-surveying profession in the sample. these findings align strongly with those of loosemore & chau (2002: 96), wadsworth et al. (2007: 18), and bowen & cattell (2008: 266). while south africa continues to undergo considerable change in this respect in the post-apartheid era, there is clearly still a long way to go in an industry known for its conservatism. notwithstanding the evidence of continuing post-apartheid discrimination on racial grounds, this research also confirmed a paradox particular to south africa. ‘white’ respondents, in particular males, reported noteworthy more experiences of feeling discriminated against in terms of job security than did ‘black’ respondents. this may be explained as a ‘white’ perception of ‘reverse apartheid’ arising from official affirmative action and ‘black’ employment and empowerment (bee) policies adopted by the post-apartheid (i.e., since 1994) governments in south africa. these findings accord with those of bowen, cattell & distiller (2008: 14). longer term re-testing would help to determine whether these effects (residual apartheid and reverse apartheid) are transitional and will slowly disappear as the current workforce in south africa ages, or whether they are more deeply engrained. currently, a persistent anecdotal perception encountered in south africa is that if you are ‘white’, male and over 40, your job/career prospects are poor. the results also provide preliminary evidence that workplace harassment and discrimination in quantity-surveying practices are both associated with work stress. respondents who had experienced unwanted physical contact (whether of a direct sexual nature or acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 70 not) by colleagues reported significantly higher stress levels than those who had not. this is consistent with previous research by schneider et al. (1997: 411) who report that even low levels of sexual harassment have a significant negative impact on mental health. previous research has highlighted the additive effects of racial and gender-based adverse treatment in the workplace on stress (raver & nishii, 2010: 238). respondents who felt underpaid because of their gender reported higher levels of work stress than respondents who did not report such discrimination. it is interesting to note that respondents who felt that their job security (as opposed to remuneration) was adversely affected by their race or gender did not report significantly higher levels of stress than those who did not. thus, it appears that work stress is likely to be strongly related (at least in terms of gender) to forms of discrimination that have a material impact upon respondents’ income. these findings are consistent with previous research in the field of organisational justice, which found that perceptions of working in a just and procedurally fair organisational environment are associated with lower levels of stress and burnout (elovainio, kivimäki & helkama, 2001: 421; brotheridge, 2003: 253). future research into the relationship between discrimination and stress in the quantity-surveying profession could incorporate measures of organisational justice to examine, in more detail, the relationship between discrimination, organisational justice and stress. while the results indicate that respondents who had experienced discrimination at the hands of either line managers or colleagues did not report significantly higher stress levels than those who had not, the findings evidence a strong relationship between perceived levels of workplace stress and harassment in terms of religion (culture). the noteworthy correlation between harassment at work and religion supports the earlier comment in this article concerning the interface in south africa between culture and discrimination. this finding tends to support those of ferfoija (2005). the research findings provide some insights into how the problem of workplace harassment and discrimination may be addressed. in particular, organisational support services and programmes to assist people to address harassment and discrimination with problembased strategies can be of benefit (rospenda, richman & shannon, 2006: 380). previous research reveals that developing a sense of personal control in workers mediates the relationship between the experience of discrimination and psychological distress (landry & mercurio, 2009: 197), thereby providing a protective ‘buffer’ bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 71 against the damaging impact of discrimination. this suggests that programmes designed to instil in minority groups a sense of personal control could be a useful mitigation strategy circumventing the damaging outcomes of discriminatory behaviour. however, as well as striving to develop resilience in workers, it is also essential that quantity-surveying practices seek to address the root cause of the problem and strive to eradicate harassment and discrimination. it may be helpful to provide equal employment opportunity training for all employees and to implement just and fair organisational processes to manage instances of harassment/discrimination, if they are identified. statistically, the relatively small response sample does not permit these research findings to be generalised to the entire quantitysurveying profession in south africa. however, validly generalisable findings are not the real issue in this instance, in that even one incident of harassment or discrimination diminishes the status of the entire profession. 6. conclusions it is cause for concern that experiences of harassment and discrimination still pervade the quantity-surveying profession in the south african construction industry; that female professionals are more harassed and discriminated against than their male counterparts, and that discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity continues to occur. this research provides preliminary evidence that the experience of harassment and discrimination is linked to higher levels of stress among quantity surveyors. clearly, the quantitysurveying profession has a considerable way to go in eradicating harassment and discrimination as stress factors among its ranks. in order to achieve this, harassment and discrimination issues must be acknowledged and addressed by the sacqsp and the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs) at a macro-level, and by professional practices at a micro-level. while the research findings provide evidence that harassment and discrimination exist and are related to work stress, their value is limited by the self-reporting methods utilised for the survey. they do not provide insight into how or why individuals experience harassment or discrimination in the way that they do. further casebased qualitative research is planned. this should provide a more comprehensive insight into the experiences of south african quantity surveyors, allow a more acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 72 in-depth exploration of their different experiences of harassment and discrimination, and better inform the development of appropriate prevention strategies. acknowledgement this work is based on the research supported in part by the national research foundation of south africa (grant specific unique reference number (uid) 85376). the grantholder acknowledges that opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in any publication generated by the nrf-supported research are that of the author(s), and that the nrf accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard. references list biaggio, m. 1997. sexual harassment of lesbians in the workplace. journal of lesbian studies, 1(3-4), pp. 89-98. bowen, p.a. & cattell, k.s. 2008. job satisfaction of south african quantity surveyors. engineering, construction and architectural management, 15(3), pp. 260-269. bowen, p.a., cattell, k.s. & distiller, g. 2008. south african quantity surveyors: issues of gender and race in the workplace. acta structilia, 15(1), pp. 1-21. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j. & lingard, h. 2013a. workplace stress experienced by construction professionals in south africa. journal of construction engineering and management, 139(4), pp. 393-403. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j. & lingard, h. 2013b. workplace stress among construction professionals in south africa: the role of harassment and discrimination. engineering, construction and architectural management, 20(6), pp. 620-635. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j., lingard, h. & cattell, k.s. 2013a. workplace stress, stress effects and coping mechanisms in the construction industry. in press. journal of construction engineering and management. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j., lingard, h. & cattell, k.s. 2013b. predictive modelling of workplace stress among construction professionals. in press. journal of construction engineering and management. brotheridge, c.m. 2003. the role of fairness in mediating the effects of voice and justification on stress and other outcomes in a climate of bowen, et al. • harassment and discrimination experienced 73 organizational change. international journal of stress management, 10(3), pp. 253-268. caplan, a., aujla, a., prosser, s. & jackson, j. 2009. race discrimination in the construction industry: a thematic analysis. research report no. 23, equality and human rights commission, manchester, uk. caven, v. 2004. constructing a career: women architects at work. career development international, 9(5), pp. 518-531. cbe (council for the built environment). 2013. cbe quarterly report: quarter 1 (01 april 2013-30 june 2013) – extract, annexure c professional councils’ report. pretoria: cbe. christians, c.g. 2005. ethics and politics in qualitative research. in: denzin, n. & lincoln, y. 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release p0211. pretoria: stats sa. wadsworth, e., dhillon, k., shaw, c., bhui, k., stansfeld, s. & smith, a. 2007. racial discrimination, ethnicity and work stress. occupational medicine (london), 57(1), pp. 18-24. williams, d.r., neighbors, h.w. & jackson, j.s. 2003. racial/ethnic discrimination and health: findings from community studies. american journal of public health, 93(2), pp. 200-208. 71 innocent musonda, jan-harm pretorius & theo haupt assuring health and safety performance on construction projects: clients’ role and influence peer reviewed abstract this article presents findings from an investigation conducted in botswana and south africa on how construction clients could influence health and safety (h&s) performance on construction projects. the continued poor state of construction h&s and the inability of designers and contractors to influence an industry-wide h&s culture change motivated the article. it was also recognised that one of the reasons the construction industry continued to lag in h&s performance was the way in which h&s implementation and management was organised. the article proposes a client-centred model for h&s performance improvement. the conceptual model and its factors were developed from both literature and a delphi survey. structural equation modelling was applied to data collected from a questionnaire survey to design a best fit model. the key finding was that, generally, client h&s culture impacted on project h&s performance. the influence of clients was found to be statistically significant when commitment, communication and h&s procedures were evident. this finding was encouraging as it specifically shows how clients could influence performance. however, it remains to be seen whether these results could be replicated in other datasets. if indeed that is the case, then this article contributes significantly to the body of knowledge. keywords: botswana, construction, culture, health and safety, improvement, influence, performance, south africa mr. innocent musonda senior lecturer department of construction management and quantity surveying university of johannesburg po box 17011 doornfontein johannesburg 2028 south africa. phone: +27 11 559 6655 email:<imusonda@uj.ac.za> prof. jan-harm pretorius department of electrical engineering university of johannesburg po box 17011 doornfontein johannesburg 2028 south africa. phone: +27 11 559 3377 email:<jhcpretorius@uj.ac.za> prof. conrad theodore haupt part-time professor department of construction management and quantity surveying university of johannesburg unit d1 millenium park stellenberg close parrow industria 7493 south africa. phone: +27 21 931 4840 email:<pinnacle.haupt@gmail.com> acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 72 abstrak hierdie artikel gee bevindinge weer van ‘n ondersoek wat in botswana en suidafrika gedoen is oor hoe konstruksie-kliënte ‘n invloed kan hê op die uitvoering van beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid in konstruksieprojekte. die aanhoudende swak toestand waarin konstruksie beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid verkeer asook die onvermoë van ontwerpers en kontrakteurs om die beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidskultuurverandering industriewyd te beïnvloed, het die ondersoek in hierdie artikel gemotiveer. dit is ook erken dat een van die redes vir die konstruksie-industrie se gebrek aan beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid optrede is die manier waarop beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidsimplimentering en bestuur georganiseer word. die artikel stel ‘n kliëntgesentreerde model voor om beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidsoptrede te verbeter. die konsepmodel en die faktore is ontwikkel uit literatuur asook ‘n delphiopname. gestruktureerde vergelykingsmodellering is toegepas om data uit ‘n vraelysopname te versamel om sodoende ‘n model te ontwerp wat die beste pas. die sleutelbevindinge was dat kliënt beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid ‘n impak het op projek beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid. die invloed van kliënte het duidelik uitgestaan ten opsigte van toevertroue, kommunikasie en beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidsprosedures. hierdie bevinding wys waar kliënte optrede mag beïnvloed. nietemin, dit moet nog gesien word of hierdie resultate gerepliseer kan word in ander datastelle. indien wel, lewer hierdie artikel ‘n beduidende bydrae tot die liggaam van kennis. sleutelwoorde: botswana, konstruksie, kultuur, beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid, verbetering, invloed, optrede, suid-afrika 1. introduction the construction industry has for a long time been considered the most hazardous industry (bomel, 2001: 0.5; ciob, 2009: 6; mcdonald, lipscomb, bondy & glazner, 2009: 53). accidents cost national economies nearly 4% of gross domestic product (gdp) and there is consequently a dire need for improvement in terms of health and safety (h&s) performance (ilo, 2003: 15). construction workers are more at risk of an accident, ill health and/or even a fatality at work than other manufacturing-based industries (loughborough & umist, 2003: vii; hoonakker, loushine, carayon, kallman, kapp & smith, 2005: 461). generally, construction sites are still one of the most dangerous workplaces, because of the high incidence of accidents (hoonakker et al., 2005: 461; teo, ling & chong, 2005: 329; kines, spangenberg & dyreborg, 2007: 53). the risk of a fatality in construction is at least five times more likely than in other manufacturing-based industries (sawacha, naum & fong, 1999: 309; loughborough & umist, 2003: vii). according to bomel (2001: 0.5), the construction industry is a hazardous environment where workers have direct exposure to heights, forces, and power. workers face these risks every day of their working lives. musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 73 of great concern, therefore, is the exposure of workers to hazards in construction projects. the nature and organisation of the construction industry have partly compounded the problem. h&s performance improvement in the construction industry has been made difficult as a result. the construction sector is a complex industry (teo et al., 2005: 329), and the complexity is compounded by the extensive use of sophisticated plant, equipment, methods of construction, as well as multidisciplinary and multitasked project work force. it is this complex nature that shapes the industry’s way of functioning and performance (sawacha et al., 1999: 309; dubois & gadde, 2001: 2). furthermore, the construction industry has the following unique characteristics that contribute to its complexity and pose a challenge to performance improvement: • an industry that offers temporary employment (pellicer & molenaar, 2009: 44); • work locations for any group of workers often changing (riley & brown, 2001: 150; mcdonald et al., 2009: 53); • temporary work sites where workers are employed by different employers but work alongside each other (chan & chan, 2004: 203; pellicer & molenaar, 2009: 44; misnan, mohammed, mahmood, mahmud & abdullah, 2008: 1902); • an industry comprised mostly of small employers (pellicer & molenaar, 2009: 44). for example, in the united kingdom, 98% of the registered companies employ 24 workers or less in their companies (dainty, briscoe & millet, 2001: 163); • large numbers of people are employed in this industry and have to combine a diverse range of skills to complete a project (bomel, 2001: 2.4; dainty et al., 2001: 163; riley & brown, 2001: 150; pellicer & molenaar, 2009: 44); • a large number of subcontractors (bomel, 2001: 2.4; riley & brown, 2001: 158; pellicer & molenaar, 2009: 44); • construction projects with short periods (bomel, 2001: 2.4; dainty et al., 2001: 163; riley & brown, 2001: 150); • sites evolving as construction proceeds, resulting in changing the hazards that workers face weekly (bomel, 2001: 2.3; riley & brown, 2001: 150); • a fragmented industry (egan, 1998: 8; chan & chan, 2004: 203). dainty et al., (2001: 163) argue that the proliferation in acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 74 subcontracting has further complicated the situation, causing further fragmentation of the production process; • an industry subjected to cyclical economic downturns (egan, 1998: 9; dainty et al., 2001: 163), and • an industry with a low and unreliable rate of profitability (egan, 1998: 7; pellicer & molenaar, 2009: 44). in addition, winch (2000: 142) observed that the construction industry is largely operationalised through a professional system which requires that designs be fully specified at tender stage. yet the assumptions regarding the competence of designers in the technical details of a wide range of construction technologies and the ability of the client to keep requirements fixed over a period of time compromise the effectiveness of the professional system. the fact is that designs are rarely fully specified (winch, 2000: 145). this system has also contributed to the industry’s lack of cooperation and integration. egan (1998: 13) observed that the construction industry was basically an industry typically dealing with the project process as a series of sequential and largely separate operations undertaken by individual designers, contractors and suppliers who have no stake in the long-term success of the project and therefore do not have any commitment to it. therefore, changing this culture is fundamental if performance improvement is to be realised. consequently, the culture of clients could offer an opportunity for addressing the problem of h&s performance (bomel, 2001: 5.5). the impetus for change lies with the clients of construction projects, because clients can influence contractors’ h&s performance (smallwood, 1998: 182; bomel, 2001: 9.7; lingard, blismas, cooke & cooper, 2009: 132). the client has been overlooked in most studies with emphasis placed on the contractor or the construction process. h&s during the construction process is conventionally considered to be the contractor’s responsibility. when construction accidents occur, perceived factors of causation are mostly associated with management failures on the part of the contractor or failures of site operatives to control unsafe site conditions or unsafe actions (abdelhamid & everett, 2000: 55; suraji, sulaiman, mahyuddin & mohamed, 2006: 49). the general perception is that construction h&s is a matter of construction management rather than the management on the part of clients and other participants in the construction process. studies concentrating on factors that relate to the contractor create the impression that the main problem lies with contractors and, therefore, h&s performance improvement can only be achieved by addressing contractor issues. it is, however, musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 75 unlikely that h&s performance improvement can be achieved in the industry by only focusing on the construction stage and the contractor specifically. this is partly due to the difficult conditions in which contractors operate, including constraints and actions of designers and clients (suraji et al., 2006: 59). the current study investigated the influence of clients on construction project h&s performance. the following hypothesis is to be tested: the h&s culture of clients defined by leadership, involvement, procedures, commitment, communication and competence impacts on project h&s performance. client-centred h&s performance improvement has not been investigated in sufficient detail (lingard et al., 2009: 132). the study by huang & hinze (2006) in the u.s.a. investigated the influence of owners or clients on construction h&s performance by using the number of accidents to measure performance. to the contrary, the current study used leading indicators which better reflect h&s performance and are proactive (carder & ragan, 2003: 163; jafri, ahmad & kamsah, 2005: 703; cameron & duff, 2007: 870) to characterise h&s performance. examples are the use of indicators such as evidence of h&s inspections and audits to define performance. in addition, this study was not restricted to projects with good h&s performance only, but included other construction projects within south africa and botswana. in addition, the study investigated specifically the influence of the h&s culture of clients on h&s performance. therefore, the current study builds on huang & hinze’s (2006) study and uses an alternative method to model the influence of client h&s culture on project h&s performance. this method involved a delphi study and a field questionnaire survey. in addition, structural equation modelling (sem) (kline, 2005: 83) was used to reliably model how clients could influence project h&s performance. 2. research the study was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative data-collection methods. for the qualitative part, a delphi technique was used, whereas a field questionnaire survey was used for the quantitative part. the delphi survey was conducted with 11 h&s experts drawn from different parts of the world. the output from the delphi technique was a conceptual model and the factors of client h&s culture. as for the quantitative approach, a questionnaire survey was conducted among construction professionals based in acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 76 botswana and south africa on the practice of h&s in the construction industry. the analysis of the quantitative data was done using a structural equation modelling (sem) software, mplus version 6.0. the conceptual model analysed in the current study evolved as an output from both the literature review and the delphi process. the conceptual model was thereafter tested using sem of the questionnaire survey results. the sem process was therefore undertaken as a confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) of the conceptual model. 2.1 delphi study the delphi study involved 11 invited panellists who had been identified from three sources. the first source was the cib w099 register of members on the cib w099 website. the cib w099 is a working commission, an international forum of researchers working on construction h&s. the second source was cib w099 conference proceedings from 2005 to 2009. individuals who had frequently appeared as authors or keynote speakers were identified as potential participants in the study. the third source was identifying individuals working in the area of h&s in the southern african construction industry. the delphi panel consisted of two members from south africa, three each from the united states of america (usa) and the united kingdom (uk), and one each from singapore, hong kong and sweden. of these, one of the panellists had a doctor of science (dsc) degree, six had doctor of philosophy (phd) degrees, two had master of science (msc) degrees, one had a bachelor of science (bsc.) degree, and one had a diploma in safety management. all the panellists specialised in construction h&s. in terms of their current occupation, three of the panellists were employed by contracting organisations, one by a consulting organisation, and six by universities. all panellists held very senior positions in their organisations and were involved in community service. the panel had a cumulative total of 243 years of experience. the lowest number of years of experience for an individual was seven and the highest was 45 years. the median number of years of experience was 15 years. experience was an important factor in determining who an expert was and, therefore, the minimum number of years was set to be five. in terms of publications, 10 of the panellists had published in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings and books. between them, they had published 57 books and monographs, 19 chapters in books, 187 peer-reviewed musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 77 academic journals, 345 recent conference papers and 341 other publications comprising articles in professional journals, technical reports, policy papers, expert witness documentation and keynote addresses (table 1). in addition, the panel had led and managed 108 funded research projects. three panellists served on the editorial boards of 43 peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. table 1: panellists’ publications panel publications no. of publications books and monographs 57 chapters in books 19 peer-reviewed journals 187 peer-reviewed conference proceedings 345 funded research 108 other publications 341 editorial board membership 43 referee for journals 22 referee for conference proceedings 30 2.1.1 delphi process a questionnaire was developed from literature and distributed electronically to all panel members. the questions related to the importance of the various factors of client h&s culture and the significance of client influence. the panel was asked to rate the importance of these factors on contractor and designer h&s performance. the importance of each factor was based on a 10-point rating scale ranging from 0 representing 0% or negligible or low impact to 10 representing 100% or very high impact. the panel also rated the likelihood that contractor h&s performance would improve if the identified client culture h&s factors were evident. the likelihood or probability scale ranged from 1 to 10, representing 0% to 100%. the impact significance of each factor was thereafter obtained as a product of the rated likelihood and severity, as illustrated in equation 1. impact significance = likelihood factor x severity factor equation 1 acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 78 the delphi process involved three iterative rounds to achieve consensus between the panel members regarding the extent of the client’s influence on both contractor and designer h&s performance. apart from the panel rating the likelihood and severity of various factors, they were also requested to make comments on their ratings, especially if the ratings differed from those of other panel members. comments were also made about what other factors or issues needed to be included or omitted from the theorised model. 2.1.2 delphi findings the average impact significance of all factors of client h&s culture on contractor h&s performance was found to be 6.60 while that on designer h&s performance was determined to be 6.45 (figure 1). the significance of the impact of various factors associated with the client was categorised as being either critical, major, moderate, minor or low. a rating of one and below was considered to be low while that of seven to ten was considered to be critical (table 2). according to the rating scale, the value of 6.60 indicated that the level of clients’ impact and influence on contractors’ h&s performance was of ‘major impact significance’. similarly, a rating of 6.45 on designers h&s performance was determined to be ‘major’. all the factors of client h&s culture had an impact significance of more than 5.0, with client involvement being rated higher for designer h&s performance. the rating of 7.31 was considered to be ‘critical impact significance’. table 2: impact significance and severity rating scale 0>1 1>3 3>5 5>7 7>10 low/negligible minor moderate major critical on the other hand, client leadership had major impact significance on contractor h&s performance (figure 1). client competence had the least impact significance on contractor h&s performance, with a rating of 6.20. similarly, client competence was also considered to have lower impact on designer h&s performance. the impact significance of client competence on designer h&s performance was determined to be 5.20. however, the rating of client competence was deemed to be of ‘major impact’ significance although, in comparison to other factors, client competence was considered to be the least significant (table 2). musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 81 h5 designer h&s performance has a direct positive influence on project h&s performance the second stage of model development entailed testing or validating this conceptualised model by means of a field questionnaire survey and analysing the data using sem in order to achieve a desirable level of both internal and external validity. figure 3: conceptual model – client h&s culture influence on project h&s performance 2.2 field questionnaire survey a questionnaire survey was conducted among 281 construction professionals in south africa and botswana. raw data from the questionnaire survey was analysed using structural equation modelling (sem) with eqs and mplus software packages. the measurement model was analysed using eqs version 6.1, while the full structural model was analysed using mplus version 6.0. according to kline (2005: 15), a sample size of 281 is classified as large. a small sample of less than 100 cases tended to be problematic when it came to sem analysis (kline, 2005: 5). designer h&s performance project h&s performance contractor h&s performance client h&s culture musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 83 3. questionnaire survey results 3.1 structural model pre-analysis results results from the analysis of the measurement models indicated that all measurement models worked well and satisfied the requirement that the models should be over-identified. it is also a requirement for sem analysis that the conditions of model identification are met. boomsma (2000: 486) argues that it is the duty of a researcher to examine whether a model is theoretically identified or not. kline (2005: 105) explains that a model is said to be identified if it is theoretically possible to derive a unique estimate of each parameter. consequently, it is desirable to have an over-identified model. byrne (2006: 31) explains that an over-identified model is one in which the number of parameters to be estimated is less than the number of data variances and covariances of the observed variables, resulting in a positive degree of freedom. the significance of model over-identification is that it allows for a model to be rejected, rendering it of scientific value (byrne, 2006: 31). a just-identified model cannot be rejected and it is impossible to obtain a solution for an under-identified model. examination of the results in table 3 indicated that the lowest value for the degree of freedom was 24 and the highest was 137. these values were indicative of a positive value of degree of freedom and suggestive of an over-identified model. table 3: measurement model statistics on distribution and fit construct mardia’s coefficient s – bx2 df cfi srmr rmsea rmsea 90% ci client culture 443.7814 219.323 137 0.979 0.025 0.047 0.035: 0.058 contractor h&s performance 41.0290 25.0664 24 0.999 0.009 0.013 0.000: 0.051 designer h&s performance 225.6381 35.6033 24 0.994 0.010 0.042 0.000: 0.070 project h&s performance 179.4860 294.515 119 0.923 0.048 0.075 0.064: 0.086 in addition, the results revealed that there were no convergence problems in the analysis, because all parameter estimates for client h&s culture, designer h&s performance, contractor h&s performance and project h&s performance constructs stabilised acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 84 in fewer than 10 iterations each. the desired circumstance is the situation whereby only a few iterations are needed to reach convergence and these should not exceed the value of 30 (byrne, 2006: 102). according to byrne (2006: 102), the number of iterations exceeding 30 results in non-convergence and the output may not be trusted. the measurement model specifications were also found to be adequate. fit indices presented in table 3 indicated that the measurement models worked well. all the fit indices fell within the acceptable limits for a good fit. the minimum comparative fit index (cfi) was 0.923 for the project h&s performance construct. a value greater than 0.900 is acceptable and a value greater than 0.950 is described as being good fit (bartholomew et al., 2006: 73; schreiber, stage & king, 2006: 330; dion, 2008: 367). the cfi values for client culture, contractor and designer h&s performance constructs were all above 0.95 (see table 3). similarly, the root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) values for all constructs fell within the acceptable limits. a good fit model has rmsea values of less than 0.050, while values of less than 0.080 indicate an acceptable model fit (hu & bentler, 1999: 27; kline, 2005: 139; bartholomew et al., 2006: 73; dion, 2008: 367). the ranges for rmsea with 90% confidence interval were also not large, indicating acceptable approximations. in addition, the standardised root mean squared residual (srmr) values were all less than 0.050 and, therefore, the models were considered to be of good fit (kline, 2005: 141; schreiber et al., 2006: 330). it was necessary to ensure that the measurement models worked well before the structural model could be analysed. therefore, having been satisfied that the pre-analysis test of sem assumptions result did not reveal any significant problems, the full structural model was analysed. 3.2 structural model’s goodness-of-fit statistics the structural model, as presented in figure 4, was analysed using mplus software. the indicator variables for the client h&s culture, contractor and designer h&s performance were analysed in parcels, while those of project h&s performance were analysed as individual indicator variables. from a total sample of 281 responses, 259 cases were analysed. the number of cases that were skipped was 22, because they had missing variables. only complete cases were analysed for the model. the model was analysed using the robust maximum likelihood method. the covariance matrix was analysed as opposed to the correlation matrix. musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 85 as shown in table 4, the sample data yielded a chi-square statistic (x2) of 2,966.661 with 1,342 degrees of freedom. the associated p-value was determined to be 0.000. from these values, the normed chi-square value was determined to be 2.211. the normed chi-square is the procedure of dividing the chi-square by the degrees of freedom. the normed values of up to 3.0 or even 5.0 are recommended. therefore, since the value of 2.211 obtained for the postulated model was lower than 3.0, the result suggested an acceptable fit of the model. however, the chi-square statistic is only indicative of fit and, therefore, other goodness-of-fit indices were reviewed. table 4 presents the fit indices for the postulated model. the root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) with 90% confidence interval was found to be 0.068 (lower bound value = 0.065 and upper bound value = 0.072). the rmsea index was just above the upper limit value of 0.050 for the model to be described as having a good fit. however, a value of 0.068 was indicative of an adequate fit. a model with rmsea values of up to 0.080 is considered to be acceptable (hu & bentler, 1999: 27; kline, 2005: 139; bartholomew et al., 2006: 73; dion, 2008: 367). in addition, the upper confidence interval of 0.072 did not exceed the upper acceptable value of 0.08, as recommended by hu & bentler (1999: 27). in addition, the standardised root mean square residual (srmr) was found to be 0.045. the srmr of 0.045 was much lower than the cut-off value of 0.05. therefore, the srmr value also indicated that the postulated model had a good fit. on the other hand, the comparative fit index (cfi) yielded a value that was close to the lower limit value of 0.90 at 0.88. the cfi index was not greater than 0.90 which is the lower limit value for model acceptance if the cfi is considered in the combination rules. however, in the current study, a two statistic model fit evaluation strategy, as proposed by hu & bentler (1999: 16), was followed. the decision on model fit was, therefore, based on the srmr and the rmsea fit indices. an evaluation of the srmr, rmsea and the cfi fit indices indicated that the postulated model reasonably fits the sample data. therefore, having been satisfied with the model fit to the sample data, it was feasible to evaluate the statistical significance of the hypothesised relationships between the factors of client h&s culture and the overall project h&s performance. the results are presented in table 4. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 86 table 4: robust fit indices for the postulated model fit index cut-off value model 1.0 comment x2 2966.661 df 0 1342 acceptable cfi 0.9 acceptable 0.95good fit 0.88 barely acceptable srmr 0.08acceptable 0.05 good fit 0.045 good fit rmsea 0.08acceptable 0.05good fit 0.068 acceptable rmsea 90% ci 0.08 0.065:0.072 acceptable range 3.3 hypotheses testing rejection of the hypotheses depended on how reasonable the parameter estimates were in terms of their magnitude, signs and statistical significance. in addition, if in the output there were estimates that had correlation values greater than 1.00, had negative variances and the correlation or covariances were not definitely positive, they were said to be exhibiting unreasonable estimates (byrne, 2006: 103). in addition, the test statistic had to be greater than 1.96 based on the p-value of > 0.005 before the hypothesis could be rejected (byrne, 2006: 103). the test statistic reported in this study was the parameter estimate divided by its standard error and, therefore, it functioned as a z-statistic to test that the estimate was statistically different from zero. the significance test was used to evaluate the general hypotheses h1 to h5. 3.3.1 testing the direct influence of client h&s culture on contractor h&s performance it was generally hypothesised that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance. specifically, the hypotheses, which collectively formed hypothesis h1, were: h1a leadership, had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance; h1b involvement, had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance; h1c procedures, had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance; musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 87 h1d commitment, had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance; h1e communication, had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance, and h1f competence, had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance. results from the confirmatory factor analysis of the full structural model, presented in table 5, yielded support for hypothesis h1c (procedures) and h1d (commitment) but did not support the hypothesis h1a (leadership), h1b, (involvement), h1e (communication) and h1f. (competence). the relationship between the factor, procedures, and contractor h&s performance was found to be significant at the probability level of 5% (λ = 0.494, z = 4.407 and p = 0.000). similarly, the hypothesised relationship between the factor, commitment, and contractor h&s performance was found to be statistically significant. that relationship yielded significant parameter estimates at 5% probability level with λ = 0.616 (parameter estimate), z = 2.393 and p = 0.017. on the other hand, although the hypothesised relationship between the factor involvement and contractor h&s performance was significant at 5% probability level (λ = -0.663, z = -2.402, p = 0.016), the direction was not positive definite. the result seemed to indicate that, with the increase in client h&s involvement, contractor h&s performance decreased by 0.663 units. this result was interesting, because it was expected that, with an increase in client involvement, there would be an increase in contractor performance. however, the measurement model on client h&s culture revealed high collinearity between commitment and involvement factors of client h&s culture. the high collinearity may probably explain the unreasonable parameter estimate exhibited for hypothesis h1b, (involvement). the influence of other factors, namely client leadership, communication and competence, on contractor h&s performance was found to be evident despite these relationships not being statistically significant. the parameter estimates for these relationships were found to be as follows: between the client competence factor and contractor h&s performance (λ = 0.081, z = 0.675 and p = 0.500), leadership factor and contractor h&s performance (λ = 0.204, z = 1.720, p = 0.086), and communication factor and contractor h&s performance (λ = 0.026, z = 0.212, p = 0.832). therefore, although the relationships between these client factors and contractor h&s acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 88 performance were evident, they were found to be not statistically significant and consequently meant that the postulated specific hypotheses for these relationships were not supported. however, since influence from these factors was evident, the relationship was considered to be practically significant. therefore, the general hypothesis h1, which postulated that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance, could not be rejected, because two of the six specific hypotheses were found to be statistically significant and were positive. in addition, the other specific hypotheses were found to be practically significant, because the influence was evident albeit not statistically significant. 3.3.2 testing the direct influence of client h&s culture on designer h&s performance the second general hypothesis was that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance. specifically, the hypotheses were that the factors of client h&s culture, namely: h2a leadership, had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance; h2b involvement, had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance; h2c procedures, had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance; h2d commitment, had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance; h2e communication, had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance, and h2f competence, had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance. results from the confirmatory factor analysis of the full structural model, presented in table 5, yielded support for h2c (procedures) and h2e (communication), but did not support the hypothesis h2a (leadership), h2b (involvement), h2d (commitment) and h2f (competence). the relationship between the procedures factor and designer h&s performance was found to be significant at 5% probability level with λ = 0.439 (factor loading), z = 3.009 and p = 0.003. similarly, the hypothesised relationship between the communication factor and designer h&s performance was found to be statistically musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 89 significant. this relationship yielded significant estimates at the 5% probability level of λ = 0.348, z = 3.346 and p = 0.001. the parameter estimates for the two factors of client h&s culture, namely procedures and communication, indicated that, with an increase of one unit in procedures, designer h&s performance increased by about 0.439. similarly, an improvement of one unit in client communication caused an improvement of 0.348 in designer h&s performance. the insignificant relationships were found to be those between the competence factor and designer h&s performance (λ = -0.196, z = -1.747, p = 0.081), the leadership factor and designer h&s performance (λ = 0.182, z = 1.618, p = 0.106), and the commitment factor and designer h&s performance (λ = 0.188, z = 0.681, p = 0.496). the strength of these relationships was not statistically significant, although the findings revealed that there was evidence of relationship. in addition, the factors competence and involvement were found to have a negative relationship with designer h&s performance. this result was surprising, because it was expected that an increase in client competence and involvement would result in an increase in designer h&s performance. nonetheless, the general hypothesis h2, which postulated that client h&s culture had a positive direct influence on designer h&s performance, could not be rejected, because two of the six specific hypotheses were found to be statistically significant. in addition, the four other specific hypotheses were found to be practically significant, because the influence was evident albeit not statistically significant. 3.3.3 testing the direct influence of contractor h&s performance on project h&s performance results of the sem analysis yielded support for the hypothesis that contractor h&s performance had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance. the test statistics were found to be significantly different from zero (λ = 0.546, z = 8.02, p = 0.000). given these results, the hypothesis h4 could not be rejected, because contractor h&s performance had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance. the parameter estimate between contractor h&s performance and project h&s performance indicated that, for every unit improvement in contractor h&s performance, project h&s performance would improve by 0.546 units. the contractor in this case referred to upper management. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 90 table 5: parameter estimates and test statistic for model 2.0 hypo thesis parameter un-standardised standardised estimates estimate (λ) z statistic estimate (λ) z statistic p value h1a h1b h1c h1d h1e h1f h2a h2b h2c h2d h2e h2f h3a h3b h3c h3d h3e h3f h4 h5 cllp→ cont h&s performance clip→ cont h&s performance clpp→ cont h&s performance cltp→ cont h&s performance clnp→ cont h&s performance clcp→ cont h&s performance cllp→ desg h&s performance clip→ desg h&s performance clpp→ desg h&s performance cltp→ desg h&s performance clnp→ desg h&s performance clcp→ desg h&s performance cllp→ proj h&s performance clip→ proj h&s performance clpp→ proj h&s performance cltp→ proj h&s performance clnp→ proj h&s performance clcp→ proj h&s performance cont → proj h&s performance desg → proj h&s performance 0.228 -0.608 0.474 0.618 0.024 0.090 0.188 -0.132 0.388 0.175 0.298 -0.202 0.018 -0.137 0.127 0.219 0.033 0.095 0.518 0.163 1.738 -2 348 4.282 2.324 0.212 0.675 1.665 -0 538 2.744 0.674 3.299 -1.750 0.270 -0.968 1.359 1.481 0.442 1.122 7.124 2.636 0.204 -0.663 0.494 0.616 0.026 0.081 0.182 -0.155 0.439 0.188 0.348 -0.196 0.016 -0.158 0.139 0.231 0.038 0.090 0.546 0.159 1.720 -2.402 4.407 2.393 0.212 0.675 1.618 -0.540 3.009 0.681 3.346 -1.747 0.270 -0.965 1.371 1.502 0.445 1.141 8.021 2.582 0.086 0.016 0.000 0.017 0.832 0.500 0.106 0.589 0.003 0.496 0.001 0.081 0.787 0.334 0.171 0.133 0.656 0.254 0.000 0.010 (robust statistical significance at 5% level) musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 91 3.3.4 testing the direct influence of designer h&s performance on project h&s performance the results from the sem analysis yielded support for the hypothesis that designer h&s performance had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance. the test statistics were found to be significantly different from zero (λ = 0.159, z = 2.582, p = 0.010). therefore, the hypothesis h5 could not be rejected, given these parameter estimates. the parameter estimate between designer h&s performance and project h&s performance indicated that, for every unit improvement in designer h&s performance, project h&s performance would improve by 0.159. this coefficient was, however, lower than the desired 0.400. nonetheless, the relationship was found to be significantly different from zero, indicating that designer h&s performance had a significant influence on project h&s performance. 3.3.5 testing the direct influence of client h&s culture on project h&s performance the general hypothesis was that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on construction project h&s performance. specifically, the hypotheses, which collectively formed the hypothesis h3, were that the factors of client h&s culture, namely: h3a leadership, had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance; h3b involvement, had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance; h3c involvement, had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance; h3d commitment, had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance; h3e communication, had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance, and h3f competence, had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance. the results for these specific hypotheses, presented in table 6, did not yield support for all hypothesised direct relationships between the factors of client h&s culture and project h&s performance. the test statistics revealed that the direct relationships between the factor leadership and project h&s performance had a parameter acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 92 coefficient λ = 0.016 and the test statistic z = 0.270. the probability p was found to be 0.787 for this relationship. the relationship between the factor involvement and project h&s performance yielded λ = -0.158, z = -0.965 and p = 0.334. on the other hand, parameter estimates for the relationship between the factor procedures and project h&s performance were λ = 0.139, z = 1.371 and p = 0.171. the relationships between the factor commitment and project h&s performance (λ = 0.231, z = 1.502, p = 0.133) and between communication and project h&s performance (λ = 0.038, z = 0.445, p = 0.656) were also not significantly different from zero or the null hypothesis. therefore, the general hypothesis (h3) that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance was rejected. 3.3.6 testing indirect influence of client h&s culture on project h&s performance an indirect relationship is said to exist between two variables if the direct relationship between the two is completely insignificant or tends to diminish in the face of an increased indirect significance. the direct relationship between client h&s culture and project h&s performance was found to be insignificant (table 6). however, the direct relationship between client h&s culture and contractor h&s performance was found to be significant. similarly, the relationship between client h&s culture and designer h&s performance was also significant. in addition, the direct influences of contractor and designer h&s performance on project h&s performance were found to be significant (table 6). the indirect effects on project h&s performance by three factors of client h&s culture, namely involvement, procedures and commitment, mediated by contractor h&s performance, were found to be significant at 5% probability level. the standardised indirect effects of the involvement factor yielded parameter estimates λ = -0.362, z = -2.335 and p = 0.020. as for the factor procedures, the estimates were λ = 0.270, z = 3.877 and p = 0.000, indicating that the effect was significant. the specific standardised indirect effects of the commitment factor on project h&s performance, mediated by contractor h&s performance, yielded parameter estimates λ = 0.337, z = 2.303 and p = 0.021. these estimates indicated a significant effect. the effects of three factors of client h&s culture, namely communication, leadership and competence, were found to be statistically insignificant when client influence on project h&s performance was mediated by contractor h&s performance (table 6). acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 94 estimates for the total indirect effect were found to be λ = 0.340, z = 4.619 and p = 0.000 for the procedures factor. the standardised estimates of the total indirect effect of the commitment factor were found to be λ = 0.366, z = 2.052 and p = 0.040. the finding on the indirect effect of client h&s culture on project h&s performance confirmed the mediatory role that contractor and designer h&s performance played in the postulated model. in addition, the findings also confirmed that, although the client h&s culture did not exhibit a direct positive influence on project h&s performance, its indirect influence on project h&s performance was significant. therefore, the hypothesis that client h&s culture generally had an indirect positive influence on project h&s performance, mediated by contractor and designer h&s performance, could not be rejected. specifically, the influence of the procedures and commitment factors was found to be statistically significant at 5% probability level and the indirect influence of the other factors was found to be evident. table 6: specific indirect effects of client h&s culture on project h&s performance parameter un-standardised standardised estimates indirect effect (λ) z statistic p value indirect effect (λ) z statistic p value cllp→ cont →proj. h&s clip→ cont →proj. h&s clpp→ cont →proj. h&s cltp→ cont →proj. h&s clnp→ cont →proj. h&s clce→ cont →proj. h&s cllp→ desg →proj. h&s clip→ desg →proj. h&s clpp→ desg →proj. h&s cltp→ desg →proj. h&s clnp→ desg →proj. h&s clce→ desg →proj. h&s 0.118 -0.315 0.245 0.320 0.012 0.047 0.031 -0.021 0.063 0.028 0.049 -0.033 1.738 -2 258 3.748 2.216 0.211 0.667 1.412 -0 533 1.968 0.662 1.999 -1.488 0.082 0.024 0.000 0.027 0.833 0.505 0.158 0.594 0.049 0.508 0.046 0.137 0.111 -0.362 0.270 0.337 0.014 0.044 0.029 -0.025 0.070 0.030 0.055 -0.031 1.738 -2.335 3 877 2 303 0 211 0 667 1.413 -0.534 1.948 0 665 1.977 -1.427 0.082 0.020 0.000 0.021 0.833 0.505 0.158 0.593 0.051 0.506 0.048 0.153 musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 95 4. discussion 4.1 influence of client h&s culture on contractor h&s performance the findings suggested that client h&s culture had an influence on the h&s performance of the upper management of contractors. two of the six specific hypotheses, which collectively formed the hypothesis that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance, were found to be statistically significant. the two hypotheses related to the influence of client h&s culture, namely procedures and commitment. the indicator variables for the factor procedures were for the client to: • have programmes to monitor and analyse h&s implementation; • have clear project h&s goals; • schedule h&s as a key contract prequalification criterion for all parties to be involved in a project; • schedule h&s in all contracts; • conduct regular h&s performance measurement; • have their own h&s committee, and • conduct hazard identification and risk assessments (hiras). the study found the influence of the procedures factor of client h&s culture on contractor h&s performance to be statistically significant. this finding supports those of the study by huang & hinze (2006: 171) who observed that projects where owners or clients tracked the individual h&s performances of each contractor on their project site had significantly better h&s performances. although huang & hinze (2006: 171) only referred to one indicator variable, namely performance measurement, their study supports the current study finding that clients needed to have clear procedures if they were to influence contractor h&s performance. the indicator variables for the commitment factor were for the client to: • demonstrate a positive h&s attitude; • actively promote h&s; • provide adequate resources for h&s implementation; • put in effort to routinely evaluate h&s in all work schedules; • set up incentives for good h&s behaviour; • set h&s as a major agenda item in project meetings; acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 96 • actively monitor h&s programmes; • always attend h&s meetings on the construction site; • conduct h&s inspections and audits, and • be involved always in accident or incident investigations. the commitment factor of client h&s culture had a statistically significant influence on contractor h&s performance. the findings of this study support the observations made by toellner (2001: 47), wiegmann, zhang, thaden, sharma & mitchell (2002: 11), mohamed (2003: 82), ng, cheng & skitmore (2005: 6), cameron & duff (2007: 870), and choudry, fang & mohamed (2009: 209) who found that management commitment was key to h&s performance and culture. to date there have been few studies on evaluating the effect of client commitment on contractor h&s performance. the influence of leadership, involvement, communication and competence were found to be statistically insignificant. this finding was surprising, because these factors were expected to have an influence on contractor h&s performance. in addition, the delphi panel found them to have high impact significance. however, since statistical significance can be greatly affected by the sample size and the type of population that is sampled, it would be useful to learn whether the results would be different in another study with a different sample type and size. notwithstanding this, the influence of these factors was found to be evident and therefore practically significant. client involvement was found to have a negative relationship with contractor h&s performance. client involvement was defined by the following indicator variables which required the client to: • personally be active in critical project h&s activities; • always be present in project h&s meetings; • contribute to h&s training; • actively oversee h&s on critical operations; • constantly stay in touch on h&s issues; • always communicate information on h&s to all parties, and • conduct regular audits and inspections. the study found that, if clients increased their involvement in activities that defined client involvement, the h&s performance of contractors deteriorated. however, it was realised during the study that there was a thin differentiating line between the factors involvement and commitment. the current study reported high collinearity between musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 97 these two factors. the involvement factor had a correlation value higher than 0.9 with the commitment factor. therefore, it was speculated that the unreasonable result where client involvement caused deterioration in contractor h&s performance may probably have been a result of the high collinearity between the two factors. this may, in fact, be the reason why some authors use and refer to the two factors as being one factor, namely commitment and involvement (mohamed, 2003: 82). the findings relative to the hypothesis that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on contractor h&s performance entailed that the minimum that the client could do in order to significantly influence contractor h&s performance was to have procedures in place and to be committed to h&s performance. the findings offer a minimum requirement that could be used by clients seeking to influence contractor h&s performance. a checklist of items defining the factors of procedures and commitment could ensure that clients satisfied the basic required criteria to influence contractor h&s performance. 4.2 influence of client h&s culture on designer h&s performance client h&s culture was found to have an influence on designer h&s performance. two of the six specific hypotheses, which collectively formed the hypothesis that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance, were found to be statistically significant. the two specific hypotheses were that the procedures and communication factors had direct positive influence on designer h&s performance. the finding in the current study validated a proposal by bomel (2004: 149) that designers could design for h&s with the mobilisation of client influence. it would appear that, if clients had clear programmes on h&s, it would be easier for designers to perform their h&s obligations. the communication factor was defined by the client having to: • have formal reporting system of incidents and accidents; • involve all parties in planning for h&s on the project; • involve all parties to review h&s; • provide timely feedback on reported accidents and incidents; • communicate risk findings to all parties on the project; • have clearly outlined h&s roles and responsibilities; acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 98 • have clearly communicated expected performance on h&s to all, and • provide information on h&s risk control to all parties. the effect on designer h&s performance by the client communicating was found to be statistically significant. the findings relative to the hypothesis that client h&s culture had a direct positive influence on designer h&s performance entailed that the minimum that the client could do in order to significantly influence designer h&s performance was to have procedures in place and to provide effective communication on h&s. however, although the influence of leadership, involvement, commitment and competence factors was not statistically significant, their influence was evident and therefore practically significant. the findings only offer a minimum requirement that could be used by clients seeking to influence designers’ h&s performance. a checklist of items defining the factors, procedures and communication, could ensure that clients satisfied the basic required criteria to influence designer h&s performance. designer h&s performance, especially designing for h&s, was critical to the overall project h&s performance (bomel, 2004: x). 4.3 influence of client h&s culture on project h&s performance client h&s culture was found to have an indirect positive influence on project h&s performance. this influence was mediated by contractor and designer h&s performance. the effects on project h&s performance of procedures and commitment were found to be statistically significant. however, the direct positive influence of client h&s culture on project h&s performance was found to be statistically insignificant. none of leadership, involvement, procedures, commitment, communication and competence factors had a statistically significant direct positive influence on project h&s performance. the study found that client h&s culture was important to project h&s performance, particularly procedures and commitment. the finding that client h&s culture had an indirect positive influence on project h&s performance validated an observation made by bomel (2004: 102) that clients’ culture offered an opportunity upon which h&s performance could be improved on construction projects. the findings also suggested that project h&s performance and improvement may not be achieved by focusing only on one party such as the contractor, or designer, or indeed the client. however, musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 99 the findings seemed to suggest that the participation of all parties was critical to achieving the desired h&s performance. the influence of client h&s culture on project h&s performance was found to be an indirect one and was mediated by both designer and contractor h&s performance. in addition, although the direct influence of designers and contractors was found to be significant, the results suggested that these two factors also needed influence from client h&s culture. in order to continuously achieve or improve project h&s performance, client h&s culture was found to be necessary. the importance of having conducted a structural equation modelling analysis to determine the influence of client h&s culture on the contractor, designer and project h&s performance was that it was possible to identify specifically which factors of client h&s culture had a statistical significant causal effect and direction of that effect as opposed to a general blanket statement that client h&s culture had an influence on project h&s performance. with this analysis, it was easier to operationalise in terms of what the client needed to do in order to assure project h&s performance. 4.4 influence of contractor and designer h&s performance on project h&s performance contractor h&s performance in terms of upper management had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance. this finding was consistent with the lin & mills (2001: 135) study which found that, when contractors scored highly in management responsibility and h&s system elements, their total h&s standards tended to be higher. the study findings highlighted the role of contractors to influence overall project h&s performance. it also highlighted that it was beneficial for h&s performance improvement to commence with the involvement and commitment of the upper management of contractors as opposed to concentrating on factors found during the construction stage only. this significance was also highlighted by jaselkis, anderson & russell (1996: 69) who argued that management characteristics, h&s meetings and budget allocations improved h&s performance. these aspects had to do with upper management. designer h&s performance had a direct positive influence on project h&s performance. this finding was consistent with that of behm (2006: 7) and gambatese, behm & hinze. (2005: 1035) who found a link between the design and construction site injury and fatality incidents and concluded that designing for h&s was a viable intervention in the construction industry. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 100 the current study highlighted the role of designers to influence overall project h&s performance. this finding confirmed a typical lack of understanding by some designers as to the extent of their influence on h&s performance (gambatese, 1997: 32; toole, 2005: 206). therefore, the finding that designers have a significant influence on project h&s performance was noteworthy in that it provides designers with the knowledge that they had an influence on h&s performance. for clients, who were employers of designers, designer h&s performance could constitute a checklist of activities to supervise designers to ensure project h&s performance. similarly for designers, they could know which activities needed to be implemented or engaged with by them to ensure project h&s performance. these activities could also constitute leading indicators for all stakeholders involved in a project. 5. conclusions a model was developed based on findings from a review of literature and the delphi study. the conceptual model postulated that client h&s culture had an influence on construction project h&s performance. the model further postulated that client h&s culture had an influence on contractor and designer h&s performance. the postulated model was analysed using eqs version 6.1 and mplus version 6.0 sem software packages. the fit statistics for the measurement and structural models had an adequate fit to the sample data. the final model, presented in figure 5, showed that client h&s culture had an influence on contractor, designer and project h&s performance. specifically, the factors of procedures and commitment were found to have a statistically significant influence on contractor h&s performance, while the factors of procedures and communication had a statistically significant influence on designers. client h&s culture was found to have an indirect influence on project h&s performance. this influence was mediated by contractor and designer h&s performance. procedures and commitment had a statistically significant influence on project h&s performance. the findings had theoretical value, because respondents were drawn from client, contractor, designer and subcontractor organisations. respondents had working knowledge of the projects on which they were reporting. in addition, the questionnaire survey, whose results were modelled using the sem, validated the conceptual model musonda et al • assuring health and safety performance 101 developed from synthesised theories established from literature and, more importantly, from the delphi study. the current study was supported by other studies that had used other research methods on the influence of clients on project h&s performance. however, the current study utilised a robust modelling method of sem to specifically identify client h&s factors with significant influence. designer h&s performance project h&s performance contractor h&s performance client h&s culture figure 6: final model of client influence on project h&s performance the study found that better project h&s performance was possible when the factors of client h&s culture were evident. the influence of client h&s culture assured contractor, designer and project h&s performance. it would seem that project h&s performance would be assured by ensuring that the client h&s culture remained positive and that all the factors of client h&s were evident. references list abdelhamid, t.s. & everett, j.g. 2000. identifying root causes of construction accidents. journal of construction engineering and management, 126(1), pp. 52-60. bartholomew, j.b., loukas, a., jowers, m.e. & allua, s. 2006. validation of the physical activity self-efficacy scale: testing measurement invariance between hispanic and caucasian children. 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329-341. toellner, j. 2001. improving safety and health performance: identifying and measuring leading indicators. professional safety, september, pp. 42-47. toole, t.m. 2005. increasing engineers’ role in construction safety: opportunities and barriers. journal of professional issues in engineering education & practice, 131(3), pp. 199-207. wiegmann, d.a., zhang, h., thaden, t.v., sharma, g. & mitchell, a. 2002. safety culture: a review. savoy: federal aviation administration atlantic city international airport. winch, g.m. 2000. institutional reform in british construction: partnering and private finance. building research & information, 28(1), pp. 141-155. 79 navorsingsartikels • research articles the image of the construction industry and its employment attractiveness peer reviewed and revised november 2016 abstract as the construction industry does not seem to enjoy a positive image, it is not necessarily the career of choice when compared with other industries. this study examines the image of the industry in order to establish what the perception of the industry is, the effects of that perception, and how the image of the sector could be improved. a mixed approach is used that involves a questionnaire survey of a purposive sample of high-school students, employers and employees in the greater durban area of kwazulu-natal province as well as a focus group of employers. the findings of the study are important if the image of the construction industry is to be improved so that it can become the career of choice for larger numbers of high-school students and other potential new entrants. the study is confined to the kwazulunatal province and high schools in the western suburbs of durban. keywords: image; career choice, school leavers, employers abstrak dit blyk dat die konstruksiebedryf se beeld tans negatief is. dit het tot gevolg dat minder mense hierdie beroep betree of dit as ‘n aanvaarbare beroepskeuse beskou. hierdie studie ondersoek die beeld van die bedryf ten einde vas te stel wat die persepsie van die bedryf is, die gevolge van daardie persepsie en hoe om die beeld van die sektor te verbeter. ‘n gemengde benadering is gebruik om ‘n vraelysopname van ‘n doelge rigte steekproef onder hoërskoolleerlinge, werk ge wers en werknemers in die groter durban-area van die kwazulu-natal provinsie, asook ‘n fokusgroep van werkgewers te doen. die bevindinge van die studie is belangrik om die beeld van die konstruksiebedryf te verbeter sodat dit die theo haupt & nishani harinarain prof. theo c. haupt, school of engineering, construction studies programme, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban, 4041, south africa. phone: +27 (0)31 260 2687, email: <haupt@ukzn.ac.za> dr nishani harinarain, school of engineering, construction studies programme, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban, 4041, south africa. phone: +27 (0)31 260 2687, email: <harinarain@ukzn. ac.za> the author(s) declare no conflict of interest for this title and article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i2.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(2): 79-108 © uv/ufs mailto:haupt@ukzn.ac.za mailto:harinarain@ukzn.ac.za mailto:harinarain@ukzn.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.4 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 80 loopbaankeuse vir meer hoërskoolleerlinge en ander potensiële nuwe toetreders kan word. die studie is slegs gedoen in die kwazulu-natal provinsie en hoërskole in die westelike voorstede van durban. sleutelwoorde: beeld, loopbaankeuse, skoolverlaters, werkgewers 1. introduction the construction industry is an economically important industry in any country. according to wibowo (2009: 1), it contributes by supplying the infrastructure and physical structures of a country to house other industries; by creating jobs; by contributing to a country’s gross domestic product (gdp), and by providing basic needs such as housing, for example, to the population. the construction industry contributes significantly to the south african economy (cumberlege, 2008: 50). in 2012, the construction industry contributed r59,422m to the gdp at 2005 price levels, an amount of r112,631m at current prices. this figure was translated into 3.5% of the south african gdp (stats sa, 2013: 8). in september 2012, the construction industry employed an estimated 433,000 employees, roughly 5.1% of the south african workforce (stats sa, 2012: 11). the south african government has declared the industry a strategic national asset and it was convinced that the construction industry could be used to achieve economic growth and improve the quality of life of the population (didiza, 2008: 4). it was, therefore, important that the industry was growing and attracting new entrants. despite the industry’s importance, it was noted globally that the construction industry had been suffering from a poor image for a long time (ilo, 2001: 1; pearce, 2003: ix; rameezdeen, 2007: 76; makhene & twala, 2009: 130; clarke & boyd, 2011: 1; chan & connolly, 2006: 2). according to rameezdeen (2007: 77), the construction industry has become synonymous with low-quality work, high cost as well as poor health and safety statistics. recently, many spectacular accidents involving loss of life, limb and property have occurred on construction sites in south africa and have been popularised by the media. these have created negative impressions of the industry. in their study, amaratunga, haigh, lee, shanmugam and elvitigala (2006) cited the image of the construction industry as one of the main barriers that prohibited women from choosing a career in construction. the image problem could, therefore, be extrapolated to include both genders, as it was a barrier that affected the career choice of the young adult population. according to the ilo (2001: 58), the construction industry’s workforce and potential workforce also had negative perceptions of the industry. the poor image was due haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 81 to the nature of the work being physically demanding, dirty and dangerous. people only applied for a job in construction as a last resort (dg enterprise, 2000: 6). in a study, the majority of the respondents, who had personal experience with the construction sector, were the most negative about the image of the industry. this personal experience had a greater impact on the public’s perception than the media had (rameezdeen, 2007: 80). in an earlier study, skitmore (1991: 3) found that the respondents’ personal experiences, or a close relative’s experiences with the construction sector had influenced their perception of the industry the greatest. given the poor image of the construction industry, it is infrequently the career of choice when compared with other industries, which arguably had more positive images. without addressing this negativity, the industry will continue to struggle to attract new entrants, especially considering the continuing chronic skills shortage in the industry. this article reports the results of a study done to • establish the image of the industry from the perspective of high-school students, employers and employees; • compare the perceptions of high-school students, employers and employees, and • recommend actions that might help improve the image of the industry. 2. image of the construction sector several factors or perceptions influence the image of the con struction sector. 2.1 less prestigious than other industries construction workers were viewed as blue-collar workers synonymous with low-status jobs (ilo, 2001: 13). young people viewed any career that involved manual labour as a low-status career due to the low wages in comparison with other industries, and the lack of clear career paths (tucker, haas, glover, alemany, carley, rodriguez & shields, 1999: 1). young people viewed the status of a career as an important factor in deciding on a career path. according to schella (2010: 3), parents and teachers saw a job in construction as a last resort when a job could not be found elsewhere. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 82 2.2 few career-advancement opportunities career-advancement opportunities in the construction industry are unclear. makhene and twala (2009: 130) stated that there was a lack of well-defined career paths in construction. in an earlier study, young people were of the opinion that it was not possible to make a career out of construction; they generally did not know about the career opportunities that were available (tucker et al., 1999: 25). 2.3 construction jobs do not pay as well as other industries the potential salary and overall income package are important to young people when choosing a career (chileshe & haupt, 2007: 8). makhene and twala (2009: 130) stated that it was a general opinion that jobs in construction were paying less than jobs in other industries. labourers in the manufacturing industry were paid more than construction labourers, resulting in young people preferring careers outside of construction (dg enterprise, 2000: 5). 2.4 poor health and safety records despite the recent efforts to improve the health and safety performance of the industry, there are still alarming numbers of site accidents and work-related deaths (pearce, 2003: 37). the cidb (2002: 16) stated that the prominent number of site accidents was largely due to lack of training and unregulated practices. the construction industry had the highest total amount of fatalities when compared with other industrial sectors. furthermore, the industry caused a significant amount of non-fatal injuries (pearce, 2003: 37). young people were less likely to enter an industry that endangers their lives. 2.5 fraud and corruption it was generally known that fraud and corruption occurred within the construction industry (pearl, bowen, makanjee, akintoye & evans, 2005: 4; vee & skitmore, 2003: 118). construction companies formed cartels in order to monopolise a sector or geographical area. these cartels increased the tender prices submitted. the competition commission, a statutory body founded by the competition act no. 89 of 1998 (rsa, 1998: 2) who controls and exercises fair competition and business practices, and the hawks, the directorate of priority crime investigation who investigates serious charges of commercial crime and corruption, are currently investigating alleged corruption during the procurement stages of the 2010 fifa world cup stadia and related infrastructure. several of south africa’s largest construction haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 83 companies have admitted guilt, while others are currently claiming innocence (visser, 2013). according to cidb (2011: ii), the barriers to quality in construction were “corruption, political interference and institutional barriers”. these barriers were becoming more apparent in south africa. the cidb was adamant that fraudulent behaviour and corruption were some of the main factors contributing to poor construction quality (cidb, 2011: 19). 2.6 sensitivity to economic conditions according to mukucha, mphethi and maluleke (2010: 39), the construction cycle changed more slowly than the ordinary business cycle. the impact of the recent recession was experienced by the construction industry later than it affected other industries. however, in order to survive or reduce costs, construction companies had retrenched some of their permanent labour force, and opted for employing cheaper unskilled immigrant labour (mukucha et al., 2010: 20). snyman (2009: 121) stated that the cycle in construction was more pronounced than in other industries. the construction industry was slow to recover from the recent recession, as the current business confidence level had deteriorated to 36 in the fourth quarter of 2012 (cidb, 2012: 3). this figure was indicative of 36% of the respondents who were of the opinion that current business conditions were “satisfactory” (cidb, 2012: 1). 2.7 little being done to promote the construction industry steps had to be taken to encourage construction companies to promote the industry at school level (chan & connolly, 2012: 9). rameezdeen (2007: 80) stated that the industry’s image could be improved by promoting corporate social responsibility (csr). the concept of csr refers to professionals conducting business in an ethical manner, with special reference to socio-economic sustainable practices. companies were encouraged to consider the community and the quality of life of their workforce. the image of construction could also be improved by promoting “quality of products, time cost and safety management, and education and training programmes” (rameezdeen, 2007: 84). csr could be used as a tool to counter negative publicity (vanhamme & grobben, 2009: 275). dg enterprise (2000: 7) stated that young people needed to be attracted to a career in construction by promoting the industry. a positive image was needed to attract employees and investors to firms. if there was a perception that the firm, or industry, was operating unethically, it would not attract any employees, investors or customers. firms often used public relations to dispel any negative acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 84 perceptions about them (friedman, 2012). there was a general lack of promotion done by the various councils and associations in the built environment. people outside of the industry were not subjected to these governing bodies. the cidb was mandated in terms of the construction industry development board act with promoting an efficient and stable industry, and its contribution to meeting economic strategies (rsa 2000: 2). 3. research methodology the research approach adopted for this study included both quantitative and qualitative methods. the data for the study were collected using samples of employers, employees and high-school students as well as a focus group of industry practitioners. it is well known that, when using a questionnaire survey, the nature of the research questions determines the research design. to be effective, the survey approach should include appropriate questions to respondents in order to gain information, a well-systematised datacollection technique, and results that are generalisable to the larger population. in the case of this study, they had to be easy to understand by high-school students, employers and employees; ensure a good and reliable response level, and be quick to complete. the high-school student survey aimed to determine the students’ perception of the industry and whether they thought a career in construction was a viable career choice. the employer and employee surveys sought to establish their views on the industry. the survey instruments contained attitudinal likert scales, sometimes referred to as semantic scales. likert scales are popular scoring schemes for attempting to quantify the opinions of respondents on different issues (bishop & herron, 2015: 297). in the minds of respondents where the number of items making up the scale is odd instead of equal, there would be a balance with equidistant response options to the left or right of the central neutral value (bishop & herron, 2015: 298). the likert scale, which can have a variety of items ranging from four to seven, for example, allowed the researcher to calculate central measures of tendency (boone & boone, 2012; hartley, 2013: 84). the points on the scale were equidistantly spaced as a prerequisite for an accurate measurement. when using likert-type scales, the most widely and frequently used cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency reliability for any scales or subscales was used (gadermann, guhn & zumbo, 2012: 1). using cronbach’s alpha under circumstances that violate haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 85 its assumptions or prerequisites might lead to deflated reliability estimates (gadermann et al., 2012: 1) that might entail some misinformed inferences. reliability is the extent to which a measuring instrument is repeatable and consistent. for this particular article, the internal reliability of variables was tested using cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability. the number of items in the scale is not prescribed and is arbitrary (boone & boone, 2012; hartley, 2013: 84). a 5-point likert scale was used in all survey instruments. a number of employers were involved in a focus group about their perceptions of the construction industry. the key findings are reported after content analysis. 3.1 data collection the student instrument was piloted among high-school students in grades 10 to 12 at a career day held by the kwazulu-natal branch of the master builders association south africa (mbasa). these students were typically between the ages of 15 and 18 years when they gather information and make decisions about their post-school careers. the pilot instrument became the final instrument, because there were no changes necessary. the responses from the pilot study were, therefore, included in the final data set of responses from 179 students. convenience sampling techniques were used in the case of the employer and employee samples. personal contacts as well as a list of companies made available on the mba website were utilised in order to boost responses. the researcher contacted 116 construction companies located in the greater durban area in kwazulu-natal. of the 116 companies, 36 responses were collected from the construction companies, showing a response rate of 31%. a sample of 24 employees was surveyed. the views of a focus group of four industry practitioners was held, their responses were recorded and transcribed. selected responses are included in this paper. 3.2 interpretation of findings table 1 shows the cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scaled re spon ses of each of the samples. there is an acceptable degree of internal consistency for the scales used for all the constructs, namely a cronbach alpha statistic that is greater than the rule-of-thumb 0.700 for acceptable internal scale consistency, except for the students’ attitude to the industry at slightly less than 0.700. therefore there is between 72.0% and 64.0% probability that each of the constructs measures a single underlying concept with an error of at most 5%. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 86 the scales used to measure the two selected areas of image of the industry are, therefore, acceptable in their measure of the reliability of the constructs. table 1: reliability statistics construct students (n=179) employers (n=36) employees (n=24) attitude to industry 0.640 (11 items) 0.736 (25 items) 0.707 (15 items) knowledge of industry 0.720 (6 items) 4. findings 4.1 student survey table 2: profile of student sample (n=179) n % grade grade 10 61 34.1 grade 11 69 38.5 grade 12 49 27.4 gender male 83 46.4 female 96 53.6 knowing someone in construction parent 25 22.9 sibling 11 10.1 uncle 19 17.4 friend 27 24.8 other 27 24.8 table 2 shows the profile of the high-school student sample, which was drawn from nine schools in the greater durban area. the majority of the students were in grade 11 (38.5%), female (53.6%) and knew someone in the industry (75.2%). table 3: view of the industry (n=179; nm=83; nf=96 1) 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. all students 1.1 1.1 41.3 41.3 15.1 3.68 0.78 males 1.2 41.0 36.1 21.7 3.77 0.83 females 1.0 2.1 41.7 45.8 9.4 3.60 0.73 1 the bold responses refer to those from the sample of 179 students, the italicised responses refer to the 83 male students and the normal text responses refer to the 96 female students. haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 87 the responses of the students in table 3 indicate how they viewed the construction industry on a 5-point scale, where 1=extremely negative, 2=negative, 3=neutral, 4=positive, and 5=extremely positive. it is evident that they tended to have a positive view of the construction industry (mean=3.68). female students were less positive than their male counterparts. however, a large proportion (~41%) of the students were neutral, suggesting that, if efforts were made to promote the industry better than it has to date, it is possible that more students would decide one way or the other about careers in the industry. table 4: perceptions of industry (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) statement 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. prestige of industry 3.03 0.65 3.02 0.67 3.12 0.68 a career in the construction industry is prestigious 8.4 15.6 47.5 23.5 5.9 3.01 0.97 9.6 19.3 47.0 20.5 3.6 2.89 0.97 7.3 12.5 47.9 26.0 6.3 3.11 0.96 it is not better to work in an office than it is to work outside on site 26.3 9.5 26.3 16.8 21.2 2.97 1.47 20.5 13.3 25.3 14.5 26.5 3.13 1.47 16.7 18.8 27.1 6.3 31.3 3.17 1.47 a career in the construction industry is better than a career in other industries 18.4 27.9 39.1 8.9 5.6 2.55 1.06 18.1 32.5 34.9 10.9 3.6 2.49 1.03 18.8 24.0 42.7 7.3 7.3 2.60 1.10 career/opportunity 3.24 1.05 3.16 1.03 2.70 1.06 there are more careeradvancement opportunities in the construction industry 7.8 14.0 28.5 24.6 25.1 3.45 1.23 7.2 18.1 21.7 22.9 30.1 3.51 1.29 20.8 26.0 34.4 10.4 8.3 2.59 1.17 the construction industry is not a male-dominated industry 21.8 19.0 21.2 11.2 26.8 3.02 1.50 19.3 25.3 25.3 14.5 15.7 2.82 1.34 36.5 8.3 17.7 13.5 24.0 2.80 1.62 remuneration/reward 3.53 0.78 3.47 0.81 3.32 0.71 a career in the construction industry is fulfilling as results can be seen 2.2 10.1 29.1 31.3 27.4 3.72 1.04 3.6 8.4 30.1 31.3 26.5 3.69 1.07 1.0 11.5 28.1 31.3 28.1 3.74 1.03 a career in the construction industry is rewarding 1.7 8.9 39.7 27.9 21.8 3.59 0.98 1.2 9.6 39.8 28.9 20.5 3.57 0.96 2.1 8.3 39.6 27.1 22.9 3.60 1.00 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 88 statement 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. the construction industry pays well 4.5 8.4 31.8 34.6 20.7 3.59 1.05 3.6 13.3 24.1 41.0 18.1 4.33 2.00 5.2 5.2 38.5 28.1 22.9 3.58 1.06 a job in an office does not pay more than a job on site 14.5 11.2 30.7 20.1 23.5 3.27 1.33 16.9 12.0 30.1 20.5 20.5 3.15 1.35 26.0 19.8 31.3 10.4 12.5 2.63 1.31 health and safety 3.22 0.75 3.26 0.73 3.14 0.74 construction is not an industry suited for disabled persons 15.6 10.6 21.8 17.3 34.6 3.45 1.45 18.1 8.4 20.5 20.5 32.5 3.41 1.47 13.5 12.5 22.9 14.6 36.5 3.48 1.44 the construction industry is not too physically demanding 9.5 18.4 32.4 22.9 16.8 3.19 1.20 7.2 21.7 27.7 25.3 18.1 3.25 1.20 15.6 20.8 36.5 15.6 11.5 2.86 1.20 working in the construction industry is safe 8.4 21.2 42.5 16.8 11.2 3.01 1.08 6.0 20.5 39.8 22.9 10.8 3.12 1.05 11.5 11.5 45.8 21.9 9.4 3.06 1.08 fraud and corruption 3.69 1.21 3.88 1.16 2.46 1.25 there is corruption in the construction industry 6.1 9.5 27.9 21.8 34.6 3.69 1.21 3.6 9.6 22.9 24.1 39.8 3.87 1.16 30.2 19.8 32.2 9.4 8.4 2.46 1.25 economic conditions 3.61 0.88 3.76 0.87 2.99 0.83 there are many jobs available in construction 5.6 8.9 34.1 17.9 33.5 3.64 1.19 3.6 8.4 27.7 21.7 38.6 3.85 1.15 29.2 14.6 39.6 9.4 7.2 2.51 1.21 there are a great deal of problem-solving opportunities in construction projects 7.3 10.6 27.9 26.3 27.9 3.57 1.21 6.0 14.5 16.9 30.1 32.5 3.69 1.24 8.3 7.3 37.5 22.9 24.0 3.47 1.17 promotion 3.55 1.07 3.52 1.00 3.58 1.12 the construction industry enjoys a positive image 3.4 12.3 31.8 30.7 21.8 3.55 1.07 2.4 13.3 31.3 36.1 16.9 3.52 1.00 4.2 11.5 32.3 26.0 26.0 3.58 1.12 the students were presented with 16 statements within seven constructs about their perceptions of the construction industry and haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 89 were asked to indicate their level of agreement on a 5-point scale, where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, and 5=strongly agree. their responses are shown in table 4. all the means were <4.00 and ranged between 2.25 (tending to disagree) and 3.50 (tending to agree). it is evident that, with respect to the industry being less prestigious than other industries, female students tended to agree more strongly with the statements presented to them. they tended to agree less than their male counterparts about the opportunities for career advancement. this finding echoes the findings of makhene and twala (2009: 130) and tucker et al. (1999: 25). while females agreed less about the financial rewards of working in the industry, they agreed most negatively about the claim of the industry paying well. makhene and twala (2009: 130) and dg enterprise (2000: 5) found similar sentiments in their respective studies. similarly, females agreed less that the industry had a good health and safety performance record, feeling most negatively about the industry being too physically demanding [for them]. in their studies, pearce (2003) and the cidb (2002) found that the health and safety performance record of the industry was poor. as a consequence, the industry had a bad image. female students felt more negatively about whether there was fraud and corruption in the sector. the cidb (2011) concurred that fraud and corruption characterised the industry. female students agreed less that economic conditions impacted on the industry. snyman (2009) found that the economic cycle affected the construction sector more than other sectors. the female students tended to agree with their male counterparts that the industry had a positive image. of concern are the large numbers of high-school students who were neutral about the various perceptions presented to them. several authors such as chan and connolly (2012) and dg enterprise (2000) argued for more promotional activities to improve the image of construction in order to attract new young entrants. table 5: aggregated means of perception constructs (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) construct mean std dev. fraud and corruption 3.69 1.21 3.88 1.16 2.46 1.25 economic conditions 3.61 0.88 3.76 0.87 2.99 0.83 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 90 construct mean std dev. promotion 3.55 1.07 3.52 1.00 3.58 1.12 remuneration/reward 3.53 0.78 3.47 0.81 3.32 0.71 career/opportunity 3.24 1.04 3.16 1.03 2.70 1.06 health and safety 3.22 0.75 3.26 0.73 3.14 0.74 prestige of the industry 3.03 0.65 3.02 0.67 3.12 0.68 table 5 shows the aggregated means for each of the constructs that make up their attitude towards the industry. it is evident that high-school students tended to agree most strongly with the perceptions that the industry is subject to fraud and corruption and it being a victim of economic conditions. they agreed least with the perceptions that the industry was a prestigious one and that it was a healthy and safe one to work in. the overall high-school student attitude towards the construction sector was calculated from the mean of the aggregated means which was 3.00 and standard deviation of 0.42 indicative of the impact of the large neutral cohort of students in the sample on the mean attitude which can best be described as lukewarm. female students (mean=3.04) tended to have a marginally more positive view of the industry than male students (mean=2.97). the constructs were tested for significant correlations using spearman’s rho non-parametric test for strength and direction of the relationships. there is evidence of associations between several of the constructs, which were significant at either the 0.01 level or the 0.05 level. table 6 shows the correlations that are significant. haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 91 table 6: significant correlations (n=179) pr e st ig e c a re e r a d va nc e m e nt re w a rd h e a lth a nd s a fe ty re c o rd fr a ud ec o no m ic s pr o m o tio n prestige correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) 1.00 -0.02 0.785 0.37** 0.00 0.03 0.69 0.32** 0.00 0.12 0.12 0.17* 0.03 career advancement correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) -0.02 0.79 1.00 0.10 0.20 0.26** 0.00 0.11 0.15 0.11 0.14 .04 0.65 reward correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) 0.37** 0.00 0.10 0.21 1.00 0.13 0.08 0.12 0.10 -0.01 0.88 0.19* 0.01 health and safety record correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) 0.03 0.69 0.26** 0.00 0.13 0.08 1.00 0.01 0.86 0.11 0.13 -0.12 0.10 fraud correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) 0.32** 0.00 0.11 0.15 0.12 0.10 0.01 0.86 1.00 0.11 0.16 -0.08 0.27 economics correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.14 -0.01 0.88 0.11 0.13 0.11 0.16 1.00 0.20** 0.01 promotion correlation coefficient sig. (2-tailed) 0.17* 0.03 0.04 0.65 0.19* 0.01 -0.12 0.10 -0.08 0.27 0.20** 0.01 1.00 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). the strength of the positive association between prestige and reward, fraud and promotion is weak and very highly significantly different from zero (p<0.001; p<0.05). in other words, 37%, 32% and 17% of the variation in prestige is explained by reward, fraud and promotion, respectively. the strength of the positive association between career advancement and health and safety record is weak and very highly significantly different from zero (p<0.001). in other words, 26% of the variation in career advancement is explained by health and safety record. the strength of the positive acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 92 association between reward and promotion is weak and very highly significantly different from zero (p<0.05). in other words, 19% of the variation in reward is explained by promotion. the strength of the positive association between economics and promotion is weak and very highly significantly different from zero (p<0.05). in other words, 20% of the variation in economics is explained by promotion. while not shown in the paper, where positive associations exist, they are stronger and highly significantly different from zero (p<0.001; p<0.05) in the case of female students than their male counterparts. the students were quizzed about their knowledge of various participants in the construction process on a 5-point scale, with 1=nothing, 2=little, 3=average, 4=some knowledge, and 5= everything. their responses are shown in table 7. table 7: knowledge of participants in construction process (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) participant 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. architect 7.3 1.7 7.8 17.3 65.9 4.33 1.16 8.4 1.2 6.0 21.7 62.7 4.29 1.19 6.3 2.1 9.4 13.5 68.8 4.36 1.14 project manager 5.0 5.6 24.6 27.4 37.4 3.87 1.13 4.8 8.4 21.7 28.9 36.1 3.83 1.16 5.2 3.1 27.1 26.0 38.5 3.90 1.12 main contractor 11.7 14.5 24.6 17.9 31.3 3.87 1.13 10.8 14.5 21.7 20.5 32.5 3.49 1.36 12.5 14.6 27.1 15.6 30.2 3.36 1.38 civil engineer 20.7 14.0 21.2 22.3 21.8 3.11 1.44 18.1 19.3 16.9 22.9 22.9 3.13 1.44 22.9 9.4 25.0 21.9 20.8 3.08 1.44 subcontractor 24.0 15.6 22.9 13.4 24.0 2.98 1.49 24.1 14.5 24.1 10.8 26.5 3.01 1.52 24.0 16.7 21.9 15.6 21.9 2.95 1.48 quantity surveyor 28.5 18.4 19.6 18.4 15.1 2.74 1.43 25.3 19.3 18.1 22.9 14.5 2.82 1.42 31.3 17.7 20.8 14.6 15.6 2.66 1.45 table 7 clearly shows that high-school students claimed to know almost everything about what an architect does. they had some knowledge of what project managers and main contractors do. they had average to hardly any knowledge of civil engineers, subcontractors and quantity surveyors. except for knowledge about haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 93 architects, female students knew less about all the other participants than male students. to establish a sense of the knowledge of the participants in the construction process, an aggregated mean was calculated, namely 3.41 with standard deviation of 0.86. this finding suggests average to some knowledge of the participants. the aggregate mean of female students (mean=3.19) with respect to their knowledge of the participants suggests that they knew slightly less than their male counterparts (mean=3.26). table 8 shows the responses of high-school students to what they would like to become if they considered a career in construction. table 8: career choice (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) career choice % civil engineer 31.0% 39.5% 21.2% quantity surveyor 9.9% 7.9% 12.1% architect 35.2% 31.6% 39.4% contractor 4.2% 5.3% 3.0% project manager 19.7% 15.8% 24.2% it is evident that architecture was the most popular career option for the entire student sample. however, the most preferred career choice of female students was architecture (39.4%), while it was civil engineering (39.5%) for male students. the least preferred option was becoming a contractor. when asked about how attractive the industry was to them on a 5-point scale, where 1=totally unattractive, 2=unattractive, 3=neutral, 4=attractive, and 5=extremely attractive, high-school students responded as shown in table 9. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 94 table 9: attractiveness of industry (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. attractiveness of career 17.3 10.1 33.0 22.9 16.8 3.12 1.30 18.1 16.9 22.9 26.5 15.7 3.05 1.34 16.7 4.2 41.7 19.8 17.7 3.18 1.26 influence of perception 12.3 13.4 30.2 24.0 20.1 3.26 1.27 10.8 15.7 27.7 31.3 14.5 3.23 1.20 13.5 11.5 32.2 17.7 25.0 3.29 1.33 the students had average views about the attractiveness of a career in construction and how much that perception influenced their career choice. female students found the industry slightly more attractive than male students, and their perception influenced their career choice more. furthermore, the responses of high-school students about whether they wanted to work in the construction industry are shown in table 10, where 1=most definitely not, 2=hardly, 3=maybe, 4=somewhat, and 5=most definitely. it is evident that they had less than average sentiments about working in construction. female students were less willing to work in the industry than male students. table 10: willingness to work in construction (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. 17.3 10.1 33.0 22.9 16.8 2.79 1.43 21.7 15.7 26.5 21.7 14.5 2.92 1.35 32.6 13.7 25.3 9.5 18.9 2.68 1.48 4.2 employer survey table 11 shows the profile of the employer sample. most of the sample consisted of contractors (45.2%), civil engineers (16.1%), and subcontractors (12.9%). table 11: profile of employers (n=31) role in industry n % contractor 14 45.2 civil engineer 5 16.1 subcontractor 4 12.9 quantity surveyor 2 6.5 construction manager 2 6.5 property developer 2 6.5 haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 95 role in industry n % electrical engineer 1 3.2 project manager 1 3.2 table 12 shows that the level of membership of the mba was 58.1%. evidently, other disciplines saw the need to join the mba. it is likely that with more effort this number could increase. table 12: membership of mba (n=31) yes no not applicable 18 (58.1%) 12 (38.7%) 1 (3.2%) the employers were asked to respond to a series of 26 statements within seven constructs about their perceptions of the construction industry and were asked to indicate their level of agreement using a 5-point likert scale, where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, and 5=strongly agree. their responses are shown in table 13. rather than discuss the findings relative to each statement within each construct, the aggregated means are presented in table 14 and discussed. table 13: perceptions of employers (n=31) statement 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. prestige/reputation 2.17 0.47 the perception people have about an industry influences their decision to follow a career therein 6.5 6.5 3.2 83.9 3.64 0.88 the poor image is the main reason why there is a critical skills shortage due to the industry’s unattractiveness as a career choice 7.1 21.4 17.9 32.1 21.4 3.29 1.26 there are many young people currently employed in the construction industry 12.9 32.3 22.6 32.3 2.74 1.06 the public perceive the construction industry as a positive one 16.1 48.4 12.9 22.6 2.42 1.03 the construction industry enjoys a positive image 16.1 54.8 23,6 6.5 2.19 0.79 career/opportunity 3.45 0.43 skilled labour is difficult to find. 9.7 6.5 64.5 19.4 3.94 0.87 construction companies are currently suffering from a shortage of skilled labour 19.4 71.0 9.7 3.90 0.54 people applying for work can expect to be hired if they suit the requirements 16.0 6.5 71.0 6.5 3.68 0.83 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 96 statement 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. there are career-advancement opportunities in my firm 16.1 12.9 71.0 3.54 0.77 the lack of skilled labour prevents companies from growing 22.6 19.4 48.4 9.7 3.45 0.96 i would encourage my children to pursue a career in construction 14.3 21.4 17.9 39.3 7.1 3.04 1.27 construction companies are currently growing in capacity and workforce 9.7 41.9 35.5 12.9 2.51 0.85 remuneration/reward 2.90 0.54 the average age of the workforce is over 40 years 22.6 32.3 38.7 6.5 3.29 0.90 jobs in construction pay well 6.5 32.3 22.6 38.7 2.93 1.00 construction workers generally enjoy job security 61.3 29.0 9.7 2.48 0.68 health and safety 3.25 1.06 working on construction sites is safe 35.5 12.9 41.9 9.7 3.25 1.06 fraud and corruption 2.35 1.31 construction contracts are transparent and fraud free 35.5 29.0 35.5 2.35 1.31 economic conditions 4.06 0.50 construction companies are strongly affected by changes in the business cycle 51.6 48.4 4.48 0.58 construction companies only employ part-time labourers according to the amount of work in the pipeline 12.9 16.1 64.5 6.5 3.65 0.80 promotion 2.90 0.71 media campaigns targeted at the youth could attract them to work in the industry 16.1 6.5 67.7 9.7 3.71 0.86 improving the quality of construction products could improve the image 7.1 14.3 67.9 10.7 3.12 0.72 my company regularly promotes careers in the industry 7.1 39.3 53.6 3.00 1.12 the industry regularly promotes itself in the media 53.6 21.4 25.0 2.71 0.85 i interact regularly with high-school students 10.7 60.7 7.1 21.4 2.39 0.96 i attend career fairs and events to promote my company and the industry 28.6 46.4 25.0 2.21 1.33 i regularly visit high schools to inform them about careers in construction 46.2 38.5 7.7 7.7 1.77 0.91 the means of the various responses were aggregated as shown in table 14. haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 97 table 14: aggregated means of employer perception constructs construct mean std dev. economic conditions 4.06 0.50 career/opportunity 3.45 0.43 health and safety 3.25 1.06 remuneration/reward 2.90 0.54 promotion 2.90 0.71 fraud and corruption 2.35 1.31 prestige of the industry 2.17 0.47 it is evident that employers agreed most strongly with the perception that the industry was a victim of economic conditions. they tended to agree that the industry provided career opportunities considering the overall skills shortage and that it was a healthy and safe one to work in. employers tended to be neutral about the remuneration and promotion constructs. they tended to disagree that the industry was corrupt and that the industry was a prestigious one. the overall employer attitude towards the construction sector can also be described as neutral or lukewarm, with an overall mean of 3.11 and standard deviation of 0.39. 4.3 employee survey table 15: profile of employees (n=24) n % category of employment tradesman 5 20.8 apprentice 4 16.7 operator 4 16.7 general labourer 11 45.8 age 18-25 8 33.3 25-40 7 29.2 40-60 9 37.5 employment status full-time 13 54.2 part-time 11 45.8 table 15 shows the profile of the employee sample. the majority of the employees included general labourers (45.8%), those between the ages of 40 and 60 years (37.5%), and full-time employees (54.2%). the employees were asked to respond to a series of 17 statements within five constructs about their perceptions of the construction industry and were asked to indicate their level of agreement using a 5-point likert scale, where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, and 5=strongly agree. their responses are shown in table 16. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 98 table 16: attitudes of employees (n=24) statement 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % mean std dev. prestige/reputation 2.75 0.59 construction workers are respected in the community 29.2 33.3 20.8 16.7 2.25 1.07 there are few women working in construction 8.4 20.8 20.8 41.7 8.3 3.21 1.14 the public perceives the construction industry as a positive one 12.5 33.3 41.7 12.5 2.54 0.88 many people want to work in construction 8.3 33.3 37.5 16.7 4.2 2.75 0.99 there are many young people working in construction 8.3 29.2 25.0 29.2 8.3 3.00 1.14 health and safety 3.10 0.57 construction work is too hard and physical 29.2 25.0 37.5 8.3 3.25 0.99 working on construction sites is safe 4.2 33.2 29.2 29.2 4.2 2.95 1.00 career/opportunity 3.05 0.55 people applying for work can expect to be hired if they suit the requirements 20.8 54.2 25.0 3.04 0.69 i want to work here when i am older 4.2 16.7 29.2 41.7 8.2 3.33 1.01 i would encourage my children to pursue a career in construction 16.7 37.5 29.2 16.6 2.45 0.98 i would encourage other people to work in construction 12.5 43.8 35.4 8.3 3.37 0.82 remuneration/reward 3.11 0.39 i can get promoted in my company 12.5 33.3 45.9 8.3 3.50 0.83 a job in construction pays well 4.2 37.5 41.6 16.7 2.71 0.81 i enjoy working in construction 16.7 50.0 29.1 4.2 3.21 0.78 i know i will not lose my job soon 4.2 29.2 29.2 37.4 3.00 0.93 the average age of construction workers is over 40 years 25.0 37.5 37.5 3.13 0.80 promotion 3.29 0.95 media campaigns targeted at the youth could attract them to work in the industry 4.2 12.5 41.7 33.3 8.3 3.29 0.95 all the means were <4.00 and ranged between 2.25 (tending to disagree) and 3.50 (tending to agree). the means of the various responses were aggregated as shown in table 17. table 17: aggregated means of employee perception constructs construct mean std dev. promotion 3.29 0.95 remuneration/reward 3.11 0.39 haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 99 construct mean std dev. health and safety 3.10 0.57 career/opportunity 3.05 0.55 prestige of the industry 2.75 0.59 overall employee perceptions ranged between being neutral and disagreeing about the constructs. it is evident that employees tended to be neutral about the perception that the industry would benefit from active promotion. they agreed least with the perception that the industry was a prestigious one. the overall attitude of employees towards the construction sector, although they were not presented with the constructs of fraud and corruption and economic conditions, was the most negative of the three samples. the overall mean of 3.06 with standard deviation 0.37 is indicative of the large proportion of employees who were neutral about the perceptions presented to them, as shown in table 16, ranging from 20.8% to 54.2%. table 18: comparative aggregated means of perception constructs construct students (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) employers (n=31) employees (n=24) mean std dev. mean std dev. mean std dev. fraud and corruption 3.69 1.21 2.35 1.31 3.88 1.16 2.46 1.25 economic conditions 3.61 0.88 4.06 0.50 3.76 0.87 2.99 0.83 promotion 3.55 1.07 2.90 0.71 3.29 0.95 3.52 1.00 3.58 1.12 remuneration/reward 3.53 0.78 2.90 0.54 3.11 0.39 3.47 0.81 3.32 0.71 career/opportunity 3.24 1.04 3.45 0.43 3.05 0.55 3.16 1.03 2.70 1.06 health and safety 3.22 0.75 3.25 1.06 3.10 0.57 3.26 0.73 3.14 0.74 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 100 construct students (n=179; nm=83; nf=96) employers (n=31) employees (n=24) mean std dev. mean std dev. mean std dev. prestige of the industry 3.03 0.65 2.17 0.47 2.75 0.59 3.02 0.67 3.12 0.68 from the data in table 18, it is evident that all cohorts of respondents were most negative about the reputation and prestige of the construction sector. the student cohort as a group was slightly more positive about the health and safety record of the industry. however, despite tending to be neutral to negative about all perceptions of the industry, employers were most positive about the perception that the industry was subject to economic cycles. employees and students tended to be neutral about all perceptions of the industry. of the three samples, employers were the most negative about all the perceptions of the construction industry, except for the impact of economic conditions. employees were more negative than students about the five perceptions to which they responded. this is possibly due to their first-hand experience of the industry. table 19: comparison of aggregated attitudes sample n mean std dev.2 students 179 3.15 0.44 employers 31 3.08 0.38 employees 24 3.06 0.37 by comparing the aggregated means of the five constructs that were common to all the samples in table 19, it is evident that all the means ranged between 3.15 and 3.06, suggesting that overall the perceptions of the construction industry were neutral or lukewarm. this finding suggests that a great deal still needs to be done in order to change these perceptions of high-school students, employers and employees. 2 standard deviations were included to show the extent of congruence of sentiments expressed around the mean. they were also useful when the means were the same, but the level of congruence was different haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 101 4.4 focus-group responses the focus group consisted of four industry employers. in response to what they perceived the image of the construction industry to be, they expressed that the following issues had a negative impact on the image of the sector: • corruption; • lack of promotion; • poor economy; • poor image, and • health and safety record. comments from the group include: corruption: … the industry has a lot of work to do to rebuild the image after the recent media stories regarding the [corruption] during the world cup. they got some repair work to do. … the last story in the newspapers where the construction industry got together to fix the bid prices did us extreme harm. lack of promotion: … nothing is said like, ‘look at this beautiful bridge that is being built’. poor economy: … not a lot going on because of the economy of the country. poor image: … i would think it is negative because there are not a lot of job opportunities. i don’t think the industry has a good image. health and safety record … but for the last year or so we hear about buildings under construction collapsing and killing workers. they were also asked about what they thought contributed to the negative image of the construction industry. the following issues contributed to the negativity: acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 102 • fraud and corruption; • poor promotion and publicity; • poor economy, and • site accidents. comments from the group include: … we’ve had a lot of negative publicity. … the fixing of bid prices, it is a corrupt industry and tender processes … … buildings collapsing and deaths on site will never motivate people to join the industry. participants reported that there were more people leaving than entering the industry. they also reported that, when vacancies were advertised, the applicants were poor quality, either had no training or experience. they had to always train applicants. with respect to what was needed for a sustainable industry, they responded that business partnerships, more investment and im proving the image of the sector were critical through media campaigns and improving the quality of products. they agreed that there was a direct relationship between the image of the industry and the number of new entrants into the industry. the poorer the public image of the industry, the less likely that it would attract greater numbers of new entrants who choose construction as a career path. 5. conclusions this study aimed to determine the image of the south african construction industry from the perspective of high-school students, employers and employees currently working in the construction industry. the image of the industry was evaluated in terms of its attractiveness relative to careers in the construction industry. against the backdrop of skills shortages in the industry and reducing numbers of new entrants, the findings of this study present several challenges and opportunities to the sector. it appears that the industry’s poor image discouraged students from wanting to work in the industry. the lack of new entrants in the industry could potentially worsen the industry’s current skills shortage. for the large cohort of neutral students, for example, to include in their choice of career the construction industry which has been identified by the south african government as the vehicle for job creation, poverty alleviation, and haupt & harinarain • the image of the construction industry ... 103 infrastructure delivery, demands that the industry markets itself as one that provides sustainable and financially rewarding employment in an environment characterised by good working conditions and opportunities for career advancement and lifelong learning. agencies such as the construction industry development board (cidb), the construction education and training authority (ceta) and the industry learned and professional societies need to embark on a vigorous marketing campaign to promote the construction industry. this task is made more daunting by several major considerations. for example, high-school and guidance teachers are clearly ineffectual agencies to influence career choices, especially in the construction industry. due to the students’ general lack of knowledge about the industry and the careers therein, it appears that the current curriculum in the education system is falling short of preparing high-school students adequately for careers in the construction industry. the opportunity exists, in the face of the large cohort of students who have a lukewarm perception of the industry for education officers, to directly promote the industry in high-school classrooms and to use forums such as career exhibitions at schools in this effort. such an intervention becomes more critical, considering the lack of knowledge about what the various participants in the construction process are and actually do. organisations such as the mbasa, the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs), and the south african council of the project and construction management professions (sacpcmp) have much to do to promote their particular disciplines, which are underrepresented in the choice of built environment consulting professions. consideration for choosing contracting itself as a career in the sector presents a special challenge to the industry, since it ranks poorly on the list of careers that high-school students consider for themselves. perceptions that construction is dangerous, hard, physically demanding, experiences economic cycles or ‘bad times’ and requires long working hours for hardly any money, exacerbate the challenges facing the industry. the majority of the employers surveyed were of the opinion that the industry did not enjoy a positive image and that the public did not perceive the industry in a positive light. of concern is the lack of involvement of employers in promoting careers in the industry. they did not attend career fairs or interact with high-school students. the industry is perceived as indifferent about the industry and its employees. it was important that the positives of the industry were portrayed to the public and the image improved. the lack of promoting the positives about careers in the industry has contributed to the unattractiveness of the industry as a career choice. it was acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 104 apparent that events such as career fairs have a positive impact on students and their choice of careers. schools and some of the key construction companies must create a programme where students are given the opportunity to visit construction sites on a regular basis in order to expose them to the professions and inner workings of the industry. similarly, employees currently working in the industry had negative perceptions of the construction industry. employers need to be conscious of these perceptions and introduce interventions that will improve the working conditions and, in particular, the health and safety of employees, while paying them adequately with clear career paths and promotion opportunities. these employees potentially influence others in choosing to work in the sector based on their experiences of the industry. while high-school students, employers themselves and construction workers perceive the industry negatively, a concerted effort needs to be made at all levels to improve perceptions of the industry and consequently its image. while this study was confined to the kzn province of south africa, it reflects the outcomes of other studies done in other provinces such as the western cape. however, it is recommended that a national comparative study be done to determine the pervasiveness of the findings of this particular study in other provinces. 6. acknowledgements the authors would like to express their gratitude to mr jurgen human for his assistance in data collection. references list amaratunga, r.d.g., haigh, r.p., lee, a.j., shanmugam, m. & elvitigala, n.g. 2006. construction industry and women: a review of the barriers. in: proceedings of the 3rd international scri research symposium, 3-7 april 2006, delft university, the netherlands. salford: university of salford, pp. 559-571. bishop, p. & herron, r. 2015. use 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die resultate het ’n ‘medium tot hoë’ bewustheidsvlak en gebruik getoon. die projekvaardigheidsoorsigbenadering tot prestasiemeting is hoofsaaklik in hierdie studie gebruik. dit het ’n beperkte korrelasie tussen kennisbestuur gebruik en verhoogde prestasie in konstruksieprojekte getoon. ander prestasie metingbenaderings byvoorbeeld metrieke, ekonomiese en markwaarde, het ook beperkte korrelasie getoon. twee huidige wydverspreide bydraende faktore tot hierdie toedrag van sake in suid-afrika is die verandering aan projekbestek (omvang) en skedule vertragings. verdere navorsing word dus aanbeveel om ’n meer toepaslike ‘objektiewe’ meetinstrument vir prestasie daar te stel wat hierdie kompleksiteite kan akkommodeer. so ’n instrument sou die ontwerp/ skep van ’n besigheidsaak vir kennisbestuurgebruik in konstruksie-projekbestuur in die hand werk. sleutelwoorde: kennisbestuur, projekbestuur, prestasiemeting 1. introduction construction projects present varied and often complex scenarios, involving project teams consisting of a wide range of specialist professionals (architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, planners, project managers, etc.) collaborating in the achievement of its successful completion. due to the flexible and transient nature of construction project activities, processes and associated resources especially the human resource the project teams thus formed are usually dismantled upon the completion of the project. the consequent risk of valuable empirical project-related knowledge being lost at the end of the project is therefore highly probable, unless a conscious effort is made to accumulate and manage such knowledge in a systematic manner. the application of knowledge management practices has been shown to contribute to enhanced business performance in several business fields and industries, such as information technology, manufacturing and petrochemical (despres & chauvel, 2000; robinson, carrillo, anumba & al-ghassani, 2005: 132-150). construction project management is not an exception. the use talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 35 of knowledge management would enable project teams to have ready access to required knowledge; it would help establish success models, avoid the repetition of past mistakes, and form a basis for the development of better procedures. the end result would be enhanced performance and eventually, profitability. this article seeks to explore the correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced performance in construction project management in south africa. in a highly competitive business world of the 21st century, the need for continuous strategically driven knowledge creation and management is a necessity in any organisation that wishes to achieve and maintain a competitive edge, in order to improve its performance and profitability. large japanese companies have relied on knowledge creation to foster long-term innovation and strong business performance (davenport & marchand, 2000: 165-169; despres & chauvel, 2000: 170-176). this explains why an increasing number of companies are adopting knowledge management in one form or another. the construction industry should not be left behind in the use of knowledge management. there is therefore a need to explore possible avenues whereby appropriate knowledge management processes can be utilised in construction project management, in order to improve business processes, i.e. enhance performance, as well as increase productivity and profitability. 2. knowledge management in construction project management 2.1 overview of knowledge management various authors have defined knowledge management, highlighting different aspects. knowledge management is mainly concerned with the development and exploitation of the knowledge assets of an organisation, with a view to furthering the organisation’s objectives (davenport & prusak, 1998). the knowledge to be managed includes the explicit, documented, tacit as well as subjective knowledge. management of this knowledge entails all the processes associated with the creation, identification and sharing of knowledge. young (2003) views knowledge management in a different light, namely that the creation and subsequent management of certain environments encourage knowledge to be created, shared, learnt, enhanced, organised and utilised for the benefit of the organisation. this reveals a cultural aspect of the organisation. recently a number of companies have proven the need and benefits of adopting acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 36 knowledge management processes, in one form or another. this argument proclaims that intellectual capital is essential to wealth generation, and is key to ensuring success in the future (despres & chauvel, 2000). according to quintas (2005: 10-30), knowledge in today’s organisations exists mainly in two forms: tacit knowledge this knowledge is acquired through • experience of human activity, and internal reflection, which often resides in peoples’ minds without being stated openly, and explicit or codified knowledge this knowledge has been • written down, and expresses all details and intended meaning in a clear and obvious manner. once codified, it can be interpreted and understood by others. much of the knowledge generated in organisational processes is tacit knowledge (quintas, 2005: 10-30); people are therefore the locus of much organisational knowledge. as such, a key challenge for understanding knowledge management would be to convert as much as possible valuable tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. 2.2 the knowledge process despres & chauvel (2000: 170-176) propose six steps in the knowledge management process: mapping the individual, or even an organisation, is unable • to embrace the entire universe of information available. instead, people seek comprehensible nuggets of information with which they are familiar and comfortable, i.e. individuals and organisations map out information environments of their own making. acquire/capture/create -• from these information environments, people appropriate, and perhaps subsequently combine, the most valuable nuggets of information. this stage includes individual or organisational search activities and processes which locate the information appropriate for the given work. bundle/collate -• a variety of media are available to bundle (i.e. package) information, e.g. paper, email, and multimedia. the information must be given coherent meaning, usually by an author, in order to enable others to utilise the information. talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 37 store individuals and organisations stockpile information in • memory systems of various kinds. these range from brains to hard disks, filing cabinets, libraries and data warehouses. apply/share/transfer -• knowledge management implicitly recognises that information is social and therefore it can only be recognised as knowledge within some kind of social context. the value of knowledge depends on the actions which result from it. innovate/evolve/transform in order to retain its value, • knowledge must evolve to keep in step with changes in the environment. this necessitates research and development programmes that build on experiences in the marketplace, as well as creativity processes that broaden intellectual horizons. 2.3 knowledge management tools the aforementioned knowledge process requires certain systems and tools for its operation. knowledge management tools comprise both information technology (it) and non-it-based tools, required to support various processes and sub-processes of knowledge management. these processes include locating, sharing and codifying knowledge (i.e. converting ‘tacit knowledge’ to ‘explicit knowledge’) (al-ghassani, anunba, carrillo & robinson, 2005: 83-102). a large number of tools are available to choose from in implementing a knowledge management strategy. selecting appropriate knowledge management tools for individual companies needs to be carefully considered in order to ensure that the business issues and contexts are understood and that the company’s goals are adequately addressed. knowledge management tools can be broadly divided into two categories. 2.3.1 knowledge management techniques knowledge management techniques (non-it-based tools) are generally affordable to most companies, as no sophisticated infrastructure is required to implement and maintain them, although some techniques may require more resources than others. these techniques are easy to implement as they incorporate relatively simple and straightforward features, and focus on retaining and increasing the organisational knowledge, which is a key asset to organisations. along these lines, al-ghassani et al. (2005: 83-102) propose the following examples of knowledge management techniques: acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 38 brainstorming -• this process involves a group of people who meet to focus on a problem, and then intentionally propose as many deliberate unusual solutions as possible. communities of practice these consist of a group of people • of different sets of skills, development histories and experienced backgrounds who collaborate to achieve commonly shared goals. examples would be associations of industry professionals/ professional representative bodies or groups. face-to-face interaction -• this is a traditional, usually informal way of sharing tacit knowledge owned by an organisation and its employees. it also helps in increasing the organisation’s memory, developing trust and encouraging effective learning. post-project reviews -• these are debriefing sessions used to highlight lessons learnt during the course of a project. these reviews are important to capture knowledge about causes or failures, how they were addressed, and the best practices identified in a given project. this increases the effectiveness of learning, as knowledge can be transferred to subsequent projects. mentoring -• this is a process where a trainee or junior member of staff is assigned to a senior member of an organisation for advice on career development; the mentor provides coaching to facilitate the career development of the trainee and checks progress by providing feedback. recruitment -• as a way to ‘buy-in’ knowledge, recruitment offers the opportunity for an organisation to acquire external tacit knowledge, especially of experts, thereby expanding the organisation’s knowledge base. training -• this helps to improve staff skills and therefore increase knowledge. it usually takes place in a formal format, which can be internal or external, and could be used to ensure that employees’ knowledge is continuously updated. apprenticeship -• this is a form of training in a particular trade carried out mainly via learning by doing; apprentices often work under their masters and learn through observation, imitation and practice, until they reach the required skill level. talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 39 2.3.2 knowledge management technologies technologies depend heavily on it as the main platform for implementation, with many organisations considering them as important enablers to support the implementation of a knowledge management strategy (anumba, bloomfield, faraj & jarvis, 2000; egbu, 2000; storey & barnet, 2000: 145-156). knowledge management technologies are significant because they consume about one third of the time, effort and money required for a knowledge management system. the other two-thirds relate mainly to people and organisational culture (davenport & prusak, 1998). these technologies consist of a combination of hardware and software: hardware technologies -• these are very important because they provide the platform for the software technologies to perform, as well as the medium for the storage and transfer of knowledge. some possible hardware considerations include the personal computer or workstation to facilitate access to required knowledge databases; powerful network servers to allow networking across an organisation as well as between organisations, and public network technology (e.g. the internet) and/or private network technology (e.g. intranet, extranet) to facilitate access to and/or sharing of knowledge. software technologies -• several software packages are available from various vendors capable of performing different knowledge management tasks and functions. according to manchester (2000: 185-186), some of the main threads of development, which have each spawned products that can be utilised in knowledge management, include information retrieval from the internet, corporate networks/intranets and other data sources; context-sensitive document management tools, and workflow processing software. increasingly, vendors in these sectors are incorporating information retrieval engines into their products. 2.4 knowledge management in the construction industry the importance and implications of knowledge management in the construction project management is extensive. the decision on what knowledge an organisation needs and the knowledge intensity depends on the context of the business environment, i.e. the key knowledge about the business processes and people, for the delivery of its products (egbu & robinson, 2005: 31-49). these context-based factors address issues of what is produced (products, acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 40 i.e. goods/services), how it is produced (i.e. processes) and by whom (i.e. people). currently construction industry demands results faster than ever – decisions must be made rapidly, placing considerable pressure on the individual. construction industry professionals and personnel must be constantly aware of past experiences as well as present standards, and yet they must also seek to incorporate an evergrowing pool of new ideas in order to innovate faster than the competition (sheehan, poole, lyttle, & egbu, 2005: 50-64). in the face of such challenges, effective knowledge management offers construction organisations that seek to enhance their business performance real potential in key areas necessary for effective delivery of construction projects. in order to adequately address these challenges, construction professionals and organisations face economic imperatives that can move towards increased codification of knowledge. this enhances efficiency of exploitation and transparency of sharing, while reducing knowledge costs (egbu & robinson, 2005: 31-49). 2.5 knowledge mapping in construction organisations egbu & robinson (2005: 31-49) posit that the point of departure for structuring construction project knowledge is to develop a knowledge map. this locates explicit knowledge and serves as a pointer to holders of tacit knowledge. figure 1 shows a possible framework for developing a ‘knowledge map’ with multiple levels of detail. a skill and knowledge ‘yellow pages’/database can also be used to provide a directory of experts. this can help in finding the right person to approach for advice and best practice. such knowledge mapping tools are very important but need to be kept up to date to maintain its usefulness. the knowledge map serves as a continuously evolving project memory, forming a link between different knowledge sources, and enabling the construction project team members to learn from past and current projects through the navigation of information and codified knowledge. it also assists in capturing and integrating tacit knowledge into the project knowledge base, as well as creating new knowledge by adding, refining and broadening the scope. talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 41 2.6 potential benefits of knowledge management in construction project management it is clear from the foregoing that knowledge management as a performance-enhancing tool has the potential to produce significant benefits when adopted by organisations in one form or another. specific benefits achievable in construction project management may include: increased innovation it is recognised that innovation is the • key to competitiveness, and depends on knowledge creation and application; in many sectors, competitive advantage is increasingly occurring through innovation, whether in products, processes or services (quintas, 2005: 10-30). the management of innovation is essentially the management of the knowledge process – the creation, reformulation, sharing and packaging/bringing together of different types of knowledge. knowledge is an input to, and is inseparable from, the innovation process. new knowledge is also an output of that process (quintas, 2005: 10-30). lower dependence on key individuals once the tacit • knowledge from key individuals is ‘harvested’, codified and stored using the various knowledge management tools and systems discussed earlier, there will be less dependence on figure 1: knowledge mapping in construction organisation source: egbu & robinson 2005: 31-49 level 1 processes level 2 level 3 products people process aspects (planning design construction maintenance) product aspects (product type client and market factors) people aspects (individuals teams roles and expertise) estimating & tendering procurement construction methods materials management standard traditional and innovative products once-off occasional and repeat clients partnering structural steelwork prefabrication acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 42 individuals; their experience would now be available to all via the knowledge retrieval system. in addition, projects requiring such individuals’ level of skill and knowledge could now run in tandem, reducing possible delays in waiting for one project to be completed before commencing another. improved teamwork -• in knowledge management-oriented companies, knowledge employees use contemporary advanced technologies to pave the way for knowledge flow via electronic networking. this, in turn, saves the time and cost of knowledge sharing, irrespective of distance and physical locations (zou, mcgeorge, & lim, 2003: 233-250). good communication and knowledge management practices also present a blueprint on where and how to access required project knowledge. these result in smooth and effective project teamwork, thereby increasing productivity. quicker response firms that have adequate knowledge • management systems in place are better able to quickly respond to queries from clients and other issues as and when they arise. the system’s database can be configured along information retrieval lines (manchester, 2000: 185-186); inputting a query request using a keyword would produce an array of scenarios similar to the current query context, enabling the organisation to respond quickly. the result would be a client with the overall impression of good customer service, and an increased possibility for repeat business. reduced risks the integration of knowledge management • systems and strategies in construction project management enables the sharing of project risk knowledge via specific knowledge base, and has been advocated as an area of importance for day-to-day performance, with concomitant significance to a company’s business success (kahkonen & kazi, 2003: 163-173). specific risk knowledge management systems would readily inform decision pertaining to key issues in construction projects (such as health and safety as well as construction best-practices), thereby greatly reducing costs and down-time due to injury. increased knowledge retention knowledge management • processes and systems enable construction organisations to retain tacit knowledge that would otherwise be lost when valued employees leave or retire from the organisation. knowledge losses due to reduction in personnel are also minimised throughout the project (girmscheid & borner, 2003: 137-149). talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 43 increased client satisfaction -• increased value can be provided to construction organisation’s clients and customers through effective knowledge management. with the right tools and systems, the client will be given better service, as the project management essentials of time, cost and quality can be better delivered on a given project. this would be achieved using templates derived from well-designed knowledge management systems. increased client satisfaction is a benefit that would result in improved business competitiveness and financial performance (stewart, 1997). non re-invention of the wheel -• effective knowledge management practices will greatly lessen the likelihood for ‘re-inventing the wheel’ from project to project (latham, 2005). rediscovering tried and trusted solutions go handin-hand with losses of efficiency in finalising the project (girmscheid & borner, 2003: 137-149). such situation would be avoided, along with the repetition of past mistakes, resulting in cost savings and financial gains. interdisciplinary knowledge transfer -• knowledge management has the potential to promote knowledge transfer across a variety of project interfaces in organisations, disciplines and sectors. the construction industry may find knowledge from other sectors or disciplines useful in implementing innovative systems and processes specific to the sector. 2.7 knowledge management and performance measurement there is the need to measure the performance benefits of utilising knowledge management systems and knowledge assets, in order to be able to demonstrate its business benefits, and to justify the commitment of required organisational resources to its activities and processes. performance measurement of knowledge management is an evolving area the degree whereby a project achieves its stated goals is one of the major ways of measuring its level of performance and success. objective project goals are usually stated in terms of project time/schedule, cost/budget and quality/ technical specifications (liu & walker, 1998: 209-219). along these lines, shenhar, dvir, levy & maltz (2001: 699-725) identify the project efficiency review (per) as an ‘objective’ approach for measuring performance and success in project management. however, other researchers have argued that the use of solely objective measures (i.e. ‘on time/schedule’, ‘within budget’ and ‘according to quality/ acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 44 technical specification’) is not sufficient for the assessment of project performance (morris, 1986: 16-55; baker, murphy, & fisher, 1983: 902919). accordingly, robinson et al. (2005: 132-150) propose other performance measurement indices which are grouped into three approaches: namely, metrics approach – this approach uses input and/or output • indicators to monitor the performance of knowledge assets or knowledge management programmes. input indicators reflect actions or enablers required to achieve required knowledge management objectives (e.g. staff training, experienced recruitments), while output indicators measure the performance or result of those actions (e.g. improved client satisfaction, reduced cost and time overruns). this approach is based on the assumption that there is a relationship or correlation between the indicators of business performance and profitability. economic approach this approach attempts to calculate • the actual contributions or net improvements in business performance, while recognising that the costs associated with implementing knowledge management programmes are crucial. the objective is to assess whether the benefits exceed the costs. market-value approach – this approach is based on the • principle that the value of a company comes from both its hard financial capital (physical and monetary assets) and soft knowledge or intellectual capital. knowledge or intellectual capital therefore constitutes the difference between the value assigned to an organisation by a buyer or the stock market in relation to its book-market value. 3 research methodology 3.1 overview participants in the survey were registered professional construction project manager as members of the south african council of project and construction management professions (sacpcmp). theoretical frameworks discussed earlier were used in two parts, i.e. the analysis of the current levels of knowledge management among the surveyed construction project managers, and subsequently, measurement of construction project management performance. in the light of the need for practicality, coupled with a need to talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 45 exclude largely subjective measurement indices such as ‘quality’ and ‘satisfaction’, this research strategy adopted a balanced selection of elements of two of the earlier mentioned performance measurement approaches, namely: project efficiency review measurement approach (per):• the elements utilised include: actual versus planned construction project schedule/ ° time this relates to the extent to which the project actual construction/completion time achieved the project planned completion time. actual versus planned construction project budget/costs ° this relates to the extent to which the project actual budget achieved the project planned budget economic measurement approach (ema): • the elements utilised include: repeat client business this relates to the amount of ° repeat business; previous research has shown this to be an indication of level of client/customer satisfaction, which ultimately affects business performance. employee productivity this relates to the output/value ° contributed per employee, in terms of size/value of construction projects handled per professional employee, for a given period (i.e. per month). staff retention/staff turnover this relates to the percentage ° of professional staff retained or leaving. 3.2 the research instrument an information gathering instrument, consisting of a detailed questionnaire incorporating the use of investigative questions, was adopted. the information required from the respondents was organised broadly into four sections. these addressed the demographic profiles of respondents, levels of recognition of possible benefits as well as actual use of knowledge management strategies and tools in construction project management by the respondents. in addition, project management performance measurement data, and general comments from the respondent concerning any aspect of the research, were included. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 46 3.3 data gathering the names and contact details of registered professional construction project managers were obtained from sacpcmp sources. the survey questionnaire, along with a covering letter introducing the research objectives and possible benefits, was subsequently sent (electronically via email) to over 150 registered members (these were selected by virtue of their email addresses being available and obtainable from sacpcmp sources). a total of 20 questionnaires were returned. although a larger respondent sample would have been preferable, the time constraints surrounding the research programme necessitated the adoption of a time-definite cut-off point for the return of survey questionnaires. however, goddard & melville (2005) suggest that a sample of 20 is sufficient for a small-sample analysis, and is therefore considered appropriate for the purposes of the study. the fact that over 90% of the polled project managers reported having over 10 years of construction project management experience, coupled with the geographical spread of their locations of practice (i.e. cities spread across south africa such as johannesburg, pretoria, cape town and durban) further lends credibility to their feedback as well as the outcome of this research. 4. results and analysis the data analysis was carried out on the information provided by the respondents via the survey questionnaire. it was assumed that the respondents have no bias and are sincere in their responses to questions in the questionnaire. 4.1 broad levels of awareness of knowledge management and performance benefits zou et al. (2003: 233-250) posit that effective implementation of knowledge management systems is dependent on management and employee awareness and perception of the possible benefits of the system. this is because, no matter how good the system might be, it will exist in name only if people are not using it. in order to broadly measure the present levels of knowledge management awareness, respondents were asked to rate both personal and organisational awareness levels of perceived performance benefits associated with the use of knowledge management in construction project management. to this end, respondents were asked four questions, which serve as awareness indices, i.e. 1) awareness levels of knowledge management practices/processes; 2) recognition of talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 47 business benefits of knowledge management among managementlevel personnel; 3) recognition of business benefits of knowledge management use among project-level staff, and 4) perceived level of correlation between knowledge management and enhanced performance in construction project management. (it is noted that such responses would be somewhat subjective). a 4-point scale and associated coding (high = 3, medium = 2, low = 1, nil = 0) was used to assess the relative awareness levels, as suggested by goddard & melville (2005). the results revealed that 60% of the survey respondents indicated awareness level indices ranging from ‘medium to high’. this leads one to conclude that the respondent project management personnel in south africa are likely to make use of knowledge management tools, provided they are appropriately resourced with such tools (see tables 1 and 2). table 1: broad levels of awareness of knowledge no respondent knowledge management awareness index points (ap) average ai = ∑ ap/4index 1 index 2 index 3 index 4 1. a 3 3 3 3 3 2. b 0 0 0 0 0 3. c 1 3 2 2 2 4. d 3 3 3 3 3 5. e 2 2 2 2 2 6. f 3 3 2 2 2.5 7. g 3 3 2 2 2.5 8. h 3 3 3 2 2.75 9. i 2 2 2 2 2 10. j 2 3 3 2 2.5 11. k 2 3 3 3 2.75 12. l 1 3 2 2 2 13. m 1 3 3 3 2.5 14. n 3 3 2 3 2.75 15. o 3 3 3 3 3 16. p 3 3 2 2 2.5 17. q 1 1 1 1 1 18. r 1 1 0 0 0.5 19. s 3 2 1 1 1.75 20. t 3 3 3 3 3 acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 48 table 2: summary of knowledge management awareness levels average index (a) classification frequency % (total = 100%) below 1 low 2 10% 1 to 2 low to medium 6 30% 2.1 to 3 medium to high 12 60% 4.2 general level of knowledge management use respondents were asked to rate general levels of use of the various categories and types of knowledge management tools discussed earlier in sections 2.3.1.and 2.3.2. responses were also evaluated using a four-point ranking scale as described earlier in section 4.1. the respondents showed a relatively equal mix and use levels of the various knowledge management techniques and technologies, without any obvious preferences. the results showed that 90% of the respondents indicated that they use knowledge management at different levels, ranging from ‘medium to high’ average usage level, in different construction projects. this indicates that the majority of respondents are presently engaged in some form of knowledge management use in their various construction project management activities in south africa (see tables 3 and 4). (‘high’ usage represents above 70% average level of use, weight = 3 points; ‘medium’ represents between 40% to 70%, weight = 2 points; ‘low’ represents between 10% to 40%, weight = 1 point; while ’nil’ represents less than 10%, weight = 0) table 3: general levels of use of knowledge management techniques and technologies no. respondent average level of use of knowledge management technique (u) average level of use of knowledge management technology (v) average (u + v) ÷ 2 1. a 1.88 2.67 2.28 2. b 1.63 3 2.32 3. c 2 2.33 2.17 4. d 2.63 3 2.82 5. e 2.75 1 1.88 6. f 2.13 3 2.57 7. g 1.88 3 2.44 8. h 2.5 2.67 2.58 9. i 1.63 2.67 2.15 10. j 2.63 3 2.81 11. k 1.88 3 2.44 12. l 2 2.33 2.17 talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 49 13. m 1.88 2.67 2.27 14. n 2 1.33 1.67 15. o 2.63 3 2.82 16. p 1.88 3 2.44 17. q 1.75 3 2.38 18. r 1.75 3 2.38 19. s 1.63 2.67 2.15 20. t 1.38 3 2.19 table 4: summary levels of use of knowledge management tools average (u + v) ÷ 2 classification frequency % (total = 100%) below 1 low 0 0% 1 to 2 low to medium 2 10% 2.1 to 3 medium to high 18 90% 4.3 correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced construction project management performance in south africa in order to examine the possible correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced construction project management performance, it was necessary to first measure the performance levels of the various respondents/organisations participating in the research survey; the selected approaches for performance measurements have been discussed earlier in section 3.1. with the use of these approaches, the following construction project management performance measures/indices were computed for the various respondents/organisations. only eighteen respondents provided valid project performance data. respondents ‘s’ and ‘t’ did not provide any project performance data in the returned questionnaires, and as such, both were excluded from further consideration in the data analysis. 4.3.1 primary performance indices these performance indices are based on project time and budget considerations, ‘objective’ criteria whereby construction project performance may be readily evaluated (liu & walker, 1998; shenhar et al., 2001). these are: schedule performance ratio (spr): this ratio represents the construction time overruns. it depicts a measure of the level of the respondent’s ability to achieve the required time constraints in a acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 50 project, and as such is a measure of the respondent’s construction project performance. each respondent’s spr is given by: spri = actual construction time ÷ planned construction time (1) where ‘i’ represents each of the respondents. the ratio can be averaged over each respondent’s total number of projects given to arrive at an overall schedule performance ratio (ospr) for each respondent. budget performance ratio (bpr): similar to the spr above, this ratio represents the construction budget/cost overruns. it depicts a measure of the level of the respondent to achieve the required cost constraints in a project. as such, it is another measure of the respondent’s construction project performance. each respondent’s bpr is given by: bpri = final account ÷ tender price (2) where ‘i’ represents each of the respondents. the ratio can also be averaged over each respondent’s total number of projects given, to arrive at an overall budget performance ratio (obpr) for each respondent. table 5: primary performance measurement indices of respondents no. respondent overall schedule performance ratio (ospr) overall budget performance ratio (obpr) overall performance ratio (opr) 1. a 1.01 1.12 1.07 2. b 1.60 1.01 1.31 3. c 1.06 1.25 1.56 4. d 1.00 1.12 1.06 5. e 1.08 1.13 1.11 6. f 1.00 1.13 1.07 7. g 1.56 1.08 1.32 8. h 1.42 1.90 1.66 9. i 1.00 0.96 0.98 10. j 1.00 0.96 0.98 11. k 1.10 1.00 1.05 12. l 1.06 1.25 1.16 13. m 0.71 0.86 0.79 14. n 1.28 1.22 1.3 15. o 1.03 0.96 1.00 16. p 1.00 1.08 1.04 17. q 0.95 0.92 0.94 18. r 1.31 0.96 1.14 talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 51 overall performance ratio (opr): this is taken as the average of the overall schedule performance ratio (ospr) and the overall budget performance ratio (obpr) for each respondent, and is given by: opri = (ospri + obpri) ÷ 2 (3) where ‘i’ represents each respondent. the opr is an attempt to measure the ‘objective’ overall project performance, considering the planned versus actual project fundamentals of schedule/time and budget/costs. from equations (1), (2) and (3), it can be deduced that: if opr = 1, then actual project performance was at par with • the planned. if opr is greater than 1, then actual project performance was • below the planned. if opr is less than 1, then actual project performance was • better than the planned. the interpretations also imply that the lower the value of opr for any given respondent, the higher the level of performance; conversely, the higher the opr, the lower the performance. the overall performance ratios (opr) were computed and found to be as shown in table 5 above. the opr as calculated represent the primary performance measurement indices for the various respondents to the research survey. these indices are subsequently used to explore the possible correlation between the various levels of knowledge management use and construction project management performance levels of the respondents. 4.3.2 secondary performance indices these are based on the following indices, which also form part of the performance measurement approaches discussed earlier: employee productivity ratio (epr): this relates to the output/value contributed per employee, in terms of the size/value of projects handled per professional employee. the use of this index is based on the consideration that a project personnel that is well knowledgeresourced via the use of knowledge management tools will exhibit enhanced productivity vis-à-vis one that is otherwise (robinson et al., 2005). an epr is obtained as follows: epri = project final account÷ (number of personnel x actual project duration) acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 52 where ‘i’ represents each of the respondents. the ratio can be averaged over each respondent’s total number of projects given, to arrive at an overall employee productivity ratio (oepr) for each respondent. (for the purposes of this article, a ‘full-time’ employee involvement is weighted as 1 personnel, a ‘part-time’ employee as ½, and a ‘supervisory’ employee involvement as 1½.). the classification of this index, as secondary, is informed by the consideration that certain projects, though large in size and associated budget, may only involve limited scope of work, and/or may run for a limited duration (e.g. an office building or residential development may comprise limited and/or repetitive construction work/activities). these would require lesser levels of project personnel involvement than more complex projects with broader scopes. however, the study made no attempt to engage with differing levels of scope of the respondents’ projects. neither did it consider the relative subjective methods of determining what constitutes ‘full-time’, ‘part-time’ and ‘supervisory’ level involvement of project management personnel. table 6: secondary performance measurement indices of respondents no. respondent overall employee productivity ratio (oepr) (r million/ personnel month) repeat client (‘yes’ or ’no’) 1. a 4.02 yes 2. b 1.95 no 3. c 0.15 yes 4. d 0.39 no 5. e 0.03 yes 6. f 1.50 yes 7. g 0.30 yes 8. h 0.11 yes 9. i 1.65 yes 10. j 0.12 yes 11. k 0.20 yes 12. l 0.10 yes 13. m 1.00 no 14. n 0.48 no 15. o 2.57 yes 16. p 2.26 yes 17. q 1.98 no 18. r 1.98 yes the overall employee productivity ratio (oepr) of the various respondents was also computed and found to be as shown in table talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 53 6. the ‘repeat client’ measure is also depicted in the same table. it was noted that only 5 of the respondents (i.e. 25%) recorded any level of staff turnover data during the course of the projects provided for consideration. as such, this measure was excluded from further consideration by virtue of its limited usability. 4.4 examination of a possible correlation in order to examine a possible correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced construction project management performance, a test for linear correlation was adopted. the pearson’s product-moment coefficient of linear correlation was utilised, as described in goddard & melville (2005). the coefficient was calculated using the following formula: r = {n∑xiyi – (∑xi)(∑yi)} √{n∑xi² (∑xi)² }√{n∑yi² (∑yi)²} this parameter ‘r’ lies between -1 and 1. a value of 1 indicates a perfect linear dependence with a positive slope. an increase in the value of knowledge management (variable x) was associated with a proportionate increase in the value project management performance (variable y). a value of -1 indicates a perfect linear dependence with a negative slope (an increase in the value of variable x is associated with a proportionate decrease in the value of variable y). a value of 0 or thereabouts indicates very little correlation. table 7: levels of knowledge management use and overall performance ratio no respondent average levels of knowledge management use (x) overall performance ratio (y) 1. d 2.82 1.06 2. o 2.82 1.00 3. j 2.81 0.98 4. h 2.58 1.66 5. f 2.57 1.07 6. g 2.44 1.32 7. k 2.44 1.05 8. p 2.44 1.04 9. q 2.38 0.94 10. r 2.38 1.14 11. b 2.32 1.31 12. a 2.28 1.07 acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 54 13. m 2.27 0.79 14. c 2.17 1.56 15. l 2.17 1.16 16. i 2.15 0.98 17. e 1.88 1.11 18. n 1.67 1.13 the levels of knowledge management use indices computed earlier were set as variable x, and are juxtaposed with the primary performance measurement indices (obtained using the project efficiency review measurement approach/overall performance ratio) similarly computed for corresponding respondents, which are set as variable ‘y’ (see table 7; the respondents are listed in order of decreasing average knowledge management use levels). the purpose of adopting the test for linear correlation is to examine the possible dependence of levels of project management performance (as measured by the overall performance ratio (opr) indices) on the levels of knowledge management use (measured by the average levels of use of various knowledge management tools as indicated by the respondents). this would indeed help establish a possible correlation between the levels of use of knowledge management processes and enhanced construction project management performance (goddard & melville, 2005). from the above (table 7) calculations give the following: n = 18, ∑xi = 42.59, ∑yi = 20.37, ∑xiyi = 48.12, ∑xi² = 102.34 and ∑yi² = 23.83. hence: r = 18 x 48.12 – (42.59 x 20.37) = 0.07 √{(18 x 102.34) – 42.59²} x √{(18 x 23.83) – 20.37²} the coefficient of linear correlation ‘r’ was thus calculated to be of a value of 0.07. the magnitude of ‘r’ shows very little correlation between the high levels of knowledge management use and high construction project management performance levels. this reveals that there are other significant factors which contribute to construction project management performance, and its measurement, within the south african context. it is therefore necessary to further explore possible contributory factors that could have resulted in this outcome. the following factors were identified within the context of the study. talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 55 4.4.1 performance measurement approaches the use of per, based on ‘objective’ measure, was adopted for the purposes of the article. however, the inherent realities of the construction project environment in south africa, particularly as indicated in the respondent survey, reveal its application to be inappropriate, for the following reasons: changes in project scope over 55% of the respondents • providing project performance data experienced significant changes in project scope, which they believed impacted on both the construction project schedule (i.e. the actual project construction duration), as well as the project budget (i.e. the project final account). the impacts of these scope changes were mostly negative and their extent usually unforeseeable at the planning phase of the construction project, during which the target/planned project schedule and budget are set. these scope changes usually originated from the client, or other project participant outside the direct influence of the construction project manager associated with the project. the resultant effect of this situation on the construction project management performance measurement, using the per approach-derived indices, is to skew such measurement in an unpredictable manner. delays in actual project schedules -• this was a more prevalent occurrence, with over 88% (i.e. 16 out of the 18 respondents provided valid project performance data) of the respondents reporting some form of delay. these delays were also outside the control of the construction project management team. the reasons reported for unforeseen and uncontrollable delays included client financing (39%), contractor delays (22%), delays with procurement (33%) and electric power outages (6%), with some respondents reportedly experiencing a combination of delays. again, such delays would negatively impact on the actual construction project schedule, thereby skewing performance measurement using the per approach. 4.4.2 framework for enhanced performance assessment the assessment of enhanced performance, within the framework adopted for the study, attempted to compare the various current levels of knowledge management use of respondents with current levels of performance. this is done with a view to examining the acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 56 possible correlation between ‘high’ levels of knowledge management use and ‘high’ levels of construction project management performance. this approach therefore necessarily cuts across various organisations/respondents. an alternative framework is via detailed case studies of selected organisations, in order to establish ‘before’ and ‘after’ performance levels of individual organisations involved in construction project management, with respect to the adoption/implementation of knowledge management systems and processes. this approach has been suggested by other authors, and has seen some degree of success in its use (sheehan et al., 2005: 50-64; zou et al., 2003: 233-250). such a framework would be able to accommodate, to an extent, the various scope-change and delay factors inherent in the industry, provided that the impact of such factors does not vary excessively with time, or such variations average out. however, such a framework requires a high degree of familiarity with the subject organisation’s processes, in terms of both ‘before’ and ‘after’ the knowledge management system’s implementation. it also requires luck to find such an organisation that is about to embark on a knowledge management implementation process. in addition, patience is needed in order to realise performanceenhancing benefits. as one can readily imagine, this option of research methodology could not be explored within the context of the study, due to considerations mentioned in section 3.3. liu & walker (1998: 209-219) have noted that there are inherent complexities in project environments, which result in complex project goals. this, it seems, is being reflected in the construction project industry in south africa, as elucidated in this article. the complexities in this instance are the result of changes in project scope and delays, which presently seem to be pervasive in the local industry. an attempt is also made to utilise ema indices to examine a possible correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced construction project performance. for respondents with knowledge management use levels classified as ‘medium to high’, the average overall employee productivity ratio (oepr) was r1.27 million per employee-month; for respondents with knowledge management use levels classified as ‘low to medium’, the average oepr was r 0.26 million per employee-month. thus, the higher average oepr for respondents with relatively higher knowledge management use levels suggests a measure of dependence of employee productivity levels on the levels of knowledge management use in construction project management in south africa. talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 57 likewise, 83% of respondents with knowledge management use levels classified as ‘medium to high’ recorded patronage by repeat clients, compared with 50% of respondents with knowledge management use levels classified as ‘low to medium’. this also suggests a measure of dependence of customer satisfaction (and hence, enhanced performance) on levels of knowledge management use. 4.5 respondents’ general comments in order to achieve a holistic scope for the study, respondents were asked for comments on what, in their experiences, constitute key opportunities and threats regarding knowledge management use in construction project management in south africa. they were also asked for comments on factors which informed their knowledge management use patterns. 4.5.1 opportunities and threats for knowledge management use several opportunities were identified for increased knowledge management use. the primary being the need for readily available, relevant and reliable information/knowledge, coupled with the provision of appropriate database(s) and software to facilitate its storage and access when required, in order to inform the decision-making process. it was noted that only 20% of the respondents reported any conscious attempt at managing project knowledge via a knowledge process and/or knowledge database/map. not surprisingly, the respondents indicated that a knowledge database was a key opportunity though they did not have any such system in place. identified threats to knowledge management use include primary issues of affordability such as limited resources available for construction project management teams, coupled with perceived high cost of entry-level knowledge management systems. also mentioned was the limited commitment on the part of the respondent organisation’s management, as well as limited skills and experience in the use of knowledge management processes among construction project personnel. these considerations are seemingly quite pervasive within the construction project management industry, and are not necessarily limited to the south african context as observed by zou et al.( 2003: 233-250) and sheehan et al.(2005: 50-64). acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 58 4.5.2 knowledge management use patterns the type of knowledge management tool used was to a large extent informed by the respondents’ perception of its suitability in achieving the desired project outcome, based on experience. also considered were issues of value-for-money, as well as affordability, especially by respondents who considered their operations to be ‘small’. there were no stated or observed apparent preferences in choice of particular tool. few respondents indicated a choice for particular software used, such as microsoft projects. 4.5.3 other comments the majority of respondents also commented on the need for additional training for construction project-personnel in information and knowledge management use, in order to enhance their level of effectiveness in construction project management use. these findings are to a large extent supported by previous research and discourse by other authors such as egbu & robinson (2005: 31-49), prusak (2000: 182-186), sheehan et al. (2005: 50-64) and zou et al. (2003: 233-250). 5. conclusions and recommendations this article has provided insight into the concept of knowledge management and its use as an efficiency-enhancing tool in construction project management, among various professional construction project managers in south africa. the conclusions drawn from the discussion include the following: most construction project management professionals show a • significant level of awareness and appreciation of knowledge management use and possible associated performanceenhancing benefits in construction project management in south africa. most professionals are engaged in some form of knowledge • management use in construction project management, and mostly at a high level. a minimal degree of correlation between the level of • knowledge management use and the level of performance was observed. the possible causative factors considered for the lack of significant correlation are the apparent high incidence rates of scope changes and schedule delays, inherent in the construction industry in south africa. these factors are talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 59 crucial to the evaluation of the ‘objective’ performance measurement indices utilised in the correlation analysis. the prevalence of these factors impacts on the indices in such a way as to skew these indices in an unpredictable manner. the use of economic performance measurement approaches, however, established a measure of dependence of enhanced construction project performance on knowledge management use. regarding possible opportunities and threats to effective knowledge management implementation in the construction project management profession in south africa, two main opportunities were identified: the use of a knowledge database/map and associated • software for accessing such, as a way to consciously manage construction knowledge, and also to serve as a key resource to inform subsequent construction project managementrelated decisions. additional training for construction project management • personnel in the value and use of knowledge management tools in order to alleviate perceived inadequacies in this regard. the following threats were identified: issues of affordability, • vis-à-vis perceived high cost of entrylevel knowledge management systems and tools suitable for use in construction project management. limited commitment of organisational top-level management • to the implementation and use of knowledge management processes and tools in construction project management. inadequate levels of training of construction project personnel • in the use of knowledge management processes and/or tools. the article, however, has also shed some light on certain areas that require further studies: the deriving of appropriate assessment methods for • measuring the performance benefits achieved via knowledge management use in construction project management. the use of the per method, although based on ‘objective’ measures such as project schedule and budget, would be seriously impacted by factors such as changes in project scope and delays as indicated in the article. it is therefore necessary to devise performance measurement approaches acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 60 that can either isolate and exclude the effects of the changes in project scope and delays, or otherwise accurately compensate for them. the development of appropriate database systems and • related application software, and/or the increase in awareness levels of the availability of such systems, for use in construction project management. appropriate contextsensitive information retrieval software would also need to be developed. the development of strategies aimed at securing the • commitment of top-level management of organisations to knowledge management implementation in construction project management. this can best be achieved by establishing a ‘business case’ for knowledge management use, i.e. by evaluating and measuring the concrete impact in terms of business value derivable from engaging in such knowledge management activity (sheehan et al., 2005: 50-64). one of the key challenges, in an attempt to evaluate this business case, has been identified as the “intangibility of some of the benefits of knowledge management”. also identified is the issue of appropriate methods of performance measurement, as indicated earlier in this article. from the foregoing discussions and analysis, it is apparent that addressing the issue of the ‘performance measurement paradox’ would play a crucial role in further research in the field of knowledge management and its use in the construction project management industry (similar conclusions have been drawn by zou et al.[2003: 233-250]). there is also the need to create greater awareness of the fact that knowledge management use in construction project management does not necessarily have to be expensive. non-information technology-based knowledge management techniques are generally affordable, as they do not require expensive, sophisticated infrastructure and are relatively simple to implement and use. this would encourage entry-level and possibly smaller construction project management organisations to embrace the use of knowledge management processes and systems in their operations. as the construction project management profession progresses into the future, it has been noted that knowledge will be a critical resource, will transfer more effortlessly than money, will make for incredible levels of competition, and will spread ’near-instantly’ (sheehan et al., 2005: 50-64). given these considerations, professional construction project managers in south africa will have to actively talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 61 embrace the use of knowledge management. achieving effective knowledge management use will be challenging, given the local south african context as elucidated in the findings of the study. professionals and organisations will also have to create and maintain not only knowledge management systems, but also a culture that truly recognises the benefits of knowledge management, as well as encourages its members to seek and use such knowledge. references al-ghassani, a., anunba, c., carrillo, p. & robinson, h. 2005. tools and techniques for knowledge management. in: anumba, c., egbu, c. & carrillo, p. 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(eds.). knowledge management in construction, uk: blackwell publishing, pp. 50-64. talukhaba & taiwo • knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management in sa 63 shenhar, a.j., dvir, d., levy, o. & maltz, a.c. 2001. project success: a multi-dimensional strategic concept. long range planning, 34(6), pp. 699-725. stewart, t. 1997. intellectual capital: the new wealth of organisations. new york: doubleday. storey, j. & barnet, e. 2000. knowledge management initiatives: learning from failure. journal of knowledge management, 4(2), pp. 145-156. young, r. 2003. introduction to knowledge management in construction. london: bsi. zou, p., mcgeorge, d. & lim, c. 2003. case studies in knowledge management. in: construction companies, knowledge construction, proceedings of the joint international symposium of cib working commissions, singapore: department of building, national university of singapore, pp. 233-250. 53 admire moyo & gerrit crafford the impact of hyperinflation on the zimbabwean construction industry peer reviewed abstract the purpose of this article is to indicate the effects of hyperinflation on the zimbabwean construction industry. the latter, much like its successful regional and international counterparts, contributes towards the country’s gross domestic product, improving employment levels, economic growth, and restructuring the unfavourable balance of payment. in the last decade, however, this has not been the case in zimbabwe as the country has grappled with severe hyperinflation that has led to the lack of a stable national currency accompanied by shortages of investors and labour which have resulted in the collapse of the construction industry. regardless of other debatable causes of the crises the zimbabwean government has labelled hyperinflation the country’s foremost enemy, the root cause of the construction industry crises. the article presents the findings of a masters study whose primary objectives were to determine the cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe, investigate the relationship between hyperinflation and the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry, and determine whether hyperinflation is indeed responsible for the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry. the significant findings of the study (conducted at the peak of zimbabwe’s hyperinflation) are as follows: the zimbabwean government and the reserve bank of zimbabwe arbitrarily printing money are the root cause of hyperinflation; hyperinflation has resulted in the lack of a stable national currency; investors and labour factors have led to business closures; stunted economic growth, and a collapsed construction industry. the article concludes that hyperinflation shares an inverse relationship with the construction industry; in other words, as hyperinflation increases, construction industry performance decreases up to a point where the industry collapses and vice versa. the article demonstrates how this phenomenon has led to the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry. the article recommends that the variables that are lacking in zimbabwe be replenished as a precondition for the revival of the construction industry and that the merits of a stable socioeconomic environment, a new government, dollarisation and an infrastructure stimulus package to address or counteract the effects of hyperinflation on the construction sector be investigated. keywords: hyperinflation, construction industry mr admire moyo msc student department of building and quantity surveying nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6013 south africa. phone: (041) 373 0407 fax: (086) 506 6618 email: <admirem@qs.bnm.co.za > dr gerrit j. crafford associate professor department of building and quantity surveying nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6013 south africa. phone: (041) 504 2153 fax: (041) 504 9935 email: <gerrit.crafford@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 54 abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om die uitwerking van hiperinflasie op die zimbabwiese konstruksiebedryf aan te dui. tot onlangs het die zimbabwiese konstruksiebedryf, nes sy suksesvolle streeksen internasionale eweknieë, heelwat bygedra tot die land se bruto binnelandse produk, beter vlakke van werkverskaffing, ekonomiese groei, en die herstrukturering van die onbevredigende betalingsbalans. in die laaste dekade was dit ongeluking nie die geval in zimbabwe nie; die land het geworstel met ‘n ernstige hiperinflasie as gevolg van die gebrek aan ‘n stabiele nasionale geleentheid, ‘n tekort aan beleggers en werksgeleenthede wat gesamentlik bygedra het tot die ineenstorting van die konstruksiebedryf. ongeag ander debateerbare oorsake van die krisis, het die zimbabwiese regering intussen hiperinflasie as die land se grootste vyand uitgewys. hierdie artikel bevat die resultate van ‘n magisterstudie waarvan die doelstellings was om vas te stel wat die oorsaak is van hiperinflasie in zimbabwe, ondersoek in te stel na die verhouding tussen hiperinflasie en die ineenstorting van die zimbabwiese konstruksiebedryf en vas te stel of hiperinflasie beslis verantwoordelik is vir die ineenstorting van die zimbabwiese konstruksiebedryf. die vernaamste bevindinge van die ondersoek (uitgevoer op die hoogtepunt van zimbabwe se hiperinflasie) is die volgende: die zimbabwiese regering en die zimbabwiese reserwebank druk op arbitrêre grondslag nuwe geld en dit is die vernaamste oorsaak van hiperinflasie; hiperinflasie lei weer op sy beurt tot die gebrek aan ’n stabiele nasionale geldeenheid, beleggers en arbeidsfaktore wat weer aanleiding gee tot die sluit van besighede, ‘n negatiewe ekonomiese groei en ‘n konstruksiebedryf wat in duie stort. die artikel kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat hiperinflasie ‘n omgekeerde verhouding deel met die konstruksiebedryf want soos hiperinflasie toeneem, neem die konstruksiebedryf af tot op so ‘n vlak dat dit feitlik in duie stort en omgekeerd. die artikel dui aan hoe hierdie toedrag van sake gelei het tot die ineenstorting van die zimbabwiese konstruksiebedryf. voorts beveel die artikel aan dat die veranderlikes wat tekort skiet in zimbabwe, aangevul kan word as ‘n voorvereiste vir die heropbou van die konstruksiebedryf. die artikel stel voor dat ‘n ondersoek geloods word na die meriete van ‘n stabiele sosio-ekonomiese omgewing, ‘n nuwe regering, dollarisering en ‘n pakket wat die infrastruktuur moet stimuleer om die uitwerking van hiperinflasie op die konstruksiebedryf te kan aanspreek en teenwerk. sleutelwoorde: hiperinflasie, konstruksiebedryf 1. introduction hyperinflation is more than a mere earthquake (the analogy for severe crisis); it is an atomic bomb (corrales, 1998: 628). hyperinflation is a crisis of a different degree. citizens who survive a hyperinflationary process never find words to describe the panic that envelops the nation during these rare historical moments. people’s salaries, if not lifelong savings, evaporate in a matter of hours (corrales, 1998: 627). in economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is ‘out of control’, a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 55 value. no precise definition of hyperinflation is universally accepted. however, siklos (2000: 2) indicates that academics generally accept cagan’s (1956: 25-117) definition of hyperinflation as an inflation rate of at least 50% per month, or 12.875% per annum. in this article the authors have adopted this definition. before zimbabwe first breached the 50% hyperinflation benchmark in march 2007 (hanke & kwok, 2009: 354) the zimbabwean construction industry held a pivotal role in the nation’s economy and represented the biggest institution of fixed capital in the country, contributing towards improving employment levels, the country’s gross domestic product, and allied industries such as cement, glass, steel, timber, bricks, among others (gombera & okoroh, 1999: 337). currently, however, the zimbabwean construction industry is characterised by a lack of construction projects due to a collapsed economy (hanke, 2008a: 1). the zimbabwean government has officially attributed the country’s economic difficulties to “drought and/or economic sabotage by any number of the country’s enemies” (clemens & moss, 2005: 2). some of the most popular theories cited for zimbabwe’s demise are listed below: according to president mugabe, a number of droughts have • led to zimbabwe’s economic collapse (richardson, 2005: online); president mugabe’s policies are to blame for the economic • collapse in zimbabwe (higgins, 2008: online); disregard for the rule of law and property rights has led to • zimbabwe’s economic collapse (richardson, 2005: online), and erratic government policies are to blame for zimbabwe’s • economic collapse (coltard, 2008: online) although numerous reasons have been accentuated as the potential cause of zimbabwe’s problems, hanke (2008a: 1) indicates that the hallmark of zimbabwe’s economic collapse was hyperinflation. hyperinflation in zimbabwe peaked at a monthly rate of 79.6 billion percent in mid-november 2008 at which point people simply refused to use the zimbabwe dollar (hanke 2008a: 9). zimbabwe now ranks in second place in the world hyperinflation record books after hungary’s 1946-hyperinflation era (hanke & kwok, 2008: 355). given the touted impact of hyperinflation, a study was undertaken to investigate whether hyperinflation in zimbabwe has solely led to acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 56 the lack of a stable national currency accompanied by shortages of investors and labour, which have led to the collapse of the construction industry. as such, the hypotheses to be tested are whether: hyperinflation has resulted in the lack of a stable national • currency. the unchecked money supply of zimbabwean dollars is • causing hyperinflation. hyperinflation has resulted in high interest rates leading to • investor shortage. hyperinflation is forcing labour to emigrate.• hyperinflation is the root cause of the collapse of the • zimbabwean construction industry. 2. review of literature this section provides a review of the literature pertaining to the effects of hyperinflation on the value of money, investors and labour vis-àvis the zimbabwean construction industry with the aim of indicating whether hyperinflation has indeed solely led to the collapse of the zimbabwean construction sector. 2.1 inflation if there is anything in the world, which ought to be stable it is money, the measure of everything which enters the channels of trade. what confusion would there not be in a state where weights and measures frequently changed? on what basis and with what assurance would one person deal with another and which nations would come deal with people who lived in such disorder? (francois leblanc as cited in tödter & manzke, 2007: 1). inflation is the rate of growth of the general price level of goods and services in an economy (gono, 2005: 35). coleman (2007: 4) contends that such a depiction of inflation is misleading as increases in price level are effects of inflation rather than a definition of inflation. coleman (2007: 4) states that inflation is best defined as the reduction of the value of money that must occur if an increase in money supply is required. correspondingly, galland & casey (2008: 4) contend that inflation is best defined by splitting it into two broad concepts, which ought to be kept separate: monetary inflation and price inflation. monetary inflation is a process whereby the supply of money increases faster than the supply of goods, increasing prices moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 57 and lowering demand and the value of money, whereas price inflation is an increase in the overall level of prices for goods. wijewardena (2007: 1) suggests that inflation is detrimental to the economy as it leads to the erosion of the confidence of people in the domestic currency, and the loss of control by governments of national money, which inevitably results in the failure to use monetary policy to curb further inflation hikes or the effects thereof. in summary, wijewardena (2007: 2) states that inflation has the following results: discourages exports and encourages imports;• discourages savers and favours borrowers;• discourages financial savings and encourages non-• productive types of investments in real estate, gold bullion and other types of precious metals; distorts the resource allocation function of an economy;• distorts the balance sheets of companies, in particular the • balance sheets of financial institutions, and forcefully hits the vulnerable groups with a weaker bargaining • power. regardless of the apparent perplexity surrounding the ideal definition of inflation, it can be noted that there is a consensus among the public, economists and policymakers that inflation is usually detrimental to the economy. 2.1.1 causes of inflation inflation may occur due to any one of the following occurrences: an accelerated rate of growth which is greater than the • required or planned rate of growth; governments trying to absorb more resources than that • released by the economy at the existing price level, and groups of participants (employers, traders, business merchants, • and so on) in an economy scaling up their incomes, thereby increasing prices of the goods offered (to match higher incomes) without increasing production (oyediran, 2006: online). some scholars contend that there are only two major causes of inflation which include excessive money supply growth, and excessive demand. excessive money supply causes prices to rise, prompting acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 58 the value of the money that an economy is printing and circulating to grow larger than the value of the goods it is producing. as such, the result of this process is that the surplus currency devalues, resulting in inflation (venezie & schmidt, 2007: online). in basic terms, there will be too much money chasing too few goods. the alternative school of thought suggests that inflation occurs when overall demand is greater than the economy’s ability to satisfy this demand, thereby creating a shortage in supply, which causes prices to rise (venezie & schmidt, 2007: online). 2.1.2 causes of high inflation or hyperinflation hanke & kwok (2008: 353) indicate that: hyperinflations have never occurred when a commodity served as money or when paper money was convertible into a commodity. the curse of hyperinflation has only reared its ugly head when the supply of money had no natural constraints and was governed by a discretionary paper money standard. dem, mihailovici & gao (2001: 11) agree with the above and provide three scenarios which can be placed under the abovementioned cause. first, high inflations must always be preceded by major increases in money supply which can only occur in systems with money that has no intrinsic value. under the metallic currency system the supply of metals does not increase at rates necessary to produce high inflation or hyperinflation. it is only when governments abandon a metal standard that such inflations are possible. secondly, the role of civil war, revolution or deep social unrest is clearly a factor in many of the hyperinflations prior to the 1980s. the strain on the public budget caused the financing of a war effort leading to major public deficits. government expenditure is significantly increased during war which makes the government turn to its printing presses to finance its budget. thirdly, the existence of weak governments has been identified as another important trigger to hyperinflation. in general, weak or inexperienced governments lack the ability to enforce tax collection and implement the necessary budgetary reforms. in addition, they are easily tempted to placate different groups of the population with transfers and subsidies in order to build a political base. under these circumstances governments are likely to turn to inflationary finance, thus setting the stage for high inflation. moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 59 2.1.3 government’s role in inflation or hyperinflation governments are the major causes of inflation (punungwe, 2009: online). since governments control currencies, it follows that governments create inflation (west, 2000: online). as a result, innumerable scholars posit that inflation is similar to sin because every government condemns it, yet every government practises it (sir frederick keith-ross as cited in makochekanwa, 2007: 2). this sequence of events occurs when government increases the money supply via the printing press faster than the quantity of goods available (mcmahon, 2008: online). this process inevitably leads to inflation because it represents an increase in money balances without a corresponding increase in the quantity of goods in the economy (harriott, 2000: online). krois (2002: 1) resolves that inflation is the result of ‘weak’ governments who simply print more money in an effort to finance quasi-fiscal expenditure. dem, mihailovici & gao (2001: 2) concur and state that weak governments create inflation via seignorage finance whereby governments try to pacify different forms of the population with grants in order to build up political bases. this indicates that even the weakest governments can enforce inflation when they can enforce nothing else (keynes as cited in makochekanwa, 2007: 1). governments can continue in this vein of idiocy (printing money incessantly) for a short period as inflation progressively debases the national currency, leading to financial collapse (west coast asset management, 2009: online). this assertion applies to the zimbabwean context: excessive money supply growth by the government has inflamed inflation. money supply growth in zimbabwe emanates from the government’s continued borrowing from the reserve bank (gono, 2005: 35). 2.2 construction investment construction investment is a form of economic planning that involves the uptake of new capital or finance from lending agencies to undertake new projects that generally employ people and generate income (khan, 2008: 3). like most financial ventures, construction investment is subject to social and financial constraints (abutaleb, sedik, ramadan & khattab, 1999: 33-35). construction investment is subject to: low returns from the constructed structure;• high returns through derived demand;• high initial investment costs, and• acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 60 a general shortage of investors given the aforementioned • factors. given the problems inherent in construction investment, fluctuations in the rate of inflation pose an additional problem that further adds to the industry’s unattractiveness to investors (oyediran, 2006: online). derived demand from activities such as manufacturing depends on guaranteed returns. inflation, on the other hand, creates uncertainty, which reduces the occurrence of this guarantee (faria & carneiro, 2001: 13-15). this occurs mainly due to an increase in nominal interest rates, which results in an increase in investment interest debt (madsen, 2008: 1-3). as a result, during high inflationary periods an investor’s debt will increase while revenue decreases. duczynski (2000: 3-8) concurs and states that the ‘fisher effect’ defined by the relationship i=π+r, where i is the nominal interest rate, and π inflation, best explains this relationship, which postulates that nominal interest rates move together with the rate of inflation. duczynski (2000: 3-8) contends that this relationship discourages all forms of investment. effectively as inflation escalates and interest rates follow suit, banks start to ration credit in order to decrease risk (boyd & champ, 2006: 5). ultimately, as inflation and interest rates continue to rise, investors may refuse to invest, or at least restrict the quantity of investments they make (boyd & champ, 2006: 5). 2.2.1 construction investment in zimbabwe since the start of hyperinflation in zimbabwe, interest rates have soared at least twice as much as those of neighbouring subsaharan african countries (united states agency for international development, 2007: 1). as such, inflation-inflamed interest rates have reduced the potential for industrial investment (hanke, 2008b: online). inflation has significantly deterred investment, in particular, in machinery and equipment and in non-residential buildings and structures (madsen, 2008: 1-3). as such, given the costs associated with inflation, investors have moved to hedge against negative real returns by seeking refuge in non-interest-bearing assets such as equities, the property market and the currency market, while abandoning high-risk sectors such as the construction industry (mambondiani, 2008: online). 2.2.2 alternative causes of investor shortages declines in construction investment are cyclical and follow the kuznets and kondratieff cycles, which relate to construction investment of which the different duration of the cycles depends moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 61 on the relative durability of different construction goods (merrifield, 2000: online). as such, the periodic lack of infrastructure investment may indicate that there is abundant infrastructure in existence that leads to a decrease in demand for new infrastructure investment (merrifield, 2000: online). as the kuznets and kondratieff cycles postulate that economic inequality increases over time while a country is developing only to decrease once a certain average income is attained, it can be argued that it is at this particular average income that a developing nation may have acquired adequate infrastructure. at this point investment finance may only become available if there is a demand for repairs and renovations to existing infrastructure (merrifield, 2000: online). on the other hand, investors may be driven by emotions, which determine whether they invest or not (mambondiani, 2008: online). on occasion, the zimbabwean government argues that investment shortages in the country are a result of sanctions imposed on the country by the united states of america and the european union (moss, 2007: 1). these arguments indicate that the lack of construction investment in zimbabwe may be due to other reasons besides inflation. 2.3 construction labour labour denotes two discrete yet related entities. one is the productive power of human beings, commonly referred to as productivity, while the other is the physical inconvenience endured by men during the course of production (kitchener, 2001: 2). sayers (2007: 4-5) states that labour is an influential activity, which gives form to materials. alternatively, burkett & bellamy foster (2008: 6) state that labour is a process involving the use of mechanical and intellectual energy. fluitman (2002: 6) concurs and refers to labour simply as either physical or mental work, or a factor of production. burkett & bellamy foster (2008: 6) posit that human labour only ever leads to some kind of muscular effort. in industry, labour is often denoted as the willingness of a human being to toil for the good of others in exchange for a wage (small, 2000: 13-16). inglehart, basa´n˜ez, dı´ez-medrano, halman & luijkx, (2004: 1) contend that, although people work for a variety of reasons such as to achieve something, to meet people, to learn things, or to make themselves feel useful, among other considerations, work is done primarily for a decent income, such that one has no ‘qualms about money’. ehrbar (2002: 4), in agreement with inglehart et al. (2004: 1), argues that labour is a process that is restricted to one elemental standard ‘money’. in other words, labour emerges altogether as an item that is ‘paid for’ (laycock, 1999: 1). as a result, it can be recognised why acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 62 decent pay is the reason most often mentioned for doing work (van de vliert, van yperen & thierry, 2008: 79). labour is fundamental because it is a means of production (laycock, 1999: 2-3). industry needs labour in order to produce goods and services; hence industry cannot exist without this valuable resource. human capital is the most important factor of production (schneider, 2005). similarly, mcniven & foster (2009: 2) suggest that labour is vital, as it is an instrument for obtaining and sustaining economic growth. 2.3.1 construction labour in zimbabwe zimbabwe’s building industry faces imminent collapse owing to an inflation-induced exodus of skilled labour (crush & williams, 2001: 2). mbiba & ndubiwa (2006: 23-24) concur and state that the economic decline accompanied by a shrinking number of construction projects has resulted in a decline in qualified bricklayers, artisans, carpenters, and so on to other countries in the region, notably south africa, mozambique and botswana, leading to a skills shortage. chisi (2008: online) calls this phenomenon ‘skills flight’ and attributes it to the lure of more stable wages that zimbabweans have found hard to resist. in accordance with chisi (2008: online), mbizvo (2006: online) argues that the flight of zimbabweans is related to the value of the local currency, as there are numerous employment opportunities in the country. inflation has rendered the zimbabwean currency worthless, thereby eroding the purchasing power of the currency, adversely affecting the livelihood of the ordinary household as standards of living fall and basic social services become unaffordable (murerwa, 2006: 42). according to mumbengegwi (2007: 28), wage adjustments have failed to ease rampant inflation rendering workers incapable of generating sufficient income levels to support themselves and their dependents (mbizvo, 2006: online). correlated to this, the decline in economic activity has resulted in the exodus of construction firms, which has further exacerbated labour shortages as the firms leave with some of their local labour force (mbiba & ndubiwa, 2006: 35). on the other hand, other individuals have left the industry for other lucrative sectors, such as the informal diamond mining trade, further exacerbating the construction industry labour shortages (mbiba & ndubiwa, 2006: 35). inflation has thus complicated the lives of zimbabweans, leaving them with little option other than to leave the country (wilcox, 2008: online). moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 63 2.3.2 alternative causes of labour shortages chisi (2008: online) suggests that a number of personnel have left zimbabwe for south africa due to the huge infrastructure demands of the 2010 soccer world cup tournament. south african companies, in particular, have embarked on a massive drive to recruit personnel to meet deadlines for the 2010 spectacle (crush & williams, 2001: 6). this argument indicates that the lack of construction industry labour in zimbabwe may be due to another reason besides inflation. alternatively, avera (2008: online) contends that construction labour shortages may result from any of the following: an aging workforce combined with fewer young people entering the sector, and mass exodus of the ‘baby boomers’ (born during the post-wwii baby boom), from the construction industry. pearman (2003: 1-5) argues that this is extremely relevant because construction is unique compared to other industries in that the retirement age of workers tends to be earlier because of the demanding physical nature of construction jobs. alternatively, carliner (2005: 21) suggests that at times an unusually large demand for construction projects may also result in a shortage of labour. 3. research methodology the literature survey led to the identification of the probable causes of inflation as well as the publicised effects of inflation on currency, investment and labour. while revealing the impact of hyperinflation on the zimbabwean construction industry relative to the aforementioned variables, the survey also revealed that there are an array of variables that can also lead to an unstable currency, investor and labour shortage. 3.1 research method the research is descriptive in nature. leedy & ormrod (2005: 179-216) state that this type of research involves identifying the distinctiveness of an observable fact or delving into possible parallels in the midst of two or more phenomena. crafford (2007: 81) states that descriptive research always probes a situation as it is. crafford (2007: 81) contends that descriptive research does not involve altering or transforming the state of affairs under examination. in accordance with leedy & ormrod (2005: 179-216), crafford (2007: 81) and zikmund (2003: 55) state that descriptive research seeks to clarify answers to ‘who, what, where and how’ questions. as such, this approach suitably acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 64 addresses the main objectives of this research, which sought to clarify the following: who or what caused hyperinflation in zimbabwe?• what the impact of hyperinflation is in the zimbabwean • construction sector, and whether hyperinflation alone led to the collapse of the • zimbabwean construction industry? a pilot study consisting of a convenience sample of contractor and client representatives from zimbabwe (now resident in gauteng, the eastern cape and western cape provinces) was conducted in order to collect data from the definitive subjects of the research to serve as a lead for the pending larger study. bryman & bell (2003: 328-340) avow that pilot studies are always desirable to conduct before administering a self-completion questionnaire. in total, 20 respondents were asked to respond to the questionnaire, which was administered via email. the pilot study questionnaire’s objective was to ensure that the questionnaire was properly phrased; could be answered within a reasonable period; was easy to understand, and did not have any unforeseen problems in content, structure or format. sixty percent of the respondents successfully completed the pilot study questionnaire. the responses obtained were used as a means to improve on the questionnaire. the pilot study revealed the following problems with the questionnaire: the questionnaire was too long and needed to be abridged, • and some questions where ambiguous and needed to be • rearticulated. consequently, a refined questionnaire fit for data collection from the target population was produced. the questionnaire consisted of four segments: segment one consisted of questions relating to the • respondent’s demographic background; segment two consisted of questions pertaining to the evolution • and effects of inflation as well as the alternative causes of zimbabwe’s economic woes as detailed in the literature review. respondents were asked to rate the level of evidence of their opinions vis-à-vis inflation and the alternatives on a likert scale; moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 65 segment three entailed the determination of the importance • of sub-problem variables. respondents were asked to rate the level of importance of each of the parameters on a likert scale, and segment four consisted of a general comments section where • respondents were asked to express their views in response to open-ended questions pertaining to the evolution and effects of hyperinflation in the zimbabwean construction sector. 3.2 population the sample population consisted of registered contractors and construction clients with a construction economics background (qualification or experience or both). the list of contractors was obtained from the construction industry federation of zimbabwe. this list was used to confirm whether these contractors were still operating in zimbabwe and, if so, the contact details of former representatives now resident in south africa were solicited to create a redefined mailing list. similarly, a list of registered construction clients mainly in the form of financial institutions was obtained from the reserve bank of zimbabwe (rbz) website. the clients were also solicited for contact details of their ex-representatives now resident in south africa. in total, the number of contractors and clients on the redefined mailing list was 80 and 11, respectively. 3.3 data analysis the primary data obtained from the questionnaire was converted to nominal data by means of rescaling. researchers who draw on likert scales ought to rescale the data obtained to enable them to decipher the data in a more accurate and clear-cut manner since likert scales do not produce interval data. the rescaling was conducted discretely for the evidence survey and the importance survey. the re-scaling procedure used was as follows: arrange the constructs on the rows and the rating scale on • the columns; generate the frequency count from the response data set;• perform a correspondence analysis of the data set;• choose a 2-axis solution for simplicity and request the eigen • value and column plot reports, and using the eigen values of the first two axes, find the euclidean • distance between the scale points. tables 1 and 2 illustrate the results of the rescaling. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 66 table 1: rescaling of evidence survey results likert scale of evidence eigen value cum. percent retained axis 1 0.31437 57.34 axis 2 0.10358 76.23 axis 1 co-ordinate axis 2 co-ordinate euclidean distance adjusted scale 1 no evidence 1.288 -0.78 1.0000 2 poor evidence 1.076 0.674 2.1890 3.1890 3 reasonable evidence -0.064 0.247 1.1723 4.3613 4 good eevidence -0.131 -0.055 0.4567 4.8181 5 very strong evidence -0.342 -0.049 0.1819 5.0000 table 2: rescaling of importance survey results likert scale of importance eigen value cum. percent retained axis 1 0.06118 45.21 axis 2 0.03427 70.54 axis 1 co-ordinate axis 2 co-ordinate euclidean distance adjusted scale 1 not important 1.436 -0.947 1.0000 2 of little importance -1.425 -1.132 1.9626 2.9626 3 somewhat important -0.447 0.349 1.5085 4.4712 4 important 0.041 -0.044 0.4899 4.9611 5 very important 0.064 -0.005 0.0389 5.0000 the moderate cumulative percentages retained in tables 1 and 2 indicate that very little data was lost during the rescaling exercise. the mean rating percentage for evidence is 87%. this value was obtained by dividing the adjusted scale value for ‘reasonable evidence’ of 4.3613 by 5 (very strong evidence). similarly, the mean rating percentage for importance is 89%. as such, variables on the evidence and importance scales that are rated above the mean ratings of 87% and 89%, respectively indicate that most respondents agree that the particular variables (relating to the said questions) address the survey inquiry/s adequately. the higher the ratings are moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 67 above the mean, the stronger the consensus by respondents’ visà-vis the variable in question. the opposite is also true. as such, the interpretations section will only comment on the top three ranked variables, as these variables will most likely be rated above or close to the mean. as a result, the interpretations section will reveal the fundamental variables that have a bearing towards the support or lack of support thereof of the hypothesis. 4. response rate ninety-one (91) questionnaires were posted to contractors and clients. eighty (80) questionnaires were sent to contractors and eleven (11) were sent to clients. as a supplementary measure to try to boost the response rate, the questionnaire was, in addition to being dropped off with the respondents, simultaneously advertised via email as having an on-line survey option to the respondents. the respondents were then left to choose which response option suited best. all in all, thirty-two (32) questionnaires were returned with, and including, the second call to respondents for responses. two questionnaires that were returned on time were spoilt (illegible and incorrectly answered, respectively) and were not included in the response-rate calculation. of the fifty-nine (59) outstanding questionnaires, 52 questionnaires remained unanswered after the deadline date, whereas the remaining questionnaires were reported to have been completed but where either missing or misplaced by the respondents. when comparing the number of completed questionnaires to the sample size prescribed by krejcie & morgan as cited in crafford (2007: 84), the results obtained are shown below: table 3: analysis of response rate sector population (no.) required sample size (no.) informative questionnaires returned (no.) response rate of sample (%) contractors 100 80 23 28.75 clients 11 11 7 63.64 total 111 91 30 32.97 this represents a 32.97% effective response rate on the survey. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 68 4.1 response sample the response rate of the study is 32.97%. contemporary built environment survey response rates range from as little as 7% to as much as 40% in general. as such, comparing the study response rate with the abovementioned contemporary study response rates, it would appear that the study response rate would suffice for the relevant hypothesis tests to be conducted satisfactorily. 5. findings the foremost secondary objective sought to determine whether hyperinflation resulted in the lack of a stable national currency in zimbabwe. as such, the research question read, “how evident is it that each of the variables listed below are lacking as a result of hyperinflation in the zimbabwean construction industry.” ordinal data obtained from the survey was converted to interval data by means of re-scaling as described earlier. this procedure resulted in the computation of the means (also translated to percentage scores) of the stated variables. table 4 indicates the rescaling results in rank order. table 4: variables that are lacking due to hyperinflation questionnaire reference variable descriptions % rank q7.8 stable currency 98.24 1 a b o v e a v e ra g e q7.6 profitable rate of return on construction project investments 97.75 2 q7.2 private sector investment 97.69 3 q7.1 government investment 97.63 4 q7.3 individual investment 96.47 5 q7.9 meaningful wages and salaries 95.76 6 q7.5 security of investment 95.75 7 q7.11 abundant supplies of ancillary or secondary construction resources 94.30 8 q7.10 abundant supplies of materials and fossil fuels 91.75 9 q7.7 large labour force 91.21 10 q7.4 quick return on investment 90.92 11 moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 69 table 4 indicates that all of the top three ranked variables are rated above the mean rating of 87%, implying that a number of elements besides the stable currency are lacking in zimbabwe because of hyperinflation. the top three ranked variables in descending order are: rank 1 (above average): lack of a stable currency this is one • of the major symptoms of severe hyperinflation (oyediran, 2006: online). this was one of the worst effects of hyperinflation in zimbabwe (gono, 2005: 35). rank 2 (above average): profitable rate of return on • construction project investment – as inflation rises, interest rates also rise, thereby reducing profitable rates of return in industry (boyd & champ, 2006: 35). rank 3: private sector investment (above average) inflation • exerts a negative influence on investment returns, which discourages investment in an inflationary environment (cumming, 2003: online). the above average rating of all top three variables indicates that hyperinflation does indeed primarily lead to an unstable currency. in the same context, the results reveal that there are other fundamental elements that become scarce because of the existence of an unstable currency. theoretically, an unstable currency renders construction cost management useless as budgeting and general cost management become difficult or impossible to accomplish in real terms. in such a scenario rates of return decline and investors move their portfolios to other markets. fatefully this process is occurring in the zimbabwean construction sector hence the collapse of the construction industry. the ‘lack of a stable currency’ was ranked highest among the three variables. this supports the first secondary objective. similarly, the subsequent secondary objective sought to determine whether the unchecked money supply of zimbabwean dollars caused hyperinflation. as such, the research question read, “how evident is it that each of the variables listed below has caused hyperinflation in zimbabwe.” the table overleaf indicates the rescaling results obtained. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 70 table 5: prospective hyperinflation-causing variables questionnaire reference variable descriptions % rank q2.2 the zimbabwe government and the rbz arbitrarily printing money 93.88 1 above average q2.5 president robert mugabe 84.07 2 b e lo w a v e ra g e q2.6 burning money phenomenon 83.94 3 q2.3 sanctions 81.61 4 q2.4 expectations of higher incomes and wages 61.36 5 q2.1 zimbabwe’s rate of growth is faster than the planned rate of growth 48.65 6 the highest ranked variable is also the only variable rated above the mean rating of 87%. this indicates that most respondents agree that this variable has solely caused hyperinflation. table 5 indicates that the top three ranked variables in descending order are: rank 1 (above average): the zimbabwe government and rbz • arbitrarily printing money gono (2005: 41), makochekanwa (2007: 1), coorey, clausen, funke, muñoz, and ould-abdallah (2007: 1), and hanke (2008c: 1) concur and fervently posit that excessive money supply is indeed the sole cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe. rank 2 (below average): president robert mugabe – contrary • to suggestions by various scholars that president mugabe is the cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe the respondents are not overly convinced that the president is solely the root cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe. rank 3 (below average): burning money phenomenon • respondents rated this variable lowly. it can be argued that this is because the burning money phenomenon (according to some scholars) commenced at the peak of zimbabwe’s hyperinflation and as such, the phenomenon may have only served to exacerbate hyperinflation in zimbabwe without necessarily starting it. although the results indicate that, president mugabe’s role as a cause of hyperinflation is consequential, literature strongly indicates that the president has a stranglehold on the operations of the reserve bank of zimbabwe. as such, the president’s influence moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 71 over the reserve bank indicates that his role as a collaborative cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe is undeniable. nonetheless the ‘zimbabwean government and the rbz arbitrarily printing money’ was ranked as the most probable cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe. as such, the second, secondary objective is supported. the third secondary objective sought to determine whether hyperinflation has led to high interest rates that have resulted in investor shortages. as such, the research question read, “how evident is it that each of the variables listed below has resulted in investor shortages in the zimbabwean construction industry.” the table below indicates the rescaling results obtained. table 6: prospective cause of investor-shortage variables questionnaire reference variable descriptions % rank q4.2 high interests rates induced by hyperinflation 97.51 1 a b o v e a v e ra g e q4.6 low emotional investment drive towards zimbabwe 89.05 2 q4.4 unstable political and economic climate 82.06 3 b e lo w a v e ra g e q4.1 sanctions 81.43 4 q4.5 downturn in government investment 81.02 5 q4.3 business cycles 76.59 6 the top two variables are rated above the mean rating of 87%. table 6 indicates that the top three ranked variables in descending order are: rank 1 (above average): high interest rates induced by • hyperinflation – the fisher effect, as described by duczynski (2000: 1), suggests that high interest rates induced by hyperinflation discourage investment. cumming (2003: online) concurs and suggests that inflation exerts a negative influence on investment returns, thereby discouraging investment in an inflationary environment. this variable was ranked well above the mean rating, indicating that it is the runaway cause of investor shortages in zimbabwe. rank 2 (above average): low emotional investment drive • towards zimbabwe investment decisions hinge on individual emotions (mambondiani, 2008: online). it can be argued therefore that respondents ranked this variable highly because acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 72 of zimbabwe’s regional and international image that has resulted in a great deal of negative sentiment towards the country. as such, this phenomenon in collaboration with high interest rates may well have incensed investors shortages in the country. rank 3 (below average): unstable economic and political • climate if a country has an unstable economic and political environment, in the long run the economy collapses characterised by investor shortages among other elements (richardson, 2005: online). the respondents did not seem overly convinced that this was the main cause of investor shortages in zimbabwe, hence the lower rating. it can be argued, however, that this indicates how investors often overlook risky socio-political environments for promises of good returns. nonetheless, the ‘high interest rates induced by hyperinflation’ were ranked as the most probable cause of investor shortages in zimbabwe. as such, the third secondary objective is supported. the fourth secondary objective sought to determine whether hyperinflation forced labour to emigrate. as such, the research question read, “how evident is it that each of the variables listed below has resulted in labour shortages in the zimbabwean construction industry.” the table below indicates the rescaling results obtained. table 7: prospective causes of labour-emigration variables questionnaire reference variable descriptions % rank q5.1 skilled labour ‘brain drain’ induced by hyperinflation 99.51 1 a b o v e a v e ra g e q5.2 unskilled labour migration induced by hyperinflation 96.91 2 q5.3 skilled and unskilled labour migration induced by the 2010 world cup 87.35 3 q5.4 seasonal construction industry migration to other countries 75.04 4 b e lo w a v e ra g e q5.6 slow replacement of retired or aging workers 65.25 5 q5.5 retirement of baby boomers (babymaking generation) 62.95 6 moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 73 all of the top three variables were rated above the mean rating of 87%. table 7 indicates that the top three ranked variables in descending order are: rank 1 (above average): skilled labour ‘brain drain’ induced • by hyperinflation chimanikire (2002: 1), crush & williams (2001: 3-4) and the international organization for migration (2003: 1) suggest that drops in real income, currency devaluation and rising cost of living (after effects of hyperinflation) result in skilled labour brain drain and labour migrations. rank 2 (above average): unskilled labour migration induced • by hyperinflation – chimanikire (2002: 1), crush & williams (2001: 3-4) and the international organization for migration (2003: 1) suggest that drops in real income, currency devaluation and rising cost of living (after effects of hyperinflation) result in unskilled labour brain drain and labour migrations. rank 3 (above average): skilled and unskilled labour • migration induced by the 2010 world cup a large number of personnel in zimbabwe left for south africa due to the huge infrastructure demands of the 2010 soccer world cup tournament (chisi, 2008: online). the above mean ratings of the top three variables indicate that, although hyperinflation has resoundingly led to labour scarcities in zimbabwe, major infrastructural developments in south africa for the 2010 world cup have also exacerbated the skills shortages. nonetheless, the ‘skilled labour [brain drain] induced by hyperinflation’ was ranked as the most probable cause of labour shortages in zimbabwe. as such, the fourth secondary objective is supported. in addition, respondents were asked to rank the levels of importance of the variables that are most affected by inflation as identified in the literature survey. the following table indicates the results obtained. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 74 table 8: importance level of variables most affected by inflation as ranked by respondents questionnaire reference variable descriptions % rank q9.9 meaningful wages and salaries 99.52 1 a b o v e a v e ra g e q9.10 abundant supplies of materials and fossil fuels 99.22 2 q9.11 abundant supplies of ancillary or secondary construction resources 99.22 2 q9.6 good national investment climate (non-construction-related investment) 99.17 4 q9.2 private sector investment 98.76 5 q9.7 profitable rate of return on construction project investments 98.41 6 q9.3 individual investment 97.45 7 q9.1 government investment 97.43 8 q9.12 low inflation or absence of hyperinflation 97.23 9 q9.5 security of investment 96.42 10 q9.4 quick return on investment 96.12 11 q9.8 large labour force 95.74 12 table 8 indicates the rankings of the variables that are of critical importance to the zimbabwean construction industry. all the variables were ranked above the mean rating of importance of 89%. the top three ranked variables in descending order are: rank 1 (above average): meaningful wages and salaries -• this is in line with inglehart et al. (2004: 3-8) who suggest that work is done primarily for a decent income such that one has no ‘qualms about money’. it is evident that this is a very important aspect for the zimbabwean construction sector. rank 2 and 3: abundant supplies of ancillary or secondary • construction resources and abundant supplies of materials and fossil fuels (tied at second place) (above average) nasir (2008: 3-4) and rono (2000: 5-11) state that the construction industry is a resource-consuming industry. as such, it is important for the industry to have an abundant supply of resources (human and ancillary) at hand in order to function optimally. moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 75 the ranking results indicate that wages and salaries are fundamental over all else in the industry. the top three ranked variables of the gap analysis between importance and evidence in descending order are: abundant supplies of materials and fossil fuels;• quick return on investment, and• abundant supplies of ancillary or secondary construction • resources. in addition to the ranking, a gap analysis was conducted to highlight the gaps that exist between the ratings of importance and evidence of the variables most affected by inflation. table 9 indicates the results of the gap analysis. table 9: gap analysis between importance and evidence of variables variable descriptions importance (%) evidence (%) current gap (%) rank abundant supplies of materials and fossil fuels 99.22 91.75 7.47 1 a b o v e a v e ra g e quick return on investment 96.12 90.92 5 20 2 abundant supplies of ancillary or secondary construction resources 99.22 94.30 4.92 3 large labour force 95.74 91.21 4 53 4 meaningful wages and salaries 99.52 95.76 3.76 5 private sector investment 98.76 97.69 1 07 6 individual investment 97.45 96.47 0.98 7 security of investment 96.42 95.75 0 67 8 profitable rate of return on construction project investments 98.41 97.75 0 66 9 government investment 97.43 97.63 -0.20 10 the gap analysis indicates that, although these 3 variables are crucial to the zimbabwean construction industry, they are unfortunately also absent. as a result, although there are wide gaps in all 11 variables, these 3 variables take priority (large gaps) and as such have to be addressed with immediate effect in this particular order if the zimbabwean construction industry is to be resurrected. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 76 in addition, an open-ended question was presented to the respondents to establish how in their view the zimbabwean construction industry could be revived. the responses were ranked according to the generic groupings established via categorisation using ms excel. table 10 presents the results obtained. table 10: open-ended question variable description % rank create stable socio-economic environment 100.00% 1 above average form new government 50.00% 2 below average increase infrastructure expenditure 50.00% 3 remove sanctions 25.00% 4 adopt or use foreign currency 0.00% 5 table 10 prescribes the creation of a stable socio-economic environment as the best remedy for the revival of the zimbabwean construction industry. this is in line with richardson (2005: online) who suggests that a stable socio-economic environment is the key to zimbabwe’s overall economic revival. there is also considerable emphasis on the merits of the formation of a new government and a construction industry infrastructure package as measures whereby the construction industry may be revived. 6. conclusion the research sought to address three primary issues, which are fundamental to the understanding of the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry and its ultimate resurrection. the first objective was to determine the cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe. after ranking and analysis of the data it was established that the zimbabwean government and the rbz arbitrarily printing money are the root cause of hyperinflation in zimbabwe. as such, the first objective was achieved. the second objective sought to investigate the relationship between hyperinflation and the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry. the data analysis revealed that hyperinflation resulted in the following: lack of a stable national currency;• lack of investors, and• lack of labour.• moyo & crafford • the impact of hyperinflation 77 as such, hyperinflation distorts markets of all forms (currency, investor, labour, materials and fuel markets), a phenomenon that results in shortages that lead to the eventual collapse of industry and hence the economy at large. the research also revealed that hyperinflation has an antagonistic relationship with the construction industry, in other words, as hyperinflation increases, construction activity decreases because of a lack of key variables required by the industry to function optimally. scientifically, it can be concluded that hyperinflation shares an inverse relationship with the construction industry. the establishment of this relationship led to the achievement of the second objective. the third objective sought to determine whether hyperinflation is responsible for the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry. after ranking, it was established that hyperinflation has mainly resulted in business closures and stunted economic growth, two major factors that have also resulted in scarcity of construction projects. these variables, combined with the hyperinflation-induced market distortions described above, have indeed led to the collapse of the zimbabwean construction industry. as such, the third objective was achieved. 6.1 benefits the study has added to the limited body of knowledge of inflation and its determinants in africa and zimbabwe, in particular. in addition, the gap analysis identified variables that are crucial to the construction industry. the antagonistic relationship that exists between hyperinflation and the construction industry was also exposed. the revelation of the dynamics of this relationship in this study may be used as a blueprint to develop tools or expertise to solve or mitigate hyperinflation in zimbabwe and elsewhere. 6.2 future research the study presented a number of debatable issues that at face value ought to be investigated further. chief among these issues is the effect of a new national government as remedy to hyperinflation. similarly, the merits of a construction industry stimulus (increase in infrastructure expenditure) in a hyperinflationary environment needs to be investigated in order to ascertain whether this prescription can apply to a hyperinflation-ravaged construction sector, as stimulus packages are effective in certain non-construction sectors. more importantly, however, the research acknowledges that in january 2009, the zimbabwean government gave legal tender status to the south african rand and the united states dollar (kairiza, 2009: online). this process, often coined ‘dollarisation’ acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 78 consisted of the replacement of the 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[online]. available from: <http://mycmmb.com/docs/emw/2008/august/emw3%20-%20 zimbabwe%20-%20a%20deflated%20country!pdf> [accessed: 3 may 2009]. zikmund, g.w. 2003. business research methods. oklahoma: lifeland publishing. 91 tarina jordaan, karen puren & vera roos the meaning of place-making in planning: historical overview and implications for urban and regional planning peer reviewed abstract in its course of development, urban and regional planning has been greatly influenced by the modernist movement, which left human environments with various problematic ecological and social conditions. in reaction to these conditions, alternative planning approaches branched from the planning profession, one of these being the development approach known as place-making. place-making is the physical designing of a place based on locational contexts. place-making is offered as an alternative planning approach to current planning practice to ameliorate and possibly prevent continuation of the problematic ecological and social conditions. however, this implies that there has to come about a shift in the focus and aims of current planning practice. the main implications of place-making are that planning should become more contextually driven, holistic, multidisciplinary, as well as human and quality centred. also, it is proposed to increase research on place in the south african context. keywords: place-making, urban and regional planning, place, contextual design abstrak die ontwikkeling van stadsen streekbeplanning is grootliks beïnvloed deur die modernistiese beweging, wat menslike omgewings met verskeie ekologiese en sosiale probleme gelaat het. in teenreaksie op hierdie probleme, het verskeie alternatiewe beplanningsbenaderings die lig gesien, waarvan plekskepping een was. plekskepping is die fisiese ontwerp van ‘n plek gebaseer op die plek se in situ kontekste. plekskepping word geopper as ‘n alternatiewe beplanningsbenadering tot huidige beplanningspraktyk om sodoende die ekologiese en sosiale probleme te verbeter of te voorkom. dit impliseer egter dat huidige beplanningspraktyk ‘n verskuiwing in fokus en doelwitte moet ondergaan. ms tarina jordaan, subject group: urban and regional planning, north-west university, potchefstroom campus, private bag x6001, potchefstroom, 2520, south africa. tel: (018) 299 4348, mobile phone: 076 820 7755, email: <tarina. jordaan@nwu.ac.za> ms karen puren, subject group: urban and regional planning, north-west university, potchefstroom campus, private bag x6001, potchefstroom, 2520, south africa. tel: (018) 299 2545, mobile phone: 084 612 6001, fax: (018) 299 2487, email: <karen.puren@nwu.ac.za> prof. vera roos, school of psychological behavioural sciences, north-west university, potchefstroom campus, private bag x6001, potchefstroom, 2520, south africa. tel: (018) 299 1725, mobile phone: 082 925 7946, email: <vera.roos@nwu. ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 92 die hoofimplikasies van plekskepping is dat beplanning meer konteksgedrewe, holisties, multidissiplinêr, asook mensen kwaliteitgesentreerd moet word. ook word dit voorgestel dat meer navorsing oor plek in die suid-afrikaanse konteks gedoen word. sleutelwoorde: plekskepping, stadsen streekbeplanning, plek, kontekstuele ontwerp 1. introduction since the 1970s concepts like place, sense of place and placemaking received increasing attention in both spatial research and practice (windsor & mcvey, 2005: 147; cresswell, 2002: 12; graumann, 2002: 107; kaltenborn & williams, 2002: 189; casey, 1996: 20). this was to a large extent a reaction towards modernism that influenced urban planning practice – a reaction against the destruction of unique local identities that resulted from standardising and sterilising environments, or creating fantastic environments out of tune with their surroundings (arefi, 1999: 185; tibbalds, 1992: 9; relph, 1976). urban planners kept themselves uninvolved with the context1 of the locations they designed in order to achieve efficiency or a large profit margin (madanipour, 1996: 28; jacobs & appleyard, 1987: 168). these practices continue today and critique against these approaches has not yet slackened (carmona, heath, oc & tiesdell, 2003: 12; arefi, 1999: 184; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1995: 4). in an attempt to understand and perhaps improve the imprints left by modernism on the physical and social realms of humans and environment, there seems to be a great interest in place research. place research encompasses a wide variety of studies done in various disciplines and paradigms (patterson & williams, 2005). humanistic geography, forestry, resource management, anthropology, sociology, psychology, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and urban and regional planning all contributed to place research. both qualitative studies, as was done by norberg-schulz (1980), and quantitative studies, like those of shamai & ilatov (2005) have been done in place research. because of the variety in disciplinary and paradigmic approaches in place studies, place is considered a complex phenomenon. therefore, it cannot be classified as a singular research field. rather, it must be considered as a phenomenon that ought to be studied in an interdisciplinary and encompassing way (patterson & williams, 2005). 1 contexts in this research refers to the natural cultural socio-economic political mythical ethnic and aesthetic milieus and whichever of these play the strongest role on a location as identified by loukaki (1997: 309) jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 93 the overall characteristic of place research is the increasing attention given to affective and subjective dimensions of locations. on an international level, place research is fuelled by a spreading belief that a locally responsive approach in management and development of locations increases the quality of life for those inhabitants involved (williams & vaske, 2003: 831; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1995; 1991; tibbalds, 1992: 12). on a local level it is fuelled by an increasing need to address the existing shortcomings of modernistic planning – based mostly on economics and functionality – and apartheid planning, based on the separateness principle of the apartheid regime, in their inability to create locally responsive, unique, and viable settlements (csir, 2000; behrens & watson, 1997; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1995). despite this, it is disappointing to notice that current south african development law2 makes precious little mention of place issues within development legislation, giving priority to socio-political, socio-economical, and land and resource issues. where humans are actively involved with their environment the landscape plays an active role in everyday life (hufford, 1992: 241). human experience and understanding do not exist separately from physical space (hufford, 1992: 232). research has shown that places have an enduring effect on the lifespan of an individual on both a physiological and psychological level (chalwa, 1992; marcus, 1992; rubenstein & parmelee, 1992; saegert, 1976). this means that people’s experiences of a place have spatial implications in the creation of human environments (thwaites & simkins, 2005: 11). if urban and regional planners pay more attention to meanings assigned to places by their users, they may possibly achieve a better understanding of development issues (davenport & anderson, 2005: 639). this may enable planners to manage and/or create places that are embedded in their context (place-making) rather than to implement homogenising or context-alien designs (space-making) favoured by global development pressures (hague & jenkins, 2005). in the western world globalisation causes increased international and interregional competitiveness in terms of economic growth (hague & jenkins, 2005: 25). a consequence of this competitiveness is physical expansion of cities. current observers noted that this expansion can influence the rural hinterland around such centres in different ways: either homogenous sprawl creates an expanding semi-suburban rural waste, or local communities insist on contextual development that strengthens the local place identity and can be 2 for a more complete list of south african development law see scheepers t. 2000. a practical guide to law and development in south africa. kenwyn: juta. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 94 used as a place-marketing tool (mccarthy, 2008; hague & jenkins, 2005; carmona et al., 2003: 101; raagmaa, 2002; haartsen, groote & huigen, 2000: 148). in south africa cities also experience these globalisation forces, and together with the high levels of urbanisation, settlements are expanding rapidly. this causes uneven land use management, urban sprawl – notibly informal peripheral settlements with insufficient service delivery and government housing projects – and environmental degradation (south africa. department of environmental affairs and tourism, 2007; south africa. department of land affairs, 2007; pillay, 2004), all of which influence place meanings and identity. in areas that show tourism potential due to their strong sense of place, injudicious development, such as new middle to high income property developments, threatens to change the place identity and meanings that gave rise to its tourism potential in the first place (ferreira, 2007). the loss of place meanings and identity is therefore very real in south africa, and though place-making is not the panacea for this problem, it can redress it to some extent. the question of importance is then why place-making is meaningful for urban and regional planning. to explore the validity of placemaking in planning, one has to have an understanding of the historical development of place-making in urban and regional planning, as well as the possible meanings of place and place-making for planners. the aim of this article therefore is firstly, to clarify the concepts of place and place-making in planning by means of an historical overview of the development of place-making, and secondly, to highlight the possible implications of place-making in urban and regional planning. 2. historical overview of place-making interest in place and place-making developed from a variety of disciplines. of primary importance for this research is how this interest developed in urban and regional planning. according to wheeler (2002), the initial phase of the development of urban and regional planning as a profession gained momentum in 1902 with the garden cities of tomorrow by ebenezer howard (1946) and in 1915 with the work of patrick geddes (1968). this phase, which wheeler calls ‘ecological regionalism’, is characterised by a relatively encompassing and place-oriented approach (a planning approach embedded in the location’s contexts) to urban and regional planning. therefore planning’s origin was considered to be initially a locally responsive spatial discipline. jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 95 a typical characteristic of the pre-modern communities was how they adapted to and fashioned their world according to the opportunities and constraints of their environment. their living places were embedded in the contexts present and suitable for the existing conditions (williams, 2002). with the advance of the modernistic era, the change in managerial and technical skills since the first world war, and the rising popularity of modernistic principles in the spatial discipline after the second world war, the focus of urban and regional planning shifted. it changed drastically from its initial holistic place-centred development, to an approach where the physical development of the environment was increasingly determined by economic principles and technology (wheeler, 2002; relph, 1981; porteous, 1977: 316). interest in fashioning places according to the natural and social contexts in which they were located – as described by norberg-schulz (1980) – waned. gone was the creation of unique and locally responsive places. in its place, human environments were now created to reflect economics and functionality according to modernistic interpretation (arefi, 1999; mcharg, 1992; bentley, alcock, murrain, mcglynn, & smith, 1985; relph, 1981; 1976). this pointed to a shift in planning towards a more abstract and positivistic way of thinking about human and natural environments, one in which the concept of ‘space’ gained some prominence over ‘place’. for the purpose of this article, ‘space’ is considered to be as how relph (1976) described it – sterilised locations that can be anywhere, physical designs that one can duplicate elsewhere so that it is totally unrelated to its context, and what trancik (1986) coined as lost spaces, no-man’s lands that are unformed and under-utilised. space is perceived through the physical senses and is different from people’s mental interpretation of the space (madanipour, 1996: 12). it carries no human meaning and is regarded as ‘objective’ (tuan, 1977: 54). space is therefore a developed site that stands unrelated to its relevant contexts and the symbolical meaning associated with its location. space-making is then defined as the process of creating spaces. this interpretation of space is not the only one that exists. the debate around space and place is particularly visible in the field of geography. economists and economic geographers see space as a tool to develop scientific generalisations (cresswell, 2002), especially when referring to the spatial distribution of social and economic activities, factor costs and market price differentials (hague & jenkins, 2005; agnew & duncan, 1989: 2). this view of space is clearly visacta structilia 2008: 15(1) 96 ible in regional planning theories, such as those of christaller (1933), perroux (1950), hirschman (1958), isard (1960) and alonso (1964). human geography was the first academic field to take a step away from the notion of scientific space, to one of ‘place’ as the setting for everyday routine social interaction (agnew & duncan, 1989: 2), as was reflected in the works of authors lynch (1960), tuan (1974; 1977) and rapoport (1977). more recently, cultural geography showed interest in the concept of ‘sense of place’ or the identification with a place engendered by living in it (agnew & duncan, 1989: 2). it is this latter view on ‘place’ – one in which intangible elements feature – that is the basis for this article, though it is by no means the only one that exists. ‘place’ refers to personal, group, or cultural space that has subjective meanings and an emotional tie between humans and their location (windsor & mcvey, 2005: 147; altman & low, 1992: 5). it is a space with a specific character or a sense of place (norberg-schulz, 1980: 5). this means that it has meaning for the individual or group (violich, 2000: 113). sense of place implies that people are satisfied with a place, and appreciate the land in a way that stretches beyond its use value (stedman, 2002: 563; eisenhauer et al., 2000: 423). it is the character, the comprehensive atmosphere of a location, as well as the concrete space-defining forms present. it can be described as a place’s “fingerprint” (loukaki, 1997: 308; rapoport, 1977: 179). it is the perception of what is most salient in a specific location (cantrill, 1998: 303). such places are unique and locally embedded, and vibrant with urbanity (if located in an urban setting) (montgomery, 1998; behrens & watson, 1997; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1995; jacobs & appleyard, 1987; bentley et al., 1985; jacobs, 1961). place is therefore a location that is clearly embedded in (or has drawn inspiration from) its relevant contexts and reflect the symbolic meanings humans associate with it. place-making would then be defined as the process of creating places, rather than the manifestation of the physical product, which is ‘place’. one of the aspects of modernistic planning that is greatly lamented is the loss of unique places. this was due to partial or complete physical destruction and redevelopment of such places, as well as newly created locations which can be described as mostly mono-functional, monotonous, and sterile (arefi, 1999; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1995; bentley et al., 1985; norberg-schulz, 1980; relph, 1976; jacobs, 1961). this is not the only critique against modern planning. authors (arefi, 1999; behrens & watson, 1997; jacobs & appleyard, 1987; trancik, 1986; relph, 1976; jacobs, 1961) site various problems jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 97 of modern design, such as large-scale developers creating ever larger-scale developments causing loss of residents’ control of their own living places. also, privatisation of the urban environment leads to loss of vibrancy in public places, while modern designs cause increasing spatial fragmentation between different social groups. profit-based usage of valued places leads to these places’ destruction, which increases placelessness, users’ alienation from the urban environment, and inequality between environments of the rich and the poor. lastly, design professions – influenced by positivism and consumerism – increasingly design for people and locations from a universal viewpoint, applying instant solutions without considering the contexts involved. the above-mentioned limitations were the impetus for the initial attack on modernistic urban and regional planning. urban journalist, jane jacobs (1961), strongly opposed the theoretical basis on which planning rested on, that was economically driven (for a more detailed discussion, also see wheeler, 2002). the reality of how cities work – according to jacobs – differs from the planning theories applied to them. perhaps this was the spatial disciplines’ first inspiration for turning towards a related academic field, humanistic geography, to try to understand the problems of the modern city. it was during the 1960s and 1970s that the influence of humanistic geography on urban and regional planning became apparent. this contribution in the development of place-making is what can be called the era of environmental understanding3. 2.1 environmental understanding environmental understanding tries to explain the physiological and psychological processes involved in the way people perceive their natural and built environments. in addition, it tries to explain the way these perceptions influence people’s experience of their environment. the way people experience their environment in turn influence how they use it, which also influence how the physical environment is further utilised. the primary works of environmental understanding came from humanistic geography and urban and regional planning. according to yi-fu tuan (1974; 1977), downs & stea (1977), kevin lynch (1960), and amos rapoport (1977), people gather environmental information in a physiological way through the senses (environmental 3 environmental understanding and enabling morphology are the authors’ own terms used for classifying relevant literature that reflect similarities in content. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 98 perception), which is then assimilated in a cognitive process, known as environmental cognition (carmona et al., 2003: 87; rapoport, 1977: 31). during environmental cognition people understand, structure, and learn about their environment (rapoport, 1977: 31). it is an intellectual process and less consistent over cultural boundaries than environmental perception (rapoport, 1977: 33; tuan, 1977: 37). through environmental cognition, people come to understand their environment, connecting it with communal or individual symbolism in the form of cognitive maps (downs & stea, 1977: 68; rapoport, 1977: 31). meanings are attached to both the physical and the social environment, and are represented as such in their cognitive maps (rapoport, 1977: 168). the value of these meanings or symbols (whether positive, negative, or neutral) determines attitudes, attachment towards the environment, and usage of the environment. this is very similar to symbolic interactionism, in which people’s actions towards things are based on the meanings they ascribe to those things while interacting with them (blumer, 1969). two distinctive parts of environmental understanding is obvious from both the humanistic geographic and planning perspectives. firstly, environmental input is experienced through the biological senses, as well as on a psychological level. the focus of tuan’s work (1977) overall relates to the way people experience space and place on both a biological and symbolical level. the dimensions of the human body, the cultural and the individual orientations of people holistically influence the way people experience physical places on all spatial levels, which in turn influence the symbols and meanings people assign to these places. tuan’s understanding of the physical environment therefore tries to explain how people assign meaning to the physical environment. rapoport (1977), writing as an urban and regional planner, illustrates a similar biological and psychological process in the human experience of the environment which eventually leads to the assignation of meaning to physical places. both studies are useful in terms of place-making, since place-making is the process of actively weaving contextual meaning, whether it is everyday, temporal, or symbolic meaning, into the structure of a place (demaria harney, 2006: 25; tuan, 1977: 102). the second part of environmental understanding focuses on how these environmental meanings are spatially represented. kevin lynch (1960), as a planner, writes that people’s spatial understanding of their environment can be categorised into five spatial elements, namely paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. these jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 99 elements can be superimposed on a physical map of an environment, creating a spatial representation of people’s understanding of place. similarly, though writing from a geographical viewpoint, downs & stea (1977) focus specifically on the development of cognitive maps relating to people’s spatial experience of an environment. cognitive maps are abstractions covering cognitive abilities that enable people to collect, organise, store, recall, and manipulate information about the spatial environment (downs & stea, 1977: 6). it is therefore the manner in which people organise their representations of some part of the spatial environment, which is obtained through the biological senses, interpreted through the cognitive processes and which are based on a unique personality, cultural, and demographic profile. understanding the way in which cognitive maps are developed and used offers another way to explore the meaning that users of a specific environment attach to it. after the spatial sciences’ rather short focus on environmental understanding, the 1980s heralded the second contribution in the development of place-making, namely enabling morphology. 2.2 enabling morphology enabling morphology seems to have developed partially due to the continuance of lynch’s initial work in the 1960s, and partially due to the burgeoning urban design movement as critique against the spatial legacy of modernism (bentley et al., 1985). it pays more attention to the qualities the urban environments must have to allow their inhabitants to fulfil their physical, socio-economic, and mental needs, rather than trying to understand how their inhabitants experience them. kevin lynch in good city form (1981) did work in which he identified performance qualities that can be used to ‘measure’ whether an urban environment fulfils the needs of its inhabitants. performance qualities are identifiable spatial characteristics reflecting on the performance of cities that are also measurable scales (lynch, 1981: 111). in responsive environments: a manual for designers, bentley et al. (1985) discussed appropriate qualities for urban environments (from an urban design viewpoint), ranging from permeability on the larger scale of the city, to personalisation of the more personal, small-scale places. similarly montgomery (1998) – an urban and regional planner – lay down three principles for creating successful urban places, namely good city form, sensory experience, and human activity. all acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 100 of these author’s performance qualities and principles are refined into qualities that describe either what the city must allow its citizens to experience, such as vitality and access, or the morphological qualities that must be achieved, like density and scale. either way, the city is seen as a vessel that can be managed or manipulated to create certain human experiences or enable these experiences, based on the needs of the city’s inhabitants. the essence of enabling morphology is that the physical form of cities is subservient to the needs of its inhabitants. it is however important to create an appropriate physical form in order for the city to serve its inhabitants. this morphology of a city is, therefore, the vehicle for the possible fulfilment of its inhabitants’ needs. the contributions of environmental understanding and enabling morphology are important in urban and regional planning’s movement from modernistic planning and towards a more contextually grounded planning of human environments. they both contributed to place-making in planning. however, they truly cannot be considered as place-making, since they do not carry the main elements of place-making, which is ‘physical design’ within ‘locational context’ (behrens & watson, 1997; tuan, 1977). 2.3 place-making place-making is considered to be the process through which an environment with a unique sense of place is created (behrens & watson, 1997: 10). it is the awareness of weaving contextual meaning – cultural, historical and natural – into physical structure (trancik, 1986: 97; tuan, 1977: 102). built environments based on the principles of place-making reflect the characteristics of their unique natural and cultural settings (behrens & watson, 1997: 11). through placemaking, the site’s uniqueness is enhanced, instead of standardising its character. designers working from a place-making viewpoint are against imposing abstract designs unrelated to the contexts present like modernists often do (trancik, 1986: 98). urban and regional planners seem to play an important role in the future application of place-making in the spatial professions. hague & jenkins (2005: 8) see planning as “being about place-making; that is to say that a key purpose of planning is to create, reproduce or mould the identities of places through manipulation of the activities, feelings, meanings and fabric that combine into place identity”. however, “while place-making is more central to the profession of planners than to most other social groups, the planners do not have jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 101 a monopoly on the power to determine a place identity” (hague & jenkins, 2005: 8). the making of places, participation from vested individuals and groups, and planning are intimately intertwined. internationally, authors who endorsed the place-making viewpoint opposed modernistic planning as early as the 1960s (mcharg, 1969) and 1970s (relph, 1976). in south africa a similar reaction occurred in urban and regional planning, where the reaction also included a critique on the spatial legacy of the apartheid era (csir, 2000; behrens & watson, 1997; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1995). internationally, the past two decades gave rise to a distinctive kind of ‘ecological thinking’ regarding natural resources, focusing on both tangible objective and intangible subjective environmental properties. it also includes emotional and symbolic meanings people associate with specific places (williams & vaske, 2003: 830). urban and regional planning is seemingly moving into what wheeler has referred to as the ‘new regionalism’ era, which is characterised by a concern for the environment, equity, and economic development (wheeler, 2002). in addition, there is an increasing focus on the developing or managing of human environments in a place-oriented manner. a large body of existing literature in the spatial sciences mirrors this new regionalism of wheeler. the literature focuses on creating quality places rooted in their local contexts and not just places that purely reflect the principles of economy and efficiency, though not scorning it either (hague & jenkins, 2005; behrens & watson, 1997; dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1991, 1995; mcharg, 1992; jacobs & appleyard, 1987; lynch & hack, 1984; norberg-schulz, 1980; relph, 1976). place-making’s history has long been in the making. starting in the 1960s with ian mcharg’s design with nature (1969/1992), environmental design ethics was very much at the forefront. mcharg believed that a consumerist approach towards development of human environments was leading to destruction of nature, as well as creating meaningless towns and cities without a sense of place. in order to stop environmental degradation and the creation of characterless profit-driven urban environments, mcharg – and later also lynch & hack (1984: 5) – proposed that any site’s development must be guided by the inherent possibilities and constraints of that particular site, whether it is historical, physical, or biological. a development ought to adhere to the sense of place, and should therefore be rooted in its contexts. it is here that lynch & hack (1984: 5) refers to the skilled site planner as one that “suffers a constant anxiety about the ‘spirit of place’”. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 102 hague & jenkins (2005) have recently illustrated the use of an area’s unique character in guiding its development in a contract research project, noordxxi, which formed part of the european union’s interreg iic project, quality by identity: beyond traditional spatial and economic development. the project illustrated how place-making can be integrated into planning practice, which is in line with the increasing interest from professional planners in place constructs (hague & jenkins, 2005: 3). the aim of the project was to influence the spatial development of each region based on a stronger local identity (hague & jenkins, 2005: xiv). this place identity is more or less based on norberg-schulz’s sense of place concept (1980), which means that a place has unique natural characteristics that can be strengthened by a sensitive design solution. also, it is based on the intangible meanings people associate with these characteristics. planning is, therefore, seen as intimately involved in the processes of creating and disseminating meanings and identities. in addition, it is important for planners to realise that past and present identities cannot be summarily erased in favour of a new identity, but must be used as an important point of reference for the construction of a new place identity (hague & jenkins, 2005: 11). similarly, south african planners dewar & uytenbogaardt (1991: 42) view place-making as allowing environments to develop their own ‘logic’. a positive environment is one that is sensitive to the social and natural contexts of the place, allowing a fine-grained small-scale structure to exist between larger scale directional-giving structures that are coarser. to create quality places is to make built environments which are not based on ephemeral conditions – like population growth and rapid urbanisation – but places that encapsulate timeless qualities that support human activity, needs and reflect the natural and human contexts, as well as histories present (dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1991: 13). place characteristics, human activities and cultural expressions all work together to co-create unique places, which are regarded as the basis of society. seen from a place-making viewpoint, planning must not be a purely functional, programmatic and technocratic exercise, but rather one that “also calls into play intuition, imagination and insight” (dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1991: 13). championing the creation of unique places, edward relph (1976) and christian norberg-schulz (1980) pleaded for the creation of authentic places (spaces with a sense of place) and saw consumeristic rootless development – based on modernism and the international style – as destroying the meaningful places of peoples’ lives by creating standardised places out of context. jacobs & appleyard jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 103 (1987) also opposed the universally designed developments and ‘instant’ development solutions. according to them, places must be designed to have a unique accessible character or sense of place in the whole, not as isolated icons unrelated to their contexts. overall, place-making can be seen as a complex, interdisciplinary phenomenon that was influenced by various spatial and humanistic paradigms (figure 1). figure 1: the development of place-making in urban and regional planning (2007) these influences did not necessarily follow each other chronologically, but rather subtly influenced each other over traditional disciplinary boundaries. place-making is mostly about creating places that fit the natural contexts, human body, as well as the way the human mind and heart works (lynch & hack, 1984: 72). finally, it is about embracing both tangible and intangible elements of human existence and using these elements to guide physical development in partnership with the meanings that vested individuals and groups associate with a specific environment. 3. discussion even though urban and regional planning might initially have been a contextually driven profession, it was drastically influenced by modernism. in fact, it seems as if its largest theoretical basis is still primarily based on the principles of ‘objective’ functionality and economy in which the end-users have less say in the development of a place than the developers do. these principles are also perpetuated by a profit-oriented approach to what the requirements of a good development are – the largest feasible number of units per area at the lowest cost. global capitalism creates environments that focus more on quantity than quality. place is devaluated and turned into a commodity. numbers, economies, accessibility, and potential for growth change a collective experience and management of the 1900 1940 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 years ecological regionalism environmental understanding enabling morphology place-making approx. influence of modernism on planning [incl apartheid planning] acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 104 urban environment into a solitary one. the individual’s living experience is not so important anymore as the privatisation and iconification of individual pieces of land. this ‘everyone for himself’ attitude breeds social incivilities and nuisances, replacing the self-policing nature of premodern neighbourhoods (arefi, 1999: 182). additionally, consumeristic development practices increase the potential for environmental degradation and poor quality living environments (mcharg, 1992; lynch & hack, 1984: 2; relph, 1976). the essence of this planning approach therefore implies that quantity is king over quality. this is not entirely reproachable – making the most of scarce resources cannot be criticised. however, a balance must be achieved. priming resource use for financial gain over the ecological needs and needs of a place’s users is surely to devaluate the human experience and the habitat that supports humans. this ‘objective’ approach, or space-making, created (and still creates) various problems for the ecology and users of such spaces, mostly because such objective developments go against, or ignore, the very social and natural contexts in which they are located (mcharg, 1992). to rectify these problems the planner has to step away from this singular focused approach towards a more integrated and multi-disciplinary approach. planners, for example, can draw on the expertise of environmental psychology, which can broaden the list of contexts that can be included in physical designs. environmental psychology studies tangible and objective properties of the environment that influence humans, as well as the subjective and symbolic meanings attributed to places by people (williams & patterson, 1999: 142). this is important, since there are many spatially related meanings and values that cannot be identified through measurable or traceable means like market transactions (williams & vaske, 1999: 143). the use of knowledge from environmental psychology is not new – it has proven useful in disciplinary challenges in fields like urban and regional planning (williams & vaske 1999: 141; lynch & hack, 1984: 68). in addition to broadening his/her theoretical scope, the planner will have to cultivate a new definition of what urban and regional planning ultimately has to achieve. whereas ‘objective’ planning aimed to achieve economy and functionality, contextual planning aims to create places that are meaningful for its users without compromising the natural contexts in which it functions. the essence of contextual planning is therefore place-based design – the use of local knowledge and/or resources available in situ to guide the design. jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 105 the argument here is that place-based planning, or place-making, has a greater potential to rectify and prevent the problems associated with ‘objective’ planning. the motivation behind this reasoning is that place-making aims to understand the contexts in which a place is to be created before a design is created, while letting the physical design be guided by these contexts when the actual planning starts. this implies that the planner has a greater understanding of the history of the place aforehand, enabling him/her to minimise potential negative outcomes, such as anti-social user behaviour like vandalism and crime, which can have financial and security comebacks for the place’s users (bell, greene, fisher & baum, 2001: 286). understanding a place also prevents the loss of a location’s history – collective and personal – that preserves history for its current and future users. place-making does not forcibly shear people from their known lived-in world and destroy their place identity. to do so can cause emotional reactions like grief, anxiety, despair, xenophobic reactions towards outsiders, migration, groundlessness, and rootlessness (holmes, patterson, & stalling, 2003: 245; tibbalds, 1992: 77). in a moving case study about the loss of place and place identity of the cheslatta t’en canadian first nation, windsor & mcvey (2005) wrote about the social ills and the decline of the living standards amongst these people. the cheslatta community was forced to migrate away from the place they had populated for at least 10 000 years because their valley was flooded for a dam to run a hydroelectric plant (windsor & mcvey, 2005: 154). the loss of place and sense of place created havoc among the traditional lifestyle, effectively destroying the core values and traditions of a whole rural community. this shows that a place’s identity can quickly disintegrate when even one of its three formative elements – socio-economic, spatial, and historical-cultural meanings – are threatened, changed, or destroyed (raagmaa, 2002: 56; harner, 2001: 675). the influence of loss of place identity can be major because of the role places have in forming and affirming a sense of personal identity (williams, 2002: 353). understanding a place also enables the planner to maximise positive outcomes, such as creating a cherished environment that satisfies human needs such as identity, belonging, groundedness, meaning, growth, and spiritual well-being (stuart, 2004: 76; holmes et al., 2003: 241). in addition, when such a cherished environment is under threat from harm or destruction, inhabitants have a greater propensity to rehabilitate it or preserve it (brehm, eisenhauer & krannich, 2006; brody, highfield & alston, 2004; gifford, 1997: 51) – an element which seemingly lacks in modern landscapes (relph, 1981: 99). acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 106 one way to gain a better understanding of the human contexts of a place under scrutiny is to draw on the knowledge and methods of environmental understanding. considering environmental understanding, planning opened itself up to the introduction of subjective, less quantifiable elements. environmental understanding makes it clear that although there is a fundamental difference between the physiological and psychological experience processes, they are ultimately linked to each other (bell et al., 2001: 95). the human body and mind cannot be treated as separate from its physical environment, since it is environmental input that drives these processes. also, physiological experiences, such as environmental stress, have distinct physical and psychological effects on humans. this topic has been extensively researched in the field of environmental psychology. the link between environmental stress and psychological disorders shows an increasing occurrence in physical illnesses, mental disorders, performance decrements, aggression, irritation, social withdrawal, and decrease in prosocial behaviour (bell et al., 2001; gifford, 1997). in addition, environmental understanding states that the physical dimensions and qualities of environments have the ability to produce personal and collective symbology for their users. how users perceive their environment has an influence on users’ experience of it and on how users will use it (tuan, 1974). environmental understanding therefore enables the planner to acknowledge the human meanings attached to a physical location, which in turn gives a probable description of how this place might or ought to be used in the future. when the planner has a clear understanding of the potential usage of a place, he/she can turn to enabling morphology, which gives guidelines on how to achieve a physical design that enables certain experiences and meanings, as asked for by its users. however, there is the question of relevance of these guidelines. most of the goals and principles of enabling morphology are generalised, based on goals that are supposed to be representative of all human urban needs. the question arises, for example, on whether these goals and principles are as applicable to a european metropole as to a small village in sub-sahara africa. identical environmental elements are not necessarily meaningful for different people, as certain elements – like culture – influence people’s meanings (rapoport, 1977; tuan, 1977: 162). to assume that environmental elements have the same meanings for all people, is to assume that most socio-cultural differences between countries have been eradicated by some global process, such as globalisation. nevertheless, it still ought to be jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 107 possible to apply these principles to a relatively homogenous, localised population. however, knowing what the end-users’ needs are and how to create a place that has the physical dimensions to satisfy these needs, is not what true place-making entails. true place-making also entails, in addition to the formerly mentioned elements, that the place is created according to its location’s and users’ unique identity. otherwise, such a place, no matter how successful it is in satisfying its users’ basic needs, is just another place that only satisfies basic human needs. the uniqueness in question can be achieved by letting the design be guided by the inherent (natural or built) potentialities – the sense of place – of such a site. hague & jenkins (2005), ian mcharg (1992), norberg-schulz (1980) all give extended descriptions on how to do just so. ultimately then, it is using a site’s character, the sense of place, together with the meeting of ecological and users’ needs, for a physical design that crowns long-term quality of place over shortterm monetary gain (mcharg, 1992; norberg-schulz, 1980). 4. implications for urban and regional planning place-making has arisen from a human-inhabited landscape that was and still is characterised by definite environmental and social challenges due to certain planning practices. that is not to say that human settlements before the advance of urban and regional planning were free of similar challenges – perhaps these problems were only more in proportion to its inhabitants and more localised than with today’s budding global population. as it is, planning physical environments from a locally responsive way will require some shift in the way planners perceive developments, cities, and regions (wheeler, 2002). place-making calls for a more holistic, integrated, and multidisciplinary approach to planning. this means that any form of physical development cannot happen in isolation from the natural, social, and historical contexts that aided in the forming of the site’s character; planning must not happen in a way that ignores the site’s sense of place. also, place-making’s focus is long term, encompassing a wide range of contexts and meanings. every site is unique due to the complexity of its parts and patterns (lynch & hack, 1984: 30). it is composed of many factors from various contexts, and to disturb one factor is to create a chain of reaction in others. disturbance is inevitable in any form of planning – making acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 108 places is therefore the creative art of producing a design for a site based on the unique parts and patterns present. the consequences of planning are therefore greater than might initially be expected. this has several implications for planning practice (table 1). table 1: main implications of place-making for urban and regional planning (2008) place-making implications for planning holistic integrated multidisciplinary source information and techniques from related fields not just those commonly used in planning. contextually based unique designs based on in situ contexts and experiences. long term focus base design on projected long term ecological social and financial returns. complex approach include a wide range of elements in design. habitational and end-user oriented base design on site’s ecological and end-users’ needs not solely on the expectations of developer. people matter the human experience1 must be considered prime over economic or functionality principles. quality versus quantity quality of places is more important than quantity of spaces. accountability planner is directly responsible for creating places that meet immediate ecological and user needs indirectly responsible for long-term quality of environment and life. lack of guidance increase place-making research on academic level. resources training personnel can cause short-term temporal and financial difficulties. place-making implies that “[r]eal space – seen through direct observation and understood through experience and contextual study – must take precedence over the abstraction of space contained within computer models, which are after all only tools to help planners understand the real world” (wheeler, 2002: 274). the real world is not only about the level of cost-efficiency per spatial unit. the real world is also about the way the layperson feels about the settlement, jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 109 neighbourhood, and erf he or she lives in. if the layperson’s lived-in world is characterised by a feeling of loss due to the obliteration of a place’s inherent spirit; by spatial monotony that confuses place identity (but is easy to create on the drawing board); by frustration of a spatial design that does not fit or threatens his/her needs, costefficiency is the last thing this person thinks about. ignoring the way people experience place and the meanings that they attach to places; ignoring the character – its inherent opportunities and constraints – of a place in favour of a context-alien design, is to scorn the value of human life and the world that makes life possible. planning places must therefore ultimately be done from a point of view in which the site’s and end-users’ needs are prime, not the developer’s (although in practice this might be harder to implement than in theory). at first, including subjective aspects in planning practice may seem daunting, though this is indeed possible. place-making starts with understanding the place and its various contexts as a whole (lynch & hack, 1984: 127). it integrates local knowledge and experience of the environment into the design – it is not a top-down design approach. when designing with the local contexts, the planner’s development can perhaps avoid losses due to context-ignoring design of the environment as described by mcharg (one of his own examples refers inter alia to flooding). in addition, because placemaking is contextually driven, basing designs on users’ needs and meanings, it gives users control and choice over their environment. in cases where the planner does not know who the end-users are, design can be based on the locational envelope’s natural and social contexts. producing locally embedded developments might initially seem to be more expensive than the usual space-making, but they tend to have more long term gains – financially, ecologically, and socially – than the former because of the greater level of user responsibility (brehm et al., 2006; brody et al., 2004; gifford, 1997: 51; mcharg, 1992). however, despite the application value of place-making in urban and regional planning, several difficulties are anticipated. firstly, there is very little clear guidance on how to proceed when making a place, since appropriate planning sources on this subject are scarce. also, it is questionable whether the process of place-making should be made according to a ‘mould’, rather than develop organically from each individual project. thirdly, there is the question of whose meanings to use to guide place-making. in a place where many cultures, groups with different levels of income, and personal preferences co-exist, it may be difficult to determine which acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 110 meanings and symbols to include or exclude in the design. fourthly, the increased input from vested individuals has cost implications in terms of time and labour. training personnel to handle qualitative data in the field and processing it afterwards takes time and money, which professionals might not have. it might also be difficult to create a cut-off line, a point to which vested individual participation is confined in the planning process. lastly, one wonders whether it is possible to create a place with a unique identity that is meaningful over a long period of time when identities are constantly fluctuating in some way or another. despite these challenges, the authors still hold that place-making is a worthy design approach when compared to consumeristic or spacemaking approaches. it is a call for planners to take responsibility for their designs, not only towards those who pay the planner, but also those who have to inhabit or use it once completed, since the making of a place ... has a biological, social, and psychological impact that goes far beyond its more obvious influence on cost and technical function. it limits what people can do, and yet also opens new opportunities to them…its influence outlives that of most buildings, since site organization persists for generations. what we do to our habitat has an enduring effect on our lives (lynch & hack, 1984: 2). urban and regional planners may consider place-making as a way to challenge the traditional view of planning. the course of human history is rife with examples of progress that was preceded by challenges in people’s believes. place-making holds definite challenges for the understanding and status quo of the planning profession. perhaps planning should move away from its pride in efficiently organising spatial solutions for spatial demands, to a passion for providing spatial a design process that adds value to a place’s sense of place and the lives of its users. as lynch & hack stated, [n]o one should engage in site design who does not have a passion for the land, who is not as fascinated by the variations of site character as a teacher is fascinated by the marvellous variations of the human personality. and so a site of uncertain form should disturb us as much as a person of disordered character (lynch & hack, 1984: 30). 5. conclusion the legacy of modernism, apartheid planning and continuing development pressures in south africa created – and still creates – concerns for the loss of place. loss of place implies more than jordaan, puren & roos • the meaning of place-making in planning 111 physical loss; also at stake are the intangible elements of place that contribute to the physiological and psychological functioning of the inhabitants in question. internationally, concern for place and place-making increases and show some entrance into the spatial disciplines and practice, such as the eu’s noordxxi project. this, however, seems not to be the case for south africa. very little emphasis is placed on place-making in development policy and legislation, and planning research and practice, despite the scope for it due to growing levels of urban development in the country. locations showing relatively high levels of tourism potential can also benefit from place-making to protect and strengthen the place identity for place-marketing reasons. this way these places can achieve capital gain without sacrificing their unique sense of place or way of life. understanding how ‘place’ and ‘place-making’ developed in the spatial disciplines broadens the south african planner’s knowledge base, which currently is – to a large extent – based on positivistic learning. a quantitative approach to development issues cannot capture all of the intangibles of place. in a country such as south africa, rich in different cultures, histories and place identities, one cannot expect to understand, safe-guard and manage these riches by focusing only on what can be quantified. planners have to realise that these subjective elements can, to some extent, be used to broaden the economic base of cities, or even those of whole regions (raagmaa, 2002). this is an important goal for a developing country like south africa where the number of people living on less than $1 per day, increased by 122.6% between 1996 and 2005 (south african institute of race relations, 2007). the inclusion of intangibles in the planning process is not the only implication for planners. other implications have already been named in table 1. it ought to be of major importance for south africa to increase research on place and place-making in south african contexts specifically, and to spread the word of place-making to the institutions that influence development policy and legislation in the country. also, greater effort ought to be made to include place-making in planning practice, which is incidentally one of the foreseeable difficulties, as this would challenge the existing status quo of the planning profession. in the light of this, it is proposed that place research in the south african context ought to be increased. it is recommended that the research focuses firstly, on how places are experienced by different demographic groups (according to age, gender, culture, income, acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 112 etc.); secondly, on ways to determine the sense of place or place identity of locations in south africa, as well as how to render them for practical 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(footnotes) 1 the extent of the ‘human experience’ for the purpose of placemaking is a topic that will have to be researched in the future, as different demographic groups experience the same place in different ways (williams & vaske, 2003: 831; tuan, 1977: 162) 126 fidelis emuze & ruan adlam implementation of broad-based black economic empowerment in construction: a south african metropolitan area study peer reviewed and revised abstract the institution of broad-based black economic empowerment (bbbee) has had an impact on the economy in south africa. due to its extensive reliance on government procurement, bbbee has had a substantial influence on the construction industry in terms of transformation imperatives. although much has been achieved in the transformation of the sector, its empowerment initiatives are generally deemed to be less effective. this argument can be attributed to the impediments encountered by industry stakeholders, when implementing bbbee. the central subject examined in this study pertains to the bbbee implementation challenges in south african construction. in order to get to the depth of the identified issues in the reviewed literature, the qualitative method was employed for primary data collection. eleven interviews were conducted with management representatives of major construction firms in the nelson mandela bay metropolis, through the use of a brief questionnaire and an interview protocol. the empirical findings that emanated from the study show that most of the respondents were aware of the challenges associated with bbbee implementation in the construction sector. however, very few are presently addressing the difficulties. this lack of action frequently promotes the exploitation of bbbee by concerned parties. this exploitation leads to unethical procurement practices in the form of ‘fronting’. based on the literature reviewed and the data that were collected, it appears that deterrents must be addressed before the implementation of the bbbee initiative can begin to yield the desired benefits for all concerned parties in south african construction. keywords: construction, empowerment, ethics, transformation, south africa abstrak die instelling van breë basis swart ekonomiese bemagtiging (bbseb) het ’n impak op die suid-afrikaanse ekonomie. as gevolg van sy uitgebreide afhanklikheid van die regering het bbseb ’n wesentlike invloed op die konstruksiebedryf veral in terme van transformasievereistes. alhoewel daar al baie bereik is in die transformasie van die sektor, is die bemagtigingsinisiatiewe minder effektief. dr fidelis emuze, senior lecturer, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3661, fax: +27 51 507 3254, email: <femuze@cut.ac.za> ruan adlam, bsc (hon.), graduate at the department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790, fax: +27 41 504 2345, email: <s205053271@live.nmmu. ac.za> emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 127 hierdie argument kan toegeskryf word aan die struikelblokke wat ondervind word deur belanghebbendes in die bedryf met die implementering van bbseb. die sentrale onderwerp wat in hierdie studie ondersoek is, handel oor implementeringsuitdagings van bbseb in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf. om die diepte van die geïdentifiseerde sake in die literatuurstudie te kon verkry, is van die kwalitatiewe metode gebruik gemaak om primêre data te versamel. elf onderhoude is gevoer met bestuursverteenwoordigers van groot maatskappye in die nelson mandela baai-metropool deur die gebruik van ‘n kort vraelys en onderhoudvoeringprotokol. die empiriese bevindinge uit die studie toon dat die meeste van die respondente bewus was van die uitdagings wat verband hou met die implementering van bbseb in die konstruksiesektor. daar is egter min aanduiding van die aanspreek van probleme. hierdie gebrek aan optrede bevorder dikwels die uitbuiting van bbseb deur die betrokke partye. hierdie uitbuiting lei tot onetiese verkrygingspraktykte in die vorm van ‘verenigde fronte’. gebasseer op die literatuur wat geraadpleeg is en die data wat ingesamel is, blyk dit dat afskrikmiddels aangespreek moet word vóór die implementering van die seb-inisiatief kan begin om die verlangde voordele vir alle die betrokke partye in suid-afrikaanse konstruksie te lewer. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, bemagtiging, etiese, transformasie, suid-afrika 1. introduction broad-based black economic empowerment (bbbee), previously known as black economic empowerment (bee), is a critical variable that influences the macro business environment in which construction organisations operate in south africa (bosch, tait & venter, 2006: 62-66). the impact of bbbee on white-owned and/ or controlled firms and non-white firms in the construction sector is notable. according to jack (2007: 1-4), white and non-white individuals go through different experiences when confronted with bbbee initially. white business executives generally undergo phases of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, whereas their non-white counterparts go through stages of innocence, pain, knowledge, action and wisdom (jack, 2007: 1-4). the journey still does not stop there, but continues with both races entering a chapter of improving their understanding of bbbee and enhancing their comprehension of an array of prescribed non-sectorand sector-oriented empowerment legislation and regulations. the most challenging moment of the entire process, however, materialises once the formulation of agreements and the implementation of bbbee commences (jack, 2007: 1-2). this is when parties are primarily confronted with a multitude of corporate difficulties that foster the exploitation of bbbee, and then escalate the propensity to engage in unethical procurement practices. hence, bbbee can be likened to the “defining business issue of our time” in the south africa (woolley, 2005: 11). acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 128 a brief overview of the origin of the bbbee initiative will put the discourse in context. in 1994, the first democratically elected government in south africa inherited an economy in distress. the country was ranked as one of the most unequal in the world with respect to income and wealth distribution. between 1990 and 1994, the country achieved one of the highest overall population gini coefficients of 0.67 in the world (hofmeyer, 2008: 73). these problems predominantly stemmed from the former racially segmented economy in south africa. black (non-white) participation in economic activities was limited, and their inferior skill sets restricted access to technological and professional jobs (department of trade and industry [dti]), 2003: 7). the majority, therefore, had little and/ or no access to participation in the economy, until the beginning of democracy. it can thus be argued that the need for economic transformation was crucial for south africa. the imbalances of the past had to be rectified, a more equal and prosperous society for the citizenry had to be created, and economic growth had to be ensured for poverty alleviation purposes. for these reasons, the government embarked on the enactment of a string of empowerment-aligned legislation such as the restitution of land rights act of 1994; the national empowerment fund act of 1998; the employment equity act of 1998; the competition act of 1998; the skills development act of 1998; the skills development levies act of 1999; the preferential procurement policy framework act of 2000, and the promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act of 2000, along with numerous other acts, policies, strategies and programmes, all of which had a direct impact on the economy (dti, 2003: 9-11). even though the government was in the process of transforming south africa’s economic landscape, black business became frustrated with the state’s approach to, and pace of economic reform over time. they were dissatisfied with the manner in which the white-owned and/or controlled firms (which were in the majority) in the private sector were implementing economic empowerment. this ultimately resulted in the formation of the black economic empowerment commission (beecom) in 1998. with the release of the beecom report in 2001, an all-encompassing national strategy with regard to transformation was suggested. it went further and called on government’s increased proactive stance in the process and for empowerment to become more redistributive (patel & graham, 2012: 195). according to jack (2007: 13), this may further have occurred since a perception existed that only a few black, politically connected elitists benefited from bee, whilst the majority of blacks were no better off than before. this dissatisfaction emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 129 resulted in a call for a shift away from narrow bee towards bbbee to include everyone in the mainstream economy. the government thus continued to illustrate its commitment to transformation with the proclamation of the bbbee act of 2003, along with the dti’s bbbee codes of good practice published in 2007. in 2011, both the new preferential procurement regulations (ppr) and the proposed bbbee amendment bill were released by the national treasury (nt) and dti, respectively. this was followed, in 2012, by the publication of the dti’s proposed revised bbbee codes of good practice to ensure that the economy becomes more inclusive (sapa, 2012: online). in the context of this discourse, all non-white entities and/or individuals shall be referred to as black entities and/or individuals. 1.1 the research objective the purpose of the phenomenological study was to analyse perceptions of the b-bbee framework in the construction sector. in particular, the obstacles associated with the implementation of bbbee by construction firms formed the focal point of the study. the objectives of the study were to: • explore the composition of the bbbee framework for the construction sector; • identify the dominant institutional impediments facing contractors when correctly implementing bbbee; • determine how construction firms and related entities exploit the generic construction scorecard, and • discover and assess the most prevalent unethical practices encountered in the course of business relative to bbbee in the construction sector. however, because of logistics and the level at which the study was conducted (bsc honours level), the scope of the study was confined to active contractors; of any class; whose annual turnover is greater than r35 million; who have a construction industry development board (cidb) grading designation of between six and nine inclusive, and who have premises and operate in the nelson mandela bay metropolis. the participants were further required to be in possession of a valid generic construction bbbee status level certificate for the 2012/2013 financial year as issued by a south african national accreditation system (sanas)-accredited verification agent in accordance with the provisions of the bbbee codes of good practice. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 130 1.2 the research problem and questions the current literature with regard to the problem is considered deficient, as the closest research with any relation to the study addresses corporate social responsibility and public sector procurement in the construction sector (bowen, edwards & root, 2009). most of the published research related to bbbee that could be traced was of a more generic nature and not sector specific. the studies, to mention a few, generally focused on how government utilised procurement as a tool to promote bbbee (bolton, 2006), the integration of employment equity and bbbee (horwitz & jain, 2011, and the status of bbbee beneficiaries (patel & graham, 2012). this research is considered meaningful as it will attempt to increase awareness, create dialogue and provide a greater understanding of how the problem is anticipated in practice (barritt, 1986 in creswell, 2012: 133). as a current research gap relative to the problem exists, further research, specifically with a qualitative methodological approach, will essentially contribute to an already limited body of sector-specific knowledge concerning bbbee. to be succinct, although all sectors across corporate south africa are affected by bbbee, this study specifically focussed on its effect in the construction sector. the problem statement, therefore, is that: positive exploitation of bbbee by contracting entities suffers implementation problems. to further examine the postulated problem in a rigorous manner, four research questions were formulated. according to creswell (2012: 138), the aim in the development of qualitative research questions is to narrow the purpose of a study to various inquiries that will be addressed in the research. the research questions formulated for this study include: • how did the generic framework for bbbee affect the construction industry? • what commercial impediments affect the implementation of bbbee in the construction sector? • how do construction organisations and stakeholders misrepresent bbbee? • what forms of improper conduct are associated with bbbee implementation in the construction industry? emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 131 2. literature review 2.1 empowerment in the construction sector the majority of firms participating in the construction industry embraced and adhered to the transformation-oriented legislation applicable to the sector. the industry went a step further with the formation of the construction education and training authority (ceta), in terms of the skills development act, and more importantly, the enactment of the cidb act of 2000. both interventions served as the construction sectors’ first formal approach to specific industry empowerment-aligned measures. ceta’s core focus is to provide unskilled human resources, most of which are black (non-white), with quality skills development and training. the cidb, on the other hand, concentrates on the total transformation of the construction industry and emphasises the importance of developing blackowned and -controlled enterprises in the sector. the cidb act clearly indicates that the purpose of the body with regard to empowerment is to enhance economic development; advance sustainable sector growth; grow and support the emerging sector; promote industry labour absorption; improve labour relations, and encourage human resource development (south africa, 2000: 6-10). between 2007 and 2009, many construction firms engaged with the bbbee codes of good practice and had their commitment to transformation measured in terms of the non-sector-oriented generic scorecard. during the same period, construction-industry stakeholders showed initiative. they began the development of a transformation charter and a code of good practice for the construction sector, in compliance with sections 9.1 and 12 of the bbbee act (south africa, 2003: 8-10). the industry soon became one of the first sectors to comply with the provisions of this legislation, through the ratification of the construction sector charter and code in 2007 and 2009, respectively. the construction sector code objectives are to drastically modify the racial and gender configuration of the industry in terms of ownership and management control; encourage the expansion of employment equity; stop fronting via the use of a sector-specific scorecard; promote the development of black people, black women and designated groups’ skills; enhance affirmative procurement, as well as develop and support the growth of micro to medium black enterprises (dti, 2009: 7). the code provides a framework for the construction sector to address transformation, enhance capacity acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 132 and increase the productivity of the sector to meet world best practice using elements that aim to (dti, 2009: 5): • achieve a substantial change in the racial and gender composition of ownership, control, and management in the sector; • promote the effective advancement of employment equity in the sector and adherence to principles of non-racialism and non-sexism; • provide to the construction sector the first quantitative method for monitoring and evaluating the progress of an enterprise towards bbbee and thereby contribute to ending the malpractice of fronting; • address skills development in a manner that accelerates the advancement of black people, black women and designated groups with a particular emphasis on learnerships, technical and management training; • increase the procurement of goods and services from bbbee enterprises and standardise preferential procurement methodology, and • enhance entrepreneurial development and promote the sustainable growth of micro, medium and small bbbee enterprises. the code shall apply to a measured entity that conducts any construction-related activities that form a major percentage of its annual turnover. in the event that a measured entity derives an equal percentage of its turnover from construction-related activities as well as other industry-related activities, such measured entity will have the choice as to which sector code will apply. after the policies were gazetted, both became legally binding on all organisations in the construction sector that desired to conduct business with the state (dti, 2009: 3; jack, 2007: 9). in addition, the construction sector code called for the embodiment of the construction sector charter council as custodian of the implementation of transformation in the industry and to oversee and monitor its progress (dti, 2009: 7). for instance, the generic construction scorecard for contractors consists of three core elements and seven elements, as indicated in table 1. a weighting is allocated to each of the elements and totals 100. the general principles for assigning the weighting for ownership allocate six points for voting rights for black people, twelve for economic interest for black people, and seven points for realisation concerning ownership fulfilment and net value. the general emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 133 principles for measuring management control assign five points each for board participation and senior top management for black people. with respect to employment equity, the general measuring principles entail the employment of black people in senior, middle and junior management levels in contracting and consulting firms (9.5 points) and people with disability that are employed gives a contractor .5 points. skills development expenditure, learnership, bursaries and mentorship constitute the 15 points allotted to the skills development element. the twenty points allotted to preferential procurement is distributed among percentage of bbbee spent among all suppliers to an entity (12 points), bbbee spent on qualifying small enterprises (qse) (3 points), suppliers that are 50% black owned and suppliers that are 30% black women owned. out of the fifteen points allotted to enterprise development, five is awarded for enterprise development programme and ten for enterprise development contributions. five points is awarded for the socio-economic development element when the average annual value contributed by the entity is measured. after the release of the construction sector code, the majority of industry organisations participated in the transformation of the sector by acquiring their bbbee status level certificates as the evidence of their commitments to empowerment. in terms of the construction sector code, contractors with an annual turnover in excess of r5 million and less than or equal to r35 million are considered as qse and have to select four of the seven elements for fulfilment purposes. firms with a turnover of greater than r35 million per annum are required to comply with all seven elements (dti, 2009: 9). contractors with an annual turnover of less or equal to r5 million are regarded as exempted micro-enterprises (eme) and are required to obtain a letter from an auditor, accounting officer or verification agent as proof of their standing (dti, 2007: 9). table 1: generic construction scorecard for contractors core element elements weightings direct empowerment ownership 25 management control 10 human resource development employment equity 10 skills development 15 indirect empowerment preferential procurement 20 enterprise development 15 socio-economic development 5 adapted from dti, 2003: 14; dti, 2009: 9 acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 134 since 2007, construction industry enterprises have utilised their bbbee status level certificates when tendering for contracts from certain public and private sector organisations, which apply affirmative procurement measurements. the majority of publicsector tenders between 2001 and 2011, however, applied the historically disadvantaged individual (hdi) and other specific goal requirements with regard to transformation. this practice ended in 2011, when bbbee status level certificates replaced the former arrangement through the alignment of the ppr and bbbee (naidoo, 2011: online). preferential procurement points are, therefore, now awarded according to the bbbee status level of contributors (table 2). preferential procurement points earned by contractors who practise affirmative procurement in terms of the generic construction scorecard, however, are dependent on the bbbee status levels of the suppliers and service providers their organisations utilise (table 3). in terms of applications of the statistics on tables 2 and 3, bidders scored a maximum of 80 or 90 points for price, and 20 or 10 points for black ownership and for promoting specified rdp goals. the points for price have remained unchanged, while bidders can score up to 20 or 10 points for their b-bbee status level of contribution. all bidders are required to submit bee rating certificates, issued by either verification agencies accredited by sanas or by registered auditors approved by the independent regulatory board for auditors (irba). it is notable that, previously, the threshold value for the distinction between the 80/20 and 90/10 preference point system was r500.000. this has now been increased to r1 million to stimulate the development of small enterprises. table 2: bbbee status versus preference points b-bbee status level of contributor number of points in terms of preference point systems 80/20 90/10 1 20 10 2 18 9 3 16 8 4 12 5 5 8 4 6 6 3 7 4 2 8 2 1 non-compliant contributor 0 0 adapted from nt, 2011: 9-10 emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 135 table 3: bbbee status versus procurement tendering points b-bbee status level of suppliers/service providers generic construction scorecard points requirement for suppliers/ service providers b-bbee preferential procurement recognition level of suppliers/service providers 1 ≥ 100 points 135% 2 ≥ 85 < 100 points 125% 3 ≥ 75 < 85 points 110% 4 ≥ 65 < 75 points 100% 5 ≥ 55 < 65 points 80% 6 ≥ 45 < 55 points 60% 7 ≥ 40 < 45 points 50% 8 ≥ 30 < 40 points 10% non-compliant supplier/ service provider < 30 points 0% source: adapted from dti, 2007: 5 2.2 bbbee-related challenges in the construction sector the execution of bbbee by a firm in terms of the construction sector code is extremely complex. the process is highly technical. numerous factors, with regard to the growth and sustainability of a firm, need to be taken into account before empowerment commences (jack, 2007: 115). this is generally accomplished through the development and approval of a comprehensive transformation strategy by the board and top management of a firm (woolley, 2005: 31). these strategies should address the business impediments that generally affect the seven (7) elements of the generic construction scorecard for contractors in order to establish how these barriers can be mitigated. issues to be considered are, among others, related to ownership, management control, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, and enterprise development. 2.3 ownership-related barriers ownership, as an element of the generic construction scorecard, aims attention at the realised level of economic interest and voting rights assumed by blacks (including women and groups), relative to the organisations in which they participate (dti, 2009: 11). the transformation of ownership is generally regarded as the most technical and strenuous of all elements to implement. when contractors initiate addressing their shareholding, they more than often struggle to locate suitable black participants, in order to add acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 136 value to and complement the character of their organisations. corporations generally opt to enter into shareholding agreements with experienced, black entrepreneurs, with some form of political clout and influence (masondo, 2010: online). several firms, however, decide rather to form partnerships with b-bbbe ownership structures or to establish their own employee ownership schemes, both of which are difficult to administer. when construction firms and black participants enter into shareholding contracts, large amounts of transactional costs are incurred (cargill, 2010: 39). blacks generally do not have access to great sums of capital and have to obtain finance for these dealings (foxcroft, wood, kew, herrington & segal, 2002: 32). organisations are also typically required to sell their shares to black parties at discounted rates, thereby foregoing value to ensure feasible transactions (ward & muller, 2010: 29). whilst assisting their black participants to source credit, contractors are mainly required to enter into high-risk agreements with financial institutions, in order to provide security and guarantees for such loans (cargill, 2010: 38). the most frequent criticism of ownership transformation is the realisation of ownership fulfilment. organisations have to ensure that the debt incurred by their black shareholders is settled aggressively via measures such as the declaration of dividends. when such firms fail to adhere to the construction sector code’s regulations with regard to realisation, their ownership score would deteriorate. this practice is considered by many as contrary to the spirit of transformation, as contractors have very little control over economic cycles, and are penalised during periods when they are most reliant on government tenders to remain in operation (cargill, 2010: 40-42). 2.4 management control obstacles the management control element of the generic construction scorecard focuses on board participation and voting rights held by black people, along with their representation at top-management level within a firm (dti, 2009: 12). organisations that commence with the transformation of their boards and executive management structures generally struggle to find adequately skilled and experienced black candidates, not to mention suitable black females (independent online, 2012). those contenders that can be found, are limited in number and generally come at great expense, placing additional pressure on the management of firms’ remuneration bills. due to the high demand for these candidates, retaining them for a relatively long period of time is extremely unwieldy (jack, 2007: 114119). recruiting compatible applicants, who add the required value emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 137 to an organisation, is also very challenging. skilled black entrants struggle to gain the relevant experience and expertise required to serve as executives. business unity south africa (busa) has, therefore, proposed a strategy whereby directors, who are planning to retire, integrate the mentorship of suitable black hopefuls 18 months prior to their retirement. busa believes that their strategy will address the under-representation of blacks, as black candidates will serve as ‘shadow directors’ to their mentors (sapa, 2010: online). 2.5 employment equity problems employment equity, as an element of the generic construction scorecard, concentrates on the representation of blacks (including black woman and black disabled persons) along the junior-, middleand senior-management levels of the human resources component of a firm (dti, 2009: 13). management control and employment equity share many of the same problems, such as attaining and retaining the right black suitors and absorbing the high cost associated with their employment. with the introduction of employment equity in 1998, most construction organisations experienced great challenges in ensuring the transformation of their workforce. due to the nature of the construction industry, one of the main problems was, and still is, the recruitment of females, especially black female employees (jack, 2007: 122). although it is undeniable that women’s involvement in the sector has increased, many of them have opted to initiate their own enterprises as entrepreneurs, instead of becoming employees of other firms. various firms also struggle to find qualified and experienced blacks to fill management positions. black employees have similarly experienced countless problems when engaging with employment equity. blacks often struggle to adapt to the culture and working environment of the firms for which they work (jack, 2007: 128). in many instances, they also struggle to handle the pressure and stress associated with their promotion as well as the extra hours needed to fulfil the responsibilities such positions demand. blacks have also voiced their unhappiness of being exposed to manipulation, victimisation, tokenism and marginalisation in the organisations in which they work (atkinson, coffey & delamont, 2003 in nzukuma & bussin, 2011: 6). they were of the opinion that their contributions to organisations are seldom seen, appreciated and/or rewarded (cruz, 2006: 24). many of them find their positions unsatisfying, as they are not allocated interesting assignments that require higher levels of responsibility (nzukuma & bussin, 2011: 5). acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 138 2.6 skills development predicaments this generic construction scorecard element focuses on the skills development of black employees, with specific reference to females, disabled persons, learners and students through programmes, bursaries and mentorships (dti, 2009: 15). the process of recovering money from ceta is, however, extremely technical in nature. corporations generally opt to appoint service providers to administer these claims. in addition, few firms obtain an immediate return on the training of their employees and often struggle against great setbacks, such as losing highly trained and skilled black employees to competitors or by having their ex-employees becoming their new competitors (nzukuma & bussin, 2011: 5). it is important for firms to liaise with their employees, in order to establish whether they are truly interested in attending certain training courses. this will avoid poor skills development investment (jack, 2007: 147). contractors should avoid expecting and pressuring black employees to conduct miracles overnight with their new skills. 2.7 preferential procurement complications the preferential procurement element of the generic construction scorecard concentrates on the growth of empowered and black enterprises by motivating contractors to buy from, or make use of qse, eme and, to a large extent, black-owned and black femaleowned suppliers and service providers (dti, 2009: 19). locating black businesses in certain monopolistic markets and convincing existing non-empowered suppliers and/or service providers to transform adds to the frustration experienced by the procurement departments in contracting firms (jack, 2007: 165-166). in certain instances, black enterprises struggle to stay afloat due to cash-flow problems and declining business. this generally occurs when these businesses, due to capacity problems and/or ignorance, provide firms with inferior goods and do not deliver on time and/or with excessive pricing. 2.8 enterprise development impediments enterprise development, as an element of the generic construction scorecard, focuses on the advancement of black and black femaleowned businesses, using enterprise development programmes managed by established organisations (dti, 2009: 20). cargill (2010: 63) explains that many organisations do not have the necessary skills and/or capacity to develop emerging black enterprises. she also states that most small to medium corporations struggle to run their own businesses and it is, therefore, impossible to expect them to emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 139 assist start-up firms. in addition, organisations are indirectly forced to outsource their obligations with regard to enterprise development, in order to continue with their own business operations. blacks often struggle to find partners who are prepared to admit them as their developing enterprise. 2.9 bbbee-related ethical issues in the construction sector the 2012 transparency international (ti) report noted the questionable practices on the rise in south africa. the study measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide. in the report, south africa ranked 69th out of 176 countries, with a score of 43 out of 100. this rating indicates a 14-place drop since 2009, when south africa ranked 55th out of 180 countries, with a score of 4.7 out of 10 (ti, 2009). it was evident from the research that unethical practices in south africa have increased substantially. according to stansbury (2005: 37-39), the features that make construction contracts mostly prone to corruption include the size of projects, uniqueness of projects, involvement of government, high number of contractual links, great number of phases, complexity of projects, lack of frequency of projects, concealment of work, and culture of secrecy. for example, the cidb (2011: iii) noted that corruption is increasing rapidly in south africa. the cidb (2011: iii) report goes further to claim that “south africa is reaching a tipping point beyond which it may be very difficult to reverse corruption in the public sector”. the study further mentioned that barriers relative to contractor procurement in the public sector include “matching a contractor’s capabilities to the requirements of the project”, political interference, and cronyism (cidb, 2011: iii). furthermore, the bbbee amendment bill (dti, 2012: 3) defines fronting as “a transaction, arrangement or other act or conduct that directly or indirectly undermines or frustrates the achievement of the objectives of ... or the implementation of any of the provisions of’ the bbbee act”. this proposed piece of legislation aims to have fronting regarded as an offence, whereas it is currently considered to be fraud (paton, 2012: online). the employment of fronting is not bound to any particular race. the notion that fronting can purely be effected by white organisations and/or persons is incorrect (motau, 2012: online). according to jack (2007: 203-205), fronting comes in different forms such as opportunistic intermediaries, benefit deviation (transfer pricing), window dressing and thin capitalisation. other types of fronting include fronts on paper, company fronts, fictitious companies, and fronts in joint ventures (moloi, 2006: 32). acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 140 in brief, the reviewed literature shows that the implementation of the bbbee in the construction sector is subject to a number of irregularities. the misuse of bbbee is not limited to any race, gender, ability, culture, sector, organisation or place. the exploitation of bbbee occurs along all elements of the construction sector code. some forms of abuse are more visible than others. as an illustration, the construction industry has, for over a decade, been subjected to numerous media exposés relating to the manipulation of transformation by contractors and empowerment entrants. problems pertain, among others, to the exploitation of ownership structures, manipulation of employment equity, incorrect use of skills development, incorrect application of preferential procurement, and improper application of enterprise development. 3. research methodology the selected research method for this study was qualitative. the qualitative inquiry approach employed in this research was phenomenology. this technique was specifically chosen, as it was considered the most appropriate and reliable, especially considering the inherent sensitivity surrounding the research problem. leedy & ormrod (2010: 141) define phenomenology as a study that endeavours to understand several individuals’ perceptions and comprehension of a phenomenon. creswell (2012: 78) noted that groups partaking in phenomenological research can vary between 3 to 4 and 10 to 15 individuals. the research sample was made up of interviewees who represented participating construction firms. initially, 15 qualifying construction firms were identified by utilising the cidb online register of contractors. all 15 potential participants had a cidb grading designation of between 6 and 9, were in possession of a valid generic construction bbbbee status level certificate, and operated from premises situated in the nelson mandela bay metropolis. however, only nine of the 15 qualifying construction firms agreed to take part in the study, with a total of 11 participants as representatives. confidentiality agreements were signed with all the interviewees due to the sensitive nature of the enquiry. data that were relative to demographics in the form of management levels and job titles of the interviewees were derived from section 1 of the short questionnaire. information with regard to the cidb grading designation and bbbee status contribution levels was deduced from section 2 of the same questionnaire. the interviewees were three women and eight men aged between 32 and 58. none of emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 141 the participants suffered from a disability. ten of the interviewees were white and one was coloured in terms of race. education levels ranged from a senior certificate to a postgraduate diploma, and construction industry experience ranged from two to thirty-seven years. the management levels of interviewees varied from junior management to board and senior top management, with job titles ranging from administrative assistant to managing director. the information, gathered during the interviews, was scrutinised based on moustakas’ (1994 cited in creswell, 2012: 193-194) approach to phenomenological analysis. transcripts were examined to select major statements. these statements, all of which were treated as being of equal value, were then listed accordingly. following this step, all repetitive and overlapping statements were removed. the remaining notable statements were then grouped into the same six themes, as in the interview protocol. textural and structural descriptions, relative to the significant statements, were then drafted, explaining what and how participants/interviewees experienced the phenomenon. the process was finalised with the development of a composite description, incorporating the textual and structural descriptions, in order to exhibit the crux of the experience of the phenomenon. the interview protocol was dominated by themes related to the research questions of the study. the layout of the interview protocol is shown in table 4. table 4: the layout of the interview protocol number theme question 1 reasons for bee 1-2 2 statutory regulation of construction sector transformation 3-5 3 transformation of the construction industry 6-7 4 impediments affecting bbbee in the construction sector 8-10 5 exploitation of bbbee in the construction industry 11-13 6 improprieties related to bbbee in the construction sector 14-17 3. results and discussion 3.1 reasons for bee a contract director indicated that bee was a direct result of the “plight of the previously disadvantaged”. a few suggested that the “history of the country”, the “inequalities that existed” and the “exploitation of blacks” contributed to its birth. another stated that a “change in political power”, after the end of apartheid, gave rise to a “government that saw things differently”. the majority of the acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 142 participants agreed on the importance of the implementation of bee by the state. participant 4 attributed the need for bee to the “inequalities” and “unequal economy” that existed prior to 1994. an additional perception was that to “correct the imbalances of the past” and to empower people, the redistribution of wealth was imperative to “create a sustainable society” and to “level the economic playing field”. most of the interviewees were of the opinion that bee was necessary to provide blacks with new opportunities, to create access to the corporate world, and to ensure their development, by involving them in the mainstream economy. 3.2 statutory regulation of construction sector transformation in this theme, respondents focused on the core characteristics of the industry and the empowerment-oriented legislation that affected it. participant 6 stated, “i feel that government saw our industry as an easy point of entry as they are our largest client”. other respondents attributed the state’s extensive emphasis on the transformation of the construction industry to the facts that the sector is the second largest employer in the economy that it is highly labour intensive and employs people with the least amount of skills. a managing director, with an honours degree, believed that the industry’s relative stability and capability to “provide employment to a large number of job seekers in a short period of time” also justified the government’s stance on the matter. the introduction of empowerment-oriented legislation had an undeniable impact on the construction sector. a woman, with 25 years’ experience in the sector, mentioned that, when transformation commenced, contractors had to either “sink or swim”. she continued by explaining that companies had to adhere to the said laws promptly, in order to avoid being closed down. this resulted in organisations shifting their focus from production to complying with government’s red tape. three board members viewed the acts as an added “tax and cost” to the construction industry. participant 7 claimed that employment equity has resulted in the nondeliberate employment of highly skilled, yet inexperienced, blacks in top positions. some were also of the opinion that employment equity brought about the correction of equity profiles at lower management level and led to the high engagement of black women within the industry. a respondent made it clear that his impression of the skills development act was that it inherently produced meagre training programmes. the interviewee continued to argue that, prior to the promulgation emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 143 of the aforementioned act, it generally took artisans approximately four years to qualify as tradesmen, in comparison with the current period of six months. the average age of a qualified tradesman, according to the respondent, currently stands at approximately 60 years. both financial managers concurred and added that, although it pays for firms to train their black employees, the majority of training available is “irrelevant”, “non-value adding” and a “waste of time and/or money”. respondents noted that the ppr has increased the cost of tendering, as tenderers are required to “submit boxes full of documents” at the close of tenders. participant 2 indicated that, previous to the ppr, a tender usually comprised three pages, which is “a covering letter, one stipulating the price and maybe a third with a condition or two”. the interviewee further pointed out that, under the ppr, tender documents are up to “two to three inches thick”. two participants expressed the view that the former regulations were “easier” to work with whereas others described the previous system as “ineffective” and “ridiculous”. another interviewee contended that the regulations ultimately made it obligatory for white construction firms to hand over large portions of their shareholding, along with its control, in order to procure contracts from government. certain interviewees supported this outlook by revealing that the former ppr purely focused on the “enrichment of a few”, at the cost of the black majority. a financial director implied that the said regulations brought about a situation where it “came down to choosing between johnny and peter to participate in the ownership and control of one’s company”. the new ppr adopted bbbee as its new approach to preferential procurement. nine out of the eleven respondents lauded the release of the latest regulations, as they “ensure great accountability”, resulted in “fewer companies closing up shop” and by being more “beneficial” towards blacks. 3.3 transformation of the construction industry participant 3 reported that a scorecard, more specific to the construction industry, was developed to ensure the removal of constraints experienced by contractors during the application of the generic scorecard. several respondents agreed that the generic scorecard did the construction sector “no justice” as it is “unique” in many instances. a postgraduate diploma holder disclosed that the generic construction scorecard places a greater focus on “internships and mentorships” and brought about the review of “sex representation” within the industry. interviewees consider the generic construction scorecard as a tool to ensure the “sustainable”, “effective” and “rapid” transformation acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 144 of the sector. it was further communicated that the generic construction scorecard promotes the training of employees at management level, the greater use of black suppliers, and the involvement of a vast number of previously disadvantaged individuals. participant 8 specified that the development of the cidb was a “great and sensible idea”, as it ensured that contracts were and are awarded to construction firms with the “ability and resources to do the work”. this observation was also supported by other respondents. however, two interviewees were highly critical of cidb officials and referred to them as “uncooperative”. apparently, no single application, relating to a specific construction firm, is ever finalised by one representative. this has resulted in delays and, at times, contractors being “forced to trade” without the necessary cidb certification. criticism of construction industry-related bodies did not stop with the cidb. an office manager indicated that dealing with ceta is “an absolute nightmare”. their company, therefore, opted to outsource the function of claiming reimbursement from ceta to an external service provider. a managing director, with 27 years’ experience in the construction sector, agreed that ceta is “not functioning effectively” and is, therefore, “not fulfilling its purpose”. however, three participants revealed that they were aware of the existence of the construction sector charter council. participant 8 categorically stated that “they do not have their act together and therefore have not played a role yet”. 3.4 impediments affecting bbbee in the construction sector all 11 respondents concurred, with certainty, that the implementation of bbbee in the construction industry is hindered by commercial impediments. an interviewee summed it up quite thoroughly by proclaiming that there are “major problems”. in general, a small number of interviewees noted that the implementation of bbbee is “highly expensive” and involves a “large amount of paperwork”. it was further suggested that many contractors felt excluded, as they had no say in the development of bbbee. participants addressed challenges associated with white-owned construction firms. they focused on six of the seven elements of the generic construction scorecard, except for socio-economic development. in general, respondents perceive that white-owned construction firms find it extremely difficult to locate suitable potential black shareholders. this was attributed to the facts that very few candidates can adequately contribute to firms, or are in possession emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 145 of the required capital for the purchase of shares. contractors’ biggest predicament, relative to ownership, is the tremendous pressure endured while attempting to ensure sustainable growth, which is essential to enable black shareholders to repay their loans. this sentiment was supported by participant 3, who contended that black shareholders often default on the repayment of shareholding loans granted by fellow white shareholders in the firms in which they have invested. there is a lack of highly skilled and experienced top black managers, especially females, who can function “correctly, properly and appropriately” at board level. an administrative assistant blamed this tendency on the fact that many black candidates are still in the process of “working their way up” to board level. it was generally agreed that the majority of black top management candidates come at the cost of a “fortune” and that only a few can “justify” their positions. only a handful of these candidates were considered as adding the “necessary value” and contributing to the enhancement of company profits, in order not to be regarded as “dead weight”. the demand for skilled and professional black managers exceeds the supply. this was evident in the following responses: “we feel that it is very difficult to find and retain qualified black talent”, and “it is hard to get blacks with the right qualifications, skills and practical experience to fulfil management positions”. participant 5 claimed that it is extremely difficult to locate “confident” black female managers who “believe in themselves” and who “take initiative”. a man, with two years’ experience in the sector, worriedly implied that the level of south africa’s education has decreased to such an extent that even university students “struggle to read and write even though they have passed grade 12”. in addition, an accountant was of the opinion that the current standard of tertiary education does not adequately prepare university graduates for the workplace and that students studying construction-related courses often have very little or no “interest” in their field of study. companies battle to find suitable black candidates to train and develop. respondents also regarded the major costs incurred to up-skill beginners and the scarcity of relevant training programmes as challenges. various small black enterprises were identified as incompetent and, due to a “lack of training”, their quality standards were referred to as often being “horrendous”. they were further accused of frequently charging “inflated prices” and were personified as “fly-by-nighters”. a woman expressed her frustration with having to find female blackowned suppliers. she also complained that white-owned suppliers acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 146 were often “uninformed and uneducated”, when it came to bbbee and, in many instances, they “refused” to transform. participant 10 conveyed that it is extremely expensive and nearly impossible to concurrently run a construction firm and develop another small enterprise. another interviewee added that companies find it troublesome to acquire and maintain a relationship with developing black businesses, when partnering. the majority of the top managers agreed and stipulated that the owners and top managers of small black enterprises generally did not have the “required capacity” and could only be assisted to a certain point, as their “mindset” and level of education served as determinants. many small black enterprises do not have administrative systems in place, even though they were formerly trained by their development partner. this resulted in construction firms often having to take over the “responsibilities and obligations” of small black enterprises. contractors were frequently compelled to “finalise financial statements” of, and to obtain the bbbee status level certificates for their partners. respondents addressed the challenges experienced by black stakeholders and concentrated on five of the seven elements of the generic construction scorecard, except for skills development and socio-economic development. participants were unanimous on the notion that the predominant predicament experienced by black shareholders, when purchasing shares in companies, is access to finance. participant 5 stated that blacks frequently experience great resistance when proposing to enter into partnerships with white-owned contractors, as certain firms “would rather close down before selling their shares to blacks”. a man remarked that potential black shareholders are repeatedly met with an attitude that whiteowned firms will “rather enjoy 90% of a cupcake than 30% of a big cake”. participant 6 mentioned that black directors are usually highly intimidated when appointed to the board of a company, as they feel that they must “prove themselves more than whites”. black candidates are often discouraged by not having the opportunity to attend university and by small white-owned organisations “refusing to employ black people”. they are also regularly subjected to “cultural misrepresentations” and often experience “ill treatment” from their white superiors. black employees occasionally do not receive adequate training from their white managers, as these persons are fearful of losing their positions in the future. multiple small black enterprises struggle to find contractors to assist them in emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 147 their development. a single participant inferred that black suppliers ordinarily “struggle in presenting themselves as professionals”. 3.5 exploitation of bbbee in the construction industry all respondents agreed that bbbee in the construction sector is being abused. participant 8 firmly concurred and described the mistreatment of transformation as a “two-way street as both whites and blacks” are exploiting it. the misuse of bbbee by white-owned firms can be attributed to their desperate attempt to enhance their bbbee status levels. interviewees responded to the exploitation of bbbee by white-owned organisations and concentrated on four of the seven elements of the generic construction scorecard, excluding preferential procurement, enterprise development and socio-economic development. a man, with 13 years’ experience in the industry, opined that many contractors enter into highly “technical shareholding agreements” with black participants which ultimately result in the latter having “no control” over the firms in which they have invested. two participants claimed that the aforementioned occurrence did not bring about the transference of wealth and profits to black shareholders. vast numbers of contractors manipulate the complement of their boards by “appointing junior managers” who add no actual value as directors. participant 3 professed that firms regularly, as part of their practice of “window shopping”, “pay black directors r25.000.00 per month” for attending a board meeting. a woman, with 9 years’ experience in the construction industry, acknowledged that white-owned companies frequently promote black employees to higher positions, irrespective of whether they are the best candidate for the position. participant 6 added that the said employees are often not appropriately remunerated and that their performance is not always recognised. a woman, with a national diploma, reported that some contractors engage in “falsifying training certificates” and “proof of payments” made to training companies. a male respondent further accused organisations of purposely sending black candidates on “irrelevant” training programmes. the wrongful use of bbbee by black-owned firms and stakeholders can be ascribed to their desperate effort to improve their position and participation within the economy. respondents commented on the exploitation of bbbee by black-owned organisations, by focusing on six of the seven elements of the generic construction scorecard, except for preferential procurement. participant 7 acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 148 hinted that potential black shareholders occasionally enter the boardrooms of companies with an attitude of “i know people in high places and can sway contracts in your favour”. others condemned black shareholders’ refusal to pay for shares and not wanting to be involved in the day-to-day management of companies, but still expecting to reap benefits. a man, with 37 years’ experience in the industry, noted that, in many instances, black shareholders would only visit their companies’ offices “at the end of the year to collect their r30.000.00 cheque”. another agreed by stating that the alleged shareholders “are just too happy to receive a cheque in the mail without lifting a finger”. some participants complained of skilled and black employees who participate in job hopping with job lengths of between “12 to 24 months” on average. they come at a “premium and demand ridiculous” remuneration packages and, when offered “more money”, they move from their current employment. participant 7 admitted that certain black managers intimidated employers by threatening that they would leave if not provided with a salary increase. a man, with six years’ experience in the construction industry, explained that numerous unskilled and inexperienced black graduates enter the workplace with the “wrong attitude”. they were accused of not wanting to “prove” themselves, expecting that, because they are black, starting at the bottom is not applicable to them. they anticipated immediate placement in management positions. it was pointed out that blacks, time and again, insisted on taking part in continuous training programmes, thereby failing to fulfil their official duties. others expressed their dissatisfaction with small black enterprises that expect their partners to take full responsibility for their businesses in terms of management and administration. participant 10 stated that non-profit organisations (npos), in many instances, abused the contributions given to them by contractors. it was claimed that npos were “bled dry by their trustees”, as funders generally do not have the time or resources to ensure that the contributions ultimately reach the intended beneficiaries. 3.6 improprieties related to bbbee in the construction sector the majority of the participants agreed that unethical business practices in the industry have increased since the introduction of bbbee, with one interviewee instantly responding, “absolutely, there is no doubt about that!” in general, respondents regarded bbbee as a facade behind which contractors and other stakeholders could hide their questionable conduct. it was explained that it was behind this veil that companies engaged in dubious methods, as they were emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 149 being “forced” to improve their generic construction scorecards in order to obtain government tenders. not engaging in these practices was considered, by some, as giving rise to the possible “closure” of organisations and the further repercussion of having to “retrench” employees. one male participant argued that bbbee has turned the construction industry into a “political playing field”, where knowing someone in government signified the attainment of possible wealth. even though no denial existed that these practices occurred in the private sector, all of the interviewees were of the opinion that the public sector was by far subject to the highest levels of suspicious activities. two respondents furthered this opinion by claiming that it was evident in the “daily news” and that the public sector was “more concerned” with bbbee than corporate south africa. participants predominantly directed their attention to corruption, maladministration and fronting. corruption was described as “rife” and as a “cancer” that is “deeply rooted” in the sector. another interviewee claimed that it was by “far most visible” in the construction industry, in comparison with other sectors of the economy. participant 3 made a profound statement by claiming that corruption was a “prerequisite for doing business with government”. a woman respondent agreed and stipulated that many contractors were of the opinion that it was nearly “impossible to survive” if they did not engage in corruption. participant 1 went on and confidently elucidated that corruption in the sector “is not good for the industry, it is not good for contractors and it is not good for bbbee”. public sector officials were accused of utilising their easy “access” to, and “control” over state tenders to ensure “jobs for pals” and of frequently appointing contractors, on condition that they utilise “people who are family or acquaintances” of theirs. one respondent alleged that certain newly elected government officials, with contracts ranging from three to five years, enter the public sector with the “attitude that it is now their turn” and that, during their stay in office, they will acquire “enough money for them to retire”. it was pointed out that many construction firms obtain contracts via their “corrupt relationships” with government officials. some interviewees mentioned that certain construction firms suddenly became the “most experienced” contractors “in the world” by “knowing the right people in government”. the results of corruption were detailed as “unemployment”, the closure of “many companies”, keeping the sector from “going forward”, the rebuilding of rdp houses “two to three times”, increasing the “cost of construction”, and increasing “red tape”. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 150 a general perception among respondents existed that several public-sector officials were “thrown into positions without having the necessary training and knowledge”, as employment in government is considered mainly as the outcome of “who you know”. this resulted in persons, “not capable of doing their job”, being hired, and exacerbated the view that most government officials were “unknowledgeable”, “inefficient” and “incompetent”. many believed that vast numbers of public officials lacked “financial management skills” and regularly made “budgetary errors”. a procurement and chief estimating director was highly critical of the public sector when it came to tendering and complained about “tender validity periods” in excess of “90 days”, the constant “delay of tender results” and tender adjudication processes employed by “procurement committees” not being “transparent”. another interviewee asserted that officials do not always evaluate tenders in terms of the ppr and often appoint contractors whom they seek to implement projects. several participants were of the opinion that the “security of payment” by government was “never guaranteed” and exposed contractors to “business risk”, “credit rating” downgrades, potential legal battles and liquidation applications, as construction companies often struggled “to pay their subcontractors” when they were paid late or, in certain instances, not paid at all. a 42-year-old woman noted that officials often went “on holiday” before ensuring payments and that the embezzlement of funds was a reality. maladministration was regarded as “worse” than prior to 1994 and bbbee’s “biggest enemy”. participant 1 passionately stated that “government is killing” bbbee, specifically emerging black contractors, by failing them through maladministration. another respondent indicated that contractors would rarely “blow the whistle” when engaging with unethical public officials, as this would jeopardise their chances of obtaining government contracts in the future. a few respondents were of the opinion that numerous white-owned construction firms regarded fronting as “a cost of doing business” in order to “retain control” of their organisations. one interviewee suggested that “smaller companies” opted to engage in fronting as “doing things the right way was very expensive”. another mentioned how many companies became bbbee “compliant overnight”. some participants blamed fronting for the increase in the cost of construction and concurred that it will “not disappear if it is not better policed”. participant 4, however, was of the opinion that the construction sector code has made it more cumbersome for contractors to implement fronts, as their contributions to transformation have to be audited by established emuze & adlam • implementation of bbbee in construction 151 and accredited verification agents. the applicant concluded by stating that “in 10 to 20 years, most front companies will close shop as fronting is not sustainable”. 4. conclusions and recommendations the implementation of bbbee has had an incontrovertible effect on the construction industry. it affects every fragment of the sector, from the shareholding profiles of construction firms right down to the commitment of these firms to the communities in which they operate. bbbee’s all-encompassing nature has presented the construction industry with numerous challenges that it has to resolve, in order to ensure its successful transformation. the challenges, in terms of the research questions of the study, were investigated by the review of related literature and semi-structured interviews. the literature, in general, most importantly focused on the main dilemmas experienced in the sector during the implementation of bbbee. such predicaments are not limited to corporate difficulties in terms of exploitation, fronting, misrepresentation and other unethical practices. the empirical findings show that the generic framework for bbbee affects the construction industry; that contractors often encounter commercial impediments when implementing bbbee; that bbbee is subject to various manipulations, and that fronting by construction firms, as a direct result of bbbee, is becoming an issue in the industry. thus, the 11 interviewees that are active in the industry contend that there are impediments related to the bbbee implementation in the construction sector. they also gave instances of exploitations and unethical practices in the industry, in order to buttress their points. it is, however, important to view these findings in context, based on the limitations mentioned in earlier sections. nevertheless, the study has provided stakeholders with a broader understanding of how contractors perceive the development and implementation of bbbee in the construction industry. the study is important, as it sheds light on how bbbee in the construction sector has evolved, but most significantly, it focuses on some of the most predominant bbbee-related challenges that many firms have encountered. the results of the inquiry might likely serve as a catalyst for change through intensified stakeholder interest, increased awareness and enhanced informal engagements in the construction industry. this, in turn, can bring about a plethora of ideas on how to solve existing and possible future problems associated with bbbee. such issues include fruitful policy amendments, acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 152 improved research initiatives, and the formation of construction sector-oriented 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dainty, moore & murray, 2006; hill, 2010; müller, 2003a, 2003b; pinto & pinto, 1990; ogc in webber, 2008). the art and science of project management has grown significantly over the past 50 years. in addition, the emphasis in project management research has changed from a technical engineering orientation to one that encompasses a broader organisational perspective (pollack & adler, 2015: 238). hardly any attention has been paid to communication in project management (dainty et al., 2006; lehmann, 2009). the lack of communication literature in project management has resulted in communication being cited as a primary cause of project failures on numerous occasions (dainty et al., 2006; gilpatrick in pinto & pinto, 1990; ogc in shehu & akintoye, 2010: 28; souder, 1981: 70). however, pollack & adler (2015: 247) reported relationship management topics, of which information and communication management is an important part, as being either of significance or increasingly significant in a study of emerging trends in project management research (spanning 50 years). therefore, there is significant interest among researchers and practitioners for research relating to information and communication management in 21st-century projects. at present, teamwork is increasingly characterised by globally distributed work, as organisations and project teams face the demands of increased competition and improved productivity (galushkin, 2003; ruhleder & jordan, 2001: online). as globally distributed projects strongly rely on communication media such as acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 38 cmc (earon, 2014: 2; harrin, 2010a; stawnicza & kurbel, 2012), it is important to ensure that project team members are able to use the available media effectively. an informal survey to determine the use of social media in project environments found that 73% of the 246 respondents from 32 countries indicated that social media was a key issue for project managers (harrin, 2010b). since communication in virtual teams is still recognized as particularly challenging, and cmc data very limited, further in-depth analysis is required. limited literature hinders full understanding of cmc and its contribution to communication management, thus highlighting the necessity for further investigation (galushkin, 2003: 11). recent literature has gone some way in assisting project practitioners to better understand project communication and its effects on project trust, collaboration and success (bond-barnard et al., 2013; bondbarnard et al., 2014; chiocchio et al., 2011; daim, hab, reutimanc, hughesd, pathaka, bynumd & bhatlad, 2012: 206; dietrich, eskerod, dalcher & sandhawalia, 2010; lepine, piccolo, jackson, mathieu & saulet, 2008: 278). however, more still needs to be done in order to better understand the utilisation and effect of cmc methods such as im and vc on the quality of communication in projects. previous studies identified seven main factors as major determinants of project communication quality (bond-barnard et al., 2014: 5-12; daim et al., 2012; müller, 2003a; turner & müller, 2004: 329-333). these factors include communication channels, communications plan, audience, content, frequency of interaction, technology, and communication type. a mixed methods research approach is proposed for this study. first, a focus group was used to gain in-depth insight into the topic and to assess the suitability of the proposed survey questions. secondly, an international survey was conducted to measure the extent to which project practitioners use im and vc and to investigate how this communication in a project influences the main factors that determine the quality of project communication, as identified from literature. statistical analysis techniques such as cross-tabulation were used to examine the data in order to understand how, why and what im and vc are used for in a project and how they influence the factors that contribute to quality project communication. this knowledge would make a significant contribution to the information and communication management body of knowledge that is central to relationship management research. barlett & ghoshal and ring & van den ven in fulk & desanctis (1995: 339) define the latter as the management of relationships in organisations. bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 39 according to pollack & adler (2015), relationship management is consistently reported as being either significant or increasingly significant in a study of emerging trends in project management research. practitioners can use this article to understand how, when and by whom im and vc are used in a project and to gain insight into the influence of these mediums on the factors that promote quality project communication. the research also discusses the constituents of quality communication, which forms the basis of project trust and collaboration that determines the ultimate outcome of the project (bond-barnard et al., 2014; chiocchio et al., 2011; dietrich et al., 2010). 2. literature study 2.1. computer-mediated communication organisations currently face severe competitive and economic pressures. as companies reduce extra costs and try to respond more nimbly to customers and competitors, they begin to adopt more networktype organisational structures to tighten inter-organisational linkages and improve management practices (ehsan, mirza & ahmad, 2008; johnston & lawrence, 1988; markus, 1994: 502; miles & snow, 1986). to support these network-type structures in the organisation, increasingly more firms, especially those that are large and geographically dispersed, are turning to cmc (earon, 2014: 2; ehsan et al., 2008; markus, 1994: 502). use of these media for intra-organisational coordination is perceived to increase personal and organisational productivity and efficiency (earon, 2014: 2; markus, 1994: 503). cmc involves sending messages through computer networks such as the internet (liang & walther, 2015: 504). popular forms of cmc include, among others, email, im, collaboration tools, social networking, blogs, micro-blogs, wikis, and vc. for the purposes of this article, only im and vc will be discussed in more detail, as these two mediums are the more popular and well-known cmc tools (harrin, 2010b; harrin, 2011). according to hu (2003) and osterman research (2004), im has evolved from a teenage fad to a valuable communications tool that is central to everyday business. im (or chat) is a way of sending short text messages to another person through a computer or smartphone. examples include whatsapp, aim™, windows live messenger, ebuddy©, icq®, mxit™, skype™, tecent qq®, xfire™, yahoo messenger™, and gtalk. im is similar to email, but faster and with shorter messages, as the person on the other side has indicated that he is available to message (harrin, 2010a). some of the acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 40 perceived advantages of im are that one can view another person’s availability; it is very conversational; in most instances, the software is free; spam is not really a problem; one receives instantaneous responses; there is a documentary audit trail, and no communication is received when offline (bilton, 2012). some disadvantages include that one must regularly update one’s availability status; it requires discipline to regulate usage; information security may be an issue, and status updates can cause one to micro-manage project situations (harrin, 2010a). according to a report by osterman research (2004), im is used in up to 92% of all commercial and non-commercial enterprises in north america. furthermore, osterman research (2004) estimated that, by 2007, approximately 80% of all enterprise email users will also be using im to communicate. the percentage of enterprises using im for business applications has more than doubled in less than three years (osterman research, 2004). one of the aims of this paper is to determine the utilisation of im by project practitioners and in project environments, which is expected to differ from the figures provided earlier. the dominant interest in enterprise im use is for business-to-business communications, not business-to-consumer communications (osterman research, 2004). a large percentage of im users find that their use of the telephone and email is reduced because of their use of im. a survey by harrin (2010b) found that 80% of the respondents used im for business and/or personal use and that it was one of the few tools that everyone had heard of (harrin, 2011). on the other hand, vc is defined as hosting a conference among people from remote locations by means of transmitted audio and signals (merriam-webster dictionary, 2015). vc enables telecommuting individuals or people in different locations to participate in meetings at very short notice while saving time and money. examples of vc software include skype™, sightspeed™, oovoo, megameeting®, ichat, vbuzzer, tokbox®, eyejot™, microsoft®, and livemeeting. some of the advantages of vc are that it increases productivity and efficiency and that no travelling is required. therefore, it is environmentally friendly, convenient and good for building relationships (earon, 2014: 2; harrin, 2010a). some disadvantages are signal latency and that it can cause anxiety (wolfe, 2007: 119-126); delegates must work harder to interpret the information presented in the conference (ferran & watts, 2008), and lack of eye contact and appearance consciousness (benson-armer & hsieh, 1997). vc is growing in popularity: in 2007, frost & sullivan in paul (2008) estimated it to be a $1.1 billion market, which was up by 29% from the previous year. furthermore, according to telespan bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 41 in paul (2008), vc sales have risen from 115,000 systems in 2004 to 176,000 in 2007. the majority of the respondents of a survey on social media use in project environments indicated that they use cmc tools for hosting online meetings (harrin, 2010b). cmc has become more common in projects due to the importance of informal communication media in facilitating project cooperation and performance (pinto & pinto, 1990). in addition, the popularity and progress of information technology worldwide has also contributed to the proliferation of cmc in projects (guo, d’ambra, turner & zhanget, 2009; daim et al., 2012). over the years, both formal and informal communication in projects has progressed from written reports and unplanned face-to-face discussions to meetings using vc and informal project discussions that are facilitated by im or email. one of the main reasons for this shift to cmc in projects is the increasing use of virtual teams (remidez & jones, 2012; ehsan et al., 2008; otter & emmitt, 2007; daim et al., 2012). the growth in cmc technologies such as im and vc is astounding. however, what benefits can an organisation or project gain from using such communication tools? since 2007, mckinsey & company has been conducting a yearly survey, with nearly 1,700 responses from executives across industries and regions, per year. these surveys determine what value the companies have gained by adopting various cmcs within their organisations, externally in their relations with customers, and in their dealings with partners and other stakeholders. their responses suggest why cmcs remain of high interest: in 2009, 69% of the respondents reported that their companies gained measurable business benefits, including more innovative products and services, better access to knowledge, reduced time to market, reduced costs (notably communication costs), increased revenue, and customer satisfaction (mckinsey & company, 2009: online). in 2010, the measurable benefits from the internal use of cmcs were as follows (mckinsey & company, 2010: online): • 77% increase in speed to access knowledge; • 60% reduced communication costs; • 41% increased employee satisfaction; • 40% reduced operating cost; • 29% reduced time to market, and • 18% increased revenue. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 42 the adoption and utilisation of cmc tools such as im and vc by organisations provides support for the proposition that cmc is used significantly in organisational projects.1 one can make this deduction, as projects are the vehicle through which an organisation implements its strategy; therefore, projects (in some shape or form) will be found in the vast majority of organisations (shao & müller, 2011: 947). harrin (2011, 2010b) did some preliminary work to quantify the utilisation of cmc in project environments. however, much still needs to be done in order to determine the exact extent to which specific mediums such as im and vc are being used in projects and what influence they may be having on other aspects of project communication. 2.2 quality communication in projects the role of the project management function is to manage the systems that relate to the features of uniqueness, novelty and transience, inherent to the term ‘project’. these systems include scope of work, project organization, quality, cost, and duration of the project. communication is an essential ingredient of all these managerial requirements and must be viewed as the essential prerequisite to successful project-based management (dainty et al., 2006). bond-barnard et al. (2013) found that a balance of frequent informal and formal communication affects the performance of the project, by influencing the degree of collaboration and the level of trust in the project team, which also guides the project’s performance. consequently, communication is frequently identified as a major determinant for project success or failure (müller, 2003a; hartman in müller, 2003b). communication may be compared to a metaphorical ‘pipeline’ along which information is transferred between individuals or groups (axley, 1984) through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviour (merriam-webster dictionary, 2015). thus the communication process involves a person or entity sending out a message and another receiving and successfully understanding the message in response (torrington & hall, 1998). it stands to reason then that the determinants of communication quality between the message initiator and the correct message receiver(s) in a project are determined by the frequency and accuracy with which a message (with appropriate content) is conveyed, using the most suitable communication medium available, while being aligned with the project communications plan. this definition for quality communication was formulated based on the factors identified in the 1 not small one-man projects, but projects done by a team in the organisation. bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 43 literature, viz. frequency of interaction, content, type, technology, communication channels, audience, and communications plan (bond-barnard et al., 2014; bond-barnard et al., 2013; daim et al., 2012; müller, 2003a; turner & müller, 2004). ‘culture’ and ‘leadership’ factors, among others, may also influence the quality of communication, but are beyond the scope of this article. the literature relating to each of the factors identified earlier is discussed in more detail below, as the survey questions used to measure whether im and vc can be used to facilitate quality communication centre on these factors. 2.2.1 frequency of interaction frequency of interaction refers to the number and timings of project team members’ communications with the stakeholders and each other (turner & müller, 2004: 328-333). the project management body of knowledge (pmbok) guide by the project management institute (pmi) (2013) states that timely communications are a prerequisite for successful project completion. similarly, bond-barnard et al. (2013); chen, liang & lin (2010); turner & müller (2004), and webber (2008) found that frequent informal and formal communication improves the communication quality, trust and collaboration in project relationships. this, in turn, contributes to high project performance. timely communications are especially important when dealing with project teams from different geographical regions, as the frequency of interaction decreases when the project team is not co-located (van den bulte & moenaert, 1998; dietrich et al., 2010). the lack of timely communication has been cited as a common factor among failing projects (dalcher, 2009; yalegama, chileshe & ma, 2016). 2.2.2 communication content communication in a project can only be as good as the content that is being communicated; therefore, quality content results in quality communication (bond-barnard et al., 2013; bond-barnard et al., 2014). müller (2001) found that the content of quality project communication falls into one or more of the following categories: • status and achievements; • project changes; • issues and open items; • next steps in the project; • quality and progress measures, and • project trends. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 44 penteado in carvalho (2008) warns that project communications competencies, which refer to the group’s ability to codify, transmit and decode information, are necessary, but not sufficient prerequisites to the effectiveness of project communication. this means that, if the project team is not able to codify or decode the communication content correctly, the effectiveness or quality of the project communication may be reduced. 2.2.3 type of communication communication type is identified as a major determinant for quality communication in projects (turner & müller, 2004: 333). post et al. (2009) state that participative communication improves the quality of project communication, as it is the strongest indicator of innovation effectiveness and patents produced. they add that participation often leads to a better understanding of potential problems that encompasses the concept of connective thinking. participative communication can either be informal or formal and both forms can be facilitated both orally and in writing. turner & müller (2004: 333) established that a mixture of formal and informal communication best served the communication needs of project participants. moreover, torrington & hall (1998) found that a message is conveyed more successfully if a variety of media such as verbal, non-verbal, written, audio-visual or electronic is used. it has been shown that frequent informal and formal communication improves communication quality, trust and collaboration in project relationships, which is linked to high performance (bond-barnard et al., 2013; chen et al., 2010; turner & müller, 2004; webber, 2008). 2.2.4 technology utilised technology is one of five factors that significantly contribute to the breakdown of communication in a project (carvalho, 2008; daim et al., 2012), because technology causes physical communication barriers that arise when information is transmitted (ferreira in carvalho, 2008). conversely, technology can also enable communication by providing a means through which communication is facilitated, if it is used correctly. with the advent of global virtual teams and tendencies towards continuous communication or updates (e.g., twitter, rss feeds), technology plays a key role in enabling communication and, for this reason, it determines the quality of communication in 21st-century projects. bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 45 2.2.5 communication channels the pmbok guide states that one of the two main components of project communication is the knowledge and management of the project’s communication channels (pmi, 2013). project communication channels are defined as the connections between communicators in a project. the greater the number of project stakeholders/communicators, the greater the number of channels and the more complex the communication issues become (daim et al., 2012). since communication channels determine how much communication must take place in a project, it also, to some extent, determines the quality of the project communication. 2.2.6 audience the audience/communication recipient(s) plays an important role in determining the quality of project communication (bond-barnard et al., 2013; bond-barnard et al., 2014; müller, 2003a). the potential or expected audience determines whether one will be communicating one-to-one or with a group and whether this communication will take place face-to-face (in person) or through voice or text. 2.2.7 communications plan the communications plan is crucial for quality communication, because the lack of a plan is a barrier to communication in projects (carvalho, 2008). the project communications plan is used to determine who needs what information, how it will be collected, and how it will be transmitted. modern communications planning focuses on organising and documenting the process, types and expectations of information dissemination throughout the project’s life cycle (lesko & hollingsworth, 2010). 3. materials and methods the utilisation and application of cmc medium such as im and vc has grown exponentially over the past few years. people use these mediums to communicate in their personal lives and more frequently also for work purposes. very little is known about the utilisation of cmc for communication in projects specifically, and for this reason, the study aims to determine how, why and what im and vc are used for in projects, and how they relate to the factors that promote quality project communication, namely frequency of interaction, communication content, type, access to technology, communication channels, audience, and the existence of a communi cations plan. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 46 mixed methods research was found to be suitable for this study (see 3.2). the first part of the study is exploratory in nature; therefore, a focus group was decided upon. the findings from the focus group provided input to the quantitative survey that followed. statistical techniques such as cross-tables were used to answer both the exploratory and the relational aspects of the research questions proposed below. 3.1 research questions in this study, the following seven research questions are investigated: 1. for what purposes are im and vc used in projects? 2. where these tools are used in projects, whom are they used to communicate with? 3. to what extent are im and vc included in the communications plan of the project? 4. how frequently are im and vc used to communicate with the project members? 5. what project content is communicated using im and vc? 6. to what extent is the use of im and vc influenced by access to technology (access to the internet and/or cmc applications or software)? 7. what effect does im and vc communication have on the quality (efficiency and effectiveness) of the communication, if the team is geographically dispersed? 3.2 research methodology a mixed methods research methodology was used in the study. first, a focus group was used to qualitatively explore the proposed research questions. this was followed by a quantitative study consisting of a questionnaire and statistical analysis. the focus group consisted of six project practitioners from an international consulting engineering company that uses various cmc technologies for project communication and information sharing. the findings from the qualitative study were used to develop the survey questions. the aim of the empirical study was to generalise the findings. practitioners, knowledgeable about cmc technologies and working in project environments, formed the unit and level of analysis for the quantitative study. the questionnaire was designed for respondents to indicate whether they made use of im and/or vc for personal reasons and/or for business, and how these mediums influenced the quality of the communication they had experienced between bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 47 themselves and the other stakeholders of projects in which they had participated. the questions were either categorical or asked the respondents to rate their response, on a 10-point scale, in terms of the extent to which im and/or vc relate to the factors that promote quality project communication (bond-barnard et al., 2014). a sample of the questionnaire is shown in appendix a. data were collected from a total of 270 international respondents working on medium-size projects in various industries, for both government and private institutions. the target population of the survey in this study was project leaders (i.e. project/programme managers), project team members, project stakeholders (e.g., subcontractor, functional manager, regulatory authority, external party) and project sponsors/clients. the survey was conducted by means of an online, self-administered questionnaire using qualtrics™. the questionnaire was distributed to the members of five different open and closed project management linkedin® groups. the questionnaire was sent to 19 project management experts (mainly academics6) who were identified from prominent project communication management literature (harrin, 2010a; ehsan et al., 2008; walther, 1997; el-saboni, aouad & sabouni, 2009; glücker & schrott, 2007; greenberg & antonucci, 2007; dube & marnewick, 2012). the questionnaire was also circulated to all the current students2 and alumni of masters, postgraduate diploma and certificate programmes in the graduate school of technology management at the university of pretoria. of the 270 responses received, only 210 were valid and complete. bias was addressed by distributing the survey through various means to a wide variety of project practitioners (101 project leaders, 88 project team members, 8 project sponsors, and 13 other project stakeholders) in order to accurately measure the utilisation of im and vc in projects. furthermore, all concepts relating to the survey were clearly defined and examples of technologies provided, so that all participants had a clear understanding of the questions being asked. the survey was distributed electronically and snowball sampling was encouraged; therefore, neither the population of the survey nor the response rate could be determined. the reported findings can, for this reason, not be generalised. the valid dataset was analysed using 2 please note that the survey was sent to academics and students. however, their responses were only included if they had/have experience working in project environments and based on the description of the project environment in which they work/worked, i.e. construction, mining, etc. their participation in the survey is depicted in table 1. pure academics or students with no work experience were not included in the study. therefore, these two groups of respondents are not depicted separately in table 1. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 48 ibm spss® statistics 22, specifically cross-tabulation. all calculations in the tables and figures take into consideration individuals who use both im and vc and, separately, those who use either im or vc only. this may reflect in the respondent totals in tables and figures, as these totals do not always show the sum of the components. table 1 shows the profile of the respondents for each of the typical roles in the project in terms of gender, age, field of work, and nature of business entity. only respondents who are working or who, at some stage, worked in a project environment were included in the study. table 1: summary of respondents’ profile by typical project role (reported as percentage) project leader project team member project sponsor/ client other project stakeholder total gender of respondents n=210 male 35.2 29.5 3.3 5.2 73.3 female 12.9 12.4 0.5 1.0 26.7 total 48.1 41.9 3.8 6.2 100 respondent age n=210 20-29 6.7 11.9 0.5 1.9 21.0 30-39 22.4 21.9 1.0 3.3 48.6 40-49 11.0 5.2 2.4 0.5 19.0 50-59 5.2 2.9 0.5 0.5 9.0 60+ 2.4 0 0 0 2.4 total 47.6 41.9 4.3 6.2 100 principal industry n=210 agriculture 0.5 0 0 0 0.5 construction 7.6 6.7 0 0 14.3 finance, insurance, real estate 1.9 0.5 0 0.5 2.9 government 8.6 5.7 2.4 0.5 17.1 health care 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 information technology 3.3 3.3 0 0.5 7.1 manufacturing 4.3 3.3 0 1.0 8.6 mining 4.3 5.7 0 0.5 10.5 services industry3 5.2 4.8 0.5 0 10.5 bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 49 project leader project team member project sponsor/ client other project stakeholder total transportation 2.4 2.9 0 1.4 6.7 communication or utilities 3.8 1.4 0 1.0 6.2 non-profit organisations 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 other 4.3 7.6 1.0 1.0 13.8 total 48.1 41.9 3.8 6.2 100 business entity n=210 sole proprietor 0.5 0 0 0 0.5 closed corporation 0 1.0 0 0 1.0 private company 20.5 19.0 1.0 2.9 43.3 public company 5.7 4.8 0.5 1.0 11.9 state-owned company 10.0 9.5 0.5 1.4 21.4 personal liability company 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 a not-for-profit business 0.5 0.5 0 0 1.0 government 9.5 6.2 1.9 1.0 18.6 other business entity 0.5 1.0 0 0 1.4 total 48.1 41.9 3.8 6.2 100 number of stakeholders communicated with in a typical project n=136 1-5 6.6 8.8 0 2.2 17.6 6-20 30.9 20.6 1.5 4.4 57.4 21-50 12.5 5.9 0 0.7 19.1 51-100 1.5 2.2 0 0 3.7 101-500 1.5 0 0 0 1.5 500 and over 0.7 0 0 0 0.7 total 53.7 37.5 1.5 7.4 100 3 this implies service-related environments, i.e. professional services, hospitality, etc. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 50 4. results and discussion the study aim is twofold. to determine, first, how, why and what im and vc are used for in projects and, secondly, how these communication media relate to the factors that promote quality project communication. in order to establish how, why and what im and vc are used for in projects, it was found that only 32% of the respondents use both im and vc to communicate. a further 43% indicated that they only use im for communication, whereas 13% stated that they only use vc to communicate. of the respondents, 12% indicated that they use neither media for communication. they mentioned that the tools they do use for project communication include email, telephone, newsletters, sms, face-to-face meetings, and teleconferencing. some of the reasons that the respondents gave for not using im or vc included: • people are not familiar with im communication such as bbm or whatsapp. • some companies do not permit the use of im. • im is not perceived to be a mature form of communication. • im is not perceived to be a professional form of communication. • some clients do not have the technology available for im or vc communication. • the security of the communication is an issue in some projects and for some companies. • project sites are often remote, with limited internet access. • projects are never urgent and can be attended to by email. • their companies are always late adopters of new communication technology. • their company does not have a standard im system. • im and vc communication has never been necessary in their project. respondents were asked for what purpose they use im and/or vc to communicate (see table 2 and figure 1), in response to the first research question. bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 51 table 2: the purpose of cmc communication per project role the purpose for using the following cmc tools to communicate (reported as percentage) project leaders team members sponsor/ client other stakeholders total im business use n=155 10 8 1 1 20 im personal use n=155 12 5 1 3 20 im business & personal use n=155 22 32 3 3 60 vc business use n=94 35 20 0 6 62 vc personal use n=94 4 2 0 0 6 vc business & personal use n=94 14 15 0 3 32 im & vc business use n=68 6 6 0 3 15 im and vc personal use n=68 4 1 0 0 6 im business & vc personal use n=68 0 0 0 0 0 im personal & vc business use n=68 6 1 0 3 10 im business & personal use & vc business use n=68 16 10 0 0 26 im business & personal use & vc personal use n=68 1 1 0 0 3 im business use & vc business & personal use n=68 0 0 0 0 0 im personal use & vc business & personal use n=68 1 1 0 1 4 im & vc business and personal use n=68 15 18 0 3 35 acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 52 the purpose of cmc communicatiton pe rc en ta g e of re sp on d en ts instant messaging (im) n=155 business 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% personal both business & personal video conferencing (vc) n=94 both instant messaging & video conferencing n=68* figure 1: purpose of cmc tool communication of those respondents who indicated that they only use im, 60% use it for business and personal communication, whereas, of the remaining 40%, 20% use im only for business use and 20% use im only for personal use. of the respondents who indicated that they only use vc, 62% use vc for business communication; 32% for business and personal use, and only 6% for personal use. similarly, of the respondents who use both im and vc, 35% use im and vc for business and personal communication; 26% use im for business and personal use and vc only for business use, and 15% use im and vc only for business use. these results are interesting, as they contradict the general presumption that cmc tools are used more for personal use than for business (harrin, 2010a, 2010b, 2011). the second research question aimed to determine with whom the respondents communicate in the project when they use im and vc (relates to the communication channels factor). the results in figure 2 indicate that the majority of the respondents using im for work communicate mainly with their team members and the project leader. this changes slightly when one examines the use of vc, where vc is mainly used to communicate with stakeholders, thereafter the project sponsor/client, followed by project team members, and finally the project leader. these findings are interesting, as it appears that vc is, in general, used to communicate with large groups of people such as the other project stakeholders and the project team, whereas im is used more to communicate with individuals such bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 53 as the project leader and members of the project team. the vast majority of cmc communication takes place between the project team members; this is to be expected, as most communication takes place in this instance. project role communicated with when using the following cmc tool(s) pe rc en ta g e of re sp on d en ts instant messaging90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% video conferencing both instant messaging & video conferencing total cmc project leader team members sponsor/ client other stakeholders figure 2: recipients of cmc communication in projects the third research question sought to determine whether the use of vc and im in projects is sanctioned by a communications plan (relates to the communications plan factor). when the respondents were asked whether a communications plan existed for the project, 67% responded affirmatively. of the respondents, 87% indicated that they do not know if there is a communications plan in place, and 25% responded that there is no communications plan for the project. of the respondents who answered in the affirmative, 55% stated that the use of cmc or social media tools such as im and vc is not documented in the said plan. of the respondents, 35% mentioned that cmc/social media tools are documented in their communications plan for the project; 4% did not know, and 6% indicated that the question is not applicable. these findings show that project practitioners still need to be made aware of cmc/social media tools and to be educated on the use thereof in their projects. this education would go a long way in assisting them to include these tools and mediums in the communications plan for projects because, whether they like it or not, cmc tools are being used in acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 54 organisations and projects, and it would be better to address the use of these tools rather than to ignore their existence. it is essential that the plan must clearly state how different types of communication mediums, including cmc, are to be used to collect and transmit project information. moreover, a communications plan is crucial for quality communication, because the lack of a plan is a barrier to communication in a project (carvalho, 2008). the fourth research question investigated the frequency with which im and vc are used to communicate with project members (relates to the frequency of interaction factor). from the results (see figure 3), it came to light that: • im is predominantly used to communicate with the project leader, as indicated by the likert scale items (always and most of the time) in figure 3. • project practitioners use im to communicate with other project team members. • there is no agreement on the frequency with which im communication is used for communicating with project sponsors/ clients. it is, however, used frequently to communicate with other project stakeholders. frequency of instant messaging communication with project role over the past month n o. o f r es p on d en ts always25 20 15 10 5 0 most of the time sometimes rarely never pr o je c t l e a d e r te a m m e m b e rs sp o ns o r/ c lie nt o th e r st a ke ho ld e rs figure 3: frequency of im communication with the various project roles bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 55 the frequency of vc communication in projects yielded similar results (see figure 4) in that: • most of the time, vc is used to communicate with the project leader. however, a greater portion of the respondents indicated that they never, rarely or only sometimes use vc to communicate with the project leader. • the frequency of vc communication with project team members ranges from sometimes (majority) to never and always. • vc is used most of the time to communicate with project sponsors/clients, whereas it is only sometimes used to communicate with other stakeholders. • vc is used sometimes or rarely to communicate with other project stakeholders. frequency of video conferencing communication with project role over the past month n o. o f r es p on d en ts always25 20 15 10 5 0 most of the time sometimes rarely never pr o je c t l e a d e r te a m m e m b e rs sp o ns o r/ c lie nt o th e r st a ke ho ld e rs figure 4: frequency of vc communication with the various project roles the respondents were also asked if they use im and vc to communicate one-to-one, or if they use these mediums to communicate with a group (relates to the audience factor). the results indicate that the majority of the respondents use im to communicate one-to-one. the respondents were split over whether they would use the medium to communicate with a group of people. the results for vc indicate the opposite, in that the respondents use vc to communicate with acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 56 a group of people to a greater extent, whereas they use vc to communicate one-to-one to a lesser extent. the fifth research question investigated the contents of im and vc communication that occurs in projects (relates to the communication contents factor). müller (2001) found that the content of quality project communication falls into one of the six categories listed in figure 5. content of cmc tool project communication no. of respondents instant messaging other topic(s) trends in the project quality, cost and progress measures next steps in the project project changes/amendments technical aspects status and achievement updates issues/risks and open items video conferencing 0 20 40 60 figure 5: content of cmc communication in projects the results of the survey showed that the majority of the im project content consists of issues/risks and open items, status and achievement updates, project changes/amendments, and technical aspects. it appears that im content generally consists of urgent questions regarding project activities that might have gone wrong or turned out differently than expected; hence risks, project changes and technical aspects. it appears that im is also used for communicating project successes and updates as they happen. some of the other im content mentioned by the respondents was the communication of quick project information, task allocations, incomplete project handover details, and issues relating to expired warranties. likewise, the results for vc, presented in figure 5, indicate that the majority of vc content in projects is characterised by technical aspects, followed by issues/risks and open items, and status and achievement updates. the dissimilarity between im and vc is that it appears that vc is used more often to obtain input (possibly from outside the project) regarding complicated technical aspects in the project. the reason for this may be that vc is a much richer medium than im, as more information such as detailed explanations, body language and bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 57 voice inflections can be communicated. in-depth discussions can also take place more easily using vc rather than im. the respondents mentioned that they also use vc to communicate project close-out issues, project timelines, and for crisis management. the survey participants were asked if they perceived the content of their im and vc communication to be of a formal (regimented, deliberate, and impersonal) or more informal (spontaneous, casual, familiar) nature (see figure 6) (relates to the type of commu ni cation factor). the degree of formality of instant messaging and video conferencing content n o. o f r es p on d en ts extent to which the content of instant messaging communication is formal in nature extent to which the content of video conferencing communication is formal in nature extent from 1 (very informal) to 10 (very formal) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 figure 6: extent of project cmc content formality of the respondents, 57% perceived the content of their im communication to be more informal, whereas 66% of the respondents perceived their vc communication to be more formal. this finding challenges existing literature, as written communication such as letters and emails are conventionally perceived to be more formal than verbal communication such as face-to-face or telephonic conversations (turner & müller, 2004). in this instance, the written or typed instant messages are perceived to be a more informal form of communication than the verbal and visual communication of vc. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 58 the sixth research question investigated whether the use of im and vc is determined by a person’s access to technology (see figure 7) (relates to the technology utilised factor). how access to technology influences a person’s use of im and vc n o. o f r es p on d en ts extent to which the use of instant messaging is affected by the person’s access to the appropriate technology extent to which the use of video conferencing is affected by the person’s access to the appropriate technology extent from 1 (to an extremely small extent) to 10 (to an extremely large extent) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 figure 7: how access to technology determines a person’s use of cmc tools of the respondents, 69% were of the opinion that access to im technology such as the internet, a computer and/or im software does affect one’s use of im as a communication medium. similarly, 74% of the respondents are of opinion that access to vc technology such as the internet, a webcam, a computer and/or vc software affect one’s use of vc as a communication tool. these findings correspond with ferreira in carvalho (2008), in that technology can cause physical communication barriers to information transmission. it is also important to note that technology can significantly contribute to the breakdown of communication in a project if all aspects of its use are not taken into consideration when writing the communications plan (carvalho, 2008; daim et al., 2012). the seventh research question investigated whether im and vc communication has an effect on the quality of communication if the team is geographically dispersed. as part of this question, the survey participants were also asked to what extent im and vc communication leads to more appropriate (increased amount) project communication (see figure 8 for results). bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 59 cmc tools lead to more appropriate project communication extent to which instant messaging communication leads to more appropriate project communication extent to which video conferencing communication leads to more appropriate project communication extent from 1 (to an extremely small extent) to 10 (to an extremely large extent) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 n o. o f r es p on d en ts figure 8: the extent to which cmc tools lead to more project communication of the respondents, 62% stated that im communication, to various degrees, leads to an increased amount of project communication. likewise, 62% of the respondents also perceived vc communication to lead to an increased amount of project communication. this finding is very positive for project communication, as frequent communication between project team members is beneficial, because timely communication in projects results in the completion of projects and project success (dalcher, 2009; pmi, 2013). an additional question was also posed to the survey participants to determine whether im or vc communication in projects increases or decreases the quality/effectiveness of the communication if the team is geographically dispersed (see figures 9 and 10). acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 60 instant messaging’s influence on the quality of communication if the project team is geographically dispersed increase decrease don’t know 6,10% 4,6% 53,84% figure 9: influence of im on the quality of communication in geographically dispersed projects video conferencing’s influence on the quality of communication if the project team is geographically dispersed increase decrease don’t know 6,9% 2,3% 60,88% figure 10: influence of vc on the quality of communication in geographically dispersed projects it was established that 84% of the respondents found im and 88% found vc to increase the quality of the communication if the team bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 61 was geographically dispersed. these findings show that the use of im and vc encourages timely communication in projects that would counteract the decrease in frequency of interaction that occurs when project teams are not co-located such as in the case of virtual teams (van den bulte & moenaert, 1998; dietrich et al., 2010). 5. conclusions the popularity of, and growth in the use of cmc and the increasing importance of projects and project management contribute to the relevance of this study. limited literature on the utilisation of im and vc for project communication and their influence on the perceived quality of project communication served as the motivation for this study. this study also forms part of a larger goal to better understand communication quality in projects at present, as this increases the likelihood of project success (bond-barnard et al., 2014; bond-barnard et al., 2013; dainty et al., 2006; hill, 2010; müller, 2003a, 2003b; pinto & pinto, 1990; office of government commerce (ogc) in webber, 2008). this article set out to determine how, why and what im and vc are used for in projects, and how these communication media relate to the factors that promote quality project communication. in response to the first objective of the study, the results indicate that the prevalence of im and vc use in projects is moderate. this shows that the use of these cmc mediums in projects is substantially less than the utilisation of im and vc in north american organisations, as reported by osterman research (2004), frost & sullivan and telespan in paul (2008). the study also found that im tends to be used in equal measure for business and personal communication, whereas vc is primarily used for business communication. this was an interesting finding, as the authors’ perception prior to conducting the research and the findings of harrin (2011, 2010a, 2010b) were that both these mediums are used more for personal communication than for business. this contradicts harrin (2011, 2010a, 2010b) who states that these tools are used more for personal use than for business. the second objective of the study was to determine how im and vc relate to the factors that promote quality project communication, namely frequency of interaction, communication content, type, technology, communication channels, audience, and communications plan. data relating to the frequency of interaction indicated that both mediums lead to an increased amount of communication in the project and that this subsequently increases the quality or effectiveness of the communication where the project team is geographically dispersed. these findings show that the use of im acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 62 and vc encourages timely communication in projects, which would counteract the decrease in frequency of interaction that occurs when project teams are not co-located such as in the case of virtual teams (van den bulte & moenaert, 1998; dietrich et al., 2010). furthermore, it would be expected that the likelihood of project success should increase (dalcher, 2009; pmi, 2013). the results for the audience and communication channels factors for the two mediums indicated that im is mostly used to communicate one-to-one with the project leader, team members and stakeholders, whereas vc is mostly used to communicate with groups in the project such as team members, stakeholders and representatives of the client. the study found a difference between the content of im and vc communication. im content was characterised by quick discussions regarding day-to-day issues and providing status updates as well as quick responses to technical questions on the project, whereas vc content was characterised by in-depth discussions of technical issues as well as by discussions regarding issues/risks, open items, and status updates. the study investigated the respondents’ perception of the formality of the two mediums (as it relates to the communication type). it was found that im is perceived to be a more informal way of communicating as opposed to vc which is perceived to be somewhat more formal. this finding contradicts turner and müller’s (2004) findings, as written communication such as letters and emails are conventionally perceived to be more formal than verbal communication such as face-to-face or telephonic conversations. the study found that appropriate technology determined, to a large extent, the respondent’s use of im and vc tools. this corresponds with ferreira in carvalho (2008), in that technology can cause physical communication barriers to information transmission. it is also important to note that technology can significantly contribute to the breakdown of communication in a project if all aspects of its use are not taken into consideration when writing the communications plan (carvalho, 2008; daim et al., 2012). the study found that a communications plan was in place for 67% of the projects with which the respondents were involved. however, the majority of the respondents mentioned that these communications plans do not cover the use of cmc tools. this finding indicates that project practitioners should familiarise themselves with the use of cmc/social media tools in projects, so that these tools are addressed bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn • exploring the influence of instant ... 63 in the project communications plan. this is crucial, as the lack of a plan is a barrier to communication in a project (carvalho, 2008). in conclusion, the study found that im and vc are being used to a moderate extent to communicate in projects and that both can have a positive effect on the quality of project communication, as they, in many instances, address the factors that predict communication quality in projects. the study contributes to the information and communication management body of knowledge, which is central to relationship management research. this was done by exploring and quantifying new means of communication such as im and vc in projects and their influence on the quality of project communication. the applications for using both mediums to facilitate quality communication in projects were also discussed. the research was limited by a small sample size and responses are not stated for each respondent group surveyed. further research regarding the impact of other forms of cmc on project communication, using a large sample size, is encouraged. moreover, research on how and when to use different types of cmc during the various stages or phases of a project would also be interesting. appendix a: sample of questionnaire questions question no. factor investigated question scale q11 cmc general which of the following computer-mediated communication (cmc) tools do you use to communicate with others? (please select all that apply) (multi-choice, multiple answer) instant messaging, video conferencing, neither (please state why) q12, q39, q52 cmc general for what purpose do you use the following cmc tool(s) to communicate? (please select all that apply) (side by side, multiple answer) im business use im personal use vc business use vc personal use q28_1 audience to what extent do you use im to communicate one-to-one? (matrix table, single answer) extent on a scale of 1 (to an extremely small extent) to 10 (to an extremely large extent) acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 64 question no. factor investigated question scale q28_3 audience to what extent do you use vc to communicate one-to-one? (matrix table, single answer) extent on a scale of 1 (to an extremely small extent) to 10 (to an extremely large extent) q33_1 frequency of interaction to what extent does im communication lead to more appropriate (increased amount) project communication? (matrix table, likert) extent on a scale of 1 (to an extremely small extent) to 10 (to an extremely large extent) q33_2 frequency of interaction to what extent does vc communication lead to more appropriate (increased amount) project communication? 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_ref267736979 _ref267737764 27 hoffie cruywagen & emile snyman affordability of quantity surveying services on construction projects in south africa* peer reviewed abstract it has become a norm in the construction industry in south africa for quantity surveyors to offer reduced professional fees on construction projects due to the competitiveness of the market. this reduction in fees offered by professionals usually falls somewhere between the recommended fees as published by the association of south african quantity surveyors and a fee that is far below a fair remuneration for the services offered. research was done by means of questionnaires to practicing quantity sur veyors, as well as analysing time spent on projects in order to determine how affordable professional services can be rendered and what the most influ encing factors for determining fees are. the current tariff of professional fees was also scrutinised to see how it evolved over the years, as it is still used as a basis to calculate the fees on which a discount is offered. the main findings of the research were that quantity surveying services can be rendered affordable, but the quantity surveyor is more exposed to the risk of not being able to render the service affordable on certain projects types and the risk further increases with a decrease in project value. keywords: professional fees, quantity surveying, south africa hoffie cruywagen, part time lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria and director, association of south african quantity surveyors, south africa. tel: +27 11 315 4140 email: <edutech@asaqs.co.za> emile snyman, msc(real estate) candidate, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. * this paper was presented in part at the cobra research conference, brisbane, australia, july 2005. abstrak dit het die norm in die suid afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf geword dat boureke naars, as gevolg van die kompeterende aard van die bedryf, verlaagde gelde aanbied op konstruksieprojekte waarby hulle betrokke is. sodanige verlaagde gelde wat aangebied word val êrens tussen die aanbevole geldetarief wat deur die vereniging van suid afrikaanse bourekenaars gepubliseer word en gelde wat ver minder is as gelde wat beskou kan word as ‘n regverdige ver goeding vir dienste wat gelewer word. navorsing is gedoen deur middel van vraelyste aan praktiserende bourekenaars sowel as deur die tyd wat op projekte spandeer is te analiseer. dit is gedoen ten einde te bepaal hoe bekostigbaar professionele dienste gelewer kan word asook wat die faktore is wat wat sodanige bekostigbaarheid bëinvloed. die huidige professionele geldetarief is ook nagegaan om te sien hoe dit deur die jare aangepas is aangesien dit steeds gebruik word as basis waarvolgens gelde bereken word waarop afslag gegee word. die belangrikste bevindinge van die navorsing was dat bourekenaarsdienste wel bekostigbaar gelewer kan word, maar dat die bourekenaar meer bloot gestel word aan risiko op sekere projekte om nie ’n bekostigbare diens te lewer nie en dat die risiko verder vergroot met ’n afname in die waarde van die projek. sleutelwoorde: professionele gelde, bourekenkunde, suid afrika 28 acta structilia 200:13(1) 1. introduction the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs)publishes recommended tariff of professional fees at regularintervals that are used as a basis to derive a fee proposal for a construction project for private clients. when work is done for government departments, the fee scale is used unconditionally most of the time, provided that the latest tariff of fees that was approved by the national department of public works and published in a government gazette is used (it normally take some time between publication by the asaqs and approval by government). although the tariff of fees is being used as a basis for fee negotiation, the competitiveness of the market have forced quantity surveyors to submit discounted fee proposals that usually falls somewhere between the recommended fees as published and a fee that is far below a fair remuneration for the services offered. this is not particular to the quantity surveying profession, or to south africa. smith (2004) did a survey on trends in the australian quantity surveying profession and one of the major threats that emerged from this survey was fee cutting. pirie (2004), the executive director of the south african association of consulting engineers (saace), mentions that consulting engineers in south africa find themselves operating in an increasingly competitive environment where the debate centres on whether or not consulting engineers know when to say no to a client or whether they have become so desperate for work that they would accept it even at a loss. saace (2003) also states in their guidelines for appointments that they believe that it is neither in the interest of the client or the project that consultant engineers should be selected on the basis of the lowest fee rather than the quality of service. hoxley (1998) quotes morgan who said that few surveyors in britain will admit to fee cutting, but in reality they are all doing it, some even to the extent that they venture into loss-making territory. it is almost universally accepted that fee reduction invariable compromises quality. smith (2004) is of the opinion that the design professions were particularly affected by the recession of the australian economy in the early nineties. this resulted in firms who became so desperate for work that they reduced their fees to unsustainable levels that in turn had an adverse effect on the quality of documentation. pirie (2004) adds to this by saying that 29 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services many uncompromising south african clients are pursuing cost-based selection of engineers rather than quality-based selection. as a result, the consulting firm is pressured to reduce fees. forcing fees down unreasonably compromises quality. hoxley (1998) mentions that in britain most players in the market acknowledge that the quality of work will suffer when fee levels get below a certain point. the above practice of discounted fees has given rise to the following questions: • on what basis is the tariff of professional fees calculated? • are there differences between various types of construction projects? • how do quantity surveyors determine their proposed fees on construction projects? • how can an affordable fee be calculated on construction projects? 2. the evolution of the fee scale it is necessary to have a look at the composition of the tariff of fees in order to assess what the implications will be when offering a discount based on that. according to law (1985) the quantity surveyor practitioners at the beginning of the century adopted the 2,5% fee from their british counterparts. a further 2,5% was asked on all additions, while 1% was charged for omissions. the quantity surveying profession slowly grew in stature and experienced numerous fee scale changes. in 1908 the newly formed south african institute of quantity surveyors issued a further version with one significant change, namely the adoption of a sliding scale. the fee for ‘normal’ building work would commence at 3,5% and adjusted to a minimum of 2,5% as the value increased. the sliding scale provisions brought about another debate, namely the depreciation of money. the sliding scale introduced a primary charge with an additional fee as a percentage of the value above certain levels. the debate arose due to the fact that the primary charge remained fixed for a long period of time. the risk on the professional becomes more evident when building cost escalation is significantly lower than the consumer price index. another phenomenon occurred when building cost escalation increases 30 acta structilia 200:13(1) dramatically after the tariff of fees have been fixed for a certain period of time, as was evident in 1973 when building cost escalation had risen by 50% (law, 1985). the consumer price index (cpi) and escalation in construction cost (bci) as recorded by the south african bureau for economic research (ber) have been compared since 1992. in real terms the cpi and bci statistic comparison is indicative of the escalation of the quantity surveyors’ input cost (cpi) versus the escalation in income from the professional fees (bci). table 1: cpi and bci comparisons 31 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services year bci behind ( )ahead (+) of cpi 1992 0% 1993 7,2% 1994 9,5% 1995 5,6% 1996 2,0% 1997 1,8% 1998 3,2% 1999 7,6% 2000 5,2% 2001 8,0% 2002 8,2% the fees committee of the asaqs drafted a motivation document for amendment to the tariff of professional fees (asaqs, 2002) and had the following comment on the bci/cpi comparison: “quantity surveyors have effectively under-recovered their inflation costs over the past ten years. while in some periods this has been accepted, the accumulative effect over time and the significant lag over the last few years have necessitated an increase.” on account of the above, an agreement was reached between the chief director, quantity surveying services of the department of public works and the asaqs that the adjustment to the primary charge of the tariff of professional fees would depend on the difference between the cpi and the bci (asaqs, 2002a). as part of the tariff of professional fees the services rendered by quantity surveyors are defined in four different stages, being service a (estimating and cost advice stage), service b (tender documentation stage), service c (contract administration stage) and service d (final account stage). during the past 20 years there were six revisions of the tariff of fees. during this period there was a drastic change in the proportional distribution between the various stages. the following is an indication of the changes that took place in the apportionment of fees for provisional bills of quantities: • service a (estimating and cost advice) was 5% in 1981 to 1993. this changed in 1996 to 10% at which it still remains at in the latest fee scale (2002). • service b (tender documentation) decreased from 30% in 1981 to 20% in 2001. • service c (contract administration stage) had the most severe adjustment as it was at 25% in 1981, increased in 1993 to 40% and was further adjusted upwards to 47,5% in 2001. • service d (final account stage) was 40% in 1981, decreased to 30% (1993) and in 2001 decreased further to 22,5%. the implication of the above changes is that the estimating stage, which has been adjusted from 5% to 10%, became a stage with more risk allocated to it for the quantity surveyor. the reason for this is that the risk profile of the employer and the consultant has an inverse relation. on the one hand the employer has an urgent need for an accurate decision making tool (i.e. financial feasibility study and/or detailed cost estimate), but on the other hand the quantity surveyor cannot afford to spend too much time on such activities due to the risk of the project not continuing and consequently, in most instances, not being reimbursed for the executed work. the most heavily weighted stage is currently the contract administration stage. this stage has the longest duration and entails intensive involvement from the quantity surveyor. if one look at the service definition of service c of the 1993 and 2001 tariff of professional fees, the 1993 version states that service c “means financial management and preparing valuations for the issue of payment certificates and shall include preparing documents for the procurement of subcontracts expressed as provisional sums in the bills of quantities”. the 2001 version gives a much more detailed breakdown of duties in service c, among others the following: 32 acta structilia 200:13(1) • preparing schedules of predicted cash flows; • preparing on a pro-active basis estimates of cost for proposed variations for client decision-making; • maintaining a running financial management statement on a monthly basis and monitoring against the financial budget; and • adjudicating and resolving the financial and contractual aspects of claims between the client and the contractor, excluding services related to mediation, arbitration and litigation. although it is doubtful that the quantity surveyor would not have performed these tasks in any event, the current tariff of professional fees refers to a more comprehensive service and therefore binds the professional to that standard which otherwise could have been argued to the contrary. apart from the differences between the cpi and bci as stated before, other factors that contributed to the adjudication adjustment of the tariff of professional fees that have a direct influence on the professional fee are the following: • the quantity surveyor’s service has broadened over the years without compensatory adjustment to the basic fee. this is substantiated by the expanded definitions for services a to d. • the quantity surveyor’s overhead costs in respect of electronic hardand software have increased substantially since 1992. the advent of computers has resulted in ongoing increased costs in hardware and software support and upgrading – costs not adjusted for by the cpi. • when looking at other professions, the architects’ fees increased with 16,9% (average over the different value categories) and civil/structural engineers have increased their fees since 1992 by 13,7% (average over the different value categories). this has resulted in the quantity surveyor losing out disproportionately in collective bargaining situations (asaqs, 2002a). 33 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services 34 acta structilia 200:13(1) average discount respondents 0 5% 0% 6 15% 29% 16 20% 57% 21 25% 7% +25% 7% 3. research on professional fees charged on construction projects in south africa snyman (2004) did a study on which the descriptive survey method was used. the targeted population was registered quantity surveying practices in the gauteng province, of which a list was obtained from the asaqs. twenty practices were identified of different sizes, ranging between small (1 to 3 quantity surveyors), medium (4 to 8 quantity surveyors) and large (more than 8 quantity surveyors). the identified practices were approached telephonically after which a questionnaire was sent by means of e-mail. the respondents completed the questionnaire electronically and returned it to the sender. the response was 85%, which could be expected from the survey method adopted. it should be noted that research was only done on projects where the tariff of professional fees were used as a basis for fee calculation. projects that were done on an hourly fee basis were not taken into account, although it is acknowledged that this is a practice that is being used more frequently in recent times. 3.1 results of questionnaire and discussion the research questionnaire was compiled by identifying key factors determining profitability of professional fees on construction projects in south africa. 3.2 discounted professional fees the questionnaire posed a question as to what the average discount is that quantity surveying firms offer their clients expressed as a percentage from the tariff of professional fees published by the asaqs. table 2: average discount offered the results indicate that the majority of quantity surveying firms (86%) offered a discount of between 6% and 20% on the recommended fees of the asaqs. this seems to indicate that the tariff of professional fees is fairly generous as practices can afford to offer such a discount and are still making a profit. 3.3 reconciliation between hours spent and fees charged the question was whether quantity surveying firms do reconciliation between the hours spent on a project and the fees that were charged. table 3: reconciliation of hours 35 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services reconciliation respondents always 11% most of the time 28% often 6% seldom 33% never 22% it is interesting to note that 55% of all respondents indicated that they seldom or never do reconciliation between time spent on a project and the actual fees received. the question inevitably arises how a practice can justify offering a discount on the recommended fees of 6% to 20% when such reconciliation is not performed. a prominent quantity surveyor justified this by explaining that there is too much “dead” time on a project (i.e. time spent on the telephone) that is not recorded and therefore such reconciliation is regarded as not accurate. 3.4 factors influencing fee proposals the respondents were requested to indicate which of the given factors are the most influential when drafting a fee proposal for a client by means of rating factors from 1 (most influential) to 5 (least influential). the respondents were given the opportunity to add factors that were not mentioned. table 4: factors influencing fee proposals 36 acta structilia 200:13(1) as can be seen from table 4, the most influential factor when drafting a fee proposal is the prospect of follow-up work, while the second most influential factor is the credibility of the client. it is interesting to note that even though 55% of the respondents indicated that reconciliation between time spent and fees received are seldom or never performed (table 3), the affordability of the fee was the most influential factor for 20% of the respondents. one factor not incorporated in the list of influential factors but highlighted by four respondents, is the composition of the professional team. other factors indicated as having an influence when drafting a fee proposal: • availability of suitable personnel; • location of the project; • programme of the project; • current workload; • level of service required; • complexity of the work; and • client involvement. 3.5 the use and purpose of time sheets the respondents were requested to indicate whether employees keep time sheets and, if so, to what detail. proposed factors most influential least influential prospects of follow up work 44% 6% credibility of client 31% 6% affordability of the fee 20% 7% type of contract 20% 47% competitiveness of the market 7% 27% table 5: time sheets kept by respondents 37 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services timesheet detail respondents time sheets not kept 33,3% timesheets kept hourly with reference to project 33,3% timesheets kept hourly with reference to project and task per formed 22,2% timesheets kept weekly with reference to project 5,6% timesheets kept only on projects that are charged per hour 5,6% the results indicate that almost 68% of all respondents do keep timesheets. the results are contrary to what have been expected since 55% of respondents indicated that no reconciliation is done between time spent and fees received. in retrospect it could have been useful to request respondents to indicate what the information obtained by timesheets are used for. 3.6 project type distribution respondents were requested to indicate the workload distribution by a percentage allocation of five given categories. the categories being: • shopping centres; • office developments; • motor dealerships; • residential; • industrial; and • special projects (i.e. airports, casinos, harbours, recreational facilities, educational facilities, filling stations, hospitals, hotels, etc). table 6: project type distribution 38 acta structilia 200:13(1) project type distribution shopping centres 31% office developments 24% special projects 21% motor dealerships 11% industrial 7% residential 6% project type most profitable least profitable industrial 67% 0% shopping centres 22% 0% office developments 11% 0% motor dealerships 0% 0% residential 0% 100% it is important to note that the above results are indicative of time spent on certain projects and not related to the percentage of total fees earned. 3.7 project profitability the respondents were requested to rate given project types from most to least profitability based on their personal opinion. the following project types were listed: • shopping centres; • office developments; • motor dealerships; • residential; and • industrial. the respondents were requested to rate the profitability from 1 (most profitable) to 5 (least profitable). table 7: project type profitability 39 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services the above results indicate that 67% of the respondents are of the opinion that industrial projects are most profitable, but table 6 reflects that only 7% of the respondents’ time is spent on such projects. it could be argued that it is due to the lack of availability of these types of projects. 4. calculation of an affordable fee in his research, snyman (2004) tried to establish what an affordable fee can be on a construction project. in order to do so he analysed the time spent by quantity surveyors on various projects by selecting a number of projects done by a large quantity surveying firm and adding the hours indicated on time sheets. in order to determine the profitability of these projects, the cost of providing the service needs to be established. there are actually two types of cost involved, i.e. the production cost (the cost of providing the service) and the turnover cost (the total cost including company profit). three large consultancy firms were approached to establish what factors they use to determine the production cost of the services rendered. the three firms indicated that they use a factor between 1.6 and 1.8 to be multiplied by the salary costs of the personnel to determine the production cost. the salary cost of the personnel multiplied by a factor between 2.2 and 2.35 amounts to the turnover costs of the respective firms. by using the above information together with results from a salary survey conducted by the asaqs (asaqs, 2004), snyman (2004) analysed 12 projects in the different categories (shopping centres, office developments, motor dealerships, industrial and residential) as stated before, using the asaqs fee tariff for provisional bills of quantities as a basis together with the production and turnover costs as described above. table 8 shows the results when comparing two motor dealerships on this basis. table 8: profitability of two dealership related projects 40 acta structilia 200:13(1) tariff of professional fees (asaqs) discount offered 0% 10% 15% 20% 25% dealership 1 2 013 689 1 812 320 1 711 635 1 610 951 1 510 266 total production cost 679 231 679 231 679 231 679 231 679 231 total turnover cost 879 004 879 004 879 004 879 004 879 004 profit/ (loss) 1 134 684 933 316 832 631 731 947 631 262 % profit on turnover 129.1% 106 2% 94.7% 83.3% 71.8% dealership 2 359 165 323 248 305 290 287 332 269 373 total production cost 115 513 115 513 115 513 115 513 115 513 total turnover cost 149 488 149 488 149 488 149 488 149 488 profit/ (loss) 209 677 173 761 155 802 137 844 119 886 % profit on turnover 140.3% 116 2% 104 2% 92.2% 80.2% the results from this part of snyman’s study are as follow: • the analysis on 12 projects indicates profitable margins from a loss of 79% to a profit of 364% at a discount level of 30% from the tariff of professional fees. various factors could have contributed to this big difference such as inaccurate completed time sheets, the salary survey that the production and turnover costs was based on could have been not reflective of the position of the actual firm used in the study, etc. whatever the case may be, it can be stated that the quantity surveyor rendering the service find himself in a position where the possibility exist of making large profits, but simultaneously run the risk of making a loss. • it was found that there was a definitive correlation between the profitability and the value of the project. the higher the project value, the higher the profitability of the project. although the reason for this is not clear from the research, one aspect that can be noted is that the time spent on a project during the contract administration stage (service c) is not directly related to the value (the quantity surveyor compiling a valuation for a payment certificate does not necessarily spend double the time on a r100m project than he would on a r50m project). • quantity surveyors’ professional fees are directly influenced by the construction cost of the projects they are involved in and therefore the cost of the finishes can cause large variations in a market that would seem homogeneous. because of this residential projects especially pose a high risk to the quantity surveyor of not achieving the required profit margin because of the variety of possible finishes and designs and was therefore indicated by 100% of the respondents in snyman’s study (2004) as being, in their opinion, the least profitable. • in contrast to residential projects, the danger of over capitalising on a shopping centre and then not achieving the required rental levels to justify the capital investment inevitably places a restriction on the levels of finishes to be specified. it is however also true that there are a variety of shopping centre designs ranging from small convenience centres to mega shopping malls. it is suggested that shopping centres pose a lower risk to the quantity surveyor than residential developments. • the main purpose of office developments is to establish a facility within the corporate market as a working environment. the basic functions of an office development remain basically the same irrespective of the design and finishes. snyman’s project analysis did not establish definite criteria to evaluate the different project types, but it did suggest that office development pose a lower risk to the quantity surveyor of making a loss than that of a shopping centre (or residential projects for that matter). • the analysis of a specific project regarding material used and design in order to determine whether quantity surveying service could be rendered affordable is not the only criteria, because the quantity surveying practice does not always have projects evenly spread over a period of time. the time distribution of the projects the quantity surveyor is involved in could be more important than the individual project’s profitability itself. 41 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services 5. conclusions although the results from the study show that quantity surveying services can be rendered affordable when professional fees are discounted from the tariff of professional fees as published by the asaqs, the following should be taken into account when an appropriate percentage discount is being decided upon: • the cost of risk work that has not been compensated should be taken into account when analysing projects for potential profitability. • the quantity surveyor is not in a position to offer a discount of professional fees purely based on the profit potential but should rather evaluate the risk of the project type. • different project types pose different levels of risk of profitable professional services. in order for the quantity surveyor to determine the resources required in the preparation of tender documents, individual projects need to be evaluated and the fee calculation is to be based on the material used and the design of the project. consultants should compile their own costing systems in order to recognise deals where the risk outweighs the reward. • the quantity surveyor’s risk of making a loss on an individual project seems low, but the risk of experiencing cash flow difficulty is not necessarily dependant on the profits made on a single project. • the challenge remains to educate clients to understand the price vs. risk relationship and the consultant’s ability to add value. • adhering to fee guidelines and being more selective about accepting discounted fees. this will be the first step in moving from a scenario where professionals are selling their time to one where they are selling value. in conclusion it can be stated that although there is no apparent scientific way on which an affordable discount can be calculated, the quantity surveyor can minimize his risk by taking the factors discussed above into account, rather than taking a ‘thumb suck’ or giving an ad-hoc big discount just to secure the appointment. 42 acta structilia 200:13(1) references association of south african quantity surveyors. 1981. tariff of professional charges. government notice no r90 of 16 january 1981. association of south african quantity surveyors. 1993. tariff of professional charges. government notice no r2133 of 12 november 1993. association of south african quantity surveyors. 1996. tariff of professional fees 1996. association of south african quantity surveyors.1998. tariff of professional fees 1998. association of south african quantity surveyors. 2001. tariff of professional fees 2001. association of south african quantity surveyors. 2002. tariff of professional fees 2002. association of south african quantity surveyors. 2002a. recommended amendments to the tariff of professional fees 2002. association of south african quantity surveyors. 2004. salary survey industry analysis and associates, johannesburg, south africa. hoxley, m. 1998. the impact of competitive fee tendering on construction professional service quality. cobra conference 1998. law, n.r. 1985. the history of the quantity surveying profession in south africa. association of south african quantity surveyors. pirie, g. 2004. the dangers of fee discounting. inside track: newsletter of the south african association of consulting engineers. september 2004, johannesburg, south africa. smith, p. 2004. trends in the australian quantity surveying profession: 1995 2003. international cost engineering council 4th world congress, cape town south africa. snyman, e. 2004. affordability of quantity surveying services on construc tion projects in south africa. unpublished msc (real estate) dissertation, department of construction economics, university of pretoria. south africa. department of public works. manual for private quantity sur veyors appointed by the department, qs90e. pretoria. south african association of consulting engineers. 2003. guidelines for the engagement of consulting engineers. 43 cruywagen & snyman • affordability of quantity surveying services 57 frank berry & basie verster ’n model vir die meting van die bou rekenaar se kommunikasievolwassenheid peer reviewed abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om die identifisering en meting van die determinante van ‘n kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel wat die bourekenaar se kommunikasievermoë meet, te beskryf. die ondersoek is gedoen onder praktiserende bourekenaars, argitekte, ingenieurs, kliënte en aannemers, gekies uit al 9 provinsies van suid-afrika. die vraelys is in 2010 uitgestuur en is ook in dieselfde jaar terug ontvang. die vraelys is per e-pos gesirkuleer met die doel om die belangrikheid van die determinante van die voorgestelde model volgens die die standaard gestel deur bourekenaars te meet. sienings is ook in gewin ten opsigte van die bourekenaarstandaard van volwassenheid volgens die gekose determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar in die konstruksiebedryf vorm. die navorsingsresultate het die volgende determinante aangewys as belangrik om die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel te vorm: mondelinge kommunikasie, skriftelike kommunikasie, kontraktuele kommunikasie, inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie, leierskapkommunikasie en kommunikasie deur instrumente. die siening van die respondente betreffende die bourekenaarstandaard van die determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar vorm, toon dat die determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar bepaal positief ervaar is en die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ het die hoogste waarderingsuitslag behaal. die determinant ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ is relatief tot die ander determinante uitgesonder as ’n gebied wat verdere ontwikkeling benodig. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel, kommunikasievermoë, bour ekenaar, suid-afrika abstract the aim of this article is to describe the identification and measurement of the determinants important for a communication maturity model leading to the development of a communication maturity model to measure the communication capabilities of the quantity surveyor. dr frank herman berry senior lektor departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur universiteit van die vrystaat posbus 339 bloemfontein. tel: 051 4012198 e-pos: <berryfh@ ufs.ac.za prof. johannes jacobus petrus verster departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur universiteit van die vrystaat posbus 339 tel: 051 4012198 e-pos: <versterjj@ufs.ac.za acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 58 the survey has been conducted amongst practising quantity surveyors, architects, engineers, clients and contractors chosen from all 9 provinces in south africa. the questionnaire which was distributed and returned by respondents by email in 2010, was aimed at measuring the importance of the determinants according to the quantity surveying standard. views on the quantity surveying standard of maturity in communication based on the chosen determinants which forms the communication maturity model for the quantity surveyor in the construction industry were also collected. the results of the survey indicated that respondents identified the following determinants as important elements of the communication maturity model: verbal communication, written communication, contractual communication, information technology communication, leadership communication and instruments communication. the views of respondents regarding the quantity surveying standard in maturity from the chosen determinants which form the communication maturity model, showed that all determinants were positively experienced and that the determinant ‘contractual communication’ showed the highest valuation result. the determinant ‘verbal communication’ is in relation to other determinants identified as an area that should be developed. keywords: communication maturity model, communication capabilities, quantity surveyor, south africa 1. inleiding volgens die literatuur wat geraadpleeg is betreffende die bydrae van die bourekenaarsprofessie tot kommunikasie, is daar tans ‘n gebrek aan die bewustheid binne die areas van die determinante van kommunikasievolwassenheid in die bourekenaarsprofessie (verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé, 2008: 23). gruber (2004) konstateer dat volwassenheid groei oor tyd impliseer, sowel as die insig welke faktore tot die sukses bygedra het, om sodoende weë vir moontlike regstellings te vind of maniere voor te stel om probleme te voorkom. ’n standaard van volwassenheid kan omskryf word as die mededinging na beste praktyk tussen mededingers en niemededingers wat tot ’n organisasie se superieure prestasie aanleiding gee. die vergelyking van huidige en vorige resultate deur bestuurders kan problematies wees aangesien die huidige prestasie met ’n swak vorige prestasie vergelyk mag word. indien die huidige prestasie egter met die volwassenheidstandaard van ’n industrie vergelyk word, mag die resultate ’n ander uitkoms gee (smith & cronje, 2002: 121). die veronderstelling dat ’n volwassenheidsmodel ’n bydrae tot die ontwikkeling van die bourekenaarsprofessie mag lewer, impliseer noodwendig dat die definisie dit konstateer. gruber (2004: powerpoint slides) definieer ’n ‘volwassenheidsmodel’ soos volg: berry & verster • ’n model vir die meting van die bourekenaar 59 “a maturity model is a framework describing a process whereby something desirable can be developed or achieved.” ’n volwassenheidsmodel is ’n instrument om prosesse van organisasies te ontwikkel en te verfyn; ’n gestruktureerde versameling elemente wat karaktereienskappe van effektiewe prosesse beskryf en wat voorsiening maak vir: • ’n vertrekpunt; • die nut van ’n gemeenskap se vorige ondervindings; • ’n gemeenskaplike grond en ’n gedeelde visie; • ’n raamwerk vir prioritisering van aksies; en • ’n wyse om te bepaal wat verbeteringe vir die organisasie beteken (wikipedia, [n.d.]: internet). die projekbestuurvolwassenheid van projekgeoriënteerde maat skappye, organisasies en lande kan gemeet word deur volwassenheidsmodelle toe te pas en met die norm wat geld te vergelyk (gareis, 2005: 584). die belangrikheid en invloed van ’n volwassenheidsmodel as instrument om die volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie te meet sal waarskynlik ’n bydrae tot die professie se ontwikkeling lewer (berry, 2012: 18). berry (2008: 147) stel voor dat die voorgestelde kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel as ’n meetinstrument dien om leemtes uit te wys wat, indien daaraan aandag gegee word, tot voordeel van die professie mag strek. 2. terminologie vir doeleindes van hierdie artikel is dit belangrik om die volgende terme te verduidelik: instrumente: die bepalende faktore wat die determinant ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente’ verteenwoordig en ’n direkte invloed op die determinant betreffende bourekenkundige kommunikasie uitoefen (berry, 2012: 4). kommunikasie deur instrumente (professie): bourekenkundige kommunikasie-instrumente wat onderskeidelik in die konstruksiebedryf deur die professie se amptelike liggame self vir die bourekenaar se gebruik opgestel word, soos byvoorbeeld die: elementale kostebramigsdokument, standaardselseldokument, acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 60 kontrak ooreenkomsdokument, voorbereidselsdokument, modelvoorskrifte vir ambagte en modelhoeveelheidslyste-dokument (berry, 2012: 250). kommunikasie deur instrumente (bourekenaar): instrumente wat die bourekenaar normaalweg op projekte in die konstruksiebedryf gebruik en self opstel, soos byvoorbeeld die: kosteraming, gangbaarheidstudie, kosteplan, betalingsadvies, kosteverslag, boukoste-eskalasie-berekenings-voorleggings, finale rekening en hoeveelheidslyste (berry, 2012: 256). kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid) professie: die verstaanbaarheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie-instrumente, wat deur die professie self opgestel word soos byvoorbeeld die: elementale kostebramigsdokument, standaardselseldokument, kontrakooreenkomsdokument, voorbereidselsdokument, modelvoorskrifte vir ambagte en modelhoeveelheidslyste-dokument (berry, 2012: 251). kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend) professie: die ondersteunende waarde van kommunikasie-instrumente wat deur die professie self opgestel word soos byvoorbeeld die: elementale kostebramigsdokument, standaardselseldokument, kontrakooreenkomsdokument, voorbereidselsdokument, modelvoorskrifte vir ambagte en modelhoeveelheidslyste-dokument (berry, 2012: 261). kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid) bourekenaar: die verstaanbaarheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie-instrumente, wat deur die bourekenaar self opgestel word soos byvoorbeeld die: kosteraming, gangbaarheidstudie, kosteplan, betalingsadvies, kosteverslag, boukoste-eskalasie-berekenings-voorleggings, finale rekening en hoeveelheidslyste (berry, 2012: 256). kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend) bourekenaar: die ondersteunende waarde van kommunikasie-instrumente wat deur die bourekenaar self opgestel word soos byvoorbeeld die: kosteraming, gangbaarheidstudie, kosteplan, betalingsadvies, kosteverslag, boukoste-eskalasie-berekenings-voorleggings, finale rekening en hoeveelheidslyste (berry, 2012: 266) model: voorbeeld en ontwerp. ’n teoretiese raamwerk of wetenskaplike voorstelling waarbinne die werklikheid bedryf word (verster, 1994: 5). berry & verster • ’n model vir die meting van die bourekenaar 61 volwassenheid: professionele ontwikkeling oor ‘n tydperk, asook begrip waarom suksesvolle uitkomste behaal word (gruber, 2004: powerpoint slides). voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling (vpo): is ‘n verpligte voortgesette professionele ontwikkelingsprogram vir die duur van ‘n loopbaan (verster, kotze en hauptfleisch, 2008: powerpoint slides) 3. navorsing ’n vraelys is in 2010 aan geselekteerde praktiserende bourekenaars, argitekte, ingenieurs, kliënte en aannemers per e-pos gesirkuleer met die doel om sienings ten opsigte van die volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf in te win. die geselekteerde groep is uit al 9 provinsies van suid-afrika gekies en die respondente het ’n redelike verspreiding verteenwoordig. die werkservaring van 77.0% van die respondente is 10 jaar en meer in die konstruksiebedryf, terwyl 52.6% van hierdie persentasie ‘n werkservaring van 20 jaar of meer het. die repondente het dus bewese werkservaring en hulle siening kan derhalwe as verteenwoordigend en geloofwaardig beskou word (sien tabel 1). tabel 1: werkservaring van respondente respondente groepe 0-4 jaar 5-9 jaar 10-19 jaar 20 jaar en meer onbekend totaal ingenieurs 0 0 2 10 0 12 aannemers 0 1 5 3 1 10 kliënte 1 1 1 6 0 9 argitekte 1 3 2 6 0 12 bourekenaars 5 5 9 16 0 35 totaal 7 (9.0%) 10 (12.8%) 19 (24.4%) 41 (52.6%) 1 (1.2%) 78 (100%) die respondente met ’n kliënteen bourekenaarsagtergrond se terugvoer was positief in vergelyking met die ander repondente en onderskeidelik 40.91% en 43.21% van diegene wat vraelyste ontvang het, het voltooide vraelyste teruggestuur. die argitekte, ingenieurs en kontrakteurs het minder positief gereageer en die respons op die vraelyste uitgestuur was onderskeidelik 18.18%, 18.46% en 30.30%. die respons word in tabel 1 getoon. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 62 tabel 2: respons op vraelyste respondente groepe vraelyste uitgestuur vraelyste terugontvang persentasie ingenieurs 65 12 18.46% aannemers 33 10 30.30% kliënte 22 9 40.91% argitekte 66 12 18.18% bourekenaars 81 35 43.21% totaal 267 78 29.21% die totale reaksie was 29.21% en word vir doeleindes van hierdie artikel as verteenwoordigend beskou. die kolomme in die tabelle het die volgende betekenis: determinant: die kommunikasie determinante wat die volwassenheid van die bourekenkundige kommunikasie bepaal. gbs: gemiddeld van bourekenaarstandaard (gebaseer op die opinies van respondente oor wat die vlak van bourekenaarstandaard in die bourekenaarsprofessie in suid-afrika behoort te wees gemeet teen hulle siening van wêreldklasstandaard [soos reeds genoem beskik meer as die helfte van die respondente oor ‘n werkservaring van meer as 20 jaar in die konstruksiebedryf en word hulle siening as geloofwaardig beskou]). belangrikheid persentasie in terme van determinant: illustreer wat die respondente se siening is oor wat die belangrikheid van die vlak van volwassenheid is ten opsigte van elke determinant. die skaal vir die waarde-etiket word alternatiewelik as ‘laag’ = (1), ‘gemiddeld’ = (5), ‘hoog’ = (10) aangedui. die siening van die respondente, is gebruik om die belangrikheid van determinante van die volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie te bepaal. 4. resultate en bespreking die resultaat van die respondente se siening ten opsigte van die belangrikheid van die determinante van die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar om effektiewe kommunikasie in die uitvoering van projekte te handhaaf, word in tabel 3 verstrek. berry & verster • ’n model vir die meting van die bourekenaar 63 tabel 3: belangrikheid van die determinante van die kommuni kasievolwassenheidsmodel determinant bourekenaarstandaard gbs belangrikheid (%) in terme van determinant kontraktuele kommunikasie 8.54 94% kennis 8.31 89% inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie 8.08 85% kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid): bourekenaar 8.04 87% kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid): professie 8.03 85% skriftelike kommunikasie 8.00 89% kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend): professie 7.96 85% kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend): bourekenaar 7.94 85% leierskapkommunikasie 7.80 85% mondelinge kommunikasie 7.54 84% die siening van die respondente betreffende die bourekenaarstandaard van die determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar vorm, het in dalende volgorde die volgende waarderingsuitslag vir die betrokke determinante aangedui: ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (8.54), ‘kennis’ (8.31), ‘inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie’ (8.08), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid): bourekenaar’ (8.04), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid): professie’ (8.03), ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (8.00), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend): professie’ (7.96), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend): bourekenaar’ (7.94), ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (7.80) en ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (7.54). die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (8.54) het die mees positiewe en ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (7.54) die mins positiewe waarderingsuitslag betreffende die standaard van die bourekenaar se kommunikasievolwassenheid aangeteken. die siening van die respondente het in dalende volgorde betreffende die belangrikheid van die determinante van die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel, die volgende waarderingsuitslag vir die betrokke determinante aangedui: ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (94%), ‘kennis’ (89%), ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (89%), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid): bourekenaar’ acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 64 (87%), ‘inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie’ (85%), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (duidelikheid): professie’ (85%), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend): professie’ (85%), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente (ondersteunend): bourekenaar’ (85%), ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (85%) en ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (84%). die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (94%) word as die belangrikste determinant en ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (84%) die mins belangrike determinant in terme van die determinant ‘kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel’ uitgewys. die bourekenaar se mondelinge, skriftelike, kontraktuele, inligtings tegnologiese en leierskap kommunikasie word positief in die konstruksiebedryf ervaar en word almal as belangrike determinante beskou om deel van ’n bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel te vorm. die bourekenaar se ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente’ is ten opsigte van duidelikheid/verstaanbaarheid en ondersteunende waarde beskou, asook afsonderlik vir dokumentasie wat deur die professie self en deur die bourekenaar opgestel, hanteer. ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente’ is ook positief ten opsigte van bogemelde fasette ervaar en word dus as een determinant saamgevoeg en word as sodanig as ’n belangrike determinant beskou om deel van ’n bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel te vorm. die resultaat van die respondente se siening ten opsigte van die determinante wat die voorgestelde kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel vorm, word in tabel 4 voorgestel. tabel 4: voorgestelde determinante van kommunikasie volwassenheidsmodel determinant bourekenaarstandaard gbs belangrikheid (%) in terme van determinant kontraktuele kommunikasie 8.16 91% kommunikasie deur instrumente 8.13 88% inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie 7.95 85% skriftelike kommunikasie 7.85 86% mondelinge kommunikasie 7.66 82% leierskapkommunikasie 7.58 85% die siening van die respondente betreffende die bourekenaarstandaard van volwassenheid van die gekose determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar berry & verster • ’n model vir die meting van die bourekenaar 65 vorm, het in dalende volgorde die volgende waarderingsuitslag aangedui: ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (8.16), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente’ (8.13), ‘inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie’ (7.95), ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (7.85), ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (7.66) en ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (7.58). die siening van die respondente betreffende die belangrikheid van die gekose determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar vorm, het in dalende volgorde die volgende waarderingsuitslag aangedui: ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (91%), ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente’ (88%), ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (86%), ‘inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie’ (85%), ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (85%) en ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (82%) aan geteken. die determinante wat die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel van die bourekenaar bepaal is positief ervaar en die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ het die hoogste waarderingsuitslag behaal. die geïdentifiseerde determinante is as belangrik beskou om die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel te vorm en die bourekenaar se bydrae in kommunikasie is positief deur die rolspelers aangeslaan. 5. bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel die ontwikkeling van ’n nuwe meetinstrument, gebaseer op die resultate uit tabel 4, en die bydrae van die artikel, ‘om bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheid te meet’ is uniek in die sin dat daar nie vorige navorsing direk hieroor gedoen is nie. figuur 1 toon ’n voorgestelde bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel. dit word voorgestel dat die model saamgestel word uit ses geïdentifiseerde determinante soos verkry uit die siening van die respondente wat in kwadrante onderverdeel is en op die buitesirkel getoon word. die determinante word deur elemente, instrumente, rekenaarprogrammatuur, karaktereienskappe, en/of projekbestuursgebiede verteenwoordig. die belang van kennis waarop die kern van kommunikasie gefundeerd is, word in die kern van die model getoon en word deur dimensies verteenwoordig. die pyltjies toon die moontlike direkte of indirekte wisselwerking tussen die onderskeie geïdentifiseerde determinante en/of die kennisdimensies aan. berry & verster • ’n model vir die meting van die bourekenaar 67 die rasionaal om kennis in die kern van die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel te plaas, dui daarop dat kennis fundamenteel tot effektiewe kommunikasie beskou word en as’t ware die voedingsbron vir kommunikasie is. die vyf kennisdimensies (onderrig, opleiding, mentorskap, vpo en navorsing) is belangrik vir ’n professie om as ’n geleerde gemeenskap te ontwikkel tot vlakke wat met wêreldklasprofessies vergelyk kan word en eweneens om volwassenheid in kommunikasie te bereik (verster, kotzé & hauptfleisch, 2008: 5-10). die volwassenheidsvlak van kennis waaroor ’n persoon beskik is derhalwe direk afhanklik van die effektiwiteit van die kennisdimensie, wat daarop dui dat die ontwikkeling van die kennisdimensie tot effektiewe kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf kan bydra. die interafhanklikheid van die determinante word in die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel beklemtoon deur die pyltjie wat vanaf die kennisdimensies na die determinant vloei, maar ook weer terug na die kennisdimensies, wat op kruisbestuiwing dui en noodwendig ontwikkeling verseker. dit beteken dat die ontwikkeling van enige determinant ook ’n direkte of indirekte invloed op die ontwikkeling van die ander determinante het. die determinant ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ word verteenwoordig deur die volgende elemente: kundigheid, taalvermoë, geloofwaardigheid, oorredingsvermoë, selfvertroue, dinamiese/ uitgaande gedrag, integriteit, algemene indruk en voorkoms. deur hierdie elemente te meet volgens die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel kan bourekenaarfirmas moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede identifiseer wat ontwikkel behoort te word. die determinant ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ word verteenwoordig deur die elemente: professionaliteit, taalgebruik, wetenskaplikheid, gehalte en doelgerigte opdraggewing wat gemeet in terme van die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaarfirmas ‘n aanduiding mag gee van moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede. kontraktueelbindend, billikheid, effektiwiteit en afdwingbaarheid asook ondubbelsinnigheid vorm die elemente vir die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’, wat gemeet volgens die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel, vir bourekenaarfirmas moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede kan uitlig. die determinant ‘kommunikasie deur instrumente’ word gekenmerk deur twee afdelings naamlik, die kommuniksieinstrumente vir die bourekenaar en kommunikasie-instrumente acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 68 vir die professie. die gebruik van die kommunikasie-instrumente kosteraming, gangbaarheidstudie, kosteplan, betalingsadvies, kosteverslag, boukoste-eskalasieberekenings voorlegging, finale rekening en hoeveelheidslyste is belangrik vir die bourekenaar. die standaardstelsel, kontrakooreenkoms, voorbereidsels, model voorskrifte vir ambagte en modelhoeveelheidslyste is belangrike kommunikasie instrumente wat deur die professie gebruik word. bourekenaarfirmas en die professie kan onderskeidelik moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede identifiseer wanneer hierdie instrumente gemeet word in terme van die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel. die determinant ‘inligtingtegnologiese kommunikasie’ se elemente sluit in: woordprosesseringprogramme, spreivelprogramme, voorleggingprogramme, hoeveelheidslysteproduksieprogramme, ont werpprogramme vir meetdoeleindes, e-posdienste, projekbestuursprogramme en internetdienste. moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede kan identifiseer word indien hierdie elemente gemeet word volgens die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaars. die determinant ‘leierskapkommunkasie’ sluit die volgende in: karaktereienskappe – visie in besluitneming, moed in besluitneming, beoordeling van totale prentjie, orden inligting en die hantering van spanning vorm die karakteienskappe wat indien gemeet, volgens die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaars, moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede mag uitwys. projekbestuurareas – koste, finansiering, omvang, eise, tyd, gesondheid en veiligheid, gehalte, omgewingsbewaring, risiko, integrasie, kommunikasie, menslike hulpbronne en kontrakverkryging vorm die projekbestuursareas wat, indien gemeet, volgens die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaars, moontlike ontwikkelingsgebiede mag uitwys. die determinante word verteenwoordig deur die belangrike elemente en/of instrumente en/of rekenaarprogrammatuur en/ of leierskapkaraktereienskappe of projekbestuurgebiede wat direk beïnvloed word deur die kennisdimensies en tot effektiewe kommunikasie aanleiding mag gee. 6. aanbevelings die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel behoort as ’n strategiese model gebruik te word om sodoende ’n bydrae tot die ontwikkeling van die bourekenaar te maak. berry & verster • ’n model vir die meting van die bourekenaar 69 die professie kan die bourekenkundige kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel gebruik deur ’n waardetoekenning aan die belangrike elemente of instrumente of rekenaarprogrammatuur of leierskapkaraktereienskappe of projekbestuursgebiede te maak om sodoende die waarderingsuitslag van elke determinant te bepaal om ’n aanduiding van die bourekenaar se kommunikasievermoë te verkry en moontlike ontwikkelingsbiede te identifiseer. die bourekenkundige professie het ’n bydrae in die wêreld te lewer en behoort die uitdagings en geleenthede aan te gryp en verder te ontwikkel om te verseker dat die professie se rol in die konstruksiebedryf ononderhandelbaar is. verwysingslys berry, f.h. 2008. bourekenkundige kommunikasie en kommunikasieinstrumente in die konstruksiebedryf. verhandeling (m.sc. (q.s.) bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. berry, f.h. 2012. volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf. proefskrif (phd). bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. gareis, r. 2005. happy projects! vienna: manz. gruber, c. 2004. maturity model of the project-orientated organisation [powerpoint slideshow presentation]. 2004. pm days ’04 – education & research conference. vienna 24-27 november. vienna: wirtschafts universität. smith, j.p. & cronje, g.j. de j. 2002. management principles. 3rd edition. cape town: juta. verster, j.j.p. 1994. die behuisingsprobleem: ’n studie om ingesteldheid, prosedures en boukoste in die behuisingsbedryf te evalueer met klem op die woning as bate. proefskrif (phd). bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. verster, j.j.p., hauptfleisch, a.c. & kotzé, b.g. 2008. dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession. acta structilia, 15(1), pp. 22-38. verster, j.j.p., kotzé, b.g. & hauptfleisch, a.c. 2008. the pillars of quantity surveying for a learned society.in: proceedings of the 52nd annual meeting of aace international and the international cost engineering council (icec) congress on cost engineering, project management and quantity surveying, paper 13 of professional acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 70 development (dev) division. toronto 29 june-2 july. canada. toronto: the association, pp. 1-12. wikipedia: the free encyclopaedia. (s.n.) [internet]. beskikbaar by: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/main_page> [besoek 7 maart 2007]. 126 douw boshoff the impact of affordability on house price dynamics in south africa peer reviewed abstract lately, the residential property market in south africa has experienced much turbulence. some perceived growth as a ‘property bubble’, while others considered it a healthy investment opportunity. this article considers the fundamental drive behind residential property demand and analyses the recent property cycle compared to the past. it also considers the effects of residential property demand on the construction industry. the study investigates the variables that drive property demand and uses methods of statistical fit of historical macro-economic variables to apply to a south african context and to explain recent residential property activity. research found that residential property demand and subsequent market prices are to a large extent influenced by affordability, which is indicated by capitalising rent as part of disposable income with the prime lending rate of banks. gross domestic product, as the main indicator of growth within the country, is the main driver of disposable income for households, and can subsequently be used to foresee growth and its effect on affordability and residential property values. the article provides insight into the spending behaviour of households, and shows how that behaviour flows over into spending on housing, and the subsequent influence on residential property values. keywords: residential property demand, residential property values, macroeconomic property variables, real house prices abstrak die residensiële eiendomsmark in suid-afrika het onlangs baie turbulensies ervaar. baie het die groei beskou as ‘n “eiendoms bubble”, terwyl ander dit as ‘n goeie beleggingsgeleentheid beskou het. hierdie studie ondersoek die fundamentele dryfkrag van residensiële eiendomsvraag en analiseer die onlangse eiendomsiklus in vergelyking met die verlede. die studie ondersoek die veranderlikes wat eiendomsvraag daarstel en gebruik statistiese regressiemetodes om die invloed van makro-ekonomiese veranderlikes op die onlangse residensiële eiendomsmark te bepaal. navorsing het getoon dat residensiële eiendomsvraag en dienooreenkomstig die markpryse daarvan, grootliks beïnvloed word deur bekostigbaarheid, wat aangedui word deur huurbesteding te kapitaliseer deur die prima rentekoers van banke. bruto binnelandse produk, wat as die vernaamste aanwyser van mr douw g.b. boshoff lecturer university of pretoria lynnwood road hillcrest pretoria south africa 0002. phone: +2712 420 3781 email: <douw.boshoff@up.ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles boshoff • the impact of affordability 127 groei in die land beskou word, is die vernaamste dryfkrag agter besteebare inkomste, en kan gebruik word vir vooruitskattings op groei en die gevolg daarvan op bekostigbaarheid en residensiële eiendomswaardes. die studie verskaf insig in die bestedingspatrone van huishoudings, en dui aan hoe die algemene besteding ook die besteding op behuising en gevolglik huispryse beïnvloed. sleutelwoorde: residensiële eiendomsvraag, residensiële eiendomswaardes, makro-ekonomiese eiendomsveranderlikes, reële eiendomspryse 1. introduction lately, the residential property market in south africa has experienced much turbulence. since the early 2000s there have been excessive growth and demand phases for residential property, which are now followed by a perceived low demand in both the property and the construction sectors. this article attempts to analyse the spending behaviour of households and the way in which this impacts on residential property behaviour in light of the residential values. 2. demand for property when considering macro-economic behaviour, with specific reference to housing, what immediately comes to mind is that house prices in the long term should follow inflation. this perception is based on the presumption that housing is the single largest expense in the basket of goods and services used to calculate the consumer price index (cpi), forming 21.04% of the weight of the basket as per the 2008 weights (statistics south africa, 2009/1: 4). figure 1 graphically shows the relationship between these two variables. it has been adapted from information obtained from absa and the south african reserve bank to show the information, using the year 2000 as base year. boshoff • the impact of affordability 129 according to the absa data, property prices annually increased at approximately 30% for a number of consecutive years which, in light of a 6-8% inflation rate, could not be sustainable and must therefore be of a short-term nature. the reasons for this rapid increase in house prices should, however, be explained in order to determine whether the market is overvalued and whether a decline in house prices could be expected, or whether there was a fundamental shift in house prices to correct a seemingly incorrect or changing equilibrium level. abraham & hendershott (1996: 192) found that the determinants of real house price appreciation could be divided into two groups: those that account for changes in the equilibrium price level, and those that affect changes from the equilibrium price level. with the fluctuations in the real house price values (see figure 2), it is suspected that there was a deviation from the equilibrium price level in the past few years. the question is: what is the equilibrium price level? if the values increased due to real demand and the correction of previous prices that were too low, it is reverting back to the equilibrium level. this should be weighed against the possibility of an overvaluation of property prices that were moving away from the equilibrium level. in answering the above, the real factors driving the demand for property, and subsequently the equilibrium price level, should be considered in order to assess whether the current price levels are in equilibrium, and if not, why, and by how much. if one considers the deviations in real house prices (see figure 2) as deviations from the equilibrium, it is assumed that a historical price level inflated by cpi is the equilibrium level, which should be tested if true. in order to test this, the method for calculating the consumer price index should be considered. prior to 2008, housing was included in the cpi basket as being either actual rent paid or, in the case of owner-occupied housing, interest rates on mortgages were taken as an indicator of cost of ownership (statistics south africa, 2008: 2). bearing this in mind, it is expected that cpi itself is not directly linked to the value increases of residential property, as cpi is merely the reflection of the cost of living of households, while housing prices are a combination of various factors such as (but not limited to) opportunity cost of ownership rather than rent; demand and supply equilibrium levels, and cost of ownership, such as maintenance, interest rates, rates and taxes, and so on. boshoff • the impact of affordability 137 tsatsaronis & zhu (2004: 65) mention that due to the requirement of external financing in house purchases, the cost and conditions of mortgage credit play a major role in house price dynamics. one should therefore look beyond disposable income to explain the affordability of housing. mishkin (1995: 4) and mishkin (1996: 2) showed that the traditional keynesian islm view of the monetary transmission mechanism also applies to consumer spending in which i represents inter alia residential housing. in addition, they indicate that monetary expansion also operates through the land and housing price channels as well as wealth effects, of which the increase in house prices forms part. they state that an increase in interest rates causes deterioration in household balance sheets, because consumers’ cash flow is adversely affected. bosworth, hendershott & jaffee (1980: 444) comment that the sudden rise and magnitude of mortgage rates caused an increase in the cost of home ownership, resulting in a decline in the demand for owner-occupied housing. the above studies indicate that interest rates must also be considered in order to explain affordability. figure 10 shows the prime lending rate of banks, while figure 11 shows the comparison between cpi (housing) and the prime lending rate of banks. it is evident from figure 11 that there is some longterm similar directional movement, which only becomes apparent with a moving average of more than six years. figure 12 shows this correlation between the two rates more clearly, where a correlation of 0.336 is evident. as mentioned, the cpi housing calculation was changed from january 2009 to represent the increase in rent or imputed rent. as this information was not available prior to 2008, a similar rate was deduced, taking the household consumption for rent at current prices and dividing it by the same figures, but at constant 2005 prices. this provides the relationship between current and constant prices, representing a deduced cpi figure for rent. the result is shown in figure 13, with a comparison to the cpi (housing) rate. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 142 consideration when calculating official consumption expenditure figures. house prices are therefore affected by: the cost for the use of housing space in relation to the cost of • alternative goods and services that need to be purchased with limited income, and the investment return that could be obtained if a house is • purchased and rented out, or purchased instead of rented. the above indicates that households view the expense on rent or imputed rent as a necessary expense, and would rather pay the extra price of rent when prices increase, and sacrifice the consumption of other goods or services. this is probably due to a number of factors, which could include the following (green & hendershott, 1999: 1-12; stein, 1993: 379-406): households appreciate the importance of a place to stay;• the effort involved in moving;• cost involved in moving, and• in the case of the investment motive, in most cases housing • is the single largest investment by individual households to be made during their lifetime. bosworth et al. (1980: 444) noted that a dominant determinant of housing cycles was the availability of funds from mortgage-financing institutions, as well as the activity of federally sponsored credit agencies. haurin, hendershott & wachter (1997: 137, 138, 149) found that borrowing constraints significantly reduce the tendency towards home ownership, while mishkin (2007: 5) indicated that the housing market and, in turn, the overall economy, are directly or indirectly affected by monetary policy via the following six channels: user cost of capital;• expectations of future house-price movements;• housing supply;• standard wealth effects from house prices;• balance sheet, credit-channel effects on consumer spending, • and balance sheet, credit channel effects on housing demand.• if it is accepted that households do not purchase certain goods such as houses in cash, but rather finance it, it would mean that the total amount that households are prepared to spend on housing, represented here by the total consumption expenditure on rent, boshoff • the impact of affordability 143 should suffice to service the interest on the debt to which they commit themselves, and not the full debt amount. if one considers the situation and assumes that the amount of consumption expenditure on rent could be used for interest payment, the total value of debt that could be serviced by the rent could be calculated by taking into consideration the cost of debt. on average this is taken as the prime lending rate of banks, as shown in figure 10. if this rate is taken as the average cost of lending, the total affordable value is the amount of interest that can be serviced from rent. the following function explains this: interest payment = loan amount x interest rate 1 this holds that for a given loan amount, an increase in the interest rate would result in an increase in the interest payment per period. if the function is re-written, the following could apply: loan amount = interest payment interest rate 2 this indicates that should the available amount for interest payment be divided by the going interest rate, it is possible to calculate the total amount that could be borrowed of which the interest could be serviced from the available amount set aside for interest payment. from function 2 above, it therefore holds that for a given affordable payment, the amount of borrowed capital that can be afforded would vary for any change in interest rate. figure 16 shows the total affordable debt if the real per capita consumption expenditure of households on rent is discounted by the prime rate of banks. this is then also compared to the house price index, deflated by the cpi (rent) index. boshoff • the impact of affordability 145 2001: 5-6). although not directly related to housing, mishkin (1978: 918-937) also studied the link between balance sheet movements and aggregate demand. with the high increases in real estate prices, home owners experienced rapid increases in their balance sheets, which created a feeling of increased wealth and subsequent demand for housing – be it an upgrade on existing owner-occupied housing, purchasing a second house as holiday accommodation, or purchasing for investment purposes. this caused an ongoing increase in demand, well past the point where affordability already assumed a negative direction. this could also be explained by the same principles that are studied under behavioural finance, where the irrational behaviour of investors and the momentum of markets are considered when buying and selling shares (shiller, 2003: 83-104). 5. summary from the above it can be determined that gdp, as a primary indicator of economic growth, also plays a large role in the determination of disposable income and the subsequent spending behaviour of households. from this it is, however, possible to predict the spending on rent if the price increases of alternative goods included in the basket of items are considered. interest rates then also form a big part of households’ decision on how much they are prepared to pay for houses as an investment medium, which is the primary driver of house prices. it is clear that factors influencing the general economy, including international events, spill over to households, and are ultimately reflected in house prices, as well as the investment return that could be obtained. 6. recommendations for further research this article primarily considered the demand aspect of residential property, and assumed equilibrium by considering actual consumption expenditure. the long-term effects of supply should also be taken into consideration, as noted by archour-fischer (1999: 33-43) in the fdw-model, the impact of property values on construction volume, and the subsequent change in stock levels which, in turn, affects the demand and supply equilibrium of space. it is also recommended that this study be performed on other countries and markets in africa and elsewhere to review its acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 146 applicability to those markets in an attempt to answer the intricacies of property and construction behaviour elsewhere. references abraham, j.m. & hendershott, p.h. 1996. bubbles in metropolitan housing markets. journal of housing research, 7(2), pp. 191-207. absa retail bank. 2010. absa house price index. unpublished raw data. jan 1966 to jun 2010. online interactive data data sets: kbp7032n; kbp6272y; kbp6270y; kbp6271y; kbp6272y; kbp6050y; kbp6055y; kbp6061y; kbp6068y; kbp1403m; kbp1403m; kbp6069y. (du toit, j. sectoral analyst: secured lending). 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[online]. available from: <http://www. statssa.gov.za/timeseriesdata/excel_format.asp.> [accessed july to october 2010]. tsatsaronis, k. & zhu, h. 2004. what drives housing price dynamics: cross-country evidence. bis quarterly review, pp. 65-78, march. university of pretoria. 2010. economics 320: unpublished lecturing notes. 79 mr ruben ndihokubwayo, lecturer, department of construction management and quantity surveying, cape peninsula university of technology, po box 1906, bellville, 7535, south africa. phone: +27 21 959 6845, fax: +27 86 778 0006, email: <ndihokubwayor@ cput.ac.za> prof. gerrit j. crafford, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2153, fax: +27 504 9935, email: <gerrit.crafford@nmmu.ac.za> prof. fanie buys, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2023, fax +27 504 9935, email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> ruben ndihokubwayo, gerrit crafford & fanie buys model for setting priority construction project objectives aligned with monetary incentives peer reviewed and revised abstract a comprehensive model based on priority project objectives aligned with monetary incentives, and agreed upon by built environment stakeholders was developed. a web survey was adopted to send out a questionnaire to nationwide participants, including contractors, quantity surveyors, project managers, architects, and consulting engineers, requesting them to base their responses on a specific construction project in which they have been involved. the development of the model consists of the combination of results from inferential statistics analyses of 7-point likert scale questions in three aspects, namely motivational factors (mann-whitney and kruskal-wallis), monetary incentives (t-test and anova), and project objectives aligned with monetary incentives (principal component analysis). in total, 164 respondents participated in the survey. the findings revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between demographic groups (gender, age, qualification, experience) of respondents in the importance of motivational factors and monetary incentives. however, a significant difference was found in self-development needs and team working environment where, respectively, the younger age generation displayed more desire towards professional registration, while the older age generation did not favour the mix of skills and experience into the project. it was revealed that the provision of work opportunities to small, microand medium enterprises (smmes), and health (hiv/aids) and safety should be prioritised when offering monetary incentives. an understanding of the importance of monetary incentives offered towards achieving project objectives will create conducive procurement environment handling the personnel allocated to construction projects meeting their performance requirements. keywords: monetary incentives, motivational factors, project objectives acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 80 abstrak ‘n model is ontwikkel vir projekdoelwitte wat deur die konstruksieen konsultant spanlede betrokke in ‘n projek geprioritiseer kan word wanneer dit in lyn is met geldelike aansporings. ‘n web-opname is gedoen deur ‘n vraelys landwyd aan deelnemers te stuur wat kontrakteurs, bourekenaars, projekbestuurders, argitekte en raadgewende ingenieurs insluit. respondente is versoek om hul antwoorde te baseer op ‘n spesifieke konstruksieprojek waarby hulle betrokke is. die ontwikkeling van die model is gebaseer op die kombinasie van resultate van inferensiële statistiekontleding van 7-punt likert-skaal vrae in drie aspekte insluitende motiverende faktore (mann-whitney en kruskal-wallis), geldelike aansporings (t-toets en anova), en projekdoelwitte in ooreenstemming met geldelike aansporings (beginsel komponente analise). die bevindinge van die opname, waaraan 164 respondente deelgeneem het, het aangetoon dat daar geen statisties beduidende verskil was tussen demografiese groepe (geslag, ouderdom, kwalifikasie, ervaring) van die respondente ten opsigte van die belangrikheid van die motiverende faktore en geldelike aansporings nie. daar was ‘n beduidende verskil in self-ontwikkelingsbehoeftes en span werksomgewing waar, onderskeidelik, die jonger generasie meer begeerte na professionele registrasie getoon het, terwyl die ouer geslag nie ten gunste was vir ‘n kombinasie van vaardighede en ervaring in die projek nie. die resultate toon ook dat die verskaffing van werkgeleenthede aan klein, mikroen medium ondernemings (kmmos) en gesondheid (miv/vigs) en veiligheid geprioritiseer moet word wanneer geldelike aansporings aangebied word. begrip vir die belangrikheid van geldelike aansporings om projekdoelwitte te bereik, sal bevorderlik wees vir die verkrygingsomgewing se hantering van die personeel van konstruksieprojekte om aan hul prestasievereistes te voldoen. sleutelwoorde: geldelike vergoeding, motiveringsfaktore, projekdoelwitte 1. introduction the south african construction industry is faced with challenges which impede a successful project delivery. while it has traditionally been believed that project success can be measured in terms of cost, quality and time, saqib, farooqui & lodi (2008: 392) argue that the success criteria often change from project to project, depending on the participants, the scope of the services offered, the project size, the sophistication of the client in relation to the design of the facilities, and the technological implications. a project’s success depends on the performance of the participants entrusted to execute the project (oyedele, 2010: 180) and the motivation in meeting project goals (peterson, 2007: 60). van wyk (2004: 4) suggests that the following areas require improvement in the delivery process within the south african construction industry: capacity, knowledge intensity, skills development, business performance and service, information technology, transformation, the changing legislative environment, sustainable development imperatives, innovation, education and training outcomes, globalisation, international trends, and hiv/aids. in order to improve these areas, it is therefore imperative to identify ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 81 the most critical areas in each construction project and mobilise the construction and consultant team members to adopt an incentivemotivated procurement system. tang, qiang, duffield, young & lu (2010: 465) stipulate that there is consensus among all parties involved in any construction project that the use of incentives is effective in providing motivation for participants to perform better. for purposes of this article, incentives may be understood as rewards offered to construction and consultant team members involved in the construction project to compel them towards higher performance. rao (2009: 239) establishes that the reward informs the person that the behaviour was appropriate and can be used again in the future. the reward can be intrinsic or extrinsic. intrinsic reward is the satisfaction a person gets in the process of performing a particular action, such as solving a complex problem; the extrinsic reward is given by another person in the form of promotion and pay increase (rao, 2009: 239). while incentives have been recognised as motivational tools for individual employees to achieve certain goals, the south african construction industry has not fully exploited the various avenues to initiate motivation approaches aligned with project objectives in order to enhance the successful delivery of construction projects. this article reports on a study testing the following three hypotheses: h1: age, experience, qualification and gender do not result in statistically significant differences in construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of motivational factors. h2: age, experience, qualification and gender do not result in statistically significant differences in construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of monetary incentives. h3: a comprehensive model based on priority project objectives aligned with monetary incentives, and agreed upon by built environment stakeholders can be developed. the findings of the study led to the development of a model setting for project objectives that can be prioritised by construction and consultant team members involved in the project, if aligned with monetary incentives. figure 1 summarises the framework for developing a model for setting project objectives that can be prioritised, if aligned with monetary incentives. for purposes of this article, tension agents to fulfil needs can be understood as motivational factors such as, for example, self-development needs, organisational commitment, and team working environment. it can, therefore, be anticipated that monetary incentives can be an acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 82 activation agent towards higher performance in order to enhance project objectives. short-run intervention can be designed at project level, considering the demographics of construction and consultant team members involved in the project. long-run interventions arising from demographics may be provided by various construction industry stakeholders, including government bodies, learning institutions and professional bodies. figure 1: framework for developing a model for setting project objectives aligned with monetary incentives source: ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys, 2014: own figure 2. motivational factors motivation is a set of forces that initiates, directs, and makes people persist in their efforts to accomplish a goal (williams, 2009: 578). hill & howlett (2009: 254) stipulate that motivation is a driver that causes individuals to set personal goals and behave in a way that will allow them to reach those goals. in the context of this study, the following motivational factors towards higher performance will be discussed: self-development needs, organisational commitment, and team working environment. in other words, the accomplishment of these factors would imply a working and motivational environment conducive to higher job performance. 2.1 self-development needs self-development has, in fact, probably always been a significant element of management development practice, at least for some managers and some organisations (collins, emsell & haydon, 2011: 239). ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 83 collins et al. (2011: 239) refer to self-development as being a personal and professional development for managers, with individuals taking responsibility for their own learning, and control of both the means and the objectives for that development. in the context of this article, self-development for personal and professional development should be understood as a need for personal interest to fulfil career and professional development, compelling construction and consultant team members to higher performance for a given task. while a worker is expected to be fully committed to the organisation, it should not be ignored that project team members have other interests arising from being involved in project tasks, such as the desire to pursue their personal developmental goals, and motivational project team working environment. in the context of this article, personal needs refer to needs related to professional development. murdoch & hughes (2008: 9) remark that people have interests outside their work: they may be members of professional institutions; their project membership may arise as a consequence of belonging to a firm. from the construction project point of view, project team members benefit from the opportunity of participating in the construction project in order to maximise their personal development. however, care should be taken that their personal interest does not conflict with the overall project goal. 2.2 organisational commitment organisational commitment is the degree to which a person identifies with a specific organisation and its goals, and wishes to maintain membership in the organisation (werner, 2007: 62). employees should be committed to the success of their organisations. hence, commitment to the employing organisation should be understood as the employees’ loyalty. in the construction industry context, the success of a project is inherent to construction and consultant team members’ performance; hence, a combination of employees’ selfdevelopment and loyalty to the companies they represent. 2.3 team working environment oyedele (2010: 180) establishes that project success is dependent on the performance of the participants who are entrusted to execute the project. the project team members represent their respective discipline’s area of expertise and are responsible for early detection of potential problems that can have an adverse effect on the project’s objectives, cost, or schedule (oberlender, 1993: 56). walker (2002: 38) stipulates that the success of the project process depends, to a acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 84 large extent, on the way in which the architect, engineer, quantity surveyor, contractors and others work together. french, rayner, rees & rumbles (2008: 275) indicate that high-performance teams have special characteristics that allow them to excel in team work and achieve special performance advantages: • high-performance teams have strong core values that help guide their attitudes and behaviours in directions consistent with the team’s purpose. • high-performance teams turn a general sense of purpose into specific performance objectives. whereas a shared sense of purpose gives general direction to a team, commitment to specific performance results makes this purpose truly meaningful. • members of high-performance teams have the right mix of skills, including technical skills, problem-solving and decisionmaking skills, and interpersonal skills. • high performance teams possess creativity to assist organisations in continuous improvement of operations and in continuous development of new products, services and markets. 3. monetary incentives msg experts (2012: online) and yavuz (2004: 9) refer to monetary incentives as those incentives which satisfy the subordinates by providing them rewards in terms of money, commissions and bonuses. money has been recognised as a chief source of satisfying people’s social, psychological and security needs. according to rose & manley (2011: 765), the use of financial incentives (also understood as monetary incentives in the context of the current study) is considered a key means of improving built environment outcomes. rose & manley (2011: 765) indicate that financial incentives are necessary not only to enhance motivation at both personal and organisational levels, but also to promote unified motivation across highly interdependent and contractually fragmented project teams. tang et al. (2010: 465) stipulate that there is consensus among all parties involved in any construction project that the use of incentives is effective in providing motivation for participants to perform better. the spirit in which the financial incentives are designed is to attempt to align the interests of the contractor with those of the client by basing compensation, to some degree, on the results that are important to the client (howard, 1996: 112). in other words, the more the rewards from the client, the ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 85 more the contribution of the consultant team member to a successful project delivery. 4. team members’ diversity of needs in relation to their demographics diversity refers to dissimilarities (differences) among people in respect of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, education, experience, physical appearance, capabilities/disabilities, and any other characteristic that is used to distinguish between people (meyer, ashleigh, george & jones, 2007: 136; schermerhorn, hunt & osborn, 2005: 43). the effective management of diversity means learning to appreciate and respond appropriately to the needs, attitudes, beliefs, and values that diverse people bring to the organisation (meyer et al., 2007: 136). team members are diverse in terms of their demographic status such as age, gender, race, cultural values, physical well-being, lifestyle preferences, ethnicity, educational background, religious preference, and occupational background (slocum & hellriegel, 2007: 231). accordingly, their needs may be diverse. consequently, it may be a complex issue to ascertain appropriate motivation approaches of team members. 5. setting project objectives aligned with incentives the construction industry development board (cidb) proposes delivery management guidelines for construction procurement strategy. this procurement strategy consists of the combination of a delivery management strategy, contracting and procurement arrangements (cidb, 2010a: 7), and all involved parties in the projects should adhere to this strategy. the cidb (2010a: 7) indicates that the development of a procurement strategy should consist of identification of the best way of achieving objectives and value for money, while taking into account risks and constraints. the most commonly encountered secondary objectives in the south african construction industry relate to the following themes (cidb, 2004a: 2): business empowerment; job creation; smme sector development; poverty alleviation; communitybased developments, and local economic development. however, for the purpose of this article, table 1 presents aspects of project objectives. it is evident that incentives may be designed to ensure compliance with the requirements of primary and secondary project objectives. primary objectives such as cost, time, and quality are those related to direct activities which involved parties are naturally so acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 86 eager to fulfil. secondary objectives are those related to intervention measures tailored to address certain socio-economic problems. table 1: outcome-driven construction procurement desired outcome project objectives intervention/enablers primary to comply with standards cost budget quality specifications time programme secondary to address socioeconomic problems work opportunities to smmes joint venture/subcontracting poverty alleviation labour-based construction skills transfer mentorship gender and racial equality preferential procurement policy health (hiv/aids) and safety training 5.1 cost while the cost of a construction project is an important concern in any construction project (chan & park, 2005: 295), mbachu & nkado (2004: 1) report that the global construction industry is plagued with cost overruns in project delivery. ali & kamaruzzaman (2010: 111) indicate that cost is a major problem in project development and a regular feature in the construction industry. in order to control the cost within the acceptable level, chan & park (2005: 295) propose an appropriate accurate measurement of various project-related determinants and an understanding of the magnitude of their effects. 5.2 time clients, contractors and consultants alike frequently perceive the timely completion of a construction project as a major criterion of project success (bowen, cattell, hall & pearl, 2002: 48). in the construction project context, time refers to the planned duration of works. it is also known as schedule of works; however, whenever the planned schedule is not adhered to, it means something has gone wrong; the terminology then becomes ‘delays’. delay in the completion of a construction project can be a major problem for contractor companies, leading to costly and adverse relationships among project participants (alwi & hampson, 2003: online). ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 87 5.3 quality quality in construction is defined as meeting or exceeding the needs of the customer (knutson, schexnayder, fiori & mayo, 2004: 505). freeman-bell & balkwill (1996: 208) synthesise that the definitions of quality have been coined as ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘satisfying customer needs’. cornick (1991: 31) indicates that, if quality means conformance to requirements, there must be some means of ensuring that there is an unbroken chain of conformance to requirements throughout every phase of the total project process. 5.4 provision of work opportunities to smmes in order to redress the inequalities of the past in every sphere (political, social and economic), the national small business act 102 was introduced in 1996 to provide an enabling environment for smmes (dti, 2003: 8). the growth in the smalland medium-enterprise sector is desirable; hence, the creation of an enabling environment would be an essential component for smalland medium-enterprise development (cidb, 2004b: 4). cidb (2010a: 9) proposes that smmes would be provided with work on projects where it is desirable and feasible: • to have smmes as a main contractor or joint venture partner. • to provide for mandatory subcontracting requirements or obligations to subcontract an agreed quantum of work. 5.5 poverty alleviation for the sake of poverty relief, cidb (2004a: 11) provides the criteria for the identification of targeted labour that can benefit from such work opportunities. targeted labour is defined as south african citizens who have not been employed for over 100 days during the year preceding their engagement on the contract, who reside within the boundary of the targeted area, and who are acknowledged as such by the project steering committee established in terms of the programme to oversee aspects of the project (cidb, 2004a: 11). increasing the volume of work available to the poor/increasing household incomes is a desirable outcome for the preferential procurement policy for poverty alleviation (cidb, 2004a: 4). cidb (2004a: 4) stipulates that technology and methods of production/construction, which are able to provide employment for relatively unskilled labour, are essential for successful policy outcomes. according to cidb (2010a: 9), poverty alleviation can be applied on projects where it is desirable and feasible to provide temporary work opportunities in construction, particularly in labour-intensive works. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 88 5.6 skills transfer according to cidb (2010a: 9), skills transfer in construction projects can occur where it is desirable to provide work-place experience or training of designated persons. the skills development act of 1998 proposed the establishment of sector education and training authorities (seta) for any national economic sector (south africa, 1998: 14). the construction education training authority (ceta), established in 2000, has undertaken various skills development projects, and learnerships have been initiated with a view to developing a pool of skilled and motivated construction workforce whose skills are recognised and valued in terms of the national qualifications framework (nqf) (ceta, 2008: online). ceta promotes and accelerates quality training and identification of critical and scarce skills with a view to addressing skills shortages in the construction sector (ceta, 2008: online). training was made possible by a joint effort of various stakeholders such as government departments and public entities involved in contractor skills training; ceta-accredited training providers, built environment professional bodies, construction employers’ bodies, labour organisations, and trainees. despite the ceta’s effort to provide training of the workforce, the faster economic growth rate has resulted in rapid employment creation and skills demand. 5.7 gender and racial equality south african women have been affected by both the discrimination apartheid policies and the cultural limitations imposed on women. the south african history online (saho, 2011: online) indicates that harsh, repressive laws limited the movements and opportunities of black, coloured and indian people as an all-white government ensured that privilege was maintained by the white minority. the introduction of the tender-awarding criteria to ease the entry of targeted groups clearly shows the commitment to gender and racial equality. a related preferential procurement policy framework act no 5 was promulgated in 2000. according to the national treasury (2001: online), the purpose of this act is to enhance the participation of historically disadvantaged individuals (hdis) and the smmes in the public sector procurement system. the national treasury (2001: online) mentions two evaluation options: an 80/20 point system is applicable for tenderers up to r500 000 and a 90/10 point system is applicable for tenderers above r500 000. a maximum of 80 or 90 in respective options is allocated to the lowest acceptable tender, while tenderers, who tendered higher in price, score lower number in points. a maximum of 20 or 10 in respective options is awarded to tenderers for contracting or subcontracting with hdis and achieving ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 89 reconstruction and development programme (rdp) goals – the rdp goal is to build a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist future; it represents a vision for the transformation of south africa (south africa, parliament, 1994: 7). 5.8 health (hiv/aids) and safety the south african government has formulated the occupational health and safety act no. 85 of 1993 to provide for the health and safety of persons at work and of persons using plant and machinery; the protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out of, or in connection with activities of persons at work (south africa, 1993: 1). the continuing poor health and safety performance of the construction industry in the form of fatalities, injuries, and disease, the large-scale construction accidents, and the general non-participation by key project stakeholders such as clients and designers provided a catalyst for a new approach which culminated in the promulgation of consolidated construction health and safety legislation in the form of construction regulation on the 18 july 2003 (smallwood & haupt, 2005: 2). given that hiv/aids has become a pandemic in the construction industry, the cidb (2008: 22) recommends that construction workers be exposed to an interactive workshop covering specific learning outcomes. these outcomes include the nature of hiv/aids, the transmission of hiv infection, hiv/aids preventive measures, voluntary hiv/aids counselling and testing, living with hiv/aids, treatment options for people with hiv/ aids, and the rights and responsibilities of workers in the work place with regard to hiv/aids (cidb, 2008: 22-23). 6. research 6.1 methodology a deductive approach was adopted whereby the hypotheses were formulated based on existing motivational theories. deductive reasoning is a theory-testing process which commences with an established theory or generalisation, and seeks to determine whether the theory applies to specific instances (hyde, 2000: 83). the main strengths of deduction as a scientific approach lie in precision and control (burns, 2000: 9). burns (2000: 9) points out that control is achieved through sampling and design, and precision through quantitative and reliable measurement. leedy & ormrod (2010: 32) state that deductive logic is extremely valuable for generating research hypotheses and testing theories. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 90 a web survey strategy was used to gather the empirical data whereby a questionnaire was distributed nationwide. the survey was designed mostly with closed-ended questions and a few open-ended ones grouped into four sections. section a requested the biographic profile of respondents. section b tested motivation factors towards project success. respondents were able to indicate on a 7-point likert scale how important some self-development needs, organisational commitment and project team performance criteria motivate them to achieve higher performance. section c consisted of questions testing perceptions on the importance of monetary incentives in the motivation to achieve the successful delivery of construction projects. section d consisted of questions testing the aligning of project objectives with incentives. specific project objectives were tested, including cost, time, quality, gender and racial equality, provision of work opportunities to smmes, skills transfer, health (hiv/ aids) and safety (h&s) aspects, respectively for the contracts in which respondents were involved. respondents were able to indicate on a 7-point likert scale the importance of the provision of monetary incentives towards the achievement of cost, time and quality effectiveness, gender and racial equality target, provision of work opportunities to smmes aspects, skills transfer target, and health (hiv/aids) & safety (h&s) targets, respectively. in all instances where the likert response format questions were used, the scale measurement was 1 = unimportant, 2 = little important, 3 = somewhat important, 4 = important, 5 = very important, 6 = extremely important, 7 = utmost important, and u = unsure. the sample size consisted of 164 selected construction members of the engineering council of south africa (ecsa), south african institute of architects (saia), south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp), south african council for project and construction management profession (sacpcmp), and general building contractors registered by the construction industry development board (cidb). 6.2 interpretation of findings likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinion levels of agreement/ disagreement (bowling, 1997: 34). using a 7-point likert response format allows the respondents more granularity and hence better decision-making to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement. when using likert-type scales, it is imperative to calculate and report cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 91 consistency reliability for any scales or subscales used (gliem & gliem, 2003: 88). reliability is the extent to which a measuring instrument is repeatable and consistent (maree & pietersen, 2007: 214). for this particular article, the internal reliability of variables was tested using cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability. maree & pietersen (2007: 216) suggest the following guidelines for the interpretation of cronbach’s alpha coefficient: 0.90 – high reliability; 0.80 – moderate reliability, and 0.70 – low reliability. for purposes of this article, the cronbach’s alpha test results for each question are indicated in the findings section. differences between demographic groups were assessed using parametric tests, where the assumption of normality was not violated, and non-parametric tests, where the assumption of normality was violated. non-parametric tests generally require the scores or observation to be independent, or matched samples are employed (struwig & stead, 2001: 165). fellows & liu (2008: 196) advise that ranksum tests be used to test whether independent samples have been drawn from the same population. fellows & liu (2008: 196) propose using the mann-whitney u-test when there are two samples and the kruskal-wallis k-test when there are three or more samples. the analysis of variance (anova) is a parametric test (fellows & liu, 2008: 194; gravetter & wallnau, 2009: 433) used for testing mean differences among two or more treatment conditions. according to sarantakos (1997: 430), the anova test is employed if the following three conditions are met: • independence – the observations that make up data are independent of one another if each observation or measurement is not influenced by any other observation or measurement (pallant, 2010: 205). • normality – for parametric techniques, it is assumed that the populations from which the samples are taken are normally distributed (pallant, 2010: 206). carifio & perla (2007: 115) advise that, if a likert scale response format is used, and particularly so for items that factorially hold together as a scale or subscale reasonably well, then it is perfectly acceptable and correct to analyse the results at the (measurement) scale level using parametric analyses techniques such as f-ratio or pearson correlation coefficients or its extensions (e.g., multiple regression), and the results of these analyses should and will also be interpretable. • homogeneity of variance – for parametric techniques, it is assumed that samples are obtained from populations of equal acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 92 variances, and the test for homogeneity may be performed by levene’s test for equality of variance. if the significance value is less than 0.05, this suggests that the variances for two groups are equal; therefore, the homogeneity of variance has been violated (pallant, 2010: 207). in this article, the dimension reduction was done by means of a principal component analysis (pca) to find priority project objectives aligned with monetary incentives. abdi & williams (2010: 1) refer to pca as a multivariate technique that analyses a data table in which observations are described by several inter-correlated quantitative dependent variables. the pca is appropriate when one has obtained measures on a number of observed variables and wishes to develop a smaller number of artificial variables that would account for most of the variance in the observed variables (sas, 2011: 2). fellows & liu (2008: 227) stipulate that the principal components are extracted so that the first principal components account for the largest amount of the total variation in the data. since the distinctive characteristic of pca is its data-reduction capacity, it must determine the number of factors to be retained (fellows & liu, 2008: 227). 7. findings 7.1 respondents’ profile of the 164 respondents, 80.5% (132) were males and 19.5% (32) were females. table 2 shows the age distribution: 0.6% of the respondents were younger than 25 years; 8.5% were aged between 25 and 30; 23.8% between 31 and 40; 20.7% between 41 and 50; 25.6% between 51 and 60, and 20.7% were older than 60. from table 3, it is evident that almost 80% of the respondents were highly qualified with a bachelor degree or higher. table 2: age group of respondents age group no. % under 25 years 1 0.6 25-30 years 14 8.5 31-40 years 39 23.8 41-50 years 34 20.7 51-60 years 42 25.6 over 60 years 34 20.7 total 164 100.0 ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 93 table 3: formal qualification of respondents qualification no. % matriculation certificate 9 5.5 diploma 26 16.0 bachelor degree 42 25.8 honours degree 32 19.6 postgraduate diploma 13 8.0 masters degree 34 20.9 doctorate degree 5 3.1 other unspecified 2 1.2 total 163 100.0 table 4 shows that participant companies included contractors (28.8%), architects (19.0%), quantity surveyors (18.4%), project managers (17.2%), and consulting engineers (9.2%). while the total number of respondents was 164, missing data was not reported in the tables. table 4: participant companies company no. % contractor grade 2 1 0.6 27.8 contractor grade 3 7 4.3 contractor grade 4 5 3.1 contractor grade 5 7 4.3 contractor grade 6 8 4.9 contractor grade 7 9 5.6 contractor grade 9 9 5.6 project manager 32 19.8 architect 27 16.7 quantity surveyor 27 16.7 consulting engineer 13 8.0 government 4 2.4 academic 3 1.9 agent 2 1.2 construction consultant/developer 2 1.2 engineering 2 1.2 logistics 2 1.2 property consultant 2 1.2 parastatal 1 0.6 construction regulatory * 1 0.6 total 164 100.0 * the questionnaire was sent to professional consultants and contractors. from the questionnaire brief, it was made clear that respondents should have been recently involved in a construction project. survey results showed that respondents were employed in various companies other than the prescribed ones. the fact that the respondents probably moved from one type of company to another (e.g., consultant to academic) would not preclude their professionalism or abilities such that their response would be invalid. it was deemed worthwhile not to reject any response as long as the respondent worked for a construction-related company. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 94 figure 2 shows that 73.2% (120) of the respondents had over 10 years’ experience in the construction industry; 22.0% (36) between 5 and 10 years, and 4.9% (8) less than 5 years. of the respondents, 42% (69) had been in their current position for over 10 years; 31.1% (51) between 5 and 10 years, and 26.8% (44) less than 5 years. figure 2: experience of respondents 7.2 hypothesis 1: motivational factors table 5 presents the results of the test for the normality of motivational factors based on average. given that the sample size is greater than 50, the significance level is based on the shapiro-wilk test (field, 2013: 188). the obtained significance value of 0.00 (equal or less than 0.05) suggests the violation of the assumption of normality (pallant, 2010: 63; field, 2013: 185); thus, hypotheses were computed using nonparametric tests, namely mann-whitney and kruskal-wallis. table 5: tests of normality for motivational factors kolmogorov-smirnov shapiro-wilk statistic df sig. statistic df sig. motivational factors 0.12 164 0.00 0.94 164 0.00 table 6 shows that the individual mean scores of the variables related to self-development needs can be combined into a single ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 95 mean score with a moderate reliability of 0.80, and reports the average significant differences of these variables in gender, age, qualification and experience of construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of self-development needs to motivate them to achieve higher performance. table 6: importance of self-development needs factors self-development needs factors n m e a n sd ra nk g e nd e r (s ig .) a g e (s ig .) q ua lifi c a tio n (s ig .) ex p e rie nc e (s ig .) the development of my area of expertise through challenging tasks 161 5.91 1.15 1 0.12 0.05 0.66 0.58 the maintenance of performance to secure my employment 158 5.57 1.56 2 0.18 0.24 0.63 0.50 the desire to become a renowned mentor of others in construction 163 5.52 1.49 3 0.95 0.44 0.19 0.04 the aspiration to be a wellknown professional figure 162 5.27 1.71 4 0.38 0.02 0.28 0.36 the approval of professional performance by peers 163 5.26 1.65 5 0.76 0.44 0.47 0.19 the desire to gain experience towards my professional registration (autonomy/maturity) 156 5.03 1.97 6 0.00 0.00 0.23 0.00 the aspiration for promotion 159 4.42 2.02 7 0.42 0.17 0.23 0.048 average 164 5.29 1.13 0.13 0.02 0.15 0.06 cronbach’s alpha: 0.80 (moderately reliable) from table 6, it is evident that the development of the respondents’ area of expertise through challenging tasks (5.91), the maintenance of performance to secure employment (5.57), and the desire to become a renowned mentor of others in construction (5.52) had the highest mean scores. this suggests an imminent need to support professional development for both experienced and less experienced construction professionals. the average mean of 5.29 demonstrates the state of high importance of self-development needs towards achieving higher job performance. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 96 regarding gender, the mann-whitney u-test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.13) in the average of self-development needs levels of males (md=5.29, n=132) and females (md=5.71, n=32). both males and females equally view the maintenance of performance to secure employment, the aspiration of promotion, the desire to become a renowned mentor of others in construction, the approval of professional performance by peers, the aspiration to be a well-known professional figure, and the development of their area of expertise through challenging tasks. however, there is a statistically significant difference between males and females in the desire to gain experience towards professional registration (autonomy/maturity). this suggests that further studies be done to find out any possible workplace gender imbalances in terms of career development and registration with construction industry professional bodies. regarding age, a kruskal-wallis test revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.02) in the average of the importance of selfdevelopment needs across 6 different age groups, where gp1, n=1: under 25 years; gp2, n=14: 26-30 years; gp3, n=39: 31-40 years; gp4, n=34: 41-40 years; gp5, n=42: 51-60 years, and gp6, n=34: over 60 years. the age group (31-40 years) recorded the highest median score (5.86), while the older age group (over 60 years) recorded the lowest median value of 4.86. a post-hoc test revealed that the younger age group was more concerned with self-development needs than the older age group (gp3: md=5.86 vs gp5: md=5.14; gp3: md=5.86 vs gp6: md=4.86; gp4: md=5.50 vs gp6: md=4.86). by implication, the older age groups have a diminished need for professional registration or autonomy. regarding age, there were no statistically significant differences between age groups with respect to statements such as the maintenance of performance to secure employment, the aspiration for promotion, the approval of professional performance by peers, and the desire to become a renowned mentor of others in construction. however, a statistically significant difference was revealed in statements such as the desire to gain the experience towards the professional registration (autonomy/maturity), the aspiration to be a well-known professional figure, and the development of their areas of expertise through challenging tasks. a post-hoc test revealed that ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 97 the younger age generation needs more exposure than the older age generation. with regard to qualification, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.15) in the average of the importance of self-development needs across 8 different qualification categories, where ql1, n=9: matriculation certificate; ql2, n=26: diploma; ql3, n=42: bachelor degree; ql4, n=32: honours degree; ql5, n=13: postgraduate diploma; ql6, n=34: masters degree; ql7, n=7: doctorate degree, and ql8, n=8: others unspecified. the postgraduate diploma category recorded the highest median score (6.00), while the honours degree category recorded the lowest median value of 5.07. with regard to experience, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant differences (p=0.06) in the average of the importance of self-development needs across 3 different experience categories in the construction industry categories, where exp1, n=8: less than 5 years; exp2, n=36: 5-10 years, and exp3, n=120: over 10 years. the experience category (5-10 years) recorded the highest median score (5.86), while the over 10 years’ experience category recorded the lowest median value of 5.29. with regard to the experience in the construction industry, there was no statistically significant difference in statements such as the maintenance of performance to secure employment, the approval of professional performance by peers, the aspiration to be a well-known professional figure, and the development of area of expertise through challenging tasks. however, other statements such as the aspiration for promotion, and the desire to become a renowned mentor of others in construction revealed a statistically significant difference. table 7 shows the individual mean scores of the variables related to organisational commitment into a single mean score with a moderate cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.83, and reports the average significant differences of these variables in gender, age, qualification and experience of construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of organisational commitment needs to motivate them to achieve higher performance. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 98 table 7: the importance of organisational commitment motivational factors organisational commitment factors n m e a n sd ra nk g e nd e r (s ig .) a g e (s ig .) q ua lifi c a tio n (s ig .) ex p e rie nc e (s ig .) attaining a good reputation of my company 159 6.56 0.83 1 0.71 0.02 0.68 0.42 the business sustainability, hence secure future contracts with the satisfied client 161 6.36 1.04 2 0.75 0.19 0.21 0.72 the avoidance of any penalties arising from any breach of contract 162 6.19 1.28 3 0.13 0.26 0.78 0.69 the achievement of predetermined specific project objectives 163 6.16 0.99 4 0.06 0.03 0.06 0.42 the achievement of service delivery target/requirements for company grading purposes 162 5.80 1.42 5 0.58 0.04 0.11 0.09 the maximisation of profit for my company 162 5.77 1.42 6 0.42 0.33 0.61 0.69 average 164 6.14 0.86 0.24 0.19 0.47 0.37 conbach’s alpha: 0.83 (moderately reliable) from table 7, it is evident that attaining a good reputation of the company (6.56), business sustainability (6.36), and the avoidance of any penalties arising from any breach of the contract (6.19) had the highest mean scores. this suggests that construction and professional team members care about the business of their employing organisations. once their employing organisations are successful, they also become successful. the average mean of 6.14 demonstrates the state of high importance of organisational commitment towards achieving higher job performance. with regard to gender, a mann-whitney u-test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.24) in the average of importance of organisational commitment levels of males (md=6.33, n=132) and females (md=6.50, n=32). with regard to age, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.19) in average of the importance of ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 99 organisational commitment across 6 different age groups, where gp1, n=1: under 25 years; gp2, n=14: 26-30 years; gp3, n=39: 31-40 years; gp4, n=34: 41-40 years; gp5, n=42: 51-60 years, and gp6, n=34: over 60 years. the 25-30 years age group recorded the highest median score (6.58), while the younger age group recorded the lowest median value of 4.50. from a post-hoc test, it was evident that the middle age group’s desire to attain a good reputation of their companies was more important than that of the younger and older age groups. therefore, the desire to bring the company to reputation grows from the younger age; it peaks in the middle age, but fades as one grows older. by implication, there might be fewer younger age generation (under 25 years) individuals owning companies than middle age groups; or else, middle age might be more loyal than the younger age. the fact that the younger age is not concerned a great deal with the attainment of the reputation of their employing companies could be an indication of the instability in their work place. with regard to qualification, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.47) in the average of the importance of organisational commitment across 8 different qualification categories, where ql1, n=9: matriculation certificates; ql2, n=26: diploma; ql3, n=42: bachelor degree; ql4, n=32: honours degree; ql5, n=13: postgraduate diploma; ql6, n=34: masters degree; ql7, n=7: doctorate degree, and ql8, n=8: others unspecified. the postgraduate diploma category recorded the highest median score (6.67), while the doctorate degree category recorded the lowest median value of 6.00. with regard to experience, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant differences in the average of the importance of organisational commitment across 3 different experience categories in the construction industry, where exp1, n=8: less than 5 years; exp2, n=36: 5-10 years; exp3, n=120: over 10 years, and p=0.37. the 5-10 years’ experience category recorded the highest median score (6.42), while the less than 5 years’ experience category recorded the lowest median value of 6.17. table 8 shows the individual mean scores of the variables related to team working environment into a single mean score with a high cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.96, and reports the average significant differences of these variables in gender, age, qualification and experience of construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of team working environment needs to motivate them to achieve higher performance. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 100 table 8: the importance of team working environment motivational factors team working environment factors n m e a n sd ra nk g e nd e r (s ig .) a g e (s ig .) q ua lifi c a tio n (s ig .) ex p e rie nc e (s ig .) the ability of the manager to lead the team 161 6.32 0.89 1 0.77 0.70 0.06 0.33 the development of mutual trust and understanding 163 6.01 1.04 2 0.10 0.32 0.45 0.75 the clarity of the roles and relationships between participants 164 5.99 0.97 3 0.26 0.12 0.80 0.27 the support of information with facts 162 5.96 1.02 4 0.27 0.53 0.15 0.63 the encouragement of active participation of everybody 164 5.93 1.16 5 0.25 0.50 0.85 0.69 the striving to serve a common goal beyond individual differences 161 5.93 1.12 6 0.01 0.05 0.55 0.76 the setting out of required standards of the team in advance 164 5.91 1.10 7 0.09 0.09 0.37 0.88 a careful selection of team members 164 5.90 1.05 8 0.71 0.52 0.53 0.67 effective procedures that underpin the actions of the team 160 5.83 1.11 9 0.07 0.42 0.15 0.60 the evaluation of the team’s effectiveness 162 5.82 1.05 10 0.31 0.23 0.07 0.43 the mix of experience 160 5.75 1.18 11 0.86 0.02 0.70 0.81 a constructive follow-up in a friendly manner 164 5.70 1.12 12 0.21 0.04 0.14 0.77 the proportion of time allocated to the project 162 5.69 1.13 13 0.02 0.25 0.30 0.70 the acceptance of new ideas 163 5.65 1.02 14 0.42 0.17 0.41 0.41 the involvement of team members in formulation of goals so as to develop a common purpose 164 5.65 1.18 15 0.61 0.03 0.08 0.49 a full delegation of power to commit to major decisions 161 5.63 1.20 16 0.82 0.12 0.40 0.78 the mix of skills 164 5.62 1.20 17 0.49 0.00 0.70 0.63 the harmonisation of intrateam tensions 161 5.61 1.25 18 0.01 0.03 0.10 0.60 the clarification of suggestions 163 5.60 1.04 19 0.31 0.05 0.10 0.26 the mediation of intra-team conflict 162 5.57 1.25 20 0.01 0.11 0.02 0.21 average 164 5.80 0.81 0.08 0.04 0.22 0.77 cronbach’s alpha: 0.96 (high reliable) ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 101 from table 8, it is evident that the ability of the manager to lead the team (6.32), the development of mutual trust and understanding (6.01), and the clarity of the roles and relationships between participants (5.99) had the highest mean scores. this reveals that the role of the project manager is of utmost importance in achieving successful project delivery. in addition, good relationships between project participants would create a working environment conducive to enhancing higher performance in a construction project. the average mean of 5.80 demonstrates the state of high importance of the team working environment towards achieving higher job performance. with regard to gender, a mann-whitney u-test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.08) in the average of the importance of team working environment levels of males (md=5.80, n=132) and females (md=6.13, n=32). a statistically significant difference between gender groups was found in statements such as the harmonisation of intra-team tensions, the mediation of intra-team conflict, the striving for serving a common goal beyond individual differences, and the proportion of time allocated to the project. most obviously, the team working environment should be gender sensitive in such identified issues. with regard to age, a kruskal-wallis test revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.04) in the average of the importance of team working environment across 6 different age groups, where gp1, n=1: under 25 years; gp2, n=14: 26-30 years; gp3, n=39: 31-40 years; gp4, n=34: 41-40 years; gp5, n=42: 51-60 years, and gp6, n=34: over 60 years. the 41-50 years age group recorded the highest median score (6.13), while the younger age group recorded the lowest median value of 5.35. from post-hoc results, it is evident that the younger age group is more concerned with team working environment than the older age group (gp4: md=6.13 vs gp5: md=5.60; gp4: md=6.13 vs gp6: md=5.75). by implication, the older age groups have a diminished need to focus on team working environment. furthermore, there was a significant difference between age groups in the mix of skills, the mix of experience, the harmonisation of intrateam tensions, the proportion of time allocated to the project, and the involvement of team members in the formulation of goals so as to develop a common purpose. a post-hoc test revealed a significant difference between the 41-50 year and the over 60 year groups. findings revealed that the older age groups have a withdrawal attitude towards the harmony of team working environment. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 102 with regard to qualification, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.22) in the average of the importance of team working environment across 8 different qualification categories, where ql1, n=9: matriculation certificate; ql2, n=26: diploma; ql3, n=42: bachelor degree; ql4, n=32: honours degree; ql5, n=13: postgraduate diploma; ql6, n=34: masters degree; ql7, n=5: doctorate degree, and ql8, n=2: others unspecified. the matriculation certificate qualification recorded the highest median score (6.80), while the doctorate degree qualification recorded the lowest median value of 5.65. with regard to experience, a kruskal-wallis test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.77) in the average of the importance of team working environment across 3 different experience categories in the construction industry, where exp1, n=8: less than 5 years; exp2, n=36: 5-10 years, and exp3, n=120: over 10 years. the 5-10 years’ experience category recorded the highest median score (5.95), while the less than 5 years’ experience category recorded the lowest median value of 5.78. the analysis of hypothesis 1, “age, experience, qualification and gender do not result in statistically significant differences in construction and consultant team members’\’ perceptions of the importance of motivational factors” showed no statistically significant difference in the majority of the demographic groups. however, a statistically significant difference was found in age for self-development needs and team working environment. 7.3 hypothesis 2: monetary incentives table 9 shows the output of normality test on the importance of monetary incentives. based on shapiro-wilk, the significance level of 0.31 shows that assumption of normality was not violated; thus, the hypothesis was computed using parametric tests, namely t-test and anova. table 9: tests of normality for the importance of incentives kolmogorov-smirnov shapiro-wilk statistic df sig. statistic df sig. monetary incentives 0.05 164 0.20 0.99 164 0.31 table 10 shows the individual mean scores of the variables related to monetary incentives into a single mean score with a low cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.74, and reports the average significant differences of these variables in gender, age, qualification and experience of ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 103 construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of monetary incentives needs to motivate them to achieve higher performance. table 10: the importance of monetary incentives monetary incentives n o . m e a n sd ra nk g e nd e r (s ig .) a g e (s ig .) q ua lifi c a tio n (s ig .) ex p e rie nc e (s ig .) monetary incentives transferred to a specific group which was responsible for achieving the target (example: reward to bricklayer crew who are responsible for exceeding time target) 160 5.05 1.53 1 0.18 0.30 0.44 0.19 monetary incentives awarded individually only to team members achieving specific objectives 159 4.72 1.66 2 0.25 0.40 0.13 0.46 monetary incentives equally shared among team members 162 4.56 1.63 3 0.70 0.07 0.34 0.66 monetary incentives transferred to employing company 154 4.15 1.73 4 0.30 0.08 0.22 0.74 average 160 4.63 1.22 0.48 0.07 0.09 0.52 conbach’s alpha: 0.74 (low reliability) from table 10, it is evident that monetary incentives transferred to a specific group which was responsible for achieving the target (5.05), monetary incentives awarded individually only to team members achieving specific objectives (4.72), and monetary incentives equally shared among team members (4.76) had the highest mean scores. the average mean of 4.63 demonstrates the state of moderate importance of monetary incentives towards achieving successful project delivery. it is evident that the study produced the low reliable score of 0.74. given that cronbach’s alpha coefficient is sensitive to the number of items in the scale, pallant (2010: 97) advises that the coefficient of reliability with the value of 0.5 in scales with fewer than 10 items is common. the reliability score of 0.74 is acceptable, given that the reliability test was conducted on 4 items. with regard to gender, an independent t-test revealed no statistically significant difference (p=0.48) in the average of the importance of monetary incentive levels in scores for males (m=4.67, sd=1.27) and females (m=4.77, sd=1.02). acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 104 with regard to age, the anova test revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.07) in the average of the importance of monetary incentives across 6 different age groups, where gp1: less than 25 years; gp2: 25-30 years; gp3: 31-40 years; gp4: 41-50 years, gp5: 51-60 years, and gp6: over 60 years. the 41-50 years age group recorded the highest mean score (5.19), while the younger age group recorded the lowest mean score of 3.75. with regard to qualification, the anova test revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.09) in the average of the importance of monetary incentives across 8 groups: ql1: matriculation certificate; ql2: diploma; ql3: bachelor degree; ql4: honours degree; ql5: postgraduate diploma; ql6: masters degree; ql7: doctorate degree, and ql8: others unspecified. the matriculation certificate group recorded the highest mean score (5.58), while the honours degree group recorded the lowest mean score of 3.75. with regard to experience, the anova test revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.52) in the average of the importance of monetary incentives across 3 groups: exp1: less than 5 years; exp2: 5-10 years, and exp3: over 10 years. the less than 5 years’ experience group recorded the highest mean score (4.94) and the over 10 years’ experience group recorded the lowest mean score (4.57). the analysis of hypothesis 2, “age, experience, qualification and gender do not result in statistically significant differences in construction and consultant team members’ perceptions of the importance of monetary incentives”, showed no statistically significant difference in the majority of the demographic groups. however, a statistically significant difference was found in age and experience in the construction industry. 7.4 hypothesis 3: priority project objectives to be aligned with monetary incentives table 11 shows the mean scores of the questions related to priority project objectives aligned with monetary incentives, and reports the reliability of each question based on cronbach’s alpha test results. it is evident that the study produced highly reliable measures ranging from 0.94 to 0.99. ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 105 table 11: project objectives aligned with monetary incentives project objectives no. mean sd rank reliability number of items per question cronbach’s alpha comments primary project objectives time 158 5.25 1.48 1 11 0.97 highly reliable quality 157 5.12 1.54 2 15 0.99 highly reliable cost 159 5.09 1.40 3 13 0.97 highly reliable secondary project objectives health (hiv/aids) and safety 152 4.76 1.90 4 7 0.98 highly reliable skills transfer 153 4.30 1.66 5 7 0.94 highly reliable poverty alleviation 151 4.18 1.81 6 10 0.98 highly reliable provision of work opportunities to smmes 150 3.88 1.81 7 5 0.95 highly reliable gender and racial equality 150 3.68 1.73 8 8 0.98 highly reliable average 154 4.52 1.31 from table 11, it is evident that primary project objectives such as time (5.25), quality (5.12) and cost (5.09) had average mean scores above 5. this scoring demonstrates the state of higher importance of offering monetary incentives towards achieving primary project objectives. secondary project objectives such as health (hiv/aids) and safety (4.76), skills transfer (4.30), poverty alleviation (4.18), provision of work opportunities to smmes (3.88), and gender and racial equality (3.68) had average mean scores below 5. this scoring demonstrates the state of moderate importance of offering monetary incentives towards achieving secondary project objectives. the average on the importance of monetary incentives aligned with 8 project objectives in terms of their achievement of a project success was subjected to principal component analysis (pca) using spss version 21. the kaiser-meyer-oklin value in table 12 was 0.88 and the bartlett’s test of sphericity reached a statistical significance (0.00), supporting the factorability of the corelation matrix. the pca was used, given that the model sought to set priority project objectives aligned with incentives. field (2013: 676) indicates that the basic idea acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 106 of the pca is to retain components with relatively large eigenvalue and ignore those with relatively small eigenvalues. the pca, as shown in table 13, revealed the presence of two components (smmes and health) with eigenvalues exceeding 1, explaining 57.90% and 15.52% of the variance, respectively. table 12: kaiser-meyer-olkin measure and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.88 bartlett’s test of sphericity approximate chi-square 709.34 df 28.00 sig. 0.00 table 13: total variance explained component initial eigenvalues extraction sums of squared loadings rotation sums of squared loadings to ta l % o f v a ria nc e c um ul a tiv e % to ta l % o f v a ria nc e c um ul a tiv e % to ta l % o f v a ria nc e c um ul a tiv e % smmes 4.63 57.90 57.90 4.63 57.90 57.90 3.22 40.24 40.242 health 1.24 15.52 73.42 1.24 15.52 73.42 2.65 33.18 73.418 skills 0.56 7.00 80.42 poverty 0.47 5.81 86.23 gender 0.39 4.87 91.11 time 0.33 4.11 95.22 cost 0.25 3.09 98.31 quality 0.13 1.69 100.00 a further analysis with a two-component solution explained a total of 73.42% of the variance, with smmes contributing 57.90% and health contributing 15.52%. to aid the interpretation of these two components, the varimax rotation was performed in table 14. varimax rotation was proposed, given that it was assumed that the variables are not correlated. this is confirmed by the value of the covariance which was 0.00, meaning two variables were independent of each other; thus the value of one does not provide any assistance in predicting the value of the other. the communalities output in table ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 107 15 showed that all values were above 0.3, with gender displaying the lowest value of 0.56. this confirms that there was no need to refine the scale (pallant, 2010: 198). table 14: component score covariance matrix component 1 2 smmes 1.00 0.00 health 0.00 1.00 table 15: rotated component and component score coefficient matrices component rotated component matrix component score coefficient matrix communalities component component 1 2 1 2 extracted smmes 0.82 0.31 -0.10 0.74 health 0.79 0.31 -0.13 0.66 skills 0.78 0.30 -0.12 0.63 poverty 0.77 0.27 -0.06 0.68 gender 0.68 0.31 0.22 -0.02 0.56 time 0.91 -0.14 0.43 0.90 cost 0.89 -0.17 0.44 0.83 quality 0.38 0.85 -0.07 0.37 0.87 from the pca output in rotated component matrix, the column denoted by 1 represents components that have positive loadings (pallant, 2010: 186). similarly, it is evident that secondary project objectives such as the provision of work opportunities to smmes, promotion of health (hiv/aids) and safety, skills development, poverty alleviation, and gender and racial equality may be achieved if monetary incentives were provided. the column denoted by 2 represents components that have negative loading (pallant, 2010: 186). this implies that primary project objectives such as cost, time, and quality may not necessarily be achieved through the provision of monetary incentives. however, given that gender and quality objectives are located at both sides, they may be achieved through monetary incentives. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 108 with regard to the decision concerning the number of factors to be retained, pallant (2010: 184) proposes kaiser’s criterion, scree test, and parallel analysis. kaiser’s criterion consists of retaining only factors with the eigenvalue of 1.0 or more. in this article, kaiser’s criterion was used to select factors to be retained. only 2 factors exceeded 1; it was thus not deemed necessary to use further decision-making methods such as a scree test or parallel analysis. the analysis of hypothesis 3 consisted of dimension reduction, testing the importance of monetary incentives aligned with 8 project objectives in terms of their achievement of a project success using a principal component analysis. results showed that the provision of work opportunities to smmes, and the focus on health (hiv/aids) and safety objectives need to be prioritised, and the provision of monetary incentives would yield positive results. a comprehensive model can be developed from priority project objectives which construction and consultant team members agree upon, if aligned with monetary incentives. 8. model layout and conclusions figure 3 is a model developed from the combination of the pca on project objectives aligned with monetary incentives, test results of significant differences of motivational factors as tension agents and incentives as activation agents. figure 3: model for project objectives aligned with monetary incentives ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 109 from the pca output, it is evident that secondary project objectives (smmes, health and safety, skills, poverty, gender) are located on the left hand side, and primary project objectives (cost, time, quality) are located on the right hand side. from the model, it is evident that monetary incentives should be given priority in order to achieve the provision of work to smmes and health (hiv/aids) and safety project objectives (see table 15). the cidb (2010b: 1) indicated that there is a compelling need to unlock growth and to develop sustainable contracting capacity, as well as to enhance the development of previously disadvantaged individuals and enterprises. in order to unlock such growth strengths, the government has initiated the national contractor development programme (ncdp) spearheaded by the cidb, national and provincial public works and other willing stakeholders to enhance the capacity, and promote the equity ownership across different contracting categories and grades, as well as to improve skills and performance in the delivery of capital works and maintenance across the public sector (cidb, 2010b: 3). the cidb (2010b: 9) proposes many contractor development components, in which the provision of work opportunities to smmes falls under the component focusing on contracting enterprise development contractor grades 3 to 6. while the provision of work opportunities to construction smmes is done through direct contract and joint ventures, the study revealed that there is a need for the provision of monetary incentives in order to achieve this objective. by implication, mentoring lower grade contractors may negatively affect the business efficiency of the higher grade contractors. the cidb (2010c: 5) proposes that the cost of training, mentoring and programme overheads be included when evaluating the cost of contractor development as follows: • grade 1 contractor: r50 000 per year, and • grades 2 to 6 contractor: r100 000 per year. despite such a provision of covering mentoring expenses, it is not evident whether mentoring contractors or individuals are satisfied with such an arrangement of the provision of monetary incentive. however, while the provision of work to smmes would be an opportunity for satisfying construction and consultant team member’s motivational factors needs, their age groups should not be overlooked. as reported in tables 6 and 8, the study revealed a statistically significant difference in age group for self-development needs and in team working environment. typically, the older age groups were found to have a diminished need for professional registration or autonomy. given that the older age groups have a acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 110 diminished need to focus on team working environment, care should be taken to avoid age-related problems. the pca also reveals that monetary incentives should be regarded as important in order to achieve health (hiv/aids) and safety objectives. arguably, this could be a signal raising the concern about the status of health and safety in the south african construction industry; typically, claiming that monetary losses incurred due to health and safety might be recovered in one way or another. in fact, mthalane, othman & pearl (2008: 5) complain that unsafe and unhealthy working conditions have still taken an economic toll at the start of the 21st century. in addition, kyereh & hoffman (2008: 45) indicate that hiv/aids results in increased costs for a company in the form of insurance, cover, retirement fund claims, health and safety claims, medical assistance, increased demand for training, recruitment and funeral costs. the findings suggest that monetary incentives be offered towards compliance with h&s standards, the achievement of h&s requirements, and the induction programme on h&s, prior to commencing the project. while it could be argued that the provision of monetary incentives may compromise health and safety ethics, monetary incentives may be administered in a strict way in order to achieve health and safety targets. for example, dean (2010: 38) points out that the employers who implement prescribed health and safety improvements in their work places must receive a rebate on premiums. in the short run, monetary incentives may work well in order to achieve secondary project objectives. however, it may be suggested that other intervention measures be initiated from various construction stakeholders in order to enhance a successful project delivery. 9. recommendations in the short-run, monetary incentives should be prioritised in order to achieve secondary project objectives (the provision of work opportunities to smmes, health and safety, skills transfer, poverty alleviation, and gender and racial equality) as opposed to primary project objectives (cost, time, quality), of which the achievement would not necessarily involve monetary incentives. in the long-run, various interventions should be initiated to address impediments to the achievement of project objectives. this will require not only the individual construction and consultant firms, but also the participation of various construction industry stakeholders. in order to reconcile the problems arising from gender differences of individuals involved in the construction project, the government ndihokubwayo, crafford & buys • model for setting priority 111 policy makers and regulatory bodies would be required to review policies from time to time. the study revealed that age grouprelated differences emanate from the inherited colonial leadership styles; therefore, construction firms are required to conduct seminars and workshops to harmonise the differences between age groups. qualification-related group differences may be settled in partnership between employing organisations and learning institutions to design tailor-made courses for bridging the gap between the qualification levels. in-house training within companies 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meaningful development. related to this is the lack of clear policy targets against which to measure the effectiveness of contractor support programmes. furthermore, the majority of current support initiatives lack an integrated programme strategy. interventions tend to be characterised by inadequate preparations, poor needs assessments and an inadequate understanding of the development needs of emerging contractors. this is evident by discontinuances, unstructured training approaches, ad-hoc mentorship, inadequate monitoring and evaluation that promote unsustainable skills transfer. the eastern cape development corporation (ecdc) has put in place a training and mentoring programme that would result in the development of emerging contractors into sustainable business enterprises. the impact of the programme may be measured to determine the overall effectives of the programme in delivering developed and sustainable contractors to the construction industry. the above mentioned factors identified lead to the following problem that is addressed by the research: the problem statement addressed by the study is how to develop a holistic approach towards integrated skills development for emerging construction contractors, leading to a model that can be managed with quantitative and measurable outcomes. keywords: total quality management, project management, integrated, emerging contractor, mentorship, training, empowerment mr spencer lazarus, b-tech (eng), mba, msaimeche, mipet, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, south africa. telephone: (043) 704 5721 fax: 0866 845 112, mobile: 073 713 6855, email: <slman@mweb.co.za> prof. ac (dries) haupfleisch, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, south africa. telephone: 082 8200 690, email: <eldec@iafrica.com> prof. jjp (basie) verster, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, south africa. telephone: +27 51 4013322, fax: +27 51 4013324, email: <versterj.sci@mail.uovs.ac.za> oorsigtelike artikels • review articles 146 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) abstrak verskeie strategieë ter ontwikkeling van opkomende kontrakteurs, gebaseer op maatstawwe soos byvoorbeeld doelgerigte verkryging, het oor die algemeen nie daarin geslaag om opkomende kontrakteurs behoorlik toe te rus nie, aangesien sodanige maatreëls geïmplementeer is sonder goed gedefinieërde vaardigheidsoordrag raamwerke. diè sektor word steeds deur kliënte en verskaffers in die konstruksiebedryf beskou as ’n hoë kommersiële risiko en dit op sigself verhinder betekenisvolle ontwikkeling. gepaardgaande hiermee is die gebrek aan duidelike beleidsdoelwitte waarteen doeltreffendheid van kontrakteurs-ondersteuningsprogramme gemeet kan word. daarbenewens toon die meerderheid van ondersteunings-inisiatiewe ’n gebrek aan geïntegreerde programstrategie. sodanige inisiatiewe toon verder kenmerkende tekens van ondoeltreffende voorbereiding, ontoereikende behoeftebepalings en gebrek aan begrip vir die ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van opkomende kontrakteurs. dit blyk duidelik uit die aantal afleggings, ongestruktureerde opleidingsbenadering, ad-hoc mentorskap, asook ontoereikende monitering en evaluering wat tot gebrekkige vaardigheidsbemagtiging aanleiding gee. die oos-kaapse ontwikkelingskorporasie (okok) het ’n opleidingsen moniterings program daargestel wat sal sorg dat die ontwikkeling van opkomende kontrakteurs tot lewensvatbare besigheidsondernemings sal lei. die inslag van sodanige programme is meetbaar om die algehele doeltreffendheid van die programme te meet ten opsigte van die lewering van ontwikkelde en lewensvatbare kontrakteurs in die konstruksiebedryf. bogenoemde geïdentifiseerde faktore gee aanleiding tot die volgende probleem wat aangespreek word deur die navorsing: die probleem stelling wat aangespreek word deur die studie, is hoe om ’n holistiese benadering te ontwikkeling m.b.t. geïntegreerde vaardigheidsontwikkeling vir opkomende konstruksie kontrakteurs, wat sal lei tot ’n skaalmodel wat bestuur kan word deur middel van kwantitatief meetbare uitsette. sleutelwoorde: totaal kwalitateitsbestuur, projekbestuur; geïntegreerd, opkomende kontrakteur, mentorskap, opleiding, bemagtiging 1. introduction an important principle that has to be accepted when launch-ing a development programme is that it is in essence a train-ing programme with the objective of creating a sustainable construction business and to empower emerging contractors. training has a price tag and satisfactory results will not be achieved in under funded programmes relying on half measures. the programme has to be rigorously managed and cannot be expected to produce results automatically after introduction. this requires that a competent project manager and management team be appointed to manage the programme on a day-to-day basis. all elements of the programme have to be quality assured and managed each step of the way in order to ensure that corrective action is taken timely and that the programme initiator receives regular progress reports, based primarily on quantitative data, supported by qualitative data. investigations into the effectiveness of development models has identified the following key elements generally over looked in emerging construction contractor development models these are: • structuring an integrated emerging contractor development model that will satisfy the developmental needs of emerging contractors; • the creation of quality assurance and management mechanisms to enhance the elements of the development model in order to inter alia satisfy the objectives of the model; and • an analysis and evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative results gathered from the development model. 2. problems facing emerging contractors significant research has been conducted, internationally and locally, on the problems facing emerging contractors. ofori (1995), in a report prepared for the united nations centre for human settlements (unchs) on policies and measures for small contractor development identified a range of problems confronting smme’s. dlungwana & rwelamila (2003) states that contractors can be distinguished from each other by variables such as the size of annual 147 lazarus, hauptfleisch & verster • an integrated skills development model turnover, capacity and capability. the challenges facing small and medium-sized contractors can be distinguished between those that affect small-scale contractors and those that affect medium-sized contractors. some key features of small-scale contractors are that they are largely unregistered, operate in the informal sector of the economy and have very little formal business systems. the small-scale sector comprises the largest percentage of total contractors, although they employ very few permanent staff, usually less than ten employees. the conditions in developing countries present additional challenges, which include, amongst others, the lack of resources for training contractors, such as funds, poor construction procurement systems and lack of management capacity and resources to equip managers to operate their business enterprises effectively and efficiently. contractors have to meet the traditional project measures of cost, time and quality. in addition to these measures, sustainability issues, such as environment and social responsibilities, have recently come to the fore. several researchers have analysed problems confronting emerging contractors such as atkins & milne (1996) and hodgson & gwqagwa (1997). the most recent undertaken was by the affected sector, represented by the black construction industry (bci). 3. integrated emerging contractor development model (iecdm) the iecdm is based on the emerging contractor development model (ecdm) developed by the csir, dlungwana et al. (2004). the ecdm being a best practice tool aimed at assisting implementing agents to facilitate the implementation of an emerging contractor development programme. the ecdm helps focus on the quality and effectiveness of development programmes by ensuring more effective and comprehensive development of contractors’ capability and capacity. central to the ecdm is the implementation of a business plan with clear contractor development outcomes. the iecdm therefore embraces the concepts of the ecdm with the added elements of project management and total quality management (tqm). emerging contractors on the iecdm programme participate in a construction education training authority (ceta) nqf level 2 learnership programme combined with the services of a nationally accredited construction mentor. 148 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 149 lazarus, hauptfleisch & verster • an integrated skills development model contractor mentorship and classroom based training total quality managementproject management figure 1: integrated training and mentorship source: lazarus, 2006: own diagram figure 1 describes the integrated approach of the mentorship model; mentorship cannot function on its own. it has to form part of a holistic programme that is project management and quality assured. the focal point remains the contractor around which the model is structured. all three elements of project management, total quality management, mentorship and classroom based training need to be inter-linked in developing an emerging contractor. 3.1 integrated training and mentorship of protégés 150 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) process outcomes level 5 level 4 level 3 level 2 level 1 mentorship by accredited mentors small, medium and micro enterprise (smme) assesment framework • project delivery • skills transfer • improved quality • increased turnover • improved business sense • entrepreneurial motivation • improved employability • access to work opportunities • access to finance smme development profiling performance monitoring performance monitoring figure 2: process and outcomes of the mentorship model source: lazarus, 2006: own diagram figure 2 above describes the basic process and outcomes of the mentorship model; the mentor based training promotes the growth of the contractor’s. the process comprises analysing and assessing each contractor in order to create a developmental profile around which the mentor based training will be based. the principle of process and outcomes analysis is founded on typical south african excellence foundation modeling. 4. structure and functioning of the iecdm 4.1 process on outcomes of the iecdm 151 lazarus, hauptfleisch & verster • an integrated skills development model figure 3: integrated emerging contractor development model source: hauptfleisch, 2006: 5 figure 3 is a diagrammatic presentation of the integrated emerging contractor development model that depicts all the identified role players required in order to maximise the development of emerging contractors. the key elements of the model are project management and quality management. client emerging contractor khula / ecdc mentor mentor based / ec training ceta training provider sundry professional services cidb banks 4.5 project management 4.4 total quality management 4.2 functioning of the iecdm 152 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 4.3 methodology of the iecdm the methodology to be followed in developing the contractors is illustrated in figure 3. figure 4 is a flow process of the project methodology. training and mentorship (capacity building and continuous improvement final assesment of training and mentorship compilation and presentation of a final report development needs analysis and identification of appropriate interventions project planning and setting up of office selection and grading of contracting, and selection of local service providers figure 4: methodology for contractor development source: dlungwana et al., 2004: 36 4.4 total quality management with reference to figure 3: hauptfleisch (2006: 8) found that independent quality management has to take place throughout the programme. this function is executed on all the elements of the programme and reported to all concerned, typically in a statistical diagrammatic format. practically it is executed by visiting the contractors and their mentors monthly, with a quarterly meeting with all concerned present. monthly progress reports from mentors, contractors, training providers, quality managers and the project manager are the main input documents used to provide the client with comprehensive feedback regarding the programme. the tqm approach therefore incorporates the following as described below: 153 lazarus, hauptfleisch & verster • an integrated skills development model 4.4.1 emerging contractor development assessment the emerging contractor assessment tool has been developed to assess the emerging contractor’s construction industry experience, management experience, level of development and access to skilled resources. the tool assesses contractors on 45 basic business development skills identified as key to running and managing a successful construction company, these range from developing a business plan to the ability to generate cash flow and estimating and tendering. the assessment is completed on a monthly basis by the mentor and allows the project team to assess the contractor developmental growth, the tool serves as an early warning system to alert the project team to areas of weakness experienced by the contractor and allows for early intervention and corrective measures. mentors have been equipped with a mentorship implementation guideline document based on the master builders of south africa (mbsa) manual for smaller builders1; the manual has been revised and utilized as a working document with information continuously updated. the assessment tools therefore correspond to the items in the manual; the manual covers the 45 basic business development skills in which contractors are assessed in. 4.4.2 emerging contractor satisfaction survey the end user of the iecdm is the emerging contractor and a report system has been designed for the contractor to convey their opinions and satisfaction with the programme mentor and project team. 4.4.3 emerging contractor risk profiling a contractor risk-profiling tool has been developed in order to inform the project team and client of the financial risk exposure of the emerging contractor, this provides an early warning to detect potential financial difficulties experienced by the contractor and allows for corrective measures to be implemented. 1 permission received from master builders south africa to utilise and revise the manual at a royalty cost of zar 20.00 per document reproduced. 154 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 4.4.4 total quality management (tqm) assessments each mentor with their allocated contractor is interviewed on a monthly basis and every third month regional workshops are conducted where the feedback over the preceding three months are presented by all stakeholders specifically allowing contractor and mentors to evaluate their progress made based on their input through the reporting tools developed. 4.4.5 total quality management (tqm), reporting and corrective measure controls. the client is presented with a tqm report, analysing the programme performance, conducting a swot analysis and presenting findings via the assessment tools designed for the programme. 4.4.6 mentorship programme analytical assessment as designed for the construction mentorship programme the client will receive an analytical assessment detailing the contractor’s development as a result of the mentorship model implemented. 1 2 3 54 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 pe rc e nt a g e s c o re performance criteria contractors’ performance results x x x x x x * * * * * * * * * * *x* x * a b c d e avg contractors figure 5: a sample of the data to be gathered and presented on the contractor model figure 5 represents a sample graph of how the data gathered can be interpreted, with the horizontal axis numbered 1-11 representing 11 of the 45 performance criteria the contractors are measured against with the vertical axis representing the score as per the mentors assessment of the contractor. the gathering of data via the assessment tools designed for the programme allow the project team to: • track and monitor the contractors’ development on the programme; • areas of weakness can be identified and corrective measured instituted; and • the effect of the tqm can be measured. 4.5 project management with reference to figure 3: hauptfleisch (2006: 8) found that as the iecdm is applied as a project within a project management programme (on a repetitive group bases) it is imperative that it should be managed as individual projects within an overall programme. observation of other ‘programmes’ where the approach has largely been to allocate resources to development initiatives without strong project management thereof supports the observed mediocre outcomes of such programmes. if a programme is not project managed overall, the outcome is predictably poor. a best practice development model for contractors requires effective project management by a project manager and a project team that are skilled in the design, coordination and implementation of a project of this nature. lazarus (2005: 87) found that to effectively implement an emerging contractor development model, there must be a project champion who will drive and promote the programme. project team members need to understand their roles and responsibilities as project managers, as well as the risk and permutations of any one project. 4.6 findings of the iecdm over an assessment period of 12 months it was found that of the 54 contractors identified via the csir (dlungwana et al., 2004) assessment process: 4.6.1 emerging contractor development assessment contractor’s development assessment remained on average consistently between 41%-43% (average) over the 45 areas of development assessed. the two key areas of weakness identified were financial management and planning and programming of project activities. contractors who were assessed in the range of 41%-43% were able to complete construction projects of up to r2m successfully during the assessment period. contractors were scored consistently in the range of 50%-60% were able to complete projects of up to r5m successfully during the assessment period. 155 lazarus, hauptfleisch & verster • an integrated skills development model 4.6.2 emerging contractor satisfaction survey emerging contractors conveyed a high level of satisfaction with the iecdm programme and the management there off. the contractors on average scored the mentors 65%, service providers at 75% and the project management team at 70%. 4.6.3 emerging contractor risk profiling emerging contractors remain a high risk factor for financial institutions, the risk profiling ranged from 40% low risk to 80% high risk. the intervention of the iecdm has reduced the risk exposure of the emerging contractors to financial institutions by an average of 30%. 4.6.4 total quality management (tqm) assessments the tqm has concluded the following in order to develop a holistic approach towards integrated skills development for emerging construction contractors: • the tqm assessment provided a monthly swot analysis of all elements of the programme and recommend corrective measures, the tqm implemented ensured the programme ran efficiently and effectively with all stakeholders; • the programme must be project and quality managed at all times; • all stakeholders must adopt an integrated and holistic approach to emerging contractor development; • contractors performance must be measured and qualified appropriately; • two years in training for emerging contractors has been identified as a shortcoming of the programme; • an appropriate exit strategy for the contractors must be designed an implemented covering a span of 3 additional years; • a bar chart of activities must be implemented between mentor and contractor in relation to the mentorship implementation guideline document; and 156 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 157 lazarus, hauptfleisch & verster • an integrated skills development model • mentorship is the key development driver and hence all developmental programmes targeting emerging contractors must be mentorship based. 4.7 comparison to a mentor only based programme to test the iecdm effectiveness and theory that mentorship is the key development driver, the results of the assessment were compared to twenty contractors who underwent mentorship only as compared to the iecdm contractor who participated in a ceta learnership qualification. the same assessment tools were used and both programmes where subjected to tqm and project management. both groups assessed: • scored consistently between 40%-45% on the developmental assessment by their respective mentors; • were able to complete construction projects successfully within the respective limitation as per item 4.6.1.3 and 4.6.1.4 above; and • displayed the same weakness of not understanding financial management planning and programming of project activities. 5. summary the iecdm although complex and introducing additional elements to development has proved that a holistic approach towards integrated skills development for emerging construction contractors, leading to a model that can be managed with quantitative and measurable outcomes can be developed implemented and managed. tqm plays a crucial role in the management and implementation of developmental programmes to achieve the desired objectives. the elements of the model are not unique and certain elements are present in various developmental models, the iecdm brings together these elements into one manageable programme that has proven results as displayed by the ecdc programme. 158 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) references atkins, h.a & milne, c. 1996. emerging contractor development of provincial level. construction and development number 13, development bank of south africa, october. dlungwana, w.s., noyana, c. & oloo, v. 2004. the emerging contractor development model — planning and implementation manual. pretoria: csir boutek. dlungwana, w.s. & rwelamila, p.d. 2003. the role of performance assessment tools in improving contractor performance in developing countries. pretoria: csir: boutek. hauptfleisch, a.c. 2006. an accelerated integrated small construction contractor development model: a holistic approach for developing countries. paper presented at the 1st icec & ipma global congress on project management. slovenia hodgson, s. & gwagwa, n. 1997. meeting the challenges of emerging contractor development in south africa. proceedings: first international conference on construction industry development, singapore, pp. 165-173. lazarus, s. 2005. an integrated skills development model for emerging construction contractors in the eastern cape. unpublished dissertation. nelson mandela metropolitan university. ofori, g. 1995. policies and measures for small contractor development. report prepared for unchs, nairobi, kenya. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left /calgrayprofile (dot gain 20%) /calrgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /calcmykprofile (u.s. web coated \050swop\051 v2) /srgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /cannotembedfontpolicy /error /compatibilitylevel 1.4 /compressobjects /tags /compresspages true /convertimagestoindexed true /passthroughjpegimages true /createjdffile false /createjobticket false /defaultrenderingintent /default /detectblends true /colorconversionstrategy /leavecolorunchanged /dothumbnails false /embedallfonts true /embedjoboptions true /dscreportinglevel 0 /syntheticboldness 1.00 /emitdscwarnings false /endpage -1 /imagememory 1048576 /lockdistillerparams false 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 81 oorsigartikels • review articles fanie buys & tanya van schalkwyk the relevance of ethical conduct in creating a competitive advantage for entry-level emerging contractors peer reviewed and revised october 2015 abstract small emerging contracting companies could possibly be flooding the construction industry, putting strain on the construction economy to stay afloat, support and sustain these participants. it is important for any organisation that deals with other individuals and organisations to understand the correct ethical codes of conduct in a business environment. to minimise unethical behaviour in the industry, new contractors need to both understand and apply the principles of ethical conduct in their business environments. this research is aimed at investigating whether ethical conduct among new entry-level emerging contractors can contribute to, and ensure their sustainable competitiveness in the south african construction industry. this research is also aimed at determining whether education and knowledge of entrepreneurship, business, project and construction management, in addition to building contracts, can contribute to new entry-level emerging contractors’ ethical conduct and sustainable competitiveness. the literature reviewed and the results of quantitative research among professional consultants in south africa formed the basis of the study. ethics is a sensitive topic within the construction industry; therefore, it is difficult to gather the data directly from contractors, as they are reluctant to participate for fear of revealing their identities and having this negatively influence their personal and business credentials. unbiased respondents, who were not directly linked to emerging contractors and who were not afraid to give their objective opinions, were questioned and included architects, quantity surveyors, consulting engineers, project managers, construction mentors, and construction managers. the study revealed that ethics is an important factor in any business environment and that the correct application thereof can partially contribute to the sustainable competitiveness of new entry-level emerging contractors. this, in turn, should promote the longterm survival of a business. furthermore, the knowledge of good management practices and building contracts can contribute to a successfully run business. prof. fanie buys, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 041 5042023, email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> ms tanya van schalkwyk, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 041 5042669, email: <tanleo.vs@gmail.com> acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 82 however, the average new entry-level emerging contractor has insufficient experience and knowledge of the management of construction projects and of building contracts. the study should be valuable to construction-industry professionals, contractors and clients, as it provides them with research information on a problem area in the industry. keywords: ethics, sustainable competitiveness, construction, project, and business management, building contracts abstrak daar is tans baie nuwe intreevlak opkomende aannemers wat die konstruksienywerheid betree en moontlik druk plaas op ekonomiese vooruit gang om die volhoubaarheid van hierdie aannemers te verseker. vir enige onderneming om eties op te tree teenoor ander persone en organisasies is dit noodsaaklik om etiese kodes te handhaaf. om onetiese optredes te beperk, is dit daarom belangrik dat hierdie opkomende aannemers die belangrikheid van etiese kodes in die konstruksiebedryf verstaan en handhaaf. hierdie navorsing is daarop gemik om vas te stel of etiese optredes deur nuwe intreevlak opkomende aannemers in die suid-afrikaanse boubedryf tot hul onderhoubare mededingendheid kan bydra en verseker. die navorsing is ook daarop gemik om vas te stel of kennis en ondervinding/ervaring in entrepreneurskap, besigheid, projeken konstruksiebestuur, asook boukontrakte kan bydra tot nuwe intreevlak opkomende aannemers se etiese optredes en onderhoubare mededingendheid. die literatuur wat ondersoek is, asook die resultate van ‘n kwantitatiewe navorsing gemik op professionele konsultante in die boubedryf in suid-afrika, het die basis van die navorsing gevorm. etiek is ‘n sensitiewe onderwerp in die boubedryf. daar is gevind dat dit moeilik is om data direk van kontrakteurs af in te samel omdat hulle huiwerig is om deel te neem aan so ‘n gesprek, hoofsaaklik omdat hulle huiwerig is dat hul persoonlike inligting geopenbaar sal word, en dat dit hul besighede en persoonlike kredietwaardigheid negatief sal beïnvloed. daarom is onbevooroordeelde respondente genader en onderhoude met hulle gehou omdat hulle geen direkte skakel met opkomende aannemers gehad het nie en omdat hulle bereid was om eerlike en objektiewe opinies te lewer. hierdie onbevooroordeelde respondente het bestaan uit argitekte, bourekenaars, siviele ingenieurs, konstruksie-mentors, asook konstruksieen projekbestuurders. die studie het bewys dat etiek ‘n belangrike faktor in enige besigheidsomgewing is en dat die korrekte toepassing daarvan gedeeltelik kan bydra tot die onderhoubare mededingendheid van nuwe intreevlak opkomende aannemers, en gevolglik ook tot die langtermyn oorlewing van so ‘n besigheid. daar is ook bevind dat kennis van goeie en korrekte bestuursbeginsels, asook boukontrakte, kan bydra tot ‘n suksesvolle bestuurde besigheid. daar is egter ook bevind dat die gemiddelde nuwe intreevlak opkomende aannemer nie genoegsame kennis en ondervinding het van die bestuur van konstruksieprojekte, en van boukontrakte nie. die studie behoort van belang te wees vir professionele persone wat deel vorm van die konstruksiebedryf, asook vir aannemers en kliënte in die bedryf omdat dit inligting in verband met navorsing van ‘n probleemarea in die industrie bied. sleutelwoorde: etiek, onderhoubare mededingendheid, konstruksie-, projeken besigheidsbestuur, boukontrakte buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 83 1. introduction the construction industry’s need to survive in its toughest business environment since 1994 has led to some very aggressive and, at times, unethical business practices highlighted by reports of non-competitive pricing; these are symptomatic of the industry’s current plight (rodberg, 2011: 4). the solution to unethical conduct in any sector of the south african economy may be that all leaders, whether they are business leaders, political leaders, or spiritual leaders, should be selected on the basis of their ethical balance, because a sustainable future depends on the ability of the industry to put in place with the highest ethical standards (bhojaram, 2013: online). new contractors who enter the construction industry with start-up businesses can be seen as entrepreneurs, and their business ventures would fall into the category of entrepreneurship. start-up businesses are crucial to a country’s economy, as they hold many advantages such as opportunities for employment and enrichment of the community through economic perseverance. in many instances concerning start-up businesses, the importance of ethics as part of the business structure is often neglected or misjudged (bowie, harris & sapienza, 2009: 408). as ethical conduct may play an important role in the survival of new entry-level emerging contractors and, in turn, influence their sustainable competitiveness within the construction industry, it is necessary to determine whether new entry-level emerging contractors are unethical in their business activities. ethical conduct also plays an important role in the moral correctness of a new contracting business. to be able to run an organisation that deals with individuals, organisations and morally sensitive issues in an ethical manner, it is necessary that new entry-level emerging contractors understand the importance of correct ethical conduct in a business environment. small emerging contracting companies could possibly be flooding the construction industry, putting strain on the construction economy to stay afloat, support and sustain these participants. to minimise unethical behaviour in the industry, new contractors need to both understand and apply the principles of ethical conduct in their business environments and in their dealings with other individuals and organisations with whom they will come into contact when they are actively partaking in construction projects or activities within the industry. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 84 this article reports on a research project in order to determine whether: • new entry-level emerging contractors have sufficient knowledge of construction management in order to success fully complete a construction project. • sufficient knowledge in business management among new entry-level emerging contractors is essential for survival in the business world. • new entry-level emerging contractors’ insufficient knowledge of the workings of building contracts could lead to possible unethical behaviour. • the unethical actions of new entry-level emerging contractors affect their sustainable competiveness. • construction-industry participants’ non-participation in a code of conduct negatively affects the construction industry as a whole. 2. ethics, sustainable competitiveness and management in the construction industry literary sources on ethics and, more specifically, on business ethics, the relevance of ethics to sustainable competitiveness, the use and importance of construction-management knowledge for emerging contractors, the use and importance of building contractual knowledge for emerging contractors, the development and education of emerging contractors, as well as the effect that unethical behaviour might have on participants in the construction industry, as well as the industry itself were reviewed. 2.1 introduction to ethics ethics is not a new discipline, as it has been around for over a thousand years and is still a topic generally discussed by philosophers, professionals, and even at home around the dinner table. the issue of moral judgement is not a modern phenomenon; it has been an important and very interesting topic in historical and modern philosophy, giving way to the discipline of ethics. the following definition focuses on ‘morality’ as a perspective central to ethics (hughes & musselman, 1981: 522): “ethics is a segment of philosophy concerned with values of human conduct. ethics refers to a code of conduct that guides an individual in dealing with others.” buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 85 in general, the terms ‘ethical’ or ‘moral’ are used interchangeably in normal conversation. it may be said that a person, a decision, or an act can be ethical or moral. this illustrates that the person is ‘good’, and that his/her actions are acceptable to the community. on the other hand, it may also be said that a person, or his/her decision or actions are unethical or immoral. this implies that the person is ‘bad’, or that his/her decisions and actions are unacceptable to society (van der merwe, 2002: 16). furthermore, it may be said that a business or organisation has the potential to be ethical and to do morally good or immorally bad things in its sphere of the business world (van der merwe, 2002: 16). organisations or businesses are not created by nature, but by man. consequently, these networks of human structures are also subject to moral criticism, since they may function immorally or unjustly in, and according to society’s norms (esterhuyse, 1991: 6). numerous aspects such as society, business, the law and individual people influence ethical behaviour (co, emanual, groenewald, mitchell, nayager, train, van zyl & visser, 2006: 4). ethics relates to those social rules that influence people to be honest when dealing with others. what else is the construction industry other than individuals or organisations dealing with one another on a daily basis? the importance of ethics in any business or organisation is fundamental (gildenhuys, 1991: 21). this has led to research being conducted to investigate the ethical conduct of new entry-level emerging contractors in their dealings with other participants in the construction industry – and how this conduct would influence their sustainable competitiveness within the industry. the term ‘competitiveness’ could be described as follows (gasa, 2012: 27): “contractors being in a position to have both human and capital resources (capacity); contractors being able to marshal those resources for effective use in growing their businesses (capability); contractors being properly trained to undertake the work at hand, and any future work (training); contractors having the ability to provide solutions to clients (competence); and then being able to devise new ways of doing business and using advanced technologies (innovativeness).” ethics, together with moral values and norms, are linked and function interdependently of one another, since the one cannot be achieved without the other. the definitions for the term ‘ethics’ usually include other important terms such as ‘morality’, ‘values’ and ‘integrity’. ethics generally refers to the process that determines acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 86 whether an action is right or wrong, whereas morality refers to the contents of what is right and wrong (rae, cited in boshoff, 2009: 9). the issue of moral judgement is not a modern phenomenon, as it has been an important and very interesting topic in historical and modern philosophy, leading to the modern discipline of ethics. an important phenomenon in the study of ethics is the notion that any person, in any culture and in any place, would always have acceptable or unacceptable moral and ethical norms and values for man’s actions and decisions (van der merwe, 2002: 17). ethics relates to the social rules that influence people to be honest when dealing with others; ethics and morals thus seem to be related – with the term ‘morals’ referring to a code of conduct that is often part of our religious beliefs and our upbringing (hughes & musselman, 1981: 523). people tend to equate moral values and moral norms with values and norms, which apply only to those personal and relational structures with which they interact. raga & taylor (2014: online) are of the opinion that south africa needs an organisational culture that not only supports ethical behaviour, but also defines and underpins right and wrong conduct at both the individual and institutional level. business ethics relates to the actions of employees within an organisation, as well as the actions and behaviour of an organisation as a whole (van greunen, 2010: 21). apart from the requirement that organisations should run their operations in the most economical, efficient and effective manner possible in order to increase performance, there is currently an increasing insistence on the need for organisations to also be ethical (khomba & vermaak, 2012: 3510). figure 1 represents an ethical decision-making model. buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 87 facts moral dilemma alternative response ethical evaluation judgement figure 1: ethical decision-making model source: bosch, tait & venter, cited in van greunen (2010: 44) figure 1 demonstrates the general factors that can influence decision-making. the process starts with gathering and analysing all the facts concerning the ethical dilemma. then the moral dilemma is formed and interpreted, whereafter all alternative responses to the dilemma are developed. one response is selected and applied; ethical evaluation of that response in the specific dilemma is conducted in order to determine whether it was the right one. thereafter, judgement on the dilemma can be conducted. the reasons for negative work ethics, as presented in a research project conducted by masiapata (2007: 46-66) on ethics and ethos in the south african police service, included the following: deficient control and accountability, poor management, poorly aligned incentive structures, over-centralised decision-making, leaner sentences (soft penalties) for corruptors, lack of ethical education and training, and resistance to change. 2.2 the south african construction industry south africa is a country that is focused on creating sustainable economic growth. the government has recognised the improved optimism, and has undertaken to create an environment that will stimulate more growth and entrepreneurial activity (watson, 2004: 14). new contractors can be viewed as entrepreneurs, as they comply with the following definition that adequately describes acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 88 an entrepreneur and the goals to be attained (cassim, conradie, ferreira, fourie, jacobs, labuschagne, le roux, machado & steyn, 2004: 34): “entrepreneurs are people with the ability to create an enterprise where none existed before. they produce combinations of ideas, skills, money, equipment and markets that form a successful enterprise.” new entry-level emerging contractors are faced with a number of challenges in the construction industry. croswell & mccutcheon (2001: 365-379) explain that contract continuity holds the key to success. without business continuity, the contractor is likely to go out of business, be unavailable for the work when required, and lose competence through lack of practice. change is an unceasing process; as such, a business must be in a position to respond continuously to changing environmental conditions. in the face of these changes, managing a construction business in the present environment is becoming increasingly difficult (bakar, razak, tabassi & yusof, 2012: 1295). management is an important factor that influences a firm’s growth, and this is especially applicable to new emerging contractors. management consists of eight subfactors, namely good company management; good cash-flow management; internal efficiency; effective organizational structure; good site management, on-the-job safety and security; upgrading and educating members, and the availability of capital (bakar et al., 2012: 1297). 2.3 sustainable competitiveness, management and building contracts 2.3.1 sustainable competitiveness sustainable competitiveness is an important factor that could determine whether new entry-level emerging contractors will survive in the future. the fundamental basis for the long-run success of a firm is the achievement and maintenance of a sustainable competitive advantage. sustainable competitive advantage can be defined as the prolonged benefit of implementing some unique value-creating strategy that is not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors, along with the inability to duplicate the benefits of this strategy (hoffman, 2000: online). with all the problems and issues that act as barriers to the successful running of new businesses, the importance of proper ethical conduct must be considered to be a solution to problems that stem from any unethical behaviour. ethical conduct on its own may not ensure buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 89 the sustainable competitiveness of a business. however, when it is applied to the correct issues and people within the business, it could contribute to long-term sustainability, competitiveness and success. any favourable economic environment in south africa is continuously stimulating development, but a lack of capacity is reflected in general skills shortages and support structures required for entrepreneurial development. these problems are acutely evident in the construction industry (hauptfleisch & verster, 2007: 33). government interventions, in the form of legislation, were made to create an enabling environment for small contractors. these were disadvantaged under the pre-democratic period (pre-1994) to enter and/or progress in the construction industry. these entrepreneurs were commonly referred to as emerging contractors originating as contractors from a very low basis (hauptfleisch & verster, 2007: 33). recent studies have found that, despite their significance, small and medium-sized contractors are faced with the threat of failure – with statistics indicating that three out of five fail within the first few years. the lack of effective management during their early stages is a major cause of business failure for small and medium-sized contractors (phaladi & thwala, 2009: online; mofokeng & thwala, 2012: 143). another major cause has been the inability to secure a constant or steady inflow of new work in order to sustain or grow the business. 2.3.2 management for a construction project to be completed successfully, it must be managed successfully from inception to completion. universities and universities of technologies across south africa provide education in the discipline of construction management – in the form of a degree or diploma – and, although prior to registering as professional consultants in construction management consultants would need to obtain a degree and have a few years’ experience in the field, it is unlikely that a start-up emerging contractor would have the same level of education and/or experience when opening up a business as a building contractor. herein lies the problem of inexperience and a lack of knowledge among new contractors in construction management. this lack of knowledge may essentially contribute to these contractors engaging in acts of unethical conduct in order to obtain contracts or keep their businesses running. new entry-level emerging contractors not only have to know how to manage a construction project in order to complete it successfully, acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 90 but they also need to know how to manage their businesses successfully if they wish to still be active in the future. a continuous inflow of new work is also needed. management can be defined as the process of getting work done through other persons; the process of management includes planning, organising, directing and controlling the activities of an enterprise, in order to achieve specific objectives (hughes & musselman, 1981: 90). experience in any kind of management role is very important and plays a crucial role in ensuring that a business succeeds or fails. poor management has been posited as one of the main causes of failure of small enterprises (longenecker, petty, moore & palich, cited in mofokeng & thwala, 2012: online). 2.3.3 building contracts and contractor training finsen (2005: 1) defines a building contract as “[a]n agreement between two parties, one of whom, the building contractor, agrees to erect a building; and the other, the employer, agrees to pay for it”. a detailed review of building contracts would not be applicable to this study. however, to have knowledge of such could prove useful, as it ensures that persons entering into a building contract, irrespective of which type of contract is available in south africa, would know their rights and responsibilities. in order to ensure that new entry-level emerging contractors have adequate knowledge and experience of the areas already reviewed in this study, namely ethics, business ethics, codes of conduct, construction, project and business management, and building contracts, it is necessary to educate and train them in these areas. skills development in the built environment is a pressing concern in the current south african economy. with an increasing number of small to medium-sized enterprises emerging in the construction sector, it becomes increasingly challenging for authorities to regulate the level of skills and training of the country’s construction workforce (franck, 2013: 29). moss (2008: 95) is of the opinion that ongoing training and mentoring of emerging contractors is a necessity to ensure that they improve their levels of literacy and competency in all aspects. this should contribute to the effective running of sustainable business enterprises. in addition, the ongoing monitoring of the progress and development of emerging contractors is essential to ensure sustainability of the emerging contractor enterprises. probably as early as 1995, the south african government has initiated a number of contractor development programmes (cdps) to encourage a wider participation of smaller firms in the construction buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 91 economy. cdps play a crucial role in supporting the development of both the construction industry and emerging contractors (gasa, 2012: 58). the national cdp recognises that contractor development initiatives should, therefore, cover a broad spectrum of activities, including (cidb, 2009: online): construction-workforce development; contractor development; emerging contractor development; enterprise development, and performance improvement. the various cdps in south africa include the following: • national department of public works contractor incubator programme. • department of public works eastern cape contractor incubator development programme. • department of public works kwazulu-natal masakhe emerging contractor development programme. • department of public works western cape contractor develop ment programme. • kwazulu-natal ethekwini vuk’upile learnership contractor development programme. • kwazulu-natal ethekwini large contractor model. • the eastern cape development corporation integrated emerging contractor development model. • eskom construction academy. the role of these institutions is very important to upgrade the skills of entry-level contractors to be competitive in an industry where it is extremely difficult to survive. the relative lack of success facing emerging contractors in south africa is the result of inadequate finance and the inability to obtain credit from suppliers; the inability to employ competent workers; poor pricing, tendering, and contract-documentation skills; poor mentoring; fronting for established contractors; lack of entrepreneurial skills; lack of proper training; lack of resources for either large or complex construction work; lack of technical, financial, contractual, and managerial skills, and late payment for the work done (phaladi & thwala, 2009: 199). the literature review links the importance of ethical conduct in a business environment to other factors that might well influence the sustainable competitiveness of new entry-level emerging contractors. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 92 3. research methodology this article presents part of the findings of a research project on the ethical conduct of new entry-level emerging contractors in the south african construction industry, using a descriptive quantitative research approach. the first part of the research included an in-depth study done on the concept of ethics, and the relevance thereof for sustainable competitiveness among new entry-level emerging contractors by means of a literature review. the second part of the research entailed collecting and securing primary data, using a structured questionnaire completed by professional construction consultants. this article includes only parts of the literature review and research results. the empirical research in this study took the form of a descriptive research-survey design. the process started with the development of the research problem statements, hypotheses and research objectives. this was followed by a literature review and a survey, in the form of a research questionnaire that was handed out to the identified study sample. this was conducted to collect the primary data. survey instruments can be broadly classified into two categories, namely questionnaires and interviews (boubala, 2010: 55). the principle of voluntary participation was applied in this study. the research focused on new entry-level emerging contractors, as entrepreneurs and emerging contractors, as classified by the construction industry development board (cidb), and was limited to potentially emerging contractors registered within the levels of 1 and 2 general building (gb) classifications on the register of contractors (roc). as ethics is a very sensitive topic in the industry and in order to avoid possible biased opinions by entry-level contractors (for fear of having their personal and organisations’ names made public), it was better to rather obtain the views of consultants who had previously worked with emerging contractors. the research was conducted in the whole of south africa and included a study sample of construction consultants only, i.e., quantity surveyors, architects, consulting engineers, construction mentors, as well as construction and project managers. sampling of the respondents was done on a purposive basis. purposive sampling consists of handpicking supposedly typical groups of people or cases (blaxter, hughes & tight, 2001: 163). all the participants received a notice in the form of an e-mail explaining the nature of the study. the participants gave their informed consent by completing and returning the questionnaire. buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 93 they were also assured that all information provided would be kept confidential, and would be used for research purposes only. parametric tests, including the tests for the mean and mode values, the standard deviation, as well as frequency calculations, and skewness calculations were conducted on the collected primary data. all of these calculations were done using microsoft excel and via calculations on spreadsheets drawn up by using the software. as stated earlier, the population for this study included professional consultants who are actively practising their professions in the south african construction industry. to obtain a representative sample that truly reflects the opinions of the identified population, the researcher had to carefully consider and scrutinise the nature and characteristics of the selected population, in order to determine the type, method and procedure of sampling. as there are a great number of practising consultants in south africa, it would have been impossible to contact all of them for the research survey and also manage to have their responses assessed within a reasonable period of time. therefore, only a selected group of consultants, selected via purposive sampling, received the research questionnaire, because they met the criteria predetermined by the researcher and possessed specialist knowledge of the research issue. this constitutes a judgemental sample, because the researcher identified participants who were likely to provide data that would be comprehensive and pertinent to the research problems. the sampling approach ensured that 100 participants were identified and contacted to participate in the study. a structured questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter. the types of questions used in the questionnaire were closed and open-ended questions, as well as scaled-response questions that included sliding and ranking scales. the questionnaire was divided into five main sections, each of which addressed, in a combination of questions, the main areas of the research. a total of 100 participants were selected, of whom 49 returned completed questionnaires. the questionnaires were distributed and returned to the researcher by e-mail, or as printed copies by means of facsimiles. the returned questionnaires were scrutinised to identify any errors. most of the returned questionnaires were of an acceptable standard. one questionnaire was rejected on the basis that it was not completed correctly, leaving 48 questionnaires to be analysed. once the primary data had been collected, it had to be analysed, using appropriate methods as described earlier. therefore, acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 94 a response rate of 48%, as measured on the basis of the usable completed questionnaires, could be considered good. as proof of this, a response rate of at least 50% can be considered adequate for conducting the analysis (hurbissoon, 2011: 56). data analysis comprised a body of methods that helped describe the facts, detect patterns, develop explanations, and test the hypotheses – as they are used in the sciences, business, administration, and policy. in data analysis, the raw data are ordered and organised to enable the extraction of useful information therefrom (neneh, 2011: 112). the researcher was completely clear about the purpose of the research, and all information was handled with the strictest confidentiality. the wording of the covering letter was formulated in a way likely to have prevented respondent bias. 3.1 analysis and interpretation the analysis for the quantitative data dealt mainly with the frequency of the response data, the mode (the single number or score that occurs most frequently), the mean (the arithmetic average of the scores within a data set), the standard deviation (the measure of variability of a set of data), and the skewness (the degree of asymmetry). for the purpose of this study, the following were applied to the results: • the following scales are used to measure the importance of the respondents’ perceptions. thus, the mean rating comprises mean scores ranging from 1.0 ≤ m < 1.8: ‘strongly disagree’; from 1.8 ≤ m < 2.6: ‘disagree’; from 2.6 ≤ m ≤ 3.4: ‘neutral’; from 3.4 < m ≤ 4.2: ‘agree’, and from 4.2 < m ≤ 5.0: ‘strongly agree’. • mode rating. ‘strongly disagree’: 1.0; ‘disagree’: 2.0; ‘neutral’: 3.0; ‘agree’: 4.0, and ‘strongly agree’: 5.0. respondents had to respond to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions or to questions using a five-point likert sliding scale, anchored by descriptors ranging from (1) ‘strongly disagree’, (2) ‘disagree’, (3) ‘neutral’, (4) ‘agree’ to (5) ‘strongly agree’, in the second set of questions. an ‘unsure’ option was also included in the scale. 4. results and discussion the headings of the specific sections, as set out in the questionnaire, were: • ethical conduct and sustainable competitiveness; buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 95 • failure and liquidation among emerging contractors; • building contracts, and • fraudulent tender awards and unethical conduct. although the full research report includes a breakdown of the opinions of the consultants on each of the statements or questions in the questionnaire, only the overall results of each section are provided in this article. 4.1 ethical conduct and sustainable competitiveness this section of the questionnaire covered the topic of ethical conduct, together with sustainable competitiveness, and dealt with the respondents’ perceptions regarding ethical conduct in the construction industry and among new emerging contractors, as well as the importance of sustainable competitiveness, in order to ensure ethical conduct and the survival of these contractors. table 1: ethical conduct and sustainable competitiveness: closed questions 1.1-1.5 # question frequency % yes no 1.1 have you previously worked on a project together with an emerging contractor? 81.3 18.8 1.2 was/were the above mentioned project/s completed successfully? 63.2 39.5 1.3 in your opinion, do you think that emerging contractors are flooding the market? 73.9 26.1 1.4 in your opinion, do you think that the average start-up emerging contractor is sustainably competitive within the construction industry? 10.9 89.1 1.5 do you feel that sustainable competitiveness is an important driver for starting and maintaining a business? 89.4 10.6 although the respondents are clearly of the opinion that emerging contractors are flooding the market, many of the projects are still completed successfully. there is a perception that the average start-up emerging contractor is not sustainably competitive, but sustainable competiveness is regarded as an important driver for starting and maintaining a business. respondents were then requested to state to what extent they agreed with the following statements, where sd = ‘strongly disagree’; d = ‘disagree’; n = ‘neutral’; a = ‘agree’; sa = ‘strongly agree’, and u = ‘unsure’. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 96 ta b le 2 : et hi c a l c o nd uc t a nd s us ta in a b le c o m p e tit iv e ne ss : l ik e rt s c a le fo r s ta te m e nt s 1. 61. 13 # st a te m e nt fr e q ue nc y % d e sc rip tiv e s ta tis tic s sd d n a sa u m o d e m e a n st . d e v. sk e w . 1. 6 it is im p o rt a nt t ha t e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs re m a in s us ta in a b ly c o m p e tit iv e w ith in t he m a rk e t 4. 2 0. 0 12 .5 20 .8 62 .5 0. 0 5 4. 38 1. 00 -1 .8 9 1. 7 c o rru p tio n a nd fr a ud in t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y is a re su lt o f u ne th ic a l a c tio ns b y p a rt ic ip a nt s to t he in d us tr y 0. 0 4. 2 2. 1 10 .4 83 .2 0. 0 5 4. 73 0. 71 -2 .9 5 1. 8 so m e e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs m a y b e e nt e rin g t he m a rk e t a s a re su lt o f un e th ic a l d riv e rs /m o tiv a to rs a nd n o t to ru n a n ho ne st b us in e ss 4. 2 4. 2 18 .8 25 .0 45 .8 2. 1 5 4. 06 1. 13 -1 .0 3 1. 9 u ne th ic a l a c tio ns b y e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs c a n b e li nk e d t o in su ffi c ie nt e d uc a tio n in t he d isc ip lin e o f e th ic s a nd m o ra l c o nd uc t 4. 2 2. 1 12 .5 31 .2 50 .0 0. 0 5 4. 21 1. 03 -1 .5 3 1. 10 fr a ud ul e nt a c tio ns m a y le a d t o d isp ut e s itu a tio ns in t e rm s o f a c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c t 4. 2 0. 0 6. 3 22 .9 66 .6 0. 0 5 4. 48 0. 95 -2 .3 8 1. 11 o p p o rt un iti e s fo r f ra ud a re u ne th ic a l d riv e rs fo r c o nt ra c to rs t o e nt e r t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y 4. 2 10 .4 6. 3 27 .1 41 .6 10 .4 5 4. 02 1. 29 -0 .9 4 1. 12 if a n e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to r’ s b us in e ss is s us ta in a b ly c o m p e tit iv e , i t c o ul d c o nt rib ut e t o t he s ur vi va l o f t ha t b us in e ss in t he lo ng t e rm 2. 1 2. 1 4. 2 18 .7 68 .7 4. 2 5 4. 57 0. 89 -2 .1 9 1. 13 em e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs c o ul d b e s e c ur in g c o nt ra c ts b y un e th ic a l m e a ns , b e c a us e t he y a re t ry in g t o k e e p t he ir b us in e ss ’ d o o rs o p e n 4. 2 6. 3 27 .1 22 .9 35 .3 4. 2 5 3. 83 1. 20 -0 .5 3 buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 97 table 2 shows that the majority of the respondents ‘strongly agree’ that emerging contractors need to be sustainably competitive in the market and that unethical actions in the industry may be caused by corruption. some emerging contractors may be entering the market as a result of unethical drivers and this can result in unethical actions, such as ensuring contracts by unethical means; these are caused by insufficient education in ethics. these fraudulent actions can then lead to dispute situations. table 2 consists of statements pertaining to ethical conduct and its link with sustainable competitiveness. the results generally indicate that the majority of the respondents are of the opinion that ethical conduct is important in ensuring sustainable competitiveness among new entry-level emerging contractors; that unethical actions can result in corruption and lead to dispute situations, and that these types of contractors may be entering the industry – as a result of unethical drivers. 4.2 failure and liquidation among emerging contractors the next section of the research questionnaire addressed the failure and liquidation among new entry-level emerging contractors in the south african construction industry. the aim was to determine whether the failure and liquidation rate among these companies is rising, and to identify the importance of management for the successful day-to-day running of a construction business, as well as for the survival of such a business in the near and long-term future. table 3: failure and liquidation among new entry-level emerging contractors: closed questions 2.1-2.3 # question frequency % yes no 2.1 have you ever worked on a project that could not be completed successfully, because an emerging contractor could not effectively manage the business/funds/resources/ manpower? 66.7 33.3 2.2 have you ever worked on a project where the client had to terminate the contract with an emerging contractor, because the contractor could not successfully manage or complete the project? 66.7 33.3 2.3 have you ever worked on a project where an emerging contractor could not successfully purchase materials on time because of a lack of funds to do so? 75.0 25.0 acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 98 as indicated in table 3, the majority of the respondents agree (‘yes’) with the three statements. these statistics give an overall indication of the opinions of the consultants on the lack of management experienced by emerging contractors in building projects. respondents were then requested to state to what extent they agreed with the following statements, where sd = ‘strongly disagree’; d = ‘disagree’; n = ‘neutral’; a = ‘agree’; sa = ‘strongly agree’, and u = ‘unsure’. table 4 shows that respondents are of the opinion that the incorrect management of project resources, not purchasing materials on time, and contract terminations cause strain and delay completion. this may be caused by insufficient experience and knowledge in the management of projects. it is also unclear whether the ncdp has been successful in the past 5 years. financial errors can be the result of insufficient financial management knowledge/experience; misrepresentation of finances can lead to fraud and business failure. buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 99 ta b le 4 : fa ilu re a nd l iq ui d a tio n a m o ng n e w e nt ry -le ve l e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs : li ke rt s c a le f o r st a te m e nt s 2. 42. 10 # st a te m e nt fr e q ue nc y % d e sc rip tiv e s ta tis tic s sd d n a sa u m o d e m e a n st . d e v. sk e w . 2. 4 th e fa c t th a t a p ro je c t c o ul d n o t b e c o m p le te d s uc c e ss fu lly , b e c a us e a n e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to r c o ul d n o t e ff e c tiv e ly m a na g e t he b us in e ss /f un d s/ m a np o w e r, c a n p ut s tr a in o n th e e xe c ut io n o f a p ro je c t a nd d e la y c o m p le tio n 4. 2 0. 0 4. 2 4. 2 87 .4 0. 0 5 4. 71 0. 90 -3 .3 1 2. 5 th e fa c t th a t th e c lie nt h a d t o t e rm in a te t he c o nt ra c t w ith a n e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to r, b e c a us e t he c o nt ra c to r c o ul d n o t su c c e ss fu lly m a na g e o r c o m p le te t he p ro je c t, c a n p ut s tr a in o n th e e xe c ut io n o f a p ro je c t a nd d e la y c o m p le tio n 4. 2 0. 0 0. 0 6. 3 85 .3 4. 2 5 4. 76 0. 87 -3 .5 6 2. 6 th e fa c t th a t a n e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to r c o ul d n o t su c c e ss fu lly p ur c ha se m a te ria ls o n tim e b e c a us e o f a la c k o f f un d s to d o so c a n p ut s tr a in o n th e e xe c ut io n o f a p ro je c t a nd d e la y c o m p le tio n 4. 2 0. 0 0. 0 8. 3 87 .5 0. 0 5 4. 75 0. 84 -3 .8 7 2. 7 th e a ve ra g e e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to r h a s su ffi c ie nt k no w le d g e o f, a nd e xp e rie nc e in m a na g in g c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c ts 33 .3 37 .5 16 .7 4. 2 6. 3 2. 0 2 2. 11 1. 25 1. 27 2. 8 th e n a tio na l c o nt ra c to r d e ve lo p m e nt p ro g ra m m e ( n c d p) , a im e d a t d e ve lo p in g a nd a ss ist in g p re vi o us ly d isa d va nt a g e d c o nt ra c to rs s o t ha t th e y c a n re m a in c o m p e tit iv e in t he ir w o rk in g e nv iro nm e nt a nd a t he lp in g t he m in e ns ur in g t he ir su st a in a b le c o m p e tit iv e ne ss , h a s b e e n su c c e ss fu l o ve r t he p a st 5 y e a rs . 12 .5 16 .7 37 .5 4. 2 6. 3 22 .8 3 2. 68 1. 70 0. 38 2. 9 in su ffi c ie nt m a na g e m e nt a nd fi na nc ia l k no w le d g e c a n le a d to a c c o un tin g e rro rs a nd m isr e p re se nt a tio n o f o rg a ni sa tio na l fu nd s 2. 1 2. 1 2. 1 20 .8 72 .9 0. 0 5 4. 60 0. 82 -2 .8 8 2. 10 m isr e p re se nt a tio n o f f un d s c a n le a d t o fr a ud a nd fa ilu re o f t he b us in e ss t o s ur vi ve 6. 3 0. 0 6. 3 29 .2 58 .2 0. 0 5 4. 33 1. 06 -2 .1 0 acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 100 respondents were also requested to rate the importance of effective management practices for the day-to-day running of a business. the results are indicated in table 5. table 5: failure and liquidation among new entry-level emerging contractors: rating scale for statements 2.11-2.16 # statement frequency % descriptive statistics not very important....important u mode mean st. dev. skew. 2.11 general management: as a fundamental to successful overall management of a business 2.1 0.0 0.0 22.9 75.0 0.0 5 4.69 0.69 -3.57 2.12 human resources management: as a fundamental to successfully manage scarce manpower resources 0.0 0.0 4.2 27.1 68.7 0.0 5 4.65 0.56 -1.35 2.13 financial management: as a fundamental to successfully manage scarce monetary resources of a business 0.0 2.1 0.0 14.6 83.3 0.0 5 4.79 0.54 -3.43 2.14 planning and decisionmaking: as a critical element to identify a business’ goals and develop a strategy for achieving them 2.1 0.0 0.0 18.8 77.0 2.1 5 4.72 0.70 -3.50 2.15 communication management: as a critical element to ensure effective translation of tasks, orders, etc. 2.1 0.0 4.2 12.5 81.2 0.0 5 4.71 0.74 -3.37 2.16 construction programmes: as a critical resource to help plan the timing and amount of incomes and expenditures during the construction phase of a project 0.0 0.0 2.1 12.5 85.4 0.0 5 4.83 0.45 -2.38 the results in table 5 indicate that the respondents ‘strongly agree’ that all of the six listed management disciplines (general, human resources, financial, planning and decision-making, communication, and construction programmes) are crucial to ensure the sustainable buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 101 competitiveness and survival of new entry-level emerging contracting companies. tables 3, 4 and 5 consist of statements mainly pertaining to the importance of management in business and construction projects. the results generally indicate that the majority of the respondents were of the opinion that management and all of its disciplines are very important for contracting businesses, and that insufficient experience or knowledge thereof could lead to unethical actions, contract terminations, or project-completion delays. 4.3 building contracts the next section of the research questionnaire dealt with a review on the frequency of dispute-resolution cases and contract terminations among projects undertaken by emerging contractors. for the purpose of this section, the research focused on the jbcc principal building agreement (pba) contract, as the main method for ensuring contractual agreement between parties in the construction industry. table 6: dispute resolution cases and contract terminations: closed questions 3.1 and 3.2 # question frequency % yes no 3.1 have you ever worked on a project with an emerging contractor who had little/no/insufficient knowledge of the workings of the building contract he signed? 63.8 36.2 3.2 was it ever necessary for you as consultant to explain/educate an emerging contractor on the workings of the building contract whilst working together on a project? 76.1 23.9 table 6 indicates that the majority of the respondents (63.8%) have worked with a new entry-level emerging contractor who had insufficient or no knowledge of the building contract, as well as that the majority (76.1%) of the respondents found it necessary to explain or educate a new entry-level emerging contractor on the workings of a building contract during the project. respondents were then requested to state to what extent they agreed with the following statements, where sd = ‘strongly disagree’; d = ‘disagree’; n = ‘neutral’; a = ‘agree’; sa = ‘strongly agree’, and u = ‘unsure’. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 102 ta b le 7 : d isp ut e re so lu tio n c a se s a nd c o nt ra c t te rm in a tio ns : l ik e rt s c a le fo r s ta te m e nt s 3. 33. 12 # st a te m e nt fr e q ue nc y % d e sc rip tiv e s ta tis tic s sd d n a sa u m o d e m e a n st .d e v/ sk e w 3. 3 a g o o d u nd e rs ta nd in g o f t he p ba is e ss e nt ia l f o r t he su c c e ss fu l c o m p le tio n o f a p ro je c t 0. 0 0. 0 6. 4 14 .9 78 .7 0. 0 5 4. 72 0. 58 -2 .0 2 3. 4 a fo rm a l e d uc a tio n o n b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts is n e c e ss a ry t o e ns ur e a g o o d u nd e rs ta nd in g o f t he w o rk in g s th e re o f 0. 0 2. 1 10 .6 21 .3 66 .0 0. 0 5 4. 51 0. 78 -1 .4 9 3. 5 th e m a jo rit y o f e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs h a ve s uf fic ie nt kn o w le d g e o f b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts t ha t a llo w t he m t o c o m p le te p ro je c ts s uc c e ss fu lly 38 .3 23 .4 19 .2 10 .6 2. 1 6. 4 1 2. 09 1. 46 1. 07 3. 6 it is ne c e ss a ry t ha t a ll e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs fi rs t b e e d uc a te d o n b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts b e fo re t he y a re a llo w e d t o p a rt ic ip a te in t he in d us tr y 4. 3 2. 1 8. 5 10 .6 74 .5 0. 0 5 4. 49 1. 04 -2 .2 1 3. 7 em e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs w ith in su ffi c ie nt k no w le d g e o f b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts a re m o re p ro ne t o m a ke m ist a ke s re g a rd in g t he ir rig ht s a nd re sp o ns ib ilit ie s d ur in g t he c o nt ra c t p e rio d 4. 3 4. 3 0. 0 14 .9 76 .5 0. 0 5 4. 55 1. 02 -2 .6 1 3. 8 em e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs w ith in su ffi c ie nt k no w le d g e o f b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts a re m o re p ro ne t o u ne th ic a l b e ha vi o ur c o nc e rn in g c o nt ra c tu a l m a tt e rs 4. 3 10 .6 21 .3 21 .3 42 .5 0. 0 5 3. 87 1. 21 -0 .7 5 3. 9 d isp ut e s a re m o re li ke ly t o a ris e a s a re su lt o f e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs h a vi ng in su ffi c ie nt k no w le d g e o f t he w o rk in g s o f a b ui ld in g c o nt ra c t 0. 0 4. 3 8. 5 17 .0 70 .2 0. 0 5 4. 53 0. 83 -1 .7 7 3. 10 fr a ud ul e nt a c tio ns h a ve a n e g a tiv e e ff e c t o n th e c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y 2. 1 2. 1 0. 0 4. 3 91 .5 0. 0 5 4. 81 0. 74 -4 .3 6 3. 11 if e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs h a d s uf fic ie nt k no w le d g e o f b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts , i t w o ul d c o nt rib ut e t o t he s us ta in a b le c o m p e tit iv e ne ss o f t he ir p ro je c ts a nd b us in e ss e s 2. 1 0. 0 10 .6 19 .2 68 .1 0. 0 5 4. 51 0. 86 -2 .0 8 3. 12 in su ffi c ie nt k no w le d g e o f b ui ld in g c o nt ra c ts m a y le a d e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs t o c o m m it un e th ic a l a c tio ns o ut o f in e xp e rie nc e 4. 3 4. 3 10 .6 29 .8 46 .8 4. 2 5 4. 16 1. 12 -1 .2 1 buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 103 table 7 indicates that the majority of the respondents ‘strongly agree’ that emerging contractors need to be educated on building contracts prior to entering the industry, as a good understanding of the pba is essential; emerging contractors with insufficient knowledge of building contracts are more prone to contractual mistakes and unethical actions. it is also clear that disputes are more likely to arise when emerging contractors have insufficient knowledge of building contracts; these fraudulent actions have a negative effect on the construction industry. emerging contractors with sufficient knowledge of building contracts contribute to their sustainable competitiveness. tables 6 and 7 consist of statements pertaining to the importance of a good knowledge of building contracts. the results generally indicate that new entry-level emerging contractors do need a good understanding of the building contracts they will enter into when working in the industry. furthermore, the results also indicate that new entry-level emerging contractors may need to be educated in the workings of building contracts, and that a knowledge and understanding of building contracts may prevent fraudulent and unethical actions in the industry. 4.4 fraudulent tender awards and unethical conduct the last section of the questionnaire dealt with fraudulent tender awards in the construction industry, as well as unethical behaviour among participants in a building contract. the effects of unethical behaviour and the use of a code of conduct to limit unethical behaviour were also researched. respondents were then requested to state to what extent they agreed with the following statements, where sd=strongly disagree, d=disagree, n=neutral, a=agree, sa=strongly agree and u=unsure. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 104 ta b le 8 : fr a ud ul e nt t e nd e r a w a rd s a nd u ne th ic a l b e ha vi o ur : l ik e rt s c a le fo r s ta te m e nt s 4. 14. 9 # st a te m e nt fr e q ue nc y % d e sc rip tiv e s ta tis tic s sd d n a sa u m o d e m e a n st .d e v. sk e w . 4. 1 if o ne m e m b e r o f a p ro je c t te a m a c ts u ne th ic a lly , i t ha s a n e g a tiv e e ff e c t o n a ll th e o th e r m e m b e rs o n th e t e a m 2. 1 8. 3 4. 2 22 .9 62 .5 0. 0 5 4. 35 1. 04 -1 .7 2 4. 2 u ne th ic a l b e ha vi o ur /a c tio ns b y p a rt ic ip a nt s to t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y ha ve a n e g a tiv e e ff e c t o n th e in d us tr y 0. 0 4. 2 4. 2 12 .5 79 .2 0. 0 5 4. 67 0. 75 -2 .4 7 4. 3 th e n um b e r o f c o nt ra c t te nd e rs a w a rd e d o n a n un e th ic a l b a sis a re in c re a sin g 4. 2 0. 0 22 .9 20 .8 37 .5 14 .6 5 4. 02 1. 22 -0 .7 1 4. 4 th e a w a rd in g o f t e nd e rs o n a n un e th ic a l b a sis a c ts a s m o tiv a tio n fo r e m e rg in g c o nt ra c to rs t o o b ta in te nd e rs in a n un e th ic a l m a nn e r 2. 1 4. 2 10 .4 27 .1 52 .1 4. 2 5 4. 28 1. 02 -1 .2 3 4. 5 et hi c s is fu nd a m e nt a l t o t he m o ra l b e ha vi o ur o f a ll p a rt ic ip a nt s to a c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c t 2. 1 0. 0 2. 1 22 .9 72 .9 0. 0 5 4. 65 0. 73 -3 .1 1 4. 6 w he n a c o nt ra c t is a w a rd e d o n th e b a sis o f un e th ic a l a c tio ns , i t c a n ne g a tiv e ly im p a c t o n th e c o ns ul ta nt s w ho h a ve t o w o rk w ith t ha t c o nt ra c to r 2. 1 2. 1 8. 3 14 .6 72 .9 0. 0 5 4. 54 0. 90 -2 .2 4 4. 7 w he n re g ist e rin g a s a p ro fe ss io na l c o ns ul ta nt , o ne a g re e s to t he re sp e c tiv e c o un c il’ s p ro fe ss io na l c o d e o f c o nd uc t. b o d ie s/ c o un c ils fo r c o nt ra c to rs s ho ul d e d uc a te t he ir m e m b e rs in t he d isc ip lin e o f e th ic s a nd t he ir c o d e s o f c o nd uc t 2. 1 0. 0 4. 2 14 .6 79 .2 0. 0 5 4. 69 0. 75 -3 .2 3 4. 8 a k no w le d g e o f e th ic s a nd p a rt ic ip a tio n in a c o d e o f c o nd uc t c o m p le m e nt t he m a na g e m e nt s ty le o f a b us in e ss o w ne r o r s e ni o r m a na g e r 2. 1 0. 0 6. 3 10 .4 81 .3 0. 0 5 4. 69 0. 78 -3 .0 9 4. 9 kn o w le d g e o f e th ic s a nd p a rt ic ip a tio n in a c o d e o f c o nd uc t p re ve nt fr a ud ul e nt a c tio ns in t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y 4. 2 0. 0 8. 3 33 .3 52 .1 2. 1 5 4. 32 0. 98 -1 .7 8 buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 105 the results in table 8 indicate that the majority of the respondents ‘strongly agree’ that when one member of a project team acts unethically, it negatively affects the remainder of the team and this, in turn, has a negative effect on the industry itself. table 8 consists of statements pertaining to the effects of unethical conduct, and the importance of codes of conduct. the results generally indicate that unethical actions have a negative effect on the construction industry, on other participants in the industry, or on a project team. the results also indicate that ethics and an education in ethics, moral actions and codes of conduct is important, and that new entry-level emerging contractors could benefit from it. 4.5 other findings • fifty-one construction companies had to liquidate their companies over the past five years (as known to respondents). • twenty-nine per cent of the respondents were aware of buil ding contracts that were awarded by means of une thical actions. • unethical behaviour has a negative effect, not only on the construction industry, but also on all parties in the industry, as this can affect the project outcome and success. • there is an urgent need to educate all construction industry stakeholders in ethics and ethical conduct. • ethics is crucial in the construction industry. the respondents stressed that contractors would need to have a board or council that exerts pressure on them to act ethically and to conform to a set code of conduct. • ethics and the value thereof must be imprinted, not only on the emerging contractors, but also on the clients who appoint these contractors. 5. conclusions the literature revealed how ethical conduct is applicable to new entry-level emerging contractors in their dealings with other participants in the construction industry, and that ethical conduct is relevant to the sustainable competitiveness among new entry-level emerging contractors. this is an issue regarding business ethics in the south african construction industry. the literature also revealed that effective management (in the fields of business, project and construction management), entrepreneurship, sustainable competitiveness, competitive advantage, contractor development acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 106 and a sound knowledge of building contracts should play a role in the maintenance of ethical conduct. the empirical results revealed that corruption and fraud in the construction industry is a result of unethical actions by participants in the industry. ethical conduct is, therefore, an important factor in any business environment and is fundamental to the moral behaviour of all participants in a construction project. the correct application thereof can partially contribute to the sustainable competitiveness of new entry-level emerging contractors. management is a fundamental discipline relevant to all business environments. unfortunately, the average new entry-level emerging contractor in south africa has insufficient experience and knowledge of the management of construction projects. following the rules stipulated in building contracts would also ensure ethical conduct during a construction project, as emerging contractors with insufficient knowledge of building contracts are more prone to unethical behaviour in contractual matters. if emerging contractors had sufficient knowledge of building contracts, this would contribute to the sustainable competitiveness of their businesses. as a thorough knowledge of ethics and participation in a code of conduct could prevent unethical actions in the construction industry, it is crucial that new entry-level emerging contractors should be educated in the discipline of ethics that will help sustain their competitiveness in the industry. the awarding of tenders on an unethical basis acts as motivation for new entry-level emerging contractors to obtain tenders in an unethical manner; these unethical and fraudulent actions of participants to the industry have a negative effect on the south african construction industry as a whole. this should not be tolerated. 6. recommendations first, with regard to ethical conduct among new entry-level emerging contractors, it is recommended that professional bodies and/or councils for contractors should educate their members on the discipline of ethics and their respective codes of conduct by holding regular training sessions. secondly, with regard to the sustainable competitiveness of new entry-level emerging contractors, it is recommended that this type buys & van schalkwyk• the relevance of ethical conduct ... 107 of contractor should receive training and education in the management discipline pertaining to businesses. thirdly, with regard to the necessity and importance of building contracts, it is recommended that the cidb and master builder associations in south africa should make it a priority issue to educate their members on the range of building contracts that are available in the industry. fourthly, with regard to the effect of unethical behaviour on the construction industry and its participants, care must be taken by all those who are, in any way, active in the industry to always act morally and with respect towards each other, and the businesses that function in the industry. lastly, it is vitally important that the skills of entry-level contractors be upgraded continuously and that training institutions that administer training and mentoring programmes should budget for the monitoring of entry-level contractors to ensure their successful sustainability. references list bakar, a.h.a., razak, a.a., tabassi, a.a. & yusof, m.n. 2012. key factors contributing to growth of construction companies: a malaysian ex pe rience. world applied sciences journal, 19(9), pp. 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competence, communication and commitment). a survey was conducted among 95 project managers and 61 active grade four contractors in durban, south africa. the findings reveal that both project managers and contractors strongly support the identified critical success factors as significant in achieving project success. there was no significant difference in their perception of critical success factors, based on the biographic characteristics. the recommendations presented may be used as a guideline for successful execution of construction projects. keywords: critical success factors, project success dr hari lall garbharran, research coordinator, department of management accounting, durban university of technology, po box 1334, durban 4000. phone: +27 31 3735740, email: <garbharranhl@dut.ac.za> dr jeevarathnam parthasarathy govender, senior lecturer, department of marketing and retail management, durban university of technology, po box 1334, durban 4000. phone: +27 31 3735396, email: <govendej@dut.ac.za> mr thulani armstrong msani, project head, edison power group, po box 4115, umhlanga rocks, durban 4320. phone: +27 31 5669500, email: <thulani@edisonpower.co.za> oorsigartikels • review articles garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 91 abstrak die konstruksiebedryf is een van die grootste werkskeppers in ontwikkelende lande en is hoogs mededingend. die hoë aantal projekmislukkings dui op die bestaan van onderliggende kritiese suksesfaktore wat nog nie geïdentifiseer is nie. hierdie artikel poog om waarnemings wat kontrakteurs en projekbestuurders van die kritiese suksesfaktore in die konstruksiebedryf gemaak het, te bepaal. die vier coms-model (comfort, competence, communication en commitment) is gebruik om as basis vir hierdie studie te dien. die opname is gedoen onder 95 projekbestuurders en 61 aktiewe graad-vier kontrakteurs, in durban, suid-afrika. die bevindinge het getoon dat beide projekbestuurders en kontrakteurs die kritiese suksesfaktore betekenisvol vind en sterk ondersteun, om projek sukses te bereik. daar was geen betekenisvolle verskil in hul waarneming van kritiese suksesfaktore gebaseer op die biografiese kenmerke nie. die aanbevelings wat gemaak word, kan as riglyn vir die suksesvolle uitvoering van konstruksieprojekte gebruik word. sleutelwoorde: kritiese suksesfaktore, projeksukses 1. introduction project success has eluded the construction industry to the point where keeping existing clients has become a battle, let alone attracting new clients (toor & ogunlana, 2005: 150). an assumption is made that, if a project is completed on time, within the agreed budget and set quality, referred to as the ‘golden triangle’, then the project is deemed successful. evidence suggests that this is far from the truth. hence, the construction industry needs to pay special attention to critical success factors, besides the ‘golden triangle’, if it is to survive the challenges posed by globalisation (toor & ogunlana, 2005: 154). zwikael (2009: 381) believes that the work of construction companies is project-oriented, i.e., it is unique and has a definite start and finish point. this requires the use of project management tools and techniques as opposed to conventional management techniques. proper usage of project management tools within the project life cycle ensures smooth execution of activities. the project life cycle is the framework upon which the project is carried out. the project manager acts as a single point of contact responsible for harnessing identified critical success factors towards achieving project success. according to yang, shen & ho (2009: 162), the unique nature of projects dictates that critical success factors identified in one industry cannot be directly transferred to other industries. the similarities found in the construction industry in developing countries such as south africa make sharing of knowledge easier. the construction industry is one of the largest job creators in developing countries and has become highly competitive with acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 92 the advent of globalisation (nguyen, ogunlana & lan, 2004: 409). contractors, consultants and project managers in south africa are finding it increasingly difficult to attract new clients. in addition, it is not clear as to what actions need to be taken in order to improve project success. according to ojiako, johansen & greenwood (2008: 414), project success in the construction industry in south africa and in most developing countries is measured by the ‘golden triangle’ parameters of time, cost and quality. the high number of project failures suggests the existence of underlying critical success factors which have not been identified. this article, therefore, seeks to identify the critical factors that lead to project success. achieving project success is becoming more important in the highly competitive construction industry. large and complex construction projects are becoming more difficult to complete successfully in developing countries (swan & khalfan, 2007: 123). it is against this background that this article focuses on critical success factors pertaining to the construction industry in durban, south africa. han, yusof, ismail & choon (2012: 90) advocate the suitability of the 4 coms model proposed by nguyen, ogulana & lan, which is considered suitable for application in emerging economies. the aim of this article is to assess the perceptions of contractors and project managers regarding critical success factors which lead to project success in the construction industry in durban, south africa. 2. the four coms critical success factors are those inputs to the project management system that directly increase the likelihood of achieving project success. nguyen, ogunlana & lan (2004: 404-413) identify and group success factors under four categories which are referred to as the ‘four coms’, viz., comfort, competence, commitment and communication. 2.1 comfort the comfort component emphasises that successful projects include the involvement of stakeholders. this includes both primary stakeholders who have a legal relationship to the project (e.g., subcontractors) and secondary stakeholders who do not form a direct part of the project, but influence decisions (e.g., community forums). the needs of stakeholders have to be managed and influenced in a manner that ensures project success (swan & kalfan, 2007: 120). it is essential that a competent project manager be appointed. malach-pines, dvir & sadech (2009: 284) believe that garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 93 such an individual should possess both technical skills, which include being a subject matter expert and having an in-depth knowledge of structures, and “soft” skills, which include team management, emotional intelligence, transformational leadership and conflict management. according to newton (2005: 110), the availability of resources is a further critical factor. a resource management plan needs to be developed in conjunction with all relevant stakeholders. competition for resources is a common phenomenon in projects. unexpected developments during the course of the project must be carefully managed in terms of resource planning. it must be ensured that there is adequate funding throughout the project. a financial plan, which takes into account the project activity schedule, needs to be developed. finally, there must be comprehensive contract documentation. it must be ensured that all relevant stakeholders enter into contractual agreements regarding activities and performance during the course of the project. cost, time and quality parameters need to be specified so that performance can be assessed (johnson, scholes & wittington, 2006: 826). 2.2 competence the competence component identifies the following four aspects as being central to successful project management in the construction industry. first, utilisation of up-to-date technology. nguyen, ogunlana & lan (2004: 411) believe that adopting new technology and utilising it to its full potential has become critical in achieving a competitive advantage in the construction industry. the construction industry has witnessed significant technological developments in recent years. selecting the appropriate new technology and optimal utilisation is key to project success. secondly, there must be proper emphasis on past experience. according to pathirage, amaratunga & haigh (2007: 117), tacit knowledge plays a key role in this regard. in addition, project members should be encouraged to document tacit knowledge gained from the project in order to prevent mistakes in subsequent projects. thirdly, there must be competent teams in place, implying that staff members must have the necessary skills (melkonian & picq, 2010: 82). this requires a comprehensive skills analysis that should reveal gaps in skills. finally, the aspect of awarding bids to the right project manager/contractor needs consideration. the construction industry in south africa has witnessed an increase in the number of contractors, resulting in more intensive competition in this sector. the black economic empowerment (bee) status of a contractor plays a key role in the selection of contractors, especially in the case of public sector projects. other considerations acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 94 when selecting contractors include company track record, quality management, health and safety, and technical proficiency (philips, martin, dainty & price, 2008: 312). 2.3 commitment commitment emphasises the support of top management, commitment to the project, clear objectives and scope, and political support. the support of top management goes beyond the provision of funds and making resources available (johnson, scholes & wittington, 2006: 504). kerzner (2006: 200) believes that commitment to the project is very closely linked to a sense of collectivism, rather than individualism. an environment needs to be created, in which team members experience job satisfaction and are, therefore, motivated to be part of the team. optimal performance by team members is important. having clear objectives and scope are key in providing direction to team members. objectives must be clear and scope should be as simple as possible in order to avoid “grey areas”. it is inevitable that changes will occur during the course of the project. flexibility and adaptability are, therefore, central to achieving success. finally, political support is important for project success, given that a large proportion of projects are public projects. to this end, support from non-governmental organisations and the ruling party is important (jacobson & choi, 2008: 646). 2.4 communication communication plays an important role in leading, integrating people, and taking decisions to make a project a success. there must be shared project vision, where the project manager identifies the interests of all relevant stakeholders and ensures that there is buy-in to the project (yang, shen & ho, 2009: 166). according to zwikael (2009: 385), once the project objectives are set and the scope clarified, there must be constant update as the project progresses. progress on activities assigned to individuals or groups needs to be monitored with a view to achieving overall goals. these updates must be communicated to the relevant parties. newton (2005: 38) believes that a detailed communication plan is necessary for the effective dissemination of information. to this end, frequent project meetings are necessary. apart from consulting with the community, local direct involvement is a key element for project success. given the relatively high unemployment rates in south africa, consideration must be given to local residents. this could include sourcing materials from local suppliers and employing local residents. it is advisable to use an influential community member as a garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 95 liaison between the project manager and the community (teo, 2010: 222). finally, proper handover procedures need to be developed. this is an important consideration, given that the construction industry is being increasingly viewed as a service industry (karna, junnon & sorvala, 2009: 117). 3. research methodology being a quantitative study, the survey method was used to gather primary data (easterby-smith, thorpe & jackson, 2008: 11). the study is descriptive and cross-sectional in nature. the study was confined to commercial projects, hence excluding residential construction. there were two target populations, namely project managers and contractors who worked on both private and public sector projects. project managers comprised independent professional practitioners who are principal agents that were the interface between the client and the contractor. the contractors were those parties who did the actual construction work. for the purpose of this study, only active contractors classified as construction industry development board (cidb) grade 4 were selected. population details of contractors were obtained from the cidb register which indicated the population size of active grade 4 contractors as 68 within the greater durban area (register of contractors, 2010). population details in respect of project managers were obtained from the south african council for project and construction management professions, which indicated a population size of 101 for the durban area. an attempted census was conducted owing to the relatively small population sizes. according to brown & suter (2008: 113), a census is a type of sampling plan where data is collected from every member of a population. questionnaires were, therefore, personally administered, by both the researcher, as well as through the employment of graduate assistants, to 101 project managers and 68 contractors. ninety-five project managers and 61 contractors responded, constituting a response rate of 95% and 90%, respectively. the questionnaire was divided into two sections, namely a biographical section and a section relating to critical success factors. the biographical section was included in order to test for significant differences between the selected biographical factors and perceptions of critical success factors. the section relating to critical success factors consisted of 18 questions with five questions pertaining to “comfort”, four questions addressing “competence”, four questions pertaining to “commitment”, and five questions addressing “communication”. these comprised acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 96 manya et al • governance structures closed-ended questions using a five-point scale (not important – extremely important, where 1 indicates not important and 5, extremely important). closed-ended questions were preferred, as they reduce the respondent’s bias and facilitate coding of the questionnaire (akintoye & main, 2007: 597-617). respondents were given the opportunity to make relevant comments at the end of the questionnaire. descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data. the data analysis was performed using the statistical package for social sciences (spss). the level of significance was set at 95% (p= 0.05). 4. findings and discussion 4.1 biographical data the results, indicated in table 1, show that the vast majority of respondents were male, with 80% of project managers and 79% of contractors being male, clearly indicating the dominance of males in the sector. the largest proportion of respondents for both project managers and contractors was in the 40-59 age group (47.4% of project managers and 45.9% of contractors). interestingly, 18.9% of project managers and 29.5% of contractors were over 60 years of age. this suggests a need for capacity replacement in the long term, as the latter group is expected to retire in a few years’ time. all the respondents have over five years’ experience in the industry, with 74.7% of project managers and 60.7% of contractors having over 10 years’ experience in the industry. this can be attributed to the fact that it takes a significant number of years to gain enough experience and a good reputation which would enable one to do consulting or undertake challenging projects. a total of 80.3 % of the contractors were employed in the public sector, as compared to 67.4% of the project managers being employed in the public sector, indicating a relatively small proportion of respondents being employed in the private sector. this is mainly due to the fact that south africa is a developing country, and the public sector offers most of the tender-based projects. ideally, the private sector should be awarding a larger number of tenders to the industry which, in turn, would create more employment opportunities. garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 97 table 1: biographical details of respondents respondents project managers n=95 contractors n=61 gender male female total 80.0 20.0 100.0 78.7 21.3 100.0 age 20-39 40-59 60+ total 33.7 47.4 18.9 100.0 24.6 45.9 29.5 100.0 years in industry less than 5 years 5-10 years over 10 years total 0 25.3 74.7 100.0 0 39.3 60.7 100.0 industry sector public private total 67.4 32.6 100.0 80.3 19.7 100.0 4.2 findings and discussion on the ‘four coms the following is a descriptive account of respondents’ opinions on the importance of the elements that constitute the ‘4 coms’ 4.2.1 comfort the frequency distributions of items relating to comfort, in respect of project managers, as indicated in table 2, reveal that all respondents were in agreement that the items that constituted comfort were important, with a minimum of 80% of project managers considering the items that constituted comfort as being ‘extremely important’. having comprehensive contract documentation was ranked the highest, highlighting the importance of having sound contractual arrangements. the findings, as presented in table 3, indicate that all contractors also considered the items that constituted comfort as being important, with at least 78.7% of contractors considering the items as being ‘extremely important’. contractors, however, ranked the involvement of stakeholders as being the most important item. interestingly, contractors ranked comprehensive contract information the lowest. both project managers and contractors ranked the involvement of stakeholders very highly. this suggests acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 98 a greater appreciation for consultation with the relevant interest groups. swan & khalfan (2007: 120) advise that the inclusion of all stakeholders, including the public, is essential for successful project delivery. yang, shen & ho (2009: 166) believe that the project manager has to identify the interests of all relevant stakeholders and ensure that there is buy-in to the project. anantatmula (2010: 14) believes that a competent project manager is able to carefully define roles and responsibilities of project team members. according to newton (2005: 110), a resource plan has to be adequately developed and distributed to every section involved in the project. in addition, johnson, scholes & whittington (2006: 305) stress the importance of adequate funding throughout the project. this will ensure that no activity is hampered, due to funding shortages. the importance of contract documentation is highlighted by kerzner (2006: 826), who suggests that, if no contract is signed, it would be difficult to ensure performance of the necessary activities. table 2: frequency distribution of factors relating to comfort: project managers (n=95) items that constituted comfort 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 involvement of stakeholders % 0 0 0 10.5 89.5 100 4.89 2 2 competent project manager % 0 0 0 14.7 85.3 100 4.85 3 3 availability of resources % 0 0 0 19.1 80.9 100 4.79 5 4 adequate funding % 0 0 0 20.0 80.0 100 4.80 4 5 comprehensive contract documentation % 0 0 0 4.2 95.8 100 4.95 1 garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 99 table 3: frequency distribution of factors relating to comfort: contractors (n=91) items that constituted comfort 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 involvement of stakeholders % 0 0 0 8.2 91.8 100 4.92 1 2 competent project manager % 0 0 0 8.2 91.8 100 4.80 3 3 availability of resources % 0 0 0 19.7 80.3 100 4.90 2 4 adequate funding % 0 0 0 19.7 80.3 100 4.79 5 5 comprehensive contract documentation % 0 0 0 21.3 78.7 100 4.79 5 4.2.2 competence the frequency distributions of items relating to competence in respect of project managers and contractors are reflected in tables 4 and 5, respectively. it is evident that the majority of respondents identified the items as being ‘extremely important’ for the successful management of construction projects. a minimum of 73.7% of project managers and 75.4% of contractors considered the items that constituted competence to be ‘extremely important’. project managers ranked awarding bids to the right project manager/ contractor as the most important item, whereas contractors ranked the utilising of up-to-date technology as being the most important. both project managers and contractors, however, ranked utilising up-to-date technology very highly. on the issue of competence, specifically, utilising technology, nguyen, ogunlana & lan (2004: 411) suggest that the project manager identifies all technology needs during the briefing stage. chong, wong & lam (2006: 912) stress the importance of past experience among project managers with a view to increasing the chances of project success. in addition, tacit knowledge, as an element of past experience, plays a vital role in enhancing organisational performance in achieving competitive advantage in the construction industry (pathirage, amaratunga & haigh, 2007: 117). competence among teams is a further consideration. according to london, chen & bavinton (2005: 301), a comprehensive skills analysis needs to be undertaken to identify skills gaps. these can then be addressed acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 100 through the relevant interventions, with a view to having competent teams. phillips, martin, dainty & price (2008: 308) advocate the use of multiple criteria when selecting contractors. these criteria need to take into consideration, inter alia, track record, safety practices, quality management, technical ability, and, in south africa, black economic empowerment. table 4: frequency distribution of factors relating to competence: project managers (n=95) items that constituted competence 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 utilising up-to-date technology % 0 0 0 16.8 83.2 100 4.83 2 2 proper emphasis on past experience % 0 0 0 26.3 73.7 100 4.74 4 3 competent project team % 0 0 0 17.9 82.1 100 4.74 4 4 awarding bids to the right project manager/ contractor % 0 0 0 14.7 85.3 100 4.85 1 table 5: frequency distribution of factors relating to competence: contractors (n=91) items that constituted competence 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 utilising up-to-date technology % 0 0 0 11.5 88.5 100 4.89 1 2 proper emphasis on past experience % 0 0 0 18.0 82.0 100 4.82 2 3 competent project team % 0 0 0 24.6 75.4 100 4.75 4 4 awarding bids to the right project manager/ contractor % 0 0 0 19.7 80.3 100 4.80 3 garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 101 4.2.3 commitment the frequency distributions of items relating to commitment in respect of project managers, as indicated in table 6, reveal that the items comprising the commitment dimension were regarded as ‘extremely important’ in over 80% of the instances. as reflected in table 7, at least 82% of contractors regarded the items that constitute competence as being ‘extremely important’. thus, the vast majority of respondents identified the commitment dimension as a critical success factor for the successful completion of construction projects. project managers ranked political support as being the most important factor, whereas the support of top management was considered most important by contractors. both parties ranked political support very highly, understandably, considering that the majority of projects are based in the public sector. projects, especially public projects, are influenced by the politics of the day, hence the need for political support. jacobson & choi (2008: 646) identify non-governmental organisations and political parties as the key political players. according to johnson, scholes & whittington (2006: 504), projects come about due to a strategic objective that the organisation has to achieve. the support of top management is, therefore, essential. commitment to the project is vital. having clear objectives and scope are key elements. lindahl & ryd, 2007: 152) believe that project objectives have to be iterated and validated on an ongoing basis. forsythe (2008: 480) indicates that construction clients make quality judgments progressively throughout the project, hence the need for clear objectives and scope. table 6: frequency distribution of factors relating to commitment: project managers (n=95) items that constituted commitment 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 top management support % 0 0 0 20.0 80.0 100 4.80 4 2 commitment to project % 0 0 0 19.0 81.0 100 4.81 3 3 clear objectives % 0 0 0 11.6 88.4 100 4.88 1 4 political support % 0 0 0 14.7 85.3 100 4.88 1 acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 102 table 7: frequency distribution of factors relating to commitment: contractors (n=91) items that constituted commitment 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 top management support % 0 0 0 11.5 88.5 100 4.89 1 2 commitment to project % 0 0 0 14.8 85.2 100 4.86 3 3 clear objectives % 0 0 0 18.0 82.0 100 4.82 4 4 political support % 0 0 0 11.5 88.5 100 4.88 2 4.2.4 communication it emerged that at least 71.6% of project managers and 78.7% of contractors considered the items that constitute communication to be ‘extremely important’, once again suggesting that the vast majority of respondents considered communication to be a key success factor in the management of construction projects. these findings are reflected in tables 8 and 9. both project managers and contractors agreed that handover procedures were the most important item that constituted communication. this points to the adoption of a more client-orientated approach. with regard to handover procedures, karna, junnonen & sorvala (2009: 117) view the construction industry as increasingly becoming a service industry. this means that industry players have to become more client-orientated, where the emphasis shifts from “working for the client” to “working with the client”. with regard to the regular update of project plans, zwikael (2009: 385) advises that special focus be given to activity definition and project plan development, as these serve as a basis for project plan updates. newton (2005: 38) suggests that the project manager must communicate, on a regular basis, with the project team, legitimate stakeholders, the client and, where applicable, the project sponsor. kotler & keller (2006: 286) support community involvement, as this indirectly enhances the organisation’s social responsibility standing. garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 103 table 8: frequency distribution of factors relating to communication: project managers (n=95) items that constituted communication 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 shared project vision % 0 0 0 28.4 71.6 100 4.72 5 2 regular update of plans % 0 0 0 19.0 81.0 100 4.81 3 3 frequent project meetings % 0 0 0 11.6 88.4 100 4.88 2 4 community involvement % 0 0 0 19.0 81.0 100 4.81 3 5 handover procedures % 0 0 0 7.4 92.6 100 4.92 1 table 9: frequency distribution of factors relating to communication: contractors (n=91) items that constituted communication 1=not important 5=extremely important total mean ranking 1 2 3 4 5 1 shared project vision % 0 0 0 14.8 85.2 100 4.85 2 2 regular update of plans % 0 0 0 21.3 78.7 100 4.79 5 3 frequent project meetings % 0 0 0 18.0 82.0 100 4.82 4 4 community involvement % 0 0 0 14.8 85.2 100 4.85 2 5 handover procedures % 0 0 0 13.1 86.9 100 4.87 1 4.3 relationship between biographical variables and opinions on critical success factors the mann-whitney test, based on the responses of the 95 project managers and 61 contractors was used to compare the mean scores across the four dimensions at the 95% level of significance (p=0.05). the results, presented in table 10, indicate no significant differences between project managers and contractors with regard to their opinions of the four coms at the 95% level of significance. this finding suggests that the critical success factors were considered acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 104 equally important to both industry players, that is, project managers and contractors. table 10: differences between project managers and contractors on opinions of critical success factors group n mean p comfort project manager contractor 95 61 4.83 4.84 0.751 competence project manager contractor 95 61 4.87 4.81 0.108 commitment project manager contractor 95 61 4.83 4.85 0.263 communication project manager contractor 95 61 4.83 4.83 0.974 furthermore, the results reflected no significant differences between male and female contractors as well as male and female project managers at the 95% level (p>0.05) of their perceptions of the critical success factors. a kruskal-wallis test showed a significant difference only on the communication dimension among the age groupings of project managers (p<0.05). the perception that communication was an important dimension was higher among the 40-59 and over 60 age groups. this could be attributed to these respondents being in the industry for a relatively longer time, hence considering communication to be more important than respondents below the age of 40. the mann-whitney test also showed no significant differences between years of service among project managers or contractors and their perceptions of the critical success factors (p>0.05). it could be that, irrespective of tenure, the critical success factors have been identified with no ambiguity by project managers and contractors. in addition, the mann-whitney test showed no significant differences between project managers and contractors from the public and private sectors and their perceptions of the critical success factors (p>0.05). thus, the critical success factors remain relevant for both the public and private sector respondents. chan, wong & lam (2006: 924) suggest that project managers should have past experience in public housing in order to increase garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 105 the likelihood of project success. this is, to a large extent, due to the nature of the public sector projects. for example, the nature of stakeholders is more complex than in private sector projects. public sector projects involve a multitude of stakeholders ranging from the local municipality to the affected community and even political parties with divergent interests. hence, past experience in the public sector could enhance the likelihood of a project manager achieving success. when asked to make additional comments which they viewed as critical for the successful completion of projects, a few respondents pointed to misunderstandings arising out of contractual documents, resulting in lawsuits and delays in payment from public sector clients, thus causing cash flow problems. 5. conclusion given the difficulty in defining project success, the four coms model has been advocated as being a useful tool in assessing project success, especially in developing countries. this article sought to assess the perceptions of project managers and contractors regarding the critical success factors that lead to project success. the findings suggest that both project managers and contractors strongly support the critical success factors identified in the four coms model as being significant in achieving project success. it emerged that there were no significant differences between project managers and contractors regarding the critical success factors. the findings also show no significant differences between project managers and contractors on the biographical variables of gender, age, tenure in the industry and sector (public and private), and their perceptions of critical success factors. 6. recommendations over and above the ‘golden triangle’, an enabling environment should be established which will ensure that construction projects are executed in comfort, by competent individuals, with a clear communication plan (including skills) and receive commitment from all relevant stakeholders. simplification of contracts should be one of the cidb’s key priorities, as this issue has recently resulted in the increase of lawsuits. this has created an atmosphere of mistrust, mainly between project managers and contractors, since, in most instances, contractors do not deal directly with the client. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 106 in order to avoid individualism, which can lead to declining commitment to a project, a clear line of responsibility should be demarcated, e.g., in the form of a linear responsibility chart. tools such as a work breakdown structure (wbs) should be used to break down activities assignable to specific individuals. it is further recommended that working on several projects simultaneously should be avoided, as this may potentially compromise the quality of the project. the cidb could institute legislation that allows contractors to work on a certain number of projects at a given interval of time. this legislation will also ensure that projects are evenly spread across contractors. in addition, awarding of bids to the right project manager or contractor in the public sector must be conducted by an independent body which is not aligned to the local authorities or municipalities. organisations undertaking government work should lobby for more efficient payment processes, especially timeous payment. delays in payment can place a burden on the liquidity position of operators. another key issue that needs to be addressed is capacity-planning for the future in respect of project managers. the current situation reflects a dominance of males in the industry. furthermore, a significant proportion of project managers and contractors are close to retirement age, making it necessary for the appropriate measures to be taken to ensure capacity in the industry in the future. references list akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construction: the uk contractor’s perception. engineering, construction and architectural management, 14(6), pp. 597-617. anantatmula, v.s. 2010. project manager leadership role in improving project performance. engineering management journal, 22(1), pp. 13-22. brown, t.j. & suter, t. 2008. marketing research. mason: south western-cengage learning. chan, a.p.c., wong, f.k.w. & lam, p.t.i. 2006. assessing quality relationships in public housing. international journal of quality & reliability management, 23(8), pp. 909-927. easterby-smith, m., thorpe, r. & jackson, p.r. 2008. management research. 3rd edition. london: sage publications ltd. garbharran, et al. • critical success factors 107 forsythe, p. 2008. modelling customer perceived service quality in housing construction. engineering, construction and architectural management, 15(5), pp. 485-496. han, w.s., yusof, a.m. ismail, s. & aun, n.c. 2012. reviewing the notions of construction project success. international journal of business management, 7(1), pp. 90-101. jacobson, c. & choi, s.o. 2008. success factors: public works and public-private partnerships. international journal of public sector management, 21(6), pp. 637-657. johnson, g., scholes, k. & whittington, r. 2006. exploring corporate strategy. text and cases. 7th edition. london: pearson education. karna, s., junnonen, j. & sorvala, v. 2009. modelling structure of customer satisfaction with construction. journal of facilities management, 7(2), pp. 111-127. kerzner, h. 2006. project management: a system approach to planning, scheduling and controlling. 9th edition. new jersey: john wiley & sons publications. kotler, p. & keller, k.l. 2006. marketing management. 12th edition. new jersey: pearson education. limsila, k. & ogunlana, s.o. 2008. performance and leadership outcome correlates of leadership styles and subordinate commitment. construction and architectural management, 15(2), pp. 164-184. lindahl, g. & ryd, n. 2007. client’s goals and the construction project management process. facilities, 25(3/4), pp. 147-156. london, k., chen, j. & bavinton, n. 2005. adopting reflexive capability in international briefing. facilities, 23(7/8), pp. 295-318. malach-pines, a., dvir, d. & sadech, a. 2009. project manager – project (pm – p) fit and project success. international journal of operations & productions management, 29(3), pp. 268-291. melkonian, t. & picq, t. 2010. opening the “black box” of collective competence in extreme projects: lessons from the french special forces. project management journal, 41(3), pp. 79-90. muller, r., spang, k. & ozcan, s. 2009. cultural differences in decision making in project teams. international journal of managing projects in business, 2(1), pp. 70-93. newton, r. 2005. the project manager. london: pearson education. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 108 nguyen, l.d., ogunlana, s.o. & lan, d.t.x. 2004. a study on project success factors in large construction projects in vietnam. engineering, construction and architectural management, 11(6), pp. 404-413. ojiako, u., johansen, e. & greenwood, d. 2008. a qualitative re-construction of project measurement criteria. industrial management & data systems, 108(3), pp. 405-417. othman, a.a.e., hassan, t.m. & pasquire, c.l. 2004. drivers for dynamic brief development in construction. engineering, construction and architectural management, 11(4), pp. 248-258. pathirage, c.p., amaratunga, d.g. & haigh, r.p. 2007. tacit knowledge and organisational performance: construction industry perspective. journal of knowledge management, 11(1), pp. 115-126. phillips, s., martin, j., dainty, a. & price, a. 2008. analysis of the quality attributes used in establishing best value tenders on the uk social housing sector. engineering, construction and architectural management, 15(4), pp. 307-320. register of contractors 2010. [online.]. available from: <http://www. registers.cidb.org.za/reports/contractorlisting.asp> [accessed: 12 may 2010]. samuelson, w.f. & marks, s.g. 2006. managerial economics. 5th edition. new jersey: john wiley & sons. sekaran, u. 2003. research methods for business: a skill-building approach. new york: wiley & sons. swan, w. & khalfan, m.m.a. 2007. mutual objective setting for partnering projects in the public sector. engineering, construction and architectural management, 14(2), pp. 119-130. toor, s. & ogunlana, s.o. 2009. construction professionals’ perception of critical success factors for large-scale construction projects. construction innovation, 9(2), pp. 149-167. yang, j., shen, q. & ho, m. 2009. an overview of previous studies in stakeholder management and its implications for the construction industry. journal of facilities management, 7(2), pp. 159-175. zwikael, o. 2009. critical planning processes in construction projects. construction innovation, 9(4), pp. 372-387. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles fidelis emuze qualitative content analysis from the lean construction perspective: a focus on supply chain management peer reviewed abstract the performance of projects in terms of targeted objectives has always been a very contentious issue in the construction industry. the constant issue at stake is the inability of projects to satisfactorily meet agreed delivery targets. in order to address this quagmire, performance improvement tools such as supply chain management (scm) were introduced into the industry. the central theme of this discourse is thus concerned with the need to promote performance improvement in construction through the exploitation of the concepts inherent in scm from the perspectives of lean construction researchers as documented in the annual international group for lean construction (iglc) conferences. the methodological approach adopted for the discourse is qualitative in nature as recent scm literatures available on the iglc web portal were subjected to a qualitative content analysis. the research outcomes, which have implications for south african construction, attempt to offer solutions to the mirage of performance-related project management and/or supply chain problems, especially in terms of improving ‘how organisations working together’ overcome complexities and deliver value to stakeholders. keywords: content analysis, lean construction, performance, research trends, supply chain management abstrak die vordering van projekte in terme van objektiewe was altyd ‘n sensitiewe onderwerp in die konstruksie-industrie. konstante aspekte wat normaalweg ter sprake is, is die onbevoegdheid van spesifieke projekte om voorafbepaalde afleweringsmylpale te behaal. om hierdie onbevoegdhede teen te werk, is prestasieverbeteringshulpmiddels soos voorsieningsketting kennisbestuur in die praktyk voorgestel. die sentrale tema van hierdie aspekte is dus gemoeid met die behoefte om prestasie-verbetering in konstruksie deur middel van die eksplorasie (uitbuiting) van die konsepte inherent in prestasieverbeteringshulpmiddels uit die perspektiewe van lean konstruksie navorsers, soos gedokumenteer in die jaarlikse international group for lean construction (iglc)-konferensies, te dr fidelis a. emuze research associate built environment research centre (berc) school of the built environment po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2399 fax: +27 41 504 2345 email: <fidelis.emuze2@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 2 bevorder. die metode wat gevolg is, was kwalitatief van aard aangesien die nuutste literatuurnavorsing bekikbaar op die iglc-webportaal kwalitatief van aard was. die navorsingsuitkoms van hierdie studie, wat implikasies vir die suid-afrikaanse konstruksie-industrie inhou, het gepoog om sekere oplossings aan te bied wat prestasie georiënteerde aspekte van projekbestuur en/of voorsieningsketting kennisbestuur probleme teen te kan werk en om alle betrokkenes behulpsaam te kan wees om saam te werk met die doel om afleweringsmylpale te behaal. sleutelwoorde: konteksanalise, lean konstruksie, prestasie, bevoegdheid, navorsingspatrone, voorsieningsketting kennisbestuur 1. introduction construction management research (cmr) findings reveal that construction is in need of improvement as many problems can be observed in the sector. analysis of these problems has shown that a major part of them are supply chain problems, originating at the interfaces of different parties and functions (vrijhoef, koskela & howell, 2001: 2). however, despite the attention that supply chain management (scm) has attracted among researchers, the translation of its concepts and techniques into the construction industry is still a challenging issue (isatto & formoso, 2011: 1). vrijhoef & london (2009: 1) suggest that construction scm is thus an emerging area of practice that is more concerned with the coordination of discrete quantities of materials and related specialist services delivered to specific construction projects. according to them, reasons for the adoption of scm in construction include among others: • the organisation and sourcing of materials is becoming increasingly complex across the global construction industry; • global sourcing of materials and assemblies provided by advances in transportation technologies as well as a shortage of craft labour that force increasing amount of value-added work to be conducted off-site deep in the supply chain; • construction clients are demanding faster, more responsive construction processes, and higher quality facilities, and • there is mounting evidence of improvement in project performance through taking a supply chain perspective. in this sense, poor performance exemplified in current and past construction industry development board (cidb) construction industry indicators (cii) reports amplifies the need for improvement in south african construction that is reportedly dominated by small and medium-size enterprises (smes) in the form of subcontractors emuze • qualitative content analysis 3 (shakantu, tookey, muya & bowen, 2007: 97). the proliferation of the number of such organisations in the industry calls for a holistic way of managing the construction process (shakantu et al., 2007: 97). in addition, given the reported advantages that horizontal scm offers smes in construction in terms of business survival and competitiveness, industry stakeholders cannot afford not to exploit the potentials of scm in south africa. for instance, bjornfot, torjussen & erikshammar (2011: 687) observed that an analysis of the economic data from the development of the national swedish timber industry during the 2008-2010 economic crisis indicates that the amount of bankruptcies of smes in the northern swedish timber industry has been fewer than the national average. they contend that, even though there may be other reasons for this, horizontal supply chain collaboration among the smes was a key reason for the improved business survival rate. according to them, horizontal supply chain alliance provides a flexible business climate that leads to improved competitiveness and survivability in a volatile market (bjornfot et al., 2011: 687). in addition, it is notable that because, unlike certain other industrial contexts, construction supply chains are subject not only to sequential but also to pooled and reciprocal interdependencies, and to interdependence owing to the need for synchronising a range of supply chains to each and every construction site, there appears to be a major hindrance to the development of appropriate scm models and efficient supply chain practices in construction (bankvall, bygballe, dubois & jahre, 2010: 391). 2. literature review 2.1 supply chain a supply chain is complex, dynamic and involves the constant flow of information (forecast, orders, schedules), material (components, end products), and funds between different and independent stages in a project life cycle (azambuja & o’brien, 2009: 3). according to azambuja & o’brien (2009: 3), understanding of customers’ expectations and supply chain uncertainty in terms of demand and supply that a firm faces is essential for developing the right capabilities or abilities to serve its market. in other words, a supply chain may need to emphasise its efficiency capabilities that depend on a set of final product characteristics and expected performance. for example, a responsive supply chain is able to address a wide range of quantities demanded, meet short lead acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 4 times, handle a large variety of products, meet a very high service level, and handle supply uncertainty. thus, while scm may be practised on a single project, its greatest benefits materialise when it is practised across all projects in a firm; involves multiple organisations, and is applied consistently over time (tommelein, ballard & kamisky, 2009: 107). managing the supply chain in construction is therefore important because contracts themselves tend to be broad commitments. for example, as uncertainty and complexity rise, project managers find it increasingly difficult to coordinate the project supply chain by managing contracts, which will, in turn, result in delegating a larger share of the coordination process to other stakeholders at operational levels (isatto & formoso, 2011: 15). in addition, as individuals or firms are awarded more autonomy, the overall coordination burden grows, demanding organisational structures that are able to manage commitment loops in terms of project completion (azambuja & o’brien, 2009: 12; isatto & formoso, 2011: 16). the importance of the study is centred on the need to address the detrimental effects that inadequate management of the supply chain that always manifest as cost and time overruns, rework, and in worse cases, accidents is having on project performance. as a result of increased investments in the industry in the future, the management of subcontractors and suppliers by principal general contractors (gcs) is vital to the quest for the delivery of enhanced value to both clients of the industry and the end users of construction products in south africa. moreover, the problem statement proposed for the study suggests that the lacklustre management of supply chains, in particular the supply chains of gcs, limits the extent of performance improvement in construction. the overall aim of this article is thus to highlight the utility of scm for performance improvement, especially from the lean construction perspective. the article is structured as follows. in the next section a literature review focusing on lean construction research outputs and their focus area is presented, followed by a description of the research method. the actual qualitative content analysis and the findings are then presented in addition to a discussion of the findings. this is followed by the conclusions and recommendations. emuze • qualitative content analysis 5 2.2 lean construction lean management principles can be regarded as fundamental prerequisites for continuous improvement activities (meiling, backlund & johnsson, 2012: 152). lean in the construction context entails the understanding of what the client wants in terms of cost, quality and time (value); identifying the hierarchy of processes required to deliver what the client wants, and recognising that individual steps may or may not add value (value stream); examining the steps holistically, understanding dependencies, balancing resources and planning work to avoid delays or rework at interfaces (flow); recognising that each step is not just an end in itself, but an input to the next stage that needs to be delivered at the right time, quantity and quality (pull), and continuously striving to be better (perfection) (terry & smith, 2011: 8). eriksson (2010: 395-396) noted that the core elements of lean construction can be assumed to be waste reduction, process focus in production planning and control, end customer focus, continuous improvements, cooperative relationships, and systems perspective. these descriptions of what lean construction entails are supported by quantitative analysis of contents sourced through articles delivered at iglc conferences. two articles “review of lean research studies and relationships to the toyota production research framework” (authored by jacobs, 2011) and “lean construction – 2000 to 2006” (authored by alves & tsao, 2007) indicated the main research themes that have engaged the attention of lean construction researchers since 1996. content analysis (quantitative) was chosen as the research methodology for analysing 592 iglc research studies from 1996 to 2009 against the toyota production system (tps) framework (jacobs, 2011: 3). the analysis revealed that lean research in construction did not align exclusively around the tps framework. from the 592 studies analysed, 241 (40%) were classified within the four overarching tps categories having the tps principles, and 351 (60%) were classified outside the tps framework as fitting in one of 15 lean-related proxy categories that were created during the course of the study by merging themes during the analysis process (jacobs, 2011: 8). as indicated in table 1, the tps framework includes 4 categories of long-term philosophy, the right process, invest in people and partners, and continuous problem-solving, while the 15 lean-related proxy categories include theory, benchmarking, information technology, sustainability, organisational change, game simulation, design management, literature review, waste control, outside lean acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 6 focus, prefabrication, models and feedback, safety, and logistics. out of these categories, process, people and partners, design management, waste control, prefabrication, and logistics suggest that a segment of lean research outputs addressed issues central to performance improvement by enhancing the interface and/or relationships between construction supply chain members. table 1: clarification of categories of lean research outputs from 1996 to 2009 category description long-term philosophy toyota production system the right process toyota production system invest in people and partners toyota production system continuous problem-solving toyota production system theory theory development research associated with lean construction benchmarking compared construction processes and performances with those of other industries information technology use of computers and telecommunication in construction sustainability architectural property which allows continued viability in construction organisational change undergone internal transformations with organisations game simulation various activities in ‘real life’ in the form of games design management integration of construction design into management finance construction activities concerned with providing capital literature review body of lean text that reviewed critical points of lean construction waste control measures of wastes in construction outside lean focus no relevance to other 18 categories in lean construction prefabrication manufacturing of sections of a building at a factory off-site models and feedback lean production models and feedback on applied applications in construction safety safety systems in construction logistics handling of operations in construction adapted from jacobs (2011: 6) emuze • qualitative content analysis 7 the second quantitative content analysis publication was based on iglc papers from 2000 to 2006. alves & tsao (2007: 50) analysed abstracts and keywords of all 357 papers presented at 7 iglc conferences from 2000 to 2006. they collected a total of 1.710 keywords from 329 papers (92.2% of all iglc papers from 2000 to 2006). they grouped major keywords with their related terms into keyword clusters, and then gathered clusters with 10 or more keywords appearances as indicated in table 2. this effort accounted for a total of 810 keywords, which suggest that the analysis covers 47.4% of all iglc keywords from 2000 to 2006. the exercise was embarked upon based on the assumed hypothesis that postulates that a keyword analysis combined with a review of iglc papers is sufficient to reveal the primary research areas in the iglc community from 2000 to 2006 (alves & tsao, 2007: 58). alves & tsao (2007: 53) observed that, in the group of papers analysed, the papers on scm are in most cases theoretical or descriptions of how organisations work within their supply chains. the papers addressed theoretical models and analysis with the intention of providing explanations related to how construction supply chains work, their peculiarities, and what should be done to effectively implement scm in construction. alves & tsao (2007: 54) further noted that some papers described how specific supply chains work concerning how actors in a specific supply chain interact, how the supply chain operates and what its main problems are, opportunities for improvement, and good practices that can be replicated to other supply chains in construction. however, it was observed that papers related to cases about the implementation of scm concepts across 4 or more organisations were lacking among the examined iglc papers. the authors suggest that this may be due to the fact that the construction industry may be learning slowly about the need to manage not only their firms, but also their supply chains (alves & tsao, 2007: 54). thus, despite the high frequency of scm keywords in the papers analysed (table 2), the iglc community has a long way to go in terms of the implementation of scm in construction. table 2: frequency of keywords and related keywords in 2000 to 2006 iglc papers keyword cluster keyword instances related keywords total keywords percentage (%) lean construction 94 0 94 5.5 design management 10 61 71 4.2 culture and human aspects 5 55 60 3.5 acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 8 keyword cluster keyword instances related keywords total keywords percentage (%) production management 11 49 60 3.5 value 13 39 52 3.0 scheduling 12 36 48 2.8 supply chain management 20 24 44 2.6 process 5 33 38 2.2 last planner 14 23 37 2.2 cost 2 33 35 2.0 prefabrication 14 18 32 1.9 information technology 5 26 31 1.8 safety 7 19 26 1.5 project management 18 6 24 1.4 performance measurement 11 11 22 1.3 construction 17 4 21 1.2 waste 10 8 18 1.1 complexity 11 6 17 1.0 implementation 13 3 16 0.9 theory 6 9 15 0.9 lean production 14 0 14 0.8 client / customer 3 10 13 0.8 quality 3 9 12 0.7 work structuring 10 0 10 0.6 subtotal 328 482 810 47.4 total keywords 2000-2006 1710 adapted from alves & tsao (2007: 51) the linkage of the lean and agile paradigms to the engineered-toorder (eto) sector (such as construction) focus on the proposition that lean and agile strategies can be mapped onto supply chain structures in order to assist the determination of their applicability in the sector (gosling & naim, 2009a: 751). to be succinct, the articles based on content analysis evidently show that the lean construction studies have addressed scm, albeit at varying degrees. while these studies were conducted with quantitative content analysis method, the next section will present findings and discussions that arose from a qualitative content analysis effort. emuze • qualitative content analysis 9 3. research this study can be considered an empirical research undertaking that emphasises deductive coding. though qualitative content analysis can take the form of either inductive or deductive reasoning, deductive content analysis is often used in cases where the researcher intends to cast existing data in a new context (elo & kyngas, 2008: 111; zhang & wildemuth, 2009: 310). this may involve testing categories and concepts based on earlier research findings documented as models, mind maps and literature review (zhang & wildemuth, 2009: 310). categories and a coding scheme can thus be derived from previous related studies and theories. two basic steps put forward by elo & kyngas (2008: 111) in terms of deductive content analysis entail the development of a categorisation matrix and coding of the data according to the categories. after a categorisation matrix has been developed, all the data are reviewed for content and coded for correspondence with identified categories. 3.1 research methods the findings reported and discussed in this article relate to scm from the lean construction perspective. these primary data were generated through a qualitative analysis of content. qualitative content analysis was chosen because it emphasises an integrated view of speech/texts and their specific contexts; goes beyond merely counting words or extracting objective content from texts to examine meanings, themes and patterns that may be manifest or latent in a particular text, and allows researchers to understand social reality in a subjective but scientific manner (zhang & wildemuth, 2009: 308). in brief, a total of 8 iglc research studies, from 2007 to 2010, were analysed for emergent themes related to scm through process analysis. the dates were chosen in order to unearth meanings of recent scmrelated findings documented in the iglc proceedings. the 2011 papers were excluded, because they were not readily available on the iglc web portal during data mining. the number of papers was arrived at by focusing on articles that were published under the iglc conference theme “supply chain management” from 2007 to 2010. in addition, only papers that have scm as a keyword were chosen for analysis. figure 1 presents the research steps taken in this study. the scale on which the research project took place required the utilisation of a qualitative data analysis software package. atlas. ti was used for analysing the papers that were downloaded from acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 10 the iglc website. figure 2 illustrates the atlas.ti interface used while analysing the papers. basically, all the 8 files (in ‘pdf’ format) were assigned to atlas.ti, and each research study was then viewed electronically during analysis, as illustrated by figure 2. iglc research studies (2007-2010 scm papers) analysis of selected papers finding and recommendations figure 1: representation of the research steps figure 2: display of atlas.ti interface emuze • qualitative content analysis 11 4. results as one would expect from scm-related papers delivered at iglc conferences, the term ‘supply chains’ tops the list of codes (table 3). the use of open coding method (descriptive) led to the compilation of a total of 62 quotations. descriptive coding relates to a word or short phrase, which is the basic topic of a passage of text. the table indicates that codes such as supply chains, logistics management, and integration of functions, lean thinking, inventory management, and coordination of flow gathered 64.6% of the quotations, which suggest that these issues dominate the findings presented in the analysed iglc papers. in line with the qualitative analysis procedure documented in the literature (elo & kyngas, 2007: 109-112), the categories presented in table 4 were derived from the data through deductive content analysis. the deductive approach is based on previous findings, and therefore it moves from the general to the specific concerning the emergent theme indicated in table 4. the identified categories, namely construction logistics, flow coordination, merger of supply chains, and complexity and value-related discourse suggest that the principal theme among the analysed iglc papers is ‘how to ensure project success based on supply chain decisions’. these decisions could be made by an upstream or downstream actor in the network as long as it eliminates non-value-adding activities (wastes) and delivers value to the client. table 3: codes used for qualitative content analysis code number of quotations percentage % supply chains 10 16.1 logistics management 8 12.9 integration of functions 6 9.7 lean thinking 6 9.7 inventory management 5 8.1 coordination of flows 5 8.1 information technology 4 6.5 coordination complexity 4 6.5 value delivered to client 3 4.8 production activities 3 4.8 coordinate actions 3 4.8 material tracking 1 1.6 acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 12 code number of quotations percentage % interdependence 1 1 6 plant hire/lease 1 1 6 quality 1 1 6 end-to-end visibility 1 1 6 total 62 100.0 among the quotations that led to the emergence of construction logistics as a distinct category, the use of logistics centres (preferably for large projects), reduction of inventory cost through material aggregation, just-in-time (jit) delivery of materials, tracking of materials in transit (on-site and off-site), reliable location and delivery of on-site items as well as the ability to make equipment requisitions with ease when they are needed, were cited as benefits of lean scm concerning logistics. among others, the elimination of warehouse management problems, creation of instant and consistent visual communication networks, integration of activities across firms, and increased production planning and control were advantages of flow coordination that were empirically discovered by the iglc researchers. concerning the need to merge supply chain functions among project partners, the lean construction researchers are of the opinion that reduction of individual organisational risks, elimination of unnecessary efforts (duplication), coordination of activities and processes, and managing processes beyond the focal company justify the call for the adoption of scm concepts in construction. value-driven processes and the use of lean thinking methods both at the strategy and operational levels were also cited as reasons why scm may be useful in the industry in terms of project complexity and value creation. emuze • qualitative content analysis 13 table 4: coding of the primary data into the categorisation matrix theme how to ensure project success based on supply chain decisions category construction logistics flow coordination merger of supply chains functions complexity & value d e sc rip tio ns o f b e ne fit s a case for the use of logistics centres eliminates warehouse management problems reduces individual organisational risks transformation of processes through lean thinking reduction of inventory cost through material aggregation creates instant and consistent visual communication networks eliminates waste and unnecessary efforts across the chain value-driven purchasing can simplify the production line just-in-time delivery of materials brings high levels of accountability coordination of activities and processes value-driven purchasing provides consistent workflow tracking of materials in transit improves production planning and control improves the efficiency of the production process as a whole centralisation of information can lead to end-to-end visibility reliable on-site location and delivery of items integrates activities across firms design and management of process that goes beyond the focal company boundaries evaluation of the supply chain in order to identify members that could be integrated ability to make equipment requisitions with ease may prevent managerial problems including lack of cooperation and insufficient role definition of the sc agents improves supply chain configuration and control based on factors such as integration of business processes 5. discussion given that the majority of the active contractors on the cidb register of contractors are located between grades 1 and 5 (emuze & smallwood, 2011: 112), which indicated limited contracting capacities, it can be argued that concepts inherent in scm may be beneficial to contractors in south africa. not only will the contractors become more competitive, the client satisfaction levels could also improve further as increased value is delivered to them. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 14 the need to improve performance through proper coordination of multilayer subcontracting is not particular to south africa. for example, the data collected from hong kong construction industry demonstrated that improper work practice among subcontractors contributes to poor quality; long communication chain contributes to poor time management; increased abortive and remedial work from them leads to increased cost overruns, and information sharing errors lead to poor coordination of processes (tam, shen & kong, 2011: 115). the case for the scm implementation from the lean construction perspective is equally reinforced by the perception that lean in construction projects entails (eriksson, 2010: 401): • safe work environment; • good site cleaning; • high comfortableness (fun to work); • commitment and participation; • good communication and feedback; • high trust among participants; • good collaboration; • focus on continuous improvement; • focus on reducing waste; • focus on function and life cycle costs, and • fast decisions about design changes. furthermore, eto or bto (build-to-order) has emerged as a major operation strategy for improving organisational competitiveness (gunasekaran & ngai, 2005: 447). although both lean and agile strategies have been proposed in the literature as strategies for the eto and the bto sector, some of these studies suggest that agility may be more suited to eto supply chain, while leanness may be well suited to a ship-to-stock (sts) supply chain (gosling & naim, 2009a: 752). however, the findings of this particular study reiterate the potential that lean offers the construction industry. even pertaining to the eto sector, gosling & naim (2009a: 751) suggest that certain strategies could enact performance improvement. such strategies include shift between supply chain structures, supply chain integration, information management, business systems engineering, flexibility, time compression, and the development of new product process improvement. as an illustration, the need to understand risk and uncertainties pertaining to construction scm shows that ‘flexibility’ could be a significant competitive factor in emuze • qualitative content analysis 15 the construction industry (gosling & naim, 2009b: 821). the study conducted by gosling & naim (2009b: 818-821) shows that sources of supply chain uncertainties relate to control, demand, process, and supply. for example, they revealed that deliveries that are unable to access site, the speed of construction and the volatility of workflow required the most flexibility types concerning process uncertainties. in this context, process flexibility is the ability to structure the project process so that it can accommodate late changes in design criteria and intermediate schedule milestones (gosling & naim, 2009b: 817). gosling, naim & towill (2012: 11) went further to develop a four-step framework that provides a structured route map for organisations operating in the construction industry to consider the uncertainties in their supply chains and the types of flexibilities required to mitigate them. the framework includes classify the supply chain; identify and analyse uncertainties; optimise pipelines, and develop strategic flexibility. the strength of the framework is that it emphasises the bringing together of organisations to collectively consider uncertainties and flexibilities in the supply chain, and then encourages them to make use of a collaborative approach for problem identification and solution. 6. conclusions and recommendations this article started off by identifying the need to adopt concepts inherent in scm for the purpose of improving performance at both the strategic and operational level of project implementation. the proliferation of subcontracting businesses and the number of contractors with limited contracting capacities that necessitate the use of joint ventures and shortor long-term relationships with larger firms amplified the need for lean scm in south africa. the qualitative analysis of content conducted with the 8 scmbased papers accessed through the iglc website indicates that a number of benefits could be harnessed through the adoption of scm concepts from the lean perspective. based on the findings of the study, it can be advised that project stakeholders should embrace lean construction, especially the theme that is related to scm, because the examined papers demonstrate or promote how to ensure project success based on supply chain decisions. these supply chain decisions could allow benefits related to construction logistics, coordination of the flow of products and services, integration of functions, and value creation to accrue to project stakeholders. the ability to evolve flexibilities that could mitigate a acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 16 range of risks and uncertainties inherent in processes and supplies associated with construction activities supports this argument. meanwhile, future research projects should analyse the veracity of each category in table 4 in the south african context. this should boost the quest for lean construction maturity in the industry. through case study research endeavours, the application of lean scm principles and practices should be observed, mapped, analysed and improved in south africa. acknowledgement the author is deeply grateful to the nmmu-cidb centre of excellence, hosted by the built environment research centre (berc), for supporting this research project. references list alves, t.c.l & tsao, c.c.y. 2007. lean construction – 2000 to 2006. lean construction journal, 3(1), pp. 46-70. azambuja, m. & o’brien, w.j. 2009. construction supply chain modelling: issues & perspective. in: o’brien, w.j., formoso, c.t., vrijhoef, r. & london, k.a. (eds). construction supply chain management handbook. boca raton: crc press, pp. 20-51. bankvall, l., bygballe, l.e., dubois, a. & jahre, m. 2010. interdependence in supply chains and projects in construction. supply chain management: an international journal, 15(5), pp. 385-393. bjornfot, a., torjussen, l. & erikshammar, j. 2011. horizontal supply chain collaboration in swedish and norwegian sme networks. in: 19th annual conference of the international group for lean construction proceedings, july. lima: iglc, pp. 678688. elo, s. & kyngas, h. 2008. the qualitative content analysis process. journal of advanced nursing, 62(1), pp. 107-115. emuze, f.a. & smallwood, j.j. 2011. construction industry development: a south african perspective. in: proceedings of the 2011 cib-w107-construction in developing countries international conference, 1-3 november, hanoi, vietnam, pp. 109-113. eriksson, p.e. 2010. improving construction supply chain collaboration and performance: a lean construction pilot project. supply chain management: an international journal, 15(5), pp. 394-403. emuze • qualitative content analysis 17 gosling, j. & naim, m.m. 2009a. engineer-to-order supply chain management: a literature review and research agenda. international journal of production economics, 122(2), pp. 741-754. gosling, j. & naim, m.m. 2009b. coping with project uncertainty in construction supply chains. in: proceedings of the 25th annual association of researchers in construction management (arcom) conference, 7-9 september, nottingham, uk, pp. 813-822. gosling, j., naim, m.m. & towill, d. 2012. a supply chain flexibility framework for engineer-to-order systems. production planning & control: the management of operations, forthcoming, (doa:10.108 0/09537287.2012.659843). gunasekaran, a. & ngai, e.w.t. 2005. build-to-order supply chain management: a literature review and framework for development. journal of operations management, 23(5) pp. 423-451. isatto, e.l. & formoso, c.t. 2011. three theoretical perspectives for understanding inter-firm coordination of construction project supply chains. australasian journal of construction economics and building, 11(3), pp. 1-17. jacobs, f. 2011. review of lean research studies and relationship to the toyota production research framework. in: proceedings of the 47th association of schools of construction annual international conference, 6-9 april, omaha, nebraska, 10 pages long. meiling, j., backlund, f. & johnsson, h. 2012. managing for continuous improvement in off-site construction: evaluation of lean management principles. engineering, construction and architectural management, 19(2), pp. 141-158. shakantu, w.m.w., tookey, j., muya, m. & bowen, p. 2007. beyond egan’s supply chain management: advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry. acta structilia, 14(1), pp. 93-115. tam, v.w.y., shen, l.y. & kong, j.s.y. 2011. impacts of multi-layer chain subcontracting on project management performance. international journal of project management, 29(1), pp. 108-116. terry, a. & smith, s. 2011. build lean: transforming construction using lean thinking. london: ciria. tommelein, i.d., ballard, g. & kaminsky, p. 2009. supply chain management for lean project delivery. in: o’brien, w.j., formoso, c.t., vrijhoef, r. & london, k.a. (eds). construction supply chain management handbook. boca raton: crc press, pp. 105-126. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 18 vrijhoef, r. & london, k.a. 2009. review of organisational approaches to construction supply chain. in: o’brien, w.j., formoso, c.t., vrijhoef, r. & london, k.a. (eds). construction supply chain management handbook. boca raton: crc press, pp. 1-19. vrijhoef, r., koskela, l. & howell, g. 2001. understanding construction supply chains: an alternative interpretation. in: 9th annual conference of the international group for lean construction proceedings, july. singapore: iglc, pp. 1-15. zhang, y. & wildemuth, b.m. 2009. qualitative analysis of content. in: wildemuth, b. (ed.). applications of social research methods to questions in information and library science. westport, ct: library unlimited, pp. 308-319. 22 nishani harinarain, christina-louise bornman & mandie botha organisational culture of the south african construction industry peer reviewed and revised abstract constant change and globalisation of the construction industry has prompted an international query into the understanding of organisations’ culture, highlighting its impact on effectiveness and performance. assessment of the likely culture type of the south african construction industry has been conducted. the aim of this article is to investigate the organisational culture of the south african construction industry by utilising the competing values framework, with its measurement scale, the organisational culture assessment instrument. this model will identify the industry as either one of the following dominant cultures, namely the clan, adhocracy, market or hierarchy. the systematic sampling method was used and every third participant from a list of quantity surveyors and contractors was selected for the sample group. each participant was emailed a standard questionnaire. from a sample of 235 quantity-surveying firms a total of 39 valid responses were received. from the 270 contractors that were emailed, 32 valid responses were received. the results revealed the market culture to be the predominant organisational culture in the south african construction industry, followed by the clan, hierarchy and, lastly, the adhocracy cultures. understanding of their own and other firms’ organisational culture could reduce conflict and misunderstanding between stakeholders, and enable managers to make business decisions that could improve competitiveness and create a more harmonious working environment. keywords: organisational culture, construction industry, competing values, framework, organisational culture assessment instrument abstrak voortdurende verandering en globalisasie van die konstruksie-industrie, het die belangstelling in organisasiekultuur as ‘n rolspeler in die produktiwiteit en werkverrigting aangevuur. navorsing het al beramings gemaak omtrent die waarskynlike organisasiekultuur van die suid-afrikaanse konstruksie-industrie, me nishani harinarain, lecturer, school of engineering, property development programme, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban, 4041, south africa. phone: +27(0)312602687, email: <harinarain@ukzn.ac.za> me christina-louise bornman, student, school of engineering, property development programme, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban, 4041, south africa. phone: +27(0)312602687, email: <209521734@ukzn.ac.za> me mandie botha, student, school of engineering, property development programme, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban, 4041, south africa. phone: +27(0)312602687, email: <209510833@ukzn.ac.za> harinarain et al • organisational culture 23 maar die voorspellings is nog nie bevestig nie. hierdie artikel beoog om deur middel van die competing values framework met sy maatstaf, die organisational culture assessment instrument, die organisasiekultuur van die industrie te bepaal. die model het vier hoofkultuurtipes, naamlik clan, adhocracy, market en hierarchy, en identifiseer die dominante eienskappe van ‘n organisasie as een van die kulture. die beskikbaarheidssteekproefmetode is gebruik en elke derde deelnemer uit ‘n lys van bourekenaar en kontrakteurs is gekies vir die steekproef. daar is ‘n vraelys aan elke deelnemer per epos gestuur. uit die steekproef van 235 bourekenaarmaatskappye was daar ‘n totaal van 39 geldige antwoorde. uit die 270 kontrakteurs wat vraelyste ontvang het, is slegs 32 geldige antwoorde ontvang. die resultate het getoon dat die market kultuur as die oorheersende organisasiekultuur in suid-afrika aangewys is, gevolg deur die clan, hierarchy en adhocracy kulture. ‘n begrip vir organisasiekultuur in verskeie firmas kan konflik en misverstande tussen belanghebbendes verminder en bestuurders bemagtig in hul besluite om hul mededingende posisie in die industrie te verbeter en tot ‘n meer harmonieuse werksomgewing by te dra. sleutelwoorde: organisasiekultuur, konstruksie-industrie, competing values framework, organisational culture assessment instrument 1. introduction knowledge of organisational culture has become a matter of increasing importance as organisations realise the impact such knowledge could have on their effectiveness and sustainability. globalisation and the ever-growing demand of clients force organisations to adapt in order to remain competitive. the construction industry is dynamic and fragmented, and stakeholders are constantly confronted with new organisations in a changing environment. understanding their organisational culture will enable firms to better manage their business and prevent misunderstandings and conflict often due to cultural differences. this could further enhance performance, quality and customer satisfaction ensuring their long-term success. this article uses the competing values framework (cvf) to assess the dominant organisational culture of the south african construction industry, through the assessment of the organisational culture of quantity-surveying and construction firms. in order to adequately understand the culture of the industry, the results were analysed according to the following criteria: • the organisational culture of quantity-surveying and construction firms; • the organisational culture of different size firms; • the organisational culture in the different provinces, and • the overall culture of the south african construction industry. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 24 companies differ in how to effectively and efficiently manage and control the construction process, due to the various inputs. the behaviour of organisations involved in the process is perceived to be caused by different organisational cultures, developed from differing control systems and structures (harkink & tijhuis, 2006: 43). culture is a powerful, tacit and often unconscious force, which determines the behaviour of both the individual and the group, the way they perceive things, their thought patterns, and their values. organisational culture is important, because these cultural elements determine strategy, goals and modes of operating. in order to make organisations more efficient and effective, it is essential to comprehend the role of culture in organisational life (schein, 2009: 19). wagner & spencer (1996: 71) defined organisational culture as “the personality of the company”. this personality includes what is valued, the dominant leadership style, language and symbols, procedures and routines, and the definitions of success that characterise an organisation (cameron & quinn, 2011: 17). shared beliefs and a way of thinking enable people to distinguish different aspects in a situation. this is also described as the subconscious values and assumptions, people’s expectations and their collective memories in an organisation (schein, 1992; cameron & quinn, 2011: 16). in his explanation of the origin of organisational culture, schein (1986: 20) defines it as a group’s shared learning or the development of its ability to survive. in order to survive, a company needs to have a mission or a reason for existing, definite goals relating to the mission and sufficient means such as structures to reach the set goals. culture in organisations provides a sense of meaning depending on the organisation’s ability to reinforce its cultural characteristics and the extent to which the culture clarifies any ambiguity for employees. it also provides them with a sense of identity or belonging that becomes part of their own identification. as collective success increases, the culture strengthens, in turn, increasing member stability and improving their natural tendency to act in given situations (wagner & spencer, 1996: 67-8). it holds employees together and stimulates employees to commit and perform. organisational culture has the potential to set the tone in organisations. managing cultural units has become increasingly important, due to: • mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures that require organisations to align; harinarain et al • organisational culture 25 • globalisation diversifies the once traditional environment with multicultural units based on nationality, language and ethnicity; • technological complexity that must be considered when designing work flow, and • information technology that changes the location and timeframe of the work environment (schein, 2009). culture gives direction or basic rules and reassures people how to respond as it provides predictability and stability (wagner & spencer, 1996: 67-87). it has been found that organisations that developed and maintained an adaptive culture performed well financially (naoum, 2001: 180). 1.1 organisational culture in construction the globalisation of construction companies has increased their dependency on knowledge of cultural characteristics. research shows that stakeholders in the construction environment share an understanding of how to behave and what is expected of all participants, but misunderstandings and conflict are often due to cultural differences (oney-yazi et al., 2006). all firms in the industry need to establish and understand their own organisational culture which will enable them to adjust their ways and traditions when conducting business with other firms and give them a competitive advantage (oney-yazi, arditi & uwakweh, 2006: 219-228). oney-yazi et al. (2006: 219-228) pointed out that, because of the fragmented nature of the construction industry, sensitivity must be shown to the cultural differences of the participants. culture in the construction industry is also considered an international phenomenon; different cultures should be approached with sensitivity (kwan & ofori, 2001). the influence of culture within the construction industry has focused on many different aspects. investigations include the impact of organisational culture on project goals and the procurement process (liu & fellows, 1999); partnering and performance of stakeholders (latham, 1994); poor project performance (rwelamila, talukhaba & kivaa, 2000: 457-466), and the cultural differences between various construction professionals (ankrah & langford, 2005: 426-438; rameezdeen & gunarathna, 2003: 19-27). studies on organisational culture in the construction industry have been carried out in countries such as sri lanka (rameezdeen & acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 26 gunarathna, 2003: 19-27), australia (igo & skitmore, 2006: 121), china (liu, shuibo & meiyung, 2006: 327-342), finland (nummelin, 2006: 57-68), thailand (novana & ogunlana, 2006: 279-288), turkey (giritli, oney-yazici, topcu-oraz & acar, 2006: 1-9), indonesia (coffey, willar & trigunarsyah, 2011: 1-6) and the united states of america (oney-yazic et al., 2006: 219). the different organisational cultures within different countries’ construction industries revealed that the characteristics of a specific country’s industry differ from those of other countries. this raised the question as to which organisational culture would dominate the south african construction industry. in consideration of this argument, assessment of the findings from the studies conducted in various countries led to the prediction by bornman, botha & harinarain (2012) that the organisation culture in the south african construction industry was that of the market culture. this study was carried out in order investigate the organisational culture of the south african construction industry by utilising the competing values framework and to understand the relationship between the different types of culture that exist in the industry, so that companies can use this information to improve the working environment within the industry. 1.2 the organisational culture framework the organisational culture framework is built upon a theoretical model called the competing values framework (cvf) developed by cameron & quinn (1999). the framework and its matched scale, the organisational culture assessment instrument (ocai), have, according to yu & wu (2009: 39), become the “dominant model in quantitative research on organisational culture”. the purpose of the framework is to determine the predominant type of culture by utilising the ocai, which identifies characteristics relating to the six dimensions of the organisation’s core dimensions that accumulatively represent culture. these dimensions are the basis on which organisational culture is judged and estimated. the cvf has two major dimensions and four main clusters (cf. figure 1). the first dimension distinguishes between organisational focus (internal versus external), while the second one indicates the preference about structure (stability and control versus flexibility and discretion). these two dimensions form four quadrants, each representing a different set of organisational culture indicators. each quadrant is given a distinguishing label that denotes its most notable cultural characteristic. they are the clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchy cultures (cameron & quinn, 2011: 39-40). harinarain et al • organisational culture 27 figure 1: competing values framework source: quinn & rohrbaugh (1981: 136) cultural congruence is prominent in organisations where all the attributes are consistent with each other, that is, they are mostly of the same type of culture. the culture strength is shown by the dominance of a certain type within each quadrant (schein, 2009: 17). the competing values framework identifies four main types of organisational cultures, also referred to as the four effectiveness criteria models. a. clan culture (based on the human resources model) the clan culture supports flexibility and individual differences, openness, participation and discussion. the organisation is committed to the members and their morale and aims to get everyone involved in decision-making and activities (rameezdeen flexibility the clan the adhocracy internal external control the hierarchy the market focus: • human commitment • training • morale • cohesion focus: • adaptibility • readiness • expansion focus: • stability • control • information management focus: • maximum output • productivity • efficiency • goal setting acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 28 & gunarathna, 2003: 21). shared values and common goals are common features and create an atmosphere of collectivity and mutual help (yu & wu, 2009: 38). members put the advancement of the organisation before themselves. cameron & quinn (2011: 46-48) define the clan culture as a family-type organisation. they operate through teamwork, programmes to get employees involved, and corporate commitment to employees. they treat their employees as family and clients as partners. teamwork and information-sharing is the key in an organisation of predominantly the clan culture. rewards are based on organisational or group performance (rameezdeen & gunarathna, 2003: 21). berrio (2003: 2) describes the clan culture as one that focuses on internal maintenance, is flexible, is customer sensitive and focuses on employees’ needs. these organisations are often viewed as a friendly workplace where people share of themselves. tradition and loyalty holds these organisations together and their success is defined in terms of their concern for people (hooijberg & petrock, 1993: 31). the clan culture has a high moral and collegial decision-making style (smart & hamm, 1993: 96-100). b. adhocracy culture (based on the open system model) cameron & quinn (2011: 49-51) view adhocracy culture in an organisation as creative and dynamic. the major goal is to achieve creativity, flexibility and adaptability in a constantly changing environment. the firm focuses on external positioning, with innovativeness as the key to its success. entrepreneurial activity, creativity and acquiring resources are prominent features in the organisation, which is also known for its commitment to risk, innovation and development (rameezdeen & gunarathna, 2003: 21-22). the leaders are risk-takers and innovators, and employees share a commitment to experimentation. their goal emphasises adaptability and being ahead of the latest developments. in the long term, they aim for growth and the acquisition of new resources (hooijberg & petrock, 1993: 31). yu & wu (2009: 38) associate this culture with temporary institutions, which are established for the purpose of performing a specific task and disintegrates once the task is completed. berrio (2003: 2) describes the adhocracy culture as the focus on external positioning and allowing employees to be flexible and focus on individuality. harinarain et al • organisational culture 29 c. market culture (based on the rational goal model) this organisation focuses on external maintenance and transactions (berrio, 2003: 2; yu & wu, 2009: 38). these result-oriented organisations are led by hard-driving, tough and demanding leaders (hooijberg & petrock, 1993: 31). it is rational and goal-oriented, emphasising maximum output, being decisive, and providing direction. it prides itself on accomplishment, productivity and making a profit or having an impact. order, rational production, external interaction and goal accomplishment are the most significant factors of the market culture. members have a clear instruction and are rewarded financially for their performance (rameezdeen & gunarathna, 2003: 22). this culture has a competitive orientation, focusing on the achievement of goals (yu & wu, 2009: 38). its success is defined by its market share and penetration (hooijberg & petrock, 1993: 31). the market culture focuses on its relationship between suppliers, clients and regulators and is more externally oriented (cameron & quinn, 2011: 43-45). berrio (2003: 2) describes this type of organisation as one that functions with a high degree of stability and control, and with focus on external maintenance; it is proactive in adopting strong market initiatives (smart & hamm, 1993: 95-106). d. hierarchy culture (based on the internal process model) also known as the bureaucratic culture, hierarchy culture strives towards equilibrium and consolidation and is characterised by internal bureaucracy (rameezdeen & gunarathna, 2003: 22). a clear organisational structure and standardised rules and procedures give well-defined responsibilities (yu & wu, 2009: 38). leaders are often good coordinators and organisers (hooijberg & petrock, 1993: 31). stability, control and continuity are achieved through measurement, documentation and information management. the internal system is highly regarded and maintained, and members are expected to follow the rules and procedures that govern their actions in well-defined roles (rameezdeen & gunarathna, 2003: 22). the hierarchy culture is visible in a structured and formalised workplace. their long-term goals are predictable and their business environment is stable and efficient (cameron & quinn, 2011: 41-43). a definite mechanistic structure can be observed. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 30 2. research methodology a quantitative research design was adopted to gather data and explain the outcomes of this article. a broad overview and understanding of the research topic was gained through a literature review, followed by analysis of quantitative data collected via the use of the organisational culture assessment instrument (ocai). the purpose of the ocai is to investigate the core values, assumptions, interpretations, and approaches that characterise organisations. it consists of six questions with four alternatives that will categorise the orientation of the organisation. the six questions deal with the dominant characteristics of the organisation; the style of the organisation leader; organisational glue; the nature of organisational climate; success criteria of the organisation, and management style towards the employees. the reliability of this study was ensured because the framework was scrutinised and tested by multiple researchers, including howard (1998), lamond (2003) and deshpande & farley (2004). the two target populations, quantity surveyors and construction firms, are major stakeholders in the industry. the systemic sampling method was used to randomly select a sample in each group, as illustrated in figure 2. figure 2: response rate for the study construction industry construction firms quantity surveying firms population: 934 population: 623 sample: 270 sample: 235 invalid email: 97 invalid email: 41 remain: 173 remain: 194 no response: 138 no response: 149responses: 45responses: 35 invalid responses: 3 invalid responses: 6 usable response: 32 usable response: 39 harinarain et al • organisational culture 31 members on the association for south african quantity surveyors’ (asaqs) website were used as the population for the quantitysurveying firms in south africa, where a total of 623 members were identified. the asaqs divides the qs firms into eight juristic areas, namely cape province, eastern cape, free state, gauteng south, gauteng north, kwazulu-natal, limpopo and north-west. according to bartlett, kotrlik & higgins (2001: 43-50), a reliable analysis of the population size would require a sample of at least 235 participants. the sampling formula used, as suggested by bartlett et al. (2001: 47), is as follows: where: t = value for selected alpha level of 1.96 (0.25 in each tail). where (p)(q) = estimate of variance = 0.25. where d = acceptable margin of error for proportion being estimated = 0.05. figure 3: formula for sample size determination the systematic sampling method was used and every third participant was selected for the sample group, starting at a random place on the list of the whole population. the standard questionnaire was emailed to each participant. all initial questionnaires were followed up with a reminder email a month later. out of a sample of 235 qs firms, 41 (17.45%) had invalid email addresses. of the remaining respondents (n=194), there was a total of 39 (20%) valid responses. a population of 934 registered members was obtained from the master builders association (mba) websites for seven of the nine juristic areas, namely boland, eastern cape, free state, gauteng, kwazulu-natal, northern cape and western cape. a reliable analysis of a population size of 934 would require a sample of at least 270 participants (bartlett et al. 2001). once again, the systematic sampling method was used and every third participant was selected for the sample group, starting at a random place on the list of the whole population. from the 270 participants emailed, 97 (35.9%) emails failed to deliver. out of the remaining 173 participants, 35 participants responded (of which 32 responses were valid. n° = (t)2 x (p)(q) (d)2 n° = (1.96)2 x (.5)(.5) (.05)2 acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 32 3. data analysis analysis of the data gathered through questionnaires from the participants of construction and quantity-surveying firms illustrated the dominant and desired organisational culture in each of the respective groups. the results were also analysed in terms of different firm sizes and the organisational culture of firms in different provinces. this quantitative research used radial graphs to summarise the results, making it easier to interpret. in some instances, two or more organisational cultures were found to be equal for a single firm, being referred to as a dual culture. table 1 shows the total number of qs firms that possess each of the dominant or desired culture types. table 1: qs firms’ organisational culture clan adhocracy market hierarchy dual total current 14 0 15 6 4 39 desired 7 4 21 3 4 39 the majority of the qs firms had a dominant market culture, followed by a clan, hierarchy and adhocracy culture. the majority of the qs firms desired a market culture, followed by the clan, adhocracy and hierarchy culture. four firms had dual dominant or desired cultures. figures 4 and 5 illustrate the organisational culture in all qs firms. figure 4: dominant culture in qs firms the current dominant organisational culture of qs firms in south africa is the market culture. figure 5: desired culture in qs firms the desired organisational culture of qs firms in south africa is the market culture. harinarain et al • organisational culture 33 the majority of the construction firms had a dominant market culture, as depicted in table 2, followed by a clan, hierarchy and adhocracy culture. an analysis of these results also revealed that most construction firms desired a market culture, followed by the clan, hierarchy and adhocracy culture. three firms had dual dominant cultures and four firms had dual desired cultures. table 2: construction firms’ organisational culture clan adhocracy market hierarchy dual total current 9 0 16 4 3 32 desired 10 0 13 5 4 32 figures 6 and 7 illustrate the average organisational culture when all the results received from the construction firms were analysed. figure 6: dominant culture in construction firms the current dominant organisational culture of construction firms in south africa is the market culture. figure 7: desired culture in construction firms the desired organisational culture of construction firms in south africa is the market culture. the data gathered could be analysed, in order to establish the different organisational cultures within firms of different size. there are various classifications for firm sizes. for the purpose of this research, small firms were defined as firms with less than 50 employees. medium firms with 50 to 150 employees, and large firms with over 150 employees (angelini & generale, 2008: 427). the average dominant and desired organisational culture for small, medium and large firms was established, as illustrated in figures 8 to 13. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 34 figure 8: dominant and desired culture in small qs firms the current and desired dominant culture is the market culture. figure 9: dominant and desired culture in small construction firms the current and desired culture is the market culture. figure 10: dominant and desired culture in medium qs firms the current and desired dominant culture is the market culture. figure 11: dominant and desired culture in medium construction firms the current and desired culture is the clan culture. figure 12: dominant and desired culture in large qs firms the dominant culture is the hierarchy, while the desired culture is the clan culture. figure 13: dominant and desired culture in large construction firms the current and desired organisational culture is the market culture. harinarain et al • organisational culture 35 table 3 shows the total number of quantity-surveying firms of each size that possess and desire each organisational culture type. table 3: dominant culture of quantity-surveying organisations of each size clan adhocracy market hierarchy dual total c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d small 3 2 0 2 9 8 0 0 2 2 14 14 medium 8 3 0 1 6 8 2 2 0 2 16 16 large 3 2 0 0 1 5 3 1 2 1 9 9 39 39 as illustrated, the dominant culture type for small firms is the market culture, which is also the desired culture for small qs firms. the market culture was also found to be the dominant and desired culture for medium-size firms. the average culture of a large firm, however, had a dominant hierarchy culture, but desired a clan culture. in the case of the construction firms, table 4 shows the number of firms of each size that possess a certain dominant culture. table 4: dominant culture of construction organisations of each size clan adhocracy market hierarchy dual total c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d c ur re nt d e sir e d small 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 3 1 1 6 6 medium 6 6 0 0 6 7 2 3 1 0 15 16 large 3 4 0 0 7 5 0 0 1 1 11 10 32 32 acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 36 the dominant organisational culture type for small and large construction firms is the market culture, which is also the desired culture for small and large construction firms. the clan culture was found to be the dominant and desired culture for medium-size firms. analysis of the gathered data further enabled an assessment of the organisational culture within the juristic areas of the population. the following section illustrates the dominant and desired organisational culture in each juristic area. figure 14: qs firms in the cape province the dominant and desired culture is the clan culture. figure 15: qs firms in the eastern cape the dominant and desired culture is the market culture. figure 16: qs firms in the free state the dominant culture is the clan culture, but the desired culture is a market culture. figure 17: qs firms in gauteng north the dominant culture is the market culture, which is also its desired culture. harinarain et al • organisational culture 37 figure 18: qs firms in gauteng south the dominant culture is the hierarchy culture, but the desired culture is the adhocracy culture. figure 19: qs firms in kwazulu-natal the dominant and desired culture is the clan culture. figure 20: qs firms in limpopo the dominant culture is the clan culture, but the desired culture is the market culture. figure 21: qs firms in north-west the dominant culture is the market culture, but the desired culture is the clan culture. the analysis revealed that the clan culture is the dominant and desired culture in quantity-surveying firms in both the cape province and kwazulu-natal; the market culture is the dominant and desired culture in the eastern cape and gauteng north. the free state has a dominant clan culture, but desires a market culture. gauteng south has a dominant hierarchy culture and desires an adhocracy culture. limpopo has a dominant clan culture, but desires a market culture. north-west has a dominant market culture, but desires a clan culture. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 38 the dominant organisational culture for construction firms in each of the master builders associations’ seven approachable areas is illustrated below. figure 22: construction firms in the boland boland has a dominant clan culture, which is also its desired culture. figure 23: construction firms in the eastern cape eastern cape has a dominant market culture, which is also its desired culture. figure 24: construction firms in the free state the free state has a dominant hierarchy culture, which is also its desired culture. figure 25: construction firms in gauteng gauteng has a dominant market culture, which is also its desired culture. harinarain et al • organisational culture 39 figure 26: construction firms in kwazulu-natal kwazulu-natal has a dominant market culture, which is also its desired culture. figure 27: construction firms in the western cape the western cape has a dominant market culture, which is also its desired culture. the national survey revealed that the market culture was the dominant and desired culture of organisations in the eastern cape, gauteng, kwazulu-natal and the western cape. in the boland, the clan culture was the dominant and desired organisational culture, and the hierarchy culture was the dominant and desired culture in the free state. there were no respondents from the northern cape. finally, the survey questionnaires were analysed to establish the dominant and desired organisational culture of the south african construction industry. the findings are illustrated in figures 28 and 29. figure 28: dominant culture of the south african construction industry the current dominant organisational culture of the south african construction industry is the market culture. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 40 figure 29: desired culture of the south african construction industry the desired organisational culture of the south african construction industry is the market culture. the results revealed that the organisational culture in the south african construction industry is the predominant market culture. this is followed by the clan culture, the hierarchy culture and, lastly, the adhocracy culture. the market culture was also found to be the desired organisational culture, followed by the clan, the hierarchy and, 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(eds), organizational surveys: tools for assessment and change. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass, pp. 67-87. yu, t. & wu, n. 2009. a review of study on the competing values framework. international journal of business and management, 4(7), pp. 37-42. acta structilia-13(2) 114 fanie buys payment certification problems: who is to blame? peer reviewed abstract problems with payment certificates in the construction industry have always been a popular topic which has attracted wide attention, but especially nowadays with complex and fast-track projects. as these problems often result in expensive disputes between the employer and contractor it was necessary to investigate what the problems are and who is to blame for these problems. a survey was done amongst twenty one contractors and quantity surveyors to get their views on these problems and the results showed that there are a fair number of contractors who inflate their payment claims, that the employer is not always paying the contractor within the stipulated time and that contractors are of the opinion that the quantity surveyors valuation is not a true reflection of the work done. keywords: payment certificates, construction industry, disputes, jbcc 2000 abstrak probleme met betalingsertifikate in die konstruksie industrie het altyd wye aandag geniet en is veral deesdae tydens komplekse en snelgang projekte ’n gewilde onderwerp. hierdie probleme eindig gereeld in duur dispute tussen die werkgewer en kontrakteur en daarom was dit nodig om te bepaal wat hierdie probleme is en wie verantwoordelik daarvoor is. ’n opname is gedoen onder een en twintig kontrakteurs en bourekenaars om hulle siening oor hierdie probleme te kry en die resultate het getoon dat daar ’n aantal kontrakteurs is wat hulle betalingseise onregmatig vergroot, dat die werkgewer nie altyd die kontrakteur op tyd betaal nie en dat die kontrakteur van die opinie is dat die bourekenaars se waardasie nie ’n ware weergawe is van die werk wat gedoen is nie. sleutelwoorde: betalingsertifikate, konstruksie industrie, dispute, jbcc 2000 prof. fanie buys, head of department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. telephone: +27 41 5042669, <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> 115 buys • payment certification problems: who is to blame 1. introduction one of the biggest problems encountered in the construc-tion industry is that of endless disputes between theemployer, professional team and the building contractors regarding the valuation and payment of monthly interim payment certificates. cheung et al. (2000) are of the opinion that resolving disputes has become part of routine management functions for project participants. finsen (1999) supports this view by stating that a growing number of building contracts end in disputes because “the pressure has been on the construction industry to build more and more in less and less time; the fast-track contract has become the norm and under pressure, mistakes are inevitable”. bonheim (1999) states the most significant issues of dispute facing the construction manager, before litigation or arbitration is invoked, are the pricing of variations, disputes relating to payment certificates and repudiation or cancellation of the contract. according to broadmore (2006), “where any form of payment is involved there is always a fear on the part of the paying party that there may be an overpayment followed closely by the insolvency of the party who has received payment.” broadmore (2005) also states that “creditors are entitled to prompt payment of debts … if compliance with a deadline is overlooked; the consequences can be harsh and irreversible.” many of these disputes are as a result of increasing complex construction projects (cheung & suen, 2002). these disputes occur even though there are specific clauses set out in almost all contract documents used in the construction industry. under the principles of the roman-dutch common law a construction contract is an ‘entire’ contract. this means each party must perform its obligations in their entirety. thus the contractor is not entitled to any payment until he has completed what he has been contracted to do i.e. the contractor must complete the works (building) in all respects before the employer is required to pay. such a situation would be quite untenable for a contractor, who would then have to carry the costs of the building operations for many months without payment. to overcome this, almost all building contracts provide for regular payments to be made to contractors, usually after certain stages of work have been completed, or at regular monthly intervals. in both the jbcc 2000 principal building agreement (pba) and the isaa white form contract, there is provision for the contractor to be 116 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) paid on a monthly basis, and the honouring of the monthly payment certificates by the employer is the employer’s primary obligation in terms of the building contract. the principal agent or architect issues monthly payment certificates reflecting the approximate value of work done and materials supplied up to the date of the valuation, less the amounts previously paid to the contractor. according to the jbcc 2000 pba (clause 31.1), a payment certificate needs to be issued every month, even if it is a nil or a negative amount. the jbcc 2000 pba (clause 31.2) further sets out that the contractor shall assist the principal agent in the preparation of the payment claim in respect of an interim payment certificate by providing the principal agent with all necessary documentation and assessments of quantified amounts of work completed. the principal agent shall not, in any way, be relieved of his duties to provide an interim payment certificate, even if the contractor has not provided relevant documentation for a payment certificate. the value certified in such an interim certificate must include a reasonable estimate of the value of the work executed, a reasonable estimate of the value of materials and goods on site, and all amounts which have been previously certified in payment certificates. the valuing of an interim payment certificate is an extremely important process, not only for the contractor but also for the employer as it affects their projected cash flows. for this reason it is of utmost importance that an accurate estimate of the value of each monthly certificate is calculated in order to keep both parties satisfied. notwithstanding these contractual arrangements, disputes occur regularly. 2. reasons for disputes a survey undertaken by hughes (2003) revealed that disputes can be minimised to a great extent if there is better communication between the relevant parties and that they should assist each other better to avoid these disputes. in order to determine how this can be improved it was necessary to investigate the whole ‘payment’ issue. research was undertaken amongst twelve quantity surveyors (registered with the south african council for the quantity surveying profession) and nine building contractors (registered with the mba), all in the eastern cape province of south africa. although the survey was conducted in this province only, there is no reason to believe that the results would be different in any other regions of south africa. 117 buys • payment certification problems: who is to blame the purpose of the paper is not to point fingers at anyone, but rather to determine what the major problems are and how they can be eliminated. the following tables indicate the views of the quantity surveyors and the building contractors on issues affecting the payment of work. 2.1 person preparing payment certificates as the valuation of the work completed should be as accurate as possible, the person doing the valuation should be a senior experienced person. the following table indicates who in the contractor’s firm and who in the quantity surveyor’s firm is responsible for valuating work to be included in a monthly payment certificate. table 1: person preparing valuation of payment certificates as seen in table 1, 56% of the contractors stated that the contractor’s quantity surveyor is preparing valuation for monthly payment certificates while the remaining 44% of the contractors maintain that the contract manager does the monthly payment certificates. the preparation of monthly payment certificates by quantity surveyors is done mainly by a senior quantity surveyor (83%). this indicates that persons in senior positions should be involved in preparing monthly payment certificates and one would expect no major discrepancies. person contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) contract manager 44 17 contractor’s quantity surveyor 56 foreman student senior pqs 83 junior pqs total 100 100 118 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 2.2 method of calculating value of payment certificate table 2: method of calculating value of payment certificates method used contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) accurate measurements on site 83 0 estimates / rough quantities 17 100 total 100 100 there are various methods for calculating the value of interim claims; these include accurate measurements conducted on site or rough estimates of quantities taken on site. all the quantity surveyors have indicated that they use estimates or rough quantities to determine the value of the certificate while 83% of the contractors base their claims on accurate measurements whilst 17% of them use the estimating/rough quantities method. 2.3 inflation of value of certificate to assist contractor’s cash flow as mentioned earlier, the value of payment certificates affects the cash flow of both the contractor and the employer, and there is a perception that contractors inflate their payment claims to assist with their cash flow. the following table indicates whether contractors do inflate their payment claim to assist with their cash flow. table 3: inflation of value of payment certificates contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) yes 44 42 no 56 58 total 100 100 contractors and quantity surveyors are both of the opinion that more than 40% of contractors inflate the value of their payment claims to assist with their cash flow. this is an alarmingly high percentage of contractors and it may have disastrous consequences for the employer if the contractor goes insolvent, especially when there is no provision for sureties or retention monies. quantity 119 buys • payment certification problems: who is to blame surveyors should thus be very careful when evaluating the contractor’s claims in determining the value of the payment certificate. contractors should refrain from such practices. 2.4 extent of late payment by employer clause 31.9 of the pba states that the employer shall pay to the contractor the amount certified in an interim payment certificate within seven days of the date for issue of the payment certificate. table 4 shows the number of days that the employer is late with the payment to the contractor i.e. after the 7-day period. table 4: perceptions of late payment by employer number of days contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) 0 days 9 1-7 days 62.5 58 8-11 days 12.5 16.5 more than 11 days 25 16.5 total 100 100 the table indicates that the majority of payments to the contractor are made late, even if it is less than 7 days late. twenty-five percent of the contractors maintain that they are paid more than 11 days late. this has serious consequences for the contractor and may be one of the reasons why they have cash flow problems. architects or principal agents should thus ensure that payment certificates are issued in sufficient time to the contractor for ongoing submission to the employer for payment. they should also inform the employer of the importance of timeous payment to the contractor. the reason for the late payments can either be the quantity surveyor not providing the principal agent with the necessary payment information timeously; the principal agent being late in issuing the payment certificate; the contractor submitting the payment certificate late to the employer; or the employer delaying the payment. to determine who is responsible for the late payment, contractors and quantity surveyors expressed their opinions as follows: 120 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 2.5 person causing late payments to contractors table 5: person causing late payments to contractor person contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) pqs 40 principal agent / architect 25 contractor 12.5 employer 60 62.5 total 100 100 the majority of both the contractors (60%) and the quantity surveyors (62.5%) are of the opinion that the employer is causing late payments. the remaining 40% of contractors blame the quantity surveyor while 25% of quantity surveyors blame the principal agent / architect and 12.5% blame the contractor. it must be noted (as can be expected?) that none of the contractors or the quantity surveyors blame themselves as being responsible for causing late payments. 2.6 failure of contractor to provide necessary information clause 31.2 of the jbcc 2000 pba places an obligation on the contractor to “assist the principal agent in the preparation of the payment claim information for an interim payment certificate by providing him all relevant documents and assessments of quantified amounts of work completed”. table 6: failure by contractor to provide necessary information frequency contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) never 22 rarely 67 67 sometimes 11 33 often always total 100 100 121 buys • payment certification problems: who is to blame sixty seven percent of both the contractors and the quantity surveyors are of the opinion that the frequency of necessary information being provided late is ‘rarely’, while a fair number of respondents opined that this happens ‘sometimes’. only 22% of the contractors were of the opinion that this happens ‘never’. although clause 31.2 of the jbcc 2000 pba states that the principal agent shall not be relieved of his responsibility to issue an interim payment certificate whether or not such information is provided by the contractor, the provision of the relevant information should assist all parties in finalising the payment certificate within the specified time. 2.7 late payment as a result of contractor failing to provide tax invoice clause 31.9 of the jbcc 2000 pba states that the contractor must also provide the employer with a tax invoice for the amount due stated in the payment certificate, failing which payment cannot be made by the employer. table 7 shows the extent of late payments as a result of tax invoices not being provided by the contractor. table 7: frequency of late payment as a result of late submission of tax invoice frequency contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) never 23 17 rarely 33 58 sometimes 44 25 often always total 100 100 the above table clearly shows that not submitting the tax invoice has resulted in the late payment of certificates in a fair number of instances. it is not clear why contractors do not submit their tax certificates timeously as it is to their own disadvantage and affects their cash flow negatively. 122 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 2.8 quantity surveyor’s valuation of work completed contractors were requested to provide an indication of whether the quantity surveyor’s valuation of the value of the work completed for payment certificates is a true reflection of the value of work completed. table 8 shows the results. table 8: accuracy of quantity surveyor’s valuation of work completed frequency contractors percentage (%) never rarely 22 sometimes 44 often 22 always 12 total 100 a fair number of contractors are of the opinion that the quantity surveyor’s valuation is not a true reflection of the value of work completed. some of the reasons for this may include: • quantity surveyors not spending enough time on the valuation of work done. as the valuation of interim payment certificates is only one of the many functions they perform, it may be that they neglect this function as they do not regard it as very important; • quantity surveyors not wanting to ‘overvalue’ the work (in case contractor going insolvent); • quantity surveyors being aware that contractors tend to inflate their payment claims (see table 3 above); • contractors (and sub-contractors) not providing the necessary information to enable the quantity surveyor to value the work accurately; • employers requesting the quantity surveyor to ‘undervalue’ to assist with their cash flow; or • principal agent adjusting the quantity surveyor’s valuation for the payment certificate. 123 buys • payment certification problems: who is to blame it is vital that the value of each interim payment certificate is a true reflection of the value of the work completed. contractors and consultants should work together closely to arrive at a value which truly reflects the value of work done to assist both the contractor and the employer. undervaluation results in increased escalation payable to the contractor as the work is escalated using higher indices when eventually certified. 2.9 underpayment by employer table 9: underpayment by employer frequency contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) never 67 rarely 67 33 sometimes 22 often 11 always total 100 100 two-thirds of the quantity surveyors were of the opinion that the employer never underpays the contractor. two-thirds of the contractors and the remaining third of quantity surveyors are of the opinion that the employer ‘rarely’ underpays the employer. a fair number of contractors, however, maintain that underpayment does occur ‘sometimes’ (22%) and even ‘often’ (11%). the research did not investigate why this practice is taking place, but employers should not make themselves guilty of this practice as it is not in accordance with the payment clauses in the pba. 2.10 default interest payable by employer although the contractor is entitled, in terms of clause 31.11 in the jbcc 2000 pba, to default interest payable by the employer for payment certificates paid late, it seems that contractors do not always insist on or take legal action if employers fail to do this. the extent to which contractors insist on their right to receive default interest is shown in table 10. 124 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 10: default interest paid by employer frequency contractors quantity surveyors percentage (%) percentage (%) never 22 rarely 67 17 sometimes 11 8 often 42 always 33 total 100 100 from the above table it appears that there is generally a fair difference of opinion between contractors and quantity surveyors on whether contractors insist on their right to receive default interest from the employer. the majority of contractors (22%) ‘never’ insist or only ‘rarely’ (67%) insist, while the majority of quantity surveyors are of the opinion that the contractors ‘often’ (42%) or ‘always’ (33%) insist. contractors are entitled to default interest and the fact that they almost never insist on this right to default interest may worsen the problem of late or underpayment by the employer. the respondents were requested to provide reasons why they do not insist on their right to default, and the following reasons were put forward: • to maintain a good relationship with the employer (71% of contractors, all quantity surveyors); • to ensure a smooth handover at the end of the project (14% of contractors); and • the hassle of getting approval (14% of contractors). the above shows that the majority of contractors and quantity surveyors were of the opinion that legal action is not taken against employers to maintain good relationships with him; possibly to secure future work. 125 buys • payment certification problems: who is to blame 3. conclusion it is evident from the results of the survey that there are many problems and irregularities regarding interim payments to the contractor for work done. it shows that there are a fair number of contractors who inflate their payment claims, that they do not always provide the necessary information to the consultants and that late payments are frequently caused by failure to provide tax invoices to the employer. the results also showed that the employer is not always paying the contractor within the stipulated time and that contractors are of the opinion that the valuation for work done is not a true reflection of the actual work done. a fair number of employers are also guilty of underpaying the contractor and most of the contractors and quantity surveyors maintain that the employer is the person responsible for late payments to the contractor. one of the reasons for many of these irregularities may be as a result of incompetent or inexperienced persons handling interim payment certificates. however, the results showed that it is senior contractors and quantity surveyors who are responsible for evaluating, preparing and submitting interim payment certificates. these persons should thus know what is expected of them in terms of the contract conditions and should assist each other to minimise problems. if all parties communicate their requirements well in advance to one another and provide the necessary information which is required in terms of the contract conditions, there should be no reason why payments are late or not reflecting the true value of work completed. many contractors should also re-think whether they should not insist on their right to default interest payable by the employer as this may be one of the reasons why employers keep on paying them late or underpaying them. 126 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) references bonheim, d. 1999. disputes — the construction manager’s dilemma. the civil engineering & building contractor, 33(4), pp. 43-44, february. broadmore, d. 2005. time limits time bombs. [online]. royal institute of chartered surveyors. available from: <http://www.rics.org/management/disputeavoidancemanagementandresolution/disputemanagementandresolution/dbroadmore001.htm> [accessed 27.3.2006]. broadmore, d. 2006. payment certificates under scrutiny. [online]. james r knowles cyprus limited. available from: <http://www.jrk.com.cy/construction-resources7.htm> [accessed 24.3.2006]. cheung, s.o. & suen, c.h. 2002. a multi-attribute utility model for dispute resolution strategy selection. construction management and economics, 20(7), pp. 557-568. cheung, s.o., tan, c.m., ndekugri, i. & harris, f.c. 2000. factors affecting clients’ project dispute resolution in hong kong. construction management and economics, 18(3), pp. 281-294. finsen, e. 1999. the building contract: a commentary on the jbcc agreements. kenwyn: juta & co, ltd. hughes, s.a. 2003. communication between the building contractor and the professional team. unpublished treatise. port elizabeth: university of port elizabeth. joint building contracts committee (jbcc). 2005. jbcc series 2000 principal building agreement. edition 4.1, cape town: jbcc. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 81 fanie buys & roneesh hurbissoon green buildings: a mauritian built environment stakeholders’ perspective peer reviewed abstract the earth’s health is deteriorating and will deteriorate even more rapidly unless people adopt eco-friendly policies. green building has long been a concept but it has not yet been universally applied in practice. the concept of sustainability emerged in 1713 in germany and was internationalised in the 1970s and can be associated with the energy crisis and environmental pollution concerns. this research is aimed at comparing ‘green’ buildings with ‘non-green’ (traditional) buildings in terms of cost and to determine contractors’ and professionals’ knowledge of green buildings and materials. the literature reviewed and results of a survey among professionals and contractors from the island of mauritius formed the basis of the study. the literature study on green buildings generally revealed that green buildings may be more costly at the outset, but they contribute to long-term savings. this was confirmed by the majority of the survey respondents who stated that green building materials are more durable than traditional materials, resulting in cost savings. furthermore, the most emphasised advantage is reduced energy and water use. contractors are more familiar with traditional materials than green materials and professionals do not have sufficient experience in green building materials/concepts, resulting in a low growth rate of green building construction. the outcome of the study is very important for construction and design team members, clients and environmentalists. keywords: building costs, built environment, green buildings, sustainability abstrak die toestand van die aarde neem gedurig af en die tempo daarvan sal nie afneem tensy die bevolking meer eko-vriendelike beginsels toepas nie. die konsep van ‘groen geboue’ is reeds lank bekend alhoewel dit nog nie universeel toegepas word nie. die konsep ‘volhoubaarheid’ het sy oorsprong in 1713 in duitsland en internasionalisering in die 1970’s toe die energiekrisis en kommer oor omgewingsbesoedeling ontstaan het. navorsing is gedoen om vergelykings fanie buys head of department of building and quantity surveying po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 0415042023 email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> roneesh hurbissoon department of building and quantity surveying po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 0415042669 email: <roneesh_mehta@hotmail.com> acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 82 te tref tussen ‘groen’ en ‘nie-groen’ (tradisionele) geboue, in terme van kostes en kennis van kontrakteurs en ontwerpspanlede. die navorsing is op ‘n literatuurstudie en resultate van ‘n opname tussen verskillende professionele konsultante en kontrakteurs in mauritius gebaseer. die algemene literatuurstudie toon aan dat ‘groen’ geboue aanvanklik meer kos as tradisionele geboue, maar meer voordelig is in terme van langtermynbesparings. dit is bevestig deur die navorsingsrespondente wat aangedui het dat ‘groen’ boumateriale meer duursaam as tradisionele materiale is met gevolglike vermindering in langtermynkostes. verder is die laer energieen waterverbruik van ‘groen’ geboue baie voordelig. kontrakteurs is meer vertroud met tradisionele materiale as met ‘groen’ materiale en professionele konsultante het onvoldoende ondervinding in ‘groen’ geboue; dit alles lei daartoe dat die groeitempo van groen geboue nie na wense is nie. die resultate van die navorsing is van uiterste belang vir alle persone in die bouomgwing, kliënte en omgewingbewustes. sleutelwoorde: boukostes, bou-omgewing, groen geboue, volhoubaarheid 1. introduction for the purpose of this article, the following terminology applies: green materials – building materials that are environmentally friendly, renewable, biodegradable and recyclable, e.g. carbon, polyurethane. traditional/natural materials – materials that are found naturally in a specific place and used by inhabitants to build, e.g. grass, bamboo, thatch, straw bales, dry stone, mud (plaster). conventional materials – materials specified mostly by designers, e.g. brick, concrete, glass, steel. the concept of green or sustainable buildings is not new, but the technologies associated with the concept have evolved and matured over time (emmit & gorse, 2006: 606). “green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.” this practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. a ‘green building’ is defined by the green building council of south africa (gbcsa) as “a building which is energy-efficient, resource-efficient and environmentally responsible” (gbcsa, 2010). green building is also known as “a sustainable or high performance building” (us environmental protection agency, 2010: online). van wyk (n.d.) argues that green buildings are now a universally accepted principle that promotes the construction of environmentally friendly buildings; they can be buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 83 defined as buildings that minimise their impact on the environment while improving their indoor environmental quality. green buildings have been on the rise in the united states of america, europe and australia for a number of years (department of environmental affairs and tourism, 2009: online). however, in south africa this is still a relatively new notion. in 2007 and 2008, consciousness of green buildings increased on account of the electricity and water shortages and a growing awareness of global climate changes. these issues all resulted in a demand for green building practice from international organisations. the way construction is taking place is about to change radically; it “has” to (freed, 2008: 9). freed further explains that the majority of modern-day buildings waste energy, water and resources. according to kennedy, smith & wanek (2002: 1, 2), our relationship to buildings began to change during the last few generations. the industrial revolution came like a big splash in a little pond. it started in western europe, then spread to other parts of the globe. with the industrialisation of buildings, an increase in the amount of construction took place. however, the consequences were not all positive. the effects of extraction, manufacture and the transportation of building materials have contributed to the global environmental problems currently being experienced. although not usually a high priority for investors, owners or even tenants, the energy used by buildings is significant and obviously a key concern with regard to global warming (sayce, ellison & smith, 2004: 226). according to nassen, holmberg, wadeskog & nyman (2006: 1593), the building sector accounts for 40% of the primary energy use and 36% of the energy-related co 2 emissions in the industrialised countries. these emissions are mainly related to the use phase of buildings, while emissions from the production of building materials, such as concrete and steel, are attributed to the manufacturing industry sector. the objective of the research was to investigate the concept of green buildings with specific reference to the cost of green buildings, the scarcity of natural materials in the building industry, the use of green materials as opposed to traditional materials, and building professionals’ knowledge of green-building practices. the purpose of the literature review was to describe green buildings in general, and the quantitative research was to ascertain the current position in mauritius only. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 84 2. review of literature 2.1 the first green buildings according to freed (2008: 10), the first truly green buildings dated from ad 1. these were the stone dwellings of the anasazi indians (meinhold, 2009: online). the best examples of these buildings appeared around the 700s and consisted of apartment-house-style villages which had beautiful stone masonry. freed (2008: 10) mentioned that the reason for considering those buildings as green buildings was that the anasazi understood the sun and heating, natural ventilation, how to capture water, while the only materials used were stone, mud and wood. it is important to note that the ‘anasazi buildings’ were completely free of toxins and were healthy. 2.2 advantages of green buildings srinivas (2009: 791) explains that green buildings have had numerous benefits in india. these benefits range from the tangible to the intangible. tangible benefits include reduction of power consumption by 20%-40% and reduction of potable water consumption by between 30% and 40%. on the other hand, intangible benefits include the health and safety of the building’s occupants, better comfort for the occupants, higher productivity for occupants, and better practices from day one, by having the latest techniques or technologies included. furr (2009: 104) states that the benefits of green buildings include reduced capital investments because of available incentives, reduced operating costs through reduced consumptions (energy and water use), reduced personnel costs related to increased productivity and worker health, and increased operating revenue (higher rentals, increased occupancy and net metering). green buildings have many advantages pertaining to the environment, as well as costs involved. the most emphasised advantage may be regarded as reduced energy and water use (srinivas, 2009: 795), while furr (2009: 104) emphasised the cost advantages. 2.3 limitations and risks of green buildings anderson, bidgood & heady (2010: 35) suggest that green building construction is different from that of conventional buildings, but as with conventional construction, claims and disputes also accompany green projects. these authors also warn about possible buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 85 ‘green litigation’ because of new inexperienced entrants into the green market and the unknown risks. project owners are also faced with risks; there may be a failure to meet the required level of certification (hancock, n.d., online). this risk may be significant where a large number of projects need to meet sustainability standards. hancock further explains that in the case where the completed project fails to be accredited as green, there is a further risk that the owner does not meet his loan or incentive programme; the economic implications may be substantial (anderson et al., 2010: 35). bowers & cohen (2009: online) argue that while many risks of green building are identical to the risks of conventional construction, the addition of sustainability/efficiency benchmarks and the need to attain a certain level of certification change the playing field to some extent. they also emphasise the risks facing design professionals, namely, as leadership in energy and environmental design (leed)accredited professionals, designers are expected to show higher standards of care, while accepting the fact that design failures may result in non-compliance with leed certification of the project. more importantly, liability may arise from the failure of systems or components to perform adequately over the structure’s lifecycle. currently, nearly every european country, the united states of america, canada, australia, japan, hong kong and south africa have their own green building rating system/tool. in 2007 the south african property owners association established a green building council of south africa (gbcsa) to promote environmentally sustainable practices. the gbcsa developed a rating system called the sustainable building assessment tool (sbat). it was developed to support the development of a more sustainable built environment within south africa’s developing country context. the sbat framework includes three sustainability aspects, namely economic (local economy, efficiency, adaptability and flexibility, ongoing costs, capital costs); environmental (water, energy, waste, site, materials and components), and social (occupant comfort, inclusive environments, access to facilities, participation and control, education, health and safety). building environmental rating systems provide a way of showing a building owner to what extent a building has been successful in meeting an expected level of performance in various declared criteria (sebake, n.d.: online). acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 86 2.4 uncovering the meaning of sustainability sustainable construction, according to kunszt (2003: 5), may be defined as “the creation and responsible management of a healthy built environment based on resource efficient and ecological principles”. harrison (2000: 8) and the environmental stewardship initiative (2002: online) define sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. this definition can be accepted as the most widely used one, and is contained in the brundtland report – world commission on environment and development 1987 (munier, 2005: 10). very often the terms ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ are used interchangeably. however, according to kibert (2005: 9), the term ‘sustainability’ addresses the ecological, social and economic issues of a building. this author further relates that in 1994, the conseil international du bâtiment (cib), an international construction research company networking organisation, defined the term ‘sustainable construction’ as the “creation and operation of a healthy built environment, based on resource efficiency and ecological design”. rics (2010), on the other hand, provides a definition of ‘green building’ as a sustainable building or green building is an outcome of a design philosophy which focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use, including energy, water and materials, while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building’s life cycle, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance and removal. sustainable development is often confused by some people who think that concepts such as ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ cannot co-exist, while others think that the words ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ contradict each other (munier, 2005: 16). munier referred to the term ‘sustainable development’ as a qualitative change involving not only the economy, but also institutional, social and environmental changes. according to mclntyre, ivanaj & ivanaj (2009: 166), there are three pillars of sustainability, namely: economic (growth, market expansion, externalisation of • costs); social (basic human needs, equity, participation, social • accountability), and ecological (carrying capacity, sustainable yield, resource • conservation, biodiversity). buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 87 2.5 the issue of costs there is a perception that green buildings are more expensive than conventional buildings (kats, 2003: 12). in a report conducted by berman (2001), it was found that among half a dozen californian developers interviewed in 2001, green buildings cost 10-15% more than conventional buildings. morris & matthiesen (2007: 3) are of the opinion that “there is no significant difference in average costs of green buildings, as compared to non-green buildings”. srinivas (2009: 795) postulates that the cost of green buildings can be slightly higher than that of conventional buildings. he also stresses that this should be considered by means of a different paradigm; therefore, the use of a baseline cost is required. however, green buildings can result in money savings for companies, developers and end-users – over and above their function in protecting the environment (oxford business group, 2008: 137). the ceo of emaar dubai, richard rodriguez, corroborates that construction costs can be reduced considerably if best practices are employed. when considering the cost of green buildings, both tangible and intangible benefits must be considered. the tangible benefits such as the economical advantages are not immediately visible. however, the lifetime payback is much higher compared with that of conventional buildings, which mainly accrues from operational cost savings, reduced carbon emission credits and potentially higher rental or capital values. the intangible benefits such as social advantages are due to the positive impact of green buildings on the neighbourhood environment. moreover, due to better working conditions, the productivity of occupants increases and health problems decrease. furthermore, green buildings create a green corporate image; several companies are now viewing green building rating as a tool to enhance marketability (roy & gupta, n.d: 7). 2.6 building materials resources, pollution and performance are the most general criteria of building materials (berge, 2000: 3). resources used by any construction material include all the raw materials and energy used from its extraction to its disposal. pollution in the above context refers to all harmful emissions resulting from the production of the material, products used to clean and maintain the material, off-gassing from materials during their lifetime, and final incineration or landfilling. performance is the criterion for how well the material does the job for which it was produced (milani, 2005). acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 88 natural materials and processed materials perform differently. natural materials tend to be more complex and have different positive qualities and, if correctly utilised, can bring a plus to the building industry by enhancing the performance of buildings. when compared to traditional materials, methods and technologies, natural materials can provide energy efficiency in buildings. however, may (2006: online) maintains that not any kind of natural material will suit any situation. suddell (2008) proclaims that the construction industry is the second largest sector that uses natural material. according to albino, balice & dangelio (2009: 85), a green material is one that minimizes environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle. however, although baumann, boons & bragd (2002: 415) are of the opinion that there is still confusion on a definition of green materials, attmann (2009: 118) states that green materials are: environmentally friendly;• renewable;• biodegradable, and• recyclable.• furthermore, attmann (2009: 118) maintains that green materials can be categorised into: biomaterials (biotic materials), e.g. straw, carbon, • polyurethane; composites, e.g. concrete, brass;• smart materials, e.g. carbon-fibre, and• nano-materials, e.g. nano-carbon tubing.• kelly & hunter (2009: online) propose the application of the three r’s (reduce, re-use and recycle) as being helpful in selecting building materials. 2.7 professionals and contractors involved in green buildings regarding sustainable development, strong & hemphill (2006: 6) comment that built environment professionals are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of people and the growing economy, while simultaneously maintaining the nature, character and posterity of the natural environment. furthermore, they stress that no one profession is more important than the other; instead, good teamwork is required. according to the associated general contractors of america (2007: online), contractors are important for the success of green projects. buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 89 some contractors may be involved in the design process; however, contractors’ involvement in implementing a project is often limited by the project-delivery system and the contract specifications. the association further stresses that contractors can add expertise if they are included in the design process. among others, the contractor’s role on a green project can be to: recycle and re-use construction and demolition debris;• limit the use of hazardous materials on the jobsite;• protect existing vegetation, donate cleared trees or mulch • for use on site; make environmentally friendly purchasing decisions, and• procure and install more energy-efficient mechanical and • electrical systems. however, braganca (2007: 14) indicates that designers and contractors tend to favour straightforward solutions. despite the fact that construction has contributed to global environmental problems (kennedy et al., 2002: 1, 2), buildings are still being erected without taking the climatic consequences into account. this can possibly be attributed to a lack of knowledge or secondly, to satisfy the main human needs; people prefer simple and cheaper buildings. 2.8 green-building trends according to kibert (2008: 12), the trend towards green buildings is as follows: there is rapid penetration of the leed-green building rating system, as well as increased us green building council (usgbc) membership, private and public incentives, strong federal leadership and an expansion of state and local green building programmes, thereby capitalising on green building benefits and achieving advances in green building technology. furthermore, kibert (2008: 12) explains that similar to trends in green building, there are also barriers such as financial discrepancies, insufficient research and the lack of awareness. the company frost and sullivan’s (2010: online) recent analysis of the south african green building market found that this market is still in its infancy, but it has great potential for growth. it states that the green building council of south africa (gbcsa) has experienced an average growth of 100% per annum in its membership subscription since 2008; this is significantly faster than the growth rates experienced at the inception of the green building council of australia, on which the gbcsa is modelled. in addition, to date the gbcsa has had over 2000 attendees (most of whom are built-environment professionals) acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 90 at their green star sa accredited professional course. four buildings have achieved certification under the green star sa rating system, with another twenty-four registered for certification. growth in membership and participation rates indicates that the south african market is responding well to green-building initiatives. 2.9 green building in mauritius the republic of mauritius is a group of islands in the south west indian ocean, consisting of the main island of mauritius, rodrigues and several outer islands located at distances greater than 350km from the main island. the population, estimated at 1.3 million, comprises indo-mauritians, people of mixed european and african origin, and sino-mauritians. the islands of mauritius and rodrigues, with a total area of 1.969 square kilometres, have an overall population density of 652 persons per square kilometre. about 43% of the area is allocated to agriculture, 25% is occupied by built-up areas and 2% by public roads. the remaining area consists of abandoned cane fields, forests, scrubland, grasslands and grazing lands, reservoirs and ponds, swamps and rocks. the biggest greenhouse gas emission product is carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and in 2010 this amounted to 3365 gigagram (gg), with a major impact on the environment. the energy industry (1997gg), manufacturing (352gg), transport (845gg) and residential (123gg) sectors are the main contributors to the carbon dioxide emission. this has led to greater emphasis on designing green buildings (central statistics office, 2009: 2). building-construction methods for residential buildings include mainly buildings with concrete block walls and concrete roofs (86%), concrete block walls and iron/tin roofs (4%), iron/tin walls and roofs (8%), wood walls and iron/tin or shingle roofs (1%) or ‘other’ (1%). the following ‘traditional’ materials are still used to some extent: straw (used mostly in hotel roofs for aesthetics); stone (commonly used for aesthetics such as garden walls and balustrades of open terraces, and for hardcore filling); timber planks produced locally, and crushed stoned (as a replacement for sand because of environment protection laws). the following ‘conventional’ materials are also used in the construction industry: blocks made of fine stone (instead of bricks), cement (imported) and imported iron sheets (called profilage). most of the internal finishes consist of marble, vinyl flooring, parquet wood flooring (all imported) and locally produced paint. buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 91 since mauritius is a tropical island, even in winter it receives enough sunshine to favour the use of solar energy (e.g. solar water heaters instead of electrical geysers) as a form of ‘green building’ product. 3. research methodology and findings the research is descriptive in nature. a quantitative research method was employed, described by borrego, douglas & amelink (2009: 54) as good for deductive approaches, in which a theory or hypothesis justifies the variables, the purpose statement, and the direction of the narrowly defined research questions. the hypothesis being tested and the phrasing of the research questions all govern how the data will be collected, as well as the method of statistical analysis used to examine the data. the review of the literature resulted in the formulation of the following three main research questions, namely built environment stakeholders’ (i) perception on whether green buildings are more expensive than conventional buildings; (ii) their familiarity with green concepts, and (iii) preference of green versus traditional building projects. the survey instrument used to obtain the primary data for addressing the research questions consisted of a structured questionnaire circulated to a randomly selected sample of fifty quantity surveyors, engineers, construction managers, architects and contractors in mauritius. a response rate of 62% was achieved and this formed the basis for data analysis and the subsequent conclusions. moyo & crafford (2010: 68) state that contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from as little as 7% to as much as 40% in general. as such, the above response rate of 62% can be regarded as very high. the response group included quantity surveyors (23%), engineers (16%), construction managers (16%), architects (29%) and contractors (16%). questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality. it was assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses as they were assured of their anonymity. responses were evaluated on a perceived level of agreement with statements based on a 5-point likert scale where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree. once the questionnaires were returned, the responses were electronically captured using a microsoft office excel spreadsheet to calculate percentages and mean scores (ms); as indicated in the tables. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 92 4. results and findings 4.1 built environment stakeholders’ perception on whether green buildings are more expensive than conventional buildings the questionnaire survey explored the perceptions of mauritian builtenvironment stakeholders in terms of the cost of green buildings compared to that of traditional buildings. the responses are summarised in table 1. table 1: cost of green buildings compared to that of conventional buildings statement response (%) ms unsure 1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 green building design decreases operational and maintenance costs 3.2 6.5 35.5 25.8 29.0 0.0 2 83 green building materials are more durable than conventional materials resulting in cost savings 0.0 3.2 9.7 29.0 38.7 19.4 3 65 green buildings use less energy resulting in cost savings 3.2 0 9.7 25.8 41.9 19.4 3.77 green buildings have less waste disposal resulting in cost savings 6.5 3.2 12.9 35.5 32.3 9.6 3 38 green buildings use less water resulting in cost savings 6.5 0.0 9.7 29.0 38.7 16.1 3 69 green buildings use technology that is cheaper than conventional buildings 0.0 6.5 38.7 22.6 29.0 3.2 2 87 green buildings cost less than conventional buildings 0.0 12.9 32.3 29.0 22.6 3.2 2.74 average 3 28 although the majority of the respondents (35.5%) ‘disagreed’ on whether green-building design decreases operational and maintenance costs, the majority (38.7%) ‘agreed’ that greenbuilding materials are more durable than conventional materials which should result in lower maintenance costs. regarding the use buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 93 of energy, water and waste disposal, the majority of the respondents also ‘agreed’ that green buildings use less energy (41.9%) and water (38.7%) while the majority were ‘neutral’ (35.5%) on whether there is less waste disposal, resulting in cost savings. the table also shows that respondents are not convinced that green buildings use cheaper technology than conventional buildings (ms=2.87). the literature review indicated that the cost of green buildings can be slightly higher than that of conventional buildings. this was confirmed by the majority of the survey respondents (32.3%) as they ‘disagreed’ that green buildings cost less than conventional buildings. although the overall ms of all aspects indicates a higher ‘neutral’ ms of 3.28, leaning slightly more towards the ‘agree’ range, the outcome that green buildings cost less than conventional buildings can possibly be attributed to savings occurring during the project’s life cycle. property developers are often more concerned with initial construction costs when deciding whether to continue with a construction project whereas the life-cycle cost of the development should be a more important factor in decision-making. when green buildings are constructed, the life-cycle cost of the building will result in bigger savings than when conventional materials are used. 4.2 awareness of green-building concepts the questionnaire survey also explored the awareness of builtenvironment stakeholders with respect to various aspects of green buildings. the responses are summarised in table 2. table 2: awareness of green building concepts statement response (%) ms unsure 1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 i am familiar with the environment conservation act 0.0 0.0 9.7 38.7 48.4 3.2 3.48 i am familiar with the national environment management act 0.0 0.0 12.9 38.7 38.7 9.7 3.48 i am aware that natural materials are scarce 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.7 74.2 16.1 4.10 i am aware that the environment is degenerating 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 70.9 29.1 4.32 acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 94 statement response (%) ms unsure 1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 i am aware of the benefits that green buildings have on the environment 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.7 83.9 6.4 4.00 the above benefits are substantial 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.5 54.8 38.7 4.35 i am aware of my firm’s impact on the environment 0.0 0.0 9.7 38.7 48.4 3.2 3.48 the majority of the respondents (48.4%) ‘agreed’ that they are familiar with the environment conservation act while the majority of the respondents were either ‘neutral’ or ‘agreed’ (38.7%) that they are familiar with the national environmental management act. the majority of the respondents also ‘agreed’ that they are aware: that natural materials are scarce (74.2%);• that the environment is degenerating (70.9%);• of the benefits of green buildings on the environment • (83.9%); that the advantages are substantial (54.8%), and• of their firm’s impact on the environment (48.4%).• the above results are a clear indication that mauritian builtenvironment stakeholders are fairly familiar with most green-building concepts and related acts. it is thus important to determine why so few green buildings are being built, especially because the majority of the respondents indicated that they were aware of the benefits of green buildings (ms 4.0) and that these are ‘substantial’ (ms 4.35). the next section shows the results of respondents’ views on their preference in using conventional versus green buildings. respondents were requested to state their views on the use of green versus conventional buildings by indicating to what extent they agreed with the following statements (table 3): buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 95 4.3 preference: green versus conventional buildings table 3: green versus conventional buildings statement response (%) ms unsure 1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 professional firms prefer using conventional materials over green materials or products 0.0 3.2 19.4 25.8 45.2 6.4 3.35 contractors prefer the use of conventional materials over green materials or products 0.0 6.4 12.9 25.8 48.4 6.5 3.39 contractors are more familiar with conventional materials 0.0 3.2 12.9 19.4 54.8 9.7 3.58 building professionals are experienced in greenbuilding concepts 0.0 3.2 41.9 32.3 22.6 0.0 2.78 contractors understand the nature of green materials or products 3.2 6.4 32.3 32.3 25.8 0.0 2.79 green materials and methods are still new concepts in the construction industry 0.0 3.2 45.2 25.8 22.6 3.2 2.81 the results indicate that the majority of both professional teams (45.2%) and contractors (48.4%) ‘agree’ with the statement that they still prefer to use conventional materials over green materials or products. this may be because the majority of the respondents (54.8%) indicated that contractors are more familiar with conventional materials and therefore refrain from using green materials. however, the majority of the respondents (41.9%) indicated that they ‘disagree’ with the statement that professionals are experienced in green-building concepts. this may be one of the reasons why there is not really a growth in green buildings being built. if professionals do not have sufficient experience in green-building materials/ concepts, they may be hesitant to specify them. the majority of the respondents also indicated that they ‘disagree’ (32.3%) with the statement that contractors understand the nature of green materials or products, whereas 32.3% of the respondents were ‘neutral’ regarding this statement. from the results it is also clear that the majority of the respondents (45.2) do not believe that green materials and concepts are still new to the construction industry. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 96 the above results indicate that there is still a tendency not to use green materials or products. this could be because professionals and contractors are not fully familiar with such materials and therefore are hesitant to specify or use them. clients, however, are becoming more aware of green buildings and materials and may insist that professionals and contractors specify and use such materials. this is also obvious in the following results. 4.4 prospects of green buildings table 4 summarises the respondents’ views on the prospects of green-building construction in mauritius. table 4: prospects of green buildings in mauritius statement response (%) ms unsure 1=fully disagree, 3=neutral, 5=fully agree 1 2 3 4 5 green building construction is at its infancy 0.0 3.2 29.0 29.0 35.5 3.3 3.06 green buildings have a high growth potential 0.0 0.0 6.5 19.4 64.5 9.6 3.77 clients are interested in green buildings 0.0 0.0 3.2 25.8 67.7 3.3 3.71 i promote green-building practice among my colleagues 0.0 0.0 9.7 38.7 48.4 3.2 3.45 the results indicate that the majority of the respondents (35.5%) ‘agree’ that green building is still at its infancy, and 64.5% of the respondents ‘agree’ that green buildings have a high growth potential. the results also indicated that 67.7% of the respondents ‘agree’ that clients are interested in green buildings, and 48.4% of built-environment stakeholders promote green-building practice among their colleagues. these findings are similar to what was previously discussed in the literature review. it is thus clear that the prospects of green-building construction are very positive. all stakeholders should thus minimise any barriers to ensure growth in green-building developments. buys & hurbissoon • green buildings 97 5. conclusions and recommendations the characteristics of green buildings are energy-efficient, resourceefficient and environmentally responsible. the primary concern is to protect our planet with the aim of creating a better and healthier environment for people. the results of this research indicated that various authors pointed out that green buildings may be more costly at the outset, but they contribute to long-term savings. this was confirmed by the majority of the survey respondents who stated that green building materials are more durable than conventional materials, resulting in cost savings. the literature pointed out that green buildings have many advantages pertaining to the environment, as well as costs involved; the most emphasised advantage may be regarded as reduced energy and water use – this was confirmed by the survey respondents. the survey results also showed that the prospects of green buildings are positive. although green buildings are not regarded as a totally new concept in the construction industry, both contractors and professionals indicated that they still prefer conventional methods over green building materials. furthermore, although the survey results provided a clear indication that built-environment stakeholders are fairly familiar with most green-building concepts and related acts, the results showed that contractors are more familiar with conventional materials than green materials, and that professionals do not have sufficient experience in green-building materials/concepts. it is therefore re commended that: contractors familiarise themselves better with green • materials; professionals gain more experience in green-building • concepts; tertiary institutions or other service providers provide green-• building training opportunities for all built-environment stakeholders, and that built-environment stakeholders familiarise themselves with • the building sustainability index (basix) introduced by the government of new south wales, australia, to regulate the energy efficiency of new buildings. it offers an online assessment tool for rating the expected performance of residential developments in terms of water efficiency, thermal comfort and energy usage. furthermore, professionals and contractors should consider implementing the sustainable acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 98 building assessment tool (sbat) rating system developed by gbcsa. the results of this survey are based on perceptions of builtenvironment stakeholders in mauritius and may differ somewhat from respondents elsewhere in the world. this creates an opportunity for further research to obtain a wider perspective on the issue of green buildings worldwide. global climate changes require that all people, especially builtenvironment stakeholders, become more aware of the benefits of green buildings to, among others, ease the burden on electricity and water shortages and thereby ensuring a better life for future generations. references albino, v., balice, a. & dangelio, r.s. 2009. environmental strategies and green product development: an overview on sustainabilitydriven companies. business strategy and the environment, 18(2), pp. 83-96. anderson, m.k., bidgood, j.k. & heady, e.j. 2010. hidden legal risks of green buildings. florida bar journal, 84(3), pp. 35-41. associated general contractors of america. 2007. talking points on green construction. 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[accessed: 8 june 2011]. 106 ade a oladapo & henry a odeyinka tender evaluation methods in construction projects: a comparative case study peer reviewed abstract a review of tender evaluation practices from around the world revealed the inadequacy of the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion for contractor selection. in response to this inadequacy, many countries have introduced qualifications to this cri terion and established procedures for the evaluation process. the objective of the qualifications is to select a suitable contractor whilst fostering compet itiveness. using a multi criteria decision making (mcdm) approach, the study identified eight contractor attributes from the literature, which are thought to be indicators of contractors’ capability to execute a contract and meet certain project specific criteria. employing a case study project, the tenders of eight contractors short listed for the project were evaluated with the attributes using the “lowest bid”, multi attribute analysis (maa) and analytic hierarchy process (ahp) methods. the results showed that the two multi criteria decision making methods indicated the selection of contractors other than what the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion indicated. comparing the results of the maa and ahp meth ods, it is evident that the two methods differed very little in their ranking of the contractors. this implies that the more complex nature of ahp and the extra efforts it requires have only a minor influence on the final ranking of contrac tors and seems to suggest that the extra cost of using ahp is not justified. keywords: analytic hierarchy process, contractor selection, multi attribute analysis, pre qualification, tender evaluation internasionaal • international dr ade a. oladapo and henry a. odeyinka, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, ile ife, osun state, nigeria. e mail: <adeladapo @yahoo.com> abstrak ’n oorsig van tender evaluerings praktyke van reg oor die wêreld, het die ontoereikendheid van die ‘laagste bod’ kriteria vir kontrakteur keuse bekend gemaak. in reaksie op hierdie ontoereikendheid, het baie lande kwalifikasies tot hierdie kriteria asook prosedures vir die evalueringsproses ingestel. die doel van die kwalifikasies is om toepaslike kontrakteurs te kies terwyl mededingend heid gekweek word. ’n multi kriteria besluitnemings benadering is gebruik in die studie en hieruit is agt kontrakteur bydraes geidentifiseer uit die literatuur wat gesien kan word as indikators van kontrakteurs se vermoëns om ’n kontrak te kan uitvoer en terselfdertyd te voldoen aan sekere projek spesifieke kriteria. deur van ’n gevallestudie gebruik te maak, is die tenders van agt kontrakteurs op ’n kortlys geplaas en is ge evalueer deur die ‘laagste bod’ multi bydrae analise en analitiese hierargie proses metodes te gebruik. die resultate het aangetoon dat hierdie twee multi kriteria besluitnemings metodes die seleksie van kontrakteurs ander as die ‘laagste bod’ kriteria aangedui het. wanneer die resultate van die twee metodes vergelyk word, is daar min verskil in die plasing in volgorde van keuse van die kontrakteurs. dit impliseer dat die meer komplekse natuur van die analitiese hierargie proses en die ekstra werk wat dit vereis slegs ’n klein uitwerking het op die finale plasing van kontrakterus en verder blyk dit dat die ekstra koste om van hierdie analitiese hierargie proses gebruik te maak, nie die gebruik daarvan regverdig nie. sleutelwoorde: analitiese hierargie proses, kontrakteur keuse, multi bydrae analysis, voorafkwalifikasie, tender evaluasie 107 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods 1. introduction tendering is the process of selecting the most suitable contractorfor a construction project. the tendering process involves twodistinct mutually exclusive activities. the first activity, according to moselhi & martinelli (1990), involves the preparation of tender estimates by contractors for the purpose of submitting a bid. the second activity deals with the evaluation of the bids submitted by contractors to enable the best contractor(s) to be selected and is normally carried out by owners and/or their professional advisors such as quantity surveyors and project managers. the tender evaluation method used is critical to the success of the project because it strongly affects the subsequent outcome of the project (jaselskis & russell, 1992). thus contractor selection and evaluation methods can make or mar a project. indeed a common contention of various investigations into the problems of the construction industry in the uk (simon, 1944; banwell, 1964; bedc, 1967; cic, 1994; latham, 1993, 1994) has been that problems can be brought to a project as soon as the ‘wrong’ contractor is chosen. this study focuses on tender evaluation and is concerned with the issue of contractor selection; largely due to the confirmation by iob (1979) that judicious selection of procurement route and contractor were prerequisites to project success. the study compares the traditional lowest bidder approach and the non-traditional multi-criteria decision making methods of multi-attribute analysis (maa) and analytic hierarchy process (ahp). 2. tender evaluation methods it is of paramount importance that contractors to be invited to participate in tendering be pre-qualified prior to the bidding process (holt et al., 1994). according to holt et al. (1994), a thoroughly and objectively pre-qualified contractor should be competent and able to execute the assigned project in accordance with all stipulated requirements. seeley (1984) gave the criteria for pre-qualification assessment to include: contractor’s reputation, financial stability, adequacy of resources, scope of work normally undertaken by contractors, availability to do the job, cooperation and price level. literature on competitive tendering generally proposes models for the appraisal of the competitive value of tenders based only on the evaluation of factors which have an immediate financial impact. hence it is traditional to select the contractor with the lowest bid 108 acta structilia 2006:13(1) after the process of pre-qualification. this is based on the assumption that the pre-qualification exercise eliminates all incompetent contractors and guarantees that a pre-qualified lowest bidder will successfully execute the project. the reality, however, is that contractor pre-qualification alone is not a definite indicator of project success. according to cagno et al. (1999), this approach is hardly appropriate in environments in which increasing competition and client expectations have broadened the number of non-financial factors which should be considered in the evaluation of the ‘best’ tender. in nigeria, the use of the lowest bidder criterion is common for contractor selection, especially on public sector projects. in his comparative study of criteria for the award of contract in the public and private sectors of the nigerian construction industry, oyediran (1995) found that price was the overriding criterion for contract award. jagboro & ogunsemi (1997) also studied the effectiveness of cost criteria for appraising tenders and submitted that the lowest tender, the quantity surveyor’s estimate and the average of contractors’ tenders were all reliable cost criteria for appraising tenders in nigeria. however, in the uk, the latham report (1994) questioned the frequent practice of selecting the lowest tenderer. instead, the report called for proper consideration and weighting of a range of selection criteria to be taken into account during contractor selection. according to russell et al. (1990) and crowley & hancher (1995), awarding a construction contract to the lowest bidder without considering other factors can lead to cost and time overruns and other problems. recognising the inadequacy of the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion, many countries have introduced qualifications to this criterion and established procedures for the evaluation process (martinelli-bello, 1986). these procedures include multi-attribute analysis (maa) and analytic hierarchy process (ahp). this study compares the lowest bidder approach, maa and ahp. 2.1 the multi-criteria decision-making (mcdm) approach in addition to contractors’ pre-qualification assessment at the pretender stage, previous researchers emphasised the need to consider contractors’ other attributes during the pre-qualification leading to contractor select ion apart from the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion alone. according to moselhi & martinelli (1990), a list of contractors’ 109 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods attributes to consider in contractor selection includes: capital cost (bid amount), life cycle cost, number of years in business, volume of business, financial capacity, previous performance, project management organisation, technical expertise, time of execution, and relation with subcontractors. in their survey of contractors’ opinion on the use of multi-criteria in contractor’s selection, jennings and holt (1998) employed the following criteria: low price, company experience of similar construction, company reputation, company financial standing, prior business relationship, early completion dates, experience of contractors’ key persons, company image, qualifications of contractors’ key persons, company negotiating skill, current workload of company, company informal contacts, company proximity to project, company nationality and company trade union record. in their survey of tendering practices in the nigerian construction industry, yusif & odeyinka (2000) identified factors to be considered in contractor selection other than price to include: technical ability, financial base, relationship with client/consultants and past performance among others. although the rationale and need for contractor pre-qualification are obvious and well appreciated, the process is often performed in an ill-structured and intuitive manner (russell et al., 1990). according to mahdi et al. (2002), this is because the process depends largely on the skill, experience and knowledge of the decision maker, with no minimum standards that can help to evaluate a contractor for a specific project in hand. frequently, the evaluation is performed in an ad-hoc manner with variations in the amount of effort expended and focus of evaluation effort without an understanding of how these variations influence the achieved project outcome (russell & jaselskis, 1992). it is against this background that more objective, structured contractor selection methodologies have been introduced. among them are the bespoke approaches (ba), multi-attribute analysis (maa), multi-attribute utility theory (maut), multiple regression (mr), cluster analysis (ca), fuzzy set theory (fst) and multivariate discriminant analysis (mda) which are detailed in holt (1998). they also include the analytic hierarchy process (ahp) which is described in detail by saaty (1990), cagno et al. (1999) and mahdi et al. (2002). an attempt is made here to briefly describe maa, maut and ahp, which are the methods relevant to this study. 110 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 2.1.1 multi-attribute analysis (maa) maa considers a decision alternative with respect to several of that alternative’s attributes. in this respect, an attribute is a characteristic that can be measured. an objective is a characteristic against which an attribute is measured and should be pursued to its fullest. hence, a contractor attribute represents one aspect of a decision option with respect to a client’s objective (holt et al., 1995). attributes may be measured quantitatively or otherwise. indeed, a feature of maa is that some or all of the attributes may not be quantifiable (hwang & yoon, 1981). the simplest maa equation may be expressed as: n acrj = ∑ vij (equation 1) i=1 where: acrj = aggregate score for contractor j; vij = variable (attribute) i score in respect of contractor j; and n = the number of attributes considered in the analysis. these are termed ‘simple scoring’ maa models and because of their simplicity are frequently employed by decision makers (dms) in industry. their biggest failing is that vi (albeit numeric) is often a very subjective measure. that is; n vi = ∑ f (xi ) (equation 2) i=1 where: f(xi) are the n functions of vi normally subjectively (often implicitly) considered by the practitioner during evaluation. an improvement of equation (1) is the attachment of weighting indices (wi) to vi to accentuate the aggregated scores of contractors who perform better in higher weighted criteria and vice versa. hence; n acrj = ∑ vijwi (equation 3) i=1 111 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods wi may be a function of: 1. sole practitioner experience/predilection 2. group consensus opinion 3. survey and analysis of data, from a sample pertinent to the selection setting in which the model will be applied (holt et al., 1994). where the components (vi and wi in this instance) are represented by an infinite range of integers, then a unified aggregate contractor score (designated uacrj, i.e. 0 ≤ uacrj ≤ 1.0) may be achieved via: acrjuacrj = __________ (equation 4)acrj max where the components are as previously described; and acrj max is the maximum attainable aggregate score utilising wi. holt (1998), however, suggested that the derivation of essential vi and the strength of wi should be further investigated (e.g. with respect to geographical location of project, nature of work, form of procurement option employed, etc.) in the light of previous research 2.1.2 multi-attribute utility theory (maut) maut is an extension of maa and, according to holt (1998), is particularly suited to the problem of contractor selection. maut utilises ‘utility’ to quantify the subjective components of maa. according to moselhi & martinnelli (1990), in order to facilitate the understanding of maut, it is important to define the main terms used, which are stated below: ‘objectives’: an objective generally indicates the direction where efforts should be concentrated to do better. in contradistinction from goals, goals are defined as the level of achievement of objectives. ‘attributes’: attributes are the scales against which the levels of achievement of objectives are measured. the attributes may be tangible such as dollar or intangible such as safety, quality, prestige and public image, etc. 112 acta structilia 2006:13(1) ‘utility’ (normally expressed as ui) is a measure of desirability or satisfaction of a characteristic (attribute), of an alternative (contractor). the utility concept was introduced to provide a uniform scale to compare and/or combine tangible and intangible attributes. according to holt (1998), the overall concept of maut can be very complex with respect to both models and utility weight derivation. according to him, maut may be applied to the contractor selection problem in one of two fundamental ways. consider: n acrj = ∑ ui (equation 5) i=1 where: ui represents the n attributes considered by the decision maker (dm). these are a function of several dimensions i.e. ui = ∑ f(uxi). (ref. equation 2). hence the sum of integers ui yield an aggregate score as described in equation 4. alternatively, ui may be used in conjunction with scaling constants or weighting coefficients as follows: n acrj = ∑ uiwi (equation 6) i=1 where components are as described previously and n is the number of attributes. according to moselhi & martinnelli (1990), equation 6 can be applied by the dm (e.g. an owner or his representative such as the quantity surveyor) following the 3-step procedure described below: step 1: establish the selection criteria as a value hierarchy, which represent the owner’s objectives and the measurable attributes of the contractor. it is important to avoid overlapping and double counting in selecting the attributes, to maintain the applicability of the additive model of equation 6. step 2: determine the relative weights associated with each attribute. these weights represent the relative importance that the decision maker(s) assigns to each; indicating his willingness to give up in one attribute in order to gain in another. to determine the relative weights, a two-step ranking procedure is used. an ‘ordinal ranking’ is used in the first step 113 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods to determine the order of priorities among the attributes. this can be done using the approach of subjective assessment suggested by dalkey (1972) and known as the delphi method. experts in the field are asked to establish an order of preference among the different attributes, which may also include preference of an attribute over a combination of others. a ‘cardinal ranking’ is then used in the second step to assign weights to each one of the attributes and justify their judgements. step 3: construct the utility functions associated with the attributes being considered. these functions represent the satisfaction of the decision maker over the range of achievement levels that could be attained on each attribute. they are the most important input to a multi-attribute decision analysis. in order to construct a utility function, the most and least desirable outcomes for each attribute are first identified, and then assigned arbitrary values of 1.0 and 0.0, respectively. more information on how the utility functions are constructed and their characteristics can be found in moselhi & martinnelli (1990) and martinelli-bello (1986). according to holt (1998), maut is similar to maa in modelling terms but utilises a quantitative method of determining values for inclusion therein. hence, maut can quantitatively consider both tangible (e.g. safety record) and intangible (e.g. contractor image) attributes during evaluation. the existence of such subjective measures characterises the contractor selection problem. according to holt (1998), there is scope for future research with the developing of utility curves in respect of alternative scenarios and with respect to differing owner groupings. 2.1.3 the analytic hierarchy process (ahp) as stated earlier, the selection of a contractor for a project is based on the evaluation of the tenders submitted by a number of competing contractors in terms of a number of criteria. according to triantaphyllou & mann (1995), this problem may become a very difficult one when the criteria are expressed in different units or the pertinent data are difficult to be quantified. the analytic hierarchy 114 acta structilia 2006:13(1) process (ahp) is an effective approach in dealing with this kind of decision problems. an argument going for ahp in such a situation, according to emblemsvag & tonning, (2003), is that it also allows a check of the logical consistency of the answers provided by participants in the priority setting exercise. ramadhan et al. (1999) stated that when a set of criteria is considered for evaluation by a group of people, the main objectives of this group are: • to provide judgment on the relative importance of these activities; and • to ensure that the judgments are quantified to an extent which also permits a quantitative interpretation of the judgment among these criteria. thus many decision-making methods (including maa) only attempt to determine the relative importance, or weight, of the alternatives in terms of each criterion involved in a given decision-making problem. ahp differs from these methods in that it uses pair-wise comparisons (as proposed by saaty, 1990), which requires the dm to express his/her opinion about the value of one single pair-wise comparison at a time using what saaty (2001) called a fundamental scale (table 1). 115 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods table 1: fundamental scale 116 acta structilia 2006:13(1) intensity of importance definition explanation 1 equal importance two activities contribute equally tothe objective 2 weak between equal and moderate 3 moderate importance experience and judgement slightlyfavour one activity over another 4 moderate plus between moderate and strong 5 strong importance experience and judgement stronglyfavour one activity over another 6 strong plus between strong and very strong 7 very strong or demonstratedimportance an activity is favoured very strongly over another; its dominance demonstrated in practice 8 very, very strong between very strong and extreme 9 extreme importance the evidence favouring one activity over another is of the highest possi ble order of affirmation reciprocals of above if activity i has one of the above numbers, when com pared with activity j, then j has the reciprocal value when compared with i if x is 5 times y, then y 1/5x source: saaty, 2001 the fundamental scale is a one-to-one mapping between the set of discrete linguistic choices available to the decision maker and a discrete set of numbers which quantify the linguistic choices. many scales exist but the most popular is the one proposed by saaty (2001) and shown in table 1. in comparing criterion a to criterion b, a decision maker may determine from the scale in table 1 that a is of weak importance over b and accordingly assign a relative importance value of 2 to a. this means that the value of the relative importance of b to a is 1/2. the quantified judgment on pairs of criteria ci, and cj (pairwise comparisons) are represented by an n-by-n matrix a = (aij), ij = 1,2,3……,n) the entries aij are defined by the following entry rules: rule 1. if aij = a, then aij = 1/a, a≠0. 117 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods rule 2. if ci is judged to be of equal relative importance to cj, then aij = aij = 1. obviously aij = 1 for all i. thus the matrix a has the form: a = 1 a12.......................a1n 1/a12 1..........................a1n 1/a1n 1/a1n 1 . . . . . . where the aij is the relative importance of criterion i to criterion j. having recorded the quantified judgments of comparisons on pairs (ci, cjj ) as numerical entries aij in the matrix a, what is left is to assign to the n contingencies c1, c2 , c3, ..., cn a set of numerical weights w1, w2, w3, ..., wn that should reflect the recorded judgments. the eigenvector of the comparison matrix provides the priority ordering (weight), and the eigenvalue is a measure of consistency. to find the weight of each criterion included in the ranking analysis, the eigenvector corresponding to the maximum eigenvalue is to be determined from matrix analysis. the principal eigenvector is computed and normalised to give the vector of weights. ramadhan et al. (1999) have suggested a simplified method to reduce the excessive computing time needed to solve the problem exactly. by their method a good estimate of the vector is obtained by normalising each column (i.e. dividing the elements of each column by the sum of that column) in the comparison matrix. the elements in each resulting row are then added and their sum divided by the number of elements in the row. this is expressed mathematically as (equation 7) 1 a11 a12 a1n wi = + +.............+ n ∑ ai1 ∑ ai2 ∑ ain i i i (equation 8) or in general 118 acta structilia 2006:13(1) where aij is the entry of row i and column j in a comparison matrix of order n. compared to maa, which uses direct absolute estimates to rank decision criteria, ahp uses pair-wise comparisons. according to cagno et al. (1999), this makes ahp a robust and flexible mcdm technique which gives a better decision support with the following advantages: • it effectively manages to organise the decisional problem into a hierarchical structure. structuring any decision problem hierarchically is an efficient way of dealing with complexity and identifying the major components of the problem • the methodology is reliable due to the pairwise comparison process and the consistency check tool. it is common experience that estimates based on pairwise comparison are more reliable than direct absolute estimates. this is even truer for qualitative factors and also for quantitative factors where insufficient data is available to make absolute estimates. in addition, the elicitation of redundant judgements, which characterises the standard application of ahp, is useful to check the consistency of the dm’s opinion. the level of inconsistency can be calculated and, if it exceeds a threshold value 0.1 (saaty, 1990), the expert must review judgements more carefully. • it deals effectively with group decision-making. the use of ahp has been successfully demonstrated and/or applied in such diverse areas of construction research as architecture (saaty & beltran, 1982), facility location decisions (yang & lee, 1997), build1 aij wi = ∑ n ∑ aij i j (equation 9) ing maintenance (shen et al., 1998), construction management (fong & choi, 2000), business performance (cheng & li, 2001), construction procurement (cheung et al., 2001; wong & chan 2003), evaluation of oil pipeline project (dey, 2004), benchmarking facility management (gilleard & yat-lung, 2004) and construction conflict analysis and resolution (al-tabtabai & thomas, 2004) as well as contractor selection in competitive bidding (cagno et al., 1999; fong & choi, 2000; mahdi et al., 2002). it must be mentioned, however, that compared to other methods, ahp has the disadvantage that it takes much time (zavadskas et al., 2005) and requires more complex calculations and expert knowledge. this is why cheng et al. (2002) have warned that the method could be misused to produce defective results if the underlying principles are not properly understood and mastered. 3. data and methodology data were collected using a case study approach. data collection was with respect to the tenders submitted for a residential project in lagos, nigeria. eight contractors were short-listed for the project under consideration. the tender sum, completion duration and other details pertaining to each of the contractors are listed in table 2. apart from these details, eight attributes derived from literature and from discussions with industry practitioners as essential factors for contractor selection were identified. these are tender sum (ts), financial capability (fc), managerial capability (mc), technical expertise (te), completion duration (cd), current workload of company (cw), number of years in business (nyb) and past performance (pp). each of these attributes was scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for each contractor by the dm, i.e., the client’s quantity surveyor. as previously explained, the maut is best suited for the contractor selection problem due to its ability to quantitatively consider both tangible and intangible attributes during evaluation. however, as a result of the complexity involved in generating relevant utility curves, the multi attribute analysis (maa) was employed in this study and compared with the analytic hierarchy process (ahp). 119 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods table 2: details of contractors’ tenders 120 acta structilia 2006:13(1) contractor number tender sum submitted (n)* completion duration (weeks) number of years in business client's qs estimate (n) 1 62,988,555.25 40 8 63,331,648.67 2 65,800,510.00 48 8 3 64,713,640.00 40 9 4 67,080,000.00 44 5 5 62,900,420.00 40 6 6 62,853,000.00 40.5 7 7 65,634,421.00 52 8 8 66,577,600.00 48 7 * n135 us$1 4. applying the tender evaluation methods on the basis of the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion, the conventional practice will be to award the contract to contractor number 6 after the eight contractors have been found suitable through a pre-qualification exercise. maa and ahp are now applied using the same set of data to determine the best contractor for the job. 4.1 evaluation of the tenders using multi-attribute analysis (maa) the data obtained from the quantity surveyor’s scoring of each of the eight identified attributes for each contractor that tendered in each project is presented in table 3. using this data set, the multiattribute analysis (maa) was employed using the additive model in equation 3, which is re-stated as follows: n acrj = ∑ vijwi (equation 3) i=1 from this equation, the vij component, whereby vij = variable (attribute) i score in respect of contractor j is represented by the data set in table 3. table 3: multi-attribute score for each contractor on the project 121 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods the wi component, which represents the weighting factor, is to be determined for the model to be useful for tender evaluation. in order to determine the weighting factor, the two-step approach suggested by moselhi & martinnelli (1990) was employed. this procedure is described under step 2 of the three-step procedure used in maut described above. using the delphi method, experienced construction professionals were asked to rank the eight identified attributes. this helped to produce an ordered list shown in column 2 of table 4. this ordered list shows that construction professionals ranked ‘low tender sum’ first. in order to be able to attach the weighting factor (wi) to each attribute, the technique of cardinal ranking was then employed. the procedure employed was to give the highest ‘weight’ to the attribute ranked first. thus, using the maximum weight of 10, the attribute ‘low tender sum’ which was ranked first, was assigned the maximum weight of 10. this procedure was continued until the last attribute ranked eighth which was assigned the weight of 3, following the cardinal ranking. the result of this exercise is shown in column 3 of table 4. thus, the weighting factors generated in column 3 of table 4 represents the wi component of equation 3. contractor number lts (v1 ) pp (v2 ) te (v3 ) mc (v4 ) fc (v5 ) cd (v6 ) nyb (v7 ) cw (v8 ) 1 8 9 8 8 8 10 8 7 2 5 8 6 8 8 6 8 7 3 7 7 6 6 6 10 9 6 4 3 5 4 4 4 7 5 7 5 9 8 6 8 8 10 6 7 6 10 7 6 6 6 8 7 6 7 6 8 8 6 6 4 8 7 8 4 8 6 8 8 6 7 7 table 4: weighting factors for the attributes 122 acta structilia 2006:13(1) attribute ordinalranking cardinal ranking (weight w) low tender sum (lts) 1 10 past performance on similar construction (pp) 2 9 technical expertise (te) 3 8 managerial capability (mc) 4 7 financial capability (fc) 5 6 completion duration (cd) 6 5 no. of years in business (nyb) 7 4 current workload of company (cw) 8 3 in order to determine the values for the maa additive model of equation 3 and the unified aggregate score (equation 4), the attribute scores (vij) in table 3 were used to multiply the weighting factors (wi) in table 4. these values are shown in table 5 as acrj representing values determined by the maa model represented by equation 3 and uacrj representing values determined by equation 4. for instance, in order to determine these stated values for contractor number 1 on table 5, the following procedure was followed: acr1 = [(8x10) + (9x9) + (8x8) + (8x7) + (8x6) + (10x5) + (8x4) + (7x3)] 432 acrj max = [(10x10) + (10x9) + (10x8) + (10x7) + (10x6) + (10x5) + (10x4) + (10x3)] = 520 (note that the maximum attribute score of 10 has been used here against the pre determined weighting factor) uacrj = 432/520 0.831 this procedure was carried out for each contractor on the project studied. the result produced by the additive model is presented in table 5. it is evident from table 5 that the result of the multiattribute evaluation of tenders submitted indicates that the most suitable contractor among those short-listed is contractor number 1. however, if the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion alone had been used, the project would have gone to contractor number 6 who eventually ranked third with the use of maa. 123 o a d a p o & o d e yinka • te nd e r e va ua tio n m e tho d s contractor number v1 w1 v2 w2 v3 w3 v4 w4 v5 w5 v6 w6 v7 w7 v8 w8 acrj acrj max uacrj rank 1 8 10 9 9 8 8 8 7 8 6 10 5 8 4 7 3 432 520 0.831 1 2 5 10 8 9 6 8 8 7 8 6 6 5 8 4 7 3 357 520 0.681 5 3 7 10 7 9 6 8 6 7 6 6 10 5 9 4 6 3 363 520 0.698 4 4 3 10 5 9 4 8 4 7 4 6 7 5 5 4 7 3 235 520 0.452 8 5 9 10 8 9 6 8 8 7 8 6 10 5 6 4 7 3 409 520 0.787 2 6 10 10 7 9 6 8 6 7 6 6 8 5 7 4 6 3 375 520 0.721 3 7 6 10 8 9 8 8 6 7 6 6 4 5 8 4 7 3 347 520 0.668 6 8 4 10 8 9 6 8 8 7 8 6 6 5 7 4 7 3 343 520 0.660 7 table 5: tender evaluation using the attributes, weighting factors and the maa model 124 acta structilia 2006:13(1) likely final cost (lfc) likely completion time (lct) assurance of project quality (apq) environmental & safety considerations (esc) fi rs t le ve se c o nd l e ve selecting the best tender 4.2 evaluation of the tenders using the analytic hierarchy process (ahp) using the simplified approach of shen et al. (1998), the contractor selection problem was broken into a two-level hierarchy of interrelated decision elements as shown in figure 1. this simple approach was chosen in preference to the more complex methods of mahdi et al. (2002) and dey (2004) to enable the decision makers (the client and his advisers) understand the new approach being introduced for the very first time in tender evaluation in nigeria. figure 1: decision hierarchy of competitive criteria and factors for the case study the first level in figure 1 describes the objective of the tender evaluation exercise required to achieve the ultimate goal, which is common to all project owners in all projects. the second level contains factors which mahdi et al. (2002) refer to as project-specific criteria as determined by the project owner and his professional team for the case study project. the second level constitutes factors which experts (industry practitioners and academics) perceive as the attributes necessary to achieve the objective described in the first level. a pairwise comparison of the four second level factors, i.e. likely final cost (lfc), likely completion time (lct), assurance of project quality (apq) and environmental and safety considerations (esc), was done by the project owner and his professional advisers after the researchers had taken enough time to explain the process to them. the comparison matrix determined by the decision makers and the vector of priorities (weightings) of the four selection criteria are shown in table 6. the eigenvector of the comparison matrix represents the priority weightings of the four criteria and is calculated using the approach of ramadhan et al. (1999) earlier described. the next step in the analysis is to determine the logical consistency of the decision makers in their pairwise comparison of the criteria. this is done by calculating the consistency ratio (cr) of the comparison matrix in table 6 using equation 10. consistencyindex(ci) cr = _______________________________ (equation 10) randomindex(ri) table 6: pairwise comparison of contractor selection criteria and their weightings 125 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods ri is obtained from tables created by saaty (1990) and its value depends on the size of the comparison matrix. for the 4x4 matrix in this analysis, its value is 0.90. ci is obtained from ci=(λmax-n)/(n1), where n is the size of the matrix and λmax is the principal eigenvalue of the comparison matrix. the computation of λmax is very complex but again saaty (1990) has proposed a simple practical approach. to obtain λmax, we multiply the comparison matrix m on the right by the eigenvector v and divide the corresponding components of the resulting column vector by the eigenvector to get a new column vector lfc lct apq esc weighting lfc 1 2.20 3.04 6.04 0.48 lct 0.45 1 2.25 4.84 0 28 apq 0.33 0.44 1 6.04 0.19 esc 0.17 0.21 0.17 1 0.06 126 acta structilia 2006:13(1) we then find the mean of the components of this new vector to give 4.19 which is the value of λmax.. hence ci=(4.19-4)/(4-1)= 0.063 and cr=0.063/0.90=0.07. since the acceptable consistency ratio is 0.10 or less (saaty, 1990), the value of 0.07 obtained indicates that the decision makers were very consistent in their pair-wise rating of the four criteria. with this assurance of consistency, the analysis can proceed to rank the contractors with the four criteria. from the literature and discussions with construction industry practitioners, the eight contractor attributes used for the maa (described earlier) were matched with the four selection criteria according to the relevance of each attribute to a criterion. this is shown in table 7. the decision maker, i.e. the project owner and his professional advisors, scored each of the eight short-listed contractors on a scale of 1 to 10 for each of the four selection criteria using the attributes in table 7. applying the method of shen et al. (1998) to the resulting scores, the tender performance index tpi j for contractor j was obtained from the formula tpij = tpij1*w1 + tpij2*w2 + tpij3*w3 + tpij4*w4, (equation 13) where tpij1 is contractor j’s score for criterion 1 and w1, …..w4 represent the relative weights of criteria 1 to 4 respectively as deter1 2.20 3.04 6.04 0.45 1 2.25 4.84 0.33 0.44 1 6.04 0.17 0.21 0.17 1 m = (equation 11) 4.25 4.32 4.37 3.83 v = (equation 12) 127 oladapo & odeyinka • tender evaluation methods mined by pairwise comparison. table 8 shows the contractors’ scores, performance indices and rankings using ahp. table 7: relevant contractor attributes for tender evaluation contractor number selection criterion tpi ranklfc (w1 0.48) lct (w2 0.28) apq (w3 0.19) esc (w4 0.06) 1 10 10 10 10 10.10 1 2 6 9 10 10 7.90 4 3 7 9 8 8 7.88 5 4 4 6 6 7 5.16 8 5 9 10 8 10 9.24 2 6 9 8 7 8 8.37 3 7 8 7 8 9 7.86 6 8 5 9 9 10 7.23 7 table 8: tender performance and ranking of contractors using ahp criterion relevant contractor attributes likely final cost (lfc) tender sum, financial capability, managerialcapability likely completion time (lct) completion duration, technical expertise,current workload assurance of project quality (apq) technical expertise, number of years in business, past performance environmental and safety considerations (esc) technical expertise, past performance the rankings of the traditional “lowest bidder”, the maa and the ahp approaches are compared in table 9. these results indicate that if the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion alone had been used, the project would have gone to contractor number 6 who eventually ranked third in both the maa and ahp methods. it is also indicated that with the exception of contractors numbers 2 and 3 whose rankings are different, the rankings of the other six contractors are the same using maa and ahp. 128 acta structilia 2006:13(1) table 9: comparison of contractors’ rankings using three methods contractor number lowest bid method maa method ahp method 1 3 1 1 2 6 5 4 3 4 4 5 4 8 8 8 5 2 2 2 6 1 3 3 7 5 6 6 8 7 7 7 5. summary and conclusion this study has attempted to apply two multi-criteria decision making (mcdm) approaches (i.e. maa and ahp) to tender evaluation using the case study approach. results from the case study project evaluated showed that the two mcdm analyses indicated the selection of contractors other than what the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion indicated. in view of the wide criticism against the use of the ‘lowest bidder’ criterion, it is suggested in the light of this finding that quantity surveyors and other construction managers should endeavour to embrace the use of the multi-criteria approach in tender selection so as to ensure contract performance, rather than cheaper price and poor or no performance. comparing the results of the maa and ahp methods, it is evident that the two methods differed very little in their ranking of the contractors. thus indeed, as found by shen et al. 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when it has come to that conclusion, the style of architecture will have to be historic in the true sense; it will not be able to dispense with tradition; it cannot begin at least without doing something quite different from anything that has been done before; yet whatever the form of it may be, the spirit of it will be in sympathy with the needs and aspirations of its own time, not simulations of needs and aspirations passed away. thus it will remember the history of the past, make history in the present, and teach history in the future. (william morris, 1889 in cole, ed.,1944, p. 492) keywords: architecture, heritage, history, memory abstrak … wanneer die moderne wêreld vind dat die eklektiese tans onvrugbaar en vrugteloos is, en dat dit ’n styl van argitektuur gaan nodig hê en benodig wat slegs deel is van ’n verandering so wyd en diep dat dit feudalisme sal vernietig, dan kan die gevolgtrekking gevorm word dat die styl van argitektuur histories in die ware sin van die woord is, dit sal nie instaat wees om tradisie uit te oefen nie, dit kan nie begin ten minste sonder om iets te doen wat baie verskillend is van wat reeds gedoen is nie, maak nie saak wat die vorm daarvan mag wees nie, die gees van dit sal in die simpatie lê met die behoeftes en aspiraties van hulle eie tyd, nie simulasies van behoeftes en aspirasies wat reeds weg is nie. dit sal dus die geskiedenis van die verlede onthou, geskiedenis maak in die huidige en geskiedenis onderrig in die toekoms. sleutelwoorde: argitektuur, erfenis, geskiedenis, nagedagtenis emeritus professor alan lipman retired from the university of wales, cardiff, in 1998. 45 10th avenue, parktown, 2193, south africa. email: <alipman@netactive.co.za> 1. introductory comment i n a world of dislocated images, of fleeting forms, of recycled architectural pasts, to remember is to resist. to resist is to eschew the packaged histories in current vogue. in the liberated south africa this is unequivocally so. to insist on recall is to oppose the cosy forgetfulness of the imported, the imposed building styles which engulf us. to question this modish eclecticism is to seek our histories. and the associated questions press. whose histories? whose memories? memories of what? whose buildings? here, at the southern rim of africa, most people are dislocated from their immediate pasts; some joyfully, others reluctantly, yet others refusing the realities of their displacements. all are preoccupied with matters of identity; with heritages, with histories – including architectural identities. post-modern pastiche, the predominant design mode of the day, is viewed as a practice for, among other goals, gratifying people’s need for rootedness, for a sense of belonging. such an approach, the argument runs, offers a way of repairing the damage resulting from modernist practices; a way, that is, for modernist architects who, purportedly, eschewed of affirming rather than denying the past. in brief, post-modernists advocate turning away from historical reference (harvey, 1989), while design modernism is seen as part of the broader processes of modernisation; of social and physical dislocation, of severed roots (berman, 1982; frampton, 1985). once more the questions are immediate: who or what is being uprooted, how and in what ways? much has been said in response, particularly by critical cultural theorists in western europe and the usa (hewison, 1987; jameson, 1991; samuel, 1994; wright, 1985). this, to my knowledge, has not been the case in southern africa. here such issues have, seemingly, escaped critical focus. hence the present paper – an exploratory foray into issues which must, surely, engage analytic attention. accordingly, in what follows, i examine two different, two contrasting approaches to architectural history in contemporary south african design. discussion will centre, first, on the present prevalence of historicism; especially on a selected instance of post-modernist revivals that call insistently on past building forms. this, the currently dominant 45 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory emphasis in local architecture, rests on the frequently asserted claim that architectural modernism was, and is, anti-historical (rowe & koetter, 1980: 11-31; harris & lipman, 1986). we then turn to contemporary efforts to forge appropriate modern architectures in/for the new south africa. we turn, in particular, to an attempt to recover the history of a singularly repugnant remnant of racial segregation and exploitation in southern africa. in this latter context, i must make my long-held stance explicit. for me, architecture – as practice and as product – does not simply reflect the societies in which it is produced. buildings, i contend, are not merely images of what is, of how people live presently. on the contrary, i hold that, via its material presence as embodied human action, architecture can and does speak of what might be, of how we humans might live. appropriate architectures must, then, help to shape, to educate people’s desires. this is far from being solely a matter of outward form, of style. in the nineteenth century, engineers and architects were called on to accommodate new social relationships in the new building types they designed: factories, railway stations, public libraries ... so, in the 1990s and early 2004s, south african designers are being summonsed to apply their knowledge and skills to the new spatial demands of their burgeoning democratic society. while examining these two thrusts – in william morris’, words, “simulations of needs and aspirations passed away” as against those “of its own time” – i shall seek to highlight the ways in which concepts of cultural, of architectural heritage have been and are manipulated. i will focus especially on how these notions are used to bolster specific views of history at the expense of, indeed in order expressly to negate other, contending heritages. 2. a word on modernism there are at least two modern architectures. the first appears in scholarly books as works of inspiration, the outstanding buildings of modernism which few see, let alone live or work in. these are the avant garde buildings of the early twentieth century – mainly in europe – when for the first time architects grappled with the issues surrounding mass populations, industrial production and technological innovation. this is an architecture of change; a time of 46 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) revolution, of crumbling empires, of social hope ... of futures. this is the architecture of the founders of the modern movement; the dreams, made concrete, of a cultural elite. these are the buildings through which designers tried, strained to express humane social, even socialist ideals. what happened? in the ‘socialist’ east – rejection, expulsion, exile; social content ripped from form, deformed. in the ‘free’ west – incorporation: an architecture of defeat, of aesthetic form ripped from social content. this, of course, is the second modern architecture, the one which is all too familiar, the one in which many live and work. this is the planned, segregated township, the suburbia of physical, of individual, of social isolation. neighbourhood without communality. this is urban growth, speculative development; banks, office parks, finance houses ... shopping malls. this is the new factory: a fine-tooled envelope around a stripped, cheap interior; packaged exploitation in a landscaped industrial park. this is speculator-modern, the architecture of the ‘free’, the monetarist market: inflated opulence for the few and pinched spaces, shoddy materials, botched work for the rest. it’s a rotten architecture. but then, for most, it’s been a pretty rotten society. and the post-modernist response? – well ... architecture is about making architecture popular. 3. foibles of historicism post-modern discourse tends to be repetitive. for some three decades one has been told that modernism is dead; buried, primarily, beneath its weighty inaccessibility to ‘ordinary people,’ its widespread unpopularity, its pre-occupation with emancipatory naïvete, “the modern movement is dead” (jencks, 1977). another approach, a venerable, supposedly populist, living tradition is, though, at hand – ‘the new classicism’: what is real architecture? it is architecture that ordinary people recognise as being architecture, where buildings are not only beautifully finished and nobly proportioned but articulated, ornamented and expressed. in other words it is classicism. it is an architecture of rules and erudition. but unlike all the forms of modernism and its descendants it is instinctively recognised and understood by ordinary people, having evolved as part of the common language of civilisation over 3,000 years (aslet, 1988: 5). 47 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory let us examine this stylistic claim in a specific instance, bank city in central johannesburg. to occupy seven city blocks when completed, this head office for a national banking house – with its associated speculative accommodation – will, reputedly, be the largest single development of its type in africa. citing aslet in a report to their clients, the architects confirm his call on universality, on classicism as a purportedly inherent human constant. transposed to southern africa, this biological given offers, apparently, an apposite, a civilised (civilising?) idiom. following the ‘rules and erudition’ of classical design, the facades comprise three principal elements. arcaded colonnades at ground level form a base with the similarly treated, rusticated mezzanines above them. the six-storey upper surfaces of symmetrically disposed solids and voids (walls and windows) are ‘articulated’ by vertical openings to the atria of each block and by horizontal, colonnaded loggias. this formula, the foot-body-head maxim of formal neo-classical architecture, is crowned by a cornice and then by a recessed seventh storey and curved, vaulted roof. and, in another nod to neoclassical canon, the outer corners of each block are marked by a domed tower-like form. historical continuity is further emphasised in the architects’ report where they acknowledge two specific sources, one local and the other from abroad – both almost a century old. the latter they describe as “some of the truly elegant office buildings built in vienna, paris and new york before the first world war.” when asked to elaborate in conversation, the chief architect referred to the post office savings bank in vienna designed by the renowned otto wagner, built in 1903-6. the local influence is depicted in similarly broad terms. it embraces buildings from the year 1905, when the bank’s present, nearby, head office was erected and includes more recent neo-classical work. “what we have done”, the architects state, “is to take a step back and look at the model of a more graceful johannesburg.” but, they stress, classical images and models are not confined to this period: they are universal and constant elements ... as valid today as they have always been. ... this timeless and enduring expression will present a sound and lasting image ... as fresh and undated in 50 years as it will be in the 1990s. 48 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) this view of how architecture should be made is bound by rules and precepts. it calls on a range of pre-determined, abstract criteria for realising ‘real architecture’; it calls, for instance, on tenets of proportionality, symmetry, axiality. when observed, the code leads, in appearance, to neo-classical buildings. it results in architecture that is held to embody such classic ideals as equilibrium, wholeness, synthesis, order. it constitutes an aesthetic language which is, we are told, “intelligible to the public ... it bears an understandable resemblance to the best of johannesburg or south africa’s architecture.” intelligible to which, to whose public? which best south african architecture? i am sceptical, if not incredulous. i query this doctrinal, this reductive view of architecture – especially of so diverse an endeavour as classical design. claims for a specifically universal, timeless design practice can scarcely be sustained, even as rhetoric. unless, that is, the categories ‘real architecture’ and ‘civilisation’ are deemed to exclude vernacular building world-wide, thereby banishing prehistoric, and much of mycenean, islamic, gothic, moghul, arts and crafts architecture, as well as that of numerous other historical periods and societies. and calls on the suspect socio-biology of an instinctively recognised classicism are no more persuasive, even within this tradition – unless the non-axial, asymmetric plans and buildings of, say, hadrian’s villa at tivoli, the piazza del quirinale or michelangelo’s piazza del campidoglio in rome also fail the test of reality/civilisation. as do those presumably anomalous structures the erechtheion and the propylaea on that icon of classicism, the acropolis at athens – another irregular, asymmetric, non-axial layout. 4. embedded continuity historical continuity? in southern africa, as elsewhere, such assertions are, and must be problematic. take, as a case in point, that vision of a previously “more graceful johannesburg.” grace? for whom? for migrant mine-labourers forcibly dislodged from their land? for tough, rough immigrants and small-scale entrepreneurs from europe as well as for mine-owners, top banking personnel, stockbrokers? which cultural continuities? those represented by great zimbabwe; those like ‘expressionist’ tswana architecture – of african settlements 49 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory throughout the region, and, indeed, across the continent? of our many small-town main streets, the hindu temples, of the summarily demolished debris of apartheid – the old fordsburg area in johannesburg ... district six, cape town ... cato manor, durban? then there are those historically validated, ‘time-honoured’ elements of classical building. here too there are grounds for incredulity. for example, the sweeping arches that open to the inner spaces of the bank city complex. these are suspended from rather than, as in classical precedent, proffer support for the structure above (with, incidentally, spaces in the massive quarter-circle, concealed, voids at each corner for some three soweto houses apiece). the deep loggias and porches of caesar’s rome – suited to varied usage in that and our climate – have become vestigial: narrow balconies or niches the width of the columns they accommodate. and those columns: stripped shafts, bald, sorry relics of the vigorous, structurally decorated ‘orders’ of ancient greece. 5. the scenery of classicism is set, the substance eludes. then, axial planning, pre-eminently a device of the mid-15th to 16th century renaissance in italy – an earlier, formidably confident neo-classicism. this was seigneurial space: stretches of medieval cities were razed – the occupants dispossessed – to make way for the new social order, the anticipated future. space dedicated to the service of autocratic grandeur: geometric piazze, squares; straight, wide avenues; large, finite buildings ... controlled, commanded, ordered – the ‘ideal city’ of the quattrocento; impressive, triumphal urban vistas. not quite, though, the prospect presented in the less auspicious setting of bank city: coarse, speculatormodern office towers, bland extensions to other crude neo-classical facades, the tacky baggage of central city advertising ... on these and like counts, the image of neo-classicism seems false, distorting; particularly the aloof, remote social symbolism of our local, edwardian-classic office buildings. stylistically imported at or soon after the close of british colonial rule – but not the close of white dominance – they bear the marks of the period: late victorian pomp, declamatory grandeur, ponderous formality, self-conscious solemnity and, of course, social exclusivity. many of the models 50 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) from which they were drawn are, after all, in the city of london; the home, then, of economic dominion, of imperial banking. there, as here, these buildings represented power, social sway. they were, and remain, seats of establishment. they helped to legitimate a divided social order, disraeli’s two nations. clad with the approved insignia of a supposedly authoritative past – especially that of ancient rome, an admired earlier empire – their already considerable authority was endorsed, reinforced. is this the appropriate means of bringing order to the crass competitive individualism of building in johannesburg, in southern africa? is this a way of according symbolic meaning in an open, multicultural, pluralistic, new south africa? bank city: “a sound and lasting image,” a reaching for “the best in ... south africa’s architecture”? or yet another facet of a worldwide crisis in professional design; one in which architecture is being reduced to styling, to contriving forms that sell? often, as in this instance, these are adopted from selected pasts; from the imagery of historically dominant, culturally bumptious or indifferent groupings. simulation for/by a social minority. this, “the eclecticism of the present,” large or not, trite or unruly – all “barren and fruitless,” all grossly pretentious – litters central and suburban johannesburg, cape town, durban ... heritage – an ideological minefield. 6. heritage and anomie all that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and men are at last forced to face with sober faces the real conditions of their lives and their relations with their fellow men (marx & engels, 1847, cited in berman, 1982: 89). the geography of capital transcends national boundaries; most people experience a world that is dominated by international capital. since the mid-1970s in particular, this pervasive penetration has wrought far-reaching restructuring processes (chomsky, 1995: 5-20). different localities, though, have been affected differently; at global, regional, national and local levels. change alone has been constant – all that is solid melts into air ... 51 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory this, the second wave of modernisation following world war ii, has occurred with particular emphasis in urban settings; in buildings and city layouts, in architectural and urban design. previously neglected, socially segregated and shunned neighbourhoods have become desirable localities for ‘yuppie’, upwardly mobile groups (smith & williams, 1986). remnants of the redundant, decayed centres of the first machine age – such as the industrial heartlands, the mines, the docks – are now suitable cases for urban regeneration. few, if any of us, can be certain about who or where we are. our identities, like the very ground beneath us, are in threatened or in continuous upheaval. this sense of dislocation, of alienation, is keenly felt in the metropolitan conurbations of capitalist enterprise. here, as a case in point, new terms have gained currency; terms that depict the present as being distinctive only in that it is not the past. apparently, we now live in a world of post-industrial, post-modern, post-feminist, postenlightenment, post-marxist reality. we live in, we are post-history. the relevance of overarching, grand narratives – i.e., of history – has been rejected in the name of that other hoary narrative, the mythical golden age. the idea of heritage has been used to package this world-wide anomie. heritage has become a cover, a balm for soothing, quietening, the recently dispossessed as well as those who now aspire to social leadership. the former are told they must be ‘realistic,’ they must give way to modernisation, to post-darwinian, survival-of-thefittest modernisation. for the latter, the past is up for sale, as is all else they touch. they, the ‘gentrifiers’ among them, seize hitherto avoided neighbourhoods. they buy legitimacy and status in the form of victoriana or of sub-georgian and similar revivalist mockups. they acquire the recycled facades of social power; historic fronts behind which interiors are gutted to make way for ‘mod. cons’: it is not just conspicuous consumption but consumption and reproduction of past history that comes to signify social distinction. with its architectural renovation and decoration, urban conservation employs this more modern system of social signification. the new middle class does not buy simply a deteriorated house when it takes over a slum, nor does it just buy into future ‘equity’; it buys into the past (jager, 1986: 81). 52 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) robert hewison is among the first, and most forceful, of the analysts who have addressed what he depicted as “the heritage industry.” denouncing this development in britain, he coupled it with widespread decline. for him, a society whose spokesmen and women, whose intelligentsia, are obsessed with representing the present as a sanitised version of the past – as, that is to say, heritage – is one whose leading members are incapable of confronting their social future. they, the ‘opinion makers,’ fear what is likely to come. hewison, 1987 posits two contrasting stances; heritage as against history. heritage, he argues, is focussed on lifting ‘themes’ from the past, on treating the past as a warehouse for readily recaptured meanings; the past as scenography. history, on the contrary, is an analytic, a critical activity: its practitioners interrogate and interpret rather than appropriate the past. patrick white, hewison’s contemporary, shares these broad distinctions. in doing so, he draws on george orwell’s much cited, deeply chilling observation: who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past (george orwell, in wright,1985: 215). both men contend that the past is not unproblematic; history is more than a collation of facts waiting to be parcelled and consumed. they argue that, by drawing selectively on elements of the past, the entrepreneurs of heritage have compounded people’s difficulties in making sense of the alienated, alienating world about them. by treating heritages as a means of encouraging consumption – of hurrying the turnstiles in museums, of pushing tourism at new marinas, of selling homes in refurbished, look-as-good-as-old, neighbourhoods – the proponents of heritage as business have confused rather than helped to clarify contemporary dislocations. in order to change the world, one needs first to understand it. the historical sensibilities and imagination necessary for such understandings are undermined by tidying-up the loose ends of the past, by purging history of conflict and struggle, of process: both the simulacrum of heritage and the great national narrative of victorian and edwardian history must be replaced by a version of the past that does not exclude conflict and change (the hidden agenda of heritage being to exclude these irritants), and which admits the existence of contingency, the possibility of accident, and the reality of winners and losers (hewison in corner & harvey, 1991: 17). 53 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory those who choose to inhabit, eagerly to embrace the consumerist pretences of heritage are, ... condemned to seek history by way of [their] own pop images and simulacra of that history, which itself remains forever out of reach (jameson, 1991: 25). the notion of ‘regressive modernisation’. hall (1988: 2), captures the sense and the reality of the processes by which significant changes have been made palatable, have been disguised by dressing phenomena in historical drag. the ‘histories’ so produced are, invariably, cleansed, sanitised; they are portrayed in seductive colour rather than in harsh black and white (samuel, 1984: 276). in such processes history is made a guarantee against modernity; the past becomes a means of acquiring historical legitimation (jager, 1986: 81). 7. history – contested social territory there are, fortunately, instances in which some, a handful of south african architects do attempt to resist the seamless flow of borrowed heritages, of regressive modernity. in the case of new buildings, these efforts turn on the hugely complex task – especially in urban, industrialised conditions – of forging local, southern african architectures. this is exemplified by the tough-minded reachings for regional, contemporary meaning and form in the intellectually committed, the solidly searching work of, among others, (jose forjaz in davey, 1995; claude, 1995; chipkin & stacey in lipman, 1991). instances of this radical modernist impetus are less easy to locate in the area of restored historic buildings; particularly among the many that embody the gross racial injustices of south african history. accordingly, i turn now to an example drawn from my own design work – the now almost ten years occupied workers’ library and resource centre in johannesburg (august 1994). the library, a democratically run, non-profit company was established in 1988 to serve the needs of workers, whether organised in trades unions or not, employed or otherwise. administered by an elected committee, its activities are “non-sectarian – we encourage free and open debate, regardless of political affiliation” (workers’ library pamphlet, undated). this commitment arises from the context in which the library was instituted, and nurtured. 54 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) throughout the apartheid decades, black people were excluded from public libraries; whites, including white workers, were encouraged to develop their skills. facilities were made available to them. while they had open access to schools, occupational training – and libraries – black children were limited by the bantu education act, 1953, which bound them to preparation for restricted types of work. for them, formal education was not compulsory; indeed, their parents, the poorest section of south african society, were required to pay for distinctly inferior schooling. it was against this background, and a rapid growth of the democratic labour movement, that some trades unionists began, in the 1980s, to address worker education. since this was the very period during which black schooling was frequently de-stabilised by political protest, attention of this nature seemed the more necessary. centres of information and knowledge, such as the workers’ library, were established. underresourced – and, thus, largely dependent on voluntary, co-operative energies – their exponents sought to redress vast, entrenched inequities. they did so from, among other disadvantageous circumstances, inadequate premises; a condition which members of the committee wished to rectify. the challenge of a formally prepared brief (building programme) for an architect is, in our design experience, a rare occurrence. our commission for this project was no exception. we were required to formulate what was to pass for a brief by working closely with the committee in two informally conducted procedures. first, following their enforced move from unsatisfactory, makeshift accommodation in a central-city office building, we were invited to attend committee meetings at which frequent, intense debate about alternate premises took place. second, with committee members, we inspected and advised on a number of suggested possibilities, including the final choice. this comprised a kampong (an hostel) for black, male migrant workers plus a house – initially occupied by a white manager – and three terraced cottages for white artisans. these dwellings are separated from the hostel by shack-like rooms for the mostly female domestic workers who were employed by the whites. this ensemble – firmly segregated by gender, race and class – is situated in newtown, johannesburg on what was the site of the city council’s electricity department. 55 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory four areas of accommodation were called for: a museum of workingclass life in early twentieth century johannesburg – the most easterly terraced house, the domestic servant’s rooms associated with this dwelling, and the eastern wing of the hostel; reading rooms, offices and storage for the library – in the two remaining terraced cottages; meeting, seminar and similar communal spaces (eg., study rooms, exhibition areas, rooms for film and video productions) for members – in the remaining kampong accommodation; office and ancillary rooms for a trades union/university research group – in the detached house. the homes for whites excepted, the unsuitably ventilated, ill-lit, overcrowded buildings housed people from the poorly paid, acutely exploited, socially insulted, culturally insulated ... the deplorably accommodated black domestic and industrial workers of south africa (cock, 1980; ramphele, 1993). we and our clients do not view the buildings in this project as precious objects, as architectural gems to be preserved. for us, they are work-a-day artefacts which – the hostel and the domestic servants’ shacks expressly – were erected and used for repugnant social purposes. they record, they commemorate, they speak of grotesque, inhumane values. as such, as part of the particularly morbid south african history, they serve as salient reminders. consequently, my design colleagues and i sought as consistently as seemed feasible to repair or replace decayed or severely damaged portions of the built fabric: for example rotted roof timbers, crushed and perished brick-work and mortar jointing, smashed and missing doors and windows. concomitantly, we have attempted to embody more humane values in the areas of the refurbished kampong which are not part of the museum. here we have added insulated ceilings, controlled ventilation, a full electrical installation and, in our view, similar essentials. a mezzanine floor was added in order to make the best possible use of the enclosed spaces. these additions – including new toilets – differ explicitly in materials, construction and finish from what existed previously. they are, quite patently, contemporary insertions in a restored building. in short, we have sought to embrace the anti-scrape approach which william morris advocated more than a century ago: to treat relics as readable records of their times (thompson, 1977: 226-242). 56 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) we have sought to “remember the history of the past, make history in the present, and teach history in the future.” 8. a concluding comment shifts in the global market of capital have been accompanied by changes in the manner in which many aspects of culture have been given material expression (harvey, 1989). in architecture and urban design, this modernisation has been marked by a directly anti-modernist cultural trajectory; by the thrust of post-modernism (harris & lipman, 1986). this is presented as, inter alia, a response to perceived modernist derelictions: in particular, the purported modernist failure to articulate local senses of identity, to create vernacular ‘places’ to which people are attached rather than universalistic ‘spaces’ which they merely occupy. post-modernism is offered as an antidote to modernist ills; as a cultural practice that has been scoured of social, utopian, aspirations. eschewing the often socialist goals of many modernists, post-modern designers claim to operate exclusively in what they choose to depict as the realm of established aesthetics. accordingly, post-modern architectural and urban forms tend to evoke, even to re-represent admired precedents. in the main, these comprise serial repetitions of past models which have been regarded as successful (harvey, 1989: 92). in the post-modern lexicon, local identities are universally experienced as being rooted in selected aspects of european culture and history; particular emphasis being placed on beaux arts readings of favoured instances from, say, ancient greece, the renaissance and subsequent european neoclassicisms (zevi, 1978). such instances are borrowed, purchased, from the past to be hung on contemporary structures with their contemporary facilities, equipment and patterns of use. a critique of the symbolic nostalgias of post-modern design must, thus, be founded on acknowledging the specific local contexts in which designers work. what, as a case in point, one need ask is post-modern tudorbethan or neo-georgian architecture in latenineteenth century south africa? whose memories do such buildings stir, whose nostalgias do they gratify, whose cultural roots are being recognised? 57 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory in these respects at least, current architectural and urban design historicisms are expressions of consummate alienation. they are symbols of not-belonging: those who identify with them are not from here, from southern africa. they are from elsewhere. they have transformed this land, made it their’s. paradoxically, post-modern architecture in south africa represents a desire to erase, to dismiss local senses of place. it is an european architecture, one which is not-african. it is pre-eminently an architecture which abolishes local memories in the name of selected, preferred histories. post-modern design is, in addition, an attempt to demonstrate that its publics are part of the cutting edge of the advanced industrial world. it produces a set of symbolic forms that bring comfort, a sense of familiarity and well-being, to those whose lives are bound up with tracking the global circuits of finance capital. it is the nostalgia made concrete of corporate executives and the like. it is a nostalgic balm for those who have been caught up in the disorientating maelstrom of modernisation. it is an architecture of fantasy, of fantastic forms. such indulgent reveries are, of course, far removed from the everyday realities of the society which its practitioners claim to give expression. can it be otherwise when the overwhelming majority of people in the region are no strangers to being forcibly uprooted, dislocated, to being culturally repressed? can one seriously claim that their experiences are adequately, or partially, embraced by drawing on the nostalgias of the minority; of those who so recently imposed separate development, apartheid, as a means of preserving cultural differences? where modernist designers have struggled to understand and interpret history, post-modernists scramble to recycle, to re-live the past. they fail to confront the sterile impasse which adorno summarised with such immediacy, anyone seeking refuge in [even] a genuine, but purchased, period style house, embalms himself alive (theodor adorno, in wright, 1985: 224). 58 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) references aslet, c. 1988. classicism of the year 2000. in: new classicism in architecture and urbanism, architectural design, profile 71, p. 5 9. berman, m. 1982. all that is solid melts into air: the experience of modernity. new york: penguin. claude, d. 1995. space and symbols, architecture, society, culture, p. 11, november. chomsky, n. 1955. (interviewed by david barsamian). the prosperous few and the restless many. odonian press. cock, j. 1980. maids and madams: a study in the politics of exploitation. johannesburg: ravan press. corner, j. & harvey s. (eds.). 1991. enterprise and heritage: crosscurrents of national culture. london: routledge. davey, p. (ed.). 1995. flood of light. architectural review, p. 59 61, november. frampton, k. 1985. towards a critical regionalism: six points for an architecture of resistance, in: foster, h. (ed.), postmodern culture. london: pluto press, p. 16 30. hall, s. 1988. the hard road to renewal: thatcherism and the crisis of the left. new york: verso, especially part two: questions of theory. harris, h. & lipman, a. 1986. a culture of despair: reflections on “post modern” architecture. the sociological review, p. 837 854, november. harvey, s. 1989. the condition of postmodernity: an inquiry into the origins of cultural change. usa: blackwell, especially part i, chapter 4. hewison, s. 1987. the heritage industry: britain in a climate of decline. london: methuen. jager, m. 1986. class definition and the esthetics of gentrification: victoriana in melbourne. in: smith, s. & williams, p. (eds.), gentrification of the city. boston: allen & unwin, p. 78 91. jameson, f. 1991. postmodernism, or, the cultural logic of late capitalism. london: verso. jencks, c. 1981. the language of post modern architecture. london: academy editions. 59 lipman • architecture, heritage, history, memory 60 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) lipman, a. 1991. vision in steel. leadership, pp. 28-50. august/september. morris, w. 1994, gothic architecture. in: cole, g.d.h. (ed.), william morris, nonesuch press. ramphele, m. 1993. a bed called home: life in the migrant labour hostels of cape town. cape town: david philip. rowe, c. & koetter, f. 1978. collage city. cambridge, mass: mit press samuel, r. (ed.). 1989. patriotism: the making and unmaking of british national identity. volume iii: national fictions, new york: routledge. samuel, r. 1994. theatres of memory. volume 1: past and present in contemporary culture. london: verso. smith, n. & williams, p. (eds.). 1986. gentrification of the city. boston: allen & unwin. thompson, e. p. 1977. william morris: romantic to revolutionary. london: merlin. wright, p. 1985. on living in an old country: the national past in con temporary britain. london: verso. zevi, b. 1978. the modern language of architecture. seattle: university of washington. worker’s library. 2003. mimeographed leaflet. approx. 5,432 words of text, south africa, august. 48 navorsingsartikels • research articles michelle burger, basie verster & benita zulch the construction project manager in south africa: analysis of industry-specific knowledge peer reviewed and revised abstract construction project managers in the built environment come from various backgrounds and knowledge bases; therefore, the project managers’ project management set may differ. the type of knowledge required to improve cpd training of project managers thus needs to be determined. this would raise the knowledge levels needed for built environment project managers. the aim of this article is to determine the knowledge needed for the successful management of projects within the built environment. industry-specific guidelines for construction project management (pmbok and sacpcmp) were obtained and analysed. expert interviews were conducted with experienced specialists (n=10) who held a senior managerial position within project management in the built environment. a case study and email questionnaires (n=40) were also analysed to determine the type of knowledge required. data analysis was done using microsoft excel 2003®. three areas of knowledge were identified, namely project management knowledge, industry-specific knowledge and knowledge through experience. of these, industry-specific knowledge was considered the most important, although all three were very important. project management knowledge areas essential to project managers included the nine pmbok knowledge areas from the pmi pmbok guide, 4th edition 2008, four additional pmi construction extension to the pmbok areas, experience as well as built environment-specific knowledge. this study was limited to the nine knowledge areas and did not include stakeholder management as the tenth area. the results from all three test methods (interviews, questionnaires and a case study) indicated that knowledge was essential for effective leadership, trust and communication within a project. without knowledge, these organisational factors were compromised and project success could be negatively affected. dr michelle burger, programme leader bsc and hons real estate, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, po box 2573, brooklyn square, pretoria, south africa, 0081. phone: 082 418 2833, email: <michelle.burger@up.ac.za> prof jjp (basie) verster, research fellow, department of quantity surveying and construction management, po box 392, bloemfontein, university of the free state, 051 4308264, email: <info@vbvqs.co.za> dr benita g. zulch, programme director, department of quantity surveying and construction management, po box 392, bloemfontein, university of the free state, 051 4013849, email: zulchbg@ufs.ac.za burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 49 it is concluded that the knowledge needed for the management of projects within the built environment had to include industry-specific knowledge pertinent to the built environment. the knowledge required does not currently appear in a single document, and it is recommended that a new document or set of required skills be established. keywords: construction project management, built environment, industry know ledge, project management knowledge, experience, type of knowledge required abstrak projekbestuurpaaie is gewoonlik deur verskeie agtergrond en kennisbasisse, dus mag projekbestuurders se kennisstel verskil. die tipe kennis wat benodig word om vpo-opleiding van projekbestuurders te verbeter, moet bepaal word. dit sal die kennisvlakke wat bou-omgewing projekbestuurders benodig, verhoog. die doel met die artikel is om die benodigde kennisvlakke van ‘n projekbestuurder in die bou-omgewing vas te stel. industriespesifieke konstruksieprojekbestuurriglyne (pmbok en sacpcmp) is verkry en geanaliseer. spesialis onderhoude is met ervare spesialiste (n=10) wat ‘n senior posisie in die bou-omgewing beklee, gehou. ‘n gevallestudie en epos vraelyste (n=40) is ook ontleed om die tipe kennis wat benodig word te bepaal. data-analise is gedoen deur microsoft excell 2003® te gebruik. die drie kennisareas is projekbestuurkennis, industrie-spesifieke kennis en kennis deur ondervinding. van die drie areas, is industrie kennis as die belangrikste gereken, alhoewel almal belangrik was. projekbestuur kennisareas wat belangrik is vir projekbestuurders sluit die nege pmbok kennisareas van die pmi pmbok 4de uitgawe 2008 in, en vier addisionele areas van die pmi konstruksie uitbreiding tot die pmbok, kennis deur ondervinding en industrie-spesifieke kennis in. die studie was beperk tot die nege kennis areas en het nie belanghebbendesbestuur as tiende area ingesluit nie. die resultate van al drie toetsmetodes (onderhoude, vraelyste en ‘n gevallestudie) wys op die belangrikheid van kennis vir leierskap, vertroue en kommunikasie tydens ‘n projek. sonder kennis word hierdie organisasiefaktore benadeel en kan projeksukses negatief beïnvloed word. dit is bevind dat die kennis wat ‘n projekbestuurder in die bou-omgewing benodig industrie-spesifiek binne die bou-omgewing moet wees. daar bestaan nie tans een dokument wat die totale kennisstel bevat nie. dit word aanbeveel dat ‘n nuwe dokument of stel van vereiste kennis/vaardighede saamgestel word. sleutelwoorde: konstruksieprojekbestuur, bou-omgewing, industrie kennis, projekbestuur kennis, ondervinding, tipe kennis benodig 1. general introduction construction project managers in the built environment come from various backgrounds and knowledge bases. some have thorough industry-specific knowledge, while others have limited or no construction knowledge. the type of knowledge a project manager in this industry requires, needs to be determined in order to establish whether their knowledge set fits the set that is needed in the built environment. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 50 2. aim and objectives of the research the research aims to determine what type of knowledge is needed for a construction project manager in the built environment. the aim is to compile a knowledge set for construction project managers in the built environment. this knowledge set may prove useful for future training and education of construction project managers, and may increase the effectiveness of the project and the likelihood of project success. 3. project management in the built environment the built environment in south africa is a large industry that consists of both building and civil engineering construction. companies want to optimise profit. this holds true in the built environment as in other industries. therefore, companies need to manage and finalise projects as effectively and efficiently as possible. project managers play a vital part in the successful completion of projects. they are closely involved from inception through to completion. they are thus key players in the success of projects and the financial gain that companies stand to make. the aim is to keep the project within time, scope, and cost and according to the expected quality (kerzner, 2013: 1-10; burke, 2013). effective project management will help complete the project as it was planned, thereby meeting companies’ aim of attaining goals and being as efficient as possible (daft, kendrick & vershinina, 2010). to increase the possibility of project success, project management and the project manager are important factors (chordas 2008: 66-69; kerzner, 2013: 1-10; trebilcock, 2007: 40). 3.1 project managers construction project managers in the built environment have various backgrounds and knowledge bases. these managers are from fields not only within the built environment such as construction management, engineering, town planning, and quantity surveying, but also beyond the built environment. the common ground among these managers is that they are all involved in project management and have a certain knowledge base of project management as a discipline. project management is a profession that is governed internationally by institutions, associations and councils and for which a body of knowledge has been developed (klastorin, 2004: 18; davis & pharrow, 2003: 3-4). regulating bodies such as the pmi (project management institute) have project management members from burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 51 various fields (pmi, 2015), while others are industry specific. the south african council for the project and construction management professions (sacpcmp, 2015: online) is an industry-specific example, focusing on the built environment. this is a statutory body that requires all practising project managers to register (sacpcmp management bill, 2000: 2, 8-9). the profession of project management offers training courses as well as degrees at institutions such as universities to educate future project managers. the education provided is either generic project management or industry specific. what needs to be evaluated is the required knowledge that is essential for a project manager in the built environment. the knowledge that is needed to effectively and productively manage projects has to be clear (dinsmore, kloppenborg & opfer, cited in morrison, brown & smit, 2006: 39; cooke-davies & arzymanow, 2003: 471-478; shenhar, 2008: 2). 3.1.1 knowledge and organisational factors knowledge has an influence on the organisational elements of leadership, communication and trust, as well as on the specific terms used in a built industry project. this is supported by research by berry, verster & zulch (2009: 12-15), butler & cantrell (as cited in robbins, 1996: 357) and culp & smith (1992: 68-69). these organisational elements are addressed as they accentuate the importance of industry-specific knowledge and how it influences project success. kerzner (2013) states that organisational factors such as leadership, communication and trust contribute to and influence project management in the built environment and contribute to effective and successful project management. 3.1.1.1 project leadership construction project managers should have some leadership role to fulfil in order to be a good leader (kerzner, 2013). leadership contributes to project success (heldman, 2006). leaders need to be competent (culp & smith, 1992: 68-69) and require technical knowledge, interpersonal skills and project management skills (culp & smith, 1992: 68-69). without knowledge, a project managers’ leadership will be affected, as leaders give vision and motivate people. this takes place through effective leadership while managing projects (heldman, 2006). however, effective communication is essential in order to motivate others. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 52 3.1.1.2 project communication a project manager needs to communicate effectively (heldman, 2011) in order to be a leader (burke, 2013). there is a difference between communication and effective communication. communication is the receiving and understanding of information, whereas effective communication is the receiving, understanding and subsequent acting in a desirable manner (goetsch, 2004: 66-67). good communication is one of the key factors necessary for team performance, effective project management and successful projects (chiocchio, 2007). however, effective communication depends on knowledge (pmbok, 2004). a project manager needs to know what questions to ask and be able to interpret what is being said by the professional team. therefore, knowledge of the industry instruments is essential for a construction project manager (berry, verster & zulch, 2009). this leads to good communication. the credibility of a project manager’s communication leads to trust. 3.1.1.3 project trust trust is an essential element of a project and impacts on a project’s success. it is, therefore, important to understand how it develops and where it comes from (romahn & hartman, 1999: 1). robbins (1996) states that trust is based on five dimensions, namely integrity, competency, consistency, loyalty and openness. competency includes technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills. this once again highlights that a project manager needs to have knowledge in order to be trusted by team members. trust has an influence on effective communication (romahn & hartman, 1999: 1), and communication is essential for successful project management (chiocchio, 2007: 97). it is very important to have trust within a project to ensure a successful project. it is important for a project manager to improve the ability to communicate, organise, build teams and provide leadership (birkhead, sutherland & maxwell, 2000: 101). 3.2 types of knowledge there are two schools of thought on the type of knowledge required by project managers, namely generic or industry specific (besner & hobbs, 2008: 16-33; cadle & yeates, 2001: 358). those who support the generic school of thought believe that project management is transportable across different industries. it infers that all that is needed for a project manager to be successful is the project toolkit. this implies that technical knowledge about the industry in which the project manager operates is not important (turk, 2007: 25). by implication, this burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 53 means that a construction project manager does not need technical knowledge of the built environment, but that he can rely solely on project management knowledge. the industry-specific school of thought regards a project manager’s knowledge of the industry of the project they are managing as very important. the one common denominator between the two views is project management. the industry-specific view believes that both industry knowledge and project management knowledge should be mandatory for all project managers (turk, 2007: 25). 3.2.1 project management knowledge (generic) project management knowledge can be viewed as a toolkit. this toolkit is used and transported to any industry, regardless of the project manager’s knowledge of the industry being managed. the pmi project management body of knowledge (pmbok) 4th edition identified and listed nine generic knowledge areas. the pmi pmbok 5th edition of 2015 listed ten knowledge areas, with stakeholder management being a new addition (pmbok, 2015). the research was, however, based on the 4th edition, as the 5th edition was not yet available at the time the research was conducted. the nine knowledge areas are integration management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management, human resource management, communication management, risk management, and procurement management (pmbok, 2008). the pmi construction extension to the pmbok identified four extra areas that have been stipulated in the guide, namely financial management, claims management, environmental management, and safety management (pmi construction pmbok, 2008: online). this indicates that the pmi agrees that a generic approach to the construction industry dsoe not suffice. publishing a pmi construction extension to the pmbok acknowledges the need for further industry knowledge areas. this suggests that industry knowledge is essential for a construction project manager. 3.2.2 industry-specific knowledge as stated in the pmbok (2008), construction project managers need industry knowledge, project management knowledge and general management knowledge in order to be effective in their job. this adds to the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of construction projects. this is also supported by ashworth & hogg (2007: 379-380) who state that construction project managers need industry acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 54 knowledge in order to effectively do certain tasks. this may include developing a project strategy, evaluating tenders, coordinating design processes, and participating in contractor selection (ashworth & hogg, 2007: 379-380). the sacpcmp also supports the importance of industry knowledge. they note that, in order to be able to conduct the projects effectively, a construction project manager needs to have certain competencies, namely project management competencies and technical competencies (sacpcmp, 2015: online). table 1 lists the four areas provided by the sacpcmp and reflects the required knowledge within these areas. table 1: technical knowledge of a construction project manager technical knowledge areas required knowledge knowledge of construction science understanding structures understanding construction and building sciences understanding construction and building finishes knowledge of building materials knowledge of construction processes site, plant and equipment formwork systems quality management health and safety management environmental management organisational/management structures general building sequences general output and production factors basic knowledge of building trades knowledge of design processes sequence of design processes time required for design processes knowledge of financial and cost factors financial processes cost of construction (sacpcmp, 2015: online) in addition to the pmi construction extension to the pmbok 4th edition, the suggested knowledge areas set out in the sacpcmp guide may offer further insight into an essential industry knowledge set (sacpcmp, 2015: online). as reflected in table 1, these four sacpcmp knowledge areas are construction science, finance and cost, construction process, and design process. burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 55 3.3 suggested knowledge set the importance or not of industry-specific knowledge in project management has been widely discussed (cadle & yeates, 2001: 358; webb, 1994: 55; wirth, 1996: 10). kerzner (2013) emphasises the necessity of industry knowledge, stating that one of the skills that both project and programme managers need is technical skills. technical expertise is necessary to evaluate technical concepts and solutions, to communicate effectively in technical terms with the project team, and to assess risks and make trade-offs between cost, schedule and technical issues. kerzner (2013) states that this is the reason why, in complex problem-solving situations, many project managers need to have an engineering background. project managers working in construction need to have knowledge of the construction industry (ashworth & hogg, 2007: 381-384). an effective project manager needs to have general management and interpersonal knowledge, project management knowledge (declerk, eymery & crener, cited in pettersen, 1991: 100; pacelli, 2004: 54), as well as technical knowledge and experience (kerzner, 2013: 1-15; lee & sweeney, 2001: 16; petterson, 1991: 99). a combination of these knowledge areas is essential in order to effectively manage a project. the aim of this article is to determine what knowledge is needed. this may add to the tailoring of cpd courses that can help improve the knowledge base of project managers in the industry. it may also add value to the curriculum planning of construction project management degrees. the findings also indicate the importance of professional qualifications and what knowledge should be required. subsequently, this will improve the quality of project management and thus the outcome. 4. research in this study, interviews, questionnaires and a case study were used as empirical research methods. the research was undertaken in the actual environment and not in a laboratory or under simulated conditions. the respondents were people who work in the built environment and who are involved with project management. the research strategy was both quantitative and qualitative. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 56 4.1 sampling method questionnaires were compiled and distributed to a control group. incorporating a control group is one way of increasing the validity of a study (leedy & ormrod, 2010: 226). the control group gave feedback that was used to adjust and improve the questionnaire before circulating it to the respondents. the respondents were built environment professionals who are in close contact with project management. the questionnaire consisted of two sections. section a used a checklist to answer general questions and section b used the likert scale as well as open-ended questions that investigated what knowledge is essential. the likert scale consisted of five categories. weighted averages were drawn from the data received from the likert scale. it was decided to include a project as case study. a project run by a project manager with project management knowledge but without sufficient industry knowledge was selected. the case study was selected as it complied with the selection criteria and the author had contact with the professional team. the project within the built environment was managed by a construction project manager without adequate industry knowledge. this offered an opportunity to view the impact on a project, should the project manager lack industry-specific knowledge. several instances that occurred and were directly linked to industry knowledge were analysed. lastly, interviews were conducted with senior professionals working in the built environment. large reputable companies were contacted to request their participation in the research. once the companies accepted, the interviewees were selected based on their extensive knowledge and expertise regarding project management within the built environment. the data gathered was then perused, categories were identified and data placed within these categories from which conclusions were drawn. 4.2 sample size ten interviews were conducted with expert specialists. one case study and forty questionnaires were analysed. the use of multiple research methods added to the validity of the sample size. 4.3 data collection organisations that have established a name in the industry as professional experts were earmarked as possible sources of information and opinions for the interviews. the interviewees all held qualifications and registrations within project management. the city and address of burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 57 the organisations were determined. the interviews were planned, a date was set to meet and individual interviews were conducted. all discussions were recorded and used as the interview data. in order to distribute and collect data from the questionnaires, email addresses were obtained from professionals in the built environment. selected professionals were invited to participate. the leedy and ormrod (2010: 194) list of guidelines for compiling questionnaires was followed. the questionnaire, along with a cover letter explaining the research request, was sent to the prospective respondents. for the case study, the contact person and contact details were obtained. this person discussed the project. all the discussions and emails exchanged were noted. it was also determined how the data would be interpreted. this was a cross-sectional study that was carried out only once (schoonraad, 2003: 139). the interviews were conducted within two weeks and questionnaires were sent out and returned within a twomonth period. 4.4 response rate the questionnaire response rate was 57%. therefore, according to statistical indicators, this response rate could be accepted as valid. ten interviewees were contacted and asked to participate. all ten agreed to take part in the research. the interviews were conducted with a separate group to the group that answered the questionnaires. 4.5 data analysis and interpretation of findings a 5-point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. likert scales need a minimum of two categories and a maximum of eight or nine (neuman, 1997: 159; leedy, 2010: 189). for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the scale measurement between 1 and 5 was used. likert-type or frequency scales are designed to measure attitudes or opinions. in this research, these ordinal scales measure levels of not important/ very important. the scales were 1 ‘not important’, 2 ‘fairly important’, 3 ‘important’, 4 ‘very important’ and 5 ‘critically important’. this scale from 1 to 5 was used to calculate weighted averages. the data were captured using microsoft excel 2003® and then analysed using the spss program. the findings were then reviewed against the literature review. this was used in order to make deductions and increase the understanding of the required knowledge for project management in the built environment. it was decided to use various research methods such as a case study, questionnaire and interviews in order to increase the validity and acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 58 reliability of the study. this ensured that the research did not rely on a single set data procurement method and allowed for comparison between the three sets of data. close attention was paid to maintain a reliable and valid research process and feedback. 4.6 limitations it must be noted that this study focused on the 9 pmbok knowledge areas from the pmi pmbok guide 4th edition 2008 and not the 5th edition. therefore, this study was limited to the 9 pmbok knowledge areas and did not include stakeholder management as the 10th area. 5. results the results were analysed according to the type of knowledge and evaluated in each case using questionnaires, interviews and a case study. the pmi construction extension to the pmbok areas and the sacpcmp knowledge areas were reviewed in order to interpret the similarities and the gaps within the pmi construction extension and the sacpcmp, respectively. the findings of the in-depth perusal of the pmi construction extension to the pmbok and sacpcmp showed the following shortcomings, as displayed in table 2. table 2: construction pmbok and sacpcmp knowledge areas construction pmbok knowledge areas sacpcmp integration management construction science understanding structures scope management understanding building science time management understanding building finishes cost management knowledge of building materials quality management construction processes site plant and equipment human resource management formwork communication management building sequences risk management output and production factors procurement management knowledge of building trades safety management design processes sequence of design processes environmental management time required for design processes financial management financial and cost cost of construction claims management burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 59 it is clear from table 2 that the construction-specific knowledge areas in the pmbok do not overlap with the sacpcmp knowledge areas. the required knowledge set of a construction project manager was compiled. financial management is the only similar technical area listed. the pmi construction extension lists claims management, health and safety management and environmental management that are not listed by the sacpcmp. the sacpcmp listed construction science, construction processes and design processes that were not listed by the pmi construction extension. 5.1 types of knowledge the questionnaires, interviews and case study all indicated that the knowledge set a project manager in the built environment requires is a combination of project management knowledge, industry knowledge and knowledge through experience. the findings from the three research methods (interviews, questionnaires and a case study) are discussed below. 5.1.1 knowledge through experience one of the interviewees indicated that the company for which he works sets the benchmark at 10 years’ industry experience as sufficient. less than 10 years was regarded as possibly too little. should a candidate only have 2 years’ experience, for instance, this would not suffice. the questionnaire respondents supported the importance of knowledge through experience. table 3 shows how the questionnaire respondents rated the importance of experience in the field of the built environment in order to be successful. table 3: importance of work experience in the built environment responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 total percentage of total 0 2.5 2.5 52.5 42.5 100 average rating 4.35 the weighted average is 4.35. of the respondents, 52.5% regarded experience as very important and 42.5% as critically important. all interviewees indicated that experience is important. one company regarded experience as so imperative that they required project acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 60 managers to have ten years’ industry experience before being appointed as construction project manager. the case study also supported the importance of knowledge through experience. 5.1.2 project management knowledge previous theory revealed that project management knowledge is essential knowledge for effective project management (declerk, eymery & crener, cited in pettersen, 1991; pacelli, 2004). the theory was researched and the questionnaire findings are presented in table 4. this is the respondents’ opinion on how important generic project management knowledge is for a construction project manager to successfully manage a project. table 4: importance of project management knowledge in the built environment responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 total percentage of total 2.5 12.5 37.5 35 12.5 100 average rating 3.43 the research results indicated that project managers should have theoretical project management knowledge. this is supported by the weighted average rating of 3.43. the findings add to the research investigating the knowledge base that a project manager in the built environment should have, indicating the necessity of project management knowledge. the pmi construction extension to the pmbok guide lists the nine areas as used in the pmbok guide 4th edition as well as the four industryrelated areas. these four areas are occupational health and safety, environmental management, financial management and claims management. the questionnaire asked respondents to indicate the importance of technical knowledge in order to facilitate the 13 areas. table 5 lists the 13 areas and summarises the findings. table 5: importance of technical knowledge for facilitation of pmbok areas pmbok knowledge areas weighted averages project integration management 3.82 project scope management 4.00 project time management 4.10 project cost management 4.04 burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 61 pmbok knowledge areas weighted averages project quality management 3.83 project human resources management 3.86 project communication management 3.79 project risk management 4.01 project procurement management 3.56 occupational health and safety 3.70 environmental management 3.39 financial management 3.92 claims management 4.03 average rating 3.85 table 5 shows that areas such as project scope management (4.00), project time management (4.10), project cost management (4.04), project risk management (4.01) and claims management (4.03) indicated that it is very important for a project manager to have technical knowledge. the weighted average for all areas is 3.85 and all areas indicated that technical knowledge is important for successful facilitation. 5.1.3 industry knowledge the questionnaires reflected the importance of technical knowledge, as shown in tables 6 to 9. the four main areas of technical knowledge in the built environment as indicated by sacpcmp were used and tested. the sacpcmp (2015: online) indicated that construction science knowledge is important for a construction project manager to have. the subareas of construction science knowledge listed are understanding structures, understanding building sciences, understanding building finishes, and knowledge of building materials. table 6 shows the findings from the questionnaire and the respondents’ opinion regarding the necessity of construction science knowledge. table 6: knowledge of construction science responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important understanding structures 3.7 understanding building sciences 3.83 understanding building finishes 3.78 knowledge of building materials 3.55 total average rating 3.72 acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 62 table 6 shows the knowledge area of construction science and each of the four subsections. the weighted average of 3.72 indicates that knowledge and understanding of these items are important. results of the case study supported the importance of construction science. the consultants, including the architect, the engineers and the quantity surveyor who worked on the project, stated that the project manager lacked knowledge of construction science and construction processes. the findings are supported by cadle & yeates (2001: 358) who state that a project manager must have an accurate understanding of the technical requirements of the project in order to address and meet business needs. another area which the sacpcmp indicated as important for a construction project manager to have knowledge of is construction processes. the subareas of construction processes are site plant and equipment, formwork, general building sequences, general output and production factors, as well as basic knowledge of building trades. table 7 shows the findings from the questionnaire and the respondents’ opinion regarding the necessity of construction processes knowledge. table 7: knowledge of construction processes responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important site plant and equipment 3.63 formwork 3.45 general building sequences 4.1 general output and production factors 4.05 basic knowledge of building trades 3.78 average rating 3.8 table 7 displays the findings with a weighted average of 3.8, indicating that knowledge of construction processes is important. kerzner (2013) states that technical knowledge is needed in order to evaluate technical concepts and solutions. the findings in tables 6 and 7 reiterate the importance of industry-specific knowledge. project managers require knowledge of construction science and construction processes. the sacpcmp indicated that design processes knowledge is important for a construction project manager to have.the subareas of design processes are sequence of design processes and time required for design processes. table 8 reflects the findings from the questionnaire and the respondents’ opinion regarding the necessity of design processes knowledge. burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 63 table 8: knowledge of design processes responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important sequence of design processes 3.98 time required for design processes 3.9 total average rating 3.94 table 8 clearly reflects data indicating that knowledge of the design process is important. the weighted average is 3.94. the fourth area is knowledge of cost and financial factors. the sacpcmp indicated that this is also important knowledge for a construction project manager to have. the questionnaire findings are reflected in table 9. table 9: knowledge of financial and cost factors responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important cost of construction 4.33 the data in table 9 indicates a very high weighted average of 4.33. knowledge of financial cost and factors is very important. this knowledge area corresponds with one of the four pmi construction extension to the pmbok areas (occupational health and safety, environmental management, financial management and claims management). the questionnaires’ findings indicated that technical knowledge is important for the facilitation of the four construction pmbok knowledge areas. the weighted averages for these areas are 3.92 for financial, 4.03 for claims management, 3.39 for environmental management, and 3.7 for safety management. it is important when compiling the knowledge set that the technical knowledge consists of a combination of construction pmbok and sacpcmp industry knowledge sets. all the interviewees indicated that industry-specific knowledge is essential in order for a project manager to do project planning. quoting interviewee 7: “how is it possible to plan if there is no knowledge of the industry and the project manager doesn’t know how everything fits together?” the case study supported the findings. the fact is thus that project managers working in construction need to have knowledge of the construction industry (ashworth & hogg, 2007: 381-384). techniques that work for one industry do not necessarily work for the next. for instance, techniques derived from the manufacturing industry will often not work in construction. ashworth & hogg (2007: 381) state: acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 64 ideally therefore, the project manager will already be a member of one of the construction professions. an understanding of the process and the product of construction, and a working knowledge of the structure of the industry, will clearly be advantageous if not essential. the importation of managers with no knowledge of the industry or its workings has drawbacks, and their appointment should be approached with caution. there is thus a need for industry-specific knowledge. 5.2 knowledge affecting organisational factors the interviews, questionnaires and case study findings were interpreted and indicate the importance of trust, leadership and communication to effectively manage a project. the study presented evidence that revealed a strong correlation between knowledge and trust, knowledge and leadership, as well as knowledge and communication. 5.2.1 leadership leadership contributes to successful projects. based on the questionnaire findings, the data in table 10 shows the importance of leadership to increase project success. table 10: the importance of leadership to increase project success responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 total percentage of total 0 0 0 43.6 56.4 100 average rating 4.56 the questionnaire results indicated that all respondents scored the importance of leadership in project management as either 4 or 5 on the likert scale. this amounts to a very high weighted average of 4.56. the ten interviewees all indicated that, in their opinion, a project manager needs to be a leader and that leaders require proficient knowledge. all interviewees indicated that leaders need competency in order to be trusted and respected. this adds to the validation of the study. as indicated in previous research by chiocchio (2007) and culp and smith (1992), trust, leadership and communication are all elements needed for project success. these elements are affected by a project manager’s knowledge or lack thereof. the knowledge required includes industry-specific knowledge, project management knowledge and knowledge burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 65 gained through experience in the industry. all interviewees stated that project managers need to be leaders and leaders need knowledge of the projects they are managing. the case study analysed a built environment project that had a project manager with insufficient industry knowledge and experience. the project manager in this case study was not regarded as a leader, as he did not instil trust among project team members. they did not trust his expertise as project manager nor his leadership. this was observed through discussions and interviews with the respondents who worked on the project. 5.2.2 trust the literature illustrates the importance of trust to ensure project success. the research tested the importance of trust to increase the possibility of project success. the results are presented in table 11. table 11: importance of trust to ensure project success responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 total percentage of total 0 0 13.2 44.7 42.1 100 average rating 4.29 table 11 indicates that it is very important to have trust in order to increase the possibility of project success. the weighted average is 4.29, indicating very important to critically important. this is relevant because knowledge is needed in order to be trusted. therefore, without the needed knowledge, there will not be adequate trust on a project. the importance of trust supports the need of the requested knowledge. the questionnaire results emphasised the importance of trust on a project in order to increase the possibility of project success. the weighted average is 4.29 indicating very important to critically important. all the interviewees stated that a leader needs to be competent in order to gain and retain the respect and trust of followers. a project manager without the required knowledge needed for the specific project is not competent and loses the respect and trust of the project team. this affects time, cost and the quality of a project, thereby impacting on project success. the case study indicated that there was a lack of trust among team members, due to the project manager’s insufficient knowledge acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 66 base. this became obvious in discussions with the professional team members who indicated that they did not trust the project manager and that they believed that his knowledge of the industry was not adequate. this was obvious not only from discussions with the respondents, but also from incidences that took place during the project. the mistrust was further aggravated by the project manager’s ineffective communication ability. 5.2.3 communication chiocchio (2007) stated that communication is a very important part of project management and necessary to effectively manage projects. the data in table 12 reflects the questionnaire results for the need for technical knowledge in order to facilitate project communication. it analyses the importance of technical knowledge for effective communication in order to collect and distribute information, for performance reporting and managing stakeholders. technical knowledge is very important for a project manager to facilitate project communication. table 12: need for technical knowledge to facilitate project communication responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important information is collected and distributed 3.83 performance reporting is done 3.7 stakeholders are managed 3.85 average rating 3.79 table 12 indicates that technical knowledge is important in order to effectively facilitate the collection and distribution of information (weighted average of 3.83), do performance reporting (weighted average of 3.7), and manage stakeholders (weighted average of 3.85). the overall weighted average for the three categories discussed is 3.79. due to communication being important to project management, it can be stated that it is very important for a project manager to have technical knowledge in order to support effective project management. the case study revealed that the project manager did not understand what the team members were saying and the implications of what they were saying. neither did he know what questions to ask. therefore, he asked the wrong questions. this became obvious in discussions with the team members on separate occasions and based on various incidents. burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 67 the project manager was the link between the project team and the client (a large international company). he communicated project information to them. his lack of industry-specific knowledge led to miscommunication during the project. the client asked questions which the project manager was unable to answer. miscommunication was one of the factors that contributed to the client losing faith in the project, resulting in the project being cancelled. all interviewees indicated that industry-specific knowledge is important in order for a project manager to communicate. the research feedback revealed that a project manager needs specific knowledge in order to be able to ask the right questions from the project team. the project manager must understand the feedback provided by the project team and be able to communicate the feedback and status to the client. the project manager must also anticipate potential problems, make the necessary decisions and take action in order to prevent the problems. this supports the research by turk (2007) and cadle and yeates (2001). interviewee 7 stated that project managers have to anticipate potential project problems: “project managers need to spot a potential problem before it occurs.” this is only possible if the project manager has industryspecific knowledge and experience working in the built environment. interviewee 5 stated that, without the required knowledge, a project manager cannot communicate effectively with the team. he further mentioned that problems with communication impact on the time, cost and quality of a project. project meetings need to be proactive and goal oriented. to meet these requirements, a project manager needs the required knowledge. interviewee 2 stated that knowledge affects the quality of the message communicated by the project manager. the interviewee mentioned that the project manager must lead and know what questions to ask. if the project manager’s knowledge about the industry is insufficient, he will not be able to understand the feedback and to make intelligent deductions from the feedback received. figure 1 was compiled based on the research findings. it illustrates the elements of the knowledge a project manager needs in order to be able to communicate effectively. as stated by chiocchio (2007: 97), communication is very important to ensure effective project management. figure 1 shows five elements in a circle that are dependent on a project manager’s knowledge and subsequently his communication ability. these elements are: asking the right questions, understanding team feedback, communicating feedback to clients, anticipating acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 68 potential problems and planning, and taking action to prevent problems. if a project manager is not knowledgeable and an incompetent communicator, these essential elements will not be realised. ask right questions take action to prevent problems and plan anticipate potential problems communicate feedback to client understand team feedback figure 1: project manager needs competency in order to communicate effectively source: burger, 2013: 188 figure 1 indicates that industry-specific knowledge is essential for a project manager. as indicated earlier, a project manager needs knowledge in order to ask the right questions. figure 1 illustrates that a project manager needs to be competent in order to communicate effectively – to ask the right questions, to understand team feedback, to communicate feedback to clients, to anticipate potential problems and plan, and to take action to prevent problems. the interviews supported this, since the interviewees’ feedback supported the need for competency to ask the right questions, understand the feedback that is given, communicate the feedback to the client, anticipate potential problems and take action to plan and prevent problems. in summary, all respondents interviewed agreed that a project manager needs the required knowledge and experience in order to increase both the effectiveness of project management and the probability of project success. burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 69 6. conclusion and recommendations project managers require three types of knowledge in their knowledge set in order to successfully manage projects. this knowledge set needs to consist of project management knowledge, knowledge through experience, and industry knowledge. the project management knowledge areas are the nine knowledge areas set out in the pmbok 4th edition as well as the four pmi construction extension to the pmbok. the nine knowledge areas are based on the pmi pmbok 4th edition and not the pmi pmbok 5th edition of 2015, which added stakeholder management as a 10th area. the nine areas are: integration management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management, human resource management, communication management, risk management, and procurement management. the four areas from the pmi construction extension to the pmbok are: occupational health and safety, environmental management, financial management, and claims management. according to sacpcmp, there are four industry knowledge areas along with their subsections that are essential. these four areas are: construction science, construction processes, design processes, and having financial and cost knowledge. these research findings together offer a knowledge skill set that can be used as baseline. this research indicates the type of knowledge required as well as the critical importance of industry-specific knowledge. further research could test project managers’ proficiency levels of the various knowledge fields. forthcoming research investigates the level of each type of knowledge required and offers a construction project management knowledge model. this will assist in knowing to what knowledge depth project managers need to be educated and trained. the level of knowledge findings will be presented in the near future. references list ashworth, a. & hogg, k. 2002. willis’s practice and procedure for the quantity surveyor. 11th edition. oxford: blackwell science. berry, f., verster, b. & zulch, b. 2009. kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel vir die meting van 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66-69. cooke-davies, t.j. & arzymanow, a. 2003. the maturity of project management in different industries: an investigation into variations between project management models. international journal of project management, 21(6), pp. 471-478. culp, g. & smith, a. 1992. managing people (including yourself) for project success. new york: van nostrand reinhold. daft, r.l., kendrick, m. & vershinina, n.2010. management. andover: cengage. davis, t. & pharrow, r. 2003. the relationship manager: the next generation of project management. brookfield, vt: gower. dinsmore, p.c. 1999. winning in business with enterprise project management. new york: amacom. goetsch, d.l. 2004. effective teamwork: ten steps for technical professions. upper saddle river, nj: prentice hall. harris, m. 2005. project management over view: ordered chaos. financial mail. [online]. available from: <http://free.financialmail.co.za/ report05/project05/ apro ject.htm> [accessed 15 december 2011]. heldman, k. 2006. project management jumpstart. indianapolis, in: wiley publishing. heldman, k. 2011. project management jumpstart. 3rd edition. hoboken, nj: wiley burger, verster & zulch • the construction project manager... 71 kerzner, h. 2013. project management. 11th edition. hoboken, nj: wiley publishing. klastorin, t. 2004. project management tools and trade-offs. washington: wiley publishing. lee, d.r. & sweeney, p.j. 2001. an assessment of influence tactics used by project managers. engineering management journal, 13(2), pp. 16-24. leedy, p.d & ormrod, j.e. 2010. practical research: planning and design. boston, ma: pearson. morrison, j.m., brown, c.j. & smit, e.v.d.m. 2006. a supportive organizational culture for project management in matrix organizations: a theoretical perspective. south african journal of business management, 37(4), pp. 39-54. neuman, w.l. 1997. social research methods. 3rd edition. boston, ma: allyn & bacon. pacelli, l. 2004. the project advisor: 18 major project screw-ups and how to cut them off at the pass. upper saddle river, nj: prentice hall. pettersen, n. 1991. what do we know about the effective project manager? international journal of project management, 9(2), pp. 99-104. project management institute (pmbok). 2004. a guide to the project management body of knowledge (pmbok guide). 3rd edition. newtown square, pa: project management institute. project management institute (pmbok). 2008. a guide to the project management body of knowledge (pmbok guide). 4th edition. newtown square, pa: project management institute. project management institute. 2008. construction extension to the pmbok guide 3rd edition. drexell hill, pa: project management institute. project management institute. 2015. project management body of knowledge. 5rd ed. drexell hill, pa: project management institute. robbins, s.p. 1996. organizational behaviour. 7th edition. new york: prentice hall. romahn, e. & hartman, f. 1999. trust: a tool for project managers. proceedings of the 30th annual project management institute 1999 seminars & symposium, philadelphia, usa, 10-16 october 1999. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 72 schoonraad, n. 2003. managing financial communication: towards a conceptual model. m.com. thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria. shenhar, a.j. 2008. unleashing the power of project management. industrial management, 50(1), pp. 14-19. south africa. 2000. project and construction management professions bill act, no. 48 of 2000. pretoria: government printer. south african council for the project and construction management professions (sacpcmp). 2015. available from: <http://www.sacpcmp. co.za/downloads/policy> [accessed 30 may 2015]. trebilcock, b. 2007. changing face of project management. modern materials handling, 62(6), pp. 40-45. turk, w. 2007. 21st century project management competencies. defense acquisition and logistics, january-february, pp. 22-25,. acta structilia-13(2) 1 ferdinand fester & theo haupt construction management experiential learning: views of employers and university of technology academics peer reviewed abstract academic curriculum change in the main is driven by policy, industry or faculty. in south africa, several policy initiatives are directed at influencing changes to the curriculum. the white paper on transformation of higher education (republic of south africa. department of education, 1997) stresses the challenge to redress past inequalities and to “transform the higher education system” to serve a new social order, to meet pressing needs, and to respond to new realities and opportunities. institutions serving the higher education sector have a major role to play in providing the technological and business capability to underpin modern industrial and services development (frain, 1992). construction management education at south african universities is delivered via either a co-operative learning programme or a full academic programme. this article presents findings of research into the views of employers and academics of value that experiential learning adds to the construction management programmes. keywords: co-operative education, experiential learning, research navorsingsartikels • research articles mr ferdinand c fester, head of department, construction management and quantity surveying. university of johannesburg, south africa. tel:+27 11 4062162. email: <ffester@twr.ac.za> dr theo c haupt, research coordinator, faculty of engineering. cape peninsula university of technology, cape town, south africa. tel:+27 21 9596845. email: <hauptt@pentech.ac.za> 2 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) abstrak veranderings in akademiese leerplanne word hoofsaaklik deur beleid, die nywerheid en die akademie gedryf. in suid-afrika het beleidsrigtings ’n invloed op leerplan veranderings. die witskrif op transformasie van hoër onderwys (republic of south africa. department of education,1997) het druk geplaas op die regstelling van ongelykhede en verandering in die hoër onderwysstelsels en om ’n nuwe maatskaplike bestel te reël deur aan vraagdruk, nuwe verwagtings en geleenthede uiting te gee. van hoër onderriginstellings word verwag om ’n leidende rol te speel in die verskaffing van tegnologieseen sakekundigheid om moderne sakeen nywerheidsontwikkeling te rig en te ondersteun (frain, 1992). konstruksiebestuuronderrig in suid-afrika word aangebied deur of meewerkende opleidingsprogramme of deur voltydse akademiese opleiding. hierdie artikel poog om navorsingsbevindinge te gee oor hoe werkgewers en akademici voel oor die waarde van ervarings-opleiding in konstruksiebestuurprogramme. sleutelwoorde: ko-operatiewe onderrig, ervarings-opleiding, navorsing 1. introduction academic curriculum change in the main is driven by policy,industry or faculty. in south africa, several policy initiatives aredirected at influencing changes to the curriculum. the white paper on transformation of higher education (republic of south africa. department of education, 1997) stresses the challenge to redress past inequalities and to ‘transform the higher education system’ to serve a new social order, to meet pressing needs, and to respond to new realities and opportunities. institutions serving the higher education sector have a major role to play in providing the technological and business capability to underpin modern industrial and services development (frain, 1992). higher education reaches and trains people to fulfill specialised social functions, enter the learned professions, or pursue vocations in administration, trade, industry, science and technology and the arts (republic of south africa, department of education, 1997). while maintaining the commitment to high academic standards, higher education institutions (heis) also need to be committed to ‘responding to the needs of industry’ both in terms of course content and research. further, higher education must provide education and training to develop the skills and innovations necessary for national development and successful participation in the global economy. it is south african government policy that cooperative education should bridge the minds of students at higher education institutions and the industry in which they hope to develop their future careers. to achieve this national objective, institutions of higher education have to pursue strong relationships with, and input from the broadest range of stakeholders and industry concerning their fields of study. these industry-sensitive programs essentially have to help students in their transition from school to the work place. in the south african higher education context co-operative education has been defined as the working together of industry and the education institution, in a process in which academic study is integrated with work experience in order to benefit both the students and industry (council on higher education, 2002). in short, cooperative education refers to the integration of productive work into the career-focused academic curriculum (haupt, chileshe & miller, 2005). cooperative education thus needs to bridge the gap between education and training while enhancing the total educa3 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning tional experience of students to produce a graduate or diplomat that is both educated and trained and able to add value to the construction industry. this view of the cooperative approach suggests that both education and training are equally essential for a successful experience. education according to guillaud & garnier (2001) refers to all the ways in which students train and develop to fulfil their potential realised as a result of acquiring skills, attitudes and values which not only reflect the need of the industry, but also the social, cultural and physical environment in which students live. on the other hand, training according to haupt (2003) refers to the systematic development of attitudes, knowledge and skill patterns required by persons to adequately perform given tasks or jobs. many authors have argued that there should be an appropriate teaching approach that bridges the perceived gap between formal academic instruction and on the job training (kim, williams & dattilo, 2002; sanyal, 1991; ellington, gordon & fowlie, 1998; schaafsma, 1996). however, for some time academics and practitioners have recognised the need to balance the relationship between theory as taught in the classroom and practice in the field or industry (ross & elechi, 2002). this gap between what is taught in classrooms and what is needed in the workplace is well illustrated in table 1 adapted from cook & cook (1998). table 1: traditional education vs workplace 4 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) traditional education workplace requirements facts individual effort passing a test achieving a grade individual courses receive information teaching separate from learning problem solving team skills learning how to learn continuous improvement interdisciplinary knowledge interact and process information technology (adapted from cook & cook, 1998) it is within this context that several have influenced curriculum design through initiating simulated ‘world of work’ practices and prompted the development of student centered learning approaches (edward, 2004; drahum & lopez-merono, 2004). there have also been several recent attempts at re-designing the learning environments (eason, 2004; dekereki, azpiazu & silva, 2004; chinyino, 2004). however, there are few studies, if any, and even less published research that evaluate the relationship between construction theory as taught in the classroom and construction practice in the field from a multi-stakeholder perspective viz. students, academic institutions and employers. this paper reports on the findings of a study conducted to assess multi-stakeholder perceptions of construction management education at universities of technology (formerly technikons). in particular, it focuses on the experiential learning component of these programs and the views of academic staff and industry employers. 2. the nature of cooperative education cooperative education is classified as mode 2 knowledge in that it is characterised by the proliferation of knowledge production in the context of application, which is mostly problem-specific and guided by the requirements of practical relevance such as a specific industrial sector. this particular educational approach provides opportunities for students to have hands-on experience as part of their course of study (haupt, smallwood & miller, 2004). in this way students are prepared for their future careers. they acquire valuable and specialised knowledge and skills by learning from experience and reflecting on that experience while becoming acquainted with the work processes (hicks, 1996; rainsbury et al., 1998). workplace learning therefore provides the underpinning knowledge and attributes of competence needed for the job as a whole such as, for example, aspects of work-place culture, work norms and values (gillen, 1993). this form of experiential learning may be expressed as the combination of three elements, namely programmed learning in structured settings, questioning learning gained via investigation and research, and own experience (hicks, 1996). apart from co-operative education contributing to more effective learning (schaafsma, 1996) it also has the potential to be mutually beneficial to both students and employers (frain, 1992). employers benefit from having a significant influence on course design and content by ensuring that industry-specific knowledge, awareness and values are integrated into the higher education process. students benefit from working as they experience firsthand and come to understand the requirements of their chosen careers. as they engage in the actual activities in the workplace they gain appreciation for the challenges of their particular job (ross & elechi, 2002). they are consequently better able to make informed decisions on 5 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning their career choices. they also develop enhanced appreciation of concepts learnt in the classroom after applying knowledge in a professional setting (gordon, hage & mcbride, 2001). this working or inservice period is often the students’ first opportunity to apply theoretical, classroom-based knowledge in a practical work situation. they gain a more realistic view of how the world of work operates. considering that work experience is often a strong determining factor in whether or not students find employment, co-operative education provides the opportunity for students to enhance their prospects of employment once they graduate (frain, 1992). they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to prospective employers. through this approach, they already have work experience at the moment of academic graduation. students are introduced to the work ethic, and gain insight into the interpersonal skills needed to survive in the working world (schaafsma, 1996). they see the opportunities for career development and personal growth that are open to them in their field of study. in several studies employers noted that more opportunities for work placement during the students’ courses would be beneficial and ease their transition into the workplace upon completion of their formal academic programs at heis. spencer (1992) and blakey (1992) cite the value of work experience for building students, and the ctm standing committee: co-operative education (2000) maintains that there are advantages of co-operative education for all the role players involved in experiential training. although literature amplifies the importance of optimum experiential training/co-operative education, students neither gain meaningful practical experience, nor sufficient opportunity to apply their acquired knowledge during their experiential training year in industry while at the former technikons (manthe & smallwood, 2003a, 2003b). over the last decade, it seems that ways of learning in higher education have been gradually getting closer to the needs and methods of the real world. however, studies have shown that there still is a mismatch between what construction employers appear to want and what higher education provides (smallwood, 2002; fester & haupt, 2003). 3. current university of technology instructional model in south africa, university of technologies (the former technikons) offers construction-related programs on the basis of cooperative education. the four-year bachelor of technology program is generally made up of three academic years spent full-time at the university with the second year spent full-time working in construction. stu6 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) dents’ complete projects in 2 or 3 subjects during this ‘experiential year’. students are also required to keep a logbook of all their work activities on a monthly basis. the logbook sets out the required activities that students are expected to experience. in order to return to the university to complete the remaining two years students have to obtain passing grades in each of these subjects as well as submit a duly completed logbook. students may also be required to do an oral presentation of work completed during the experiential year. 4. role of employers mentoring of the experiential learning student during the work-based period is vital. the advantages from this involvement of employers in work-based learning include: • the link between theory and practice; • reinforcement of theory through practical experience; • increasing of students motivation and commitment; • increasing student employability once complete with academic study; and • employers being able to recruit staff familiar with the organisations culture (taylor, 2001). the reasons why employers feel reluctant to implement such strategies include: • the belief that they do not have the time to plan and review training; • uncertainty with regard to responsibility to support students; • not understanding the link between academic and workbased learning; • tight budgets; • lack of understanding of the commercial reward of education and training; and • belief that students demands may conflict with those of other employees (taylor, 2001). in order for any construction organisation to be truly able to participate in work-based learning the argument may be made that such entity have in their employ suitably qualified and experienced persons who will add value to the experience 7 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning 5. research methodology this study draws on the views and insights of the three partners in the cooperative model obtained through multiple survey instruments of multiple samples, namely the students, academic staff who address the predominantly theoretical aspects of construction management and industry employers who had actually employed students during and after their experiential learning periods as shown in table 2. in this paper only the views of academic staff and employers are reported on. table 2: total sample by participation 8 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) stakeholder sample size academic staff students1 industry employers 30 348 60 total 438 the largest group of participants was students, namely first year (162) and third and fourth years (186). this is not surprising since the research team had more ready access to students than to the other participants in co-operative education. industry participants were invited to participate in the survey on an ‘interview basis.’ however, those unable to make time for the interview were called by telephone, faxed the questionnaire and informed that they would be called to do the interview by telephone. only as a last resort were participants permitted to self-complete the questionnaire. with all the measures undertaken, the desired sample as shown in table 2 was achieved. these samples were considered representative of the three collaborative partners. 5.1 data collection the survey instruments used in this study comprised of various sections. several questions required 5-point likert-scaled responses where respondents were asked to rate their levels of agreement or importance relative to various issues being investigated. qualitative answers were also sought from the respondents in order to qualify their responses and provide deeper and richer meaning. 1 this article only focuses on the views of academic staff and industry employers 5.2 data analysis the survey instrument comprised of five sections as shown in figure 1. a total of four dimensions of educational offerings and experiential training within south africa were perceptualised and measured using the 5-point likert-scale. for example in section a that deals with experiential training the focus of this paper, respondents were asked to respond to 11 statements relative to what method should be used for assessing experiential training where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree and 5 = strongly agree. once the questionnaires were returned the responses were electronically captured using the software package for social sciences (spss). the mean values and the valid percentages were used to present the analysed data. views on the following aspects of experiential learning (el) were sought from academic staff and industry employers: • the necessity of experiential learning; • the basis of experiential learning; • the preferred nature of experiential learning; • whether or not experiential learning should be assessed; • the preferred agency of assessment of experiential learning; • whether or not experiential learning should be undertaken in stages; • the timing of experiential learning; and • whether or not experiential learning should be remunerated. 5.3 profile of samples the employer sample comprised of general contractors (48.9%), project management practices (17.8%), quantity surveying practices (15.6%), consulting engineers (4.4%) and co-contractors (2.2%). they operated largely in the gauteng (30.0%) and western cape provinces (24.0%). more than half (51.1%) had annual turnovers exceeding r20 million with 20.7% having turnovers between r1 million and r5 million. the average reported size of their labour force was as follows: 9 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning • < 10 employees (22.4%); • between 11 and 50 employees, (20.4%); and • > 250 employees (24.5%). all academic staff surveyed were employed at universities of technology (former technikons). most of the academic staff (53.6%) surveyed were not professionally registered while 57.1% were involved with some aspect of construction industry related research. 10 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) figure 1: structure of survey instrument 6. necessity and nature of experiential training most academic staff (96.7%) regarded experiential training either as a necessary (30.0%) or totally necessary (66.7%) component of construction management programs. similarly, most employers (96.5%) considered experiential training to be either necessary (24.1%) or totally necessary (72.4%), confirming the findings of previous studies conducted by haupt, smallwood & miller (2004) and fester & haupt (2003). with respect to whether this experiential training should be project based or function/department based where students worked in the various departments of the employing organization, both employers (68.3%) and academics (53.3%) preferred a combination of both. this experiential component was one jointly developed by the institution and employer together with guidelines on what the student was expected to do during the period spent in industry. on the other hand, an unstructured programme left the onus upon the employer to train the experiential learning student in general construction matters. academic staff (86.7%) and employers (82.5%) preferred experiential learning to be structured and that it should be assessed, namely 93.3% and 89.7% respectively. 6.1 methods of assessment the responses ranked by means relative to preference for the method of assessment are shown in table 3 and suggest differences in preferences. while academics preferred term reports and rating sheets, employers preferred continuous and project based assessment. there was congruence on the preference for competency based assessment. there was a degree of congruence relative to the least preferred methods of assessment, namely peer and panel assessments. table 3: assessment methods 11 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning employers assessment method academic staff rank mean2 std.dev. rank mean 3 std. dev. cv 4 4 3 1 2 8 8 6 11 7 10 1.52 1.52 1.48 1.43 1.46 1.67 1.67 1.56 1.83 1.65 1.76 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.48 0.48 0.50 0.38 0.48 0.43 term report method rating sheet competency based assessment continuous assessment project based assessment job sponsor assessment portfolio assessment observation method panel assessment self-assessment method peer assessment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 4.48 4.33 4.07 4.04 3.96 3.81 3.76 3.52 3.31 3.00 2.70 0.80 1.00 0.83 0.88 0.94 1.10 0.93 1.16 1.23 1.44 1.44 17.86 23.09 20.39 21.78 23.73 28.87 24.73 32.95 37.16 48.00 53.33 2 the closer the mean is to 1 the more positive the preference for the assessment method. 3 the closer the mean is to 5 the more preferential the assessment method on the 5point likert-scale of preference. 6.2 agency of assessment the most preferred agency to assess the experiential component according to both samples was the employer followed by the academic institution as evidenced from table 4. employers did not rate students and the combination of students, employers and academic institutions as assessment agencies. table 4: assessment agency 12 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) employers agency academic staff rank mean4 std.dev. rank mean 5 std. dev. 1 2 3 1.25 1.30 1.79 0.44 0.46 0.41 employer academic institution academic institution, employer & student together independent assessor student 1 2 3 4 5 4.16 4.15 4.12 2.96 1.83 1.11 1.17 1.03 1.37 0.89 4 the closer the mean is to 1 the more positive the preference for the timing of el. 5 the closer the mean is to 5 the more preferential the assessment agency on the 5point likert-scale of preference. 6.3 duration and location of experiential learning similarly, most academics (80.0%) and employers (78.9%) preferred experiential learning to be undertaken in stages with most suggesting that the total period of time should be either 12 months, namely 77.8% and 63.6% respectively or 6 months, namely 70.0% and 34.1% respectively. table 5 provides an indication of preferences for the location of experiential training within the academic program of construction management students. evidently, academics and employers have differing preferences on this issue. employers prefer industrial experience to take place after two years at the university while academics prefer a period after year 1. employers preferred this period to occur after completed years at university while academics had some preference for during the academic year. 13 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning employers timing of experiential learning academic staff rank mean6 std.dev. rank mean 7 std. dev. cv 2 4 6 5 1 3 1.29 1.39 1.53 1.52 1.20 1.33 0.46 0.50 0.51 0.51 0.41 0.58 after year 1 during year 2 durig year 3 during year 1 after year 2 after year 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 4.09 3.45 3.00 2.80 2.80 2.41 1.24 1.53 1.73 1.54 1.40 1.42 30.32 44.37 57.67 55.00 50.00 58.92 6 the closer the mean is to 1 the more positive the preference for the assessment agency. 7 the closer the mean is to 5 the more preferential the timing of el on the 5-point likert-scale of preference. table 5: location of experiential training within academic program relative to how adequately employers were equipped to mentor students during their experiential period in industry the mean response of academics was 3.17 (out of maximum of 5). they reported a mean response of 3.43 relative to how adequately the experiential learning experience of students satisfied their requirements. employers’ views on these issues were not canvassed in the survey. 6.4 forums of influence table 6 provides an indication of the effectiveness of various forums to influence construction management programs at universities of technology. of the three forums, influencing bodies such as regional master builders associations (mbas), construction education and training authority (ceta) and others were the most preferred while lobbying education authorities was the least preferred. academic staff felt more strongly than employers about the potential of external agencies to influence construction programs. table 6: forums of influence employers academic staff mean std. dev. mean std.dev. 2.33 2.19 1.88 0.68 0.73 0.60 influencing bodies such as regional mbas, cetas and others serving on advisory councils or boards of universities of technology departments lobbying appropriate education authorities 2.36 2.28 2.17 0.64 0.74 0.72 14 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 6.5 remuneration of experiential learning most employers (67.2%) were prepared to offer experiential learning opportunities to students with remuneration, whereas 15.5% were not. 6.6 adequacy of employers to mentor experiential learning the responses of academics about the adequacy of employers to mentor experiential learning to educator’s requirements are shown in table 7. evidently, academics felt that employers demonstrated slightly above average adequacy to mentor students during their period in industry. they felt that employers offered students an above average industrial learning experience. table 7: adequacy of mentoring and of experiential learning response mean std. dev. adequacy of employer to mentor adequacy of el experience to educators’ requirements 3.17 3.43 0.99 1.01 7. conclusion and recommendation the experiential learning period is an important part of construction management program given that it bridges the gap between the practical and theoretical aspects of the program. it also offers employers an opportunity to influence the learning content by exposing the student to actual working conditions. in order to meet the requirements of the industry while at the same time contributing to national development and participation in the global economy, the following recommendations are suggested: • all construction management programs at heis include a mandatory period of experiential training for all students; • experiential training to be conducted in stages preferably with a minimum total duration of 12 months; • this assessed experiential training period involving both employers and academics should be structured; and • experiential training should include both project based and function/department based elements. 15 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning given that the study found that employers and academics should be involved in the assessment of the experiential learning component of construction management programs, mutually acceptable means of assessment need to be developed that include combinations of continuous, competency and project based assessments. further, considering the differences expressed about where this experiential period should be located within the academic program, employers and academics need to find common ground relative to timing. however, there is endorsement that there should be such a component in construction management programs. additionally, a guide defining the roles and responsibilities of employers in mentoring students during their time in industry needs to be negotiated and developed to ensure improved mentoring. a scale of remuneration of students while working in industry needs to be developed consultatively to ensure uniformity throughout the construction sector. it is important to include external industry forums and stakeholders in the process of shaping construction management programs that fit the demands of the national and global economies. it is recommended that in developing the revised curriculum, the learning outcomes of each subject offered within the construction management program can be written with the inclusion of the following four areas namely, objectives, subject knowledge, discipline (specific) and competencies. for example, the issue of competencies can be addressed in terms of what a graduate can do as a result of the degree programme, including the narrower notion of occupational competence. consideration should be given to the introduction of a module or subject called ‘reflection on experiential training’ which would facilitate comparisons and reflections on the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom and the application of these in the workplace. in this way the language of competences would have similarities to the language of academic learning outcomes. as part of the cooperative assessment process, construction management students could be expected to provide a ‘portfolio of evidence’ covering the required learning outcomes and/or competences. other observations to improve the present model of delivery include: • preparation for multidisciplinary practice; • strengthening specialist skills; • promoting integrative professionalism with international competitiveness; and • designing university curricula in collaboration with industry which can take the following formats: o direct industry/academic collaboration; o student industrial placement with an agreed basis of innovative remuneration; and o student mentoring scheme with senior consulting profes sionals from industry to improve the present poor industrial experience of students. the timing of the experiential learning period is contentious in that employers prefer a period after the second year of study while academics prefer this period after the first year of study. currently the experiential learning period is being offered after the first year of study although this is contrary to the nated 151 document (department of education, 2004) which places experiential learning after 18 months of study. a model that acknowledges the equal cooperative contribution of the three partners, namely students, academic staff, and industry is the way forward. however, a careful investigation is required as to what extent the industry should take ownership of what is taught, even though equality in collaborative terms is being advocated. if universities of technology are to offer a full contribution to educating the built environment consulting professionals, they should take a more proactive role in offering a multidisciplinary, continuous professional education not based or limited to the standard curricula, hence the need for constant revision. references blakey, f. 1992. … and more support. chartered builder, p. 37, august. chinyino, e. 2004. the concerns of be staff in universities. proceedings of the international conference: innovation, good practice and research in engineering education, university of wolverhampton, england, 7 – 9 june, pp. 183-188. ctm standing committee: co-operative education. 2000. best practice in co-operative education. durban sasce. p. 28, june. cook, j.s. & cook, l.l. 1998. how technology enables the quality of studentcentered learning. quality progress, pp. 59-63, july. 16 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 17 fester & haupt • construction management experiential learning council on higher education. 2002. a new academic policy for programmes and qualifications in higher education. pretoria: department of education. department of education, 2004. formal technikon instructional programmes in the rsa. report 151 (01/04) volume 1 diploma programmes. project leader: des r davis. south africa: department of education. higher education branch. dekereki, i.f., azpiazu, j. & silva, a. 2004. a new approach to knowledge management of a learning environment. proceedings of the international conference: innovation, good practice and research in engineering education, university of wolverhampton, england, 7 – 9 june, pp.177-181. drahum, j.a. & lopez-merono, j. 2004. the teaching of sustainable development at aston university. proceedings of the international conference: innovation, good practice and research in engineering education, university of wolverhampton, england, 7 – 9 june, pp. 135 – 140. eason, m. 2004. cross sectoral transferable engineering education. proceedings of the international conference: innovation, good practice and research in engineering education, university of wolverhampton, england, 7 – 9 june, pp. 171-176. edward, n.s. 2004. simulations as an alternative to engineering laboratory work. proceedings of the international conference: innovation, good practice and research in engineering education, university of wolverhampton, england, 7 – 9 june, pp. 141-145. ellington, h., gordon, m. & fowlie, j. 1998. using games and simulations in the classroom. london: kogan page. fester, f. & haupt, t.c. 2003. an investigation into the quality of construction management education at technikons: the case of technikon witwatersrand. in: haupt, t. & smallwood, j. (eds.) proceedings of 1st postgraduate conference on construction industry development, port elizabeth, 12-14 october, pp. 19-29. frain, p. 1992. multiplicity in action: co-operation between higher education and industry in ireland. european journal of education, 27(4), p. 349-364. gillen, m. 1993. new models of cooperative education in australia, proceedings of the 8th world conference on co-operative education, dublin city university, pp. 43-45. gordon, g., hage, h. & mcbride, r. 2001. criminal justice internship: theory into practice. cincinnati: anderson publishing. guillaud, h. & garnier, p. 2001. editorial. basin news, (2), december, 2. haupt, t.c. 2003. student attitudes towards cooperative construction education experiences. the australian journal of construction economics and building, 3(1), pp. 31-42. haupt, t., chileshe, n. & miller, s. 2005. report on construction management and civil engineering education at universities of technology – working paper 0205. bellville: southern african built environment research center. haupt, t. c., smallwood, j.j. & miller, s. 2004. the state of construction management programs at technikons in south africa. in: aubea 2004: higher edu18 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) cation shaping the built environment. chen, s.e., brewer, g., gajendran, t. & runeson, g. (eds.), center for infrastructure and property, university of newcastle, july 7-9, pp. 201-214. hicks, r.e. 1996. experiential learning in a postgraduate project management programme. education + training, 38(3), pp. 28-38. kim, b., williams, r. & dattilo, j. 2002. students’ perception of interactive learning modules. journal of research and technology in education, 34(4), pp. 453-473. manthe, m.f. & smallwood, j.j. 2003a. the appropriateness of built environment education to the south african (sa) construction industry. in: haupt, t. & smallwood, j. (eds.) proceedings of 1st postgraduate conference on construction industry development, port elizabeth, 12-14 october, pp. 48-58. manthe, m.f. & smallwood, j.j. 2003b. the education, training and integration of national diploma building students and diplomats into the border-kei construction industry. in: haupt, t. & smallwood, j. (eds.) proceedings of 1st postgraduate conference on construction industry development, port elizabeth, 12-14 october, pp. 30-38. rainsbury, e., hodges, d., sutherland, j. & barrow, m. 1998. academic, employer and student collaborative assessment in a work-based co-operative education course, assessment and evaluation in higher education, 23(3), pp. 313-324. republic of south africa. department of education. 1997. white paper 3: a programme for the transformation of higher education. pretoria: government printers. ross, l.e. & elechi, o.o. 2002. student attitudes towards internship experiences: from theory to practice. journal of criminal justice education, 13(2), pp. 297-312. sanyal, c.c. 1991. higher education and the labor market. in: altbach, p.g. (ed.), higher education: an encyclopaedia, vol. 1, pp. 147-168. schaafsma, h. 1996. back to the real world: work placements revisited. education + training, 38(1), pp. 5-13. smallwood, j.j. 2002. practicing the discipline of construction management: knowledge and skills. proceedings of the 2nd international conference on the cib task group 29 on construction in developing countries, gaborone, botswana, 16 november, pp. 60-71. spencer, l. 1992. the work experience debate continues. chartered builder, p. 37. taylor, s. 2001. getting employers involved: improving work-base learning through employer links. report and good practice guidelines. london: learning and skills development agency. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left /calgrayprofile (dot gain 20%) /calrgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /calcmykprofile (u.s. web coated \050swop\051 v2) /srgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /cannotembedfontpolicy /error 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 89 fidelis emuze, humbulani mashili & brink botha post-occupancy evaluation of office buildings in a johannesburg country club estate peer reviewed and revised abstract the purpose of this article is to present the findings of a research project aimed at determining the level of satisfaction of building occupants in terms of indoor environmental quality (ieq) and the effect of ieq on both the morale and the productivity of the employees working in the complex. the main findings were derived from the perceptions of the employees working in a country club estate (cce) in johannesburg, south africa. the questions asked addressed how poor air quality, lack of access to daylight, unpleasant acoustic conditions, and control over lighting and thermal comfort caused dissatisfaction with the buildings’ ieq. the data were collected during august and september 2012. questionnaires were sent to ten office blocks within the cce complex. a total number of 126 questionnaires were sent out and 102 replies were received. observations from the data led to the view that the satisfactory level of ieq awareness is low among the occupants and that the employees have limited control over issues such as air ventilation, artificial lighting and noise in their offices. organisational structure needs to be formed that will enlighten occupants about factors that contribute to poor indoor air quality (iaq). organisational procedures also point to the fact that the level of ieq is low. the inconsistent ratings that were recorded suggest that there appears to be a major scope for addressing post-occupancy evaluation (poe)-related matters in the complex. keywords: buildings, employee morale, employee productivity, facility management, health and safety (h&s), indoor environmental quality (ieq), post-occupancy evaluation (poe) dr fidelis emuze, senior lecturer, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3661, email: <femuze@cut.ac.za> humbulani mashili, msc (built environment), graduate at the department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790, email: <s210255277@live.nmmu.ac.za> dr brink botha, senior lecturer, department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2085, e-mail: <brink.botha@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 90 abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om die bevindinge van ’n navorsingsprojek oor die vasstelling van die tevredenheidsvlak van inwoners oor die binnenshuiseomgewingskwaliteit (ieq) en die effek daarvan op die moraal en produktiwiteit van die werknemers in hierdie gebou weer te gee. die belangrikste bevindinge is afgelei uit die persepsies van werknemers in ’n buiteklubkompleks in johnnesburg, suid-afrika. die vrae wat gevra is, gaan oor hoe swak lugkwaliteit, gebrek aan toegang tot daglig, onaangename akoestiese toestande en die beheer oor die beligting en termiese gemak lei tot ontevredenheid met die ieq in die geboue. die data is ingesamel gedurende augustus en september 2012. vraelyste is gestuur na tien kantoorblokke in die buiteklubkompleks. ’n totaal van 126 vraelyste is uitgestuur en 102 antwoorde is ontvang. waarnemings van die data het gelei tot die siening dat die tevredenheidsvlak van ieqbewustheid laag is onder die inwoners en dat die werknemers beperkte beheer het oor kwessies soos lugventilasie, kunsmatige beligting en geraas in hul kantore. organisatoriese strukture moet gevorm word wat inwoners oor die faktore wat bydra tot swak binnenshuise kwaliteit van die lug (iaq) inlig. organisasieprosedures verwys ook na die feit dat die vlak van ieq laag is. die teenstrydige graderings wat aangeteken is, dui daarop dat daar klaarblyklik ’n groot omvang is vir die aanspreek van na-besetting geëvalueer (poe)verwante sake in hierdie kompleks. sleutelwoorde: geboue, werknemermoraal, werknemerproduktiwiteit, fasiliteitsbestuur, gesondheid en veiligheid (h&s), binnenshuise omgewingskwaliteit, na-besetting evaluasie 1. introduction building occupants or employees wish to work in an environment that is conducive to their health and well-being. when these conditions are absent in a work environment, the morale, productivity and performance of employees can deteriorate. in order to address such issues, the idea of post-occupancy evaluation (poe) came into being. poe is relatively new in the built environment in south africa. a desktop study indicates limited literature in the subject area; even facility management texts failed to provide the needed south african-based knowledge. thus, an explorative study was conducted in johannesburg, south africa to determine the level of satisfaction of the building occupants in terms of indoor environmental quality (ieq), and then to proffer solutions to identified problems so that the building performance and similar future buildings can be improved upon in terms of ieq. 2. post-occupancy evaluation (poe) poe was established due to problems arising from the building industry, more especially in the care facilities such as mental hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional services (riley, kokkarinen & pitt, 2010: 203). poe is the process whereby a building has to be emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 91 evaluated accurately once it has been built and occupied for some time (carthey, 2006: 58). poe is a general term for a broad range of activities aimed at understanding how buildings perform once they are built, and the level of satisfaction of building users with the environment thus created (hewitt, higgins, heatherly & turner, 2005: 3). poe was derived from the ‘occupancy permit’, a document that is issued once the building has been inspected and is declared free from all defects and ready for occupation (riley et al., 2010: 204). poe is not a new model; it originated in the united kingdom (uk) when the british ministry of education, in agreement with local governments, first undertook evaluations of buildings in the postworld war ii period (kooymans & haylock, 2006: 2). the united states of america (usa) followed in the footsteps of the uk, in the early 1960s, with the school construction system development in california. internationally, poe has been endorsed on a longer term basis as a useful addition to architectural practice – the usa serves as an example in this regard (kooymans & haylock, 2006: 2). hence, poe gained momentum in the mid-1960s with an increase in the number of researchers focusing on building design. in time, environmental psychologists developed interests in poe with the aim of focusing on scientific knowledge proliferation (riley et al., 2010: 204). for instance, shepley, zimmerman & boggess (2009: 17) conducted a poe study at the new location of a 174-person architectural firm in boston, usa. the study revealed that occupants were more satisfied with a new building when compared with an older building, although concerns were raised about the impact on indoor air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, noise and office layout (shepley et al., 2009: 18). poe is vital, as it reminds corporate executives of the needs of employees that affect their productivity (kooymans & haylock, 2006: 3). such needs are not limited to privacy, lighting, storage and thermal comfort. providing feedback through poe can also assist the organisation when new ideas and knowledge are put forward for continuous improvement purposes (lackney & zajfen, 2005: 23). poe is, therefore, an evaluation tool that is perceived as a subprocess of building performance evaluation and can be defined as the act of evaluating buildings in a systematic manner after they have been built and occupied for some time (preiser & vischer, 2005: 8). once the evaluation is done, it will yield evidence related to different perspectives, reflections and learning (walker, 2011: 6). acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 92 3. indoor environmental quality (ieq) the occupants’ well-being and performance are affected by various factors associated with a building. such factors include indoor air quality (iaq), temperature, daytime lighting, work space and noise. all these factors have an impact on human health, and could result in employees’ low morale and reduced productivity. quality of work and productivity may be compromised if all these factors are not addressed appropriately. air pollutants, ergonomics, lighting and temperature may cause a deterioration of health of the occupants of the building (kamaruzzaman, zawawi, pirtt & don, 2010: 193). 3.1 indoor air quality (iaq) iaq considers the indoor environment that includes air and comfort factors related to temperature and humidity. iaq deals with how well the indoor air satisfies the occupants of the building. inadequate ventilation increases indoor pollutants by not allowing sufficient outdoor air to dilute the emissions from indoor sources. an iaq problem may originate from office machines, chemical cleaning materials and from occupants themselves. outdoor chemicals or toxins may also affect the air quality of the office building (burroughs & hansen, 2011: 10-12). these symptoms of poor iaq may cause health problems such as irritations of the eyes, mental fatigue and headaches. constant failure to regularly evaluate the building’s performance leads to poor ieq, which may negatively affect the quality of life of the occupants, who will ultimately have to resort to medical treatment (cho & lee, 2010: 443). this indoor air problem may lead to the total dysfunction of the organisation if it is not taken seriously at the earliest stage, because it would reduce the productivity of the organisation (antikainen, lappalainen, lonnqvist, maksimainen, reijula & uusirauva, 2008: 79). occupants’ concentration and work progress may be enhanced due to improvement of the air quality, which would ultimately increase the productivity of the organisation. if air quality is improved in the office, it will reduce absenteeism among employees who are vulnerable to poor iaq. joint responsibilities are essential between occupants/employees and stakeholders of the buildings to ensure that improvement of the iaq is maintained at all times (creative department, 2009: 1). emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 93 3.2 lighting office work cannot be fulfilled fully without lighting in the building. however, lighting poses certain challenges to human health and will affect the overall service of the employee to the organisation. most design professionals fail to include lighting requirements at the initial stage, forgetting the fact that this oversight will affect productivity in the workplace if lighting requirements are not met (de carli & de giuli, 2009: 1797). the recent technological development of lighting has forced designers to include lighting as a necessity in the office environment, as ineffective lighting may reduce the productivity in the workplace. having computers in the workplace makes it easier for the occupants to deliver their work more promptly. office light is supposed to support both paper-based and computer-based work, which makes it difficult for the occupants to adjust the lights to meet both requirements. light emitted by the computer also contributes some setbacks to the occupants’ health if the screen light is not set correctly (al-anzi, 2009: 45). poor quality of lighting in the workplace will cause eyestrain, which leads to dizziness and stress. occupants will become disgruntled because of their dissatisfaction with the lights in the building, which will result in reduced productivity. occupants will start spending long periods away from work to consult a medical expert for treatment of their eyes and/or vision problems (samani, 2011: 541). light sends visual messages to the occupants of the building, which could decrease or increase the good mood and motivation levels of the individuals in the building. quality of lighting in the office building is linked to productivity, because without high-quality lights in the building, the productivity drops (samani, 2011: 540). 3.3 thermal comfort thermal comfort is that condition of mind, which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment (saberi, 2009: 3). the lack of evaluation of buildings regarding the thermal comfort may lead to the occupants’ discomfort if the building is too hot or too cold. it is, as a rule, not possible to have the right thermal comfort as occupants of different cultures prefer different air temperatures and, without evaluating this, it would not be known whether everyone is satisfied with the thermal comfort provided to them. if the evaluation of the building is done at certain intervals, occupants are able to choose the type of clothing that is suitable to the temperature of the building (hassasain, 2008: 214). acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 94 al-anzi (2009: 48) identifies some effects of high and low temperatures on the occupants in the office. a high temperature causes occupants to become tired, whereas a low temperature makes occupants feel cold. this will have a serious impact on employee productivity if not addressed properly. some thermal comfort factors such as air temperature, humidity, radiant heat and air movement may contribute to the symptoms of sick-building syndrome (saberi, 2009: 4-5). this syndrome produces symptoms such as eye and nose irritation as well as headaches that are associated with the occupancy of the building (mcgrath & horton, 2011: 247). 3.4 workspace availability and noise based on their perceptions, occupants’ dissatisfaction may emanate from workspace designs that appear to be poor. the designs must comply with the highest standards of ieq, which will stimulate the occupants’ morale and satisfaction. employers are thus compelled to create workspace that is flexible and open for movement. environmental aspects of the workspace must be taken seriously when employers choose workspace, as these may have a serious impact on h&s (vischer, 2008: 97). occupants must be given the opportunity to voice their opinion regarding the workspace which they intend to occupy. this will enable the employer to gauge the level of satisfaction regarding the workspace provided to the occupants. it is important that the employer creates a workspace that is suitable for occupants so that they will feel valued and inspired by their employer, and be proud of the work they do. workspace psychology may play an important part, whereby motivation and commitment could influence occupants to be more productive. working in an unhygienic workplace will reduce the morale and increase job dissatisfaction among employees (davies, 2010: 4). a proper office set-up stimulates interaction between the occupants, which will increase productivity in the workplace. adequate workspace layout will increase the occupants’ concentration and interaction with one another when carrying out work tasks. sharing of work-related information will also increase the organisational productivity, because experienced occupants will provide assistance to inexperienced occupants (davies, 2010: 4). there is a correlation between the design of workspace and occupant performance. a well-designed workspace stimulates the occupants’ performance, because occupants will always feel emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 95 motivated to report to work regularly, unlike having to work in an unplanned workspace (vischer, 2008: 102). office noise, as an indoor environmental factor, disturbs all occupants and can be extremely irritating. noise can deter occupants from concentrating on their work. many researchers have acknowledged this, and have produced findings that noise may lead to stress, headaches and other disorders (al-anzi, 2009: 44). designers are obliged to design buildings that include acoustic materials, in order to minimise noise in the office and/or other building environments. an employer should be in a position to select an acoustic office design that will cater for noise control and noise reduction within the workstation. strategic thinking is required if the employer wants to reduce the noise level, by increasing the room’s capacity for absorption, increasing screen height, and increasing the masking of the sound level (hongisto, 2008: 1). office wall-panel height must be considered to ensure that at least minimum privacy is maintained, even though it is an open-space office. work-related information can easily be disseminated among occupants; however, noise in the office building destroys the work flow between employees (davies, 2010: 8). office noise can be extremely dangerous as it may cause cardiovascular problems in occupants in the long term (bluyssen, aries & dommelen, 2011: 280). noise has a negative influence on the occupants’ performance, which will have an impact on individual job satisfaction. there is a correlation between the working environment and employees’ performance in terms of the physical environment that s/he is sharing in the office. noise is regarded as one factor that negatively impacts on an employee’s performance satisfaction (danielson, 2008: 532). 3.5 office productivity and work environment productivity in the organisation is also affected by the area in which the building is situated. a well-designed office layout improves productivity, because employees will be motivated to report to work every day if they work in environments conducive to work. occupants spend most of their time in the office; therefore, welldesigned office space must be provided, as this will also increase the organisation’s productivity (goudarzvandchegini & modaberei, 2011: 74). poor air quality may affect the company’s productivity when workers are affected by health hazards such as respiratory, skin, nerve, nasal and other related problems. poor indoor air quality destroys acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 96 the workers’ morale in terms of reporting to work, which ultimately reduces the organisation’s productivity (antikainen et al., 2008: 80). management should, therefore, create a work environment that is profitable and productive, and avoid a situation where they work in isolation without interacting with employees. guidelines for roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined so that morale and production will be higher than management’s expectations in firms (chandrasekar, 2011: 4). 4. methods the research design formulated included a questionnaire survey, and the principle of voluntary participation was upheld. this suggests that people were not coerced into participating in the research. confidentiality was enhanced by keeping participants anonymous throughout the study to ensure confidentiality, and to encourage openness and honesty (marlow, 2010: 301). the research location for the study was a country club estate (cce) in johannesburg, south africa. the population group consisted of employees of the cce. the reason for this is that the employees were on the premises most of the time and can testify based on their experiences related to the problems they have experienced in terms of ieq. the questionnaires were physically distributed to the respondents who were requested to return the completed questionnaires via the internal mailing system in use. from the 126 questionnaires distributed, only 102 were returned. this resulted in an 81% response rate. the structured questionnaire was distributed inside ten blocks in the cce. the questionnaire included six sections (a-f). section a elicited responses relative to occupants’ personal information in terms of age, gender, profession, and term of employment. section b helped to evaluate the level of satisfaction with the buildings’ ieq. this section addressed the ieq in the buildings with respect to whether the air in the building is fresh or stale, rate of air circulation, control of ventilation, temperature, thermal comfort and noise, as well as artificial lighting in the buildings. section c helped to determine whether the building is satisfactory to its occupants. the emphasis was on the interior of the buildings. section c focused on the lighting in the buildings, access control to the building, and safety. section d helped to reveal whether the ieq affects the employees’ productivity and performance. section e assisted in revealing whether office space influences employee performance and productivity. section f gave an indication as to whether occupants are satisfied with the parking space and access to public transport. emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 97 5. results and discussion 5.1 indoor air quality very stale 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1% 13% 50% 24% 12% stale normal fresh very fresh figure 1: air freshness or staleness in the building when asked about how they rate the air within the building, 50% of the respondents mentioned that they rate the air within the building as normal, while 24% stated that they feel the air as fresh, and 13% of the respondents rate the air as very stale, as shown in figure 1. 80 60 40 20 0 too humid humid normal dry too dry 1% 3% 75% 21% figure 2: humidity or dryness of the air within the building of the respondents, 75% stated that the air in the building is quite normal, while 21% mentioned that the air in the building is dry; 3% of the respondents stated that the air in the building is humid, whereas 1% of the respondents mentioned that the air in the building is too humid, as shown in figure 2. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 98 6% 26% 51% 6% 11% 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 no circulation slight circulation good circulation very good circulation excellent circulation figure 3: rate of circulation of air in the building the findings indicated that 26% of the respondents indicated that there is slight circulation of air in the building, while 6% indicated that there is no air circulation within the building. the results for this question, as presented in figure 3, revealed that 51% of the occupants perceive that there is good circulation of air within the building, while 11% of the respondents mentioned that there is a very good circulation of air in the building. no control fair control full control 33% 37% 30% 0 0 40 30 20 10 0 figure 4: control of circulation of air in the offices the results in figure 4 show that 33% of the respondents indicated that they have no control of air ventilation in their offices, while 37% of the respondents indicated that they have fair control of air ventilation in their offices, and 30% of the respondents mentioned that they have full control of air ventilation in their offices. emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 99 results from figures 1-3 revealed that the building’s occupants can be deemed to be satisfied with the indoor air quality. 5.2 lighting 6% 70% 21% 3% 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 too little light little light moderate light too much light figure 5: natural light in the building figure 5 shows that, of 102 respondents, 70% indicated that there is moderate natural light in the office building; 21% of the respondents also suggested that there is little natural light, while 6% of them contended that there is too little light in the office building. very low low moderate high very high 1% 11% 51% 35% 2% 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 figure 6: artificial light in the building the survey result showed that 51% of the respondents indicated that there is moderate artificial light in the building, while 35% indicated acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 100 that there is high artificial light in the building; 11% of the occupants responded that there is low artificial light in the building, while 1% of the respondents mentioned that there is a very low artificial light in the building, as shown in figure 6. this may imply that, while most occupants may not have experienced eyes-related health challenges, some may have challenges with eye diseases in the building due to artificial light. no control slight control control full control 50 40 30 20 10 0 40% 23%2 3% 14% 0 figure 7: control over artificial lighting in the building of the respondents to whom the questionnaires were distributed, 40% indicated that they do not have control over artificial lighting in their offices in the complex; 23% of the respondents indicated that they do have control over artificial lighting in the office complex, while 14% mentioned that they do have full control over artificial lighting in the complex. the survey revealed that 23% of the respondents indicated that they do have slight control over artificial lighting in the office complex, as shown in figure 7. the results related to the control over lighting supports the fact that lack of control over certain aspects of the building’s ieq leads to dissatisfaction related to ieq of buildings. emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 101 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 11% 16% 57% 1% 15% not effective less effective effective more effective very effective figure 8: effect that blinds/shutters may have on blocking out natural light in the building results in figure 8 reveal that 57% of the respondents mentioned that there are effective blinds for blocking out natural light, while 15% of the respondents stated that blinds or shutters are more effective for blocking out natural light; 11% of the results show that blinds are very effective in blocking out natural light in the building. 5.3 thermal comfort 16% 6%7% 22% 50% 52% 25% 20% 0 2% 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 very cold fairly cold warm hot very hot temperature in summer temperature in winter figure 9: perceived room temperatures in summer and winter from the 102 respondents, 52% of them indicated that it is warm during summer in their offices, while 22% mentioned that it is hot during summer in their offices. however, 6% of the respondents indicated that it is very hot during summer in their offices. the findings in figure 9 show that 50% of the respondents indicated that it is warm acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 102 during winter in their offices, while 16% indicated that it is very cold during winter; 25% responded that is fairly cold during winter, while 7% of the respondents indicated that it is hot during winter. this suggests that there is no proper control of thermal comfort within the office building, which could lead to dissatisfaction with regard to the ieq. this also gives an indication that the majority of the occupants would not be vulnerable to diseases such as influenza during the winter season; however, they would be exposed to health challenges during the summer season when the temperature is not supposed to be lukewarm. 5.4 workspace availability and noise table 1: satisfaction regarding space planning response (%) office space flexibility parking space accessibility of public transport to office complex not satisfied less satisfied satisfied fairly satisfied very satisfied total 10.0 23.0 28.0 19.0 20.0 100.0 11.0 15.0 28.0 17.0 29.0 100.0 29.0 23.0 32.0 12.0 4.0 100.0 the survey results in table 1 show that 10% of the respondents indicated that they are not satisfied with space flexibility at their workplace, while 23% of the respondents indicated that they are less satisfied with it; 28% of the respondents also mentioned that they are satisfied with the flexibility of space provided, while 19% of the respondents are fairly satisfied. of the total respondents to whom questionnaires were distributed, 11% of them indicated that they are not satisfied with the parking space provided in the complex, while 15% of them indicated that they are less satisfied. the findings revealed that 28% of the respondents indicated that they are satisfied with the parking space in the office complex, while 29% are very satisfied with it. from the findings shown in table 1, 29% of the respondents suggest that they are not satisfied with the accessibility of public transport from country club estate, while 23% of the respondents indicated that they are less satisfied; 32% of the respondents are equally satisfied with the accessibility of public transport, while 4% are very satisfied with the public transport accessibility to the office complex. emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 103 table 2: satisfaction with the condition of the building response (%) office training room canteen boardroom reception poor average good very good excellent total 3.0 17.0 45.0 22.0 13.0 100.0 5.0 27.0 35.0 24.0 9.0 100.0 15.0 21.0 33.0 21.0 9.0 100.0 3.0 22.0 33.0 25.0 15.0 100.0 4.0 23.0 31.0 26.0 16.0 100.0 table 2 reveals that an average of 3% of the respondents indicated that the poor state of the office, boardroom and reception, while 21% of the respondents rated them average. an average of 36% of the respondents rated office, boardroom and reception as good, while 24% rated very well in office, boardroom and reception area. 2% 9% 55% 21% 13% 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 very dissatisfied dissatisfied satisfied more than satisfied very satisfied figure 10: extent of occupants’ satisfaction concerning safety in the building figure 10 shows how occupants in the complex rate the level of satisfaction regarding the safety in the building. the survey result reveals that 55% of the respondents are satisfied, while 21% of the respondents are more than satisfied with the safety of the building; 9% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the safety of the complex, while 2% are totally dissatisfied with the safety of the building. given the aforementioned, it can be concluded that occupants are not satisfied with space flexibility of the building, while the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the safety of the building. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 104 lighting contribution to safety access control to building 4% 2% 5% 10% 40% 57% 22% 27% 9% 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 no nsig nifi ca nt sli gh tly sig nifi ca nt sig nifi ca nt m or e th an ... ve ry sig nifi ca nt figure 11: control of access to the building results in figure 11 show that 40% of the respondents indicated that it is significant to have access control to the building, while 5% indicated that it is slightly significant to have access control to the building. the survey reveals that 22% of the respondents indicated that it is more than significant to have access control to the office building. in addition, 57% of the respondents indicated that it is significant to consider lighting when assessing the safety of the working environment, while 22% indicated that they consider light as more than significant. very difficult difficult easy very easy 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 4% 28% 68% 0 figure 12: the ease of movement within the building of the respondents, 4% indicated that it is difficult to move within the building, while 28% of the respondents indicated that it is very easy emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 105 to move within the building; 68% of the respondents indicated that movement within the building is very easy, as shown in figure 12. 43% not significant fairly significant significant very significant 50 40 30 20 10 0 25% 26% 6% figure 13: noise pollution from outside the building of the respondents, 26% indicated that they hear external noise that leads to significant distractions, while 25% of them do not hear such external noise, as shown in figure 13; 43% of the respondents mentioned that external noise is not significantly distracting them from work, while 6% opined that external noise does affect them very significantly when executing their work. these results support the postulation that unpleasant acoustic conditions lead to building occupants’ dissatisfaction with regard to building ieq. 5.5 office productivity and work environment results in table 3 show that 36% of the respondents indicated that distraction from noise affects their performance and productivity in their firms, while 23% of the occupants mentioned that noise distraction has some effect on their performance and productivity; 16% of the respondents stated that noise distraction affects their productivity and work performance, while 7% indicated that noise distraction has a major effect on them. the survey shows that 29% of the respondents stated that noise level has a minor effect on their work performance and productivity, while 32% of the respondents mentioned that noise level has some effect on their work performance and productivity. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 106 table 3: ieq effects on occupants’ productivity and performance quality of light distraction of noise noise level quality of air temperature in office quality of space provided minor effect near minor effect some effect near major effect major effect total 37.0 16.0 27.0 13.0 7.0 100.0 36.0 18.0 23.0 16.0 7.0 100.0 29.0 9.0 36.0 13.0 13.0 100.0 31.0 17.0 28.0 12.0 12.0 100.0 27.0 13.0 30.0 16.0 14.0 100.0 36.0 8.0 27.0 15.0 14.0 100.0 when asked whether quality of air has an effect on employee performance and productivity, 31% of the respondents indicated that the quality of air has a minor effect on their performance and productivity, while 28% viewed the effect to be moderate. a small percentage (12%) of the respondents also indicated that the quality of air contributes significantly to their work performance and productivity. furthermore, 27% of the respondents contended that the temperature in the office has a minor effect on their performance and productivity, while 30% maintained that the temperature in the office has some effect; 16% of the respondents indicated that the temperature in the office has a near major effect, while 14% mentioned that the temperature has a major effect on their performance and productivity. 6. conclusion from the foregoing, it can be concluded that the satisfactory level of ieq awareness is low among the participants. organisational structure needs to be formed that will teach occupants the factors that contribute to poor iaq. organisational procedures also point out that the level of ieq is low. similarly, 22% of the respondents complained that the temperature in their offices is hot during summer, while 20% complained that the temperature in the office is fairly cold during summer. this inconsistency suggests that the temperature issue has not been addressed in a manner that suits the occupants of the office complex. it can be concluded that inadequate ieq can lead to poor work performance among occupants. this can be substantiated by the following findings indicating that 27% of the respondents opined that the quality of light has some effect on their work performance, while 13% indicated that it has a near major effect on work performance. however, only 23% indicated that noise distraction has some effect on work performance and productivity; 28% of the respondents also emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 107 replied in the negative relative to quality of air by saying that it has some effect on occupant work performance, which leads to poor productivity. although 30% of the respondents indicated that office temperature does have some effect on their work performance, the findings reveal that 14% of the occupants perceive that temperature could lead to decreased work performance and productivity. there seems to be a lack of control of noise in the office building, as the majority of the occupants complained about the distraction from other office cubicles. this suggests that the management of the estate complex is not proactive in terms of combating noise, which leads to discomfort among the occupants, during working hours. the fact that there is moderate natural light in the building shows that there may be design-related inadequacies pertaining to the complex. the fact that occupants do not have control over artificial light in the building creates a major threat to human eyes in the long run. based on the findings of the research, it can be concluded that poe is new to the employees working at the cce. this can be substantiated by the fact that the perceptions of occupants with regard to iaq, which poses health challenges within the building, were not satisfactory. 7. recommendations this exploratory study shows that office buildings should be constructed in a manner that is environment friendly; meets occupants’ ieq requirements, and supports their activities. evaluating iaq in the office building is very important with the intended goal of ensuring that air pollutants, which are harmful to the human body, do not emerge in buildings. with regard to the way forward, employers in the complex should endeavour to handle employee satisfaction as an aspect of their organisational culture, so that it can be addressed from time to time. the management of the complex should start applying poe and, in the process, emphasise the rewards that employees and employers would realise. the management of the complex could hire a task team that involves health practitioners, in order to investigate the cause of iaq problems. this would reduce the rate of absenteeism among employees who have experienced discomfort by way of headaches, nausea, dizziness, and eye irritation. designers and other stakeholders should persuade one another to use building materials that have low emissions to minimise acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 108 the potential development of air pollutants. ventilation systems that are in need of maintenance must be serviced regularly to avoid occupants inhaling stale air which puts occupants in an uncomfortable situation. lighting systems that are used in the office building should comply with the indoor lighting requirements to avoid a decrease in performance when it is too dim or too bright. if lighting in the office building is used according to poe, this may save as much energy as possible, as results may improve organisational productivity. to improve privacy in workstations, designers should increase the wall height of partitions, which may also reduce the noise from adjacent workstations. for natural lighting to penetrate more successfully into the buildings, designers should evolve more options when designing or altering existing buildings. however, given the limitations and challenges that were encountered in the course of this research project, the findings should be interpreted in this context only. in order to unearth farreaching perspectives and contribute substantially to knowledge, a future multidisciplinary research is recommended. the future study could entail the use of more than one case study as its unit of analysis. references list al-anzi, n.m. 2009. workplace environment and its impact on employee performance. mba dissertation. malaysia: open university of malaysia. antikainen, r., lappalainen, s., lonnqvist, a., maksimainen, k., reijula, k. & uusi-rauva, e. 2008. exploring the relationship between indoor air and productivity. scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 4(1), pp. 79-82. bluyssen, p.m., aries, m. & dommelen, p. 2011. comfort of workers in the office buildings: the european hope project. building and environment, 46(2), pp. 280-288. burroughs, h.e. & hansen, s.j. 2011. managing indoor air quality. 5th edition. lilburn, ga: fairmont press, inc. carthey, j. 2006. post-occupancy evaluation: development of a standardised methodology for the australian health projects. the international journal of construction management, 6(1), pp. 57-74. emuze, et al. • post-occupancy evaluation 109 chandrasekar, k. 2011. workplace environment and its impact on organisational performance in the public sector organisations. international journal of enterprise computing and business systems, 1(1), pp. 1-17. cho, s.h. & lee, t.k. 2010. indoor environmental quality related on residential satisfaction in old multi-family housing. in: 3rd international symposium on sustainable healthy buildings, 27 may 2010. seoul, korea, pp. 443-456. creative department 2009. indoor air quality: healthy environments for child care and preschools program [online]. available from: <http:/ /www.cehnorg/files/indo> [accessed: 16th may 2012]. danielsson, c.b. 2008. the difference in perception of noise and privacy in different office types: in: proceedings of acoustic 08 paris, 29 june – 4 july. paris, france, pp. 531-536. davies, h. 2010. the psychological and physical needs of workers impacting office design. in: proceedings of the rics foundation construction and building research conference, 2-3 september 2010. cobra, london, england, pp. 1-15. de carli, m. & de giuli, v. 2009. optimization of daylight in buildings to save energy and to improve visual comfort: analysis in different latitudes. in: proceedings of the 11th international ibpsa conference, 27-30 july 2009. glasgow, scotland, pp. 1797-1804. goudarzvandchegini, m. & modaberei, m. 2011. the impact of office layout on productivity of selected organizations in gilaniran. journal for trends in advanced science and engineering, 2(1), pp. 73-80. hassanain, m.a. 2008. on the performance evaluation of sustainable student housing facilities. journal of facilities management, 6(3), pp. 212-225. hewitt, d., higgins, c., heatherly, p. & turner, c. 2005. market-friendly post-occupancy evaluation. new building institute, portland, building performance report number: c. 10091. hongisto, v. 2008. effects of sound masking on workers: a case study in a landscaped office. in: 9th international congress on noise as a public health problem, 29 june-4 july 2007. paris, france, pp. 537-542. kamaruzzaman, s.n., zawawi, m.a.e., pirtt, m. & don, z.m. 2010. occupant feedback on indoor environmental quality in refurbished historic buildings. international journal of physical sciences, 5(3), pp. 192-199. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 110 kooymans, r. & haylock, p. 2006. post-occupancy evaluation and workplace productivity. in: proceedings of the pacific rim real estate society conference, 22 january 2006. auckland, new zealand, pp. 1-15. lackney, j.a. & zajfen, p. 2005. post-occupancy evaluation of public libraries: lessons learned from three case studies. structural survey, 19(1), pp. 16-25. marlow, c.r. 2010. research methods for generalist social works. 5th edition. belmont, ca: cengage learning. mcgrath, p.d. & horton, f. 2011. a post-occupancy evaluation (poe) study of student accommodation in a mmc/modular building. structural survey, 29(3), pp. 244-252. preiser, w.f.e. & vischer, j.c. 2005. assessing building performance. oxford: elsevier-butterworth heinemann. riley, m., kokkarinen, n. & pitt, m. 2010. assessing post-occupancy evaluation in higher education facilities. journal of facilities management, 8(3), pp. 202-213. saberi, o. 2009. thermal comfort and green buildings. in: proceedings of the wsp environment & energy (middle east) – green retrofit conference, 15-16 december 2009.dubai, united arab emirates (uae), pp. 1-20. samani, s.a. 2011. the influence of light on student’s learning performance in learning environments: a knowledge internalized perspective. world academy of science, engineering and technology, 81(1), pp. 540-547. sheply, m.m., zimmerman, k.n. & boggess, m.m. 2009. architectural office post-occupancy evaluation. journal of interior design, 34(3), pp. 17-29. vischer, j.c. 2008. towards an environmental psychology of workspace: how people are affected by environments for work. architectural science review, 51(2), pp. 97-108. walker, k. 2011. developing a site evaluation framework for ephemeral festivals and events: a study of hillside festival. ma dissertation. guelph, canada, university of guelph. 22 navorsingsartikels • research articles girles-kate maletswa & douw boshoff an analysis of the quality of propertymanagement principles in the south african public sector – a focus on residential property peer reviewed and revised december 2015 abstract the aim of this paper is to investigate the applicability of public-sector residential property management as implemented by the department of public works (dpw) at national level to current leasing management practices. the article investigates current best practice in leasing of residential property and evaluates the applicability of these practices to the dpw, as the landlord, when letting out surplus residential properties. the findings indicate that the dpw residential leasing management is not in line with best practices, together with inadequate capacity in terms of the size of the portfolio and the requisite expertise to adopt and implement effective lease management of surplus state-owned residential property. thus the dpw property-leasing function should be subjected to a review and re-engineering of the current status quo with guidance from an independent property-management advisory committee or reference group. keywords: property leasing, public sector, surplus residential property abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om die toepaslikheid van openbare sektor residensiële eiendomsbestuur op nasionale vlak, soos geïmplementeer deur die departement van openbare werke (dow), se huidige verhuringspraktyke te ondersoek. die artikel ondersoek huidige beste praktyk in die verhuring van residensiële eiendom en evalueer die toepaslikheid van hierdie praktyke wanneer die dow surplus residensiële eiendomme verhuur. die bevindings dui daarop dat die dow se residensiële verhuringsbestuur nie op standard is met aanvaarde praktyk nie en tesame met onvoldoende kapasiteit in terme van die grootte van die portefeulje asook die nodige kundigheid, kan hulle nie effektiewe huurkontrakbestuur van surplus staatsbeheerde residensiële eiendom implementeer nie. die dow eiendomsverhuringfunksie moet dus onderwerp word aan ‘n hersiening en verandering van die huidige status quo onder die leiding van ‘n onafhanklike eiendomsbestuur raadgewende komitee of verwysingsgroep. sleutelwoorde: eiendomsverhuring, openbare sektor, surplus residen siële eiendom ms girles-kate (j.) maletswa, msc (real estate), university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. dr douw (g.b.) boshoff, senior lecturer, university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 3781, email: <douw.boshoff@up.ac.za> maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 23 1. introduction 1.1 background public assets are assets owned by the nation or state and form a large portion of public wealth (zimmermann, 2008: online). these state-owned assets, in the form of real estate such as improved or unimproved land, are acquired to support service delivery programmes within the government such as, among others, health services, social security, education, and justice. the public sector includes government departments, all publicly controlled or public-funded agencies, enterprises and other entities. in the republic of south africa, the public sector exists in three tiers of state: national, provincial and local government, and public entities, including agencies. these departments include the department of public works (dpw) in both the national and provincial spheres of government. at national level, the dpw consists of a national office and 11 regional offices, whereas the provincial structure consists of 9 provinces across the country. the department, as an organ of the state, spends large sums of tax revenue to acquire and manage real estate, based on its mandate to act as the asset manager for, and on behalf of the state (dpw, 2015). the property acquired or managed is used to support service delivery with minimal focus on the physical well-being of the property (abdullah, razak, hanafi & pakir, 2012: 1), when quoting avis (1990). in south africa, the dpw at national level is mandated to be the main custodian of state-owned immovable property, which includes functional specialized accommodation, land parcels, office accommodation, and residential accommodation (boshoff & chidi, 2013: 3234). within this property portfolio, the focus of the study is residential accommodation. essential services departments (referred to as user departments) require this type of accommodation for their employees. a memorandum of agreement is signed between the parties, thus allowing that user department to allocate and manage such residential properties. the other requirement is that, once they are no longer required, these properties must be returned to the dpw. these properties are then classified as surplus state-owned residential properties in the dpw’s portfolio. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 24 1.2 problem statement when the properties managed by the dpw are not required for service delivery, at any time, they are surplus properties to the government. once residential properties are in surplus, they are rented out by the dpw to its tenants who are categorised as rental debtors. the latter include private individuals and/or private entities. under such circumstances, the possibility of realising future economic benefit from properties is to let these out to private individuals and/ or entities in order to curb vandalism, illegal occupation of state property, and so on. the auditor general-south africa, audit processes of 2011/2012 financial year conducted within the dpw, identified several weaknesses in the management of state-owned assets. these included incomplete assets register; inappropriate steps to collect rental payable to the state; lack of maintenance of state properties; state properties not let out at market value; incorrect billing, and lack of lease-management policy guidelines. these weaknesses have led to the historical negative audit outcomes of the department. 1.3 purpose of the study the study proposed to investigate how the dpw can improve the leasing management of surplus state-owned residential properties to rental debtors; recommend solutions for increasing efficacy and long-term profitability; sustainability of public sector property leasing, and value for money when leasing residential properties. this study will contribute towards enhancing effective and efficient public-sector property management by the dpw as well as add to the academic discourse and body of knowledge on public-sector residential property-management practices. 1.4 research methodology for the purposes of this study, a mixed-method research approach was adopted. the combination of the qualitative and quantitative techniques is mainly to generate and triangulate data and information in order to fully answer the research questions. the descriptive design approach was adopted for this study. both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to gather data and information. the data was collected through questionnaires completed by property managers and tenants based on the key leasing themes identified from the review of literature. maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 25 this research study seeks to understand the management of stateowned residential property and to investigate how the leasing of state-owned residential properties can be improved. 2. lease management best practice the literature review synthesises the available information on practices relating to property leasing and management systems. literature on specific themes of property leasing were identified and discussed. these included marketing and advertising, selection of tenants, lease agreements, security deposit, rental negotiations, inspection and maintenance. 2.1 marketing and advertising the leasing process commences with the marketing of the available property by the property owner, in order to attract a large pool of potential tenants for leasing residential properties. floyd & allen (2008: 240) are of the opinion that “rental space must be marketed continually as leases are perishable; tenants move in and out of rented space”. 2.2 tenant selection tenant selection involves choosing the most suitable tenant from the pool of tenants who would have indicated their interest in the advertised property. this is achieved by obtaining personal information from prospective tenant/(s) and to evaluate the information based on the methods accessible to the landlord. cloete (2002: 8) is of the opinion that tenant screening is beneficial to the landlord who would prefer his/her building occupied by desirable tenants. 2.3 lease agreement a lease agreement is concluded with a tenant who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract (mohamed, 2010: 27). a lease agreement, most preferably in writing, is concluded with the intention to create lease ‘obligations’ between the tenant and the landlord, so as to minimize contractual disputes at any stage of the contract (garner & frith, 2010: 42; van der merwe, van huyssteen, reinecke & lubbe, 2012: 7). acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 26 2.4 security deposit a security deposit is an amount of money that the residential tenant pays at the beginning of the lease; this is separate from the rental of the first month. the collected security deposit is held by the landlord as a contingency payment against non-payment of rental or damages caused by the tenant or those under his/her care (allen, buttimer & waller, 1995: 47). the landlord should invest the collected security deposit in an independent interest-bearing account; written proof of accrued interest can be provided to the tenant on request (rental housing act, 1999). 2.5 rental negotiations residential rental negotiations include an agreement on the amount payable, the frequency of payments, and the manner of payment by the tenant of rental due to the landlord. cloete (2001: 93) argues that the “determination of rental should not be under absolute control of the landlord or tenant”. rental negotiations will also provide information on remedial steps to be followed in case of nonpayment of rental (scott, baqwa, eiselen, humby, kelly-louw, konyn, kopel, mukheibir, schoeman, scott, smit, sutherland & van der bijl, 2009: 221). the landlord is required to provide details of all the paid and unpaid rentals to the tenant, by issuing a receipt and providing regular statements of rental payments. 2.6 inspections when properties are being leased, the landlord and the tenant conduct an inspection prior to occupation by the tenant and prior to termination of the lease in order to determine the condition of the property. prior to occupying the vacant leased residential property, the landlord and the tenant jointly assess the condition of the property. the inspection is achieved by documenting the condition of the property, including all defects or damages, for the responsibility of the landlord (mohammed, 2010: 43). in addition, photographs may be taken, when necessary, to confirm the condition of the property. the completed inspection report is used as a benchmark of the condition of the property at any inspection of the property during the lease duration. 2. 7 property maintenance maintenance of property is vital when leasing out property, as it improves the condition and preserves the value of the leased property. mabooe (2011: 32) and the institute of real estate maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 27 management (2000: 139) agree that regular cleaning and repairs to leased residential properties are an added advantage to the landlord, as it keeps the tenant comfortable. springer & waller (1994: 89) “highlighted that in the short run property maintenance increases operating expenses and lower profitability. in the long run, maintaining a property stabilizes the quality of the structure by reducing the rate of economic depreciation thus supporting future rental levels”. 3. research approach the study followed an opinion-based study with a descriptive design approach based on property managers employed by the dpw as well as tenants of residential properties leased from the dpw. the structured survey questionnaire invitations were sent via e-mail due to ease of distribution and electronic feedback media, while some faceto-face interviews were also conducted to expedite data collection. 3.1 sampling method the study used a convenience non-probability sampling method. the method was found to be appropriate, as the majority of the respondents were reluctant to participate in the research. the respondents based their response on their “availability and readiness”. a questionnaire was designed for each target group and distributed for self-completion. two sets of questionnaires were designed for the landlord and the tenants. each questionnaire was divided into two major sections. section a collected demographic information of the respondents and section b collected information on specific themes of property-leasing management. the responses to the questions were guided by a likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = unsure to 4 = disagree and 5 = strongly disagree. the questionnaires also consisted of open-ended questions where respondents were provided space for voluntary comments, where necessary. the data gathered from the questionnaire survey was processed and analysed in ms excel. descriptive statistics were generated in response to the research objectives. 3.2 sample size the sample for the study consisted of 28 property managers and 32 tenants from various regions within the dpw who are renting stateowned residential properties. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 28 the study targeted property managers from national and regional offices of the dpw, which included senior property managers, supervisors and employees. tenants from various regional locations formed part of the study. 3.3 response rate questionnaires were sent to senior property managers with the request to forward these to other staff who are responsible for the management of residential properties. forty questionnaires were distributed to both property managers and tenants each. there is thus a 70% response rate for property managers and 80% for tenants. 4. research findings 4.1 tenants’ background the study sample included 32 tenants. the majority (44%) of the tenants are in the 31-40-year age range and 31% are in the 41-50year age range. of the tenants, 44% have rented the property at which they reside for not more than five years, and 31% have rented property from the department for over 10 years. the findings show that the majority (87%) of the tenants have up to two people in the household earning an income, and 28% of the tenants earn annual gross incomes of between r150,001-r200,000. table 1 indicates the findings from the tenants. table 1: results from tenants lease themes response (%) (n=32) total average mean score ranking 1 strongly agree 5 strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 selection of tenants 32 (100%) 2.00 1 i completed a tenant application form to lease the property 18 (56%) 8 (25%) 0 0 6 (19%) contracting 32 (100%) 2.23 2 maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 29 lease themes response (%) (n=32) total average mean score ranking 1 strongly agree 5 strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 i completed a lease agreement with an official of the department prior to occupying the vacant property 23 (72%) 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 6 (19%) lease agreement made me aware of my responsibilities 11 (34%) 8 (25%) 3 (9%) 5 (16%) 5 (16%) rental payable 32 (100%) 2.36 3 i am aware of the rental amount payable each month and the due date 18 (56%) 14 (44%) 0 0 0 rental payable is affordable 8 (25%) 3 (9%) 0 14 (44%) 7 (22%) security deposit 32 (100%) 3.63 4 i paid a determinable security deposit prior occupation 0 15 (47%) 0 0 17 (53%) i am aware that the security deposit will be paid in an independent interestbearing account 0 8 (25%) 7 (22%) 5 (16%) 12 (37%) inspection 32 (100%) 3.84 5/6 acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 30 lease themes response (%) (n=32) total average mean score ranking 1 strongly agree 5 strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 an inspection form was completed with an official from the department after an inspection was done prior to occupation 0 9 (28%) 4 (13%) 2 (6%) 17 (53%) maintenance 32 (100%) 3.84 5/6 i am satisfied with the maintenance standard of the property i am leasing 0 10 (31%) 0 7 (22%) 15 (47%) marketing and advertising 32 (100%) 4.28 7 i became aware of the property i am renting through an advertisement 3 (9%) 1 (3%) 2 (6%) 4 (13%) 22 (69%) 4.2 property managers’ background the sample of 28 property managers consisted of 8 senior managers, 10 supervisors and 10 employees. the majority (12) of the property managers have been in the public sector for between 6 and 10 years, while ten (10) have served for between 11 and 15 years. only two (2) have served in the public sector for over 16 years and 4 have served for less than 5 years. the respondents have also been in the dpw for similar periods of time. over half (17) of the respondents have between 6 and 10 years’ experience in property or facilities management, while six (6) have between 11 and 15 years’ experience. only five (5) of the respondents have less than 5 years’ experience in property or facilities management. nearly half (12) of the property managers have been in their current positions for between 6 and 10 years. only two (2) have been in their current positions for between 11 and 15 years, while fourteen (14) have been in their current positions for less than 5 years. it is, therefore, expected that the responses acquired maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 31 from these respondents are more likely to be credible, given their experience and duration of service. table 2: property managers’ responses lease themes response (%) (n=32) total average mean score ranking 1 strongly agree 5 strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 contracting 1.5 1 our organisation has a formal lease agreement for concluding leases 14 (50%) 14 (50%) 0 0 0 28 (100%) selection of tenants 1.68 2 i am aware that tenants are required to complete an application to be screened based on departmental screening method prior to occupation of a property 15 (54%) 10 (36%) 0 3 (10%) 0 28 (100%) inspections 2.18 3 vacant properties are inspected with tenants prior to occupation and periodically 8 (29%) 13 (46%) 4 (14%) 0 3 (11%) 28 (100%) security deposit 2.34 4 i am aware that tenants pay a security deposit that is deposited in an interestbearing account at the beginning of the lease 7 (25%) 8 (29%) 6 (21%) 4 (14%) 3 (11%) 28 (100%) security deposit is used to set off damages and unpaid rentals 8 (29%) 9 (32%) 11 (39%) 0 0 28 (100%) rentals 2.39 5 our organisation has a standard method of determining rentals 9 (32%) 11 (39%) 3 (11%) 5 (18%) 0 28 (100%) acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 32 lease themes response (%) (n=32) total average mean score ranking 1 strongly agree 5 strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 our organisation has a standard method of collecting rentals from tenants 6 (21%) 11 (39%) 3 (11%) 3 (11%) 5 (18%) 28 (100%) maintenance 3.5 6 our organisation has a maintenance programme for all properties 3 (11%) 6 (21%) 2 (7%) 8 (29%) 9 (32%) 28 (100%) marketing and advertising 3.86 7 vacant properties belonging to our organisation are advertised 2 (7%) 4 (14%) 1 (4%) 10 (36%) 11 (39%) 28 (100%) from the results in tables 1 and 2, there is a fair consensus between property managers and tenants, with 86% agreement on the rank of the different themes. both property managers and tenants indicated that marketing by way of formal advertising is not being used and that awareness of available space is not created in this manner. as a result, marketing and advertising received the lowest rank by both. maintenance received the second lowest rank by both, indicating that tenants are dissatisfied with maintenance conducted, while property managers indicated that there is no formal maintenance programme in place. the two highest ranks by both is selection of tenants and contracting, but in different order. tenants indicated that they had to complete an application form to be screened before contracting, but they indicated a formal contract in the second rank to this. property managers, on the other hand, indicated that a formal contract is in place for signing leases with tenants and ranked this as the highest. this slightly contradicts the second rank by tenants, indicating that there might be evidence of not adhering to policy. although tenant selection is ranked highest by tenants, not all property managers were aware of this requirement and ranked the item second. on the three items in the middle, property managers and tenants reversed the order. performing an inspection prior to occupation was ranked third by property managers, but fifth by tenants. property maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 33 managers indicated that an inspection of the property is performed prior to occupation of a tenant, but that not all tenants are aware of this and the inspection is not performed in the presence of the tenant. yet the majority of the property managers confirmed that the use of security deposits to rectify damages applies, but that there is no agreement on the original condition of the premises. this might result in a biased situation and cause disputes later. the payment of security deposits is ranked fourth by property managers and tenants who agree that the collection of a security deposit is not applied consistently. in terms of rental payable, although tenants indicated this in third rank and that they are aware of the rental payable each month, property managers indicated this in fifth rank and there is no agreement that it is determined uniformly. from the above, it is evident that the answers by tenants and property managers confirm the answers of one another and that there are some shortcomings in the best practice of lease management. further discussion of this follows in the next section. 4.3 analysis of leasing responses by property managers and tenants 4.3.1 marketing and advertising the majority (82%) of the tenants indicated that they were not aware of renting the property through an advertisement. only 12% agreed that the properties were advertised, and 6% were unsure. on the open-ended questionnaire, the tenants mentioned that the properties were not in a habitable condition, as they were vandalized while guarded by a security guard. it was only through an enquiry from the security that the property belonged to the state. those who mentioned that the properties were advertised indicated that they became aware of this, as they are employed by the department, and through their colleagues (not employed by the dpw) who vacated the property. of the property managers, 75% disagreed that state properties were advertised; they indicated that these properties were left vacant and non-utilized and that no action has been taken by the departmen. this agrees with the tenants’ responses. the main challenge is properties that were inherited from the previous dispensation and lack of compliance with the dpw’s policies by the client department. these departments are responsible to inform the dpw when they no longer require the properties; nonetheless, this is not practised. twenty-one per cent agreed that properties were advertised, as they indicated that there are tender processes; office notice boards, however, did not specify acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 34 if vacant state-owned residential properties are advertised. only 4% were unsure of the advertisement of vacant properties. from the above, it is clear that vacant residential properties are not advertised by the dpw, as indicated by both property managers and tenants. even though the property managers indicated that there are tender processes and internal notice boards for advertising, there is no clarity or collaboration by property managers within the same organization that the properties are advertised. therefore, it is not clear whether all property managers are aware or knowledgeable of organizational processes or procedures. potential tenants visiting the property use public enquiry as an advertisement. this places a limitation on the potential pool of clients that the vacant property may attract through advertising. advertising pulls in a large pool of potential tenants to ensure that properties do not remain vacant and subject to vandalism. this is the current practice within the dpw; however, this is not in line with best practices. 4.3.2 selection of tenants tenants and property managers agreed regarding the selection of tenants. of the tenants, 81% agreed to have completed a tenant application form for screening at the start of the lease. of the property managers, 90% also agreed that the form was completed to check the credit worthiness of the tenants. of the property managers who disagreed, 10% indicated that the form is available. however, they do not understand its purpose, as not all tenants completed the form. tenants continue to default on their rental payments. there is no uniformity of tenant screening across the regions. the other concern raised by property managers is that the current method is outdated and not aligned with industry practices. only 19% of the tenants disagreed that the form was not completed. the form was only completed after being in the state property for over five years and only when they expressed the interest to purchase the property from the department. the findings indicate that there is lack of uniform application of tenant screening methods, as not all tenants are screened. indeed, the tenants and property managers agreed with the existence of the form to select tenants; the relevance of the process remains a cause for concern. the property managers are not confident of the selection process either, as they do not understand the purpose of screening due to tenant defaults. property managers are unsure as to whether the personnel who handle tenant screening are adequately skilled to appropriately maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 35 screen the tenants in order to mitigate against rental defaults. the process of selecting tenants is to ensure that ‘desirable’ tenants occupy the landlord’s property. lack of implementing the selection process will not provide the landlord with reasonable assurance that ‘desirable’ tenants occupy his/her property. it is also worth noting that the selection of tenants is based on interest shown by the tenants, based on the advertised property. the concern of the current practice of public enquiry within the dpw places a limitation on applying the selection method. the implication is that, as the interested person/(s) might be offered to occupy the property based on enquiry, there is no adequate selection of tenants. 4.3.3 security deposit the security deposit practices within the dpw lack the appropriate process currently practised within the leasing industry. the majority of the tenants confirmed that they do not pay a determinable security deposit, based on 53% of the responses received, and only 47% stated that they had paid the deposit. of the property managers, 54% agreed that tenants do pay a determinable security deposit. this was not practised in the past, as the majority of lease agreements were completed before the policy applied. however, this is a requirement for all new lease agreements. even if the tenants are required to pay the security deposit, the managers indicated that the dpw does not have the mechanism of an interest-bearing account, thereby raising negative audit outcomes. the tenants who claimed to have paid the deposit indicated that they deposited the amount in the same account as the rental payments. of the property managers, 71% indicated that they are aware of the fact that the security deposit payable by tenants is used to set off unpaid rentals at the end of the lease, although this is not practised in the department. the current practice is that the department has implemented a policy to collect security deposits. this was not the practice in the past. the current practice thus aligns with best leasing practices. this deposit is not deposited in an interest-bearing account, as there is no such mechanism in the department. furthermore, the deposit is not used as a contingency fund to set off unpaid rentals and damages caused by the tenant at the end of the lease period. this is based on the findings that the security deposit is deposited in the same account as the rental payments. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 36 4.3.4 contracting the department has an existing formal written standard lease agreement, according to 75% of the tenants, whereas only 25% did not complete lease agreements. the tenants, who do not agree that they completed the lease agreement, indicated that the agreement was signed only after 2, 3 or 16 years of occupying the state property, thus not in line with best practices. of the tenants, 59% agreed that the lease agreement made them aware of their responsibilities; 32% of the tenants did not agree, and 9% of them were unsure. the tenants indicated that the responsibilities are not clear. for example, some properties are not in a habitable condition prior to occupation and the tenants do not know to what extent they can improve the house, as they are not the property owners. of the property managers, 100% agreed that the organization has a formal lease agreement for concluding leases. the concern raised is that the contract is outdated; causes rental defaults, and lacks recovery of debt strategy. the lease agreement is concluded in order to agree on the obligations of the contracting parties so as to minimize disputes at any stage of the contract. the findings indicate that a departmental lease agreement is not up to date and lacks property clarity among tenants. yet again, not all tenants completed the form. the lack of uniform completion of a lease agreement at the beginning of the lease by all tenants will result in contractual disputes that could have been addressed at the inception of the leasing. it is worth noting that one of the gaps mentioned by the property managers is “lack of debt-recovery strategies”. this is cause for concern, as the property managers indicated that tenants default on their rentals, even though they were screened. best leasing practices require that rental agreements be concluded to highlight and agree on the obligations of the parties in order to minimize disagreements during the lease. the tenants agreed that the lease agreement made them aware of their responsibilities. however, this is not clear specifically as regards improvements, and this could lead to potential disputes between tenant and landlord. 4.3.5 rentals of the property managers, 71% agreed that the department has a standard method of determining rentals; nonetheless, the department takes too long to determine these; 18% disagreed that there is a method of determining rentals, and only 11% were unsure. property managers commented that not all rentals are market related due to maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 37 the conditions of the buildings that are below standard because of lack of maintenance. on the contrary, 66% of the tenants indicated that rental payable is not affordable and too high, and only 34% were not sure as to whether the rentals are affordable. they are also required to pay escalated rentals that are determined yearly by the departmental valuation service office. of the property managers, 60% agreed that the organization has a standard method of collecting rentals; 29% strongly disagreed or agreed, and only 11% were not sure. they indicated that tenants have various methods of paying rentals and that the department has contractors who collect outstanding rentals. other property managers mentioned that there are no guidelines for collecting rentals and that arrear rentals are too high. tenants are paying as they deem fit; there is no proper debt-collection method. however, the majority (100%) of the tenants are aware of the rental payable each month and of the due date. the tenants indicated that rental paid is unaffordable, as they pay rentals and maintain state property at their own cost. therefore, they cannot be up to date with their monthly rental payments. the findings indicate that rentals are a grey area, based on responses provided by both property managers and tenants. property managers indicated that determined rentals are adjusted to the condition of the property. nonetheless, tenants still find the rentals unaffordable and too high, as they are required to pay yearly escalations and property maintenance. property managers have different opinions concerning the collection of the outstanding rentals; therefore, not in line with best practices. best practices require that rental determination should not be “under the control of one party”. furthermore, “rental negotiation will also provide information on remedial steps to be followed in case of non-payment” (scott et al., 2009: 221). 4.3.6 inspections of the tenants, 59% disagreed that inspections are conducted with an official from the department prior to occupying state property. tenants indicated that they are allowed to rent the state property; however, properties are not in a habitable condition and no inspection could be conducted. of the tenants, 28% agreed that the property is inspected, and 6% were not sure. nevertheless, 75% of property managers indicated that it is a requirement that inspections be conducted at the beginning of the lease; 14% were unsure, and 11% strongly disagreed. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 38 the challenge is the capacity and resource constraints within the department, as some properties are far from the departmental office. again, the inspections are not done. should this be the case, the condition could have been recorded in the assets register. inspections of state-owned properties are not prioritized within the department. inspection of state-owned properties is a challenge due to resource constraints, tenants vacating properties without notifying the department, and the dpw not prioritising such inspections. conducting inspections at the beginning of the lease ensures that the condition of the property is documented and set as a benchmark at any stage of the lease. the lack of inspection does not provide the department with the condition of the property, which can be used as a benchmark during inspection at any stage of the lease. although property managers agreed that inspections are a requirement, this is not practised within the department, as tenants indicated that inspections were not done at the beginning of the lease; therefore, this is not in line with best practices. 4.3.7 maintenance of the property managers, 61% did not agree that there are maintenance programmes for all properties; 32% agreed, and only 7% were unsure. the property managers indicated that the department does not have a budget for the maintenance of leased properties, as mostly all state-owned facilities are neglected beyond repair. maintenance budget/programmes are priorities where clients’ departments occupied state property. property managers also indicated that tenants are allowed to report structural maintenance requirements; however, there is no response from the department and this is thus neither enforced nor monitored at all. of the tenants, 69% were not satisfied with the maintenance standard of the property they are renting from the department, and only 31% were satisfied. currently leased surplus state-owned properties have become a burden to dpw tenants, as they carry voluntary maintenance expenses where necessary. the tenants also indicated that they are allowed to report maintenance requirements in writing or through the departmental call center. however, no responses have been received from the department. the findings indicate that maintenance is a challenge within the department, as indicated by both property managers’ and tenants’ inconsistencies of maintenance aspects within the department, as property managers seem to be divided on the subject matter and maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 39 the department neglects their own properties, as surplus residential properties are not prioritized. “maintaining a property stabilizes the quality of the structure by reducing the rate of economic depreciation thus supporting future rental levels” (springer & waller, 1994: 89). therefore, the maintenance of state properties is not in line with best practices. 4.4 summary of research findings both property managers and tenants agree that vacant stateowned residential properties are not advertised in line with an appropriate strategy. the best leasing practices requires that vacant properties be “advertised continually, as tenants move in and out of the rented property” (floyd & allen, 2008: 240). therefore, it is important to advertise vacant state-owned residential properties in order to minimize vacant properties that lead to deterioration and destruction of state properties, and to minimize security services payments, as security guards are posted at the properties. the department has a method for selecting tenants. however, the selection of tenants is not uniformly practised throughout the department. screening is an important component of leasing, as the landlord does not know the tenant. lack of screening does not provide the landlord with reasonable assurance that his/her property will be preserved and regular rental payments be made by the tenant occupying his/her property. the security deposit practices within the dpw lack the appropriate process currently practised within the leasing industry. nonetheless, not all tenants pay the security deposit due to the condition of the property. again, the collected security deposit is not deposited in an interest-bearing account, neither is the deposit collected as a contingency towards non-payment or damages to property by the tenant in line with best leasing practices (allen, buttimer & waller, 1995: 47; rental housing act, 1999). even though state-owned properties are not maintained at market level, tenants are still required to pay market rentals, which 62% of the tenants have said are too high and thus unaffordable. furthermore, property managers indicated that the department does not have a process to follow in case of non-payment of rental, and that monthly statements are not regularly sent to tenants. best leasing practices requires that rental payments be determined by both parties who also agreed on the frequency and method of payment. in addition, remedial steps are available in case of rental default (scott et al., 2009: 221). acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 40 inspections are not prioritised within the department, due to the condition of the property at the beginning of the lease period. periodic inspections are a challenge within the department, due to capacity and resource constraints, as some properties are far from departmental offices. inspections at the end of the lease are a challenge; tenants fail to notify the dpw when they vacate the property. conducting inspections is a good leasing practice to ensure that the condition of the property is documented and set as a benchmark for inspection at any stage of the lease. property managers agreed that there is a backlog of maintenance within the department. the tenants are not satisfied with the maintenance standard of the leased property. furthermore, there are no maintenance plans, programmes or systems specifically for this type of property. the department does not prioritise maintenance of state-owned residential properties. maintaining leased properties is a best leasing practice that improves the condition of the property and preserves the values of the leased property. 5. conclusions and recommendations 5.1 conclusions the primary purpose of the study was to explore whether the current residential property leasing in the public sector, with the focus on the dpw, is in line with good property-leasing practices. this was achieved by identifying themes of best leasing practices, namely marketing and advertising, selection of tenants, security deposit, rental payments, contracting, inspection, and maintenance. the identified leasing themes were used to evaluate current residential property leasing. based on the research findings and related literature, the following conclusions are reached. vacant properties within the department are not marketed and advertised in line with good leasing practices. therefore, state properties are left vacant and subject to vandalism or illegal occupation. the department’s method of selecting tenants is not uniformly applied throughout the regions of the dpw. therefore, the landlord has no reasonable assurance that a tenant who occupies his/her property will preserve his/her property and make regular rental payments. security deposit practices in the department are not uniformly practised. the security deposit is not deposited into an independent interest-bearing account. the security deposit is not collected as a maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 41 contingency fund against non-payment of rental or damages to property by the tenant or those under his/her care. the department has a lease agreement. however, the property managers indicated that the contract is outdated and not aligned with current practices. this is not in line with good leasing practices that require that the lease agreement should include obligations to minimize rental disputes (garner & frith, 2010: 42; van der merwe et al., 2012: 7). tenants do not make regular payment. the department has no remedial actions in case of non-payment. therefore, the arrear rental is a challenge in the department, as this was identified as a weakness in the audit process of the auditor-general. therefore, rental negotiations are not in line with best leasing practices. inspections are not prioritized within the department. the reasons provided were the distant location of the state properties from the departmental office, and no adequate resources within the department to conduct inspections. inspections of leased property are important at the beginning of the lease, as they serve as benchmark for other inspections to be conducted at any stage of the lease. therefore, inspections of state-owned residential property is not in line with best leasing practices. maintenance of state-owned properties is not prioritized, due to budget constraints and lack of maintenance programmes. maintenance of leased property improves the property and preserves its value. therefore, maintenance of state-owned properties is not in line with best leasing practices based on the above findings, the following specific conclusions were also reached: vacant leased properties are not advertised; state properties are left to be vandalised; selection of tenants is not consistent; no inspections are done; poor or lack of maintenance of properties; lease agreement is outdated; rentals are below market rates, and increased arrear rentals and security deposits are not invested in an independent interest-bearing account. 5.2 recommendations based on the research findings and conclusion reached, the following recommendations are made in order to enhance the efficacy of leasing state-owned properties based on the challenges identified by the respondents: acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 42 • the department should consider advertising vacant stateowned properties ‘continually’ in order to minimize vacancies, as leases are perishable. the department should regularly request user departments to provide a report on the properties that are not required for employees. non-compliance should be notified to high authorities and introduce consequential management for client departments’ non-compliance with the dpw’s departmental policy. • revision and monitoring of the current tenant selection methods to align with current industry practice and ensure uniform implementation across the dpw. • revise and monitor the implementation of collection security deposit to mitigate against current inconsistencies of collection of security deposit to ensure that contingency funds are available for any damages or non-payment of rental by tenants or those under their care. • revision of the lease agreement to include obligations of contracting parties, to minimize rental disputes at any stage of the lease. • comprehensive inspection of existing state-owned residential properties in order to determine the appropriate maintenance requirements per property. the department should consider disposing of properties whose condition has deteriorated after considering the cost of repairs versus the benefit of rental revenue. in addition, update the assets register regularly on the existence and physical condition of the property. • review rental payment methods to ensure tenants’ regular payments of rental. ensure existence of remedial steps to collect revenue in case of non-payment. regular review and monitoring of arrear rentals by issuing statements and reminder letters to tenants in order to mitigate against nonpayment of rental. • the leasing of state-owned residential properties should be professionally and independently managed within the department. an independent decentralized organizational structure should be designed to identify the roles and responsibilities of leasing in line with the identified components of best leasing practices. • the department should consider conducting a comprehensive skills audit to determine the skills gap in order to develop a funded training plan. maletswa & boshoff • an analysis of the quality of property... 43 • an independent advisory committee or reference group should be formed to monitor the leasing of state-owned property; the leasing function should be kept in line with industry standards and norms to ensure sustainability of leasing of function. the committee should include interested functionaries such as estate agency affairs board; the south african property owners association; the national treasury, and the state law advisor. it is evident that there is a dire need for improved management of the public residential property portfolio. further research is required to determine how private-sector residential property-management strategies and practices can be contextualized for the public sector in order to improve both performance and sustainability. further research should also focus on specific operational aspects such as collecting relevant data and information to improve property management as well as concrete ways of changing perceptions of property administrators so that they utilize evidence-based models to implement public-sector property management. references list abdullah, s., razak, a.a., hanafi, m.h. & pakir, a.h.k. 2012. towards implementing property asset management: assessing current government practices in property management. international journal of social science, 4(1), pp. 1-8. allen, t.m., buttimer, r.j. & waller n.g. 1995. an examination of the role of security clauses and deposits in residential lease contracts. journal of real estate finance and economics, 10(3), pp. 271-283. boshoff, d.g.b. & chidi, m. 2013. investigation into the process of providing office accommodation for national state departments in south africa. african journal of business management, 7(33), pp. 3233-3247. cloete, c.e. 2002. management of residential property. 2nd ed. sandton: south african property education trust. dpw (national department of public works). 2011. annual report 2011/2012. pretoria: government printers. 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[online]. available from: https://www.fig.net/resources/monthly_articles/2008/december_2008/ december_2008_zimmermann.pdf> [accessed: 28 october 2015]. http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/1712 http://www.legal-aid.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tenant-landlord-in-south-africa-2nd-edition.pdf http://www.legal-aid.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tenant-landlord-in-south-africa-2nd-edition.pdf http://www.westerncape.gov.za/text/2005/10/a50-99.pdf e. minnaar & c. cloete evaluation of design criteria for economically viable sustainable housing in gauteng, south africa1 peer reviewed abstract as a result of the 1992 united nations conference on environment and develop ment (unced) earth summit conference in rio de janeiro, 180 nations adopted a program called agenda 21: an international attempt to create a normative blueprint for sustainable development worldwide. it is, however, not really pos sible to define a normative blueprint for the whole spectrum of human settle ments worldwide, as economical, ecological, geographical, topographical and social contexts differ. in informal settlements, especially, design criteria for sus tainable development are of paramount importance. while this paper exam ines these problems from an international point of view, it does so in a south african context. problems in five subsystems (political, economical, socio cul tural, environmental and technological) are examined. recommended solu tions are summarised in tables of design applications concerning the site selection; passive solar design; water saving measures; sanitation options and applicable energy conservation measures. to dispel possible doubts concern ing the use of traditional materials and practice, a further summary has been compiled to show the benefits gained by using these alternative construction methods, expounding vernacular building methods that have traditionally been used in south africa and in similar climatic conditions elsewhere. keywords: agenda 21, sustainable development, south africa 65 oorsigtelike artikels • review articles dr e. minnaar, deputy chief architect, heritage advisory services, department of public works, pretoria, south africa. tel: +27 12 337 2838, fax: +27 12 337 2242, email: <enlaminnaar@minarch.co.za> prof. c.e. cloete, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. telephone: +27 12 420 4545, fax: +27 12 420 5473, email: <chris.cloete@up.ac.za> 1 this paper is a modified and expanded version of a paper originally presented at the sustainable city 2004. urban regeneration and sustainability conference held 16 18 june 2004 at the university of sienna, italy. abstrak as ’n uitvloeisel uit die 1992 united nations conference on environment and development (unced) earth summit konferensie te rio de janeiro het 180 lande ’n program genaamd agenda 21 aanvaar, as ’n internasionale poging om ’n normatiewe bloudruk daar te stel vir volhoubare ontwikkeling wêreldwyd. dit is egter beswaarlik moontlik om ’n normatiewe bloudruk vir die hele spektrum van menslike nedersettings wêreldwyd te defineer, aangesien ekonomiese, ekologiese, geografiese, topografiese en sosiale kontekste verskil. ontwerp kriteria vir volhoubare ontwikkeling van veral informele nedersettings is van die uiterste belang. hierdie probleme word aangespreek uit ’n internasionale oog punt, maar in ’n suid afrikaanse konteks. probleme in vyf substelsels is onder soek, te wete die politiese, ekonomiese, sosio kulturele, omgewings en tegno logiese substelsels. voorgestelde oplossings word opgesom in tabelle van ont werpstoepassings aangaande die keuse van perseel, passiewe sonenergie ontwerp, waterbesparingsmaatreëls, sanitasie opsies en toepaslike energie besparingsmaatreëls. om moontlike bedenkings aangaande die gebruik van tradisionele materiale en boumetodes te weerlê, is ’n verdere opsomming saamgestel om die voordele van hierdie alternatiewe boumetodes aan te dui. in hierdie opsomming word inheemse boumetodes wat tradisioneel in suid afrika en in soortgelyke klimaatstoestande elders gebruik is, uiteengesit. sleutelwoorde: agenda 21, volhoubare ontwikkeling, suid afrika 66 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 1. introduction one of the main purposes of agenda 21 is to try to ensureinter-generational equity. agenda 21 fully embraces theconcept of sustainability and recognises the fact that a growing population cannot take natural resources for granted. programmes to reduce global poverty can, and should improve the environment and economic situation of the poverty-stricken. south africa is faced with a growing indigent population, increasing water-shortage, inadequate housing and inadequate financial resources. there is a dire lack of sanitation for the poor in their shacks, and limited access to unpolluted water. they moreover suffer from poor nutrition, are minimally employed and consider themselves to be ‘second-class’ citizens (black, 2000: 9). this can be causative to a society that respects neither the law, nor the broader society. williamson, radford & bennetts (2003: 84) perceive sustainable development as a three-legged stool – each of the legs being a subsystem (socio-cultural, environmental and economical) that cannot exist in isolation from one another. in the south african context of instability at local government level and technological backlog, it makes sense to add two additional subsystems, namely a political and a technological one. 2. the political subsystem political agendas are a deciding factor in the housing arena, since foreign donations may go to waste or are misspent due to political manoeuvring and mismanagement (sabc news, 2004). information on housing subsidies does not seem to reach the semiliterate people it is supposed to help (makwela, 2004). an intricate subsidy system explained on the website of the department of housing is of no help at all. officials at building sites seem not to be able to explain the system in understandable terms, either. regularisation of informal housing settlements cannot be carried out without the approval of local authorities, as many informal sites are laid out on dangerous areas, such as potential flood and landslide sites. houses built in such areas not only pose a danger to inhabitants, but are also dangerous to service and are thus incompatible with the norms of sustainable urban development (allen, you & atkinson, 2002: 167). 67 minnaar & cloete • evaluation of design criteria 3. the economical subsystem the economical aspects of designing for sustainability, like those of any building project, are concerned with the input of capital, materials and labour; and to provide services and assets. a life-cycle assessment can be a useful planning tool in considering the life span, serviceability and durability of a building and its components. in south africa an additional dilemma is that housing solutions should not only satisfy potential beneficiaries, but also have to be affordable in terms of existing governmental housing subsidies. 4. the socio-cultural subsystem laure & wiedenhoff (2000: 48-50) advocate taking into account the values, attitudes, behavioural and norm systems of the society, besides the climate and morphology. all of these will determine the way in which inhabitants use available resources and the social patterns by which they respond and relate to their built environment. it follows that sustainability and the eventual architecture has to be specific to culture, place and time. in many of the rural areas of south africa, a resentment regarding traditional earth dwellings exists, opposed to a desire for ‘modern’ houses of brick or concrete blocks and mortar, as well as a perception that traditional dwellings do not qualify as ‘real’ houses (macleod, 2002: 2). it would be important to instruct these people in the potential benefits of the traditional building methods, otherwise the product may well be affordable, structurally sound and thermally superior, but remain unacceptable to the beneficiaries. although the thermal performance of the new structures built by owners usually are notably inferior to that of the traditional dwellings, residents of new structures feel that they have advanced socially. this problem is exacerbated during hot summer months by superstition that is still rife. in a survey done by the nova-team (february 2004), 78% of rural and urban respondents indicated that they did not open their windows at night for fear of witchcraft, and 96% did not open their windows for fear of crime. education will contribute to helping future inhabitants of sustainable villages to understand the environmental, social and ecological implications. these people might grow less wasteful if they understand these processes and see progress through their own efforts. 68 acta structilia 2006:13(1) emphasis should be placed on self-sufficiency, trying to reduce levels of urban migration and the depletion of resources. by investing in the training of villagers as craftsmen, to help build their own villages and understand the processes involved, a chain reaction of empowering presently redundant squatters can be possible. possible ‘teachers’ can be identified who in turn can start their own programme to teach villagers how to build their own sustainable homes (tholego village: north west province, ivory park: midrand) who can eventually be absorbed into the building industry (irurah et al., 2002: 79, 82). communities where historical systems and management have disintegrated and which have been deprived socially, politically and economically, can possibly be revived with the help of community asset management (cam) (de villiers, 2003). this will entail time and careful, sustainable planning. a part of solving the problem will be the creating of work opportunities to create an income for the inhabitants of such a village. the community will also have to be taught to maintain and manage the facilities according to their needs and expectations. in some villages, like nthuthukoville in pietermaritzburg, the success of environmental management is consolidated by a door-to-door environmental education and management programme, which has proven successful and has provided permanent job opportunities for vulnerable households where there previously was no breadwinner. cleaning and maintenance of public sites, door-to-door refuse removal, planting and maintenance on public land and managing community facilities all provided new job opportunities (irurah et al., 2002: 26). 5. the environmental subsystem local waste management systems to recycle glass, paper, plastics, organic wastes and sewage have proven to be successful in supporting local small businesses, e.g. the ivory park iteke recycling project (midrand), started in 2000, and the durban solid waste project (irurah et al., 2002: 56, 83). permaculture is the creation of an ecologically sound environment where the infrastructure (i. e. available water and energy) and humans, plants, animals and buildings are placed in the landscape in a way so as not to pollute and to be ecologically sound 69 minnaar & cloete • evaluation of design criteria and viable. according to mollison (1991: 1) permaculture is based on the observations of natural systems, creating a cultivated ecology creating more animal and human food than is generally found in nature. availability of water affects the type of permaculture chosen for the site, whether the main source of water is runoff (surface and underground), springs, (ground seepage), streams, or rainfall that would have to be harvested. vegetation has a profound effect on the microclimate of sites and can modify the temperature by transpiration, convective transfer of heat, shading, wind protection and insulation. domestic fowl produce extremely useable manure, eggs, meat and feathers and are cheap to feed. poor soil should never be a limiting factor, as it can be changed and improved with proper attention. 6. the technological subsystem johannesburg falls into the highveld climatic zone (holm, 2000: 6470) while pretoria can be categorized as falling into the northern transvaal region (holm, 2000: 64-70). the climatic descriptions are similar in some ways: having “distinct rainy and dry seasons with large daily temperature variations and strong solar radiation, with moderate humidity” (holm, 2000: 64-70). rainfall measures between 250-900mm per year (holm & viljoen, 1996: 3). 70 acta structilia 2006:13(1) table 1: design applications regarding the site selection 71 minnaar & cloete • evaluation of design criteria temperatures in still conditions, cold air sinks to hollows creating cold ‘pools’ with lower temperatures than hillsides. larger water features like rivers and rivulets act as cooling zones. large areas of heat absorbing materials increase local temperatures. solar access involves the right of every building owner to sufficient sunshine; solar access is necessary for solar power; is important because of possible shading by neighbouring buildings; the level of pollutants in the air affects the solar radiation received; slopes have an effect on solar access. northern slopes allow denser building than southern slopes, and western slopes should better be avoided (holm & viljoen, 1996: 9). airflow the site should be assessed as to the level of exposure provid ed, and should be selected to maximize exposure to breezes for summer cooling. features like trees that create buffers to buildings can modify and reduce the level of exposure, if necessary. optimum orientation up to 3°c difference can be acquired by optimum orientation. optimum orientation will reduce radiation to a minimum during the summer months (konya, 1980: 38). plan form a compact plan form affords the least heat loss during winter. the east and west walls should be kept as short as possible. the houses should be orientated by establishing true north (holm, 2003). inhabited areas, such as living rooms, should be situated on the north side of the building. planning housing rows to form open, planted courtyards can help to modify the microclimate, as long as the spacing between buildings allows the sun to reach the buildings on the south (holm & viljoen, 1996; konya, 1980; holm, 2003). walls (mass) used for heat storing capacity to retard heat flow (holm & viljoen, 1996). in gauteng, thermal mass is advisable, for its heat storing capacity and time lag properties. massive walls on the north side will absorb heat, to heat the interior when most needed during the cold morning hours (holm & viljoen, 1996; holm, 2003). partitions (interior walls) thermal mass is advisable. massive walls, painted white for reflection. (the building will rely mainly on natural daylight). table 2: passive solar design recommendations regarding cost-effective housing 72 acta structilia 2006:13(1) table 2: passive solar design recommendations regarding cost-effective housing (continued) floors massive floors with a high density and heat storing capacity are effec tive in inland areas, which are prone to a higher temperature swing. windows glazing can be the source of the most pronounced heat loss and heat gain and should be designed to capture solar radiation in winter and eliminate it in summer, to ensure superior thermal performance of any building. design criteria for windows determined by radiation/heat gain: larger windows allow greater heat gain, but also more heat loss unless they are temporarily insulated position: if situated under eaves or in courtyards, the windows will be exposed to diffuse radiation. orientation: west facing windows are best avoided, as they receive most radiation. north facing windows are preferred in a south african climate. deciduous trees and/or pergolas with vines can be used to shade windows on northern side, as solar control (holm, 2003) insulation prevents heat loss: winter and heat gain: summer. heat loss through the roof can be extreme and insulation is of the utmost importance. lightweight insulated roofs are feasible, provided that the structure (walls, partitions and floors) has enough mass. useable isolation materials are ‘blown cellulose fibre’ insulation (made of 70% re cycled newsprint and harmless household chemicals, fire retardant and rodent resistant). it is cheap and very effective. dust does not reduce its insulating properties (trade name thermguard,1986 1995) and ‘straw’ (compressed, wire bound or stitched). roof will take the greater thermal impact during summer, and loose most heat in winter. ‘umbrella’ form serves to spread heat and form an insulating roof cavity (preferably flat ceiling). overhangs: it is convenient for the inhabitants if the entrances of their houses are shielded from sporadic thunderstorms (holm, 1996: 70). good overhangs are also seen as advantageous, especially in buildings built of materials like stabilized earth blocks. general guidelines for ‘roof overhang, window height and positioning’ (holm, 1996: 67, 72) can be consulted. external surfaces light coloured/ reflective, to minimize solar heat gain during overheated periods. sun angles the summer sun should be screened, and the winter sun should be allowed to penetrate. holm (2000) provides for sun angles: p.66 for johannesburg and p.71 for pretoria. ventilation ventilation can effectively alleviate overheating on hot days. if thermal mass is exploited, it may not be necessary. night ventilation can be implemented to compensate for insufficient mass if socio cultural implications can be overcome. table 3: water-saving measures 73 minnaar & cloete • evaluation of design criteria rainwater harvesting rainwater from tile and galvanised iron roofs can be collected in gutters and directed to ‘storage tanks’ for drinking purposes. water from thatched roofs and roofs painted with poisonous paint are not fit for drinking purposes. galvanised iron tanks are relatively cheap, but rust easily. moulds are available for making concrete tanks. mollison (1991: 81) advocates that rainwater tanks should be placed on the shaded side of the houses, (i.e. south) preferably under a trellis, to cool water down for drinking. ‘retention ponds’ (swales) can be built to harvest rainwater and to hold water that is led away from the houses by diversion ditches, to be used for permaculture. conservation of household water teach inhabitants to check for dripping taps and leaks and repair/ report them. install efficient showerheads and flow restrictors on taps. install low flush toilets or composting toilets if the inhabitants will find this option acceptable /desirable. recycling grey water a simple but effective grey water filter can be built from materi als which are cheap and easily available. successful systems have been designed for individual houses, as well as for groups of four to six houses (sowman & urquhart, 1998: 170). grey water can also be collected in cisterns below the showers and hand basins to flush the toilets (holm, 2003: 4). environmentally safe and suitable sanitation systems are necessary to reduce the risk of diseases. some of the main issues in south africa are acceptability/desirability of certain systems to users, water supply, affordability and management participation. for these reasons only the most suitable systems where selected and are compared in table 4. factors such as pollution caused by coal-burning power stations, coal burning stoves and traditional braziers should be considered when designing new housing schemes. renewable energy systems such as solar power using photovoltaic panels have higher initial costs, but it also has very low running costs. this has to be compared to the monthly electricity bills and running costs of electricity plants. table 5 summarises applicable energy conservation measures. 74 ac ta struc tiia 2006:13(1) table 4: sanitation options (south africa. department of water affairs and forestry. 2001) sanitation system description advantages disadvantages conventional sewerage full flush, in house toilet connected to a municipal sewer network that drains to a wastewater treatment facility. minimal health risks preferred system by majority of users. high initial and ongoing costs. significant volumes of water is used, 10 20 litres per flush. trained plumbers required for installation and maintenance. requires piped water supply to site. stormwater enters the system, leading to overloading. low flush (loflow) sewerage an in house toilet is flushed by a low volume of water, about 1 litre of water per flush. smaller diameters sewers are needed. an on site digester can be used. pilot studies done by the dept. of water affairs have indicated savings of up to 50% over conventional sewerage. can be connected to grey water system. easy to install. if maintained, can last a long time: (holm, 2003: 4). sludge in digester needs to be pumped out every 3 5 years if the system is not connected to municipal sewerage. training of users to maintain soak away is necessary. 75 m inna a r & c o e te • eva ua tio n o f d e sig n c rite ria table 4: sanitation options (south africa. department of water affairs and forestry. 2001) (continued) ventilated improved pit (vip) toilet. a top structure over a pit, prefer ably lined, with a concrete slab on top of the pit. vented by a pipe over which a fly screen is attached. organic material decomposes in darkened pit. if lined, pit has to be emptied yearly. if not lined, liquids seep into the surrounding soil. low initial and ongoing cost. hygienic if properly constructed. local materials and labour can be used for construction. no water necessary for flushing. toilet has to be outside the house. soakage from pits without linings can pollute groundwater. not suitable for areas with collapsing soil or very high water tables. regular pit emptying is necessary. resistance to handling of decomposed waste by homeowners has not yet been overcome composting toilets (enviroloo). (trade name) a bought, sealed container with adequate ventilation, converts human waste into dried, compost like matter that is air dried. no water is used. fertiliser is produced. can be installed indoors it can be installed in rocky areas or where there is a high water table, with no risk of pollution to the environment. fertiliser can be used for perma culture. unconventional: not in general use with the white population (holm, 2003). sanitation system description advantages disadvantages 76 ac ta struc tiia 2006:13(1) table 5: applicable energy conservation measures (holm & viljoen, 1996: 8-30) system description design considerations problems passive solar design space heating accom plished by using direct solar radiation. sun heats the building through the windows, which must be correctly oriented. heat is retained in massive walls, floors and partitions. insulating the ceiling/roof also helps. optimise the flywheel effect, by balancing mass, win dow size, and ventilation. compact plan form with inhabited areas situated on the northern side. requires design effort (holm, 2003). photovoltaic system photovoltaic modules made of silicon wafers that are sandwiched between plastic or glass. these modules are put together in arrays, allowing a signifi cant amount of electri cal energy to be gener ated from the sun. the energy that is generat ed during daytime can be stored in a battery. arrays are mounted on roofs or mounting frames. arrays should be positioned to use the minimum cable length. orientation of the array: preferably due north. tilt angle should be approximately equal to the lati tude of the site + 10°. arrays should be placed to be in full sun all day: not overshadowed by trees and buildings. wind shear can be a design consideration on arrays with substantial surface areas. direct mounting on correctly angled roofs obviates this problem. mass can be a problem when using sizeable arrays. roof structures will then have to be strengthened. security: modules should be mounted out of reach where pos sible. the use of locknuts may reduce the chance of theft. renewable energy grid feeder law is not yet in place in s.a. this encourages pv by setting a premium on surplus green elec tricity fed back to the grid (holm, 2003). 77 m inna a r & c o e te • eva ua tio n o f d e sig n c rite ria table 5: applicable energy conservation measures (holm & viljoen, 1996: 8-30) (continued) system description design considerations problems the treatment of common internal elements (the type of wiring and approach depends on the system voltage). wiring: dc systems (12 volt) ac systems lighting switching direct current at low voltage is used. direct current from the battery is changed to a higher voltage alternating current. standard wiring practices are followed for the high voltage part. fluorescent lighting generally used for buildings rely ing on renewable fuels: these lights use less electrical energy. straight or coiled tubes. pull switches is cheaper and shorter lengths of wiring is needed. length and thickness of wiring is critical. wiring lengths must be as short as possible, to reduce reduction in voltage over length. solar hot water systems (swh) 3 basic types of collector: flat plate direct flat plate heat exchanger cylindrical and other in most of the systems the heated water is stored either in a geyser or in a close coupled unit. minimise long runs of piping when positioning the swh, in relation to geyser, bathroom and kitchen. the collector needs to be oriented due north. in direct systems the geyser must be well above the collector, to keep the system from cycling cold water through the geyser on cold nights. the tilt angle should be approximately equal to the latitude of the site + 10 mass of the solar water heater when full should be considered when designing the roof structure. water availability and quality should be determined. water from a borehole can clog up the system and reduce its effective life. low winter night temperatures on the highveld preclude the use of direct systems (if without anti frost design) where freezing can rup ture the system. 78 ac ta struc tiia 2006:13(1) table 6: benefits gained by using alternative construction methods material benefits doubts comments straw bale building pollution reduction: as a waste product, straw does not easily decompose. super insulation: especially if used for walls and ceiling. low cost low tech fire resistant: a plastered bale wall does not contain enough air to keep a fire going. rotting: only long term, repeated exposure to water (mois ture content more than 20% of the bale) will support fun gal growth and decomposition. architectural detailing to maintain ‘breathing’ of straw is the best insurance against rot. vermin: infestations by insects and rodents can be avoid ed by denying access (applying a plaster coat). because of its inherent variability and flexibility, building with bales does not demand specialised skills. the work provides cama raderie and encourages the creativity and hand working skills of novices (lerner et al., 2000: 232) examples: house christiaan van zyl, orania; house sandra prinsloo, verloren vlei (du plessis, 2002). rammed earth technique labour intensive: provide workless people with jobs. (making shutters, hand ram ming). excellent insulator fireproof termite proof. damp: rammed earth, even if stabilised with cement, should not be used where (i.e. foundation walls with high water table) it will stay damp for long. rainfall: high rainfall will not damage it. is it strong enough: in europe and north africa, buildings of hundreds of years old exist, built of rammed earth. aesthetics: especially when plastered, a rammed earth dwelling can be very appealing. the method depends on having suitable soil at hand (bolton, 2001: 34). most sites in south africa either have suitable subsoil, or access to soil nearby. stabilised earth blocks labour intensive: uses local skills and knowledge of tradi tional building methods, to provide jobs for the workless. energy efficient: houses with thick earth walls are excellent ly insulated. cheaper: than concrete blocks or bricks. using local soil saves transport costs as well. damp: commonly seen as a problem, especially when building in an area with a high water table. providing a roof with overhangs to shield the walls, like an umbrella; damp proofing the house and selecting a site without water problems will protect the house from damp. is it strong enough: especially when using the correct (straw, cement, bitumen) binder for the soil, this method will provide a very sturdy structure. aesthetics: very appealing, can be plastered or painted with mixture of linseed oil and turpentine which makes it resistant to water. soil is usually freely available on or near to the building site. it is important to do the necessary soil tests, and to use a binder if it is deemed necessary (bolton & burroughs, 2001). according to irurah (2003: 16) the use of natural and semi-processed materials and components will contribute to the mitigation of the negative influence that the use of high impact construction materials currently have on the environment. affordable alternatives can be found in semi-processed materials, (table 6) and blended or composite materials can also be considered (for example bitumen reinforced earth blocks, called ‘betablocks’). the application of useable second-hand materials or components like used door and window frames and roofing sheets, should be promoted. recycled materials like aggregate from recycled concrete and paper/cellulose based ceilings needs considering. it also makes economical sense to make use of locally procured materials, which will add minimal distribution energy consumption and in this way lower building costs. 6. conclusion to attain sustainability, planners will have to shift their focus to the establishment of self-supporting settlements in their quest to build permanent housing for squatter communities. in urban context, the benefits will be health, (adequate sanitation, clean water and access to health care), safety (secure living environment and reduced exposure to natural disasters) and the eventual edification of the urban environment. it should be possible to attain this goal using vernacular building techniques, local skills and appropriate, comprehensive education programmes. these education programs need to disseminate information on topics like alternative energy, building materials and maintenance to future homeowners. it is also crucial to explain the government’s housing subsidy system in detail to the aspiring homeowners before starting the building process. for projects to succeed, it is imperative that household energy awareness campaigns will be instated. the promotion on the use of low-impact and re-used or recycled building materials, as well as alternative sanitation systems will also be useful at this level. it is necessary to gain the enthusiasm and co-operation of the communities that are to be developed into sustainable villages. the benefits of waste management and the possibility of starting recycling projects should be explained and explored. enthusiasm for a local permaculture project will also have to be kindled by the per79 minnaar & cloete • evaluation of design criteria 80 acta structilia 2006:13(1) sons commissioned to educate the homeowners. procedures and techniques used in the eventual building process will have to be plain enough to be understood and maintained by communities that are mostly without formal education. a productive life with access to livelihood and education for all will hopefully be the result. references allen, a., you, n. & atkinson, a. et al., 2002. sustainable urbanisation: bridging the green and brown agendas. london: the development planning unit. black, j. 2000. eco villages project. earthyear: the essential environmental guide, june december edition 21, pp. 6-10. bolton, m. 2001. manual for the construction of a simple building using the rammed earth technique, based on the wildrock farm project. pretoria: csir division of building and construction technology. project no. bp484. bolton, m. & burroughs, s. 2001. building houses with earth blocks: a guide for upgrading traditional building methods using handmade earth blocks. csir, ausaid. de villiers, a. 2003. community asset management an essential component for a sustainable africa built environment. paper presented at the course: design for sustainability. september 2003. course presented by the pretoria institute for architecture in association with the architectural career ad vancement trust, university of pretoria, pretoria technikon and the csir. du plessis, c. 2002. inspiration: straw bale construction. [online]. available from: <http://www.sustainablesettlement.co.za/inspiration/ strawbale.html>. holm, d. 2000. manual for energy conscious design. pretoria: department of minerals and energy. holm, d. 2003. case study holm residence. paper presented at course: design for sustainability. september 2003. presented by the pretoria institute for architecture in association with the architectural career advancement trust, university of pretoria, pretoria technikon & the csir. holm, d. & viljoen, r. 1996. primer for energy conscious design. pretoria: department of minerals and energy, directorate energy for development. irurah, d.k. 2003. materials and products: performance criteria and em bodied energy. paper presented at course: design for sustainability. september 2003. course presented by the pretoria institute for architecture in association with the architectural career advancement trust, university of pretoria, pretoria technikon and the csir. irurah, d.k., bannister, s., silverman, m. & zack, t. 2002. towards sustainable settlements: case studies from south africa. pretoria: ste publishers on behalf of the department of housing. konya, a. 1980. design primer for hot climates. london: architectural press. laure, i.e. & wiedenhoff, f. 2000. sustainability in the perspective of archi tectural quality of buildings. in: erkelens p.a. et al. (eds.). beyond sustain able building. balancing between best practice and utopian concepts. bouwstenen no. 65. eindhoven: technische universiteit eindhoven. lerner, k., theis, b. & smith, d. 2000. straw bale. in: elizabeth, l. & adams, c. (eds.). alternative construction contemporary natural building method. new york: john wiley & sons. macleod, d. 2002. the case for improving the performance of indigenous earth dwellings in rural south africa. agrement, south africa. makwela, r. personal communication. 3 march 2004. mollison, b.1991. introduction to permaculture. harare: fambidzanai training centre. nova research team. 2004. unpublished research report. university of pretoria. sabc news. 2004. toilet project leaves residents flushed with anger. [online]. available from: <http//www.sabcnews.co.za.>. south africa. department of water affairs and forestry. 2001. white paper on basic household sanitation. 2001. framework for national sanitation strategy, sept. 2001. pretoria: government printer. sowman, m. & urquhart, p. 1998. a place called home: environmental issues and low cost housing. cape town: university of cape town press. thermguard blown cellulose fibre insulation: recycled for your future. 1986 1995. pamphlets and product tests by the sabs. sabs iso 9002. williamson, t., radford, a. & bennetts, h. 2003. understanding sustainable architecture. london: spon press. 81 minnaar & cloete • evaluation of design criteria 40 chris adendorff, gaynor appels & brink botha strategic management: an eastern cape construction sme case study peer reviewed and revised abstract small and medium-size enterprises (smes) fulfil an important role in the long-term growth and development of the economy of the country. the development and growth of construction smes are important for all countries, as a strong sme base has the capacity to produce a high-quality infrastructure for the country. however, research has revealed the high failure rate of small businesses within the first five years of their existence in south africa. in addition, research also indicated that lack of long-term planning and lack of strategic thinking are major contributing factors to the failure of most smes. for instance, despite the considerable growth in the industry in the past decade due to government’s considerable infrastructural spending occasioned by the 2010 fifa world cup, the majority of construction smes failed to use the opportunities gained in this period to develop into established construction entities. this study investigates how strategic management can be applied to address the problems faced by construction smes, and to explore techniques and tools of strategic management that can make a significant contribution to their growth and development. the research findings, based on a literature review and a qualitative research approach, suggest that, although many construction smes perform poorly, some have the potential to grow and develop into more established entities by proactively managing their firms strategically. in addition, the findings indicate that smes that practise strategic management perform better, and that there are many advantages for smes that adopt strategic management principles at the organisational level. keywords: construction industry, small and medium-size enterprises, strategic management dr chris adendorff phd nmmu business school po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 3771 email: <powerhouse@alfresco.co.za> ms gaynor appels mba graduate nmmu business school po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 3771 email: <s192349490@live.nmmu.ac.za> mr brink botha senior lecturer department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 2085 fax: 041 504 1785 email: <brink.botha@nmmu.ac.za> adendorff, et al. • strategic management 41 abstrak klein en mediumgrootte ondernemings (kmo’s) speel ‘n belangrike rol in die langtermyn groei en ontwikkeling van die ekonomie van die land. die ontwikkeling en groei van konstruksie kmo’s is belangrik vir alle lande omdat ‘n sterk kmo-basis die kapasiteit het om ‘n hoë-kwaliteit infrastruktuur vir die land voort te bring. nietemin, navorsing het gewys na die hoë mislukkingsyfer van kleinondernemings binne die eerste vyf jaar van hul bestaan in suid-afrika. in aansluiting hierby, toon navorsing ook dat ‘n gebrek aan langtermynbeplanning en die gebrek aan strategiese denke groot bydraende faktore tot die mislukking van meeste kmo’s is. byvoorbeeld, ten spyte van die oorwegende groei in die industrie in die verlede as gevolg van die regering se oorwegende infrastuktuurbesteding vir die 2010 fifa sokker wêreldbeker, het die meerderheid konstruksie kmo’s misluk om die geleenthede in hierdie periode te ontwikkel na gevestigde konstruksie-entiteite. hierdie artikel ondersoek dus hoe strategiese bestuur toegepas kan word om die probleme wat deur konstruksie kmo’s ervaar word aan te spreek, en om tegnieke en toerusting van strategiese bestuur te ondek wat ‘n merkbare bydrae tot die groei en ontwikkeling kan maak. die navorsingsbevindings wat op ‘n literatuurstudie en ‘n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering gebaseer is, stel voor dat alhoewel baie konstruksie kmo’s swak presteer, het sommiges die potensiaal om te groei en te ontwikkel na meer gevestigde entiteite deur proaktiewe strategiese bestuur van hul firmas. in aansluiting hierby dui die bevindinge ook aan dat die kmo’s wat strategiese bestuur toepas, beter vaar, en dat daar baie voordele is vir kmo’s wat strategiese bestuurbeginsels op organisatoriese vlak aanneem. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie-industrie, klein en mediumgrootte ondernemings, strategiese bestuur 1. introduction the development and growth of construction small and medium-size enterprises (smes) are important issues for all countries, as a strong sme base has the capacity to produce high-quality infrastructure for the country (ofori, 2009: online). furthermore, construction smes also stimulate economic activity in other sectors of the economy (ofori, 2009: online). however, construction smes face many problems when dealing with construction projects, and, as a result, poor performance and poor quality of work are unfortunately prevalent among smes in the construction industry (dlungwana, noyana, nxumalo, rwelamila & van huysteen, 2002: 2). the lack of any long-term planning and the lack of strategic thinking often lead to the failure of smes businesses (analoui & karami, 2003: 36). however, organisations that practise strategic management usually outperform those that do not (hunger & wheelen, 2003: 4; analoui & karami, 2003: 10). there is, therefore, the need to investigate how strategic management can be applied to address acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 42 the problems faced by construction smes by exploring techniques and tools of strategic management that can make significant contributions to the growth and development of construction smes in south africa. hence, the primary objective of this study is to report on the success factors of a construction sme in the eastern cape. these will be used to develop strategic management guidelines for similar entities. 2. literature review the south african construction industry has experienced a decade of considerable growth and success, particularly as a result of the government’s considerable infrastructural spending. according to a report by the department of agriculture and land reform (2008: 7), the construction industry managed to increase its contribution to south africa’s gdp by 18% between 2003 and 2008. however, the global recession has, as in most sectors, put a dampener on growth, but the industry was one of only a few sectors to have increased its contributions to gdp during the recession. for example, in the 3rd quarter of 2009, it increased its contribution to gdp by 8.4% from what it was in 2008 (statistics south africa, 2009: 41). however, the growth in the construction industry cannot be considered in terms of the number of contractors moving from the lower to the upper grades of the cidb register of contractors. in fact, 89% of all registered contractors that can be categorised as smes fall within level one of the construction industry development board’s classification system as indicated in table 1 (cidb, 2010: online). table 1: cidb national register of contractors: may 2010 grade ce eb ep gb me sw total grades percentage 1 20.200 1.007 1.836 57.900 2.525 10.237 93.705 89.04 2 1.532 172 84 2.058 185 438 4.469 4.25 3 512 90 46 539 83 90 1.360 1.29 4 727 168 117 755 132 115 2.014 1.91 5 522 147 132 464 150 156 1.571 1.49 6 567 50 57 487 75 47 1.283 1.22 7 224 19 36 195 36 28 538 0.51 8 72 2 9 60 16 7 166 0.16 9 47 6 16 32 21 10 132 0.13 total 24.403 1.661 2.333 62.490 3.223 11.128 105.238 100.00 source: cidb 2010 adendorff, et al. • strategic management 43 in terms of the 2004 cidb regulations, made by the minister of public works in terms of the cidb act, 2000, construction smes in the lowest level of the cidb’s national register of contractors are restricted in terms of the size of the projects for which they may tender (cidb regulations, 2004: online). construction smes registered in grade one, which is the lowest level, may only tender for projects up to a value of r200.000. contractors in grade nine may tender for an unlimited value (cidb, 2004: online). the bottom structure of the construction industry is thus overloaded, while the top structure contains only an elite few that have the benefit of competing for multimillion rand projects, as the contractors in the lower levels are restricted to tendering for small non-complex projects (cameron, 2007: online). for this reason, the cidb has continually expressed its concern over the high concentration of lower level contractors that fail to move up the grades (cameron, 2007: online). the situation in the eastern cape is particularly a source of concern as the cidb (2010: online) noted that the number of grade-one contractors in the province is disproportionately high at 91.8% of all contractors registered in the eastern cape (table 2). when compared with other provinces, for instance, the percentage in the eastern cape is significantly higher as grade-one contractors constitute 58.0% and 61.5% of the total number of registered contractors in the western cape and kwazulunatal, respectively. table 2: cidb’s register of contractors registered in the eastern cape: october 2010 grade ce eb ep gb me sw total grades percentage 1 2.736 96 194 8.228 175 1.186 12.615 91.81 2 128 12 7 210 9 58 424 3.09 3 89 9 9 59 4 10 180 1.31 4 101 11 5 81 9 11 218 1.57 5 51 10 14 44 15 14 148 1.08 6 49 4 1 45 2 1 102 0.74 7 17 4 3 16 1 41 0.30 8 6 7 13 0.10 9 1 1 0.01 total 3.177 146 233 8.690 215 1.280 13.741 100.01 source: cidb 2010 although construction smes face similar problems as do their counterparts in other sectors of the economy, they have to deal with the unique characteristics of the industry, with adverse implications for acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 44 the firms (ofori, 2009: online). in brief, in the south african construction context, construction smes face many problems when dealing with construction projects and, as a result, poor performance and poor quality of work prevail among smes in the construction industry (dlungwana et al., 2002: 2). as an illustration, the construction industry is driven mainly by projects and thus the success of companies is “inextricably linked to the success of the projects they execute” (barry & sebone, 2009: 186). it follows that, if smes consistently deliver poor quality on projects, the projects may fail and this, in turn, may lead to the low success rate of smes. in addition to the problems faced by all smes in all the sectors of the economy, ofori (2009: online) identifies three unique characteristics of the industry that have adverse implications for construction smes: the contractor’s low level of bargaining power in view of the • tendering process; the project-based nature of work which implies discontinuity, • and the way in which work is financed, in other words the client • only pays for work that has been completed. 2.1 strategic management in construction due to the industry’s inherent characteristics, strategic management can be deemed important to businesses operating in the construction industry where the degree of rivalry is high and where adverse competition is a serious threat to the success of a business (skaik, 2009: online). the strategic management process usually starts with strategy formulation. before an organisation begins the process of strategy formulation it should scan its external environment to identify threats and opportunities, and its internal environment to identify strengths and weaknesses (hunger & wheelen, 2003: 30). environmental analysis must precede strategy formulation in the strategic management process. environmental analysis is a tool used by businesses to avoid strategic surprise and to ensure the long-term health of the business (hunger & wheelen, 2003: 30). 2.2 strategy formulation the strategic formulation process begins with the crafting of the mission statement, which provides the framework within which the business’s strategies are formulated (hill & jones, 2008: 8). the mission statement sets out the purpose of the company and provides a basis for strategic objective-setting and decision-making. it is important that the mission statement be communicated and made clear adendorff, et al. • strategic management 45 to all internal and external stakeholders of the business. it should be understandable and clearly make sense to all stakeholders, in order to avoid confusing stakeholders about the purpose of the firm (analoui & karami, 2003: 114). the second step in strategy formulation is specifying achievable objectives (analoui & karami, 2003: 122). strategic objectives provide guidance on how the business should fulfil and reach the goals specified in the vision and mission statements (dess, lumpkin & eisner, 2010: 29). according to hunger & wheelen (2003: 6), the objectives of a business are the end result of planned activities, which should stipulate time frames for the achievement of measurable goals. in this regard, it is often argued that business owners should develop smart objectives, in other words objectives that are specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, and time-bound (dess et al., 2010: 29). they are specific in that it is exactly clear what it is that the business is required to achieve in order to reach the objectives. they are measurable in that each objective has a yardstick which measures progress against fulfilling the objective. it is appropriate in that the objectives are consistent with the vision and mission of the business. it is realistic in that it is on target with the business’s current capabilities and available resources, as well as with the opportunities that currently exist in the organisation’s environment. according to analoui & karami (2003: 129), the third step in strategy formulation is developing strategies by: conducting a swot analysis;• conducting an industry analysis;• conducting a resource analysis, and• taking into account the business’s strategic objectives.• 2.3 porter’s five forces in formulating strategy, it is important for the strategist in the business to analyse the industry in which the business operates (analoui & karami, 2003: 77). harvard business professor, michael porter, is a pioneer with regard to the concept of industry environment and industry analysis (pearce & robinson, 2003: 67). the cornerstone of his work is the concept of five forces that shape competition in an industry (pearce & robinson, 2003: 67). porter’s five forces model is the most commonly used analytical tool for examining a business’s competitive environment (dess et al., 2010: 56). according to porter (1985: 4), competition in an industry depends on five forces. the competitive forces are the threat of new entrants (also described as acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 46 barriers to entry), powerful suppliers, powerful buyers, the threat of substitute products, and rivalry. the threat of new entrants refers to the possibility that the profits of established firms in the industry may be eroded by new competition (dess et al., 2010: 56). in general, the contracting sector of the construction industry has low barriers to entry coupled with a high degree of fragmentation (cheah & chew, 2005: 552). the capital investment requirements for entry are low; there is an efficient rental equipment market, and the subcontracting mechanism offers advantages to construction smes (acar & oney-yazici, 2006: 443). access to distribution channels is, therefore, not problematic for construction smes. entry is easy for construction smes at the lower end of the industry in terms of firm size (langford & male, 2001: 52). as project size, complexity and technological requirements increase, fewer firms are able to undertake such work (langford & male, 2001: 52). in terms of the power of suppliers, acar & oney-yazici (2006: 438) contend that the five forces model is based on the assumption that when suppliers are powerful, they can exert pressure on the producers to capture some of the industry’s profits. one of the indicators of the power of suppliers in an industry is the number of suppliers in the industry. a supplier group is powerful if the industry within which it operates is dominated by only a few companies (hunger & wheelen, 2003: 39). when suppliers dominate an industry, it means that the cost of switching suppliers is high, and the suppliers are said to be more powerful in an industry (acar & oney-yazici, 2006: 438). as far as the power of clients is concerned, buyers and clients in an industry are powerful if they are able to force prices down, bargain for higher quality or more services, and play competitors against each other (dess et al., 2010: 58). buyer power refers to the impact of the client on an industry (acar & oney-yazici, 2006: 438). the power balance between a business and its clients determines the extent with which the business has the freedom to set its product price. in the construction industry, construction smes have a contractual relationship with their clients and the price of the product is, therefore, determined before the construction phase. thus, the clients have a high bargaining power as they specify demands associated with projects, and the switching costs for clients are also low as many contractors operate in the same market (acar & oney-yazici, 2006: 440). adendorff, et al. • strategic management 47 in addition, the threat of substitute products refers to the ability of substitute products to satisfy the same need as another product, hence posing a threat to the existing service providers or producers (analoui & karami, 2003: 83). acar & oney-yazici (2006: 443) argue that a substitute product, as meant by porter, does not exist in the construction industry, because no other product can replace, for example, a building for residential purposes. the degree of rivalry is the amount of direct competition in an industry (hunger & wheelen, 2003: 37). if the degree of rivalry is intense, rival businesses target customers of other businesses using attraction strategies such as publicity and advertising (analoui & karami, 2003: 83). a competitive move by one business could have an effect on the other competitors (analoui & karami, 2003: 83). 2.4 competitor and resource analysis competitor analysis is a tool for analysing the external environment and, more particularly, the industry. according to pearce & robinson (2003: 76), competitive analysis is a tool in terms of which a business determines which firms are its competitors and what the major determinants of the competition are. it profiles the current and potential future strategies of competitors and attempts to work out their possible responses to any changes in the strategy the firm may make (langford & male, 2001: 76). resource analysis, on the other hand, is a tool for analysing the internal environment. the main reason for analysing the resources of a business is to explore those resources that enable an organisation to compete and survive against its competitors. the resources of a business are those assets that contribute to the generation of value added (analoui & karami, 2003: 92). resource analysis determines the extent to which the resources of a firm add value, and it provides the business with a competitive advantage over its rivals (analoui & karami, 2003: 92). 2.5 swot analysis langford & male (2001: 75) indicate that a swot analysis is shorthand for describing the strengths and weaknesses of a business and the opportunities and threats it faces. the main purpose of the swot analysis is to identify strategies to exploit external opportunities, counter threats, build on and protect strengths, and eradicate weaknesses (hill & jones, 2009: 19). a swot analysis involves both external and internal environmental analysis. a swot analysis is used regularly in business to stimulate self-reflection and group discussions about how to improve the business and how to position it for success (dess et al., 2010: 81). acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 48 swot analysis has its limitations, as it is merely a starting point for a discussion on how to develop effective strategies to deal with threats and weaknesses and to exploit opportunities and strengths (dess et al., 2010: 81). in other words, swot is not an end itself, but a means to the kind of action steps necessary to enact strategic change (dess et al., 2010: 81). 2.6 levels of strategy according to pearce & robinson (2003: 6), the hierarchy of strategy comprises three levels: the corporate strategy at the top, the business strategy in the middle and the functional level strategy at the bottom of the hierarchy (pearce & robinson, 2003: 6). the corporate strategy decides what type of business the organisation should be in and how the overall group of activities should be structured and managed (analoui & karami, 2003: 53). for instance, in the construction industry, subcontracting and joint ventures (jv) are corporate strategies that could be used by construction smes to grow and develop their businesses (ofori, 2009: online). a construction sme may also decide to form a joint venture partnership with a larger established business. in the construction industry, among smes, a jv is used as an opportunity for the sme to grow and develop the company (ofori, 2009: online) in the domestic market and to win construction contracts, by means of the bidding process, that it would not normally win through the competitive bidding process if it were to rely on its own skills, experience and resources. another strategy is the diversification strategy. for example, when construction firms diversify, they go into related markets such as property development, housing development, supplying building materials, plant and equipment hiring as well as mechanical and electrical engineering (langford & male, 2001: 106). such diversification allows the business to divert resources from within its current profile to the diversified activities (fellows, langford, newcombe & urry, 2002: 196). in other words, it makes more sense for construction businesses to diversify into related areas as they can source the inputs needed for the new products from within their current capabilities, skills and resources. in addition, business level strategies determine how the business will compete in the selected market arena in which it chooses to operate (pearce & robinson, 2003: 6). in fact, a business that practises strategic management adopts one or more generic strategies that characterise the business’s orientation in the marketplace (pearce & robinson, 2003: 13). the three generic strategies are the cost adendorff, et al. • strategic management 49 leadership strategy, the differentiation strategy, and the focus strategy (dess et al., 2010: 15). kenyon & mathur (1997: 179) define cost leadership as having “lower equivalent costs than competing substitutes”. the low-cost leader is a business that can produce at the lowest cost and thus gain competitive advantage in any market by being able to provide the products and services at the lowest cost (analoui & karami, 2003: 132). when a business is able to differentiate its products along some attributes which customers value, and the cost of doing so is lower than the extra revenue envisaged, then differentiation strategy is an appropriate strategy to pursue (analoui & karami, 2003: 133). in other words, the customer feels that the cost to buy the product is well below the product’s value in comparison to other available alternatives (pearce & robinson, 2003: 193). the purpose of the differentiation, according to kenyon & mathur (1997: 78), is to make the business’s product less price-sensitive. in other words, customers give less weight to the price in their buying decisions (kenyon & mathur, 1997: 78). in the construction industry, the level of conformance with governing standards and specifications, the extent to which innovative means and methods of construction are used, the quality of workmanship, the quality of human relations, the rigour involved in schedule management, and the level of professionalism in construction management practices are usually the differentiating factors in the construction service (arditi, makinde & polat, 2008: 256). in addition, a focus strategy, often referred to as a niche strategy, focuses on a narrow segment of the market (analoui & karami, 2003: 134). when a firm decides to adopt a focus strategy, the firm will typically concentrate on finding a niche in the marketplace and will develop its competitive advantages for that niche. according to hernandez (2008: online), companies that develop and exploit a particular specialty niche tend to have a greater degree of success than “those that try to be all things to all customers”, as a successful focus strategy depends on clearly defining the niche, conducting an analysis of the niche, and reaching out to the niche by satisfying the niche market’s own particular needs. 3. research method in this study, a qualitative approach was followed because the aim is to gain an understanding of the problem. a single case study method was chosen for this study as it allows collecting rich data and assists in the understanding of phenomena in their real life and acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 50 context (acar & oney-yazici, 2006: 438). therefore, a construction sme operating in the eastern cape was chosen as the subject for the case study. the interview was used as the primary data-gathering method for this study. more specifically, a focus interview was chosen and questions were carefully designed to provide adequate coverage for the purpose of the research. the concepts and topics in the literature review were used to elicit information from the respondent. 4. the case study the business selected for this study is an eastern cape-based construction sme. the business was selected for the following reasons: the owners successfully developed the business from a micro • or very small enterprise to an established medium-sized business, that is now capable of successfully completing multimillion rand projects within the time, cost and quality constraints of the project. the owners applied strategic management tools to develop • the business. one of the managing members of the construction sme was interviewed to obtain the primary data for the research. more specifically, a focus interview was used and questions were carefully designed to provide adequate coverage for the purpose of the research. the interviewee is one of the four owners actively involved in the management of the business and is also the business’s chief strategist. 4.1 interview results: the history of the sme is the sme managed by the owner or an appointed manager? the construction sme is managed by its owners. what is the size of the sme in terms of number of employees and annual turnover? the business has now grown into an established medium-sized enterprise both in terms of annual turnover and in number of employees. it is currently employing 200 employees and is thus at the upper end of the definition of a medium-sized enterprise in terms of number of employees. the business is capable of successfully completing multimillion rand projects in both general building and adendorff, et al. • strategic management 51 civil engineering construction works. it focuses mainly on specialist concrete rehabilitation works, which is a very narrow segment of the construction industry within the civil engineering works category. what type of legal entity is the sme? it is a close corporation owned by five members, of whom four are actively involved in the management of the business. how long has the sme been operational? the business started in 1996 as a very small enterprise. when the business started it only employed 20 permanent employees who were all unskilled labourers. all the skilled labour required for a project executed by the business was initially outsourced by subcontracting to other construction smes. in the beginning the business only concentrated on small projects for general building works such as painting, repairs, renovations and waterproofing. as the business grew and more opportunities arose, the business started recruiting more semi-skilled and skilled labour. in 2004, the firm shifted its focus from general building works to civil engineering construction works. the business has now grown into an established mediumsized enterprise employing 200 employees, capable of successfully completing multimillion rand projects, in both general building and civil engineering construction works. its focus is mainly on specialist concrete rehabilitation works, which is a very narrow segment of the construction industry within the civil engineering works category. has the sme ever participated in any contractor development programme in terms of which it received mentoring, the benefits of targeted procurement or any other type of development assistance? no. in which geographical areas does the sme operate? the business operates in the eastern cape. 4.2 interview results: strategy formulation 4.2.1 strategic objectives do you set strategic objectives for the sme? if yes, give examples. the business has set the following strategic objectives: to be registered as a grade-8ce contractor in terms of the • cidb grading classification system by the year 2011. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 52 to be a large enterprise by the year 2013.• are these objectives smart (specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, time-bound)? if yes, please explain the metrics to determine whether they are smart or not. in this regard, the organisation is already registered as a grade-7 contractor, which means that registration as a grade-8 contractor is the next milestone to reach. furthermore, the business has already reached the upper end of the description of a mediumsized enterprise in terms of the number of employees permanently employed in terms of the national small business act, 1996. if the business grows any further in terms of number of employees and annual turnover, and if it starts operating on a national level, it will be regarded as a large enterprise. the strategic objectives are also time-bound in that there is a time frame for reaching each of the objectives. being registered as a grade-8ce contractor means that the business would be able to tender for projects up to r130 million rand. this would have a positive impact on the annual turnover of the business. the business would also benefit from decreased competition as there are only seventy-two businesses registered nationally in grade 8ce, as opposed to 224 businesses registered in grade 7ce (see table 1). to achieve these objectives, the firm has set certain action plans in motion. in this regard, the business registered as a grade-7cepe contractor. pe stands for potentially emerging. potentially emerging contractors are allowed to tender for certain projects falling within the maximum tender range of one grade higher than their current grade, provided that the client has earmarked the project specifically for potentially emerging contractors. 4.2.2 corporate level strategies which corporate level strategies, if any, does the sme apply? the construction sme grew from a very small enterprise to an established medium-sized enterprise by employing a variety of strategies at the corporate level, including joint venture partnerships, acquisitions, subcontracting, vertical integration and diversification. why have you decided on the particular corporate strategy and how does the strategy contribute to the success of the sme? adendorff, et al. • strategic management 53 4.2.2.i) joint venture partnerships the firm has successfully used joint venture partnership as a corporate strategy to develop the business very effectively since 2001. in 2001 the business was able to tender for its first multimillion rand construction project by entering into a joint venture partnership with an established enterprise. the project involved repairs and renovations at the port elizabeth prison. the firm, on its own, had the human resources in terms of skilled labour that was required to tender for the project, but did not own the resources in terms of plant and equipment that was required to successfully complete the project. the firm was not able at the time to put up the guarantees required for a large project. clients in the construction industry require contractors to provide security for the successful completion of large projects in the form of bank or insurance guarantees to the value of 10% of the contract price. since the firm did not at that point have the financial resources necessary to obtain a bank guarantee it pooled its resources with an established enterprise that had the necessary plant and equipment and could obtain a bank guarantee required for the large project. the joint venture successfully completed the project, and the firm benefited from the project in that they gained the necessary experience from working on a large project and their turnover increased for the duration of the joint venture partnership. in 2003, another opportunity arose to complete a multimillion rand project for renovations at the nelson mandela metropolitan university in port elizabeth. the firm once again pooled its resources with an established firm through a joint venture partnership in order to tender for the project. it successfully tendered for and completed the project. the project provided the firm with a consistent income for a period of two years from the commencement of the project and it enabled the business to grow to an extent where it employed 80 permanent employees when the project was completed. the strategy of forming joint venture partnerships worked effectively because, by pooling its resources together with a larger firm that owned the plant and equipment necessary to tender for larger projects, the firm was able to provide sustainable and consistent revenue for the business. by forming joint venture partnerships, the firm took responsibility for its own growth and development instead of relying on government initiatives such as contractor development programmes. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 54 4.2.2.ii) acquisition in 2004, the construction sme acquired all the assets of an established construction firm. by acquiring this firm, the construction sme acquired the necessary financial and physical resources in order to tender for multimillion rand projects on its own without having to form joint venture partnerships with other businesses. in addition, it enabled the construction sme to direct its business operations towards concrete structural civil engineering works. before the acquisition, the construction sme mainly focused on general building works, such as masonry, painting and waterproofing. the decision to venture into civil works was also informed by the fact that profit margins in general building works were becoming smaller as more construction firms entered the industry. with the necessary financial resources the construction sme was able to actively recruit suitable qualified employees to supervise civil engineering works. this enabled the business to tender on its own for its first multimillion rand civil engineering works project to the value of r12 million in 2004. 4.2.2.iii) subcontracting the firm uses subcontracting both as a means to conclude agreements with main contractors in order to execute portions of a larger project and as a strategy to outsource certain parts of projects of which they have been appointed as the main contractor. outsourcing parts of a project to subcontractors enables the construction sme to remain flexible in the type of construction projects for which it tenders. for instance, a specific construction project might have various sections over different disciplines. a project that has been classified as general building works seldom exclusively consists of only general building works. it might have an electrical works section or a mechanical engineering works section. should the construction sme’s workforce not have a particular skill required by a particular section of the project, it merely outsources that part of the contract to a subcontractor who specialises in the particular skill. for instance, electrical works are often outsourced to electrical subcontractors. in the same way, the construction sme undertakes specialist work outsourced by large construction enterprises through a subcontract arrangement. by subcontracting and dealing directly with a main contractor, the construction sme is able to sidestep the very competitive bidding process it would have to go through in order to contract directly with the client. the main contractor remains responsible to the client to finish the work in the time and to the adendorff, et al. • strategic management 55 standard agreed to in the contract and, therefore, carries all the risks of executing the work on the contract. for example, the construction sme has subcontracted for large enterprises such as murray and roberts and wbho. 4.2.2.iv) vertical integration the construction sme applied vertical integration successfully when specialist imported material, supplied by only one supplier in the eastern cape, became very expensive. the construction sme investigated the opportunity to import the material directly from germany, and discovered that it was more cost-effective to import the material in bulk directly from germany. this decision entailed importing material in bulk and stocking the material as it was not cost-effective to purchase and ship material every time the business successfully tendered for a project. when the construction sme does not successfully compete for a project, it sells the imported material to the rival business that won the tender. this meant that they started to compete directly with the local supplier of the imported material. the business benefited from vertical integration in that it removed its dependency on a supplier that dominated a specific market and that became too expensive. furthermore, it gave the construction sme a cost advantage over its competitors, in that it was able to reduce its cost of sales in respect of the particular product. if the sme has diversified, which markets have you diversified into? why? 4.2.2.v) diversification the construction sme decided to diversify into a related market such as property development. the idea is not to construct new developments, but rather to carefully choose old dilapidated buildings located in an area with potential, renovate them and sell them at a profit. the plan is still in its infancy stage and the construction sme is currently seeking suitable property in the correct area. the reason why the construction sme decided to diversify is to increase profitable growth. the construction sme already has the necessary skills, capabilities and resources within the business necessary to branch into this related area. 4.2.3 business level strategies which business level strategies does the sme follow? acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 56 the construction sme follows a combination of cost leadership strategy and focus strategy. price often trumps all in construction services, and by consistently pricing their tenders lower than their competitors, the construction sme was able to secure tenders on a consistent basis. an example of this is: according to the interviewee, the preliminaries and general section in a tender document for a construction project usually constitutes about 20% of the overall tender price and consists inter alia of costs such as supervision and site management costs. one of the reasons why the construction sme is able to price lower is because their site management is not top heavy, in other words, they are able to cut out unnecessary supervision staff and appoint only the supervisory staff necessary to supervise the project to the quality standard required by the client. this perhaps goes to show that the firm ensures that supervisory staffs are competent enough to deliver projects to the required targets. another reason why the construction sme has a cost advantage over their competitors is because of the advantage they have in owning all of their access equipment as opposed to hiring the equipment. an example of access equipment is scaffolding equipment necessary to gain access to a site. according to the interviewee, the costs associated with hiring access equipment could total 25% of the overall costs of a project. the construction sme did a costbenefit analysis to compare the costs of purchasing their own plant and equipment to access sites, as opposed to hiring equipment for each and every project. although initially a huge capital investment was required for purchasing the equipment, these costs and the maintenance costs were easily offset by the fact that they have no charge for hiring access equipment in the pricing of a tender for each project and could consistently tender lower for projects. furthermore, depreciation on assets and renting out the access equipment to other construction firms during the times when it is not required by the construction sme further offset the purchasing and maintenance costs of the plant and equipment. these factors enabled the construction sme to consistently win more projects on the basis of price and give them a competitive cost advantage. the construction sme found a niche in the construction market in that they are one of only ten serious competitors in the eastern cape in the specialist concrete rehabilitation works market. specialist concrete rehabilitation works is a specific market within the broader civil engineering construction works market. the fact that they have found this niche market means that they have a golden opportunity adendorff, et al. • strategic management 57 to dominate the specific niche market, as the company benefits from decreased competition of bids. 4.3 interview results: porter’s five forces analysis do you consider the entrants of new construction firms into the • industry to be a threat to the business success of the sme? what strategies, if any, have you designed to neutralise the • threat of new entrants? the construction sme is very aware of the threat of new entrants, especially with regard to the niche market that the business serves. in order to combat the threat of new entrants, the business analyses the techniques and resources of its competitors at the tender stage in order to assess whether it could possibly be edged out on price. it then proceeds to price its tender in such a way that it combats any threats their competitors may pose in this regard in the future. can you easily substitute the services and products supplied • by your suppliers (in other words, is it easy to shop around, switch one supplier for another)? what effect, if any, does the power of suppliers have on the • business success of the sme? what strategies, if any, has the sme put in place to neutralise • the power of suppliers? according to the interviewee, there are sufficient suppliers in the industry to allow the construction sme to play suppliers off against each other in order to obtain a better price. suppliers do not wield any significant power in the construction industry. it is possible to negotiate lower prices with suppliers. in the one instance where one of the suppliers of specialist imported material did wield significant power in terms of being the only supplier of the specific material in the eastern cape, the construction sme was able to neutralise the power of the supplier through vertical integration. in other words, the sme took over a link in the chain controlled by one of their suppliers by importing the material, stocking it and when they failed to secure a particular tender, selling it off at a markup to rival firms who secured the tender. in other words, they became a supplier of the imported material and entered into competition with the existing supplier in the market. can your clients easily force down prices by playing one • business off against each other? if yes, how does the power of the client affect the business • success of the sme? acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 58 the clients in the construction industry wield bargaining power as price trumps all construction procurement. especially in the general building class of works, there are so many competitors that the profit margins of smes are consistently being driven lower. the construction sme operates in a niche market and the degree of rivalry in the particular niche is lower than in the other classes of works. for instance, there are only ten serious competitors in the particular niche in the eastern cape. the new entrants in the market over the past three years have increased the rivalry to a degree, but because of its cost advantage, the firm has been able to withstand the threat of new entrants. 4.4 interview results: competitor analysis how do you determine or predict the competitive behaviour of your competitors? for each tender, public sector clients organise compulsory pretender site meetings. all potential bidders are invited to attend and no construction sme may submit a tender for a particular project unless it has attended the pre-tender site meeting. the construction sme considers the pre-tender site meeting as the ideal opportunity to know exactly who the competitors are for a specific tender. the construction sme analyses all the competitors in terms of their human resource capability which allows them to estimate the rival’s labour and supervision costs. they also analyse their rival’s resources in terms of plant and equipment and is able to estimate what effect these resources will have on the way the preliminaries and general section of the tender document is priced. 4.5 interview results: resource analysis which of the following resources enable the sme to compete and survive against your competitors? tangible resources (equipment, property, plant, machinery).• intangible resources (brand name, technology).• organisational capacities and capabilities (human resource • skills and competencies, management style). the construction sme’s tangible resources in terms of their plant and equipment are a source of competitive advantage for them. for example, unlike most of their rivals, they do not have to hire access equipment such as scaffolding for each project, as the sme owns its own access equipment. in this way they save on costs for hiring equipment which, according to the interviewee in civil engineering adendorff, et al. • strategic management 59 works, could easily constitute 25% of the tender price. when the plant and equipment is not required, the sme leases the equipment to its competitors. the interest paid on the capital sum spent on purchasing the equipment and the maintenance cost of the equipment are offset against the rental earned on the equipment and the tax saving caused by the depreciation on equipment. the resources are costly for other smes to imitate and they, therefore, provide the construction sme with a competitive advantage. the construction sme’s human resources are also a source of competitive advantage. the sme’s elaborate training and compensation strategy ensures that they retain the skills and competencies in the organisation in order to maintain their competitive advantage. 4.6 interview results: swot analysis do you conduct swot analysis to determine the sme’s strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities and threats? according to the interviewee, the construction sme conducts swot analysis to keep abreast of its strengths and weaknesses and to identify threats and opportunities in their environment. in the past, loss of skilled workers to larger firms offering higher salaries threatened the business success of the sme, but it has been able to weather the storm by adopting the human resource strategies to combat the threat. currently, the construction sme regards new entrants entering their niche market as its biggest threat. they are, however, confident that they will be able to keep new rivals at bay by maintaining their cost advantage. the construction sme regards its major weakness to be the lack of standardised processes within the organisation to ensure that the sme’s operations run smoothly and that waste is kept to a minimum. the interviewee indicated that one of the problem areas identified is the lack of synchronisation between the pricing of the tender and the actual buying of the supplies for the tender. the lack of synchronisation has in the past caused rework and waste on a project. the strengths of the construction sme are its highly skilled workforce, its ability to innovate and be on the cutting edge of the latest technology, and its extensive resources in the form of plant and equipment. these strengths are continuously exploited to ensure that the construction sme maintains its competitive advantage. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 60 5. conclusions and recommendations based on the literature reviewed as well as the lessons from the case study, it can be argued that strategic management provides development opportunities for construction smes. an sme intending to survive and succeed in the competitive industry must thus evolve corporate and business strategies such as joint venture partnerships, acquisitions, subcontracting, vertical integration, and most importantly diversification of its business and project portfolio. in order to maintain competitive advantages, the construction smes should also adopt either a low-cost strategy or any other strategy such as focus strategy, marketing strategies, training and retention strategies to ensure that the company’s order book is constantly at a certain acceptable level. in addition, construction smes should be aware of porter’s five forces that influence the industry. these forces are the threat of new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of clients, rivalry and the threat of substitute products. strategies should be devised to neutralise the threat of new entrants. if these strategies are no longer effective and the degree of rivalry threatens the business success of the sme, the sme should consider targeting a different market area of the construction industry for the business’s services. for example, the case study organisation started as a very small sme that focused on general building services such as painting, repairs, renovations and waterproofing and then diversified into the civil engineering sector due to poor profit margins in the building sector. 6. further research this study showed how strategic management guidelines can be applied to construction smes to facilitate their growth and development. the study covered a wide variety of concepts of strategies applied by construction smes. as price is such a key determining factor of whether an enterprise is awarded a tender, one area which is of particular importance for construction smes is maintaining a cost advantage. therefore, research should be carried out to examine in more detail 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ed. new york: mcgraw hill irwin. porter, m.e. 1985. competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. new york: free press. adendorff, et al. • strategic management 63 skaik, s.h. 2009. implementing strategic management in construction [online]. available from: <http://cmguide.org/archives/1375> [accessed: 10 october 2010]. statistics south africa. 2009. statistical release p0441 gross domestic product third quarter: 2009 [online]. available from:<http://www. statssa.gov.za/publications/p0441/p04413rdquarter2009.pdf> [accessed: 22 april 2011]. 21 jan hugo, hennie stoffberg & arthur barker mitigating climate change by minimising the carbon footprint and embodied energy of construction materials: a comparative analysis of three south african bus rapid transit (brt) stations peer reviewed abstract this article investigates the role that architecture can play in mitigating climate change by comparing the environmental impact of construction material use in two existing south african bus rapid transit (brt) stations in johannesburg and cape town and a proposed brt station for tshwane. the article will generate guidelines to improve the resource efficiency of future brt trunk-route stations. the climate change mitigation potential of brt stations has been determined by analysing their carbon footprint and embodied energy over the cradle to gate1 period. the quantity of construction material used in each station was calculated, while the carbon footprint intensity and embodied energy intensity were determined by means of the inventory of carbon & energy (ice) carbon and embodied energy calculator. calculations of embodied energy of structural systems and material use reveal that the cape town station is 36.5% more efficient in terms of carbon footprint intensity and embodied energy intensity than the johannesburg station and 23.2% more efficient than the tshwane station. the station base is the most energy-intensive component, contributing an average of 38% to the total embodied energy. it was concluded that steel contributes more than 50% to the total carbon footprint and embodied energy of each station. the analysis determines that lower scaled, spatially economical structures using low embodied energy materials will positively contribute to reduced carbon footprints and thus climate change mitigation strategies. the outcomes of the article also set a benchmark for prospective life-cycle assessments (lca) and establish design guidelines for the design of future brt stations. keywords: bus rapid transit (brt), carbon footprint, climate change, construction materials, embodied energy, life-cycle analyses, resource consumption 1 ‘cradle to gate’ includes the extraction of raw materials, transportation and processing to the point where the product leaves the factory. jan hugo (m-prof arch), space group architects, korea, email: <janmhugo@gmail.com> prof. g.h. stoffberg, department of environmental sciences, university of south africa, pretoria, south africa. phone: +27 11 471 3386, email: <stoffh@unisa.ac.za> dr arthur barker, lecturer, department of architecture, faculty of engineering, the built environment and information technology, university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 4542, email: <arthur.barker@up.ac.za> navorsingsartikels • research articles acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 22 abstrak hierdie artikel spreek die rol van argitektuur in die mitigasie van klimaatsverandering aan. deur te fokus op die konstruksiemateriaalverbruik van twee bestaande suid-afrikaanse ‘bus rapid transit’(brt)-stasies in johannesburg en kaapstad en ‘n voorgestelde brt-stasie vir tshwane, vergelyk die artikel die omgewingsimpak van elke stasie. die artikel fokus daarop om riglyne vir energieen hulpbronverbruik doeltreffende brt stasies te identifiseer. die klimaatsverandering mitigasie potensiaal van argitektuur is gekwantifiseer deur die stasies se koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energie vanaf die ‘cradle to gate’ periode te analiseer. deur die hoeveelhede konstruksiematerial verbruik in elke stasie te bereken en gebruik te maak van die ‘inventory of carbon & energy’ (ice) is die koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energie-intensiteite van die elke stasie blootgelê. die navorsing op die ingeslote energie van die struktuur en materialgebruik dui daarop dat die kaapstad-stasie die beste vaar in terme van energie-intensiteit deur 36.5% meer hulpbronverbruikdoeltreffend te wees as die johannesburgstasie en 23.2 % as die tshwane-stasie. terwyl die stasie basis as mees energieintensiewe komponent gemiddeld 38% bydra tot die totale ingeslote energie, is staal as die mees energie-ondoeltreffende materiaal geïdentifiseer. staal dra meer as 50% by tot die totale koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energie. hierdie artikel kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat kleiner skaal, ruimtelikdoeltreffende strukture wat lae ingeslote energiematerial gebruik, lei tot strukture met laer koolstofinhoud wat kan bydra tot klimaatsverandering mitigasiestrategieë. die gevolgtrekkings in hierdie artikel poog om ‘n vergelykbare basislyn te stel vir toekomstige lewenssiklusanalises en terselfdertyd ontwerpbeginsels vir die ontwerp van voornemende brt-stasies te bied. sleutelwoorde: bus rapid transit, hulpbronverbruik, ingeslote energie, klimaatsverandering, konstruksiematerial, koolstofinhoud, lewenssiklusanalise. 1. introduction the adverse effects of global warming are evident worldwide, especially in the urban environment. climate change, coupled with rapid urbanisation, population growth and the increasing threat of resource depletion, requires that architects employ new strategies to mitigate and resolve these problems (fay, treloar & lyer-raniga, 2000: 32, 40; bennetts, radford & williamson, 2003: 121,125-126). large sectors, such as the built environment and transport industry, are major contributors to increasing global greenhouse gas emissions which increase the effects of climate change. these sectors contribute 7.9% and 13% to global emissions, respectively (metz, ogunlade, bosch, dave & meyer, 2007: 105). south africa’s sprawling cities intensify the consumption of transport energy, which constitutes 26% of the national energy use (iea, 2002: 20, 210; department of energy, 2009: 9), thus accentuating the significance of the built environment and transport industry as critical components to be considered in climate change mitigation strategies. 23 hugo et al • mitigating climate change being a mass mode of transit, the implementation of bus rapid transit (brt) systems in south african metropoles will address problems of climate change and the lack of mobility (tshikalanke, 2010: 15). unfortunately, these transport systems require large and energyintensive infrastructural systems. in a life-cycle assessment (lca) of the brt system in xiamen, it was concluded that infrastructure and vehicles contributed a third to the transport system’s total embodied energy over a 50-year cycle (cui, niu, wang, zhang, gao & lin 2010: 335). this emphasises the importance of designing resource-efficient infrastructure. 1.1 study objective this study forms part of a research project2 which focused on the role of architecture in mitigating climate change, addressing issues such as carbon footprints and embodied energy of construction materials in a design process (hugo, 2010). with the current implementation of the brt systems within south african cities, the study identified an opportunity to research the design of brt infrastructure and, in particular, brt trunk-route stations. this study identifies specific architectural design guidelines to decrease the carbon footprint and embodied energy intensities of trunk-route stations. in addition to identifying effective architectural design strategies, this analysis also aims to act as a datum for the lca studies of future brt stations. 1.2 current knowledge base several international studies (cole, 1999: 335-336; bennets et al., 2003: 98, 126; mitraratne & vale, 2003: 483-484; hacker, de saulles, minson & holmes, 2008: 376) have identified the value of life-cycle assessments in addressing resource consumption and the mitigating potential of architecture in an objective quantitative manner. in the process, the studies have identified and proven various successful sustainable structural systems, materials and strategies within the built environment. the first knowledge issue this study addresses is the lack of quantitative research available in south africa regarding the embodied energy and carbon footprint of architecture. the singular 2 this study forms part of a larger south africa climate change mitigation project developed by the united nations development programme (undp) and global environment facility (gef). acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 24 study by daniel irurah3 (1997) focused on the embodied energy of the built environment and the construction industry, and developed an extensive data set on the energy consumption of the built environment and its various trades as well as a set of algorithms to calculate the embodied energy of these industries. an additional study conducted by the carbon disclosure project (cdp) was undertaken in south africa over the past five years (hanks, dane, hermanus & niederhumer, 2011). this project focuses on the carbon footprint of companies listed on the johannesburg stock exchange, but it does not provide any specific insight or data pertaining directly to the built environment. therefore, the limited research that has been done in south africa renders additional significance to the research presented in this study. the second knowledge issue identified during the study addresses resource efficiency of brt systems. while these systems successfully reduce the carbon footprint of transportation networks within cities by using energy-efficient vehicle and fuel types and minimising the use of private transportation, they require energy-intensive infrastructure to function. the majority of studies focus on the carbon footprint and emission reductions through the use of different fuel and vehicle types associated with the brt interventions. these studies are significant and well researched (wright & fulton, 2005; vincent & jerram, 2006; mcdonnell, ferreira & convey, 2008; tshikalanke, 2010), but few address brt ‘infrastructure’ and associated environmental impact (cui et al., 2010). this article thus focuses on the brt trunk-route ‘stations’ as key components within the entire transport network. 2. research methodology in order to identify possible guidelines for the design of future trunkroute stations, a comparative life-cycle assessment was made of three selected brt stations, namely the rea vaya in johannesburg designed by ikemeleng architects, myciti in cape town by arg design and retro tram in tshwane by mashabane rose architects. a quantitative analysis of these stations focused on the carbon footprint and embodied energy for the cradle to gate period. although the study addresses a multifaceted issue, the research focuses only on initial construction material use and design solutions. 3 daniel irurah currently teaches at witwatersrand university, south africa, as well as being actively involved in the built environment as consultant on the sustainability and energy efficiency of various projects. hugo et al • mitigating climate change 25 it aims to reveal the influence that initial design decisions have on the overall environmental impact of the stations. the authors of this study acknowledge that the largest portion of resources will be used by the infrastructure of the brt system and operation. however, in the first phase of rea vaya brt system, a total of 150 trunk-route stations will be constructed (dlamini, 2008: 1), whereas the tshwane brt system plans to construct a total of 46 trunk-route stations for its first phase, with more to follow in future phases (advance logistics group, 2008: 9). due to the large number of stations that will be constructed, small savings in terms of the materials used in each station could lead to substantive overall savings. these savings can be channelled to building additional stations, increasing the accessibility of the respective transport systems. 2.1 the value of comparative life-cycle assessments comparative lca studies allow one to generate a single figure to compare different products with each other (fay et al., 2000: 32). although the process tends to ignore valuable qualitative influences, its strength lies in its ability to generate objective quantitative conclusions from a comparison between different products or processes over a specific time period (rai, behzad, rosi, & xiao, 2011: 2271). to ensure a reliable comparison, a series of assumptions or delimitations are made to either develop a base case for comparison or ensure that the separate comparable case studies are established (fay et al., 2000: 36; rai et al., 2011: 2273). using brt trunk-route stations as case studies provided the opportunity to compare a series of buildings which function on the same basis, follow similar spatial structures and accommodate similar movement patterns. furthermore, all the case studies functioned within similar contexts as trunk-route stations within a brt transport system. this meant that these had to adhere to the same strict design and engineering guidelines as set by south african national road agency limited (sanral) and international best practice. yet, all three designs followed different design processes leading to diverse design solutions. the brt stations are thus used as a unit of comparison of embodied energy and carbon footprints concerning the use of construction materials. although the embodied energy and carbon footprint of brt stations are substantially less when compared with those acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 26 of the infrastructure, there are ‘few current’ comparable building typologies that serve similar functions within the same context (a brt system) and can provide insight into the embodied energy and carbon footprint associated with the use of building materials, due to certain design solutions. hence, the use of the brt trunk-route station is considered appropriate, due to its comparability rather than its actual impact on the complete brt system. 2.2 defining the scope of analysis greadel (1998: 21-23) argues that it is extremely important to establish the system boundary4 at the outset of a life-cycle assessment. with the recent increase in efficiency of operational energy in buildings, the focus has shifted to the embodied energy of these buildings (fay et al., 2000: 39). this is especially pertinent when dealing with buildings with highly efficient operation systems and shortened functional life cycles, such as warehouses or industrial buildings (rai et al., 2010: 2272). brt trunk-route stations arguably have the same shortened functional life cycle, due to high use and maintenance, while the operational energy consumption of these stations is already highly efficient. this prompted the study to focus only on the cradle to gate lifecycle period of the case studies, as the construction material use in each station was identified as an energy-intensive period in the life cycle of brt systems (cui et al., 2010: 329, 335). transport energy was excluded, as most of the materials are manufactured within 400km of the respective sites and constitute less than 1% of their embodied energy (cole, 1999: 347; mithraratne & vale, 2003: 488-489). furthermore, construction energy was omitted in the calculations, as it contributes less than 3% of the embodied energy over a 20-year period (cole, 1999: 343; mithraratne & vale, 2003: 488-489). building operational energy was excluded, even though recent studies reveal that the operational energy of buildings constitutes approximately 50% of their total embodied energy over a 50-year cycle (fay et al., 2000: 40; mithraratne & vale, 2003: 488-489; jones, 2011a: 15). the brt stations investigated are generally energyefficient in operational terms, as large areas (95%) are serviced by natural light and ventilation. little improvement can be made to operational energy use, as the stations already use minimal electronic equipment, while certain energy-consumptive strategies 4 ‘system boundary’ refers to the specific time period analysed during a lca study. hugo et al • mitigating climate change 27 such as cctv systems and high lighting levels at night are deemed necessary to ensure commuter safety. the recycling of construction materials has been excluded following conclusions made in a study by fay et al. (2000: 34) that energy saving must be accredited to the second-phase project, referring to the project which actually uses recycled content. thus, no energy savings were included, due to the recycling potential of construction materials. 2.3 choosing an appropriate carbon footprint and embodied energy data set calculator there are various methods available for accurately calculating the carbon footprint or embodied energy. the first method uses a ‘process analysis’ approach and is a simple method of collecting site-specific data on products used in the project. this can be very cumbersome (and often impossible) when collecting a large variety of upstream energy inputs. the second method follows an ‘in-put out-put analysis’ using national statistical information regarding the economic flow between different sectors (fay et al., 2000: 33). unfortunately, the data generated with this method is very broad and not site-specific. in this study, an initial effort to follow the ‘process analysis’ method proved unsuccessful. the primary data on the carbon footprint and embodied energy from specific manufacturers within south africa did not cover a wide enough range of materials nor was the same analysis criteria used for all the products. this rendered the information unreliable for a comparative analysis. furthermore, the ‘in-put out-put’ method was unsuccessful, as the tables published by statistics south africa have been densely aggregated, which made the distinction between different sectors within the construction industry impossible. this prompted the study to use international data for life-cycle assessments of the respective case studies, due to the limited available primary data and research on the carbon footprint and embodied energy for the construction industry in south africa. the study identified the uk-based inventory of carbon & energy (ice) embodied energy and carbon calculator as an appropriate data set to analyse the different case studies, as it covers a wide range of materials, enabling objective comparisons of materials and construction systems (jones, 2011b: 33-169). acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 28 the ice calculator primarily uses carbon footprint and embodied energy data captured in europe. to maintain the applied objectivity of the study, the figures were used in a comparative manner. 2.4 constituents of the comparative analysis the selected brt stations were comparatively analysed according to three parameters. the first parameter analysed the entire station, quantifying the impact of size and spatial efficiency. the second comparison focused on the different station components: the station base, wall, roof structure as well as signage and handrails (see figure 1). this comparison demonstrated the impact of different structural systems on building form. note that ‘wall’ includes the vertical structure and glazing and that ‘signage and handrails’ also include the signage tower usually positioned outside the stations’ structure. in the third comparison, the overall material use was assessed in order to identify energy-intensive materials. roof structure wall station base signage & handrails figure 1: description of structural components of brt trunk-route stations source: hugo, 2012: own drawing 2.5 quantifying and comparing material use technical documentation, photographs, interviews and site visits formed the basis for the assessment of the carbon footprint and embodied energy of each station. all the station components5 were measured and their weight calculated. construction material use of each station was analysed according to carbon footprint and embodied energy, using the following equation: 5 ‘components’ refers to the different station elements being structural or infill. hugo et al • mitigating climate change 29 mvolume x mdensity = mweight m specific material type mweight x ee coefficient = ee total ee embodied mweight x cf coefficient = cf total cf carbon footprint the carbon footprint refers to the carbon dioxide equivalent (co2eq) emissions generated during the extraction and processing of a product (jones, 2011a: 1). irurah (1997: 10) defines embodied energy as the quantity of energy (joule) consumed during the production of goods or rendering of services; the sum total thereof is assumed to be embodied in the product. as the floor areas of the various stations differ, ‘carbon footprint intensity’ and ‘embodied energy intensity’ were used as comparative units. these quantified the amount of carbon or energy embodied per square meter. these concepts can be summarised with the term ‘resource efficiency’ referring to the ability of a product to produce the same value with less resources or materials. 2.6 case studies 2.6.1 the brt system the brt system is a highly efficient and adaptable mass transit system which uses existing road networks (wright & hook, 2007: 50-66). it consists of dedicated trunk (main) routes with smaller feeder routes that link isolated neighbourhoods with their respective city centres (advance logistics group, 2008: 4; city of cape town, 2010: 15). currently, planning has been concluded for brt systems in four south african metropoles,6 and it is intended to be expanded to other cities. various studies have confirmed the success of brt systems in addressing the reduction of urban transport greenhouse gas emissions (wright & fulton, 2005: 710-711; vincent & jerram, 2006: 233; wright & hook, 2007: 85, 699, 702-705; mcdonnell et al., 2008: 750751; tshikalanke, 2010: 15). research done in zurich revealed that a brt system only requires 9% of the energy of a light rail system per kilometre and only 3% of an elevated railway system. in comparison to subway systems, the brt system consumes less than 2% of the required energy per kilometre (wright & hook, 2007: 56). brt systems also promote corridor development (pienaar & motuba, 2007: 426; wright & hook, 2007: 87), improve access and passenger 6 these 4 cities include johannesburg, cape town, tshwane and rustenburg. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 30 safety (pienaar & motuba, 2007: 426; walker & hook, 2007: 86-87; advanced logistics group, 2008: 15), and increase mobility in urban environments (advanced logistics group, 2008: 2, 4). the success of brt systems can be primarily attributed to their flexibility in implementation. 2.6.2 specific trunk-route stations the three case studies analysed are two completed stations, namely the rea vaya and myciti stations, and the retro tram station that was still in the design phase at the time of this study. the stations are enclosed structures on raised platforms, are located on the median of the road, and usually have a single entrance. articulated buses with raised floors service these stations to ensure fast and safe transfer of commuters. the stations are typically located at 500m intervals to accommodate the elderly, children and disabled commuters.7 all three case studies are trunk (main)-route stations and are positioned on the road median. all stations are designed to accommodate buses in both directions and house similar functions. all electrical and security services, kiosks and associated operational energy consumption were excluded from the study. this ensures that all additional variables, prescribed by local councils, have been eliminated, allowing only for assessment of the stations themselves. rea vaya stations in johannesburg (see figure 2) are covered with ventilated steel roofs cantilevering from a series of slanted steel columns. a precast concrete base with a smooth cement screed finish forms the station platform. the structure is enclosed with laminated glass panes fixed to a circular steel substructure. a stainless steel kiosk is enclosed within the station envelope. myciti stations in cape town (see figure 3) are small-scaled stations with station and kiosk/entrance components. they are fully enclosed with laminated glazing, while overhead louvers assist with indoor ventilation. a lightweight roof is carried on slanted steel portal frames. the station base is constructed from precast concrete sections with a tiled floor finish. retro tram stations (see figure 4) are one of four prototypes designed for tshwane. these slender stations with high roofs are enclosed with a simple slightly curved steel column and beam structure. similar to 7 the average person easily walks 400m in 5 minutes (thandani, 2010: 735). hugo et al • mitigating climate change 31 the other case studies, the station uses a precast concrete station base with an assumed cement screed finish. a semi-vaulted steel roof covers both the station and the kiosk. the roof is suspended above the laminated glass walls which are fixed to an independent steel substructure. figure 2: rea vaya station, old synagogue station, braamfontein, johannesburg source: hugo, 2010 figure 3: myciti station, granger bay station at cape town stadium, cape town source: hugo, 2012: own photograph acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 32 figure 4: proposed retro tram station for tshwane source: mcclenaghan, 2011: personal communication 3. results 3.1 analysing the entire brt stations in the first comparison, the entire stations were calculated and assessed. although the floor areas of all the stations differ, they are of similar height (see figures 5 and 6).the retro tram station is the only exception, being substantially narrower. the retro tram station is the smallest with a floor area of 159m2, followed by the myciti station at 197m2. the rea vaya station is the largest case study with a floor area of 305m2. the total carbon footprints and embodied energies for the rea vaya, myciti and retro tram stations are 297.8 t co2 (3 478 gj); 129.5 t co2 (1 411 gj); 136.3 t co2 (1 485 gj), respectively (see table 1). hugo et al • mitigating climate change 33 retro tram station 159 m2 myciti station 197 m2 rea vaya station 305 m2 0 5 10 20m figure 5: comparative schematic plans of case studies source: hugo, 2012. sections redrawn from information supplied by architects: bhana, 2011: personal communication; rendall, 2011: personal communication; mcclenaghan, 2011: personal communication. rea vaya station myciti station retro tram station 0 3 5m figure 6: comparative schematic sections of case studies source: hugo, 2012. sections redrawn from information supplied by architects: bhana, 2011: personal communication; rendall, 2011: personal communication; mcclenaghan, 2011: personal communication. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 34 ta b le 1 : re su lts o f l ife -c yc le a ss e ss m e nt o f c a se s tu d ie s re a v a ya m yc iti re tr o t ra m el e m e nt t o ta l el e m e nt t o ta l el e m e nt t o ta l st a tio n c o m p o ne nt ee m j c f kg c o 2 ee m j c f kg c o 2 ee m j c f kg c o 2 ba se c o m p o ne nt t o ta l ei / c i 67 43 51 21 1 m j m j/ m 2 73 02 5 23 9 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 56 58 49 28 72 m j m j/ m 2 63 88 2 11 97 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 82 17 91 51 68 m j m j/ m 2 82 96 8 52 2 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 w a ll c o m p o ne nt t o ta l ei / c i 18 32 20 8 60 07 m j m j/ m 2 14 18 83 46 5 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 52 19 70 16 50 m j m j/ m 2 39 26 0 19 9 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 23 23 68 14 61 m j m j/ m 2 16 85 5 10 6 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 ro o f s tr uc tu re c o m p o ne nt t o ta l ei / c i 72 78 45 23 86 m j m j/ m 2 55 28 2 18 1 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 24 18 00 12 27 m j m j/ m 2 18 04 4 92 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 24 43 83 15 37 m j m j/ m 2 18 50 5 11 6 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 h a nd ra il a nd s ig na g e c o m p o ne nt t o ta l ei / c i 20 34 20 66 7 m j m j/ m 2 21 66 4 71 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 81 81 8 41 5 m j m j/ m 2 83 88 42 .6 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 18 64 18 11 72 m j m j/ m 2 18 04 5 11 3 kg kg c o 2/ m 2 to ta l w e ig ht 50 1 92 4 kg 35 1 97 6 kg 35 6 79 2 kg to ta l fl o o r a re a o f s ta tio n ei / c i 34 37 82 4 34 37 .8 0 30 5 11 27 1. 55 m j g j m 2 m j/ m 2 29 18 54 29 1. 90 30 5 95 6. 90 kg c o 2 t c o 2 m 2 kg c o 2/ m 2 14 11 43 7 14 11 .4 0 19 7 71 64 .6 5 m j g j m 2 m j/ m 2 12 95 74 12 9. 60 19 7 65 7. 74 kg c o 2 t c o 2 m 2 kg c o 2/ m 2 14 84 96 0 14 84 .7 0 15 9 93 39 .3 7 m j g j m 2 m j/ m 2 13 63 73 13 64 .0 0 15 9 85 7. 69 kg c o 2 t c o 2 m 2 kg c o 2/ m 2 a b b re vi a tio ns : e e e m b o d ie d e ne rg y, c f – c a rb o n fo o tp rin t, e i – e ne rg y in te ns ity , c i – c a rb o n in te ns ity en e rg y in te ns ity : j o ul e s p e r s q ua re m e te r/ ki lo g ra m c a rb o n p e r s q ua re m e te r so ur c e : h ug o , 2 01 2: o w n ta b le hugo et al • mitigating climate change 35 as the size of each station differs, an assessment of carbon footprint intensity and embodied energy intensity provides comparable results. the most inefficient case study, the rea vaya station, is calculated at 11 271 mj/m2 and 956 kgco2/m 2, followed by the retro tram station with 9 339 mj/m2 and 857 kg co2/m 2. this equates to a 10.3% (carbon footprint intensity) and 17.1% (embodied energy intensity) positive difference in carbon footprint and embodied energy per square meter. leading in resource efficiency is the myciti station, which is 31.2% (carbon footprint intensity) and 36.5% (embodied energy intensity) more efficient than the rea vaya station at 7 164 mj/m2 and 657 kg co2/m 2 (figures 7 and 8). 956 kgco2/m 2 857 kgco2/m 2 657 kgco2/m 2 rea vaya myciti retro tram c a rb on c o 2e q /m 2 1 200.00 1 000.00 800.00 600.00 400.00 200.00 0.00 figure 7: carbon intensity comparison source: hugo, 2012: own figure 11 271 mj/m2 9 339 mj/m2 7 164 mj/m2 rea vaya myciti retro tram en er g y m j/ m 2 12 000.00 10 000.00 8 000.00 6 000.00 4 000.00 2 000.00 0.00 figure 8: embodied energy intensity comparison source: hugo, 2012: own figure acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 36 3.2 comparison of the separate station components components were compared in terms of the station base, wall, roof structure and handrails and signage. the results show that the station bases of the myciti and retro tram stations are the most energyintensive, contributing 40% (565 gj, 63.8 tons co2) and 55% (822 gj, 82.9 tons co2), respectively, to the total embodied energy (see figures 10 and 11). rea vaya station contains the largest quantity of embodied energy in the wall 53% (1 831 gj, 141.8 tons co2), while only 20% (674 gj, 73 tons co2) is consumed by the substructure (figure 9). 1station base 674.3 gj 73 t co2 2wall 1832 gj 141.8 t co2 3roof structure 727.8 gj2 55.2 t co2 4signage & handrails 203.4 gj 21.6 t co2 total: 3.47 gj 297.9 t co2 6% 21% 4 3 2 1 53% 20% figure 9: energy consumption by component rea vaya station source: hugo, 2012: own figure 6% 17% 37% 40% 4 3 2 1 1station base 565.8 gj 63.8 t co2 2wall 521.9 gj 39.2 t co2 3roof structure 241.8 gj2 18.0 t co2 4signage & handrails 81.8 gj 8.3 t co2 total: 1.41 gj 129.5 t co2 figure 10: energy consumption by component myciti station source: hugo, 2012: own figure hugo et al • mitigating climate change 37 although signage is generally resource-efficient, in the retro tram case study, it constitutes 13% (186 gj and 17.9 t co2) of the total carbon footprint and embodied energy (figure 11). in the other two stations, it represents an average of 6% of the total carbon footprint and embodied energy (see figures 9 and 10). 55% 13% 16% 16% 1 2 3 4 1station base 821.7 gj 82.9 t co2 2wall 232.3 gj 16.8 t co2 3roof structure 244.3 gj2 18.5 t co2 4signage & handrails 186.4 gj 18 t co2 total: 1.48 gj 136.4 t co2 figure 11: energy consumption by component retro tram station source: hugo, 2012: own figure the wall components display the widest range in terms of energy intensity, ranging from 6 003 mj/m2 (465kgco2eq/m 2) in the rea vaya station to 1 455 mj/m2 (106 kgco2eq/m 2) for the retro tram station. the wall of rea vaya is 53% of the entire structure, whereas in retro tram, it is only 16%.this reveals the difference that resource-efficient design can make. the station bases and walls are two areas where large improvements are possible (table 1 and figure 12). station base wall roof structure signage & handrails mycitirea vaya retro tram m j/ m 2 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 figure 12: comparison of embodied energy per component source: hugo, 2012: own figure acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 38 3.3 material use comparison in the third comparison, material quantities were calculated and assessed. concrete, precast concrete and soil constitute an average of 86% (1 057 tonnes) of the total mass of each station (table 1). concrete and precast concrete have the largest embodied energy and are used extensively in all the case studies, contributing on average 70% (872 tonnes) to the total mass of each station. steel is the fourth largest contributor, adding 3% to 5% (137 tonnes) to the total mass of each station. the mass of the remaining materials is relatively insignificant, typically contributing only 1% to the total (see table 1 and figure 13). by contrast, the embodied energy of steel is substantially higher, contributing an average of 54% (305 tonnes co2) and 62% (3 928 gj) to the total carbon footprint and embodied energy, respectively (figure 14). on average, the embodied energy of steel is 240% (1 626 gj vs. 3 928 gj) larger than concrete and precast concrete combined. although very little stainless steel has been used in each station, the carbon footprint and embodied energy of this material is very high. stainless steel represents an average of 5% (326 gj) of the total embodied energy, yet only contributes 1% (7.1 tonnes) to the total mass (figures 13 and 14). concrete 40 % 4 6% 53 % 20 % 2 6% 36 % 3% 3% <1 % <1 % <1 % <1 % <1 % <1 % <1 % <1 % <1 % 1% 1% 1% 1% 18 % 17 % 10 % 18 % 7% 7% precast concrete soil/ cement bricks soil steel stainless steel aluminium glass insulation (mineral wood) mycitirea vaya retro tram pe rc en ta g e of to ta l s ta tio n w ei g ht 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% figure 13: comparison of type and percentage of materials used in the stations source: hugo, 2012: own figure hugo et al • mitigating climate change 39 concrete precast concrete soil/ cement bricks soil steel stainless steel aluminium glass insulation (mineral wood) mycitirea vaya retro tram em b od ie d e ne rg y in te ns ity m j/ m 2 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 10 53 m j/ m 2 13 63 m j/ m 2 14 10 m j/ m 2 84 5 m j/ m 2 11 59 m j/ m 2 20 51 m j/ m 2 <5 0 m j/ m 2 <5 0 m j/ m 2 <5 0 m j/ m 2 <5 0 m j/ m 2 <5 0 m j/ m 2 <5 0 m j/ m 2 13 4 m j/ m 2 13 3 m j/ m 2 10 0 m j/ m 2 3 47 5 m j/ m 2 4 59 5 m j/ m 2 61 7 m j/ m 2 28 4 m j/ m 2 51 7 m j/ m 2 12 5 m j/ m 2 0 m j/ m 2 13 0 m j/ m 2 28 0 m j/ m 2 26 3 m j/ m 2 49 3 m j/ m 2 8 23 8 m j/ m 2 figure 14: comparison of embodied energy of specific materials source: hugo, 2012: own figure 4. discussion the analysis reveals that the material types used in the three stations are generally similar. all three case studies comprise large quantities of in situ and precast concrete (on average equalling 70% of the total mass). this has been largely utilised for the stations bases, while lightweight steel wall and roof structures enclose these bases, constituting an average of 62% of the total embodied energy. the different applications of these materials are clearly indicated when analysing the resource efficiency of the stations’ components. to a certain extent, all three case studies utilised different structural systems which has led to striking differences in carbon footprint and embodied energy intensities. in both the retro tram and myciti case studies, the station bases constituted the largest portion of embodied energy, while in the rea vaya case, the wall structure has the biggest impact. the effect of these differences in structural systems is clearly indicated in a comparison between the overall station designs. the rea vaya station is revealed as the most resource-inefficient station. this can be attributed to a complex cantilevering roof and wall structure. the retro tram station’s structure is on average 17.1% more efficient in terms of its carbon footprint intensity and embodied energy intensity than the rea vaya station. while the retro tram station’s roof and walls are resource-efficient solutions, the large quantity of steel in the station’s base lowers its overall efficiency. as the most efficient case study, the myciti station has a 36.5% and 23.2% lower embodied acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 40 energy than the respective rea vaya and retro tram stations. yet, due to the climatic conditions in cape town, the myciti station provides the highest level of protection to the external elements of all the case studies, thus providing the highest level of value with the least amount of resources or materials. reductions in carbon footprint and embodied energy can be achieved by employing the preceding analyses as four guiding principles at the conception of a project. these principles address station size, structural system, and the selection and use of materials. 4.1 achieving spatial economy the retro tram station has a total carbon footprint which is only 3% (136.3 t co2 vs. 129.5 t co2) larger than the myciti station; yet its carbon footprint intensity is 21% (857 vs. 657 kgco2/m 2) larger than the myciti station. this can be attributed to the retro tram station being more economic in its space utilisation, leading with a footprint (area) which is 38.6m2 smaller.8 these design regulations specify station length, while station width relates to the number of commuters using the station during its peak occupation hour (pph/m2). spatial economy refers to both the minimisation of floor area and enclosed volume. this calls for a renewed focus on anthropocentric spaces which are multifunctional, merging both functional space with the required movement spaces, simultaneously minimising its spatial use and maximising its adaptability and modularity. it requires a critical understanding of the user numbers, building function, movement circulation and minimum spatial requirements. this process of minimising the enclosed volume can directly be translated to lowering the quantity of material use and effectively lowering carbon footprint and embodied energy of an intervention. 4.2 simplifying structural systems a comparison of case study roofs reveals that the energy intensity of the complex rea vaya station (2.36 gj/m2 and 179 kgco2/m 2) is 35% higher than the retro tram station (1.52 gj/m2 and 115 kgco2/ m2). this demonstrates the energy efficiency of a single continuous roof structure. 8 all the designs needed to adhere to sanral regulations and international best practice. hugo et al • mitigating climate change 41 the rea vaya station is the least energy-efficient station, as it is constructed with a complex system of columns from which the wall and roof cantilever. this results in a wall-and-column structure which embodies 53% (1 832 gj, 141.8 t co2) of the structure of the entire station, while the columns contribute 35% (1 187gj, 92.9 t co2) to total embodied energy. a smaller, functional, wider spaced column system is utilised in the retro tram station, contributing only 6% (86.1gj, 6.7 t co2) to the total embodied energy of this station. structural systems should, therefore, be appropriately scaled to suit the type and size of project. 4.3 dematerialising structural components and materials in all of the stations, the structural systems separate the substructure of the glass envelope from the main structure and columns, leading to a duplication of structure. the curitiba brt station prototype dematerialises the envelope structure, using a single plane to act as both main structure and envelope substructure. this concept of dematerialisation can be extended by adding additional functions to a structure or component (van der ryn & pena, 2002: 243-244), thus maximising the structure’s functionality while minimising its resource consumption. in two of the three case studies, signage towers were used to improve the legibility and identity of the stations. the retro tram tower contributes substantially to the energy consumption, adding 7% (103 gj and 9 t co2) to the total carbon footprint and embodied energy. it is a composite tower with layers of steel and glass fixed to a precast concrete tower. however, the signage tower of myciti station is a simple painted steel tower with an easily legible signboard and only adds 1% (19.6 gj and 1.6 t co2) to the station’s total carbon footprint and embodied energy. this illustrates the importance of designing simple structures through dematerialisation into a single entity while using homogenous materials that allow for easy fixing. 4.4 choosing appropriate materials an analysis of material consumption indicates that the main material used in all the stations is concrete. this accounts on average for 70% of the total mass per station. when the embodied energy contribution of each material is compared, the impact of concrete is interestingly low (see figures 13 and 14). by contrast, the impact of steel and stainless steel is much higher, on average contributing 62% to the total embodied energy of each station. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 42 at a micro scale, the impact of material choice becomes more evident. the station base of the retro tram station is 45% more energy-intensive than the myciti station. this can be attributed to the large amount of steel used in the base. in the retro tram station, steel boarding plates are bolt-fixed to a steel channel, while in the myciti station these edges are in situ cast concrete with rubber-covered boarding plates fixed on top. although the steel boarding plates are versatile and adaptable, these constitute 20% (290 gj) of the total embodied energy, whereas the concrete edge case only contributes 2% (34 gj) to the myciti station’s total energy consumption. this emphasises the importance of choosing low embodied energy materials, while taking structural implications into account. the application of reinforced concrete must be re-evaluated. all three stations have precast concrete culverts as substructures. although these structural systems minimise construction time, precast concrete is 22% more energy-intensive than in situ cast concrete (jones, 2011b: 56-57). as the precast concrete culverts contribute an average of 43% to the total embodied energy of the substructures, in situ casting will lead to substantial savings. 5. conclusion in order to address carbon footprint and embodied energy in architecture, the study undertook a cradle to gate life-cycle assessment of three south african brt trunk-route stations. the comparative analysis, which quantified the construction material use of each station, revealed the impact of resource-efficient design solutions. a series of conclusions have been drawn from the study and are framed as four guidelines. these guidelines address station size, structural systems and the selection and use of materials. furthermore, a continuous assessment and calculation of construction material use in these structures during the design process will lead to the lowering of carbon footprints and embodied energy. in comparison to the greater brt infrastructure systems, these carbon footprint and embodied energy savings of small brt trunkroute stations are significant (cui et al., 2010: 335). this becomes clear when applying these energy savings to an entire brt system. during the first phase of the rea vaya brt system, one hundred and fifty trunk-route stations will be built (dlamini, 2008: 1). as the myciti stations are 36.5% more energy-efficient than the rea vaya stations, an additional fifty-four stations can be built with the same quantity hugo et al • mitigating climate change 43 of resources used in the rea vaya system. it is, therefore, opportune to follow the identified guidelines at the conception of a project. the study revealed the need for more research on the development of a south african construction material carbon footprint and embodied energy calculator. it is a much needed tool to advance accurate local climate change mitigation strategies. the study identified benchmarks and design guidelines to test new brt station proposals, which will challenge designers to aim for low carbon and energy-efficient design solutions. these strategies will go a long way in minimising the impact of architecture and mitigate the negative effects of climate change. acknowledgements jan hugo would like to thank david ingham, prof. jannie hugo, ilse hugo, wilfried bohm and pieter matthews for their advice and assistance while writing this article; arg design, mra architects and ikemeleng architects for giving permission to analyse their designs, and the united nations development programme (undp) and global environment facility (gef) for sponsoring this project. references list advance logistics group. 2008. tshwane bus rapid transit (brt) operational plan. technical report presented by advanced logistics group, 24 april 2008. bennetts, h., radford, a. & williamson, t. 2003. understanding sustainable architecture. london: spon press. bhana, r. (ridwaan@ikemelengarchitects.com). 24 february 2011. re: request for rea vaya station plans. email to j.m. hugo (jmhugoza@yahoo.com). city of cape town. 2010. phase 1a of cape town’s myciti integrated rapid transit system. municipality of cape town. cole, r.j. 1999. energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction of alternative structural systems. building and environment, 34(3), pp. 335-348. cui, s., niu, h., wang, w., zhang, g., gao, l. & lin, j. 2010. carbon footprint analysis of the bus rapid transit (brt) system: a case study of xiamen city. international journal of sustainable development & world ecology, 17(4), pp. 329-337. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 44 department of energy. 2009. digest of south african energy statistic. department of energy, tshwane. dlamini, n. 2008. brt projects are ‘on schedule’. 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(eds.). 2007. climate change 2007: mitigation of climate change, contribution of working group iii to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. cambridge: cambridge university press. irurah, d. 1997. an embodied-energy algorithm for energy conservation in building construction as applied to south africa. unpublished ph.d. thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria, department of architecture. jones, c. 2011a. embodied carbon: a look forward. sustain insight article: volume 1. sustain. jones, c. 2011b. life cycle energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with energy technologies and buildings. unpublished ph.d. thesis. bath: university of bath, faculty of engineering & design, mechanical engineering [online]. available hugo et al • mitigating climate change 45 from: <http://opus.bath.ac.uk/23793/1/univbath_phd_2010_c_jones. pdf> [accessed: 22 october 2012]. mcclenaghan, c. (craig@mashabanerose.co.za). 17 february 2011. re: request for tswhane brt station plans_retro tram station. email to j.m. hugo (jmhugoza@yahoo.com). mcdonnell, s., ferreira, s. & convey, f. 2008. using bus rapid transit to mitigate emissions of co2 from transport. transport reviews, 28(6), pp. 735-756. mithraratne, n. & vale, b. 2003. life cycle analysis model for new zealand houses. building and environment, 39(4), pp. 483-492. rai, d., behzad, s., rosi, f. & xiao, h. 2011. assessment of co2 emissions reductions in a distribution warehouse. elsevier, 36(4), pp. 2271-2277. rendall, a. (alastair@argdesign.co.za). 7 april 2011. re: request for cape town brt station plans. email to a barker (arthur.barker@ up.ac.za). thandani, d.a. 2010. the language of cities and towns. new york: rizzoli. tshikalanke, r. 2010. bus rapid transit system in joburg. presentation presented at the “tomorrow’s cities: energy and sustainability urban development course, 18 november 2010. cape town, university of cape town. van der ryn, s. & pena, r. 2002. ecologic analogues and architecture. in: kibert, c.j., sendzimir, j. & guy, g.b. (eds.). construction ecology. nature as the basis for green buildings. london: spon press: pp. 37-72. vincent, w. & jerram, l. 2006. the potential for bus rapid transit to reduce transport-related co2 emissions. journal of public transportation, 9(3), pp. 219-237. wright, l. & fulton, l. 2005. climate change mitigation and transport in developing nations. transport reviews, 25(6), pp. 691-717. wright, l. & hook, w. 2007. bus rapid transit planning guide. 3rd edition. new york: institute for transportation & development policy. 106 oorsigartikels • review articles solly seeletse & watson ladzani project cost estimation techniques used by most emerging building contractors of south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract this article investigates newly emerging building contractors of south africa who are expected to survive by projects obtained mainly through tendering. some of these contractors fail even before obtaining the first tender while many fail in the first three years of their formation. the research population used was restricted to formally registered businesses found at the time in the register of the construction industry development board (cidb). the population of 792 businesses, registered as grade 5 class, consisted of five distinct types of contractors, general builders, civil engineers, electricians, mechanical builders and other sundry players. a sample of 160 was used which is approximately 20% of the population. the literature was reviewed on tendering and related aspects: competitive bidding, estimating activities, pricing a tender, and evaluating a tender. the research tool used was a questionnaire, which investigated biographical and company information, proposal management and estimation, programming and scheduling, estimating strategies, understanding of basic cost concepts, project risk management, pre-tender internal price evaluation, and tender submission. findings of this research revealed that south african emerging contractors showed inadequacies and variations in cost concepts, scheduling tools, risk management and tender price estimation. they also lacked essential resources and skills for competing for tenders. emerging contractors are advised to use consultants to assist them and/or subcontract to established contractors with a reputable history. they should use these opportunities to learn superior estimation methods (which are also more complex) and apply them to improve their own tendering practices. keywords: cost estimation, estimation methods, emerging contractors, tender dr solly matshonisa seeletse department of statistics and operations research university of limpopo medunsa campus po box 107 medunsa 0204 south africa. phone: 072 912 3941 email:<solly.seeletse@ul.ac.za> prof. mmboswobeni watson ladzani department of business management university of south africa po box 6225 halfway house 1685 south africa. phone: 083 777 0716 email:<wladzani@unisa.ac za> seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 107 abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek nuutontluikende boukontrakteurs van suid-afrika wat moet oorleef op projekte wat hoofsaaklik deur tenders verkry word. sommige van hierdie kontrakteurs raak bankrot nog voordat hulle die eerste tender gekry het, terwyl baie bankrot speel binne die eerste drie jaar van hul ontstaan. die navorsingspopulasie wat gebruik is, was beperk tot formeelgeregistreerde besighede wat toe gevind kon word in die register van die konstruksie industrie ontwikkelingsraad (construction industry development board die populasie het bestaan uit 792 besighede, geregistreer as graad 5-klas, bestaande uit vyf afsonderlike tipes kontrakteurs, algemene bouers, siviele ingenieurs, elektrisiëns, meganiese bouers en diverse rolspelers. ‘n monster van 160 is gebruik, wat ongeveer 20% van die populasie is. die literatuur is nagegaan oor om vir iets te tender en verwante aspekte: mededingende bie, voorleggingsbestuur, beramingsaktiwiteite, risikobestuur, prys van ‘n tender en evaluering van ‘n tender. die navorsingsinstrument wat gebruik is, was ‘n vraelys wat die biografiese en maatskappyinligting ondersoek het, naamlik voorleggingsbestuur en beraming, programmering en skedulering, beramingstrategieë, begrip van basiese kostekonsepte, projek risikobestuur, voor-tender interne prysevaluasie en tendervoorlegging. bevindinge van hierdie navorsing het getoon dat suid-afrika se ont luikende kontrakteurs ontoereikendhede en variasies in kostebegrippe, skeduleringsinstrumente, risikobestuur en in tenderprysskatting toon. hulle het ook ‘n gebrek aan noodsaaklike hulpmiddele en die vermoëns om mee te ding vir tenders. daar word aanbeveel dat ontluikende kontrakteurs konsultante moet gebruik om hulle by te staan en/of dat hulle moet subkontrakteer by gevestigde kontrakteurs wat ‘n hoog aangeskrewe reputasie het. hulle moet hierdie geleenthede gebruik om uitmuntende beramingsmetodes (wat meer ingewikkeld is) te leer en toe te pas om hul eie tenderpraktyke te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: kosteberaming, beramingsmetodes, opkomende kontrakteurs, tender 1. introduction south africa’s emerging construction enterprises seem to deviate from global trends in costing projects, and differ according to provinces. the western cape, gauteng and kwazulu-natal provinces are more advanced and more urban compared to the other six provinces (eastern cape, free state, north-west, northern cape, limpopo, and mpumalanga) by virtue of having more urban than rural areas and being richer (bond, 1999; gumede, 2010). emerging contractors in the various provinces seem to suffer from the way they develop project proposals, mainly in terms of costing. thus, when tendering for large projects there are discrepancies with regard to the way in which the contractors in the different areas cost their projects, which seems to disadvantage some of them. large and experienced contractors, on the other hand, do not experience this problem. they have survived time while emerging ones seem to fail quickly and in large numbers. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 108 the south african construction outlook is published by the construction industry development board (cidb, 2007). the cidb (2007) reveals an oversubscription of emerging contractors who contribute about 80% of the registered contractors. one advantage of the emerging contractors is that the developed contractors need them to secure large projects. emerging contractors can find and secure a partner who can empower them through exposure, skills transfer and revenue while collaborating on large projects. the trend, however, seems to be that many emerging contractors prefer to compete against large contractors instead of opting to partner with them. in some cases, they compete with limited knowledge. the cidb is available to help contractors, but contractors should take the initiative to apply to be assisted with their needs. emerging contractors are the main target of the cidb support. despite the preferential procumbent policy by government and the cidb, the contractors fulfilling composition conditions do not necessarily win tenders for large projects if they cannot convince the prospective client that they can perform the tasks required. no company would award large projects to contractors who ‘obviously do not understand the magnitude of the task’. the deficiencies of the emerging contractors include the lack of experience in large projects, project proposals lacking the breakdown of tasks, and poor project costing. besides the prices that deviate far from the reasonable limits, emerging contractors seem to be using outdated project costing methods (i.e. methods no longer used by emerging contractors of developed worlds and large contractors) in business. this article explores the project costing methods used by south african emerging contractors (nkado, akintoye, bowen & pearl, 1999). the principal aim is to analyse project cost estimation practices, methods and processes utilised by the emerging construction sector in south africa; identify deficiencies requiring remedial action through development programmes established for emerging contractors, and ultimately establish techniques used by the majority of emerging contractors when estimating tender prices. 2. estimation estimation is the engineering art of developing an informed (or scientific) prediction about the cost and delivery date, and establishing all the resources required by the project (kemp, 2004: 328; steyn, basson, carruthers, du plessis, prozesky-kuscke, kruger, van eck & visser, 2006: 173). cost estimates are used to evaluate the economic feasibility of projects, evaluate project alternatives, and establish the budget and cost control mechanism (scott & seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 109 amos, 2007: 9). clark & lorenzoni (1997: 11) cite a definition of cost engineering by the american association of cost engineers (aace) as the area of engineering practice where engineering judgement and experiences are used in the application of scientific principles and techniques to the problems of cost estimation, cost control and profitability. therefore, estimation is a prediction of the quantity of resources needed to accomplish an activity or create an asset. there is consensus (clark & lorenzoni, 1997; kemp, 2004; steyn et al., 2006; scott & amos, 2007) that a sound estimate depends on the following building blocks: • a well-defined scope (what we are trying to estimate); • a cost element structure (how information is organised), and • historical cost data (data from cost accounting records and/ or experience of knowledgeable people). heinze (1996: 225) also mentions the four categories of estimates used based on work scope and/or available information as: • the quickie (guesstimate, back of a match-box, while on the phone); • the concept (preliminary, study, order-of-magnitude, factored); • the budget (official, the approval), and • the definitive (final, control, firm, detailed, hard bid, take-off, and so on). the choice of estimating method depends on several factors including the end-use of the estimate, the amount of time and money available to prepare the estimate, estimating tools and data available, the level of project definition, design information available, and the timing or phase of the project. clough & sears (1999: 27) explain that several persons are involved in the initial and ultimate pricing stages as the term ‘estimator’ refers to all persons involved with the estimating function. an estimate is valid only if the basis for preparing it is also valid (heinze, 1996: 226; scott & amos, 2007; kul & uppal, 2008: 1). thus, the validity and reliability of the estimate depends on the knowledge and experience of the estimator together with a good performance record that inculcates confidence in the estimate. fuller & kahn (2003: 147) state that the estimators use the same basic skills, but that actual methods and job descriptions vary widely according to contractors. the estimator’s roles and responsibilities are perceived to be planning and review of specifications; compiling data for operations; researching potential acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 110 jobs; site study; negotiations; meetings with field team, and value engineering. 2.1 project cost estimation the project cost process considers the different project life cycle phases until the final design is completed and the bill of quantities (boq) is produced (clough & sears, 1999: 19). the boq is necessary to start cost estimation. cost estimates are done for initial estimation to determine the feasibility of a project. estimates are based on a system of gross unit costing. the unit costs are based on previous work of a similar type and magnitude extrapolated forward in time to reflect the current market conditions, project location and the peculiar character of the envisaged project (lowe & skitmore, 1994). clough & sears (1999: 25) list common methods used to determine the order of magnitude costing as: • cost per function estimates based on expenditure per unit of use; • square metre cost estimates based on gross floor area; • index number estimates based on the national price indices; • cost estimates based on cubic metres per volume capacity; • parameter costing based on different building components and systems, and • partial take-off estimates using quantities of major work elements from partially completed designs. 3. tendering nokes & kelly (2007: 295) define tendering (also known as bidding) as the action of confirming a price offer for specified tasks/activities of a project in the prescribed method to the client and the client appreciates it as a procurement process to acquire products and services from outside the project team. pricing tools for tendering include pricing strategies, sales and revenues, return on investment (roi), return on sales (ros), break-even analysis, and so on. scott & amos (2007) conceptualise the pricing process using an inputconversion-output model by defining (and thus replacing) pricing as the tools and techniques. the approach indicates that analytical tools are applied on the inputs to produce usable information at the start, during execution and on completion of the project. seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 111 tender evaluation is explained in terms of: validation of estimates: an estimate is a prediction of the expected final cost of a proposed project for a given work scope. thus, by its nature, an estimate involves assumptions and uncertainties, and is associated with some level of error. this level of error can be correlated to probabilities of over-running or under-running the predicted cost. consequently, an estimate should be reviewed and validated for any errors prior to it being used for tendering purposes (clemons, barnett & lanier, 2005). adjusting estimate: tendering is done within certain time limits. however, some instances take longer to evaluate the tender, and tender conditions may change in the process. scott & amos (2007: 72-78) state that changes in project costs occur for a number of economic reasons. common cost change concepts include inflation, deflation, escalation, taxation, and currency variation if construction takes place in a globalised environment (the global context excludes the emerging sector due to the small size of projects undertaken by the sector). in addition, a project may be funded, designed and governed by a legal jurisdiction in various countries other than the one in which the project is assembled and delivered. estimate accuracy: cheung, wong & skitmore (2008: 349) studied clients’ and estimators’ tolerance to estimating errors. they found that clients and estimators stressed the importance of giving accurate cost estimates, are risk-averse and tolerate overestimates more than underestimates. heinze (1996: 226) provided a set of descriptive and qualitative terms according to which an estimate can be assessed, namely terms such as credibility; accuracy; exactness; precision; reliability; tolerance; materiality, and validity. tender submission: the end result of the decision to tender is to submit the tender to the client’s premises. after effecting the necessary adjustment of the tender price according to the pricing strategies of the contractor, a competitive tender is ready for submission in the prescribed format. the prescribed format to submit tenders is usually found in the invitation to tender (itt) which normally contains the following details: • the targeted cidb registration status (grade) of contractors; • availability of documents and contact details of personnel responsible for receiving tender enquiries; • the date and venue of pre-tender meeting (briefing session) and whether it is compulsory or not; acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 112 • manner of tender submission, i.e. original tender documents, returnable schedules and whether electronic or other forms of submission are acceptable; • the closing date and the place of submission, and • the tender validity period from the closing date. if these requirements are not complied with, the tender may be disqualified. negotiating tender contract: as a starting point, negotiations would typically be centred on the offer made by the contractor and counteroffers by the client and are an iterative process until consensus is reached. acceptance following an offer is an unqualified declaration of intent made by the client, approving the offer without reservation. a typical construction industry contract contains contract clauses relating to general terms and conditions, warrantees or guarantees, breach of contract, remedies, payment valuations certificates and progress payments, contract duration, dispute resolution mechanisms, and specific requirements depending on the form of contract selected by the parties. the preceding discussion implies that negotiators need to have strong commitment to mutual gain, have strong focus on the problem, and generally be clear in communicating the negotiator’s viewpoints. 3. research methodology a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of six questions, each with several subquestions, was the main research instrument. the questions referred to estimating techniques used by emerging contractors. the questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 161 emerging contractors such as builder, civil, electrical, mechanical and miscellaneous other contractors. the respective sample sizes of each strata were 54 (36.0%), 68 (39.8%), 19 (11.8%), 11 (6.8%) and nine (6.6%). 3.1 population and sampling the study population were emerging cidb-registered contractors registered for work up to r5m. the cidb’s contractor register included 792 such contractors (cidb, 2009). these contractors were further categorised into contractor types or strata: general builders, civil, electrical, mechanical, and others. these strata enabled stratified sampling (curwin & slater, 2002). simple random samples were selected from each stratum. simple random sampling is a sampling method where items in the research population are uniform and seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 113 have an equal probability of being included in the sample (bless & kathuria, 1993). to increase accuracy, a 20% sampling ratio was used based on the 10% minimum required, thus targeting 160 (20% = 158.4) of these contractors. the proportional sizes were determined for each stratum, and respective samples were generated using a random generator. the cidb’s definition of potentially emerging contractor implies that the contractor organisation is owned mainly by the previously disadvantaged individual/s as a result of the previous government’s discriminatory laws. bouma (2000: 130) advises that at least 30 individual elements are required in order to provide a pool that is large enough for simple kinds of analyses. the respondents were further categorised into provincial locations. table 1 summarises the population, sample, and sampling ratios of the various strata, as well as the total sampling ratio. table 1: population, sample, and strata general building civil electrical mechanical others total population 286 316 94 53 43 792 sample (frequency) 58 64 19 11 9 161 sample (% of population) 20.28% 20.25% 20.21% 20.75% 20.93% 20.33% key: % of population = sample as percentage of category population from the 792 member population, a stratified sample of 161 respondents (20.3% of the population) participated. table 2 provides the provincial spread of the contractors. table 2: provincial spread of respondents gau kzn nw fs wc nc mpu ec lim ‘f’ 34 29 14 11 16 8 16 14 19 ‘%’ 12.1% 18.0% 8.7% 6 8% 9.9% 5.0% 9.9% 8.7% 11.8% key: ‘f’ = number/frequency of respondents ‘%’ = percentage of respondents gau = gauteng kzn = kwazulu-natal nw = north-west wc = western cape nc = northern cape mpu = mpumalanga ec = eastern cape lim = limpopo acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 114 4. findings 4.1 proposal management and estimating team table 3 presents the emerging contractors’ distribution according to frequencies of responsibility for managing proposal and estimating among the role players (business owner, project manager and consultant) involved when the emerging contractors prepare tender documents. table 3: responsibility for proposal management building civil electrical mechanical other forms total business owner 38 23 12 4 2 79 project manager 7 15 3 3 3 31 consultant 13 26 4 4 4 51 total 58 64 19 11 9 161 % 36.12% 39.75% 11.80% 6.83% 5.59% 100 table 4: responsibility for estimation the research sample consisted of 58 (36.0%) general builders, 64 (39.7%) civil engineers, 19 (11.8%) electricians, 11 (6.8%) mechanical engineers, and 9 (5.6%) other/sundry contractors. business owners, project managers and consultants were responsible for the estimation, at 49.1%, 19.2% and 31.7%, respectively. interest arises to test whether the responsibility in proposal management and estimation and the contractor type are dependent. the null hypothesis is h0: project management responsibility in the emerging contractor sector depends on the type of emerging contractor. key: bo = business owner pm = project manager con = consultant 60 00% 50 00% 40 00% 30 00% 20 00% 10 00% 0 00% bo pm con 49 07% 19 25% 31 68% party responsible for estimation pe rc en ta ge o f r es po nd en ts seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 115 due to a few observed frequencies, the yates corrected chi-square (bless & kathuria, 1993: 192) is used, namely: where, oij are the observed frequencies and eij the expected frequencies of the emerging contractors based on the null hypothesis. all the tests were conducted at the 5% level of significance to determine whether the estimation methods used by emerging contractors were due to an existing pattern or occurred randomly. table 5: expected responsibility for proposal management building civil electrical mechanical other forms business owner 28.4596 31.4037 9.3230 5.3975 4.4161 project manager 11.1677 12.3230 3.6584 2.1180 1.7329 consultant 18.3727 20.2733 6.0186 3.4845 2.8509 calculation of chi-square statistic gives x2 = 11.5252. the degrees of freedom (d.f.) for this contingency table is (rows – 1)(columns – 1) = (2)(4) = 8. at the 5% level of significance the critical value is 16.919. since the test statistic does not exceed the critical region, the null hypothesis of independence cannot be rejected. thus, at the 5% level of significance there is no statistical evidence that estimation approach depends on the type of contractor. this means that there is no attachment of proposal management and estimation to a type of role played during estimation when tendering in the emerging contractor sector. table 6: responsibility for proposal management per province: observed gau kzn nw fs wc nc mpu ec lim total bo 25 12 11 7 3 5 1 10 3 79 pm 4 5 1 1 7 2 5 2 5 31 con 5 12 2 3 6 1 9 2 11 51 total 34 29 14 11 16 8 16 14 19 161 acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 116 table 7: responsibility for proposal management per province: expected gau kzn nw fs wc nc mpu ec lim bo 16.683 14 230 6.870 5.397 7.851 3.926 7.851 6.870 9.323 pm 6.547 5.584 2.696 2.118 3.081 1.540 3.081 2.696 3.658 con 10.770 9.186 4.435 3.485 5.068 2.534 5.068 4.435 6.019 chi-square x2 = 35.2519 with d.f. = (2)(8) = 16. the critical value is 26.296. the test statistic exceeds this critical value, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis of independence. thus, at the 5% significance level there is enough statistical evidence that estimation methods used by emerging contractors depend on the province in which the contractor is located. therefore, the emerging contractors in the different provinces vary with respect to the estimation methods they use in tendering. table 8 displays the distribution of the observed frequencies of the professional backgrounds of the various emerging contractor sector role players. table 8: professional background of estimator versus responsibility: observed engineer quantity surveyor architect accountant od ip stat/ econ total bo 7 17 1 1 27 31 4 79 pm 7 1 5 1 7 9 1 31 con 1 13 2 3 11 14 7 51 total 15 31 8 5 45 54 12 161 table 9 displays the expected frequencies based on table 8 with the hypothesis that the professional backgrounds of emerging contractors do not influence the type of role played by emerging contractors in tendering. seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 117 table 9: professional background of estimator versus responsibility: expected engineer quantity surveyor architect accountant od ip stat/ econ bo 7.3602 15 2112 3.9255 2.4534 22.0807 26.4969 5.8882 pm 2.8882 5.9689 1.5404 0.9627 8.6646 10.3975 2.3106 con 4.7516 9.8199 2.5342 1.5839 14.2547 17.1056 3.8012 chi-square x2 = 24.41964 with d.f. = (2)(6) = 12. the critical value is 21.026. the test statistic exceeds the critical value, resulting in rejecting the null hypothesis of independence. hence, at the 5% level of significance there is enough statistical evidence that the role players used by the emerging contractors depend on the professional background of the contractor. this means that the professional backgrounds of emerging contractors influence the type of role player involved in estimating when tendering. 4.2 programming and scheduling techniques table 10 displays the distribution of the observed frequencies of programming and scheduling techniques used against the various role players in the emerging contractor sector. table 10: use of programmes versus responsibility for proposal management and estimation: observed cpm pert charts wbs other forms total bo 0 3 54 21 1 79 pm 1 0 19 2 9 31 con 1 2 28 19 1 51 total 2 5 101 42 11 161 table 11 displays the expected frequencies based on table 10 with the hypothesis that the programming and scheduling techniques in the emerging contractor sector do not influence the type of role played by emerging contractors in tendering. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 118 table 11: use of programmes vs. responsibility for proposal management and estimation: expected cpm pert charts wbs other forms bo 0.9814 2.4534 49.5590 20.6087 5.3975 pm 0.3851 0.9627 19.4472 8.0870 2.1180 con 0.6335 1.5839 31.9938 13.3043 3.4845 chi-square x2 = 30.285498 with d.f. = (2)(4) = 8. the critical value is 26.296, which is lower than the test statistic, leading to rejecting the null hypothesis of independence. thus, at the 5% significance level there is enough statistical evidence that the, use of programming technique in the emerging contractor sector depends on the professional background of the contractor. 4.3 project risk management table 12 displays the distribution of the observed frequencies of project risk management used against the various role players in the emerging contractor sector. table 12: use of project risk management versus responsibility: observed internal document analysis checklist analysis assumptions and analysis total bo 1 4 74 79 pm 3 13 15 31 con 2 8 41 51 total 6 25 130 161 table 13 displays the expected frequencies based on table 12 with the hypothesis that project risk management in the emerging contractor sector does not influence the type of role played by emerging contractors in tendering. table 13: use of project risk management versus responsibility: expected internal document analysis checklist analysis assumptions and analysis bo 2.9441 12.2671 63.7888 pm 1.1553 4.8137 25.0311 con 1.9006 7.9193 41.1801 seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 119 chi-square x2 = 461.7588 with d.f. = (2)(2) = 4. the critical value is 9.488. the test statistic exceeds the critical value, and results in the rejection of the null hypothesis of independence. it is concluded that at the 5% level of significance there is enough statistical evidence that the use of project management risk approach and responsibility for proposal management and estimation in the emerging contractor sector are dependent. table 14 displays the distribution of the observed frequencies of risk allocation strategies used against the various role players in the emerging contractor sector. table 14: use of project risk allocation strategies: observed risk transfer risk reduction risk retention risk elimination risk sharing total bo 7 66 1 1 4 79 pm 7 13 1 2 8 31 con 17 14 2 4 14 51 total 31 93 4 7 26 161 table 15 displays the expected frequencies based on table 14 with the hypothesis that risk allocation strategies in the emerging contractor sector do not influence the type of role played by emerging contractors in tendering. table 15: use of project risk allocation strategies: expected risk transfer risk reduction risk retention risk elimination risk sharing bo 15.2112 45.6335 1.9627 3.4348 12.7578 pm 5.9689 17.9068 0.7702 1.3478 5.0062 con 9.8199 29.4596 1.2671 2.2174 8.2360 chi-square x2 = 37.87779 with d.f. = (2)(4) = 8. the critical value is 15.507. the test statistic exceeds the critical value, and the null hypothesis of independence is rejected. thus, at the 5% significance level there is no enough statistical evidence that the use of project risk allocation and responsibility for estimation in the emerging contractor sector are dependent. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 120 4.4 pre-tender internal price evaluation table 16 displays the distribution of the observed frequencies of pretender internal price evaluation used against the various role players in the emerging contractor sector. table 17 displays the expected frequencies based on table 16 with the hypothesis that pre-tender internal price evaluation in the emerging contractor sector does not influence the type of role play in tendering. table 16: pre-tender internal price evaluation versus responsibility: observed over-price under-price balance price total bo 6 4 69 79 pm 2 2 27 31 con 3 11 37 51 total 11 17 133 161 table 17: pre-tender internal price evaluation versus responsibility: expected over-price under-price balance price bo 5.3975 8.3416 65.2609 pm 2.1180 3.2733 25.6087 con 3.4845 5.3851 42.1304 chi-square x2 = 7.58178 with d.f. = (2)(2) = 4. the critical value is 9.488. the test statistic does not exceed the critical value. the null hypothesis of independence is therefore not rejected. the conclusion is that at the 5% level of significance there is enough statistical evidence that among the emerging contractors, the use of project management risk approach does not have any bearing on the person responsible for estimating. 5. results and discussions this section presents the research results. this is followed by a discussion of the results and the conclusion. seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 121 5.1 proposal management and estimating team in south africa’s emerging contractor sector, civil engineers dominated the contractors, followed by general builders, mechanical engineers, electricians and, lastly, a mix of other types of contractors. proposal management and estimation were dominated by business owners, then project managers and, lastly, consultants. since estimation approach was found to be dependent on the type of contractor, this implies that different contractors approached estimation differently. it was similarly shown that different contractors approached estimation and proposal management differently according to province. professional backgrounds of different contractors also influenced the way in which the contractors managed proposals and conducted their estimation of projects. 5.2 programming and scheduling techniques the study revealed that programming and scheduling techniques used by the various emerging contractors were associated with the way in which the emerging contractors managed proposals and conducted their estimation of projects. 5.3 project risk management the study showed that, in the emerging contractor sector, use of project risk management approach and responsibility for proposal management and estimation are dependent. 5.4 pre-tender internal price evaluation the study showed that, in the emerging contractor sector, use of pre-tender internal price evaluation also influenced the responsibility to manage proposal and estimation approaches. 6. conclusions this section concludes the research by pointing at three salient findings regarding the main concerns of this research, and provides the recommendations from the study. 6.1 role playing to estimate tender prices through analyses and tests conducted, empirical evidence shows that, in the emerging contractor sector: • the responsibility of estimating tender prices is linked to and dependent on the principal trading area/s. general building acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 122 and electrical contractors prefer to take responsibility for price estimation whereas the combined enterprise formations usually outsource the responsibility to consultants, and • the majority of emerging contractors have technical skills whereas few of them outsource to persons with quantity surveying skills and even fewer to civil engineers. 6.2 general practices to estimate tender prices • the majority of emerging contractors make use of the gantt chart programming and scheduling technique. fewer use the wbs method. the more complex cpm and pert methods are virtually not used, i.e., they are used to an insignificant extent relative to the use of other methods. generally though, relative to the methods applied in the construction industry in south africa, project costs estimates developed by emerging contractors are questionable. • cost drivers such as labour, materials, plant and equipment are highly recognised in the tender compilation. • the emerging contractor sector seems to have high awareness of risk factors but seems to lack the capability to manage risk. 6.3 compliance to best practice since leading nations use complex methods which the emerging construction sector in south africa did not use, it is evident that this sector does not meet global best practice standards. there is no doubt that this is caused by the lack of skills and resources necessary to meet global best practice. 7. recommendations the estimation practices of not following benchmarked standards and depending on the poor condition (such as lack of skill and knowledge) of the contractors require intervention to remedy the sector’s plight. it is generally recommended that the remedial action should focus on proposal and procurement management, project cost management, and project risk management. specific recommendations are discussed below. seeletse & ladzani • project cost estimation techniques 123 7.1 responsibility to estimate tender prices emerging contractors mainly lack technical skills and enter the market with limited exposure and resources, whereas consultants seem to be able to improve the emerging business in building and construction. therefore, in order to enhance their competitiveness and sustainability, it is recommended that: • they volunteer to work under consultants in order to acquire the skills used by consultants on outsourced work, and that • emerging contractors who do not have technical skills should never tender as main contactors, but should subcontract or partner with companies that have the skills and resources. 7.2 practices to estimate tender prices if the emerging contractors use simpler estimation methods while their established competitors use complex ones, emerging contractors will likely not be perceived as competitive. it is therefore recommended that: • the emerging contractors should emulate leading local contractors to familiarise themselves with the environment; • they should be ‘interns’ or subcontractors of established contractors in order to learn to use complex methods quickly and simpler scheduling techniques independently to verify the results of the complex ones. (in this way they ask to be mentored and, in return, give their time.), and that • they should learn about project risks and methods to manage risks to eliminate or minimise their impact. 7.3 compliance to best practice it is recommended that the emerging south african contractors should follow niche business and/or subcontract to established contractors for skills acquisition and avoid direct and immediate competition until they have reached a stage where they can perform at a higher level. when they have acquired the main basic skills to practise methods used by leading competitors to raise their standards to competitive levels, gained experience and established their client base adequately, then they can start participating independently, but rather on a low scale. they should learn the trade during their subcontracts from established contractors. in their early existence they should avoid exerting themselves aggressively and independently against established contractors. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 124 acknowledgement the authors are grateful for the help provided by the management of ms2 construction company for assistance with access to cidb documents and the language of built environment/construction used in the presentation of this article. we also acknowledge the useful comments from both the journal reviewers and the critical reader. we are also grateful for the comments from the reviewers of this document during evaluation for publication, more especially the final shaping recommendations by alna beukes. references list bless, c. & kathuria, r. 1993. fundamentals of social statistics: an african perspective. wetton: juta & co, ltd. bond, p. 1999. cities of gold, townships of coal: essays on south africa’s new urban crisis. trenton and asmara: africa world press. bouma, g.d. 2000. the research process. 4th edition. oxford: oxford university press. cheung, k.t., wong, w.l. & skitmore, m. 2008. a study of clients’ and estimators’ tolerance towards estimating errors. construction management and economics, 26(4), pp. 349-362. clark, f.d. & lorenzoni, a.b. 1997. applied cost engineering. 3rd edition. new york: marcel dekker. clemons, e.k., barnett, s. & lanier, j. 2005. fortune favors the forward-thinking, financial times special reports/mastering risk, 22 september. clough, r.h. & sears, g.a. 1991. construction project management. 3rd edition. new york: wiley. cidb. 2007. 5 year review. 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edition. morgantown: aace international. steyn, h., basson, g., carruthers, m., du plessis, y., prozesky-kuscke, b., kruger, d., van eck, s. & visser, k. 2006. project management: a multi-disciplinary approach. pretoria: fpm publishing. 72 sarah phoya & theo haupt poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) peer reviewed abstract labour-based technology (lbt) is a strategy popularised by international organisations such as the international labour organisation (ilo), united nations development programme (undp) and the world bank, to address poverty, unemployment and infrastructure provision especially in informal urban settlements. more emphasis has been placed on using the lbt approach in subsaharan countries where unprecedented urbanisation is taking place leading to the formation of informal settlements, high levels of unemployment accompanied by poverty. the lbt approach has been implemented in many developing countries. however, there is little available evidence of the long-term impact of lbt on poverty alleviation and employment creation opportunities. this article reports on employment creation opportunities and poverty alleviation while delivering infrastructure using lbt in informal settlements in dar es salaam, tanzania. a qualitative research approach was used which included personal interviews of the residents who were directly involved in infrastructure provision in the hanna nasif informal settlement using lbt. the infrastructure delivery project in hanna nassif commenced in 1994 and was completed in 2000. the research was conducted four years after the project had been completed, namely in 2004. the findings reported in this article provide base line data for policy makers and researchers, while contributing to understanding the long-term impact on employment creation opportunities and poverty alleviation using lbt. the article concludes with a proposal for a lbt-poverty alleviation framework. keywords: informal settlements, infrastructure, job creation, lbt, poverty alleviation abstrak arbeidsgebaseerdetegnologie (agt) is ‘n strategie wat gewild geraak het onder internasionale organisasies soos die international labour organisation (ilo), united nations development programme (undp) en die wêreldbank, om armoed, werkloosheid en infrastruktuurvoorsiening spesifiek in informele stedelike gebiede aan te spreek. meer klem is geplaas op die gebruik van die agt benadering in sub-sahara lande waar ongekende verstedeliking plaasvind ms sarah phoya, mtech graduate, lecturer, school of construction economics and management, ardhi university, p.o. box 35176, dar es salaam, tanzania. tel: +255 754373321, e-mail: <sarahfrumence@yahoo.co.uk> prof. theo c. haupt, research coordinator, faculty of engineering, cape peninsula university of technology, p.o. box 1906, bellville 7535, south africa. tel: 021 959 6845, mobile phone: 0824929680, e-mail: <hauptt@cput.ac.za> phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 73 wat lei tot die vorming van informele woongebiede, hoë vlakke van werkloosheid gepaardgaande met armoede. die agt benadering is geïmplimenteer in baie ontwikkelende lande. desnieteenstaande, is daar min beskikbare bewyse van die langdurige impak van agt op armoedeverligting en werkskeppingsgeleenthede. hierdie artikel doen verslag oor werkskeppingsgeleenthede en armoedeverligting gedurende die voorsiening van infrastrukstuur deur die gebruik van agt vir informele woongebiede in dar es salaam, tanzanië. ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenaderings is gebruik wat persoonlike onderhoude met inwoners, wat direk betrokke was by infrastruktuurvoorsiening in die hanna nasif informele woongebied deur agt, ingesluit het. die infrastruktuurvoorsieningsprojek in hanna nassif is in 1994 begin en is voltooi in 2000. die navorsing is gedoen in 2004, vier jaar nadat die projek voltooi is. die bevindings in hierdie artikel gee aan beleidsmakers en navorsers basislyn data en dra terselfdertyd by om die langtermyn impak op werkskeppingsgeleenthede en armoedeverligting deur middel van agt te verstaan. die artikel gee ’n voorstel van ’n agtarmoedeverligtingsraamwerk. sleutelwoorde: informele woongebiede, infrastruktuur, werkskepping, agt, armoedeverligting 1. introduction labour-based technology (lbt) is a construction technology, which aims to apply a labour/equipment mix that gives priority to labour, but supplements labour with appropriate equipment where necessary for reasons of quality or cost. while producing or maintaining infrastructure to a specified standard in a cost-effective manner, people are employed with fair working conditions (ilo, 1996). the ilo has promoted lbt over several decades under employmentintensive programmes (eips) as a means of creating employment opportunities and alleviating poverty. further, these programmes also pursued the creation of infrastructure and other assets (jinchang, 1997; ilo, 2003). in the late 1980s, the ilo in tanzania transferred its experience in lbt rural works programs to the urban sector through its special public works programme using community participation and small-scale enterprises (miller, 1995; ilo, 1996; keddeman, 1998; jinchang, 1997). the definition of poverty is a matter of considerable controversy with differing views that partly revolve around the personal perspective taken. according to mbughuni (1994), one may take the global, continental, national, regional or the individual perspective. accordingly, poverty is perceived on the basis of indices, which define the social status of a person or a group of people relative to the others or other social groups and social organisations of the respective community (liviga & mekacha, 1998). poverty has also been described in terms of being as ability or inability to attain an accepted minimum standard of living (world bank, 2000). in the urban context, it refers to those families, who fail to meet basic needs and enjoy acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 74 adequate access to social services and capital, which leads them to live below the official urban development standards (earning less than us $1 per a day). poverty alleviation can, therefore, be regarded as the creation of a social, economic, and political environment that enhances and promotes entrepreneurial activities particularly among the poorest and most deprived persons while at the same time eliminating the inequalities that have diminished their life chances (mbaku, 2007). this paper examines whether the primary objectives of employment creation and poverty alleviation, as defined, were indeed achieved in the execution of infrastructure projects in dar es salaam and particularly the project in the hanna nassif informal settlement. with this in mind the study was carried out in 2004, more than four years after its completion in 2000. the intent was to determine whether there were any mediumto long-term impacts on the overall quality of life of the participating community residents either in terms of poverty reduction and/or the creation of sustainable employment. further, the study sought to determine whether there were any relationships between the levels of education, gender or ethnicity of the participants and the overall outcomes of using the lbt approach relative to these two objectives. 2. literature review several in-depth studies by the ilo and other agencies such as the world bank, have suggested that the utilisation of the labour-based approach to design, construct, operate and maintain infrastructure is cost effective particularly when compared to the equipment-based technology approach (keddeman, 1998; ilo, 1998; ilo, 2003). the experiences of using lbt for infrastructure provision in countries such as ghana, lesotho, madagascar, rwanda, zimbabwe, cambodia, laos and thailand, indicate that the approach is generally, in financial terms, about 10 to 30% less costly than the more equipment based option. it potentially reduces foreign exchange requirement by 50% to 60% and creates for the same level of investments two to four times more employment (ilo, 1998; majeres & veen, 2001; islam, 2001; ilo, 2003). in the context of this study this last reported benefit, namely that of employment creation, is of interest. other studies have compared labour-based projects with equipment-based projects and found a transfer of knowledge in labourbased road works to local communities knowledge useful for later maintenance and employment creation. other benefits of labourbased construction methods include their potential environmental phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 75 advantages. these include the use of less fuel, emission of less exhaust fumes, raising of less dust, less serious damage to the terrain bordering a construction site, and requiring less manoeuvring space which in itself is preferable in informal settlements (ilo, 1996; ilo, 1998; islam, 2001). further, lbt encourages the development of the local industry for manufacturing hand tools and light road construction equipment. additional benefits include savings in foreign exchange, injection of cash into the local economy, increasing skills in local people, and the enhancement of future sustainability through a higher sense of local ownership and through familiarising people with the necessary operations for road maintenance (ilo, 1996; islam, 2001; majeres & veen, 2001). arguably, poverty is associated with lack of employment opportunity. employment creation is seen as one of the most effective means of poverty alleviation (keddeman, 1998). poverty reduction using labour-based technologies lies in the economic concept known as the ‘multiplier’ (hillebrandt, 1999). in effect, this multiplier effect means a boost to the purchasing power of workers created by the injection of cash into the local economy. for instance, when people are employed, they spend portions of their wages or income on goods and services produced in other sectors of the economy which in turn generate employment and spending elsewhere. in this way an upward spiral of increasing employment is created (keddeman, 1998; devereux, 2002; thorndahl, 2003). the theoretical background is based on a wide range of economic theories and the ‘circular flow of economy’ approach, which uses wages generated from employment gained into propping up the local economy and employment creation for others. however, the most important determinant of the extent to which earnings from lbt projects generate income multipliers is probably the level or value of income transferred (ilo, 2002). direct income benefit accrues to the poor through income transfer (ilo, 2002). the income transferred to the participants during construction project attracts business investments around the sites due to the fact that people will spend their wages on goods and services inducing a multiplier effect to the other economic sectors. the study by ilo (2002) in india found that the direct income transferred to the participants in infrastructure provision was high and provided substantial alternative employment opportunities. in another indian study it was observed that egs projects generated net income gains to the participants. these direct transfer benefits arguably led to the reduction of poverty (gaiha, imai, & kaushik, 2001). acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 76 although this type of employment paid low wages and was temporary it was possible for workers to derive long-term income benefits (devereux, 2002). sustainable poverty reduction and income transfer through lbt can potentially be achieved in several ways. these ways include expanding coverage to increase the number of poor people who benefit, raising the wage rates, and extending the duration of employment to allow participants to accumulate sufficient income to graduate out of poverty with transferable skills (devereux, 2002). the strategy of targeted wages has been used to provide employment for vulnerable people. a certain amount of income is transferred to each worker during a given period of time. the focus of the wages was to directly alleviate the economic aspects of poverty. at the lowest level, the minimum average employment period was 100 days with an estimated minimum daily wage level of us$1 (devereux, 2002; thorndahl, 2003). some critics argue that lbt programmes should be used to enhance the value of labour by improving the human capital of participants though training (islam & majeresh, 2001; watermeyer, 2000). however, devereux (2002) and thorndahl (2003) emphasise that the main product component of lbt is the transfer of skills that enhances the potential for workers to find better employment after completion of the particular project than they were able to secure before or to apply their new skill in the informal sector or become self-employed. the study of teklu (1995) indicated that participants in infrastructure projects in botswana were given the opportunity to upgrade their skills. for the poor who had previously engaged in low paying marginal wage employment, access to infrastructure projects allowed them to move to better paying jobs. effectively the projects contributed to moving some households to the middle-income group. a study in south africa on public work programmes found that there was a superior benefit from employment created particularly through indirect benefits such as training and empowerment compared to cash transfers (lawrence & michelle, 2002). 3. research methodology given the investigative nature of the study a case study method seemed appropriate (yin, 1988). since the primary objective of the study was to identify the potential for poverty alleviation through the usage of lbt, residents from the community having worked on the infrastructure projects were considered as the most appropriate data source. semi-structured interviews were held with the residents of the hanna nassif settlement who had directly participated in the phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 77 provision of infrastructure in their area. this infrastructure included access roads; storm water drains and a tap water system. in order to obtain a representative sample of the participants in the infrastructure provision projects, the list of residents who had participated in the projects was obtained from the community based organisation (cbo) office in hanna nassif. a total of 470 participants were on two lists, namely separate male and female lists. the lists formed the population frames from which a sample selection was made. a total of 47 participants were selected on a non-probabilistic basis, thus representing a convenience sample. the instrument used during the interviews contained a total of 52 questions grouped into three sections. part one of the interview guide was used to gather information about the demographics of respondents including gender, marital status and age, kind of job they were currently involved with, average income earning per month and whether they had construction experience before they participated in the project. part two investigated the participation of residents in infrastructure delivery. questions were designed to determine the basis of their employment on the project, duration of this employment, the amount of money earned on the project, the extent and nature of any training received, duration of this training and how they used the money which they were paid. part three of the instrument investigated the benefits of participation of residents in the infrastructure projects especially after these infrastructure projects had been completed. the impacts after completion of the infrastructure projects particularly investigated were their employment status, their average income levels, and their subsequent living conditions or quality of life. 4. hanna nassif hanna nassif is one of the oldest unplanned settlements in dar es salaam. it is located in the kinondoni district 4 km to the north of the city centre. the settlement covers an area of 46ha with a population of 32,000 inhabitants with 8,230 households representing an average of 3.9 inhabitants per household (urt, 2002). before 1994, the settlement had no roads, drainage, tap or water supply system and/or solid waste management system in place. moreover, the settlement experienced seasonal flooding due to the absence of proper drainage systems. until 1992 the road network was very poor in the entire area to the extent that a large number of houses lacked vehicular accessibility. the drainage condition in the settlement was very poor. for example, on 10 may 1991 it rained heavily, 72 houses collapsed and the whole of the central depressed area was flooded. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 78 pit latrines were flooded and human excreta mixed with rainwater. together with uncollected solid waste, the settlement was reduced to an unhealthy living environment (kyessi, 2002; nguluma, 2003). the settlement was then upgraded with ilo, undp and the ford foundation support in two phases. the first phase lasted from march 1994 to march 1996 while the second phase lasted from 1996 through 2000. the upgrading programme included the construction of a 2 km access road to a level of murram, 1,2 km main storm water drains including 150m gabions, 3,7 km side drains, 10 road drifts and 10 vehicular culverts crossing the main drains, two major outlets for drainage discharge into the msimbazi creek, 16 road crossings, 128 foot bridges, 2,5 km of water pipes and 7 water kiosks, three of which had a capacity of 10,000 litres each and the other four a capacity of 5,000 litres eacha total of 50,000 litres. figure 1: murram road with storm water drain (january 2005) source: authors figure 2: reserve tank at hanna nassif (january 2005) source: authors the upgrading programme was carried out with the primary intention of not demolishing any houses while creating employment opportunities and alleviating poverty. it involved the community, using a labour-based approach. one critical element was that the community was involved in all phases of planning, designing and implementation. subsequent to these projects, hanna nassif stands as an upgraded informal settlement with a relatively improved and conducive living environment (nguluma, 2003). the murram road with storm water drain and one of the reserve tanks for the waste water supply system are visible in figures 1 and 2 respectively. these installations were constructed by the residents themselves. phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 79 5. analysis of findings 5.1 sample demographics the sample for the interviews of community participants comprised of 47 community members who had been involved in the infrastructure improvement projects with females representing 32%. their demographic status at the time of the commencement and subsequent completion of the projects had largely remained unchanged. half (50%) of the respondents were married suggesting that most of them had family responsibilities. additionally, less than half (43%) of the respondents were heads of their households. consequently, they bore the responsibility of providing for the daily needs of their families. furthermore, 10% of the respondents, while being household heads were the only employed person in their households. the highest level of education of most (66%) of the residents who participated in the infrastructure project was primary or elementary school suggesting that they were most likely to be affected by high levels of unemployment and poverty. evidently the profile of the sample was such that the purported benefits of using the lbt approach could be optimized with respect to offering employment to poor people who were not in formal employment (thorndahl, 2003). 5.2 participation in infrastructure project 5.2.1 type of employment of the 47 participants, 49% had been employed during the project as labourers, 30% as ‘fundi’s’ and the remaining 21% in other categories, namely treasurers, storekeepers, foremen and semi-skilled/skilled labourers. the employment profile of the sample is shown in figure 3. figure 3: employment profile of participants in infrastructure project acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 80 the lbt literature suggests that this profile is typical for labour force composition in lbt programmes, which require extensive excavation and construction activities that are done by labourers. the hanna nassif infrastructure provision project lasted for six years in two phases of three years each. the distribution of the length of employment of residents on the project is presented in table 1. table 1: length of employment no of years frequency percentage <1 7 12% 1-5 26 74% 6-10 3 9% total 36 100 however, given that most (88%) of the respondents were employed for more than one year the employment period was higher than the 100 days suggested in the literature. arguably, these findings suggest that most residents had worked sufficiently long enough to accumulate income and work related experiences. they were, therefore, hypothetically positioned to be better able to improve their living standards and benefit positively from the lbt initiative to alleviate poverty in terms of sustained employment and income generation. 5.2.2 skills transferred the infrastructure project targeted skill enhancement and transfer as the vehicle for sustainable employment creation and poverty alleviation. this strategy is based on the premise that if existing skills are enhanced and honed and new skills transferred, the beneficiaries would be able to use these to obtain employment after completion of the project and be able from the income subsequently derived to improve their living standards and overall quality of life. residents were presented with several questions relative to training. more than half (54 %) of the residents had previous construction experience. both men and women had been taught new skills relative to preparing pre-cast moulds for drains, mixing ratios of materials and other relevant construction skills during the implementation stages of the project. almost two-thirds (61%) of the residents had received training in the cbo office before the project commenced. most (85%) had been given on-the-job training in specific construction activities. the duration of training ranged from one week to six months. each participant had to attend between three and four training sessions phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 81 at various intervals throughout the project. the topics addressed in the training sessions included: construction health and safety;• handling of equipment;• mortar mixing; • gabion construction; • drain maintenance and plumbing; • masonry and carpentry; • steel fixing; • record and book keeping (treasurer); and• issuance of materials and equipment (storekeeper).• for 47% of the participants this was their first opportunity to participate in infrastructure-type projects. the on-the-job training they received would potentially help them to secure better employment after the project was completed. 5.2.3 income earned from the project. residents who had been employed as labourers were paid tsh 900 per day while those employed as ‘fundi’s’ were paid tsh 1,200 per a day (in 1997, tsh 900 was equivalent to u.s. $1) (urt, 2001). most participants had been employed for more than one year. however, the impact of the income earned on the alleviation of poverty is related to how the earned income was spent. table 2 provides an indication of the spending patterns of project participants, given that respondents distributed their income across multiple expense categories. table 2: spending pattern of project participants expenses frequency percentage ranking family expenses 33 70% 1 investing on business 15 32% 2 personal savings 12 26% 3 home improvement 10 21% 4 insurance policy 1 2% 6 others 3 6% 5 acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 82 the findings from table 2 suggest that expenditure on family expense items such as food, clothes, medical and rent dominated. for many of the respondents, income from the project was their only source of income from which they had to provide for their basic needs. on the other hand, almost one third (32%) of the residents were able to invest in their own businesses such as stalls, hair dressing salons, and small clothing shops. others (21%) used their income to improve their homes which, arguably, in turn contributed to improving their quality of life. 5.2.4 impact of level of education and spending patterns during and post project the findings were cross tabulated to determine whether the level of education of participants affected their spending patterns and, thereby, the overall impacts of the lbt approach to their project. the results are presented in table 3. these findings suggest correlation between the level of education and spending pattern. most participants (74%) with primary school level education spent their income on family expenses followed by 23% including spending on business investments and home improvement. on the other hand, most (54%) residents who had high school level education invested their income in businesses followed 46% investing their funds in personal savings. about one-third (38%) spent their income on family expenses and 23% on home improvements. further, residents who had college level education spent most of their income on insurance cover, while those who had university level education spent their income evenly on personal savings, investing in businesses and family expenses. table 3: cross tabulation of spending patterns and levels of education spending pattern levels of education ps rank hs rank cl rank ul rank family expenses 74% 1 38% 3 0% 2 33% 1 business investment 23% 2 54% 1 0% 2 33% 1 home improvement 23% 2 23% 4 0% 2 33% 1 personal savings 16% 4 46% 2 0% 2 0% 4 insurance policy 0% 5 0% 5 100% 1 0% 4 ps: primary school level hs: high school level cl: college level ul: university level phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 83 5.2.4.1 impact of gender on spending pattern to determine whether there was any correlation between spending patterns and the gender of residents, the data on spending patterns and gender were cross tabulated. the cross tabulation is shown in table 4. table 4: cross tabulation of spending pattern and gender spending pattern gender male rank female rank family expenses 37% 1 26% 2 personal saving 34% 2 business 31% 3 53% 1 home improvement 22% 4 insurance policy 3% 5 findings from table 4 suggest that there is correlation between gender and spending pattern. males spent most of their income on family expenses, followed by personal savings and business investments. on the other hand, females mostly invested in businesses followed by family expenses. arguably, males focused on the short-term responsibility of providing for the needs of their families while females took a longer-term view by pursuing sustainable sources of income such as from businesses. 5.3 impacts of participation of residents in infrastructure project with respect to how they personally benefited from participation in the project, various benefits were highlighted by respondents. these benefits included: the acquisition of skills and experience which helped them to • secure employment; the earning of income used to improve their lifestyles and quality • of life; the use of funds to start their own businesses;• increased knowledge of infrastructure and construction activities;• solving community problems of flooding and lack of infrastructure; • and the procurement of fixed assets such as plots of land and farms. • phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 85 6.4 employment status after infrastructure project had been completed various questions were asked regarding the employment status of participants. they were asked to indicate their employment status before they participated in infrastructure, and whether they had managed to secure employment after the infrastructure project had been completed. further, they were asked whether they were still employed in jobs they had secured after the infrastructure project was completed some four years previously. these findings are shown in figure 4. an examination of figure 4 reveals that the overall level of unemployment in hanna nassif had been reduced after the project was completed. before the infrastructure project commenced, 47% of respondents reported that they were unemployed. after the completion of the project the unemployment rate had been reduced by almost half to 21% reporting that they were unable to secure a job. four years later the reported level of unemployment had further reduced to 4%. it could be argued, therefore, that either directly or indirectly, as a result of participation in the infrastructure project, the overall unemployment rate dropped by 43% (from 47% to 4%), creating sustainable employment of the residents. the number of residents who secured employment in construction activities increased by 28% (from 10% to 38%) while the number of residents who were selfemployed by investing in their own business increased by 3% (from 17% to 20%). it would also appear that many of those residents (14%) who had invested in businesses either during or immediately after the project had either lost or closed these businesses. on the other hand, residents who secured employment in other sectors as drivers, carpentries, storekeepers increased by 21% (from 17% to 38%). 6. discussion 6.1 impact of lbt on employment creation opportunities four years after completion of the infrastructure project, more employment opportunities had been created for the residents of the hanna nassif settlement due to the skills they acquired and income they derived by participating in the infrastructure project. the level of unemployment had been substantially reduced to almost twothirds of the previous level. the income earned during the project allowed many residents to make investments and re-investments in small businesses or in farming. several residents used their income to do home improvements, inducing a multiplier effect for entrepreneurs in the area through increased demand for renovation works. moreover, a number of residents had as a result of the training they acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 86 had received on the project either found permanent jobs or had become self-employed in the construction sector. the numbers of residents increased almost fourfold who worked on numerous construction sites in different parts of the city or had launched their own independent construction enterprises. the number of residents which invested their funds in business ventures increased by 3%. other residents secured employment in other industries as drivers, watchmen, storekeepers, and treasurers. these trends highlighted the significant potential of the lbt approach to create sustainable employment opportunities. 6.2 impact of lbt on poverty alleviation the essence of poverty relates to deprivation. put simply poverty is measured as the shortfall from a minimum acceptable standard of consumption or income. income level is an indicator of socioeconomic status and is, therefore, an important determinant of resources for obtaining access to health care, education, and adequate housing (murphy, 1998). evidently, the infrastructure delivery project in hanna nassif enabled residents to improve their living standards. the income earned by the workers improved the quality of their family lives by enabling them to improve their homes, and invest part of their savings to start or expand other economic activities. the provision of training and consequent transfer of technical expertise through on-the-job training at the construction site empowered the community to secure better employment and therefore enhancing income. after completion of the infrastructure project, most residents earned between tsh 50,000 and tsh 100,000 (equivalent to r333 to r667) per month. this income level is higher than the minimum salary/wage set by the government, which was tsh 45,000 (r300). further, the amount earned per day ranged between tshs 1,533 and tshs 5,000. this income is higher than expenditure per capita per day for dar es salaam, which was about tshs 1,100 (equivalent to us $ 1) (urt, 2001). these results suggest that the levels of poverty to most of the residents in the settlement were reduced. additionally, the income derived from their business activities and the subsequent employment which others secured after the project had improved the situation. 7. conclusions this paper employed a case study and interview methodology to investigate whether there was potential for poverty alleviation and employment creation through the use of labour-based technology. phoya & haupt • poverty alleviation of labour-based infrastructure delivery: the case of dar es salaam (tanzania) 87 analysis of the responses of a sample of 47 residents in an informal settlement, namely hanna nassif in dar es salaam, suggests that there is some potential. any impact of lbt on poverty alleviation could appear by two ways: (1) creation of employment opportunities; and (2) use of earned income to improve the quality of life. the findings of the study suggest that the lbt approach has the potential to create sustainable employment and alleviate poverty. the income earned by the workers in the infrastructure project improved the quality of their family lives by enabling them to improve their homes, and earn returns on their invested savings through expanded economic opportunities. the provision of training and acquisition of technical expertise through on-the-job training at the construction site had empowered community members to secure better employment and consequently, advance their income earning capacity. unemployment had reduced. the number of residents involved in the construction sector had increased fourfold. there was evidence of the correlation between levels of education and gender on the spending patterns of residents. in this study, it was evident that residents with a primary school level of education spent most of their earned income on basic household expense items such as food and clothing whereas those with secondary level education spent larger portions of their income on business investments and personal savings. arguably, employment accompanied by on-the-job training was the catalyst for poverty alleviation. consequently, it makes good business sense to recognize that in implementing lbt approaches, figure 5: proposed lbt-poverty alleviation framework source: (adapted from dewhurst et al. 2003) community characteristics e.g. age location level of education gender or ethnicity utilisation of lbt poverty alleviation (reduction) impact of lbt on dimensions of poverty alleviation effect on employment creation skills enhancement improvement in quality of life acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 88 the levels of education within communities, payment of appropriate wage levels and on-the-job training must be considered. clearly, the potential of poverty alleviation by labour based infrastructure delivery will have an effect on employment creation, skills enhancement and improvement of quality of life. however the extent of lbt on alleviating poverty should be of interest to researchers particularly in identifying the direct and indirect effects. this is summarised in the general framework shown in figure 5.0. further investigation is also required to identify the extent of the impacts through a refined statistical analysis such as structural equation modelling as it would take into account the moderating effects of time lag. while this study was limited to the tanzanian experience it has implications for south africa and africa given that the issue of infrastructure delivery in informal settlements is one of the major in challenges facing the sub-saharan region. the lessons learnt from the dar es salaam experience could be tested for applicability in the south african context and africa in general. furthermore, to explore these issues further a larger survey is required to investigate the extent of the potential and impact of lbt on the alleviation of poverty. references dewhurst, f.w., martinez-lorente, a.r. & sanchez-rodriguez, c. 2003. an initial assessment of the influence of it on tqm: a multiple case study. 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salaam. phd thesis, spring research series 33. dortmund: university of dortmund. lawrence, h. & michelle, a. 2002. maximising benefit transfers to the poor; evidence from south african employment programmes. international labour review, 141(3), pp. 203-223. liviga, a.j. & mekacha, r. 1998. youth migration and poverty alleviation: a case study of petty traders (wamachinga) in dar es salaam. repoa research report no. 98. dar es salaam: repoa. majeres, j. & veen, j. 2001. labour based works methodology, rural transport knowledge based rural travel and transport programme. ilo, geneva. mbaku, j.m. 2007. institutions and poverty alleviation in africa. african and asian studies, 6(1-2), pp. 107-134. mbughuni, p. 1994. gender and poverty alleviation in tanzania: issues from and for research. in: bagachwa, m.s.d. 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(ed.). employment for poverty reduction and food security. washington dc: pp. 144-173. thorndahl, k. 2003. labour-based technology for poverty reduction. theme paper for the 10th regional seminar for labour-based practitioners. geneva: ilo. urt. (united republic of tanzania). 2001. house budget survey report for 2000/2001. dar es salaam: president office. urt. (united republic of tanzania). 2002. population census report. dar es salaam: president office. watermeyer r.b. 2000. the use of the procurement as an instrument of poverty alleviation and job creation in infrastructure projects. public sector procurement law review, number 5 pp. 201-266. world bank. 2000. world development report: attacking poverty. new york: oxford university press. yin, r.k. 1988. case research design and methods. newbury park: sage. 65 catherine karusseit & amanda gibberd towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard, part s peer reviewed abstract since the demise of apartheid in 1994 south africa has undergone tremendous transformation, both political and societal. evidence of this is the constitution, which was adopted in 1996 and is considered to be one of the most progressive in the world. its essence is rooted in the qualities of equality and diversity. yet, despite the inclusive nature of changes made to the constitution and related legislation, the south african standard (sabs 0400), in particular part s ‘facilities for disabled persons’, remains a discouragingly exclusive document. this article documents the inclusive nature of south africa’s new constitution and related legislation against which context part s of sabs 0400 is critically appraised. research is conducted by means of a literature review, an interview with the south african national standard (sans) technical advisor and questionnaires; thereafter, the pertinent documentation is critically analysed. finally, recommendations are made in an endeavour to achieve a built environment that is rightly inclusive. keywords: south africa, constitution, legislation, building standards, inclusive environments abstrak sedert die opheffing van apartheid in 1994 het suid-afrika geweldige transformasie ondergaan. die grondwet, wat in 1996 aangeneem is en wat as een van die mees progressiewe grondwette in die wêreld beskou word, is ’n bewys van hierdie transformasie. die grondwet se essensie is gewortel in gelykheid en diversiteit. ten spyte van die inklusiewe karakter van die veranderinge wat aan die grondwet en verwante wetgewing aangebring is, bly die suid-afrikaanse standaard (sabs 0400), veral deel s ‘fasiliteite vir gestremde persone’, nietemin ’n ontmoedigend eksklusiewe dokument. hierdie artikel dokumenteer die inklusiewe aard van suidafrika se nuwe grondwet, asook verwante wetgewing. deel s van die sabs 0400 word binne hierdie konteks krities beoordeel. narvorsing is gedoen deur middel van ’n literatuurstudie, vraelyste, en ’n onderhoud met die tegniese raadgewer van die suid-afrikaanse nasionale standaard (sans); hierna is die pertinente dokumentasie geanaliseer. laastens word aanbevelings gemaak in ’n poging om ’n bou-omgewing wat waarlik inklusief is, daar te stel. sleutelwoorde: suid-afrika, grondwet, wetgewing, boustandaarde, inklusiewe omgewings ms catherine karusseit, department of architecture, university of pretoria, 0002, south africa. tel: 012 420 3966, email: <catherine.karusseit@up.ac.za> ms amanda gibberd, gauge©, po box 14738, hatfield, pretoria, 0028, south africa. tel: 012 343 1941, email: <info@gauge.co.za> oorsigartikels • review articles acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 66 1. introduction south africa’s buildings, neighbourhoods and cities are cultural artefacts shaped by human intention and intervention, symbolically indicating to society the place held by each of its members. according to weisman (1994: 1-2) access to space is fundamentally related to social status and power, and changing the allocation of space is inherently related to changing society. space is, thus, a social construct; the spatial arrangements of our buildings and communities reflect and reinforce the nature of relations in society. this is particularly evident in south africa which since the democratic elections in 1994 has undergone a number of political and social changes. architecture is a means to express this change, from an exclusive society to an inclusive one. deplorably, only a handful of the buildings designed and constructed since 1994 have truly embraced and reflect the inclusive nature of the constitution. this can be attributed to a number of factors, the most glaring being that the national building regulations (nbr) and part s of the south african standard (sabs 0400)1 has taken this length of time to be revised. the result is a disjuncture between the new constitution (1996) and its associated acts and the nbr and sabs 0400. the notion of inclusive environments and a definition of disability are discussed in an effort to articulate their relevance to the built environment. the inclusive nature of south africa’s new constitution and related legislation is then briefly documented. against this context, part s of sabs 0400, both as it currently stands and the proposed revision is critically appraised. finally, recommendations are made in an endeavour to achieve a built environment that is truly inclusive. 2. research background for research was established by means of a literature review. a semi-structured interview with the sabs 0400 technical advisor, ms d geszler was conducted early in 2008. questions posed to geszler and subsequent discussion was concerned with: the current state of the sabs 0400 part s.• what does the process for the revision of any part of the • building regulations entail? 1 while the title of the south african standard (sabs 0400) has been changed to the south african national standard (sans 10400) the document has not yet been published. currently the south african bureau of standards (sabs) is still issuing the sabs 0400 document. karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 67 whether any of the various disability groups are involved in • the process? which other professionals are consulted?• what are the stumbling blocks that have delayed the • process? whether international precedents, such as the united • kingdom and australian standards, are considered as part of the revision process? 2.1 questionnaire a short questionnaire was compiled and distributed among permanent and part-time lecturing staff at the department of architecture, university of pretoria, as well as a small sample of practitioners. both lecturers (who are also practitioners) and practitioners are representative of the three disciplines of architecture, namely: architecture, landscape architecture and interior architecture. a total of twenty-nine questionnaires were distributed, of which nineteen were completed and returned. the questionnaire posed the following questions: whether the practitioner applies the recommended • dimensions for facilities for people with disabilities as given in sabs 0400 part s as maximum or minimum dimensions? whether the practitioner is aware of the existence of the sabs • 0246 and, if so, what do they understand by the reason for its existence? whether the practitioner is aware of the• promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act and, if so, what do they understand were its legal implications for him/her as designer? the following findings were made from the completed questionnaire: 33% of the respondents apply the recommended dimensions • for facilities for people with disabilities as minimums. 57% of the respondents apply the recommended dimensions • for facilities for people with disabilities as maximums. 38% of the respondents are not aware of the existence of the • sabs 0246. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 68 52% of the respondents are aware of the existence of the • sabs 0246. 73% of the respondents who are aware of the existence of the • sabs 0246 actually use it in practice. one respondent pointed out that it is confusing to have more than one document dealing with the same issue, which is further compounded by the fact that the two do not correspond. 33% of the respondents are unaware of the • promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act. 57% of the respondents are aware of the • promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act. 83% of the respondents who are aware of the act’s existence • admitted to not being familiar with the content of the act and therefore are unaware of its legal implications for them as designers. 3. inclusive environments and disability an inclusive environment refers to a built environment that takes into consideration the potential ability and needs of all users. an inclusive environment includes: ... people who are physically disabled, people with sensory disabilities: both hearing and sight, people with learning disabilities, people with mental illnesses, elderly people, young children, people with heavy luggage, people with dexterity problems, people with neurological problems, women who are very pregnant, people who are in a hurry and not looking where they are going, people who have had an accident and are temporarily disabled, people who are not wearing their glasses that day, people who are distracted or concentrating on something else (osman & gibberd, 2000: 25). it is evident that all south africans need an inclusive environment. however, certain groups of people can be identified as experiencing the greatest difficulties with the built environment, including people with disabilities, people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids), children and elderly people. according to osman & gibberd (2000: 25), among these groups, people with disabilities have been singled out as having been significantly disadvantaged from using the built environment. disability is an evolving concept and contemporary approaches to disability adopt a more critical interpretation of disability. disabled peoples international (priestley, 2006: 21) define disability as: karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 69 ... the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical and social barriers. the united nations (un) convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (united nations, 2006: online) defines disability as a result of: ... the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. furthermore, it states that people with disabilities ...include those who have long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. it is evident, from these definitions, that impairment is clearly set apart from disability and that disability has social and environmental causes rather than biological ones. priestley (2006: 23) states that social relations and barriers prevent the full participation of people with disabilities, ie quality and citizenship. thus, if the built environment is a cultural artefact, then it too plays a role in disability: it may either increase disability, through negligent or exclusive design, or decrease disability through considered and good design, allowing all people to move around and experience the environment as independently and freely as they would like. 4. legislative provisions in acts other than the national building regulations and building standards act south africa’s constitution, ‘one law for one nation’ (south africa, 1996), is considered to be one of the most progressive in the world. in essence it is rooted in the qualities of equality and diversity. people with disabilities are referred to specifically. 4.1 constitution of south africa, 1996 the constitution was first adopted on 8 may 1996 and amended on 11 october of the same year by the constitutional assembly. it was signed into law on 10 december 1996. the process of drafting the constitution involved as many south africans as possible and took two years. the constitution is, thus, an integration of ideas from ordinary citizens, civil society and political parties represented in and outside of the constitutional assembly (south africa, 1996). acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 70 4.2 bill of rights and legislative acts chapter two of the constitution contains the bill of rights. the sections of the bill of rights (south africa, 1996), as well as legislative acts other than the nbr and national building standards act, which pertain to the built environment, are listed in table 1. table 1: bill of rights and legislative acts pertaining to the built environment legislation premise bill of rights: section 7 rights (south africa 1996) enshrines the rights of ‘all’ south africans affirming the • values of human dignity equality and freedom. bill of rights: section 9 equality (south africa 1996) everyone is equal before the law.• the state may not unfairly discriminate on one or more • grounds including disability. bill of rights: section 10 human dignity (south africa 1996) everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their • dignity respected and protected. bill of rights: section 24 environment (south africa 1996) everyone has the right to an environment that is not • harmful to their health or well-being. occupational health and safety act (act no 85 of 1993) (south africa 1993) affects all employers people in employment and • people not in employment but who are affected by the employer's undertakings which includes people with disabilities. thus an employer's responsibilities are to provide and • maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of his/her employees. employment equity act (act no 55 of 1998) (south africa 1998: 2 12 14) to achieve equity in the work place by:• promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in • employment and implementing affirmative action to redress the disadvantages • in employment experienced by designated groups including people with disabilities. promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act (act no 4 of 2000) (south africa 2000: 1 7) addresses the issue within which sites complexes and • buildings should be made usable by people with disabilities. no person may unfairly discriminate against any person • on the ground of disability including: denying or removing any supporting or enabling facility • necessary for their functioning in society contravening the code of practice or regulations of the • sans that govern environmental accessibility failing to eliminate obstacles that unfairly limit or restrict • persons with disabilities from enjoying equal opportunities or failing to take steps to reasonably accommodate the needs of such persons. karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 71 white paper on integrated national disability strategy (south africa 1997: 23) commonly known as the inds the white paper is government's normative stance in • terms of the development of people with disabilities and the promotion and protection of their rights: government's vision is “a society for all” in which people • with disabilities form a natural and integral part which is in line with the human rights vision of the un. legislation is regarded as a crucial mechanism for • action. government recognises the need for revision and • amendment of existing legislation so that it should comply with and give substance to constitutional requirements. united nations convention on the rights of people with disabilities (united nations 2006: online) south africa ratified the convention in 2007:• to promote protect and ensure full and equal • enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disability to promote respect for their inherent dignity• the convention is unique in that it is legally binding • 5. national building regulations and part s the purpose of part s ‘facilities for disabled’ of the nbr and its associated sabs 0400 deemed-to-satisfy rules is to serve as a document to be used by local, state or national government to control building practice, by way of a set of statements of acceptable minimum requirements of building performance (sabs stakeholders workshop 2007). the document is structured into parts dealing with various aspects of a building. each part contains a section with the relevant regulations (stated in legal language), followed by deemed-to-satisfy rules. the white paper on integrated national disability strategy (inds), compiled in 1997, already recognised then that the standards prescribed by the nbr require review. yet, change has been slow to be realised due to a number of factors. in order to revise any part of the nbr and sabs 0400 the following steps must be taken: stakeholders are consulted; feasibility and impact studies are conducted; the proposed amendments are published in the government gazette, and finally the amendment is legislated. geszler (2008), technical advisor on building regulations at the sabs, commented that this process is cumbersome and hampers uniform implementation. this is one of the reasons why the revision of part s, which was initiated in 2000, is yet to be completed: it is a logistical one and has nothing to do with the changes in legislation. the building regulations were originally published as a total document; this entire document had acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 72 to be revised and changed in order to update a single part. it has taken this length of time within the sabs to agree to publish the different parts separately so that they can be updated separately. according to geszler (2008), changes to nbr are also assessed in terms of financial implications to building costs with the stipulation that they should not increase building costs. stated in the preface of the sabs 0400 (1990: 3): ... [as] these regulations were originally introduced as a longterm anti-inflationary measure it is obvious that they should not increase the overall cost of building. in this regard, it was inferred from comments by geszler (2008) that a revised and more rigorous part s would result in increased building costs. this misconception would certainly impede the drive for revision and change. moreover, this is unfounded since the contrary is clearly stated in the inds (south africa, 1997: 30), namely that purposefully designing in an inclusive manner only increases overall building costs by 0.2%, which is regained in the long term. the nbr, which has been amended within its current state but not revised, was approved by the department of trade and industry (dti) in may 2008 (south africa, 2008: 45). although the nbr itself is not being revised, the wording has been re-interpreted in the light of the new constitution. while this has enabled some change to the regulation, other suggested changes have been rejected, as they require a revision of the regulation, which did not form part of the scope of the changes. as a result a new version of the deemedto-satisfy rules of part s has been drafted (sans 10400-s, 2008). this was due to be published in march 2009; however, this has been delayed because parts of sans 10400 which refer to other standards need to be revised. this revised part s will cancel and replace the corresponding parts of the first revision, sabs 0400 part s, and absorb the sabs 0246. even though the new part s is yet to be published it is evaluated, in this article, by comparison to the old part s in the critical appraisal that follows. 5.1 part s part s of the sabs 0400 and sans 10400-s includes the regulations and deemed-to-satisfy rules, which are standards setting out national requirements for an accessible built environment. part s is the construction industry’s reference point on access for people with disabilities, whether adults or children. karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 73 5.2 0246 the sabs 0246 ‘accessibility of buildings to disabled persons’ was compiled in 1993 as voluntary guidelines/standards to be consulted as a supplement to the sabs 0400 part s. the sabs 0246 establishes the minimum design requirements for access to and circulation in buildings and related facilities. 6. critical appraisal of sabs 0400 part s and sans 10400-s this section examines the sabs 0400 part s2 and sans 10400-s in the light of the preceding discussion (c.f. 4 & 5), as they apply to people with disabilities, and explains legal anomalies. 6.1 defining the population (s1) a common misconception is that part s of the building regulations is the only part that affects people with disabilities. however, other parts also relate to environmental access for people with disabilities: parts d (public safety), part j (floors), part k (walls), part m (stairways), part n (glazing), part o (lighting and ventilation), part p (drainage), and part t (fire protection). part t of the new sans 10400, as approved by the dti (cf. 5) addresses this issue. this part has been amended to include people with disabilities in regulation t(1)(a), the protection and safe evacuation of users/occupants (south africa, 2008: 67). the old part s gives no direct definition of disability. it does not distinguish between adults and children. it is, thus, inferred that a disabled person is a person who falls into one of the following categories of people: people in wheelchairs, people who are able to walk but unable to use stairs, and people with impaired vision. south african statistics, from 1996 and 2001, demonstrate that while many people relate disability to wheelchair use, and commonly only to people with paraplegia who are only a fraction of the wheelchairusing population, this is inaccurate. the new part s (sans 10400-s 2008: 7), however, highlights the fact that other groups of people with disabilities have problems with the built environment, and includes a comprehensive and up-to-date definition of disability, making it clear that other groups of people with disability have just 2 the old part s (sabs 0400) and new part s (sans 10400-s) will be distinguished from one another on points difference however where part s remains unchanged it is simply referred to as part s. this is done purposefully to highlight the improvements in the new part s while simultaneously drawing attention to failings that remain unaddressed. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 74 as much right to experience non-discrimination, according to the constitution, as people with paraplegia. 6.2 the application of part s (s1) part s applies to 79% of building occupancy categories. changes to most building occupancy categories require a revision of the regulation. the following exceptions were allowed in the recent amendment: a hotel with less than 25 beds (category h1) is not required, by the old part s (sabs 0400 1990: 151), to make provision for wheelchair access. this exception has been amended in the new part s. a hotel with less than 25 beds is exempt only if it can reasonably prove that it is not possible to include wheelchair access in certain aspects of the design (sans 10400-s, 2008: 27). the s1(d)(i and ii) (sabs 0400 1990: 151) is written in such a way that it is extremely nebulous: any building where ... there is a difference between the level of the ground storey and the finished ground immediately outside any door giving access to such ground storey and such difference in levels or, where there is more than one such door, the smallest of such differences, expressed in millimetres, is more than the overall floor area of such a building expressed in square metres: provided that such overall floor area shall, in any building equipped with a lift, be deemed to be the total floor area of all storeys served by such a lift. this infers that if any type of building is designed to be high enough off the ground, and the relationship of its height from the ground with its surface area is calculated and found to be more than the total surface area, no facilities for people with disabilities need be included. this loophole contravenes section (c) of the promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act (table 1). this ambiguity has been removed from the new part s (sans 10400-s, 2008: 27). 6.3 facilities to be provided under part s (s2) part s requires that certain facilities be provided to make a building accessible. some of the significant gaps found in the old part s are addressed by the new part s. karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 75 6.3.1 access, egress and lifts the old part s (sabs 0400 1990: 151) provides scope to create access through any door, not necessarily the main entrance, thereby sanctioning segregated entrances to buildings. the new part s (sans 10400-s, 2008: 27) closes this gap by stipulating that people with disabilities are able to enter the building safely, by suitable means, from the main and ancillary approaches of the building to the ground storey; via the main entrance and any secondary entrance. it includes a provision for egress, that was previously absent. there must be a suitable means of egress for people with disabilities from any point in a building to a place of safety in the event of an emergency. the old part s is vague as far as the issue of lifts is concerned. it merely states that a lift must be provided (sabs 0400, 1990: 151). the new part s (sans 10400-s, 2008: 27) provides clear requirements: that any lift installed must serve the needs of people with disabilities, which is extended from people with paraplegia and mobility impairments to include a more comprehensive definition of disability (c.f 6.1). 6.3.2 parking parking facilities to be provided, as stated in part s (sabs 0400, 1990: 151, sans 10400-s, 2008: 27) is unclear and inadequate. it only makes provision for parking for people with disabilities if there are more than 50 parking spaces and if access is provided from the parking area to the ground storey. a more comprehensive requirement would be that in any parking lot an adequate number of the parking spaces be provided for people with disabilities and that the parking spaces be located within 50 metres of the accessible entrance. 6.3.3 auditoria with regards to auditoria the old part s (sabs 0400 1990: 151) indicates that space for access and space for seating must be provided for people in wheelchairs in an auditorium. the new part s (sans 10400-s 2008: 27) specifies that access and space for seating must accommodate both people in wheelchairs and other assistive devices. both, however, fail to require that the person seated in the aforementioned space be able to see and hear what is taking place. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 76 6.3.4 water closets with regard to the provision of water closet (wc) facilities, part s2 (sabs 0400, 1990: 151, sans 10400-s, 2008: 28) exempts h3 (domestic residence) classification of building from providing a wheelchair accessible wc. however, the inclusion of wheelchair accessible facilities is relevant to this class of building, as it would allow a resident to remain in his/her home as s/he grows older or becomes disabled. 6.3.5 commonly used routes the new part s (sans 10400-s, 2008: 27) extends the definition of obstacles in the path of travel. it states that commonly used paths of travel must be clear of obstacles which limit, restrict or endanger the movement of people with disabilities. it also includes obstacles which may prevent people with disabilities from accessing facilities provided in the building. 6.4 deemed-to-satisfy rules the new part s successfully omits a glaring loophole found in commentary provided at the beginning of the deemed-to-satisfy rules in the old part s. the commentary states that even though people with disabilities should be able to play a full role in society, “... economic considerations may make it difficult to provide the facilities in all buildings. this fact has been acknowledged in the regulations in the form of an exemption from the requirements in the case of certain buildings ...” (sabs 0400, 1990: 152). this commentary provides designers with all the motivation they require to disregard environmental access whenever they choose to do so. this is also seen to validate the misconception that including access features into the design of a building increases the building costs (cf. 4). the sabs 0246 provides practitioners with requirements or design principles on access for people with disabilities, which when applied are advantageous not only to the disabled user but also to the entire population of south africa. however, the document is not widely used among practitioners. in addition, many of the requirements given do not correspond with the old part s, which is confusing (cf. 2.1). the sabs 0246 provides a more comprehensive, detailed and illustrated document than the old part s. a number of areas not covered by the old part s are included: lighting; signage; controls for use by people with disabilities; signals and warnings for people with impaired sight or hearing, as well as additional notes and diagrams on the design and layout of a wheelchair-accessible water closet. in karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 77 the new part s the old deemed-to-satisfy rules have been replaced with the more comprehensive and accessible sabs 0246, which will allow for both better practice and a better understanding of the needs of people with disabilities. however, it should be noted that even the sabs 0246 needs to be updated and brought in line with international standards of universal access. 6.5. legal clarification and status of human rights legislation prior to may 2008 (cf. 5) the state was exempted from the provisions of sabs 0400 if the minister of trade and industry, in concurrence with the ministers’ of defence, law and order, and justice, were of the opinion that the erection of any building or class of building by or on behalf of the state is in the interest of the country’s security (in accordance with the nbr and building standards act 103 of 1977). the state was also exempted by virtue of economic considerations, necessity or expediency, either generally or in any specific case. however, because south africa has since ratified the un convention (table 1) and because of the promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act, the aforementioned exemption is no longer valid. as the findings from the questionnaire indicated (cf. 2.1), while 57% of the respondents are aware of the promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act, the majority of practitioners are not familiar with its content and are, therefore, not aware of their legal obligations in ensuring an accessible built environment (table 1). although the legal status of this act is still being tested, recent court cases, for example the case of the kabega park police station (steyn, 2008) and the case of meyerton court buildings (de bruin, 2003), heard in equity courts, have resulted in people with disabilities being awarded compensation for inaccessible buildings, and apologies being proffered by the offending party. 6.6 enforcement enforcement of the nbr is controlled at microlevel by the local building council and their inspectors. geszler (2008), however, stated that these inspectors often lack the skills to make sound judgements. the inds (south africa, 1997: 30) concurs: “... unfortunately these regulations have been badly administered and monitored”. in this regard the inds (south africa, 1997: 30) lists a number of specific problem areas that need to be addressed, including planning professionals who fail to understand and implement the specific acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 78 details required in providing an inclusive environment and developers who do not have clear policies on environmental access. 6.7 standards: minimums or maximums the standards given in part s and the sabs 0246 are minimums. however, practitioners typically apply them as maximums (optimum dimensions) (cf. 2.1). this is problematic in that the standards are grossly outdated and have seemingly been compiled with a lack of understanding of the problems encountered by people with disabilities in the built environment. 6.8 the new part s while preceding sections discussed the new part s compared to the old part s, this section summarises the achievements and failures of the new part s. first, it combines both the technical standards, the sabs 0400 and the sabs 0246, eliminating previous confusion. secondly, the meaning of the standard is brought in line with the constitution and the promotion of equality and the prevention of unfair discrimination act. new standards, such as those pertaining to parking spaces have been added. finally, it features clear explanatory notes, a comprehensive list of definitions, and includes all the legislative acts and sections of the bill of rights related to disability. however, it fails to achieve the following: requirements are not based on the latest ergonomic research and international standards, for example the required gradients for ramps are still out of date and dangerous. the requirements also do not provide for different environments, such as transport infrastructure or shopping malls, as opposed to office environments. 7. recommendations it is evident from this study, and as stated in the inds (south africa, 1997: 30), that the old part s (sabs 0400 part s) is outdated, seemingly compiled with a lack of understanding of the real needs of people with disabilities and not in line with the inclusive nature of the constitution. therefore, the new part s (sans 10400-s) urgently needs to be published and implemented. however, it should be borne in mind that it is in itself imperfect. the following recommendations are made: karusseit & gibberd • towards inclusion: a critical appraisal of legislation and the south african standard 79 the regulations should be revised in terms of remaining • ambiguities, thereby bringing them in line with the constitution and associated legislation; the regulation should be reviewed. a move towards a universal • access regulation, including both people with disabilities and those without should be debated and considered; the new part s (sans 10400-s) should be updated in terms of the • latest research in ergonomics, and other areas of universal design; the new part s (sans 10400-s) requirements should be extended • to include a variety of built environments, such as city planning, transport infrastructure and different building types; the new part s (sans 10400-s) should be updated, by means • of a comparative study, in terms of progressive international standards, such as those of the united kingdom and australia; any procedures of revision should include an intensive • and thorough process of consultation with all the relevant organisations of and for people with disabilities; any process of revision should include the study of • international precedents in terms of their processes and resultant standards; the public, local building council and their inspectors, • professional practitioners, construction industry and developers should be made aware of the revised standards, the legal implications in terms of the constitution and be given an understanding of the real needs of people with disabilities; education and training is a means to achieve the • aforementioned recommendation. training in this regard needs to be formally implemented in tertiary diplomas and degrees relating to the built environment. furthermore, training should be provided by the various professional bodies to practitioners. 8. conclusion it is clear that all people need an inclusive built environment so that they can live and work comfortably. moreover, certain groups in society, in particular people with disabilities, experience the greatest difficulties with the built environment. thus, it is imperative that the new part s (sans 10400-s) be published and implemented if our built environment is to begin to reflect the political and social change it acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 80 is currently experiencing, and that these standards themselves be further updated. in addition, the needs of people with disabilities ought to be understood and appreciated. therefore, the standards should be aligned with the inclusive nature of our constitution, in particular the bill of rights. in this way our buildings, landscapes, neighbourhoods and cities might both physically and symbolically indicate that people with disabilities are an integral part of our society. references de bruin, p. 2003. courts taken to court. 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[online]. available from: <http://www.un.org/disabilities/> [accessed: 02 december 2008]. weisman, l.k. 1994. discrimination by design: a feminist critique of the man-made environment. urbana: university of illinois press. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles frank berry, basie verster & benita zulch ’n verkennende meting van die kommunikasievolwassenheid van die bourekenaarsen ingenieursprofessies in die konstruksiebedryf peer reviewed abstrak die moontlike gebrek aan wetenskaplike analise met betrekking tot die bourekenaarsen ingenieursprofessie se volwassenheid in kommunikasievermoë en -instrumente in die konstruksiebedryf het hierdie studie geïnisieer. die rede vir die ondersoek na beide professies is omdat daar redelike ooreenstemming is in die funksies wat beide hierdie professies verrig. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die determinante van ’n kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel ten opsigte van die professies se kommunikasievermoë te evalueer. die voorgestelde belangrikste determinante wat gemeet word vloei voort uit navorsing wat deur die universiteit van die vrystaat in samewerking met die wittschafts universiteit in wene, oostenryk in 2005/6 gedoen is. die resultate van die respondente se antwoorde/respons is positief ten opsigte van die professies se kommunikasiepraktyk oor die algemeen wat derhalwe ’n invloed op die konstruksiebedryf kan hê met deurlopende voordele vir die eiendomsontwikkelingsomgewing. uit die ondersoek blyk dit dat die determinant ‘instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend)’ van die bourekenaar die mees positief ervaar word. die determinante ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ en ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ van die bourekenaar word as mins positief aangedui. die resultate verkry van die respondente se respons dui verder daarop dat die determinant ‘kennis’ van die ingenieur mees positief ervaar word. die determinante ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’, ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ en ‘instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid)’ van die ingenieur word as mins positief aangedui. ’n kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel wat uit vorige navorsing ontwikkel is, met reeds geïdentifiseerde determinante om effektiewe kommunikasiepraktyk te bepaal, word gebruik om die volwassenheid van dié twee professies mnr. f.h. (frank) berry senior lektor departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur universiteit van die vrystaat bloemfontein suid-afrika. tel: 051 4012198 e-pos: <berryfh@ ufs.ac.za> prof. j.j.p. (basie) verster hoof van departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur universiteit van die vrystaat bloemfontein suid-afrika. tel: 051 4012248 e-pos: <versterj@ ufs.ac.za> mev. b.g. (benita) zulch lektor departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur universiteit van die vrystaat bloemfontein suid-afrika. tel: 051 4013849 e-pos: <zulchbg@ufs.ac za> acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 2 se kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf te meet. dié toepassing van die kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel in die praktyk kan waarskynlik ‘n positiewe bydrae ter verbetering van die professies se kommunikasievermoë in die konstruksiebedryf lewer. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasie-instrumente, kommunikasie-volwassenheids model, kommunikasievermoë abstract the possible lack of scientific analyses with reference to the maturity of the quantity surveyor and engineering professions’ communication capabilities and communication instruments in the construction industry initiated the study. the reason for the survey on both professions is due to the fact that they perform almost similar functions. this article aims to measure the determinants of a communication maturity model in respect of the communication capabilities of these professions. research undertaken by the university of the free state in collaboration with the wirtschafts university in vienna, austria in 2005/6 revealed the proposed most important determinants used. the results of the survey show that respondents were positive in respect of the professions’ communication in general. this can therefore influence the construction industry with continuous advantages for the property development environment. the survey results show that the determinant ‘instruments communication (supportive)’ of the quantity surveyor is experienced as the most positive. the determinants ‘verbal communication‘ and ‘written communication’ of the quantity surveyor are experienced as the least positive. in addition, the survey results show that the determinant ‘knowledge’ capabilities of the engineer is experienced as the most positive. the determinants ‘contractual communication’, ‘written communication’ and ‘instruments communication (clearness)’ of the engineer are experienced as the least positive. a communication maturity model, developed in previous research and consisting of the identified determinants for effective communication, has been used to measure the maturity of the two professions’ communication capabilities in the construction industry. the implementation of the communication maturity model in practice can have a positive influence to improve the communication capabilities of the profession in the construction industry. keywords: communication instruments, communication maturity model, communication capabilities 1. inleiding volgens gasse (2006: internet) streef nasies, streke, industrieë en maatskappye daarna om meer projekgeoriënteerd te wees. deur gebruik te maak van projekbestuurstegnieke in die organisering van projekte en programme bied die projekgeoriënteerde sisteme ’n kompeterende voorsprong. daar is ’n korrelasie in resultate tussen die projekgeoriënteerde sisteme in projekte en programme, en die bereiking van projekbestuursvolwassenheid binne sulke projekte en programme. berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 3 die projekbestuursvolwassenheid van projekgeoriënteerde maatskappye, organisasies en nasies kan gemeet word. die gebruik van volwassenheidsmodelle kan toepassing vind indien dit met die norm/standaard wat geld, vergelyk word (gareis, 2005: 584). figuur 1: volwassenheidsmodel vir ’n projekgeoriënteerde maatskappy bron: gareis 2005: 516 figuur 1 verteenwoordig die determinante van ’n volwassenheidsmodel vir ’n projekgeoriënteerde organisasie. die determinante verteenwoordig elemente waarvolgens volwassenheid gemeet word deur ’n sekere gewig daaraan te koppel om die belangrikheid van elk aan te dui. die volwassenheidsmodel vir projekbestuur is gebruik om die volwassenheid van ander sisteme soos byvoorbeeld bourekenkundige kommunikasie te meet en die toepasbaarheid daarvan op sodanige sisteme te illustreer. figuur 2 stel die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaars voor wat in vorige navorsing ontwikkel is (berry, 2008: 146). project portfolio co-ordination and networking between projects assignment of a project or a programme assurance of the management quality of a project or a programme programme management project management business process management in the project-oriented organisation personnel management in the project-oriented company organisational design of the project-oriented company 100 80 60 40 20 0 maturity model acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 4 figuur 2: kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaars bron: aangepas uit berry 2008: 146 bogemelde kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel stel die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar voor. die model kan daartoe bydra om die ontwikkeling van die totale professie te ondersteun en ’n bydrae tot effektiewe kommunikasie en gesonde verhoudinge binne die konstruksiebedryf te lewer (berry, 2008: 146). 2. kommunikasie die studie spreek die kommunikasievolwassenheid van die bourekenaaren ingenieursprofessie aan. ’n kort inleidende oorsig oor kommunikasie en die beginsels wat dit rig is daarom nodig. barrett (2006: 3) definieer ‘kommunikasie’ as volg: communication is the transmission of meaning from one person to another or many people, whether verbally or nonverbally. ten einde gesonde kommunikasie te verwesentlik, is dit belangrik dat die verskillende beginsels wat dit rig, bestudeer word. die uniekheid van die mens het baie te doen met taalkommunikasie, maar verder kommunikeer die mens ook deur voorkoms, gedrag, houding en persoonlikheid (sieff, 1990: 38-39). volgens barrett (2006: 7) verwys ‘etos’ na of so ’n persoon betroubaar, selfversekerd, geloofbaar, kundig en ’n persoon met integriteit is. die betekenis van ‘etos’ word in die oorpronklike definisies van die griekse filosoof aristotle gevind. aristotle identifiseer drie tipes kennisvermoë mondelinge kommunikasievermoë instrumentevermoë (duidelikheid) leierskapvermoë ondersteunende dokumentasie vermoë kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë skriftelike kommunikasievermoë tegnologiesevermoë 100 80 60 40 20 0 kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel: bourekenaars berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 5 oorredingstrefkragte, naamlik “logos”, “pathos” en “ethos” en definieer dit as volg: logos is an appeal based on the logic of an argument, while pathos is an appeal based on the use of emotions. ethos as an appeal based on the perceived character of the sender of the message. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat kommunikasie derhalwe nie slegs met taalkommunikasie te make het nie maar dat die waarneembare karakter van die mens wat onder meer voorkoms, gedrag, houding, persoonlikheid, kundigheid en die integriteit van ’n persoon weerspieël ’n belangrike rol in kommunikasie speel. 3. die gesag van kennis tot kommunikasievermoë kennis is waarskynlik belangrik in die strewe na kommunikasievolwassenheid en die rede waarom ’n kort oorsig oor die gesag van kennis tot kommunikasievermoë beskou word. volgens pharos (2005: 1104) word ‘kennis’ as volg gedefinieer: kennis, verstand, begrip, wete, kundigheid, kunde, geleerdheid, wetenskap, bewussyn, medewete en voorkennis. de botton (2000: 25) beskou kennis en suiwer/opregte opinie/ sienswyse, na aanleiding van socrates se filosofie, as volg: a correct belief held without an awareness how to respond rationally to objections as ‘true opinion’, and contrasted it unfavourably with ‘knowledge’, which involved understanding not only why something was true, but also why its alternatives were false. in de botton (2000: 24) word geargumenteer dat ’n korrekte stelling een is wat nie rederlikerwys weerspreek kan word nie. dis moontlik dat die afleiding gemaak word dat ’n stelling waar is indien dit nie weerlê kan word nie. indien dit egter wel weerlê kan word, desnieteenstaande die feit dat baie mense ongeag hul belangrikheid dit steeds nog mag glo, moet dit vals wees en het ’n mens die reg om dit te betwyfel. volgens verster, kotzè & hauptfleisch (2008) is vyf dimensies, naamlik ‘onderrig’, ‘opleiding’, ‘mentorskap’, ‘voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling’ en ‘navorsing’ fundamenteel belangrik vir ’n professie om as ’n geleerde gemeenskap beskou te word en te ontwikkel. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat kennis fundamenteel is ten opsigte van ’n professie se effektiewe kommunikasie en is derhalwe gefundeerd in elkeen van die geïdentifiseerde deterberry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 7 volgens barrett (2006: 5-6) is effektiewe kommunikasie afhanklik van die ‘kernkommunikasievaardighede’ in die middel van die spiraal (figuur 3) wat die meer individuele vaardighede verteenwoordig. om dus ’n leier in enige organisasie te wees, is dit belangrik dat die vaardighede in die kern bemeester word. die vaardighede moet egter uitgebrei word na die ‘bestuurskommunikasievaardighede’ wat benodig word om groepe te lei of te bestuur. die ‘korporatiewekommunikasievaardighede’ op die buitesirkel word benodig vir suksesvolle interaksie met interne gehore asook met eksterne rolspelers. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat ’n leier die ‘kernkommunikasievaardighede’ in verband met strategiese ontwikkeling en effektiewe skriftelike en mondelinge kommunikasie behoort te bemeester om ’n leier in enige organisasie te wees en is eweneens op die twee professies onder bespreking van toepassing om uiteindelik volwassenheid in leierskapvaardighede te bereik. 5. navorsingsmetodiek die status van die bourekenaarsen ingenieursprofessie se kommunikasievermoë asook die gaping in die huidige kommunikasieprosesse word ondersoek en die areas vir ontwikkeling volgens die respondente se opinie word hiermee ook vasgestel. die ondersoek is in 2007 gedoen met die doel om vas te stel wat die posisie van die professies se kommunikasievermoë op daardie stadium in die konstruksiebedryf was. die vraelyste bestaan uit drie afdelings wat deur die departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur van die universiteit van die vrystaat opgestel en per e-pos aan meer as ’n duisend professionele persone in die konstruksiebedryf in suid-afrika gestuur is. afdeling een van die vraelys bestaan uit vrae ten opsigte van kontrakverkryging, afdeling twee uit agtien vrae rondom kommunikasietendense en afdeling drie uit ses vrae wat dispuutresolusie aanspreek. vir die doel van hierdie artikel is slegs die vrae wat met kommunikasievolwassenheid te make het in afdeling twee geanaliseer en aangespreek. respondente is versoek om die kommunikasievermoë van die professies op ’n vyf punt likert-skaal, waar 1 ‘glad nie’ en 5 ‘uitstekend’ verteenwoordig, te beoordeel. die respons was minder as 10% in totaal. die profiel van die respons was argitekte 38.1% (16 respondente), bourekenaars 33.3% (14 respondente) en die ingenieurs 28.6% (12 respondente) wat ’n redelike balans tussen die professies wat gereageer het, gee. die resultate hiervolgens verkry acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 8 en wat in hakies getoon word, verwys na die geweegde gemiddeld wat verwerk is. 6. bevindinge 6.1 inleiding die doel van die studie is hoofsaaklik om die determinante van kommunikasievolwassenheid van die bourekenaarsen ingenieursprofessie in die konstruksiebedryf te meet en tendense waar te neem asook die toepassing van die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel tot die moontlike voordeel van die professies voor te stel. alhoewel die studies nie soseer gerig is om die professies met mekaar te vergelyk nie, word die opinie van ’n bepaalde groep wel gemeld maar nie in die tabelle getoon nie, om die geweegde gemiddeld van die totale groep respondente se opinie in konteks te plaas en moontlike bevooroordeeldheid uit te wys. in die studie kom dit na vore dat die respondente met ’n bourekenkundige en of ingenieursagtergrond effens meer positief oor hul eie vermoëns mag wees as wat die geweegde gemiddeld aandui. dit is eweneens waar dat die respondente van die twee professies effens meer negatief oor die vermoëns van die ander professie mag wees. in die lig van die voorafgaande en aangesien die geweegde gemiddeld verteenwoordigend van respondent met ’n bourekenkundige, ingenieursen argitektuuragtergrond gesamentlik is, behoort dit enige bevooroordeeldheid wat daar mag wees in ’n redelike mate te balanseer. 6.2 kommunikasievermoë van die professies tabel 1 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaarsen ingenieursprofessie in die konstruksiebedryf. tabel 1: kommunikasievermoë van professies respondente: totale groep kommunikasievermoë geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaars geweegde gemiddeld professionele konsultante mondelinge kommunikasie 4 35 4 25 skriftelike kommunikasie 4 48 4 33 kontraktuele kommunikasie 4 43 4 15 bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 9 die respondente het die bourekenaar se ‘mondelinge’, ‘skriftelike’ en ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ van goed tot baie goed ervaar en meer positief as die kommunikasievermoë van die ingenieur aangedui. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die ingenieur effens meer positief as die bourekenaar in ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ maar effens meer negatief in ‘skriftelike’ en ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het egter die ‘mondelinge’, ‘skriftelike’ en ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ van die bourekenaar meer positief as die ingenieur aangedui. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat die bourekenaar se volwassenheid in ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (3.88) redelik positief ervaar word maar dat dit ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea vir die ingenieur blyk te wees. 6.3 belangrike elemente in effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie volgens hat (1994: 657) word ‘mondeling’ as volg gedefinieer: met die mond, deurmiddel van die gesproke woord. taalvermoë is ’n belangrike element om uitdrukking aan kennis te gee, alle woorde reg in te span en die boodskap eenvoudig verstaanbaar en logies oor te dra. indien ’n taal nie bemeester is nie, kan die kennis waaroor ’n mens beskik ten opsigte van ’n spesifieke vakgebied en/of aangeleentheid nie die nodige impak hê op die toehoorder daarvan nie (himstreet & baty, 1973: 13-14). tabel 2 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die voldoening van die professies aan die geïdentifiseerde elemente om effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie te handhaaf wat onder meer in terreinen konsultantevergaderings plaasvind. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 10 tabel 2: elemente vir mondelinge kommunikasie bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die bourekenaar is in die elemente vir mondelinge kommunikasie positief deur respondente beoordeel. die element ‘dinamiese/ uitgaande gedrag’ (3.63) word die mins en ‘integriteit’ (4.28), ‘selfvertroue’ (4.14) en ‘geloofwaardigheid’ (4.12) die mees positiewe aangedui. die ingenieur is in die elemente vir mondelinge kommunikasie positief deur respondente beoordeel. die element ‘voorkoms’ (3.53) die mins positiewe met ‘selfvertroue’ (4.21), ‘integriteit’ (4.18) en ‘geloofwaardigheid’ (4.12) die mees positiewe aangedui. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het dié professies min of meer dieselfde in die elemente om effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie te handhaaf, aangedui. die ingenieurs het egter die elemente ‘dinamiese/uitgaande gedrag’, ‘voorkoms’ en ‘algemene indruk’ meer positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ingenieur volgens tabel 2 aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het die bourekenaar in die elemente om effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie te handhaaf met uitsondering van die elemente ‘selfvertroue’ en ‘oorredingsvermoë’ meer positief as die van die ingenieur aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het ’n minder positiewe opinie van die elemente wat nodig is vir effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie met die uitsondering van die element respondente: totale groep: geweegde gemiddeld elemente bourekenaar ingenieur integriteit 4.28 4.18 selfvertroue 4.14 4.21 geloofwaardigheid 4.12 4.12 kennis 4.10 4.10 oorredingsvermoë 3.98 4.05 taalvermoë 3.90 3.81 algemene indruk 3.83 3.86 voorkoms 3.73 3.53 dinamiese/uitgaande gedrag 3.63 3.63 berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 11 ‘voorkoms’ as die geweegde gemiddeld van die bourekenaar volgens tabel 2 aangedui. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat beide die professies se volwassenheid ten opsigte van die element ‘dinamiese/ uitgaande gedrag’ (3.63) in effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie minder positief, met die uitsondering van die element ‘voorkoms’ (3.53) van die ingenieur, as die ander elemente ervaar word en op ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea dui. die hoë waarderingsuitslag wat die bourekenaar en ingenieur onderskeidelik in die elemente ‘integriteit’ (4.28 & 4.18) en ‘geloofwaardigheid’ beide (4.12) behaal het, is positief vir die bedryf en dui waarskynlik daarop dat die professies hoë etiese waardes handhaaf. 6.4 belangrike elemente in effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie volgens hat (1994: 943) word ‘skriftelik’ as volg gedefinieer: geskrewe, geskryfde; op skrif; teenoor mondeling. volgens barrett (2006: 6) behoort die skryfvaardighede so te wees om gestruktureerd eenvoudige en komplekse korrespondensie en dokumente te skryf; vanaf e-posse en memo’s tot voorleggings en verslae. die geskrewe of gesproke woord moet in die taal wees wat van ’n besigheidsbestuurder verwag word en duidelik, korrek en op die punt af wees. bowen, cattell, michell & kabayanondo (2006: 26) het bevind dat die afwesigheid van skriftelike kommunikasie, die verstaan van gegewe inligting beïnvloed en verder meer dat die bourekenaar die belangrikheid van skriftelike kommunikasie in die konstruksieproses verstaan. tabel 3 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die voldoening van die professies aan die geïdentifiseerde elemente om effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie te handhaaf, wat onder meer in beramings, kosteplan, betalingsadvies en briefwisseling plaasvind. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 12 tabel 3: elemente vir skriftelike kommunikasie bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die bourekenaar is in die elemente vir skriftelike kommunikasie positief deur respondente beoordeel. die element ‘wetenskaplikheid’ (3.80) is die mins en ‘professionaliteit’ (4.20) en ‘kwaliteit’ (4.08) die mees positiewe aangedui. verder is die elemente met die uitsondering van ‘wetenskaplikheid’ meer positief as die van die ingenieur aangedui. die ingenieur is in die elemente vir skriftelike kommunikasie naamlik ‘stiptelikheid’ (3.76) die mins en ‘wetenskaplikheid’ (4.25) die mees positiewe deur respondente beoordeel. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die bourekenaar met die uitsondering van ‘wetenskaplikheid’ en ‘algemene indruk’ meer positief as die ingenieur in die elemente om effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie te handhaaf, aangedui. verder is die elemente met die uitsondering van ‘doelen opdraggerigtheid’ meer positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ingenieur volgens tabel 3 aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het die bourekenaar in die elemente om effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie te handhaaf effens meer positief as die ingenieur met die uitsondering van ‘wetenskaplikheid’ aangedui. verder is die elemente minder positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die bourekenaar volgens tabel 3 aangedui. die hoë waarderingsuitslag wat die ingenieur in die element ‘wetenskaplikheid’ (4.25) behaal het, is positief en dui waarskynlik daarop dat die professie as ’n kundige binne die bedryf gesien respondente: totale groep: geweegde gemiddeld elemente bourekenaar ingenieur professionaliteit 4 20 4 03 kwaliteit 4 08 3 87 doelen opdraggerigtheid 4 05 = 4 00 taalgebruik 4 05 = 3 88 stiptelikheid 4 03 = 3 76 netheid 4 03 = 3 85 algemene indruk 3 93 3 83 wetenskaplikheid 3 80 4 25 berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 13 word en kan moontlik ’n ontwikkelingsarea vir die bourekenaar wees aangesien die element ‘wetenskaplikheid’ (3.80) minder positief as die ander elemente aangedui is. 6.5 belangrike elemente in effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie volgens hat (1994: 568) word ‘kontraktueel’ as volg gedefinieer: volgens kontrak: kontraktueel gebind wees. gesonde kennis van kontraktuele kommunikasie skep ’n basis om misinterpretasie van kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf te beperk (berry, 2007). tabel 4 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die voldoening van die professies aan die geïdentifiseerde elemente om effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf, wat onder meer in die opstel van die hoeveelheidslyste-dokument plaasvind. tabel 4: elemente vir kontraktuele kommunikasie bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die bourekenaar is in die elemente vir kontraktuele kommunikasie meer positief as die ingenieur, met die element ‘betroubaarheid’ (4.00) die mins en ‘kontraktuele geldigheid’ (4.25) die mees positiewe, aangedui. die ingenieur is in die element ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (3.88) die mins en ‘kontraktuele geldigheid’ (4.05) die mees positiewe vir kontraktuele kommunikasie aangedui. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die ingenieurs effens meer positief as die bourekenaars in die elemente om effektiewe respondente: totale groep: geweegde gemiddeld elemente bourekenaar ingenieur kontraktuele geldigheid 4.25 4.05 effektiwiteit 4.13 = 3.98 billikheid 4.13 = 4.00 onteenstrydigheid 4.10 4.02 ondubbelsinnigheid 4.03 3.88 betroubaarheid 4.00 3.90 acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 14 kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf, aangedui. verder is die elemente ongeveer dieselfde as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ingenieur volgens tabel 4 aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het die bourekenaar in die elemente om effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf meer positief as die ingenieur aangedui. verder is die elemente met die uitsondering van ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ minder positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die bourekenaar soos volgens tabel 4 aangedui. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat die professies ten opsigte van die elemente wat nodig is om effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf positief ervaar word. dit dui moontlik daarop dat die kontrakdokumentasie van die professies as kontraktueel geldig, betroubaar, ondubbelsinnig, billik en effektief in die bedryf beskou kan word. 6.6 belangrikheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente die hoeveelheidslyste as kommunikasie-instrument het in die verenigde koninkryk en elders as verkrygingsdokument in belangrikheid toegeneem. die hoeveelheidslyste van die suksesvolle kontrakteur is die instrument vir die finansiële administrasie van die projek. die dokument vorm die basis vir tenderseleksie, verbintenis tot pryse en word vir die bestuur van die kontrak gebruik (kirkham, 2007: 124-125). tabel 5 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die belangrikheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente wat die professies gebruik. die belangrikheid van die instrumente ‘beraming’, ‘kosteverslae’, ‘kosteplan’, ‘eskalasieberekeningsvoorlegging’, ‘eindrekening/ finale rekening’, ‘kontrakvoorwaardes-‘, ‘voorbereidsels-‘ en ‘vakvoorskriftedokument’ as kommunikasie-instrumente van die bourekenaar is almal met ’n waarderingsuitslag hoër as 4.50 aangedui. die ‘betalingsadvies’ en ‘standaardstelseldokument’ as kommunikasie-instrumente van die bourekenaar is egter deur die respondente as die minder belangrike instrumente, relatief tot die ander, beoordeel. berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 15 tabel 5: belangrikheid van kommunikasie-instrumente bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 respondente het ’n minder positiewe opinie van die kommunikasieinstrumente van die ingenieur teenoor dié van die bourekenaar getoon. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die belangrikheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente wat deur ingenieurs gebruik word minder positief as dieselfde kommunikasie-instrumente van die bourekenaar aangedui. die ‘kosteplan’, ‘voorbereidsels-‘ en ‘vakvoorskriftedokument’ as kommunikasie-instrumente is egter deur die ingenieurs as minder belangrik as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ingenieur volgens tabel 5 aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het die belangrikheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente van die ingenieur effens minder positief as dié van die bourekenaar aangedui. terwyl die belangrikheid van die ‘kosteplan’ en ‘vakvoorskriftedokument’ as kommunikasie-instrumente van die bourekenaar minder positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die bourekenaar volgens tabel 5 aangedui is. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat ten opsigte van die belangrikheid van die instrumente van die bourekenaar om effektiewe ‘instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend)’ te handhaaf positief ervaar word in teenstelling met die instrumente van die ingenieur waar die waarderingsuitslag deurgaans minder respondente: totale groep: geweegde gemiddeld kommunikasie-instrumente bourekenaar ingenieur eindrekening/finale rekening 4.83 3 68 = beraming 4.82 3.76 kontrakvoorwaardesdokument 4.76 3.93 kosteplan 4.73 3 39 = kosteverslae 4.71 3.43 voorbereidselsdokument 4.66 3 68 = eskalasieberekeningvoorlegging 4.59 3 39 = vakvoorskriftedokument 4.51 3.82 betalingsadvies 4.46 3.38 standaardstelseldokument 4.37 3.55 acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 16 positief as die instrumente van die bourekenaar is; wat moontlik op ’n ontwikkelingsarea vir die ingenieur dui. 6.7 duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van kommunikasieinstrumente volgens kirkham (2007: 7) dissekteer die elementele beramingsmetode die gebou in elemente en komponente en is ’n sisteem wat vir kostebeplanning en -kontrole gebruik kan word om derhalwe die koste van die projek gedurende die verskillende fases van die ontwerpsontwikkeling te monitor. tabel 6 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente wat die professies gebruik. tabel 6: duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van kommunikasieinstrumente bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die ‘vakvoorskriftedokument’ as kommunikasie-instrument van die bourekenaar is deur die respondente as ’n minder duidelike en verstaanbare kommunikasie-instrument, relatief tot die ander, met ’n waarderingsuitslag minder as 4.00 aangedui. respondente het ’n effens minder positiewe opinie ten opsigte van die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die kommunikasieinstrumente van ingenieur teenoor dié wat deur die bourekenaar respondente: totale groep: geweegde gemiddeld kommunikasie-instrumente bourekenaar ingenieur betalingsadvies 4.50 3.50 = eindrekening/finale rekening 4.45 3.38 kosteverslae 4.30 3.18 beraming 4.23 = 3.39 standaardstelseldokument 4.23 = 3.13 kontrakvoorwaardesdokument 4.21 3.31 kosteplan 4.18 3.15 voorbereidselsdokument 4.15 = 3.23 eskalasieberekeningvoorlegging 4.15 = 3.00 vakvoorskriftedokument 3.97 3.50 = berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 17 gebruik word. die ‘eskalasieberekeningsvoorlegging’ as kommunikasie-instrument van die ingenieur is deur die respondente as nie ten volle duidelik en verstaanbaar, met ’n waarderingsuitslag van 3.00, aangedui. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente van die ingenieur minder positief as dié van die bourekenaar aangedui. die ingenieurs het egter ’n meer positiewe opinie oor die instrumente van die ingenieur as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ingenieur volgens tabel 6 aangedui. respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die kommunikasieinstrumente van die ingenieur effens minder positief as dié van die bourekenaar aangedui. terwyl die instrumente van die bourekenaar minder positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die bourekenaar volgens tabel 6 aangedui is. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat ten opsigte van die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die instrumente van die bourekenaar om effektiewe ‘instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid)’ te handhaaf positief ervaar word teenoor die instrumente van die ingenieur met ’n waarderingsuitslag wat deurgaans minder positief is; wat moontlik op ’n leemte en ontwikkelingsarea vir die ingenieur dui. 6.8 vermoë om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel volgens hat (1994: 611) word ’n ‘leier’ deur c.j. langenhoven as volg beskou: ’n drywer maak ’n slegte leier uit. volgens pharos (2005: 1113) word ’n ‘leadership’ as volg gedefinieer: leiding gee, onder aanvoering van, leierskap. tabel 7 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die vermoë van die professies om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 18 tabel 7: vermoë om leidende rol in projekte te speel bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die respondente het die ‘bourekenaar’ se vermoë om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel baie goed ervaar en meer positief as die ‘ingenieur’ se vermoë. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die ‘ingenieur’ se vermoë om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel meer positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ‘bourekenaar’ volgens tabel 7 aangedui. die respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het egter die ‘bourekenaar’ se vermoë om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel meer positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ‘ingenieur’ volgens tabel 7 aangedui. die redelike hoë waarderingsuitslag van die ‘bourekenaar’ (3.76) se vermoë om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel is positief en ’nfokusarea vir die professie in teenstelling met die ‘ingenieur’ (3.33) wat minder positief ervaar word en op ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea dui. 6.9 geskiktheid om as projekbestuurders op te tree watson, gibson, hanney, rushforth, smith, walsh & workman (2008: 11) definieer projekbestuur as volg: the panning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance. vir projekbestuurders om, volgens burke (2003: 309), effektief en suksesvol te wees, is die demonstrasie van effektiewe administratiewe en tegniese vaardighede nie alleen genoeg nie. daar moet ook ’n aanvaarbare leierskapstyl wees aangesien dit ’n invloed op die werkers se moraal en produktiwiteit het en derhalwe kan die sukses van ’n projek direk afhanklik van die leierskap wees. respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 3.76 ingenieur 3.33 berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 19 volgens die assosiasie van projekbestuurders (burke, 2003: 309) kom die volgende oor leierskap na vore: leadership is about setting goals and objectives and generating enthusiasm and motivation amongst the project team, and stakeholders, to work towards those objectives. tabel 8 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die geskiktheid van die professies om as projekbestuurders op te tree. tabel 8: geskiktheid om as projekbestuurders op te tree bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die respondente het die ‘bourekenaar’ se vermoë om as projekbestuurder op te tree baie goed ervaar en meer positief as die ‘ingenieur’ se vermoë aangedui. respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond het die ‘ingenieur’ se vermoë meer positief as die ‘bourekenaar’ se vermoë om as projekbestuurder op te tree as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ‘bourekenaar’ volgens tabel 8 aangedui. die respondente met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond het die ‘bourekenaar’ se vermoë om as projekbestuurder op te tree meer positief as die geweegde gemiddeld van die ‘ingenieur’ volgens tabel 8 aangedui. die redelike hoë waarderingsuitslag van die ‘bourekenaar’ (3.84) se vermoë om as projekbestuurder in projekte op te tree is positief en ’n fokusarea vir die professie in teenstelling met die ‘ingenieur’ (3.30) wat minder positief ervaar word en op ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea dui. 6.10 effektiwiteit van tydspandering tydens die dokumentasietydperk emmitt & gorse (2003: 10) illustreer dat die kommunikasieproses en tydige oordra van inligting die sleutel tot effektiewe koördinering en beheer van projekte is. respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 3.84 ingenieur 3.30 acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 20 tabel 9 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende effektiewe tydspandering van die professies tydens die dokumentasietydperk. die vordering wat op die gebied van die inligtingstegnologie gemaak is speel ’n hoofsaaklike rol in die vraag aangesien dit waarskynlik aan die tydspandering wat tydens die dokumentasietydperk plaasvind, gekoppel is. tabel 9: effektiwiteit van tydspandering tydens dokumentasietydperk bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die redelike hoë waarderingsuitslag betreffende die effektiwiteit van tydspandering van die ‘bourekenaar’ (3.93) tydens die dokumentasietydperk is positief vir die professie in teenstelling met die ‘ingenieur’ (3.28) wat minder positief ervaar word en op ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea dui. die minder positiewe opinie van die respondente rondom die effektiwiteit van tydspandering deur die ‘ingenieur’ kan waarskynlik daaraan toegeskryf word dat die produksie van tekeninge asook die kontrakdokumentasie beoordeel is. 6.11 effektiewe aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang volgens florida (2007: xvii) verwys thomas friedman se boek onder meer na die ‘wêreld wat plat is’ en eintlik tekenend is van die vordering op tegnologiese gebied gemaak. dit bring mee dat die globale speelveld gelykgemaak is en die belonings vir enige speler daar is om op te neem ongeag waar so ’n speler hom op aarde mag bevind. friedman beskryf dit as volg: in a flat world you can innovate without having to emigrate. tabel 10 toon die totale groep respondente se opinie op ’n vraag rakende die effektiewe aanpassing van die professies by tegnologiese vooruitgang. respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 3.93 ingenieur 3.28 berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 21 tabel 10: effektiewe aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang bron: universiteit van die vrystaat departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur 2007 die hoë waarderingsuitslag wat die ‘bourekenaar’ (3.93) en ‘ingenieur’ (4.10) onderskeidelik ten opsigte van die effektiewe aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang behaal het, is positief vir die bedryf en dui waarskynlik daarop dat die professies tegnologies op die voorgrond beweeg. 7. berekening van die waardes van die onderskeie determinante die doel van die studie is om die kommunikasievolwassenheid van die professies in die konstruksiebedryf te meet en nie om ’n wetenskaplike waardebepaling van elke determinant te maak nie. die verfyning van die berekening van die geweegde gemiddeld asook die gewigswaarde wat die onderskeie determinante mag dra, word nie in hierdie studie aangespeek nie en suggereer ’n veld vir verdere navorsing te wees. die determinant ‘instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend)’ is bereken deur die som van die kommunikasie-instrumente in tabel 5 deur die getal instrumente te deel, wat 4.66 (bourekenaar) en 3.68 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ is bereken deur die geweegde gemiddeld van tabel 1 te neem, wat 3.88 (bourekenaar) en 3.07 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ is bereken deur die geweegde gemiddeld van tabel 1 te neem, wat 3.70 (bourekenaar) en 3.26 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie’ is bereken deur die som van tabel 9 en tabel 10 deur twee te deel, wat 3.93 (bourekenaar) en 3.69 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘kennis’ is bereken deur die som van die geweegde gemiddeld van die elemente kennis in tabel 2, wetenskaplikheid in respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld ingenieur 4.10 bourekenaar 3.93 acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 22 tabel 3 en kontraktuele geldigheid in tabel 4 deur drie te deel, wat 4.05 (bourekenaar) en 4.13 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ is bereken deur die geweegde gemiddeld van tabel 1 te neem, wat 3.70 (bourekenaar) en 3.60 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid)’ is bereken deur die som van die kommunikasie-instrumente volgens tabel 6 deur die getal instrumente te deel, wat 4.24 (bourekenaar) en 3.28 (ingenieur) gee. die determinant ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ is bereken deur die som van tabel 7 en tabel 8 deur twee te deel, wat 3.80 (bourekenaar) en 3.32 (ingenieur) gee. die voorafgaande berekening van die waardes van die onderskeie determinante, wat deel van kommunikasievolwassenheid uitmaak, word onderskeidelik vir die bourekenaar en ingenieur in tabel 11 aangedui. tabel 11: kommunikasievolwassenheid die volwassenheid van die professies se kommunikasie kan soos in figure 4 en 5 voorgestel word deur die berekende waardes van die determinante volgens tabel 11 op die kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel, te plot. respondente: totale groep geweegde gemiddeld en persentasie geweegde gemiddeld en persentasie determinante bourekenaar ingenieur instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend) 4 66 (93.2%) 3 68 (73.6%) kontraktuele kommunikasie 3 88 (77.6%) 3 07 (61.4%) skriftelike kommunikasie 3.70 (74.0%) 3 26 (65.2%) tegnologiese kommunikasie 3.93 (78.6%) 3 69 (73.8%) kennis 4 05 (81.0%) 4.13 (82.6%) mondelinge kommunikasie 3.70 . (74.0%) 3 60 (72.0%) instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid) 4 24 (84.8%) 3 28 (65.6%) leierskapkommunikasie 3 80 (76.0%) 3 32 (66.4%) berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 23 figuur 4: kommunikasievolwassenheid van die bourekenaar die determinant ‘instrumente (ondersteunend)’ (93.2%) en ‘instrumente (duidelikheid)’ (84.8%) het die hoogste waarderingsuitslag behaal. die determinante ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (74.0%), ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (74.0%), ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (76.0%) en ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (77.6%) van die bourekenaar het egter die laagste waarderingsuitslag behaal. ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ (74.0%) en ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (74.0%) is as die mins positiewe determinante vir die bourekenaar relatief tot die ander determinante aangedui wat op ’n leemte en moontlike ontwikkelingsarea dui. die relatiewe lae waarderingsuitslag vir die determinant ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (76.0%) spruit waarskynlik voort uit die ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ en ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ wat belangrike bestanddele van die determinant ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ is soos die studie (figuur 3) aangedui het. vir die bourekenaar om dus ’n leidende rol in projekte in te neem behoort daar op die verdere ontwikkeling van die determinante ‘mondelinge kommunikasie’ en ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ gefokus te word. ‘instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend)’ (93.2%) en ‘instrument kommunikasie (duidelikeheid)’ (84.8%) is as die mees positiewe determinante vir die bourekenaar relatief tot die ander determinante getoon wat waarskynlik daarop dui dat die bourekenaarsprofessie oor gerekende standaarddokumentasie beskik wat tot voordeel van die hele konstruksiebedryf aangewend word. kennis mondelinge kommunikasie instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid) leierskapkommunikasie instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend) kontraktuele kommunikasie skriftelike kommunikasie inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie 100 80 60 40 20 0 kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel: bourekenaar 76.0 93.2 84.8 74.081.0 78.6 74.0 77.6 acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 24 figuur 5: kommunikasievolwassenheid van die ingenieur die determinante ‘kennis’ (82.6%) en ‘inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie’ (73.8%) het die hoogste waarderingsuitslag behaal. die ingenieur is redelik positief in die determinante aangedui maar die determinante ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (61.4%), ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (65.2%), ‘instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid)’ (65.6%) en ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (66.4%) het die laagste waarderingsuitslag behaal. ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ (61.4%) en ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ (65.2%) is as die mins positiewe determinante vir die ingenieur relatief tot die ander determinante aangedui wat op ’n leemte en moontlike ontwikkelingsarea dui. die relatiewe lae waarderingsuitslag vir die determinant ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ (66.4%) spruit waarskynlik voort uit die ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ wat ’n belangrike bestanddeel van die determinant ‘leierskapkommunikasie’ is soos die studie (figuur 3) aangedui het. vir die ingenieur om dus ’n leidende rol in projekte in te neem behoort daar meer op die determinante ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ en ‘skriftelike kommunikasie’ gefokus te word. ‘kennis’ (82.6%) is as die mees positiewe determinant vir die ingenieur relatief tot die ander determinante aangetoon wat waarskynlik daarop dui dat die ingenieur as ’n kundige in sy vakgebied binne die konstruksiebedryf beskou word. kennis is fundamenteel belangrik vir die professies om effektief te kommunikeer en moet derhalwe deurlopend ontwikkel word. kennis mondelinge kommunikasie instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid) leierskapkommunikasie instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend) kontraktuele kommunikasie skriftelike kommunikasie inligtingstegnologiese kommunikasie 100 80 60 40 20 0 kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel: ingenieur 73.6 66.4 65.6 72.082.6 73.8 65.2 61.4 berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 25 8. aanbevelings die professies behoort te fokus op die voortgesette ontwikkeling van kennis in en die hantering van die determinant ‘kontraktuele kommunikasie’ sodat die moontlike gebrekkige kennis wat regslui in bouen konstruksiekontrakte mag hê effektief aangespreek en ’n basis geskep word om misinterpretasies in die konstruksiebedryf te beperk. die hoë waarderingsuitslag wat die professies in die elemente ‘integriteit’ en ‘geloofwaardigheid’ wat nodig is om effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie te handhaaf, behaal het, is tekenend van hoë etiese waardes wat positief vir die hele konstruksiebedryf is. die hoë waarderingsuitslag wat die ingenieur in die elemente ‘wetenskaplikheid’, wat nodig is om effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie te handhaaf, behaal het dui waarskynlik op ’n kundige persoon in sy vakgebied en moet verder versterk word terwyl die bourekenaar hierdie as ’n moontlike ontwikkelingsarea moet beskou en effektief aanspreek. die professies moet daarop fokus dat die huidige hoë standaard van kontrakdokumentasie gehalte kommunikasie reflekteer en derhalwe ’n basis geskep word om misinterpretasies in die konstruksiebedryf te beperk. die ondersteunende dokumentasie wat die bourekenaar gebruik om effektiewe ‘instrumente kommunikasie (ondersteunend)’ te handhaaf is waarskynlik tekenend van ’n professie wat kundige persone gebruik het om die model-dokumentasie op te stel tot voordeel van die konstruksiebedryf terwyl die ingenieursprofessie hierdie as ’n ontwikkelingsarea moet beskou om die moontlike minder ondersteunende dokumentasie effektief aan te spreek. die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die dokumentasie wat die bourekenaar gebruik om effektiewe ‘instrumente kommunikasie (duidelikheid)’ te handhaaf is waarskynlik tekenend van ’n professie wat hoë standaarde handhaaf tot voordeel van die konstruksiebedryf terwyl die ingenieur hierdie as ’n ontwikkelingsarea moet beskou om die moontlike minder duidelike dokumentasie effektief aan te spreek. die hoë waarderingsuitslag rakende die ‘bourekenaar’ se vermoë om ’n leidende rol in projekte te speel kan as ’n geleentheid aangegryp word om horisonne te verbreed en die huidige posisie acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 26 te verstewig terwyl die ‘ingenieur’ hierdie as ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea moet beskou en effektief aanspreek. die hoë waarderingsuitslag van die ‘bourekenaar’ rakende die vermoë om as ’n projekbestuurder in projekte op te tree kan as ’n geleentheid aangegryp word om horisonne te verbreed en die huidige posisie te verstewig terwyl die ‘ingenieur’ hierdie as ’n moontlike leemte en ontwikkelingsarea moet beskou en effektief aanspreek. die professies beskik oor die noodsaaklike mengsel van kennis en vaardighede om die projekbestuursfunksies met welslae te hanteer en hierdie aspek moet positief aangespreek word. die gesag van kennis tot effektiewe kommunikasie is gefundeerd in die dimensies ‘onderrig’, ‘opleiding’, ‘mentorskap’, ‘voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling’ en ‘navorsing’ wat fundamenteel belangrik vir die professies is om as ’n geleerde gemeenskap te ontwikkel tot die vlakke wat met wêreldklasprofessies vergelyk en moet derhalwe deurlopend verbeter word. die voorgestelde kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel kan gebruik word om die volwassenheid in kommunikasie van die professies te bepaal en derhalwe moontlike leemtes uit te wys wat kan bydra dat die professies in geheel daarby baat vind indien die leemtes effektief aangespreek word. die konstruksiebedryf stel hoë eise aan die professies maar bied ook moontlikhede en voordele. indien die uitdagings egter aanvaar en aangespreek word wag daar waarskynlik ’n nog beter toekoms vir hierdie professies. verwysings barrett, d.j. 2006. leadership communication. new york: mcgrawhill companies, inc. berry, f.h. 2007. the influence of quantity surveying procedures on communication and communication instruments in the construction industry. in: proceedings of the 11th pacific association of quantity surveyors (paqs) congress on construction from a different perspective. auckland 9-13 june. new zealand. berry, f.h. 2008. bourekenkundige-kommunikasie en kommunikasieinstrumente in die konstruksiebedryf. ongepubliseerde m.sc. (q.s.)verhandeling. bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. berry, verster & zulch • ’n verkennende meting 27 bowen, p., cattell, k., michell, k. & kabayanondo, e. 2006. the effectiveness of construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process. acta structilia, 13(2), pp. 19-38. burke, r. 2003. project management planning and control techniques. tokai: burke publishing. de botton, a. 2000. the consolation of philosophy. london: penguin books ltd. du plessis, m. 2005. pharos woordeboek. kaapstad: pharos woordeboeke. emmitt, s. & gorse, c. 2003. construction communication. oxford: blackwell publishing ltd. florida, r. 2007. the flight of the creative class. new york. collins. gareis, r. 2005. happy projects! 1st ed. vienna. manz. gasse, f. 2006. maturity model of the project-oriented company. [online]. vienna. project orientation international. available from: <http://poi.pmgroup.at/index> [accessed: 6 february 2007]. himstreet, w.c. & baty, w.m. 1973. business communications – principles and methods. 3rd ed. belmont ca: wadsworth publishing co. kirkham, r. 2007. ferry and brandon’s cost planning of buildings. 8th ed. oxford: blackwell publishing. odendaal, p.m., kotzé, b.g., swanepoel, c.j., du toit, s.j. & booysen, c.m. 1994. hat (verklarende handwoordeboek van die afrikaanse taal). midrand: perskor uitgewery. sieff, m. 1990. marcus sieff on management: the marks & spencer way. london: weidenfeld & nicolson. universiteit van die vrystaat, departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur. 2007. ondersoek na kontrakverkryging, kommunikasie en dispuutresolusie. bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. verster, j.j.p., kotzè, b.g. & hauptfleisch, a.c. 2008. the pillars of quantity surveying for a learned society. in: proceedings of the 52nd annual meeting of aace international and the international cost engineering council (icec) congress on cost engineering, project management and quantity surveying. toronto, 29 june-2 july. canada. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 28 watson, p., gibson, d., hanney, n., rushforth, p., smith, s., walsh, c. & workman, g. 2008. surveying and engineering, principles and practice. oxford. blackwell publishing. 78 fanie buys & martyn le roux causes of defects in the south african housing construction industry: perceptions of built-environment stakeholders peer reviewed and revised abstract this article emanates from research investigating the biggest cause that leads to defects in houses; the most common type of defect, and why projects fail in project-management terms (due to defects). results of quantitative research among architects, consulting engineers and building contractors within the construction industry in the western and eastern cape provinces of south africa, as well as a literature review, form the basis of this study. architects, consulting engineers, and general building contractors are randomly selected and surveyed using an online questionnaire. the study reveals that inadequate artisan skills are the biggest cause leading to defects in houses, and that cracks are the most frequent type of defect occurring. projects fail in projectmanagement terms because of defects as the construction time of the projects is prolonged. the study also reveals that construction-related causes of defects dominate over design-related causes. the results should be of value to both construction industry professionals and their clients. keywords: defects, rework, quality management abstrak die artikel spruit voort uit ‘n navorsingsprojek om te bepaal wat die grootste oorsaak van defekte in woonhuise is; watter defek die meeste voorkom, en waarom projekte misluk in terme van projekbestuur (as gevolg van defekte). resultate van ‘n kwantitatiewe ondersoek tussen argitekte, raadgewende ingenieurs en boukontrakteurs asook ‘n literatuurstudie vorm die grondslag van die studie. argitekte, raadgewende ingenieurs en boukontrakteurs is ewekantsig geselekteer en ondervra deur middel van ‘n internet-aanlynvraelys. die ondersoek wys daarop dat onvoldoende ambagsvaardighede die grootste oorsaak van defekte in woonhuise is en dat krake die meeste voorkom. in terme van projekbestuur lei projekte daaronder deurdat defekte die kontrakperiode verleng. die studie toon ook aan dat konstruksieverwante defekte meer dominant is as ontwerpverwante defekte. die studie behoort insiggewend te wees vir beide konstruksie professionele persone sowel as kliënte. sleutelwoorde: defekte, herdeurwerk, kwaliteitsbestuur prof. fanie buys department of quantity surveying p.o. box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041-5042023 email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> martyn le roux department of quantity surveying p.o. box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041-5042669 email: <martyn.leroux@worleyparsons.com> oorsigartikels • review articles buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 79 1. introduction douglas & ransom (2007: xv) state that, despite the growing awareness as to many of the common causes and consequences, failures still seem to bedevil the building industry in the united kingdom (uk) and elsewhere in the developed world. there is a perception that defects within the south african construction industry in newly completed buildings are increasing and becoming a serious problem, as increasingly more buildings are being built. despite the fact that a great deal of technical and legislative information on good house construction practices is available, unacceptable construction quality is apparent throughout the entire spectrum of housing in south africa. the national home builders registration council (nhbrc) rectified more than 200 houses at an estimated cost of r40 million in the 2010/2011 financial year (mahachi, 2010: 56). corruption is currently identified as one of the major barriers to achieving construction quality in south africa (cidb, 2011b: 8). the south african construction industry experienced a boom in 2009 and 2010, with many infrastructure developments taking place in the country as a result of the 2010 soccer world cup held in south africa. there is a shortage of skilled people in the south african construction industry; local and international companies within the construction industry are joining forces in order to meet the current demand (makhene & thwala, 2009: 130). worldwide, the south african government is one of the governments that have delivered the highest number of houses to the poor by means of various delivery mechanisms; this forms part of their vision to provide adequate housing for all, as reflected in the national housing policy framework (ndawonde, 2009: online). housing is meant to address the basic human need for shelter and security. since 1994, the south african government has initiated and implemented several housing delivery programmes as well as subsidy mechanisms to provide houses to the poor (rsa dh, 1994). it also states that the country’s vision is to increase housing’s share in the total state budget to 5% and to increase housing delivery on a sustainable basis to a peak level of 338.000 units per annum, in order to reach the government of national unity’s target of 1,000.000 houses within five years (rsa dh, 1994). pottie (2003: 429) states that “while considerable housing delivery has occurred since 1994, housing expenditure as a proportion of national expenditure has not yet reached its stated goals”. research by olaosebikan (2010: 3) indicates that the government’s focus was initially on quantitative housing delivery with qualitative acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 80 shortcomings; however, this focus has now shifted to the quality of the end product that is delivered. it also shows that defects in houses manifest primarily through cracking, dampness, detachment, and water leakages. defects are categorised as being deficiencies in design, material, construction or subsurface (findlaw, 2011: online). the latter can be either patent or latent. patent defects can be clearly recognised during inspection, the construction period or the project’s defects liability period. latent defects appear over time, usually once the building has been occupied (che mat, hassan, isnim, mohidisa & sapeciay, 2011: 238). it may be argued that the risk of defects occurring in housing projects is greater, due to incompetent and unqualified construction professionals. this may be ascribed to the great demand for houses, government policies for job creation and the assistance of emerging construction-industry professionals. this article presents part of the findings of a research project, the primary aim of which is to establish the factors that relate to defects occurring in housing projects in the western and eastern cape provinces of south africa. 2. review of the literature the public perception of what constitutes a building ‘defect’ is often inconsistent with the legal definition of a ‘defect’. problems as a result of the natural ageing of a building and its components or a lack of proper maintenance are referred to as ‘defects’ by law, whereas they do not, in fact, represent defects for which producers will be liable. ‘defects’, liable by producers, are those representing a blemish in design, materials or workmanship (alhajeri, 2008: 420). according to alhajeri (2008: 421), the word ‘defect’ is defined in the oxford english dictionary as the lack of something essential or required, an imperfection. it is also defined as “failing in”, as a “shortcoming” or a “blemish” whereby something falls short. the word ‘defective’ is defined as having a defect or defects, i.e. a state of being incomplete, imperfect, faulty, lacking or deficient. in the construction context, the term ‘defect’ is generally refers to construction faults that exceed ordinary imperfections, affecting a basic structural element of the building works, and turning the building, installation, or structure into a state of functional ruin (alhajeri, 2008: 421). according to the webster’s dictionary, a defect is defined as the lack of something necessary for completeness; a shortcoming. it is buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 81 also defined as an imperfection, fault, or blemish (ahzahar, karim, hassan & eman, 2011: 250). a building defect may include any problem that reduces the value of a home, condominium, or building. building defects can be the result of design errors by professionals, a manufacturing flaw, defective materials, improper use or installation of materials, not conforming to the design by the contractor, or any combination of the above (ahzahar et al., 2011: 250). 2.1 housing standards in south africa housing is an important part of people’s lives. it provides shelter during windy and rainy seasons and keeps many families warm during the cold winter months. it is, therefore, important that due diligence be applied during the construction of a house. according to balchin & rhoden (1998: 214-215), there are a range of standards applied to housing. these include building regulations and target standards. the following criteria must be met if a dwelling is to be considered fit for human habitation: • structural stability; • a lack of dampness; • the provision of adequate heating, lighting and ventilation; • adequate piped supply of water, and • an effective drainage system. where a dwelling fails to meet any of these criteria and is not considered suitable for occupation, the premises will be considered unfit for human habitation. the local authority is then obliged to consider the most satisfactory course of action to deal with the problem (mkuzo, 2011: 33). according to lund (2007: 20), poorly built houses impact negatively on the government’s striving towards sustainable development. south africa is a resource-scarce country and every available rand in the government’s coffers needs to be spent as wisely as possible. the article also mentions that all the nine provinces in south africa have different challenges regarding the delivery of houses. a total of 40.000 defective rdp houses (nationwide) have had to be flattened and rebuilt at a cost of more than r1 billion (this amounts to approximately 10% of the national housing department’s annual budget), due to poor quality. lund (2007: 20) also refers to the (then) minister of finance, trevor manual, stating: “one of the examples of the shortfall in delivery of government housing was the acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 82 poor quality of homes being built”. until 2009, the department of human settlements spent r863.9 million nationwide on fixing more than 131.000 rdp houses. the department also demolished and rebuilt poorly built houses totalling 2.489 in the 2010-2011 financial year. more than 5.000 houses with faults were fixed in the 20102011 financial year at a cost of r971.1 million. so far (2009), 131.380 houses have been corrected. these houses did not need to be rebuilt, but certain aspects had to be fixed in order to conform to quality standards. ndaba (2010: online) mentions that it has been acknowledged that fraud, delays, corruption, absentee contractors, ghost houses, shoddy workmanship and corruption in respect of waiting lists are chronic impediments to the proper delivery of housing. he also states that poor housing quality derails government’s ability to improve the lives of all south africans, especially the poor. millions of rands have been allocated to fixing defects and rebuilding houses due to poor workmanship and maladministration. in the eastern cape’s queenstown area alone, the nhbrc ordered that 700 rdp houses be rectified at a cost of r3.4m (human settlements south africa, 2009). human settlements minister, tokyo sexwale, stated that “the cost of demolishing and rebuilding defective rdp houses has shot up to r1.3 billion after a national housing audit uncovered shoddily built homes in every province” (mkhwanazi, 2009: 3). 2.2 quality in the south african construction industry joubert, cruywagen & basson (2005: 39) conclude that the south african building industry has a negative image in terms of achieving quality and that it neglects the use of quality management systems (qmss). they also state that “it is abundantly clear that south african companies can absolutely not postpone the institution of adequate systems any longer”. zunguzane, smallwood & emuze (2012: 20) state that quality is a fundamental term in the construction industry; the non-achievement of such a crucial aspect of construction can result in the failure of a construction project and in the dissatisfaction of clients and/or building occupants. quality with regard to construction projects is a major concern to clients and, therefore, the non-achievement of quality leads to client dissatisfaction (auchterlounie, 2009: 250). hanson, mbachu & nkado (2003: 198) state that client dissatisfaction poses a serious threat to the sustainability of the south african construction industry. crosby (1979: 250-251) regards quality as the parameter that makes the difference between success and failure. love & edwards (2004: buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 83 270) mention that general contractors, who implement a qms, experience a significant reduction in rework and a competitive superiority among client stakeholders. research conducted in south africa among general contractors reveals that the majority of these contractors do not implement documented qmss and rely on informal actions to achieve quality (smallwood & rwelamila, 1998: 1786). there is a significant need in south africa for the implementation of qmss within the construction industry. general contractors do not implement strategic quality planning, such as iso 9000 accreditation. they are fully aware of the system and the successes that it has achieved, but lack competent senior management and organisational structures to implement and sustain the systems (smallwood & rwelamila, 1998: 1787). 2.3 defects in construction in general terms, defects or defective work occur when the standard and quality of workmanship and materials, as specified in the contract, are deficient (georgiou, 2010: 371). defects can be classified into two main categories, namely patent defects and latent defects. atkinson (1999: online) defines defects as a breach of the terms and conditions of the contract by contractors. defects may occur in any part of a construction project and at any stage of construction. douglas & ransom (2007: 6) define a ‘defect’ as a shortfall in performance occurring at any time in the life of the product, element or building in which it occurs. in considering issues within the defect domain, it is important to define what constitutes faults, failure and defects, and what types of failures are evident. the building regulations and british standards do not differentiate between faults and failures and define these as: • fault: a departure from design requirements where these were not themselves at fault. • defect or failure: a shortfall in performance occurring at any time in the life of the product, element or dwelling in which it occurs (ilozor, okoroh, egbu & archicentre, 2004: 328). atkinson (1987), cited by mills, love & williams (2009: 12), provides a clear definition between a failure and a defect: “a failure is a departure from good practice, which may or may not be corrected before the building is handed over. a defect, on the other hand, is a shortfall in performance which manifests itself once the building is operational”. mills, love & williams (2009: 13) suggest that defects acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 84 can be classified as being minor or major. minor defects are those that arise from poor workmanship or defective materials used in the erection or construction of a building, but do not render the building unsafe, uninhabitable, or unusable for the purposes for which the building was designed or intended. if the building is unsafe, uninhabitable, or unusable for the purposes for which the building was designed or intended, it is classified as a major defect. knocke (1992: 50) mentions that defects are fundamentally the physical manifestation of an error or omission. defective construction works can be defined as works that fall short of complying with the express descriptions or requirements of the contract. the majority of modern buildings and civil structures are complex and involve the use of a great variety of engineering methods and processes. therefore, most projects face the possibility of defects and defective work, which generally result in structures that cannot perform their originally intended roles (ojo, 2010: 3). defective construction contributes to both the final cost of a project and the cost of maintenance, which can be substantial. defective construction includes activities such as compaction not done to specifications, which leads to ground movement and eventual failure of foundations. this may lead to the complete failure of a structure (zietsman, 2008: 108). according to rhodes & smallwood (2002: 12), the methods of defect detection include observation, inspection, checking work and test samples. the following are some warning signs of possible defects in houses: • deep cracks in the foundation or basement walls: this may be a sign that the foundation was laid on a poorly compacted base or poorly graded soil; • sagging floors or leaning walls: a shifting foundation or structural problems (with support beams) could be the problem; • windows and doors that never sit well in frames or close properly: this problem could be due to beams and joists not being correctly sized or assembled; • cracks in interior walls: wide cracks could signal a foundation problem. generally, fine cracks are cosmetic due to normal ageing. ahzahar et al. (2011: 250) state that structural defects resulting in cracks are a common type of building defect. a case study undertaken by rhodes university’s public service accountability monitor (psam) also identified that different buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 85 kinds of cracks were a common structural quality defect in houses within the ngqushwa local municipality (south africa) (cidb, 2011b: 9). results of a survey in england and wales also revealed that the most common type of defect in houses was cracking of walls (baiche, walliman & ogden, 2006: 288). a study undertaken by fauzi, yusof & abidin (2011: 496) in malaysia also identified cracking of walls and floors as the most common type of defect in houses; • water damage: warning signs include mould, rot, paint peeling, staining, corrosion, swelling or discoloration of interior walls. possible causes: improperly installed roofing, no waterproof barrier or done incorrectly, lack of a drainage space behind brick wall, poorly installed windows and doors. although a study by rhodes & smallwood (2002: 13) identified that cracking is the most common type of defect, they also state that dampness-related types of defects dominate the industry. the study also reveals that maintenance contractors spent the most amount of time rectifying dampness-related defects. a study undertaken in malaysia by ahzahar et al. (2011: 253) ranked corrosion of steel as the second highest occurring type of defect in buildings; • flooding, sewer and drain backups; • switched hot and cold water, and • lack of required permits: this indicates that building authorities have not performed the required inspections (consumers union, 2004: 27). the conditions under which housing construction takes place are most often far from ideal, with the main focus on speedy delivery. defects resulting from inaccurate construction can be avoided by ensuring that proper inspection mechanisms are in place. all activities taking place in the construction process can be clearly described and each activity can be independently inspected for accuracy. although the inspection of accuracy forms part of the overall quality-assurance techniques, there is little emphasis on this (zietsman, 2008: 113). defects result in customer dissatisfaction and could result in rework, which contributes to the cost of construction and thus reduces profitability. quality management, which includes quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement, can mitigate and prevent the occurrence of defects (rhodes & smallwood, 2002: 1). acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 86 construction defects usually include any deficiency in the performing of the design, planning, supervision, inspection, construction, or observation of construction of any new home or building. the building is deficient if there is a failure during construction – in other words, if the building does not perform in a manner that was intended by the buyer (findlaw, 2011: online). the results of the 2011 construction industry indicators (ciis) (that measure the performance of the south african construction industry) show that approximately 86% of the projects surveyed in 2011 were apparently defect free or had few defects at practical completion/ handover; 12% of the projects had some defects, and 2% had major defects or were totally defective (cidb, 2011a: 6). the study also indicates that clients were satisfied with the resolution of defective work during the construction period on 82% of the projects, and were neutral or dissatisfied on 18% of the projects surveyed. satisfaction with the resolution of defects as well as the reduction of defects observed was significantly better than observed in the previous years (cidb, 2011a: 6). 2.4 types of defects manning (2005: online) mentions that all types of defects can typically be grouped into the following four major categories: design deficiencies, material deficiencies, construction deficiencies and subsurface deficiencies. findlaw (2011: online) describes the major categories as follows: • design deficiencies: buildings and systems (designed by professionals such as engineers) do not always work as specified; this can result in a defect. typical design deficiencies relate to building outside the specified code. a typical design defect is roofs that result in water penetration, poor drainage or inadequate structural support. • material deficiencies: the use of inferior building materials can cause significant problems such as windows that leak or fail to perform even when properly installed. • construction deficiencies: poor quality workmanship can result in long lists of defects, e.g. plumbing leaks. • subsurface deficiencies: many houses are built on hills or other areas where it is difficult to provide a stable foundation. a lack of a solid foundation may result in cracked foundations or floor slabs as well as other damage to the building. subsurface conditions that are not properly compacted or prepared buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 87 may cause problems – these include improper settling to the ground or the shifting of a structure (e.g. a house). 2.5 causes of defects stephenson, morrey, vacher & ahmed (2002: 398) state that the causes of defects fall into the following basic categories: • natural phenomena such as storms, resulting in damage from floods, exceptionally high winds, lightning, earthquakes; • design errors; • workmanship errors; • faulty materials; • procedural errors; • failure to maintain properly, and • abuse or misuse of the building. they also mention that, although defects caused by ‘natural phenomena such as storms, resulting in damage from floods, exceptionally high winds, lightning, earthquakes’, ‘failure to maintain properly’ and ‘abuse or misuse of the building’ are not the direct responsibility of the designer or builder. it is important to recognise and be aware of these types of problems, as they also provide causes of possible defects. according to rhodes & smallwood (2002: 13), the causes of defects can be related to design, construction, procurement and prevailing environmental conditions. they also describe the origin of defects as being inadequate management and technical skills. weldon (1998: 199) states that building defects or failures may arise due to a variety of factors, including poor design, failure of the material, poor construction, and lack of maintenance. 3. research methodology this article presents part of the findings of a research project on defects in buildings, using a descriptive quantitative research approach. it first involved an in-depth study of the current theory of defects and quality management systems by means of a literature review. the review of the existing theory focused on categories of defects, causes of defects, consequences of defects, quality assurance and defect costs. the second part of the research entailed a web-based survey to secure primary data from built environment stakeholders (architects, acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 88 consulting engineers and building contractors). a quantitative method of research was implemented to analyse ordinal scales by means of nonparametric statistical tests, using the mean scores, as advocated by jamieson (2004: 1217). for the purpose of distributing the questionnaire, electronic mail (e-mail) was used and surveymonkey was used for collecting the results. the results of the questionnaire were stored within the surveymonkey platform and later downloaded for analysis. the questionnaire was designed to determine built-environment stakeholders’ views on two aspects: • the causes of defects in buildings. • the type of defects mostly occurring in buildings. questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality. it was assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses as they were assured of their anonymity. a 5-point rating scale, also known as a likert-type scale (leedy & ormrod, 2005), was used to elicit participants’ opinions on various statements. the population consisted of 400 randomly selected professionals, from whom 102 questionnaires were completed on-line, representing a 25.5% response rate. the response group included contractors (50%), architects (29%), engineers (17%) and ‘other’ (4%) (developers and municipal officials) from the western cape (52%) and eastern cape (48%) provinces. the majority (64%) of the respondents were between 36 and 55 years old and 48% had more than 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. the majority of the respondents (60%) are directors within their firms. this respondent profile indicates that respondents have the necessary experience and knowledge to provide reliable information. 4. results and discussion for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following terminology was used regarding mean scores: ‘strongly disagree’ or ‘very seldom’ (≥1.0 & ≤1.8); ‘disagree’ or ‘seldom’ (>1.8 & ≤2.6); ‘neutral’ or ‘average’ (>2.6 & ≤3.4); ‘agree’ or ‘often’ (>3.4 & ≤4.2) and ‘strongly agree’ or ‘very often’ (>4.2 & ≤5.0). buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 89 4.1 causes of defects respondents were requested to state to what extent they agreed that the listed items are causes of defects in houses, where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree and 5=strongly agree. table 1: causes of defects causes of defects mean rank inadequate artisan skills* 4.25 1 unqualified contractors* 4.20 2 lack of quality management during construction* 4.19 3 lack of inspection during construction* 4.02 4= lack of management of construction process* 4.02 4= inadequate labourer skills* 3.98 6 contractor errors* 3.86 7 non-compliance with specifications** 3.81 8 inappropriate specifications** 3.55 9 unqualified designers** 3.52 10 lack of communication between designer and contractors*** 3.45 11 lack of motivation of contractor (resulting in forgetfulness or carelessness)* 3.41 12= defective materials used* 3.41 12= lack of quality management during design** 3.41 12= design errors** 3.37 15 conflicting details on drawings** 3.17 16 lack of motivation of designer (resulting in forgetfulness or carelessness)** 3.12 17 * contractor related ** consultant related *** both table 1 shows that respondents rated ‘inadequate artisan skills’ as the biggest cause that leads to defects in houses; this was indicated by the mean value of 4.25 signifying ‘strongly agree’ on the likert scale. ‘unqualified contractors’ was ranked as the second biggest cause of defects; this reflected a mean value of 4.20, signifying ‘agree’, while ‘lack of quality management during construction’ acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 90 was ranked as the third highest cause of defects; this had a mean value of 4.19 (also signifying ‘agree’). rhodes & smallwood (2002: 11) conducted a study in south africa in which they rated the ‘lack of quality management’ as the biggest cause leading to defects on construction projects. zietsman (2008: 113), however, rates the ‘lack of inspection during construction’ as the biggest cause. ali & wen (2011: 68) rank ‘lack of experience and competency of labourers’ highest in the malaysian construction industry. zunguzane, smallwood & emuze (2012: 36) rank ‘poor workmanship’ highest as the main cause of defects in low-income housing. ‘lack of motivation of designer (resulting in forgetfulness or carelessness)’ was ranked as the lowest cause of defects in buildings; this being indicated by a mean value of 3.12 (‘neutral’), while ‘conflicting details on drawings’ was ranked as the second lowest cause (mean value 3.17 (‘neutral’) and ‘design errors’ as the third lowest cause of defects (mean value 3.37 (‘neutral’). it is noted that the first seven ranked causes identified were construction related. this should serve as a warning to industry professionals with regard to the causes of defects. utilising competent people within all construction-related areas is vital to ensure sustainable quality and reduction of defective works. the literature also states that construction-related causes are significant with regard to defective works. 4.2 types of defects respondents were requested to state the frequency of their involvement in the following types of defects in housing projects, where 1=very seldom, 2=seldom, 3=average, 4=often and 5=very often. table 2: types of defects types of defects mean rank cracks (e.g. in floors walls and beams)+ 4.00 1 dampness 3.86 2 roof problems++ 3.64 3 water leaks (plumbing)+ 3.49 4 detachment (e.g. plaster from walls paint peeling)+ 3.35 4 structure instability (e.g. foundation problems)++ 3.18 6 insulation problems++ 2.99 7 buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 91 types of defects mean rank electrical problems 2.86 8= blemishes (e.g. scaling honeycomb)++ 2.86 8= corrosion (steel)++ 2.68 10 + see table 3 ++ see table 3 table 2 shows that respondents ranked ‘cracks (e.g. floors, walls and beams)’, indicated by the mean value of 4.00, as the most frequent type of defect in houses. further analysis indicated that 31% of the respondents stated that cracks occur ‘very often’ in houses, while 47% indicated ‘often’; thus, 78% of the respondents either indicated ‘often’ or ‘very often’ that cracks were the most common defect on housing projects. dampness (with a mean of 3.86) is ranked as the second most common type of defect in houses, indicating ‘agree’ on the likert scale. the lowest ranked type of defect on housing projects is ‘corrosion’, with a mean of 2.68, indicating ‘average’ on the likert scale. cracking is normally a structural deficiency, but the nature and causes thereof might be for different reasons, e.g. material deficiencies, subsurface deficiencies or conditions. cracks and other defects can also be the result of poor workmanship (incompetent or shortage of skilled artisans) and possibly a consequence of noncompliance with building regulations during the construction of houses. it is for this reason that the quality of site supervision is very important to ensure that defects are limited; the implementation of a quality management system will assist this process. the results correspond with the results discussed in the literature. the various causes of defects (table 1) were grouped into two categories, i.e. contractor related* and consultant related**. the various types of defects (table 2) could not be grouped together easily and an exploratory factor analysis (efa) was conducted whereby a 2-factor solution was found to be most suitable. the efa excluded ‘dampness’ and ‘electrical problems’. cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability (nunally, 1979: 85) was determined for each of the scale scores derived from the grouped items, as indicated in tables 1 and 2. the results are shown in table 3. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 92 table 3: cronbach’s alphas for scale scores scale scores number of items cronbach’s alpha causes of defects*: contractor related 9 0.80 causes of defects**: consultant related 7 0.79 types of defects+: cracks detachment water leaks 3 0.72 types of defects++: corrosion blemishes insulation problems structure instability roof problems 5 0.83 cronbach’s alpha interpretation levels as evidence of reliability (internal consistency) are described as ‘good’ (0.70-0.79) and ‘excellent’ (0.80-0.99) (nunally, 1978: 85). the values shown in table 3 thus indicate either good or excellent levels of internal consistency for the scale scores. descriptive statistics for the scale scores are presented in table 4. table 4: frequency distributions mean rank causes of defects*: contractor related 3.92 1 causes of defects**: consultant related 3.43 2 types of defects+: cracks detachment water leaks 3.86 1 types of defects++: corrosion blemishes insulation problems structure instability roof problems 3.33 2 inferential statistics confirmed that contractor-related causes of defects were more prevalent than consultant-related causes (t = 5.56, d.f. = 80, p = <.0005; cohen’s d = 0.62, medium practical significance) and that defects such as cracks, detachment and water leaks were more prevalent than defects such as corrosion, blemishes, insulation problems, structure instability and roof problems (t = 5.58, d.f. = 81, p = <.0005; cohen’s d = 0.62, medium practical significance). 5. conclusion the results of the survey among professionals (architects, contractors and engineers) showed that the biggest contributing factor towards defects is inadequate artisan skills. the study also identified cracking as the most frequently occurring defect. this relates to being a structural deficiency, although the nature and causes of cracking buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 93 might be for different reasons. the study also revealed that projects fail in project-management terms, due to defects prolonging the construction time of projects. the literature indicated that cracking is a frequently occurring manifestation of defects, and dampness-related manifestations predominate. this is confirmed, to a degree, by the empirical results from this research. dampness was rated as the second most frequently occurring type of defect in houses. respondents also rated dampness as the biggest problem about which residents complained, and that contractors spent the most time rectifying dampness-related defects in houses. defects result from non-conformance to requirements and invariably result in rework. the overall causes of defects can be attributed to design, construction, material and subsurface conditions. ultimately, the origin of defects lies in inadequate management or inadequate technical skills. the descriptive survey reflects a degree of denial with respect to the liability of designers for defects, but it clearly indicates that construction-related causes dominate. quality assurance can reduce or eliminate defects by implementing a quality-management system. this, however, requires that designers, contractors and clients have the requisite skills. procurement-related interventions may mitigate the occurrence of defects. in summary, within the south african construction industry, factors relating to defects can potentially be avoided if qualified professionals are appointed to exercise due diligence and if professional teams are given the opportunity to guide contractors during the contract. the cost of appointing reputable professionals in their advisory capacity has to be weighed against the cost of both social and economic constraints. the appointment of qualified construction-industry professionals to implement and maintain quality-management systems will alleviate the current problems in respect of housing delivery within the country. the serious shortage of competent people at both local and national government level to evaluate and administer construction projects and identify contractual irregularities on all sides ultimately contributes to defective construction. contracting and subcontracted bodies must take the responsibility to identify and report questionable bee practices so that institutions such as the cidb can remove them from their databases as reputable practices; this alone will reduce and ensure more sustainable housing delivery. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 94 although not discussed in this article, corruption within the south african construction industry may also contribute to irregularities with regard to procurement. the full extent of how it contributes to defects is, however, not yet clearly documented. the authors are of the opinion that, in some circumstances, irregularities during procurement can directly be related to the appointment of incompetent contractors. however, respondents did not rate procurement-related factors as a major contributor to defective construction. this, however, might change in future, due to the large number of corrupt activities currently being exposed within the construction industry. bowen, edwards & cattell (2012: 885) state that corruption is a pervasive stain on the construction industry in many countries, and south africa is no exception. they also state that factors instrumental in corruption include the skills shortage within the industry, a perceived absence of deterrents and sanctions, and poor ethical standards. although the research results are limited to the views of respondents in the western and eastern cape provinces only, there is no reason to believe that this is not the same for the other provinces in south africa. 6. recommendations first, with regard to the causes of defects, it is recommended that professionals, especially contractors, concentrate on improving or implementing an effective quality-management system. they should also consider the factors relating to defects more deeply, so that preventative action can be taken at the outset of a project, as well as in the long term. defects must be viewed as a risk, due to the likely financial implications. secondly, the professional teams must ensure that they become more knowledgeable with regard to the effects of defects. defects do increase the project parameters of time and cost and affect other elements such as quality. thirdly, although contractors are aware of the shortage of skills within the construction industry, more should be done to encourage education and training. contractors should take the initiative to encourage their employees to obtain further education or training. this must been regarded as growth within the organisation and not as an expense or a burden. fourthly, professionals must ensure that they concentrate on identifying and exposing corrupt activities within the construction industry. corrupt activities within the industry portray a negative buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 95 image of south africa to the rest of the world and decrease our investment potential. this has a negative effect on all construction professionals. the mba and cidb also have a role to play in countering corruption by informing members about the consequences of corruption as well as identifying and reporting corrupt practices to the authorities. lastly, pertaining to defective construction, professionals must ensure that they reduce or eliminate defective work within the industry. competent people must be appointed to ensure that the technical requirements are being met. professionals must be familiar with the relevant requirements of building standards and codes; if they are not, they must be educated or trained. experienced constructionindustry professionals must be utilised to educate the youth to ensure that lessons learnt in the past can be applied in future. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to mr danie venter of the nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa, for statistical assistance and advice. references ahzahar, n., karim, n.a., hassan, s.h. & eman, j. 2011. a study of contribution factors to building failures and defects in construction industry. in: procedia engineering. 2nd international building control conference, 11-12 july, penang, malaysia. amsterdam: elsevier science, 20, pp. 249-255. alhajeri, m.a. 2008. defects and events giving rise to decennial liability in building and construction contracts. in: proceedings of cobra 2008: the construction and building research conference of the royal institution of chartered surveyors, 4-5 september, dublin institute of technology. london: rics, pp: 420-432. ali, a.s. & wen, k.h. 2011. building defects: possible solution for poor construction workmanship. journal of building performance, 2(1), pp. 59-69. atkinson, d. 1999. defects. 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(eds). housing policy and practice in post-apartheid south africa. sandown: heinemann, pp. 429-466. rhodes, b. & smallwood, j.j. 2002. defects and rework in south african construction projects. in: morledge, r. (ed.). proceedings of the rics foundation construction and building research conference (cobra 2002), 5-6 september, nottingham trent university, nottingham. pp. 1-15. buys & le roux • causes of defects in the south african housing 99 rsa dh (south africa. department of housing). 1994. a new housing policy and strategy for south africa. government gazette: 16178. 23 december. pretoria, government printer. (also available online from: http://www.info.gov.za/whitepapers/1994/housing. htm#2.1). smallwood, j.j. & rwelamila, p.d. 1998. the need for the implementation of quality management systems in south african construction. in: proceedings of the cib world building congress, gaevle, sweden, 7-12 june, pp. 1779-1788. stephenson, p., morrey, i., vacher, p. & ahmed, z. 2002. acquisition and structuring of knowledge for defect prediction in brickwork mortar. engineering, construction and architectural management, 9(5/6), pp. 396-408. weldon, j. 1998. housing design and development. in: balchin, p. & rhoden, m. (eds). housing: the essential foundations. london: routledge, pp. 154-208. zietsman, r. 2008. defects in the south african construction industry now and then. in: proceedings of the construction industry development board (cidb) 5th post-graduate conference on construction industry development, 16-18 march, bloemfontein, south africa, pp. 108-114. zunguzane, n., smallwood, j. & emuze, f. 2012. perceptions of the quality of low-income houses in south africa: defects and their causes. acta structilia, 19(1), pp. 19-38. 27 anneke clark exploring the people’s housing process: an application of the 1986 rhodes policy network model peer reviewed abstract a formal policy supporting the people’s housing process (php) was released in 1998. this policy and subsequent support measures in many ways mandates a policy implementation network. the south african department of housing’s (doh) interpretation of self-built housing as expressed in the php should, however, be regarded as a response to and reflection of survival strategies that had already been employed by communities prior to 1998. the researcher therefore turned to the policy network literature to explore php project characteristics. the central research question was whether the 1986 rhodes policy network model is a useful heuristic device for exploring php project characteristics. this was done by first subsuming network characteristics as contained within the 1986 rhodes model under appropriate network dimensions. using case studies, indicators were then developed for the presence of various network characteristics. keywords: policy networks, people’s housing process, self-built housing, heuristic model abstrak ’n formele beleid wat die people’s housing process (php) ondersteun is in 1998 bekendgestel. hierdie beleid en daaropvolgende ondersteuningsmaatreëls het op verskeie wyses ‘n beleidsimplementeringnetwerk vereis. die manier waarop die suid-afrikaanse departement van behuising selfboubehuising geïnterpreteer het, moet egter as ‘n reaksie tot en weerspieëling van bestaande oorlewingstrategieë gesien word wat voor 1998 deur gemeenskappe gebruik was. die navorser het dus beleidsnetwerkliteratuur bestudeer om php projekkenmerke te ondersoek. die sentrale navorsingsvraag van die studie was om te bepaal of die 1986 rhodes beleidsnetwerkmodel ‘n toepaslike heuristiese model is om php projekkenmerke te ondersoek. hierdie vraag was benader deur die netwerkkenmerke wat binne die 1986 rhodes beleidsnetwerkmodel voorkom onder toepaslike dimensies te plaas. deur die gebruik van gevallestudies is aanwysers vir die teenwoordigheid van verskeie projekkenmerke ontwikkel. sleutelwoorde: beleidsnetwerke, people’s housing process, selfboubehuising, heuristiese model ms anneke clark western cape provincial parliament po box 648 cape town 8000. phone: 072 142 1300 email: <aclark@wcpp.gov.za> acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 28 1. introduction it has been argued that long-established institutions such as municipalities and housing development contractors find it difficult to respond to informality (marais, van rensburg & botes, 2003: 350). as noted by jenkins, communities have therefore depended on the idea of “counting on one’s own resources” since before 1998 when the php strategy was introduced (jenkins, 1999: 444). in 1994, the newly democratically elected government had to develop policies that allowed the broader population access to services. the issue of ‘housing for all’ received particular attention for a number of reasons. one of these reasons was that historically the struggle for access to housing was a rallying point for a number of community protests. the second reason is related to the apartheid government’s failure to appropriately address increasing urbanisation in south africa. the choice of separate development as a reaction to this urbanisation process created a backlog of impoverished households seeking housing. the post-apartheid state would later introduce the php as a housing programme intended to make inroads into this backlog. this article will explore the php as it was implemented by the doh1 before being replaced as a housing programme by the enhanced php in april 2009. the php “is a housing delivery mechanism whereby beneficiary households build, or organise between themselves, the building of their own homes” (doh, 2005: 7). it will be argued that php projects are in many ways mandated policy networks, given that the network characteristics of these projects are derived from prescriptions contained within national policies and implementation guides. the researcher therefore turned to the policy network literature to explore php projects. there was a need to ensure that the study could achieve theoretical complementarity between php projects and what the literature refers to as networks. to this end, borzel’s definition of a policy network will be used as a generic definition of what a policy network is. borzel’s definition regards policy networks as ‘a set of relatively stable relationships which are non-hierarchical and independent in nature linking a variety of actors who share common interests and who exchange resources to pursue shared interests acknowledging that co-operation is the best way to achieve common goals’ (borzel, 1998: 2). the policy network literature will therefore be reviewed to examine whether the literature can provide existing models for exploring php projects. 1 the department of housing was renamed the department of human settlements in 2009. this article will however refer to the former as was done in case studies on which the research draws. clark • exploring the people’s housing process 29 the objective of the study is to contribute to the limited field of policy network literature in south africa and to gain a better understanding of the implementation of the php. the 1986 rhodes model was amongst other models developed during the inception of policy network literature. such earlier models are not able to explain why certain network characteristics result in particular network outcomes and these models can at best identify the presence or absence of certain network characteristics. for the introduction of policy networks to the south african and php context, this descriptive ability is considered to be sufficient. 2. the people’s housing process support measures the purpose of this section is not to provide a critical analysis of php support measures; the intent is to highlight policy prescriptions that create network characteristics as defined by borzel. the 1994 white paper: a new housing policy and strategy for south africa re cognised self-help processes but did not identify a self-build housing approach as an immediate housing strategy (marais, ntema & venter, 2008: 7). in the years following the 1994 white paper there appeared to be a growing realisation that the process of delivering ‘housing for all’ would not happen as fast as envisioned. this arguably contributed towards the development of the 1998 national policy: supporting the people’s housing process. the php is intended for beneficiaries who already qualify to access the housing subsidy scheme (doh, 2005: 20). this policy’s intent is to support communities in need of housing by assisting them in accessing land, services and technical assistance (doh, 1998: 1). this support was formalised into two programmes, the first of these being accessing housing subsidies and the second being accessing technical, financial, logistical and administrative support to ensure project sustainability (doh, 1998: 1). the 2004 comprehensive plan for the development of sustainable human settlement, commonly referred to as breaking new ground (bng) is the doh’s delivery manifesto. this document deemed ‘supporting urban renewal and inner city regeneration’ important in meeting housing objectives. as a starting point for such support, bng highlighted the contradictory way in which the php was being implemented, especially during informal settlement upgrading. rather than maximising on the benefits of beneficiary involvement throughout all the phases of the project, beneficiary involvement was often relegated to the final, construction phase (doh, 2004: 17). acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 30 the 2000 housing code elaborates on the requirements set out in the 1998 national policy: supporting the php. chapter 3.4 of the 2000 housing code introduced the 1998 national policy: supporting the people’s housing process as one of seven housing strategies.2 the prescriptions contained within the housing code emphasised self-built requirements above other requirements such as community participation. for this reason the php was regarded as a self-built strategy that focused on the completion of the top structure (planact, 2009: 3). beyond this emphasis, it has, however, been argued that the prescriptions contained within the code were too vague and consequently the original intent behind the policy was contradicted (doh, 2005: 4). consequently, in 2005 the doh released the policy framework and implementation guidelines for the peoples housing process delivery mechanism to provide the needed clarification. the years following the publication of the 2005 policy framework saw the continuation of advocacy from the non-governmental organisation (ngo) sector. this advocacy was driven by arguments that the php should be about more than just the housing product being delivered (doh, 2009: 3). this advocacy and other contributory factors led to the development of the enhanced php as introduced in april 2009. the prescriptions contained within this enhanced php are, however, beyond the scope of this article and focus will remain on the php as introduced in 1998. the php can be used by already eligible beneficiaries to access a consolidation, project-linked, institutional or rural subsidy (individual subsidies may not be accessed via the php). facilitation and establishment grants are made available over and above the capital subsidy which is reserved for services and the top structures. the facilitation grant is made available to initiate a new ‘support organisation’ or allow a current ‘support organisation’ to complete the project application process (doh, 2000: 8.2.1.1). it may also be used for preparation work that forms part of the project application phase, culminating in the submission of a project proposal to the provincial housing development board (phdb). it includes payment for the community workshops undertaken during this period. the establishment grant is used to enable the ‘support organisation’ to provide technical, financial, logistical and administrative support to the project. the approval of both the facilitation and establishment grants is at the discretion of the phdb. 2 the remaining strategies are stabilising the housing environment mobilising housing credit providing subsidy assistance rationalising institutional capacity facilitating speedy release and servicing of land co-ordinating state investment in development. clark • exploring the people’s housing process 31 the project-based requirements of the php make it clear that such an approach can only be considered for communities where at least a minimal level of trust and co-operation already exists or can be created between beneficiaries. the php can be considered an agreement between possible beneficiaries that they will pool their resources (including subsidies and labour) to create a housing project (cct, 2006). php projects provide a network for linking households with a common interest that recognises that co-operation within a project (as opposed to an individual subsidy) is more beneficial. the facilitation and establishment grants, which allow capacity-building and empowerment, therefore contribute to creating an enabling environment. one of the aims of the programme is to “foster partnerships between all levels of government, civil society, the private sector and other players” (doh, 1998: 3). the inclusion of all levels of actors highlights the policy’s intent to implement the php through non-hierarchical relationships. the focus on partnerships is also in recognition of the fact that co-operation between actors is the most beneficial approach to implementing the php. support measures list the range of organisations allowed to provide assistance to projects. this includes provincial and local authorities, community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, religious bodies, development corporations, private sector developers, employers, building-material corporations and private-sector developers (doh, 2000). this is in recognition of all the actors who share a common interest in housing provision and the fact that the php can provide a network for linking these actors. the options for the formation of ‘support organisations’ are set out in section 8.2.1 of the housing code. a ‘support organisation’ has to be a legal entity such as a company incorporated in terms of the section 21 companies act 1972 (act no. 16 of 1972), a trust, voluntary association or a co-operative under the co-operatives act (act no. 91 of 1981) (doh, 2000: 299). setting the parameters for the legal status of the support organisation as well as the prescriptions for the contents of the project proposal and the subsidy agreement provides the basis for relatively stable relationships. all the benefits of a php approach would be difficult, if possible, to reach without the recognition that it requires an enabling environment that fosters partnerships built through co-operation. the main financial support mechanisms, namely the facilitation and establishment grants as well as the housing subsidies, recognise the necessity for resource exchanges between these actors. the state is willing to provide acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 32 these resources in anticipation of outcomes in which communities are more capacitated and therefore more resilient. 3. policy network models the development of the literature on policy networks was driven by political science scholars who wished to capture the realities of policy processes (skogstad, 2005: 1). initial work was a critique against pluralist and corporatist models of interest intermediation (blom-hansen, 1997: 670; borzel, 1998: 4). these contributions arguably began with freeman’s work (cited in homeshaw, 1995) in the 1950s which focused primarily on the main actors within formal and informal institutions to which he referred as subsystems. also referring to subsystems during the same time period, truman (1951) (cited in almond, 1997: 222) mentioned dispersed leadership across and outside government spheres. in the absence of policy network literature, truman’s work, like other academic writing on a similar subject matter, was, however, categorised as pluralist. in critiquing his american counterparts, lowi (1972) (cited in besussi, 2006: 3) used the concept of iron triangles to challenge erstwhile dominant pluralist accounts of the policy process. his work emerged from his study on the relations between congress, administrative agencies and lobbying groups. the policy network literature would later go beyond the elitist iron triangle approach to include a broader range of actors and types of relationships between these actors. heclo (1978) (cited in kenis & schneider, 1991: 29) was the first academic to refer to these broader relationships as issue networks. british contributions to the policy network literature emerged shortly after heclo’s conceptualisation of issue networks. this occurred by way of richardson & jordon’s (1979) (cited in homeshaw, 1995) attempt to bring together pluralist theories with that of the roles of different actors in policy-making. these authors viewed the policy process as being more about co-option and consensus than about the enforcement of party lines through manifestos and parliamentary influences. these authors are credited with first introducing the idea of a policy community, defining it as “a relationship which involves a community of departments and groups” (kaboyakgosi & mpule, 2008: 305). this relationship was said to include co-operative and consensual forms of interest intermediation (kaboyakgosi & mpule, 2008: 305). another british academic, rhodes (1981), developed a power dependency model to explain the dependency different members have on each other. he subsequently built on this model of interest intermediation and developed a typology of networks that are on a continuum ranging from issue networks to policy clark • exploring the people’s housing process 33 communities. according to this 1986 model, ‘issue networks’ are characterised by the absence of stability, a large number of members and limited vertical interdependence. within such networks there are no central points around which actors bargain for resources. this is the least integrated of all the networks in the model (rhodes, 1997: 38; rhodes, 1991: 204). the second type of network, ‘producer networks’, is characterised by the dominant role the economic interests of both the public and private sector play in policy-making. this network has fluctuating membership and exhibits dependence on industrial organisations for the delivery of desired goods and expertise. in addition, there is limited vertical interdependence among the network and others with economic interests (rhodes, 1997: 38). ‘intergovernmental networks’, the third type of network, is based on representative organisations of local authorities and explicitly excludes public sector unions (rhodes, 1991: 205). this network has extensive horizontal articulation in that it is able to penetrate other networks of interest (rhodes, 1991: 205). dominant interests within this network are exclusively informed by those responsible for the provision of local authority services. this network is also characterised by limited vertical interdependence because the members have no shared service delivery responsibilities with members in other networks (rhodes, 1997: 38). ‘professional networks’ have a highly restricted membership and exhibit stability. the network is dominated by the interests of professionals over whom there are limited, if any, constraints. this network is characterised by vertical interdependence with other networks. finally, the network exhibits limited horizontal articulation in that it is able to insulate itself from other networks (rhodes, 1991: 204). the final network is referred to as a ‘policy community network’ and is characterised by stability. it also exhibits vertical interdependence which is based on shared service delivery responsibilities. this network has a highly restricted membership and is based on the functional interests of government. such networks are also tightly integrated but exhibit limited horizontal articulation as they are able to insulate themselves from both other networks and the public (rhodes, 1991: 304; rhodes, 1997: 38). subsequent models (e.g. wright, 1988; coleman & skogstad, 1990; rhodes & marsh, 1992) were developed after the particular researchers found that existing models did not capture the reality of acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 34 policy processes within the contexts in which they were interested. rhodes & marsh (1992) have, for example, further developed the 1986 rhodes model by developing network dimensions to differentiate between policy communities and issue networks (rhodes & marsh, 1992). by selecting the earlier model and developing network dimensions, the same approach was used for this study. the policy network literature, beyond descriptive models, has continued to endeavour to develop theories about how network characteristics influence policy outcomes. this included empirical studies using policy network models as analytical tools in analysing various networks (e.g. daguerre, 1999; kaboyakgosi & mpule, 2008; howlett, 2002). 4. methodology and data analysis the central research question was whether the 1986 rhodes policy network model is a useful heuristic device for exploring php project characteristics. the reader has already been introduced to the 1986 rhodes model and the characteristics assigned to each type of network. each of these characteristics was subsumed under appropriate network dimensions to produce table 1. table 1: 1986 rhodes model network characteristics subsumed under network dimensions stability integration membership vertical interdependence dominant interest relationship with other networks issue networks absence of network stability limited integration large number of members limited vertical interdependence absence of bar-gaining platform at which dominant interests can be mediated producer networks fluctuating membership limited vertical interdependence among network and other economic interests both public and private sectors play a dominant role in policymaking dependent on industrial organisations for delivery of desired goods and expertise clark • exploring the people’s housing process 35 to operationalise the amended model, the researcher drew on secondary data to seek indicators pointing to the presence of particular network characteristics. convenience sampling was used in locating and selecting the case studies. such a sampling method is appropriate for the motivations behind explorative studies (johnson & reynolds, 2005: 254). the case studies involve three organisations, namely the south african doh, the development action group3 3 the development action group is a non-profit organisation which provides support to communities attempting to secure adequate housing. this support includes among others research lobbying and assisting communities during people’s housing process projects. stability integration membership vertical interdependence dominant interest relationship with other networks intergovernmental networks based on representative organisations of local authorities interdependence on account of the absence of shared service delivery responsibilities among members exclusively informed by those responsible for the provision of local authority services extensive ability to penetrate other networks explicitly excludes public sector unions professional networks presence of stability access to network is highly restricted network exhibits vertical interdependence informed by functional interest of government network possess the ability to insulate itself from other networks policy community networks presence of stability tightly integrated membership highly restricted network exhibits vertical interdependence informed by functional interest of government network possesses the ability to insulate itself from other networks based on shared service delivery responsibilities acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 36 (dag) and impumelelo social innovations centre.4 these institutions provided eleven case studies as the basis for selecting the possible indicators. the selected case study projects are all located within lower income areas and involve communities who already had historical experiences of collective action aimed at securing shelter, before the php was initiated in that particular area. the historical experience of community action increased the prospects that trust and reciprocation, the basis for network structures, would most likely be present within the project case studies. a comprehensive project context for each case study is not warranted as the study does not aim to link project characteristics (which are related to project context) to project outcomes. brief characteristics of the case study projects are, however, provided as examples of historical community action. table 2: brief case study project characteristics project area project characteristics ocean view cape town western cape the ocean view settlement was developed on a hillside on the south peninsula region of cape town where forcibly removed coloured households had to settle in homes and flats in the early 1960s. from this time until 1995 no further housing was provided and consequently an informal settlement atlantic heights was established by residents as a response to prevailing overcrowded conditions (impulelelo 2004b: 27). tintown gamalakhe kwazulu-natal gamalakhe is located 15km inland from the kwazulu-natal coast. most residents who now live here were forcibly removed from the margate area on the coast. several thousands of these households had to settle in gamalakhe. approximately a thousand of these households were not accommodated in the formal rental houses provided. they were placed in what was then intended to be only an emergency transit camp. these households however remained on this un-serviced site from 1960 until 1992 (impulelelo 2004a: 18). kwanubuhle uitenhage nelson mandela metropolitan municipality kwanubuhle is a black township within the uitenhage municipality (now part of the nelson mandela metropolitan area). in 1996 the uitenhage transitional local council (utlc) was given the permission to develop and facilitate housing developments. as early as 1996 the utlc requested the csir (centre for scientific and industrial research) to undertake research into a communitydriven approach to housing delivery. subsequently kwanubule has been provided with standard township services including tarred roads water and electricity points (dag 2003a: 3). 4 the impumelelo social innovations centre is a non-profit organisation that identifies rewards and promotes innovative public private projects. these projects are assessed based on the extent to which they improve the quality of life of the poor in south africa. clark • exploring the people’s housing process 37 project area project characteristics zola and ivanlew tsolwa municipality tarkastad administration area a php project was started in tarkastad and included both zola and ivanlew which were created under the apartheid group areas act. this project was initiated by engineers in 1998 who were able to access project-linked subsidies to provide a housing development plan for tarkastad (dag 2003b: 4). since the initiation of the project there has however not been beneficiary involvement in the projects. community involvement only happened by way of training local builders and interested persons through an artisan-training course (dag 2003b: 6). ivory park midrand gauteng the php was developed for masisizane which is located in one of three wards within ivory park. before the php project was initiated this community built their shelter from poles and plastic sheeting. they chose these materials because it allowed them to quickly dismantle their shelters when they were threatened with eviction. the area’s geo-technical condition makes it susceptible to floods and the drowning of one child created further imputes for the initiation of a php project (dag 2003c: 2). sebokeng vereeniging gauteng the kanana php project is located in sebokeng extension 12. in 1994 this land which was earmarked for industrial development was invaded by 1500 shack dwellers. these shack dwellers later joined the homeless people’s federation and the construction of some houses started. as in masizane in the previous project area there are adverse geo-technical conditions which the project has had to overcome. at the time that the project was initiated the area contained 2570 sites which had been serviced with gravel roads water electricity and sanitation (dag 2003d: 2 6). dukathole aliwal north eastern cape the dukathole township is situated adjacent to the orange river in the eastern cape. the township came into existence in 1914 and since then both long-term and migrant residents from nearby farms have settled here. the housing stock in dukathole included municipal stock houses and houses built by community members as part of job-creation programmes. at the time that the particular development was initiated the township included about 1 190 shacks (doh 2002: 2). duncan village east london easterncape situated in duncun village mdantsane was established in 1964 where the area was earmarked as a relocation site for forcibly removed families. the area has already undergone various types and levels of housing development which started with the 19911992 proposal of the provision of 368 residential sites. the top structure provision was however delayed for five years even though infrastructure provision was completed (doh 2002: 2 4). smuts ngonyama village east london eastern cape the smuts ngonyama village is located within mdatsane in the city of east london in the eastern cape province. before the php process was started in the area potential beneficiaries visited another php project in uitenhage which convinced them that this was a desirable approach to securing housing for themselves (doh 2002: 2). alphendale east london eastern cape alphendale informal settlement is located adjacent to an area which is occupied by prime residential houses. this settlement is home to 600 families who settled here towards the end of 1992. the development of affordable low-cost housing had already been in the planning phase since the early 1990s under the then east london transitional council. it was however only in 1996 that 356 project-linked subsidies were awarded to beneficiaries in this area (doh 2002: 2-6). acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 38 the 1986 rhodes model provides network characteristics for each of the dimensions namely stability, integration, membership, vertical interdependence, dominant interest, and relationship with other networks. using a split-half method more than one indicator was sought for each network dimension (babbie & mouton, 2005: 121). the amended model requires one to be able to differentiate between both the presence and the absence of the particular network characteristic. this study will, however, not be able to provide indicators for the absence of a particular characteristic. this is related to the shortcoming of using secondary data for analysis as researchers doing the initial research might not have captured other indicators of the presence of a particular network characteristic. 4.1 stability the characteristics within the amended model necessitate a differentiation between instability and stability. the first range of indicators for stability is related to membership stability. in one php project, peer pressure was identified as being important for membership stability. the project members stated that peer pressure guaranteed member buy-in from beneficiaries as it provided both a “carrot” and a “stick” for continued participation (dag, 2003c: 7). it has also been said explicitly that a community that gives their buy-in to the project is more likely to agree to abide by the rules and regulations they “draw up” collectively as contained within non-legal documents (dag, 2003c: 8). such members are also more likely to attend a range of required meetings and workshops (dag, 2003a: 7; doh, 2002: 6). within stable networks, members are able to resolve dissatisfaction and continue to sign off on legally binding documents such as the constitution and the subsidy agreement signed with the support organisation (doh, 2002: 6; doh, 2002: 5). stability is also indicated by members, specifically beneficiaries, who continue as network members even after the completion of their houses (dag, 2003a: 8). project area project characteristics masithembane cape town western cape masithembane is located within site c of the khayelitsha informal settlement in cape town. when the project started in 1997 a mass meeting was held during which community members were chosen who would act as a steering committee in mobilising the development. at the time of the study 200 beneficiaries had already completed the construction of their houses with an additional 750 households to be included in phase two (doh 2002: 2 4). clark • exploring the people’s housing process 39 another indicator of stability is that there is only one support organisation undertaking support activities. in some instances, more than one support organisation during a particular phase has, however, been cited as a strategic decision taken by the beneficiaries (doh, 2002: 52). the masithembane housing association, for example, used dag during the initial mobilisation, preparation and approval phase but thought that an experienced developer would be more suitable for the implementation phase (doh, 2002: 2). what this, however, meant for this particular project was that dag was not part of the project during the time they would have provided home-owner education on issues such as dealing with patent defects, inspection and maintenance (doh, 2002: 10). the next range of indicators for stability is related to the availability of resources within the network. within stable networks members have enough resources to complete the construction of their houses. this is in contrast to some projects where members have had to sell their building materials, and houses were left incomplete (doh, 2002: 7; dag, 2003a: 21). also connected to the availability of resources is that compatible payment methods are evidence of stability within projects. this is in contrast to one project which had to deal with suppliers requiring up front or ‘on delivery’ payment while the doh has to first be in possession of invoices before monies are released (doh, 2002: 31; doh, 2002: 55). this also results in delays in the construction phase which, in turn, demoralises members and leads to price increases (doh, 2002: 56). within stable networks, members also honour verbal agreements. one such example is a project where there was an agreement that project workers would not receive a normal salary. one can therefore infer that when beneficiaries choose or are forced to renege on such agreements, it is also related to the non-availability of beneficiary resources (doh, 2002: 48). within stable networks sufficient resources (including information) are available to allow more or less accurate anticipation of the time lag between the project approval and construction phase as well as more or less accurate anticipation of the duration of the construction period (dag, 2003b: 6). where this has not happened projects have experienced deterioration of infrastructure (doh, 2002: 43). stability is also evidenced by the presence of quality control mechanisms such that mistakes are avoided and related material wastage is reduced (doh, 2002: 9). stability is also evidenced by the presence of formal handing over and induction procedures between old and new members of the network (dag, 2003a: 10). proper induction will assist in ensuring that acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 40 incoming members understand the principles of a php approach to housing delivery. 4.2 integration the characteristics contained within the amended model require one to be able to differentiate between when there is limited, as opposed to tight, integration. the case studies highlighted that joint decision-making, arranging regular meetings, and effective communication measures are indicators for integration. the first set of indicators for tight integration is related to joint decision-making. in case studies member involvement and transparency in decisionmaking processes have been cited by primarily beneficiaries as being important for member integration (dag, 2003a: 8). in fact, project committees have explicitly raised a lack of transparency and consultation as a reason why support organisations are replaced (doh, 2002: 52; doh, 2002: 36; doh, 2002: 43). further research should consider whether the lack of transparency, consultation and joint decision-making is reserved for certain aspects of the project. having members involved in choosing the colour of the houses, for example, might only be window dressing while more substantial decisions are taken by one cohort of people. one of the case studies detailed how the beneficiaries in one project decided that they would install full in-house services (e.g. taps, higher voltage electricity), even if this meant less money for the top structure. this trade-off was, however, only made after the beneficiaries agreed that individuals could always make extensions to the starter house later (impulelelo, 2004a: 19). consequently, tradeoffs are also regarded as a form of joint decision-making. trade-offs enable members to make decisions which they might otherwise not have agreed to because they were not knowledgeable about the difficulties involved in providing government-subsidised housing (impulelelo, 2004a: 18). regular report back, progress and monitoring meetings can be regarded as the second set of indicators related to integration. these meetings should not only be held in preparation for important events or during a crisis period. further research should identify the range (one project had general, progress and site meetings) and the nature (e.g. bargaining as opposed to consultation) of meetings held by members (doh, 2002: 35). finally, research should be undertaken to assess the optimal frequency and length of meetings to balance joint decision-making and demands on the members’ time. clark • exploring the people’s housing process 41 the third set of indicators for integration is related to the presence of effective communication measures. in this regard a community liaison officer who effectively relays information between network members is evidence of integration (doh, 2002: 4). an operational housing support centre should also be considered evidence of integration as all members may access information from these “onestop” housing centres (impulelelo, 2004b: 26). 4.3 membership the characteristics contained within the rhodes model require one to be able to differentiate between when network membership is large, fluctuating and/or restricted. the membership dimensions with regard to stability have been explored in the previous section. there is subsequently a need to make a clear distinction between member instability and member fluctuation. the case studies highlighted the presence of members in networks who are not part of the project for the entire phase but whose presence should not be interpreted as evidence of instability but rather as evidence of fluctuating membership. the case studies provide evidence of project members who work towards attaining the project outcomes but only for a specific aspect of the project. an example of this is demolition and building companies who provide beneficiaries with extra fill for construction (dag, 2003a: 20). another example is that of volunteers, with a number of these having only fluctuating membership to the housing projects. some volunteers provide labour during the construction phase only while others provide child care for parents or guardians busy with the construction (dag, 2003c:7; doh, 2002:6). in addition, there are also technicon students who volunteer on the project in order to complete internships and apprenticeships as required by the national building curriculum (doh, 2002: 38). there is little expectation that these volunteers be included in substantive project decision-making while they are working there. the range of actors involved is a good indicator of the size of the membership. member types can be analysed by way of three important aspects: the project level at which they are present; which institutions or organisations they represent, and the nature of their linkage (e.g. voluntary, under mandate, or by contract) with the network. consider, for example, a ward councillor who is a representative of both the local authority and a political party. as a representative of the local authority which is a support organisation, the nature of the linkage is contractual. as a representative of a acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 42 political party the nature of the linkage would be based on a mandate from a particular political party. both entrance requirements and membership fluctuation are related to and influence the nature and form of linkages between members. the gauteng province, for example, had a directorate which dealt solely with php housing delivery (dag, 2003c: 3). one can therefore expect their linkage with the project to be more sustained and valuable in gaining resources (including information). this is in contrast to one case study in which it was clearly stated that the material procurement and payment procedures of the local authority were not suitable for a php process (dag, 2003c: 8). this is again an example of how the type of member influences membership linkage. as far as the restriction placed on membership entry is concerned, there are three clear distinctions. most importantly, beneficiary membership is based on their eligibility for housing subsidies. these restrictions, as contained within the national housing policy, form the basis on which the project proposal is submitted. in addition to the eligibility requirements, families are selected from the housing list based on need and family size (impulelelo, 2004b: 26). a number of php projects are also connected to saving schemes which allow members to gather savings for the construction and extension of their houses. consequently, one can argue that, in some instances, membership is indirectly restricted to those who have the capacity to save and become part of a savings club or scheme (dag, 2003c: 2). the second distinction involves members on the various project committees, whose entrance and subsequent selection to serve on committees is dependent on them being known and active within the community. these members are also selected because they have already gained the trust and respect of community members (dag, 2003a: 6). it has also been said that communities consider representation requirements when selecting committee members but this needs further research to uncover the community’s understanding of representation (doh, 2002:4). the third distinction concerns how suppliers are selected to provide services to the projects. three aspects have been listed as deciding factors in this selection, namely whether the suppliers are known for quality materials, their track record in the provision of services, and their prices (doh, 2002: 31). 4.4 vertical interdependence the characteristics contained within the rhodes model require one to be able to differentiate between strong and limited vertical interdependence. in the case studies, there was greater evidence clark • exploring the people’s housing process 43 of the presence of dependence the dependence of projects on the state is primarily related to subsidies, project approval and training. with regard to the state’s dependence on other members within the network, it has been acknowledged that other members are able to augment the limited resources the state has at their disposal. this limited interdependence can, however, not be explained by way of the 1986 rhodes model which holds that limited vertical interdependence results from an absence of shared service delivery responsibilities between different networks. in south africa the local authority can, as an agent of the national authority, undertake housing developments. in respect of project dependence on the different spheres of government, one can, however, infer that projects are more dependent on provincial authorities than on local authorities. this is illustrated by the fact that projects have been able to proceed despite not being approved by the local authority (doh, 2002: 53; doh, 2002: 41). the implication of this inference is that interdependence with local authorities will only occur when this authority has the capacity and/or political will to support the projects, either by giving their approval for the project application or as a support organisation (doh, 2002: 37). it was also found that projects display evidence of dependence on the department of labour, the php trust (particularly as a funder for training) and the doh for training (doh, 2002: 54; doh, 2002: 6). there is little evidence of interdependence in these relationships. government’s dependence on members within the networks is strongly related to the notion of social capital and sweat equity. this is acknowledged insofar as the doh documents state that communities have access to resources (including social capital and sweat equity), without which housing development and php projects, in particular, would not be possible (doh, 2000: 1). in one case study the project displayed little if any dependence on state institutions. the dukathole project had already built 300 houses depending only on their own resources and sweat equity, without having received a government subsidy. they operated on the basis of a revolving loan, supported by a local church, which allowed the community to build a limited number of houses each month (doh, 2002: 17). it should, however, be pointed out that the fact that such achievements can be reached is in line with php support measure principles. according to these principles, the php has been put in place only to support communities when and where they are not able to complete a particular component of the project. this is acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 44 embodied in the phrase “minimum intervention, maximum support” (doh, 2002: 3). 4.5 dominant interest the characteristics contained within the rhodes model require one to be able to identify which member interests dominate the network. one should also be able to recognise if a platform exists at which these dominant interests could bargain. from the case studies one can discern dominant interests. it was noted, in particular, that at times the primary goals of delivering houses are either fast-tracked or postponed in order to accommodate dominant interests. the first type of dominant interest is related to the scale of the project. in these instances, the delivery of a larger amount of houses is fast-tracked at the expense of attaining other policy outcomes. this refers to the fact that professional and local authority members seem to take on a ‘delivery-driven’ interest in larger scale projects (dag, 2003a: 12). other project outcomes such as community capacity-building through training and joint decision-making are consequently not attained (dag, 2003a: 1, 6). one example given is where beneficiaries could not design their own housing plans as it was advised that this would make planning, approval, construction and technical supervision more difficult to manage (dag, 2003a: 20). some of the hesitation from the technical professional community is that the php lowers established housing construction standards (impulelelo, 2004a: 19). this had, however, been overcome in one project where one of the professionals, a civil engineer who was in good standing with other professionals, acted as an advocate for the principles underlying the php (impulelelo, 2004a: 20). within the case studies, members have stated that profit was not tolerated as a dominant interest. beneficiaries stated that they sought to minimise professional, especially contracted involvement because these members are viewed as being driven by profit-seeking behaviour (dag, 2003a: 4). one project, for example, started with a block-making facility in order to supply the project with blocks when there was a demand. this was part of the community’s approach to keep money within the project rather than losing it to outside developers who would make the profit (impulelelo, 2004b: 27). a dominant economic interest was also curbed by the fact that many developers find housing projects to be unprofitable (impulelelo, 2004a: 18). the absence of a discussion of corrupt practices in php projects relates to the fact that the selected case studies are presented as good practice case studies. it is suspected that clark • exploring the people’s housing process 45 this absence is by no means representative of php projects. even in the good practice case studies there is, however, an example of beneficiaries secretly moving surveyor’s pegs to increase their plot boundary (impulelelo, 2004a: 19). in this case, the individual interest of households took precedence over community buy-in and commitment to the project. it is not clear from the case studies whether the highest decisionmaking bodies also act as bargaining platforms. one case study did refer to the project implementation committee providing a networking platform (dag, 2003a: 22). another case study referred to a stakeholder’s forum as the highest decision-making body. this forum provides for joint sessions that include, among others, the provincial doh, the developer, the ward councillor, support organisation (including the manager, accounts administrator and certifier), the support committee (including two representatives from each area) and the urban upgrade and renewal programme representatives. despite the absence of mention of bargaining platforms, there is evidence of bargaining as in the case where materials suppliers have agreed to fix prices for an agreed amount of time (dag, 2003a: 20; doh, 2002: 31). one can therefore infer that bargaining happens at a lower project level. 4.6 relationship with other networks the characteristics contained within the rhodes model require one to be able to distinguish between network insulation and permeability. in the case studies only two other networks were identified in addition to the particular case study project. these two networks are other php projects and the urban development and upgrade programme. one particular project exhibited dependence on the urban development and upgrade programme (udup) for their “services and expertise” (dag, 2003b: 13). this programme is funded by the state and provides basic level service to communities. the particular php project was very permeable to both resource linkages and influence from the udup programme (doh, 2003b: 13). the relationship case study networks have with other php networks mainly included exchange visits to learn from successes and challenges of current projects (doh, 2002:26; dag, 2003a: 18). in one instance, the project committee has been approached to act as a support organisation to emerging projects (doh, 2002: 37). the case studies do not provide evidence of the extent to which php networks are able to insulate themselves from other networks. it would be of particular interest to explore the extent to which the acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 46 networks arre able to insulate themselves from other networks, such as building suppliers in collusion or political formations that might have a negative impact on the project. 5. conclusion php support measures require php projects to follow prescribed steps and engage in specific relationships with prescribed partners. this mandated implementation of the php process lends itself to an exploration using a policy network approach. with this belief, the 1986 rhodes policy network model was identified as being promising for exploring php project characteristics in south africa. the 1986 rhodes model was amended to provide greater conceptual clarity when undertaking data analysis. each of the 1986 rhodes model characteristics were subsumed under appropriate network dimensions. using convenience sampling and secondary data collection, case studies were selected. these provided adequate, if limited indicators for the presence of network characteristics contained within the amended model. in doing so, the analysis also highlighted what the implications are for further studies wishing to refine the indicators presented. however, the qualitative sampling and data collection method creates a representation shortfall. therefore, the finding of the study cannot be used to generalise about the broader population of php projects (burnham, gilland, grant & layton-henry, 2004: 52). the research can, however, be used by other researchers interested in network characteristics as it provides them with indicators which can guide them in empirical research. acknowledgements the research on which this article is based was undertaken while i was a student completing a mphil in urban infrastrucutre:design and management in the department of civil engineering at the university of cape town. i would like to acknowledge and thank ms mary simons at the department of political studies, university of cape town, for her supervision and mentorship during my mphil research project. references almond, g.a. 1997. the political system and comparative politics: the contribution of david easton. in: monroe, k.r. 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(eds.). policy networks: empirical evidence and theoretical considerations. boulder: westview press, pp. 22-59. marais, j.g.l., ntema, j. & venter, a. 2008. state control in self-help housing: evidence from south africa. paper presented at the european housing network research conference ireland 6-9 july 2007. marais, j.g.l., van rensburg, n. & botes, l. 2003. an empirical comparison of self-help housing and contractor-driven housing: evidence from thabong (welkom) and mangaung (bloemfontein). urban forum, 14(4), pp. 347-364. marin, b. & mayntz, r. (eds.). 1991. policy networks: empirical evidence and theoretical considerations. boulder: westview press. planact. 2009. success at a price: how ngo advocacy led to changes in south africa’s people’s housing process. [online]. available from: <http://www.ngopulse.orfg> [accessed: 4 june 2010]. rhodes, r.a.w. 1981. contral and power in central-local government relationships. 2nd ed. aldershot:ashgate. rhodes, r.a.w. 1991. policy networks and sub-central government. in: thompson, g., francis, j., levacic, r. & mitchell, j. (eds.). markets, hierarchies and networks. london: sage publications, pp. 203-214. rhodes, r.a.w. 1997. policy networks in british political science. in: rhodes, r.a.w. understanding governance: policy networks, governance, reflexivity and accountability. buckingham: open university press, pp. 29-45. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 50 rhodes, r.a.w. & marsh, d. 1992. new directions in the study of policy networks. european journal of political research, 21(1-2), pp. 181-205. skogstad, g. 2005. policy networks and policy communities: conceptual evolution and governing realities. paper prepared for annual meeting of the canadian political science association, university of ontario, london, 2 june 2005. thompson, g., francis, j., levacic, r. & mitchell, j. (eds.). 1991. markets, hierarchies and networks. london: sage publications. wright, m. 1988. policy community, policy network and comparative industrial policies. political studies, 85, pp. 593-612. 45 jan hugo, department of architecture, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, pretoria, 0028, south africa, email: <janmhugo@gmail.com> dr arthur barker, department of architecture, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, pretoria, 0028, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 4542, fax: +27 12 420 5788, email: <arthur.barker@up.ac.za> prof. hennie stoffberg, department of environmental sciences, university of south africa, science campus, private bag x6, florida, 1710, south africa. phone: +27 11 471 3386, email: <stoffh@unisa.ac.za> jan hugo, arthur barker & hennie stoffberg the carbon footprint and embodied energy of construction material: a comparative analysis of south african brt stations peer reviewed and revised abstract this article describes strategic design decisions that architects can make during the initial stages of a project to minimise the use of construction materials, reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency. a proposed prototypical bus rapid transit (brt) station switch is used as a case study. the investigation focuses on minimising the use of construction materials through an iterative design and assessment process. this article extends an earlier study which analysed existing brt stations in south africa by conducting comparative life-cycle analyses (lca). the earlier study by hugo, stoffberg & barker (2012) identified a series of guidelines to inform the design of low-carbon and embodied energy brt stations and determined a specific station, the myciti station, as the most efficient in terms of its carbon footprint and embodied energy intensity. as a result, the myciti station was identified as benchmark for future lcas of station designs. the switch prototypical brt station is purpose designed for the tshwane1 context and uses the identified guidelines (hugo, stoffberg & barker, 2012) as well as carbon footprint (cf) and embodied energy (ee) of construction systems and materials as design informants generated from a study conducted by jones (2011b). these informed material choices, use of low-carbon structural systems and integration of multifunctional station components. a cradle-to-gate2 life-cycle assessment compares the cf and ee of the switch station and an existing south african precedent, the myciti station in cape 1 tshwane, located in the gauteng province, is the fourth most populated metropolis in south africa, yet covers the largest area. 2 cradle-to-gate refers to the energy consumption of materials that includes extraction, transportation and processing until the product leaves the manufacturing plant. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 46 town. the switch station is 35% and 34% (4.08 gj/m2 & 378.6kgco2/m 2 vs 6.28 gj/m2 & 574.7kgco2/m 2) more efficient than the existing myciti station, in terms of respective embodied energy intensity and carbon-footprint intensity. this prototype is proposed as a benchmark for prospective life-cycle analyses to inform the material choice and design of future brt stations in south africa. keywords: bus rapid transit stations, carbon footprint, climate change, embodied energy, life-cycle assessment, construction materials abstrak hierdie artikel bespreek strategiese besluite wat argitekte kan neem tydens die aanvanklike ontwerpsfase van ‘n projek om die gebruik van konstruksiemateriaal te verminder, by te dra tot die mitigasie van klimaatsverandering en energiedoeltreffendheid te verbeter. deur gebruik te maak van ‘n voorgestelde ‘bus rapid transit’ (brt) stasie switch, as gevallestudie, fokus die studie op die vermindering van konstruksie-materiaal verbruik deur iteratiewe ontwerpsen hersieningsprosesse. die artikel brei uit op ‘n vorige studie waarin bestaande brt-stasies in suidafrika geanaliseer is. deur gebruik te maak van ‘n vergelykende lewenssiklusanalise (lsa) het die studie deur hugo, stoffberg & barker (2012) ‘n reeks riglyne geïdentifiseer wat die ontwerp van ‘n lae koolstof en ingeslote energie brt-stasie kan inlig. verder het die studie ook ‘n spesifieke stasie, die myciti-stasie, geïdentifiseer as die mees effektiewe stasie in terme van sy koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energie intensiteit. hierdie stasie is as normtoets vir toekomstige lsa’s van stasie-ontwerpe geïdentifiseer. die switch prototipiese stasie is spesifiek ontwerp vir die tshwane-konteks3 en maak gebruik van spesifieke riglyne (hugo et al., 2012) sowel as die koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energie van konstruksie-materiaal en -sisteme as ontwerpsinvloede. hierdie koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energiewaardes bereken van ‘n studie onderneem deur jones (2011b) was die bepalende faktor vir die materiaal keuse, gebruik van lae koolstofkonstruksiesisteme en die integrasie van veeldoelige stasiekomponente. die ‘cradle-to-gate’-lsa4 vergelyk die koolstofinhoud en ingeslote energie van die switch-stasie met ‘n bestaande suid-afrikaanse stasie, naamlik die mycitistasie in kaapstad. die navorsing (hugo et al., 2012) onthul dat die switch-stasie onderskeidelik ‘n 35% en 34% (4.08 gj/m2 & 378.6 kgco2/m 2 vs. 6.28 gj/m2 & 574.7 kgco2/m 2) laer ingeslote energie en koolstofinhoudintensiteit het as die bestaande myciti-stasie. hierdie prototipe fokus daarop om as normtoets vir toekomstige lewensiklusanalises, die materiaal keuse en ontwerp van daaropvolgende brtstasies te begelei. sleutelwoorde: ‘bus rapid transit’-stasies, ingeslote energie, klimaatsverandering, koolstofinhoud, lewensiklusanalise, boumateriale 3 die tshwane-metropool is geleë in gauteng. alhoewel dit slegs die vierde digste populasie huisves, beslaan dit die grootste oppervlakte van alle suid-afrikaanse stede. 4 “cradle-to-gate” stel die energieverbruik van materiale voor en sluit die ontguning, vervoer, verwerking/vervaardiging in tot by die punt waar die produk die fabriek verlaat. hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 47 1. introduction global resource consumption and climate change severely impact on our cities and society5 and are caused by a series of polluting sectors, of which transportation is one of the main contributors. transportation pollution has steadily increased since the 1970s. it currently contributes 22% to global greenhouse gas emissions and consumes 19% of global energy consumption (parry, canziani, palutikof, van der linden & hanson, 2007: 105; iea, 2010: 19; iea 2013: 9). a further 40% increase in global carbon emissions in this sector can be expected by 2030 (iea, 2010: 19). bus rapid transit (brt) systems have been implemented worldwide to address the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions and urban air pollution (wright & fulton, 2005: 710-711; vincent & jeraam, 2006: 233; mcdonnell, ferreira & convey, 2008: 750-751; wöhrnschimmel, zuk, martinez-villa, cerón, cárdenas, rojas-bracho & fernández-bremauntz, 2008: 8194, 8198-8199; nugroho, fujiwara & zhang, 2010: 915, 922-923). in addition to mitigating climate change, brt systems also promote corridor development (pienaar, van den berg & motuba, 2007: 426; wright & hook, 2007: 87; deng & nelson, 2013: 111), improve access and passenger safety (pienaar, van den berg & motuba, 2007: 426; advanced logistics group, 2008: 15; deng & nelson, 2013: 109), and increase mobility in urban environments (advanced logistics group, 2008: 2, 4; deng & nelson, 2013: 109-110). this article forms part of a larger research project6 that focuses on architectural design and its potential to mitigate climate change (hugo, 2010). materials selection in architecture is compared as a potential variable to minimise embodied energy (ee),7 carbon 5 various studies have revealed increases in ambient temperatures, flooding, rising sea level and extreme weather conditions aggravated by climate change. these negatively impact the general living standards, health, economy and resilience of inhabitants within cities globally (sherbinin, schiller & pulsipher, 2007: 39-40; ramos & kahla, 2009: 262; walker & king, 2008: 41-68; roaf, crichton & nicol, 2009: 16-17, 58-90, 134-147; lui & deng, 2011: 188; vijayavenkatarama, iniyan & goic, 2012: 879-882, 884). 6 this study forms part of a south african climate change mitigation project, initiated and developed by the united nations development programme (undp) and global environment facility (gef). 7 embodied energy refers to the total amount of energy (joule) used during the manufacture of a good; this is accepted as embodied in the good (irurah, 1997: 10). acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 48 footprint (cf)8 and energy efficiency (hugo, 2010; hugo et al., 2012; basbagil, flager, lepech & fischer, 2013: 88-89). in the light of the conclusions drawn by cui, niu, wang, zhang, gao & lin (2010), who question the energy efficiency of brt infrastructure, and as brt systems are currently planned and implemented in a number of south african cities, the study addresses energy efficiency in brt infrastructure, with particular focus on brt trunk-route stations (hugo, 2010; hugo et al., 2012). 1.1 objective this article aims to improve the design of brt trunk-route stations by using cf and ee as informants and a set of guidelines identified in a previous study (hugo et al., 2012). this earlier lca study (hugo et al., 2012) critically analysed the cf and ee of selected south african brt stations and generated and identified design guidelines. the current study sets out to test these design principles and methods. using a single comparable unit from the previous study, namely the brt stations, allows assessment and quantification of the final design outcome against existing precedents. the proposed switch station aims to specifically act as benchmark for the design of future brt stations, while generally promoting embodied carbon and energy accountability in the built environment. 1.2 rationale although various international lca studies analyse a variety of building types (mithraratne & vale, 2003; thormark, 2006; rai, sodagar, fieldson & hu, 2011; kofoworola & gheewala, 2009; ramesh, prakash & shukla, 2012; varun, sharma, shree & nautiyal, 2012), little research has focused on the environmental efficiency of transportation buildings. in addition, substantial international studies have proved the effectiveness of the brt systems in mitigating climate change in terms of vehicle designs, fuel consumption and airpollution minimisation (wright & fulton, 2005; vincent & jeraam, 2006; mcdonnell et al., 2008, wöhrnschimmel et al., 2008, nugroho et al., 2010). yet only one study, undertaken by cui et al. (2010), highlights the high cf and ee inputs of a typical brt system. in response, this study focuses on the use of construction material of brt infrastructure, in particular the brt trunk-route station. 8 carbon footprint refers to the carbon equivalent (co2eq) emissions emitted during the product’s extraction and processing (jones, 2011a: 1). hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 49 the study acknowledges that the modal change from private to public transport use enabled by brt systems fully justifies their implementation in terms of reducing co2 emissions. furthermore, brt systems generally require extensive infrastructure, demanding high cf and ee inputs, increasingly more than what is required for trunkroute stations. the value of this research does not necessarily reside in the magnitude of emission reduction in comparison to the larger brt system. it resides in illustrating that the seemingly conventional choices made during infrastructure development could be positively challenged to resolutely reduce environmental impacts and enhance an environmentally conscious design ethos. as both the tshwane and cape town brt systems’ first phases require 48 and 43 trunk-route stations, respectively, with more to follow in subsequent phases (advanced logistics group, 2008: 9; city of cape town, 2010: 9, 36), any energy savings made in each station will benefit the sustainability of the ever-expanding network, providing design, construction and maintenance benefits over time. at one end of the scale, the study aims to provide ‘energy-efficient’ design guidelines for future south african brt stations and, at the other end of the scale, by implication, strategic design decisions for other impending architectural projects. the current research project’s core strength resides in the conclusions drawn from the comparative analysis as example of the environmental impact that definitive choices of alternative materials, design approaches, principles and philosophies have on one key component of the brt system. this perception illustrates that, should the design of the brt system follow similar principles in mitigating climate change and reducing its carbon footprint, then substantial reductions in carbon dioxide emissions could be obtained for future decades. this article assumes that any saving in carbon emissions is a justification for research and reporting. baseline data and reporting, as datum projects, are integral for the development and pursuit of higher tiers in research projects (stocker, qin, plattner, tignor, allen, boschung, nauels, xia, bex & midgley, 2013: 129), from which fundamental arguments and methods could be derived. to this end, this article builds on previous research by the same authors’ attempts to address serious shortcomings in available cf and ee data in both south africa and africa (abanda, nkeng, tah, ohandja & manjia, 2014: 20-21). it also provides a basis for further research and comment by fellow researchers, as witnessed by the previous article by hugo et al. (2012) that was constructively integrated in a study by abanda et al. (2014). acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 50 this current study is based on a previous comparative lca study (hugo et al., 2012), which tested one proposed and two existing south african brt trunk-route stations regarding the cf and ee intensity of their construction material use. the study set out to establish an objective conclusion by generating a single comparable figure for all the different designs. although it may have disregarded qualitative aspects, by setting delimitations and assumptions beforehand, it objectively collates different subjects enabling their comparison (fay, treloar & lyer-raniga, 2000: 32, 36; rai et al., 2011: 2271-2273). using the brt trunk-route stations as modular units provided a unique opportunity for a comparative lca study of different designs (hugo et al., 2012). from the previous study undertaken by hugo et al. (2012) an existing brt station, myciti station, was benchmarked as the most cfand ee-efficient solution. in addition, the preceding study also established a set of guidelines to improve the cf and ee efficiency of future design. the guidelines were tested and utilised in the design of a prototypical brt station, namely switch. using these guidelines at the conception of the project, as suggested by basbagil et al. (2013), and iteratively analysing the design’s cf and ee intensity, the switch prototype proved to contain a lower cf and ee intensity than the myciti station. this comparative lca study aims to prove that a cf and ee improvement can be made with the switch prototype by using readily available and widely used south african construction materials. 2. methodology 2.1 the study area the brt system of the city of tshwane was used as the basis for the study. this brt system is meant to address the growing problem of inefficient public transport and restricted mobility within the city (olivier, 2009: 4). it will link the isolated suburbs on the outskirts of tshwane with each other and with the city centre (figure 1). the phased implementation of the brt system will commence with route one that links mabopane, a suburb to the north, with pretoria main station (advanced logistics group, 2008: 5-6) and route two which is planned to link the eastern suburb, mamelodi, with bel ombre station in the city centre (advanced logistics group, 2008: 69). the switch station prototype was specifically designed for route one, which predominantly runs in a north/south direction (figure 1) (advanced logistics group, 2008: 69) and responds to a hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 51 context ranging from dense urban environments to lower scaled suburbs lacking basic infrastructure. figure 1: planned route structure for tshwane source: hugo, 2010: adapted from a presentation by olivier, k., brt presentation: salvokop workshop 9 february 2009 2.2 establishing station design parameters the switch station has been designed according to the south african national road agency limited (sanral)9 regulations10 and international best practice, as set out by the tshwane bus rapid transit operational plan (advanced logistics group, 2008) and bus rapid transit guide (wright & hook, 2007). 9 south african national roads agency limited (sanral) is an independent statutory company authorised to finance, maintain, manage and improve the south african national road system. 10 these design regulations specify the station’s length, while station’s width relates to the quantity of commuters using the station during its peak occupation hour. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 52 the enclosed station requires that it be raised 940mm11 above ground level and located on the road median (advanced logistics group, 2008: 78). it should accommodate 6 400 commuters per hour (advanced logistics group, 2008: 76), sized according to design parameters provided by lloyd wright and walter hook (bus rapid transit guide 2007). the prototype was sized to the minimum required length for a double-bay station (advanced logistics group, 2008: 78) with the option of adding or removing a bay (figure 5). the station (figure 6) also accommodates busses running in opposite directions (advanced logistics group, 2008: 78). 2.3 the design process 2.3.1 design guidelines the low-carbon design objective resulted in a specific station form, structural system and material use. in order to substantially improve a design’s cf and ee efficiency, pertinent decisions must be made during the initial design phases, rather than implementing negligible changes on the final design resulting in small cf and ee improvements (thormark, 2006: 1025; cui et al., 2010: 333, 335; basbagil et al., 2013: 81-82). therefore, it is important to focus on verifiable and influential design principles to guide the design before it has been fully defined. in this study, initial design decisions were informed by a design framework developed in a previous study (hugo et al., 2012) and summarised in the following four strategies: • minimising the internal volume of the station to achieve spatial economy. • dematerialisation and scaling of building form and structure to improve resource efficiency (van der ryn & pena, 2002: 243-244). • dematerialising the station components by assigning multiple functions to these components (van der ryn & pena, 2002: 243-244; gbcsa, 2008: 261). • using low-carbon structural technologies and materials. 11 at the time of the study, the required height was 940mm above ground level; subsequently, the tshwane brt system lowered the required station base level to 340mm (venter, 2012: 24). the preceding station base height was retained for comparison purposes. hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 53 2.3.2 iterative cf and ee testing process a series of design iterations was conducted to investigate and test the cf and ee intensity of various structural systems and materials for the design. “embodied carbon. the inventory of carbon and energy (ice)” database12 (jones, 2011b: 33-169) was used to compare the different design solutions. the identification and application of the cf and ee coefficient inventory is discussed in section 2.4. by assessing the structural attributes of the different structural systems, their cf and ee efficiency revealed a series of efficient solutions which improved the final design’s performance in terms of its cf and ee. although the main objective of the study was to minimise the cf and ee of the structure, achieving energy autonomy13 was an important secondary objective. strategies of on-site energy resources harvesting and minimising energy consumption, using passive heating and cooling technologies and natural daylighting strategies were iteratively tested and analysed using ecotect®14. 2.4 conducting the comparative life-cycle analysis the final lca compared the cf and ee of the switch station design (figure 4) with an existing precedent, the myciti station in cape town, designed by arg design (figure 2). 12 the ice database, developed by g. hammond and c. jones at the university of bath, is a comprehensive inventory defining the cf and ee of a wide range of building materials. it was specifically developed for the built environment to assist with embodied carbon and energy accountability and guide the industry in an effort to minimise their associated cf and ee (jones, 2011b: 44-45). 13 autonomous can be defined as a building “operating independently of any inputs except those of its immediate environment” (vale & vale, 1975: 7). 14 the study made use of an environmental analysis tool ecotect®, distributed by autodesk. it was used to simulate the thermal comfort and heat load within the kiosk by testing the thermal performance of different wall materials and the impact of various positions of the kiosk within the station. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 54 figure 2: myciti station, granger bay station, greenpoint, cape town source: hugo, 2010: own picture 2.4.1 choosing an appropriate carbon-footprint and embodied energy inventory lca studies use a wide range of cf and ee data15 pertaining to a variety of materials and processes in order to quantify their respective environmental impacts (fay et al, 2000: 32). it is often impossible to quantify all energy or carbon inputs which, to some extent, leads to uncertainty in derived coefficient16 accuracy (abanda et al., 2014: 24). yet, through a process of data identification and delimitation, lca studies aim to develop cf or ee inventories17 which convey, as accurately and precisely as possible, the primary data applied to these studies, thus limiting analysis discrepancies. these studies usually employ one of the following two methods: the process and the input-output analysis. the process analysis collects all downstream energy inputs related to a certain project and quantifies its collective impact (fay et al., 2000: 33). this is very accurate, but can be a very difficult and time-consuming process for complex products such as buildings. the input-output process uses the national statistics of economic exchange between different sectors (fay et al., 2000: 33) in order to measure energy consumption. this is theoretically a more comprehensive method, but it is not site specific. 15 data refers to the primary and secondary research and analyses used to quantify the cf and ee figures of specific materials (jones, 2011b: 46). 16 coefficients represent the derived values equating the cf and ee of specific materials (jones, 2011b: 46-47). 17 an inventory is a collection of coefficients covering a variety of materials (jones, 2011b: 46-47). hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 55 both these methods proved to be unsuccessful for this project. during the process analysis, the primary data collected on cf and ee of materials from south african manufacturers proved to be either insufficient or did not follow similar analysis standards, thus distorting the inventory coefficient comparison as well as limiting the scope of materials analysed. similarly, the input-output analysis was unsuccessful due to the results published by statistics south africa. the highly aggregated input-output tables do not differentiate between the different sectors in the construction industry, thus limiting any interpretation thereof. many studies overcome this quandary by collating different cf and ee coefficients or inventories from a variety of previous studies or analyses (kofoworala & gheewala, 2009; cui et al., 2010; ramesh et al., 2012; varun et al., 2012). this proves to be problematic as the delimitation of data scope collected from primary and secondary data sources could differ, causing coefficient discrepancies. as a result, a number of other studies (verbeeck & hens, 2010; basbagil et al., 2013; abanda et al., 2014) have opted to use existing inventories that cover a broad scope of materials analysed across identical life cycles. this current study applied a similar approach, but due to the lack of local south african primary data available (abanda et al., 2014: 20-21), it was decided to make use of a uk-based inventory, the “embodied carbon. the inventory of carbon and energy (ice)” (jones, 2011b: 33-169). the ice inventory was developed using a three-stage process. first, secondary data was collected from peer-reviewed papers, technical reports and monographs. secondly, all the data was rated according to criteria checking whether the research complied with international lca standards, age of the data presented, whether clear analysis boundaries were defined, whether the studies were conducted and whether cf figures were included. only current, well-defined and iso 14040/44 compliant data were selected. finally, a single median coefficient depicting the cf and ee of each material (jones 2011b: 47-48) was derived from the collected data. the comparative lca study utilised the same cf and ee inventory used in the previous study (hugo et al., 2012) to ensure an impartial interpretation of the two case studies. the use of a single cf and ee inventory ensures the objectivity of the comparison study and allows one to replicate the analysis in new case studies. it covers a substantial range of materials, calculating both the cf and ee of each material. yet the interpretation of the results is conducted in a comparative manner, ensuring that the conclusions drawn are only percentages acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 56 and not actual cf and ee values. therefore, any discrepancies in the primary data will reflect on both case studies, thus limiting the likelihood of misinterpretation. in addition, to ensure that the final interpretation of the lca results is as accurate as possible, the cf and ee inventory covers the same cradle-to-gate life cycle as that used in the lca study (jones 2011b: 49). the cf and ee of the switch and myciti stations were calculated by assessing the material use of each design. the analysis calculated the cf2 and ee3, while carbon-footprint intensity (cfi)21 and embodied energy intensity (eei)18 were used as comparable variables. this followed a process of measuring and analysing the total volume of materials used and applying the following calculation: mvolume x mdensity = mweight m – specific material type mweight x eecoefficient = ee total ee – embodied energy mweight x cfcoefficient = cf total cf – carbon footprint eetotal ÷ floor area = eei eei – embodied energy intensity (per m 2) cftotal ÷ floor area = cfi cfi – carbon footprint intensity (per m 2) 2.4.2 defining the life-cycle analysis period although numerous international lcas focus on operational energy consumption of architecture, the recent increase in energy-efficient buildings has shifted the attention to embodied energy and material use in architecture (thormark, 2006: 1025; jones, 2011: 15; rai et al., 2011: 2272; ambanda et al., 2014: 20). this study primarily assessed the cf and ee of construction materials19 used within the brt stations for the cradle-to-gate period1. transportation and on-site construction energies have been excluded as negligible; respectively, less than 1% for material sourced within 400 km and less than 3% of the total embodied energy over a 20-year period (mithraratne & vale, 2003: 488, 489; cole, 1999: 343, 347; ramesh et al., 2012: 160). kofoworola & gheewala (2009) identify the bulk of operational energy consumption to be attributed to artificial lighting and air conditioning. only the ticket offices in brt stations utilise air conditioning and artificial lighting; the ticket office of the switch station has been designed to use alternative energy-efficient technologies, and the remaining stations use minimal artificial lighting. therefore, the operational 18 the energy/carbon intensity quantifies the carbon or energy embodied per square meter and is used to compare the different station designs. 19 conduiting, wiring and electrical equipment were excluded from the analysis. hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 57 energy consumption is considerably less than conventional building types. this is confirmed by an analysis which revealed that, over a 20-year period, it embodies 28% (158 848 vs 543 110 kwh) of the total life-cycle energy consumption of the switch station. as the switch station uses renewable energy generated by photovoltaic panels, there are zero operational co2 emissions produced over a 20-year period (0.0 t co2 vs 128,3 t co2). 20 the operation energy consumption only exceeds the embodied energy after 48.3 years, emphasising the importance of minimising the construction material used in these stations. within this period, large portions of the station would be replaced due to maintenance and re-branding; therefore, one can conclude that the operational energy consumption will never exceed the embodied energy of the station. the embodied energy of the switch station is 1 491 115 mj 3.6 mj = 1kwh (thompson & taylor 2008: 59) 1 383 346 mj ÷ 3.6 = 384 262.8 kwh the daily energy consumption of the switch station is 23.5 kwh 384 262.8 kwh ÷ 21.76 kwh/day = 17 659 days 17 625.5 ÷ 365 = 48.33 years the embodied energy of the switch translates into 48.33 years’ energy consumption. 2.4.3 elements of the comparative life-cycle analyses the final lca compared three aspects. the entire station was quantified to determine the overall cfi and eei as well as each station’s spatial economy. secondly, different station components were compared to quantify their respective cfi and eei values and impacts on the entire built form: 1. station base. 2. wall. 3. roof structure. 4. signage and handrails (figure 3).21 finally, the overall material use was calculated to provide insight into efficient material choices and their impact on the structural systems used in the station designs. 20 the cf and ee of all electrical equipment, including photovoltaic panels, were excluded from the study. 21 note that wall includes the vertical wall structure and glazing, whereas signage and handrails include the signage towers positioned outside the stations. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 58 figure 3: structural components of brt stations source: hugo et al., 2012: 28 3. description of the final design the switch station is a linear, low-scaled building on a concrete base with slanted steel-framed walls, clad with steel mesh and polymethyl methacrylate (pmma, perspex) glazing. a steeply sloping roof with vertical slatted solar screens articulates the entrance (figures 4, 5 and 7). a continuous lightweight steel roof on slanted steel portal frames is extended from the entrance roof and covers the remainder of the station (figures 5 and 6). figure 4: conceptual sketch of switch station, using entrance structure as landmark source: hugo, 2011: own drawing hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 59 figure 5: elevation of switch station source: hugo, 2011: own elevation figure 6: plan of switch station source: hugo, 2011: own plan figure 7: typical section source: hugo, 2011: own section acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 60 figure 8: detailed section through station source: hugo, 2011: own detailed section 4. results 4.1 spatial economy by minimising internal volume spatial economy refers to minimising both volume and floor area. as the floor area of a brt station has to prescribe to specific sanral hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 61 regulations, little improvement can be made in this regard. therefore, the study aims to reduce the internal volume in order to minimise material usage. a 20.5m2 reduction in floor area has been achieved by restricting the size of the enclosed waiting space while still providing adequate circulation space for the commuters. this led to a cf and ee saving of 9.5% (165.3 gj & 12 t co2 vs 181 gj & 13.1 t co2) of the wall and roof structure (figures 5 and 6). the floor-to-ceiling height of the station has been reduced to the lowest permissible height, while retaining a comfortable indoor environment to accommodate brt bus clearances. the elevated entrance structure improves legibility, while the compact station form relates comfortably to the immediate environment (figures 5 and 7). 4.2 dematerialisation to optimise efficiency of station form and structure the process of dematerialising the station form and structure entails minimising it, critically analysing and calculating the impact of minimisation on the station’s structure, construction material use and spatial economy. it requires an understanding of the building type, function and footprint, its impact on the urban context, and its value in the urban hierarchy of building typologies. the structural system and station envelope were reduced to the simplest possible form to suit the functional and structural requirements. a simple robust portal frame structural system is used to reduce footprint and minimise the required structural spans. all secondary structural systems and station components are simplified to the bare essentials. to address resource efficiency, the station walls are slanted to maximise floor area, while limiting enclosing material usage and minimising overhead space above the commuters (figure 7). by slanting the portal frame at 10 degrees, the effective span is shortened (figures 7 and 8), saving 17% of the primary steel structure and minimising the number of steel purlins required (hugo, 2010: 279). the envelope design collapses the robust main structure (portal frames) and secondary wall structure into a single entity, thus improving on existing precedents (hugo et al., 2012: 30-32). by fixing the steel-angled studs to the steel crossbeams and primary supports, the structure and enclosing envelopes are integrated into the same plane (figure 8). the integrated structure and envelope saves 37% in terms of cfi (50.9 vs 80.0 kgco2/m 2) and 25% in terms of eei (920.9 acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 62 vs 1 232.9 mj/m2) compared to the typical south african brt station designs analysed by hugo et al.(2012). a single continuous lightweight steel roof (which covers the entire station) is fixed to a steel portal frame system which is, in turn, fixed to the substructure at 4.5m intervals (figures 5 and 7). lateral steel square section beams are welded on site onto the pre-manufactured portal frames. the station building is stabilised by a diagonally formed entrance structure (figure 5) which removed the need for additional bracing structures, saving 8% (513.9 kgco2 and 7 075 mj) of the total cf and ee of the main structure. 4.3 dematerialisation by developing multifunctional components three multifunctional components are utilised to improve the switch station’s resource efficiency. the station’s steeply sloping entrance roof protects the user within, acts as a landmark and harvests photovoltaic (pv) energy (figure 5). the slope of the entrance roof was informed by the specific angle for the optimum use of pv panels in tshwane which eliminates the need for additional fixing structures for the panels (figure 5). the station base acts as an energy and water resource store, while securely containing sensitive electronic equipment. the front section of the station base houses batteries and an inverter for the photovoltaic systems as well as rainwater-harvesting tanks. a large portion (56%) of the waiting area is filled with recycled aggregate with an in situ cast concrete surface bed on top. a 22m3 rock (thermal energy) store draws air through the substructure to control the indoor environment of the kiosk. the rock store will provide 1.5kw cooling and 2kw heating energy by means of night ventilation and solar energy strategies, respectively. although the analysis excluded conduiting, electrical equipment and fittings, as well as building services, the cf and ee of the rock store are included as they have significant structural implications on the design. because the rock store functions as both structure and indoor environmental control mechanism, its exclusion from the lca study would compromise the final comparison between case studies.22 a single building envelope functions as enclosure, ventilation skin and access control. two independent membranes enclose the station volume (figure 7). the predominant windward side (usually east) is 22 all electrical equipment and ducting required to ventilate the rock store have been excluded. hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 63 enclosed with pmma sheeting fixed to a steel subframe to provide shelter during poor weather. small operable windows, which can be controlled by the commuters themselves, are fixed on the windward side to allow for ventilation if needed. the leeward side is enclosed with zinc-coated steel mesh to ensure good cross-ventilation, while still regulating access and providing safety. 4.4 material choices low-carbon footprint and embodied energy-intensive materials have been identified and selected through an iterative simulation process. the design proposes minimal use of precast concrete and steel, while extensively using recycled materials such as aggregate and composite timber and resin slats. in the previous study, precast concrete culverts in the station base were identified as energy-intensive components contributing, on average, 38% to the total cf and ee (hugo et al., 2012: 36-37). the switch station base is constructed of precast (300x300x450mm) hollow soil/cement blocks, dry-packed and filled with reinforced concrete, functioning as both subwalls and permanent shuttering (figures 7 and 8). ensuring that the base can withstand extensive lateral forces, this new method uses less energy-intensive precast concrete (jones, 2011a: 56-57) and saves 51% and 53%, respectively (130.3 kgco2/m 2 and 1 078.7 mj.m2 vs 268.2 kgco2/m 2 and 2 330.8 mj/m2). although the pmma cladding to the windward envelope of the station (figure 7) is used as a robust translucent material, it is more energy intensive than glass (2,73 kgco2/kg and 80,5 mj/kg vs 30 kgco2/ kg and 0,86 mj/kg),23 but 200 times stronger (wegelen, 2006: 9.7; jones, 2011b: 58, 61). to minimise potential damage to the pmma, the sheets are recessed behind the handrail or steel balustrade. although the use of zinc-coated steel mesh screen on the leeward edge of the station saves 13% (329 mj/m2 vs 377 mj/m2) embodied energy, it increases the carbon footprint by 48% (23.kgco2/m 2 vs 15.5 kgco2/m 2) when compared to using pmma sheeting on both sides of the station (figure 7). as large portions of the translucent station envelope faces an east/west direction, external composite timber and resin solar screens protect the indoor environment from direct solar radiation and uncomfortable glare (figure 8). this adds only 4% (58 987 mj and 2 526,8 kgco2) to 23 the cf and ee coefficient for glass was adapted to accommodate two layers of glass laminated with an imported pmb layer, thus doubling the value reported in the jones study (2011b). acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 64 the total embodied energy and reduces uncomfortable glare by 46% in winter and 49% in summer.24 the slatted screens are made from solid composite sections which constitute 50% recycled wood fibres and 50% polyethelyne binder that are uv resistant and do not require extensive maintenance (envirodeck, 2010: 1). painted steel handrails and a soil/cement block wall25 kiosk minimises the use of energy-intensive stainless steel (hugo et al., 2012: 41-42) seen in existing brt stations .taking a 20-year maintenance period into account, the painted steel handrails26 save 70% on cf (1 003.6 vs 3 251.8 kgco2) and 45% on ee (16 474 vs 29 980 mj). substituting the stainless steel envelope of the kiosk with soil/cement bricks achieves a further saving of 97% for cf (489 vs 15 316 kgco2) and ee (4 197 vs 145 172 mj). the concrete blocks improve the kiosk’s internal thermal comfort and its deep-set position within the station envelope minimizes excess solar heat gain in summer. the station floor is finished with a 40mm pigmented cement screed. using a pigmented screed as an alternative to ceramic tiles leads to an immediate ee saving of 76% (21 892 vs 89 543 mj) and cf saving of 46% (3 503 vs 6 600 kgco2) for the same floor area. however, taking the service life period27 of both floor finishes into account proves otherwise. over a 20-year period, the cf of a pigmented screed is increased by 6%, but its ee is still lower, embodying only 49% compared to that of ceramic tiles. it is important to note that, over a much longer time period, the tiled floor finish becomes increasingly more efficient. 24 the percentage of glare control was calculated between the hours of 8:00 and 18:00 for both the summer and winter solstices. the study made use of an environmental analysis tool called ecotect®, distributed by autodesk, in order to simulate daylighting levels and distribution within the switch station. 25 some cities insist on using bullet-proof kiosks – this was not researched in the current study and the kiosk’s designs were excluded from all lca analyses. 26 maintenance included three new layers of paint every 5 years. 27 the service life period of a pigmented cement screed has been assumed to be 10 years (infotile, 2013: 1). due to the lack of information available on the durability of pigmented concrete screeds, the information supplied by infotile (2013) was used, namely a life expectancy of 25 years for stained concrete and 10 years for epoxy resin floor finish. the service life of tiles was assumed to be 30 years as shown in the study by mithraratne & vale (2003). hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 65 5. discussion a cradle-to-gate lca has been made of the switch and the myciti stations and the findings are summarised in table 1. in a previous lca study (hugo et al., 2012), comparing two existing stations and one proposed south african brt station, the myciti station has been benchmarked as the most efficient station in terms of its cfi and eei. therefore, the myciti station was used as comparable modular unit for this lca, as both stations function similarly and followed congruent spatial regulations.8 both case studies differ in overall weight and floor area, as the switch station accommodates four bus berths and the myciti only two (figures 9 and 10); the overall analysis used their respective cfi and eei figures as comparable units. table 1: results of the life-cycle analysis of the two case studies switch prototype myciti station element total element total station component ee – mj cf – kgco2 ee – mj cf – kgco2 base total ei/ci 743 213 2 192 mj mj/m2 86 417 255 co2 co2/m 2 565 207 2 869 mj mj/m2 63 773 324 co2 co2/m 2 wall total ei/ci 447 259 1 319 mj mj/m2 27 072 80 co2 co2/m 2 405 195 2 057 mj mj/m2 28 332 135 co2 co2/m 2 roof structure total ei/ci 90 806 268 mj mj/m2 8 357 25 co2 co2/m 2 189 321 961 mj mj/m2 13 225 62 co2 co2/m 2 handrail and signage total ei/ci 102 068 301 mj mj/m2 6 486 19 co2 co2/m 2 77 971 396 mj mj/m2 7 882 40 co2 co2/m 2 total weight 772 457 kg 351 976 kg total floor area eei / cfi 1 383 345 1 383.35 339 4 080.66 mj gj m2 mj/m2 128 332 128.33 339 378.60 co2 tco2 m2 co2/m 2 1 237 693 1 237.70 197 6 282.71 mj gj m2 mj/m2 113 212 113.20 197 574.68 co2 tco2 m2 co2/m 2 abbreviations: ee – embodied energy; cf – carbon footprint; eei – embodied energy intensity; cfi – carbon footprint intensity energy intensity: megajoules per square meter (mj/m2). carbon footprint intensity: kilogram carbon per square meter (kgco2/m 2). excluded elements: conduiting, wiring, kiosk, including all hardware, electrical equipment, door frames and door. source: hugo, 2012: own table acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 66 figure 9: comparative schematic plans of case studies source: hugo, 2013. sections redrawn from information supplied by architects; rendall, 2011: personal communication figure 10: comparative schematic sections of case studies source: hugo, 2013. sections redrawn from information supplied by architects; rendall, 2011: personal communication 5.1 overall structure the total ee of the myciti station is 1 237.7 gj and cf is 113.2 t co2 with an eei of 6.28 gj/m2. comparatively, the switch prototype embodies an overall ee of 1 383.3 gj and cf of 128.3 t co2. however, its cfi and eei is 35% lower than that of the myciti station at 4.08 gj/m2. table 1 summarises the full comparison. figures 11 and 12 indicate the difference in carbon and energy intensity (also refer to appendices a and b). hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 67 figure 11: embodied energy intensity of the two stations source: hugo, 2011: own table figure 12: carbon footprint intensity of the two stations source: hugo, 2011: own table acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 68 5.2 comparison of the separate station components tapering the steel structure of the switch station saves 17% embodied energy (hugo, 2010: 279). by dematerialising the wall and roof structure and utilising a smaller scaled and simple structural system, with a single continuous roof enclosing the space, 50% (105 vs 211 kgco2/m 2) and 47% (1 587 mj/m2 vs 3 018 mj/m2) savings were made in terms of the cfi and eei of the switch structural system compared to the structural system of the myciti station (table 1 and figures 5, 7, 13 and 14). figure 13: proportionate energy consumption and carbon produced per component of the switch station source: hugo, 2011: own figure figure 14: proportionate energy consumption and carbon produced per component of the myciti station source: hugo, 2011: own figure hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 69 the myciti station roof structure contributes 15% to the cf and ee; in the switch prototype, this is limited to 7% (figures 13 and 14). this equates to 62 kgco2/m 2 (cfi) and 961 mj/m2 (eei) for the myciti roof structure and only 25 kgco2/m 2 (cfi) and 268 mj/m2 (ee) for the roof structure of switch, an improvement of 68% and 70%, respectively. the savings have been effected by a roof of lighter steel members and tapered walls requiring less roof cover and the removal of a roof overhang by utilising slatted solar screens constructed from recycled materials (figure 7). as a ceiling material for the switch station, fibre cement proved to be inefficient. although the cf and ee coefficient of aluminium is, respectively, 90% and 97% higher than that of fibre cement, the final impact of fibre cement ceiling panels in the switch station increased the cfi of the ceiling by 46% (17.3 vs 10.9 kgco2/m 2) and the eei by 10% (206.4 vs 185.2 mj/m2) compared to that of the myciti station (tables a2 and a3). although the entrance is lifted to function as both brace and energygeneration component, it has not made a significant difference (figure 5). in both case studies, the wall constitutes a third (32% and 33%) of the total cf and ee, respectively (figures 13 and 14). yet, in terms of cfi and eei, the switch performs significantly better, saving 40% (80 vs 135 kgco2/m 2) and 36% (1 319 vs 2 057 mj/m2), respectively due to the dematerialisation of the envelope and structure. merging the switch station envelope design into a single entity or plane, unlike the myciti station, resulted in a 73% and 60% saving on the secondary enclosing structure’s cfi and eei (figures 8 and 10). the alternative base design of the switch station performs remarkably better than that of the myciti station. it is 21% more efficient in terms of cfi (255 vs 324 kgco2/m 2) and 23% of eei (2 192 vs 2 869 mj/m2) (table 1, figures 13 and 14). as the station base is the largest portion of the total cf and ee of the switch station (54%, 743.2gj and 86.4 t co2) (table 1, figure 13), the functional capacity of this component has been maximised. this improves the component’s efficiency in terms of its material consumption. the signage and balustrade of the switch and myciti stations constitute 7% and 4% of the stations’ total cf and ee (figures 13 and 14), but the switch station performs significantly better, with a 24% lower eei (301 vs 396 mj/m2) for this station component. in addition, the cfi of signage and balustrade of the myciti station performs significantly worse, being 209% higher than the cfi of the switch station (40 vs 19.1 co2kg/m 2) (table 1). this indicates the considerably acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 70 higher carbon footprint of stainless steel compared to steel (1.46 vs 6.1kgco2/kg) (jones, 2011b: 21). 5.3 comparison of material use the switch station uses a significantly smaller amount of steel, with a limited increase in concrete (figures 15 and 16). stainless steel is not used, whereas recycled products are specified wherever possible. in the myciti station, steel contributes 32% and 41% (37.4 t co2 and 506.7gj) to the total cf and ee, respectively; in the switch station, it only contributes 19% and 21% (23.8 t co2 and 255.5 gj). the reduction can be attributed to identifying material-efficient structural systems and choosing lighter cold-formed steel sections (120x120x4.5mm) over hot-rolled steel sections (152x152mm x 23kg/m). figure15: proportions of selected materials used in stations source: hugo, 2011: own table figure 16: comparison of the embodied energy of selected materials used in the stations source: hugo, 2011: own table hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 71 using the precast hollow soil/cement blocks as subwalls and permanent shuttering minimises the use of precast concrete (2.07 mj/kg and 0,24 kgco2/kg), while maximising the use of in situ cast concrete (0.74 mj/kg and 0,11 kgco2/kg) (concrete in its most efficient form) (jones, 2011b: 54-55) (figures 15 and 16). incorporating the steel-reinforced in situ cast concrete with recycled aggregate as infill for the station base gives the additional weight to provide adequate lateral strength for the station base (figures 7 and 8). although a low impacting structural system was utilised for the switch station’s base, saving 53% (1 078.7 mj.m2 vs 2 330.8 mj/m2) (figure 8, tables 1, a2 and a3) on the primary structure, minor elements such as screed depths and floor finishes contribute substantially. after analysing the entire base of the switch station, only a saving of 21% and 23%, respectively (255 kgco2/m 2 and 2 192 mj/m2 vs 324 kgco2 m 2 and 2 869 mj/m2) (table 1) was made, due to the energy-intensive nature of the secondary elements. this emphasises the importance of focusing not only on the primary structure, but also on the secondary elements. the floor finish, as secondary element, plays an important role in minimising cf and ee. substituting the tiled floor finish of the myciti station with a pigmented cement screed used in switch station lowered the cfi by 27% (10,4 vs 14,2 kgco2/m 2) and the eei by 62% (64.8 vs 172 mj/m2) (tables 1, a2 and a3). a comparison of the material use of the envelope designs reveals that the large saving is primarily due to the minimal use of steel in the primary and secondary structure. using pmma and zinc-coated steel mesh to enclose the switch station proved to increase its cfi by 35%, compared to the laminated glass and aluminium louvre design used in the myciti station (35.8 vs 26.5 kgco2/m 2). it also increased the envelope design’s eei by 45% (641,4 vs 441.6 mj/m2) (tables 1, a2 and a3). 6. conclusion this article focused on the use of construction material in the built environment by assessing the architects’ initial design decisions which contribute to mitigating climate change. previous research (hugo et al., 2012) identified a set of guidelines to lower cf and ee of new brt stations and this study has tested these guideline approaches in switch, a prototypical brt station. to calculate overall cf and ee intensity, a cradle-to-gate ‘comparative’ lca was conducted of the existing myciti station, acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 72 established as the most cfand ee-efficient south african brt station (hugo et al., 2012) and the switch prototypical station. an efficient cf and ee station prototype has been developed by iteratively testing the cf and ee of construction systems and their material use. in the final comparative lca study, it was proved that the cfi and eei of the switch station is 35% more efficient than the investigated myciti station. the value of this improvement in terms of construction material use becomes clear when applying these savings to existing brt systems that are to be extended. the cape town brt system will be implemented in four phases (city of cape town, 2010: 9, 36), of which the first phase aims to construct 43 trunk-route stations. it can be expected that, by extending this first phase over the entire brt system, a total of 172 trunk-route stations will be constructed. if this 35% energy saving is theoretically implemented throughout the myciti brt system, a total cf and ee saving of 56 stations will be possible. this translates into saving the cf and ee of more than one phase of the stations constructed for the entire myciti brt system. in order to achieve these savings, the focus must be on spatial economy and minimising the overall footprint of the station. during iterative assessment, the built form and structure can be dematerialised to optimise material use efficiency. material choices should be informed by understanding the impacts of cf and ee of construction materials. this article has shown that, through critically assessing current designs, a low carbon intervention can be developed. following iterative design processes, which focus on continuous environmental improvement, can result in effective architectural design strategies that lower atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate climate change. acknowledgements we would like to thank david ingham, prof. jannie hugo, ilse hugo, wilfried bohm, pieter matthews and carl von geyso for their advice and assistance while writing this article; arg design for giving permission to analyse their designs, and the united nations development programme (undp) and global environment facility (gef) for sponsoring this study. the authors would also like to thank all the reviewers for their constructive suggestions. hugo, barker & stoffberg • the carbon footprint 73 references list abanda, f.h., nkeng, g.e., tah, j.h.m., ohandja, e.n.f. & 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phd; research coordinator, faculty of engineering, cape peninsula university of technology, cape town, south africa. telephone: +27 21 959 6845, email: <hauptt@pentech.ac.za> 40 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) abstrak hierdie artikel gee ‘n aantal belangrike bevindinge weer oor ‘n navorsingsprojek in die wes-kaap wat die belangrikheid van gemeenskapsdeelname in die lewering van infrastruktuur evalueer. daar is ‘n opkomende neiging in suid-afrika wat erken dat ontwikkeling veel meer is as die uitbreiding van inkomste en rykdom en dat ekonomies groei nie genoeg is nie. die fokus is al hoe meer op die ontwikkeling van mense. deelname in die ontwikkelingsproses moet lede van die gemeenskap toelaat om hul eie oortuigings te gebruik om spesifieke probleme heersend in hul gemeenskap aan te spreek. deelname moet erken word as ‘n vrywillig proses wat die rigting en uitvoering van gemeenskapsontwikkelingsprojekte kan beinvloed in teenstelling met gemeenskappe wat skaars geraadpleeg word of projekvoordele ontvang. die opkomende deelnemende paradigma stel twee perspektiewe voor. die eerste is dat plaaslik mense betrek word in die keuse, ontwerp, beplanning en implementasie van programme en projekte wat hulle sal affekteer. die tweede is om voordurende verstaanbare terugvoering ‘n volledige deel van ontwikkelingsaktiwiteite te maak. hierdie artikel gee ‘n oorsig oor die belangrikheid van gemeenskapsdeelname in die lewering van ontwikkelingsprojekte. sleutelwoorde: gemeenskapsdeelname, gemeenskapsontwikkeling, ontwikkelingsprojekte 1. introduction there is an emerging trend in south africa that recognises thatdevelopment is much more than the expansion of income andwealth and that economic growth, though essential, is not enough. the focus is increasingly on human development, which ranges from enjoying a decent standard of living to enjoying a greater sense of participation in the various activities within their communities. seen in this light, projects in developing areas increasingly include objectives that go beyond the mere provision of physical facilities. how a project is undertaken and by whom, are just as important as what is delivered (development bank of southern africa, 1993). since 1994, the political landscape has been altered, with the introduction of the new central, provincial and local spheres of governments. new national and provincial departments have been established through the amalgamation and restructuring of former apartheid administrations with a few exceptions, most of these have now gone through some form of participatory strategic planning exercise and have formulated their own visions, missions, policy objectives and strategic plans, albeit of varying depth and quality. these planning outcomes have in many cases been made public through the publication of green or white papers, provincial growth and development strategies or other policy documents. greater difficulty has been experienced, however, in securing the necessary buy-in from staff and other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of such visions and plans (abrahams & goldblatt, 1997). 2. development according to the south african poverty and inequality background report (abrahams & goldblatt, 1997) infrastructural services such as communications, power, transportation, provision of water and sanitation are central to both the activities of households and the economic production of a nation. in order to ensure that growth is consistent with poverty alleviation, infrastructural development needs to be extended to all sectors of the population. access to at least minimum infrastructure services is one of the essential criteria for defining welfare. links between poverty and infrastructural services in south africa are not always easy to define because lack of access to one utility does not necessarily mean a lack of access to the others. moreover, the different infrastructure sectors have different effects on improving quality of life and reducing poverty. for example, access 41 khan & haupt • community participation to reliable energy, clean water and sanitation helps reduce mortality and morbidity and saves time for productive tasks; transport enhances access to goods, services and employment and communications allows access to services, and information on economic activities. redress of current imbalances in infrastructural services requires considerable investment in the shortand medium-term, despite fiscal constraints. resolving this fiscal dilemma — generating sufficient public and private investment without incurring excessive public debt — is essential in order to secure the growth and poverty reduction linkages of infrastructure investments. the world bank (1995) advocates three measures to reform the provision of infrastructure services, namely wider application of commercial principles to service providers, broader use of competition, and increased involvement of users where commercial and competitive behaviour is constrained. the latter proposal suggests the involvement of users and other stakeholders in consultation during project planning direct participation in operation or maintenance and monitoring. this is the primary focus of this research. 3. need for development in every sphere of society — economic, social, moral, cultural, environmental — south africa is confronted by serious problems. segregation in education, health, welfare, transport and employment left deep scars of inequality and economic inefficiency. the gap between rich and poor in south africa is among the largest in the world. infrastructure and social service delivery has the potential to assure minimum standards and redistribution. this is the sentiment voiced in the foreword of collins & torres (2000). response to questions addressing key areas for concern include: • to what extent have reconstruction and development programme goals been met in terms of delivery, resources, projects and targeting of delivery? • who is actually benefiting from delivery? • what are the major barriers to delivery and how can it is addressed? images of poverty and deprivation of the south african townships as described by many social critics and writers was required reading for 42 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 43 khan & haupt • community participation all who wanted to join the struggle for liberation. now that the fundamental battle for equal rights seems won, the more intricate questions surrounding public welfare needs, housing, health care and sanitation, for example, are likely to be no less vexatious. the south african government’s success or failure in ensuring the adequate provision of welfare facilities and services for local population will prove a major indicator of national development (khosa, 2000). one of the objectives of the national public works programme as stated in the guidelines for enhancing employment opportunities (1999) is to empower communities through building their capacity to manage their own affairs. this would contribute to building and strengthening local government and other local institutions. the guidelines further state that funders should be sensitive to the social issues arising from the implementation of development projects in communities awotana et al. (1995) argues that forms of social organisation and decision-making methodologies are inter-related and the extent of public involvement is affected by such issues as the scope and scale of the project, the time constraints attaching to it, the purpose — overt or covert — of the participatory programme and the capacity of the community to enter effectively into the planning process. capacity is a function of many factors not least that of the history of the community since the capabilities of people are a reflection of past circumstances. in south africa, the subjugation of the black population under the national party’s separatist ideology over a period of some four decades precluded those citizens any realistic form of involvement in the decision taking of the country. it is therefore participation of the previously mute black communities in the emergent post-apartheid procedures that are of particular interest and import. this article presents certain important findings of a broader research project evaluating the importance of community participation in infrastructure delivery in the western cape. 4. delivery of community development projects (procurement) procurement in a development context should be concerned with the setting of fundamental development objectives for an emergent community (taylor & norval, 1994) such as is prevalent in south africa. the evaluation of procurement systems should accordingly be on a basis, which is uniquely developmental in its orientation, while being particularly responsive to the specific needs and resource base of the location in which development occurs. community empowerment and participation, job creation and economically and environmentally sustainable procurement processes would ensure the successful delivery of the completed facility. many construction projects suffer from inappropriate usage of procurement systems (rwelamila, 1997). traditional construction procurement systems (tcp) have been criticised for not meeting the needs of clients, being out of date, inefficient, and expensive and fostering poor communication between the client and the contractor. arguably, the traditional system has lost its value to the client. rwelamila & hall (1995) suggest that the balancing of the traditional project parameters namely, time, cost and quality by the project team, has to date been inappropriate with quality in particular not been adequately addressed. consequently, project performance has been compromised. construction professionals have been prone to adopt over-simplistic and paternalistic views of their clients especially in a community development context (haupt, 1996). the briefing process enables construction professionals to understand the requirement of their clients (green, 1996). where clients are not sufficiently skilled in communicating their requirements effectively such as is the case in community development projects, it is expected of construction professionals to consult extensively with the community in order to draft a brief, which is unambiguous, complete, flexible and realistic (sawczuk, 1996). studies conducted in the southern africa development community (sadc) construction industries, have found strong evidence to suggest that poor selection of appropriate delivery mechanisms or procurement systems have led to problems contributing to their poor performance (rwelamila, 1995; rwelamila & hall, 1997). in the findings of a study on infrastructure development in sadc, the revision of tendering and procurement procedures was found to be a key factor to improving infrastructure delivery and development (haupt, 1996). more than 40% of the respondents regarded tendering and procurement procedures as inadequate. for its part, south africa can no longer rely solely on the paradigms of the developed world (taylor & norval, 1994). it must develop pro44 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) curement systems, which consider more than speed, quality, price competition and certainty, and risk transfer. these procurement systems must encourage, inter alia, appropriate, and people intensive technology and processes, learning and skill development. public sector procurement, through the agency of the department of public works, is one such area where these principles are being integrated into policies towards the procurement and management of public sector infrastructure and facilities in south africa. development concerns people — people experiencing the reality within which they find themselves day-by-day and moment-bymoment, feeling its implication and seeing its practical functioning around them. development relates to the people involved in it in all possible respects. development must begin by identifying human needs and, therefore, concern itself with raising the level of living standards and providing opportunities for the development of human potential. the need for people involved in development to be placed in the centre also suggests the implementation of specific and intruding shifts in emphasis. policies and strategies directed mainly at the control of natural settings, technological considerations, economic structures and demographic conditions have to be replaced by policies that take full cognisance of concomitant values, customs, social structures and political participation. 5. community participation community participation implies the readiness of both the government and the community to accept responsibilities and activities. it also means that the value of the contribution of each group is seen and used. mere tokenism or propaganda will not make participation meaningful. the honest inclusion of community representatives as ‘partners’ in decisionmaking makes for successful community participation (yueng & mcgee, 1986). in broadening the scope of community development in this way, the un was the first to view community development as synonymous with community participation. this metamorphosis was to be the root cause of the misunderstandings surrounding community participation over the next three decades. according to pretty & scoones (1995), there was a long history of ‘participation’ in development. a wide range of national and international development agencies 45 khan & haupt • community participation had attempted to involve people on some aspect of planning and implementation. the terms ‘people’s participation’ and ‘popular participation’ were now part of the normal language of many development agencies. this role as a vehicle for social and economic change for people in developing countries was later justified by researchers on the basis that the term ‘participation’ is frequently used with connotations of a long socio-historical tradition, and understands to be civil involvement in political life. there are good reasons for the close association of participation with a community development approach (lane, 1995). first, meeting basic needs requires the participation of all its beneficiaries. second, participation in implementation improves efficiency through the mobilisation of local resources. third, the development of the capacity of a community to plan and implement change will require greater intensity and scope of participation as the project proceeds. awotana et al. (1995) further add that south african townships provide definite case examples of ‘wicked problems.’ the environments have been seriously degraded over decades by structural inequality, neglect and civil unrest. there are massive, multi-sectoral needs ranging from social infrastructure to education and employment generation. there are extreme limitations both on the resources available to meet these needs and on local capacity to pay for services. there is often a multiplicity of interest groupings, even at local level. there are very strong national and local pressures for the rapid delivery of service goods. in such situations participation can be expected to be anything other than smooth. there are signs that a number of the typical problems identified in international literature are emerging in south africa, as participation becomes more common. the most significant of these are the negative effects of structural limitations to the scope of participation, inefficiency and the difficulty of identifying community leaders. participation programs require effort and investment on the part of participants. there is a tendency for those who use the term participation to adopt moral high ground, implying that any form of participation is good (pretty & scoones, 1995). recently developed typologies of participation suggest that great care must be taken over both using and interpreting the term. it should always be qualified by reference to the type of participation, as most types will threaten rather than support the goals of sustainable development. 46 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) a study of some 230 government and non governmental organisations (ngo’s) in africa found that although participation in planning was relatively common, monitoring and evaluation is still largely conducted by outside organisations (pretty & scoones, 1995). some organisations felt that participation simply implied local people doing what planners wanted lane (1995) argues that participation is a very broad concept. when the term is used in the context of development the first question to ask is exactly what type of participation is being referred to. participation in the construction and implementation stages of a project is now very common, involving the beneficiaries in contributing resources. in these instances participation is equated with co-operation and incorporation into predetermined activities. however this is only one stage in the development process. participation needs to be considered in decision — making, implementation and maintenance, benefits, and evaluating of successes and failures. lane (1995) further states that the second dimension of participation is who should participate? in a truly participatory approach it is expect that all those affected play a role at all stages of the development process. this approach suggests that certain groups had been bypassed by previous development and should now be included or even ‘put first’. once the scope of participation has been decided and who is to participate, consideration must be given to how participation is to be achieved in practice according to awotana et al. (1995) participation exercises in many contexts have failed because structural impediments drastically constrain the possible results of participation. this is worst when the limitations to the outcome of participation processes are not well understood by, or made clear to participants at the outset. in such circumstances, where the inevitable result of participation is the creation of expectations, which cannot be met, dissatisfaction is often transferred to the object. participation, therefore, brings expectations with it almost by definition; but the extent to which these expectations can be met, or even addressed, is often limited by variables that stand outside the participation process. eyben & ladbury (1995) further add that a lack of community participation in projects can therefore be the result of professionals assuming the role of knowledgeable specialists who do not take users’ views into account because users do not ‘know enough’ to make 47 khan & haupt • community participation 48 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) decisions. however sometimes users themselves hand over their participatory rights to professionals. consequently they save themselves time, energy and, in some instances even conflict. awotana et al. (1995) argue that distinctions in these and other factors can often result in different agendas and needs, which can remain submerged unless participation strategies are specifically designed to bring them to the fore. conversely, a participation exercise not designed in this way can have the unintended effect of consolidating the power and status of particular interest groups within a community, having opposite effects to those intended. assessing support levels of different, sometimes self-styled leaders can be very difficult. according to petty & scoones (1995), it is also common for practitioners to assume that everyone in a community is participating, and that development will serve the needs of everyone. the appearance of external solidarity though may mask internal differentiation. understanding these internal differences is crucial. different livelihood strategies imply different isolated local knowledge systems, and those who assume that communities are homogenous easily miss these. methodologies are required that are sufficiently responsive to such complexity, that can accommodate an understanding of agriculturist — pastoralists’ views of different constituencies and which can in turn reflect these in the responses made by development agents. 6. difficulties in implementing community participation carew-reid et al. (1996) highlight the following constraints to participation: • participation requires major reversals in the role of external professionals, from ‘management’ to facilitation. this requires changes in behaviour and attitudes, and can only be gradual. it requires significant retraining but usually; inadequate resources are devoted to training. • participation also threatens conventional careers; professionals feel a loss of power in dealing with local communities as equals and including them in decision-making. this discourages professionals from taking risks and developing collaborative relationships with communities. • participation and institutional developments are difficult to measure and require using quantitative and qualitative performance indicators together. existing monitoring and evaluation systems cannot measure this well; thus, physical and financial indicators, which are easier to measure, dominate the performance evaluation and impact analysis process. additional difficulties relate to use of the term ‘participation’ (petty & scoones, 1995). participation may be used to accommodate a failed political process, where politicians may accept participation and its associated rhetoric, but not democracy, pluralism and accountability in planning. effective participation implies involvement not only in information collection, but also in analysis, decisionmaking and implementation — implying devolution of the power to decide. the political context of attempts at institutionalising participatory planning is thus critical. empowering people to take control at local level inevitably leads to conflict if external institutions are unwilling to give up some of their existing power. it should therefore be asked: how genuinely democratic and accountable are governments or non-governmental organisations promoting ‘participatory approaches?’ 7. benefits of community participation in development projects awotana et al. (1995) contests that ‘participation’ conceived in the purely instrumental terms of cost or managerial benefits is unacceptable in the context of projects in south african townships, where empowerment and capacity building must be the real goals, not merely the achievement of project management efficiency — although efficiency and cost control may be desirable by-products. the reasons for this are as much practical as political — capacity building is a fundamental prerequisite for project success and sustainability. carew-reid et al. (1996) highlights the immediate risks of a participatory approach, as opposed to a top-down approach. the strategic vision/direction may be less clear, at least for the first year or so. given the multiple perspectives incorporated, it may be more difficult to focus on priorities. momentum may be lost, as the time taken for participatory strategies is longer. this is possible at both ‘higher’ levels including donors, and ‘lower’ levels; but can be minimised by regular feedback of information (and, most important, by implementing poli49 khan & haupt • community participation cies on which consensus has already been reached at the earliest stage possible). awotana et al. (1995) added that while participation can make implementation more efficient by eliminating delay-causing differences in communities, it could also itself cause delays. this is particularly likely to occur when different interest groups attempt to assert themselves, or when community members lack the time or skills to keep pace with the dynamics of a project. for this reason, some writers argue that the immense and pressing nature of third word development and planning problems make participation inappropriate because of the time and financing required for its implementation. others argue that the extra benefits participation brings more than justify the extended process and extra expense. awotana et al. (1995) goes further by stating that another type of inefficiency can arise when communities do not know the full range of alternatives, which can open to them and participation then means that creative and innovative solutions to problems are never considered. this is less a criticism of participation per se, however, than of a particular style of participation in which professionals abrogate all responsibility and, in effect, approach participation as merely the need to ask people what they want. these problems are becoming evident in south africa, and there is evidence in government and elsewhere of increasing impatience with drawn out processes of talking in the absence of delivery. finding efficient methods of participation are therefore a pressing need if the present developing culture of participation is to be sustained. schübeler (1996) contests that the potential benefits of participation have been discussed in relation to the specific interest of each stakeholder. however, it is important to recognise that participation, as any process of socio-economic development, involves costs and risks as well as benefits. it is a process of give-and-take in which each side must surrender certain current positions and assume additional costs in the interest of a greater overall benefit. according to khosa (2000) and everatt, gwagwa, & shezi, (2000), experience has shown that the more a community makes inputs into and participates in projects, the more sustainable the development. participation could range from community decision making to hands on construction involvement. this extends the life span of both the projects and the benefits received by the community. he adds that 50 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) apart from the fact that projects should be integrated into national socio-economic development programmes that are fully supported by borrowers and local authorities, they should involve also beneficiaries in project development and execution so that they take ownership and this ensure sustainability. khosa contest that the lack of effective community participation affects the sustainability of projects negatively. 8. research methodology to achieve the objectives of this particular research project the primary source of data were responses to a questionnaire survey of participants who were mostly consultants operating in the public sector as well as government agencies, contractors, facilitators of development projects and funding agencies. however community members were also interviewed to add to the scope of the survey. these were drawn from residents in areas where housing development had taken place. the interview process was selected to allow for questions to be explained to the respondents to clarify anything they might not have understood. various measures were used such as a 5-point likert-scale of importance, agreement and representivity, rankings and hierarchies of preference. the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) was used to analyse the data. 9. findings 9.1 interviews the respondents reported that community participation to them was about communities uniting and getting involved in projects to fulfil their goals. these projects were perceived to be contributing to making a difference in the community and improving the quality of their lives. they further reported that they needed to participate in housing construction to contribute to self-improvement and meeting their own needs. however, some of them felt that the department of housing was not delivering housing as had been promised to them and therefore they saw no need for communities to participate in the delivery process. 51 khan & haupt • community participation they recognised the need for their community to come together and engage in dialogue with other communities where there had been a clear consensus of what the community needed and demanded. they felt they should be engaged in training programmes to empower themselves to make informed decisions about their own development. a minority felt that the community should contribute financially and physically to building houses in order to work hand in hand with the government to address poverty issues. respondents indicated that the community often became involved only in the early stages of the projects, and seldom became involved in the construction stage. this finding confirms that of the questionnaire survey, which showed that, communities were only involved at the briefing and handing over stages of a project. some of the respondents indicated that the community did not become involved at all. the respondents felt that the community should be able to address their views, priorities and opinions and be part of the process in order to meet the needs of their communities. during the planning stage, various skill resources relevant to the project, such as bricklayers, plumbers and managers, should be identified from among the community. placing people at the centre of planning and decisionmaking is a strategy to convince people that the project was designed for the community. a minority of the respondents felt that the community should only accept the government’s offer whatever that was and not be involved in the decision-making. interviewees felt that community participation could assist in job creation. however, several felt that communities did not have the skills needed to participate in the construction process. of respondents, 70% indicated that community participation had an impact on the quality of the houses. they felt that the lack of contribution from the community with regard to critical activities such as site layout, design and materials and even the physical involvement could affect the quality negatively. they felt if they were involved the quality would improve. if this did not happen the communities were forced to accept the poor quality of houses being provided. the majority felt that the use of community organisations was an essential way of ensuring more effective participation. only 25% of respondents felt that the relationship between communities and government should be improved and be much closer than what it is at present. 52 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 53 khan & haupt • community participation respondents emphasised that the community leaders are driving all projects and that projects would not start without them. of the respondents, 40% indicated that the community leaders were not representative at all because they serve their own interest and the interest of their families. they felt that most times projects were not started or completed if the community leaders did not play an active role in the process. 9.2 questionnaire survey 9.2.1 community dynamics despite the low level of representativity of community leaders found in this study they had been clearly identified in the literature as a necessary component to the success of community projects. the lack of representativity might be due to problems directly linked to the manner in which these leaders were elected suggested by the means of the responses of the stakeholders, namely 2.3 in the case of contractors and 3.0 in the case of government. according to one stakeholder “leaders are selected not elected.” table 1: community dynamics issues fu nd e rs (m e a n) 1 c o ns ul ta nt s (m e a n) g o ve rn m e nt (m e a n) fa c ilit a to rs (m e a n) c o nt ra c to rs (m e a n) how representative are community leaders of their communities 3.4(1) 3.3(2) 3.3(2) 2.9(4) 2.9(4) how transparent are the elections of these community leaders 2.4(4) 2.7(3) 3.0(1) 2.9(2) 2.3(5) diversity of communities 3.7(1) 3.7(1) 2.7(4) 3.5(3) 2.6(5) how problematic is this diversity 3.1(4) 4.1(1) 3.3(3) 2.7(5) 3.7(2) note: rankings according to stakeholders for each issue are indicated in parentheses 1 on a representivity scale of 1 to 5 where 1 = not at all and 5 = extremely representative 54 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) the literature suggests however that it is common for practitioners to assume that everyone in a community is participating, and that development will serve the needs of everyone. the appearance of external solidarity though may mask internal differentiation. understanding these internal differences is crucial. different livelihood strategies imply different isolated local knowledge systems, and those who assume that communities are homogenous easily miss these. in some cases non-participation is explained through the views that participation of all or some of the beneficiaries might not be in the political interest of other actors in the project (petty & scoones, 1995). comments by facilitators in the questionnaire survey identified political diversity as a major barrier to effective community representation. community leaders according to all stakeholders as per table 1 were not rated as being strongly representative of their communities. means ranged between 3.4 in the case of funders and 2.9 in the case of facilitators and contractors. this finding is of concern given that they should represent the interest of beneficiary communities who elected them as community leaders. evidently communities have different groupings with different needs. bringing these diverse groups together can be problematic to the participation process. a specific need common to all residents within a settlement has the potential to impact the smooth implementation of the project. the means of responses of stakeholders range between 2.6 in the case of contractors to 3.7 in the case of funders and consultants as indicated in table 1. this diversity appears to be problematic to the stakeholders considering the means of their responses evidenced in table 1. the means ranged from 2.7 in the case of facilitators to 4.1 in the case of consultants. the increase in the mean indicate that the consultants had the strongest opinion that this diversity was very problematic. from parties interviewed different groupings had the resources to motivate for a project to proceed even if it only serves the interests of a few. vigorous efforts are required to identify all the interest groups in a community who may for example have a stake in a project, to establish the representatives of community leaders and to set up procedures, which make it possible for all groups to become involved when decisions are taken. 55 khan & haupt • community participation 9.2.2 procurement this section of the questionnaire was designed to deal with the merits of the procurement process as a delivery mechanism in south africa to improve community participation. studies conducted in the southern africa development community (sadc) construction industries, have found strong evidence to suggest that choice of delivery mechanism/or procurement systems have led to problems which have contributed to their poor performance. in the findings of a study on infrastructure development in sadc, the revision of tendering and procurement procedures was found to be a key factor to improving infrastructure delivery and development (haupt, 1996; rwelamila, 1997). table 2 indicates that government and funders agreed strongest with a mean of 4.0 that professional advice on procurement system selection was essential to the communities. they supported this view with comments that government relied on consultants to advice communities. consultants had the lowest mean (3.6) for the necessity of professional advice to communities. this is indicative of the general attitude which consultants had towards communities and thus be a cause of the problems communities had with understanding the process of project delivery. table 2: procurement issues issues fu nd e rs (m e a n) 2 c o nt ra c to rs (m e a n) g o ve rn m e nt (m e a n) fa c ilit a to rs (m e a n) c o ns ul ta nt s (m e a n) understanding the term procurement 3.4(3) 4.0(1) 3.3(4) 3.1(5) 4.0(1) communities understanding of procurement 2.2(3) 2.7(2) 1.3(5) 2.2(3) 2.8(1) how essential is professional advice on selection of procurement systems 4.0(1) 3.6(5) 4.0(1) 3.7(3) 3.7(3) how often is advice given 3.6(2) 2.3(5) 2.7(4) 2.9(3) 3.7(1) extent that advantages and disadvantages of different procurement systems are discussed with communities 2.7(4) 3.7(1) 2.7(4) 3.1(2) 3.0(3) extent of community involvement in selection of procurement system 2.7(4) 3.9(1) 2.0(5) 3.3(2) 3.0(3) note: rankings according to stakeholders for each issue are indicated in parentheses 2 on a 5-point scale of agreement where 1 = never and 5 = always 56 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) note: rankings according to stakeholders for each issue are indicated in parentheses there is a realisation that new emphasis and added responsibilities are being placed on professional consultants to involve local communities in the development process. the literature further suggests that during the briefing stage, most projects are rushed in order to get design approval as soon as possible. consultants do not bear in mind that the briefing stage was the most important and yet least expensive stage (taylor & norval, 1994; sawczuk, 1996). stage c o nt ra c to rs (m e a n) g o ve rn m e nt (m e a n) fu nd e rs (m e a n) fa c ilit a to rs (m e a n) c o ns ul ta nt s (m e a n) project brief 4.3(5) 4.7(2) 4.7(2) 5.0(1) 4.7(2) tender documentation 2.3(4) 2.9(3) 1.7(5) 4.1(1) 3.0(2) contract documentation 2.3(4) 2.7(3) 1.3(5) 3.9(1) 3.2(2) contract 3.7(4) 4.0(3) 2.0(5) 4.3(1) 4.2(2) handing over 4.3(3) 4.0(4) 4.0(5) 4.6(2) 4.7(1) funders (3.6) and contractors (3.7) were most positive about the frequency of advice they received from consultants. consultants agreed most strongly (3.7) that they discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the different procurement systems available with communities as well as communities being involved during the selection of procurement systems (3.9). 9.2.3 community participation table 3 evidences the involvement of communities at various stages of a project. participation in the construction and implementation stages of a project is now very common, involving the beneficiaries in contributing resources. in these instances participation is equated with co-operation and incorporation into predetermined activities. however this is only one stage in the development process. community participation needs to be considered in decision — making, implementation and maintenance, and evaluating of successes and failures (lane, 1995). table 3: community involvement at different stages of projects 57 khan & haupt • community participation table 4: importance of criteria on success of projects note: rankings of criteria according to stakeholders for each issue are indicated in parentheses. ranking across criteria for each stakeholder is indicated with [ ] table 4 shows the views of respondents on criteria for a successful project. the results highlight that community participation was ranked highest by all stakeholders except for consultants who ranked it as second to the usefulness to the end-user of the completed facility. table 4 also suggests that contractors agreed most that completion on time, to budget and to quality standards were important. these are typical for contractors considering client pressure to have their projects completed on time, within the budget and to desired quality standards. similarly the government rankings are typical considering their role in policy application. without community participation, completion within time becomes secondary. community participation and end user usefulness are the most important criteria for facilitators considering their role in the delivery process. the consultants surprisingly ranked the criteria of time cost and quality the lowest. this is not typical of consultants, as they would be pressurising the contractors to meet these criteria first. however since the questionnaire related to community development projects this response would be beneficial to effective community participation. the literature supports that that development projects has to substantively involve local people in the selection, design, planning and implementation of programmes and projects that will affect them. in this way local perception, attitudes, values and knowledge are assuredly taken into account as fully and as early as possible. continuous and comprehensive feedback to beneficiary communities was an integral part of all development activities (mikkelson, 1995). criteria c o nt ra c to rs (m e a n) g o ve rn m e nt (m e a n) fu nd e rs (m e a n) fa c ilit a to rs (m e a n) c o ns ul ta nt s (m e a n) community participation 4.7(4)[1] 5.0(1)[1] 5.0(1)[1] 4.9(3)[1] 4.7(5)[2] completion on time 4.7(1)[1] 3.3(5)[6] 3.4(4)[4] 3.7(3)[6] 4.3(2)[4] completion to budget 4.7(1)[1] 4.7(1)[2] 2.0(5)[6] 4.2(4)[5] 4.3(3)[4] completion to quality 4.7(1)[1] 4.7(1)[2] 3.0(5)[5] 4.5(3)[3] 3.8(4)[6] capacity building 4.0(5)[6] 4.7(1)[2] 4.4(4)[2] 4.5(3)[3] 4.7(1)[2] usefulness to end user 4.7(3)[1] 4.7(3)[2] 4.4(5)[2] 4.9(1)[1] 4.8(2)[1] 58 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) note: rankings according to stakeholders for each issue are indicated in parentheses all stakeholders regard community participation as important in development projects. the ranking for the cost increases of community participation was average and does not indicate that it was a concern to stakeholders. most respondents felt that the benefits of community participation far outweighed the costs. 10. discussion of the findings it was clear that even though there was a good understanding about community participation by all professionals as well as governmental organisations, problems existed relative to its application. however it seems that as long as the process is driven by parameters for success that are dictated to by professional stakeholders and as long as representatives of communities and even communities themselves are not fully included in the entire procurement process of development projects, there can be little satisfaction from the end users of the project. according to gilbert et al. (1996), an essential element of governance — when used to describe the ways that local authorities relate to their communities — was inclusiveness, which meant the active participation of affected sectors of the community in decisionmaking processes. inclusiveness was especially important for the achievement of environmental sustainability. generally speaking, governments that were authoritarian, exclusive, and short sighted were unlikely to be effective in helping to move their communities towards environmental, social, and economic sustainability. issue fu nd e rs (m e a n) c o ns ul ta nt s (m e a n) g o ve rn m e nt (m e a n) fa c ilit a to rs (m e a n) c o nt ra c to rs (m e a n) how necessary is cp in development projects 4.6(5) 4.7(1) 4.7(1) 4.7(1) 4.7(1) how much has cp increased cost of projects 3.2(1) 2.7(2) 1.3(5) 2.0(4) 2.6(3) do the benefits outweigh the cost of cp 3.2(3) 3.8(1) 2.7(4) 2.5(5) 3.3(2) from the literature reviewed, questionnaire responses and interview responses the necessity of community participation within the development framework is apparent. this importance is further highlighted in table 5. table 5: importance of community participation 59 khan & haupt • community participation an additional reason given by eyben & ladbury (1995) why beneficiaries might have little influence over project decisions was that professionals assumed the role of identifying the needs of beneficiaries and finding the solutions. the greater the assumed knowledge gap between professionals and beneficiaries, the more likely it was that this would happen. individuals were contented to rely on professional judgements in any country, as long as the service was relatively equitably distributed in ways, which made sense to them. professional consultants and contractors who operate within the development framework responded that they appreciated the importance of participation but that their opinion on the parameters for success of projects included community participation but that it was not necessary the only important one. also they expected the communities to follow the structures they put in place. community based organisations and facilitators on the other hand made clear that their loyalties lay with communities in terms of projects improving the conditions which poor communities found themselves in. they indicated that the priority should be the satisfaction of the end user and their involvement in the process of achieving improved living conditions the interviews confirmed that community members wanted to be involved but their understanding of participation was limited to involvement during the construction stage only. they indicated a desire to be part of the construction process where they could assist in the building of their own homes. this was the extent of their perception of participation. the fact that in the questionnaires professional consultants testified that communities could retard the progress of projects if they were involved supported the view that communities were not assisted in this process by the professional consultants. the community needed support from all stakeholders in the development process to aid them in understanding why their involvement was crucial to the success of projects. the results showed clear evidence that non-participation of communities within the projects could result in project failure. 11. conclusion it would seem that the success of a participatory community technique depended on making clear the stakeholder involvement and responsibilities at the outset of projects. cooperative stakeholders joining together in consultative processes created an environment of continuous review of problem identification, objectives, activities and anticipated cost and benefits. 60 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) we cannot assume that people would always participate, even when they have the choice. in some situation communities were limited to the extent that they wanted to be involved or have the capacity to be involved. many people struggled on a daily basis to meet their most basic needs. this being water, food and electricity. expecting people under these circumstances to sit on committees and attend meetings to discuss improvements to their situations would be insensitive. people in affluent areas who received these services certainly did not spend their time sitting on committees and attending meetings. these basic services were seen to be their right. how do we therefore explain this scenario to the poorer communities where even obtaining water was a privilege? it is important that stakeholders understood these differences when they deal with community developments and appreciate the frustrations of poorer communities at waiting for services, which should be their right. participation by the people in the institutions and systems, which govern their lives, was a basic human right and also essential for realignment of political power in favour of disadvantaged groups and for social and economic development. participation was an essential part of human growth, which could lead to the development of self-confidence, pride, initiative, creativity, responsibility and cooperation. without such a development within the people themselves all efforts to alleviate their poverty would be immensely more difficult, if not impossible. this process, whereby people learn to take charge of their own lives and solve their own problems, was the essence of development. references abrahams, g. & goldblatt, m. 1997. report on poverty and inequality: access to urban infrastructure by the poor progress in the public provision of infrastructural assets. [online]. available from: <www.gov.za/reports/1998/poverty/infrastructure.pdf> awotana, a., japha, d, huchzermeyer, m. & uduku, o. 1995. community based strategies for local development: lessons for south africa, cardo, and uct. carew-reid j., prescott-allen r., bass s.m.j. & dalal-clayton d.b. 1994. strategies for national sustainable development: a handbook for their planning and implementation. london: international institute for environment and development (iied), london and world conservation union (iucn), gland, in association with earthscan publications. collins, d. & torres, l. 2000. infrastructure delivery: a nedlac project. indicator south africa, 17(2), pp. 1-84, june. 61 khan & haupt • community participation development bank of southern africa (dbsa). 1998. infrastructure: a foundation for development. midrand: dbsa. everatt, d., gwagwa, n. & shezi, s. 2000. empowerment through public works into the next millennium. in: khosa m. (ed.) empowerment through service delivery. pretoria: hsrc. eyben, r. & ladbury, s. 1995. popular participation in aid assisted projects: why more in theory than practice. in: nelson, n. & wright, s. (eds.). power and participatory development: theory and practice. london: intermediate technology publications. green, s.d. 1996. a metaphorical analysis of client organisation and the briefing process. journal of construction management and economics, 14(2), pp. 155-164. khosa, m. 2000. social impact assessment of development projects. in: khosa, m. (ed.), infrastructure mandate for change 1994-1999. south africa, pretoria: human sciences research council. lane, j. 1995. non-governmental organisations and participatory development: the concept in theory versus the concept in practice. in: nelson, n. & wright, s. (eds.). power and participatory development: theory and practice. london: intermediate technology publications. pretty, j. n. & scoones, i. 1995. institutionalising adaptive planning and local level concerns: looking to the future. in: nelson, n. & wright, s. (eds.). power and participatory development: theory and practice. london: intermediate technology publications. rwelamila, p.d. 1997. appropriate or default procurement systems? a dilemma for balancing building project parameters. in: proceedings of the ppc cement, south african institute of building national student congress construction beyond 2000, peninsula technikon, bellville, april, pp.19-27. rwelamila, p.d. & hall, k.a. 1995. total systems intervention: an integrated approach to time, cost and quality management. construction management and economics, 13(3), pp. 235-241. sawczuk, b. 1996. risk avoidance for the building team. london: e & f.n. spon. schübeler, p. 1996. participation and partnership in urban infrastructure management. in: participation and partnership in urban infrastructure management, 1(1), pp. 1-100, june. washington: world bank. taylor, r.g. & norval, g.h.m. 1994. developing appropriate procurement systems for developing countries, proceedings of cib w92 symposium, cib publication no 175. yeung, y. m. & mcgee, t. g., (eds).1986. community participation in delivering urban services in asia. canada: the international development research centre. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left /calgrayprofile (dot gain 20%) /calrgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /calcmykprofile (u.s. web coated \050swop\051 v2) /srgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /cannotembedfontpolicy /error /compatibilitylevel 1.4 /compressobjects /tags /compresspages true /convertimagestoindexed true /passthroughjpegimages true /createjdffile false /createjobticket false /defaultrenderingintent /default /detectblends true /colorconversionstrategy /leavecolorunchanged /dothumbnails false /embedallfonts true /embedjoboptions true /dscreportinglevel 0 /syntheticboldness 1.00 /emitdscwarnings false /endpage -1 /imagememory 1048576 /lockdistillerparams false /maxsubsetpct 100 /optimize true /opm 1 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 44 a.l. povey , k.s. cattell & k.a. michell mediation practice in the south african construction industry peer reviewed abstract dissatisfaction with the traditional methods of litigation and arbitration for set tling disputes has led to an increase in the growth of alternative dispute reso lution (adr) processes. presently mediation is the adr process most frequently used for settling disputes that arise within the south african construction indus try. this paper presents the findings of an investigation into the practice of mediation in the south african construction industry. the main findings of the investigation were that the mediators are more intent on resolving the dispute for the parties, than assisting the parties in seeking their own settlement to the dispute. the majority of the respondents place greater emphasis on the im portance of their technical expertise, authority and their understanding of the matter in dispute rather than on moving the parties towards an in depth understanding of each other’s perspectives on the matter in dispute. finally, it is concluded that the process being employed by mediators in the south african construction industry is not consistent with the generally accepted principles of the mediation process. keywords: construction disputes, dispute resolution, mediation a.l. povey, research assistant, dept. of civil engineering, university of cape town, south africa. prof. k.s. cattell, associate professor, dept. of construction economics and management, university of cape town, south africa. tel: +27 21 650 2452, e mail: <cattellk@ebe.uct.ac.za> k.a. michell, senior lecturer, dept. of construction economics and manage ment, university of cape town, south africa. private bag rondebosch, 7700, tel: +27 21 650 3443, fax: +27 21 689 7564, e mail: <hallka@ebe.uct.ac.za> abstrak ontevredenheid met die meer tradisionele metodes van geskilbeslegting, naamlik litigasie en arbitrasie, het tot gevolg dat geskilbeslegtingsmetode aan die toeneem is. mediasie is huidiglik die geskilbeslegtingsmetode wat meeren deels gebruik word vir die oplossing van geskille wat uit die suid afrikaanse boubedryf voortspruit. hierdie referaat lê die bevindinge van ’n ondersoek na die praktyke in mediasie, soos in die boubedryf toegepas, voor. die mees op vallende bevindinge van die ondersoek toon dat mediators ’n geneigdheid het om die geskille namens die partye op te los, eerder as om hul by te staan in die proses van oplossing of te wel skikking van die dispuut. die meerderheid van die respondente het eerder groot nadruk op hul eie tegniese bedrewen heid, bevoegdheid en begrip van die aangeleentheid wat aan hul voorgelê is, geplaas eerder as om ’n raadgewende rol in te neem en die partye te ondersteun in hul onderskeie perspektiewe en begrip van die geskil. die ge volgtrekking is dus dat die meerderheid van die ondervraagde bemiddelaars wat gemoed is met die bemiddeling van geskille in die suid afrikaanse bou bedryf, die proses uitvoer op ’n manier wat teenstrydig is met die algemeen aanvaarde grondbeginsels van die mediasieproses. sleutelwoorde: konstruksiegeskille, geskilbeslegting, mediasie 45 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice 1. introduction although the potential for dispute is inherent in any contract-ual relationship, given the unique and complex nature of aconstruction contract, disputes in construction are both inevitable and a common occurrence (hibberd & newman, 1999; chan, 1998; delmon, 1998; clegg, 1992). few role players in the construction industry would disagree with sir michael latham’s view (1995: 87) that the best solution to the problem is to prevent and so avoid disputes. however, despite everyone’s best efforts, disputes will arise, with the successful completion of a project often relying on the expeditious resolution of disputes. the search for alternative methods of dispute resolution (adr) was originally generated in the united states of america (usa) (marston, 1999) as a result of the dissatisfaction with the traditional methods for settling disputes. this dissatisfaction was based on the perception that litigation and arbitration were formal, time-consuming, expensive, traumatic, complex and adversarial. worldwide attention and growing awareness of adr resulted in the evolution of various adr approaches, adapted in attempts to avoid or at least minimize the disruptive and costly impact of the more traditional methods of dispute resolution, arbitration and litigation. the adr technique most frequently referred to in literature on adr is mediation (gould, 1999: 575). historically the processes of negotiation, mediation and adjudication are the main alternatives to arbitration and litigation for settling construction disputes in south africa. mediation has been used in the construction industry for settling disputes for the past two decades, with a mediation clause introduced into the general conditions of contract for works of civil engineering construction (gcc) in 1982, and more recently in 1991 into the principal building agreement (pba) published by the joint building contracts committee (jbcc). however, with the increase in the use of the internationally accepted fédération internationale des ingeniéurs-conseils (fidic) and new engineering contracts (nec) contract documents, dispute review boards and contractual adjudication were introduced into the industry (van langelaar, 2001: 215), culminating in the inclusion of adjudication as a first course of action in the jbcc 2005 pba and as an option in the gcc 2004 agreement. 46 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 2. adr, with specific reference to mediation research in the construction industry a substantial amount of research and literature exists on mediation as it is employed by mediators and lawyers worldwide and in various fields of dispute resolution. however, research and literature on the mediation of disputes within the south african construction industry is limited and generally found to be of an advisory or anecdotal nature within works on arbitration or construction law. empirical research into mediation, as a dispute resolution mechanism for use in the construction industry, has however, received some attention in other countries. such research was generally aimed at establishing the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of industry participants towards mediation as an adr mechanism (brooker & lavers, 2000; gould, 1999; stipanowich & henderson, 1992). the 1991 american bar association (aba) forum on the construction industry survey into mediation and mini-trial of construction disputes in the usa represents one of the first empirical investigations into nonbinding dispute resolution in the construction field. stipanowich & henderson (1992) concluded that although settlement-orientated processes such as mediation and mini-trials are less well understood than arbitration, the collective experience of the construction bar might encourage optimal use of such alternatives. adr in the uk is seen to be in its formative stages (brooker & lavers, 2000: 289). the first major survey into dispute resolution in the uk construction industry was conducted in 1994 (gould, 1999). the research found that less than 30% of the respondents had actually been involved in an adr process and that the uk construction industry lacked an understanding of the principles of adr. a second survey by gould reported an increase in mediation experiences but concluded that ‘formal mediation’, defined by gould (1999: 579) as a “private, informal process in which parties are assisted by one or more third parties in their efforts towards settlement”, was rarely employed. brooker & lavers’ research into the processes, perceptions and predictions regarding dispute resolution in the uk construction industry, found that, on balance, a negative experience with dispute resolution related to arbitration and litigation, while all other dispute resolution processes produced positive results (brooker & lavers, 47 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice 2000). negotiation produced the greatest level of positive experience, closely followed by mediation. respondents from both uk surveys predicted that, of the dispute resolution processes in the uk, the use of adjudication would make the most significant increase in the uk construction industry over adr processes such as mediation or expert determination. south african research into adr in the construction industry includes schindler’s (1989) research into the role of mediation and arbitration as dispute resolution mechanisms in the construction industry and barth’s (1991) investigation into the suitability of arbitration as a dispute settling mechanism in the construction industry. schindler’s (1989) research focused on the awareness, experience, attitudes and perceptions of architects, engineers and contractors to mediation and arbitration. schindler (1989) concluded that these participants had little experience in mediation and yet had negative attitudes and perceptions about the process. barth (1991), in investigating the suitability of arbitration as a dispute settling mechanism in the construction industry, found that mediation was considered a more suitable dispute settling mechanism than litigation or arbitration by the industry participants (including attorneys). watson (1996) analysed 44 different disputes with a view to establishing the effectiveness of the different dispute resolution processes utilised. watson (1996) established that 85% of the cases were resolved through the mediation process at a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time involved in a number of arbitrations on similar issues. 3. principles of the mediation process mediation and or conciliation are the best-known forms of adr in international construction (lavers, 1992: 12; mackie, 1992: 304). however, while some authors distinguish between conciliation and mediation (hibberd & newman, 1999: 57; jones, 1999: 377; butler & finsen, 1993: 10) others choose to use the terms interchangeably (chan, 1998: 271; gould, 1999: 579). this debate, as to the difference between mediation and conciliation, is not restricted to mediation in the construction industry, see for example: brown & marriott, 1993: 191 and boulle & rycroft, 1997: 62. in spite of the debates and differences, as well as the continuous evolution of the mediation process, accepted principles, processes 48 acta structilia 2006:13(1) and practices of mediation emerge from the literature on mediation. these principles and objectives are often used as the basis for comparing mediation to other forms of dispute resolution, in particular arbitration and litigation. principles that find resonance throughout the literature are that mediation is voluntary, non-binding, flexible, informal, confidential and involves a third party, but it is the parties who are responsible for the outcome (hibberd & newman, 1999: 62; boulle & rycroft, 1997: 33; kwayke, 1993: 2; butler & finsen, 1993: 14; bevan, 1992: 27; pretorius, 1993: 8). while most authors acknowledge that mediation is not easy to define, they agree with the core features of the process, namely, that mediation is an extension of the negotiation process involving the services of a third party engaged by the disputants to assist them in reaching agreement on the issues in dispute. there are various approaches that describe the different degrees of intervention by the mediator into the process, see for example: moore, 1986; silbey & merry, 2001; brown & marriott, 1993; riskin, 2001; folger & jones, 1994. in order to deal with some of the definitional problems in the field of mediation, various models of mediation have been proposed (hibberd & newman, 1999; boulle & rycroft, 1997; love, 2001; riskin, 2001; menkel-meadow, 2001; brown & marriott, 1993). notwithstanding the diversity in the models of mediations, most of these authors concluded that this diversity should not pose problems for parties or mediators as long as the parties understand the roles and different approaches to mediation (boulle & rycroft, 1997: 6; butler & finsen, 1993: 11; hibberd & newman, 1999: 59; menkel-meadow, 2001: 228). it is generally accepted that the role and functions of the mediator are linked to the approach used in the mediation, i.e. either evaluative or facilitative (riskin, 2001: 137; hibberd & newman, 1999: 63; cooper, 1992: 293). boulle & rycroft (1997: 113) use the term ‘roles’ to define the overall aim and objectives of the mediator. they describe the roles of the mediator as being to create the optimal conditions for the parties to make effective decisions and to assist the parties to negotiate an agreement. they see the role descriptions as operating at a high level of generality and so do not disclose much about what the mediator does. instead they use the term ‘functions’ to refer to the more specific tasks and behaviours of mediators which contribute to the overall achievement of their role, such as, developing trust and confidence, establishing a framework for co-operative decision making, analysing the conflict and 49 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice designing appropriate interventions, promoting constructive communication, facilitating negotiation and problem-solving, educating the parties, empowering the parties, imposing pressure to settle, promoting reality, advising, evaluating and terminating the mediation (boulle & rycroft, 1997: 116). a number of authors have divided the mediation process into different stages or phases for the purpose of analysis (hibberd & newman, 1999: 67-97; boulle & rycroft, 1997: 86; murray et al.; 1996: 301; nupen, 1993: 41-49; brown & marriott, 1993, 121-150; cooper, 1992: 289; moore, 1986). murray et al., (1996: 301) proposed that the steps involved in the classical ‘form’ of mediation are applicable to all forms of mediation. their description of the following six stages in a classical mediation, generally mirror those described by the other authors, namely: introductory remarks by mediator; a statement of the problem by the parties; information gathering; problem identification; problem solving including gathering options and bargaining, and finally, writing the agreement. problem-solving is central to the mediation process, with negotiation, bargaining and decision-making normally occupying most of the time during mediation (boulle & rycroft, 1997: 96). much of the literature on mediation endorses the problem-solving or interest-based approaches to negotiation however both positional and problemsolving negotiations are encountered in mediation practice. authors on mediation are in broad agreement that the mediator’s role and function must be complemented by a set of skills and techniques commensurate with the role he/she takes on (riskin, 2001: 156; boulle & rycroft,1997: 139; murray et al., 1996: 304; butler & finsen, 1993: 13; mackie, 1992: 304; cooper, 1992: 295). bowling & hoffman (2000) cite empirical studies that consistently show high rates of settlement, as well as high levels of mediation participation satisfaction regardless of the mediation styles or philosophical orientations of the mediator e.g. evaluative vs. facilitative or transformative vs. problem-solving. instead it was found that techniques were important and that mediation training is most important in enhancing skills and techniques. in his examination of the 1991 aba forum on the construction industry survey, brooker & lavers (2000: 287) citing henderson (1996) report that he found that the quality of the mediator was a significant factor affecting the settlement rate. 50 acta structilia 2006:13(1) furthermore, that henderson (1996) found that the more techniques the mediator used, the more likely settlement was to be achieved. in other words, mediators who used a combination of interventions, such as caucusing, consulting records or experts, or visiting job-sites, increased the chance of a successful mediation. more importantly, he found that fewer settlements were reached in mediations where the skills of the mediator were seen as weak. 4. the survey 4.1 focus of the study specific objectives included: establishing the type and level of professional training and experience of the respondents; establishing the nature and level of training and experience in mediation of the respondents; exploring the perceptions of the respondents regarding the role and functions of a mediator of a construction dispute; determining the procedural steps and activities that the mediators follow during the mediation process; and establishing the extent of the mediators’ knowledge, and use of skills and technique associated with mediation. 4.2 methodology primary data were collected by way of 63 questionnaires received from the 206 posted to mediators recognised nationally by the south african institution of civil engineers (saice) and the south african association of consulting engineers (saace), as well as from mediators listed by the western cape branch of the association of arbitrators of southern africa (aasa). the questionnaire responses were analysed using basic descriptive statistics. 4.3 survey results 4.3.1 professional training and experience of mediators the research indicated that the majority of the respondents were male, consulting engineers over 60 years of age. nearly one quarter (24%) of this majority were retired, but continued to offer their services to the industry. ninety seven percent (97%) of the respondents were in possession of a tertiary qualification, with qualified engineers (75%), both bachelors and masters, dominating the group. as ex51 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice pected, the academic qualifications of the respondents corresponded closely with the nature of business of the respondents, where consulting engineers and civil engineering contractors made up 70% of the group. although the majority of the respondents have engineering backgrounds, as opposed to an architectural, surveying or law background, this finding cannot be interpreted to mean that the majority of the mediators of construction industry disputes have engineering backgrounds as the surveyed sample was a non-probability, convenience sample. instead, the findings of the survey should be seen against this background. however, no significant differences in the views or opinions on research issues were found to exist between the two groups, that is, those with an engineering background and those with other backgrounds. the literature review indicated that internationally dispute resolution, including mediation, is the domain of the legal fraternity (menkelmeadow, 2000; gould, 1999; boulle & rycroft, 1997; stipanowich & henderson, 1992; mackie, 1991 and 1992; bevan, 1992). the dominance of the legal sector in construction mediations was confirmed by an aba forum on the construction industry survey, where stipanowich & henderson (1992: 323) found that most mediators (64,5%) were attorneys and 21,4% were retired judges. design professionals, contractors, claims experts and professors were employed far less frequently. in south africa the situation appears to be different, in that mediators are drawn mainly from the professions in the construction industry, with minimal involvement from lawyers. this tendency echoes the saace (1993) general philosophy that disputes arising in the execution of engineering works can best be settled by engineer mediators. however, butler & finsen (1992: 24) noted that lawyers were becoming more active within the aasa, which also acts as a source of mediators. 4.3.2 training and experience in mediation the respondents reported significant experience in mediation with 29% having been involved in the mediation of disputes for more than 20 years and a further 32% for between 10 and 20 years. this experience was cited by the majority (95%) of the respondents as their main source of knowledge of the mediation process, with 52 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 44% citing ‘workshops and seminars’; 43% ‘practice notes, journals and other literature’ and 40%, ‘formal training’, as the main sources of knowledge. the majority (97%) of the respondents considered their knowledge of the mediation process to be, at the least, average (rating ≥ 3 of 5) with approximately one third of the respondents considering it to be substantial (a 5 of 5 rating) and a further third considering it to be adequate (a 4 of 5 rating). 4.3.3 the initiation of the mediation process sixty percent (60%) of the mediation cases described by the respondents were initiated by the parties themselves, either jointly or by one of the parties. the mediator was appointed by a party other than the disputing parties, such as the president of the saice or aasa in 40% of the cases, with the parties jointly approaching the mediator in 32% of the cases and one party approaching the mediator in 27% of the cases. nearly two thirds (67%) of the mediations were initiated in terms of a clause in a contract, although not all the clauses made mediation compulsory. fifty nine percent (59%) of the cases were also voluntary. the most significant finding was that in 41% of the cases, the parties to the mediation signed an agreement binding themselves to the mediator’s opinion until otherwise ordered in arbitration or litigation proceedings. this finding is highly significant in light of the generally accepted view that a mediator does not make a binding decision; instead the parties are encouraged to reach their own settlement by which they can agree to be bound. mediation is not characterised as a ‘binding’ process in the sense that a third party adjudicates and imposes a decision or solution on the parties in dispute. instead, the intended principle behind mediation is for the parties to agree to a settlement on the issues in dispute and for that agreement to be binding, as with any written agreement. the fundamental difference between these two approaches lies in the ownership of the process. in mediation, even if the parties do not control or manage the process, they are empowered, in terms of the principles of the process, to control the outcome and are therefore entitled to accept or reject the outcome. in contrast herewith, the more evaluative types of dispute resolution, such as litigation, arbitration and contractual adjudica53 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice tion, empower the third party with the control and management of the process as well as of the process outcome. many other adr processes are discussed in the literature review in which the role of a third party is to make a binding decision (final or interim), however it is clear that mediation was never intended to be one of this group. a possible reason for the introduction of such a condition as part of mediation could be found in the response of the contractors surveyed in the uk (brooker & lavers, 2000: 292) who believed that in order for an adr process to succeed, it had to be binding, as the non-binding feature was seen as a delaying tactic. however, it must be noted that this same group of respondents were found to have very little understanding of the principles and aims of mediation. it was also found that 62% of these binding agreements occurred in compulsory mediations while 39% applied to voluntary mediations. no significant relationship could be found between the initiation of the mediation and the agreement to be bound by the contract. it is however argued that a process, where the parties agree to be bound by a third party’s opinion or decision prior to the commencement of the process, as in 41% of the cases analysed, cannot be called mediation. instead one would need to look to other forms of third party intervention in order to describe such a process, such as expert determination or contractual adjudication. although most authors maintain that ‘mandatory mediation’, in which the parties are compelled to participate, undermines the integrity of mediation, boulle & rycroft (1997: 15) argue that while entry into the process may be compulsory as long as the outcome of the mediation is voluntary, there need not be a contradiction in terms. notwithstanding this argument, stipanowich & henderson (1992: 326) found that where parties agreed to mediation, settlement or partial settlement occurred in most cases (63% and 9% respectively), however, when the parties were required to use mediation by contract or by the court, only 57% were settled. 54 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 4.3.4 the procedural steps of the mediation process the majority of the mediation cases described by the respondents comprised the following main activities: • preliminary or preparatory matters (9% of total mediation time); • obtaining information (43% of total mediation time); • problem solving (20% of total mediation time); and • drafting the final decision/opinion/agreement (27% of total mediation time). on average, it appears that the respondents allocated only one fifth (20%) of the total mediation time to solution-seeking activities. the majority of the time was allocated to gathering information on the dispute (43%) and drafting the final decision/opinion/agreement (27%). generally, the first contact between the mediator and the parties was personal, with only a quarter of the respondents preferring to communicate with the parties in writing. in most cases, this first contact was in the form of a personal telephone call for the purpose of organising a meeting with the parties at which the mediators outlined the procedure and programme to be followed. when obtaining information, the respondents relied predominantly on written sources of information on the dispute, either in the form of existing documentation and correspondence between the parties or from written presentations. oral presentations supplemented the written documentation and presentations in 64% of the cases. in considering the role of problem solving during the process, it is significant that in a process aimed at assisting parties in dispute to reach agreement, indications were that only one fifth (20%) of the total time of a mediation was allocated to problem-solving discussions. furthermore, no solution-seeking discussions took place in 58% of the cases, since after the information on the dispute had been obtained, the onus was placed on the mediator to suggest or submit an opinion or decision on the dispute, without any further party involvement. boulle & rycroft (1997: 96) view the problemsolving phase of the mediation as the “core part of the process that will normally occupy most of the time in a mediation.” furthermore, the research shows that negotiations between the parties 55 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice took place through the mediator rather than directly between the parties themselves. from this result it could be inferred that, although the mediator facilitated the joint solution-seeking discussions between the parties, his/her level of intervention was high. as could be expected, negotiations dominated cases where the mediator facilitated joint solution-seeking discussions between the parties but played a lesser role in mediations where the mediator offered an opinion or solution. 4.3.5 use of published guidelines on mediation the research showed that that nearly one quarter (25%) of the respondents did not use any of the guidelines published by the saice, saace and aasa, while one third of the respondents (33%) used a combination of these guidelines and 33% used one of the three guidelines only. the relative frequencies of use of the three published guidelines were calculated as 28% for the saice guidelines, 29% for the aasa guidelines and 21% for the saace guidelines, with no significant relationship found to exist between the discipline of the respondents (engineer or non-engineer) and the guidelines to which they referred. from these findings it could be implied that the respondents did not place great reliance on any particular published guideline, instead they relied on a combination of guidelines together with their own tried and tested experiences, in deciding the procedure. brooker & lavers (2000: 288) found that those mediations, which used prescribed rules developed by professional bodies or the court, were less likely to settle than when the parties had constructed their own procedures. stipanowich & henderson (1992: 323) found that the major sources of mediation procedures were party-developed rules (34%), rules of the court (27%) and the aasa mediation rules (20%). although the abovementioned guidelines advise the mediator to consult with the parties on the procedure, the respondents did not consider the parties’ input into the process to be of much importance. the results showed that the disputants have a substantial (≥4 of 5 rating) input into the determination of the procedure in only 16 (25%) of the 63 cases, while in 28 (44%) of the cases their input was limited (≤ 2 of 5 rating). 56 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 4.3.6 general responses elicited on the attitudes and perceptions of the respondents regarding the importance of different aspects of the mediation process on the outcome of the mediation showed that, although the respondents rated the parties’ willingness to participate in the mediation process and to reach a consensual settlement as important to the outcome of the mediation, they did not rate the parties understanding of the nature of the process as highly, nor did they rate the parties control of the process and its outcome as important. instead the respondents were almost unanimous in their opinion that the mediator’s expertise and authority on the matter of the dispute played the most important role in determining the outcome of the mediation process, while the mediator’s expertise in the mediation process was of lesser importance. these attitudes corresponded to the respondents’ attitudes regarding the parties’ degree of input into the determination of the mediation procedure, where it was found that 45 of the 63 respondents (71%) rated this input to be ≤ 3 (a fair amount to not much). in the majority (81%) of the cases, the parties did not make use of witnesses, while only 20% of the mediators sought outside advice. 4.3.7 the role of the mediator of the four roles suggested to the respondents, persuading the parties that the mediator’s proposed settlement was fair, reasonable and in everyone’s best interests was cited most frequently (32%) by the respondents as being the role of the mediator; persuading the parties that the mediator’s opinion of the outcome would be within the range of a likely court/arbitration ruling was considered 28% of the time; with facilitating constructive dialogue between the parties and encouraging the parties to negotiate their own settlement cited 21% of the time. considering the information and evidence gathered and giving a decision based thereon, for or against the claimant, was cited less frequently (18%) as the role of the mediator. the surveyed data on the perceived role of the mediator was analysed from three different perspectives. firstly, according to the role that technical experience and expertise played in the process. this being the case, evaluation of the dispute based on subject expertise was considered 79% of the time, with facilitative skills being 57 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice the determining factor in the remaining 12% counts. secondly, according to the mediator’s actions in moving the parties towards settlement. this being the case, persuasion was considered 60% of the time, facilitating discussion, 21% and decision-making, 18% of the time. thirdly, according to the mediator’s approach to the parties’ interests and rights. this being the case, interest-based approaches were considered 53% of the time, and rights-based approaches, 47% of the time. the above results reflected the differences in the views and opinions of the respondents on the mediator’s role, showing a reasonable diversity in the perception of the mediator’s role. however, it could generally be said that of the different roles of the mediator indicated, the evaluative approach appeared to dominate the facilitative approach. this proposition was supported by the analysis of the functions the respondents considered to be important. 4.3.8 the functions of the mediator analysis of the perceived importance of ten suggested functions of the mediator indicated that the respondents considered evaluative mediator-orientated functions to be of more importance than partyorientated or process-orientated functions. by grouping the functions according to the rating each function received from the majority (75%) of respondents, two distinct groupings were observed. the first group of functions all rated as substantially (4) to very important (5), by the majority, were: • the development and preservation of the trust and confidence of the parties; • evaluating the dispute and giving a reasoned opinion or decision; • the creation of an environment conducive to discussion and co-operation at meetings; and • assisting the parties in identifying common ground and isolating the really contentious issues. 58 acta structilia 2006:13(1) the second group of functions, rated as fairly (3) to very important (5), by the majority, were: • educating the parties as to the mediation process; • facilitating face-to-face discussions between the parties; • assisting the parties in analysing and prioritising the issues, then designing an appropriate plan of action; • encouraging the parties to reflect on the consequences of their not settling the dispute themselves; • promoting constructive communication and active listening; and • encouraging the parties to explore possible solutions and settlement proposals. in analysing the results pertaining to the function of the mediator, it is interesting to note that seventy five percent (75%) of the respondents perceived the development and preservation of the trust and confidence of the parties in the mediators’ role to be very important. furthermore, sixty-one percent (61%) of the respondents’ perceived the evaluation of the dispute and giving a reasoned opinion and decision as very important. lastly, educating the parties as to the mediation process was generally not considered as important as the other functions with only 40% of the respondents rating this function as substantially to very important. 4.3.9 the skills and techniques of the mediator although the majority of the respondents agreed that the mediator should possess skills specific to the mediation process and different to those required by an arbitrator or adjudicator, the research indicated that the respondents did not often use specific mediation skills and techniques, but relied mostly on their communication skills. the respondents also relied on the authority of their positions and personal attributes and attitudes in order to develop trust and confidence of the parties. communication techniques were used to gather information (careful reading and listening) while negotiation techniques were limited to promoting reality by predicting outcomes and assessing the strengths and weakness of the parties’ case with a view to proposing a settlement. 59 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice generally the respondents considered ‘subject-matter expertise’ to be more important than expertise in the mediation process, thus emphasising their evaluative approach to mediation. 4.3.10 frequency of settlement of disputes using mediation sixty two percent (62%) of the respondents reported that disputes were settled by mediation in more than 80% of the cases, that is, final resolution of the dispute was achieved without going to arbitration or litigation. for 32% of the respondents, the process of mediation has been 100% successful, while a further 30% reported a success rate of more than 80%. 5. conclusions the research established that the mediators do not generally assist the parties with determining their own settlement; instead the mediation activities centre mainly on the mediator’s collection of information on the dispute and the formulation of a solution by the mediator. the research showed that the mediators’ knowledge and utilisation of specific mediation process skills and techniques were limited. mediation is aimed at assisting disputing parties in reaching agreement and so settling a dispute, finally and conclusively, in order to avoid the cost, time and generation of adversarial attitudes and effects, inherent in arbitration and litigation. these objectives are said to be attainable by virtue of the philosophy underlying the process of mediation, namely that an agreement reached between two disputing parties, where the parties believe such agreement is in everyone’s best interest, is a lasting agreement that has the effect of preserving amicable and long-lasting relationships. it is therefore important that an agreement is not imposed on the parties but instead that the parties are skilfully led through a delicate process of perceptual changes and understanding to such an agreement. it is under such circumstances that mediation has the potential to result in a final and conclusive settlement of a dispute. it is also this feature of obtaining finality of settlement of a dispute inherent in the philosophy of mediation that distinguishes it from other adr processes such as contractual adjudication. although the two processes are similar in overall purpose and procedure, mediation is clearly intended to be a means of obtaining final and 60 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 61 povey, cattell & michell • mediation practice conclusive disposal of disputes while adjudication decisions are interim and reviewable through arbitration or litigation. in an industry, considered by some to be in crisis, where conflict and dispute are regular and common occurrences, every effort should be made to reduce the levels of conflict and dispute or at least settle disputes effectively. as the south african construction industry, despite the enormous contribution it makes to the south african economy, is made up of a relatively small number of interdependent role players, the maintenance of good relationships between these different role players (clients, contractors, suppliers and professionals) is vital to the efficiency and sustainability of the industry. the settlement of disputes by mediation, practiced in accordance with the principles and objectives that underpin the process, has a major role to play in improving the climate of the industry and promoting its sustainability. if this paper were to make a 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(ed.), mediation: theory, policy and practice. burlington: dartmouth publishing, pp. 183-208. south african association of consulting engineers. 1993. guidelines for the use of mediation and parties concerned with mediation (advisory note 93/8). johannesburg: saace. south african institution of civil engineers. 1990. general conditions of contract for works of civil engineering construction (6th ed.). johannesburg: saice. south african institution of civil engineers. 1994. guidelines for mediation. johannesburg: saice. south african institution of civil engineers. 2004. general conditions of contract for construction works. johannesburg: saice. stipanowich, t. & henderson, d.a. 1992. mediation and mini-trial of construction disputes. in: fenn, p. & gameson, r. (eds.), construction conflict management and resolution. london: e & fn spon, pp. 314-327. watson, m.j. 1996. examining the process of contract dispute resolution in south africa. the civil engineering and building contractor, 13(6), pp. 29-32. van langelaar, a. 2001. the use of dispute boards as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism on construction project in southern africa. unpublished masters research report. cape town: university of cape town. 84 john ntema & lochner marais state involvement in self-help housing: reflections from the free state peer reviewed abstract when john turner forwarded his theories on self-help housing, he emphasised the concept of dweller control and argued that the state should not be involved in housing construction processes. although there was worldwide acknowledgement of his ideas, a large number of self-help programmes developed with a fair amount of state-involvement. south africa’s selfhelp programme, called the people’s housing process, is no exception in this respect. although designed to ensure larger degrees of ownership by people, evidence of large-scale government influence is clear. this article assesses the application of self-help housing in the free state province and argues that a technocratic rather than a people-centred approach (envisaged in policy documents) dominated the people’s housing process. the levels of influence by local people in project design, project implementation and housing design remain low, and the housing outcomes do not differ much from the normal project subsidy approach. keywords: state involvement in housing, self-help housing, people’s housing process, housing support centre, support organisation abstrak toe john turner sy teorieë oor self-helpbehuising voorgestel het, het hy bewonerbeheer as konsep beklemtoon en aan die hand gedoen dat die staat nie betrokke behoort te wees by prosesse om behuising op te rig nie. hoewel sy gedagtes wêreldwye erkenning geniet het, het ’n groot hoeveelheid selfhelpprogramme nietemin met ’n redelike mate van staatsbetrokkenheid ontwikkel. suid-afrika se self-helpprogram, genaamd die behuisingsproses vir die mense, is in hierdie verband geen uitsondering nie. hoewel dit ontwerp is om ’n groter mate van eienaarskap by mense te verseker, is die getuienis van grootskaalse regeringsinvloed duidelik. hierdie artikel beoordeel die toepassing van self-helpbehuising in die vrystaat provinsie en argumenteer dat ’n tegnokratiese eerder as mensgesentreerde benadering die behuisingsproses vir die mense oorheers het. die mate waartoe plaaslike mense ’n invloed mr john ntema researcher centre for development support (ib 100) university of the free state bloemfontein 9300 south africa. phone: 051 4013723 email: <ntemalj@ufs. ac.za> prof. lochner marais centre for development support (ib 100) university of the free state bloemfontein 9300 south africa. phone/fax: 051-4012978 email: <maraisjgl@ufs. ac.za> ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 85 in die projekontwerp, projekimplementering en behuisingontwerp kon uitoefen, bly laag en die behuisingsuitkomste verskil nie veel van die normale projeksubsidiebenadering nie. sleutelwoorde: staatsbetrokkenheid by behuising, self-helpbehuising, behuisingsproses, behuisingondersteuningsentrum, ondersteuningsorganisasie 1. introduction in the south african context, self-help housing is officially called the people’s housing process (php). the policy on php was officially adopted in 1998 (south africa. department of housing, 2005). one of the key requirements of php policy was the establishment of selfhelp groups called housing support centres (hscs), a concept similar to the international concept of housing cooperatives. the objective of the south african government in implementing php through housing support centres was to ensure that the housing delivery process was both inclusive and community-driven (south africa. department of housing, 2000; south africa. department of housing, 2005). through housing support centres, beneficiaries were thus supposed to be involved in the full cycle of any php project that was undertaken, i.e. from its metaphorical ‘cradle’ to its ‘grave’. essentially, php therefore had to ensure increased levels of local input in the housing process in comparison with the normal projecthousing processes. this article questions the assumption that php would give beneficiaries a larger degree of input, and further argues that php as a form of institutionalised self-help was in fact dominated by government, significantly reducing the role of beneficiaries in housing. against the background of this argument, the article commences with an overview of self-help housing internationally and in south africa. thereafter, the focus is on an analysis of the case studies and the lessons to be learned from these case studies. essentially our evidence from the implementation of php in the free state province suggests that the concerns in the existing literature about state control as opposed to people-driven approaches are legitimate. methodologically, the article draws on a qualitative research approach in the process of which one focus group (comprising an average of 10 to 13 participants) in each of the five chosen projects was conducted. participants were beneficiaries of php subsidies with completed houses. in-depth interviews were also conducted with all the local project managers and trustees in these five projects while one in-depth interview was conducted with a senior provincial administrator of php in the free state province. in this context project managers would usually be any community member, preferably acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 86 someone with outstanding and sound background in construction industry, while trustees would usually be community members who are also beneficiaries of php project. the five chosen projects included ikgwantlelleng housing support centre in bultfontein, kgotsong housing support centre in bothaville, kutlwanong housing support centre in odendaalsrus, iketsetseng housing support centre in virginia, and retshepeng housing support centre in parys. for the five chosen projects, there were five project managers and seven trustees (with kgotsong and retshepeng housing support centres comprising two instead of one trustee) who were interviewed. while permission to disclose names of the participants in any of my reports is being granted by project managers, trustees and provincial php administrator through a signed consent letter, the agreement with beneficiaries was to use their focus group numbers for confidentiality. 2. background to self-help before the case studies can be assessed, background knowledge of self-help housing is essential. to this end, a brief review of both the international history and the national background are provided. 2.1 international perspective two factors contributed to the rise of self-help. first, it should be noted that self-help housing is as old as humankind (pugh, 2001; harris, 1999b; harris, 2003). in fact, self-help was conventional wisdom long before the ‘emergence’ of the concept in the late 1960s – and long before turner formulated his ideas in this regard (harms, 1992; ward, 1982; parnell & hart, 1999). harris (1998: 185) and harris (2003: 257) cites the examples of puerto rico and india in the late 1930s and 1940s to illustrate the fact that self-help was practised and supported by governments before the second world war. secondly, the emphasis on aided self-help cannot be analysed in isolation from the drive for public-sector housing delivery since the second world war. in an attempt to reconstruct the post-war urban fabric, government involvement in housing became conventional wisdom. nevertheless, the international literature suggests that very few countries have managed to address their housing shortages by means of the public-sector provision and management of housing (hardoy & satterthwaite, 1997). against the backdrop of the failure of government-driven approaches to housing delivery, turner’s work in latin america became widely known (cf. turner, 1976). as pointed out earlier, ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 87 harris (1998), harris (1999a) and harris (2003) indicated that turner (an architect by profession) was certainly not the first person to promote self-help. at the same time, it should be acknowledged that turner is probably the most frequently cited author on self-help (harris, 2003). turner based his work on a number of principles in respect of housing (turner, 1976). first, he viewed housing as a ‘verb’. in this way, he emphasised that housing should be regarded as a process; and the other consideration should be, housing evolves over time, with due consideration of the income of the household, the life cycle of the inhabitants and the needs of those who occupy the house. secondly, he also argued that a house should not be considered in terms of its physical characteristics alone. in his view, the importance of housing lay not in ‘what it is’, but in ‘what it does’ (its functionality). the fact that housing is upgraded over time ensures that the physical characteristics of the house are likely to improve, in cases, that is, where people are given the ‘freedom to build’, rather than being provided with a completed housing unit without any choice. thirdly, the value of the house to the user is related to dweller control, rather than to its physical characteristics. in this regard, turner (1976) argued that the main criterion in respect of housing pertained to the question as to whether the owner was in control of the construction process, or in the decision in respect of the planning or purchasing of the house. (the latter refers to the way in which middleand higher income people ensure dweller control: we buy what we like, within our budget and at a location that suits us). harris (2003: 248) summarises turner’s contribution as follows: by self-help turner has always meant not only the investment of sweat equity by owners in their homes but also the processes of owner-design and management. harris (2003) also points out the irony of the fact that, although dweller control was probably the most novel idea that turner brought to the housing debate, it is also the very idea that has received the least recognition in the policy development domain. this point is key to the argument regarding housing policy in south africa as put forward in this article. in practice, turner’s ideas were operationalised in two ways. the first was through aided self-help (site and services) and the second through what is termed institutionalised self-help (mainly through housing cooperatives). although aided self-help was commonly associated with neo-liberal trends in political economy, institutionalised self-help was practised in capitalist and socialist acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 88 countries (for example, cuba). institutionalised self-help thus became a way in which government could intervene in the housing process – something turner did not propose. 2.2 south african perspective the national policy for supporting php as a housing-delivery mechanism was approved and implemented in 1998 (south africa. department of housing, 2005). however, huchzermeyer (2001) and napier (2003) argued that it is not clear whether the justification for implementing php is to be found in the international donor’s pressure or in internal pressure from community-based organisations such as the homeless people’s federation. the development of policy was further supported by the establishment of the people’s housing partnership trust in 1998. from self-help point of view, with its inception in 1998, the aim of php policy was to shift a focus of housing delivery in south african context from that of state-driven (top-down) approach to a more people-driven approach (south africa. department of housing, 2000; south africa. department of housing, 2005). it is argued in the literature (see, for example, south africa. department of housing, 2005; ntema, 2009) that in order to achieve an inclusive and community-driven housing delivery, the policy advocates a number of concepts which could to a certain extent be tied up with initial principles of self-help housing as advanced by turner (see, for example, turner, 1976). for example, from self-help point of view the following concepts as entrenched in the php policy guidelines should be considered ‘sweat equity’, ‘people-driven housing process’, ‘community empowerment’, ‘partnerships in housing delivery’, ‘transfer of skills’ through housing, ‘greater choice’ by beneficiaries in how they want to use their subsidies, ‘direct involvement’ of beneficiaries in the entire housing process, use of ‘recycled material’, ‘increased beneficiary input’, ‘housing support centres’, ‘positive housing outcomes’, and ‘adequate housing’ (south africa. department of housing, 2005; south africa. department of housing, 2000; baumann, 2003; lgh newsletter, 2006). overall, the php programme can be considered an institutional self-help response. yet, contrary to the primary goal of the php policy, the implementation of this programme (php) through self-help groups called housing support centres, we wish to argue, has been structured in such a way that (as we do indeed argue in this article) it ensures state control – this despite the fact that php was justified through neo-liberal arguments such as sweat equity and acquiring a bigger house for the same amount (see thurman, 1999; khan & pieterse, 2004; brcs, 2003). ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 89 the existing literature portrays at least several contentious issues in relation to php. first, literature suggests php as a housing delivery mechanism as opposed to an organic social process (people’s dialogue on land and shelter, 1999). in this respect thurman (1999) argues that many non-governmental organisations (ngos) (appointed as support organisations occupying these housing support centres) were concerned about the bureaucratic regulatory framework that left limited space for innovation and for community or individual response. at the same time, there also seems to be evidence that government purposefully selected ngos to become support organisations (manie, 2004). another consequence in this respect is that the emphasis is on delivery and not the process. in this respect khan & pieterse (2004: 19) argue that a government in pursuit of delivery objectives tends to violate php principles in limiting beneficiary choice to unpaid labour (sweat equity). the urban sector network and development works (2003) argues that this is specifically done to ensure state control as php facilitated by communities was considered uncontrollable. secondly, there seems to be evidence in existing south african literature (both peer-reviewed journals and policy documents) that the state dominated the norms and standards in this housing approach – similar to the case for contractor-driven housing approaches (baumann, 2003). this is reflected in the policy document on php (south africa. department of housing, 2005: 35) which states that: when designing the house, attention by the builders and housing support centres must be given to national minimum norms and standards in respect of permanent residential structures as prescribed. this notion is further supported in policy documents which (south africa. department of housing, 2005: 11) states that “support organisations would advise beneficiaries about the minimum norms and standards applicable” (south africa. department of housing, 2005: 11). to enforce the prescribed norms and standards (south africa. department of housing, 2000), the guidelines on housing support centre stress the ability of these organisations to comply with technical requirements and that they should satisfy the relevant authorities in terms of capacity. the important conclusion from this is that one of the main reasons for the establishment of housing support centres relates to the fact that houses should be technically ‘sound’ as decided by government and not as decided (or controlled) by dwellers. baumann (2003) argues that despite the fact that the php process was exempted acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 90 from registering with the home builders registration council, other norms and standards did apply (albeit more prominently in some provinces than in others). baumann (2003: 10) also aptly summarises this emphasis on state control in the following words: relationships have not changed: the state defines and retains control over the process, and the interface between it and beneficiaries continues to be a layer of state-approved, formal institutions. in the process, the state has thus compromised and reduced, among others, the economic autonomy of these institutions (in particular, housing support centres) in two ways. an emphasis by the state on minimum norms and standards seems, despite being in direct conflict with the principles of ‘dweller control’ and ‘freedom to build’ (as advocated by turner), to further reinforce the neo-marxist idea of housing as a product of ‘bureaucratically and technologically top-down heavy system’ approach (ward, 1982). thirdly, it does not seem as if the concept of dweller control is used in any significant manner in the php policy, or in practice. in fact, the concepts of self-construction and ‘sweat equity’, quality housing and larger housing units are commonly cited to express the motivation for php. for example, the housing code motivates the php approach as follows: experience has proved that if beneficiaries are given the chance either to build houses themselves or to organise the building of houses themselves, they can build better houses for less money (south africa. department of housing, 2000). sankie mthembi-mahanyele, the minister of housing in 1998, stated: self-building through the php [has] proved to be one of the most effective strategies in producing quality housing. most of the … houses built through this process were of better quality and bigger than those delivered through pure subsidy grants (gauteng news, 2001). it appears that the intention in respect of the php lies mainly in selfconstruction, or the expectation of receiving something better, larger or cheaper (more cost-effective) – in comparison to the product received by means of the contractor-driven approach. the silence on dweller control – in a programme in which it should have been prominent – is deafening. ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 91 fourthly, there appears to be some confusion in respect of the ideological underpinnings of the motivation for the php process. in this regard, neoliberal ideas relating to sweat equity and selfconstruction in order to transfer costs from the state to individuals are used in the same breath as the arguments that are typically put forward by neo-marxists, who emphasise aspects such as quality housing and bigger housing. existing literature in peer-reviewed journals also suggests that php processes have seldom led to larger community development processes. the overemphasis on technical aspects, norms and standards and control made php a housing process rather than a community development process (sangonet, 2010). contrary to the principles of self-help as advanced by turner and entrenched in php policy document (turner, 1976; south africa. department of housing, 2005), such emphasis on government control rather than dweller control usually eliminates any possibility for practice of neither ‘increased input’ nor ‘greater choice’ by beneficiaries in how they would want to use their subsidies. 3. project initiation and project management: is there a place for dweller control? before the assessment of php project management is made, the figure showing the institutional structure of this mechanism is required (see figure 1). the figure intends to demonstrate how in practice the entire php process usually unfolds once a group of qualifying beneficiaries is being identified locally. it should be noted that the community structures are located in the centre, with government and other support organisations on the periphery. ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 93 groups. first, in all the five visited projects, beneficiaries mentioned that project managers and trustees simply turned up one day and told them they were going to be helped with applications for subsidies for php housing. a beneficiary who was interviewed in one of the focus groups confirmed this: we found mr maduna and his colleagues already working on another project which was nearing its completion…after that project they grouped us and told us that they were going to help us build masakhane houses (focus group 2, 10/09/2008). expressing a similar sentiment, although being from another project, one beneficiary said: we just heard that mr biko was building houses…with time, he came to us to inform us about his projects and requested that we submit our names for his list of applicants for the masakhane subsidies (focus group 5, 28/10/2008). secondly, the dominance of the provincial housing department is reflected in the fact that beneficiaries from all the five projects did not know who had appointed both the project managers and the trustees. the following quotation confirms this conclusion: messrs chaka and mangosha came to us at one of the community meetings already appointed and told us about their work…not sure who appointed them (focus group 3, 11/09/2008). thirdly, the dominance of the provincial housing department is also obvious in that beneficiaries’ contributions during the initiation process were, in the five cases, limited to only the personal completion of the housing application forms. one focus group member gave the following response: we just saw mum winnie and her colleague helping us with filling in forms and later with construction…not sure who appointed them (focus group 4, 12/09/2008). other than the above statements by the beneficiaries, further confirming the state dominance in the appointment of project managers and trustees in the free state province, are some of the remarks made by the project managers and trustees during the interviews. one project manager stated: we called the provincial office to enquire about the possibility of starting a php project, they then send someone to come and advise us…he then urged us to group ourselves and find 50 people to be our beneficiaries – that is how we started (ngonelo, 2008: personal communication). acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 94 expressing similar sentiments two other project managers said: i started working under thusanong supporting centre and later due to the influence and advice by the officials from provincial housing department, i started my own trust called kgotsong hsc in 2000 (maduna, 2008: personal communication). having worked under dr van niekerk, i then begun interaction with some officials from bloemfontein…they advised me on how to become independent and mobilise qualifying homeless people. i followed their advice then applied for allocation from the provincial housing department…a year later i was called and told that we qualified for 100 units (biko, 2008b: personal communication). the implication of the above evidence is that the support organisations (comprising project managers and trustees) were approved by the state long before they could even mobilise the communities to buy into the idea of a self-help mechanism. instead of beneficiaries identifying their preferred support organisations, the support organisations were found to be the ones identifying and approaching the qualifying homeless members of their communities. while policy guidelines stipulate that an initiative should be taken by the beneficiaries to identify and recommend the support organisation of their choice to the state for approval and not the other way round, the above evidence confirmed to a large extent the argument of state-control. 3.2 project management and the role of housing support centres similar to the international concept of housing co-operatives, the south african government has adopted self-help institutions called housing support centres. the literature (see, for example, turner, 1976), also indicates that one of the key tasks of housing co-operatives is to promote what turner called ‘autonomous’ people-driven housing delivery through the self-help mechanism. following the state’s interference with the autonomy of both housing co-operatives and housing support centres, respectively (ntema, 2009), these self-help institutions never-in-practice became autonomous. as part of project planning and initiation, the policy guidelines require the housing support centres to take responsibility for organising the six compulsory mandatory workshops for the beneficiaries and advise them in their initiative to identify and appoint their preferred construction teams or bricklayers (see also south africa. department of housing, 2005). contrary to both the above policy requirements and the self-help principles, this section raises two main arguments. ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 95 first, housing support centres failed to involve the beneficiaries in the appointment of the construction teams. the policy guidelines on php stipulate that the “housing support centres only advise beneficiaries on whom to appoint for construction in terms of the required skills and capability as determined by the provincial housing department” (see also south africa. department of housing, 2005). the failure of the housing support centres to allow the beneficiaries to exercise their right to appoint their preferred construction teams are evident in a number of examples. beneficiaries in all the five focus groups suggested that the first time they saw their bricklayers was on the day they arrived, carrying their equipment and ready to commence construction without them (beneficiaries) knowing how they (bricklayers) had been appointed. one person in one of the focus groups confirmed this: mr maduna brought his own builders and urged us to help them with mixing mortar and bringing bricks closer and cleaning walls (focus group 2, 10/09/2008). other beneficiaries from other projects also indicated that, despite their consistent enquiry concerning their role in appointing bricklayers, project managers and trustees insisted that their main concern should be when to occupy their completed houses and that they should trust them to appoint competent bricklayers: our houses were built by builders appointed by the support organisation…mum winnie told us that it would be their responsibility to appoint builders; we should not make that our problem (focus group 4, 12/09/2008). some of the beneficiaries also claimed that project managers had undermined the competency of the bricklayers they (the beneficiaries) had recommended to them and never endorsed them: initially, ‘thumbo’ urged us to bring our own builders; later on he changed his mind and told us that they would bring their own builders, forcing us to abandon our preferred builders…i refused and was called names (focus group 3, 11/09/2008). in what could be considered an endorsement of their failure to involve beneficiaries in appointing construction teams, all the project managers and trustees interviewed suggested no wrongdoing in their conduct. one trustee suggested that beneficiaries were generally only capable of and competent in helping bricklayers with actual construction and not with the process of identifying the right people for the work. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 96 as management we look for skilled bricklayers who then get help from beneficiaries…beneficiaries help them with mixing mortar, bringing bricks closer during construction (makafane, 2008). expressing similar sentiment another trustee indicated that beneficiaries could not be given responsibility for taking major decisions such as who was to build, but should be entrusted with less important responsibilities. as a trust, we appoint builders and ask beneficiaries to help them with other minor tasks (makafane, 2008: personal communication). thus, there appears to have been conflict between who the project managers regarded to be skilled bricklayers and what beneficiaries’ opinions were in this respect. managers justified their decisions on technical ability, while communities based theirs on trust. the obvious end result is one where contractors will be blamed if there are any defaults. therefore, on a psychological level, this has not helped to support dweller control. there is evidence from three of the five focus group discussions that the project managers and trustees took advantage of the beneficiaries’ lack of knowledge of their own roles and rights in a php mechanism and used this to convey the wrong information and impose unilateral decisions on them. although the beneficiaries in all of the five housing support centres visited seemed to know the total amount of their individual capital subsidies (r42 000.00), they nevertheless allowed their respective housing support centres to dictate not only how the material was to be used, but also how to distribute and use the surplus material. beneficiaries in kutlwanong (odendaalsrus), tumahole (parys) and meloding (virginia) claimed that they were told (by their respective housing support centres) that building material was for the entire project and not for individual households. this implied that the housing support centres were entitled to retrieve all the surplus materials from the individual households with completed housing and could either use such surplus for other beneficiaries or even in another, new project. as a result, there was no means whereby beneficiaries could relate the quantity of material used on their houses to their total subsidy of r42 000. 00. in one incident, some of the beneficiaries suggested that they had never been part of the process of project breakdown and costing; something that rendered them powerless to question even quite obvious questionable acts by the project managers. said one of the beneficiaries: ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 97 we don’t know and were never told as to out of our r42 000 subsidy; how much our material actually cost and how much was left if any…because at one stage we were asked to pay people who were hired to dig foundations, out of our own pockets (focus group 2, 10/09/2008). another beneficiary implied that one had to risk being called names by the project managers for being stubborn, in order to get what was rightfully theirs. he also confirmed that: [i]nitially they (housing support centre) told us that all the surplus material would be ours, but later they changed and said every bit of surplus material belongs to the housing support centre…although they build my house with material they took from other people, i refused to give them surplus bricks (focus group 3, 11/09/2008). attesting further to the unfair treatment of beneficiaries by their project managers, one of the beneficiaries mentioned that they: were strictly instructed that when there is material left after construction, only mr biko would come and collect it… initially, some people wanted to argue they were entitled to the surplus material, but ultimately that was resolved (focus group 5, 28/10/2008). although the above situation could, on the one hand, be attributed to a general lack of knowledge among the beneficiaries, the situation could, on the other, be attributed to the the fact that the majority of the beneficiaries seemed to believe that questioning such issues, while it was guaranteed that they would receive complete houses, would make them appear less grateful. they were also of the opinion that qualifying for a php house was more a privilege than a constitutional right; thus, being less grateful could result in government withdrawing such a privilege or favour at any time. such observations raised further doubts about the effectiveness or impact of consumer education that both the provincial and local project officials claimed to have organised for these beneficiaries prior to project implementation. 3.3 project management and the role of support empower bridge reconstruction account (sebra) in 2006 the provincial department of local government and housing appointed sebra to become its financial agency (ndlovu, 2008). in terms of its operation, sebra executes its functions directly from the provincial housing department offices in bloemfontein. following, in particular, experienced delays in project completion, purchasing materials, lack of financial accountability and poor management acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 98 by the majority of the housing support centres in the province (ndlovu, 2008; ntema & hoosen, 2008), in 2006 the provincial housing department decided to appoint and task sebra with control and responsibility for procurement process. it is important first to note that central to sebra’s responsibilities was the duty to ensure that government’s initial mandate on housing people through the php mechanism would be fulfilled timeously and with no deviation from government’s plans and programmes. evidence given by the five project managers and by a senior php administrator proves that, since sebra’s appointment, there has been a significant improvement in the standard of project management and administration by the housing support centres in the province as compared to the period prior to 2006. there are two key issues that could be attributed to the improved and efficient project management by the housing support centres. first, the introduction of skills development programmes by sebra for project managers and trustees and, secondly, effective and efficient project monitoring and control by sebra. there is evidence that, since the appointment of sebra and the reduction of housing support centres to only 14, there has been an improved rate of projects successfully completed long before the set deadlines. in this context successful completion of projects would refer to a situation where projects are being completed within the set time lines, without the initial allocated project funds being either overspent or underspent. for example, in parys, the project manager claimed that it took them less than six months to complete 100 units (biko, 2008b: personal communication). this is a slightly shorter period compared to the lengthy period they would have taken to complete the same number of units prior to the introduction of sebra in 2006. however, the appointment of sebra was not (from a self-help perspective) without some criticism. the appointment of sebra could be considered a deliberate strategy by the provincial housing department to effect its control of php activities. while the provincial housing department imposed, through their appointed housing support centres, their own house plans, sebra was instrumental in marginalising both the beneficiaries and the housing support centres from participating in the choice of building materials. confirming this, project managers and trustees suggested that they were always being made to feel that nothing (either in material or ideas) of value or quality was likely to come from themselves as local officials or their local communities. one of the trustees confirmed this: we would usually submit our quotations from our locally preferred emerging suppliers to sebra for consideration and ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 99 possible approval…always to our disappointment, sebra would choose their own ‘well established’ supplier for all the housing support centres in the province; none of our recommended suppliers would be considered (chaka, 2008: personal communication). expressing similar sentiment, one project manager implied that, despite sebra having invested so much in funded programmes for their own skills development, they were still not being trusted to take sole responsibility for some of the basics in project management in which they had received training. he mentioned that: [p]ersonally i think, as part of empowerment, housing support centres should be allowed to run and manage their funds and procurement of their material directly from their preferred local suppliers than to depend on sebra (ngonelo, 2008: personal communication). with sebra taking sole responsibility for appointing material suppliers and making the final choice as to the type of material to be used, without any input by either the beneficiaries or the housing support centres, could be regarded as a deliberate strategy by government to impose its unilateral decisions on both the beneficiaries and the housing support centres. it could also be argued that central to the marginalisation of housing support centres and beneficiaries in the key decision-making processes may be the government’s attempt (through sebra) to ensure speedy housing delivery ‘using quality materials’ as supplied by suppliers perceived to be in good standing. sebra may also be perceived to be a state tool to eliminate the practice of what turner called the use of locally produced resources or materials by appointing its own preferred external material supplier for all the provincial housing support centres. the added disadvantage of using sebra in choosing materials and suppliers could be that it runs contrary to the self-help spirit of encouraging use of local resources as well as ‘diversity’ in resources mobilised by the dwellers when building their houses. for example, in all of the five sites visited, housing support centres used similar wooden doors and bricks supplied by one central supplier. the appointment of sebra, in turn, which was known for its marginalisation of housing support centres when negotiating deals with suppliers, and for its constant neglect of emerging local suppliers who had worked with housing support centres prior to its (sebra’s) appointment in 2006 (chaka, 2008: personal communication; makafane, 2008: personal communication), may be viewed as contrary to the spirit both of local economic development and of community empowerment (ntema & hoosen, 2008). acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 100 3.4 housing design and planning the preceding sections have made it abundantly clear that in terms of overall project management, beneficiaries were mostly excluded. according to the php policy guidelines, the role of the beneficiaries is twofold: first, at the level of the key decision-making process during the project planning and initiation, through their elected housing support committee (hscom) and, secondly, at the level of the actual construction, through their sweat equity (south africa. department of housing, 2000). however, despite turner’s view that sweat equity or self-construction should not be equated to dweller control, the available literature on php has indicated that the role of beneficiaries is being severely reduced and limited so as to encompass only sweat equity (see, for example, khan & pieterse, 2004). the evidence from our case studies confirms this trend to a large extent. nevertheless, one of the emphases of the policy guidelines is the recognition and upholding (by all the role players) of some of the key principles of php, such as ‘greater choice’ and ‘increased input’ by the beneficiaries in using their subsidies (south africa. department of housing, 2005). the failure of the housing support centres and the provincial housing department to allow the beneficiaries to exercise their right to participate and to influence the initial process of house design and planning has manifested itself in two visible ways. first, beneficiaries were seldom part of any decision-making process when house plans and designs were discussed and finalised. secondly, some of the beneficiaries, members of the housing support committee, suggested that their appointment was mainly to satisfy the requirements of the policy and not those of the actual implementation process. they were of the opinion that they were being used by the provincial housing department and housing support centres as window dressing. one of the chairpersons said the following at one of the focus group meetings: they said we must elect a committee but i can’t remember when we last had a meeting with them (support organisation). until the project was complete…we were never part of their decisions; we were treated like all other ordinary beneficiaries (focus group 3, 11/09/2008). another chairperson suggested that at times (as committee members) they were taken by surprise by some major developments as these unfolded during the construction process and by the ability of the project managers to always withhold information and sideline them. ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 101 we did not even know that our houses (plans) were going to have a front veranda; we only for the first time saw it as it happened (focus group 5, 28/10/2008). other than the committee members, ordinary beneficiaries in all the five projects visited also suggested that they had been completely sidelined from influencing the key decision processes on design and planning. beneficiaries indicated that their role had been reduced to one of ensuring the safety and supervision of the use of their materials during construction. one of the beneficiaries confirmed this: we would sign for the incoming and outgoing material such as cement…always ensured that material issued to the builders was used accordingly (focus group 5, 28/10/2008). other than that, they were expected to contribute their sweat equity. we would help with mixing the mortar, jointing and bringing bricks closer for the builders (focus group 1, 09/09/2008). confirming the exclusion of the beneficiaries from participating in the project initiation processes, some of the project managers and trustees implied that their illegitimate practice resulted from either ignorance or from a deliberate effort to undermine the policy guidelines. one of the trustees confirmed this when he quoted the policy out of context: we appoint builders and ask beneficiaries as the policy requires to assist them with other minor construction tasks (mokone, 2008: personal communication). secondly, marginalisation of beneficiaries from participating in the planning stages of the project manifested itself in the lack of diversity in the design and planning of houses built through the php mechanism in the province. from a self-help perspective, an obvious assumption, in the context of a policy in which dwellercontrol is central, would be that it is reasonable to expect housing design and planning to be of a diverse nature, since dweller-control is likely to result in ‘different’ people building ‘in different ways.’ despite this (as alleged by the beneficiaries during the focusgroup discussions), government appointed state agencies (e.g. sebra) and its own preferred housing support centres to impose its decision on beneficiaries to construct houses of its own choice using builders and material that were unilaterally chosen by, respectively, the housing support centres and sebra. some of the beneficiaries suggested that the php denied them the opportunity of using their acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 102 own housing designs and plans to express their own personal needs and preferences. one of the beneficiaries articulated this problem during the focus group meetings: our houses look the same because of the plan given to us… none of us beneficiaries could change it…i wanted to have my door next to the toilet but they refused (focus group 3, 11/09/2008). further confirming the lack of diversity in the house design and planning resulting from non-participation by the beneficiaries, some of the project managers and trustees suggested that nobody seemed to have the courage to question the authority of politicians, even if it meant carrying out illegitimate activities. one of the trustees confirmed that their houses looked alike because of the instruction from the mec to apply without changing their original plan…the mec gave us a plan that included the structure for the inside toilet (chaka, 2008: personal communication). expressing a similar sentiment, another trustee mentioned that our houses look the same because of the plan from government…neither we nor the beneficiaries could deviate from that binding plan (biko, 2008a: personal communication). 4. conclusion this article has argued that institutionalised self-help provides government with a platform to intervene and dominate housing processes. it does not assist beneficiaries to control the processes of planning, design and construction of housing. this is the case both internationally and in south africa. the case studies used in this article have confirmed this. the irony of such state dominance is that state dominance did not necessarily lead to effective project management and that the assistance of a private firm had to be procured. although, admittedly, there is a convincing argument for technical soundness and effective financial management, our case studies suggest the following main conclusions: although central to php policy guidelines, there are concepts • such as ‘greater choice’ and ‘beneficiary input’ (referred to by turner as dweller control), these concepts were, in practice, never experienced by the beneficiaries either during project initiation and housing design or during project management, ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 103 as a result of the state’s interference with the php programmes and its deliberate deviation from the general principles of self-help. the free state provincial government still dictates directly or • indirectly through sebra (top-down approach) the process and imposes its decision in terms of the type of housing (design and planning) to be built, material suppliers, and who (housing support centres) will be appointed to manage the project. the obvious question is whether a project left to be implemented by the communities according to the guidelines would have been more ‘successful’. in the main, this article emphasises that what is needed are government officials who are facilitators rather than dominant role players, and that a fine balance needs to be restored between technically sound housing development and housing development that takes into account both dweller control and the policy guidelines. worth noting is the fact that while this study and its findings are grounded in the pool of existing literature, its main argument is based on empirical findings derived from people’s practical experiences of application and practice of self-help on the ground. thus, a more case study-based primary evidence is being generated and it could further be used to critique and possibly influence future processes of policy review, practice and re-alignment. references baumann, t. 2003. housing policy and poverty in south africa. in: khan, f. & thring, p. (eds). housing policy and practice in postapartheid south africa. heineman, pp. 85-114. biko, m. 2008a. trustee in retshepeng housing support centre. parys. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 28 october 2008. biko, t. 2008b. project manager in retshepeng housing centre. parys. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 28 october 2008. brcs (bay research and consultancy services). 2003. the people’s housing process in south africa. review for the people’s housing partnership trust. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 104 chaka, p. 2008. trustee in kutlwanong housing support centre. odendaalsrus. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province,11 september. focus group 1. 2008. beneficiaries of php programme: ikgwantlelleng housing support centre. 09 september, bultfontein. focus group 2. 2008. beneficiaries of php programme: kgotsong housing support centre. 10 september, bothaville. focus group 3. 2008. beneficiaries of php programme: kutlwanong housing support centre. 11 september, odendaalsrus. focus group 4. 2008. beneficiaries of php programme: iketsetseng housing support centre. 12 september, virginia. focus group 5. 2008. beneficiaries of php programme: retshepeng housing support centre. 28 october,parys. gauteng news. 2001. housing programmes benefit the poor and the homeless. johannesburg. hardoy, j.e. & satterthwaite, d. 1997. building the future city. in: gugler, j. (ed.). cities in the developing world: issues, theory, and policy. new york. oxford university press, pp. 265-279. harms, h. 1992. self-help housing in developed and third world countries. in: mathey, k. (ed.). housing policy in the socialist third world. london: mansell, pp. 33-52. harris, r. 1998. the silence of the experts: aided self-help housing, 1939-1954. habitat international, 22(2), pp. 165-189. harris, r. 1999a. aided self-help housing, a case of amnesia: editor’s introduction. housing studies, 14(3), pp. 277-280. harris, r. 1999b. slipping through the cracks: the origins of aided selfhelp housing, 1918-53. housing studies, 14(3), pp. 281-309. harris, r. 2003. a double irony: the originality and influence of john f.c. turner. habitat international, 27(2), pp. 245-269. huchzermeyer, m. 2001. housing for the poor? negotiated housing policy in south africa. habitat international, 25(3), pp. 303-331. khan, f. & pieterse, e. 2004. the homeless people’s alliance: purposive creation and ambiguated realities: a case study for the ntema & marais • state involvement in self-help housing 105 ukzn project entitled: globalisation, marginalisation and new social movements in post-apartheid south africa. stellenbosch: university of stellenbosch. lgh (local government and housing) newsletter. 2006. php: efforts to accelerate housing delivery. cape town: south african housing foundation. maduna, m. 2008. project manager in kgotsong housing support centre, bothaville. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 10 september 2008. makafane, m. 2008. trustee in ikgwantlelleng housing support centre. bultfontein. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 9 september 2008. manie, s. 2004. the people’s housing process current practice and future trends development action group. cape town. mokone, m. 2008. trustee in iketsetseng housing support centre. virginia. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 12 september 2008. napier, m. 2003. supporting the people’s housing process. in: khan, f. & thring, p. (eds.). housing policy and practice in post-apartheid south africa. johannesburg: heineman, pp. 321-362. ndlovu, a. 2008. provincial administrator for php. bloemfontein. personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 8 september, 2008. ngonelo, n. 2008. project manager in ikgwantlelleng housing support centre. bultfontein.personal communication on roles of provincial housing department and housing support centres during planning and implementation of php projects in the free state province, 9 september 2008. ntema, j. 2009. self-help housing in south africa: paradigm, policy and practice. bloemfontein: university of free state. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 106 ntema, l. & hoosen, f. 2008. people’s housing process (php): retshepeng disabled trust housing support centre, tumahole. paper presented at the msg workshop, malawi, 24-28 november. parnell, s. & hart, d. 1999. self-help housing as a flexible instrument of state control in 20th-century south africa. housing studies, 14(3), pp. 367-386. people’s dialogue on land and shelter. 1999. negotiating for land: the construction and demolition of ruo emoh’s show house in cape town in august 1999. environment and urbanization, 11(2), pp. 31-40. pugh, c. 2001. the theory and practice of housing sector development for developing countries, 1950-99. housing studies, 16(4), pp. 399-423. sangonet. 2010. people’s housing process enhanced. [online]. available from: <http://www.ngopulse.org/article/ people%e2%80%99s-housing-process-enhanced> [accessed: 20 august 2010]. south africa. department of housing. 2000. national housing code. pretoria: rsa department of housing. south africa. department of housing. 2005. policy framework and implementation guidelines for the people’s housing process (php). delivery mechanism. pretoria: rsa department of housing. thurman, s. 1999. an evaluation of the impact of the national housing policy in the western cape. cape town: development action group. turner, j.f.c. 1976. housing by people. towards autonomy in building environments. london: marion byers. urban sector network and development works. 2003. scoping study: urban land issues final report. report prepared for dfid southern africa. johannesburg, september. ward, p.m. (ed.). 1982. self-help housing: a critique. london: mansell. 1 g barker, richard hill, paul bowen & kathy evans economic and regulatory approaches to improve the environmental performance of buildings in south africa peer reviewed abstract in the past, economic instruments for environmental purposes were strongly resisted by industry, government and the public. as such, they were used only in exceptional circumstances. more recently, there has been a realisation that economic instruments can be a powerful complement to direct regulations. consequently, economic instruments1 are playing an increasingly important role in the environmental management of buildings. the activities of the con struction industry are driven by economic forces, so using market mechanisms is a logical strategy to pursue the objectives of sustainable construction.2 perhaps the question is not whether economic mechanisms should be employed to improve environmental building performance, but rather how this should be achieved. this article suggests that it can be achieved by using the economic instrument of ecolabelling to create market competition for improved building perform ance. ecolabelling has traditionally been associated with household products, but has more recently been applied to a wider range of products, including buildings and building materials. the basis for building ecolabels is provided by artikels • articles 1 2 economic instruments are mechanisms that affect the costs and benefits of alternative actions open to economic agents, with the effect of influencing behaviour in a way that is favourable to the environment (oecd, 1989). sustainable construction ‘seeks to fulfil the principles of sustainable development within the arena of the construction industry (walker, 1999)’. it describes a process that starts before the construction phase (in the planning and design phases) and continues into the operation of the building and its eventual decommissioning. it includes socio economic, technical, biophysical and process orientated dimensions of sustainability. g barker & richard (rc) hill, department of environmental and geographical science, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, south africa paul (pa) bowen & kathy evans, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, south africa 2 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) the results of building environmental assessments, which evaluate building per formance. in developed countries, these assessments have stimulated market demand for ‘green’ building developments. building environmental assessment methods have used the concept of ecolabelling to provide consumers with an additional benchmark in renting or purchasing buildings. yet, it is unknown whether the south african building market will be similarly responsive to ‘green’ market incentives. in south africa, where the majority of the population are struggling to satisfy their basic needs, and lack proper education, the environmental ‘ethos’ of the general public has not developed to an extent where environmental issues are seen as a serious priority. building environmental assessment methods in south africa are evolving from ‘green’ evaluations that were pragmatically developed to respond to imme diate needs, to the measurement of ‘sustainability’. ecolabels can now reflect the performance of building development in terms of all aspects of sustain ability, including socio economic, technical and environmental dimensions of sustainable construction. this has been made possible by the development of a unique south african building environmental assessment method that measures sustainability, namely the “sustainable buildings assessment technique.” although much has been written about economic mechanisms, practical guidance on how to implement these mechanisms in building developments is scarce. this article outlines some of the opportunities and constraints associ ated with market driven and environmental performance in buildings. the limitations of economic approaches in south africa include a lack of environ mental awareness, misconceptions of ‘green’ buildings, building industry constraints and the market dependence of voluntary assessment protocols. regulatory approaches are not without their own limitations, the most significant of which is the acute shortage of resources in south african environmental authorities, a factor that is likely to restrict the effectiveness of regulatory approaches. the article goes on to examine the particular problems associated with de veloping world markets (such as south africa’s). furthermore, the relationship between regulatory, ‘command and control’ approaches and economic, market driven approaches is discussed. it is concluded that the ideals of sustain able construction can best be achieved by using regulatory approaches in conjunction with economic instruments. keywords: ecolabelling, market driven approach, building environmental assessment methods, economic instruments, sustainable construction, regulatory approach 1. introduction 1.1 background information and research focus m any building developments have not taken proper account of their effects on the natural, social, economic and cultural environment (ciria, 1996). this has led to widespread damage to the environment, and increased pressure for stricter environmental protection. the construction industry has responded to this pressure by formulating building environmental assessment methods, which have emerged as part of a move towards environmental sustainability in buildings. by providing a common and verifiable set of targets and criteria, building environmental assessment methods allow developers and building owners to demonstrate their efforts in striving for high environmental performance. building developments are awarded a certified rating based on the results of the environmental assessment. in this way, building environmental assessment methods act as ecolabels for building developments (blum et al., 2000). the focus of this paper is on ecolabels for building developments themselves, rather than those which apply to building materials or appliances. in developed countries, building environmental assessment methods have effected significant market-driven improvements in the environmental performance of buildings. yet, it remains to be seen whether the environmental awareness of south africans has increased to the extent where green or sustainable buildings are seen as a serious priority. if not, the effectiveness of voluntary, market-driven methods may be severely limited in developing countries such as south africa. in this case, a regulatory approach to improving the environmental performance of buildings may be a more successful strategy. this article investigates the viability of using regulatory approaches to enforce environmental building standards. in addition, the suitability of employing traditional, ‘command-and-control’, legal mechanisms and market-driven, economic instruments in the construction industry is evaluated. in the past, economic instruments for environmental purposes were subject to harsh controversy and strong resistance from industry, government and the public (oecd, 1991). as such, they were used only in exceptional circumstances. more recently, people have realised that economic instruments can be a powerful complement 3 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement to direct regulations. market-driven mechanisms can be used as a substitute or as a complement to other instruments such as legislation and co-operative agreements with industry (oecd, 1991) to achieve environmental goals. this paper outlines the strengths and weaknesses of economic and regulatory approaches, and suggests the use of a combined approach that incorporates both of these elements. growing concern about environmental degradation in south africa has led to a plethora of environmental policy [the environmental conservation act (no. 73 of 1989), the constitution of south africa (act no. 108 of 1996), the national environmental management act (no. 107 of 1998)]. these policies may be enforced by traditional command-and-control approaches, but there is increasing support for the notion that market-oriented policies can be more effective to achieve the goals of sustainability (chau et al., 2000; deat, 1994). internationally, it is generally recognised that economic instruments enhance the flexibility, efficiency and costeffectiveness of environmental policy3 (oecd, 1991). locally (in south africa), economic instruments are seen as useful alternatives to regulatory controls, as individuals and organisations are induced to act in a particular way through economic pressure, rather than the threat of sanctions (kidd, 1997). yet, although there is official support for the use of economic instruments in south africa (deat, 1996), their use at present is not common (kidd, 1997). scant attention has been paid to the specific economic, social and political circumstances in which economic instruments for environmental management can be accommodated (deat, 1995). the purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss the viability of using the economic mechanism of ecolabelling to implement improvements in building environmental performance. the merits of using regulatory approaches to improve the performance of south african buildings are also investigated. 4 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 3 major studies (e.g. oecd, 1989) have revealed that the use of economic instruments in environmental management has increased significantly worldwide. 1.2 the problem by using ecolabelling in tandem with regulation, environmental assessment methods may effect significant market-driven improvements in the performance of south african buildings. however, the success of these methods relies on their ability to create marketbased competition and incentives for building owners and developers to increase the performance of building developments. it is unknown whether the economic mechanism of ecolabelling will be able to increase the environmental performance of south african buildings to the point where they are environmentally sustainable. regulatory approaches are often used instead of economic instruments, but traditional ‘command-and-control’ strategies have their own inherent problems (du plessis, 1999). although ecolabelling has been applied to south african products, these schemes are still in their infancy, and have met with limited success (katzschner, 1998). the objective of this study is to determine whether the limitations of ecolabelling schemes can be overcome by building environmental assessment methods. in order to identify the best strategy to improve the environmental performance of south african buildings, the roles of economic, regulatory and combined approaches to improve the sustainability of buildings are explored. 1.3 the nature of building environmental assessment methods building environmental assessment methods are generally voluntary, self-financing schemes for the environmental labelling of buildings. they are the ‘benchmarks’ whereby economic mechanisms can be used to produce building developments that have high environmental performance and which operate in a sustainable manner. the basis of these schemes is normally their certification process, whereby certificates clearly describing environmental performance are awarded to individual buildings. recognition of high environmental building performance is made possible by the results of building environmental assessments, and can give discerning clients a competitive market edge over their competition. environmental ratings provided by building environmental assessments may allow designers, developers and building owners who pursue the goals of sustainable construction to gain a significant commercial advantage (baldwin et al., 1998). 5 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement 1.4 defining ecolabels for building developments an ecolabel4 is any label that describes or identifies environmentallyrelated characteristics of products or services (kibert, 1998). a wide range of ecolabelling systems have emerged worldwide for the purpose of informing consumers of environmental aspects of the products they are purchasing (katzschner, 1998). ecolabelling has traditionally been associated with household products such as aerosols and detergents, but has more recently been applied to a wider range of products, including buildings. in the case of buildings, ecolabels (in the form of certificates) are the logical outcomes of environmental assessments. the objective of ecolabels is to encourage the demand for, and supply of, products and services that cause minimal environmental degradation, thereby stimulating the potential for market-driven environmental improvements. this is achieved by communicating verifiable and accurate information on environmental aspects of products and services (sabs, 1999). environmental assessments allow building developments to be rated and certified as environmentally preferable to their counterparts. this allows purchasers to make decisions based (at least partly) on the environmental impact of the building’s lifecycle. “the vast majority of people, if offered credible green products5 with similar prices and technical performance to conventional products, would discriminate in favour of the green product” (peattie, 1995: 155). ecolabels provide a market advantage to buildings with high environmental performance, and assure developers, building owners and end-users that the project has met strict criteria overseen by an independent organisation (kibert, 1998). labelling schemes can either work on a pass/fail basis, or can involve some form of gradation of performance. grading schemes are preferable to simple pass/fail ratings as they are more informative, and provide an incentive for qualifying companies to continue to improve the environmental standards of their products or services (peattie, 1995). in the construction industry, the ‘products’ are building 6 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 4 otherwise referred to as an ‘environmental label’ or a ‘green label’ 5 a product or service is ‘green’ when its environmental and societal performance, in production, use and disposal, is significantly better than conventional products (peattie, 1995: 181). materials and buildings themselves. labels for buildings typically classify the performance into descriptive categories (e.g. ‘fair’, ‘good’, ‘excellent’, or ‘bronze’, ‘silver’, ‘gold’). these categories function as performance benchmarks for building owners, developers, designers and builders. they are generally determined by adding the various scores of building performance categories (e.g. resource consumption, indoor quality) (cole, 2000). environmental labelling schemes are an important phenomenon worldwide and are having positive impacts on the built environment (katzschner, 1998). if properly implemented, they can provide increased assurance to developers, owners and end-users that their buildings will have a low ecological footprint6 throughout their lifecycle. yet, ecolabelling has not yet gained much acceptance in the south african building industry (katzschner, 1998). to implement ecolabels more effectively, it may be useful to consider the factors that determine their success or failure. 1.5 factors that determine the effectiveness of ecolabels the usefulness and effectiveness of ecolabels depends on how well they convey reliable and meaningful environmental information about a building. for building ecolabels to be credible, the environmental information that supports them (i.e. the results of building environmental assessments) should be gathered and assessed using professionally recognised and accepted methods (sabs, 1999). the main intention of environmental labelling and rating schemes is to provide consumers with the information necessary to make decisions based on the environmental characteristics of products and services7 (crawley & aho, 1999). if they are to form an effective basis for labelling schemes, building environmental assessments need to satisfy certain fundamental requirements. to provide relevant and accurate information, building environmental assessment methods need to follow standards that 7 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement 6 ecological footprint represents the corresponding area of productive land or water required to produce the resources used, and assimilate the wastes produced, by a building development. 7 the ‘product’ is the building itself, and the ‘services’ are those provided by the construction industry (e.g. design, construction, maintenance). are internationally applicable (sabs, 1999). ecolabels should inform consumers that a product has met certain predefined environmental requirements, and allow for meaningful comparisons of environmental performance with alternative products (crawley & aho, 1999). furthermore, the method, data and assumptions that influence the outcome of assessments and consequent rating of buildings need to be explicit and accessible to all role players in the building development. a lack of accessible information compromises the ability of consumers to make meaningful comparisons and informed choices, and jeopardises the capacity of building sector companies to improve their performance (crawley & aho, 1999). therefore, the information provided by building environmental assessments should include underlying assumptions, and needs to be presented in a format that allows consumers to compare products easily. in addition, life cycle impacts need to be evaluated to allow consumers to account for the full range of factors that impact on the environment.8 omitting lifecycle information from an ecolabel significantly reduces its import (sabs, 1999). the degree of acceptance and understanding (or environmental awareness) that purchasers have about the information provided by the label clearly influences its effectiveness. people and organisations who use ecolabels therefore have an incentive and a responsibility to provide useful and accurate information that can easily be understood. yet, the information needs to be sufficient to substantiate the nature of the environmental claim being made (sabs, 1999). the effectiveness of ecolabels in the construction industry ultimately depends on their ability to enable developers and building owners to take responsibility for, and make informed choices about, the environmental aspects of their buildings (sabs, 1999). in so doing, they may influence the decisions of others in their selection of building products or services. this introduction has explained the economic instrument of ecolabels in buildings. however, for ecolabels to realise their full potential in 8 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 8 lifecycle analysis evaluates environmental impacts of a building lifecycle, from acquisition of raw materials through to production, use and disposal of buildings and building materials. enhancing the environmental performance of building developments, several limitations of market-driven mechanisms need to be overcome. 2. limitations of market-driven building performance 2.1 green limitations in a developing country in south africa, where the majority of the population are struggling to satisfy their basic needs, and lack proper education, the environmental ‘ethos’ of the general public has not developed to an extent where environmental issues are seen as a serious priority (kidd, 1997). in developing countries, the relationship between environmental problems and the resources available to solve them results in a widespread need to improvise in response to the most acute shortages of manpower and resources (graybill, 1985). under these conditions, the environmental management of buildings becomes a case of “sailing the boat while building it” (graybill, 1985). the interests of society are judged in terms of immediate benefits and future needs are considered an unaffordable luxury (fuggle, 1991). to avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’, south africa has adapted building environmental assessment methods that have been developed in other countries. but developing nations need to be wary of adopting ‘first world’ assessment tools, as these methods fail to cover socio-economic and cultural issues that are vital in a third world context (barker & kaatz, 2001; hill & bowen, 1997). building environmental assessment methods need to avoid their current overemphasis on the biophysical dimension of sustainability by evaluating all aspects of sustainability, including social, economic, technical and process-orientated factors (hill & bowen, 1997). 2.2 business and the environment “the likelihood that environmental issues will affect the ‘bottom line’, positively or negatively, is high and increasing steadily” (kpmg, 1998: 1). even so, south african companies have performed poorly in implementing environmental initiatives (visser, 1998). in developed world countries, leading companies in the construction industry have accepted that the economy and the 9 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement environment are inextricably linked. they recognise that environmental management makes good business sense, and that ecoefficiency 9 pays off in terms of increased profits (yeld, 1997). in the building industry, this entails more than ‘window-dressing’ to improve public relations and company image. resource-efficient technologies, energy efficiency, waste reduction and pollution prevention can and do increase profits substantially (yeld, 1997). yet, in south africa, few built-environment professionals and organisations have realised the economic efficiencies that come with sound environmental management. kpmg (2000) reports that the environmental management of south africa’s companies is lagging against international standards, and that considerable improvement is required. nevertheless, environmental issues are important to south africa’s top companies, and are expected to become increasingly so, driven by a number of key market forces (kpmg, 1998). market forces in the building industry present significant constraints to the achievement of sustainable construction. 2.3 building industry constraints the finance of buildings is adjusted to the short and medium term, which is in conflict with sustainable construction, which has long term goals (bon & hutchinson, 2000). consequently, the quest for short-term financial gains often compromises environmental standards at the expense of environmentally sustainable buildings, which are cheaper in the long-term (roodman & lenssen, 1994). perhaps in the context of a market place that is highly sensitive to the importance of environmental sustainability, particularly in buildings, this fundamental obstruction can be overcome. however, it is unknown whether south africa currently has such a market, particularly in the construction and building sector. for environmental assessment tools to initiate market-driven competition for ‘green’ buildings in developing countries, sustainability needs to be economically viable. this implies not only long-term gains, but also immediate benefits. building owners, designers, developers and contractors must be able to demonstrate the tangible profits of sustainable construction to less discerning practitioners if they are to change the way people think about 10 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 9 eco efficiency implies that protecting the environment can produce financial savings. i.e. that savings can be achieved by using resources more efficiently. sustainable building. short-term benefits, particularly financial gains, are likely to be very important in changing the perception of ‘green’ building in south africa. this is not the only perception that needs to be changed. the next section describes several misconceptions regarding green building. also of concern is the lack of environmental awareness of the public and role players in the building process. 2.4 environmental awareness and misconceptions the demand side of the building market are generally uneducated about what ‘green buildings’ are, why sustainable construction is important, and how to improve the performance of their own buildings (flora & moser, 2000). contrary to the perception of many environmentalists, most decision-makers have never heard of a ‘green’ building and do not understand how to manage a green building development (flora & moser, 2000). even people and organisations who are aware of these concepts tend to focus on the traditional competitive building factors of cost, quality and time (bourdeau, 1999). as a result, environmental sustainability is often accorded low priority by property developers and building owners. there is currently a widely-held view in the south african construction industry, particularly amongst developers, building owners and contractors, that increasing the environmental performance of buildings entails unwarranted additional costs (barker, 1999). the perception that the initial construction costs of ‘green’ buildings are much higher than typical buildings has significantly limited their feasibility (bartlett & howard, 2000). perceptions are important, as they influence market behaviour through consumer decisions. recent studies by flora & moser (2000), have revealed several misguided market perceptions concerning green buildings. green buildings are thought to cost more than conventional buildings and perform unsuitably (flora & moser, 2000). bartlett & howard (2000), refute the erroneous perception that the construction of ‘green’ buildings is significantly more expensive than normal. in fact, the difference in cost between ‘green’ and typical construction practice is approximately 1% or less of the total construction cost (bartlett & howard, 2000). furthermore, many developers see return on building investment as a more important consideration than capital cost (bordass, 2000). in the same way 11 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement that the costs of ‘green’ buildings are overestimated, their benefits are underrated. ‘green’ buildings provide value in terms of performance benefits, operational costs, flexibility, durability, operational and maintenance costs, and occupant comfort. assessment methods are used to gauge the extent of these benefits, but voluntary methods have to overcome a significant conflict. 2.5 the conflict of voluntary assessment methods there has been a recent upsurge in the use of voluntary approaches as a tool to improve environmental performance and increase sustainability (unep, 1998). the concept of rating the environmental performance of a building development has gained popularity, and a variety of voluntary assessment schemes have been developed worldwide to evaluate building performance (chau et al., 2000). voluntary methods depend entirely for their effectiveness on the market, so credibility is essential to building assessments. yet, it is uncertain whether credibility alone will be sufficient to realise necessary improvements in the environmental performance of buildings. voluntary building assessment protocols have to overcome a significant conflict. they need to function as objective and sufficiently demanding evaluations (to have credibility with environmentalists), but must also serve as an attractive proposition for developers and building owners (who demand positive recognition for any efforts to improve environmental performance). satisfying these two requirements invariably compromises the integrity of the assessment (cole, 2000). because building environmental assessments are largely based on voluntary application, the success of any method ultimately depends on whether it furthers the building investor’s self-interest (unep, 1998). as a result, these methods tend to accommodate the goals of their developers and investors, because the assessments are produced in a format that caters for the attitudes and interests of developers and financial institutions. according to cole (2000), the fact that all existing building environmental assessment methods are voluntary in their application significantly compromises both their comprehensiveness and rigour. a more optimistic scenario is put forward by doxsey (1997), who argues that building environmental assessment methods will continue 12 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) to improve their ability to find acceptance with target markets as the environmental awareness of building owners, developers and end-users increases. “in so doing, they will target environmental issues that reflect tangible value to building owners, and low cost will dictate their overall character and emphasis” (doxsey, 1997). while it is important that assessment methods can induce marketdriven environmental performance improvements in buildings, they should not compromise their accuracy and integrity for economic reasons. the limitations of ecolabels for buildings stem from their dependence on voluntary building environmental assessment methods. 2.6 limitations of ecolabelling for buildings the most significant limitation of ecolabelling for buildings is their reliance on voluntary assessment methods, which rely greatly on market acceptance. the underlying premise of voluntary assessment methods is that fundamental changes in market demand will be needed to trigger substantial improvements in performance of new and existing buildings (cole, 2000). these methods assume that if the market is provided with improved environmental information and mechanisms to enhance building performance, discerning clients will take the lead in environmental responsibility and others will follow their example in order to remain competitive (cole, 2000). in south africa, relatively few building owners and developers have been guided by market demand for green buildings. the question remains whether the south african building market will respond to this economic incentive. environmental labels for buildings will need to overcome the similar limitations to those of green labels for other products (e.g. household items). a major weakness of many existing ecolabels is the nature of the claims they make with regard to the environmental performance of the product or service that they describe. some labels are prone to making claims that deceive consumers. examples of these are (peattie, 1995: 241): • excessive claims – general claims such as ‘environmentally friendly’ are not specific enough to be helpful to consumers); • multiple claims – different terminology for products with the same environmental performance (e.g. ‘ozone-friendly’ and ‘ozone-safe’) creates unrealistic consumer perceptions; 13 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement • unexplained claims – environmental claims such as ‘biodegradable’ and ‘enzyme-free’, are poorly understood by consumers; and, • meaningless claims – misleading claims (e.g. labelling washing-up liquid as ‘phosphate-free’ when these products have never contained phosphates). it is clear that some ecolabels make unsubstantiated and misleading claims regarding the products and services they represent. similarly, building projects that are marketed as ‘green’ are often supported by questionable building data. for green building to become a mainstream concept, it needs to be clearly communicated to the demand side of the market (flora & moser, 2000). objective assessments of building developments are required for this purpose, and it is unacceptable for buildings with low environmental sustainability to be marketed as ‘green’ under false pretences. if these limitations can be overcome, economic mechanisms that embrace a market-driven approach are bound to have a major influence on building environmental performance. 3. the market-driven approach: economic mechanisms 3.1 shifting from direct regulation to market-driven performance under the paradigm of environmentalism, a direct regulatory approach was favoured to manage the environment. the emphasis under the paradigm of sustainability has shifted to economic approaches (liddle, 1994). this assertion is reflected by building environmental assessment tools, which currently rely on market-mechanisms for their implementation. the best way to approach built-environment companies may be to accentuate the positive aspects of sustainable construction rather than force developers, designers and building owners to comply with legal requirements. this sentiment is echoed by experts in the field of sustainable construction (chau et al., 2000), who have recognised that sustainability goals are achieved more efficiently through market-orientated policies than by regulation. however, the market can only stimulate demand for sustainable buildings if consumers are provided with 14 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) credible environmental information. this information can be provided by building environmental assessments, the results of which effectively provide consumers with detailed environmental labels. for green building practice to gain acceptance in the south african construction industry, building owners and developers need to be convinced about the long-term benefits of high environmental performance. this requires the careful planning of economic and environmental performance (chau et al., 2000). decision-making processes in the construction industry often involve conflicting or even competing environmental and economic objectives. building assessment methods can help to achieve optimal environmental improvement within given financial resources (chau et al., 2000). although these methods are facilitating the shift from a regulatory to a market-driven approach, they will need to overcome several inherent limitations if they are to be effective. 3.2 limitations of green building assessment methods there has been much discussion about whether the criteria for environmental product labels should be strictly ecological, or whether they should cover ethical, health and social issues (peattie, 1995). a similar quandary has emerged in debate regarding building environmental assessment methods. there is growing support for the inclusion of socio-economic and cultural considerations into these methods, which until now have focused mainly on biophysical environmental issues. the predominant focus of ‘green’ building assessments on environmental dimensions of sustainability, and their neglect of socio-economic and cultural aspects of sustainable construction, are major limitations of these methods (hill & bowen, 1997). building environmental assessments have tended to focus on the design and operational phases of the building lifecycle. the planning, construction and decommissioning phases of building developments have not received as much attention (barker & kaatz, 2001; hill & bowen, 1997). the manufacturing of building materials is a less obvious dimension of the building lifecycle that cannot be ignored. ecolabelling of building materials should be integrated into the overall environmental labelling of the building development. for environmental labelling schemes to be effective, all aspects of the building life cycle must be considered (kibert, 1998). environmental assessment methods should therefore encompass all phases 15 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement of building development, including planning and design, manufacturing (of building materials), construction, operation and decommissioning. green assessment methods make the assumption that the cumulative positive environmental impact of continually improving the environmental performance of individual buildings will be sufficient to fully address environmental problems (cole, 2000). it is uncertain whether this approach will be sufficient to create enough improvement in the environmental performance of buildings to satisfy broader national environmental and sustainability targets. ‘green’ assessment methods cannot easily be used to measure progress towards environmental sustainability because they are shaped by practicalities and market forces (cole, 2000). they emphasise comparative building performance at a regional and local scale, through which building owners and developers can demonstrate a marketing edge over their competition. in order to ensure that the construction industry meets the goals of sustainable construction, a different approach may be necessary. the construction industry needs to move beyond eco-efficiency measures toward the concept of sustainability assessment. 3.4 going beyond eco-efficiency, towards sustainability labelling the weakness of existing ‘green’ environmental assessment methods is their dependence on comparative evaluation of buildings without having an ultimate goal in sight, making it difficult to measure progress towards sustainability in the building industry. in contrast, within the context of sustainability, building environmental assessments are based on the progress that building performance has made towards a declared, ecologically sustainable condition. accordingly, ecolabels derived from sustainability assessments reflect the condition of buildings in terms of their performance relative to sustainability indicators. sustainability-labelling schemes provide information that reflects the performance of building developments in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability. building environmental assessment methods are evolving from ‘green’ evaluations that were pragmatically developed to respond to immediate needs, to the measurement of ‘sustainability’ (kohler, 1999). hill (1998), has 16 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) put forward the notion that a national sustainability-labelling scheme for buildings could be harnessed in south africa. cole (2000), supports the notion of sustainable building assessment methods, and suggests that extensive marketing of the benefits of improved environmental performance is necessary to create positive change. until recently, building environmental assessments were restricted to environmental aspects of sustainability. socio-economic, cultural and process-orientated dimensions of sustainable construction have now been included in a south african assessment method (the sustainable buildings assessment technique), giving the construction industry the opportunity to apply economic instruments to gauge the sustainability of building developments (csir, 2001). cole (2000), suggests that sustainable assessments have several advantages over ‘green’ methods. firstly, the number of criteria required to judge the performance of a building can be relatively few in comparison with ‘green’ assessment methods. secondly, the performance of buildings in different built-environments around the world can be compared using the common yardstick of sustainability targets. using sustainability as a criterion for labelling products is an appealing concept, but it creates problems in developing and marketing products (peattie, 1995). because markets fail to account for environmental factors, conventional products are substantially cheaper than sustainable products, which cover the true costs of pollution and resource use. it is unrealistic to expect consumers to cover the entire price difference that would exist between sustainable and conventional products (peattie, 1995). sustainable and environmental performance as a competitive tool remains a new business opportunity that allows investors to profit from environmental products and services (visser, 1997a), but it is unknown whether this idea will gain acceptance in south african markets. can economic instruments gain acceptance in the south african market? although environmental issues may not feature as prominently in south africa as in more developed countries, there is growing environmental concern in the country (kidd, 1997). the increasing receptiveness of south africans to environmental matters (kpmg, 17 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement 2000) may be an indication that market mechanisms will be sufficient to promote sustainable development in the building industry. assuming this is the case, the difficulties of a ‘command and control’ approach to increasing the environmental performance of buildings could be avoided. but in south africa, where the environmental awareness of the general public has not developed to the point where environmental issues are taken seriously kidd (1997), this is a highly questionable assumption to make. the south african building market may not provide the response necessary to significantly improve the environmental performance of buildings in the near future. cole (2000), argues that there are significant practical constraints associated with dependency on market acceptance. hill (1998: 9), shares this concern, stating that, “given the general lack of demand for sustainable building from end-users, it is hard to predict who will take the lead in pulling or pushing the construction industry towards sustainability”. 4. the regulatory approach having raised doubts over the ability of the south african market to chase the ‘carrot’ of market-driven environmental performance in building developments, perhaps enforcing compliance with the ‘stick’ of regulation would be a more appropriate strategy for building environmental assessment tools to adopt. according to hill (1998), economic incentives alone may not be sufficient to effect necessary changes, so the construction industry may need a legal push towards environmental sustainability from government. government policy and legislation remains the most powerful agent of change in ensuring that environmental issues are a high priority for south african companies (visser, 1997b). furthermore, almost half of south africa’s top companies are not striving for compliance with any voluntary environmental standard (visser, 1997b), which suggests that voluntary, market-driven building environmental assessments may not have the desired impact on building performance. to be effective in south africa, assessments may require the support of a regulatory approach. this could take the form of making the assessments mandatory, or may prescribe certain minimum requirements in terms of environmental standards for buildings. 18 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) the regulatory approach is the traditional ‘command-and-control’ approach that has been favoured in south africa. the most significant problem associated with regulatory approaches is that they require enforcement, which is often lacking. unlike market-driven methods, which operate more or less automatically, conventional regulatory approaches imply direct controls that require constant vigilance from authorities. this places demands on government administrations that are already stretched in terms of human resources (deat, 1994). however, there remain situations in environmental building management where this is the best approach. regulation will always have a role to play in enforcing minimum levels of environmental performance in building developments. for example, compliance with regulations may need to be enforced in cases where buildings are required to meet certain minimum sustainability requirements. the case for regulating building performance is strengthened by the dynamic nature of legal instruments. generally, laws can be changed relatively quickly in response to new environments, circumstances, locations and technologies. in practice, however, regulators often lack the combined economic, engineering and environmental expertise that is necessary to promulgate effective laws (oecd, 1991). building environmental assessment methods may allow for the incorporation of environmental performance requirements in national building regulations. in so doing, they would significantly reduce the negative environmental impacts of building developments (crawley & aho, 1999). however, policing the compliance of buildings with regulations is a time-consuming and costly task, which may not be welcomed by designers, developers, building owners and end-users (crawley & aho, 1999). the extent to which regulation will be used to control the environmental impacts of buildings is unknown, but it has been suggested (cole, 2000) that environmental assessment methods for buildings are unlikely to be adopted as standards or regulations in the near future. 5. the combined approach: best of both worlds? there are currently two viable broad approaches for meeting the challenge of sustainable construction (bon & hutchinson, 2000). 19 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement the first is governance through standards, and legal and regulatory methods. the second is by market-oriented policies that influence the costs of particular forms of construction. both approaches have a significant role to play in improving the environmental performance of buildings, but market-oriented policies are thought to be more effective at a strategic level (bon & hutchinson, 2000). economic instruments are usually applied in conjunction with other instruments. indeed, combinations of economic mechanisms and direct regulation are quite common (oecd, 1991). economic instruments may be used to reinforce regulation. in terms of building environmental performance, direct regulations will take time to be developed and promulgated. market-driven measures to improve building environmental performance can accelerate compliance with direct regulation in advance of their actual implementation (oecd, 1991). economic instruments therefore have a major role in enhancing the environmental performance of buildings. as tools to improve building environmental performance, economic approaches such as ecolabelling have the advantage that markets are superior to regulators in processing information from many different sources, resulting in a better allocation of resources (oecd, 1991). market-based mechanims for improving environmental building performance have an advantage over ‘command-andcontrol’ techniques in that they allow the designer, builder, building owner or building end-user to choose how environmental standards should be achieved. environmental economists have found that market-based incentives are generally better than ‘command-and-control’ methods (pearce et al., 1989), although such a statement disguises many practical problems associated with implementing economic approaches. even so, ‘command-and-control’ approaches adopt a regulatory stance that ignores the inefficiencies of the market mechanism. yet, even where economic instruments are successfully implemented, there remains a role for regulation as the means of ensuring that the basis for market transactions is properly defined (oecd, 1991). building environmental assessments have a crucial role to play in this respect, as they provide the data on which market incentives are based. 20 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 6. conclusions ecolabelling of building developments is rapidly becoming a reality in the south african construction industry through the implementation of building environmental assessment methods. yet, it is questionable whether the market-mechanism on which ecolabelling depends will be sufficient to create the improvements in environmental performance of buildings necessary to meet sustainability targets. this is of particular concern in developing countries, where building environmental management is often a case of ‘sailing the boat while building it’. as such, the construction industry may need a legal push towards sustainability from government. however, acute shortages of manpower and resources in south african environmental authorities are likely to undermine the effectiveness of regulatory approaches. furthermore, the construction industry’s acceptance of existing assessment methods derives largely from their voluntary application, which suggests that enforcing compliance by regulating building performance may not be a successful strategy. a co-operative, market-driven approach to sustainable construction could be more effective. at this time, it is difficult to ascertain which strategy will be the most appropriate for building environmental assessment methods to carry forward: the ‘carrot’ of market incentives; the ‘stick’ of legal compliance; or perhaps a combination of economic and regulatory approaches. the ecolabelling of buildings is unlikely to operate successfully without some regulatory support, and vice versa. there is much debate concerning whether economic, regulatory or combined approaches are the most suitable to improve the environmental performance of buildings. in south africa, the most suitable strategy for the construction industry is likely to be one of adopting an approach that combines economic and regulatory mechanisms. building environmental assessments in south africa have evolved from ‘green’ evaluations to sustainability assessments. nevertheless, the concept of ecolabelling is likely to remain the dominant economic mechanism whereby improvements in environmental building performance are implemented. the effectiveness of ecolabels ultimately depends on their ability to enable potential purchasers to make informed choices about the environmental 21 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement 22 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) aspects of buildings. an opportunity now exists for far-sighted designers, building contractors, developers and building owners to capture a market niche in terms of environmental performance. in so doing, they can steer the building industry towards sustainable construction by stimulating market 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[online]. south africa: kpmg virtual library. http://www.kpmg.co.za/library/1997/nov97/ rainbow.htm walker, j. 1999. a sustainability assessment method for greenfields, low cost, cement brick housing developments on the cape flats. unpublished masters project report. cape town: university of cape town. yeld, j. 1997. caring for the earth a guide to sustainable living. south africa: wwf south africa. 25 barker, hill, bowen & evans • environmental performance improvement 61 jonathan noble & pattabi raman collaborations: the architecture of ahrends, burton and koralek (abk) edited by kenneth powell abstract this article on one of the enduring british partnerships is not a vanity publication that we are accustomed to in our profession. edited by kenneth powell, it contains illuminating essays of overlapping themes. the editor provides the overview. jeremy melvin writes a sensitive piece on the formation of the practice. while elain harwood and frank macdonald respectively describe early works and irish projects of the practice paul finch contributes an intelligent essay on collaboration. the essays are not presented in succession but in layered colour strips on the top and bottom of pages with images in the body under the thematic titles of private/public, context, light/space and process. one does have to overcome the initial irritation of this unconventional layout before realising the importance of the abk story. indeed the interlocking of different narratives and the images has a resonance with the character of the practice itself, with three distinct personalities of ahrends, burton and koralek, each with unique but complementary interests and predilections. keywords: british architects, ahrends, burton, koralek abstrak hierdie artikel oor een van die langdurigste britse vennootskappe, is nie ’n waardelose publikasie soos waaraan die professie gewoond is nie. soos deur kenneth powell geredigeer, bevat dit verligte essays met oorvleulende temas. die redigeerder verskaf ’n oorsig. jeremy melvin skryf ’n sensitiewe essay oor die vorming van die praktyk, terwyl elain harwoord en frank macdonald wedersyds die eerste werke en ierse projekte van die praktyk beskryf. paul finch se bydrae is ’n intelligente skrywe oor samewerking. die essayss word nie opeenvolgende aangebied nie, maar in lae gekleure stroke op die boen onderkant van bladsye met grafieke in die teks ingedeel onder die titels: privaat/publiek, konteks, lig/ruimte en proses. ’n mens moet aanvanklik die irritasie rondom hierdie manier van uiteensetting oorkom om die belangrikheid van die abk storie te besef. sleutelwoorde: britse argitekte, ahrends, burton, koralek kommentaar • commentary 62 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) t he thrust of the editor’s overview is that we must see abk’s work as an illustrative example of critical modernism. in all branches of humanities there always is a disjunction between intellectual reading of works and the outlook of their authors and architecture is no exception. thus, only exceptionally architects would use terms such as critical modernism, minimalism, critical regionalism and even deconstruction to describe their work. and, yet architecture, more than any other discipline, reveals a parallel between the prevailing intellectual concerns at any point in time and the output of leading practitioners. here are three examples: a) the affinity between nietzsche’s view that artistic creativity is the transforming vehicle of mankind’s being as a mode of becoming and the energetic works of lecorbusier b) the parallel between aalto’s thinking and the philosophy of ‘vitalism’ and c) the common ground between louis kahn’s views on architecture and phenomenology. it would thus appear that in the case of abk there is a parallel between their work and habermas’s views on the modernist project.1 in recent years, habermas has debated his commitment to the ‘incomplete project of modernity’ with lyotard, who supports a more reactionary ‘postmodern avant-garde’. this celebrated debate gave rise to a wide body of critical commentary and, in the process, it became clear that habermas and lyotard’s cultural position are not as opposed as one might think. a certain blurring of the boundaries between their conceptions of the modern and the postmodern is possible. architectural postmodernism has, however, (and particularly in this country) stubbornly remained ignorant of these and other important intellectual debates. consequently much contempory architectural thought posses a trite set of criticisms against the failures of the modern movement, but is often hard-pressed to provide truly critical alternatives to the status quo. for instance, the widespread commitment to an orthodoxy of contextual design nevertheless finds itself re-working the same tired ‘disney world’ architecture on a global scale. as social critics, we may be excused for thinking that postmodern design now represents the ‘second 1 having said that one would have thought this parallel would help to avoid the usual schism between the academic world and the professional world. in fact this not the case us revealed by peter ahrends short-lived stay as the head at bartlett school of architecture in london. it is a pity that the authors of this monograph do not probe this episode, as it would have helped ways in which academia and the profession could resolve their quarrels. 63 jonathan noble & pattabi g. raman • the architecture of abk international style’ of the current globalising age. if architectural postmodernism has tended to overstate and confuse its own relation with the modern project, then a turn to habermas’s thought might provide a useful way to re-imagine what a contemporary, critical architecture could be like. the so-called ‘discourse ethics’ initiated by habermas, and more recently modified and extended by his sympathetic critics, requires a democratic politics to be framed upon a principle of ethical recepricosity. this participatory politics is one based upon a procedural rather normative conception human value. a procedural conception of value requires a social discourse which operates within a radically open terrain. radical openness needs an equally open, creative engagement with the particularities of each circumstance. if we apply this to architecture, we will require a mode of design practice which is sensitive to the unique needs of each social situation. the historicising debates of style characterized by postmodernism, as well as the reductive design repertoire based upon the artistic hero worship which plagued orthodox modernism, would need to be replaced by a more open-ended and flexible engagement with society at large. essentially the modernist project of habermas argues that orthodoxy of any kind, be it the mechanical functionalism of the modern movement, or the static style grammas of the post moderns, are constructs which distort and disturb the assumed openness of human communication. one immediately sees resonance of this in abk’ approach to architecture. no other practice has attempted to base its architecture on an uninhibited communication with clients as much as they have done. this they do without being too voluble about in-terms such as participation. their project for cummins engine factory at shotts in scotland is a supreme example of full involvement of management and workforce in all design decisions (figure 1). abk’s defense of this enlightenment concept of modernity carries a political import of some weight, especially in peter ahrend’s thinking. hence his involvement in anti-apartheid movement and the formation of architects’ support group for south africa. socio-political engagement of this kind is not a highly valued in the anglo-saxon world and hence the book hardly mentions it. be that as it may, paul finch does highlight the ability of abk to derive their design conceptions through an intense 64 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) exchange with clients, no matter what their socio-cultural backgrounds are. academia, municipalities, commercial world, visual arts, government organisations, health boards, ecologists, clergy and diplomatic world are some of the clients with whom abk have exercised the habermasian openness of communication and developed a body of highly acclaimed work. however, finch points out one instance where there was a severe break down of communication and this was in their project for the extension of the national gallery in london. finch attributes this to the shotgun marriage between the world of visual arts and a property speculator as clients and to some extent the ignorance of the british establishment. amusingly, he describes the famous intervention of prince charles, namely his one-liner, that the design was a ‘monstrous carbuncle’ (on the face of a much loved and elegant friend) had been borrowed from a novelette by his wife’s step-mother dame barbara cartland, and had the same level of intellectual rigour. abk’s work represents a quite but vigilant critique of the dogma and excesses perpetuated in the name of scientific functionalism. there is also a resonance of habermas’s doubts about an exclusively technological thinking. like him, they do not believe that emphasis on tradition alone would provide an effective opposition to technologism, for tradition too can be unwittingly blind to values that are not its own. therefore, once the claims of an authority of tradition are raised, the user of that tradition need not use it passively but can reappropriate it by means of critical involvement and extend its claims. only a moment of reflection on the way abk used timber building tradition in their hook park project reveals the benefits of this line of thinking (figure 2). other examples of appropriation of tradition and extension through critical engagement are provided by abk’s projects in collegiate settings such as the interventions at trinity college dublin (figure 3), theological college at chichester (figure 4), and keble college in oxford (figure 5). an extension of the very modernist tradition of freestanding blocks to provide plenty of light and air is their attempt to reconcile this with a respect for street and it can be seen in their building for the british embassy in moscow (figure 6). the latent intensions of the authors of this monograph are to explain abk’s work in terms of the modernist project and by and large they succeed. kenneth powel in his over view uses the term critical modernism to hint at the fact that abk’s work transcended the familiar one-dimensional functionalist modernism, its rather dogmatic outlook on form, structure, materials and expression. the unswervingly consistent use of the principles of modern architecture with openness and a sense of freedom is what distinguishes abk’s work from those of their british contemporaries like denys lasdun, james stirling, edward cullinan, norman foster, richard rogers and michael hopkins. one always sensed tinges of dogma in denys lasdun’s work. the london architects always used to say that stirling’s architecture changed according to who his chief assistant was. this small talk might come across as being cruel, but there is here an element of truth. serious and exceptionally committed professional though cullinan is, his work often verges on the romantic and often dominated by details. not surprisingly, in a workshop organised by one of the author’s of this review, henri ciriani posed the rhetoric question “why everything in british architecture is detail?” abk also eschew the euphoria of the so-called high technology, as they know fully well that it degenerates into a mere style. looking at recent developments in high-technology architecture, one often wonders whether the battle of style is being reenacted in a different guise. for instance an outsider might be forgiven for asking whether jean nouvel is more stylish than forster. the answer could well be, yes, in exactly the same way a french apple pie looks better than the english one, although it was the invention of the latter and often one does not even care which tastes better. it is no coincidence that paul koralek often refers to ananda kumara svami’s views that styles are not the essence but incidents of art. the eastern outlook of not allowing technology to be an end itself but means to ends is also firmly embedded in abk’s thinking. jeremy melvin hints at this when he discusses richard burton’s aa study of ottoman architecture and his bold and youthful assertion that in some ways they may be superior to byzantine (after all, the flying buttresses added to hagia sophia disturbed the great ottoman architect sinan because he preferred the idea of harmony of parts rather than structural expression) and these views were probably 65 jonathan noble & pattabi g. raman • the architecture of abk 66 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) reinforced when the three partners studied persian architecture with the benefit of a travel scholarship. hopkins’s work of course began with an unwavering faith in high technology in his own charles eames inspired and perhaps overrefined house. it went through a different phase in works like mellor cutlery factory, lords cricket ground and braken house, which were hybrids of high technology and conventional construction. the next phase was the glyndebourne opera house, which for all intents and purposes was traditional construction with load-bearing brick using lime mortar. if these developments cannot be construed as inconsistency at least they represent changes of heart. the authors attempt to show how abk avoided dogma, waywardness, obsessive detailing, technology as an end in itself as opposed to it being a means to ends (see figure 7), opportune shifts in direction and so on. in the end melvin’s essay throws the most light on the secrets of abk’s success. he attributes a great deal to their formation as architects. all three had connections to modernist ethos. but they were fortunate not to be inculcated into a purely rational outlook, the hero-worshipping tendency of their colleagues (apparently their fellow students at the aa carried le corbusier on a podium round the bedford square after he gave a lecture) and were taught by personalities such as arthur korn who instilled in them the view that emotions are essential determinants of design. the book is very important as a demonstration of the unrealized emancipatory potential of the modernist project. perhaps because, nearly all abk’s buildings have been published in leading journals of the calibre of the architectural review, which in itself is no mean feat, the book includes very few plans and sections of buildings. one particularly misses them when the authors come out with statements like koralek felt that the best thing about the trinity college library project was its plan. let us hope this defect will be remedied in future editions. let us also hope the notion of “modernist project” will be probed more deeply. captions for the images figures 1-7 are to read as follows: 67 jonathan noble & pattabi g. raman • the architecture of abk figure 2: hooke park college, dorset. timber building tradition interpreted to suit the context and materials available. figure 1: cummins engines factory, scotland. the factory has views to landscape outside. the lay-by areas are for seating during breaks. 68 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) figure 3: trinity college library, dublin. the modernist block is an extension of the collegiate tradition of a quadrangular disposition of buildings. figure 4: theological college, chichester. modern architecture of abk takes its proper place in this beautiful garden setting. 69 jonathan noble & pattabi g. raman • the architecture of abk figure 5: keble college, oxford. traditional courts reinterpreted with student social areas exploiting the views to well maintained garden areas. figure 6: british embassy, moscow. it attempts to reconcile modernist tradition of free standing buildings to gain plenty of fresh air and light with a respemct for streetscape. figure 7: dockland light rail station. designed to be used as a kit of parts for all stations. acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 70 149 manya mooya the south african property industry: overview and issues for research peer reviewed abstract the south african property industry is unique in that it has both ‘first’and ‘third’-world characteristics in close juxtaposition. this article engages with two related questions. first, it provides an overview of the defining characteristics of the south african property industry. secondly, it outlines key issues for research arising from these characteristics. the article therefore assesses the possibility of defining and projecting, in global terms, a sufficiently distinct south african property research programme. keywords: property industry, research, south africa abstrak die suid-afrikaanse eiendomsindustrie is uniek in die opsig dat dit beide eerste en derde wêreldeienskappe aangrensend tot mekaar toon. hierdie artikel spreek twee vrae aan. eerstens verskaf dit ‘n oorsig oor die karaktereienskappe van die suid-afrikaanse eiendomsbedryf. tweedens gee die artikel rigting oor sleutelkwessies vir navorsing wat ontstaan het uit die karaktereienskappe. die artikel assesseer die moontlikheid van definiering en projekteer, in globale terme, ‘n voldoende suid-afrikaanse navorsingsprogram. sleutelwoorde: eiendomsmark, navorsing, suid-afrika 1. introduction south africa occupies an interesting position both in africa and the world. the south african economy dwarfs that of its immediate neighbours both in sheer size and the sophistication of its supporting technical and professional infrastructure. for example, south africa is only one of over fifty african countries, yet its economy contributes 19% to the total african economy, one-third of sub-saharan africa’s and nearly two-thirds of the regional southern african development community (sadc) gross domestic product (mooya, 2007: 9). the south african property industry for its part is unique in that it has both ‘first’and ‘third’-world characteristics in close juxtaposition. thus, on the one hand, there is a highly sophisticated and highly ‘westernised’ industry which in many respects is on par with the best dr manya m. mooya department of construction economics and management university of cape town private bag x3 rondebosch 7701 south africa. phone: +27(0) 21 650 3443 email: <manya.mooya@uct.ac.za> acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 150 in the world. on the other, there is a large section of the property industry with characteristics more in common with those of its african neighbours and developing countries more generally. curiously, however, and as mooya (2007: 9) argues, the contribution of south africa to the growth of ‘mainstream’ property knowledge in africa does not reflect this dominance, or its position as a meeting point for developed and developing countries. indeed post-apartheid south africa has only had a small amount of property-related research published in international journals (newell, acheampong & du plessis, 2002: 279). in a recent paper mooya (2007: 9) explains this deficit in terms of the historical development of property education in the country, as well as decades of international isolation arising from its apartheid past. against this background, this article has two principal objectives. first, it provides an overview of the south african property industry. secondly, it outlines the key issues for research within the south african property industry. the aim is to highlight both the potential for research generally and specific research areas which might be of interest to both local and international scholars. the article is organised into five sections. the next section examines key contextual issues affecting the south african property industry. section 3 discusses the characteristics of the main sectors of the south african property industry. drawing on insights provided in previous sections, section 4 attempts to articulate a south african property research agenda. this section presents key research issues, as well as a brief review of the state of property research in south africa. section 5 offers concluding comments. 2. the south african property industry in context in trying to explain the south african property industry, one can best describe its characteristics by adopting a comparative approach. in this regard, comparing the broad context in which the south african property industry is located to that of the developed western countries, is instructive. the latter provide useful comparators as they are often held up as examples of industry maturity and best practice. in this regard three key contextual issues are argued as impacting on the south african property industry: economic and social transformation, economic duality and institutional pluralism, and the status of the country as an emerging economy. mooya • the south african property industry 151 2.1 transformation south african society has been undergoing a process of significant transformation since the end of enforced racial segregation in 1994. under apartheid, there was not only spatial and cultural segregation between the races, but the majority of the black population were also not allowed to own freehold property for the most part. in addition, their participation in the property industry, either as entrepreneurs, consumers or professionals, was severely restricted. the end of apartheid in 1994 therefore left in its wake an overwhelmingly whiteowned, -controlled, and -managed property industry. in an attempt to redress these historical inequities the south african state has been engaged in a proactive and wide-ranging, if not controversial, programme of socio-economic transformation. a raft of policy and legislative interventions has been devised in an attempt to generate increased participation by black people in all facets of the property industry. as in the remainder of south african society, affirmative action and employment equity policies have sought to change the demographic profile of the industry to bring it in line with the demographics of the country. this has effectively meant trying to increase the number of black people employed in the industry at all levels. similarly, there are attempts at trying to broaden the ownership structure of the industry by means of policies on black economic empowerment (bee) and the promotion of a ‘property charter’. finally, through its policy on preferential procurement, the government has been trying to leverage its considerable spending power to try and assist black-owned businesses to grow and enter the mainstream. south african society is transforming in yet other subtle, autonomous ways. for instance, increased access to educational opportunities and professional careers as a result of by the end of apartheid has created space for the emergence of a significant black middle class, the so called ‘black diamonds’. this educated and increasingly affluent group is already having a noticeable impact on the property industry, an impact that will in all probability increase in the future. 2.2 economic duality and institutional pluralism the property industry can be described as a ‘network of rules, conventions and relationships which collectively represents the system through which property is used and traded’ (keogh & d’arcy, 1999: 2408). thus the industry can properly be conceived in institutional terms. keogh & d’arcy (1999: 2407) illustrate a threelevel hierarchy for the institutional analysis of the property industry acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 152 (table 1). at the topmost level the property industry exists within an institutional framework defined by the political, social, economic and legal rules whereby the society in question is organised. at the next level, the property industry itself can be considered an institution with a range of characteristics which determine its structure, scope and functions. at the bottom level, the main organisations which operate in the market can be considered in terms of the way they are structured and the way they change. higher levels structure lower levels, with lower levels, in turn, influencing the way the higher levels evolve. table 1: the institutional structure of the property industry the institutional environment political institutions social institutions economic institutions legal institutions the property industry asiinstitution market (and non-market aspects) decentralised and informal legal and conventional aspects of property rights legal and conventional aspects of land use and development property industry organisations users investors developers property service providers financial service providers professional bodies government and non-government agencies source: adapted from keogh & d’arcy 1999: 2407 by institutional pluralism is meant the situation one finds in many developing countries where generally similar activities may be mediated by completely different and parallel institutions. this gives rise to a duality, encapsulated in terms such as ‘first and second economies’, or ‘formal and informal sectors’. the former tend to derive their legitimacy from positive law and the latter from popular practice. the latter may or may not be illegal. mooya • the south african property industry 153 in trying to characterise the south african property industry therefore, one must be aware of the fact that there are, broadly speaking, at least two such industries. on the one hand, the formal regulated industry, with its legislation, professional bodies, and so on. on the other, the unregulated informal industry. the latter may not appear in official statistics but its output can be observed in the form of sprawling informal settlements. while this duality is not a uniquely south african phenomenon, nowhere in the world is the contrast between the two perhaps more stark. 2.3 emerging economy status south africa is classified as an emerging economy, one that is making the transition from the status of being a developing country to that of being a developed one. it belongs to a category of countries that include brazil, india, china and the group of countries collectively named the ‘asian tigers’. these economies are often characterised by rapid economic growth. this growth tends to find expression in increased investment and output in all sectors, including in the property industry. emerging economies therefore tend to provide enhanced opportunities for the property sector. how then does the south african economy score as an emerging one? on the plus side of the balance sheet the country has, by all accounts, a world-class sophisticated financial services infrastructure. this is anchored on a well-regulated and liquid banking sector, and stock markets. in addition, there is a basic macro-economic and political stability. the country therefore offers good opportunities for property investors and developers, in terms of finance and investment options, for example, in a well-regulated environment. on the negative side there are stubbornly low levels of economic growth (circa 4%) and high levels of unemployment (circa 30%). in terms of income distribution, south africa is one of the most unequal in the world, with a gini coefficient of 0.679 reported to be the worst in the world (pressly, 2009: 1). poverty is widespread, explaining in part the high crime levels in the country. low levels of economic growth, widespread unemployment and high levels of income inequality tend to affect the south african property industry negatively. overall, the south african economy is an uneasy mixture of the ‘first’ and ‘third’ world. this is an economy, however, with a great deal of upside potential. recent government efforts aimed at increasing gdp growth rates to at least 6% per annum (considered the minimum necessary to deal with endemic poverty) have the potential, if successful, of transforming the property sector. as acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 154 part of this programme, billions of rands are being spent on major infrastructure programmes. accelerated economic growth, reduced unemployment and reduced income inequality should result in a huge increase in demand for homes, offices, industries, shops and other properties. the foregoing discussion has endeavoured to place the south african property industry in context. relative to our reference frame, this is a context characterised by fundamental social, economic and political transitions. this is a context where the juxtaposition of the ‘first’ and ‘third’, of the formal and informal, of africa and the west creates tensions and contradictions, as well as opportunities and challenges. this in short is a context alive with opportunities for scholars to engage in pioneering work. 3. characteristics of the south african property industry this section attempts to describe the characteristics of the south african property industry and highlights key issues affecting it. the focus is on the formal regulated sector, mainly because there is more information in the public domain about the formal industry. however, one must always bear in mind that there is a significant informal property industry in south africa, one that provides many opportunities for academic inquiry. 3.1 analytical frameworks in trying to characterise the structure of the south african property industry two analytical frameworks are employed. the first framework focuses on the organisational structure of the property industry and involves explicit considerations of the actors or organisations that collectively constitute the property industry (d’arcy & keogh, 1996: 12). in terms of institutional analysis, this organisational structure reflects, or is an outcome of, the institutional environment within which the property industry lies. table 2 shows the organisational structure of the property industry. thus, typically, three main categories of organisations are found in the property industry. first, the principal market actors, namely investors, developers and users of space are responsible for the core property market activity in the capital, development and space markets, respectively. secondly, the service providers to the main market actors include various consultancy services such as valuation, estate agency and information brokerage. finally, the banking and mooya • the south african property industry 155 financial services providers. due to the centrality of credit in the proper functioning of the property industry, this category stands on its own and is of great importance. the second framework is derived from what has been called the ‘mature market paradigm’. this approach views the property industry as evolutionary, with a tendency towards increased maturity. the advanced western countries are perceived as exemplars of property industry maturity. according to this paradigm, mature property markets exhibit six characteristics (armitage & keogh, 1996: 3): accommodation of a full range of use and investment • objectives, generally through the development of diverse property products. flexible market adjustment in the short and long run, implying • effective trade and the ability to react to new information and opportunities. a sophisticated property profession with its associated • institutions and networks, generally regulated by law or professional codes of practice. extensive information flows and research activity, serving the • requirements of a flexible market and frequently developed as an adjunct of professional activity. market openness in spatial, functional and sectoral terms, • allowing markets participants to operate across such boundaries and aiding the transmission of information throughout the market. standardisation of property rights and market practice, • meeting the need for greater certainty about the nature of the property interests traded in the market, in an environment where the range of tradeable property rights has become much broader. these two frameworks combined provide a useful heuristic device with which both the static and dynamic aspects of the south african property industry could be analysed. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 156 table 2: the organisational structure of the property industry a. market actors investors developers users b. property service providers structure of the sector activities c. financial service providers the banking sector financial institutions and markets source: adapted from d’arcy & keogh 1996: 23 3.2 characteristics of the south african property industry as in many countries, the south african property investment market is dominated by insurance companies, pension funds, listed property trusts and property companies (newell et al., 2002: 284). the majority of investors are domestic but there has been increasing foreign interest since the end of apartheid in 1994. in terms of investment options, there is a choice between direct or physical property and indirect or listed property. the country has significant amounts of world-class investment-grade office, retail, industrial, residential and leisure property in the major commercial centres such as cape town, johannesburg and durban. the indirect property investment sector is, however, relatively small and unsophisticated. the listed property sector on the jse is small, lacks liquidity and product diversity. unlike some asian countries with more or less similar economic conditions, the country is yet to see the introduction of real estate investments trusts (reits). a number of measures for the performance of property as an investment are available. these include the sapoa/ipd property index, the absa house price index, the jse overall index, the property trust sub-index and the property companies sub-index. property development has been enjoying a boom in south africa over the past years, fuelled by relatively low interest rates and mooya • the south african property industry 157 high consumer spending, a boom that only came to an end in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008. the development sector appears to be well served with the entire range of players speculative developers, investor developers, and the government. the role of government in the property development industry in south africa is particularly significant. it is a large player in the development of low-income housing, developing millions of units over the past years. this programme is ongoing, as are new initiatives for massive spending on infrastructure development. this development market is of course predicated on sufficient demand in the space market. this market is fairly well developed with varying levels of user sophistication. the space market provides significant opportunities in property/facilities management. the property service sector is something of a mixed bag. on the positive side, the property sector is served by world-class financial services, based on a well-regulated and liquid banking sector. all the major banks have significant exposure to property. in addition, it is possible to raise both equity and debt finance on the jse. the property industry is also served by well-established consulting firms and professional associations. one of these, the south african property owners association (sapoa), represents companies which control about 90% of commercial and industrial property in the country (ndaba, 2010: online). there are, however, areas of concern such as the capacity for highlevel investment/management consultancy and research the south african property industry has a problem with availability of highly trained property professionals, a problem that may be attributed to the fact that tertiary level education in property is both of recent origin (see mooya, 2007: 13) and of variable quality. there are very few independent consulting firms capable of providing high-level property advice. research output from south african universities in property is still relatively low, in comparison to construction management (see below, and mooya, 2007: 16), with the majority of the property research taking place, being of the industry type and to a large extent done by the commercial banks. 4. implications for property research this section first outlines the key issues for a south african research agenda and then provides an overview of the state of property research in south africa. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 158 4.1 key issues for research economic dualism and institutional pluralism provide opportunities for comparative research regarding the functioning of the property industry under parallel alternative institutional arrangements, as well as the extent and nature of linkages existing between these. of crucial importance is a better understanding of the informal property industry in south africa. this is one area where south africa may have a comparative advantage for research in global terms, because of its relative wealth, on the one hand, and the existence within its territory of a large informal sector, on the other. like many developing countries questions, for instance, concerning the numerical size of the informal sector, the volumes of transactions, the sums of money involved, the amount of land changing hands, the general pattern of the distribution of land transactions, land prices, or land values have not been satisfactorily answered (doebele, 1994: 50; kironde, 2000: 151). similarly, little is known about the behaviour of the actors, the incentives and constraints they face, the cost of exchange that they incur and the mechanisms whereby exchange is facilitated (mooya & cloete, 2007: 160). in particular, little systematic attention has been paid to the role of informal institutions that allow the informal property industry to function regardless of government regulation (pamuk, 2000: 380; rakodi & leduka, 2003: 3). it is of interest to find out how, comparatively speaking, the problem of exchange in informal property markets is resolved in institutional terms and the resulting incentives and constraints. the imperative of transformation in the broader south african society presents specific challenges, as well as opportunities and risks, to the property industry. transformation in the property industry has or will have, broadly speaking, equity and efficiency effects, both of which require investigation. research efforts on the equity dimension should be directed at the extent to which the industry is transforming, relative to set criteria. targets such as those set by the draft property charter (south africa. department of public works, n.d.) provide a useful framework. the nature of these targets, their levels, the mechanisms for, and progress towards their attainment raise a range of research questions. on the other hand, transformation will have implications for the productivity and competitiveness of the property industry. it is reasonable to expect that altered skills profiles, ownership patterns and management styles will have efficiency effects, especially if transformation is rapid and deep. these effects would manifest themselves in types, levels and quality of output in investment, mooya • the south african property industry 159 development and management. these effects are as likely to be positive as negative and therefore a priority research issue. research should dispassionately examine these issues for both established and emerging industry players. the property industry, transformed or not, represents a vital national asset whose overall efficiency is a matter of some importance. the effects of government activities on the property industry present numerous opportunities for research. the fundamental research question deals with the issue of what is the proper role of government in the property industry. this, of course, is the property variant to the state-market debate. thus the state may, at one extreme, decide to be directly involved in the industry as investor, developer or manager of property. at the other extreme, it may leave all these activities to the private sector, restricting itself to ensuring that the necessary environment exists for equity and free and fair competition. there is evidence to suggest that the south african government is gravitating towards the state end of the state-market continuum as it assumes the mantle of the ‘developmental state’. in this context a number of research questions may arise. for instance, specific government policies and programmes may be reviewed to assess the extent to which they are meeting their objectives. the way these policies and programmes are being implemented, their direct and indirect effects and their sustainability are some of the issues that could be addressed. the current programme to build millions of new houses provides a good example for illustration purposes. typical research questions would include: what is the most cost-effective way of procuring these houses? are targeting mechanisms adequate to ensure only intended beneficiaries actually get the homes? what is the best method of distributing such housing? what impact does this programme have on small and medium developers and contractors? what linkages are created in the rest of the industry and economy? what impacts arise from rapid increases in housing stock on rents and capital values of old stock in targeted markets segments? the point being emphasised here is that the effects of government activities on the property industry are not always benign. on the contrary, they have the potential for causing very significant systemic impacts. for this reason, these activities must be carefully analysed. the functioning and performance of the south african property industry provide ample opportunities for research. in terms of property investment, recent development property prices draw attention to the performance of property as an asset. questions acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 160 concerning the performance of property as an asset class cannot be answered without an understanding of the relationship between macroand micro-economic variables and property prices. this calls for fundamental research on the underlying basis of property prices and the modelling of these relationships in specific contexts. the performance of property as an investment calls for comparative analyses, within the property sector, across asset classes and market areas. the need to understand the performance of property as an investment calls for generating and refining of property performance indicators. existing indices, such as the sapoa/ipd index, need to be subjected to ongoing review, in terms of sampling methodology, valuation methods and weighting of underlying property, to ensure that they remain relevant and valid. additional indices may need to be constructed for market segments or property types presently not covered by existing indices. investors often hold property as part of a mixed-asset portfolio. in this regard, the contribution of property to the risk-return profile of entire portfolios is important. this means the role of property in investment and the diversification strategies of south african investors should be investigated. listed property is increasingly becoming the preferred option for investing in property, partly because of the liquidity advantages it offers. with a total market capitalisation of approximately r118 billion (catalyst fund managers, 2010: 2), the size of the south african listed property market is relatively small by world standards. in addition, the extent to which the product offerings in this market are able to meet the requirements of investors, in particular international ones, is not at all clear. these may be more accustomed to, and therefore expect, a diversity of products whose complexity is only limited by the ingenuity of merchant bankers. as has been pointed out, the country is yet to introduce reit-type products. the relative poor performance of property markets in former black ‘townships’ points to the existence of structural problems in this sector. the absence of viable secondary markets in this segment, in particular, is a serious problem that needs urgent attention. without such markets, the full investment potential of township property cannot be realised. in addition, this makes it difficult to establish viable mortgage finance markets which, in turn, makes efforts aimed at ‘banking the unbankable’ that much harder. mooya • the south african property industry 161 the property development sector has its own set of issues that need investigating. because of the cyclical nature of much development activity, questions of risk management and timing are important. attempts to understand and model property development cycles therefore become necessary. efforts should be expanded to try and develop the necessary leading indicators for booms and busts. other research could deal with decision-making processes in property development or focus on available financing options and their impact on development profitability. yet other research could examine the extent to which the south african planning system affects property development activity. it is a well-known fact that the institution of planning, by directly affecting the supply of property, has a significant impact on development activity. additional questions could explore the linkages between development activity and other sectors of the economy. the final set of research issues in the development sector arises from the special circumstances of township markets. this is a market which is widely viewed as having a great deal of untapped potential. research should aim to shed more light on this potential, identifying the specific challenges, risks and opportunities available in this market segment. the property management sector, for its part, offers some opportunities for research. notable among these would be the impact of technology, both on management functions per se and on consumer behaviour. e-commerce, for example, has great potential to affect the level and type of demand for retail space. while south africa may be a continental leader in online shopping, anecdotal evidence points to relatively low uptake. the reasons for this need to be established. 4.2 state of property research in south africa this section briefly reviews the state of property research in south africa and is based mostly on work done previously by the author (mooya, 2007). mooya (2007: 16) used three sources as a basis for the review of south african property research. the first is the construction industry development board (cidb) database of research undertaken by higher education institutions in south africa. this database contains research information from twenty-five tertiary education departments specialising in architecture, construction management, quantity surveying, town and regional planning, surveying and engineering (hauptfleisch & marx, 2004: 351). virtually all the major universities are represented. in south africa, property acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 162 programmes are all housed in construction management and/or quantity surveying departments, themselves invariably located in engineering faculties. the second source is a keyword search of a major international online research database. the third source is an analysis of south african presence at international conferences devoted to property issues. this article adds a fourth source, the nrf nexus database of current and completed research projects to provide a wider perspective. combined, these four sources suggest that there is, relatively speaking, little property research taking place in south africa. table 3 shows, based on the cidb database, the total number of research projects in the built environment undertaken by south african universities, together with a proportion of those undertaken as part of faculty research and phds (mooya, 2007: 18). these two categories provide leading indicators of research that is likely to appear in peer-reviewed academic journals. the data shows that 19% of all property-related research at south african universities was at phd and faculty level. this compares to 31% for research in project and construction management. a closer examination of research titles further enhances the differences. of the seven ‘property’ topics only two can be regarded as unambiguously property-related. the remainder address typical quantity surveying/construction issues such as construction procurement and building cost indices. the same is true of topics under the category ‘general management’. the vast majority of these are addressing management issues relating to the construction industry and construction firms. thus the raw data tends to understate the research under project and construction management and overstate that under property. the data also indicates that there are significantly more projects in the categories ‘technology’ and ‘statutory and environmental’ in absolute terms. the majority of the research topics in the former category are ‘engineering’-related while in the latter the majority are ‘planning’-related. the conclusion therefore is that the majority of the research done in the built environment in south africa is either of engineering or planning nature. this dominance is further underscored when the proportions of doctoral and faculty research are expressed as proportions of total research in each category. thus nearly 43% and approximately 45% of research in ‘technology’ and ‘statutory and environmental’, respectively, are at this level. this compares to the 19% for property and 9.5% for housing. there is clearly considerable scope to increase the volume of propertyrelated research at doctoral and departmental level in south africa (mooya, 2007: 18). mooya • the south african property industry 163 table 3: research by category and level – cidb database category number of projects phd level department level total % project and construction management property housing general management education technology statutory and environmental 35 36 21 29 41 56 97 7 4 2 7 8 13 15 4 3 0 1 1 11 29 11 7 2 8 9 24 44 31 19 10 28 22 43 45 source: hauptfleisch & marx 2004: 349-374 mooya (2007: 19) notes with interest the relatively little ‘housing’ research. in fact no departmental research is listed under this category. this is surprising, given that this category encompasses housing development, informal settlements and government programmes, all providing plenty of opportunities for research. it is well known that south africa has a huge problem with proliferation of informal settlements. in addition, as pointed out earlier, the south african government has been engaged in large-scale housing programmes as part of redressing the effects of apartheid. an analysis of the nrf nexus database of completed and current research projects broadly corroborates the finding of relatively little research in both property and housing. a search using the above categories as keywords in the ‘titles, subjects and abstracts’ fields was done, yielding the data presented in tables 4 and 5 where table 4 indicates the results for completed research projects and table 5 shows the results for research projects in process. the nrf database is much wider than the cidb database, and, crucially, includes research projects done outside the ‘built environment’ and the 25 higher educational institutions surveyed by hauptfleisch & marx (2004: 351). the two databases are therefore not directly comparable, with the categories not necessarily completely corresponding with each other. they nevertheless paint a similar picture. thus, as table 4 shows, only 2% of the 54,614 projects completed across the seven categories are ‘property’and ‘housing’-related, compared to 10% for ‘project or construction’. similarly, only 1% of the 10,487 current projects across the seven categories are ‘property’and ‘housing’related, compared to 7% for ‘project or construction’. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 164 table 4: completed research by category and level – nrf nexus database completed phd masters non-degree % project or construction 5689 971 4343 375 10 property 956 211 713 31 2 housing 982 129 797 55 2 management 19110 2599 17022 285 35 education 19030 4274 14210 544 35 technology 3482 687 2710 84 6 statutory or environmental 5365 1129 4108 126 10 source: nrf nexus database accessed 30 october 2010 table 5: current research by category and level – nrf nexus database current phd masters non-degree % project or construction 744 81 262 401 7 property 126 31 82 13 1 housing 148 35 93 20 1 management 3734 862 2449 421 36 education 4870 1341 3054 473 46 technology 865 162 385 317 8 statutory or environmental 1547 331 771 444 source: nrf nexus database accessed 30 october 2010 based on the methodology used by mooya (2007: 21) an attempt was made to determine and update the relative levels of south african property research that have been published in international peer-reviewed journals, using a keyword search of a major academic online research database. as mooya (2007: 21) observes, this is rather difficult as one can never be certain of the universe to be examined. the words ‘real estate’ and ‘south africa’ in the ‘subject terms’, or ‘title’ or ‘abstract’ fields were chosen to search for publications. the search was limited to peer-reviewed articles only, published between 1980 and 2010. an initial decision to use ‘property’ was abandoned as the word is relevant to many areas, such as intellectual property. ‘land’ similarly generated several invalid publications. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 166 of these societies are appropriate indicators of research interests in the region. an examination of these conferences shows very little south african presence, even in the regional african real estate society (afres), where its influence is not commensurate with its economic dominance. another series of conferences of note are the world bank urban research symposia of which four have been held. an examination of papers presented at the 2002 symposium shows that three out of 48 papers were about south africa, but none of these were property-related. for the 2003 conference the equivalent statistic is two out of 52 papers, again none of the south african papers being property-related. the 2005 and 2007 symposia had no representation from south africa. virtually all other emerging economies had representation (mooya, 2007: 22). it is important to stress that a distinction is being made between property/real estate conferences, on the one hand, and construction/ quantity surveying conferences, on the other. the contribution of south african researchers at international construction/quantity surveying conferences, such as rics, ciob, cobra, icec, pqas, aaqs, and aace, and so on is without question much more significant. in general, however, these conferences tend not to be the preferred outlet for leading property/real estate research. 5. conclusions and recommendations this article had two principal objectives, namely to describe the defining characteristics of the south african property industry and to discuss the implications for research arising from these characteristics. it was apparent from the article that many of the research issues identified in south africa are broadly similar to those facing researchers in the ‘mature’ industries of western countries. this is particularly the case for issues involving property investment, development and management in the ‘formal industry’. the context might be different, but the question and possibly the answers are similar. the creation of new knowledge in these circumstances, while not impossible, is much harder and south africa would have to compete in crowded, possibly over-researched arenas. south africa, however, ‘is’ different. the transformation process, institutional pluralism and emerging economy status create a specific context for the south african property industry. this is a context characterised by rapid change, a context where contradictions and tensions abound. this is a context where “first and third worlds mooya • the south african property industry 167 converge, challenge and undo each other” (jacobson, 2005: 17). this is a context where a thriving informal property industry exists uneasily besides a thriving first-world formal one. this context creates the opportunity to forge a distinctly south african, or more broadly, an african property research programme. the article has shown that, while opportunities for research abound, more needs to be done to increase property research coming out of south africa. the country therefore provides considerable scope for local and international scholars of property to engage in pioneering research. a number of issues need to be considered in order to both take advantage of south africa’s context and project on the global stage a distinctly south african property research agenda. first, there needs to be consensus established on what comparative advantage south african research might have on the world stage. south african property research is unlikely to make much international impact if it does not focus on those areas for which local researchers are uniquely placed to explore. it is suggested that areas at the boundary of developed and developing economies provide potential for such comparative advantage. perhaps an appropriate overarching research theme in this context is the role of property in poverty alleviation and economic development. this necessarily requires south african researchers to focus on the problems of low-income/informal property markets. as this article has highlighted, key areas for research in this area include the functioning of property markets under informal and formal institutional contexts, the linkages and comparisons between the two, and the resultant socio-economic effects. given the central role which the state plays in a ‘developmental state’, the relationship between the state and property markets is a matter that should receive greater attention. secondly, it is recommended that south african higher education institutions give greater recognition to property/real estate as a distinct and separate discipline from construction management and quantity surveying. two practical steps can give effect to this. one is to rename the respective ‘construction’ departments by adding ‘real estate’ or ‘property’ to their titles. second is to encourage greater participation in mainstream property/real estate (as opposed to construction/quantity surveying) research conferences. relatedly, there should be more south african property research placed in international mainstream property journals. these two measures should assist the property discipline to emerge out of the acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 168 shadows of the construction/quantity surveying ‘parent’ discipline in south africa. this, in turn, should raise the profile of south african property research. references armitage, l. & keogh, g. 1996. the bangkok property market: an application of the mature market paradigm to an emergent market in the asean tegion. aberdeen papers in land economy, discussion paper no. 96-03, department of land economy, university of aberdeen. catalyst fund managers. 2010. listed property sector monthly overview: august 2010 [online]. available from: <www.catalyst. co.za> [accessed: 17 october 2010]. d’arcy, e. & keogh, g. 1996. property market analysis: an institutional approach. paper presented at the university of connecticut/areuea international real estate conference, orlando, florida, may 23-25. ebsco research databases. 2010. online information resources provided by ebsco publishing. doebele, w.a. 1994. urban land and macroeconomic development. in: jones, g. & ward, p.m. (eds.). methodology for land and housing market analysis. cambridge: massachusetts lincoln institute of land policy, pp. 44-54. hauptfleisch, d. & marx, h. 2004. categorisation of postgraduate research in built environment in south africa. proceedings of the 2nd cidb postgraduate student conference, cape town, october 10-12, pp. 348-374. jacobson, c. 2005. the heartbeat of the nation. sunday times, september 18, p.17. keogh, g. & d’arcy. e. 1999. property market efficiency: an institutional economics perspective. urban studies, 36(2), pp. 24012414. kironde, j.m.l. 2000. understanding land markets in african urban areas: the case of dar es salaam, tanzania. habitat international, 24(2), pp. 151-165. leitmann, j. & baharoglu, d. 1999. reaching turkey’s spontaneous settlement: the institutional dimensions of infrastructure provision. international planning studies, 4(2), pp. 195-212. mooya • the south african property industry 169 mooya, m.m. 2007. the impact of property education on property research in south africa: a review. rics research paper series, 7(6), pp. 9-32. mooya, m.m. & cloete, c.e. 2007. informal urban property markets and poverty alleviation: a conceptual framework. urban studies, 44(1), pp. 147-165. ndaba, d. 2010. questions remain over property owner connections. engineering news [online edition 12 february]. available from: <www.engineeringnews.co.za> [accessed: 30 october 2010]. newell, g., acheampong, p. & du plessis, p. 2002. the real estate markets in south africa. journal of real estate literature, 10(2), pp. 279-294. nrf nexus database. 2010. a database funded by the national research foundation of south africa. pamuk, a. 2000. informal institutional arrangements in credit, land markets and infrastructure delivery in trinidad. international journal of urban and regional research, 24(2), pp. 379-396. pressly, d. 2009. south africa has widest gap between rich and poor. business report [online edition 28 september]. available from: <www.busrep.co.za> [accessed 17 october 2010]. rakodi, c. & leduka, c. 2003. informal land delivery processes and access to land for the poor in six african cities: towards a conceptual framework. working paper 1. university of birmingham. schulte, k. 2003. the role of investment and finance in real estate education and research throughout the world. property management, 21(1), pp. 97-113. south africa. department of public works. n.d. property sector transformation charter [online]. available from: <www.publicworks. g o v . z a / p d f s / d o c u m e n t s / c h a r t e r s / p r o p e r t y _ c h a r t e r. p d f > [accessed: 18 october 2010]. andré j de villiers cognitive computing tools in architectural project management education: approach, process and evaluation peer reviewed abstract the teaching of project and practice management to architecture students doing professional masters degree programmes at the university of pretoria incorporates a variety of aspects related to planning, scheduling, finance, monitoring and control. in an effort to train future professionals in skills for the workplace, the module on practice management is using commercial off-theshelf software (cots) as cognitive tools for simulating real-world architectural management. this paper reports on and evaluates the process whereby students generate their own framework of inter-linked spreadsheets and scheduling charts and contextually apply it, within their personal thesis projects, to integrate key aspects of management and financial control. the tools are used to manipulate knowledge and their interactivity provides dynamic modelling for decision making and the exploration of alternatives. use of these cognitive management tools synergistically fosters cognition, reflection and comprehension of project management principles. students’ perspectives on the venture are evaluated, the findings reported and discussed, and minor adjustments suggested for future offerings of the module. keywords: architectural education, cognitive tools, commercial software, dynamic modelling, evaluation, practice management, project management 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles prof a.j. de villiers, department of architecture, university of pretoria, south africa. tel: +27 12 420 3090, fax: +27 12 420 5788, mobile: 082 577 7824, email: <andre.devilliers@up.ac.za> 2 acta structilia 2006:13(1) abstrak die dosering van projekbestuur vir argitekuurstudente in die professionele meestersgraad-programme aan die universiteit van pretoria sluit ’n verskeidenheid aspekte in wat verband hou met beplanning, skedulering, finansiering, monitering en beheer. in ’n poging om toekomstige professionele praktisyns vir die werkplek te bekwaam, word kommersieël beskikbare programmatuur as kognitiewe gereedskap in hierdie module in praktykbestuur aangewend om praktiese bestuur vir argitekte te simuleer. hierdie artikel doen daaroor verslag. die proses waar studente eie raamwerke van onderling verbinde spreitabelle en skeduleringskaarte formuleer, dit kontekstueel tot eie skripsieprojekte aanwend om sleutelkonsepte van bestuur en finansiële beheer te integreer, word evalueer. die gereedskap word gebruik om kennis te verteenwoordig en hulle wisselwerking voorsien dinamiese modulering vir besluitneming en die soeke na alternatiewes. die gebruik van hierdie kognitiewe gereedskap vir projekbestuur bevorder sinergetiese bewustheid, besinning en begrip vir die beginsels van projekbestuur. persepsies van studente oor die module word evalueer, verslag word oor die bevindings gedoen en bespreek en verstellings vir toekomstige aanbieding van die module word voorgestel. sleutelwoorde: argitektuur onderrig, dinamiese modelering, evaluering, kognitiewe gereedskap, kommersiële programmatuur, projekbestuur, praktykbestuur 1. v introduction and background ery little reflective research is undertaken on the use of software tools in the training of architecture students in practice and project management, as evidenced by the lack of literature on these issues. considerable attention is paid to the use of computer-aided planning, design and drafting (de villiers, 1998), although this is only one facet of architectural practice. of almost equal importance in the workplace is the need to effectively manage and operate a practice from day to day. in an effort to train future professionals in skills for the workplace, the module on project and practice management in architecture at the university of pretoria is using commercial off-the-shelf software (cots) as cognitive tools for simulating real-world architectural management. synergistically, use of such tools in an inter-linked manner, is an integrative cognitive methodology, combining various facets of project-, practiceand financial management and control. this educational approach is being developed and refined, and has been empirically evaluated in a survey among students. 1.1 professional context architectural education in south african (sa) universities is focused mainly on design and construction. however, the practical delivery process of producing buildings in the real world, outside the classroom, also involves legal, management and financial expertise. theoretical management courses are taught, but are inadequate for the practicalities of running a project in the workplace and for managing people, processes, time and money. management and control measures involving stakeholders, documentation and finance are under-addressed. the prevailing view is that exposure to practice during the statutorily-required two years after graduation, as ‘architect in training’, is adequate grounding. yet the profession in sa is experiencing a lack of management expertise, particularly among young architects who may be required to take responsibility and handle complex projects. financial constraints necessitate control measures to ensure financial viability of the practice. a particular concern is the lack of expertise in cost planning, monitoring and control of projects in the practice. this can lead to costly time overruns, ineffective utilisation of human resources, and inefficient time planning within the scope of available professional fees. 3 de villiers • cognitive computing tools south african architectural practices are generally well equipped with computer-aided design and drafting (cadd) software. however, unlike practice in europe, the united kingdom and north america, they do not make extensive use of commercial information technology for administration and management. although there are systems for managing businesses, accounting and projects, few are customised to the particular requirements of architectural practice and most are unaffordable for the small practices in sa, frequently in the order of three to five persons. discussions with several large and small practices in south africa indicate that computing tools such as spreadsheets and scheduling programs are used for independent administration and management applications. the software used tends to be general-purpose systems constructed from cots but, in smaller practices, expertise is generally lacking for creative and integrated application of such packages for project and practice management. 1.2 academic context the target learners are students doing the march (prof) and mlarch (prof), professional masters-degree programmes in architecture and landscape architecture respectively. the research relates to the module, practice management, with themes: 1 legislation related to the practitioner; 2 management of architectural or landscape architectural practice; and 3 employer-employee legislative framework and contractual relationships. this article mainly addresses the second theme, which incorporates: • the architect’s management and administration of projects in the practice; and • organisation, management and administration of an architectural practice. required outcomes are that students should be able to participate meaningfully in the management and administration of architecture practices and be able to set up and run a small practice. the aspects addressed in this paper relate mainly to the practical issues of allocating project staff and determining time schedules within 4 acta structilia 2006:13(1) an appropriate project cost framework. these aspects are then considered in terms of their impact on office cash flow. 1.3 the problem practice management courses in south african architectural schools, while teaching office and financial management do not generally deal with the specifics of planning and monitoring staff, time and costs on individual projects in a practice. these aspects are left to the post-university ‘architect in training’ period in a practice. this is unfortunate, because inadequate expertise in this area in real-world practice can rapidly impact on cash flow, often realised too late. there is therefore a need for innovative teaching strategies in professional practice management within formal university education – education that is constructive rather than prescriptive – as well as reflective research on the utility of such teaching approaches. this paper describes a 4-year effort to explore the use of readilyavailable cots for enhancing the learning of time and cost control of architectural projects and the associated management principles. the findings of a survey among learners provide information for reflective analysis on the cognitive and practical value of the exercise. 1.4 the objective the aim is to use software packages as cognitive training tools to support students in understanding the underlying financial discipline and inter-related components of professional architectural practice, rather than merely memorising theories, principles and procedures of management. jonassen & reeves (1996) define ‘cognitive tools’ as technologies that enhance human powers of cognition during thinking, problem solving and learning. they suggest that cognitive tools, among others: • are most effective when applied in constructivist learning situations; • support learners in generating their own representations of knowledge; • can promote the deep reflective thinking required for meaningful learning; 5 de villiers • cognitive computing tools • should be applied to tasks defined by learners themselves, under guidance of educators; and • should be situated in realistic contexts with results that are personally meaningful. as an example of such learning and problem solving, reeves, laffey & marlino (1997) describe the use and effects of cognitive tools, including spreadsheets and the world wide web (www), in a situated learning environment for engineering students in the usa. this study describes how cognitive tools are used by students to represent and manipulate knowledge, thus stimulating cognition and integrated thinking within innovative management techniques. 1.5 content of the article section 2 sets the context of the study and explains the approach. in section 3 the learning process is addressed, describing the stages of the work required from the students and the tasks they must produce as deliverables for the module. the effectiveness of this teaching strategy has been evaluated by a student survey, the findings of which are given in section 4. 2. approach the practical component of the module aims to communicate an integrated understanding of the cost control fundamentals that govern project and practice management. modus operandi has evolved over the years. in 2000 theoretical aspects were taught and computing tools demonstrated in practical exercises, but students were not required to generate computer-based management deliverables. in 2001 students were exposed to very brief stints of internship in established architecture practices, during which they were required to develop or re-use their own constructed management and control tools and apply them to actual projects there. the approach used in 2002 and 2003 was a participative problembased method. savery & duffy, (1995) encouraging student-centered, partially-cooperative learning to develop practical computing skills and generate management tools from cots packages in a contextualized project situation. problem-driven learning entails a role-shift of the lecturer from an instructor to a facilitator, who aims to stimulate higher-order thinking and to challenge 6 acta structilia 2006:13(1) learners’ cognitive processes. using their own dissertation projects (explained in the next subsection), students are required to simulate the dynamics of project management and control, and generate reporting mechanisms. use of their own project makes the learning event personally relevant and helps them take ownership. the skills acquired can be extended and transferred to a variety of situations in practice. 2.1 the students’ tasks each student selects a hypothetical, yet authentic, building project for research, design and documentation for their dissertation (termed a ‘thesis’). as part of integrated capstone learning, students analyse their thesis project for financialand work-flow planning, against which to measure progress. the tasks they were required to do for the module, involved using cots such as spreadsheets and project management tools to model flow of work in their thesis projects, so as to set up a reporting structure by which to monitor progress for management action. these real-world simulations are based on parameters such as: • the cost of the building; • fees for architectural services (south africa, 2003) and allowances for overheads and anticipated profit; • the stages of work (south africa, 2003); • the calculated duration of each stage of work; • interrelationships between tasks, and the impact of change in one variable on other parameters; • a project and practice cash flow; and • control aspects relevant to their specific project. the point of departure for such analysis comprises the information which, in the workplace, would be regarded as the architect’s brief. students then go beyond these basic requirements and incorporate human resources factors, such as allocation of staff to projects, projected man-hours and provision for actual hours worked. each student’s problem has its own distinct set of requirements and management factors, and its tasks are assessed accordingly. while each student’s work is different in terms of the data generated, their 7 de villiers • cognitive computing tools tasks were assessed on the way in which management principles and practice were applied using the available software within the context of the particular project. the learning process and its effectiveness in terms of learner knowledge, understanding and cognition could be objectively assessed by investigating how well they applied management principles in their tasks and deliverables. marks were also allocated for innovative use of the software. 2.2 the tools from consultation with local architectural practices and noting the software available to students, it became clear that microsoft office was appropriate as a generally-available, affordable toolset. most students are familiar with ms word, whose framework and interface conveniently provide familiarity, consistency, and predictability (dix, et al., 1998) to users newly encountering microsoft excel for the purpose of spreadsheets. ms project – although not part of the microsoft office suite – is also used and is easily learnable, due to its similar format. the laboratory in the department of architecture is equipped with these, and many students acquire them personally. 3. 3.1 the learning process method dynamic software modelling of financial aspects provides a framework for planning, monitoring, control and reporting. computing sessions are conducted in the laboratory and although co-operative work is required for other activities, this is an individual project. manual preparation of material is required prior to each session, involving documentation and specification of the problem and task. cognitive theories and models of learning (winn, 1990) focus on the mental processes involved in learning. theoretical principles and procedures of project management are taught earlier in the course, and are now practically actualised in the context of analysis and exploration of a major problem. the experience stimulates mental processing, as students ‘do’ rather than ‘remember’. 8 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 9 de villiers • cognitive computing tools stage 1: schedule of accommodation to determine total project cost – spreadsheet the microsoft excel spreadsheet is introduced for the purpose of preparing a schedule of accommodation. however, the generation of multi-parameter spreadsheets can be demanding and complex. vygotsky (1978) proposes a “zone of proximal development” – a condition of cognitive readiness for learning and problem solving. this level of cognitive ability can be fostered by guidance from a facilitator and consultation with peers. students are walkedthrough their first draft spreadsheets under guidance from the lecturer, who explains each function and entry. as illustration, he demonstrates the development of simple prototypes on the digital projector in the laboratory. this guidance enables them to concentrate more on the operation of a spreadsheet than on data entry. text, numbers and formulas are entered, copied or replicated and edited and the required results generated. following this introduction, learners produce their own schedules, which serve as the interlinked baseline from which further management tools are prepared. figure 1 is an example of a student’s schedule, which should incorporate at least: • a list of spaces; • surface area of each space; • the number of spaces of each description; and • the total area for each individual space type, which is calculated by entering the relevant formula. • an approximate cost per m2 is entered for each space type; so that • the total cost for each space type can then be determined. the space and cost columns are totalled to determine the net area and cost for the whole building, after which adjustments can be made to reach budgeted gross area and cost. on completion of this stage, the learner is familiar with basic spreadsheet functionality. 10 ac ta struc tilia 2006:13(1) figure 1: schedule of accommodation, space and cost stage 2: income, stages of work and time allocation – spreadsheet architectural fees are based on project cost. hence the cost determined in stage 1 is used to determine budgeted income. project income is then subdivided over the various stages of work as per the recommended saia scale of fees (south africa, 2003). this is illustrated in figure 2. the integrated nature of this project is achieved by linking the spreadsheets. for example, project budget from the stage 1 spreadsheet is automatically carried through to the next spreadsheet by a formula referring to its cell on the first sheet. due to this interactive connection, adjustments to the first spreadsheet to correct it or to explore alternative values are automatically reworked into subsequent calculations. the appropriate saia fee formula is entered to calculate the budgeted income. the columns include: • stage description; • the percentage fee for each stage; and • calculation of income for each stage. to determine realistic time estimates, a cost per man-hour (including allowance for overheads and profit) is required to calculate the number of hours available for each stage of work. earlier in the course, the students were provided with time-and-cost guidelines. the next column is therefore: • cost per man-hour; followed by • man-hours available. with man-hours budgeted for each stage, this spreadsheet can be used as a monitoring tool against which to measure progress. provision is made in the following columns for: • man-hours used; • percentage used; and • remaining man-hours. 11 de villiers • cognitive computing tools 12 ac ta struc tilia 2006:13(1) figure 2: professional fees, staff allocation and time 13 de villiers • cognitive computing tools in simulating real-world activities where a client might view the projected fee with dismay, students can use their suites of spreadsheets as tools for exploratory decision-making and reflection (schön, 1987). models can be manipulated, increasing and decreasing values so as to optimise ‘client’ affordability and ‘office’ standards. changes on one sheet interactively update the others, affecting their resultant values. for monitoring and control purposes, the column for ‘manhours used’ can be completed on a weekly/monthly basis, using data from time sheets. the final columns relate the time available for each stage to days or weeks, considering the number of staff allocated to each stage, as input for project time scheduling. stage 3: project programme of work – microsoft project this more advanced stage addresses the integrated scheduling of all activities, including tasks undertaken by other professional disciplines. time must be allocated to all projected tasks and their interrelationships considered in terms of sequence and overlap. graphical representation by a gantt chart helps students visualise the schedule and explore alternatives. the last two columns of the stage 2 tabulation provide the architectural design-time data as input for stage 3. students complete the rest of the programme by including other stakeholders, as displayed in the gantt chart (figure 3), listing tasks and allocating a duration to each. the software automatically generates the relevant bar lengths. tasks can be linked, overlapped, grouped, or in parallel. start and completion dates are automatically generated or may be given as input. once entered, the data may be viewed in various formats and time intervals. microsoft project can handle complex scheduling applications and management reporting. some students venture beyond the basics to include staff numbers, names and costing details and once-off costs for cash flow purposes. progress can be monitored by indicating work completed. in this way students design the workflow for all participants and determine the combined time scale of integrated activities for the various stages of work. this information is needed for determining project cash-flow in stage 4. 14 ac ta struc tilia 2006:13(1) figure 3: gantt chart view of programme of work 15 de villiers • cognitive computing tools stage 4: project cash-flow – spreadsheet inputs from the figure 2 spreadsheet in terms of building costs and fees are automatically transferred by formula links into the cashflow spreadsheet of figure 4. income to-date can be filled in, so that remaining fee income can be determined. this outstanding amount is distributed over the ensuing months according to the income due for the various stages and the month in which each is completed, as indicated in the programme of work. the cash-flow model helps students grasp the relationships between income, disbursements and overhead costs. it provides a basis from which they can model their own solutions, extend the scope of the spreadsheet and increase its utility by, for example, generating fee and disbursement accounts. 3.2 discussion of the approach bloom’s (1956) taxonomy of educational objectives identifies ‘synthesis’ as one of the major learning forms – putting parts together to form new wholes. situated cognition (winn, 1990) proposes that learning occurs most effectively when contextualised in realistic settings, not de-contextualised and isolated. the integrated nature of this documentation series implements both these notions, modelling several aspects of management: client requirements, predicted income, costing of work processes, project schedules and duration, cash flow, human resource deployment and management, and co-ordination of other professional consultants, such as quantity surveyors and engineers. this venture implements tenets of ‘constructivist’ learning (bruner, 1994; hannfin, 1992), namely, active participation and experiential learning of real-world project monitoring and control. under constructivism, knowing and understanding are viewed as processes, not as products or events. the learning approach described above involves step-by-step follow-through, as students incrementally generate their sequence of spreadsheets. moreover, learning is personally meaningful, as they construct knowledge in the context of their own research and design. open learning occurs, since there is not one single solution, but rather multiple paths to be explored. 16 ac ta struc tilia 2006:13(1) figure 4: project and practice cash-flow 4. evaluation and findings a questionnaire survey was undertaken among all of the 25 students who took the course in 2003 to determine their perceptions of the practical computing component of the module and its value, both as a means of professional education and as a cognitive tool. after investigating prior experience with cots, the questionnaire elicited the students’ impressions of using an interactive management model to represent their thesis projects. it focused both on pedagogical aspects of the approach and on its perceived future value in the workplace. there were likert scale questions, multi-option questions where more than one option could be selected as well as open-ended questions. students took the evaluation exercise seriously, giving considered answers and motivating their answers. both quantitative and qualitative data was therefore obtained. 4.1 prior experience twenty students had formerly used computers; 19 had been ‘exposed to’ ms excel and six were ‘familiar’ with it; and only one had used mss project. the responses in table 1 regarding software indicate more experience of design and graphics programs than of technically-oriented software. table 1: familiarity with software 17 de villiers • cognitive computing tools responses to the open question: ‘i am familiar with: ...’ number of students (n= 25) ms office general 5 ms word 4 ms excel 6 www software 1 ms project 1 computer-aided design and drafting autocad 6 3d studio max 4 other cadd software 4 graphics and drawing packages corel draw 4 unnamed graphics/drawing programs 4 photoshop 2 18 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 4.2 use of computers to support cognition responses on the single strongest impression gained from using the interactive model were categorised. seven students particularly appreciated the additional perspective on their dissertation projects in terms of time and cost, and seven acknowledged the value of visualising real-world information in the context of interrelated issues and events. other strong impressions were the impact of changes on deadlines and profit, the interactive value of linking spreadsheets, and the value in the workplace of tools that are easy to create and easy to manipulate. these findings highlight the added value of interactivity and data visualisation. when they perceived facts and figures within context, i.e. ‘situated cognition’ (winn, 1990 – see section 3.2), the students understood the true impact of decisions and changes. 4.3 pedagogical aspects a primary aim of the research related to the pedagogical and cognitive worth of the experience. all 25 respondents agreed that the hands-on learning experience helped them construct their own knowledge about project management procedures and 24 found that it supported construction of knowledge regarding their own thesis projects. this simulation of events and figures in an active experiential learning process is in line with ‘constructivist’ learning (bruner, 1994; hannfin, 1992 – see section 3.2). the data obtained from likert-scale questions has been thematically categorized (miles & hubermann, 1994) and is presented in table 2. the contextualised approach, using self-defined projects (section 1 of table 2) made it easier for students to learn how to use spreadsheets and gave added value. the instructional approach, as outlined in the previous section, entails explanation and demonstration of ms excel and ms project, together with the introduction of management techniques and open discussion. there after follows the incremental generation of individual spreadsheets and charts. theory and practice of both management and the software are thus linked to the student’s familiar project. students simultaneously construct professional knowledge and learn the software. 19 d e v illie rs • c o g nitive c o m p uting to o ls thematic grouping statement number of students strongly agree agree maybe disagree strongly disagree 1. contexualized learning: personal thesis study as a context using my familiar thesis project made it easier to learn how to construct spreadsheets as management tools. 11 11 1 2 0 working with personalised examples added value and meaning to the exercise. 15 9 1 0 0 reflecting on the variables within my project made it easier to understand the complexities of managing time, money and people. 7 16 1 1 0 2. integration: simultaneous learning of practice management and computer systems the management theory and concepts we were learning were hampered by all the calculation considerations when building the spreadsheets. 2 1 10 9 2 spreadsheet management and data-handling unnecessarily complicate the simple logic of project management 0 3 3 16 3 the step-by-step buildup-up of management thinking in the spreadsheets helped me to understand the management principles better really helped made no difference put me off forced me to work in a way i might not choose 21 3 0 1 3. instructional approach: sequential learning process the step by step demonstration on the data projection screen was an adequate introduction to building useful spreadsheets. 8 15 1 1 0 more management theory prior to the construction of computer management tools would make more sense of computer tools 1 3 11 9 1 table 2: pedagogical aspects 20 acta structilia 2006:13(1) ‘the project management computer tools are of value in: ’ my thesis project the future workplace personal life(e.g. finances) 21 25 16 ‘i can see great value in using integrated computer tools for: ’ planning and organising management information decision making tools: what-if scenarios monitoring and control: comparing actual with planned 24 15 21 the researcher’s concern was that in learning both, one might detract from the other, possibly to the detriment of both. however, responses in sections 2 and 3 of table 2 indicate generally positive reactions to the interactive, integrated approach, although some students were unsure. the sequential, stepwise demonstration of the project management process within professional practice was positively received. 4.4 value of integrated computing tools there were highly positive responses regarding perceived value of the computing tools, as well as the utility of integrating tools. these are shown in table 3. it is notable that while 21 students recognised the value in their own thesis project, all of them (25) saw value for the future workplace, emphasising the worth of this teaching approach for future professional development. table 3: perceived value of the computing tools an open-ended question enquired into the ‘greatest’ perceived benefits. table 4 categorises these responses, which relate mainly to the value of cots in comprehending situations, as enabling tools in the workplace, for financial control, and their predictive value in decision making. these responses pinpoint the holistic nature of 21 de villiers • cognitive computing tools 4.5 the students’ likes and dislikes in reflective educational research, it is useful for the facilitator to know which parts of a course, students enjoy most and which they enjoy least. table 5 depicts these, ranked according to most liked. they were permitted to make more than one selection. comment number ofoccurrences a skill/enabling tool/control system for use in the workplace/practice management 9 ability to construct/comprehend/compare scenarios; decision making tools 4 financial and management components of architecture (relationship between cash-flow, time, money etc.) comprehension and awareness of these aspects of practice 6 the role of computing tools in time, money and resource management 6 detailed thinking for all the stages of design and documentation 2 visual representation of information 2 represents the uniqueness of each project in terms of time, cost and phases 1 a tool for use in concept stage of design 1 time and cost saving tool 1 the information obtained by using cots tools in an integrated way. this is in line with bloom’s (1956 – see section 3.2) ‘synthesis’ – putting parts together to form new wholes. table 4: areas of greatest perceived value table 5: most-liked and least-liked module components 22 acta structilia 2006:13(1) module component most-liked least-liked number of learners number of learners time & cost analyses 13 1 cash flow 8 10 project scheduling 6 4 schedule of accommodation 6 5 it is interesting that one of the concepts more familiar to architecture students (schedule of accommodation) was not the most liked. by contrast, what more than half (13 out of 25) enjoyed most, were the numeracy-related aspects of time and cost analysis, where they learned new concepts and skills. on the other hand, a large number (10) liked the cash flow aspect the least. it is surprising that while cost analysis was liked, there was a dislike of cash flow, which is also a financial aspect. this indicates a problem. from the reasons given, it was clear that insufficient time was spent on cash flow, for example: ‘it was not done thoroughly’, ‘too little time’, and ‘explanation inadequate’. 4.6 computing tools in professional practice the class was unanimous that the spreadsheet and scheduling exercises helped them grasp project management principles better. of particular value was its contextualisation within their thesis projects, and its reflective worth. they all intended to use spreadsheets in their future working environments. they were asked to describe their own conception of how these tools could be used for creative management in professional practice. their spontaneous, unprompted responses, shown in table 6, were analysed by the researcher and grouped into twelve categories within the themes of strategic top-level management, time analysis, cost analysis and human resource aspects. table 6: students’ ideas for using software tools for management in professional practice 23 de villiers • cognitive computing tools categories occurrences strategic, toplevel management simulations: scenario planning and analysis 3 helps to see the total project picture 1 to organise tasks for management 1 a tool for decision making 1 comparison of different projects 1 time analysis to optimise time and prioritise activities 4 for time-based analysis of progress 1 cost analysis budget and plan ahead for the financial year 2 cost projections 2 monitor cash flow, leading to a profitable office 2 human resource aspects staff allocation for each project 2 programme schedules, so all staff can see the total picture and monitor progress 3 the general contribution of table 6 regarding potential use can be summarised as follows: • for upfront project modelling to improve conceptualisation, • for planning ahead, • for prioritising work, • for optimising time and cost, and • in monitoring and managing progress. the students had previously been exposed to common and contract law, building contracts, and the operation of the building industry and related professions, but this was their first encounter with details of running and managing projects. their responses regarding the impact of the module on their attitude to future projects fell mainly into three categories, shown in table 7, with examples of students’ comments. table 7: perceptions of impact on future management of projects and practice 24 acta structilia 2006:13(1) themes – with examples of comments number ofoccurrences business implications of practice: it helped me to see the actual implications of projects. architecture is more than just design and drawings we must be realistic as well as idealistic. 14 utility of software tools for modeling: this is another skill i can offer my employer. using programs hands-on has made me more interested in these aspects of practice. … the positive effect of the tools for easier and better management … 6 impact of time over-runs: … essential to finish a project as soon as possible to make a profit. i now realize the importance of staring and finishing the phases on time. important to remain within project income and budgeted costs. cost and time must be monitored to see if things are out of hand. 5 the perceptions shown in table 7 indicate that students gained real benefit from the knowledge and skills taught. however, twenty felt the module should not be presented in the last quarter, but earlier in the year for increased value to the concurrent thesis. a few asked for separation of the theoretical and practical (computer laboratory) components and ten asked for expansion and enrichment of the practical. suggestions were: more lab time, spread over a few weeks, handouts of worked examples in advance, and more opportunities for explanation and practice since many were using the software for the first time. it became clear to the researcher, who is also the module lecturer that more time should be given to certain concepts of the module and to the practical component as a whole. 5. conclusion the students in architecture practice management responded positively to the use of cots for integrated management exercises. the software served as cognitive tools in line with jonassen’s & reeves’ (1996) suggestions given early in this article. students appreciated the practical experiential value, the ability to construct and manipulate scenarios, and the potential utility for the workplace. the evaluation indicated shortcomings regarding the timing of the course and its integration with concurrent final year studies. in response, the school recognised the need to run the module earlier in the year at a time more appropriate for integration with design thesis research and documentation. supplementary laboratory sessions were held for students weak in technical computing skills. the students not only learnt principles and methods, but developed skills to deal with the complexities of management and workflow. the framework of interactive documents they generated resulted in enhanced comprehension of time and cost control principles and fostered cognition of their impact on project viability. students made creative use of readily-available software to represent knowledge and should be able to transfer this skill to other applications. a further real-world professional value is that the software artifacts students developed, can be taken into the workplace. integrated scenario modelling provided a constructivist learning experience as students built tools contextualised to tasks within their own theses. they were encouraged to become reflective practitioners (schön, 1987), as they simulated real-world architectural projects by holistically considering client requirements, time scheduling, personnel planning, project costs and overall co-ordination. the tools offer predictive value as test bases and cognitive decision support systems, in that the impact of dynamic manipulation of parameters, schedule changes or modifications to spatial or quantitative requirements can be visualized and assessed. the students should be able to enter their two-year period of ‘architect in training’ with greater insight and understanding of practice than former candidates. the value gained from this practical experience at a formative stage should benefit their professional careers. 25 de villiers • cognitive computing tools 26 acta structilia 2006:13(1) references bloom, b.s. 1956. taxonomy of educational objectives. handbook 1: cognitive domain. new york: david mckay. bruner, j. 1994. constructivist theory. [online]. available from: <http://tip. psychology.org/bruner.html> de villiers a.j. 1998. the introduction and growth of cadd and graphics in south africa. information technology in construction, 1, p. 49. dix, a., finlay, j., abowd, g. & beale, r.1998. human-computer interaction. 2nd editon. hemel hempstead: prentice-hall europe. jonassen, d.h. & reeves, t.c. 1996. learning with technology: using computers as cognitive tools. in: jonassen, d.h. (ed.) handbook of research on educational communications and technology. new york: macmillan. hannafin, m.j. 1992. emerging technologies, isd, and learning environments: critical perspectives. educational technology research & development, 40(1), pp. 49-63. miles, m.b. & hubermann, a.m. 1994. an expanded sourcebook: qualitative data analysis (2nd edition). sage publications. reeves, t.c., laffey, j.m. & marlino m.r. 1997. using technology as cognitive tools: research and praxis. [online]. available from: <http://www.ascilite. org.au/conferences/perth97/papers/reeves/reeves.html> (accessed: 5 august 2004). savery, j.r. & duffy, t.m. 1995. problem based learning: an instructional model and its constructivist framework. educational technology, 35(5), pp. 31-38. schön, d.a. 1987. educating the reflective practitioner. san francisco: jossey-bass publishers. south africa. 2003. board notice 133 of 2003. government gazette, 14 nov. pretoria: government printer. vygotsky, l. 1978. mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. cambridge ma: harvard university press. winn, w. 1990. some implications of cognitive theory for instructional design. instructional science, 19(1), pp. 53-69. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles heather fouche, john smallwood & fidelis emuze technology management in construction: lessons for the practice of architecture peer reviewed abstract the relevance of managing technology to architectural practices in south african construction cannot be overemphasised. as major stakeholders in the construction industry with particular significant contributions in the property sector, practising architects cannot afford not to exploit old technologies, and embrace new technologies with a view to improving their business and competitiveness. the thrust of the issue addressed in this article is the assessment of the status accorded to issues relating to technology in the form of a technology audit and/or management in architectural practices. in furtherance of this issue, a quantitative survey was conducted among eastern cape-based south african council for the architectural profession (sacap) registered architects. selected findings include that respondents perceived that there are no barriers to communication in organisations as technology does not only form part of the organisational business strategy, but also benefits project partners during implementation. in addition, with the use of office technologies, management is able to forecast and plan future requirements for their practices, while marketing-related technologies allow the closing of identified performance gaps as well as the development of best practices by the firms. therefore, periodical technology audits are recommended for practices intending to remain competitive in the market. keywords: architectural practice, technology audit, south africa ms heather fouche department of architectural technology and interior design po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 3308 fax: 041 504 9308 email: <heather.fouche@nmmu.ac.za> prof. john smallwood head of department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 2790 fax: 041 504 2345 email: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> mr fidelis emuze phd candidate department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 2399 fax: 041 504 2345 email: <fidelis.emuze@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 2 abstrak die relevansie van tegnologiebestuur vir argitektuurpraktyke in suid-afrikaanse konstruksie kan nie genoeg beklemtoon word nie. as hoofaandeelhouers in die konstruksie-industrie met spesifieke bydraes tot die eiendomsektor, kan praktiserende argitekte nie bekostig om nie ou tegnologie te benut, en nuwe tegnologie te omarm met ‘n visie om hul besighede en bekwaamheid te verbeter. die dryfkrag van die saak wat in hierdie artikel aangespreek is, is die assessering van die status toegeken aan sake betreffende tegnologie in die vorm van ‘n tegnologiese oudit en/of die bestuur in argitekspraktyke. in bevordering van die saak, is ‘n kwantitatiewe opname gedoen onder argitekte van die suidafrikaanse raad vir die argiteksprofessie (sarap) gebaseer in die oos kaap. bevindinge sluit in dat respondente ervaar dat daar geen struikelblokke in kommunikasie in organisasies is nie, omdat tegnologie nie alleen deel vorm van die organisatoriese besigheidstrategie nie, maar dit ook projekvennote gedurende implementering bevoordeel. in aansluiting hierby, met die gebruik van kantoortegnologie, is bestuur in staat om vooruitskattings en toekomstige vereistes vir hul praktyke te beplan terwyl bemarkingsverwante tegnologie die sluiting van geïdentifiseerde prestasiegapings asook die ontwikkeling van beste praktyk by die firmas toelaat. daarom word periodieke tegnologie oudits aanbeveel vir praktyke om mededingend in die mark te bly. sleutelwoorde: argitekspraktyke, tegnologie oudit, suid-afrika 1. background technology can be defined as knowledge, products, processes, tools, methods, and systems employed in the creation of goods and/ or services. in other words, it is a way of doing things and the means whereby objectives are accomplished (khalil, 2000: 1). by investing in technology an organisation is able to undergo organisational changes that lead to faster and economically efficient operations that are particularly required within the architecture, engineering, and construction (aec) sector (wainwright, 2010: 210). thus, technology has had a profound effect on human development and the advancement of civilisation. the urenio research unit (2001: 1) contends that technology leads to socio-economic development, because organisations use technology to advance and/or achieve their goals. in this context, barrow (2004: 131) contends that failure to appropriately respond to societal and technology evolution can result in a loss of professional status. to the modern architect this is of serious concern to the profession and other construction stakeholders. in fact, soons (2004: 10) noted that many south african architectural practices are not yet computer-equipped, or sufficiently abreast with developments in technology to produce the standard of designs or products beneficial to the industry. in fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 3 other words, it is important for architectural practices to go beyond the provision of e-mails or outdated computer-aided design (cad) packages in their practices in order to remain competitive in the market. in particular though, cad technology that is to a large extent driven in architectural design practice by internal rather than external influence factors may be considered one of the most important it innovations of the past four decades. the fear of losing competitive advantage, erosion of legitimacy, and the fear of losing stakeholder support may be responsible for the dominance of imitative behaviour among design firms, which then determines the choice of cad technology adopted for use in a firm (kale & arditi, 2005: 1140). opposed to this trend, external factors such as capacity and interfiled adjustability should rather drive decisions when cad technologies are considered. aec firms should conduct a comprehensive analysis before adopting a technological innovation. this is even more important as building information modelling (bim) technology that reportedly captures behaviour and relationships between parts and assemblies of a building in database form is yet to gain widespread acceptance and usage in the aec sector despite its ability to trigger significant positive changes in the design and construction process that can translate to increased project success for stakeholders (brewer & gajendram, 2011: 638). in particular, brewer & gajendram (2011: 638) noted that bim could provide technological solutions aimed at standardising and streamlining business processes across the design, construction, and operational phases of a building. for example, ariyici, coates, koskela, kagioglou, usher & o’reilly (2011: 190) observed that, because of the need to improve its capacity for greater integration and collaboration with other disciplines in the production process, and to adopt technology change in order to provide a more effective business process, a liverpool united kingdom (uk)-based architectural practice had to embrace bim after using various forms of cad software packages since 1991. the decision was taken when the firm noted that their use of a 2d cad tool caused some inefficiency such as timescales, deadline pressures, duplications, lead times, lack of continuity in the supply chain, overprocessing, rework, overproduction, conveyance, distractive parallel tasks, lack of rigorous design process, lack of effective design management, and communication (ariyici et al., 2011: 190). however, 18 months later, the firm already made significant progress in improving the skills of its employees, technology infrastructure development, and lean process improvements. ariyici et al. (2011: acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 4 194) contend that the implementation of bim in the architectural practice followed a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach in order to engage people in the adoption; ensure that people’s skills and understanding increase, and firms build up their capacities. in other words, the implementation of technology entails a focus on the technology itself as well as a focus on people and processes at the same time (ariyici et al., 2011: 194). consequently, the thrust of the issue addressed in this article is the assessment of the status accorded to issues relating to technology (cad, bim, and so on) in the form of a technology audit and/or management in architectural practices in south africa. 2. technology audit and management phaal, farrukk & probert (2004: 7) contend that technology management deals with effective identification, selection, acquisition, development, exploitation and protection of technology in the form of product, process, and infrastructure needed to achieve, maintain, and develop a market position and business performance in accordance with organisational objectives. this definition suggests that establishing and maintaining the linkages between technological resources and organisational objectives is of the utmost importance and represents a continuing challenge for many firms. effective technology management requires a number of management processes such as identification, selection, acquisition, exploitation, and protection of technology, which can be deemed not to be very visible in firms as these functions are mostly found distributed within other business processes such as strategy, innovation, and operations. therefore, technology management focuses on processes needed to maintain a stream of products and services in the market. according to phaal et al. (2004: 7), technology management deals with all aspects of integrating technological issues into business decision-making, and it is directly relevant to a number of business processes, which include strategy development, innovation and new product development, and operations management, to name but a few. consequently, it can be argued that healthy technology management requires establishing appropriate knowledge flows between commercial and technological perspectives in a firm in order to achieve a balance between market ‘pull’ and technology ‘push’ (phaal et al., 2004: 8). hence the nature of these knowledge flows depends on both internal and external contexts such as business aims, market fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 5 dynamics, organisational culture, and technological context (probert et al., 2000, cited by phaal et al., 2004: 8). in addition, the business e-coach (2003: 1) argues that by utilising a technology audit, a firm’s need to design a technology plan can not only be highlighted, but the need to improve the management of existing technology capabilities can also be addressed. in this sense, khalil (2000: 267) suggests that areas of concern with respect to new technology trends and management include: corporate environment (management, strategy, project • management, culture, and people); technology categorisation (project control and collaboration, • and office and marketing technologies); the market and competitors (market needs and competitor • status); innovation (idea generation, technology generators, and • project progression); value-added functions (research and development and • project impact assessment technologies), and acquisitions and exploitations of technologies (technology • transfer). according to the construction industry computer association (cica) in the united kingdom (uk), management often neglects the fact that to be on the cutting edge of competition all practices should have access to the same tools and that the it skills of their employees is the important difference between firms (cica, 2002: 1). in addition, cica suggests that to maximise return on capital investment in information technology (it) systems, firms cannot afford to neglect training their employees. failure to train and educate employees may lead to erosion of existing competitive advantages a firm may possess. therefore, it is important to have a corporate strategy in place for technology. narayanan (2001: 250) even suggests that technology strategy is the revealed pattern in the technology choices of firms. these choices, which determine the character and extent of the firms’ principal technical capabilities, involve the commitment of resources for the appropriation, maintenance, deployment and abandonment of technological capabilities. thus, effective integration of technological considerations into corporate/ business strategy is an important aspect of business planning based on the premise that a technology strategy should not be developed independently from the business strategy, but rather that technological resources should be considered an integral part of acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 6 business planning (phaal et al., 2004: 8). in this context, technological considerations may include external factors such as the nature of technological change and competitor activity and internal factors such as technological capabilities. to be succinct, while corporate strategy is primarily concerned with sustaining competitive advantage, technology strategy is more concerned with acquiring technology that can lead to an advantage over competitors in order to ensure that a competitive edge is maintained. with respect to technology categorisation, while khalil’s (2000: 4-6) classifications include new technology, emerging technologies, high technologies, low technologies, medium technologies, appropriate technologies, codified versus tacit technologies, lindsay (2000: 22-23) classifies technology into enabling technology, critical technology, pacing technology, and emerging technology. however, regardless of the classification used, the intent of technological advancement and its implementation is never far from performance improvement. improving performance entails marketing activities that are enabled by developing marketing plans to capitalise on the characteristics of technologies so that they can become accessible to clients (khalil, 2000: 96). further, relative to innovation, narayanan (2001: 75) suggests that: market-pull deals with technology advancement directed • primarily to a specific market need and secondarily towards increased technical performance, and technology-push, that is the advancement of technology, • primarily deals with an increase in technical performance and secondarily with a market need. consequently, innovations may be stimulated when a firm strikes a balance between both technological-push and market-pull. arguably, therefore, technology management focuses on the principles of strategy and organisational involvement in technology choices that are guided by the purpose of creating value for investors (narayanan, 2001: 8). findings that arose from case study research conducted by brewer & gajendram (2011: 652) appropriately amplify the need to conduct technology audits in aec firms as the research results suggest that, despite the enabling environment and technology, temporary project team members failed to embrace its widespread use. in particular, although the architectural practice involved in the project provided both the bim and other ict applications necessary fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 7 for the project data exchange, it conspicuously failed to champion the use of either. in general, an analysis of the interactions between the project teams revealed disparate understanding of the term bim, with many viewing it as a vague 3d cad model, and thus most of them were reluctant to wholeheartedly invest their time and effort in it. as a result, the use of ict for the project implementation was clearly below par because of cultural issues rooted in attitudes and behaviours. 3. research method the quantitative survey was conducted among sacap registered architects based in the eastern cape. a total number of 15 firms were randomly chosen from 51 firms. the firms that responded to the survey were classified as small (1-2 employees); medium (2-5 employees), and large (more than 5 employees). in this context, 4 small-sized firms (26.6%), 4 medium-sized firms (26.6%), and 7 large-sized firms (46.8%) were surveyed. it is significant that a 100% response rate was recorded as all the firms surveyed responded to the survey. in terms of demographic information, only 10% of the employees in large firms surveyed have a masters degree qualification; 29% of employees in large-sized firms, 38% of employees in medium-sized firms, and 100% of employees in small-sized firms have a bachelor degree qualification. although the respondents did not distinguish in terms of m.arch. or m.sc. and/or b.sc. or b.arch. qualifications, this level of education is not surprising as sacap requirements set a minimum qualification benchmark for each grade of registration. 4. research findings given that respondents were required to respond to four-point likert scale questions, a measure of central tendency in the form of a mean score (ms) was computed to enable a comparison between factors. furthermore, given that the difference between the lower and upper ends of the scale is 3.00, and that there are four points thereon, the extent of the ranges is determined by dividing 3.00 by 4, which equates to 0.75. therefore, the ranges used to present the results are: agree to strongly agree/strongly agree (> 3.25 ≤ 4.00);• near agree to agree/agree (> 2.50 ≤ 3.25);• disagree to near agree/near agree (> 1.75 ≤ 2.50), and• strongly disagree/disagree (>1.00 ≤ 1.75).• acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 8 table 1 indicates 21 assessment areas relative to technology in a corporate environment in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and a mean score (ms) ranging between 1.00 and 4.00. it is notable that all the mss are above the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that, in general, the respondents can be deemed to agree with the statements. the > 3.25 ≤ 4.00 mss suggest that the respondents perceive that there are no barriers to communication in organisations; technology forms part of business strategy; firm and clients benefit from new technology implementation; commitment to enhancing technology within the firm; investment of time and money to enhance technology implementation; culture support technology; training of employees is of utmost importance to management; willingness to organisational change that favours new technology, and change is an opportunity not a barrier to the use of new technology, fall between agree to strongly agree/strongly agree. table 1: technology in a corporate environment statement response (% ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 management: commitment to enhancing technology within the firm 0.0 0.0 53.3 46.7 3.47 4 investment of time and money to enhance technology implementation 0.0 0.0 60.0 40.0 3.40 5 technology forms part of business strategy 0.0 6.7 26.7 66.7 3.60 2 firm and clients benefit from new technology implementation 0.0 13 3 20.0 66.7 3.53 3 willingness to organisational change that favours new technology 0.0 0.0 66.7 33.3 3.33 8 strategy: defined corporate strategy aimed at achieving firms’ visions in place 0.0 33 3 40.0 26.7 2.93 13 corporate strategy considers technological needs of the firm 0.0 60 0 20.0 20.0 2.60 17 specific technology strategy currently exist in firm 0.0 60 0 26.7 13.3 2.53 18 fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 9 in addition, > 2.50 ≤ 3.25 mss suggest that the respondents perceive that employees are encouraged to attend training for skills development; clients are encouraged to use new technology in construction; employees are rewarded for acquiring new skills; defined corporate strategy aimed at achieving firm’s visions is in place; appraisal system is in place for employee promotional assessment; assessment and implementation of technology specific statement response (% ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 project management: exploration of new technologies with respect to specific projects 0.0 60.0 26.7 13.3 2 53 19 assessment and implementation of technology specific to projects 6.7 33.3 40.0 20.0 2.73 15 clients are encouraged to use new technology in construction 0.0 20.0 43.7 33.3 3.13 11 culture: culture supports technology 6.7 0.0 40.0 53.3 3.40 6 change is an opportunity not a barrier to the use of new technology 0.0 6.7 53.3 40.0 3 33 9 no barriers to communication in organisation 0.0 0.0 40.0 60.0 3 60 1 people: employees are encouraged to attend training for skills development 6.7 13.3 33.3 46.7 3 20 10 employees are rewarded for acquiring new skills 6.7 6.7 53.3 33.3 3.13 12 reward systems are in place for efficiency and motivational reasons 13.3 33.3 20.0 33.3 2.73 16 appraisal system is in place for employee promotional assessment 6.7 26.7 46.7 20.0 2 80 14 it specific employees are in place to maintain firms’ it infrastructure 26.7 33.3 13.3 26.7 2.40 20 online access to all hr information is granted to employees 26.7 33.3 26.7 13.3 2 27 21 training of employees is of utmost importance to management 6.7 6.7 26.7 60.0 3.40 7 acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 10 to projects are usually done; reward system is in place for efficiency and motivational reasons; corporate strategy considers technological needs of the firm; specific technology strategy exists currently in most firms, and exploration of new technologies with respect to specific projects, fall between near agree to agree/agree. the > 1.75 ≤ 2.50 mss indicate that the respondents perceive that it specific employees are in place to maintain firms’ it infrastructure, and online access to all hr information is granted to employees fall between disagree to near agree/near agree. it is notable that of the 21 corporate environment statements, 9 are > 3.25 ≤ 4.00. in brief, the relatively high mss achieved in the management section of table 1 suggest that, in terms of corporate environment, firms tend to ensure that management buy-in is in place in order to make sure that they embrace and enhance the overall level of technology in the firm. in the strategy section, although the mss could be deemed average, they nevertheless suggest that there is a gap between functional strategy deployment with respect to technology and corporate strategy adopted by the respondents. for the project management section, the average to above average mss achieved underscores the importance of project management in construction. for instance, despite the benefits that may accrue as a result of the implementation of new technology, it is common in construction to encounter risk-averse clients that will rather stick to tested construction methods as opposed to exploring new technologies in order to ensure that a project is delivered within the cost and time constraints. in the culture section, the relatively high mss may be attributed to the nature of architecture as a profession that fosters creativity in order to inspire competitive edge in a firm. in the people section in table 1, the generally average mss achieved suggest that there is major scope for improving the human resources management competency with respect to the implementation of new technologies. table 2 indicates the assessment areas relative to categorisation of technology in a corporate environment in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 4.00. it is notable that, with the exception of one ms, all the mss are above the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that, in general, the respondents may be deemed to agree with the statements. the > 3.25 ≤ 4.00 mss suggest that the respondents perceive that employees have e-mail and internet access; core services identified so that management can exploit them, and it is recognised as an fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 11 important success factor for the firm, fall between agree to strongly agree/strongly agree. in addition, > 2.50 ≤ 3.25 mss suggest that the respondents perceive that management are aware of current technological trends; ability to satisfy clients’ technological needs; new cad systems are assessed and implemented robustly; digital backup is in place to store all project data; development and implementation of new office technologies is important; automation of administrative functions is important to management; sound and aggressive market technology is used to attract clients; firm is up to date with respect to it systems required for operations; secondary tasks such as network maintenance, are outsourced; and management is able to forecast and plan future office requirements, fall between near agree to agree/agree. however, the respondents perceive that web-based facilities are used to attract and secure new clients falls between disagree to near agree/near agree, as its ms is > 1.75 ≤ 2.50. table 2: categorisation of technology in a corporate environment statement response (% ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 project control and collaboration: core services identified so that management can exploit them 0.0 13.3 40.0 46.7 3 33 2 management awareness of current technological trends 0.0 20.0 40.0 40.0 3 20 4 secondary tasks (e.g. network maintenance) are outsourced 6.7 20.0 53.3 20.0 2 87 12 extranets are in place to encourage collaboration between project teams 40.0 33.3 6.7 20.0 2 07 15 it is recognised as important success factor for the company 0.0 20.0 26.7 53.3 3 33 3 system is in place for monitoring technological trends 26.7 53.3 20.0 0.0 1.93 16 office technologies: development and implementation of new office technologies is important 0.0 20.0 53.3 26.7 3 07 8 automation of administrative functions is important to management 6.7 20.0 40.0 33.3 3 00 9 acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 12 statement response (% ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 firm is up to date with respect to it systems required for operations 6.7 20 0 46.7 26.7 2.93 11 new cad systems are assessed and implemented robustly 6.7 6.7 46.7 40.0 3.20 6 employees have e-mail and internet access 0.0 13 3 33.3 53.3 3.40 1 management is able to forecast and plan future office requirements 6.7 13 3 80.0 0.0 2.73 13 digital backup is in place to store all project data 6.7 26.7 13.3 53.3 3.13 7 marketing technology: sound and aggressive market technology is used to attract clients 0.0 33 3 40.0 26.7 2.93 10 ability to satisfy clients’ technological needs 0.0 13 3 53.3 33.3 3.20 5 web-based facilities are used to attract and secure new clients 13.3 46.7 33.3 6.7 2.33 14 the implications of the respondents’ perceptions tabulated in table 2 are interpreted in the light of various mss achieved in each section. in the project control and collaboration section, the cumulative average mss achieved suggest that there may be a general lack of adequate organisation-wide technology-driven systems deployed for forecasting future trends in project control and collaborationrelated technologies. this inevitably implies that firms may be unable to harness opportunities as they become available in the national and international arena. this assumption is equally supported by the perceived low level of the use of extranets for communication purposes. in addition, the mss relative to the office technology section suggest that the respondents are of the opinion that the use and implementation of office technologies is important to their practices. in other words, the mss could be interpreted to mean that the majority of the respondents acknowledge the usefulness of office technologies such as cad and other administrative software to an architectural practice. while the mss relative to marketing technologies may be deemed to be average, they nevertheless indicate that architectural practices need to improve their abilities in this section. fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 13 table 3 indicates the perceptions of respondents relative to the influence of technology on the market and competitors in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 4.00. it is notable that all the mss are below the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that, in general, the respondents may be deemed to disagree with the statements. the > 1.75 ≤ 2.50 mss suggest that the respondents are of the opinion that best practice, and policies developed in order to close identified gaps; core competencies and technological status are assessed; competitors are assessed periodically for benchmarking purposes, and market assessment tool is in place for identifying new market trends, fall between disagree to near agree/near agree. identifying new market trends is a particularly weak area based on the perceptions of the survey respondents. this finding suggests that improvement must be embarked upon in the area of market needs as anecdotal evidence suggests that, in order to provide a sustained optimum service, firms need to undertake market assessments so that they are aligned with their clients’ requirements. furthermore, with mss less than 2.50, assessment of competitor status through the use of technology is another area of weakness identified in the study. the findings imply that, without a competitor assessment system in place, firms may be unable to benchmark their performance against the best in the industry. table 3: technological influence on market and competitors statement response (% ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 market needs: market assessment tool is in place for identifying new market trends 33.3 46.7 20.0 0.0 1.87 4 competitor status: competitors are assessed periodically for benchmarking purposes 33.3 40.0 26.7 0.0 1.93 3 core competencies and technological status are assessed 26.7 53.3 20.0 0.0 1.93 2 best practice and policies are developed to close identified gaps 20.0 66.7 13.3 0.0 1.93 1 acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 14 table 4 indicates the perceptions of respondents relative to technology that drives innovation in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 4.00. it is notable that all the mss are above the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that, in general, the respondents may be deemed to agree with the statements. the > 3.25 ≤ 4.00 mss suggest that the respondents perceive that clients are assured of product and service quality; new products and processes are suggested to clients as alternatives; and clients’ briefs are available to all employees or project teams, fall between agree to strongly agree/strongly agree. however, the respondents are of the opinion that improvement of project schedule is made on each project; employees are encouraged to explore and assess new it systems; employees are persuaded to communicate through existing channels; project cost information is available from the project team at each stage, fall between near agree to agree/ agree (> 2.50 ≤ 3.25), while reward systems are in place to motivate innovation within the firm, falls between disagree to near agree/ near agree (> 1.75 ≤ 2.50). as the majority of mss related to idea generation in table 4 are close to 3.00, it can be assumed that, in general, the respondents are of the opinion that idea generation favours the exploitation of technology in architectural firms. similarly, the mss that are relative to technology generator in table 4 suggest that adequacy of communication interfaces between designers and clients may also favour the generation of technology-driven initiatives. these findings are particularly important in the architectural practice context as profession is service-oriented in that it should always strive to satisfy professional norms and the client. table 4: innovation driven by technology statement response (%) ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 idea generation: employees’ inputs are encouraged relative to new project innovations 6.7 13.3 40.0 40 0 3.13 5 employees are encouraged to explore and assess new it systems 0.0 26.7 46.7 26.7 3 00 6 employees are persuaded to communicate through existing channels 6.7 13.3 53.3 26.7 3 00 7 fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 15 statement response (%) ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 reward systems are in place to motivate innovation within the firm 6.7 53.3 26.7 13.3 2.47 9 technology generator: clients’ briefs are available to all employees or project teams 6.7 0.0 46.7 46.7 3.33 3 clients are assured of product and service quality 0.0 0.0 46.7 53.3 3.53 1 new products and processes are suggested to clients as alternatives 0.0 6.7 53.3 40.0 3.33 2 project progression: project cost information is available from project team at each stage 20.0 20.0 33.3 26.7 2.67 8 improvement of project schedule is made on each project 0.0 6.7 66.7 26.7 3.20 4 table 5 indicates the respondents’ perceptions with respect to valueadded functions derived from the implementation of technology management initiatives in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 4.00. it is notable that all the mss are above the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that, in general, the respondents may be deemed to agree with the statements. though, all the mss are > 2.50, only one ms (3.27) is > 3.25 ≤ 4.00. this suggests that the respondents are of the opinion that concern related to the use of sustainable design and materials in construction projects fall between agree to strongly agree/strongly agree. the mss relative to r&d further suggest that investment of resources in r&d must be improved, while the mss relative to project assessment technologies suggest that more importance must be attached to issues relative to project assessment technologies as clients’ demand for improved performance is on the upswing. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 16 table 5: value-added functions related to technology management statement response (%) ms rank strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 research and development: time and money is spent on materials and techniques related r&d 13.3 46.7 13.3 26.7 2.53 5 post-project reviews are conducted for future reference 0.0 33.3 60.0 6.7 2.73 4 project assessment technologies: concern for the environment is prioritised in development projects 13.3 13.3 40.0 33 3 2.93 3 concern related to the use of sustainable design and materials in projects 0.0 13.3 46.7 40 0 3.27 1 life cycle implications of designs and materials are assessed 0.0 20.0 40.0 40 0 3.20 2 meanwhile, the other mss > 2.50 ≤ 3.25, which suggest that the respondents perceive that life cycle implications of designs and materials are assessed; concern for the environment is prioritised in development projects; post-project reviews are conducted for future reference, and time and money is spent on materials and techniques related r&d, fall between near agree to agree/agree. table 6 indicates the perceptions of respondents with respect to the acquisition and exploitation of technology in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 4.00. though, the ms is > 2.50, it nevertheless suggests that the respondents perceive that the ability to transfer technology from other industries to construction falls between near agree to agree/agree. table 6: acquisition and exploitation of technology statement response (%) ms strongly disagree..strongly agree 1 2 3 4 ability to transfer technology from other industries to construction 0.0 33.3 40.0 26.7 2.93 5. conclusions and recommendations the empirical study justified the perception that there is significant scope for the development of technology management principles and/or capabilities within architectural firms in order to enhance fouche, et al. • technology management in construction 17 their competitiveness. the findings also suggest that there may not be an existing mechanism that allows management to adequately assess and analyse the use and requirements for technology within their firms. based on the findings, it can be argued that the respondents are not taking adequate advantage of technology in order to improve and sustain their competitive advantage in the industry. in other words, within a firm technology-related strategies will require objectivity and complete focus in order to assist the firm in positioning itself appropriately in the marketplace. conducting a technology audit provides a platform for evolving appropriate technology strategy for a firm, as valuable resources related to information will be brought to light in the auditing process. consequently, architectural practices should endeavour to embrace the use of technology for building and sustaining competitive advantages in the market as mere internet access or e-mail usage in a firm is not adequate use of information technology. in this sense, systems/strategy for monitoring technological trends should be put in place in the workplace in order to improve, inter-alia, firms’ project-related efficiency and client satisfaction. therefore, periodic technology audits are recommended for architectural practices intending to remain abreast of trends and developments in the industry. this is particularly relevant to firms undergoing major organisational changes in the form of mergers or acquisitions. in this context, technology audit is expected to effect complete understanding of the ‘existing’ capabilities of a firm, and lead to the development of ‘future’ technology-based capabilities of the firm. references ariyici, y., coates, p., koskela, l., kagioglou, m., usher, c. & o’reilly, k. 2011. technology adoption in the bim implementation for lean architectural practice. automation in construction, 20(2), pp. 189-195. barrow, l. 2004. it and the modern architect opportunity or dilemma. automation in construction, 13(2), pp. 131-145. brewer, g. & gajendram, t. 2011. attitudinal, behavioural, and cultural impacts on e-business use in a project team: a case study. journal of information technology in construction, 16(0), pp. 637-652. business e-coach. 2003. guidelines on technology management for smes. [online]. available from: <http://www.technology4sme.com/ ecoach/business-guide/sme> [accessed: 4 june 2003]. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 18 cica (construction industry computer association). 2002. architectural it usage and training requirements. [online]. available from:<http://www.cica.org.uk> [accessed: 20 july 2004]. kale, s. & arditi, d. 2005. diffussion of computer-aided design technology in architectural design practice. journal of construction engineering and management, 131(10), pp. 1135-1141. khalil, t. 2000. management of technology: the key to competiveness and wealth creation. singapore: mcgraw-hill. lindsay, j. 2000. the technology management audit. london: prentice-hall. narayanan, v.k. 2001. managing technology and innovation for competitive advantage. new jersey: prentice-hall. phaal, r., farrukh, c.j.p. & probert, d.r. 2004. technology road mapping – a planning framework for evolution and revolution. technological forecasting & social change, 71(1/2), pp. 5-26. soons, d. 2004. technology in architecture. walls and roofs in africa, 5(2), p. 8. urenio research unit. 2001. technology audit. [online]. available from: <http://www.mewventuretools.net/technology_audit.html> [accessed: 7 august 2004]. wainwright, e. 2010. the office is always on: degw, lefebre and the wireless city. journal of architecture, 15(2), pp. 209-218. 109 oorsigartikels • review articles a decision support framework for extension of time claims for the jbcc principal building agreement peer reviewed and revised november 2016 abstract delays to contractors’ progress, often resulting in time and cost overruns, are a major source of claims and disputes in the construction industry. the assessment of extension of time (eot) claims as part of a construction project can have far-reaching consequences for the financial success of the project. the proper and transparent assessment of eot claims is, therefore, an essential component in the success of any project. in this article, an actionresearch approach, a very specific qualitative approach, was followed to develop a userfriendly guideline to help practitioners navigate this potential minefield of complexities in the process of the assessment of eot claims. focus groups, consisting of industry practitioners, with specialist knowledge in construction contracts, contributed to the development of the decisionsupport frameworks, and ultimately to the findings. the iterative process followed assisted in producing a tool that can be used in practice as a guideline for the analysis of eot claims when using the principal building agreement of the joint building contracts committee (jbcc). keywords: construction delays, decision-trees, eot, jbcc abstrak die vertraging van die aannemer se vordering het dikwels ‘n negatiewe impak op tyd en koste en is ‘n groot bron van eise en geskille in die konstruksiebedryf. die evaluering van eise vir die verlenging van tyd (vvt) kan tot verreikende nagevolge lei in verband met die finansiële sukses van ‘n projek. die behoorlike en deursigtige evaluering van vvt-eise is dus ‘n noodsaaklike komponent in die sukses van enige projek. ‘n tinus maritz & hendrik prinsloo prof. marthinus johannes maritz, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 2581, email: <tinus. maritz@up.ac.za> dr hendrik frederik prinsloo, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 2584, email: <hendrik. prinsloo@up.ac.za> the author(s) declared no conflict of interest for this title and article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i2.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(2): 109-146 © uv/ufs mailto:tinus.maritz@up.ac.za mailto:tinus.maritz@up.ac.za mailto:hendrik.prinsloo@up.ac.za mailto:hendrik.prinsloo@up.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.5 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 110 aksie-navorsing benadering, ‘n baie spesifieke kwalitatiewe benadering, word gevolg in die artikel om ‘n gebruiker-vriendelike riglyn te ontwikkel om praktisyns te help om hierdie potensiële mynveld van kompleksiteit te navigeer in die proses van die evaluering van vvt-eise. fokusgroepe, bestaande uit industriepraktisyns wat oor spesialiskennis in konstruksiekontrakte beskik, het bygedra tot die ontwikkeling van die besluit-ondersteuningsraamwerke en die bevindings. die iteratiewe proses wat gevolg is het bygedra tot die ontwikkeling van ‘n instrument wat in die praktyk gebruik kan word om vvt-eise te ontleed wanneer gebruik gemaak word van die hoofbouooreenkoms van die gesamentlike boukontraktekomitee (gbk). sleutelwoorde: besluitnemingsboom, gbk, konstruksievertraging, vvt 1. introduction it is often said that the owner of a building or construction project aims to achieve three objectives, namely cost, quality and time. any project faces delays and disruptions, especially with the complex projects nowadays. these frequently entail many interfaces between the installations and any overlapping activities (eizakshiri, chan & emsley, 2011: 839-848). delays where the contractor is not at fault would normally constitute a valid claim for extension of time (eot). if the delay affects the critical path of the project, it would normally result in the revision of the contractual-completion date of the project. however, confirming a delay and/or disruption is not an easy task; it is a time-consuming process, especially in multifaceted projects with thousands of activities, a lot of details, as well as the involvement of many stakeholders (alnaas, khalil & nassar, 2014: 308-316). in any construction contract, the contractor has a legal obligation to complete a project by a stipulated date. however, various delays almost always disrupt the performance of the contractor’s work (danuri, othman & lim, 2006: 15; abd el-razek, bassioni & mobarak, 2008: 831-841; braimah, 2008: 5-6). during the eot process, many problems are normally encountered in the application and preparation of the claim for eot. many studies have been conducted on the topic of delays and eot assessment. the majority of the previous studies have focused on identifying the sources as well as the causes and effects of delays, whereas others discuss delay-analytical methods, or the delay-claim procedures. in practice, delays and disruption to the contractors’ progress constitute a major source of claims and disputes in the construction industry (cheung & yeung, 1998: 367-374; braimah, 2008: 5-6; croeser, 2010: 4). maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 111 however, according to yang and kao (2012: 385-397), none of the existing delay-analytical methods are perfect, because they all include an element of assumptions, subjective assessment and theoretical projection. 1.1 problem statement delays and disruptions to contractors’ progress, often resulting in time and cost overruns, are a major source of claims and disputes in the construction industry. at the heart of construction-delay disputes lies the question as to what extent each contracting party is responsible for the delayed project completion, and for the extra cost incurred. various analytical methodologies have been developed over the years as aids to determine the extent of the delay, but there is limited information on the extent of use of these methodologies in practice, and their impact on the construction process (braimah, 2008: 5-6). in addition, hardly any information is available in terms of an overall framework or procedure to guide practitioners in the assessment of eot claims. previous research in terms of the various issues to be considered is fragmentary in nature and it would typically investigate one of the aspects in isolation of the others. many problems are encountered in practice in the application, preparation and assessment of eot claims. in many cases, these problems might result in disputes. the lack of clear guidance on how to assess eot claims can be viewed as a major contributing factor to disputes (danuri et al., 2006: 15). the delay in dispute settlement has various negative effects on the project (iyer, chaphalkar & joshi, 2008: 174-184): • it hampers the project’s progress when disputes arise during the execution stage; • it is detrimental to the relationship between the owner and the contractor, and • it contributes to cost-and-time overruns. 1.2 objective the main objective of this study is to develop a framework with the use of a decision-tree analysis to provide guidance for the assessment of delay claims. the framework would assist in providing a platform to standardise the assessment of delay claims when making use of the jbcc agreement. this approach will contribute to expediting the evaluation process and limit the negative impacts associated with acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 112 any prolonged process for concluding delay claims. as a result of the standardisation, it would also contribute to an improved perception of fairness in the evaluation of delay claims, which would, in turn, it is hoped, lead to the reduction in claims being subjected to dispute resolution. 2. literature review at the heart of any claim for extension of the contract period is the presence of an event that would cause a delay. therefore, an in-depth understanding of this primary building block of the claimevaluation process is essential. 2.1 types of delays the evaluation of construction eot claims is, to a large extent, influenced by the type of delay. a number of studies have attempted to categorise delays in terms of the impact, risk and cause of the delay. figure 1 provides an overview of different types of delays and the impact each has on time and extra cost. delay non critical delay no impact on completion date critical delay impacts on completion date excusable delay client’s risk compensable delay client’s risk non-compensable delay external factor non-excusable delay contractor’s risk figure 1: types of delays an in-depth understanding of the different types of delays is essential for the successful execution of delay-claim analysis. maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 113 2.2 excusable delays a non-excusable delay is defined as a delay caused by the contractor, or any aspect that is within the contractor’s sphere of control. the contractor would not be entitled to any additional time or compensation for this type of delay (tumi, omran & pakir, 2009: 14-15). an excusable delay, on the other hand, can be described as a delay caused by either of the following two factors: • third parties or incidents beyond the control of the client and the contractor, and • the client or the client’s agents (alaghbari, kadir & salim, 2007; hamzah, khoiry, arshad, tawil & che ani, 2011: 490-495; tumi et al., 2009: 192-206). 2.3 critical delays according to pickavance (2000: 218-271), a delay in progress is not the same as a delay in completion. a delay in progress is a significant shift in the planned timing of a specific activity or activities that could occur at any time. although the start and/or finish of the activity might differ from the original intent, it is irrelevant, unless it ultimately impacts on the completion date. on the other hand, a delay in the completion date occurs only when the completion date has passed; this can only be caused by a delay to the progress of an activity, which is in the critical path to completion. the criticality of a delay can be defined as follows in terms of the ultimate impact on completion: • critical delay – a delay on the critical path of the project, resulting in the final completion date of the project being delayed, and • non-critical delay – a delay that is not on the critical path and that would, therefore, not impact on the overall completion date (ndekugri, braimah & gameson, 2008: 692-700). 2.3.1 determining criticality braimah (2008: 93-125) states that various methodologies have been developed over the years as aids to evaluate any delay claims. these methods would test delays in terms of the criticality, and attempt to quantify the extent of the delay. these methodologies can be divided into different categories (non-critical-path method-based acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 114 techniques and critical-path method-based techniques) and different types, as are encountered in projects. the methodologies for analysing delay are summarised and categorised in table 1. table 1: existing delay analysis methodologies common name description literature n o nc pm -b a se d t e c hn iq ue s s-curve develop time/cost s-curve baseline and compare with actual s-curve rubin, fairweather & guy (1999) global impact technique show all delays on bar chart total delay = sum of all delays leary & bramble (1988); alkass, mazerolle & harris (1995; 1996: 375-394); pinnell (1998) net impact show all delays on bar chart eliminate concurrence total delay = sum of net delays leary & bramble (1988); alkass et al. (1995, 1996: 375-394) c pm -b a se d t e c hn iq ue s as-planned vs. as-built compare baseline programme with as-built programme to determine overall delay stumpf (2000: 32-32); lucas (2002: 30-36); lovejoy (2004: 27-30); pickavance (2005: 218-271) as-planned but for take the actual as-built schedule and take out the duration of all the excusable delays alkass et al. (1996: 375-394); pinnell (1998) impacted as-planned incorporate delays into as-planned (baseline) programme trauner (1990); pinnell (1998); lucas (2002: 30-36); lovejoy (2004: 27-30) pickavance (2005: 218-271) collapsed as-built eliminate delays from as-built programme pinnell (1998); stumpf (2000: 32-32); wickwire & groff (2004: 3-9); lovejoy (2004: 27-30) window analysis divide the programme in a number time periods update each window with delays in that period galloway & nielsen (1990); bordoli & baldwin (1998: 327-337.); finke (1999: 96-100); lovejoy (2004: 27-30); pickavance (2005: 218-271) time impact analysis establish effect of individual delays on baseline programme evaluate delays chronologically leary & bramble (1988); alkass et al. (1996: 375-394); pickavance (2005: 218-271). source: braimah (2008: 93-125) maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 115 2.3.2 general deficiencies of delay-claim analysis methodology in general, the existing methods of evaluating delays and formulating claims are “inaccurate, time-consuming and costly”. preparing the claims involves scrupulous digging up information through piles of project documents to arrange and ascertain the relevant delays encountered throughout the project lifecycle (alkass et al., 1996: 375-394). in addition to the diverse outcomes that existing methods produce, when applied to the same set of delay claims data, other significant matters that can possibly influence the outcomes are frequently not even considered when applying these techniques. these matters comprise the functionality of the programming software employed; resource loading and levelling requirements; resolving concurrent delays, and delays in pacing the strategies (braimah, 2013: 506-531). 2.4 compensable delays compensation will have to be considered if a delay is found to be excusable, and it should be established whether the delay can be defined as follows: • non-compensable delay – an excusable delay caused by factors beyond the control of the client and the contractor. although most forms of contract make provision for the extension of the contract-completion date, the contractor will not receive compensation from the client; and • compensable delay – an excusable delay caused by the client or the client’s agents. the contractual completion date will be extended, and the contractor will receive compensation from the client (tumi et al., 2009: 192-206). the jbcc agreement clearly differentiates between delays that would attract compensation and delays that are not compensable. clause 23.1 provides a list of delay-causing events, which would not result in an adjustment of the contract value (compensation). on the other hand, clause 23.2 makes provision for delaying events, which would attract compensation. clause 23.3 also makes provision for circumstances, not specifically mentioned in clause 23.1, while clause 23.2 makes provision for circumstances beyond the contractor’s reasonable control. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 116 2.5 contractual compliance in terms of delay claims in order to assist contracting parties in dealing with claims that might arise during the execution of the construction contract, the majority of the standard construction contracts contain provisions, under which the contractor can recover compensation from the employer for various losses suffered – where the project is prolonged or disrupted by certain specified causes (croeser, 2010: 20). however, the majority of contractual regimes, and even general conditions of contract, do not provide details of the principles governing the assessment of claims for eot; this is left to the professionals involved in each project (yogeswaran, kumaraswamy & miller, 1998: 283-293). delay-claim clauses in the majority of the standard construction contracts can be classified into the following two main categories: • clauses dealing with the notification of a possible delay, and • clauses dealing with the claim itself. compliance with all contract provisions in regard to claims is a prerequisite for the claim to be considered for approval. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design in considering the choice of the research design, one should bear in mind that the research is undertaken in the built environment. builtenvironment disciplines are primarily applied sciences, focusing on the application more than on the mere generation of knowledge (klosterman, 1983: 216-225; knight & ruddock, 2009:1-12, 14-27). given this background, the research design should be able to deliver results that can be applied in practice. upon further investigation, it became evident that action research, a very specific qualitative approach, would be the most appropriate choice for the research design. action research can be defined as a participatory, democratic process, concerned with developing practical knowledge in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes, grounded in a participatory worldview. it seeks to bring together actions and reflection, theory and practice, in participation with others, in the pursuit of practical solutions, in order to address issues of pressing concern to people. reason and bradbury (2001: 1-19) and huang (2010: 93-109) simplified it further by stating that action research is an approach to maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 117 knowledge creation that results from a context of practice; it requires researchers to work with practitioners. 3.2 methodology the action research process required to develop a decision-tree support framework for the assessment of eot claims was executed, as depicted in figure 2. conduct literature review propose decision trees substantiate decision trees through the review of construction contracts evaluation of decision trees by focus groups update decision trees with focus groups comments figure 2: action research process to develop a decision-tree support framework the first step in the action-research process was to conduct a literature review. the main objective of the literature review was to identify the key decisions required in the assessment of constructiondelay claims. for a decision tree to be functional, the decisions to be considered in order to reach a conclusion should be known. therefore, key decisions are an essential requirement when developing a decision tree. the literature was of great assistance, not only when identifying critical decisions in the assessment of eot claims, but also to further investigate important considerations associated with the key decisions. the information, in terms of critical decisions identified during the literature-review process, was utilised as the input to develop a decision tree for the assessment of eot claims. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 118 3.3 research instrument a research instrument is a tool utilised to gather the data for analysis (hofstee, 2006: 107-119). the research tool should be considered in the context of the action-research design followed in the study. the focus-groups process was viewed as the most appropriate approach, as “focus groups explicitly use group interaction as a part of the method” (kitzinger, 1995: 299). to further supplement the focus-group process, selected interviews were also held with industry specialists. 3.4 data the absence of a specific grouping structure of construction industry specialists knowledgeable and experienced in eot claims necessitated the use of non-probability sampling. purposive sampling, one of the most common non-probability sampling strategies, was deemed to be the most appropriate approach. purposive sampling calls for the participants to be selected on the merits of their specific involvement and the experiences central to the phenomenon being studied (greig, taylor & mackay, 2012: 81-200). the level of knowledge required excluded some possible participants, who would only have a basic knowledge of contract clauses – as a result of the utilisation of the specific contract in a project. consequently, it was decided to target those members serving on the technical committee of the organisation responsible for the compilation of the construction contract. to ensure that meaningful participation of all the group members was possible, it was decided to keep the number of participants as low as possible. as a result of the small number of possible participants with the sufficient degree of expertise in this specialised subject, larger focus groups were not possible. table 2: focus-group participants designation years of experience 1. architect; ceo jbcc technical committee over 40 years 2. contractor; construction contract specialist over 30 years 3. contractor, construction contract specialist over 30 years 4. construction contract consultant over 30 years maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 119 designation years of experience 5. quantity surveyor; construction contract specialist over 40 years 6. architect; attorney; construction contract specialist over 40 years the data gathered by means of the focus group and interview process were extremely valuable, and led to a number of amendments to the original proposed decision trees developed. 3.5 limitations the main objective was to provide a holistic guideline to assist in the assessment of eot claims. the eot assessment process addresses a large number of different aspects. it was not possible to do an in-depth analysis of each of the different aspects, partly because of time and practical constraints, and partly because too much detail would detract from the aim to provide an overall guideline with an emphasis on ease-of-use. 4. findings 4.1 universal decision tree framework to be able to apply decision tree principles to eot analysis, it was necessary to identify the decisions taken as part of the evaluation process. the literature, focus groups and interviews identified the following essential decisions required when an eot claim is to be analysed: • was the delay critical? • was the delay excusable? • were the contractual provisions complied with? • was the delay compensable? decision trees address decisions in a sequential manner. as a result, it is necessary to determine the sequence in which the above decisions should be made. the decision on whether the delay is compensable can only be made once all the other decisions have had a positive outcome and it is established that eot should be awarded. therefore, this decision should be considered last. a logical approach would be to sequence decisions in terms of the consequence of the outcome of acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 120 the decision. if a specific decision would lead to the rejection of the eot, it would make sense to consider this decision first. however, it is not possible to decide which of the three remaining decisions should be addressed first, by merely examining the outcome of the decision, because a negative response to any of the first three decisions would result in the eot not being awarded. the degree of effort required in making a decision in each of the three questions differs. in practical terms, it would make sense to consider the decision that would require the least amount of effort first. should this first decision result in the claim not being awarded, time would not unnecessarily be spent on decisions that require more effort to consider. to determine whether a delay is critical is normally the most complex and time-consuming part of an eot claim analysis. a practitioner would not want to embark on this cumbersome process without knowing that the contract provisions were complied with and the delay is indeed excusable. for this reason, it is proposed that criticality should only be considered after contractual compliance was assessed and the question as to whether the delay is excusable has been addressed. to determine whether a delay is excusable (beyond the contractor’s reasonable control) can sometimes be complex and time consuming. it is reliant on evidence presented by the contractor and the verification by the person responsible for the eot claim analysis. to determine whether the general contract clauses were complied with would normally not be a very involved process, as the facts presented in the eot claim submission would be evaluated in terms of the relevant contract clauses. it is, therefore, proposed that the compliance with contract clauses should be considered before a determination is made on whether the delay is excusable. the following sequence of decision-making is, therefore, proposed: • decision 1 – were the contractual provisions complied with? • decision 2 – was the delay excusable? • decision 3 – was the delay critical? • decision 4 – was the delay compensable? if the decisions required in the eot claim analysis process are translated into a decision tree, the decision tree can be formulated as follows (refer to figure 3): maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 121 event step 1 step 2 step 3 step 4 step 5 delay claim does the claim comply with contractual conditions? non-compliance non-excusable excusable complies is the delay excusable? is the delay critical? not critical non-compensable claim rejected compensable determine compensation critical eot awarded determine if the delay is compensable no no no no yes yes yes yes figure 3: universal decision-tree framework the principles defined as part of the universal decision-tree framework can be applied in the process of assessing eot claims when utilising the jbcc agreement. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 122 4.1.1 assess contractual compliance (step 1) notification did the contractor comply with time-bar requirement (23.4.2)? 23.4.2 within twenty (20) working days of becoming aware, or ought reasonably to have become aware of such delay give notice to the principal agent of the intention to submit a claim of revision to the date of practical completion, failing which the contractor shall forfeit such claim did the contractor comply with the 40 working day submission requirement (23.5)? 23.5 the contractor shall submit such a claim for revision of the date of practical completion to the principal agent within forty (40) working days, or such extended period the principal agent may allow, from when the contractor is able to quantify the delay in terms of the programme does the claim comply with the content requirements (23.6)? 23.6.1 state the relevant cause on which the contractor relies 23.6.2 show the cause and effect of the delay (impact of critical path) 23.6.3 state the extension period in working days and the calculation thereof did the pa allow an extended period? was the claim submitted within the extended period? did the contractor provide the outstanding content information? is the information submitted sufficient to proof the delay? claim rejected determine if the delay is excusable did the contractor comply with clause 23.4.1 to take steps to reduce the delay? 23.4.1 take all reasonable steps to avoid or reduce the delay did the contractor comply with clause 23.4.1 to take steps to avoid the delay? 23.4.1 take all reasonable steps to avoid or reduce the delay test compliance 1. determine date of event 2. determine date when contractor became aware 3. establish if it was within 20 days no no no no no no no no no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes claim the contractor has the opportunity to submit a claim possibly recover damages from contractor possibly recover damages from contractor request outstanding content information reduce number of days if eot is awarded figure 4: decision tree: jbcc contract compliance maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 123 the test for contractual compliance in the jbcc agreement is twofold. first, criteria in terms of the notification of delay should be complied with and, secondly, certain requirements in terms of the claim should be met. the main focus of the notification clause is to determine if the contractor complied with the time-bar requirements set in clause 23.4.2. according to the clause, the contractor should provide a notice within 20 working days of becoming aware of the delay. the clause is clear that, should this time bar not being adhered to, the claim will be forfeited. therefore, the first decision as part of the decision-tree framework should be to test compliance with the timebar requirements. if the provision in clause 23.4.2 is strictly applied to a situation where the contractor has not met the 20 working-day notification requirement, then the claim can be rejected. however, from a common-law and a case-law perspective, the decision to reject the claim is perhaps not so simplistic. in case law, it is clear that, if a client, by his own act, delays performance, he is not entitled to take advantage of his own wrong. one example can be found in kelly and hingle’s trustees vs union government (minister of public works) 1928 tpd 272, a case dealing specifically with delay and the right of the employer to impose liquidated damages on the contractor, as a result of delayed completion of the work. feetham j. quoted the english case of holme vs guppy, in which case it was held that “if a man by his own act prevents the performance of what another has been stipulated to perform, he cannot take advantage of his own wrong.” and further “… and there are clear authorities that if the party be prevented, by the refusal of the other contracting party, from completing the contract within the time limited, he (the contractor) is not liable in law for the default. it is clear, therefore, that the plaintiffs (the contractor) were excused from performing the agreement contained in the original contract. the plaintiffs were, therefore, left at large, and are not to forfeit anything for the delay. if this principle is applied to the time-bar provision in clause 23.4.2, it is perhaps not advisable to immediately reject a claim if the 20 working-day notification provision was not adhered to. it should first be considered whether the delay was not as a result of the actions of the client. if this was the case, the contractor might have a remedy in law if the claim is outright rejected – due to non-compliance with the time bar. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 124 should it be found that the time bar required was adhered to, the next step would be to assess compliance in terms of the claimadmission requirements. according to clause 23.5, the submission of the claim is also governed by a requirement to submit the claim within a stipulated period of time. the contractor should submit the claim within 40 working days from the time when the contractor is able to quantify the delay in terms of the programme. provision is also made for the principal agent to allow an extended period for claim submission. the second decision, as part of the decision-tree framework, would therefore be to establish if the claim was submitted within the stipulated period of time. it should be borne in mind that the principal agent would only be in a position to verify adherence to the deadline once the claim is submitted, as the relevant information to determine when the contractor was able to quantify the delay in terms of the programme (in accordance with clause 23.5) will only be submitted with the claim. in contrast to the notification clause (clause 23.4.2), the clause dealing with the submission of the claim is silent on the consequence of non-adherence to the 40 working-day submission requirement. without a specific provision in the clause that the claim will be forfeited if the 40 working-day submission requirement was not adhered to, it is not advisable to reject the claim on this basis. the first consideration would be to determine if the principal agent granted an extended period for the claim to be submitted. if an extended period was agreed to, it should then be determined whether the contractor complied with the deadline in terms of the extended period. late submission in both scenarios, non-adherence to the original 40 working-day submission requirement, or to the extended deadline, would not lead to the rejection of the claim. it is in the contractor’s interest to submit the claim as soon as possible, because, without an approved eot claim, the practical completion date would not be adjusted. in a case where the claim was submitted late, the contractual remedy for the client is damages. it should be determined whether the client suffered any damages as a result of the late submission of the claim. the jbcc agreement does not provide specific guidance on how damages, as a result of the late submission of an eot claim, should be dealt with. it is assumed that, if damages can be proven, it would be possible for the client to recover the cost in terms of clause 27.0 (recovery of expense and/ or loss). if the claim was submitted within the 40 working-day deadline, or if it was submitted late, the next decision required will be to establish maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 125 if the claim complies with the content requirements stipulated in clause 23.6: • 23.6.1 state the relevant clause on which the contractor relies. • 23.6.2 show the cause and effect of the delay (impact of critical path). • 23.6.3 state the extension period in working days and the calculation thereof. no specific consequence is mentioned if the claim does not comply with the content requirements. in practice, the principal agent would normally request the contractor to submit additional information if sufficient information to comply with the content requirements was not provided, even though the jbcc agreement does not specifically deal with a request for additional information. if no information is forthcoming after a request for additional information by the principal agent, the claim would be evaluated on the basis of the original information provided. the lack of information could influence the outcome of the claim. at this stage, the principal agent would have to review the information submitted, and make a decision on whether the information was sufficient to confirm the delay. if the information is not sufficient – even after a request for additional information – it is probable that the claim would be rejected. should the content be acceptable, there still remains one requirement to consider – if all reasonable steps to avoid or reduce the delay were taken according to clause 23.4.1. the jbcc agreement is silent on the issue of non-compliance with this clause. the question that the principal agent should consider is whether any reasonable action from the contractor could have reduced the delay or even resulted in the avoidance of the delay. if it is clear that the action – or it may very well be the lack of action – by the contractor resulted in the delay persisting longer than necessary, the remedy might be to reduce the number of days awarded. it would only be possible to effect this reduction in step 3 of the universal decision tree, when it is being considered whether the delay is critical. the number of days awarded would only be determined in this step. if it is found that the contractor could have taken reasonable steps to avoid the delay but the steps were not taken, this may lead to the rejection of the claim. if the contractor did take all the reasonable steps to reduce or avoid the delay, the next step in the decisiontree process would be to determine whether the delay is excusable (see figure 5). acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 126 4.1.2 determine whether the delay is excusable (step 2) identify cause of delay assess cause of delay i.t.o contract clauses is the cause of the delay catered for in terms of clauses 23.1 and 23.2? 23.1 the contractor is entitled to a revision of the date of practical completion without an adjustment of the contract value where a delay to practical completion has been caused by one or more of the following events: 23.1.1 adverse weather conditions 23.1.2 inability to obtain materials and goods where the contractor has taken reasonable steps to avoid or reduce such a delay 23.1.3 making good physical loss and repairing damages to the works where the contractor is at risk and such risk is beyond the reasonable control of the parties 23.1.4 excercise of statutory power by a body of state or public local authority that directly affects the execution of the works 23.1.5 default by a nominated subcontractor where the contractor has taken reasonable steps to avoid or reduce such delay 23.1.6 force majeure 23.2 the contractor is entitled to a revision of the date for practical completion and the adjustment of the contract value where a delay to practical completion has been caused by one or more of the following events: 23.2.1 delayed possession of the site 23.2.2 making good physical loss and repairing damages to the works where the contractor is at risk 23.2.3 contract instruction not associated by the contractor’s default 23.2.4 opening up and testing of works and materials and goods where such work is in accordance with the contract documentation 23.2.5 late and incorrect issue of construction information 23.2.6 late supply of free issue materials and goods for which the employer is responsible 23.2.7 late supply of prime cost amount items where the contractor has taken reasonable steps to avoid or reduce such delay 23.2.8 late acceptance by the principal agent and/or agents of a design undertaken by a selected subcontractor where the contractor’s obligations have been met 23.2.9 insolvency of a nominated subcontractor 23.2.10 suspension or termination by a subcontractor due to default of the employer, the principal agent and/or any agent 23.2.11 an act or omission of a direct contractor 23.2.12 execution of additional work for which the quantity in the bills of quantities is not sufficiently accurate 23.2.13 suspension of the works is the cause of delay catered for in terms of clause 23.3? 23.3 further circumstances for which the contractor may be entitled to a revision of the practical completion date and adjustment of the contract value are delays due to any other cause beyond the contractor’s reasonable control that could not have reasonably been anticipated and provided for. the principal agent shall adjust the contract value where such delay is due to the employer and/or agents test against definition of excusable delay: is the delay caused by any of the following? 1. third parties or 2. incidents beyond the control of the client and the contractor or the client or the client’s agents yes yes yes no no no non excusableexcusable figure 5: decision tree: jbcc excusable delay or not the first decision required would be to assess whether the cause of the delay is specifically mentioned in the lists of possible delays maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 127 provided in clauses 23.1 and 23.2. should this be the case, the delay would then be viewed as excusable. if the delay is not specifically mentioned in any of the two clauses, it should then be considered in terms of clause 23.3. clause 23.3 provides for the following criteria to test the cause of the delay: • is the cause of the delay beyond the contractor’s reasonable control? • could the cause of the delay not have been reasonably anticipated and provided for? to establish whether the delay is beyond the contractor’s reasonable control and whether the cause of the delay could have been anticipated or provided for, it would be necessary to consult the tender documents. by assessing the tender documents, one should be able to establish the information available to the contractor in terms of the delay in question. this information would assist in answering the question as to whether the cause of the delay could have been anticipated or reasonably provided for. if the delay could not have been anticipated and provided for, this would qualify as an excusable delay. if the contrary is evident, the claim would be rejected on the basis that the contractor was responsible for the risk associated with the cause of the delay. it is possible that the tender document might be silent on the cause of the delay in question. in such a case, it is proposed that the definition of an excusable delay be utilised to determine the outcome of the decision. a final decision can now be made to determine if the cause of the delay was excusable. should the assessment show that the delay is indeed excusable, and therefore not as the contractor’s risk, the next consideration in the decision-tree framework is to determine whether the delay is critical. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 128 4.1.3 determine whether the delay is critical (step 3) determine if the delay is critical or not does contract prescribed eot delay analysis method? is the required information available to utilise prescribed method? is a programme with a clear critical path available? is the delay being considered prospectively?comply with requirements* of net impact technique? comply with requirements* with global impact technique? comply with requirements* of s-curve technique? comply with requirements* of collapsed as-built? comply with requirements* of impacted as-planned? comply with requirements* of time impact analysis? comply with requirements* of window analysis? comply with requirements* of as-planned vs as-built? use any other appropriate method use any other appropriate method use any other appropriate method outcome of analysis – is the delay critical? did the contractor comply with clause 23.4.1 to take steps to reduce the delay? 23.4.1 take all reasonable stepts to avoid or reduce delay claim rejected determine if compensable *utilise supplementary decision tree to test compliance reduce number of days awarded reduce delay retrospective analysis prospective analysis no no no no no no no no no no no no no no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes figure 6: jbcc: decision tree to determine if delay is critical maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 129 to determine whether the delay is critical, the first decision required as part of the decision tree would be to establish which of the eot delay analysis methods (dam) should be utilised. the jbcc agreement does not prescribe the type of dam to be utilised, therefore leaving the choice open to the principal agent. eot dams can be divided into two main categories: non-critical path methods and critical path methods. it would be preferable to utilise a critical path method. as this outcome would be conclusive as to whether the delay was critical or not. unfortunately, in some instances, a programme with a clear critical path may not be available, and a decision would have to be made with the limited information available. in such cases, the only alternative would be to utilise one of the non-critical path methods. the second consideration in the decision tree would be to determine whether a programme with a clear critical path is available. if the response is positive, the next consideration would be to decide on the most appropriate critical path method to utilise. the timing of when the analysis is taking place would have an impact on the choice of dam. prospective analyses seek to determine the likely impact of the delay on the project completion date. retrospective analyses seek to determine the actual impact of the delay on the completion date. therefore, before the decision tree considers the choice of dam, it requires that it should first be determined whether the delay is being considered prospectively or retrospectively. braimah and ndekugri (2008) did a study on the factors that influence analysts’ selection from these methodologies. eighteen factors were identified with the help of the literature review and pilot surveys, and then ranked on their relative importance, based on data collected in a nationwide survey of united kingdom construction organisations (table 3). acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 130 table 3: factors influencing the selection of dam factor source literature le a ry & b ra m b le (1 98 8) c o nl in & r e tik ( 19 97 ) fi nk e ( 19 97 ) bu b sh a it & c un ni ng ha m ( 19 98 ) br a m b le & c a lla ha n (2 00 0) sc l (2 00 2) pi c ka va nc e ( 20 05 ) records availability ü ü ü ü ü ü ü baseline programme availability ü ü ü ü nature of baseline programme ü ü ü ü updated programme availability ü ü ü ü reason for the delay analysis ü ü ü ü applicable legislation ü the form of contract ü ü ü ü cost of using the technique ü ü ü ü nature of the delaying events ü ü ü skills of the analyst ü ü ü the amount in dispute ü ü ü the number of delaying events ü ü source: adapted from braimah & ndekugri (2008) the construction industry-wide survey yielded the following results (summarised in table 4) in terms of the relevant importance of the factors influencing the selection of the dam. table 4: relevant importance of dam selection factors selection factor overall importance index rank records availability 97.5 1 baseline programme availability 84.1 2 maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 131 selection factor overall importance index rank the amount in dispute 73.1 3 nature of baseline programme 71.5 4 updated programme availability 69.8 5 the number of delaying events 66.1 6 complexity of the project 65.8 7 skills of the analyst 65.3 8 nature of the delaying events 64.6 9 reason for the delay analysis 61.8 10 type of contract 59.2 11 cost of using the technique 58.0 12 dispute resolution forum 54.4 13 time of the delay 62.0 14 size of project 50.9 15 duration of the project 45.1 16 the other party to the claim 44.7 17 applicable legislation 36.5 18 source: adapted from braimah & ndekugri (2008) the industry-wide survey also determined the extent of use of different dams. the survey ranked the dams in terms of the extent of use for both critical path methods and non-critical path methods. table 5 provides information on the overall ranking of different methods. table 5: extent of use of dams dam usage index rank as-planned vs as-built 65.7 1 impacted as-planned 59.4 2 collapsed as-built 54.8 3 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 132 dam usage index rank time impact analysis 48.2 4 net impact 45.7 5 global 45.5 6 window analysis 40.2 7 s-curve 33.8 8 source: adapted from braimah & ndekugri (2008) in the absence of any guidance from the contract, a decision on the most appropriate dam should be made. in order to make this decision, it is proposed that the five most significant factors influencing the selection of dams should be utilised in the decision tree, in order to identify the most appropriate method (table 4). 1. records availability. 2. baseline programme availability. 3. the amount in dispute. 4. nature of baseline programme. 5. updated programme availability. table 6 highlights the information required for the following criteria for selection: • records availability. • baseline programme availability. • nature of baseline programme. • updated programme availability. table 6 can be utilised as a tool to support decision-making when considering the selection of the appropriate dam as part of the decision tree. maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 133 table 6: requirements to utilise dams record as-planned vs as-built impacted as-planned collapsed as-built window analysis time impact analysis important project information required for the application of dams outline of delay events ü ü ü ü ü start dates of delay events ü ü ü ü ü finish dates of delay events ü ü ü ü ü activities affected by delays ü ü ü duration of delay events ü ü ü ü ü original planned completion date (or as extended) ü ü ü ü actual completion date ü ü ü ü as-planned critical path(s) ü ü ü ü as-built critical path ü ü updates critical or near critical path(s) ü ü update or schedule revision dates ü ü activity list with logic and lag ü ü ü ü ü main programming requirements of dams baseline programme available ü ü ü ü nature of baseline programme available in cpm ü ü ü ü includes all relevant activities ü ü ü ü reasonable activity durations ü ü ü ü reasonable activity relationships ü ü ü ü activities defined in appropriate detail ü ü ü ü acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 134 record as-planned vs as-built impacted as-planned collapsed as-built window analysis time impact analysis relevant programmes updates for dams application intermediate regular programme updates available ü ü final updated programme available (as-built programme) ü ü ü ü total 16 13 9 19 19 source: adapted from braimah (2008) a specific dam can only be utilised if it was established that the required information to execute that particular dam is available. the supplementary decision trees provided below (figures 7 to 14) in conjunction with table 6 would be of assistance in this regard. the contract administrator should verify whether the information required to successfully utilise the dam provided in table 6 is available. this would be the first decision required in the decision trees. should the information be available, the decision trees would then consider the adherence to the other important selection criteria. should the decisions required in terms of the other selection criteria yield positive responses, the specific dam can be utilised. should any of the decisions required in terms of the selection criteria be negative, an alternative dam should be considered by repeating the process. maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 135 use as-planned vs as-built? sufficient records available? is baseline programmes available? is use of method within budget? is the nature of the baseline programme appropriate? is the final updated programme available? possible to use this method? not possible to use this method? yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no figure 7: decision tree: use as-planned vs as-built? use collapsed as-built? sufficient records available? is use of method within budget? is final updated programme available? possible to use this method not possible to use this method yes yes yes no no no figure 8: decision tree: use collapsed as-built? acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 136 use window analysis? sufficient records available? is baseline programming available? is use of method within budget? is the nature of the baseline programme appropriate? is intermediate regular programme updates available? is final updated programme available? possible to use this methodnot possible to use this method yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no figure 9: decision tree: use window analysis? use impacted as-planned? sufficient records available? is baseline programming available? is use of method within budget? is the nature of the baseline programme appropriate? possible to use this methodnot possible to use this method yes yes yes yes no no no no figure 10: decision tree: use impacted as-planned? maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 137 time impact analysis? sufficient records available? is baseline programming available? is use of method within budget? is the nature of the baseline programme appropriate? is the intermediate regular programme updates available? is final updated programme available? possible to use this methodnot possible to use this method yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no figure 11: decision tree: use time impact analysis? if a programme with a clear critical path is not available, one of the non-critical path methods should be considered. the projectrelated information available would be the most significant deciding factor utilised in the decision tree to choose the most appropriate non-critical path dam. one of the following decision trees can be utilised to decide on the most appropriate non-critical path method (figures 14-15). acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 138 use net impact technique? is a baseline programme available? is a start and finish date of the delay available? is a start and finish date of concurrent delays available? not possible to use this method possible to use this method no no no yes yes yes figure 12: decision tree: net impact technique? use global technique is a baseline programme available? is a start and finish date of concurrent delays available? not possible to use this method possible to use this method no no yes yes figure 13: decision tree: use global impact technique? maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 139 use s-curve technique is a time/cost baseline s-curve available? is an actual time/cost s-curve available? not possible to use this method possible to use this method yes yes no no figure 14: decision tree: use s-curve technique? once the dam has been decided upon, the delay would be analysed. the main outcome of the delay-analytical process would be to determine whether the delay is critical or not. the dam should also give an indication of the number of days that the event delayed practical completion. at this stage, the decision tree would consider the impact of clause 23.4.1 of the jbcc agreement. clause 23.4.1 calls for the contractor to take reasonable steps to avoid or reduce the delay. should it be established that the contractor did not take reasonable steps to address the delay, the impact should be considered. if, as a result of the contractor not taking action, the delay persisted for a prolonged period of time, the number of days awarded may be reduced, in order to take this into account. if, taking reasonable steps to address the delay, the contractor could have avoided it, the outcome of the assessment process may very well be that no eot is awarded to the contractor. if the delay is not critical, the delay would be rejected. if the delay is critical, the next step in the decision-tree process would be to investigate whether the delay is compensable. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 140 4.1.4 determine whether the delay is compensable (step 4) determine if delay is compensable is the cause of delay dealt with in clause 23.1? 23.1 the contractor is entitled to a revision of the date of practical completion without an adjustment of the contract value where a delay to practical completion has been caused by one or more of the following events: 23.1.1 adverse weather conditions, 23.1.2 inability to obtain materials and goods where the contractor has taken reasonable stepts to avoid or reduce such a delay, 23.1.3 making good physical loss and repairing damages to the works where the contractor is at risk and such risk is beyond the reasonable control of the parties, 23.1.4 excercise of statutory power by a body of state or public local authority that directly affects the execution of the works, 23.1.5 default by a nominated subcontractor where the contractor has taken reasonable steps to avoid or reduce such delay, 23.1.6 force majeure is the cause of delay dealt with in clause 23.2? 23.2 the contractor is entitled to a revision of the date for practical completion and the adjustment of the contract value where a delay to practical completion has been caused by one or more of the following events: 23.2.1 delayed possession of the site, 23.2.2 making good physical loss and repairing damages to the works where the contractor is at risk, 23.2.3 contract instruction not associated by the contractors default, 23.2.4 opening up and testing of works and materials and goods where such work is an accordance with the contract documentation, 23.2.5 late and incorrect issue of construction information, 23.2.6 late supply of free issue, materials and goods for which the employer is responsible, 23.2.7 late supply of prime cost amount items where the contractor has taken reasonable steps to avoid or reduce such delay, 23.2.8 late acceptance by the principal agent and/or agents of a design undertaken by a selected subcontractor where the contractor’s obligations have been met, 23.2.9 insolvency of a nominated subcontractor, 23.2.10 suspension or termination by a subcontractor due to default of the employer, the principal agent and/or any agent, 23.2.11 an act or omission of a direct contractor, 23.2.12 execution of additional work for which the quantity in the bills of quantities is not sufficiently accurate, 23.2.13 suspension of the works is the cause of delay beyond the contractor reasonable control as per clause 23.3? 23.3 further circumstances for which the contractor may be entitled to a revision of the practical completion date and an adjustment of the contract value are delays due to any other cause beyond the contractors reasonable control that could not have reasonably been anticipated and provided for. the principal agent shall adjust the contract value where such delay is due to the employer and/or agents. is the cause of delay due to the employer and/or agents as per clause 23.3? 23.3 the principal agent shall adjust the contract value where such delay is due to the employer and/or agents. do the circumstances justify the adjustment of the contract value? non-compensable non-compensablecompensable noyes no no no no yes yes yes yes figure 15: decision tree jbcc: to determine if delay is compensable maritz & prinsloo • a decision support framework for extension ... 141 in this case, the decision tree is fairly simplistic. the first consideration would be whether the cause of the delay is specifically mentioned in clauses 23.1 or 23.2. if the cause of the delay can be identified in clause 23.1, then the claim would not be compensable; if clause 23.2 makes provision for the cause, the delay would be compensable. it is possible that the cause of the delay is not catered for in either clause 23.1 or clause 23.2. under these circumstances, clause 23.3 can be utilised to determine whether the delay is compensable. according to clause 23.3, the contractor may be entitled to a revision of the contract value (compensation) for delays due to any other cause beyond the contractor’s reasonable control that could not have reasonably been anticipated and provided for. the consideration of the decision tree at this point would be to determine whether the cause of the delay was beyond the reasonable control of the contractor and could not have been reasonably anticipated. the clause further states that the contract value should be adjusted where such a delay is due to the employer and/or his agents. the next consideration in the decision tree would be to determine whether the employer or his/her agents caused the delay. if this was found to be the case, compensation would be due. if the delay was not due to the employer or his/her agents, the principal agent should decide whether the circumstances justify any adjustment of the contract value. 5. conclusion one of the main contributions of the study to original knowledge was the development of a universal decision-tree framework for the assessment of eot. the decision-tree framework is unique in that it would assist practitioners holistically in terms of all considerations in the assessment process. other forms of guidance produced to date are mostly focused on assessment of the criticality of the delay. decision trees have been developed for the jbcc agreement. a number of decision trees is utilised to investigate the issues relating to contract compliance, in order to determine whether the delay is excusable, and to establish whether the delay was critical, as well as to address the issue of compensation. the decision trees would assist in eliminating uncertainty in the assessment process of eot claims by providing clear guidelines. it is possible that the decision trees could, to some extent, assist in the standardisation of the assessment of eot claims. standardisation would have a number of benefits. one of the significant benefits acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 142 would be that this could possibly reduce the number of disputes in eot claims. the main benefit of the decision-support framework is that it would provide a guideline with clear and easy-to-follow steps to assess any eot claims. this could be of assistance to practitioners who are responsible for the assessment of eot claims on projects. the decision-support framework would also provide insight for contractors into the process of the assessment of eot claims. this would lead to a better understanding of what is required to substantiate eot claims, and to better quality claims being submitted. the following possibilities for further research exist: • the decision trees for eot claims can be developed for other forms of 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[online] available from http:// www.jbcc.co.za/. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(2008)134:9(692) https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(2008)134:9(692) http://www.jbcc.co.za http://www.jbcc.co.za acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 146 trauner, t.j. 1990. construction delays: documenting causes, winning claims, recovering costs. kingston, massachusetts: r.s. means company. tumi, s.a.h., omran, a. & pakir, a.h.k. 2009. causes of delay in the construction industry in libya. in: proceedings of the 2009 international conference on economics and administration, 14-15 november, bucharest, romania, pp. 265-272. wickwire, j. & groff, m. 2004. update on cpm proof-of-delay claims. schedule update-project management institute college of scheduling, 1, pp. 3-9. yang, j.-b. & kao, c.-k. 2012. critical path-effect-based delay analysis method for construction projects. international journal of project management, 30(3), pp. 385-397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijproman.2011.06.003 yogeswaran, k., kumaraswamy, m.m. & miller, d.r.a. 1998. claims for extensions of time in civil engineering projects. construction management and economics, 16(3), pp. 283-293. https://doi. org/10.1080/014461998372312 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.06.003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.06.003 https://doi.org/10.1080/014461998372312 https://doi.org/10.1080/014461998372312 25 navorsingsartikels • research articles the valuation of commercial grain silos peer reviewed and revised october 2016 abstract a grain silo is a unique form of real estate because of its construction, use and income generation. the study is based on vertical concrete silos built for the sole purpose of storing grain. silos are, in essence, income-producing properties, but because the tenant is the owner of grain and oilseed, the income produced by the silo fluctuates from year to year depending on the size of annual grain harvests. the purpose of this qualitative study is to establish which valuation methodology is best applicable to grain silos and to explore the factors that make grain silos unique in the determination of their value. sources of information include historical research, unstructured interviews and case studies. the results of this study indicate that grain silos should be valued using the income capitalisation method. income is calculated based on a long-term trend; expenses are calculated on financial information, and a capitalisation rate is calculated by adding risk to a baseline capitalisation rate. this study provides a guide to valuers and silo owners on how to determine the value of silos. the study focuses on grain silos that store maize and soya beans in the highveld of mpumalanga. the principles determined will be the same if other silos in other regions charge for storage and handling in the same way as used in this study. keywords: grain silo, valuation methodology, income capitalisation method, occupancy, capitalisation rate abstrak ‘n graansilo is ‘n unieke tipe eiendom as gevolg van konstruksie, gebruik en hoe inkomste verdien word. die studie fokus op vertikale beton graansilos gebou uitsluitlik vir die stoor van graan. silos is inkomsteproduserende eiendomme, maar omdat die huurder die eienaar van graan en oliesade is, is die inkomste wat ‘n silo kan produseer wisselend gebaseer op die grootte van die jaarlikse oes. die doelwit christiaan winckler & douw boshoff mr christiaan winckler, msc (real estate) graduate, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, hatfield, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 17 811 2212, email: <christiaan@valuersafrika. co.za> dr douw g.b. boshoff, senior lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i2.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(2): 25-56 © uv/ufs mailto:christiaan@valuersafrika.co.za mailto:christiaan@valuersafrika.co.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.2 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 26 van hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is om te bepaal op watter waardasiemetode ‘n graansilo waardeer moet word en om die faktore te bepaal wat ‘n silo uniek maak in die bepaling van die waarde. die studie is gebaseer op historiese navorsing, ongestruktureerde onderhoude en ‘n gevallestudie. die bevindings van hierdie studie is dat graansilos op die gekapitaliseerde-inkomste-metode van waardasie gedoen moet word. inkomste word bepaal deur ‘n langtermyn gemiddeld of tendens in besetting te bepaal. uitgawes word bepaal uit die finansiële inligting van die silo. die kapitalisasiekoers word bepaal deur risiko by ‘n basis kapitalisasiekoers te voeg. die studie is ‘n gids om waardeerders en silo-eienaars te help om die waarde van ‘n graansilo te bepaal. die studie konsentreer op graansilos in die hoëveld van mpumalanga wat meestal mielies en sojabone stoor. die beginsels wat bepaal word deur die studie sal dieselfde wees in ander areas van die land asook vir ander graantipes indien die stoor en hanteringsfooie op dieselfde manier toegepas word. sleutelwoorde: graansilo, waardasiemetodes, gekapitaliseerde-inkomstemetode, besetting, kapitalisasiekoers. 1. introduction the valuation of grain silos is a complex exercise when one considers all the variables that affect their value. grain silos provide storage space for harvested grain products. these storage spaces are leased by farmers who have harvested their grains, larger grain-processing companies, traders, importers or exporters that have purchased the grain and need to store the grain until it is needed. the storage space is leased to the lessee at an amount-per-ton basis either at a daily rate or on a longer term rate. grain silos are, therefore, income-producing properties of a specialised nature, due to their unique characteristics, construction, buyers and sellers. the demand for this type of storage is driven by the supply of grain which needs to be stored; the supply of grain, in turn, is dependent on the yield that the farmer has on his farm; the yield is dependent on numerous factors such as rainfall, temperature, soil conditions, hail occurrence, new cultivars, and new fertilisers. as the harvest is dependent on so many variables, the demand for storage in grain silos is also related to these factors and is a fluctuating demand. when determining the value of a grain silo, it is important to include the equipment (conveyor belts, lifts, weighing equipment), since these are an integral part of the functioning of the silo and are essential for the silo to produce income. without equipment, a silo would have a negative value and would have to be demolished, as there is no alternative use for such a silo. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 27 the valuation of all properties for market value is based on the international valuation standards committee (2011: 12) definition of market value: the estimated amount for which an asset of liability should exchange on the valuation date between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction after proper marketing and where the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and, without compulsion. should a valuation comply with the above definition, the valuation is viewed as market related. there are three main approaches to valuing any property: the comparable sales approach, the income approach (income capi talisation and discounted cash flow), and the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation (collins & ghyoot, 2012: 270). the profits method of valuation should also be considered and is used to value properties with unique characteristics based on financial information (scarrett & osborn, 2014:131). in all these methods of valuation, it is important that the information required to do a valuation is accurate and future incomes must be predictable. the future income of a grain silo is not predictable because of the variables impacting on the demand for its space. therefore, these methods are difficult to apply to the valuation of grain silos in their standard form. historical information is the only reliable information on which to base such a valuation. the determination of income projections, capitalisation rates, discount rates and depreciation percentages in the three methods are virtually impossible to calculate, due to grain silos rarely being sold on the open market (purnell, 2015). it is clear that one of the methods of valuation will have to be applied to the valuation of grain silos. the chosen method and information used will in the end determine whether a valuation is market related or not. the aim of this study is to decide which method of valuation to apply, as well as what information can reliably be used to determine the market value of the property. 2. limitations of the research the study focuses on vertical concrete grain silos with a remaining lifetime of over 50 years. grain silos that are constructed with corrugated iron, grain bunkers, silo bags and other storage systems are excluded from this study, due to their shorter lifetime. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 28 the study concentrates on grain silos on the highveld of mpumalanga, which store mostly maize and soya beans. although the study will be aimed at the silos that store maize and soya beans, the principles used should be similar if other grain types are stored in these silos on the same income principles. the study is based on the actual occupancy figures and financial information of grain silos. the leases of an entire grain silo from one company to another are not considered for this study, due to differences in location, demand and grain types that are stored. the study relies on certain financial and other sensitive information that has been made available by companies that own grain silos in the highveld of mpumalanga. the case study is based on a silo in this area, but the principles should be the same for all commercial silos. the companies that supplied the information requested that their information remain confidential. 3. literature on the valuation of grain silos mooiman (2000: 5) states that, because no real comparable sales of grain silos exist, the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation is the easiest method to apply. mooiman (2000) does not favour this method of valuation, but prefers a more defendable method of valuation, concluding that the income-capitalisation method could be applied to grain silos, as with any other incomeproducing property. he comments that the tricky part of the valuation is to determine the income, demand and capitalisation rate and expands on the income, expenditure, demand, vacancy and capitalisation rate. mooiman (2000) also points out that, due the non-existence of comparable sales of grain silos on the open market, the capitalisation rate is difficult to determine. he states that the capitalisation rate should be determined by finding the return that an investor would require, given the risk involved. he suggests that a method to determine the capitalisation rate would be to calculate the development cost of a grain silo and divide that by the net income of the silo and then calculate the return on investment of the property. joubert (2012: 14-17) discusses the background to grain production in south africa and the technical background of grain silos. he states that there are challenges in the valuation methodology, because the industry demands standardisation, particularly of rates in different municipal areas, especially with the capitalisation and discount rates that are applied. he favours the income-capitalised approach or winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 29 the discounted cash-flow approach when determining the value of grain silos. joubert (2012) states that it is impossible to determine capitalisation and discount rates, because no real comparable sales exist in the market. a valuer should try to use the return that an investor would expect in such a venture, given the risk involved and bearing in mind that the rates differ from area to area. joubert estimates that capitalisation rates should be approximately 20%. in his presentation, de leeuw (2003) did not refer directly to grain silos, but stated that churches, schools, universities and property with specialised characteristics such as refineries and mills could be valued using the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation. because, under normal circumstances, mills include grain silos, it is assumed that de leeuw included silos in this method of valuation. in the presentation, he discussed the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation in detail. he concluded that valuation of a mill needs to be qualified by stating that, for the purposes of the valuation, the “willing and informed” purchaser was assumed as a miller who required a facility such as the subject property in the specific location of the subject property (de leeuw, 2003). pienaar (2015: 376-377) suggests that grain silos on a farm can be valued using either the depreciated replacement cost method or by capitalising the opportunity cost of having a silo on a farm. in his discussion on the depreciated replacement cost, he suggests that care should be taken to ensure that physical depreciation, functional and economic obsolescence, as well as purchaser’s resistance are taken into account. he also points out that a concrete silo can be replaced by a steel silo, which is much cheaper to erect. in discussing capitalised opportunity cost, pienaar showed that the method is a hybrid of the income capitalisation method of valuation and is based on the same principle of net income that is divided by a capitalisation rate in order to obtain the value. he argued that a farmer could have stored his grain in a commercial grain silo, but he now stores the grain on his farm in his own silo, therefore saving the storage fee. the difference between the cost of storing the grain in a commercial silo and the operating expenses of the silo on his own farm is the opportunity cost. the grain would normally be stored on a farm for no longer than eight months and, therefore, the calculation would have to be done on that time frame and not a full year, as per equations 1 and 2. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 30 value (per ton) = (cost per ton to store grain in a commercial silo [say for 8 months] – cost of operating the silo on the farm) divided by the capitalisation rate ........ 1 total value = value per ton x ton capacity ................................ 2 3.1 summary of existing literature literature on the standard methods of valuation suggests that the following standard methods of valuation exist: • the comparable sales method of valuation; • the income method of valuation (income capitalisation and dcf); • the cost method of valuation, and • the profits method of valuation. from the literature, with specific reference to the valuation of grain silos, it is clear that the income-capitalisation method, the discounted cash-flow method and the depreciated replacement cost method of valuations have been applied to the valuation of grain silos. both mooiman (2000) and joubert (2012) have suggested that the income-capitalisation method of valuation would be the preferred method for the valuation of commercial grain silos. mooiman (2000) indicated in his presentation that, in order to determine the rental income, one would have to determine what the rental rates (rand per ton per day) of a silo would be. to determine the demand for the storage space, he suggested that a longer term (minimum 12 months, but preferably 4 years) should be used to determine the income of the property. he did not indicate how to analyse the data obtained (seek upward and downward trends in occupation or base the data on an average). neither did he consider the risk that the fluctuations in income can have an effect on the capitalisation rate of a grain silo. in determining the capitalisation rate, mooiman (2000) suggested that one should either note the return an investor requires when purchasing the property or determine the capitalisation rate based on replacement cost divided by the net income of the silo. the limitation to the explanation of the capitalisation rate is that the capitalisation rate is based on what return an investor would require; this would be guesswork, because silos do not change hands. in terms of the determination of the capitalisation rate based on net income divided by the development cost, mooiman (2000) did winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 31 not indicate how to calculate the development cost. in addition, no indication is provided of the impact of cheaper alternative storage systems (steel silos, grain bunkers and silo bags) on the development cost. when considering the discussion by mooiman (2000) on the capitalisation rates, the two methods of determining the capitalisation rate could give totally different capitalisation rates. from the literature, it is evident that the income-capitalisation method of valuation is the preferred method of valuing grain silos. this study will aim to determine whether the income-capitalisation method (as preferred by mooiman (2000) and joubert (2012)) is the preferred method of valuation of grain silos, or should the discounted cash flow (mentioned by joubert (2012)), depreciated replacement cost (recommended by de leeuw), profits method or comparable sales method be applied. should the income-capitalisation method prove to be the best applicable for this valuation, the limitations from the literature will be discussed in this order: • how to analyse the long-term occupation data to determine what the future occupation or the vacancy will be; • how to determine the income of the silo from the most probable occupancy and apply storage rates, handling-in rates and handling-out rates; • how to determine what expenses should be included in the valuation, and • how to determine a capitalisation rate for a grain silo. 4. how does a grain silo derive income? the majority of silo owners charge their clients either a daily or a longterm rate. table 1 provides the current daily rates. table 1: current daily storage rates for silo use fee maize (r/ton) soya beans (r/ton) handling (receiving) r 7.05 r 9.45 handling (dispatch) r 33.15 r 34.05 storage fee (c/ton/day) r 0.72 r 0.75 source: twk budget document, 2015a acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 32 some silos have a long-term tariff (tariff for a year’s storage) so that grain can be stored for an entire season. these tariffs are provided in table 2. table 2: current long-term storage rates for storage use fee maize (r/ton) soya beans (r/ton) handling (receiving) r 7.05 r 9.45 handling (dispatch) r 33.15 r 34.05 storage fee r 85.00 r 95.00 source: twk budget document, 2015a the above fees are those that twk (transvaal wattle kwekers, an agricultural cooperative) charge for the handling of storing grain. the majority of silos in south africa charge their fees in the same way. grading and testing fees are charged at intake and dispatch of the grain. the majority of silos charge their income on more or less the same method. the marketing years for each grain type differ, because the different types of grain are harvested at different times of the year and the grain and oilseed industry charge fees on a marketing year. in the highveld of mpumalanga, the grain marketing year for maize is from 1 may to 30 april and for soya beans from 1 march to 28 february (twk, 2015b: 6). the storage and handling fees of a grain silo are based on these marketing years. for example, in april, the storage cost for soya beans can be the new escalated price, whereas the price for maize is still the price for the previous year. it is important to note that there is a production year for grain; the production year differs from the marketing year. the production year for maize is from march to the end of february. this is the time when the crop estimates committee estimates what the size of the crop will be. it is, therefore, important to note that the income of a silo is based on the marketing year and not on the production year. silos can, in some instances, have dryers that dry the grain to an acceptable standard for storing. drying costs (charged at a r/ton basis) are only applicable if the moisture levels in the grain are too high. some silos are equipped with sifting equipment and sifting fees are also charged on a rand-per-ton basis (applied when the grain sample has too much foreign material in the grain). the sifting, drying and other costs will not be considered for this study, since these are viewed as pure equipment income, and movable equipment does not form part of valuations. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 33 5. what drives the demand for storage space in a grain silo? a regular demand for occupancy is always important in any type of property, because it satisfies the needs of potential investors (the south african institute of valuers, 2012: 6-3). the owners of grain silos are, in most instances, investors looking to make a profit from their property – mostly cooperatives operating as businesses. the demand for storage space is the most significant factor in determining the value of a grain silo. should the demand for storage in the area be low, this will directly affect the market value of the property. investors would not want to buy a property that has a low occupancy rate. the demand for storage space in grain silos is influenced by a combination of external factors over which the property has no control. the location of the grain silo is the single most important factor that drives the demand for storage space in the silo. a grain silo in a game farm area will not have the same value as a silo in an intensive cultivation area. the fact that the location of the silo cannot be changed will have a long-term effect that will either increase or decrease its value. if the silo is not in a grain-cultivation area, there is nothing that can be done as the area will not become a graincultivation area. access to and from the silo is also an important factor when considering the demand for storage space. in south africa, the majority of silos are situated next to access roads and railways. the business of planting grains is another important factor that drives the demand for storage space in a specific silo in an area. the weather, mostly rainfall, has the obvious biggest impact on the supply of grain. in a dry season, the amount of grain produced is lower than in a season with an average rainfall, and an excessively wet season would also reduce the amount of grain produced. the climate in an area and on a specific farm differs from year to year. therefore, the demand for storage space differs each year. based on rainfall, there is no specific trend in the supply of grain on a yearon-year basis. the advancement of technology in the grain industry should improve the yields that are obtained each year. new technology gives the famer the opportunity to produce more grain on the same land. demand for storage space can be summarised as follows: acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 34 • the location of the grain silo is a constant factor that will not change (demand can change if an area should change from a grain-cultivation area to another focus area). • rainfall causes the demand to fluctuate from year to year; no single year has the same harvest as the previous year. • technological advancement can have a positive impact on grain production. the demand for storage space is the single most important factor that determines what method of valuation should be applied to the valuation of grain silos. the above information clearly shows that it would be difficult to estimate the future income of the property. the various methods of valuation will be studied to determine how demand will affect the method to be used to value a grain silo. 6. valuation methods and their applicability to the valuation of grain silos there are three main methods of valuation: • the comparable sales method of valuation compares the subject property directly with other properties that have recently been sold on the open market between willing buyers and willing sellers. • the income approach consists of: –– the income-capitalisation method of valuation, where the net income of the first year of the property is capitalised at a market capitalisation rate; –– the discounted cash-flow method of valuation, where all future income (including a reversion calculation) is discounted to present value. • the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation values the subject property by determining the current replacement cost of the improvements and deducting physical, functional and economic depreciation/obsolescence and adding the vacant land value. according to scarrett and osborn (2014), however, five methods of valuation can be used to determine the value of properties. the five methods include those mentioned above as well as the profits method of valuation and the residual land value method of valuation. although the profits method and the residual land value method are not as generally accepted as the main methods, they are useful tools in the valuation industry. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 35 –– the profits method of valuation is a derivative of the income-capitalisation method of valuation, but determines income as a portion of profit or net income (scarrett & osborn, 2014: 131). –– the residual land value method of valuation is used to determine the value of land based on the potential development that can be made on the property (scarrett & osborn, 2014: 113). this method is used mostly to determine the value of undeveloped land and is not applicable to the valuation of grain silos. from the above, it is clear that there are five methods of valuation that can be tested to determine whether a grain silo can be valued, using one of the standard methods of valuation, or whether further research should be conducted to determine how to value grain silos. the following methods will be discussed further: • the comparable sales method of valuation; • the income-capitalisation method of valuation; • the discounted cash-flow method of valuation; • the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation, and • the profits method of valuation. 6.1 the comparable sales method of valuation this method of valuation is based on the fact that the market value of a property can be determined by comparing the subject property with similar (comparable) properties that have recently been sold (collins & ghyoot, 2012: 271). the comparable sales method of valuation would be the preferred method to value grain silos. if a silo property is sold, the subject silo can be compared with the property that sold. the occupancy figures of the two properties can be compared to determine a sales price that can be applied to the subject silo. as indicated by purnell (2015), silos do not change hands in the open market. she is unaware of any sales of grain silos in the past five years. she did, however, point out that two agricultural companies have merged, but no sale was involved. therefore, the comparable sales approach will be virtually impossible to apply to the valuation of grain silos. if these silos trade, it may be difficult to obtain the detail occupancies, income and expenses. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 36 6.2 the income-capitalisation method of valuation this method of valuation was developed, because the majority of income-producing properties are rarely comparable, due to their different physical, location, design, accommodation and institutional attributes (collins & ghyoot, 2012: 272). if a property produces income or has the ability to produce income, the incomecapitalisation method of valuation can be used. this method of valuation can be described as the net income of the first year a property operates divided by a market-related capitalisation rate. in applying the income-capitalisation method of valuation on grain silos, it is difficult to determine the probable annual income of a grain silo, due to the fluctuating production figures in the grain industry, as described in section 4.2. to determine the gross income of a grain silo, it is suggested that long-term occupancy figures should be used to calculate what the most probable occupancy of the silo would be. this can be based on an average or a trend if a clear trend in growth or decline can be observed. additional income is also derived from the handling of the grain either into or out of the grain silo. this calculation is based on the trends and should also be estimated by taking a longer average view rather than using one year’s information. from the financial information supplied by the owner, it will be evident which expenses can be allocated to the silo property and which should be excluded, because the latter are part of the business and not part of the property. some expenditure items that are normally excluded from a valuation will, however, form part of the silo valuation calculation, because the fixed silo equipment will always form part of the silo. valuers should have an in-depth knowledge of grain silos and the business of handling grain to know which expenses should be included and which should be excluded from the valuation to ensure that propertyrelated expenses are included, but that business-related expenses are excluded. the calculated expenses are deducted from the gross annual income to determine the net annual income of the silo. the rode report defines a capitalisation rate as follows: a standard capitalisation rate is the expected net operating income for year 1, assuming the entire building is let at open-market winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 37 rentals, divided by the purchase price. this calculation ignores vat, transfer duty and income tax, and assumes a cash transaction (rode and associates (pty) ltd., 2015: 7). under normal valuation circumstances, a capitalisation rate will be determined by analysing a recent sale of a comparable property. but, because silos rarely change hands, it would be virtually impossible to determine a capitalisation rate from a comparable sale. a capitalisation rate is, in essence, a risk-free return with a risk premium added (scarrett & osborn, 2014: 74). without comparable sales, it is difficult to determine the risk premium. the capitalisation rate will be based on the general capitalisation rate of storage spaces together with added risks associated with grain silos. these risks are described in section 7.3. the income-capitalisation method of valuation is one method to consider for the valuation of a grain silo, but the capitalisation rate can be difficult to determine without comparable sales. 6.3 the profits method of valuation the profits method of valuation is used mostly to determine the value of a property that is unique and cannot be valued using the standard methods of valuation (scarrett & osborn, 2014: 144). this method of valuation is based on the income-capitalisation method of valuation, but income is not determined by actual leases or on market information, but on information from the financial statements of the business. to determine annual income, a percentage of the net or gross income is applied to determine what the likely rental of the property would be. the method can be applied as a net or gross rental and, therefore, in some instances, the outgoings would not have to be deducted. the rental (either net or gross) is then capitalised by a market-capitalisation rate in the same way as with the income-capitalisation method of valuation (national property education committee, 2004). the limitations in determining the value of a grain silo on the profits method of valuation would be that to base the income on the financial information could give a distorted income. silos should be valued on a longer term occupancy figure (profits method usually use one year). to include financial information in the longer term could distort the income calculation due to escalation in prices and inflation. therefore, the profits method of valuation would not be a suitable method of valuation of grain silos. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 38 6.4 the discounted cash-flow method of valuation the discounted cash-flow method of valuation (dcf) is part of the income approach to valuation and can be described as follows: all future income is discounted to present-day values by using a market-related discount rate to determine the present value of all the income (scarrett & osborn, 2014: 101). according to the international valuation standards council (ivsc) (2012a: 4), the dcf method can be used to value the majority of assets that generate a cash flow. the ivsc further states that the dcf method provides a more accurate value than other methods, • when the property is in a significant growth period and still has to reach its full potential; • where the cash flows are inconsistent in the short term, or • where the property is a specialised property and the economic life of the property is short. this method of valuation would be difficult to apply to the valuation of grain silos because of the unpredictability of the income of a grain silo. as discussed in section 4.2, the occupancy of a grain silo is hardly ever the same for two consecutive years. because the dcf method makes use of a cash-flow forecast and the cash flow of a silo is unpredictable, this method would not be suitable for use in the valuation of a grain silo. 6.5 the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation the challenge in the valuation industry is to determine the value of properties that rarely change hands. if there are limited transactions with which to compare a property or there is no definite income stream or capitalisation rate, the valuer makes use of the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation (international valuation standards council, 2012b: 4). the method can be described as follows: the valuer uses the replacement cost of a building or structure, less physical depreciation, functional obsolescence and economic obsolescence; added to the depreciated value of the buildings is the value of the land as if it is vacant to determine the market value of the property (collins & ghyoot, 2012: 280). this method of valuation could be applied to the valuation of grain silos (as recommended by de leeuw (2003)) and would give an indication of the value of the grain silo. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 39 to determine the replacement cost of the silo, one would first establish whether there were any silos constructed in the recent past in order to work out a construction cost per ton or volume. should there be no silos constructed recently, one would employ the services of a quantity surveyor to determine the replacement cost of a grain silo. this would, however, be an expensive exercise. one should also take into consideration new technologies that are used to store grain, such as steel silos, silo bins and bunkers which are much cheaper to erect than silos. there are numerous methods to determine the factor of physical depreciation. the straight line method is one of these methods, but it could be difficult to determine the amount of maintenance carried out and the economic life. two other difficult factors to consider are the determination of the economic and functional obsolescences that have to be deducted from the replacement cost. functional obsolescence can be described as the factor that causes the value of a property to decrease as a result of its inability to satisfy the purpose for which it was designed (the south african institute of valuers, 2012: 5-3). under the functional obsolescence factor, one would consider the use of upright silos and whether they are still able to function or to serve their purpose. in most cases where a silo is well maintained, the functional obsolescence will be minimal, because the silo is still functional as storage space. the fact that there are cheaper alternatives, however, increases the functional obsolescence and makes it virtually impossible to quantify the depreciation factor or functional obsolescence. economic obsolescence is a type of depreciation that cannot be controlled by the property and is external to improvement. it is normally caused by factors such as the character of the locality, rezoning, etc. (the south african institute of valuers, 2012: 5-4). economic obsolescence of a grain silo can be caused by changes such as in: • the main agricultural area surrounding the silo (grain production, livestock, game, etc.); • the location of the silo in relation to other amenities (roads, railways, etc.); • the climatic conditions in the area, including rainfall; acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 40 • technological advancement in the agricultural industry (higher yields), and • competition (other silos and bunkers constructed). the extent of economic and functional depreciation is determined from comparable sales, but because silos do not change hands, it is not possible to estimate economical and functional depreciation accurately. on the other hand, the land value of the property on which the silo is situated should be fairly easy to value, based on comparable sales. the depreciated replacement cost method of valuation can be applied to grain silos, but the factor of functional and economic obsolescence is difficult to determine accurately and, therefore, makes the method inaccurate. this method can be used as a backup method to check that the value derived using another method (such as the income-capitalisation method) is correct. 6.6 summary of the methods of valuation that can be used to value a grain silo from the valuation methods described earlier, it is clear that all five methods have their shortcomings when applied to the valuation of grain silos. these shortcomings are summarised below. the comparable sales method of valuation cannot be applied, because there are no sales of comparable properties. the discounted cash-flow method of valuation cannot be applied, because the method relies on a relatively predictable income stream. income of a grain silo is dependent on the amount of storage space that is used. the demand for the storage space is dependent on the production of grain. because of climatic and other conditions, grain production varies greatly each year. the profits method of valuation relies on the actual financial information of a business. to apply the actual financial information of a grain silo on the valuation would ignore the long-term trends in the occupancy and the income is not tested against market information. the depreciated replacement cost method relies on deductions from the replacement cost for physical, economic, and functional obsolescence. although physical depreciation can be calculated accurately, the economic and functional obsolescence can only be determined from comparable sales. this method was used in the past, because no alternative method could be applied (winckler, 2015: personal interview). the percentages applied seemed to be winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 41 an educated guess rather than sound evidence. the method should not be completely ignored in the valuation of grain silos, but should rather be used as a test to determine whether the value arrived at by another method is accurate. the income-capitalisation method of valuation would appear to be the only method that can accurately be applied to the valuation of a grain silo. this supports the opinions of mooiman (2000: 5) and joubert (2012: 14-17). the income-capitalisation method requires substantial financial and business information. this information might be difficult to obtain and, in most instances, the silo owner would not want to divulge this information. a further challenge in applying the income-capitalisation method is that valuers are not sure how to apply the information obtained from financial documents. the main limitation in using the income-capitalisation method is the determination of the capitalisation rate of a grain silo. there are no sales of grain silos (purnell, 2015) from which to calculate a capitalisation rate; alternative methods to do so must be used. the capitalisation rate is determined by basing it on normal storage and light industrial properties, with added risk. the income-capitalisation method of valuation is, therefore, the only applicable method to test in a case study, but the determination of the income and capitalisation rate needs further testing. 7. the application of the income-capitalisation method of valuation to a grain silo 7.1 background on the silo used in this study the silo used in this study is situated on the highveld of mpumalanga, where mostly maize and soya beans are produced. the silo is the property of an agricultural co-operative which has requested that its financial and other information on the silo remain confidential. the silo has a capacity of 50 000 tons. 7.2 determining the net annual income of a grain silo 7.2.1 determining the gross annual income of a grain silo to determine the most likely income a silo produces, the different items from which a silo derives its income must be considered. the income generated by a grain silo is normally from storage costs, handling grain in and out of the silo, drying costs, sifting costs, and the issuing of storage certificates. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 42 the income of drying and sifting is excluded from the valuation, because this income is derived from the use of equipment. this equipment can be removed from the silo at any given time when the potential to derive the income is removed. the issuance of storage certificates is also not included in the determination of the silo’s income, because this is a purely administrative income and is normally performed by the head office. to calculate the income from the storage of grain, the valuer would examine long-term occupancy figures of the grain silo to work out what the most likely occupancy would be in the year of the valuation. the actual income of the previous year of the silo cannot be used because of the fluctuations in the production of grain (see section 5). the silo manager would, in most instances, be in a position to supply occupation figures of the past few years. it is suggested that figures of not less than five years be used to determine the income potential, but ten years would be preferable if these are available. information supplied by the south african grain information service (sagis) (2015) on the subject silo indicates the occupancy of the grain silo as follows (the marketing years for maize and soya beans differ by two months – the marketing years were applied at the same time from may to april of each year [soya data are two months delayed]): table 3: subject silo occupancy year 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 % occupancy 51% 57% 74% 63% 27% source: sagis illustrated, the information can be displayed as follows: winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 43 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2013 2013 2014 2014 2015 2015 2016 % occupancy % occupancy linear (% occupancy) figure 1: subject silo occupancy illustrated figure 1 clearly shows that 2014-2015 was a bad season for producing grains. to determine the most likely income for the 2015-2016 year, the average income of the past five seasons is used. the average occupancy for 2015-2016 is expected to be 54%. when calculating the trend, it suggests that the occupancy of the silo would be 42%. due to the high fluctuation in the occupancy of the silo, the average is preferred. the season with the lowest occupancy is the last season. this season severely affects the trend and will give a distorted occupancy. the trend line should give a more accurate occupancy, if occupancy rates over a longer term are available. the income can, therefore, be based on an average of 54% occupancy during the year. the average weight of grain stored in the silo is: 54% x 50000 ton = 27 000 tons (average in the silo throughout the year). of the grain stored in the silo, 26% is soya beans and the balance is white and yellow maize. white and yellow maize is charged at the same rate per ton by the silo so no split has to be made. the average storage of the two grains is: soya beans: 27 000 x 26% = 7 020 tons maize: 27 000x 74% = 19 980 tons acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 44 the potential income from storage is twofold: the income from dayto-day storage and long-term storage (seasonal tariff). according to the budget and the discussions with the silo owner, an average of 15.5% to 16% of the income derived from storing soya beans is in the form of seasonal storage. the income from storing the soya beans is shown in table 4. table 4: income from storing soya beans soya bean storage income storage type amount (ton) cost (rand) no of days total income % of income daily storage 4563 r 0.75 365 r 1 249 121.25 84.3% season storage 2457 r 95.00 r 233 415.00 15.7% total 7020 r 1 482 536.25 source: author the same calculation applies to maize. the norm for long-term storage of maize is between 18% and 21%. table 5: income from storing maize maize storage income storage type amount (ton) cost (rand) no of days total income % of income daily storage 11388.6 r 0.72 365 r 2 992 924.08 80.4% season storage 8591.4 r 85.00 r 730 269.00 19.6% total 19980 r 3 723 193.08 source: author according to the silo manager and the budget documents, the amount of intake and offloading of the silo is the same as the amount of grain that is stored in the silo. should the quantity differ in one year from the receiving side to the dispatch side, the calculation is expected to balance out in the next year. the total quantity of soya beans that will be loaded and offloaded is 7 020 tons and the quantity of maize is 19 980 tons. this is based on the long-term occupancy of the grain silo. table 6 shows the income from the handling of the grain. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 45 table 6: income from handling grain grain amount (ton) handling in handling out total income soya beans 7020 r 9.45 r 7.05 r 115 830.00 maize 19980 r 34.05 r 33.15 r 1 342 656.00 total r 1 458 486.00 source: author the rates that a silo charges can be checked to ensure that the rate is market related by contacting grain silos or grain bunkers owned and operated by other companies in the same area as the subject silo. market-related information should be used to determine the income of the grain silo. table 7 provides the total income of the silo. table 7: total gross income of the silo type of income income income from storage of soya beans r 1 485 236.25 income from storage of maize r 3 723 193.08 income from handling of grain r 1 458 486.00 total income r 6 666 915.33 source: author the total income of the grain silo is therefore r6 666 915.33. 7.2.2 determining which expenses to deduct from the gross annual income the silo manager should be in a position to supply the valuer with a list of expenses of the grain silo. these would normally include numerous business-related expenses such as vehicles, clothing, meals and snacks. the valuer should have an in-depth knowledge of the operation of a grain silo and should be able to distinguish between property-related expenses and business-related expenses. should the valuer find it difficult to determine the actual expenses that have a direct influence on the property, he should discuss these expenses acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 46 with the silo manager to clarify which should be included and which should be excluded. certain costs, such as fumigation, should be included in the expenses, although these might seem to be a business expense; without fumigation, the silo would not be in a position to generate income. all the expenses should also be cross-checked to ensure that the expenses included in the budget or financial statements are market related. according to the budget received from the silo owner, major expenses are divided into four categories: • administrative expenses; • salaries and wages; • maintenance expenses, and • financial expenses. table 8 shows the administrative expenses, based on the budgeted amount and the amount included in the valuation. table 8: administrative expenses to deduct administrative expenses annual expense amount budgeted amount included in the valuation notes protective clothing r 12 432.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense printing r 13 675.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense buildings rental r 1 292 928.00 r 0.00 internal rental. not applicable. income determined by income calculation. stationary r 36 080.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense marketing (advertisements) r 6 600.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense grain silo charge r 24 000.00 r 24 000.00 silo needs to be registered to be able to operate medical expenses r 12 432.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense training r 37 296.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense consultation r 29 837.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 47 administrative expenses annual expense amount budgeted amount included in the valuation notes internal audit r 3 730.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense entertainment r 3 730.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense programming and processing (it) r 62 160.00 r 31 080.00 programming for weighing equipment and silo equipment. 50% of total budget. postage r 2 486.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense legal fees r 4 973.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense cleaning costs r 7 459.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense consultation labour r 22 402.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense telephone r 31 080.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense refreshments staff r 9 946.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense consumer material r 24 864.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense credit charge r 5 773.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense safety expenses r 30 307.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense management r 640 000.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense staff transport r 130 536.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense total: r 2 444 726.00 r 55 080.00 2% of administrative expenses are included in the total expenses of the silo. source: author salaries and wages are excluded from the valuation, because they are considered to be business-related rather than property-related expenses. most of the property-related expenses fall under maintenance expenses, where the bulk of the outgoings should be. table 9 shows the maintenance expenses included in the valuation of a grain silo. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 48 table 9: maintenance expenses to deduct1 maintenance expenses annual expense amount budgeted amount included in the valuation notes insurance r 67 219.00 r 50 414.25 according to the policy schedule, approximately 75% of the insurance is for buildings and silo-related infrastructure. fumigation r 24 896.00 r 24 896.00 included because, without the expense, no potential to derive income. firefighting r 8 714.00 r 8 714.00 equipment in the buildings fuel for machines r 6 224.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense fuel for vehicles r 16 182.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense municipal consumption r 473 184.00 r 473 184.00 consumption of electricity and water for the silo. must be included, otherwise the silo will not work. rates and taxes r 74 400.00 r 74 400.00 included. vehicle licences r 500.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense maintenance of property r 17 427.00 r 17 427.00 maintenance of the gardens and roads. pallets and packaging r 18 000.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense repairs: buildings r 43 568.00 r 43 568.00 maintenance of the buildings repairs: machines r 302 400.00 r 241 920.00 maintenance of the silo equipment repairs: vehicles r 21 678.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense repairs: weighbridge r 115 614.00 r 115 614.00 maintenance of the weighbridge repairs: compound r 12 000.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense repairs: office equipment r 31 200.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense repairs: railway siding r 12 000.00 r 12 000.00 maintenance of the siding 1 the salaries of maintenance staff in the expense calculations, forms part of general repairs and maintenance expense that were listed. it is very difficult to distinguish this separately, as it is more often being conducted by subcontractors than in-house staff, a trend that is increasingly seen. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 49 maintenance expenses annual expense amount budgeted amount included in the valuation notes coal purchases r 200 000.00 r 0.00 coal is used for the dryers which is considered movable equipment. sewer removal r 58 506.00 r 58 506.00 work on the septic tanks and cleaning thereof security services r 205 392.00 r 102 696.00 50% is included for the protection of the property. hygiene in sheds r 3 734.00 r 3 734.00 hygiene is included, due to the fact that silos work with food products. replace tools r 7 226.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense vehicle 1 r 44 800.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense vehicle 2 r 35 757.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense new vehicles r 36 000.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense depreciation: buildings r 0.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense depreciation: equipment r 1 332 175.00 r 532 870.00 a portion of the expense is for depreciation, which is not included, and a portion of the expense is to replace the equipment in future. equipment included is only the grain transport and weighing equipment and not the dryers, sifts, etc. depreciation: office equipment r 43 776.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense depreciation: vehicles r 10 260.00 r 0.00 business expense and not a property expense depreciation weighbridge r 28 452.00 r 17 071.20 sinking fund to replace the weighbridge in due course. total: r 3 251 284.00 r 1 145 406.20 35% of administrative expenses are included in the total expenses of the silo. source: author finance costs should be excluded from the valuation, because they are business-related and not property-related expenses. table 10 shows the total outgoings for the calculation of net income. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 50 table 10: total expenses to deduct item amount administrative costs r 55 080.00 salaries and wages r 0.00 maintenance costs r 1 145 406.20 finance cost 0 total r 1 200 486.20 source: author 7.2.3 the net annual income the net annual income is determined by deducting the expenses from the gross annual income. no deduction is made from the net annual income for vacancies, since the vacancies are included in the calculation of the gross annual income. the gross annual income is r6 666 915 and the expenses are r 1 200 486. the net annual income of the silo is, therefore, r5 466 429. 7.2.4 determining the capitalisation rate of a grain silo it is difficult to determine the capitalisation rate of a grain silo, because of the lack of comparable sales. the capitalisation rate will have to be calculated using information other than that of a comparable sale. the baseline capitalisation rate for grain silos is storage space or light industrial property. it is fairly easy to determine a capitalisation rate of storage in industrial space by analysing sales of properties. a capitalisation rate is made up of a risk-free return with the associated risk added to the risk-free rate (scarrett & osborn, 2014: 74). to calculate the capitalisation rate, the south african institute of valuers (2012: 9-13 to 9-14) suggests that the valuer take into consideration the following risks: • quality of tenants; • quality of the property; • length of the leases; • rental level; winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 51 • terms of the lease agreement (how the rentals are renewed, escalation, etc.), and • environmental and external deterioration. the capitalisation rate for normal storage space would usually include a risk premium. should the capitalisation rate for storage space be 12% and the risk-free rate 6%, 6% for risk is already added in the capitalisation rate. in order to determine the additional associated risks with a grain silo compared with a normal storage building one would have to compare the risks involved. table 11 shows that the risk is slightly higher with a grain silo than with normal storage space. the higher risk is based on the fluctuations in income and the fact that the property has no alternative use. it is not statistically provable to determine the additional risk involved with a grain silo compared with normal storage space. the same process is used by a valuer when comparing normal storage buildings that have differences in location, tenant, etc. it is based on experience and an ability to estimate risks. table 11: risks to consider when determining a capitalisation rate type of risk risk with normal storage spaces risk associated with grain silo risks compared quality of tenants tenants can differ in their risk profile. the valuer will take the risk into consideration when doing the calculation for the value. the tenant is grain. the risk in the quality is taken into consideration in the calculation of the income. risk is equal. quality of the property depends on the property. for the purposes of the study, i use a wellmaintained property. well-maintained silo property with an economic life of over 50 years. risk is equal. length of leases in the smaller town where the silos are situated, the leases normally are one-year leases. the risk with the length of the lease is included in the income calculation, due to the fact that historical information was used and the most probable income was calculated. risk is equal. rental levels rental levels can differ, but are tested with market-related information. storage cost is tested with market-related information. due to the fluctuations, the risk can be slightly higher. silo has a slightly higher risk, due to fluctuating income. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 52 type of risk risk with normal storage spaces risk associated with grain silo risks compared terms of the lease agreement short-term lease agreements are used in most instances. escalation determined by the market. risk is included in the income calculation. escalation is based on the market. risk is equal. environmental and external deterioration the property has an alternative use and can be converted, should demand change. silos cannot be converted to an alternative use. it can only be converted to silos for another product such as coal. silo has a higher risk, due to no alternative use. source: south african institute of valuers, 2012 analysing comparable sales of industrial and storage-space properties in the same town in which the subject silo is situated shows that the baseline capitalisation rate should be between 12% and 13%. taking into consideration the fluctuations in income of the silo, as discussed in section 6.2, the fluctuation is relatively high, with the occupancy varying between 27% and 75%. the capitalisation rate will be adjusted by 2% upwards because of fluctuations in occupancy and income (as discussed in rental levels in table 14). it is difficult to quantify in monetary terms the fact that the silo has no alternative use. one would have to consider whether an investor would purchase any property at a market-related capitalisation rate and use it for an alternative use. under normal circumstances, the investor would adjust his capitalisation rate higher to allow for the additional costs involved with transforming the property for the alternative use. the fact that there is the security of alternative use with normal properties reduces the risk involved. there is no such security with a grain silo. because the subject grain silo has proved over time that it has a steady occupancy and because grain production will continue in the future, the risk with alternative use is fairly small. if the silo were located in an area with an irrigation scheme and where the occupancy of the silo is 75% or higher (an area where summer and winter grains are harvested in one year), no additional risk would probably be added. but the subject silo is situated in the highveld of mpumalanga and there has been a substantial growth in forestry in the area. an additional 2% will be added to the capitalisation rate for the risk of no alternative use. winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 53 the method of determining the capitalisation rate was discussed with mr eddie fivaz (cfo of twk). he is of the opinion that, should the income be calculated on the long-term occupancy trends, the risk in terms of the fluctuating income is included in the income calculation, and the capitalisation rate can be determined based on a baseline capitalisation rate with added risks (fivaz, 2016). in this instance, the capitalisation rate to calculate the value of the grain silo is determined as per equation 3. capitalisation rate = storage space capitalisation rate .................... 3 + added risk = 13% + (2% + 2%) = 17% 7.2.5 determining the value of a grain silo if the valuer is able to determine a net annual income of the grain silo and the capitalisation rate, the value of the grain silo is calculated on the basic income capitalisation method of valuation as per equation 4. value of the subject property = net annual income capitalisation rate ........................... 4 = r5 466 429 17% = r32 155 464 the value calculated as per equation 4 is rounded down to obtain a final value. rounded value = r32 000 000 (thirty-two million rand) 7.2.6 summary on how to apply the income-capitalisation method on the valuation of grain silos in determining the value of a grain silo, the income-capitalisation method of valuation was used and the case study successfully determined a market value of the property. determination of the income: in this study, the occupancy figures of five years were used. a longer period should have supplied a clearer trend, but this was the only data made available by the silo owner. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 54 the data was compared to determine if there is an upwards or downwards trend in the occupation of the grain silo. the average was used, since the information in determining the trend was distorted, due to an exceptionally low occupancy in the last year of calculation. the calculated occupancy is used to determine the income by applying market-related storage and handling tariffs in order to determine the most likely net income. in this study, the information indicated that the amount of storage and the amount of handling is the same, but care should be taken when the valuer determines the handling fees, as they are not necessarily the same as the total storage. determination of expenses: in this study, the expenses are determined by analysing the financial information (budget document) of the silo in order to determine the property-related expenses. business-related expenses are excluded from the valuation. a suitable expense amount was determined. determination of the capitalisation rate: the method of determining the capitalisation rate based on a baseline capitalisation rate (storage or light industrial) supplied a successful capitalisation rate. the capitalisation rate was compared to a silo and adjusted for additional risk. the following risks were compared: the quality of tenants, the quality of the property, the length of leases, rental levels, terms of the lease agreement, as well as environmental and exterior deterioration (the south african institute of valuers, 2012: 9-13 to 9-14). a capitalisation rate of 17% was determined, although it is slightly lower than the rate of 20% suggested by joubert (2012: 16). the calculated capitalisation rate is considered to be more evidence based, since joubert (2012) did not give a clear indication of how it should be applied. considering the above results, the income-capitalisation method of valuation can be successfully applied to the valuation of a grain silo. 8. conclusion a grain silo is a specialised form of real estate because of its construction, use and income generation. a grain silo is a vertical concrete structure built for the sole purpose of storing grain. a silo is, in essence, an income-producing property, but winckler & boshoff • the valuation of commercial grain silos 55 because the tenant is harvesting grain, the income fluctuates. this fluctuation in the demand for storage space (income) is the result of the location of the grain silo and the yield of the crops in the area. grain silos are valued using the income-capitalisation method of valuation. the income is determined by analysing long-term occupancy figures and applying market-related tariffs. financial information is used to calculate expenses and business-related expenses are deducted. the net income is capitalised at the capitalisation rate. the capitalisation rate is determined by adding the additional risk associated with silos to a baseline capitalisation rate of general storage properties. the value of grain silos can be successfully determined by the income-capitalisation method, but the valuer should ensure that he has sufficient information available and sufficient knowledge of the grain production industry in order to perfortm the valuation as described in this study. 9. recommendations the following is advised for further study: • other valuation methods such as options pricing models be tested with the valuation of grain silos in order to also consider the effect of volatility in the market on the underlying asset. • the impact of modern storage systems on the value of traditional concrete grain silos. • the valuation of grain silos based on the rental of entire silos. • a method of valuation to value silos with a lifetime of less than 50 years. references list collins, t. & ghyoot, v. 2012. an introduction to commercial property finance, development and investment. pretoria: unisa press. de leeuw, c.p. 2003. depreciated replacement cost valuations. south african institute of valuers seminar. fivaz, e. 2016. (ceo of twk). telephonic conversation regarding grain silos. ermelo, 17 february. international valuation standards council. 2011. international valuation standards 2011. london: international valuation standards council. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 56 international valuation standards council. 2012a. technical information paper 1: discounted cash flow. london: international valuation standards council. international valuation standards council. 2012b. technical information paper 2: the cost approach for tangible assets. london: international valuation standards council. joubert, c. 2012. the valuation of grain silos. the south african valuer, 111. mooiman, a. 2000. valuation of grain silos. the south african valuer, 63. national property education committee. 2004. advanced property valuation. sandton: national property education trust. pienaar, p. 2015. farm valuations in practice. jeffreys bay: agri land price index (pty) ltd. purnell, m. 2015. (general manager of agbiz grain) personal communication on grain silos. pretoria, 9 november. rode and associates (pty) ltd. 2015. rode’s report 2015:1. cape town: rode publications. scarrett, d. & osborn, s. 2014. property valuation: the five methods. 3rd edition. new york: routledge. south african grain information service (sagis). 2015. excel spreadsheets on subject silo. pretoria. south african institute of valuers. 2012. the valuer’s manual. 19th edition. durban: lexisnexis. transvaal wattle kwekers (twk). 2015a. budget document. piet retief: twk. transvaal wattle kwekers (twk). 2015b. silo services. piet retief: twk. winckler, w. 2015. (professional valuer) personal communication on the valuation of grain silos. ermelo, 10 february. 1 douw boshoff & leane de kock investigating the use of automated valuation models (avms) in the south african commercial property market peer reviewed and revised abstract the adoption of automated valuation models (avms) in the field of property valuation is a trend, considered controversial and not readily accepted by the valuation profession. the aim of the article is to report on a study conducted in an attempt to determine whether the commercial property sector in south africa is ready to accept and adopt or reject avms and to investigate the possibility of avms replacing professional valuation services for commercial property valuations. limited research was available both nationally and internationally on commercial property avms. it was found that avms utilised for the valuation of commercial property are still in the development phase and cannot be considered feasible as yet. the major concerning factor is that commercial property markets are heterogeneous. avms offer various advantages over traditional methods, but there are also some disadvantages, which were identified in the study. structured interviews were conducted to determine the opinions and sentiments of commercial property professionals towards commercial property avms. as no avm system exists for commercial property in south africa, no factual opinion or experience was obtained. the general attitudes towards avms were negative and a small percentage of respondents indicated that there may be future potential. avms were also regarded as a threat to the valuation profession. it was established that there is scope for commercial property avms, however, on a limited basis, and the results could be improved by combining these with traditional valuation techniques. commercial property avms will never replace traditional valuations and can be implemented as a useful tool for verification and auditing of values. keywords: property valuation, automated valuation models, commercial property dr douw (gert brand) boshoff, lecturer, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, hatfield, 0002, south africa. phone: 012 420 3781, email: <douw.boshoff@up.ac.za> ms leane de kock, regional valuer inland, transnet, office 4031, carlton centre, marshalltown, johannesburg, 2000, south africa. phone: 011 308 1114, email: <leane. dekock@transnet.net> navorsingsartikels • research articles acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 2 abstrak die aanvaarding van automatiseerde waardasie modelle (avms) in die veld van eiendomswaardasies is ‘n tendens wat beskou word as kontroversieël en word nie geredelik deur die waardasieberoep aanvaar nie. die doel van die artikel is om verslag te doen oor ‘n studie wat gedoen is in ‘n poging om te bepaal of die kommersiële eiendomsektor in suid-afrika gereed is om avms te aanvaar en aan te neem of te verwerp asook om ondersoek in te stel of daar ‘n moontlikheid is dat avms professionele waardasiedienste sal kan vervang rakende kommersiële eiendomswaardasies. beperkte navorsing kon plaaslik en internasionaal in hierdie verband gevind word. bevindings dui daarop dat die gebruik van avms vir die waardasie van kommersiële eiendom steeds in die ontwikkelingsfase is en kan nog nie as lewensvatbaar beskou word nie. die grootste beperkende faktor is dat kommersiële markte baie heterogeen is. avms bied verskeie voordele bo tradisionele waardasiemetodes, maar het ook verskeie nadele, wat in die studie geïdentifiseer is. gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer om die opinie en sentimente van kommersiële eiendomswaardeerders teenoor kommersiële avms te bepaal. aangesien geen so model tans in suid-afrika bestaan nie, kon geen feitelike opinie of ervaring verkry word nie. die algemene houding teenoor avms was negatief en ‘n klein aantal terugvoere is ontvang wat aandui dat daar wel toekomstige potensiaal kan bestaan. avms is ook beskou as ‘n bedreiging tot die waardasieprofessie. die studie het bevind dat daar wel ‘n plek vir kommersiële avms bestaan, alhoewel op ‘n beperkte basis en dit kan verbeter word deur die kombinasie saam met tradisionele waardasietegnieke. avms sal nooit tradisionele waardeerders kan vervang nie, maar kan wel as ‘n handige ondersteunende of ouditinstrument gebruik word. sleutelwoorde: eiendomswaardasie, automatiseerde waardasie modelle, kommersiële eiendomme 1. introduction limited research has been done globally and in south africa regarding the use of avms for commercial property valuations. it is assumed that there is currently no commercial property avm in use in south africa. neither could the research conducted establish whether such a model is currently in use worldwide. avms are a relatively new concept in south africa; however, they have been operational in various countries for a number of years. in south africa, these models are used for municipal valuation purposes for all types of properties and, in the mortgage sector, primarily for residential property valuations. residential mortgage valuations are currently moving from traditional valuation approaches and are adopting avms. in both these fields, the correct property value needs to be determined. incorrect values will lead to overor boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 3 undervalued properties, with a negative influence on the general property market and municipal property taxation bases. the primary objective of this article is to determine whether the commercial property sector in south africa is ready to accept and adopt or reject avms for commercial property valuations. the secondary aim is to establish whether avms pose a threat to the valuation profession and can replace professional valuation services for commercial property valuations. this article focuses on the use of commercial property avms for all purposes of valuation. municipal commercial property valuations, also known as computer-assisted mass appraisal (cama), are excluded. 2. literature review a survey of the literature reveals a paucity of studies on the use of avms for commercial property valuation, as limited information is available on commercial property avms. this overview will provide background information, indicate current uses and summarise opinions regarding the future development of commercial property avms. avms are categorised under both valuation services and valuation methods. 2.1 valuation services there is a range of different valuation services available from the most comprehensive and costly report to the least comprehensive result indicated only as a value at a reduced cost. robson & downie (2007: 20-22) defined the range of valuation services typically offered in property markets as follows: • gold standard – after a physical internal and external inspection of the property, a qualified and registered valuer prepares the professional standard of valuation in writing, and supported by market information. • drive by and broker price opinions – the next service level down from the gold standard is a drive by or external valuation, which involves an external physical inspection in order to confirm the property’s existence and some of its physical characteristics. • desktop – a desktop valuation excludes any inspection of the property, and the valuer may use satellite photos, owner acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 4 contact and market knowledge to establish information, as well as select and analyse appropriate comparables. • avm – an avm, at its most basic, provides only a valuation output; however, some avm systems supplement the figure with various features, the most important being a list of comparable transactions and a measure of the expected accuracy, expressed as a confidence score. in each case, there must be a balance between savings in time and cost versus the property risk factors. more automated models replace traditional valuation approaches. it is important to review the cost benefit relationship of replacing gold standard valuations with automated valuations or values. gold standard valuations are referred to as high quality, comprehensive reports, which include a physical inspection and a detailed market analysis. 2.2 valuation methods valuation methods include traditional and advanced methods. traditional methods include the sales comparison method, the investment method or discounted cash flow analysis, the cost method, the profits method and the residual method. advanced valuation or data-analysis methods developed from advanced technology and include hedonic pricing methods, artificial neural networks, spatial analysis methods, fuzzy logic, autoregressive integrated moving average, real options method and rough set method. advanced valuation methods are mainly used for the construction of avms, and a better terminology includes dataanalysis methods or decision support tools for values (lorenz & lützkendorf, 2008: 501). 2.3 automated valuation models the first signs of avms originated in 1960 and the models are currently used globally for security valuations (rossini & kershaw, 2008: 1). the use of technology to automate the residential lending process elicited the development of avms in the private sector. cassens zillioux (2005) stated that a prolonged period of low interest rates and related increase in lending activity, along with the internet, are the key stimulants for the development of avms. the collateral risk management consortium (2003: 4) indicated that an avm can be defined as the generic term for any electronic analytic algorithm, process or model that is intended to estimate the value of an individual property, without human assistance (other boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 5 than the initial entry of the data). specific to this report, the term applies to models designed to value residential properties. the iaao (2011: 14-15) describes an avm as a mathematically based computer software programme that produces an estimate of market value based on analysis of location, market conditions, and real estate characteristics from information collected. the distinguishing feature of an avm is that it produces a market valuation through mathematical modelling. the credibility of an avm is dependent on the data used and the skills of the modeller or operator producing the avm. avms offers various advantages such as lower cost, time-saving, consistency, transparency, easier data management, and the ability to combat fraud and valuer bias. disadvantages include data limitations, public opinion, the lack of property inspections, financial regulation, risk acceptance, and transparency, as indicated by tretton (2007: 505-506) and robson & downie (2007: 33). one limitation is that, as a rule, the property is not inspected when an avm is used. avms cannot capture information about a specific property’s internal or external condition, improvements or disrepair (fitch ratings, 2006: 1). however, adding photographs and mapping information can help overcome some situational omissions. fitch ratings (2006) pointed out that the greatest weakness of a standalone avm is that it assumes that the property is in a marketable condition with vacant possession and improved internally to normal standards, where a physical inspection can verify these factors (robson & downie, 2007:4). technological advancements have led to the use of avms for establishing property values. technology in property valuations, as in many other industries, has transformed business operations. gilbertson & preston (2005: 127-128) indicated that competition between lending institutions and valuers in terms of speed and cost of valuation services and the availability of data is stimulating greater use of technology. technology assists with the collection, organisation and formatting of data utilised for valuations. the development of avms in the private sector was driven by the use of technology to automate the residential lending process. the following categories of avms, according to robson & downie (2007: 12), are currently available: • hedonic models – this method mirrors the process used by valuers and uses regression techniques to estimate the contribution of each feature of the property to the overall value. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 6 • intelligent systems – the hedonic model method can be used to develop neural network or artificial intelligence models, which identify the variables relevant to value and learn about changes in the relationships between these variables and value, continually updating the model based on new transaction data. • hybrid avms appraiser assisted avms – robson & downie (2007: 58) indicated an intermediate service level between a stand-alone avm and a desktop or drive by valuation named the appraiser assisted avm (aaavm). an aaavm starts by providing an avm and comparable transactions. the valuer verifies the valuation and accepts or refers it for further investigation. 2.4 the use of avms in the valuation of commercial properties the use of avms is far more complex for commercial valuations than for residential valuations, as limited comparable data is generally available, as stated by gilbertson & preston (2005: 127). tretton (2007: 486-489) shares this opinion, stating that the scarcity of evidence makes the consideration of avms for commercial property much more complex. the complexity and the lack of recorded transactions require professional judgement to analyse the data. tretton (2007: 486-489) further states that there are limited avm models in use for commercial property valuation and it is suggested that these models be a supportive tool rather than a fully automated valuation, as the degree of human involvement varies. gilbertson & preston (2005: 127) question whether avms for commercial property could be viewed as valuations. the argument is based on the sole use of a computer without valuer input, the evidence and assumptions used and the interpretation of the data. commercial property avms are a subjective-objective balancing act and require a safety mechanism to verify the valuation. tretton (2007: 508) commented that full valuation automation is not the answer. a fully automated process with the avms producing annual tax base values would be an ideal. however, this is not feasible, given the variety of commercial property. 2.5 automated valuation models in south africa avms are a relatively new concept in south africa and traditional valuations have previously been the preferred choice. according to a case study compiled by robson & downie (2007: 37), south africa is categorised as an early-stage avm boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 7 market. the financial services board and the south african reserve bank effectively regulate the well-developed south african banking system. data availability is satisfactory and electronic registration of title and transactions started in 1993. the municipal property rates act 6 of 2004 requires regular valuations, necessitating mass valuations and the collection of property and value data (south africa, 2004). electronic tools and web-based data on property transfers have been available for ten years, and the providers are moving towards residential property avms. an avm model became available in 2006, providing output with a confidence score. the data utilised is sourced primarily from the deeds office, banks and valuers. in addition to the avm, the provider offers from 2007 a repeated sales residential index, using data from the avm, which gives specific price change detail (robson & downie, 2007: 37). another avm product, launched on the consumer market, gives free valuations online and sells the product to brokers and property agents. robson & downie (2007: 38) found that all the main south african banks are piloting, or investigating avms for loan origination and second mortgages. banks are using their own models alongside commercial products, with collateral risk policies being developed to determine when they are acceptable. there is concern regarding avm accuracy, and the expectation is that 30% of valuations will in future be done by avm for easy-tovalue standard properties in the mid-range market. according to seota (2011: personal communication), the south african council for the property valuers profession (sacpvp) does not favour the use of avms and no guideline has been formulated to date. the accelerated adoption of residential avms by the commercial banks, combined with the limited consultation held with the valuation profession regarding these models, are cause for concern. one should address this approach for future commercial property avm use or implementation. 2.6 future of avms and the valuer’s profession there is currently a shortage of supply of valuation service providers, according to robson & downie (2007: 33). this is evident in south africa where there is a shortage of valuers, as the majority of them are approaching retirement age. avms can alleviate this problem to some extent; however, they are also viewed as a threat to jobs. in addition, professional bodies initially regarded avms as a threat acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 8 to valuers’ employment. in mature markets, guidance to members on using them is now incorporated in professional standards. valuers are open to the notion of using avms as a supplement rather than a replacement for their traditional services. in a south african study, mooya (2011: 2267) stated that the rise in the use of avms poses questions about the long-term survival of the property valuation profession. avms provide quick and cheaper valuations, which, in this very competitive market place, put them at a distinct advantage over traditional approaches. according to gilbertson & preston (2005: 128), there is an opportunity for valuers, as developments in technology provide a process-driven “valuation”. if properly understood and used, avms will become a valuable part of the valuation process rather than the process or the result itself. the greatest risk to the valuation profession is commoditisation and automation, which reluctant professional valuers ignore. there is no substitute for the skill of a competent and experienced valuer. as part of what is essentially a risk-management exercise, data and output analysis by appropriately trained valuers can avoid pitfalls. gilbertson & preston (2005: 135) concluded that professionals offering financial or business skills are essential in one section of the valuation services market, and those with technical skills are essential in another part. the profession will have to consider how to train more technicians equipped to handle more of the routine work. it is difficult to predict the future of the valuation profession, as the profession is constantly under scrutiny and pressure. costs and speed of delivery are major drivers for avm development; however, one should consider the quality of valuations. in order to survive the development and implementation of avms, valuers in practice will have to change and adapt. the availability and quality of data are key factors, which will distinguish between valuers and valuation companies. the valuation profession is moving from a service to a product-oriented industry. 3. methodology the researchers conducted structured interviews with a number of property valuers currently active in the profession. the sample chosen was based on valuers from a residential, commercial and property taxation or municipal background. valuers in private practice as well as valuers employed by banks were interviewed. furthermore, valuers specialising in commercial as well as residential boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 9 property valuations were consulted. a combination of professional, associate professional and candidate valuers were included in the sample. a total number of 60 valuers based in gauteng were approached, of whom 40 responded and were interviewed. this constitutes a response rate of 67%. the interviewees represented a well-balanced profile of the south african valuer profession. similar questions were posed and the interviews evolved with additional data and information. the structured interviews were conducted during october and november 2011. interviews were conducted personally as well as telephonically, and the general response was good. the interviews conducted were strictly guided by the nine questions in the question sheet in order to avoid bias and any influence on the respondents. the responses were categorised and summarised, with various repetitions of responses that were received indicating consensus within the valuation profession in south africa. the researchers compiled the open-ended questions in such a way as to stimulate additional answers and opinions. 4. results and discussion in south africa, no avm model currently exists for commercial property valuations; only one service provider is in the process of developing such a model. the structured interviews therefore revealed opinion and speculation regarding the future of such models. 4.1 prior knowledge of or experience with avms the first question, “do you have any knowledge of or experience with avms?”, tested the respondent’s prior knowledge of or experience with avms. approximately 95% of the interviewees had prior knowledge of avms, as residential avm systems have been in use in south africa since 2008. these systems were utilised for mortgage valuation purposes by banks in south africa as well as, to a limited degree, for property tax valuations. the municipal valuers interviewed indicated that avms were previously introduced to the property tax field. the development costs of these proposed avms were too high to justify the product. municipalities in south africa are under severe budgetary restrictions and do not have the funds to support avm development. it may change in future, if the property taxes collected or municipal funds acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 10 can be allocated to avm development. however, at this stage, the municipalities are uninformed about avms, and it is estimated that it will take some years before this is addressed or incorporated. cama has been introduced to south africa and has been utilised by the city of cape town municipality since 2001. this system is based on an international software system, and residential properties are valued on a mass basis. however, commercial property valuations are based on the income capitalisation approach and cama is therefore not applicable in this instance. a small number equating to 5% of interviewees had no prior knowledge of or experience with avms. a number of these valuers mainly practise agricultural property valuations, and no avm model has been considered for agricultural valuations in south africa. furthermore, property valuation students who were interviewed did not have any or a limited knowledge of avms, as these models are a relatively recent development in the valuations field. the current academic curriculum does not cover this topic; however, some universities such as the university of cape town provide limited tuition on cama approaches. finally, property professionals employed by the listed property sector had limited knowledge of avms, as their portfolios mostly comprise commercial properties. the south african property market distinguishes clearly between avms and desktop valuations. the distinction is based on the human-intervention element. avms are fully automated computer models with human involvement limited to data-base inputs and compilation. by contrast, desktop valuations require human intervention and certain inputs, although this excludes a physical inspection of the property. desktop valuations are more detailed and properties are individually verified. in conclusion, 95% of the interviewees all had knowledge of or experience with residential avm models. 4.2 prior use of avms for residential or commercial valuations the second question, “do you or your company currently use avms for valuations and, if so, was this for residential or commercial valuations?”, tested respondents opinions on prior use of avms for either residential or commercial valuations. the majority, 80% of the interviewees, used residential avms previously and a large number were involved in the testing phase boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 11 of residential avms for bank purposes. currently, there are a small number of residential avm service providers. in addition, a representative from one of the service providers was interviewed and indicated that their system is currently used for high-volume mortgage valuations for residential purposes. they are currently in the process of developing a commercial property avm and this programme is in the research and development stage. a person was recently employed to research, develop and market their proposed system. avms are used on a large scale for residential valuations by the commercial banks in south africa. these models are generally used for second-mortgage valuations; however, the banks still prefer to physically inspect first-mortgage properties. the purpose of valuation also affects the use of an avm; for example, arrears valuations will always require physical inspections. higher priced properties above r3 000 000.00 are generally not valued using avms, and this is based mainly on the risk factor. the loan-to-value ratio is also an important consideration and banks generally do not use avms where the ratio is above 90%. furthermore, avms are not used for the valuation of vacant land, agricultural holdings and building loans. most of the banks have risk policies in place to regulate the use of avms. the public also know about the use of avms, which excludes a physical property inspection. fraud and corruption have occurred based on price fixing of false comparable sale transactions, where these properties did not exist. the lack of physical inspections created this opportunity for fraud. a high percentage (95%) of the interviewees had no prior knowledge of or experience with a commercial property avm, as this has not been the practice in south africa to date. in recent years, there has been speculation and discussion about commercial avms; however, no product has been developed or presented to the market. 4.3 successful employment of avms applications in the south african commercial property market the third question, “do you believe that these applications can be successfully employed in the south african commercial property market?”, tested respondents’ opinions on the successful employment of avm applications in the south african commercial property market. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 12 half (50%) of the interviewees indicated that, in their opinion, avms can only be used to a certain degree of accuracy for residential valuations, and this places doubt on more intricate valuation applications. furthermore, their confidence levels were low with regard to the current application of residential avms. in their opinion, commercial property is a much more involved valuation exercise and the risks associated with this type of property need to be balanced and managed. the main cause for concern was the lack of physical property inspections, which generally verify property use, building condition, occupancy, tenants in place, compliance with zoning rights, available parking, access and building orientation. these factors all contribute to the value of a commercial property and are known as the value-forming attributes of a commercial property. in addition, the interviewees mentioned that commercial property is a complex property class to value. the market consists of heterogeneous properties, sometimes situated next to each other, and this complicates the development of reliable homogeneous market information. the variables are too complex to account for in each valuation instance, thus complicating the development of such models. a commercial valuation involves various activities and analyses of value-forming factors that need to be taken into account. this includes adjustments to the value calculations. the interviewees doubted whether an automated valuation process would be able to perform all these functions and incorporate all these factors. a small percentage (5%) of the interviewees indicated that there is scope for commercial avms. their responses are summarised in the following section. the purpose of valuation and the associated end-user requirements were factors that had to be considered. the interviewees stated that the purpose of valuation would determine whether avm use is suitable. they mentioned the example of commercial property building loans, where a physical inspection is paramount to determining actual building progress. another example included first mortgages, as the end-user needs to determine, for example, the existence, condition and tenancy of the commercial building. the respondents raised risk management as an important issue. generally, representatives of commercial banks responded that the boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 13 constraints of using avms overshadowed the benefits. this statement was based on the higher risk that will result from not inspecting properties. it was stated that the banks were generally opposed to avms. the main advantages of cost and time reductions were favoured, but the implementation of commercial property avms is considered unlikely. south african banks are conservative and will always favour traditional valuations. one statement indicated that avm development was previously attempted in south africa, but with limited success. banks undertake desktop commercial property valuations based on a priority basis where certain properties are flagged or placed on a watch list. the basel accord is also incorporated in south africa and this requires annual revaluations of commercial property portfolios. older loan agreements as well as the south africa credit act limit the recuperation of costs associated with revaluations. valuation fees are therefore, in many instances, directly transferred to the banks who subscribe to the basel accord. this increase in demand for revaluations has driven the use of desktop commercial property valuations. the majority (95%) of the interviewees were opposed to desktop valuations and were of the opinion that traditional valuations were more suitable for commercial properties. there are certain policies and standards in place where, for example, a substantial difference in value will lead to the request for a full physical valuation. professional valuers in practice generally do not agree with the use of desktop valuations for commercial properties. other divisions of banks have driven and implemented these applications. south african banks require that property valuations include an insurance replacement cost. it is impossible for an avm to determine an insurance replacement cost, as there is no physical inspection. a physical inspection is, therefore, crucial in the south african bank valuation context. in conclusion, the majority (95%) of the respondents believed that these models cannot be employed in the south african commercial property market. 4.4 requirements for successful implementation of these models the fourth question, “how can these applications work in your opinion?”, tested respondents’ opinions on the requirements for successful implementation of these models. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 14 a small number (5%) of interviewees indicated that the im plementation of avms for commercial property could work. the responses indicated that the emphasis should fall on the accuracy and reliability of data which they regarded as the most important driver of the success of such a proposed model. from a property taxation viewpoint, they replied that following property data should be built into this model: • title deed information; • zoning details; • location analysis; • market sales prices; • market rental levels; • market expense rates; • market-related vacancy levels; • market-derived capitalisation rates; • incorporating gis mapping, google aerial and streetview, and • incorporating current electronic property tax billing systems. these valuers work on property tax valuations and indicated that south africa’s metropolitan councils have a large volume of data available, which could be integrated to compile a powerful software system. of crucial importance to the municipal valuer is the ability to revalue properties on an annual basis, with the use of an avm; this could be feasible. interviewees involved in mortgage valuations of commercial properties indicated that avms can be utilised as a beneficial tool. the issues raised include the risk acceptance of the banks, with the use of these models, which needs to be drafted in a policy format in order to protect valuers from legal claims. another issue is the integrity of data in the form of market information and property information. in south africa, a distinction is made between avms and desktop valuations. avms are automated processes without human intervention and desktop valuations require operator input and adjustments. both methods do not utilise physical property inspections. interviewees were more comfortable using a desktop valuation approach, as the degree of interaction of property data is higher. interviewees suggested that a software programme be developed with the following functions: boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 15 • input of property description data. • gis mapping, google aerial and streetview incorporation. • market research and analysis. • based on the above, predictive market value inputs for income, expenses, vacancies and capitalisation rates. • adjustments, if needed. • calculations. • quality control. • valuation audit. • generation of property indices. the importance of testing the model and value outputs was firmly stated. in addition, the limitations of commercial property avms should be considered and communicated to all stakeholders involved, especially the end-user, in order to avoid confusion. this measure is essential in order to protect the integrity of the valuation profession. one interviewee indicated that there should be a constant interchange and input of new data to keep the model data up-to-date. in terms of listed property funds, the johannesburg stock exchange (jse) regulations do not require annual physical inspections of the portfolio valuations. it was indicated that the application of avms for this purpose may be acceptable. updating rental schedules in the financial calculations and a full portfolio analysis are important. 4.5 general attitude towards these models the fifth question, “are you generally inclined or opposed to these models?”, tested respondents’ opinions on the general attitude towards these models. a limited number (9%) of interviewees had a positive response to avms in general. avms are relatively new in south africa, and a limited number of service providers are currently available for residential properties. this has led to some concerns regarding open-market competition. this type of valuation has negative connotations, due mainly to various inaccuracies experienced in the testing and development phase. the respondents against avms are senior people in the valuation industry who are nearing retirement and who were trained in acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 16 traditional valuation methods and approaches. they regard technology as an impostor, which can reduce employment from the current valuation profession. some traditionalists believe that the physical inspection of a property is required in order to determine a value and that avms are a shortcut method. after its initial development and phasing, a well-known avm system, has matured and currently predicts more accurate residential property values. a safety or confidence score measures this and the results indicate a well-established database and model delivering relatively accurate valuations. for commercial property applications, the general sentiment was negative. the respondents indicated that higher value mortgages presented a higher risk profile to banks and these properties need physical verification. in south africa, fraud and corruption are widespread and property valuations are a vulnerable target. fraud generally transpires from false statements of clients, unethical bank officials or during the valuation process. a physical valuation inspection is viewed as one measure to combat dishonesty and misrepresentation. the banks indicated that the commercial property mortgage business is a competitive environment. challenges in this environment with regard to valuations include accuracy, speed of execution and risk management. the most important factor was the risk associated with commercial properties, as property values are normally much higher compared to general residential properties. higher property values construct higher mortgage risk and the loan-to-value ratio is constantly under pressure. therefore, banks are adverse to risk and are unlikely to employ avms for high-risk transactions. a number (60%) of interviewees stated that the risk involved in property tax valuations is significantly less, and that the adoption of avms in this field has a better opportunity to be accepted. the high volumes of properties included in municipal valuations also substantiated this comment, which justifies avm use and development. in addition, the periods are easier to manage with the additional public input or assistance in the appeals process, compared to a high-pressure banking environment. the most favourable response or consideration of avms came from the municipal valuations field. as there is currently no commercial avm system in south africa, the respondents were unable to provide an educated opinion based on experience for this question. boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 17 in conclusion, the south african valuation profession is generally opposed to avms. it is known that the south african council for the property valuers profession (sacpvp) and the south african institute of property valuers (saiv) are opposed to avms. however, to date, no policy or statement document has been published to highlight this view. 4.6 level of professionalism or skill required for operating these models question six, “in your opinion, what type of profession or skilled individual should operate these models?”, tested respondents’ opinions on the level of professionalism or skill required to operate these models. all the interviewees indicated that a person with a valuation background should operate avms. in addition, they noted that experienced valuers, with a professional or associated professional status, should be the senior personnel involved. candidate valuers may also be employed in a data-collection capacity, with training and career enhancement opportunities. as avms are based on statistical analysis, a statistician is required to build the models. individuals with a combination of valuation and statistical skills are scarce in the marketplace and would be ideal to develop these models. the mathematical analyses of transactions and data are required to verify the inputs of avms, to avoid populating poor data in the software system. data is the key to any avm, and the verification and cleaning of data require special skills. individuals with knowledge of commercial property markets, such as property brokers, researchers, economists, statisticians and valuation auditors, may be employed to manage the data inputs to the avm. 4.7 verification of avm values question seven, “how can these avm values be verified or checked?”, tested respondents’ opinions on the verification of avm values. all the respondents indicated that practising professional valuers should verify avms. they suggested that the verification process review the following valuation inputs: • rental rate on a r/m² basis; • vacancy rate on a % basis; acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 18 • expenses applied on a r/m² as well as % basis; • capitalisation rate on a % basis; • final value on a rand amount basis, and • final value on a r/m² basis. furthermore, once the final value is calculated, a basket or portfolio of properties should be analysed to determine any discrepancies. values that fall out of the normal distribution require additional verification. the discrepancies need to be analysed in order to determine the reason for the difference. all the respondents indicated that valuation auditors should verify avm values, in a similar process to traditional valuation verification. generally, commercial banks have a number of valuation auditors who verify the day-to-day valuations received. the audit process generally comprises the following: 1. verification of traditional valuation report. 2. if required, queries are reverted to the service provider (valuer). 3. if required, amendments after the queries are verified. 4. the same or another service provider (valuer) should request a revaluation, if required. 5. if correct, the valuations are accepted and signed off. the respondents stated that avm audits should follow the same basic steps, indicated above. 4.8 affect of avms on the valuation profession question eight, “in your opinion, will avms affect the valuation profession?”, tested respondents’ opinions on the affect of avms on the valuation profession. the majority (95%) of the interviewees indicated that avms pose a threat to the valuation profession. first, they stated that employment opportunities would be reduced, as the demand for traditional valuers will decrease due to fewer volumes of work. secondly, the interviewees indicated that poor-quality valuations by avms would damage the reputation of the valuation profession. boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 19 finally, there was a concern that avms are statistical tools and not based on traditional valuation methods. this will create inaccurate valuations based on incorrect methodologies employed. 4.9 future of avms question nine, “what is the future, in your opinion, of these models?”, tested the respondents’ opinions on the future of avms. the majority (95%) of the respondents indicated that they did not see a future for avms for commercial property valuations. they stated that a commercial property valuation would always require a physical inspection. the banks operating in the commercial property market also require a physical inspection and a market analysis to manage the risk of the portfolios. a small percentage (5%) of the interviewees indicated that there may be a future for avms; however, the databases and calculations need to be accurate. the interviewees speculated that the development of these models would require substantial financial investment, as well as cooperation between banks, valuers, property funds, and property data of specialists. it will be a mammoth task to obtain collaboration between these parties, as competition and confidentiality of information are major factors that influence the sharing of data. automated software programmes in the form of discounted cash flow applications such as cougar and argus are regularly employed; however, these programmes are tools for cash-flow analysis and cannot be regarded as automated models. in addition, property management systems and cash-flow analysis programmes are not integrated. these applications differ significantly and still require physical inputs by the operators. internationally, data integration of various applications is available, and this improves speed, ease and accuracy of cash flow-based valuations. the future of avm development in south africa for commercial property valuations is, therefore, uncertain and highly unlikely. the south african property market is stable; however, the degree of adoption and incorporation of technology applications has always lagged behind international trends. 5. conclusion avms for residential properties have been incorporated and are being used with acceptable hit rates and confidence scores. in south africa, the accelerated adoption and implementation of acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 20 residential avms by banks or other entities are cause for concern. the main concerns are the lack of physical inspection of properties, the undefined scientific base of computerised value estimation, and the threat to the valuation profession. in south africa, the demand for commercial property avms is limited; traditional valuations are the preferred option. banks make use, to a certain extent, of desktop valuation models in order to satisfy basel revaluation requirements. commercial property poses higher risk investments and high value-to-loan ratios, which require a detailed assessment of the properties based on a traditional property valuation report. the incorporation of avms for commercial property valuations is more complex than that for residential property, and this originates from the heterogeneous nature of commercial properties. responses from interviews and tests conducted indicated that the development of avms is feasible; however, the cost, datacollection, and model calibration are obstacles. south african valuers are generally traditionalists and the implementation of avms will be challenging to be accepted by them, as the valuation profession indicated that avms pose a threat to employment opportunities. the valuer profession does not drive the demand for avms; pressure from other role players in the property industry will stimulate avm development. the valuation profession is under pressure following the implementation of avms. valuers will need to adapt to the changes in technology, and the role of the valuer is showing signs of change. in south africa, a high percentage of the valuer demographic indicates valuers nearing retirement; avms can alleviate this problem. avms can be utilised as a value-added tool in terms of automating repetitive valuation processes, testing valuations, and for database compilation. research indicates that avms will never be able to replace valuers, but may reduce the number of valuers required in practice. however, the services of a skilled and professional valuer will always be required. references list cassens zillioux, v. 2005. automated valuation models: past, present and future. paper presented to the european real estate conference, 15-18 june, dublin. boshoff & de kock • investigating the use of avms 21 collateral risk management consortium. 2003. the crc guide to automatic valuation model (avm) performance testing. pp. 1-21. costa mesa: collateral risk management consortium. fitch ratings. 2006. new treatment of avms in u.s.rmbs. [online] available from: <http://www.fitchratings.com> [accessed: 12 june 2012]. gilbertson, b. & preston, d. 2005. a vision for valuation. journal of property investment and finance, 23(2), pp. 123-140. international association of assessing officers (iaao). 2011. standard on mass appraisal of real property 2011. kansas city: international association of assessing officers. lorenz, d. & lützkendorf, t. 2008. sustainability in property valuation: theory and practice. journal of property investment and finance, 26(6), pp. 482-521. mooya, m.m. 2011. of mice and men: automated valuation models and the valuation profession. urban studies, 48(11), pp. 2265-2281. robson, g. & downie, m. 2007. automated valuation models: an international perspective. london: the council of mortgage lenders. rossini, p. & kershaw, p. 2008. automated valuation model accuracy: some empirical testing. paper presented to the 14th annual pacific rim real estate society conference, 20-23 january, kuala lumpur. seota, m. 2011. registrar of the south african council for the property valuer’s profession. personal communication on the sacpvp’s view for the use of avms. pretoria, 12 september. south africa. 2004. municipal property rates act (act 6 of 2004). pretoria: government printer. tretton, d. 2007. where is the world of property valuation for taxation purposes going? journal of property investment and finance, 25(5), pp. 482‐514. 110 oorsigartikels • review articles esti jacobs the status quo of green-building education in south africa peer reviewed and revised october 2015 abstract there is countrywide a lack of relevant and necessary professional and tertiary institutions offering education and training in green building in south africa. this causes a lack of awareness, knowledge and skill in green-building principles, which directly results in a lack in the introduction and implementation thereof on projects in the property-development industry. the purpose of this study was to determine whether tertiary institutions have started to incorporate green-building programmes and/or modules in current curricula. a literature review on green-building education, not only at academic institutions, but also at property industry educators was done to develop a questionnaire for reflecting the status quo of green-building education programmes at built-environment departments of six south african universities. these departments included quantity surveying and construction management; architecture; quantity surveying, construction management, and urban planning. the intention of this article was not to investigate curriculum renewal/innovation, but merely to examine the status quo of green-building education currently offered by tertiary and professional institutions in south africa. based on the findings, green-building education at built-environment departments of academic institutions in south africa is lagging behind, and progress seems to be slow. there are, however, signs indicating that positive changes are being made to introduce and implement green-building education. keywords: green building, construction, education, south africa abstrak daar is landwyd ‘n tekort aan relevante en nodige professionele en tersiêre onderrig en opleiding in groenbou in suid-afrika. dit veroorsaak ‘n gebrek aan bewustheid, kennis en vaardigheid in groenbou-beginsels, wat lei tot ‘n gebrek aan die voorstelling en implementering daarvan op projekte in die eiendomsonwikkelingsindustrie. die doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal of tersiêre instellings al begin het om groenbou-programme en/of modules aan te bied as deel van hul huidige kurikulum. ‘n literatuuroorsig oor groenbou-onderrig, nie net ten opsigte van ms esti jacobs, lecturer: quantity surveying and construction management, faculty of natural and agricultural sciences, university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: 051 4013394, email: <jacobse1@ufs.ac.za> jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 111 akademiese instellings nie, maar ook onderrig in die eiendomsbedryf, is gedoen om ‘n vraelys te ontwikkel wat die status quo van groenbou-onderrigprogramme in bou-omgewing departemente van ses suid-afrikaanse universiteite te weerspieël. hierdie departmente sluit bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur; argitektuur; bourekenkunde, konstruksiebestuur en stedelike beplanning in. die bedoeling van hierdie artikel was nie om kurrikulum hernuwing/innovasie na te vors nie, maar om die status quo ten opsigte van groenbou-onderrig wat tans deur tersiêre en professionele instellings in suid-afrika aangebied word, te ondersoek. die resultate toon dat groenbou-onderwys aan bou-omgewing departemente van akademiese instellings in suid-afrika agter is en vordering blyk stadig te wees. daar is egter tekens wat aandui dat positiewe veranderinge gemaak word om groenbouen volhoubaarheidonderrig te implementeer. sleutelwoorde: groenbou, konstruksie, onderrig, suid-afrika 1. introduction lack of education is often cited as a major barrier to implementing green design (carlisle, brown, foster, bennett & sandler, 2004: 32; landman, 1999: 29; shafii, ali & othman, 2006: 41). elforgani & rahmat (2010: 964) stated that one of the major barriers in green building is the lack of green-design knowledge that decision-makers exhibit throughout the construction process. in addition, landman (1999: 29) revealed in her study that 84% of the building professionals surveyed indicated that members of their project teams often do not have adequate technical understanding of sustainable building methods. bond & perrett (2012: 53), cattano (2010: 29) and shari & soebarto (2012: 6) indicated that a lack of knowledge and experienced workforce hinders the implementation of green-building practices. hankinson & breytenbach’s (2012: 5) study revealed that education and inexperience in sustainable design posed a barrier in green building in south africa. fifty per cent of the participants (interior designers and architects) stated that sustainable design was not studied, whereas they were at a technical university or university in south africa. the commercial building sector in south africa is hampered by the lack of professional education in green building (milne, 2012: 107, 126). time delays occur due to lack of knowledge and skills in green-building construction. in landman’s (1999: 29) study, respondents stated the following: “we tend to spend a lot of extra time training project participants in the use of sustainable strategies in construction.” according to the industrial labour organisation (ilo) (2011: 89), it is often difficult for providers of training and education to respond to the demand for skills in green building. implementing an education or training course can take several years. course development acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 112 requires time and effort, and expectations of prospective students and trainees may constrain a new course. all of this makes it difficult for providers of training and education to respond to demand for skills in green building as promptly as role players in the green-building sector might prefer. it is important to examine the status quo of green-building education in south africa. this assessment will not only reflect the shortcomings of green-building education at higher education institutions in south africa, but also emphasize the importance of professional industry education. in the context of sustainability, education is critical because of promotion, awareness and capacity development (fien & tilbury, 2008: online). an examination of education’s role in the status quo of green building in south africa, as well as whether tertiary education institutions started to incorporate green-building programmes/modules as part of their education portfolio may fill the void in understanding why sustainability and green-building practices are not sufficiently integrated into tertiary level curricula in south africa. significant efforts from multiple stakeholders in academia, industry and public sector may be required to improve the situation. 1.1 problem statement what is the status quo of green-building education in south africa? is there evidence to suggest that south africa is moving toward a sustainable future in the context of built-environment education? 1.2 research questions does education play a role in the status quo of green building in south africa? have tertiary education institutions started to incorporate green-building programmes and/or modules as part of their education portfolio? 1.3 hypothesis there is little evidence to suggest that south africa is moving toward a sustainable future in the context of the built environment. progress in terms of green-building development in south africa is slow or nonexistent. a lack of green-building education at tertiary institutions contributes to this unfortunate phenomenon. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 113 1.4 purpose to examine the contribution of education toward the status quo of green-building development in south africa and to determine whether tertiary institutions have started to incorporate greenbuilding programmes/modules as part of their education portfolio. the purpose was not to investigate the various curriculums offered by tertiary institutions nor to make suggestions in terms of re-curriculation. 1.5 methodology a literature study sets the context for green building in south africa. material drawn from various sources is presented – journals, books, professional publications, reports relating to industry drivers such as the green building council of south africa (gucci), and refereed articles. the literature study was used as a knowledge base for the empirical study. quantitative research follows the literature review, which involves an inductive research process and includes the collection and analysis of quantitative data to identify statistical relations of variables. data for the study was collected by means of a structured questionnaire pertaining to green-building education. questionnaires were designed to test the hypothesis, and the questions were based on the literature reviewed. the questionnaires measure variables pertaining to awareness, knowledge and education of green building in the built environment in south africa. the data was processed, using microsoft excel spreadsheets. the statistical information was interpreted and analysed, and the findings are presented in tabular form. 2. education globally, there seems to be agreement that education has a significant role to play in the motivation and empowerment of people in order to make positive changes towards more sustainable lifestyles (fien & tilbury, 2008: online; nevin, 2008: 50; witthaus, mccandless & lambert, 2010: 8). the impact of investment in green building may, however, be profound. education seems to be one of the most important investments a country could make in its people and its future and seems critical in the process of increasing awareness regarding the negative effects of buildings on the planet. it has also been argued that educators have a substantial role to play in the process of making extensive social changes that are necessary for acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 114 sustainable development (fien & tilbury, 2008: online; khan, 2013: 10; cotgrave & alkhaddar, 2006: 8). according to lee (2007: online), the driving force for improvements in sustainability comes from added knowledge and improved technologies, as well as the transformation of value systems through the process of education. in order to succeed in the quest towards sustainable development, the necessary values and skills should be integrated into the various levels of education. it is, therefore, important that the roles and responsibilities of higher education institutions, green building and sustainable research development, as well as property-industry educators should not be underestimated (hogan & tormey, 2008: 10; jones, trier & richards, 2008: 341-342). 2.1 tertiary level institutions the trend in both developed and emerging countries, as well as in emerging countries such as india and china is for green-building practices to be integrated into tertiary level curricula of applied builtenvironment disciplines (ryan, tilbury, corcoran, abe & nomura, 2010: 107). the united nations (un) has constituted 2005-2014 as the decade for educational sustainable development. the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) has identified four main goals in order to achieve this, of which the second addresses education: “reorienting educational programs”. for academic institutions, this means reviews of existing curricula towards sustainability, and mandated approaches to teaching, learning and assessment (unesco, 2006: 5). milne (2012: 107, 126) notes that the lack of knowledge and skills experienced in terms of sustainability among built-environment practitioners may be traced back to the education offered at academic institutions. edwards & naboni (2013: 48) also note an increase in programmes and development courses aimed at improving training and education in environmental design and practices. a major barrier to the changing process, however, seems to be a lack of qualified educators, as well as a conservative approach of some organisations and the long administrative process required to implement new courses. educators are agents who constitute a powerful start in an effort to modernise curricula in order to embed contemporary issues of sustainability (el-deghaidy, 2012: 24; gorgolewski, 2010: 34). it is, however, true that knowledge and experience gained by young graduates are not transferred to the older employees, who have established their own methods of working and appear to be conservative with new ideas (edwards & naboni, 2013: 48). jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 115 changing attitude towards sustainability derives in part from formal construction-education curricula at tertiary level institutions, which integrate the concept of sustainability (ahn & kwon, 2008: 4; cotgrave & alkhaddar, 2006: 4-5; zhang, zimmerman, mihelcic & vanasupa, 2008: 3-4). therefore, it appears that higher education institutions (heis) are under pressure to change the focus of education in order to accommodate the needs of sustainable practices. tertiary level institutions should model sustainable practises, as stated in the united nations global compact (un, 2011: 7): “it is therefore important that academics and institutions keep experimenting with, and sharing their efforts to embody sustainability, especially in making it a focus of their disciplines and professions in the process of curriculum design, development and research.” higher education institutions bear a responsibility to address the demand for environmental issues. it is imperative that construction programmes start including green-education courses into their curricula (cortese, 2003: 16; mead, 2001: 168). only then will graduates be prepared for the future and be able to make a positive difference to the environment (tinker & burt, 2003: 117; ahn, kwon & pearce, 2009: cd-rom). a positive development from the south african council for the architectural professionals is its expression of commitment to ensure that green-building theory and strategy are included in architectural curricula at tertiary institutions (frost & sullivan, 2013: online). 2.2 green-building research at tertiary education institutions in order for the green-building movement to grow and move forward, it is crucial that green-building research be promoted and conducted and that the findings be shared and distributed at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals (ashworth & perera, 2013: online; blismas, mccoy & lingard, 2009: 483). printed or online educational materials such as journals and conference proceedings are commonly used, have a relatively low cost, and are generally feasible in the majority of cases (grimshaw, eccles, lavis, hill & squires, 2012: 5). it is important to maintain standards and provide credibility through such conferences and journals, by upholding and employing the culture of ‘peer review’. there seems to be a lack of rigour in the scientific methodology used in some journals, thus increasing the need for quality information and findings on performance benchmarks. in addition to this, it requires considerable effort to screen and filter through information available; this reduces time spent on the practical side of business. there is increasing pressure acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 116 for practitioners to develop critical research skills in order to work through the enormous amount of information and technical data (edwards & naboni, 2013: 49). dissemination and translation of research findings on the key issues of green building and sustainability is necessary in order to educate policy-makers towards policy change on implementing greenbuilding and sustainable strategies (mcgranaghan & kauperbrown, [n.d.]: online). research papers from academics were often produced without any link with practice and often made hardly any contribution to the construction industry, leading to many of the large quantity-surveying practices recognise that there is a general lack of research in the built environment (ashworth & perera, 2015: 232). relationships between academia and the industry are very valuable for the translation of research into industry practice (blismas et al., 2009: 482). academics and researchers must involve the industry in the research process by making use of industry as a base for their information and data (blismas et al., 2009: 483). this coordinated ‘unity of effort’ is the key to implement and evaluate innovations through applied field-based research and to disseminate research findings and development in the construction industry (blismas et al., 2009: 489). 2.3 professional industry educators roux (2013: 23) comments on the poor industry knowledge and skills shortage in south africa. milne (2012: 107) notes that there remain a lack of understanding of sustainability principles and knowledge of green-building practices at many levels of the property industry, including owners, architects and contractors. a study done among sustainable design practices within the kwazulu-natal region by hankinson and breytenbach in 2012 revealed that inexperience with sustainable design projects was a barrier to the implementation of sustainable design in south africa. the study showed that there are not enough clients or projects that allow designers to gain much needed experience in sustainable design. for this reason, the majority of the participants discussed feeling somewhat “new” and inexperienced in the practice thereof (hankinson & breytenbach, 2012: 5). 2.3.1 green building council of south africa milne (2012: 126) states that professional education will enhance the current industry’s green-building knowledge and awareness and help improve the lack of skills presently experienced in south africa. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 117 the green building council of south africa (gbcsa) is the facilitator of independent conferences, courses and seminars. however, it is crucial that this information be transcended into universities and technical universities in order to provide a basis of understanding for students. industry education is one of the focus areas of the gbcsa. the number of people enrolling in the various courses and programmes offered by the gbcsa, including the green star sa accredited professional training programme, is a reflection of the thirst and desire of the property and construction industry to gain and improve green-building knowledge (milne, 2012: 107). courses and programmes offered by the gbcsa include online courses, face-to-face workshops, and full green star sa accredited professional programmes, including online examinations in the following areas: new buildings; interior, and existing buildings performance (gbcsa, 2015: online). as the property industry educator, the gbcsa is experiencing the following challenges: • there is a shortage of relevant local green-building research data and a limited number of green-rated buildings; • there is a lack of appropriate, specifically tailored offerings from basic, introductory courses to more advanced, detailed and technical sessions, and • the body of knowledge about sustainability and green buildings is changing fast and is constantly being added to (milne, 2012: 107). 3. research methodology this empirical research project focused on built-environment departments at various universities in south africa. personnel responsible for coordinating the programmes at these departments reported on the status quo of green-building education in south african tertiary institutions. structured survey questionnaire invitations were sent via e-mail. for this investigation, an e-mail distribution method offered the opportunity to collect data across all south african tertiary institutions that participated in the research project. 3.1 sampling method an online information search identified 11 south african universities that offered programmes in construction and the built environment, namely cape peninsula university of technology, university of cape town, nelson mandela metropolitan university, tshwane acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 118 university of technology, university of johannesburg, university of pretoria, university of the witwatersrand, durban university of technology, central university of technology, university of the free state, and water sisulu university. of these 11 institutions, only six were willing to participate in the research. of these six universities, the programme coordinators of fifteen built-environment departments were requested to complete the questionnaire. the discipline/profession taught by these departments included quantity surveying and construction management (3), architecture (2), quantity surveying (1), construction management (1), and urban planning (1). 3.2 sample size the sample size for construction-related professionals was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608). the table gives recommended sample sizes for general research activities, applicable to any defined population. from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 15 is 14, for 20 it is 19, and for 25 it is 24. this recommendation does not validate the sample size of six as efficient for the population of 11, but can be validated against the fact that there are a limited number of built-environment departments at south african universities willing to participate in this study. 3.3 data collection a structured questionnaire was distributed electronically via email to a total selected sample of 15 programme coordinators at builtenvironment departments of six universities1 in south africa. the respondents were asked to indicate the discipline/profession taught by the department represented. a confidentiality statement was included with the questionnaires and anonymity was ensured. participation in the study was voluntary. respondents were not requested to provide any demographical information regarding themselves, due to the fact that each respondent represents a builtenvironment department at a tertiary education institution and the responses reflect the information regarding programme(s)/modules and not the opinions or knowledge of the respondents. questions relating to the age, discipline, experience and qualification of the respondent have, therefore, been excluded. 1 based on the confidentiality agreement between the researchers and the higher level of tertiary institutions, these institutions’ names may not be disclosed. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 119 after two weeks of distribution, the importance of the research was communicated to the potential respondents via telephone in an attempt to improve the response rate. the topics of the green-building education programmes used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature. this resulted in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into nine questions pertaining to the teaching and education of green and sustainable practices at higher education institutions in the built environment. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.4 response rate eight responses were received from the selected group of 15 builtenvironment departments, reflecting a 53% response rate. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40% in general. 3.5 data analysis and interpretation of findings the questionnaire includes questions pertaining to green-building education at south african universities. ‘yes’/‘no’ questions and openended questions were used in the formulation of the questionnaire. excel spreadsheets were used to process the responses. the statistical information was interpreted and analysed, and the findings were presented in tabular form. 3.6 limitations this study is limited to six south african universities that were willing to participate in this study. due to the nature of the topic and the infancy of green building in south africa, the majority of the literature reviewed consists of international publications and information. the empirical research, however, does not include the international built environment, but has been limited to the south african context. 3.7 terminology for the purpose of this article, it is important to clarify terminology in order to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation of the purpose/ intention of the study. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 120 3.7.1 modules offered at built-environment departments according to wordreference.com (2010-2015: online), an online dictionary, [a] module is a self-contained course that usually lasts for one term. it covers one subject and is assessed independently of other modules. in order to gain a qualification one must collect passes in some predetermined number of modules”. 3.7.2 programmes offered at built-environment departments academic programmes comprise the core, required and elective modules that lead to a degree. all students pursuing a graduate degree at a large university will be enrolled in an academic programme (learn.org, 2003-2015: online). according to the university of arkansas (n.d.: online), a programme of study is defined by sets of academic requirements that result in a degree, which a university is authorised to offer. degree-programme requirements are typically stated in terms of numbers of credit hours and specific modules to be completed. examples are bachelor degrees, master degrees and doctor of philosophy degrees. 4. results and findings 4.1 respondents’ profile respondents were not requested to provide any demographic information regarding themselves, due to the fact that each respondent represents a built-environment department at a tertiary education institution and the responses reflect the physical content of an educational programme and not the opinions or knowledge of the respondents. questions relating to the age, discipline, experience and qualification of the respondents have, therefore, been excluded. table 1 reflects the composition of the various built-environment disciplines/professions represented by the departments. column 1 indicates the different disciplines represented; columns 2 and 3 reflect the amount and percentage of respondents per discipline, and column 4 shows the ranking of the groups represented. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 121 table 1: the composition of departments in terms of the disciplines represented discipline respondents percentage ranking quantity surveying and construction management 3 38 1 architecture 2 25 2 quantity surveying 1 12.5 3 construction management 1 12.5 3 urban planning 1 12.5 3 total 8 100 the majority (63%) of the departments represented teach quantity surveying and/or construction management as a profession. the balance of the respondents represents architecture (25%) and urban planning (12.5%). 4.2 programmes2 at built-environment departments 4.2.1 green-building or sustainability programmes at built-environment departments the purpose of question 1 was to determine whether built-environment departments at tertiary education institutions in south africa have started to introduce and implement green-building or sustainability programmes3 as part of their education portfolio. table 2 reflects the departments that are offering green or sustainable programme(s) as part of their education portfolio. the data in table 2 shows the ‘yes’/‘no’ responses to the question posed. table 2: departments offering green-building or sustainability programme(s) responses yes no total number of respondents 3 5 8 percentage of total 37.50 62.50 100 2 see clarification in subheading 3.7.2. 3 the intention and focus of the study was not to investigate detailed specifications of programmes/qualifications currently offered by the departments represented. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 122 table 2 indicates that the majority of built-environment departments at south african universities do not offer green-building or sustainability programme(s). the result of this question may suggest that built-environment departments at tertiary education institutions are slow to incorporate green-building education and that students, therefore, do not have a wide selection of programmes in green building or sustainability across the country to choose from when selecting a future career path. 4.2.2 degree levels of green-building or sustainability programmes offered at built-environment departments question 2 asks the respondents to indicate the degree level of the green or sustainable programme if the answer to question 1 was ‘yes’. the purpose of this question was to determine the level of the green-building or sustainability programmes offered at the departments represented. as is evident in table 2, three respondents indicated that a green building or sustainable programme is offered at the department represented. they also indicated the degree level of the programme mentioned, as reflected in table 3. table 3: degree level of green or sustainable programmes offered at built-environment departments responses basic honours masters doctorate other total number of respondents 1 1 1 3 percentage of total 33.30 33.30 33.30 100 each of the three departments that offer green-building programmes present the programme at a different level. one programme is offered at undergraduate level, one at honours level, and one at masters level. the responses indicate that students only have one option in each degree level to select from across the country when choosing a profession or future career path. the options available are limited, and students are forced to choose a programme from a specific university without the option of considering the location, language, or culture of the institution. table 3 reflects that green-building education in south africa is in its infant stage and is slow in terms of growth and continued development. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 123 4.3 modules4 offered at built-environment departments 4.3.1 green-building or sustainability modules offered at builtenvironment departments the purpose of question 3 was to determine whether built-environment departments at tertiary education institutions in south africa have started to introduce and implement green-building or sustainability modules5 as part of their programme curriculum. table 4 reflects the number of departments that are offering green or sustainable module(s) in a curriculum. the data in table 4 shows the ‘yes’/‘no’ responses to the question posed. table 4: departments offering a green-building or sustainability module/modules responses yes no total number of respondents 5 3 8 percentage of total 62.50 37.50 100 table 4 indicates that 62.50% of the participating eight builtenvironment departments at south african universities offer a greenbuilding or sustainability module. the literature review indicates that built-environment programmes at tertiary education institutions should offer a broad scientific curriculum, including specific modules encompassing green building and sustainability. the literature study also highlighted the demand in the market for professionals with sustainability and green-building knowledge and skills. the result of this question indicates that there is progress in terms of green-building education in south africa. it may be argued that built-environment departments at tertiary education institutions are realising the importance of green building and the teaching thereof to future built-environment practitioners. 4 see clarification under 3.7.1. 5 the intention and focus of the study was not to investigate detailed specifications of modules currently offered by the departments represented. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 124 4.3.2 degree levels of green-building or sustainability modules offered at built-environment departments question 4 asks the respondents to indicate the degree level of the green or sustainable module if the answer to question 3 was ‘yes’. the focus of this question was to determine the level of the green-building or sustainability modules offered at the departments represented. as shown in table 4, five respondents indicated that a green-building or sustainable module is offered at the department represented. these five respondents also indicated the degree level of the modules, as reflected in table 5. table 5: degree level of green or sustainable modules offered at built-environment departments responses basic honours masters doctorate other total number of respondents 2 3 5 percentage of total 40 60 100 two of the five departments that indicated that they offer greenbuilding modules offer modules at undergraduate level; three of them offer modules at honours level. the responses indicate that students, who consider green building and sustainability to be an important aspect of their education, have limited options when selecting an institution for tertiary education in the built environment. table 5 reflects that green-building education in south africa is slow in terms of growth and continued development. it may be argued that fundamental changes will have to be made at tertiary education institutions in order for south africa to raise knowledge and awareness in this very important field. 4.6 future inclusion of green or sustainability programmes/ modules in built-environment education portfolios question 5 relates to whether the departments represented, that do not currently offer green-building programmes or modules, are planning to do so in the future. table 6 reflects the intentions of these departments to incorporate green building or sustainability content in the future. the data in table 6 shows the amount of ‘yes’/‘no’ responses allocated by the respondents to the question posed. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 125 table 6: intentions of the departments to incorporate greenbuilding or sustainability content in their education portfolio responses yes no total number of respondents 4 4 percentage of total 100 100 all four of the departments that indicated in questions 1 and 3 that they do not offer green-building or sustainability programmes or modules as part of their education portfolio, have indicated in question 5 that it is part of the department’s plan to include greenbuilding or sustainability programmes or modules in the future. this response may be interpreted as a positive indication that builtenvironment departments are starting to understand the importance and the potential of incorporating green building and sustainability modules into programme curricula. 4.7 specialists in green building or sustainability at built-environment departments the purpose of question 6 was to determine the level of expertise available at the built-environment departments for teaching and researching in green building and sustainability. table 7 reflects whether the built environment departments have specialists in green building or sustainability as part of their staff portfolio. the data in table 7 shows the amount of “yes’/‘no’ responses allocated by the respondents to the question posed. table 7: specialists in green building or sustainability as part of staff portfolio responses yes no total number of respondents 6 2 8 percentage of total 75 25 100 table 7 shows that 75% of the departments represented do have a staff member/s who are specialists in the area of green building or sustainability. according to the literature reviewed, high-quality education depends on qualified teachers and the incorporation of training those teachers. it may be argued that the green-building acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 126 education in built-environment departments is on a positive track, considering the availability of lecturers with knowledge and skill in the area of green building and sustainability. based on the response to this question, it could be postulated that built-environment departments at tertiary education institutions are taking positive steps toward progress and growth of green-building education in south africa. 4.8 green star sa accredited professionals in built-environment departments question 7 relates to whether the departments represented have staff members who are green star sa accredited professionals. the purpose of this question was to determine the leadership role of the departments represented in the green-building industry. table 8 reflects whether the built-environment departments represented have green star sa accredited professionals as part of their staff portfolio. the data in table 8 shows the amount of ‘yes’/‘no’ responses allocated by the respondents to the question posed. table 8: green star sa accredited professionals as part of staff portfolio responses yes no total number of respondents 1 7 8 percentage of total 12.50 87.50 100 green star sa accredited professionals are leaders in the area of green building. the inclusion of such highly qualified and knowledgeable individuals may reflect commitment, quality and leadership. table 8 shows that 87.50% of the departments represented do not have green star sa accredited professionals as part of their staff portfolio. based on the response to this question, it may be argued that builtenvironment departments at tertiary education institutions have not started to play leadership roles in terms of the development and growth of green building in south africa. 4.9 green-building or sustainability research at builtenvironment departments the purpose of question 8 was to determine the level of research done by the departments represented in green building and sustainability. table 9 reflects these departments’ engagement in jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 127 green-building or sustainability research. the data in table 9 shows the amount of ‘yes’/‘no’ responses allocated by the respondents to the question posed. table 9: green-building or sustainability research at built-environment departments responses yes no total number of respondents 8 8 percentage of total 100 100 table 9 shows that 100% of the departments represented indicated that they engage in research pertaining to green building and sustainability. according to the literature reviewed, one of the main roles of tertiary education institutions is to conduct research. investigating the topic of green building and sustainability and thereby identifying ways of achieving sustainable production and consumption, including knowledge, skills and awareness is a responsibility of builtenvironment departments. based on the response to this question, it could be postulated that built-environment departments at tertiary education institutions are fulfilling an important role in terms of the growth and progress of green building in south africa. however, one could argue that this result does not support the actual current level of green-building research activity in the industry. 4.10 green-building or sustainability research published in accredited journals question 9 relates to whether the research in the area of green building or sustainability, at the departments represented, is published in accredited journals. the purpose of this question is to determine the quality and validity of the research conducted by these departments in green building and sustainability. table 10 reflects the publication of green-building or sustainability research in accredited journals. the data in table 10 shows the amount of ‘yes’/‘no’ responses allocated by the respondents to the question posed. table 10: green-building or sustainability research published in accredited journals responses yes no total number of respondents 2 6 8 acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 128 responses yes no total percentage of total 25 75 100 the quality and validity of research done could be tested against the publication thereof in accredited journals. table 10 shows that 25% of the respondents indicated that the research completed by the departments represented has been published in accredited journals.6 based on the response to this question, it could be argued that the quality and validity of the research done on the topic of green building and sustainability are not at a desired level and, therefore, not contributing to progress and growth in terms of new knowledge or data pertaining to the research topic. 5. conclusion and recommendation appropriate literature gave rise to a range of structured questions, which were used to obtain qualitative data from the survey participants. analysis of the literature and the results from the questionnaire survey reflected the status quo of green-building education in south africa. the research results showed an urgent need for green-building and sustainability education to students studying towards built-environment professions such as architecture, quantity surveying, construction management, and urban planning. there seems to be an increase in green-building modules being offered as part of programme curricula by built-environment departments; however, few complete programmes in green building or sustainability are offered as part of education portfolios at academic institutions. programmes and modules also appear to be varied in terms of the degree levels; this limits students in terms of choices of different academic institutions, location and language. the analysis of the responses reflects an increased amount of staff specialising in green building or sustainability at built-environment departments; this is a positive step in terms of green-building education. however, few of the departments represented have green star sa accredited professionals as part of the personnel portfolio. this reflects a lower level of leadership and expertise available to support green-building progress and growth. it was also determined that green-building and sustainability research is conducted at built-environment departments, but hardly 6 it could be assumed that the balance of the research, as reflected in table 9, was presented at conferences. jacobs• the status quo of green-building education in south africa 129 any of the research produced reflects quality and validity in terms of accredited journal publications. green-building education at built-environment departments at academic institutions is 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[online]. available from: <http://forum. wordreference.com/threads/the-meaning-of-the-word-module-inthe-academic-field.2812621/> [accessed: 1 november 2015]. zhang, q., zimmerman, j., mihelcic, j. & vanasupa, l. 2008. civil and environmental engineering education transformation change. proceedings of the american society for engineering education (asee) annual conference, 22-25 june. pittsburgh, pensylvania, pp.1-14. 1 paul bowen, keith cattell & peter edwards workplace stress experienced by quantity surveyors peer reviewed and revised abstract this article reports on the relationship between workplace stress of quantity surveyors and job demand, control and support factors. using an online quantitative survey, the perceptions of workplace stress of professional quantity surveyors in south africa is sought. particular focus is given to differences in gender, age and ethnicity. job demand issues explored include working to tight deadlines, working long hours, the work/family balance, and a perceived need to work harder to ‘prove oneself’. job control factors include control over the type of work assigned, the pace of work, the work environment, and the match between authority and responsibility. job support factors include assistance and support received from line managers and colleagues. organisational stressors, in the form of job prospects and the general work environment, are also examined. findings show that the majority of the respondents experience high levels of stress at work, with females reporting higher levels than males. younger, more than older colleagues, experience workplace stress, although this may be explained by conditioning over time. the extent to which these professionals are able to control their job situations does not appear to have a major influence on stress. tight deadlines, long working hours, and a work/family imbalance may play a bigger role. respondents would appreciate having more time to do a better job. employees generally do not expect managers and colleagues to consistently make their work easier, but they do believe that colleagues can be relied upon in times of difficulty. professional and employer organisations should pay closer attention to the issues concerning workplace stress and implement appropriate policies and measures to counter it. further research will be undertaken to explore in more detail the relationships between stress and the type of work undertaken. keywords: occupational stress, job demands, job control, stressors, quantity surveyors, south africa prof. paul (p.a.) bowen department of construction economics and management university of cape town private bag rondebosch 7701 cape town south africa. phone: +27 (0)21 650 3443 email: <paul.bowen@uct.ac.za> prof. keith (k.s.) cattell head of department of construction economics and management university of cape town private bag rondebosch 7701 cape town south africa. phone: +27 (0)21 650 2452 email:<keith.cattell@uct.ac.za> prof. peter (p.j.) edwards school of property construction & project management rmit university gpo box 2476 melbourne 3001 australia. phone: +61 3 9925 2198 email: <peter.edwards@rmit.edu.au> navorsingsartikels • research articles acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 2 abstrak hierdie artikel doen verslag oor die verband tussen bourekenaars se beroepspanning en werkuitdagings, beheer en ondersteuningsfaktore. ‘n aanlyn kwantitatiewe opname word gedoen en die siening van werksplekspanning onder professionele bourekenaars in suid-afrika word nagevors. daar is in besonder gefokus op verskille in geslag, ouderdom, en etnisiteit. teikendatums, lang werksure en die wanbalans tussen werk en familie asook die behoefte om harder te werk om ‘jouself te bewys’ is van die beroepseise wat ingesluit is. beheer oor die tipe werk wat gedoen word, die werkspas, die werksomgewing en die toets tussen gesag en verantwoordelikheid is werksbeheerfaktore wat ingesluit is. werkondersteuningsfaktore sluit in hulp en ondersteuning van bestuurders en kollegas. organisasiestressors in die vorm van werksvooruitsigte en die werksomgewing word ook getoets. resultate toon dat die meeste deelnemers hoë vlakke van spanning by die werk ondervind en dat die vroulike geslag se spanningsvlakke hoër is as dié van die manlike geslag. jong mense beleef meer spanning as hul ouer kollegas, wat meer beheer het as gevolg van jare se ondervinding. die mate waartoe hierdie professionele werkers hul werksituasies kan beheer, beïnvloed waarskynlik nie hul werkspanning nie. teikendatums, lang werksure en die wanbalans tussen werk en familie speel moontlik ‘n groter rol. deelnemers dui aan dat hulle dit sal waardeer indien daar meer tyd toegelaat kan word sodat hulle werk van ‘n beter gehalte kan doen en, alhoewel hulle nie van hul bestuurders en kollegas verwag om hul werk deurentyd makliker te maak nie, glo hulle tog dat hulle op hul kollegas kan staatmaak in moeilike omstandighede. professionele en werkgewersorganisasies behoort meer aandag te gee aan probleme wat te doen het met werkplekspanning en behoort ‘n toepaslike beleid in werking te stel en toe te pas om werkspanning te verminder. verdere navorsing sal gedoen word om die verband tussen spanning en die tipe werk wat gedoen word, vas te stel. sleutelwoorde: beroepspanning, werkseise, werksbeheer, stressore, bourekenaars, suid-afrika 1. introduction many authors have pointed to the stressful nature of working in the construction industry (lingard & francis, 2004: 991; pocock, skinner & williams, 2007: 31; love, edwards & irani, 2010: 650). construction professionals are responsible for the safe delivery of projects, on time, within budget and capable of satisfying client requirements. project work is characterised by considerable dynamism and uncertainty, elevating its stressful nature (williams, 1999: 272; asquin, garel & picq, 2010: 166; mohr & wolfram, 2010: 168). work hours in construction are long (van wanrooy & wilson, 2006: 352) and the ability to meet project objectives is often compromised by unexpected events (miceli & castelfranchi, 2005: 291; leung, chan & yuen, 2010: 1094). interpersonal and inter-role conflict (leung, skitmore & chan, 2007: 1064; loosemore & galea, 2008: 127), well established stressors, as bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 3 well as ‘burnout’ (lingard, 2003: 69; lingard & francis, 2004: 162) characterise the industry. stress is a major challenge to the health of working people (hse, 2006: 31). houtman (2005: 2) reports that work-related stress was the second most common work-related health problem found in a survey across 15 european union countries. the european working conditions survey indicates that work intensity and quantitative demands have increased, particularly up to the mid-1990s and in the period between 1996 and 2001, and that job autonomy has decreased (gallie, 2005: 352). the increasing significance of work stress was recognised in the european commission’s strategy on health and safety at work 2002-2006, which identified psychosocial issues as an emerging occupational health and safety priority risk area (commission of european communities, 2002: 3). previous studies of workplace stress in construction have focused on site managers (djebarni, 1996: 281), construction labourers (goldenhar, williams & swanson, 2003: 218), construction managers (lingard & francis, 2004: 991), estimators (leung et al., 2007: 1063), architects (sang, dainty & ison, 2007: 1305), and construction project managers (leung, chan & olomolaiye, 2008: 644). this present research forms part of a larger study examining the workplace stress experienced by construction professionals in south africa. this study focuses on the relationship between workplace stress and job demand, control and support factors, the effects of workplace stress, the coping mechanisms adopted by professionals in an attempt to militate against the effects of stress, and the role of harassment and discrimination as work-related stressors. data were collected from architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, as well as project and construction managers via an on-line survey (n=676). earlier articles have reported on the comparative levels of perceived job stress and job demand, control and support (jdc/s) factors (bowen, edwards & lingard, 2013a: 393); the comparative relationship between job stress and harassment and discrimination at work (bowen, edwards & lingard, 2013b: 620); stress, stress effects and coping mechanisms (bowen, edwards, lingard & cattell, 2013c), and predictive modelling of stress as a function of jdc/s factors (bowen, edwards, lingard & cattell, 2013d). using the data emanating from the quantity surveyor respondents, this article reports on the relationship between quantity surveyors’ workplace stress and job demand, control and support factors. it focuses, in particular, on differences in gender, age and ethnicity. job demand issues explored include working to tight deadlines, acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 4 working long hours, the work/family balance, and a perceived need to work harder to ‘prove oneself’. job control factors include control over the type of work assigned, the pace of work, the work environment, and the match between authority and responsibility. job support factors include assistance and support received from line managers and colleagues. organisational stressors, in the form of job prospects and the general work environment, are also examined. the contribution of this work lies in its examination of the work stress experienced by quantity surveyors in a developing country characterised by economic hardship and social problems. 2. workplace stress according to karasek (1979: 285), the relationship between work and health can be explained by the combination of demands and control inherent in a job. the job demand-control (jdc) model of workplace stress posits that work that is simultaneously high in demands and low in control produces the most stressful responses and is most damaging to health (belkic, landsbergis, schnall & baker, 2004: 86; de lange, taris, kompier, houtmans & bongers, 2004: 160). later adaptations of karasek’s jdc model have incorporated workplace support as a resource that, together with control, can mitigate the extent to which job demands induce harmful effects in workers (schaufeli & bakker, 2004: 908). thus, johnson, hall & theorell (1989: 272) suggest that social support from one’s colleagues or supervisor serves to reduce the damaging impact of stressful work situations on workers’ health. social support is defined as “instrumental aid, emotional concern, informational, and appraisal functions of others in the work domain that are intended to enhance the wellbeing of the recipient” (michel, mitchelson, pichler & cullen, 2010: 92). according to the job demands-control-support (jdc-s) theory of workplace stress, jobs that are high in demands, low in control and low in workplace social support are experienced as the most stressful and produce the most damaging health impacts. when employees perceive an imbalance between work demands and their personal or environmental resources, a range of stress responses can occur, including physiological, emotional and behavioural responses that have a damaging impact on workers’ health, work performance and relationships (houtman, 2005: 2). bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 5 organisations differ in physical structures as well as in the attitudes and behaviours they elicit in people (sharma, 2013: 212). according to french, kast & rosenzweig (1985), organisational climate is an enduring quality of the internal environment of an organisation as perceived and experienced by its members, which influences their behaviour, and can be described in terms of the values of a particular set of characteristics (or attributes) of the organisation. these characteristics form the organisational culture, and their perceived presence and strength combine to form the organisational climate. mcshane & travaglione (2003) suggest that organisational culture shapes the way in which an organisation interacts with its environment, and the actions chosen to be implemented. assumptions, beliefs and values can be difficult to observe as they are learnt and often unconsciously followed by employees. cultural values include those which are being sought by the organisation (espoused values) and those which are currently in use (enacted values). the latter tend to guide individual decisions and actions. organisation cultures may be overtly or covertly exhibited in an organisation. they can also appear as counter subcultures within larger organisations, and thus conflict with an espoused corporate culture. thompson, stradling, murphy & o’neill (1996: 647) found that stress and strain conditions were significantly less favourable in organisations with a negative organisational climate (characterised by employee perceptions of high compliance expectations, lower individual recognition and supervision, and lower employee autonomy), compared to organisations that were not so characterised. sharma (2013: 212) identifies fear of job redundancy, lack of job security, non-commensurate wages with levels of responsibility, under-participation in decision-making, office politics and conflicts, and interpersonal relations as important determinants of occupational stress. newton & jimmieson (2006) examined the relationship between organisational culture and occupational stress. they report that an employee’s ‘fit’ with the organisational culture is important, and that for some employees, workplace events are viewed as more of a challenge than stressful, and that these employees tend to more closely identify themselves with the organisation. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 6 3. workplace stress and the construction industry professions the construction industry is a high-risk industry for work stress (pocock et al., 2007: 31) and several contributory factors have been identified. sutherland & davidson (1989: 226) identify inadequacy of information flow, onerous paperwork and excessive workload as the top three stressors among construction site managers. leung et al. (2007: 1067) report high levels of objective stress (i.e., stress associated with external demands such as deadlines, time constraints and workload) in construction estimators, associated mainly with a perceived lack of autonomy and/or low levels of reward. in a study of hong kong construction industry employees, onerous bureaucracy, a lack of opportunity to learn new skills and work-family conflict were ranked as the three most difficult stressors to manage (ng, skitmore & leung, 2005: 273). the experience of work stress is associated with low levels of job performance in construction. djebarni (1996: 281) reports a curvilinear relationship between stress and leadership performance among construction site managers. however, leung et al. (2008: 648) provide no evidence for a curvilinear relationship between stress and performance. indeed, they report that the task performance of construction project managers is inversely and linearly linked to stress. leung et al. (2008: 648) suggest that the stress levels of construction project managers in their sample may be higher than the threshold value at which the ‘inverted u-curve’ effect would apply. in australia, haynes & love (2004: 137) identified workload, long hours and insufficient time with family as the three most significant stressors experienced by construction project managers. however, there is evidence that work stress is experienced to varying degrees, depending on the nature of employment in the construction industry. love et al. (2010: 655) report that construction professionals, who are working for construction contracting organisations, experience higher levels of stress and lower levels of workplace support than construction professionals working for consulting organisations. similarly, lingard & francis (2004: 998, 996) found that site-based construction professionals worked longer hours and experienced higher levels of burnout than their counterparts working in the head or corporate offices of the same organisations. research suggests that female construction professionals experience higher levels of work stress than their male counterparts. in a comparative study of architects, project managers, engineers, bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 7 quantity surveyors and construction managers, bowen et al. (2013a: 393) found that proportionately more females reported higher levels of stress than males. in a comparative analysis of male and female architects, sang et al. (2007: 1305) report that female architects experienced significantly higher levels of work-family conflict and reported lower levels of job satisfaction and higher turnover intention than their male counterparts. previous research has shown that construction professionals experience high levels of work stress. however, this research has almost always taken place in developed economies, such as australia (lingard & francis, 2009; love et al., 2010), the united kingdom (uk) (djebani, 1996) or hong kong (leung et al., 2007; 2008). consequently, the extent to which the findings apply to developing countries such as south africa is not known. moreover, few studies have focussed on the quantity surveying profession. this research aims to: • explore workplace stress levels among quantity surveyors in the developing nation of south africa, and • examine the relationship between job demand, control and support factors and perceived levels of workplace stress of quantity surveyors in the south african construction industry context. the research questions posed in the study are: to what extent do south african quantity surveyors perceive themselves to be stressed at work? what is the relationship between workplace stress and job demand, control and support factors? 4. research method a questionnaire survey was chosen as a suitable method of collecting data for the initial stage of the research, since it allows wide coverage of the quantity surveying profession in south africa and follows the approach used by earlier researchers. surveys are a convenient, relatively inexpensive and effective way of obtaining a broad ‘snapshot’ view of peoples’ perceptions and opinions, but usually need to be followed up with case-based methods when issues require exploration in greater depth. the survey sought demographic, cultural and professional background information from respondents; determined their currently perceived levels of workplace stress; explored their work situations in terms of job demands and job control, and examined organisational stressors such as job security and perceived support acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 8 in the workplace. the catalogue of questions was drawn from the works of sutherland & davidson (1989: 221) on communication, workload, conflict and social support; haynes and love (2004: 129) on workload and work/family imbalances; ng et al. (2005: 264) on working relationships, communication and personal factors; leung et al. (2007: 1063, 2008: 644) on job demands, control and support; leung, chan & yu (2009: 127) on stress and stressors; love et al. (2010: 650) on stress, support and mental health, and leung, chan & chen (2011: 312) on job stress, burnout and physiological stress. likert scales (kline, 2000a: 95) were generally used for rating-type questions. whilst no definitions of the various constructs per se were provided, the information in the covering letter to the questionnaire, the information in the introduction to the questionnaire, and (indeed) the actual questions themselves provide ample insight into the issues of stress, and job demand, control and support factors. as noted earlier, the questions relating to this study constitute a subset of a wider group of questions in the questionnaire – dealing with job demand, control and support factors, coping mechanisms, as well as harassment and discrimination at work. the pilot study also served to confirm the efficacy of the questionnaire. occupation stress indicator (osi) scales (involving appropriate subscales of, and sub-subscales within job satisfaction; mental and physical health; personality type; control; job pressure, and coping with stress) are extremely complex and not without considerable criticism (kline, 2000a: 631). the development of such a scale is beyond the scope of this article. the 10-point stress ‘scale’ used in this study can more properly be described as a form of ‘perception metric’, indicating the degree of a condition being perceived to be felt at a point in time. such metrics are used by social psychologists (kline, 2000b: 122). exploratory factor analysis (efa) was not performed on the job demand, control and support variables. efa is a data-reduction technique, essentially reducing a large set of variables into smaller sets or components (pallant, 2010: 181). it is used in the compilation of tests and scales. factor analysis (fa) helps create coherent subscales from an initial, large number of individual scale items or questions. we are not developing a psychometric scale. the purpose of this article was not to examine the ‘causal’ relationships between a dependent variable (stress) and a series of predictor variables. it was never the intention to derive a predictive model; hence, regression analysis (logistic or hierarchical) was not performed. bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 9 the difficulty associated with demonstrating validity in questionnaire surveys is acknowledged (platt, 2001: 33). the analysis is based mainly on statistical significance testing. consequently, the results do not establish with any certainty a ‘causal’ link between any of the demographic, job demand, control and support factors, and perceived workplace stress levels. the results may be suggestive of such links, but more in-depth research would be necessary to establish its validity. this study adopted a self-reporting survey measurement method. therefore, the findings may have the potential risk of common method variance and the validity of data may be questioned. however, it should be noted that the metrics used in this study were based on issues highlighted in the stress management and construction literature. the sample size, to some extent, militates against validity concerns, as do the significance of the correlations between perceived workplace stress level and the job demand, control and support variables. the cronbach’s alpha for each scale (reported below) ranged from 0.75 to 0.78, indicating internal consistency. ethical considerations in the form of the absence of deception; privacy and confidentiality, and accuracy were observed (christians, 2005: 139). institutional ethical clearance was also obtained. following a pilot online study to test the adequacy of the questionnaire, the full survey was conducted between september and november 2010 and administered as an internet web-based online instrument, as this allowed easy and inexpensive coverage of quantity surveyors registered with their statutory council. professional registration of quantity surveyors is a legal requirement in south africa. undertaking the survey through the auspices of the statutory council provided a valid way of targeting the sample group. a total of 1.449 quantity surveyors received the request to participate in the survey, of whom 177 completed the questionnaire online. discounting email ‘bounces’, this represents a response rate of 12.2%. this level of response is typical for web-based surveys of this nature (fricker, 2008: 207). the response data were analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) (ver. 21.0 for mac) software application. where cross-tabulation was used to establish degrees of association between categorical variables, pearson’s chi-square test (or fisher’s exact test, where applicable) for independence was applied at the 5% (p=0.05) level of significance. ethnic differences were analysed by grouping the responses to the ‘african’, ‘indian’, and ‘coloured’ (mixed race) options in the questionnaire together as ‘black’ acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 10 because of the comparatively small numbers of respondents in the separate categories. 5. the results 5.1 sample profile the majority of the respondent quantity surveyors are male (80%), white (81%), married (including common law marriages) (77%), english-speaking (53%), and older than 40 years (59%). whilst nearly two-thirds of all respondents are at least 40 years old, 40% are older than 50 years. the majority of the respondents are located in the more populous provinces of gauteng (44%), western cape (22%), kwazulu-natal (12%) and the eastern cape (11%). compared to the sacqsp statistics, female quantity surveyors are over-represented in this study (20% compared to 12%). the biases of the sample in terms of gender, ethnicity, and age should be borne in mind when drawing inferences from the data. nearly half of the respondents report more than 20 years’ experience, and a quarter have at least 10 years’ experience. experience is significantly related to gender (p=0.005) and to race (p<0.001), with white male quantity surveyors having worked longer, while 40% of respondents have been with their present firm for five or less years, and 22% in excess of 20 years. service length is significantly related to gender (p<0.001) and race (p=0.004), and white males have worked longer for their current firms than females and other ethnic groups. overall, the response sample may generally be described as experienced quantity surveying practitioners in private practice, mostly white, male, english-speaking, in a stable relationship, and in a stable work environment. 5.2 overall levels of workplace stress using a 10-point scale (1=minimum stress; 10=maximum stress, with no defined intermediate scale intervals), survey respondents were asked to rate the level of stress that they currently perceive themselves to experience at work. the results are shown in table 1. bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 11 table 1: qs survey respondents’ self-assessment of workplace stress (n=160) perceived levels of workplace stress frequency(%) (n) level 1 (minimum) 4% (n=6) level 2 6% (n=10) level 3 10% (n=16) level 4 9% (n=14) level 5 10% (n=17) level 6 16% (n=25) level 7 21% (n=33) level 8 17% (n=27) level 9 6% (n=10) level 10 (maximum) 1% (n=2) mean score (+/standard error) 5.76 (+/0.18) notes: scale values: 1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress (no intermediate scale interval definitions). level of stress is significantly related to gender (p=0.042) but not to race or age. quantity surveyors appear to be highly stressed at work (45% report a stress level of ‘7’ or above) and only 39% report a stress level of ‘5’ or less. the mean stress level scale value reported is 5.76, i.e., respondents generally perceive themselves as experiencing more stress than not. stress level is not significantly related to ethnicity (p=0.719) or age (p=0.636), but is to gender (p=0.042), with proportionately more women respondents than men reporting high levels of stress compared to their male counterparts. it can thus be inferred that stress levels experienced by quantity surveyors in south africa are relatively high, particularly for females. 5.3 job demands respondents were asked to rate the nature and effect of their workplace demands. factors explored include working to tight deadlines; having to work long hours (at work and/or at home); inadequate time to balance work/family responsibilities; actual hours worked, and the need to work harder than others to ‘prove’ oneself. except for hours worked per week (grouped in seven time bands), these factors were assessed in terms of 5-point likert scales vectored from most to least. tables 2 and 3 depict the results. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 12 perceived workplace stress level is significantly related to working to tight deadlines (p=0.054), working long hours (p=0.021), and inadequate time to balance work/family responsibilities (p<0.001) (see table 9). table 2: qs survey respondents’ self-assessment of job demands job demand factors frequency (most of the time/ frequently) (%) (n) mean rating value (+/standard error) work to tight deadlines (n=175) 90% (n=158) 1.65 (+/0.05) work long hours (n=175) 67% (n=118) 2.09 (+/0.07) inadequate time to balance work/family responsibilities (n=175) 51% (n=89) 2.45 (+/0.08) need to work harder than others to ‘prove’ yourself (n=142) 39% (n=56) 2.75 (+/0.10) notes: scale values: 1=most of the time 2=frequently 3=sometimes 4=seldom 5=very seldom. the statistics exclude ‘not applicable’ responses. none of the job demand factors are significantly related to gender race or age. the majority of the respondent quantity surveyors (90%) report having to work to tight deadlines more often than not (table 2: mean rating score = 1.65). similarly, many (67%) find it necessary to work long hours (table 2: mean rating score = 2.09). this finding aligns with the actual hours worked per week (see table 3), where 35% of respondents report working more than 50 hours per week. at least 18% of the respondents claim to work more than 55 hours per week. table 3: qs survey respondents’ reported hours worked per week (n=175) hours worked per week frequency (%) (n) 31-35 hrs (1) 3% (n=5) 36-40 hrs (2) 5% (n=8) 41-45 hrs (3) 23% (n=41) 46-50 hrs (4) 34% (n=59) 51-55 hrs (5) 17% (n=30) 56-60 hrs (6) 14% (n=24) >60 hrs (7) 4% (n=8) mean score (+/standard error) 4.17 (+/0.10) note: hours worked per week is not significantly related to gender race or age. bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 13 when actual hours worked are considered in terms of gender, race and age, none of the relationships are statistically significant. against a background of the changing nature of the workforce, changing family structures and dynamics, and the demands of organisations, lingard & francis (2009: 2) emphasise the importance of work/ life balance in the construction industry. in the current survey, the mean rating score for quantity surveyors (table 2: <2.5) indicates that their inability to successfully balance work/family responsibilities occurs more often than not. differences of perceptions of work/life imbalance in terms of gender, race and age are not significant: the perception is uniform. a minority (39%) of respondent quantity surveyors perceive a (self-imposed) need to work harder than other colleagues in the same firm in order to ‘prove’ themselves (table 2: 39%; mean rating score = 2.75), but differences in terms of gender, race and age are not significant for this factor. in addition to examining each of the five job demand factors as individual indicators of workplace demands, an overall job demand scale was computed by summing all items in the direction of greater job demand (pallant, 2010: 87). all demand factors, except hours worked per week, were reverse-coded for this purpose. scale scores thus represent the sum total of the endorsed items, and range from 5 to 27, with 27 representing the highest level of job demand. the job demand scale score was internally consistent, α = 0.76. 5.4 job control survey participants were asked to rate their perceived degree of control over workplace tasks; their pace of work; their work environment, and whether or not an imbalance exists between their responsibility and level of authority. a 5-point likert scale was used in each case. for the first three factors, the scale intervals corresponded to 1=total control; 2=a lot of control; 3=some control; 4=a little control, and 5=no control. for the fourth factor (responsibility/ authority), the scale intervals were 1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neutral; 4=disagree; 5=strongly disagree. responses to each of the four job control factors were examined first as individual indicators of workplace control. a job control scale was then computed by summing all items in the direction of greater job control. all control factors were reverse-coded for this purpose. scale scores represent the sum total of the endorsed items, and range from 4 to 20, with 20 representing the highest level of job control. the job control scale score was internally consistent, α = 0.75. the results are depicted in table 4. none of the job control factors are significantly related to perceived level of workplace stress (see table 9). acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 14 table 4: qs survey respondents’ self-assessment of degree of job control job control factor frequency(total control/a lot of control) (%) (n) mean rating value (+/standard error) type of work assigned (n=177) 79% (n=140) 1.86 (+/0.06) pace of work (n=177) 65% (n=115) 2.12 (+/0.08) work environment (n=175) 61% (n=106) 2.30 (+/0.07) job lacks the requisite authority to match the responsibility (n=177) 45% (n=79) 2.95 (+/0.10) notes: scale values: 1=total control 2=a lot 3=some 4=a little 5=no control. gender is significantly related to task assignment (p=0.009) pace of work (p=0.024) and an authority/ responsibility imbalance (p=0.022). none of the job control factors are significantly related to race. age is significantly related to task assignment (p=0.012) pace of work (p=0.007) and work environment (p=0.029). the majority of the respondents report having considerable control (‘a lot’ or ‘total control’) over their task assignment (79%), pace of work (65%), and work environment (61%). an imbalance between authority and responsibility is reported by just under half of qs respondents (45%). the respective mean rating scores for the four job control variables are 1.86, 2.12, 2.30, and 2.95, respectively (see table 4). gender difference is significantly related to task assignment (p=0.009), pace of work (p=0.024), and an authority/responsibility imbalance (p=0.022). proportionately more women than men consider this to be the case. none of the job control factors are significantly related to race. age is significantly related to task assignment (p=0.012), pace of work (p=0.007), and work environment (p=0.029). note that cross-tabulation is not shown in this instance. 5.5 job support using 6-point likert scales (1=most of the time; 2=frequently; 3=sometimes; 4=seldom; 5=very seldom; 6=not applicable), survey participants were asked about the extent of support received from line managers and colleagues at work in terms of making an effort to make life easier at work and being relied upon to help when a difficult situation arises. the results are given in table 5. the option of ‘not applicable’ was included to cater for instances such as sole practitioner firms. the analysis excludes those responses. after examining each factor as individual indicators of job support, a job support scale was computed by summing all items in the direction bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 15 of greater job support, with total scores ranging between 4 and 20, and 20 representing the highest level of job support. all support factors were reverse-coded for this purpose. this scale was internally consistent, α = 0.78. table 5: qs survey respondents’ assessment of the frequency of support experienced at work types of support received at work (n=total applicable responses) frequency(most of the time/frequently) (%) (n) mean rating value (+/standard error) effort by line manager to make work-life easier (n=111) 23% (n=26) 3.27 (+/0.11) assistance by line manager in difficult situations (n=113) 46% (n=52) 2.73 (+/0.11) efforts by colleagues to make work-life easier (n=145) 29% (n=42) 3.08 (+/0.08) assistance by colleagues in difficult situations (n=151) 47% (n=71) 2.64 (+/0.09) notes: scale values: 1=most of the time 2=frequently 3=sometimes 4=seldom 5=very seldom. the statistics exclude ‘not applicable’ responses. gender is significantly related to assistance from colleagues in difficult situations (p=0.044). race is significantly related to assistance from a line manager in difficult situations (p=0.003). none of the job support factors are significantly related to age. support at work is strongly related to perceived level of workplace stress (see table 9), most notably in the form of efforts by colleagues to make work-life easier (p<0.001) and to provide assistance in difficult situations (p<0.001). of all respondents to this question, only 23% report that their line managers most of the time or frequently make an effort to make their lives easier at work. differences in terms of gender, race and age are not significant. however, when considering support from line managers in difficult situations at work, nearly half (46%) of all the respondents believe that such support is forthcoming most of the time or frequently. proportionately more white than black respondents feel that this support is forthcoming (p=0.003), but gender and age are not found to be significantly related to expectations of manager support. identical questions were posed to participants in respect of support emanating from colleagues. whilst work colleagues are generally perceived as making more of an effort (than managers) in making their lives easier at work, the overall situation is perceived by acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 16 respondents as being much the same. only 29% believe that their colleagues make their lives easier most of the time or frequently, whereas 47% think that colleagues assist with difficult situations frequently or most of the time. of the demographic factors, only gender is significantly related to colleagues’ assistance with difficult situations (p=0.044), with proportionately more men reporting this than women. note that cross-tabulation is not shown in this instance. 5.6 workplace stress mean scores, and job demand, control and support scale scores: by gender, race and age the results of this analysis are depicted in table 6. despite males reporting significantly lower levels of perceived workplace stress than their female counterparts (p=0.042), when the job demand, control, and support scale scores are considered, no significant differences for gender and ethnicity emerged. however, in terms of age, younger (<45 years) respondents report significantly higher levels of perceived workplace stress than do older colleagues (p=0.050). older colleagues report lower levels of job demands, greater job control, and greater job support, but the differences are not significant. the finding with respect to age essentially ‘mirrors’ that relating to gender in perceived levels of stress. table 6: workplace stress mean scores, and job demand, control and support scale mean scores for quantity surveyors: by gender, race and age mean sd mean sd p-value scores by gender male female workplace stress score (1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress) 5.44 2.25 6.83 1.56 0.042* job demands scale score (score range 5-27) (r) 19.08 3.63 19.45 3.54 0.612 job control scale score (score range 4-20) (r) 14.91 2.29 13.94 2.21 0.440 job support scale score (score range 4-20) (r) 12.33 3.33 11.46 3.39 0.179 scores by race white black workplace stress score (1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress) 5.74 2.25 6.04 1.91 0.719 job demands scale score (score range 5-27) (r) 19.22 3.67 19.46 3.50 0.420 job control scale score (score range 4-20) (r) 14.68 2.35 14.97 2.16 0.672 bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 17 job support scale score (score range 4-20) (r) 12.33 3.33 11.26 3.43 0.900 scores by age older (≥45 yrs) younger (<45 yrs) workplace stress score (1=minimum stress 10=maximum stress) 5.38 2.40 6.15 1.96 0.050* job demands scale score (score range 5-27) (r) 18.87 3.55 19.58 3.68 0.273 job control scale score (score range 4-20) (r) 15.08 2.29 14.42 2.29 0.282 job support scale score (score range 4-20) (r) 12.31 3.36 11.97 3.38 0.840 notes: *p≤0 05 r=reversed. scores for all qs respondents are: mean stress=5.76 (sd=2.22) job demand score=19.27 (sd=3.63) job control score=14.74 (sd=2.31) and job support score=12.11 (sd=3 36). level of workplace stress is significantly related to gender (p=0.042) and age (p=0 050). the job demand control and support scale scores are not significantly related to gender race or age. 5.7 organisational stressors aside of job demand, control and support factors per se, additional (organisational) stressors relating to job certainty and opportunities as well as to human relations aspects of the work environment were examined. 5.7.1 job certainty and opportunities survey respondents reported their perceptions of job security, the existence of promotion opportunities within the industry, and alternative job opportunities. five-point likert scales (1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neutral; 4=disagree; 5=strongly disagree) were used. this scale was internally consistent, α = 0.76. the results are given in table 7. none of these factors are significantly related to workplace stress level (see table 9). mean rating scores (table 7: >2.5) for all factors indicate that, overall, the issues of job security and promotion and alternative employment opportunities are more negatively than positively perceived. while 51% of the respondents feel positive about their job security, only 33% feel optimistic about promotion opportunities, and only 29% consider themselves capable of getting an equivalent job within a reasonably short period. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 18 table 7: qs survey respondents’ assessment of the existence of job certainty issues existence of job stability and prospects frequency(strongly agree/agree) (%) (n) mean rating value (+/standard error) job security (n=170) 51% (n=86) 2.68 (+/0.08) job promotion (n=169) 33% (n=55) 2.90 (+/0.08) ability to secure a similar level job reasonably quickly (n=169) 29% (n=49) 3.12 (+/0.08) notes: scale values: 1=strongly agree 2=agree 3=neutral 4=disagree 5=strongly disagree. gender is related to perceptions of job promotion (p=0 003). none of the job certainty issues are significantly related to race or age. none of the other job security issues are significantly related to gender, race or age. the factor cross-tabulation is not shown in this instance. 5.7.2 the work environment survey participants were asked to comment on their general working environment with respect to a variety of issues, namely their freedom to speak freely and frankly about matters concerning them; whether or not they argue frequently with line managers, colleagues or clients; if they feel that they could do a better job if more time was available; whether or not they are given opportunities to improve or perfect their skills, and whether or not they feel fairly compensated for the work done and hours devoted. the results are depicted in table 8. sixpoint likert scales (1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neutral; 4=disagree; 5=strongly disagree, and 6=not applicable) were used. the ‘not applicable’ responses relating to the skills improvement question were excluded from the analysis for the reason described earlier. this scale was internally consistent, α = 0.57. perceived workplace stress level is significantly related to the perception of being able to do a better job if more time was available (p<0.001), and to the freedom to speak openly about issues of concern (p=0.054) (see table 9). bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 19 table 8: qs survey respondents’ agreement with work environment factors work environment factors frequency(strongly agree/agree) (%) (n) mean rating value (+/standard error) freedom to honestly say what i feel and get things off my chest (n=176) 63% (n=110) 2 34 (+/0 08) argue frequently with line managers colleagues or clients (n=177) 16% (n=28) 3 55 (+/0 08) could do a much better job if there was more time (n=175) 68% (n=119) 2 20 (+/0 08) opportunities to improve skills (n=170) 37% (n=63) 2 81 (+/0 08) fairly compensated for the work i do and the hours i devote (n=175) 55% (n=96) 2 62 (+/0 08) notes: scale values: 1=strongly agree 2=agree 3=neutral 4=disagree 5=strongly disagree. gender and age are significantly related to freedom of expression (p=0.004 and p=0.043 respectively) and race is significantly related to being fairly compensated (p=0.020). the majority (63%) of the respondents consider themselves able to speak openly about matters of concern (table 8: mean rating score = 2.34). both gender (p=0.004) and age (p=0.043) are significantly related to this issue. proportionately more men than women, and older rather than younger quantity surveyors, consider themselves able to speak freely. when arguments with line managers, clients and colleagues are considered, only 16% of the respondents believe that this occurs frequently (table 8: mean rating score = 3.55), and differences in terms of gender, race and age are not significant. over two thirds (68%) of the respondents claim that they could do a better job if given more time (table 8: mean rating score = 2.20). differences in terms of gender, race and age are not significant. over a third (37%) of the quantity surveyors report that they are given opportunities to improve their skills (table 8: mean rating score = 2.81). again, differences in terms of gender, race and age are not significant. slightly more than half (55%) of the respondents consider themselves to be fairly remunerated in terms of work done (table 8: mean rating score = 2.62). however, differences in terms of ethnicity are significant, acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 20 in this instance (p=0.020), with proportionately fewer whites considering themselves unfairly compensated for their efforts, and 25% of black quantity surveyors considering themselves ‘underpaid’. table 9: cross-tabulation of perceived workplace stress level with job demand, control and support factors and general working environment factors jdc/s factors p-value job demand factors work to tight deadlines (n=160) 0.054* work long hours (n=160) 0.021* inadequate time to balance work/family responsibilities (n=160) <0.001* hours worked per week (n=160) 0 311 need to work harder than others to ‘prove’ yourself (n=128) 0 064 job control factors type of work assigned (n=160) 0.747 pace of work (n=160 0 527 work environment (n=158) 0 228 job lacks the requisite authority to match the responsibility (n=160) 0 209 job support factors effort by line manager to make work-life easier (n=105) 0.049* assistance by line manager in difficult situations (n=107) 0 391 efforts by colleagues to make work-life easier (n=137) <0.001* assistance by colleagues in difficult situations (n=142) <0.001* general work environment factors job security (n=160) 0.133 job promotion (n=160) 0.747 ability to secure a similar level job reasonably quickly (n=160) 0.797 freedom to honestly say what i feel and get things off my chest (n=159) 0.054* argue frequently with line managers colleagues or clients (n=160) 0 287 could do a much better job if there was more time (n=160) <0.001* opportunities to improve skills (n=155) 0.123 fairly compensated for the work i do and the hours i devote (n=160) 0 058 note: *p £0.05 bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 21 6. discussion this section considers the nature of professional quantity surveying work in the construction industry and how this might relate to stress. the focus then shifts to stress-related issues such as job demands, job control, support at work, job opportunities, work/life balance, and the work environment, taking into account gender, age and ethnicity differences where these are relevant. 6.1 the nature of professional work in the construction industry professional work in the construction industry is characterised by two features that are common to the professions of architecture, engineering, quantity surveying, and project and construction management. first, more often than not, the work involves multitasking on multiple projects. few construction industry professionals enjoy the luxury of engaging in one task on one project only. in addition, high levels of task differentiation and interdependence are usually encountered; i.e., multitasking involves a substantial number of different tasks (frequently across different projects). many of those tasks have interrelated dependencies, thus rendering the professional work itself as complex as the projects upon which it is performed (williams, 1999: 272; asquin et al. 2010: 166; mohr & wolfram, 2010: 168). secondly, the work of professionals in the construction industry inevitably involves making professional judgements and decisions under conditions of uncertainty. the uncertainty may be associated with the search for solutions to problems relating to project design and construction and/or to the need to model or plan for situations and actions that may (or may not) occur in a future that is not known with certainty. uncertainty is recognised as a substantial contributor to human stress (miceli & castelfranchi, 2005: 291; lingard, francis & turner, 2010: 1094). thirdly, in terms of the critical parameters of every construction project, namely time, cost, quality and safety, it can be argued that professionals will each place different emphasis on each criterion, and will be impacted by different uncertainties that arise in relation to project objectives, which often conflict. for example, professional quantity surveyors are highly concerned with project cost (in terms of forecasting and financial administration) and uncertainty, in this instance, is similar to uncertainty associated with the macroeconomic systems of society. considerable uncertainty may exist in terms of the distribution of elemental costs derived from elemental acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 22 analyses, forecasted tender price indices, likely rates of escalation, and procurement and contractual arrangements, while the decision-making associated with these factors is frequently critical to project success. 6.2 stress levels the survey findings show that high stress levels exist for quantity surveyors working in the south african construction industry (table 1: 24% of all respondents report levels >7), confirming the hong kong findings of leung et al. (2007: 1072). the relationship between time demands of work and the experience of stress may be complex and be moderated by other variables. the results suggest that is not just the quantity of work but the quality of the work experience that determines perceived stress levels and there may be qualitative differences between different quantity surveyors. female quantity surveyors report significantly lower levels of positive promotion prospects than male colleagues. this is important because job ‘certainty’ has been shown to impact negatively on the job satisfaction of permanent workers, increase worker stress, and detrimentally affect work-life balance (burke & greenglass, 2001: 592; de cuyper & de witte, 2007: 65; probst, stewart, grys & tiernay, 2007: 479; schreurs, emmerik, notelaers & de wit, 2010: 56). the findings of this research are also consistent with previous research that has revealed that women working in the construction industry generally experience higher levels of stress than males in similar employment (e.g. goldenhar, swanson, hurrell, ruder & deddens, 1998: 28; caven, 2005: 527; sang et al., 2007: 1315; bowen et al., 2013a: 393). previous research has also reported higher levels of job stress and burnout among younger employees, which is consistent with the findings of the current research (lingard, 2003: 69; brewer & shapard, 2004: 108; soares, grossi & sundin, 2007: 61). this warrants further investigation to examine the role played by family status, life stage, the number of years of professional experience, and the effects of ‘conditioning’ in determining stress levels and success in coping with stress among quantity surveyors. 6.3 stress factors the job demand/control nexus with stress, found in earlier research (e.g., karasek, 1979; houtman, 2005), is strongly supported. the high stress levels reported by south african quantity surveyors is matched by their significantly diminished control over the type of work undertaken, the pace of that work, and the environment in bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 23 which it is carried out particularly among female and younger quantity surveyors (table 4). the strain effects are exacerbated by having to work long hours, meet tight deadlines, and by finding it difficult to balance work/family responsibilities successfully (table 2). of particular concern is that fewer than 8% of all the respondents report working a ‘normal’ week of 40 hours or less. the long hours worked also match the general agreement among respondents that they could do a better job if given more time (table 8), thus providing fertile and aggravating grounds for job frustration: more time would mean even longer hours and thus even greater work/life imbalance and faster burnout rate. the high burnout rate associated with all these demand/control factors (lingard & francis, 2004: 162; hausser, mojzisch, neal & schulz-hardt, 2010: 33) provides a clear signal to the quantity surveying profession that increasingly excessive workloads may be counter-productive, damaging to health and social well-being, and lead to diminishing work standards and declining attractiveness of the profession to new entrants. 7. conclusions the contribution of this work lies in its examination of the work stress experienced by professional quantity surveyors in a developing country characterised by economic hardship and social problems. the stress levels experienced by quantity surveyors in south africa are sufficiently high as to cause concern, not only for the health of individual professionals, but also for the continuing effectiveness of their contribution to the construction industry. the body responsible for guiding and promoting the work of the quantity surveying profession should take careful note of this, and consider what measures of support are needed for their members. the negative ramifications of stress have an inevitable ripple effect, spreading from individuals through families and extended families to communities and thus to society as a whole. we need to know more about the nature of the work undertaken by quantity surveyors, and what might make some tasks more stressful than others. we need to explore why females report higher stress levels than their male counterparts. besides seeking more intraprofessional understanding, we should also explore inter-professional issues. while uncertainty, in relation to decision-making, cannot be entirely eliminated, it may be possible to mitigate it and manage it. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 24 employers need to better understand the effect that occupational stress has on their employees and implement strategies preferably aimed at prevention. such interventions should encompass regular reviews of workload allocations, empowering employees, fostering a supportive work environment, conducting stress appraisals, conducting stress-management workshops, and facilitating stress counselling where warranted. a powerful target would be the eradication of unrealistic deadlines in the planning and scheduling of construction work. addressing the root causes of stress among construction professionals and developing measures to deal with them will almost certainly have to proceed on a broad front. the quantity surveying profession could provide a lead in this. acknowledgements grateful thanks are extended to all the professional quantity surveyors who participated in this study. without your participation, this research would not have been possible. this work is based on the research supported in part by the national research foundation of south africa (grant specific unique reference number (uid) 85376). the grant holder acknowledges that opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in any publication generated by the nrf-supported research are that of the author(s), and that the nrf accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard. references list asquin, a., garel, g. & picq, t. 2010. when project-based management causes distress at work. international journal of project management, 28(2), pp. 166-172. belkic, k.l., landsbergis, p.a., schnall, p.i. & baker, d. 2004. is job strain a major source of cardiovascular disease risk? a critical review of the empirical evidence, with a clinical perspective. scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 30(2), pp. 85-128. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j & lingard, h. 2013a. workplace stress experienced by construction professionals in south africa. journal of construction engineering and management, 139(4), pp. 393-403. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j. & lingard, h. 2013b. workplace stress among construction professionals in south africa: the role of bowen, cattell & edwards • workplace stress experienced 25 harassment and discrimination. engineering, construction and architectural management, 20(6), pp. 620-635. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j., lingard, h. & cattell, k.s. 2013c. workplace stress, stress effects and coping mechanisms in the construction industry. in press. journal of construction engineering and management. bowen, p.a., edwards, p.j., lingard, h. & cattell, k.s. 2013d. predictive modelling of workplace stress among construction professionals. in press. journal of construction engineering and management. brewer, e.w & shapard, l. 2004. employee burnout: a meta-analysis of the relationship between age or years of experience. human resource development review, 3(2), pp. 102-123. burke, r.j. & greenglass, e.j. 2001. hospital restructuring, work-family conflict and psychological burnout among nursing staff. psychology & health, 16(5), pp. 583-594. caven, v. 2005. constructing a career: women architects at work. career development international, 9(5), pp. 518-531. christians, c.g. 2005. ethics and politics in qualitative research. in: denzin, n. & lincoln, y. 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dilemmas of long working hours in australia. work, employment and society, 20(2), pp. 349-368. williams, t.m. 1999. the need for new paradigms for complex projects. international journal of project management, 17(5), pp. 269-273. 19 nyameka zunguzane, john smallwood & fidelis emuze perceptions of the quality of low-income houses in south africa: defects and their causes peer reviewed abstract a number of low-income houses recently built in south africa are reportedly defective. the sheer number of low-income houses that failed to conform to quality expectations, especially in certain provinces, has become a source of concern for the national department of human settlements (dhs) and other construction industry stakeholders. this article assesses issues related to non-conformance to quality requirements in low-income houses from the perspective of both owners and contractors. a quantitative survey was conducted among housing beneficiaries in a post-1994 township in port elizabeth in the eastern cape. the initial findings were further complemented with the perceptions of contractors registered with the national home builders registration council (nhbrc). selected findings suggest that the principal causes of defects in low-income houses is perceived to be related to the use of emerging contractors who are presumably not experienced enough, and to the use of unskilled labour by the contractors. by implication, the respondents were of the opinion that poor workmanship could be the primary cause of defects in low-income houses. it can, therefore, be argued that, apart from adequate monitoring and inspection of projects, stakeholders in the form of emerging contractors and their labour should endeavour to improve their competencies pertaining to quality. keywords: construction, contractors, low-income housing, owners, quality abstrak ‘n aantal lae-koste huise in suid-afrika wat onlangs gebou is, het verskeie foute. die groot aantal lae-koste huise wat nie aan die kwaliteitsverwagtinge voldoen nie, raak ‘n kommer vir die nasionale departement van behuising en ander aandeelhouers in die konstruksiebedryf. nyameka zunguzane bsc (hon) graduate department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790 fax: +27 41 504 2345 email: <s206019751@live.nmmu.ac.za> prof. john smallwood professor and head department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790 fax: +27 41 504 2345 email: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> dr fidelis a. emuze research associate built environment research centre (berc) po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2399 fax: +27 41 504 2345 email: <fidelis.emuze2@nmmu.ac za> acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 20 hierdie artikel wys aspekte aan, uit die perspektief van die huiseienaars asook die kontrakteurs/aannemers, wat nie aan die kwaliteitsvereistes vir lae-koste huise voldoen nie. ‘n kwantitatiewe opname is gedoen onder huiseienaars in ‘n na-1994 woonbuurt in port elizabeth in die oos-kaap. die finale bevindinge is ook verkry uit die persepsies van kontrakteurs wat by die nasionale huisbouers registrasie raad (nhrr) geregistreer is. bevindinge wys daarop dat die hoofoorsaak van foute in lae-koste huise te wyte is aan die gebruik van onervare opkomende kontrakteurs wat onopgeleide arbeiders in diens neem. die respondente het swak vakmanskap uitgewys as die hoofoorsaak van foute in lae-koste huise. daar kan aanbeveel word dat opkomende kontrakteurs hul vaardighede/bekwaamheid in projekinspeksies asook arbeidskwaliteit behoort te verhoog. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, kontrakteurs, lae-koste huise, eienaars, kwaliteit 1. introduction quality is a fundamental term in the construction industry. the nonachievement of such a crucial aspect of construction can result in the failure of a construction project and in the dissatisfaction of clients and/or building occupants. furthermore, the non-achievement of quality can result in delays in building projects and the need for rework, which can result in a significant financial loss. quality focuses on eliminating defects and variations and seeks to avoid waste of time, materials, and financial resources due to rework (love, edward & smith, 2005: 197). in the case of low-income houses, carmona, carmona & gallent (2003: 3) contend that poor-quality housing, whether poorly planned in the wider sense, or badly designed, has been the hallmark of a commodity culture whereby housing is viewed as merely a ‘demand good’ to be thrown up wherever the price is right. according to carmona et al. (2003: 7), quality should be provided with the enduser in mind in order to create a healthy and safe living environment. however, the features of inadequate housing quality include: • overcrowding; • relatively small sizes of houses; • poor building standards in terms of inadequate sound attenuation or heat insulation, and • lack of basic urban design amenities, and inadequate supply of services (carmona et al., 2003: 7). in brief, research studies indicate that the quality in the building of low-income houses is one of the reasons for dissatisfaction expressed by occupants. for instance, a case study investigation conducted in pelindaba, bloemfontein, revealed that in general zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 21 74% of the respondents recorded negative perceptions about the quality of their public sector-built low-income houses (mehlomakulu & marais, 1999). the respondents observed prevalence of cracks in their houses (78%), roof leakages (58%) and, in general, they were not satisfied with the physical structure of the houses. similarly, the study conducted by madzidzela (2008) at nyandeni local municipality discovered that 85% of the respondents experienced problems with the low-income houses they are occupying. reported problems include flooding (27.5%), lack of water (25%), lack of electricity (12.5%), and drainage-related issues (35%). therefore, as state-delivered subsidy or low-income houses will continue to dominate the south african landscape in terms of housing provision for lower income households (landman & napier, 2010), it is imperative to address the quality issue in lowincome housing with a view to finding a practical solution. hence, the issue examined in this article concerns the non-attainment of quality in low-income housing, which has exacerbated wastage in financial resources and contributed to an increase in the housing backlog in the country. perhaps, according to anecdotal evidence, the occurrence of rework, defects, and increases in the housing backlog may be responsible for the perception that low-income houses seldom conform to the national building regulations (nbr). for instance, the minister of human settlements, tokyo sexwale, explained that a total of 40 000 houses must either be rectified or completely demolished countrywide as a direct consequence of poor workmanship (dalgish, 2009: 4). the minister further states that two of such houses have claimed the lives of two people a woman and a boy. 1.1 the research objective in this context, the primary objective of this article is to determine the underlying factors that have seemingly engendered the production of poor-quality low-income houses in south africa. doing this could provide additional insights related to the problem and lead to the identification of interventions that can be considered to be useful in south africa. the assumed research problem, therefore, states that ‘non-achievement of quality constitutes a significant barrier to the delivery of low-income houses in south africa’. the importance of the article is underpinned by the need to examine why there are excessive numbers of defects in low-income houses in south africa, because failure to conform to quality requirements acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 22 usually has negative consequences related to money in terms of budgetary control either in client or contractor organisations. 2. quality issues in construction management corpus according to research conducted by the building research establishment (bre) (egbu, ellis & gorse, 2004: 308), 90% of building failures are due to problems arising in the design and construction stages. these problems include poor communication; inadequate information or failure to check information; inadequate checks and controls; lack of technical expertise and skills, and inadequate feedback leading to recurring errors. egbu et al. (2004: 308) note that most of these problems are mainly ‘people’-related problems. a great number of the defects in low-income houses occurred during the construction stage and were mostly due to poor communication and inadequate checks and controls (sommerville, 2007: 395). as an illustration, alink (2003: 18) states that failures have resulted from incorrect building procedures and poor on-site supervision and workmanship. this is in accord with the contention of egbu et al. (2004: 308). according to alink (2003: 18), factors contributing to the lack of success and the non-achievement of quality in the lowincome housing sector include: • lack of sufficient finance; • use of unskilled labour; • use of emerging contractors; • lack of contribution by the private sector; • lack of management commitment toward quality achievement, and • substandard quality of workmanship. 2.1 challenges related to low-income houses in south africa despite the considerable modifications and revisions to the housing policy over the years, concerns related to quality, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of housing programmes still define and frame discussions (khan & thring, 2003: 18). the challenges usually dominating the low-income housing sector include poor design of houses; houses that are environmentally unsound; houses that are not suitable to the local climate, and houses that entail high maintenance costs. according to goebel (2007: 292), other problems associated with low-income housing processes include: zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 23 • new houses and townships continue placing poor and lowincome blacks in ‘ghettos’ on urban peripheries, far from jobs and services; • new houses and infrastructure such as sewerage services are of poor quality, are rapidly deteriorating and require maintenance; • people dislike the model of housing used, and would prefer larger houses – the main model was changed in 1998 when the dhs increased the minimum size of new houses to 30m2, and • because of these problems, people often sell or rent out their subsidised low-income houses bought through the subsidy, and move back to squatter or other informal settlements closer to their economic activities. 2.2 defects in low income houses in south africa according to khumalo (2010: 2), one of the reasons for violent demonstrations and riots in south africa is the lack of housing and the fact that available housing is likely to be badly constructed low-income houses with cracks. this is a problem that affects most provinces in south africa. media reports reveal that a contractor at kumani and mp stream villages in bushbuckridge in mpumalanga was stopped by residents after building ten (10) subsidised (otherwise called rdp) houses using bricks laid upright (magagula & mnisi, 2010: 2). the holes in the bricks were such that one could see right through to the next room and were not filled with mortar. the contractor had not built any foundations to save on bricks and cement. kota (2010: 26) also observed that government-subsidised houses in vukani in grahamstown were falling down, because of poor workmanship and inferior quality. weak bricks, leaking water pipes, roofs, drains and toilets were some of the problems encountered in houses. residents claim that they have been given black plastic by the municipality to cover the leaking areas when they complained about the leakages in the houses and that government-subsidised housing in that area is characterised by fraud, mismanagement and corruption (kota, 2010: 26). some defects in low-income houses, as stated by zincume (2010: 7), include unstable door frames; usage of weak cement mortar, and some houses were without roofs. similarly, the media reports that some of the issues in the n2 gateway project in the western cape, cited in mtyala (2010: 4), included the delay to install electricity in other areas of the project. in the case of low-income houses in the communities of boipatong and acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 24 tshepiso, 75 houses in boipatong and 35 houses in tshepiso have to be demolished due to quality problems (kunene, 2010: 11). in the eastern cape, gibbon (2010: 5) states that 30 000 houses that were built since 1994 have “constructional defects”. most of these houses were in a state where they have to be demolished and completely rebuilt and, according to gibbon (2010: 5), in a schedule of 80 building contractors who were allocated contracts in the province, 42% have disappeared, leaving behind unfinished units. 2.3 causes of defects in low-income houses in south africa according to gibbon (2010: 5), poor workmanship in housing construction, and poor management and control of building contractors have contributed to the housing problem. poor workmanship often leads to delays in projects. lubisi & rampedi (2010: 2) contend that the primary causes of delays are related to the perception that emerging subcontractors with capacity challenges were always appointed to execute projects. another media report noted that the use of alternative building technologies by less experienced contractors has also contributed to the housing problem. in a study conducted in limpopo, mpumalanga, the western cape, eastern cape and gauteng, which investigated the use of alternative building technologies such as compressed earth, interlocking blocks, shutters and concrete, and eco-frame, it was found that there is little knowledge or awareness on the part of beneficiaries of low-income housing with regard to building systems approval requirements, and whether the building method used carried an agrément certificate (mgiba, 2007: 16). the study also showed that 4 of the 5 developers who were part of the study had used construction methods that were not certified. advantages found in the study were that these alternative construction methods were cost-effective on the part of developers, enhanced speedy delivery, and some construction methods were found to be easy to maintain. the disadvantages were the inability of the houses to resist extreme weather conditions, structural defects such as cracks that are not easy to repair with some materials, poor workmanship, and structures that are not compatible to future extensions (mgiba, 2007: 16). 3. research methodology the study, which was quantitative in nature, addressed quality in low-income housing projects in terms of causes of defects in lowincome houses; the quality of built low-income houses; challenges zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 25 experienced by housing beneficiaries/occupants; selection of materials used in low-income housing projects; selection of workers for projects; construction methods used in projects, and the means or ways that could promote conformance to the nbr among contractors (home builders). the sample strata consist of housing beneficiaries from wentzel park in alexandria and housing contractors identifiable through the nhbrc database. the wentzel park township in alexandria was chosen because of accessibility for the primary investigator. table 1 summarises the response rate. forty-five (45) out of the fifty (50) questionnaires delivered by hand to housing beneficiaries were collected, which constitutes a 90.0% response rate. from the sample extracted from the nhbrc database, only twenty-nine (29) of eighty-eight (88) low-income housing contractors completed and returned questionnaires. this constitutes a 33.0% response rate. table 1: summary of the response rate sample sent returned not returned response rate (%) housing beneficiaries 50 45 5 90.0 contractors 88 29 59 33.0 3.1 the data the survey instruments posed questions that provided answers to the research problem. the questions were designed to be easily understood and to be answered in minimal time to optimise the response rate. the questionnaires consisted of predominantly closeended five-point likert scale-type questions, and open-ended questions. open-ended questions were included so that participants could express and explain their views in order to reveal issues not captured in the literature reviewed. the questions for housing beneficiaries were compiled in xhosa and english to accommodate people who can only speak one of these languages. the questionnaires were also short and to the point in order to avoid reducing the interest of the participants. the questions were designed in such a way that respondents were not required to reveal confidential information of any kind. the questionnaires were accompanied by a covering letter which explained the purpose of the study. it assured confidential treatment of responses and anonymity of respondents. in brief, the instrument related to housing acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 26 beneficiaries was delivered by hand, while the instrument meant for contractors was posted and e-mailed to them individually. 3.2 results: housing beneficiaries (owners) the beneficiaries who participated in the study formed part of a sample extracted from the community of wentzel park in alexandria in the eastern cape. 55.6% of the respondents confirmed that they are the legal owners of their respective houses. the majority of the houses have either 2 (20.0%), 3 (22.2%), or 5 (17.8%) occupants. in addition, the majority of the respondents took over the ownership of their houses in 2000 (11.1%), 2002 (15.6%), 2004 (15.6%), and 2009 (11.1%). 53.4% of the respondents mentioned that they have occupied their low-income houses for more than eight (8) years. as indicated in table 2, when asked about the state of their lowincome houses in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), nearly half of the respondents strongly agreed that they have used their personal income to enhance the quality of their houses (46.2%). however, 65.4% were unsure as to whether their houses were inspected and approved before occupation; only 25.0% and 12.5% agreed or strongly agreed that the quality of their houses was of acceptable standard, and with 2.8% for neutral, 16.7% for disagree, and 30.6% for strongly disagree, it can be observed that the majority of the respondents were not very satisfied with the house allocated to them. table 2: perceptions of the occupants of low-income houses related to the state of their houses statement response (%) ms std.dev rank u strongly………….....……strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 have you ever had to use your own money to maintain your house? 2.6 0.0 2.6 0.0 48.7 46.2 4.38 1.92 1 do you know if your house was inspected and approved? 65.4 3.8 0.0 0.0 15.4 15.4 3.38 2.02 2 zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 27 statement response (%) ms std.dev rank u strongly………….....……strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 was the quality of the house of an acceptable standard? 15.6 28.1 6.3 12.5 25.0 12.5 2.87 2.14 3 are you satisfied with the house allocated to you? 8.3 30.6 16.7 2.8 19.4 22.2 2.86 2.13 4 given this level of dissatisfaction, the respondents were asked to rate problems that they may have encountered with their lowincome houses on a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), as indicated in table 3. it is notable that accidents or injuries due to defects in the house are rated the most by respondents. in fact, 71.4% of the respondents perceive that accidents or injuries due to defects in the house constitute a major problem. similarly, the respondents perceived that leaking water pipes (29.2%), problems associated with stability (27.3), cracks in the walls (32.5%), inability of the house to resist extreme weather conditions and water penetration through the walls (23.5%) constitute major problems experienced in their lowincome houses. table 3: problems experienced by housing beneficiaries problem response (%) ms std.dev rank u minor..……….…………….major 1 2 3 4 5 accidents or injuries due to defects in the house 0.0 14.3 14.3 0.0 0.0 71.4 4.00 4.00 1 leaking water pipes 0.0 29.2 16.7 8.3 8.3 29.2 2.92 2.67 2 problems associated with stability 0.0 31.8 4.5 13.6 0.0 27.3 2.86 2.18 3 cracks in the walls 0.0 35.0 25.0 2.5 5.0 32.5 2.75 2.75 4 inability of the house to resist extreme weather 10.0 38.2 2.9 2.9 0.0 23.5 2.68 1.71 5 acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 28 problem response (%) ms std.dev rank u minor..……….…………….major 1 2 3 4 5 water penetration through the walls 0.0 35.3 17.6 11.8 5.9 23.5 2.65 2.47 6 roof leaks 0.0 35.5 19.4 9.7 9.7 22.6 2.65 2.55 7 roofs which make noise or even blow off when windy 0.0 42.9 10.7 10.7 3.6 25.0 2.57 2.36 8 incomplete house 0.0 40.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 16.7 2.53 1.43 9 dampness 0.0 51.4 8.6 5.7 0.0 28.6 2.46 2.29 10 door frames which shake and faulty doors 0.0 40.5 27.0 5.4 5.4 18.9 2.35 2.27 11 water penetration through window frames 0.0 43.2 24.3 8.1 2.7 21.6 2.35 2.35 12 leaking drains and toilets 0.0 57.7 11.5 0.0 7.7 19.2 2.19 2.08 13 collapsing of walls 0.0 50.0 25.0 0.0 8.3 16.7 2.17 2.17 14 water penetration through the floor 0.0 50.0 15.6 6.3 9.4 6.3 2.06 1.69 15 apart from the problems listed in table 3, the respondents also observed that “having to fix the house all the time; unplastered walls; unfinished houses; house not painted; leakage from the ceiling; rusty window frames; ceiling not fitted correctly; unstable roofs in windy situations, and door without proper locks” constitute the plethora of problems they have experienced while living in their low-income houses. when asked about what the reasons could be for the defects they have observed in their low-income houses, the housing beneficiaries answered as indicated in table 4. table 4 indicates that 32.6% agreed and 34.9% strongly agreed that the use of emerging contractors results in defects in low-income houses. a further 45.2% also strongly agreed that the use of unskilled labour can cause defects in low-income houses. in general, other causes identified by the owners include: • “contractors always underpay local labour and claim that government does not provide sufficient funding for housing projects”; • “contractors tend to employ their friends and relatives”, and zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 29 • “some of the houses are not durable and do not last long because they have been built by inexperienced people.” table 4: beneficiaries’ perceptions related to the causes of defects causes response (%) ms std.dev rank u strongly…………………..strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 use of emerging contractors 4.7 11.6 0.0 16.3 32.6 34.9 3.68 1.75 1 use of unskilled labour 9.5 19.0 2.4 7.1 16.7 45.2 3.67 2.13 2 insufficient building funds from the government 35.9 7.7 2.6 17.9 15.4 20.5 1.92 2.21 3 3.3 results: contractors given that low-income housing beneficiaries have established that they were not overtly satisfied with the quality of their houses, a further survey was conducted among contractors in order to shed more light on the issue. in terms of background checks, 86.2% of the contractors confirmed that they are registered with the nhbrc. based on the perceptions of the contractors, table 5 indicates the causes of defects in low-income housing in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), and a mean score (ms) between 1.00 and 5.00. it is notable that seventeen (17) of the twenty mss are above the midpoint of 3.0. the three causes that have ms below 3.0 include the lack of involvement of professional designers; inadequate information, and incorrect designs issued by the architect or engineer. from these results, it can be argued that, in general, the respondents were of the opinion that these causes can be deemed to be minor causes of defects in low-income housing. however, poor workmanship that is ranked first can be considered to be the main cause of defects in low-income housing. this is followed by workers not being committed to the implementation of quality standards, trying to save more than necessary on materials, focusing more on production and less on quality, contractors not understanding the national building regulations (nbr), and poor on-site supervision. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 30 table 5: contractors’ perceptions of the causes of defects in lowincome houses cause response (%) ms std.dev ranku minor……….……..………...major 1 2 3 4 5 poor workmanship 0.0 0.0 6.9 10.3 27.6 55.2 4.31 0.93 1 workers are not committed to the implementation of quality standards 0.0 3.5 6.9 3.5 37.9 48.3 4.21 1.05 2 trying to save more than necessary on materials 0.0 3.5 3.5 10.3 41.4 41.4 4.14 0.99 3 more focus on production and less on quality 0.0 3.5 6.9 13.8 27.6 48.3 4.10 1.11 4 contractors do not understand the national building regulations 10 3 0.0 6.9 13.8 41.4 27.6 4.00 0.89 5 poor on-site supervision 0.0 0.0 6.9 27.6 24.1 41.4 4.00 1.00 6 use of unskilled labour 0.0 0.0 13.8 17.2 27.6 41.4 3.97 1.09 7 use of inappropriate unsuitable alternatives or cheap materials 0.0 3.5 13.8 20.7 20.7 41.4 3.83 1.23 8 use of emerging contractors 3.5 6.9 6.9 20.7 24.1 37.9 3.82 1.25 9 faulty construction (incorrect building procedures) 0.0 10.3 6.9 20.7 27.6 34.5 3.69 1.31 10 insufficient or no inspections of work in progress 0.0 3.5 10.3 27.6 34.5 24.1 3.66 1.08 11 inadequate checks and controls 6.9 6.9 13.8 20.7 17.2 34.5 3.63 1.33 12 management is not committed to quality management 0.0 6.9 17.2 17.2 24.1 34.5 3.62 1.32 13 poor communication 3.5 3.5 20.7 17.2 34.5 20.7 3.50 1.17 14 inadequate feedback 13 8 6.9 10.3 27.6 17.2 24.1 3.48 1.26 15 lack of sufficient finances 3.5 13.8 13.8 27.6 10.3 31.0 3.32 1.44 16 zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 31 cause response (%) ms std.dev ranku minor……….……..………...major 1 2 3 4 5 failure to check information 6.9 13.8 10.3 41.4 13.8 13.8 3.04 1.22 17 lack of involvement of professional designers (architects and engineers) 6.9 27.6 27.6 17.2 6.9 13.8 2.48 1.40 18 inadequate information 6.9 27.6 20.7 34.5 0.0 10.3 2.41 1.25 19 incorrect designs issued by the architect or engineer 6.9 37.9 27.6 6.9 6.9 13.8 2.26 1.46 20 what is notable with respect to the findings in table 5 is the level of unsure responses, which can be deemed minimal. this suggests that the contractors who responded to the questions could be assumed to be sure of their responses pertaining to the causes of defects in low-income housing. in response to a further open-ended question, the contractors contend that other causes include: • “use of unskilled labour which has been recommended by the initiating municipality”; • “lack of involvement of building professionals such as land surveyors to check contours and engineers to inspect stormwater systems in the planning phase of housing projects”; • “the main reason is that the ‘quantum’ (grant from government) currently at r66 000 is not sufficient to build the top structure to the required quality. the government should increase the quantum by approximately r20 000 and contractors should refrain from tendering for low-income housing jobs until the quantum has been increased. who builds at a loss over and above the risks associated with low-income housing? contractors are forced to cheat on materials and quality due to a lack of work”; • “contractors should be evaluated before being awarded tenders to prevent unqualified contractors from being awarded tenders. political awarding of tenders should cease, because it does not benefit the process”; • “the allocation of projects to unqualified and unmotivated contractors remains an issue”; acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 32 • “lack of training of workers and sense of responsibility or ownership”; • “theft of materials, especially cement, by the very community for whom the houses are being built, the concrete and mortar end up being weaker and the house cracks as a result, because the cement content has been reduced”, and • “the department of human settlements and its authorised persons are involved in bribery and incorrect tender processes.” table 6 indicates the degree of concurrence with statements pertaining to quality by contractors in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), and a mean score between 1.00 and 5.00. the table suggests that 35.7% of the respondents strongly agreed that most defects in lowincome houses occur during the construction stage, and that a large number of houses have to be fixed due to the non-achievement of quality standards. in addition, 21.4% of the respondents equally strongly agreed that the majority of low-income houses do not conform to nbr requirements, and that the neglect of health and safety (h&s) negatively affects the quality of houses built. when asked who is responsible for carrying out inspections on projects in order to prevent defects, the respondents mentioned government engineers, project managers, architects, municipal officials, and provincial authorities as external inspectors. although 78.6% of the respondents confirmed that they use quality standards when constructing low-income houses, the type of standard to which the individual contractor adheres differs. some of them mentioned that they adhere to design specifications provided to them by engineers, whereas others listed iso 9001, nhbrc standards, and sabs as the standard to which they adhere. table 6: extent of agreement with statements pertaining to quality by contractors statement response (%) ms std. dev rank u strongly…………………strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 most defects in lowincome houses occur during the construction stage 0.0 7.1 17.9 0 0 39.3 35.7 3.79 1.32 1 zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 33 a large number of houses have to be fixed due to the nonachievement of quality standards 3 6 14.2 3 6 7.1 35.7 35.7 3.78 1.40 2 the majority of lowincome houses do not conform to the national building regulations 0 0 14.3 14.3 7.1 42.9 21.4 3.43 1.37 3 neglecting health and safety negatively affects the quality of houses built 3 6 10.7 17.9 32.1 14.3 21.4 3.19 1.30 4 fast-tracking building projects result in the non-achievement of quality standards 0 0 14.8 22.2 22.2 25.9 14.8 3.04 1.32 5 the high demand for rdp houses causes contractors to work fast and ignore quality standards 0 0 10.7 39.3 21.4 21.4 7.1 2.75 1.14 6 quality is an obstacle to productivity and is associated with high costs 0 0 39.3 17.9 21.4 14.3 7.1 2.32 1.33 7 however, pertaining to the need to adhere to principles identified in the nbr, the contractors were asked “how can conformance to nbr be promoted among contractors?”. as indicated in table 7, 74.1% of the respondents strongly agreed that regular inspections and performance audits can promote conformance to the nbr. a further 73.1% also strongly agreed that training and education related to low-income house building standards can promote conformance to the nbr. in addition to these interventions, the selection of materials for building purposes was investigated, as poor material selection and usage could potentially result in defects and/or non-achievement of quality. table 8 suggests that 46.4% of the respondents strongly agreed that materials should be selected based on either design specifications or compliance to building regulations. as indicated in table 8, 35.7% of the respondents also agreed that affordability and availability of financial resources could influence material selection. although 7.1% of the respondents were unsure about the contribution of availability of material, the mere fact that 39.3% of them agreed or strongly agreed with the statements suggests that material availability can affect material selection, which could determine the level of defects in low-income houses. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 34 table 7: contractors’ perceptions related to how to promote conformance to the nbr statement response (%) ms std.dev rank u strongly…..……..…….strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 regular inspections and performance audits 0.0 3.7 3.7 7.4 11.1 74.1 4.48 1.05 1 training and education on low-income house building standards 0.0 3.9 3.9 11.5 7.7 73.1 4.42 1.10 2 workshops and seminars 0.0 3.7 14.8 22.2 7.4 51.9 3 89 1.31 3 ensure registration with a quality assurance body 0.0 7.4 14.8 14.8 25.9 37.0 3.70 1.32 4 table 8: contractors’ perception related to the selection of materials factor response (%) ms std. dev rank u strongly……...……………… strongly disagree …. .agree 1 2 3 4 5 material specified by the designer or developer 0.0 0.0 7.1 25.0 21.4 46.4 4.07 1.02 1 suitable material according to building regulations 0.0 3.6 7.1 25.0 17.9 46.4 3.96 1.17 2 affordability of material 0.0 10.7 14.3 10.7 35.7 28.6 3.57 1.35 3 available financial resources 0.0 17.9 14.3 10.7 35.7 21.4 3.29 1.44 4 availability of material 7.1 21.4 10.7 21.4 14.3 25.0 2.88 1.53 5 table 9, which indicates respondents’ perceptions pertaining to the criteria used for the selection of workers in low-income housing projects in terms of percentage responses ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), suggests that 57.1% and 32.1% strongly agreed that contract requirements as well as the level of zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 35 skills and training possessed by workers could affect the selection of workers for low-income housing projects. table 9: contractors’ perception related to the selection of workers for low-income housing projects factor response (%) ms std. dev rank u strongly………. . strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 contract requirements e.g. the use of local labour 3.6 3.6 10. 7.1 17.9 57.1 4.19 1.21 1 skills and training which the worker has 0.0 3.6 7.1 25.0 32.1 32.1 3.82 1.09 2 available financial resources 0.0 10.7 3.6 42.9 21.4 21.4 3.39 1.20 3 community empowerment such as using beneficiaries to build their own houses 0.0 28.6 3.6 7.1 32.1 28.6 3.29 1.63 4 table 10 indicates that 50.0% of the contractors strongly disagreed with the notion that acceptable methods according to building regulations affect the preferred construction method used for lowincome housing projects. a further 35.7% and 33.3% also strongly disagreed that less time-consuming methods and less expensive methods influence the choice of construction methods used for low-income housing projects. in fact, only a minority (3.7%-10.7%) strongly agreed with the statements tabulated in table 10. table 10: construction methods used when building low-income houses factor response (%) ms std. dev rank u strongly…..…………… strongly disagree agree 1 2 3 4 5 acceptable methods according to building regulations 0.0 50.0 17.9 14.3 7.1 10.7 3.89 1.40 1 acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 36 less time-consuming methods 3.57 35.7 28.6 14.3 3.6 14.3 3.70 1.41 2 less expensive methods 3.70 33.3 22.2 14.8 22.2 3.7 3.62 1.30 3 4. conclusions and recommendations the provision of low-income housing to the poor in south africa is performing below expectations due to a number of factors. there are major problems in all aspects related to the provision of lowincome houses. starting at governmental departments, such as municipalities that award and oversee low-income housing projects, to the contractors who build the houses, problems seem to abound. the study revealed that there is a major problem in terms of defective houses in the low-income housing sector. it was confirmed that the major cause of defects is poor workmanship. poor workmanship, as cited in the literature reviewed, was confirmed by the results of the conducted survey. in fact, poor workmanship was ranked first and confirmed as the main cause of defects in low-income housing by the respondents to the survey. in addition, the majority of the contractors who participated in the survey agreed that the use of unskilled labour and faulty construction methods are among the causes of defects in low-income houses. as a result, recommendations arising from the study include: • project monitoring and inspections during the construction phase should be ensured by project stakeholders such as municipal inspectors and nhbrc officials; • there should be a set of uniform standards to be adhered to by all contractors involved in the provision of low-income houses; • low-income housing projects should be awarded to competent contractors: contractors’ experience and capabilities should be evaluated before contract award; • formal training requirements in the built environment disciplines should be promoted among emerging contractors, especially in terms of construction materials and methods; • training and education related to low-income housing building standards should be provided through workshops and seminars at regular intervals; zunguzane et al • perceptions of the quality of low-income houses 37 • all contractors involved in low-income housing projects should be encouraged to register with a quality assurance body in order to facilitate performance audits, and • there is a need to engender a culture of excellence related to quality in the industry. references list alink, h. 2003. lack of training and poor building skills lead to cape housing debacle. housing in southern africa, june, p. 18. carmona, m., carmona, s. & gallent, n. 2003. delivering new homes processes, planners and providers. london: routledge. egbu, c., ellis, r. & gorse, c. 2004. the practice of construction management. 4th edition. oxford: blackwell. gibbon, a. 2010. serious shortcomings in housing provision despite higher construction figures. the herald, 20 april, p. 5. goebel, a. 2007. sustainable urban development? low-cost housing challenges in south africa. habitat international, 31(3/4), pp. 291-302. khan, f. & thring, p. 2003. housing policy and practice in postapartheid south africa. sandown: heinemann. khumalo, t. 2010. the reasons for the rage. daily sun, 5 march, p. 2. kota, a. 2010. why we protest. mail and guardian, 19 march, p. 26. kunene, s. 2010. sello checks up on housing situation. vaal weekly, 10 february, p. 11. landman, k. & napier, m. 2010. waiting for a house or building your own? reconsidering state provision, aided and unaided self-help in south africa. habitat international, 34(3), pp. 299-305. love, p.e.d., edwards, d.j. & smith, j. 2005. a forensic examination of the causal mechanisms of rework in a structural steel supply chain. managerial auditing journal, 20(2), pp. 187-197. lubisi, d. & rampedi, p. 2010. malema’s r140m riches. city press, 21 february, p. 2. madzidzela, l. 2008. an analysis of factors affecting housing delivery in the nyandeni local municipality with specific reference to the extension 4 housing project: a case study of ward 21 in ngqeleni. thesis (ma). port elizabeth: nelson mandela metropolitan university. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 38 magagula, t. & mnisi, o. 2010. this is the house built of...holes. daily sun, 19 march, p. 2. mehlomakulu, t. & marais, l. 1999. dweller perceptions of public and self-built houses: some evidence from mangaung (bloemfontein). journal of family ecology and consumer sciences, 27(2), pp. 92-102. mgiba, r. 2007. the extent of usage of alternative building technologies in low-cost housing and their socio-economic impact on beneficiaries. pretoria: national department of housing. mtyala, q. 2010. would-be homeowner insists house is hers as handover turns sour. cape times, 22 april, p. 4. sommerville, j. 2007. defects and rework in new build: an analysis of the phenomenon and drivers. structural survey, 25(5), pp. 391-407. zincume, m. 2010. praying for a roof. daily sun, 22 april, p. 7. acta structilia-13(2) 127 john smallwood & theo haupt impact of the south african construction regulations as perceived by project managers peer reviewed abstract international research indicates that construction clients and built environment consultants such as project managers, designers, and quantity surveyors influence and can contribute to construction health and safety (h&s). this article focuses on the influence and contribution of project managers only. although they are not required to undertake any specific interventions in terms of the south african construction regulations (sacr) promulgated in july 2003, project managers by virtue of their unique contributions in the form of managing design delivery, the integration of design and construction, and their monitoring of construction, need to ensure that many of the requirements of the sacr are met. a perception-based survey conducted among member practices of the association of construction project managers (acpm) determined the following: the traditional project parameters in the form of time, cost, and, quality are still perceived to be substantially more important than h&s; the manifestations of the impact of the sacr are wide spread, namely in the form of increased consideration for / reference to h&s by project managers and general contractors, increased h&s awareness, and impact of h&s on various project parameters. prof. john j smallwood, head of department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6013, south africa. telephone: +27 41 504 2790, fax: +27 41 504 2345, e-mail: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> dr. theo c haupt, research coordinator, faculty of engineering, cape peninsula university of technology, cape town, south africa. telephone: +27 21 959 6845, email: <hauptt@pentech.ac.za> 128 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) keywords: project managers, construction, health and safety abstrak internasionale navorsing dui aan dat kliente, projek-bestuurders, ontwerpers en bourekenaars invloed uitoefen asook bydrae verleen ten opsigte van gesondheid en veiligheid (g&v) in die konstruksie-industrie. hierdie artikel fokus slegs op die invloed en bydrae van projek-bestuurders. alhoewel projek-bestuurders nie volgens die suid-afrikaanse konstruksie regulasies versoek word om enige spesifieke handeling toe te pas nie, moet hulle egter seker maak dat daar aan die meeste van die vereistes/behoeftes voldoen word, as gevolg van hulle unieke posisie in hul hoedanigheid as besturende ontwerp lewering, die integrasie van ontwerp en konstruksie en hulle monitering/analise van die konstruksie proses. ’n studie wat onderneem is tussen praktyke wat lede is van die assosiasie van konstruksie projek bestuurders (akpb) het die volgende bepaal: die tradisionele projek paradigmas in die vorm van tyd, koste en kwaliteit word steeds aanvaar as baie meer belangrik as g&v; die manifestering van die impak van die konstruksie regulasies is wyd bekend — toenemende inagneming vir/verwysing na g&v deur projek-bestuurders en algemene kontrakteurs en toenemende g&v bewustheid is aan die orde van die dag en g&v vier hoogty in terme van die uitstek waarteen die konstruksie regulasies impak sal uitoefen op verskeie projekte se omvang. sleutelwoorde: projek-bestuurders, konstruksie, gesondheid en veiligheid 1. introduction traditionally, cost, quality and time have constituted the para-meters within which projects have been managed. however,increasing awareness relative to the role of h&s in overall project performance and the inclusion of h&s as a project performance measure by inter alia, petro-chemical organisations, has engendered focus on h&s by a range of stakeholders. the number of large-scale construction accidents in south africa during the last decade and more, and the consequential media coverage has further raised the level of awareness. furthermore, the sacr promulgated on 18 july 2003, require a range of interventions by clients and designers. given the abovementioned, the general need to assess the impact of interventions, and the first anniversary of the promulgation of the construction regulations, a perception-based survey was conducted to ascertain the views of member practices of the association of construction project managers (acpm) relative to the: • importance of various project parameters; • manifestation of the impact of the sacr, and • extent of the impact of the sacr on various project parameters. 2. literature survey 2.1 statistics during 1999, the latest year for which occupational injury statistics are available, a total of 14 418 medical aid cases, 4 587 temporary total disablements, 315 permanent disablements, and 137 fatalities were reported (compensation commissioner in south africa, 2005). these equate to 1 temporary disablement for every 102 workers, 1 permanent disablement for every 1 041 workers, and 1 fatality for every 3 925 workers. the disabling injury incidence rate of (diir) 0.98 means that 0.98 workers per 100 incurred disabling injuries compared against the all industry average of 0.78. the number of fatalities among the workers insured by the accident fund (af) is the equivalent of a fatality rate of 25.5 fatalities per 100 000 full-time equivalent construction workers. these statistics do not compare favourably with international rates. 129 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations the severity rate (sr) indicates the number of days lost due to accidents for every 1 000 hours worked. the construction industry sr of 1.14 is the fourth highest, after fishing, mining, and transport, compared against the all industry average of 0.59. given that the average worker works 2 000 hours per year, and the sr therefore is multiplied by 2, the average number of days lost per worker per year can be computed. using this approach the construction industry arguably lost 2.28 working days per worker during 1999. this equates to about 1.0% of total working time. the statistics provide motivation from a humanitarian point of view for the need for occupational health and safety related legislation resulting in the promulgation of the oh&s act of 1993 and the sacr in 2003, and consequently mandatory multi-stakeholder contributions to construction h&s. 2.2 cost of accidents (coa) the coa can be categorised as being either direct or indirect. direct costs tend to be those associated with the treatment of the injury and any unique compensation offered to workers as a consequence of being injured and are covered by workmen’s compensation insurance premiums. the indirect costs which are borne by contractors include, inter alia, • reduced productivity of both the returned worker(s) and the crew or workforce; • clean-up costs; • replacement costs; • costs of delays; • costs of supervision; • costs related to rescheduling; • costs of transportation; and • wages paid while the injured is non-productive and recuperating (hinze, 1997). recent research conducted in the united kingdom (uk) determined indirect costs to be 11 times the direct costs — 11:1 (movement for innovation, 2003). similarly, research conducted in south africa determined the indirect costs to be 14.2 times the direct costs (smallwood, 2000). 130 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) research in the united states of america suggests the total cost of accidents to constitute about 6.5% of the value of completed construction (the business roundtable, 1995). uk-based research indicates that the total coa could be approximately 8.5% of tender price (anderson, 1997). using the respective indirect cost multipliers determined in the uk and south africa, namely 11 and 14.2, and the estimated compensation insurance for 2002, the total cost of accidents could arguably have been between: • r 200.1m + (r 200.1m x 11) = r 2 401.2m, and • r 200.1m + (r 200.1m x 14.2) = r 3 041.5m further, based upon the value of construction work completed in the year 2002, namely r 56 343m (south african reserve bank, 2003) the total coa could have been between 4.3% (r 2 401.2m / r 56 343m), and 5.4% (r 3 041.5m / r 56 343m) (smallwood, 2004). importantly, clients ultimately incur the coa as contractors attempt to recover these costs in their tenders. project managers who are concerned with the optimisation of value should endeavour to contribute to efforts to mitigate accidents and thereby reduce the cost to the sa construction industry. 2.3 legislation and recommendations pertaining to project managers the occupational health and safety act (oh&s act) (republic of south africa, 1993) schedules comprehensive requirements for employers. project management practices are employers and therefore need to address h&s in that capacity. furthermore, project managers invariably visit projects, and consequently are exposed to hazards and risk. the sacr with respect to clients and designers that by definition include project managers prescribes important duties and responsibilities. clients shall, inter alia: • prepare h&s specifications for the construction work — given that designers may specify materials that are hazardous due to the non-availability of alternative nonhazardous substance containing materials, or require hazardous processes, for which there are no alternatives, designer and project manager input may be required; 131 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations • ensure that principal contractors (pcs) have made provision for h&s costs in their tenders — a design may require a specific method and sequence of construction as scheduled by the designer, and therefore the designer and project manager may need to assess the contractors’ financial provision at tender or bidding stage; • provide pcs with any information that might affect h&s — designers or project managers may be the source of the requisite information, such as the actual position of a high voltage cable; • appoint pcs for projects — project manager input may be necessary in terms of the assessment of contractors’ suitability for a project in general, but possibly relative to a project that entails a high level of risk; • ensure that pcs implement their h&s plans — a design may require a specific method and sequence of construction as scheduled by the designer, and therefore the designer and project manager may need to assess the contractors’ performance during construction; • stop work that is not in accordance with the h&s plans — non-conformance to the method and sequence of construction in terms of the implementation of h&s plans by pcs may require intervention by project managers, and • ensure that sufficient h&s information and resources are available to the pc where changes to the design or construction are made — project managers should ensure that designers supplement the design change details with h&s information if necessary, particularly if the design change entails the use of hazardous materials or hazardous processes. designers that include project managers by definition shall, inter alia: • make available all relevant information about the design such as the soil investigation report; design loadings of the structure, and methods and sequence of construction. the rationale for the latter being that a design may require a method and sequence of construction, which is hazardous and which cannot be averted, and in which case the risk can be mitigated through specific interventions. however, the intention of this is that designers deliberate a design in terms of the hazards and the risk; 132 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) • inform pcs of any known or anticipated dangers or hazards or special measures required for the safe execution of the works — the high voltage cable referred to above is an example, and • modify the design or make use of substitute materials where the design necessitates the use of dangerous structural or other procedures or materials hazardous to h&s — the specification of a water vis-à-vis a solvent based application, constitutes an example of an appropriate response to a hazard. furthermore, the international labour office (ilo) (1992) specifically states that designers should: • integrate the h&s of construction workers into the design and planning process; • not include anything in a design which would necessitate the use of dangerous structural or other procedures or hazardous materials which could be avoided by design modifications or by substitute materials, and • take into account the h&s of workers during subsequent maintenance. 2.4 project management and health and safety according to the project management institute (pmi) (2004), all project managers should be proficient with the nine knowledge areas including among other, project integration, project scope and project risk management, in order to meet their client’s requirements. these management knowledge areas are concerned with planning, controlling and executing all works required to complete the project, while managing project risk exposure. brown (1996) concludes that project managers can mitigate risk exposure by consciously considering the potential h&s implications of any scope or programme changes before and during the construction phase, as well as in the choice of suitable construction methods / materials in the early phases of the project. he suggests the integration of h&s considerations in all project decisions. lester (2000) developed this theory to propose that the traditional project performance parameters of cost, quality, and time, be expanded upon to include h&s. hence sub-standard h&s performance will adversely affect overall project performance. hislop (1999) and burke (2003) concur that it is the project manager’s responsibility to 133 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations their client, in their role as project manager, to integrate and coordinate all the stakeholder contributions and in particular the timely contributions of the design team followed by the general contractor, their co-contractors and any direct co-contractors. the project manager also has to oversee and monitor any design development or any proposed changes to project scope during the construction phase to ensure that h&s is not marginalised in order to comply with budgetary or programme constraints. 2.5 project integration management obligations of project managers in terms of project integration management (pmi, 2004) include the proper planning and controlling of the project throughout all of its phases, albeit primarily in an overseeing role after the appointment of a pc (pmi, 2004). project managers can use a number of planning and control techniques, such as work breakdown structures (wbss), organisational breakdown structures (obss), critical path method (cpm) to assist in making trade-offs between competing objectives and alternatives in the early phases in order to meet the various stakeholder requirements. smallwood (1999) opines that h&s pre-planning is an intrinsic part of the project manager’s overall planning responsibility. it is their duty to ensure that adequate pre-planning of h&s is included in the overall planning since much of the initial project planning is completed by or under the supervision of the project manager during the first two phases of the project life cycle. after the appointment of the pc the project manager’s role shifts to overseeing the works and monitoring performance against the baseline plan (burke, 2003). the project management body of knowledge (pmbok) does not explicitly include or discuss this h&s component of the project manager’s overall planning responsibility (smallwood & venter, 2002). 2.6 project manager instigated h&s related interventions according to hislop (1999), davies & tomasin (1996) and strank (1994) there are numerous interventions that project managers can introduce to engender a positive h&s culture, inter alia: reinforcing the client’s commitment to improving h&s among design team members and tenderers; determining suitable resource levels required to complete the project without compromising h&s including information, competent staff, time, and finance; establishing a project h&s management framework; determining tender pre-qualification criteria; conducting risk assessments, and formulating project h&s plans. 134 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 135 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations 2.7 importance of h&s table 1: importance of various project parameters to project management practices. parameter response (%) ii ranknot ............................................very 1 2 3 4 5 client satisfaction 0.0 0.0 0.0 23.3 76.7 3.77 1 project quality 0.0 0.0 3.3 23.3 73.3 3.70 2 project cost 0.0 0.0 6.7 23.3 70.0 3.63 3 project time 0.0 0.0 6.7 33.3 60.0 3.53 4 project health and safety 0.0 3.3 16.7 20.0 60.0 3.37 5 public health and safety 0.0 6.7 30.0 6.7 56.7 3.13 6 labour productivity 0.0 10.0 13.3 40.0 36.7 3.03 7 environment (natural) 0.0 10.0 23.3 23.3 40.0 2.97 8 worker satisfaction 0.0 13.3 23.3 43.3 20.0 2.70 9 designer satisfaction 0.0 13.3 26.7 40.0 20.0 2.67 10 contractor satisfaction 0.0 13.3 33.3 36.7 16.7 2.56 11 table 1 indicates the importance attached to eleven traditional and non-traditional project parameters to project management practices in terms of percentages relative to importance on a scale of 1 (not) to 5 (very), and a ranking based upon an importance index (ii) value, ranging between a minimum of 0.00 and 4.00 (smallwood & venter, 2002). given that all the project parameters have ii values above the midpoint value of 2.50, the parameters can be deemed to be important to practices. it is notable that four of the five project parameters have ii values > 3.2, which indicates that they are perceived to be between more than important to very important / very important. it is significant that project h&s, the subject of the study falls within this range and is ranked 5th. it is notable that the three traditional project parameters (quality, cost, and time) achieved rankings in the top four. however, the ii value of project quality, which was ranked second, is effectively 10% more important than fifth ranked project h&s. client satisfaction, which was ranked first, is a function of general performance; certainly cost, quality, and time, but increasingly, project h&s included. public h&s probably achieved the ranking of sixth due to the possible exposure thereof to construction activities during new build and certainly recycling projects. furthermore, public h&s is pertinent during the use of buildings and structures. 136 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 2.8 potential consequences of inadequate integration of oh&s interventions inadequate planning, including the omission of h&s pre-planning, or the lack of adherence to these plans and interventions will negatively affect the level of h&s seen on site and will according to smallwood (1999), be accompanied by an increase in the number of accidents. davies & tomasin (1996) concur that accidents can marginalise the project team’s efforts at achieving the project deliverables on time and within budget due to the direct and indirect costs associated with accidents. accidents also lead to substantial bad publicity, which may tarnish the client’s name and strain relations among project stakeholders. 3. research 3.1 sample stratum and response the sample stratum consisted of 124 member practices of the acpm who returned 19 questionnaires in response to the postal survey were included in the analysis of the data, constituting a response rate of 15.3%. 3.2 analysis the analysis of the data consisted of the calculation of descriptive statistics to depict the frequency distribution and central tendency of responses to fixed response questions to determine the degree of importance of various parameters, the manifestation of the impact of the construction regulations, and the likely extent of the future impact of the sacr. 3.3 findings almost all the respondents (94.7%) were from project management practices 137 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations table 2: degree of importance of various parameters to respondents’ organisations. parameter response (%) mean score rankunsure not .........................very 1 2 3 4 5 project time 0.0 5.3 0.0 0.0 10.5 84.2 4.68 1 project cost 0.0 0.0 5.3 0.0 21.1 73.7 4.63 2 project quality 0.0 5.3 0.0 5.3 31.6 57.9 4.37 3 project h&s 0.0 5.3 0.0 21.1 42.1 31.6 3.95 4 environment 0.0 10.5 5.3 31.6 36.8 15.8 3.42 5 table 2 indicates the importance of five parameters in terms of percentage responses to a range of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important), and in terms of a mean score ranging between 1 and 5. it is notable that the mean scores are all above the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that in general the respondents can be deemed to perceive the parameters as important. however, given that the mean scores for the top three parameters are > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, the respondents can be deemed to perceive them to be between more than important to very important / very important. given that the mean scores for project h&s and environment are > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, the respondents can be deemed to perceive them to be between important to more than important / more than important. it is significant that the traditional project parameters (time, cost and quality) are ranked in the first three. furthermore, it is notable that the subject of the study, h&s, has a mean score 0.73 below that of first ranked project time — project time is effectively 24.8% more important than h&s. table 3: awareness of the construction regulations response % yes 84.2 no 5.3 unsure 10.5 table 3 indicates that most respondents are aware of the sacr. however, 10.5% were unsure. furthermore, the ‘no’ and ‘unsure’ responses total 15.8%, which effectively means 1 out of every 6.33 respondents is not aware of the sacr and/or its provisions and requirements. 138 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 4: project stakeholders which are affected by the construction regulations. aspect response (%) mean score rankunsure noimpact minor ...........................major 1 2 3 4 5 increased consideration for / reference to h&s by project managers 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.3 43.8 50.0 4.44 1 increased consideration for / reference to h&s by general contractors 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.5 31.3 56.3 4.44 2 increased h&s awareness 6.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 25.0 25.0 43.8 4.20 3 increased consideration for / reference to h&s by cocontractors 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.5 31.3 25.0 31.3 3.75 4 improvement in h&s 6.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 43.8 37.5 12.5 3.67 5 improved conditions on site 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 43.8 6.3 3.56 6 stakeholder % clients 100.0 contractors 100.0 architects 93.8 engineers 93.8 project managers 87.5 quantity surveyors 87.5 co-contractors 87.5 interior designers 68.8 landscape architects 68.8 materials manufacturers 43.8 materials suppliers 31.3 the majority of respondents indicated that clients, contractors, architects, engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors, cocontractors, interior designers, and landscape architects are affected by the sacr. less than 50% indicated that materials manufacturers, and materials suppliers are. however, all the stakeholders presented in table 4 are affected by the sacr. table 5: manifestation of the impact of the construction regulations. 139 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations table 5 indicates the impact of the sacr in terms of percentage responses to ‘no impact’ and a range of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), and in terms of a mean score ranging between 0 and 5. given that effectively a six-point scale (‘no impact’ linked to a fivepoint) was used and that the difference between 0 and 5 is five, ranges with an extent of 0.83 (5 / 6) are used to discuss the degree of central tendency. the ranges relative to the mean score categories are as follows: • > 4.17 ≤ 5.00 — between a near major impact to major impact / major impact; • > 3.33 ≤ 4.17 — between an impact to near major impact / near major impact; • > 2.50 ≤ 3.33 — between a near minor impact to impact / impact, and • > 1.67 ≤ 2.50 — between a minor impact to near minor impact / near minor impact. review of provision for h&s other e.g. h&s plan, programme 6.3 0.0 0.0 12.5 37.5 25.0 18.8 3.53 7 review of forms of contract 0.0 0.0 0.0 18.8 37.5 25.0 18.8 3.44 8 more structured / deliberated approach to work 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.4 21.4 57.1 0.0 3.36 9= reduction in accidents 31.3 0.0 0.0 12.5 25.0 25.0 6.3 3.36 9= change in work practices 6.7 0.0 0.0 13.3 40.0 40.0 0.0 3.29 11 review of provision for h&s financial 6.3 0.0 0.0 31.3 25.0 18.8 18.8 3.27 12 review of procurement practices 6.3 0.0 0.0 25.0 37.5 18.8 12.5 3.20 13 increased consideration for / reference to h&s by quantity surveyors 0.0 0.0 6.3 25.0 43.8 12.5 12.5 3.00 14 increased consideration for / reference to h&s by designers 6.7 0.0 13.3 33.3 20.0 6.7 20.0 2.86 15 pre-qualification on h&s 0.0 0.0 12.5 43.8 18.8 12.5 12.5 2.69 16 it is notable that the mean scores for all sixteen manifestations are above the midpoint score of 2.50, which indicates that in general the related manifestations can be deemed to be prevalent. the manifestations falling within the higher range of mean scores > 4.17 ≤ 5.00 — between a near major impact to major impact / major impact, are discussed first. increased consideration for / reference to h&s by project managers, and general contractors, and increased h&s awareness, predominates. increased consideration for / reference to h&s by project managers is a significant manifestation as project managers in their capacity as project leaders and coordinators, are uniquely positioned to integrate h&s into projects, in particular the design and development, and construction phases (smallwood, 1996; hinze, 1997). given that project managers coordinate design and / or design delivery, they can influence designers, and therefore increased consideration for / reference to h&s by them is likely to result in increased consideration for / reference to h&s by designers. further, it is notable that the latter manifestation is ranked fifteenth with a mean score of 2.86, which is 35.6% lower than that relative to increased consideration for / reference to h&s by project managers. increased h&s awareness is a significant manifestation, as awareness is a pre-requisite for commitment and the allocation of resources. the second range of manifestations, those with mean scores > 3.33 ≤ 4.17 — between an impact to near major impact / near major impact, are discussed below. increased consideration for / reference to h&s by co-contractors is ranked fourth, whereas increased consideration for / reference to h&s by general contractors is ranked second. however, on the scale of 0 to 5, the latter mean score of 4.44 is 18.4% higher the former of 3.75. although fifth ranked improvement in h&s is probably attributable to a qualitative as opposed to a quantitative based opinion, it is nevertheless notable. however, the level of response relative to this manifestation and consequent ranking thereof, is validated by the level of response to and consequent sixth ranking of improved conditions on site — effectively 3.0% lower. seventh ranked review of provisions for h&s such as h&s plan, programme is ranked higher than review of forms of contract 140 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 141 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations ranked eighth, and substantially higher than review of financial provision, ranked twelfth, and review of procurement practices ranked thirteenth — both these have mean scores < 3.33. the ranking of review of provision for h&s is notable, as planning is a prerequisite for h&s (hinze, 1997). furthermore, inter alia, enhanced planning for h&s was a desired outcome of the sacr. however, the low mean score relative to review of procurement practices is significant as the sacr explicitly and implicitly require a range of procurement related interventions. furthermore, procurement can impact on inter alia, h&s, either positively or negatively. the sacr also require the client to ensure that the pc has made adequate financial allowance for h&s. this and other requirements explicitly and implicitly require that the pc and co-contractors (ccs) be pre-qualified on h&s. more structured / deliberated approach to work is ranked joint ninth with reduction in accidents. the former is related to and a function of planning — review of provision for h&s — other e.g. h&s plan, programme is ranked seventh. the third range of manifestations, those with mean scores > 2.50 ≤ 3.33 — between a near minor impact to impact / impact, are discussed below. eleventh ranked change in work practices, which essentially is a function of joint ninth ranked more structured / deliberated approach to work, falls within this range with a mean score of 3.29. given the designer specific requirements and that in terms of the construction regulations the definition of designer includes quantity surveyors: “surveyor specifying articles or drawing up specifications”, the ranking of increased consideration for / reference to h&s by quantity surveyors, increased consideration for / reference to h&s by designers is significant. although these rankings are based upon project managers’ perceptions, project managers are best positioned to comment. pre-qualification on h&s is ranked last. this too, is significant as the construction regulations also require the client to ensure that the pc has made adequate financial allowance for h&s. this and other requirements explicitly and implicitly require that the pc and scs be prequalified on h&s. 142 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 6: extent to which the construction regulations will impact on various project parameters exeextent to which the cponparameter response (%) mean score rankunsure minor …….……………… major 1 2 3 4 5 project h&s 7.7 0.0 6.2 13.8 30.8 41.5 4.17 1 project cost 7.6 9.1 18.2 22.7 25.8 16.7 3.25 2 project time 7.6 18.2 9.1 27.3 21.2 16.7 3.10 3 project quality 12.1 10.6 10.6 39.4 16.7 10.6 3.07 4 environment 15.4 13.8 13.8 24.6 23.1 9.2 3.00 5 table 6 indicates that the respondents perceive that the sacr will have between: an impact to near major / near major impact on h&s; a near minor impact to impact / impact on time, cost , and the environment, and a minor to near minor impact / near minor impact on quality. 4. conclusions and recommendations 4.1 the importance of various project parameters despite the promulgation and implications of the sacr, the traditional project parameters in the form of cost, quality, and time are still perceived to be substantially more important than h&s. this conclusion amplifies the need for project management practices to make a paradigm shift in terms of the status of h&s. furthermore, the acpm and related international associations should engender such a paradigm shift through: the requirement that h&s be addressed in project management tertiary education and continuing professional development (cpd) programmes, and the provision of h&s related practice notes and guidelines. 4.2 the manifestation of the impact of the construction regulations generally, the sacr are perceived to have had an impact on construction h&s in south africa. the manifestations of the impact are wide spread. these include partially achieving the intention of the sacr in the form of increased consideration for and/or reference to h&s by project managers and general contractors, increased h&s awareness, and to a lesser extent, increased consideration for and/or reference to h&s by co-contractors. these are important manifestations as they occur ‘upstream’ and are necessary to influence the downstream process. increased provision for h&s, both financial and other, and review of forms of contract are important ‘midstream’ manifestations as they also influence the downstream process. improvement in h&s, improved conditions on site, and reduction in accidents are all significant and ‘downstream’ manifestations. consequently, it can be concluded that the sacr have had the desired ‘upstream’, ‘midstream’, and ‘downstream’ impact. 4.3 the extent to which the sacr will impact on various project parameters the findings in the form of the perceived extent to which the sacr will impact on various project parameters justifies their promulgation, particularly relative to h&s, but to a lesser extent, time and cost, and also the environment, and quality. recommendations include that h&s be addressed in all built environment and cpd programmes, and that the related voluntary and mandatory associations provide h&s related practice notes and guidelines, which address the synergy between h&s and the other project parameters. references anderson, j. 1997. the problems with construction. the safety and health practitioner, pp. 29-30, may. brown, p.e. 1996. total integration of the safety professional into the project management team. in: alves dias, l.m. & coble, r.j. (eds.). first international conference of cib working commission w99 implementation of safety and health on construction sites, lisbon, 4-7 september. rotterdam: aa balkema, pp. 137-143. burke, r. 2003. project management: planning & control techniques. 4th edition. cape town: promatec international. compensation commissioner. 2005. report on the 1999 statistics. pretoria. 143 smallwood & haupt • south african construction regulations 144 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) davies, v.j. & tomasin, k. 1996. construction safety handbook. london: thomas telford. hinze, j.w. 1997. construction safety. new jersey: prentice hall inc. hislop, r.d. 1999. construction site safety: a guide for managing contractors. new york: lewis publishers. international labour office (ilo). 1992. safety and health in construction. geneva: ilo. lester, a. 2000. project planning and control. oxford: butterworth-heineman. movement for innovation (m4i). 2003. a commitment to people “our biggest asset”. http://www.rethinkingconstruction.org/rc/publications/ reports/rfp_report.pdf project management institute (pmi). 2004. a guide to the project management body of knowledge. newtown square, pennsylvania: pmi. republic of south africa. 1993. government gazette no. 14918. occupational health & safety act: no. 85 of 1993. pretoria. republic of south africa. 2003. government gazette no. 25207. construction regulations. pretoria. smallwood, j.j. 1996. the role of project managers in occupational health and safety. in: alves dias, l.m. & coble, r.j. (eds.). first international conference of cib working commission w99 implementation of safety and health on construction sites, lisbon, 4-7 september. rotterdam: aa balkema, pp. 227-236. smallwood, j.j. 1999. pre-planning of health and safety. in: singh, a. hinze, j.w. & coble, r.j. (eds.). second international conference of cib working commission w99: implementation of safety and health on construction sites. honolulu, hawaii, 24-27 march. rotterdam: aa balkema, pp. 695-702. smallwood, j.j. 2000. a study of the relationship between occupational health and safety, labour productivity and quality in the south african construction industry. unpublished phd thesis. port elizabeth: university of port elizabeth. smallwood, j.j. 2004. optimum cost: the role of health and safety (h&s). in: verster, j.j.p. (ed.). international cost engineering council (icec) 4th world congress, cape town, 17-22 april. cape town: icec, cd-rom smallwood-j — optimum cost-health & safety.pdf smallwood, j.j. & venter, d. 2002. the influence of project managers on construction health and safety in south africa. the australian journal of construction economics and building, 2(1), pp. 57-69. south african reserve bank. 2003. quarterly bulletin. pretoria: south african reserve bank. strank, j. 1994. handbook of health and safety practice. london: pitman publishers. the business roundtable. 1995. improving construction safety performance report a — 3. new york: the business roundtable. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left /calgrayprofile (dot gain 20%) /calrgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /calcmykprofile (u.s. web coated \050swop\051 v2) /srgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /cannotembedfontpolicy /error /compatibilitylevel 1.4 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 44 fidelis emuze & matthew james exploring communication challenges due to language and cultural diversity on south african construction sites peer reviewed and revised abstract communication can be traced to, among others, an individual’s language and cultural background. these aspects play a fundamental role in ensuring effective communication. literature surveys show that language and culture have contributed to ineffective communication, giving rise to a wide range of problems in the construction industry. these problems include an increase in rework and poor product quality, and low employee morale. given the multicultural environment in which construction activities occur in south africa, communication can potentially dictate the extent of project performance. in order to explore the impact of this phenomenon, a survey was undertaken among general workers and site managers employed by five general contractors (gcs) in the eastern cape province of south africa. salient findings include that communication problems occur on construction sites due to language and cultural diversity-related barriers; site managers are generally effective at communicating; the south african workforce is diversely cultured, which potentially leads to misunderstandings on sites, and language barriers between site management and site workers impede performance improvement. keywords: communication, construction, culture, language, site managers, site workers, eastern cape, south africa abstrak kommunikasie kan teruggevoer word na, onder andere, ‘n individu se taal en kulturele agtergrond. hierdie aspekte speel ‘n belangrike rol in effektiewe kommunikasie. literatuuroorsigte toon dat taal en kultuur bygedra het tot oneffektiewe kommunikasie, wat aanleiding gee tot ‘n wye verskeidenheid probleme in die konstruksiebedryf. hierdie probleme sluit in ‘n toename in werkherhaling en swak produkkwaliteit asook lae werknemersmoraal. gegewe die multikulturele omgewing waarbinne konstruksie aktiwiteite in suid-afrika voorkom, kan kommunikasie potensieel die omvang van projekprestasie voorspel. ten einde die impak van hierdie verskynsel te voorspel, is ‘n opname gedoen onder algemene werkers en die bestuurders werksaam by vyf algemene kontrakteurs in die oos-kaap provinsie van suid-afrika. belangrike bevindinge dr fidelis emuze, senior lecturer, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3661, fax: +27 51 507 3254, email: <femuze@cut.ac.za> matthew james, bsc (hon.), graduate at the department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790, fax: +27 41 504 2345, email: <s208008353@live.nmmu.ac.za> emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 45 sluit in dat kommunikasieprobleme plaasvind op konstruksieterreine as gevolg van taalen kulturele verskeidenheid-verwante hindernisse; terreinbestuurders kommunikeer in die algemeen effektief; die suid-afrikaanse werkerskorps kom uit verskeie kulturele agtergronde wat potensieel tot misverstande op bouterreine mag lei, en taalgrense tussen terreinbestuurders en -werkers hinder prestasieverbetering. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasie, konstruksie, kultuur, taal, terreinbestuurders, terreinwerkers, oos-kaap, suid-afrika 1. introduction communication affects all aspects of work to some extent, and is crucial in the construction industry. without effective communication among people, work progress would become an uphill task in construction. in the modern fast-paced world, the workforce has become a diverse, multicultural group of employees worldwide. in this environment, it is fundamental to recognise the ever-growing diverse workforce with regard to language and culture. south africa may be a good example. macleod (2002: 7) explains that there are five major ethnic groups in south africa, eleven different languages, besides the seven nonofficial languages, and four main religions. these backgrounds create a vastly diverse workforce. it is, therefore, obvious that contractors need to have a good understanding of the diverse groups employed by firms, in order to learn how to deal with them in the correct manner. in the dynamic and evolving world of project management, communication remains constant as a desirable and critical competency for managing projects. krahn & hartment (2006: 51) found that experts rated listening and verbal communication among the top 10 competencies important for project managers to be successful. indeed, the continuing growth of virtual contexts, with geographically dispersed work teams, necessitates the use of communication by competent project managers (gibson & cohen, 2003: 214-230). according to varner & beamer (2005: 40), culture and language are intertwined and shape each other. every time words are chosen, a sentence is formed and a message sent (either oral or written), cultural choices are made. while language helps in communicating with people from different backgrounds, cultural literacy is necessary to understand the language being used. if language is selected without an awareness of the cultural implications, at best, communication may not be effective and, at worst, the wrong message may be sent. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 46 as teams grow in size, sub-teams often form around individual elements within the system. while team members are often aware of with whom they must directly collaborate on shared components, the fact is that activities can rarely be considered in isolation. most aspects of complicated technologies have dependencies, some of which may be owned by other teams. these dependencies across teams may not be instantly obvious to team members, and may require extra communication beyond standard patterns (sosa, eppinger & rowles, 2004: 1673). as teams increase in complexity and spread across sites, communication and coordination requirements also increase (cataldo, herbsleb & carley, 2008: 9). the purpose of this article is to report on the effect that language and culture have on communication in the workplace and to emphasise the importance of clear and effective communication. the research was conducted to identify the effects of poor communication, in order to improve the overall performance of firms that employ a culturally diverse workforce. 2. communication and culture according to stanton (2009: 1), the objectives of communication are to receive, understand and accept information, and to obtain a response. such response may be a change in behaviour and/or attitude. stanton (2009: 13-15) also states that basic speaking skills allow for effective communication between parties. these skills are not limited to personal qualities such as clarity, accuracy, empathy, sincerity, relaxation, eye contact, appearance and posture and to vocal qualities such as speech, pitch, volume, diction and accent, vocal tension, speed, the use of the pause and tone. parties involved in communication need to be aware of the factors that cause problems, in order to overcome them and minimise their effects. stanton (2009: 4-5) contends that differences in perception, jumping to conclusions, stereotyping, lack of knowledge, lack of interest, difficulties in self-expression and emotions are the factors that cause problems for effective communication. verwey & du plooy-cilliers (2003: 7) agree with regard to stereotyping and add that insufficient motivation for effective communication leads to reliance on stereotypes, in order to understand past and anticipate future behaviours. without direct interaction, people have less psychological empathy for each other’s work environment and limitations. parties should have the opportunity to discuss their perceptions of each other and find ways to correct misconceptions. verwey & du plooy-cilliers (2003: 7) discussed ways of minimising the emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 47 effects of some of the above factors. they explain that introducing intergroup mirroring with the assistance of a trained facilitator can be beneficial. the objective is for the conflicting groups to express their perceptions, discuss their differences, and then work out strategies to mend relationships. henderson (2004: 474) regards the satisfaction of project team members as equal to productivity, because it is a critical goal of overall project efforts. turner & müller (2005: 58) elaborate further, stating that project managers play a significant role in their relationships with teams in terms of satisfaction and productivity. brill, bishop & walker (2006: 23-24) found that listening effectively, and having strong verbal communication skills were among the most important competencies and characteristics required of a project manager. 2.1 understanding cultural influences on communication according to macleod (2002: 3), culture consists of behaviours related to language, religion, values, standards, and customs that are shared by a group of people and learned from birth. individual behaviour does not represent either the communal or the individualistic culture; it is often a blending of both. ditomaso, post & parks-yancy (2007: 474) elaborate on macleod’s explanation of culture by explaining that workforce diversity refers to the composition of work units in terms of the cultural or demographic characteristics that are salient and symbolically meaningful in the relationships among group members. according to macleod (2002: 9), there are two major cultural influences in south africa, namely communal and individualistic. communal cultures are found mostly in african culture, and place a high regard on teamwork, conformity and collective unity and on achieving group goals both within the family and in the work environment. individualistic cultures, also known as western culture, are typically found in britain and the united states of america (usa), and have a higher emphasis on individual goals. these include goals such as attaining wealth and status rather than group goals. both of these cultures exist in south africa, communal being represented by the african, some rural coloured, malay and indian ethnic groups. individualistic or western culture is represented by the white culture group. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 48 according to verwey & du plooy-cilliers (2003: 257), communication across cultures and races is complex and involves interaction with not only other south africans alone. people may use different sets of symbols, or the same symbols with a different understanding of their meanings. the non-verbal aspects of intercultural communication cause additional issues. research has shown that those individuals who are comfortable with themselves, because they are secure in their identity and possess high self-esteem, cope best with diversity and intercultural communication. harrison, price, gavin & florey (2002: 1040) reported that people who collaborate in diverse teams learn about each other’s values, which over time become more influential to group outcomes than demographic ones. this allows diverse groups to develop unique interests and values that promote integration and cohesiveness. increased intergroup contact, however, does not always result in intergroup integration. harrison & klein (2007: 1223) and lau & murnighan (2005: 652) agree that increased contact with members of other cultures can also lead to adverse outcomes and even create worse problems over time, if people pay more attention to information confirming bias and prejudice. it can also emphasise social group distinctions and continue with ideas and beliefs that encourage social group separation or marginalisation. such adverse outcomes are likely to occur when increasing diversity results in configurations that emphasise separation and dispersion. 2.2 diversity in the workplace and its societal dimensions diversity is important in the workplace, because it can help to create an environment that offers mutual respect and support, appreciation of different and unique individuals and the non-reliance on biases that can exist due to lack of education, information and knowledge. viewing biases logically would afford the opportunity to accurately perceive others and gain better exposure to, and knowledge of a diverse group (thiederman, 2003: 93). the new knowledge and perspectives brought by diversity can become a resource for innovation and adaptability (ely & thomas 2001: 269). experiencing greater creativity and innovation can breed positive intergroup relations and commitment to change, if members of an organisation understand the strategic resource potential of diversity. as diversity becomes a learning resource that influences future change, diversity change can gain momentum or succumb to inertia. those who believe that diversity is a source of creativity and learning are more likely to show behavioural support and facilitate emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 49 its implementation with greater focus, persistence, and effort. positive attitudes and emotions can counter dysfunctional reactions and create upward spirals through contagion (fredrickson, 2003: 330-331). change in all elements brings new collective schemas, values, and beliefs about diversity, that is, a new interpretive scheme (amis, slack & hinings, 2004: 26). this would influence the manner in which the organisation deals with future outcomes and unintended side effects. for instance, intergroup conflict can be regarded as substantive and a source of debate and dissent instead of a problem. how to sustain diversity change would be evident if an organisation builds resilience, that is, the ability to bounce back and recover from declining diversity change by learning from past events. the new perspective, knowledge, and ideas brought by diversity can become a resource for knowledge and innovation (ely & thomas, 2001: 269). programmes that increase diversity in the workplace are generally viewed positively, as they improve the workforce by giving opportunities to individuals who may or may not have received them. currently, organisations are realising the importance of diversity and are employing what is called ‘change management’ which according to verwey & du plooy-cilliers (2003: 185), can be defined as the management of organisational features and functions such as strategies, structures, systems, processes, people and culture, to continually renew the organisation’s directions and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of the marketplace, the organisation and the employees. again, the south african experience can be used to illustrate diversity. as mentioned earlier, macleod (2002: 7) explains that there are five major ethnic groups, eleven different languages, besides the seven other non-official languages, and four main religions in south africa. the reality may cause significant diversity in the south african workplace. in addition to these groups, there are others that are intermingled, causing a greater diversity of cultures influenced by other ‘primary’ cultures. although diversity can be regarded as a means to create communication problems, enormous potential synergies can be derived by combining the strengths and richness of cultural diversity to improve the economic performance and wellbeing of all south africans. in other words, living and working in a culturally diverse setting should be exciting and challenging. this argument is reinforced by the view that individuals join and leave groups and organisations throughout their careers, bringing their acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 50 own individual past experiences with diversity to a new context with each transition (hopkins & hopkins, 2002: 549). verwey & du plooy-cilliers (2003: 134) explain that the south african business environment is particularly dynamic and challenging, as it consists of both developed and developing components. south africa’s communities are still highly segmented. during the previous dispensation, the focus was on differences, and thus former legislation affected the different population groups in varying ways, which often led to conflict. current constitutional, legal and societal pressures are used to encourage firms to implement unbiased, democratic and representative policies and structures. with these new pressures, business leaders should focus on how diversity in the workplace can strengthen, rather than weaken, organisations. it is increasingly common for firms to become aware of the value and power of diversity by employing people from different backgrounds. the advantages of becoming aware of the value and power of diversity include a better understanding of cultural similarities and differences. these can lead to improved teamwork through effective communication that can enhance decision-making and team performance on complex tasks. this may eventually give an organisation a competitive advantage in the marketplace. 3. research methodology the sample stratum consisted of five construction firms currently operating in the eastern cape province of south africa. these firms were chosen based on two fundamental criteria. the first criterion pertains to logistics and accessibility in terms of the fieldwork. the second criterion was the company size in terms of annual turnover and number of employees. the purposively selected firms have regional operational footprints throughout the province. from the list of these five construction firms, 15 members were randomly selected from each firm, giving a total sample size of 75 possible respondents. the selection was made among middleand site-management employees with job titles ranging from project managers to site agents. of the 75 randomly selected members, 63 members replied. this amounts to an 84% response rate. the respondents belong to multiple ethnic backgrounds such as xhosa, afrikaans, zulu, shona, and sesotho. thus, the descriptive survey method was employed to process the data obtained through observation. leedy & ormond (2005: 179) suggest that this type of research involves identifying the characteristics of an observed phenomenon. the survey was designed with closed-ended questions and one open-ended emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 51 question so that respondents could identify communication impediments, and their effects based on the literature reviewed, and offer general comments. the construction firms, identified in the sample stratum, were sent a covering letter requesting their assistance in this study and a copy of the questionnaire. willing participants were required to complete the questionnaire and return it by a pre-determined date. once the data were captured from the completed questionnaires that were returned, the subsequent results became the primary data. the questionnaire consisted of twenty-two (22) questions and included the use of a five-point rating scale predominantly. while one question requested general comments, four questions addressed the respondents’ demographic background. seventeen (17) structured questions, contained within the questionnaire, were specifically aimed at determining the consensus of respondents’ attitudes towards, and opinions of communication with regard to language and culture in the construction industry. the analysis of the data included descriptive statistics and the central tendency of the responses. these responses were then computed and presented in ‘text’ and ‘tables’ formats. the findings, presented in the next section, were based on the computed percentage (%) and mean score (ms), based on the analysis that was carried out. 4. results and discussion 4.1 importance of language and culture in understanding site instructions table 1 shows the perceived importance of language and culture in the ability to understand instructions given to workers. table 1: perceived importance of language and culture concerning understanding instructions given to workers response (%) mean score rankfactor not important very important unsure 1 2 3 4 5 language 0.0 1.6 11.1 31.7 55.6 0.0 4.41 1 culture 3.2 12.9 30.6 27.4 22.6 3.3 3.55 2 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses ranging from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important), and an ms ranging from 1 to 5. it is notable that language was ranked first, with an ms of 4.41; this indicates that language plays a crucial role with acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 52 regard to understanding the instructions given to site workers. with an ms of 3.55, culture also plays an important role in understanding the instructions given to site workers. as language and culture are above the midpoint 3.00, it can be deduced that they are important factors when it comes to understanding instructions given on site. however, it was perceived that language plays a significantly more important role than culture. table 2 shows the results on the question that tested the concurrence to site managers’ ability to convey clear instructions to workers. table 2: concurrence to site managers’ ability to convey clear instructions to workers response (%) mean scorestrongly disagree strongly agree unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 7.9 30.2 42.9 15.9 1.6 3.65 the analysed data show that 42.9% of the respondents agreed that site managers tend to convey clear instructions to workers. this suggests that significant effort is expended for effective communication to take place between site management and workers in the south african construction. table 3 shows the results on the question that reviewed the extent of diversity in the workplace. table 3: concurrence to the extent of diversity in the workplace response (%) mean scorestrongly disagree strongly agree unsure 1 2 3 4 5 4.8 9.5 22.2 30.2 31.7 1.6 3.76 the majority of the respondents agreed that the workforce in their firms is culturally diverse, as 31.7% and 30.2% of them, respectively, strongly agreed or agreed with the view. thus, a typical construction site in south africa would have people of different cultures working side by side to deliver a project. table 4 shows the results on the question testing perceived frequency of sharing a common culture between site managers and site workers being important to communication and morale. emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 53 table 4: perceived frequency of sharing a common culture between site managers and site workers being important to communication and morale response (%) mean scorenever always unsure 1 2 3 4 5 0.0 17.5 23.8 36.5 22.2 0.0 3.63 the ms of 3.63 indicates that sharing a common culture between site managers and workers is sometimes important in terms of communication and morale. it is important to note that none of the respondents indicated that sharing a common culture between site managers and workers is never important, thus implying that incidences where it is important to share a common culture may have occurred on their sites. table 5 shows the results on the question that reviewed the degree of effectiveness of communication on site with regard to a diversely cultured workforce. table 5: the degree of effectiveness of communication on site with regard to a diversely cultured workforce response (%) mean scorenot effective very effective unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 17.5 42.9 25.4 9.5 3.2 3.25 the ms of 3.25 shows that the effectiveness of communication on site with regard to a diversely cultured workforce is perceived to be marginally effective, as only 9.5% of the respondents were of the opinion that it is very effective. this ms may explain why the majority of the respondents were undecided as to whether a multicultural workforce has a negative or positive effect on site productivity. 4.2 occurrence of miscommunication and misinterpretation on sites table 6 indicates the extent to which respondents perceive that incidences of miscommunication and misinterpretation occur on site due to language and culture differences. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 54 table 6: perceived frequency of miscommunication and misinterpretation due to language and culture differences response (%) mean scorenever always unsure 1 2 3 4 5 3.3 15.9 41.3 30.2 7.9 1.6 3.24 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 (never) to 5 (always) and an ms ranging between 1 and 5. the ms of 3.24 indicates that incidents of miscommunication and misinterpretation, due to language and culture, sometimes occur on site (table 6). this shows that miscommunication and misinterpretation do occur on site, but not to a significant degree. it is important to note the high percentage of respondents who indicated that ‘miscommunication and misinterpretation’ sometimes (41.3%) and/or often (30.2%) occur on site, due to language and culture differences. 4.3 respect for different cultures in the workplace table 7 indicates the perceived negative/positive level of respect shown to other members of the workforce and their culture, assuming the organisation is diversely cultured. table 7: perceived level of respect shown to other members of the workforce and their culture response (%) mean scorestrongly negative strongly positive unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 18.0 21.3 42.6 14.8 1.7 3.52 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 (strongly negative) to 5 (strongly positive) and an ms ranging between 1 and 5. the ms of 3.52 indicates that the respondents perceive the level of respect given to other members of the workforce and their culture to be positive. the high number of respondents (42.6%) who indicated that the level of respect shown to other members of the workforce and their culture was positive is notable. it is important that the respect shown to members of other cultures is positive, as it promotes understanding and cohesiveness within a firm. when asked if misunderstandings between site managers and workers lead to rework, poor product quality and time overruns, an emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 55 ms of 3.73 was recorded, as shown in table 8. this indicates that 53.9% (20.6% + 33.3%) of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the notion, respectively. in other words, communicationrelated misunderstandings on construction sites often affect project performance in various forms. this finding was recorded despite the fact that 71% (35.5% + 35.5%) of the respondents contend that workers are either competent/or more than competent to understand the instructions given to them by their managers (table 9). table 8: concurrence related to the extent that misunderstandings between site managers and workers lead to rework, lost time and quality response (%) mean scorestrongly disagree .strongly agree unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 11.1 33.3 20.6 33.3 0.0 3.73 table 9: perceived level of competence of workers in understanding instructions given to them by managers response (%) mean scorenot very very unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 11.3 35.5 35.5 14.5 1.6 3.51 4.4 site managers’ proficiency in languages spoken on site table 10 indicates the approximate number of site managers who are able to speak and are fluent in all languages spoken on site. table 10: perceived ability of site mangers to speak and be fluent in all languages spoken on site response (%) mean scorenone all unsure 1 2 3 4 5 15.9 49.2 20.6 6.3 1.6 6.4 2.24 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 (none) to 5 (all) and an ms ranging between 1 and 5. the ms of 2.24 was recorded, as indicated in table 10. this shows that few of the site managers are able to speak and are fluent in all the languages spoken on site. note the high percentage (49.2%) of respondents who recorded that few site managers are able to speak and are fluent in all languages spoken on site. this can be acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 56 related to the results in table 9 in that, although few site managers are able to speak and are fluent in all the languages spoken on site, understanding of instructions given to workers is sometimes misinterpreted. improving site managers’ ability to speak and be fluent in the major languages spoken on site is perceived to positively influence the understanding of instructions given to site workers. 4.5 availability of site rules and regulations in multiple languages table 11 indicates whether site rules and regulations are available in all the languages of the workforce. table 11: perceived availability of site rules and regulations in all the languages of the workforce response (%) no yes unsure 21.0 52.4 14.3 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses of either no, yes or unsure. while 12.3% of the respondents failed to respond, the findings show that 52.4% of the respondents agree that site rules and regulations are available in all languages spoken on site. this suggests that not all site workers may be able to understand the site rules and regulations, assuming they can only understand written documentation in their own language. this is crucial to ensure that the entire workforce has the same understanding of site rules and regulations, without which there is no cohesion and no common goal for the workforce. in addition, table 12 indicates the level of concurrence perceived by the respondents as to whether a diversely cultured workforce leads to misunderstandings on site. table 12: views concerning whether a diversely cultured workforce leads to misunderstandings on site response (%) mean scorestrongly disagree strongly agree unsure 1 2 3 4 5 6.5 22.6 32.3 22.6 12.9 3.3 3.13 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and an ms ranging between 1 and 5. the ms of 3.13 indicates that respondents were neutral with respect to a diversely cultured workforce leading to misunderstanding on site. emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 57 4.6 the ability of site workers to function effectively in a multicultural environment table 13 indicates the perceived effectiveness of site workers at handling a diversely cultured workforce. table 13: perceived effectiveness of site workers at handling a diversely cultured workforce response (%) mean scorenot effective very effective unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 12.7 49.2 23.8 6.3 6.4 3.22 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 (not effective) to 5 (very effective) and an ms ranging from 1 to 5. the ms of 3.22 is deemed to be effective. of the respondents, 49.2% indicated that site workers are effective at handling a diversely cultured workforce. the ms is above the midpoint of 3.00, which indicates that, in general, respondents are of the opinion that site workers are effective at handling a diversely cultured workforce. this is important, as it incorporates respect and cohesiveness. table 14 indicates the perceived concurrence as to whether the cultural backgrounds of different members of the workforce are understood and appreciated. table 14: level of concurrence regarding the cultural backgrounds of different members of the workforce response (%) mean scorestrongly disagree strongly agree unsure 1 2 3 4 5 0.0 22.2 44.4 19.0 9.5 4.9 3.17 the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and an ms ranging from 1 to 5. the ms was calculated to be 3.17, which indicates that respondents were neutral that the cultural backgrounds of different members of the workforce are understood and appreciated. it is important to note that none of the respondents indicated that they strongly disagreed that the cultural backgrounds of different members of the workforce are understood and appreciated. although the ms was above the midpoint 3.00, a small percentage (22.2%) of respondents disagreed with the statement, indicating acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 58 that the cultural backgrounds of different members of the workforce are not always understood and appreciated. table 15 shows the importance of effective communication between site managers and site workers, in a common language. table 15: importance of effective communication between site managers and site workers, in a common language response (%) mean scorenot important very important unsure 1 2 3 4 5 0.0 3.2 3.2 9.5 84.1 0.0 4.75 it is notable that 84.1% (ms = 4.75) of the respondents recorded that effective communication in a common language is very important in the construction industry with regard to site managers and site workers. site operations would become less problematic when communication takes place in languages that are commonly spoken by the workers. table 16 indicates the perceived effectiveness of common language communication between site managers and workers on construction sites. table 16: perceived effectiveness of common language communication between site managers and workers response (%) mean scorenot effective very effective unsure 1 2 3 4 5 1.6 14.3 31.7 36.5 14.3 1.6 3.48 with an ms of 3.48, it can be argued that the ability of site managers to communicate with site workers in a common language can be deemed to be only slightly effective. it is notable that 36.5% of the respondents perceive that site managers are effective at communicating with site workers in a common language. this may be perceived as not being a communication constraint on construction sites. table 17 shows the results on the question reviewing the frequency of incidences involving the use of translators by both site management and site workers. emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 59 table 17: frequency of incidences involving the use of translators by both site management and site workers response (%) mean scorenever always unsure 1 2 3 4 5 7.9 27.0 33.3 12.7 17.5 1.6 3.05 despite the need to improve the effectiveness of communication between site managers and their workers, the use of translators only occurs marginally, according to 33.3% of the respondents who show a need for the use of more translators on construction sites. in terms of the open-ended question, the respondents were requested to provide general comments regarding the effectiveness of communication between managers and workers on construction sites based on their experiences. the question generated 26 comments that were recorded in english, afrikaans and xhosa. some of the salient comments include: • “understanding each other’s culture and language leads to a more productive environment”; • “provided there is respect amongst all, i.e. workforce and management, productivity will be the order of the day”; • “as a coloured, i think it’s time for me to learn more languages with all the different cultures in our community. i think we must not look at the culture but just love one another as a nation. we are all human”; • “it would be very good if different cultures can work together with each other and treat each other with respect”; • “on site, it is good to have site managers that do understand quite a number of different languages and cultures. messages are [more] easily conveyed in that way than [by] using a common language”; • “differences in negotiation and communication style can cause serious problems and have a significant impact on whether a multinational company, merger or joint venture succeeds across cultures. if culture differences are mismanaged, the consequences are potentially disastrous and previously effective managers and organisations can become ineffective and frustrated with overseas and multinational ventures. on the other hand, the successful management of cultural differences can create a competitive advantage, innovative business practices and organisational learning”; acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 60 • “with regards to communication and culture, we find the workforce wanting to understand instructions and have an effectiveness because they want to be part of the building process and ultimately also want to show off the project to friends and family through being part of the specific project”; • “the construction industry consists of 75% uneducated/illiterate people that learned on site and got additional training on site with experience. the cultural differences play a very big role when it comes to housekeeping, safety, and wastage, to be responsible and accountable. communication is always a challenge, even among educated people. to talk and listen is one thing, to make it happen is another”; • “communication between site managers and site workers, in a common language, is not always possible, but first prize if a common language is used. external translators are not used, only someone on site is used. south africa’s skills are currently lacking and a willingness to work is fading. labour and skills from neighbouring countries are most definitely supplementing this loss/inefficiency and having a positive effect on productivity and quality. site rules and regulations are only partly available in all languages of the workforce, mainly only english and xhosa”; • “it is probably the biggest cause of rework on any construction site (poor communication) due to language differences. i do not believe that different cultures play a big role in this. it is merely a language issue”; • “it is extremely important to be able to communicate with your workforce at a level where miscommunications can be completely eliminated. it is also important to relay a message in the language of the receiver. this way he is interested more in what you have to say. i think when communicating a message, the cultural differences must be respected. failing in doing this can cause the receiver to shut-down and blocking the transmission”; • “culture on its own isn’t a communication barrier; however, an understanding of some cultural elements can be a great facilitator of communication”; • “one can never judge another man until you have walked 100 miles in his shoes. the more we know and understand each other’s culture and background, the better we’ll be able to communicate”; • “when people feel like they are not being understood – it does not only affect the productivity negatively on site, but emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 61 it also affects the morale of the team because of building up of emotions from their perception of the employer. and those perceptions become reality if not addressed through effective communication therefore, it is critical for managers to understand that south africa is a diverse country that requires more than a skill to be a leader in a construction environment – adaptability and relationships are highly important for breaking the barriers of communication”; • “i think that diversity is not a problem in itself, but how it is handled that is important. there are many countries in the world with similar challenges and they are able to be very effective. education and understanding of the cultures is important and having compassion for your team that is important”; • “effective feedback and organizational transparency through democratically elected forums is of great significance. the impact of this is magnified with representation of such bodies at executive and board meetings. this approach to a large degree breaks down distrust on a cultural/language level and also serves as platforms for different cultures to meaningfully engage on mutually beneficial issues. effective daily communication on site pertaining to daily operational milestones adds huge value in eliminating barriers to mutual understanding of operational requirements and productivity levels. coupling this with visual communication, i.e. using productivity charts linked to various measurable criteria further builds a common understanding”; • “i think the level of literacy also plays a big role” [translated from afrikaans]; • “in my experience, respecting other cultures and learning them create a huge amount of respect, which in turn creates a better working environment not only socially but also productively. a ‘manager’ who has earned the labour’s respect is far more efficient in hr”; • “you will always have people from different backgrounds and cultures. however, if you apply the same rules and conditions for everyone without exceptions, then you will not have problems on sites (employee disagreements). as soon as you start accommodating certain people, then others will take exception and the problem will be where you draw the line. you will spend more time trying to satisfy everyone instead of getting the work done. you have to adapt to the situation as best you can without excluding everyone”; acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 62 • “managers do not concern themselves with learning other languages spoken by their employees, and the employees don’t want to miss opportunities or work because of this, over and above the fact that employees don’t understand english, the managers aren’t able to make the instructions clear and understandable to the employees” [translated from xhosa]; • “culture is not supposed to play a role or influence the construction industry. language differences, understandably, can lead to misunderstandings at times. it is a professional industry and should be treated as such, because these days culture is a form of politics. i would say that all culture groups should be respected.” [translated from afrikaans] 5. conclusion the purpose of this article was to explore the effect of language and culture in the workplace and to emphasise the importance of clear and effective communication in the construction industry. a survey of opinions of employees from 5 construction firms in the eastern cape provided insightful perspectives on the subject area. the results revealed a culturally diverse workforce on south african construction sites. although misunderstandings between site managers and workers sometimes occur on site, due to language and culture differences, site workers were generally perceived to be competent at understanding instructions given to them. the observable perceptions further show that communication on site affects every aspect of construction works, and it is, therefore, regarded as crucial. communication is also directly affected by the language and culture of those communicating. incidences of miscommunication and misunderstandings that often occur on site may be due to differences in language and culture. language differences were viewed as a major contributing factor to misunderstanding. these poor communication tendencies result in rework and other construction problems on site when they are not addressed adequately. the argument is supported by the notion that the workforce in the south african construction industry is culturally diverse, including people from beyond the borders of south africa. it was indicated that sharing a common culture between site managers and site workers is sometimes important for communication, morale and productivity. despite the insightfulness of the views expressed by the respondents, it is important that these views be viewed in the context in which they were made. although the site managers and workers emuze & james • exploring communication challenges 63 may have worked on several projects, their views are limited by the extent of their experience. hence, wholesome generalisation may not be possible with their perception. as a result, further research is needed in order to determine the most effective means of communicating across cultures in an environment that entails many cultures and languages on site. this research should endeavour to explore the use of research paradigms and methods that can give rise to significant contributions to knowledge in the subject area. 6. recommendations communication is a fundamental aspect of the construction industry, as it affects project implementation. as such, it is necessary to understand the importance of its role in the industry. two key aspects of communication, language and culture, need to be fully understood and realised on site, in order to improve the communication process. lack of effective communication leads to rework, loss in time, and a range of other construction performance problems. hence, it is recommended that site managers and workers take cognisance of the importance of communication, especially the impact of language and culture on the process. site managers and workers also need to strive to become effective at communicating, in order to minimise misunderstandings on site. managers of sites should, even when necessary, make use of translators to ensure that their instructions are clearly and effectively understood. all site employees need to be aware of the cultural diversity of the workforce and make certain that they employ the best methods and techniques to ensure effective cross-cultural communication; site managers and site workers need to ensure that high levels of sensitivity and respect are shown to other members of the workforce who share a different culture, thus creating cohesiveness of the workforce and congruency in the direction of work. references list amis, j., slack, t. & hinings, c.r. 2004. the pace, sequence, and linearity of radical change. academy of management journal, 47(1), pp. 15-39. brill, j.m., bishop, m.j. & walker, a.e. 2006. the competencies and characteristics required of an effective project manager: a webbased delphi study. educational technology, research and development, 54(2), pp. 115-140. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 64 cataldo, m., herbsleb, j.d. & carley, k.m. 2008. socio-technical congruence: a framework for assessing the impact of technical and work dependencies on software 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p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th edition. upper saddle river, nj: pearson prentice hall. macleod, g. 2002. cultural considerations: a guide to understanding culture, courtesy and etiquette in south african business. claremont: spearhead. sosa, m.e., eppinger, s.d. & rowles, c.m. 2004. the misalignment of product architecture and organizational structure in complex product development. management science, 50(12), pp. 1674-1689. stanton, n. 2009. mastering communication. 5th edition. new york: palgrave macmillan. thiederman, s. 2003. making diversity work: seven steps for defeating bias in the workplace. chicago, il: dearborn trade publishing. turner, j.r. & müller, r. 2005. the project manager’s leadership style as a success factor on projects: a literature review. project management journal, 36(2), pp. 49-61. varner, i. & beamer, l. 2005. intercultural communication in the global workplace. 3rd edition. new york: mcgraw-hill/irwin. verwey, s. & du plooy-cilliers, f. 2003. strategic organisational communication: paradigms and paradoxes. sandown: heinemann publishers. 117 mr gerhard bosman, dpea-terre, earth unit, department of architecture, po box 339, university of the free state, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: + 27 (0)51 4012332, e-mail: <bosmang@ufs.ac.za> prof. diaan van der westhuizen, school of architecture and planning, university of the witwatersrand, private bag 3, wits, 2050, south africa. phone: +27 (0)11 717 7628, e-mail: <diaan.vanderwesthuizen@wits.ac.za> gerhard bosman & diaan van der westhuizen the effects of climatic conditions on attitudinal changes towards earth construction in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract earth construction is an appropriate method for building houses in arid and semi-arid areas in south africa due to its low environmental impact and responsible use of on-site resources. a south african netherlands research programme on alternatives in development (sanpad) project conducted by the university of the free state’s earth unit focused on attitudes and perceptions towards building materials used to construct houses in poor communities. for this article, quantitative attitudinal responses from the sanpad survey and objective rainfall and temperature measurements were analysed for the 2004 dry season before rainstorms (n=784) and for the 2006 wetter season during/ after rainstorms (n=609). using a quasi-experimental research design, the study investigates changes in attitudes after rainstorms in relation to respondents’ preferred building materials, preferred qualities of materials, and reasons for disliking earth materials. this article reports on the results of an investigation into the effects of local climatic conditions on changes in the acceptability of building materials with a focus on earth construction. results indicate that rainfall reinforces and intensifies people’s disapproval of earth as a building material and shift perceptions from aesthetic considerations to strength/safety/ durability. severity of rainstorms and extreme temperatures also seem to shape people’s perceptions of materials. perceptions of earth bricks were more negative after the storms and people became more concerned about rain. findings suggest a link between climatic conditions and perceptions of earthconstructed buildings. an understanding of the present attitudes towards earth construction is necessary in order to support traditional earth construction as an acceptable way forward in contemporary architecture. keywords: acceptability, attitudes, building materials, earth construction, climatic conditions, rainfall, quasi-experimental research oorsigartikels • review articles acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 118 abstrak grondkonstruksie is ‘n gepaste metode vir die bou van huise in dorre en semi-dorre gebiede in suid-afrika as gevolg van die lae omgewingsimpak en verantwoordelike gebruik van plaaslike hulpbronne. ‘n sanpad-projek uitgevoer deur die universiteit van die vrystaat se grondeenheid fokus op mense se gesindhede en persepsies van boumateriale wat gebruik word in die konstruksie van huise in lae inkomste gebiede. hierdie navorsing analiseer kwantitatiewe gesindhede uit die sanpad-vraelys en objektiewe reënval en temperatuursyfers tydens die 2004 droë seisoen voor reënstorms (n=784) en tydens die 2006 nat seisoen tydens/na reënstorms (n=609). die studie ondersoek veranderinge in respondente se gesindhede na reënstorms in terme van hul voorkeure vir boumateriale en vir die kwaliteite van boumateriale, en die redes vir afkeure van boumateriale. die artikel lewer verslag oor die resultate van ‘n ondersoek oor die invloed van plaaslike klimatologiese gebeurtenisse op die aanvaarding van boumateriale deur gebruik te maak van ‘n semi-eksperimentele navorsingsontwerp, met spesifieke verwysing na grondkonstruksie. die bevindinge dui daarop dat reënval mense se afkeure rondom grondkonstruksie as ‘n boumateriaal versterk, en dat hul persepsies verander van estetiese oorwegings na sterkte/veiligheid/duursaamheid. dit wil voorkom of die intensiteit van reënstorms en ekstreme temperatuurverskille ook mense se persepsies van materiale beïnvloed. respondente se persepsies van songedroogde stene was meer negatief na die reënstorms en hulle was meer bekommerd oor reën. hierdie bevindinge stel voor dat klimatologiese gebeurtenisse mense se persepsies van grondkonstruksie kan beïnvloed. ‘n meer indiepte begrip van gesindhede teenoor grondkonstruksie is nodig om die ontwikkeling van tradisionele boumetodes as ‘n aanvaarbare opsie in kontemporêre argitektuur te ondersteun. sleutelwoorde: aanvaarding, gesindhede, boumateriale, klimatologiese gebeurtenisse, grondkonstruksie, reënval, semi-eksperimentele navorsing 1. introduction as with a variety of vernacular built forms, rural earth-construction techniques in southern africa were developed by indigenous groups settled in a single location for long periods of time. currently, self-built home construction in southern africa using traditional materials and seasonal decoration is still strongly linked to rural earth construction (bosman, 2006). in terms of informal dwellings, the sustainable practices associated with traditional earth construction are being replaced by contemporary urban shacks built from re-used and recycled materials. even in the formal sector, government-provided rdp (reconstruction and development programme) housing is not constructed from earth and reflects hardly any indigenous references, personality or character (see figure 1). bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 119 figure 1: wall details of traditional southern sotho earth-constructed houses source: matthews & changuion, 1989: 6, 130 there is a growing consciousness regarding earth construction in south africa and across the world (bosman, 2012; rael, 2009). a few exceptional examples of modest, yet long-life, low-energy buildings have been constructed over the past few years (buchanan, 2006). the earth unit at the university of the free state is developing capacity-building and training programmes for various stakeholders such as small-scale builders, community members, students and professionals to further support the growth of this viable construction method (bosman, 2006). this article investigates whether the amount of local rainfall in different areas influences people’s perceptions of the durability of earth construction, which may further contribute to this shift in building culture. the analysis for this study aims to investigate whether earth construction is viewed differently during rainy and dry seasons in the same areas, suggesting that people’s experience of climatic conditions is a contributing factor to whether they perceive earth construction as a viable construction material for shelter. the objective of the research is to suggest the importance of considering local climatic conditions in partially shaping people’s attitudes towards what is considered an appropriate construction material, allowing building professionals to anticipate the acceptability of a building material within different contexts. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 120 2. earth construction 2.1 climate change over the centuries and across cultures, local climatic conditions have shaped traditional building processes (fathy, 1986; krishan, baker, yannas & szokolay, 2001; mumford, 1961). the regional climate not only determines the availability of building materials in an area, but also affects the way in which buildings and houses are constructed to respond to the climate and natural occurrences (e.g., rainfall, wind, sun exposure) (fathy, 2000; rudofsky, 1964). more recent studies indicate that natural occurrences also impact on people’s perceptions (marsh, 1996) and behavioural responses (shanahan, 2000). for example, a study using data from scotland and england shows that an unusually hot summer and warm weather can affect people’s perceptions, and that regional cultural differences can only partly explain behavioural outcomes (palutikof, agnew & hoar, 2004). a large body of research has been conducted on people’s perceptions of climate change (bord, fisher & conner, 1998; dunlap, 1998; kempton, 1991; seacrest, kuzelka & leonard, 2000), although fewer studies have examined the perceptual and behavioural changes associated with climate change and climatic events. the limited number of studies conducted under the theme of climate change have mostly focused on the psychological impacts of grief experienced as a result of losing one’s home due to natural disasters followed by forced relocation (hinds & sparks, 2008). in addition, the psychological impacts of environmental degradation over time are rarely acknowledged (rogan, o’connor & horwitz, 2005: 147). the impact of natural disasters such as cyclones, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes on heritage buildings is a growing concern, especially with extreme climatic conditions occurring in previously unaffected areas due to climate change. increasingly, local conferences, proceedings and reports link natural disasters with heritage concerns in south africa and other southern african countries (meier, petzet & will, 2007; taboroff, 2001; uneca, 2002). despite the mounting concerns, no previous local or international studies have examined the impact of natural disasters (e.g., rainfall) on earth-constructed buildings. the predominantly semi-arid south african climate is ideal for earth buildings, protecting earth structures from persistent rain and moisture. the main concern associated with earth construction in south africa is protecting earth structures from rapid water infiltration from afternoon showers, thunderstorms, and flash floods. bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 121 some international contributions have promoted heritage and conservation of earth construction. for example, there was a combined effort by the united nations educational, scientific, and cultural organization (unesco), the world bank, and other organisations and educational institutions to assist the historic city of bam in the islamic republic of iran after the devastating 2003 earthquake (icho, 2004). over 26 000 people died and 30 000 were injured, spurring a debate about whether traditional earth construction should be used to rebuild the city. during the debates and decision-making processes, no mention was made of research focusing on the link between perceptions of earth-built structures and cataclysmic weather-related events. it is evident that pressure is mounting, and that adaptation to climate change necessitates more research in this field (berk & fovell, 1999; steemers, 2003). structural limitations associated with earth construction and insecurity associated with climate change may be some of the factors responsible for the decline in popularity of traditional earth as a viable building material (morris & blier, 2004). other reasons for the decline in popularity of earth construction may have little to do with the objective properties of the building material, but with growing aspirations to modernise and how people perceive earth construction, for example in terms of aesthetics and durability. 2.2 perceptions of construction materials several studies have investigated people’s perceptions of construction materials (hadjri, osmani, baiche & chifunda, 2007). a recent study in scotland examined two culturally distinct groups in order to determine what role “place” had in their understanding of materials. one key finding was that the two groups differed significantly in the way in which they perceived construction materials, suggesting that geographic location may influence people’s attitudes towards materials. nine common construction materials were included in the study. there was an overwhelming preference for wood, stone and glass, and a distinct dislike for concrete, plaster, mud and plastic (stevenson, 2006: 259-262). to conceptualise the link between locally available materials such as earth construction and people’s perceptions, james gibson’s theory of affordances could be considered. the theory offers one way of viewing the relationship between building materials, people’s perceptions of these materials, and situational factors such as climatic conditions that may alter people’s perceptions of building materials. his theory was developed to describe how people acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 122 perceive objects in their surroundings as having latent use value and how people experience purposeful relationships with these objects (gibson, 1979). in this study, such an interactive relationship between people’s perceptions and the objects in their surroundings is considered with reference to available building materials and how people perceive these materials to fulfil their purpose as a viable construction material. for example, stone provides strength through its appearance of solidity and strength, whereas wool provides warmth and comfort through the appearance of thickness and softness (stevenson, 2006: 260). however, people also consider the context in which the object (or building material) is found in order to frame their perceptions of the objects’ use value. for example, wool may be perceived to provide little use value in a hot desert climate, whereas a thin cloth may be ideal to cover and protect the human body from the sun. the notion that physical materials are perceived to have inherent qualities and characteristics fit for their intended purposes in specific contexts (e.g., whether materials are considered ‘good’ enough for permanent shelter in different climatic conditions) may become important in understanding why earth construction as a building method is declining. 3. research methods data from a face-to-face survey conducted in 2004 and 2006 in central south africa were used to investigate the question as to whether climatic conditions and rainfall, in particular, influence attitudes towards earth-constructed buildings. the data were collected as part of the sanpad project. no previous study of this kind has been conducted in south africa, and further analysis of the sanpad data sets provided an opportunity to explore additional research questions. usually, data sets from the mid-2000 containing psychosocial and perceptual data would be considered outdated. however, the study presented in this article only investigates the influence of rainfall on differences in perceptions towards building materials in poor communities as an observable phenomenon rather than a time-dependent reporting of social-cultural patterns. this hypothesised link, in particular, is unlikely to change over the course of eight to ten years due to the annual reoccurrence of rainfall and the minimal likelihood of innovation of building techniques in the areas without deliberate intervention, which may be a likely factor that could start to alter people’s perceptions. study locations were selected within a four-hour drive from bloemfontein, the most centrally located city in south africa (see bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 123 figure 2). this enabled the researchers to investigate issues regarding earth-constructed dwellings in arid and semi-arid areas in south africa where rainfall occurs infrequently, but is more rapid and severe in the form of rainstorms. due to the nature of rainfall in these areas, it is likely that people experience these occurrences more intensely, affecting their attitudes towards strength, stability, durability, and safety of home-building materials. the sampled areas have some earth-constructed dwellings, are located in both urban and rural settings, and consist of both formally and informally built structures. figure 2: the four research locations selected for the study source: bosman, 2006: 302 the sanpad survey focused on attitudes of people both living and not living in earth-constructed dwellings. participants came from poor to below-average poor households where basic services such as running water, a flushing toilet and electricity constituted acceptable living standards. survey i (n=784) was conducted during the 2004 dry season from 12 june to 1 july, and survey ii (n=609) during the end of the 2006 rainy season from 3 to 7 april. staff members and sesotho and setswana-speaking students from the university of the free state conducted the surveys. to ensure a representative sample of respondents in households in the areas, stoker’s formula (1981) was used to calculate the number of households to be surveyed from the sampling frame consisting of all households in the areas. according to the formula, the sample size should be a ratio relative to the size of the total population (households) acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 124 within each area. the formula calculates the sample size as × 20, with n representing the total number of households in an area. stoker’s formula is applicable to this study, since the areas were fairly homogeneous in terms of socio-economic factors and housing stock (type of house, condition, etc.). in addition, the sample areas had an acceptable mix of houses in terms of urban and rural, formal and informal, and different material applications. for instance, of all the participants interviewed during this study, 23.9% resided in earth dwellings, 33.8% in corrugated iron, 18.6% in cement blocks, 15.8% in burned bricks, and the remainder in a combination of materials (see figure 3). in other words, there was no need to apply a cluster sampling method to the sample frame which would accommodate location variation. accurate household level information for the areas was not available from census or municipal records and counts of housing units were taken from aerial photography to infer the approximate total number of households. stoker’s formula specified the following sample sizes and percentage ratios for the different areas: bankhara bodulong, n=245 households (n=3000 at 8%); botshabelo, n=390 households (n=7600 at 5%); manokwane, n=154 households (n=1180 at 13%), and tsiame, n=182 (n=1650 at 11%). once on site, every 4th housing unit was selected, depending on the sampling ratio from stoker for each area, and the location was documented. this on-site systematic sampling method was adopted to increase the likelihood of the same households being selected during survey ii. in cases where nobody was home, the previous or next house was interviewed and this modification was recorded. the respondent was coded as the head of household, spouse, tenant, adult child, or other. wherever possible, interviewers tried to interview the same person during survey ii; however, another household member was interviewed the second time around in the absence of the survey i respondent. completed questionnaires were spotchecked to ensure data quality. the four areas where survey i (2004) and survey ii (2006) were conducted include bankhara bodulong (survey i – n=231 and survey ii – n=137); botshabelo (survey i – n=390 and survey ii – n=155); manokwane (survey i – n=91 and survey ii – n=148), and tsiame (survey i – n=72 and survey ii – n=169). the response rates during the two surveys by areas are as follows: bankhara bodulong, survey i = 96.7% and survey ii = 55.9%; botshabelo, survey i = 99.5% and survey ii = 39.7%; manokwane, survey i = 59.0% and survey ii = 96.1%, and tsiame, survey i = 39.6% and survey ii = 92.3%. the differences in response rates between survey i and survey ii can be attributed to financial constraints. it was decided to have a full sample and a bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 125 smaller (subset) sample in each of the areas, equally distributing the larger and smaller samples across the two survey waves. figure 3: an adobe house in tsiame near harrismith source: bosman, 2006: own picture survey i and survey ii contained both qualitative and quantitative response items grouped into 26 questions. questions 1 and 2 determined the location and questions 3 and 4 recorded respondents’ position in the household and language preference. questions 5 to 9 requested general information (e.g., age, total of people living in the house, permanent jobs, grants and income) on the household from each participant. questions 10 to 16 dealt with the house as physical building and determined who built the house, total rooms, services, walls and walls construction material. questions 17 to 18 tested the preferences of building materials, and questions 19 to 23 tested respondents’ opinions on earth construction in general. questions 24 to 26 tested views on rdp houses and who is responsible for building houses for people. the descriptive statistics of this study across nine areas were published in a report (steÿn, 2009). for purposes of this article, data for questions 18, 19, 20, and 22 for four areas are used as the link between attitudes of the acceptability of earth construction; rainfall has not been investigated in the past. in order to conduct this analysis, perceptual data from the face-to-face surveys (survey i and survey ii) were supplemented with objectively measured average monthly rainfall for the different areas at the time when the surveys were conducted. the data were obtained from the south african national weather service. the two waves of surveys provided data for a quasi-experimental research design, considering the independent influence of the differences in rainfall patterns between survey i (time 1) and survey ii (time 2). acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 126 to rule out possible confounding variables, an analysis of variance (anova) test was employed to examine the associations between respondents’ personal characteristics (e.g., location, ethnic background, tenure, socio-economic status and size of household) and measures of acceptability of building materials (e.g., preferred construction materials, preferred qualities of building materials, and disliked characteristics of construction materials). personal characteristics did not show any relationship with the outcomes used in this analysis. the new data for this study allowed for changes to be identified in residents’ perceptions of building materials and earth construction between survey i, during the dry season, and survey ii, after/during rainstorms and flooding. the analysis allows for the investigation and presentation of this likely association between differences in perceptions of building materials and natural occurrences such as rainfall and storms. after significant rainfall, differences between survey i (dry season) and survey ii (wet season) were identified; question 1 examined whether there are differences between these waves in terms of respondents’ preferred materials for walls. further questions considered the differences in preferred qualities of building materials and the likelihood of associating specific problems with specific building materials. the third set of questions focused on how people rate the quality of adobe blocks/compressed earth bricks (ceb), whether people consider adobe blocks/compressed earth bricks to be problematic building materials, and what are the problematic qualities of adobe blocks and compressed earth bricks. 4. findings 4.1 general perceptions of construction materials previous analysis of the sanpad data found overall negative perceptions of earth construction as a building material for the 2004 and 2006 samples in nine areas across the country. the acceptability of houses constructed from earth brick was low, with the most important reasons cited for dislike of this construction method being that the houses collapse, are not strong/stable and cannot withstand climatic factors such as rain and storms (steÿn, 2009). in the ensuing investigation, data from the same and related questions was analysed for four study areas, comparing responses from survey i with those from survey ii. these four areas were selected from the data set due to the availability of objective rainfall measurements of the areas during the months when the surveys were conducted. bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 127 4.2 objective rainfall measurements: seasonal changes in order to demonstrate the seasonal and climatic differences between the times when the surveys were conducted, objectively measured rainfall data of 6 months at the time of the two survey waves are presented next. the four study locations are situated in a summer rainfall area with annual rainfalls ranging between 200mm and 800mm, mostly late afternoon showers or thunderstorms. however, the rainfall data indicate that the 2004 survey i was conducted during the dry winter months (in june), and the 2006 survey ii during the wet autumn months (in april). table 1 shows rainfall figures for the four areas prior and during survey i compared to the months prior and during survey ii. the total rainfall in the different areas for two months, the month before and the month during which the surveys were conducted, are as follows: bankhara bodulong, 2.2mm (survey i) compared to 189.2mm (survey ii); botshabelo, 8.8mm compared to 106.7mm; manokwane, 1.5mm compared to 112.4mm, and tsiame, 2.7mm compared to 131.3mm. the differences between the average monthly rainfall for the one month prior and during survey i and survey ii are: bankhara bodulong, 93.5mm; botshabelo, 49.0mm; manokwane, 60.0mm, and tsiame, 64.3mm. table 1: a comparative table of the rainfall (in mm) between january and june in the four locations at the time of survey i (2004) and survey ii (2006). the grey fill indicates the months prior and during the surveys. rainfall (mm) bankhara bodulong botshabelo manokwane tsiame 2004 survey i 2006 survey ii 2004 survey i 2006 survey ii 2004 survey i 2006 survey ii 2004 survey i 2006 survey ii conducted during dry months wet months dry months wet months dry months wet months dry months wet months january 87.9 128.5 130.3 257.2 68.0 44.0 40.1 168.1 february 46.2 242.6 49.6 210.0 41 79.1 109.0 72.6 march 57.2 104.6 n/a 58.0 88.5 92.0 95.2 95.5 april (survey ii was conducted) 28.5 84.6 n/a 48.7 21.7 30.4 30.5 35.8 may 2.0 6.85 1.8 20.9 0.5 20.1 0.7 26.92 june (survey i was conducted) 0.2 4.0 7.0 0.2 1.0 20.0 2.0 0.0 acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 128 it was anticipated that the occurrence of torrential rains and storms would be associated with negative attitudes in all of the target areas, since higher rainfall was observed across the sites during and prior to april 2006. prior to conducting the analysis presented in this paper, it was anticipated that other considerations such as the appearance, aesthetics, or even ease of construction would be considerations during the dry season, whereas people may be more likely to expect a building material’s durability and strength during seasons of higher rainfall. 4.3 attitudinal responses: perceptions of construction materials 4.3.1 preferred construction materials table 1 shows the results for question 18 during survey i and survey ii concerning respondents’ most preferred materials for walls. the question inquiring about respondents’ most preferred materials for walls for the two survey data combined indicated that cement blocks at 27.0% and burnt bricks at 56.6% were the most popular building materials in the four areas. compressed earth bricks underperformed significantly at 13.8%. table 2: respondents’ most preferred materials for walls preferred materials for walls survey i (2004) n=784 (1 non-response) n=971 survey ii (2006) n=609 n=971 survey i & survey ii combined n=1393 n=1942 n % n % n % burned bricks/ face brick 556 70.9 232 38.1 788 56.6 cement blocks 14 1.8 363 59.6 377 27.0 compressed earth bricks 191 24.4 1 0.2 192 13.8 adobe blocks 10 1.3 10 1.6 20 1.4 missing 13 1.7 3 0.5 16 1.2 total 784 100 609 100 1393 100 however, an interesting difference is observed when comparing people’s preferred building material between survey i and survey ii. during survey i, people preferred compressed earth bricks at 24.4% to cement blocks at only 1.8%, while burned bricks were overwhelmingly selected as the most preferred building material at 70.9%. after the rainstorm during survey ii, people’s preference for compressed earth bricks fell to 0.2%. they still preferred burned brick, but to a lesser extent at 38.1%, while showing a higher preference for cement blocks at bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 129 59.6%. the preference towards compressed earth blocks and adobe blocks was very low. during survey i, only 1.3% of participants chose these materials and, during survey ii, even fewer people selected this option at 0.8%. 4.3.2 perceived qualities of building materials the participants also responded to the open-ended question 19, describing the qualities of their preferred building materials used in the construction of walls. their responses were coded into categories summarised in table 3. table 3: the most preferred qualities of building materials (%) in survey i and survey ii, in the four locations preferred qualities of building material bankhara bodulong botshabelo manokwane tsiame % survey i (n=231) % survey ii (n=137) % survey i (n=390) % survey ii (n=155) % survey i (n=91) % survey ii (n=148) % survey i (n=72) % survey ii (n=169) aesthetics 40.7 (94) 10.2 (14) 44.6 (174) 25.2 (39) 45.1 (41) 14.2 (21) 37.5 (27) 20.1 (34) strength/ safety/ durability 43.7 (101) 42.3 (58) 39.7 (155) 46.5 (72) 36.3 (33) 52.0 (77) 36.1 (26) 46.7 (79) less problems/ lower maintenance 2.6 (6) 3.6 (5) 2.3 (9) 5.8 (9) 7.7 (7) 12.2 (18) 2.8 (2) 11.2 (19) temperature/ comfort/ climate 3.5 (8) 12.4 (17) 3.8 (15) 3.9 (6) 2.2 (2) 6.8 (10) 13.9 (10) 4.1 (7) quick building process/size 0.9 (2) 0.7 (1) 0.5 (2) 0.6 (1) 1.1 (1) 0.7 (1) 2.8 (2) 0.0 (0) cost/finance 2.2 (5) 7.3 (10) 2.8 (11) 4.5 (7) 2.2 (2) 3.4 (5) 0.0 (0) 2.4 (4) other 3.9 (9) 17.5 (24) 2.1 (8) 13.5 (21) 2.2 (2) 10.8 (16) 2.8 (2) 14.8 (25) missing 2.6 (6) 5.8 (8) 4.1 (16) 0.0 (0) 3.3 (3) 0.0 (0) 4.2 (3) 0.6 (1) total 100.0 (231) 100.0 (137) 100.0 (390) 100.0 (155) 100.0 (91) 100.0 (148) 100.0 (72) 100.0 (169) the two most important preferred qualities of building materials are aesthetics and strength/safety/durability (see table 3). during survey ii, participants value aesthetics much less compared to the importance of aesthetics during survey i: compare the significant drop from survey i to survey ii in bankhara bodulong, 40.7% to 10.2%; in botshabelo, 44.6% to 25.2%; in manokwane, 45.1% to 14.2%, and in tsiame, 37.5% to 20.1%. however, strength/safety/durability remains acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 130 an important quality of building materials during survey ii. in fact, in three of the four areas (botshabelo, manokwane and tsiame) responses increased significantly. some differences between survey i and survey ii are also observed for the ‘other’ category, with more people selecting this option during survey ii across the four areas. in order to understand the specific responses under the ‘other’ category, the original qualitative responses were considered. it was found that people consistently mention conditions that point to rainfall and that a building material should be able to withstand these conditions. table 4: cross-tabulation of respondents who, in question 18, selected their preferred material (‘compressed earth bricks/adobe blocks’ [var=0] ‘burned bricks/cement blocks’ [var=1]) compared to respondents who, in question 19, selected preferred qualities of a building material (‘strength/safety/durability’ [var=0] compared to ‘other reasons’ [var=1]) question 19: preferred qualities of a building material survey i n=784 survey ii n=609 st re ng th / sa fe ty / d ur a b ilit y [v a r= 0] o th e r re a so ns [v a r= 1] m iss in g to ta l st re ng th / sa fe ty / d ur a b ilit y [v a r= 0] o th e r re a so ns [v a r= 1] m iss in g to ta l q ue st io n 18 : p re fe rre d m a te ria ls compressed earth bricks/ adobe blocks [var=0] 19.1% (150) 6.3% (49) 1.9% (15) 27.3% (214) 0.8% (5) 0.2% (1) 0.5% (3) 1.5% (9) bricks/face bricks/cement bricks [var=1] 37.1% (291) 33.9% (266) 1.7% (13) 72.7% (570) 44.7% (272) 52.7% (321) 1.1% (7) 98.5% (600) missing 1.8% (14) 1.8% (14) 0.8% (5) 0.8% (5) total 58.0% (455) 42.0% (329) 100.0% (784) 46.3% (282) 53.7% (327) 100.0% (609) cross-tabulating two dichotomous variables, one for the preferred materials and one for the preferred qualities of building materials (table 4), informs the question as to whether participants who selected ‘burned bricks/face bricks/cement bricks’ as their preferred material are more likely to choose ‘strength/safety/durability’ as their preferred quality. (it should be noted that the cross-tabulation implies more missing values than reported on in table 3, since the tabulation assumes a valid response on both variables for it to be included in the cross-tabulation). bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 131 as indicated in table 4, the data do not support the fact that participants are more likely to value ‘strength/safety/durability’ if they selected ‘bricks/face bricks/cement blocks’ as their preferred building material. furthermore, despite reasons for preferred qualities of a building material, participants are more likely to choose ‘bricks/ face bricks/cement blocks’ during survey ii during/after rainstorms. in other words, people may hold true to their reasons or report other reasons for describing the ideal qualities of a building material, but tend to associate those qualities more with burned brick and concrete products during/after rainstorms rather than earth materials. 4.3.3 perceived qualities of adobe blocks the next analysis focuses specifically on the quality of traditional unstabilised adobe blocks, because this could give more insight into the low preference for adobe blocks reported on in table 5. adobe blocks are sun-dried bricks shaped by hand or in a mould and left to dry without applying compression with a press. table 5 shows the results for question 20 where respondents were asked to rate how they perceived the quality of adobe blocks on a five-point likert scale. the response items included were 1 to 5 where 1=very poor, 2=poor, 3=neutral, 4=good and 5=very good. table 5: rated quality of adobe blocks rated quality of adobe/ ceb buildings bankhara bodulong botshabelo manokwane tsiame % survey i (n=231) % survey ii (n=137) % survey i (n=390) % survey ii (n=155) % survey i (n=91) % survey ii (n=148) % survey i (n=72) % survey ii (n=169) 1 = very poor 32.5 (75) 57.7 (79) 39.0 (152) 51.0 (79) 34.1 (31) 60.8 (90) 34.7 (25) 49.1 (83) 2 = poor 44.6 (103) 35.0 (48) 41.5 (162) 41.3 (64) 58.2 (53) 31.8 (47) 45.8 (33) 41.4 (70) 3 = neutral 10.0 (23) 0.7 (1) 7.9 (31) 1.3 (2) 3.3 (3) 2.7 (4) 12.5 (9) 1.8 (3) 4 = good 7.8 (18) 5.1 (7) 6.9 (27) 2.6 (4) 3.3 (3) 3.4 (5) 6.9 (5) 6.5 (11) 5 = very good 5.2 (12) 1.5 (2) 4.1 (16) 3.9 (6) 1.1 (1) 1.4 (2) 0 (0) 0.6 (1) missing 0 (0) 0 (0) 0.5 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0.6 (1) total 100 (231) 100 (137) 100 (231) 100 (155) 100 (91) 100 (148) 100 (72) 100 (169) acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 132 as table 5 suggests, people consistently rate the quality of adobe blocks as either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. more significantly, when responses are viewed for survey i and survey ii, the majority of people rated the quality of adobe blocks ‘poor’ during survey i (bankhara bodulong, 44.6%; botshabelo, 41.5%; manokwane, 58.2%; tsiame, 45.8%) and ‘very poor’ during survey ii (bankhara bodulong, 57.7%; botshabelo, 51.0%; manokwane, 60.8%; tsiame, 49.1%). question 19 asked respondents if they perceive any problems with the use of adobe blocks for walls. see table 6 for the results. during survey i, more than five sixths of respondents answered ‘yes’ to the question. a higher number of participants considered problems with adobe blocks for walls during survey ii: an increase of 7% in bankhara bodulong; 8.6% in botshabelo; 10.2% in manokwane, and 2% in tsiame. table 6: respondents report if they perceive problems with the use of adobe blocks for walls problems with adobe blocks/ ceb for walls bankhara bodulong botshabelo manokwane tsiame % survey i (n=231) % survey ii (n=137) % survey i (n=390) % survey ii (n=155) % survey i (n=91) % survey ii (n=148) % survey i (n=72) % survey ii (n=169) yes 85.7 (198) 92.7 (127) 84.9 (311) 93.5 (145) 85.7 (78) 95.9 (142) 90.3 (65) 92.3 (156) no 13.9 (32) 7.3 (10) 14.6 (57) 5.2 (8) 14.3 (13) 4.1 (6) 9.7 (7) 6.5 (11) missing 0.4 (1) 0 (0) 0.5 (2) 1.3 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 1.2 (2) total 100 (231) 100 (137) 100 (231) 100 (155) 100 (91) 100 (148) 100 (72) 100 (169) another survey question was analysed to support the findings presented above and provides a possible link between perceptions of the acceptability of building materials (in general) and earth construction. an open-ended question asked respondents to name the most important problem related to the use of adobe blocks. their responses were coded into several categories for analysis: ‘collapse’; ‘cracks’; ‘maintenance’; ‘climate/rain’; ‘not safe/strong’, and ‘other’. question 22 elaborated on participants’ perceived qualities of these building materials and the results for survey i and survey ii were broken down into areas (see table 7). bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 133 table 7: respondents’ reports of problems with adobe blocks problematic qualities of building material bankhara bodulong botshabelo manokwane tsiame % survey i (n=231) % survey ii (n=137) % survey i (n=390) % survey ii (n=155) % survey i (n=91) % survey ii (n=148) % survey i (n=72) % survey ii (n=169) collapse 31.9 (103) 27.0 (37) 31.2 (186) 18.7 (29) 16.9 (38) 18.9 (28) 22.9 (39) 23.1 (39) cracks 14.2 (46) 2.9 (4) 10.2 (61) 1.9 (3) 8.9 (20) 2.7 (4) 5.9 (10) 1.2 (2) maintenance 4.3 (14) 3.6 (5) 10.2 (61) 4.5 (7) 4.0 (9) 3.4 (5) 7.1 (12) 3.6 (6) climate/rain 21.1 (68) 41.6 (57) 22.3 (133) 63.9 (99) 19.1 (43) 61.5 (91) 14.1 (24) 59.8 (101) not safe/not strong 5.3 (17) 9.5 (13) 8.4 (50) 4.5 (7) 3.6 (8) 8.1 (12) 3.5 (6) 2.4 (4) other 13.3 (43) 8.0 (11) 7.7 (46) 1.3 (2) 41.8 (94) 1.4 (2) 42.4 (72) 2.4 (4) missing 9.9 (32) 7.3 (10) 9.9 (59) 5.2 (8) 5.8 (13) 4.1 (6) 4.1 (7) 7.7 (13) total 100 (231) 100 (137) 100 (390) 100 (155) 100 (91) 100 (148) 100 (72) 100 (169) during survey i, participants were mostly concerned with structural ‘collapse’ due to the qualities of the building material: bankhara bodulong, 31.9%; botshabelo, 31.2%; manokwane, 16.9%, and tsiame, 22.9%. however, during survey ii, participants became much more concerned with issues of ‘climate/rain’: bankhara bodulong, 41.6%; botshabelo, 63.9%; manokwane, 61.5%, and tsiame, 59.8%. 5. discussion this investigation examined differences in people’s perceptions for earth construction and other building materials for walls between the dry period in 2004 (survey i) and the wet period in 2006 (survey ii). first, participants were asked to select their preferred building material out of all other available building materials: burned bricks/ face bricks, cement blocks, adobe blocks, and compressed earth blocks. findings suggest that burned brick/face brick are participants’ favourite building materials, whereas compressed earth brick (ceb) is also considered during the dry season (see table 2). of the survey i respondents, 24.4% selected compressed earth bricks. after rain, however, people considered materials other than earth construction for their preferred construction materials: cement brick at 59.6% and burned brick at 38.1% were preferred to compressed earth at 0.2% and adobe blocks at 1.6%. nearly a quarter of the participants acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 134 selected compressed earth bricks as their preferred building material during survey i, when between slightly over a third1 to just over half2 of the participants experienced problems with adobe and ceb due to ‘collapse’ and ‘climate/rain’ (see table 7). however, when the participants identified problems of ‘collapse’ and ‘climate/ rain’ after survey ii rainstorms (68.6% for bankhara bodulong, 82.6% for batshabelo, 80.4% for manokwane, and 82.9% for tsiame), their preference for adobe blocks and ceb was significantly reduced. the significantly lower responses for earth construction during survey ii support the notion that factors such as higher rainfall and storms may affect people’s perceptions of earth construction. the two most preferred qualities of building materials that respondents mentioned during the two surveys are ‘aesthetics’ and ‘strength/safety/durability’ (see table 3). during survey i (lower rainfall), ‘aesthetics’ was the most important consideration of a building material and chosen on average nearly 42.0% of the time. ‘strength/safety/durability’ was selected on average 39.0% of the time. during survey ii (higher rainfall), the percentage of respondents who considered ‘aesthetics’ dropped to an average of 17.4% across the four areas. for most of the areas, a slight increase in the percentage of people reporting ‘strength/safety/durability’ as an important factor of building materials can be observed between survey i and survey ii, especially in manokwane. respondent reports between the two surveys in manokwane show the highest increase in the importance of ‘strength/safety/durability’. there is an increase from 36.3% in june 2004 (winter) to 52.0% in april 2006 (summer), suggesting that over half of the respondents considered ‘strength/ safety/durability’ as the most important quality of a building material. this suggests that people in manokwane became more aware of problems related to ‘strength/safety/durability’ (often associated with earth construction). it is interesting to note that the average rainfall before and during the surveys does not support this observation. in fact, the area had the lowest average rainfall during this season compared to the other study areas. however, the severity of rainfall and storms in the area should also be considered. several sources describe severe flooding in manokwane in 2006. the mail & guardian reports that 1 500 houses and numerous bridges and roads were damaged and 1 table 7 – survey i: ‘collapse’ and ‘climate/rain’ combined: manokwane, 36.0%; tsiame, 37.0%. 2 table 7 – survey i: ‘collapse’ and ‘climate/rain’ combined: bankhara bodulong, 53.0%; botshabelo, 53.5%. bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 135 washed away between february and april 2006 due to flooding in the area (staff reporter, mail & guardian, 2006: online). the impact of flooding was so severe that the national disaster management centre declared the area a disaster zone in their inaugural annual report (south africa. provincial and local government, 2007). it is likely that this extraordinary climatic occurrence impacted on participants’ perceptions in favour of qualities of ‘strength/safety/ durability’. where houses are located (e.g., floodplains, wetlands, or close to rivers) may also affect how people experience storms and flooding and their perceptions of how strong, durable and safe their houses are. the increase in the preferred quality of ‘strength/ safety/durability’ in the other three areas may be marginal, but it is evident that this quality of building materials remains an important consideration in the context of seasonal and climatic changes. it is noteworthy to consider differences in other preferred qualities of building materials between survey i and survey ii. the data presented in table 3 suggest that ‘temperature/comfort/climate’, ‘less problems/lower maintenance’ and ‘other reasons’ also play an important role in people’s perceptions in some areas. for instance, it is likely that other climatic factors also played a role. in bankhara bodulong, people’s consideration for ‘aesthetics’ decreased by 30.5%, while their preference for ‘strength/safety/durability’ shows a negligible decrease of 1.4%. with an increase of 8.9% between survey i and survey ii (from 3.5% to 12.4%) in preferences for materials associated with ‘temperature/comfort/climate’, it is likely that the summer’s high temperatures also affected people’s perceptions. in 2004, the summer average daytime temperature in the area was 32.6°c, significantly higher than that in the other areas. average winter temperatures also seem to affect people’s perceptions. in tsiame, the average maximum daytime temperature during the 2004 winter was 14.7°c, making tsiame the coldest area compared to the others. of the survey i respondents, 13.9% chose ‘temperature/comfort/ climate’ as their most important factor during the winter survey i, compared to 4.1% of respondents during the summer survey ii. this is a decrease of nearly 10% fewer respondents reporting on ‘temperature/comfort/climate’ in the summer (survey ii), compared to their initial reporting in the winter (survey i). these examples provide some suggestions for linking climatic conditions with perceptions; however, the available data collected for this study cannot fully determine these patterns and relationships. this could be a topic for further research. the analysis in table 4 attempted to determine whether people are more likely to choose ‘bricks/face brick/cement blocks’ if they acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 136 value ‘strength/safety/durability’ as a preferred quality. the findings suggest that this is not the case. no consistent pattern between the survey i or survey ii data could be identified. more interestingly, although participants were more likely to select ‘bricks/face bricks/ cement blocks’ during/after rainstorms in survey ii, their reasons do not seem to favour ‘strength/safety/durability’ at 44.7%, compared to ‘other reasons’ at 52.7%. this may suggest that people articulate their discomfort with earth construction in many ways, possibly indirectly describing issues of strength or climate captured under ‘other’. as suggested earlier, people may describe experiences and situations that point to the impact of rainfall and that building materials should withstand these conditions. whatever the case, it appears that people shy away from earth construction and revert to their preferred choice of ‘brick/face brick/cement blocks’ when the quality of building materials is called into question. in other words, as gibson’s theory suggests, people attribute latent qualities to types of materials based on their perceptions of these types, irrespective of whether they understand the true properties of different material options belonging to a certain type (e.g., earth construction, burned bricks, etc.). when asked to rate the quality of adobe blocks, the majority of the respondents described the material as either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. differences can be observed in how people rate the quality of adobe between survey i and survey ii. during survey i, the majority of respondents rated the quality as ‘poor’, whereas higher percentages of respondents across the four areas rated the quality as ‘very poor’ during survey ii (see table 5). this is not surprising, considering that over five sixths of survey i respondents said ‘yes’ when asked if there are problems with adobe blocks for walls. over 90% of participants during survey ii agreed on this point. table 7 indicates that ‘collapse’ and ‘climate/rain’ are the most important perceived problems associated with adobe blocks. during survey i and survey ii, respondents found ‘collapse’ an important factor across all the areas. significant increases across all areas are observed for ‘climate/rain’; in some instances, more than double and triple the number of participants became concerned with this problem during survey ii. the data suggest that they perceive adobe blocks generally to be structurally inferior by referring to ‘collapse’ in survey i. however, during the wetter season (survey ii), their favourite explanation for the main problem associated with adobe blocks is ‘climate/rain’. again, it is likely that this observable difference between survey i and survey ii is due to the occurrence of heavy rainfall, because traditional adobe is influenced by the presence bosman & van der westhuizen • the effects of climatic conditions 137 of water and/or moisture. structural failure occurs due to a loss of compressive strength that results from a weakening of the connections between the soil particles. the presence of a stabilizer (natural or chemical), the lack of a structural soil component (gravel, sand, silt or clay), and the mechanical process of stabilisation (compaction), as in the case of compressed earth bricks, all influence the structural integrity of adobe (houben & guillaud, 1994). the findings presented in table 7 suggest that it is likely that people perceive earth-construction materials, in particular, as a less desirable building solution, especially during periods of higher rainfall and storms. 6. conclusion and recommendations these findings cannot claim any direct links between preferred building materials, preferred qualities of building materials, and reasons for disliking an earth product such as adobe blocks. however, a pattern does seem to emerge. it appears that, although earth as a building material has some wide application in home building, likely due to need or limited resources, it is not a preferred material if poorer people are presented with alternatives. this research reflects on the effects of some climatic conditions on perceptions of earth construction as a building material. specifically, the focus is on how changes in rainfall patterns and other climatic factors are associated with the acceptability of indigenous earth construction. the study presents evidence that higher rainfall seems to negatively affect people’s choice of earth construction as an appropriate building method. people also indicated that their preferred qualities of building materials are ‘aesthetics’ and ‘strength/safety/durability’. however, after significant rainfall 22 months later, aesthetic considerations seem to dwindle and climate-related considerations (‘strength/safety/ surability’, ‘temperature/comfort/climate’, ‘less problems/ lower maintenance’, and ‘other’) became more important. another observation suggests that it is not necessarily the amount of rainfall that shapes perceptions, but the unexpectedness of rainfall in the form of flash floods, cloud bursts, or sudden climatic events. unusually high or low temperatures in an area also seem to alter perceptions, where the climatic conditions are more likely to create discomfort (either hot or cold), make people more aware of the much-needed insulative properties of building materials. these finer nuances of the effects of specific climatic variability on perceptions require further research. when asked about adobe blocks, in particular, people generally rated the quality of these blocks as acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 138 ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’, but more so after rain. people considered the collapse of adobe blocks a significant problem, followed by climate and rain. however, concerns about climate and rain exceeded concerns about collapse when considering earth building materials after rainstorms. at the time when the two surveys were conducted, natural occurrences such as rainfall were not considered to be important factors in affecting people’s perceptions of building materials. however, these findings suggest that environmental factors such as rainfall and other climatic conditions should be considered in how earth construction is understood. apart from the role that rainfall seems to play in people’s perceptions of the suitability of earth construction, we may also need to pay more attention to how perceptions differ by geographic location as a result of climatic conditions. in order to improve people’s perceptions of earth building techniques and materials, areas with high year-round rainfall may need more training programmes about the benefits of earth construction than arid regions, if we were to ever change prevailing perceptions of earth building materials. on the other hand, people living in areas with consistent levels of rainfall may be less concerned about the structural soundness of earth buildings than those living in drier areas that experience unexpected storms and flash floods. whatever the case may be, interventions targeted at both the needs of specific communities and the regional climatic conditions are needed for the successful preservation and promotion of earth buildings. acknowledgement sanpad consisted of staff from the earth unit at the department 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(ed.). 2001. kimberley consultative workshop on culture in africa. pretoria: the world bank. uneca (united nations economic commission for africa). 2002. sustainable development report on africa: managing land-based resources for sustainable development. available from: <http://www. uncsd2012.org/content/documents/sdra1%20managing%20landbased%20resources.pdf> [accessed: 9 june 2014]. 111 frank berry & basie verster die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar se kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë peer reviewed and revised abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om die beginsels wat die bourekenaar ondersteun om kontraktueel effektief te kommunikeer, te identifiseer en te meet om die standaard van die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar se bourekenkundige kontraktuele kommunikasie te bepaal. hierdie artikel vorm deel van ’n volledige studie oor bourekenkundige kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf en word aspekte soos mondelinge, skriftelike, elektroniese en leierskapkommunikasie elders aangespreek. die ondersoek is gedoen onder praktiserende bourekenaars, argitekte, ingenieurs, kliënte en aannemers, gekies uit al 9 provinsies van die republiek van suid-afrika. die vraelys is in 2010 uitgestuur en is ook in dieselfde jaar terug ontvang. die vraelys is per e-pos gesirkuleer met die doel om die beginsels wat die bourekenaar ondersteun om kontraktueel effektief te kommunikeer, te meet volgens die volwassenheidsnorm wat vir die bourekenaarstandaard teenoor die norm wat vir die wêreldklasstandaard geld. die resultate van die respondente het die volgende aangewys as beginsels in kontraktuele kommunikasievolwassenheid gemeet aan die bourekenaarstandaard: kontraktueelbindend, billikheid, effektiwiteit/afdwingbaarheid en ondubbelsinnigheid waar kontraktueelbindend die mees positiewe en ondubbelsinnigheid die mins positiewe waarderingsuitslag gelewer het. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasievolwassenheid, kommunikasievermoë, konktraktuele kommunikasie, bourekenaar, suid-afrika abstract the aim of this article is to identify principles that support the quantity surveyor to communicate effectively in contractual communication and measure these principles to determine the maturity standard of the quantity surveyor’s quantity surveying contractual communication. this article forms part of a more comprehensive study on quantity surveying communication in the construction industry, and aspects such as oral, written, electronic and leadership communication have been addressed elsewhere. dr frank h. berry, senior lektor, departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur, universiteit van die vrystaat, posbus 392, bloemfontein, 9300, suid-afrika. (†oorlede 14 oktober 2012). tel: 051 4012198, e-pos: <berryfh@ufs.ac.za prof. jacobus johannes petrus (basie) verster, departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur, universiteit van die vrystaat, posbus 392, bloemfontein, 9300, suidafrika. tel: 051 4012198, e-pos: <versterjj@ufs.ac.za oorsigartikels • review articles acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 112 the survey was conducted among practising quantity surveyors, architects, engineers, clients and contractors chosen from all 9 provinces of south africa. the questionnaire was distributed to, and returned by respondents in 2010. the questionnaire was circulated by means of e-mail for the purpose of measuring the principles that support the quantity surveyor to communicate effectively in contractual communication according to the quantity surveying standard vs the worldclass standard. the results of the survey indicated that respondents identified the following principles as important in contractual communication maturity measured against quantity surveying standard: contractual binding, reasonableness, effectiveness/enforceability and unambiguousness, where contractual binding showed the most positive and unambiguousness the least positive valuation result. keywords: communication maturity, communication capabilities, contractual communication, quantity surveyor, south africa 1. inleiding die hoofprobleem is dat die volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasievaardighede in kontraktuele kommunikasie waarskynlik nie voldoende aangespreek is nie, en derhalwe mag dit die effektiwiteit van besluite en die besluitnemingsproses negatief beïnvloed. die probleem wat as gevolg van ’n gebrek aan kommunikasievaardighede in die konstruksiebedryf ontstaan, is dat die toepassing van kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë van dié professie in die algemeen nie na wense blyk te wees nie, en die rasionaal vir hierdie ondersoek was. hierdie ondersoek kan moontlik die probleme aan die lig bring en oplossings daarvoor kan voorgestel word. deur die kontraktuele kommunikasie volwassenheidsvermoë van die bourekenaar te meet kan die belangrike kontraktuele kommunikasiebeginsels geïdentifiseer en voorgestel word. hipotese: deur die bepaling van die effektiwiteit en vlak van volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kontraktuele kommunikasie vas te stel en tendense te identifiseer, mag ’n bydrae tot die verbetering van kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf gelewer word. 2. kontraktuele kommunikasie die humoristiese opmerking deur wyle sam goldwyn, dat ’n mondelinge kontrak nie die papier werd is waarop dit geskryf is nie, is by wyse van spreke. ’n mondelinge kontrak is wel in meeste gevalle geldig en het ’n bindende effek. die probleem is egter om die bestaan van die kontrak te bewys (finsen, 2005: 7-8). berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 113 ’n boukontrak is ’n ooreenkoms tussen twee partye waar die aannemer onderneem om ’n gebou op te rig en die kliënt ooreenkom om daarvoor te betaal (finsen, 2005: 1). volgens finsen (2005: 40) het die verskyning van die aannemer en die behoefte aan ’n boukontrakooreenkoms dit genoodsaak om die kontraktuele verhouding met die kliënt te reguleer. die belang en invloed van ’n boukontrakooreenkoms om die kontraktuele verhouding tussen die aannemer en kliënt te reguleer, word hiermee bevestig. volgens chappell (2008: 20) kan ’n bindende kontrak nie slegs uitdrukking van welwillendheid as basis hê nie. ’n ooreengekome prys of ’n metode om dit te bereken, asook eenstemmigheid ten opsigte van die werk en tyd van voltooiing mag nodig wees voordat ’n hof bereid sal wees om sekere terme in ’n kontrak toe te pas, maar nie om ’n kontrak te skep wat nie bestaan nie. hierdie verwysing beklemtoon die feit dat meer as ’n blote gebaar van welwillendheid nodig is as basis vir ’n bindende kontrak in die konstruksiebedryf. volgens mckenzie, mckenzie & ramsden (2009: 18-20) is die definiëring van woorde en begrippe belangrik. die beginsels van kommunikasie en begrip van kommunikasie vind ook inslag in die suid-afrikaanse reg waar ‘duidelike taal’ beteken, ‘taal wat per definisie duidelik is’, en wat gevolglik voorrang bo ander moontlike interpretasies geniet. regter wessels het die argument in die scottish union & national insurance co ltd v native recruiting corporation ltd-hofsaak soos volg gestel: we must gather the intention of the parties from the language of the contract itself, and if that language is clear, we must give effect to what the parties themselves have said; and we must presume that they knew the meaning and the words they used. volgens bowen, cattell, michell & kabayanondo (2006: 26) het die afsender van inligting in die konstruksiebedryf die verantwoordelikheid, hetsy dit die kliënt of ’n lid van die ontwerpspan is, om inligting op so ’n wyse te struktureer dat dit gedetailleerd, duidelik en ondubbelsinnig is. die inligting sluit waarskynlik ook kontrakdokumentasie in en beklemtoon hoe belangrik dit is dat kontrakdokumentasie ondubbelsinnig behoort te wees. kontrakdokumentasie bevat die bepalings en voorwaardes waaronder ’n projek bestuur word om die kontraktuele verhouding wat tussen die partye ontstaan het, te hanteer en die projek suksesvol te voltooi. die spesifikasie vorm deel van die kontrakdokumentasie wat met die gehalte van materiaal en die vakmanskap wat vereis acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 114 word te make het en het ten doel om enige onduidelikheid in hierdie verband aan te spreek (berry, 2012: 149). die jbcc principal building agreement series 2000 definieer contract documents soos volg (jbcc, 2007: 1): … means this document, the contract drawings, the bills of quantities/lump sum document and such other documents as are identified in the schedule. die uitvoering van konstruksiewerk op ’n terrein vereis dat ’n kontrak aan ’n aannemer toegeken word. hierdie kontraktuele ooreenkoms vereis die gebruiklike praktyke en prosedures waar kontraktuele kommunikasie ’n groot rol speel (ashworth, 1992: 22-23). volgens miners (1969: 154; 1971: 65) is die hoofkommunikasiemedia wat deur die boubedryf gebruik word, die kontrakdokumentasie. die kontrakdokumentasie in ’n formele ooreenkoms word as kontraktueel bindend beskou in terme van die lyne van die tekeninge deur die ontwerpers, die woorde in die tegniese spesifikasie vervat, en alle ander aspekte van die kontrakdokumentasie. indien enige verandering aan hierdie kontrakdokumentasie gemaak is, word ’n verandering van die kontrak gekonstitueer (haplin, 2005: 50). volgens malherbe & lipshitz (1978: 72) is dit belangrik om ten minste die volgende beginsels, wat essensieel en fundamenteel in die opstel van ’n kontrak is, te stipuleer: there must be agreement between the contracting parties to create a legal and binding contractual relationship embracing rights, responsibilities, prerogatives and privileges. the parties must be at one as to the consequences contemplated by such agreement or in other words, as to their intention in the application of agreed contractual relations. ’n kontrak het derhalwe ten doel om ’n kontraktueelbindende verhouding tussen partye tot stand te bring met die verpligtinge wat daarmee gepaard gaan. in die saamstel van kontrakdokumentasie behoort die beginsels wat essensieel en fundamenteel in die opstel van ’n kontrak is, in ag geneem te word. die volgende beginsels is in ’n vorige studie geïdentifiseer as belangrike elemente wat die bourekenaar in staat stel om effektief kontraktueel in die konstruksiebedryf te kommunikeer: ‘kontraktueel bindend’, ‘billikheid’, ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’ en ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (berry, 2012: 116). berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 115 3. terminologie die belang en invloed van die voorheengeïdentifiseerde beginsels op die kontraktuele kommunikasie van die bourekenaar impliseer noodwendig dat die definisies daarvan dit konstateer. volgens hat (odendal, schoonees, swanepoel, du toit & booysen, 1994: 568) word ‘kontraktueel’ soos volg gedefinieer: volgens kontrak: kontraktueel gebind wees. volgens hat (odendal et al., 1994: 87) word ‘bindend’ soos volg gedefinieer: verpligtend, wat van krag is: ’n bindende ooreenkoms, bepaling. die definisies dui daarop dat die partye tot die kontrak deur die kontrak gebind is en dat die kontrak stiptelik uitgevoer behoort te word. die skep van ’n wetlike verhouding of ’n ooreenkoms, wat die oogmerk en gevolge van so ’n verhouding uitspel, is aan aanbod en aanname onderhewig, wat volgens ’n redelike interpretasie daarvan duidelik, ondubbelsinnig, omvattend en volledig moet wees om onbetwisbaar, saaklik en bindend te wees (malherbe & lipshitz, 1978: 72). volgens hat (odendal et al., 1994: 87) word ‘billikheid’ soos volg gedefinieer: regverdig: iemand billik behandel. billik teenoor iemand optree. indien daar geen teenstrydigheid in die woorde van ’n kontrak is nie, is daar geen gronde vir ’n billiker interpretasie as wat die woorde self vertolk nie (mckenzie, mckenzie & ramsden, 2009: 19). die belang van die beginsel ‘billikheid’ kom in bogemelde verwysing na vore waar die interpretasie van woorde in die vertolking daarvan gesetel is. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat die beginsel ‘billikheid’ in die opstel van ’n kontrak nodig is en kan derhalwe as ’n beginsel vir effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie beskou word. loots (1985: 33) stel dit dat ’n persoon wat ’n siening uitspreek of ’n voorspelling maak, alhoewel eerlik bedoel, en met geloof in die korrektheid daarvan, van nalatigheid aangespreek kan word indien die nodige stappe, soos van ’n redelike persoon verwag word, nie geneem word om homself te vergewis dat die siening geregverdig is nie: acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 116 … if a man, who has or professes to have special knowledge or skill, makes a representation by virtue thereof to another – be it advice, information or opinion – with the intention of inducing him to enter into a contract with him, he is under a duty to use reasonable care to see that the representation is correct, and that the advice, information or opinion is reliable. if he incorrectly gives unsound advice or misleading information or expresses an erroneous opinion and thereby induces the other side to enter into a contract with him, he is liable in damages. volgens bogemelde aanhaling mag ’n persoon nalatig wees indien hy hom nie vergewis het deur die nodige stappe te neem om te bepaal of ’n spesifieke siening geregverdig is al dan nie. dit kan eweneens ook van toepassing wees in die opstel van ’n kontrak. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat die beginsel ‘billikheid’ in die opstel van ’n kontrak nodig is. volgens hat (odendal et al., 1994: 186) word ‘effektiwiteit’ soos volg gedefinieer: wat die gewenste effek, uitwerking het; doeltreffend. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat die kontrak effektief moet wees in terme van die gebruik daarvan deur die betrokke partye. alhoewel ’n kontrak bindend mag wees, is ’n kontrak nie noodwendig afdwingbaar nie, soos byvoorbeeld, deur die verloop van tyd in terme van die verjaringswet (wet 8 van 1943 soos aangepas) (mckenzie, mckenzie & ramsden, 2009: 99). die hoofvereiste van ’n kontrak is die ooreenkoms tot toekomstige prestasie. die afwesigheid in ’n ooreenkoms van fundamentele aspekte is fataal en dit kan die afdwingbaarheid en effektiewe prestasie onmoontlik maak (finsen, 2005: 3-4). dit kan gemeld word dat, indien dit volgens die reg onmoontlik is om ’n kontrak uit te voer of dat die kontrak in wese nietig is, word beide partye van prestasie vrygestel (mckenzie, mckenzie & ramsden, 2009: 60). volgens hat (odendal et al., 1994: 727) word ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ soos volg gedefinieer: wat net op een manier uitgelê, verstaan kan word; nie vatbaar vir misverstand nie; helder. miners (1969: 154) beklemtoon dat die hooffunksie van alle kontrakdokumentasie die lewering van essensiële inligting in die mees duidelike en ondubbelsinnige wyse moontlik moet wees. berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 117 volgens emmitt & gorse (2003: 14) is dit duidelik dat daar komplikasies in kommunikasie kan voorkom indien kontraktuele kommunikasie nie in plek is nie. die belangrikheid en effektiwiteit van kontraktuele kommunikasie, wat ook in die konstruksiebedryf van toepassing is, word beklemtoon. kontraktuele kommunikasie vorm ’n belangrike deel van die bourekenaar se werk. die opstel van die kontrakdokument vir tenderdoeleindes, naamlik die hoeveelheidslyste, is ’n sprekende voorbeeld van sodanige werksaamhede. die kennis van kontraktuele kommunikasie skep ’n basis om wanvertolking van kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf te beperk (berry, 2007). volgens the free dictionary (farlex, 2008: internet) word ‘wêreldklas’ soos volg gedefinieer: ranking among the foremost in the world; of an international standard of excellence; of the highest order. die rede waarom ‘wêreldklas’ as maatstaf gebruik word, kom na vore in die definisie waar die standaard vir sigself spreek, naamlik: • gereken onder die bestes/voorstes in die wêreld; • ’n internasionale standaard van uitnemendheid/uitmuntendheid/voortreflikheid; en • die hoogste orde. volgens gruber (2004) is ‘volwassenheid’ professionele ontwikkeling oor ’n tydperk, asook begrip waarom suksesvolle uitkomste behaal word. volgens hat (odendal et al., 1994: 568) word ‘kontrak’ soos volg gedefinieer: ooreenkoms waarby wedersyds verpligtinge aangegaan is. volgens hat (odendal et al., 1994: 560) word ‘kommunikasie’ soos volg gedefinieer: kennisgewing, mededeling. vir doeleindes van hierdie artikel word kontraktuele kommunikasie beskou as die effektiewe gebruik van kontraktuele beginsels wat nodig is vir ’n wedersydse ooreenkoms aangegaan tussen betrokke partye. kontraktuele kommunikasie se belang is beperk tot die kontrakdokumentasie wat deur die bourekenaar self of bourekenaarsprofessie opgestel word, of waarby die bourekenaar spesifiek betrokke is, of deur beïnvloed word. die behandeling van acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 118 ander regsen kontraktuele beginsels in detail val buite die bestek van hierdie artikel. 4. navorsing ’n vraelys is aan geselekteerde praktiserende bourekenaars, argitekte, ingenieurs, kliënte en aannemers per e-pos gesirkuleer met die doel om sienings ten opsigte van die volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf in te win. die geselekteerde groep is uit al 9 provinsies van suid-afrika gekies en het ’n redelike verspreiding verteenwoordig. die werkservaring van 77.0% van die respondente is 10 jaar en meer in die konstruksiebedryf, terwyl 52.6% van hierdie persentasie ’n werkservaring van 20 jaar of meer het. vir doeleindes van hierdie artikel word die respondente se werkservaring as bewese gereken en hul siening kan derhalwe as verteenwoordigend en geloofwaardig beskou word (sien tabel 1). tabel 1: werkservaring van respondente respondente groepe 0-4 jaar 5-9 jaar 10-19 jaar 20 jaar en meer onbekend totaal ingenieurs 0 0 2 10 0 12 aannemers 0 1 5 3 1 10 kliënte 1 1 1 6 0 9 argitekte 1 3 2 6 0 12 bou-rekenaars 5 5 9 16 0 35 totaal 7 (9.0%) 10 (12.8%) 19 (24.4%) 41 (52.6%) 1 (1.2%) 78 (100%) die respondente met ’n kliënteen bourekenaarsagtergrond se terugvoer was positief in vergelyking met die ander respondente en onderskeidelik 40.91% en 43.21% van diegene wat vraelyste ontvang het, het voltooide vraelyste teruggestuur. die argitekte, ingenieurs en kontrakteurs het minder positief gereageer en die respons op die vraelyste uitgestuur was onderskeidelik 18.18%, 18.46% en 30.30%. die respons word in tabel 2 getoon. tabel 2: respons op vraelyste respondente groepe vraelyste uitgestuur vraelyste terug ontvang persentasie ingenieurs 65 12 18.46% aannemers 33 10 30.30% kliënte 22 9 40.91% argitekte 66 12 18.18% berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 119 respondente groepe vraelyste uitgestuur vraelyste terug ontvang persentasie bourekenaars 81 35 43.21% totaal 267 78 29.21% die totale reaksie was 29.21% gebaseer op die vraelyste wat terug ontvang is en word vir doeleindes van hierdie artikel as verteenwoordigend beskou. die opskrifte en afkortings, wat in die volgende tabelle gebruik is, het die volgende betekenis: beginsels van kontraktuele kommunikasie: illustreer wat die respondente se siening is oor wat die belangrikheid van die vlak van volwassenheid is ten opsigte van elke element in kontraktuele kommunikasie. gbs: gemiddeld van bourekenaarstandaard (gebaseer op die opinies van respondente oor wat die vlak van bourekenaarstandaard in die bourekenaarsprofessie in suid-afrika behoort te wees, gemeet teen hul siening van wêreldklasstandaard [soos reeds genoem beskik meer as die helfte van die respondente oor ’n werkservaring van meer as 20 jaar in die konstruksiebedryf en word hul siening as geloofwaardig beskou]). gws: wêreldklasstandaard (gebaseer op die opinies van respondente oor hul siening van wêreldklasstandaard [soos reeds genoem beskik meer as die helfte van die respondente oor ’n werkservaring van meer as 20 jaar in die konstruksiebedryf en word hul siening as geloofwaardig beskou]). die waarde-etikette word aangedui op ’n skaal van ‘laag’ = (1), ‘gemiddeld’ = (5), ‘hoog’ = (10). die siening van die respondente, word gebruik om die beginsels wat die bourekenaar ondersteun om kontraktueel effektief te kommunikeer, te meet volgens die volwassenheidsnorm wat vir bourekenaarstandaard teenoor die norm wat vir die wêreldklasstandaard geld. om die uitslag te kon bepaal, is die standaard van bourekenkundige volwassenheid volgens die siening van die respondente soos uit die artikel na vore gekom het, gemeet, en die resultate is met die norm, wat vir die ‘wêreldklasstandaard’ geld, vergelyk en behoort ’n beduidende aanduiding van kontraktuele kommunikasievolwassenheid van die bourekenaar te lewer. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 120 5. resultate en bespreking die resultaat van die respondente van die totale groep se siening betreffende die bourekenkundige standaard ten opsigte van die belangrike elemente wat nodig is om effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie in die opstel van byvoorbeeld die hoeveelheidslystedokument te handhaaf, word in tabel 3 hieronder verstrek. tabel 3: kontraktuele kommunikasie beginsels van kontraktuele kommunikasie bourekenaarstandaard gbs wêreldklasstandaard gws verskil (%) (gws-gbs) belangrikheid (%) in terme van kontraktuele kommunikasie kontraktueelbindend 8.49 8.92 4.30% 94% billikheid 8.19 8.54 3.50% 88% afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit 8.12 8.60 4.80% 90% ondubbelsinnigheid 7.85 8.62 7.70% 90% gemiddeld 8.16 8.67 5.10% die siening van die respondente betreffende die standaard van die bourekenaar in kontraktuele kommunikasie het in dalende volgorde die volgende waarderingsuitslag vir die beginsels aangedui: ‘kontraktueelbindend’ (8.49), ‘billikheid’ (8.19), ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’ (8.12) en ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (7.85). die beginsel ‘kontraktueelbindend’ (8.49) het derhalwe die mees positiewe en ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (7.85) die mins positiewe waarderings uitslag gelewer. die siening van die respondente betreffende die norm wat vir die wêreldklasstandaard in kontraktuele kommunikasie geld, het in dalende volgorde die volgende waarderingsuitslag vir die beginsels gelewer: ‘kontraktueelbindend’ (8.92), ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (8.62), ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’ (8.60) en ‘billikheid’ (8.54). die beginsel ‘kontraktueelbindend’ (8.92) het derhalwe die mees positiewe en ‘billikheid’ (8.54) die mins positiewe waar derings uitslag gelewer. in die resultaat van die geïdentifiseerde beginsels ten opsigte van die bourekenaaren wêreldklasstandaard varieer die verskil van 3.5% tot 7.7% meer, terwyl die beginsels ‘billikheid’ (3.5%) die kleinste en ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (7.7%) die grootste verskil getoon het. berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 121 die siening van die respondente het in dalende volgorde betreffende die belangrikheid van die beginsels in terme van kontraktuele kommunikasie die volgende waarderingsuitslag aangedui: ‘kontrak tueelbindend’ (94%), ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’ (90%), ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (90%) en ‘billikheid’ (88%). die beginsel ‘kontraktueelbindend’ (94%) word derhalwe as die belangrikste beginsel en ‘billikheid’ (88%) as die mins belangrike beginsel beskou. ’n verskil van (0,51) tussen die gbs (8.16) en die gws (8.67) toon dat die vier kontraktuele beginsels vir sowel gbs en gws bykans ewe belangrik gereken word wat daarop dui dat die bourekenaarsprofessie sterk vertoon in terme van kontraktuele kommunikasie. die siening van die respondente van al die deelnemende groepe in terme van die bourekenaarstandaard (gbs) teenoor wêreldklasstandaard (gws) betreffende die standaard van die bourekenaar in kontraktuele kommunikasie word in tabel 4 getoon. tabel 4: kontraktuele kommunikasie respondente: groepe: bourekenaarstandaard (gbs)/wêreldklasstandaard (gws) beginsels van kontraktuele kommunikasie ingenieurs gbs gws aannemers gbs gws kliënte gbs gws argitekte gbs gws bourekenaars gbs gws kontraktueelbindend 8.92+ 9.25 8.108.88 8.78 9.44 8.17 9.09 8.50 8.59 billikheid 8.25 8.92 8.108.13 7.89 9.00 8.17 8.30 8.29+ 8.44 afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit 8.17 8.67 8.008.63 8.22+ 8.67 7.92 8.55 8.17 8.58 ondubbelsinnigheid 8.33+ 9.25 7.30 8.25 7.118.67 7.58 8.64 8.11 8.45 gemiddeld 8.42 9.02 7.88 8.47 8.00 8.95 7.96 8.65 8.27 8.52 die mees positiewe resultaat van die gbs deur enige groep word in tabel 4 met ’n plusteken ‘+’ en die mees negatiewe resultaat met ’n minusteken ‘-’ aangetoon. indien die mees positiewe resultaat van die geïdentifiseerde beginsels van enige groep met die gemiddeld van die totale groep se siening vergelyk word, varieer die verskil as ’n persentasie uitgedruk van 1.0% (‘billikheid’ en ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’) tot 4.8% (‘ondubbelsinnigheid’) hoër. indien die mees positiewe resultaat van die geïdentifiseerde beginsels van ’n bepaalde groep met die gemiddeld van die totale groep vergelyk word, was die groep met ’n bourekenkundige acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 122 agtergrond vir die mees positiewe resultaat in die element ‘billikheid’ verantwoordelik wat moontlik nie op objektiwiteit dui nie. indien die mees negatiewe resultaat van die onderskeie beginsels van enige groepe met die gemiddeld van die totale groep se siening vergelyk word, varieer die verskil as ’n persentasie uitgedruk van 0.9% (‘billikheid’) tot 7.4% (‘ondubbelsinnigheid’) laer. indien die gemiddeld van 4 (vier) beginsels van die onderskeie groepe beskou word, was die respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond verantwoordelik vir die mees positiewe resultaat (8.42) en die respondente met ’n aannemersagtergrond vir die mees negatiewe resultaat (7.88). daar kan derhalwe aanvaar word dat die groep met ’n bourekenkundige agtergrond nie bevooroordeeld was nie, maar ’n relatief objektiewe siening teenoor kontraktuele kommunikasie gehandhaaf het. 6. afleidings ’n afleiding wat uit die resultaat van die respondente se siening gemaak kan word, is dat die standaard van die bourekenaar se kontraktuele kommunikasie positief ervaar word. ruimte vir verbetering manifesteer egter indien dit met die norm, wat vir die wêreldklasstandaard geld, vergelyk word. die respondente se siening dui daarop dat ‘kontraktueelbindend’ (8.49) as die mees belangrike beginsel vir die bourekenaar is om effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat die bourekenaar se vermoëns in die opstel van kontraktuele dokumentasie soos die hoeveelheidslystedokument, hoog aangeskrewe staan in die konstruksiebedryf en dat die bourekenaar se kontraktuele kommunikasie ’n sterk punt is. desnieteenstaande die positiewe reaksie van die respondente betreffende die element ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ (7.85) wat die bourekenaar benodig om effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te verseker, is die hoogste verskil (7.7%) tussen bourekenaaren wêreld klasstandaard in dié beginsel aangeteken, wat op ’n ontwikkelingsgebied kan dui. die kleinste verskil tussen bourekenaaren wêreldklasstandaard is in die beginsel ‘billikheid’ (3.5%) aangeteken, wat ook as een van berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 123 die mins belangrike beginsels (88%) relatief tot die ander beginsels geïdentifiseer is. die bourekenaarstandaard word met die mins positiewe gemiddelde waarderingsuitslag (7.88) deur die respondente met ’n aannemersagtergrond en die mees positiewe gemiddelde waarderingsuitslag (8.42) deur die respondente met ’n ingenieursagtergrond in die beginsels, aangeteken. die respondente met ’n aannemersagtergrond wat die kontrakdokumentasie van die bourekenaar gebruik, het die beginsel ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ met die laagste waarderingsuitslae uitgesonder. die afleiding kan gemaak word dat die kontrakdokumente, wat die bourekenaar vir tenderdoeleindes opstel en wat met die tekeninge en spesifikasies van die argitek en ingenieurs moet ooreenstem, nie duidelik genoeg is nie. die afleiding kan waarskynlik gemaak word dat die bourekenaar by die opstel van kontrakdokumente, onder andere die ‘hoeveel heidslyste’, moet toesien dat die belangrike beginsels ‘kontrak tueelbindend’, ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’ en ‘on dubbelsinnigheid’ teenwoordig is ten einde effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te verseker. die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar se kontraktuele kommunikasie het dus relatief goeie status binne die konstruksiebedryf, maar behoort versterk en uitgebrei te word. 7. aanbevelings in die skepping van ’n wetlike verhouding word vereis dat die betrokke partye, wat onder andere die bourekenaar impliseer, die kontrak redelik ooreenstemmend interpreteer. so ’n interpretasie moet duidelik, ondubbelsinnig, omvattend en volledig genoeg wees om onbetwisbaar, saaklik en bindend te wees. die beginsels ‘kontraktueelbindend’, ‘billikheid’, ‘afdwingbaarheid en effektiwiteit’ en ‘ondubbelsinnigheid’ wat in hierdie artikel as noodsaaklik vir die handhawing van die bourekenaar se effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie geïdentifiseer is, moet doel gerig ontwikkel en versterk word. die onderriginstellings wat bourekenkunde of verwante programme aanbied, moet die ontwikkeling van die kontraktuele kommunikasie-vaardighede van studente beklemtoon om te verseker dat hul markgereedheid ’n professionele vlak bereik het. acta structilia 2013: 20(1) 124 die artikel het aangetoon dat die bourekenaarsprofessie sterk in effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie vertoon, maar dat daar ook in hierdie geval voortgesette beplanning en ontwikkeling moet wees om die professie op die voorpunt van die konstruksiebedryf ten opsigte van kontraktuele vermoëns te hou. verwysingslys ashworth, a. 1992. cost studies of buildings. harlow, england: longman scientific & technical. berry, f.h. 2007. the influence of quantity surveying procedures on communication and communication instruments in the construction industry. in: proceedings of the 11th pacific association of quantity surveyors (paqs) congress on construction from a different perspective, 9-13 june. auckland, new zealand. berry, f.h. 2012. volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf. proefskrif (phd. q.s.). bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. bowen, p., cattell, k., michell, k. & kabayanondo, e. 2006. the effectiveness of construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process. acta structilia, 13(2), pp. 19-38. chappell, d. 2008. construction contracts, questions and answers. london: taylor & francis. emmitt, s. & gorse, c. 2003. construction communication. oxford: blackwell. farlex. the free dictionary. 2008. definition of world-class. [internet]. beskikbaar by: <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/> [besoek 14 maart 2011]. finsen, e. 2005. the building contract: a commentary on the jbcc agreements. cape town: juta. gruber, c. 2004. maturity model of the project-orientated organisation [slideshow presentation]. 2004. pm days ’04 – education & research conference. vienna: wirtschafts universität, 24-27 november. haplin, d.w. 2005. construction management. danvers: clearance center. jbcc (joint building contracts committee). 2007. jbcc series 2000: principal building agreement edition 5.0 r1 code 2101. johannesburg: joint building contracts committee. loots, p.c. 1985. engineering and construction iaw. cape town: juta. berry & verster • die volwassenheid van die bourekenaar 125 malherbe, g. de c & lipshitz, m. 1978. malherbe & lipshitz on building contracts. pretoria: national development fund for the building industry. mckenzie, h.s., mckenzie, s.d. & ramsden, p.a. 2009. mckenzie’s law of building and engineering contracts and arbitration. 6th edition. johannesburg: juta. miners, t.w. 1969. communications and cost control in the building industry with special reference to the role of the quantity surveyor. unpublished thesis (phd). pretoria: university of pretoria. miners, t.w. 1971. communications and cost control in the building industry. csir special report bou 24. pretoria: csir. odendal, f.f., schoonees, p.c., swanepoel, c.j., du toit, s.j. & booysen, c.m. 1994. hat: verklarende handwoordeboek van die afrikaansetaal. 3de hersiene uitgebreide uitg. midrand: perskor. scottish union & national insurance co ltd v native recruiting corporation ltd. 1934. ad 458 at 465. 64 john smallwood, nceba ncunyana & fidelis emuze preferential procurement in the public sector: the case of amathole peer reviewed and revised abstract the end of the apartheid era in south africa ushered in a new institutional environment through changes to legislative frameworks in government departments. a key aspect of the transformation is the economic empowerment of the mainly historically disadvantaged groups in the country through procurement. the thrust of the issue is the assessment of the extent of compliance with act no. 5 of 2000: preferential procurement policy framework act (pppfa), 2000 at government departments, with particular focus on the amathole region of the eastern cape province. the assessment was undertaken in a qualitative and quantitative research study conducted among key construction industry stakeholders such as public-sector clients, architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors based within the amathole region. selected findings include that there is a perceived low level of awareness of preferential procurement in the public sector as the majority of the institutions investigated have not completely implemented procurement responsibilities as a dedicated function within their organisations. another significant finding arising from the study is that there are conflicting perceptions among consultants regarding procurement strategies for different types of project. keywords: construction, consultants, procurement, public sector, south africa prof. john smallwood head of department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 2790 fax: 041 504 2345 email: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> mr nceba ncunyana msc graduate department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 2790 fax: 041 504 2345 email: <nceba.ncunyana@nmmu.ac.za> mr fidelis emuze phd candidate department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041 504 2399 fax: 041 504 2345 email: <fidelis.emuze@nmmu.ac.za> smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 65 abstrak die einde van die apartheidsera in suid-afrika het ‘n nuwe institusionele om gewing deur veranderinge aan wetgewingsraamwerke in regeringsdepartemente ingelei. ‘n sleutelaspek van die transformasie is die ekonomiese bemagtiging van die hoofsaaklik historiese agtergeblewene groepe in die land deur verkryging. die kruks van die saak is die assessering van die omvang van inwilliging met wet no. 5 van 2000: wet op raamwerk vir voorkeurverkrygingsbeleid deur regeringsdepartemente met spesifieke fokus op die amathole streek van die oos-kaapprovinsie. die assessering is deur ‘n kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingstudie onder sleutelkonstruksie industrie-aandeelhouers soos openbare sektor kliënte, argitekte, ingenieurs, en bourekenaars binne die amathole streek gedoen. geselekteerde bevindings sluit in dat daar ‘n lae vlak van bewustheid oor voorkeurverkryging in die openbare sektor is omdat die meerderheid instansies wat ondersoek is nie volledig verkrygingsverantwoordelikhede as ‘n toegewyde funksie binne hul organisasies geïmplimenteer het nie. ‘n ander noemenswaardige bevinding uit die studie is die botsende persepsies onder konsultante aangaande die strategieë vir verskillende projektipes. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, konsultante, verkryging, openbare sektor, suidafrika 1. background according to the construction industry development board (cidb) (2004: 1), procurement was identified as a tool to achieve economic reform to regulate a bias in award of contracts in favour of historically disadvantaged individuals (hdis) in south africa. this type of procurement, termed preferential procurement, was formally initiated in 1998 in south africa. at the beginning, an interim strategy for public sector procurement reform in south africa, commonly known as the ten-point plan, was developed by the department of public works. the ten-point plan paved the way for the promulgation of act no. 5 of 2000: preferential procurement policy framework act (pppfa), 2000 (republic of south africa, 2000a: 1). the pppfa introduced a principle of equity and black economic empowerment within the traditional system. the pppfa primarily regulates the establishment of conventional procurement systems with point-scoring parameters that relate to cost and empowerment indicators. hdis are targeted to benefit when procuring services in the public sector of south africa through preferential means. different options could hence be considered to contract for professional services. the pppfa identifies two categories of point-scoring. these two categories are referred to as 90:10 and 80:20 point-scoring systems (cidb, 2004: 5). they are differentiated by a contractual value, and the procuring institution must specify such value in the acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 66 preferential procurement policy. the initial points are allocated to cost and the latter points to empowerment indicators. the pppfa also prescribes that all government institutions must develop preferential procurement policies for awarding such contracts in a credible fashion. in particular, the pppfa requires state institutions to determine their preferential procurement policy and to implement it within the framework through a preference point system, which dictates that (cidb, 2004: 5): for contracts with a rand value above a prescribed amount, • a maximum of 10 points may be allocated for specific goals provided that the lowest acceptable tender scores 90 points for price; for contracts with a rand value equal to or below a prescribed • amount, a maximum of 20 points may be allocated for specific goals provided that the lowest acceptable tender scores 80 points for price; any other acceptable tenders which are higher in price must • score fewer points on a pro rata basis, calculated on their tender prices in relation to the lowest acceptable tender in accordance with a prescribed formula, and the contract must be awarded to the tenderer who scores • the highest points unless objective criteria in addition to that pertaining to specific goals justify the award to another tenderer. further, the framework provides examples of specific goals in that it states that specific goals may include contracting with hdis, any specific goal for which a point may be awarded, and any goals contemplated must be measurable, quantifiable and monitored for compliance (cidb, 2004: 5). to this end, the department of treasury is a custodian of act no. 53 of 2003: broad based black economic empowerment (bbbee) act, 2003. the bbbee act complements the pppfa, and broadens the target areas for business sectors in order to address the six critical areas of empowerment (south africa, 2003: 1): increasing the number of black people that manage, own • and control enterprise and productive assets; facilitating ownership and management of enterprises and • productive assets by communities, workers, cooperatives and other collective enterprises; human resource and skills development;• smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 67 achieving equitable representation in all occupation • categories and levels in the workforce; preferential procurement, and• investing in enterprises that are owned or managed by black • people. in essence, in addition to the bbbee, public-sector clients have to comply with the prescripts of the pppfa in relation to empowerment, which sets the framework within which organs of state must implement their empowerment policies (saace, 2006: 2). to be succinct, as construction is one of the sectors targeted by the bbbee act, builtenvironment consultants are thus relevant to the implementation of the reform. hence, the focus of the study among built-environment consultants is justified, taking into account the role they play with respect to the facilitation and implementation of constructionrelated investment projects. an additional responsibility would then be to ensure the successful integration of empowerment or social goals with project development goals. hence it is important that targeted procurement be rightfully implemented in appointing builtenvironment consultants. in order to gain understanding of these issues, the study assesses the extent to which pppfa directives are observed by the public sector using the amathole region as a case study. the pppfa directives were tested by measuring compliance with its prescripts through the lens of public-sector employees and selected consultants based within the amathole region. the adequacy of management systems, including statutory decision-making processes, integration of procurement responsibilities, and the capacity of institutions to comply with the directives, were investigated. 2. literature review the perceived reliance of the public sector on consultants (bowen, pearl, cattell, hunter & kelly, 2007: 63) underscores the need to examine how their services are procured for construction project purposes. the extent of integrating project-development objectives with social objectives is related to how preferential procurement forms an inherent element of overall project goals (cidb, 2007: 1). hence, preferential procurement should be considered at the earliest possible stage of the project and should be carried through the subsequent stages in sequence. empowerment targets should be included when procurement is driven by preferential principles. such issues as employment and/or acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 68 training of hdis should feature as early as the conceptual stage. in south africa, there are six prescribed built-environment professions recognised by act no. 43 of 2000: council for built environment act, 2000. these professions include the (south africa, 2000b: 1): architectural profession;• project and construction management professions;• engineering profession;• landscape architectural profession;• property valuers profession, and• quantity surveying profession.• however, this study is limited to three professions, namely the architectural profession, the engineering profession, and the quantity surveying profession. these professions have different roles to perform in different project environments. in particular, appointments of professional services by state institutions are essentially governed by a number of legislative frameworks. according to table 1, legislative frameworks that directly affect procurement in south africa total five in number (saace, 2006: 2). of this number, two are directly related to equitable procurement systems. table 1: procurement-related legislative frameworks in south africa constitution of the republic of south africa (act no. 108 of 1996) – section 217 states that government procurement systems must be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective fair transparent competitive and cost-effective equitable public finance management act (act no. 1 of 1999 municipal finance management act (act no. 56 of 2003) construction industry development board act (act no. 38 of 2000) preferential procurement policy framework act (act no. 5 of 2000) broad based black empowerment act (act no. 53 of 2004) pfma mfma cidb pppfa bbbee public-sector clients public-sector clients publicand private-sector clients public-sector clients publicand private-sector clients source: saace (2006: 2) the pfma and mfma that emanated from national treasury, inter alia, prescribe how procurement in the public sector should be undertaken. the cidb act provides for the establishment of the construction industry development board (cidb), which is an entity of the department of public works. the act mandates the cidb to, inter alia, provide strategic leadership to industry stakeholders in smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 69 order to stimulate sustainable growth as well as reform and develop the industry in order to bring about improved performance of the industry (south africa, 2000c: 1). pursuant to its mandate therefore, the cidb embarked on the publication of statutory regulations and guidelines such as the cidb standard for uniformity in construction procurement (sfu), which refers to the cidb best practice guidelines for construction procurement for procurement-related issues. specifically, the cidb best practice guideline number a7 addresses the procurement of professional services (cidb, 2007: 9). the recommended procedures for the appointment of professional service providers according to the guideline took cognisance of the importance of quality and price. where quality is deemed to be the most important criteria, the guidelines state that negotiated procedure, proposal procedure using the two-stage system, open procedure, qualified procedure, proposal procedure using two envelopes, and quotation envelopes, should be used for complex projects. where price is deemed to be the most important criterion, the guideline recommends negotiated procedure, nominated procedure, open procedure, and quotation procedure for the appointment of consultants for routine projects. however, the then south african association of consulting engineers (saace), now known as consulting engineers south africa (cesa), recommended that the selection procedure for the appointment of consultants should be ability-based or quality-based (saace, 2006: 4). in terms of ability selection, the appointment may be made by referral, panel or roster. it is notable that the roster system of selection has been popular in south africa as it ensures that work is automatically rotated among firms on the roster, using a number of specific selection criteria, which include position on roster, size of firm, fields of competence, locality of offices, and empowerment criteria (saace, 2006). in addition, in terms of quality-based selection that comprises prequalification, submission of proposals, evaluation of proposals, and agreement, saace (2006: 5) recommends that firms may be selected based on skills and qualifications of personnel; technical competence; targeted selection criteria such as empowerment goals or local capacity; reputation; experience on similar projects; capacity to undertake the project; understanding and commitment to the client’s interests; impartiality; professional integrity; quality management system, and knowledge of local issues. nevertheless, although the construction sector is perceived to be promoting government’s policy and preferential procurement with its perceived benefits, kajimo-shakantu & root (2006: 306) acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 70 argue that preferential procurement policies remain a ‘contested’ concept from a conflict theory perspective. they contend that, despite the efforts and progress made by government since the inception of the pppfa, access to work opportunities provided by preferential procurement is not always translated into sustainable empowerment. in particular, they observe that the reason why preferential procurement is so significant to the south african construction industry is the dual role of government as a major client of the sector and policymaker, as well as it being labour-intensive with low barriers to entry coupled with the structure of the construction industry. however, these have not overcome the challenges of meeting socio-economic objectives (kajimo-shakantu & root, 2006: 303). they note that inadequate management systems and lack of capacity within the public sector, poor and inconsistent procurement practices by client bodies, fronting and the abuse of subcontractors, poor management and inadequate skills, lack of permanent relationships in structured joint ventures, lack of access to capital and finance, and high competition and unprofitable tender prices are challenges working against the realisation of the benefits of preferential procurement practices. 3. the research given the extensive roles allocated to local government in terms of the implementation of municipal infrastructure projects, the perceptions of stakeholders in the public sector were deemed important to the findings of this particular study. as vividly amplified in the department of provincial and local government (dplg), (2006) document entitled municipal infrastructure: roles and responsibilities, the contributions of the public sector to the provision of municipal infrastructure cannot be overemphasised. as a result, the sample frame of the research project was constituted by twelve institutions, which include all nine (9) municipalities in the district, and three provincial departments. the common element within the organisations that were surveyed is that they are all responsible for major public sector capital infrastructure programmes. the three provincial departments include the department of public works (dpw), the department of transport (dot), and the department of housing (doh). these departments are either individually or collectively responsible for a number of projects related to the delivery of roads, transport infrastructure and municipal infrastructure for housing development. the nine municipalities are mbashe, mnquma, great kei, amahlathi, buffalo smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 71 city, ngqushwa, nkonkobe and nxuba local municipalities, and the amathole district municipality (adm). according to a recently released report, adm has the second largest economy in the province, contributing 33% to the provincial economy (adm, 2011: 24). east london, bhisho, butterworth and king williams town are areas of significant economic activity in the district which is concentrated mainly within the central business districts (cbd) of these major towns. these towns also function as centres of economic activity for neighbouring areas and smaller towns, with manufacturing, trade, finance and community services sectors dominating the district’s economy. the report further notes that the economy of the district is dominated by the community services sector. the dominance of this sector that includes the government sector is partly attributed to the location of the provincial government head offices in bhisho. this sector is also a major employer as it accounted for 38% of all formal jobs in the adm. however, a growing modern economy linked to global production chains in east london is contrasted with an extremely poor rural economy in former homeland areas (adm, 2011: 25). an unemployment rate of 30% was recorded in the area in 2009 and 50% of the population in the district were estimated to be living below the minimum living level threshold. high levels of poverty and inequality thus exist, especially in the eastern part of the district. therefore, the adm report contends that there is a major need for investment in social and economic infrastructure throughout the district, but especially in the rural areas (adm, 2011: 25). this contention therefore amplifies the need to re-examine the dynamics related to procurement or rather preferential procurement in the public sector in the district. forty consulting firms constituted the sample stratum. a random sample undertaken during interviews to avoid bias of views resulted in a sample size of thirteen. in addition, leedy & ormrod (2005: 200207) provide guidance for the descriptive method adopted for datageneration and analysis. the qualitative data-generation stage was preceded by preliminary research done to arrive at important constructs for the interview. this approach comprised personal interviews of the procurement managers of one municipality, one provincial department and one district municipality using a non-standardised semi-structured schedule, accompanied by questionnaires distributed to targeted professionals working in builtenvironment consulting practices in the region. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 72 a pilot study using the draft questionnaire at two public-sector institutions and two built-environment consultants yielded useful feedback. the feedback was incorporated in the final version of the questionnaires, which were administered to the respondents. due to the busy schedule of the targeted managers and consultants, a copy of the questionnaire was e-mailed to each respondent for his/her personal attention. e-mailed questionnaires were also followed-up with telephonic reminders. findings from an extensive literature survey and the outcome of these interviews were used for the second quantitative data-production stage comprising the design, pre-test and administration of a structured questionnaire among selected public-sector institutions and practising professionals in the region. the structured questionnaire for procurement managers consisted of three sections. the first section (a) of the questionnaire addressed the demographic background of the respondent and section two (b) aspects of knowledge and background relating to the basis for operational effectiveness such as existence of policy and strategies used on procuring consultants. section three (c) addressed institutional capacity, which included aspects such as training and development of personnel. 4. findings and discussion table 2 indicates the academic profile of the public-sector procurement officials who responded to the survey. it is notable that 42% of the respondents are engineers, while quantity surveyors and architects collectively constitute only 16%. in effect, 58% of the respondents are professional built-environment practitioners. table 3 indicates the respondents’ perceptions of compliance with pppfa legislative directives in their respective institutions. it is notable that out of the 13 possible responses, 92% of the respondents are of the opinion that, in terms of compliance, their institutions can be deemed to be complying with pppfa directives by having functional tender committees and ensuring that employees have thorough knowledge of the pppfa. further, 67% of the respondents perceive that compliance with tender evaluation points (either 80/20 or 90/10), as stipulated in the pppfa, is adequate in their institutions, while only 50% affirm that their institutions have pppfa-related procurement policy in place. however, it is instructive to note that there is more compliance within the provincial departments than in the municipalities. in particular, only 40% of the municipalities have fully complied with the pppfa directives. smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 73 table 2: professions of procurement officers profession municipalities provincial government total no. % engineer 5 0 5 42.0 quantity surveyor 1 0 1 8.0 architect 1 0 1 8.0 supply chain 1 0 1 8.0 others 1 3 4 33.0 total 9 3 12 100.0 table 3: compliance with legislative directives legislative directive municipalities provincial government total dpw dot doh no. % knowledge of pppfa 8 1 1 1 11 92.0 procurement policy in place 3 1 1 1 6 50.0 tender evaluation point i.e 80/20 5 1 1 1 8 67.0 functional tender committee 8 1 1 1 11 92.0 table 4 indicates that the respondents are of the opinion that seven public-sector institutions have tender technical personnel (58%); twelve public-sector institutions have tender committees (100%), and five public-sector institutions have audit committees as part of pppfa-related required management structures (42%). in particular, four municipalities have tender technical personnel, nine municipalities have tender committees, and three municipalities have audit committees in place. it is also notable that, with the exception of the dot, all three provincial departments have the desired management structures in place. table 4: institutional set-up for procurement function statutory structures municipalities provincial government total dpw dot doh no. % tender technical 4 1 1 1 7 58.0 tender committee 9 1 1 1 12 100.0 audit committee 3 1 0 1 5 42.0 table 5 indicates the respondents’ perceptions of the extent of compliance of their respective institutions with operational capacity requirements in terms of pppfa procurement. in general, only three acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 74 municipalities and the provincial departments place statutory structures such as procurement officers, a procurement unit, and procurement employees in place. in effect, only 50% of the public sectors have operational capacities required for the implementation of pppfa procurement directives. therefore, within the surveyed institutions, the capacity of procurement units varies from one support employee to a multi-disciplinary team of personnel who account to the procurement officer. table 5: operational capacity indicators statutory structures municipalities provincial government total dpw dot doh no. % procurement officer 3 1 1 1 6 50.0 procurement unit 3 1 1 1 6 50.0 procurement staff 3 1 1 1 6 50.0 hence, it can be assumed from the above analysis that institutions follow different processes in the procurement of consultants, since appointments are strongly dictated by institutional capacity arrangements or limitations. the analysis of the aforementioned findings ultimately led to the emergence of two distinct categories of institutions pertaining to the discourse. the categories include: category 1: institutions with procurement units, and• category 2: institutions without procurement units.• the implications of this assumption are that category 1 institutions seem to follow the process presented in figure 1 with the contract influences being undertaken by the line functions. the procurement unit would then be involved with the procurement strategies and the monitoring of such during the contract execution stage. in terms of category 2 institutions, there seems to be no distinctive line drawn between the contracting influences and the procurement strategies to the extent that procuring officers fuse these two into one process without a clear stage breakdown, as if there is no distinction. smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 75 figure 1: components of a procurement system source: watermeyer 2004: 33 having considered the issues that may influence the appointment of consultants by public-sector institutions based at amathole, the views of built-environment consultants were sought in order to arrive at robust perspectives relative to pppfa implementation. to this end, table 6 indicates the professional group, as well as the age of the businesses that were surveyed. in particular, all respondents to the survey were directors of their respective businesses at the time of the research, possessing either an academic diploma or degree qualification. out of the thirteen consulting practices surveyed, 61.5% have been in existence for over ten years, 23.1% have been in existence for over six years, but less than ten years, while 15.4% have been in existence for less than five years. therefore, it can be assumed that the majority of the built-environment respondents are a need for supply, services or engineering and construction works triggers the procurement process methods• procedures• policy• delivery or provision of engineering or construction works, services and supplies or any combination thereof concludes the procurement process # principal activities associated with the procurement 1 establish what is to be procured 2 decide on procurement strategy 3 solicit tender offers 4 evaluate tender offers 5 award contracts 6 administer contracts and confirm compliance acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 76 sufficiently experienced in the industry to provide valid inputs relative to the subject under investigation. table 6: profile of built-environment consultants age of firm (years) engineer architect quantity surveyor total no. % 0 5 1 1 0 2 15.4 6 10 1 1 1 3 23.1 > 10 8 0 0 8 61.5 table 7 indicates the level of the consulting practices’ awareness of the pppfa. the table suggests that 76.9% of the engineers that responded to the survey are aware of the pppfa, while 7.7% of the architects and quantity surveyors surveyed affirmed their awareness of the act. perhaps, the high percentage of awareness reflected relative to engineers may be ascribed to the fact that engineering consultancies constitute the greater percentage of respondents. table 7: awareness of act no. 5 of 2000: preferential procurement policy framework act, 2000 profession yes (%) engineer 76.9 architect 7.7 quantity surveyor 7.7 table 8 indicates the respondents’ perceptions relative to publicsector compliance with pppfa requirements. the findings suggest that 61.5% of the respondents are of the opinion that they comply with the ‘developed equity plan’-related pppfa directive; 76.9% with the ‘established equity targets’-related pppfa directive; while 15.4% with the ‘established equity committee’-related pppfa directive. however, it is notable that none comply with the ‘hdis in equity committee’ directive. table 8: observing preferential procurement policy requirements pppfa directive engineer architect quantity surveyor total no. % developed equity plan 8 0 0 8 61.5 established equity committee 2 0 0 2 15.4 hdis in equity committee 0 0 0 0 0.0 established equity targets 8 1 1 10 76.9 smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 77 table 9 indicates the respondents’ perceptions of procurement methods used for engaging built-environment consultants after the promulgation of the pppfa act in 2000. specifically, the respondents perceive that on average: 31.5% of appointments are based on open competition; 12.7% are based on closed competition, and 45.5% are based on selection/roster. however, given the 5.0% and 6.7% response percentages, the appointments based on prequalified competition and negotiated contracts can be deemed to be limited. table 9: profile of procurement methods used by clients procurement method engineers (%) architects/ quantity surveyors (%) mean (%) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 open competition 0 55 25 50 20 30 60 60 60 0 50 0 0 31.5 closed competition 0 15 60 0 60 0 10 20 0 0 0 0 0 12.7 pre-qualified competition 0 15 0 0 20 0 10 20 0 0 0 0 0 5.0 negotiated contract 0 10 67 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.7 selection/ roster 0 5 67 50 0 70 10 0 40 100 50 100 100 45.5 5. conclusions and recommendations the findings of this study reveal that in amathole, the level of preferential procurement awareness in the public sector can be deemed to be low. the majority of the public-sector institutions have seemingly not institutionalised procurement responsibilities as a dedicated function within their organisations. this is more prevalent in local government in the region, as only the district municipality, and one local municipality achieved a significant level of compliance. although there are conflicting perceptions among consultants regarding procurement strategies for different types of project, there is, however, an observed improvement in hdi shareholding patterns. in addition, there is a limited structured approach regarding the matters of hdi integration on governance structures such as equity committees within consultants. therefore, it is recommended that capacity-building programmes be streamlined to focus on preferential procurement requirements. a comprehensive programme must be developed to deal with the gaps identified in the study across the public sector. acta structilia 2011: 18(2) 78 in addition, synergy must be developed between provincial and local government procurement policies and structures for effective preferential procurement monitoring. this must be conducted under the supervision of a neutral procurement ombudsman to prevent social complexities as envisaged in the ten-point plan. perhaps the cidb can perform the function of ombudsman. policy must address, inter alia, the dynamic nature of services being procured, and the different types of project. consultation with stakeholders such as consultants should be given priority when developing such policies so that common ground is achieved with procurement strategies. in this way, public-sector institutions would be obliged to take charge of their responsibility and can be monitored on a continuous basis with persistent support being provided in a structured manner. integrating procurement as part of the performance management systems and developing a balance scorecard wherein preferential procurement inputs, processes and outputs are clearly stipulated and easy to monitor is deemed necessary. references adm (amathole district municipality). 2011. 2011/2012 draft integrated development plan: version 5 of idp 2007-2012. east london: adm. bowen, p., pearl, r., cattell, k., hunter, k. & kelly, j. 2007. the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa: a research agenda. acta structilia, 14(2), pp. 58-75. cidb (construction industry development board). 2004. best practice guideline b1: formulating and implementing preferential procurement policies:1st edition of cidb document 1007. pretoria: cidb. cidb (construction industry development board). 2007. best practice guideline a7: procurement of professional services: 2nd edition of cidb document 1035. pretoria: cidb. dplg (department of provincial and local government). 2006. municipal infrastructure: roles and responsibilities of national sector department, provincial counterparts and municipalities. pretoria: dplg. kajimo-shakantu, k. & root, d. 2006. exploring the significance of preferential procurement policies for the south african construction industry. in: proceedings of the cib w92 procurement systems smallwood, et al. • preferential procurement in the public sector 79 conference, university of salford, 29 november-1 december 2006, pp. 298-309. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th ed. new jersey: pearson prentice hall. republic of south africa. 2000a. act no. 5 of 2000: preferential procurement policy framework act, 2000. pretoria: government printer. republic of south africa. 2000b. act no. 43 of 2000: council for the built environment act, 2000. pretoria: government printer. republic of south africa. 2000c. act no. 38 of 2000: construction industry development board act, 2000. pretoria: government printer. republic of south africa. 2003. act no. 53 of 2003: broad based black economic empowerment act, 2003. pretoria: government printer. saace (south african association of consulting engineers). 2006. guideline: how to select and appoint a consulting engineer. johannesburg: saace. watermeyer, r.b. 2004. a generic and systematic approach to procurement: a case of an international standard. saice, civil engineering, 12(11), pp. 31-36. acta structilia-13(2) 19 paul bowen, keith cattell, kathy michell & elby kabayadondo the effectiveness of construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process peer reviewed abstract the main purpose of construction project briefing is to effectively transform the needs of the client from an abstract form into a concrete form. research indicates a clear link between effective briefing and client satisfaction with their resultant buildings. this article documents the findings of a study concerning the effectiveness of construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process. a case study approach was adopted. the sample included clients, building users, architects, quantity surveyors and project managers. the main finding was that there are no methodical procedures in place in the early stages of briefing. conceptually, the various project participants were found to have a generic understanding of what ought to be included or excluded from briefing and debriefing, but there appears to be significant gaps between theory and practice. keywords: briefing, interpersonal communication, client, design, construction project prof. paul bowen, head of department, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch, 7700, south africa. telephone: +27 21 650 3445, email: bowenpa@ebe.uct.ac.za associate prof. keith cattell, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch, 7700, south africa. telephone: +27 21 650 3443, email: ksc@ebe.uct.ac.za ms kathy michell, senior lecturer, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch, 7700, south africa, telephone: +27 21 650 3443, email: hallka@ebe.uct.ac.za mr elby kabayadondo, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch, 7700, south africa. telephone: +27 21 650 3443 20 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) abstrak die hoofdoel van konstruksieprojek-voorligting is om die kliënt se behoeftes vanuit abstraktheid tot in ’n werklike struktuur doeltreffend te omskep. dat kliënte as gevolg van behoorlike meedeling van projekopdragte wel met hul voltooide geboue tevrede gestel word, is deur navorsing bewys. hierdie artikel bied die bevindinge voortvloeiend uit ’n gevallestudie oor die doeltreffendheid van konstruksieprojek-voorligting as interpersoonlike kommunikasieproses, aan. die steekproef het kliënte, verbruikers van geboue, argitekte, bourekenaars en projekbestuurders ingesluit. die hoofbevinding is dat tydens vroeë voorligtingstadia, word geen stelselmatige prosedures toegepas nie. begripsgewys, dra die verskeie deelnemers algemene kennis van faktore wat tydens projekvoorligting en -evaluering inof uitgesluit behoort te word, maar blykbaar bestaan daar aansienlike leemtes tussen teorie en die praktiese toepassing daarvan sleutelwoorde: voorligting, interpersoonlike kommunikasie, kliënt, ontwerp, projek 1. introduction the history of briefing in the construction industry can be tracedback to the 1950s when architects, influenced by sociologicalthinking, began to devise a method in design and a motive for brief-making. some of the architects and planners who played major roles in the evolution of briefing practice include louis kahn, horst rittel, christopher alexander and frank duffy (blyth & worthington, 2001). the period from the 1970s through to the 1990s saw the practice moving from perceiving briefing and design as rigid interfaces to viewing briefing as an integral component of design. to this end, communication has become the core component of the briefing process in order to co-ordinate the various entities of the brief. research indicates a clear link between effective briefing and client satisfaction with completed projects (bowen, 1999; barrett & stanley, 1999; o’reilly, 1973). this article documents the findings of a study concerning the effectiveness of construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process. a case study approach was adopted, with semistructured interviews being used to elicit participants’ views of the case studies under investigation. the sample included clients, building users, architects, quantity surveyors and project managers. 2. theoretical framework 2.1 the concept of briefing the construction industry board (1997) defines briefing as an informative process by which the needs and desires of the client are communicated to others either officially or unofficially. similarly, taylor et al. (1980) define briefing as a process of interactions between entities that result in the production of something uniquely different from the original entity. the end product of this endeavour is the ‘brief’, the outcome of information gathered from studies, surveys, discussions and a number of judgments (hymas, 2001). it is a formal, official, and functional document stipulating the client’s requirements, prepared well before design commences and is endorsed by both the client and design team (construction industry board, 1997; gray et al., 1994, kelly et al., 1992). the client’s main objective will be the erection of a fully useful structure that justifies the need for which it is built (chartered institute of building, 2003). 21 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing 22 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) communication may be thought of as a transaction between sender and receiver (fischer, 1978). within the context of the briefing process, the roles of sender and receiver are played consecutively by both parties i.e., client and design team. viewing communication as an interpersonal transaction implies a form of conveyance or transportation across space. the components of this perspective consist of the ‘message’ (travelling across space from one point to another), the ‘channel’ (the mode of conveyance of the message), the ‘source’ and ‘receiver’, ‘encoding’ and ‘decoding’ (the process of transforming a message from one form to another at the point of transmission and destination), ‘noise’ (the extent to which the fidelity of the message is reduced), and ‘feedback’ (a message that is a response to another message). the transactional view of interpersonal communication is depicted in figure 1. noise message/feedback message/feedback encoder decoder encoderdecoder (channel) (channel) source-receiver source-receiver figure1: a transactional view of interpersonal communication source: fisher, 1978 in terms of communication theory (see, for example, feldberg, 1975), the process of structuring the client’s brief may be thought of as an ‘encoding’ process. it entails the client presenting a ‘mind model’ to the design team, who in turn improves and develops it (bowen, 1995). one of the outcomes of this process is the outline brief, which contains an adequate documentation of the client’s perception of his or her needs. the brief should be able to communicate the client’s needs to other professionals, including those who did not participate in the briefing process per se (emmitt & gorse, 2003; gray et al., 1994). the client’s brief should also stipulate the possible limiting factors that require practical alternatives to be formulated. the process of brief construction is depicted in figure 2 below. 23 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing figure 2: the briefing process source: blyth & worthington, 2001: 54 blyth & worthington (2001) argue that the briefing process should allow for the flow of information from the strategic brief to a well defined client need with feedback loops to allow for reviewing and alterations. on the supply side, communication is between the design and production teams. effective communication is imperative to ensure compatibility between design groups. bridging the demand and supply sides implies obtaining information from both sides making decisions and sharing a common understanding. essentially it is a process of exchanging briefs from either end. clients initiate the briefing process by communicating their needs. the designer then gives meaning to the client’s need in the context of plans, drawings, sketches and models and communicates the information to the client. 2.2 what are the responsibilities of the sender and receiver that can add to the successful communication of the client’s brief in construction projects, information exchange occurs between the client and the design team, between individual design team members, as well as among members of the client team. the sender, whether client or design team member, has the responsibility of structuring information in a way that is detailed, clear and unambiguous. hence, the obligation of attaining shared meaning is placed on the sender (emmitt & gorse, 2003; bowen, 1993; feldberg, 1975). in an attempt to attain shared understanding, clients normally hold frequent face-to-face meetings with design teams. the design team’s level of brief understanding is determined by the fit between reinterpretation of needs and the original ones as reflected in the design product. bowen (1993: 17) asserts that “feedback is the main mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of the communication process.” client feedback is necessary for objective balancing (wallace, 1987). barriers to effective communication may rise if the person within the client organisation fulfilling the role as the communication sender is inexperienced. it must be remembered that the design team is performing a service for the client’s satisfaction. what this implies is that the design team also has a duty to actively seek clarification from the client. thus, according to bowen (1993), the design team needs to understand the political climate prevailing in the client’s organisation and also to take cognisance of the client’s level of sophistication. in practical terms, the very nature of the communication process necessitates that all participants adopt sender and receiver roles, meaning that the onus for the attainment of shared meaning is joint and several. 2.3 problems associated with the briefing process there is potential for misunderstandings and communication breakdowns in any human communication interaction (rougvie, 1991). it is necessary to recognise and acknowledge the existence of the hurdles which cause barriers to effective communication if the efficiency of the briefing process is to be improved (brown, 2001). the following are identified in the literature as some of the barriers to successful briefing: • agendas: the client organisation is usually composed of individuals who might be sharing work on different projects and who have different goals and objectives (bowen, 1993; rougvie, 1991; coles, 1990). many of their interests are poorly articulated, making it difficult to translate them into the language of building (emmitt & gorse, 2003; brown, 2001). even within the design team, members might hold conflicting priorities and aspirations, and may not have aligned themselves with the objectives of the client (bowen et al., 1999). for example, the client may desire the maximisation of revenue generation, the architect might be primarily interested in aesthetic optimisation (at the expense of time and cost), while the quantity surveyor is likely to be concerned with 24 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) minimising the capital cost (at the expense of architectural ‘magnificence’ (brown, 2001; higgin & jessop, 1965). failures to reconcile such individual frames of reference often result in different factual interpretations of the brief (blyth & worthington, 2001). • language and perception: the most common influences on perception, namely assumptions, cultural expectations, motivation and attitude, amongst others are all relevant factors in the briefing process, as is language with its many complicating factors, like abstraction, complexity, etc. a distinction needs to be made between the factors influencing perception and those of language. the potential for misunderstandings is high when professionals with composite traditional and educational backgrounds meet, since language, culture and traditions all influence perceptions (brown, 2001). there is a particularly high likelihood that this will be a problem in the south african environment (bowen, 1995). further, the high level of abstraction and technical language, such as is used in the price messages sent to architects and clients by the quantity surveyor render the attainment of shared meaning difficult (bowen, 1993). on this issue, gray & hughes (2001) note that the use of jargon is only valuable to those who share it to quickly express complex issues. where it is used between groups of differing backgrounds, it is likely to result in ineffective communication (bowen, 1993). • translation: the translation of the client’s brief can be problematic during development of the design. extracting meaning can be highly subjective, and hence conflictual. attempts on the part of the receiving party (consecutively both client and design team members are receiving parties) to seek clarification might be misconstrued as fault-finding rather than the need to understand, sometimes leading to conflict (verma, 1996). • specialisation: with increased specialisation in the design process it becomes difficult for design team members to easily reach a common understanding regarding the ‘best’ solution to the client’s need. unless the receiving party has some ‘specialised’ knowledge on the subject, they have to rely on ‘trust’ that the level of expertise applied is appropriate. gray & hughes (2001) claim that the traditional role 25 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing of the architect or engineer has been fragmented into numerous areas of specialty. they attribute this to the increased diversity of client need, technological advancement, and institutional defensiveness. bowen (1995) considered that such fragmentation of design results in a lack of mutual appreciation of specialised knowledge areas. • lack of formality at inception: a study by bowen et al. (1999) found that there is a tendency for communication at the inception stage to be informal, based on the finding that the majority of the architects surveyed operated without any established brief-eliciting procedures. another example of informality, from an earlier survey (bowen, 1993), revealed that the majority of quantity surveyors did not make use of engagement letters in communicating price-related information to clients and architects. this study also established that quantity surveyors and architects invariably did not receive written copies of the client’s brief. this is obviously problematic as failure to properly document and agree upon the client’s brief will result in the absence of a frame of reference against which to evaluate the actions of members of the design team and the resultant building. • role ambiguity and participation: inexperienced clients and sometimes even design team members are unsure about what their individual roles should be as these are not clearly defined at the outset of the project, resulting in confusion, ‘ambiguity and unfulfilled expectations’ (blyth & worthington, 2001: 86; tunstall, 2000). duplication or omissions of tasks are normally the result of unclear responsibilities, which can culminate in delays and confusion. brown (2001) and gray et al. (1994) point to a ‘wheel of dominance’ whereby different groups predominate at different times of the project life cycle. the interpersonal communication process can therefore be influenced and complicated by various factors (like dynamics within various teams) at different stages of the project, which will reflect in its effectiveness. disagreements also exist regarding what constitutes a comprehensive brief, with a distinct perceptual gap between the client’s and the architect’s definitions thereof (bowen et al., 1999). brown (2001) refers in this regard to the ‘stranded user’, who is effectively excluded from the briefing process and is subsequently a victim of perceptual gaps between the designer and the user, and, between the client and the user. 26 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) • brief modifications: frequent changes to the design brief present the potential for misunderstandings in communication between participants. these, coupled with changes after the completion of the detailed design, often impact negatively on the project (rougvie, 1991). higgin & jessop (1965) attribute the issue of late changes to inadequate examination of the client’s needs and the possible constrains to the realisation of those desires. this culminates in the development of an inadequate brief that is unlikely to be completely comprehended by all stakeholders. • medium of brief transmission: the form in which the brief is communicated to, and within, the design team is important. the brief can be presented in written form, written combined with oral or oral form alone. problems can result when only oral presentation is used since the receiving audience might forget some details or fail to properly comprehend the brief. in the studies of bowen (1995) and bowen et al. (1999) it emerged that architects were invariably provided with the brief in an oral format. drawings and written documents, if they are not properly conceived, will give rise to delays in the project, additional expense to the client, and the potential for disputes and claims (emmitt & yeomans, 2001). 2.4 research questions it is against this background that the following research questions were formulated, the objective being that, collectively, they would (i) assist in developing an understanding of the problems associated with construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process and (ii) provide direction in the solution of these problems. question 1: what are the barriers to effective briefing? question 2: how can the communication of the client’s brief be improved? question 3: what are the responsibilities of the sender and receiver that can enhance communication of the client’s brief? question 4: what steps can be taken to develop a shared language between the client and the design team? 27 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing as a result the hypotheses under investigation are non-directional since the study seeks to expose communication issues that affect the briefing process rather than proving or disproving their existence. the propositions to be examined are as follows: • the effectiveness of the briefing process as a communication tool is dependent upon the medium of communication, inclusion of the design team in the initial presentation, and the client and designer’s experience; and • briefing is a process and not an event. 3. research method the scientific method was not adopted for this research project. rather, triangulation was utilised within a case study context. the study described in this paper attempted to explain the possible causes of poor understanding of the client’s brief based on the opinions of clients, designers, quantity surveyors and project managers. previous studies, for example bowen (1999), used national questionnaire surveys of these professionals, but a limitation of this approach is that it is incapable of examining context-specific issues (yin, 1994). the case study approach allows a phenomenon to be studied within its natural context, which makes it particularly appropriate in the exploration of social events, because they are usually intertwined with the environment (miles & huberman, 1994; yin, 1994). the case study approach requires the selection of more than one case (yin, 1994). two cases were selected for analysis, the basis of selection being that they should be current or very recent projects in order to ensure the freshness of participants’ memories. semistructured interviews have the potential to produce rich data and are therefore particularly appropriate in the analysis of cases (gillam, 2000). therefore, semi-structured interviews were used as the main method of gathering empirical information, but design drawings, project briefs, and the design models were also examined. due to practical limitations it was not possible to interview every participant, thus only the clients, departmental representatives, quantity surveyors, architects and project managers were interviewed. the structural and electrical engineers and contractors did not participate in the study, the major reason for this being that the rationale for the study was not on the construction of the building per se but on (process leading to construction) briefing. interviewing clients (both sponsors 28 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 29 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing and users) was necessary since they are the ones whose needs had to be satisfied in terms of the resultant building. 4. description of the cases the two cases selected for study comprised two major buildings on the university of cape town (uct) campus. 4.1 case 1 — new chemical engineering building (nceb), uct the nceb is a modern structure situated on uct’s upper campus. the need for a new building arose because the original chemical engineering building’s capacity (130 undergraduate and 12 postgraduate students) could not accommodate current student intake numbers. the project was initiated in 2002 and completed in 2004. the building generates 8300 assignable square metres and has the capacity to accommodate 450 undergraduate and 130 postgraduate students. the estimated budget for the project was r56.2 million. the organisational structure for the nceb project is depicted in figure 3 below. the project organisational structure was partitioned into six levels. at the apex of the organisation was the university of cape town (uct) council. the council acted as the client on behalf of the institution (uct). it commissioned and governed the project and had the overall say over all decisions made at the lower levels. figure 3 shows that level two had two sections. the first one was the university fund raising committee (ufc). the ufc was responsible for sourcing funds and monitoring fund raising projects. the second one was the university building and development committee (ubdc). the ubdc dealt with the design development proposals that were brought by the design team. it was also responsible for assessing any major changes done by the design team to the design. in addition it was in charge of approving tender lists and made recommendations for tender approval by council. all construction progress and cost reports were handed to the ubdc on monthly basis. 30 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) uct council ufc ubdc project director communication operations fundraising financial design &construction commissioning (logistics) pic dept. chairman, chemical engineering representative, donor representative, planning and implementation, properties and services, university finance committee, chemical engineering industrial advisory board, head of department, project director, project manager figure 3: nceb organisational structure level three was made up of the project implementation committee (pic). the committee had users, the project manager and representatives from the finance, communication and development (fund raising) departments. in essence, every lower level section had a representative in the pic. the professional team would be invited on occasional basis. the pic met on monthly basis. its responsibilities were to make or endorse all major design decisions, review cost reports, prepare monthly reports to the ubdc and strategise fund raising. essentially it ran the project. decisions were reached through balloting. the fourth level constituted the project director who was in charge of running the lower sections. thus the day to day issues from the communication, operations, fundraising, finance, design and construction departments were directly handled by the project director, pending monthly review by the pic. there was also an external communication interface at this level which was responsible for public updates on issues such as donations made to the project. the fifth level was composed of the communication and operations sections. these oversaw the movement of information and events in the project and would report to the project director. the level below was, however, not accountable to these two departments as they would report directly to the project director. the sixth and last level was made up of sections that raised project funds, managed the project budget, designed and constructed the building and managed the project logistics. this is the level at which the design team was located. 31 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing 4.2 case 2 — the institute of infectious diseases and molecular medicine (iidmm), uct the iidmm building houses a research institute, and is located on uct’s health sciences faculty campus opposite grootte schuur hospital. the need for the building arose in the 1990’s as a result of issues that were impacting negatively on the quality of research. it was thus hoped that the new structure would revitalise research activities. the project was initiated in 2001 and completed in 2005. the building generates 8000 assignable square metres and the approved budget was r45.2 million, which later rose to over r55 million. the organisational structure of the project is depicted in figure 4 below. it can be seen from fig. 4 that the iidmm project had five hierarchical levels. the first level was the uct council. the council was in charge of all major decisions such as approval of tenders on behalf of the university and the overall running of the project. uct council ubdc fundraising design &construction project implementation committee users, project manager, departmental (iidmm) representatives development department representatives, finance department & communication department representatives project committee interim director executive director financial figure 4: iidmm organisational structure the second level comprised the university building and development committee (ubdc). the ubdc committee evaluated the designs, which were proposed by the design team, and any major design alterations. it was also responsible for endorsing tender lists and made recommendations to the uct council on tenders that were worth approval. monthly progress and cost reports were handed to the committee during the construction stages. the third level was the project implementation committee (pic). the pic was comprised of representatives from all facets of the project. these included the fundraising, communication, and finance sections. an internal academic person chaired the pic. it ran the project and met on monthly basis to make major design decisions, organise and strategise fundraising, review cost reports, and prepare monthly reports for the ubdc. at the fourth level was the project committee. the project committee was composed of the project interim director and the executive director. this committee was responsible for running events that were ‘occurring on the ground’. thus, the fundraising, finance and design and construction sections reported directly to the project committee. the committee would, in turn, give monthly updates on cost and design to the project implementation committee. the design team was located at level 5. a total of nine participants took part in the interviews in respect of both projects, comprised as follows: • new chemical engineering building: the interviewees for this project consisted of the project director, the academic departmental representative, the internal client, as well as an independent quantity surveyor, an architect and a project manager (an engineer). the three professional academics were selected for a number of reasons. firstly, they participated in the project from brief development to completion. secondly, they occupy offices within uct buildings and have detailed knowledge of the students’ and facility managers’ needs. • iidmm building: here the interviewees consisted of the interim director, the internal client, an independent architect and quantity surveyor, as well as the project manager. interestingly, the project manager and the internal client were each the same persons for both projects. their views were considered important to facilitate an inter-project comparison. the reason for interviewing one architect and one quantity surveyor from each of the two projects was twofold. firstly, there was equal representation of views from both projects in terms of numbers. second, they had taken a more active role in the briefing process than most of the other participants. the questions asked of the interviewees were put into four broad categories as follows: • what is a brief and who should participate in developing the client’s needs? the rationale was to see if the participants had 32 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) started off on the same level of understanding as far as knowledge of client needs; issues to be prioritised and the value of each member in developing the brief are concerned. • how was the brief communicated to the design team? this question was raised to identify the media used to communicate the brief, the networks established to remit information, whether all members were briefed as a group or serially, and steps taken to ensure comprehensive understanding of the brief. • how was information communicated between members? this question was necessary to identify barriers that impeded proper understanding of information and remedies that can be used to overcome such problems in future endeavours. • what is debriefing and who should participate in the process? it was important to explore participants’ level of awareness of the endeavour, who are the beneficiaries of the exercise, and more importantly, if participants did in fact conduct debriefing. in addition, secondary sources were investigated for the cases under investigation. this involved the use of design documents, project briefs, and artefacts such as the design models. it was necessary to go through design documents to assess the extent to which they represented the brief. 5. general findings the findings revealed that: firstly, even though participants seemed to have a shared understanding of a project brief, they had varied opinions of what constitutes a comprehensive brief. for instance, the iidmm interim director and the iidmm quantity surveyor believe that a brief should focus on the relationship between the building and the cost of construction. however, the nceb project director asserted that equal weight should be put on all the variables (cost, time, space requirements, and client’s objectives). it should be noted that some interviewees were reluctant to provide detailed project-specific information, preferring to speak in generalities relating to the projects. the internal uct client (for both projects) is of the view that, in the absence of project experience, other factors such as passion for the project (as was the case with iidmm internal client), or adequate knowledge of a need (as was the case with the iidmm interim director) are sufficient for an effective briefing process to occur. interestingly, all interviewees agreed that, while 33 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing changes to the brief are to be expected, the brief should be frozen after the detailed design stage. it was also agreed that if changes to the brief are to be minimised, the design team needs to have sufficient time to resolve conceptual and detailed design issues. the quantity surveyors on both projects and the project director on the nceb project commented that changes were more easily accommodated in terms of their effect on cost and time, if affected between the inception and detailed design stages rather than after this particular stage of design. clients’ perceptions of barriers to effective understanding of the brief seem to differ from that of the design team professionals. the iidmm interim director was unaware that the absence of a written brief had resulted in the design team requiring more time than usual to fully comprehend the nature and extent of the brief specifications. committing project events to writing was regarded as a good way to enhance shared understanding. this observation came from the iidmm project manager. the major communication barrier faced by all of the design team members was the slow movement of information between the members of the team. information management seems to be one way of ensuring speedy movement of messages. however, according to the iidmm interim director, trade-offs need to be made between the monitoring information and the friction that the monitoring of information processes may cause between project participants. all interviewees were aware of the need and desirability of conducting debriefing sessions at the completion of projects. the project organisational structures for the cases under investigation may be seen to be divisional and hierarchical in nature, rendering debriefing difficult in practice. at first glance, the iidmm project appeared to have over-run its approved budget of r45.2m by some r5m. a number of reasons readily explain this anomaly. firstly, the initial approved budget concerned the refurbishment and alterations to the existing building. however, during the execution of the contract it was found necessary to demolish part of the building to facilitate extensions thereto. moreover, the external works were considerably extended to provide parking facilities on level ground. when questioned about the apparent cost over-run, the interim director of the iidmm project claimed that the financial changes were ‘manageable’ as the requisite funds ‘were available’. 34 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 35 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing 6. discussion of the main research findings 6.1 what are the barriers to effective briefing? the study revealed that the absence of written brief and written information in general impedes understanding of information. in some projects the brief is passed serially from the client to the design team members. thus, most of the design team members receive brief information indirectly. serial presentation of information implies different environments and contexts, which has an influence on the communication process. recipients are less likely to comprehend the brief in the same way, giving rise to gaps in perception. the unclear articulation of needs and a lack of detail results in the design team taking lengthy periods to comprehend the client’s requirements, prolonging the design phase of the project. constant ‘panel-beating’ of the client’s needs also hampers the progress of design. the practice of having a project implementation committee may be seen to be problematic since the absence of one of the members sometimes means that decisions cannot be finalised promptly. 6.2 how can the communication of briefing information be improved? all interviewees emphasised the need to commit project events to writing and to use verbal communication as the sole means of communication, cautiously and sparingly. all interviewees expressed the need for professional assistance in brief formulation and regarded it as desirable that the client be accessible to all design team members and considered it undesirable that the architect or project manager should act as ‘gatekeepers’ to the client. they also advocated the importance of efficient information management and a sufficient supply of information, as this increases the likelihood that the right person will receive the right information at the right time. some interviewees regarded the anticipation of changes and the prior formulation of alternative ‘plan b’ approaches as important. 6.3 what steps can be taken to develop a shared language between design team members? there was general consensus among the interviewees that the issue of conflicting languages and cultures is largely a result of team members not taking the trouble to learn about each other. the perceived solution was to encourage design team members to socialise informally prior to the commencement of the project. in addition, the view was expressed that the use of drawings and figures with (written or oral) explanatory notes is one route to follow to facilitate shared understanding. interviewees were in agreement that, for the attainment of shared meaning during the briefing process, it is the responsibility of both senders and receivers to engage in effective interpersonal communication. 7. conclusions this research has illustrated that even though there is, at a general level, understanding of the importance of the briefing process amongst construction professionals in south africa, the practice of briefing is very project specific and lacking in consistency. for instance, inconsistencies exist in the manner in which clients pass on the brief to members of the design team. in the nceb case study clients communicated the brief in written and oral format, and in the iidm case, the technical brief was presented in written format and the balance was orally presented. despite the inconsistencies in the choice of medium when presenting the brief, there was acceptance of the need to exchange information in written format. at present this appears to be done mainly via the use of notes and other explanatory documents relating to the project. one way in which design team members can demonstrate their understanding of the brief is by way of face-to-face feedback meetings with the client where they present a briefing report for sign-off by the client. this report should encapsulate the understanding by the design team of the nature and extent of the client’s needs. acceptance of this document by the client is then taken as explicit acceptance of the design team’s interpretation of the client’s brief. there is evidence in the cases under investigation of the slow movement of information between design team members. given the fact that most events on projects are arranged sequentially i.e. they are task dependent, information delays can cause overall delays. thus, information management is one aspect of design team communication that requires careful monitoring and control. there is a gap between practice and the participants’ knowledge and appreciation of the debriefing process. debriefing, which is essential for the attainment of shared meaning and service improvement, was not done on either of the cases studied. 36 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 37 bowen, cattell, michell & kabayadondo • construction project briefing references barrett, p. & stanley, c. 1999. better construction briefing. oxford: blackwell science. blyth, a. & worthington, j. 2001. managing the brief for better design. london: spon press. bowen, p.a. 1993. a communication-based approach to price modelling and price forecasting in the design phase of the traditional building procurement process in south africa. unpublished phd thesis, south africa: university of port elizabeth. bowen, p.a. 1995. a communication-based analysis of the theory of price planning and price control. rics research paper series, no.2, london: royal institution of chartered surveyors. bowen, p.a., pearl, r.g. & edwards, p.j. 1999. client briefing processes and procurement method selection: a south african study. journal of engineering, construction and architectural management, 6(2), pp. 91-104. brown, s. 2001. communication in the design process. london: spon press. chartered institute of building (ciob). 2003. code of practice for project management for construction and development. oxford: blackwell publishing. coles, e.j. 1990. design management: a study of practice in the building industry. berkshire: the chartered institute of building. construction industry board. 1997. briefing the team: a guide to better briefing for clients. london: thomas telford. emmitt, s. & gorse, c. 2003. construction communication. blackwell publishing, oxford. emmitt, s. & yeomans, d.t. 2001. specifying buildings: a design management perspective. oxford: butterworth-heinemann. feldberg, m. 1975. organizational behaviour: text and cases. cape town: juta. fisher, b.a. 1978. perspectives on human communication. new york: macmillan. gillham, b. 2000. case study research methods. london: continuum. gray, c. & hughes, w. 2001. building design management. oxford: butterworth. 38 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) gray, c., hughes, w. & bennett, j. 1994. the successful management of design: a handbook of building design management. united kingdom: centre for construction studies, reading university. higgin, g. & jessop, n. 1965. communications in the building industry: the report of a pilot study. london: tavistock institute publications. hymas, d. 2001. construction companion: briefing. london: riba publications. kelly, j., mcpherson, s. & male, s. 1992. the briefing process: a review and techniques. london: the royal institution of chartered surveyors. miles, m.b. & huberman, a.m. 1994. qualitative data analysis. 2nd edition. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. o’reilly, j.j.n. 1973. a case study of a design commission: problems highlighted; initiatives proposed. current paper cp 27/73, watford: building research station. rougvie, a. 1991. construction technology and management: project evaluation and development. london: mitchell. taylor, a., rosegrant, t., meyer, a. & samples, b.t. 1980. communicating. new jersey: prentice-hall. tunstall, g. 2000. managing the building process. johannesburg: butterworth-heinemann. verma, k. 1996. human resource skills for the project manager. pennsylvania: project management institute. wallace, w.a. 1987. the influence of design team communication content upon the architectural decision making process in the precontract design stages. unpublished phd thesis, heriot-watt university. yin, r.k. 1994. case study research: design and methods. 2nd edition. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. acknowledgements the authors wish to acknowledge, with thanks, the valuable inputs of the referees. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left /calgrayprofile (dot gain 20%) /calrgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /calcmykprofile (u.s. web coated \050swop\051 v2) /srgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /cannotembedfontpolicy /error /compatibilitylevel 1.4 /compressobjects /tags /compresspages true /convertimagestoindexed true /passthroughjpegimages true /createjdffile false /createjobticket false /defaultrenderingintent /default /detectblends true /colorconversionstrategy /leavecolorunchanged /dothumbnails false /embedallfonts true /embedjoboptions true /dscreportinglevel 0 /syntheticboldness 1.00 /emitdscwarnings false /endpage -1 /imagememory 1048576 /lockdistillerparams false /maxsubsetpct 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 73 oorsigartikels • review articles henry deacon & elma van der lingen the use of the critical path and critical chain methods in the south african construction industry peer reviewed and revised abstract the purpose of this article is to report on an investigation of the use of critical path and critical chain methods in the south african construction industry. through a questionnaire survey, data was collected to establish which construction sectors apply these methods, the percentage of construction professionals using these methods, the reasons why these methods are applied, and the factors that influence the use of these methods. based on the findings, the critical path and critical chain methods are mostly used in the south african construction industry by the building sector, in comparison to the civil and industrial sectors. the critical path method is used more than the critical chain method, with over 70% of the responding companies applying the critical path method and only 22% applying the critical chain method. the latter method is considered to be a relatively new project management tool and requires a culture change in the company. users of the critical path method believe that the method mainly improves their project understanding, planning, scheduling and control, with all these improvements ultimately leading to better on-time completion of projects and cost saving. keywords: critical path method, critical chain method, construction, project management, ccpm abstrak die doel van die artikel is om die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf se gebruik van die kritiesepadmetode en die kritiesekettingmetode te ondersoek. data is deur middel van ’n vraelys ingewin om te bepaal watter konstruksiesektore die metodes gebruik, asook die persentasie-gebruik deur professionele persone in die konstruksiebedryf, die onderliggende redes vir die toepassing van die metodes en die faktore wat die gebruik hiervan beïnvloed. die navorsing het bevind dat die kritiesepadmetode en die kritiesekettingmetode in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf meer in die bousektor gebruik word mr henry a. deacon: m.eng. student, graduate school of technology management, department of engineering and technology management, university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. phone: 012-4205939, fax: 012-3625307, email: <henryadeacon@gmail.com> prof. elma van der lingen, graduate school of technology management, department of engineering and technology management, university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. phone: 012-4205939, fax: 012-3625307, email: <elma.vanderlingen@up.ac.za> acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 74 as in die siviele en industriële sektore. die kritiesepadmetode word deur meer maatskappye en op meer projekte gebruik as wat die kritiesekettingmetode deur die konstruksiebedryf gebruik word, met meer as 70% van die responderende maatskappye wat van die kritiesepadmetode gebruik maak teenoor 22% wat die kritiesekettingmetode gebruik. die laasgenoemde metode word as ’n jong metode beskou en implementering vereis kultuurveranderinge in die maatskappy. gebruikers van die kritiesepadmetode glo dat die metode help met die verbetering van projekbegrip, beplanning, skedulering en beheer, met al die verbeteringe wat lei tot beter optydafsluiting van projekte en kostebesparing. sleutelwoorde: kritie sepad metode, kritieseket ting metode, kon struk sie, proje kbe stuur 1. introduction the critical path method (cpm) has been in use for approximately 55 years (dilmaghani, 2008: 10) and has become the construction industry’s main standard for project scheduling. the critical chain method (ccm) has been in use for only 17 years (goldratt, 1997). since its introduction in the late 1950s, the cpm has proven to be a useful tool for planning and controlling construction projects (dilmaghani, 2008: 10). the cpm allows project managers to identify critical activities by evaluating the times when activities can start and finish, determining activity float, and assessing the effect of adjustments in duration and logical relations on the overall project duration. over the past three decades, the use of the cpm has drastically increased in the construction industry, due to its benefits and the noteworthy advancements that have been made in both computer hardware and scheduling software. the cpm is a valuable asset for construction projects, because it enables contractors to determine resource requirements, vendors to finalise material deliveries, and subcontractors to establish when work can be performed. goldratt’s book critical chain (1997) introduced the ccm, often referred to as critical chain project management (ccpm), as a new technique for scheduling, monitoring and controlling. any organisation that implements this relatively new methodology hopes to make the most of the opportunity to reduce the project completion time significantly. the theoretical basis of the ccm, the theory of constraints (toc), claims that the weakest link in the system determines construction efficiency (goldratt & cox, 1984). therefore, the core factor influencing the efficiency of construction is the capability of the weakest link. according to goldratt (1997), the critical chain is the longest path formed from resource balances on the basis of a detailed consideration of the logical and resource constraints that exist between project activities. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 75 no comprehensive, structured investigations have been conducted to establish what circumstances influence the utilisation of the cpm and ccm in south africa’s construction industry. furthermore, no publications differentiate the factors associated with the implementation success of the cpm and ccm in this sector in south africa. therefore, south african construction professionals’ experience and use of the cpm and ccm are unknown. the primary focus of this article is to determine the application of the cpm and ccm in the south african construction industry with the following subobjectives: • to determine which of the construction sectors (building, civil and/or industrial) apply the cpm and ccm. • to obtain the percentage of professionals who use these methods. • to define the prevailing reasons why these methods are applied. • to clarify the factors that influence the use of the cpm and ccm. 2. background 2.1 development of the critical path method henry laurence gantt introduced the gantt chart (bar chart) in 1916 (weaver, 2012: 7). since then, bar charts have been used extensively for planning and monitoring construction projects. menesi (2010: 10) states that, although this is a simple format that efficiently communicates the required information, such bar charts have restrictions, as the logical relationships between activities are not considered. this complicates the updating of the schedule as the project progresses. in the late 1950s, e.i. du pont de nemours company, as well as the univac applications research centre of remington rand collaborated to develop the cpm, which is based on the bar chart (dilmaghani, 2008: 10). the cpm is an algorithm for scheduling a large number of activities in complex project plans, where the “critical path” is the sequence of dependant tasks, where if there is a delay, will cause the end date to move out (stelth & le roy, 2009: 23). for example, a project manager can determine the critical path of activities by evaluating the start and finish times of activities, determining the activity float/delay and assessing the effect of duration modifications. 2.2 development of the critical chain method in their book entitled the goal: a process of ongoing improvement, goldratt & cox (1984) introduced the toc as an operations management method with the purpose of continuously improving acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 76 profit, return on investment, and cash flow. the toc considers that the total system output is determined by a bottleneck or single constraint, with the best possible system performance being accomplished by managing the constraint. the t o c emphasises that constraints and non-constraints require different management and behavioural rules to manage flow by allowing for uncertainty, for example, rework and unscheduled stoppages. the toc proposes a five-step sequence: identifying the constraint, exploiting the constraint, subordinating the constraint, elevating it, and repeating the process (pretorius, 2014). goldratt extended the toc to the project environment by introducing the concepts of the ccm in his book critical chain, which offers a better understanding of how the toc concepts can be applied to singleand multi-project environments. in toc, the constraint determines system (organisational) performance. similarly, in projects, toc states that the critical path determines project performance. thus the constraint in a project is the critical path (goldratt, 1997). the purpose of the critical chain is to enable projects to finish promptly, within budget, and without curtailing the project scope. cook (1998: 21) summarised the following key features of the critical chain: • it is a cultural change in project management. • multi-tasking is avoided. • it accumulates all safety buffers at the end of the project instead of building them into activity estimates, and protects the critical chain against insecurity. • it focuses on the project constraint (the longest chain of dependent resources or activities). different terminologies for the ccm are also used in the literature, for example, ccpm (dilmaghani, 2008: 2), critical chain scheduling (ccs) (yang, 2007: 25), and critical chain scheduling/buffer management (ccs/bm) (herroelen, leus & demeulemeester, 2002: 48). 2.3 comparison and differences between the cpm and ccm the project management institute (2013: 176-178) defines the critical path, the cpm, the critical chain, and the ccm as follows: • the critical path is the longest link of successive activities that determines the project completion date on a schedule, deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 77 where the entire schedule will be delayed by delays in the critical path. • the cpm is the method used for planning, monitoring and controlling the project schedule based on the determined critical path. • the critical chain is the longest link of successive activities taking resource constraints into consideration, where the completion date of the project is only finalised after a project buffer has been added to the end of the critical chain. • the ccm is the project schedule planning, monitoring and controlling method that uses the critical chain, first, for scheduling, by determining the critical chain and buffers and, secondly, for monitoring and controlling the project schedule in terms of the buffers. the safety buffers (sb) of the cpm schedule are included in each activity (see figure 1), whereas ccpm refers to a single project buffer (pb) at the end with the ccm. feeding buffer (fb) is located wherever a non-critical path feeds into a critical path. the cpm is further only used on a single-project basis, while the ccm can be used as a multi-project scheduling solution, in addition to its applicability for single-project use (lechler, ronen & stohr, 2005: 53). t1 sb t2 t3 t6 t4 t5 sb sb sb sb sb (a) t1 t4 t5 t2 t3 t6 pb fb (b) figure 1: the (a) cpm with implicit safety buffers and the (b) ccm with explicit project buffers with t = task; sb = safety buffer; pb = project buffer; fb = feeding buffer. table 1 provides a comparison of the main characteristics of the cpm and ccm as adapted from stelth & le roy (2009: 32-33). acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 78 table 1: comparison of the cpm and the ccm characteristic critical path method critical chain method project finishing date a realistic date is believed to be met. it has a high level of probability and is assured throughout with buffers. project schedule cpm establishes the project start and end. the path can be adjusted during the project. ccm determines the end of t h e project, but the start is o f t e n determined by a noncritical activity. the chain does not adjust. project variation variation is implicit and expected to balance out throughout the project. variation is explicitly planned and handled during the project with buffers. schedule management each activity must be kept on schedule according to the calendar i n o r d e r to keep the project on schedule. buffers are managed to absorb variation efficiently i n o r d e r to keep the project on schedule. schedule tracking activity starts and finishes are thoroughly tracked. schedule slippage is important and must be monitored closely. buffer status is thoroughly tracked. when any task starts or finishes with respect to the calendar is insignificant. task completion people are assessed in terms of whether or not their tasks are late with regard to their committed calendar date for activity completion. half of all tasks are anticipated to take longer than scheduled and the buffers absorb such variation. project reviews fixed reviews are scheduled to assess the project progress to date. floating reviews are set off by phase completion and buffer status is reviewed for the probability of project completion. non-critical activities slack the total slack that non-critical paths have is irrelevant and not monitored. non-critical activities should have adequate feeding buffers to protect the critical chain. resource management resources should be multitasked to make progress on every project. multi-tasking of resources is avoided at all costs. 2.4 use of the cpm and ccm by construction industries several surveys have confirmed that the use of the cpm in the construction industry has been growing over the years. kelleher (2004: 36) analysed the data from three surveys conducted in 1974, 1990 and 2003, respectively. these surveys investigated how the top 400 contractors in the usa, as identified by engineering news record (enr), used the cpm. the study revealed that the cpm was used on deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 79 75% of contracts and was regarded as a valid management tool by 98% of the respondents in 2003. given the mixture of both small and large contractors, hawkins (2007) conducted a survey in 2007 that proved that small and medium-sized construction firms also utilise the cpm for project management and that it is not only the enr’s large top 400 firms that do so. a study by georgy, marzook & ibrahim (2013) revealed that the main reasons why construction professionals in egypt and saudi arabia use the cpm are that no highly sophisticated skills are required; it assists in dispute resolution; it is valued as a management tool; cost and time are saved, and it is mostly a contract requirement. georgy et al. (2013: 8) state that, of the construction professionals in egypt and saudi arabia, 10% and 44% of the respondents, respectively, were of the opinion that the ccm does not add any genuine value to project planning. however, the ccm is appreciated as a fresh and innovative methodology. 2.5 criticism of the critical path method the study by kelleher (2004: 38) indicated that the cpm’s disadvantages are excessive implementation work, logic abuse, too much reliance on specialists, and lack of awareness of field personnel requirements. contractors may find the cpm beneficial for progress status analysis and updating activity data, but not as useful in supporting other essential aspects, such as corrective actions and identifying execution problems. kuhn (in hegazy & menesi, 2010: 1078), states that, while the owners and managers of contracting companies recognise the value of using cpm, contractors cannot use it effectively, because the critical path does not reflect reality. this is supported by menesi (2010: 2) who states that the cpm algorithm is based on two idealistic assumptions during the project planning stage, namely that resources are limitless and that the project deadline is unrestricted. 2.6 criticism of the critical chain method trietsch (2005: 33) claimed that most of goldratt and cox’s concepts preceded the publication of their book the goal: a process of ongoing improvement. for example, he referred to a book by pervozvansky as the original idea of the constraint. however, he conceded that goldratt made a notable contribution to project management. steyn (2001: 368-369) states that the application of acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 80 the toc to project management was not customary prior to the introduction of the ccm, and he quotes sources that argued that the critical chain philosophy derived a great deal from oldfashioned methods. in a case study, lechler et al. (in repp, 2012: 45) pointed out that a reason for failures of the ccm was that the critical chain was becoming extremely difficult to manage, as there were too many buffers. herroelen et al. (2002: 59) state that it is possible for different software packages to determine completely diverse critical chains and non-minimal baseline schedules, with the critical chain then having to be selected randomly. the literature reveals that a higher percentage of construction professionals are now using the cpm than in the past. it is hard to identify any single reason why use of the cpm has grown; it is rather a combination of factors. overall, users of the cpm are of the opinion that they are successfully reaping the benefits of the method. the literature further uncovers that the ccm, although it may be successfully implemented in certain industries, is still unfamiliar in the construction industry. though many construction professionals have doubts about achieving positive results with the implementation of the ccm, many still expect partial success. 3. research methodology 3.1 research questions and hypotheses this research study is descriptive and conclusive, as it is aligned with the identified research questions and hypotheses. table 2 indicates the research questions and hypotheses that were formulated for this research study. table 2: research questions and hypotheses number questions hypotheses 1 what types of construction companies (building, civil or industrial) use the cpm in south africa? h1: the cpm is used by all types of construction companies in south africa. 2 what types of construction companies (building, civil or industrial) use the ccm in south africa? h2: the ccm is used by all types of construction companies in south africa. 3 what is the percentage of construction professionals’ use of cpm in south africa? h3: the cpm is implemented by approximately 90% of construction professionals in south africa. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 81 number questions hypotheses 4 what percentage of construction professionals in south africa use the ccm? h4: the ccm is used by approximately 15% of construction professionals in south africa. 5 why do construction professionals in south africa use the cpm and the ccm? h5: construction professionals in south africa use the cpm and the ccm mainly for project scheduling, tracking, and control. 6 what factors influence the use of the cpm in the south african construction industry? h6: the use of the cpm is mainly influenced by contract requirements. 7 what factors influence the use of the ccm in the south african construction industry? h7: the use of the ccm is mainly influenced by improving systems throughput. 3.2 research philosophy and approach the philosophy that is associated with the research problem is the positivism paradigm, which is followed throughout the research process. the key concepts of the positivism philosophy are the following: i the researcher is detached from, independent of, and not influenced by the research subject. ii the research emphasises a highly structured methodology for replication intentions. iii the research produces quantifiable observation that can be examined statistically. a deductive approach is more appropriate for a positivism paradigm, which classifies this research study as deductive or theory testing in nature. zikmund (2002: 46-47) states that deductive reasoning involves the process of reasoning from one or several general statements in order to achieve a logical conclusion. the key concepts of the deductive approach are as follows: • the approach forms a hypothesis or theory and devises the research to investigate the hypothesis. • it is more oriented to positivism. • it is scientific research. • it strives to clarify fundamental relations between variables. • it is more probable to gather quantitative data. • the approach is very structured. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 82 3.3 methodology the data collection tool was a questionnaire that was set up in an electronic web-based program (survey monkey). a questionnaire was deemed to be the most appropriate method of data collection for this research. albaum, wiley, roster & smith (2011: 687) state that it is fast becoming the favoured method of distribution for self-administered surveys. the questionnaire for this research is self-administered and respondents were contacted by email. the questionnaire design is based on closed-type questions. zikmund (2002: 333) maintains that closed-type questions are easier to answer, as they require little skill and less time from respondents. the questionnaire consisted of three sections: • the first section clarified the study and asked for basic information, such as the respondent’s name, company name, and current management level. the purpose of these questions was to determine the company and the respondent’s management position in the company. • the second section tested the various respondents’ application of the cpm. these questions were all pre-coded. an openended option was included in case the respondent’s response did not fall into one of the pre-coded options provided. the purpose of these questions was to determine the application of the cpm in the south african construction industry. • the third section tested the various respondents’ application of the ccm. these responses were also pre-coded; with the choice of an open-ended response, should the response not fall into one of the pre-coded options provided. the purpose of these questions was to determine the application of the ccm in the south african construction industry. because descriptive research seeks to answer certain questions, welman, kruger & mitchell (2005: 23) propose it to clarify the characteristics of a population or phenomenon. this research study is descriptive and conclusive, as it will be aligned with the identified research questions and hypotheses. construction professionals’ application of the cpm and the ccm is clearly defined and well researched by kelleher (2004), hawkins (2007), repp (2012) and honiball (2012), which substantiates the quantitative nature of this research. a survey is believed to be appropriate for the collection of data and to accomplish the research objectives. the benefits of surveys are the reason for the selection of this strategy. zikmund (2002: 195) highlights deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 83 that surveys can provide accurate, economic and fast means of attaining information for objectives. saunders, lewis & thornhill (2009: 94) state that the survey approach affords the researcher more control over the research process. wyse (2012) highlights the following shortcomings of on line ques tionnaires: • respondents may not always provide honest answers, as they could be concerned that they present themselves in a negative manner. • closed-type questions might give the survey a lower validity rate, as question non-responses could result in data errors. bias could also be created if the number of respondents who choose to answer a certain question differs from those who choose not to answer. • self-administered surveys run the risk of having errors. 3.4 population and sample the contact information of members of the south african council for project and construction management professionals (sacpcmp), master builders south africa (mbsa), and the national home builders regulation council (nhbrc) was obtained from each organisation’s website. these organisations represent employers and contractors who operate in the construction industry and are leading national representative bodies in this sector. e-mails requesting the company’s participation in the study were sent directly to company staff members. the e-mails provided a link to the survey. response to the survey was voluntary. from the 321 companies, 63 respondents agreed to participate in the survey. however, 22 respondents were disqualified, due to incomplete responses. therefore, 41 responses (13%) were used to evaluate the study’s results. it is, however, not possible to conclude that the survey results represent the entire range of contractors. the low responses provided a limitation to the generalisation of the results to the entire industry. however, the results represent the section of companies/ industries that chose to participate. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 84 4. results and discussion 4.1 profile data on company and respondents figure 2 categorises the responding companies by size according to annual construction revenue. the majority (41%) of the respondents are from a large company with an annual construction revenue exceeding r50 million. the least number (27%) of respondents are categorised as medium-sized firms (annual revenue between r15 million and r50 million), and 32% represented the small company category with an annual construction revenue of less than r15 million. >r50m 41% <r15m 32% r15m to r50m 27% figure 2: the size of representative companies according to annual turnover figure 3 indicates the construction industry sectors, in which the responding companies that use the cpm and the ccm are involved. the majority (59%) of the respondents conduct building construction, 41% civil construction, and 14% industrial construction. the “other” option was selected by 45% of the respondents and included electrical, mining and petrochemical construction, as well as regulation of the home-building industry, power plants, reticulation networks and solar energy. the survey results showed that 35% of the companies are involved in more than one construction sector. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 85 57% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% building building civil civil industrial industrial other other 43% 43% 13% pe rc en ta g e re sp on d en ts construction sector figure 3: the different construction sectors in which the respondents who use the cpm and the ccm are involved table 2 illustrates that a relatively high percentage (34%) of the respondents are project managers who manage individual projects. the second-most selected option was “other” (27%) and included chief executive officers, provincial managers, proposal estimators, contract managers, co-managing directors, construction managers, and several quantity surveyors. these results indicate that the respondents represent a relatively wide distribution of positions within the companies. table 2: the respondents’ positions within the companies position in company main task response percentage project team member works on project tasks 20% project manager manages individual projects 34% programme manager manages a portfolio of projects 12% senior management is reported to by project and programme managers 20% project management consultant provides guidance on managing projects 7% contractor external contractor/subcontractor/supplier 2% other 27% acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 86 4.2 use of the cpm and the ccm the cpm was used more than the ccm, with over 70% of the responding companies applying the cpm and only 22% applying the ccm (see figure 4). the majority (82%) of the large companies used the cpm, compared to 69% and 64% of the small and medium-sized companies, respectively. the majority of the smaller companies made use of the ccm, compared to medium-sized and large companies. 73% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% overall use small (<r15m) meduim (r15m r50m) large (>r50m) 22% 22% cpm ccm 69% 44% 64% 33% 82% pe rc en ta g e re sp on d en ts company size figure 4: overall usage of the cpm and the ccm according to company size (some companies make use of both cpm and ccm, resulting in >100%). figure 5 further indicates that for the companies making use of cpm and/or ccm, the smaller companies were mainly involved in building and civil construction, whereas the larger companies had a presence in all construction sectors. the industrial sector was dominated by the medium-sized industries. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 87 35% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% building civil industrial other >r50m r15m to r50m <r15m 23% 25% 15% 15% 69% 75% 23% 54% 35% 29% construction sector pe rc en ta g e re sp on d en ts figure 5: graph indicating the construction sector and size of companies making use of cpm and/or ccm figure 6 summarises the regular use of the cpm and the ccm in relation to contracts. approximately 34% of the respondents use the cpm for all contracts, whereas only 22% use the ccm for all contracts. approximately 70% of the respondents use the cpm and the ccm on more than 50% of their contracts. 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 100% 75-99% 50-74% 25-49% <25% ad hoc cpm ccm percentage of contracts pe rc en ta g e re sp on d en ts figure 6: the regular use of the cpm and the ccm on contracts acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 88 the main reason why construction professionals use the cpm is because more than 80% of the respondents who apply the method consider it to be a valid management tool (see figure 7). other reasons are that it improves communication among project parties and is often a contract requirement, while it is also increasingly used in dispute resolution and litigation. in contrast to companies using the cpm, all the responding companies that use the ccm regard it as a valid management tool. of the cpm and the ccm users, 72% indicate that it improves communication among the project parties, while only the cpm users apply it for dispute resolution, litigation and as a contract requirement. users of the cpm confirmed that the method mainly improves their project understanding, planning, scheduling and control, with all these improvements ultimately leading to more punctual completion of projects. the cpm is mostly used for planning and controlling construction work. more than 80% of the respondents who apply the method use it to plan their projects, while over 50% also use it to monitor and control project progress (table 3). users of the ccm indicated that the method mainly improves their project planning, scheduling and response time to problems, which saves time. on the other hand, the majority of the respondents who do not use the cpm indicated that they are unfamiliar with the method or see no need to use it, due to projects being relatively small. a few indicated that the method does not reflect reality. none of the respondents indicated that the method does not identify execution problems or does not support corrective actions. 0%contract requirement litigation dispute resolution improves communication valid management tool 19% 23% 29% 30% 42% 100% ccm cpm 81% 0% 0% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% percentage respondents c pm a nd c c m a re a o f u sa g e figure 7: reasons why companies use the cpm and the ccm deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 89 table 3: project areas where the cpm is applied project areas response percentage detailed planning of construction work 84% periodic control of construction work 55% operation and maintenance of projects 36% estimating and bidding 29% design development (conceptualisation, feasibility, etc.) 23% other 3% respondents who do not use the cpm provided reasons such as their projects being too small to justify the use of the cpm and the method being unnecessary for their needs, as well as it not reflecting the actual state of activities. the most prominent reason for not using the ccm is that companies do not regard the cpm as being problematic, therefore the ccm is deemed unnecessary. they are further of the opinion that the ccm is too much effort to implement, with some companies simply being unwilling to embark on a culture change. the besner and hobbs (2008:16) survey-based study revealed that the use of the ccm was very limited, which the researchers partly accredited to the newness of the method. 4.3 advantages and disadvantages of the cpm and the ccm although many companies see benefits in the application of the cpm, with the majority of the respondents stating that the method has no major disadvantages, some concern was also expressed. figure 8 shows that the main perceived advantages of the cpm are improved planning, scheduling and project control. a further advantage is improved understanding of the project, which increases the on-time completion and reduces delays. some of the users were concerned by the fact that the method depends too much on specialists, is not responsive to field personnel needs, and requires excessive implementation work. in comparison, the companies applying the ccm also realise its benefits, with some users stating that the method has no major disadvantages for them. however, the concerns highlighted were that the ccm becomes difficult to manage when there are too many buffers and that the critical chain is not always clear after resource scheduling, since several chains could be identical. improved scheduling and faster response to problems (both 78%) were acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 90 considered the main advantages of the ccm. improved planning and time saving (both 67%) were the next most cited advantages. positive psychological effects on employees minimize dispute between the contractor and owner improve communication among the workforce faster response to problems reduce delays increase on-time project completion improve understanding of the project improve project control improve scheduling improve planning 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% ccm cpm help train future project managers improve estimating/bidding reduce cost overruns save costs save time pe rc ei ve d a d va nt a g es percentage respondents figure 8: the perceived advantages of the cpm and the ccm 4.4 importance of the cpm and the ccm for future company success generally, the cpm and the ccm are considered important methods to be used in the construction industry in south africa. only 3% of the respondents indicated that the cpm would likely be unimportant to their company’s future success (see figure 9). furthermore, about 47% of the large companies and 36% of the medium-sized companies were of the opinion that the cpm should be deemed an important method for future projects. the ccm is mainly considered a moderately important method for future success, and only 22% of the respondents indicated that it will be very important in the future. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 91 52% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% very important pe rc en ta g e re sp on d en ts importance of cpm and ccm moderately important unimportant 22% 45% 67% 3% 11% cpm ccm figure 9: the importance of the cpm and the ccm to the future success of companies cpm users are also of the opinion that they are more successful at achieving the advantages of the method than are users of the ccm. large companies appear to get the most out of t h e cpm application. the fact that they use the cpm more frequently and trust the information provided by the method is probably the reason why nearly all of the companies regard the cpm as being moderately important to very important to their future success. 5. conclusions the primary focus of this paper was to determine the application of the cpm and the ccm in the south african construction industry, with the following subobjectives: • to determine which of the construction sectors (building, civil and/or industrial) apply the cpm and the ccm • to obtain the percentage of professionals who use these methods • to define the prevailing reasons why these methods are applied • to clarify the factors that influence the use of the cpm and the ccm this study has established that the cpm and the ccm are proving to be versatile project scheduling tools in the south african construction industry. the results indicate that the cpm and ccm are widely used acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 92 in the building industry, closely followed by the civil construction industry. the cpm is used on more than 50% of projects by just over 70% of the respondents who apply the method, with 34% of users applying it on all their contracts. in comparison, the ccm is used on more than 50% of the projects by over 60% of the respondents who apply the method, with 22.2% of users applying it on all their contracts. large companies appear to get the most out of the cpm application. the fact that they use the cpm more frequently and trust the information provided by the method is probably the reason why nearly all the companies regard the cpm as being moderately to very important to their present and future success. the respondents in this study found the cpm to be beneficial and consider it important to the general success of their companies. the main reason why construction professionals use the cpm is that more than 80% of the respondents who apply the method consider it a valid management tool. other reasons are that it improves communication among project parties and it is often a contract requirement, while it is also increasingly used in dispute resolution and litigation. the cpm has grown over the years and it appears that it will continue to grow, based on the companies’ views of the cpm’s importance to their future success in south africa. the ccm is used less than the cpm. although it is not a difficult methodology to grasp, it is still considered to be a relatively new project management tool. the ccm appears to be challenging to implement, as a shift in mindset, behaviour and culture is required in the organisation. ccm users believe that the method mainly improves their project planning, scheduling and response time to problems, which saves time. the most prominent reason for not applying the ccm is that companies do not regard the cpm as problematic. therefore, they deem the ccm to be unnecessary. they further believe that the ccm is too much effort to implement, with some companies simply being unwilling to embark on a culture change. the responding companies that apply the method mostly regard the ccm as being moderately important to present and future success. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 93 6. recommendations this study has identified the need for further research relating to the cpm and the ccm in south africa. a brief description of the potential areas for further research is provided by formulating a hypothesis, or providing a brief problem statement: • construction companies in south africa use the cpm and the ccm for singleand multi-project management. • the success factors of the cpm and the ccm differ during each phase of the project life cycle. • the expansion of this study to gain a bigger sample will contribute significantly to more verified results. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the graduate school of technology management at the university of pretoria for the opportunity to publish the results, and dr delson chikobvu for fruitful discussions regarding data analysis. references list albaum, g., wiley, j., roster, c. & smith, s.m. 2011. visiting item nonresponses in internet survey data collection. international journal of market research, 53(5), 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(eds.) proceedings of the (international council for research and innovation in building and construction), 19th cib world building congress 2013: construction and society. brisbane, australia, 5-9 may 2013, pp. 1-13. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 94 goldratt, e.m. 1997. critical chain. great barrington, ma: north river press. goldratt, e.m. & cox, j. 1984. the goal: a process of ongoing improvement. great barrington, ma: north river press. hawkins, c.v. 2007. assessing cpm scheduling software for the small to mid-size construction firm. m.sc. thesis. college park, md: university of maryland. hegazy, t. & menesi, w. 2010. critical path segments scheduling technique. journal of construction engineering and management, 136(10), pp. 1078-1085. herroelen, w., leus, r. & demeulemeester, e. 2002. critical chain project scheduling: do not oversimplify. project management journal, 33(4), pp. 48-60. honiball, h.r. 2012. the implementation of theory of constraints in a multi-project environment: an action research approach. mba thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria. kelleher, a.h. 2004. an investigation of the expanding role of the critical path method by enr’s top 400 contractors. m.sc. thesis. blacksburg, va: virginia polytechnic institute and state university. lechler, t., ronen, b. & stohr, e.a. 2005. critical chain: a new project management paradigm or old wine in new bottles? engineering management journal, 17(4), pp. 45-58. menesi, w. 2010. construction scheduling using critical path analysis with separate time segments. ph.d. thesis. waterloo, on: university of waterloo. pretorius, p. 2014. introducing in-between decision points to toc’s five focusing steps. international journal of production research, 52(2), pp. 496-507. project management institute. 2013. a guide to the project management body of knowledge (pmbok® guide). 5th edition. newton square, pa: project management institute. repp, l.m. 2012. factors that influence critical chain project management implementation success. m.sc. thesis. platteville, wi: university of wisconsin-platteville. saunders, m., lewis, p. & thornhill, a. 2009. research methods for business students. 5th edition. london: pearson higher education. deacon & van der lingen • the use of the critical path ... 95 stelth, p. & le roy, g. 2009. projects’ analysis through cpm (critical path method). school of doctoral studies (european union) journal, 1, pp.10-51. steyn, h. 2001. an investigation into the fundamentals of critical chain project scheduling. international journal of project management, 19(6), pp. 363-369. trietsch, d. 2005. why a critical path by any other name would smell less sweet? towards a holistic approach to pert/cpm. project management journal, 36(1), pp. 27-36. weaver, p. 2012. henry l. gantt, 1861-1919, debunking the myths, a retrospective view of his work. pm world journal, 1(5), pp. 1-19. welman, c., kruger, f. & mitchell, b. 2005. research methodology. 3rd edition. cape town: oxford university press. wyse. s.e. 2012. advantages and disadvantages of surveys. snap survey. [online]. available from <http://www.snapsurveys.com/blog/ advantages-disadvantages-surveys/#.uvjfbm9whiu> [accessed 10 february 2014]. yang, j.b. 2007. how the critical chain scheduling method is working for construction. cost engineering journal, 49(4), pp. 25-32. zikmund, w.g. 2002. business research methods. 7th edition. nashville, tn: southwestern publishing. 22 basie verster, dries hauptfleisch & benita kotzé dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession abstract the initiative of this article was to identify those dimensions that are important determinants in establishing and developing an instrument/indicator to measure/indicate the level of maturity of a profession, in general and the south african profession. a questionnaire based on previous research results done by the authors (research on project management maturity) was compiled to identify and weigh the most important dimensions of a mature quantity surveying learned society. leaders in the profession and some identified imminent professionals in south africa, were requested to evaluate these dimensions according to the level of importance of each. professional development work done by the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) and the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs) also contributed to the study. the following dimensions were selected and used for this study: education, training, mentorship, continuing professional development (cpd), research, marketing, infrastructure, law & legislation, standardisation, management practices and total quality management. the opinions of the respondents of the quantity surveying profession as a mature and learned society were also tested. a weighting of these dimensions was used to propose a maturity model for the quantity surveying profession. after the results were analysed it became clear that respondents regarded training to be more important than qualifications, thus identifying the need to clearly define the difference between education and training. training, marketing and management practice were also evaluated to be of similar importance. however, this did not influence the identification of the various dimensions’ importance. the results showed the dimensions that are perceived to be of substantial importance for a mature quantity surveying society. analysis of results also enabled the proposal of a maturity model for the quantity surveying profession as a learned society. keywords: learned society, mature profession, maturity model, quantity surveying prof. jjp verster, head of department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. tel: 051 4012248, email: <versterj.sci@ufs.ac.za> prof. ac hauptfleisch, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. tel: 082 8200 690, email: <eldec@iafrica.com> mrs bg kotzé, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. tel: 051 4013849, email: <kotzebg.sci@ufs.ac.za> verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 23 abstrak die doel van hierdie studie was om daardie dimensies te identifiseer wat belangrike determinante is in die vestiging en ontwikkeling van ’n meetinstrument wat die vlak van volwassenheid van ’n professie die bourekenaarsprofessie in die besonder, kan bepaal/omskryf. ’n vraelys gebaseer op vorige navorsingsresultate gedoen deur die outeurs (navorsing oor projekbestuur volwassenheid) is saamgestel om die gewig van die mees belangrikste dimensies van ’n volwasse bourekenaarsgeleerdegemeenskap te identifiseer. leiers in die professie en sommige geïdentifiseerde prominente professionele persone in suid-afrika, is versoek om hierdie dimensies na gelang van die vlak van belangrikheid daarvan te evalueer. professionele ontwikkelingswerk gedoen deur die suid-afrikaanse raad vir die bourekenaars professie (sarbp) en die vereniging van suid-afrikaanse bourekenaars (vsbr) het ook tot die studie bygedra. die volgende dimensies is geselekteer en gebruik vir die studie: onderwys, opleiding, mentorskap, voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling (vpo), navorsing, bemarking, infrastruktuur, wetgewing, standardisasie, bestuurspraktyke en kwaliteitsbestuur. die mening van respondente oor die bourekenaarsprofessie as ’n volwasse en geleerde gemeenskap is ook getoets. die gewig toegeken aan elk van hierdie dimensies is gebruik om ’n volwassenheidsmodel vir die bourekenaarsprofessie voor te stel. na ’n analise van die resulte blyk dit duidelik dat respondente opleiding as meer belangrik as kwalifikasies beskou het – vandaar ’n behoefte om die verskil tussen onderwys en opleiding beter te defineer. opleiding, bemarking en bestuurspraktyke is evalueer as ewe belangrik. nogtans het dit nie die identifisering van die belangrikheid van elke dimensie beïnvloed nie. sleutelwoorde: geleerde gemeenskappe, volwasse professie, volwassenheidsmodel, bourekenkunde 1. introduction literature on the contribution of the quantity surveying profession towards maturity currently shows a lack of awareness within areas of the profession in respect of determinants of maturity. the competencies required from a company, a nation or society depend on its context (gasse, 2006: online). according to the free dictionary (2008a: online) ‘world class’ are defined as: “ranking among the foremost in the world; of an international standard of excellence; of the highest order.” nations, regions, industries and associations are continuously striving to become ‘world class’. this is also true about the quantity surveying profession. the problem is, is the profession a learned mature society? this can possibly be answered by defining the concepts ‘mature’ and ‘society’ and evaluating different maturity models (see figure 1 and figure 2) that are required for analysing the maturities of different social systems. the free dictionary (2008b: online) defines society as: “a formal association of people with similar interests.” mature means: “fully considered and perfected” or “being changed over time” (the free acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 24 dictionary, 2008c: online). a mature society should concern itself with determinants of maturity such as learnership, education and training to be seen as a society that strive towards ‘world class.’ the project management group of the wirtschafts university, vienna, austria initiated the research programme: project orientation [international] at the beginning of 2005. the objective of the research programme was to analyse and benchmark about 350 project-oriented companies (in about 15 project-oriented nations). the models were based on the project-oriented company and management in a project-oriented society or nation. it therefore also addressed the most important elements of a project oriented nation referred to in figure 2, in this instance reflecting south africa. the results gained may lead to strategies on how to further develop maturity models, identified during the study, for the quantity surveying profession (project management group, 2006.) project management maturity does not relate to function or knowledge only but is an integrated system dependent on a total measurable profile. this may also be true about the quantity surveying profession (verster & hauptfleisch, 2007). the project management maturity model was used as a guide to develop a quantity surveying model. project-oriented companies, organisations, enterprises or nations have specific strategies, structures and cultures. a maturity model may be thus divided into dimensions or processes and sub-dimensions. various weights are allocated to the dimensions to indicate the importance of a specific dimension (gareis, 2005: 32). this is analysed in a project-orientation maturity model as shown in figure 1, illustrates the dimensions (processes) applicable. figure 1: project-orientated maturity model source: gareis 2005: 32 verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 25 this model was used as a viable structure to identify the most important dimensions of a mature quantity surveying learned society. an organisation operates in a bigger system defined as a nation or society/association. the previous research project, describe above, also strived to provide an understanding of the maturity of a projectoriented nation. fuessinger (2006: 3-4) proposes that the maturity of a project-oriented nation should also include the following additional project management related services: education • — formal education programmes are provided research • — research projects, publications and events marketing• — a national project management (professional) association (and it’s activities) the spider web model in figure 2 shows the average project management maturities of south africa in respect of the results obtained from the survey described above. this served as an example to establish a foundation for identifying the dimensions of a quantity surveying profession maturity model. figure 2: average maturities of south africa based on the survey results (61.6%) source: project management group 2006a figure 2 shows that the average maturity ratio (including the three dimensions of a mature nation) for south africa is 61.6%. south africa shows a high maturity ratio in project management at 72%. organisational design (57%) and project management related education (49%) show the lowest maturity ratios and are thus the development areas for south african organisations. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 26 the research in respect of project management maturities of nations or societies concentrated on dimensions and processes related to key performance areas or functionalities within a specific social system. these dimensions and processes were influenced mainly by performance and perceived outcomes of the functions. 2. research methodology the aim of the research project done by the by the university of the free state (ufs) was to establish the most important dimensions (elements) that may determine the level of maturity of a social system, association or specified profession specifically as a learned society. a selected group of 107 professionals, including prominent quantity surveyors, board members of the association of south african quantity surveyors, members of the south african council for the quantity surveying profession and academics who are seen as the leaders of the quantity surveying profession were requested to complete a questionnaire. 56 responses were received from the invited group reflecting a 52% response rate. the questionnaire was based on research by the project management group wirtschafts university of vienna, austria as well as research by involved researchers of the ufs (project management group, 2006a; university of the free state, 2007). the questionnaire for the project management maturity analysis was structured according to the dimensions or processes of a mature profession. based on 11 identified dimensions that are seen as important indicators of a mature and learned society, the questionnaire consisted of 20 questions. 3. findings the questionnaire was answered individually by each respondent in order to determine their perceived opinion about the importance of each dimension’s role and influence on the profile of the quantity surveying profession, specifically related to south africa. however, the results may also be true in respect of quantity surveying in other social systems and/or nations and perhaps for other professions. verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 27 3.1 education (dimension 1) table 1: education as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 2.5 3 3 3 3.5 3.8 4 4 3 4.5 4.8 5 number of respondents 0 0 2 4 1 1 11 8 12 12 3 2 56 percentage of total 0 0 3.7 7.1 1 8 1.8 19.6 14.3 21.3 21.4 5.3 3 7 100 average rating 4.0 education is perhaps the most important dimension to determine the level of maturity of a specific profession within the investigated social system per nation. this is evident in the registration policies of statutory councils, membership acceptance by institutions or associations and the level of education expected of entrants for membership or registration (rics, 2005; 2007: online; asaqs, 2007: online; sacqsp, 2007: online; 2007a; 2007c; ciob, 2007: online). in south africa, as in many other countries, standards to be achieved by entrants are generated for each profession and for providers of education. it is important to evaluate the notion of a profession regarding education elements such as entry level qualifications, accreditation of providers, level and number of higher qualifications within the profession, and the provision of technical expertise within the system. for this reason these elements were indicated in the questionnaire. 3.2 training (dimension 2) table 2: training as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 number of respondents 0 0 2 9 9 11 10 15 56 percentage of total 0 0 3.6 16.1 6.1 19.7 17.8 26.7 100 average rating 4.1 most professions require an in-employment (in-service) training period after qualification to ensure that candidates within adjust to practice and are trained to practice as an independent functionary profession. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 28 the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) requires an in-house candidateship of three years after obtaining a recognised tertiary qualification with some allowances for recognition of pre-qualification employment (sacqsp, 2007a; 2007b). 3.3 mentorship (dimension 3) table 3: mentorship as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses unsure average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 3 4 5 number of respondents 6 0 0 2 17 31 56 percentage of total 10.7 0 0 3.6 30.3 55.4 100 average rating 4.6 the general accepted meaning of mentorship is that it is utilised to support a process of transferring knowledge and skill. typically this entails that an older knowledgeable person imparts knowledge and skills to a younger protégé (verster & hauptfleisch, 2007). the research aims at various interventions to uphold and promote improvement in standards regarding the development of a profession and of professionals. it is thus noteworthy that experiential training, supported by active mentoring, may be emphasised adequately. as is the case for professions such as medicine, accounting, engineering, law, etc. it is imperative that the scientific use of mentoring in developing a learned quantity surveying profession should be mandatory (verster & hauptfleisch, 2007). 3.4 continuing professional development (cpd) (dimension 4) table 4: continuing professional development as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 1 5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 number of respondents 1 1 2 2 5 8 13 7 17 56 percentage of total 1.8 1 8 3 5 3.5 8.9 14.3 23.3 12 6 30.3 100 average rating 4 0 verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 29 continuing professional development (cpd) is seen as one of the most important dimensions in ensuring that a profession or function within a specific society or association and the members thereof are continuously developed to keep up with the latest tendencies, skills and knowledge relevant to a specific profession. this must be done throughout professional life (cruywagen, 2007). many professional bodies, councils and associations have policies in place to ensure that registered persons or members achieve the cpd requirements. some examples are the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics), international cost engineering council (icec), chartered institute of building (ciob) and the sacqsp (sacqsp, 2007: online; ciob, 2007a: online; icec, 2007: online; rics, 2007: online). previous research indicated that 77% of the quantity surveying respondents of that specific research project conceded that some cpd was necessary for a profession (cruywagen, 2007: 98). the perceptions of respondents were tested to establish the level of importance of cpd, and their opinions in respect of the current number of hours per year required by the sacqsp. 3.5 research (dimension 5) table 5: research as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses unsure average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 3 4 5 number of respondents 5 1 2 8 25 15 56 percentage of total 8.9 1.9 3.9 15.7 45.5 29.4 100 average rating 4 0 the research output of a specific society and its members is an important benchmark to establish the level of maturity of scholarship within a specific social system. the importance of research is underscored by noteworthy professional institutions. an education provider for instance cannot join the rics partnership if they do not achieve the required research output (rics, 2007a: online). the latest requirements for accreditation of providers of quantity surveying education in south africa also include the same level of research output as the rics (sacqsp, 2007b). the level of importance given to research by respondents assisted with establishing the perceived importance of research as a dimension and also the acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 30 maturity of the society in understanding the role of research and the profile of quantity surveying in south africa. 3.6 marketing (dimension 6) table 6: marketing as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses unsure average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 2 5 3 3.5 4 4 5 5 number of respondents 1 0 0 3 3 4 19 16 10 56 percentage of total 1.7 0 0 5 5 5.5 7.3 34 5 29 18.2 100 average rating 4.1 referring to marketing as a maturity dimension within the profession of project management, fuessinger (2006: 3-4) defines marketing as a national project management association. for the purpose of the research project, marketing is extended to involve an established identity and status of a profession, members’ standing in a society, and a marketing strategy by the profession. during 2006 the asaqs engaged a re-vitalisation exercise; a national co-ordinated strategic plan to replace the 1990 model and strengthen the profession’s image in the market. this exercise is currently ongoing (asaqs, 2006). 3.7 infrastructure (dimension 7) table 7: infrastructure as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 2 5 3 3 5 4 4 5 5 number of respondents 0 1 2 4 5 16 16 12 56 percentage of total 0 1 7 3 6 7 2 8.9 28.6 28.6 21.4 100 average rating 4 2 the creation and availability of infrastructure to support members of a profession is seen as an important element of maturity for a specific profession. the asaqs realised this in 1996 and the edutech centre was established in port elizabeth and later moved to midrand (near verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 31 johannesburg); the primary aim is to support membership in respect of education, training, cpd, technical support and the development of standard and model documentation (asaqs, 2005: online). 3.8 law and legislation (dimension 8) table 8: law and legislation as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 3 3 5 4 4.5 5 number of respondents 0 0 1 3 6 10 36 56 percentage of total 0 0 1.8 5.4 10.7 17 8 64.3 100 average rating 4 7 not all professions within a specific country are governed by law and legislation. the status of many professions as learned societies rely on the need of the services required by the market. discipline and control in respect of ethics and standards are upheld by an established professional body like the rics, icec and ciob. in south africa, the asaqs is a voluntary organisation of members elected to join the association if they possess the required entry level (south africa, 2000). the quantity surveying profession is however governed by an act. the act aims at ensuring standards and discipline in respect of the profession in south africa (south africa, 2000). this dimension was tested to establish its relevant importance. 3.9 standardisation (dimension 9) table 9: standardisation as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 3 4 5 number of respondents 0 1 6 22 27 56 percentage of total 0 1.8 10 7 39.3 48.2 100 average rating 4.3 the asaqs and other professional institututions in south africa have, separately and jointly, over many years, developed standards and acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 32 model documentation to assist the members to perform their duties and to enable the market to standardise in respect of systems, contract documentation, reporting and communication (jbcc, 2000: 9). standardisation as a dimension was included in the questionnaire to establish its role and influence on the profile of the profession as a mature profession and a learned society. 3.10 management practices (dimension 10) table 10: management practices as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses unsure average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 3 4 5 number of respondents 1 0 1 8 32 14 56 percentage of total 1.8 0 1 8 14.5 58.2 25 5 100 average rating 4.1 the evidence of management practices within a profession may also be seen as an important determinant of a mature profession. this was true in respect of the maturity research done previously (garies, 2005: 32; gasse, 2006: online). it was therefore necessary to include management practices as a dimension in the questionnaire to establish its relative importance in respect of role and influence on the quantity surveying profile. 3.11 total quality management (dimension 11) table 11: total quality management as dimension to determine maturity of the quantity surveying profession responses average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 2 3 4 5 number of respondents 1 2 15 26 12 56 percentage of total 1.8 3 6 26.8 46.4 21.4 100 average rating 3 8 the evidence of total quality management systems present within a profession to ensure the delivery of quality services to clients is seen as a dimension and determinant of the level of maturity of a profession. verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 33 it needs to be pointed out that education, training, cpd, mentorship, research and discipline within an association are related to the governing of a profession and are therefore also quality indicators. 4. importance of dimensions the respondents’ responses to the twenty questions related to the 11 dimensions as determinants of the quantity surveying profession as a mature and learned society in south africa are shown in table 12 as averages of all questions answered related to each dimension. table 12: importance of dimensions dimension average on 1-5 point likert scale % of importance law and legislation 4.7 94 mentorship 4.6 92 standardisation 4.3 86 infrastructure 4.2 84 training 4.1 82 management practice 4.1 82 marketing 4.1 82 research 4.0 80 education 4.0 80 cpd 4.0 80 total quality management 3.8 76 5. opinion on quantity surveying as mature learned society the respondents were requested to give their opinion on the level of maturity of the profession related to the 11 dimensions. this was a perception test only but may be valuable to understand the anticipated difference between opinion of maturity and perhaps the under-valuation by respondents of a very important dimension or determinants of a learned society. table 13: opinion of respondents on quantity surveyors as a mature learned society responses unsure average rating 1 = not important 5 = extremely important total 1 1.5 2 3 4 5 number of respondents 1 1 1 4 17 26 6 56 percentage of total 1 8 1.8 1.8 7.3 30.9 47.3 10.9 100 average rating 3.6 acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 34 6. conclusion the first objective of the research project was to identify the most important dimensions. it was expected that some of the dimensions and sub-dimensions would have been identified as less important. the respondents did not respond in this manner. it is important to note that the research group achieved reasonable success in identifying 11 very important dimensions of a mature learned society. it is also proposed that some dimensions may be combined to establish a viable maturity model based on the proposed eight most important dimensions. these combined dimensions are indicated in table 14. table 14: the eight most important dimensions and their importance eight most important dimensions % of importance law and legislation 4.7 (94%) training and mentorship 4.4 (88%) standardisation 4.3 (86%) marketing and infrastructure 4.2 (84%) cpd 4.0 (80%) research 4.0 (80%) education 4.0 (80%) management practice and quality management 4.0 (80%) source: verster 2007: own table 7. recommendations the research previously done in respect of maturities of nations or societies concentrated on dimensions and processes related to key performance areas or functions within a specific social system, influenced mainly by performance and perceived outcomes. it is proposed that a model may be developed to determine the maturity profile of a social system (profession, society or nation) as a learned society. it is proposed that associations, institutions, or a society can be measured in respect of its maturity as a learned society by measuring its strengths in respect of the eight suggested dimensions in table 14 relative to the importance levels as well as the standing and presence of verster, hauptfleisch & kotzé • dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession 35 the various maturity dimensions. the importance levels are aspects that form the basis of further research. importance levels are only important in respect of comparison within the proposed maturity model. figure 3 shows the following as a maturity spider web to suggest the form that a model for a profession’s maturity may take. three series are shown in the spider web, these are: series 1: the importance as identified by respondents (response) series 2: the quantity surveying profession in south africa as a mature, learned society: average given by respondents (qs maturity) series 3: the research group’s proposed maturity level: the yardstick that may be related to measure a social system’s maturity as a learned against society (research group) figure 3: spider web for a maturity model of a learned society source: adjusted from figure 1 and figure 2 the dimensions of a learned society are identified, but to understand the maturity of a specific society, the standard relative levels of each dimension should be measured. the results of these measurements will support strategic development of such a society. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 36 references asaqs (association of south african quantity surveyors). 2005. edu tech centre. professional and technical support in quantity surveying. available from: <http://www.asaqs.co.za/edutech/> [accessed 4 december 2007]. asaqs (association of south african quantity surveyors). 2006. board meeting, october. asaqs (association of south 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[online]. available from: <http://www.sacqsp.org.za/> [accessed 4 december 2007]. sacqsp (south african council of the quantity surveying profession). 2007a. identification of work provisional document. agenda items. sacqsp (south african council of the quantity surveying profession). 2007b. minutes of the council meeting, 23 march, midrand. sacqsp (south african council of the quantity surveying profession). 2007c. accreditation policy document, accepted at the council meeting of 23 march, midrand. south africa. 2000. quantity surveying profession act, act 49 of 2000. pretoria: government printer. the free dictionary. 2008a. define world-class. [online]. usa: farlex. available from: <a href=”http://www.thefreedictionary.com/worldclass”>world-class</a> [accessed 28 february 2008]. the free dictionary. 2008b. define society. [online]. usa: farlex. available from:<a href=”http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ society”>society</a> [accessed 28 february 2008]. the free dictionary. 2008c. define mature. [online]. usa: farlex. available from: <a href=”http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ mature”>mature</a> [accessed 28 february 2008]. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 38 university of the free state (ufs). 2007. survey on dimensions of a mature quantity surveying profession. bloemfontein: ufs. verster, j.j.p. 2007. a maturity model of a learned society. (model designed by author). bloemfontein: university of the free state. verster, j.j.p. & hauptfleisch, a.c. 2007. project management maturity in the south african construction industry. 2nd built environment conference. association for schools of construction of southern africa (asocsa) and the council for the built environment (cbe). 17-19 june. port elizabeth. 82 das steÿn & petria jooste-smit informal1 small brickyards in the free state townships are enhancing local economic development peer reviewed abstract this article explores the role that small scale informal brickyards can play in providing bricks to the local housing market and in doing so create jobs for the local people. most of these bricks are burned in kilns. the authors look into the possibility of introducing the manufacturing of raw earth bricks to these existing brickyards. earth has a long tradition in south africa (sa) and around the world. many buildings such as mosques and houses were built with earth. today an estimated 30% of the world’s population still lives in buildings made of earth. this is also the case in many townships around bloemfontein. the poorest people live in self made earth houses. the production of raw earth bricks can play an important role in the development of the local economy. case studies provide examples of the impact that such small and micro enterprises have on development. the impact on the environment and land use factors of the location of the brickyards are discussed. a scenario is sketched in which the economic impact of earth bricks are compared with other bricks like burnt and cement bricks and cement blocks. some suggestions on how these brickyards can be supported by local government and planning policy to make them sustainable are discussed. keywords: informal brickyards, free state townships, economic development prof. das steÿn, head of department town and regional planning, university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. tel: +27 51 4012893. email: <steynjj.sci@mail.uovs.ac.za> petria jooste-smit, lecturer, department of architecture, university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. tel: +27 51 4012658. email: <joostep.sci@mail.uovs.ac.za> 1 for the purpose of this article, informal means not within formal regulations or laws while ‘formal’ means ‘location on a formal site’ but without formal approval for what is being done on the site or permission to mine the clay. 83 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state abstrak in hierdie artikel word die rol van klein skaal informele steenwerwe in die voorsiening van stene aan die plaaslike behuisingsmark ondersoek asook die werk wat daaruit geskep word vir die plaaslike bevolking, meeste van die stene wat deur die werwe vervaardig word, word in oonde gebrand. die outeurs kyk na die moontlikheid om die vervaardiging van rou grondstene deur hierdie werwe, bekend te stel. grond het ’n lang tradisie in sa en in die wêreld. baie geboue soos moskees en huise is van grond gebou. vandag woon ’n geraamde 30% van die wêreld se bevolking in geboue van grond. dit is ook die geval in baie nedersettings om bloemfontein. die armste mense woon in grond huise wat hulle self gebou het. die produksie van rou stene kan ’n belangrike rol speel in die ontwikkeling van die plaaslike ekonomie. presedent gevallestudies voorsien voorbeelde van die impak wat sulke klein en mikro besighede op ontwikkeling kan hê. die impak op die omgewing en grondgebruik faktore van die posisies van hierdie steenwerwe word bespreek. ’n scenario word geskets waarin die ekonomiese impak van grondstene vergelyk word met die van gebrande stene, sement stene en ook sementblokke. aanbevelings word gemaak oor hoe hierdie steenwerwe deur die plaaslike regering en beplanningsbeleid ondersteun kan word om hul meer volhoubaar te maak. sleutelwoorde: informele steenmakery, vrystaat dorpsgebied, ekonomiese ontwikkeling jobs and housing are needed in most towns and cities to whichpeople have flocked in the free state, south africa. one of thefactors increasing rural migration is that more than a million jobs were lost in the agricultural sector alone in the past decade. millions of houses (1,5 million subsidised units from june1994-feb 2003) were built by the government and private individuals (gardner, 2003: 7). most formal housing used different types of bricks for the walls. this article explores the role that small scale informal brickyards play in providing bricks for the housing sector and in doing so creating jobs for local people. at present most of these brickyards burn bricks in local kilns. it also explores the use of earth as a building material by many of the very poor. small brickyards which burn such bricks can play a role in the production of good quality earth bricks for the poor. earth bricks are derived from an environmentally friendly production process which does not burn the bricks but uses sustainable energies such as the sun and wind. local brick production has the potential to grow into a large market, providing such businesses are supported by government and placed at appropriate locations. in this way these small brickyards can be sustainable small businesses and can enhance local economic development. 2. introduction in some townships around bloemfontein many houses are built of raw soil. the poorest people live in these houses which are made of earth bricks that they produce themselves. the tradition of making and using earth bricks is thus well known in these townships. small brickyards are found in thaba nchu and botshabelo outside bloemfontein, south africa. these small brickyards produce thousands of fired bricks per month and create jobs for the local people. they can extend their practice to include raw or stabilised soil bricks. the raw earth bricks can be produced and sold at a very low price of about 35 cents per brick as compared to 55 cents per brick when burned, thus providing for a poorer sector of the market. the stabilised earth brick (adobe) is produced using a little 84 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 1. background cement (7%)2 and making a product that is priced between the raw adobe and the fired brick (see descriptions of the process below). to understand where and how one can increase the production of earth bricks by these brickyards and the use of these bricks, one needs to understand the current situation regarding the use of earth as a building material in the free state. 3. earth construction in africa earth has been used for centuries in africa as a building material. towns in north to southern africa have different buildings such as houses, mosques, palaces, graneries built of soil bricks. as used in north africa this material has wonderful sculptural and expressive qualities. it can be moulded by hand and forms part of the ritual of creating place. the maintenance of the buildings forms part of the annual festivities in which communities participate (houben & guilland, 1994: 6-11). in most of these parts of africa, the materials closest at hand are used for these socially important buildings (houben & guilland, 1994: 6-11). south africa also has an old and proud tradition of earth buildings all over the country. many of the nineteenth century vernacular buildings, such as churches and houses, were constructed with bricks made of earth, for example in genadendal and tulbach. cape dutch houses were constructed with adobe blocks rendered with lime. settlers moving to the eastern cape are said to have used rammed soil as a method of constructing walls (lewcock, 1963: 140). the indigenous people of the country such as the ndebele, the sotho, zulu and others developed their own distinctive style of earth constructed buildings. the buildings, the construction methods and the decorative methods are all well documented (frescura, 1981: 123-130). the forms of these buildings are closely linked to the culture of the people. as in the rest of africa, the maintenance and decoration of these buildings formed part of an annual event. buildings were re-plastered and painted with new patterns. 85 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state 2 note that this 7% may vary depending on the type of soil in different areas; it can be less or more. 86 acta structilia 2006:13(1) photo 1: tower of a mosque. north africa source: craterre-eag library 3.1 the scene today an estimated 30% of the world’s population still live in buildings made of soil. in the developing world, of which africa is a part, this figure can be as high as 50% (houben & gullaud, 1994: 7) rodney harber a lecturer and practising architect in durban, estimates that about 70% of all informal houses in durban and surrounding areas are made of soil (harber, 2004: personal communication). this method is used in both rural and urban areas. however, a problem emerging over the past years is that soil became associated with houses for the poor. mathissen (1995a: 14) states: “adobe buildings can be found in burundi, too, particularly as simple housing, but only for want of a better alternative”. so earth has a negative reputation as “a building material for the poor.” those who cannot afford cement blocks or fired bricks live in earth houses and produce the bricks themselves, which stigmatised earth as a building material. mathissen (1995: 26) writes about perceptions in chad: “...traditional methods of construction are looked down on and considered to pertain to the poor whereas concrete and cement blocks are welcomed as symbols of development.” nonetheless soil remains a frequently used building material in the construction of self-built houses in south africa. this self-built market is huge (where and in what sense?). the knowledge and skills available in this market is a potential source of job creation and alleviation of the housing shortage, and offers an unexploited opportunity (smit, 1998: 72). elsewhere, earth has undergone a renaissance since 1948 with the work of the egyptian architect hasan fathy (1975) and his town of new gourna where every building in town was constructed of adobe blocks. in france a revival of these building methods is taking place with the help of scientific research (gerneke, 1992: 38). australia is building with rammed earth as with any other conventional material (fromonot, 1995: 152). this is also the case in new zealand, where one can find about 600 modern buildings, with earth walls mainly of rammed earth, adobe bricks or compacted soil cement blocks. new zealand has earth building standards, which accommodate the techniques most popular in that country (solidearth, 2004: online). in many countries it is the material of choice for those concerned with the environment, and not just material solely for the poor. south africa needs to start, like other places in the world, to value its earth block building tradition. this is not only 87 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state important culturally, but also in terms of ecological sensitivity and job creation potential. 88 acta structilia 2006:13(1) photo 2: contemporary three storey block of flats of compressed earth blocks on the island of mayotte source: craterre-eag library from an environmental point of view earth used as a wall element is a very good insulator and provides a comfortable internal temperature. it creates internal space that is cool in summer and warm in winter, and is thermally far more effective than corrugated iron, which is the material used by many squatters in informal settlements in south africa. earth walls act as a heat battery in the day during winter, absorbing the heat of the sun and then slowly radiating it into the house during the night. in summer, with a small roof overhang, the sun does not shine on the walls and thus a thick insulator is created against the heat, leaving the building cool inside (stula & makerji, 1993: 144). often advantages of earth buildings include locally available raw materials and renewable and recycleable resources, which are non-toxic and low in energy costs. furthermore it regulates air humidity as well as inside temperatures and has huge potential for personal creativity. 3.2 what does earth construction mean? when one refers to earth as a building material or construction method, it refers to the use of raw soil and turning that into a building element without the use of any firing. all earth building elements, such as bricks, are produced by making use of the natural and inherent qualities of the soil and the use of renewable energy sources like the sun and the wind. no burning of fossil fuels takes place as part of the production of this building element (houben & guillaud, 1994: 4; vele & vele, 1996: 28). the earth building techniques mostly used in south africa are adobe, cob and wattle-and-daub. each is traditionally linked to the areas where the appropriate soils are found. the first well known technique, adobe, a sun-dried block, is made of a clayey soil which is wetted to form a muddy substance. this is then placed in a mould to form a brick, and when the mould is removed, the brick is left in the sun to dry for a few days. these blocks are found all over the country where clayey soils are found, as for example in the free state, lesotho and mpumalanga. raw adobe walls need to be plastered with soil or a soil-cement or soil-lime mix. a variation on the raw adobe is stabilised adobe. to produce stabilised adobe, some cement (± 7%) is added to the raw soil and the resultant brick dries much quicker than the raw adobe and can be used without rendering. 89 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state photo 3: adobe bricks. (raw bricks [red] and cement stabilised bricks [yellow]) albert luthuli near bloemfontein source: petria smit the second type of earth building technique used in south africa is cob. in this method, clayey soil is packed in horisontal layers. each layer is left to dry before the next layer of wet soil is placed on top of it. this way of working creates walls that are angled from the bottom up, thick at the base and narrowing to the top. this method was used together with adobe bricks in tulbach (fagan, 1974: 5). it is seldom used today. at harrismith in the free state a variation of this method, which is a mix between cob and straw-clay mix, was found. the owner made a shutter and placed the soil in it and left it to dry. the shutter was then moved upwards and another layer of soil was placed on the dry layer. 90 acta structilia 2006:13(1) photo 4: a mix of cob and straw-clay technique near harrismith in the free state source: wolf schijns the third technique, wattle-and-daub, is well known in natal. here a load-bearing structure of wood is used to carry the roof of the building. a lattice made of thin wooden sticks is woven between the load-bearing elements. these lattice walls are then packed with clay and rendered. all the above techniques use raw soil, with the sun and wind drying the blocks or the walls (frescura, 1981: 123-130; doat et al., 1991: 95, 101, 106, 220 & 222). in earth construction, attention needs to be given to the source of the soil. surface soils are not suitable for building as they contain organic matter. such top soils should be used for agriculture. when soil is removed to produce bricks for a house, a hole is left on the site. when somebody is building a single house, the hole is not very big. it may be about two x three meters and about 300-500mm deep and soon disappears. if, for example, adobes are to be produced for several houses and a bigger market, soil has to be brought from a quarry to prevent both erosion and the excavation of soil for agricultural use. 3.3 the role of earth construction in small business development earth and especially the production of earth building elements, such as bricks, can play an important role in development. two case studies provide examples. one is the production of microconcrete roofing tiles in india (pozak, 2001) and the other is the production of compressed earth bricks in mayotte (guilland, 1992: 11-16). these two studies show what impact small and micro enterprises producing building materials can have on development. the lessons learnt can then be related to the small brickyards found in south african townships. micro-concrete roof tile production is a labour intensive technology using locally available raw materials (sand, cement and water) to make roof-tiles (pozak, 2001: 19). this tile production is particularly suited to small, informal, family businesses. jobs are created for unskilled workers and the making of tiles is also particularly suited for women. in a place like honduras, micro-concrete roof-tile making occupies close to 10% of the market for roof covering. a survey done in honduras revealed that most tile manufacturers sell their product within a radius of 20km. the local impact is thus considerable. the tiles need not be transported over long distances, and reducing the distance that a product is transported brings both ecological and economic benefits (pozak, 2001: 19). in rural india more than 250 micro-concrete roofing tile enterprises were set up between 1996 and 2001, with private investments of rupees.90, 000 (us$2 000) each. each enterprise produces 43 000–54 000m2 of durable roof covering material per year, employs 5-8 people, uses 40-60% less energy than its nearest competing product, fired-clay roof tiles, and is profitable (niazi, 2001: 18). 91 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state another example illustrating the role that earth building elements can have on local development is that of a housing programme that started in 1978 to improve the lives of citizens on the island of mayotte, a french territorial collectivity in the indian ocean (guilland et al., 1992: 11-16). this programme was to last 20 years. ninety percent of the inhabitants live in rural areas and have little or no financial resources. the programme therefore relied on self-help, assistance to local craftsmen and the creation of a local building industry producing earth bricks. a survey was done on the country’s housing stock as well as the materials used. different housing options were proposed (e.g. serviced plots and ‘help in kind’type, where some form of help is given to build a 40m2 house and the occupier is expected to finish it). earth was indicated as one of the local resources available for this task of upgrading and new building. over a period of two years, 20 quarries and 19 brickworks were set up throughout the island. they were producing stabilised compressed earth blocks. launching this production of blocks initiated a small local industry, creating and distributing wealth and numerous jobs. by 1982, 176 000 blocks had been produced and by 1989, 3 500 000 had been produced. this project succeeded because of genuine commitment from all people involved, including government, financial institutions, small contractors and the people from the community. 92 acta structilia 2006:13(1) photo 5: housing on mayotte source: craterre-eag library these examples show the impact that production of elements for the building industry can have on local people and local economic development. the production and use of earth bricks can play a similar major role in development in south africa. earth bricks are used as building materials for walls in south africa. in other parts of africa, such as egypt and mali (schijns, 2005: 112), the roofs of buildings are also made of earth, but the rainfall in south africa is too high for that, and thunderstorms releasing a lot of water over a short period of time mean that earth roofs are not a viable option. the focus should thus be on the wall element and its role in economic development. the production of bricks for walls can play a role because it: • can create jobs; • is suitable for small production units (e.g. families); • uses local resources and can be performed by unskilled labourers; • is labour intensive; • has a low capital investment; and • delivers a product that is suited and close to the client base. all these issues are important for local development. 4. local economic development policy in south africa to create better conditions for generating economic growth and employment generation, hall (2002: 7) emphases the need in developing countries to build on the strengths of the informal sector. this suits the south african government’s policy of local economic development, where jobs should be created at local level. this is a bottom-up approach to job creation and development in an age of globilisation. the white paper on local government put the obligation on local governments (among others) for: • “the creation of liveable, integrated cities, towns and rural areas, in which the spatial legacy of apartheid is addressed • the achievement of local economic development, in which local government can play an important role in job creation and in boosting the local economy through the provision of business-friendly services, local procurement, investment promotion, support for small businesses and growth sectors 93 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state • community empowerment and redistribution.” each local government has to produce an integrated development plan (idp) which provides a mechanism “to ensure a consistent and conductive set of measures to promote visible local economic activities and employment generation” (rsa, 2001). with the integrated development plan in place, municipalities theoretically have the capacity to link development to their budget and to implement it locally. stapelberg (2003: 91) shows that all the components of the idp are obligatory and must be used in conjunction with the spatial development framework (sdf). municipalities must also be agents for local economic development (led) by being coordinator, facilitator, stimulator and entrepreneurial developer. in a local economic development document entitled led financing: national governmental programmes, at least 35 new programmes for grants and subsidies are introduced. the aim is that “local economic development (led) is outcome-based on local initiative and driven by local stakeholders.” informal brickyards serve as instruments for local economic development as described in led policies. 5. survey of brickyards in use a survey on the use of earth construction in informal housing in 14 townships across the free state, revealed the existence of a large number of informal brickyards as well as two semi-formal locations where agglomeration of brick yards exist. some of these are first making an earth brick using a mixture of clay and other material which is sun-dried and, in a second phase, burned. the chosen areas represent small towns as well as the fringes of cities. in terms of numbers or layout, they can be classified as urban but in terms of diversification or higher order services they belong to rural as these are only very “large villages”. it seems that, for building their own houses, people use earth construction either through the medium of sods, rammed earth or stabilised earth bricks, but burned bricks seemed to dominate once a choice of material become affordable. these burnt bricks are made from a mixture of clay that is sun-dried before packed into a ziggurat-like (staggered tower) form with coal pieces in between, sealed off with clay and then this home made kiln is set to fire to burn the bricks. 94 acta structilia 2006:13(1) photo 6: map of places visited 95 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state photo 7: brick kiln near thaba nchu source: wolf schijns 96 acta structilia 2006:13(1) number of workers brick production per month output per worker type of bricks reason for location semi-formal 1 15 000 1 500 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 2 25 000 1 250 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 2 15 000 7 500 burned bricks andcement blocks water available 4 10 000 2 500 burned bricks andcement blocks no reason 5 noinformation n/a burned bricks and cement blocks municipality “allocated” lot 6 35 000 ± 6 000 burned bricks andcement blocks municipality “allocated” lot 6 60 000 (+ 4 000blocks) ± 10 000 ± 700 burned bricks and cement blocks municipality “allocated” lot 12 60 000 bricks20 000 blocks 5 000 ± 1 700 burned bricks and cement blocks municipality “allocated” lot 16 67 000 bricks ± 4 000 burned bricks bigger site 16 60 000 bricks ± 3 750 burned bricks bigger site informal 1 15 000 15 000 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 1 6 000 6 000 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 1 10 000 10 000 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 2 15 000 7 500 burned bricks larger space 2 20 000 10 000 burned bricks near home 2 10 000 5 000 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 2 20 000 10 000 burned bricks water nearby 2 10 000 5 000 burned bricks water nearby 3 20 000 10 000 burned bricks 3 15 000 ± 7 000 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot 4 12 000 3 000 burned bricks inherited site (?) 4 10 000 2 500 burned bricks near markets 4 20 000 5 000 burned bricks municipality “allocated” lot total 133 387 000 ( 24 000) burned bricks cement blocks table 1: the output of semi-formal and informal brickyards (shows the number of brickyards as well as number of workers and the brick production of each brickyard) 5.1 the location of brickyards the production of building materials, in this case the production of burnt bricks is in many of these places already a small scale economic activity. a strange anomaly however, was found in what is happening with the brickyards in some towns in the province namely: a) small businesses at the clay-sites; b) clay being transported to market related sites, that is places where one can sell the bricks; (single businesses near the markets might be scattered in the townships or in two cases as agglomeration of bigger semi-formal brickyards in certain locations, for example near markets in thaba nchu and near water in botshabelo); and c) bricks being burned where it is needed on site, thus the production is where the building is erected (found in one place only where due to the scale of the township and the high unemployment rate a private brickyard had to close down and this form evolved as a sporadic business which operates when needed). according to the economic least cost theory of weber, bricks that are a material orientated product should be produced where the bulk of the material (the clay) is found, but this does not happen in the cases of (b) and (c) above (greenhut, 1996 : 5–17). weber’s basic principle is that a businessman would choose a location where costs were lower and he analised three cost factors, namely: transport costs, labour costs and agglomeration advantages. he uses a material index to determine whether an industry is material orientated or market orientated. weber’s material index (glasson, 1985: 127–132) = (weight of local material imputs) (weight of final products). if the index is greater than 1 (one), the form or industry is considered to be material oriented. if the index is lower than 1 (one), it is deemed to be was market orientated. for the production of bricks, clay and water are needed for making the bricks while coal is used for burning the bricks. as the burnt brick loses the water content of the clay, it would seem to be material oriented. that is why the larger brick industries are found around suitable clay pits. 97 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state 98 acta structilia 2006:13(1) 3 survey conducted in botshabelo and thaba nchu in may 2004 and 10 semi formal as well as 13 informal brickyards were found. most of the brickyards in this survey are in areas with high unemployment, so labour costs are the same in all these areas. however the agglomeration of groups of brickyards in both thaba nchu and botshabelo indicates that there is an agglomeration advantage in these respective locations, as most of the individual brick yards in these groups are much bigger than their competitors elsewhere. in both groups it seems that the location is near their client market, with water available, but the traditional material (clay) has to be transported to the sites. 5.2 land use and environmental factors as these brickyards are all informal or semi-formal land uses, the local land price or rent, as an input factor in location theory, do not play any role because and the brickyard owners did not buy land or pay any rent for it at all.3 any attempt to formalise these brickyards will have to take land use into consideration and will have an effect on the price of land or the rent thereof. the brickyards in the survey could be classified into two groups namely: • the smaller brickyard with one kiln burning at a time and where one to five people work to make sun-dried bricks. these businesses produce fewer than 20 000 bricks per month each. • the larger establishment where agglomeration factors have an influence and where more than one kiln burns at a time. these produce more than 30 000 bricks per month each and have 5 to 10 full time employees. in terms of environmental impact, all these brickyards irrespective of size: • mostly use clay from informal clay pits where no environmental impact studies have been conducted; • are located mainly in green areas (parks) or catchment areas; and 99 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state • 5.3 are all noxious industries, which normally would not be allowed to operate in green areas or in residential or business areas. the economics of different kinds of brick to establish the impact that earth bricks can make as a building material, a scenario is sketched, based on information gathered from botshabelo, thaba nchu and old mangaung around bloemfontein. the following table gives comparisons as to the cost of one square metre of wall built with different materials. these analyses were done for bloemfontein based on projects in the area, so they are mainly urban.4 the materials were bought from commercial suppliers. the costs will differ for other parts of the country. although the sun-dried bricks produced for burning can be described as good adobe blocks before they are burnt, very few producers sell them at this stage in the process. a few individuals do sell them, and table 3 shows the price difference. using these figures, one can start to estimate and project the economic potential that these brickmakers can bring to a local economy. a 40m2 house needs around 2900 bricks (220 x 110 x 75) for the wall element, with the cheapest brick selling at 35c. one manufacturer said that he sold 20 000 bricks per month thus having a turnover of r7 000-00 per month.5 this shows that a brick manufacturer can make a reasonable living even from a very small brickyard. he thus provided enough bricks for 3 houses every month and four after every third month. he contributes to the building of 12 houses every year. it is clear, therefore, that a few of these small brickyards, as to be found in places like botshabelo and thaba nchu, can make a measurable difference to the local economy. producing earthen blocks creates jobs and helps to build houses, and most of the money stays within the community. 4 figures obtained from unpublished projects done by the unit for earth construction, dept of architecture, university of the free state in bloemfontein from 1997 – 2002. 5 survey conducted in botshabelo and thaba nchu in may 2004. 100 a c ta struc tilia 2006:13(1) cement brick 220x110x75 104 blocks/m2 for external wall (both skins) hollow cement block 390x90x190 13,5 blocks/m2 single skin hollow cement block 390x190x190 13,5 blocks/m2 single skin baked clay plaster brick 220x110x75 104 bricks/m2 baked clay face brick 220x110x75 104 blocks/m2 internal skin plaster bricks external skin face bricks supplier 1 r4,95/blockr66,82 r1380,00/1000 r143,50/m2 r2590,00/1000 r206,44/m2 supplier 2 r915,00/1000r95,68/m2 r4,28/block r57,78/m2 supplier 3 r1175,00/1000 r112,72/m2 r1900,00/1000 r160,16/m2 table 2: cost comparison/m2: raw materials obtained from commercial suppliers, bloemfontein 101 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state raw adobe 220x110x75 (plaster needed) fired bricks by local producer internal walls external walls producer 1 total 35c 55c nr of blocks /m2 104 104 cost/m2 36,40 57,20 producer 2 none 35c 45c nr of blocks /m2 52 52 cost/m2 18,20 23,40 41,60 producer 3 none 80c 1,20 (brick size biggersingle skin wall nr of blocks/m2 34 34 cost/m2 27,20 40,80 6. formalising these brickyards these brickyards are like islands of employment in a sea of joblessness. they are run by entrepreneurs without subsidies or government support. any formalisation of these businesses will have to keep their role as work creators and economic role players in mind. they have already proved their viability if not too many town planning and environmental restrictions are brought to bear on them. all clay pits are supposed to be developed in terms of the minerals and petroleum resources development act (act 28 of 2002) and an environmental impact assessment is needed before any work can begin. where brickyards occur next to dry water arteries or perennial streams, these locations will have to be controlled. the local municipalities can, as part of their local economic development, identify areas with suitable clay and have some clay pits proclaimed as public clay pits where individuals can buy clay at a minimum tariff. on the production side, local government could identify locations for kilns in conjunction with existing brickyard owners and with public participation from the surrounding local inhabitants. these sites would have to be (i) rezoned for noxious industrial use or (ii) given table 3: comparison of prices for bricks produced by local brick makers in bochabelo and thaba nchu a consent use for a period of ten years or (iii) looked at as existing land use even in cases where they are located on land that belongs to local government. most brickyards could be seen as tacit approvals of occupation by the municipalities, which allowed them there. if the sites are at clay pits, the first will most probably be best while the latter may be more suitable for those brickyards which are situated near the markets. for the rejoined areas land ownership could either be privileged or rented sites are recommended. 6.1 local economic development can be of benefit local governments and users need to become aware of the positive role of these informal brickyards because they are found in the rural areas, small towns and in townships around cities (steÿn, 2004: 10-12). these people are entrepreneurs who should be assisted to formalise their businesses and make them sustainable. the integrated development plan (idp), which regulates all changes to land use, needs to be adapted by local government. in the spatial development framework the permanent sites (clay pits) could be classified as local development areas. this would mean that the local agenda 21 as well as the environmental sector plan should be amended to accommodate it. the financial plan of the idp should also provide for a long term association with these clay pits and brick yards. this plan should make provision for prospecting for clay pits, determining a viable price for the clay and determining the rent for the brickyard sites. it should also provide for longterm funds or means to rehabilitate both types of sites once they are not used any more. a local economic development strategy is needed, showing how to be pro-active in accommodating these land uses within the future town planning schemes. as the old town planning schemes are only used in traditional white towns, new schemes have to include all townships as well as all rural and farm lands in a ‘wall to wall’ coverage of municipalities. the drafting of these control mechanisms must keep in mind that no present rights could be taken away as in the case of existing land uses. as these are transparent policies, all the role players including the brickyard owners, but also the surrounding communities will have to take part in the drafting the strategy. 102 acta structilia 2006:13(1) local building contracts procured by the government, especially housing contracts, can as far as capacity allows it have stipulations that bricks have to be bought from local small and medium size brickyards if their price and the quality are competitive. 6.2 the potential expansion of the brick market into a variety of products most brickyards in the surveyed areas burn their bricks in kilns. this creates pollution and uses fossil fuel in the form of coal. an alternative to burnt bricks is to convince brickmakers to place a second product on the market in the form of an adobe block. this sun-dried product is what they have, before they burn the brick. it would cater for poorer clients, while fired bricks can be sold to wealthier clients. another viable option would be to teach brickyard owners them to produce a third type, namely a stabilised adobe, where a little cement is added to the block so that it dries much quicker and does not need plastering. this would add to the repertoire of a brick product somewhere between the raw adobe and the fired brick, both in terms of quality and price. it has the added advantage that it uses only sustainable resources for production. such brick yards exist around kuruman. the precentage of cement that they add is around 18% which is very high and a more economical brick can be made using less cement, about 7-8%. 7. conclusion small brickyards play a role in developing the local economy in the areas in which they are located. the owners of these brickyards provide jobs and a livelihood for their workers. they supply bricks for the very poor people who build their own houses. they are thus playing an important role in their communities, and are examples of the entrepreneurial spirit that is needed in south africa to tackle the housing challenge of this country as well as unemployment. local governments must play their role as agents for local economic development by supporting these entrepreneurs to formalise their businesses and by giving business-friendly services and helping to empower them. 103 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state 104 acta structilia 2006:13(1) references binns, t. & nel, e. 2002. devolving development: integrated development planning and developmental local government in post-apartheid south africa. regional studies, 36(8) pp. 921-932. department of provincial and local government. integrated development plan guide pack: guide iii methodology. doat, p. et al. 1991. building with earth. india: the mud village society. fathy, h. 1975. architecture for the poor. london: university of chicago press. frescura, f. rural shelter in southern africa. johannesburg: ravan press, pp. 123-130, 165. fromonot, f. 1995. glenn murcutt: works and projects. london: thames and hudson. gardner, d. 2003. getting south africans under shelter: an overview of the south african housing sector. houghton: housing finance resource programme. gerneke, g. 1992. the return to earth. 2 reinstating earth building. architecture sa, p. 38, may/june. glasson, j. 1985. introduction to regional planning, hochinson, linder. greenhut, m.l. 1996. integrating the leading theories of plan location. in: thisse, j.f., button, k.j. & nijkamp, p. (eds), location theory i. glos, uk: edward elgar publishing co. guillaud, h. et al. 1992 “is mayotte a model for development?” gate. no. 1, pp. 11-16. harber, r. 2004. personal communication. 10 may, durban. houben, h. & guillaud. 1994. earth construction: a comprehensive guide. london: intermediate technology publications. lewcock, r. 1963. early nineteenth century architecture in south africa. cape town: balkema, p. 140. mathissen, h. ed. 1995. building with earth in burundi. in: earth as a construction material for development work. bischöfliches hilfswerk misercor. aachen. mathissen, h. ed. 1995a. the cefod library in n’djamena library in building with earth in burundi. in: earth as a construction material for development work. bischöfliches hilfswerk misercor. aachen. mccann, p. & shepperd, s. 2003. the rise, fall and rise again of industrial location theory. regional studies, 37(6&7), pp. 649-773. niazi, z. & patara, s. 2001. technology, habitat and livelihoods. basin news, no. 21. p.18, june. pozak, k. 2001. ecomaterials create local jobs, basin news. no. 21, p.19. rsa (republic of south africa). 2001. local economic development: led financing national government programmes, local economic development manual series (vol. 5). farmeset printers cape (pty) ltd for government printers, pretoria, farmeset. smit, p. 1998. earth construction: a changing tradition. acta structilia, 5(1&2), pp. 55-80. bloemfontein: ufs. solidearth – 2004. solid earth adobe buildings. [online]. available from: <http//www.solidearth.co.nz/earthbuilding.htm> [accessed: 15/09/2004] stapelberg, h. 2003. unplublished masters in urban and regional planning dissertation, free state university, bloemfontein, p. 91. steÿn, j.j., 2004. the challenges of localism. in: hady’s (ed). conference proceedings of the regional studies association annual conference nov 2004. regional studies association, seaford, united kingdom. stulz, r. & mukerji, k. 1993. appropriate building materials. a catoloque of potential solutions. 3rd ed. switzerland: skat and it publications. vale, b. & vale, r. 1993. green architecture. design for a sustainable future. london: thames and hudson. 105 steÿn & jooste-smit • informal small brickyards in the free state 26 theo haupt, meenakshi munshi & john smallwood combating hiv and aids in south african construction through effective communication peer reviewed abstract it is increasingly being recognized that the only viable means of preventing the spread of new hiv infections is sexual behavior change. behavior change programs should include information on risk that is communicated often, repetitively and intensively to workers. effective hiv and aids communication involves providing relevant and meaningful information accurately, consistently, reiteratively, and repetitively using multiple methods, mediums, and languages including vernacular, that build on previous hiv and aids knowledge while at the same time recognizing the differing personal backgrounds of workers in an environment conducive to open and uninhibited interaction. the authors argue from anecdotal evidence gathered during a series of national multi stakeholder workshops as well as the findings of knowledge, attitude and behavior (kab) surveys of two samples, namely in south africa and in namibia, for greater involvement of construction employers in purposeful structured management led and targeted hiv and aids communication programs designed to influ ence sexual behavior. considering that television and radio were the most popular and influential mediums of communication, employers are encouraged to support, reinforce and complement hiv and aids campaigns and messages via these mediums as part of primary health promotion programs. further, the authors recommend that employers create opportunities for hiv and aids education of workers by their peers. keywords: communication, hiv, aids, media, behavior change theo c. haupt, ph.d., m.phil., fciob, masi, research coordinator, peninsula technikon, faculty of engineering, p.o. box 1906, bellville 7535 south africa, email: hauptt@pentech.ac.za, tel. +27 21 9596637, fax. +27 21 9596743 meenakshi munshi, b.sc, m.sc (public health) candidate, harvard university, massachusetts, u.s.a. john smallwood, ph.d., fciob, professor and head, university of port elizabeth, department of construction management, port elizabeth, south africa abstrak daar word toenemend besef dat die enigste werklike manier om verspreiding van nuwe hiv infeksies te verhoed, is dat seksuele gedrag moet verander. gedragsveranderingsprogramme behoort inligting oor risikos te bevat en behoort gereeld, herhaaldelik en intensief aan werkers gekommunikeer te word. effektiewe hiv en vigs kommunikasie behoort die verskaffing van relevante en betekenisvolle inligting wat akkuraat, konstant, herhaaldelik met die gebruik van verskeie metodes, mediums en tale, insluitend die moedertaal van werkers, wat op vorige kennis oor hiv en vigs geskoei is en wat terselfdertyd die verskillende persoonlike agtergronde van werkers in ’n omgewing in ag neem en wat oop interaksie bevorder en erken, in te sluit. die outeurs se argumente handel oor anekdotiese bewyse wat versamel is gedurende ’n reeks nasionale multi aandeelhouer werkswinkels asook die bevindings van kennis, houdings en gedrags opnames van twee proewe wat gedoen is, een in suid afrika en een in namibië. hierdie proewe is gedoen om groter betrokkenheid van konstruk siewerkgewers te verkry in doelgerigte gestruktureerde bestuursgerigte hiv en vigs kommunikasie programme, spesifiek ontwerp om seksuele gedrag te beïnvloed. as in gedagte gehou word dat televisie en radio die mees gewilde en invloedryke mediums van kommunikasie is, word werkgewers aangemoedig om hiv en vigs veldtogte en boodskappe deur hierdie mediums as deel van primêre gesondheidsprogramme te ondersteun en te versterk. verder word deur die outeurs aanbeveel dat werkgewers die geleenthede behoort te skep vir hiv en vigs onderrig vir werkers. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasie, hiv, vigs, media, gedragsveranderinge 27 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids 1. introduction t he only viable means of reducing the spread of hiv1 infection is via large scale change in sexual behavior and not merely through protection during sex. to date very few interventions have influenced the prevalence or incidence of hiv. consequently, achieving behavior change is complex. raising awareness, educating persons about the nature of hiv and aids2 and ways of preventing infection, condomization and reducing high-risk behaviors according to harrison, smit & myer (2000) have been strategies used. the content of behavior prevention programs should include risk information that is repeated intensively in forums that promote open discussion and participant involvement. the communication of information that targets a specific risk group and focuses on deficient knowledge of that group about hiv and aids is more likely to influence poor sexual behavior. several authors argue that prevention programs require intensive, individually focused and longer-term efforts to prevent hiv transmission and bridge the gap between high levels of knowledge and low levels of practice (harrison et al., 2000; varga, 1997). many researchers have, for example, found respondents to have deficient knowledge about hiv transmission by mosquito bites (lim & loo, 2000; haupt & smallwood, 2003a; 2003b; smallwood et al; 2002). simply communicating dry scientific evidence in media messages is insufficient to convince persons about how hiv cannot be contracted (nicoll et al., 1993) by this means. booth (1987), suggests, for example, that it would be better to explain that mosquitoes can only transmit hiv if 10 million mosquitoes fed on a hiv affected person and then all of them flew to feed on another person. several studies have confirmed that the southern african population has high levels of awareness about hiv and aids (harrison et al., 2000; lim & loo, 2000; haupt & smallwood, 2003a; 2003b). arguably, the southern african mass media campaigns to inform about hiv and aids have largely been successful. these have included leaflets, posters, television and radio messages in several languages. considering that information in the mass media does not necessarily reach everyone, high profile and targeted communication is necessary to reach ‘hidden’ groups in the general population (wellings 28 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 1 the human immunodeficiency virus 2 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome & macdowall, 2000). these groups need more and focused information about specific aspects of the disease especially where their knowledge is deficient and uncertain. when targeting these specific groups prejudice against them must be discouraged and not reinforced. mass media have been found to be less effective in conveying complex information, teaching skills, shifting attitudes and beliefs, and changing behavior in the absence of other enabling factors (mcguire, 1995; wellings & macdowall, 2000). messages may fail to reach the audiences for which they were intended. they may also reach audiences for which they were not intended. mass media messages may be misunderstood. on the other hand, targeted interventions are more easily controlled and followed up. little attention has been devoted to the investigation of hiv and aids at the workplace suggesting that the workplace is often not associated with the high-risk behaviors leading to the transmission of hiv (lim & loo, 2000; goss & adam-smith, 1995). further, while persons living with hiv are capable of performing to the same levels of other workers, many employers have opted for rather dismissing them once their serostatus is known (lim & loo, 2000). this paper reports on the findings of knowledge, attitude and behavior (kab) surveys of two samples in southern africa, namely sample a comprising of 300 construction workers in the western cape and eastern cape provinces of south africa, and sample b comprising of 400 construction workers in namibia. the authors argue that before an objective and appropriate hiv and aids information sharing program can be designed, program designers should be fully aware of the potential of various forms of communication relative to their effectiveness to influence sexual behavior change. 2. research kab surveys are used to investigate exposure to, recall and comprehension of information and self-reported behavior change. the authors are aware of the limitations of such an approach relative to monitoring changes in the social context since they focus on the responses of individuals; validity and reliability; and socially desirable responses. different research instruments were used for each of the two samples. for sample a the investigators adapted a questionnaire previously 29 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids developed by the human sciences research council (hsrc).3 many questions were directed at the role of the media and employers as sources of hiv and aids information. the questionnaire used for sample b concentrated more on the role of employers and interventions. in both cases, construction workers were personally interviewed on a voluntary basis during their tea and lunch breaks on construction sites by arrangement with consenting employers. participants were assured of anonymity and informed of the purpose of the study. they were also permitted to answer only those questions that they felt comfortable with. 3. sample a – south africa the ethnicity of sample a was made up of 70.3% black africans, 28.3% coloreds, and 1.4 % whites. most respondents (77%) had at least 8 years of schooling. xhosa was the most widely spoken language followed by afrikaans. english was therefore largely a third language. workers had worked in construction for a median 2.0 years, for their current employers for a median 0.5 years, and on present projects for a median 0.25 years. relative to work category, the sample consisted of 48% unskilled workers, 12% semi-skilled workers, 23% skilled workers 23%, and 17% site administration. these results are indicative of the status quo of the south african construction industry. construction workers are regarded as migrant moving from employer to employer as projects terminate. since unskilled workers perform most of the menial tasks involved in construction they numerically dominate construction employment. the ratio of unskilled workers to other categories of workers is typical for south african construction sites. evidently, most (70.4%) of the respondents had frequently obtained information about hiv and aids during the six-month period preceding the survey. less than 10% of them had never been exposed to any information during that period. the main sources of information about hiv and aids during the same period are shown in table 1. most respondents obtained their 30 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 3 human sciences research council study of knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and beliefs regarding hiv and hiv and aids. south africa: human sciences research council (focus group health care group, 1992; pretoria: south african data archive distributor, 2000 information from radio (96.3%) and television (95.4%) programs and advertisements. posters (88.4%), magazines (87.3%) and newspapers (84.1%) were the next popular sources of information. only 61% of respondents reported that they had obtained any hiv and aids information at work. table 1: sources of information during 6 months before survey source yes no don’t know radio 96.3% 2.3% 1.4% television 95.4% 3.7% 0.9% posters 88.4% 11.1% 0.5% magazine 87.3% 7.8% 4.9% newspapers 84.1% 10.8% 5.1% brochures/pamphlets 66.5% 16.5% 17.0% advertisement on taxis and buses 63.9% 27.7% 8.4% at work 61.0% 38.0% 1.1% videos or films 57.1% 40.2% 2.6% audiotapes 25.1% 62.0% 12.8% television (77%) and radio (73.8%) were the two most frequent sources of obtaining information. posters (64.4%), magazines (63.5%) and newspapers (65%) were less frequent sources used. these sources also increasingly required respondents to read. this finding hints at the likelihood of most of the respondents having low levels of literacy or access to reading material in their mother tongue. information at work was obtained often by only 43.2% of the respondents. these results are shown in table 2. these findings in tables 1 and 2 are consistent with the study of smallwood, godfrey & venter (2002) where television and radio predominated with 69.0% and 76.7% respectively. 31 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids table 2: frequency of obtaining information during previous 6 months source often seldom never n/a mean4 std. dev. television 77.0% 15.6% 4.8% 2.8% 1.33 0.69 radio 73.8% 18.6% 5.7% 1.9% 1.36 0.68 posters 64.4% 19.9% 12.3% 3.4% 1.55 0 84 magazine 63.5% 20.2% 9.9% 6.3% 1.59 0.91 newspapers 65.0% 19.3% 10.3% 5.3% 1.64 1 58 brochures/pamphlets 46.2% 33.8% 14.1% 6.0% 1.80 0.90 advertisement on 41 5% 36.8% 17.1% 4.7% 1.85 0 87 taxis and buses at work 43 2% 15.7% 36.2% 4.8% 2.02 1.00 videos or films 37.4% 18.9% 36.1% 7.5% 2.14 1.01 audiotapes 17.2% 29.1% 41.4% 12.3% 2.48 0.92 while advertisements on taxis and buses provide much needed additional revenue5 for operators of these services they appear to fail as vehicles to convey information about hiv and aids considering that only 41.5% of respondents obtained information in that way during the previous six months. as evidenced in table 3, slightly more than half of the respondents (51.2%) reported that they had proactively sought information about hiv and aids; two-thirds had during the previous month discussed the issue with fellow workers; and a similar proportion wanted their employers to provide them with information. however, 13.7% of them were uncertain about the role of employers in providing information. further, considering that more than twothirds of respondents had proactively and of their own volition sought information about hiv and aids through discussions with their fellow workers the important role of peer educators is evident. in terms of south african legislation, namely the occupational health and safety act 85 of 1993 contractors need to have one full-time worker as a health and safety representative for every 50 32 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 4 on the four point likert scale of frequency the closer the mean is to 1 the greater the degree of frequency (often) 5 operators were estimated to earn about zar600 per month per vehicle workers or part thereof. these persons if adequately trained would be ideal candidates to perform the function of peer educators. table 3: proactive efforts for information yes no don’t know have you ever tried to obtain information 51 2% 48.2% 0.4% about hiv and aids yourself? have you ever discussed hiv and aids 67.0% 31.6% 1.4% with any of your workers during the past month? should your employer provide you with 69.7% 16.5% 13.7% information about hiv and aids? the use of a knowledgeable speaker as part of an awareness education program at work was the most preferred form (95.6%) of employer-driven information sharing about hiv and aids. counseling provided or made available during worker wellness management was also highly popular (85%). other popular forms of preferred employer information sharing included posters (82.3%), and induction or orientation programs that include information about hiv and aids (80.8%). table 4 presents these responses ranked according to degree of preference. table 4: preferred form of information sharing by employer source yes no don’t know awareness education (speaker) 95.6% 2.5% 2.0% wellness management eg. counseling 85.0% 8.3% 6.7% posters 82 3% 15.4% 2.3% induction 80 8% 9.3% 9.3% newspapers 75.7% 16.8% 7.5% videos or films 75 2% 18.6% 6.2% newsletters 75.0% 20.3% 4.7% toolbox talks 73.9% 15.2% 10.8% role plays 70 3% 19.8% 9.9% brochures/pamphlets/flyers 63.6% 18.2% 18.2% 33 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids persons associated with medical experience were the most influential sources of information to bring about change in behavior or lifestyle, which is the desired response to hiv and aids information. employers as influential agency for changed behavior ranked 11th out of 12 sources of information. this finding suggests that construction employers are not as influential as they should be probably because of their lack of involvement in hiv and aids awareness and support programs. table 5: influence of source of hiv and aids information to change behavior or lifestyle source not at slightly very mean6 std. all much dev. doctor 16.7% 9.7% 73 2% nurse 15.1% 14.3% 70 5% 2.55 0.74 health worker 15.7% 16.5% 67.7% 2.52 0.75 infected person 18.9% 27.6% 53 5% 2.35 0.78 family 18.5% 43.8% 37 8% 2.19 0.73 tv 21.7% 45.0% 33 3% 2.16 0.92 friends 17.7% 49.4% 32.9% 2.15 0.70 radio 21.2% 44.9% 33.9% 2.13 0.73 fellow workers 18.9% 51.6% 29 5% 2.11 0.69 literature 23.2% 46.5% 30 3% 2.07 0.73 employer 26.5% 40.8% 32.7% 2.06 0.77 traditional healer (sangoma) 66.7% 19.6% 13 8% 1.47 0.73 contrary to expected popular belief, traditional healers such as sangomas were rated as the least influential sources of information. these results are shown in table 5. of note is the rating of tv and radio above employers as sources of influence confirming the importance of their role to inform and influence behavior change. 34 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 6 on the three point likert scale of influence the closer the mean is to 3 the greater the degree of influence according to the respondents table 6: employer interventions to combat hiv and aids and stis intervention yes no don’t know provision of condoms 93.7% 4.2% 2.1% awareness education (speaker) 93.6% 3.4% 3.0% wellness management eg. counselling 84.2% 7.7% 8.1% posters 82.4% 12 3% 5.3% induction 75.0% 9.6% 15.4% newsletters 71.1% 18.4% 10.5% videos or films 68.7% 21.7% 9.6% newspapers 68.1% 21 2% 10.6% toolbox talks 68.1% 14.9% 17.0% role plays 66.7% 12.6% 20.7% brochures/pamphlets/flyers 62.2% 16 5% 21.3% as evidenced from the data in table 6, the employer intervention most preferred by workers (93.7%) to combat hiv, aids and stis was the provision of condoms reflecting the effectiveness of the national ‘condomization’ campaign in the popular media such as radio and television. this finding confirms the reliance on protection rather than changed behavior to prevent infection. this finding is similar to the study of smallwood, godfrey & venter (2002) where the provision of condoms predominated (76.5%) as the preferred employer related intervention. the use of condoms creates a false sense of security among workers much in the same way as personal protective equipment (ppe) does to the hazards they are exposed to during construction activities. condoms should like ppes preferably be the measure of last resort and not first resort as the finding in table 6 suggests. similarly, the use of an invited speaker as part of an education awareness program rated as the next preferred intervention, namely 93.6% in table 6 and 74.1% in the smallwood, godfrey & venter (2002) study. 35 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids 4. sample b – namibia in this sample of 400 namibian workers only 23.1% reported at least 8 years of schooling while 57.6% had either completed 12 years of schooling or obtained a matriculation certificate. this finding suggests a well-educated labor force. workers had worked in construction for a median 2.0 years. they had worked a median 0.8 years for their current employers. further, they had worked for a median 0.75 years on present projects. this particular finding compares well with that of sample a. the sample consisted of 32% unskilled workers, 35% semi-skilled workers, 16% skilled workers, and 17% site administration. the distribution of levels of skills was reflective of the high levels of education of the labor force with the number of semi-skilled workers exceeding the number of unskilled workers. table 7: awareness of hiv and aids yes no unsure have you heard of hiv and aids? 95.2% 4.2% 0.6% is there something such as hiv and aids? 95.1% 1.9% 3.0% is hiv and aids a serious problem in your community? 92.9% 3.8% 3.3% is hiv and aids a serious problem in your workplace? 76.5% 11.2% 12.3% from table 7 it is evident that almost all the workers reported that they had heard about hiv and aids and that they were convinced that both existed, confirming an effective information sharing campaign in namibia. although almost all of them (92.9%) considered hiv and aids serious problems in their local communities, significantly fewer (76.5%) of them reported them as serious workrelated problems. this finding suggests that namibian employers are like their sa counterparts not as influential as they could be relative to hiv and aids. the findings in table 8 suggest that where employers presently provided information about tb (49.8%), stis (55.8%), and hiv and aids (61.7%), construction workers wanted them to play greater roles in providing information relative to all three issues, namely tb (67.9%), stis (73.8%) and hiv and aids (74.4%). 36 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) table 8: role of employer relative to information want to have provided issue presently provided yes no unsure yes no unsure 67.9% 28.4% 3.7% tuberculosis (tb) 49.8% 39.7% 10.5% 73.8% 25.0% 1.2% sexually transmitted 55.8% 31.8% 12.4% infections (stis) 74.4% 23.8% 1.8% hiv and aids 61.7% 31.1% 8.1% when asked about the treatment of hiv and aids 78.3% of workers correctly reported that doctors could not at present cure infected persons. a similar proportion (77.7%) of them opined that traditional healers such as sangomas and sanusi could also not treat and cure infected persons from hiv and aids. likewise 71.1% of workers correctly reported that a vaccine or injection against infection did not exist. of concern though are the remaining workers who were unsure about the possibilities of these agencies to treat and cure infected workers. these results are shown in table 9. table 9: treatment and curing of hiv and aids agent yes no unsure doctors 11.4% 78.3% 10 3% traditional healers (sangomas or sanusi) 5.0% 77.7% 17.0% vaccine (injection) 9.7% 71.1% 19 2% table 10 indicates the responses of workers relative to interventions that construction employers could introduce at work. as with the south african sample the namibian workers favored the provision of condoms above other forms of interventions. the other interventions differed from the responses of their sa counterparts. for example, awareness education in the form of an invited speaker ranked lower (5th) than in south africa (2nd) with a smaller proportion (73.3%) than the south african workers (93.6%). however, pamphlets and flyers, plays and toolbox talks in both countries ranked lowest as preferred employer related interventions. this finding suggests preference for the soft and non-confrontational option of condom usage instead of the harsher confrontation with the need to change sexual behavior. 37 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids table 10: employer related hiv and aids interventions rank intervention sa yes no unsure rank 1 provision of condoms 1 88.5% 6.9% 4.7% 2 induction programs 5 81.2% 7.2% 11.6% 3 video 7 76.0% 14.5% 9.5% 4 newsletters 6 74.7% 14.1% 11.2% 5 awareness education (speaker) 2 73.3% 12.8% 13.9% 6 posters 3 70.5% 20.5% 9.0% 7 pamphlets/flyers 11 65.1% 18.3% 16.6% 8 plays 10 57.7% 28.0% 14.3% 9 toolbox talks 9 53.7% 31.7% 14.7% 5. characteristics of effective communication communication has been described as an action that provides information that is relevant and meaningful to persons receiving the information. this information might not have the same meaning to different people and may not produce the same outcomes that are typically manifested in behavior and actions (emmitt & gorse, 2003). effective communication involves cognition, a process of transforming and contextualizing sensory information to enable understanding, storage, recovery and use. it therefore follows that when information stands on its own, is not relevant to previous information and cannot be assimilated cognition does not occur (emmitt & gorse, 2003). the accuracy and consistency of the words and symbols used to communicate information is important to achieve mutual understanding. the success and effectiveness of communication involves the correct use of language that includes words, pictures and body language, and how these are received and interpreted. language used on construction sites is different from that used in an office environment as workers create their own construction vernacular to communicate among themselves and that vernacular should be taken cognizance of. effective communication is a two-way process that involves listening, clarification, explanation, reinforcement and feedback. further, information that is shared must account for personal capability to process the information itself as well as the volume of it. emmitt & gorse (2003), argue for a phased approach over time using different 38 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) communication methods that include reiteration and repetition to avoid boredom, monotony, and apathy. correct interpretation of information received is dependent on personal experiences, previous knowledge, schooling, training, attitudes and emotions. effective hiv and aids communication in construction, therefore, involves providing relevant and meaningful information accurately, consistently, reiteratively, and repetitively using multiple methods, mediums, and languages including vernacular, that build on previous hiv and aids knowledge while at the same time recognizing the differing personal backgrounds of workers in an environment conducive to open and uninhibited interaction. 6. observations and recommendations the study confirmed that most construction workers in south africa were well informed about hiv and aids even though they had not been overly proactive in seeking out this information for themselves. the public media in south africa and namibia have been effective in communicating hivand aids-related information confirming their pivotal role in the prevention campaign. radio and television programs, advertisements and messages were the most popular and frequent information sources. however, the continuing increase in the rate of new hiv infections supported by anecdotal evidence gained from a series of national workshops conducted by the authors with industry participants is disturbing and suggests that these messages might have lost their effectiveness. for example, attendees at these workshops reported the abuse of the child grant system in south africa in terms of which the monthly amount of zar1607 per child is paid to qualifying mothers. against the background of current high unemployment rates of around 30%, women, especially young women, choose to fall pregnant to access this ‘regular source of income’ not considering the threat of possible infection with hiv through unprotected sex with any willing partners. in many cases the identities of the fathers do not matter. the transient employment in construction of workers, who are often migrant, renders them particularly vulnerable to this apparent abuse with unintended consequences to the industry, while contributing at the same time to the rising rates of hiv infection. 39 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids 7 about the equivalent of us$25 per month neither radio nor television is a form of communication that is employer driven or related. in fact, the study found construction employers not to be major influences relative to hiv and aids. employers were the 11th (out of 12) least likely agency to influence existing behavior and bring about lifestyle and sexual behavior changes. if the rate of new hiv infections is to be reversed construction employers have to be more proactively involved. participants at the national series of workshops held by the authors confirmed that very few industry stakeholders were involved with primary health promotion programs or had in place any hiv and aids interventions. employer involvement should not only include the provision of both male and female condoms, awareness and induction programs but also increased focused hiv and aids education that fulfills multiple purposes. these include the dissemination of necessary information that includes primary health issues; persuasion to change attitudes and sexual behavior; the equipping of workers with life skills necessary to prevent the spread of hiv infection; and the care of infected workers. considering that both south africa and namibia are multilingual countries with several official languages information needs to be shared in at least all of these languages. further, regional approaches should be adopted especially where certain languages predominate. for example, the department of health in south africa has produced a hiv and aids information flyer, which is region-specific in at least 3 of the dominant regional languages. communication about hiv and aids should incorporate construction vernacular to improve understanding of communicated information. where not possible, words and concepts should be carefully defined to ensure common and correct understanding. there is clearly a need to educate workers about universal protection procedures against infection in situations of possible infection in the workplace that includes the use of gloves and the correct methods to clean up accidental blood and body fluids – whether injured workers are hiv positive or not. further, workers need to be made aware that they can be held liable for damages if they infect sex partners without informing them about their hiv serostatus. considering the importance accorded to health care professionals such as doctors and nurses as well as persons infected with hiv as 40 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) agencies most likely to influence risky sexual behavior, they should be included in employer-driven education and communication programs. in this effort the local and primary health care clinics and voluntary organizations should be invited to participate. this participation should form part of structured primary health promotion (php) programs that include information on correct diet and exercise that are known to improve the immune system of the body, enabling it to better resist opportunistic infections. as these cells are attacked by hiv the cd4 or t helper cell count drops too low, opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis (tb), herpes, thrush and meningitis become life threatening. phps demonstrate the commitment of management to improve the general quality of life of workers and should involve them. research has shown that peer education programs both empower and educate workers as part of a holistic continuum that includes counseling support and care services; wellness management, monitoring and evaluation; and resources provided by employers (smallwood et al., 2002). historically, south africans have been largely influenced by both calvinistic and traditional cultural value systems, which inhibited the discussion of stigmatized issues such as hiv and aids in an open and free manner. even during the national workshops referred to earlier delegates were restrained in their contributions to the discussions on hiv and aids. for any employer-initiated intervention or program to succeed employers must create environments that promote and foster open and uninhibited dialogue among all parties around the issue. in such an environment workers need to be made aware despite their right under law to confidentiality relative to their hiv serostatus that the benefits of informing the employer could include allowances for time off to visit the clinic or doctor to obtain treatment and provide their employers with the opportunity to change the type of work they are doing to make their jobs a bit easier. part of this process must include clearly demonstrated management commitment and involvement that will include establishment of employer-worker consultative forums such as hiv and aids committees, partnerships with labor unions and movements, and liaison with local communities. the focus of these relationships must be prevention, care and non-discrimination (smallwood, et al., 2002). these forums and relationships should form part of strategic planning and operational interventions. 41 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids 42 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 7. conclusion this study has surveyed the effectiveness of various forms of hiv and aids communication, employer involvement and employee preferred employer driven interventions. in order for hiv and aids to be effectively combated construction employers must become more involved and facilitate better communication about the pandemic. communication must not be on a ‘one-off’ basis but rather form part of a structured program that is management led. it must be multilingual, consistent and repetitive while at the same time diversified to prevent staleness and complacency. construction employers must support, reinforce and complement television and radio hiv and aids campaigns and messages that form part of primary health promotion programs. local clinics and primary health care practitioners should be invited to be involved in these programs. additionally, hiv and aids communication must be escalated and focus on areas of deficient knowledge to prevent risky sexual behaviors. consequently, it must feature high profile and targeted communication that takes place openly and involve workers. since education of workers by peers has been found to be effective, opportunities must be created by employers for training of and participation by workers as health and safety representatives. the present rates of hiv infection will be reversed everyone needs to become increasingly involved in communicating new and effective messages that lead to changed sexual behavior. all construction employers cannot be inert bystanders. references booth, w. 1987. aids and insects. science, 237, pp. 355-356. emmitt, s. & gorse, c. 2003. construction communication. oxford: blackwell publishing ltd. goss, d. & adam smith, d. 1995. organizing aids: workplace and organizational responses to the hiv/aids epidemic. london: taylor & francis ltd. harrison, a., smit, j.a., & myer, l. 2000. prevention of hiv/aids in south africa: a review of behavior change interventions, evidence and options for the future. south african journal of science, 96(6), pp. 285-290. haupt, t.c. & smallwood, j. 2003a. hiv/aids in construction: are older workers aware? journal of engineering, design and technology, 1(1), pp. 42-53. haupt, t.c. & smallwood, j. 2003b. hiv/aids in construction: are contractors aware? construction information quarterly, 5(3), pp. 3-6. lim, v.k. g. & loo, g.l. 2000. hiv and the workplace: organizational con sequences of hiring persons with hiv and attitudes towards disclosure of hiv related information. international journal of manpower, 21(2), pp. 129 140 mcguire, w.j. 1985. attitudes and attitude change. in: lindzey, g. & aronson, e. (eds.), handbook of social psychology, 1, pp. 233-346. new york: random house. nicholl, a., laukamm josten, u., mwizarubi, b., mayala, c., mkuye, m. nyembela, g. & grosskurth, h. 1993. lay health beliefs concerning hiv and aids a barrier for control programmes. aids care. 5, pp. 231-241. smallwood, j., godfrey, c. & venter, d. 2002. hiv/aids, stds and tb in construction. in: boshoff, f. (ed.) proceedings of the 1st cib w107 inter national conference “creating a sustainable construction industry in devel oping countries”. south africa: stellenbosch, november 11-13, pp. 165-177. varga, c.a. 1997. sexual decision making and negotiation in the midst of aids: youth in kwazulu/natal, south africa. health transition review, supplement 3, pp. 45-67. wellings, k. & macdowall, w. 2000. evaluating mass media approaches to health promotion: a review of methods. health education, 100(1), pp. 2332. 43 haupt, munshi & smallwood • combating hiv and aids 51 lucius baloyi & michiel bekker causes of construction cost and time overruns: the 2010 fifa world cup stadia in south africa peer reviewed abstract the fifa world cup is the largest international sports event in the world. hosting the fifa world cup remains a sought after goal for any country. due to the magnitude of spectators and scale of participation the hosting of the event requires substantial investment in infrastructure, especially the stadia where the various football games will be played. the award of the 2010 fifa world cup to south africa resulted in ten stadia to be either upgraded or newly constructed for the event in south africa. even though all the stadia were ready for the tournament, nearly all projects experienced time delays and cost overruns. this article investigates the reasons or causes of cost overruns and time delays during the upgrading and construction of the various stadia. a three-tier research approach covers a comprehensive literature review on the causes of cost overruns and time delays on construction-related projects globally as well as an investigation into the factors that caused cost overruns and time delays on six of the stadia. finally, the results for the global and stadia projects are compared. the results indicate that the increase in material cost is the single largest contributor to cost overruns for both global and stadia projects. with respect to time delays the most significant contributing factor for global projects was late delay in payments while for the stadia projects design-related factors caused the most delays. the results provide valuable information on the unique challenges facing those who are interested in investing or managing construction projects in south africa. keywords: project cost performance, schedule delays, cost overruns, project construction abstrak die fifa wêreldbekersokkertoernooi is die grootste sportgebeurtenis in die wêreld. dit is ‘n groot eer en voorreg vir enige land om die toernooi aan te bied. gegewe die magdom aantal toeskouers en vlak van deelname aan die toernooi word heelwat spandeer om die land se infrastuktuur, veral die stadions waar die wedstryde gespeel word, op te gradeer. die toekenning van die 2010 fifa wêreldbekertoernooi aan suid-afrika het tot gevolg gehad dat ms lucious baloyi m eng student graduate school of technology management university of pretoria lynnwood road pretoria south africa. phone: 012-4202822. dr michiel c bekker senior lecturer graduate school of technology management university of pretoria lynnwood road pretoria south africa. phone: 012-4202822 email: <michiel.bekker@up.ac za> acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 52 tien stadions opgegradeer of nuut gebou moes word. hoewel die tien stadions gereed was vir die toernooi het feitlik al die stadionprojekte skedulevertragings en oorspandering beleef. hierdie studie het ten doel om die redes te ondersoek wat aanleiding gegee het tot skedulevertragings en oorspandering tydens die konstruksie van die nuwe, en opgradering van die ou stadions. ‘n drieledige navorsingsbenadering het ‘n volledige literatuurstudie ingesluit oor redes vir oorspandering en skedulevertragings op internasionale konstruksieprojekte, op ses van die stadionprojekte. laastens word ‘n vergelyking tussen die twee groepe projekte getref. die resultate toon aan dat die toename in materiaalkoste die grootste bydraende faktor is tot oorspandering vir beide internasionaleen stadionprojekte. wat skedulevertragings betref, het vertraging in betalings die grootste impak op internasionale projekte gehad terwyl laat ontwerpveranderinge die grootste impak op stadionprojekte gehad het. die resultate verskaf waardevolle inligting rakende die unieke uitdagings wat in berekening gebring moet word deur beleggers in suid-afrikaanse konstruksieprojekte. sleutelwoorde: projekkosteberekening, skedulevertragings, oorspandering, projekkonstruksie 1. introduction according to the south african construction industry status report, 2004 the construction industry accounts for more than 10% of the world’s economy (cidb, 2004: online). as a prime indicator of economic activity, the construction industry is often utilised by governments not only to stimulate growth but also to assist economic recoveries from recessions. given the large capital amounts associated with construction projects, the performance in terms of cost and time are closely monitored, especially where tax payers’ money is involved. with the third ‘traditional’ measurement criterion for project performance, namely ‘quality’, being a more subjective unit of measure, the quantitative results from measuring against original project duration estimates and approved budgets remain popular yardsticks for assessing overall project performance. even though south africa completed numerous large construction projects over the years, the award of the fifa soccer world cup in 2010 drew the attention to south africa’s ability to deliver large construction projects within time and budget. burdened with the negative global view towards the “african project failure syndrome” (rwelamila, talukhaba & ngowi, 1999) and “contingency venue” already identified (dell’apa, 2008), the south african construction industry started work under much doubt regarding its capability to complete the massive construction work on the ten stadia across south africa (panja, 2008; corbett & alderson-smith, 2009). once the stadia were completed, no formal or final cost figure was released by government or any other public institution. however, the baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 53 minister of finance was quoted in the africa report (ballong, 2010: online): “we have been confronted with an escalation of costs”, and the budget for all the stadia is usd 267 million in deficit. hill (2008) reported that the stadia would require an additional r 2 billion to complete. table 1 provides a summary of initial budgeted cost and indicated final cost of some of the stadia (eco-h2o, 2010: online). table 1: budgeted versus indicated final costs of the ten fifa 2010 stadia stadium initial budgeted cost indicated final cost soccer city – johannesburg r 2.2 billion r 3.7 billion ellis park – johannesburg r 240 million r 253 million moses mabida – durban r 1.6 billion r 3.1 billion mombela – nelspruit r 600 million r 1 billion green point – cape town r 2.9 billion r 4 billion nelson mandela bay – port elizabeth r 2.1 billion not known peter mokaba – polokwane r 1.3 billion not known royal bafokeng – rustenburg r 360 million r 483 million mangaung – bloemfontein r 245 million r 359 million loftus versfeld – pretoria r 122 million r 131 million although the stadia were completed in time for the fifa world cup, some were behind schedule and not ready for the confederations cup in 2009, the official ‘curtain raiser tournament’ and ‘testing tournament’ to assess the stadia’s readiness for the fifa world cup during 2010 (dell’apa, 2008). given the cost overruns and time delays on the stadia projects, this research aims to (i) investigate the general factors that cause cost overruns and time delays on global construction projects; (ii) determine which factors played a significant role during the upgrading and construction of the 2010 fifa world cup stadia, and (iii) compare the stadia factors with those indentified on global construction projects. 2. the global construction industry project performance in the construction industry is well researched. a study completed by the international program in the management of engineering and construction (imec) in 2000 (miller & lessard, 2000: 14) revealed that 18% of 60 large engineering and construction projects, with an average capital value of $ 1 billion undertaken between 1980 and 2000, incurred extensive cost overruns. merrow, mcdonnell & argüden (1988) studied 47 “megaprojects” in the acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 54 construction environment and found that only four were on budget with an average cost overrun of 88%. morris & hough (1987: 7-15) also provide a comprehensive list of cost overruns on large projects. according to flyvbjerg, bruzelius & rothengatter (2003), cost overruns are especially evident in infrastructure construction projects. the relatively poor performance of construction projects prompted researchers to investigate and identify the factors that cause cost overruns and time delays. in the following paragraphs the results of related literature is summarised and concluded with the identification of the most important and dominant factors. formulating solutions and remedies to the causes were not addressed and are considered to be beyond the scope of this paper. 3. factors causing project cost overruns since the 1980s various studies have investigated the causes for project cost overruns on construction projects. kaming, olomolaiye, holt & harris (1997: 87), who studied 31 construction projects in indonesia, found that from a contractor’s point of view, cost overruns were mainly caused by “inaccuracy of material take-off”, “increase in material costs” and “cost increase due to environmental restrictions”. studying the cost overruns and delays on groundwater projects in ghana, frimpong, oluwoye & crawford (2003: 325) contractors found that “late monthly payments from clients” were the most important cost and time delay factors, with clients ranking “poor contractor performance” as the most important cost and time delay factor. reviewing public sector construction projects in nigeria, dlakwa & culpin (1990: 239) found that the three main reasons for cost overruns are “fluctuations in material, labour and plant costs”, “construction delays” and “inadequate pre-planning”. in another study on construction projects in nigeria, conducted by okpala & aniekwu (1988: 238), it was found that architects, consultants and clients agreed that ‘shortage of materials’, ‘finance and payment of completed works’ and ‘poor contract management’ were the most important causes of cost overruns. mansfield, ugwu & doran (1994: 258) studied the performance of transportation infrastructure projects in nigeria and concluded that ‘material price fluctuations’, ‘inaccurate estimates’, ‘project delays’ and ‘additional work’ contributed most to cost overruns. in a fourth study on construction projects in nigeria by elinwa & buba (1994: 698), it was found that ‘cost of materials’, ‘fraudulent practices’ and ‘fluctuations in materials prices’ baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 55 had the most significant impact on project costs. during extensive studies on construction project performance in european countries, morris & hough (1987) as well as flyvbjerg, bruzelius & rothengatter (2003) found that ‘fluctuations in material cost’ and ‘additional work’ contributed most to cost overruns. in reviewing the literature an approach and trend towards the type of questions and results could be observed. in calculating the number of times specific types of causes for cost overruns under each category were observed, the following can be concluded: the most significant factor causing cost overruns due to client • action is ‘additional work or changes to work’. this cause was listed as a major factor in five of the seven (71%) reviewed articles. from a contractor’s perspective the most significant • contributor to cost overruns is ‘time delays’, listed in three of the seven (43%) reviewed articles. the most significant factor for cost overruns is evident from • external factors and that is ‘material price changes’. this factor was listed in six of the seven (86%) reviewed articles. other common factors listed among contractors, consultants and clients were ‘poor estimates and material take-off’ and ‘delay in payments’. it can be argued that the factors mentioned do not stand alone and that the ultimate cost overruns can be a result of multiple factors contributing to the final cause for cost overruns. for example, additional work requested by a client can result in a delay in ordering material which, in the mean time, was subject to price increases or shortages. the views of clients, contractors and consultants on reasons for cost overruns could also be conflicting with stakeholders defending their operating domain and ‘shifting the blame’. 4. factors causing time delays unfortunately, time delays on construction projects are more the norm than the exception. supplementing their research on the causes for cost overruns, kaming et al. (1997: 87) found that ‘design changes’, ‘materials shortage’ and ‘inadequate planning’ were the most significant contributors to time delays on construction projects. similarly sambasivan & soon (2007: 521) categorised their findings into client, contractor and consultant categories, with all three categories listing ‘poor site management’, ‘inadequate contractor acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 56 experience’ and ‘poor subcontractors’ among the top five causes for time delays on construction projects. ogunlana, promkuntong & jearkjirm (1996: 44) investigated 12 highrise buildings and categorised their findings into client/consultantrelated, contractor-related and external causes for time delays. the weighted findings among these three categories indicated that ‘material shortages’, ‘overstretching of technical personnel’ and ‘design changes’ were the most important causes for project delays. assaf, al-khalil & al-hazmi (1995: 50) used 56 questions in three categories, namely owner, architects/engineers and contractors, to determine the main causes of delays on large building projects in saudi arabia. their survey showed that contractors believed that ‘preparation of shop drawings’, ‘delays in contractor’s progress’ and ‘payment by owners’ were the most important factors contributing to time delays. according to architects/engineers, ‘cash flow’, ‘subcontractors’ schedules’ and ‘slowness of owner decision-making’ caused the most delays. finally, owners were of the opinion that ‘design errors’, ‘excessive bureaucracy in projectowner organisation’ and ‘labour shortages’ contributed most to time delays. walker (1995: 269) surveyed australian project representatives and found that the most important factors that affect time delays are ‘the ability of the organisation to manage risk’, ‘planning capabilities’ and ‘effective resource coordination’. kumaraswamy & chan (1998: 25) studied time delays on hong kong projects and found that ‘unforeseen ground conditions’, ‘poor site management’ and ‘slow speed of decision-making’ were the most prominent causes of time delays. the results from a study of 130 public projects in jordan by al-momani (2000: 58) indicated that ‘poor design and negligence by the owner’, ‘change orders’ and ‘poor weather and site conditions’ contributed most to delays. al-khalil & al-ghafly (1999: 654-655) studied public utility projects in saudi arabia and found that contractors considered ‘delay in claim settlement’, ‘slow decision-making’ and ‘delays in progress payments’ as the most important delay factors. owners believed that ‘poor early planning’, ‘scope changes’ and ‘financial difficulties by the contractors’ were the major causes of delay. the consultants somehow supported the owners’ views by indicating ‘financial difficulties by the contractor’, ‘improper contract knowledge’ and ‘ineffective planning’ as the most significant delay factors. odeh & battaineh (2002: 70) used only two points of view, namely contractors and consultants, to determine the causes of project baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 57 delays in jordan. the results showed that contractors believed that ‘poor labour productivity’, ‘owner interference’ and ‘inadequate contractor experience’ were the three most important causes of delays. the consultants, however, indicated ‘inadequate contractor experience’, ‘late payment of completed work’ and ‘poor subcontracting’ to be the main causes of delay. the inclusion of ‘late payment of completed work’ as a cause for delay referred to the result of late payment on continuing site activities and contractors halting work unless payment for completed work had been processed after the agreed date. studying the significant factors that cause delay of construction projects in malaysia, alaghbari, kadir, salim & ernawati (2007: 199200) used four categories for analysis, namely contractor, consultant, owner and external. as far as causes related to contractor actions are concerned, ‘financial problems’, ‘shortage of materials’ and ‘poor site management’ were ranked among the top three. owner causes included ‘delayed payments’, ‘slow decision-making’ and ‘contract scope changes’. the top three consultant causes were ‘poor supervision’, ‘slowness to give instructions’ and ‘lack of experience’. finally, external causes of delay included ‘shortage of materials’, ‘poor site conditions’ and ‘lack of equipment and tools in the market’. faridi & el-sayegh (2006: 1172) studied project delays in the united arab emirates and found that the three main causes of project delays were ‘preparation and approval of drawings’, ‘inadequate early planning of the project’ and ‘slowness of owner’s decision-making processes’. the following can be concluded from the results published in the reviewed literature: the highest frequencies of time delay factors attributed • to client actions were ‘changes to design and drawings’ (listed in six of thirteen, or 46% of the reviews) followed by ‘slow decision-making’ (listed in four of thirteen, or 31% of the reviews). the highest time delay factor attributed to contractor action • was ‘poor site management’ (listed in six of thirteen, or 46% of the reviews), followed by ‘poor planning’ (listed in five of thirteen, or 39% of the reviews). as far as external factors are concerned, the overwhelming • contributing factors to time delay were ‘material shortages’ acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 58 and ‘late delivery of materials’ (both listed in seven of thirteen or 54% of the reviews). as with factors causing cost overruns, multiple factors could have an impact on a single, final cause for time delays. for example, slow decision-making by the client could lead to late design finalisation and subsequent late ordering of materials. for the purpose of this research, the questions remain: which factors caused time delays and cost overruns on the 2010 fifa world cup stadia projects, and how do these factors compare to those identified on global construction projects? 5. research method construction projects entail the business engagement between two parties, namely the client or owner of the project and the contracting parties. the client is usually an institutional body such as a corporate company, governmental department, parastatal, financial institution or non-governmental institution. contracting entities could be one or more main contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. this business engagement between the two parties occurs in an economic, socio-economic and environmentally sensitive business environment. this global environment consists of many external factors that could influence the progress and success of the project. together with the client and contractors these external factors should be considered when exploring the causes for cost overruns and time delays on construction projects. with this in mind, the following basic categories developed by antill & woodhead (1990) were used: client-related factors;• contractorand supplier-related factors, and• external factors.• client-related factors include late payments, approval delays, changes to work and design, technical definition, client representation, design delays, decision-making and internal skills shortages. contractorand supplier-related factors include skills shortages, time and resource planning and coordination, subcontractors, site management, and labour productivity. external factors include delay in financing, statutory approvals, unpredictable site conditions, escalation and inflation, and shortages of material. although it can be argued that ‘shortages of material’ could be a supplier-related factor, most of the literature categorised it under external factors, baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 59 the reason being that availability of material is mostly a function of economic conditions and subjected to supply and demand rather than supplier capabilities. in order to conduct the survey, a detailed questionnaire was developed. the main purpose of the questionnaire was to assess the perception of respondents regarding the factors that cause project delays and cost overruns. the questionnaire consisted of 18 potential factors causing cost overruns and 34 potential factors causing delays, to be ranked by respondents. although this research method of extended surveys or questionnaires has been proven for this type of application, the concern remains that there could be a certain degree of overlap between the various categories. in order to minimise potential overlaps, the 52 factors were carefully described. in analysing and ranking the results, the relative importance index (rii) was used (kometa, olomolaiye & harris [1994]; faridi & el-sayegh [2006]; aibinu & odenyika [2006]). rii = ∑w / (a × n), (0 ≤ index ≤ 1), where w = weight given to each factor by the respondents, and ranges from 1 to 5, (where “1” is “never” and “5” is “always”), a is the highest weight (that is 5 in this case) and n = total number of respondents. a total of 60 questionnaires were distributed to consultants (24), contractors (20) and clients (16) involved in the ten 2010 world cup construction sites. the sampling method used is commonly referred to as convenience or snowball sampling (sambasivan & soon, 2007). this type of sampling falls under the category of nonprobability techniques and, as the name implies, sample elements are identified by convenience (friends, colleagues and professional contacts) and referral networks. this method of questionnaire distribution is preferred when it is difficult to obtain a response from participants selected at random. the ten stadia concerned were those listed in table 1 (fifa, 2010: online). although the stadia were on track to be completed for the fifa world cup tournament beginning in june 2010, not all were ready for the fifa confederations cup held during june and july 2009. although delays and cost overruns occurred on nearly all the projects, most were able to absorb the additional capital and time requirements in the contingencies allowed. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 60 6. results of the 60 questionnaires distributed, 22 (36%) responses were received. responses were received for six stadia (see table 2). of the 22 returned questionnaires, 5 (22.7%) were from clients, 3 (13.6%) from contractors and 14 (63.6%) from consultants. soccer city had the highest response rate (31.8%) and loftus the lowest (9%). although the responses from clients and contractors were fairly low, the structuring of the questions minimised subjectivity. the low response rate made it impossible to conclude statistically significant findings. however, some indicative trends could be observed. table 2: response from stadia stadium number of respondents % of response client contractors consultants total ellis park 1 1 2 4 18.2% loftus versfeld 0 0 2 2 9% mbombela 1 0 2 3 13.6% polokwane 1 0 2 3 13.6% royal bafokeng 1 1 1 3 13.6% soccer city 1 1 5 7 31.8% total 5 3 14 22 100% in analysing the responses the mean and rii were calculated and ranked for each factor. 6.1 factors causing cost overruns on the 2010 fifa world cup stadia the results obtained from the responses to cost overruns are provided in table 3. a total of 18 factors were analysed, with the top ten factors contributing to more than 85% of the cost overruns. thus, for the purpose of this paper, only the top 10 ranked factors are listed. table 3: ranking of factors causing cost overrun at stadia cost overrun factors rii rank category increase in material cost 0.79 1 external inaccurate material estimates 0.60 2 client shortage of skilled labour 0.58 3 contractor client’s late contract award 0.56 4 client baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 61 cost overrun factors rii rank category project complexity 0.55 5 external increase in labour cost 0.54 6 external inaccurate quantity take-off 0.53 7 client difference between selected bid and the consultants’ estimate 0.52 8 client change orders by client during construction 0.51 9 client shortage of manpower 0.51 9 external the ranking of the factors that caused cost overruns at the various stadia indicates that the most significant factor is the ‘increase in material cost’ under the category of external factors. the bills of quantities were supplied to the contractors as part of the tender process. the ‘inaccuracy of material estimates’ from the bills of quantities under the client category was the second highest ranked factor while the ‘shortage of skilled labour’ under the contractor category was ranked third. 6.2 factors causing time delays on the 2010 fifa world cup stadia the results obtained from the responses to time delays are provided in table 4. in total 34 factors were analysed, with the top ten factors contributing to more than 80% of the causes for delay. it must be noted that, for the purpose of this article, the factor ‘incomplete drawings’ is attributed to the ‘client’ category, the reason being that the majority of the consultants were appointed under a separate professional services contract by the client with the final product (drawings) handed to the construction contractors under a separate contract. thus, as far as the contractor is concerned, the completeness of drawings remains the responsibility of the client. table 4: ranking of factors causing time delays at stadia delay factors rii rank category incomplete drawings 0.66 1 client design changes 0.63 2 client clients’ slow decision-making 0.63 2 client late issue of instructions 0.63 2 client acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 62 delay factors rii rank category shortage of skilled labour 0.63 2 contractor poor planning and scheduling 0.59 6 contractor labour disputes and strikes 0.59 6 contractor shortage of manpower 0.58 8 contractor change orders by client during construction 0.55 9 client poor information dissemination 0.55 9 client delay in work approval 0.55 9 client the highest ranked contributors to time delays on projects are concentrated around client actions, namely ‘incomplete designs’, ‘design changes’, ‘slow decision-making’ and ‘late issue of instructions’. for the contractor category the ‘shortage of skills’ proved to be the most significant delay factor, followed by ‘poor planning’ and ‘labour problems’. the most significant external factor was ‘unforseen soil conditions’, ranked eighth. 6.3 comparing global and fifa world cup stadia construction performances a key parameter for direct comparison is the use of common measurement criteria. in this research a common approach was followed in terms of categorisation of parameters, questionnaires and rii calculation. however, not all research conducted on global construction projects followed this route and therefore the final results should be viewed as indicative rather than absolute. despite this shortcoming, the comparison indicates clear similarities and differences between global construction and fifa world cup stadia projects. comparing the causes of cost overruns with those found in literature and fifa world cup stadia, ‘material cost’ and ‘price fluctuations’ had a significant impact on both groups of projects. as an external factor the uncertainty regarding material cost is something the project manager and team have little control over and it remains a huge risk for any construction project. other signicant causes identified for global projects in literature were ‘poor bills of quantity estimates and material take-off’ and ‘delays in payments’ as opposed to ‘inaccurate material estimates’ and ‘shortage of skilled labour’ for fifa world cup stadia projects. thus the main causes of cost overruns on projects studied in literature and fifa world cup stadia were very similar. baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 63 when comparing the causes for time delays between those found in literature and fifa world cup stadia, it was found that there are similarities between the top three causes. from literature ‘slow decision-making by the client’, ‘design changes’ and ‘delay in payments’ were found to be the most significant causes of project time delays. in comparison, fifa world cup stadia found that ‘incomplete drawings’, ‘design changes’ and ‘clients’ slow decisionmaking’ were the main causes of time delays. the observations made in comparing the results are important, especially those related to causes for time delays on the fifa world cup stadia projects. the mere fact that the causes are concentrated around the client’s actions will have an impact on the allowances that contractors will need to make on the schedules. similarly, clients will also be wary of the skills problems experienced by contractors since all three factors listed under the contractor category for fifa world cup stadia projects, namely shortage of skills, poor planning, and labour disputes and strikes are worker-related. 7. summary and conclusion the fifa 2010 soccer world cup turned the world’s attention to south africa’s ability to successfully complete major construction projects. with global construction projects generally late and over budget, this article investigated the factors causing cost overruns and time delays on these projects. the factors identified were categorised into three categories, namely external factor-related, client-related and contractor-related. following the factors identified, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to potential participants working in various capacities on the various stadia projects. results were received from respondents involved in six of the ten fifa world cup stadia. although the fifa world cup stadia had time delays on all the projects, they were completed in time for the tournament. the most significant contributor to cost overruns for the fifa world cup stadia was ‘material cost and price fluctuations’ which is also a factor experienced by numerous projects referred to in literature in other parts of the world. factors causing delays on the fifa world cup stadia projects were client-related such as ‘incomplete drawings’, ‘design changes’ and ‘slow decision-making’. apart from a clientrelated cause, namely ‘delay in payments’, the main causes identified in literature on global projects corresponds with the top three causes found in literature. acta structilia 2011: 18(1) 64 from this research it can be concluded that the main factors causing cost overruns and time delays on global projects listed in literature are similar to those experienced on the fifa world cup stadia projects. south africa does no longer finds itself isolated from global economic pressures. local clients and contractors compete in a global economic environment where the availability of materials and skilled resources remains a challenge. the importance of accurate design work and compilation of bills of quantities were highlighted. although advanced software tools and techniques, such as three-dimensional modelling, automated material take-offs and change reference control had been developed to improve the productivity of design outputs, these aspects remain some of the most significant contributors to time delays on construction projects. 8. recommendations for further research this article investigated the factors causing cost overruns and time delays for both fifa 2010 world cup stadia and global construction projects. from the article it is clear that there is much scope for research in the following areas: the impact of interrelationships/causalities between two or • more factors. although listed as stand-alone factors in this research, some factors could be the result of another. for example, ‘wrong material take-offs’ could be the result of ‘design changes’. ‘poor skills levels’ could impact on ‘site supervision’, not to mention salient factors such as language and cultural differences. the skills level of global and south african construction labour • and subsequent levels of productivity. the impact of architectural novelty on the design phase • duration of projects. the new stadia included state-of-theart, unique architectural designs. these designs posed major challenges regarding constructability which could have had an impact on the number of design changes. the impact of forward cover to hedge against extraordinary • material price increases. the impact of geographical positioning on construction • performance. baloyi & bekker • causes of construction cost and time overruns 65 references aibinu, a.a. & odenyika, h.a. 2006. construction delays and their causative factors in nigeria. journal of construction engineering and management, 132(7), pp. 667-677. alaghbari, w.m.a., kadir, m.r.a., salim, a. & ernawati, 2007. the significant factors causing delay of building construction projects in malaysia. engineering construction and architectural management, 14(2), pp. 192-206. al-khalil, m.i. & al-ghafly, m.a. 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• leadership; 71 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” 72 acta structilia 2005:12(2) • knowledge of human nature and tactfulness; • ability to accept responsibility; • ability to command and show respect; • integrity; • promptness; and • objectivity. 3. defining the ‘designer’ as a demarcated position designing definitely stays demarcated as the duty and prerogative of the architectural profession. the duties of the architect are clearly stated in the architectural professional act, act no 44 of 2000 (republic of south africa, 2000: 1.3), as comprising the business and management of the process of investigating, assessing, defining, conceptualising and designing a physical intervention in the environment, and processing the design through technological development and co ordination of the input of professionals from other disciplines, to produce documentation which can be utilized for the tendering and construction of the project and which the architectural professional will use for the administra tion, cost and quality control of the construction process, with the ultimate purpose of delivering an architectural product which responds to the client’s requirements in a manner which exemplifies design excellence, enhance ment of the environment, social responsibility, appropriate technology and quality of construction and the whole exe cuted in an ethical, competent and professional manner. according to schedule 1 of the act, a person designing ‘simple projects’ would at least have to be a professional architectural draughtsperson. engineering design work is reserved for persons registered according to the engineering profession act, act 46 of 2000 (republic of south africa, 2000: 18). 4. description and evaluation of the content of the manual the manual consists of a 44 page ring-bound file in a5 format with copious free hand illustrations throughout. figure 1: typical drawing from the manual 4.1 commentary on part 1 in part 1, the introduction to energy efficient housing, all the subdivisions comes down to the planning of energy efficient design (beyers et al., n.d.: 7). although construction managers are required to understand the principles of design, design definitely is not one of the functions of the construction manager, contractor or building foreman (hauptfleisch & siglé, 2004: 27-36). 4.1.1 attributes of energy efficient homes listed (beyers et al., n.d.: 10): • “houses are well insulated either by ‘an installed ceiling’1, ‘double skin brick walls’2 or ‘cavity walls’3 and ‘roofing materials may be made from a material that keep heat inside during winter, and outside in summer’.4 • the ‘roof on the northern side of the house is extended beyond the wall’s edge by 600mm’5 to form a roof overhang to shade the windows and doors. alternatively, a ‘deciduous tree’6 may replace the roof overhang to provide shade on the northern side of the house. (emphasis added by author) 73 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” 74 acta structilia 2005:12(2) comments: 1. ‘an installed ceiling’ on its own does not ensure a ‘well insulated house.’ lightweight insulated roofs are feasible, provided that the structure including walls, partitions and floors have enough mass. useable isolation materials are for instance blown cellulose fibre insulation, which is made of 70% recycled newsprint and harmless household chemicals, and which is fire retardant and rodent resistant. it is cheap and very effective. furthermore, dust does not reduce its insulating properties (minnaar & cloete, 2004: 7). 2. ‘double skin brick walls’ provide sufficient thermal insulation in some sa climates, but are inadequate in others (holm, 1996: 85). 3. ‘cavity walls’ consisting of two brick skins separated by a 50mm air gap or cavity that helps against moisture penetration also contributes greatly towards thermal insulation. 4. see (1) 5. according to holm (1996: 67 72) general guidelines for ‘roof overhang, window height and positioning’ differs greatly according to region and charts should be consulted by the designers. page numbers 67 72 are applicable to the gauteng region. a 600mm roof overhang will be too wide in musina, and too narrow in cape town to be effective. 6. planting a single ‘deciduous tree’ would require specialised knowledge to be effective. this is not the domain of construction managers. headers on the following pages such as “what are the benefits of any energy efficient house?” “what is the environment?” and “the home environment” seems to be aimed at the education of homeowners, which according to the manual seems to be one of the duties of the site manager (beyers et al., n.d.: 8). the impact of south africa’s ‘weather’ on the home environment (beyers et al., n.d.: 13) should have referred to south african ‘climate’, as the complete concept of climate is what forms the environment. 4.1.2 ‘practical solutions’ proffered for dealing with hot and cold climates (beyers et al., n.d.: 14): • ‘thermal mass’ – thick walls and solid floors help to regulate the temperature in the home.1 • try to ‘minimise the amount of sunlight’ that shines through windows by providing adequate roof overhangs (600+) and shading.2 • ‘window placement’: in cool areas put large windows on the northern side of the home, so that enough sunlight can shine into the window and onto the northern side of the home, so that enough sunlight can shine into the window and onto the floor, heating the house….3 • provide roof and wall ‘insulation’.4 • provide adequate ‘ventilation’ in the house, by placing windows that can open on both sides of the house to allow a breeze through the house.5 • in hot areas, ‘paint houses and even roofs with light colours’.6 (emphasis added by author) comments: 1. thermal mass is a property of some building materials that is necessary to achieve thermal comfort in some climates (holm & viljoen, 1996: 11). while this argument is partly correct in hot, dry regions, it definitely is incorrect in hot, humid areas (holm, 1996: 85). 2. see 4.1.1 (5) 3. larger windows will allow greater heat gain but will also allow a lot of heat to escape during winter nights unless the windows are temporarily insulated. this is known as the greenhouse effect (holm & viljoen, 1996: 12). 4. according to holm (1996: 85), the addition of insulation without both attention to thermal mass and the infiltration of air will be to the detriment of indoor conditions. 5. cross ventilation has to be designed in compliance with the ruling wind direction, as no air will flow into the building through openings situated parallel to the direction of the wind (holm & viljoen, 1996: 16). 6. light colours including pastels have a fair reflectance to sunlight e.g. 50% for light green, but they are not as reflective as white paint which has a reflectance of 80% at the same cost (olgyay, 1992: 114). while the explanation of air pollution and the environmental responsibility of the individual (beyers et al., n.d.: 14-16) can be of use in a high school or general adult environmental education programme, the current presentation is done in such vague and inexact terms, that it neither applies to teaching on tertiary level, nor is it directly applicable to the designated duties of a site manager. 75 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” 4.2 commentary on part 2 part two deals with the building of energy efficient housing. while the application of the principles of passive solar design is in order, it is the way in which the manual wishes to achieve it that is tainted. beyers et al. (n.d.: 17,18) lament the fact that site managers do not have opportunity to participate in the pre-planning stages such as interacting with the municipalities, town planners, the community and developers. site design and house plans, with house siting and orientation, house construction including design and detailing, and the interaction with the beneficiaries are all included as tools and obligations of the site manager according to the manual. the duties and knowledge of professionals such as town planners and architects are thus disregarded and are then transferred to the ‘unsuspecting’ site manager. 4.2.1 stages 1-3 in stage one: pre-planning, the authors declares the site manager to be involved in the planning process of the project from the outset, whereby “a project’s eco-efficiency may be increased by up to 80%” (beyers et al., n.d.: 19). here the theme of brown-fields development is introduced unannounced, and without a definition. the term, spelt differently, is used again later on in the manual. according to the manual, time and money should also be made available to the site-manager to interact ‘properly’ with the beneficiary community and to explain the energy and water efficiency issues in the project. site managers are also supposed to suggest “green finance options to cover the cost of energy efficiency interventions such as fluorescent (misspelt in the manual) lighting or ceilings” (beyers et al., n.d.: 20) in stage 2: the project site layout. the spelling-mistakes apart, the function of the site manager is again misinterpreted and misrepresented here. 4.2.2 stage 4 in stage four: ‘house construction’, a text box minds the site manager to make ‘customers’ aware that windows should be opened for at least part of the day. this is a statement that needs to be qualified, as loss of heat during the winter needs to be mitigated, 76 acta structilia 2005:12(2) by closing the windows, shutters, thick curtains, or rolling down mats during the night. during summer, the same should be done during the day, to block out too much heat (sowman & urquhart, 1998: 140). more statements from ‘stage 4’ of the construction of a house in the manual have to be clarified (beyers et al., n.d.: 28-34): • ‘each room in a house should have airbricks leading to the outside’.1 • dark colours provide better ‘warming’ capacities than light colours.2 • ‘a 50x50 roof timber is used to support the (roof) overhang sheet’.3 • ‘use v5 strength sheeting and long nails (9cm) to secure the roof to the walls’.4 • ‘insulation material stops air of different temperatures from moving from one place to another. for example, insulation materials will prevent heat from escaping from a warm room in winter, when the outside temperature is low, and likewise keep hot air outside the house, when it is very hot outside in summer’.5 • all gaps in the house that can potentially let drafts of air in should be sealed off. this ‘weather-proofing’ will prevent warm air from escaping from the house in winter, and cold air from blowing in.6 • ‘vaulted ceilings give excellent insulation in small houses’.7 • ‘because heat rises, the type of roofing and ceiling material in a house makes a big difference to its energy efficiency’.8 • ‘corrugated iron roofs … offer very little insulation. asbestos cement roofs provide a greater level of insulation …’ ‘roof tiles provide excellent thermal insulation …’.9 • a number toilets, however, use small amounts of water, these toilets are regarded as ‘water efficient’ toilets and use less water than the average toilet.10 • ‘dark floor colours retain heat well’.11 (emphasis added by author) 77 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” comments: 1. the practice of providing air bricks have proven futile in the past and is not recommended any longer, as the airflow through the insect screen portion of the mesh quickly collects dust. this leads to the serious impaired function of the brick through collection of grime. 2. dark colours may have a better ability to absorb heat, as opposed to the ability of light colours to reflect heat (see 4.1.2 [6]) but no colour will ever have the ability to warm or cool a structure. 3. apart from proposing a detail of very poor quality that will not have the necessary bearing capacity, construction details are not precedented in the applying of energy efficiency. 4. see (3) 5. see 4.1.2 (4) 6. according to holm and viljoen (1996: 15) the main function of ventilation in airtight buildings is to supply fresh air to the occupants. the proposition to make the house airtight is however also contradicting the counsel of the authors to include an airbrick in each room (see 1). 7. ‘vaulted structures’ of any size will benefit if the mass of the vault (heat storing capacity) is enough to achieve thermal comfort. it will, in other words, benefit from its mass, using the flywheel principle (napier, 2000: 9.19.2). 8. heat cannot, and will not rise, but hot air does. 9. the use of asbestos in any product nowadays is prohibited in our country. the product that replaced asbestos cement is called fibre cement sheeting and tiles. the insulation of the three types of roofing materials: corrugated, galvanised steel sheet, fibre cement sheeting and concrete roof tiles used on their own without isolation material and a ceiling does not differ that much. 10. the different types of sanitation available today, and their advantages and disadvantages could definitely have been expounded in the manual (white paper on basic household sanitation). 11. the absorption of darker colours may be better than that of light colours, but heat storing or thermal capacity is decided by mass (holm, 1996: 85). throughout the manual, reference is made to the preferred general orientation as being north, presumably as a rule for the whole of south africa (beyers et al., n.d.: 9, 17, 18, 21, 23, 36). according to holm and viljoen (1996: 10) buildings should be orientated to maximize on solar gain during winter, whilst avoiding it in summer. 78 acta structilia 2005:12(2) optimum orientation is dependent on the local topography where buildings on a south-facing slope will receive less solar radiation than buildings on a northerly slope, and three-dimensional structures like adjacent buildings and trees will also have an effect on it. recommended orientation of sites according to these authors is a deviation of no more than ±15° from true ns or ew. 4.3 commentary on part 3 part three deals with the handover instructions for new home-owners and the use of an energy efficient house. beyers et al. (n.d.: 23-24) urge site managers to gather as much information on the community and their specific needs, as possible. the site managers are even instructed to try to talk both men and women and to become the advisors to the homeowner once he or she has managed to get invitations to energy efficient houses when the homeowners have moved in. according to beyers et al., the site managers also have the duty to explain the concept of ventilation to the homeowners. according to these authors, further obligations also extend to the managing of the whole project, from the calling of a public meeting at the start of the project, to all the explaining of phases and possible impacts, electing of a project committee from the community, compelling members of the community to work as volunteers and the arranging of a launch for the opening of show-houses. hauptfleisch and siglé (2004: 23) defines construction management, or site management as “a procurement process for which the employer appoints a manager at a professional fee (or a salary) to manage the construction work on site from beginning to end by using specialist contractors.” the client, be it the government or a private institution, called the employer in the definition above, have to appoint people to manage the community, if needed. generalities regarding the cooking done inside the houses and heating of houses contribute nothing to the value of the manual. recommendations on the drawing and opening of curtains and covering of floors are only partly correct and therefore insufficient (beyers, n.d.: 37). certainly, curtains should be drawn during daytime in summer, and opened at night, when the windows are opened to let a fresh breeze in. the opposite is true during wintertime. during the winter, the flywheel-effect should also be utilised by enabling the sun to shine on massive floors, where this is required according to the climate. 79 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” factors such as pollution caused by coal-burning power stations, coal-burning stoves and traditional braziers are however ignored in this manual, and should form part of the issues considered when designing new housing schemes. certainly the renewable energy systems such as solar power using photovoltaic panels have to be considered in a sustainable village, although they have higher initial costs, it is generally known to also have very low running costs. this has to be compared to the monthly electricity bills and running costs of electricity plants (minnaar & cloete, 2004: 10). by using photovoltaic panels, electric geysers, their thermostats and the extra insulation of pipes and geysers proposed by beyers et al. (n.d.: 37), all become obsolete. beyers et al. (n.d.: 38) only devoted two sentences to the very important issue of rainwater harvesting, without cautioning possible tenants to refrain from using water from thatched roofs and roofs painted with poisonous paint for drinking purposes. neither do they advise that although corrugated galvanised steel sheet tanks are relatively cheap, they rust easily. according to mollison (1991: 81) moulds are available for making concrete tanks. mollison also advocates that rainwater tanks should be placed on the shaded side of the houses, i.e. south preferably under a trellis, to cool water down for drinking. 5. survey a written survey was conducted through a formal questionnaire sent to eight tertiary education institutions offering courses for site managers. each questionnaire was accompanied by a manual. after several follow-up phone calls, four questionnaires were received back. a fifty percent response is considered to be excellent and representative. 80 acta structilia 2005:12(2) table 1: evaluation of response to the survey 81 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” questions response % yes partially no are the contents conveyed clearly? 100.0 0.0 0.0 is the content relevant to the study field? 50.0 0.0 50.0 do you find the manual adequate as undergraduate study material? 50.0 25.0 25.0 do you find the drawings to be clear and to the point? 100.0 0.0 0.0 would you describe the manual as effective and successful in conveying information? 100% would you like to prescribe this manual to construction manager students? 25% 25%* 50% 6. comments by the respondents respondents volunteered the following comments: • “a suggestion that the manual should be targeted at planners and designers, or at the very least, at project managers who are involved at the onset of projects”; • “the finding that the contents are much too elementary for the undergraduate curriculum”; • the lecturer that found that the manual would be partially acceptable as prescribed reading matter qualified his statement by saying that: “it would only be as recommended extra reading matter”, and • “it was recommended that in publications such as this, sources used should be acknowledged since students are penalised for plagiarism.” 7. conclusion although it appears that the respondents generally understood the questions, an inconsistency is apparent in the answers: while the answers of the respondents were mostly positive regarding the manual, the determining questions have to be seen as the second question, regarding the relevancy of the content to the study 82 acta structilia 2005:12(2) field, and the last question. in the case of the latter, lecturers had to indicate their inclination to prescribe the manual as study material. most (75%) of the lecturers answered this question in the negative, 50% of them already having found the contents inadequate as undergraduate study material, and/or not relevant to the study field. in south africa, the obligation of the site manager is to do precisely that – to manage the site. an ‘environmentally aware site manager’ can also contribute by not wasting water and energy and by putting into practice construction waste management on site, but not by being planner/designer/social surveyors, as he/she is not trained to do so. important lessons learnt are that prospective authors of manuals should identify their readership very carefully, consult with the relevant lecturers and ensure that the information offered as learning material is factually correct. repetition of information, faulty information and generalisations, together with spelling mistakes, lead to a feeling of unease when reading through this manual. the general naivety of the predominant presentation, bestowing on the site manager the power of being omnipotent designer/ planner/construction manager/community advisor, is one of the main problems of the manual, which really should not have any audience in the present format. references beyers, c. [n.d.] making energy efficient housing…making housing energy efficient: site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing. melville: iiec. hauptfleisch, a.c. & siglé, h.m. 2004. structure of the built environment in south africa. third edition. hatfield, pretoria: conqs publishers. holm, d. 1996. manual for energy conscious design. pretoria: department of minerals and energy. holm, d. & viljoen, r. 1996. primer for energy conscious design. pretoria: department of minerals and energy, directorate energy for development. jansen, j.j.a. bsc (construction management), bcom (financial management), property admin. 2004. an interview between mr jansen and the author, 2004, 10-15. 83 minnaar • “site managers manual on energy and water efficient housing” minnaar, e. & cloete, c. 2004. development of design criteria for econo mically viable sustainable housing in gauteng, south africa. conference paper for the third international conference on the sustainable city 2004: urban regeneration and sustainability, 16-18 june 2004. university of siena, italy. organised by wessex institute of technology, uk. mollison, b. 1991. introduction to permaculture. harare: fambidzanai training centre. napier, a. 2000. enviro friendly methods in small building design for south africa. published by the author. olgyay, v. 1992. design with climate: a bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism. new york: van nostrand reinhold. south africa. 2000. architectural professional act no. 44 of 2000, south african council for the architectural profession. board notice 70 of 2004 gazette no. 26477 of 25 june 2004. south africa. 2000. engineering profession act no. 46 of 2000, engineering council of south africa. board notice 29, government gazette no. 27324 of march 2005. sowman, m. & urquhart, p. 1998. a place called home: environmental issues and low cost housing. cape town: university of cape town press. south africa. department of water affairs and forestry. white paper on basic household sanitation: 2001: framework for national sanitation strategy, september 2001. pretoria: acknowledgements the research was undertaken within the functional household programme of nova at the university of pretoria and was made possible via the support of our industry partner, the thermal insulation association of southern africa administered by association of architectural aluminium manufacturers of south africa, and the technology and human resources for industry programme (thrip) managed by the national research foundation (nrf) and financed by the department trade and industry (dti). 29 watson ladzani & solly seeletse the status of business social responsibility among smmes in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa peer reviewed abstract many small, microand medium-sized enterprises (smmes) of south africa in the built environment do not use business social responsibility as a necessary management performance function to market and sustain their businesses. it appears that the implementation of this important management performance function is hampered by a lack of knowledge regarding the important role that business social responsibility plays. another challenge that is faced is limited financial and human resources. a study was undertaken to investigate and establish the status of smmes’ business social responsibility in order to promote an awareness of this management performance function in the community, and on smmes’ growth, continuous performance improvement and sustainability. a quantitative comparative design was used to collect primary data from 326 respondents. these respondents were from 64 randomly selected smmes in the study area. structured interviews were used for this purpose. the main findings revealed an underperformance of business social responsibility among the sampled smmes. more than a third (39%) of smmes had not yet started implementing social responsibility activities in their businesses as opposed to only 7.2% who had high scores of involvement with business social responsibility activities. this low performance confirms the findings of other studies on smmes reported in the literature. it is recommended that government policies be designed to support business social responsibility and that all stakeholders promote social responsibility awareness. in addition, it is recommended that reward systems be implemented to recognise smmes that implement businesses social responsibility in their communities. keywords: built environment, business social responsibility, economic growth, job creation, small business prof. watson ladzani department of business management university of south africa po box 6225 halfway house 1685 south africa. phone: 083 777 0716 email: <wladzani@ unisa.ac za> dr solly seeletse department of statistics and operations research university of limpopo po box 107 medunsa 0204 south africa. phone: 072 912 3941 email: <solly. seeletse@ul.ac.za> acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 30 abstrak heelwat klein, mediumen mikro-ondernemings (kmmo’s) in die boubedryf gebruik nie die bestuur se sosiale verantwoordelikheid as ‘n noodsaaklike prestasiefunksie in die bestuur om hul bedrywe te bemark en te ondersteun nie. min kennis van die belangrike rol wat ‘n bestuur se sosiale verantwoordelikheid vervul, asook beperkte finansiële en menslike hulpbronne is skynbaar die onderliggende uitdagings om hierdie belangrike bestuursprestasiefunksie te implementeer. hierdie studie ondersoek en vestig die status van kmmo’s se sosiale verantwoordelikheid ten einde die bewustheid en trefkrag van hierdie bestuursprestasiefunksie in die gemeenskap te verhoog en ook die kmmo se vordering, voortgesette prestasieverbetering en uithouvermoë te bevorder. ‘n kwantitatiewe vergelykende ontwerp is gebruik om primêre data van 326 respondente in te samel. hierdie respondente is geselekteer by wyse van ‘n ewekansige steekproef wat 64 kmmo’s verteenwoordig. strukturele onderhoude is vir hierdie doel gebruik. die hoofbevindings toon ‘n onderliggende prestasie van sosiale verantwoordelikheid in die bestuur by die kmmo’s wat ondersoek is. meer as ‘n derde (39%) van die kmmo’s het nog nie begin om sosiale verantwoordelikheidsaktiwiteite in hul besighede te implementeer nie teenoor slegs 7.2% wat hoë tellings van betrokkenheid met sosiale verantwoordelikheidsaktiwiteite in die bestuur het. hierdie lae prestasie bevestig die bevindings van ander studies oor kmmo’s wat in die literatuur gerapporteer word. daar word aanbeveel dat regeringsbeleide ontwerp word om die sosiale verantwoordelikhede van bestuur te ondersteun, dat alle aandeelhouers met sosiale verantwoordelikhede bevorder word en beloningstelsels geïmplementeer word om kmmo’s te identifiseer wat die sosiale bestuursverantwoordelikhede in hul gemeenskappe implementeer. sleutelwoorde: boubedryf, sosiale verantwoordelikheid in bestuur, ekonomiese groei, werkskepping, klein sake-ondernemings 1. introduction business social responsibility (bsr) is used to describe businesses that are involved in impacting positively on society in their operations (dzansi, 2004: 82). for the purpose of the study, bsr refers to operating smmes in such a way that they positively affect their local communities and are responsive to their views and feelings. as such, bsr has the potential to increase the marketing and sustainability of small, microand medium-sized enterprises (smmes). yet, it appears that in south africa these businesses do not consider bsr important. this situation may be due to smme owner-managers’ lack of knowledge, and limited financial and human resources. such a situation is a disadvantage for smmes since all management performance functions (from operational to strategic) are needed for business performance and sustainability. management performance functions that do not seem to generate instant cash are consequently the most neglected (lepoutre & heene, 2006: 262). ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 31 scholtz (2009: 2, 7, 12) informs that the formats of social responsibility include sustainable development, corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility (csr), and corporate social investment (csi). sustainable development recapitulates a consensus for global development. according to dovers & handmer (1995: 93), it refers to the ability to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. corporate citizenship and csr are terms that refer to a value system which a company adopts in order to be responsible to broader society (executive research associates, 2009: 6). in the same breath, csi is just one small, but influential, element of corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility (executive research associates, 2009: 8). it is an element that can provide much-needed development expertise to a company’s other transformation activities such as enterprise development and preferential procurement. smmes should also embrace these concepts in order to be sustainable in a competitive market. among the management performance functions such as leadership, people management and customer satisfaction, bsr hardly seems to feature in the agendas of the majority of these businesses for growing their businesses. smmes tend to perceive bsr and charity support as unprofitable and revenue-reducing activities. the value of linking these activities with marketing is virtually unknown. there are various reasons for the lack of social responsibility application, as well as for the dearth of knowledge and awareness of the potential impact on the success and sustainability of smmes. some studies state that the concept of social responsibility was originally formulated and applied in large firms (narbaiza, ibañez, aragón & iturrioz, 2009: 62; niehm, swinney & miller, 2008: 333). other studies (perrini, 2006: 308; lepoutre & heene, 2006: 257) indicate that the knowledge of bsr of smmes is still fragmented and has not yet developed into a coherent theory. in addition, since small business social responsibility (sbsr) has received relatively little attention, very few empirical studies have been done on the subject. current small businesses need to be aware of and understand the role of social responsibility activities in enhancing continuous improvement in their businesses. this article reports on research conducted to establish the status of bsr among role players in the building construction industry smmes in gauteng. the investigation started with establishing the profile of the sampled smmes. the impact of bsr on management performance of the responding smmes was then measured to determine the bsr status, and to identify their strengths and areas that needed acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 32 improvement. the purpose of this article is to create an awareness of the status of sbsr and to make recommendations for corrective actions to address those areas that need improvement. this article first states the objectives of the study and then defines the fundamental concepts of business social responsibility, small business, built environment and performance management. the contributions and benefits of smmes’ bsr are then reviewed. this is followed by a review of global and south african status on sbsr, the research methodology, sample and responses. the conclusions and recommendations are preceded by the results and discussions of the findings of the study. 2. objectives of the study the primary objective of the study was to establish the status of business social responsibility of smmes in gauteng in order to enhance continuous improvement in management performance. secondary objectives were to profile the sampled smmes in the construction industry, measure the impact of bsr on management performance factors, and identify the strengths and areas for improvement of bsr, in order to recommend action plans on areas for improvement. 3. definition of key terms key terms such as ‘business social responsibility’, ‘small businesses’ and ‘management performance’ that are used in this article are defined. the business for social responsibility, a us-based global business organisation, defines corporate social responsibility (csr) as “operating a business enterprise in a manner that consistently meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial, and public expectations society has of business” (perrini, 2006: 307). it is therefore necessary that the smmes in south africa strive to be familiar with these requirements in the areas they serve. lepoutre & heene (2006: 257) refer to small businesses that are involved with business social responsibility activities as small business social responsibility (sbsr) while perrini (2006: 308) refers to them as smes with corporate social responsibility. the south african national small business amendment act, 2004, act no. 29 of 2004, (south africa, 2004: 2) defines a small business as: a separate and distinct business entity, together with its branches or subsidiaries, if any, including co-operative enterprises and non-governmental organisations, managed by one owner or more which, including its branches and ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 33 subsidiaries, if any, is predominantly carried on in any sector or subsector of the economy, and which can be classified as a micro-, a very small, a small or a medium enterprise. small businesses earmarked for this study were in the built environment. ‘built environment’ (be), in this article also referred to as the building construction industry, refers to part of the physical surroundings that is people-made or people-organised, such as buildings and other structures, roads, bridges and the like, down to lesser objects such as traffic lights, and telephone and pillar boxes (ladzani, 2009:10; bartuska, young & mcclure, 2007:5). the gauteng master builders association (gmba) lists main role players and functions that are covered in the be. according to the gmba (2007: online), the built environment includes role players such as general contractors, home builders, property developers, painters, paving contractors, plumbers, and swimming pool contractors. the be roles and functions include installing ceilings and partitioning, and doing additions, alterations and renovations. the role players and functions listed by the gmba were the focus of smmes in this study. performance measurement is a process of assessing progress towards achieving predetermined goals and objectives. performance management entails building on that progress, adding the relevant communication and action on the progress achieved against these predetermined goals and objectives (bates, botha, m., botha, s., goodman, ladzani, de vries, c., de vries, l. november, crafford, moerdyk, nel, o’neill, schlechter, & southey, 2007: 273). performance of the management of small and medium-sized enterprises was established in order to obtain the prevailing performance measures. hence, the term ‘management performance’ is used. 4. business social responsibility and corporate social responsibility business social responsibility (bsr) is a concept that refers to smmes’ involvement in social responsibility (dzansi, 2004: 82). that is, bsr is the role of smmes in social responsibility. corporate social responsibility (csr), on the other hand, is a concept popularly known to describe large businesses that behave in a socially responsible manner. smmes, however, are expected to be also involved in social responsibility, hence, the concept bsr. there appears to be little literature written on bsr. this could be alluded to the fact that smmes were not perceived as role players in the social upliftment of local communities. since both small and acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 34 large enterprises should be involved in social responsibility, their roles should be similar. in this study the two concepts are used interchangeably. corporate social responsibility (csr), also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (srb), or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model (orlitzky, schmidt & rynes, 2003: 403). this would then imply that csr policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. consequently, indications of csr would be that the business embraces responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. in addition, csr-focused businesses would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. essentially, csr is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honouring of people, planet, and profit. considering that a business cycle consists of four unique components (expansion, peak, recession and trough) (korotayev & tsirel, 2010: 4), the point at which csr is possible needs to be identified. each of these phases reflects differing levels of economic activity and the subsequent circumstances occurring during each respective stage. an expansion is where the economy is experiencing positive and increasing economic output. at this phase csr can be incorporated to encourage marketing activity with the networks of people and the environment. employment tends to increase (unemployment falls) during expansion, and there is upward pressure placed on prices (inflation rises) as output rises. a peak is reached when the economy has produced the greatest amount of output. at this point employment is generally at or near its highest level (unemployment is at its lowest level) and prices tend to rise more rapidly (inflation accelerates). this is another phase where csr can be incorporated in a small business. following the peak is a recession, or contraction. during this phase output in fact decreases (the rate of growth becomes negative); unemployment begins to rise and the inflationary pressure on prices fades. this is the point at which csr cannot be maintained or introduced because the small business strives to survive. after recession, the low point of the cycle occurs next. in business cycle terms, this is known as a trough. this is a phase where unemployment tends to be at its peak while production ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 35 is at its low point. at this phase csr will mainly be a burden for a small business. a small business that could have had good timing in introducing csr (i.e. either at expansion or peak) might have served itself well because csr has the potential to help sustain the business. in addition, managers of small businesses should be careful on how csr might affect them at the development level. some enterprises might collapse immediately while others may use csr to find their grip. 5. contributions of smmes’ business social responsibility to global economies smmes make a significant contribution to global economies. geldenhuys (2009: 201) emphasises the important role of smmes, as well as their contribution to both the industrialised and the developing economies. smmes constitute 99% of all firms in both industrialised and developing countries. approximately 50% of productive employment emanates from smmes and, more importantly, smmes are reported to contribute between 30% and 60% of the gross domestic product (gdp). countries such as vietnam, indonesia, thailand, singapore and malaysia owe their level of development to the smmes. similarly, in most african countries the smmes are widely acknowledged as major contributors to national economies (dzansi, 2004: 54-56). in the usa and canada smmes have contributed significantly towards new job creation, resulting in employment growth (dzansi, 2004: 58). half of european smmes are involved, in some way or another, in external social responsibility causes (perrini, 2006: 309). in italy, there is a limited degree of commitment among the majority of smmes to ‘formalise’ social responsibility. lepoutre & heene (2006) found that in latin america only 5% of small businesses remained ideal with respect to internal sbsr, while inactivity with regard to external stakeholders and the environment was much higher, at 39% and 52%, respectively. global values in the business environment promote social responsibility for various reasons, two of which are marketing and sustainability. when businesses contribute money to the well-being of their communities, they are not only promoting themselves but also attracting potential customers to their businesses. given the acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 36 importance of the smme sector, social responsibility should be taken seriously, especially for the benefit of growing this sector in developing economies such as the south african economy. given the economic status of bsr among smmes in south africa, it has become even more important to investigate its status. the economic status of south africa’s smmes is that prior to 2001, they accounted for 62.2% of all businesses, contributed 36.1% to the gross domestic product (gdp) and 55.9% to the total private sector employment (malagas, as quoted by nieman, 2006: 13-14). however, gdp growth has declined from 5.1% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2008 (gauteng treasury, 2009: 3). approximately 98% of all firms in south africa are small or micro-enterprises, with more than 70% microenterprises (turner, varghese & walker, 2008: 15). these contributions, however small compared to their counterparts in the developing economies such as brazil, india and mexico, need to be nurtured and grown. 6. benefits of smmes’ business social responsibility smmes’ social benefits range from job creation, inducing economic growth, and introducing innovations to attracting clients and employees in the local community (lepoutre & heene, 2006: 258). job creation helps solve some of the many pressing socio-economic problems such as unemployment, poverty and crime (ladzani & netswera, 2009: 225; dzansi, 2004: 5-6). literature reveals that there are positive relationships between social responsibility and business opportunities in terms of market opportunities, productivity, human competence and improvement of the competitive context, that is, the quality of the business environment where companies operate (perrini, 2006: 307). some empirical studies reported the positive effect of bsr on business economic performance. one study showed a positive correlation between environmental responsibility and the performance of companies listed in south africa; that is, the higher the environmental responsibility of a company, the higher the financial performance of that company (dzansi, 2004: 5). dzansi (2004: 5) also reported on another study conducted at harvard university where it was found that ‘stakeholder-based’ companies showed four times the growth rate and eight times the employment growth when compared to companies that are focused on shareholders only. this proves that job creation and economic growth curb unemployment in any community. however, perrini (2006: 307) reported that smmes’ bsr ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 37 has received relatively little attention and there is limited literature on smme experiences in industrialised countries and even less in developing countries. 7. status of smmes’ business social responsibility in south africa in south africa, bsr is often viewed as an unnecessary burden for small enterprises. difficulties in attaining access to finance, a lack of time and expertise, and the associated additional administrative burdens create a barrier to launching any programmes that do not contribute directly to their core functions (geldenhuys, 2009: 211). efforts of smmes that started with csr projects receive neither recognition nor market rewards (raynard & forstater, 2002: 6). among the smmes, there are exempt micro enterprises (emes) with less than r5 million turnover (levenstein, 2008: 12). these emes are exempted from any form of bsr rewards. only corporate businesses receive recognition of their involvement scores whereas smmes do not. it appears that smmes have remained non-committed to bsr involvement for many years. visagie (1997: 666) reported that individual managers and the smmes in which they work are often neutral to social change even though they cannot afford to be. competitiveness and growth require a supportive social and political climate. the policy implications of an environment characterised by heightened uncertainty, economic stagnation and political upheaval create profound challenges. economic growth and the creation of employment require a climate of confidence, hope and steady economic progress. smmes have a vital role to play in all of these. societal changes have become commonplace, but the uncertainty and lack of direction accompanying such change is problematic for smmes. strategic and visionary leadership is required during these times. currently, the smmes do not show this trend. south africa’s smme sector is expected to contribute to poverty alleviation, employment creation and international competitiveness (berry, von blottnitz, cassim, kesper, rajaratnam & van seventer, 2002: 1). these are complementary policy objectives. the policy instruments introduced to meet these objectives, however, are different, ranging from literacy training to technological advice. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 38 it has become urgent to determine clear priority groups in the targeting of more efficient promotion activities towards the more productive smmes. one difficulty in confronting policymakers (at political or regulatory level) is how best to develop an approach to smmes that would achieve a sufficient degree of co-ordination between supply-side effort and demand potential. there is the risk of investing resources in improving supply potential where demand constraints are high. the question arises as to whether supply-side incentives have frequently been ineffective because of such demand problems or whether ambiguous supply policies and deficient service delivery are the real causes of lack of success. ultimately, however, it is the generation of detailed information about the functioning and working of the smme sector that decides, first and foremost, the success or failure of a redesigned smme policy framework. consequently, south african smmes are not productive enough in terms of bsr. moreover, policies are deficient and there is a lack of political will to design useful policy and to ensure desirable practice. 8. research methodology this section presents the research methods used in the research on which this article is based. the ‘research instrument’, the ‘research approach’ and the ‘sample and responses’ are discussed. table 1 is used to explain the research approach. in the sample and responses subsection, two explanatory calculations and table 2 are used to clarify the discussion. 8.1 research instrument primary data were collected by means of face-to-face structured interviews using the validated and standardised performance excellence self-assessment questionnaire (pesq). pesq is a computer-aided matrix questionnaire research tool. this tool was based on the south african excellence model which deals with the 11 management performance functions, including social responsibility. the advantage of pesq lies in the immediate availability of preliminary results. these quantitative data were used to investigate the impact of social responsibility on the management performance of the province’s smmes in the construction industry, as well as to identify the strengths and areas for improvement and to recommend action plans for areas for improvement. ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 39 8.2 research approach a quantitative comparative research design was used for data analysis (hofstee, 2006: 124-126; neuman, 2006: 33-35). the researcher described and compared the scores of management performance functions with world-class and sadc best practices. a social responsibility management performance function was also ranked. in line with the approach of the southern african initiative of german business (safri, 2004: 5), the management performance of smmes was scored on a five-point likert scale of zero to four. smmes that scored zero and one in management performance were regarded as being weak in management performance; those that scored two were regarded as having made good progress; those that scored three were considered best in sadc (substantial progress), and those that scored four were considered world-class best on practice (fully achieved). table 1 summarises the representation and interpretation of the scale code of scores and their corresponding percentages as explained above. table 1: representation and interpretation of scale code the data analyses were done using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss package) and an electronic self-assessment programme (batlisisa1). 8.3 sample and responses two sub-populations of building construction smmes in gauteng were used for the study, namely the gauteng master builders association (gmba) and the construction industry development board (cidb). sampling was done from the gmba and the cidb populations because these organisations contain registers of leading s c a l e c o d e scores 0 1 2 3 4 percentages 0 < 25 < 50 < 75 < 100 interpretation not started some progress good progress substantial progress fully achieved 1 batlisisa” is a south african electronic self-assessment programme developed in 2003 by ideas management southern africa cc (now operating as the centre for excellence). this programme was based on the saem and the management performance excellence criteria. acta structilia 2010: 17(2) 40 role players in the industry. thus, the gmba and the cidb formed the strata for sampling purposes. the population size of the gmba was 557 smmes, while that of the cidb was 532 smmes. the study population was, therefore, based on 1 089 smmes. the gmba and the cidb have only registered smmes in their databases. nieman (2006: 9) pointed out that the survivalists and the informal enterprises are not recognised by the mainstream business enterprises. these enterprises were, therefore, not part of the sampled businesses. proportional, stratified random sampling was used to select a representative sample of these smmes. the sampling method was used to ensure that the different strata were represented in the sample to obtain a representative sample. the study followed a sampling ratio of 10% as guided by neuman (2006: 241). the population and the sampling size were, therefore, calculated as follows: the total population is (n) = 557 + 532 = 1 089 the sample size is (n) = n x 0.10 n = n x sampling ration = 1089 x 0.1 ≈ 109 table 2 summarises the population, sample, response and employees interviewed in the gmba and the cidb. table 2: smmes population, sample, response and employees interviewed source: gmba 2007: online cidb 2007: online a stratified random sample of 64 smmes responded from a possible 109. this amounts to an average response rate of 59%. the distribution was 54% from the gmba and 64% from the cidb. a total of 326 employees were interviewed to answer questions relating to study area population size sample population response rate no. of employees interviewed n n % no. % gmba 557 56 10 30 54 229 cidb 532 53 10 34 64 97 total 1 089 109 10 64 59 326 ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 41 the sampled smmes. these employees were purposively selected, based on the total number of employees in a business and their availability at the time of the interview. they represented staff at all levels, namely top management, middle management, lower management and labourers. the number of employees interviewed per business varied from 1 to 21 employees. the reason for this variation was that some businesses employ fewer employees than others. equality of variance tests were conducted to determine the variations in responses where only one respondent represented an smme compared to where the smmes were represented by several respondents. levene’s test of variances (field, 2000: 6) was used for this purpose. levene’s test revealed that the requirement of homogeneity was met on the basis of standard deviations in samples as small as one employee to several employees. 9. results and discussions the results of the sampled smmes and the social responsibility performance measurement were discussed with the aid of relevant tables and figures. 9.1 profiles of the sampled smmes this article reports on a study in which 64 sampled smmes were profiled according to age groups of the owner-managers, their educational qualification, age of the business, types of ownership and management performance-measuring instruments used by these businesses. 9.1.1 age groups of owner-managers the age profile ranges of the sampled smmes’ owner-managers interviewed were the following: 22 (34.4%) were 40 to 49 years old; 15 (23.4%) were 30 to 39; 13 (20.3%) were 50 to 59; 11 (17.2%) were 20 to 29; two (3.1%) were 60 and older, and one (1.6%) was younger than 20 years old. 9.1.2 educational qualification of owner-managers the educational qualifications of the owner-managers were as follows: 21 (32.8%) held a first degree/diploma; 20 (31.3%) had completed grade 12 (n3); nine (14.1%) held a b tech/honours degree; six (9.4%) had completed grade 8 to 11; five (7.8%) held the ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 43 table 3: responding smmes’ total annual turnover in rand value of the respondents, 31.3% had a turnover of between r5.0 million and r20.0 million; 29.7% had a turnover of between r2.0 million and r5.0 million, and 7.8% had a turnover of more than r20.0 million. the rest of the respondents had a turnover of less than r2.0 million. this analysis indicated that of the respondents, 68.8% could be classified as small and medium-sized enterprises. very small enterprises fall in the interval r0.15 to r2.0 million. only 9.4% of the respondents were micro-enterprises (turnover of less than r150 000). this is when the analysis is based on total annual turnover alone. table 4: responding smmes’ total asset in rand value according to table 4, approximately 29.7% of the responding smmes had assets worth between r1 million and r4 million and 28.1% had assets worth between r0.10 million and r0.40 million. only 7.8% of the respondents had assets worth more than r4.0 million. according to the south african national small business act (1996: 20), and based on the total gross asset value alone, the sampled medium-sized businesses were approximately 8% and approximately 30% were small businesses. the rest were very small and micro-enterprises. annual turnover frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent less than r150 000 r0.15m < r2.00m r2.00m < r5.00m r5.00m < r20 00m more than r20.00m 6 14 19 20 5 9.4 21.9 29.7 31.3 7.8 9.4 21.9 29.7 31.3 7.8 9.4 31.3 60.9 92.2 100.0 total 64 100.00 100.0 gross asset value no of smmes percent valid percent cumulative percent less than r100 000 r0.10m < r0.40m r0.40m < r1.00m r1.00m < r4.00m more than r4.00m 12 18 8 19 5 18.8 28.1 12.5 29.7 7.8 19.4 29.0 12.9 30.6 8.1 19.4 48.4 61.3 91.9 100.0 total 62 96.9 100 missing system 2 3.1 total 64 100 ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 45 educational qualifications of smmes’ owner-managers• – the majority (≈55%) of the owner-managers had university degrees (including postgraduate up to master’s degrees). a few others had other qualifications below a degree. only very few (<2%) had no formal qualifications. duration in business of smmes• – according to mtshali (2007: 11), a business is said to have passed the critical stage for survival if it survives the first three years of its inception. figure 2 indicates that approximately 91% of the sampled smmes had been in existence for three years or more. types of businesses• – most of the sampled smmes were close corporations, followed by private and then public companies. the fewest were the sole traders and partnerships. survivalists and the informal enterprises were not part of the sample. management performance measures used• – a total of 11 out of the 64 sampled smmes (i.e. 17%) did not participate in this question. the majority (59%) of the 53 who responded indicated that they used financial statements, followed by those (23%) who used quality management, and then by those (2%) who used iso9000. none of them was using the saem. 10. social responsibility performance measurement the south african construction excellence model (sacem), which is a self-assessment management performance tool, was used to measure the social responsibility performance scores. ten questions were asked in the social responsibility performance measurement criterion. using the representation and interpretation of scale code (see table 1), the respondents’ scores for the different questions/ focus areas and their corresponding consolidated scores were as follows: 39% of the responding smmes had not yet started to address the 10 focus areas; 19.9% had made some noticeable progress of less than 25% achievement; 20.5% had made good progress of 25% to 50% achievement; 13.4% had made substantial progress of 50% to 75% achievement, and 7.2% had made most of what was required in the criterion. table 5 shows the 10 questions/related focus areas and their corresponding consolidated scores. a c ta stru c tilia 2 0 1 0 : 1 7 (2 ) 4 6 questions/focus areas score obtained 0 1 2 3 4 not started some progress good progress substantial progress fully achieved total count % count % count % count % count % count % 1. views of local society are proactively canvassed. results are fed back into the organisation’s policies. 133 40.9 63 19.4 72 22.2 32 9.8 25 7.7 325 100.0 2. benchmarking has started for 25% of the impact on society targets. 136 41.8 64 19.7 70 21.5 35 10 8 20 6.2 325 100.0 3. 50% of impact on society targets are being met. 134 41.2 60 18.5 64 19.7 46 14 2 21 6.5 325 100.0 4. results are linked to environmental and social policy. policy is reviewed. 130 40.0 60 18.5 76 23.4 44 13 5 15 4.6 325 100.0 5. there is an increased public awareness of policies. 136 41.8 68 20.9 59 18.2 44 13 5 18 5.5 325 100.0 table 5: impact on society performance measurement ladzani & seeletse • the status of business social responsibility 49 for their involvement with csr projects. the literature on sbsr in some international countries is, however, different. smmes have started with bsr involvement in, for example, europe and latin america. 13. recommendations the results of the empirical data and the literature analyses suggest that policy initiatives to promote sbsr should be formulated. in addition, all smmes that are involved in bsr projects should be appropriately recognised and rewarded. for example, role players such as the government and business associations could set up processes and systems to reward sustainable social responsible smmes. there should also be continuous measuring of sbsr using standardised measuring instruments. since international smmes have started with bsr involvement, smmes should benchmark their bsr involvement with international players in order to gain worldclass best practice. in conclusion: the study provided evidence that sbsr in the sampled area is almost non-existent. for smmes to 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the quantity surveying profession to establish its position and strategies. results on project management maturity in south africa, based on a research project conducted by the university of the free state, in conjunction with the wirtschafts universität in vienna in 2006 forms the basis of the article as well as the development of an education, training, mentorship and continuing professional development (cpd) model to promote quantity surveying professional maturity. training in the quantity surveying profession in pursuit of maturity and excellence should focus on core functions of the quantity surveyor; competence required for registration; the expected services or outcomes that the profession believes it should be able to offer the market, and narrowing the gap between academic and experiential learning components by encouraging professionals to enhance their skills through cpd. generating standards, following the accreditation policy of the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) and research facilitation were found to be important aspects for education in the quantity surveying profession in pursuit of maturity and excellence. a structured mentorship programme that addresses proactive development towards maturity should be introduced for the profession. the education, training, mentorship and cpd model to achieve quantity surveying professional maturity, developed by one of the authors, may assist in bridging the gap between the providers of formal education and the providers of quantity surveying service to clients towards professional maturity. keywords: education, training, development, maturity, quantity surveying profession prof. jjp (basie) verster, head of department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +27 51 4012248, email: <versterj.sci@ufs.ac.za> prof. ac (dries) hauptfleisch, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +27 12 808 3360, email: <eldec@iafrica.com> acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 122 abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om vas te stel of professionele bourekenaarfirmas gereed is om die uitdagings aan te pak in terme van die verantwoordelikheid wat hulle het teenoor die veranderende professionele omgewing van standaarde, onderrig, professionele ontwikkeling en opleiding. analisering in die bourekenaarprofessie mag firmas help om hul posisie en strategieë in terme van volwassenheid vas te stel. resultate verkry van ’n studie oor projekbestuurvolwassenheid gedoen deur die universiteit van die vrystaat in samewerking met die wirtschafts universität in vienna in 2006 vorm die basis van die artikel asook die ontwikkeling van ’n onderrig, opleiding, mentorskap en voortgesette ontwikkeling model om bourekenaar professionele volwassenheid te bevorder. opleiding in die bourekenaarprofessie in die strewe na volwassenheid en uitnemendheid behoort te fokus op kernfunksies van die bourekenaar; bevoegdheid vereis vir registrasie; die verwagte dienste en uitkomste wat die professie glo hulle aan die mark behoort te lewer en die vernouing van die gaping tussen akademie en indiensopleiding komponente deur professionele persone aan te moedig om hulle vaardighede deur voorgesette professionele ontwikkeling te verhoog. generering van standaarde, gevolg deur die akkreditasie beleid van die suid-afrikaanse raad vir die bourekenaarsprofessie en navorsing fasiliteite is belangrike aspekte vir onderrig in die bourekenaarsprofessie in die strewe na volwassenheid en uitnemendheid. ’n gestruktureerde mentorskapprogram wat proaktiewe ontwikkeling teenoor volwassenheid aanspreek, behoort aan die professie bekendgestel te word. die onderrig, opleiding, mentorskap en vpo model om bourekenaar professionele volwassenheid te behaal, wat deur een van die outeurs ontwikkel is, mag help om die gaping tussen die verskaffers van formele onderrig en die verskaffers van bourekenaar dienste aan kliënte te vernou. sleutelwoorde: onderrig, opleiding, ontwikkeling, volwassenheid, bourekenaarprofessie 1. introduction the quantity surveying profession in south africa is currently experiencing change related to structure, required services offered and infrastructure products to members. continuous professional development and improving standards, education, research and training are therefore relevant. the problem addressed is whether professional firms are ready to meet the challenges facing them in respect of their responsibility towards development and the changing professional environment. the study investigated how maturity models may be applied as a quantitative tool. maturity measurement may indicate the development levels of the profession. it is proposed that maturity analysis and measurement should be based on current project verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 123 management maturity research which could contribute to solutions in respect of the profession’s role in developing standards. research conducted by the university of the free state, south africa, has shown positive results in respect of professional mentoring aimed at smalland medium-sized construction contractors (hauptfleisch, 2006). it is therefore hypothetically stated that a mentorship programme may play an important role in the continuing development of the quantity surveying profession. the success achieved with the above programme also suggests possible applicability of membership principles in respect of professions. conclusions and recommendations emphasise the need for education and training in the profession, supported by tools previously underor not utilised adequately, in particular, maturity models and mentoring tools in the continuing professional development of quantity surveyors. 2. the quantity surveyor’s perceived position it is often held that the education of young people for the construction professions is not sufficiently effective and that a more practical approach is needed. the question may then be asked whether professions and firms are ready or mature in respect of developing the professions and young entrants. this was stated in debates at congresses and meetings at the 2007 association of schools of construction of southern africa (asocsa) congress. it seems reasonable to accept that while members of the profession are critical about the performance of academic institutions, the majority are themselves not paying due attention to their own development in a very competitive, constantly changing market. the question may then be asked whether professional maturity is at an acceptable level and do the members of the profession grasp the importance of their role in the development of the profession, its standards and training? 3. maturity of a project-orientated nation, profession and enterprises 3.1 maturity (level of development) of nations and professions fuessinger (2006: 3-4) proposes that the maturity of a projectorientated nation also includes the following additional projectmanagement-related services: acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 124 project management education• : formal education programmes are provided; project management research• : research projects, publications and events are typical activities, and project management marketing• : a national project management association (fuessinger, 2006: 3-4) is in place. although the above services refer to project management orientation, they may equally be relevant to other construction professions. it is submitted that based on the above, the following elements should prevail in the development of a profession: education: understanding the knowledge, science and • skills needed for the profession, using known technical, management and mentorship instruments; research: this relates to the development of the profession as • a learned society, and association: an association of professionals with effective • communication systems and instruments pursuing cpd. gruber (2004: cd-rom) states that maturity implies growth over time as well as understanding why success occurs, and ways to correct or prevent problems. the advantages for enterprises to be part of such an analysis are, according to gruber (2004: cd-rom), that they determine where they stand and can identify certain strengths and weaknesses in processes, implement certain methods for effective improvement, and set up improvement programmes. enterprises may also be led by way of maturity identification to total product, marketing and service delivery improvement, using the principles of the project management maturity model. 3.2 a maturity model and dimensions “a maturity model is a framework describing a process whereby something desirable can be developed or achieved” (gruber, 2004: cd-rom). it is proposed that a maturity model used to analyse the project management maturity of firms, companies and nations may assist the quantity surveying profession to understand the maturity of the profession, particularly in the domains of education, training and mentorship. verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 125 figure 1 illustrates an overview of project management maturity in south africa, based on a research project conducted by the university of the free state, in conjunction with the wirtschafts universität in vienna in 2006. this overview of average maturities of respondent companies / firms in south africa expresses the dimensions (elements) of maturity (levels of development) as percentages. 0 20 40 60 80 100 project management 72.2% project portfolio co-ordination management 56.4% assignment of a project or programme 61.0% assurance of management of quality 66.0% programme management 58.6% business process management 59% personnel management 62.8% organisational design 57.4% figure 1: average maturities of respondent companies / firms in south africa source: (project management group 2006) the average maturity rating (score out of five) for the analysed project-orientated companies in south africa is 3.12 (see table 1) or 62.4%. these south african companies / firms show a high maturity ratio in project management with 3.61 points or 72.2%. organisational design of the project-orientated company / firm shows the lowest results with 2.87 points or a 57.4% maturity ratio (verster & hauptfleisch, 2007). table 1 presents the average maturities of south africa based on four project-orientated groups (pog) analysed. the sum of the four averages gives the average for the 21 project-orientated companies (poc) in south africa. the maturity ratio of quantity surveyors as project managers is shown in column 4 at 58.6%. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 126 table 1: average maturities of the south african project-orientated groups (pog) (table descriptions expanded on by the authors) maturity ratio: 5-point scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 dimensions p o g in s o u th a fr ic a p o g b u ild in g & c iv il c o n st ru c ti o n p o g q s c o n su lt in g p o g e n g in e e rin g c o n su lt in g p o g e d u c a ti o n , g o v e rn m e n t & n o n -p ro fit maturity ratio averages 3.12 3.37 2.93 3.35 2.82 project management 3.61 3.77 3.52 3.90 3.30 programme management 2.93 2.73 3.14 3.02 2.93 assurance of management quality of a project or programme 3.30 3.71 2.98 3.25 3.12 assignment of a project or programme 3.05 3.50 2.81 3.48 2.38 project portfolio co-ordination and networking between projects 2.82 3.07 2.80 3.24 2.29 organisational design of the project-oriented company 2.87 3.10 2.57 3.10 2.66 personnel management in the project-oriented company 3.14 3.51 2.60 3.29 2.95 process management in the project-oriented company 2.95 3.25 2.66 3.02 2.74 source: (oosthuizen kotzé & hauptfleisch 2007) 3.3 the importance of procurement as a dimension of maturity in terms of the above project management research, the products delivered to the market by quantity surveyors may be identified as dimensions that could be weighed and then measured for maturity in order to establish benchmarks and development areas. procurement is discussed to illustrate the importance of this quantity surveying function, i.e. an important element of maturity.a quantity surveyor is expected to possess a high level of maturity related to procurement. in table 2 the results from recent studies in the united verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 127 kingdom (uk) and south africa (sa) show procurement preferences (qs to client or contractor). table 2: comparison between procurement systems in the uk and sa procurement and measurement method uk % sa % measurement as part of procurement (% of project where used) 57% 84% approximate quantities where measurement is not carried out (% of project where this was done) 55% 56% method of measurement smm 7 and ssm 6 (% where these systems were used) 77% 90% computer systems for bill production 67% 73% source: ufs 2004 rics 2002 some practitioners tend to emphasise the role of measurement skills, a very practical skill to new entrants. table 2 shows the requirement for these skills in the market. the difference in the uk and sa responses is clear. it is observed that measuring skills are considered less important in the uk than in sa. however, procurement as a qs function is still preferred. the difference in preferences may help to understand the maturity rating of measurement as part of procurement. 3.4 importance of communication instruments as a dimension of maturity instruments used by the quantity surveyor to communicate with clients may equally be relevant to maturity and may serve as examples to establish a maturity model for the profession. figure 2 shows the communication instruments that quantity surveyors normally use for projects in the construction industry. the importance of estimates, cost reports, final accounts and contract conditions documents as communication instruments were identified as positive. estimates, cost reports and final accounts are viewed as important communication instruments for projects. the cost plans, payment advice, and escalation costing presentation were also experienced in a positive manner. the importance of the standard system of measurement (ssm), preliminaries, preambles for trades, although highly rated, were considered by the respondents to verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 129 quantity surveying related to engineering services, and• building and construction/property development. this • category includes construction management, project management, principal agency, project monitoring, quality inspections, and value management (sacqsp, 2002). this document is now being revised to adhere to the requirements of the council for the built environment (cbe) and to address the duplication or overlaps that may be evident between the various professions active under the authority of the cbe. 4.2 skills clusters and competence the sacqsp accepted an assessment criteria related to competence required for registration as a professional quantity surveyor. the skills clusters and competence requirements are: cost advice and cost planning. this category includes• preparing and using cost data, estimates, financial viability, comparative design studies, budgets and cost plans, whole life appraisals, turnover and cash flows, cost management and reporting, applying fee scales, and implementing conditions of engagement. project procurement and documentation. this includes • procurement, contract documentation, bid analysis, price determination, documentation for subcontractors, cost value statements, specifications and schedule of rates. post contract services. this includes cost advice, final • cost estimation, variation accounting, cost benefit analyses, alternative construction methods, recording and assessing records, report on on-site requirements, and cost management. engineering. this includes earthworks, roads, sewerage • and water facilities, plant, structural steelwork, process and manufacturing plant, transformers, cabling, communication systems, fire detection, heating, air-conditioning and ventilation, and installations (sacqsp, 2007a). figure 3 lists the functions, elements and maturity outcomes (dimensions) of a possible model with the expected services or outcomes which the quantity surveying profession believe it can offer the market (paqs, 2003a). these outcomes are regarded as important elements of a maturity model although small differences acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 130 on the basic competencies at entry level that a quantity surveyor should possess by south africa and by the pacific association of quantity surveyors (paqs) are shown in table 3. table 3: a comparison between the south african situation and the paqs on the basic competencies at entry level that a quantity surveyor should possess. south africa pacific association quantification quantification numeracy numeracy communication communication skills interdisciplinary and interpersonal teamwork personal and interpersonal skills commerce entrepreneurship and management business and management professional practice professional practice information technology construction technology technology construction technology law construction law and regulations research source: (verster 2004) comparative analysis, presented in table 3, shows the most important services or expected outcomes of the profession. these could be interpreted in this instance as the technical and professional skills where maturity should be at an expert level. the profession is expected to provide ample development opportunities to its young people to become experts in respect of these services. the reason why the paqs study is included is to show the similar view of the professions of different worlds regarding basic outcomes and competencies. 4.3 continuing professional development (cpd) haupt (2003: 31) states that it is evident that all the co-operative partners, academics, students and employers need to narrow the gap between academic and experiential learning components. following from this statement one of the questions that needs to be asked is: what role do or should the profession and its members play in making quality training available to young people entering the profession? the asaqs implemented a cpd programme on behalf of the sacqsp as early as 1999 in an effort to develop the profession towards a dynamic pro-active learned society. the categories to achieve 200 points per five year cycle of development activities were: verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 131 category 1: conferences, seminars, workshops. category 2: small group activities, journal clubs, training sessions and committee work for the profession. category 3: individual activities, self-study, lecturing. for category one, two points were allowed per one hour of activities to a minimum of 80 points over a period of five years, for the others only one point per hour was allowed. the five-year cycle was later extended to the end of 2006 (sacqsp, 2006). in 2006 a new system was introduced to be implemented as from 2007. a yearly cycle was introduced and registered. professional quantity surveyors are now required to undertake 25 hours of cpd activities in one year. only two categories of activities are now accepted: category 1: fifteen hours minimum of formal external training (including research output, congresses), and category 2: ten hours maximum of informal training and other acceptable activities (sacqsp, 2007b). guest (2007: 28), consultant to the institute of continuing professional development, believes that keeping up to date by means of continual learning should become a natural habit and that professional people have the duty to update their working knowledge. the activities within the professions driven by the asaqs and the sacqsp are pro-active and internationally relevant. the correct implementation of all the requirements and policies should lead to the development of the profession and its people to the highest possible level, a true learned society. however, members of the profession and registered quantity surveyors do not seem to have a sufficiently high appreciation of the integrated education and development model currently being developed. the lack of cpd activities illustrates this unfortunate fact (cruywagen, 2007: 99). it is accepted that cpd activities will be important in respect of firms or individual development to maturity. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 132 5. education in the quantity surveying profession in pursuit of maturity and excellence 5.1 generating standards over the past four years the quantity surveying standards generating body (sgb) has developed standards for the profession on both a full qualification basis and a comprehensive set of unit standards for all the relative quantity surveying qualification levels and outcomes. the unit standards are soon to be gazetted. education providers will have to adhere to these standards within the next few years (saqa, 2005-2007). table 4 shows a summary of exit level outcomes, critical evidence for assessment purposes and assessment criteria of the quantity surveying qualification at honours degree level. typically, a programme leading to awarding an honours degree in quantity surveying aims to develop graduates who will possess demonstrable, specialised skills and competencies to: analyse and solve problems related to the built environment;• deal with commercial, entrepreneurial and management issues;• communicate effectively on all matters to which their skills • and competencies have been applied; use and apply information technology;• interpret and apply legal principles within the context of the • built environment; execute tasks requiring numerical and quantification expertise;• conduct research within the context of the built environment, • including consideration of interdisciplinary aspects, and apply knowledge of technology within the context of the built • environment (saqa, 2005-2007) verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 133 table 4: outcomes, evidence and assessment of quantity surveying qualifications level 7 honours degree in quantity surveying qualifying learners are competent to: critical evidence for assessment purposes analysis and problemsolving assessment criteria demonstrate familiarity • with and display know-ledge and understanding of the quantity surveying practice and procedure well-rounded • knowledge and an ability to critically question core theory practice and methodology competence in modes • of inquiry employed in practice disciplines analyse and locate the • principles and perform own work within current practice create and innovate • systems of identification assessment formulation and solving • of convergent and divergent problems assess the impact risks • and benefits of design proposals exercise judgment• perform management • tasks alternative solutions to • problems or queries apply techniques and • principles of quantity surveying analysis financial management and risk management clear identification• planning approaches• choice of optimal • solution division of tasks• prioritisation• logical structures• establishment of reasons• co-operation• identification • evaluation and reporting planning and • managing project and construction processes performing • management tasks including analyses exercising judgement• communicating project • development commerce, entrepreneurship and management understand • management skills cost-effective use of • appropriate resources quality control and • health and safety client needs• understand • environmental social and community issues accounting• budgets and cash flows• economics application of • economics concepts and principles source: (saqa 2005-2007) the descriptions in table 5, relating to quantity surveying, comply with the national qualifications framework (nqf) where ladders of opportunity are provided for learners to progress (within their acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 134 capabilities) from the lowest to the highest levels of competence. it also facilitates recognition of prior learning (rpl) in that it allows learners entry at various levels. in addition, it consistently ignores the work environment of the learner. table 5: descriptions level 7 for quantity surveying level 7 learners are required to demonstrate competence in the application of advanced quantity surveying expertise (theory and practice) related to the built environment. graduates work under the guidance of a professional quantity surveyor. note: these level descriptors were developed during the qs sgb scoping exercise held on 15th october 2004 which was approved by the sacqsp in october 2006. 5.2 accreditation policy the accreditation policy document was accepted at the sacqsp meeting of 23 march 2007,. education providers will have to adhere to this document for future accreditation. although the policy is not regarded as a guillotine to cut providers off, the seriousness of quality education and training provision is accepted. the policy document, submitted to the sacqsp by the education standards and research committee, based the policy on the following criteria for honours levels: entry requirements level at 17 unweighted matric points where • a higher grade a symbol constitutes 5 points and an e symbol 1 point. (standard grade at -1 in each instance); research output should be at a publication output of 8 per • permanent staff member per year; senior lecturer equivalent (sle) to full-time student equivalent • (fte) should not be more than 1:40 (sacqsp, 2007a) ; employability of graduates, and• qualification levels of full-time academic staff 75% at masters • level or higher (rics, 2005; sacqsp, 2007a). the policy document is aligned with the accreditation policy of the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics) and the pacific association of quantity surveyors (paqs) accreditation policy documentation (rics, 2005; rics, 2007; paqs, 2003b). apart from the above, education providers must adhere to the 19 criteria for accreditation by the sacqsp (sacqsp, 2007b). verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 135 the above illustrates international tendencies to improve standards of research, education, training and services to the profession. 5.3 research research is viewed as one of the most important determinants and dimensions of the maturity of a profession and a nation. the education standards and research committee of the sacqsp submitted a research facilitation plan to the sacqsp in 2006. this plan was accepted at the council’s meeting in october 2006. the aim of the sacqsp is to promote research as a pro-active dynamic and interactive process to ensure that the profession remains in the vanguard of its business and knowledge environment. to this end the south african accredited journal acta structilia, published by the university of the free state, is endorsed by the council to promote research. the main strategy is therefore to establish a firm research focus for development of the profession and the mission is to achieve the strategy through a research journal, an interactive seminar or minicongress series, and by commissioning research projects. ultimately, this will establish a strong development focus in the profession (sacqsp, 2006). 6. mentorship in the quantity surveying profession in pursuit of maturity and excellence from the above overview, which describes various interventions to uphold and promote improvement in standards regarding education in quantity surveying, it is noteworthy that experiential training, supported by active mentoring, is not emphasised adequately. as with other professions such as medicine, accounting, engineering, and law, it is an obvious imperative that the scientific use of mentoring in developing a learned quantity surveying profession should be mandatory. the generally accepted meaning of mentorship is that it is a process of transferring knowledge and skill. typically this entails that an older knowledgeable person imparts knowledge and skills to a younger protégé. in a developed world environment this typically takes place in a closed environment such as a specific enterprise, family structure or other organised endeavour. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 136 over the past five years the university of the free state has achieved success with its mentorship programme for smalland medium-sized construction contractors. this mentorship programme resulted from concerns of the financial sector regarding security when lending into the emerging market. government initiatives and legislation to create an enabling environment post-1994 for previously disadvantaged individuals (pdis) made construction contracting opportunities available to pdis. the main challenge that faced both the financial sector and government agencies was how to provide support to the development of the pdis as so-called emerging contractors. mentorship was identified as an important component of such support. a comprehensive integrated emerging construction development model (iecdm) was structured and introduced as a development programme. the important aspect of identifying suitable mentors was addressed by the establishment of an accreditation programme, currently located at the university of the free state. in essence, recognition of prior learning and psychometric evaluation of prospective mentors developed. the identification and creation of an accreditation programme for construction mentors in south africa is believed to be the first attempt of its kind in the world. in a joint survey undertaken for a statutory body, the panel could not uncover a similar initiative anywhere else in the world. mentorship in other forms is common, but none could be found that reflected a specific intervention to support small independent construction contractors, who operate for their own account. in this context, mentoring has grown into a complex professional support service, growing towards coaching and a business advisory intervention. without a weighted analysis having been done, several categories of mentorship are recognisable: category a: mentorship in a closed working environment; category b: as interventions by organs of state and academic institutions to establish support structures, and category c: as a paid professional service, mainly in category (b). it is clear that mentoring generally takes place or should take place in a structured and controlled environment. although it is common that mentoring in category (a) tends to be less formal, it is still significant, if taken seriously. verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 137 when considering categories (a), (b) and (c) above, it seems logical that young people undergoing a professional learnership / article period during formal professional, or on completion of education, fall into category (a). the problem at hand is to structure mentoring for young professional trainees in such a way that it becomes a reliable development tool, operating from a consistent platform in professional practices where young quantity surveyors are mentored. it seems logical that, while a period of practical experience is a pre-requisite to register as a professional practitioner, the practical experience should be structured as a measurable, mentoring programme. the question that arises is to what extent senior practising quantity surveyors are capable of providing young people with state-of-theart mentoring, if they themselves do not meet their own profession’s cpd requirements. wilkinson (2004: 9-10) states that supervisors and counsellors of assessment of professional competence (apc) candidates are in a role of advice and support but also assess the candidate’s competence. however, they are not expected to train. the rics regards the supervisor as a person with day-to-day responsibility for a candidate’s knowledge of his/her work, and the counsellor as a person with a more strategic role, as two persons. the south african situation may present difficulties for firms to find two people for the above roles. the rics, however, also allows for the fact that smaller firms cannot always appoint two people (wilkinson, 2004: 10). wilkinson (2004: 10-11) stipulates the following duties of the supervisor or counsellor: ensure that the candidate receives training in line with the • competency requirements; sign off the candidate at three-monthly and six-monthly • intervals, and at the interim and final assessment stages; ensure that all records and reviews are completed • accurately; assist the candidate with the preparation and submission of • documents for the final assessment; liaise regularly with the supervisor / counsellor, and• provide support and encouragement.• acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 138 he further reminds supervisors and / or counsellors that they are required to maintain high levels of involvement: “you will not simply be ‘dipping in and out’ of the process” (wilkinson, 2004: 11). the question remains: are supervisors or counsellors in the uk or in south africa actually performing the duties as they should and do young people receive the due attention they deserve or should receive? it may be prudent to consider that a structured mentorship programme that addresses proactive development towards maturity should be introduced for the profession in south africa and perhaps internationally. 7. conclusion for the growth of a professional society and for such a society to be world class and a real learned society, research, education, training and professional development are fundamental elements to future survival, development and prosperity. it is proposed that the quantity surveying profession in south africa is becoming a proactive learned society. this is evident from the numerous activities, documentation, policies and structures implemented by the official institutions and associations of the professions, on behalf of the profession and the public that use its services. however, it is equally evident that many members of the profession are not sensitive or active enough in building the profession’s knowledge, skills and attitudes towards development and growth. cpd activities clearly show this unfortunate tendency. professional maturity models can assist with the establishment of benchmarks, prompting professional practitioners to concentrate on their particular maturity dimensions that require enhancement. in this regard cpd can make an important contribution. an integrated research, education, training and development process is needed to achieve the goals of the profession. a model which includes education, training, mentorship and cpd may assist in bridging the gap between the providers of formal education and the providers of the quantity surveying services to clients towards professional maturity. such a model is diagrammatically presented in figure 3. verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 139 figure 3: education training mentorship and cpd model to achieve quantity surveying professional maturity it is recognised that the candidateship system of the sacqsp goes a long way in assisting newly qualified entrants into the profession. the position is held that training the trainers and a mentorship approach will further enhance the development of new entrants and promote the continuing development of all professionals. however, until a professional quantity surveying maturity model is introduced, it will remain difficult to establish scientifically whether all the proposed objectives (dimensions of maturity) have been achieved. 8. recommendations maturity levels of the profession need to be established in respect of the total integrated development of the profession and its people in terms of all the dimensions typical of a mature profession. the following elements or dimensions should be included in an integrated system: pursue sustained communication with the profession regarding • standards and education; e d u c a t i o n t r a i n i n g m e n t o r s h i p c p d maturity research foundation acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 140 educate the profession in respect of cpd and its role;• train and develop mentors;• render continuing support to develop knowledge by means • of research; design, develop and integrate a mentorship system as part • of the total development activity that also adheres to all the principles laid down in the policy documents; establish the maturity levels of role-players first and then those • of the profession; establish stronger links between education institutions and the • profession, and communicate to the profession what the role of education • providers is and what the role of training and membership entails. for the quantity surveying profession in south africa to continue to grow / develop towards a pro-active learned society it is proposed that identified important aspects of education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity be addressed by professionals in the industry. references berry, f.h., verster, j.j.p. & kotzé, bg. 2006. survey on procurement, communication and dispute resolution. bloemfontein: university of the free state, department of quantity surveying and construction management. cruywagen, h. 2007. continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa. acta structilia, 14(2), pp. 91-103. fuessinger, e. 2006. maturities of project-orientated companies of about 15 project-orientated nations. in: proceedings of the 1st international cost engineering council (icec) & international project management association (ipma) global congress on project management. ljubljana, slovenia, april, pp. 1-7. guest, g. 2007. cpd: what exactly is it? why should i bother? and am i actually doing it already? in addition to the article: lifelong learning from a european perspective (european qualifications framework) training journal, february, pp. 28-30. verster & hauptfleisch • education, training and mentorship in pursuit of maturity in quantity surveying 141 gruber, c. 2004. maturity models of project-orientated organisations. 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oorsigartikels • review articles the contributions of construction material waste to project cost overruns in abuja, nigeria peer reviewed and revised abstract material wastage on construction sites can contribute to cost overruns. research to provide evidence of the extent of material wastages’ contribution to cost overruns on construction sites is based mostly on surveys. thus, the actual contribution is not yet ascertained. the purpose of this article is to report the results of an objectively investigated study on the contributions of material waste to project-cost overrun. the methodological approach adopted for the study is the quantitative technique that is rooted in the positivist paradigm. the investigation included ongoing building construction projects within abuja, nigeria, from which a sample of 31 public and private projects was purposefully selected (project value of ₦1.6 billion naira and above). the data for this research were sourced from the field investigation (measurement of the volume of material waste) and data from the archival records (drawings, bills of quantities, project-progress reports, and specifications) on material waste and cost overruns. the collected data were analysed using the pearson moment correlation and the descriptive method. the research results revealed a statistically significant relationship between material waste and cost overrun. this implies that any increase in the volume of material waste would lead to a corresponding increase in the amount of cost overrun. the results showed that the significant percentage contribution of material waste to project-cost overrun ranges from 1.96% to 8.01%, with an average contribution of 4.0% to project-cost overruns. it is recommended that construction professionals be well informed of the consequences of material waste contributions to project-cost overrun at an early stage, in order to enable the professionals to evaluate the extent to which these consequences could be minimised. keywords: cost overrun, construction waste, construc tion industry, material waste, nigeria ibrahim saidu & winston shakantu dr ibrahim saidu, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, eastern cape, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27810916224, +2348037796321, emails: <s214344924@nmmu. ac.za>, <isaidu525@ yahoo.com>, <saidu.ibr@ futminna.edu.ng> prof. winston (m.w.) shakantu, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, eastern cape, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27785147492, email: <winston.shakantu@ nmmu.ac.za> the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title and article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i1.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(1): 99-113 © uv/ufs mailto:s214344924@nmmu.ac.za mailto:s214344924@nmmu.ac.za mailto:isaidu525@yahoo.com mailto:isaidu525@yahoo.com mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.4 acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 100 abstrak materiaalvermorsing op konstruksieterreine kan bydra tot die oorskryding van boukostes. navorsingsresultate oor die omvang van materiaalvermorsing ten opsigte van koste-drempeloorskryding op konstruksieterreine is gebaseer meestal op opnames. die werklike omvang is dus nog nie vasgestel nie. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die resultate van ‘n objektiewe ondersoek wat gedoen is oor wat die bydraes van afvalmateriaal van ‘n projek is op die projekkostedrempeloorskryding weer te gee. die metodologiese benadering vir die studie was die kwantitatiewe tegniek wat gewortel is in die positivistiese paradigma. die ondersoek het deurlopende bou-projekte binne abuja, nigerië, ingesluit waaruit ‘n steekproef van 31 openbare en private projekte doelbewus gekies is met ‘n projekwaarde van 1600000000 ₦ naira en hoër. die data vir hierdie navorsing is verkry van die veldondersoek (meting van die volume afvalmateriaal) en data uit die argiefrekords (tekeninge, bou-bestekke, projek-vorderingsverslae en spesifikasies) op afvalmateriaal en koste-drempeloorskryding. die data-analise is gedoen met behulp van die pearson oomblik korrelasie en die beskrywende metode. die navorsingsresultate het ‘n beduidende statistiese verband tussen afvalmateriaal en koste-drempeloorskryding getoon. dit impliseer dat ‘n toename in die volume afvalmateriaal sou lei tot ‘n ooreenstemmende toename in die koste-oorskrydingsbedrag. die navorsing toon dat die beduidende persentasie bydrae van afvalmateriaal tot projekkoste-oorskryding wissel van 1.96% tot 8.01%, met ‘n gemiddelde bydrae van 4.0% tot die projekkosteoorskryding. dit word aanbeveel dat professionele konstruksiewerkers goed ingelig moet word oor die gevolge van afvalmateriaal se bydraes tot projekkoste-oorskryding in ‘n vroeë stadium van die projek. sodoende kan professionele konstruksiewerkers die mate waartoe die gevolge van oorskryding geminimaliseer kan word, evalueer. 1. introduction the construction industry contributes to the socio-economic growth of any nation by improving the quality of life and providing the infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals, schools, and other basic facilities. hence, it is imperative that construction projects are completed within the scheduled period of time, within the budgeted cost, and meet the anticipated quality. however, being a complex industry, it is faced with the severe problems of cost overruns, time overruns, and construction waste (abdul-rahman, memon & abdkarim, 2013: 268; dania, kehinde & bala, 2007: 122; tam, 2008: 1073). the majority of this waste has not been well managed, thus causing substantial health and environmental problems (imam, mohammed, wilson & cheesman, 2008: 469), and affecting the performance of many projects in nigeria (adewuyi & otali, 2013: 746; ameh & itodo, 2013: 748; oladiran, 2009: 1). studies from different parts of the world have shown that material waste from the construction industry represents a relatively large percentage of the production costs. consequently, the poor management of materials and waste leads to an increase in the total cost of building projects (ameh & itodo, 2013: 745). saidu & shakantu • the contributions of construction material waste ... 101 material wastage has become a serious problem, and requires urgent attention in the nigerian construction industry. this constraint negatively affects the delivery of many projects (adewuyi & otali, 2013: 746). ping, omran & pakir (2009: 258) observed that extra construction materials are usually purchased, due to the material wastage during the construction process. adewuyi & otali (2013: 746) argue that the quantity of material waste generated on some construction sites exceeds, to some extent, the 5% allowance made to take care of material wastage in the course of preparing an estimate for a project. accordingly, ameh & itodo (2013: 748) noted that, for every 100 houses built, there is sufficient waste material to build another 10 houses in nigeria. osmani (2011: 209) established that 10% of the materials delivered to sites in the united kingdom (uk) construction industry end up as waste that may not be accounted for. consequently, cost overrun is a common issue in both the developed and the developing nations, which makes it difficult for many projects to be completed within budget. the majority of the developing countries experience overruns exceeding 100% of the initial budget (memon, abdul-rahman, zainun & abd-karim, 2013: 180). allahaim & liu (2012: 2) reported that cost overruns were found across twenty (20) nations and five (5) continents. cost overrun affects 90% of completed projects (abdul-rahman, memon & abd-karim, 2013: 268). the argument in the construction industry on how to reduce or totally remove cost overrun from a project has been ongoing among the built environment professionals, project owners, and the users for the past seventy years (apolot, alinaitwe & tindiwensi, 2011: 305; allahaim & liu, 2012: 1). however, there is neither a substantial improvement, nor any significant solution to mitigate its detrimental effects (allahaim & liu, 2012: 1). to link cost overrun to material waste, cost overrun should be introduced/clarified. studies from different countries have revealed that cost overruns represent a large percentage of the production costs of construction projects. for instance, 33.3% of the construction project owners in the uk are faced with the problem of cost overruns (abdul-rahman, memon & abd-karim, 2013: 268; olawale & sun, 2010: 511). the big dig central artery/tunnel project in boston could not be completed within its budgeted cost; it had an overrun of 500%. the wembley stadium in the uk had a 50% cost overrun, and the scottish parliament project, which had a time overrun of more than three years also experienced a cost overrun of 900% (love, edwards & irani, 2011: 7). acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 102 moreover, ameh & itodo (2013: 748) reported that, in the uk, material waste accounts for an additional 15% to construction project cost overruns and for approximately 11% of construction cost overruns in hong kong. similarly, a study done in the netherlands revealed a cost overrun of between 20% and 30% as a result of constructionmaterial wastage. the methodologies adopted to achieve these relationships are based on surveys. therefore, research evidence has shown that previous studies from different parts of nigeria have centred on waste-management practices and sought the perceptions of construction professionals on the contributions of material waste to cost overruns which are based on surveys and considered a subjective assessment. nonetheless, these studies have failed to objectively (quantitatively and empirically) address the contributions of material waste to project cost overruns, because of wrong perceptions and calls for actual data such as on-site observation and records. ameh & itodo (2013: 745) recommended a further study on the actual and objective measurement of materials wastage and associated cost overruns in the nigerian construction industry. this recommendation led to the development of the problem posed in this study. the percentage of additional cost contributed by material wastage to construction-cost overruns in the nigerian construction industry is hardly understood. on this basis, this article reports the findings of an investigation into the actual contributions of construction material waste to project cost overruns in abuja, nigeria. 2. literature review 2.1 the concept of waste in the construction industry construction waste is a global challenge facing both construction practitioners and researchers. it can have a significant impact on time, cost, quality and sustainability, as well as on the success of projects (nagapan, abdul-rahman, asmi, memon & latif, 2012: 22). it is the difference between purchase and actual use (al-hajj & hamani, 2011: 2). nagapan et al. (2012: 22) contend that waste is any surplus or unwanted material persistently causing environmental issues and global warming. consequently, waste has been described as any constituent generated, as a result of construction work, and abandoned, irrespective of whether it has been processed, or stocked up before being abandoned (yuan, lu & hao, 2013: 484; hassan, ahzahar, fauzi & eman, 2012: 176). therefore, ma (2011: 137) concludes that waste is anti-sustainability that paves the way towards sustainability. saidu & shakantu • the contributions of construction material waste ... 103 many scholars view construction waste as any human activity that consumes resources, but creates no value, such as mistakes that require rectification, waiting time/waste of time, cost, unwanted production/overproduction, management of work programmes, and poor constructions (ma, 2011: 127-134; nagapan et al., 2012: 22; nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi, 2012: 2253; chikezirim & mwanaumo, 2013: 500). 2.2 the concept of cost overrun in the construction industry cost overrun has plagued construction for decades (edward, 2009: 3). it is referred to as “cost increase” or “budget overrun”, and it involves unanticipated costs incurred in excess of the budgeted amounts (shanmugapriya & subramanian, 2013: 735). it is defined as a percentage difference between the final completion cost and the contract-bid cost (shanmugapriy & subramanian, 2013: 735; shrestha, burns & shields, 2013: 2). cost overrun has also been referred to as the percentage of actual or final costs above the estimated or tender cost of a project (ubani, okorocha & emeribe, 2011: 74; jenpanistub, 2011: 19). nega (2008: 48) defines cost overrun as an occurrence, in which the delivery of contracted goods/services is claimed to require more financial resources than originally agreed upon between a project sponsor and a contractor. 2.3 material waste and construction cost overrun construction waste is generally classified into two main classes, namely the physical waste and the non-physical waste (nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi, 2012: 2-3). physical construction waste is the waste from construction, renovation activities, including civil and building construction, demolition activities, and roadworks. however, it is also referred to directly as solid waste: the inert waste that comprises mainly sand, bricks, blocks, steel, concrete debris, tiles, bamboo, plastics, glass, wood, paper, and other organic materials (nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi, 2012: 2-3). this type of waste consists of a complete loss of materials, due to the fact that they are irreparably damaged or simply lost. the wastage is usually removed from the site to landfills (nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi, 2012: 2-3). non-physical waste normally occurs during the construction process. while waste from materials is a physical waste, cost overrun and time overrun are non-physical waste. therefore, cost overrun is a waste of resources. ma (2011: 118) defines waste as being associated not acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 104 only with wastage of materials, but also with other activities such as repair, waiting time, and delays. since construction waste entails both physical and non-physical waste, there is a relationship between material waste originating from physical waste and cost overruns originating from non-physical waste. 3. research methodology this research used the quantitative method that is rooted in the positivist research paradigm. it is quantitative, because the data were generated from the numeric measurement of the volume of on-site material waste and the amount of project cost overruns. the study covers ‘ongoing’ building construction projects in abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria, from which a sample of 31 projects was selected. the sample comprises both public and private projects, with a value of 1.6 billion naira/r100 million and above, using purposive sampling techniques. the rationale for the selection is that building construction projects of this value and above are likely to generate large quantities of material waste and huge amounts of cost overruns, when compared with projects of less value. in addition, it is possible to have more experts (experienced professionals) than in smaller-sized/lower-valued projects. abuja was selected as a geographical case study area, because it is one of the metropolitan cities in nigeria with the highest population of professionals within the built environment and has many ongoing construction projects. this study focused mainly on the primary data, which included the field investigation and data from the archival records (drawings, bills of quantities, project progress reports, and specifications) on material waste and cost overruns in the nigerian construction industry. these data were generated from ‘ongoing’ and non-completed projects. 3.1 archival records the volume of materials used for each building project was generated from the measured quantities of each material from the priced/unpriced bills of quantities (boq) prepared for the project. the measurement unit of each material, as contained in the boq (linear, square and cubic metre, number, kilogram, tonne, and so on), was converted to a common standard unit (volume/cubic metre). the converted volumes were summed up to achieve the total volume of materials for a building. saidu & shakantu • the contributions of construction material waste ... 105 where access to boq is denied, the building volume was generated by taking direct measurements of the quantities from drawings, and by making the necessary adjustment (for openings, plastering, finishes, and so on), in accordance with the rules of the standard method of measurement (smm) for building works, in order to determine the net building volume. the data on estimated cost (ec), estimated time (et), cost now (cn), and time now (tn), the percentage of the work completed (% of wc), the estimated cost of the work completed (ecwc), and the actual cost of work completed (acwc) for different projects were all collected from the records of projects compiled by the quantity surveyor for individual projects. the collected values of “acwc” were deducted/subtracted from the values of “ecwc” to determine the project’s cost overruns. 3.2 field investigations data on the volume of on-site material waste was generated by physical on-site measurements with the aid of measuring instruments such as tape and measurement rule. where the generated on-site material waste had already been disposed of and removed from the site, a request was made to allow the researcher to access the total volume (material waste) disposed of/removed from the project’s on-site records. the collected data (waste volume) was used to determine the contributions of material waste to the generated amount of cost overruns. 3.3 data analyses both descriptive and inferential analyses of the data were employed in this study. the descriptive tool included percentage distributions and the result is presented in table 2. the pearson moment-correlation (inferential) analysis available from the statistical package for social sciences (spss) was performed to determine the contribution of material waste to the project’s cost overrun. the volume of material waste was represented by the independent variable (x), and the amount of cost overrun was represented by the dependent variable (y), as material waste can cause cost overruns. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 106 the pearson moment-correlation is represented mathematically as: n(∑xy)-(∑x)(∑y) r = [n∑x2-(∑x)2][n∑y2-(∑y)2] ; where r = pearson moment-correlation coefficient; x = values in the first data set; y = values in the second data set, and n = total number of values. the approximate conversion rates used as at the period of data collection were: nigerian naira to us dollar === ₦200=1usd; nigerian naira to south african rand === ₦16=r1. the average project completion for the entire building-construction projects visited was 52.4%, as the constructions were ongoing at the time of data collection. this kind of research is easier with ongoing projects, because material waste is mostly removed from a project site as soon as the project is completed, making it difficult to measure the acutal material waste. 4. results and discussion 4.1 the contributions of material waste to project-cost overruns table 1 shows the result of the correlation analysis between a 52.4% average volume of on-site material waste recorded on-site (independent variable “x”) and the calculated amount of cost overrun (dependent variable “y”). it was observed from the analysis that the probability value (0.0027) was less than the 0.05 (5%) significance level, and the hypothesis was tested at the 95% confidence level. the r-square value (52.82%) shows a strong relationship between the variables. therefore, it is inferred that the relationship was statistically significant. the result implies that any increase in material waste on the construction site would result in a corresponding increase in the amount of cost overrun for a project. table 1: results of the pearson moment-correlation analysis between the volume of material wasted (52.4% average project completion) and the cost overruns saidu & shakantu • the contributions of construction material waste ... 107 s/n variables type of analysis observation x y r square probability value strength of relationship remarks 7 volume of material wasted cost overrun pearson moment correlation 52.82% 0.0027 strong statistically significant consequently, since it has been statistically established that material waste contributes significantly to project-cost overruns, table 2 further explains the percentage contribution of material waste to project-cost overruns in a descriptive format. the project values ranged from a minimum of ₦1.635 billion to a maximum of ₦63 billion, and the percentage of work completed also ranged from a minimum of 4% to a maximum of 100%. table 2 indicates that contributions of material waste ranged from a minimum of ₦31,220,528.06 (1.96%) to a maximum of ₦39,933,360.29 (8.01%), with an average contribution of approximately 4% to the project-cost overrun. furthermore, this percentage (4%) differs from the 5% normally allowed for materials, in order to take care of waste in the process of compiling a bill of quantities. this result corroborates the findings of the studies conducted in the uk, hong kong, the netherlands, and nigeria, namely that wastage of construction materials contributes to additional project costs by reasonable percentages (ameh & itodo, 2013: 748). the result also supports the findings of ping, omran & pakir (2009: 262). the result implies that the average contribution of material waste to project-cost overruns is 4%. this result (4% contribution) does not support the following findings: memon (2013: 10) concluded that construction waste accounts for approximately 30%-35% of a project’s construction cost; construction materials waste on site account for approximately 9% by weight of the procured materials. the reason for the variation between the findings of this research and those of memon (2013: 10) is that the findings reported by memon (2013: 10) are, to a large extent, based on surveys and perceptions may be wrong. another factor may be differences in geographical locations and methods of construction. in addition, the study negates the findings reported by ameh & itodo (2013: 748) that, in the uk, material waste accounts for an additional cost of 15% to construction project-cost overruns; accounts for acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 108 approximately 11% to construction cost overruns in hong kong, and accounts for 20%-30% in the netherlands. this is probably because the methodology adopted for most of these studies was a survey research design, which relies on the professionals’ perceptions of material wastage and cost overrun during construction operation, which is considered a subjective assessment. for instance, the respondents are required to tick a questionnaire with the following options: from 10%-15%, 15%-20%, 20%-30%, and so forth, from which conclusions were drawn. furthermore, the contributions of material waste to cost overrun (cf. table 2) were determined by dividing the “material waste volume” by the “volume of material used for the project” multiplied by the amount of cost overrun. it is given as: volume of material waste recorded contribution = x cost overrun volume of material used for project contribution of waste to cost overrun percentage contribution = x 100 cost overrun source: researcher’s own construct, 2015 saidu & shakantu • the contributions of construction material waste ... 109 ta b le 2 : a ve ra g e c o nt rib ut io ns o f m a te ria l w a st e t o p ro je c tc o st o ve rru ns s/n es tim a te d c os t o f p ro je ct s (e c ) (₦ ) % o f w or k co m p le te d v ol um e of m a te ria ls u se d fo r b ui ld in g ( m 3 ) v ol um e of m a te ria l w a st e re co rd ed o n ea ch p ro je ct c os t o ve rru n (₦ ) c on tri b ut io n of m a te ria l w a st e to c os t o ve rru n in ( ₦ ) % c on tri b ut io n of m a te ria l w a st e to c os t ov er ru n 1 3, 20 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 17 % 1, 51 7. 25 65 .2 4 25 6, 00 0, 00 0. 00 11 ,0 07 ,7 04 .7 3 4. 30 % 2 14 ,0 00 ,0 00 ,0 00 .0 0 47 % 16 ,6 86 .6 0 63 4. 09 1, 96 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 74 ,4 79 ,9 06 .0 3 3. 80 % 3 1, 65 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 59 % 3, 02 4. 84 12 4. 02 18 1, 50 0, 00 0. 00 7, 44 1, 59 3. 61 4. 10 % 4 6, 00 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 35 % 3, 75 9. 38 15 5. 49 30 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 12 ,4 08 ,1 63 .0 5 4. 14 % 5 5, 88 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 43 % 3, 09 2. 29 19 6. 23 1, 08 1, 00 0, 00 0. 00 68 ,5 97 ,9 09 .6 4 6. 35 % 6 1, 80 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 63 % 12 ,0 22 .0 9 96 3. 40 49 8, 32 1, 00 0. 00 39 ,9 33 ,3 60 .2 9 8. 01 % 7 15 ,9 00 ,7 82 ,4 13 .0 0 30 % 22 ,5 10 .1 0 89 1. 85 90 8, 07 8, 72 0. 00 35 ,9 78 ,0 72 .3 5 3. 96 % 8 7, 30 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 30 % 4, 39 5. 42 12 8. 04 1, 09 5, 00 0, 00 0. 00 31 ,8 97 ,7 02 .6 1 2. 91 % 9 1, 80 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 68 % 3, 78 5. 40 23 2. 14 45 7, 10 0, 00 0. 00 28 ,0 31 ,6 99 .1 6 6. 13 % 10 6, 00 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 23 % 3, 22 2. 36 13 6. 34 42 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 17 ,7 70 ,4 53 .9 5 4. 23 % 11 1, 65 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 65 % 11 ,1 80 .7 4 57 2. 45 37 8, 80 0, 00 0. 00 19 ,3 94 ,4 28 .2 8 5. 12 % 12 1, 90 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 25 % 3, 48 8. 40 10 8. 14 12 5, 00 0, 00 0. 00 3, 87 4, 98 5. 67 3. 10 % 13 2, 58 0, 33 3, 00 0. 00 15 % 2, 19 4. 95 57 .7 2 19 3, 52 4, 97 5. 00 5, 08 9, 07 3. 35 2. 63 % 14 40 ,0 00 ,0 00 ,0 00 .0 0 5% 33 ,6 79 .6 2 70 7. 27 4, 32 1, 56 2, 00 0. 00 90 ,7 52 ,5 42 .8 1 2. 10 % 15 20 ,9 40 ,5 57 ,2 19 .0 0 17 % 2, 94 4. 52 57 .7 1 1, 59 2, 95 5, 08 7. 00 31 ,2 20 ,5 28 .0 6 1. 96 % 16 3, 45 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 23 % 1, 14 5. 96 36 .0 1 50 0, 01 2, 00 0. 00 15 ,7 12 ,0 94 .7 7 3. 14 % 17 1, 66 6, 34 5, 70 2. 00 31 % 6, 44 5. 36 22 3. 01 31 7, 16 4, 99 7. 00 10 ,9 73 ,9 35 .6 7 3. 46 % 18 2, 30 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 25 % 4, 30 1. 80 14 1. 96 23 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 7, 59 0, 03 2. 08 3. 30 % 19 2, 30 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 90 % 17 ,1 17 .2 4 70 1. 81 11 5, 00 0, 00 0. 00 4, 71 5, 02 1. 23 4. 10 % 20 15 ,0 31 ,4 47 ,8 66 .0 0 11 % 7, 41 2. 42 15 8. 85 28 2, 17 2, 90 0. 00 6, 04 7, 03 5. 27 2. 14 % 21 1, 88 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 48 % 9, 26 6. 67 39 8. 47 63 1, 60 0, 00 0. 00 27 ,1 59 ,0 17 .4 2 4. 30 % 22 1, 68 6, 92 0, 73 4. 00 10 0% 9, 52 2. 10 40 0. 88 1, 41 3, 07 9, 26 6. 00 59 ,4 90 ,5 76 .2 5 4. 21 % 23 1, 63 5, 00 0, 00 0. 00 56 % 4, 04 9. 59 24 7. 03 32 0, 63 0, 93 6. 00 19 ,5 58 ,8 83 .7 7 6. 10 % 24 1, 80 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 68 % 7, 44 6. 82 15 6. 38 14 0, 56 2, 11 0. 00 2, 95 1, 74 3. 53 2. 10 % 25 1, 68 6, 95 1, 10 6. 00 10 0% 5, 32 2. 35 n r 1, 01 3, 04 8, 89 4. 00 n r n r 26 1, 70 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 60 % 9, 24 8. 40 32 2. 74 34 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 11 ,8 64 ,9 27 .9 9 3. 49 % 27 2, 86 0, 00 0, 00 0. 00 88 % 14 ,7 20 .6 4 52 9. 94 64 6, 03 1, 00 0. 00 23 ,2 56 ,9 82 .5 9 3. 60 % 28 7, 62 1, 68 7, 16 8. 00 10 0% 15 ,5 85 .5 0 56 8. 87 7, 56 2, 31 2, 83 2. 00 27 6, 02 4, 05 4. 50 3. 65 % 29 2, 63 5, 00 1, 30 2. 00 95 % 18 ,2 00 .6 8 89 3. 65 48 2, 08 1, 76 3. 00 23 ,6 70 ,1 24 .8 3 4. 91 % 30 1, 93 1, 62 1, 70 0. 00 98 % 16 ,1 30 .7 5 64 5. 23 26 8, 32 3, 73 4. 00 10 ,7 32 ,9 48 .6 9 4. 00 % 31 63 ,0 00 ,0 00 ,0 00 .0 0 90 % 19 0, 72 3. 05 4, 00 5. 18 5, 33 3, 22 2, 00 0. 00 11 1, 99 7, 54 8. 70 2. 10 % a ve ra g e p er ce nt a g e co nt rib ut io n of m a te ria l w a st e to c os t o ve rru ns =4 .0 0% acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 110 table 2 shows that about 15 out of the 31 projects were 50% completed and that only 7 were 90-100% completed. these findings are reliable, because the average completion is above 50%. as stated earlier, this kind of research is easier with ongoing projects. the author could not wait until a project was completed, as this would constrain the on-site measurement of material waste. 5. conclusion and recommendation the empirical findings from the study established that a relationship exists between material waste and cost overruns. this implies that an increase in material wastage on site leads to a corresponding increase in cost overruns, regardless of the percentage allowed for material waste in the process of the bill preparation. it is also concluded from the empirical analysis that the significant percentage contribution of material waste to project cost overrun ranges from 1.96% to 8.01%, with an average contribution of 4.00% to project-cost overruns. therefore, the average percentage contribution of material waste to cost overrun for a project is 4.00%, which is different from the percentage allowed for material waste in the process of preparation of a bill of quantities. the study recommends that construction professionals should be well informed of the consequences of material waste contributions to project cost overrun at the early stage of a project, in order to enable the professionals to 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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2007.04.007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.12.012 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles craig goldswain & john smallwood toward improved construction health, safety, and ergonomics in south africa: a working model for use by architectural designers peer reviewed and revised abstract the construction industry produces a high rate of accidents. despite evidence that up to 50% of accidents can be avoided through mitigation of hazards and risks in the design phase of construction projects, architectural designers do not adequately engage in designing for construction health, safety, and ergonomics. the article reports on the development of an architectural design-oriented model toward a reduction of construction hazards and risks. the research intertwined a range of secondary data with four provisional studies undertaken in the eastern cape province considered representative of south africa, and involved quantitative and qualitative methodologies directed at architectural designers registered with the south african council for the architectural profession (sacap). these served to provide local insight and a line of structured questioning for use in the main study, which was positioned in the action research (ar) paradigm and used focus-group (fg) methodology to solicit vast qualitative data from sacap-registered participants. synthesis of the fg data with literature and the provisional studies gave rise to a provisional model comprising six main model components and a range of subcomponents. the provisional model was validated and refined. the evolved model includes a core model embedded in a greater process model, and implementation and use of the core model relies on appropriate knowledge of architectural designers. it is recommended that tertiary architectural education institutions and those involved in architectural cpd programmes take ‘upstream design ownership’ and use the model as a basis for designing and implementing appropriate education and training programmes. keywords: construction health, safety, and ergonomics, architectural design model dr craig c. goldswain, senior lecturer, department of the built environment, faculty of science, engineering and technology, walter sisulu university, east london, south africa. phone: +27 43-7094000, email: <cgoldswain@wsu.ac.za> prof. john j. smallwood, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 41-5042790, email: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 2 abstrak die konstruksie-industrie het ‘n hoë koers van ongelukke. ten spyte van bewyse dat tot 50% van ongelukke voorkom kan word deur, tydens die ontwerpfase van konstruksie-projekte gevare en risiko’s te verminder, raak argitektoniese ontwerpers nie voldoende betrokke in die ontwerp vir konstruksie-gesondheid, -veiligheid, en -ergonomie nie. die artikel doen verslag oor die ontwikkeling van ‘n argitektoniese ontwerp-georiënteerde model vir ‘n vermindering van konstruksiegevare en –risiko’s. die navorsing kombineer ‘n verskeidenheid van sekondêre data met vier voorlopige studies wat onderneem is in die oos-kaap, wat beskou word as verteenwoordigend van suid-afrika, asook betrokke kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe metodologieë wat gerig is op argitektoniese ontwerpers wat geregistreer is by die suid-afrikaanse raad vir die argitektuurprofessie (sarap). hierdie dien as plaaslike insig en ‘n lyn van gestruktureerde vrae vir gebruik in die hoofstudie, wat geposisioneer is in die aksie-navorsing (an) paradigma en gebruik die fokusgroep (fg) metode om groot kwalitatiewe data in te samel van sarap-geregistreerde deelnemers. sintese van die fg data met die literatuur asook die voorlopige studies het aanleiding gegee tot ‘n voorlopige model wat bestaan uit ‘n model met ses hoofkomponente en ‘n verskeidenheid subkomponente. die voorlopige model is gevalideer en verfyn. die aangepaste model sluit ‘n kernmodel, ingebed in ‘n groter prosesmodel in. die implementering en gebruik van die kernmodel berus op toepaslike kennis van argitektoniese ontwerpers. dit word aanbeveel dat tersiêre argitektoniese onderwysinstellings en diegene wat betrokke is in argitektoniese vpo programme ‘n ‘stroomop ontwerp eienaarskap’-benadering volg en die model gebruik as ‘n basis vir die ontwerp en implementering van toepaslike onderwysen opleidingsprogramme. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie-gesondheid, -veiligheid, en -ergonomie, argitektoniese ontwerp model 1. introduction despite the construction regulations (south africa, 2003; 2014) expecting architectural designers to design for construction health and safety (h&s), inclusive of construction ergonomics, the responsibility for construction h&s has been left to contractors (mroszczyk, 2005: online). while cost, quality, and schedule are traditionally used to measure project success, they do little to mitigate construction hazards and risks, thus ultimately increasing the cost of construction (schneider, 2006: online; smallwood, 2006a). there is an active need for a paradigm shift in architectural thinking to ensure that designs are reviewed to ensure construction h&s, and to include it as a measure of project success (toole & gambatese, 2006: online). behm (2006: online) suggests that one third of the hazards leading to accidents “... could have been eliminated or reduced if design-forsafety measures had been implemented ...”, while the health and safety executive (hse) (2003) profess that up to half of studied cases could have mitigated the risks through alternative design. cameron, duff & hare (2005: 323) promote effective planning as key to hazard goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 3 and risk reduction, and the united kingdom’s (uk) gateway model (hse, 2004a) and the australian construction hazard assessment implication review (chair) (workcover nsw, 2001) provide means for designers to review designs toward hazard and risk mitigation. numerous recommendations toward improved design for h&s have also been compiled by researchers such as gambatese in 1997 and weinstein in 2005, as cited and added to by behm (2006: online), in order to assist designers. it is essential that designing for construction h&s, or ‘constructability’ (toole & gambatese, 2006: online) be included in design education, while schulte, rinehart, okun, geraci & heidel (2008: 118) claim that design education can be enhanced through expansion of curricula and by stimulating professional accreditation. smallwood (2006a) declares construction h&s education inappropriate, and encourages optimisation of design programmes at tertiary level and raising awareness through cpd courses to change the perceptions of designers. the objective of this article is to disseminate the research and the evolved model as a step toward improved architectural design relative to a healthier, safer, more ergonomic construction industry. 2. construction health and safety 2.1 the nature of construction accidents accidents are multi-causal in nature with the coincidence of a number of factors resulting in an incident. there are two main types of factors that are influenced by a range of attributes. first, ‘proximal factors’ occurring in the immediate environment on site include the attitude, ability, awareness, health and fatigue status of workers generally affected by the successes of industrial psychology in the form of communication, motivation and training, and current health status of individuals, and site hazards created in the absence of suitable planning, management, and supervision, leading to an absence of h&s culture. secondly, ‘distal factors’ are those linked or attached to, such as issues surrounding design, in terms of choice of material and equipment and the design situation in which they are used. ultimately, these include poor design and planning decisions which lead to “active failures” (haslam, hide, gibb, gyi, pavitt, atkinson & duff, 2005: 402; hse, 2003; gibb, haslam, hide, gyi & duff, 2006: 47). similarly, these factors can be grouped as worker factors, site factors and material/equipment factors, which “... are a result of originating influences, such as permanent works design, project management, construction processes, safety culture and risk management ...” (hse, 2003: 58), which are affected by client requirements, economic acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 4 climate and the educational ambit of the people involved (hse, 2003; gibb et al., 2006: 49). relative to south africa, the cidb (2009: 4) reports that “the dominating causes of injuries were struck by (44%), falls onto different levels (14%) and striking against (10%); the dominating causes of fatalities were mvas (47%), struck by (17%) and falls on to different levels (17%); penetrating wounds (30%) and superficial wounds (31%) predominated in terms of the nature of injuries sustained; multiple injuries caused 47% of fatalities; injuries to hands (24%), head and neck (19%), and legs (16%) were common anatomic regions involved, and in terms of agency automobiles (10%) and hand tools (6%) dominated as causes of injuries”. internationally and locally, and in order, the main causes of accidents are considered to be “falls onto different levels”, mvas, “struck by”, “inhalation, absorption and ingestion”, and “wmsd’s or body stressing” (cidb, 2009: 4). 2.2 hazards and risks leading to accidents a ‘hazard’ “is a condition or event with the potential to cause harm” (european federation of engineering consultancy associations (efca) & the architects’ council of europe (ace), 2006: online), and a ‘risk’ is “the probability that harm from a particular hazard will occur combined with the likely severity of the harm” (efca & ace, 2006: online). if the main causes of construction accidents are the five broad categories suggested earlier, these must then be considered in terms of construction h&s hazards and risks. it is evident from the outset that inhalation, absorption, and ingestion can be considered integral of construction health hazards and risks; falls onto different levels, mvas, and struck by are integral of construction safety hazards and risks; wmsds or ‘body stressing’ are integral of construction ergonomics hazards and risks, and these notwithstanding any interrelationship between categories. the latter ‘ergonomics’ discussion is, however, reserved for the next section. hazardous chemical substances (hcss) can enter the human body through inhalation, absorption through the skin, and ingestion. inhalation refers to the breathing in of airborne contaminants such as dusts, fumes, vapours, mists and gasses resulting in eye irritation, respiratory tract problems, and subtle damage to organs. the handling and processing of construction materials cause dusts. coughing and sneezing may be an early warning of irritants being inhaled; however, very fine dust particles can still reach the lungs leading to pneumoconiosis (lung disease caused by inhaling mineral goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 5 or metallic dust over a long period), asbestosis (inflammation of the lungs caused by prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers), or lung cancers. inhalation of solvents can result in respiratory problems and central nervous system damage, while complex fumes given off by welding processes can lead to metal-fume fever (deacon, 2004: 19; smallwood & deacon, 2001; occupational safety and health council, 2004: 6; cidb, 2009: 4). absorption refers to hcss being absorbed through the skin. some examples are the use of solvents which can cause dermatitis, working with concrete, which can cause allergic contact dermatitis as a result of alkaline and abrasive properties, and handling of bitumen and similar products can lead to dermatitis and acne-related skin disease (deacon, 2003: 19; deacon & smallwood, 2010: 52; occupational safety and health council, 2004: 7; bureau of labour statistics – us department of labour, 2007: online; 2008: online; weitz & luxenberg, 2010: online). ingestion refers to the swallowing of hcss, occasionally erroneously, but more often through carelessness, for example, the handling of products containing hcss and eating without washing of hands (deacon, 2003: 57; smallwood & deacon, 2001; occupational safety and health council, 2004: 7; bureau of labour statistics – us department of labour, 2007: online; 2008: online). mvas occurring on construction sites are considered relevant to this study, as opposed to accidents occurring on public roadways, which require an alternative approach. in terms of design, the design of access routes, warning signs, and a general awareness of vehicular movement on site will serve toward mitigation of related risks. while reverse beepers and other vehicular attributes remain important, these should be focused on by vehicle designers and suppliers, and be maintained in an operational condition by construction firms, construction managers, site managers, and site personnel. ‘falls onto different levels’ are often caused by tripping, often as a result of poor housekeeping, falling from and collapsing of scaffolding and support work, falling from ladders, hoists and platforms, falling during demolition, falling into open excavations, falling off buildings and roof structures, and falling through openings. many of these falls can be attributed to design and scheduling insufficiencies and due to a lack of, or inappropriate barricading and prevention efforts (behm, 2006: online; cidb, 2009: 23; hse, 2003; bureau of labour statistics – us department of labour, 2008: online; innes, 2009; weitz & luxenberg, 2010: online; hse 2010b: 10). ‘struck by’ accidents are often caused by falling materials, plant, equipment, structures, people and collisions, impact or failure with respect of motor vehicles and could occur during construction, maintenance or demolition work. other acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 6 risks include exposure to electrical hazards leading to electrical shock, contact with moving parts of machinery and vehicles, fire and explosion-related hazards, excavation collapses, and working in confined spaces (behm, 2006: online; cidb, 2009: 23; hse, 2003; bureau of labour statistics – us department of labour, 2008: online; innes, 2009; deacon & smallwood, 2010: 50; weitz & luxenberg, 2010: online; hse 2010b). 2.3 ergonomics-related injuries smallwood (2007: 619) cites la dou (1994) claiming that ergonomics “… is an applied science concerned with people’s characteristics that need to be considered in designing and arranging things that they use in order that people and things will interact most effectively and safely”. the construction regulations (republic of south africa, 2003: online) definition proposes that ergonomics is “… the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems, and the environment …”, while the updated construction regulations (republic of south africa, 2014: 11) state that designers must “… take cognisance of ergonomic design principles in order to minimise ergonomic related hazards in all phases of the life cycle of a structure”. smallwood (2007: 619) also cites schneider & susi (1994) and gibbons & hecker (1999), suggesting that relative to construction, ergonomics poses significant problems, and a range of construction tasks adversely affect construction workers. construction ergonomic problems include repetitive movements, climbing and descending, handling heavy materials, bending or twisting the back, working in awkward positions, reaching overhead, vibrating tools and equipment, repetitive strain injuries (rsis), exposure to noise, use of body force, handling heavy or inconveniently sized materials, handling heavy equipment, working in cramped positions, reaching away from the body, working in hot conditions, staying in the same position for long periods, working in humid conditions, working in wet conditions, working in cold conditions, and working while hurt or injured (workcover nsw, 2001: 40; smallwood, 2006b: 303; smallwood, 2007: 624; cidb, 2009: 23; deacon & smallwood, 2010: 50; safe work australia, 2010: 9-12; hse 2010b: 25). predominating causes of ergonomics-related injuries in south africa include repetitive movements, climbing and descending, handling of heavy materials, use of body force, exposure to noise, and bending or twisting of the back (smallwood, 2006b: 307). the construction trades generally give rise to a range of ergonomic problems; however, concreting, reinforcing, formwork and structural steelwork predominate, followed by masonry, roofing, building fabric, plumbing and drainage, goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 7 electrical, floor finishes, suspended ceilings, painting, and decorating; paving and other external work are main ergonomic hazards that result from the construction process (smallwood, 2006b: 308-309). 2.4 designing for construction h&s hetherington (1995: 5) suggests that design professionals “… will only be expected to take into account those risks which can reasonably be foreseen at the time at which the design was prepared” and should aim toward “… avoiding and combating h&s risks inherent in the construction process”. he further suggests that construction h&s can be addressed through design interventions during the ‘concept stage’, ‘design evolution’ and the ‘detailed specifications’, and that designers should provide information along with their designs to ensure that potential risks and associated issues are identified. chang & lee (2004) claim that the use and type of chosen technology influences construction performance and the ability to achieve strategic objectives. it is essential for all stakeholders, including architectural designers, to recognise the design and construction relationship, what hendrickson (2008: online) perceives as an “integrated system”, while chang & lee (2004: 2) raise concern that the majority of studies address construction management issues and ignore the construction technology realm. the real issue is “… the implementation of a design envisioned by architects and engineers … performed with a variety of precedence and other relationships among different tasks” (hendrickson, 2008: online). integrated into design and technology is ‘method’, which involves both tactic and strategy. decisions regarding the best or ideal sequence of operations should be integrated into the design process rather than leaving all decisions up to the production team or contractor (hendrickson, 2008: online). it is also important that all people involved are not only competent, but also sufficiently motivated to ensure project success (lester, 2007: 5, 30). a crucial element of designing for construction h&s is the ability of designers to undertake hazard identification and risk assessments (hiras) during the design process, and to apply risk control mechanisms to mitigate such hazards and risks. simply put – “find it, assess it, and fix it” (worksafe victoria, 2005: online). gangolells, casals, forcada, roca & fuertes (2010: 119) promote the need for proactive hazard identification and appropriate elimination thereof, and identified a broad range of main processes such as earthworks, foundations, structures, and more, with the aim of identifying construction hazards related to these processes in order to undertake an assessment of the risks. this involved the calculation acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 8 of the significance of risks by considering the probability of risks and the severity of the consequences. risks are also relevant to exposure, which is the direct relationship of time to the volume of required work (gangolells et al., 2010: 110). carter & smith (2006) consider hiras in an overall design context and contend that accident causation models focus on how hazards lead to accidents, and that risk assessment is a practical means of risk management. however, they insist that the problem lies in hazards that are not identified as control measures and cannot be implemented without awareness. method statements are a conventional means of assessing risk, but the level of hazard identification and assessment thereof remains questionable. a comprehensive method statement should include a description, a location, a work sequence, necessary resources, and risk assessments. they suggest that, despite method statements, hazard identification levels are not what they should be (carter & smith, 2006: 198). they further maintain that there are two barriers to improving hazard identification. first, there are ‘knowledge and information barriers’, which constitute a lack of information sharing, a lack of resources, the subjective nature of hazard identification, and reliance on tacit knowledge – that anchored in the head of people and not documented. secondly, there are ‘process and procedure barriers’, which constitute a lack of a standard method, and an unclear structure of tasks and related hazards (carter & smith, 2006: 201). carter & smith (2006: 202) advocate the hse (1998: 2) who sum things up saying that “a risk assessment is nothing more than a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm.” 3. research methodology van teijlingen & hundly (2001: online) propose provisional studies to be crucial elements of ‘good study design’, which increases the likelihood of main study success by providing ‘valuable insights’. four provisional studies were undertaken in order to progressively build information toward development of structured questions for use in the ar fgs. cumulatively, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were included and the target population and sample selection comprised sacap-registered architectural designers in the eastern cape region of south africa. the provisional studies included a quantitative study to establish the perceptions of architectural designers in south africa relative to mitigating construction h&s risks in which 15 appropriate statements and an open-ended question was distributed among 102 architectural designers, and a total goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 9 of 18 responses equating to 17.5% were received; a qualitative provisional study in order to determine what would encourage architectural designers to proactively mitigate construction hazards and risks through design, in which 13 semi-structured interview questions were posed to 10 architectural designers following 60 telephonic requests, thus equating to an overall response rate of 16.7%; a quantitative study sought to establish an architectural design model framework toward improved construction h&s in south africa, in which a range of questionnaire types were included. first, a questionnaire comprising 11 appropriate statements was designed. secondly, two cross-reference tables, each comprising 30 response opportunities, inclusive of open-ended options, were designed. thirdly, a third cross-reference table was designed with 20 response opportunities, including an open-ended option. finally, a separate open-ended question was included. the survey was conducted among 76 sacap-registered architectural designers, to which 12 responses equating to 15.8% were received, and a final quantitative study sought to identify key inputs that could be integrated into the architectural design model framework identified by the third provisional study, in which 20 appropriate statements, three semi-structured questions, and an open-ended question was distributed among 73 architectural designers, and a total of 15 responses equating to 20.5% were received. the provisional studies ultimately produced nine structured questions. the main study was located in the ar paradigm using fgs in order to solicit vast qualitative primary data, and served to accomplish the active collaboration of researcher and client, being architectural designers registered with the sacap, and allowing the importance of co-learning to emerge. the ar process involved the setting up of fg sessions, and included the establishment of the number of fgs; the potential members or population; the size and structure or sample; suitable venues, and extending invitations and the programme to randomly selected potential participants who had participated in the provisional studies. the target of eight participants for the first fg to be held in the buffalo city metropolitan municipality region was met; however, only four participants could be secured for the second fg session to be held in the nelson mandela metropolitan municipality region. signing of consent forms was expected, anonymity of the participants was guaranteed, and the same nine structured questions were posed to both fgs. the proceedings were video recorded with additional backup audio recording for transcription purposes, and a few general notes were taken down. cumulatively, the demographic make-up included a blend of professional registration categories, acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 10 including seven professional architects (58.3%), two professional senior architectural technologists (16.7%), and three professional architectural technologists (25%), with the average age of the participants being 45 years, with relevant experience averaging 20.75 years. unfortunately, the demographics are skewed in terms of gender, with only one female (8.3%) being available to participate in the fgs. a wealth of qualitative data was generated and transcribed verbatim. the fg data was synthesised with the literature and the provisional studies, and a provisional model was evolved. however, as carter & smith (2006: 203) propose, “[f]or many model development exercises, validation is a crucial aspect and a model cannot be considered complete without it”. a model refinement questionnaire comprising both quantitative and qualitative means was developed and disseminated to the fg participants. it focused on the six main components of the model and the overall model by including a statement relevant to each model component, subcomponent and the overall model, with respondents being required to consider and indicate on a likert-type scale of 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree) the extent to which they concur. an open-ended question was included directly below each statement. finally, six statements relative to the use of the model measured against the six research hypotheses were included, using rating scales as before, in order to test the research hypotheses. 4. interpretation of research results towards a provisional model the underlying perception of construction health, safety, and ergonomics as the contractors’ responsibility was detected in the fg discussions. the transcribed fg data crossed the boundaries of the nine structured questions and was bracketed into themes and, ultimately, into the model components in what follows. 4.1 the key inputs the first key input is ‘relevant literature’, which provided the backdrop to the study. relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence to the statement of ‘consideration of local and international literature would prove beneficial to developing a guiding model suitable for use in the context of south africa’ achieved a mean score (ms) of 3.73, which is above the midpoint score of 3.00, suggesting its suitability as a key input. the fg facilitator probed as to whether there is relevant literature to guide us. sample goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 11 data includes: “there is already health and safety on construction sites. one needs to adopt that, use that as a basis and to assist with the design process.” the second key input is ‘causes of accidents’. literature provided a range of accident causes. relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence with the statement ‘architectural designers would need to understand the causes of construction accidents in order to design for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ achieved a ms of 4.07, which is well above the midpoint score of 3.00, strongly suggesting its suitability as a key input. the fg facilitator probed as to whether causes of accidents could serve as a key input. sample data includes: “yes, i said here (making own notes) reported incidents. i think that needs to be reported to the department of labour or something. court cases?” the third key input is ‘information on hazards and risks’. literature provided a range of information with respect to hazards and risks. relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence with the statement ‘architectural designers would need to identify hazards and undertake risk assessments in order to design for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ achieved a ms of 3.53, which is above the midpoint score of 3.00, suggesting its suitability as a key input. sample data includes: “your hazards, especially with chemicals and use of flammable materials or other hazardous materials. i mean one needs to understand that and the working conditions that go with it.” the fourth key input is ‘international approaches and models’. literature provided insight into the international realm. relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence with the statement ‘consideration of suitable international models would prove beneficial to developing a guiding model suitable for use in the context of south africa’ achieved a ms of 3.53, which is above the midpoint score of 3.00, suggesting its suitability as a key input. sample data includes: “it certainly could. for instance, if there’s an aussie model, then i think it could be applied.” the fifth key input is ‘design recommendations’. literature demonstrated a range of possibilities. relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence with the statement ‘consideration of existing design recommendations would prove beneficial to developing a guiding model suitable for use in the context of south africa’ achieved a ms of 3.79, which is above the midpoint score of 3.00, suggesting its suitability as a key input. sample data includes: “probably yes again one needs to look at what is the environment acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 12 in which that design recommendation has been made against our environment.” the sixth key input is ‘recent studies and on-going research and development’. while not directly interrogated in the literature, appropriate literature is generally based on recent studies. the second provisional qualitative study raised the point of research and new ideas by suggesting that “it’s a new field ... not widely explored. we need research and new ideas”. sample data includes: “in my mind one of the first things i would need is some sort of research or data resource so that i can start understanding the risk class or something for the priorities that one should focus on.” it is argued that ‘relevant literature, causes of accidents, information on hazards and risks, international approaches and models, design recommendations, and recent studies and on-going research and development’ all constitute key inputs. 4.2 the core model the core model comprises a framework, a working process within the framework, and identifies the range of requisite knowledge architectural designers require in order to engage the process. in terms of the ‘model framework’, the third provisional study considered a range of documentation familiar to architectural designers which leaned in favour of the application of the national building regulations (nbr), with the questioning format included as a matrix within the six sacap architectural work stages. the importance of the sacap architectural work stages was later realised and the situation re-examined in the fourth pilot study which confirmed the popularity of the nbr with a ms of 4.00, while the sacap architectural work stage dominated with a ms of 4.20 when considered against the average score of 3.00. these far outweighed the mss of 2.33 related to work breakdown structures (wbs), the 2.47 relative to the preambles for construction trades, and the 2.53 relative to bills of quantities. no other document options were provided by respondents within an open-ended question opportunity. sample fg data suggests that the framework of the nbr is appropriate: “if you just look at the headings, yes. when you look at the nbr – if you just look at the index it’ll cover the points”. relevant to the sacap architectural stages of work, sample data considers checking the nbr items: “at each workstage – ja (colloquial ‘yes’), and then you are combining your processes with your items as well”. goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 13 the working process gave rise to a ‘design opportunity window’. the statement of ‘a guiding model should include a process which architectural designers can follow in order to design for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ was incorporated into the fourth provisional study. the responses resulted in a ms of 3.60, which is above the average of 3.00, thus indicating the possible need for inclusion of a design process. the cdm regulations (neil, 1994: 21; hetherington, 1995; cdm, 2007: online) and the south african construction regulations (republic of south africa, 2010) attempt to ensure that architectural designers consider construction h&s in exercising their design options. the uks gateway model (hse, 2004a) and the australian chair model (workcover nsw, 2001) provide opportunity for architectural designers, inter alia, to review their chosen designs toward establishing the optimum option and selection. the second provisional study questioned the inclusion of h&s into the design process. selected data suggests that “it should be part of integral thinking ... part of design and documentation”, and “the fundamentals of health and safety should be discussed, even at university, and should be monitored and recorded”. the fg data demonstrated a cyclic design process, ultimately leading to design selection. sample data includes: “it is backwards and forwards processes until you get to the final. you can’t say i have now finished stage 1. i can carry on to stage 2. the ideal of course would be to say i am finished with work stage 1, work stage 2, now it is the final stage of development. call it … preliminary working drawings if you want to.” the uk’s gateway model in complete form, and collapsed form for smaller projects, includes opportunities for h&s reviews at given intervals or gateways throughout a range of project phases (hse, 2004a; cameron et al., 2005: 325). similarly, the australian chair model provides architectural designers, among others, the “... opportunity to sit down, pause and reflect on possible problems” (workcover nsw, 2001: 4), being the opportunity to conduct h&s reviews through specific phases. the third provisional study incorporated the statement: ‘it would be beneficial to have an approach or model which includes a mechanism for interim assessments during the various stages of the design process’, which achieved a ms of 3.50, which is above the midpoint of 3.00, thus indicating likely inclusion of h&s reviews. fg sample data supports this in that “… you’ve got to have a health and safety review”. the gateway model (hse, 2004a) includes a range of expectancies created throughout the various phases and creates a roadmap acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 14 which can quite easily be perceived as a ‘checklist’ which designers can follow. the australian chair model (workcover nsw, 2001: 27) includes ‘guidewords’, which can also be construed as a ‘checklist’. the fourth provisional study included the statement ‘a guiding model should include checklists and allow opportunity for design notes in order to assist the process’, which achieved a ms of 4.07, which is once again well above the midpoint of 3.00. fg sample data includes: “i am thinking about a checklist, if you have it as an addition to it. like people specialising in sans 204 (nbr) – if they can check your drawings, for example, it might be a good idea if they check it from a specialist point of view to see if you have the finer details right.” behms’ (2006: online) analysis of 450 construction accident reports, and the hses’ (2003) construction accident study of 100 cases would not have been possible without accurate data records, and recordkeeping such as h&s files is considered paramount if designers and others can expect to be defendable in legal situations (hse, 2004a: 15). data from the second provisional study included the need for keeping records by recognising that “the fundamentals of h&s should be discussed … and should be monitored and recorded”. fg sample data includes: “you may be making a choice that has a higher risk, because of other factors. it needs to be recorded ‘why’ and then how you mitigate the risk.” hendrickson (2008: online) suggests that the planning and design of any facility should consider the entire project life-cycle, and states that “… changes of design plan are not uncommon”, while these also affect changes in operations that exacerbate construction hazards and risks (hse, 2004b). variation orders (vos) or changes to design were not directly interrogated in the provisional studies. however, it is argued that these regularly form part of the design and construction process. the statement ‘a guiding model should include a process which architectural designers can follow in order to design for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ was provided in the fourth provisional study, which realised a ms of 3.60, which is above the midpoint of 3.00, and theoretically incorporates vos. fg sample data includes: “i think for the majority, the bulk of it is ok. if a v.o. comes along we assess it as part of the overall design which goes back to the beginning.” the hse (2004a: 65) expects the project team to sign-off all reviewrelated items prior to confidently progressing; the chair model (workcover nsw, 2001: 8) expects construction elements to be considered relevant to construction h&s and further expects accurate record-keeping. the signing off of records is proffered. sign-off was not included in the provisional studies; however, based on literature, goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 15 the notion was included in the fg proceedings. the facilitator probed the opportunity to sign off the designs or revisit the process as part of ensuring designing for construction h&s commitment. sample data included: “the responsible person can sign it off”, and “the problem with signing off is you are signing off your documentation or your process, you can’t sign off what the contractor is going to do”. exactly when to ‘sign-off’ was unfortunately not entertained by the fgs; however, the cyclic or helical nature of both research and design presents a range of opportunities. these are not static and are not discussed in this instance, but are included in the diagrammatic model later. it is postulated that the ‘design opportunity window’ comprises design options; design selection; h&s reviews; sign-off or revisit 1; h&s checklists; h&s data records; sign-off or revisit 2; variation orders (vos), and sign-off or revisit 3. the ‘design opportunity window’ cannot be actively engaged without an adequate knowledge of designing for construction h&s. the question arises as to what architectural designers need to know, meaning what should be, or needs to be, incorporated into the ‘design knowledge window’, which will give architectural designers an adequate knowledge of designing for construction h&s so that they can make optimum use of the ‘design opportunity window’? fg sample data included: “if the designer can refine the design and say there might be better processes or whatever the case might be to achieve the goal, one needs the knowledge.” it is proffered that a knowledge of construction processes, which integrates appropriate technology, is needed in order to achieve specific objectives (chang & lee, 2004), while it is essential for designers to recognise the design and construction relationship as an integrated system (hendrickson, 2008: online). the fourth provisional study data suggested that “[d]esigners and architectural practitioners should be actively exposed to the physical construction process of projects to ensure a practical understanding of the erection and construction process and constraints”. fg sample data included: “i think everyone needs to understand the construction process. we are sitting at the moment with a situation, we have a huge part of the industry that doesn’t – they have no idea how that is going to turn into a building. you can’t design and design safely if you don’t understand the construction process.” hendrickson (2008: online) and lester (2007: 30) promote a range of fundamental scheduling tools or techniques to achieve optimum sequencing and timing of construction activities, while the hse acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 16 (2004b) includes a hierarchy of influences with causal connotations in their ‘influence networks’. the second provisional study raised the point of construction programming by suggesting that “some sort of methodology is crucial ... a method or awareness of the building programme”. fg sample data included: “so maybe that is the other way of looking at it, not just bringing it up but when the building is there. i think there is more scope actually getting that. that way we can probably say listen the guy is not going to lay the carpet until such time as the walls are painted or something like that”, and that “you should have a program.” architectural designers should have a broad understanding of the circumstances and the environment within which ‘designing for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ occurs. literature provides a vast expanse of appropriate information which architectural designers can engage toward an improved contextual understanding of construction h&s. contextual h&s served as basis for all four provisional studies and the main study. while examples are not included in this instance, fg sample data included: “i think first off, a full understanding of the relevant information that is already there”; “they need to have a basic design health and safety – construction health and safety background”, and “we need to understand – why is it necessary?” the main causes of accidents worldwide, including south africa, includes ‘falls onto different levels’, ‘mvas’, ‘struck by’, ‘inhalation, absorption and ingestion’, and ‘wmsd’s or body stressing’ (haslam et al., 2005: 411; penny, 2007: online; bureau of labour statistics – us department of labour, 2008: online; cidb, 2009: 4, innes, 2009; safe work australia, 2010: 9-12, hse, 2010b: 6). relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence relative to the statement ‘architectural designers would need to understand the causes of construction accidents in order to design for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ achieved a ms of 4.07, which is well above the midpoint score of 3.00. fg data appears to discuss causes of accidents as ‘risk’. however, a definite link is evident. sample data includes: “designing at a place with high wind speeds and you have a façade system, so how do you get that up. so there is, i think it is identification of risks … and i have to have it for that so it gives you health and safety risks.” worksafe victoria (2005: online) provide explanations of ‘hazard identification’ and ‘risk assessments’, but also simplified the terminology – ‘find it’, ‘assess it’, and ‘fix it’. carter & smith (2006: 197) conclude that control measures cannot be implemented in the case where hazards goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 17 and risks are not identified. the first provisional study established that, relative to south africa, architectural designers do not adequately conduct hiras, and the statement ‘architectural designers would need to identify hazards and undertake risk assessments in order to design for construction health, safety, and ergonomics’ was provided in the fourth provisional study. the response achieved a ms of 3.53, which is above the midpoint score of 3.00. fg sample data included: “… so there is an inherent risk of digging down trenches 3, 4, 5m down and say people – it has to be hand dug for whatever geomorphic reason and we have to have personnel down below ground level. i think the professional should identify risks …”, and in the event of unresolved hazards and risks, then “they should come up with a mitigation plan with the constructor”. numerous researchers have contended that ‘falls from height’ contributes significantly to injuries and fatalities (haslam et al., 2005; penny, 2007: online; bureau of labour statistics – us department of labour, 2008: online; cidb, 2009: 4, innes, 2009; safe work australia, 2010), while gangolells et al. (2010) consider residential buildings that includes, inter alia, single-storey dwellings relative to hiras. this variety of study alone suggests that ‘project type and complexity’ plays an important role. the second provisional study insinuates project type and complexity with commentary such as “besides that the design may be challenging and unconventional …”, and that “there is always a way to carry out works safely, but it is costly for unconventional projects”. fg sample data includes: “also overseas there are more complicated buildings being built in the first world countries – that is more available than here. i think the complexity high rise, etc. has possibly got to do with the high mortality or injury here.” advocating the contributions of gambatese, behm (2006: online) offered a range of design recommendations. mroszczyk (2005: online) acknowledges that the contributions of gambatese and weinstein have purpose. relative to the fourth provisional study, the degree of concurrence with the statement ‘consideration of existing design recommendations would prove beneficial to developing a guiding model suitable for use in the context of south africa’ achieved a ms of 3.79, which is above the midpoint score of 3.00. fg sample data included: “probably yes – again one needs to look at what is the environment in which that design recommendation has been made against our environment.” the provisional studies did not question h&s in relation to the ‘lifecycles of buildings’ per se; however, they included it as part of the review of the literature by advocating cameron et al. (2005: 326) who discussed acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 18 the gateway approach and identified ‘concept, feasibility, design, construction, and maintenance’, while workcover nsw (2001: 8) refer to ‘construction, maintenance, repair and demolition’. fg sample data includes “the framework will have to look at the life cycle of the building not just the design and construct phase”, and “from concept to final demolition. there a lot of buildings that go through three, four cycles in their lifespan, and it’s becoming more complex.” it is proffered that architectural designers need a sound knowledge of construction processes; construction programming; contextual h&s; causes of accidents; hiras; project type and complexity; design recommendations, and lifecycles of buildings. 4.3 the mechanisms this model component realises the need for ‘engaging people’ in order to promote healthier and safer design, and the need for ‘education and training’ in order to ensure adequate knowledge for architectural designers to engage in healthier and safer architectural design. first, engaging people constitutes encouragement, upstream design ownership, and a multi-stakeholder approach. secondly, education and training constitutes awareness, education and training, and cpd programmes. vast recognition has been given to the dangers of the construction industry, and many have sought to encourage designers, including architectural designers, to mitigate construction hazards and risks through the design process (hetherington, 1995: 5-6; workcover nsw, 2001: 8; hse, 2004a: 24; hinze, 2005: 1; haslam et al., 2005: 412; mroszczyk, 2005: online; toole & gambatese, 2006: online; behm, 2006: online; schneider, 2006: online; smallwood, 2006a; behm & culvenor, 2011: 9). the second provisional study questioned what would encourage architectural designers to engage in healthier and safer design. some selected commentary, which overlaps with other aspects of the study, included: ‘educating people ... should not limit design’; ‘ongoing education to keep it at the forefront of one’s mind ... ’; ‘it is more a case of awareness …’, and ‘architects should have hands on knowledge of what the contractor encounters’. the third and fourth provisional studies offered similar statements relative to encouragement and having a guiding approach or model in place to assist them and achieved mss of 4.25 and 4.18, respectively, both above the midpoint score of 3.00. on the point of encouragement, fg sample data included: “it’s exactly what we’ve spoken about – if you are convinced that it’s worth it to save someone’s life, then obviously you can engage with it.” goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 19 the hse (2003: 58) distinctly mentions factors that “... are a result of originating influences, such as permanent works design …”, thereby insinuating the ‘upstream’ nature of design, while the gateway model moves ownership of construction h&s risks upstream in a “... structured, systematic, logical, rigorous and transparent ...” manner (hse, 2004a: x). while ‘upstream design ownership’ was not specifically investigated in the provisional studies, some hint of control or ownership was provided. the second provisional study data infers ownership by suggesting “it is up to the professional … we need to educate the client to trust the professional.” fg sample data included: “i think that’s important – maybe we should be. we need to accept that we need to take responsibility for these issues in the design stage.” the cdm regulations (neil, 1994: 21; hetherington, 1995; cdm, 2007: online) and the south african construction regulations serve to protect people by attempting to ensure a multi-stakeholder responsibility, among others, for construction h&s inclusive of designers (construction regulations, 2003; geminiani, smallwood & van wyk, 2005: 40; smallwood & haupt, 2005: 2). the uk’s gateway model relies on good people management and warrants a multistakeholder approach (hse, 2004a). similarly, the australian chair model promotes a multi-stakeholder approach by providing time for brainstorming (workcover nsw, 2001: 8). the first provisional study included the open-ended question ‘do you have any comments in general regarding designing for construction health, safety and ergonomics?’ responses included: “the client, the designer and constructor must always take responsibility to ensure that the work is carried out safely. we cannot point finger to one party, it’s a joint responsibility.” the second provisional study also included apt data by suggesting that “... working with an engineer the combined effort must cover those sort of things”, and “... one would need to interact with contractor to find out how things could be improved.” in response to the facilitators’ probe of whether architectural designers can engage safe design on their own, fg sample data included: “probably not. it is teamwork – buildings get built by teamwork”, and “i would like to add to that we need the client and we should have the contractor at the …”, but “ideally, ideally yes which is not always the case.” a lack of awareness is evident in literature, demonstrating the hazards and risks to which constructors are exposed and the need for designers, including architectural designers, to mitigate these through the design process (hetherington, 1995: 5-6; workcover nsw, 2001; hse, 2004a; hinze, 2005; haslam et al., 2005; mroszczyk, 2005; acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 20 toole & gambatese, 2006: online; behm, 2006: online; schneider, 2006: online; smallwood, 2006a; behm & culvenor, 2011: 9). more specifically, the need to raise awareness relative to designing for construction h&s was included by smallwood (2006a) in order to change designers’ perceptions and attitude toward the need. the second provisional study raised the point of awareness and touched on education by suggesting: ‘it is more a case of awareness, even at university level ... it stems back to architectural school days’; ‘we have the competencies because we are designers ... we can design anything. the only way to enhance those competencies is by being made more aware’. fg sample data included: “i think we first need to be aware that there is a problem – design related – before we actually encompass that problem, before we accommodate, we should be aware that there is a problem.” a lack of knowledge and experience, due to inappropriate tertiary architectural education, is evident; improvement of curriculum and enhanced tertiary architectural education was included as an enabler toward education and skills provision (cowley, culvenor & knowles, 2000; schulte et al., 2008; smallwood, 2006a). the first provisional study included the open-ended question ‘do you have any comments in general regarding designing for construction health, safety and ergonomics?’ one response included “more emphasis should be placed on chs (respondents’ acronym) in training in the construction industry”. where to position this in terms of tertiary education remains debatable and is not the main focus of the study. however, the second provisional study revealed that “it will have to fit somewhere between building design and construction, which run parallel ... the building construction component. how do we put a building together and how do we document it? it needs to be an integral component – a separate course won’t receive the emphasis it deserves”. the third provisional study included the statement “it would prove beneficial if the guiding approach or model was incorporated into architectural education and continuous professional development (cpd) programmes” this achieved a ms of 4.25, which is well above the midpoint score of 3.00. fg sample data included: “all the kind of stuff that the safety guys have experienced on site – that should be fed back into the education system. so the guys who are coming out of the university are already aware of what is expected and what to cover when they design.” stimulating professional accreditation and engaging cpd courses are considered to be an enabler toward education and skills provision (cowley et al., 2000; schulte et al., 2008: 118; smallwood, 2006a). the second provisional study raised the point by suggesting “an ongoing goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 21 process to sensitise people ... cpd makes it easier to introduce”, and “ongoing education to keep it at the forefront of one’s mind ... it’s becoming more visible as a topic”. the aforementioned ms of 4.25 relevant to architectural education and cpd programmes is also noteworthy in this instance. fg sample data included: “it must be specific. another aspect that was mentioned is cpd, those of us who are not covered by any – but not only to cover people who are not qualified, but to continue your learning experience”, and “provided that the cpd thing actually teaches you and it is not only an attendance thing”. engaging people and education and training are proffered as constituting the ‘mechanisms’ inclusive of the subcategories demonstrated. 4.4 the key outputs this model component realises architectural design and a range of documentation, which can be improved in terms of designing for construction h&s, if architectural designers adequately engage the process. hetherington (1995) proposed design interventions during the ‘concept stage’, ‘design evolution’ and the ‘detailed specifications’, thereby suggesting that design, drawings, details and specifications are undertaken by architectural designers. he also claims that designers should provide information along with their designs to ensure that potential risks and associated issues are identified. the lists of design recommendations offered by behm (2006: online), advocating gambatese and weinsteins’ earlier work, also make reference to design and drawings. the range of key outputs was not directly questioned in the provisional studies; however, some aspects insinuate the work and documentation undertaken by architectural designers. as an example, the first provisional study included the statement ‘appropriate design and specifications can mitigate the use of hazardous materials which cause illness and terminal disease’. a ms of 4.05, which is well above the midpoint score of 3.00 was recorded, clearly indicating that design and specifications form part of the work and documentation undertaken by architectural designers. relative to the ‘products’ produced, fg sample data included: “you produce your design, your drawings, and specifications”. the facilitator probed: “design, drawings, specifications –– can all construction hazards and risks be eliminated through the design process?” a clear “no” resounded. the facilitator asked: “what can designers do if they are aware of unresolved acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 22 hazards and risks?”, to which responses included: “you need to point that out to the contractor”, and “make the contractor aware of the unresolved risks”. relative to safer design, it is proffered that the ‘key outputs’ produced by architectural designers include improved design for construction h&s; improved h&s information on plans; improved h&s information in specifications, and improved h&s residual risk information. 4.5 dissemination workcover nsw (2001) includes the need for ‘information transfer’ as an essential requirement of the australian chair model, while hetherington (1995: 5-6) insists that designers should provide information along with their designs to ensure that potential risks and associated issues are identified. the ‘dissemination of information’ was not directly included in the provisional studies. however, statements included in the first provisional study such as ‘appropriate design and specifications can mitigate the use of hazardous materials which cause illness and terminal disease’, and ‘appropriate design can mitigate hazardous construction work which places contractors at risk’, which achieved mss of 4.05 and 3.29, respectively, both above the midpoint score of 3.00, insinuate that, inter alia, design documentation exists and filters through to contractors, in order for construction to take place. fg data as to the distribution of the range of key outputs included: “they should be part of the contract documentation”; “they are actually – or not? they should be, ja (colloquial ‘yes’)”; “we give it to the tenderers”; “the client and the contractor”; “and to the quantity surveyors for the bills of quantities”; “to a regulating authority who is responsible to regulate that …”; “if it was me it would be the entire project team (participants nod)”, and “they should be part of the process all the way through”. due to every project being different in terms of the number and nature of the stakeholders involved, it is argued that, for purposes of the model, the range of ‘destinations’ remain broad and that architectural designers define all stakeholders by specific project. 4.6 the continuous information feedback loop literature was not directly interrogated in terms of ‘a continuous information feedback loop’. research, however, alludes to this as booth, colomb & williams (1995) consider a research process which really includes feedback, but is possibly better defined by leedy & ormrod, (2010) who advocate cresswell (1998) and consider an up and down ‘data analysis spiral’, really helical in nature, meaning goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 23 that feedback is essential for further development – and in this case sustainability of the model in question. the uk’s gateway model (hse, 2004a) and the australian chair model (workcover nsw, 2001) both insist on the need for accurate record-keeping for use on current and future projects – a means of ‘feedback’ itself. the notion of a continuous information feedback loop was not directly included in the provisional studies either; however, data commentary included in the second provisional study such as ‘on-going education to keep it at the forefront of one’s mind …’, and the fact the provisional studies which constitute research ultimately facilitated the development of the structured questions used in the main study, would beg the question of the purpose of education and research if it were not ploughed back into ‘the system’? fg sample data included: “once you get to a recipe that you know is fool-proof, it talks to a standard – and informs the next one”, and “isn’t that the purpose – it should be”. the facilitator probed: “can this evolve into continuous h&s improvement on projects?” brief responses indicated “yes”, and “definitely (nodding from participants)”. the importance of a ‘continuous information feedback loop’ is proffered to ensure continual evolution of the model and to maximise potential for mitigation of construction hazards and risks 4.7 the process model for safer architectural design in south africa while the provisional model is not demonstrated in this instance, a logical approach toward sequencing and assembly thereof was undertaken. the final model is demonstrated following the validation and refinement which follows. the provisional model comprised: • first, the ‘key inputs’ are considered toward development and ongoing updating of the model as more information becomes available and feeds into the core model. • secondly, the ‘core model’ comprises a matrix ‘model framework’ which incorporates a ‘design opportunity window’ (cyclic design process) supported by a ‘design knowledge window’ (requisite knowledge needed to support the cyclic design process), and is envisaged to create a development platform to feed the ‘mechanisms’. • thirdly, the ‘mechanisms’ involve the use of the core model toward development of appropriate ‘education and training’ and that of ‘engaging people’ in order to prepare architectural designers to use the core model. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 24 • fourthly, the ‘key outputs’ rely on the ability of architectural designers to use the model effectively in order to produce the range of ‘improved’ key outputs toward mitigation of construction hazards and risks. • fifthly, ‘dissemination’ relies on the distribution of the improved key outputs to all stakeholders involved in a project. • sixthly, the ‘continuous information feedback loop’ can emanate from virtually any aspect of the overall model and loops back toward improving the model through a cyclic or helical process. the provisional model comprised a core model embedded within a greater process model, and was forwarded to the focus-group participants toward validation and refinement. 5. refinement of the model based on an 83.3% response rate, the percentage responses relative to the five-point scale relating to the model components are presented in table 1. table 1: degree of concurrence relative to the model components, the subcomponents and the overall model statements statements response % unsure totally disagree ... totally agree mean score 1 2 3 4 5 the range of ‘key inputs’ are valuable toward development and ongoing updating of the model (model sustainability). 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 40.0 60.0 4.60 the ‘matrix framework’ comprising the nbr structure and the sacap architectural work stages is appropriate. 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 40.0 4.20 the range of opportunities in the cyclic ‘design opportunity window’ incorporated in the matrix framework is appropriate. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 60.0 40.0 4.40 the range of requisite knowledge offered in the ‘design knowledge window’ is appropriate. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 70.0 30.0 4.30 the range of ‘mechanisms’ toward implementation / use of the model is appropriate. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 40.0 60.0 4.60 the range of ‘improvements’ relative to construction h&s is appropriate as ‘key outputs’. 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 50.0 40.0 4.30 goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 25 statements response % unsure totally disagree ... totally agree mean score 1 2 3 4 5 the range of ‘stakeholders’ for distribution of the key outputs is appropriate. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 40.0 60.0 4.60 the ‘continuous information feedback loop’ is appropriate for updating and improving the model. 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 20.0 70.0 4.60 the overall model, in time, can serve toward improved designing for construction health, safety, and ergonomics. 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 30.0 60.0 4.50 the lowest ms constituting 11.2% of the nine statements is 4.20, which indicates that the degree of concurrence can be deemed to be at the uppermost extreme of the range ‘neutral to agree/agree’. the balance of the mss constituting 88.8% of the nine statements range from 4.30 to 4.60 and indicate that the degree of concurrence can be deemed to be between ‘agree to totally agree/totally agree’, and are all well above the midpoint score of 3.00. the significantly high range of mss is representative of the high level of concurrence and the positive outlook provided by the respondents, and further demonstrates the accurate reflection of the fg deliberations and the data. it is notable that there were no unsure responses. the components and the overall model are all considered acceptable – at least in the eyes of the fg participants – with the refinement process seeing the change of terminology from ‘variation orders’ to ‘changes to design’, due to vos being specific to a limited range of contract documentation. based on the refinement process, the researcher intentionally removed the word ‘provisional’ from the model title. diagram 1 demonstrates the refined model. acta structilia 2015: 22(1) 26 key inputs relevant literature; causes of accidents; information on hazards and risks; international approaches and models; design recommendations; recent studies and ongoing research and development sacap architectural work stages (1-6) the goldswain core model a p p lic a tio n o f t he n br ( pa rt s a -x ) design knowledge window: construction process construction programming contextual h&s causes of accidents hazard identification and risk assessments (hiras) project type and complexity design recommendations lifecycles of buildings engaging people encouragement upstream design ownership multi-stakeholder approach improved design for construction h&s clients; authorities; consultants; tenderers; contractors; and subcontractors improved h&s information on plans improved h&s information in specifications improved h&s residual risk information c o nt in uo us in fo rm a tio n fe e d b a c k lo o p education and training awareness tertiary architectural education cpd programmes mechanisms key outputs dissemination design opportunity window: design options design selection h&s reviews sign-off or revisit 1 h&s checklists h&s data records sign-off or revisit 2 changes to design sign-off or revisit 3 figure 1: the goldswain process model for safer architectural design in south africa goldswain & smallwood • toward improved construction health ... 27 6. conclusions and recommendations appropriate literature and the four provisional studies gave rise to a range of structured questions, which were used to solicit a vast richness of qualitative data from the fg participants within the ar paradigm. synthesis of the data with literature and the provisional studies gave rise to a provisional model which was validated and refined while simultaneously testing the research hypotheses by means of fg participants. the model includes a core model embedded in a greater process model. implementation and use of the core model relies on the knowledge of architectural designers relative to designing for construction h&s. it is, therefore, recommended that the interrelated ‘mechanisms’ included in the greater process model are of utmost importance. these include ‘engaging people’, which proffers the encouragement of architectural designers to take upstream design ownership and to involve a multitude of stakeholders in an enthusiastic attempt at designing for construction h&s. it is acknowledged that this is no simple task, and further recommendation is therefore made in terms of ‘education and training’, whereby architectural designers gain awareness through various means, including tertiary architectural education and architectural cpd programmes. in order to achieve this, role players such as tertiary education institutions offering architectural programmes and their academic staff, and those interested in developing and offering architectural cpd programmes themselves take ‘upstream design ownership’ and use the model as basis for designing appropriate tertiary academic programmes and architectural cpd programmes. this research does not consider the model as a complete means to an end. further investigation is needed in order to design the recommended programmes and thus populate the model accordingly. while the research touched on the mechanisms for inclusion of the model into tertiary architectural education, the 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[online]. available from: https://archive.is/ htf8y [accessed on 18 november 2011]. 143 dienie steenkamp the impact of storm water on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference peer review abstract langenhoven park is a suburb situated north-west of bloemfontein, mangaung. it started as a garden suburb but is increasingly characterised by town house developments. the increase in impervious surfaces contributes to the amount and speed of storm water runoff. the storm water runoff negatively affects the groundwater levels. as an arid country, south africa cannot afford to lose water, albeit on the surface or as groundwater. recent literature regards the treatment of storm water at source as the best solution. this article examines the role of legislation in dealing with storm water and how to treat storm water as an asset, and not as a problem. storm water in langenhoven park needs special attention with regard to all the hard surfaces in recent residential developments. keywords: storm water, town houses, drainage channels, amenity, asset abstrak langenhovenpark is ’n woonbuurt aan die westekant van mangaung. dit is begin as ’n ‘tuinstad’, maar tans word dit oorheers deur meenthuisontwikkelings. die harde oppervlakke het toegeneem wat geen water dreineer nie en dit vermeerder die hoeveelheid en spoed van stormwater. die wegvoer van stormwater het ’n negatiewe effek op grondwatervlakke. suid-afrika as ’n water-skaars gebied kan nie bekostig om water so te verloor nie. die nuutste gevolgtrekking is dat stormwater by die oorsprong hanteer moet word. in hierdie artikel word gekyk na maniere om stormwater vanaf vanaf wetgewing tot die optrede van ontwikkelaars, huisbewoners en besighede te hanteer. stormwater word beoordeel as ’n bate vir die gemeenskap en nie as ’n probleem nie. stormwater in langenhovenpark moet aandag geniet weens al die harde oppervlakke geskep deur die nuutste residensiële ontwikkelings. sleutelwoorde: stormwater, meenthuise, dreineringskanale, bate mrs. glaudina maria steenkamp, programme director, department of urban and regional planning, university of the free state, south africa. phone: +27 51 401 3210, fax: +27 51 444 6550, email: <steenkgm.sci@ufs.ac.za> kommentaar • commentary acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 144 figure 1: locality plan of mangaung local municipality with bainsvlei (langenhoven park) to the west source: mlm 2004: 8 1. introduction langenhoven park is situated to the west of bloemfontein. this suburb was originally the farm of andrew hudson baines and bainsvlei served as homestead from 19051. in the 1980s langenhoven park was designed as a garden suburb, but it has since developed to include numerous town house complexes and duet houses. this area is relatively flat and interspersed with small koppies. the drainage of storm water is no problem under normal circumstances but with all the town house developments and the increase in hard surfaces the storm water could become a problem in this area. on 26 january 2006 a rainstorm in langenhoven park flooded the area. there was so much surface water that the children played with boats in the streets. these floods resulted in substantial damage to infrastructure and private property (sauer, 2006:1). the objective of this article is to consider all the legislation pertaining to storm water and to find cost-effective solutions for storm water 1 on 24 august 1860 the biggest hunt was conducted on this farm that when prince albert (queen victoria’s son) and sir george grey and others shot more than a thousand buck within an hour (steyn & wessels 1999: 65). steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 145 management in langenhoven park that will be financially, socially and ecologically acceptable. 2. the causes of the amplification of storm water storm water and floods are natural phenomena that occur from time to time, while inundation is generally promoted by man and urbanisation. one of the most famous and earliest mentioned floods occurred when noah and his family survived in the ark. all life forms depend on water and soil; and they should thus receive priority in any development context (csir, 2000: 6, 9). some floods are not natural disasters, but are man-made inundations, for instance in the case of developments in floodplains (olivier, 2006: 7). the actions of man, such as urbanisation, deforestation and agricultural drainage, aggravate problems relating to storm water (turner, 1998: 280). urbanisation increases the prevalence of impermeable surfaces such as roofs, streets, sidewalks and other paved areas, resulting in more runoff and less infiltration, which must be drained (gaspar, tavares & azevedo, 2005: 275). development, coupled with a lack of vegetation, causes an increase in the quantity and peak flow rate of the runoff (csir, 2000: 6, 6). the velocity and the level of the water determine the degree of flooding and the resultant damage. in a study conducted in iran, hosseinzadeh (2005: 427) found, that the length of time during which the concentration of urban floods is at full force doubled, and that urbanisation increased flood frequencies by up to 100%. the actions of man are causing increases in storm water. 3. increased density and storm water sustainable development requires a dense urban form to prevent urban sprawl and loss of biodiversity; and mixed uses to reduce travel costs, energy and resource consumption (beisi, 2001: 26). “compact cities bring a kind of ambivalence, as high densities are not always compatible with the natural environment and green cities” (stapelberg, 2006: 2, 3). compact cities, however, mean more hard surfaces and runoff and hence increased storm water. all the town house developments in langenhoven park could make it a compact city if it were not for the homogeneous residential land use (see figure 2). … it is now largely a car dependant suburb where inhabitants have to reach schools, jobs and to a large extent recreational acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 146 facilities by car as the only modem of transport (steÿn & schoeman, 2006: 9, 15). if we regard compact cities as sustainable, the issue of storm water has to be considered and mitigated. figure 2: homogeneous residential developments source: steÿn & schoeman 2006: cdrom 4. recent handling of storm water engineers calculated the runoff and planned to discharge it by means of an underground drainage system or concrete channels (turner, 1998: 286). purseglove (1988: 2) considers such drainage channel as ‘strait-jackets of steel and concrete’. turner (1998: 285) condemns the use of public funds to destroy public assets such as streams, wetlands and floodplains. accommodating this rapid runoff and discharging it into the storm water system causes flooding downstream, if the stream is not widened to accommodate the additional volumes of water. to compensate, upstream landowners should contribute to river works downstream (turner, 1998: 286, 287). many streams in urban areas are dangerous and enclosed by barbed wire. the incorrect handling of storm water in urban areas can exacerbate desertification in rural areas. problems in this regard include storm water drainage, destruction of wetlands and floodplains, and the planting of alien vegetation (olivier, 2006: steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 147 5). usually the ‘improvement’ of rivers means increasing their flow capacity (turner, 1998: 295) (see figure 3). according to these authors, the handling of storm water creates problems for the environment, not solutions. draining most of the rain away from an area diminishes the groundwater table with a detrimental effect on all vegetation. boreholes will dry up, and people who are dependent on water from boreholes will be affected. the practice of channelling storm water and draining it as fast as possible has serious effects on the environment and other ways to handle storm water should be investigated. figure 3: storm water channels which increase the speed of the storm water source: steenkamp 2008: own picture 4.1 calculation of flood lines heavy rainfall causes floods, especially in urban areas. engineers classify the size of floods in terms of the probability of such a flood occurring again within a certain period of time. the storm water system should be able to handle floods up to the five-year level. when a ten-yearly or 100-yearly flood occurs, buildings and roads acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 148 are flooded, resulting in inconvenience and injuries and damage to people and property. building flood-defence works is expensive, depleting public funds; there are also environmental consequences including exacerbation of flood-related problems downstream. this problem could be addressed by managed flooding; for example, certain facilities, called multifunctional landscapes such as playing fields, parks and gardens, could be built below the flood lines. pervious pavements could improve infiltration, vegetated channels could slow down the velocity of the flow, and grass buffer strips could remove pollutants. an annual flood could be accommodated by means of nonessential car parks and roads, whereas 100-yearly floods could be accommodated in some urban areas with non-essential services (though not in areas comprising hospitals, for example). if people wish to build under the prescribed flood lines they should know that extra costs are involved, and that they should not lay any claim to public funds (turner, 1998: 299-300). this is illegal in south africa in terms of the water act and the national building regulations. buildings could be made ‘floodtolerant’ or flood-proof by: sealing electrical services;• using water-sealed doors;• raising buildings on stilts, and• waterproof concrete or extra foundations.• traditionally, the storm water drainage system accommodated frequent storms and associated runoff. current property values have increased to such an extent that engineers must take the possibility of more severe storms into account (csir 2000) global warming is changing our weather, with increased severity of storms. guidelines for human settlement planning and design, commonly referred to as the red book, discusses a dual system which makes provision for both of these eventualities. the frequent storms are accommodated by the normal storm water drainage system, referred to as a minor system. the severe storms are accommodated in terms of a major system, which includes conduits, channels and the road system, so that the water can be conducted to suitable points of discharge, such as parks and sports fields (csir, 2000: 6, 3). 4.2 present regulations and policies the national water act (act 36 of 1998) requires a 100-year recurrence interval flood line for all development plans. municipal authorities may also require other flood lines (csir, 2000: 6, 6). steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 149 many property deeds have a built-in requirement that the lower land must receive the runoff from higher properties along the natural course of the land (csir, 2000: 6, 1). prevention of water pollution is regulated by the departments of water affairs and forestry, environmental affairs and tourism, and health (csir, 2000: 6, 7). the national environmental management act (nema), act 107 of 1998 (south africa, 1998) and regulations in terms of chapter 5, government notice regulations 385, 386 and 387 regulate developments and determine when environmental impact assessments (eia’s) are necessary. township establishments are done according to the legislation of the different provinces where the 1:50and 1:100-year flood lines are required on layout plans; authorities usually do not permit construction under these flood lines. storm water forms part of the services reports compiled by engineers. 3.3 stormwater and the mangaung municipality the integrated development plan of the mangaung local municipality states that roads and storm water infrastructure services are expensive to construct and maintain, and it is not an incomegenerating service. it is funded by property tax income, property developers or grants for lower income areas (mlm, 2004: 127). according to an official (who wishes to remain anonymous) of the mangaung municipality, the municipality caters for 1:5-year floods in the underground system. more severe floods should be handled by means of the roads. the layout is handled by the town planners, who try to handle storm water via the streets, and avoid allowing the storm water to flood property from the streets. lower-lying properties should accommodate water. problems usually occur when walls and structures are built in water courses and drainage channels, or when underground systems are blocked. blockages are caused by overgrowth of vegetation, or littering in the streets or at building sites. the legal department is responsible for handling claims after flooding. the municipality does not become involved in disputes between neighbours regarding storm water issues. storm water is not a major issue for the mangaung local municipality. in 2006, after exceptionally high rainfall, numerous complaints were acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 150 received. people normally tend to forget storm water until the next storm occurs. a lack of capacity makes it impossible to implement measures to handle storm water in a more sustainable way. 4.4 storm water in langenhoven park langenhoven park was established as a garden city in the 1980s. the character of the suburb changed from 1991 with the development of sectional title town houses on general residential sites of two to 11.28 hectares. approximately 200 sectional titles were registered from 1981 to 1985 while this grew to approximately 1200 from 2001 to 2005. the area of town house development expressed in hectares was less than 10 hectares from 1981 to 1985 but from 2001 to 2005 it grew to nearly 60 hectares. the density increased with 30 town house units per hectare as the norm (steÿn & schoeman, 2006: 5, 6). according to steÿn & schoeman (2006: 12), the high density of the town houses in langenhoven park has a negative impact on civil municipal services such as storm water and sewerage due to increased surface water drainage. figure 4: open spaces as a trench for storm water source: steÿn & schoeman 2006: cdrom steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 151 figure 5: storm water canal used as a dumpsite source: steÿn & schoeman 2006: cd-rom open spaces are used to handle storm water in langenhoven park. some of these open spaces are canals for storm water (see figure 4). this could be an amenity to the community with the correct methods like swales and vegetation. at present it is an eyesore and used as a dump for rubbish and building rubble (see figure 5). the surfaces of many other parks are also impervious. swales and indigenous vegetation could help to slow down storm water. walls around town house developments can aggravate the damage during floods when it is built in water courses or in floodplains and if it cannot drain or if blockages occur. during the construction of the town houses many storm water channels were blocked by builder’s rubble or broken by heavy vehicles. in langenhoven park a public participation process was started to implement measures to inform the residents of ways to reduce storm water and to use the storm water channel in a more sustainable manner. through ownership of the area the neighbours to these trenches could help to reform this area. swales could slow down the water and help with water harvesting for trees and shrubs. garden waste could be dumped in an organised manner to be used as acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 152 compost and mulch. a wetland could be developed if a wall with an overflow could be constructed at the lowest point of the trench. 5. storm water as a resource if storm water is regarded as a resource and not as something to drain as quickly as possible, there are many options to handle storm water, as demonstrated in the following paragraphs. in future, river catchment management should refer to “multipurpose schemes designed to improve the capacity of each river valley to function as a visual amenity, a recreation area, a fishery, a nature reserve, a water supply, a storm detention area, a drainage network and a movement corridor for boats, walkers, cyclists and equestrians” (turner, 1998: 295). this can be achieved through multi-purpose planning, managed flooding, storm detention basins, infiltration facilities, vegetated roofs, porous pavements and natural river works (turner, 1998: 295). purseglove (1988:164) suggests that one side of the channel should be kept untouched. water management planning should be conducted on a catchments basis, and the handling of storm water should form part of the bigger picture. policies could restrict post-development runoff to pre-development runoff levels (csir, 2000: 6, 6). developers should pay a large retention fee which the local authority should retain for approximately 18 months after 50% of the area is developed to ensure that they do not disappear, leaving home owners to manage storm water from poor design and construction. rainwater is free of charge; and it should be handled as a resource. the best way to handle storm water is at its source; runoff should be detained where it occurs, and released as slowly as possible. rainwater should infiltrate the ground where it falls. water infiltration has several advantages: enhanced soil moisture levels; river flow can be regenerated, and improved water quality. retention of storm water helps with evaporation through the soil and plants, groundwater recharge and the remainder could be drained off after a delay (göbel, stubbe, weinert, zimmerman, fach, dierkes, kories, messer, mertsch, geiger, & coldeway, 2004: 270). if one uses swales as retention basins, they should be integrated with the landform design (hosseinzadeh, 2005: 431). a drainage levy can be imposed on landowners who discharge water. the amount of drainage from an area can be calculated, and developers who exceed the maximum stipulated rate of runoff should pay compensation, or carry out work in order to detain the water steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 153 and prevent more problems from occurring downstream, or use a retention fee. other land uses, such as forestry and wetlands, contribute towards retaining storm water and floods. in south africa, runoff usually has a high clay content; thus it is not economically viable to filter out the products of erosion (silts and clays). this would take too long, and would require large portions of land. retention facilities should be used as water bodies and should allow natural processes to occur, for example in the case of wetlands (csir, 2000: 6, 21). edmond (2005: 215) describes the following uses for urban storm water: irrigation of nearby parks;• navigation and transport;• aquaculture and the breeding of ducks and fish, as well as • the cultivation of water plants; using the fish population to get rid of mosquitoes;• fire-fighting;• washing down;• industrial use;• toilet flushing • in 1981, a survey on the handling of storm water was conducted in the usa and canada. nearly half of the 12 683 facilities were dry basins; 25% were car parks; nearly 20% were ponds; while 5.5% consisted of rooftop areas. it was determined that the detaining of storm water, and releasing it at a regulated rate, comprised the fundamental principle of storm water management (turner, 1998: 303). 6. how to handle storm water in a more sustainable manner roofs are steeply inclined and smooth, and thus comprise the fastest rainwater discharge points of all urban surfaces. turner (1998: 304) and hosseinzadeh (2005: 427) advocate the use of vegetated roofs. vegetated roofs could help with insulation in very hot or cold climates. porous pavements and streets could be used in areas where the roads are not so busy. the street could be used by pedestrians, cyclists and children; and the roughness of natural surfaces could ease the traffic (turner, 1998: 306). structures that are built to control floods should have many purposes, including water storage, flood protection, aeration, storm detention, etc. many structures could be used for recreation, such as canoeing, fishing, swimming, camping, etc. (turner, 1998: 309). the willamette acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 154 river water treatment plant in wilsonville, oregon was planned in order to accommodate a park, as well as community facilities including a meeting room, a laboratory and an administrative building. picnic pavilions, attractive scenery across the river, access to the river, and trails connecting the river to other open spaces in the city, all form part of this scheme. the water is pumped to the top, and waterfalls and ponds form an artificial water feature (sensenig, 2004: 8). parks it is better for ecosystem services if small areas are connected to form corridors, rather than isolated islands (olivier, 2006: 6). smaller parks could form part of the drainage system for the purposes of treatment and storage (edmond, 2005: 212, 213). wetlands play an important natural role in the handling of storm water. wetlands are those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater, at a frequency and duration that are sufficient to support and which, under normal circumstances, actually do support an abundance of vegetation and animal life typically adapted to life in saturated soil conditions. wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. the advantages of wetlands include the filtering of pollution, the purification of our drinking water, the recharging of groundwater aquifers, and the absorption of floodwaters (maret & blakeman, 2005: 454; olivier, 2006: 7). soft-edged wetlands provide storage for the purposes of flood control, drainage, and the treatment of water for re-use (edmond, 2005: 210). building up to the edge of the wetland does not destroy the wetland itself; but over time, it becomes uninhabitable for fauna and flora. wetlands contain unique birdlife, medicinal plants and grass that can be used for making mats, hats and other artefacts. they also help to contain fires (olivier, 2006: 8). wetlands create environments for microbial populations, which alter contaminating substances by using the nutrients or energy contained therein. other advantages of wetlands (constructed or natural) include low maintenance levels, as well as the fact that they provide habitats for plants and animals. wetlands can be regarded as an asset, offering opportunities for recreation and education (csir, 2000: 6, 21). reed-bed systems purify water, and should form part of the water-management system (turner, 1998: 301). water quality could be improved by the installation of litterand oil-traps before the water enters the wetland. water could be cleaned by using natural ultra-violet light, and nutrients could be absorbed by macrophytes. in norway, the construction costs of an open drainage system are 30% lower than the cost of a conventional pipe system. operational steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 155 costs were approximately the same (astebol, hvitved-jacobson & simonsen, 2004: 247). handling storm water naturally holds benefits for the environment and the population, and is also beneficial from a financial point of view. 7. management of storm water management of storm water is important and should include enforceable regulations for settlement development in order to encourage water savings and groundwater recharging. a programme for infrastructure repair and maintenance is the task of the local government (du plessis & landman, 2002: 79). the funding of storm water management is important. in canada, the system of payment by property owners for the use and benefit they derive from storm water management and on estimates of impervious property area is popular, because it is fair and equitable. an equitable system of payment can serve as an incentive to adopt on-site best practices (cameron, j. & cincar, c. & trudeau, m. & marsalek, j. & schaefer, 1999: 255). the following measures could help to reduce and handle runoff: detention/retention ponds or rooftop detention;• overland flow in open channels should be planned at the • outset in collaboration with the road layout planners; preference should be given to pervious surfaces;• the maintenance of vegetation and alternative fuel sources • should be developed to retain the vegetation (burning plant material for heat and cooking). trees and plant beds can use storm water if they are not enclosed (see figure 6) figure 6: verge around the tree that catches the water source: joubert 2007a: own drawing acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 156 the use of contour planning and swales to retain runoff water;• soak-ways could be used to detain runoff water in wetlands • (csir, 2000: 6, 8). all the measures for handling storm water could be implemented if they are included in guidelines and enforced by the local authority. according to legislation, storm water is not important until a storm turns into a flood that causes damage. the following measures can be taken, namely the developers could use pervious paving; the residents could use less paving and more soak-aways and water tanks; the construction teams could ensure that the storm water drainage systems are not blocked. the handling of storm water should be part of integrated planning. from the layout of the township, the construction of the houses and infrastructure and the residents’ gardening habits to the municipality’s management of open spaces, all parties involved have a role to play. 8. recommendations storm water must be handled in an integrated manner from the inception of the township, including the construction of the services and buildings and the maintenance of the open spaces and the individual properties. 8.1 planners water management should be done for the entire catchment • area, including rain, surface and groundwater. cognisance should be taken of water reticulation, sewage and storm water. the department of water affairs and forestry has legislation in this regard. the regulations for eia should require the developer to • determine the runoff before development and calculate the runoff after development. the measures to minimise and detain storm water should be stated in the report as part of the ems and must form part of the record of decision. planning according to contours helps to minimise storm • water and reduce the speed of the runoff. from the onset the drainage should be planned especially before paving (see figure 6). examine alternatives for hard surfaces. development should not occur in drainage areas, floodplains • or wetlands. steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 157 open spaces should be connected and planted with • indigenous vegetation (vegetated channels). trees should be planted but also ground cover in beds to help with the drainage of storm water. multi-purpose planning of open spaces could help to create • amenities for the entire community. such spaces could be used for recreation, water detention (grass buffer strips), relaxation, exercise and biodiversity. wetlands and artificial wetlands should be created in open • spaces to contribute towards water purification. figure 7: schematic view of the use of swales in parking areas source: joubert 2007b: own drawing 8.2 at home plant an indigenous garden with swales to harvest water and • prevent runoff. install rainwater tanks.• refrain from paving large areas with impervious material, • seek alternatives. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 158 8.3 communities communities can work together and take ownership of the • parks and storm water drainage channels in their area and create an amenity. 8.4 local authority ensure that the initial design of the township minimises or • retains storm water and that that the construction of the area complies with the record of decision of the eia. restrict the construction of impervious surfaces. parking areas • could also be designed to minimise storm water. the use of plant beds and swales could help with the retention of storm water. incentives and/or penalties could help to motivate developers • to use appropriate surfaces and designs to minimise and detain storm water. levies could be imposed for developments that increase runoff. incentives could be used for residents who install water tanks • and who use less paving material. a balance between housing densification and decreased storm • water runoff should be pursued as an important objective. infrastructure should include multi-purpose assets in the • community. storm water drainage and detention could be achieved by means of wetlands and parks. a wetland needs a dam wall with an overflow to contain the water. streets with low traffic volumes could be constructed with • pervious surfaces, with the dual purpose of easing traffic and draining storm water. jobs could be created for entrepreneurs to produce pervious • paving blocks. public participation could help to change the storm water • canals in something for the community to enjoy. the environmental impact assessment (eia) process should inform all stakeholders on how to handle storm water in a sustainable manner. while the eia process focuses on individual projects, the strategic environmental plans could help with the bigger picture. water is a unique commodity. let us treat rain as the true blessing that it is. steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 159 references anonymous official of mangaung local municipality, interview on 14 feb 2007. astebol, s., hvitved-jacobson, t. & simonsen, o. 2004. sustainable storm water management at fornebu – from an airport to an industrial and residential area of the city of oslo, norway. science of the total environment, vol. 334-335, pp. 239-249. beisi, j. 2001. flexible housing, compact city and environmental preservation: a critical look at hong kong’s experience. open house international, 26(1), pp. 26-33. cameron, j., cincar, c., trudeau, m., marsalek, j. & schaefer, k. 1999. user pay financing of storm water management: a case-study in ottawa-carleton, ontario. journal of environmental management, 57(4), pp. 253-265. csir. 2000. guidelines for human settlement planning and design. boutek report no. bou/e2001. csir building and construction technology, pretoria. du plessis, c. & landman, k. 2002. sustainable analysis of human settlements in south africa. report no. bou/c368. csir building and construction technology, pretoria. edmond, r. 2005. ningbo – a new sustainable city for china. paper delivered at the conference on sustainable development and planning, 11 sept., bologna, italy. in: brebbia, c.a. (ed.). sustainable development and planning ii, vol 1. southampton: wit press, pp. 207-218. gaspar, j., tavares, a. & azevedo, j. 2005. environmental and hazard perception: a case study of a peri-urban area of central portugal. paper delivered at the conference on sustainable development and planning, 11 sept., bologna, italy. in: brebbia, c.a. (ed.). sustainable development and planning ii, vol 1. southampton: wit press, pp. 271-280. göbel, p., stubbe, h., weinert, m., zimmerman, j., fach, s., dierkes, c., kories, h., messer, j., mertsch, v., geiger, w.f. & coldeway, w.g. 2004. near-natural storm water management and its effects on the water budget and groundwater surface in urban areas taking account of the hydrogeological conditions. journal of hydrology, 299(3-4), pp. 267-283. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 160 hosseinzadeh, s. r. 2005. the effects of urbanization on the natural drainage patterns and the increase of urban floods: case study metropolis of mashhad iran. paper delivered at the conference on sustainable development and planning, 11 sept., bologna, italy. in: brebbia, c.a. (ed.). sustainable development and planning ii, vol 1. southampton; wit press, pp. 423-432. joubert, s. 2007a. artist of the drawing: verge around the tree that catches the water. bloemfontein. joubert, s. 2007b. artist of the drawing: schematic view of the use of swales in parking areas. bloemfontein. maret, i. & blakeman, h. 2005. can we plan to protect our environment? spreading urbanization in the state of louisiana. paper delivered at the conference on sustainable development and planning, 11 sept., bologna, italy. in: brebbia, c.a. (ed.). sustainable development and planning ii, vol 1. southampton: wit press, pp. 451-461. mlm (mangaung local municipality). 2003/2004. integrated development plan. olivier, w. 2006. the importance of natural resources in the planning arena. paper delivered at the south african planning institute’s conference in cape town: “planning africa 2006: making the connections”, 22-24 march 2006, (conference proceedings available on cd-rom). purseglove, j. 1988. taming the flood. oxford: oxford university press. sauer, d. 2006. groot reën in bloemfontein saai verwoesting, mure tuimel plek-plek ineen. volksblad, 27 jan. south africa. 1998. the national environmental management act (nema), act 107 of 1998. pretoria: government printer. sensenig, c. 2004 willamette river water treatment plant wilsonville, oregon. places, 16(3), pp. 6-9. stapelberg, h. 2006. compact cities – can this work? paper delivered at the south african planning institute’s conference in cape town: “planning africa 2006: making the connections”, 22-24 march 2006 (conference proceedings available on cd-rom). steenkamp, g.m. 2008. picture of storm water channels which increases the speed of the storm water. taken at bloemfontein, south africa, june. steÿn, j.j. & schoeman, a.d. 2006. is ad hoc planning the death in the pot for urban neighbourhoods? paper delivered at the steenkamp • the impact of stormwater on langenhoven park: an integrated approach can make a difference 161 south african planning institute’s conference in cape town: “planning africa 2006: making the connections”, 22-24 march 2006 (conference proceedings available on cd-rom). steyn, p. & wessels, a. 1999. the roots of contemporary governmental and non-governmental environmental activities in south africa. 1654-1972. new contree, 45, pp. 61-81. turner, t. 1998. landscape planning and environmental impact design. london; ucl press. bekendstelling • introduction 'ora joubert a new student centre and the pedestrianization of the university of the free state campus r egrettably, academic buildings in south africa often suffer from a stigma of ideological nepotism a social phenomenon that is seldom conducive to architectural excellence. the university of the free state in bloemfontein is no exception, and consequently any new design commission is followed with both interest and envy. the university of the free state unlike the 'instantaneous' campuses synonymous with apartheid educa­ tion, the university of the free state has a long-standing academic tra­ dition. it was found in l 904 and is the third oldest in the country. accordingly, the architecture reflects the design priorities of different eras. coinciding with the prosperity of the golden years of the afrikaner nationalist government, the majority of the buildings dates from the mid-half of the 20th century and provides thus a relatively cohesive inter­ pretation of the modern design idiom. with the exception of the sasol library completed in 1983 and emulating the somewhat later brutal­ ist aesthetics building activity ceased for close on three decades. although this inactivity can be interpreted as a sign of academic decline, it has, from an architectural point of view, been advantageous since its distinct modernist ambience has remained pretty much intact. a democratic south africa the democratic elections of 1994 necessitated that this university as all tertiary institutions countrywide address the pedagogic demands at hand. the university administration adopted a pro-active strategic vision (the so-called draai-strategie) for social, linguistic and financial transfor­ mation, whilst remaining committed to standards of academic excel­ lence. concurring with this process of academic introspection, both the resources and the ad hoe 'campus sprawl' came under scrutiny. in l 999 a team of urban designers was appointed to develop a master plan for professor 'ora joubert is head of the department of archrtecture, university of the free state. student centre architects: the roodt partnership. campus pedestrianization archrtect: bonnie britz. 122 figure l: a north-easterly perspective of the new student centre (architects: the roodt partnership) figure 2: north elevation of the bridge bullding straddling df malherbe avenue, five meters below (architects: the roodt partnership) )> 0 -+ 0 1 2 3 acta structilia 2002:9(2) figure 3: footprint of the new student centre straddling df malherbe drive five meters below (architects: the roodt partnership) figure 4: proposed pedestrian campus route (architect: bonnie britz) and the new student centre (architects: the roodt partnership) 124 joubert/new student centre, university of the free state the campus. the ensuing structure plan identified certain shortcomings and provided a series of guidelines for future developments. in particular, the vehicular bias of the campus was criticised and a plea was made for a substantially improved, and userfriendly, pedestrian network. the urban designers also called for the development of "a new student service, support and administrative centre"'. it was suggested that this new facility should bridge the highway in the attempt of linking the western and eastern parts of the campus, and act as its 'new heart'. it was argued that a state of the art student centre would also assist in "the much needed marketing boost for the university"2, in keeping with similar facilities on various other university campuses. the concept of the new student centre as the centre has to cater for various student requirements, it resulted in a mixed-use building, which, by definition, is a complex if not an elusive architectural prototype. moreover, as financial viability plays a crucial role in developments of this nature, the priorities of the commercial tenants also had to be considered. only after wide consultation with the various parties involved, could the findings be translated architecturally. the architects interpreted the urban design brief in a literal manner and developed a bridge building straddling df malherbe avenue, five meters below. the new student centre thus establishes the necessary link between the eastern and western sections of the campus, with the posi­ tion of the sasol library and the newly developed pedestrianised routes also taken into account. the bridge itself serves as the main circulation route, with fast food outlets on ground floor, and student offices and support services upstairs. the two flanks on the eastern and western sides house respectively a media centre, cafeteria and a host of other commercial facilities. in conclusion due to the complex nature of the project, and taking into account that it is the first building to be constructed on campus in many years, its via­ bility and success will be closely followed. it is too early to speculate whether this building will fully meet the expectations of either the finan­ ciers or its student clientele. yet it would undoubtedly invigorate the campus and make a positive contribution to the architectural fabric as a whole. extract fram the 'structure plan, university of the free state', prepared by markewicz & english, urban designers, architects & planners. october 1999. 125 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles amaka ogwueleka & tinus maritz incentive issues in the south african construction industry: preliminary findings from project stakeholders peer reviewed and revised abstract incentives are regarded as motivational tools which can be used to propel construction workforces to achieve project objectives. this article contributes to the existing body of knowledge by evaluating the current practices of incentive mechanisms in the south african construction industry and identifying the challenges confronting the use of incentives. the study adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. for the quantitative approach, a total number of 52 project stakeholders practising in gauteng participated in the survey by completing the structured questionnaire. the questionnaire survey is used to obtain information from respondents, in order to assess their perceptions on the impact of current practices of incentives on work productivity and the construction industry. for the qualitative approach, personal interviews were conducted with selected respondents to clarify their answers. the findings reveal ‘unattainable project goals’, ‘poor communication processes’, and ‘inappropriate contractual arrangement’ as the most significant challenges confronting the use of incentives in the south african construction industry. the findings reported in this article show problems frustrating the absolute absorption of incentives in the industry, and also contribute to redesigning the incentive plan so as to improve project performance. keywords: incentives, alliance, contract strategy, best performance, and construction industry. abstrak aansporingsmaatreëls word as motiveringswerktuig beskou wat gebruik kan word om die werkerskorps aan te spoor om sodoende prestasiedoelwitte te bereik. hierdie artikel dra by tot die kennisgebied deur huidige praktyke van aansporingsmeganismes in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf te evalueer asook die uitdagings wat met die gebruik van aansporingsmaatreëls gepaard gaan. die studie maak gebruik van beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodes vir data-insamelingdoeleindes. vir die kwalitatiewe benadering het ‘n totaal van 52 projekbelanghebbendes, wat in gauteng praktiseer, aan amaka (a.c.) ogwueleka, ph.d. student, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology, university of pretoria, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 2576, email: <amaka.ogwueleka@up.ac.za.> prof. tinus (m.j.) maritz, head of department, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology, university of pretoria, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 12420 2581, email: <tinus.maritz@up.ac.za.> acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 2 die opname deelgeneem deur die gestruktureerde vraelys te voltooi. die vraelysopname is gebruik om inligting van respondente te bekom om sodoende hul waarneming oor die impak van huidige praktyke van aansporingsmaatreëls op produktiwiteit van arbeid en die konstruksiebedryf te toets. vir die kwalitatiewe benadering is persoonlike onderhoude gevoer met sommige van die respondente om antwoorde te verklaar. die bevindinge toon “onbereikbare projekdoelwitte”, “swak kommunikasieprosesse” en “nie-toepaslike kontraktuele ooreenkomste” as die belangrikste uitdagings waarmee die aansporingskwessies in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf te make het. die bevindinge wat in hierdie artikel uitgelig word, dui op probleme wat ondervind word met die volkome aanvaarding en dwarsboming van aansporingsmaatreëls in die bedryf. verder dra die artikel ook by tot ‘n nuwe benadering vir die herontwerp van die aansporingsplan om projekprestasie te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: aansporingsmaatreëls, alliansie, kontrakstrategie, bestewerkverrigting, konstruksiebedryf. 1. introduction over the years, construction activity has recorded a significant increase in the complexity of contract service delivery and this resulted in the quest for a better contract strategy to promote best performance (ogwueleka, 2010: 209). the general view and concern about achieving best performance is focused on developing capacity issues. capacity development does not automatically translate into better performance; it requires some fundamental elements to propel it so as to achieve the desired outcomes (boesen & therkildsen, 2004: online). the use of traditional construction contracts to meet clients’ expectations and contractors’ objectives has led to distrust and conflict between clients and contractors (egan, 1998: 21). the demand to improve performance through cooperative strategies, thereby reducing confrontations and promoting equity in allocation of risks amongst the contracting parties, has led to the introduction of partnering in the early 1980s in japan and in usa (naoum, 2003: 72). bygballe, jahre & swardt (2010: 239, citing cii, 1991) define partnering as a “long term commitment between two or more organisations for the purpose of achieving the specific business objectives by maximizing the effectiveness of each of the participants”. partnering has to do with having a working relationship between stakeholders based on respect, trust, teamwork, commitment and shared goals (ogc, 2003: online). lu & yan (2007: 243) establish the collaboration of partnering as good faith which cannot be sufficiently reinforced. previous studies have emphasised that it is difficult to achieve and maintain collaboration between clients and contractors without a formal commitment (bresnen, 2007: 367; laan, noorderhaven, voorijk & dewulf, 2011: 100). ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 3 recent studies have advocated the process of drafting a formal contract to promote joint learning process, mutual understanding, and long-term and trusting exchange relationships (popp & zenger, 2002: 799; vlaar, van den bosh & volberda, 2006: 1620). this has led to the incorporation of alliance contracting into partnering in order to overcome the weaknesses associated with the use of partnering. alliance contracting is reinforced by incentive design, whereby the sharing of resources, risks and profits/losses is properly defined among contracting parties in a moral/contract agreement measured against performance indicators (tang, qiang, duffield & young, 2008: 460). henneveld (2006: cd-rom) defines alliances as “incentive-based contracts in which the parties agree to work together as an integrated team in a relationship that is based on the principles of equity, trust, respect, openness, no dispute and blame”. the recent use of alliance has also faced challenges relating to the design of appropriate risks and reward systems which can motivate project participants (rose, 2008: 45). many researchers have advocated the use of incentives as motivational tools to reduce misalignment of objectives, fragmented association between contracting parties, and risk-averse behaviours (martin, 2008: online; drake, 2008: 398). in the south african construction industry, the stakeholders have continuously expressed concern regarding the use of incentives. some have attributed the use of incentives to the ‘big guys’ in the construction industry, which has attracted sympathy among government and regulatory bodies. the quest to discard the use of incentives is on-going, and if successful, what will be the fate of best performance in the industry? this article aims to evaluate the current practices of incentive mechanisms in the south african construction industry and the challenges confronting the use of incentives. 2. incentive mechanisms in construction projects broome & perry (2002: 60) define an incentive as “an inducement to motivate an organisation or an individual in order to place greater emphasis on how to achieve an objective or to act in a certain way.” incentive is the internal psychological process or internal power that is guided by the goal or object to stimulate and to maintain individual activities (porter & lawler, 1968: 25). this process includes three connotations: the first is to meet the individual’s target or outcome; the second is to determine the goal or outcome and how to achieve the mental processes and the third is the social process in which the individual’s behaviour is influenced by others. the concept of acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 4 incentive contracting is to give a contractor the opportunity to earn greater profits if s/he achieves the client’s expectations by taking full advantage of contractors’ objectives (bower, ashby, gerald & smyk, 2002: 37, citing blyths, 1969). incentive schemes consist of two attributes: to align the objectives of the contracting parties through the use of performance measures and to link them to payment (richmond-coggan, 2001: online). the general view and concern about achieving best performance is focused on developing capacity issues. capacity development does not automatically translate into better performance; it requires some fundamental elements to propel it in order to achieve the desired outcomes (boesen & therkildsen, 2004: online). incentive systems and motivations are critical for capacity development, thereby propelling the individuals and organisations to perform their functions effectively, efficiently and sustainably (boesen & therkildsen, 2004: online). the general principles of incentive systems are to ensure that risks and rewards are commensurably and fairly distributed among the parties concerned, and that they are tailored to achieve specific project objectives (bresnen & marshall, 2000: 588). incentive mechanism is still a developing field of knowledge and expertise in the construction industry; it has attracted many researchers from different countries. this reveals a wide recognition of incentive on project success. empirical research on the motivation and performance in the context of construction projects is sparse (ling, r’ahman & ng, 2006: 58; chapman & ward, 2008: 660; rose & manley, 2011: 766). the literature scan reveals that the majority of previous researchers focus on a single incentive plan (berends, 2000: 168; brenen & marshall, 2000: 588). the single incentive plan does not reflect the weights of performance metrics, thus resulting in investing one’s effort in one area at the expense of other areas (ittnera, larcker & meyer, 2003: 728; beer et al., 2004: 42). the common types of contractual incentives for construction projects are cost, schedule/delivery, technical/performance, and safety (bower et al., 2002: 33; bubshait, 2003: 67; lahdenpera & koppinen, 2003: 483; meng & gallagher, 2012: 354). incentive schemes can be designed in three different forms, namely financial, semi-financial and non-financial schemes. 2.1 financial incentive schemes the offer of a financial reward to enhance the motivation of employees to work harder and smarter so as to attain project goals that is above minimum standards (rose & manley, 2005: 441). the use of financial incentives can improve the work quality and reducing ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 5 time and cost effectively (ajayi, 2007: 61). these schemes are focused on inducing employees to achieve the stipulated project objectives in anticipation of monetary benefits, in some cases; they may be diametrically opposed to motivation (whitmore, 2012: online). grant & singh (2011: online) highlight three important risks that the excessive reliance on financial incentives may create as: a) they may enhance performance but do not guarantee that the performance improvement will come with ethical behaviour and actual improvements; b) they can demoralise employees who do not get them and actually reduce performance and fuel turnover; and c) they can generate a sort of addiction especially, where the employees are working for incentives. examples of financial incentive schemes are premium bonus, profit sharing, measured day work, simple piece work, geared incentive schemes and group incentive schemes (saka & ajayi, 2010: 583). 2.2 semi-financial incentive schemes semi-financial incentive schemes may be classified as those which have some monetary benefits, but which are not directly linked to output and wages. they are geared towards compensating for jobs that cannot be subjectively measured (chavan, 2010: online). saka & ajayi (2010: 585) emphasise that the use of semi-financial incentive schemes produces the most satisfactory results when compared to other incentive schemes. the efficiency of these schemes relies on the company goals, existing employee attitudes, and managerial capabilities adopted during implementation (saka & ajayi, 2010: 585, citing liska & snell, 1993: 669). examples of semi-financial incentive schemes are health schemes, saving schemes, housing, site welfare provision, and pension schemes (saka & ajayi, 2010: 585). 2.3 non-financial incentive schemes non-financial incentive schemes are indirect rewards, which focus on providing psychological benefits for employees. these are centred on conveying appreciation to individual employees or teams in memorable ways, showing the task performed is inherently meaningful (silverman, 2004:3). the schemes are embedded in theories of motivation, where the motivation to achieve quality of output is best achieved through satisfaction of higher needs (maslow’s theory), awareness of the role of groups in the workplace (mayo’s theory), and the need to provide motivators (herzberg’s theory). examples of non-financial incentive schemes are recognition, praise of good work, communication, empowerment, job autonomy, enlargement, and rotation (armstrong, 2010: 161). http://mgmt.wharton.upenn.edu/people/faculty.cfm?id=1323 http://mgmt.wharton.upenn.edu/people/faculty.cfm?id=1362 acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 6 the incentive system can be designed either through one or a combination of these schemes to achieve satisfaction among the individual, the group or the organisation in order to motivate them positively. ncube, bussin & de swart (2013: 4-5) emphasise the importance of designing an incentive plan to incorporate both financial and non-financial metrics. motivation of employees is a tricky trade which requires a clear understanding of concepts, principles and myths about motivation in order to effectively utilise it (shanks & dore, 2012: 43-51). employees are different, act in different ways and are motivated by different things. motivation is focused on redirecting the employee’s energies towards optimistically job-related behaviours (manion, 2005: 44). this requires a good understanding of the employee’s strengths and weaknesses so as to establish what will be needed to get specific employees to perform and also on how to capitalise on the ways in which these employees learn in order to motivate them correctly (brickingham, 2005: 76). 3. current practices in the south african construction industry globally and in south africa, the construction industry has the highest workforce and has remained a vital player in the economy. the south african construction industry is crucial as a whole because of its labour-intensive nature, and its role in supporting other economic sectors through the provision of buildings and construction (ceta, 2008: online). the construction sector in south africa is recognised as very large, diverse and complex in nature with vast numbers and ranges of employees (ceta, 2008: online). yet the total number of liquidations decreased by 39.4% in march 2012 and the employment in construction also declined by 14.3% between 2008 and 2010; 6.7% in 2011, and 4.4% in 2012, with the current total population of 986 000 employees (state of the construction industry, 2012: online). the contribution of the south african construction industry to gdp has also declined from 7% in 1970 to approximately 3% in 2000 (dlungwana, nxumalo, huysteen, rwelamila & noyana, 2002: cd-rom). in 2012, the contribution of the industry to gdp was regarded as insignificant with a relative of 3% of gdp (statistics south africa, 2012: online). rust & koen (2011: 2) emphasise that the slowdown in growth is a result of the lack of national planning coordination. south africa has a sophisticated construction sector with a large number of employers. however, approximately 95% of the firms can be characterised as small and micro-enterprises (ceta, 2008: online). it consists of a handful of large contractors of about five ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 7 leading construction firms, representing 75% of the total industry output (bmi, 2013: online). table 1 shows the structure of contractors in south africa. the main contractors engage in the business strategy of subcontracting with the view to avoiding uncertainties in the construction market (cidb, 2013: online). subcontracting has become predominant in the industry, with over 70% of the building projects and 30% of the civil engineering works being subcontracted out (cidb, 2013: online). this allows the subcontractors to play a major role in infrastructure development. the contractual relationship between the main contractors and the subcontractors is on an ad hoc basis, where there is no formal contract; this restrains the advocacy for best performance through equity in allocation of risk. hinze & tracey (1994: 279) stipulate that subcontractors play a significant role in the project execution; there is a scarcity of publications about the actual process whereby they are initiated or how award arrangements are made. the key challenges faced by subcontractors are identified as lack of security payment, bid price pressure from main contractors, poor management, poor attitudes within subcontracting organisations, and general industry-wide factors including high level of competition, lack of working capital and skills shortages (cidb, 2013: online). the use of incentives was recommended as one of the measures to resolve these challenges (cidb, 2013: online). table 1: the structure of contractors in south africa (dlungwana et al., 2002: cd-rom) category economic sector annual turnover management skills level small formal less than r10m very poor, fair informal medium formal r10m – r50m poor, fair, good and very good informal large formal above r50m fair, good and very good previous documentation and interviews also reveal that the south african construction industry has adopted incentives. the incentive design is focused on disincentive/penalty, where the project duration is used for performance assessment. figure 1 illustrates the structure of an incentive plan adopted by the department of public works, south africa. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 8 commencement targeted completion date actual completion date daily payment of preliminary and general fee by government daily penalty fee by contractors/ consultants figure 1: an illustration of the incentive plan adopted by the department of public works source: ogwueleka & maritz, 2013: 90 the cidb (2007: 2) reports that the construction sector has progressively declined since 1990, thus witnessing over 200 000 job losses in 2001. this challenge has been exacerbated in recent times by an increase in infrastructure investment. business monitor international (2013: online) reveals that the market infrastructure is still below average, with an acute shortage of skilled workforce across different sectors. cibd (2007: 6) advocates that the remedy to shortage of skilled workers is not merely to equip new entrants with skills, but also to gain the appropriate workplace experience in order to consolidate their craftsmanship, as well as, supervisory and professional capabilities. there is a need to provide an environment for a bigger pool of skills in order to plug the gap of skill shortage (cibd, 2007, citing maleka, 2006: 2). this requires a focus on improving the project environment by correctly motivating project participants. 4. research methodology the research problem addressed is that incentives have been advocated as tools to propel individuals and organisations to perform their tasks effectively, efficiently and sustainably. however, in south africa’s construction industry, their functions have not been properly utilised. this article identifies the current practices and challenges associated with the use of incentives. the exploratory nature of this study requires a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. for a quantitative approach, surveys by means of questionnaires were found to be effective because of the relative ease of obtaining standard data appropriate for achieving the study’s objectives. a questionnaire survey was used to obtain information from respondents in order to assess their perceptions on the impact of current practices of incentives on work productivity and the construction industry. amendments were made on the drafted ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 9 questionnaire based on the suggestions of the reviewers. according to farrell (2011), the use of a qualitative method for data collection may be difficult to obtain an answer, but the data captured are rich. personal interviews were conducted with some respondents in order to clarify their answers. the study population consists of construction firms who are involved in both building and civil engineering works in the gauteng province. gauteng is the smallest of the nine provinces in south africa, but has the highest population of about 12.3 million. it is regarded as the economic centre of south africa, which accounts for over 34.8% of the country’s total gdp. the majority of the construction companies have their headquarters in the gauteng province which has recorded the largest infrastructural development in south africa. kothari (2003: 32) stipulates that survey protocol of random sampling procedures allows a relatively small number of people to represent a much larger population. the study targeted project stakeholders including clients, designers, consultants, project managers, contractors and subcontractors. first, the questionnaire was distributed by means of open access, capturing project stakeholders in gauteng and, second, the questionnaire was also distributed electronically to sixtyfive (65) project stakeholders. the majority of the respondents did not respond; therefore, face-to-face delivery was adopted to promote clarification of any arising queries and to raise the response rate. a total number of 65 questionnaires were administered to the construction professionals, but 13 opted out due to lack of awareness on the use of incentives; only 52 construction professionals participated in the research, with a response rate of 80%. the survey was carried out from march 2013 to june 2013. 5. data analysis and interpretation the questionnaire is categorised into three parts. part one investigates the demographic information of respondents, while part two assesses the current practices of incentive mechanisms in the south african construction industry. respondents are asked to evaluate the challenges confronting the effective use of incentive design in construction projects using a likert-scale of 1=not significant, 2=slightly significant, 3=moderately significant, 4=significant, 5=very significant in part three. the demographic information of respondents are analysed using the basic descriptive statistics, such as frequency counts, percentage and cumulative percentage. data collected in part two was computed based on frequency distribution and are expressed as a percentage of the sample size using a line chart. in acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 10 part three, responses from the respondents are calculated using relative important index (rii) method to determine the effect of incentive design in the construction industry. memon, rahman & azis (2012: 46) used rii to evaluate responses from respondents based on time and cost performance in construction projects (see equation 1). rii is calculated with the following expressions: rii = ∑w/ an equation (1) where w represents weighting given to each factor by respondents and it ranges from 1 to 5 (for this study); a is the highest weight, which is 5 in this study; and n is the total number of respondents (52 for this study). the absolute deviation of the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the distribution are calculated to mean the scatter about the mean. the coefficient of skewness is computed to measure the distribution of the extreme value. spss is also used to determine the cronbach’s alpha reliability test of their responses. 6. findings and discussion this section presents the analysis and discussion of the findings obtained from the copies of the administered questionnaire. table 2 reveals the demographic data of respondents. the analysis shows that respondents are involved at different levels in the industry. their responses can thus be generalised for the construction sector. table 2 also reveals that 46% of the respondents have more than ten years’ working experience in the construction industry; 21% have between eight to ten years; 18% have between five to seven years, and 15% have between two to four years’ experience. therefore, their responses are of great value to this research. the contract procedure reveals that 73% of the respondents have been involved in both partnering and non-partnering projects. a total of 54% of the respondents are engaged in projects with average contract sums of between r20 million to r50 million. ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 11 table 2: the demographic data of respondents frequency percentage cumulative percentage profession of respondents (n = 52) clients designers consultants project managers contractors subcontractors 10 5 11 6 12 8 19 10 21 12 23 15 19 29 50 62 85 100 construction industry sector public sector private sector both 12 8 32 23 15 62 23 38 100 working experience less than 1year 2 to 4years 5 to 7years 8 to 10years more than 10years 0 8 9 11 24 0 15 18 21 46 0 15 31 52 100 contract procedure partnering non-partnering both 8 6 38 15 12 73 15 27 100 average contract sum over the past 12 months less than r1m r1m to r20m r20m to r50m r50m to r 100m above r100m 8 11 28 5 0 15 21 54 10 0 15 36 90 100 0 project type civil engineering building/electrical both 8 23 21 15 44 41 15 59 100 6.1 types of incentive scheme in projects this section identifies the most frequently adopted incentive scheme in construction projects. figure 2 reveals that 56% of the respondents have most frequently used cost/financial incentives in projects and that 39% have used schedule/delivery incentives in projects. five per cent of the respondents agreed to have used multiple incentives, while none of the respondents ever used technical/performance acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 12 incentives. this reveals that cost/financial and schedule/delivery incentives are often adopted in the construction industry. figure 2: types of incentive scheme frequently adopted in projects 6.2 the design of incentives in the construction industry this section seeks to establish how the incentives are designed in the construction industry. figure 3 shows that 55% of the respondents were involved in projects, where the incentives are designed by client and consultant only, and that 45% of the respondents were involved in incentives through negotiation between the contracting parties. this reveals an irregularity in the design of incentives in the construction industry. figure 3: how the incentive scheme is designed in the construction industry 6.3 the stage for adopting the incentive schemes in projects the aim is to establish the stage in which the incentive schemes are initiated during project implementation. figure 4 reveals that 36% of the respondents agreed that the incentive scheme was initiated during the bidding stage, whereas 27%, 19% and 18% of the respondents agreed that the incentive schemes were introduced during the planning stage, the design stage and the construction stage, respectively. the analysis shows lack of consistency in the design; this implies that there is no informal incentive scheme design. ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 13 figure 4: at what stage do you adopt incentive schemes? 6.4 the percentage range of incentive payoff compared to project cost this section aims to ascertain the percentage range of incentive payoff when compared to the project cost. figure 5 reveals that 67% of the respondents were involved in incentive payoff of between 6% and 10%, whereas 17% and 18% of the respondents had received incentive payoff of between 0% and 5%, and between 16% and 19%, respectively. this shows that the largest incentive payoff in the construction industry is between 6% and 10%. figure 5: the percentage range of incentive payoff compared to project cost in projects 6.5 incentive payoff to construction workforce to achieve the specified objectives this section assesses the respondents’ opinions on how incentive payoff should be distributed. figure 6 shows that 38% of the respondents agreed that it should be distributed among the workers, whereas 26%, 24% and 12% of the respondents agreed that it should be given to the subcontractors, middle and top management, respectively. this reveals that each group desires a share in the incentive payoff. acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 14 figure 6: the most appropriate workforce group to benefit from incentive payoff 6.6 benefits of incentive schemes during project implementation this section examines the respondents’ perspectives on the impact of the use of incentives on projects. figure 7 reveals that 57% of the respondents agreed that incentives can be used to expedite the construction work, whereas 36% of the respondents agreed that incentives can encourage reduction cost. only 7% of the respondents agreed that incentives can encourage quality and safe work, whereas none of the respondents agreed that incentives can promote cooperation and appropriate allocation of risks among the contracting parties. the general principles of incentives are unknown to the project stakeholders. figure 7: the most essential benefits of incentive scheme design in projects 6.7 participation in incentive projects over the past five years this section evaluates the level of respondents’ participation in incentive projects over the past five years. figure 8 shows that 62% of the respondents did not participate in incentive projects over the past five years, while 38% of the respondents did participate. this reveals a low level of participation in incentive projects. ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 15 figure 8: the level of participation in incentive projects over the past five years 6.8 challenges confronting the effective use of incentive design in the construction industry this section seeks the respondents’ opinions on the challenges confronting the use of incentives during project implementation. the respondents ranked the parameters using the likert-scale of 1 to 5 as described in section 5, the rii for each parameter is calculated, and the absolute deviation of the mean, variance and standard deviation of the distribution are calculated to measure the scatter about the mean. the coefficient of skewness is computed to measure the distribution of the extreme value to indicate how it has affected the mean. table 3 reveals the results of the analysis. table 3: incentive issues in the construction industry parameters indices(i) rank mean deviation (i-µ)2 inappropriate procedural justice (transparency and fairness in decision-making) 3.19 10th -0.30 0.09 payment problems 3.59 4th 0.10 0.01 inappropriate risk allocation 3.41 7th -0.08 0.01 unattainable project goals 3.68 1st 0.19 0.04 poor reward intensity (compensation for risk and effort) 3.47 6th -0.02 0.00 poor communication processes 3.66 2nd 0.17 0.03 low level targets (sharing ratio) 3.35 8th -0.14 0.02 neglect of the subcontractors in the incentive design 3.59 4th 0.10 0.01 lack of integrity among the contracting parties 3.28 9th -0.21 0.04 poor organisational culture 3.53 5th 0.04 0.00 inappropriate contractual arrangement 3.64 3rd 0.15 0.02 poor performance appraisal programmes 3.47 6th -0.02 0.00 acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 16 the variance and standard deviation are calculated as 0.02 and 0.15, respectively. using this formula to determine the coefficient of skewness (sk) = 3(mean – median)/ s, the result is -0.2, approximately equal to zero. this implies that the data is normally distributed. cronbach’s alpha reliability test is conducted using spss to examine the internal consistency of the parameters. alpha values greater than 0.7 are regarded as sufficient (pietersen & maree, 2007: 216). the consistency test reveals cronbach’s alpha of 0.839, it shows a high internal consistency, which is considered acceptable in research. table 3 reveals ‘unattainable project goals’ as the highest score, followed by ‘poor communication processes’ as the second, and ‘inappropriate contractual arrangement’ as the third. the range of spread between the highest score and the lowest score is 0.40, indicating that other parameters are equally significant. goals are proven to be an effective motivation tactic; therefore, they should be set sufficiently high to encourage high performance and sufficiently low to be attainable (ogwueleka, 2011: 345). the current reform in the south african construction industry is targeted towards increasing the skilled workforce, reducing unemployment and poverty. the findings reveal unattainable project goals as a challenge in incentive design; therefore, there is a need to redesign the existing incentive scheme in order to promote goal commitment. according to bennett (2009: online), the goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely so as to not jeopardise motivation and commitment, thereby infusing corruption, dishonesty and cutting corners. in general, people are inclined to be dishonest if they fall short of their goals (schweitzer, ordonez & douma, 2004: 428). construction projects are regarded as complex and risky, thus requiring the active participation of project stakeholders to achieve the specified objectives. good communication at both intraand inter-organisational levels can improve motivation levels and the construction processes. this is in line with the review conducted by williams (2008: online, citing kevin dougherty, florida-based consultant); it emphasises that effective communication is ranked as one of the top challenges currently facing the construction industry. james & clancy (2009: 31) stipulate that it is difficult to measure the ripple costs of poor communication which prove to be a serious challenge to the construction industry. it is estimated that in 50% to 75% of all construction project time extensions, cost overruns and contractual claims could have been mitigated or eliminated by means of better up-front communication. the proper management of construction requires a constant flow of information between all the contracting parties. the findings show poor communication as a ogwueleka & maritz • incentive issues 17 challenge to dissemination of the incentive design in the construction projects. it is essential to address communication in the industry in order to improve its future. the third ranked is ‘inappropriate contractual arrangement’. the previous findings show that there is no formal contractual arrangement for incentive design in the south african construction industry. the discrepancy in the arrangements may be a contributing factor to ineffective utilisation of incentives in the industry. 7. conclusions there is evidence that the south african construction industry is a crucial sector in the economy with a large number of employers. the workforce is dominated by small and micro-firms, with only a few large construction firms. the majority of construction works are executed by subcontractors, but they are not included in the provisional and general fees or so-called ‘incentive plan’. the article reveals that the structure of the existing incentive plan does not encourage early completion. the interviews conducted during the review process indicate that the main contractors are not willing to complete their project works prior to the targeted completion date due to the daily payment of provisional and general fees. according to ogwueleka (2010: 209), the early completion of project works will not only save time, but also cost and other related variables. the findings show that cost/financial and schedule/delivery incentives are most frequently adopted in the industry; this is in line with the criticism of cidb (2013: online) that only approximately 50% of south africa’s construction tenders are evaluated based on quality. the respondents’ responses based on benefits of incentive schemes disclose that the majority of stakeholders are unaware of the general principles of incentives and that there is a low level of participation in incentive projects. this article shows that the use of incentives has been advocated by many researchers as motivational tools, which can propel contractors’ objectives towards clients’ expectations, but it can also induce undesired behaviours and restrain the formation of trust and cooperation between the contracting parties if not carefully designed and implemented. it is, therefore, important to design incentives to collaborate and align the entire team’s effort, focusing on more efficient ways to deliver the objectives of the team and the project (maritz & ogwueleka, 2013: 5). the analysis of the challenges confronting the effective use of incentive design in the construction industry reveals ‘unattainable project goals’, ‘poor communication processes’ and ‘inappropriate contractual arrangement’ as the acta structilia 2014: 21(1) 18 most significant parameters. there is a need to redesign the existing incentive plan, with the focus on how to resolve these challenges and encourage early completion of project works; this will also be beneficial to the government. references list ajayi, f.a. 2007. impact of financial incentives on the productivity of construction sites workers in nigeria. unpublished dissertation (b.tech). nigeria: federal university of technology, akure. armstrong, m. 2010. armstrong’s handbook of reward management practice. london: kogan press. beer, m., cannon, m.d., baron, j.n., dailey, p.r., gerhart, b., heneman, h.g., kochan, t., ledford, g.e. & locke, e.a. 2004. promise and peril in implementing pay-for-performance. human resource 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[online]. available from: <www. dcnonl.com> [accessed: 22 july 2013]. 126 chris adendorff, brink botha, angelo van zyl & gillian adendorff financial implications for built environment consultants working at risk in south africa peer reviewed abstract consultants in the built environment of south africa are facing financial risks due to clients’ expectations of completing certain portions of work at risk. thus, consultants would complete projects at risk in return for the possibility of remuneration in the long run. a descriptive survey was conducted among various professional consultants working within the built environment in south africa. the findings include that a large percentage of work was expected to be completed at risk. once work was completed at risk, a relatively small percentage continued to a stage where the actual consultant received remuneration. as a result of the current global economic climate, the amount of work required to be completed at risk increased and the percentage of work continuing to a stage of remuneration has also decreased. a greater percentage of clients therefore expected more work to be done at risk than the actual amount of work for which consultants are remunerated. keywords: built environment, financial risk, expectations, remuneration, work done at risk abstrak konsultante in die boubedryf van suid-afrika loop finansiële risiko’s as gevolg van kliënte se verwagtinge om sekere fases van werk te voltooi teen ‘n risiko. konsultante voltooi dus projekte teen ‘n risiko met die hoop op vergoeding in die lang duur. ‘n beskrywende opname is gedoen onder ‘n verskeidenheid professionele konsultante wat in die boubedryf van suid-afrika werk. die bevindinge was dat ‘n groot persentasie van die werk teen ‘n risiko gedoen word. as die werk teen risiko voltooi is, is daar maar ‘n relatiewe klein persentasie prof. chris adendorff nmmu business school nelson mandela metropolitan university po box 77000 port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 3771 email: <cadendorff@nmmu.ac.za> mr brink botha senior lecturer department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2085 fax: +27 41 504 1785 email: <brink.botha@nmmu.ac.za> mr angelo van zyl ba.hon graduate department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 377. mrs gillian adendorff phd candidate department of construction management po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: +27 41 504 3771 email: <gillian@amarchitects.co.za> adendorff et al • financial implications 127 wat voortgaan tot ‘n stadium waar die konsultant wel vergoeding ontvang. as gevolg van die wêreld se huidige ekonomiese klimaat het die hoeveelheid werk wat teen risiko gedoen word toegeneem terwyl die stadium waar vergoeding moet geskied, afgeneem het. meer kliënte verwag dus werk wat teen ‘n risiko gedoen moet word terwyl die eintlike bedrag van vergoeding vir die konsultante afgeneem het. sleutelwoorde: bou-omgewing, finansiële risiko, verwagtinge, vergoeding, werk gedoen op risiko 1. introduction the south african construction industry has experienced a decade of considerable growth and success, particularly as a result of the government’s considerable infrastructure spending. according to a report by the department of agriculture and land reform (2008: 7), the construction industry managed to increase its contribution to south africa’s gross domestic product by 18% between 2003 and 2008. however, the current global recession has, as in most sectors, put a dampener on growth (adendorff, appels & brink, 2011: 42). during certain economic cycles, professional consultants in the built environment are forced to work at risk. no current remuneration model for consultants working at risk in south africa is clearly defined. professionals are increasingly expected to commit their intellectual property and time at risk. developers and employers have a tendency to take a certain amount of advantage of this phenomenon (chinyiou, 2011: 4). therefore, consultancy firms expected to do work at risk are facing more substantial risks during recessed economic cycles due to an increase in the amount of work required to be completed at risk (van zyl, 2011). consultants are, in turn, expected to do the work, only to receive remuneration in the long run based on the case of the possibility of actual projects continuing. various researchers argue that clients use the work done by the consultant to some extent, but no payment is, however, made to the consultant in the long run, even though the client has found some form of personal enrichment (clark, 2012: 4). consultants and consultancy firms are therefore incurring substantial loss of potential turnover due to work completed at risk never continuing to a stage of remuneration for such consultant or organisation (griffin, 2012: 1). 2. literature review the financial uncertainty as a result of the current economic cycle has negative effects on businesses that trade during these times. a decline in employment opportunities and level of trade, caused by recessionary conditions, is primarily unfavourable for any economic acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 128 activity (mukucha, mphethi & maluleke, 2010: 12; equiteq, 2008: 1). the contribution of gross fixed capital formation to gross domestic product in south africa averaged between 20% and 22% in 2009 and 2010, a marked improvement from an average of 17% in 2005 (du plessis & smit, 2005: 5). from 2006 to 2010 there has been a substantial increase in fixed capital in south africa brought about by the need to support longer term and sustainable economic growth. strong investment in fixed capital has therefore provided structural support to the economy (the consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 5). the construction sector in south africa contributed 49% to gross fixed capital formation, and increased its contribution to 10.8% of gross domestic product in the 3rd quarter of 2010. between 2006 and 2010 the construction industry in south africa was supported by stronger government investment as well as an increase in capital spending by eskom, acsa and transnet, while private sector investment was boosted primarily by residential and retail construction (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 5; gordhan, 2012: 1). 20 15 10 5 0 06 1 06 2 06 3 06 4 07 1 07 2 07 3 07 4 08 1 08 2 08 3 08 4 09 1 09 2 09 3 09 4 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 11 1 11 2 series 1 11 10 10 10 15 14 13 18 9 8 11 11 6 9 9 1 8 1 7 2 5 5 3 0 7 1 3 1 2 0 5 0 2 % figure 1: percentage change in quarterly value added by construction industry at constant 2005 prices source: stats sa 2012 residential buildings completed in south africa also indicated a steady decline between 2007 and 2010. in an economic downturn owners and prospective owners of buildings may prefer to maintain their existing stock and delay new work, and therefore the number of mortgage approvals has a strong effect on the housing market (chamberlin, 2009: 24-26). from 2008 to 2010, the highest value of plans passed in south africa, but never constructed, totalled r23 731 925 000 in 2008. in the same year, the mortgage rate was the highest, at 15.1%. comparing the mortgage rate to the value of plans passed, but never constructed, a direct relationship between the mortgage rate and the value of the plans emerged. the negative value for residential buildings in 2009 could arguably be due to the sharp drop in mortgage rates acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 130 r 25 000 000 000 r 20 000 000 000 r 15 000 000 000 r 10 000 000 000 r 5 000 000 000 r 0 -r 5 000 000 000 2008 2009 2010 residential completed r 7 360 826 000 -r 1 074 318 000 r 5 638 000 non-residential completed r 4 541 778 000 r 2 672 032 000 r 918 265 000 additions and alterations completed r 11 829 321 000 r 8 752 985 000 r 11 199 708 000 total r 23 731 925 000 r 10 350 699 000 r 18 756 898 000 v a lu e ( r) figure 3: value plans passed but never constructed in south africa source: stats sa 2012 economic cycles of recession caused uncertainty with regard to the financial feasibility of selected projects within the built environment (posner, 2009: 25-43). long-term construction projects may be victims of enormous escalations in cost. if recessions occur during the implementation phase of any project, the chances of cancellation will increase (the construction index, 2012: 1; markstein, 2011: 1). it has been reported that most mega-projects have been put on hold and some cancelled, the reason being the world economic downturn (cobra, 2010: 20). two of murray and roberts’ projects, a r3.2 billion donald trump tower in dubai and another in the middle east, have also subsequently been cancelled (cobra, 2010: 20). goup5’s small housing project for a local mining firm, african copper mining, has been cancelled due to financial pressures (business day, 2012: 1). eskom in south africa also terminated the procurement process of the proposed and much needed multibillion-rand nuclear power station projects due to economic downturn factors (cobra, 2010: 20). construction of the much acclaimed leadenhall building in johannesburg was temporarily put on hold in 2008 and 2009, due to concerns over future occupancy rates, which were forecasted to be much lower during recessed economic downturns (chamberlin, 2009: 30). at december 2011, only 13 of 107 planned projects in south africa had broken ground, and only 10 of these have gone vertical (lilia, 2009: 42). a decline in private sector investment, particularly in new housing construction, machinery, equipment and transport, contributed to the poor performance in gross fixed investment. slower growth in non-residential construction resulted in a negative adendorff et al • financial implications 131 impact on gross fixed capital formation in 2010 (consulting engineers south africa, 2010: 3). conditions for consultants in the built environment industry continued to become more challenging. fee income fell by 8% compared to the first 6 months, or by 16.9% year-on-year adjusted for inflation (cpi, 2011). the high level of discrepancies between consulting firms indicated that some firms did manage to report an increase in earnings, while most firms reported a decrease (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 19). the average (un-weighted) net profit (before tax) moderated in the last six months from 18.4% in the first six months of 2009 to 16.4% in the last six months of 2009. therefore, economists expected profit margins to moderate further in 2010, to an average of between 10% and 13%. although a larger number of consulting firms were dissatisfied with profit margins, the majority of consulting firms were still of the opinion that the profit margins were between satisfactory and good (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 10). an increase in competition was felt due to the plummeting economy (newcomb, 2009). it is argued that competition generally eased during a time when the availability of work decreased, and intensified during periods of work shortages (consulting engineers south africa, 2010: 13). an easing of competition has generally led to an increase in prices, while price inflation was capped during periods of work shortages, due to the fact that an increasing number of firms tendered on the same projects. the tendering process was regarded as costly and time-consuming, and higher levels of competition significantly increased the risk for consultants in south africa (hughes, hillebrandt, geenwood & kwawu, 2006: 140). respondents indicated that competition was seen to have declined 79% in december 2007 to 78% in december 2009, recovering from what may have been a supported error during the june 2009 survey as part of the research study, 36%. competition undoubtedly remains fierce in the construction industry in south africa. it can be argued that competition really escalated in 2008 and subsequently led to an increase in the rates whereby firms discounted fees (consulting engineers south africa, 2010: 14). the discounting of fees, benchmarked against fee guidelines gazetted by the engineering council of south africa, continued during the 2008 survey period, but moderated, from 19.3% to 16.4% during june 2009. indications were that 43% of the firms reported a discounting rate of 20% or more, the highest being 45%. larger firms argued to leverage a discount at an average of 21% during 2009 (compared to 25% and 15% in the previous surveys). interestingly, acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 132 those firms already running at a capacity rate of 100% or more seemed to be offering the highest discounting rates of over 25%. consulting engineers south africa’s labour cost indicator, on the other hand, increased by 10.7% year-on-year december 2009, including a 20.6% increase in june 2009 (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 25). the increase in engineering consulting costs has, since june 2003, surpassed the increase in the consumer price index, indicating that the real change in fee income has probably been overstated, given the fact that the consumer price index has used a nominal fee income deflator (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 25). the average unit labour cost in the consulting engineering consulting industry, however, increased by a mammoth 145.0% a month between june 2002 and june 2009, from an average of r75 per hour (based on 160 hours per month) to r185m in june 2009 (consulting engineers south africa, 2010). average unit costs, on the other hand, increased by an annual rate of 21.7% in 2008, compared to 9.6% in 2007 and 10% in 2006. unit costs rose 11% in june 2009 compared to december 2008, or by 25.4% compared to that of the june 2008 unit cost survey (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 25). changes in the general cost of living (as measured by statistics south africa’s consumer price index) have clearly been non-indicative of labour cost changes within the consulting engineering industry (consulting engineers south africa, 2010: 25). 2.1 working at risk consultants are often required to perform work at risk (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 25). the concept of ‘working at risk’ is defined as when a consultant performs certain work for, or on behalf of a client and payment of the fee for such work is deferred (partially or in full) until a specific agreed event(s) occurs. this event is further defined as ‘success’. if success is not achieved (often by an agreed date), the client has no further liability or obligation to pay the deferred fee. the work required by the client could include items such as presentations, design proposals and draft designs or layouts (ehow, 2012: 1; saito & furusaka, 2006: 3). reasons for performing work at risk typically fall within the following broad category: a requirement to align the interests of the consultant with those of the client through risk-sharing and a mechanism utilised by clients to manage their own cash flow and risk profiles. whatever the reason, working at risk is becoming increasingly common (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 25). while it may be a valuable marketing tool for consultants, it also involves a meaningful role in protecting the interests of clients, but there are some pitfalls adendorff et al • financial implications 133 that should be avoided. one of the pitfalls is pricing – if the pricing is wrong for a particular project, either the consultant or the client may thus be prejudiced (moss, 2000: 1) working at risk should however not be confused with a simple deferral of the consultant’s fee (or a portion thereof), which the client has already agreed to pay. in the case of a deferral, payment of the fee is certain, but when working at risk, there is a possibility that the fee never gets paid. it is clear in the case of working at risk that there is a definite transfer of risk to the consultant, but the same does not apply to a simple deferral of the fee. it is also clear from the definition of the concept of working at risk that the definition of success is critical. the event or events making up success should be defined clearly, without any ambiguity, and should be measurable or identifiable (contractor community, 2012: 1; new south wales government procurement system for construction, 2008: 5). an example would be the signing of a specific contract by the client or his agent. payment of fees in portions or stages, each dependant on individual success events or combinations thereof, may apply (consumer build, 2012: 1). it is not necessary for the full fee payable to the consultant to be deferred, but where a portion of the fee is deferred this will still regarded as constituting working at risk (consulting engineers south africa, 2011: 30). the question to be posed is at whose risk is work to be completed. first, it is argued and assured that the consultant will not be entitled to any fees or compensation for work to be done. from an income point of view, the work is being done at the risk of the consultant, who may never be paid for the services rendered (ipenz, 2004: 14). it often appears that projects never go ahead, but alternatively, when they do proceed, the original consultant is not re-employed. the client then utilises the work done by the initial consultant on the project at a much later date, leaving the consultant out of pocket (de vries, 2009: 1; finch, 2011: 1). the price of work as regarded by consultants has two components, namely the actual cost of carrying out the works and security which is allowed for profit. the activities involved in the course of work at risk therefore also warrant expenditure. the cost of work thus completed at risk will then usually be regarded to be subsumed in an organisation’s overhead costs (chinyio, 2011: 13). determining overhead costs depends to a large extent on collecting accurate data and being able to present this data in a meaningful way. people and resources used to conduct the work at risk are not specifically dedicated to risk projects. however, only determining what resources acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 134 are completely consumed during this period is argued to be very difficult to determine. this is further complicated by how individuals and organisations are rewarded and the actual manipulation of data that occurs when people may try to optimise their personal rewards (dalrymple, boxter & staples, 2006: 72-79). there are two types of overhead costs in professional consulting, namely company overhead costs and project overhead costs (assaf, bubshait, atiyah & al-shahri, 2001: 1). the consulting company overheads include salary costs, payroll burdens, travelling expenses, communication expenses, legal services, drafting supplies, printing and copying, all incurred directly due to a certain project (american society of civil engineers, 2003: 26). project overheads, on the other hand, refer to the costs which cannot be linked directly to a certain project in particular, but are merely required for the survival of the business. these general overheads include items such as office supplies, automobile expenses, administration salaries, etc. (american society of civil engineers, 2003: 26). company overheads may be one of the main reasons why many professional consultants are unable to realise a profit, or even stay in business (assaf et al., 2001: 1). the expenditure on overheads varies between firms and trades, but each organisation must endeavour to recoup this as outgoing. this could be done by allowing for overheads either in each item of the bill of quantities, in south africa, or as a lump-sum addition to the net project cost (world bank, 2012: 1). in best practice, some overheads will be charged along with the preliminaries, and the rest as part of the unit rates pricing of individual items of work. a broad estimation of overheads is to assess the company’s expenditure as a percentage of its turnover (chinyio, 2011: 13). since some overheads are not incurred directly on a product such as construction of consulting materials, they can deceptively be invisible. however, overheads are relevant and expected to support the primary functions of any organisation. the ideal is to minimise, but not to do away with overhead costs. the minimisation must not be regarded as part of the detrimental primary functions of the organisation, but to ensure efficiency therein and to avoid or minimise waste. 3. research method in this study a quantitative approach was followed with the aim of gaining recognition of the problem. the case study approach and method was chosen for it allows for collection of rich data and assists in understanding phenomena in their real-life context (oney-yazici, adendorff et al • financial implications 135 giritli, topcu-oraz & acar, 2007: 438). interviews were used as the primary data-gathering method for this study. more specifically, focus interviews were chosen and questions were carefully designed to provide adequate coverage for the purpose of the research. the concepts and topics in the literature reviews were used to elicit information from the respondents. the sample frame for the survey conducted included a wide spectrum of nine consulting professionals within the south african built environment, including engineers, property developers, project managers, quantity surveyors and architects. the design of the questionnaire was aimed at gathering data relevant to each subproblem. as the topic being researched was of a technical and possibly personal nature, the questionnaires only addressed the salient aspects in order to be non-problematic. the questionnaire comprised 18 questions and was designed to ensure that the selected sample frame was not discouraged from responding. the questionnaire focused on the following topics as reviewed within the research, namely general information; information about amount of work done; information about remuneration for work done, and work done at risk between 2007 and 2010. respondents were given the opportunity to express general comments regarding the sustainability of any current remuneration models for consulting professionals in south africa working at risk. due to the increase in demand for the scarce skills of professionals in the professional consulting industry in south africa, the likelihood existed that potential respondents were experiencing substantial workloads. leedy & ormrod (2005: 185) concluded that the use of questionnaires has advantages. however, questionnaires yield a low rate of response. however, based upon previous survey response rates of crafford (2007) and rossouw (2007), the eight responses can be deemed adequate for this research. the response rates for these surveys were 14.5% and 29%, respectively. the following reasons that could have had a negative effect on the response rate were considered: respondents not having an interest in the research topic; the current nature and economic state of the construction/development industry in south africa; the perception that completing the questionnaires would be time-consuming; nondelivery of questionnaires, and the respondents’ unwillingness to take part in the survey. the number of questions entailed responses in the form of percentages, but due to the fact that it was argued to be very time-consuming for respondents to research exact numbers, acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 136 a certain degree of educated freedom was expected from each respondent. 4. the case study 4.1 interview results: profile of respondents what is your highest qualification? the majority of the respondents identified that the highest qualification they possess is a “b degree”, which includes bachelor’s as well as baccalaureus scientiae degrees, with the second highest number being baccalaureus scientiae honores degrees. zero respondents possessed only grade 12 or a national diploma. please indicate which field of consultancy you are involved in. the choices ranged between engineering, construction management, quantity surveying, project management and other. the majority of the respondents are involved in project management (32%), with construction management and engineering being second (23% each). quantity surveying possessed the smallest share at only 4%.the responses received for other (18%) include sustainable energy, regional planning and feasibility/business cases for infrastructure, a consultant architect, and a dispute resolution consultant. please indicate what type of consulting projects your organisation completed in 2010 (indicate as a percentage totalling 100%) respondents were required to choose between commercial, industrial, infrastructure, residential and other. most of the allocations were for infrastructure (46%), with commercial, industrial, residential and other occupying a considerably lower percentage share on average through the respondent frame. in the event of a percentage allocated to “other”, respondents were required to specify, among others, wind farms, government, museum, sport, offices, education, recycling, space planning, etc. or golf estates. please indicate the average contract value range of consulting work done by your organisation (including contracts consulted for at risk where no remuneration was received). respondents were required to indicate a range by specifying an amount from and to per industry as their indication in the third question. this question was included to, in conjunction with the turnover; establish the relevant size of the organisation and contracts adendorff et al • financial implications 137 which they have completed to work on, as well as to prove the spectrum of respondents surveyed. what was the turnover for your organisation in 2010? options included unsure, will not say, and the south african rand value for the turnover of the organisation in 2010. this question was included in order to attempt to notice the spectrum of respondents, as well as to equate the actual amount of potential turnover lost by each of the respondents in testing each one of the propositions. 4.2 interview results: remuneration of consulting work in the event of the project continuing, at what stage (indicated as a percentage) into the project will remuneration for the work completed in the beginning be received? respondents were required to indicate a percentage per industry as posed in the third question. comments by many respondents included that the costs of the work done at risk are covered in the budgeted overheads of the organisation, but in many cases are written off from the start. however, respondents also indicated that the overheads were to be recovered from successful projects and will only be fully recovered into the projects once and if projects continue. 4.3 interview results: consulting work done “at risk” what percentage of consulting work completed in 2010 was to be remunerated once the project was confirmed to continue further, or in the event that your organisation is selected for the project (i.e. “at risk”)? choices were again between commercial, industrial, infrastructure, residential and other. other was specified in question 3. although, in question 3, it was noted that the majority of work conducted at average through the sample frame consists of infrastructure, it is residential (32.73%) and commercial (26.73%) that required the highest amount of work to be completed at risk, with industrial (14%) and infrastructure (14.09%) requiring a considerably lower percentage of total work to be done at risk. what percentage of consulting work done at risk in 2010 continued to a stage where remuneration was received by your organisation? choices were again between commercial, industrial, infrastructure, residential and other. on average only 30% of all commercial work done at risk continued to a point where remuneration was received by the consultant, thereby being the second lowest received score, acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 138 after infrastructure. fifty-two per cent of industrial work continued to the point of remuneration for the consultant. it was specified in previous questions that the majority of work done by consultants consists of work in the infrastructure field, but it became evident that this field requires one of the lowest percentages of work done at risk. this field of infrastructure, however, also has the lowest success rate for projects continuing to a point of remuneration for the involved consultant with only 6.25% of projects continuing to this point for any given professional consulting project. although it is difficult to specify exactly which type of work specified in “other” caused the high percentage of “at risk work” continuing to an actuality and a point of remuneration for the consultants, “other” scored the highest, and was therefore regarded as the lowest risk factor posed for consultants. has the amount of work to be done “at risk” increased since 2007? respondents were required to choose between “yes”, “no”, or “unsure”. the majority of the respondents noted that the situation of work being required to be completed at risk has in fact deteriorated since 2007 with 55% answering “yes” to this question. twenty-seven per cent answered a definite “no”, and 18% were “unsure”. a large percentage of respondents who answered “no” or “unsure” indicated that they do almost no work at risk. if yes in previous question, what percentage of consulting work was done at risk in 2007? the options were similar to those indicated in the fourth question in order to enable a comparison to be made between 2007 and 2010. if yes in previous question, what percentage of consulting work done in 2007 continued to the stage where remuneration was received by your organisation? the options were similar to those indicated in the fifth question in order to enable a comparison to be made between 2007 and 2010. what is the cost to your organisation of the actual work generally done “at risk” (indicate in the form of percentage of contract value). respondents were required to indicate a percentage per particular industry indicated in the third question. what kind of work has generally been done “at risk” by your organisation (please indicate with an x in all the relevant fields)? options included presentations, sketch drawings, working drawings, rough cost estimations, feasibility studies and other. if “other” is adendorff et al • financial implications 139 chosen, respondents were required to specify. specifications for “other” include various types of programmes and reports as well as the general management of the risk phase of the project and development facilitation. what percentage of clients use the work done “at risk” by your organisation for any form of personal enrichment of any kind (including to establish the feasibility of a project or merely for personal information)? respondents were required to indicate a percentage per industry as indicated in this particular third question. in answering this question, it became clear that, in the respondents’ opinion, a much higher percentage of clients utilised the work done at risk, than what consultants got remunerated for. what were the consulting projects presented generally used for (please check all relevant boxes)? options included personal information, feasibility, acquisition of possible investors, seeking funds from financial institutions, presentations, cost estimations and other. if “other” was selected, respondents were required to specify. however, not a single respondent selected “other” in this instance. to what extent of financial risk did your organisation experience of work done “at risk” (please indicate with x only one option)? options included no financial effect on organisation, very small financial risk, small financial risk, average financial risk, large financial loss, and risk of closure. on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 (has not) and 5 (has very), how sustainable do you think a current remuneration model was for consultants when working in the following industries? respondents were required to indicate per industry, as indicated in the third question. when examining the linear trend lines drawn for each of the industries, it became clear that the majority of the respondents regarded the sustainability of any current remuneration model as unsustainable across most fields. what percentage of your annual turnover was for work done “at risk”? respondents were given the choice of either answering “unsure” or entering a percentage. two respondents answered 0% and two respondents answered “unsure”. out of the rest of the respondents who answered, a percentage of their turnover was, however, from acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 140 work procured “at risk”. an average of 49.29% of their turnover procured “at risk” was reported. do you have any other comments regarding remuneration models for professional consultants in south africa completing work at risk? comments included: for our company it may be completing work at risk due to some ‘scope creep’. for some respondents, considerable work was done against minimal fees in return for obtaining rezoning and marketing of the proposed schemes. some projects were being ‘sold on’, and for other respondents the cutting of ‘downstream’ revenue was to flow from the initial projects done at risk. some respondents regarded this as possibly due to not being astute enough when dealing with certain developers and agents. considerable and significant wealth has, however, been generated by some respondents requesting a certain portion of proposals for work done at risk. from experience, what was more damaging was the pressure felt to cut consulting fees and the new tendency of required tendering about possible commissions in the industry, which were felt to be damaging to certain design professions and the business environment in general. adequate fees are required to service a project. respondents also argued that it is possible to pass off work produced with the minimal input necessitated by tight fees, but this was felt to be very damaging to the profession, its sustainability and society at large. some respondents also indicated the lack of awareness of what competent design can (and should) contribute towards the appropriate development of south africa, communities and the well-being of all south africans. current tendering for services in south africa was felt to be not sustainable for it does not promote growth in the industry, training and development of trainees. the tender process was also argued to be wasteful and inefficient as it results in unnecessary cost to companies. the tender process rewards the lowest bidder, which is rarely (if ever) best equipped for the job, and clients in the public sector often lack the skills and knowledge to be able to adjudicate on the most appropriate service provider. the further lack of clarity on the scope of work was also regarded as a critical problem for many tenders. this increase in tender offers by the public sector will in the future change the figures periodically striving towards 100% of tendered appointments. the review of related literature and the findings emanating from the descriptive survey were used to test the propositions. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 142 organisations were remunerated for work done at risk were often far into the actual project. the cost of such project work done at risk was often written off to overhead costs which were to be believed to be recovered equally over all perceived successful projects. 70 00% 60 00% 50 00% 40 00% 30 00% 20 00% 10 00% 0 00% commercial industrial infrastructure residential other 4.1.3 proposition three clients of the respondents of this survey used the work done by the consultant to some extent, but no payment was made to certain consultants even though the clients had some form of personal enrichment. respondents believe that it often happens that the project does not go ahead, but when it does proceed, the original consultant was not re-employed for whatever reason. the client then utilised the work done by the initial consultant on the project at a later stage, leaving the consultant out of remuneration (consulting engineers south africa, 2004). 4.1.4 proposition four consultants and consultancy firms are incurring substantial loss of potential turnover because of work completed at risk never continuing to a stage of remuneration. figure 5: stage of project as percentage at which remuneration is received for work source: researcher’s own construction adendorff et al • financial implications 143 80 00% 70 00% 60 00% 50 00% 40 00% 30 00% 20 00% 10 00% 0 00% at risk project continued at risk work used co m m er cia l ind us tria l inf ra str uc tu re re sid en tia l ot he r figure 6: average percentage of projects continuing vs percentage of clients utilising work done at risk source: researcher’s own construction 60 00% 50 00% 40 00% 30 00% 20 00% 10 00% 0 00% no financial effect very small financial risk small financial risk average financial risk large financial risk risk of bankkrupcy figure 7: financial risk faced by organisation because of remuneration model source: researcher’s own construction in order to test the above proposition, the extent of financial loss was calculated per respondent which indicated that his/her organisation did in fact endeavour doing work at risk. in order to calculate the percentage of potential turnover lost by each respondent per industry, data were required regarding the percentage of total work done, the percentage of the particular work completed at risk, as well as the percentage of the latter which continued to the point where the organisation actually received remuneration. acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 144 to calculate the percentage of potential turnover lost by each organisation, the following equation was used: plost = (100 x pt) x pr) x (100 – pp) where: plost: percentage of turnover lost because of work at risk pt: percentage per industry of total pr: percentage of pt which is completed at risk pp: percentage of pr for which remuneration is received respondent one indicated that 60% of work undertaken by his/ her organisation was classified as “other”, of which 5% was done at risk. of this 5%, only 95% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translated to 0.15% of the respondent’s turnover being lost because of work completed at risk. the respondent did not indicate a turnover; therefore it is not possible to calculate a physical value in south african rand. respondent two indicated that 80% of work undertaken by his/her organisation is classified as “commercial”, of which 90% was done at risk. of this 90%, only 30% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration, which meant that 70% of it was lost. this translates to a loss of 50.4% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 75 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 37 800 000.00. ten per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “industrial”, of which 60% was done at risk. of this 60%, only 70% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 1.8% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 75 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 1 350 000.00. ten per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “residential”, of which100% was done at risk. of this 100%, only 10% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 9.0% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 75 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 6 750 000.00. respondent three indicated that 30% of work undertaken by his/ her organisation was classified as “commercial”, of which 100% was done at risk. of this 100%, only 40% continued to a stage where his/ adendorff et al • financial implications 145 her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 18% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 6 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 1 080 000.00. forty per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “industrial”, of which 60% was done at risk. of this 60%, only 50% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 12% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 6 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 720 000.00. thirty per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “residential”, of which 100% was done at risk. of this 100%, only 10% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 27% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 6 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 1 620 000.00. respondent four, however, indicated that 30% of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “industrial”, of which 30% was done at risk. of this 30%, only 70% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 2.7% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 12 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 324 000.00. respondent five argued that 5% of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “commercial”, of which 2% was done at risk. of this 2%, only 10% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 0.09% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 428 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 385 200.00. five per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “industrial”, of which 2% was done at risk. of this 2%, only 10% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 0.09% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 428 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 385 200.00. ninety per cent of work undertaken acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 146 by his/her organisation was classified as “infrastructure”, of which 5% was done at risk. of this 5%, only 5% continued to a stage where his/ her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 4.28% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 428 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 18 297 000.00. respondent six indicated that 20% of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “commercial”, of which 100% was done at risk. of this 100%, only 10% continued to a stage where his/ her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 18% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 100 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 18 000 000.00. eighty per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “infrastructure”, of which 100% was done at risk. of this 100%, only 10% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 72% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 100 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 72 000 000.00. respondent seven indicated that 20% of work undertaken by his/ her organisation was classified as “commercial”, of which 2% was done at risk. of this 2%, only 60% continued to a stage where his/ her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 0.16% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. twenty per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “industrial”, of which 2% was done at risk. of this 2%, only 60% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 0.16% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. sixty per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “residential”, of which 70% was done at risk. of this 70%, only 50% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 21% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. respondent eight indicated that 100% of work undertaken by his/ her organisation was classified as “infrastructure”, of which 30% was done at risk. of this 30%, nothing continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 30% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the adendorff et al • financial implications 147 turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 11 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 3 300 000.00. respondent nine indicated that 98% of work undertaken by his/ her organisation was classified as “infrastructure”, of which 20% was done at risk. of this 20%, 10% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 17% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 6 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 1 058 400.00. two per cent of work undertaken by his/her organisation was classified as “residential”, of which 90% was done at risk. of this 90%, only 60% continued to a stage where his/her organisation received remuneration. this translates to a loss of 0.72% of the respondent’s turnover because of work completed at risk. the turnover indicated by the respondent for 2010 is zar 6 000 000.00, which means that the south african rand value lost because of this factor equates to zar 43 200.00. it should be noted that the percentages and amounts of turnover lost are identified as “potential turnover”, which means that it would be the amount gained by each organisation in the event of each project taken on by the organisation at risk continuing to completion for that organisation. every organisation incurred great losses of potential income because of work started by that organisation at risk not continuing to completion for that organisation. 5. conclusions and recommendations the downturn in the current economic condition in south africa has had a negative effect on the south african built environment which, in turn, affects businesses at all levels of trade. although the value added to gross domestic product by the south african construction industry has increased from 2006 to 2010, the number of buildings reported as completed in south africa declined between 2007 and 2010. the uncertainty caused by an economic downturn increased the risk of construction projects not reaching final completion, causing potentially substantial financial loss and/or risk in the south african built environment, architectural engineering and cost estimating. consultants are required and expected to perform work such as presentations, design and draft proposals at risk, only to be remunerated for such work at the possibility of the project continuing during a later stage. the cost of any work completed acta structilia 2012: 19(1) 148 at risk by a consultant or company is generally covered by the particular company’s overheads. the majority of work completed by the sample of this study consisted of infrastructure. however, residential and commercial projects required the most amount of work expected to be completed at risk. on average, the majority of work in the infrastructure field did not continue to any stage of remuneration for the involved company. the amount of work required to be done at risk also increased from 2007 to 2011, and companies were, therefore, faced with financial risks due to work having to be done at risk. it was also found during the study that countless resources were wasted by companies and consultants in south africa annually due to work being completed “at risk” and not continuing to a stage where remuneration was received. consultants were, in fact, expected to conduct a great amount of work at risk in south africa, with work in the residential industry requiring the highest average percentage of work done at risk. work in the industrial sector has had the highest success rate, after “other” for work done at risk to continue to a stage where the consultant received remuneration. work in the infrastructure sector has had the lowest success rate for remuneration, and it is therefore suggested as the highest risk sector in terms of work continuing. the situation of work required to be completed at risk has also deteriorated between 2007 and 2010 in south africa. the percentage of work required at risk increased, whereas the success rate of projects continuing for any given consultant decreased. the actual cost to the consulting organisation of the work done at risk equates to between 1% and 2.5% of the total contract value. it was noted that, on average, more clients use the work done at risk than what they receive remuneration for. an argument raised by one of the respondents in this survey indicated that the professionals in the built environment often do work “for free”, while other professionals such as attorneys, accountants or doctors will invoice clients for their time spent. 6. 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[online]. available from: <http://www.theconstructionindex. co.uk/market-data/regional-construction-forecast-data/latest> [accessed 23 may 2012]. van zyl, a. 2011. financial implications for built environment consultants working at risk. working paper, nelson mandela metropolitan university, december. world bank. 2012. procurement of works section viii. bill of quantities. [online]. available from: <http://web.worldbank.org/ wbsite/external/projects/procurement/0,,contentmdk:200631 33~pagepk:84269~pipk:84286~thesitepk:84266,00.html> [accessed 23 may 2012]. 5 franco geminiani & john smallwood a critical review of the effectiveness of the department of labour (dol) occupational health and safety (oh&s) inspectorate in relation to the construction industry in south africa peer reviewed abstract irrespective of all the efforts made by the department of labour (dol) and other relevant stakeholders to improve construction occupational health and safety (oh&s) performance, there is still a very high level of accidents and fatalities in south africa. injuries and accidents to workers help no community in any nation. the construction industry in south africa is generally known to be one of the most hazardous and has one of the most dismal oh&s records among all industrial segments with an unacceptably high level of injuries and fatalities resulting in considerable human suffering. a doctoral study was recently conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness and performance of the dol oh&s inspectorate in south africa. information was sought and obtained from various respondents including civil and building contractors, oh&s consultants, project managers, dol inspectors, and designers by means of questionnaires. the research identifies interventions which could contribute to a significant reduction in the number of accidents, which in turn is likely to result in: a reduction in the cost of accidents (coa); a reduction in the cost of workers’ compensation insurance; alleviation of fatalities, injuries, pain and suffering, and a reduction in the indirect coa to society and the national health care system. the salient findings of the study are presented and elucidate that the dol oh&s inspectorate is not effective in terms of oh&s relative to the construction industry in south africa. conclusions and recommendations included reinforce the need for a reviewed oh&s inspectorate model framework. the structured normative model consists of fundamental elements which guide to improve the effectiveness of the dol oh&s inspectorate. the findings of the study with recommendations are included. keywords: effectiveness, occupational health and safety, inspectorate navorsingsartikels • research articles dr franco luciano geminiani, senior lecturer, department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. tel.: 041 5043203, fax: 041 5049203, e-mail:< fl.geminiani@nmmu.ac.za> prof. john julian smallwood, head of department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. tel.: 041 5042790, fax: 041 5042345, e-mail: <john.smallwood@ nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 6 abstrak ten spyte van die departement van arbeid en ander betrokke rolspelers se pogings om die prestasie van die beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid in die konstruksiebedryf te verbeter is daar nogsteeds ’n baie hoë vlak van ongelukke en sterftes in suid-afrika. beserings en ongelukke van werkers het ’n baie negatiewe uitwerking op die gemeenskap en die samelewing. die konstruksiebedryf in suid-afrika is oor die algemeen bekend as een van die mees gevaarlike en het een van die powerste rekords onder al die nywerheidsegmente met ’n on aanvaarbare hoë vlak van ongelukke en sterftes wat lei tot geweldige menslike leiding. ’n doktorale studie is onlangs uitgevoer met die doel om die doeltreffendheid en prestasie van die departement van arbeid se beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidsinspektoraat in suid-afrika te ondersoek. inligting is deur middel van vraelyste van verskeie respondente verkry. hierdie respondente sluit in siviele en boukontrakteurs, beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidskonsultante, projekbestuurders, inspekteurs en ontwerpers van die departement van arbeid. die navorsing identifiseer intervensies wat kan bydra tot ’n betekenisvolle afname in die aantal ongelukke. dienooreenkomstige beteken dit ook ’n afname in die koste wat ongelukke meebring, vergoeding wat werkers vir ongelukke eis, verligting van sterftes, beserings, pyn en lyding en die indirekte koste van ongelukke vir die gemeenskap en die nasionale gesondheidsorgstelsel. die belangrikste bevindings van die studie wat uitgelig en waarop uitgebrei word, is dat die die departement van arbeid se beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid in die konstruksiebedryf nie doeltreffend is nie. gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings beklemtoon die behoefte aan ’n hersiende beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidsinspektoraat raamwerk model. die gestruktuurde normatiewe model bestaan uit fundamentele elemente wat kan lei tot die verhoging van die doeltreffendheid van die beroepsgesondheid en veiligheidsinspektoraat van die departement van arbeid. sleutelwoorde: effektiwiteit, beroepsgesonheid en veiligheid, inspektoraat 1. introduction the construction industry in south africa is generally known to be one of the most hazardous with an unacceptably high level of injuries and fatalities resulting in considerable human suffering. from general statistics released throughout the world and also from past historical perspectives it is clear that oh&s has always been problematic (hinze, 1997). comparisons have often been made between the construction industry and other industrial sectors. when examining the nature of construction, the work is often performed under the most arduous and extreme climatic conditions. the terrain is generally not favourable to the safe movement of people, materials, and machines. smallwood (2000 citing griffith 1995; chan & chan 1996; hinze 1997) refers to the uniqueness of the construction industry when motivating commitment to oh&s. the authors further state that although many characteristics which result in the uniqueness of the construction geminiani & smallwood • effectiveness of the department of labour occupational health and safety 7 industry may be found in other industries, the characteristics collectively constitute a challenge in terms of construction oh&s. according to strydom (2002) the south african construction industry in 2001 was regarded by the dol as one of the worst oh&s performers in terms of injuries and fatalities and was ranked after industries such as fishing, transport, forestry, textiles, and mining. over the years the construction industry has consistently been among those industries with high injury and fatality rates (dol, 2000). reducing occupational diseases and accidents would not only improve and save people’s lives, but it would reduce the hundreds of millions of rand paid annually to victims of work related accidents and relieve the pressure placed on the country’s monetary situation. 2. review of the literature 2.1 oh&s statistics attention and awareness to oh&s in the construction industry has increased in south africa over the past decades. although construction work has become healthier and safer over the years, there is still much to be accomplished. when recent statistics published by the dol are analysed, it is notable that a considerable number of fatalities still occur each year in the construction sector. the construction sector has a high number of fatalities compared to other sectors of industry. statistics released by the dol indicate that in 1997, of the 6 267 work related accidents, 509 (8.1%) were in the construction sector, while of the 7 028 accidents in 1998, 675 (9.6%) were in this sector. further statistics released show that of the 482 deaths in 1997, 74 (15.3%) were in construction and of the 584 deaths in 1998, 76 (13.0%) were construction related. this indicates a marginal decrease of 2.3%. in 1997 deaths increased 4% on the previous year. by comparison, according to the dol annual report (2001), of the 337 incidents that have taken place, 68 (20.1%) fatalities occurred in the construction sector. this shows a decrease of 10.5% on 1998 figures. statistics released by the dol indicate that in 2000, 337 work related incidents occurred in the construction sector. further statistics released show that in 2000 there were 68 deaths. this indicates an increase of 9.1% on the previous year. statistics released by the federal employers mutual assurance (fema) indicate that fatalities caused by motor vehicle accidents during the course of employment are also noticeably high. the acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 8 claims registered and finalised by fema, for the period january 2001 to december 2001, a total of 47 fatalities are recorded with an incumbent cost of claims totalling r4,230,291.38. in comparison, the period january 2002 to december 2002, indicates a total of 43 fatalities, with an incumbent cost of claims totalling r7,904,816.21. this represents a 53% increase in the total cost of claims paid out compared to the previous year. the period january 2004 to september 2004, indicates a total of 42 fatalities, with a total value of claims paid totalling r20,498,431.39. this is a substantial increase of 38% relative to 2002. on the contrary to the background presented szana (2007) states that the dol conducted numerous inspections, highlighting consolidated statistics for march 2007, and from recent ‘blitz’ inspections: 923 construction sites were visited;• 1 273 employers were visited — principal and other contractors;• 604 employers were compliant (47.4%);• 669 employers were non-compliant (52.6%); and• 962 notices were served: 41 (4.3%) improvement, 766 (79.6%) • contravention, and 155 (16.1%) prohibition. according to szana (2007) during national ‘blitz’ inspections conducted in march and april 2007, a total of 374 inspectors inspected 1,909 workplaces, of which 975 (51%) were compliant, and 815 (42.6%) were non-compliant. 255 (17.5%) improvement, 1,028 (70.6%) contravention and 172 (11.8%) prohibition notices were issued a total of 1,455. according to szana (2007) during national ‘blitz’ inspections conducted in august 2007 on construction organizations, a total of 441 inspectors visited 1,415 workplaces, of which 759 (53.6%) were compliant, and 829 (58.6%) were non-compliant. 86 (6.2%) improvement, 1,015 (73.1%) contravention, and 287 (20.7%) prohibition notices were issued a total of 1 388. according to strydom (2002) a major contributing factor to the poor record of the construction industry is the scarcity of oh&s inspectorate expertise. there is but a small band of oh&s inspectorate personnel employed, as well as a scarcity of oh&s practitioners and consultants active in the construction industry due to the low priority that employers place on oh&s, as well as the poor remuneration offered as a consequence of this. geminiani & smallwood • effectiveness of the department of labour occupational health and safety 9 strydom (2002) further states, that for a variety of reasons, the dol is experiencing a serious staff shortage, high turnover of staff, and a lack of experienced skilled staff. this has led to a situation where employers no longer believe that the dol has any ‘teeth’ and consequently oh&s in the workplace is suffering. the current vacancy rate is 47.8%. within this context, it appears that the dol inspectorate is understaffed and not carrying out its duties effectively with regards to oh&s in the construction industry. it is therefore important and urgent that this matter be addressed. according to makhonge (2005) the challenges facing the inspection system in kenya is that the traditional approach which has being practiced for a long period of time results in the occupier of a factory / construction site primarily waiting for a government inspector to inspect and point out a contravention of the law, on occasions requiring that the occupier be taken to court before any tangible improvements are made. if no inspector visits the factory, the workplace oh&s improvements implemented by the employer are usually very basic. relative to the united states of america (usa), the usa’s dol annual report states that the construction industry did not meet its goal of reducing injuries and deaths (agnvall, 2001). the dol’s goal was to decrease fatalities in the construction industry by 3%, however, the fatality rate declined only 2% from the 1993 1995 base line. during that three year period, the fatality rate was 14.5 per 100 000 workers, and subsequently the rate reduced marginally to 14.2 per 100,000 workers during the period 1996 1999. based on the oh&s statistics presented, it can be concluded that there is a high injury and fatality rate in the construction industry, compared to other sectors of industry in the majority of countries. however, in general, south african statistics tend to be higher than those of other countries globally. this phenomenon remains a concern for south africa. 2.2 oh&s management the oh&s of the human being at work on site or in any working environment is a complex problem. it is the subject of many conventions, inquiries, reports, legislation, regulations and volumes of literature. various authors such as hinze (1997), rowlinson (1997) and levitt & samelson (1993) argue that oh&s is a corporate responsibility, which demands the skills of oh&s managers, and that those responsible for oh&s within the workplace must provide input to all acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 10 operations. it appears that in the present corporate environment, the performance of any organisation is measured by its management of resources and the main objectives of management appears to be, to increase productivity, and reduce costs to the detriment of the oh&s of its workforce. the question is thus asked: is this indirect neglect having a negative effect on the oh&s of the workforce? furthermore, to what extent does and can the oh&s inspectorate influence management commitment and induce the realisation that h&s complements the other parameters such as cost, quality, and time. 2.3 behavioural issues attention to oh&s in the construction industry has increased dramatically over the past decades. hinze (1997) states that the time for oh&s awareness has arrived and that oh&s is no luxury, it is a necessity. according to smallwood (1995), oh&s education is important for both management and workers as incidents and accidents occur downstream of culture, management system and exposure. however, culture and management system in turn, are both influenced by oh&s education and that a lack of education can in turn have an effect on behaviour. 2.4 phase oh&s intervention in sequence hinze (1997: 201) maintains that “working on a project without establishing a strong safety culture, is like holding a dead man’s hand,” and that support for oh&s must begin at top management level. this requires that the ceo must be committed to enhancing the organisation’s oh&s efforts wherever possible. hinze (1997) further states that the oh&s culture on a project is solid when oh&s is foremost in the minds of all project and organisation personnel, beginning at worker level and proceeding all the way to top management. an oh&s culture should be based on the conviction that no worker should ever be placed in a situation in which an injury has a high probability of occurring. this however would be the reward, but is this being implemented and is the dol inspectorate executing its duties effectively to assure that workers are not being placed in unhealthy and unsafe situations? 2.5 the importance of culture smallwood (2000: 70) defines culture as: acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 12 it is also notable that ‘inspections’, an important function of the dol inspectorate is positioned as a management system and is categorised as downstream. in terms of krause’s model, the dol inspectors intervene at ‘exposure’ stage when conducting inspections in addition to ‘management system’ stage. they also intervene after an accident has taken place relative to the ‘end point’. 2.6 legislation in south africa, the oh&s act no. 85 of 1993 constitutes the basis of oh&s legislation, with which all organisations have to abide. the management of an organisation is therefore legally required by law to enforce oh&s to ensure that their workers are not injured. it is also stated in the act that the dol inspectorate has certain powers relative to the enforcing of legislation. is this being carried out? as a requirement of success, management should also commit themselves to oh&s, which in the long term is beneficial to both the organisation and its workers. are the various regional inspectorates sufficiently staffed to be effective in policing oh&s? in addition the new construction regulations were promulgated on the 18 july 2003 under section 43 of the oh&s act, after consultation with the advisory council for oh&s. the intention of the promulgation of the new regulations is to have a set of legislation specifically directed at and applicable to the construction industry. in summation, managers with an oh&s responsibility have a key role in their organisations for ensuring that appropriate oh&s systems are in force and that they comply with the law and statutory regulations. their role is to see that both the general policy and strategic decisions relating to oh&s are in place. failure to comply is likely to result in prosecution of the said organisations and in certain circumstances the responsible person can be held personally criminally liable and face civil proceedings. in practice, this should be the task of the dol inspectorate. however, is the dol inspectorate effectively conducting its duties? 2.7 the role of the dol inspectorate according to a media statement released on the 8 april 2002 by the dol, labour and business signed an historical accord jointly committing to prioritise the promotion of oh&s in the workplace. the dol has established a fifteen-point programme of action and is committed to addressing the respective interrelated challenges within a period of five years. point eight of this programme specifically aims to adequately deal with the negative consequences of occupational geminiani & smallwood • effectiveness of the department of labour occupational health and safety 13 accidents and ill health of individuals, enterprises of the state and to accelerate measures aimed at reducing accidents and improving the oh&s of workers (dol, 2000). according to the statement, the chief directorate consolidated working relationships to ensure cooperative governance with other departments. in doing so, the result was that during the year 2000, 5,950 incidents and 493 fatalities were investigated and finalised. notices served on employers, included 6,970 contraventions of the regulations and 649 contraventions of the act. during the year 2000, 10,060 inspections were conducted thus exceeding the 6,408 targeted for the year. a total of 1,887 incidents and 636 complaints were also registered with the dol (dol, 2001). the report further states that during 2000, the dol currently employed 82 inspectors with oh&s qualifications. however, mention is also made that the dol inspectorate operated with a shortage of inspectors with oh&s competencies and that the vacancy rate was 47.8%. reasons for the vacancy rate include a lack of experience in the engineering disciplines, affirmative action and the poor remuneration being offered by the dol. 3. methodology the methodology adopted in this study is the descriptive method, which entails the technique of observation (leedy, 1993). quantitative methods and observation over a period of 3 years included the use of questionnaires. the research project was conducted in six phases. the pilot survey constituted phase 1, conducted among general contractors (gcs) in the eastern cape, followed by phase 2 in the form of the empirical survey conducted among gcs, members of the master builders south africa (mbsa), and the south african federation of civil engineering contractors (safcec). phase 3 to 6 entailed the surveying of oh&s officers, practitioners, and consultants, construction members of the association of construction project managers (acpm), dol inspectors, both currently employed and retired, and designers in the form of member practices of the south african institute of architects (saia) and the south african association of consulting engineers (saace), and members of the south african institution of civil engineers (saice). acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 14 3.1 phase 1 (pilot study) the population for the pilot study comprised of general contractors, respondents from the eastern cape, border and southern cape regions who are members of the mbsa. a total of 164 questionnaires were mailed / faxed to the contractors in the demographic region of the eastern cape, comprising of the nelson mandela metropolitan area, border and the southern cape regions in july 2004. only 19 contractor responses were received resulting in a response rate of 12.0% (19 / 164 5). in contrast, 17 responses were received in response to a total of 22 questionnaires that were mailed / faxed to oh&s consultants, designers, project managers, safety, health and environment (she) officers, engineers, insurers, and quantity surveyors, which equates to a response rate of 77%. 3.2 phase 2 the phase 2 survey was conducted among gc members of the mbsa and safcec a total of 626 (503 and 123) questionnaires were mailed / faxed to building and civil engineering gcs in the nine provinces of south africa. a total of 107 (84 and 23) questionnaires were received, which equates to an overall response rate of 18.0% (107 / 626 19 + 3 + 1). 3.3 phase 3 during phase 3, engineers, oh&s consultants in two categories, namely, construction oh&s consultants and generic oh&s consultants, insurers, quantity surveyors and safety health and environment (she) were surveyed a total of 236 questionnaires were mailed / faxed to oh&s consultants in the nine provinces of south africa. a total of 55 questionnaires were received, which equates to an overall response rate of 23.0% (55 / 236 + 5 + 3 + 1). 3.4 phase 4 phase 4 addressed project managers, in the form of members of the acpm in south africa. a total of 101 questionnaires were mailed to them in the nine provinces of south africa per e-mail and via the postal service. a total of 14 questionnaires were received, which equates to a response rate of 13.8% (14 / 101 + 3 + 5 + 1 +1). geminiani & smallwood • effectiveness of the department of labour occupational health and safety 15 3.5 phase 5 during phase 5 inspectors currently employed by the dol inspectorate in south africa were surveyed. a total of 113 questionnaires were mailed via the postal service to the inspectorate in the nine provinces of south africa. it is notable that 8 inspectors responded indicating that they were not allowed to complete the questionnaire until permission / approval was granted by their respective district manager. a total of 22 questionnaires were received, which equates to a net response rate of 19.4% (22 / 113). 3.6 phase 6 during phase 6, randomly selected designers in the form of 248 architects registered with the south african institute of architects (saia), and 167 and 179 consulting engineers registered with the south african institution of civil engineers (saice), and the south african association of consulting engineers (saace) respectively, were surveyed nationally a total of 594. a total of 79 questionnaires were received from 19 architects, 55 consulting engineers, and 5 ‘others’, which equates to an overall response rate of 13.2%. 4. the findings despite the promulgation and implications of the construction regulations, it is notable that only 10 of the inspectors (7.6%) have attended courses, which implies that 9 inspectors appear to have no knowledge thereof. it is also notable that the highest number of courses attended by the inspectors is relative to scaffolding (9.9%), and the oh&s legislation (9.9%) respectively (table 2). table 2: courses completed by dol inspectors course response no. % scaffolding 13 9.9 excavations 3 2.2 oh&s representative 8 6.1 hazardous biological agents regulations 8 6.1 diving regulations 4 3.0 major hazardous installation regulations 8 6.1 explosives regulations 2 1.5 construction regulations 10 7.6 asbestos regulations 6 4.5 environmental regulations 6 4.5 acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 16 facilities regulations 6 4.5 lead regulations 6 4.5 noise-induced hearing loss regulations 6 4.5 driven machinery regulations 5 3.8 general machinery regulations 5 3.8 oh&s legislation 13 9.9 international labour office (ilo) 7 5.3 samtrac 6 4.5 astrac 0 0.0 coida 9 6.8 table 3 indicates the number of year’s construction experience which the responding inspectors possess. it is notable that 13.6% of the inspectors have less than one year of construction experience, and 27.3% have only 1 year of construction experience. therefore, 40.8% effectively have one year or less of construction experience. furthermore, 27.3% indicated 5 years experience and only 9.1% had more than 10 years of construction experience. table 3: total number of years of construction experience category (years) years (%) <1 3.6 1 7.2 3 9.0 4 4.5 5 27.2 6 9.0 >10 9.0 4.1 inspections the finding indicates that 38.8% of the respondents agree that there was no increase in the number of inspections by the dol inspectorate (figure 1). in contrast 27.7% believe to the contrary. geminiani & smallwood • effectiveness of the department of labour occupational health and safety 19 7. prevailing culture of dol inspectorate in terms of morale motivation and satisfaction 2.50 2.81 2.95 2 60 2.40 * 2.36 * 2.60 8. support for the current framework of the dol inspectorate 3.10 2.68 3.32 3 50 2.72 3.50 3.40 3.33 3.19 9. effectiveness of the dol inspectorate in terms of enforcing legislation 2.73 2.35 3.02 2 61 2.47 2.78 3.09 * 2.72 10. support for dol accreditation system based on contractors oh&s performance 3.73 3.82 3.77 3.72 3.53 4.07 3.45 3.71 11. support for the implementation of an incentive scheme which recognises a reduction in oh&s injuries and fatalities 3.94 4.23 4.17 4 21 4.24 4.46 4.00 4.14 12. dol inspectorate contribution to improvement in organisations’ oh&s performance 2.22 3.00 2.35 2.13 2.29 3.00 3.54 2.64 13. rating of south african oh&s legislation relative to ‘best practice’ 3.00 2.76 3.01 2.90 2.94 2.78 2.68 2.86 14. effectiveness of dol inspectorate in terms of assuring oh&s * * 2.66 2 56 * 2.84 3.22 2.75 15. significance of dol inspectorate relative to accident prevention in construction * * 2.93 2 60 2.64 2.76 3.68 2.90 table 4: mean scores of general tendency obtained from various aspects of the questionnaires 4.2.2 aspect 2 given that the overall mean score of 2.46 for all phases is < 3.00, in general the dol inspectorate can be deemed to be not competent in terms of construction knowledge and skills (figure 4). the marginally elevated score of both the project managers 3.07 and the inspectors 3.04 possibly indicates that the respondents do not have, or seldom have personal contact with the dol inspectorate and are not aware of the status quo with respect to the competency of the inspectors. geminiani & smallwood • effectiveness of the department of labour occupational health and safety 27 inspectorate is infrequent; the dol inspectorate is not effective in terms of identifying the root cause of fatalities; the dol inspectorate is not effective in terms of addressing issues during inspections; the dol inspectorate is not fulfilling its role of reducing the consistently high fatality and injury rate; the dol inspectorate is not effective as a means of assuring oh&s; the dol inspectorate is not effective relative to accident prevention in construction; the dol inspectorate does not assess legislation relative to best practice in construction; there is a need for an oh&s accreditation system, and there is a need for an oh&s inspectorate incentive scheme. various oh&s activities account for a significant proportion of fatal and major injuries. however, it appears that inspection of these activities is not being conducted by competent inspectors knowledgeable of the construction industry and its activities. oh&s performance is increasingly prominent on the agendas of many organisations. several powerful factors contribute towards this trend. the construction industry does not have a good oh&s record and faces tough legal and financial penalties for breaches of the law. a positive change of attitude among all players in the construction industry is vital. what is needed is to embed these vital factors as morals and values and as part of all that the construction industry does, and not to regard them merely as optional extras where time allows. the quote attributable to hinze (1997) “working on a project without establishing a strong safety culture is like holding a dead man’s hand” provides a suitable closure to this topic. references agnvall, e. 2001. making the grade. safety and health, 163(7), p. 30, july, 19. federated employers mutual assurance statistics, 2003. available from: <www.fema.co.za> [accessed 2 january 2007]. hinze, j. 1997. construction safety. new jersey: prentice hall. krause, t.r. 1993. safety and quality. two sides of the same coin. occupational hazards, pp. 40, april. leedy, p.d. 1993. practical research planning and design. new york: mcmillan. levitt. r.e. & samelson, n.m. 1993. construction safety management. 2nd edition. new york: john wiley & sons. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 28 makhonge, p.w. 2005. challenges of development in labour inspection systems. african newsletter on occupational health and safety, 15(2), pp.32 -33 republic of south africa, department of labour. 2000. annual report. pretoria: government printers. republic of south africa, department of labour. 2001. annual report. pretoria: government printers. rowlinson, s. 1997. hong kong construction site safety management. hong kong: sweet and maxwell asia. smallwood, j.j. 1995. the influence of management on the occurrence of loss causative incidents in the south african construction industry. unpublished msc (construction management) dissertation. university of port elizabeth. smallwood, j.j. 2000. a study of the relationship between occupational health and safety, labour productivity and quality in the south african construction industry. unpublished phd (construction management) thesis, university of port elizabeth. strydom, r. 2002. improving safety in your industry. national safety. march, 40. szana, t. 2007. occupational health and safety: construction safety and health. in: t.c. haupt, (ed.). 4th south african construction health and safety conference ‘professionalism and leadership in construction health and safety’, cape town, 14-16 october 2007. cape town: association of construction health & safety management, pp. 100-136. 1 artikels • articles theo haupt, claire deacon & john smallwood importance of healthy older construction workers peer reviewed abstract older construction workers constitute a major proportion of total south african construction employment. demographic changes and an apparent growing loss of interest among young people in careers in the construction industry are contributing to an increase in the proportion of older workers in the industry. there is a resultant decline in the growth of new cohorts entering the labour market. consequently the size of the older cohort relative to the size of the younger cohort increases. additionally, general and chronic occupational and non occupational diseases potentially reduce the overall labour force, shift the age structure due to mortality, change the skill composition of the labour supply, and increase labour turnover. this article reports on a study that sought to establish the health status of the older worker cohort in construction. the study found that older workers had problems with several occupational and non occupational diseases and presented with a range of musculoskeletal dis orders, respiratory problems and skin infections. these diseases negatively af fected work productivity in the industry and increased absenteeism. further, the majority of workers required referral, many for unresolved non occupational such as various skin, musculoskeletal, as well as upper and lower respiratory disorders. recommended interventions include regular medical surveillance as part of employer driven health promotion programs. keywords: medical surveillance, construction industry, older workers, health tc haupt, research coordinator, peninsula technikon, faculty of engineering, p.o. box 1906, bellville 7535, south africa. email: <hauptt@pentech.ac.za> c deacon, managing member, occumed cc; p o box 40108, walmer 6065, port elizabeth, south africa. email: <occumedpe@occumed.co.za> jj smallwood, head of department, department of construction management, university of port elizabeth, p.o. box 1600, port elizabeth 6000, south africa. email: <john.smallwood@upe.ac.za> 2 acta structilia 2005:12(1) abstrak ouer konstruksiewerkers verteenwoordig ‘n groot deel van suid afrika se totale konstruksie werkers. demografiese veranderinge en ‘n toenemende gebrek aan belangstelling in beroepe in die konstruksiebedryf onder die jeug dra by tot die groei van ouer werkers in die industrie. algemene en kroniese beroeps en nie beroeps verwante siektes verminder die groot meerderheid arbeidsmag, die ouderdom struktuur verskuif as gevolg van sterftes, die vaardigheid same stelling van arbeidverskaffing verskuif en arbeidsomset word verhoog. hierdie artikel doen verslag oor ‘n studie wat gedoen is op die gesondheid status van die ouer werkerskorps in die konstruksiebedryf. die studie het getoon dat ouer werkers probleme ondervind met onder andere spierkwale, asemhalingspro bleme en vel infeksies. hierdie siektes beïnvloed produktiwiteit en dra by tot af wesigheid van die werk. die meerderheid werkers het verwysings gevra vir on opgelosde nie beroepsverwante siektes soos verskeie vel, spier en asemhaling siektes. werkgewers kan gesondheidsbewusmakings programme aanbied om werkers te help. sleutelwoorde: mediese ondersoeke, konstruksie industrie, ouer werkers, gesondheid 1. introduction as a sector, south african construction contributed 5.1% ofgdp and construction activity amounted to r45.4 billion at2000 constant prices in 2002 (cidb, 2004). it is estimated that 520 000 workers are employed in construction with only about 214 333 being formally employed – less than 50% of the construction workforce. anecdotal evidence suggests that many of the experienced workers in construction are chronologically older persons. demographic changes and an apparent growing loss of interest among young people in careers in the construction industry are contributing to an increase in the proportion of older workers in the industry. there is a resultant decline in the growth of new cohorts entering the labour market. consequently the size of the older cohort relative to the size of the younger cohort increases (haupt & smallwood, 2003). additionally, general and chronic occupational and non-occupational diseases potentially reduce the overall labour force, shift the age structure due to mortality, change the skill composition of the labour supply, and increase labour turnover. lost-days among construction workers is a major concern for the industry. the prevalence of both occupational and non-occupational diseases exacerbates the situation in south african construction. the resultant absenteeism, medical incapacity, sick leave and disability pensions, medical care, and loss of productivity potentially affect the direct costs of construction companies. it therefore makes good sense to improve the health, well-being, workplace environment, and safety of all construction workers, especially older ones who generally have longer periods of recuperation. enabling legislation such as the construction regulations promulgated on july 18, 2003 has been introduced in an effort to alleviate this situation. however, without commitment from all participants in construction to implement the legislative provisions proactively, construction workers will continue to suffer from poor health. according to nepad (2001), the most obvious effects of health improvement on the african working population are the reduction in lost working days due to sick leave and the increase in productivity. 3 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers this paper reports some of the findings of a study that sought to test the following hypotheses: • older workers comprise an increasingly large proportion of the construction workforce; • the prevalence of injuries/disease/disability is higher among older than younger workers; • older workers have problems related to several occupational and non-occupational diseases such as deafness or noise induced hearing loss (nihl), tb, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, and hiv and aids; • these diseases affect absenteeism among and work performance of older workers; • contractors do not undertake nor support health related interventions; • medical surveillance and testing is necessary to identify the health condition of workers and implement effective treatment interventions. 2. definition of ‘older workers’ it can become very complicated to not use chronological age as a major defining criterion for ‘older workers’ considering that by itself it is not a completely effective measure (haupt & smallwood, 2003). in a recent pilot study on general contractor perceptions regarding older workers, 67% of general contractors subscribed to the term ‘older workers.’ additionally, the range in age group defined by them as older workers ranged from >35 years to >61 years and older. however, the mean age was 50 years and older (smallwood & haupt, 2004). preliminary data extracted from the workplace skills plans (wpsps) submitted to the construction education and training authority (ceta) suggest that 60% of skilled workers are over the age of 40 years with about 50% of these being between 40 and 49 years old. using the same ceta database, 69% of plant and machine operators are over the age of 40 years. therefore, it is not unrealistic to extrapolate that the same proportion of unskilled workers would also fall within this age cohort. a conservative estimate of the number of older workers in construction could arguably be in the region 4 acta structilia 2005:12(1) of 250 000 persons. unless interventions are introduced to retain this cohort in the industry the consequences might be disastrous for the sector considering the additional impacts of diseases such as tuberculosis (tb), sexually transmitted infections (stis), and hiv and aids. for the purpose of this paper, older workers are those construction workers aged 40 years and older who worked on construction sites and in the main executed manual construction activities. 3. definition of ‘health’ the widely accepted definition of occupational health by the international labour office (ilo) and the world health organization (who) is “the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations and not merely the absence of disease or injury” (kickbusch, 1984; chappel, 1998 & lalonde, 1974). while health contributes to the increase in productivity and consequently to economic growth (nepad, 2001), historically, less effort has been directed towards health matters in the construction industry in favour of occupational safety. 4. health challenges in construction hard physical labour, static work, climatic influences, noise, and dust that typically characterize activities on construction sites are considerable burdens for construction workers. working conditions in the construction industry are hard and extremely stressful in general, the physical workload is heavy and there are many ergonomic problems (smallwood & ehrlich, 1997). construction workers complain more about the awkward and static postures, vibration and climate, and older workers are more likely to complain in general. causes include aspects such as the physical environment, the actual organization itself, the way the organization is managed overall, interrelationships between workers, their own environment and the organization, as well as personal and social relationships and personal anxieties. furthermore, heart disease, depression and anxiety, low self-esteem and burnout are a number of the negative outcomes of such stress and stressors. moreover, injuries among construction workers comprised on average 9.0% (800) of all industrial injuries (8 900) in south africa (haupt, 2001), while fatalities on average for the same period represented 11.9% (86) of all industrial 5 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers deaths (722). because the number of workers who contracted infections and diseases on construction sites is not easily quantifiable, these statistics are not known. the recent report on mortality for the period 1997 through 2003 indicates that premature adult mortality in the general south african population is high as a result of poverty-related diseases such as tuberculosis (tb) and diarrhoea, injuries and emerging chronic diseases such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes (statistics south africa, 2005). aids however is now changing this pattern. the predominating cause of deaths among males is by injury, followed by tb, which causes death at all ages. moreover, heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and ischemic strokes present serious problems for the 45 to 59 year age group – the older worker cohort. the last disease is increasingly a major cause of death and disability in older persons and occurs when a blood vessel becomes occluded or ruptures. risk factors include improper diet and hypertension (mattson, 2004). a study conducted by diez roux et al. (2002) confirmed that high blood pressure is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease with age being a key predictor. they also found that the presence of hypertension became more prevalent in older persons in low socioeconomic positions. typically, large proportions of construction workers come from poor socio-economic backgrounds. further, mattson (2004) found that the central nervous systems of older persons are known to be vulnerable to tb infections. there is little data available that gives the current physical status of construction workers in terms of age or experience. most literature addresses audiometry (hearing) and lung function testing, and most recommendations state that pre-employment examinations must be done. these medical examinations should include a job and medical history, a physical examination, audiometry, test of visual acuity, electrocardiography (ecg), lung function, and a blood and serum analysis. one of the key issues for construction firms in south africa is to encourage and support their workers’ take up of voluntary testing and counselling. 5. age effects and influence the possible ill effects on older construction workers of the harsh environmental work conditions of noise, dust, toxins, and fumes are often more of a concern than in other industries. older workers, as 6 acta structilia 2005:12(1) defined earlier, bring desirable construction experience to the workplace. they often have specific knowledge of construction means and methods, use of tools, process management and material usage that can help improve productivity, health and safety in construction workplaces. to ensure sustainability of the sa construction industry, employers need to become more aware of the benefits of looking after their older workers. in two studies (banki, 1979 & hinze, 1981) it was found that first aid accidents were over three times higher when construction workers’ ideas were never considered. thus, it is likely by taking into consideration the work concerns of older workers to reduce accidents and improve project performance. it is also likely that older workers are more susceptible to disease and their debilitating effects. in this regard employers can play a pivotal role in educating them in healthy living and providing appropriate counselling as required. however, the authors argue that positive improvements are possible if employer driven health promotion includes lowering personal and work related risk factors and improvements in occupational safety and industrial hygiene. additional roles for employers include within structured employment policies the provision of proper treatment and counselling to workers who have contracted diseases such as tb, hypertension, diabetes, and hiv and aids accompanied by the elimination of prejudice against older workers and initiating policies and procedures that actually encourage and support the work performance of this highly valuable age group. in the united kingdom pressure ulcers were found to be the consequence of the lack of routine health care and prevalence was likely to increase. therefore, programs targeted at prevention are encouraged (bennett, dealey & posnett, 2004). 6. physical conditions the physical performance of older workers is often perceived by their employers to be reduced in a work environment that is commonly harsh and has heavy physical demands. however, not in all cases do older workers exhibit lower physical work output (driver, 1994). physiologically, in general, older workers exhibit lowered physical stamina and strength, and increased fatigue and time to recover from fatigue. these compromise their physical abilities, safety performance, and productivity at the immediate work site (oglesby, 7 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers parker & howell, 1989 and laufer & moore, 1983). in addition, older workers – like all other older people – have more concerns owing to various recorded medical conditions that are a normal part of aging. 6.1 musculoskeletal disorders musculoskeletal disorders are difficult to diagnose. pain is hard to measure and quantify objectively and might be the reason that very few studies examine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders based on medical surveillance (schneider, 2001). construction workers rarely, if ever, undergo any form of medical surveillance in their job. demographic changes and loss of interest among younger individuals in a career in the construction industry have resulted in an increase in the proportion of older workers relative to younger workers in the construction industry. consequently, older workers potentially have a limited ability to choose another occupation or to transfer into another field of work (arndt et al., 1996). musculoskeletal disorders such as sprains and strains are the most common non-fatal injury in the construction industry. overexertion or lifting too much at one time is the most common occurrence. the center to protect workers rights (1998) reported that in the construction industry in the united states of america the back was the body part mostly affected in comparison to all other body parts injured. in sweden musculoskeletal injuries among construction workers were studied together with the risk factors that contributed to their injuries (schneider, 2001). musculoskeletal symptoms were found to be much more prevalent among construction workers than office workers. further, there was a clear relationship between the demonstration of these symptoms to heavy work and vibration, exposures, frequent use of handheld tools, repetitive work, and awkward working positions. the study confirmed an association between stress and musculoskeletal disorders and lower back pain, age, smoking, height, poor physical fitness, and diminished muscle strength. arndt et al. (1996) confirmed these findings in their study during which they compared construction workers to office workers. increased musculoskeletal problems were identified as being significantly greater among construction workers than office workers in the baseline study and in the follow up study 40% of the construction workers who were retired through disability reported that musculoskeletal disorders were major contributors to their eventual retirement. the disorder known as ‘carpet layer’s knee’ stemmed from 8 acta structilia 2005:12(1) the large amount of kneeling by workers laying carpeting and flooring. concrete reinforcement workers demonstrated high rates of lumbago and sciatica, attributed to the amount of forward bending required. schneider (2001) suggests that these injuries are to a greater degree related to the work that construction workers perform. carpal tunnel syndrome, although neurological in nature, is linked to work that is highly repetitive and which requires the use of force, where the wrist is kept in an awkward position for extended periods of time. carpenters were found to have the highest rate of carpel tunnel syndrome (cpwr, 1998). 6.2 respiratory infections and lung function respiratory infections are reported to be one of the leading causes of death in older persons due to infections (meyer, 2004). on construction sites, older workers are at particular risk as a result of the dusts and fumes that they are likely to be exposed to during construction activities. the hospitalization rates for pneumonia, for example, suggest an increase with increase in age. older workers are, therefore, more likely to be hospitalized, have a longer length of stay when hospitalized and have a prolonged recovery often accompanied by subsequent debilitation or decline in performance status despite successful therapy (meyer, 2002). prevention and swift diagnosis of pneumonia are therefore essential to reducing the scourge that the disease may present to older persons. both non-immune and immune defences against infection such as coughing, mucocilliary clearance and antigen-specific inflammatory responses tend to decrease with advancing age (meyer, 2002). with advancing age the likelihood of acquiring at least one significant medical illness such as pneumonia increases due to alterations in microbial clearance and immunity. most episodes of pneumonia are initiated by aspiration and inhalation of contaminated material from the upper airway of the lung (chouinard, 2000). ciliary abnormalities appear with aging and contribute to increased susceptibility to respiratory infection. altered body weight and the decline in muscle mass associated with aging may account for decrease in diaphragmatic strength (evans & campbell, 1993). consequently, older persons with respiratory infections might struggle with mucocilliary clearance. further, many other aspects of lung function decline in aging persons. these include loss of lung elastic recoil, decreased chest wall compliance, 9 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers and loss of gas exchange surface area. these problems are exacerbated if older workers are heavy cigarette smokers. effective interventions include optimization of nutritional status, minimization of the risk of aspiration, inhalation and air pollution, and the cessation of smoking. 6.3 skin infections the number of persons with significant skin disorders increases linearly with age (laube, 2004). there is increased morbidity and mortality for a range of infections including the skin and soft tissues (cummings & uttech, 1990). the skin of older persons differs structurally and functionally from other age groups. the epidermis is thinner and has a slower cell turnover rate resulting in less resistance to external injury and prolonged wound healing (laube, 2004). there is also possible decline of immune function with age. often, skin infections in older persons are more difficult to diagnose because they tend to have fewer symptoms and signs. herpes simplex, shingles, scabies, and fungal infections present problems to older persons. infections are particularly likely following minor trauma, maceration and poor hygiene. 7. methodology for the purposes of the phase of the study reported on in this paper, data was collected by means of individual physical medical examinations and recording of occupational histories from a sample drawn from building contractors in the western cape of 142 older construction workers as defined on an entirely voluntary informed consent basis. these workers had worked as carpenters, roofers, bricklayers, plasterers, painters, and general labourers. in particular, data was collected, inter alia, on chronological age, work experience, injury record, health record, work areas and activities that cause injuries to older workers, concerns and difficulties encountered by older workers during execution of their work attributable to the aging process, tasks that can be performed most effectively by older workers, social, psychological and emotional needs of older workers, minimum performance expectations of employers, and details of programs that cater to the needs of older workers. a fully standardized protocol for medical examinations was used to establish a baseline. the data was encoded and analyzed using 10 acta structilia 2005:12(1) the spss software package. participants were identified only with a unique identifier assigned by the investigators. no master list of names of participants was compiled or kept ensuring anonymity. during the interviews and medical examinations consent procedures were outlined, highlighting the fact that participation was entirely voluntary and that identifying information would be kept confidential. the provisions of the south african national policy for medical testing were strictly adhered to. coded worker and construction firm identifiers were used in such a way that the name of no worker or employer could be associated with the data once it was collected and verified. proper measures were taken to protect the identity of all participants during the data collection, entry and analysis processes. there were no major risks to participants. 8. research results the sample of 142 workers had a mean age of 48 years. only 44% had worked exclusively in construction. the study found no statistical relationship between age, occupation and education, but a strong relationship between age and the number of years employed in a particular category of work, suggesting that there is a greater possibility of a worker aging in a particular category. further, the work category was strongly associated with the level of education and also the number of years employed in a particular category. for example, workers with lower levels of education would most likely remain in the unskilled or semi-skilled categories of work in construction. the study found that 50% of the workers examined were ‘unskilled’, with a further 9% being ‘semi-skilled.’ this finding partially supports the suggestion that older workers are likely to have a lower education and be employed in unskilled positions and therefore be at greater risk of serious injury. a further contributory cause of high rates of injury to workers is the low level of literacy. the study found that those who had been injured were indeed among those with minimal education, with 38% of workers having grade 1 to 7 education and 13% no formal education. the majority of workers (94%) reported exposure to dust and noise during their entire working history, with 20% reporting exposure to dust, noise and other agencies, inter alia, chemicals, paint, stress, welding fumes, cement, asbestos and working at heights. a relatively small number (13%) of workers cited problems with their ears and hearing. prior occupational exposures of workers have a direct 11 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers relationship on their susceptibility to developing occupational diseases. this is particularly so especially with continued exposure to the same health hazards (rasmor & brown, 2001 and koh & jeyaratnam, 2001). these authors as well as gibb et al. (1999) further suggest that occupational diseases occur as a result of exposure to physical, chemical, biological, mechanical or psychosocial factors in the workplace. examples of the factors that affect the health of construction workers is shown in table 1. many occupational diseases occur exclusively among workers who are exposed to specific hazards such as silica, noise and other physical stressors raising the risk of noise induced hearing loss (nihl), respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders. table 1: factors that affect health of workers physical biological chemical mechanical psycho social noise insects liquids posture stress vibration fungi fumes movement work pressure heat and cold bacteria gases repetitive tasks monotony dust viruses fibers unsociable hours mists ergonomics vapours adapted from gibb et al. 1999 8.1 musculoskeletal disorders the medical history established that 15% of workers experienced musculoskeletal problems, 31% reported back problems and 1% had suffered from a slipped disc. the study identified that this group was largely obese, undertook no physical exercise and had few leisure activities. no major abnormalities were identified during examination. cross tabulation of back problems with age as shown in table 2 indicated that of the sample of workers the 51 to 55 years age group were most at risk making up 30% of all workers examined. however, within the 61 to 65 years age category 83% reported back problems. the next susceptible age group was 51 to 55 years where 38% encountered back problems. general workers (13%) were the group who mostly experienced problems followed by carpenters (6%). of the workers who reported back problems, 12 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 14% commented that their back problems were ongoing and unresolved with 1% of them experiencing backache when lifting heavy objects. a further 11% of workers reported they had experienced backache, but it was not a problem at the time of the examination. table 2: cross tabulation of back problems with age age problems with your back? problems with your back? category (% within age category) (% of sample) yes no yes no 33 35 33.3% 66.7% 6.8% 6.1% 36 40 27.3% 72.7% 13.6% 16.3% 41 45 24.0% 76.0% 13.6% 19.4% 46 50 25.8% 74.2% 18.2% 23.5% 51 55 38.2% 61.8% 29.5% 21.4% 56 60 20.0% 80.0% 6.8% 12.2% 61 65 83.3% 16.7% 11.5% 1.1% total 31.0% 69.0% many workers (40%) reported that they had been injured at work. most (24%) of the injuries had resulted from falls from different heights, confirming the findings of eppenberger & haupt (2003). sprains and strains caused 6% of the injuries. only 5% of injuries were to the back. the study found that the most frequently injured anatomical regions were multiple in origin. for example, several workers had experienced fractures of the pelvis, back and wrist. additionally, 8% of workers reported injuries to their eyes. several workers (16%) reported that they experienced problems with their muscles, bones and joints. of these, 4% reported problems with arthritis of their knees, and 2% arthritis of their arms or wrists. evidently, unskilled workers (6%), general workers (5%), and skilled workers (7%), and more specifically carpenters (3%) were the group most affected. considering that musculoskeletal disorders are difficult to diagnose and pain is hard to measure and quantify objectively, very few studies have been done that look at the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders based on medical surveillance. in the construction industry workers are rarely, if ever, exposed to any form of 13 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers medical surveillance. because of the difficulty in diagnosing and identifying the cause, most employers ignore the complaints of workers about their backs because of the high incidence of fraudulent complaints that are rejected by the compensation commissioner. consequently, they do not submit claims to the compensation commissioner. 8.2 respiratory infections and lung function most of the workers were found to have a normal respiratory system, with only a very small percentage (1%) having major abnormalities of their lungs. scarisbrick & hendrick (1995) suggest that asthmatic workers may need to be protected. a worker identified as asthmatic reported having been on regular medication from the local clinic, had been infected with tb in 1983, with increased asthmatic episodes in winter. this particular worker had also worked on underground mines in johannesburg for three years, then as a construction painter for nine years, and has been working with carpenters for the past 22 years. the western cape province reportedly has an annual risk of tb infection of greater than 3%. none of the workers reported that they were currently receiving treatment for tb. several workers (8%) indicated that they had been coughing for more than 2 weeks. any cough that persists for more than 2 weeks should be considered pathological and should be investigated. correlation of the variables relative to lower respiratory tract infections indicated a significant relationship between those coughing for more than 2 weeks, and those who had previously had tb and a significant relationship between those who had asthma and previous tb. these results are shown in table 3. 8.3 skin infections workers were asked whether they had ever experienced skin problems, such as sores or rashes. the study found that 14% of the population had some form of minor skin problem, while 9% reported they had or had experienced skin problems that required treatment. most of these respondents had visited their doctor or local clinic for treatment. one worker had been receiving care since 1983 for skin cancer. these findings confirm that dermatological disease 14 acta structilia 2005:12(1) rarely causes serious illness but could reduce worker efficiency if not adequately treated (todd & carman, 2001). further, 35% of workers worked with cement and concrete on a daily basis. however, the examinations failed to diagnose any cases of dermatitis as a result of this work and exposure. according to davies & rycroft (1995) and todd & carman (2001) the distinction between occupational and non-occupational dermatoses (termed eczema or dermatitis) is difficult, largely because of the similarity of the clinical appearances of these conditions. workers (4%) reported they had either had eczema or dermatitis. on investigating whether these conditions were work related or not it was found that 2% of respondents had in fact worked as bricklayers or plasterers, and had thus been regularly exposed to cementatious products. one carpenter reported having eczema while another worker had psoriasis. table 3: correlation of lower respiratory tract conditions coughing for more bronchitis tb asthmathan two (2) weeks pearson 1 0.151 0.249** 0.150 coughing correlation for more than two significance 0.074 0.003 0.077 (2) weeks (2 tailed) n 142 141 142 139 pearson 0.249** 0.038 1 0.192*correlation tb significance 0.003 0.650 0.023(2 tailed) n 142 141 142 139 pearson 0.150 0.022 0.192* 1correlation asthma significance 0.077 0.796 0.023(2 tailed) n 139 138 139 139 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed) * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2 tailed) 15 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers 16 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 9. conclusion considering the continuing decline in the numbers of new recruits, the poor image of the industry, and the effects of the hiv and aids pandemic, the older construction worker cohort that arguably constitutes about 50% of total construction employment, is critically important for the sustainability of the south african construction industry. there is a general lack of occupational health care with respect to construction workers. this study found that older workers had problems with several occupational and non-occupational diseases and presented with a range of musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory problems and skin infections. these diseases negatively affected work productivity in the industry and increased absenteeism. given that the majority of workers required referral, many for unresolved non-occupational conditions such as various skin, musculoskeletal, upper and lower respiratory disorders, a construction employerdriven health promotion programme is strongly recommended. this programme should include regular medical surveillance and effective treatment interventions. interventions that construction employers could consider as part of such a program would be vaccinations against various potential infections, information about the importance of nutrition to boost workers’ immune systems, and promotion of primary health care. employers in the construction industry need to take the ‘higher duty of care’ and ‘egg shell skull principle’ seriously, as the findings of this study indicate that construction workers are at high risk, and not necessarily from work related conditions but also from chronic diseases linked to aging. in doing so, workers will be assured of not having existing conditions exacerbated by the harsh working environment of construction projects. this approach would be very positive for the sector as a whole. arguably, if younger workers became aware that their occupational and general health would be looked after throughout their employment, and deemed important, they might be attracted into the industry. this aspect would, furthermore, improve its current poor image. furthermore, emphasis needs to be placed upon the cost benefits of optimum worker health as a result of improved overall performance. consequently it is recommended that the level of awareness be raised among all construction stakeholders in this regard. 17 haupt, deacon & smallwood • healthy older construction workers references arndt, v., rothenbacher, d. brenner, h., fraisse, e., zschenderlein., daniel, u., schuberth, s. & fliedner, 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(eds.) a handbook of occupational health practice in the south african mining industry. johannesburg: the safety in mines research advisory committee (simrac). 41 js pienaar & ce cloete hostel conversion through the institutional housing subsidy as affordable housing: case study of the sethokga pilot project, gauteng, south africa peer reviewed abstract existing government policies and programmes promote the redevelopment of single sex public hostels to provide family units as a sustainable form of housing for the poor in south africa. a survey was carried out among residents of sethokga hostel in preparation of a pilot conversion project with funding via the institutional housing subsidy. the survey revealed that low pay and high unemployment contributed to real fears among residents about their ability to afford rent for the upgraded accommodation, and the possibility of displace ment, and even eviction as a result. the expressed need therefore, appeared to be for flexible funding arrangements that allow for affordable accommodation options not limited to family units, ranging from single rooms to apart ments for sub letting and sharing, an option which would not be possible with the use of the institutional housing subsidy as the sole funding instrument. keywords: hostel conversion, affordable housing, housing subsidy js pienaar, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. telephone: 27(0)12 420 4545 fax: 27(0)12 420 5473 email: <chris.cloete@up.ac.za> ce cloete, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. telephone: 27(0)12 420 4545 fax: 27(0)12 420 5473 email: <chris.cloete@up.ac.za> 42 acta structilia 2005:12(1) abstrak bestaande regeringsbeleid en programme moedig die herontwikkeling van openbare hostelle vir enkellopendes na gesinseenhede aan as ’n volhoubare vorm van behuising vir armes in suid afrika. ’n opname is gedoen onder in woners van die sethokga hostel ter voorbereiding van ’n omskeppings loods projek wat deur middel van die institusionele behuising subsidie bevonds sal word. die opname het getoon dat lae besoldiging en hoë vlakke van werk loosheid bygedra het tot ware besorgdheid by inwoners oor hul vermoë om die verhoogde huurgeld vir die verbeterde verblyf te bekostig asook vrese oor gevolglike ontworteling en uitsetting. die uitgesproke behoefte blyk derhalwe te wees vir meer buigsame bevondsingsmetodes wat voorsiening maak vir be kostigbare verblyfsopsies wat nie beperk is tot gesinseenhede nie, en wat strek van enkelkamers tot woonstelle vir onderverhuring en gedeelde inwoning, ’n opsie wat nie moontlik sou wees met die institusionele behuising subsidie as enigste bevondingsinstrument nie. sleutelwoorde: hostelomskepping, bekostigbare behuising, behuising subsidie 1. introduction south africa is a land of contrasts. great mineral wealth, agri-cultural exports, and reasonably sophisticated manufacturingand services sectors have made it one of africa’s major economies with a well-developed infrastructure. at the same time, the majority of the people are poor, and large parts of the rural hinterland underdeveloped and lacking in basic amenities such as clean water, sanitation and electricity. the urban population, about 54% of the total, is concentrated in the major cities such as johannesburg and pretoria (situated in the central province of gauteng), and in the coastal cities such as cape town, port elizabeth and durban. a significant component of this urban population is made up of men who come from rural homelands to the cities in search of work, with many of them housed in dormitory type single sex hostel compounds. sethokga, situated at the edge of tembisa township roughly midway between tshwane (pretoria) and the johannesburg international airport, is one of the larger such hostels with approximately 12 000 bed spaces spread among 29 blocks on a 22 hectare site belonging to the kempton park local municipality (crofton & pienaar, 2000: 6). the local and metropolitan municipalities for the area, together with the provincial government and various community organisations have been trying since 1997 to launch an upgrading programme for the hostel. preparation for a pilot project for conversion of some dormitory blocks into 500 family units with the institutional housing subsidy as funding instrument started in 2000. this paper presents some of the findings from a survey carried out among residents as part of project preparations. 2. background to the hostel system the discovery of diamonds and gold during the latter decades of the 19th century in the then republics of transvaal and the orange free state was the catalyst for large-scale urbanisation in south africa. the mining industry, followed later by the manufacturing and other sectors, needed large numbers of cheap labour. this, coupled with the final destruction in the 1870’s of indigenous black political, military and economic power by the british and the boers, were some of the factors that gave birth to the migrant labour system in south africa (wilson, 1972: 1-2). under this system black 43 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project men would leave their traditional rural homes for the towns and cities in search of work, leaving their families behind to eke out an existence based on subsistence farming or rely on remittances from the men working in the city. the ideology of separate development (or apartheid as it became better known) relied, among other things, on influx control aimed at limiting the presence of blacks in south african cities. the policies of successive white-controlled minority governments which ruled south africa until the introduction of majority government in 1994, regarded blacks as temporary sojourners in ‘white’ urban areas, and denied them property rights in these areas until the early 1990’s (hsrc, 1993: 3). one of the results of the policies of spatial segregation of different races is that the majority of urban blacks reside in so-called ‘townships’ – residential dormitories situated on the peripheries of almost all towns and citiesfrom where they commute daily to work and shop. most of the hostels are found in these townships, or on the sites of gold, diamond, coal and other mines spread across the country. in the context of this paper the term hostel refers to dormitory type single sex accommodation, built originally around mines and cities to house black male migrant workers from rural homelands and neighbouring countries. these hostels range from small annexes on mining and factory premises housing less than a hundred people, to large sprawling compounds with up to 12 000 bed spaces. the total value of investment in land, infrastructure and buildings in the provision of hostel accommodation is not reliably known, but it must be substantial if one considers that hostels house an estimated one million people on low income (forgotten hostels, 1994: 14). the hostel system, devised to accommodate migrant labourers at the lowest possible cost, showed scant consideration for comfort and quality of living environment, and complexes were designed specifically to make it impossible for families to join their men residing there. the fact that the system was destroying community and family life and the consequences of this for the future received no attention at all. in the final decades of the struggle against apartheid during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, the townships were racked by internecine political violence. hostel residents were usually heavily armed, and 44 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 45 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project more often than not they belonged to ethnic groups different to those of the surrounding township communities. hostels were regularly being used as springboards for raids on the strongholds of political rivals in the townships during this time (hsrc, 1993: 4-8, 10-25). 3. the current state of hostels three main types of hostels have been provided: 1. hostels built and managed by the public sector to house their own employees, but also with space rented out to industry; 2. hostels or compounds built by larger private sector employers, usually as in situ adjuncts to mines and factories; 3. the so-called ‘grey sector’ hostels, built by private sector employers on land owned by the public sector, and managed by these employers under contract with a local or district authority. hostels have been subject to a wide range of construction, management, and maintenance standards. private sector hostels were generally better managed than public sector ones, but a large number of employers have been doing away with hostels because of the costs and difficulties involved in owning and managing hostels. in the ‘grey sector’ especially, many employers have simply abandoned their contracts with the local authorities in question (usn, 2001: 17). public sector hostels, owned by local and provincial authorities, have generally become unmanageable politically and financially. control over who enters and lives in hostels is virtually impossible, registers and other administrative records are outdated, rental levels have stagnated at mid 1980’s levels (and are in up to 75% of cases not being collected anyway), and management and maintenance levels are low (usn, 2001: 5-7; crofton & pienaar, 2000: 6). living conditions in these hostels are extremely poor due to overcrowding, lack of privacy, overloading of services, and nonmaintenance among other factors (hsrc, 1993: 26). physical observation of the sethokga hostel complex revealed a state where up to twenty five residents inhabit a single dormitory, with two or more 46 acta structilia 2005:12(1) people sharing cubicles of 2.6 x 2.6m each with one side completely open to a central corridor, and communal facilities consisting of a dining area with one stove, and one dysfunctional bathroom for the whole dormitory. there is no electricity in the sleeping quarters (originally provided, but long since vandalised), and many window panes are broken (crofton & pienaar, 2000: 13). from the 1970’s onwards there were sporadic upgrades and refurbishments of both private and public sector hostels. these were interrupted by the conflicts of the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and public sentiment wavered between calls on the one hand for the demolition, and on the other hand for the complete overhaul of the system (hsrc, 1993: 34-37). a national hostels co-ordinating committee was formed in 1993, and helped to formulate the national policy of the newly elected african national congress (anc) government towards hostels in 1994. the essence of this policy was that hostels should be redeveloped to create sustainable humane living conditions, and to re-integrate these hostel communities into the surrounding township communities (south africa. department of housing, 1994: 25). 4. options for upgrading and conversion of hostels under government’s subsidised housing programme based on the department of housing’s national housing code (2000), a number of options which could theoretically be used for the redevelopment of hostels under government’s subsidised housing programme are mentioned. these are summarised below: 4.1 the project-linked capital subsidy scheme for first-time home-ownership developers, who can include municipalities, submit a project proposal for the development of houses on serviced stands for people who qualify in terms of the subsidy eligibility criteria. the subsidy amounts available per qualifying household are as per table 1. 47 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project table 1: housing capital subsidy amounts according to income band combined current subsidy beneficiary household as from april contribution total product income of 2004 as from april price beneficiary 2002 below r1 500 r25 800 r2 479 r28 279per month r1 501 r2 500 r15 700 (u.s.) r2 479 r28 279per month r2 501 r3 500 r8 600 r2 479 + shortfall r28 279per month (project linked subsidies) the amount of subsidy can be increased by up to 15% for disability and geophysical factors. this is to compensate for additional development costs caused by adverse site conditions, and to act as incentive for development that puts poor people in close proximity to facilities and economic opportunities. there are also optional extras where houses with facilities for the disabled are provided. considered transfer payments by the receiver of revenue, these subsidies are also zero-rated for purposes of value added tax (vat), effectively adding 14% (at 2004 tax rates) to the purchasing power of the subsidy. in the case of hostels redevelopment one option is for this subsidy to be used to build new free-standing dwellings for individual full title ownership on unused portions of land within hostel complexes. this option would require sub-division of the land as well as the installation of additional services. another option would be to convert existing dormitories into family apartments that can be sold off to beneficiaries under sectional title. sectional title is a form of ownership where an individual holds title to a dwelling unit (which can be a free-standing unit, or part of a multi-unit building), but owns together with all the other owners of sectional title dwellings on that property an undivided share of the land on which the dwellings are built. where existing dormitories are converted and sold under sectional title, the project would be exposed to all the problems that sectional title properties generally experience in low-income areas in the private sector (poor management and maintenance, inability to collect levies and service debts, etc.). 4.2 the peoples housing process the peoples housing process was introduced to allow communities to actively participate in the provision of their own housing without the involvement of private developers, but with technical and administrative support from approved housing support organisations. this is not a separate subsidy instrument, but an alternative process (to one driven by developers) by which people can access most of the other subsidy instruments through greater involvement in the design and construction of their own homes. facilitation grants are made available by government to kick-start a project, and an establishment grant of r570 per beneficiary can be applied for to pay for the services of the housing support organisation. the subsidy amounts are as per whichever subsidy instrument is used as funding mechanism. hostel residents acting as a community could conceivably use this route to obtain ownership of and improve their accommodation by making use of the local authority, a suitable ngo, or even a team of professionals as their housing support organisation. 4.3 the institutional subsidy for social housing essentially also a project-linked subsidy, this subsidy is provided to non-profit institutions that are independent of government and are registered as approved legal entities to provide and manage mainly, but not exclusively, subsidised rental housing to households earning less than r3 500 per month. this subsidy was introduced in 1995 as a once-off capital grant of r16 000 per dwelling unit to the approved social housing institution. as at july 2004, the subsidy amount is standing at r25 800 per unit as part of government’s policy to promote medium density rental housing. the tenure options currently allowed include: • rental; • co-operative ownership (co-operatives or share-block schemes, the latter a form of ownership where shares are 48 acta structilia 2005:12(1) held by individuals in a company which owns the whole property, and which entitles the shareholder to the exclusive use of a particular dwelling unit in the scheme); • instalment sale (with a minimum rental period of 4 years before conversion to ownership). because the hostels redevelopment programme itself has been in limbo for the last few years, the institutional subsidy route has been considered as an alternative for getting hostel conversion projects off the ground. the usual process is broadly as follows: 1. a municipality that owns a hostel initiates and initially supports the setting up of an independent social housing institution (not for profit company acting as a housing association or co-operative, or share-block company) with technical and capacity building support from the social housing foundation (an independently managed, governmentowned support organisation), the government and sometimes development ngos; 2. the municipality then transfers the property to the institution by way of deed of donation, or sells it at nominal cost; 3. once the institution is up and running it executes the project with funding obtained through the institutional housing subsidy and top-up loan finance from the government’s national housing finance corporation if required; 4. the institution ‘inherits’ the residents who will become the primary source of its future rent-paying tenants, and owns and manages the stock for its own account. 4.4 the public sector hostels redevelopment programme this programme makes provision for grant funding from central government for the upgrading/conversion of public and ‘greysector’ hostels to create: • humane living conditions for residents, and to • provide affordable and sustainable housing opportunities on a rental or ownership basis for people on low income. 49 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project 50 acta structilia 2005:12(1) table 2: comparison of key aspects of the different options for hostel upgrading or conversion in south africa project linked institutional public sectorcapital subsidy peoples subsidy for hostelskey aspect for first time housing social upgradinghome process housing programmeownership sliding scale r25 800 r25 800 up to r25 800 per dwelling per unit, orsubsidy for households as project unit for r6 400 peravailable earning below linked households individual r1 500 p.m. subsidy earning below sharingr3 500 p.m. private community municipalitydeveloper or with non profit or provincialdeveloping municipality assistance housing governmentagent through from housing association or with private private support co operative contractorsdeveloper organisation rental instalment sale (tenant rentalimmediate immediate purchases immediatetenure individual individual unit after individualoptions ownership ownership 4 year initial ownershiprental period) co operative ownership municipality housing or provincial association government for rental for rental responsibility individual individual individual or individual for home home home owners’ or homemanaging owner owner association owners’ after association ownership after ownership 51 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project the grant is provided in the form of a capital subsidy in the amount of r25 800 per self-contained family unit, or r6 400 per bed for individual sharing facilities. to qualify for support under the programme, hostels redevelopment projects must: • be planned and executed in an inclusive and participative manner (a local negotiation group involving residents and other community interest groups must be established); • be based on a proper socio-economic survey to determine needs and affordability levels; • not result in the displacement of residents unless acceptable alternative accommodation arrangements can be made; • be sustainable in terms of on-going payment of maintenance and service costs; • maximize employment opportunities for residents and locals in the construction and maintenance phases. 5. national housing norms and standards for government subsidised housing the south africa national housing code for subsidised housing (2000: 119-120) defines such housing as, a permanent residential structure with secure tenure, in ternal and external privacy, and adequate protection against the elements, with portable water, adequate sanitary facilities and a domestic energy supply. dwellings have to have a minimum gross floor area of 30m2 (32m2 in gauteng province). 5.1 the sethokga hostel sethokga is a local authority-owned public sector hostel at the northeastern edge of tembisa, a sprawling township of more than five hundred thousand people roughly halfway between pretoria and the johannesburg international airport. the hostel is situated close to oakmoor station on the main rail link between pretoria and kempton park, and has good transport links (mini-bus taxi, bus and rail) with pretoria, the olifantsfontein/ clayville industrial complex to the north, and fast-growing midrand to the west. the area is reasonably well-serviced with regard to facilities such as hospitals, schools, sports grounds and trading, both formal and informal. the sethokga complex consists of twenty nine u-shaped single and double-storey blocks on approximately twenty two hectares of land, with twelve thousand official bed spaces. sethokga hostel was constructed in the early 1970’s and consists of cement washed and painted concrete hollow block walls, asbestos cement profiled sheet roofs, and concrete slabs on rib-and-trough galvanised steel sheet permanent formwork. there are no ceilings or floor finishes. each hostel block consists of separate dormitories of 25 bed spaces sharing an entrance, and very rudimentary cooking, dining and ablution facilities. sleeping ‘cubicles’ each 2.6 x 2.6m in size, and accommodating two beds are arranged in rows open to, and on either side of a central corridor. there is no individual privacy other than whatever flimsy provisions residents themselves have been able to make. the buildings are structurally reasonably sound, and although built on medium dolomitic soil, are not expected to give much trouble if basic precautions such as paving, drainage and prevention of major water and sewer leaks are maintained. most of the internal electrical reticulation in the buildings have long since been stripped out. prior to a clean-up initiative carried out by the local council in early 2000, the sanitation and sewage systems were largely dysfunctional due to blockages and leaks, and these remain severely overloaded. 5.2 the sethokga hostel conversion pilot project according to the land & housing development support group (2001: 8-10), sethokga was selected for conversion for two main reasons. firstly, its sheer size meant that a successful conversion would contribute substantially to urban renewal in the area, and earn the government considerable political plaudits. secondly, the cost of maintaining services in the face of low levels of rental payments was becoming an unaffordable burden to the local authority owner of the complex. in 1997 the local authority commissioned a consulting firm, urban planning services, to carry out a comprehensive socio-economic survey among all hostels within its area of jurisdiction, and to prepare a hostel strategy and impact 52 acta structilia 2005:12(1) study. this study proposed conversion of the entire sethokga complex into one, two, and three-bed room family apartments (urban planning services, 1998). the proposed conversion was prevented from taking place through what appears to be a combination of political factionalism within the complex, and fears of inability to pay rentals and subsequent displacement among residents. by the end of 1999 the project team had been dissolved, and conditions in the complex continued to deteriorate. in early 2000 the gauteng provincial housing development board (phdb), the ekurhuleni metropolitan council, the kempton park municipality, the social housing foundation, the land and housing development support group (l&hdsg), and the sethokga community development forum agreed to set up the sethokga housing association (sha) and re-start the long-term redevelopment of the hostel complex. the first phase was a pilot project aimed at the conversion of dormitories into five hundred family units for rental with institutional housing subsidy funding and a top-up loan from the national housing finance corporation to cover the capital costs of the development. the ekurhuleni metropolitan council, acting on behalf of the owner of the complex, the kempton park municipality, appointed the land and housing development support group as consultants to carry out a new social survey and prepare a feasibility study and business plan for the pilot project. the main aims of the survey were to determine the socio-economic profile of existing residents, their housing needs and preferences, and levels of payment for housing and services that the residents would be able to afford. although falling outside the scope of this paper, it needs to be mentioned that the study also took into account issues such as existing patterns of trade and movement in and around the complex, the need for social, business and recreational facilities, opening up the complex to neighbouring communities without sacrificing security aspects, and the spatial integration of the pilot project with the rest of the complex to ensure maximum impact. the sha was set up and operations initially funded with an interestfree loan from the municipality. a socio-economic survey was conducted among a sample of five hundred residents in july 2000, and the results of this were used to plan and design the project 53 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project 54 acta structilia 2005:12(1) and procure a contractor to do the construction work. the initial construction budget was r12.4m or r24 800 on average per unit. the project was initiated under the old institutional capital subsidy of r18 400 per unit (r16 000 plus 15% discretionary variation for geophysical conditions), which subsidy would have provided about 75% of the capital outlay, with an nhfc loan funding the balance. tenders were obtained in april 2001, and construction was to start in may 2001. residents, however, again put a halt to the handing over of the site to the contractor, and at the time of writing construction had still not started. at a number of public meetings held subsequently residents have given their reasons for halting the project as being a lack of proper consultation with themselves, and unrepresentative leadership. this happened despite the fact that the community had participated in the planning process and was kept informed at all times of what was going to happen. by mid-2003 costs had escalated to over r15m. in 2002 the gauteng provincial housing department advised that the project would be cancelled as an institutional housing project, and reconstituted under the public sector hostels redevelopment programme. this process is now underway with conversion of the entire complex into family and communal units phased over a period of four years 2005 – 2009. 5.3 some results from the socio-economic survey crofton & pienaar (2000) had done a socio-economic survey. for the survey five hundred residents or 25% out of a target population of two thousand were selected using a non-probability sampling technique. a ten page survey questionnaire was developed to identify key focus areas and accompanying variables. residents completed the questionnaires with the help of fifteen trained fieldworkers proficient in the various home languages of the residents. completion of the questionnaire took about 90 minutes per respondent. after the statistical processing has been done, only 326 responses were considered reliably usable. this represented the final sample (16.3% of the target population). in addition the official municipal register and management records were scrutinized. the hostel 55 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project complex was also physically surveyed, and resident activities were observed and recorded for a period of two weeks by trained fieldworkers. the survey indicated that occupants were still overwhelmingly men living in the hostel on their own without their families (more than 88%). of these, 54% were sharing their bed space or cubicle, usually with another man in the same situation. only 9.5% were sharing their cubicle with a woman or woman with child/children. in the sample, 16.8% of residents originally came from the eastern cape province up to 1000km away, and 73.3% from limpopo province (formerly northern province) up to 400km away, indicating their largely rural roots. of the sample of residents participating in the survey 45% were married and 51% had never married, although 72% indicated that they had dependents. a high proportion (75%) indicated that their dependents would join them if proper housing (and jobs) were available. most of the dependents in the rural areas (61%) currently enjoy some form of employment, or are involved in incomeproducing activity, and most of this would be lost if the dependents joined the men in sethokga. of the sethokga residents, 37% visit their families at least once a month and 31% at least once a year. the vast majority (78%) indicated a desire to stay in sethokga permanently, citing as main reasons for staying here the following: • close to work: 54% • nowhere else to stay: 42% existing individual home-ownership elsewhere appears to be at a low level (13.2% of total). residents in the sample were asked whether they owned residential property anywhere outside of sethokga. (communal ownership in tribal areas was not taken into account). table 3 below indicates existing home-ownership among residents in the sample. 56 acta structilia 2005:12(1) table 3: existing home ownership among residents in the sample age owns a home does not own category a home total (years) number % number % 18 19 0 0.0 4 1.2 4 20 29 7 2 2 128 39.3 135 30 39 14 4.4 84 25.8 98 40 49 14 4.4 28 8.6 42 50 59 7 2 2 26 8.0 33 60 69 0 0.0 8 2.5 8 70 79 1 0.1 1 0.1 2 no response 0 0.0 4 1.3 4 total 43 13.2 283 86.8 326 reasons given for the above were that: • residents from outside the province initially entertained the notion that they would eventually return ‘home’ and did not therefore, want to invest in a permanent home in the city (36.8%); • simply not having been able to afford home-ownership to date (58.3%); • other reasons (4.9%). affordability therefore, appears to have been the main constraint. tenure preferences for converted units were as follows: • ownership: 36%; • rental: 27%; • rent to own (a form of deferred ownership, with an initial rental period of a minimum of four years as required by institutional subsidy regulations): 35%. the above is a strong indication that interest in different forms of tenure is more or less evenly spread between the three main options, and that any solution would have to provide a definite mix of tenure options in order to meet the expressed needs of residents. 57 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project informal communication with residents indicated that the high number opting for rent-to-own can probably be ascribed to the fact that ownership can be obtained without having to put down a deposit immediately, and a general misconception that rental payments during the prescribed four year rental period would ‘pay off’ the purchase price. existing rentals averaged approximately r85 per bed per month. most of those who were paying were doing so through pay-roll deductions effected automatically by their employers (mainly municipalities in the area). a total of 92.3% indicated a willingness to pay rent for upgraded accommodation. preferred rentals for proposed converted units averaged as follows: • one-bedroom units: r100 per month; • two-bedroom units: r200 per month; • three-bedroom units: r300 per month. when compared with the financial feasibility study for the project these figures are r120 – r250 per month lower than the rentals needed after conversion to make the project viable. the preferred affordable rentals above could only be achieved if the product norm of 32m2 minimum floor area could be relaxed and subsidy eligibility criteria changed to allow sharing of units. unemployment was 35% and non-payment of rental was 38.5%. reasons given for non-payment were as in table 4. 58 acta structilia 2005:12(1) table 4: reasons for non payment of rent reasons given for non payment of rent % not employed unable to pay 29.54 nobody else pays 24.58 no reason given 19.08 no maintenance waiting for conversion 12.66 the hostel office is corrupt 5.80 no billing from municipality (don’t know how much/where to pay) 5.50 not a legal occupant of hostel 1.20 was told by leaders not to pay 0.92 government is paying 0.55 total 100.00 most residents who were not paying were heavily in arrears, with average arrears exceeding r2 000 per resident. in the survey 90.2% of residents indicated that they were not currently paying rent whereas the municipal records reflect a non-payment level of only 38.5%. this suggests that a large number of people are not even aware that they are paying rent (rent payments of formally employed residents are by automatic debit facility or pay-roll deduction). the non-payment figure also roughly corresponds with the number of unemployed residents (35%). 5.4 lessons from the sethokga experience to date crofton & pienaar (2000) found that lengthy consultation with community representatives and local politicians has revealed that the main reason the pilot project was halted was the fact that it inadequately addressed the needs of the majority of residents. a memorandum presented by residents to the provincial member of the executive council (mec) for housing in july 2002, listed among others the following demands: 59 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project • dismantling of the sethokga housing association; • further consultation with the community on housing needs and affordability; • commitment to provide alternative accommodation for anyone affected by proposed redevelopment. a range of results from the 2000 survey on housing needs and income and expenses were combined with the above to establish the following salient points: 4 less than 30% of residents could afford to spend r500 per month or more on housing. the majority therefore, would be unable to afford the rent for converted family units. the adjustment from current rentals to the envisaged rentals for converted units would be too great for most residents. affordability appears to remain the primary consideration in the minds of hostel residents. the rigid product norms and eligibility criteria of the government institutional housing subsidy scheme on the other hand render conversion projects too expensive to meet the need for a range of affordable housing options. table 5: affordable monthly payments on housing amount number % more than r0 but less than r100 90 27.61 more than r100 but less than r500 139 42.64 more than r500 but less than r1000 58 17.79 more than r1000 39 11.96 total 326 100.0 4 residents would not like to leave the blocks they are currently staying in because of established family and other social ties and networks, safety, and running of informal businesses from their blocks. 60 acta structilia 2005:12(1) table 6: reasons given for not wanting to move from current residence main reason given number % family members staying in same block 35 10.74 friends staying in same block 121 37.12 feel safe here because of knowing other residents 86 26.38 running an informal business from the block may lose clients if moved 27 8.28 other reasons 22 6.75 do not mind moving 35 10.74 total 326 100.00 4 consultation with leaders and views expressed at public meetings revealed fears that partial redevelopment as envisaged in the pilot project would divide the community and cause conflict when it came to allocation of new units to a selected few. 4 residents not targeted for the pilot project expressed a fear at public meetings that their expectations of better living conditions would never be met once the conversions for those few who can afford the higher rentals of converted units have been completed. 4 the single tenure model (rental only) did not reflect residents’ preferences as shown in table 7 below. from a broader planning and management point of view the single tenure model would also perpetuate the transient nature of the population in the complex, and fail to provide socio-economic diversity and stability provided by a degree of permanent ownership within the complex. table 7: residents’ tenure preferences form of tenure preferred number % immediate full ownership 118 36.20 rental 88 26.99 rent to own (instalment sale) 120 36.81 total 326 100.00 61 pienaar & cloete • sethokga hostel conversion project 6. conclusion the sethokga hostel conversion pilot project was initially designed to provide family rental housing in accordance with the government’s institutional housing subsidy scheme. results of the socioeconomic survey conducted to determine residents’ housing needs and affordability levels (crofton & pienaar, 2000), and subsequent actions by residents themselves, indicated that this single-option approach, restricted to the provision of family rental housing, was not entirely appropriate. efforts to get the provincial housing development board (phdb) to accept and fund options that responded to the expressed needs, but did not comply with minimum norms and standards as laid down in the national housing code, were unsuccessful. under political pressure from the national department of housing it was decided to conform to standards, and press on with the pilot. this decision, as borne out by the residents’ actions in halting the project, was a mistake. the consequence of insisting on minimum norms and standards, and the lack of flexibility in the institutional subsidy funding regime for hostel conversion would have been that residents are denied a variety of choice, as well as the opportunity to be part of an integrated and sustainable housing solution more finely tuned towards their needs. if conversion with the use of the institutional subsidy is to be successful, a more flexible approach from government is needed – one that combines the use of variable norms and a combination of subsidy instruments so that the planning and design of hostel conversions can be tailored around real needs rather than the strictures of inflexible bureaucratic systems. under such conditions hostels could start forming a valuable asset within the communities from which they have been isolated, and with whom some of them have lived in sometimes violent conflict for so long. 62 acta structilia 2005:12(1) references crofton, o.c. & pienaar, j.s. 2000. sethokga hostel exploring the jungle. unpublished research report. pretoria: university of pretoria. forgotten hostels. 1994. finance week, p. 14, september 8-14. human sciences research council (hsrc). 1993. communities in isolation. perspectives on hostels in south africa. pretoria: hsrc publishers. land & housing development support group (l&hdsg). 2001. sethokga housing association: business plan and application for a project loan from the national housing development fund. pretoria. south africa. department of housing. 1994. white paper. a new housing policy and strategy for south africa. pretoria: government printer. south africa. department of housing. 2000. national housing code. pretoria: government printer. urban sector network (usn), 2001. report of the national hostels workshop held on 4 april 2002 at the ikhwezi community centre, guguletu, cape town. cape town: the development action group. urban planning services. 1998. khayalami metropolitan area hostel strategy and impact study. unpublished research report. edenvale. wilson, f. 1972. migrant labour in south africa. johannesburg: south african council of churches. 46 manya mooya & chris cloete governance structures for real estate transactions: markets, networks and hierarchies in windhoek’s urban low-income settlements peer reviewed abstract this article examines the relative prevalence of markets, hierarchies and networks in the governance of real-estate transactions under three property rights regimes in windhoek’s low-income settlements. these governance structures are related to respective property rights regimes and to conjectures made about the implications for capital accumulation for the urban poor. it is found that network governance structures are the predominant modes of organising transactions under conditions of informal property rights, while hierarchical mechanisms predominate in the freehold and group categories. it is found that there is very little secondary market activity in all three rights categories. the article posits that, while networks provide access to real estate for the poor under conditions of informal rights, these are associated with tenure insecurity, and lock households in clusters based on ethnicity and kinship. hierarchical structures, on the other hand, make freehold ownerships possible for the poor, but suffer from insufficient scale and create market distortions. it is concluded that a lack of secondary market activity in all the three rights categories severely limits the potential for capital accumulation. keywords: property rights, real-estate transactions, governance structures, windhoek dr manya m. mooya, senior lecturer, department of construction economics & management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, south africa. phone: +27 21 650 3443, mobile: 0791627211, email: <manya.mooya@uct.ac.za> prof. chris cloete, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, pretoria 0002, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 4545, email: <chris.cloete@up.ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles mooya et al • governance structures 47 abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die relatiewe voorkoms van markte, hiërargieë en netwerke in die (staats)bestuur van eiendomstransaksies in drie eiendomsregstelsels in die lae-inkomste nedersettings in windhoek. hierdie bestuurstrukture is verwant aan die onderskeie eiendomsregstrukture, en daar word bespiegel oor die implikasies vir die opbou van rykdom deur arm stedelinge. daar word bevind dat bestuurstrukture in die vorm van netwerke die oorheersende wyse is waarop informele transaksies ge-organiseer word, terwyl hiërargiese meganismes grootliks in die vrypagen groepskategorieë voorkom. daar is ook bevind dat baie min sekondêre markaktiwiteit in enige van die drie kategorieë plaasvind. die artikel betoog dat alhoewel netwerke toegang tot informele eiendomsreg aan armes verleen, dit gepaardgaan met onsekerheid oor verblyf en die verbintenis van huishoudings tot groepe gebaseer op verwantskap en etnisiteit. hiërargiese strukture, daarenteen, maak vrypageienaarskap moontlik vir arm persone. hierdie struktuur vind egter op ‘n beperkte skaal plaas en veroorsaak ook distorsies in die mark. die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat ‘n gebrek aan sekondêre markaktiwiteit in al drie die kategorieë van regte die potensiaal vir die opbou van kapitaal baie beperk. sleutelwoorde: eiendomsregte, eiendomstransaksies, bestuurstrukture, windhoek 1. introduction the 2015 target date for halving poverty under the millennium development goals has provided fresh impetus for innovative ways in which to address urban poverty. one such approach, the ‘making markets work for the poor’ (‘mmwp’), has in recent times, at least until the 2008 financial crisis, been dominant in the global anti-poverty discourse. this approach to fighting poverty seeks to leverage the power of various markets such as land markets, labour markets, commodity markets, financial markets, and so on to meet the needs of the poor. the underlying theory is that wellfunctioning markets that support competition and lower the cost of doing business provide incentives for trade and investment, thereby promoting growth and poverty reduction (dfid, 2005). in the context of urban land, the approach does dovetail with a central tenet of property rights theory, which holds that secure property rights in real estate makes commerce between strangers easier, expanding opportunities and thereby increasing gains from trade. for reason of brevity, the article does not repeat the extensive literature linking real estate, property rights and poverty alleviation. readers are referred to comprehensive reviews in the following articles: mooya (2011: 238-244) and mooya & cloete (2010: 436-445) and papers: durand-lasserve & selod (2007) and payne, durandlasserve & rakodi (2007). a survey of this literature reveals that the application of the ‘mmwp’ approach to urban real-estate markets has not been well studied. in particular, the discussion about how acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 48 markets in urban real-estate markets may be made to work for the poor has not been framed in terms of what alternatives to the market mechanism exist, and how these compare as poverty alleviation instruments. markets are, of course, one of the alternatives whereby transactions in real property may be organised. in addition, while there is considerable literature on the effects of property rights on demand for credit and investment, there has not been as much discussion about how different property rights regimes affect land transactions. this article aims to address this lacuna in the literature, and has two principal objectives. first, the article reviews conventional theory relating to the governance of transactions, with a view of locating markets in their appropriate comparative context. discussions about markets are rarely framed in terms of what alternatives to markets exist, and how these alternatives compare. secondly, partial empirical results of case study research exploring the relationship between property rights and real-estate transactions in windhoek’s urban informal settlements are presented. the article examines the relative prevalence of alternative ‘governance structures’ for transactions in real estate, namely markets, networks and hierarchies. the article aims to relate these governance structures to one of three property rights regimes of varying quality (see section on methodology), and to make deductions about the implications for capital accumulation for the urban poor. it is argued that systems of property rights embed transactions in specific institutional environments (menard, 2005: 218-318), giving them epistemological precedence over markets, hierarchies and networks. that is to say, systems of property rights determine whether markets, networks or hierarchies will be the predominant mode for organising transactions in specific settings. in the context of real-estate transactions in urban informal settlements, this article addresses two research questions: first, given specific types of property rights, what ‘governance structures’ are adopted or observed? secondly, what consequences arise, deductively, for the poor from organising transactions in that fashion? the article employs the conceptual framework developed by mooya & cloete (2007: 147-165). this conceptual framework brings together institutional arrangements, property rights and transaction costs as determinants of real-estate market liquidity. market liquidity is argued as being important in the realisation of the latent value of real estate which, in turn, helps in the accumulation of capital for the poor. manya et al • governance structures mooya et al • governance structures 49 2. conceptual framework and literature review as with other economic goods, transactions in real estate involve at least six basic activities, namely search, inspection, contracting, execution, control, and enforcement (furubotn & richter, 1998). there are various ways of organising these transactions. thus real-estate transactions may be ‘administered’, ‘organised’, or ‘governed’ by alternative structures. the conventional approach is to view governance structures in terms of two extremes, with transactions organised within markets, at one end, and with transactions organised within hierarchical organisations, at the other (furubotn & richter, 1998). in between are a variety of hybrid forms, of which network structures are the most salient. in this article, markets are narrowly defined to mean a mode of organising voluntary arm’s-length exchanges between independent actors. ‘spot markets’ are archetypical of this definition (menard, 2005: 218-318). the defining characteristic of such markets is the preeminent role played by ‘prices’ in the allocation of resources. from a purely efficiency point of view, markets are generally perceived to be superior to other modes of resource allocation. in contrast to the role of prices in markets, hierarchical governance structures emphasise the exercise of ‘command’ in resource allocation. this implies the existence of decision-makers with the necessary authority to impose their will or give effect to their wishes. networks forms of organisation, for their part, rely on neither prices nor command as principal modes for coordination. rather, transactions are structured by ‘relationships’ between agents based on notions of solidarity, altruism, loyalty, reciprocity and trust (thompson, 2003; meagher, 2005: 217-238). smith-doer & powell (2005) emphasise that network governance structures are most salient in a domain between the flexibility of markets and the visible hand of organisational authority. network governance structures provide scope for human agency, which may be narrow in hierarchical structures, while emphasising structure and constraint, which may be weak in ‘atomised’ markets (smith-doerr & powell, 2005). acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 50 table 1: types of socio-economic order basic attributes market order network order hierarchical order type of order envisaged spontaneously generated outcomes designed outcomes, or spontaneously generated outcomes designed and consciously organised outcomes behaviour of agents private competitive decisions cooperation and consensus-seeking rule-driven and active authoritative inputs mechanisms of operation price mechanism, competition, self-interest, self-regulation loyalty, reciprocity, and trust hierarchically organised/ bureaucratic administration/ monitoring, scrutiny, interventions type of overall coordination or governance offered unseen ‘guiding hand’, ‘nongovernance’, but ex post coordination formally organised coordination and governance; or ‘self-organised’ informal ‘non-governance’ overt, purposeful guidance and ‘active governance’, ex ante coordination source: thompson, 2003: 48 table 1 is a comparative summary of the characteristics of the three governance structures or ‘socio-economic orders’ given that specific transactions may alternatively be coordinated by markets, hierarchies and networks, the problem is to determine which governance structure is economically preferable under which detailed circumstances (menard, 2005). it is suggested, in this instance, that the preferable one in the context of low-income settlements would be the one that maximises opportunities for capital accumulation. transaction-cost theory provides an explanation for the existence of alternative modes of organisation as well as the characteristics of these arrangements (menard, 2005). transaction costs are postulated to arise, due to both the complexity of the decision environment and the propensity on the part of human beings for opportunism, described in memorable fashion by oliver williamson (1985: 30) as ‘self-interest seeking with guile’. it is postulated that calculative agents will adopt the mode of organisation that economises on transaction costs, while safeguarding transactions against opportunism (menard, 2005: 218-318). markets are conventionally viewed as the default governance structure (‘… in the beginning there were markets’, thompson, mooya et al • governance structures 51 2003: 67, citing williamson, 1985). this is perhaps mainly due to their superior efficiency in solving the coordination problem via the price mechanism. in addition, compared to hierarchical organisations, markets appear on the surface to function with relative ease, requiring very little by way of visible supporting infrastructure and allowing for buyers and sellers to consummate transactions quickly, democratically and in an egalitarian fashion. for this reason, the existence of alternative governance structures has been explained in terms of market failure arising from high transaction costs. the existence of hierarchy, for instance, has been explained in term of this logic. as menard (2005: 218-318) puts it, when the cost of using the price system becomes too high, the organisation of activities under a central command may become advantageous. eggertsson (1990: 15) lists the costs associated with using the price system and arising in the course of the six types of transactions identified above as follows: • the search for information about the distribution of prices and quality of commodities, the search for potential buyers and sellers and for relevant information about their behaviour and circumstances. • the bargaining that is needed to find the true position of buyers and sellers. • the making of contracts. • the monitoring of contractual partners to establish whether they abide by the terms of the contract. • the enforcement of a contract and the collection of damages when partners fail to observe their contractual obligations. • the protection of property rights against third-party encroachment. hierarchical structures may, in certain circumstances, be better placed to mediate these costs. for example, they may take advantages of economies of scale in information-gathering and -processing as well as access to financial resources and technical expertise to reduce search and information costs, and bargaining and decision costs. in addition, as menard (2005: 218-318) argues, the capacity of decision-makers in hierarchical organisations to allocate resources without negotiation reduces bargaining and decision costs and provides a powerful tool for dealing with uncertainty. finally, hierarchical organisations tend to be vested with administrative and/or statutory authority, backed with both internal and enforcement capability of the state, thus giving them acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 52 manya et al • governance structures a comparative advantage when dealing with supervision and enforcement costs. the costs associated with using hierarchical structures are well documented in the literature. these include inflexibility and inefficiencies typical of bureaucratic forms of governance. other costs arise from the activities of decision-makers in these organisations who may have incentives to pursue socially undesirable activities. given the power, for instance, to administratively allocate a valuable commodity such as land and housing to the poor, decisionmakers may engage in corruption and other forms of ‘rent-seeking’ behaviour, benefiting existing elites at the expense of the poor who lack the wherewithal to successfully navigate officialdom. networks provide appropriate governance structures for those for whom the market system is too costly as an option and for those for whom official hierarchy is inaccessible or unavailable. according to smith-doerr & powell (2005), networks provide three broad categories of benefits, namely access, timeliness and referrals. social ties inherent in networks can facilitate access to parties that provide information or resources in an expeditious manner. referrals by members of networks offer the opportunity to bypass formal, impersonal channels, again expediting access to information and resources (smith-doerr & powell, 2005). north (1990, cited in meagher 2005: 217-238) views networks as mechanisms for reducing transaction costs by filling gaps in formal institutional arrangements, particularly in contexts of underdevelopment or institutional collapse, such as is found in informal settlements. in these contexts, networks are thus appropriately conceived as providing a framework for ‘order without law’ (ellickson, 1991, cited in meagher 2005) or ‘order for free’ (sturgess, 1997, cited in meagher, 2005). perhaps more significantly for this article, it is argued in the literature that dense network ties may enhance economic efficiency, by reducing the cost of economic organisation. against these advantages are ranged a number of disadvantages. for instance, networks based on kinship or ethnic ties, by emphasising group solidarity and loyalty, may stifle innovation, thereby locking members in ‘low-level’ equilibrium traps. in addition, transactions based on altruism and reciprocity may stand in the way of greater economic efficiency. network forms of co-ordination may, for example, lead to free-rider problems and situations where some individuals reap disproportional benefits or costs from the collaboration (entwistle, bristow, hines, donaldson & martin, 2007: 63-79). meagher (2005: 217-238) refers to studies which show that mooya et al • governance structures 53 african social networks have not been conducive to economic development, allowing a redistributive logic to overwhelm efforts at accumulation. meagher (2005: 217-238) goes so far as to associate the expansion of social networks in african societies with ‘parochialism, criminality and communal violence’ rather than with economic development. under these circumstances, network forms of co-ordination are a source of ‘social liability’ rather than ‘social capital’ (entwistle et al., 2007: 63-79). it is argued, in this instance, that systems of property rights determine or affect the governance structures adopted in practice, because of the intimate relationship between property rights and transaction costs. transaction costs, for example, have been defined as the costs associated with the transfer, capture and protection of property rights (barzel, 1989). the key relationships, therefore, are that property rights determine transaction costs which, in turn, are associated with respective optimal governance structures. markets, hierarchies and networks for their part ultimately determine the extent and manner in which real estate may be used as a tool for capital accumulation and, therefore, poverty alleviation. 3. methodology 3.1 methodological approach the results discussed in this article come from a larger case study which used the institutional analysis and development (iad) framework (ostrom, 2008) as a basis for the comparative analysis of the effects of three types of property rights regimes in settlements located on windhoek’s periphery, namely freehold rights, informal rights and group rights. these property rights are conceived as the key institutional variable differentially affecting their respective markets. freehold property rights are clearly defined, in terms of both content and spatial extent. this means rights are held with regard to specific demarcated plots. in addition, holders of these rights can sell, lease, bequeath and exercise all the normal rights of property ownership. very significantly, these rights are enforceable by the state. they are, therefore, very secure. the informal market, on the other hand, is, as the name implies, structured by informal, often illegal property rights. by informal rights is meant those rights held by economic agents that fail to adhere to the established institutional rules or are denied their protection (portes & haller, 2005: 425). as in the formal market, property is acquired, sold, leased, given out, and so on, but in an atmosphere of acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 54 state disapproval. lacking state sanction, the property rights in these markets may be weak. indeed, residents of informal settlements may incur dispossession of property rights by way of forced evictions and relocation by the state. on the other hand, the tenuous nature of these rights may mean holders are susceptible to predatory activities of others. hence, the conventional view that informal property rights are insecure and that they, therefore, inhibit investment and market activity. from a policy point of view, this has underpinned efforts aimed at providing formal freehold rights to residents of informal settlements. this is regarded as crucial to the leveraging of, among other things, real-estate markets for poverty alleviation. finally, in the context of this study, the group market refers to those markets structured by a system of group property rights. these group rights arise from the activities of savings associations, who pool savings to purchase land from the municipality. this land is surveyed in the conventional manner, subdivided from the surrounding informal settlements and registered in freehold title in the name of a trust or other corporate body. the key difference from conventional freehold rights is that the land is occupied under a system of group tenure. thus anything up a 100 individuals may occupy the block of land, on specific plots surveyed to a lower standard. significantly, holders of group rights have more restricted powers to deal with their property than holders of freehold rights. for example, sales to outsiders may not be allowed without the specific approval of group members. the external boundaries and rights of group property enjoy the full protection of the state in terms of the formal law. in this sense, group rights are very secure. the internal boundaries and rights, on the other hand, are subject to whatever arrangements may have been agreed by members of respective groups. in most instances, these would be set out in their respective constitutions. members do not own real rights over their property, i.e. they cannot for instance mortgage their land. crucially, local groups, rather than the state, are the primary enforcement mechanism for these rights. the case study settlements were selected on the basis that in each was present in close physical proximity the three types of property regimes. the intention was to control, up to a point, for the influence of physical and material conditions and attributes of community, thus leaving the institution of property rights as the independent or causal variable. therefore, the comparative institutional approach adopted in this study attempts to evaluate the effects of the three property rights mooya et al • governance structures 55 regimes on real-estate transactions. these rights systems can be conceived as occupying specific positions on a continuum, moving from completely illegal to fully formalised. a comparative assessment is clearly the best way of dealing with the vexed question of whether more formal property rights are efficacious for poverty alleviation. as ostrom (2008) argues, without such systematic, comparative institutional assessment, recommendations on reform may be based on naïve ideas about which kinds of institutions are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and not on the analysis of performance. this is particularly important in this instance where policy interventions have in the main sought to transform informal property rights into individual freehold rights. 3.2 research design the main empirical data for the study was collected from two settlements in the north-western and northern fringes of windhoek, called goreangab and okahandja park, respectively. a total of 440 out of the intended 600 households were successfully interviewed. of these, only 17 (or approximately 4%) stated that they were renters. this relatively low number resulted from the methodological approach of sampling households, and reflects the low incidence of outright renting of entire dwellings, as opposed to renting of rooms or outbuildings. the rental market, as the discussion in the findings section will show, is significantly higher than is suggested by the above statistic. it is estimated that the sample represented approximately 10% of the relevant population, although this is difficult to confirm, due to the lack of suitably disaggregated data. the interviews themselves were carried out with the aid of detailed questionnaires (available on request from the corresponding author). in addition to the standard interviews described above, a total of 14 respondents were selected for detailed unstructured interviews in order to gain deeper insights into aspects of the market process. six of these were from the informal category, with four from each of the group and freehold categories. to obtain a range of contextual information, these interviews were supplemented with semistructured interviews held with key officials from the windhoek city council (wcc), the namibian housing action group (nhag), and the namibian housing enterprises (nhe). the windhoek city council is responsible for the control and regulation of informal settlements. in addition, most of these settlements are on land that legally belongs to the municipality. the namibian housing action group (nhag) is the service ngo to the acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 56 shack dwellers federation of namibia (sdfn), an alliance of savings groups operating in many informal settlements in namibia, whose principal aim is to mobilise collective savings for the purchase and group settlement of land for their members. the namibian housing enterprises (nhe) is a state entity with a virtual monopoly in the provision of very low-income formal housing in namibia. the nhe has a wide mandate and is, therefore, a significant player in this area. it acts as developer, provides loans for the purchase of its own developments and lets out units that have not been sold. its preeminence in this market segment is such that all the formal housing in the goreangab area has ultimately been developed by the nhe. the study employed a qualitative methodology. the data was analysed mostly descriptively. in order to test for significance of any differences between the three samples and to attribute these differences to respective property rights categories, three types of statistical tests were done for a few critical variables, namely: • one-way analysis of variance (anova) to test for the significance of differences for continuous variables between the three samples. • chi-square tests to test for significance of differences between categorical variables between the three samples. • analysis of covariance (ancova) to control for the income differences between the samples. 3.3 study area empirical data was collected from two low-income/informal settlements in the katutura area of the namibian capital, windhoek, namely goreangab and okahandja park. goreangab, also known as greenwell matongo, is approximately 8 kilometres from the city centre. it is a resettlement area where single-quarter residents were resettled in 1992 and offered various options to buy land or housing property. the population of goreangab consists of formal housing, resettled residents and squatters. okahandja park lies at the northern edge of okuryangava, also approximately 8 kilometres from the city centre. the population in this settlement consists of almost exclusively resettled residents and squatters. the broader katutura area has expanded considerably, mainly as a result of immigration. between 1970 and 1987, the katutura population doubled from 25.464 to approximately 55.000. it almost doubled again in the five years between 1987 and 1991 (pendleton, 1996; pendleton, 1991). the 2001 census data put the mooya et al • governance structures 57 population of katutura at approximately 142.000 (npc, 2005), 61% of windhoek’s total. the most recent (2011) census saw windhoek’s population rise to approximately 322.500 (npc, 2012). though this census data is not disaggregated to indicate the population of katutura per se, the evidence reaffirms the primacy of katutura in windhoek’s demographics. poverty levels in katutura are high, mainly as a result of high unemployment, low literacy and education, large numbers of pre-school age children, and recent migration to the urban area (pendleton, n.d.). those in formal employment are usually unskilled workers, with a sizable number working for the government or parastatals. others work as domestics in the more affluent parts of windhoek. the lack of sufficient employment opportunities in the formal sector has resulted in most people resorting to informal means of income generation. peyroux & graefe (1995) report that 73% of heads of households in this area were engaged in informal activities, often carried out in the place of residence. according to frayne (1992), the following are the main economic activities in katutura: • street trading. • backyard mechanics and metalworking. • taxi enterprises. • ‘shebeens’ (illegal bars) and cuca (grocery) shops at private houses. • other home-based activities such as tailoring and childminding, and so on. though relatively small in absolute numbers, and when compared to say that of south africa, the size of namibia’s informal population has posed enormous challenges to the authorities. the municipality’s response to the problem of informal settlements is encapsulated in the development and upgrading strategy (dus) adopted in 1999. in terms of implementation, the dus has four strategic thrusts: the in-situ upgrading of informal settlements; the development of areas for resettlement; ‘greenfield’ development, and the promotion of self-help group development (city of windhoek, 2005). of these, upgrading and self-help group development have been the preferred options. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 58 4. analysis and discussion table 2: numbers of households interviewed, by property rights type and settlement name of settlement type of property rights goreangab okahandja park total informal count % within type 64 38.1 104 61.9 168 100 group count % within type 96 58.5 68 41.5 164 100 freehold count % within type 108 100 0 0.0 108 100 total count % within type 268 60.9 172 39.1 440 100 source: authors’ survey data table 2 shows the overall characteristics of the survey sample, whereas tables 3 and 4 show the characteristics of the respondents in terms of employment status and average income, respectively. the highest levels of unemployment, at 27.4%, are to be found in the informal category, followed by the group category (19.8%) and the freehold category (2.9%). in addition, respondents in the freehold category have qualitatively better jobs, with nearly 46% holding ‘white collar’ jobs. table 3: employment status type of employment type of property rights not employed selfemployed blue collar job white collar job total informal count % within type 46 27.4 26 15.5 84 50.0 12 7.1 168 100 group count % within type 32 19.8 26 16.0 98 60.5 6 3.7 162 100 freehold count % within type 3 2.9 0 0.0 54 51.4 48 45.7 105 100 total count % within type 81 18.6 52 12.0 236 54.3 66 15.2 435 100 source: authors’ survey data mooya et al • governance structures 59 the nature of employment is varied. those in self-employment are likely to be engaged in activities such as selling kapana (i.e. cooked meat), running cuca (i.e. grocery) shops or shebeens (i.e. informal, usually illegal bars), backyard vehicle repairs, and so on. ‘blue collar’ workers are mostly domestic servants and unskilled or semiskilled labour working in nearby industries. low-level civil servants, nurses, policemen and soldiers and others fill the ranks of ‘white collar’ workers. table 4: monthly income in n$ type of rights mean standard deviation maximum minimum range median number of observations informal 958.85 866.13 4200.00 0 4200 725.00 156 group 1210.68 1771.41 12000.00 0 12000 800.00 162 freehold 2285.05 1128.23 6100.00 200 5900 2100 99 source: authors’ survey data 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 in co m e informal a a b group type; ls means current effect: f(2, 414)=31.450, p=<0.01 kruskal-wallis p<0.01 effective hypothesis decomposition vertical bars denote 0.95 confidence intervals type low income formal figure 1: test for significance of differences in mean monthly income though the data shows that those in the informal category have the lowest average income, the differences between this and the group category is not statistically significant (see figure 1). there is however acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 60 a clear difference between these two groups and those in the freehold category. the latter have definitely higher average monthly income, on account of less unemployment, higher education levels and better quality jobs. note however the relatively high standard deviations of income in the informal and group categories. this underscores the point that in these settlements one finds a wide diversity of income generating activities. thus one regularly finds relatively high earning individuals who have, for a variety of reasons, taken up residence in these settlements. in terms of the conceptual framework developed by mooya and cloete (mooya & cloete, 2007: 154), an increase in the size of real estate markets in both trading frequency (churn) and spatial extent is considered desirable because of economies of scale and scope that this can bring about (furubotn & richter, 1998), thereby increasing opportunities for capital gains. a sense of the state of market activity in the 2 years immediately prior to the study was built by combining responses from a number of questions, namely, period since acquisition of property, knowledge of local sales and knowledge of rental activities. the study has shown that there is very little secondary market activity for all three rights categories in the study area (see mooya & cloete, 2010: 436-445). table 5: knowledge of local sale activity knowledge of local sale activity type of propertyrights none 1 person 2 persons 3 persons total informal count % within type 148 90.2 8 4.9 6 3.7 2 1.2 164 100 group count % within type 156 97.5 2 1.3 2 1.3 0 0.0 160 100 freehold count % within type 84 77.8 21 19.4 0 0.0 3 2.8 108 100 total count % within type 388 89.8 31 7.2 8 1.9 5 1.2 432 100 source: authors’ survey data the data shows that over 90% of respondents in the informal category have no knowledge of any sale transaction (see table 5). the respective figures for group and informal categories are 97.5% and 77.8%. the finding of limited transaction activity is consistent with results obtained elsewhere (see for instance gilbert, 2002: 1-19; home & lim, 2004; ward, de souza & giusti, 2004: 2621-2646). it mooya et al • governance structures 61 would appear therefore that opportunities to derive benefits from trade and expanded markets are limited in the case of windhoek’s settlements. the obvious question is why this is the case. high transaction costs cannot be the sole or main explanation, as there is no evidence of high propensities to trade being frustrated by such costs. in their study, home & lim (2004) conjecture that the lack of market activity could be attributed to householders’ reluctance to view their houses as marketable commodities. our own study suggests that there is merit in this argument, with hardly any respondents contemplating selling (see mooya & cloete, 2010: 436-445), and even then only as a consequence of major life decisions, such as emigration from the area. whatever the reasons are for the state of affairs, it is clear that real estate markets in windhoek’s low-income settlements at present cannot be leveraged for capital accumulation in any significant manner, and that this will remain so unless interventions are made to ‘prime’ these markets (mooya, 2011: 238-244). this means deliberate interventions aimed at bringing about increased trading activity. this raises the often overlooked point that markets do not just come about, a point which the conceptualisation of markets as ‘spontaneous order’ tends to obscure. this conceptualisation rests in part on the ubiquity of markets in society and the apparent ease with which they appear to function. on the contrary, formal markets depend not only on an elaborate legal and administrative infrastructure, but also on cultural repertoires favourably disposed to, or facilitative of impersonal exchange systems. while the lack of market activity affects all property rights categories the chi-square test shows that there are statistically significant differences between the rights categories. the hypothesis that knowledge of local sale activity is the same is rejected with a p value of 0.0000. the data shows that there is more sale activity in the freehold category (table 5 shows that almost 20% respondents know of at least one sale). there is a sense of a nascent market struggling to emerge in the freehold category, one that is closest in character to conventional middle class real estate markets. it appears that more activity levels could have been observed were it not for some distortions. compared to middle class housing, nhe housing is heavily subsidised. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 62 housing is developed with state funding obtained on less than commercial terms, and on land obtained from the municipality at cost. because the nhe has access to low cost finance, it lends up to 4% below market rates. due to the huge demand for housing, even from the middle classes, it was felt appropriate to restrict eligibility to the poor. thus eligibility for these houses has been officially restricted to those earning up to n$4,000 per month (1us$ = approx. n$7) though there is some flexibility in this. further, in an attempt to prevent ‘down-raiding’ by the middle class the nhe has had a policy of discouraging sales of these houses, effected in part by restricting formal transfer of ownership to individuals. this has had a dampening effect on market activity. this is an example of an instance where strong rights, because they are not easily transferable, have had a negative impact on market activity. there is another sense in which the subsidised nature of the nhe houses has had a negative effect on market activity. the relatively low (i.e. affordable) prices combined with limited availability of stock, largely on account of insufficient developable land for low-income housing, have created conditions whereby demand outstrips supply by far. the nhe is able to provide their most basic two-room 24 m2 core house at n$65, 000. a conventional 2 bedroom 63 m2 house is priced at between n$163, 000 and n$175, 000. in comparison, the minimum normal price for a 2 bedroom house with full finishes in windhoek is over n$250, 000 (tekie, 2008: personal communication). this makes the nhe houses a very attractive proposition and explains on one hand the long waiting list and need to allocate units administratively, and the reluctance of householders to trade their properties on the other. in these circumstances, there is no guarantee that a seller can easily find another house in a similar or slightly higher price range. distortions caused both by restrictions on sale and insufficient stock therefore prevents the emergence of normal market activity in the freehold category, despite apparent pressures for movement in that direction. ‘normal’ here refers to open transactions between private individuals unhindered by bureaucracy. mooya et al • governance structures 63 table 6: knowledge of local rental activity knowledge of local rental activity type of property rights none 1 person 2 persons 3 persons 4 persons 5 persons over 5 persons total informal count % within type 136 81.9 6 3.6 2 1.2 6 3.6 2 1.2 0 0.0 14 8.4 166 100 group count % within type 56 35.0 26 16.3 22 13.8 12 7.5 4 2.5 12 7.5 28 17.5 160 100 freehold count % within type 87 80.6 6 5.6 3 2.8 6 5.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 5.6 108 100 total count % within type 279 64.3 38 8.8 27 6.2 24 5.5 6 1.4 12 2.8 48 11.1 434 100 source: authors’ survey data if sale markets are weak, the picture regarding rental markets is better. table 6 shows awareness about outright rent of entire properties as opposed to letting parts of dwellings. overall, the data suggests more awareness about rental compared to sale activity. in comparing between categories, the situation is effectively reversed, with respondents in the group category more likely to be aware of rental activity. thus 17.5% of this group know over 5 cases of outright rental of dwellings, compared to 8.4% and 5.6% for respondents in the informal and freehold categories respectively. alternatively only 35% of the group category is not aware of any rental transaction, compared to 81.9% and 80.6% for the other categories respectively. as pointed out before, there appears to be a very limited market for outright rentals of entire dwellings. only 17 out of the 440 respondents (i.e. approximately 4%) were found to be renting in this fashion. however, the picture becomes vastly different if one considers the incidence of rentals of rooms in dwellings or backyard dwellings. anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that this is very widespread. a conservative estimate based on direct observation suggests that at least 60% of dwellings have a ‘back yard’ structure linked to them. this is a consistent pattern across the three rights categories. these structures are especially visible in the freehold category as they are invariably made out of sheet metal, which contrasts with the brick material of the main dwelling. it is quite clear that in many cases, these backyard structures are occupied by tenants paying rent. getting an accurate picture acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 64 proved difficult firstly due to methodological problems and secondly due to widespread reticence by respondents. the former was on account of the fact that the sampling was at household level, resulting in failure to capture room or backyard tenants. the latter was due to widespread reluctance by respondents to admit to renting out rooms or backyard structures. the stock answer in many cases was that these were occupied by family or friends at no cost. table 7: monthly rent paid in n$ type of rights mean standard deviation maximum minimum range median number of observations informal 250.00 0.00 250.00 250.00 0 250.00 2 group 100.50 112.89 250.00 0.00 250.00 76.00 8 freehold 1100.00 312.25 1500.00 800.00 700.00 1000.00 9 source: authors’ survey data bearing in mind the small sample size for rental of entire dwellings, table 7 shows the average rents paid. the data suggests that there may not be significant differences between rentals paid in the informal and group areas. rentals paid in the formal areas on the other hand are significantly higher. but perhaps what is of more importance is that the rentals, while little in absolute terms, represent a significant proportion of average household income thus average rents paid in the informal area amount to approximately 26% of reported average household income. table 8 shows that approximately 72% of respondents in the freehold category obtained their houses from the nhe. the data confirms on one hand the lack of secondary market activity across the rights categories (evidenced by the lack of transactions between ‘private persons’) and the relatively better performance of the freehold sector in this regard. the preponderance of the nhe in the lowincome freehold market is a result of failure in both financial and development markets. the relatively low income of households, poor credit ratings and limited secondary market activity means this category is perceived as too risky for commercial banks and private commercial developers. the nhe acts both as developer and financier, and has a virtual monopoly in this regard. because it has access to finance and land at concessionary rates, and is prepared to accept higher risks than commercial operators, it is able to provide affordable housing to the poor. what is significant is that nhe housing effectively provides the only means for the poor to reach the lowest rungs of the formal real estate ladder. it is an mooya et al • governance structures 65 important bridge between the fully commercialised middle class markets on one hand and the low-income informal ones on the other. for those in the informal and group categories, it represents something to aspire for. but, and as we have noted above, this market is negatively affected by insufficient stock, restrictive eligibility criteria and some restrictions on sale activity. table 8: source of property acquisition source of property acquisition type of property rights relative/ friend private person municipality sdfn informal nhe other total informal count % within type 32 19.0 6 3.6 52 31.0 12 7.1 66 39.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 168 100 group count % within type 11 6.7 4 2.5 0 0.0 148 90.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 163 100 freehold count % within type 3 2.8 24 22.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 78 72.2 3 2.8 108 100 total count % within type 46 10.5 34 7.7 52 11.8 52 11.8 66 15.0 78 17.8 3 0.7 439 100 source: authors’ survey data given that the demand for nhe housing by far outstrips supply, a hierarchical or administrative rather than market based system of allocation becomes necessary to ensure that target groups acquire these homes. such a system simplifies the market process for the poor in terms of the activities of search, inspection, contracting, execution, control and enforcement. the nhe provides a singlestop service, not only by providing finance but facilitating the registration of deeds and all related activities. nhe therefore acts as developer, lender, estate agent, conveyancer and property manager, a combination that makes freehold property affordable to the poor. it is evident that without this type of arrangement, the majority of residents in the freehold category would be occupying informal property. administrative allocation of scarce and valuable resources like real estate however invariably spawns corruption and other forms of ‘rent-seeking’ behaviour. these may impose costs, whose magnitude cannot easily be quantified, on the poor. acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 66 table 9: method of property acquisition method of property acquisition type of property rights acquired plot and developed it acquired incomplete structure and finished it acquired fully developed house inherited property received property as gift total informal count % within type 100 60.2 2 1.5 50 30.1 2 1.2 12 7.2 166 100 group count % within type 146 92.4 2 1.3 2 1.3 0 0.0 8 5.1 158 100 freehold count % within type 6 6.1 6 6.1 84 84.8 0 0.0 3 3.0 99 100 total count % within type 252 59.6 10 2.4 136 32.2 2 0.5 23 5.4 423 100 source: authors’ survey data an attempt was made to measure the types of transactions and the spatial extent of markets, with the intention of gauging the ability of the various property rights systems to support activity beyond immediate neighbourhoods. theory holds that expanded markets result from clear property rights and are positively associated with capital accumulation. table 9 shows the methods by which property is acquired under the different property rights systems. the hypotheses that the methods of property acquisition in the lower and higher income groups are the same for all the rights categories are rejected, with chi-square tests yielding p values of 0.000. there are thus statistically significant differences in the way property is acquired between the informal and group categories on one hand, and the freehold category on the other, even when income differences are controlled for. most of the former acquire vacant plots and build their own homes (60.2% and 92.4% respectively) whereas the vast majority (84.8%) of the latter acquire fully developed housing. vacant plots in informal areas were in the main acquired without monetary consideration, but payments of up to n$3,500 have been reported. the median price for informal plots is zero and the mean is n$160. payment for plots in group areas range from zero up to n$12,000 with a mean price of approximately n$4,500 and a median of n$5,400. the vast majority of those with freeholds on the other hand are most likely to have purchased a fully developed house. the mean purchase price in this category is approximately n$50,600, with a median of n$47,000. a few mooya et al • governance structures 67 respondents in this category however bought plots at an average price of n$17,750 and subsequently built their own homes at an average cost of n$38,500. table 10: prior residence prior residence type of property rights new in windhoek from this settlement from other informal settlement from formal settlement other total informal count % within type 0 0.0 14 8.3 10 6.0 8 4.7 136 80.9 168 100 group count % within type 0 0.0 4 2.4 84 51.2 17 10.3 59 35.9 164 100 freehold count % within type 0 0.0 6 5.6 24 22.2 13 12.0 65 60.1 108 100 total count % within type 0 0.0 24 5.5 118 26.8 38 8.6 260 59.1 440 100 source: authors’ survey data table 10 measures the spatial extent of transaction activity, based on the respondents’ place of residence immediately prior to their current acquisitions. overall across the three categories there is both very little intra-settlement movement and very few recent arrivals. the data, therefore, suggest that acquisitions take place over relatively long distances. the acquisition of property over long distances in a context of unclear or illegal property rights, on the one hand, and a complex urban landscape, on the other, does a priori pose considerable challenges to those involved. the process entails a number of distinct activities which may usefully be viewed as beginning with the search for potential properties and ending with physical occupation. in between a range of activities must take place, such as finding a suitable property and rightful person with whom to transact, the evaluation of bona fides, comparing prices, and so on. these activities, in turn, generate transaction costs which, as was noted earlier, can be categorised as search and information costs, bargaining and decision costs, and supervision and enforcement costs (furubotn & richter, 1998). theory predicts that the presence of these costs will require institutions to facilitate transactions. for conventional or formal real-estate markets, this means systems of property advertising, legal contracts, system of title registration, and so on, all backed by enforcement capabilities of the state via acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 68 the police and the judicial system. most of these institutions are, by definition, inoperable in informal markets. informal institutions, therefore, must emerge to perform similar functions. findings from both survey data and the in-depth unstructured interviews with the six respondents in the informal category show that transaction activity in the informal category is to a large extent, facilitated by social networks, whereas hierarchical organisations predominate in the group and freehold categories. the survey data reveals that, in the informal category, property is mostly acquired either ‘informally’ (39.3%) or from the municipality (31%) (see table 9 above). the 31% in the informal category who report acquiring land from the municipality were in fact resettled there by the city from other informal settlements, but have never been issued with formal title. the figure is almost certainly higher than it should be in practice, because of the reluctance by respondents to admit to their informal/ illegal status. a significant proportion (19%) acquired property from relatives or friends. informal modes of acquisition refer to a range of practices which include illegal land invasion, settlement by ‘committees’ (discussion to follow) or by invitation from relatives or friends. the study thus finds that the informal areas are characterised by small homogeneous pockets, based on common ethnic or kinship background. this is a visible manifestation of the results of network activity. social networks facilitate the six transaction activities, thus lowering transaction costs for those seeking to access land in the city (see fawaz, 2008 for similar findings in the case of beirut). networks provide information on land availability, where to settle, whom to see, and so on. solidarity and a shared understanding arising from a common ethnic or kinship heritage lowers the need for, and therefore the costs of bargaining, decision-making, control and enforcement. the relatively low incidence of property-related disputes found is testimony to this. networks based purely on ethnic or kinship ties, while clearly playing an important role in facilitating access to land, are not sufficient in themselves to deal with the pressures of high immigration and the urban imperative towards more heterogeneity in the composition of the population. managing these pressures requires more authoritarian structures, a role played by ‘neighbourhood committees’. these committees are ubiquitous in windhoek’s informal settlements. the municipality encourages them, as they provide the basis for community engagement and mobilisation. members are supposed to be democratically elected and to hold office for specific periods, but there is no evidence that this is happening. in fact, the evidence is that most of these committees have taken a life of their own and are not fully accountable to either mooya et al • governance structures 69 the municipality or the local residents. for example, by allocating plots of land to private individuals, these committees are in direct contravention of official policy. behind the chaotic façade of informal settlements these committees provide an important service to prospective immigrants. since they are virtually everywhere, they provide an entry point to the settlement, especially for those who might be ‘strangers’. they allocate land, sometimes for free, but frequently in return for payment of what are, to the poor, substantial ‘fees’. it is safe to assume that these illegal payments end up in the private pockets of committee members. it must be stressed that settlement via social networks or by ‘committee’ are not mutually exclusive. the key issue is the nature of the relationship between members of the committee, the neighbourhood concerned and the prospective settler. these committees occupy a space between the purely informal social networks and the formal, hierarchical organisations, such as the municipality, the nhe and the nhag. they are partly networkbased, in that members may have a shared origin, and partly hierarchical, in that they are composed of officials supposedly elected by local communities and with some de facto authority over local land affairs. as noted earlier, these committees provide an important role; they not only provide information and access to land, but also have control and enforcement functions. they are particularly important in this regard for those who might not have access to social networks. the key question for this article, however, is not only the extent to which these informal institutions lower transaction costs for participants, but also the extent to which they facilitate capital accumulation. of specific interest is their ability to support the types of market described in the conceptual framework as necessary for capital accumulation. the study shows that, while social networks are able to support spatially expansive markets and guarantee access to urban land for poor immigrants, this is mainly restricted to ethnic or kinship clusters. they are not well placed to support impersonal transactions between perfect strangers, thus limiting market depth. the neighbourhood committees go some way in mitigating this, but they too have certain limitations. as indicated, they appear not to be fully accountable either to the local authority or to the local residents. due to pressures arising from immigration and the huge demand for land, these committees may be susceptible to corruption. the study came across instances of conflict between households and committees, arising from the latter’s contested allocations of plots. these committees are, therefore, potentially acta structilia 2012: 19(2) 70 a source of insecurity in property rights and, if not checked, could assume a mafia-like character. the nhag has expressed the view that these committees are opposed to formalisation programmes, something that may be explained by a fear of loss of power and rents arising from the status quo. access to land in the group category is facilitated by the sdfn and its service ngo, the nhag. these hierarchical organisations lower transaction costs for members by identifying suitable land, negotiating its acquisition with municipal bureaucrats, and facilitating its subdivision and settlement by individual households. they help the savings groups to devise constitutions which, in turn, provide a basis for the creation and enforcement of group and individual property rights. in addition, they respond to the failure by formal finance markets to provide funds to the poor for housing development. using nothing more than group membership as collateral, the sdfn has been able to provide house loans to many. it is important to note that loan recovery rate is relatively high, at approximately 86% (muller, 2008: personal communication) compared to the 35%-50% recorded for nhe loans (tekie, 2008: personal communication). from the point of view of capital accumulation, the sdfn loans have played the key role in transforming the gradual savings of group members into higher valued real estate. the main problem appears to be related to a lack of clarity regarding the content of property rights, particularly of the right to sell. 5. concluding summary this article attempted to determine whether specific types of property rights were associated with particular ‘governance structures’ and whether there were implications for poverty alleviation or capital accumulation arising from alternative modes of organising realestate transactions. property rights theory associates enhanced transaction activity in real-estate markets with poverty alleviation via enhanced opportunities for capital gains and trading-up. property rights theory predicts that regimes of informal property rights are least able to support impersonal decentralised exchange systems. the findings in this study lend support to this view. the study has shown that network governance structures are the predominant modes of organising transactions under conditions of informal property rights. these networks, based on kinship and ethnicity, provide appropriate low-cost mechanisms for transaction activity under the specific conditions of informality and illegality obtaining in these settlements. these networks enable the very poor to have access to real estate and, therefore, a toe-hold in windhoek, despite mooya et al • governance structures 71 numerous obstacles, including from officialdom. these accessibility advantages are, however, tempered by the insecurities associated with informal property rights and the fact that networks appear to lock households in clusters based on ethnicity and kinship. freehold property rights, being the most secure, are regarded as most facilitative of impersonal markets, but they come at a cost. thus, the study shows that hierarchical structures predominate in the freehold and group categories. with regard to the former category, a combination of poverty, costs associated with freehold rights, high demand and limited stock creates conditions where administrative allocation becomes the optimal coordination mechanism. to put it simply, individual freehold ownership, without some sort of subsidy, remains unaffordable to the poor, even if they are in formal employment, preventing the emergence of normal markets. limited land and financial resources mean that it is not possible to provide freehold property in sufficient quantities to meet demand. this necessitates an administrative rather than a market-based allocation system which, in turn, causes distortions in market activity, as bureaucrats attempt to restrict market activity or engage in rentseeking activities. overall the study concludes that a lack of secondary market activity in all the three rights categories severely limits the potential for capital gains from sale markets. this has 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(eds.). the handbook of economic sociology. princeton, new jersey: princeton university press and the russell sage foundation, pp. 379-402. tekie, s. 2008. senior manager, technical services and property management, national housing enterprises (nhe). personal interview, windhoek, 23 april 2008. thompson, g.f. 2003. between hierarchies and markets: the logic and limits of network forms of organisation. oxford: oxford university press. ward, p.m., de souza, f. & giusti, c. 2004 ‘colonia’ land and housing market performance and the impact of lot title regularisation in texas. urban studies, 41(13), pp. 2621-2646. williamson, o.e. 1985. the economic institutions of capitalism. new york: the free press. acta structilia-13(2) 62 john smallwood the practice of construction management peer reviewed abstract international literature indicates that supervision, communication, motivation and leadership are the top ranked skills required for practicing construction management — the discipline of managing a construction business and/or project(s). whereas operational and middle management require more skills and knowledge in operational programming, labour forecasting and organisation, top management requires more skills and knowledge in competitive tendering, costing and estimating, and analysis of project risk. the research reported on in the article constitutes phase two of the study ‘the practice of construction management’, which follows two previous surveys conducted to determine knowledge areas and skills required, and their frequency of use. the first study determined that all construction managers (cms) need: to be able to work with people; to integrate the efforts of people, and technical expertise. other findings include that the top four subject areas are: programming; quality management; productivity, and industrial relations. the second study determined that administration, oral communication, controlling, co-ordinating, decision making and leadership are skills ranked among the top ten for all levels of management. other findings include that contract administration, contract documentation, cost control, building methods and quality management are subject areas ranked in the top ten positions for all levels of management. the article concludes that the most frequently used subject areas reflect the focus at the respective levels of management: top — the management of the business of construction; middle — the management of a number of projects and operational — the management of specific projects. the article concludes that construction management undergraduate programmes need to focus on management, and more specifically, the management of resources within defined parameters, along with the requisite technical expertise. keywords: construction management, discipline, knowledge, skills prof. john smallwood, head of department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6013, south africa. telephone: +27 41 504 2790, fax: +27 41 504 2345, e-mail: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> 63 smallwood • the practice of construction management abstrak internasionale literatuur dui daarop dat vaardigheid in toesighouding, kommunikasie, motivering en leierskap die grootste vereiste is vir praktiseer in konstruksiebestuur — die dissipline wat die bestuur van ’n konstruksie besigheid en/of projek(te) behels. alhoewel operasionele en middelvlak bestuur meer aanleg, kundigheid en kennis benodig in operasionele programmering, arbeids vooruitskatting en organisasie, benodig topbestuur meer aanleg, kundigheid en begrip in die kompeterende tenderproses, kosteberaming en prysberaming en die risiko-analise van projekte. die navorsing waarna in hierdie artikel verwys word, word gebaseer op die tweede fase van die studie ‘the practice of construction management’, wat volg op twee vorige studies wat onderneem is om areas van kundigheid, kennis en aanleg te identifiseer sowel as die frekwensie en/of intervalle van toepassing daarvan. die eerste studie het bevind dat alle konstruksiebestuurders (kbs) die volgende eienskappe benodig: die gawe/aanvoeling om met mense te werk; om mense se aksies te integreer, en tegniese kundigheid. verdere bevindige sluit in dat die top vier vakgebiede behels: programmering; kwaliteitsbestuur; produktiwiteit, en industriële-verhoudings. die tweede studie het bevind dat administrasie, verbale kommunikasie, kontrolering, koördinasie, besluitneming en leierskap die aanlegte is wat onder die top tien gelys word vir alle bestuurs dissiplines. ander bevindinge bewys dat kontrak-administrasie, kontrak-dokumentasie, kostekontrole, boumetodes en kwaliteitsbestuur die vakareas is wat onder die top tien posisies gelys word in alle vlakke van bestuur. die artikel som op dat die vakgebiede wat die meeste toegepas word, die fokus reflekteer aan die verskeie vlakke van bestuur: top — die bestuur van die konstruksiebesigheid; middel — die bestuur van verskeie projekte en operasioneel — die bestuur van spesifieke projekte. die artikel bevind dat voorgraadse programme in konstruksiebestuur meer moet fokus op bestuur, en meer spesifiek op die bestuur van hulpbronne binne afgebakende terreine/areas met die vereiste tegniese kundigheid wat daarmee gepaard gaan. sleutelwoorde: konstruksiebestuur, dissipline, kennis, kundigheid/aanleg 64 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 1. introduction drucker (1955) states the three jobs of management as: man-aging a business; managing managers, and managing workerand work. he contends that although the three jobs can be analysed separately, studied separately, appraised separately, and despite each having a present and a future dimension, management cannot separate them nor can it separate decisions on present from decisions on future. clearly, management is concerned with the business environment and work per se, and furthermore, it is concerned with planning — decisions regarding the future. according to fellows, langford, newcombe & urry (2002), construction management can be viewed in two dimensions, the management of the business of construction, and of projects per se. they emphasise that in practice, the two dimensions are interdependent. lavender (1996) emphasises that the differences between managing the business of construction and projects should not be overstated, but that they should be noted. whereas the former is ongoing, projects are unique, of a temporary nature, entail a series of deadlines and targets, and the establishment of a project team. frederick w taylor, while working in the steel industry during the early 1900s identified the need for a systematic and scientific approach to industrial management. he proposed that managers realise order and system to their work in the form of ‘scientific management’, and suggested that managers should condense the great mass of traditional knowledge to a science by classifying, tabulating, and reducing it to rules, laws, and formulae. he recommended that managers plan the work of the people reporting to them and devise means of coordination and control. his plan called for managers to motivate their people by selecting, teaching, and developing the workers and ‘heartily cooperating with them’. effectively, he identified the need to systematise management, analyse the work to be done, measure it, and assign portions thereof to the people best able to execute it (allen, 1958). allen (1958) contends that although taylor did not provide the whole answer to “what is a manager?” he enabled us to take a long stride forward. henri fayol’s book general and industrial management published in 1916 in french is regarded as the first attempt to derive general principles of management (lavender, 1996). he identified six key activities that take place in an industrial organisation: technical such as pro65 smallwood • the practice of construction management duction; commercial such as purchasing and selling; financial such as obtaining long-term and working capital; security in the form of taking care of the organisation’s property; accounting such as compiling and maintaining financial information, and managerial. fayol then identified five processes relative to the managerial activities: forecasting and planning; organizing; commanding; coordinating, and controlling (lavender, 1996). allen (1973) subdivides the order of management work into functions — planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, and suggests a fifth in the form of coordination. allen (1958) elaborates on management as an art, science, and profession in his book the management profession. based upon his interpretation of the term ‘management’, allen (1983) evolves a succinct definition for a professional manager: “a management leader who specialises in the work of planning, organising, leading and controlling through the systematic use of classified knowledge, concepts, principles and a common vocabulary, and who subscribes to the standards of practice and a code of ethics established by a recognised body.” the nine recognised functions in an organisation provide further insight relative to the knowledge and skills required by construction managers: general management; production; procurement; marketing; financial; human resources; public relations; legal, and administration and information technology. generally, the organisation structures of contracting and related organisations, dependent upon size, are structured according to these functions. successful management of the business of construction, which includes managing projects, is dependent upon effective integration of these functions. furthermore, although the production function mostly takes place on projects, it is merely one of the functions and is dependent on the others, and vice versa. given that the environment within which construction management is practiced changes, the debate surrounding the content of construction management undergraduate courses, and a pending scoping exercise by the building construction standards generating body, the study ‘the practice of construction management phase 2’ was initiated to investigate the frequency of use of knowledge areas and skills. 66 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) 2. review of the literature 2.1 functions and activities of management work allen (1973) identifies two classes of work — mechanical and human. he then subdivides the class of human work into the orders of management work and technical work. technical work entails physical and mental effort by the person doing the work. management work also entails physical and mental effort, but by a person in a leadership position to realise results through other people. he then subdivides the order of management work into functions — planning, organising, leading, and controlling, and suggests a fifth in the form of coordination. the functions of management work are then subdivided into activities: • planning: forecasting; developing objectives; programming; scheduling; budgeting; developing procedures, and developing policies; • organising: developing organisation structure; delegating, and developing relationships; • leading: decision making; communicating; motivating; selecting people, and developing people, and • controlling: developing performance standards; measuring performance; evaluating performance, and correcting performance. certain activities are subdivided into segments: • developing objectives: establishing key, critical, and specific objectives, and • developing organisation structure: establishing functional and divisionalised organisation structure. 2.2 competencies singh (2004) states that the criteria of performance are superior performance and effective performance, the issue being that only some competencies can predict performance. thus competencies are divided into two categories: threshold or surface, which are required to be minimally effective, and differentiating or core, which distinguish superior from average performers. 67 smallwood • the practice of construction management the threshold or surface competencies are: • knowledge — information regarding content, and • skills — ability to perform a task. the differentiating or core competencies are: • self-concept — values, aptitude, attitude, and self-image; • traits — self-confidence, team player, and handles ambiguity, and • motives — focus on client success, and preserves organisation / personal integrity. 2.3 project parameters table 1 indicates the importance attached to eleven traditional and non-traditional project parameters to project management practices in terms of percentages relative to importance on a scale of 1 (not) to 5 (very), and a ranking based upon an importance index (ii) value, ranging between a minimum of 0.00 and 4.00 (smallwood & venter, 2002). given that all the project parameters have ii values above the midpoint value of 2.0, the parameters can be deemed to be important to practices. it is notable that four of the five project parameters have ii values > 3.2 ≤ 4.00, which indicates that they are perceived to be between more than important to very important / very important. it is notable that the three traditional project parameters (quality, cost, and time) achieved rankings in the top four. client satisfaction, which was ranked first, is a function of general performance; certainly cost, quality, and time, but increasingly, project h&s, public h&s, and environment (natural). given the importance of the eleven project parameters, construction managers need to manage and optimise performance relative thereto, which in turn requires that they have the requisite knowledge and skills. 68 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 1: importance of various project parameters to project management practices parameter response (%) ii ranknot ............................ very 1 2 3 4 5 client satisfaction 0.0 0.0 0.0 23.3 76.7 3.77 1 project quality 0.0 0.0 3.3 23.3 73.3 3.70 2 project cost 0.0 0.0 6.7 23.3 70.0 3.63 3 project time 0.0 0.0 6.7 33.3 60.0 3.53 4 project health and safety 0.0 3.3 16.7 20.0 60.0 3.37 5 public health and safety 0.0 6.7 30.0 6.7 56.7 3.13 6 labour productivity 0.0 10.0 13.3 40.0 36.7 3.03 7 environment (natural) 0.0 10.0 23.3 23.3 40.0 2.97 8 worker satisfaction 0.0 13.3 23.3 43.3 20.0 2.70 9 designer satisfaction 0.0 13.3 26.7 40.0 20.0 2.67 10 contractor satisfaction 0.0 13.3 33.3 36.7 16.7 2.56 11 2.4 knowledge and skills research conducted in the united states of america by dorsey (1991) resulted in the composite summary ranking of skills identified for the positions / functions which require college level certification, senior executive through field engineer (table 2). according to dorsey although it may be arguable that the rankings can be adjusted by one notch in either direction, the key point is that the first five skills had strong support among respondents. table 2: composite summary rankings of skills identified for construction senior executive through engineers skill ranking numerical 1 written communication 2 oral communication 3 graphic communication 4 financial management 5 planning and control 6 ethical decision making 7 leadership 8 personnel 9 manual 10 source: dorsey, 1991 cecere (1987) conducted research among members of the associated general contractors of america (agc) to determine what is important in two-year college construction curricula. the findings sug69 smallwood • the practice of construction management gest that a strong foundation in communication, mathematics and physics, as well as a basic computer science should be included as part of general educational courses. emphasis in construction subject areas is important along with basic and applied engineering courses in drafting, surveying and plan reading. young & duff (1990) conducted research among three small, six medium and two large united kingdom building and / or civil engineering contractors to establish an appropriate body of skills and knowledge for three levels of construction management, directors and senior managers with regional or divisional responsibility constitute level one. middle managers who essentially co-ordinate between head office and site constitute level two. level three consists of site personnel. fifty-six skills and knowledge dimensions were ranked. supervision, motivation, leadership and communication i.e. the interpersonal skills are ranked in the top four positions for all levels of construction management (table 2). junior and middle managers indicate that skills and knowledge in operational programming, labour forecasting and organisation, and managing of other resources are the next two most frequently required. they also need to be knowledgeable in the management of quality. health and safety law is a concern for all levels of management. senior management places more emphasis on competitive tendering, budgetary control, costing and estimating, and analysis of project risk. financial control is also recognised as part of the middle and junior manager duties. table 3: top ten skill / knowledge areas for each level of a construction manager skill / knowledge ranking junior middle senior supervision 1 2= 1= communication 2 1 1= motivation 3 2= 1= leadership 4 2= 4 organisation (site) 5 6 44 health and safety law 6 13 9 programming 7 5 10 maintenance 8 7 24 quality assurance 9 8= human resource planning 10 10= 20 budgetary control 13 8= 6= competitive tendering 42 23 5 costing and estimating 20 18 6= analysis of project risk 24 16 8 source: adapted from young & duff, 1990 70 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) according to fryer (2004) in 1971 robert katz identified three broad classes of skills: human; technical, and conceptual. human skill is the manager’s ability to work as a group member and build cooperative effort in the team, communicate and persuade. technical skill includes proficiency in some aspect of the organisation’s work, analytical abilities, and specialised knowledge and techniques. conceptual skill is the ability to adopt a holistic perspective relative to the organisation. katz argued that human skill is important at all levels of management, but especially at operational level as such managers have wide-ranging and frequent contact with people. operational management also relies heavily on technical skill, but this is less important for top management, who depend more on conceptual skill. katz further argued that many management tasks require the use of several skills — for example, resolving a technical problem may require more than technical skill as it may affect people. fryer (2004) focuses on interpersonal, informational, and decisional skills due to mintzberg’s contention that managers perform an intricate set of overlapping roles, namely interpersonal, informational, and decisional. in terms of interpersonal skills, construction managers ranked human skills highest during a study conducted by fryer (2004) in 1977 to investigate the development of managers in the construction industry. relative to social skills, site managers and contracts managers stressed the need for keeping people informed, getting them involved in tasks, fostering cooperation and teamwork, communicating clearly, dealing with people as individuals, and showing an interest in people. the first of two south african studies investigated the skills, areas of knowledge and personality characteristics pertinent to, among other, construction managers (smallwood, 2000). the study entailed a national postal survey of, among other, general contractor (gc) members of the building industries federation south africa (bifsa) and the south african federation of civil engineering contractors (safcec), and non-student members of the south african institute of building (saib). respondents were requested to identify which of 29 skills construction managers should possess (table 3). based upon the mean level of response, the skills were then ranked in order of perceived importance. it is significant that four of the five functions of management work, namely, planning, organising, leading and controlling appear within the top ten ranked skills — coordinating was ranked joint thirteenth. it is also significant that four of the top six ranked skills entail working with people. it is notable that technical expertise is ranked fourth, and decision making joint fifth. 71 smallwood • the practice of construction management table 4: recommended skill areas for construction managers according to gcs and saib members skill response per population (%) ranking gc saib mean gc saib mean conflict resolution 100.0 100.0 100.0 1= 1= 1= leadership 100.0 100.0 100.0 1= 1= 1= personnel management 100.0 100.0 100.0 1= 1= 1= technical expertise 100.0 100.0 100.0 1= 1= 1= decision making 100.0 97.8 98.9 1= 5= 5= oral communication 100.0 97.8 98.9 1= 5= 5= planning 100.0 95.6 97.8 1= 12= 7 interpersonal 97.1 97.8 97.5 10= 5= 8= organising 97.1 97.8 97.5 10= 5= 8= controlling 100.0 93.3 96.7 1= 14= 10 source: smallwood, 2000 respondents were also requested to identify which of 75 subject areas construction managers should be familiar with (table 4). it is significant that planning (programming) and quality management, which are ranked joint first, are directly related to two of the three traditional project parameters, namely time and quality. similarly, productivity, which is ranked third, is indirectly related to schedule and the third project parameter of cost. industrial relations, ranked fourth, reinforces the importance of skills related to working with people. health and safety, which impacts on cost, quality and time performance is ranked joint fifth. the contribution of subcontractors to the construction process is acknowledged through the joint fifth ranking of subcontractor management. the joint fifth ranking of tqm amplifies the importance of process improvement. it is notable that materials, construction methods (building), and plant and equipment management are jointly ranked ninth. the first twelve rankings and the thirteenth ranked human resources, indicate that the management of the resources of labour, materials, plant and subcontractors, within the project parameters of cost, health and safety, quality and time is important. 72 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 5: recommended subject areas for construction managers according to gcs and saib members subject area response per population (%) ranking gc saib mean gc saib mean planning (programming) 100.0 97.8 98.9 1= 8= 1= quality management 100.0 97.8 98.9 1= 8= 1= productivity 97.1 100.0 98.6 4= 1= 3 industrial relations 97.1 97.8 97.5 4= 8= 4 health and safety 94.3 100.0 97.2 8= 1= 5= subcontractor management 94.3 100.0 97.2 8= 1= 5= total quality management (tqm) 94.3 100.0 97.2 8= 1= 5= materials management 94.3 97.8 96.1 8= 8= 8 materials 91.4 100.0 95.7 14= 1= 9= construction methods (building) 91.4 100.0 95.7 14= 1= 9= plant and equipment management 91.4 100.0 95.7 14= 1= 9= source: smallwood, 2000 the second study, ‘the practice of construction management phase 1’ entailed a national postal survey of non-student members of the saib (smallwood, 2000). the objectives of the study were to determine, based on frequency of use, the importance of skills and areas of knowledge per level of construction management. respondents were asked to identify the frequency at which skills and knowledge pertaining to subject areas is required, using the range of responses: frequently, sometimes, rarely or never. it is significant that all five functions of management work are represented in the top ten ranked skills of operational, middle and ‘all’ levels of management: controlling; coordinating; planning; leadership, and organising. planning and organising are not included in the top ten ranked skills of top management (table 5). it is notable that the iis for the top eight ranked skills for all levels of management are above the midpoint value of 1.50 indicating prevalence in terms of use. effectively, costing is more important to top and middle management, whereas interpersonal, organising, planning and plan reading skills are more important to operational and middle management. 73 smallwood • the practice of construction management table 6: importance of skills per level of construction management based on frequency of use skill level of management operational middle top all ii rank ii rank ii rank ii rank communicating (oral) 1.29 2 1.69 3 1.80 1= 1.59 1 controlling 1.27 3= 1.71 1= 1.76 3 1.58 2= decision making 1.22 8= 1.71 1= 1.80 1= 1.58 2= coordinating 1.24 6= 1.63 6= 1.75 4= 1.54 4 administrative 1.22 8= 1.63 6= 1.75 4= 1.53 5= planning 1.27 3= 1.68 4 1.63 13 1.53 5= leadership 1.20 10= 1.59 10= 1.73 7 1.51 7= organising 1.25 5 1.64 5 1.64 12 1.51 7= communicating (written) 1.15 14 1.58 13 1.75 4= 1.49 9 interpersonal 1.20 10= 1.59 10= 1.61 14= 1.47 10 source: smallwood, 2000 respondents were also required to respond regarding the importance of subject areas based on the frequency of use of related knowledge (table 6). given that cost, quality and time are the traditional project performance measures and parameters, it is significant that cost control, quality management and planning (programming) are ranked in the top ten subject areas for the operational, middle and top levels of management; with the exception of planning (programming) for top management. it is notable, that relative to the ‘all’ levels of management there are only two subject areas for which the iis are above the midpoint value of 1.50, namely construction methods (building) and cost control. contract administration, contract documentation, cost control, construction methods (building) and quality management are in the top ten ranked subject areas for operational, middle and top levels of management. customer service is only common to middle and top management; measuring quantities, programming and subcontractor management is common to operational and middle management. 74 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 7: importance of subject area per level of construction management based on frequency of use of knowledge subject area level of management operational middle top all ii rank ii rank ii rank ii rank construction methods (building) 1.22 1 1.80 1 1.59 6= 1.54 1 cost control 1.15 3 1.75 2 1.64 2= 1.51 2 quality management 1.14 4 1.63 6 1.59 6= 1.45 3 contract administration 1.08 5= 1.66 3= 1.58 9 1.44 4= subcontractor management 1.19 2 1.58 8= 1.54 12= 1.44 4= contract documentation 0.98 10= 1.66 3= 1.59 6= 1.41 6 planning (programming) 1.07 7 1.61 7 1.47 17 1.38 7 customer service 0.85 19 1.56 10 1.71 1 1.37 8 project management 0.86 18 1.66 3= 1.54 12= 1.35 9 productivity 0.90 14 1.53 12 1.46 18= 1.30 10 source: smallwood, 2000 although the research cited in the literature did not investigate the exact same skills and subject areas, and in cases consolidated skills and subject areas, a number of skills and subject areas are clearly critical to the practice of construction management. table 7 provides an overview of the importance of skills by consolidating each of the top ten skills according to the studies referred to in the survey of the literature and the research reported on in this paper. certain skills are essentially related or sub-skills of other skills (noted in parentheses): decision making (leadership); conflict resolution (organising); interpersonal (communicating), and administrative (communicating). 75 smallwood • the practice of construction management table 8: review of top ten ranked skills for each study skill dorsey young & duff study 1 study 2 (phase 1) ju ni o r m id d le se ni o r m e a n o p e ra tio na l m id d le to p a ll administrative 18 8= 6= 4= 5= communicating 2,3,4 2 1 1= 5= 2 3 1=,4= 1,9 conflict resolution 1= 25= 32 21 29 controlling 6 10 3= 1= 3 2= coordinating 13= 6= 6= 4= 4 decision making 5= 8= 1= 1= 2= financial management 5 13 8= 6= 23 25= 22= 9= 19 interpersonal 8= 10= 10= 14= 10 leadership 8 4 2= 4 1= 10= 10= 7 7= motivation 3 2= 1= 15 16= 11 13 organising 5 6 44 8= 5 5 12 7= personnel 9 1= programming 6 7 5 10 7 3= 4 13 5= supervision 1 2= 1= 10= 19 33 20 technical expertise 10 1= 17 10 18 14= (not specifically addressed) source: smallwood, 2000 communicating, controlling, leadership, programming, decision making, interpersonal, administrative, coordinating, and to a lesser extent, technical expertise, motivating, organising and supervisory, are critical skills. although certain studies identify personnel management in general, conflict resolution (related to interpersonal) and financial management to be important skills, not all studies do. table 8 provides an overview of the importance of subject areas by consolidating each of the top ten subject areas according to the studies referred to in the paper. dorsey only addressed skills, and young & duff did not differentiate between skills and subject areas. 76 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) most studies indicate building construction, contract administration, contract documentation, cost control, programming, quality management, and subcontractor management to be critical subject areas across all levels of management. health and safety was identified to a lesser extent. materials, materials management, and plant and equipment management are important with respect to operational management. customer service, productivity, project management and to a lesser extent, tqm are subject areas which should be afforded attention. a recent study conducted by chileshe, fester & haupt (2005) investigated desirable construction management skills relative to universities of technology graduates using the construction management skills and attributes-subject performance index model. the model includes 37 skills / attributes and 8 subject streams. the findings of the study conducted primarily among gcs, subcontractors, and academics, are presented in tables 9 and 10. given that skills and attributes were consolidated, it is not possible to readily compare the findings with those emanating from other studies. however, relative to other studies reported on, the following are notable: decision making and communicating skills are ranked substantially lower, and planning and interpersonal are ranked similarly. 77 smallwood • the practice of construction management table 9: review of top ten subject areas for each study skill young & duff study 1 study 2 (phase 1) junior middle senior mean opera-tional middle top all administration building construction 9= 1 1 6= 1 contract administration 12 5= 3= 9 4= contract documentation 15 10= 3= 6= 6 cost control 24 3 2 2= 2 customer service 20= 19 10 1 8 health and safety 6 13 9 5= 10= 24= 24= 18= industrial relations 4 31= 50= 41 44 materials 9= 8= 15= 28= 11= materials management 8 5= 19= 42= 20= plant and equipment management 9= 10= 35 36= 27= productivity 3 14 12 18= 10 programming 7 5 10 1= 7 7 17 7 project management 22 18 3= 12= 9 quality management 9 8 31= 1= 4 6 6= 3 subcontractor management 5= 2 8= 12= 4= total quality management (tqm) 5= 23= 24= 33= 29= (not specifically addressed) source: smallwood, 2000 78 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 10: top ten skills / attributes required of university of technology graduates. skill ranking trust and honesty 1 acceptance of responsibility 2 problem solving skills 3 worker h&s awareness 4 time management 5 decision making 6 communicating (oral and written) 7 planning, scheduling, and controlling 8 practical building knowledge 9 interpersonal 10 given that the relevancy of knowledge was presented in terms of streams, it is not possible to readily compare the findings with those emanating from other studies. however, relative to other studies reported on, the following are notable — project management is ranked substantially higher, and building construction is equally. table 11: relevancy of subject streams relative to university of technology graduates. subject stream ranking project management 1 construction technology 2 management theory 3 construction law 4 business of construction 5 construction economics 6 construction science 7 research methodology 8 79 smallwood • the practice of construction management 3. research 3.1 sample stratum and methodology a survey ‘the practice of construction management phase 2’ was conducted among non-student members of the chartered institute of building (ciob) (southern africa) to determine the frequency at which 78 knowledge areas and 45 skills are used relative to the three levels of management. the primary objective of the survey was to provide ‘current’ data for reference to by the building construction standards generating body (sgb) during a management scoping exercise. a questionnaire was mailed to members, and also circulated electronically to those members with e-mail addresses. ninety-one responses were included in the analysis of the data from a net sample frame of six hundred and forty eight, which represents a response rate of 14 % [91 / (656 — 8)]. 3.2 analysis and presentation of the data given that respondents were required to respond in terms of a frequency range: never; monthly; fortnightly; weekly, and daily, it was necessary to compute an importance index (ii) to enable a collective comparison of responses to and a ranking of the respective subject areas and skills. the ii is calculated as follows: 1n1 + 2n2 + 3n3 + 4n4 ii= no + n1 + n2 + n3 + n4 where n0 = unsure / never, n1 = monthly, n2 = fortnightly, n3 = weekly, n4 = daily the skills and subject areas are presented in and ranked in terms of descending frequency of use. the bold lines inserted across the mean ii and rank columns indicate the five ranges of ii values, which indicates that the skills and subject areas can be deemed to be used between (range): • weekly to daily / daily (> 3.2 ≤ 4.0); • fortnightly to weekly / weekly (> 2.4 ≤ 3.2); • monthly to fortnightly / fortnightly (> 1.6 ≤ 2.4); 80 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) • never to monthly / monthly (> 0.8 ≤ 1.6), and • never to monthly (> 0.0 ≤ 0.8). 3.3 findings respondents were involved with the following types of construction: commercial (73.6%); industrial (51.6%); domestic (42.9%), and infrastructure (23.1%). the 0 — 2 floors (67%) height category predominated in terms of the level of structures respondents were involved with, followed by ground (49.5%), below ground (27.5%), 0 — 10 floors (25.3%), and 0 — 20 floors (12.1%). the average number of years worked in the respective levels of management by respondents increased with the seniority of the level: operational (4.3); middle (6.7), and top (9.3). 65.9% of respondents are currently working at top management level, and 25.3% and 5.5 % at middle and operational level respectively. tables 11 and 12 indicate the mean frequency of use of skills and subject areas for all levels of management in terms of iis only, respectively. oral and written communicating predominate among skills in terms of the mean for all levels of management, followed by decisionmaking, organising, administrative, leadership, coordinating, planning, numerical (maths), plan reading, interpersonal, motivating, and controlling (ii values > 3.2 ≤ 4.0) (table 11). however, it should be noted that leadership and controlling are more important at top management, plan reading is substantially more important at operational and middle management, and interpersonal and motivating are more important at middle and top management. other frequently used skills are: supervisory; computer; technical; negotiating with subcontractors, and costing (ii values > 2.4 ≤ 3.2). however, it should be noted that computer skills are substantially more important at middle and top management, and negotiating with subcontractors is substantially more important at operational and middle management. other important differences include: measuring quantities is more important at operational management; team building, estimating, and procedures development are more important at middle and 81 smallwood • the practice of construction management top management, and financial, marketing, and entrepreneurial are more important at top management. there is only one skill that is never used by the majority of all levels, namely negotiating with unions at operational management. mathematics predominates among subject areas in terms of the mean for all levels of management, followed by building methods (construction), materials, customer service, subcontractor management, cost control, quality management, contract administration, productivity, ethics, and materials management (ii values > 2.4 ≤ 3.2) (table 10). however, it should be noted that: building methods (construction), materials, subcontractor management, cost control, quality management and materials management are more important at operational and middle management; customer service and ethics are more important at top management, and productivity is more important at operational management. other notable differences include the importance of measuring (quantities) and surveying (land) at operational management, and negotiating, management (business), financial management, public relations, property economics, marketing, entrepreneurship, accountancy, cash flow forecasting, economics, company law, property development, property law, and tax at top management. there are eleven subject areas that are never used by the majority at operational management, two at middle management, and two at top management. 82 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 12: mean frequency of use of skills for all levels of management in terms of iis. skill levels of management operational middle top mean ii rank ii rank ii rank ii rank communicating (oral) 3.84 1 3.87 1 3.89 1= 3.86 1 communicating (written) 3.65 2 3.65 2 3.75 4 3.68 2 decision making 3.24 8 3.48 4= 3.83 3 3.51 3 organising 3.33 6 3.48 4= 3.63 6= 3.48 4 administrative 3.28 7 3.44 8 3.66 5 3.46 5= leadership 3.16 11 3.33 10 3.89 1= 3.46 5= coordinating 3.44 4 3.32 11 3.59 8 3.45 7 planning 3.21 9 3.48 4= 3.49 11 3.39 8 numerical (maths) 3.40 5 3.47 7 3.28 13 3.38 9 plan reading 3.58 3 3.51 3 2.85 19 3.31 10 interpersonal 3.02 13 3.38 9 3.52 9 3.30 11 motivating 2.98 14 3.22 12 3.63 6= 3.27 12 controlling 3.20 10 3.00 15 3.51 10 3.23 13 supervisory 3.04 12 3.03 13 2.74 21 2.93 14 computer 2.14 24 3.02 14 3.46 12 2.87 15 technical 2.81 17 2.80 17 2.78 20 2.79 16 negotiating with subcontractors 2.90 16 2.90 16 2.37 24 2.72 17 costing 2.46 19 2.57 18 2.52 23 2.51 18 measuring (quantities) 2.92 15 2.33 22 1.90 32 2.38 19 team building 2.00 25 2.49 19 2.66 22 2.38 20 initiating 1.53 29 2.30 24 3.23 15= 2.35 21 negotiating with project managers 2.18 22 2.46 20 2.31 26 2.31 22 measuring (productivity) 2.48 18 2.35 21 2.02 30= 2.28 23 communicating (graphic) 2.15 23 2.29 25 2.27 28 2.23 24 financial 1.37 31 2.18 26 3.10 17 2.21 25 negotiating with material suppliers 2.23 21 2.32 23 2.02 30= 2.19 26 conflict resolution 1.92 26 2.08 27 2.29 27 2.09 27 negotiating with clients 1.04 36 2.07 28 3.08 18 2.06 28 estimating 1.36 32 2.00 29 2.36 25 1.90 29= marketing 0.69 41 1.75 34 3.27 14 1.90 29= entrepreneurial 0.72 39 1.61 35 3.23 15= 1.85 31 report writing 1.77 27 1.97 30 1.71 33 1.81 32 negotiating with plant hire 2.27 20 1.86 33 1.25 38 1.79 33 procedures development 1.22 33 1.88 32 2.12 29 1.74 34 training 1.61 28 1.89 31 1.70 34 1.73 35 systems development 0.71 40 1.32 36 1.68 35 1.23 36 design (temporary works) 1.19 34 1.26 38 1.08 41 1.17 37 design management 0.54 43 1.27 37 1.52 36 1.11 38 work study 1.07 35 1.18 39= 0.90 43 1.05 39 negotiating with community 0.77 37 1.18 39= 0.98 42 0.97 40 statistical 0.76 38 1.00 42 1.13 40 0.96 41 research 0.64 42 0.92 44 1.18 39 0.91 42 auditing 0.49 44 1.02 41 1.44 37 0.89 43 surveying (land) 1.49 30 0.71 45 0.32 45 0.84 44 negotiating with unions 0.48 45 0.95 43 0.71 44 0.71 45 83 smallwood • the practice of construction management table 13: mean frequency of use of subject areas for all levels of management (part a). subject area levels of management operational middle top mean ii rank ii rank ii rank ii rank mathematics 3.28 1= 3.07 1 3.24 1 3.19 1 building methods (construction) 3.28 1= 2.98 2 2.58 9= 2.94 2 materials 3.08 3 2.65 5 2.28 19 2.67 3 customer service 1.92 21 2.53 7= 3.21 2 2.55 4 subcontractor management 2.96 4 2.63 6 2.03 25 2.54 5 cost control 2.52 9 2.73 4 2.36 15 2.53 6= quality management 2.79 8 2.53 7= 2.27 20 2.53 6= contract administration 2.14 16 2.77 3 2.48 12 2.46 8 productivity 2.91 5 2.34 14= 2.08 23= 2.44 9 ethics 1.93 20 2.44 10= 2.91 5 2.42 10= materials management 2.85 6 2.42 12 2.00 27 2.42 10= programming planning 2.49 10= 2.32 16= 2.32 17 2.37 12 measuring (quantities) 2.81 7 2.31 18 1.80 34 2.30 13 management systems e.g. quality 1.96 19 2.32 16= 2.49 11 2.25 14 contract documentation 2.06 18 2.48 9 2.16 22 2.23 15 negotiating 1.55 31 2.26 19 2.87 7 2.22 16= purchasing 2.18 14 2.41 13 2.08 23= 2.22 16= health and safety 2.49 10= 2.07 22 2.02 26 2.19 18 information technology 1.62 24 2.34 14= 2.44 13 2.13 19 project management 1.57 27= 2.44 10= 2.36 16 2.12 20 estimating 1.47 33 2.25 20 2.38 14 2.03 21 human resources 1.71 23 1.93 25 2.30 18 1.98 22 civil methods (construction) 2.20 13 2.05 23 1.50 46= 1.91 23 management (business) 0.91 49= 1.67 32 3.11 3 1.89 24 specifications 2.29 12 2.08 21 1.92 31= 1.85 25 plant and equipment management 2.17 15 1.88 26 1.43 52 1.82 26= procedures 1.76 22 1.98 24 1.74 36 1.82 26= financial management 0.89 51 1.86 27 2.70 8 1.81 28 public relations 1.18 38 1.66 33= 2.58 9= 1.80 29 property economics 0.27 70= 0.79 71 1.30 59 1.78 30 total quality management (tqm) 1.60 25= 1.74 29 1.95 30 1.76 31 marketing 0.72 55 1.60 36= 2.88 6 1.73 32 codes of practice 1.60 25= 1.69 30 1.78 35 1.69 33= worker participation 2.13 17 1.62 35 1.34 56 1.69 33= entrepreneurship 0.57 65= 1.27 51= 3.07 4 1.63 35 environment 1.30 35 1.60 36= 1.98 28= 1.62 36 cost engineering 1.51 32 1.81 28 1.49 48= 1.60 37 dispute resolution 1.57 27= 1.50 42 1.60 42 1.55 38 professional practice 1.05 43 1.55 40 1.98 28= 1.52 39 strategic planning 1.02 45= 1.60 36= 1.92 31= 1.51 40 accountancy 0.70 56 1.60 36= 2.17 21 1.49 41 training 1.38 34 1.68 31 1.32 57 1.46 42 procurement systems 1.09 41 1.66 33= 1.50 46= 1.41 43 remuneration 0.91 49= 1.53 41 1.72 37 1.38 44 risk management 1.07 42 1.33 46= 1.66 39 1.35 45 84 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 13: mean frequency of use of subject areas and for all levels of management (part b). industrial relations 1.23 36 1.31 48 1.39 54 1.31 46 environmental issues 1.04 44 1.29 50 1.56 43 1.29 47 cash flow forecasting 0.60 63 1.35 44 1.81 33 1.25 48= subject area levels of management operational middle top mean ii rank ii rank ii rank ii rank final accounts 0.85 52 1.39 43 1.53 45 1.25 48= labour law 1.11 40 1.24 54= 1.40 53 1.25 48= statistics 1.02 45= 1.30 49 1.31 58 1.21 51 drawing (engineering / geometric) 1.57 27= 1.14 58 0.89 68 1.20 52 commercial law 0.66 59 1.23 56 1.66 38 1.18 53 benchmarking 0.73 54 1.27 51= 1.49 48= 1.16 54= service management 0.69 57= 1.34 45 1.46 50 1.16 54= structural principles / design 1.17 39 1.33 46= 0.91 67 1.13 56 economics 0.57 65= 1.16 57 1.64 40 1.12 57= insurance 0.69 57= 1.24 54= 1.45 51 1.12 57= facilities management 0.57 65= 1.25 53 1.35 55 1.05 59 design (temporary works) 1.19 37 1.07 62 0.75 72 1.00 60= design management 0.59 64 1.12 60 1.29 60= 1.00 60= industrial psychology 0.80 53 0.95 65 1.21 63 0.98 62 physics 1.02 45= 1.09 61 0.72 73 0.94 63= value management/engineering 0.64 62 1.13 59 1.05 64 0.94 63= company law 0.27 70= 0.90 68 1.62 41 0.93 65 surveying (land) 1.57 27= 0.80 69= 0.31 77 0.89 66 work study 1.00 48 0.93 66 0.71 74 0.88 67 property development 0.20 75 0.88 69= 1.54 44 0.87 68 valuing 0.65 60= 1.00 63= 0.93 66 0.86 69 re-engineering 0.65 60= 0.92 67 0.84 69 0.80 70= research 0.44 68 1.00 63= 0.97 65 0.80 70= property law 0.23 73= 0.77 72 1.29 60= 0.76 72 tax 0.12 76 0.67 73 1.25 62 0.68 73 life cycle costing 0.33 69 0.66 74 0.82 70 0.60 74 sociology 0.24 72 0.58 75 0.64 76 0.48 75 international contracting 0.05 78 0.36 77 0.76 71 0.39 76 conveyancing 0.07 77 0.44 76 0.65 75 0.38 77 marine methods (construction) 0.23 73= 0.17 78 0.23 78 0.21 78 4. summary tables 13 and 14 provide a summary of the top ten skills and subject areas for all levels of management in terms of ranks for the phase 1 and 2 practice of construction management studies reported on in the review of the literature and the research sections above, respectively. 85 smallwood • the practice of construction management table 13 indicates that relative to skills, sixty-five of the eighty ranks (81.3%) presented are within the top ten of their respective studies — there is limited discordance between the findings of the two studies. although the ii values have not been presented due to the use of different scales, it should be noted that the differences between the highest and lowest ranked mean skill ii values are: • phase 1: 0.15 on an ii ranging from 0.00 to 3.00 (5%), and • phase 2: 0.63 on an ii ranging from 0.00 to 4.00 (15.8%). the ranking of communicating (oral), communicating (written), decision making, administrative, leadership, and interpersonal, in particular the two communicating skills, amplifies the importance of the management function of leading. furthermore, it is notable that the other four functions of management work are ranked within the top ten: organising; coordinating, planning, and controlling. table 14: mean frequency of use of skills for all levels of management for phases 1 and 2 in terms of ranks. skill levels of managment operational middle top mean ph a se 1 ph a se 2 ph a se 1 ph a se 2 ph a se 1 ph a se 2 ph a se 1 ph a se 2 communicating (oral) 2 1 3 1 1= 1= 1 1 communicating (written) 14 2 13 2 4= 4 9 2 decision making 8= 8 1= 4= 1= 3 2= 3 organising 5 6 5 4= 12 6= 7= 4 administrative 8= 7 6= 8 4= 5 5= 5= leadership 10= 11 10= 10 7 1= 7= 5= coordinating 6= 4 6= 11 4= 8 4 7 planning 3= 9 4 4= 13 11 5= 8 interpersonal 10= 13 10= 9 14= 9 10 11 controlling 3= 10 1= 15 3 10 2= 13 86 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) table 14 indicates that relative to knowledge areas, fifty-two of the eighty ranks (65%) presented are within the top ten of their respective studies — there is a degree of discordance between the findings of the two studies. the differences between the highest and lowest ranked mean knowledge area ii values are: • phase 1: 0.32 on an ii ranging from 0.00 to 3.00 (10.7%), and • phase 2: 0.82 on an ii ranging from 0.00 to 4.00 (20.5%). the ranking of construction methods (building) indicates the importance of technical knowledge. the ranking of cost control, quality management, planning (programming), and productivity reflect the status of the traditional three project parameters: cost; quality, and time. the ranking of customer service reflects the status of client satisfaction — client satisfaction was ranked first among eleven project parameters during a study conducted among project managers (smallwood and venter, 2002). furthermore, client satisfaction is essentially a function of performance relative to the traditional project parameters of cost, quality, and time. the relevance of the other subject areas is as follows. construction management includes the management of projects and therefore contract administration and contract documentation are important. furthermore, both require communicating. the greater percentage of all projects is undertaken by subcontractors, and construction managers invariably interact with project managers. 5. conclusions construction managers, certainly members of the ciob (southern africa), spend a limited number of years at operational management level, and more at both middle and top management level. the most frequently used subject areas reflect the focus at the respective levels of management: top — the management of the business of construction; middle — the management of a number of projects, and operational — the management of specific projects. based upon their frequency of use and current tertiary education, the question arises as to the extent to which tertiary institutions and continuing professional development (cpd) address a number of skills and subject areas. the skills are: interpersonal; entrepreneurial; initiating; team building; conflict resolution; procedures development; systems development; design management; research; design 87 smallwood • the practice of construction management (temporary works), and negotiating with the community. the subject areas are: customer service; entrepreneurship; ethics; management systems; procedures; total quality management; risk management; procurement systems; dispute resolution; benchmarking; service management; facilities management; design management; design (temporary works); research; worker participation, and reengineering. table 15: mean frequency of use of knowledge for all levels of management for phases 1 and 2 in terms of ranks. knowledge area levels of managment operational middle top mean ph a se 1 ph a se 2 ph a se 1 ph a se 2 ph a se 1 ph a se 2 ph a se 1 ph a se 2 construction methods (building) 1 1= 1 2 6= 9= 1 2 cost control 3 9 2 4 2= 15 2 6= quality management 4 8 6 7= 6= 20 3 6= contract administration 5= 16 3= 3 9 12 4= 8 subcontractor management 2 4 8= 6 12= 25 4= 5 contract documentation 10= 18 3= 9 6= 22 6 15 planning (programming) 7 10= 7 16= 17 17 7 12 customer service 19 21 10 7= 1 2 8 4 project management 18 27= 3= 10= 12= 16 9 20 productivity 14 5 12 14= 18= 23= 10 9 6. recommendations construction management undergraduate programmes need to focus on management and more specifically the management of resources within defined parameters such as cost, environment, health and safety, productivity, quality, and time. however, to be able to manage resources within defined parameters requires technical expertise relative to the construction process. the findings clearly indicate the need to empower graduates to improve the construction process — customer service, health and safety, productivity and quality management. these findings correlate with the con88 acta structilia 2006: 13(2) tention of harriss (1996) that the royal commission in new south wales would say that undergraduate construction management education has not added value and produced a healthy industry in australia. given the aforementioned findings, complementary issues need to be addressed: benchmarking; constructability; partnering; procurement systems; reengineering, and value management. furthermore, given that construction managers spend a limited number of years at operational management level, and more at both middle and top management level and those construction managers in small and medium sized organisations need to fulfil a range of functions, construction management programmes need to empower graduates to manage the business of construction. councils should benchmark tertiary education programmes in terms of skills and subject areas and assess applicants applying for registration accordingly. institutes should follow suit and engender the delivery of appropriate education and training by the providers thereof, to assure that applicants applying to upgrade their membership, and non-applicants applying for membership, will complement the discipline, practice, and profession of construction management. furthermore, institutes should evolve the requisite cpd where inadequacies in education and training have been identified, or where changes in the construction environment require such cpd. practitioners should objectively assess their current ‘basket’ of skills and level of knowledge relative to subject areas. tertiary institutions should assess whether they address the subject areas, and the development of the skills, and if so, the extent to which they do. references allen, l.a. 1958. management & organisation. new york: mcgraw-hill. allen, l.a. 1973. professional management: new concepts and proven practices. new york: mcgraw-hill. allen, l.a. 1983. the louis a allen common vocabulary of management. 6th ed. palo alto: louis a. allen associates, inc. cecere, j.j. 1987. two-year construction educational curricula: setting educational goals. american professional construction, pp. 12-14, july. 89 smallwood • the practice of construction management chileshe, n., fester, f. & haupt, t.c. 2005. desirable construction management skills in the south african construction industry: methodology for assessment. in: talukhaba, a., akindele, o.a. & appiah-baiden, j. (eds.). 3rd postgraduate conference 2005 construction industry development. johannesburg, 9-11 october. brooklyn: construction industry development board, pp. 332-346. dorsey, r.w. 1991. industry views on what is valuable in construction education and training. american institute of constructors forum, scottsdale, pp. 15-18. drucker, p.f. 1955. the practice of management. second edition. london: heinemann. fellows, r., langford, d., newcombe, r. & urry, s. 2002. construction management in practice. malden: blackwell science. fryer, b.g. 2004. the practice of construction management: people and business performance. fourth edition. oxford: blackwell publishing. harriss, c. 1996. building teaching under fire how to respond? chartered building professional, pp. 20-23, november. lavender, s. 1996. management for the construction industry. harlow: addison wesley longman limited. singh, s. 2004. the handbook of competency mapping. new delhi: response books. smallwood, j.j. 2000. practicing the discipline of construction management: knowledge and skills. in: ngowi, a.b. & ssegawa, j. (eds.). 2nd international conference of the cib task group tg 29 on construction in developing countries. gaborone, 15-17 november. gaborone: botswana national construction industry council / faculty of engineering and technology, university of botswana / council for research and innovation in building and construction, pp. 60-70. smallwood, j.j. & venter, d. 2002. the influence of project managers on construction health and safety in south africa. the australian journal of construction economics and building, 2(1), pp. 57-69. young, b. & duff, a.r. 1990. construction management: skills & knowledge within a career structure. building research and practice, 3, pp. 183-192. << /ascii85encodepages false /allowtransparency false /autopositionepsfiles true /autorotatepages /none /binding /left /calgrayprofile (dot gain 20%) /calrgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /calcmykprofile (u.s. web coated \050swop\051 v2) /srgbprofile (srgb iec61966-2.1) /cannotembedfontpolicy /error /compatibilitylevel 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setdistillerparams << /hwresolution [2400 2400] /pagesize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice 70 navorsingsartikels • research articles ineffective programme management on the delivery of health infrastructure projects: a case of the northern cape peer reviewed and revised abstract programme management remains a challenging management practice in the northern cape department of health (ncdoh), particularly when a health facility project has to integrate the components of construction management and operations management in order to attain the benefits of strategic importance. the northern cape department of health consists of various administrative programmes that are supposed to work together in order to attain the benefits of strategic importance. the inability to integrate construction management and operations management is attributed to poor programme management coordination within the northern cape department of health. this article reports the findings of a case study which determined how programme management coordination among the administrative programmes in the provincial office of the ncdoh, z. f. mqcawu district office and the hospital that underwent revitalisation could be improved during the construction of a health-care facility. data was obtained through interviews with personnel in the three sectors (provincial office of the ncdoh, district office of the department of health, and the hospital that underwent revitalisation) directly involved in the delivery of the infrastructure component of the project and preparations operationalisation of the health facility after completion and handover. the results of the study revealed the inability by the ncdoh to integrate both construction management and operations management, due the poor programme management coordination when a health facility project serves as a means for the delivery of health services after handover. furthermore, the research revealed, among others, functional silos, lack of skills and knowledge for the identification of the critical success factors relevant for integration of lesetja mabona & winston shakantu dr lesetja godley mabona, senior manager, health facilities management, department of health, northern cape, kimberley, south africa. phone: +27 53-5302117, email: <mabonac@gmail. com> prof. winston shakantu, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 41-5043295, email: winston.shakantu@ nmmu.ac.za doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i1.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(1): 70-98 © uv/ufs mailto:mabonac@gmail.com mailto:mabonac@gmail.com mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.3 mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 71 construction and operations management as the contributing factors to poor programme management. keywords: programme management, critical success factors, functional silos, construction management, operations management, benefits management. abstrak ‘n allomvattende en integrerende betuursprogram bly ‘n uitdaging in die noord-kaapse departement van gesondheid, veral wanneer ‘n gesondheidsfasiliteitsprojek die komponente van konstruksieen operasionele bestuur moet integreer om die voordele van strategiese belang te bereik. die noord-kaapse departement van gesondheid bestaan uit verskeie administratiewe programme wat veronderstel is om saam te werk om die voordele van strategiese benadering te bereik. die onvermoë om konstruksie en operasionele bestuur te integreer, het tot gevolg dat daar gebrekkige programbestuurkoördinasie binne die noord-kaapse departement van gesondheid is. die doel van hierdie aritkel is om die resultate weer te gee van ʼn studie wat bepaal het hoe die koördinering tussen die administratiewe program in die provinsiale kantoor van die noord-kaapse departement van gesondheid, z. f. mqcawu distrikskantoor van die departement van gesondheid en die hospitaal wat vernuwe moes word, verbeter kan word tydens die oprigting van ‘n gesondheidsfasiliteit. data is verkry deur onderhoude te voer met die personeel in die drie sektore (provinsiale kantoor van die noord-kaapse departement van gesondheid, distrikskantoor van die departement van gesondheid en die hospitaal) wat betrokke was by die lewering van die infrastruktuur van die projek en die operasionalisering van die gesondheidsfasiliteit ná voltooiing en oorhandiging. die resultate van die studie toon die onvermoë van die noord-kaapse departement van gesondheid om konstruksieen operasionele bestuur te intergreer as gevolg van die swak programbestuurskoördinasie tydens die stadium wanneer gesondheidsdienste by sodanige gesondheidsfasiliteit verskaf moet word nadat dit oorhandig is. verder het die navorsing aan die lig gebring, onder andere, dat funksionele silo’s, ‘n gebrek aan vaardighede en kennis om kritiese suksesgebreke relevant tot die integrasie van konstruksieen operasionele bestuur te identifiseer, bydra tot swak programbestuur. sleutelwoorde: programbestuur, kritiese suksesfaktore, funksionele silo’s, konstruksie-bestuur, operasionele bestuur, voordele-bestuur 1. introduction integration of construction management and operations management remains a challenge during the implementation of a health care facility project in the northern cape department of health. the inability to integrate the two concepts compromises the department of health to attain the programme management benefits aimed through the implementation of the hospital revitalisation programme (hrp). the national department of health established the hospital revitalisation programme (hrp) in 2003 to rationalise hospital health facilities, health technology, organisational development, and quality assurance in health services. the hrp serves as a response acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 72 to the policy directives of the reconstruction and development programme. according to the rdp, the “key to this link is an infrastructural programme that will provide access to modern and effective services like health, water and education” (south africa, 1994: 10). the rationalisation of health-care facilities through the hrp developed five components that can be allocated in two categories, i.e. construction management and operations management. the hrp’s programme management approach aligns its components to the delivery objectives of the administrative programmes in the department of health. the inability to integrate the delivery objectives of the administrative programmes with the components of the hrp negatively affects the success of the programme. the integration of infrastructure and services as required by the rdp cannot be achieved if an institution does not have an effective programme management plan. the attempts to integrate infrastructure and services in the northern cape department of health (ncdoh) do not yield the benefits. the components of the hrp are implemented separately from the delivery objectives of the other administrative programmes in the ncdoh. in order to attain an integrated and cross-functional approach, the hrp developed a project implementation manual that outlines the implementation processes. the inability to align the delivery objectives of the administrative programmes in the ncdoh with the components of the hrp also delays the implementation of the project. with poor programme management coordination the department develops functional silos that are unable to synchronise the integrative metho dological approaches from construction management and operations management and their critical success factors relevant in programme management. the functional silos are the different functional structures in an organisation that focuses primarily on their immediate delivery objectives rather than contributing to the objectives of the entire organisation (parker & byrne, 2000: 503). the functional silos build up internal competition and make administrative programmes lose focus on the entire organisational context and strategic objectives (miller, wroblewski & villafuerte, 2014: 10). the research, therefore, contends that there is sub-optimal programme management coordination in the ncdoh. the aim of this research is to determine how programme management coordination among the administrative programmes in the provincial office of the ncdoh, z. f. mqcawu district office and the hospital that underwent revitalisation could be improved during the construction of a health-care facility. mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 73 the following section presents a contextual background of the ncdoh, with special focus on the outsourcing of construction management, purpose of administrative programmes (in particular, programme 8 [see table 1]), the reporting and purposes of the administrative programmes on the organisational structure at executive management level, and the programme management structure of the hrp. 1.1 contextual background on the ncdoh and hrp the construction of health-care facilities in the northern cape is outsourced to the department of public works and the independent development trust. the delivery objectives of these institutions include, among others, provision of infrastructure. the construction of dr harry surtie hospital in the town of upington was executed by the provincial department of public works. the latter obtains its mandate from the national department of public works whose objectives include the provision and management of infrastructure needs of the user departments, as outlined in the department of public works strategic plan: 2012-2016 (south africa, 2012). despite the fact that the department of health provides funding for the construction of health facilities upon completion and handover, the buildings as immovable asset is transferred back to the department of public works as the custodian of government immovable assets. this makes the department of health a user within the health-care facilities. the government immovable asset management act (2007) describes a user as a national or provincial department that uses an immovable asset in support of its service delivery objectives. the delivery objectives of the ncdoh include the provision of quality health-care services, as outlined in the annual performance plan, 2010/11-2012/13 (south africa, 2010a). in order to attain the ncdoh delivery objectives, seven administrative programmes have been established. table 1 presents the purpose of each programme which relates to the strategic objective of the department. table 1: administrative programmes in the ncdoh administrative programme purpose programme 1: administration to conduct the strategic management and the overall administration of the ncdoh programme 2: district health services to render primary health-care services and district hospital services acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 74 administrative programme purpose programme 3: emergency medical services to render emergency medical services programme 4: regional hospital services to deliver hospital services that are accessible, appropriate, effective and provide a specialised service programme 5: tertiary hospital services to deliver tertiary specialist services that are accessible, appropriate, effective and provide a platform for training programme 6: health science & training to render training and development opportunities for actual and potential employees programme 7: healthcare support services to render support services required by the department to realise its aims programme 8: health facilities management to render professional and technical services in respect of buildings and related structures, and to construct new facilities as well as to upgrade, rehabilitate and maintain existing facilities programme 8 is responsible for rendering professional and technical services in respect of buildings and related structures, and to construct new facilities. this includes ensuring compliance with the south african national standards 10400 for the application of the national building regulations, infrastructure unit systems support (iuss) guidelines and the infrastructure delivery management system (idms) for the planning, design and construction of health-care facilities by the implementing agent. provision of programme scope according to the components of the hrp remains the responsibility of all other administrative programmes of the ncdoh as the primary users of the buildings after completion and handover. the outsourcing of the construction of the health-care facilities emanates from insufficient personnel capacity in the ncdoh, taking into account the mandate of this department. prioritisation of health-care facilities for construction is the joint responsibility of the administrative programmes of the ncdoh. the service transformation plan (stp) of the ncdoh is used for the selection of the new health facility required in a particular district. the purpose of the stp in the ncdoh is to plan an optimal health service delivery package for the needed resources to achieve a sustainable service, as outlined in the service transformation plan, version 3c (south africa, 2009b). hence, the hrp project implementation manual requires that, through the stp, the department of health should select the most appropriate revitalisation project. the responsibility to develop a required management plan for all the mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 75 components of the hrp remains the joint responsibility of all the administrative programmes. the implementation of the components of the hrp require an integrative approach from the administrative programmes in the ncdoh, despite the fact that accountability in the organisational structure is in a vertical format, with no visible crossfunctional reporting. this vertical accountability does not oblige the administrative programmes to ensure the successful delivery of a health-care facility project. hence, some of the components of the hrp that share the same delivery objectives with the administrative programmes in the ncdoh remain neglected and lag behind during the implementation of the programme. figure 1 shows the levels of authority in the ncdoh at executive management level. programme managers on this structure report to the head of department who reports to the member of the executive council. the directorates that exist below the administrative programme execute its objectives as stated in the purpose of that particular administrative programme. this organisational structure does not have a provision for administrative programmes to establish a cross-functional reporting among each other. neither the strategic plan nor the annual performance plan of the ncdoh makes reference to shared objectives among the administrative programmes, irrespective of the intervention that the new strategic objective brings. member of excecutive council head of department programme manager: programme 1 programme manager: programme 2 programme manager: programme 3 programme manager: programme 4 programme manager: programme 5 programme manager: programme 6 programme manager: programme 7 programme manager: programme 8 figure 1: executive management structure in the ncdoh the hrp was developed on a programme management methodology and finds its relevance to the objectives of the administrative programmes of the ncdoh. the components of the hrp are infrastructure management, organisational development, quality assurance, health technology, monitoring, and evaluation. these acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 76 components are meant to be managed together in order to achieve the objective of the hrp. the implementation of the components of the hospital revitalisation programme in a health facility project enhances the strategic benefits from core delivery objectives of each administrative programme in a department through a programme management approach. health facility project infrastructure component quality assurance component monitoring & evaluation component organisational development component health technology component figure 2: components of the hrp these components are implemented as projects, although they are meant to be managed together in order to achieve the objectives of hrp. the programme management approach enables the “process of managing multiple interdependent projects that lead towards an improvement in an organisation’s performance” (mittal, 2009: 1). pinto & kharbanda (1995: 73-74) point out that “projects serve as the conduit for implementing top management’s plans, or goals, for the organization”. the coordination of multiple projects through programme management enables the achievement of the benefits of strategic objectives. according to the standard for program management (2013), components within a program are related through a common outcome or delivery of a collective set of benefits. the components of the hrp focus on achieving benefits of strategic objectives in the most appropriate revitalisation project, as outlined in the hospital revitalisation: project implementation manual, 2010-2011 (south africa, 2010b: 27). the hrp is based on the principles of programme management, which confine it to the delivery of the “benefits and capabilities that an organisation can use to meet and enhance strategic objectives” (sanghera, 2007: 93). in order for hrp to ensure that its intended goals are attained, it developed a project implementation manual (pim), which is revised annually by mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 77 the project management forum. the hrp remains relevant to deliver the objectives of strategic importance in government, based on its programme management methodology. morris & pinto (2004: 266) contend that there are two characteristics that make programme management the most suitable methodology to ensure successful implementation of strategies, namely “the fact that it is a cyclic process, which enables regular assessment of benefits”, and “the emphasis on the interdependencies of projects, which ensures strategic alignment and delivery of strategic benefits”. the research problem states that there is poor programme management coordination among the administrative programmes in the provincial office of the ncdoh, z. f. mqcawu district office, and dr harry surtie hospital during the construction of the dr harry surtie hospital. the construction of this hospital required that all the components of the hrp be implemented so that the ncdoh can attain programme benefits. the implementation of all the components of the hrp requires an integrated approach at all levels of administration and the administrative programmes in the ncdoh. the delivery of health-care facilities, in particular the hospitals, is based on the programme management methodology of the hrp. in the following section, relevant literature relating to the research problem is explored in order to explain concepts in both construction management and operations management that are relevant to the programme management methodology. these concepts, i.e. integrated management, systems approach, benefits management and realisation, critical success factors, and continuous improvement, may not have been combined in order to discuss their interrelatedness in the construction of a health-care facility. hence, there is the challenge to deliver a successful programme in the ncdoh. 2. literature review in this section, the researchers present the concepts that form the core discussion on the research problem. in order to understand the importance of programme management, the researchers explain what it is and its importance in an institution in attaining the benefits of strategic objectives. the systems approach in the programme management methodology is also explored wherein the concept of integrated management for construction management processes and operations management processes become relevant. programme management is defined as the centralised coordinated management of a specific programme to achieve its strategic goals, objectives and benefits (sanghera, acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 78 2008: 3). a component of programme management, i.e. benefits management and realisation, finds its relevance for the attainment of the benefits of an organisation’s strategic objectives through the programme management methodology. hence, the need to identify and synchronise the critical success factors from both construction management and operations management during the development of a programme management plan. continuous improvement becomes important during the development of a programme management plan, as its absence might make the organisation loose the ability to support the long-term strategy and delivery mandate. the infrastructure delivery management system (idms) of 2010 emanates from systems approach and finds its relevance in the perspective of construction management for the delivery of health-care facilities (south africa, 2010c). the idms is limited to construction management processes, i.e. from planning to maintenance of the buildings. 2.1 programme management programme management “is concerned with optimising project benefits in symbiotic fashion and with integrating project elements at the programme level” (cloete, wisssink & de coning, 2006: 218-220). according to the standard for programme management (2013), programme management harmonizes its projects and programme components and controls interdependencies in order to realise special benefits. this statement is supported by levin & green (2013: 486) who claim that “programmes take account of the benefit realisation as they are designed to last as long” as the benefits are satisfactorily realised. williams & parr (2004: 31) suggest that the enabling factor in programme management is its ability to carry out multiple elements that can be managed separately, “but sequencing of implementation and management of critical dependencies that require a level of management coordination over and above that at the individual project level”. levin & green (2013: 39) state that “programmes are established to achieve benefits that may not be realised if their components were managed individually”. hence, a programme serves as a means to achieve multi-level benefits that cannot be achieved if a single project is deployed. there is a difference between an administrative programme and a project-related programme. an administrative programme in the ncdoh consists of various directorates and units under the leadership of a functional manager. a project-focused programme consists of various components that are intended to achieve a common strategic or business goal. the coordinated mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 79 management processes of programme management require the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the programme requirements and to obtain benefits and control not available by managing projects individually (standard for programme management, 2013). since programme management exists at strategy-formulation level, its coordination involves decision management, governance, stakeholder management, and benefits management (thiry, 2010: 59). therefore, programme management serves as “an implementation tool that delivers organisational benefits resulting from aligned corporate strategies, business-unit, and operational strategies. it facilitates coordinated and integrated management of cross-functional portfolios of projects and normal operations that bring about strategic transformation, innovative continuous improvement and customer service excellence in organisations, with the aim of achieving benefits of strategic importance” (steyn & schmikl, 2008: 4). programme management “success is measured by the degree to which the program satisfies the needs and benefits for which it was undertaken” (pmbok guide, 2008: 9). 2.2 construction management the south african council for the project and construction management professions (sacpcmp) (south africa, 2000) defines construction management as “the management of the physical construction process within the built environment and includes the co-ordination, administration, and management of resources”. similarly, dykstra (2011: 376) explains that construction management involves the processes of coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and controlling of construction activities. these set out the construction management parameters. in addition, construction management embraces “activities from conception to physical realisation of a project” (gahlot & bhir, 2002: 1). in the department of health, the processes that lead to the physical realisation commence from the identification of a need incorporated as a strategic objective. the fact that provision of health-care services has to take place in a constructed structure requires the health facilities management programme to engage the end users in the development of requirements. the infrastructure component of the programme management plan incorporates the construction management processes in order to execute its objectives. as mentioned earlier, the construction management processes include the “effective planning, organising, application, coordination, monitoring, control, and reporting of the core business processes” (harris, mccaffer & edum-fotwe, 2013: 1). acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 80 the successful delivery of the infrastructure component of the healthcare facility does not signify the complete delivery or programme closure. the implementation of a health-care facility at project or component level aligns the processes of planning, organising, application, coordination, monitoring, control, and reporting found in construction management. the project conceptualisation stage in construction management involves the end users and the design team. this stage requires immense stakeholder and communication management. the approach to building construction in the ncdoh follows the appointment of an implementing agent. the latter appoints a team of professional service providers to design and produce a bill of quantities for procurement purposes for the building infrastructure component. the programme manager responsible for hfm appoints a project manager who is responsible for construction management processes. it is the responsibility of the programme manager from the ncdoh to ensure that there is proper coordination of the construction requirements with the programme manager from the implementing agent. according to gahlot & bhir (2002: 3), coordination in construction management involves integrating the work of various departments and sections. this requires proper integration of all project-related activities and disciplines such as architect, mechanical, electrical, civil and structural engineering together with quantity surveying. the implementation of the disciplines involves the construction project manager, the contractor, subcontractors and professionals in each discipline. therefore, construction management enables the integration of project activities into the main project. coordination in construction management is not only about the work produced from other disciplines for the built industry, but also about ensuring that the needs of the end user are incorporated and that, upon completion of the construction work, the buildings shall increase efficient delivery of the health-care services. in order for construction management to be coordinated with other components, a systems thinking approach needs to be applied. the idms has been established to address the systems thinking for the built environment, but there is still a gap to find the synergy with the operations management processes. the implementation of the infrastructure management components experiences variations to scope as a result of inadequate and late engagement of subject matter experts and incomplete requirements during the compilation of a requirements plan. mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 81 2.3 operations management the factors that relate to operations management in this research are categorised as outlined in the pmbok guide (2013) under enterprise environmental factors and organisational process assets such as organisational culture, stakeholder management, and performance management. according to stevenson (2009), operations management involves management of systems or processes that create goods and provide services. the inputs in operations management are human resources, processes and information, whereas the outputs are in the form of goods and services (reid & sanders, 2010: 3). operations management in the delivery of a health-care facility project enables planning, organising, coordinating, and controlling of the resources required to produce the goods and services. the evaluation of the implementation of the factors relating to operations management is linked to the programme implementation period. 2.4 integrated management the integration of construction management components and operations management components during the implementation of a health-care facility should still take into account programme management methodology. in order to achieve an integrated approach, this requires a “collaborative process, which emphasises constructive relationships” at programme management level (thiry, 2010: 66). in an administration-focused organisation, programme management concentrates on activity monitoring, while in an integration-focused organisation, a project is a means to attain business strategy. in an integration-focused institution, the primary goal of programme management is “integration and synchronization of workflow, outcomes and deliverables of multiple projects to create an integrated solution” (martinelli, waddell & rahsculte, 2014: 13). this makes coordination in programme management an essential aspect. programme management acknowledges that components operate as a system. grady (2007: 7) explains a system as “a collection of things that interact to achieve a specific purpose”. integration also “means completeness and closure, bringing components of the whole together in an operating system” (barkely, 2006: 3). a system creates interdependence between various components; therefore, the greater the interdependence, the greater the need for cooperation (castellano, roehm & hughe, 1995: 25). a “true integration ties all components of the organization into one coherent system where all activities, whether implemented together or individually, are focused on achievement of overall acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 82 goals and are ultimately the guiding mission of the organization” (pardy & andrews, 2010: 13). integrated management approach cannot be achieved without cross-functional management. integration is achieved through shared norms and values within an organisation (burke, 2014: 58). the establishment of a cross-functional approach is determined by the culture existing in the organisation. a cross-functional management helps the organisation to “improve both the factual basis of the strategic planning process and the chances of successful implementation of the final plan” (jackson & jones, 1996: 12). therefore, an organisation cannot succeed if it seeks to maintain what may be regarded as “functional silos” within its operations. the building infrastructure is a main product in construction management in a health facility project. “integration is essentially the major function of program management, running several projects simultaneously and using all the support systems of the organisation” (barkely, 2006: 13). in order to respond to the aim of the research, construction ma nage ment and operations management were studied in detail, although in relation to other components that relate to programme management. steyn & schmikl (2008: 4) explain that programme management “coordinate[s] and integrate[s] management of crossfunctional portfolios of projects and normal operations that bring about strategic transformation, innovative continuous improvement and customer service excellence in organisations, with the aim of achieving benefits of strategic importance”. in the delivery of a health-care facility, three variables, namely critical success factors, continuous improvement, and construction management, have an ability to make an organisation succeed or fail in attaining a successful programme. these variables should be taken into account by an organisation, in this case the ncdoh, when a project requires the contribution of other programmes for the successful delivery of a health-care facility project. an institution’s inability to find a logical relationship on the three variables disables administrative programmes from determining success in the delivery of healthcare facilities project and leaves an organisation defining complete building infrastructure as the successful programme management while excluding all other components that are supposed to be implemented to finality. the project implementation manual (pim) states that, “in order to manage the integration process at provincial level, a provincial steering committee must be formed for the overall coordination of provincial projects” (south africa, 2009a: 22). the exit by the hospital revitalisation programme from a health-care facility mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 83 assumes that all the operational systems will continue through an integrated management system in order to deliver an improved quality and sustainable health service. pardy & andrews (2010: 4) argue that “an effectively implemented integrated management system aligns policy with strategic and management system objectives and provides the framework upon which to translate these objectives into functional and personal targets”. 2.5 systems approach the infrastructure delivery management system (idms) was introduced to provide a model for the delivery of public service infrastructure projects through management companions that include portfolios, projects and operations management that takes into account construction management processes (cidb, 2012: 6). the construction industry development board (cidb), upon which the idms (2010: 8) was established, mentions that government infrastructure delivery departments lost efficiency in integrating resources under portfolios and programmes of coordinated projects. despite the systems approach of the idms through its management companions, the challenges of delivering a successful programme by the ncdoh still remains. the systems approach consists of three elements, namely inputs, processes, and outputs (gardiner, 2005: 23). these elements collaborate to achieve the main goal of an institution. cloete, wisssink & de coning (2006: 218-220) explain that the “institutionalization of a programme and project management approach in government in order to ensure integrated service delivery, has also proven problematic because of the lack of appropriate systems”. the systems approach “defines the relationships between the various parts of the organisation with each other and with the outside environment, and establishes how these relationships work and lastly, it establishes the purpose of these relationships” (march, 2009: 25). the importance of systems approach in programme management helps create interdependence between various components; therefore, the greater the interdependence, the greater the need for cooperation, communication, and leadership (castellano, roehm & hughes, 1995: 25). the “subsystems such as corporate mission, strategic objectives, organizational functions, organizational structure, critical processes, and the programme exist to effectively and efficiently convert the business inputs into the desired outputs” (milosevic, martinelli & waddell, 2007: 57). acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 84 2.6 benefits management and realisation the standard for programme management (2013) indicates that programme benefits may be realised incrementally throughout the duration of the programme, because they are a result of the executed organisational goals and objectives. the benefits “are the tangible business improvements that support the strategic objectives measured at operational level” (thiry, 2004: 77). the benefits of strategic objectives are realised when the programme becomes aware of the advantage gained as a result of engaging in a particular programme. in order to realise the benefits of strategic objectives, the institution has to clean up any barriers that may arise as a result of a poorly coordinated programme management approach. in this way, an institution develops new capabilities of realising operational benefits. benefits management is inextricably linked to critical success factors (csfs), because the benefits management phase, i.e. benefit identification, in particular, requires the identification of the csfs for a programme. benefit realisation is defined as the process of realising actual outcomes by breaking down strategic objectives via programme components or projects, then monitoring the outputs to confirm that the intended benefits have, in fact, been achieved (bradley, 2006: 20). the benefits realisation approach enables an organisation to understand and address the human aspects of the project, including resistance to change, training needs, and new ways of working. this requires the development of a benefits realisation plan that outlines the “details of the expected benefits to be realised and how these benefits will be achieved” (thiry, 2010: 110). 2.7 critical success factors in order to realise the benefits of strategic objectives, the csfs in both operations management and construction management should be identified. some of the factors are common, while others vary according to management requirements. according to mendoza, perez and griman (2006: 56), the csfs represent a set of a “limited number of areas in which the results, if satisfactory, will guarantee successful competitive behaviour for organisational objectives”. the simplicity with the identification of the csfs is that they can be “expressed as a qualitative statement” and only quantified for assessment purposes in a form of key performance indicators (thiry, 2010: 113). the quantification of the cfss requires the involvement of all the stakeholders from other related programmes. the research, therefore, tends to raise a question: what methodology can be implemented to enhance process integration among the health mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 85 administrative programmes? this question contributes to responding to the following research question: how could coordination among the administrative programmes in the provincial office of the ncdoh, district office of the department of health and the hospital that undergoes revitalisation during the implementation of a health facility project be improved? dobbins (2001: 48) mentions that “developing a process by which managers could identify their csf… teaches managers how to think in terms of csf” during the management of the project on site. the identification of critical success factors becomes irrelevant if there are no programme objectives. the benefits of programme management come from a “co-ordinated change management, governing the mutual dependencies between projects and activities, and a central focus on realizing the benefits” (hedeman & van heemst, 2010: 16). 2.8 continuous improvement an organisation operating on a programme management approach needs to continuously improve and “without such improvement, the program management discipline will gradually deteriorate, losing the ability to support the business strategy of the organization” (milosevic, martinelli & waddell, 2007: 455). although continuous improvement puts more focus on commitment by senior management in an organisation, better results are achieved when an organisation gets commitment of all staff members within it. according to turnbeaugh (2010: 42), the “management commitment aspect centers around a continuous improvement methodology of plan, do, check, act; a methodology that has transcended the use of tqm and has been integrated into other improvement-oriented procedures as well”. this methodology emanates from the edward deming philosophy on continuous improvement. continuous improvement cannot take place if an organisation lacks commitment by programme managers. in order for an organisation to effectively conduct continuous improvement processes, there should be a “culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for continuous improvement based on common understanding of organisation’s goals and priorities” (sahu, 2007: iii). 3. research methodology in order to choose a relevant research method for this research, an inductive reasoning was applied. collis & hussey (2009: 8) note that the theory in inductive reasoning “is developed from the observation of empirical reality”. inductive reasoning is based on two premises, acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 86 i.e. the case and the characteristics of the case. both these premises enable the researcher to develop conclusions through generalisation and to develop new thoughts. the “case study method allows investigations to focus on a case and retain a real-world perspective” (yin, 2014: 4). a positivist and interpretivist approach was followed to examine the research subjects’ understanding of the phenomena and their motivations (porta & keating, 2008: 13). this made the research relevant for the selection of the case study method due to its descriptive, inductive and heuristic approach (somekh & lewin, 2012: 54). furthermore, due to the fact that the research problem focuses on a social reality, the case study method is able to ask the question as to what is going on with the phenomena to be able to generate intensive investigations for the development of subjective data (burns, 2000: 460). as a result, a qualitative research method was applied and helped the researchers study the attitudes and behaviours of the research subjects within their natural settings (babbie & mouton, 2010: 270). furthermore, the qualitative research is more concerned with the “greater depth with a relatively small number of participants in order to enhance the quality of the response through interpretative methods, unstructured and semistructured interviews” (garner, wagner & kawulich, 2009: 63). this enables the researchers to evaluate the operational relations at programme management level in the ncdoh on construction management and operations management. based on the research problem, i.e. sub-optimal programme management coordination within the ncdoh, this has prompted the researchers to apply the case study method in order to identify and investigate three components of the case. the case for the research study is the ncdoh. there are three components of the case, i.e. the provincial office made up of various administrative programmes, the z. f. mqcawu health district office and the dr harry surtie revitalised hospital. the research subjects in these components are salient to the enquiry. 3.1 sampling method the research sample focused on the three levels of administration in the ncdoh, i.e the administrative programmes in the provincial office of the ncdoh, the health district office of the department of health at z. f. mcqawu, and dr surtie hospital. the purposive or judgemental sampling method was utilised. project commissioning team, project management team, end user staff in a health-care facility were sampled. the choice of this sampling method was influenced by the aim of the research and the line of enquiry pursued by the research study, the investigative question and literature reviewed. mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 87 purposive sampling “enables diversity and ensures that units of analysis are selected as they hold a characteristic that is salient to the research study” (ritchie, lewis, nicholls & ormston, 2014: 143). purposive sampling helped “access knowledgeable people, i.e. those who have in-depth knowledge about particular issues” (cohen, manion & morrison, 2007: 115). 3.2. sampling size through purposive sampling, the research targeted the “most visible leaders”, i.e. the managers in the three units of analysis. the application of this purposive sampling included a snowball sampling approach whereby the people who were approached at the initial stage of data collection assisted the researchers to identify other managers relevant to the research study (babbie & mouton, 2010: 167). as a result of the purposive sampling method, data was collected from end user staff members in the three sectors of the ncdoh, project commissioning team and project management team. the data was collected from forty-five (45) respondents up to the stage where the level of saturation of the data was reached by the researcher (maree, 2007: 82). ritchie & lewis (2003: 80) explain that the saturation in purposive sampling occurs when data collection does not yield any other new or relevant data. thirty (30) managers responded to the interview from the provincial office, five (5) managers are from the z. f. mqcawu, and ten (10) managers are from dr harry surtie hospital. 3.3 data collection an interview guide was used to collect empirical data. the interviews were held with individuals in the provincial office of the department of health, the district office of the department of health of z. f. mqcawu, and dr harry surtie hospital. the semi-structured interview guide assisted the researchers to maintain consistency and the logical flow of the questions. nine (9) questions based on the objective of this research were generated. the interview guide was structured as follows: question intent questions 1-2 and 8-9 test the respondents on the application programme management methodology question 3-4 focus on the programme performance management question 5-7 address the respondents on cross-functional approach acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 88 probing questions were asked during discussion with the interviewees in order to obtain further information. an average of forty (40) minutes was spent in conducting each interview. prior to utilising the research instrument, it was discussed with four people at different units in the ncdoh to determine whether interpretation of concepts would be obtained. 3.4 the research instrument in order for the researchers to obtain respondents’ perceptions with regard to the application of programme management methodology in the ncdoh, qualitative research questions were generated. the questions in the research instrument enabled the researchers to obtain substantial information on the research problem. the research instrument enabled the collection of data based on the perception of people in the three levels of administration in the ncdoh, i.e., provincial office, district office of the department of health and a hospital with regard to programme management coordination on the delivery of a health-care facility project. the interview guide was meant to obtain qualitative data from the respondents for the research objective. the use of an interview guide enabled the researchers to be consistent with the questions posed to the respondents. 3.5 response rate all forty-five (45) respondents identified through a snowball approach in purposive sampling method responded to all the questions presented for discussion. 3.6 data analysis the application of the inductive analysis of data in qualitative research enabled the researchers to extensively condense raw data into brief and summary format, and to “establish clear links between the research objectives and the summary findings derived from raw data” (dey, 2005: 55). the data analysis is categorised according to responses from the sectors (programmes in the provincial office, district office of the department of health, and the revitalised dr harry surtie hospital. 3.7 limitation the limitation to this research study was the uneasiness of some of the employees from dr harry surtie hospital and z. f. mqcawu district office to provide information about the relationship between mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 89 the two levels of administration with the provincial office of the ncdoh. although this limitation existed in certain cases during the interviews, it had minimal impact as the respondents’ uncertainties were addressed by the inclusion of a confidentiality clause in the interview guide. 4. findings from the case study the findings from the case study are based on the responses obtained during the interview sessions with the research subjects outlined in the interview guide. 4.1 programme performance management there are disparities of opinions from the three sectors or levels of administration on whether the objectives of the various administrative programmes and the objectives of the hospital revitalisation programme are aligned. 4.1.1 responses from the provincial office of the respondents, 20% agreed that there is an alignment between the objectives of the various administrative programmes and the objectives of the hospital revitalisation programme; 80% of the respondents disagreed with the above statement for the following reasons. a decision concerning the prioritisation of a health-care facility is taken at the provincial offices of the department of health and does not take the inputs from the district office of the department of health, i.e. z. f. mcqawu in this case. the implementation of the hospital revitalisation programme does not take into account the service transformation plan (stp) as the long-term plan of the ncdoh in terms of the health facilities’ list of priorities. the choice as to which health-care facility should be constructed is made out of the stp. any prioritisation that does not consider the priority list as recorded in the stp causes misalignment in terms of other services such as human resources plan, which ultimately affect budget allocation in the department. a respondent mentions that “there is either no proper communication among (district office of the department of health, revitalised hospital and administrative programmes in ncdoh) or absence or lack of co-ordination between their project managers”. furthermore, it was reported that there is “lack of commitment from programme managers and lack of knowledge” for aligning the existing delivery acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 90 objectives of the administrative programmes when a new strategic objective has been incorporated. 4.1.2 responses from the district office of the department of health of the respondents, 40% agreed that the district office of the department of health, revitalised hospital and administrative programmes in ncdoh properly align with the objectives of the hospital revitalisation programme. the respondents mentioned that, once a health-care facility project has been prioritised, the district office of the department of health is obliged to align with the objectives of the hospital revitalisation programme, as it must assist in ensuring the success of the project. only 60% of the respondents explained that this does not necessarily mean that there is no alignment with the objectives of the hospital revitalisation programme, although they found themselves participating in certain stages of the prioritised health-care facility project. in this instance, the respondents participated in the project commissioning meetings for the delivery of a health-care facility project, but without knowing how that particular activity fits into the objectives of the district office of the department of health. 4.1.3 responses from dr harry surtie hospital the respondents from dr harry surtie hospital pointed out that they have hardly any knowledge about the objectives of the hospital revitalisation programme, but that they participate in the projectcommissioning meeting to ensure successful delivery of the project, as they are the direct beneficiaries after completion. it was further explained that the staff members from the old hospital do not have much of a role to play at the beginning of the project, but that they get more involved during the preparations to move into the new premises, as they have to be ready to provide health services. further, the respondents from dr harry surtie hospital view the alignment as ineffective, because the joint decisions arising from the alignment are not implemented. 4.2 programme management practice in the ncdoh the research on this input wanted to determine whether all other administrative programmes should incorporate and report on the new strategic objective of the construction of a new health-care facility on components that relate to their normal delivery objectives. it was found that some of the administrative programmes do not consider the new strategic objective, i.e. construction of a new mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 91 health-care facility, in their annual performance plans and continue with the implementation of their normal programme objectives; hence, there is insufficient reporting relating to the objective. at least 40% of the respondents suggested that reporting should be the responsibility of one administrative programme, i.e. health facilities management. the reason for a single point of accountability is that it would help maintain consistency in reporting. this opinion leaves other administrative programmes without responsibility over the prioritised health-care facility project. of the respondents, 40% mentioned that the administrative programmes that have core responsibilities on certain project parameters are omitted without taking part and that the project is denied an opportunity to engage experts to advise as to whether the project is still focused on attaining the intended goal/s. of the respondents, 60% agreed that there is a need for other administrative programmes to be involved in the reporting of progress on the delivery of a health-care facility project, thus enabling all the administrative programmes to monitor their performance against the set objectives. furthermore, the administrative programmes would be able to determine whether factors that go into operations management and construction management are being addressed and what progress is being made in each. this becomes an added advantage, as administrative programmes would also be able to determine what lags behind in terms of project activities so that rescue measures can be established, if necessary. a joint reporting informs all the stakeholders about progress made and enables preparation of the operationalisation of the facility once the building project is completed. it was also indicated that the administrative programmes that have core responsibility of the components that build up the delivery of a health-care facility project such as organisational development and quality assurance should report on them. a joint reporting by the administrative programmes at strategy development level in the ncdoh would enable continuous development. a respondent indicated that joint reporting “eliminates silo approach, and enables monitoring of commitment at programme management level”. furthermore, reporting by other administrative programmes in the ncdoh “maximises project success”, as it puts all administrative programmes on par with project progress and activities to be performed at each stage. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 92 4.3 a cross-functional approach in the ncdoh a total of 33% of the respondents in the three sectors indicated that there is a cross-functional approach at programme management level. at least 44% of the respondents mentioned that there is a crossfunctional approach at the project-commissioning meetings, as they are the ones used by the health facilities management programme to ensure that all the administrative programmes from the provincial office of the department of health collaborate for the delivery of a health-care facility project. only 22% of the respondents explained that they have not experienced any cross-functional action at programme management level within the department. the respondents reported that they have noted that “the department is working in a silo approach” wherein the administrative programmes operate on individual objectives that have no link to each other. 5. conclusion the results of this study show that an institution’s inability to consider critical success factors and the existence of functional silos during the construction of a health-care facility has a negative effect on the attainment of the benefits of strategic objectives. the research revealed that the administrative programmes in the ncdoh perceive construction management and operations management as separate entities during the construction of a health-care facility; hence, the inability to attain a cross-functional approach at programme management level. the administrative programmes do not perceive the construction of a health-care facility as part of the integrated objectives of the ncdoh intended to attain a strategic goal. this enables the development of functional silos within the ncdoh. with the existence of functional silos, the ncdoh would not be able to link an infrastructural programme to provide access to modern and effective health services, as pronounced by the reconstruction and development programmes (south africa, 1994: 10). the impact of poor programme management coordination leaves the ncdoh with the challenge of how to describe a successful programme, as the complete building infrastructure alone cannot provide all the required health services as initially intended. this would also defeat the aim of programme management, which is the “coordinated management of a portfolio of projects that assist an organisation to achieve benefits that are of strategic importance” (gardiner, 2005: 11). mabona & shakantu • ineffective programme management on ... 93 construction management and operations management separately consist of core elements that relate to the delivery objectives of the administrative programmes of the ncdoh. however, it requires senior management commitment at both strategy development and strategy implementation to integrate, synchronise and create common objectives that attain the programme management benefits. the strategy development stage requires that “portfolio management frameworks consider[s] the dynamism that occur[s] through portfolio balancing; dependent upon a rational, mechanistic and linear process to determine the organisation’s strategy and priorities, which in turn allows the balancing function to take place” (linger & owen, 2012: 106). at the strategy implementation stage, the ndoh proposes that the “provincial strategic plans must include comprehensive hospital plans, which provide a framework in which business cases are subsequently developed” (south africa, 2005). findings from the research show that the ncdoh has not yet established collaborative elements, in particular, critical success factors, that integrate construction management and operations management in the construction of health-care facilities. this affects the attainment of programme benefits, as the benefits management process requires the identification of the csfs. this happens as a result of sub-optimal programme management coordination on the implementation of the components of the hrp. 6. recommendations the functional managers in the ncdoh should be afforded an opportunity to participate in the development of a programme charter so that they can also be at liberty to avail resources when project/component charters are developed and implemented. executive management in the ncdoh should consider the development of a policy framework on stakeholder management that addresses cross-functional interaction between administrative programmes and other sectors. the executive management should consider that the csfs are an integral part of the strategic planning of an institution and need to be included. executive management should make it compulsory to administrative programmes to develop a benefit management plan that integrates the objectives of the hrp. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 94 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case study research: design and methods. london: sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230514706 http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230514706 30 douw boshoff investigation into the supply of information and measurement of transparency in the listed property sector peer reviewed and revised abstract this article investigates the information that is available to shareholders and the public by listed property companies in order to make investment decisions. it also mentions the usefulness of this information for purposes of mass valuation of the portfolio of properties that are owned by these entities, or to extrapolate to other non-portfolio properties. the study makes use of a multiple regression analysis with empirical testing of property loan stock (pls) companies in south africa. it was found that only six of the pls companies publish any useful information with regards to their property portfolio and only one provided sufficient information to be of statistical significance. it was also found that the provided information is lacking specific property and portfolio details and is, therefore, of limited use overall as far as investment decision-making is concerned. the method applied is, however, confirmed to be applicable for mass valuation techniques, but limited by the amount of information available. abstrak die artikel ondersoek die inligting wat aan aandeelhouers en die publiek beskikbaar gestel word deur genoteerde eiendomsfondse om sodoende beleggingsbesluite te neem. die bruikbaarheid van hierdie inligting vir doeleindes van massawaardasietegnieke van die portfolio of nie-portfolio eiendomme word ook gemeld as ‘n sekondere aanwending. veelvoudige regressie analise word gebruik met empiriese toetse van die eiendomsleningseffekte maatskappye in suid-afrika. die ondersoek het bevind dat slegs ses van die maatskappye enige bruikbare inligting publiseer ten opsigte van hul eiendomsportefeulje en slegs een genoegsame inligting publiseer om statisties beduidend te wees. dit was ook bevind dat die inligting tekortkom ten opsigte van eiendomsen portefeulje spesifieke besonderhede om beleggingsbesluite te neem. die metode wat toegepas is, bevestig egter die gebruik van massawaardasietegnieke, maar dat dit beperk word deur inligting wat beskikbaar is. dr douw (g.b.) boshoff senior lecturer department of construction economics university of pretoria lynnwood road hatfield 0002 south africa. phone: +2712 420 3781 email: <douw.boshoff@up.ac.za> boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 31 1. introduction when considering the valuation techniques of income-producing property, various types of information should be obtained from the market in order to apply them to the valuation of the property under consideration. this includes the comparison with other properties sold in the market. however, due to the illiquid nature of property, especially those typically owned by institutional investors, such transactions do not take place every day. therefore, the necessary information is not always readily available, nor of the required quality. furthermore, the commercial property market is so diverse that the difference in property attributes leaves comparison to a few comparables of questionable level of accuracy. with the increasing requirement for accuracy and speed of valuation due to high volume purposes such as municipal valuations, portfolio valuation for large investment companies, auditing of security of financial institutions, etc., the use of alternative techniques such as computer assisted mass appraisals (cama) and automated valuation models (avm), where no human intervention is present, have developed. these models are based on various techniques such as neural networks or artificial intelligence, multiple regression or hedonic models and hybrid avms with human intervention. as some of the largest property investors in south africa, the listed property sector possesses information that might be useful in performing valuations on commercial property. this might exceed the general premises of interpolation and also include extrapolation to valuing other properties not included in the listed sector. the purpose of this article is twofold: 1. to test the use of publicly available information from the listed property sector for application in valuation processes such as multiple regression analysis, and 2. the success with which a valuation process such as multiple regression analysis could be used to perform commercial property valuation. 2. literature review downs & güner (1999: 518) stated that problems associated with observing the value of the underlying asset in real-estate securities are frequently cited by practitioners and academics. brennan (1990: 727-728) refers to this as a latent-asset problem, i.e., the information acquisition problem of investors when the value of some assets is not observable. this suggests that the value of the assets acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 32 in listed property funds could not generally be observed by the investors due to information deficiency in the sector. this questions the information that is being made available to investors by publicly traded listed companies in order to make informed investment decisions. if this information is of a sufficient level to make informed decisions, it would provide the opportunity also to extrapolate to other properties not held in the listed market, which generally suffers from information deficiency for valuation purposes. 2.1 information deficiency in property markets and property valuation webb (1994: 63-64), reported that less than 5% of properties in the appraisal-based index are sold in a given year, indicating that commercial properties transact, on average, once in every 20 years. this leaves valuers with very little information to work with in determining market value at specific times. booth & marcato (2004: 147) stated that the provision of performance information on the direct real-estate market suffers from a lack of timeliness and reliability. rode (2004) also mentioned that valuers have a serious problem in estimating market values, because market data were outdated by the time they became available to market players. this confirms the need for alternative methods to arrive at accurate market assessment. hager & lord (1985: 23) are, however, of the opinion that valuation is an expression of personal opinion and that the success of a valuation relies extensively on personal knowledge and expertise in interpreting the many existing variables. boyd & irons (2001: 6-8) discussed the challenges facing valuation practice and commented that the tasks of valuers extend beyond the traditional role of providing a single point estimate. according to him, the valuers’ primary role is that of a property market analyst and, therefore, the valuers should be capable of competently commenting on both macroand micro-factors that are influencing the market in which they are specialists. his views on the competency of valuers is supported by the fact that the courts have, on many occasions, criticised valuers for differing markedly from the market figure or other valuations. the case of ‘interchase corporation ltd v can 010087573 pty ltd and others was discussed to illustrate this. according to boyd & irons (2001: 17), this case demonstrates the importance of accurate data. he mentioned that it is not unusual to find that information provided to the valuer is incomplete and occasionally misleading, but it is the responsibility of the valuer to exercise reasonable care in the acceptance and use of valuation boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 33 data. he also stated that the valuer must demonstrate expertise in attempting to obtain the most accurate information available and that the valuers’ responsibility extends to an evaluation of the reliability and accuracy of the data within a risk analysis, and the subsequent quantification of the degree of uncertainty in the valuation figure. boyd & irons (2001: 17) also mentioned that the accuracy that is achievable in a valuation figure depends, to a large extent, on both the quality of the comparable data provided and the competence of the valuer. information deficiency is not only affecting valuers. downs & güner (1999: 517) found that information deficiency has a direct impact on price-formation decisions by investors, which also ultimately affect valuers when comparable transactions are investigated. this was confirmed by boshoff (2012), indicating that listed property companies that provided more transparent information to shareholders received better support from institutional shareholders and had clear evidence of shareholder activism. the mentioned studies indicate that information availability is a concern not only to valuers, but also in investment decision-making. this brings together two aspects of information availability: 1. the information made available by listed property companies in order to enable prospective investors to make investment decisions, and 2. the possibility to use this information to provide evidence of individual market values, which could also be extrapolated to other non-portfolio properties. 2.2 valuation methods and the use of mass appraisal in order to evaluate the usefulness of information that is made available in the listed property sector, it is necessary to consider the information that would generally be required. for this purpose, reference is made to literature on different valuation methods. various valuation models have been proposed to determine the market value of any property. according to hager & lord (1985: 23-24), two methods are used for the valuation of investment properties, namely the investment method and the comparative method. the approach of the investment method is essentially one of income capitalisation, and is also described as the discounted cash flow (dcf) approach. the latter is stated to have the advantage of sophistication, but, due to the possible margins of error in all the variables, might result in inferior results if it is not applied carefully. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 34 market capitalisation is used to determine the value of incomeproducing property. the principle is to take the first year’s sustainable income of a property and to capitalise that at a rate generally accepted in the market. in this instance, the income and the capitalisation rate are compared to the market separately. it is accepted that the value of a specific amount of net income will have a certain value to the investor and the ratio of the income and the amount that an investor is prepared to pay for that expected income is determined by the market and measured by comparing the same ratio of other properties that have been sold. the capitalisation rate can also be determined by taking the discount rate and deducting long-term capital or income growth. gilbertson & preston (2005: 127-128) indicated that competition between lending institutions and valuers, in terms of speed and cost of valuation services and the availability of data, is stimulating greater use of technology. technology assists with the collection, organisation and formatting of data utilised for valuations. this has led to technology-based systems such as computer assisted mass appraisals (cama) and automated valuation models (avms), which are used for mass appraisal. according to iaao (2013: 5), mass appraisal is the process of valuing a group of properties as at a given date, using common data, standardised methods, and statistical testing. mass appraisal is used for various valuation purposes such as municipal tax, mortgages and portfolio management. values are determined by utilising valuation equations, tables, and schedules developed through mathematical analysis of market data. in addition, iaao (2013: 16) defined an avm as a computer programme for property valuation that analyses data using an automated process. a distinction is made with regards to cama, which is a system of valuing property that incorporates computersupported statistical analyses such as multiple regression analysis and adaptive estimation procedure to assist the valuer in estimating value (iaao, 2013: 17). iaao (2011: 14-15) described an avm as a mathematically based computer software programme that produces an estimate of market value based on analysis of location, market conditions, and real-estate characteristics from information collected, whereas the collateral risk management consortium (2003: 3) indicated that an avm can be defined as the generic term for any electronic analytic algorithm, process or model that is intended to estimate the value of an individual property, without human assistance (other than the initial entry of the data). specific to this report, the term applies to models designed to value residential properties. the distinguishing feature between cama and avm is the boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 35 level of human interaction, whereby the former assists in valuation, but a reasonable level of human activity is involved, and the latter is without any human interference after database compilation. robson & downie (2007: 31) indicated a further difference between avms and cama systems as the intended application where cama systems are mostly applied for taxation purposes, whereas avms are mainly applied for loan purposes. the first signs of avms originate from the 1960s. the last decade saw the use of these models outside of north america, and the models are currently used for security valuations on a global basis (miller & markosyan, 2003: 173). the development of avms in the private sector was driven by the use of technology to automate the residential lending process. miller & markosyan (2003: 180) stated that a prolonged period of low interest rates and related increase in lending activity, along with the internet, are the key stimulants for the development of avms. according to robson & downie (2007: 46), avms developed in the usa and in the uk and have been used for mortgage valuations for over 20 years, but that the most established users of avms are still the usa and canada (robson & downie 2007: 29), although general use is observed in the uk, australia, new zealand and south africa. avms have been developed and their use has been established for residential valuations mainly due to the homogeneous nature of this type of property. avms are becoming increasingly important and have a role to play in the marketplace. predictions are that avms will improve as database sizes increase and new approaches develop to predict values in heterogeneous residential areas. however, avms are still developing and are not free from criticism (boshoff & de kock, 2013: 20). according to gilbertson & preston (2005: 127), commercial property valuations are more complex than residential valuations, as limited comparable data is generally available and requires more inputs. the full automation of valuation models is debated, as specialised and heterogeneous properties will not fit into a standard statistical data model. the income valuation approach requires data analysis and adjustments before the value is calculated. limited research is available on avms for commercial property applications, mainly due to the ongoing development of the models, the financial feasibility of such a venture and the intellectual property, which is viewed as confidential. boshoff & de kock (2013: 5) stated the following advantages and disadvantages of avms over traditional valuation methods: acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 36 • advantages: lower cost and time saving; consistency; data management; combat fraud, and valuer bias. • disadvantages: data shortages; public opinion; the need to inspect property; financial regulation and risk acceptance, and transparency. boshoff & de kock (2013: 20) established that there is scope for commercial property avms, however, on a limited basis. they stated that commercial property avms will never replace traditional valuers and that they can be implemented as a useful tool for verification and auditing of values. although avms are already well established for use in residential valuation, the application is still very limited for commercial property. in terms of this study, the application of the principles of avms and mass appraisal as auditing tool is emphasised. such an auditing tool is, however, still reliant on a minimum amount of information in order to be of any use. 2.3 information deficiency in listed property companies downs & güner (1999: 518) stated that problems associated with observing the value of the underlying asset in real-estate securities are frequently cited by practitioners and academics. brennan (1990: 727-728) referred to this as a latent-asset problem, i.e., the information-acquisition problem of investors when the value of some assets is not observable. gillan & starks, in two separate studies (1999 & 2000), found that the behaviour of listed property share prices is influenced by the involvement of institutional investors, as well as by the amount of information that is available to them when they are making investment decisions. the availability of information, therefore, influences shareholder activism and has a direct impact on monitoring management’s activities, so that this monitoring ability of institutional investors could affect a firm’s value (chan, leung & wang, 1998: 357). it is, therefore, evident that information availability to shareholders is important and that the ability for shareholders to have a transparent view of the company’s operations would have a positive influence on the shareholder activism and subsequent value of the company. more specific to property and the valuations profession, the national committee for property education (2004: 173) stated that one of the purposes of a good valuation report is to provide sufficient information for the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. this could probably also be applied to the annual reports of listed property companies in that these reports should provide sufficient information that shareholders or prospective shareholders can boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 37 arrive at their own interpretation of the value of the assets held and, subsequently, the value of the company. 2.4 summary the literature review indicated that there is evidence of information deficiency in order to perform valuations accurately as well as decision-making for investment purposes. the different valuation models indicated that the information required for valuation purposes of commercial property would be the income-producing abilities of property, which could be different for different types of property, location and use. boshoff (2013: 47) noted in this regard that the factors that are property specific and that differentiate the performance of individual properties or property types are: • physical characteristics of property; • retail sales and profits; • vacancy rates; • location; • employment, and • production levels. with the difficulties that are experienced with property valuation, mass appraisal techniques have developed that are less time consuming, and can overcome fraud and valuer bias. however, the applicability of these techniques is questionable for purposes of commercial property valuation. the information deficiency that is stated for valuation purposes also applies to investors who are interested in purchasing properties. investors need to use information in order to form an opinion of their willingness to pay a specific price. this would also apply to investors purchasing shares in listed property companies, who need to form an opinion of the underlying value of the portfolio of assets. such an investor would typically want to make use of the mentioned mass valuation techniques in order to form an opinion of the portfolio. 3. problem statement from the literature reviewed, the question is raised as to whether the observed information deficiency is also evident in the listed property sector, with regards to property-specific information that is provided to shareholders, and whether the provided information can be used for property valuation purposes in order to determine the individual values of property by using mass valuation techniques. acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 38 in order to investigate the research problem as stated above, it is necessary to consider the null hypothesis, which could be stated as follows: n pvt ≠ β0 + ∑ βjaij + ϵi j=1 and the alternative hypothesis as: n pvt = β0 + ∑ βjaij + ϵi j=1 where: pvt = property value at time t β0 = y intercept aij = property attribute j for observation i ϵi = random error in y for observation in i. if the null hypothesis could be rejected, the alternative hypothesis could be accepted that the property value at time t is explained by the sum of individual property attributes as explained by the information that is provided by the listed property companies in their publicly available documentation. it is further accepted that, if the alternative hypothesis could be accepted, the principles could in a similar way be applied to other valuations of property, if similar information is available. 4. research method the research design is a theoretical description of the subject matter, leading to a quantitative analysis and statistical regression of historical data and an empirical analysis for hypothesis testing. this study investigated the listed property sector in south africa, by considering the property portfolios as published in the public domain. an attempt was made to include the portfolios of all listed pls companies that are reasonably active, but some companies were excluded due to a lack of information. the study considered data from the listed funds for the specific period from 2001 to 2010. the actual data and treatment are for purposes of consistency explained at the applicable points of testing. boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 39 5. analysis the actual data of pls companies with regard to their property portfolios will be used to develop a model that can explain the value of an individual property, by considering the information provided by the pls companies. actual data on the location, use, size and value variables were available for only six of the companies; other companies did not publish the information. different companies also provided different levels of information, with growthpoint properties (ltd) being the only company that provided in-depth information that includes subcategories for each type of property. the data used is crosssectional data only, consisting of the published portfolio information as per the last financial report. the data that were analysed are summarised in table 1 and the descriptive statistics are included in annexures a and b. for this purpose, 730 observations were obtained and tested. the data was transformed using the logs of the raw data in order to cater for the diminishing marginal utility of the extra variables, and then tested in two ways. the first was allowing for a dummy variable for each different type of property use, as well as for each different location in combination with the log-transformed other data (dummy analysis), and the other by using the average value per square meter of each type as well as the average value per square meter for each location as proxies for these two variables also as log-transformed data (proxy analysis). the second option has the difference that the number of variables reduced substantially, as the three different dummy variables for type (offices, retail and industrial) are replaced by one type variable and the same for the location dummies, which are in excess of 100 total variables for each of the different locations analysed, that could be replaced by one location variable. annexure a provides the results of the regression using proxies instead of dummies. table 1: summary of data analysis variable data type no. of proxies / dummies used number of observationsdummy proxy all property size ratio ratio 1 730 all property location dummy categorical 108 730 all property type dummy categorical 3 730 growthpoint data size ratio ratio 1 410 acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 40 analysis variable data type no. of proxies / dummies used number of observationsdummy proxy growthpoint data location dummy categorical 65 410 growthpoint data type dummy categorical 23 410 growthpoint data depreciation ratio ratio 1 410 source: adapted from annual reports of acucap growthpoint hyprop pangbourne redefine and resilient from the analysis using dummy variables to the analysis using proxies, although the adjusted r square reduced slightly from 0.590 to 0.581, the f-value increased from 10.357 to 338.532. in order to compare these two figures, it is considered in relation to the critical f-values at the 0.01 level of significance, which is 1.447 and 26.100, respectively. this indicates that the f-value using dummies exceeded the critical f-value 7.16 times, while the f-value using proxies exceeded the critical f-value 12.97 times. testing for multicollinearity also posed a problem with the dummy variable analysis, with the vif values for the three type variables being 48.41, 40.17 and 32.21. with proxy analysis this also reduced to well within acceptable levels (see annexure a). a goldfeld-quandt test was performed to test for heteroscedasticity in both regressions. for both the dummy and the proxy analyses, the hypothesis of homoscedasticity was only rejected at the 0.25 level of significance, with the f-values being 1.144 and 1.123, respectively, and the critical f-values 1.089 and 1.086, respectively. this indicated that heteroscedasticity could be proven with a marginally higher probability in the dummy analysis. the above tests confirmed the proxy analysis to be slightly more credible. replacing the betas into the multiple linear regression equation, and solving for each of the data points in the data set that contained the actual properties for the six companies, the observed values regressed against the anti-logs of the calculated values could be plotted, as seen in figure 1. the blue line represents the 1:1 relationship. it is evident that, although the regression of the log transformed data did not have much evidence of heteroscedasticity, the anti-logs of the regressed data still have strong graphical evidence of heteroscedasticity. it is evident that the boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 41 larger the properties’ values, the more underestimated it becomes in the regression. figure 1: multiple regression of actual property data as the largest of the companies with 419 of the 730 properties, as mentioned, growthpoint publishes its portfolio information in more detail, including subtype use. each of the three main categories (industrial, offices and retail) is further divided into specific types. 2,000,000,000 1,800,000,000 1,600,000,000 1,400,000,000 1,200,000,000 1,000,000,000 800,000,000 600,000,000 400,000,000 200,000,000 200 ,000 ,000 .00 400 ,000 ,000 .00 600 ,000 ,000 .00 800 ,000 ,000 .00 o b se rv e d p ro p e rt y va lu e anti-log of regressed property value acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 42 by changing the type variable to include subtypes, the correlation of the calculated values regressed against the actual values strengthened significantly. by having the subtypes available, it was also possible to estimate a depreciation variable, by taking the construction cost, as published by davis langdon (2011: 34-35), for each subtype, multiplied by the size of the property, and multiplied by 1,5 to allow for land, professional fees, escalation, etc. the actual value is then divided by the replacement cost to determine the amount of depreciation of each property. the growthpoint data is also tested by transforming the data by taking the logs of each variable. the type and location data was also tested, using both dummy variables and proxies. the r square for the regression of the growthpoint data strengthened significantly to 0.965 and 0.963 for the dummy analysis and the proxy analysis, respectively. in the case of the dummy analysis, the f-value is 130.146, with the critical f-value at 1.568. this indicates that the f-value exceeds the critical f-value 83.01 times. with the proxy analysis, the f-value is 2,679.902 and the critical f-value 13.5, indicating that the f-value exceeded the critical f-value 198.51 times. this indicates that the addition of the specification information for the growthpoint data allowed for substantially closer and more significant regression than the general portfolio regression shown in annexure b. it also confirms the use of proxies rather than dummies in the analysis. as with the general portfolio regression, multicollinearity posed to be problematic for the dummy analysis, with the vif values for a number of type dummies indicating severe multicollinearity at values of up to 114.4. it is clear from the regression details in annexure b that this is not the case for the proxy analysis. a goldfeld-quandt test was also performed on the growthpoint data in order to test for heteroscedasticity, which indicated that homoscedasticity could be rejected at the 0.25 level for the dummy analysis, with the f-value being 1.240 and the critical f-value at 0.25 being 1.168. for the proxy analysis, homoscedasticity could not be rejected at any level, where the f-value was calculated at 1.018 and the 0.25 level critical f-value 1.120. this indicates not only that it is less probable for heteroscedasticity to be present in the proxy analysis than the dummy analysis, but also that it is less likely for heteroscedasticity to be present in the regression of the growthpoint data than in the general portfolio data. boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 43 as a final test, the mean average percentage error (mape) of the regressions of both the dummy and the proxy analyses was compared. the mape analysis is stated by the following equation: mape = n ai ri x 1/n ∑ ai i=1 where: mape = mean absolute percentage error ai = actual values ri = regressed values the results of the mape analysis as per equation 1 are shown in table 2. table 2: results of mape analysis dummy analysis proxy analysis all property 29.84% 34.55% growthpoint data 24.46% 15.40% the tests performed on the property data indicated that there is a significant smaller probability of specification errors in the analysis of the growthpoint data than in the overall property data. although the results of the mape analysis worsened from the dummy analysis to the proxy analysis for the overall property portfolio, both tests have improved for the growthpoint data and indicated a significant improvement on the proxy analysis. the worsened results for the overall portfolio, moving from dummy analysis to proxy analysis, might be due to the few variables that are available, confirming the specification error in the overall portfolio and indicating that there is a lack of information provided by these companies to their shareholders. the mape results for the growthpoint analysis support this finding in that both mape tests delivered more accurate results. the improvement in the mape results for using the proxy analysis on the growthpoint data also confirms the use of the proxy analysis with the increased level of variables used. the graphical presentation of the observed growthpoint data to the anti-logs of the regressed data is shown in figure 2. (1) acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 44 figure 2: multiple regression of actual property data – growthpoint portfolio the closer regression is evident from figure 2, but the larger discrepancies in the higher valued properties are still evident, especially in the case of a few outliers. this might be an indication that there are still some specification errors evident, preventing this regression to be a correctly specified hedonic model. factors not taken into consideration and that might be responsible for this, and should be tested by way of further research, are lease terms, vacancy levels, redevelopment potential, and closer information on actual depreciation and specification levels. in addition, the model did not allow for mixed-use properties, such as industrial and office components to individual properties, which should be further investigated. 6. conclusion the null hypothesis was partly rejected, as the rejected null hypothesis is only for information supplied by growthpoint properties. this indicates that the alternative hypothesis could be accepted in principle, but that the information supplied by all other pls companies is not sufficient in order for shareholders to make 1,200,000,000 1,000,000,000 800,000,000 600,000,000 400,000,000 200,000,000 o b se rv e d d a ta anti-log of regressed property value 400 ,000 ,000 .00 800 ,000 ,000 .00 1,20 0,00 0,00 0.00 boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 45 an informed decision about the assets held by these companies. the importance of this is that the information generally supplied by listed property companies in their annual reports does not equip investors to reach the same conclusions as the directors of these companies in terms of the values of properties that they own. the lack of information limits the extent to which shareholders can make investment decisions and thus hampers shareholder activism and resultant company performance (also refer boshoff, 2012). it also shows that it is possible to use listed property information that is publicly available to extrapolate to other properties for which the values are not known, using the properties’ attributes to predict the individual value. this would, however, just hold for the value of the property at the same date as the values of the portfolio when it was published, i.e. at year-end, and does not take into consideration the value at any other date in between, or after year-end, for which no published data are yet available. apart from the formal hypothesis, a number of findings are worth mentioning: • information deficiency was found to be problematic with regards to property-specific variables. only growthpoint provides a reasonable accurate level of information that could be used for pricing or valuation purposes and, even then, it still lacks information on lease terms, depreciation or condition of assets, development potential, etc. these are arguably not provided in order to protect competitive advantage, but are to the disadvantage of shareholders who need to make purchase and pricing decisions on shares. • discrepancies in property-specific regression were found to be especially problematic in the top-end retail and office properties. the values, as provided by the funds, substantially exceeded the replacement costs, which were estimated using market analysts’ information of replacement cost. this could, therefore, indicate that either the properties are overvalued, or the replacement costs for these types of properties are underestimated, indicating that construction cost indexes for these types of properties should be reconsidered. • mass valuation techniques such as statistical modelling could be applied successfully, but the data requirement is of utmost importance. a property’s value would only be predicted accurately if full details of its condition, quality of built, etc. are also available, which could typically only be determined by an inspection. this supports previous literature that mass acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 46 valuation could be used to avoid valuer bias and can be successfully applied for auditing purposes, but has limited application for a full automated valuation process. references list booth, p.m. & marcato, g. 2004. the dependency between returns from direct real estate and returns from real estate shares. journal of property investment and finance, 22(2), pp. 147-161. boshoff, d.g.b. 2012. evidence of shareholder activism and information deficiency in the listed property sector in south africa. in: proceedings of the 1st virtual international conference on advanced research in scientific areas, 1(1), slovakia, 3-7 december. slovakia: edis publishing, pp. 46-54. boshoff, d.g.b. 2013. towards a listed real-estate investment valuation model. ph.d. thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria. boshoff, d.g.b. & de kock, l. 2013. investigating avm use in the south african commercial property market. acta structilia, 20(1), pp. 1-21. boyd, t. & irons, j. 2001. valuation uncertainty v negligence: what is reasonable care? is it being achieved? in: proceedings of the 7th pacific rim real estate society conference, adelaide, australia, 21-24 january, pp. 1-24. brennan, m.j. 1990. latent assets. journal of finance, 45(3), pp. 709-730. chan, s.h., leung, w.k. & wang, k. 1998. institutional investment in reits: evidence and implications. journal of real estate research, 16(3), pp. 357-374. collateral risk management consortium. 2003. the crc guide to automatic valuation model (avm) performance testing. pp. 1-21. costa mesa: collateral risk management consortium. davis langdon. 2011. property and construction handbook. 24th edition. johannesburg: davis langdon africa. downs, d.h. & güner, z.n. 1999. is the information deficiency in real estate evident in public market trading? real estate economics, 27(3), pp. 517-541. gilbertson, b. & preston, d. 2005. a vision for valuation. journal of property investment & finance, 23(2), pp. 123-140. boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 47 hager, d.p. & lord, d.j. 1985. the property market, property valuations and property performance measurement. journal of the institute of actuaries, 112(1), pp. 19-60. iaao (international association of assessing officers). 2011. standard on mass appraisal of real property. missouri, kansas city: international association of assessing officers. iaao (international association of assessing officers). 2013. standard on mass appraisal of real property. kansas city, mi: international association of assessing officers. miller, n.g. & markosyan, s. 2003. the academic roots and evolution of real estate appraisal. appraisal journal, 71(2), pp. 172-184. national committee for property education. 2004. principles of property valuation. 2nd edition. sandton: sa property education trust. robson, g. & downie, m. 2007. automated valuation models: an international perspective. london: the council of mortgage lenders. webb, r.b. 1994. on the reliability of commercial appraisals: an analysis of properties sold from the russell-ncreif index (1978-1992). real estate finance, 11(1), pp. 62-65. annexure a: multiple regression of actual property data descriptive statistics mean standard deviation n logvalue 7.602617 .5564042 730 logsize 3.867066 .5122158 730 loglocation 3.8327 .23684 730 logtype 3.7874 .24526 730 model summaryb model r r square adjusted r square standard error of the estimate durbinwatson 1 .764a .583 .581 .3599817 1.380 a. predictors: (constant) logtype logsize loglocation b. dependent variable: logvalue acta structilia 2013: 20(2) 48 anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 131.608 3 43.869 338.532 .000b residual 94.080 726 .130 total 225.688 729 a. dependent variable: logvalue b. predictors: (constant) logtype logsize loglocation coefficientsa model b unstandardised coefficients standardised coefficients t sig. vif standard error beta 1 (constant) 1.030 .265 3.887 .000 logsize .702 .026 .647 26.627 .000 1.027 loglocation .348 .066 .148 5.268 .000 1.376 logtype .666 .064 .294 10.455 .000 1.374 a. dependent variable: logvalue annexure b: multiple regression of actual property data – growthpoint portfolio descriptive statistics mean standard deviation n logvalue 7.502001 .4717502 410 logsize 3.840095 .3941955 410 logdepreciation -.337096 .2033475 410 logtype 3.6687 .29457 410 loglocation 3.8179 .25607 410 model summaryb model r r square adjusted r square standard error of the estimate durbin-watson 1 .982a .964 .963 .0904547 1.932 a. predictors: (constant) loglocation logsize logdepreciation logtype b. dependent variable: logvalue boshoff • investigation into the supply of informtion 49 anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 87.708 4 21.927 2679.902 .000b residual 3.314 405 .008 total 91.022 409 a. dependent variable: logvalue b. predictors: (constant) loglocation logsize logdepreciation logtype coefficientsa model b unstandardised coefficients standardised coefficients t sig. vif standard error beta 1 (constant) .545 .085 6.376 .000 logsize .943 .011 .788 82.074 .000 1.025 logdepreciation -.502 .023 -.216 -22.192 .000 1.057 logtype .785 .019 .490 41.255 .000 1.571 loglocation .075 .022 .041 3.390 .001 1.610 a. dependent variable: logvalue 45 oorsigartikels • review articles emile adjibadé sanya, houénou kowanou & dèfodji adolphe tchéhouali valorisation of waste plastic bags in cement-mortar composites as coating of local sand aggregates: physicomechanical characterisation and potential uses peer reviewed and revised september 2015 abstract increasingly high quantities of waste plastics cause major environmental problems in benin due both to the non-biodegradability of such by-products of the petroleum industry and to a lack of appropriate means of treatment. an option to valorise waste plastic bags is to use these in construction processes. this article studies the incorporation of waste plastic bags into cement-mortar with the aim of reducing proliferation. it explores the immediate consequences of cement-mortar-plastic combinations, such as changes in the resultant composite’s water absorption ratio and mechanical properties. the process of making the composite includes some main steps, during which waste plastic bags are first melted at 200°c-250°c and then mixed with sand aggregates. these coated aggregates are then mixed with cement and water into mortar. moulded specimens of derived composites are then submitted to hydrothermal ripening and mechanical analysis. experimental results allow optimizing the sandaggregates coating process, providing data to locate the most appropriate ratio of plastic bags to be between 8% and 12% (wt/wt.mix):theoretically10.07%. the adopted practical value was 10%, leading to cement-plastic-mortar compositeswith90%reduction of water absorption ratio and 11.60% decrease in absolute density, compared to uncoated sand composites. similarly, the mechanical strengths of composites were 8.83±0.34mpa in compression and dr. emile adjibadé sanya (corresponding author), energetic & industrial engineering processes, department of mechanical and energetic engineering (gme), laboratory of applied energetic and mechanic (lema), polytechnic school of abomey-calavi (epac), university of abomey-calavi (uac), republic of benin, 01 pob: 2009 cotonou. phone: +229 98271804, email: <easanyas@gmail.com> dr. houénou kowanou, department of civil engineering (gc), laboratory of applied energetic and mechanic (lema), polytechnic school of abomey-calavi (epac), university of abomey-calavi (uac), republic of benin, 01 pob: 2009 cotonou. phone: +229 95964509/64639090 – email: <hkowanou@yahoo.fr> dr. dèfodji adolphe tchehouali, department of civil engineering (gc), laboratory of applied energetic and mechanic (lema), polytechnic school of abomey-calavi (epac), university of abomey-calavi (uac), republic of benin, 01 pob: 2009 cotonou. phone: +229 96609769, email: <tchehoua@yahoo.fr> acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 46 4.1±0.82mpa in 3-points flexural bending, corresponding to 74.1% and 48.1% weakening, respectively. these resistances were judged to be weak, with the result that the composites thus obtained cannot be used as the main elements of structural constructions. potential applications are water-sealing/repellent materials in walls/soil, ending with good values of a wear-resistance index similar to commercial quarry tiles/stoneware. keywords: waste plastic bags, cement-plastic-mortar composite, aggregates coating, ripening, water-absorption ratio, wear-resistance index abstrak hoë hoeveelhede afvalplastiek veroorsaak toenemend groot probleme in die omgewing van benin as gevolg van beide die nie-afbreekbaarheid van sodanige by-produkte van die petroleum-industrie asook ‘n gebrek aan ‘n geskikte middel om dit te behandel. ‘n opsie om afvalplastieksakke te valoriseer is om dit in konstruksieprosesse te gebruik.hierdie artikel ondersoek die invoeging van afvalplastieksakke in sement-klei met die doel om die verspreiding daarvan te verminder.dit ondersoek die onmiddellike gevolge van sement-klei-plastiek kombinasies, soos veranderinge in waterabsorpsieverhouding, asook die gevolglike saamgestelde en meganiese eienskappe daarvan.die proses om die samestellings te maak behels ‘n paar belangrikste stappe, waartydens afvalplastieksakke eerstens gesmelt word by 200 °c 250 °c en dan gemeng word met sand-aggregate.hierdie bedekte aggregate word dan gemeng met sement en water tot ‘n klei.gevormde monsters van afgeleide samestellings word dan voorgelê vir hidrotermale rypwording en meganiese analise.eksperimentele resultate laat optimalisering van die sandaggregate bedekkingsproses toe, deur data te verskaf om die mees geskikte verhouding van plastieksakke op te spoor wat tussen 8% en 12% (wt / wt.mix): 10.07% teoreties behoort te wees.die aanvaarde praktiese waarde was 10%, wat gelei het tot sement-plastiek-klei samestellings met 90% vermindering van waterabsorpsie-verhouding en 11,60% afname in absolute digtheid, in vergelyking met onbedekte sand samestellings.net so, was die meganiese sterkte van die samestellings 8,83 ± 0,34 mpa in kompressie en 4,1 ± 0,82 mpa in 3-punte buig buiging, wat ooreenstem met 74,1% en 48,1% verswakking, onderskeidelik.hierdie weerstand is swak, met die gevolg dat die samestellings nie gebruik kan word as die belangrikste elemente van strukturele konstruksies nie.potensiële toepassings daarvan is water-verseëling/afweermiddel materiaal in mure/grond, met goeie waardes van ‘n dra-weerstand indeks soortgelyk aan kommersiële kleiteëls steenware. sleutelwoorde: afval plastieksakke, sement-plastiek-klei samestelling, aggregate bedekking, rypwording, waterabsorpsie-verhouding, slyt-weerstand indeks abbreviations: cnertp: national centre for essays and research in public works crepa: centre africain pour l’eau potable et l’assainissement gtz: gesellschaftfür technische zusammenarbeit insae: national institute for statistics and economical analysis ldpe: low density polyethylene; sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 47 m, ms: mass, mass of sand aggregates mehu: ministry of environment and urban buildings of benin mpa: mega pascal (resistance/strength unity) rgph: population’s general census and housing rh: relative humidity (%) rncn: national network of resources centre scb-lafarge: lafarge cement company or society of benin wpb: waste plastic bags wri: wear-resistance index 1. introduction the rapid global increase in urbanisation, especially in africa and mainly in benin (insae, 2013: 1-8, vissoh, 2012: 1-313, rncn, 2011: 1-59; word-bank, 2010: 1-87), leads to enormous volumes of refuse, including non-biodegradable materials such as plastics (adégbindin, 2009: 1-80, codjia, 2009: 1-74, gtz & mehu, 1998: 1-27; gbèdo, 2009: 1-237, insae, 2013: 1-8; vissoh, 2012: 1-313). according to benin projections for 2012, landfills have effectively increased by 12,000 tons of plastic waste, including over 50% of plastic bags. recycling is thus indispensable as the only way to save the environment from risks associated with plastic wastes (lawson, liady & boglo, 2008: 1-63; rncn, 2011: 1-59; codjia, 2009: 1-74; gtz & mehu, 1998: 1-27; gbèdo, 2009: 1-237). however, all supposedly recycled plastic wastes in benin still fall in the non-recycled category, as adopted modes make for early recycling (codjia, 2009: 1-74; gbèdo, 2009: 1-239; gtz & mehu, 1998: 1-27). according to a report from the national network of resource centre (rncn, 2011: 1-59), 86% of plastic bags are simply thrown into the streets after use; 5.50% incinerated outdoors; 5.50% used for cooking in kitchens and the remaining 2.75% are kept for various other usages. recycling plastic bags, using modern techniques, is one of the vital ways in which the people of benin and other sub-saharan countries can ensure a healthy environment. unfortunately, in the majority of countries, technical and financial resources for basic recycling are virtually non-existent (codjia, 2009: 1-74; gbèdo, 2009: 1-239; gtz & mehu, 1998: 1-27). in this context, the infrastructure constructions sector is a large potential consumer and a good consignee of waste plastics. scientific literature mentions that the topic is real and indicates that acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 48 there are many opportunities for recycling waste plastics, including plastic bags, for construction processes (afroz-sultana & prasad, 2012: 1185-1191; ghernouti & rabehi, 2009: 93-100; moatasim, cheng & al-hadidy, 2011: 2764-2770, yazoghli-marzouk, dheilly & queneudec, 2005: cd-rom). the waste plastic bags have been incorporated into mortars and classic concretes for constructions and into bituminous concretes for roads (afroz-sultana & prasad, 2012: 1185-1191; jain, kumar & sengupta, 2011: 233-238; prasad, prasada-raju & kumar, 2009: 1-12; yazoghli-marzouk et al., 2005: cd-rom; vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111). some authors pointed out a reduction in the mechanical strength of such concretes as the percentage of plastic wastes increased, but the composites remained sufficiently resistant and performed well hydraulically (yazoghli-marzouk et al., 2005: cd-rom; vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111). by contrast, the method has had a beneficial effect in reducing mortars decay in an aggressive environment (ghernouti & rabehi, 2009: 93-100). indeed, a decrease in mortars mass loss was observed when it was kept in a sulphuric acid solution. this improved progressively as the incorporated ratio of waste plastics increased. plastic inclusion greatly reduced chlorite ions penetration into mortars and concretes (ghernouti & rabehi, 2009: 93-100). furthermore, researchers highlighted the potential use of waste plastics and tyres in the surface layer of roadways (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111; yazhoghli-marzouk et al., 2005: 1-8). plastic wastes, cut into 2.36mm to 4.75mm particles, heated to about 170°c, stirred for thirty minutes and added to graded 80/100 bitumen, resulted in a decrease in penetrability and ductility values. by contrast, an increase in softening, flash and fire points, and marshall’s stability, respectively, recorded an improvement in adhesiveness (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111). nevertheless, this method has limitations. when waste plastic bags are incorporated into bitumen, at a weight content exceeding 2%, material segregation can occur at the cooling stage. this limitation led the authors to develop alternative methods: the use of waste plastics for flexible pavements (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111), allowing for greater use of waste plastics. a number of authors have worked in this field (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111; afroz-sultana & prasad, 2012: 1185-1191; al-hadidy & tan, 2009: 14561464; prasad et al., 2009: 1-12; garcia-morales et al., 2012: 936-943; gupta & veeraragavan, 2009: 55-64). one of the methods includes heating the aggregates to about 170°c and introducing plastics cut into 2.36 mm to 4.75 mm particles. softened plastic waste, mixed with 60/70 or 80/100 graded bitumen, was used to shell aggregates grains also previously heated to 160°c in pavement. the resulting binders exhibited improved characteristics such as best adhesiveness, higher sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 49 softening point, better penetrability and increased resistance against water penetration (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111). the above shows that there are solutions to problems in managing waste plastics. however, the proposed techniques can still be improved, not only for a better valorisation of waste plastics (waste plastic bags, in particular) in infrastructural constructions, but also for a quantitative broader use. this article is devoted to better mastering the waste plastic bags inclusion process into the construction of buildings, particularly in cement-mortar-plastic composites made of local coated sand aggregates using molten waste plastic bags in a range of 2% to 18% (wt/wt.mix). this article explores the induced effects on the water absorption ratio and the mechanical properties of derived cement-plastic-mortar composites with regard to added plastic percentages and specimen’s age. specifically, the performance characteristics of the manufactured specimens of blended cementmortars using molten waste plastic bags, at optimized coating ratio of 10% (wt/wt.mix),providing the best composite material, were analysed with regard to their potential uses. 2. materials and methods 2.1 materials the main raw material of interest in this study is waste plastic bags. 2.1.1 waste plastic bags these plastic bags are collected from landfills with the aim of cleaning up the living environment. once collected, waste plastic bags are properly cleaned with soapy water, then rinsed with water and dried in the sun. only black waste plastic bags are used. these consist chiefly of materials made of low-density polyethylene (ldpe) that belongs to linear or branched chains of the thermoplastic polymers class obtained from additive reactions, often represented as (−ch2−ch2−)n. the ldpe’s overall behaviour thus depends on the chains’ mobility relative to each other and on c-c bonds rotation. when heated (thermoplastics), ldpe melts/softens, but recovers its rigidity on cooling; this mechanism is reversible. this main property of ldpe was thoroughly exploited in the current study. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 50 2.1.2 aggregates the two types of aggregates used are sands, with the knowledge that sand is cement-mortar’s major adulterant (neville, 2000: 463-513; maso, 1982: 247-259; pumia et al., 2003: 134-140; wood, 1991: 630-643). the one type of aggregate, taken control, is normalised sand, according to cen-en196-1 standards, and represented in this investigation by s1; the other type is rolled sand aggregates s2 originating from “adjohoun” in ouémé-plateau, a south-eastern department of benin republic. it has an equivalent-of-sand value of 91%, bulk density of 1.54, absolute density of 2.64g/cm3, a fineness modulus (mf) of 2.71, and the structure of particles size distribution as shown in figure 1. mesh-sieves openings (mm) 0.01 0.1 0.5 1 10 57 88 99 1 10 s2 sand aggregates 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 pa ss in g fr a c tio n (% ) figure 1: used sand aggregates s2particles size distribution 2.1.3 cement the cement used is from brand shield bouclier cpj-35, provided by lafarge cement company of benin, called “scb-lafarge”. table 1 indicates its chemical composition and essential characteristics. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 51 table 1: chemical composition of bouclier cement cpj-351 from scb-lafarge and some physical properties (hardening time, specific area, specific weight) components sio2 al2o3 fe2o3 cao mgo k2o nao so3 free-cao % 16.84 4.0 3.08 59.82 1.67 0.34 0.0 2.51 1.08 specific weight: 3.092 (g/cm3); bulk density: 0.992 (g/cm3); specific area: 3,665 (cm2/g) initial setting time2:174; setting time2: 68; end setting time2: 242. 1product from onigbolo cement factory (pobè): 16 july 2012 2 time in minutes 2.2 experimental equipment and accessories the experimental equipment used includes, among others, a metallic container, a gas stove, an electric mixer, an electronic mettler laboratory scale (scale range 4,000g, sensitive tenth gram), a range of moulds (40x40x160mm) for cement-mortar specimens, a set series of standardised afnor sieves, a mortar/concrete vibrator shock-apparatus, a beaker, a stem thermometer (with a range of 0°c-400°c), k-type thermocouples, an oven-dryer (of 250°c capacity), an air-conditioned room (at 18°c), a large water bath for immersing specimens during sample maturation, and a stopwatch. 2.3 methodology 2.3.1 fundamentals of the viewed concept as is known, at the end of the hydraulic concrete moulding, aggregates are surrounded by a transition layer of a few tens microns area, called feeble loose zone, and composed of two rings or layers (maso, 1982: 247-259). maso indicated that the first layer, in contact with granulate, is very compact and very fine textured, and closely attached to the aggregate by physical bonds and perhaps also chemical bonds, except for derived mica minerals, for which no connection is established. the second layer contains large-dimension, highly porous crystals, preferred orientation and low cohesion. given the characteristics of this halo transition, the second layer is the site of first irreversibility and, in particular, the seat of porosity. in a cement concrete subjected to strength in compression or traction (figure 2.1), stresses are more intense (isostatic stresses concentration) around skeleton (non-deformable granulate/aggregate in centre) than cement paste matrix. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 52 granulat 6 5 2 13 4 figure 2: paste-aggregate bonding model in cement concrete (figure 2.1, at left) (maso, 1982: 247-259) and schematic model of pursued concept (figure 2.2, at right) the pursued main objective in sand granulates coating is to clog the opened internal pores in cement-mortar with generated growths from molten plastic bags, essentially at the ripening stage. this objective of the current process is conceived and defined for achieving the following goals: • to cover sand aggregates (1) with a coat made of a layer of melted waste plastic bags (2); • to manufacture cement-mortar specimens, using the previously coated sand aggregates, and • to submit specimens of the derived cement-mortars to ripening thermal treatment. the ripening consists of subjecting these cement-mortar specimens to the process described in figure 3, after the specimens have been demoulded, their moulding having been accomplished 24 hours earlier. depending on the targeted age in the study, cement-mortar specimens of 2 days should be extracted from immersing water 24 hours later; the ones of 7days, 6 days later, and those of 28 days, 27 days later, and so on. mortar specimens are then weighed prior to being introduced in the oven at 105°c for 72 hours. after that the specimens are weighed again and soaked in water for 72 hours, whereupon they are returned to the oven for another 72 hours. a new water-immersing stage follows, for the same duration, whereupon they are again returned to the oven at 150°cfor 72 hours. each of these three steps of thermal ripening in the oven are interspersed with cold water-immersion steps effected at 21±1°c for 72 hours. the sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 53 described curing treatment is conducted on 2-day, 7-day and 28-day composite mortar specimens, respectively. in applying hydrothermal maturing treatment at different stages, the aim is that the supplied heat acts by inducing generation of a few growths (3), as shown in figure 2.2, from enveloping plastic bags layer (2), which previously coats aggregate granulate (1). these growths subsequently clog the opened cracks in the halo of transition, in the first layer (4), and especially the pores in the second layer (5), more porous ones in cement paste (6), as indicated in figure 2.2. 2.3.2. aggregates’ coating procedure figure 3: flowchart of applied hydrothermal ripening to plastic-cement-mortar specimens acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 54 the sand-aggregates coating process takes place as follows: • black waste plastic bags collected from landfills are pre-treated with soapy water, followed by rinsing with water and drying in the sun. • the cleaned and dried waste plastic bags are then weighed (mass md)and heated to fuse in an appropriate metallic container on a gas stove. this melting process is methodically carried out with an operative temperature monitoring of between 200°c and 270°c (maximum). for this, testo temperature recorder type 0°c-1000°c, 4-outputs, equipped with k-type thermocouples, was used cautiously. it is well known that polyethylene ignition temperature and in particular, decomposition temperature, such as those for most plastic materials, are between 300°c and 350°c (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111; behjat et al., 2014: 795-802). figure 4 shows an example of the acquired typical kinetics in terms of temperature during the plastic-melting phase combined with the cooling phase, due to the introduction of sand aggregates during direct-coating operation cycles. in the melting phase, waste plastic bags display three typical transformation steps, known as fusing material behaviour. in fact, in the present investigation, used waste plastic bags belonged to the all-comers category. the bags became completely liquid in all of the practical tests at a temperature of between 200°c and 260°c, as shown in figure 4. wpb melting phase (°c) time (min) 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 300 270 240 210 180 150 120 90 60 30 0 te m p e ra tu re (° c ) wpb + sand cooling phase (°c) figure 4: recorded temperature in waste plastic bags (wpb) melting phase coupled with sand aggregates-melted plastic mix (wpb + sand) cooling phase during the coating process sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 55 • the previously weighed (mass ms) sand aggregates are then poured into the molten plastic bags (mass mwpb) and the mixture (ms+mwpb) is continuously stirred. the metallic container is kept on the gas stove in order to maintain the heat, until a homogeneous mixture in colour and consistency is reached. the resulting mixture, s2-sand aggregates + plastic bags (s2+wpb), is stirred continuously in order to avoid caking caused by fast cooling. indeed, preliminary tests showed that this can lead to the formation of pancakes. in laboratory testing, for about 1kg of mixture, a rotating electromechanical agitator was used as mixer at a relatively low speed of 55-60rpm. for larger quantities, a higher electromechanical mixer or combined plastic melting-stirrer device is needed. otherwise, a 10-litre metallic recipient and a wooden bar for stirring can be manually operated to achieve the final mixture on a large size steel sheet. the added binder ratio (cwpb) was calculated as percentage mass ratio of molten waste plastic bags (mwpb) to that of mixture (ms+mwpb), according to relationship (1): cwpb=100 . mwpb/(ms+mwpb)(gwpb/100gs+wpb) (1) at this stage of the process, the coating material (molten waste plastic bags) is improperly called “binder”, because it acts like aggregates, as cement remains, in fact, the main binding constituent of composite mortar. • to complete the coating procedure, the resultant coated sand aggregates are passed through 5mm opening mesh-sieve to ensure not only looseness, but also uniform granularity. it is known that large-sized particles always cause stress concentration around particles of sand aggregates, which has a major effect in lower strengthened concretes (maso, 1982: 247-259; dorlot et al., 1986: 1-467; xie-ping et al., 1991: 999-1005).the different tested percentages of molten plastic bags (cpb) mixed with sand aggregates, for achieving various coating trials, were 2%, 5%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 15% and 18% (plastic bags weight to mix weight), respectively. higher percentages have been successfully found in roads pavement studies. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 56 2.3.3 cement-mortar composite specimen’s preparation specimens subjected to various tests were prepared, using the requirements of nf-en196-1 standards for the so-called “normal” cement-mortar: 1,350g of aggregates, 450g of cement and 225g of water per mixture or batch. a vibrating shock machine was used for the best homogenisation of mortar moulding. the mortar specimens, 40mmx40mmx160mm, were manufactured using three (3) sand variants: normalised sand, uncoated sand aggregatess2 (as control), and coated sand aggregatess2with molten plastic bags at the previously mentioned percentages. after preparation, the specimens were subjected to heat-curing treatment. this is designed not only for cement-mortars maturation, but also for inducing deformation of deposited molten plastic bags layer in the coating process and for subsequently initiating growths development towards porous vulnerable sites within the crown or halo of transition: in the first layer 4, and in the second layer 5, (figure 2.2). 2.3.4 water absorption ratio measurements as is known, concrete porous volume, regardless of the ease with which a fluid can pass through, is measured by the water absorption ratio. these two concepts are not necessarily linked, according to maso’s (1982: 247-259) granulate-cement paste bonding study. the absorption rate is usually measured by means of a procedure consisting of concrete specimen drying to constant mass, waterimmersing it and finally measuring mass increase expressed in dry mass percentage (astm-c1403).in this study, the adopted procedure complies with one of seven cited and described methods in neville (2000: 463-513). the procedure consists of immersing the cementmortar specimen in water for 72hours, removing it, eliminating excess water at specimen walls using absorbent paper, and free-air weighing prior to oven-drying at 105°c for 72 hours, whereupon the specimen is finally free-air weighed by means of the buoyancy method in distilled water. the water absorption ratio of the studied cement-mortar specimens was measured principally at the 2-day, 7-day and 28-day ages, respectively. before the required age expires, the cementmortar specimens are preserved in cold water in a climatic chamber maintained at 18°c±1°c.oncethe water absorption test starts, the immersion water is kept at a temperature of 21°c±1°c, according to the requirements of astm c642-90 standards which prescribe 21°c.theon-site recorded average relative humidity, at that time, is rh=70±5%. measurements are performed on three specimens per each lot (2 days, 7 days and 28 days). then, the data per age are mean-values of three results. these obtained values for the water sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 57 absorption ratio were subsequently compared with cement-mortars that are manufactured using the well-known sikalite. 2.3.5 absolute density determination for cement-mortar composites in these test series dedicated to the analysis of specimens’ absolute density evolution over time, mean values from triplicate measurements at 2-days and 28-days were also adopted. the procedure followed, in absolute density measurements, is the so-called “floatable” or “buoyancy” weighing method. it consists of taking specimen weight at dry-state on free-air using a mettler laboratory balance before water-immersing it for at least 72 hours for saturation. thereafter, the concrete specimen is removed from the water bath and excess water eliminated at specimen surface using absorbent paper. it is then free-air weighed, on the one hand, and in distilled water in buoyancy state, on the other. 2.3.6 optimisation of waste plastic bags coating process taking into account the behaviour of the data obtained, following water absorption test results from composite specimens made of coated aggregates using melted plastic bags percentages of 2%, 5%, 8%, 12%, 15% to 18%, respectively, the theoretical optimisation study of the coating ratio was effected. this allows isolating the optimised value of waste plastic bags content: 10% (wt/wt.mix). cement-mortar-plastic composite specimens were then manufactured at coating, retaining the optimal ratio (10%) at which physical mechanical properties were specifically studied. for this purpose, in making these tested composite specimens, the initial water and cement quantities (dosages) were also multiplied, first by factor 1.5 and then by factor 2.0. a comparison was made on the basis of decoulant mechanical characteristics. 2.3.7 assessment of the composite’s mechanical resistance specimens of three (3) variants of cement-mortar-plastic composite were mechanically tested. they include prepared variant specimens, using normalised standard sand; prepared variant specimens, using uncoated sand aggregates s2as controls, and prepared variant specimens, using coated sand aggregatess2at identified waste plastic bags’ optimized ratio of 10% (wt/wt.mix). the applied mechanical tests comprise3-pointsflexural bending and simple axial compression with respect to three finally used variants of sand aggregates and derived mortars specimens’ ages: acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 58 • 2-days, 7-days and 28-days for composite specimens made of normalised standard sand aggregates; • 2-days, 7-days and 28-days for prepared specimens from uncoated sandaggregatess2; • 2-days, 7-days, 14-days, 28-days, 45-days and 90-days for specimens made of coated sand aggregates s2 with melted waste plastic bags; the last two ages (45days and 90days) correspond to trials conducted for simulation of the composite’s long-term behaviour study. 2.3.8 potential use of cement-mortar-plastic composites technical performances were compared in the search for potential uses of the cement-mortar-plastic composite. in this study, the cementmortar-plastic composite was made for the manufacture of building tiles, particularly those for walls and floors. for the comparative study, specimens of stoneware or quarry tiles (20 different units), faiences/ fine ceramic (20 different units) and locally artisanal tiles (10) were bought from commercial companies at cotonou. these bought specimens and those from cement-mortar-plastic composite were tested for water absorption ratio, on the one hand, and for surface wearing, on the other. an agreed wear-testing apparatus of the hellemms mpr type, operating at a constant speed of exactly75 rotations, accompanied by a 150mm±0.01mm digital calliper (facom) for wear depth/impact measurement, were used. such conditions are normally used in commercial quarry tiles and stoneware testing by the national centre for essays and research in public works (cnertp), a unique laboratory in this field in the benin republic. the measured wear depth l (mm) by the wear-testing machine allows for assessing the wear-resistance index value (wri) of a tested material in reading established curves net or table based on the requirements of the nf-en-iso-4288 standards. however, wri-value can also be calculated, using the following formula (2),expressing a proportionality of work done to the snatched material volume(v): wri = (π.d.n.f)/v (2) where d is diameter of steel disc(d=200 mm), n number of cycles (n=75 rotations), f applied force value (f=2.0 kgf≈19.61n). volume of snatched material (v) is calculated as a product of the disc angular sector area by disc thickness: v=e . arcsin sin 2 . arcsin d2 π l l 8 90 d d (mm3) (2’) sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 59 it links the thickness of the steel-disc (e), its diameter (d) and measured wear depth l(mm). 3. results and discussion the results of the implementation of various formulations of cementmortar composites described in the protocol, are presented. the behaviours of new mortar composite specimens were analysed, mainly at 2-days, 7-days and 28-daysages. however, the behaviour of cement-mortars, from coated sand aggregates (s2) using molten plastic bags at optimal ratio of 10%, was analysed over a long period (up to 90 days) especially for investigating the mechanical resistance of this type of cement-mortar composite. in fact, several studies in the field have confirmed that some of the properties of normal cementconcrete can increase in long-term storage conditions (neville, 2000: 463-513; pumia et al., 2003: 134-140; dorlot et al., 1986: 1-467; larbi, 1993: 1-69). these cement-plastic-mortar composites may also exhibit similar behaviour under long-term storage conditions. 3.1 aggregates coating process mastering the coating process is crucial for the success of this method. 5.1 5.2 uncoated sand aggregates 10% coated sand aggregates 0.01 0.1 1 10 mesh-sieves openings (mm) pa ss in g fr a c tio n (% ) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 figure 5: observed flocs in coating process’ first steps, due to sudden drop in temperature following the addition of sand to melted plastic bags figure 5 illustrates an example of the results obtained with many flocs from preliminary coating experiments that failed due to fast cooling and taken in mass. these instances of flocculation are due acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 60 to a sudden drop in the temperature of the mixture, when sand aggregates were introduced into the molten plastic bags (binder), causing a very rapid cooling phase. obviously, a kind of early flocculation can occur during these coating phases, showing grasp masses resembling those flocs shown in figure 5. these examples are failed cases of coated sand aggregates. results in figure 5 show those obtained taken in mass (5.1) and the kinds of clusters of flocs from the composites. they also justify why the coating process must occur under hot temperature, with the progressive addition of sand and continuous stirring, in order to obtain a completely homogeneous mixture. the experimental results, in figures 6.1 to 6.4, show successfully coated sand aggregates. the successful coating process is characterised by independently coated aggregates forming perfectly loose “coated” individual sand granulates. no higher bounded agglomerate from coated sand aggregates exceeding 5mm opening mesh-sieve was obtained when coating procedure succeeded, as shown in figure 5.2 (results of particles size analysis) and in figure 6 (coated aggregates physical state on images taken). 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 figure 6: coated s2 sands are perfectly loose after successful operations with different appearances: coated sand at 2% (6-1), 5% (6-2), 8% (6-3), and 10% (6-4) figure 6 also shows different coloured aspects of coated sand aggregates corresponding to the different waste plastic bags percentages used. in figure 6.1, the relatively clearer appearance was obtained with 2% melted waste plastic bags coated aggregates. figures 6.2 and 6.3 disclose two variants of coated sand aggregates using 5% and 8% (wt/wt.mix) melted waste plastic bags, respectively. the darker or black aspect is obtained in the case of 10% waste plastic bags coating application to sand aggregates, as shown in figure 6.4. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 61 these examples for variants of coated sand aggregates, at the level of sand granules coating steps of devised method, on the one hand, and the results obtained from extensive testing for the purpose, in particular at waste plastic bags incorporated contents from 2% to 18% (wt/wt.mix),on the other, have mainly proved that the planned coating process • is not only undeniably feasible, but also, at different binder (= molten waste plastic bags) ratios, from 2% to 18%, with obviously the problems associated with each procedure; • a realized experiment in tested dosages ranging from 2% to 18% (wt/wt.mix) showed a relatively powerful facility for sand aggregates coating, using binder contents between 8% to 12% (wt/wt.mix), compared with coating operations done at higher waste plastic bags concentrations, namely 12 to 18%; • requires, of all the composites preparation phases, a rigorous control and continuous (rather permanent) stirring of sand granules-fused plastic mixtures. otherwise, a too rapid cooling of mixtures could occur and cause them to fail and subsequently yield similar products to the ones shown in figure 5. in the latter, material flocs or agglutinations have been recorded which consequently prevented us from achieving adequate and homogeneous coated sand aggregates. 3.2 composite mortars manufactured specimens an effective mastery of different phases of the applied coating process to sand aggregates, on the one hand, and mastery of the manufacturing process of tested mortar specimens, on the other, form various composite specimens (see figure 7). in figures 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 and more clearly in figures 7.4 and 7.5, some examples of different appearances were obtained as a result of the use of uncoated (pure) sand aggregates s2 (figure 7.1) and of coated sand aggregates s2, using the molten waste plastic bags at the rate of 15% (wt/wt.mix) (figure 7.4). these coating-process experiments clearly show that, as the waste plastic bags’ percentage incorporated into the cement-mortars increased (from 0% to 18% wt/wt.mix), the more pronounced was the decoulant black colour of the final cementsand-plastic composite. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 62 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 figure 7: various specimens’ aspects obtained after cement-plastic-mortar moulding, demoulding and ripening 3.3 measured water absorption ratios figure 8 shows the results of the experiments devoted to assessing the water absorption rate of cement-mortar composite specimens made of coated aggregates at different molten waste plastic bags percentages and mortar ages of 2-days, 7-days and 28-days. an analysis of these results identified that, in values ranging between 5% and 18% (wt/wt.mix), sand aggregates coating with melted waste plastic bags might be beneficial for use in cement-mortars in order to counteract water penetration, because of the recorded weak values of water absorption ratios: between 2.6% and 4.8%. similar values for water absorption ratios have been reviewed and published for cement mortars and concretes (neville, 2000: 463-643; wood, 1991: 630-643; pumia et al., 2003: 134-140), and represent some of the best values in the field of counteracting water penetration. however, according to current research, the best results are obtained for cement-mortar composites made of melted waste plastic bags ratios of between 8% and 12% (wt/wt.mix), with water absorption ratios of less than 2%. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 63 28 days 7 days 2 days poly. (28 days) poly. (7 days) poly. (2 days) y = 0.0003x4 0.0157x3 + 0.3354x2 3.2042x + 12.1250 r2 = 1.0 plastic bags content in cement mortars (%) w a te r a b so rp tio n o f c e m e nt m o rt a r ( % ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 figure 8: specimens of water absorption ratios versus incorporated melted waste plastic bags percentages at different cement-mortar composites age it is interesting to note that, owing to the behaviours of various tested specimens, as shown in figure 8, one can easily understand and affirm that the sought water absorption ratio’s optimal value is obviously located in the last targeted interval of [8%, 12%]. nevertheless, an optimisation procedure was conducted for assessing the value of the waste plastic bags content, which minimizes the water absorption ratio. in this study, the modelling function corresponding to the equation of tendency (3), that adequately matches 28-days experimental data (the most accurate), has subsequently been chosen and expressed as follows: y=0.003x4 0.0157x3 + 0.3354x2 3.2042x + 12.125 (3) with a regression coefficient value of r2=1.0. derivation of function (3) leads to the following function (4), which has been set to zero for assessing roots, particularly the real one of the existing three: acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 64 dy/dx = 0.0012.x3 0.0471.x2 + 0.6708.x 3.2042 = 0 (4) trend equation (4) was then solved using excel software 2008. theoretical calculations led to molten waste plastic bags percentage (x) of x=10.07045%, corresponding to the theoretical minimised water absorption ratio (y-value) of y=0.922%, according to selected model equation (3). it was found that the x-value finally justified the choice for the adopted practical x-value of x=10% for waste plastic bags ratio, leading to the corresponding y-value of y=0.923% assigned for realising our complementary investigations. this was also used to find out the reasons why recorded values for water absorption ratio on the tested specimens increased beyond the plastic bags content of about 12% to 18% (wt/wt.mix). indeed, table 2 reveals the results of the trend relative to increasing water absorption ratio for the tested composite specimens, using 12% to 18% waste plastic bag contents. table 2: water absorption increase ratios beyond12% incorporated plastic bags content in cement-plastic-mortar composites water absorption ratio(%) at plastic bags contents of recorded ratio increase beyond 12% plastic content (%) age of tested mortar specimens (in days)12% 18% 1.39 2.88 51.74 2 1.52 4.64 67.24 7 1.26 4.10 69.20 28 it is obvious that, in selected interval [12%, 18 %] (wt/wt.mix basis) and for tested specimens’ different ages (2 days, 7 days and 28 days), the obtained water absorption ratios showed significant relative increases: 51.74% at 2 days, 67.24% at 7 days and 69.2% at 28 days (the percentage increase is based on respective values reached at 18% plastic bags content). sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 65 9.1 9.2 9.3 figure 9: thin layer coating (9.1), using molten waste plastic bags (no crack) can even be used to take water (9.2); thick layer coating cracks (9.3) these exploratory tests also revealed that, at the macroscopic level, the coatings thus realised (figure 9), using molten plastic bags, cracked when deposited thicknesses were larger (figure 9.3) than for thin coated layers (figure 9.1). it is thus highly probable that a similar phenomenon occurred at the microscopic level of the coated materials, causing micro-cracks when the layer of melted plastic bags became thicker around aggregate granules. the attempt to interpret this observed behaviour was attributed to the irregular shrinkage of a large mass of molten plastic bags tied to a more intense cooling surface, resulting in a faster curing at the depth of the deposited coating material. during the cooling phase, generated thermo-mechanical stresses tend to induce a curved surface of molten plastic bags layer on the outside. as all material matrix masses reach the same temperature when cooling, internal stresses become higher than external ones. the bonds are also more rigid in the vicinity of aggregates (maso, 1982: 247-259; wood, 1991: 630-643), the cement-mortar composite having a rigid body at operating temperature. these higher internal constraints consequently force the material structure to bend inwards, hence generating outer surface expansion, which cannot follow this induced trend. accordingly, cracks emerge due to the collapse, and grow with material mass cooling rate. these resulting cracks may explain why cement-mortar-plastic composite can turn out and be again vulnerable to water penetration. water passes through the cracks and the produced composite becomes water absorbent again until it reaches crack saturation. differential shrinkage of cement-mortars naturally provokes micro-cracks as shown in attiogbé and darwin’s (1987: 491-500) study on submicrocracking in cement pastes and mortars. during the further maturing of the cement-mortar-plastic composite, from 24 hours to 28 days, combined shrinkages can also acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 66 take place due to the incorporation of melted waste plastic bags into the cement-mortar. this may explain the recorded difference in water absorption ratio increases beyond 12% of plastic content. 3.4 effects of aggregates coating on mass and density of composite this section analyses the results from measurements aimed at monitoring the evolution of the tested specimen’s mass and absolute density, as a function of incorporated amounts of waste plastic bags. figure 10.1 displays the recorded masses for the cementmortar specimens, using the three variants of sand aggregates discussed earlier. in examining these data, it can be noted that the weight of cement-mortar specimens made with normalised sand is superior to that made with uncoated sand s2 (control). the latter weighed significantly more than the manufactured cement-mortar specimens made with coated sand aggregates s2 at a 10% molten waste plastic bags ratio. in other words, this clearly shows that the sand-aggregates coating process, using melted plastic bags, causes a mass reduction in cement-mortar specimens of identical dimensions. such recorded tendency was realistic and coherent, due to replacing a mass portion of sand granules with molten plastic bags in unaltered mould volume that remains the same as for built cement-mortar specimens. figure 10.2 displays the results from tests studying the average absolute density evolution of manufactured cement-mortar specimens using coated sand aggregates s2, at different percentages of added waste plastic bags during a 28-days observation. from these results, it can be concluded that, as the plastic bags ratio increased in cement-mortar composites, the absolute density of the specimen decreased. this seemed normal, as the specimen’s volume was kept identical at 40x40x160mm3, regardless of its molten plastic bags content, on the one hand, and the fact that the density of plastic bags is lower (0.91-0.94g/cm3) than that of the replaced sand (2.64g/cm3), on the other. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 67 600 580 560 540 520 500 480 460 440 normalized sand different used sand aggregates 10.1 10.2 585 557.8 493.2 c e m e nt m o rt a r’ s m a ss ( g ) uncoated sand s2 coated sand s2 at 10% absolute density ecartype 2.1792.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 2.176 2.077 2.068 2.042 1.973 1.873 1.553 a b so lu te d e ns ity ( kg /m 3 ) normalized sand; 0%=uncoated sand aggregates s2; from 2% to 18% (wt/wt.mix) = coated sand aggregates norm. sand 0% 2% 5% 8% 12% 15% 18% figure 10: compared masses (top) and absolute densities (bottom) for produced cement-mortars using three (3) sand variants: normalised sand, uncoated sand s2, and coated sand s2, at 10% plastic bags ratio acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 68 the polynomial model, that adequately fits these data obtained on the evolution of the composite specimen’s absolute density (y) with respect to molten waste plastic bags content (x), can be expressed by means of the function drawn from the tendency equation: y = -0.001.x4 + 0.022.x3 0.081.x2 + 0.055.x + 2.164 (5) with a regression coefficient value of r²=0.998. this function remains roughly identical for the results obtained on specimens of 2-days and 7-days age, as well as for those of 28-days age tested ones. 3.5 ripening effects on optimised composite mortar following the analysis of the data presented in the graphs for the behaviour of tested specimens made with coated sand aggregates, it was found that lower values in the water absorption ratio were obtained in contents ranging between 8% and 12%. table 3: operative conditions for hydrothermal ripening cementplastic mortars ripening steps oven-drying temperature (°c) staying time (h) water-immersion temperature (°c) staying time (h) step 1 105 72 21±1 72 step 2 105 72 21±1 72 step 3 150 72 21±1 72 in an optimisation progression, on the one hand, and observing the propensity reached from the experiments for studying water absorption ratio, on the other, it seemed essential to explore in more detail the case of an optimal coating ratio of 10% and then find any practical conditions under which to obtain better favourable to less water-absorption ratio scores. table 3 summarises the hydrothermal ripening stages and corresponding operative conditions applied to cement-mortar composite specimens in these test series, which were also conducted to determine water absorption ratios. figure 11 shows the different results obtained regarding the recorded waterabsorption reduction ratio due to the hydrothermal ripening treatment applied to cement-plastic-mortar composite specimens. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 69 11 .1 : u nc o a te d s 2 (1 .0 c e m e nt -w a te r d o se ) 11 .2 : c o a te d s 2 a t 1 0% ( 1. 0 c e m e nt -w a te r d o se ) 11 .3 : c o a te d s 2 a t 1 0% ( 1. 5 c e m e nt -w a te r d o se ) 11 .4 : c o a te d s 2 a t 1 0% ( 2. 0 c e m e nt -w a te r) c o a te d s a nd a g g re g a te s s2 a t 1 0% (1 .5 ti m e s: c e m e nt /w a te r d o sa g e ) u nc o a te d s a nd a g g re g a te s (1 d o sa g e : c e m e nt /w a te r) c o a te d s a nd a g g re g a te s s2 a t 1 0% (2 .0 ti m e s: c e m e nt /w a te r d o sa g e ) c o a te d s a nd a g g re g a te s s2 a t 1 0% ( 1 d o sa g e : c e m e nt /w a te r) 2 d a ys 2 d a ys 2 d a ys 2 d a ys 9 910111213 910 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 c e m e nt m o rt a r a g e c e m e nt m o rt a r a g e c e m e nt m o rt a r a g e c e m e nt m o rt a r a g e water absorption reduction ratio (%) water absorption reduction ratio (%) water absorption reduction ratio (%) water absorption reduction ratio (%) 7 d a ys 7 d a ys 7 d a ys 7 d a ys 28 d a ys 28 d a ys 28 d a ys 28 d a ys ri p e ni ng 1 ri p e ni ng 1 ri p e ni ng 1 ri p e ni ng 1 ri p e ni ng 2 ri p e ni ng 2 ri p e ni ng 2 ri p e ni ng 2 ri p e ni ng 3 ri p e ni ng 3 ri p e ni ng 3 ri p e ni ng 3 fi g ur e 1 1: m e a su re d w a te ra b so rp tio n ra tio s sh o w in g a s ig ni fic a nt re d uc tio n fo r 1 0% w a st e p la st ic b a g sc o a te d c e m e nt -m o rt a r c o m p o sit e s acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 70 it is also important to note that variable dosages of cement and water have been experimented with: 1time, 1.5times and 2times cement-water dosages. the results for the cement-mortar specimens prepared with uncoated sand aggregates s2 taken as control (figure 11.1) showed that heat-maturing treatment induced some relatively weak effects on the behaviour of corresponding cementmortars. furthermore, values of water-absorption ratios were nearly constant for each of the three explored ages. nevertheless, a very small difference (below 1%) in water-absorption ratios was noticed from 2-days to 28-days. it is suggested that the specimens’ age does not significantly affect the water-absorption ratio of cementplastic-mortar composites made of uncoated sand aggregates. this conclusion does not hold when compared with the results in figures 11.2, 11.3 and 11.4. from the latter, the application of molten plastic bags coating has been clearly indexed as a determining factor that provokes differences in water-absorption ratios recorded in the test series. indeed, the results in figure 11.2 clearly show that the application of plastic-bags coating to s2 sand aggregates, at 10% (wt/ wt.mix basis), has contributed to a significant reduction in the waterabsorption ratio for cement-mortar composite specimens. moreover, the reduced water-absorption ratio was also affected, to a relatively higher extent, by heat-ripening treatment applied to cement-mortar composites. a similar result was also obtained when cement-water dosage was multiplied by 1.5 (figure 11.3) and 2.0 (figure 11.4), respectively. one could notice the slight effects of reduced waterabsorption ratios in addition to those previously recorded, when the age of the cement-mortar composites increased, especially as maturing treatment conditions rose (ripening 3 at 150°c against ripening 2 or 1 at 105°c). ultimately, the results of these tests to evaluate the water-absorption ratio for the various cement-mortar specimens show that: • an over-dosage of water and/or cement, in multiplying by 1.5 or 2 times, is not conducive to improving the waterabsorption reduction ratio, by embedding waste plastic bags in cement-mortar composite by means of this chosen sand aggregates coating; • a layer of molten waste plastic bags coating on sand aggregates significantly contributes to a reduction in the water-absorption ratio of cement-plastic-mortars. indeed, sand-aggregates coating, to a large extent, reduces the water-absorption ratio from 10% to about 1% (exactly 0.923%),subsequently generating an improved reduction ratio of 85-90%. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 71 such interesting results have led us to confirm that the applied coats (molten waste plastic bags) successfully generated growths, mainly during the 150°c ripening stage, that act efficiently as obstructers for major porous sites in the structure of cement-plastic-mortars, drastically reducing the water penetration ratio of the resulting composites. it is known that these used waste plastic bags belonging to the thermoplastic polymers category are susceptible to relative deformation under heat (dorlot et al., 1986: 1-467; halary, 2006: 1-73; naskara & chakia, 2010: 128-134; vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111). such behaviour also justifies the adopted specific coating process in the current investigation and, accordingly, in other chosen methods elsewhere (vasudevan et al., 2007: 105-111; prasad et al., 2009: 1-12; yazoghli-marzouk et al., 2005: cd-rom). the performances of this process, for waste plastic bags valorization, were compared with those for prepared cement-mortars using classical sikalite. in the latter, the prescription of en-196.1 standards is 1kg of sikalite for 50kg of cement. figure 12 shows the results of a comparative study for water-absorption ratios of both variants of cement-mortar composites prepared by using the waste plastic bags and sikalite, respectively. the behaviour of the water-absorption ratio was also observed as a function of the specimen’s age: at 2days, 7days and 28days. from these results, one can affirm that, for these three specimens, the water-absorption ratio of cement-mortar blended with melted waste plastic bags, through a process of aggregates coating, is chiefly lower than that made with classically applied sikalite. as for sikalite, the water-absorption ratio of prepared cement-plasticmortar composites decreases as the specimen’s age increases. cement-mortar composites, blended with waste plastic bags, can qualitatively be successfully used as sealer materials instead of sikalite in infrastructures construction. this result is very interesting and satisfactory in research on counteracting water penetration of cement-mortar built materials: the case of cement-mortar water repellents. however, there are significant disadvantages in the mechanical properties of these cement-mortar composites. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 72 waste plastic bags 1.52 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2 days ages of the cited cement-mortars in legend w a te r a b so rp tio n ra tio ( % ) 7 days 28 days 7.2 6.7 1.38 0.923 6.6 sikalite figure 12: compared values for water-absorption ratios of cement-mortar composites, using waste plastic bags (wp-bags) and classical sikalite 3.5 measured mechanical resistances figure 13 shows the results from the mechanical tests done in 3-points bending (figure 13.1) and classical compression (figure 13.2), for the three (3) variants of sand aggregates (normalised, uncoated and coated sands). these sands are for specimens of cement-mortars made of normalised standard sand; those made of sand aggregates s2 without plastic bags, and those made of cement-mortar-plastic composite with coated s2 aggregates, using the optimised value of melted waste plastic bags content: 10% (wt/wt.mix). these data integrate the mechanical characteristics measured as a function of the specimen’s age: 2days, 7days and 28days. figure 13.1 presents the mechanical results of 3-points flexural bending on cement-mortars obtained from using the three (3) sand variants. one must bear in mind that the data of 3-points flexural bending of cement-mortar from normalised standard sand shows increased behaviour: from 4.08±0.64 mpa at 2days, to 6.61±0.63 mpa at 7days, up to 7.59±0.73 mpa at 28days. the recorded values for flexural resistance are found to be consistent with those from standardised sand. furthermore, it was observed that they are of the same order of magnitude as those obtained for cement-mortars prepared from uncoated control sand s2: 4.08±0.64mpa to 7.9±0.17 mpa. the previous two sets of values are significantly higher than the resistances recorded for cementmortar specimens prepared from coated sand aggregates s2, using sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 73 molten waste plastic bags at an optimized content of 10%: between 1.78±0.51 mpa and 4.76±0.24 mpa. like the behaviour observed for values of standardized sand cement-mortar flexural strength, the values provided by the two sands s2 studied cement-mortar variants (uncoated sand s2 and molten plastic bags coated sand s2) also developed a similar increase in tendency function of the specimen’s age between 0 and 28 days. 16.07 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 rc2d rc2d rc2drc7d normalized sand m e c ha ni c a l s tr e ng th ( m pa ) uncoated sand s2 comparative behaviors of different cement mortars in compression testing coated sand s2 at 10% rc7d rc7drc28d rc28d rc28d 29.07 37.3 13.8 26.2 31.2 4.76 6.65 7.41 13.1: axial compression testing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 4.08 6.61 7.59 4.2 6.1 7.9 1.78 2.47 3.76 rf2d rf2d rf2drf7d rf7d rf7d normalized sand m e c ha ni c a l s tr e ng th ( m pa ) uncoated sand s2 comparative behaviors of different cement mortars in 3-points bending testing coated sand s2 at 10% rf28d rf28d rf28d 13.2: 3-points flexural bending tests figure 13: comparison of mechanical strengths of cement-mortars of 3 sand aggregates: standardised, uncoated s2 and coated s2 at 10% waste plastic bags content acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 74 legend: notations rb2d, rb7d to rb28d and rc2d, rc7d, rc28d in the figures are identifiers of the values obtained for resistance in flexural bending (rb) and in compression (rc) for the tested cement-mortar specimens at 2 days, 7 days and 28 days. figure 13.2 shows the results of the compression testing of cement mortars made of three (3) sand variants, thus indicating that the compressive strength values of the standardised sand’s mortar increased from 16.07±1.04 mpa at 2 days, to 29.07±0.63 mpa at 7 days and to 37.3±0.28 mpa at 28 days. a similar trend was also recorded for cement-mortars prepared by using control sand s2 and coated sand s2 at 10% waste plastic bags content. however, one can observe that the resistance values displayed by control sand s2 (uncoated cement mortar) are commonly lower than those of normalised standard sand: 13.8±0.54 mpa, 26.2±1.01 mpa, and 31.2±0.81 mpa, respectively. these results are fairly consistent, since normalised standard sand is used because of its recognised high-quality properties. values obtained from compressive testing the manufactured cement-mortar specimens using coated sand aggregates s2 at 10% content are weak, namely 4.76±0.24 mpa at 2 days, 6.65±0.43 mpa at 7 days, and 7.41±0.91 mpa at 28 days, respectively, compared to those from uncoated sand s2. table 4 presents the strength-reduction ratios calculated for cement-mortars, following the incorporation of waste plastic bags at optimised 10% (wt/wt.mix) content. table 4: recorded behaviour for strength-reduction ratios of cement-mortars with coating of sand aggregates s2, using molten plastic bags at 10% content evolution of strength-reduction ratio as function of the cement-mortar age (%) test types 2days 7days 28days 3-points bending 42.38 40.49 47.59 compression 34.49 25.38 23.75 the values presented in table 4 led to the conclusion that the inclusion of waste plastic bags with sand aggregates coating at an optimised ratio of 10% (wt/wt.mix) weakens the strength of decoulant cementmortar composites, in ratios ranging between 40% and 48% for 3-points flexural bending and 24% and 35% for compression testing. figure 14 shows results for mechanical measurements in long-term (up to 90 days). these data clearly show that the resistance values sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 75 recorded for plastic bags incorporated in cement-mortars increased to 45 days, whereafter stabilisation finally occurred at average values of 8.83±0.34 mpa in compression and 4.1±0.82 mpa in 3-points flexural bending tests, respectively. this long-term increase in mechanical strength of the cement-plastic-mortar composite has already been observed in results for classical cement concretes (larbi, 1993: 1-69; maso, 1982: 247-259; neville, 2000: 463-513; wood, 1991: 630-643; pumia et al., 2003: 134-140). 2 days 1.78 4.76 6.65 2.47 3.22 6.94 3.76 7.41 4.08 8.83 8.83 4.1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 days 14 days 28 days age of composite cement mortars in 3-points flexural bending in axial compression m e c ha ni c a l r e sis ta nc e ( m pa ) 45 days 90 days figure 14: strength in 3-points bending and compression for cement-mortar specimens using coated sand aggregate s2 at 10% plastic bags versus mortars age 2 to 90 days this shows that the incorporation of melted waste plastic bags in cement-mortar composites does not affect their long-term storage maturing. all the values obtained for mechanical resistance of the cement-plastic-mortar composites are understandably weak compared to those from simple uncoated sand aggregates s2 cement-mortars (larbi, 1993: 1-69; neville, 2000: 463-513; wood, 1991: 630-643; pumia et al., 2003: 134-140). for that reason, these low-resistance values (8.83 mpa in compression and 4.1 mpa in 3-points flexural bending) clearly define and restrict the intended uses of cement-plastic-mortar composites containing 10% incorporated plastic bags compared to the ones for outside layers, as plasters for walls, or surfaces finishing of infrastructural buildings, or roads construction. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 76 3.6 potential use of cement-mortar-plastic composites table 5 presents the results from a comparative study devoted to the potential uses of the fused plastic-cement-mortar composites in the form of quarry tiles for walls and soil coating. these data were linked to water-absorption ratio and surface wear-resistance-index for classical commercial quarry tiles of different types. table 5: measured water-absorption ratios, surface-wear depths and wri for commercial quarry tiles (three kinds) and plastic-cement-mortar composites tested materials types water absorption rate (%) wear depth at 75 rotation (l mm) wear-resistanceindex (wri) stoneware tiles 0.89±0.31 (20*) 21.60±1.35 (20*) 915-1405 fine ceramic 14.95±5.44 (20*) 23.00±1.63 (20*) 725-1240 artisanal mortar tiles 13.34±2.64 (10**) 40.20±4,32 (10**) 120-240 cement-mortar-plastic 0.90±0.05 (12***) 26.30±1.53 (12***) 510-725 * on 20 trials basis ** on 10 trials basis *** on 12 trials basis the wear depth (l) takes value in an interval of 15mm ≤ l ≤ 54mm, corresponding to 3360 (at l=15mm) ≥ wri ≥ 70 (at l=54mm). the more the l-value approaches 15mm, the more resistant the tested material. an analysis of the results in table 5 shows that the recorded wear depth l (26.30±1.53mm) corresponds to the wear-resistanceindex value (wri) of 510-725. this is relatively lower than those for imported commercial products such as porcelain tiles 915-1405 (21.60±1.35mm) and faiences/fine ceramic 725-1240 (23±1.63mm), but higher than locally artisanal fabricated products 120-240 (40.20±4.32mm). figure 15 shows examples of traditional buildings made of local lateritic sand, the basic raw building material used in beninese villages and neighbouring countries. indeed, according to a report of the third general population census and housing (rgph), 55.3% of siding walls,1.1% of roof sand 40.2% of soils are made of earthen bars, and 55.8% of cement screed (insae, 2013: 1-8).these needs illustrate that surface-coating material can undoubtedly serve the interests of the majority of the population. in fact, without a great financial constraint, it would solve two problems: seal concrete and mortar slabs, on the one hand, and integrate bathrooms inside traditional buildings made of earthen bar walls, on the other. sanya, kowanou & tchéhouali • valorisation of waste plastic bags... 77 figure 15: traditional earthen buildings deterioration due to water penetration showing the urgent need for wall coatings in benin conclusion the two most important objectives of this article were to analyse the water-absorption ratio and decoulant mechanical strength of cement-mortars blended with molten waste plastic bags, by means of a sand aggregates coating method. the results have shown that and aggregates coating for construction processes is feasible, thus providing the possibility for waste plastic bags recycling and subsequently confirming waste plastic bags valorisation. various tests have revealed that, at waste plastic bags ratios of between 5% and 18% (wt/wt.mix), sand aggregates coating is beneficial for the mortars in order to counteract water penetration, for which a reduction ratio of almost 85%-90% was recorded at 10 % (wt/wt.mix) inclusion level. in return, significant weakening effects were recorded on the cement-mortar’s mechanical strength, both in compression and in 3-points flexural bending tests, although the strength values thus obtained showed a gradual increase with mortar’s age. loss of strength, compared to baseline, was approximately 1/3 in compression and 1/2 in 3-points flexural bending at the specimen’s age of 28 days. the overall results led to the conclusion that cement-mortars made of molten plastic bags coated with sand aggregates cannot be used in structural constructions. nevertheless, this composite material can be used effectively for surface coating works in building processes. acta structilia 2015: 22(2) 78 references list adégbindin, s. 2009. caractérisation des déchets solides ménagers (dsm) dans la commune d’abomey-calavi. mémoire de diplôme d’ingénieur de conception. ecole polytechnique d’abomey-calavi. université d’abomey calavi, bénin. afroz-sultana, s.k & prasad, k.s.b. 2012. utilization of waste plastics as a strength modifier in surface course of flexible and rigid pavements. international journal of engineering research and applications, 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zone properties at the portland cement paste interface. cement and concrete research, 21(6), pp. 999-1005. yazoghli-marzouk, o., dheilly, r.m. & queneudec, m. 2005. valorisation des déchets d’emballages plastiques dans les matériaux de construction. in: récents progrès en génie des procédés, no. 92. 10ème congrès de la société française de génie des procédés (sfgp): le génie des procédés vers de nouveaux espaces. toulouse, 20-22 septembre 2005 (cd-rom). france, paris: ed. lavoisier, cd-rom. 126 ruben ndihokubwayo & theo haupt origin – cause matrix: a practical approach for identification of waste associated with variation orders peer reviewed abstract this article has a two-fold aim, namely of reviewing the literature pertaining to waste associated with variation orders and providing a tool for identification of waste zones arising from a variation order. literature was reviewed about the administration and waste associated with variation orders. two case studies for the purpose of the study consisted of completed apartment complexes in cape town. variation orders on the respective projects were grouped by number and value in an origin-cause table. the literature review confirmed the likelihood of waste of resources following the occurrence of variation orders. arguably, the excessive occurrence of variation orders was among factors that contributed to overall higher construction delivery costs and time overruns. by auditing each variation order in terms of the value, origin agent and the cause, it was possible to identify some project aspects that yielded waste of resources. typically, these were the cost of errors originating from the consultant and the client. the origin-cause matrix could be a tool to provide a breakdown of the probable magnitude of waste associated with variation orders. the study was confined to a limited number of apartment-type construction projects to provide insight into the potential impact of variation orders on project performance. the origin-cause matrix could be a practical tool used to track construction project activities that yield waste. the topic discusses issues that have not been widely covered by previous research studies. the origin-cause matrix was designed as a tool for identification of waste based on a theory of waste formation. keywords: causes, non value-adding, origin agents, variation orders, waste mr ruben ndihokubwayo, junior researcher, southern africa built environment research center (saberc), department of built environment, faculty of engineering, cape peninsula university of technology, p o box 1906, bellville, south africa, 7535. tel.: 021-9596317/6637, mobile: 0737215859, e-mail: <ndihokubwayor@cput.ac.za> prof. theo haupt, research coordinator, southern africa built environment research center (saberc), department of built environment, faculty of engineering, cape peninsula university of technology, p o box 1906, bellville, south africa, 7535. tel.: 021-9596845/6637, mobile: 0824929680, e-mail: <hauptt@cput. ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 127 abstrak hierdie artikel het ’n tweeledige doel, naamlik ’n literatuuroorsig oor afval wat geassosieer word met wysigingsopdragte, asook die verskaffing van ’n instrument vir die identifisering van afval sones wat onstaan as gevolg van wysigingsopdragte. ‘n literatuurstudie oor die administrasie van afval as gevolg van wysigingsopdragte is gedoen. twee gevallestudies oor voltooide woonstelblokke in kaapstad is vir die doel van die studie gebruik. wysigingsopdragte vir die onderskeie projekte is groepeer deur nommers en waarde in ’n ontstaanoorsprong matriks saam te voeg. die literatuuroorsig bevestig die waarskynlikheid dat afval van hulpbronne onstaan as gevolg van die voorkoms van wysingsopdragte. argumentsonthalwe, die oortollige voorkoms van wysigingsopdragte was onder faktore wat bygedra het tot ’n oorhoofse konstruksie afleweringskoste asook tydoorskryding. deur elke wysigingsopdrag te oudit in terme van waarde, oorsprong-agent en die oorsprong daarvan, was dit moontlik om sommige projek-aspekte te identifiseer wat vermorsing van hulpbronne oplewer. tipies, was hierdie aspekte die koste van foute voortspruitend uit die konsultant en kliënt. die ontstaan-oorsprong matriks kan ’n instrument wees om ’n afbreking van die moontlike grootte van afval geassosieer met wysigingsopdragte te verskaf. die studie is beperk tot ’n aantal woonsteltipe konstruksie projekte om insig te verskaf in die potensiële impak van wysigingsopdragte op projek-aanbieding. die ontstaan-oorsprong matriks kan as ’n praktiese instrument gebruik word om konstruksieprojekte aktiwiteite te volg wat afval oplewer. die onderwerp bespreek gevalle wat nie wyd gedek is deur vorige navorsing nie. die ontstaan-oorsprong matriks is ontwerp as ’n instrument vir die identifikasie van afval gebaseer op ’n teorie van afvalvorming. sleutelwoorde: oorsake, nie-waardetoevoeging, oorsprong-agente, wysigingsorders, afval 1. introduction a construction contract is a business agreement that is subject to variability. contractual clauses relating to changes allow parties involved in the contract to freely initiate variation orders within the ambit of the scope of the works without alteration of the original contract. variation orders involve additions, omissions, alterations and substitutions in terms of quality, quantity and schedule of works. without contractual clauses, the building contractor would have to agree to erect without any change the building shown on the drawings and represented in the bills of quantities for a contract sum. ssegawa et al. (2002) argued that the spirit in which variation orders are permitted allows the contract to proceed without compiling another contract to cater for the changes. most contracts make provision for possible variations given the nature of building construction (finsen, 2005; wainwright & wood, 1983). a degree of change should be expected since it is difficult for clients to visualise the end product they procure (love, 2002). unforeseen conditions1 1 such as for example adverse ground conditions affecting foundations which become apparent only during excavation. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 128 may arise which require measures that have not been provided for in the contract (finsen, 2005). however, the disadvantage of the variation clause is that architects tend not to crystallise their intentions on paper before the contract is signed because they know the variation clause will permit them to finalise their intentions during the term of the contract (wainwright & wood, 1983). an unfortunate aspect of the variation clause is that it tends to encourage clients to change their minds and embark on building projects without having properly thought through their project requirements (finsen, 2005). traditionally, the clients’ prima perceived requirements include functionality, durability and optimality. in order to achieve these requirements, clients appoint consultant-teams to advise them on design and optimum use of resources. on the other hand, contractors concern themselves predominantly with construction input costs and their reduction. little recognition is given to the fact that the clients or their agents may be sources of higher construction costs. clients and consultants typically forget that issuing numerous variation orders result in higher construction costs. for example, a client who targets a completion date may want works to start on site while the design is still at a sketchy stage. in some cases, the construction works may overlap the design where the contractor will have to wait for the detailed design. as a result, some works are put on hold and others are subject to abortion or demolition. arguably, the costs for aborted works are wastage of resources and are typically transferred to the client. they contribute to higher construction delivery costs. the construction industry does not grasp that the reduction of the occurrence of variation orders may optimally lower construction delivery costs. ibbs (1997) concluded that the greater the amount of change the greater the negative impact on both productivity and cost. 2. categorisation of site instructions variation orders are often issued in the form of site or contract instructions. consequently, variation orders have rightly or wrongly been loosely referred to as site or architect’s instructions. it is unclear from the work of various authors and standard forms of contract what instructions should be regarded as variation orders or not. according to uff (2005) disputes often arise as to whether an instruction actually constitutes a variation order because the contract is silent on a definition of what may constitute a variation. ssegawa et al. (2002) contend that there is no single definition of what a variation is. not all architect’s instructions constitute variation orders such as ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 129 for example, an instruction to remove defective work (wainwright & wood, 1983; fidic, 1999). the jbcc2 (2005) defines a contract instruction as a written instruction signed and issued by or under the authority of the principal agent to the contractor. the fidic3 (1999) general conditions clause 3.3 stipulates that the engineer may issue to the contractor instructions and additional or modified drawings which may be necessary for the execution of the works and the remedying of any defects, all in accordance with the contract. but, not all instructions vary the contractual arrangements or the way the works are being undertaken. consequently, some contract instructions may be considered as variation orders while others may not. it is useful to categorise site instructions on the basis of whether they are variation orders or not. with reference to clause 17 (jbcc, 2005) of the principal building agreement, finsen (2005) derived five categories of contract instructions including: instruction to vary the design, quality or quantity of works, for • example to carry out an additional work. this is a variation order. instruction to resolve discrepancies between contract • documents, for example to rectify errors. this is a variation order. instruction to reiterate or enforce contractual provisions, for • example to remove from site goods that do not conform to original specifications: this is not a variation order. it becomes a variation order if incidental to instruction in terms of categories 1 and 2. instruction to deal with monetary allowance, for example to • indicate how to spend money budgeted under prime cost: this is not a variation order. it becomes a variation order if incidental to instruction in terms of categories 1 and 2. instruction to protect the client’s interest, for example to • remove from site camp a worker that constitutes a nuisance. this is not a variation order at all. 2 the joint building contracts committee 3 fidic is a french acronym that stands for fédération internationale des ingénieursconseils interpreted in english as international federation of consulting engineers acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 130 3. nature of variation orders the nature of variation orders can be determined by referring to both the reasons for their occurrence and subsequent effects. arain & pheng (2005) distinguished two types of variation orders, namely beneficial and detrimental variation orders. 3.1 beneficial variation orders a beneficial variation order is one issued to improve the quality standard, reduce cost, schedule, or degree of difficulty in a project (arain & pheng, 2005). it is a variation order initiated for value analysis purposes to realise a balance between the cost, functionality and durability aspects of a project to the satisfaction of the client. a beneficial variation order eliminates unnecessary costs from a project; and as a result, it optimises the client’s benefits against the resource input by eliminating unnecessary costs. however, it should be noted that regardless of how beneficial a variation order might be, non value-adding costs are likely to accrue as a result. for example, a variation order to solve the discrepancies between contract documents involves the abortion of works that have already been executed. cost for aborted works should not have been incurred if discrepancies were not found between contract documents. 3.2 detrimental variation orders a detrimental variation order is one that negatively impacts the client’s value or project performance (arain & pheng, 2005). arguably, a detrimental variation order compromises the client’s value system. a client who is experiencing financial problems may require the substitution of quality standard expensive materials to sub-standard cheap materials. for example, on a construction project situated in a salty environment, steel window frames result in steel oxidation if selected in lieu of timber or aluminium frames. 4. waste associated with variation orders 4.1 concept of waste vis-à-vis variability the paradigm of waste as used in construction has various meanings depending on one’s point of view. very often, waste has been referred to as physical losses of material occurring during the construction process. according to formoso et al. (1999) most studies on waste are based on the conversion model where material losses are considered to be synonymous to waste. waste is defined as: ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 131 any inefficiency that results in the use of equipment, materials, labour, or capital in larger quantity than those considered as necessary in the production of the building. (formoso et al.,1999: p. 325) however, it should be understood that the contractor recognises allowable waste as the percentage for losses of material allocated to bill rate components by the estimator at tender stage and it varies from one material to another. unfortunately the existing estimating and contract valuation techniques do not provide a clear breakdown of losses of materials resulting from variation orders. for example, cement that hardens in the stores following a variation order to suspend works is not allocated to the variation order account. waste of materials resulting from the occurrence of variation orders may, for example, emanate from the following circumstances: compensating waste arising when material ordered for one • specific purpose is used for another. for example, facing bricks ordered for external wall erection may be used for internal plastered walls when there is a shortage of common bricks. waste due to the uneconomic use of plant arising when the • plant lies idle on site as a result of a variation order. saukkoriipi & josephson (2006) estimated the waste for non-productive use of resources at more than 10% of a project’s production cost. waste of materials due to incorrect decisions, indecision or • inconsistent inspection of works by the project consultant. waste of materials after demolition of a portion of work caused • by the variation order to change a trade. for example waste for breaking down a wall to accommodate a new door. waste due to the wrong use of material or waste stemming • from materials wrongly specified. other authors have defined waste as being not only physical losses of materials. al-hakim (2005) defined waste as anything that adds no value to producing the required services. the understanding of waste would require an explanation of what value-adding and non value-adding activities are. an activity is value-adding if it is judged to contribute to customer value or satisfy an organisational need (tsai, 1998). from the perspective of the client, saukkoriipi (2005) defined non-value adding activities as those which absorb resources without adding value to the customer. the value consists of two components, namely production performance and freedom from defects (koskela, 1992). the production of services requires resources and flow of activities over a certain portion of time. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 132 according to koskela (1992), the 4philosophy of production consists of both conversion and flows. since only conversions add value, the improvement of flow activities should primarily be focused on reducing or eliminating them, whereas conversion activities have to be made more efficient. therefore, waste reduction is enhanced by avoiding flow variability. in construction terms this refers to avoiding excessive occurrence of variation orders. 4.2 identification of the origin agent, causes and cost of variation orders while most construction industry stakeholders are arguably interested in the reduction of overall production costs, they are not always aware of the extent of non-value adding activities on construction projects (saukkoriipi, 2005). consequently, there is a lack of knowledge about non value-adding costs associated with variation orders. the realistic quantification of such costs is problematic due to lack of appropriate techniques for their measurement. in common practice, non value-adding costs arising from variation orders that are typically transferred to the client are underestimated. for example, one may be able to calculate the costs of aborted works, but non value-adding costs arising from non-productive time, redesign and overheads are not attributed to such an activity. very often these costs are unknowingly transferred under the account of contingencies. it is necessary to uncover non value-adding activities arising from variation orders in order to take proactive measures to reduce them. the reason for variation orders and the magnitude of the associated non value-adding costs should be known. a clearer understanding of variation orders and subsequent waste might be possible if they are categorised by their origin and identification of possible waste zones. koskela (2000) suggested a framework of the formation for waste and value loss that takes into account the following, namely: waste and value loss;• factors causing loss; and• root causes.• every time a task is divided into two subtasks executed by different specialists, non value-adding activities increase, such as, for 4 philosophy of production refers to an evolving set of methodologies techniques and tools the genesis of which was in the japanese jit (just in time) and tqc (total quality costs) effort in car manufacturing (koskela 1992) ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 133 example, inspecting, moving and waiting (koskela, 2000). similarly, when a variation order is issued, numerous non value-adding activities/costs are likely to arise. these include travelling and communication expenses; idle plant and labour during the waiting time, demolitions, time taken by the designer to understand the required change and redesign; cost and time for litigation in case the misunderstanding arises between the contractor and the client or his/her consultant. these represent a waste of resources and are typically paid for by the client. in addition, a delay of the consultant to issue an appropriate instruction may result in remedial works. acharya et al. (2006) suggested that consultants should aim at getting an understanding of the overall scope and goals of the project, make sure they understand deliverables and offer specific suggestions when they makes sense; and do all relatively quickly without having negative effect on productivity. furthermore, a lack of judgment and experience of the designer contributes to errors and omissions in the design. however, factors influencing the occurrence of variation orders and their adverse impact on project performance vary from one project to another. factors include the nature of works, the complexity of the project, procurement method and completeness of design before the works commence on site. studies revealed a significant reduction in both cost increase and time delay as a result of a complete design before commencement of works on site; hence, the prevention of the likelihood occurrence of variation orders (koushki et al., 2005). variation orders can be avoided if their origin and causes were clearly known (mohamed, 2001). the identification of the originating root involves identification of the initiator of a variation order. arain & pheng (2006) identified four origin agents of variation orders. these included ‘client’, ‘consultant’, ‘contractor’ and ‘others’. it is also important to know what could be the reason for a variation order to be issued. a classification of categories/types rework (love & sohal, 2003) revealed the following causes or the circumstances under which variation orders could be initiated, namely: design changes which arise from the client/consultant, • contractor, occupier and supplier/manufacturer or change initiated for improvement purpose. design errors which are mistakes made in the design.• design omissions which arise when an item or component is • omitted from the design. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 134 construction changes which are initiated to improve • constructability or due to site conditions. change may be made by the client, the consultant or the occupier after some work has been performed on site. change may be made if the process or product needs` to be altered/rectified or if there is a need to improve quality. construction errors which are the result of erroneous • construction methods procedures. construction omission which are those activities that occur • due to omission of some activities during the construction. damage caused by accident or inclement weather.• 5. scope of the study the study is being undertaken in south africa that is currently experiencing an unprecedented construction boom. while existing infrastructure and buildings are upgraded the backlog in housing and infrastructure delivery, the deficit of skills, the high construction delivery costs and quality standards related problems are current challenges faced by the construction industry. there is growing concern about rising construction delivery costs. recently, studies have been done in sweden to investigate the existence of non value-adding (waste) activities in all phases of construction that resultantly give rise to increases in construction costs. the study reported in this article is similar given that it seeks to uncover waste within various activities/ practice in construction projects. the study is confined to variation orders, an area that has not been widely researched. 6. methodology in order to identify waste formation zones, the framework suggested under the literature review was considered. each variation order was audited in terms of three parameters, namely value of the loss, root causes and factors causing loss. this was made possible by designing an origin-causes matrix as illustrated in table 1. row a, b, c, etc. contain the costs of variation orders as per origin agent and column 1, 2, 3, etc. contain the costs of variation orders as per causes. the shaded areas represent the variation orders that are prone to waste. for example, by assuming that column 2 represents construction error and column 5 represents damage, the magnitude of waste is then calculated as follows: (a;2) + (c;2) + (c;5). ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 135 table 1: illustration of waste zones of variation orders (origin cause) causes total 1 2 3 4 5 … origin agents a xx xx xx xx b xx xx xx c xx xx xx xx … xx xx xx total xx xx xx xx xx xx 7. findings and discussions 7.1 projects particulars primary data was obtained from a reputable cost consultant company in south africa. a comparative analysis of cost of variation orders was done on two completed apartment complexes; a residential apartment hereby known as project a and shopping apartment hereby known as project b. records including short descriptions, monetary values, the initiator and reasons for the variation were captured from the variation order files. the occurrence of variation orders were first grouped by number and secondly by value. variation orders were recorded in a table according to the four origin agents and seven causes of variations identified from the literature. the origin agents included the ‘client’, the ‘consultant’, the ‘contractor’ and ‘others’. in this context, ‘client’ included the development initiator and occupiers/tenants who financed the projects. ‘consultant’ included the whole professional team that represented the client. ‘contractor’ included the main contractor and his subcontractors. ‘others’ included weather conditions, state regulations or any other conditions beyond control of either party to the contract. the seven causes included design change, design error, design omission, construction change, construction error, construction omission and damage. additional preliminaries costs were added as an eighth column. the tender sum for project a was r28,315,000 and the original planned works duration was 9 months. the tender sum for project b was r61,617,996 and the original planned works duration was 11 months. in total, 75 and 118 variation orders occurred on respective projects a and b. on project a, there were numerous additional works associated with the continuously revised electrical works. the reinforcement for concrete slabs changed from post-tensioned to conventional rebar. as the contractor could not finish on agreed acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 136 time, the extension of time of 25 days was granted. unfortunately, due to a further failure to complete works during the revised completion period, the contractor was charged a penalty of r13,000 per day totalling r923,000 in 71 days above the extended period. penalty charge amount was 3% of the contract sum and the actual completion period was 12 months with an escalation of 33% above the original time schedule. while there could be other factors that contributed to time escalation, it is argued that numerous changes to electrical works contributed to delays where the contractor might have failed to justify at which extend his productivity and progress were effected. on project b, the contractor was granted an extension of time of 26 days which is a time overrun of 9% over the planned works duration. no penalty was charged to the contractor and the consultant’s records did not show in detail the reason behind such an extension. figure 1: origin agents of variation orders 7.1.1 variation order occurrence figure 2: causes of variation orders 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 13% 23% 80% 69% 0% 1% 8%7% a. client b. consultant c. contractor d. others p e rc e n ta g e o f v a lu e s o f v a ria ti o n o rd e rs project a project b -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% p e rc e n ta g e o f v a lu e s o f v a ria ti o n o rd e rs 86% 67% 4%4% -5% -23% 6% 22% 0%1% 0%0% 0%0% 8% 29% 1. design change 2. design error 3. design omission 4. constr. change 5. constr. error 6. constr. omission 7. damage 8. add. p&cs project a project b ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 137 figure 1 shows the percentage of the value of origin agents of variation orders. for example, on both projects a and b, the consultant was the most predominant origin agent who produced 80% (r1,658,589) and 69% (r1,404,500) of the net total sum of variation orders. figure 2 shows the percentage of the value of causes of variation orders. on both projects a and b, the design change was the most predominant cause of variation orders that amounted to 86% (r1,784,634) and 67% (r1,363,394) of the net total sum of variation orders. the value of errors and damage is provided for both respective projects are clearly shown. unfortunately, the chart does not reveal the exact originating agent. therefore, this will be possible by means of tables that clearly show at the same time parameters including monetary value, origin agent and causes of variation orders. 7.2 identification of waste zones table 2 and 3 record the variation orders that occurred on projects a and b. the origin-cause matrix clearly shows the number and value corresponding at each couple origin-cause. it was possible to identify variation orders that were likely to generate waste. on project a, the cost of the design errors resulting from the consultant (b;2) was 4% (r83,360) of the net total sum. these were costs for remedial works to imported joinery as a result of inefficiency in design co-ordination and repair that was done on electrical cables and conduits damaged. it is argued that costs for demolition of erected works due to design error constitute waste of resources. the construction cost for construction error resulting from the contractor (c;5) was 0.18% (r3,738). instruction was issued to repair damage done by the contractor (c;7) to neighbouring building during demolition works; but the works were not yet executed and subsequent cost was not provided. on project b, the cost of design errors resulting from the consultant (b;2) was 4% (r82,135) of the net total sum of variation orders and the cost resulting from the construction error of the contractor (c;5) was 1% (r12,395). the combination of the cost of errors originating from the consultant and the contractor amounted to 5% (r94,530) of the net total sum of variation orders. it was revealed that the consultant and the contractor had generated situations that yielded waste. no waste arose from unspecified ‘others’. the question is to know who pays for such costs. in most cases, these are transferred to the account of the client and as a consequence, construction delivery cost increased. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 138 ta b le 2 : o rig in -c a u se m a tr ix o f v a ria ti o n o rd e rs p ro je c t a o rig in a g e n t c a u se s to ta l % 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 a . c lie n t n o 2 1 3 4 a m o u n t r 9 8 3 2 7 r 1 7 1 8 2 5 r 2 7 0 1 5 2 1 3 b . c o n su lt a n t n o 4 4 3 1 3 4 6 4 8 5 a m o u n t r 1 5 9 6 7 6 8 r 8 3 3 6 0 -r 1 0 1 2 0 8 r 7 9 6 6 9 r 1 6 5 8 5 8 9 8 0 c . c o n tr a c to r n o 1 1 2 3 a m o u n t r 3 7 3 8 ? r 3 7 3 8 0 d . o th e rs n o 3 3 6 8 a m o u n t r 8 9 5 9 3 r 5 4 5 8 2 r 1 4 4 1 2 1 7 to ta l n o 4 9 3 1 3 7 1 0 1 1 7 5 1 0 0 a m o u n t r 1 7 8 4 6 3 4 r 8 3 3 6 0 -r 1 0 1 2 0 8 r 1 3 4 2 5 1 r 3 7 3 8 r 0 r 0 r 1 7 1 8 2 5 r 2 0 7 6 6 0 0 1 0 0 k e y s: 1 . d e si g n c h a n g e 2 . d e si g n e rr o r 3 . d e si g n o m is si o n 4 . c o n st ru c ti o n c h a n g e 5 . c o n st ru c ti o n e rr o r 6 . c o n st ru c ti o n o m is si o n 7 . d a m a g e 8 . a d d it io n a l p re lim in a rie s ndihokubwayo & haupt • origin — cause matrix: identification of waste associated with variation orders 139 ta b le 3 : o rig in -c a u se m a tr ix o f v a ria ti o n o rd e rs p ro je c t b o rig in a g e n t c a u se s to ta l % 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 a . c lie n t n o 2 8 1 0 1 2 4 1 3 5 a m o u n t r 3 1 4 3 8 5 -r 4 4 4 6 6 1 r 1 6 4 0 5 9 0 0 0 0 r 4 6 1 3 6 4 2 3 b . c o n su lt a n t n o 5 3 4 3 1 1 7 1 6 0 a m o u n t r 1 0 4 9 0 0 9 r 8 2 1 3 5 -r 1 7 1 0 0 r 2 9 0 4 5 6 r 1 4 0 4 5 0 0 6 9 c . c o n tr a c to r n o 1 1 1 a m o u n t r 1 2 3 9 5 r 1 2 3 9 5 1 d . o th e rs n o 4 1 5 4 a m o u n t r 1 5 4 6 6 0 r 1 5 4 6 6 0 7 to ta l n o 8 1 4 1 3 1 5 1 2 0 2 1 1 8 1 0 0 a m o u n t r 1 3 6 3 3 9 4 r 8 2 1 3 5 -r 4 6 1 7 6 1 r 4 4 5 1 1 6 r 1 2 3 9 5 r 1 6 4 0 r 0 r 5 9 0 0 0 0 r 2 0 3 2 9 1 9 1 0 0 k e y s: 1 . d e si g n c h a n g e 2 . d e si g n e rr o r 3 . d e si g n o m is si o n 4 . c o n st ru c ti o n c h a n g e 5 . c o n st ru c ti o n e rr o r 6 . c o n st ru c ti o n o m is si o n 7 . d a m a g e 8 . a d d it io n a l p re lim in a rie s acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 140 8. conclusions the review of the literature revealed that variation orders were likely to occur on construction projects since these are permitted under contractual agreements. variation orders cannot be avoided completely since construction works involve complex operations that cannot be accurately determined in advance. it was argued that whenever a variation order is issued unnecessary costs could likely occur. these constituted waste of resources and as a result they contributed to higher construction delivery costs. a comparative study was done on two apartment complexes. a total number of 75 and 118 variation orders averaging 8% (r2,076,600) and 4% (r2,032,919) of the contract sum (r28,315,000 and r61,617,996) occurred on respective projects a and b. it is argued that numerous variation orders on both projects contributed to time overruns and had potentially contributed to waste. both projects a and b incurred delays and time for completion escalated at 33% and 9% over the original completion time. on project a, a contractor was charge a penalty of 3% (r923,000) of the original contract sum. arguably, the numerous variation orders contributed to delays where the contractor might have failed to properly justify at which extent his productivity and progress were affected. however, there might be other factors beyond the scope of this study that contributed to delays. by auditing each variation order in terms of the value, origin agent and the cause, it was possible to identify that variation orders were likely to generate waste. on project a, the cost of the error originating from the consultant and the client was 4% (r87,098) of the total net sum (r2,076,600). on project b, the combination of the cost of error originating from the consultant and the contractor was 5% (r94,530) of the net total sum of variation orders (r2,032,919). the origin-cause matrix proved to be an efficient tool that provided a breakdown of uncovering the probable magnitude of waste associated with variation orders. references acharya, n.k., lee, y.d. & im, h.m. 2006. design errors: tragic for the clients. journal of construction research, 7(1/2), pp. 177-190. al-hakim, l. 2005. identification of waste zones associated with supply chain integration. sapics 27th annual conference and exhibition, 5-8 june 2005, sun city, south africa. 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[online]. finland: stanford university. available from: <http://www.byggeevaluering.dk/db/files/koskela1992_tr72.pdf> [accessed 24 november, 2007]. koskela, l. 2000. an exploration towards a production theory and its application to construction, phd. thesis. espoo, finland: vtt publication koushki, p.a., al-rashid, k. & kartam, n. 2005. delays and cost increases in the construction of private residential projects in kuwait. construction management and economics, 23(3), pp. 285-294. love, p.e.d. 2002. influence of project type and procurement method on rework costs in building construction projects. journal of construction engineering and management, 128(1), pp. 1-29. love, p.e.d. & sohal, a.s. 2003. capturing rework in projects. managerial auditing journal, 18(4), pp. 329-339. mohamed, a.a. 2001. analysis and management of change orders for combined sewer over flow construction projects. dissertation, detroit: wayne state university. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 142 saukkoriipi, l. 2005. non value-adding activities affecting the client in building projects. thesis for the degree of licentiate of engineering. göteborg, sweden: chalmers university of technology. saukkoriipi, l. & josephson, p.e. 2006. waste in construction projects: a client perspective. in: pietroforte, r., de angelis, e. & polverino, f. 2006. construction in the xxi century: local and global challenges, joint 2006 cib w065/w055/w086 symposium proceedings, 18-20 october 2006, rome, italy, pp. 292-293. ssegawa, j.k., mfolwe, k.m., makuke, b. & kutua, b. 2002. construction variations: a scourge or a necessity? proceedings of the first international conference of cib w107, 11-13 november 2002, cape town, south africa, pp. 87-96. jbcc (the joint building contracts committee). 2005. principal building agreement, ed. 4.1, jbcc series 2000. tsai, w.h. 1998. quality cost measurement under activity-based costing, international journal of quality and reliability management, 15(7), pp. 719-752. uff, j. 2005. commentary on the ice conditions of contract. in: furst, s. & ramsey, v. (eds.). keating on building contracts, 9th ed., london: sweet & maxwell. wainwright, w.h. & wood, a.a.b. 1983. variation and final account procedure. 4th ed. london: hutchinson: nelson thornes ltd. 46 theo haupt & kolosa madikizela why do south african women choose careers in construction? peer reviewed abstract this article analyses the factors influencing the choices of careers in construction by south african women. literature was reviewed on challenges facing women in construction which contribute to their choices of careers in a traditionally male-dominated industry such as construction. questionnaires were conducted with multiple samples that included construction organisations, construction students and professional women working in construction. the study found that women had a role to play in the construction industry and that they could build successful careers within the sector. however, this was not easy given the various barriers to entry such as gender-based discrimination against them, the harsh work environment of the construction, the lack of sufficient knowledge about the industry itself, and the lack of successful women in construction as role models. there was evidence of discrimination and sexual harassment. all these factors impacted negatively on the choices of careers in construction by south african women. the study stimulates debate about how the low representation of women in construction can be addressed and how construction careers for women can be promoted and encouraged. this article makes a contribution to understanding the factors that have marginalised women in a male-dominated industry and provides some indication of approaches to attract more women into the sector. consequently, the resource pool will be enlarged given the prevalent acute skills shortage in the industry. keywords: discrimination, education, gender, built environment, career choices, culture, cultural background prof. theo conrad (theo) haupt programme director building construction science college of architecture art and design mississippi state university mississippi state usa. phone: 662-325-2202 fax: 662-325-8872 email: <thaupt@caad.msstate.edu> kolosa madikizela master of technology (construction management) faculty of engineering cape peninsula university of technology south africa. email:<kolosa. madikizela@lifehealthcare.co.za> madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 47 abstrak hierdie artikel analiseer die faktore wat die beroepskeuse van suid-afrikaanse vroue in die konstruksiebedryf beïnvloed. ‘n literatuurstudie is gedoen oor die uitdagings wat vroue in konstruksie in die gesig staar wat bydra tot hulle loopbaankeuses in ‘n tradisioneel manlikgedomineerde industrie soos konstruksie. die studie het bevind dat vroue ‘n rol te speel het in die konstruksie-industrie en dat hulle suksesvolle loopbane binne die sektor kan bou.dit was nietemin nie maklik om die industrie te betree gegewe die verskeie struikelblokke soos geslagsgebaseerde diskriminasie teen hulle, die harde werksomgewing van die konstruksie, die gebrek aan genoegsame kennis oor die industrie en die gebrek aan suksesvolle vrouerolmodelle in konstruksie nie. die studie stimuleer debat oor hoe die lae verteenwoordiging van vroue in konstruksie aangespreek kan word en hoe konstruksieloopbane vir vroue bevorder en aangemoedig kan word. hierdie artikel maak ‘n bydrae tot die begrip van die faktore wat vroue in ‘n manlikgedomineerde industrie aan die rand plaas en verskaf ‘n aanduiding van pogings om meer vroue tot die industrie aan te trek. gevolglik sal die hulpbronpot vergroot gegewe die oorwegend akute vaardigheidstekort in die industrie. sleutelwoorde: diskriminasie, opleiding, geslag, bouomgewing, loopbane, kultuur, kultuuragtergrond 1. introduction women encounter pervasive gender issues in their chosen careers which require specific strategies to deal with them (phaahla, 2000). in particular, they need to contend with gender role stereotyping which believes that a set of traits and abilities is more likely to be found among one sex than the other (schein, 1978: 259). women have been defined as inferior to men and they are therefore assigned the position of minors in both public and private spheres of life (national gender policy framework, 2003). in addition, they arguably accept secondary roles without hesitation (mathur-helm, 2005: 63). although women constitute the major segment of the south african population they account for only 35.2% of the eligible working age (statistics south africa, 2009). gender inequality in the workplace is underpinned by job segregation and perceived roles associated with gender groups (kornegay, 2000). in the construction industry with the number of women presently low, the implication is that individuals, the industry, and ultimately the community all suffer the consequences of only fully utilising the potential of one gender. women are therefore a wasted resource (mathur-helm, 2005: 57). however, prevailing attitudes suggest that change will not be easy because the dominantly male makeup of the construction industry is a deterrent to women who fear isolation, discrimination and acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 48 harassment should they pursue careers in that sector. the nature of the workplace culture in construction is critical in explaining the underachievement of women in construction careers. this culture militates against their equal progression through the somewhat exclusionary and discriminatory environment that characterises the sector. women without an in-depth knowledge of the cultural influences on construction careers soon become disillusioned with the discrimination and the lack of opportunities for themselves. they are regarded by males as added competition for the limited promotional opportunities that exist, and experience entrenched sexism (bennett, davidson & gale, 1996: 273). consequently, male attitudes are adversarial and confrontational. in addition, many young men still believe that women are both physically and psychologically unsuited to construction work, despite paying lip service to the notion that “women can do anything” (thompson, 1996: online). typically young people start contemplating their career choices at approximately the age of 16 or in their last years of high school. gender-based career stereotyping makes it particularly difficult for young girls to establish their own career choices or to diverge from the career choices dictated by their parents. a sense of isolation is another reason for high defections, with women having little chance of meeting other women working in construction. education at school level is only part of the battle to recruit more women into the construction industry. male builders need to accept women in the building workplace (thompson, 1996: online). there is a relationship between higher education and the employment choices of women (phaahla, 2000). women tend to congregate in areas considered traditional outlets for female employment. female staff and students are typically drawn to faculties such as the humanities, education and the social sciences. generally women do not make up large numbers in technology and applied science areas of study. consequently, the jobs available to women are limited for social and economic reasons. the position of women is further exacerbated by the fact that gender in south africa is also racially and culturally segmented, creating inequalities that are race-bound. white and black women have extremely different levels of experiences regarding job and development opportunities (mathur-helm, 2005: 67). while more enlightened senior management staff may have recognised the undesirable and debilitating effects of an entrenched male culture, there was little evidence to suggest that there had madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 49 been any significant erosion of it within the ranks of middle managers, employers or employees (greed, 2006: 74). women are still regarded as secondary to men in south african business culture (mathur-helm, 2005: 63). there is a view that women do not show leadership potential and behave differently from traditional male leaders (mathur-helm, 2004; guppy & rick, 1994). according to johnson (1999), they are emotional and cannot shoulder responsibilities. what women do is rarely defined as leadership, given that masculinity is an implicit construct of leadership (kloot, 2004: 472). the south african definition of gender equality is guided by a vision of human rights which incorporates acceptance of the equal and inalienable rights of all men and women (kornegay, 2000). indeed, the rights of women need to be viewed as human rights. ‘equality’ is specified and enshrined in the bill of rights of the south african constitution (south africa, 1996). section 9(3) of the constitution provides that no one may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on any grounds such as, for example, race, gender and culture. this prohibition on discrimination forms an integral part of processes to achieve social justice in south africa. gender equality, therefore, requires that the underlying causes of discrimination be systematically identified and removed in order to give women and men equal opportunities in every sphere of life: in short, the economic integration of women, which comes only when market barriers are lowered and women are given an equal chance to attain decent work, remains a necessity for economic development and a worthy goal in its own right (ilo, 2008: 4). in south african society women historically faced the burden of unpaid household labour in addition to income-generating work. a rigid and uncompromising organisation of working hours and environment prevented them from performing well, considering that they needed to take time off for childcare and other family responsibilities (ellison, 2001; wilson, 1998). often these demands reduced their chances of full-time paid employment. in addition, in terms of the south african employment equity act of 1998, labour market discrimination arises when employers make decisions about employees for reasons that are not related to genuine work requirements (south africa, 1998). discrimination is most obvious when an employer focuses on irrelevant personal characteristics instead of work performance or merit. as a result women in many organisations have to work extra well and hard to gain any prospect of promotion. unfortunately women have not been benefiting acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 50 from government policies and legislation to advance their careers (mathur-helm, 2005: 58). there is, therefore, no correlation between policy and practice. the generally accepted and popular image of construction is that of a male-dominated industry requiring brute strength and tolerance for outdoor conditions, inclement weather and bad language (fielden, davidson, gale, & davey, 2001). women, therefore, have three choices, namely to be successful by behaving like men, to fail to adapt to the culture and leave, or by not acting like men to remain in unimportant positions (bennett et al., 1996: 275; sachs, chrisler & devlin, 1992). according to agapiou’s study (2002), the image and perception of an industry were significant factors in determining career choice. in addition, the construction industry is perceived as being the epitome of crisis, conflict and masculinity, manifesting in the unsociable, confrontational behaviour that discourages women and ethnic minorities from considering construction as a meaningful career. the industry had an industry-wide problem with ‘image’, which made both men and women reluctant or uninterested in the industry (gale, 1994). in their study haupt & smallwood (2005: 4) found that south african students had very limited knowledge and understanding of the construction industry. according to fielden et al. (2001), the general lack of knowledge and information about the industry, the career opportunities, and what qualifications are offered further compound the problem of the low representation by women in the sector. parents, teachers and school children generally believed that jobs in the construction industry were limited to bricklaying, joinery, painting and decorating. against the background that issues of gender equality have been extensively studied in advanced economies but less so in countries with less advanced economies, this paper highlights the findings of a study conducted in south africa to examine the factors that influence the career choices of women, with the emphasis on the construction industry. the study examines the interconnection between gender, culture, religion, masculinity and the unattractive image of the construction industry as well as the career choices of women in south africa. in particular, it provides insight into the popularity of careers in construction among women relative to other industrial sectors. it explores the prevalence of discrimination against women in construction and its overall impact on their final career choice preferences. madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 51 2. methodology a purposive sampling approach was adopted to gather data on the research topic. construction companies, construction students, and professional women working in construction were surveyed using self-administered questionnaires. data was encoded and analysed using spss (statistical package for social scientists). the views of a convenience sample of 1 435 industry practitioners, 141 firstand final-year construction students and 17 professional women from the gauteng and western cape provinces, where arguably most construction activity in south africa generally occurs, were canvassed. the industry survey included 11 questions on aspects of gender practices and policies within their organisations. the student and professional women survey instruments included 83 and 33 statements, respectivel,y to which respondents were required to respond typically using a 5-point likert scale of agreement. 3. industry survey the industry sample consisted of 1 435 participants in construction workshops held in all 9 provinces in south africa over a 12-month period. the profile of the sample is shown in table 1. table 1: industry sample profile industry participation % province % architect 8.0 eastern cape 16.2 contractor 19.6 free state 5 5 engineer (consultant) 21.3 gauteng 15.7 manufacturer 1.5 kwazulu-natal 23.8 private sector client 5.8 limpopo 3 5 public sector client 19.4 mpumalanga 5.9 project manager (consultant) 7.6 northern cape 4 0 quantity surveyor (consultant) 7.0 north-west 3 0 co-contractor 3.6 western cape 19.2 supplier 1.0 many provinces 3.4 other 5.4 total 100.0 total 100.0 average annual turnover % average annual employment % <r1million 16.4 <_10 30.6 _>r1million <_r5million 25.4 >11<_50 25.9 >r5million <_r20million 18.8 >50<_100 8 6 >r20million 39.4 >100<_250 8 2 total 100.0 >250 26.7 total 100.0 acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 52 it is evident that the sample comprised mostly consulting engineers (21.3%), contractors (19.6%) and public sector clients (19.4%) who operated mostly in the kwazulu-natal (23.8%), western (19.2%) and eastern cape (16.2%) provinces of south africa. most participants had average annual turnovers greater than r5 million. table 2: average annual employment of females number % <10 90.5 >10<50 5.2 >50<100 .9 >100 3.4 total 100.0 in addition, nearly all the participants (95.7%) employed on average less than 50 workers per annum with 90.5% of the sample employing less than 10 females on average per annum in their organizations. table 3: employment categories of females employment category % secretarial 69.1 management (administration) 42.5 unskilled (labourers) 31.2 skilled (artisans) 19.9 supervisory 17.3 semi-skilled (operators) 16.2 table 3 confirms that women are mostly employed to perform secretarial (69.1%) and administrative (42.5%) roles. where they were employed on construction sites they were mostly employed at the level of labourers (31.2%). table 4: gender-based issues issue yes % no % don’t know % same rights benefits and opportunities as males 92.2 3.1 4.7 separate toilet and ablution facilities provided 83.2 14.9 1.9 equal advancement and promotion opportunities 87.6 4.9 7.5 paid same rates of pay (wages and salaries) as males 69.2 7.3 23.4 visible management endorsement of nondiscriminatory practices gender-based education programmes and information 65.2 18.5 16.3 madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 53 simple clear and unambiguous communication of gender equity policy 55.2 22.7 22.1 available funding targeted at improving status and qualifications of female employees 51.1 25.0 23.9 written gender equity policy in place 44.5 34.9 20.6 provision of gender-based educational material 27.8 50.0 22.2 practices that might be regarded as discriminatory because worker was female 8.8 64.3 26.9 relative to being asked about the prevalence of certain genderbased issues and practices in their respective organizations, nearly all the respondents reported that females were afforded the same rights, benefits and opportunities as males (92.2%). similarly, most of them reported that separate facilities such as toilets and ablutions were provided for females (83.2%) who were afforded equal advancement and promotion opportunities (87.6%). however, substantially less reported that funding was available targeted at improving the status and qualifications of female employees (51.1%), written gender equity policies were in place (44.5%), and gender-based educational material was provided to employees (27.8%). notably, nearly 25% of the respondents did not know what the situation was in their organisations relative to gender-related issues and practices. relative to observed gender-based discriminatory practices, respondents cited examples of these as follows: ‘decision not to award a tender to a woman because of skeptism’. ‘engineers undermine me and threaten to work me out’. ‘no ablution facilities provided on site’. ‘female engineers had to be accompanied to rural sites due to danger’. comments suggestive of prevailing attitudes towards females in construction included: ‘too many unqualified females are appointed to top positions’. ‘[gender] equity is not a priority for management’. ‘heavy construction work negatively affects women’s reproductive organs’. ‘nature of industry has not encouraged women to apply’. ‘construction sites are not suited to women’. ‘family responsibilities interfere with their [women’s] progress’. ‘fellow workers are shocked at my [woman] excellent performance’. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 54 4. student survey while the validity of students’ views has been questioned (ross & elechi, 2002), their views need to be considered, given that they are one of the three cooperative partners in the cooperative construction education model (haupt, 2003). the student sample was drawn from two major universities in the western cape and gauteng provinces, namely the university of johannesburg (55.3%) and the cape peninsula university of technology (44.7%). the sample was constituted as follows: junior (firstand second-year) students 43.6% (males = 31.2%; • females = 51.2%), and senior (thirdand fourth-year) students 56.4% (males = 68.8%; • females = 48.8%). from table 5 it is evident that most (60.8%) of the students majored in quantity surveying majors, 37.5% in construction management, and the remaining 1.7% in civil engineering. in terms of gender representivity, males dominated the sample. table 5: student sample profile institution % programme % cput 44.7 construction management 37.5 uj 55.3 quantity surveying 60.8 total 100 civil engineering 1.7 total 100 year /level of study gender junior 43.6 male 61.0 senior 56.4 female 39.0 total 100 total 100 4.1 the impact of discrimination students were presented with five statements relative to genderbased discriminatory practices in construction. their responses are presented in table 6. madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 55 table 6: discrimination against women in the construction workplace rank statement sample males females m e a n sd m e a n sd m e a n sd 1 women on construction sites are not respected to the same extent as men 3.5 1.2 3.2 1 2 4.0 0.9 2 women are likely to be sexually harassed on site 3.4 1.2 3.4 1.3 3.4 1.1 3 the fact that there are more male professionals in construction intimidates women 3.1 1.1 3.3 1.1 2.8 1.0 4 women are more suited to administrative than production functions on site 2.9 1.3 3.4 1.2 2.1 1.1 5 female students are intimidated by the male students in classes 2.2 1.2 2.2 1.2 2.2 1.1 the sample means suggest feelings of neutrality concerning issues of discriminatory practices except for disagreement ont intimidation of female students by their male counterparts in class. both male and female students agreed similarly that women were likely to be sexually harassed on site. they also disagreed that female students were intimidated by male students in their classes. however, female students agreed more strongly that women on construction sites were not respected to the same extent as men and were more negative about being intimidated by there being more male professionals in the industry. while males tended to agree, women tended to disagree that women were more suited to administrative than production functions on site. there were linear relationships between the gender of students and their responses to issues of discrimination. the spearman’s correlation coefficient of 0.353 at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) suggests that females were more likely to agree that women on construction sites were not respected to the same extent as men. similarly, a correlation coefficient of -0.457 at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) suggests that they were more likely to disagree that women were more suited to administrative than production functions on construction sites. in addition, the weak correlation coefficient of -0.188 at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) suggests that they were more likely to disagree that they were intimidated by there being more male consultants in the industry. the mann-whitney tests suggested that responses were significantly gender-biased relative to women not being respected on construction sites to the same extent as men and women being more suited to administrative than site production function on construction sites. this acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 56 finding was confirmed by the kolmogorov-smirnov test statistics. the chisquare tests confirmed that the association was not caused by chance and that there was some association between gender and responses to issues of discrimination. table 7: impact of discrimination of women on career choices male (%) female (%) discrimination impacts careers in construction negatively resulting in women rather choosing other careers 49.2 50.8 discrimination creates a sense of being inferior 56.5 43.5 discrimination results in less women in construction industry 0.0 100.0 because of discrimination women tend to avoid construction and adhere to the conventional careers such as nursing 39.3 60.7 men think they can do all things whereas even women can do men’s work 0.0 100.0 most women become unsure of the available choices in the industry and end up dropping out of construction 39.3 60.7 table 7 shows the split by gender of responses to each of the issues concerning discriminatory practices in the sector. more than half of the respondents (females) reported that discrimination impacted construction career choices negatively, resulting in women choosing careers in other sectors. in addition, a similar proportion of the sample (males) suggested that discrimination created among females a sense of being inferior to their male counterparts. only females reported that discrimination resulted in less women being employed in construction and that men thought they were the only ones who could do all things. similar proportions of the sample (females) reported that because of discrimination women tended to avoid the sector and were unsure of the career possibilities in construction. 4.2 the impact of the low representation of women table 8: impact of women on skills shortages r a n k statement sample males females mean sd mean sd mean sd 1 an increasing number of women in construction will contribute to the improvement of skills shortage in the construction industry 3.5 1.1 3.3 1.1 3.8 0.9 2 the low employment of women in construction contributes to the skills shortage in the construction industry 3.2 1.2 3.0 1.2 3.6 1.1 madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 57 the sample means suggest agreement on the impact of women on skills shortages. however, female students agreed more strongly that increased numbers of women would reduce the skills shortage and that the low employment levels of women in the sector in fact contributed to the existence of the skills shortage. however, there was a statistically significant correlation albeit weak between gender and student responses to the impact of the low employment of women in construction to the skills shortage in the industry. the spearman’s correlation coefficient of 0.275 at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) suggests that females were more likely to agree that this was the case. similarly, a correlation coefficient of 0.230 at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) suggests that they were more likely to agree that increased numbers of women in the industry would contribute to a reduction in the skills shortage. 4.3 relationship between culture, historical background and career choice table 9: relationship between cultural beliefs, career choice and career success r a n k question yes (%) no (%) unsure (%) 1 do you believe that cultural beliefs will influence the success of your career in the construction industry? s 20.6 64.0 14.7 m 20.3 60.8 19.9 f 19.6 71.7 8.7 2 do you believe that the cultural differences between males and females influence their career choice? s 44.9 42.6 12.5 m 50.0 35.1 14.9 f 30.4 58.7 10.9 3 if yes do you believe that this influence contributes to the low representation of women in construction s 52.3 31.8 15.9 m 54.1 23.0 23.0 f 50.0 40.6 9.4 4 if yes do you believe that this contributes to the prevalence of discrimination against women who have entered the construction industry s 45.2 43.3 10.6 m 42.4 42.4 15.3 f 48.4 45.2 6.5 as is evident from table 9 there are no apparent significant differences between the views of males and females on the influence of culture and historical background on their potential career success. however, a greater proportion of females disagreed that cultural beliefs would influence their success (71.7%) and that the cultural differences between the sexes would influence their choice of career (58.7%). while women generally tended to have more negative or positive acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 58 views, there were no significant statistical correlations between gender or year of study and responses regarding cultural and background influences. 4.4 influences behind career choices table 10: influences behind construction career choices student statements sample (%) males (%) females (%) opportunities 27.2 27.2 11.5 looking at something i constructed makes me feel good – passion 11.0 8.5 0.0 fascinated by the beauty of buildings 10.0 13.6 8.6 my background and family members 15.8 15.3 11.5 the fact that there were few women 7.5 0.0 20.0 to challenge the perception that construction is for males 7.5 0.0 22.9 successful women in construction 2.8 1.7 5.7 table 10 shows the relative proportions in the sample of males and females who responded to the statements on the influences behind choosing careers in construction. it is evident that males were more likely to be influenced by opportunities in the industry (27.2%), background and family members (15.3%), and fascination with buildings (13.6%). on the other hand, females were more likely to be influenced by the challenge presented by the male-dominant nature of the industry (22.9%) and the paucity of women employed in the sector (20.0%). table 11: influences behind not selecting careers in construction statement sample (%) male (%) female (%) nothing 27.8 30.8 26.7 poor working conditions 14.3 15.3 10.0 poor safety and risk 10.0 11.5 6.7 money 7.8 7.7 3.3 discrimination against women 7.7 0.0 13.3 lack of understanding of career opportunities in construction 6.7 7.7 6.7 negative image of the construction industry 5.5 5.7 26.7 lack of employment in construction 4.4 3.8 3.3 sexual harassment by men 4.4 0.0 6.7 similarly, table 11 shows the proportion of the sample by gender who responded to the statements on the influences for not choosing careers in construction. the findings suggest that nothing would madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 59 deter both males (30.8%) and females (26.7%) from pursuing careers in construction if that was their choice. however, males were more likely to be deterred by poor working conditions (15.3%) and the poor h&s performance and risk management records (11.5%) of the industry. females were more likely to be deterred by the negative image of the industry (26.7%), discrimination against women (13.3%), and poor working conditions (10.0%). using a three-point scale where 1 = low, 2 = medium and 3 = high, students were asked to rate the influence of careers in other sectors over construction. table 12: influence of career choices in other sectors over construction r a n k influence sample male female mean sd mean sd mean sd 1 the dangerous nature of the construction work 2.3 0.7 2.3 0.7 2.4 0.7 2 challenging work environment 2.3 0.7 2.4 0.7 2.3 0.8 3 the inability to work and have influence in a male-dominated industry 2.3 0.7 2.3 0.7 2.3 0.7 4 male dominance of the industry 2.3 0.7 2.3 0.8 2.2 0.7 5 the seemingly discriminatory environment of the construction industry 2.2 0.7 2.2 0.7 2.3 0.7 6 knowledge of the construction industry 2.2 0.7 2.2 0.7 2.2 0.7 7 the masculine and unattractive image of the construction industry 2.0 0.7 2.0 0.8 2.0 0.7 8 career expectations and financial prospects 2.0 0.8 2.1 0.8 2.0 0.7 the results in table 12 suggest that the challenging work environment, the dangerous nature of construction, the inability to work and influence a male-dominated industry, male dominance of the industry, discriminatory working environment and lack of knowledge of the industry were rated as being medium to high influences on women choosing careers in other sectors instead of construction. 5. analysis of student survey findings by year of study the responses of students were further analysed to determine the impact, if any, of the year of study on their responses. however, there were no statistically significant correlations between year of study and student responses save for a weak linear negative relationship between year of study and female students being intimidated by acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 60 male students in classes. in this case the spearman’s correlation coefficient of -0.241 at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) suggests that as students progressed through their studies over time females would feel less threatened by the male students in their classes. 6. professional women survey the professional women sample consisted of 17 construction industry professional women working in various construction industry organisations at junior, middle and senior management levels. 6.1 the impact of discrimination the sample was presented with nine statements related to the impact of discrimination on their careers. their responses are shown in table 13. table 13: discrimination against women in the construction workplace r a n k statement n 1 ( % ) 2 ( % ) 3 ( % ) 4 ( % ) 5 ( % ) m e a n st d e v 1 women experience discrimination on entering the construction industry 17 0.0 0.0 5.9 47.1 47.0 4.4 0 6 2 women who work on construction sites are most likely to experience a higher prevalence of discrimination relative to those who work for consulting firms 17 0.0 5.9 17.6 52.9 23.6 3.9 1 2 3 women experience discrimination in construction and do not experience upward mobility in comparison to their male counterparts 17 0.0 23.5 11.8 47.1 17.6 3.6 1.1 4 males discriminate against pregnant women in construction 17 0.0 35.3 11.8 35.3 17.6 3.4 1 2 5 my contribution as a professional woman is not regarded as equally important as that of my male counterparts 17 11.8 20.4 11.8 23.5 23.5 3.2 1.4 6 women who fall pregnant while working in the construction industry experience a higher prevalence to discrimination than those in other sectors 17 0.0 11.8 23.5 35.3 17.4 3.1 1.3 7 women working in construction do not have the same opportunities to develop as their male colleagues 17 0.0 29.2 23.5 23.5 11.8 2.9 1.2 madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 61 8 i have experienced discrimination in my workplace 17 5.9 17.6 23.5 35.3 17.7 2.9 1.2 9 the nature of the construction industry poses a threat to the career development of women in construction 17 0.0 41.2 17.6 11.8 29.4 2.1 0.9 from table 13, it is clear that nearly all the women (94.1%) believed that women experienced discrimination while working in the construction industry. about three-quarters (76.5%) believed that this discrimination was more prevalent on construction sites than in consultancies. in addition, 64.7% agreed that women in construction did not enjoy the same opportunities for upward mobility as their male counterparts. more than half (52.7%) believed that pregnant women experienced discrimination which was more prevalent in construction than in other sectors. more than half (53.0%) of the respondents had experienced discrimination at work. almost half (47%) reported that their contribution as professional women was not regarded as equally important as that of their male counterparts. in addition, 41.2% believed that the nature of the construction industry posed a threat to the career development of women in the sector. 6.2 the impact of low representation of women the responses to two questions related to the impact of the low representation of women on the skills shortage experienced by the construction sector are shown in table 14. table 14: impact of women on skills shortages r a n k question n y e s (% ) n o ( % ) u n su re (% ) m e a n sd 1 do you believe that the employment equity act is addressing the skills shortage in construction? 17 50.0 14.3 35.7 1.9 0.9 2 do you believe that the low number of women choosing careers in construction contributes to the skills shortage? 17 80.0 20.0 0.0 1.2 0.4 half (50.0%) of the women believed that the employment equity act was addressing the low representation of women in construction and subsequently the skills shortage in the industry. however, most (80.0%) of them held that despite this legislation low numbers of women in the construction industry exacerbated the skills shortage. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 62 6.3 influence of culture, nature of industry and career choice participants in the study were presented with three statements on the influence of culture and the nature of the industry on the career choices of women. their responses are shown in table 15. table 15: cultural beliefs, nature of the industry and career success r a n k statement n 1 ( % ) 2 ( % ) 3 ( % ) 4 ( % ) 5 ( % ) m e a n st d e v 1 i would encourage other young women to pursue a career in construction because i believe that there is a place and a need for females in the industry 17 0.0 0.0 0.0 29.4 70.6 4.7 0.5 2 women’s cultural beliefs and background influence their success in the construction industry 17 5.9 23.5 29.4 11.9 29 3 3 3 1.3 3 my experience within the construction industry confirmed my expectations and beliefs of the industry as being male-dominated and discriminatory towards women 17 0.0 35.4 23.5 35.5 5.9 3.1 0.9 professional women strongly agreed (mean = 4.7) that they would encourage women to consider careers in construction, as there was a need for more women in this field. however, they were somewhat neutral (mean = 3.3) regarding the influence of their cultural beliefs and background on their prospects of successful careers in the sector. they were somewhat surprisingly neutral (mean = 3.1) about whether their experience in the industry had confirmed their views about the industry being both male-dominant and discriminatory towards women. it is possible that as they gained experience and acceptance in the industry over time they became less sensitive to the male dominance and discrimination. 6.4 influences behind career choices it is evident that job opportunities in the south african construction sector driven by government initiatives, their desire to demonstrate their ability to compete equally with men in a male dominated madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 63 industry, availability of bursaries, influence of family and opportunities for financial independence were regarded as influences in choosing careers in construction. comments by women included, inter alia, ‘i wanted to prove that women are strong and are capable of handling the harsh realities of construction activities’ ‘the fact that women are taken as powerless and unable to do what men can do. i want to be independent as an african woman who can do things without having to depend on male counterparts’ ‘i was attracted by non-formal clothing, the fact that work on site was not office-based, and jobs are constantly changing’ 7. student views versus professional women views the findings suggest that experience of the industry by professional women tempered their views relative to the industry itself when compared with the responses of students. the findings suggest that there might be a relationship between the perceptions held by the female students about their success in construction and their experience of the sector. the responses of the professional women working in the construction industry suggest that this prospect is likely. similarly, the experience of women in the industry suggested that as they gained more experience and acceptance in the industry they were able to hold their own and develop more realistic views of the nature of the sector. 8. discussion despite government efforts to increase the participation ratio of women in construction, bodies such as the south african women in construction (sawic) and construction industry development board (cidb) suggest that while there have been increases these have been marginal and at the lowest end of the cidb contractor grades. table 16 shows the respective cidb contractor grades. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 64 table 16: cidb contractor grading and breakdown of registered contractors contractor grading designation maximum value of contract total women owned % of total 1 r200 000 67 119 32 593 49 2 r500 000 4 735 2 206 47 3 r1 500 000 1 271 600 47 4 r3 000 000 1 718 692 40 5 r5 000 000 1 096 407 37 6 r10 000 000 877 274 31 7 r30 000 000 435 94 22 8 r100 000 000 121 10 8 9 no limit 119 1 1 total 77 491 36 877 48 source: cidb 2003: online the cidb register of contractors has 77,491 construction enterprises of which 48% are owned by women, namely 36,877. however, 88.4% of these enterprises fall within the lowest category of registration, namely grade one. an additional 7.6% are in grades two and three. only 4% are registered in grades four and higher. only ten contractors are registered in grade 8. it is likely that the low numbers of qualified women entering the industry contributes to the lack of womenowned contractors in the higher grades of the cidb register. the survey of industry stakeholders confirmed that most construction firms employed small numbers of women per annum in their organisations. these women were mostly employed to perform secretarial and administrative roles. where they were employed on construction sites they were typically employed at the level of labourers, suggesting that women were regarded to be more suited to administrative than production functions on site. female students, in particular, opined that women on construction sites were not respected to the same extent as men, and were intimidated by there being more male professionals in the industry. there is evidently a need for women to review their own professional roles and accept themselves as competent professional women in their own right. nearly all the respondents reported that females were afforded the same rights, benefits and opportunities as males in their organisations, had separate facilities such as toilets and ablutions and were afforded equal advancement and promotion opportunities. however, substantially less reported that there was available funding targeted at improving the status and qualifications of female madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 65 employees, written gender equity policies in place, and genderbased educational material provided. these findings suggest a lack of visible and tangible commitment to empower women in their organisations. perceived or real discriminatory practices impacted negatively on career choices by women in construction. arguably, if jobs or work climate were developed to provide a more desirable work environment devoid of overt and covert sexism and racism and inflexible working structures, an increase in the numbers of women attracted to work in construction would likely result. the current situation results in large reserves of skill and talent remaining untapped. the study found that increasing the numbers of women in the sector would reduce the skills shortage and that the low employment levels of women in the sector in fact contributed to the existence of the skills shortage. however, dainty, bagilhold, ansari, & jackson (2004) suggest that women have a poor initial understanding of the culture of the industry and the inherent difficulties of working in a maledominated and -oriented environment. the findings of the study supported the view that there was a general lack of knowledge by women of the industry itself and the career opportunities offered by it, suggesting that there might be a relationship between knowledge of the construction industry and the choice of careers in construction. the study found no significant differences between the views of males and females on the influence of culture and historical background on their career success. contrary to common belief, cultural beliefs and backgrounds were not major influences on women’s career choices. however, females agreed more strongly that neither cultural beliefs would influence their success nor the cultural differences between the sexes would influence their choice of career. given the challenging work environment, dangerous nature of construction, inability to work and influence a male-dominated industry, male dominance of the industry, discriminatory working environment and lack of knowledge of the industry women were more likely to choose careers in other sectors instead of construction. women tended to believe that legislation such as the employment equity act created the platform for addressing the low representation of women in construction. however, most of them held that despite this legislation there continued to be low numbers of women in the construction industry that exacerbated the skills shortage. evidently, more than merely legislation is needed. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 66 the study findings suggest that it is possible that, as they gained experience and acceptance in the industry over time, women became less sensitive to male dominance and discrimination. the study also found that women in construction did not enjoy the same opportunities for upward mobility as their male counterparts. pregnant women experienced discrimination which was more prevalent in construction than in other sectors and many women had themselves experienced discrimination at work. the contribution of women as professionals was not regarded as equally important as that of their male counterparts. clearly, the current nature of the construction industry posed a threat for the career development of women in the sector. 9. conclusion the findings of this study confirm the gender bias that still exists within the south african construction sector. the male-dominant nature of the industry accompanied by gender-based discriminatory practices experienced by women employed in the industry are challenges that need to be overcome if increasing numbers of women are to choose careers in construction. legislation by itself is insufficient to boost the present low numbers of women and significantly reduce the skills shortage that their increased employment will produce. the overall poor image of the industry presents as a further inhibitive factor to women choosing to work in construction. the industry needs to make a more visible and tangible commitment to empowering women at all levels in their organisations by providing equal opportunities for women. gender relations need to change. access to construction education needs to be widened and the specific barriers, image and culture addressed. however, it is also necessary for women to review their own roles and accept themselves as competent women in the industry in their own right. references agapiou, a. 2002. exploring the attitudes of school-age children, their parents and educators to career prospects in the scottish construction industry. equal opportunities international, 12(8), pp.18-29. bennett, j., davidson, m. & gale, a. 1999. women in construction: a comparative investigation into the expectations and experiences of female and male construction undergraduates and employees. women in management review, 14(7), pp. 273-292. madikizela & haupt • why do south african women choose careers in construction? 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historical revision: september series, 2000-2007. south africa. 1996. constitution of the republic of south africa, act no.108 of 1996. pretoria: government printers. south africa. 1998. the employment equity act no. 55 of 1998. pretoria: government printers. thompson, n.1997. women in construction. wisenet, [online], 43. available from: <www.wisenet-australia.org> [accessed: 10 april 2009]. wilson, e.m. 1998. gendered career paths. personnel review, 27(5), pp. 398-411. 57 navorsingsartikels • research articles effective utilisation of generation y quantity surveyors peer reviewed and revised october 2016 abstract in south africa, 43% of all quantity surveyors are identified as generation y, born between 1981 and 2000. this highlights the importance of generation y to the quantity surveying (qs) profession, as they are the future upon which the qs profession will build. a lack of knowledge of the differences among generations can easily lead to misunderstandings and conflict in the workplace. qs employers who want to effectively utilise generation y employees require a sound knowledge and understanding of their attributes and expectations in relation to their job requirements. this study examines the literature on the attributes and expectations as well as the roles and responsibilities of a generation y quantity surveyor. suggestions are made as to how qs employers could utilise generation y more effectively by harnessing their energy and capitalising on their attributes. initially, 554 published papers, articles and books were generated as references, of which only 68 were purposively selected and extensively reviewed to analyse the key attributes of generation y as well as to determine the main functions and services rendered by a quantity surveyor. the literature review showed that the key attributes and expectations of generation y are flexibility; a meaningful job; interesting work; good relationships with supervisors; regular feedback, and career growth opportunities. the literature review also indicated that the service stages offered by a quantity surveyor are inception; concept and viability; design development; documentation and procurement; construction, and close-out. based on the literature reviewed, generation y has the potential to be the highest producing workforce in history. qs employers, who practically apply generational knowledge in relation to job requirements, should be able to unlock the potential of generation y, increase its productivity, and ultimately its profitability. the findings of this article will be of value to employers in the qs profession by expanding elzane van eck & michelle burger mrs elzane van eck, lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, 0028, pretoria, south africa. phone: 012 420 6640 email: <elzane.vaneck@ up.ac.za> dr michelle burger, lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, 0028, pretoria, south africa. phone: 012 420 3833, email: <michelle.burger@ up.ac.za> the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i2.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(2): 57-78 © uv/ufs acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 58 their knowledge and understanding of their generation y employees. adapting management and leadership strategies according to these findings could lead to higher staff satisfaction, resulting in workforce productivity and increased profitability. keywords: quantity surveying, generation y, job satisfaction abstrak in suid-afrika is 43% van alle bourekenaars geïdentifiseer as generasie y, wat gebore is tussen 1981 en 2000. dit beklemtoon die belangrikheid van generasie y vir die bourekenaarsprofessie aangesien hierdie generasie die toekoms is waarop die professie moet voortbou. te min kennis van generasie verskille kan maklik lei tot misverstande en konflik in die werkplek. bourekenaarwerkgewers wat generasie y-werknemers effektief wil aanwend, benodig genoegsame kennis oor hierdie generasie se eienskappe en verwagtinge in verhouding tot hul werksverpligtinge. hierdie studie bestudeer die literatuur oor die eienskappe en verwagtinge van generasie y asook wat die rol en verantwoordelikhede van ‘n bourekenaar is. voorstelle word gemaak oor hoe bourekenaarwerkgewers generasie y-werknemers meer effektief kan gebruik deur hul energie te benut en op hul eienskappe te kapitaliseer. aanvanklik is 554 gepubliseerde referate, artikels en boeke gegenereer as verwysings, waarvan slegs 68 doelgerig geselekteer en omvattend hersien is deur die sleuteleienskappe van generasie y te analiseer asook om te bepaal wat die hooffunksies en dienste van ‘n bourekenaar is. die literêre oorsig het die volgende aangedui as die sleuteleienskappe en verwagtinge van generasie y: buigsaamheid; ‘n betekenisvolle werk; interessante werk; goeie verhouding met toesighouer; gereelde terugvoer, en geleentheid vir groei in hul loopbaan. die literêre oorsig het ook die volgende getoon as die diensleweringstadiums wat bourekenaars bied: die ontstaan; konsep en lewensvatbaarheid; ontwerpontwikkeling; dokumentasie en verkryging; konstruksie, en afsluiting. gebaseer op die literêre oorsig het generasie y die potensiaal om die produktiefste werksmag in die geskiedenis te wees. bourekenaarwerkgewers wat kennis oor verskillende generasies in verhouding tot werksverpligtinge prakties kan toepas, behoort daartoe in staat te wees om generasie y se potensiaal te ontsluit, sy produktiwiteit te verhoog, en uiteindelik ook winsgewendheid te verhoog. die bevindinge van hierdie artikel sal van waarde wees vir werkgewers in die bourekenaarsprofessie deur hul kennis en begrip oor generasie y-werknemers te verbreed. deur bestuuren leierskapstrategiëe aan te pas in lyn met hierdie bevindinge kan lei tot hoër werknemertevredenheid wat sal lei tot werksmagproduktiwiteit en verhoogde winsgewendheid. sleutelwoorde: bourekenkunde, generasie y, werkstevredenheid 1. introduction a considerable amount of recent research classifies generation y as those individuals born between 1980 and 2000 (codrington & grantmarshall, 2004; qenani-petrela, schlosser & pompa, 2007; haynes & nunnington, 2010; suleman & nelson, 2011; kultalahti & viitala, 2014; barnett, 2014; bussin, 2014; axten, 2015). a lack of knowledge of the differences among generations can easily lead to misunderstandings and conflict in the workplace. van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 59 there is a great responsibility on organisational leadership to take cognisance of generational theory, because relationships at work are the key to job satisfaction (martin, 2005: 43). leadership should not reject individuals who do and see things differently, but rather try to understand and embrace these differences and channel them positively into the vision of their company (martin, 2005: 40; axten, 2015: 54). a recent statistical analysis (sacqsp, 2015e) indicates that, as at december 2015, 43% of all south african quantity surveyors (both candidate and professional) come from generation y. when considering the age group of generation y quantity surveyors, it was found that 90% fall within the age bracket 25 to 34. according to van eck and burger (2015: 8), the percentage generation y quantity surveyors highlights the importance of this group of employees, as these youngsters are the future upon which the qs profession will build. job-hopping has financial implications for a company (miodonski, 2004: 7; bufe & murphy, 2004: 57; o’connell & mei-chuan, 2007: 14; myatt, 2012: online; hunt, 2014: online) and, should they leave the profession, a knowledge gap will be created. codrington & grant-marshall (2004) explain that generational theory is a tool to help us understand the people around us. as the pace of life has become increasingly faster over the years, each generation has different life experiences, different attitudes, different thoughts and feelings about parenting, education, leadership, politics, the workplace, and many other aspects of life. as different as generation y is to other generations, the skills and attributes they contribute to the workplace are of high value. this generation has high aspirations for themselves and their careers. the majority of generation y displays positive characteristics that employers need in their employees in a present-day competitive economy. they are positive, hardworking and resourceful, have high attainment, and like to thrive on setting and achieving goals. it can be a challenge to work with this young generation, as they require constant feedback, want immediate purpose and meaning from their work, need their job to be challenging, and expect quick advancement on the corporate ladder (suleman & nelson, 2011: 39-40). managers or supervisors of generation y employees should, however, not be discouraged. although they might be perceived as high maintenance, this generation has the potential to be the highest producing workforce in history. management should learn how to acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 60 harness the energy and capitalise on the attributes of this driven generation (martin, 2005: 40; axten, 2015: 54). generations are vastly different from each other and generational theory is a tool that will help us understand the people around us (bussin, 2014: 170, 171; codrington & grant-marshall, 2004). organisational leadership has a great responsibility to take cognisance of generational theory, as relationships at work are the key to job satisfaction (martin, 2005: 43). knowledge about the attributes and expectations of generation y could help employers better understand this group of employees. the purpose of this study was to investigate the attributes and expec tations of generation y and suggest, in relation to quantity surveying (qs) job requirements, how qs employers can effectively retain and utilise this generation. an extensive literature review was conducted to determine the attributes and expectations of generation y as well as qs job requirements. these were mapped together and tested by means of open interview discussions with senior qs professionals. suggestions were then made as to how qs employers could better utilise generation y employees. 2. literature review literature was reviewed and analysed as per the above search criteria. 2.1 attributes and expectations of generation y many perceive generation y or the millennial generation to be a spoilt, demanding, disrespectful, and lazy generation. other generations tend to react negatively towards the differences of these young employees. generation y does have different characteristics and workplace expectations than previous generations and they also expect to be treated differently. a working environment that appeals to generation y is one where they can participate and where creativity and innovation are encouraged. in the context of the workplace, there is no need to perceive the different dynamics of generation y1 as negative. tapping into the potential of generation y requires managers with the ability to overlook the downside of this generation and focus on the upside. they are more open to change and able to turn their creative thoughts into 1 the focus of this article is not on the negative but rather to prompt employers to tap into the potential of generation y by overlooking the downside and focusing on the upside of this generation. van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 61 innovative actions. having the knowledge and ability to inspire and motivate this generation will certainly be a competitive advantage to companies (fallon, 2009: 5; barnett, 2014: 14; qenani-petrela et al., 2007: 113, 118; suleman & nelson, 2011: 40). generation y displays characteristics such as loyalty, honesty, caring, balance and humour, among others. they are also visionaries who can lead with confidence and optimism, most probably instilled in them by their boomer parents (those born between 1941 and 1960). generation y youngsters want to make the world a better place and find meaning in their work. they want to lead a balanced life; therefore, keeping healthy and spending time with family and friends is a big part thereof. they want to use their money for immediate gratification and to save the world. generation y youngsters see opportunities in life and are thus very entrepreneurial. technology surrounded generation y while they were growing up and they are thus the most technological advanced generation of all. tools contributing to the success of this generation are their ability to think fast, learn quickly and perform on high levels of energy (bussin, 2014: 170, 171). generation y are good at multitasking and have incredible stamina. this generation is a very well-educated generation. double the amount of generation y children compared to boomers has had further education at an institution of higher education. high college or university debt might contribute to their expectation of a high salary in the workplace. this generation is very social and well connected with their friends via social media and networking. they have also experienced political unrest and social tragedies and victories not only via the internet but also in real time. this influences how the generation y approach life as they all too well realise that they should make the most of every opportunity (herbison & boseman, 2009: 33-34; axten, 2015: 54). 2.2 quantity surveyor role and responsibilities the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) was established to act as juristic person for the qs profession. the main role of the sacqsp is to administer the quantity surveying professions act (no. 49 of 2000). the act also makes provision for the sacqsp to recognise voluntary associations provided that they meet the council’s requirements. the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs) is such a voluntary association and is currently the only voluntary association recognised by the council. an important aspect of understanding the roles and functions of a acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 62 quantity surveyor in south africa is firstly to define the terms ‘quantity surveyor’ and ‘quantity surveying’. the sacqsp (2015b: online) defines these two terms as follows: quantity surveying is the provision of expert, professional services and advice on construction procurement, contracting and costs. quantity surveyors are trained, experienced specialists who have acquired comprehensive knowledge of construction procurement and contracting methods, finance and economics. they advise, collaborate and co-operate with members of other built environment professions. quantity surveyor is a person who is registered as such in terms of the quantity surveying profession act, 2000 (act no. 49 of 2000). the modern quantity surveyor can be viewed as the construction cost advisor or construction cost consultant with a broad knowledge of construction economics (maritz & siglé, 2010: 9). the services provided by a registered professional quantity surveyor can be categorised into six stages as illustrated in figure 1. 1. inception concept and viability design development qs professional fee stages documentation and procurement construction close-out 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. figure 1: qs professional fee stages source: adapted from sacqsp tariff of professional fees (2013: 5) van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 63 professional quantity surveyors base their fees on these stages as outlined in the 2013 tariff of professional fees schedule as published by the sacqsp. the actions and deliverables of the quantity surveyor align with various project stages and key deliverables at the end of each stage (sacqsp, 2015a: online; maritz & siglé, 2010: 12). the following services are provided in each stage. 2.2.1 inception the inception stage is the stage where the initial brief to the client is prepared. this brief will outlay the strategy the professional team will follow in delivering the required outcomes of the project. the client will have to approve the strategic brief of the professional team prior to the start of the concept and viability stage. once the client has accepted the project initiation, the concept and viability phase can commence (sacqsp, 2015a: online; maritz & siglé, 2010: 12). 2.2.2 concept and viability the concept and viability stage allows for the concept design to be drawn up. the quantity surveyor will be responsible for preparing the initial cost estimate and feasibility based on the concept design. the quantity surveyor will also provide the client with cost advice required during the design concept stage (sacqsp, 2015a: online; maritz & siglé, 2010: 9, 12). the cost estimate and feasibility study will at this stage give the client a rough indication of what the construction cost will be and whether the project will be feasible or not. the client must approve the concept design and building cost prior to the commencement of the design development stage (maritz & siglé, 2010: 12). 2.2.3 design development during the design development stage, the architect will develop his concept designs into more detailed designs. the quantity surveyor will, in turn, revise the cost estimate and feasibility study according to the design development. the construction cost is now based on more detailed designs and reflects a more accurate cost (sacqsp, 2015a: online; maritz & siglé, 2010: 12). personal experience in the built environment has shown that what the client wants is not always what the client can afford. the process whereby quantity surveyors streamline the project cost is referred to in practice as cost engineering. cost engineering aims to align the design requirements and project cost to a point where it is acceptable to the client. the acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 64 next phase will commence once the design development has been approved (maritz & siglé, 2010: 12). 2.2.4 documentation and procurement at this stage, all project designs should be sufficiently detailed for tender purposes. the quantity surveyor is responsible for the procurement process that starts with compiling the tender document. although various pricing documents are available, the most commonly used document is the bill of quantities. the quantity surveyor is responsible for compiling a detailed bill of quantities for inclusion in the tender document. a comprehensive tender document containing all the required information regarding the project is then issued to the market. once the tenders are received, the quantity surveyor will conduct tender evaluations. during the tender evaluation process, the quantity surveyor will check the tender prices and returnable documentation and report on the qualifications and financial implications thereof. the professional team together with the client will consult and select the successful tenderer. the quantity surveyor then draws up the contract document to be signed by both parties prior to the commencement of construction on site (sacqsp, 2015a: online; maritz & siglé, 2010: 9, 12). 2.2.5 construction at this stage of the project, the contractor establishes on site and commences with the construction work in accordance with the contract document. the quantity surveyor is now responsible for the cost management of the project. such duties include attending site meetings and technical meetings with the professional team, client and contractor; doing monthly valuations of the work executed on site; compiling monthly payment certificates; managing contract instructions and contractual claims; re-measuring provisionally measured work; issuing cost reports to the client, and calculating applicable price fluctuations (sacqsp, 2015a: online; maritz & siglé, 2010: 9, 12). 2.2.6 close-out during the close-out phase, the quantity surveyor is responsible for the financial close-out of the project. this means compiling the final account of the project. the sacqsp professional skills module no. 5 defines the final account as follows the final account is a document prepared by the quantity surveyor on behalf of the client or the principal agent that represents the van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 65 final gross value of the project after the financial consequences that any item, such as variations (savings or extras), adjustments of prime cost amounts, provisional quantities and sums, etc., might have, are taken into account (sacqsp, 2015d: 8). the contractor must agree to and sign the final account. the final payment certificate will be issued to the contractor only once the final completion certificate has been issued. it is important for the quantity surveyor to take note of the timeline in which to complete these documents. if not completed in time, this can result in a breach of contract. once the final account has been signed, and the final completion certificate and final payment certificate have been issued, the contract between the client and the contractor has been concluded (sacqsp, 2015d: 46). 3. methodology the research methodology used for this study was a literature review analysis. the focus of this study was to examine literature on the attributes and expectations of generation y as well as the roles and responsibilities of a quantity surveyor. following the examination, an analysis of the literature followed as part of literature-based research. the findings from literature were then tested by means of open interview discussions with senior qs professionals. suggestions were then made as to how qs employers could utilise generation y more effectively by harnessing their energy and capitalising on their attributes. 3.1 sampling method literature was reviewed by using search engines (emerald, business source complete, ebsco host, and worldcat local) at the university of pretoria’s merensky library, in order to obtain references in published papers, articles and books that complied with the search criteria. the search criteria for this study were the attributes and expectations of generation y employees as well as the role and responsibilities of a quantity surveyor. senior qs professionals, with over 30 years’ experience each, were specifically selected, based on their standing in the industry and their extensive knowledge and experience. they were asked to provide their expert opinion with regard to the literature review findings by means of open interview discussions. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 66 3.2 sampling size a literature review analysis was used as research method to derive the findings of this paper. open interview discussions with experienced quantity surveyors were then used to test and substantiate these findings. the literature review initially generated 554 published papers, articles and books, of which only 68 were purposively selected for further analysis, as they met the literature review selection criteria. four senior quantity surveyors provided their expert opinion on the initial literature review findings. they were specifically selected and had over 144 years’ combined experience. based on their extensive knowledge and experience of qs as well as their standing in this industry, their opinions were deemed sufficient for this study. 3.3 data collection analysis of the literature was used to tabulate the attributes and expectations of generation y and to lay out the job requirements of a quantity surveyor. these were mapped together and tested by means of open interview discussions with four senior qs professionals. prior to the open interview discussions, the following information was provided via email to the selected qs professionals: abstract, table 1 with attributes and expectations of generation y, and tables 2 and 3 mapping the attributes and expectations of generation y with qs service stages. the selected qs professionals were asked to provide their expert opinion on the initial literature review findings. 3.4 response rate all four selected qs professionals agreed to assist with the research study and expert opinions were received from all of them. 3.5 data analysis and interpretation of findings following the systematic review analysis the interviews followed. the researchers considered the comments and suggestions made by the qs professionals during the open interview discussions. suggestions were then made as to how qs employers could better utilise generation y employees. 4. findings this study analysed various literature sources and the attributes and expectations of generation y employees were tabulated (table 1). van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 67 table 1: attributes and expectations of generation y employees attributes expectations lead a balanced life. flexibility and work-life balance. technologically inclined. to work with latest technology. make the world a better place / find meaning at work. to find meaning and purpose at work. social generation and well connected via social media. social interaction with colleagues. place a strong emphasis on relationships with supervisor and colleagues. ability to think fast and learn quickly. regular feedback and recognition. to be shown the bigger picture (vision and mission of company). well-educated generation. rapid career growth and personal development. perform on high levels of energy. to do interesting and varying work. good at multitasking. to be given ownership and responsibility. use money for immediate gratification and to save the world. fair compensation (salary). to receive rewards that are meaningful to them. the attributes and expectations in table 1 need to be considered. according to suleman and nelson (2011: 39-40), the majority of generation y youngsters display positive characteristics that employers require their employees to have in the current competitive economy. this generation has the potential to be the highest producing workforce in history. unlocking the potential of generation y and steering it correctly can ultimately result in an increased bottom line (martin, 2005: 40; qenani-petrela et al., 2007: 113, 118; fallon, 2009: 5; suleman & nelson, 2011: 40; barnett, 2014: 14; axten, 2015: 54). this will, however, require organisational leadership to have knowledge about their generation y employees. in order to apply this to the qs profession, this generation needs to be linked to what qs work entails. 4.1 correlation between generation y attributes and expectations and quantity surveying role and responsibilities knowing the attributes and expectations of generation y and understanding how to synchronise these with the services offered by quantity surveyors will ultimately result in effective utilisation of acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 68 generation y employees. it is important to note that the attributes and expectations discussed are generic to generation y as a whole. each individual is unique and it can thus be assumed that these attributes and expectations, although generic, will vary in order of importance for each generation y individual. table 2 illustrates which attributes will have a direct impact on the work tasks applicable within each qs service stage. literature on the attributes of generation y was mapped with the qs job requirements applicable to each service stage. this was tested by means of open interview discussions with senior qs professionals in order to obtain their expert opinion in this regard. the qs professionals all agreed that the attributes of generation y will overlap and re-occur across the various qs service stages, as indicated in table 2. table 2: attributes of generation y employees attributes in c e p tio n c o nc e p t a nd vi a b ilit y d e sig n d e ve lo p m e nt d o c um e nt a tio n a nd p ro c ur e m e nt c o ns tr uc tio n c lo se -o ut lead a balanced life. technologically inclined. p p p p p p make the world a better place / find meaning at work. p p p p p p social generation and well connected via social media. ability to think fast and learn quickly. p p p p p p well-educated generation. p p p p p p perform on high levels of energy. p p p p p p good at multitasking. p p p p p p use money for immediate gratification and to save the world. it is clear from table 2 that the attributes of generation y overlap between the various qs service stages. within each service stage, the duties, responsibilities and outputs to the client and professional team will differ. although these work tasks differ, the attributes of generation y are such that they can be applied across the various van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 69 service stages. not all attributes have a direct impact on the service stage and work tasks within that service stage. some attributes of generation y will affect a business indirectly such as, for example, leading a balanced life which contributes to the overall wellbeing of an employee; being well connected via social media can relate to the impact on a company image when young employees communicate work-related matters to friends via social media, and generation y using their money for immediate gratification could relate to the personal satisfaction of employees. table 3 illustrates which expectations will have a direct impact on the work tasks applicable within each qs service stage. literature on the expectations of generation y was mapped with the qs job requirements applicable to each service stage. this was tested by means of open interview discussions with senior qs professionals in order to obtain their expert opinion in this regard. the qs professionals all agreed that the expectations of generation y will overlap and re-occur across the various qs service stages, as shown in table 3. table 3: expectations of generation y employees expectations in c e p tio n c o nc e p t a nd vi a b ilit y d e sig n d e ve lo p m e nt d o c um e nt a tio n a nd p ro c ur e m e nt c o ns tr uc tio n c lo se -o ut flexibility and work-life balance. p p p p p p to work with latest technology. p p p p p p to find meaning and purpose at work. p p p p p p social interaction with colleagues. p p p p p p place a strong emphasis on relationships with supervisor and colleagues. p p p p p p regular feedback and recognition. p p p p p p to be shown the bigger picture (vision and mission of company). rapid career growth and personal development. p p p p p p to do interesting and varying work. p p p p p p to be given ownership and responsibility. p p p p p p fair compensation (salary). to receive rewards that are meaningful to them. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 70 it is clear from table 2 that most of the expectations of generation y employees will remain similar within each qs service stage. expectations such as to receive fair compensation, meaningful rewards, and knowing the vision and mission of the company are not directly associated with a specific service stage, task or construction project. these expectations will have to be met by the employer and not the tasks or construction project assigned to the qs. the impact of different personalities on some attributes and expectations of generation y quantity surveyors were addressed in the interviews and noted. certain personalities will naturally be inclined towards certain tasks and activities within the qs service stages. a generation y qs who is a “talker” with good people skills will prefer to work directly with clients in comparison to technical qs work. on the other hand, a generation y qs might prefer technical qs work such as measuring bills of quantities and final accounts more than interact with clients. the generic attributes and expectations can be applied, in general, but will differ in level of importance between individuals. it was further noted that, as the experience levels of generation y quantity surveyors vary, their responsibilities within each qs service stage will also vary. for example, a generation y quantity surveyor with 10 years’ experience will have the ability to act as lead qs on a project in comparison to a generation y quantity surveyor with only 3 years’ experience who might only be partially involved in a project under supervision. this supports the earlier notion. the order of importance of generic attributes and expectations can certainly change and vary as individuals develop personally and in their career. due to individual differences, be it personality, background, culture, gender, experience or career growth, not all generation y quantity surveyors will have all the generic attributes and expectations. the majority of generation y employees should display some of these attributes and expectations, but further research will have to be conducted to determine the extent of this. 5. discussion of findings generation y employees can be valuable assets to an organisation. knowing which generation y values and applying them will elicit greater levels of determination, inventiveness and efficiency in employees of this age group (fallon, 2009: 5). van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 71 when considering the attributes and expectations of generation y in relation to the role and responsibilities of a quantity surveyor, employers should take heed of the following suggestions in order to effectively utilise generation y employees. generation y may at first be more interested in a high salary, but this will change as their career grows (berry, 2008: 26-29). job satisfaction is superior to compensation, as this generation wants to first love what they do (steiner, 2007: 6). qs employers should make sure that financial remuneration for generation y employees is fair in relation to their job responsibilities, level of experience, and location. generation y should also not have unrealistic salary expectations. the asaqs issued the 2015 salary survey report which, among others, reflects a national annual salary comparison by qualification. table 4 provides a summary of the annual salary for generation y, based on their level of qualification and experience. this can be used as a benchmark for fair compensation. table 4: median remuneration by qualification and experience experience qualifications 0-2 years 3-5 years 6-10 years 11-20 years university r 195,000 r 320,000 r 450,277 r 712,500 university of technology r 156,800 r 242,750 r 309,220 r 575,000 none r 96,150 r 213,000 r 146,000 r 342,500 source: asaqs salary survey (2015) table 4 is a national remuneration benchmark. for example, an individual holding a university qualification with 3-5 years’ experience should be receiving an annual salary of approximately r320,000. remuneration of each individual will, however, be different based on the province and region of employment, position and responsibility within a company, and level of experience. the salary expectation of generation y is that they will be fairly remunerated. this expectation will be met if remuneration is aligned with their job responsibilities. generation y is very knowledgeable when it comes to technology; employers should provide them with up-to-date technology. matching the technological skills of generation y with the technology of their company can result in great productivity (martin, 2005: 41; steiner, 2007: 6; herbison & boseman, 2009: 33-34; harrington, 2011: 106; bussin, 2014: 170, 171; axten, 2015: 53). making use of acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 72 measuring software such as pdf measure or dimx could increase productivity in producing estimates and bills of quantity. for this young generation, there is a close relation between happiness at work and having time for doing the things they value outside of work. technology has made the conventional eight-to-five office structure less relevant in the workplace nowadays (harrington, 2011: 105-106, kultalahti & viitala, 2014: 576, barnett, 2014: 14, axten, 2015: 50). generation y expects to be judged on their performance rather than on their physical presence at work. employers should show that they trust in the abilities of their young employees by allowing workplace flexibility (harrington, 2011: 105-106, kultalahti & viitala, 2014: 576, barnett, 2014: 14, axten, 2015: 50). social interaction and enjoying their time at work is of great value to generation y. employers should not underestimate the value of staff lunches, team-building activities or company outings, as this will provide the opportunity for this generation to interact and build relationships with their managers and colleagues (fallon, 2009: 5). social interaction can also be achieved through the work itself. afford generation y employees the opportunity to work on projects as part of a team so that they can interact with colleagues, talk through problems and brainstorm together for solutions while having fun (suleman & nelson, 2011: 41-42; axten, 2015: 52). generation y wants to work on interesting projects and do varying work. working on the same types of projects for too long will not stimulate young employees (martin, 2005: 42; kultalahti & viitala, 2014: 577). harrington (2011: 105) explains that the average generation y employee will seek new challenges every two years. if their employer is unable to provide them with new challenges, they will merely seek it elsewhere. qs employers should not let youngsters stagnate in their professional development. allow young quantity surveyors to work on projects in various market sectors such as residential, commercial, industrial, health care, sports and leisure, among many others. compared to other generations, generation y values a job with meaning and purpose (bussin, 2014: 170, 17). this generation cares about making the world a better place and has a high regard for being able to contribute to a good cause. the key is to create opportunities within or through your organisation for them to improve the world (fallon, 2009: 5; barnett, 2014: 14; axten, 2015: 51). getting this generation involved hands-on, for example, with corporate social responsibility initiatives will help them be more invested and van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 73 enthusiastic about their work (fallon, 2009: 5; barnett, 2014: 14; axten, 2015: 51). generation y places a strong emphasis on relationships with their managers and colleagues. this young generation responds positively to one-on-one mentoring and coaching by their supervisors and managers. this enhances their level of loyalty and devotion to their organisation and its goals and ultimately leads to high productivity (steiner, 2007: 7). generation y requires regular feedback and recognition. constant feedback is not to boost a frail ego, but serves as a corrective mechanism for this generation. it is imperative for managers to give honest and direct feedback that will help this generation excel (suleman & nelson, 2011: 42). the annual performance review alone will not suffice for generation y employees. feedback does not always have to be face-to-face and can even be done via email or text messaging. as long as they receive feedback on a regular basis, generation y will be content (herbison & boseman, 2009: 34). generation y is interested in rapid career growth. they view one year as a long-term job commitment. promises of long-term career advancement will not suffice for these young employees. they are interested in what they can learn today and what will be offered to them now (martin, 2005: 41). although young employees are in need of experience and coaching, they will easily pick up empty career growth promises accumulating to little or no progress at all (suleman & nelson, 2011: 41). when generation y has done good work, they expect to be rewarded with something that is meaningful and exciting to them. rewards do not only need to be an annual cash bonus. it can even be something small to express thankfulness for a job well done at the completion of a project or task. some young employees might prefer a reward for good work to be in the form of dinner at a restaurant, a round of golf or movie tickets (suleman & nelson, 2011: 42-43). qs employers should ask their generation y employees what they perceive as a meaningful reward and then act on it. generation y needs to be given ownership and responsibility. when they step into the workplace, they need to learn how to work in a multi-generational work environment and organisational structure with hierarchy. this often makes them feel less valued and less driven with a sense of no ownership within the company (fallon, 2009: 5; moore, 2008: 72). addressing this is easier than perceived. give this generation something they can take ownership of, even if it is acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 74 something small. use them to arrange a company event, facilitate a meeting or even administer a process within the office (fallon, 2009: 5; moore, 2008: 72). generation y wants to know what the bigger picture of their company is and, more importantly, how they fit into it. they want to know towards what vision and purpose they are contributing. not showcasing this to generation y employees or not keeping them in the loop will cause them to become bored, uninterested employees with a low morale and lack of creativity (fallon, 2009: 5; barnett, 2014: 14; axten, 2015: 51). 6. conclusion and recommendations the south african construction industry remains a challenging work environment, especially when it comes to cost management of construction projects. in the majority of construction projects, the cost management responsibility lies with the quantity surveyor and can be quite a demanding task. there are many role players involved in construction projects that are affected financially; this contributes to the challenge of construction cost management. it is important to appoint skilled quantity surveyors on a construction project who will be able to execute this task effectively and efficiently. with 43% of all quantity surveyors being from generation y, it is imperative to understand and correctly manage these employees. for generation y, it is important that appreciation be shown for their individuality and that they are included in decision-making; provide them with appropriate training opportunities; mentor and guide them; tell them why they are doing something and why it is important; provide feedback; show how their work contributes to the bottom line; always be honest and truthful; provide career growth opportunities with achievable milestones; make use of the latest technology, and allow workplace flexibility (bussin, 2014; lassen, 2015; martin, 2005). since generation y makes up 43% of all quantity surveyors in south africa, this highlights the importance of this generation to the qs profession (sacqsp, 2015e). to effectively utilise this generation, it is imperative that employers learn how to harness and capitalise on the energy of this driven generation. qs employers must understand and embrace the difference of generation y and channel it positively into the vision of their company. it is recommended that senior qs mentors be assigned to young employees to help and guide them on their route to register as a van eck & burger • effective utilisation of generation y quantity ... 75 professional quantity surveyor as well as into leadership roles. senior quantity surveyors or management should take juniors with them to construction sites and project meetings so that they can learn through observation. qs employers could also consider giving feedback once certain project stages or milestones have been completed; for example, on completion of the concept and viability stage. this will provide the opportunity to reflect on lessons learnt in real time and how to improve processes for the future. this can be of benefit to the entire company and not simply to the individual receiving the feedback. it is further recommended that qs employers could put clear goals in place that they want youngsters to achieve within a particular time period. such goals can be to attend certain training courses, to be involved in certain construction projects, to meet project deliverables and targets, to source new clients or to be involved with leadership initiatives within the office such as leading a committee. lastly, it is recommended that qs firms use staff meetings as a platform to discuss with their young employees how the various clients and projects contribute to the bottom line of the business. managers should also communicate the profit margins of their projects to their generation y employees so that they can begin to 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conference, bloemfontein, 16-18 october 2015. bloemfontein: department of quantity surveying and construction management, p. 3. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles risk management in public sector construction projects: case studies in lesotho peer reviewed and revised october 2016 abstract construction projects are facing problems that impede their expected performance. time, cost, quality, and competition limitations place constraints on projects. these challenges require incisive risk-management (rm) practices. this article presents the findings of a multiple case study, which determined how and why public sector construction projects are failing in terms of contemporary rm practices that appear to be lacking in lesotho construction. the article investigates the stakeholders’ perceptions regarding risks’ likelihoods and impacts (p-is) on three public sector construction projects. a 5-point likert measurement scale was used to collect data for the p-i grids. the data are analysed and presented with scatter plots. the results obtained through cross-case synthesis show that the interviewees perceive the level of risks’ p-is on the examined construction projects to be high. moreover, the level of rm practice is found to be inconsistent with best practices. to enhance rm practices in lesotho, the management of public sector construction projects should promote the use of competent project managers. keywords: construction, lesotho, public sector, risk man age ment abstrak konstruksieprojekte staar probleme in die gesig wat hul verwagte gedrag strem, wat deur tyds-, koste-, kwaliteitsen kompetisiebeperkinge beïnvloed word. hierdie uitdagings vereis in dringende risiko bestuurspraktyke (rb). die doel van hierdie artikel is om die bevindinge vanuit ‘n omvattende gevallestudie navorsingsmetode aan te bied, gerig op kontemporêre rb-praktyke, wat ontoereikend blyk te wees in die geval van lesotho konstruksieprojekte. die ondersoek fokus op die persepsies van aandeelhouers ten molefi nketekete, fidelis emuze & john smallwood mr molefi nketekete, msc (construction management) graduate at the department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790, email: <molefi.nketekete@gmail. com> prof. fidelis emuze, associate professor and head, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3089, email: <femuze@ cut.ac.za> prof. john smallwood, professor, department of con struc tion manage ment, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2790, e-mail: <john. smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> the author(s) declared no conflict of interest for this title and article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2016 23(2): 1-24 © uv/ufs mailto:molefi.nketekete%40gmail.com%3e?subject= mailto:molefi.nketekete%40gmail.com%3e?subject= mailto:femuze%40cut.ac.za?subject= mailto:femuze%40cut.ac.za?subject= mailto:john.smallwood%40nmmu.ac.za?subject= mailto:john.smallwood%40nmmu.ac.za?subject= http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i2.1 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 2 opsigte van die waarskynlikheid en impak (p-is) van risikos oor drie openbare sektor konstruksieprojekte. ‘n vyfpunt likertskaal-meetinstrument is gebruik vir die versameling van data vir die p-i roosters en spreidiagramme vir ontleding daarvan. die data is ontleed en aangebied met verspreidingsgrafieke. die resutate verkry deur kruisgevalsintese wys dat respondente die vlak van p-is vir geselekteerde konstruksieprojekte hoog ag. daar is ook bevind dat die omvang van rb-praktyke afwyk van internasionale praktyk, as gevolg van uitdagings binne die projekte. ten einde rb-praktyke in lesotho te bevorder, beveel die outeurs aan dat gesoute bestuurders vir die bestuur van openbare konstruksieprojekte aangewend word. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, lesotho, openbare sektor, risikobestuur, 1. introduction the construction industry has embraced project management (pm), which entails risk management (rm) as one of its essential knowledge areas. according to mahamid (2013: 45), construction projects are failing due to prevalent risks. in some instances, failures have escalated in the region of 6% to 7% of contract costs, with a 90% failure rate recorded in african projects (egbu & sidawi, 2011: 104; van olden, 2014: 46). therefore, rm has become a crucial area in the management of projects. smart project managers employ risk management processes (rmp) to tackle challenges that impede their goals and objectives. they continually learn about effective rm practices by collaborating with pm professionals and rm training. the results of the study reveal that project stakeholders perceive the impacts of risks on construction projects and knowledge areas to address the deficiencies in rm practice in lesotho. semi-structured interviews, supplemented with a mini questionnaire across three case projects in lesotho, were used to establish how project actors perceive the likelihoods and impacts of risks. the study also assesses how construction risks change within a project life cycle (plc) of a public sector construction project in lesotho. the paucity of infrastructure in lesotho has remained a challenge to economic growth. least developed economies such as lesotho are unable to fully address the infrastructural challenges and fulfil developmental mandates due to technical skills’ inadequacies (laryea, 2010: 216; government of lesotho, 2013: 65). technical skills are essential in project rm, because risk is a function of project uniqueness and the stakeholders’ experience (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 363). in particular, lesotho is faced with a shortage of required infrastructure for economic growth (ngoma, mundia & kaliba, 2014: 16). to address the shortage, the government of lesotho planned to invest in public construction projects (government of lesotho, 2013: iii). however, in order to realise the plan, project risks nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 3 must be closely managed (schwalbe, 2011: 424). rm is necessary to mitigate cost/time overruns, and attracts potential investors into the public infrastructural projects. investigating the practice of rm in the local public construction projects could help stakeholders re-evaluate ways to minimise losses and project failure. 2. challenges facing the construction industry according to issa, emsley and kirkham (2012: 1221), most of the problems encountered in infrastructural projects are due to regularly identified construction risks. a risk is an uncertain event that has a positive or adverse effect on project objectives (enshassi & mosa, 2008: 96; heldman, 2005: 213; schwalbe, 2011: 425). taroun, yang and lowe (2011: 87) emphasise the well-known view that “no construction is risk-free”. however, the risk could be managed, minimised, shared, transferred or accepted. in other words, risks are subjected to various control mechanisms in a project environment. since projects are complicated, experience and rm knowledge are vital tools in managing them (ameh & odusami, 2014: 2; nicholas & steyn, 2011: 362-363). table 1 indicates the problems that are unique to projects in lesotho. these issues place emphasis on time and cost effects. delays have been identified as major project risks in public construction projects (mpaki, 2014a: 25; ntsukunyane, 2015: 4). delays are prevalent in construction in developing countries. as in other african countries, governmentrelated delays stifle projects’ progress in lesotho (agyakwa-baah & chileshe, 2010: 1226). apart from their impact on advances in work, delays trigger cost overruns in construction projects (african development bank group, 2011: iv; mpaki, 2014a: 25; 2014b: 26), but employing risk management processes (rmps) might alleviate the situation. however, shang, anumba, bouchlaghem, miles, cen and taylor (2005: 392) observe that rmps are not well practised on construction projects. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 4 table 1 risk impact on selected major public construction projects in lesotho project risk type causes of delays effect on project performance the mpharane belabela road upgrading project internal market, technical & assumption. insufficient road users cost recovery (about 36.5%) project objectives were not succinct design brief and feasibility studies were inadequate heavy rainfall delays – 9 months cost overruns (55.3%) the metolong dam project external & internal logistical challenges labour disputes heavy rainfalls delays – 1 year cost overruns the tikoe industrial estate project external delayed funds inclement weather delays – 1 year cost overruns source: adapted from the african development bank group (2011: iv) and mpaki (2014a: 25; 2014b: 26). 3. risk management processes (rmps) according to schwalbe (2011: 433), project managers need to consider the impacts of risks on the other project management knowledge areas (pmkas). the project management institute (pmi) has recommended the use of ten knowledge areas, including integration management, scope management, time management, quality management, human resources management, communication management, procurement management, stakeholder management, cost management, and risk management (pmi, 2013: 60). however, this study uses rm as a lens to examine other relevant pmkas that project managers must possess. among the 10 pmkas, only stakeholder management was not assessed in this study because of the anticipated low number of stakeholders involved in the pm functions in lesotho. the removal of the stakeholder management ka helps avoid superficial pm perceptions. this limitation is supported by the notion that the effectiveness of a project manager depends on the ability to manage stakeholders and extensive experience gained (bal, bryde & fearon, 2011: 1165). risk analysis and assessment have been identified as major rmp elements (schieg, 2007: 145; taroun et al., 2011: 87). rm helps nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 5 stakeholders understand the nature of projects while promoting accountability (schwalbe, 2011: 422). rmp involves risk planning, risk identification, risk assessment (both qualitative and quantitative), risk response, risk monitoring, and control. these steps must be undertaken throughout the plc (schwalbe, 2011: 427). analysing risks from a plc perspective is important as threats change through initiation, planning and design, execution, and closeout phases of the project (risk management technical group, 2012: 2-19). the rm strategies may be different, but the objectives are the same, due to the use of the same concepts (kululanga & kuotcha, 2010: 337). however, the rm plan must precede the identification process so that risk profiling, risk appointments, risk reservation, and documentation can be continuous (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 384). regarding perceptions, nicholas and steyn (2011: 363) note that project managers are accustomed to working with tangible evidence and tend to avoid the likelihood of risks, because they find them too complex to deal with. according to shang et al. (2005: 392), project members mostly concentrate on getting the job done and tend to avoid rm procedures. schwalbe (2011: 422) supports this perception, with the contention that rm is a commonly overlooked element in pm. when project managers do not forget it, they appear to favour simple methods as opposed to practical methods of rm that may be complex (forbes, smith & horner, 2007: 736). in fact, hillson (2012a: 30; 2012b: 34) asserts that risk-taking culture as a critical dimension of project leadership is often overlooked, even though it moulds an active rm practice. 4. probability and impact of risks according to nicholas and steyn (2011: 363), risk is a factor of the ‘likelihood’ of setbacks and the ‘impact’ unique to a project. these can only be minimised by an ascribed process of rm (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 363; roberts, 2013: 110). risk has a direct impact on time, which mostly contributes to cost overruns (afshari, khosravi, ghorbanali, borzabadi & valipour, 2010: 42; assaf & al-hejji, 2006: 349-350). risk effects on the project parameters of time, cost, quality, and scope have been called a ‘quadruple constraint’ (schwalbe, 2011: 9). in pm literature, it becomes apparent that several risks with different impacts emerged at various phases of a project. common risks in the construction industry pertain to quality, personnel, costs, deadline, strategic decisions’ risks, as well as environmental, technical, scheduling, contractual, financial, and management matters (schieg, 2006: 151). these risks are internal to acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 6 a project. schieg (2006: 79) identifies external risks as those related to natural occurrences, political changes, societal changes, market and sectoral trends’ shifts, legal developments, and technological changes. moreover, these risks are termed using the acronym, pestle, i.e. political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal, and environmental issues (forbes, smith & horner, 2007: 736). risk identification re vise risk analysis/ assessment risk monitoring & controllingrisk response figure 1: risk management process source: adapted from nicholas & steyn, 2011: 79-80; schwalbe, 2011: 57-105 as indicated in figure 1, risk identification is the first step in rmp. when a risk is known, the next step is to investigate it in terms of its likelihood of occurrence and impact. thus, the second step is required in order to analyse the risk value (schieg, 2006: 79). the analysis could be done through either qualitative or quantitative systems. according to schwalbe (2011: 438-442) and ke, wang and chan (2012: 678), qualitative risk analysis involves a probability-impact (p-i) matrix, risk consequence rating (rcr), and monte carlo analysis. quantitative techniques include decision trees analysis, expected monetary value (emv), risk premium, simulation, and sensitivity analysis (taroun et al., 2011: 87; schwalbe, 2011: 428-442). for the purposes of this article, the p-i method, concisely explained in section 4.1, was used, because it presents stakeholders’ views that are essential for prioritising project risks qualitatively (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 370). 4.1 the qualitative probability-impact (p-i) matrix the p-i risk analysis model combines both qualitative and quantitative data (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 370; taroun et al., 2011: 90). as an illustration, table 2 demonstrates a simple 5x5 qualitative risk method where p x i = priority risk factor (rpf). the green category where pi=0.1 to 0.6, risks require hardly any attention; yellow category where pi=0.4 to 1.0, risks require slightly more attention; the amber category nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 7 requires a right amount of attention, while the red category requires maximum risk attention (2.5-4.5 rpfs). table 2: p-i qualitative risk analysis matrix im p a c t 0.9 0.9 1.8 2.7 3.6 4.5 very high 0.5 0.7 1.4 2.1 2.8 3.5 high 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 medium 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.5 low 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 very low 1 2 3 4 5 very low low medium high very high probability source: adapted from schwalbe (2011: 439) and nicholas & steyn (2011: 373) with impact value ranging from 0.1 (low) to 0.9 (high), table 3 demonstrates how risks impact on quality, cost and time in a project. subjective ratings can also be expressed as numerical measures between 0 (low/negligible), 0.3 (minor), 0.5 (moderate), 0.7 (significant), 0.9 (high), and 1.0 (catastrophic) (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 373). table 3: an illustrated project risk impact values on project parameters impact value impact quality performance cost overruns (percentage) time delays (months) 0.1 (low) minimal within budget negligible 0.3 (minor) small 1-10% minor slip (<1) 0.5 (moderate) moderate 10-25% moderate slip (1-3) 0.7 (significant) significant 25-50% significant (> 3) 0.9 (high) goals not achievable >50% large slip adapted from nicholas & steyn (2011: 373) 5. research methodology according to leedy and ormrod (2010: 136-137), qualitative strategies can help the researcher gain new insights into the phenomenon, develop new theories about the phenomenon, and discover the challenges within the phenomenon under investigation. yin acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 8 (2011: 6-8) points out that qualitative research represents the views and perspectives of people while offering an attractive and fruitful means of conducting research. the case study research design was adopted so as to obtain data from lived experiences of project actors to uncover rm practice in lesotho (yin, 2011: 307). based on the exploratory research questions chosen, it was decided that an inductive approach would be appropriate for gaining an understanding of complex rm issues so as to draw conclusions about the studied project patterns. according to creswell (2007: 39), working back and forth between themes to create a complete set of ideas and engage participants, highlights the importance of an inductive process. therefore, to explore how people experience and perceive rm in projects, a case study approach was deemed suitable for this study (yin, 2011: 17-18). 5.1 data analysis and interpretation of findings a 5-point likert scale measurement instrument was employed to capture data for qualitative p-i grids and scatter diagrams, as a case study can also produce numeric data (yin, 2011: 224-307). the interviewees were able to express their perceptions using a 5-point likert scale measurement, where 1=very low, 2=low, 3=medium, 4=high, and 5=very high (please see appendix). this strategy is supported by the literature where qualitative risk analysis methods such as p-i grids include numerical values (quantitative) being matched with the ratings (qualitative) (nicholas & steyn, 2011: 370). 5.2 data collection in brief, three major public sector construction projects with contract values exceeding r100 million were purposively selected. the registration status of the main contractors was narrowed to grade a to b. professionals involved in each project were chosen based on their exposure to rm. the level of the rm practice provided the key criterion for the sampling strategy; hence, construction project managers, construction managers, quantity surveyors, architects, contract managers, engineers, and their respective assistants were selected as interviewees in each case. face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted and a mini questionnaire was used to examine and assess how risks’ likelihoods and impacts on the project and knowledge areas are perceived across the plc, using a 5-point likert measurement scale. the process is shown in figure 2. nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 9 case study method analysis conclusions & recommendations • literature review • individuals’ perceptions + likert scales • 5x5 p-1 grids • scatter diagrams figure 2: research process figure 2 shows the reviewed literature that provides the support for the research process in this multiple-case study. questionnaire interviews were conducted among 13 project stakeholders including project managers, assistant project managers, architects, principal engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, consultants, quantity surveyors and construction managers to capture the data by means of a likert scale measurement instrument. the collected data were analysed using qualitative 5x5p-i risk analysis grids and scatter diagrams derived from the 5-point scale. table 4 presents the research sample, namely 13 interviewees in the three case projects. 5.3 limitations as with the majority of studies, there are constraints and limitations. for instance, only eight pmi knowledge areas were selected out of the total of 10. all other pmkas were tested against rm, which is central to the study, while stakeholder management was excluded, due to the foreseeable narrow number of stakeholders involved in the pm offices so as to avoid superficial perceptions. in addition, during the data-collection process, the second case was far from completion. hence, there were data limitations as the closeout phase could not be investigated. moreover, some participants did not want to be recorded when interviewed, while subcontractors did not meet the sample requirements. despite these limitations, the findings presented in the next section show aspects of rm practice in construction that have not previously been empirically analysed in lesotho. 6. results and discussions 6.1 respondents profile the first part of the questionnaire contained questions relative to the demographic profile of the respondents, the people in the best position to report how risks’ likelihoods and impacts on the project and knowledge areas are perceived. table 4 shows the professions of acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 10 the respondents, which include architecture, project management, quantity surveying, contract management, and engineering table 4: research sample case interviewee p m a ss is. p m a rc hi te c t pr in c ip a l e ng . m & e en g . c o ns ul ta nt q s c o nt ra c ts m g r. to ta l case 1 √ √ √ √ √ 5 case 2 √√ √ √ 4 case 3 √ √ √√ 4 total 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 13 6.2 risk probability and impact across the plc question three of the questionnaire tested the opinion of respondents in terms of how likely the identified risks (environmental, financial, technical, and political) occur and what their impact was. the question elicited responses in terms of a 5-point likert scale from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). the findings from each case project are presented in tables 5 to 7. the results show that the participants have different perceptions on the likelihood of risks at the initiation stage. however, at the planning and design, execution, and closeout stages, the results mostly show medium to very high risks likelihoods. meanwhile, the impacts of these risks were perceived to be parallel to their likelihoods across the plc. these indicate that risks likelihood and impacts were proportionally increasing as the project matured. table 5: perceptions regarding project risk p-i across the plc in case 1 phase / interviewee architect quantity surveyor structural engineer m&e engineer contractor’s pm likelihood: initiation medium very low very high very high very low planning & design medium medium very high very high very low execution low high very high high high closeout high medium very high high very high nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 11 phase / interviewee architect quantity surveyor structural engineer m&e engineer contractor’s pm impact: initiation medium very low very high very high very low planning & design medium medium very high very high very low execution low high very high high high closeout high medium very high high very high in case 2, the interviewees were unable to give their perceptions concerning the closeout stage as the project was far from completion. the respondents in this project had wide-ranging views regarding the likelihood of risks at the initiation stage. they mostly perceived that risks were rampant across the planning and design, and execution stages relative to the perceived magnitude of the project and complexities. however, the closeout stage was not covered, as the project was still at the execution stage, as highlighted in the limitations. table 6: perceptions regarding project risk p-i across the plc in case 2 phase / interviewee contracts manager project engineer assistant pm consultant likelihood: initiation very low very low high high planning & design medium very low high high execution high high low very high closeout impact: initiation very low very low high high planning & design medium very low very low high execution high high high very high closeout similar to case 1, the participants generally viewed risks’ likelihoods and impact to be proportionally increasing as the project matured. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 12 table 7: perceptions regarding project risk p-i across the plc in case 3 phase / interviewee contracts manager project engineer contractor’s contracts manager construction manager likelihood: initiation very low very low very low very low planning & design medium very low medium medium execution high high very high very high closeout medium very high high medium impact: initiation very low very low very low very low planning & design medium very low medium medium execution high high very high very high closeout medium very high high medium 6.3 risk impact on the other knowledge areas (kas) question four of the questionnaire tested the respondents’ opinion on what impact the identified risks (environmental, financial, technical, and political) have on the eight knowledge areas (integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, and procurement management) by using a 5-point likert scale from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). the results are shown in tables 8 to 10. table 8: risks’ impact perceptions on the other pmi knowledge areas in case 1 kas / interviewee architect quantity surveyor structural engineer m&e engineer contractor’s pm impact: integration medium very high very high very high very high scope very high high very high very high high time very high very high very high very high very high cost very high very high very high very high very high quality medium very high very high very high low human resources low very high very high high low communications low very high very high medium medium procurement very high very high very high very high very high relative to how risks affect other selected pmi’s knowledge areas with the exclusion of risk management which is central to the research area and stakeholders’ management due to the anticipated nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 13 respondents and project scope limitations. the results show that structural engineer followed by the quantity surveyor and the m&e engineer most perceived that these selected areas are prone to risks as opposed to others who had mixed varying perceptions. generally, time, cost, and procurement management were perceived to be the most affected, due to their perceived critical role. table 9: risks’ impact perceptions on the other pmi knowledge areas in case 2 kas / interviewee contracts manager project engineer assistant pm consultant impact: integration high very high very low low scope medium medium very low very high time very high very high very low high cost very high very high unsure high quality high medium very low high human resources medium very high medium unsure communications high very high very low unsure procurement medium very low very low unsure in this case, participants presented relatively similar perceptions regar ding the impact of these risks across the pmkas. the consultant was mostly unsure about the impact of these risks on some areas. table 10: risks’ impact perceptions on the other pmi knowledge areas in case 3 kas / interviewee contracts manager project engineer contractor’s contracts manager construction manager impact: integration high very high very high very high scope medium medium medium medium time very high very high very high very high cost very high very high very high very high quality high medium very high very high human resources medium very high very high medium communications high very high very high low procurement medium very low very high medium the results indicate that time and cost, followed by integration management, were perceived to be mostly affected. generally, the participants viewed risks to be rampant across the plc. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 14 7. case analysis and implications 7.1 risk probability and impact across the plc 7.1.1 case 1 the rm perceptions were gathered from five interviewees as indicated in table 11. for the project initiation stage, two of the interviewees rated the p-i ‘very low’ and ‘very high’, respectively, with one ‘medium’ score. the planning and design stage had two interviewees rating ‘medium’ and ‘very high’, respectively, while one rated this stage ‘very low’. three interviewees rated the execution stage ‘high’, while others each rated it ‘very high’ and ‘low’. the closeout stage saw two respondents’ rating of ‘high’ and ‘very high’, while one rated it with a ‘medium’ score. from the analysis of scores, it can be inferred that the level of rm practice was very low, hence adverse outcomes in table 11. table 11: summary of risk p-i across the plc in case 1 im p a c t 7 (4.5) very high 5 (2.8) high 4 (1.5) medium 1 (0.6) low 3 (0.1) very low very low low medium high very high probability 7.1.2 case 2 regarding the 5-point likert scale designed to gather individual perceptions, table 12 represents the rated risk p-i perceptions of four interviewees. the execution stage was rated ‘high’ by two interviewees, ‘very high’ by one, and ‘low’ by the other. however, three respondents regarded the p-i at the execution stage to be ‘high’, while one rated it ‘very high’. two respondents considered the initiation stage to be experiencing ‘very low’ likelihoods of risks, while another two disagreed, claiming that this phase was suffering ‘high’ p-is. the closeout stage was not graded, as the project was still in the execution phase. nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 15 table 12: summary of risk p-i across the plc in case 2 im p a c t 1 (4.5) very high 6 (2.8) high 1 (1.5) medium low 4/3(0.1) 1 (2.0) very low very low low medium high very high probability 7.1.3 case 3 the perceptions of interviewees in case 3 are summed up in the p-i grid (table 13). the respondents perceive that the risks’ p-is would be equal. two informants indicate that ‘very high’ p-i had been experienced at the execution stage, while one understood that the closeout was experiencing similar problems across the plc. another two interviewees regarded the execution stage to be experiencing ‘high’ p-i, where another ‘high’ score was graded on the closeout stage by an interviewee. the four interviewees regard the initiation as the least troubled stage. three respondents rated the planning and design stage ‘medium’, whereas one respondent rated it ‘very low’. meanwhile, the execution stage was rated ‘high’ by two interviewees and ‘very high’ by the other two, thereby identifying it as the most troubled phase. table 13: summary of risk p-i across the plc in case 3 im p a c t 3 (4.5) very high 3 (2.8) high 5 (1.5) medium low 5(0.1) very low very low low medium high very high probability acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 16 7.2 risk impact on the other knowledge areas (kas) 7.2.1 case 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 major near major medium near minor minor integration scope time cost quality hr comms procurement perceptions of the impact of risks on the other kas figure 3: case 1 – summarised perceptions of the impact of risks on the other kas throughout the plc figure 3 indicates how interviewees perceived the impact of risk on the other functional areas of the project. some red dots (representing p-is) appear to be dominant in the top tier of the diagram, implying that the project is contending with challenges according to the interviewees’ perceptions. the areas regarded to be highly affected include integration, which four respondents rated ‘very high’ and one rated it ‘medium’; scope was rated ‘very high’ by four and ‘high’ by one interviewee, while quality was rated ‘very high’ by three respondents, and time, cost and procurement were each rated ‘very high’ by all. for a project to succeed, the project management body of knowledge (pmbok) concedes that the activities must be mapped against the nine project management knowledge areas (pmkas) (schwalbe, 2011: 83). the perceptions indicated that the project stakeholders did not adhere to this concept. hence, the project succumbed to problems as a result of neglected risks. 7.2.2 case 2 in case 2, the project was regarded as experiencing major time and cost-related impacts by two interviewees, while one respondent perceived that other areas were severely affected, as indicated in figure 4 (extracted from table 9). therefore, the respondents seemed nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 17 to have addressed some of the functional areas; hence, this project can be regarded as managed at a medium risk level according to the equal distribution of the red dots in figure 4 (scatter diagram). perceptions of the impact of risks on the other kas major near major medium near minor minor integration scope time cost quality hr comms procurement 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 figure 4: case 2 – summarised perceptions of the impact of risks on the other kas throughout the plc 7.2.3 case 3 in case 3, all interviewees rated scope as ‘medium’, while time and cost were rated ‘very high’ by all interviewees, as indicated by the top tier skewed distributed red dots in figure 5. the results show a perceived high-risk impact on the project, because there was a slight gap between those who recognized the high impact and those who were still optimistic about the challenges. there was also mention of two project areas: time and cost. these were followed by integration. therefore, the overall impression shows a perception of high adverse impact on the project, thereby implying poor rm practice. acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 18 perceptions of the impact of risks on the other kas4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 major near major medium near minor minor integration scope time cost quality hr comms procurement figure 5: case 3 – summarised perceptions of the impact of risks on the other kas throughout the plc 7.3 rm perceptions in public projects the analysed responses indicate that, in case 1, the interviewees were convinced that the level of rm was very low, while in cases 2 and 3, the p-i’s perceptions on the projects were found to be medium and near medium, respectively. therefore, when all three are aggregated, the combined score is a low level of perceived rm practice (table 14). on average, the initiation stage earned the most ‘very low’ score across the cases, while planning and design earned ‘medium’, and execution stage scored ‘high’ and ‘very high’, as shown in table 14. it is notable that the closeout stage was not adequately addressed, because case 2 did not award p-i scores for this stage, as the project was still being executed. however, the results from the other two projects tend towards a ‘medium’ score. finally, the interviewees perceived the risks’ p-is to be ‘high’ and ‘very high’ at the execution stage. the majority of the respondents regarded the initiation stage as immune from the risks. nketekete, emuze & smallwood • risk management in public sector ... 19 table 14: combined interviewees’ average score of p-i across the projects’ plc project stage very low low medium high very high initiation 63% 0% 7% 17% 13% planning & design 32% 0% 47% 8% 13% execution 0% 15% 0% 53% 32% closeout 0% 0% 23% 22% 22% source: the researcher 8. discussion in general, nearly all the interviewees in the three case projects were of the opinion that appropriate consideration of risks, their likelihoods, and impacts was lacking. the focus of attention was more on achieving the projects’ goals without paying sufficient attention to risk factors. the interviewees claim that overruns are realised at the project completion stages, while eight of them were of the opinion that inadequacies in technical information (for example, detailed specifications) are usually overlooked at the design stage. this could result in random variation orders. employers tend to be reluctant in promoting rm culture, according to eight interviewees. the nature of these findings is consistent with the studies of yusuwan, adnan and omar (2008: 122), who contend that, despite project stakeholders’ exposure to risks, they still have confidence in old elusive concepts. wang, zhao, zhang and wang (2015: 165) affirm this scenario and argue that proper risk decisions warrant an active rm practice. for instance, variation orders cannot be avoided, as they are commonly accommodated in contracts – but first, their applications and limitations must be understood (sunday, 2010: 102). in brief, it appears that stakeholders’ risk awareness and perceptions vis-à-vis the level of rm practice for these three projects was very low. table 15 shows how the interviewees perceive the extent of rm about inhibiting p-is factors in each case. their perceptions point to a low average level of rm across the three cases. table 15: summary of findings research element case 1 case 2 case 3 summary rm perceptions very low high low low level acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 20 9. conclusions and recommendations the results of this study present the underlying problems facing public sector projects regarding the dynamics of construction risks in lesotho. this study provided insights into the impacts of risks on projects and amplified their likelihood and impact at the building stage. the findings verify the reported lack of up-to-date practice, because examined risks remain high as projects near completion. according to the findings across the three cases, the most affected project areas were time, cost, integration, quality, and procurement management. these results reflect that requisite rm skills do not exist. therefore, recommendations should target improved rm education and training that could influence practice. this could be accomplished through adequate training of professionals at the business and operational levels of construction management. the use of accredited institutions could be an immediate means of improving the practice of rm in lesotho. regular rm workshops should be encouraged in the industry. references list african development bank group. 2011. lesotho: mpharane-bela bela road upgrading project – pper. maseru: opev. afshari, h., khosravi, s., ghorbanali, a., borzabadi, m. & 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risk perception, and risk behaviour of construction project managers. in: a.b. raidén & e. aboagyenimo (eds) proceedings of the 31st annual arcom conference, 7-9 september 2015, lincoln, uk: association of researchers in construction management, pp.165-174. yin, r. 2011. qualitative research from start to finish. london: sage. yusuwan, n., adnan, h., omar, a. & jusoff, k. 2008. clients’ perspectives of risk management practice in malaysian construction industry. journal of politics and law, 1(3), pp. 121-130. https://doi. org/10.5539/jpl.v1n3p121 https://doi.org/10.1108/09699980510608839 https://doi.org/10.1108/09699980510608839 https://doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v1n3p121 https://doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v1n3p121 acta structilia 2016: 23(2) 24 appendix a: interview schedule and mini questionnaire 1. please tick the appropriate box below to indicate your organisation and job title. rd bds main contractor subcontractor consultant pm asst. pm contract. man architect asst. arch. engineer asst. eng. cm qs. asst. qs. 2. general project information: (if pm/qs/principal agent) start date: tender amount: r anticipated finish date: anticipated final cost: r 3. at each plc stage, a. how likely is it for these risks to occur, and b. what is their impact? – scale your perceptions by using a 5-point likert scale from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). probability impact project phase unsure low............high unsure low...............high 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 initiation (i) u 1 2 3 4 5 u 1 2 3 4 5 planning & design (p) u 1 2 3 4 5 u 1 2 3 4 5 execution (e) u 1 2 3 4 5 u 1 2 3 4 5 closeout (c) u 1 2 3 4 5 u 1 2 3 4 5 4. at each project phase, what impact do the risks (identified) have on the 8 knowledge areas? – scale your perceptions by using a 5-point likert scale from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). impact pmi knowledge area unsure low............................high 1 2 3 4 5 integration u 1 2 3 4 5 scope u 1 2 3 4 5 time u 1 2 3 4 5 cost u 1 2 3 4 5 quality u 1 2 3 4 5 hr u 1 2 3 4 5 communications u 1 2 3 4 5 procurement u 1 2 3 4 5 kommentaar • commentary theo c haupt the state of construction safety and health education at higher education institutions in the western cape, south africa abstract the occupational health and safely act (ohsa) 85 of 1993 requires all employers in south africa to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of their employees. additionally, ohsa requires employ­ers to provide such information, instructions, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure the health and safely at work of their workers. several studies have confirmed a well-established link between safely training and the perform­ ance of companies. high performing organizations were found to invest a larger percentage of payroll costs in training compared to the recommended industry norm. construction related programs at universities and technikons produce graduates who either take up managerial and supervisory positions within con­ struction firms or establish their own construction companies. the pivotal role of management in driving and promoting safely within their organizations is well documented. in order to comply with the requirements of ohsa these graduates need to be able to recognize, avoid and prevent unsafe conditions on the con­ struction sites that they will be involved with. this article gives an insight into the findings and exploratory studies of safety and health education at higher educa­tional institutions in the western cape province of south africa as well as the views of students on construction safely. preliminary results suggest that construction related programs do not adequately prepare students to be able to ensure the safely and health of workers on construction sites. courses make scant reference to the provisions of ohsa and responsibility for worker safety. keywords: education, training, worker safely, management. theo c haupt, phd, mphil, fciob, masi, is a research coordinator at the peninsula technikon, faculty of engineering, po box 1906, belville, south africa. email: <hauptt@pentech.ac.za>. 61 acta structilia 2002:9(2) die stand van konstruksie-veiligheid en gesondheidsopleiding by hoeronderwysinstellings in die weskaap-provinsie die wet op beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid, 85 van 1993, vereis dot alle werkge­ wers in suid-afrika 'n veilige werksomgewing sonder enige gesondheidsrisiko vir hulle werknemers skep. hiermee saam vereis die wet dot werknemers voorsien moet word van inligting, instruksies, opleiding en toesig wat nodig is om die gesondheid en veilgheid van die werkers te verseker. verskeie studies onderskryf 'n goed gevestigde verband tussen veiligheidsopleiding en werksverrigting van maatskappye. organisasies met hoe verrigting investeer skynbaar 'n groter persentasie aan loongeld aan personeelopleiding vergeleke die aanbevole bedryfsnorm. konstruksie-verwante programme by universiteite en technikons voorsien gegradueerdes wat 6f bestuursen toesighoudende posisies binne die konstruksiebedryf vul of hulle eie konstruksiemaatskappye stig. die spil waarom die bestuur en bevordering van veiligheid binne die organisasies draai, is goed gedokumenteer. orn aan die vereistes van die wet op beroepsgesondheid en veiligheid te voldoen, moet die gegradueerdes in stoat wees om onveilige toes­ tande te herken, te verhoed en voorkomende maatreels op die konstruksieter­reine door te stel. in hierdie artikel word die bevindinge van 'n ondersoek no vei­ligheid en gesondheidsopleiding aan hoeronderwysinstansies in die wes-koop ondersoek asook die menings van studente met betrekkking tot konstruksievei­ligheid weer te gee. volgens voorlopige bevindinge wil dit voorkom asof konstruk­sie-verwante programme nie voldoende voorsiening maak om die veiligheid en gesondheid van werkers op konstruksietereine te verseker nie. kursusse maak tot 'n mindere mate melding van die voorskrifte van die wet en die verpligtinge wat op bestuur rus ten opsigte van beroepsveiligheid. sleutelwoorde: onderrig, opleiding, werkerveiligheid, bestuur. 62 haupt/construction safety and health education introduction t here is a close relationship between education and labour conditions. as managers with higher education are attracted into organizations, they bring with them core values and standards that influence organizational culture. if the importance of construction worker safety and safety manage­ ment is recognized and included in the education programs of these man­ agers an improved safety culture will be created. consequently construction worker safety performance on construction sites will improve. the south african government has encapsulated the essence of this pivotal relationship in the occupational health and safety act (ohsa) 85 of 1993. in terms of ohsa clause 8( l) all employers in south africa are required to pro­ vide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of their employees. additionally, ohsa clause 8(2)(e) requires employers to provide such information, instructions, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of their work­ ers. several studies have confirmed a well-established link between safety training and the performance of companies. for this reason high perform­ ing companies invest larger percentages of their payroll cost in training than the recommended industry norm. the approach taken by top management in an organization influences the approach taken by subordinates (marshall 1994; haupt 2001 ). a study by the national institute of occupational health and safety in the united states found that successful safety practices were influenced by a strong management commitment to safety expressed through active involvement in program implementation and demonstrated concern for worker well being. many managers have discovered that if they empha­ sized safety by becoming safety conscious themselves, it was likely that their organizations would have good safety records. since manage­ ment is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the working environment and activities into which workers must fit and interact in, they can contribute significantly to controlling unsafe activities and con­ ditions which have been cited as the direct causes of accidents (holt 2001; hinze 1997). construction related programs at universities and technikons produce graduates who either take up managerial and supervisory positions with­ in construction firms or establish their own construction companies. the pivotal role of management in driving and promoting safety within their organizations is well documented (hinze 1997; levitt & samelson 1993; holt 2001: coble et al 1999; mufti 1999). to play this important role they have to be well educated and qualified in construction safety and health matters. in order to comply with the requirements of ohsa these graduates need to be able to recognize, avoid and prevent unsafe 63 " acta structilia 2002:9(2) conditions on the construction sites that they will be involved with. this article discusses the findings of exploratory studies of safety and health education at higher education institutions in the western cape province of south africa on the one hand, and the views of students on con­ struction safety on the other. research methodology in order to obtain data regarding the extent to which safety is integrat­ ed into construction programs that produce the various construction professionals, a survey was developed that sought some basic infor­ mation. the questionnaire used for this purpose was designed to gath­ er information from universities and technikons' in the western cape province of south africa that offered programs in construction related fields. of the five higher education institutions in the region, only three offered construction programs, namely one university and two tech­ nikons. an additional survey was conducted among third year con­ struction management students at one of the technikons to establish the extent of their exposure to safety and health issues in their aca­ demic courses and their level of knowledge of construction safety and health. these findings were compared with relevant literature. both questionnaires were self-administered. in the case of the higher education institutions the questionnaire was delivered to the academic head of the relevant department2 or faculty3 who, after completing it, faxed it to the researcher. all three institutions offering construction pro­ grams responded (l 00%). the student survey was conducted during one of their class sessions. all 68 students present at the time completed the questionnaires (100%). results of institution survey higher education institutions offered programs in a wide range of con­ struction-related disciplines. from table 1 it is evident that all three insti­ tutions offered programs in the disciplines of architecture, construction management, civil engineering, electrical engineering and quantity sur­ veying. two institutions offered programs in mechanical engineering, town planning, and urban and regional planning. none of the institu­ tions offered programs in architectural engineering, facilities manage­ ment, structural engineering and value engineering. the us equivalent of a technikon is a technical university. the us equivalent of a department is a school. e g school of building construction. the us equivalent of a faculty is a college, e.g. college of architecture. 64 haupt/construction safety and health education table l : disciplines in which institutions offer programmes discipline no of institutions architecture 3 building surveying 1 construction management 3 civil engineering 3 electrical engineering 3 interior design 1 maintenance management 1 mechanical engineering 2 project management 1 property development 1 property management 1 quantity surveying 3 town planning 2 urban and regional planning 2 table 2 indicates the number of institutions that offer courses on safety and health at various levels of study in a number of disciplines. students at one institution were exposed to safety and health courses during each of the four years of study in architecture, construction manage­ ment, property development and property management. however, stu­ dents studying civil engineering, electrical engineering, interior design, mechanical engineering, town planning, and urban and regional plan­ ning had no exposure to safety and health throughout their entire aca­ demic programs. where safety courses were offered they covered the provisions of ohsa of 1993 and the national building regulations. one institution reported that while the legislation was referred to in classes there were no focused learning programs for safety and health. none of the institutions offered a course that was wholly devoted to con­ struction safety. rather, reference was made to safety in courses such as construction management, law and technology. one institution indicat­ ed that within the next three years in safety and health in the final years it would introduce courses of study in the disciplines of building survey­ ing, construction management maintenance management project management property development property management, quantity surveying and value engineering. reasons given by institutions for presently offering safety and health courses as part of their curriculum included the recognition of their importance both in construction per se and as an indicator of sustainability in construction. 65 acta structilia 2002:9(2) tobie 2: disciplines in which institutions offer courses focusing on safety and health discipline year l year 2 year 3 year4 architecture l l 2 2 building surveying l l construction management l l 3 2 maintenance management l project management l 1 l properly development l l l l properly management l l l l quantity surveying l 2 2 only one institution regarded its graduates as being adequately trained or qualified to deal with construction safety and health issues. while no specific course was offered, safety and health issues were integrated into courses such as construction technology and management. the other institutions concurred that students were only given a broad overview in terms of understanding the main principles, knowing where to get information, and applying the principles. results of student survey in respect of the importance of various parameters to the success of a building construction project, 80,9% of students regarded completion without injury or fatality as being either fairly or very important. when the means of the responses were compared, this parameter ranked fourth out of the five parameters. completion on time or within contract period, within cost or budget, and meeting desired quality standards, ranked above safety. these findings are shown in table 3. in terms of their understanding of the provisions of ohsa, 95,2% of the students claimed that contractors were responsible for worker safety on construction sites. from table 4 it is evident that 57,4% of the students claimed to be aware of the provisions of ohsa of 1993. they absolved architects, designers, suppliers, clients and engineers from any respon­ sibility for construction safety. this finding is not entirely surprising since safety and health issues were not covered by any of the education insti­ tutions in their engineering programs. this finding is shown in table 5. 66 haupt/construction safety and health education table 3: the importance of project success parameters parameter 1 2 3 4 5 total mean sid. dev. time 2 11 55 68 4,7794 0,4839 2,9% 16,2% 80,9% 100,0% cost 7 4 57 68 4,7353 0,6376 10,3% 5,9% 83,8% 100,0% quality 1 6 15 45 67 4,5373 0,7849 1,5% 9,0% 22.4% 67,2% 100,0% safety 2 11 6 49 68 4,5000 0,8725 2.9% 16,2% 8,8% 72,1% 100,0% utility 1 5 25 35 66 4,4242 0.7030 1,5% 7,6% 37,9% 53,0% 100,0% table 4: awareness of provisions of ohsa frequency valid percent yes 39 57,4% no 29 42,6% total 68 100,0% table 5: responsible for safety frequency valid percent contractor 60 95,2% worker 3 4,8% total 68 100,0% with regard to who should be responsible for worker safety on construc­ tion sites, most students (85, l %) selected contractors as their most pre­ ferred party. the findings in table 6 confirm the earlier finding in table 5. interestingly, workers were preferred above engineers, designers, clients and suppliers. 67 acta structilia 2002:9(2) table 6: party preferred for safety management party 1 2 3 4 5 total mean sid. dev. contractor 3 1 6 57 67 4.7015 0.8879 4.5% 1.5% 9.0% 85.1% 100.0% worker 2 4 7 10 33 56 4,2143 1,1396 3.6% 7.1% 12.% 17.9% 58.9% 100.0% engineer 12 7 12 13 9 53 3.0000 1.4142 22.6% 13,2% 22.6% 24.5% 17,0% 100.0% designer 18 6 18 6 4 52 2.4615 1,2904 34.6% 11,5% 34,6% 11.5% 7.7% 100.0% client 28 7 8 7 2 52 2.0000 1.2680 53.8% 13.5% 15.4% 13.5% 3.8% 100.0% supplier 30 6 11 3 1 51 1.8039 1.0958 58.8% 11.8% 21.6% 21.6% 2,0% 100.0% students opined that management had the most impact (63%) on con­ struction worker safety followed by foremen (48,2%). this finding is shown in table 7. table 7: party with most impact on construction safety party most impact less impact least total mean sid, dev. management 34 3 17 54 1,6852 0.9281 63.0% 5.6% 31.5% 100.0% foreman 26 14 14 54 1.7778 0.8393 48,2% 25,9% 25.9% 100,0% supervisor 13 35 6 55 1.9273 0,7163 23.6% 63.6% 10,9% 100,0% from table 8 it is clear that students believed that construction (56, l %) was the industry most responsible for work-related accidents and fatali­ ties. this finding is in line with the statistics in most countries. 68 haupt/construction safety and health education table 8: industry responsibility for accidents and fatalities industry frequency valid percent manufacturing 1 1,8% agriculture 1 1,8% construction 32 56,1% mining 18 31,6% transportation 5 8,8% total 57 100,0% the responses in table 9 indicate that most students (90,9%) thought new workers were most likely to be injured on construction sites. this result concurs with the findings of several other studies. table 9: workers most likely to be injured type of worker frequency valid percent experienced worker 6 9,1% new worker 60 90,9% total 66 100,0% table l 0: the time of day when accidents are most likely to occur time of day frequency valid percent monday morning before tea 31 50,8% monday before lunch 3 4,9% monday after lunch 4 6,6% monday before afternoon tea 2 3,3% tuesday before lunch l 1,6% tuesday before afternoon tea l 1,6% friday morning before tea l 1,6% friday before lunch l 1,6% friday after lunch 11 18,0% friday before afternoon tea 6 9,8% total 61 100,0% the majority of students (50,8%) opined that monday morning before tea was the time of day when accidents were most likely to occur (table 10). 69 acta structilia 2002:9(2) table 11: when workers should be trained time frequency valid percent before being employed for the first firm by the firm 27 43,5% before new or unfamiliar work on a project is commenced 7 11,3% al regular intervals 28 45,2% total 62 100,0% table 11 indicates that students were equally divided on the question whether workers should be trained before being employed for the first time by firms (43,5%) or at regular intervals (45,2%), no students believed that training should occur after an accident occurs. most students (80,3%) believed that safety meetings should be held weekly. no students thought that these sessions should never be held or held quarterly or annually. this finding is shown in table 12. table 12: frequency of safety meetings time frequency valid percent daily 6 9,1% weekly 53 80,3% monthly 7 10,6% total 66 100,0% students were asked to rank 21 actions in terms of how these would potentially improve construction worker safety. the data in table 13 indi­ cate that disincentive schemes and attitude surveys would not improve worker safety. the other 19 actions would all contribute to improvement to some degree, after comparing the means of their responses, the six actions consid­ ered to potentially improve safety the most were worker training, man­ agement training, safety inspections, safety meetings, safety plans, and employment of safety staff. an interesting feature of these results is the perceived importance of management commitment (ranked 10'"). i i i i 70 haupt/construction safety and health education table 13: factors to improve construction worker safety will not will will factor improve slightly significantly mean std. dev. safety improve improve safety safety worker training 8 6 53 2,7059 0.7342 11.8% 8.8% 79,4% management training 13 24 26 2,6875 3,9234 20.3% 37,5% 40,6% safety inspections 6 10 51 2.6716 0.6369 9,0% 14.9% 76.1% safety meetings 7 16 43 2.5821 0.7416 10.4% 23.9% 64.2% safety plans 7 14 45 2,5758 0,6807 10,6% 21.2% 68,2% employment of safety staff 11 9 46 2.5672 0.8206 16.4% 13.4% 68.7% personal protective equipment 9 15 43 2,5075 0.7256 13.4% 22.4% 64.2% walk-through inspections 8 19 39 2,5075 0.7662 11,9% 28.4% 58.2% use of safety checklists 12 16 39 2.4412 0,8355 17,6% 23,5% 57.4% management commitment 14 12 41 2.4030 0.8176 20.9% 17.9% 61,2% emergency plans 10 20 34 2.3750 0.7454 15.6% 30.3% 53.1% orientation of workers 18 8 42 2,3529 0,8770 26,5% 11.8% 61.8% retraining of workers 11 23 31 2.3485 0.8132 16.7% 34.8% 47,0% medical examinations 17 19 30 2,1970 0,8269 25,8% 28.8% 45.5% larger safety budget 14 30 23 2,1343 0.7364 20,9% 44.8% 34.3% incentive schemes 13 29 21 2,1270 0,7294 20,6% 46,0% 33,3% drug screening 19 22 23 2, 1077 0,8861 29,2% 33,8% 35.4% document and record analysis 13 36 18 2.0746 0,6812 19.4% 53.7% 26.9% benchmarking 15 34 15 2,0000 0,6901 23.4% 53,1% 23.4% disincentive schemes 18 36 9 1.8571 0.6440 28,6% 57.1% 14,3% attitude surveys 23 33 10 l,8030 0,6843 34,8% 50,0% 15.2% 71 acta structilia 2002:9(2) most students (55,2%) indicated that they had not been adequately exposed to construction safety issues during their academic programs at higher education institutions. these findings are shown in table 14. table l 4: adequacy of exposure to construction safety issues in academic programme response frequency valid percent yes 29 43,3% no 37 55,2% not sure 1 1,5% total 67 100,0% students offered several suggestions in respect of preparing them to contribute to improving construction worker safety. their suggestions are shown in table 15. a large number of students (40%) felt that spending time on construction sites and observing safety practices during the execution of construction activities would be the most beneficial action to take. the other favoured action was learning more about health and safety through courses and workshops. table 15: suggestions of students suggestions frequency valid percent learn more about health and safety 19 31,7% improved communication 1 1,7% more research 3 5,0% plan for safety 1 1,7% first-aid training 3 5,0% know legislation 3 5,0% taught as separate stream or subject 4 6,7% spend time on site and observe practices 24 40,0% increased awareness 2 3,3% total 60 100,0% 72 i i haupt/construction safety and health education discussion higher education institutions indicated that they did not offer any courses wholly devoted to construction safety issues. rather, construction safety issues were integrated into a limited number of courses. even then stu­ dents were only given a brood overview. viewed against this cursory and scant treatment of construction safety, it is no surprise that completion of projects without the loss of life or a limb has less importance in the minds of management students than have the traditional project parameters of time, cost and quality. several authors (hinze 1997; smallwood & haupt 2000) have argued that the safety performance of the construction industry will only improve when safety is accorded the same importance as these parameters. a study conducted by suckarieh and diamantes (1997) found that universities in the united states devote little course time to the topic of safety in construction projects. while educational institutions make reference to legislation such as ohsa, 1993 in their courses, the impression is created in the minds of students that only contractors are responsible for safety. in fact they pre­ fer contractors to be the parties that should be responsible for safety. the other participants in the construction process are consequently absolved from any responsibility. this finding is contrary to international trends in safety management in terms of which the responsibility for safety has been redistributed to include all the participants in construc­ tion (coble & haupt 1999; smallwood & haupt 1999, 2000). whereas several studies have shown that foremen have the greatest direct impact on the safety and health of their workers (hinze 1997; levitt and samelson 1993), students felt that management had the most direct impact. this implies that educational institutions have a responsi­ bility to provide students with the knowledge and training to be able to make that impact a responsibility not yet recognized or accepted a finding confirmed by suckarieh and diamantes ( 1997) in their study. students recognized that construction was the industry most responsible for work-related accidents, injuries and fatalities. hinze (1997), haupt (200 l) and many others support these findings. similarly, students opined that new appointees were the worker cohorts most likely to be injured on sites. hinze (1997) and levitt and samelson (1993) support this finding. monday mornings before tea, usually around l ohoo (in south africa), was regarded as the day and time when accidents were most likely to occur. this finding concurs with hinze (1997). like many authors, students recognized the importance of training and orientation of new hires appointees. acta structilia 2002:9(2) while the pivotal role of management commitment is well document­ ed in safety literature, students failed to recognize this role when ranking 21 actions that could improve construction worker safety. students con­ firmed the admission of the educational institutions concerning their inadequate exposure to construction safety. time spent on construction sites was cited as the best alternative to this failing of their alma maters. conclusion this exploratory study confirmed that higher educational institutions are not preparing construction professionals adequately for their future con­ struction safety responsibilities. consequently students fail to recognize the pivotal role that they play in improving construction safety and health as managers of the construction process. to their credit students have demonstrated a reasonable understanding of several of the key issues despite the scant reference to construction safety in their aca­ demic programs. while educational institutions acknowledge this defi­ ciency, a more concerted effort is necessary to incorporate safety and health issues at all levels of study and across all disciplines. only then will south african construction professionals be able to influence con­ struction safety and health performance in the industry in a positive way. programs without formal educational training in construction safe­ ty will place graduating construction professionals at a severe disad­ vantage before and after final graduation. references al-mufti, m.a. 1999. college's emphasis on construction safety. in: singh, hinze & coble (eds). implementation of safety and health on construction sites. rotterdam: balkema, pp. 277-284. coble, r., hinze, j., mcdermott, m. & elliott, b. 1999. college's emphasis on construction safety. in: singh, hinze & coble (eds). implementation of safety and health on construction sites. rotterdam: balkema, pp. 257-264. haupt, t.c. & coble, r. 1999. safety and health legislation in europe and united states: a comparison. in: gomried trani & alves dias (eds). safety coordination and quality in construction. milan: polytechnic of milan, pp. 159-164. haupt/construction safety and health education haupt, t.c. & smallwood, j.j. 1999. implications for south africa of safety and health initiatives in europe and the united kinfdom. in: gomried, trani & alves dias [eds). safety coordination and quality in construction. milan: polytechnic of milan, pp. 165-1 7 4. hinze, j. holt, a. 1997. construction safety. upper saddle river, new jersey: prentice­ hall. 2001. principles of construction safety. oxford: blackwell science ltd. levitt, r. & samelson, n. 1993. construction safety management. new york: john wiley & sons, inc. marshall, g. 1994. safety engineering. american society of safety engineers. smallwood, j.j. & haupt, t.c. 2000. safety and health teambuilding. in: coble, hinze & haupt (eds). construction safety and health management. upper saddle river, new jersey: prentice-hall, pp. 115-144. suckarieh, g. & diamantes, j. 1997. educating construction management students in safety. in: alves dias & coble [eds). implementation of safety and health on construction sites. rotterdam: balkema, pp. 567-576. 75 boekresensie * book review paul kotze blueprints in black and white: the built environment professions in south africa an outline history by john bizzell b lueprints in black and white, is intended as a brief history of the built environment professions in south africa. its aim is to assist in the understanding of the role of these professions in the south african society. the content of the book is broadly based on the assumption that south african built environment professionals have always reflected the dominant societal values and attitudes of the day. the author, mr john bizzell, is an architect who graduated from the university of natal. in the aftermath of the rivonia trial he and his wife were forced into exile. they settled in toronto, canada. he received a master's degree in urban design from the university of toronto. after l 994 the couple returned to south africa. broadly speaking, the content of the book is chronologically arranged from pre-colonial times up to the present. in each of the chapters a range of topics is covered. a constant attempt is made to discuss the issues relating to the physical development of the country against the background of the social and political processes operative in south african society. the theme of blueprints in black and white is a worthy area of study and the author has set high ideals for the book. the personal history of the author, in conjunction with the stated aims of the sponsors of the book, provide a broad position from which the subject matter is viewed. however, the contents. of the book fall dramatically short of these ideals mainly due to the lack of a properly defined positional statement. it is dif­ ficult to ascertain what readership profile the author had in mind. is it the general public, the interested professional or the serious scholar? john bizzell currently practices as an architect and project manager near durban in kwazulu-natal, south africa. the book is reviewed by professor cp kotze of the department of architecture at the university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. acta structilia 2002:9(2) if the work is viewed against the assumed requirements of such groups, it is severely lacking in all respects due the absence of any form of well­ defined focus. it makes one wonder who would actually be interested in reading this book other than those who have commissioned the work. the narrative is descriptive and it rambles rather aimlessly through the subject matter. no serious attempt is ever made at analysis or compar­ isons to other situations or positions. the text is often pointless as it makes no real contribution to much of the more serious academic work which has been done in south africa and elsewhere on the development of the south african physical landscape. it also seems that the author has hardly taken note of this body of work. due to this oversight the author does not make a credible contribution to the debate. blueprints in black and white is not groundbreaking work whereas it could easily have been just that, if the author had allowed himself a more critical position. due to the lack of focus it does not address a perceived need, or niche, within the south african intellectual landscape on the built environment. the author dabbles here and there without ever making an in-depth observation or contribution. the layout of the book is neat, but rather conventional with mostly small and sometime illegible illustrations and comments appended in the margins of the pages. it is not always clear why specific illustrations were chosen, as the illustrations do not always relate to the adjacent text. it is as if the images are used simply to fill up space. while on the topic of illustrations, it should be mentioned that the main image used on the book's cover has also been used by a major commercial bank to illus­ trate its advertisements for student loans. such carelessness does not support the publication's credibility at that crucial moment of making a first impression. furthermore, the author follows an unconventional ref­ erencing system that makes it difficult to trace sources. thorough edit­ ing could have obviated this problem. alongside the aforementioned illustrations, blocks containing snippets of information have been incor­ porated. herein, as sometimes in the text, amazingly interesting and rel­ evant pieces of information can be found. for the seriously minded reader this subtext can offer some rewards. in this way, the book might have value in that it points to work that still needs to be done. in general, the content of the book is a valuable opportunity squan­ dered. the department of public works must have provided a sizable sponsorship to enable the production of this work. this in it self is a unique occurrence in south africa, where such support is in short supply. however, the work generally fails to introduce any new insight to the debate on the production of the built environment in south africa, mainly because it relies too heavily on 'accepted' concepts and myths without any rigorous analysis or comparisons. 128 bizzell/blueprints in black and white blueprints in black and white: the built environment professions in south africa an outline history bizzell john, 2002 sponsored by the south african department of public works © department of public works durban: solo collective rl 25,00 144 pp isbn 0-620-28492-7 129 39 rinus bouwer, richard hendrick, megan taylor & andre kruger an assessment of the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space peer reviewed abstract rand water has contracted university of south africa (unisa) to develop a monetary valuation method for its open spaces and its inherent ecological functions. this article begins by reviewing existing contemporary definitions for open space in south africa and then identifies the key characteristics thereof. open spaces in the gauteng urban environment is in a crisis and factors such as open space coverage standards, sale of open space, crime and the impact of the apartheid legacy are briefly examined. rand water’s open space contributes to the total open space stock of gauteng province. any shortage of open space and threats to the sustainable management and expansion of the open space network of the province therefore has a direct bearing on how rand water views and manages its open space resources. environmental resource economics provides economists and environmentalists with various instruments to place a monetary value on the environment. the available valuation instruments are briefly reviewed and questionnaires are developed from this to determine whether it can be applied by rand water staff to obtain values at a minimal cost, in a short space of time, and whether it assesses the various use and non-use values. keywords: open space, environmental valuation, environmental resource economics, use value, non-use value, consumptive use value, non-consumptive use value, indirect use value, existence value, option value, production function approach, restoration cost method, replacement cost method, travel cost method, hedonic pricing method, contingent valuation method, damage cost avoided method, defensive expenditure method, rand water mr rinus bouwer, manager: parks management, department of integrated environmental management, mogale city local municipality, p.o. box 94, krugersdorp, 1740, south africa. tel: 083 258 4762, email: <0832584762@mtnloaded.co.za> prof. richard hendrick, departmental head; horticulture, unisa-florida, private bag x6, florida, 1710, south africa. tel: 011 471 2348, email: <rhendric@unisa. ac.za> mrs megan taylor, estates superintendent: research, environmental services, rand water, zwartkopjes, p.o.box 1127, johannesburg, 2000, south africa. tel: 011 724 9350, email: <mtaylor@randwater.co.za> mr andre kruger, lecturer, real estate, university of johannesburg, p.o.box 17011, doornfontein, 2028, south africa. tel: 082 471 9687, email: <akruger@ uj.ac.za> acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 40 abstrak rand water het die universiteit van suid-afrika (unisa) ingekontrakteur om ’n waarderingsmetode te ontwikkel vir sy oopruimtes en inherente ekologiese funksies. hierdie artikel begin dus met ’n oorsig van huidige kontemporêre definisies van oop ruimtes in suid-afrika en identifiseer dan die hoof eienskappe daarvan. oopruimtes in die gauteng stedelike omgewing is in ’n krisis en faktore soos oopruimte dekkingstandaarde, verkoop van oopruimtes, misdaad, en die impak van die apartheid nalatingskap word kortweg ondersoek. rand water se oopruimtes dra by tot die totale oopruimte voorraad van die gauteng provinsie. enige tekort van oop ruimtes en bedreigings tot die volhoubare bestuur en uitbreiding van die oopruimte netwerk van die provinsie het dus ’n direkte uitwerking op hoe rand water sy oopruimte bates beskou en bestuur. omgewings-hulpbronekonomie voorsien ekonome en omgewingskundiges met verskeie instrumente om ’n ekonomiese waarde van die omgewing te bepaal. die beskikbare waarderingsinstrumente word kortliks ondersoek en vraelyste is ooreenkomstig ontwikkel om te bepaal of rand water personeel dit kan toepas teen minimale koste, oor ’n kort tydsperk, en of die metodes die verskillende gebruiksen nie-gebruiks waardes kan bepaal. sleutelwoorde: omgewings-hulpbronekonomie, oopruimtes, ekologiese funksies, omgewings-valuasie, omgewings-valuasie metode, omgewings waarde, produksiefunsie benadering, skade-onkostevermeidingsmetode, restourasiekostemetode, vervangingskostemetode, reiskostemetode, hedoniese-prysbepalingsmetode, kontingente-valuasiemetode 1. background rand water is similar to other government utilities in being under pressure to provide goods and services at an affordable rate and of regulated quality. this means that there is a constant review of operational costs with reference to its core functions as an efficiency exercise. rand water owns several portions of land as part of its estates portfolio and is responsible for their management and maintenance. the question may therefore be asked whether these open spaces perform a function of any economic value that can be aligned with or complement rand water’s core business. if these open spaces are not providing value, it would not be strategically sensible to retain them as non-performing assets. however, if the economic value of these open spaces could be clearly defined, this would enable objective decisions to be made that would more likely be in favour of its retention. rand water has therefore contracted unisa, through tender, to develop a valuation method for its private open space network. this article aims to review existing environmental valuation methods to establish the most suitable methods within the rand water context. the article briefly addresses current definitions of open space and the challenges faced by open spaces, and explore the possible interventions that environmental resource economics or the bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 41 property valuation profession can provide. the article aims to establish a valuation methodology that can be applied to estimate the value of open spaces and ecosystems. the rand water context and its terms of reference for this article will form the basis of selecting and developing suitable valuation methods. the context of rand water and its open spaces may be delineated as follows: rand water’s open space network is to a certain degree • accessible and can be used for recreation and leisure use by its own staff. public harvesting of natural resources on these open spaces • is very limited and can be accounted for in valuation methods. commercial agriculture, including crop production and • grazing, is not practised on the rand water open spaces. some of the open spaces do have agricultural potential and agricultural resource value; however, agricultural resource economics will not form part of this study. an estimated 95% of rand water’s open spaces are located • in close proximity to or in view of urban areas, meaning that they could provide a stream of environmental services to these areas, which is an important aspect in valuation studies. 2. introduction 2.1 defining open space it is important to have a good understanding of the term ‘open space’ and what it encompasses in the context of this article. a review of current local definitions is necessary before any particular definition is adopted. mogale city urban open space project (mogale city local • municipality, 2003): any undeveloped vegetated land within and beyond the urban edge, belonging to any of the following six open space categories: ecological, social, institutional, heritage, agricultural and prospective (degraded land). cape moss (chittenden nicks de villiers, 2000):• acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 42 open space is principally the unbuilt component inside the urban edge that serves a variety of purposes and functions. durban moss (durban metropolitan council, 1999):• two types of open space were identified for the dmoss: urban open spaces ° … the human made or legally designated places and areas within the dma that are developed for community use. they include parks, sports fields, agricultural fields, streets, town squares, road reserves, servitudes for services such as electricity transmission line, dams, private gardens. natural open spaces ° … the remaining undisturbed natural and undeveloped areas within the dma. they are the areas that contain the core terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems. these ecosystems include land cover types such as grasslands, forests, beaches, estuaries, rivers, wetlands. instead of drafting a new definition for open space, this article summarises the key characteristics of open space that contextualise it for this environmental valuation study. open space is therefore regarded as the following: public or private land within or outside the ‘urban edge’ that • is mostly vegetated and may contain water bodies such as rivers, dams, wetlands or estuaries. land that is undeveloped and in a natural state or has • been landscaped to function as an aesthetic area and/or recreational facility and/or sporting facility. land that is purposefully and in most cases legally set aside • for conservation or zoned as ‘open space’, ‘agricultural’ land or ‘undetermined’. these criteria may not be all-encompassing and may not be suitable for all scenarios but nonetheless set a reference framework for this study. 2.2 the open space ‘crisis’ open space in south africa is increasingly under pressure as urban areas expand in density. while some may feel that open space plays an important role in a developing country such as south africa, others argue that open space is a luxury in a situation where housing and basic infrastructure provision are high priorities which should take precedence in the context of limited resources. the general bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 43 sentiment among environmentalists and parks managers is that open space is necessary for the long-term sustainability of cities. the benefits of open spaces have been well researched and include the following in the urban context: open space offers opportunities for active and passive • recreation, which in turn reduces destructive and antisocial behaviour, builds family cohesiveness, promotes good psychological and physical well-being, and produces ‘upstream’ savings in health services owing to increased physical activity through recreation. open space and recreation facilities are significant economic • generators as they promote spending on leisure travel, sport and recreation equipment, draw tourism, and act as employment generators. open space is often a place of learning, especially where the • natural environment is introduced in an interactive manner, and it enhances people’s understanding of their natural environment and environmental issues. open space maintains ecosystems and preserves biodiversity, • protects endangered fauna and flora species, and provides ecosystem services such as clean water and air (naidoo, 2003: 2-11; pricewaterhousecoopers, 2003: 4). while most of these benefits appear obvious and necessary for sustainable development, the question has to be asked whether present management practice recognises these benefits. most metropolitan and larger local municipalities now have open space planning regimes in place, such as a metropolitan/municipal open space system (moss) and open space framework, which inform planners of the status of open space in terms of size, connectivity, quantity, and relationship with surrounding land uses. these planning instruments have not always been present in south africa and were mostly initiated through local agenda 21, after the united nations conference on sustainable development held in rio de janeiro in 1992 (durban metropolitan council, 1999). south africa’s open space coverage standards have lagged behind international averages in that the old transvaal province proposed 1.2 ha per 1000 population, whereas international standards for open space coverage range from 6 to 8 ha per 1000 (city of tshwane metropolitan municipality, 2005). depending on the density of an urban population, the international open space acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 44 coverage standards translated into approximately 10% of a city in the 1960’s (doell, 1963: 22) while it is presently at 14% according to harnik (2000). an increase in the open space coverage standards has been evident over the past five decades since doell (1963: 19) stated that the standard at that time was coverage of 7 acres (2.8 ha) per 1000 population for american cities, while the current average according to harnik (2000) is 6.8 ha per 1000 population. these targets include social and ecological open space. it makes sense to provide social open space on the basis of an area-per-population standard, but the same rule cannot be justified for ecological open space. ecological open space allocation should be based on criteria such as ecological processes, species diversity, and sensitivity of ecosystem functions, which after a thorough assessment can be expressed in percentage sustainable representation per bioregion. the world conservation union set an international conservation target of 10% in february 1992 at the ivth world congress on national parks and protected areas in caracas. it was later realised that such a target would conserve only an estimated 50% of species (gdace, 2005). the iucn has therefore set a new target to stop all loss of biodiversity by 2010 in europe (göteborg european council, 2001), which means that each country has to adjust its conservation targets to its specific bioregion characteristics instead of a one-size-fitsall target, to prevent any further biodiversity loss. the gauteng department of agriculture, conservation and environment has set itself conservation targets of more than 30% since less than 1% of gauteng province, within the urban edge, is currently formally conserved (gdace, 2005). these targets are set to influence both open space provision in gauteng province at local government level and privately owned land. land use applications reviewed through the eia process will be subject to decision-making tools such as the c-plan 2 to ensure that conservation targets are reached, with specific reference to ecological open space. the fact that allocation of open space targets and standards has increased over time means that knowledge about the implications of development impacts and lack of open space provision has increased. there are, however, a number of challenges that need to be considered which are likely to impact on the allocation of open space and its quality in gauteng province. the incidence of crime and perceptions around it are influencing people’s willingness to use open spaces for recreation. properties located close to open spaces pay a higher premium on household insurance due to the risk perception. municipalities have in certain bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 45 instances sold off high-risk open spaces where incidents of rape and housebreaking have occurred. this may have been encouraged by community police forums and political pressure. fencing and controlled access, security lighting and integrated land uses are often viable solutions to crime in parks and need to be explored before the irreversible sale and development of open space is considered. south africa’s previous government planned and enforced segregated communities, where people of colour were disadvantaged in the provision of basic services. the provision of open space in these old affected townships was also inadequate and was generally characterised by sparsely allocated small park stands within dense residential developments. south african local government is now challenged to provide sufficient open spaces for these communities. one may ask how these problems relate to the rand water case. rand water’s open space contributes to the total open space stock of gauteng province. any shortage of open space and threats to the sustainable management and expansion of the open space network of the province therefore has a direct bearing on how rand water views and manages its open space resources. this context will also assist with the valuing of the rand water open space stock. 2.3 environmental resource economics as management intervention sustainability is both an ecological and an economic problem. in the early eighties it was realised that for science to make any progress with regard to the understanding of sustainable development, an integrated and interdisciplinary approach would be needed (perman, ma, mcgilvray & common, 2003: 8). economists realised that economic development and welfare were dependent on the availability of resources and the ability of the environment to sustain human existence. environmentalists realised that poverty, as the absence of welfare, was an environmentally destructive socioeconomic problem that could to some extent be addressed with economic instruments (dasgupta, 1997: 18). environmental resource economics developed, with these realisations, as an economics discipline. this is evident in that the majority of research work in this field is performed by economists. it was within this economics frame of reference that it was recognised that environmental resources were abused and neglected because market systems failed to attach appropriate values to them. this market acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 46 failure was a result of poorly defined property rights such as clean air (if nobody owns it, everybody can abuse it), failure to cost external effects or consequences of development on the environment, and failure to recognise environmental services and goods as an input in production (perman, et al., 2003: 124-126). the realisation that markets had failed to attach a value to a resource or an external effect led to the development of valuation instruments. the fact that these resources had no price did not mean that they had no value. perman et al. (2003: 11) argue that if well-being is affected by the presence or absence of a resource, then it must have a value, whether positive or negative. the environmental valuation techniques have not been without controversy, as questions of ethics, validity and accuracy often emerge in the literature. gen (2004: xviii) poses the question whether utilitarian ethics should be allowed to influence environmental policy. non-economists reason that decisions about the future of environmental resources should not be based on monetary values, as attached values would only reflect society’s current understanding of their importance. a case in point is the severe destruction of wetlands over the past century; only recently has their importance been realised. such valuations may therefore discount the expectation of future growth in knowledge relevant to the implications of development (perman et al., 2003: 402). this brings to the fore the importance of the precautionary principle when evaluating environmental resources, and the fact that decisions about their future should be based on a suite of factors and not just monetary value alone. in a recent study done to determine the value of grasslands in south africa, de witt & blignaut (2006: 4) state that environmental valuation is not an elementary calculation that will produce stable, absolute values that can be traded off against development. they argue that economic valuation is not an absolute science but is rather reductionist and overlooks the value of a system in its totality. the economic component of environmental considerations remains an important factor, despite the shortcomings in the environmental valuation studies. sub-section 2(4)(i) of the south african national environmental management act (nema), act 107 of 1998 states as follows: “the social, economic and environmental impacts of activities, including disadvantages and benefits, must be considered, assessed and evaluated, and decisions must be appropriate in the light of such consideration and assessment.” bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 47 it should be realised that environmental valuation is a fairly new and rapidly expanding field (perman et al., 2003: 399). the identification of many of the shortcomings in the methods has resulted in improvement and refinement. the results obtained from valuation studies are used as a guide to inform decisions and can be a valuable educational tool to inform decision makers about the ‘value’ of the natural environment. decisions about the future of open spaces and ecosystems should not be based solely on the results of a valuation but should consider social, economic and environmental factors as given in the national environmental management principles of nema. 3. total economic value it is necessary to understand the various values that comprise the total economic value of an open space and its ecosystem functions before the methods that value them are discussed. figure 1 gives a breakdown of the various values associated with open spaces. figure 1: conventional classification of the values of environmental amenities source: turpie joubert van zyl harding & leiman 2001: 11 ecosystems and open spaces differ from each other in terms of size, quality and types of ecological services and functions. not all the various values associated with open space are applicable to each and every open space or environmental resource. in some cases the value may be of such insignificance that it is not feasible to perform a valuation on it. the valuer needs to use his or her own discretion when evaluating an open space to determine which values are relevant. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 48 3.1 traditional valuation municipalities are occasionally faced with the decision to sell open space. this may be because a developer has approached such municipality and indicated his or her willingness to purchase. the municipality’s response to such an offer will depend on the policies, strategies and by-laws in place relating to open space management. a property valuation is required in the event that a municipality decides to sell open space. a property valuer, who is normally a municipal official, performs a valuation. factors such as availability of services, accessibility, improvements on the property, zoning and size, and regional sales data are used to obtain a value. this results in an often very low monetary valuation for the open space in relation to, say, residential or business property. the traditional property valuation method does not consider value-adding factors such as the flow of environmental services including water purification, climate amelioration, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and biodiversity sustenance, and therefore overlooks potentially value adding benefits. the purchaser would in most cases transform the open space and would not be willing to pay for ‘benefits’ lost to society. if the benefits that open spaces provide to the larger community were factored into its price, then it is most likely that no sale would be concluded and the open space would be preserved for the community who benefits from its services. such an approach would also warrant that the purchaser pay for the loss of these services provided to a community, where a sale is approved and proceeds, or alternatively that the cost of the loss be compensated for in the price. fortunately the development or transformation of open spaces is a listed activity (activity number 20) in terms of sections 24 and 24 d of the south african national environmental management act, act 107 of 1998. the sale and development of open space will be more difficult with these regulations in place. unfortunately professional property valuers are not trained to recognise environmental goods and services in the holistic value of a property. research and development into open space valuation therefore presents an opportunity for the integration of environmental valuation methods in the property valuation profession, which will certainly give more recognition to the importance of environmental goods and services. bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 49 3.2 use values 3.2.1 consumptive use value this value is obtained from the economic benefits associated with the direct harvesting of goods from an open space. this may include a wide variety of goods such as building material, food, flowers and medicinal plants (turpie et al., 2001: 12). this value is not constant as it is affected by the market value of the harvested goods and the ability of the open space to supply the goods in a sustainable stream. this method is mostly applied to renewable resources or biotic populations that can regenerate, such as fauna and flora. goods such as minerals are non-renewable and harvesting them is not a desirable or sustainable practice in open spaces and is for the purpose of this study excluded. harvesting of minerals in open spaces is in most cases an illegal activity prohibited by municipal by-laws. the value of mineral stock in an open space would only be considered during a cost benefit analysis where mining is considered as an alternative use. if the sustainability threshold is exceeded, then the volume of goods and flow of services supplied declines and subsequently their value. it is therefore important to ensure that the consumptive use value is not based on volumes that are not sustainably harvested, which would give inflated values at first but would be likely to depreciate over a short space of time. sustainable harvesting, however, gives realistic values which appreciate in time provided the market demand remains constant. the question the valuer should ask is whether the level of current use is affecting future availability. the resource can be used indefinitely if harvest is equal to or less than the natural reproduction rate, and if the ecological systems that support reproduction are preserved (perman et al., 2003: 18). consumptive use value is applicable only where goods are legally harvested, such as communal land where harvesting rights are granted. a nature reserve will most often not permit harvesting, and a consumptive use value will not be applicable. the production function method is used to gauge consumptive use value (see section 4.1.1). 3.2.2 non-consumptive use value non-consumptive use value implies, as the name suggests, that the value is obtained from the use of an open space that does not involve harvesting or collecting any goods (turpie et al., 2001: acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 50 12). activities such as recreational use and tourism add value to an open space as people are willing to spend money to use such recreation opportunities. people spend money on travelling costs to get to these open spaces, food and beverages and sometimes accommodation. if not well managed, non-consumptive use can have a negative impact on the use value. an example is the value of a wilderness area, which lies in the perceived absence of people and the sense of exclusivity, for which people are willing to pay a premium (perman et al., 2003: 127). such an area would not be a great escape if it were crowded and noisy. overuse could also directly impact on the quality of the facility through abuse of the amenity infrastructure, trampling of pathways, and unmanageable littering. such overuse would result in a depreciation of the open space’s non-consumptive use value. this value is also often reflected in nearby property prices and is alternatively referred to as hedonic value or pricing (see section 4.2.2). 3.2.3 indirect use value indirect use value is the economic benefits that urban society obtains from the ecological services and functions that open spaces provide (turpie et al., 2001). these functions may include those shown in table 1. table 1: some environmental services and functions that open spaces may provide water supply and purification • climate amelioration• sound and nuisance control• flood and erosion control• carbon sequestration• soil formation and nutrient cycling• pollination• refuges for biodiversity• source: adapted from turpie et al. 2001: 12 the challenge in obtaining a value for these ecological services is that they are communal and free from market influences. there are, however, indirect methods which can be used to determine a value for ecological services. a change in the quality of an environmental service, such as increased air pollution, reduces property values of the affected area, while improvement results in an appreciation of the property values. these changes can be measured to value the change. the cost of replacing an ecological service with an artificial substitute can also be used as a proxy to infer a value for it. a wetland has bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 51 water purification and storm-water retention properties which can be mimicked by engineering infrastructure such as water purification plants and storm-water retention systems. the cost of developing infrastructure to treat and manage the same quantity of water as the wetland would serve as the value indicator (see section 4.1.2). 3.3 non-use values: option and existence values option value refers to the value that people place on reserving the option to use a resource in the future (turpie et al., 2001: 12). this optional use value could be either a use or a non-use value. this is normally expressed as a person’s or community’s willingness to pay to guarantee the availability of the open space for future use (perman et al., 2003: 402). there is also the quasi-option value which is expressed as a person’s willingness to pay to avoid the irreversible loss of an open space or ecological service, considering the risk that the advancement of knowledge could in future prove that such loss had been catastrophic and ill-informed (perman et al., 2003: 402). an example would be the relative ignorance 50 years ago concerning the implications of wetland destruction, which led to the loss of a significant number of wetlands. this has resulted in the adoption of the precautionary principle whenever the holistic impact of a particular action is unknown. this could alternatively be expressed as a person’s willingness to pay to avoid unknown risks. with option and quasi-option use value there is no certainty or there is incomplete knowledge about the future conditions of an open space or ecological service (perman et al., 2003: 402). the comfortable knowledge of the existence of a resource can be referred to as existence value. contribution to the conservation of far-off places such as rain forests or paleontological important sites could be measured to determine this value. this value, however, need not be applicable to far-off resources only, as willingness to pay for the conservation of any resource could be interpreted as existence value. unlike option and quasi-option value, there is complete certainty with existence value about the future conditions of an open space and ecological services (perman et al., 2003: 402). a farm portion with unique landscape and biodiversity features in close proximity to urban development can have the option to be developed as a residential township or to be preserved as a protected nature reserve. the value attached to the property will remain an option value until it is formally protected, where after it will assume an existence value. once it is legally protected, alternative options are restricted by legislation. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 52 4. valuation methods methods employed in previous studies for the valuation of open spaces and ecosystems are the same methods generally applied to value environmental resources. these methods can be broadly categorised into three categories, namely market value approaches, surrogate market approaches and simulated market approaches (turpie et al., 2001: 16). market value approaches use market-related pricing of goods and services used to establish a value, for example based on the net value of harvested cut flowers. the market value approach may apply to use and non-use values. there may for example be an option on a particular portion of land to harvest wild flowers and this ‘option value’ can be determined by using a market value approach based on the market value of the wild flowers in question. surrogate market approaches, also referred to as revealed preference approaches examine the economic trends in a particular situation and how an environmental resource influences these trends. a well-maintained and attractive open space will positively influence property values, which are then translated into a net benefit or premium and ultimately expressed as a value. in contrast, a poorly maintained open space will adversely affect property values and could be seen as a cost to the property market for not maintaining such open space in good order. simulated market approaches use surveys or questionnaires to obtain the perceived value or ‘willingness to pay’ for a service or amenity or to conserve a particular area. mean values are then calculated from these surveys and multiplied by the number of affected households to obtain a value. this method is also valuable to test user responses to hypothetical scenarios such as the possible sale of park land or the impact of maintenance standards and crime on usage and ultimately value. 4.1 market value approaches 4.1.1 production function approach this method is used to determine the net annual value of goods and services produced by an open space or ecosystem. it therefore values the consumptive use of open space goods. the annual use value = q x (p-c), where q is the quantity of goods produced, p is the market price at which the goods are sold, and c bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 53 is the cost of harvesting, processing, transporting and marketing the goods. a net present value of the open space is then obtained by converting the annual use value (annual use = q x (p-c) into a rand value per hectare (r/ha). therefore, if the total annual use value of an open space is say r350,000 from flower harvesting and the property measures 10ha, then the net present value would be r35,000 per ha (turpie et al., 2001: 17). this valuation method may not be often applied in the valuation of open spaces since the harvesting of fauna and flora is prohibited by most municipal by-laws, except for fishing in certain locations. it would be unethical to attach a use value to an open space based on products which have been illegally obtained. it would be the same as to say that the kruger national park is worth x based on the street value of its elephant tusks and rhino horns, while it is illegal to trade in these bio-products. numerous indigenous plant species are under threat due to unscrupulous harvesting for medicinal use. this valuation method could become valuable if the free-for-all situation could be changed into a sustainable harvesting programme that is monitored. the market value approach is also used to value agricultural or forestry land in support of normal property valuation techniques and this is where the method originated. 4.1.2 restoration cost or replacement cost method this method is usually used to value ecosystem functions and departs from the hypothesis that the value of the ecosystem is equal to its replacement cost or restoration cost. the replacement cost refers to the replacement of ecosystem functions with artificial structures and systems that will replicate the ecosystem function, such as water purification and retention (turpie et al., 2001: 18). however, not all ecosystems can realistically be replaced or replicated by artificial structures and systems, making its use rather limited. an approach with the replacement cost method for wetlands would be to obtain engineering costs for the construction of water purification plants per mega-litre treating capacity and to use the total water treatment output of the wetland over a certain time period to obtain a value for the ecological function use of the restoration cost method could be based on a hypothetical scenario postulating that the environmental service has been lost or damaged and needs to be restored through rehabilitation practice, which is difficult to calculate. the restoration cost method acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 54 is often used in lawsuits to determine actual damage caused by illegal activities or negligence, or to determine the negative environmental economic implications of a current production method. the restoration cost method could employ landscape development costs including earthworks, irrigation, soft and hard landscape materials, and design and project management costs as proxy for value of developed open spaces. the application of the restoration cost method in valuing natural areas is far more complicated, as the restoration of sensitive environments to their original status, for example fynbos vegetation, wetlands or bankenveld, is extremely difficult if not impossible at present. a number of species cannot be commercially cultivated and re-established in an area for example the common sugarbush tree or protea caffra. the restoration cost method would therefore be difficult to apply as the costs of complete restoration are unknown. it would therefore be advisable that the cost to restore an area as close as possible to its original status be used so that natural systems can continue with the restoration process. one could then attempt to value the ‘benefits lost over time’ where there is no alternative to an incomplete restoration. this could include the loss of benefits over time up to the estimated point of complete restoration. lost benefits could include reduced levels of bio-diversity, reduced visitation rates and reduced efficiency in water and air purification. the lost benefits approach would most likely employ methods such as damage cost avoided, and replacement cost methods to form a multi-tier valuation approach with the restoration cost method. 4.1.3 damage costs avoided wetlands play an important role in flood attenuation due to their good water retention capacity. the absence of wetlands increases the risk of flash floods and resultant flooding of adjacent properties. it is possible, with the assistance of hydrologists for instance, to delineate the areas along a water course that would be affected by floods if no wetland were present. the possible damages, linked to a probability analysis, are then calculated based on the value of affected infrastructure within the demarcated flood zone. such probable damage cost or reparation cost is then assumed as the measure of value (turpie et al., 2001: 18). the damage cost avoided method is normally used to argue for the retention of certain ecosystems and their beneficial functions that support human settlements. bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 55 4.1.4 defensive expenditure method the defensive expenditure method uses the cost of preventing damage opposed to the cost of repairing damage as a proxy for value (turpie et al., 2001: 18). the control of alien invaders, for instance on agricultural land, ensures that the land remains productive and economically active. the cost of removing invaders and regular followup programmes to minimise re-growth is for example compared to the net benefits of the programme such as increased water resource availability and bio-diversity preservation. if the programme’s economic benefits outweigh the input costs then it has a positive value. this method is often used in cost benefit analysis. the maintenance of coastal wetlands and estuaries has also proven effective in controlling the force of tidal waves and storms to prevent damage to infrastructure, and this damage avoidance cost or defensive expenditure is used as proxy for value (turpie et al., 2001: 18). 4.2 surrogate market / revealed preference approaches 4.2.1 travel cost method the travel cost method is primarily used to value recreational and tourism attractions that are visited frequently. data obtained from this method can be helpful to determine what visitors would be willing to pay as an entrance fee, based on the visitors’ consumer surplus. the method therefore values non-consumptive use of an open space. it is based on the idea that the value visitors place on environmental amenity services is reflected in their willingness to spend money to experience such services (perman et al., 2003: 411). people spend money on transport to get to the facility, refreshments, time and often entrance fees. these costs are then used as proxy to determine value and therefore reveal spending patterns which are influenced by an attraction such as a park. a substantial amount of data is needed to obtain objective surveys, which include the number of visitors, distance travelled, mode of transport, socio-economic background, time spent at site and value of visitor’s time. the travel cost method does entail some limitations and controversies, however, which need to be kept in mind when considering its application: one question is whether the opportunity cost of recreational • time should be considered at all – in other words, whether the time spent on recreation should be valued against time that could alternatively have been spent on business. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 56 visitors to these amenities and attractions often do not travel • specifically to visit such locations but their journey forms part of a number of visits to multiple locations. this makes the travel cost method somewhat more complex to use. the apportionment of travel costs to each trip is not feasible, and the responses of respondents who visited more than the study area during the survey should be removed from the survey. other visitors that live close-by may have travelled by foot • or bicycle, which requires more extensive questionnaires to determine the value placed on the amenity by visitors. these values have probably been captured in adjacent properties, and the hedonic pricing method is then needed to determine this. if hedonic pricing is also used on the same environmental resource, then visitors from surveyed properties should be excluded from the tcm survey to avoid overestimation (turpie et al., 2001: 19; perman et al., 2003: 415-417) 4.2.2 hedonic pricing property prices are often positively affected by the presence of green open spaces, lakes and areas with attractive natural scenery. the hedonic pricing method calculates the value added to private property due to the presence of an open space and uses this value to determine the total value of an open space. this calculation is based on the estimated increase in property value (often given by estate agents and sales data) due to the presence of an open space. the estimated increase is then averaged and multiplied by the number of the relevant properties (van zyl, leiman & jansen, 2004: 16-18). as an example, a park positively influences approximately 420 property values by 8%. the mean property value for the area is r1,000,000 per property. a premium of approximately r80,000 per property is calculated and multiplied by 420 properties, which gives a total value of r33,600,000. this method is, however, difficult to apply in areas where there is a limited market for properties, such as informal housing and other low income areas, or in rural areas where open space is more abundant and less of a value-adding factor. bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 57 4.3 simulated market/ stated preference approaches: the contingent valuation method (cvm) this method tests people’s willingness to pay (wtp) for the use or presence of an open space or their willingness to accept compensation (wta) for the loss of an open space. it is sometimes referred to as a stated preference method, whereas methods such as the tcm and hedonic valuation methods are revealed preference methods (perman et al., 2003: 420). it is called contingent valuation because the valuation is contingent on a hypothetical scenario put to respondents (perman et al., 2003: 420) this is normally determined through interviews and using open-ended questions, referendums, dichotomous choices (yes or no), bidding games, trade-off games, ranking techniques, costless choice options or the priority evaluator technique (turpie et al., 2001: 20). the survey is also dependent on socio-economic data to construct a demand curve for net social values (perman et al., 2003: 424). the survey questionnaire should present, by way of a programme or policy, ways to improve or protect an environmental asset from a clearly defined environmental impact. respondents are then asked about their wtp for such a programme or policy. the payment vehicle is normally presented as some sort of tax payment and the respondent ‘votes’ either for or against it. this form of survey is sometimes named a ‘referendum model’ (perman et al., 2003: 424). the respondent’s wtp is tested by offering a choice of amounts that he or she would be willing to pay. the respondent then responds with a yes or no answer (dichotomous choice format). it is also important that the survey make provision for respondents to indicate that where the stated amounts are not within their wtp or where they are objecting to the payment vehicle, their ‘no’ vote is correctly interpreted. this method is subject to several biases that make its application controversial and subject to criticism. some of biases are the following: strategic biases whereby respondents believe they could • influence decisions by overor underestimating willingness to pay embedded biases whereby respondents do not give realistic • answers in relation to their current financial constraints, budgets and needs acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 58 interviewer bias, information bias, starting-point bias and • hypothetical bias, which can influence the respondent’s answers and subsequently the results of the survey the biases can be largely eliminated if the survey design is done correctly and tested before implementation. in a cvm survey, the median is normally used to calculate total wtp as it is less affected by outliers. the total wtp is the median figure times the size of the relevant population. the method bases its findings on hypothetical questions instead of observed, actual, behaviour (perman et al., 2003: 420). it is also very costly and time-consuming to execute as it requires several interviewers, detailed and tested site-specific surveys, data enumerators and statisticians. the method is also criticised for having been developed solely for first world economies, with the assumption of generally well-educated respondents and its subsequent (perceived) irrelevance in third world applications. if the survey is not well designed it can produce insensitivities in terms of price and scope. price insensitivity relates to wtp which statistically appears not to be influenced by the income levels of respondents, and scope sensitivity relates to statistical insensitivity to differing conservation targets hypothetically presented to respondents (perman et al., 2003: 427,429). an example of price insensitivity is where respondents’ wtp does not appear to be influenced by their household income, where in practice it should. an example of scope insensitivity is where respondents’ wtp does not change where different conservation targets are presented, e.g. 1000 ha, 2000 ha or 5000 ha set aside for conservation, where in practice there should be a correlation. past experience has shown that respondents generally protest against wta, as they refuse to accept any compensation for stated loss of a public good, and they would rather pay for its preservation, hence the predominant use of wtp (perman et al., 2003: 429). socio-economic factors, education levels and moral values differ in third world countries, however, and these respondents may be more inclined to wta than wtp. respondents may also deny responsibility for conservation and generally vote ‘no’ for any wtp as they believe it to be a function of the state, for which they are already taxed. they may also feel that environmental problems should be the responsibility of those who caused them, or that those who stand to benefit the most from an environmental improvement should pay for it. the cvm assumes that the respondent has some sort of responsibility towards the environment bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 59 and therefore asks wtp questions. this may, however, not always be legally and constitutionally enforceable, especially with site-specific problems. the survey design needs to explore these dynamics and this should include briefing the respondent on his or her obligations, if any. it may be that a respondent has no obligation to the problem but would feel morally obliged to make a contribution (perman et al., 2003: 431-432). cvm offers the benefit of valuing both use and non-use values, while the other instruments available can value only use-value. cvm has also been granted admissible by usa courts, the exxon valdez oil spill case being particularly well known (perman et al., 2003: 434). 5. which environmental values need to be assessed? environmental amenities may not always have all the values represented. it is therefore important to determine which values are applicable and then which valuation method is most appropriate to determine the value. it may also be true that a particular value is not prominent enough to justify its valuation, considering factors such as budget and time restrictions. the types of values were discussed in sections 3.1 to 3.3. table 2: environmental values and suitable methods used to determine valuation valuation methods type of value p ro d u c tio n fu n c tio n r e sto ra tio n a n d re p la c e m e n t d a m a g e c o st d e fe n siv e e xp e n d itu re tra v e l c o st h e d o n ic p ric in g c o n tin g e n t consumptive use √√ √ √ √ √ √ √√ non-consumptive use √ √ √ √ √√ √√ √√ indirect use x √√ √√ √√ x √√ √ option and existence value x x x x x x √√ source: adapted from turpie et al. 2001: 15 acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 60 6. application of the environmental valuation techniques 6.1 production function approach the production function approach, as stated earlier in section 4.1.1, simply entails calculating the annual use value = q x (p-c), where q is the quantity of goods produced, p is the market price at which the goods are sold, and c is the cost of harvesting, processing, transporting and marketing the goods. a net present value of the open space is then obtained by converting the annual use value into a rand value per hectare. this method requires the following data: 6.1.1 the size of the environmental amenity in ha 6.1.2 the products harvested 6.1.3 the quantity of products harvested over time 6.1.4 the market value or price of the products 6.1.5 the cost of harvesting the products. 6.2 restoration and replacement cost before any costing is done, it is necessary to assess the environmental service that is provided in terms of the following: 6.2.1 the types of services provided (i.e. water purification, erosion control) 6.2.2 how the services are provided (water retention through wetland vegetation) 6.2.3 to whom they are provided (residential area x) 6.2.4 the measured levels at which the services are provided (2 megalitres per day). the second step is to identify the least expensive alternative means of providing the identified service or services to the designated area. the third step is to determine the cost of the alternative means of providing the service or services. finally it is necessary to determine whether the public would be willing to accept the substitute or replacement service in place of the ecosystem service (king & mazzotta, 2006: 1). bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 61 6.3 damage cost avoided the initial step of the damage cost avoided method also requires a thorough assessment of the services provided, as described in 6.2.1 to 6.2.4. the second step is to estimate the potential physical damage to property, either annually or over a realistic time period. the final step is to calculate either the rand value of potential property damage, or the amount that people spend to prevent such damage (king & mazzotta, 2006: 1). 6.4 defensive expenditure method this method is simply the costing of existing programmes aimed at sustaining the integrity of an environmental service. 6.5 travel cost method zonal boundaries are drawn up with each zone representing an average distance from the environmental amenity. aa tariffs or sars tariffs can be used based on vehicle capacity to determine cost per kilometre. the travel cost per kilometre is multiplied by the distance travelled to give a total travel cost per respondent. the analyst then estimates a demand curve by determining the relationship between visitation rate and travel costs per zone. the statistical or functional form of the demand curve is chosen on the basis of best fit and applied to the data. this could either be linear, semilog or loglinear (turpie et al., 2001: 48). the demand curve explains the change in visitation numbers as the cost of travelling in relation to distance increases or decreases. price is therefore a dependent variable. factors such as income level may to a lesser degree also be a dependent variable, and factors such as race may be statistically independent of the visitation rates. consumer surplus is then calculated for visitors from each zone. consumer surplus is the difference between the market price of a commodity, say r1,00, and what an individual is prepared to pay, say r3,00, with a resulting surplus of r2,00. in the tcm application, consumer surplus simply means the difference between what the person has paid in travel cost to visit the amenity and the cut-off point where no more visits are likely. this cut off point is where it simply becomes too expensive to travel to the amenity. the surplus is therefore the additional travelling cost (distance, time and mode of transport cost) a visitor is willing to pay to visit the amenity up too the point of resistance. the consumer surplus is a handy indicator where acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 62 access fees are under consideration. say for instance a game reserve needs to increase entrance fees, but does not wish to do so to the extent that visitation numbers will be severely compromised. the consumer surplus will then in such a case give a good indication up to what point entrance fees can be increased where it will simply become too expensive to visit such reserve. the consumer surplus for each zone is then summed to give the total recreational use value. 6.6 hedonic pricing (calculation of influence of environmental amenities on property prices) this method is dependent on sales data of properties in the survey area or, if this is not available, on the input of experienced estate agents or property valuers. sales data is used to determine the premium, if any, on property values due to close proximity to an attractive environmental amenity. some of the benefits that properties get from such close proximity are easy access to recreational opportunities, scenic views, and sometimes serenity. these benefits contribute to property demand and the subsequent rise in values. the average price of properties located in the area but not directly next to or close to the environmental amenity is calculated using sales data or inputs from estate agents. the premium (or discount) is then calculated for properties located next to or in close proximity to the environmental amenity by comparing their sales data with the average of the area. supposing the average for the area is r1,000,000 per property, and the average value of properties that seem to benefit from proximity to the environmental amenity is r1,150,000, then the average premium is 15%. the influence of the environmental amenity on property value is the total premium multiplied by the total number of properties. table 3: property price increase due to proximity to environmental amenity number of affected properties average value of affected properties total value of affected properties premium value due to environmental amenity 31 r1 150 000 r36 650 000 15% r4 650 000 source: adapted from van zyl et al. 2004: 18 bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 63 6.7 contingent valuation method cvm elicits people’s wtp for an environmental programme in a constructed hypothetical scenario. it therefore requires the development of a questionnaire. the following describes a scenario and presents an example of a cvm questionnaire based on it. this questionnaire must be done one-on-one with the respondent by trained interviewers. the mogale city local municipality and private individuals own land towards the west of the walter sisulu botanical gardens. it has been realised that this land contains unique biodiversity and geological features worthy of conservation. however, the land is under development pressure and these unique features may be lost if no intervention takes place. this land also forms part of the hunting ground of the botanical gardens’ resident pair of black eagles. the municipality, in partnership with the south african national biodiversity institute, wishes to purchase the remaining portions of land worthy of conservation but is in need of a one-off dedicated tax contribution to make possible the purchasing of land, erection of game fencing and launch of conservation programmes. the purpose of this questionnaire is for you to vote on your willingness to contribute and the amount you wish to contribute. it is important to note that the tax contribution is voluntary and will exclusively be applied for the purposes stated above. the median total wtp is then calculated and multiplied by the total relevant population. this will present the economic value of the environmental amenity. 7. selection of the appropriate valuation methods for rand water open space each of the valuation methods has its specific area of application and is somewhat limited in wider applications. some of the methods are outright unsuitable for application at rand water and were eliminated from the onset based on consensus by the research project team. the production function approach was eliminated as there are limited opportunities for harvesting of natural goods from rand water’s open spaces. rand water’s infrastructure is listed as national key points with resultant high security and access control levels. this inaccessibility limits harvesting and therefore the feasible application of the production function approach. the presence or not of harvestable goods is irrelevant because of this factor. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 64 limited accessibility also affects the application of the travel cost method as well as the contingent valuation methods as both methods are mostly applied where there are accessible environmental and recreational services and infrastructure. both methods also rely on high user numbers to obtain representative interviewees, which is also unlikely in the rand water case. contingent valuation methods use taxes as a payment vehicle to determine wtp. rand water cannot implement taxes in any form as it is not a statutory revenue collector. rand water’s recreation facilities are mostly used by its employees who often stay in close proximity to these facilities. this will result in insignificant travel costs when applying the travel cost method. as part of the participatory action research approach, a meeting was held on 22 november 2006 where selected rand water employees were asked to assist with the selection of appropriate valuation methods for the government entity’s open spaces. participants were given an overview presentation on the values associated with open space and the methods used to value it. the participants were also offered an opportunity to perform the replacement cost method on an open space located at the rand water estates nursery, for them to be familiarised with the application of the methods. some of the general conditions needed for the successful application of the methods were converted into a questionnaire that would enable the selection of the most appropriate methods. within the context of rand water’s open space, respondents reviewed these criteria and answered yes, maybe/sometimes or no. one point have been allocated for a yes answer, 0.5 points for a maybe/sometimes answer and 0 points for a no answer. the results for each answer are summed, then divided by the number of questions for each method and percentage suitability is then allocated. twelve respondents completed the questionnaire. the results of these questionnaires are presented as follows: 7.1 replacement cost method general condition or criteria to be met choose an appropriate answer and mark with x yes maybe / sometimes no is there an environmental service such as water purification nutrient cycling carbon sequestration and water storage and storm water attenuation? 12 0 0 bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 65 can this environmental service be readily quantified? i.e. volumes of water purified volumes of carbon sequestrated volumes of water stored metric volume of soil preserved. 6 4 2 can this environmental service be replaced or replicated with engineering infrastructure such as a water purification plant to purify water or storm water infrastructure to manage surface water runoff? 6 5 1 are there costing guidelines available for such engineering infrastructure? i.e. professional institutes project costing guidelines. 6 3 3 the replacement cost method received a rated suitability of 74% based on the assessed results. rand water has a number of wetland areas within its open space stock and this method is particularly suitable for use on wetlands and waterways, which is perhaps the reason for its reasonably high suitability score. 7.2 restoration cost method general condition or criteria to be met choose an appropriate answer and mark with x yes maybe / sometimes no can this open space park or ecosystem function be restored to its original state or as close to its original state as possible if it is hypothetically lost by either pollution or illegal development? 8 3 1 can the status of the environmental service be determined prior to the impact? i.e. species diversity ecosystem functions etc. in other words are there records of the ecosystem functions park infrastructure and bio-diversity of all rand water open spaces? 5 4 3 are there costing guidelines available for such restoration/ rehabilitation work? i.e. landscape contractor costs plant material and/or specialist studies. 10 1 1 the restoration cost method is relatively easy to apply and is perhaps closer to what horticulturists and estate managers may apply in their work environments, as it is essentially based on project costing. this method was also applied in a practical session prior to the completion of this questionnaire that may have contributed to the relatively high suitability rating of 75%. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 66 7.3 damage cost avoided general condition or criteria to be met choose an appropriate answer and mark with x yes maybe / sometimes no is there any property infrastructure natural resource or quality of life (health) that will suffer measurable and likely damage if the environmental service discontinues? i.e. deterioration of water quality on health and tourism value increase in peak storm water volumes that causes flooding air quality reduction impacting on health. 10 1 1 can the probability of such damage be determined? 9 3 0 can the extent of such probable damage be quantified? 4 7 1 a suitability rating of 79% indicates that it is evident that respondents feel that the rand water open spaces and ecological services perform an important damage avoidance function. one has to view rand water open spaces in relation to its core function, which is to provide water, and how these open spaces and their inherent ecological services contribute to the protection and maintenance of this key infrastructure. the many wetlands and open spaces also act as a buffer between rand water operations and surrounding land uses. the absence of these buffers may also increase the risk of probable damage should there be floods or infrastructure failure. 7.4 defensive expenditure method general condition or criteria to be met choose an appropriate answer and mark with x yes maybe / sometimes no are there any proactive measures to sustain the ability of an environmental resource to prevent any damage? i.e. an alien invader eradication programme to avoid erosion and sustenance of agricultural potential or estuary maintenance to avoid storm damage or fire control? 12 0 0 is the cost of such proactive measures available? 7 3 2 respondents all agreed that there were programmes in place to maintain the integrity of rand water’s open spaces, its environmental services and its operations. rand water supports eradication programmes as part of the ‘work for water’ programme which aims to bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 67 reduce alien plant invaders from water catchment and river areas. such programmes can be valued against the cost or consequences of not controlling such plants within the context of south africa as a water scarce country. the ‘water wise’ gardening campaign of rand water can also be valued using the same method. a suitability rating of 85% was calculated. 7.5 hedonic pricing general condition or criteria to be met choose an appropriate answer and mark with x yes maybe / sometimes no are there any properties in close proximity to the environmental resource that may benefit from it in terms of view serenity recreation and leisure activities? 9 2 1 is the environmental resource in question relatively unique and in relative short supply? in other words is there a demand for such environmental resource in the survey area to the extent that it influences property values? 4 7 1 are the properties that may be benefiting from such environmental resource relatively tradable on the open market and in relative demand? 1 9 2 are there any sales statistics that can be analysed or property valuers or experienced estate agents that can be interviewed regarding the affected properties? 5 4 3 the hedonic pricing method only achieved a suitability rating of 50%. although most respondents agreed that there were properties in close proximity to environmental resources that may benefit from them, it was clear however that they may not necessarily affect property values. the reason for this is evident in the questionnaire results where benefiting properties are mostly those located within rand water’s estates, which being staff housing and workplaces is not tradable on the open market. this method may therefore only be suitable where surrounding private properties are benefiting from the rand water open space in terms of a view or benefit from its non-consumptive and indirect use values. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 68 figure 2: percentage suitability rating for the application of valuation methods on rand water’s open space 8. conclusion open spaces and their inherent environmental services play an important role in the urban environment. there are however numerous challenges in achieving an equilibrium between sufficient open space allocation and urban development. among these challenges is the need to densify cities in the wake of urbanisation and urgent housing needs, crime in parks, ignorance about the implications of development on sensitive environments, and restrictive budget allocations for parks management functions. the nature of these challenges rather favours a reduction in the number and extent of park coverage, considering its economic argument that open spaces are not generators of income. open space allocation is after all not a core municipal service. the question is then asked whether there is economic sense in providing open spaces within the urban environment. rand water is asking the same questions about its open space network. is there an economic case for keeping and maintaining these open spaces considering that this government entity’s core function is to provide water? how do these open spaces and their environmental services complement the operations of rand water and contribute to its work, environmental, social and legal environment? the recent three decades have seen the development of environmental valuation techniques under the wing of environmental bouwer, hendrick, taylor & kruger • the feasible application of environmental valuation methods on rand water open-space 69 resource economics. economists have realised that there has been market failures in that the economic benefits of the environment is not accounted for in economies. this effective discounting of the environment has led to abuse and a skewed favour towards development, at the expense of sustainability. these valuation methods have been developed to assist economists, and to a lesser degree environmentalists, in determining the economic value of the stream of benefits offered by the environment. economists realised that the economy is operating within the environment and is reliant thereon, as a destroyed environment cannot support life, without which there is no economy. this paradigm sets the stage for the assessment of the feasible application of environmental valuation techniques within the rand water context. different methods are employed to value different environmental services and not all methods are therefore applicable in each scenario. rand water’s open spaces are set within a unique environment characterised by limited accessibility. this excludability factor has a significant impact on the application of a number of valuation methods which relies on vast numbers of respondents to obtain efficient data. the travel cost method as well as the contingent valuation method acquires its data through questionnaires from a wide range of interested and affected parties, which are largely absent from rand water open space. the hedonic pricing method is reliant on sales data of tradable private property which may benefit from its proximity to an open space or its environmental services. although there are private properties that may benefit from rand water open space, this is fairly limited. the majority of residential areas that are benefiting directly from these parks and open spaces are owned by rand water and provided for its employees. these properties are therefore not tradable on the open market and sales data is non existent. the application of the hedonic pricing method is therefore limited. the exclusion of these methods means that the values these methods have been designed to determine (non-consumptive use, option and existence values) are excluded as well. the total economic value may therefore not be attainable with the limited suite of methods available. there is therefore a need to develop specific methods that will fill this gap to ensure that valuations reflect the total economic value of the rand water open spaces. the standard suite of available methods is also limited in valuing the impact of the environment on human health, productivity and behaviour. available methods also offer limited scope in valuing carbon sequestration, and there is vast scope for further research in this field. acta structilia 2008: 15(1) 70 references chittenden nicks de villiers & cape metropolitan council. 2000. cmoss phase 1: defining, mapping and managing moss in the cma. cape metropolitan council, september. city of tshwane metropolitan municipality. 2005. tshwane open space framework. compiled by holm jordaan group and strategic environmental focus. dasgupta, p. 1997. environmental and resource economics in 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environmental focus (pty) ltd. naidoo, m. 2003. the role of recreation in promoting economy and sustainable green environment. recreation management consultants. economic & industrial development in a sustainable green environment: institute of environment & recreation management seminar. perman, r., ma, y., mcgilvray, j. & common, m. 2003. natural resource and environmental economics. 3rd edition. essex: pearson education limited. pricewaterhousecoopers. 2003. the value of parks: the economic value of three of victoria’s parks. melbourne. available from: <http:// www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources/14_1482.pdf> [accessed 15 july 2006]. south africa. 1998. national environmental management act, act 107 of 1998. pretoria: government printer. turpie, j., joubert, a., van zyl, h., harding, b. & leiman, t. 2001. valuation of open space in the cape metropolitan area. a pilot study to demonstrate the application of environmental and resource economics methods for the assessment of open space values in two case study areas: metro south and metro south east. city of cape town. van zyl, h., leiman, a. & jansen, a. 2004. the costs and benefits of urban river and wetland rehabilitation projects with specific reference to their implications for municipal finance: case studies in cape town. water research council project no. k8/564. independent economic researchers. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles fanie buys & roelof van rooyen the strategic management of construction companies during recessionary cycles peer reviewed and revised abstract this article reports on the results from a study done on the strident economic times in the construction industry following the fifa soccer world cup – from august 2010 to december 2012. the research was conducted among grade gb7, gb8 and gb9 main contractors in the eastern cape province, south africa, to identify the key strategies that are able to keep construction entities in operation. the study further investigated the key elements of a successful turnaround strategy, as well as the most effective methods of implementing strategies in construction organisations. a survey among twenty-two construction companies was conducted, using a questionnaire in which a 5-point likert scale was used to assess the opinions of the respondents. results from the study showed that companies tendered on more than one type of work (residential, commercial and/or industrial projects) during recessionary times, whereas they usually tendered on one type of work only. it was also noted that not only did the majority of the companies tender on different types of work (residential/commercial/industrial) during the recessionary period (2010-2012), but this was also found to be the most effective means of ‘keeping their doors open’. construction industry companies are also advised that they should revise their short-term strategic plans on a quarterly basis, while the long-term vision should be assessed and adapted annually, whenever necessary. keywords: strategic management, survival strategies, turnaround strategies abstrak hierdie artikel doen verslag oor resulte uit navorsing wat gedoen is oor swak ekonomiese toestande in die konstruksienywerheid na afloop van die fifa 2010 sokker wêreldbekerkompetisie tussen augustus 2010 en desember 2012. die navorsing is gedoen onder graad gb7, gb8 en gb9 hoofkontrakteurs in die oos-kaap, suid afrika, om die belangrikste strategieë om in moeilike tye staande te bly, te identifiseer. die doel van die navorsing was ook om die sleutelelemente van ’n omkeerstrategie te bepaal, asook die mees doeltreffende metodes om dit te implementeer. ’n opname deur middel van ’n vraelys aan twee-en-twintig prof. fanie buys, department of quantity surveying, po box 77000, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 041 5042023, email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> mr roelof van rooyen, department of quantity surveying, po box 77000, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 041 5042669, email: <roelof@nmc.co.za> acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 2 hoofkontrakteurs is gedoen, en hul opinies is hoofsaaklik verkry deur gebruik te maak van ’n vraelys met ’n 5-punt likertskaal. die resultate van die ondersoek het aangedui dat kontrakteurs meestal op meer as een tipe werkkontrak (residensiële, kommersiële, nywerheid) getender het, in plaas van slegs die normale tipe kontrak. behalwe dat kontrakteurs op meer as een tipe kontrak getender het, was dit ook die mees effektiewe metode om staande te bly gedurende hierdie moeilike ekonomiese tydperk (2010 tot 2012). konstruksiemaatskappye word gemaan om hul korttermyn-strategieë kwartaalliks, en hul langtermynvisie jaarliks te hersien, en aanpassings te maak indien nodig. sleutelwoorde: strategiese bestuur, oorlewingstrategie, omkeerstrategieë 1. introduction a construction company is no different to any other business. by definition, a company is an organisation that looks after its own interests in generating profits from the sale of goods or services (reverso, n.d: 1). harris & mccaffer (2006: 2) state that the construction industry has been labelled as being inherently uncertain, due to the number of procedures required for normal projects to be concluded. among others, the tendering process, the economic climate, profitability and physical production affected by the weather conditions have been identified as the main drivers behind this economic uncertainty (harris & mccaffer, 2006: 2). during the spring of 2008, the world experienced an economic recession. this was caused by, among other factors, the housing-market bubble that burst in the united states of america (sapa, 2009: 1). according to engineering news (2011: 1), the construction industry in south africa was, to some extent, initially protected from this recession by the 2010 fifa soccer world cup, which provided a cushioning effect in terms of a cash injection into the country, as well as jobs for contractors; these jobs were largely due to the construction of large infrastructural projects. after south africa won the bid for the 2010 fifa soccer world cup, investing organisations targeted south africa for investment purposes during the global credit crunch, which originated during the fourth quarter of 2008. engineering news (2013: 1) adds that the 2010 fifa soccer world cup kept many construction companies open for business, due to the construction of the infrastructure, stadiums and accommodation – even though the global economic recession was at hand. the south african construction industry’s activity levels were on a decline after the completion of the fifa soccer world cup, due to the completion of major projects and funding issues with other projects (sapa, 2013: 1; rego, 2010: 1). steyn (2011) agrees that the construction industry’s economic downturn struck after the buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 3 completion of the 2010 fifa soccer world cup in south africa and states that south africa’s construction industry gdp was at its lowest in eleven years ending in april 2011. slabbert (2010: 1) indicates that the reduction of activity levels in the construction industry has placed the construction industry under stress, and that profit margins have, subsequently, been pressurised, due to the increase in competition. due to the reduction in the number of projects available, competing construction companies had to formulate and implement competitive strategies, in order to remain lucrative during these strident economic times (sapa, 2011: 1). many construction companies fail in this regard, and find it difficult to survive during recessions. to address the problem of how construction firms can survive during strident economic times, this article reports on an investigation to determine whether construction companies should diversify their strategies, tender on different types of projects and use time frames to implement new business strategies, in order to assist construction companies to survive during strident economic times. 2. management of competitive companies 2.1 environment a competitive organisation’s main focus is to increase revenues and/or to reduce its costs, in an effort to improve its performance, and generate higher levels of profit (williams & williams, 2007: 3). johnson, scholes & whittington (2008: 54-57) are of the opinion that the essence of any profit-generating organisation’s survival is based on its ability to understand the environment in which it operates. environment influences form three series of ‘layers’ which help organisations with ways of coping with change, namely macro-environment; industry/sector and the competitors/markets. the macro-environment layer – the pestel framework (named after political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal forces) was found to be the most effective in outlining the major macro-environmental factors acting on any competitive organisation these six items are also known as the ‘global key drivers of change’. these will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. when the past is likely to be very different from the future, based on high levels of uncertainty regarding key environmental forces, constructing scenarios can be a useful way of understanding the implications of these influences on strategy. this could help managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 4 different ways in which the business environment might change (johnson et al., 2008: 54-57). the industry or sector layer – this layer is made up of organisations producing the same products or services. the following five forces can be useful in understanding the competitive dynamics of an organisation: the threat of entry into an industry; the threat of substitutes to the industry’s products or services; the power of buyers of the industry’s products or services; the power of suppliers into the industry, and the extent of rivalry between competitors in the industry. where these five forces are high, there will be too much competition and pressure for these industries to be attractive to compete in (johnson et al., 2008: 59). the competitions and markets layer – within most industries or sectors there will be many different organisations with different characteristics and competing on different bases, some closer to a particular organisation, and others more remote. the concept of strategic groups can help identify close and more remote competitors as well as direct and indirect competitors. the success or failure of organisations also depends on how well they understand and are able to meet customers’ needs. in the understanding of markets, the concept of market segments can be useful in understanding similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. it is especially important to understand what different customer groups particularly value, as these values form the critical success factors of an organisation (johnson et al., 2008: 77). 2.2 strategic management the business environment can be defined as “the sum of variables impacting on the competitiveness, and ultimately the survival and growth of a firm” (goldman, maritz, nienaber, pretorius, priilaid & williams, 2010: 2). in recent years, the business setting has been characterised by an increase in competition, globalisation, rapid technological advancement, and the changing needs of consumers. due to the high number of business variables within an organisation, the strategy of the organisation is ultimately the key in keeping the corporate ship on course, in terms of future business success. for success to be possible, the organisation needs to continuously develop, implement, monitor and evaluate the strategy of the entity (temtime, 2000: 1). the key in any business is not only to be in power, but also to remain in power. this is the reason why organisations need to keep re-inventing themselves. elements beyond the control buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 5 of the entity, such as changes in consumer needs and advances in technology, play a large role in the success of a business, and they are the prime reasons why having a permanent competitive advantage is so challenging, but perhaps not always possible (cusumano, 2010: 1). hitt, hoskisson, ireland, morgan, reinmoeller & volberda (2011: 7-8) state that a strategy is a co-ordinated group of decisions and commitments made by stakeholders in an organisation, whereby the organisation can exploit its key competencies to gain a competitive advantage over the remainder of the market. they continue by stating that the strategy determines what the organisation will and will not do in both the short term and the long term. the competitive advantage of an entity comprises the implemented strategy, thereby creating a system, which competitors cannot duplicate or find too costly to implement. even though no competitive advantage is permanent, all organisations strive to have as many competitive advantages as possible, in order to avoid losing their competitive edge in the future. this competitive advantage allows an organisation to generate above-average returns, which represent the ideal state for any profitable entity in any competitive industry. organisations with a below-average return will invariably cease to exist, if the low return rate continues, due to investors and stakeholders withdrawing their investments from an organisation (hitt et al., 2011: 7-8). johnson et al. (2008: 3) maintain that the strategy of an organisation is the scope and direction which the organisation chooses to adopt for the long term in order to achieve its predetermined goals. during the strategising process, the organisation needs to configure its resources and competencies, in order to meet the stakeholders’ expectations. goldman et al. (2010: 14) maintain that various steps can be taken for the strategic management to be effective within an organisation. these steps can range from being completely formal in the principles of planned events and the use of prescribed books and models, to being informal by using elements implemented in an ad hoc fashion, and only when necessary. the systems and procedures required for the implementation of strategic management processess depend largely on the nature of the industry in which the organisation is operating, as well as the knowledge of higher level management techniques in the industry. strategic management can, therefore, be defined as any action executed to implement the corporate strategy of an organisation and any step taken in the direction of achieving one of the acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 6 organisation’s future goals (groenewald, le roux & rossouw, 2007: 3). strategic management can also be described as the method in which all organisational resources are aligned, implemented and co-ordinated to work with the particular business environment (ehlers & lazenby, 2010: 3). the strategic management concept differs from other managerial areas, in the sense that issues arise out of non-routine and ambiguous situations. this means that the management of specific areas with controllable variables forms a minor part of the strategic management process. however, the manager needs to have a more holistic view of all operational units, in order to take part in the development of the concept within the organisation (johnson et al., 2008: 11). 2.2.1 the formulation phase the formulation phase is also known as the planning phase, or the strategic planning process, and it involves three key tasks, namely organising, leading and control. there are three levels of management within an organisation: top, middle and operational management. each of the levels has its own responsibilities relevant to strategic management (groenewald et al., 2007: 3-4). ehlers & lazenby (2010: 3) agree with groenewald et al. (2007: 3-4), adding that the employee force also plays a role in the strategic management process. 2.2.2 turnaround strategies turnaround strategies are very common and popular in south africa. this type of strategy is pursued when the industry, in which an organisation operates, experiences an economic downturn; the entity must then make an effort to save itself (groenewald et al., 2007: 116). generic strategies are not functional strategies during times when an organisation’s industry is in a decline. a great deal of information has been produced within the corporate strategy field, but not sufficiently to have any significant impact on the industry as a whole. during an economic decline, organisations consider alternatives in order to deal with any rapid changes in the business environment (goldman et al., 2010: 55). the turnaround situation can be defined as the moment when the organisation realises that it has to consider taking steps to adapt to an industry, which is experiencing an economic downturn. if the organisation does not accept the fact that it needs to take steps in the direction of a turnaround strategy, that entity would be sure to face failure, and possibly even cease to exist (goldman et al., 2010: 56). buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 7 in the event of a turnaround situation, the organisation usually appoints a turnaround manager, or considers restructuring the higher management. in attempts to identify the key steps for the turnaround strategy, the organisation has to assess the two elements required to define a new strategy. these are the cause and the resource abundance. the cause of the decline can be used to identify those elements which need to be adjusted, in order to become more balanced with the environment again. once the problem has been clearly identified, various routes can be assessed as to how the resources should be used, changed, or removed completely from the entity (goldman et al., 2010: 56). when declines in profit margins are anticipated, the organisation has the following options available (groenewald et al., 2007: 116): • cost reduction:  retrenchment of staff.  leasing, rather than purchasing equipment.  dropping low profit items off the production line.  discontinuing low profit customers. • asset reduction:  the sale of land, buildings and equipment that is not necessary for pursuing the organisation’s core business. • revenue generation:  this can be done by reviewing debtor and stock turn over ratios. goldman et al. (2010: 57-58) explain three instances that are relevant when a turnaround situation is imminent: • strategic distress: instances where the organisation in question is performing well, but then loses its competitive advantage within the industry. the symptoms of strategic distress are the loss of sales, where the market share has been stable. a sudden change in the level of demand, or a high investment in inventory growth could also cause strategic distress. • underperformance: the organisation experiences a good demand for its products, but as a whole it is not performing as effectively as it should. the organisation becomes cash-strapped, due to low outputs by the employees, and the competitive advantage that is put under strain as a result of this. the use of outdated systems could also cause such underperformance. acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 8 • strategic crisis: the entity is facing a crisis due to the scarcity of resources to be used in the direction of outputs; a lastresort strategy needs to be implemented as soon as possible. 2.2.3 the implementation phase johnson et al. (2008: 54-57) are of the opinion that the implementation phase needs to be developed and executed by every individual within an organisation; in doing so, all the employees develop a sense of belonging and increased levels of motivation. they also state that: “strategic management does not belong only to an elite group at the top of an organization”. the best way of survival is to adapt effectively to a changing world. after the achievement of the strategy in the short and long term, the organisation needs to implement the plans as quickly and as effectively as possible. in succeeding in this, the organisation would then have a better prospect of leading the pack and remaining competitive (cusumano, 2010: 10). the three levels of management have various roles to play in the successful implementation of a new strategy within an organisation: • the executive management level needs to make the required changes, in order for the new strategy to be effective. these changes may include changes within the organisational structure, the leadership style, systems, staff or organisational culture. • tactical management, which includes senior and middle management, must ensure that strategic goals are implemented within the tactical and operational levels of management. • operational management needs to ensure that the tactical strategies are transformed into action plans, and then implemented appropriately (groenewald et al., 2007: 150). even though the corporate strategy is mainly developed by top-level management, it is up to the tactical and operational management levels to implement the strategies, and to work towards the new goals, which have been set. the lengthy plans and visions set by executive management are meaningless until they have been implemented properly. this is the reason why the implementation phase and the plans remain so critical. these processes need to be monitored, in order to evaluate the efficiency of the new systems (groenewald et al., 2007: 149). buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 9 3. research methodology this article presents part of the findings of a research project on the strategic management of construction companies during recessionary periods, using a descriptive quantitative research approach. first, a literature review of the existing theory focused mainly on turnaround strategies in recessionary times. primary data was obtained by distributing a structured questionnaire among three groups of main contracting firms listed as ‘small contractors’, ‘medium-sized contractors’ and ‘large contractors’. the three groups of contractors were listed as gb7, gb8 and gb9 main contracting firms. these correlate with the construction industry development board (cidb) project-size capability ratings (construction industry development regulations, 2008: 18). this quantitative method of research involves ordinal scales analysed via non-parametric statistical tests, by using the mean scores, as advocated by jamieson (2004: 1217). some closed-ended questions requested respondents to answer by making use of ‘yes’ or ’no’ answers. a structured questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter. the covering letter stated the purpose of the research and guaranteed that the information given by the respondents would be treated as confidential, and that no names would be mentioned in the research. the survey results were stored on a microsoft excel worksheet for analysis, and the information was gathered in order to determine the following: • diversification strategies, which kept construction-company doors open between 2010 and 2012; • turnaround strategies to survive, when there is a low level of construction industry activity; • key elements of an implementation strategy in construction companies, and • the effectiveness of the survival strategies. questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views, and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality. it was assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses, as they were assured of their anonymity. the population sample, located in the eastern cape province, specifically east london and nelson mandela bay, consisted of contracting firms. from the 34 main contracting firms initially invited, 22 responded. this represents a response rate of 61% and is deemed to be a representative response rate. leedy & ormrod (2005: 193) acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 10 describe a response rate of 50% as acceptable for a study of this nature. the response rates for the contractor groups were: gb7 contractors, 61%; gb8 contractors, 58%, and gb9 contractors, 67%. further analysis showed that the main contracting firms based in east london had a higher response rate, reflecting their willingness to be involved in the research. a total of 92% of the contractors located in east london participated in the study, compared to 56% of the contractors who were based in port elizabeth. although this research was conducted among construction companies in the eastern cape province, there is no reason to believe that it would be any different in other provinces, although this issue is recommended as an opportunity for further research. 3.1 analysis and interpretation a 5-point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents, and to analyse the results of the survey. leedy & ormrod (2005: 185) maintain that likert scales are effective when behaviours and characteristics are evaluated in a study. they can be used when a phenomenon is quite complex, and where numbers can be used to quantify the results. wegner (2012: 11) agrees, adding that likert scales can be used to measure a sample’s attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions. they can be used for the study of interval data; respondents are requested to indicate how strongly they feel regarding the statements or questions. dawes (2008: 75) states that either 5-, 7or 10-point scales are all comparable for analytical tools such as confirmatory factor analysis or structural equation models. for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following terminology was used regarding mean scores: ‘strongly disagree’ (≥1.0 & ≤1.8); ‘disagree’ (>1.8 & ≤2.6); ’neutral’ (>2.6 & ≤3.4); ‘agree’ (>3.4 & ≤4.2) and ‘strongly agree’ (>4.2 & ≤5.0). when using likert-type scales, it is imperative to calculate and report cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency reliability for any scales or subscales used (gliem & gliem, 2003: 88). reliability is the extent to which a measuring instrument is repeatable and consistent (maree & pietersen, 2007: 214). for this article, the internal reliability of variables was tested using cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability. maree & pietersen (2007: 216) suggest the following guidelines for the interpretation of cronbach’s alpha coefficient: 0.90 – high reliability; 0.80 – moderate reliability, and 0.70 – low reliability. cronbach’s alpha coefficient of buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 11 reliability (nunally, 1979: 85) was determined for each of the scale scores derived from the grouped items, as indicated in tables 2 and 3. the item/reliability analysis was performed on the items of the sections dealing with effectiveness and key elements. due to small item-total correlations and improved alpha if an item was omitted, items 3 and 4 of the effectiveness items and item 6 of the key elements items were omitted in order to obtain acceptable alpha values (i.e., alpha>0.60). 4. results and discussion the average working experience of the respondents was 19 years in the construction industry. a high average experience rate indicates a high level of expertise and the respondents’ necessary experience and knowledge to provide reliable information. although the full research report includes a breakdown of the opinions of gb7, gb8 and gb9 contractors, only the results of the combined groups of contractors are included in this article. however, the opinions of the different groups are also briefly described. 4.1 diversification strategies the respondents were requested to state whether they had implemented any of the listed diversification strategies between 2010 and 2012, by stating ‘yes’ or ’no’. it should be noted that some companies had made use of more than one strategy. table 1: diversification strategies # diversification strategy using strategy total yes % no % 1 tendering on different types of work, i.e., residential/commercial/industrial 72.7 27.3 100 2 entering into contract with other main contracting firms, i.e., joint ventures 54.5 45.5 100 3 buying into firms that do work, which complements your organisation, such as subcontractors and suppliers 45.5 54.5 100 4 tendering in foreign areas 41.9 58.1 100 5 buying into businesses that do not have any link to your core construction business 22.7 77.3 100 6 buying into other companies that do the same work as your company 9.1 90.9 100 it is evident from table 1 that the majority of the respondent companies (72.7%) tendered on more than one type of work (for acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 12 example, residential, commercial and/or industrial projects), whereas they normally tendered on one type of work only. slightly more than half of the respondent companies (54.5%) entered into contracts with other main contracting firms, i.e., joint ventures. slightly less than half of the respondent companies (45.5%) indicated that they were buying into firms that do work, complementing their organisation (subcontractors and suppliers). only 9.1% of the companies bought into other companies that do the same work as their company, i.e., merging with another company. these results indicate that tendering on different types of work was the most used strategy by the majority of the construction companies. they would rather work on different types of work than revert to using any other strategy. the results, therefore, show that construction companies should diversify their strategies in order to assist them to survive during strident economic times. 4.2 the effectiveness of survival strategies it is crucial that new strategies should be effective when implemented. respondents were requested to state to what extent they agreed that the listed survival strategies were effective in ‘keeping the doors open’, where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree, and 6=unsure. the results indicate that the average mean score (ms) of 2.86 for the ‘effectiveness of survival strategies’, which is on the lower end of the scale (i.e. <3.00), means that respondents were generally ’neutral’ regarding the effectiveness of the survival strategies. the results also indicate that the most effective survival strategy used by construction companies is tendering on different types of work (e.g., residential/commercial/ industrial) (ms=3.77); as many as 31.8% of the respondents ‘strongly agreed’, and 40.9% ‘agreed’ that it is effective. buying into firms that do work, complementing their organisation, such as subcontractors and suppliers (ms=3.09), was ranked second highest (’neutral’). entering into contracts with other main contracting firms, i.e., joint ventures, and tendering in foreign areas were equally ranked third (ms=3.05), indicating that respondents were ’neutral’ regarding the effectiveness of this strategy. the respondents ‘disagreed’ that buying into businesses that do not have any link to the company’s core construction business (ms=2.45), and buying into other companies that do the same work as their own company (ms=2.14) were ranked 4th and 5th as being effective, respectively. buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 13 ta b le 2 : t he e ff e c tiv e ne ss o f s ur vi va l s tr a te g ie s # su rv iv a l s tr a te g y v a lid n 1 2 3 4 5 6 to ta l m e a n sc o re ra nk sd d n a sa u % % % % % % 1 te nd e rin g o n d iff e re nt ty p e s o f w o rk , i .e ., re sid e nt ia l/ c o m m e rc ia l/ in d us tr ia l 22 4. 55 18 .1 8 4. 55 40 .9 0 31 .8 1 0. 00 10 0 3. 77 1 2 bu yi ng in to fi rm s th a t d o w o rk , t hu s c o m p le m e nt in g yo ur o rg a ni sa tio n, s uc h a s su b c o nt ra c to rs a nd su p p lie rs 22 13 .6 3 31 .8 2 9. 09 22 .7 3 22 .7 3 0. 00 10 0 3. 09 2 3 en te rin g in to c o nt ra c t w ith o th e r m a in c o nt ra c tin g fir m s, i. e ., jo in t ve nt ur e s 22 22 .7 3 22 .7 3 0. 00 36 .3 6 18 .1 8 0. 00 10 0 3. 05 3= 4 te nd e rin g in fo re ig n a re a s 22 9. 09 40 .9 0 9. 09 19 .1 8 22 .7 2 0. 00 10 0 3. 05 3= 5 bu yi ng in to b us in e ss e s th a t d o n o t ha ve a ny li nk t o y o ur c o re c o ns tr uc tio n b us in e ss 22 18 .1 8 50 .0 0 9. 09 13 .6 3 9. 09 0. 00 10 0 2. 45 5 6 bu yi ng in to o th e r c o m p a ni e s th a t d o th e s a m e w o rk a s yo ur c o m p a ny 22 22 .7 3 50 .0 0 13 .6 3 4. 55 4. 55 0. 00 10 0 2. 14 6 a ve ra g e 2. 86 c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha : 0 .6 2 (a c c e p ta b le ) st a nd a rd d e vi a tio n: 0 .8 4 acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 14 it is notable from tables 1 and 2 that not only did the majority of the companies tender on different types of work, i.e., residential/ commercial/industrial during the recessionary period (2010-2012), but this option was also found to be the most effective means of ‘keeping their doors open’. the results show that tendering on different types of projects is a solution to help construction companies survive during strident economic times. further analysis showed that gb7 and gb8 contractors regarded tendering on more than one type of project as being the most effective, whereas gb9 contractors considered tendering in foreign areas as being the most effective. 4.3 turnaround strategies the respondents were requested to state whether they implemented any of the listed turnaround strategies between 2010 and 2012 when there was a low level of activity in the construction industry, by stating ‘yes’ or ’no’. it should be noted that some companies made use of more than one strategy. the turnaround strategies included the following: • strategic realignment of resources; • profit-margin lowering; • boosting turnover, rather than focusing on high profit levels; • retrenchment, and • selling plant and land not required for core work. figure 1 shows the percentage ‘yes’ and ’no’ responses to the various turnaround strategies used. the findings indicate that 86% of the respondent companies strategically re-aligned their resources; 82% of the companies lowered their profit margins; almost 70% of the respondents opted to boost their turnover rather than to focus on high profit levels; 41% of the companies retrenched some of their staff members, and 36% indicated that they sold plant and land that was not required for core work. the three most used turnaround strategies involved merely a change of strategy (without necessarily getting rid of human resources, and or plant/land), whereas the two least implemented strategies required companies to do this. such course of action may prove to be disastrous in booming times. buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 15 figure 1: turnaround strategies 4.4 key elements of an implementation strategy when new strategies are implemented within an organisation, it is imperative that certain steps be taken and certain elements included, in order to ensure a smooth and effective implementation. if not, this could result in a negative impact on the effectiveness of the new strategy. the respondents were requested to state to what extent they agreed that the listed elements were necessary, in order to ensure an effective implementation of any new strategy within the organisation (where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree, and 6=unsure.) table 3 shows to what extent respondents agreed that the listed elements are part of an implementation strategy for construction companies. the average ms of the ‘key elements score’ is fairly high (4.00) on the scale. this means that respondents generally ‘agree’ with the key elements of an implementation strategy within construction companies. the results in table 3 show that the respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that time frames should be given for the implementation of a new strategy (ms=4.64), and they ‘agreed’ that step-by-step guidance should be given to employees during the implementation process of a new acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 16 strategy. employees are frequently unfamiliar with new strategies; therefore, they should be guided to ensure that these new strategies are effective when implemented. respondents also ‘agreed’ that the strategy should be broken down into action plans for each role player prior to the implementation of the new strategy (ms=4.09), thereby indicating that a new strategy should not merely be a strategy ‘on paper’, but should have action plans in place to ensure that it is actually implemented. furthermore, they ‘agreed’ that employees should be invited to take part in the design process of a new strategy (ms=3.68), and that workshops should be held during the implementation process of a new strategy (ms=3.48). this is in-line with the need for step-by-step guidance, as stated earlier. the results show that the use of time frames to implement new business strategies will help construction companies survive during strident economic times. respondents were ’neutral’ regarding whether incentive schemes should be introduced when implementing new strategies (ms=3.05); this finding could be interpreted as it being unnecessary to provide incentives. further analysis indicated that gb7, gb8 and gb9 contractors individually also ranked ‘time frames’ as being the most important (rank 1st). gb7 contractors ranked ‘step-by-step guidance to be given to employees during the implementation process’ as the second highest; gb8 contractors ranked ‘the strategy should be broken down into action plans for each role player prior to the implementation of the new strategy’, as being the second highest priority, and gb9 contractors ranked the necessity of ‘holding workshops during the implementation process of a new strategy’ as the second highest priority. the gb7 and gb9 contractors ranked ‘the strategy should be broken down into action plans for each role player prior to the implementation of the new strategy’ as being the third highest, and gb8 contractors ranked ‘step-by-step guidance to be given to employees during the implementation process’ as the third highest priority. buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 17 ta b le 3 : k e y e le m e nt s o f a n im p le m e nt a tio n st ra te g y in c o ns tr uc tio n c o m p a ni e s # v a lid n 1 2 3 4 5 6 to ta l m e a n sc o re ra nk im p le m e nt a tio n e le m e nt sd d n a sa u % % % % % % 1 ti m e fr a m e s sh o ul d b e g iv e n fo r t he im p le m e nt a tio n o f a n e w s tr a te g y 22 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 36 .3 6 63 .6 4 0. 00 10 0 4. 64 1 2 st e p -b yst e p g ui d a nc e s ho ul d b e g iv e n to e m p lo ye e s d ur in g t he im p le m e nt a tio n p ro c e ss o f a n e w st ra te g y 22 0. 00 0. 00 9. 09 68 .1 8 22 .7 3 0. 00 10 0 4. 14 2 3 th e s tr a te g y sh o ul d b e b ro ke n d o w n in to a c tio n p la ns fo r e a c h ro le p la ye r p rio r t o t he im p le m e nt a tio n o f t he n e w st ra te g y 22 0. 00 0. 00 4. 55 81 .8 2 13 .6 3 0. 00 10 0 4. 09 3 4 em p lo ye e s sh o ul d b e in vi te d t o t a ke p a rt in t he d e sig n p ro c e ss o f a n e w st ra te g y 22 0. 00 22 .7 3 9. 09 45 .4 5 22 .7 3 0. 00 10 0 3. 68 4 5 w o rk sh o p s sh o ul d b e h e ld d ur in g t he im p le m e nt a tio n p ro c e ss o f a n e w st ra te g y 22 0. 00 22 .7 3 18 .1 8 40 .9 0 13 .6 3 4. 55 10 0 3. 48 5 6 in c e nt iv e s c he m e s sh o ul d b e in tr o d uc e d w he n im p le m e nt in g n e w st ra te g ie s 22 13 .6 3 22 .7 3 13 .6 3 45 .4 5 4. 55 0. 00 10 0 3. 05 6 a ve ra g e 4. 00 c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha : 0 .6 7 (a c c e p ta b le ) st a nd a rd d e vi a tio n: 0 .5 1 acta structilia 2014: 21(2) 18 5. conclusions the literature revealed that many construction organisations encountered difficulties with profitability in the construction industry between august 2010 and december 2012. the results showed that the majority of the respondent companies tendered on more than one type of work (residential, commercial and/or industrial projects) during recessionary times, whereas they normally tendered on one type of work only. it was also noted that not only did the majority of the companies tender on different types of work, i.e., residential/commercial/industrial during the recessionary period (2010-2012), but this was also found to be the most effective means of keeping the construction company viable. however, respondents were of the opinion that buying into businesses that do not have any link to the company’s core construction business, and buying into other companies that do the same work as their company, were the least effective means of surviving. in terms of turnaround strategies, it was found that the majority of the companies strategically re-aligned their resources, lowered their profit margins, or opted to boost their turnover rather than to continue focusing on high levels of profit during recessionary times. during the implementation process of a new strategy, it is very important that time frames be given for the implementation of any new strategy, and that step-by-step guidance be given to the employees of a construction company. in conclusion, based on the results, construction companies could diversify their strategies, tender on different types of projects, and use time frames to implement new business strategies in order to help them survive during strident economic times. 6. recommendations construction companies are advised to diversify their work during recessionary times by tendering on different types of work, or even buying into firms that do work which complements their company (for example, subcontractors and suppliers of building material). other possibilities include going into joint ventures or tendering for work in foreign countries. construction companies should avoid buying into other companies that do the same type of work as their own company. companies should also strategically re-align their resources when there is a low level of construction activity, and even lower their profit margins. when new strategies are implemented, it is very important buys & van rooyen • the strategic management of construction ... 19 that time frames be given for the implementation of the new strategy to ensure that employees are guided throughout the implementation thereof. during the implementation of these strategies, emphasis should be placed on the deadline when the new strategy needs to be fully operational, as well as step-by-step guidance sessions to ensure that the new systems are fully operational and remain fully functional. these sessions need to mobilise all the relevant members of staff into their new roles and responsibilities, in order to fulfil the new strategy of the organisation. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to drs danie venter and jacques pietersen of the nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa, for their statistical assistance and advice, and mr patrick goldstone for his editorial assistance. references list construction industry development regulations, 2004 (as amended) as at 14 november 2008. 2008. 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(eds). strategic management: an applied south african perspective. cape town: new africa books, pp.1-14. wegner, t. 2012. applied business statistics: methods and excel-based applications. 3rd edition. cape town: juta. williams, n. & williams, s. 2007. the profit impact of business intelligence. san francisco, california: morgan kaufmann publishers. 75 gijsbert hoogendoorn & lochner marais perceptions of crime and the built environment: the case of the bloemfontein central business district (cbd)1 peer reviewed abstract internationally, inner-city crime has been a well-documented area of urban studies. in south african urban discourse, however, crime studies and inner-city crime studies per se have been scant. therefore, it is the aim of this article to address the paucity of academic reflection, in this regard in south africa, by means of a case study on the spatial patterns of crime distribution, perceptions of crime, and fear of crime in the inner city of bloemfontein, and how these factors influence urban morphology (and vice versa). this case study on one of south africa’s middle-order cities may potentially comprise a valuable contribution, since the majority of inner-city studies on crime thus far have focused predominantly on the three major metropolitan areas of south africa. therefore, three arguments shall be put forward. firstly, the impact of decentralised shopping centres on the prevalence of crime in inner cities will be highlighted. secondly, the relationship between crime and ‘grime’ (physical decay and neglect) as causal factors in inner-city areas will be discussed. thirdly, it will be argued that the fear of crime in the inner-city is an important consideration to be taken into account when assessing the spatial patterns and perceptions of this occurrence. in the case of bloemfontein, this fear does not seem to be only racially related as black and white people experience the same levels of fear. by means of these arguments, an attempt will be made to contribute to the understanding of inner-city crime and its relationship to the urban form. keywords: inner-city crime, decentralisation, grime (decay), bloemfontein cbd, location g. hoogendoorn, department of geography, rhodes university, grahamstown, 6140, south africa. tel.: 046-6038321, fax: 046 636 1199, email: <g.hoogendoorn@ ru.ac.za> prof. l. marais, centre for development support (ib 100), university of the free state, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. tel./fax: 051-4012978, e-mail: <maraisl. ekw@ufs.ac.za> 1 this article draws extensively from a cbd economic development study conducted for the mangaung local municipality acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 76 abstrak binnestadmisdaad is internasionaal ’n goed gedokumenteerde veld in stedelike studies. in die suid-afrikaanse diskoers oor stede was studies oor geweld en studies oor binnestadgeweld per se tot dusver egter redelik skaars. hierdie artikel het dus ten doel om die leemte in akademiese nadenke op hierdie gebied in suid-afrika deur middel van ’n gevallestudie oor ruimtelike verspreiding van misdaad, persepsies oor misdaad en vrees vir misdaad in bloemfontein se binnestad te vul, asook hoe hierdie faktore die stedelike morfologie beïnvloed (en omgekeerd). hierdie gevallestudie oor een van suid-afrika se middelorde-stede hou die moontlikheid in dat dit ’n waardevolle bydrae kan lewer aangesien die meeste studies oor misdaad in die binnestad tot dusver oorwegend op óf kaapstad óf johannesburg gefokus het. daar word drie argumente geopper. eerstens, die impak wat gedesentraliseerde winkelsentra op die voorkoms van misdaad in die binnestad het, word uitgewys. tweedens, die verhouding tussen misdaad en ‘morsigheid’ as faktore wat misdaad in die binnestad veroorsaak, sal bespreek word. derdens, word daar geargumenteer dat die vrees vir misdaad in die binnestad ’n belangrike rol speel wanneer die ruimtelik patrone en persepsies van misdaad geassesseer word. dit lyk asof die vrees in bloemfontein se geval nie net rasverwant is nie. deur hierdie argumente word gepoog om ’n bydrae te lewer tot die verstaan van misdaad in die binnestad en die verhouding daarvan met stedelike vorm. sleutelwoorde: misdaad, geweld in die binnestad, desentralisering, morsigheid, bloemfontein se ssg, ligging 1. introduction internationally, inner-city crime has been a well documented study area in urban studies (see, for example, foster, 1990; robins, 1992; sanders, 2005). however, in south african urban discourse, research on the spatial distribution of inner-city crime has been fairly limited. this is surprising, considering the array of literature on urban morphology and the impact of apartheid on these areas (smith, 1992; beavon, 2004), as well as an ever-increasing number of papers assessing post-apartheid urban transformation (e.g. donaldson & van der merwe, 2000; donaldson & marais, 2002; dewar, 2004). there are, however, a few existing research documents in which the relationship between inner cities and crime does, in fact, feature prominently (see, for example, allen, 2002; newham, 2002; reid & dirsuweit, 2002; lemanski, 2004; liebermann & coulson, 2004). other related research delineates the effects of gated communities as a response to crime (hook & vrdoljak, 2002; landman, 2002; landman & schönteich, 2002), and the relationship between crime and the built environment (bremmer, 1998; liebermann, 2003). at the same time, some extensive work has been conducted on innercity change; and reference is made to crime, amongst other issues (cf. morris, 1999; gnad, bähr & jürgens, 2002; donaldson, jürgens & bahr, 2003; hoogendoorn & visser, 2007). nevertheless, very little emphasis has been placed specifically on inner-city crime in south hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 77 africa. therefore, it is the aim of this article to address the paucity of academic reflection on inner-city crime in south africa by means of a case study on the different perceptions of crime and to an extent the spatial distribution of this occurrence. the article will in the first instance argue that the development of decentralised shopping centres has been an underlying factor in the increase of crime in inner-city areas. secondly, that the relationship between crime and ‘grime’ are the causal issues of inner-city crime. thirdly, that fear for crime is a prominent aspect that needs to be more clearly understood. in order to develop these arguments, the article unfolds as follows: firstly, an international literature review will be provided in respect of the contentious issue of inner-city crime. this will be followed by a national literature review pertaining to crime research, which will continually refer back to the inner-city experience. finally, the situation with regard to crime in the bloemfontein central business district (cbd) will be presented as a case study. methodologically, the article is based on empirical data gathered over several months during 2005, as well as on two residential surveys conducted in 2001 and 2004. four specific methods that were used are mentioned in more detail. first, semi-structured interviews were conducted with property owners and managers in bloemfontein’s cbd. second, the section reflects on the experiences of potential cbd customers. for this purpose, 688 interviews were conducted with customers. of these, 304 individuals (44.1%) were interviewed in the cbd and 384 individuals (55.8%) were interviewed at one of the main decentralised shopping centres in bloemfontein. third, the article draws on the results of 308 questionnaires, 208 of which were completed during june 2005 by respondents from formal business units, and 100 by respondents from informal enterprises. the final phase of the study consisted of a longitudinal study of the changing residential environment in the bloemfontein cbd which was used as a source of background and contextual information. two surveys were conducted, one in 2001 and in 2004; and some of the responses to the questions in these surveys reflect people’s perceptions regarding crime. 2. an international review of inner-city crime the past two decades have seen a growing realisation on the part of policy makers, policy agents, and researchers that understanding the context of crime – the ‘where’ and ‘when’ of a criminal event – comprises the key to understanding how crime can be controlled acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 78 and prevented (cahill, 2004). according to foster (1990), crime is an ever-present and pervasive characteristic of many inner-city areas. sah (1991) moreover argues that crime and the fear of crime have deeply negative impacts on personal and societal well-being. the aim of this section is to explore the place-bound effects of inner-city crime, the reasons why there is more crime in the inner city, and how such crime is generated. the literature indicates that the relationship between decentralised development and inner city crime, the relationship between crime and grime and the fact that perceptions on crime are central to decisions regarding location and relocation of businesses and individuals has already been extensively debated. one of the most puzzling aspects relating to crime and linked to the question of why crime is prevalent in inner-city areas is not the overall level of crime, nor the relationships between the factors that lead to crime, but rather the fact that crime is a deterrent to social capital and economic opportunity in inner-cities. oc & tiesdell (1997) suggest that changes in the central city are compounded by many factors, such as disurbanisation and the creation of non-centralised shopping malls. thus, the deterrence of economic opportunity in cbds is often created by the effects of decentralised commercial developments. for example, thomas & bromley (2000) argue that, in the past 30 years, the pre-eminent status of city centres in the retail system of british cities has been challenged by the competitive impact of retail decentralisation. arguably, businesses participating in decentralisation adopt an attitude of ‘reroute to remain’. according to burnham et al. (2004), high crime rates near the cbd, whether real or perceived, could increase concerns for personal safety and thereby induce the migration of affluent residents to the suburbs, with a concomitant relocation of employment opportunities and businesses. the consequence is that the cbds from which such relocation takes place is increasingly subjected to economic and social decay with the consequent influx of criminal elements. research confirms the above. for example, deutch & epstein (1998) found a correlation between the distance from crime hotspots such as inner-city areas, and criminal activity for example, in terms of a reduction in the frequency of crime. in addition, zenou (2003) mentions that it has consistently been pointed out in the relevant literature that, within cities, crime is highly concentrated in a limited number of areas. for instance, in the metropolitan areas of the usa, crime rates are much higher in central cities than in suburbs. furthermore, thomas & bromley (2000) argue that early redevelopment strategies have created significant degrees of spatial fragmentation hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 79 between functions, and have led to the loss of a substantial residential population. in the present social climate globally, these changes have resulted in negative implications for the perception of safety, as well as the generation of fear and anxiety among users of the city centre. sah (1991) implies that the rates of participation in crime in different societal groups often correlate with such background variables as location (city centres versus suburbs versus rural communities), age structure, and ethnicity (for example, blacks versus whites), even after a large number of economic and deterrence variables have been controlled. dorfman & schiraldi (2001) argue that, in many instances, society tends to equate race with location, and, accordingly, to favour the suburbs, as against the inner city. many city centres world-wide are ‘no-go’ areas for numerous groupings (mooney, 1999: 126). therefore, it is clear from the above that mental associations are created between the locality of crime, the presence of the ‘underclass’, and their influence on drug trafficking. grogger & willis (2000) argue that, in the popular view, the arrival and widespread use of drugs such as cocaine led to increases in central-city crime and accelerated trends towards urban decay. popular and ethnographic reports link drugs to gang violence, high murder rates, urban unemployment, poverty, and family disruption. in conclusion, this section has attempted to review the international experience of inner-city crime, with specific reference to spatial preferences, the deterrence of economic opportunity, the effects of decentralised shopping centres, and perceptions in respect of crime. the focus will now fall on inner-city crime in the south african context. 3. the impact of crime on south african society: a link to inner-city crime? 3.1 crime in south africa: an overview as the available literature on inner-city crime in south africa is limited, the section first provides a broad overview of inner-city crime and its spatial distribution, followed by an overview of existing research on inner cities and crime. it is common knowledge, corroborated by research, that crime is a major problem in south africa. dirsuweit (2002) states that crime has become a national obsession. shaw (1995) argues that both political and social transformation have had a profound effect on south african cities. maintaining order in acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 80 the cities during the period of reconstruction and democratisation has been crucial to promoting the welfare of the new society. shaw (1995) encapsulates the situation in suggesting, for many south africans, the decline in political violence marked the end of south africa’s transition to democracy; but that the political violence for many former white group areas such as central business districts were then replaced by growing levels of crime. although it should be admitted that a fair amount of ambiguity exists regarding levels of crime before and after 1994 because of changes in legislation (see for example, du plessis & louw, 2005). in the opinion of many, the failure of local government to enforce municipal by-laws, coupled with the physical decline of public space (mainly in inner-city areas), created a sense of urban lawlessness, leading to heightened crime and perceptions of crime (morris, 1999). according to dirsuweit (2002), in a survey of 110 countries conducted in 1997, interpol ranked south africa as having the highest per capita rates of murder and rape. interpol also found that south africa had the second highest per capita rate of murder and the fourth highest number of cases of serious assault and other sexual offences. to highlight the severity of crime, louw (1999) presents the findings of a study on crime in south africa’s four major metropolitan areas, namely johannesburg, durban, pretoria, and cape town: johannesburg had the highest incidence of crime, with 62% • of all respondents having been victims of crime. durban had the second highest incidence, with 59% of all • respondents having been victims. fifty-four percent of all respondents in pretoria had been • victims. lastly, 49.5% of all respondents in cape town had been • victims. more recent research by ipsos markinor suggests that: “60% of south africans believe that crime has increased over • the past six months 90% of south africans have not experienced any form of • crime over the past six months 39% of south africans know someone who has been a victim • of crime over the past six months hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 81 50% of south africans think the police are not doing enough • to combat crime 33% of south africans believe the government is handling the • issue of combating crime well. down from 54% a year ago 63% of south africans have done nothing to address crime in • their communities 4% of south africans have taken an active role by either • joining as a police reservist or by taking part in community policing forums” (ispos markinor, 2007: online). with crime rates being very high in south africa, crime and the fear thereof have locally created certain ‘fear-based’ spatial distributions. the absence of a thorough analysis of the fear of crime, in terms of, inter alia, the displacement of anxieties about transition and the ‘stereotyping’ of others, may hamper the effectiveness of interventions aimed at dealing with the spatial processes of crime, and the fear of crime (de bruyn, 2002). altbeker (2005) points out that the results of surveys that have been conducted all over the world suggest that the fear of crime is higher in diverse societies than in uniform societies. 3.2 inner-city crime in south africa: some perspectives although relevant research in respect of inner-city crime is limited, a number of contributing comments need to be made. according to allen (2002), the discourse in respect of race is an ever-present issue within the south african inner-city context, especially in view of the fact that white people often equate black people with criminality. the challenge, however, lies in the examination of the various ways in which the different communities experience fear, as well as an ethnographic approach to the fear of crime (dirsuweit, 2002). dirsuweit & reid (2002) rightfully point out that urban citizenship entails the freedom to move around in, use the public facilities of, and express one’s identity, in a particular city. a situation, in which violence and crime are rife in the city, comprises an extreme instance of the curtailment of these rights. such a situation erodes people’s sense of safety and restricts choice. this factor underpins the urgency of the need to prohibit crime in the inner city. in conclusion, with regard to the south african situation, it is clear that inner-city crime specifically has received very little attention as a specific topic of research as crime statistics are seldom provided for smaller geographic entities. nevertheless, intensive research has acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 82 been conducted on the relationship between actual crime and the fear of crime, as well as on levels of victimisation. reducing the negative perceptions in respect of crime, while concomitantly bringing down the actual crime rate to a corresponding level, could prove to be essential towards creating a stable society. the lack of research can be regarded as an opportunity to contribute to the development of a theoretical base with regard to inner-city crime in south africa and to determine how it differs from the international experience. in addition, this research could contribute to the understanding and development of the current south african society and how they negotiate inner-city areas. 4. inner-city crime: a bloemfontein case study 4.1 a historical background on bloemfontein and the bloemfontein cbd and its relevance to inner-city crime with a view to facilitating a more in-depth understanding of perceptions of crime and its spatial influence in the bloemfontein inner city, a broad historical overview will now be provided. bloemfontein has been described as a quintessential apartheid city (krige, 1991; 1998). this statement refers, amongst other factors, to the ‘effective’ manner in which the various population groups were segregated, with the cbd (see figure 1) as the focus of convergence for commercial purposes. residential segregation goes back a long way (see krige, 1991). the residential component of the bloemfontein cbd was a ‘whites-only’ area under apartheid. jürgens et al. (2003) point out that bloemfontein’s cbd witnessed a shift in racial composition from a ‘whites-only’ area in 1991, to an area with a desegregation level of almost 50% in 2001. the estimates in 2005, suggest that the levels of desegregation have increased even further, to approximately 77%. however, more importantly, the bloemfontein city council has taken various decisions in favour of decentralised shopping centres since the early 1980s (hoogendoorn & visser, 2007). krige (1998) noted that, since 1994, nearly all private development has taken place towards the west of the cbd. the latest of these decentralised developments have also been designed with a view to discouraging crime. for example, secure and under-cover parking and limited entrances to retail complexes are major characteristics of the new architecture aimed at limiting crime in these malls. these decentralised developments have played a fundamental role in causing white customers initially, and later, middle-class customers in general, to avoid the cbd as a shopping area. at the same time, these developments have increased the pressure on the police service to hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 83 provide effective policing in areas surrounding decentralised commercial shopping centres. furthermore, as a result of the withdrawal of the middleand higher-income groups from the cbd, it was necessary for the cbd to undergo a phase of adjustment to a new clientele. this meant that, for the last ten to fifteen years, very little private-sector finance went into the cbd. overall, buildings were not always maintained, while public spaces and services did not always receive adequate attention. the low levels of public investment in services that went hand in hand with the development of decentralised commercial areas led to the further deterioration of the cbd and creating conditions conducive to crime. the result was that crime increased steadily over a period of time. in the late 1990s, closed-circuit television (cctv) cameras were erected in strategic places to curb the incidence of crime. at that stage, it seemed as if some of the crime in the inner city had been displaced to suburbs such as westdene, adjacent to the cbd (hoogendoorn, 2005). it is thus clear that the increase of crime in the bloemfontein cbd since the 1980s cannot be viewed in isolation from the purposeful development of decentralised complexes. figure 1: the bloemfontein central business district in the light of the foregoing overview, the focus will now shift to patterns of crime in the cbd, as well as to the results of the various interviews that were conducted for this study. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 84 4.2 patterns of crime in the bloemfontein cbd statistics of crime are not always available and are often unreliable given that, for example, many crimes are not reported, as well as that many crimes are not recorded because of institutional impediments. therefore, there might be some ambivalence as to the accuracy of crime statistics holistically. in addition, they do not always take crime waves into account (altbeker, 2005). despite these acknowledged shortcomings, a brief assessment of the available statistics will now be provided. in order to underline the severity of the crime situation in bloemfontein’s cbd, a comparison will be drawn between the cbd and three former white group areas in bloemfontein (no other comparisons being available at the time of research). during june 2005 – november 2005, 16 categories of priority crimes were identified by the park road policing precinct which is the head offices of the south african police force in bloemfontein, including, inter alia, malicious damage to property, robbery, common assault, and theft of (and from) vehicles. the cases were reported in bloemfontein’s cbd for june 2005 alone, numbered 1413, while westdene, bordering the cbd to the west, had only 215 reported cases in june 2005. willows, to the south of the cbd, had only 101 reported cases during june 2005. lastly, heuwelsig, an upper-class suburb in the north of bloemfontein, had 27 reported cases during the period (community policing forum, 2005; landman & liebermann, 2005) (figure 2). figure 2: reported crimes in june 2005 – nov 2005 bloemfontein on the basis of figure 2, two main comments need to be made. firstly, it is evident that the crime rate in the cbd is extremely high in comparison with that of the other areas of bloemfontein such as westdene and willows which has a similar residential and commercial base. these statistics do however need to be viewed in a specific context. the primary crime hotspots in the cbd are located around the sanlam centre, with 107 incidents having been reported from january to june 2005, and the middestad centre, with 45 incidents cbd westdene willows heuwelsig 1413 215 101 27 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 85 (landman & liebermann, 2005). at the same time, it should be recognised that if the number incidents of crime were to be considered in relation to the number of people in each of these areas, the resulting ratio would not reflect quite so negatively on the cbd. secondly, the following question needs to be asked in this regard: in what way is crime in bloemfontein’s cbd different from crime in other parts of bloemfontein? the number of reported crimes in the cbd is six times higher than the number of crimes reported in, for example, westdene, which has the highest crime rate after the cbd. crimerelated evidence suggests that crime within the cbd is constantly present, while other areas of bloemfontein tend to undergo fluctuations. thus, crime is not a constant phenomenon in these areas. the existence of the crime hotspots in the cbd (landman, 2002) testifies to the permanency of crime in these particular areas. another difference is that crime in the cbd is more serious in nature, with rape and murder, as well as armed robberies (a major cause of concern for businesses), being more prevalent than in the suburbs. therefore, an investigation was undertaken to determine the perceptions of customers, business owners, residential owners and property owners in the cbd in bloemfontein with regard to crime. 4.3 the perceptions of businesses in respect of crime in the cbd in bloemfontein business owners hold many negative perceptions of the cbd. the key disadvantage for formal-economy businesses relates to safety and crime (50.6%) and, to a lesser extent, to the (lack of) cleanliness of the area. the migration of key customer cohorts to decentralised business nodes elsewhere in bloemfontein also plays a part. an important aspect relating to this issue is that enterprise owners in the informal economy, who are often more vulnerable to crime, do not share this concern. indeed, only 3.1% of owners of informaleconomy enterprises cited crime and safety issues as disadvantages resulting from their location in the cbd. it seems that to them their fight for legitimate existence is a more important consideration than crime. at the same time, informal businesses are also mobile enough to avoid crime hotspots, while formal businesses have fixed locations. of all business owners (formal and informal) 9.5% were not satisfied with the levels of cleanliness. according to most of the landowners, the crime situation in the cbd is exaggerated. landowners argued that newspapers tend to focus excessively on the cbd. this happens despite the fact that (according to them) more crimes are committed, comparatively speaking, in westdene or at mimosa acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 86 mall. what seems evident from the discussions held with landowners is that it took the cbd approximately ten years to adapt to a new clientele after the middleand high-income groups had withdrawn from the cbd. however, they are of the opinion that the cbd has, in fact, succeeded in adapting to the new clientele, and that what the cbd currently requires is effective basic service delivery such as refuse removal, cleaning of streets and upgrading of infrastructure to name a few examples. this process of adaptation to the new clientele nevertheless entailed a period of uncertainty and also a downscaling of many public-sector investments. 4.4 customers’ perceptions of the cbd in bloemfontein this section explores two customer cohorts’ perceptions of bloemfontein’s cbd. the first group of interviews was conducted with customers in the cbd (mainly black respondents) while the second group of interviews was conducted with customers at decentralised commercial centres (mainly white respondents). table 1 provides a reflection of the negative perceptions of the cbd, as experienced by these two groups of customers. the second table indicates the responses returned when these customers were asked what, in their opinion, would be likely to induce people to return to the cbd for the purposes of their general shopping (table 2). table 1: negative experiences within the cbd, 2005 negative experiences location of survey participant total (%)in the cbd (%) decentralised shopping centre (%) crime and feeling unsafe 26.3 40 34.3 dirt and grime 28.7 19.5 23.6 distance transport costs and transport problems 1 5 3.9 2.8 foreigners 2.7 0.4 1 hawkers street children and schoolchildren 23.5 3.9 12.5 infrastructure-related problems e.g. leaking pipes toilet facilities 2.7 7.5 5.4 lack of entertainment 0 3 0.4 0.4 fewer economic opportunities 2.4 1.7 2 negative social experiences 4.9 4.3 4.6 overcrowded life too fast busy noisy 5.5 7.5 6.6 racial problems 0.9 9.7 5.8 total 100 100 100 hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 87 table 1 reflects the negative experiences of customers within the cbd. for people residing and working within the cbd, the main problems are the effects of crime (26.3%), the dirt and grime (28.7%), and hawkers and street children (23.5%). the problems experienced by customers at decentralised centres are similar except that the percentages in respect of crime are higher (40%). this is probably an indication of white fears as has already been pointed out by other researchers in south africa (allen, 2002) since the majority of respondents at the decentralised areas were white people. however, as suggested in the relevant theoretical sources, and as we will also argue later, the relationship between crime and grime should not be underestimated. if these two categories of problems are merged, the differences between the responses of the cbd respondents and those of the respondents at the decentralised shopping centres in respect of crime become less significant. it seems that the perceptions of white people are different from those of black people in the cbd. this factor influences the cultural variability and accessibility of the cbd. table 2: suggestions concerning what could be done to induce people to come back to the cbd, 2005 suggestions location of survey participant total (%)in the cbd (%) decentralised shopping centre (%) crime-prevention measures make cbd safer policing 36.2 37.9 37.2 economic improvement 14.5 10 3 12 entertainment amenities and social development 1.5 1.6 1.6 find ways of solving problems related to hawkers and street children 9.1 3.5 5.9 cleanup operations 23.6 13 3 17.7 more development shops sports grounds art and culture 4.1 0.7 2.1 negative evaluation nothing can be done 3.7 6.7 5.5 removal of unwanted elements (e.g. racial conflict) 4.4 6.5 5.6 traffic and parking 0.3 4.6 2.8 upgrading of services and aesthetic values 2.2 14 5 9.2 total 100 100 100 acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 88 table 2 explores the issues that could be dealt with in order to revitalise the cbd and induce people to come back. both surveyed groups, within the cbd (36.2%) and at decentralised shopping centres (37.9%), felt that crime could be prevented or reduced if policing were more visible. another possibility is that, if elements of gentrification were to be introduced, this could be instrumental in improving inner-city districts (cf. visser, 2002). at the same time, it should be noted that, despite some differences between the two groups regarding their perceptions of crime, the results in table 2 suggest that respondents in both the cbd (mainly black respondents) and the decentralised commercial centres (mainly white respondents) felt that improved safety was a crucial factor towards ensuring a larger clientele. this finding suggests that aspects of fear for crime are not racially bound. furthermore, both groups felt that (re)investment within the cbd, as well as general economic improvement, could be beneficial in terms of revitalisation of the cbd. cleanliness was also an issue, especially with the respondents within the cbd (23.6%). it seems that, particularly in the opinion of the customers in the cbd, a correlation existed between crime and grime. 4.5 cbd residents’ perceptions in respect of crime this section focuses on the perceptions in respect of crime amongst the residential population of bloemfontein’s cbd. respondents were asked what they disliked most with regard to the cbd (figure 3). for the purposes of comparison, the information in figure 3 is taken from two surveys conducted in 2001 and 2004. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 19.8 43.9 12.3 11.5 18.7 0.8 8.3 7.8 4.9 4.1 36 31.9 2001 2004 c rim e a n d v io le n c e n o is e o v e rc ro w d in g fi lt h / ru b b is h o th e r re a so n s r a c is m figure 3: what respondents disliked most about the cbd 2001 and 2004 hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 89 figure 3 reflects the respondents’ dislike of specific aspects of the cbd, according to two similar studies conducted in 2001 and 2004. respondents’ most important objection concerning the cbd was related to the situation regarding crime and violence. there was also a considerable increase in the negative perceptions pertaining to these aspects between 2001 and 2004 (from 19.8% to 43.9%). in 2001, the second most important negative aspect cited regarding the cbd related to noise (11.5%). a noteworthy aspect is that, in 2001, 18.7% of the respondents cited the levels of overcrowding in the cbd as a negative aspect. however, in 2004, not even 1% of the respondents mentioned this aspect. it seems clear that those who, in 2001, viewed overcrowding as the most negative aspect of the cbd, subsequently changed their opinions, and now (2004) regarded crime and violence as the most negative aspect. furthermore, the crime waves that in 2004 affected adjacent areas of the cbd i.e. westdene and willows, as well as the fact that this situation was comprehensively reported on in local and national newspapers, may also have had an effect on the respondents’ perceptions (hoogendoorn, 2005). the foregoing section focused on people’s perceptions regarding crime. in view of the negative reactions related to the cbd outlined above, an attempt will now be made to assess the current situation with regard to crime and grime. figure 4 provides an overview of the percentage of respondents who were mugged, burgled, or whose cars were stolen, as well as the percentage of respondents who perceived the cbd to be dirty (see figure 4). 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 19.8 43.9 12.3 11.5 18.7 0.8 8.3 7.8 4.9 4.1 36 31.9 2001 2004 c rim e a n d v io le n c e n o is e o v e rc ro w d in g fi lt h / ru b b is h o th e r re a so n s r a c is m figure 4: changes in perceptions regarding crime and the environment perceptions in the cbd 2001 and 2004 acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 90 a number of important considerations should be mentioned in respect of the percentages recorded in figure 4 above. it seems that the number of people who became victims of crime decreased between 2001 and 2004. the proportion of persons who were mugged decreased from 61.8% in 2001 to 40.2% in 2004. similarly, the percentage of respondents claiming that their flats had been burgled declined from 67.4%, to 20.7%. a decrease is also observable in the percentage of respondents whose cars were stolen or broken into. it is also significant that the percentage of respondents who perceived the cbd to be dirty, declined from 41% in 2001, to 32.7% in 2004. concerning the above factors, as well as the comments made earlier in respect of what residents seemed to dislike about the cbd, three important concluding comments can be made. first, according to statistics, crime is undeniably a serious problem in the cbd. nearly one-third of the respondents had been mugged; 20% had been burgled; and just under 20% had been victims of car theft or car burglary. second, the increase in the perception of crime being a problem in the cbd was not accompanied by an increase in the number of real cases reported by respondents. third, this increase could be an indication of an urban environment which, despite a decrease in victimisation, was not conducive to a change in individuals’ perceptions. the then current spatial arrangements of the physical infrastructure and buildings tended not to make people feel comfortable. 5. what can be learnt from the empirical evidence concerning crime and the cbd? a number of aspects should be noted in this regard. first, we are of the opinion that one of the main reasons for crime in the cbd is related to the development of decentralised commercial centres since the early 1980s. these centres have succeeded in directing the traditional middleand high-income customers away from the cbd. to a large degree, these centres have led to the segregation of commercial areas in the city (initially in terms of race, but later in terms of income). since the early 1990s, the withdrawal of the historical clientele has placed immense pressure on the existing businesses. at the same time, the provision of public services to the cbd does not seem to have been regarded as priority. moreover, such services (including police services) have had to be provided to a much larger area. in the process of adapting to a new clientele, the cbd struggled to define its function within the city. thus, decentralised development resulting in poor public services in the cbd, coupled with the search for a new function for the cbd by the private hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 91 sector, contributed extensively both to an increase in crime and fear of crime in the cbd. second, in addition to the influence of decentralisation, the architecture of the newly-constructed decentralised centres is far less crime-friendly than the architecture of the cbd. the designers of the new commercial developments have ensured that the architecture of these developments provide barriers to crime. therefore, in future developers in the cbd and elsewhere, could implement the principles of crime prevention through environmental design (cpted) which as been explored within literature for a fair extent (see for example liebermann & coulson, 2005). third, as suggested by the literature on crime in south africa and elsewhere, the fear of crime is an important consideration. our research supports the findings of existing research in this respect. fear of crime is evident from the perceptions of business owners, residents, and customers. it is noteworthy that fear of crime can be observed in all racial groups, and not only in the white population. in the fourth instance, the poor levels of service and the perceived lack of cleanliness further exacerbate the fear of crime. finally, no specific comments have been made regarding the existence of subcultures in the bloemfontein cbd. this is partly attributable to the fact that the bloemfontein cbd has a far smaller contingent of nonsouth africans than have other areas. 6. conclusion this article largely confirms the findings of the existing literature on inner-city crime and development. yet, the empirical evidence and basic arguments about the relationship between crime, inner cities and decentralised developments in the case of bloemfontein suggest increasing evidence that the management of these aspects have been contributing to inner-city crime. it is evident from the research that the middleand higher-income populations (mainly white) avoid moving into the inner city as decentralised alternatives became available. ongoing informalisation of local economies, which serves to underscore the ‘africanisation’ of bloemfontein’s inner city, encompassing also its cultural atmosphere, is already firmly established (jürgens et al., 2003). the effects of the desegregation of the cbd, as well as the continued informalisation of local economies, led to the decentralisation of white businesses, or ‘white flight’ to adjacent areas such as brandwag, westdene and willows. this decentralisation in turn led to economic deterrence and decay for the cbd, which created an opportunity for the infiltration of inner-city crime, owing to the fact that higher-order businesses acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 92 (formal enterprises which have moved out) depend on high levels of security for their clients, while lower-class businesses (more informal enterprises who remained in the cbd) do so to a lesser extent. furthermore, decisions by ‘city fathers’ to support decentralised development have had a major impact on crime in the cbd. it has been argued in this article that, in the south african context, decentralised shopping centres mean further segregation of commercial space, which, in many cases, means that police resources are stretched despite the rise of the private security industry. what is also evident is that crime in bloemfontein’s cbd occurs mainly in certain specific areas, despite attempts by the police to disrupt criminal activities in these hotspots (landman & liebermann, 2005). furthermore, the architecture of the cbd allows for the prevalence of crime – more so than in the case of the newly erected decentralised commercial centres. the features of the cbd’s architecture include dark alleys, narrow roads, old dilapidated buildings and culs-de-sac. this can mainly be attributed to the age of many of the buildings that were not originally built with the specific intention of prohibiting crime. in contrast, decentralised shopping centres specifically cater for ensuring the safest possible shopping experience for their customers. finally, we have argued that, as in the case of other areas, fear of crime is a prominent factor. however, in this case study, this fear was not exclusively linked to a single race group – even if some racial patterns are discernible in this regard. references allen, d.b. 2002. race, crime and social exclusion: a qualitative study of white women’s fear of crime in johannesburg. urban forum, 13(3), pp. 53-80. altbeker, a. 2005. puzzling statistics: is south africa really the world’s crime capital? sa crime quarterly, 11, pp. 1-8, march. beavon, k. 2004. johannesburg: the making and shaping of the city. pretoria: university of south africa press. bremner, l. 1998. bounded spaces: demographic anxieties in postapartheid johannesburg. social identities, 10 (4), pp. 455-468. burnham, r. feinberg, r.m. & husted, t.a. 2004. central city crime and suburban economic growth. applied economics, 36(9), pp. 917-922. cahill, m.e. 2004. geographies of urban crime: an intra-urban study of crime in nashville, tn; portland, or; and tuscan az. unpublished hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 93 phd thesis, department of geography and regional development, university of arizona, arizona. community policing forum, south african police services. 2005. parkroad police station, bloemfontein, june september. de bruyn, t. 2002. policy, fear and systemic violence: a review of the johannesburg 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(eds.), 2002. transforming rural and urban spaces in south africa during the 1990s: reform, restitution, restructuring. pretoria: africa institute of south africa. donaldson, r. & van der merwe, i.j. 2000. urban restructuring outcomes during transition: a model for south african urban development in the 21st century? africa insight, 30(1), pp. 45-57. dorfman, l. & schiraldi, v. 2001. off balance: youth, race and crime in the news. report commissioned by building blocks for youth, berkley media studies group, washington dc. du plessis, a. & louw, a. 2005. crime and crime prevention in south africa: ten years after. canadian journal of criminology and criminal justice, 47(2), pp. 427-446. foster, j., 1990. villains: crime and community in the inner city. london: routledge and kegan paul. gnad, m., bähr, j. & jürgens, u. 2002. residential succession in johannesburg: the case of yeoville. in: donaldson, r. & marais, l. (eds.). transforming rural and urban spaces in south africa during acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 94 the 1990s: reform, restitution, restructuring. pretoria: africa institute of south africa. grogger, j. & willis, m. 2000. the emergence of crack cocaine and the rise of urban crime rates. the review of economics and statistics, 82(4), pp. 519-529. hoogendoorn, g. 2005. critical perspectives on the (re)development of westdene, bloemfontein, paper presented at the society of south african geographers sixth biennial conference, university of the western cape, 7-9 september. hoogendoorn, g. & visser, g. 2007. the evolving south african neighbourhood: the case of westdene, bloemfontein. urban forum, 18(4), pp. 329-349. hook, d. & vrdoljak, m. 2002. gated communities, heterotopia and a “rights” of privilege: a ‘heterotopology’ of the south african security-park. geoforum, 33(2), pp. 195-219. ipsos markinor. 2007. crime statistics: are we are own worst enemy. [online]. available from: <http://ipsos-markinor.co.za/news/thecrime-statistics-are-we-our-own-worst-enemy>. jürgens, u., marais, l., barker, c. & lombaard, m. 2003. socio-demographic transformation in the bloemfontein inner-city area. acta academica, 1, pp. 34-54. krige, d.s. 1991. bloemfontein. in: lemon, a. (ed.). south africa’s segregated cities. cape town: david philip. krige, d.s. 1998. the challenge of dismantling spatial patterns constructed by apartheid in the bloemfontein-thaba ‘nchu region. acta academica, 1, pp. 174-218. landman, k. 2002. transforming urban spaces in south africa: the impact of enclosed neighbourhoods on the urban future. in: donaldson, r. & marais, l. (eds.). transforming rural and urban spaces in south africa during the 1990s: reform, restitution, restructuring. pretoria: africa institute of south africa. landman, k. & liebermann, s. 2005. towards a “security plan” as part of a cbd master plan for bloemfontein. johannesburg: csir built environment. landman, k. & schönteich, m. 2002. urban fortresses: gated communities as a reaction to crime. african security review, 11(4), pp. 71-85. hoogendoorn & marais • perceptions of crime and the built environment: bloemfontein cbd 95 lemanksi, c. 2004. a new apartheid? the spatial implications of fear of crime in cape town, south africa. environment and urbanization, 11(2), pp. 101-112. liebermann, s. 2003. crime, place and people in south african urban environments: the role of urban environmental design and planning in crime and violence reduction strategies. csir building and construction technology, world bank, washington dc. liebermann, s. & coulson, j. 2005. participatory mapping for 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k. 1991. social osmosis and patterns of crime. journal of political economy, 99(6), pp. 1272-1295. sanders, b. 2005. youth crime and youth culture in the inner city. london: routledge. shaw, m. 1995. towards safer cities? crime, political transition and changing forms of policing control in south africa. african security review, 4(5), pp. 4-11. smith, d.m. 1992. the apartheid city and beyond: urbanization and social change in south africa. london: routledge. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 96 thomas, c.j. & bromley, r.d.f. 2000. city-centre revitalisation: problems of fragmentation and fear in the evening and night-time city. urban studies, 37(8), pp. 1403-1429. visser, g. 2002. gentrification and south african cities: towards a research agenda. cities, 19(6), pp. 419-423. zenou, y. 2003. the spatial aspects of crime. journal of the european economic association, 1(2-3), pp. 459-467. lectures & exhibitions paul kotze1 the sophia gray memorial lectures and exhibitions 1. introduction in 1989 the university of the (orange) free state in bloemfontein, sa, inaugurated an annual lecture and exhibition to highlight the contribution made by architects and architecture to society. this was named after sophia gray, the first professionally active architect in bloemfontein. it is generally agreed that she was responsible for the design of the initial chapel that eventually became the anglican cathedral of st andrew and st michael in st george's street. soon after the inception of the sophia gray lectures and exhibitions, the senate of the university formally recognised these as one of the university's official public lectures with the following aims, namely to: • honour the person or group of people invited. the following criteria for invitation apply: the staff of the school of architecture must be convinced that the person or group has made a fundamental contribution to the praxis of architecture, the theoretical debate within the profession or professional matters; those invited should have a sense of, and take the responsibility for the effects their creations have on the well-being, life and advancement/development of the general community; they must be connected to the southern african region. the process of selection is one of proposal, debate and consensus, and to: • draw attention to the architectural heritage of the city of bloemfontein. the city has a rich architectural tradition and by choice of venue attention is drawn to it. • serve the community. the lecture and exhibition is viewed as one of the many ways in which the university and the school of architecture engage in and assist the community. paul kotze is a professor at the school of architecture, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. kotze/sophia gray memorial lectures and exhibitions figure 1: sophia gray (1814-1871 )(gutsche 1970: 192a). when comparing her drawings made in england to those made in south africa, an interesting shift in emphasis is apparent. it is evident that architecture was the main focus of the 'english' drawings, while in south africa her emphasis shifted to nature, and architecture was relegated to reasonably insignificant objects 'floating' on the landscape figure 2: the st mark's church in george town (currently george), designed by sophia gray, as painted by thomas bowler in 1859 (gutsche, 1970: 112a) 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 • engage in the regional and international architectural debate. by its nature, the lecture and exhibition serve as a window into the thoughts of those seen to be making a contribution and as a means to gather basic information regarding their work. 2. sophia gray: the historical background the blue-blooded sophia wharton myddleton, talented wife of the first anglican bishop of cape town, robert gray, stands revealed as one of the most singular characters in south african history. architect, accountant, managing director of a vast business, graceful water-colonist, expert horsewoman, gracious hostess and accomplished calligraphist, sophy gray actively participated in the determining events of the most formative 25 years of her adopted country (gutsche, 1970: cover). born in 1814 in durham, england, sophia was known to have a deep interest in the world around her and preferred to spend her time doing clear and precise landscape paintings. she was by nature a perceptive draughtsperson and delighted in drawing exact objects such as buildings and architectural details. the grays arrived in table bay in february 1848. merely two months after their arrival robert gray asked for textbooks on architecture (langham-carter, 1974.10.17). by the end of 1848, sophia had prepared eleven church plans for her husband to hand out to the communities they served. although she had no formal training in architecture, she is considered to be south africa's first female architect. sophia gray was the wife of the first anglican bishop of cape town, robert gray. during the 25 years that they were active in establishing the anglican church in the country she managed to built approximately 58 churches. in 1850, sophia's husband, robert, visited bloemfontein as part of his itinerary to visit the interior of the country (gutsche, 1970: 112; schoeman, 1980: 11 & 1982: 71) , and was involved in the building of two cathedrals in bloemfontein: st andrew and st michael (nienaber, 1987: 27). . . throughout her husband's ill-health, her multiple duties on their farm, her work as secretary to the church, her role as mother and social worker, sophia still emerged as a remarkable architect. she toured the country on horseback and designed architecture to suit the climate and available materials. she was never seen without a sketchbook to document the places she had visited. many of her original drawings are presently kept in the william cullen library at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg. 73 kotze/sophia gray memorial lectures and exhibitions on the 27th april 1871, sophia gray died of cancer at the age of 57. she and robert were buried at st saviour's church in claremont. cape town. her contribution to life in south africa was commemorated with a stained glass window in st george's cathedral in cape town (gutsche, 1970: 215). 3. the annual sophia gray lectures and exhibitions: invitees and venues the topics of the lectures and the venues are as follows (the city where the invitee resided at the time of the invitation is indicated in brackets): 1989 ms mira fassler kamstra (johannesburg) mimicry & camouflage old presidency, president brand street. 1990 prof roelof s uytenbogaardt (t) (cape town) timelessness in architecture queen's fort, church street. 1991 dr gawie fagan (cape town) architect and community abraham fischer residence and school of architecture ufs. 1992 mr wilhelm o meyer (johannesburg) the three pasts to our present ufs boyden observatory, maselspoort. 1993 mr glen gallagher (johannesburg) the exclusion of conclusion in architecture fourth raadzaal, president brand street. 1994 mr jack barnett [t] (cape town) building the bestafrica's essential mission corobrik brick factory. 1995 mr hannes meiring (pretoria) architecture the great adventure national museum, aliwal street. 1996 professor amancio guedes (lisbon) seven manifestoes city hall, president brand street. 1997 dr revel fox (cape town) reflections on the making of space ramblers club, aliwal street. 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 1998 prof adele naude santos (san francisco) narrative maps: concepts and creations cathedral of st andrew and st michael, st georges street. 1999 dr jack diamond (toronto) practising scales reunion hall, grey college. 2000 professor stanley saitowitz (san francisco) expanded architecture sedcom auditorium, fairview street. 2001 dr hentie louw (newcastle upon tyne) architecture and craft: a working relationship? sa amour museum, tempe. the 0/iewenhuis art museum in bloemfontein has a standard arrangement to mount the exhibitions for approximately one month after the lectures have taken place. as an adjunct to the exhibition various lectures, workshops for school children and guided tours of the exhibition are conducted under the auspices of the friends of the 0/iewenhuis art museum. the lectures and/or exhibitions have been held in other centres in south africa and namibia. the exhibitions of dr gawie fagan (september 1992), ms mira fassler kamstra (december 1992 january 1993) and professor roelof uytenbogaardt (june august 1993) have been shown separately at the south african national gallery in cape town. uytenbogaardt's exhibition was reviewed (nolte in die burger, 1993.07.24). the work in these three exhibitions was shown jointly in the standard bank gallery in johannesburg in january february 1995 under the title "three architects: a vision". this exhibition was reviewed by hannah le roux, wilhelm van rensburg, urielle berry, tony lange and michael coulson. the exhibition was reported on sabc tv's collage programme and on its "woman's world" radio programme. in response to this exhibition, an invitation was extended by the (then) south african ambassador to the european union, mr neil van heerden, to mount the exhibitions (in existence at that time), and a wider selection of south african architecture, at the european parliament in brussels. the fassler-kamstra & holmes and professor roelof uytenbogaardt's exhibitions were shown separately in windhoek under the auspices of the namibian institute of architects in 1994. ms. mira fassler-kamstra's, lecture "mimicry and camouflage" 75 kotze/sophia gray memorial lectures and exhibitions was published in the july/august 1990 of architecture sa. articles on the work of prof naude santos, dr jack diamond and prof stanley saitowitz appeared in the sa architect in the years in which they presented their lectures. reviews of the exhibitions also appeared in the sunday independent and the weekly mail and guardian (dr fox) and the financial mail (dr diamond). the fassler-kamstra & holmes exhibitions were subsequently shown at the university of pretoria (1995) and "the pines", johannesburg. the fagan exhibition was repeated in durban (1993), under the auspices of the natal provincial institute of architects, the pretoria art museum (july 1993) and at the art gallery of stellenbosch university (october 1993). mr glen gallagher's exhibition and lecture was repeated at the sandton library (1995) and prof uytenbogaardt's exhibition was shown again at the king george v art gallery in port elizabeth ( 199 5). the exhibitions of dr revel fox (1998), professor adele naude santos (1998) and dr jack diamond (1999) were repeated at the school of architecture at the university of pretoria while the exhibition of prof saitowitz (2000) was shown at the pretoria art museum. prof guedes' lecture was repeated at the university of the witwatersrand (reported in the weekly mail & guardian) while mr willie meyer and professor uytenbogaardt repeated their lectures at "the pines", johannesburg, under the auspices of the (then) transvaal provincial institute of architects. meyer also repeated his lecture at the johannesburg art gallery and in port elizabeth under the auspices of the eastern cape provincial institute of architects. prof santos and dr diamond repeated their lectures at the universities of natal and cape town. professor saitowitz repeated his lecture at the universities of cape town and the witwatersrand. 4. the sophia gray lectures and exhibitions: a wider perspective the lectures and exhibitions are within the traditions of the academy architecture lecture of the royal academy of arts, (london) where exhibitions are held in the sackler galleries (lectures and exhibitions have been presented by kisho kurokawa, sir norman foster, professor bernard tschumi, etc.) and the thomas cubitt memorial lecture of the royal institution (london) (presented previously by prof colin rowe, prof giancarlo de carlo, etc). 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no l however, the purpose of the sophia gray lectures and exhibitions is different. its organisers have as their goals only that which was stated above and not an ideology or propaganda similar to that of the "modern architecture" (1932) exhibition of the museum of modern art (wilson, 1982: 93) or the new architecture (1938) exhibition of the mars group (gold, 1993: 357). the work exhibited in this series of exhibitions is work produced by the architect in his daily professional endeavours whose poetic quality is such that the organisers (society?) believe that it should be shared with and explained to a wider audience in its galleries and academic institutions. the distinction should be made that it is work produced by a living and everyday tradition, placed by others in a category of excellence, and not works produced for the galleries or curators for different purposes. reyner bonham claims that history is made in an ordinary moment of time (maxwell, 1993: 15). 5. conclusion drawings are projections through which architects visualise, test and order relationships. along with prints, photographs, computer images and texts they convey intentionality to client and contractor and, in published form, to a broad public. the built world is conceived and presented through such images that preserve knowledge of the past and project how we will live in the future (lambert, 1989: 121). the above implies that 'all' material that enables the total comprehension of the history and theory of architecture needs to be collected and made available. in this way those concerned would be able to participate in an informed manner in the decisions and debate regarding the built environment. how else are we to write the history and future of architecture in south africa? in its thirteen years' existence, the lecture and exhibition series has proved to be the most prestigious event that deals on a continuous basis with the built environment in south africa. it is highly esteemed throughout the country; however, it is known more outside than within its university and city of origin. n kotze/sophia gray memorial lectures and exhibitions references amery 1992. glittering history in portman square. financial times. london. 1992.06.01. brownlee, d.b. & de long, d.g. 1991. louis i kahn: in the realm of architecture. new york: rizzoli. gold j r 1993. 'commodities, firmness and delight': modernism, the. mars group's 'new architecture' exhibition' (1938) and imagery of the urban future. planning perspectives, no 8, pp. 357-376. gutsche thelma 1970. the bishop's lady. lansdowne: citadel press. harris, j. 1992. storehouses of knowledge: the origins of the contemporary architectural museum in centre canadien d'architecture/canadian centre for architecture, building and gardens. {ed) l richards. cambridge, mass: mit press, pp. 15-32. lambert, p. 1989. director's choice: report on selected acquisitions 1985-1989. canadian art review, pp. 121-130. langham-carter, r.r. 1974. notes from the collection of the william cullen library: university of the witwatersrand. 1974.10.17. manser, j. 1992. grand designs in two dimensions. independent (london). 1992.06.10. maxwell, r. 1993. sweet disorder and the carefully careless theory and criticism in architecture. princeton: princeton architectural press. nienaber, p.j. 1987. as quoted in roodt, l. 1987. the architecture of the orange free state republic, 1854-1902. unpublished ph d bloemfontein: university of the free state. nolte, m.a. 1993. die argitektuur as debat tussen mens en estetika. die burger. 1993.07.24. schoeman, k. 1980(1982). bloemfontein: die ontstaan van 'n stad 1846-1946. kaapstad: human & rousseau. seidler, h. 1995. phillip johnson at 90 a personal reflection. monument, pp. 44-69. wilson, r.g. 1982. international style: the moma exhibition. progressive architecture, no. 2, pp. 3-104. 130 acta structilia 2005:12(2) dries hauptfleisch bemagtiging: ’n geïntegreerde model vir die ontwikkeling van opkomende kontrakteurs in die konstruksiebedryf peer reviewed abstrak hierdie oorsig beskryf ’n bemagtigingsmodel vir opkomende konstruksiekon trakteurs. dit is gebaseer op eksperimentele navorsing en die deurlopende toepassing daarvan gedurende die afgelope dekade in die konstruksie bedryf in suid afrika. die veeltal rolspelers wat algaande tot die toneel toe getree het se deelname word bondig beskryf. ’n belangrike waarneming is dat die model uit generiese elemente bestaan en waarskynlik in dieselfde formaat in ander bedrywe toegepas kan word. sleutelwoorde: bemagtiging, kontrakteurs, konstruksiebedryf abstract in this review an empowerment model for construction emerging contractors is described. it is based on experimental research and the continuous ap plication thereof during the last decade in the construction industry in south africa. the numerous roleplayers which entered the scene over time and their participation are briefly described. an important observation is that the model is composed of generic elements and can probably be applied in the same format in other industries. keywords: empowerment, contractors, construction industry prof. dries (a.c.) hauptfleisch, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. e-mail: <eldec@iafrica.com>. 1. inleiding die probleem ter sake is dat algemeen aanvaar word datopkomende konstruksiekontrakteurs bemagtig moet wordom selfstandig en volhoubaar sake te kan doen, maar dat daar nie veel sukses behaal is in praktyk om hierdie doel te bereik nie. uit hierdie probleem is die soeke gevestig om ’n model te ontwikkel wat ‘n oplossing bied vir die probleem. gedurende die afgelope dekade is ’n studie onderneem om die implikasies, toepassing en uitkoms van mentorskap as ’n sleutel element in die ontwikkeling van opkomende kontrakteurs in die konstruksiebedryf te ondersoek. kennis is geneem van die staat se oogmerk en die werksaamhede van ander navorsers op die terrein. ter sake is die publikasie, “creating and enabling environment for construction, growth and development”, department of public works (1997), asook verskeie navorsingsuitsette oor die afgelope aantal jare (mccabe, 1998; gounden, 2000; hauptfleisch, 2000: 15-16; meintjes, 2001; hauptfleisch en meintjes, 2003: 27-30; egbeonu, 2004; lazarus, 2005). eie en gesamentlike eksperimentele navorsing het bestaan uit opnames en waarnemings ter verkryging van primêre data, die toepassing daarvan in praktyk op eksperimentele grondslag, ontwikkeling van hoofsaaklik kwalitatiewe data en in enkele gevalle kwantitatiewe data. min sekondêre data is beskikbaar in hierdie veld. die eksperimentele werk het daartoe gelei dat nie net mentorskap ontwikkel is nie, maar dat ’n geïntegreerde model vir volhoubare ontwikkeling saamgestel is wat nasionale steun en implementering geniet en ruimskoots finansiële steun ontvang waar dit toegepas word. die uitkomste van die bedryfsmodel, wat vervolgens beskryf word, word gemonitor en ’n omvattende totale kwaliteitsbeheerstelsels is ontwikkel. daar sal eersdaags substansiële kwantitatiewe data gepubliseer kan word om die mate waartoe daarin geslaag is om opkomende kontrakteurs te ontwikkel toe te lig. 2. geïntegreerde bedryfsmodel uit die werk wat op hierdie terrein gedoen is en die ontwikkeling van talle inisiatiewe wat geloods is deur die staat en ander instansies sedert 1994, het algaande ’n groter landskap ontvou. die moontlikheid om ’n aanvanklike een dimensionel intervensie, naamlik mentorskap, aan te vul met ’n multi-dimensionele model om swart bemagtiging op entrepreneuriese toetreevlak te bevorder, het ont131 hauptfleisch • bemagtiging 132 acta structilia 2005:12(2) staan. hieruit is ’n geïntegreerde model ontwikkel wat reeds toepassing in praktyk vind en deurlopend uitgebou en verfyn word, deur verskillende rolspelers. voorbeele hiervan is die eastern cape development corporation (ecdc) se integrated emerging contractor development model (iecdm) wat vanaf 2003 tot 2005 beslag gekry het, en meer onlangs (2005) bevat die sentrale departement van openbare werke se expanded public works programme (epwp) ook baie van die elemente wat in hierdie model beskryf word. uit die eksperimentele werk wat gedoen is, is bevind dat verskeie rolspelers betrokke behoort te wees om sukses te behaal. diagram 1 toon die insette wat gemaak behoort te word om die opkomende kontrakteur te bemagtig en elk word vervolgens bondig beskryf. 2.1 projekbestuurder ’n projekbestuurder moet aangestel word om die program oorhoofs te bestuur. dit is van besondere belang dat die program geïntegreerd funksioneer i.p.v. tipies histories gefragmenteerd (hauptfleisch et al., 2005:15). met ander woorde, talle rolspelers wat ongekoördineerd insette lewer is nie effektief nie. 2.2 kliënt (bouheer) die kliënt (eienaar van die ontwikkelingsprogram) moet verbind wees tot die volgende: • werkvoorsiening (konstruksiekontrakte) aan opkomende kontrakteurs tot ’n waarde van nagenoeg r5 miljoen per kontrak (herhalend) oor ’n tydperk van 24 maande, is noodsaaklik. • toegewyde bestuursinset en deurlopende betrokkenheid van die kliënt word vereis. • tendergeleenthede en toekenning van konstruksiekontakte aan opkomende kontrakteurs is slegs die begin van die proses en lewer bykans geen bemagtingingsresultate op sigself nie. om daarin te slaag is die volgende noodsaaklik: ° die kliënt moet begroot vir bemagtigingskoste en daartoe verbind wees om, soos nodig, ooreenkomste aan te gaan met alle rolspelers. ° tradisionele tenderprosedures en waarborgstelling is onversoenbaar met ekonomiese bematigingsvereistes en moet gewysig (verslap) word om projekte meer toeganklik te maak vir opkomende kontrakteurs. 2.3 opkomende kontrakteurs selekteer opkomende kontrakteurs wat ingesluit word in ’n ontwikklellingsprogram deur die volgende minimum kriteria toe te pas: • erkenning van vorige leer (evl). • moet voldoen aan minimum construction education and training authority (ceta) vereistes vir opleiding. • kontrakteurs moet bereid wees om deel te neem aan ‘n intensiewe 24 maande opleiding en konstruksiekontrakwerk program. • moet ‘n potensiaaltoets deurstaan. • moet ontvanklik wees vir ‘n mentor/protégé verhouding. 2.4 geakkrediteerde konstruksiementor • moet geakkrediteer wees deur die universiteit van die vrystaat (uv) program (skriftelike eksamen en psigometriese evaluering), of by wyse van ‘n ander aanvaarbare keuringsproses. • deurloop ’n gestruktureerde opleidingsprogam t.o.v. vereistes en prosedures. • voldoen aan kliënt se keuringsproses. • moet verbind wees om op te tree as ’n sake-vertroueling en adviseur vir opkomende kontrakteur en moet sekere uitvoerende magte en pligte aanvaar. • oorsien institusionele opleiding en die toepassing daarvan op konstruksieprojekte deur die opkomende kontrakteur. • sy hoofoogmerk is om ’n selfstandige konstruksiekontakteur te help vestig, wat na afloop van die program volhoubaar kontrakwerk kan verrig. 133 hauptfleisch • bemagtiging 2.5 konstruksie-onderwys en opleiding-owerheid (construction education and training authority (ceta)) ceta is die statutêre liggaam wat befondsing verskaf vir vaardigheidsontwikkeling. hulle word betrek om: • finansiering te verskaf vir die statutêre drieledige opleidingsmodel, naamlik: ° werkgewer/kliënt ° werknemer ° geregistreerde ceta opleiding diensverskaffer. • verleen bystand met evl en assesseringskriteria van opleidingsprogramme vir opkomende kontrakteurs. • vervul normale rol ten opsigte van monitering van opleidings-uitkomste. 2.6 opleiding diensverskaffer ’n ceta geregistreerde opleidingsdiensverskaffer word aangestel om in terme van geregistreerde ceta programme opleiding te verskaf. die nasionale kwalifikasie raamwerk (nkr) vlak van opleiding waaraan elke opkomende kontrakteur deelneem word by wyse van die evl proses bepaal, met minimum uitkoms die behaling van ’n nkr vlak 2 kwalifikasie. die institusionele opleiding wat voorsien word se tydsduur moet voldoen aan die 30:70 ceta riglyne vir opleiding, met inagneming van die mentorskap intervensie, wat in besonder die institusionele komponent ondersteun in praktyk. 2.7 banke banke moet oortuig word om deel te neem aan die program. sommige banke is reeds verbind daartoe en ondersteun opkomende kontrakteurs. die volgende waarborge kan aan banke gebied word, soos hulle mag vereis: • khula enterprise finance se waaborgskema word benut om waarborge aan banke te lewer vir fasiliteite wat laasgenoemde aan ‘n opkomende kontrakteur verskaf. 135 hauptfleisch • bemagtiging • banke word verder beveilig deur die skep van ’n toegewyde bankrekening per kontrak waarop die opkomende kontrakteur en mentor gesamentlike tekenmagte het. • die opkomende kontrakteur sedeer alle kontrakbetalings vanaf die kliënt na die bepaalde bankrekenig wat verdere sekerheid bied. 2.8 khula enterprises finance (kef) kef neem deel aan die program deur die voorsiening van: • waarborge aan banke wat fasiliteite voorsien aan opkomende kontrakteurs. • gedeeltelike befondsing van mentorskap akkreditering en opleiding. • befondsing enof ondersteuning vir die ontwikkeling van besigheidsplanne vir opkomende kontrakteurs. 2.9 konstruksie-industrie ontwikkelingsraad (construction industry development board (cidb)) die cidb verskaf die volgende industrie ondersteuning: • konstruksie-industrie ‘beste praktyk’ riglyne as algemene waarde toevoeging. • registrasie van konstruksiekontrakteurs in verskillende grade op die register of contractors. hierdie registrasie is ’n voorvereiste vir alle kontrakteurs om werk te verrig vir die openbare sektor. 2.10 kwaliteitsbestuurders onafhanklike kwaliteitsbestuurders wat deel vorm van die projekbestuurspan word aangestel om kwaliteitsversekering te bewerkstellig met verslagdoening aan die kliënt. ’n spesifieke opdrag is om rolspelers wat nie waarde toevoeg nie te identifiseer, regstellende optrede te vereis, of uitsetting van die program aan te beveel. 136 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 2.11 diverse professionele dienste ’n begroting moet beskikbaar wees vir die verkryging van diverse professionele dienste wanneer nodig. tipies behels dit ingenieurs, bourekenaars, regsgeleerdes, rekeningkundiges en geotegnici. 3. algemeen die volgende algemene vereistes word gestel om sukses te verseker: • ’n organisasie-struktuur moet oordeelkundig saamgestel word om die progam suksesvol te laat verloop. • net toegewyde rolspelers mag betrek word. • befondsing wat by verskeie rolspelers beskikbaar is moet benut word. daar is omvangryke hulpbronne wat tradisioneel nie deur die konstruksie-industrie benut word nie. • finansiële strukturering en bestuur van fondse is belangrik. voldoende finansiering is noodsaaklik om kapasiteit te kan skep. • die projekbestuurder moet oor omvangryke uitvoerende magte beskik. • die mentor moet oor bepaalde uitvoerende en veto magte beskik. • totale kwaliteitsbestuur moet deurlopend toegepas word. 4. samevatting voorgaande model is kompleks, veral weens die verskeidenheid van onafhanklike rolspelers wat by die model en in praktyk by die proses betrokke is. proefondervindelik is reeds bepaal dat dit ’n haalbare proses in praktyk is en is verskeie instansies besig om dit te implementeer. sommige instansies is vermeld in paragraaf 2, maar daar is klaarblyklik ’n nasionale konsensus in die openbare sektor, dat hierdie model die noodsaaklike elemente bevat om opkomende kontrakteurs suksesvol te bemagtig. gevolglik pas verskeie regerinsliggame, benewens ecdc en die nasionale epwp, reeds die beginsels toe wat in hierdie model vervat is. hulpbronne, in besonder finansiële steun, is geredelik beskibaar en die aanwending daarvan voldoen aan die oorhoofse bemagtigingsdoelstellings van die rolspelers. 137 hauptfleisch • bemagtiging ’n belangrike waarneming wat gemaak word is dat die elemente van hierdie model generies is en gevolglik waarskynlik toepaslik is in ander bedrywe. bibliografie egbeonu, e. 2004. an appraisal of mentorship within the black prime con tractor development programme of south africa. msc (engineering) dis sertation, johannesburg: university of the witwatersrand. gounden, s.m. 2000. the impact of the affirmative procurement policy on affirmative business enterprises in the south african construction industry. phd thesis, durban: university of natal. hauptfleisch, a.c. 2000. mentorship: empowering emerging building con tractors. projectpro, 10(2), march. hauptfleisch, a.c. & meintjes, g.j. 2003. gemeenskapsontwikkelling: die risiko’s en geleenthede van deelname deur regstellende sakeondernemings in die suid afrikaanse boubedryf. die sa tydskrif vir natuurwetenskap en tegnologie, 22(1), maart. hauptfleisch, d., dlugwana, s., lazarus, s. & noyana, c. 2005. an integrated emerging contractor development model for the construction industry. sa builder, no 973, july. hauptfleisch, d. 2005 ’n geïntegreerde model vir die bemagtiging van opkomende kontrakteurs in die konstruksiebedryf. eie diagram. pretoria. lazarus, s. 2005. an integrated skills development model for emerging construction contractors in the eastern cape. mba treatise, port elizabeth: port elizabeth technikon. mccabe, j.a. 1998. riglyne vir hulpverleningsprogramme aan opkomende kontrakteurs deur middel van studentebetrokkenheid. msc(real estate) treatise, pretoria: university of pretoria. meintjes, g.j. 2001. community development: the risks and opportunities of affirmative bussiness enterprise participation in construction in south africa. msc (project management) treatise, pretoria: university of pretoria. south africa. department of public works. 1997. creating and enabling environment for reconstruction, growth and developent. a government policy initiative. pretoria: the department of public works. 138 acta structilia 2005:12(2) commentary • kommentaar m j maritz1 a comparison between the june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries editions abstract the use of 'standard' or 'model' preliminaries has simplified the tendering for and the administration of building contracts, entail economic advantages to all concerned. minimal changes have been made to the preliminaries since the publication of the first standard document in 1981. there were few editorial changes while the established principles were not revised. however, the current preliminaries (may 1998 edition or january 2001 edition), which forms part of the jbcc series 2000 documentation, has been completely reviewed and differs substantially from previous editions. this article attempts to highlight these differences, and to provide some background to the origin and necessity of standard preliminaries and their evolution since they came into operation in 1981. keywords: preliminaries, contract documents, standard documentation, tendering, administration, comparison. 'n vergelyking tussen die junie 1991 en die jbcc 2000uitgawes van die voorbereidsels-dokument die gebruik van 'standaard' of 'model' voorbereidsels het die tender vir en administrasie van boukontrakte vereenvoudig en het verder ekonomiese voordele vir alle betrokkenes meegebring. sedert die publikasie van die eerste standaard dokument in 1981 is geringe veranderinge aangebring en die enkele veranderings was hoofsaaklik redigerend van aard sonder om die neergelegde beginsels te verander. die voorbereidsels (mei 1998of januarie 2001-uitgawes), wat deel van die gbk reeks 2000 dokumentasie vorm, het egter 'n algehele hersiening ondergaan en verskil heelwat van vorige uitgawes. hierdie artikel poog om sodanige verskille uit te lig en om die agtergrond vir die ontstaan en noodsaaklikheid van standaard voorbereidsels en die veranderinge wat sedert die implementering daarvan gedurende 1981 voorgekom het, te verskaf. sleutelwoorde: voorbereidsels, kontrakdokument, standaarddokumentasie, tenders, administrasie, vergelykings. m j moritz, msc (q s) (pretoria), senior lecturer: department of construction economics, university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. 79 moritz/june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 1. list of abbreviations asaqs association of south african quantity surveyors bifsa isaa jbcc pa pba p &g saace saia sapoa secc ssm building industries federation south africa institute of south african architects joint building contracts committee principal agent principal building agreement preliminaries and general south african association of consulting engineers south african institute of architects south african property owners association specialist engineering committee standard system of measuring builders' (building) work. 2. historical background 2.1 general a trade called 'preliminaries and sundries' was for the first time introduced as part of 'standard' or 'model' documentation when using a list of probable items in the supplement to the third edition of the ssm. this (incomplete) third edition was published in 1966 in both english and afrikaans by the then chapter of south african quantity surveyors. the publication of this trade followed the failure by other bodies to introduce a 'standard p & g' as can be derived from the following extract in the architects' and quantity surveyors' yearbook (1959: 39) written by j s lewis, the then registrar of the isaa: "considerable thought has been given to a suggestion made during the ephemeral existence of the joint councilthat a 'standard p & g' should be produced. a team of lecturers at the school of architecture of the university of the witwatersrand, after much research, produced a draft. but the constituent bodies of the institute, and the central council, have not yet been able to agree that such a document is practicable". 80 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no l the fourth edition of the ssm was published in june 1971 and differed considerably from previous editions. the application clause under general instructions of the fourth edition (1971: l) indicates the main difference with the following: "this standard system of measuring builders' work, while aiming at uniformity in bills of quantities, is designed to lay down principles rather than to tabulate lists of items, with the object of making it comprehensive and adaptable." (this method has been adopted in all future editions). the trade name 'preliminaries' was introduced for the first time and has become the accepted name for this trade (replacing the abbreviation 'p & g' generally used until then by those connected with the building industry). the need previously described for the standardisation of the preliminaries items still existed and was further exacerbated by the proliferation and inconsistencies of items in this trade as compiled by individual quantity surveying firms. this caused problems relating to the interpretation and pricing of the trade. contractors had to guard against leaving out any 'hidden items' when tendering on new projects. this considerably increased their risks and time spent on the tender process. the various bodies had evidently not yet reached an agreement on a standard preliminaries in 1979. this fact was confirmed by de leeuw at sapoa 's twelfth annual congress held in johannesburg on the 13 and 14th of june 1979 where he stated the following: "in samewerking met bifsa die vereniging van bourekenaars en die lnstituut van argitekte word door tans gepoog om 'n standaard voorbereiding en algemeen op te stel. hierdie dokument sol vroeg aanstaande jaar vir kommentaar beskikbaar wees. dit behoort baie vir die eiendomswese te beteken." 2.2 asaqs preliminaries 1981, 1983 and 1988 a document, the 'standard preliminaries', was finally drawn up by the joint study committee and published in 1981 by the asaqs for use with the 1981 standard building contract (commonly known as the old 'white form'). the constituent bodies of the joint study committee were the asaqs, bifsa isaa and sapoa. this document was intended to meet the need for standardisation as is evident from the following two items in its introduction: 81 moritz/ june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 1.1 "this standard preliminaries document has been compiled in the interest of standardisation of documentation in the building industry and should be used in a similar manner to that in which the standard form is at present used 1.2 the implementation of the use of standard documentation of this type should produce consequent economic advantages to all parties connected with the building industry and particularly to the professions and contractors. it should lessen disputes over preliminaries items and simplify the tendering for and administration of building contracts." at a meeting held on 4 march 1983 (refer letter accompanying the 1983 preliminaries) the board of the asaqs formally withdrew its support for the standard preliminaries document published by the joint study committee and decided to publish its own document. the main difference between the 1981 and 1983 editions may be found in the underlying philosophy. the joint study committee's document was intended for unaltered use. except in cases of unusual requirements on specific projects. the asaqs's document was intended as a guide to good practice and could be altered at the discretion of the professional team. the above status quo was retained with the publication of the next edition in 1988 for use with the 1981 /88 standard building contract. however. the title of the document changed to model preliminaries to emphasise the fact that the document could be modified and/or altered by the professional team at their discretion. unlike the 1983 edition. published unilaterally by the asaqs. the 1988 edition was recommended and published by the asaqs in consultation with bifsa. isaa and sapoa. 2.3 jbcc documents the 1991 edition of the preliminaries for use with the jbcc pba was drafted under the control of the asaqs and published in june of that year together with the other jbcc documents. the constituent bodies of the jbcc were (and still are) the asaqs, bifsa. isaa(saia). saace, sapoa and secc. this edition was. for the most part. identical to the 1988 edition except for the deletion of a number of clauses covered in the jbcc pba or in the standard preambles, and for minor editorial changes. 82 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no l the jbcc completely reviewed its first set of standard documentation fairly soon after its publication which culminated in the publication of the jbcc series 2000 'package' of standard documentation for use in both private and government contracts. concurrent with the review of the jbcc documentation the asaqs initiated the review of the 1991 preliminaries under the chairmanship of professor h m sigle. two drafts were completed during 1993/1994, the one for use with the jbcc pba and the other for use with the jbcc n/s subcontract agreement. the publication of these drafts was delayed pending the review of the jbcc documents. in may 1997 it was decided to fully incorporate the preliminaries under the jbcc and to resurrect the review committee to be chaired by an asaqs representative. mr m j moritz, author of this article, was elected chairman. the aim of this committee is best described by the following extract from the minutes of its first meeting held on 29 may 1997: " ... to edit the existing document which had been formulated for use with bills of quantities, but it became clear that it would be sensible to review the document with a view to it being used with both bills of quantities and without bills of quantities. it was also necessary to bring the document into line with the updated jbcc principal agreement." the review committee agreed that the preliminaries is primarily for administrative/management purposes, i e not for contractual conditions or method of measurement matters. the following aspects in particular should be considered: • line up with the jbcc pba layout (must also be a 'stand alone' document) • embody the jbcc revisions e g use of pa • meet the needs of lump sum type contracts • respond to difficulties perceived and experienced in the industry. the committee completed its task tp a large extent towards the end of september 1997 and the document was finally approved by the jbcc main committee at its meeting of the 4th of march 1998. the final product differed from its predecessors not only on editorial matters and on certain details to be discussed under the next items, but also on important matters of principle and application. 83 moritz/ june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 3. a comparison between the general aspects (not forming part of the preliminaries) of the 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries editions cover page: the qualification on the cover page that the preliminaries are for use with the jbcc pba has been omitted as the preliminaries now form part of the jbcc series 2000 documentation. flyleaf: a warning to users of the document of the inherent dangers of changing any part of the preliminaries has been introduced on the flyleaf as well as a copyright notice. explanatory notes and instructions: the introductory part is condensed into one paragraph replacing previous items 1 and 2 that contained details no longer relevant. it also omits the wording that the professional team may modify and/or alter the standard clauses at their discretion, as the intention is that the unaltered document should be used. the part on how the document is structured has been expanded considerably, and contains more specific information on how the preliminaries relate to the other jbcc contract and subcontract documentation. it further states that the preliminaries are for use with both bills of quantities and lump sum documents. the part on the instructions applicable to the use of sections a and b contains the following amendments (ignoring editorial changes only): • the second paragraph under the previous item 4.1 of section a has been omitted as the specific use with the jbcc documentation is covered in the introduction • the introductory note under section b has been expanded to incorporate the use of the preliminaries with the n/s subcontract agreement • the use of either a single * or a double asterisk ** for use with alternative/optional items or insertion of related information has been replaced by either a single asterisk * for optional items or items requiring information (selection and details which are to be included in the schedule) or a hash # requiring the selection of an alternative item. table of contents: an index to the main preliminaries clauses has been introduced for the first time. 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 4. a comparison between some of the individual items of the 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries editions 4.1 introduction the sub-committees responsible for drafting the series 2000 edition not only critically evaluated the 1991 edition for correctness of contents, use of language, etc. but also considered the introduction of new items of relevance to make the document as comprehensive and adaptable as possible, and to create a wider application. the committee ultimately responsible for the final drafting collated the standard preliminaries of four major quantity surveying firms in south africa, and together with the 1991 edition and drafts prepared by the previous sub-committee completed the draft for the series 2000 edition. it was soon established that the proliferation of items in section c by certain quantity surveying firms was in most cases unfounded. these items often duplicated or contradicted matters covered elsewhere in the contract documentation or were inserted for a particular application and then re-used as 'standard special' items for all further projects without any relevance. the series 2000 preliminaries also incorporated the use of the pa in lieu of the architect (or any other agents) to bring it in line with other jbcc documentation. the choice of words is considerably more economical throughout the series 2000 preliminaries without changing the actual meaning of the contents between the 1991 and series 2000 editions. compare for instance the number of words used in the following two corresponding items relating to the same issue: item bl.2 (1991 preliminaries) item 2.2 (series 2000 preliminaries) 49 words 21 words. 4.2 definitions and interpretation (clause: 1.0 series 2000) this is a new clause and the definitions listed are identical to those listed in the pba or n/s subcontract agreement except when applicable to the preliminaries only (i e the definition of preliminaries). items 1.2 to 1.6.5 relating to the interpretation of the preliminaries document are based on previous items 5.2 to 5.7 but substantially reworded. moritz/june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 4.3 documents ( clause: 2.0 series 2000; b 1 1991) 2.1 /b 1 .1 an index is to be provided for the tenderer to check the numbers of pages against 2.3/bl .3 2.5/bl .5 /bl.6 /bl .7 2.6/bl .8 /bl.9 there is a reduced responsibility for the tenderer to check the documents for correctness with the deletion of the following wording (underlined): ... full intent or meaning . ... no liability whatsoever will be admitted in respect of errors in any tender due to the above-mentioned causes reworded and with a paragraph added whereby the contractor and his subcontractors shall agree on due dates when the latter must be provided with outstanding information the time bar for depositing the priced documents is changed to 10 working days from the previous 14 calendar days and the in ink deleted for casting of items (obsolete) omitted covered in the jbcc pba (see cl. 3.1) omitted covered in the jbcc pba (see cl. 3.2) reworded and with the last two paragraphs of b 1 .8 omitted as they are covered elsewhere in the jbcc standard documentation omitted covered in the jbcc pba (e.g. definition of "contract documents"). 4.4 the site (clause: 3.0 series 2000; 82 1991) 3.4/82.4 reworded and with the addition of the specific requirements of the employer to be described in the schedule 3.5/b2.5 3.7 /b2.7 the time bar is extended to be not only 10% of the construction period but also 20 working days after taking possession of the site whichever is the lesser reworded and with the deletion of the previous second paragraph dealing with the measuring of work to known services ( a ssm matter) 3.9/b2.9 3.l l/b2.l 1 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 the specific requirements of the employer are to be described in detail in the schedule with the omission of the previous instruction to measure special care or prescribed protection ( a ssm matter) now the joint responsibility of the pa and the contractor to inspect the adjoining properties. 'adjoining' also replaces 'nearby' because the latter can be interpreted to also mean properties some distance away from the site that will be impractical to inspect. 4.5 management of contract (clause: 4.0 -series 2000; 83 -1991) 4.l/b3.1 4.2/b3.2 4.3/b3.3 the previous instruction is deleted regarding the obtaining by the contractor of particulars of the sub-contractors' work as it is superfluous when read with the first sentence and in conflict with the pa's overall design responsibility it is made clear that the contractor is responsible for the programme of the works. a selection is no longer to be made where provisional bills of quantities are issued because of the preceding emphasis and the revised terms of item 2.3 reworded and with the deletion of the specific references for the employer's representative and the quantity surveyor to attend meetings. 4.6 samples and shop drawings ( clause: 5.0 -series 2000; 84-1991) 5.l/b4.l /b4.3 reworded and with the words at his own cost deleted, thereby implying that the contractor will be entitled to be compensated for any costs incurred should the pa be unreasonable when ordering the contractor to furnish samples of materials omitted covered in the jbcc pba (see cl. 28.2.2) .87 moritz/june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 5.3 new item. important to note that the production of shop drawings does not alter the design responsibility in terms of cl. 4.0 of the jbcc pba. 4.7 temporary works and plant (clause: 6.0 series 2000; b5 -1991} 6.1/b5.1 6.2/b5.2 /b5.3 6.4/b5.5 /b5.6 /b5.7 /b5.8 /b5.9 6.5/b5.10 6.6/b5.11 reworded. the contractor does not pay for plan approval fees as this item applies to fees for construction purposes only. the reference to provisional amounts for permanent connections is deleted as it is a ssm matter reworded. the part on charges in connection with hoardings and use of pavements is deleted as it is covered in item 6.1 omitted covered in item 6.1 expanded to include for temporary sheds and office accommodation for meetings omitted. the requirement to measure special scaffolding prescribed in the fifth edition of the ssm (published in 1977) has become obsolete omitted covered in item 6.4.2 omitted covered in item 6.4.3 omitted covered in item 6.4.3 reworded and with the words " of an approved design ... " added which replaces the instruction that the notice board has to comply with the requirements of the isaa. any specific requirements of the employer are to be described in the schedule reworded and with the deletion of the instruction to apply for exemption from the industrial council. this item is now optional. 4.8 temporary services (clause: 7.0 -series 2000; b6 -1991} 7.1 this is a new item and contains general information common to all the items under this clause 7.2/b6.1 7.3/b6.2 7.4/b6.3 7.5/b6.4 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 reworded. although in a much shortened format the basic principles remain the same in all three alternatives ditto the heading is more embracing and two alternatives are provided, the first for a telephone only and the second for a facsimile machine in addition the heading is more comprehensive but the principles remain the same in both alternatives. 4.9 prime cost amounts (clause: 8.0 -series 2000; part of b7 -1991) 8.l/b7.1 the revised item for prime cost (pc) amounts differs substantially from the previous item in respect of the following: • amounts are provided for materials and goods delivered to the site as opposed to previous inclusive rates for the relevant items • separate provision shall be made for pricing of overheads and profit and for fixing etc. as opposed to previous inclusive rates for the relevant items • the contractor is not required to price for waste this is to be allowed for by the pa in the pc amountas opposed to previous inclusive rates for the relevant items. 4.10 attendance on n/s subcontractors (clause: 9.0-series 2000; remainder of b7-1991) 9.2 /b7.2 omitted covered in the explanatory notes and instructions to the preliminaries special attendance is now a separate item whereas it previously formed part of b7.3. details thereof must be described separately in the schedule for each relevant subcontractor. moritz/ june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 4.11 financial aspects ( clause: 10.0 series 2000; b8 1991) this clause reveals the main changes between the series 2000 and 1991 preliminaries. it has been rewritten completely and the changes are particularly evident in item 10.3 (series 2000) in respect of the adjustment of preliminaries which differs significantly in principle and in application from its opposite number b8.3 (1991 ): 10.2/b8.2 10.3/b8.3 an introductory paragraph has been added relating to the payment of the subcontractor's preliminaries subsequent to the contractor's selection of either alternative a or b. (the second and third sentences of this paragraph in the may 1998 edition were, however, deleted in the january 2001 edition because they conflicted with the revised clause 32.12 of the pba). the gist of the rest of this item, although substantially rewritten, remains basically the same the following are the most important changes in this item: • it is clearly stated that the adjustment of the preliminaries as the result of changes in time and/or value is a theoretical adjustment • the previous method 1 is deleted because it was found to be inequitable to either the employer or the contractor e g a) additional preliminaries cost for the employer for an increase in subcontract values that have not affected the contractor's preliminaries or extended the original construction period b) no compensation for the contractor for extension of time granted under the terms of the contract • both alternatives a and b (the previous methods 2 and 3) now have a 15 working day time bar for the contractor to provide the pa with the required information failing which default provisions shall apply 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 • instructions. including default provisions. are given for the adjustment of preliminaries in the case of sectional completion (the previous method 2 was unsuitable for sectional completion) • the adjustment of preliminaries under alternative b will only be applicable when the date of practical completion is revised • item 10.3.3 is introduced to allow the contractor to submit a claim for additional preliminaries where the date of practical completion remains the same but other circumstances changed because of contract instructions. 4.12 general (clause: 11.0series 2000; b9 -1991) 11.1 /b9.1 a much shortened item with the specific protection measures to be described in the schedule (this instruction is moved from b9 .2) 11.2/b9.2 /b9.3 l 1.3/b9.4 1 l .5/b9.6 /b9.10 unchanged except for the moving of the paragraph on specific protection measures the reference to the act is omitted covered in the jbcc pba (contractor to take care of the works) the words "... watching and lighting ... " are replaced by " ... appropriate measures ... " unchanged but for any specific requirements to be stated in the schedule omitted covered in the jbcc pba (contractor to take care of the works). 4.13 schedule of variables (clause: 12.0-series 2000) this is a new clause that replaces the previous modus operandi whereby information was to be inserted under the appropriate headings of the preliminaries. the schedule now contains all the selections and details to be made and is divided into pre-tender and post-tender sections. 91 moritz/ june 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries 5. conclusion the review of the various documents by the jbcc main committee was not fully completed by the due date for publication of the documents set by the committee. this can, in any case, never really be achieved because all these documents are 'living' documents and will need continuous updating. one of the issues in the series 2000 preliminaries that could not be finalised before printing was how to deal with "tenants requirements" in procurement documentation. this is an important matter never before accommodated in the standard preliminaries and it will certainly be addressed in future editions. the latest edition, published in january 2001. did not attempt to address the above matter but was only revised to 'internationalise' the may 1998 edition in order to bring it in line with the rest of the 'internationalised' jbcc series 2000 documents. however, this provided the opportunity to eliminate minor errors in the document but there were no significant changes to the contents of the may 1998 edition. the jbcc series 2000 documentation, including the preliminaries, had to pass a stringent test when it was introduced to the building industry at a series of workshops and seminars. these were held throughout the country during the latter part of 1998 and were very well attended by representatives from all sectors of the building industry. very few questions were then and have subsequently been raised regarding the application of the new preliminaries document. the author is of the opinion that the above situation is an indication that the changes made to the 1991 and series 2000 jbcc preliminaries editions have generally been well received by quantity surveyors, architects and builders and, for the time being, will meet the needs of the building industry. it is, however, important to continuously monitor the needs of the industry with regard to this important trade in bills of quantities. it is therefore recommended that a quantity surveyor be the chairman of the jbcc preliminaries subcommittee (this is currently the case with dr c p de leeuw in the chair) because the quantity surveying profession will have to deal with recurring administrative problems between the employer and contractor in procurement documentation not addressed in the standard preliminaries or other contract documents. instead of each quantity surveying firm attempting to solve the problem by adding special items in section c, the better solution would be to leave it to the specialised subcommittee to deal with these frequently 92 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 encountered problematic issues by means of standard and commonly accepted principles in the preliminaries document. references asaqs 1981. standard preliminaries. 1981 edition. 1983. standard preliminaries. 1983 edition. 1988. model preliminaries. 1988 edition. 1971. standard system of measuring builders' work in south africa and south west africa. fourth edition. 1977. standard system of measuring builders' work. fifth edition. 1991. standard system of measuring building work. sixth edition. isaa et al 1959. architects' & quantity surveyors' yearbook. jbcc 1991 . preliminaries for use with the jbcc principal building agreement. june 1991 edition. 1998. nominated/selected subcontract agreement. may 1998 edition. 1998. preliminaries. may 1998 edition. 2001. preliminaries. january 2001 edition. 1998. principal building agreement. may 1998 edition 2000. principal building agreement. july 2000 edition. sapoa 1979. twelfth annual congress. a collection of the papers presented. johannesburg. 93 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 hm sigle l, ch klopper2 & rn visser3 value management in the south african construction industry abstract the topicality of value management is accentuated by the fact that clients are increasingly insisting that value management should be applied to their construction projects. this could probably be ascribed to the effectiveness of value management as a tool for ensuring value for money. the concept of value management is undoubtedly in the process of finding a niche in the construction industry in south africa (sa). however, in order for it to become general practice, the fulfilment of certain conditions are considered to be a prerequisite. quantity surveyors and persons in related professions now have the opportunity to acquire the techniques appurtenant to value management and the skills neces­ sary to render a comprehensive value service to clients. keywords:value management, construction industry, south africa. waardebestuur in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf die aktualiteit van waardebestuur word benadruk deurdat kliente al hoe meer daarop aandring dot waardebestuur op hulle konstruksieprojekte toegepas word. dit gebeur waarskynlik omdat waardebestuur as 'n doeltreffende beheermeganisme, wat waarde vir geld verseker, beskou word. die konsep van waardebestuur het sonder twyfel 'n plek in die konstruksiebedryf in suid-afrika, moor don sol eers aan sekere vereistes voldoen moet word voordat dit ten voile ge"fmplementeer kan word. die geleentheid is door vir bourekenaars en aanverwante professies om die tegniek van waardebestuur en die nodige vaardighede onder die knie te kry om sodoende 'n waardediens aan kliente te lewer. sleutelwoorde: waardebestuur, konstruksiebedryf, suid-afrika. hm sigle, b sc (qs)(pret), ph d (pret), prep (unisa). professor and chairman: school for the built environment, university of pretoria. 2 ch klapper, dip (qs)(pret), b sc (qs)(pret), ba (unisa), d sc (qs)(pret). professor: department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of pretoria. 3 rn visser, b sc (qs)(pret), m sc (qs)(pret), ph d (qs)(pret), associate professor: department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of pretoria. 41 sigle, klopper & vissernalue management in south african construction introduction the concept of value management originated in the united states of america (usa) in the 1940's. according to dell'lsola it was implemented in the construction industry there for the first time in 1963. thereafter the use of the technique spread rapidly. in 1972 the united states general services administration introduced a regulation requiring all construction contracts to include a clause that made the application of value management obligatory. the society of american value engineers (save) was established in 1959 and since then time value management has become firmly established in various industries. (dell'lsola, 1988), (mudge, 1989), (norton & mcelligott, 1995), (zimmerman & hart, 1982). value management was applied in the united kingdom (uk) for the first time in 1962 with the primary focus on manufactured goods. the prevailing opinion was that the presence of a professional body such as the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics) would facilitate the implementation of value management in the construction industry in the uk. in the eighties, discussions no longer centred around the question whether value management should be implemented in the uk, but rather what the form, by whom and when it should be implemented. (kelly & male, 1988), (kelly & male, 1991), (palmer, 1992). value management was also beginning to take root in other parts of the world. in japan, value management was introduced under the auspices of the institute of business and management in tokyo in 1970. in italy, it was first applied in 1978 by a firm in milan called chemint. australia followed in 1979 when farmer of woolworth inc. and the mclachlan group implemented value management for the australian mutual provident. practising construction-oriented value engineers are currently to be found in inter alia canada, france, new zealand, india, sweden and germany (dell'lsola, 1988). value management was introduced to south africa (sa) in 1968 by union carbide. van heerden, an engineer who was part of this group, realised the potential of the process and, after further stuqy in the usa, established his own value management enterprise in sa. the value engineering management society of south africa (vemssa) was established in 1997. at present vm services (pty) ltd, 42 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 a south african company, uses value management as a process to facilitate decision making (van staden, 1991 ), (vm services, 1992). definition of value management there is adequate evidence that the systematic approach of a value management study can lead to meaningful savings in the cost of a construction project. furthermore, value management ensures that the project (and also the elements thereof) fulfils its function. that in turn leads to an increase in value. the cost involved in a value management study is usually minimal in relation to the total cost of a construction project (i.e. less than one per cent). it has been found that a well-planned value management study can also result in a decrease of five to fifteen per cent of the total cost of (or an increase in the return on) a construction project. value management is not completely a new concept. it is currently used as an umbrella term for the various forms of value studies such as value analysis, value engineering, etc. furthermore, value management is used as an overarching strategy for decision making in all areas of construction, technology, commerce and administration with the purpose of improving performance. (dell'lsola, 1988), (joint australia/new zealand standards committee, 1994), (may, 1994), (vm services, 1992). based on the literature and the research the following comprehensive definition of value management can be proposed: value management is the generic term used for the full spectrum of value techniques. it comprises an overarching strategy that is applied in decision making in all areas of technology, commerce and administration with the aim of improving performance. the improvement of perform­ ance is supported by a structured, multidisciplinary, sys­ tematic and analytic process in which there is a striving to ensure "value for money" by providing all the necessary functions at the lowest cost without compromising the required quality and performance. 43 sigh\, klapper & vissernalue management in south african construction value management as a service to the construction industry in south africa in addition to the cost and value criteria, the criterion of functionality is also addressed in value management. therefore, value management can make an important contribution to the addition of value to a construction project. (kelly & male, 199l). relatively speaking, value management comprises new techniques that are not yet as entrenched as some techniques related to financing, research, development and other administrative functions. however, the topicality of the service is underlined by the fact that clients are increasingly demanding that value management be applied to particular stages of their construction projects. this could probably be ascribed to the effectiveness of value management as a tool for ensuring value for money (city of new york, 1993), (green, 1994), (kelly & male, 1991). in order to evaluate the status of the implementation of value management in general and its status in the construction industry in particular, in sa an attempt was made to conduct interviews with all the organisations in the construction industry that have already applied value management and with all the quantity surveyors that have either applied it or have sufficient knowledge to apply it. for purposes of drawing comparisons an attempt was made to obtain an indication of the role that value management plays in other industries. interviews were conducted with several clients of those manufacturing industries that currently apply value management. structured personal interviews, based on comprehensive questionnaires, were conducted with 17 clients, of which l o were in the construction industry and seven in the manufacturing industry and also with l l quantity surveyors. the most important findings can be summarised as follows: l. the concept of value management does have a niche in the construction industry. however, to become general practice, the fulfilment of certain conditions are considered to be a prerequisite. the conditions, in no specific sequence, can be summarised as follows: 44 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 • the value manager (facilitator) should have the required skills to apply value management successfully. • the benefits and opportunities of value management should first be proved so that it can receive the necessary recognition. • the concept of value management should be included in the curriculum for the training of professional consultants, i.e. it should be taught at undergraduate or postgraduate levels or by means of training courses and seminars. • value management should be purposefully marketed as a service. • there should be an active controlling body for value management and a structured accreditation process for practitioners should be introduced. • value management should form an integral part of design and construction process. • professional consultants should make a paradigm shift and direct their thinking to function and value and they should not concentrate on cost only. • efforts should be made to obtain the necessary support for value management at the strategic level in the private sector as well as the ministerial level in the public sector. • clients should be prepared to pay for a value manage­ ment service. 2. value management is currently implemented to a very limited extent in the construction industry. clients only currently implement value management to a very limited extent on a structured independent basis to construction projects and/or it is offered as a service by quantity surveyors to an equally limited extent. the reasons are probably as follows: clients are generally not familiar with the technique of value management and the benefits to be derived therefrom. quantity surveyors generally have the wrong perception of the approach and techniques of value management; and quantity surveyors will have to be equipped with special skills to enable them to offer value management as a professional service. 3. there is a need for a standard method and formal certification for value management. the purpose of a standard method is to provide clients and other users of value management with guidelines for its application. it should 45 sigh\, klapper & vissernalue management in south african construction among other matters define terms, describe the essential elements for the efficient implementation of value management and specify responsibilities. for example, australia and new zealand have a standard document, entitled australia/new zealand standard: value management as/nzs 4183 : 1994, that was compiled by the joint australia/new zealand standards committee for value management. the value engineering management society of south africa (vemssa) should consider the compilation of a similar manual. vemssa has an accreditation programme that differentiates between three professional categories, namely practitioner, facilitator and trainer. particular conditions have to be fulfilled to qualify for each of these categories, for example attendance of a forty-hour training programme, passing of an examination, facilitation of workshops, etc. although this is considered to be a step in the right direction, the introduction of a compact national standard/training/certification manual will no doubt promote the implementation of value management in the construction industry. 4. the forty-hour value management workshop (and its 46 variations) is the formal approach that has the greatest support. the five phases of the value management job plan, namely information, analysis, creativity, judgement and development is followed in the forty-hour value management workshop. the application of this technique is one of the reasons why value management is so unique (dell'lsola, 1988), (joint australia/new zealand standards committee, 1994), (kelly & male, 1988), (mudge, 1989), (norton & mcelligott, 1995), (vm services, 1992). the value of simultaneous study is rated highly by clients in the construction industry and it is anticipated that this approach will also gain wide acceptance in the south african context. generally, quantity surveyors follow one of two variations of the forty-hour value management workshop. in the one case, a value management workshop is presented over two days. the reasons for this arrangement is that there is seldom sufficient time for a workshop that is spread over five days. in the other case, the forty-hour value management workshop is presented with two definitive breaks of seven to ten days 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 each between the evaluation and development phases and between the development and recommendation phases. the reasons for this arrangement is that it provides sufficient time to consider proposals thoroughly and that updated drawings, estimates and feasibility studies can be prepared. 5. the other practical aspects of value management correspond to large extent with those in other countries. these other practical aspects can be summarised briefly as follows: • the members of the value management workshop should comprise the client, design team, other relevant persons and the value management team. the value manager should be an independent person and should definitely not be a member of the design team (may, 1994). • value management should be implemented at specific times over the full period of the construction process. furthermore, the influence of a value management study is the greatest in the period preceding the completion of the sketch plans and it is generally expected that a value management study should generate a cost saving of between five and fifteen per cent (dell'lsola, 1988), (joint australia/new zealand standards committee, 1994), (kelly& male, 1988), (mudge, 1989), (norton & mcelligott, 1995), (vm services, 1992). • the most important elements of information required for a value management study are clients' preferences and requirements as well as reliable cost data. value for money can only be ensured if the construction project serves its function by fulfilling the client's requirements. an analysis of the cost estimates as well as the life-cycle costs usually indicate the components of a project that represents poor value and/or high costs. • a negotiated lump sum appears to be the accepted method for determining the professional fees for a value management study. in the professional fees tariff (1998 issue) of the association of south african quantity surveyors (saqs) provision is made for remuneration on the basis of time spent on the project. • the time required to do a value management study does not normally present problems if provision has been made therefore in the overall programme of the project. the disadvantage of the time expended should be set off against the advantage of having a more detailed design at the 47 sighl, klopper & vissernalue management in south african construction sketch-plan stage. it is alleged that, whereas 35 percent of information is normally available at sketch-plan stage, value management enables 50 percent of the information to be available at that stage (dell'lsola, 1988), (joint australia/new zealand standards committee, 1994), (kelly & male, 1988), (mudge, 1989), (norton & mcelligott, 1995), (vmservices, 1992). summary the concept of value management does have a niche in the construction industry. however, to become general practice, the fulfilment of certain conditions are considered to be a prerequisite. one of the most important conditions is that the value manager should have the necessary skills to apply value management successfully. the success of value management in the construction industry is dependent on the personal attributes of the value manager. the professionals concerned do have the opportunity to acquire the technique of value management and the required skills to enable them to render a comprehensive value service to clients. 48 bibliography city of new york. 1993. value engineering: what it is and how it helps 0mb. new york: office of manage­ ment & budget institute. dell'isola, a.j. 1988. value engineering in the construction industry. washington: smith, hinchman & grylls. green, s.d. 1994. beyond value engineer ­ ing: smart value manage­ ment for building projects. international journal of project management. vol. 12. no. 1. joint australia/new zealand standards commitiee ob/6. 1994. australian/new zealand standard: value management as/nzs 4183: 1994. australia/ new zealand : joint australia/ new zealand standards com­ mittee. kelly, j.r., & male, s. 1988. a study of value management and quantity surveying practice. the royal institution of chartered sur­ veyors. london. kelly, j.r., & male, s. 1991. the practice of value management : enhancing value or cutting cost? the royal institution of chartered surveyors. london. 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 may, s.c. 1994. value engineering and value management. london: the college of estate manage­ ment. mudge, a.e. 1989. value engineering a systematic approach. pitts­ burgh: j. pohl associates. norton, b.r., & mcelligoti, w.c. 1995. value management in construction a practical guide. london: macmillan. palmer, ac. 1992. an investigative study of value engineering in the united states of america and its relationship to united kingdom cost control proced­ ures. unpublished phd thesis. loughborough university of technology. van staden, m.h.j. 1991. the development of a managerial and training model for the successful imple­ mentation of value manage­ ment, with special reference to the south african situation. unpublished phd thesis. univer­ sity of the witwatersrand. visser, r.n. the potential role of the quantity surveyor in value management in the construc­ tion industry in the republic of 49 sighl, klopper & vissernalue management in south african construction south africa. unpublished phd thesis. university of pretoria. vm services (pty.) ltd. 50 1992. innovative decision thinking through value management. rivonio: v.m. services. zimmerman, l.w., & hart, g.d. 1982. value engineering a practical approach for owners, designers and con­ tractors. new york: von nostrand reinhold. articles • artikels a c hauptfleisch 1 better housing for south africa? abstract this article outlines the elements of the housing policy ·and programme strategies in south africa, which has adopted a market-centred housing policy. the successes and failures (as well as the strengths and weaknesses) of the process are highlighted, indicating areas of concern and possible re-alignment and improvement for sustainability. minimum specifications regarding services and buildings, including sizes (categories), must be provided in order to eliminate counter-productive perspectives from various platforms. one of the foremost socio­ economic problems in south africa is the unemployment crisis. the solution lies in fighting poverty and providing sustainable housing. to subsidise low-income housing without subsidising local authorities for an extended period, will eventually lead to a new round of poverty in south africa, and the subsequent collapse of local authorities. we cannot afford to solve an existing problem by creating a new one for the next millennium. keywords: housing policy, housing programme, market-centred housing policy, south africa. beter behuising vir suid-afrika? hierdie artikel bied 'n oorsig van die elemente van die behuisingsbeleid en die program-strategiee in suid-afrika, wat 'n markgerigte behuisingsbeleid volg. die suksesse en mislukkings sowel as die sterk en swak punte binne die proses word toegelig en probleemareas aangedui vir moontlike verbeterings met die oog op volhoubaarheid. dit blyk dot riglyne voorsien moet word met betrekking tot beskikbare grond en diens van geboue. minimum-spesifikasies blyk nodig te wees om kontraproduktiwiteit tee te werk. dit is duidelik dot die behuisingsbeleid nie werkloosheid hokslaan nie en dot plattelandse en selfhelp-projekte aangemoedig sol moet word. lae-inkomste-behuisingsprojekte kan problematies word vir plaaslike owerhede, sou die regering nie daardie owerhede finansieel ondersteun nie. ons kan dit eenvoudig net nie bekostig om een probleem op te los deur 'n volgende een te skep nie. sleutelwoorde: behuisingsbeleid, behuisingsprogram-strategiee, markgerigte behuisingsbeleid, suid-afrika. ac hauptfleisch, professor, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, hillcrest. pretoria. e-mail: <eldec@iafrica.com>. ----------~,-------... ~·~~ ""'' _________ _ hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? 1. introduction housing strategies in south africa are pursued against the following background: • a population of approximately 40 million with the number of illegal aliens unknown, but possibly in excess of 3 million (1999) • the first democratically elected government came into power in 1994, following a remarkable negotiated transition • at that time (1994), the estimated backlog in housing (depending on the definition of 'housing') was approximately 2 million dwellings (some observers estimated it as high as 3 million) • population growth is presently in the region of 3%, requiring at least an additional 150 ooo houses per year • with one of the highest incidences of the disease in the world, the impact of aids on the population is starting to manifest itself socially and economically, with important implications for the planning and design of housing projects • with sweeping policy changes taking place in government and civil service, the learning curve is very steep regarding the process of capacity building and delivery • as south africa is mostly a developing country, there are severe demands on limited resources • land tenure is, as expected, a sensitive issue and comes in many forms: from well-defined registered title deeds to trust lands, government holdings, tribal territories under control of feudal chiefs and even kingdoms, under the umbrella of a democratically elected government on three levels • the country has gone through amazing stages in the last century, ranging from influx control, racial segregation, restriction on land ownership for blacks, and management attempts to direct settlement patterns, urbanisation and industrialisation • with 11 main languages and even more minorities, the country consists of minorities by virtually any norm except colour with approximately 70% black, 15% white, 5% asian and 10% of mixed descent • an estimated 8 million households in south africa have a combined income below the minimum subsistence level of r 1400 per month • servicing of housing loans and payment for other services are not satisfactory and are indeed causing serious problems for third tier governments and funding institutions. 2 . 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 the reasons for the problematic housing delivery are complex, but primarily rest on lack of income, unrealistic expectations, dissatisfaction with services and quality of housing being provided, and a culture of non-payment that started as part of the resistance movement in the 1980s and early 1990s. given the above background, the housing act 107 of 1997 states the following aims regarding housing provision: to provide for the facilitation of a sustainable housing development process; for this purpose to lay down general principles applicable to housing development in all spheres of government, to define the functions of national. provincial and local governments in respect of housing development and to provide for the establishment of a south african housing development board, the continued existence of provincial boards under the name of provincial housing development boards and the financing of national housing programmes; to repeal certain laws; and to provide for matters connected therewith. quoting from national housing department information leaflets, housing policy and strategy are indicated as follows: the national housing vision is the establishment of viable socially and economically integrated communities, situated in areas allowing convenient access to economic opportunities and social amenities, within which all south africa's people will have access on a progressive basis, to a permanent residential structure with secure tenure, ensuring privacy and providing odequate protection against the elements, potable water, adequate sanitary facilities including waste disposal and domestic electricity supply. the department's overall approach to the housing challenge is aimed at mobilising and harnessing the combined resources, efforts and initiatives of communities, the private and commercial sectors and the state. the housing challenge is being addressed through seven major thrusts designed to tum south africa's housing situation around. 2. obstacles to housing delivery despite progress in certain areas, the following particular obstacles remain in practice, thus negatively influencing the delivery rate of housing (pienaar 1998): • access to, and security of tenure of land, which is well­ located, suitable for housing development, and affordable 3 hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? • provision of services such as water, sanitation and electricity • availability of development (bridging) and end-user finance over and above state subsidies • lack of institutional capacity (at all. but especially at local levels of government). technical. managerial and administrative skills within key delivery services • low private sector involvement in terms of finance. land development and housing construction • the complex and contentious nature of land tenure in many areas. especially in peri-urban and rural parts of the former homelands • spatial and functional fragmentation and inefficiency of major cities. causing poor people to live on the urban periphery and beyond. the above must also be seen within the broader context of low economic growth rates. continued low levels of bond. rent and service charge payments. financially unstable local authorities. continued transformation of the institutions of state at all three levels. but particularly in the case of local government which is still in a transitional phase and will remain so until after the 2000 elections. despite real concerns about quality and location of mainly developer-driven housing provided over the last five years in terms of the government's subsidy scheme. considerable progress has been made. almost 800 ooo of the one million houses promised by government in 1994 were erected by the end of 1999. 3. institutional and governmental actions to support housing provision the following broad outline provides an overview of existing support mechanisms for housing provision: • numerous institutions, including state-backed corporations and private sector initiatives. some of the most prominent being: national housing finance corporation (nhfc); national urban reconstruction and housing agency (nurcha); social housing foundation (shf); development bank of southern africa; industrial development corporation; provincial and local government structures; commercial banks • government capital subsidy scheme for low-income earners. channelled through nine provincial governments. and other 4 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 housing support measures such as the discount benefit scheme, hostels upgrading programme, etc • facilitative legislation such as the housing act ( 107 of 199 7), the development facilitation act (67 of 1995), and the various land reform acts • promotion of the people's housing partnership trust, and the institution of housing support organisations and centres in communities. 4. role of government in terms of the housing act (107 of 1997) the following major intended roles are set for the three levels of government: 4.1 national government (through the minister and the department of housing) is to establish a sustainable national housing development process inter alia through: • determining national policies and setting broad national delivery goals • setting uniform norms and standards • establishing institutional and funding frameworks • assisting provincial and local government wherever necessary • publishing a national housing code containing national policy and directives, uniform norms and standards, and administrative guidelines for implementation of the above • setting up the south african housing development board to advise the minister and monitor the implementation of national housing policy • establishing a national housing data bank and information system for monitoring, planning and policy review purposes. 4.2 provincial government (each through its own provincial housing department) is to promote and facilitate the provision of housing in its province within the framework of national policy through: • determining provincial housing policy • supporting and strengthening local government whenever a municipality is not able to do so • the continued existence of provincial housing boards (phbs) under the name provincial housing development boards which evaluate and approve subsidy applications and allocate and disburse funds in this respect. 5 hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? 4.3 local, or third tier, government within the framework of national and provincial housing policy, and as part of a municipality's process of integrated development planning, is to ensure that: • [ ... ] the [ •.. ] inhabitants of its area of jurisdiction have access to adequate housing opportunities on a progressive basis; and • conditions not conducive to the health and safety of inhabitants of its area of jurisdiction are prevented or removed; [ ... ] (government gazette, 1997). inter a/ia through: • setting housing delivery goals in respect of its area of jurisdiction • identifying and designating land for housing development purposes, including conditional powers to expropriate • regulating health and safety standards with regard to housing development • mediating in conflicts arising in the housing development process • initiating, planning. co-ordinating. promoting and enabling appropriate housing development • establishing facilitative agencies to support housing development • planning and providing bulk engineering services • providing bulk engineering and revenue-generating services in so far as such services are not provided by specialist utility suppliers • undertaking land-use planning in accordance with land development objectives • regulating and managing land-use and development in accordance with land development objectives • administering national housing programmes on application to the provincial government. policy therefore, through the act and other measures, places local government in partnership with local communities and the private sector face to face with practical delivery. although local authorities have largely accepted this challenge, they often point out that the lack of financial support from government leads to this being an "unfunded mandate" and not one assigned to them in terms of the constitution. 6 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 furthermore, the role of the state, and of legislation enacted by it, has been seen as the provision of enabling and supporting regulatory frameworks, and to make certain strategic interventions in a process which is to be largely beneficiary­ driven (demand-side), as stated below by the national housing department: the housing department hos developed a five-year housing plan for the post-1999 period. the plan incorporates a 'differentiated approach' to delivery, including a range of product choices, locations, and forms of tenure, unit designs and costs. the housing director-general suggested that 'the constraints imposed by the r/5 ooo (now r/6 ooo) subsidy can be turned into a challenge' where groundbreaking methods are applied to 'all aspects of housing delivery'. she suggested that people's own efforts would be enhanced so that they could get value from the subsidy, which diminishes the involvement of the profit-driven private sector. the new policy would also allow for any form of tenure that was legally enforceable and which gave security to the title­ holder. this was an attempt to get away from fixed tenure, which it was suggested unnecessarily disadvantaged recipients, because the subsidy could only be applied for once. rental housing had also been explored, but was found to be financially unfeasible for the poorest section of the population who earned less than r3 500 per month (1998). there is no indication of the sustainability of the r 16 ooo subsidy. 5. role of private sector the role of the private sector can be divided into three main categories: developers. they are currently at the centre of the physical process of establishing new residential areas by obtaining land for development, entering into development agreements with communities, entering into sale agreements with clients per housing unit, and carrying out infrastructure development and building of houses, either themselves or by contracting others for this purpose. contractors. this refers to the formal sector of civil and building industries, or to the informal "emerging contractor" ranks. the latter are at a particular disadvantage in a competitive environment, having had very little formal education and 7 hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? training. mentorship schemes and training programmes are however making progress to support this sector. banking institutions. these institutions have been unable to provide meaningful loan finance to the large bottom end of the market due to the high-risk nature of that market. and the inappropriateness of the conventional mortgage instrument for low-income earners. the most disappointing aspect is that few innovative products have been successfully devised and implemented to encourage bankers to meaningfully enter the bottom end market. they are, however, active and successful in supporting the middleto high-income market. non-traditional or niche-market lenders and the micro-loan industry are a small but growing sector which offers alternative finance options with some support from the nhfc. 6. housing finance the obvious largest single problem in low-income housing is the lack: of sufficient finance to support this high-risk: market. this is the dilemma of the government and the private sector. the poor masses are trapped in poverty, a sluggish economy with jobless growth. many agencies, as previously listed, are active in providing support, but they all function on the obvious principle. which requires repayment by the beneficiary for their support. a beneficiary is often jobless or not willing to repay for numerous reasons of conflict. or in the worse instance due to a culture of non-payment created as an instrument of pressure for political (past and present) or social and economic reasons. this strains development in general. solutions have been sought through various avenues in the past. but at best limited success has been achieved. this and the simple inability to repay have kept the private sector financiers out of the market. the situation is aggravated by unrealistic expectation of beneficiaries kindled by direct or implied political promises. the only real support in numbers that made a difference came from central government. the support comes in the form of a once only subsidy to qualifying families. this subsidy is channelled through provincial government housing development boards that approve applications and pay the proceeds out to the developer who has satisfied the agreed criteria. 8 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no l _ the main problems with the subsidy scheme are: • the amount of the subsidy is very small. as shown in table l table l: central government housing subsidy monthly household income sudsidy amount of beneficiaries up to rl 500 r16 ooo rl 501 to r2 500 rlo ooo r2 501 to r3 500 r5500 • unfortunately, the subsidy is provided not only towards the cost of the actual house. but also towards the cost of the land and infrastructure provision, the latter thereafter becoming a revenue-generating local authority service • the amount which can be spent from the subsidy on serviced land is now limited to r7 500 per stand. which still leaves very little for the actual house • administration of the subsidy programme is problematic, ·with long delays in approvals and pay-outs (up to 18 months) and a degree of attrition through theft and corruption (some estimates are as high as 15 25%) • only this once-off bricks-and-mortar subsidy, and no further subsidy is available to the household to assist with payment, as has been the case in other countries with a more developed social security net • ongoing conflict between the government (providers of the subsidy) and developers regarding the end product being supplied continues to hamper the search for solutions to the problems. though it is generally accepted that the subsidy is too low, the question to be answered is: what should be made available for housing in a macro-national financial context? according to harber (1998) the international financial support ideal is 5% of the budget, global allocation is presently at 3.7% and south africa at 1.6%. falling substantially short of the 'norm'. even more disconcerting is what business day of 21 january 2000 (business day, 2000) calls a lukewarm fiscal commitment to housing. 9 hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? 7. stakeholders relationships in a subsidy project the relationships of the stakeholders in a subsidy project are defined by a series of agreements. figure 1 illustrates how the stakeholders in a project relate to one another, and the agreements which govern these relationships (department of housing, 1997): community ,--�{]�)-----+ i developer based partner (2) landowner consultants � � �-� contractors/ suppliers �5) 1�(3) i i� / � �. local authority . � � � beneficiary (l) provincial housing board figure 1: stakeholders relationships in a subsidy project agreements: • social contact between the community-based partner and developer (no longer compulsory) • land availability agreement or purchase/disposal agreement between the landowner and developer • services agreement between the developer and the local authority • subsidy agreement between the provincial housing development board and the developer • letter of appointment to the consultants (town planner, land surveyor, conveyancer, engineer, etc.) appointed by the developer • standard construction/supply agreement for the construction of serviced sites and top structures, issued in both the land servicing and the building operation processes • subsidy application to the provincial housing development board • deed of sale between the developer and beneficiary. 8. urban development and housing? the net result of housing delivery since 1994 is at an average rate of approximately 160 ooo units per year, with subsidy approvals running at an average of approximately 210 ooo per year. the growth in demand (excluding the historic backlog) is estimated 10 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 at 150 ooo per year. it is clear that the process, and more specifically the actual delivery, needs to be speeded up. there was an obvious period from 1994 when the provision process was in a start-up phase, resulting in the actual delivery being higher at present than the averages indicated above, estimated at more than 200 ooo units per year. the provision of large numbers of low-income housing in essence boils down to the management of urbanisation which has to take place at a much faster rate in order to eliminate the backlog and to keep pace with population growth. the latter should slow down in future, partly as a result of housing provision, which wm bring some relief in the growth of numbers. the daunting task ahead requires a broad strategy that will harness a multitude of delivery processes and contributions. it is noted that the housing strategy will in future focus on integrated development and a more holistic approach to housing (national housing conference: programme on housing strategy for the new millennium, 1 2 december 1999) .-the following most urgent limitations need to be addressed: • urban sprawl (uncontrolled?) in the wrong localities makes the provision of services, and in particular transportation (high cost) a serious problem in many areas and the situation may even worsen in the coming years. • the definition of a 'house' is suspect. it has to be clearly defined whether 'housing provision' is access to an opportunity to obtain a house only, or whether it is a totally encompassing vision comprising locality, cost, physical parameters, financial implications, affordability, employment opportunities, erection of the actual house, sustainability in general, etc. • while stand-alone green-field owner housing now seems to be the accepted norm, it is imperative that serious attention be paid to other forms of housing, such as: compact high density integrated with economic activity mixed-use areas to limit movement of people inner-city renewal (and infill). particularly through conversion of existing commercial buildings to obtain high-density housing in a mixed-use environment with limited people movement alternative financing models covering the entire financial spectrum, including the banking sector 11 hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? 12 the uncoupling of taxable serviced land provision from the existing subsidy schemes to benefit the quality and size of top-structures the upgrading of informal settlement by providing approximately 7 million people with running water, sanitation and electricity which can tide-over demand and foster future in loco development incremental housing is the pre-supposed basis of most of the present subsidy housing. a national coherent strategy regarding the characteristics of incremental housing, such as size of land, size of house, placement on stand, logical incremental phases and technical (design) requirements to ensure maximum incremental viability, is still lacking innovative and/or unconventional construction methods have slowly gained acceptance and require better marketing strategies hidden costs, such as local authority connection fees, interim interest on holding cost of land and infrastructure, legal and other professional fees, can absorb a substantial portion of the subsidy provided before any real tangible benefit is visible although government policy primarily entails "housing provision facilitation", other forms of involvement to add to provision should be considered. substantially faster provision could be obtained if some of the arduous time­ consuming steps could be bypassed, for instance by awarding major contracts for township development. upgrading, conversion, creation of housing associations, provision/support of rental stock, etc. this process can be structured to limit the time-period of government's involvement by opting for rent-to-buy leases, pass-on's to housing associations and outright selling to end-users local integrated resource planning for system least cost eg planning for efficiency of water use in households in order to reduce the bulk supply and distribution cost. 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 9. historical critique: future action the previous section demarcated some areas for action. a further purpose is, however, served by highlighting aspects where we may have gone wrong, thus requiring careful assessment of the way ahead: • in many instances land, which is most suitable for optimum housing provision, was not satisfactorily identified, resulting in settlement growth-points with serious economic and practical disadvantages. this aspect requires urgent and conclusive attention • the size of plots in green-field developments is very small, and this may aggravate limitations placed on future enhancement due to insufficient planning now. a national policy and development guidelines are urgently needed • the quality of housing is generally of such a nature that the present 'saving' on building costs may indeed become a major problem in the future. specifications on a life cycle base have to be enhanced and enforced. a further matter of concern is the thermal inefficiency of housing. poor people in urban areas are spending a large proportion of their income on fuel for heating, in forms (coal) which also contribute significantly to air pollution and respiratory health problems • insufficient attention is paid to inner-city renewal and infill and the point of no return is fast approaching where cost to utilise will exceed benefits, resulting in disastrous decay. this will lead to inestimable costs resulting from loss of capital (existing buildings and infrastructure), social consequences, escalating crime and lack of security. this is arguably the most suitable prospect for government to get directly involved as a housing provider, rescuing at the same time the decaying inner cities. there are some initiatives under way such as the vusani amadhloba four-point regeneration plan in gauteng province, the so-called inner city partnerships between government, private sector and society in most major centres, and the launching of a number of development corridor projects linking suburban residential areas with inner cities. these are all under-funded and limited in the scope of their intervention though, and need greater back-up support and/or prioritisation • financial support from central government is inadequate and probably unsustainable, with the financial institutions in the private sector being unable to provide viable products for the lower end of the market. innovative solutions must be found. even where the banking sector does provide financing, the 13 hauptfleisch/-better housing for south africa? interest rates are prohibitive. the bottom line is that stated objectives cannot be met adequately due to inadequate funding, causing a multitude of problems, some of which will come full circle in years to come • building societies, which played a major role in housing the affluent, have to be re-introduced as financial institutions in order to provide a financial service sector, which can be manipulated with ease to support housing per se • the micro-lending sector is set to play an increasingly important role in self-help incremental housing, but needs regulation and support • a disproportionate number of fraudulent practices have occurred in the housing process from land development to awarding of contracts and channelling of subsidies. better financial control and independent technical-financial managers, such as quantity surveyors, should be incorporated into the process. due to severe financial constraints, fraudulent practices cannot be tolerated • social housing is now starting to play a role. in this regard it is important to provide the knowledge base to ensure a safe take-off in what is generally perceived as high-risk territory • rural housing and self-help housing certainly have an important role to play. recent policy has shifted towards promoting these aspects, but as elsewhere it is also plagued by quality problems, and guidelines need to be developed in this regard. the actual number of units presently created is unfortunately only a minor percentage of the whole. 10. performance criteria in conclusion as from 1 april 1999 certain minimum norms and standards with regard to house size, level of services to be provided, etc, apply to all subsidised housing (ministry of housing, 3 december 1998: determination of national norms and standards in respect of permanent residential structures based on the increased subsidies with effect from 1 april 1999). despite this, the recent formation of the housing consumer protection trust, and the existence of such instruments as the national home builders' registration council (nhbrc) and defects warranty fund, much needs to be done in terms of research, education and setting of guidelines to ensure quality living environments for the poor. 14 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 11. summary the following performance criteria, in chronological order, summarise the above broad-based observation of the south african housing scene: • guidelines should be provided regarding what constitutes suitable land, building services, etc, for development or renewal in order to qualify for subsidies • minimum specifications regarding services and buildings, including sizes (categories), have to be provided in order to eliminate counter-productive perspectives from various platforms. if not checked, the presently developing housing stock may well have to be replaced in the not too distant future • once the above have been established, the financial demands can be calculated accurately and weighed against budget constraints, leading to a realistic programme. this exercise will no doubt confirm that in order to achieve sustainable urbanisation, funding by whatever ingenious methods will have to be increased • rural and self-help housing have to be promoted with technical information and support • housing policy cannot solve unemployment, lack of growth and poverty. housing policy should primarily concentrate on providing sustainable housing, and in the process help solve socio-economic problems • the faster low-income housing is provided, the sooner local authorities will collapse. they simply cannot survive without being paid for services rendered. none of the actions to create a payment culture have succeeded. having evaluated the problem from all angles only one conclusion is possible. to subsidise low-income housing without subsidising local authorities for an extended period, will eventually lead to a new round of poverty in south africa, with the subsequent collapse of local authorities. without support, the nation simply cannot afford them • we cannot afford to solve an existing problem by creating a new one for the next millennium. 15 hauptfleisch/better housing for south africa? references business day, 21 january 2000. department of housing 1997. housing act 1997, act no. l 07 of 1997. government gazette no 18521. pretoria: government printers. department of housing 1997. national business initiative. housing project programming guide. pretoria: the department of housing, south africa. harber, r. 1998. healthy families in healthy communities. housing in southern africa. randburg, south africa. housing fax*housing facts 1998. no 24 johannesburg, south africa. pienaar, j.s. 16 1998. development of low-cost housing. pretoria: centre for land development, housing and construction, pretoria: university of pretoria. j janssen 1 how functional value analysis unlocks the design paradox and will result in novel and cost-effective process engineering solutions abstract "functional value analysis involves identifying clearly what each of the individual elements of a venture, project, product or service actually do. it is directed towards analyzing the functions or objectives to improve value through the optimization of whole life cycle costs. value is defined as the ratio between function required (no less, no more) and the cost of achieving it. it can be considered as a yardstick for achieving the com­pleteness of a product." keywords: design paradox, design process, project management focus, functional value analysis, examples, learning points. hoe 'n funksionele waarde-analise die ontwerp-paradoks ontsluit en 'n unieke en koste-effektiewe proses-ordening en probleem-oplossing tot gevolg het samevatting wanneer 'n ontwerper gekonfronteer word met 'n probleem-ontwerp, le die veld brook vir 'n verskeidenheid van moontlike opsies. tog is hy steeds in die duister oor wat die uiteindelike oplossing en resultaat sol wees. in hierdie geval kan die ontwerper alle moontlike wee navors om die antwoord op sy probleem le vind en die toepasbaarheid le evalueer op grond van sy eie kriteria en ervaring van wat die beste keuse vir die besondere behoefte sou wees. dit is die ideale beginpunt vir die maksimale benutting van alle beskikbare kreatiwiteitsbronne wat kan lei tot die beste oplossing vir 'n probleem-ontwerp. sleutelwoorde: ontwerpproses, projekbestuur, funksionele waarde analise. this paper was read at the 15th international cost engineering congress, rot­ terdam, april 1998. mr. j. janssen is affiliated with shell international chemicals {the netherlands). 105 j janssen/ how functional value analysis unlocks the design paradox 1. the design paradox whenever a designer is confronted with a new design problem all options are open and little is known about possible solutions and the eventual result. in such a case the designer can explore all possible avenues to arrive at a solution and to evaluate its applicability, using his own criteria and experience to judge the most suitable fit to the design criterion. it is the ideal starting situation to maximize utilization of all available creativity that can lead to the optimum design solution. the only limitations are the perceived definition and boundaries of the design problem and the solution generation power (ca­ pabilities) of the designer. following the route covered by the designer it becomes obvious that very soon he will be trapped within his own solution path thereby limiting the number of possi­ ble solutions. his perception of the design problem inevitably blocks certain alternative solution routes and subsequently options that in turn should be considered but are rejected because they do not align with the developing solution path. this is of the inherent de­ sign paradox that plays a role in the mind of the individual de­ signer. in addition the paradox deepens if we consider the envi­ ronment that is allowing the designer to perform his act of crea­ tion. outside circumstances will force the designer to stay within cost constraints and this conflicts with his own desire for a good quality design solution. inevitably the designer feels trapped and he would welcome the opportunity to redo the design process with the knowledge gained during the design. a total recycle would of course allow him maximum design freedom but intro­ duce delay and increased costs. 106 figure 1 the design paradox knowlege about the design problem & solutions design progress 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 2. the design process when we consider the act of creation that plays a dominant role in every design process it is obvious that this is difficult to de­ scribe because it remains hidden inside the brains of the de­ signer. however what we can do is take a more holistic approach to the overall design process. by doing so we can define a number of entities that encompass the overall process: "the design need", "the design process path", "the design process knowl­ edge", "the knowledge domain", and finally "the resulting product that meets the need". when considering these entities it becomes clear that to im­ prove the end result of the design process the only thing one can do is to improve the quality and the interaction between the different entities of the overall process. figure 2 the design process 11ysics process process c dntro/ matenal s cience economics pumps e=mc' manulactur ing thermodynamics the knowlege domain the deliverability of the design process will, as in many interact­ ing processes, be mainly determined by the weakest link in the chain. 107 janssen/ how functional value analysis unlocks the design paradox this is where functional value analysis will help because it pro­ vides an extra dimension that will improve the interaction be­ tween the different elements of the design process. the addi­ tional attributes named function and value will shed a new light on the design process path and provide a new direction to the designer. before expanding on the function value analysis approach i would like to discuss another constraint that is often experienced as a hindrance by the designer. 3. project management focus in every design process we can distinguish two different do­ mains: the creative phase and the execution or implementation phase. elements of the creative phase have been discussed above however the execution or implementation phase is gov­ erned by a completely different focus. in this phase the main emphasis is on the optimum utilization of resources within financial and time constraints to produce the end product. this phase is regulated by design rules, procedures, planning and in many cases it will also control the funds and time window for the creation phase. figure 3 the main design progress domains basis of design & scope definition it is the delicate balance between design freedom and avail­ able resources that will create a conflict of interest in the mind of the project manager. the main objective in the opinion of the project manager will be to get the job done i.e. delivering an agreed scope of work within the available time and within the given budget. 108 1998 acta structilia val 5 no 1 & 2 he would like to contain any deviation from his perception of the fixed scope that will deliver the end product. there is also a natural tendency to exercise his span of control and curtain off as soon as possible the outcome of the concep­ tual design phase. such an approach will enable him to com­ mence implementing the project without the thread of continu­ ous change. elements of some of these fields of tension are shown below. figure 4 project management focus or the balance between the creative and implementation phases trade-off schedule, cos� creativity .,. _____ .. des�n rules & procedures it is obvious that the interest of the stakeholders is best served by an improvement of the overall profitability of the venture or to maximize the effectiveness of investment with respect to project objectives. this is where functional value analysis will provide the ideal vehicle to ensure an adequate solution to the apparently conflicting requirements of all parties involved. 4. functional value analysis functional value analysis involves identifying clearly what each of the individual elements of a venture, project, product or serv­ ice actually do. it is directed towards analyzing the functions or objectives to improve value through optimization of whole life cycle costs. value is not an absolute measure, but a balance between con­ flicting requirements. 109 janssen / how functional value analysis unlocks the design paradox value is defined as the ratio between function required (no less, no more) and the cost of achieving it. it can be considered as a yardstick for achieving the completeness of a product. function can be defined as the capacity of a venture, project, product or service to satisfy a need. unlike traditional approaches functional value analysis does not only evaluate expenditure as a consideration. it really relates to the basic requirements of the venture. functional value analysis is a practical, structured and creative method, which is performed by a multidisciplinary team in which all the relevant project interests are represented. figure 5: functional value analysis value = function rosr0 define object 0 information gathering 8 functional analysis 8 cost distribution diagram 0 brainstorming (generation of alternatives) 0 evaluation of proposed alternatives 0 implementation. a facilitator is needed to lead the team through the various stages of a functional value analysis that typically contains the following steps: definition of the object and agreeing on the "terms of refer­ ence" for the exercise 0 information gathering 0 functional analysis 0 functional cost distribution diagram 0 brainstorming (generation of alternatives) 0 evaluation of proposed alternatives 0 implementation. the total exercise will take about 6-8 weeks and it can already be carried out as soon as an initial scope and very first capital estimate of the project are known. 110 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 5. examples functional value analysis can be applied during every stage in a project and two extreme examples will be given below. firstly an application of functional value analysis during the early scouting phase of a project and secondly an example when functional value analysis is applied when project defini­ tion is already well advanced. the first example refers to the case of an effluent water treating plant that was considered for a repeat design of a new chemi­ cal production facility. as starting point an existing unit could serve as reference design, and this consisted of a wet air oxida­ tion unit. in such a unit the effluent water is being mixed with compressed air and the mixture is passed through a reactor operating at a temperature of about 220° c and at a pressure of about 200 bar. at these conditions the hydrocarbons and organic salts present in the effluent water are oxidized resulting in reaction heat which is partly recovered. the treated water is separated from the carbon dioxide formed during the reaction together with the excess air after which the water is further passed through a biotreater. given the above description of the unit and its operating conditions it will be obvious that it is a complex and expensive plant. during the functional analysis of above unit it became apparent that the proper function of the unit was to separate the dis­ solved hydrocarbons and organic salts from the water, and this function in turn could be formulated as separating the water from the aqueous effluent. with this true functionality for the unit a completely different design was proposed consisting of a freeze concentration unit which is a proven technology in the production of concentrated orange juice. pilot experiments con­ firmed its suitability for this particular aqueous effluent resulting in a completely different design for the unit with a saving of 70% compared to the reference design. the second example refers to applying functional value analysis when again for a repeat design existing p&id's were scrutinized before the design was handed over to the epc contractor. in this case the terms of reference for the functional value analy­ sis team stressed in particular to examine the instrumentation and control requirements of the design. although the exercise had to be completed within an extremely short time period of only a few weeks, the team was able to propose modifications to the existing design that were not limited to the instrumentation 111 janssen/ how functional value analysis unlocks the design paradox and process control domain, but resulted in the elimination of certain requirements e.g. spare pumps. the reductions of other equipment items were also brought about. the resulting savings in this case were 7% of the total project costs. 6. learning points based on more than 10 years of functional value analysis appli­ cation in process engineering design the following learning points can be given: 112 • having an existing design/plant available as a reference point is a prerequisite for a successful functional value analysis exercise and it also is the only way to demonstrate the real savings or resulting improvements of the venture. • whenever there is a big incentive to reduce cost in order to improve project profitability this can be seen as an effective driving force that influences the success of the functional value analysis. • an experienced facilitator and a balanced team composi­ tion with experienced, imaginative and challenging people will have better end result. avoid a too homogeneous team. • full support of the team by higher management is essential. • a structured approach is required to get full contribution of all parties and this will maximize the outcome of the func­ tional value analysis exercise. • tight project schedule constraints have a negative effect on the functional value analysis results. • application of functional value analysis during the scouting phase has shown to be able to result in savings up to 70%. even when carried out on projects near the epc phase sav­ ings up to 5% are possible. • the best results are obtained if you can get closest to the true functionality of the project or venture. • functional value analysis exercise should be part of normal project management procedures. • incorporate findings of previous functional value analysis studies into the standard design practices. 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 book review urbanisation: south africa's challenge derik ge/derblom & pieter kok* t his book by g&k consists of two volumes. the english text is accessible for the afrikaans speaking student completing a master's degree in planning. it features: volume 1: dynamics volume 2: planning the publisher's date is 1994 and the purpose, according to the authors. is to bring to the surface the human as­ pects entrenched in the urbanisation process and to bring up to date a former publication of theirs: verstedeliking in suid-afrika: perspektiewe op die dinamika en begeleiding van die proses ( 1989) (urbanisation in south africa: per­ spectives on the dynamics and the accompanying pro­ cess), as occasioned by the "many prominent changes which have occurred in the country recently" (k&g, 1994, p.ii). volume i contains seven chapters which can be grouped in different categories. chapters 1 to 3 consist of a historical perspective on the urbanisation tendencies in south africa. chapter 4 concentrates more on the consequences of the former legislation on urbanisation methods. chapter 6 ad­ dresses the general consequences of urbanisation and in chapter 7 the situation in our country is compared with that of other (third world) countries in south america. • book review by: pieter j potgieter, balo {uofs}, hed {uofsj mss {uofs), lecturer at the department of urban and regional planning at the uofs gelderblom & kok/ urbanisation: south africa's challenge volume 2 concentrates on important planning aspects per­ taining to urbanisation projects. chapters 1 to 3 concen­ trate on general planning projects with the emphasis especially on towns and cities. chapter 4 addresses re­ gional planning and development and the integration of town and urban parts, emphasising policy aspects. for academic purposes urbanisation fulfills an important need as a reference source since it addresses south african urbanisation circumstances directly. it succeeds to reach beyond our local circumstances. the student gets an intro­ ductory insight into circumstances prevailing in other coun­ tries with the same problems as ours. urbanisation is shown in its full complexity (reasons, tendencies, results, benefits, as well as the aftermath's policy). practical examples, well­ known and comprehendible situations are used. one can only speculate on the authors' motives or reasons to translate the original afrikaans theme into english. the book however, by way of a preface, offers an insight into ur­ banisation in south africa and on unilateral or the one­ sided scenario of the past. for academic purposes a sec­ tion on the motivation for and the purposes of the so called 'apartheid' legislation, rather than only the results of it, could have been included. in this way a more complete picture of the history of urbanisation in south africa might have been presented. 104 rgn publishers (price r75,25 per volume) private bag x41 pretoria ooo 1 published and bound by sigma (pty) ltd, pretoria. 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 boekresensie urbanisation: south africa's challenge derik gelderblom & piefer kok d ie boek deur g&k bestaan uit twee volumes en is geskryf in 'n engels wat vir die beplanningstudent op die magistervlak geen interpretasieprobleme lewer nie, naamlik: volume 1: dynamics volume 2: planning die uitgewersdatum is 1994 en die doel van die publikasie is volgens die outeurs: "' n poging om die menslike aspekte wat met die verstedelikingsproses gepaard goon, uit te lig" en om hul vorige werk, verstedeliking in suid-afrika: per­ spektiewe op die dinamika en begeleiding van die proses, (1989), op te dateer, "no aanleiding van die vele belangri­ ke veranderings wat in die land plaasgevind het" (k&g, 1994, p.ii). volume i bestaan uit sewe hoofstukke en kan in 'n aantal kategoriee ingedeel word. hoofstukke 1 tot 3 is 'n historiese perspektief op die verstedelikingstendense in suid-afrika, terwyl hoofstuk 4 meer konsentreer op die gevolge van die ou wetgewing op vestigingspatrone. hoofstuk 6 spreek die algemene gevolge van verstedeliking aan en in hoofstuk 7 word 'n vergelyking van die situasie met (ander der­ dewereld-) lande in suid-amerika getref. resensie deur: piefer j potgieter, balo (uovs), hod (uovs), mss (uovs), lektor by die departement stadsen streekbeplanning, uovs gelderblom & kok/ urbanisation: south africa's challenge volume 2 word gewy aan belangrike beplanningsaspekte wat in die verstedelikingsproses aanwesig is. hoofstukke 13 spreek beplanning in die algemeen aan met die klem veral op stedelike omstandighede. in hoofstuk 4 word op streeks­ ontwikkeling gekonsentreer en die integrasie van landelike­ en stedelike ontwikkeling met die klem op beleidsaspekte. vir akademiese doeleindes dien urbanisation as 'n waarde­ volle verwysingbron veral omdat dit suid-afrikaanse verste­ delikingstendense direk aanspreek. die verwysing word eg­ ter wyer as slegs die plaaslike situasie getrek en die student kry 'n inleidende blik op die toestande in lande met ooreen­ stemmende omstandighede. verstedeliking word in sy voi­ le konteks (oorsake, tendense, gevolge, voor-/nadele, be­ leid) uitgebeeld en praktiese voorbeelde en bekende, ver­ staanbare situasies word gebruik. door kan slegs gespekuleer word oor die outeurs se motive­ ring vir die oorskakeling van die oorspronklike afrikaanse tema na engels. die boek bied 'n baie vooringenome blik op verstedeliking in suid-a frika wat 'n eensydige scenario van die verlede bied. vir akademiese doeleindes sou 'n ge­ deelte oor die motivering vir en die oogmerke van die sogenaamde apartheidswetgewing, eerder as die uitwer­ king daarvan, 'n vollediger beeld van die verstedelikings­ geskiedenis van suid-afrika weergegee het. 106 rgn uitgewers (prys: r75.25 per volume) privaatsak x4 l pretoria ooo 1 gedruk en gebind deur sigma (edms) bpk, pretoria kommentaar • commentary ade yusif & henry agboola odeyinka performance evaluation of the petroleum trust fund educational and health infrastructure rehabilitation programme in north western nigeria peer reviewed abstract the government of nigeria removed the subsidies on the prices of petroleum products in 1994 and set up the petroleum (special) trust fund (ptf) to use some of the extra revenue to rehabilitate infrastructure nationwide. this evaluation was carried out to provide an assessment of the programme in view of its scrapping in 2000. the earned value technique was used to analyse the projects in terms of the time, cost, quality and other objectives using data obtained from ptf and the consultants. the study concludes that the programme suffered no cost overruns and the quality of work was generally satisfactory, but the programme suffered a time overrun of 38,5%. at the end of the scheduled completion period 72,6% of the projects were behind schedule while 17,6% were at zero completion. keywords: infrastructure, rehabilitation, cost, time, quality, performance. 'n evaluasie van die werkverrigtinge van die petroleum-trustfonds se opvoedkundigeen gesondheidsorg-infrastruktuur­ rehabilitasie-programme in noordwes-nigerie die nigeriese regering het in 1994 alle subsidies afgeskaf op die prys van petroleumprodukte en die petroleum (spesiale) trusfonds (ptf) in die lewe geroep om ekstra belasting aan te wend ter verbetering van die land se infrastruktuur. hierdie artikel gee 'n oorsig van die ramings wat gelei het tot die skraping van die pro­ gram in 2000. die waarde-verdienste-tegniek is gebruik om die projekte te ontleed in terme van tyd, koste, kwaliteit en ander doelwitte ten opsigte van die data wat deur die petroleum-trustfonds (ptf) en ander konsultante verskaf is. die studie dui daarop dot die program wel binne die kosteraamwerk geskied het en dot die gehalte van die dienste gelewer oor die algemeen goed was. die program is egter gekortwiek deur 'n 38,5% oorskryding van die skedule. teen die einde van die datum van voltooiing was 72,6% van die werk agter en 17,6% ongedaan gelaat. sleutelwoorde: lnfrastruktuur, rehabilitasie, koste, tyd, kwaliteit, prestasie. ade yusif, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, llelfe, nigeria. henry agboola odeyinka, department of building and surveying, glasgow caledonian university, glasgow, scotland. 93 acta structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) l . introduction n october 1994 the federal government of nigeria removed the i subsidies on petroleum products and raised their prices to boost finances. the government promised to put part of the extra revenue generated into a special account to rehabilitate public facilities for the benefit of the citizenry. to this end the government established by decree no. 25 of 1994 the petroleum (special) trust fund (ptf) and constituted a board of trustees to manage the account and implement the fund's programmes. to underscore the importance the government attached to the programme, a former head of state was appointed to head the board. the ptf was established to function as an intensive financial intervention agency within the framework of the then military government's development strategy. it sought to revive public confidence in the government's ability to creditably implement development programmes. thus, according to the petroleum (special) trust fund (ptf, 1 995a), the operational philosophy of the fund was, "to achieve an efficient, honest and timely implementation of projects that will have positive impact in the upliftment of the general conditions of living for all nigerians". in its mission statement the petroleum (special) trust fund (ptf, 1 995a: 1) sought: [ ... ] to establish and operate an open, modest and effective organisa­ tion for the purpose of achieving efficient, honest and timely execution of carefully designed socio-economic projects, spelt out or implied by the enabling decree but carefully prioritised to enhance the general condition of living for all nigerians in the shortest period of time possible. the then head of state declared at the inauguration of the board of trustees of the ptf that: over the years, a fundamental element of distrust in public account­ ability has embedded itself in the psyche of the nigerian people like a cankerworm. repeatedly disappointed by the extravagant promises and unfulfilled expectation, nigerians became cynical about govern­ ment and the public morality of its agents and agencies. it is against this backdrop that i pronounced the pledge that the funds to be administered by the board will be utilised prudently and for the purpose for which they are earmarked (ptf, 1995a: 19). the ptf was thus perceived as a new approach to public sector project implementation to eliminate the problems of bureaucracy, corruption and excessive project cost and time overruns which, according to oma-williams (1991: 6) and odeyinka & yusif (199) are endemic in nigeria. perhaps because it was the largest ever public works programme in nigeria, the ptf programme generated a lot of 94 yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation controversies, while its protagonists hailed it as a panacea for nigeria's socio-economic problems. its critics denounced it as an unnecessary duplication and/or usurpation of the functions of existing government ministries and a waste of public funds. the arguments on both sides of the divide were rather emotional, subjective and political and not based on any scientific assessment of the programme. because the present democratic government in the year 2000 has since scrapped the ptf, the general belief now is that it was a failure. the performance evaluation of the ptf's rehabilitation of educational and health institutions in north west nigeria is aimed at an objective assess­ ment of the performance of the ptf programme. the north west zone was chosen because health and educational projects from the primary to the tertiary levels were executed in the zone. 2. the ptf programme over the past three decades nigeria has experienced cycles of eco­ nomic prosperity and adversity. the period of prosperity coincided with the oil boom of the 1970s when the world market price of crude oil, nigeria's main foreign exchange earner, rose astronomically. during this period the nigerian government invested massively in public infrastruc­ ture in areas such as schools, hospitals, roads, power plants, etc. the government's development strategy at that time emphasised the provision of new facilities with little attention to the maintenance of existing ones and the future maintenance of new ones. the result of the present economic collapse which started in l 981 is that very few new facilities have been added to the existing stock, which has been left to decay over the years due to lack of maintenance. thus a point was reached in 1993 when it became clear to the government that if drastic measures were not taken not only would new public infrastructure not be built, but existing ones would also grind to a halt (buhari, 1998: 12) it is against this background that the government decided in 1994 to remove the subsidy on petroleum products to estab­ lish ptf. the pump price of premium petrol, for instance, was raised from no, 70 to n 11,00. the ptf was established to utilise some of the extra income accruing to the government from the petroleum price hike to rehabilitate the nation's dilapidated infrastructure. 2.1 programme scope decree no 25 of 1994 (as amended by decree no l of 1995), which established the ptf, specified seven areas for intervention by the fund. 95 acta structilia 2003: l 0(1 & 2) these areas were: roads, road transport and waterways health education water supply • food supply security services • other projects. for its intervention in these sectors, the ptf adopted a policy that focused on the following: rehabilitation of existing facilities establishment of facilities management systems for the mainte­ nance and sustenance of rehabilitated facilities institutional strengthening and capacity building of the benefi­ ciaries/supervising agencies to enhance their capacity to operate and maintain rehabilitated facilities and carry out future expansions. 2.2 programme structure and organisation the ptf operated a zonal structure based on the six geopolitical zones of the country, namely the south west, south east, north west, north east, middle belt and south-south zones. the ptf appointed the afri-projects consortium as the management consultant for its projects nationwide. under them zonal project management consultants (zpmcs) were appointed for each of the six zones and under the zpmcs project consultants (pcs) were appointed for each of the projects for architectural, quantity surveying and engineering services. contractors dealt directly with the pcs. figure 1 shows the programme structure and organisation. 2.3 selection of beneficiaries and projects the ptf's national health and educational institutions rehabilitation programme (nherp) involved educational and health institutions from the primary to the tertiary levels. selected for rehabilitation were: 96 all federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and secondary schools two primary schools in each of the 77 4 local council areas yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation ptf board of trustees management consultants zpmc zpmc zpmc zpmc zpmc zpmc pc pc pc zpmc = zonol project management consultants c/s c!s c!s pc = project consultants c!s = contractors/suppliers figure 1: organisation structure of the ptf programme (achinivu 1998:3) one state secondary school and one state vocational school in each of the 1 09 senatorial districts one state university or polytechnic or college of education in each of the 36 states one primary/comprehensive health centre per local council area one general hospital per senatorial district • all federal specialist hospitals and university teaching hospitals selected state specialist hospitals. state and local government officials used ptf's guidelines to select the institutions to be rehabilitated. 2.4 selection of contractors and contractual arrangements the project implementation committee (pic) of ptf selected contractors on behalf of the board of trustees. the selection criteria were contained in ptf's guidelines for the selection of contractors and suppliers (ptf, 1995b: 1-6). the pic adopted the selective tendering method, which is commonly used in nigeria and elsewhere (holt et al., 1995: 555; yusif & odeyinka, 2000: 5). the ptf saw its massive investment in construction as an opportunity to build capacity in the local construction industry, generate employment and alleviate poverty. hence most of the contractors employed nation­ wide were indigenous. the ptf also applied the principle of "federal 97 acta structilia 2003: l 0( l & 2) character" (affirmative action) to select contractors from all the geopo­ litical zones of the country. as a result many contractors were employed who had little or no knowledge and experience of construction, as was the case during the oil boom era of the 1970s (ngoka, 1974: 253-256). the federation of construction industry, which is the professional organisation of government-registered building and civil engineering contractors in nigeria, did not register many of the contractors. for the rehabilitation of educational and health institutions in the north west zone, a total of 5 7 4 contractors were employed. the contracts were awarded on a firm price basis based on the federal ministry of works conditions of contract for lump sum contracts (similar to jct'80, private with quantities). the normal contract procedure of bargaining between client and contractor to arrive at the contract sum was not used. the ptf simply used their own rates, which they called "harmonised" rates to determine contract sums, which contractors had to accept. according to the ptf, to arrive at the harmonised rates it adopted a pricing strategy that limited allowances for profit and over­ heads to no more than 20% of the basic cost (to the contractors) of executing the project. this was at a time when the minimum allowance for most government projects was about 45% (ptf 1998: 7). the contract provided for an advance payment of 60% of the contract sum to the contractor (locally called a 'mobilisation' fee) subject to a performance bond guaranteed by reputable banks and insurance companies. there was also provision for interim monthly certificates to the contractors. these were processed through the project consultants, zonal project management consultants and the management consultants to the ptf for payment (figure 1). 3. programme execution the execution of the ptf programme started nationwide in 1995. by january 1998 the ptf had made a total financial commitment of n 132 012b (about us$ l 32b) to its projects. the programme period under review was from february 1998 to august 1999. this was perhaps the most unstable period in nigeria's post-civil war history. the project environment was characterised by: 98 political instability resulting from the struggles against the military dictatorship acute shortage of construction inputs, including fuel, spare parts for plant and equipment, construction materials, etc inflation growing at about l 0% per annum economic, political and diplomatic sanctions against the country. yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation the execution of projects under the national health and educational institutions rehabilitation programme in the north west zone commenced with 300 contracts awarded in february 1998. table 1 gives details of these contracts. the second batch of 298 contracts detailed in table 2 was awarded in december 1998. table 1 : first batch of contracts awarded (north west zone) project number of lots contract sum ('ff)* primary schools 149 440 364 098,75 federal government colleges 44 241 424 064,00 federal universities 17 372 745 313.70 general hospitals 90 542 313 942,80 total 300 l 596 847 401,25 * n 120 is about us$1 source: norwest consultants (1999:2) table 2: second batch of contracts awarded (north west zone) project number of lots contract sum ('ff) primary schools 53 176 390 398,00 state secondary schools 12 79 041 199,27 primary/comprehensive health centres 121 151 397 168,40 tertiary/specialist hospitals 52 711 385 l 78, l 7 federal polytechnics 14 145 295 744,81 federal/state colleges of education 46 345 674 686,41 total 298 l 609 184 375,06 * n 120 is about us$1 source: norwest consultants (1999:2) the total contract values for projects in each state are shown in table 3(o, b & c). these values range from 1'il 174 582 884, 78 (about us$ l 7 45 828) for kebbi state to 1'il 823 316 548,85 (about us$8 233 165) for kano state. table 3(o, b & c) also gives the breakdown of the contract values for the various project types, i.e. for primary schools, general hospitals, etc. they range from 1'il 79 041 199,27 (about us$ 790 411) for state secondary schools to 1'il 711 385 1 78, 1 7 (about us$7 113 851) for tertiary/specialist hospitals. 99 act a structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) table 3a: financial commitment per state and project type, (n)* (north west zone) state jigawa kaduna kano primary schools 221 394 093,55 federal government colleges 37 383 531,28 40 790 295,00 39 306 927,00 federal/state colleges of educ. 25 730 695, 18 80 443 899,98 96 044 217, 16 state secondary schools federal polytechnics 118 946 7 44, 11 federal universities 188 720 012,37 98 165 883,16 primary/comprehensive health centres general hospitals 85 770 24 7, 18 117 640 736,61 l 25 502 202, 96 tertiary/specialist hospitals 35 715 828,09 197 151 371,04 242 903 225,03 total 184 600 30 l , 7 3 743 693 059,11 823 316 548,86 * 1'il 120 is about us$ l source: norwest consultants [1999: 19) table 3b: financial commitment per state and project type, (n)* (north west zone) state katsina kebbi sokolo/zamfara primary schools 176 390 389,00 218 970 005,20 federal government colleges 40 181 564,00 30 492 680,00 44 863 254,00 federal/state colleges of educ. 68 334 581,47 26 337 560,23 48 783 732,39 state secondary schools 79 041 199,27 federal polytechnics 26 349 ooo, 70 federal universities 84 916 584,24 primary/comprehensive 151 397 168,40 health centres general hospitals 99 991 302,96 81 983 046,45 126 472 597,04 tertiary/specialist hospitals 70 335 670,95 35 769 378, l 0 129 509 704,96 total 685 671 876,05 174 582 664,78 697 864 878,53 * 1'il 120 is about us$1 source: norwest consultants [1999: 19) 100 yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation table 3c: total financial commitment per state and project type, (f\l)* (north west zone) state total primary schools 616 754 487,75 federal government colleges 233 018 251,28 federal/state colleges of educ. 345 674 686,41 state secondary schools 79 041 199,27 federal polytechnics 118 946 7 44, 11 federal universities 371 802 443,77 primary/comprehensive 151 397 168,40 health centres general hospitals 637 360 133,20 tertiary/specialist hospitals 711 385 1 78, 17 total 3 291 729 329,08 * 1"1120 is about us$1 source: norwest consultants (1999: 19) the work for each institution was broken down into lots like civil works, electrical works, roads, telecommunications, new buildings, etc. in all a total of 598 contracts were awarded to 5 7 4 contractors as shown in table 4. the first batch of contracts work, started on site in march 1998. it should have been completed by december 1998. the second batch work started in december 1998 to be completed by august 1999. the contract periods ranged from 2 to 8 months and 1 to 8 months for the first and second batches respectively. following the threat by the two presidential candidates during the elec­ toral campaign of early 1 999 to scrap the ptf, work ground to a halt on most sites across the country. this was because contractors, from their experience of previous changes in government. were unsure if the new democratic government, which would emerge from the elections, would pay their outstanding certificates. 101 acta structilia 2003:10(1&2 ) table 4: distribution of contracts among project types (north west zone) project type number of institutions number of contracts primary schools state secondary schools federal government colleges colleges of education federal polytechnics federal universities primary/comprehensive health centres general hospitals tertiary/specialist hospitals total source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) 178 202 3 12 12 44 11 46 2 14 3 17 28 18 11 266 121 90 52 598 4. performance evaluation "performance" means meeting all agreed project requirements. in this sense performance is the same as "total quality", which means satisfy­ ing all the requirements of the project promoter/beneficiary in the economic as well as the functional sense (o'neill, 1989: l 75). historically project performance has been evaluated in terms of cost, time and quality. thus, according to maloney (1990: 402) and walker (1995: 263), a project is considered successful if it is completed on time, within budget (initial contract sum) and to the required quality standards. for each of these criteria (time, cost and quality) perfor­ mance is measured by comparing actual results with the optimum or planned results. the performance analysis for this study goes beyond the three general criteria of cost, time and quality to include other objectives contained in the ptf's mission statement and operational philosophy. the method of analysis used in this study is a modified form of earned value analysis (eva). eva is normally used to track the progress of a pro­ject from inception to completion (smith, 1995: 179). it is a variance analysis method, which quantifies the deviation of measures of actual performance from a standard (kim & ballard, 2002: 56). 102 yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation the data required for eva are in three measures, namely, budgeted cost of work scheduled (bcws), budgeted cost of work performed (bcwp) and actual cost of work performed (acwp). these are defined as fol­ lows: budgeted cost of work scheduled (bcws) is the value of work that should have been done by a given point in time (smith, 1995: 171 ). it is the budgeted value, usually in monetary terms or man-hours, of work to be done in a given period of time. budgeted cost of work performed (bcwp) is also known as the earned value. it is the budgeted value of the work actually done in a given peri­ od of time expressed in monetary terms or man-hours (kim & ballard, 2002: 56). actual cost of work performed (acwp) is the actual cost incurred in monetary terms or man-hours of work done in a given period of time (kim & ballard, 2002: 56). variance used in eva is usually divided into two indices, namely cost variance (cv) and schedule variance (sv). cost variance (cv) is the difference between the budgeted cost and the actual cost of the work done. that is, cv = bcwp acwp. schedule variance (sv) is the difference between the budgeted cost of work actually done and the budgeted cost of the work to be done. that is, sv = bcwp bcws. these variances are interpreted as shown in table 5. table 5: variance analysis in eva variance cost variance (cv) cost overrun scheduled variance (sv) time overrun source: kim & ballard (2002:57) 0 + on budget under budget on schedule ahead of schedule in addition, two performance concepts are obtained from o'neill (1989: 194) as follows: time performance index (tpi) is the ratio of the budgeted cost of work performed to the budgeted cost of work scheduled. that is, tpi = bcwp/bcws. performance index (cpi) is the ratio of the budgeted cost of work performed to the actual cost of work performed. that is, cpi = bcwp/acwp. these indices are interpreted as shown in table 6. 103 act a structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) table 6: performance indices in eva index <1 >1 time performance index (tpi) time overrun on schedule ahead of schedule cost performance index [cpi) cost overrun on budget under budget source: compiled by authors the analysis is a sort of post-mortem, which only evaluates the status of the project at the end of the contract period with respect to the cost, time, quality and other objectives. such post-mortem evaluations are obviously far too late to be of benefit to a completed project. however, in this case where most of the projects were not completed by the end of the contract period, the evaluation can be useful in pointing out mis­ takes to be avoided when trying to complete the projects or executing future projects (lock, 1996: 497). data for the analysis were collected from the ptf and the project consultants. 4. l cost evaluation a major aim of a client in promoting a project is to procure the required facilities at minimum cost within his budget (chappell, 1991: 14-20). this requirement has become very critical for the governments of most developing countries, including nigeria, where public funds have been dwindling over many years of economic decline. cost efficiency was particularly important to the ptf, which set out to overcome the stigma of endemic cost overruns, which o m a -williams (1991 :6) has put conservatively at an average of 140% of project cost in nigeria. by adopting its unorthodox "harmonised pricing" contract method, the ptf claimed to have made 1'130 65b (about us$0 26b) in cost savings for the entire programme between 1995 and 1998. for the educational and health institutions projects in the north west zone, firm price contracts were used, with contractors given up to 60% of the contract sums as a sort of "firm price allowance" to cushion the effects of inflation. the ptf adopted very strict procedures for the issuance and approval of variation orders to discourage variations. in the very few cases in which variations were allowed the contingency sums were enough to cover the extra costs. thus the cost performance index (cpi) for the educa­ tional and health institutions projects in north west nigeria was practically l as no cost overrun was recorded. this also implies cv = 0 and there was no extra cost to the client over and above the agreed contract sums. 104 4.2 time evaluation yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation most construction contracts are signed with a definite contract period stipulated, and the extent to which this target is met is a measure of pro­ ject success. a project that is completed late can be damaging to both the client and the contractor. for this reason, time is one of the most critical factors that must be controlled in a project. many things may occur on a construction site to delay the completion of the entire project or any given activity. odeyinka and yusif (1997: 31) have shown that the causes of construction delays can be nested in four layers, namely, client-caused delay, contractor-caused delay, extra-contractual delay and consultant-caused delay. according to ogunlana and olomolaiye (1989: 191-196) contractors handling pro­ jects in developing countries face three major problems that cause delay. first is the problem imposed by the construction industry's infrastructure, such as training of personnel, availability of plant and building materials. the second is that of inaccurate information and frequent changes in instructions and failure by clients and consultants to meet their obligations. the third is imposed by the contractor's own shortcomings. in nigeria contractors usually use materials shortage as an excuse for project delay (okpala & aniekwu, 1988: 242) and clients' failure to pay contractors on time is a major cause of delay (dlakwa & culpin, 1990: 237). it has also been established by ngoka (1974: 253-256), ogunlana and olomolaiye (1989: 191-96), and wahab (1977: 81, 88) that most projects suffer time overruns because many nigerian con­tractors lack the requisite resources and expertise and are in the busi­ness of making money at the expense of good management. as a deliberate policy, the ptf divided its projects into small work pack­ ages to enable as many contractors as possible to participate in the programme and to minimise the contract periods. hence the projects under review had very short durations ranging from l to 8 months. this was with a view to minimising time overruns by awarding small work packages, which the mostly local contractors employed could execute efficiently and effectively. for the analysis, the period used is the contract period. by comparing bcwp and bcws at the end of the contract period the tps are calculated in tables 7-12 and interpreted as in table 6. 105 acta structilia 2003:10(1&2) table 7: time performance of jigawa state projects project type bcws (w) bcwp (w) **tpi = bcwp/bcws federal government colleges 37 383 531,28 34 579 766,43 0,92 colleges of education 25 730 695, 18 7 075 941,17 0,27 general hospitals 85 770 247, 18 80 538 262, 1 0 0,94 tertiary/specialist hospitals 35 715 828,09 23 215 288,26 0,65 state total 184 600 301,73 145 409 257,96 0,79 ** tpi [t ime performance index) source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) table 8: time performance of kaduna state projects project type bcws(w) bcwp (w) **tpi = bcwp/bcws federal government colleges 40 790 295,00 36 956 007,27 0,91 colleges of education 80 443 899, 98 22 685 1 79, 79 0,28 federal polythechnics 118 946 7 44, 11 38 657 691,84 0,33 federal universities 188 720 012,37 160 034 5 70,49 0,85 general hospitals 117 640 736,61 1 08 81 7 681,36 0,92 tertiary/specialist hospitals 197 151 371,04 41 204 636,55 0,21 state total 743 693 059,11 408 355 767,30 0,55 ** tpi (t ime performance index) source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) table 9: time performance of kano state projects project type bcws (w) bcwp (w) **tpi = bcwp/bcws primary schools 221 394 093,55 219 932 892,53 0,99 federal government colleges 39 306 972,00 32,467 521,70 0,83 colleges of education 96 044 217,16 54 264 982, 70 0,57 federal universities 98 165 883,16 89 330 953,68 0,91 general hospitals 1 25 502 202, 98 1 22 615 652,31 0,98 tertiary/specialist hospitals 242 903 225,03 63 154 838,51 0,26 state total 823 316 548,88 581 766 841,43 0,71 ** tpi (time performance index) source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) 106 yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation table l 0: time performance of katsina state projects project type bcws(fl:) bcwp (fl:) **tpi = bcwp/bcws primary schools 176 390 389,00 106 010 623.79 0,60 federal government colleges 40 181 564,00 37 328 672,96 0,93 colleges of education 68 334 581.47 36 285 662.7 6 0,53 state secondary schools 79 041 199,27 16 993 857,84 0,21 primary/comprehensive health centres 151 397 168.40 38 ooo 689,27 0,25 general hospttals 99 991 302,96 75 393 442.43 0.75 tertiary/specialist hospitals 70 335 670,95 9 706 322,59 0,14 state total 685 671 876,05 320 719 271,64 0,47 ** tpi (time performance index) source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) table 11 : time performance of kebbi state projects project type bcws(fl:) bcwp (w) **tpi = bcwp/bcws federal government colleges 30 492 680,00 29 486 421.56 0,97 colleges of education 26 337 560,23 6 321 014.46 0,24 general hospitals 81 983 046.45 78 457 775.45 0,96 tertiary/specialist hospitals 35 769 378, l 0 26 827 033,58 0.75 state total 174 582 664,78 141 092 245,05 0,81 ** tpi (time performance index) source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) the closer the tpi is to unity the better the time perfcwmance. thus from tables 7 to 12 the best project type performance was in primary schools in kano state (tpi = 0, 99) and the worst was in federal polytechnics in sokoto/zamfara (tpi = 0,00). this means that the programme complet­ ed 99% of the value of work for primary schools in kano state and 0% for federal polytechnics in sokoto/zamfara state by the end of the contract period. the best state in time performance was kebbi (overall tpi for all projects = 0, 81) and the worst was katsina with overall tpi = 0.4 7. this means 81 % of the value of all the projects in kebbi and 4 7% in katsina were completed by the end of the contract period (table 13). 107 act a structilia 2003: l 0( l & 2) table 12: time performance of sokoto/zamfara state projects project type bcws(n) bcwp(n) **tpi = bcwp/bcws primary schools 218 970 005,20 171 453 514,07 0,78 federal government colleges 44 863 254,00 38 268 355,66 0,85 colleges of education 48 783 732,39 19 513 492,96 0,40 federal polytechnics 26 349 ooo, 70 0,00 0,00 federal universties 84 916 584,24 74 302 011,21 0,88 general hospitals 126 472 597,04 107 375 234,89 0,85 tertiary/specialist hospitals 129 509 704,96 16 188 713,12 0,13 state total 679 864 878,53 427 101 321,91 0,63 ** tpi (time performance index) source: norwest consultants (1999:2-14) table 13: time performance of the ptf programme in the north west zone project type bcws (n) bcwp(n) **tpi = bcwp/bcws jigawa kaduna kano katsina kebbi sckoto/zamfara total for north west zone 184 600 301,73 743 693 059, 11 823 316 548,88 685 671 876,05 174 582 664,78 679 864 878,53 3 291 729 329,08 source: norwest consultants [1999:2-14) 145 409 257,96 0.79 408 355 767,30 0,55 581 766 841,43 0.71 320 719 271,64 0,47 141 092 245,05 0,81 427 101 321,91 0,63 2 024 444 705,29 0,62 from table 13 the overall tpi for the ptf'programme for health and edu­ cational facilities in the north west zone was 0,62. this means that the programme achieved 62% of the value of its projects by the end of the programme period. thus by the end of the contract periods for its pro­ jects the programme had suffered a time overrun. the time overrun or schedule variance (sv) is calculated as sv = 13cm' bon$ x l 00% = 2 024 444 705.'29 3 291 729 329.08 x l 00 = -38,5% bcws 3 291 729 329,08 from table 5, this figure represents a time-overrun equal to 38.5% of the original (planned) programme duration. this means that if the general level of performance did not change, the project durations for the 108 yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation programme would be extended by 38,5% to complete the projects. most of the of the projects are likely to perform worse than this average figure if they are ever completed, as three years after the original con­ tract periods they are yet to be completed. many may end up swelling the large number of abandoned projects already littering the nation's landscape. of the 598 contracts executed under the programme in the north west zone 434 (72,6%) suffered delay. one hundred and five (l 05) of the contracts (17,56%) achieved zero completion by the end of the contract period. the consultants throughout the contract period could not locate fourteen (14) contractors who collected the 60% advance payment. it is not surprising that katsina had the worst performance, as all l 4 contractors who could not be located by the consultants were employed in the state and 3 7 of the projects in the state, were at zero completion by the end of their contract periods .on the other hand, kebbi had only four projects at zero completion by the end of their contract periods and all contractors employed for the state took possession of their sites. only l 26 of the 336 educational projects (37,5%) and 51 of the 262 health projects (19,5%) in the zone were completed on schedule. overall, the programme achieved only 27,3% completion of its projects on schedule in the north west zone. 4.3 quality evaluation quality, according to maloney (1990: 400), involves doing things the right way the first time. the work done must conform to the specifications agreed on for the project. quality performance is thus measured by the extent to which the completed work possesses the attributes desired by the client and the designer. poor quality performance results in increased rework, which may lead to time and co� overruns. the quality of work done was generally good. according to the consul­ tants' reports (norwest, 1999: 1-3) in only 29 (4,8%) of the 598 contracts were defects found during construction and during the defects liability period. in only 2 (0,33%) of the contracts was the quality of work found to be totally unacceptable. this is rather strange as many of the con­ tractors lacked the experience and the expertise for construction. perhaps the contractors were able to achieve good quality because of the simplicity of the projects. most of the work involved the renovation of very simple single storey buildings, which required neither the highly skilled labour nor the plant and equipment which most of the local contractors lack. 109 acta structilia 2003:10(1&2 ) 5. the roles of the project participants the participants directly involved in a construction project include clients, consultants and contractors. seeley (l997: l37l44) has discussed the roles of these participants in the administration of con­ struction projects. hillebrandt (1985: l 0-23) and seeley (1997: l 0) have also stressed the roles of indirect participants such as government and its agencies and manufacturers. the performance of these participants in their respective roles determines to a large extent the success or fail­ ure of a project. it can be seen from the performance evaluation that the programme under review was successful in terms of cost and product quality. in terms of time, however, the programme performed below expectation. responsibility for this failure can be attributed to all the three major par­ ticipants the client, the contractor and the consultants. ptf (the client) failed to meet its financial obligations to both the contractors and the consultants. the major reason contractors gave for project delay was the contractors' cash flow problems resulting from unpaid certificates. the ptf's financial problems stemmed from the government's failure to fulfil its commitments to the fund. for instance, between 1995 and 1998, out of a total commitment of n 198 25b (about us$ l 65b) the governmentallocated only n l 09 822b (about us$0 91 b) to ptf. this represents a shortfall of 44,6%. ptf's financial problems worsened when the government widened the scope of the programme to include many more areas of intervention despite the reduced allocation to the fund (ptf, 1998:3) many contractors performed below expectation because they lacked the expertise and the capital and equipment base required for the business of construction. some of them came into construction for the first time to take advantage of the 60% advance payment offered by ptf. some completed well below 60% of the contract value and aban­ doned their sites after collecting 60% of the contract sum as advance payment. the project consultants (pcs) had no representatives on site. this was because the client refused to pay for it. hence the only contact between the contractor and the pcs was during the monthly site meetings. furthermore, the sites were scattered all over the states in places with no telecommunications links with the state capita'i where the pcs were based. this delayed consultants' instructions to contractors and the contractors' compliance. the consultants also suffered a serious financial crisis for about six months of the period under review when the ptf failed to pay them their fees. during this period, the monthly progress reports of the consultants were produced two to three months behind schedule. yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation the programme organisation (figure 1) was rather bureaucratic as contractors had to process their certificates through the pcs, zpmcs and the management consultants to the client. this was a major cause of delay in paying contractors. the ptf programme commenced in l 995 but it was only in l 998 that a decision was taken to establish an independent project monitoring and evaluation unit (pmeu). by the time pmeu became fully operational in 1999, the ptf programme had ground to a halt as a result of the decision by the new democratic government to scrap the fund. a major innovation in the ptf programme was the policy of establishing a facilities management system for each rehabilitated institution. this was never implemented. ptf was scrapped in the year 2000 and replaced with a caretaker body to complete its projects. unfortunately, most of the delayed projects have remained uncompleted to date and have joined the large stock of abandoned projects, which litter nigeria's landscape. 6. conclusion the study has shown that the ptf programme was successful in terms of cost and quality. however, the cost performance is deceptive because most of the projects have been abandoned since 1999. if they were to be completed today at current prices the cost overrun could exceed the average figure of 140% quoted for nigeria. the huge sums of money tied down by these uncompleted projects are a colossal waste. the project performed below expectation in terms of completion time. at the end of the scheduled completion period the projects had suffered a time overrun of 38,5% on average. the longest project completion period for the programme was 8 months. thus, if the projects were to be completed today, four years behind schedule, the time overrun would be over 400%. the unsatisfactory time performance can be attributed to both internal and external causes. the internal cause was the failure of the major pro­ ject participants, especially the client and the contractors, to discharge their responsibilities. the client failed to pay the mostly local, small-scale contractors with very little working capital as and when due. most of the contractors lacked the basic resources required for the business of construction. the major external cause was the political instability, which the nation suffered during the programme period. most contractors abandoned their sites because from their experience of previous changes of government in nigeria, they were not sure if the incoming civilian government would honour contracts entered into by the outgo­ ing military dictatorship. to date, (three years after the programme was scrapped) many contractors and consultants are yet to be paid 111 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) for the work done. an important lesson from the ptf programme is that, in addition to public need, availability of funds should be a major criterion for embarking on government projects. in an attempt to please everybody the ptf embarked on too many projects at the same time (for purely political reasons) with no guarantee of adequate funding from the government. the result is that most of the projects remain uncompleted to date and the fundamental element of distrust in public accountability, which the ptf set out to remove, has been further entrenched instead. it is recommended that: the programme must be evaluated in the other five zones so that the results can be aggregated to give the ptf programme a national performance rating the completion cost for all the uncompleted projects should be assessed to know the financial requirements for their completion • as a deliberate government policy all the uncompleted ptf and other public projects should be completed before any new projects are initiated. this is the only way the huge financial investments in these projects can be recovered in the public interest. the government should set a time frame for the completion of all such projects the government should invest in local capacity building in the nigerian construction industry as a long-term policy to address the problem of low productivity of indigenous contractors. most of the indigenous contractors engaged in the ptf programme performed far below expectation because (as other studies have shown) they lacked the expertise, financial resources and equip­ ment base required for present-day construction. references achinivu, o.c. 1998. an overview of the petroleum (special) trust fund programmes. paper presented at workshop on the implementation strategies for the rehabilitation of national infrastructural facilities. enugu, nigeria, l 2th-l 7'h july 1998. buhari, m. 1998. maximising the gains of sacrifice. ptf news, (january edition), pp. 12-14. 112 i yusif & odeyinka • performance evaluation chappell, d. 1991. which form of building contract. london: architecture design & technology press. dlakwa, m.m. & culpin, m.f. 1990. reasons for overrun in public sector construction projects in nigeria, international journal of project management, 8(4), pp. 237-241. hillebrandt, p.m. 1985. economic theory and the construction industry. london: macmillan. holt, g.d., olomolaiye, p.o. & harris, f.c. 1995. a review of contractor selection practice in the uk construction industry. building and environment, 30(4), pp. 553-561. kim, y. & ballard, g. 2002. earned value method and customer earned value. journal of construction research, 3(1 ), pp. 55-66. lock, d. 1996. project management. aldershot: gower publishing. maloney, w.f. 1990. framework for analysis of performance, journal of construction engineering and management, 116(3), pp. 399-415. ngoka, n.t. 197 4 organisation and management of construction projects in nigeria. building and environment, 14(4), pp. 253-256. norwest consultant s 1999. national health and educational institutions rehabilitation programme. progress reports for ongoing projects, june. kaduna: norwest consultants. o'neill, j.j. 1989. management of industrial construction projects. oxford: heinemann newnes. 113 act a structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) odeyinka, h.a. & yusif, a. 1997. the causes and effects of construction delays on completion cost of hosing projects in nigeria. journal of financial management of property and construction, 2[3), pp. 31-44. ogunlana, s.o. & olomolaiye, p.o. l 989. a survey of site management practice on some selected sites in nigeria. building and environment, 24[2), pp. 191-196. okpala, d.c. & aniekwu, a.n. l 988 causes of high cost of construction in nigeria, journal of construction engineering and management, l l 4[2), pp. 233-244. oma-williams, o.w. ptf 1991. reorganising for project management in nigeria. the nigerian quantity surveyor, 13, pp. 5-8. 1995a. the mandate: the decree, inaugural speech and response. abuja: ptf. 1995b. guidelines for the selection of contractors and suppliers. abuja: ptf. 1998. the facts and figures. volume l: executive summary. abuja: ptf. seeley, i.h. 1997. quantity surveying practice. london: macmillan. smith, n.j. 1995. engineering project management. oxford: blackwell science. wahab, k.a. 1977. improving efficiency in the building sector. west african technical review, pp 81 -89. walker, d.h.t. 1995. an investigation into construction time performance. construction management and economics, 13:263-274. yusif, a. & odeyinka, h.a. 11 2000. an evaluation of tendering practice in the nigerian construc­ tion industry. construction in nigeria. journal of the federation of construction industry, l 5[2), pp. 3-7. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles a proposed model for construction project management communication in the south african construction industry peer reviewed and revised abstract ineffective communication and the poor applica­ tion of communication skills in construction project management lead to project outcomes that do not meet project objectives. the lack of a proper communication skills model for project manage­ ment may contribute to ineffective project com­ mu ni cation. this article reports the results of a study done to identify the most important project management communication skills and applica tions of communication that effective project managers should possess. a literature review on project manage ment communication, project communi­ cation skills, applications of project communication and project management and leadership communi­ cation was done to develop a quantitative ques­ tion naire for testing the importance of project management communication skills and applications of communication as perceived by a total of 97 construction­related professionals employed in construction project management, architecture, construction management, engi neering and quantity surveying. based on the findings, the communication skills and applications of communication expected from project managers were grouped into core (decision­making, problem­solving, listening, verbal competency, motivation, persuasion, meetings, writing competency, presentation, team­building and development, conflict management) and important skills (negotiation, trust, explaining, questioning, reinforce ment, reflecting, public communication, humour and laughter, self-disclosure) which, together with managerial and leadership communication, form the main basis of the proposed model. the proposed model may assist construction project managers in developing their communication abilities, and through improved communication, benita zulch dr b.g. (benita) zulch, senior lecturer and programme director, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, south africa. phone: 051 401 3849, email: <zulchbg@ufs.ac.za> the author declared no conflict of interest for this title and article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as23i1.1 issn: 1023­0564 e­issn: 2415­0487 acta structilia 2016 23(1): 1-35 © uv/ufs tel:0514013849 mailto:zulchbg@ufs.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.1 acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 2 improve their management and leadership abilities, ensuring the successful execution of projects in the south african construction industry. keywords: communication skills and leadership model, construction project management, leadership, south african construction industry abstrak oneffektiewe kommunikasie en die swak toepassing van kommunikasie­ vaardighede in konstruksieprojekbestuur lei tot uitkomste wat nie aan die doelwitte van ‘n projek voldoen nie. die gebrek aan ‘n behoorlike kommunikasie­ vaardigheidsmodel vir projekbestuur kan ook bydra tot oneffektiewe projek­ bestuurs kommunikasie. hierdie artikel doen verslag oor die resultate van ‘n studie wat gedoen is om die belangrikste projekbestuurkommunikasievaardighede en toepassings van kommunikasie waaroor effektiewe projekbestuurders moet beskik, te identifiseer. ‘n literatuuroorsig oor projekbestuurkommunikasie; projek kommunikasievaardighede; toepassings van projekkommunikasie en projekbestuursfunksies en leierskap in projekbestuur is gedoen om ‘n kwantitatiewe vraelys te kon opstel vir die meting van die belangrikheid van projekbestuurkommunikasievaardighede en toepassing van kommunikasie soos waargeneem deur 97 konstruksie­verwante professionele persone. hierdie professionele persone is werksaam in konstruksie­ projekbestuur, argitektuur, konstruksiebestuur, ingenieurswese en bourekenkunde. gebaseer op die bevindinge van die studie is die kommunikasievaardighede en toepassings van kommunikasie wat verwag word van projekbestuurders ingedeel in die volgende groepe: kern (besluitneming, probleemoplossing, luister, mondelinge vaardighede, motivering, oorreding, vergaderings, geskrewe vaar­ dig hede, aanbiedings, spanbou en ontwikkeling, konflikbestuur); belangrike (onderhandeling, vertroue, verduideliking, vrae, versterking, reflektering, openbare kommunikasie, humor en lag, self-bekendmaking); bestuursen leier skapkom munikasievaardighede wat dan ook die belangrikste basis van die voor­ gestelde model vorm. die voorgestelde model kan bou­projekbestuurders help om hul kommunikasievermoëns te ontwikkel, en deur middel van verbeterde kommunikasie, word hul bestuur­ en leierskapvermoëns verbeter om te verseker dat suksesvolle projekte in die suid­afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf uitgevoer word. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasievaardighede en leierskapsmodel, konstruksie­ projekbestuur, leierskap, suid­afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf 1. introduction a literature review identified some models for communication, communication leadership, and leadership (barrett, 2006: online; burke, 2010: 49; hoard, 2003: online; knipe, van der waldt, van niekerk, burger & nell, 2002: 18; kotzé, berry & verster, 2008: cd; steyn, 2012: 286-287). closer investigation showed that a specific model for construction project managers’ communication skills and leadership may not exist. in order to address ineffective communication, it is important to determine the skills and applications of communication needed to communicate effectively, as communication is important for the successful completion of a project (thomsett, 2010: 198). skills cannot be applied without effective communication and, as heldman (2003: 33) states, “the most important skills a project manager possesses are communication skills”. zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 3 a proposed communication skills and leadership model may fill the void for a model that can be used by construction project managers as a possible enhancement tool for improved project communication as well as for improving their general communication skills. a literature study clarified project management communication, project communication skills, applications of communication in projects and project management, and leadership communication. this clarification was important to highlight some elements within these categories that may contribute to the design of the proposed model. in order to determine the elements needed to design the model, a research study was done to rank effective project communication skills and applications of communication for project managers from important to extremely important. based on the findings, the communication skills and applications of communication expected from project managers were grouped into core and important skills, which, together with management and leadership communication, form the main basis of the proposed model. 2. project management communication it is estimated that project managers and project team members spend approximately 90% of their working time engaged in some form of communication (burke, 2010: 280). the foundation of any project manager’s success lies in effective communication. pmbok (in burke & barron, 2007: 346) defines effective communication as “ensuring the right person gets the right information at the right time”. to understand the importance of the elements within the proposed model, it is important to determine and define different lines, levels and types of project communication as well as communication media that are considered in project communication. 2.1 project communication lines at the start of a project, it is important to determine the lines of communication and the methods of managing information (fisk & reynolds, 2010: 36). smit & cronje (2002: 372) propose two primary lines of communication, namely formal communication and informal communication. formal communication can be categorised as vertical, horizontal, or diagonal and may appear under various forms: spoken, written, direct, indirect, and so on (alexander, 2015: online; smit & cronje, 2002: 372; tubbs & moss, 2008: 477-490). vertical communication is the upward and downward communication flow between different hierarchical levels of the organisation (alexander, 2015: online). http://www.cio.com/author/moira-alexander/ http://www.cio.com/author/moira-alexander/ acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 4 downward communication starts at the top and flows down through to workers to provide information on goals, strategies, and policies (campbell, 2011: 287; fielding, 2005: 48-51; posea, 2012: 201; smit & cronje, 2002: 371-372). the main function of upward communication is to supply information to the upper levels about what is happening at the lower levels (campbell, 2011: 287; fielding, 2005: 48-51; smit & cronje, 2002: 371-372). horizontal/lateral communication takes place between people at the same level of the hierarchy (alexander, 2015: online; posea, 2012: 201). this formal communication does not follow the chain of command (campbell, 2011: 287; fielding, 2005: 48-51; smit & cronje, 2002: 371-372). diagonal communication takes place between people at different levels of the hierarchy (alexander, 2015: online; campbell, 2011: 287; fielding, 2005: 48-51; posea, 2012: 201; smit & cronje, 2002: 371-372). informal communication uses channels such as the grapevine, rumours (fielding, 2005: 52; smit & cronje, 2002: 373; tubbs & moss, 2008: 493), informal social groupings, and phatic communication to try to eliminate uncertainty, curiosity, or anxiety of some people from the project team (van staden, marx & erasmus-kritzinger, 2002: 23-24). 2.2 project communication levels le roux, de beer, ferreira, hübner, jacobs, kritzinger, labuschagne, stapelberg & venter (1999: 286-287) and dow & taylor (2008: 44-47) suggest that project management communication takes place on internal and external communication levels. internal communication is the communication that takes place between project team members (alexander, 2015: online). it is vital for regulating employee behaviour, innovation, integration, and information sharing (dainty, moore & murray, 2006: 130; kress, 2005: 30; saks, 2006: 615). external communication is communication between project team members and other project stakeholders (alexander, 2015: online). generally, this type of communication is prepared before being presented or sent to the receiving party. the focus is on the way in which the organisation manages its communication and conveys a particular image of the organisation to the outside world (dainty, moore & murray, 2006: 130; le roux et al., 1999: 286-287). http://www.cio.com/author/moira-alexander/ http://www.cio.com/author/moira-alexander/ zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 5 2.3 types of project communication in an attempt to understand communication in project manage­ ment, it is useful to classify the types of communication within which people are involved in an organisation. baker ([n.d.]: 1-15), emmitt & gorse (2003: 45) and kreps (1989) divide project communication into five types: • interpersonal communication: according to bambacas & patrickson (2008: 52), “[i]nterpersonal communication explains ‘the means’ by which organisational activities, such as mana­ ging, controlling, planning, and leading are deli vered”. baker ([n.d.]: 5), jha, 2010: 3-4, robbins & hunsaker (2003: 52-53) and sethi & seth (2009: 33) state that, although interpersonal communication can include oral, written, and non­verbal forms of communication, the term is by and large related to spoken communication that takes place between two or more individuals in person. • group communication: emmitt & gorse (2003: 45) and barker & angelopulo (2007: 95) define group communication as two or more people who interact with, and influence each other or different work groups communicating to each other. • mass communication: emmitt & gorse (2003: 45) define mass communication as messages sent through the media (television, radio, newspapers) to large audiences mainly to enhance public understanding and acceptance of projects (jha, 2010: 4). • public communication: public communication takes place when the project manager addresses a large known audience or the media (mccarthy, 2010: 263). lectures, speeches and presentations are all forms of public communication. in public communication, feedback from the audience must be part of the communication process (emmitt & gorse, 2003: 48). the skill to develop and maintain effective public relations through communication is important for project managers’ relationships with the public and the media (mccarthy, 2010: 263). • organisational communication: goldhaber (1989: 17) defines organisational communication as “the process of creating and exchanging messages within a network of inter­ dependent relationships”. these relationships can be internal (effective communications between managers and workers in different parts of an organisation); external (the way in which the organisation manages its communication processes acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 6 with the outside world) as well as formal and informal forms of interaction (baker, [n.d.]: 5; dainty, moore & murray, 2006: 130-131). 2.4 methods of project management communication two communication methods are the push and the pull communi­ cation methods, suggested by du plessis, jooste & strydom (2001: 341). push communication is when information is sent to specific recipients, and users access and retrieve information at their discretion, e.g. letters, memos, reports, emails, faxes, voice mails, blogs, press releases, and so on (brunt, 2013: 447). it is typically used when the recipients need the information and no immediate response is required (du plessis et al., 2001: 341; nielsen, 2010: online). pull communication is used for very large volumes of information and should be used when the communication is informational only. if the recipients do not read it, it will not affect the project. these methods include intranet sites, e­learning, lessons learned database, knowledge repositories, and so on (brunt, 2013: 447). 2.5 communication media/mediums a communication medium is simply ‘how’ a message is sent to the receiver or the method used to communicate (heldman, 2009). dainty, moore & murray (2006: 64), gillard & johansen (2004: 23-29) and schwalbe (2014: 418) note that, when deciding on the communication mediums, the project manager should consider the purpose of the communication, the receiver, and the type of information being shared, as messages are often more successfully conveyed if a variety of media are used (torrington & hall, 1998: 121). communication media in organisations have been widely exa­ mined in management literature. dainty, moore & murray (2006: 65), heldman (2009: 201), posea (2012: 201), le roux et al. (1999: 286-287), dow & taylor (2008: 44-47) and yan (2009: 43) classify communications media in the following generic types: • speech/verbal: oral communication between individuals or groups. can be formal (such as in meetings and focus groups) or informal, and face­to­face or via telecommunications media. • non­verbal: present during some other forms of communi­ cation and implying meaning to what is being said. can be deliberate or non­deliberate (such as dress code, gestures, appearance, or attitudes). zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 7 • written: usually official or formal (such as internal announcements, reports, decisions, plans, letters to people inside or outside the institution). written information within project management provides a permanent record of the communication. • audiovisual: graphical or audio­based media designed to convey a message more effectively (such as telephone, videoconferencing, teleconferencing, cellular telephone calls, sms (i.e. texting) and walkie-talkie conversations). • electronic: increasingly popular method using innovations such as electronic mail to communicate rapidly between distributed individuals and groups. • visual: communication takes place by means of presentations, dvds and videos. each of these media/mediums can be expressed formally or informally depending on the circumstances and desire of the individual or group transmitting the message (dainty, moore & murray, 2006: 65). 3. project communication skills according to goldsmith & newton (2011: a165), there are various understandings of the nature of communication skills in the construction discipline. widdowson (1978: 67) refers to communication skills as the mode in which the communication system is realised. dainty, moore & murray (2006: 5-6) refer to com munication skills specifically as those that project managers need in order to deal with individuals, small groups, large groups, and organisations. goldsmith & newton (2011: a165), alexander (2015: online) and zulch (2014: 677-680) note that, for the construction project manager, the ability or skill to communicate would include, among others, aspects such as trust and respect, objectivity and fairness, leading by example, motivation, accessibility, transparency, confidence, flexibility, clarity, integrity, competence, focus, and stability. skulmoski & hartman (2009: 242-243) and zulch (2014: 677-680) add collaborate, explaining and questioning, listening, verbal competency, reflecting, meetings, writing competency and presentation skills, self­disclosure and humour, and laughter as part of communication skills for project managers. it is important to clarify these communication skills in order to understand the importance of the elements within the proposed model. acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 8 3.1 trust and respect trust and respect are not a right; they are earned, and come from an experience of honesty, integrity, concern and expertise demonstrated by effective project managers (andi & simanjuntak, 2008: 111; ray 2015: online; turner & muller, 2005: 51). 3.2 objectivity and fairness according to alexander (2015: online) and kliem, ludin & robertson (1997: 38), effective project leaders should actively listen to more than one side without bias. when they receive important information that they would rather not hear, they should work with key stakeholders to prioritise the way forward. 3.3 leading by example leading by example demonstrates a leader’s commitment to his/ her work and provides guidance to subordinates on how effective performance can be achieved (bandura, 1997). strong project leaders make every effort to live by the same rules they expect of others, affirming to the team that they, too, walk the talk (alexander 2015: online). 3.4 motivation motivation includes all the attempts by the project manager to get members to the point where the team strives to do the best in order to achieve the goals (baguley, 2010: 106; kliem et al., 1997: 38; kroon, 1990: 11-12). the project manager is responsible for creating a culture of motivation by using direct communication links with team members, and for ensuring a safe working environment, basic personal comforts, the provision of training, and recognition of achievement (warren, 1989: 99). 3.5 accessibility according to alexander (2015: online), team members and stake­ holders need to know that they can easily access their project leader and communicate freely and without barriers. highly effective project leaders are never closed off. zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 9 3.6 transparency transparency is the clear and open communication of project information to teams and customers through openness, communi­ cation, and accountability (andersen, 2008: 250; calero, 2011: online; depaoli, 2011: 2). transparency only works under conditions of trust where there are no hidden agendas or reading between the lines (alexander, 2015: online; franz & sarcina, 2009: 88). 3.7 confidence according to vocabulary.com ([n.d.]: online), confidence is “a feeling of trust and firm belief in yourself or others”. turner & muller (2005: 50) note self-confidence as a trait of effective project managers, as it allows teams to work toward shared goals. alexander (2015: online) warns that project leaders who are confident in their knowledge and abilities must not be arrogant, as this tends to make team members uncomfortable and reluctant. 3.8 flexibility alexander (2015: online) states that great project leaders establish themselves as reliable communicators to develop credibility with project sponsors and flex and adapt during change. 3.9 collaborate mcintosh, luecke & davis (2008: 59) state that collaboration involves getting everybody’s best efforts. this means that project managers may divide projects to the advantage of each team member’s set of skills where everybody is willing to co­operate and share information, ideas and assets in order to help each other (ray, 2015: online; sweeney, 2010: online). 3.10 explaining and questioning according to wragg & brown (2001: 13), “[e]xplaining is the giving of understanding to others”. explaining means to simplify and provide an understanding of a problem to others (hargie, 2007: 196). fritzley & lee (in hargie, 2007: 121) describe questioning as a “major form of speech act in interpersonal communication”, while stenstroem (in hargie, 2007: 121) reflects that “it is difficult to imagine a conversation without questions and responses”. explaining and asking questions is a fundamental part of communication and is an important skill for project professionals (waterman et al., 2001: 477). the project manager has to communicate information that is clear acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 10 and comprehensible to the project team members. to explain and allow team members to ask questions helps them understand the project goals (dow & taylor, 2008: 27; clements & gido, 2012: 384). 3.11 listening the ability to master the art of proper listening is an important skill for the construction project manager (van staden et al., 2002: 42). listening was traditionally viewed as the ability to perceive and process information presented orally (hargie, 2007: 267). sweeney (2011: online) and odusami (2002: 61) state that the ability to listen effectively is a core skill needed to listen to and understand the words and the meaning behind the words, not interrupting or letting the mind wander, by asking questions to ensure understanding and by observing signals such as reinforcement (bostrom, 1997: 240). 3.12 verbal competency according to laufer, shapira & telem (2008: 81), construction project managers are engaged in oral communication for approximately 76% of the time; therefore, effective verbal communication is a skill that a construction manager should possess (riley, horman & messner, 2008: 146). 3.13 reflecting reflecting is closely associated with listening and is an interactive process where the whole message is repeated as it was said (hargie, 2007: 165; pace, peterson & burnett, 1979: 157). project managers who have the ability to reflect words and feelings and who can clarify that these words and feelings have been understood correctly help team members direct their thoughts and encourage them to continue speaking (pace et al., 1979: 167). 3.14 clarity to ensure information clarity, the project managers must gear com­ munication methods, mediums and styles toward their audience so that all communications on the project are clear and complete (calero, 2011: online; alexander 2015: online; barry, 2010: online). in practice, this means that project managers should have the ability to take something complex and make it simple in order to reach audiences at different levels (alexander 2015: online). zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 11 3.15 integrity according to barry (2010: online), the actions, and not the words used by project leaders set the modus operandi for the team. integrity is a demonstration of, and commitment to ethical practices. based on integrity, good project managers create standards for ethical behaviour that is important in project management. 3.16 competence the businessdictionary ([n.d.]: online) defines competence as “[a] cluster of related abilities, commitments, knowledge, and skills that enable a person (or an organisation) to act effectively in a job or situation”. simply put, project manager competence means that everybody must believe that a person knows what s/he is doing by demonstrating the ability to challenge, inspire, enable, model, and encourage (barry, 2010: online). 3.17 focus and stability not all projects go as planned. during these times, project teams rely on the project manager(s) to be rational, remain calm under pressure, and be able to make sound judgement in order to find the right solutions that best support the overall strategic goals of the project (alexander, 2015: online). 3.18 meetings, writing competency and presentations meetings are the construction project manager’s principal forum to manage the project and communicate with the team members and stakeholders (burke & barron, 2007: 349; harrin, 2015: online). construction project meetings are important for sharing information and exchanging data; solving problems, brainstorming, generating ideas, options and alternatives; decision-making, selecting a course of action, gaining support and alternatives; planning and execution, to determine the what, who, when, how, where and why; progress, evaluation, monitoring, measuring, reviewing and forecasting, as well as control (burke & barron, 2007: 349; burke, 2007: 213). elder (1994: 46, 332) and kliem et al. (1997: 38) suggest that the project manager familiarise him­/herself with the principles of effective writing processes. written reports, letters, instructions, and minutes of meetings are essential for the smooth running of projects and may be used as evidence in the event of a dispute (emmitt & gorse, 2003: 124). http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/cluster.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ability.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/commitment.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/knowledge.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/skill.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organization.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/act.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/job.html acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 12 presentations may be delivered to the client to explain the project, to senior management to report progress, or to the board of directors to justify cost or time issues (steyn, 2008: 321). a powerful presentation with visual aids may create a powerful impact and give the perception of someone who knows the information presented (burke & barron, 2007: 279). 3.19 self-disclosure self­disclosure is when people reveal information such as names, person’s attitudes, values, personality, and skills that help people get to know each other (hargie, 2007: 230; kasouf, celuch & bantham, 2006: 40). the skill of self-disclosure is important in project communication, because a project manager’s self­disclosure fosters trust, as it leads to shared perceptions and concerns among team members (mcmanus, 2006: 51). 3.20 humour and laughter using humour and laughter to convey a message involves the cognitive, emotional, physiological and social aspects thereof (hargie, 2007: 294). fourie (1988: 77) states that a method for the correct use of humour is to establish a humorous mood. humour and laughter are important factors that give team members a sense of belonging and acceptance, and that foster caring and mutual support (yalom, bloch & crouch in hargie, 2007: 303). the ability to see the funny side of projects is an important communication skill for project managers, because, if used appropriately, humour can help a manager handle stress and break tension (gido & clements, 2012: 331; harrin, 2015: online). 4. applications of communication goldsmith & newton (2011: a165), alexander (2015: online), chaturvedi & chaturvedi (2011: 181-193) and zulch (2014: 677-680) note that it is important for the construction project manager to have the ability to apply communication correctly when needed. this ability would then, among others, include aspects such as decision­ making, problem-solving; conflict management; team development and team-building; negotiation; persuasion, and reinforcement. zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 13 4.1 decision-making decision­making is a process to gain collective support and team commitment for a solution (burke & barron, 2007: 71; shockley-zalabak, 1991: 303; van der merwe, 2009: online). research by gorse & emmitt (2007: 1209) states that decision-making is an essential component of a project manager’s set of application skills. in a study by odusami (2002: 61), decision-making was ranked the most important skill for effective project managers. patel (2010: online) states that a project manager “has to exercise independent decision making and not be biased toward the employer”. 4.2 problem-solving problem­solving is a process of analysing a problem and identifying a number of possible solutions (burke & barron, 2007: 71; shockleyzalabak, 1991: 303). problem-solving involves a combination of problem definition (technical, managerial, or interpersonal) and decision-making (edum-fotwe & mccafer, 2000: 114). in a study by odusami (2002: 61), problem-solving was ranked the fifth most important skill for effective project managers. 4.3 conflict management conflict is often the result of uncertainty or miscommunication (morris, 2008: 216; apm body of knowledge, 2006: 108). conflict that is managed brings concerns into the open, raises otherwise suppressed viewpoints, and may clear up misunderstandings and uncertainty (apm body of knowledge, 2006: 108; clearly, 2008: 46). the conflict management methods or options that the construction project manager can apply during communication and specifically with negotiations include confronting, compromising, accommodating (apm body of knowledge, 2006: 108; clearly, 2008: 46-47), forcing, withdrawing (apm body of knowledge, 2006: 108), avoiding, collaborating (clearly, 2008: 46-47; ellis, 1999: 58-60, 2009: 68-69), compromising, bottom line (ellis, 1999: 58-60, 2009: 69), shift perspectives, conflict transformation (morris, 2008: 220-221), integrating, obliging, and dominating (emmitt & gorse, 2003: 169-170). effective conflict management requires seeking a win-win situation, stipulating proactive conflict management strategies, using effective negotiation and communication, as well as appreciating cultural differences among project stakeholders (verma, 1998: 372). acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 14 4.4 team-building and team development according to pryke & smyth (2006: 166) and van der merwe (2009: online), effective project managers develop and build successful teams by paying attention to team­building and information exchange within the team. the project manager may use the skills of effective communication, leadership and motivation to build successful teams that were created from grouping individuals into teams (zulch, 2012: 122; barry, 2010: online). 4.5 negotiation negotiation is a process of bargaining aimed at reaching an agreement with project stakeholders in order to obtain specific resources, subcontractor prices, vendor delivery schedules, generating information, and accomplishing tasks (clements & gido, 2012: 312; edum-fotwe & mccafer, 2000: 114; van der merwe, 2009: online). burke & barron (2007: 301, 103) and harrin (2015: online) state that, to be a successful project manager, negotiation techniques (skills) must be developed and used to achieve the best deals with functional managers, clients and suppliers. ottosson (2013: 258) states the following: “make sure to be regarded as an equal and skilful negotiator.” 4.6 persuasion persuasion is the art of guiding, encouraging, convincing, and directing team members towards a form of preferred behaviour, attitude, or belief (emmitt & gorse, 2003: 50). the power of persuasion is an important part of the project manager’s leadership style to obtain cooperation between project team members (burke & barron, 2007: 275). the ability to change the views of others through motivation and persuasion should be viewed as one of the most fundamental applications of communication (dillard & marshall, 2003: 480). 4.7 reinforcement reinforcement is a process of encouraging a pattern of behaviour. it involves a stimulus which, when linked to a response, will most likely lead to that response being repeated (hargie, 2007: 150). repetition of positive reinforcement such as praise and encouragement tells team members that they do well and that their inputs are appreciated (dubrin, 2008: 386; pace et al., 1979: 156). zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 15 5. management communication management is based on the management functions of planning, organising, leading, coordinating, activating, controlling, communi­ cation, motivation, delegation, staffing, disciplining, and decisionmaking (zulch, 2012: 10-11). for these functions to be effectively managed, managers need effective pro­active communication (kroon, 1990: 11). bell & martin (2008: 130) define managerial communication as “the downward, horizontal, or upward exchange of information and transmission of meaning through informal or formal channels, enabling managers to achieve their goals”. managerial communication is thus a function that helps managers communicate with each other as well as with employees within the organisation (rosenau & githens, 2005: 13). managerial communication is a key skill (vosough, 2012: 9294) that project managers need in order to interact with individuals and to manage groups effectively (zulch, 2012: 150). managerial communication such as the use of expression, letter writing, effective listening, reporting, coaching, mentoring, interaction and negotiation techniques, skills related to creativity such as courage in new thinking and risk-taking (munter, 1993 in bell & martin, 2008: 130) begins with emotional intelligence or interpersonal skills and an understanding of crosscultural differences needed to interact effectively with others as individuals or groups (barrett, 2006: 187). 6. leadership communication leadership is a vital element of project management competency, of which communication is a vital component (handy, 1993: 117; campbell, 2011: 287). leadership communication involves the expansion of managerial skills to those abilities needed to lead an organisation and address a broader community (zulch, 2012: 150). leadership, as a project communication skill, is considered important and becomes even more complex, because the higher the level of leadership during the production and management of projects, the higher the demand for communication competence (hackman & johnson, 2013: 22; zulch, 2012: 150). it becomes even more important when leaders face both internal and external stakeholders (barrett, 2013: 192). this means that leaders become the face of the organisation; they should think about how to create a positive image through communication with diverse audiences within and outside the organisation (barrett, 2011: 16). acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 16 leadership communication drives results, and enables leaders and followers to work together more efficiently, because they understand the issues and know what has to be done in order to accomplish their goals (hackman & johnson, 2013: 11; clements & gido, 2012: 304; steyn, 2012: 269; belzer, in stevenson & starkweather, 2009: 665; du plessis, 2009: online; egeland, 2010: online; steyn, 2008: 250-251). according to hauptfleisch & siglé (2004: 57), the project manager very specifically requires leadership skills and not only management ability. campbell (2011: 287) states that “good communication and strong leadership go hand in hand”. project managers succeed by producing projects on time and within budget as well as by effectively managing the interaction and communication between people and organisations. in order to understand the difference between management com­ munication and leadership communication, it is important not to equate the concepts management and leadership. leading differs from managing when it comes to creating an agenda, developing a human network for achieving the agenda, and executing the agenda. while the leader sets the goals, the manager sets the objectives to accomplish the goals (hackman & johnson, 2013: 33). 7. research this empirical research project was an opinion study of people employed in construction­related professions. they rated the impor­ tant communication skills and applications of communication that construction project managers should possess. the structured survey questionnaire invitations were sent via e­mail. for this investigation, an e­mail distribution method gave the opportunity to access a larger group of potential research participants and the data could be collected across the entire country. 7.1 sampling method a combined list of 1,400 members, registered in south africa, was obtained from official bodies of the association of south african quantity surveying; association of construction project managers; the south african association of consulting engineers; master builders of south africa, and institute of landscape architects of south africa. the list was stratified between those members involved in quantity surveying (427), project management (293), engineering (290), building contracting (110), and architects (280). a simple random sampling selecting method resulted in a sample size of zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 17 302 representing quantity surveyors (90), project managers (63), engineers (62), building contractors (26), and architects (61). 7.2 sample size the sample size for construction-related professionals was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608). the table gives recommended sample sizes for general research activities, applicable to any defined population. from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 1,000 is 278, for 10,000 it is 370, and for 1,000,000 it is 384. this recom­ men dation validates the sample size of 302 as efficient for the population of 1,400. 7.3 data collection a structured questionnaire was distributed electronically via email to a total randomly selected sample of 307 construction­related professionals in south africa. two weeks later, the importance of the research was communicated to the potential respondents via telephone in an attempt to improve the response rate. the project management communication topics used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature and resulted in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two sections, namely respondent’s profile, and the level of importance of communication skills and applications of communication that a project manager should possess. from the categories, the author selected the following elements to be tested and included in the proposed model: types of project communication (public and mass communication); project communication skills (listening, verbal competency, motivation, meetings, writing competency, explaining, trusting, presentation, questioning, humour and laughter, self-disclosure); applications of communication (decision-making and problem-solving, conflict management, team development and team-building, negotiation, persuasion, reinforcement, reflecting); leadership com muni cation (leadership). to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed­ended questions were preferred (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 7.4 response rate ninety-seven (97) completed questionnaires were returned, resulting in a response rate of 32%. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built­environment survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. it is significant in respect of the acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 18 reliability of the response rate that the majority of the responses received were from project managers. however, the responses from the project managers did not distort the response data. 7.5 data analysis and interpretation of findings towards the proposed model a 5­point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. likert­type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997; burns & grove, 1997). these ordinal scales measure levels of agreement/disagreement. for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 is not important (>1.0 and ≤1.8), 2 fairly important (>1.8 and ≤ 2.6), 3 important (>2.6 and ≤ 3.4), 4 very important (>3.4 and ≤ 4.2), and 5 extremely important (>4.2 and ≤ 5.0). the data were captured using the spss program, upon which the findings were reviewed against the foregoing literature review. 8. results and findings 8.1 respondents’ profile the first part of the questionnaire contained questions on the demographic profile of the respondents who are in the best position to comment on the communication skills and applications of communication that project managers should possess. table 1 shows the professions of the respondents and table 2 shows the years of experience in a profession. the majority of the responses (52.6%) were received from project managers and quantity surveyors. of the respondents, 30% did not complete the question on the years of experience in a profession. the valid cases showed that 42% of the professionals have more than 10 years’ experience in their professions, of whom 13.4% have 25 years or more experience. there is a reasonable proportional distribution in the number of years’ experience of respondents; 42% of the respondents have between zero and five years’ experience; nearly half of the valid respondents have between six and fifteen years’ professional experience. zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 19 table 1: respondents’ profile profession of respondents number of respondents in this profession percentage (%) of respondent in this profession quantity surveying 25 25.8 engineering 11 11.4 architecture 10 10.3 construction management 5 5.1 construction project management 10 10.3 project management 26 26.8 other 10 10.3 total 97 100 table 2: respondents years of experience in profession profession years of experience in profession n of valid cases = 68 (70%) n of incomplete profiles = 29 (30%) total n = 97 (100%) total valid cases years not indicated on profile 0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 25+ quantity surveying 6 (46%) 2 (15%) 1 (13%) 0 (0%) 1 (13%) 3 (23%) 13 engineering 6 (66%) 1 (11%) 1 (11%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (11%) 9 architecture 2 (50%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (25%) 1 (25%) 4 construction management 2 (50%) 2 (50%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 construction project management 0 (0%) 1 (10%) 4 (40%) 1 (10%) 2 (20%) 2 (20%) 10 project management 10 (45%) 4 (18%) 4 (18%) 2 (9%) 1 (4%) 1 (4%) 22 other related professions 3 (50%) 1 (16%) 0 (0%) 1 (16%) 0 (0%) 1 (16%) 6 incomplete profiles 29 (30%) total 29 29 11 10 4 5 9 68 total (%) (30%) (42%) (16%) (14.9%) (5.9%) (7.8%) (13.4%) (70%) acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 20 8.2 importance levels of communication skills and applications of communication based on the scale measurement used regarding mean scores, where 1 is not important (>1.0 and ≤1.8), 2 fairly important (>1.8 and ≤ 2.6), 3 important, (>2.6 and ≤ 3.4), 4 very important (>3.4 and ≤ 4.2), and 5 extremely important (>4.2 and ≤ 5.0), the results in table 3 show the mean scores for the importance levels of project manager communication skills and applications of communication as perceived by the respondents. table 3: communication skills and applications of communication of project managers communication skills and communication applications response (%) (n=97) average mean score ranking1 not important…………5 extremely important 1 2 3 4 5 leadership 0 1.0 6.2 20.6 69.2 4.5 1 decision­making and problem­solving 0 1.1 7.2 20.6 68.1 4.5 2 listening 0 0 15.4 33.0 48.6 4.2 3 motivation 0 1.0 7.2 43.3 45.5 4.2 3 verbal competency 0 1.0 17.9 37.5 40.6 4.2 3 conflict management 0 3.1 15.5 34.0 44.4 4.1 4 meetings 0 0 15.5 42.2 39.1 4.1 4 team development and team­building 0 4.1 9.3 45.4 38.2 4.1 4 writing competency 0 1.0 14.4 46.4 35.2 4.1 4 negotiation 0 4.1 16.5 36.1 40.3 4.0 5 explaining 1.1 4.1 8.2 43.3 40.3 4.0 5 questioning 0 10.7 15.4 43.3 27.6 3.9 6 trusting 0 3.0 19.6 42.2 32.2 3.9 6 presentation 0 3.2 23.7 38.2 31.9 3.8 6 persuasion 0 2.1 26.8 38.2 29.9 3.8 6 reinforcement 1.0 5.2 18.5 43.5 28.9 3.8 6 public and mass communication 4.1 7.2 37.2 30.9 17.6 3.4 7 humour and laughter 5.2 13.4 33.0 37.1 8.3 3.2 8 reflecting 10.3 8.2 34.0 34.0 10.5 3.1 9 zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 21 communication skills and communication applications response (%) (n=97) average mean score ranking1 not important…………5 extremely important 1 2 3 4 5 self­disclosure 20.6 28.9 21.6 20.6 5.3 2.5 10 average 3.8 rated extremely important, the following communication skills and applications of communication were identified as the core communication skills and applications within the proposed model: decision-making and problem-solving (ms=4.5); listening and verbal competency as well as motivation and persuasion (ms=4.2); meetings, writing competency and presentation; team-building and team development as well as management of conflict (ms=4.1). rated very important or important, the following communication skills and applications of communication were identified as the important communication skills and applications elements within the proposed model: negotiation and explaining (ms=4.0); questioning and trusting (ms=3.9); presentation, persuasion and reinforcement (ms=3.8); public communication (ms=3.4); humour and laughter (ms=3.2); reflecting (ms=3.1), and self-disclosure (ms=2.5). leadership (ms=4.5) was rated the highest communication skill and, together with management communication skills, forms the other elements within the proposed model. 9. proposed model for construction project management communication with the literature and empirical reviews as foundation, a model is proposed that is viewed as an integrated system with communication as fundamental core, since the research demonstrated that com­ muni cation skills and applications of communication support sound management and strong leadership. 9.1 communication skills and leadership model figure 1 illustrates the proposed communication skills and leadership model for construction project management. the model is viewed as an expanding circle with communication centre to leadership, like a pebble dropped in water. communication influences all activities related to management and leadership. the effectiveness of communication is again influenced by the level of core acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 22 communi cation skills and applications of communication, indicated in figure 1 from a to f, from decision­making and problem­solving to conflict management, as well as the important communication skills and applications of communication indicated in figure 1 from 1 to 6, from negotiation and trust to self­disclosure. the model consists of communication as the foundation with four circles around this core. the first circle constitutes the core communication skills and applications of communication; the second circle, the important communication skills and applications of communication; the third circle, management, and the fourth circle, leadership. figure 1: communication skills and leadership model for construction project management source: author’s own design communication is regarded as the foundation and starting point of all activities in the construction project management industry. this core supports the following circles: core communication skills and applications of communication, important communication skills zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 23 and applications of communication, management functions and effective pro­active communication, and leadership styles to be applied, in other words the situation based on sound communication. 9.1.1 core communication skills and applications of communication the first circle, a to f, following the communication foundation, is shown as a circle and in a sequence supported by the literature reviewed, but in combinations; this is sensible, since some of the managerial skills are sequential and are closely linked. the core communication skills and applications of communication strengthen and enhance communication and will assist the construction project manager to communicate more effectively. the sequence starts with a, decision­making and problem­solving, as the most important core communication skill and applications of communication skill set. a construction project manager needs to make sound decisions and solve problems as well as communicate them well in order to enhance communication interaction and understanding of management and leadership requirements to the advantage of the project. decision­making and problem­solving is followed by the combination of listening and verbal competency (b). the construction project manager cannot execute a project successfully without the skill of verbal competency in the form of discussions, orders, briefings, and instructions. effective listening forms part of verbal competency and involves not only listening to what is being said, but also having discussions and conversations in order to achieve results. third in the sequence is c, motivation and persuasion. the project manager has to motivate team members through communication, and persuade them to achieve the objectives of the project. the project team needs guidance, encouragement, convincing, and direction in order to perform well. the above is followed by meetings, writing competency and presentation (d). meetings are used to inform, reach decisions, and discuss aspects concerning the project and are the project manager’s principal forum to manage the project and communicate with the team members and stakeholders. the decisions at meetings are recorded in writing. written reports, letters, instructions, minutes, specifications, bills of quantities, preambles, preliminaries, certificates and electronic communication are essential for the smooth running of projects and are used as evidence in the event of disputes and conflict. presentations are also used in conjunction with mostly written acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 24 reports. written communication serves as evidence for reference purposes during the project. fifth in the sequence of the first circle is e, the core application of communication, team­building and team development. this application focuses on developing people as individuals or as groups, as well as the project team, and aims to achieve project goals and objectives. the sixth and last application of communication skill in the sequence is f, management of conflict. during the management of a project, the construction project manager often needs to address differences and disputes that may affect the project’s objectives and success. effective application of communication skills may resolve conflict and may lead to an improved project environment. 9.1.2 important communication skills and applications of communication the second circle, 1 to 6, shows the important communication skills in sequence and, as with a to f, is supported by the study. this set of skills supports and strengthens the core communication skills and applications of communication. first, negotiation, as an important application of communication, ensures that agreements are reached with stakeholders, to the advantage of the project. trust between parties during a negotiation process is important in order to ensure continuous activity and performance. next in the sequence of the second circle of important communi­ cation skills and applications of communication are explaining and questioning. the project manager cannot execute a project without explaining the expectations to the project team members and allowing them to question decisions and explanations; this will support harmony and the team’s understanding of the project objectives. allowing team members to repeat the information explained to them indicates understanding and reflects comprehension of the conversation. thus, repeating the information that was presented is the third important communication skill in the sequence. fourth in the sequence is public communication. a project manager sometimes needs to provide information to the stakeholders and public regarding the project in order to ensure support for, and understanding of the project. humour and laughter follow public communication. the construction project manager can use humour and laughter effectively to defuse a difficult situation and to create an atmosphere where people are zulch • a proposed model for construction project management ... 25 at ease to have open discussions about problems, solutions and project issues. sixth in the sequence of the second circle of important communication skills is self-disclosure; revealing personal information helps people know each other and enables them to work together effectively. 9.1.3 management the third circle represents management. effective management is based on the management functions of planning, organising, leading, coordinating, activating, controlling, communication, motivation, delegation, staffing, disciplining, and decision-making. the core and important skills a to f and 1 to 6 reinforce management’s structural application as an important skill. management directs and structures activities through functions, while leadership, the last circle, combines project execution, operations and production by means of communication as fundamental activity. 9.1.4 leadership the circle leadership is very important to the construction project manager who needs the skills of corporate and general communi­ cation in order to communicate effectively as a leader. leadership strengthens and integrates communication of construction project management in terms of effectiveness, comprehensibility, team­ building and execution. the public views the project leader as the face of the project. it is proposed that if all areas of communication, from the six core communication skills and applications of communication to the six important communication skills and applications of communication, and effective management and quality leadership are in position to ensure the effective flow of communication, the result will be a project that meets requirements. communication thus flows from the foundation communication using all communication skills and applications of communication to support leadership, management and project execution. 10. conclusion and recommendation appropriate literature gave rise to a range of structured questions that were used to obtain quantitative data from the survey participants. analysis of the data with literature and the results from the survey determined the elements of a proposed model and showed that the communication skills expected from project acta structilia 2016: 23(1) 26 managers can be grouped into core (decision­making, problem­ solving, listening, verbal competency, motivation, persuasion, meetings, writing competency, presentation, team­building and team development, conflict management) and important skills (negotiation, trust, explaining, questioning, reinforcement, reflecting, public communication, humour and laughter, self-disclosure), which together with management and leadership communication form the main basis of the proposed model. the research results showed that communication is fundamental to the development of leadership ability and effective management in order to produce successful projects. the model includes a core set of communications and application skills, which by using in combination with the important management and leadership elements of the model is proposed to assist construction project managers in developing their communication abilities, and through improved communication, improve their management and leadership abilities, ensuring the successful execution of projects. implementation and use of the proposed model relies on the willingness of construction project managers relative to understand the importance of such a model. it is, therefore, recommended that the interrelated ‘skills’ and ‘applications’ included in the model are of utmost importance. these include ‘engaging people’, which proffers the encouragement of construction project managers to take ownership in an attempt to introduce and implement this communication skills model to their firms. this research does not consider the model as a complete means to an end. further research is needed in order to develop an instrument to measure the level of an individual’s or group’s core and important communication skills and applications of communication to improve their management and leadership capability. references list akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construc­ tion: the uk 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patterns of development and problems abstract since economic reforms started in 1978, urbanisation in china has been taking place at a faster rate than ever before. this recent urban development is characterised by overcrowded agglomerations, fast­ growing small-medium cities, imbalance in regional development, widening rural-urban disparities, urban housing shortage, heavy traffic congestion and serious damage to the environment. this research examines the characteristics of china's urbanisation and the patterns of its development. although the patterns can be explained by cumulative causation, the trickle-down effect should not be ignored because the effectiveness of trickle-down also depends on the geographical distance. more research is necessary to test which theory can better explain the patterns of china's recent urbanisation development. this article also studies the environmental impact of china's rapid urbanisation development. it is argued that future growth need not be purchased at the expense of higher levels of pollution. but china is a developing and growing country with many competing claims on public and private resources. reconciling these claims and prioritising environmental policies requires careful analysis of the economic costs and benefits of urbanisation. at present, the chinese government's agenda on urbanisation, environment and development in the 21st century is but a visionary concept, which lacks a comprehensive policy framework and realistic implementation measurements. actions for the next twenty-five years rest on three pillars: harnessing market forces, creating incentives for investment in cleaner urban environment, and developing effective regulation and a legal framework. keywords: china, urbanisation, population, development, environment. 2 j j chen. school of management studies, university of surrey, uk. <j.j.chen@surrey.ac.uk> d wills, pro-vice-chancellor. university of greenwich, uk, <d.j.wills@greenwich.ac.uk> 13 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? waarheen neig sjina se verstedeliking? ontwikkelingspatrone en probleme sedert ekonomiese hervormings in 1978 het verstedeliking in sjina geweldig toeneem. die land se onlangse stedelike ontwikkeling word gekenmerk deur oorbevolkte agglomerate, vinnig-groeiende klein tot medium stede, ongebalanseerde streeksontwikkeling, groeiende stads­ en streekongelykhede, stedelike behuisingstekorte, verkeersknope en groot skade aan die omgewing. hierdie artikel loot die soeklig val op die eienskappe en patroon van ontwikkeling van sjina se verstedeliking. hoewel dit aan die hand van kumulatiewe veroorsaking verduidelik kan word, moet die afwentelingseffek nie geheel en al ge'i'gnoreer word nie, omdat die invloed hiervan afhanklik is van die geografiese afstand. meer navorsing is nodig oor watter teorie die huidige tendens van verstedeliking die beste sol verduidelik. hierdie artikel bestudeer ook die impak van sjina se toenemende stedelike ontwikkeling op die omgewing. door word geargumenteer dot toekomstige groei nie ten koste van 'n toename in besoedeling hoef plaas te vind nie. sjina is 'n onwikkelende en groeiende land met baie omvattende aansprake op openbare en private bronne. 'n versoening van hierdie aansprake en die prioritisering van die omgewingsbeleid vereis 'n versigtige analise van ekonomiese koste en die voordele van verstedeliking. tans is die sjinese regering se agenda ten opsigte van verstedeliking, die omgewing en ontwikkeling in die 21 ste eeu net 'n visionere konsep, wat te kort skiet aan 'n omvangryke raamwerk en realistiese implementeringsmaatstawwe. aksies vir die volgende vyf-en­ twintig jaar rus op drie pilare: die in perking van markkragte; die skep van insentiewe vir 'n skoner omgewing; en die ontwikkeling van effektiewe regulasies en 'n regsraamwerk. sleutelwoorde: sjina, verstedeliking, bevolking, ontwikkeling, omgewing. 14 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 1. introduction an increasing proportion of the rapidly growing world population is attempting to satisfy its economic and social needs within an urban context. the enormous migration of people into towns and cities is producing an uncontrollable urban explosion an unprecedented increase in population, greater demands on urban infrastructure, higher levels of pollution and a decrease of the non-material (and in some cases material) standard of living. urbanisation accelerated towards the end of the 1700s and took place on a substantial scale over the next two centuries. it has become a token of modernisation. the proportion of urban population in the world was 13 per cent in 1900, increasing to 29 per cent in 1950 and to 46 per cent in 1997. this figure is expected to reach 50 per cent by the year 2015 (world bank, 1999). five major forces determine the pace of urbanisation throughout the world: 1) economic growth and development; 2) technological change; 3) a rapid growth in world population; 4) a large-scale movement of people from rural areas to cities; and, 5) in some countries, a net outward-migration of population from cities to towns and villages. as a result of continuing increases in world production of goods and services, improved transportation and the supply of power, production becomes more rather than less concentrated in those locations offering the greatest comparative advantages, increasingly so in large metropolitan­ centred market areas. this trend is compounded by the simultaneous growth of large, often multinational. companies, which, with their increasing market dominance and internal and external economies, form an interdependent relationship with areas of large populations and high purchasing power (balchin, isaac & chen, 2000). over the past 50 years, almost all developing countries have experienced rapid urban growth. china is the world's most populous country. its rapid urbanisation since economic reforms started in the late 1970s has a significant impact on world urbanisation trends and it is changing the shape of the world's urban population pattern. 15 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? this article examines the characteristics of china's urbanisation and the patterns of its development and raises the argument of which theory of urban economics could provide a sound explanation for the chinese patterns. this article also studies the environmental impact of china's rapid urbanisation development and suggests the direction of implementing realistic measurements to control the negative environmental impact. the urban areas investigated in this article include both cities and towns consisting of both central and suburban districts. 2. the development of urbanisation worldwide the average growth rate of the urban population worldwide was 8 per cent for the period 1970 to 1996. the proportion of the urban population in the world was on average 46 per cent in 1996, while it was over 70 per cent in developed countries but below 55 per cent in developing countries. although the percentage of the urban population in developing countries was lower, developing countries were no doubt a major contributor to the growth of urban population in the world over the past 30 years, because urbanisation in most of the developed countries was mature with an average population growth rate of less than 5 per cent. almost three-quarters of 2.6 billion people living in urban areas in 1996 were in developing countries worldwide (world bank, 1999). table 1 indicates the growth of the urban population in some significant countries worldwide over the past 30 years. table 1: urban population growth worldwide (%) country 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1996 % change (1970-96) canada 76 76 76 76 77 77 1 france 72 73 73 73 74 75 1 uk 89 90 89 92 89 89 1 usa 74 74 74 74 75 76 2 japan 71 76 76 77 77 78 7 india 20 22 23 26 27 27 7 thailand 13 15 14 20 23 20 7 china 17 17 20 24 26 31 12 indonesia 17 19 22 25 31 34 17 philippines 33 36 37 40 43 53 20 malaysia 27 31 34 38 43 54 27 world 37 38 40 41 50 46 8 source: world development indicators, compiled from various issues, the world bank 16 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 among the developing regions, which have experienced fast urban growth, the asia-pacific rim has had the sharpest increase in urban population as a result of industrialisation (olds, 2001). the average increase in the percentage of the urban population in this region over the past 25 years was more than 15 per cent. 3. the development and current status of urbanisation in china urbanisation in china has been driven by economic development, but it has also, and perhaps more importantly, been influenced by political changes. this was particularly evident from the 1950s to the 1970s when the rate of urbanisation fluctuated markedly. however, substantial growth has occurred since the start of the economic reforms in 1978. since then, urbanisation has experienced rapid growth in line with the pace of economic development. although china's urban population increased from 11 per cent of the total population in 1949 to approximately 31 per cent in 1999 (cssb, 2000), it was still lower than the world average of approximately 50 per cent in 1999, and even below the 35 per cent norm for countries with similar per capita incomes (calculated on a purchasing power parity basis) (olds, 2001 ). the rate of urbanisation is still at an early stage. 3.1 urban population growth when the communist party came into power and established the people's republic in 1949, considerable investment was made in urban construction to improve living standards and create job opportunities in urban areas. the period from 1949 to 1957 was characterised by the migration of population from rural to urban areas due to economic development. the urban population increased from 11 per cent in 1949 to 15 per cent in 1957. the period from 1958 to 1960 witnessed the 'great leap forward' when the government wished to boost the country's industrialisation by using political power to move people from rural to urban areas to facilitate industrial production. during this period, 19 million people from the rural labour force migrated to cities. as a result, the urban population grew to 20 per cent of the total by the end of 1960. the natural disasters that occurred between 1961 and 1965 and the collapse of overheated industrial development had a negative impact on the national economy. the government, therefore, forced a proportion of the urban labour force back to 17 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? the rural areas. more than 20 million urban residents were moved to rural areas, causing the urban population to drop from 20 per cent in 1960 to 17 per cent in 1965. urbanisation decreased from 1966 to 1977, a period marked by the cultural revolution. the government concentrated on the power struggle, and invested substantially in national defence. economic development and urbanisation were put on hold. the percentage of the urban population remained almost unchanged, due partly to the fact that government sent some middle-school graduates to work in the rural areas to be 're-educated' by the farmers. urbanisation in line with the pace of economic development really took off in 1978 with the implementation of economic reforms. the government increasingly invested up to 30 per cent of the country's gdp in urban construction (chen, 1998). urbanisation thus flourished and peaked at the end of the twentieth century with the urban population increasing substantially from 18 per cent in 1978 to 31 per cent in 1999. the urban population is unevenly distributed in the city centre and suburban area. this is especially the case in large cities, evidenced by too many people living in the city centre, leaving the suburban districts under-developed (figure l ). 35 30 c: 25 0 20 0 c: 15 i,"! 10 _ year figure l: urban population growth in china ( 1949-1999) source: chino statistical yearbook, various issues (from 19952000),china's state statistical bureau 18 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 table 2: population distribution in major cities in china (1999) city population city central/urban (%) area city central/urban area (%) shanghai 74 30 wuhan 72 56 shenyang 72 27 beijing 67 26 tianjin 65 35 harbin 56 9 nanjing 52 15 xi'an 46 11 chongqing 38 26 guangzhou 19 source: china statistical yearbook, various issues, china's state statistical bureau table 2 illustrates the trend of population distribution in the ten most populous cities. the worst case is shanghai; the central district contains 7 4 per cent of the city's population in 30 per cent of the total city area. the imbalance in the distribution of urban population in the city is the result of people wishing to live close to their workplace and public facilities including shops, schools, hospitals, libraries and recreation facilities. public facilities are considerably better in the central areas. this also reflects poor transportation and lack of public spending to improve the infrastructure. 3.2 the growth of small and medium cities in china, the scale of cities is divided into three groups according to the residential population: large cities with populations of over 1 million; medium cities with populations of between 0.2 million and 1 million; and small cities with populations of less then 0.2 million (ravallion & chen, 1997). the development of urbanisation has been evident not only from the expansion of existing cities, but also from the emergence of newly built cities. there were only 164 cities and towns in china in 1955. this figure increased to 193 in 1978, and to 887 in 1999 (figure 2). 19 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? 1000 900 800 700 j 600 ·a 500 400 z 300 200 100 0 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1999 year figure 2: number of cities in china ( 1955-1999) source: china statistical yearbook. various issues (from 19952000), china's state statistical bureau an important feature of recent urbanisation in china is the deceleration in the development of large cities and the rapid increase in the number of small and medium cities. table 3 indicates that whereas the percentage of large cities with a population of over two million dropped from 25 in 1978 to 19 in 1999. the percentage of small cities with a population of less than 0.2 million increased from 14 to 24. these small new cities mainly developed from former rural areas. as rural farmers benefited from the economic reforms. they turned their agricultural activities into small-scale industrial concerns. their living standards improved, and their environments changed from rural to urban (table 3). table 3: scale of the cities by population (per cent) ( 1978-1999) year total >2 million 1-2 million 0.5-1 million 0.2-0.5million 0.2 million 1978 100 25 12 25 24 14 1980 100 26 12 25 24 13 1985 100 25 15 19 24 17 1990 100 23 19 12 24 22 1995 100 20 15 14 29 22 1999 100 19 13 15 29 24 source: china statistical yearbook, various issues (from 1995-2000), china's state statistical bureau 20 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 this change was also partly due to the fact that the government exercised strict control over the development of large metropolises, and encouraged the development of medium­ sized cities. the percentage of medium-sized cities with a population of more than 200 ooo and up to 500 ooo increased from 23 in 1978 to 29 in 1999. it may be assumed that large cities have reached their optimum population size. in theory, this would mean at a level of population either where net per capita benefits were greatest, or where social welfare was maximised. this is illustrated in figure 3, whereas the optimum city size from the point of view of private welfare would have been at point a (where the distance between the ab and ac curves was greatest), the optimum size from the point of view of social welfare would have been at point b (where marginal costs and marginal benefits were equal). beyond b, there has been a tendency for urban populations to increase to point c (where ac= ab), but thereafter the case for curbing the growth of large cities becomes unassailable since the costs of congestion, pollution and noise etc would have increasingly exceeded the benefits of size (i e ac>ab) (alonso, 1971). $ benefits and costs 0 a p'l population mb = marginal benefits mc = marginal costs ab = overage benefits ac = overage costs figure 3: the benefits and costs of city size (source: alonso (1971 ), the economics of urban size, regional science association, papers, 26) 21 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? since research has shown that average costs reach a minimum point at a population size of approximately 500 ooo inhabitants (vanhove & klassen, 1980; begovic, 1991). and since, by extrapolation, it can be assumed that marginal benefits and marginal costs are even when population reaches (say) 1-2 million, it can be concluded that, with further population growth nationally, the expansion of a large number of smaller cities (with populations still below their optima) would generally be preferable to the over­concentration of resources in the largest centres of population. in practice, criticism has been levelled at the optimal city size theory. one objection is that many urban costs and benefits are related to factors such as density, industrial structure or road layout rather than city size itself. some research has shown, for example, that polycentric rather than monocentric cities are less prone to problems of congestion (gordon, 1987). urban economic structure may also influence optimal city size. research has suggested that the optimum from the point of view of business services, for example, may well be larger than the optimum for manufacturing or construction services (begovic, 1991). this theory gives no indication of the desirable spatial distribution of the population in the context of the national urban hierarchy, unlike other theories (such as the central place theory). from the point of view of planning, the loss of net benefits of urban size may be outweighed by the benefits of greater spatial accessibility if a more dispersed pattern of smaller urban settlements is considered. this would probably entail a wide range of city sizes with fairly similar net benefits per capita. given that average costs seem to rise substantially in the largest conurbations there would be a strong case for encouraging a settlement structure of medium-sized towns and cities rather than one involving only a few large cities. while productivity may be higher in large cities, as we have seen, the evidence is not so compelling as to suggest any substantial loss from encouraging smaller urban sizes. perhaps a few major capital cities with significant international functions (for example, london, tokyo, and new york) may have to remain very large in order to fulfil their world roles effectively. however, there must remain a question mark over the economic and social viability of burgeoning mega-cities of the developing world. 22 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 recent research examining pacific rim mega-cities showed that large cities in the pacific rim, for example, hong kong and shanghai. have played very significant roles in cultural change and economic development (olds, 2001). however. the recent experience of declining cities in many developed countries may perhaps suggest that the agglomeration economies of the past are now much less significant (balchin, issac & chen, 2000). the number and size of large cities in the developed world remained almost constant (un, 1991), whereas in 1970 there were only five mega-cities or urban agglomerations with a population of eight million or more both in the developed world and the newly­industrialising and developing countries (clark, 1996). the decrease in the percentage of large cities (with a population of over 2 million) and the decrease in the percentage of some medium-sized cities (with a population of over 500 ooo) in china may suggest that, at least in the short term, it is not economical to continue to promote the development of large cities. in the longer term. however. technological development and larger­scale infrastructure investment. especially in the provision of housing and transportation, which clearly are current priorities in urban china, may facilitate a reconciliation between optimality and urban growth. particularly where there is a need to perform important functions within a global economy. 3.3 regional trends since the economic reforms in 1978, urbanisation has progressed at full speed in china. the principal issue is whether or not its spatial pattern can be more convincingly explained by the dynamics of cumulative causation or by the trickle-down effect. the principle of cumulative causation implies that economic development, once established in a city, promotes further local development the spread effect. but at the expense of surrounding areas or other areas elsewhere the backwash effect (myrdal, 1957). from the 1950s to the 1960s, however, it was argued that if appropriate policies were introduced in developing countries, economic growth would spread to backward areas. hirschman ( 19 58) suggested that even though economic activity and wealth would initially be concentrated or polarised in cities. growth would eventually trickle down to poorer regions, a process further explained by boudeville (1966) in his interpretation of the development pole theory. whereas cities would thus play a generative role in economic development and provide the location for import-substituting 23 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? table 4: gross domestic product by region, 1998 area population (m) gdp (rmb tm) gdp/head(rmb) beijing 12.5 201.1 16,080.0 tianjin 9.6 134.1 13,968.8 hebei 65.7 423.8 6.450.5 shanxi 31.7 160.7 5,069.4 inner mongolia 23.4 119.2 5,094.0 liaoning 41.6 380.6 9,149.0 jilin 26.4 156.4 5,924.2 heilongjiang 37.7 283.0 7,506.6 shanghai 14.6 368.8 25.260.3 jiangsu 71.8 720.1 10.029.2 zhejiang 44.6 498.0 11,165.9 anhui 61.8 282.8 4,576.1 fujian 33.0 333.0 10,090.9 jiangxi 41.9 185.0 4.415.3 shandong 88.4 716.0 8.101.8 henan 93.1 433.9 4,660.6 hubei 59.1 370.4 6.267.3 hunan 65.0 321.1 4,940.0 guangdong 71.4 793.7 11,116.2 guangxi 46.8 218.2 4,662.4 hainan 7.5 43.9 5,853.3 chonqing 30.6 143.4 4,686.3 sichuan 84.9 358.0 4,216.7 guizhou 36.6 84.3 2,303.3 yunnan 41.4 179.3 4,330.9 tibet" 2.5 7.7 3.080.0 shaanxi 36.0 141.0 3,916.7 gansu 25.2 87.0 3.452.4 qinghai 5.0 21.9 4,380.0 ningxia 5.4 22.7 4,203.7 xinjiang 17.5 111.5 6,371.4 all chinab 1,248.1 7,477 5,990.7 gdp/head(us$) 1937.3 1,683.0 777.2 610.8 613.7 1.102.3 713.8 904.4 3,043.4 1,208.3 1,345.3 551.3 1,215.8 532.0 976.1 561.5 755.1 595.2 1,339.3 561.7 705.2 564.6 508.0 277.5 521.8 371.1 471.9 415.9 527.7 506.5 767.6 721.8 source: china statistical yearbook 2000, china's state statistical bureau note: a, includes military personnel b, 1997 figures 24 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 industries whose products would be distributed through the city's hinterland, growth points would be established within the more backward regions as centres of new development. with the rapid development of the economy since the early 1980s, the population of chinese cities with more than 500 ooo inhabitants grew by 30 per cent in the coastal region between 1981 and 1990, by 26 per cent in the inland region and by 18 per cent in the border region over the same period (li & tang et al., 2000). however. taking into account the outer-urban areas. the difference in urban growth between the coastal region and the inland region becomes greater. 36 per cent as against 31 per cent (unchs, 1998). this suggests that industrial and urban development is concentrated in those areas. mainly in the coastal region, that afford the greatest economic opportunities. by the late 1990s. large tracts of coastal china's so-called rural areas developed a new dispersed pattern of urbanisation. in three regions the pearl river delta. the lower yangtze, and the beijing-tianjin-tanshan metropolitan areas industrial and commercial activities transformed the landscape, forming urban and peri-urban corridors linking core cities (cai, 1996). the coastal areas have been able to achieve far more rapid growth, tap that territory's wealth of capital. technology and entrepreneurial skill. create a boom in foreign investment, and yield high gdp per head (table 4). it seems that the patterns of recent urban development in china follow the cumulative causation. the fact that the inland regions have lagged behind suggests that the hope that development in the coastal areas would trickle down to the inland regions has not been achieved. but the trickle-down has not been entirely misplaced due to the fact that ten million migrant workers sent remittances home although the impact of the remittances is very limited. capital drainage out of the poorer regions to invest in the coastal boomtowns has been criticised. in 1997 a serious effort to draw investment, both domestic and foreign, into central and western china, was somewhat successful (eiu, 2000). the effectiveness of trickle-down also depends on the geographical distance. the large scale of china's geography demonstrates this importance. the trickle-down effect tends to weaken as the distance increases. the fact that the poor inland region is situated very far from the booming coastal area may suggest that the inland area is out of the radius range of the trickle-down effect. when the central government opened the 25 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? per capita gdp. 1994 (1985=100) 350 300 el di 250 lll1 m lll1 illl fill 200 mi di! fill el fillm ii! 11111 150 ill lill 100 0 5 10 15 20 change in nonagricultural share of gdp. 1985-94 (percent) figure 4: provincial growth and structural change source: world bank estimates in china 2020 urban/rural relative income, 1995 (1995=100) 200 180 11111 rn lll!llllll r§!l 160 11!1 11111 11!1 140 .. ll!l 120 100 0 5 10 15 change in nonagricultural share of gdp. 1985-94 (percent) figure 5: rural-urban disparities source: world bank estimates in china 2020 26 20 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 coastal area and gave them more preferential policies, the inland region did not receive similar treatment (yusuf, 1994). since 2000. the central government realised this problem and is now implementing the great northwest development scheme (eiu, 2000), with the aim of opening another centre to stimulate regional economic development. it is not very clear yet whether the patterns of recent urbanisation in china follow the cumulative causation or the trickle-down effect. more research is required to test which theory can better explain the patterns of china's recent urbanisation development. 3.4 rural-urban disparities swift economic growth entailed rapid structural change. in this respect china followed the path of many other countries (chenery & syrquin, 1975). 'push' and 'pull' factors have accelerated the flow of labour out of agriculture. low incomes from farming and widespread poverty in rural areas have encouraged farmers and their families to leave. at the same time, the demand for labour has increased sharply in industry and services, especially among collectively owned enterprises that have achieved rapid productivity growth (lin, 1992). structural change boosted china's growth over the past twenty years (chow, 1996). as the majority of the agricultural labour force was underemployed, productivity rose as workers moved from low­ productivity agriculture to more productive employment in industry and services (jefferson & gary, 1999). the process of structural change differed from region to region (provinces). exacerbating inter-provincial and especially rural­ urban differences in income ( chow, 199 6). faster growth in the regions meant faster structural change (figure 4), which. in turn, widened rural-urban disparities (figure 5) that were responsible for most of the increase in income inequality (figure 6). in regions that industrialised faster. higher wages in urban and peri-urban areas opened a growing gap between urban and rural workers. restrictions on rural-urban migration helped maintain this gap, which was responsible for much of the sharp increase in income inequality over the past decade. today urban incomes are as much as four times rural incomes. once subsidies enjoyed by urban residents are taken into account (world bank, 1997a). such rural-urban gaps are very high by international standards. evidence from 36 countries shows that the ratio of urban to rural incomes tends to be below 1 .5 and 27 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? theil index 0.35 0.30 0.25 rural-urban inequality 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0 1985 1995 figure 6: increase in income inequality source: world bank estimates in china 2020 0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0 theil index "' a:, "' actual inequality contribution of regional disparities "' "' n "' "' figure 7: share of regional disparities inequality source: world bank estimates in china 2020 28 .... "' "' "' "' "' 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 rarely exceeds 2.0 (world bank, 1997a). in china the gulf between rural and urban residents explains 60 per cent of overall income inequality. on the other hand, regional income disparities have contributed relatively little to inequality (figure 7). nevertheless, china is more egalitarian than most countries in africa, latin america, and even the rest of east asia. but china's steep rise in inequality is exceptional from an international perspective (figure 8). gini coefficient in 1990s 60 1980s overage ss l!l so rn iii! 45 el l!!i l!l 40 l!l m� rn liil "' 35 l!l i'll a 1990s average m �i'll[ 30 l!!i l!l i'll !ill l!!i l!l l!l liil !ill 25 ill 20 20 25 30 35 40 45 so ss gini coefficient in 1980s figure 8: china's inequality in the 1980s and 1990s (deininger & squire, 1996) note: the sample of countries was restricted to those designated as having high-quality data, with observations in the early 1980s and early 1990s. in the early 1980s china's income inequality was below average in a sample of 40 countries for which data are available (deininger & squire, 1996). the sample of countries was restricted to those designated as having high-quality data, with observations in the early 1980s and 1990s by the world bank. by the 1990s it was above average. 29 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? 3.5 problems associated with urbanisation although the percentage of the urban population in china is below the world average. in absolute terms it was 377 million in 1996. which accounted for 14 per cent of the world total (world bank, 1999). while living standards have improved generally, there has been a shortage of residential housing, an increase in traffic congestion and a serious damage to the environment. at present. china is one of the most polluted countries in the world. 3.5.1 residential housing rapid urbanisation has resulted in a shortage of urban housing, which has been a major social and economic issue. by the end of 2000 the floor space per capita was only 7 m2 in the urban area (cssb, 2000). almost 24 per cent of families still had too few rooms. most of the housing in chinese cities lacked basic facilities. in the early 1990s only 60 per cent of flats had a kitchen (chen, 1997). although this improved to 80 per cent by the end of 2000 (eiu, 2000). further. the size of flats (often a small number of multifunctional rooms) were very small (doe, 1994). access to sanitation in urban areas was 68 per cent by the end of 2000, much lower than that in developed countries and lower than the world average (eiu, 2000). since the beginning of the 21st century, people's living conditions have greatly improved the demand for urban housing in china. furthermore. people seek not only the quantity of floor space. but also the quality of houses with good conditions and better environment. the government used to bear the costs of housing construction and maintenance. however. given fewer financial resources available to government. it can no longer incur these costs. therefore. a housing reform programme. including the privatisation of residential housing. was announced in 1984. however. the reforms have proved disappointing and have failed to generate enough sales. the government set the housing prices too high as it wanted to generate more revenue from the sale, and people's ability to buy was limited by the lack of financial mechanisms. 3.5.2 traffic congestion the increasing demand for public urban infrastructure. including roads, shops, schools. hospitals. libraries and recreation facilities. has not been met. the worst problem is an inadequate road system. which causes traffic congestion. 30 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 table 5: traffic and congestion in china motor vehicle passenger cars rood troffice traffic accidents million vehicle people injured or year per 1000 people per 100 people km killed per 100 vehicle 1980 2 2,032 12 1996 8 3 165.000 22 source: world bank 1999 traffic congestion is steadily worsening. table 5 shows that road traffic increased 80 times between 1980 and 1996. traffic accidents in china almost doubled over this period (from 12 to 22 people injured or killed per 100 vehicles), compared to the world average of 14 people injured or killed per 100 vehicles. although ownership of cars in china increased from 2 per 1 ooo people in 1980 to 8 per 1 ooo people in 1996, it was much less than the world average (121 per 100 people in 1996). this suggests that inefficient traffic management was the main reason for the increase in traffic congestion and accidents. the expansion of economic activity has contributed to the transportation of goods and services by road over greater distances. these developments have increased the demand for roads and vehicles, adding to urban congestion, air pollution, health hazards, traffic accidents and injuries. 3.5.3 environmental problems over the past two decades urbanisation, industrialisation and an increase in the number of vehicles have seriously damaged the quality of air and water. china's air and water, particularly in urban areas, are among the worst polluted in the world. china's extreme dependence on coal and the booming cities are the two forces responsible for much of china's environmental degradation, and this issue will remain crucial into the next century (world bank, 1997b). air pollution sulphur dioxide em1ss1ons have soared in china since 1980. ambient levels of particles and sulphur dioxide are now among the highest in the world (figure 9). ambient lead levels are also rising. recent evidence suggests that half the children in parts of shanghai suffer from high levels of lead in their blood. 31 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? new york city chongqing bangkok guangzhou kuala lumpur beijing calcutta jinan delhi taiyuan � """" 0 100 200 filltatal suspended particulars (tsp) d sulfur dioxide (so:,) 300 400 500 600 micrograms per cubic meter 700 figure 9: air pollution in selected cities (source: world bank, 1997b) note: by who standard the total suspended particulates level is 90 mg/m3, and th� sulphur dioxide level is 25 mg/m3 small and relatively inefficient coal-fired industrial boilers, residential use of coal and increased automobile use are responsible for the bulk of china's urban air pollution. the latter is obviously bad for health. mortality rates from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the leading cause of death in china, are five times those in the united states. this extra burden strains china's health care system and results in lost working time equivalent to 7.4 million person-years each year. acid rain is another costly by­ product of air pollution. acid rain causes crop damage. deforestation. structural damage to buildings. and harm to human health. these consequences have been particularly severe in southern china. where high-sulphur coal is burned in large quantities (world bank, 1997b). water pollution industrial and municipal waste, as well as chemical and organic fertiliser runoff are the main sources of water pollution in china. reported discharges of effluent have increased moderately since the early 1980s. with municipal waste accounting for a rising share of total discharges (figure 1 oj. but the total increase is probably much larger, since sources in the rapidly growing non-state sector are monitored only sporadically. the rising shore of municipal waste is of particular concern. since less than 20 per cent is treated (compared with nearly three-quarters of industrial waste). 32 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 60 v, 50 40 0 30 20 i:i'i 10 0 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 years • municipal d industrial figure 1 o: waste water discharges in chinese cities ( 1981-1995) source: world bank, 1997b although water pollution is linked to many diseases. its health impact in china has generally been contained by widespread access to safe drinking water. still. increasing pollution has raised the costs of providing drinking water. in many cities households must boil their drinking water. which is far more costly than centralised chlorination. the more serious concern in respect of water pollution is that it aggravates china's water shortage. water pollution exacerbates water shortages in cities and towns. and increased water supply and consumption tend to result in greater water pollution unless effluent is treated. as far as both air and water pollution in china and elsewhere are concerned. it is normal for the marginal benefits gained by the culpable producer to diminish as output increases. and for the marginal external costs in the economy as a whole to increase. from the point of view of society, the optimal solution is for production to take place up to a point where diminishing marginal benefits to the producer are equal to the increasing marginal external costs to the city. to prevent marginal external costs from exceeding marginal benefits. production can be stabilised and pollution abated by one or by a combination of methods. namely: • establishing an environmental protection agency to ensure that 'externalities' are 'internalised' • regulating the emission of pollutants and the setting of standards • subsidising the reduction in pollution • taxing pollution • introducing tradable permits that enable producers to sell or auction-off the right to pollute. 33 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? in china, however, where economic growth is the chief economic priority, considerable caution is required before any form of pollution control is introduced due to its possible impact on production and employment. not least in urban areas. 4. conclusion internal political developments have been the driving force behind china's urbanisation. this was obvious from the 1950s to the 1970s. although it has fluctuated urbanisation, in line with the pace of china's economic development, it took off in the late 1970s with the start of economic reforms. despite its rapid development since 1980, china's urbanisation is still in its initial stage compared with that of the developed world. china's recent urban development is characterised by overcrowded agglomerations. fast growing small and medium cities. imbalance in regional development. widening rural-urban disparities. urban housing shortage. heavy traffic congestion and serious damage to the environment. this article examined the characteristics and the patterns of development of china's urbanisation. although the patterns can be explained by cumulative causation, the trickle-down effect should not be ignored because the effectiveness of trickle-down also depends on the geographical distance. more research is required to test which theory can better explain the patterns of china's recent urbanisation development. although urbanisation has dramatically improved living standards. it has resulted in serious damage to the environment. it is argued that future growth should not be purchased at the expense of higher levels of pollution. but china is a developing and growing country with many competing claims on public and private resources. reconciling these claims and prioritising environmental policies requires careful analysis of the economic costs and benefits of urbanisation. at present. the chinese government's agenda on urbanisation. environment and development in the 21st century remains but a visionary concept, which lacks a comprehensive policy framework and realistic implementation measurements (state council 1994). china's handling of the problems resulting from rapid urbanisation was different from that of western countries. the centrally planned system rather than the market force is still playing a significant role. action for the next twenty-five years 34 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 rests on three principles: harnessing market forces, creating incentives for investment in a cleaner urban environment, and developing effective regulation and a legal framework. references alonso, w. 1971. the economics of urban size, regional science association papers, 26. balchin, p., isaac, d. & chen, j. 2000. urban land economics: a global perspective. basingstoke: macmillan. begovic, b. 1991. the economic approach to optimal city size. progress in planning, 31. boudeville, j.r. 1966. problems of regional economic planning. edinburgh: university press. cai, f. 1996. long-term urbanisation and key urban policy issues in china. canadian international development agency. chen, j.j. 1997. development of urban housing policies in china. construction management and economics, 15(3), pp. 283-290. 1998. the characteristics and current status of china's construction industry. construction management and economics, 16(6), pp. 711-719. chenery, h. & syrquin, m. 1975. pattern of development, 1950-70. new york: oxford university press. china's state statistical bureau china statistical yearbook (various issues). china's statistical bureau. beijing. chow, g. & kwan, y. 1996. estimating economic effects of the political movements in china. journal of comparative economics. 23(2), pp. 192-208. clark, d. 1996. urban world/global city. london: routledge. deininger, k. & squire, l. 1996. a new data set measuring income inequality. the world bank economic review 10(3), pp. 565-91. washington. dc. 35 chen & wills/whither china's urbanisation? department of the environment 1994. second report on opportunities for uk construction companies in china, prepared by he j hmso. london. 1995. fourth report on opportunities for uk construction companies in china, prepared by he j hmso, london. the economist intelligence unit 2000. country profile: china and mongolia. london. gordon, p., kumar, a. & richardson, h.w. 1987. congestion, changing metropolitan city structure and city size. mimeo, school of urban and regional planning. university of southern california. usa. hirschman, a. 1958. the strategy of economic development. newhaven ct: yale university press. jefferson, g. & singh, i. 1999. enterprise reform in china (chapter 5). oxford: oxford university press. li, s.m. & tang, w.s. (eds) 2000. chinese regions, polity and economy: a study of spatial transformation in the post-reform era. hong kong: chinese university of hong kong. lin, j.y. 1992. rural reforms and agricultural growth in china. american economic review. 82(1), pp. 34-51. myrdal, a. 1957. economic theory and undeveloped regions. london: duckworth. olds, k. 2001. globalisation and urban change: capital. culture, and pacific rim mega-project. oxford: oxford university press. rav allion, m. & chen, s. 1997. when economic reform is faster than statistical reform: measuring and explaining the inequality in rural china. world bank policy research department. washington, dc. state council 1994. china's agenda 21. beijing: china environmental science press. united nations 1991. world urbanisation prospects. 36 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 unchs 1998. an urbanising world: global report on human settlements. united nations centre for human settlements. oxford: oxford university press. vanhove, n. & klassen, l. 1980. regional policy: a european approach. oxford: pergamon. world bank 1997a. sharing rising incomes: disparities in china. washington, dc. 1997b. china 2020. washington, dc. 1999. world development indicators. washington, dc. yusuf, s. 1994. china's macroeconomic performance and management during transition. journal of economic perspectives, 8(2), pp. 71-92. zhang, c. 1997. international statistical yearbook. beijing: national statistical press. 37 20 acta structilia 2005:12(1) basie verster & frank berry the property development challenge: creating wealth through regional and rural projects peer reviewed abstract past experience, specifically in the regional context in south africa, shows that development of land and the use of land for physical projects and buildings has had some negative effects on the environment. recently developers have tended to be more sympathetic regarding the pos sible negative influence of project development. the challenge is to match economic, environmental, health and social sustainability with growth, in respect of small projects, or small benefits from big projects. lessons from nature, wildlife and environment as well as results of a study con ducted by the department of quantity surveying and construction manage ment, university of the free state, on rural sustainability will be discussed. keywords: property development, wealth creation, regional projects, rural projects abstrak ondervinding het bewys dat die ontwikkeling van grond en die gebruik van grond vir die oprigting van geboue in sommige gevalle ’n negatiewe effek op die omgewing het, veral in suid afrika. ontwikkelaars raak meer simpatiek teenoor moontlike negatiewe invloede van projek ontwikkeling. die uitdaging lê daarin om ekonomiese, omgewings, gesondheids en sosiale volhoubaarheid vir groei te ewenaar ten spyte van klein projekte of klein voordeeltrekking uit groot projekte. lesse geleer uit die natuur en omgewing asook resultate verkry uit ‘n studie oor landelike volhoubaarheid, wat deur die departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur universiteit van die vrystaat gedoen is, sal bespreek word. sleutelwoorde: eiendomsontwikkeling, rykdom skepping, streeks projekte, landelike projekte prof. jjp (basie) verster is the head of department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. email: <versterj@ufs.ac.za> mr fh (frank) berry is a lecturer in department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. email: <berryfh@ufs.ac.za> 21 verster & berry • the property development challenge 1. introduction it is important that the project manager understands the sensitivitiesand influences of development on the environment no matterhow small and seemingly unimportant (verster, 2002: 60). direct influences in respect of the building site, plants, trees, sunlight, environment, nature, micro-ecology and species are important while indirect influences related to use of energy, water, material, rehabilitation and industry attitude, philosophy about our place related to time, space and culture, and indirect environments should be part of assessment and planning. environment is much more than what is observed superficially. it needs to be recognised that cost should include the impact on the total environment, especially in a regional and rural context. risk should be seen not only as financial risk. to be sustainable, areas (regional or rural) should be able to provide decent living conditions to all life forms. the quantity surveyor, cost engineer and project manager, especially in africa, find themselves in an old industry of raw material, real estate and cheap labour, while the new economy, driven by information, technology, knowledge, skills and ideas at its core, is the lever for change. this new economy should also be understood in a rural context. the challenge seems to be the utilisation of the available knowledge and skills in a new economic context. new types of accommodation and projects that meet the demand in various new growth areas will be needed. the quantity surveyor (sometimes acting as principal agent or project manager) has to become more pro-active, in the sense that returns, development costs, price, risk analyses and assessments are now more important than ever before, but should be seen in relation to the total environment. 2. property development and environmental impact 2.1 attitude a paradigm shift in respect of development is suggested by montgomery (1990: 20), who contends that the following aspects are important: • local history and traditions, with a vision of the future; • diversity and choice – a wide range of activities, ownership, cultures etc.; • safety, economy, physical and emotional access; • environmental quality, sense of place and aesthetic quality. in the words of wolf von eckhardt: ... effective culture planning involves all the arts the art of architecture, the art of urban planning, the art of winning community support, the art of transportation planning and the art of mastering the dynamics of economic develop ment (montgomery, 1990: 22). this fact was already redirected by le corbusier, (1929: 80) when he said that: “what is perhaps needed is the great unity between the fact ‘man’ and the fact ‘nature.’” 2.2 activities and influence it should be taken into account that human actions influence the rural environment at various levels and to various degrees in respect of local economy, natural environment, aesthetics and culture, security, recreation, transport, health and housing (wathern, 1995: 11). it is important to recognise the inter-relationship in order to understand interdependency and change in the context of sustainable development: • happiness: from the purchase of goods to good relations with life • other species: the riches of the earth are here exploited to interdependence on all life forms • the future: from present generations to “the effects of any action on the seventh generation” (callenbach, 1999: 22). 22 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 3. risk, the environment, nature and human activity 3.1 assessment: harm by human actions should be gauged in relation to: • the nature and extent of harm and the time scale within which it might occur; • the vulnerability of the receptors to which the harm might be caused; • appropriate guideline standards. the more severe the harm, the more immediate its effect (richards, 1997: 11). 3.2 the human influence: two grave ecological consequences one is ecological scarcity and the diminishing carrying capacity of the planet, the other is pervasive environmental degradation stemming from the misuse and abuse of the eco-system, threatening the foundation of organic survival (chung-in moon cited in chasek, 2000: 167-174). 3.3 architecture, the environment and human experience luke (1994: 60-64), uses soleri’s project to show the influence and effect of architecture: • the alterations made to nature by the organic, the physiological and the mental; • materially expresses what society does; • society’s most basic information technology; • ecological development is part of theological and technological evolution. 3.4 risk and bio-diversity bio-diversity is one of the most important elements of nature and the experience of life, as well as the sustainability of all life forms. if biodiversity is threatened, life itself will be threatened and ultimately human life will be at risk. 23 verster & berry • the property development challenge the loss of biological diversity may take many forms, but at its heart is the extinction of species. species extinction is a natural process; however, it is beyond question that the rate at which man causes extinction, directly or indirectly, far exceeds any reasonable estimates of background extinction rates (groombridge, 1992: xv). in the south african context, the protection of the more well-known species has become an economic activity. many property development projects in rural areas are currently under construction not only for various income-generating reasons, but also to stop the loss of bio-diversity and risk of damage to eco-systems. it is here that the development professional may also play an important role in respect of sensible development as developers and professionals understand the following premises (smit, 2000: 27-29): • economic return can only be secured within a long term context; • the influence of land, soil and grasslands on species; • suitability of habitat, for the specific species that are going to be established; • genetic integrity – the smaller the unit (development), the larger the risk; 4 the aim of the development: eco tourism 4 trophy-hunting 4 harvesting • fencing; • cost and size of development; • climate; • species-mix; • integrity and protection focus; • quality and grazing patterns; • social conduct of species; • gender-relationships; • sheltering. 24 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 25 verster & berry • the property development challenge it is now in the hands of humans and more specifically governments, developers and non-government agencies to manage the risk and to introduce a comprehensive strategic approach. the development professional must take cognisance of these aspects so that pro-active participation in the process may be ensured. 3.5 rural needs and the professions montgomery (1986: 23) states that designers and planners should also have a keen sense of cultural diversity and steps have to be taken to make a community interested to experience: • open spaces, bars and cafés to foster and develop the night-time economy; • council-owned properties to assess their feasibility as arts or cultural venues; • a youth cultural policy and a circuit for popular activities; • conversation and arts initiatives, linking the greening of local areas to culture; • attention to street design, furniture and sculptures. explaining the new attitude, kuhne (cited in watkins, 2001: 22) states: we build a civic landmark for the ‘contemporary tribes’ that echoes their roots and restores some civic pride. people need to have outdoor space to meet, do business deals, fall in love, interact and conduct their lives. there is a sens ibility about working in cities which is only now becoming common currency. it is about getting people out of their pigeonholed offices into shared civic and public spaces. civic space deals with the festival quality of being in a city, with the interaction of people. 4. the study on sustainability of rural regions the study done by the university of the free state (ufs) amongst professionals in the area of quantity surveying and construction management was done to test the opinion of professionals who function within the rural regions of south africa. it also tested the factors that influence various projects important for sustainability of rural regions. the study showed that: 26 acta structilia 2005:12(1) • projects (not only physical development projects) related to the environment, health, economy and education would have an important influence on financial sustainability of rural areas; • physical projects aimed at manufacturing, tourism, infrastructure development and state spending should contribute most to economical and financial sustainability; • that as far as the ‘environment’ is concerned, tourism, ecotourism, infrastructure, development and state spending will have a substantial positive influence on financial sustainability; • developments such as health facilities, education buildings, and housing were selected as projects that will contribute most towards community sustainability; • the most pressing problems of rural areas were pointed out as being, the economic situation, urbanization, limited physical projects and state spending. the study supports the fact that employment creation, economic activities such as manufacturing and tourism and stable communities, are essential parts of rural sustainability. the influence of the free state development plan (fsdp) (2001: 6-21) was also investigated. people involved with developments in small towns support the fsdp’s aims of economic development, sustainable infrastructure, investment in people development, ensuring a safe and secure environment and good governance. however, unemployment and lack of infrastructure were indicated as problem areas. the fsdp seems to have a positive influence related to developments of leadership, tourism and physical projects opportunities. the above aspects seem to support the study. 27 verster & berry • the property development challenge figure 1: results of the study done on sustainability of rural regions: graphs 1 8 graph 2: physical developments which positively contribute towards economy and financial sustainability physical developments 1. commercial centres 2. health 3. education facilities 4. factories 5. tourism 6. eco-tourism 7. infrastructure 8. cultural projects 9. housing 5 4 3 2 1 0 le ve l o f p re fe re nc e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 physical developments graph 3: projects contributing towards environmental sustainability 5 4 3 2 1 0 le ve l o f p re fe re nc e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 projects 1. commercial centres 2. health 3. education facilities 4. factories 5. tourism 6. eco-tourism 7. infrastructure 8. cultural projects 9. housing projects graph 1: broad financial influence of general projects (not only physical) and infrastructure 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 le ve l o f p re fe re nc e projects: 1. economic 2. environment 3. health 4. community development 5. community education 6. basic education projects 28 acta structilia 2005:12(1) figure 1: results of the study done on sustainability of rural regions: graphs 1 8 (continued) 5 4 3 2 1 0 le ve l o f p re fe re nc e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 graph 4: projects contributing towards health sustainability projects 1. commercial centres 2. health 3. education facilities 4. factories 5. tourism 6. eco-tourism 7. infrastructure 8. cultural projects 9. housing projects 5 4 3 2 1 0l e ve l o f p re fe re nc e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 graph 5: contributing projects towards social community development projects 1. commercial centres 2. health 3. education facilities 4. factories 5. tourism 6. eco-tourism 7. infrastructure 8. cultural projects 9. housing projects le ve l o f p re fe re nc e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 4 3 2 1 0 graph 6: community education and development projects 1. commercial centres 2. health 3. education facilities 4. factories 5. tourism 6. eco-tourism 7. infrastructure 8. cultural projects 9. housing projects 29 verster & berry • the property development challenge graph 8: problems for sustainability problems 1. economy & work opportunities 2. limited physical projects 3. infrastructure 4. state subsidies 5. urbanisation 6. state expenditure 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 le ve l o f p re fe re nc e problems 5. examples of hope example 1: the richtersveld national park in namaqualand, south africa the richtersveld national park, a huge area that includes some of the most untouched environments in the world; regardless of this, people live there and survive there. this park is regarded as one of the few success stories in the history of parks and communities in africa. as the first contractual national park in the country, no land was expropriated and no communities moved to establish it. therefore, former inhabitants do not hang around at the park’s entrances figure 1: results of the study done on sustainability of rural regions: graphs 1 8 (continued) source: ufs department quantity surveying and construction management, 2004 le ve l o f p re fe re nc e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 4 3 2 1 0 graph 7: projects contributing towards basic education/ human development projects 1. commercial centres 2. health 3. education facilities 4. factories 5. tourism 6. eco-tourism 7. infrastructure 8. cultural projects 9. housing projects in desperate attempts to benefit from an industry controlled by outsiders. instead, in establishing the park, the south african national parks board has taken a different route. the board rents the land from its original inhabitants, while allowing them to continue their stock farming. what makes the park even more unique is the fact that a private mining company is also paying local communities directly for diamond-mining rights in the park. it means that, in an area of 165 445 hectares, stock farmers are allowed to have their goats graze, industry mine diamonds, and tourists visit the park (krog cited in weinberg, 2001: 55). eco-tourism, travel and safari are much needed activities to sustain the economy of these areas; however, developments to accommodate them must be undertaken with the utmost care not to damage nature. indeed, these developments have allowed a culture and way of life to evolve which is enjoyed by all. example 2: small projects small project 1: the blouberg cultural village developed in the beautiful blouberg mountains of limpopo, this 12bed cultural village was designed and project managed by architects to form the base camp for a hiking trail. the work was done by local people on a small scale, but with long-term benefits. these benefits include: tourism based on the experience of natural scenery and ecology, the income stream flowing through to the community, active participation, transfer of skills, long-term sustainability, local material and labour. the village was done using local indigenous material. this sustainable rural project benefited the small community directly and ensured employment for unemployed people and allowed the discovery of previously unavailable nature (crafford & crafford, 2004). small project 2: mowani mountain camp the mowani mountain camp in damaraland, namibia is a development for the rich, where they can enjoy the stillness: “the loudest sound is your breathing” (fysh, 2004: 97). although done to fuse with the environment, and from very simple material, to the highest quality, the cost was apparently not of great concern because it caters for luxury in the desert. the project consists of thirteen serviced african style en-suite safari tents with features like a professional guide, elephant drives, exploration trips, nature walks and micro30 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 31 verster & berry • the property development challenge lighting. the benefits of such luxury are employment, foreign currency, returns, unspoilt nature, elephant conservation and a reason to protect the dessert. this is a clear example where project managers should cater for different concerns and needs in a rural context. example 3: medium sized projects the kandirri wildlife and game farm according to the manager dunette le roux (2004: personal communication) this wildlife and game farm in the southern free state in south africa has had a positive influence on its rural environment and community. the project, consists of 2600ha of africa savannah grassland with patches of indigenous trees, a conference facility and accommodation for twenty four visitors, at a total cost of about r7mil (€900 000). this amount included the purchase of wildlife to bring indigenous species back to the region, all-be-it in a semicontrolled environment. the risks were high because primary income is seasonal. for the rest of the year, the owners rely on conferences, functions and eco-tourism. the benefits are delivered in respect of: • direct employment: more than seventeen extra permanent employment opportunities; • indirect employment: more than six employment opportunities are created in the town nearby due to meat production, leather curing, and related activities; • income to the region due to visitors, foreign currency of about €400 000 per year; • environmental sustainability, due to the fact that wildlife in a controlled state is much more environmentally friendly to grassland life than agricultural farming; • wildlife is sustained for posterity; • education in respect of natural heritage and life that shares the region. game farms must adhere to the department of nature conservation’s rules and regulations, to eliminate negative effects. this game farm was planned with their assistance in respect of water holes, carrying capacity, and extra fodder during winter months as well as eco-analysis of the farm. 33 verster & berry • the property development challenge according to kyriacou (1996: 5-30), the lessons learned from this project on how the developers dealt with sometimes seemingly small but very important issues can be summarised as follows: • environment: an environment impact assessment (eia), in partnership with local communities, ensured integrity of the process; • rural development plan (rdp) aimed at long term direct and indirect compensation, the establishment of infrastructure such as roads, training and income generating projects, agriculture, etc.; • the natural environment and heritage plan (nehp) ensured that the environment and heritage was not adversely affected, albeit affected, consisted of a compliance monitory system, erosion and sedimentation studies, water quality and biological monitoring and awareness education; • economically: the gross domestic product of the kingdom of lesotho benefited by an added 14% through the royalties project. the above examples shows, that some rural communities of namibia and south africa benefited immensely from the development of projects, on the short, mid-term and long term. the communities that benefited most were the small rural villagers in respect of education, housing, health, wealth, economy, employment and sustainable long-term benefits. each country has a different conservation policy, each region a contrasting set of ecological, political, economic and social dynamics. these policies and dynamics need to be assessed and incorporated in respect of development solutions. weinberg (2001: 8-9) sites various examples of these issues to illustrate these differences from kenia to namibia. 8. conclusion this paper proposes to show how important it is for the project manager to understand the scope of projects to be managed and more specifically in respect of three of the additional areas of the body of knowledge, as mentioned by zack (2004: 6) environment, health and safety, and financing, in rural areas. the project developer and manager should understand culture, country characteristics, environmental properties and qualities, financial and projectspecific constraints, type of sustainable project and the contribution it may make to communities and the environment as well as the negative aspects it may have. the cost engineer and quantity surveyor will play a vital role in respect of the development of projects. they must, in a pro-active manner, ensure that the role is extended to and strengthened in the rural environment where their skills are equally needed. we live in a total eco-system and the one cannot survive without the health of the other; indeed, urban and rural planning, design and construction are interlinked. effective management and financial expenditure available are critical to the building of a total sustainable economy. property development in a rural context will be judged as successful, when projects receive their credibility from rural people and protected environments. 38 acta structilia 2005:12(1) bibliography callenbach, e. 1999. ecological ‘tales’ of a sustainable society. in: inoguchi, t., newman, e. & paoletto, g. (eds.) cities and the environment: new approaches for eco societies. tokyo: un university press. chung in moon. 2000. market forces and environment: introduction. in: chasek, p.s. (ed.) the global environment in the twenty first century: prospects for international cooperation. usa: united nations university press, pp. 167-174. bbc news: uk edition. 2004. country profile: lesotho. [online]. available from: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country profiles/1063291.stm> [accessed 03 februrary 2005]. crafford & crafford architechts, 2004. digest of south africa. endorsed by saia. south africa: johnnic publishing. fysh, r. 2004. the loudest sound is your breathing. good taste, no 170, pp. 97-101, march/april. groombridge, b. (ed.). 1992. global biodiversity: status of the earth’s living resources. world construction monitoring centre (report). london: chapman & hall. hargitay, s.e. & yu, s. 1997. the context of the investment decision. in: richards, t. is it worth the risk? the impact of environmental risk on property investment valuation. research report: college of estate management. whiteknightz, reading. krog, a. 2001. it takes a lot of god to survive here the richtersveld national park. in: weinberg, p. once we were hunters. a journey with africa's indi genous people. cape town: david philip. kuhne, e. 2001. larger than life. in: watkins, g. the subcontractor, 13(3), pp. 22-23, may/june. kyriacou, e. 1996. in: lesotho highlands water project commemorative journal 1986 1996. johannesburg: honegger media marketing. le corbusier, 1929/1947/1971. the city of tomorrow and its planning. (trans lated from the 8th french edition entitled: urbanisme. published: paris : editions cres,1924). london: the productional press. le roux, d. 2004. personal communication. 10 september, kandirri wildlife and game farm, free state south africa. luke, t. 1994. the politics of archaeological utopia: soleri on ecology, architecture and society. telos, 101, pp. 55-78, fall. montgomery, j. 1990. cities and the art of cultural planning. planning practice and research, 5(3), pp. 17-24, winter. 39 verster & berry • the property development challenge 40 acta structilia 2005:12(1) richards, t. 1997. is it worth the risk? the impact of environmental risk on property investment valuation. research report: college of estate manage ment, whiteknightz, reading. smit, j.n. 2000. ekologiese benadering tot wildplaasbestuur. sa game & hunt, 6(10), pp. 25-33, october. south africa. free state provincial government. department of the premier. 2001. free state development plan (fsdp). [online]. bloemfontein: free state provincial government. available from: <http://www.fs.gov.za/ free statedeveplan/fsdp%20summary%2001.10.10htm> [accessed 6 february 2004]. verster, j.j.p. 2002. property development: in search of an environmental sensitive development model. acta structilia, 9(1), pp. 59-78. verster, j.j.p. 2004. the flow of project management model. bloemfontein: university of the free state. wallis, s. 1996. lesotho highlands water project. volume 4, november, surrey: laserline. wathern, p. 1995. environmental impact assessment: theory and practice. london: unwin hyman. weinberg, p. 2001. once we were hunters: a journey with africa’s indi genous people. cape town: david philip. zack, j. 2004. project management in crisis. in: icec 4th world congress, cape town 17-21 april 2004, pp. 1-7. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 k kusel1 , d conradie2 & d holm3 the development of web-enabled knowledge­ based {wbk) systems for the south african conslrucfionindusby abstract it is increasingly obvious that a significant proportion of international architectural engineering and construction (aec) industries are adopting web-enabled knowledge-based (wkb) product life cycle development (lcd) approaches to meet the needs of the global information economy. the wkb approach is fast becoming the new paradigm for designing client-orientated product development systems. this article examines the status quo of the life cycle development (lcd) process in the construction industry, as well as new approaches, showing its principles, goals and benefits. it also introduces orbit, a wkb system, which provides a platform for the implementation of the new approaches and concludes with a presentation of a conceptual model of the system. keywords: web-enabled knowledge-based approach, life cycle development (lcd) process, knowledge delivery, knowledge manipulation. die ontwikkeling van web-toeganklike kennis-gebaseerde sisteme (wbk) vir die suid-afrikaanse konstruksie-bedryf dit word toenemend duidelik dot 'n aansienlike gedeelte van die internasionale argiteks-, ingenieursen konstruksie-bedrywe (aek), 'n web­ ondersteunde kennis-gebaseerde (wkg) stelselbenadering tot die lewenssiklusontwikkeling (lso) van produkte aanneem, ten einde die behoeftes van die wereld-informasie-era aan te spreek. 'n wgb­ benadering is vinnig besig om die nuwe paradigma te word vir die ontwerp van klient-georienteerde produkontwikkelingstelsels. hierdie artikel ondersoek die huidige toestand van die lewenssiklus­ ontwikkelingsproses (lso) in die bouen konstruksie-bedrywe, asook die mikpunte en voordele wat die nuwe benaderings mag inhou. die orbit­ stelsel word bekend gestel, wat 'n platform kan bied vir die implementering van die nuwe wkb-benadering. 'n aanbieding van 'n konseptuele model van die orbit-sisteem word verder ook in oenskou geneem. sleutelwoorde: web­ondersteunde kennis-gebaseerde stelselbenadering, lewenssiklusontwikkeling, orbit­stelsel. kirstin kusel, b arch (up), arch sa, architect and building research consultant: division of building and construction technology, council for scientific and industrial research, pretoria. web address: <kkusel@scir.co.za> 2 dirk conradie, m arch (up), arch sa, managing director: polygon software development cc, pretoria. web address: <dconradie@csir.co.za> 3 professor d holm, research co-ordinator: school of the built environment: university of pretoria. web address: <dholm@postina.up.ac.za> 23 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems 1. introduction the emergent global information economy and the customer's need for life cycle quality is increasing the complexity in the lcd process. hence, two issues are important: firstly, the ability to deliver relevant life cycle project information and knowledge to distributed planners, designers, builders and managers and secondly, the ability to retrieve, view, evaluate and adapt life cycle project design fragments on the desktop with a chosen application, regardless of time and location. several initiatives are under way in international aec industries to generate guidance in process improvements and stimulate real cost improvements towards global competitiveness. initiatives are usually a partnership between academic institutions and industrial sponsors. developments in iso standards on product development processes, suggest movements towards a generic global business process standard, based on system engineering principles, for life cycle product development in 2001 (stephens, 1999: 354). new developments in web technology are fast providing the new operational platform for such a standard and will enable integration and implementation of a global aec industry. in south africa process improvement initiatives between the construction industry and research institutions are limited and the facilities for lcd process are to a large extent fragmented. south africa is characterised by a well-developed infrastructure and construction industry. however, the need for construction delivery, services and infrastructure is still prevalent throughout south africa, particularly in the previously disadvantaged communities. in addition, industry output has been falling steadily over the past 25 years with real output in the construction industry falling by an average of 0,6% per year between 1970 and 199 5 (allen, 1999: 1). the problem of a large need but poor demand from potential industry clients, combined with increasing costs of construction, is exacerbated by a history of poor delivery. there is also a general failure of industry to embrace and invest in performance improvement initiatives and best practices that have been successful in international aec industries (allen, 1999: 1). however, the construction industry development board (cidbj, which is to be established in 2000, may become the vehicle for change in the construction industry and facilitate collaborative process improvement through research projects. it is imperative for the south african construction industry to develop and adopt new lcd processes and systems tailored for 24 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 the south african context. such processes and systems should focus on empowering the various functional disciplines in a project with the ability to evaluate and address life cycle issues at an early stage in the project life cycle, regardless of time and location. this article examines the imperative within the context of a web-enabled knowledge-based (wkb) approach. discussion will include the principles inherent in such an approach and a conceptual model of an implementation platform. 2. status quo on life cycle development processes 2.1 the development process in reality the products of the construction industry (buildings, roads, bridges) are designed and custom-built to unique specifications and usually immovable. the facilities life cycle development (lcd) process, also called the 'procurement process', was defined by the international council for building research studies and documentation, working group, c1bw92 as: the "framework within which construction is brought about, acquired or obtained" or as the "acquisition of project resources for the realisation of a constructed facility" (rawlinson, 1999: 34). construction projects involve several disciplines collaborating for relatively short periods of time in the various phases of the lcd process. traditionally, facilities were developed using a sequential approach, where process steps are conceived as separate units with definite inputs and outputs, the process is compartmentalised and characterised by sub-optimal communication between team members. however, in reality, this approach fails when faced with the complexity of dispersed project teams, changing client expectations, e-commerce and emerging information technologies (it), especially web­ technologies. it now facilitates concurrent development of facilities by a multi-disciplinary virtual team at a continuous 24 hour pace. as a result, many facilities development projects have for the past few years followed a concurrent engineering (ce) or fast-track process, where the design and construction phases are undert.aken simultaneously and briefing and design are considered a constituent part of the delivery process, although often not paid for. ce is a common practice in international aec industries, with its associated benefits of a reduction of fragmentation in a project, optimal product design, low production and delivery costs, as well as overall lower lcd process costs. other terms which refer 25 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems to ce are "simultaneous engineering", life cycle engineering, parallel engineering or the "multi-disciplinary team approach". ce aims to achieve more informed decisions upstream in the life cycle development process where costs are low and the ability to influence decisions is high (sparrius, 1998) (figure l ). the ce process is further driven by the strategy of construction professionals to build long-term relationships with clients, which in turn leads to the integration of design, construction and facilities management activities into a seamless process. \ life ycle cost \ i i ·,, i ' l'" :.of--+----+,-----+------+---• < design i construction operation disassembly product life cycle figure l : the ability to influence system characteristics (sparrius 1998) 2.2 a lack of realistic process guidelines despite worldwide albeit uncoordinated movements towards an integrated and concurrent lcd process, there is a lack of documented guidelines on best practice processes in both the south african construction industry and research institutions. knowledge of the process is mainly experiential and resident in people. for example, the procedural guide for clients, architects and other professionals (procapj is the formal south african guide outlining the steps in the facilities lcd process. this guide does not reflect the concurrent, life cycle processes followed by leading organisations. 26 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l 3. a need for the introduction of new approaches a recent study identified three key requirements for an integrated and concurrent project environment in the south african construction industry (kusel, 2000). the requirements are based on new lcd process approaches in international aec industries. these requirements may serve as a guideline to a review of existing process guidelines. 3.1 requirement 1: a collaboration strategy the end-product in the construction industry is the result of contributions by a range of specialised organisations, which convene as a temporary multi-organisation to complete the project. construction professionals are now facing various organisational procedures and processes on one project, ambiguous objectives and constantly changing requirements. rawlinson and mcdermott (1999: 36) describe two key problems: firstly, it makes the traditional "control and command paradigm of project management" inefficient, causing methodologies such as value management, which is concerned with "resolving ambiguity by constructing a shared consensus of the project objectives", to be introduced into construction projects in an increasing degree. secondly, it makes implementation of the traditional fragmented procurement process very difficult, resulting in methodologies such as ce and systems engineering (se) that allow simultaneous design, continuous inputs by the various project members and integration between enterprise objectives, project management and se processes. team collaboration between project members should be promoted in order to ensure qualitative processing of client requirements, communication and co-operation between all stakeholders involved with the lcd process. the practice of partnering could facilitate this principle, which enables strategic relationships and knowledge supply chains beyond a project-to­ project basis, towards a more long-term arrangement. allen (1999) describes partnering as "a management approach ( epsrc imi practice partnering guidelines http:// www.construct­it.salford.ac.uk) to construction that places the emphasis upon continuity and the development of long-term non-adversarial relationships between all project members". jason matthews (rawlinson, 1999: 273) emphasizes how the partnering approach can facilitate "the development of an effectively integrated project team capable of improving 27 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems c«pabllily dovelopmonl proce:u allocoad 1'qoirtmen!j & c.,-., proposed agreement _wma ____________ _ supplier 9)'1tom o.v.lopmonl protest component oiytlopmant process upper-level customer processes �ropoled d'lar•ctarl1tie, & 19reemu11 lower-level supplier processes opetallonal siipl'ofl s)'lloma corasyswn components supplied ln11t9rated 1ub1ystem "1he generic proc.,.. storis with o request �om a customer and responds by generating on ab,1raci solution (,ystem requremenls). ond an archilec!ulal design. this enables the developer io negotiate with suppllen to determine lhe pradcoily ol the proposed design. with lhis informolion. the developer can negotlale lhe 09"'emenl with lhe customer and ,tort lo ;enerote the ag,eed system. the views the world from the per,pectlve of each separote development; it is a system, engineering ,,;ew of the cvstomer-suppier relationship. the generic process if 'contexl-independenr and apples at the overall sy,tem level and al ou lower ktvel sub-tys:tem development levels. in each context. ii hos o!'le c1..1stomer and mony supplier levels. the custome r process trigger1 the p,ocess into exidenc:e; the supplier fnterfocej ore developed as wori:. procl!eds. the proceu can be oppl!ed repeated;.,, to define the overall development process'' [stephens et al. t 999:206). figure 2: the generic system development process (stephens, 1999: 207) 28 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l procedures and processes through resource exchange and an adherence to agreed strategy" and describes strategic partnering as the "key to innovation". he summarises six benefits: • improved contractual situation • improved communication and information flow • increased understanding • improved efficiency of resources • improved financial situation • improved quality. 3.2 requirement 2: integrated process management systems engineering refers to creating effective solutions to problems and managing the technical complexity of the resultant developments. at the outset it is a creative activity, defining the requirements and the product to be built (stephens, 1999: 5) pressure is exerted on companies to compete globally and they are driven by an increasing need for the ability to handle complexity. se (http://www.incose.org) is a key technology for managing this complexity. the se process (figure 2) aims to achieve 'time to market with the right product', where right means what users really want, affordable and produced ahead of competitors. the emphasis of the se methodology to deliver the right product to the customer is crucial for business success. a large-scale study of several thousand engineers listed the two most common reasons for project failure, namely incomplete requirements and a lack of user-involvement. five of the eight main problems were requirements, three were managerial and none referred to technology (http://www.standishgroup.com/visitor /chaos.html. the study again emphasized the need for a good leading se process. several case studies illustrate the benefits of clearly defined criteria upstream in the development process and the value of se to reduce cost over-runs (stephens, 1999: 4). the benefits of se for the construction industry rest in its ability to provide the integration framework for the work of all other disciplines, while remaining independent of discipline and product type. it defines user requirements and creates the development architecture for those requirements. it could play a critical role as an integrator of the various stakeholders involved in the product lcd process. this differs from the role of the 29 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems project manager, whose task it is to ensure that everything is done, but not necessarily to do it. the systems engineer must understand technical issues, translates them into user needs and negotiate with the project manager regarding the schedule and cost impacts. stephens (1999: 7) mention that project management without system engineering is meaningless: "successful management requires trade-offs between variables such as cost, schedule, quality and performance. these tasks cannot be meaningful without the information produced by systems engineering. because time and resources are easy to measure, management sometimes attempt to control projects without the key element of requirements. what use is meeting cost and budget targets without producing a useful product?" stephens ( 1999) proposes a multi-level approach to ensure consistency of requirements, design, costs, schedule and risks. he describes a generic system development process (figure 2), which, when applied recursively and concurrently, describes the entire development. he also describes the results of this realistic system development approach as: • feedback from design before commitment to requirements • concurrent exploration of design options at many levels • a multi-level recursive structuring of the system into separate developments • additional engineering processes to cope with the inevitable changes at all times. the structured methodology of se enables the translation of a client's requirement into a physical solution (traceable to the requirement) by means of a logical sequence of activities and decisions. pressure is exerted on the construction industry to co­ ordinate organisational processes involved with the facility lcd process to manage the increasing complexity and fast-track nature of construction projects. se should be applied at the enterprise level and all organisational processes should be interlinked and coordinated. web technology provides the new operational platform for integrated process management, regardless of time and location. 30 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 3.3 requirement 3: concurrent modelling and simulation when we mean to build, we first survey the plot, then draw the model, and when we see the figure of the house, then must we rote the cost of erection; which if we do find outweighs ability what do we then but draw anew a model in fewer office, or at least desist to build at all? (bardolph shakespeare, henry iv, part ii, act i) a recent study of the requirements of a dispersed multi­disciplinary project team within a rl billion south african project indicated the primary need in the south african construction industry for a capability in what-if scenario modelling and simulation across the lcd process (kusel, 2000). due to increasing building costs, distributed project teams and the difficulty in grasping the holistic picture, it is becoming increasingly important for construction professionals to study and evaluate the effectiveness and emergent life cycle behavior of a facility, before actually constructing it and during the construction process if changes occur. this ability is specifically important for emerging economies with limited resources. modelling can be described as a representation of the behaviour of a system ( roodt, 2000: 1). axelrod (1997) describes simulation as the act of driving a model of a system with suitable inputs and observes the corresponding outputs. concurrent modelling and simulation (cms) can be described as the principle of multiple parties working simultaneously on projects through a standardised and structured lcd process allowing open information exchange, modelling and simulation of design solutions and prototypes. modelling and simulation (m&s) add value by improving the final operational capability through primarily changing the design information and clarifying the risk. the application of cms in the south african construction industry is a challenge, largely due to a lack of a standardised facility lcd process, structured lcd information and a culture of fragmentation within the project environment. however, several prototype software systems have been developed in an attempt to integrate and structure lcd information. examples are conradie (2000), bjoerk (1999), evbuomwan and anumba (1999) and conradie and kusel (1999). most of these attempts concentrated on the development of an environment that will facilitate the flow of project information between the various it support applications 31 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems during a concurrent lcd process. such an environment is described as a modularised project model, which is defined by bjoerk ( 1999) as "a software representation of construction data, which supports the project throughout its life cycle". the modularised model is capable of serving existing and future construction applications. in the modularised model design review and control are supported by full electronic traceability. structured and hierarchical design information are linked to a relational database, where all actions, changes and decisions are stored for rapid retrieval in multi-media reports. the benefits of such an approach are that it ensures electronic traceability and integrity of all customer requirements and technical solutions throughout the facilities lcd process. it also facilitates the creation of an information model of the project, which supports successful decision-making. the modularised model also captures relationships and interactions between the various architectural building classes. two emerging technologies prevail between the different architectural building classes, for example, oocad and xml, enable the modularised model and more integrated design and construction process within network organisations. with oocad and xml entire sets of construction documents can be prepared in the form of live websites rather than a collection of static documents, which do not support various levels of specificity. object-oriented cad (oocad) enables the modelling of rich information about building components accessible to a wide variety of software applications that can be used throughout a building's life cycle without translation into other formats. the internal relationships between these classes are identified through the use of object-oriented cad (oocadj. knowledge is embedded in objects in the cad system (knowledge-based oocad), which enables analysis of the entire product modelling process. this means that unique performance attributes (for example shape) and embedded links (for example building regulations) can be included in an electronic "object". a door object might describe the physical attributes needed for design by cad and the cost, maintenance, supply and installation properties of the door for project costing and scheduling, which will be required for facilities management (cohen, 2000: 255). these relationships were not captured by traditional cad systems, which complicated the management of issues in downstream applications, such as facilities management. 32 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l 3.4 extensible markup language (xml) xml is a new web language for describing information. an aecxml working group met in dallas, texas in september 1999 and five sub-committees were formed to lay the foundation for xml implementation in the construction industry. the group also works in tandem with the integration efforts of the international standards organization for the exchange of product model data (step) and the alliance for interoperability (iai). the step aims to create an international standard for computer-based description and exchange of the physical and functional characteristics of products throughout their life cycle and the iai aims to develop a mechanism for sharing information during design and construction throughout the life cycle of buildings. extensible means authors can add their own self-defining tags to web documents that identify information semantically and thus go beyond the relative primitive formatting, linking and display options offered by html. where html describes how data should be presented, xml describes the data itself. for example <insulval> might tell the browser that the next section of bracketed text describes the insulating properties of a material (cohen, 2000: 256). xml is seen as a key technology enabling open information exchange between systems that use different forms of data representation a problem to date. a number of industries, for example the medical and newspaper publishing industries are using the technology to exchange information across platforms and applications (cohen, 2000: 256). however, as cohen (2000: 256) mentions, the key to successful application of xml in the aec industry is to find a standardised aec terminology. if xml is widely adopted, it will enable data sharing and e-commerce in the building and construction industry on a new scale. internet­ delivered product data will be classified and delivered with life­ cycle performance data. 4. knowledge-based d evelopment approaches 4.1 the role of a web-enabled knowledge-based approach web technology is the new paradigm for designing a client­ oriented lcd process and project delivery it system. it provides the mechanism for implementing a collaboration strategy within an integrated, concurrent project environment. the role of a wkb approach is to enable construction professionals to retrieve, view, evaluate, model, simulate and adapt life cycle project design 33 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems fragments on their desktops, using a chosen application, regardless of time and location. wkb is important to the south african construction industry as a tool to achieve global competitiveness, customer satisfaction and life cycle quality in product development. it can play a significant role in improving information delivery, decision-making and knowledge management within a distributed project environment. 4.2 orbit a design knowledge delivery system the orbit system (figure 3) is a prototype wkb system. analogous to the way books are delivered to potential users from amazon.com. the system aims to deliver relevant design knowledge to project team members and to facilitate the secondary manipulation of relevant parts of the knowledge on the desktop. the research that led to the systems' evolution involved an extensive review of design philosophies, models, methods and systems in both the architectural and manufacturing field (table l). it also involved the development of a prototype system called aedes (architectural evaluation and design system) (conradie 2000) and innovative work on the design of web-enabled intelligent components for briefing and design (conradie, 2000). method lessons learnt concurrent engineering integration of lcd process phases systems engineering multi-level. hierarchical approach. recognises complexity of projects quality function technique to translate customer requirements deployment into design specifications object orientation packaging of architectural elements for manipulation in a process case-based reasoning methodology for hierarchical structuring of objects extensible mark-up enables open information exchange and language hierarchical structuring of objects table l: orbit research base a few precedent websites in the world provided insight into the possibilities of the proposed web system. of note is the site http://zoomon.com. the site facilitates collaborative operation and basic manipulation of drawings in a web environment. to achieve the goal of knowledge empowerment at the desktop requires structured and homogeneous design knowledge and a ubiquitous 34 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 carrier such as the internet. such knowledge standard has been identified in the world wide web consortium xml referred to previously. it must be stressed that although the conceptual model in figure 3 is an oversimplified purist example, the following important principles are used: • the designer remains in full control of the ultimate solution at all times • design experience is stored in a structured format • most information required in the planning and design environments are basically hierarchical and occur at various levels of specificity • xml supports the inclusion of non-xml data and can act as an integrator of diverse data sources • xml supports distribution of data and hyper linking • xml supports multi-media data sources • the system attempts to support design as a pragmatic and cognitive activity • the solution assumes that planning and design require a continuum of design methods that use model-based, rule­ based and case-based reasoning. it is ultimately up to the designer to decide what method he prefers • current relational databases such as oracle support the generation of xml data from a relational query. the orbit system will conceptually work as detailed in figure 3. a designer who wishes to design a facility or solve a specific operational problem will activate the search engine [bj in microsoft internet explorer. the search engine [bj will enable the user to set basic constraints and search criteria in order to expedite information retrieval. once the relevant information is found, it will be packaged in the form of an xml knowledge fragment. the user can first view the result in internet explorer and if he is satisfied ask the system to download it onto the desktop. the argos desktop planning/design processor [dj (conradie 2000) will retrieve the downloaded xml knowledge fragment [cj. due to the fact that design takes place in an open world, there may be various planning concepts that need to be explored. these partially completed scenarios are stored in [fj and [gj again in xml format. once the planner is satisfied, the solution can be plugged into the live project environment [hj. it is also possible to publish good designs back into the designer's personal website. 35 i c microsoft internet explorer 5.0 j x/v\l --knov,tadge --+-­ fragrrent retrieval of remote distributed design data resources via internet or intranet b figure 3: structured planning and design knowledge as suggested in orbit (conradie 200) 7" c: v> (d .::::::: 0 (d < (d 0 u 3 (d � s, � (d 01 (d :::j 0 0cd q. 7" :::j 0 � ro q. co (d i 00 v> (d q. v> -< v> et 3 v> 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 6. conclusion the status quo of facilities lcd processes in an information age context has been shown. the requirements of an integrated and concurrent project environment were discussed and new approaches to the lcd process introduced. the key principles and benefits of a wkb approach and a prototype wkb system, called orbit, were also discussed. key benefits to south african construction professionals include: • an improved ability to evaluate and adapt lcd information throughout the lcd process, regardless of time and location • an improved ability to provide customer value, by empowering professionals to model emerging life cycle behaviour before actual construction. potential barriers/disadvantages include: • any innovation meets with resistance, even if it is only the inertia of set procedures • the change entails a considerable investment in training cost, which the industry may be hesitant to invest in a scenario of stop-go demand and the impact of aids • government departments in the building sector seem to have priorities other than efficiency and international competitiveness • commercial developers even work in the speculative market with tenuous linkages to end-users. in this case the 'voice of the customer' is very faint. the south african construction industry, which includes all stakeholders at all levels, is afforded the opportunity to become part of the global e-commerce aec industries. although some south african building and construction businesses and clients are part of e-commerce, several prefer not be become involved. empowerment of all stakeholders into global e­ commerce will require investment and support into the research and development of collaborative, knowledge-based systems, such as orbit, web-based learning environment and supporting information-handling toolsets, tailor-made for south african usage. participation in a global construction economy can only strengthen the local construction economy and entail the creation of more job opportunities. 37 kusel/development of web-enabled knowledge-based systems bibliography for further reading on 'competitiveness' visit the following websites: http://www.bath.ac.uk/departments/management/research/agile/ overview.htm http://www.construct-it.salford.ac.uk http:/ /pp2.dct .salfod .ac.uk/overview.htm http://www.abdeakin.edu.au/agile/aghome.htm http://www.scpm.salford.ac.uk/cibw-65/spiceproject.htm allen, s. 1999. partnering: a guideline for managing complex projects. pretoria: council for scientific and industrial research. allen, s. & kosel, k. 1999. effective delivery of construction projects: integrating supply chains for delivery of customer benefit and value for money. proposal prepared for dacst innovation fund, council for scientific and indus­ trial research. boutek. november. axelrod, r. 1997. advancing the art of simulation in the social sciences: obtaining, analysing and sharing results of computer models. complexity, 3(2), pp. 16-22. bjoerk, b.c. 1999. a modularised integrated computer environment for the construction industry. space. internet: http://itcon.org/l 999/3 l cohen, l. 1995. quality function deployment: how to make qfd work for you. reading, ma: addison-wesley. cohen, j. 2000. communication and design with the internet: a guide for architects, planners and building professionals. new york: ww norton. conradie, d.c.u. 2000. the use of software systems to implement case-based reasoning enabled intelligent components for architectural briefing and design. dissertation presented for the degree of ph d (applied science) (unpublished). university of pretoria. conradie, d.c.u. & kosel, k. 38 1999. the use of qfd for architectural briefing and design. transactions from the 11 th symposium on quality function deployment. novi, michigan. june. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 2000. development of orbit: a new generation building industry website. proposal prepared for boutek. council for scientific and industrial research, pretoria. evbuomwan, n.f.o. & anumba, c.j. 1996. towards a concurrent engineering model for design-and-build projects. the structural engineer, 74(5), pp. 73-78. kosel, k. 2000. the requirements of an integrated project environment in the south african construction industry. dissertation presented for the degree of msc (unpublished). university of pretoria. rowlinson, s. & mcdermoti, p. 1999. procurement systems: a guide to best practice in construction. london: e & f n spon. roodt, j. & basson, m. modelling and simulation with specific reference to hardware-in-the­ loop testing. version i: internet: http://www.aoc.org.za sparrjus, a. 1998. specification practices. course documentation. ad sparrius systems engineering and management (pty) ltd, south africa. june. stephens, r. et al. 1999. systems engineering: coping with complexity. internet: http://www.complexsystems.com 39 25 as lindeque & chris cloete public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa peer reviewed abstract a prominent feature of public life in south africa the last decade has been an increasing demand for more participation in the formulation and making of decisions affecting the public’s quality of life. this demand has also become a focus of political activism. public participation in plan formulation and in decision making has to be seen as a reality, and not as an optional extra. it can be argued that unless plan formulation and decision making take cogni sance of different political traditions and cultures and are inclusive and parti cipatory it has little chance of producing long lasting solutions. the aim of this research is to compare the public participation process in a lower socio economic area with that in a higher socio economic area to de termine if the process and focus of the public participation process differ in accordance with the socio economic status of an area. the study compares the public participation process in two case studies: the mabopane and muckleneuk areas in pretoria, with specific reference to the mabopane inter modal facility redevelopment project and the gautrain rapid rail project going through the muckleneuk neighbourhood, respectively. findings indicate that the driving force for participation in the higher socio economic areas is based on the effect that the proposed development plan ning would have on the area as a whole, whereas the focus of public partici pation process in the area with a lower socio economic status tends to be on the influence on job creation and the impact it has on the affected individual. keywords: planning, public participation process, socio economic areas, stakeholders a.s. lindeque, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. prof. chris cloete, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. telephone: +27 12 420 4545, fax: +27 12 420 5473, email: <chris.cloete@up.ac.za> 26 acta structilia 2005:12(2) abstrak ’n uitstaande kenmerk van openbare lewe in suid afrika gedurende die af gelope dekade was ’n toenemende aandrang vir groter deelname aan die formulering en neem van besluite wat die lewenskwaliteit van die publiek raak. hierdie aandrang het ook ’n fokuspunt van politieke aktivisme geword. open bare deelname in planformulering en besluitneming moet as ’n realiteit gesien word en nie as ’n opsionele ekstra nie. daar kan geredeneer word dat indien planformulering en besluitneming nie kennis neem van die onderskeie politieke tradisies en kulture en ook inklusief en deelnemend is nie, dit weinig kans sal hê om blywende oplossings te skep. die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die openbare deelnemingsproses in ’n laer sosio ekonomiese gebied te vergelyk met diè in ’n hoër sosio ekono miese gebied, om te bepaal of die proses en die fokus van die publieke deelnemingsproses verskil volgens die sosio ekonomiese status van ’n gebied. die studie vergelyk die openbare deelnemingsproses in twee gevallestudies: die mabopanegebied en muckleneukgebied in pretoria, met spesifieke ver wysing na die mabopane inter modale fasiliteitsherontwikkelingprojek en die gautrain sneltreinprojek wat deur die muckleneuk woonbuurt gaan, onder skeidelik. bevindings toon aan dat die dryfveer vir deelname in die hoër sosio ekonomiese gebied gebaseer is op die effek wat die voorgestelde ontwik kelingsbeplanning sal hê op die gebied as ’n geheel. openbare deelname in die gebied met ’n laer sosio ekonomiese status, daarteenoor, is gefokus op die effek op werkskepping asook die impak wat dit op ’n indiwidu het. sleutelwoorde: beplanning, openbare deelname, sosio ekonomiese areas, aandeelhouers 27 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa 1. introduction participatory planning raises special problems and challengesin south african cities (theron, 2005). the task of urban politicalrestructuring encounters daunting obstacles such as the geographically fragmented nature of our cities, the divided political and institutional heritage of white and black towns and the resultant difference in political cultures prevalent in white and black areas. in south african cities, pressures for participation in planning and administration have taken on a distorted form, because of the overriding importance of destroying apartheid local government (atkinson, 1992). a further problem with public participation in local government administration is that different sectors of south african cities have different conceptions of appropriate participation. a prominent feature of public and corporate life in south africa the last decade has been an increasing demand by the public for more participation in the formulation and making of decisions affecting their quality of lives. in south africa this demand has also become a focus of political activism. participation by the public in plan formulation and in decision-making has to be seen as a reality that city and regional planners will have to prepare for and provide and not treat it as an optional extra. if the necessity and importance of public participation are underestimated, it can cause unnecessary delays on the implementation of a project. notwithstanding the complexity of the public participation processes, it can be argued that unless the processes take cognisance of different political traditions and cultures and are inclusive and participatory it has no chance of producing long lasting solutions. guidelines for public participation in developments are provided by, among others, loveday (1972), fagence (1977), kaufman (1981), boaden et al. (1982), atkinson (1992), botes (1999) and botes & van rensburg (2000). it should be noted, however, that public participation processes are also subject to criticism: cooke & kothari (2001), for example, address the discrepancy between the advantages claimed for participation and what actually happens in practice – see also botes & van rensburg (2000), chinsinga (2003) and mansuri & rao (2004). also worth noting is that the concept of community participation is being replaced by that of community engagement (brisbane, 2005). van zyl (1991) found that the higher the socio-economic status of the inhabitants of a study area, the greater levels of involvement in participatory planning programs. this might have been true during 1991, as the phenomenon of public participation in south africa only started gathering momentum at that stage. the phenomenon at that time also did not receive too much local attention as a positive and constructive instrument in the planning process. however, due to the political changes in south africa, the public now places greater emphasis on participation – a right guaranteed by constitution of south africa. in contrast to van zyl’s 1991 findings, marais & botes (2002) found that the level and intensity of public participation increase with lower income communities. residents, especially the poor, had become disillusioned by the local authorities’ failure to organise the city to the benefit of all groups and want this to change. this is therefore resulting in greater participation of the public especially in the lower socio-economic areas. the role of the newly established ward coordinators as part of the unicity concept affords the community a chance to play a more significant role in participation. the degree and nature of public participation in different socioeconomic areas should be a guiding factor to the planner in designing a participation process that ensures stakeholder buy-in. in the light of the above, the aim of this paper is to compare public participation in two different socio-economic areas to determine if the process and reason for participation differ in accordance with the socio-economic status of an area. 2. case studies 2.1 mabopane case study the project at mabopane station arose from the need to bring this facility up to an acceptable standard as well as to provide adequate facilities for the increased number of informal traders. the implementation of this project was considerably delayed due to factors such as the cumbersome public participation process, the limited space to relocate traders and the phasing of the project due to its complex nature. the precinct is congested with 1 400 informal traders, who have set up their business all over and the area is completely chaotic. the 28 acta structilia 2005:12(2) station, which is regarded as an inter-modal facility, accommodates different modes of transport, for example, taxi, bus and rail. on average 50 000 commuters use the facility per day. due to nongovernance, the absence of proper management and the inappropriate institutional arrangements from a local authority perspective, mistrust exists amongst the traders and the general community, which has to be overcome as part of the public participation process. the public participation process began with a workshop held between all the funding agencies and the purpose of the workshop was to • identify, categorise and prioritise problems at mabopane station; • determine the causes of the problems; • highlight and agree on possible solutions; and • formalise an organisational framework for taking the issues further. the first management committee meeting focused on the establishment of a management structure to jointly manage the project; the path that the public participation process should take and communication linkages with ward councillors in the wards affected. a public meeting was held and the purpose of the meeting was to set up the foundation for a development forum to follow at a later stage. a trader needs analysis survey was also conducted to quantify the needs of traders as well as determine the various stakeholders within the trade sector. task teams for taxis, buses, formal and informal traders had been established to assist with the formation of a development forum for the broader community, so that their input is heard in the upgrading of the station. a series of workshops were run for each task team and assisted in understanding the issues facing each sector at the station and develop recommendations to address the issues. several interviews by the local community radio station were held with the ward councillor and officials of city of tshwane metropolitan municipality to inform the community of the proposed project. information flyers were distributed which briefly explained the project, the phases and progress of the project to counteract any misinformation spread by the traders at the station as it was realised 29 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa that misinformation is one of the biggest factors contributing to riots at the station. three monthly newsletters containing updated information on planning and construction have also been distributed. the development forum was established and the representatives of all stakeholders attended the meetings – taxi and trader task teams, bus companies and members of the sa national civic organisation, ward councillors, and ward committees from the mabopane, soshanguve and winterveld areas. the aim of the forum was to facilitate the buy-in of the design plans and acceptance by all stakeholders. it furthermore also dealt with day-to-day operational issues, for example safety and security, cleaning, etc. a burning issue at these meetings was the creation of employment opportunities for the local community (intersite, 2004a). to ensure that the community benefited from the project, the labour desk task team was established to make recommendations to the forum on issues pertaining to labour. about 4 000 people registered on the database as both sub-contractors and general workers and 70% of all labour used in each contract had to be obtained from this data base. a community liaison officer was appointed to provide assistance to the public on any public matter that relates to the project. the public participation process in the mabopane case study was complex and had to deal with issues not only pertaining to planning but also of operational nature. the participation focused on employment opportunities and how the community could benefit. other issues that featured strongly were safety and security matters. 2.2 muckleneuk case study in the muckleneuk case study the muckleneuk lukasrand property owners and resident association consists of over 300 active members. inputs from a sample group was used to compile the data. in february 2000 the premier of gauteng province announced the gautrain rapid rail link project, connecting pretoria, johannesburg and johannesburg international airport (jia). the proposed project entails the construction of a modern, state-of-the-art rail network. the area concerned in this case study was focused on the alignment of the rail route through the muckleneuk area and the public participation specifically in that area. the alignment would impact significantly on the quiet suburb of muckleneuk, a community falling 30 acta structilia 2005:12(2) into the middle-high income group containing embassy buildings and buildings of architectural and historical value. gautrans undertook environmental studies, in accordance with the environmental impact assessment (eia) regulations (bohlweki environmental, 2002). the focus of the eia was the development of route alignment alternatives and the inclusion of new affected parties. the public participation process for the eia was considered to be a crucial mechanism to inform the public and affected parties about the need for, purpose and aims of the project and also served to elicit the issues, concerns, needs and requirements of affected parties as inputs into the eia. an eia website for the project was developed and provided background information on the eia process and allowed affected parties to register their interest in the project and the eia, ask questions and provide comments. media such as tv stations, community radio stations, advertising in public by means of posters and national and regional newspapers were utilised to communicate information regarding the eia process to the public. a background information document (bid) was compiled and contained information regarding the eia process, the proposed project and the consultants involved. five open days were held with the purpose to provide affected parties with information regarding the project, to identify issues and concerns, and to answer any initial questions regarding the project and the eia process. formal meetings were conducted with specific group of key stakeholders who were grouped according to formal associations or their specific interest in the project. these meetings allowed stakeholders to join forces (if they wished), to raise specific issues and concerns, and/or obtain more information regarding the project and the process (intersite, 2003; 2004b). a series of public meetings was held to provide the public with more detailed information about the project and to provide feedback on issues raised. possible route alignment alternatives that could be considered in the eia were also discussed. issues and concerns raised by affected parties were captured in a draft issues report. a second series of public meetings was held to inform affected parties of the feasible alternative route alignments that had arisen out of the public participation process and which were to be included in the eia. feedback public meetings were 31 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa held and the main objective of these meetings was to provide the broader public with feedback on the main findings of the eia and proposed mitigation measures. the participation process in the muckleneuk case study can be considered as a conventional process as it had a low level of impact on the decisions taken. the participation process, compared to the mabopane case study, was not very complex (although the project was technically very complex). only a few meetings took place and the issues raised referred directly to the proposed project and did not focus on any operational issues. the process could be considered to be more an information session than public participation to obtain recommendations. 3. public participation in first and third world context although the concept of public participation (termed ‘citizen participation’ in north american literature) evolved in the united states in the 1950s and early 1960, full and official sanction for this term was not provided for in the british legislation until 1968 when the town and country planning act was passed. in the united states participatory exercises initially focused predominantly on the urban poor minority groups, whilst in great britain attempts were made to cater for all sections of the community. however, planners in britain and united states went through the same learning curve and realisation that planning cannot escape the dilemma and fact that planning decisions are inevitably political choices (loveday, 1972: 130). south africa’s intermediate status as a semi-developed first and third world mixed economy, inevitably gives rise to sometimes irreconcilable contradictions like dual standards and concerns. these concerns or needs, when translated into planning goals, invariably relate to a quest for a better quality of life (atkinson,1992). city planning essentially tries to provide a framework within which people can live happy and useful lives. ‘quality of life’ is a multifaceted concept encompassing the economic, social, environmental and physical dimensions of the city. in a society as heterogeneous as that of south africa, there obviously are greatly varying perceptions about what constitutes a better quality of life. 32 acta structilia 2005:12(2) to the under-developed third world sector of the population an improved quality of life most likely relates to the two basic factors of adequate and affordable housing and the availability of sufficient employment opportunities. to the first world sector of the south african society a better quality of life probably relates to matters such as the creation and development of recreation and amenity infrastructure and high cost of urban services. this varying nature of the subject matter about which planning decisions have to be taken has a tremendous impact on the level of public participation processes in planning decision-making. one has to determine from the earliest stage what the actual needs of the community are and what they perceive to be the most urgent ones. a development project in malaysia, for example, was originally intended to provide basic health care; however after consultation with the community it became clear that the residents regarded piped water, electricity, education and recreation as being more important than clinics. it was thus necessary to modify the project plans to ensure acceptance by the community (lim, 1988: 133). the interdependent nature of problems faced by these poor communities implies that one issue (such as infrastructure services) cannot be addressed without considering other issues (such as job creation). it must be ensured that community members understand the implications of such initiatives (atkinson, 1992). people will only participate if they feel that they will gain directly out of the participation or that they can exert influence on the outcome. participation can be based on a geographic locality as with residents’ associations or community groups; it may be in terms of some shared interest or activity or the basis for participation may be functional or service orientated as with groups and individuals concerned with housing and welfare services (boaden et al., 1982: 14). community action affects the techniques for mobilising public participation. in first world cities public participation is pursued by special interest and sectional organisations. in third world cities, however, organisations attempt to represent the full community through ward committees and steering committees one of the many dimensions of participatory development is community solidarity. however, community solidarity is not always easy to achieve. in some poor communities people are reluctant to 33 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa participate and in others the poor are the most likely to participate (fagence, 1977). it depends on the community at large whether full participation will be achieved. community solidarity is not so vigorously pursued in first world cities. there is a higher degree of political pluralisms and individualism in public participation. in first world cities there is a higher level of apathy than in the third world cities. fagence (1977: 347-349) notes that a measure of apathy can be interpreted as beneficial, since it could indicate a stable and contented society, and since the apathetic segment of the public constitutes a potential effective conservative counterweight to the radical elements of society. participation is essential to have but very difficult to generate. however, participation is an investment and people will only make the investment when it is rational to do so. if it were possible to obtain the same goals without costly participation, then you would choose to do so. for example, an illegal squatter can obtain security of tenure through bribing an official, then that route may be taken, as it is more certain than organising neighbours to obtain some sort of public assurance of their tenure rights. the residents will participate in collective action where gains from doing so are greater than the costs. this implies that, to gain effective participation in a pressure group, participation must be seen as worth the effort it would require. in first world cities, there seems to be a greater degree of individualism in public participation. this can be attributed to a more liberal political heritage. certain western theorists of democracy have raised non-participation to the level of political virtue, and argue that an individual has the right to use or not opportunities for political involvement. this argument indicates a more individualistic conception of public participation processes in first world cities than the collectivist style of participation propagated by development theorist in third world cities. there are several distinct approaches to the public participation processes based on the level of participation required. not only will the nature of the project impact on the process followed but also the skills level an economic status of a community. the process of participation might not be completely different, but it has to be sensitive to the socio-economic conditions of a community. 34 acta structilia 2005:12(2) one of the key lessons from the literature on public participation in third world and first world societies is that there is no single ‘best’ way to design and manage a participation programme. furthermore, different socio-economic areas do not all have the same needs when it comes to development, and communities participate based on the probability of satisfying their current socioeconomic needs. 4. analysis and interpretation of the case studies an opinion survey was undertaken among the participants in the two case studies to compare the reasons for participation in both cases, in order to determine if the reasons for participation in a lower socio-economic area differ from those offered by respondents in a higher socio-economic area. the mabopane population was regarded as being represented by the members of the development forum. the development forum consisted of 42 members including, among others, 12 local ward committee members, 14 leaders of the seven different traders associations, leaders of the four taxi associations, a member of the sa national civic association representing the business community, a community liaison officer and four government officials who were to implement and manage the project. the mucleneuk population was regarded as being represented by 17 participants who were nominated by the muckleneuk/lukasrand property owners and residents association, the latter body itself consisting of about 300 active members. 4.1 occupation, income and education in the two areas the analysis of the levels of occupation, income and education gives an indication of the socio-economic profile of the respondents. nearly half (48%) of the mabopane respondents indicated that they had no income and only one respondent stated an income of more than r2 000 per month. the majority (76%) of the respondents in the survey in the muckleneuk area earned more than r15 000 per month with no one earning less than r5000 per month. this clearly indicates the disparity in income levels in the two areas. 35 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa respondents in the muckleneuk survey all had tertiary education whereas 86% of the respondents in the mabopane survey had an education level of grade 10 or lower. the survey undertaken to determine the levels of occupation showed that the majority of participants in the mabopane case study were unskilled. this might have led to the high unemployment rate among them (79%), resulting in their low monthly income levels. respondents in the muckleneuk survey indicated their level of occupation to be predominantly (88%) administrative/managerial, technical and professional. 4.2 analysis of the public participation process in the case studies all the participants in both case studies were aware of government’s initiatives to inform the public of the proposed projects. the respondents were asked if they felt that they were being listened to in the meetings and whether they had an impact on the decisionmaking process. in the muckleneuk case 82% of the respondents felt that they had no impact on the decisions made. it can be mentioned that after the survey was done it was confirmed that the muckleneuk lukasrand property and resident association took legal action against the provincial government. in the mabopane case study the respondents perceived the public participation process in a more positive light than in the muckleneuk case study, with 52% indicating that they do have an impact on the decision-making process. the above can be contributed to the fact that the participation process in the mabopane project was more intense and on a more personal level compared to the process followed in muckleneuk as the participants had the opportunity to participate in compiling the development plan. in the mabopane case, the three most important reasons for participation were because of the perceived impact of the proposed development on job creation, the influx of people to the area and concerns about the physical layout of the proposed development. although job creation and the use of local labour were a key issue in the mabopane case study; it resulted in a prolonged construction period, as the labour was not always skilled enough. the 36 acta structilia 2005:12(2) planners and the developers had no option but to address and accommodate certain demands of the community, as the community would not have allowed any construction without the creation of employment opportunities. in muckleneuk, the most important concern was the influence of the proposed development on the entire area (noise and visual impact, town planning and land use impact, impact on the historical and architectural heritage of the area, the possible change in the character of the whole area, and the possible impact on property values). with reference to the question of community solidarity mentioned above (fagence, 1977), it was observed that in the case of mabopane people were eager to participate but did not exhibit a great degree of solidarity. different groups had different agendas, complicating the process. for example, the traders and community leaders had different opinions on what the most important issues were that had to be addressed first. there was a distinct difference in the tenure of the respondents in the two areas. in the muckleneuk area virtually all the respondents were owners of the properties concerned, whereas in the case of mamelodi all the respondents were tenants. in summary, the typical socio-economic profile of the muckleneuk participant reflects a property owner employed in the professional, technical, managerial or administrative sectors of the economy, with a tertiary education and earning more than r10 000 per month. the typical socio-economic profile of a participant in the mabopane project is a user of the public facility, unemployed, with an education level not higher than grade 12, unskilled and earning less than r2 000 per month. the muckleneuk respondents’ general perception of the participation process (82%) was that he/she did not have an impact on the decisions taken. the most important motivation to participate in the process was concern about the impact of the project on the area and their property. in the mabopane survey 48% of the respondents was of the opinion that that they did influence the decisionmaking process. furthermore the main reason for the participation was employment opportunities and the impact of the layout of the development. 37 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa 38 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 5. conclusions and recommendations a number of conclusions and recommendations with regard to the nature of the process followed and the reasons for participation in the public participation process in the two socio-economic areas can be made. 5.1 nature of the public participation process the public participation process followed in the two case studies was different in terms of the approach, intensity, level and length. the process followed in muckleneuk was based on the fact that the project was already designed in terms of the route and the process therefore focused more on finding mitigating factors to soften the environmental impact of the proposed project on the community. the process was designed and approached around the eia and not so much around the design and actual layout of the project. in the case of mabopane, the approach was to draw up the development plan with the participants and the designs were subsequently done according to the development plan. most of the designs were workshopped with the affected parties to ensure their buy-in. the process followed by the consultants in the case of muckleneuk was a conventional method of inviting stakeholders, affected and interested parties to a limited number of technical public meetings. various technical experts explained the project and community members were allowed to ask questions. the minutes of these meetings were published and could be obtained either on the web site or at the next public meeting. it had a low level of impact on the decisions taken. the process was therefore not very complex and was more an information session than public participation to obtain recommendations. the mabopane public participation process was more complex and had to deal with planning as well as operational issues. the process focused on employment opportunities and community benefits. other issues that featured strongly were safety and security matters. in addition, more effort had to be put into communication clearly during the process, to ensure that the participants understood the issues involved. the process followed was based on conventional methods such as public meetings, lecture/discussion sessions, information brochures, and media reports, but innovative methods were also used. intensive meetings (workshops) were one of such methods applied. the process also made professional assistance available to the community, providing inputs from the design phase, especially data on the traders market and taxi ranks. it can be concluded that the extent to which the public participates in the planning process may determine the degree of success of any proposal. increased participation is costly in the short term, both in terms of time and money spent. it should, however, result in more effective planning and should in the long term prove to be more cost effective. the degree and/or type of participation will vary according to the type of planning involved. there is no one best way to design and manage the public participation process – the local situation must be taken into account. it may be necessary to use several approaches simultaneously. news releases and public meetings will not by themselves resolve social, economic, cultural and political issues. a systematic process, appropriate for a specific situation, needs to be designed as skills, education and communication levels can have a major impact on the success of the process. it is therefore important that the design of the process takes into consideration the socio-economic fabric of the community. 5.2 reasons for participation it was clear that involvement in the public participation process in the two areas were prompted by different considerations. in muckleneuk, which in terms of the analysis of the socio-economic factors is regarded as a higher socio-economic area, emphasis was put on factors that could influence the area and the properties. in the case of mabopane (a lower socio-economic area) the focus was on employment opportunities. if the same process followed in muckleneuk was followed in mabopane, the public participation process would not have yield the same results as there would have been no perceived benefits for community participation. in mabopane, a labour desk task team was constituted as part of the public participation process to ensure that the community benefits in terms of employment, which was the main concern expressed by respondents. respondents in mamelodi did not indicate any concern for the issues regarded as being important in muckleneuk. 39 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa 40 acta structilia 2005:12(2) the conclusion can be drawn that in a higher socio-economic area participants are more concerned with the impact of the project on the area and on their properties than other factors, while in areas where the basic needs are not yet fulfilled, the most important concern is the creation of employment opportunities satisfying their basic needs. it is therefore important that before public participation process commences, a scoping report of the socio-economic character of a community has to be undertaken. this will lead the planner to design the process to achieve the maximum results from the process. the socio-economic characteristics of an area will determine the extent and depth of the public participation process. understanding the needs of the community will contribute to obtaining support from the community for a proposed project. references atkinson, d. 1992. let the people decide: public participation in urban plan ning. johannesburg: centre for policy studies. boaden, n., goldsmith, m., hampton, w. & stringer, p. 1982. public partici pation in local services. london: longman. bohlweki environmental. 2002. environmental impact assessment report for the proposed gautrain rapid rail link between johannesburg, pretoria and johannesburg international airport. minutes of public meeting, 17 april 2002. brooklyn, pretoria. botes, l.j.s. 1999. community participation in the upgrading of informal settle ments: theoretical and practical guidelines. unpublished phd thesis, bloem fontein: university of the free state. botes, l. & van rensburg, d. 2000. community participation in development: nine plagues and twelve commandments. community development journal, 35(1), pp. 40-58. brisbane, 2005. the 2005 brisbane declaration on community engagement. [online]. available from: <www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au>. [accessed 26 october 2005]. chinsinga, b. 2003. the participatory development approach under the microscope: the case of the poverty alleviation programme in malawi. journal of social development in africa, 18(1), pp. 129-144. cooke, b. & kothari, u. 2001. participation: the new tyranny? london: zed books. 41 lindeque & cloete • public participation in lower and higher socio-economic areas in south africa fagence, m. 1977. citizen participation in planning. oxford: pergamon press ltd. intersite property management services (pty) limited. 2003. minutes of the task team meetings, 2002 2003 of the mabopane inter modal facility re development project. pretoria. intersite property management services (pty) limited. 2004a. minutes of the mabopane development forum, 2002 2004 of the mabopane inter modal facility redevelopment project. intersite property management services (pty) limited. 2004b. minutes of the management meetings, 2002 2004 of the mabopane inter modal fa cility redevelopment project. pretoria. kaufman, m.d. 1981. a handbook on public participation concepts and skills. boston, mass.: environmental protection agency. lim, h.h. 1988. urban service provision in a plural society: approaches in malaysia. in: rondinelli, d.a. and cheema, g.s. (eds.), 1988. urban services in developing countries. london: macmillan. loveday, p. 1972. citizen participation in urban planning. canberra: anu press. mansuri, g. & rao, v. 2004. community based and driven development: a critical review. the world bank research observer, 19(1), pp. 1-39. marais, l. & botes, l. 2002. evaluation of community based planning (cbp) in mangaung. centre for development support, bloemfontein: university of the free state. theron, f. 2005. public participation as a micro level development strategy. in: davids, i., theron, f. & maphunye, k.j. 2005. participatory development in south africa: a development management perspective. pretoria: van schaik. van zyl, p.s. 1991. public participation in the urban planning process, with special reference to the city of cape town. unpublished master’s treatise in town and regional planning. university of pretoria. acknowledgement: the critical comments and suggestions of two ano nymous reviewers have substantially improved the logic and clarity of the paper and are gratefully acknowledged. 27 navorsingsartikels • research articles a sequential mixed methods research approach to investigating hiv/aids intervention management by construction organisations in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract sequential mixed methods research is an effective approach for investigating complex problems, but it has not been extensively used in construction management research. in south africa, the hiv/aids pandemic has seen construction management taking on a vital responsibility since the government called upon the private sector to play a greater part in combating hiv/aids. however, the south african construction industry has been slow in responding to this call, and many organisations are not fully aware of what such involvement might mean. a sequential mixed methods research approach was used to investigate this problem. as the research is ongoing, it is described in this article as a research journey; the findings of each stage have determined the best method for the next. findings of each stage are not presented in detail, since the main purpose of this article is to show the effectiveness of the research method. the approach commenced with a quantitative survey to establish base-line information. semi-structured interviews then yielded richer qualitative data before quantitative datasets were revisited to exploit their potential for more complex analysis and modelling. findings to date show that corporate knowledge about hiv/aids is inconsistent, that intervention management may miss the population most affected, and that the stigma of being hiv+ is a major barrier that frequently prevents disclosure and thus misses the benefits that employer organisations can bring. the construction industry needs to find better ways to promote disclosure and minimise stigmatisation. the applied example shows that the adoption of sequential mixed methods has responded to individual stage data needs and guinevere gilbert, keith cattell, peter edwards & paul bowen dr guinevere gilbert, school of property, construction and project management, rmit university, gpo box 2476, melbourne, victoria 3001, australia. phone: +61 3 9925 3452, email: <guinevere.gilbert@rmit. edu.au> (corresponding author). prof. keith cattell, department of construction economics and management, level 5 snape building, upper campus, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7700, cape town, south africa. phone: +27 (0)21 650 2452, email: <keith. cattell@uct.ac.za> adj. prof. peter edwards, school of property, construction and project management, rmit university, gpo box 2476, melbourne, victoria 3001, australia. phone: +61 3 9925 2230, email: <peter.edwards@rmit. edu.au> prof. paul bowen, department of construction economics and management, level 5 snape building, upper campus, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7700, cape town, south africa. phone: +27 (0)21 650 3443, email: <paul. bowen@uct.ac.za> the authors declared no conflict of interest to this title or article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i1.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(1): 27-52 © uv/ufs mailto:guinevere.gilbert@rmit.edu.au mailto:guinevere.gilbert@rmit.edu.au mailto:keith.cattell@uct.ac.za mailto:keith.cattell@uct.ac.za mailto:peter.edwards@rmit.edu.au mailto:peter.edwards@rmit.edu.au mailto:paul.bowen@uct.ac.za mailto:paul.bowen@uct.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.2 acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 28 provided essential flexibility for the research. it is an effective approach where end outcomes are not sufficiently clear at the outset of the research. keywords: construction industry, hiv/aids, intervention management, sequential mixed methods research abstrak opeenvolgende gemengde metodes-navorsing is ’n doeltreffende benadering vir die ondersoek van komplekse probleme, maar is nog nie op groot skaal in konstruksiebestuurnavorsing gebruik nie. die suid-afrikaanse regering het die privaat sektor gevra om ’n groter rol te speel in die hantering en betrokkenheid van miv/vigs, maar organisasies is nie bewus van wat hantering en betrokkenheid behels nie. die suid-afrikaanse boubedryf is traag om te reageer. ’n opeenvolgende gemengde metodes-navorsingsbenadering is gebruik om die probleem te ondersoek. die proses word genoem ’n navorsingsreis, aangesien daar huidiglik steeds navorsing gedoen word. die resultate van elke stadium voorspel die relevante metode vir die volgende navorsingsmetode. die opeenvolgende gemengde metodesnavorsingsbenadering het ontstaan as gevolg van kwantitatiewe navorsing om basiese inligting te verkry. kwantitatiewe datastelsels is verander om ’n meer ingewikkelde komplekse analise en modellering van gedeeltelik gestruktureerde onderhoude te verseker en het gelei tot beter kwalitatiewe onderhoude. resultate tot op datum het bewys dat kooperatiewe kennis van vigs nie konsekwent is nie. inmenging het tot gevolg dat die meerderheid geaffekteerde mense nie geraak word nie en dat die stigma van miv+ onttrekking veroorsaak. werkgewers se invloed word gevolglik ondermyn. individuele data behoeftes en buigsaamheid ten opsigte van navorsing het gelei tot die aanvaarding van opeenvolgende gemengde metodes. dit is ’n effektiewe benadering wanneer die eindresultaat nie duidelik genoeg is tydens die verslaglewering van die navorsing nie. sleutelwoorde: boubedryf, ingrypingsbestuur, miv/vigs, opeenvolgende gemengde metodes-navorsing 1. introduction the south african department of public works (dpw, 2004: 3) reported that the construction industry ranked third in terms of the economic sectors most adversely affected by the hiv/aids pandemic. given that the government cannot combat the pandemic alone (gilbert, 2006: 309; wouters, van damme, van loon, van rensburg & meulemans, 2009: 1177), it is recognised that civil society (kelly & van donk, 2009: 135) and the private sector (george, 2006: 179; overseas development institute (odi), 2007: 2) have to play an increasingly important role. in this sense, the private sector is expected to ‘intervene’ in the managed responses to hiv/aids in the workforce – businesses are called upon to help the government with the ‘heavy lifting’ needed to combat the spread of hiv/aids and treat the disease. however, the south african construction industry is the least responsive sector in this regard (bureau for economic research/ south african business coalition on hiv & aids (ber/sabcoha), 2004: 52; rosen, feeley, connelly & simon, 2006: 12; meintjes, bowen & root, 2007: 255 [jp2007.1]. more recent research has not found any gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 29 substantial improvement in this situation (bowen, cattell, edwards & marks, 2010: 997 [jp2010.1]; harinarain & haupt, 2014: 291). businesses that depend largely on casual and migrant labour are likely to be seriously affected by hiv/aids (whiteside & sunter, 2000: 140), as hiv prevalence is considerably higher among workers who travel for employment (interagency coalition on aids and development (icad), 2004: 2; bowen, dorrington, distiller, lake & besesar, 2008: 828 [jp2008.1]). other aspects driving risky lifestyles and hence disease vulnerability for such workers include substandard living environments, absence from stable family environments for long periods, high rates of alcohol abuse, and promiscuous sexual activity (icad, 2004: 3). the construction industry is vulnerable to all these factors; research was thus needed in order to better understand its situation and improve its hiv/aids intervention management practices. the research journey described in this article commenced with a policy-positioning paper (meintjes et al., 2007: 255 [jp2007.1]), following the official reports of poor industry response, despite evidence of increasing prevalence of hiv/aids infection. by 2009, the disease was regarded as pandemic, and the question arose: had the construction industry’s awareness of, and responses to hiv/aids improved? this stimulated the commencement of a small research project at the university of cape town in 2009 to investigate the construction industry’s awareness and management of hiv/aids. for logistical and financial reasons, the initial research was confined to the western cape. the scope of the project has since expanded, but this development has brought with it a recognition of the need to adopt different methods to service the data-collection needs of such expansion. the ‘umbrella’ approach to this need falls with the methodology known as sequential mixed methods research (smmr). while reporting some of the more important findings, the main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of smmr in the hiv/ aids intervention management research project, by presenting it as a staged, and as yet unfinished, journey. 2. research method and design the research journey set out by asking: • how aware are construction firms about the long-term threat of hiv/aids to the workforce? • what hiv/aids intervention management activities are construction firms engaged in? • do construction firms regard management interventions as financially viable? acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 30 is su e: p oo r s a c on st ru ct io n in du st ry r es po ns e to h iv /a id s p an de m ic jp 20 07 .1 ; j p 20 08 .1 s ta ge 1 s ta ge 2 s ta ge 3 s ta ge s 4 8 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 lr q u a n s ur ve y de si gn & te st in g o nl in e su rv ey q u a n a na ly si s jp 20 10 .1 c p 20 10 .2 q u a l c as e de si gn fi el d in te rv ie w s q u a l (t a ) a na ly si s c om m un ic at io n, la ng ua ge & cu ltu re is su es b es tpr ac tic e m an ag em en t st ra nd s tig m a is su e q u a n s ur ve y de si gn (h s r c c ol la b. )fi el d su rv ey + e xt n q u a n s ca le va lid at io n h on s/ m s c re se ar ch q u a l (t a ) a na ly si s c p 20 13 .1 jp 20 13 .2 q u a n a u d it / d u d it s ur ve y de si gn jp 20 14 .1 20 15 .. . . .. ... … .. . 2 01 8 lr fo r w a r d p la n 2 01 518 s ta ge 4 . n ew q u a n fi el d su rv ey s s ta ge 5 . a r c as eba se d de si gn (+ fo cu s gr ou p) a r c as e st ud ie s s ta ge 6 . p ro po se d be st pr ac tic e m od el s s ta ge 7 . p ol ic y de ve lo pm en t co nt ri bu tio n s ta ge 8 . i nf or m al co ns tr uc tio n in du st ry jp 20 16 .1 jp 20 16 .5 q u a n a na ly si s jp 20 15 .1 jp 20 15 .2 jp 20 15 .3 jp 20 16 .2 c p 20 16 .3 c p 20 16 .4 jp 20 14 .2 lr lr lr lr k ey : a r = a ct io n r es ea rc h; c p = c on fe re nc e p ap er ; j p = j ou rn al p ap er ; l r = l ite ra tu re r ev ie w ; q u a l = q ua lit at iv e; q u a n = q ua nt ita tiv e; t a = t he m at ic a na ly si s figure 1: hiv/aids intervention management in the south african construction industry: smmr research journey 2009-2018 gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 31 the staged journey to date is shown in figure 1. institutional ethical clearance was obtained for each stage of the research. journal and conference papers emanating from the research are labelled in the diagram by type, year and sequence in the year (e.g., cp2010.2; jp2016.2). they are also identified in the narrative text and endlist of this article in square parentheses following the conventional references. timelines are not to scale in the diagram, and the later, as yet un-travelled parts of the journey are condensed in a panel on the right-hand side. the stages of the research are discussed in the article in terms of their design and outcomes, with conclusions offered for both aspects as well as for the research process. 2.1 mixed methods research since construction is as much a social as a technical process, it is inappropriate to attempt to force-fit construction management research into a unitary, purely quantitative paradigm in terms of investigative methods. the variability and uncertainties associated with human perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in the management of construction processes are not best dealt with by a purely quantitative approach. on the other hand, wholly qualitative approaches may suffer from other deficiencies. the outcomes from either approach, if undertaken in isolation, may be a lack of completeness in the research (tashakkori & teddlie, 1998: 39). if unitary approaches to construction management research are inappropriate or inadequate (or both), then alternative hybrid or multiple methods may be needed. the latter approach is better known as ‘mixed methods’ research (mmr), with a productive history now spanning several decades (cresswell, 2013: 61). integral to the use of mmr is the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data, where data is collected either sequentially or concurrently (tashakkori & teddlie, 1998: 18). used sequentially (smmr), the analysis of quantitative or qualitative data collected in the first phase then informs the nature of quantitative or qualitative data collection in the second phase, and so on (myers & oetzel, 2003: 436). by contrast, concurrent (or parallel) mmr encompasses a holistic view of the research field through the different perspectives whereby both types of data are collected simultaneously (bak, 2011: 77), and is perhaps more akin to a hybrid research model where similar data can be collected through both qualitative and quantitative means (or a combination thereof). as smmr allows the research process to reflect the practical and contemporary acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 32 theoretical circumstances of each stage, it also allows the researcher to adopt variable, but appropriate world views. this approach is predominantly pragmatic, but, as morrow (2007: 209) argues, the research needs to focus on the outcome and should not be constrained by one single perspective. from a methodological viewpoint, the adoption of mmr brings characteristics thought to be advantageous over research conducted using a single method of data collection and analysis. arguably, the most valuable benefit is the ability to maintain a focus on the research problem and outcome (creswell & plano clark, 2011: 17) rather than being distracted by explaining and attempting to avoid the limitations of adopting a single method (canales, 2013: 7). however, the multiple methods must be integrated; the ‘flow’ of the research should be encompassed within an over-arching aim. a further benefit of mmr is that it can be adapted to suit the research problem being investigated. where the research is exploratory, this flexibility facilitates the adoption of an appropriate method as more becomes known about both the context and the preliminary findings (hanson, creswell, plano clark, petska & creswell, 2005: 229). combining qualitative and quantitative data is recognised as providing a more complete and ‘richer’ picture than a single method used alone (tashakkori & teddlie, 1998: 40; johnson & onwuegbuzie, 2004: 21; mertens, 2012: 810). the same arguments apply to research that is more explanatory than exploratory in intent. in addition to combining methodological rigour with flexibility, indirect benefits are realised. mertens (2013: 215) finds mmr to be a better approach in research where it is difficult to reach the population, both geographically and psychologically. chilisa (2005: 680) gives an example of a shortcoming of single-stage data collection in a culturally sensitive environment, describing particular hiv/aids research in botswana as inaccurate because of the culturally insensitive survey used. had the cultural context first been ascertained, the survey design could have been more appropriate. quantitative data-collection tools used alone may not give sufficient regard to the cultural context or beliefs (creswell & plano clark, 2011: 8), as, for example, in surveys about alcohol use where convenient standardised instruments exist (e.g., saunders, aasland & babor, 1993: 791; bloomfield, hope & kraus, 2013: 18). in this instance, adopting a qualitative data collection as part of a mixed methods approach would allow the relationship between researcher and participant to become closer than typical forms of quantitative data collection usually allow. sequential mmr satisfactorily addresses the frequently encountered situations where the findings from an gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 33 investigation designed to answer particular research questions inevitably raise further questions of interest. as a flexible research strategy, mmr has enjoyed a growth in popularity over the past ten years, as evidenced by an informal scan of the number of books published on the topic (15 in 2009, compared to five between 2003 and 2007) and the appearance of a journal dedicated to mmr since 2007 (see, for example, alatinga & williams, 2016). given the exploratory nature of the hiv/aids research and the context of the south african construction industry, mixed methods research using a sequential staged design was adopted. 3. stage 1 research design the benchmark south african research into hiv is the south african national hiv prevalence, incidence and behaviour survey, conducted jointly by the human sciences research council (hsrc) and the medical research council (mrc) (see shisana, simbayi, rehle, onoya, jooste, zungu, labadarios & zuma, 2014). using survey data to investigate hiv attitudes and behaviour issues in south africa is much more established and widespread than qualitative research methods, arguably because the sampling design permitted by surveys enables proper estimates of incidence and prevalence, a critical consideration in a country with rates of current and new infections among the highest in the world. the research questions presented earlier derive from the results of the survey referred to above. the opening stage of this research journey thus employed a questionnaire survey to establish base-line information specific to the construction industry. using literature relating to hiv/aids intervention management in other industries, a sectioned questionnaire was designed with a mixture of closed, dichotomous, declarative and multiple-choice questions. rating type questions used 5-point frequency scales for indicators of importance. open response options were made available for some questions. the seven-part survey questionnaire sought demographic information from respondents (e.g., category and size of firm, and number of permanent employees); explored company perceptions regarding hiv/aids as a long-term threat; ascertained the presence of an hiv/aids policy within the company; determined the existence and nature of hiv/aids awareness, prevention, and treatment campaigns or programmes; explored the relationship between hiv/aids and employees (e.g., disclosure of status, participation in treatment programmes); investigated any additional involvement in addressing hiv/aids issues within the organisation (e.g., support acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 34 provided to hiv+ employees, presence of medical aid benefits); sought perceptions of what constitutes success for a management intervention programme, and solicited opinions regarding the financial viability of management intervention action. the sampling process for stage 1 identified contracting firms of sufficient size to support the likelihood that they would have given serious consideration to the issues. onwuegbuzie & collins (2007: 286) recognise this adoption of purposive sampling as one option for smmr. the construction industry development board’s (cidb) (western cape) database and the western cape master builders’ association (wcmba) membership list were used to identify potential respondents. since contractors may belong to both organisations, a genuine and commercially active total population for this region is difficult to determine, but is likely to be approximately 5 000. contractors registered in grades 6 to 9 inclusive on the cidb list (an indicator of capacity to undertake project work within a given monetary value range: grade 6 = >zar6.5 million project cost) were randomly telephoned and asked to participate. this sub-population totals about 300. twenty-one firms agreed (over four different grades). similarly, 21 members of the wcmba agreed to participate after being randomly telephoned. once contact with an individual had been established, that person was emailed, given a url where the questionnaire could be accessed online, and formally asked to participate. a stratified purposive sampling approach was thus adopted. data collection took place from may to november 2009, with participation from 42 construction firms (a 14% response rate representative of the sub-population). survey response data were subjected to quantitative analysis. descriptive statistics formed the main analytical tool, with some use of inferential analysis. 3.1 stage 1 outcomes the survey findings (bowen et al., 2010: 997 [jp2010.1]; bowen, edwards, cattell & marks, 2010: 9 [cp2010.2]) revealed that respondents held no universal view about the long-term threat posed by hiv/aids to the construction industry. the majority of the organisations had developed hiv/aids ‘policies’, but few went beyond promoting worker awareness and providing preventative information and condoms. widespread doubt was expressed about the financial viability of more extensive involvement. the size of firms (in terms of employee numbers) did not influence the adoption of awareness and prevention campaigns, but was moderately associated with gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 35 the running of voluntary counselling and testing (vct) programmes, and significantly related to the provision of treatment programme interventions. larger firms tended to deliver more services. ‘worker sensitivity’, confidentiality risks, and fear of further stigmatising hiv+ persons were cited as barriers to involvement. the open response data elicited by the survey were subjected to further thematic analysis during 2011 as a means of validating the approach for the second stage of the research. from this analysis, five themes were identified: understanding the problem of hiv/ aids in relation to the firm; interventions by the firm; barriers to interventions; success of interventions, and future intentions (bowen, edwards & cattell, 2013: 7 [cp2013.1]; bowen, edwards, simbayi & cattell, 2013: 17 [jp2013.2]). deeper investigation into these issues was planned for the next stage. 4. stage 2 research design a case-study approach, employing qualitative semi-structured interviews, emerged as the method best suited to conduct more detailed investigation. the strategy adopted was a collective (multiple) case-study approach (creswell, 2013: 101), whereby individual construction firms comprised the cases, and the units of analysis were the processes and procedures adopted by firms for hiv/aids intervention management (yin, 2014: 31). purposive and convenience sampling of construction firms was adopted; purposive in the sense of selecting cases to meet differentiation criteria, and convenient in that several firms from the earlier survey had expressed their willingness to participate further. the conceptual design proposed eight case organisations, comprising two construction firms in each of the micro, small, medium and large employment and turnover categories used to categorise economic data in south africa (stats sa, 2008: 18). twelve western cape construction firms participated, comprising ten respondents from the earlier online survey and two firms identified from personal contacts. the sample was thus purposive and comprised 4% of the original sub-sample. resource constraints associated with the field interview logistic requirements for data collection precluded the use of a larger sample, and generalisation of results to a total population was not essential, since the focus was on the type and effectiveness of hiv/aids management intervention activities undertaken by individual construction firms. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 36 compliance with the proposed size categories proved difficult to achieve, since employment and turnover sizes did not necessarily correspond. given that different firms use different employment strategies, it was also difficult to make consistent comparisons between employment categories; the findings of the case-based stage 2 research largely relate to the permanent workforces of the interviewed firms. where available, documentary evidence (organograms, policies, procedures, posters, reports) was gathered from the participating organisations. interviews provided the primary data. a semi-structured interview protocol was designed to guide the interview process, following replication logic for each case (yin, 2014: 146). the issues identified in the earlier survey findings informed the topics covered by the protocol. while sub-questions were proposed under each topic, the protocol was intended purely as an ‘aide memoire’ for the interviewers, and all questions were regarded as ‘open’ for interviewees. organisational information was also collected. ethical considerations included informed consent to the interview and the recording thereof; the absence of deception; privacy and confidentiality safeguards, as well as accuracy confirmation (christians, 2011: 65). an interview was also conducted with a private company offering hiv/aids-related management and clinical services to the construction industry. since the purpose was to explore hiv/ aids intervention management practices from the ‘employer-toemployee’ perspective, interviews were not planned for construction workers at this stage. however, one large firm indicated that an hiv+ employee had volunteered to ‘tell his story’ and this opportunity was taken up. interviews were conducted during february 2011 at the head office (or regional head office) locations of the participating firms, generally in the cape town metropolitan area. at least two interviewers were present on each occasion; one being a postgraduate student focusing only on treatment programmes. interviewees comprised directors or senior (hr) managers from each of the twelve construction companies; a director of the service provider company, and the hiv+ construction worker. the majority of the interviews lasted approximately one hour and all were digitally recorded and subsequently transcribed. the interviewers also made handwritten notes. interviews were conducted in english, with the exception of the interview with the hiv+ employee, where an interpreter was present. in this instance, the interviewers posed questions in english. where the gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 37 interviewee did not fully understand a question (obvious by his body language in turning to look towards the interpreter), the interpreter translated it into isixhosa (an indigenous african language). a mixture of english and isixhosa answers ensued. the english responses (and the english translation of the worker’s responses) were transcribed from the digital recordings. the edited interview transcripts were returned to the participants (or the interpreter) for confirmation of content and accuracy (‘member checking’: lincoln & guba, 1985: 373; poland, 2001: 643). a post-interview debriefing session was conducted between the researchers and the interviewers. the debriefing included comparisons of interviewers’ notes as well as recalling any strong emphases detected in the conduct or views of interviewees. thematic data analysis examined the qualitative interview data (using the unedited transcripts: poland, 2001: 630) and the documentary evidence to identify emergent themes (stake, 1995: 49; ritchie, spencer & o’connor, 2003: 219), thereby confirming and extending those found in the stage 1 research. 4.1 stage 2 outcomes the following major concerns emerged from the stage 2 research findings: fears about employees’ stigmatisation and their reluctance to disclose with respect to hiv+ status (thus making it almost impossible for employers to reach them with treatment programme help) and communication issues associated with these concerns. the findings from the thematic analysis of the case-based data were reported as a journal paper (bowen, allen, edwards, cattell & simbayi, 2014: 377 [jp2014.1]), in which guidelines were proposed (in the form of an ‘a-z’ checklist of questions) for construction organisations to consider when developing and implementing hiv/aids intervention management policies. the guidelines address many of the concerns about lack of knowledge, on the part of construction organisations, about hiv/aids intervention management. stage 3 of the journey was planned to address employee concerns about stigmatisation and communication in greater detail. two other issues identified through the interviews included the lack of reach into the informal sector of the south african construction industry, and the difficulties arising from the employment structures of the formal sector. however, resource and budgetary constraints placed these outside the remit of stage 3. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 38 5. stage 3 research design given the sensitivity of the proposed focus upon stigma (prejudice and discrimination), disclosure and communication for the stage 3 research, and better generalizability of findings were considered an important strategic objective. furthermore, the focus, in this instance, would be on construction workers themselves. this meant accessing a larger sample frame and reverting to quantitative methods of data analysis. the first two issues (stigma and disclosure) would involve direct participation by construction workers, since their views would be important. the communication aspect would be explored from both worker and organisation perspectives, and was subsequently established as a separate strand, commencing in mid-2012, conducted initially by honours-level students to establish a literature-based context of theory and practice, and followed by postgraduate masters research (ongoing). hiv/aids stigma and disclosure issues intrinsically relate to the ways in which people respond to the testing processes for the disease (i.e., their testing behaviour). the nature of worker participation required, and the socio-economic status of the majority of workers precluded the use of online data-collection methods. instead, a field-administered quantitative survey of construction workers was proposed, consistent with procedures adopted by the hsrc (kalichman & simbayi, 2003: 443). design of the data-collection instrument was finalised by mid-2013. the item catalogue for the questionnaire included demographic details, lifestyle risk information (relating to condom use, information about alcohol consumption and drug use), and questions designed to determine the participants’ knowledge about hiv/aids, their feelings towards hiv+ persons, and whether or not they fear hiv/aids testing (attitudinal fear of testing). additional questions, directed specifically at hiv+ persons, sought information relating to internal and external stigma and discrimination, social support systems, and disclosure. the questions, mostly with dichotomous or multiplechoice answer options, were drawn from the measures of kalichman & simbayi (2003: 443; 2004: 574); kalichman, simbayi, jooste, toefy, cain, cherry & kagee (2005:137), and simbayi, kalichman, strebel, cloete, henda & mqeketo, (2007: 1825). the survey questionnaire was made available in three of the eleven official languages of south africa, namely afrikaans, english and isixhosa, since these are the most commonly spoken languages in the western cape region. from june to september 2013, the survey was administered to sitebased construction employees, comprising unskilled and skilled gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 39 workers, and site office-based supervisory staff. participants were drawn from 18 construction sites in the western cape, involving the willing co-operation of six construction firms from the stage 2 research (again, a purposive sample frame). resource constraints, particularly those associated with the need to collect data in field settings, limited the number of sites that could be visited within the available time frame. the questionnaires were administered in supervised settings, generally in on-site container offices, each equipped with chairs and a large table. the nature of the study was explained and participants were assured about the voluntary, anonymous, and confidential nature of the survey. care was taken to ensure that workers had sufficient individual privacy to complete their questionnaires. for each site visit, at least three researchers were present to cope with relay batches of participants, to ensure proficiency in all three languages, and to provide assistance where requested. the completed questionnaires totalled 512. in terms of minimum sample sizes required in research to achieve a satisfactory level of generalisability, above a population of more than n=5000 a sample size of 400 is adequate (lucko & rojas, 2010: 130). preliminary data analysis yielded descriptive statistics. bivariate analysis was then used to explore relationships within the data. subsequently, regression analysis and structural equation modelling (sem) were used to test conceptual predictive models of the hiv/aids testing regime behaviour of construction workers, as well as feelings of prejudice towards, and discrimination against hiv+ persons. 5.1 stage 3 outcomes the findings of the stage 3 research to date, along with psychometric scale validation assessment, are reported in bowen, govender, edwards & cattell (2014: 1106 [jp2014.2]); bowen, govender, edwards & cattell (2015a: 04015040-1); bowen, govender, edwards & cattell (2015b: 1150) [jp2015.1, jp2015.2]; bowen, govender, edwards, cattell & street (2015: 04015014-1 [jp2015.3]), and bowen, govender, edwards & cattell (2016a: 92; 2016b: 1; 2016c: 1 [jp2016.2, cp2016.3, cp2016.4]). the survey results highlight the complex interrelationship between hiv/aids knowledge, prejudice, discrimination, and attitudinal fear of testing. they suggest that more carefully nuanced training for peer educators (a component of existing hiv/aids workplace intervention management) is important, along with more finely tuned and culturally sensitive awareness campaign targeting and media (e.g., site posters). the communication strand of the stage 3 research confirms this (akita, baloyi & gumede, 2012: 86). acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 40 the sem analyses (see, for example, bowen et al., 2016a: 92 [jp2016.2]) have revealed pathways between the factor variables that should provide more strategic targeting for management interventions; these will inform the stage 4 research. techniques involving classical test theory (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) and item response theory (embretson & reise, 2000: 65) were used to validate survey catalogue items and measures, with the aim of ensuring robust and culturally appropriate survey instruments (bowen, govender & edwards, 2016: 1 [jp2016: 1]; govender, bowen & edwards, 2016: 12 [jp2016.5]). additional data analysis, relating to condom use among construction workers, has led to two further journal papers, each currently in the process of publication. all this work has led to a new quantitative survey design (figure 1: stage 4). 6. stage 4 research design and beyond the next stage of the hiv/aids research will include the administration of a new quantitative survey field administered on more construction sites. the extensive data-collection process is planned to take place in mid-2017 and will explore alcohol and drug use among construction workers in greater detail, using standardised quantitative screening surveys such as audit (see babor, higgins-biddle, saunders & monteiro, 2001) and dudit (see berman, bergmann, palmstierna & schyler, 2002), for alcohol and drug usage, respectively, augmented with likert-type hiv/aids-related questions. substance use is known to affect the efficacy of anti-retroviral (arv) treatment medication, and may influence workers’ decisions to remain compliant with treatment programmes (tetrault, fiellin & sullivan, 2010: 1; braithwaite & bryant, 2010: 280). much of the aids pandemic in south africa occurs in the context of substance use (parry, myers, morojele, flisher, bhana, donson & pludemann, 2004: 437). alcohol abuse has also been linked to inconsistent condom use (shisana et al., 2014: xxvii). the findings of this research will inform the development and testing of appropriate management intervention tools, and higher level policy development work (figure 1: stages 5, 6 & 7). these tools will initially focus on techniques to improve construction workers’ hiv/aids testing behaviour by improving workers’ knowledge, minimising stigma, and encouraging testing and disclosure. this represents a shift in the research strategy, from “what is ...?” to “what should be ...?” beyond that, the question becomes “how can that be addressed and implemented ...?”, and eventually to “how effective is that ...?”. thus the forward strategy will move from gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 41 investigating the current situation to exploring the effectiveness of management interventions, proposing guidelines, influencing policy development, and encouraging industry best practice. action research – undertaken at the construction organisation level – appears to be an appropriate method to explore the practicality of employing such tools and assessing their effectiveness (reason & bradbury, 2009: 1). in action research, the researcher plays an active role in the investigation, as distinct from the more usual detached observer position. the purpose of action research is to effect change in specific contexts. with the willing consent of the stakeholders, the researcher introduces a change in practice in an organisation, prior to examining its effects. the technique is commonly associated with practice-based research. it is participative and collaborative, following an iterative cycle of plan, act and observe, reflect and refine. workplace drama (or ‘theatre for development’) may be one action research medium for management tool development and application, thus embracing the communication and stigma strands of the research (durden & nduhura, 2011: 91). the adoption of action research methods within a smmr umbrella approach is not explicated in the smmr literature, so this approach could potentially make a valuable contribution to the general methodological discussion. appropriate focus groups will advise this research design as it progresses. stage 7 should then draw much of the entire research journey together in a contribution towards hiv/aids policy development for the construction industry at a national level. further ahead (figure 1: stage 8), an attempt is envisaged to engage with the informal construction sector in south africa; ascertain its special hiv/aids management needs, and explore ways to deliver appropriate help. this will not be easy. the formal sector will first have to provide an effective response model for the entire industry, and then promote mentoring opportunities between formal and informal builders. on another front, government, industry groups (contractor representative associations and unions) will have to address issues relating to industry employment structures and their impacts on effective hiv/aids intervention management. 7. discussion of research findings to date the staged mmr approach to hiv/aids intervention management in the south african construction industry has delivered several important findings, and opened up further areas for investigation. the stage 1 quantitative survey findings showed that knowledge about hiv/aids and the long-term threat that it poses is patchy acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 42 across the industry. while organisational policy development was found to be fairly common, more often than not it was very limited in both scope and implementation. realistic understanding of the cost implications of intervention was rare, as was involvement beyond passive prevention counselling. firms were cautious about the risks in terms of confidentiality and stigmatisation. the latter concerns were re-confirmed in the qualitative case study interviews in stage 2, but, on a more positive note, the intervention practices of some organisations could be regarded as world-leading in terms of the nature and extent of their involvement in treatment programmes and family support. however, the reach of these interventions was limited mainly to full-time permanent employees in each organisation, thus missing the large number of workers who are casually employed or engaged on limited short-term contracts. by extension, the substantial informal sector of the south african construction industry is unlikely to have been reached at all. in stage 3, a reversion to quantitative surveys, aimed specifically at construction employees, showed that reluctance to disclose their hiv zero status is a major concern for construction workers. fears of discrimination and stigmatisation fuel this anxiety. the relationships between these factors, knowledge about hiv/aids, level of education, and life-style risk behaviours (alcohol and drug use, sexual practices) are complex, especially in the context of different ethnic cultures. this complexity has many implications for hiv/aids intervention management, particularly with regard to management/ worker communication and organisational policy development. since the research is management-oriented, as distinct from hiv/aids clinical practice, the ongoing and future research must embrace behavioural and communication objectives with a normative intent to improve management effectiveness. 8. discussion of the smmr approach at the outset of the hiv/aids intervention management research journey, the end destination was not clear, other than a general desire to invigorate the construction industry with respect to its response to the pandemic. the research project thus demanded flexibility in terms of how it would proceed (i.e., the exploratory/explanatory design sequence). the adoption of each subsequent method of investigation has been decided by the outcomes from the preceding stage, their implications for the nature of the issues to be explored in the following stage, and thus the type of data to be collected. this follows the caveat for an integrated perspective (canales, 2013: 18). gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 43 the hiv/aids research journey continues to yield more complete pictures of the research problem (mertens, 2012: 810). the overall multi-stage design is clearly evident, but transformational design (in the sense of exploring, implementing and assessing change) has yet to become a major feature. literature review was an essential prerequisite for primary data collection. it was particularly important to know the relevant terminology; the nature and extent of the extant research; its findings and contribution to knowledge; its applicability to the construction industry, and how the research had been carried out. this informed the justification for the research; guided the methodological decision-making, and assisted the subsequent research design and development of primary data-collection instruments. as figure 1 shows, the literature review was not confined to the start of the journey, but has continued to be re-visited and extended as deeper issues have emerged in later stages. importantly, a suitable ‘reach’ and sample frame for survey participants was required, and online administration in stage 1 solved issues of administration costs normally associated with questionnaire surveys. sufficiency of response is considered later in this section. for the stage 1 hiv/aids intervention management survey, the regional construction organisation associations provided the sample frame, and the researchers adopted sampling techniques documented by authors such as kemper, stringfield & teddlie (2003: 273) and onwuegbuzie & collins (2007: 286). stage 1 provided a supplemented nesting sample whereby stage 2 used the same sample with the addition of two more organisations known to the researchers. the transition from stage 2 to stage 3 used a parallel sample, in which the sample is drawn from the same “population of interest” (onwuegbuzie & collins 2007: 281), in this instance the workers on various sites administered by six of the organisations involved in stage 2. the investigators were careful to avoid generalising the results beyond the capacity of the data. in fact, the nature of construction management is sufficiently universal to render many of the findings credible in the majority of contexts. the research journey has progressively adopted more complex data-analysis techniques. it commenced with descriptive statistics (stage 1). inferential statistics then explored factor relationships between category groups, followed by bivariate analysis and, eventually, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling to examine predictive pathways among contributory variables (stages 3 & 4). in stage 3, item response theory was used to acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 44 examine the robustness of scale measures at the level of individual items within scales (for the quantitative survey questionnaires). thematic analysis of open responses to survey questions (stage 1) and interview transcripts (stage 2) has added qualitative richness and depth to the research journey. while the research journey began with an organisational focus (effective hiv/aids intervention management by construction firms), it has subsequently paid attention to individual construction workers. future research plans to revert to firms when it is then likely to engage at a higher level with industry and government, while also engaging at the worker level again through action research. this research used smmr to facilitate such deliberate shifts in perspective, while the proposal to adopt action research methods may well be novel for the methodology. survey response rates are a continuing aggravation for a great deal of construction management research, a field that has not yet settled on what constitutes response adequacy. while sample insufficiency manifests in a clear inability to state any findings conclusively, unconsidered insistence upon the adoption of target frames and response rates deemed essential to other areas of research (e.g., medicine) may be counterproductive. more important than response rates for this research is the capacity of the data to service the desired nature and levels of analysis. surveys are a useful means of identifying relevant issues, ascertaining the strength of their importance, and examining the significance of differences between category groups. however, simply one instance of a construction organisation failing to provide an acceptable duty of care towards its employees, from the perspective of hiv/aids intervention management, would suffice to warrant investigation at a case-study level. managing multiple strands of a smmr research project (together with other projects not reported in this article), each with additional student involvement, has been remarkably free of major difficulties. keeping abreast of developments in the research area (substantially large when considered beyond a construction industry context) initially proved difficult, but has been substantially resolved through access to relevant publication-alerting services. a great deal of the contemporary literature is now brought to the researchers’ desktops. the research journey began with a general desire to improve industry practices, but (with the exception of the guidelines produced for hiv/ aids intervention management) that aim is not yet fully achieved. developing and testing effective human resources management gilbert, cattell, edwards & bowen • a sequential mixed methods ... 45 tools for the construction industry is a worthwhile, but certainly not a ‘quick fix’ endeavour. this article has demonstrated the use of smmr in a multiphase longitudinal project in the human resources area of the construction management domain. the main focus of the article is the methodological debate, and it is acknowledged that this inevitably limits detailed presentation and discussion of the research findings. however, these findings are disseminated elsewhere. 9. conclusions a research project journey to explore hiv/aids intervention management among construction firms was used to demonstrate the use and appropriateness of sequential mixed methods within a multiphase design. the journey demonstrated the importance of an informed sequence for the research design, a natural ‘buildingblocks’ approach to knowledge generation that becomes almost self-selecting as the research journey unfolds. so far, smmr provided sufficient flexibility for the research: first targeting organisations and individuals, and then potentially rising to industry level and beyond that to government. the driver for adopting smmr is shown to be ‘data demand’ flowing from the research questions: what data are needed at each stage? how can they be sourced? the collected data must be appropriate and adequate for spanning the relevant issues and for permitting suitable analysis. smmr is ideally suited to longer term staged research, especially where end outcomes are not sufficiently clear at the outset. the approach may be less suitable for the typically constrained shorter term nature of postgraduate research, unless that is based on a clear topic ‘slice’ carved from a larger (institutional) research project. concurrent (parallel) mmr might be better for students working independently. for academics with competing work priorities and commitments, smmr offers a measured and satisfying approach to undertaking research. it is also helpful in deciding the nature, direction and extent of research that is often vulnerable to precarious funding. it can yield meaningful, but not necessarily complete outcomes at each stage. however, smmr is unlikely to be attractive to competitively funded research grant-approving bodies if they lack a full understanding and appreciation of its benefits or if they cannot engage with its longer term implications. grant applicants proposing the use of smmr must be prepared to argue their case strenuously and craft their research proposals carefully. in addition, smmr exposes researchers to a 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dit is dikwels as gevolg van die swak bestuur van die ontwerpproses. navorsing is onderneem om die geskiktheid van bestuursprosesse vir ontwerp, wat deur ooskaapse argitekspraktyke gebruik word, te bepaal en dit te vergelyk met ontwerpbestuurs prosesse wat in die vervaardigingsbedryf gebruik word, ten einde praktyke, teorieë, beginsels, tegnologiese oplossings en die uitkomste te identifiseer en dit uit die vervaardigingsbedryf na die konstruksiebedryf oor te dra om die effektiwiteit van argitektoniese ontwerpbestuur te verbeter. ’n prof. fanie buys, phd, the head of the department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. e-mail: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> mr xabiso sidloyi, pr. arch, msc be, researcher: department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. e-mail: <xabisosidloyi162@hotmail.com> acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 30 vraelys was gebruik om basiese-, feitelikeen meningsdata van oos-kaapse argitekspraktyke te bekom, terwyl sekondêre data deur ‘n literatuurstudie ingewin is. die belangrikste bevindinge was dat die ontwerpbestuursprosesse, deurlopende verbeterings-filosofieë, essensiële beginsels, en inligting en kommunikasie tegnologie (ikt) wat deur oos-kaapse argitekspraktyke gebruik word, nie ooreenstem met dié van die vervaardigingsbedryf nie. gevolglik kan oos-kaapse argitekspraktyke moontlik hul dienste verbeter deur sekere van die bestuursprosesse, ikt, deurlopende verbeteringsfilosofieë en essensiële beginsels uit die vervaardigingsbedryf aan te neem. sleutelwoorde: argitekspraktyk, konstruksiebedryf, ontwerpbestuur, prosesverbetering, vervaardigingsbedryf 1. introduction cull (2004: 8) reported that the south africa construction industry would be required to double its output over the next 10 years, according to a status report compiled by the construction industry development board (cidb). hodgson (cidb, 2004) noted that, over the past two years, just over half of all projects in south africa were completed on time, within budget and relatively defect free. the increased pressure on the construction industry to improve its practices and continuous criticism of its less than optimum performance have led to research on improvement of processes and efficiency. rethinking construction is a report produced by sir john egan’s construction task force in the united kingdom. the report commissioned by john prescott, the deputy prime minister, was published in july 1998 and is known as the ‘egan report’. the central message of rethinking construction is that through the application of best practices, the industry and its clients can collectively act to improve their performance. the egan report (1998) suggested that there are significant inefficiencies in the construction process and that there is a potential for a systematised and integrated project process in which wastage can be reduced and both quality and efficiency improved. there are many practitioners and academics who believe that the construction industry has much to learn from manufacturing. howell (1998) suggested that this learning could be a two-way process: manufacturing could learn from construction in areas of project based management and construction could learn from manufacturing’s developing and developed solutions. the egan report recommended that the construction industry could change, by rethinking the fundamentals of its delivery processes; and offered clues as to how some of the problems might be overcome by transferring practices from the manufacturing industry to achieve continuous improvement on its performance and products. kilpatrick (2003) is of the opinion that many industries can improve buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 31 their performance by implementing lean principles, which can be defined as: a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement. the architectural profession is an integral part of the construction industry’s supply–chain, and some inefficiency experienced by the construction industry is directly or indirectly influenced by poor management of design processes. the increased pressure on the construction industry to improve its practices, an increased workload and demand for better quality, coupled with numerous problems facing the architectural profession, have forced architectural practices to reconsider their service delivery processes. allinson (1993: 164) stated that: getting a project from a to b is dependent upon an inextricably bound union of design and management. therefore contemporary architectural practice has a need to re concile issues of management, design and professionalism. riba (2005: 11) also noted that the success of the architectural profession and its practitioners relies partly on their approach to the future as they are well placed to take advantage of future opportunities and emphasised the need to act proactively. 2. design management de mozota (2003: 67) defined design management as an approach whereby organisations make design-relevant decisions in a market and customer-oriented way as well as optimizing design-relevant processes. gorb (2003: 1) defined design management as the effective deployment by line managers of the design resources available to a practice in order to help the practice achieve its objectives. therefore, design management acts as an interface between management and design; and functions as a link between technology, design, design thinking, and management. 2.1 manufacturing as a reference for construction certain construction practitioners, such as ball (1988: 10) believed that in the past the construction industry was unique and that principles from manufacturing could not be adopted because of this uniqueness. those beliefs were later dismissed by egan (1998) who pointed out that some of the problems in construction might be acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 32 overcome by transferring established practices from the manufacturing industry. this view has been affirmed by a number of authors like langford & murray (2004) and kagioglou et al. (2000). egan (1998: 18) stated that the parallel is not with building cars on the production line; it is with designing and planning the production of a new car model. authors like egan (1998) and kagioglou et al. (2000) suggested that construction should use the manufacturing industry as a reference for overcoming some of the problems in construction. kagioglou et al. (2000) suggested that there are mainly two areas in which construction could benefit from manufacturing, namely the project and operational/production processes. 2.1.1 management of the project process the project process in manufacturing relates to the design and construction processes; kagioglou et al. (2000: 12) stated that it considers the development of a solution from a need identified in the market place to the implementation of the solution and the whole life cycle of the product. according to de mozota (2003: 13) the project process consists of five phases, namely investigation, research, exploration, development, realisation and evaluation, and there are various techniques and tools used by design managers in manufacturing to plan, organise and monitor progress in these design phases. the project processes utilise various new product development (npd) models (the sequential approach, stage gate and development funnel processes); the npd models have distinct differences, but have three similar activities, namely pre-development, development and post-development. 2.1.2 management of the operational/production process the operational/production process relates to the way in which the production of products is undertaken and includes the utilisation of process improvement philosophies and information and communication technology (ict). according to kagioglou et al. (2005), oakland (1995), koskela (1997) and thompson & strickland (2004), process improvement is usually achieved by: management and continuous improvement of existing processes, designing and redesigning of new processes, concurrent engineering and lean production. it is acknowledged by authors like kagioglou et al. (2005) and buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 33 sun & howard (2004) that improved processes in manufacturing have been realised by significant ict support. 3. research method the data for this research were collected using primary and se condary sources. a questionnaire was designed to acquire primary, factual and attitudinal data from ec architectural practices. secondary data were acquired through a literature review of international and national publications which included conference papers, reports, journals, articles, theses and the internet. secondary data were utilised to establish criteria and theories against which empirical research of the primary data was measured. the aim of the research was to determine the adequacy of design management processes used by eastern cape (ec) architectural practices and compare these with the design management processes used in manufacturing in order to establish practices, theories, principles, technologies and deliverables that can be transferred from the manufacturing into the construction to improve efficiency of architectural design management. design management processes is defined by de mozota (2003: 67) as any set of managerial techniques which aim to realise the potential of design as some form of socio-economic benefit. 3.1 target population the survey was conducted in the ec amongst professional architectural practices registered with the south african institute of architects (saia). saia has two architectural institutions for the ec, namely the border-kei institute of architects (bkia) and the eastern cape institute of architects (ecia). the bkia is comprised of 38 member practices with 43 from the ecia, a total of 81 practices. altogether 24 architectural practices were randomly selected from these 81 practices registered with bkia and ecia, the sample being chosen by the process known as randomisation. walliman (2001: 201) refers to randomisation as selecting a sample from the whole population in such a way that the characteristics of each of the units of the sample approximate the characteristics of the total population. therefore the composition of the sample is derived from 1:3 proportion of the population and the sizes of practices of the sample varying from small to medium (there are no large practices in the ec, according to the saia [2005] classification). acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 34 3.2 questionnaire survey a quantitative research approach through action research was adopted as it is perceived to be objective in nature and involves collection and analysis of numerical data and applying statistical methods for analysis of the data. this comprised the design and administration of a questionnaire among the sample population. a web-site was created to enable respondents to submit their response to the questionnaire on-line. 3.3 literature review a comprehensive literature review on the following aspects were undertaken to acquire the required insight into the topic: design management processes and protocols in construction, • which identified existing design management processes and protocols in construction as well as problems. design management processes used in manufacturing, which • identified the management of design, creativity and product development in manufacturing. process improvement philosophies and lean production • principles as used in manufacturing, which identified continuous improvement philosophies, concurrent engineering and lean production principles used in manufacturing. ict used in manufacturing, which explored the use of ict for • simulation, integration, communication, visualisation; and the use of ict during product development activities. 4. survey results table 1 indicates that a 100% response rate was achieved and this formed the basis for the analysis and the subsequent conclusions. table 1: response rate practice classification: questionnaire distribution number of responses percentage of responses against distribution (%) small 12 12 100 medium 12 12 100 total 24 24 100 a 100% response rate may indicate that all respondents realise the importance of research into this field. buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 35 4.1 adequacy of existing design management processes used by architectural practices in the ec all architectural practices in the survey indicated that they used the saia work stages protocol for management of the design process. table 2 reflects respondents’ ratings of problems with existing design management processes and pre-project phases where 1 = minor problem and 5 = major problem. the highest ranking problem statement is ‘lack of risk assessment between design phases’ with an average rating of 4.23, this also reflects the findings of the literature review and indicates that ec architectural practices generally do not identify, assess and mitigate risks during design. usually these risks emerge later in the project and they adversely affect the project time, cost and quality parameters. table 2: problems with existing design management processes and pre-project phases problems: (rating: 1 = minor problem, 3 = neutral, 5 = major problem) practice classification average all rankingsmall medium rating lack of involvement of appropriate expertise in the conceptual phases 2.17 2.17 2.17 7 poor co-ordination of information in design and project planning phases. 2.09 2.17 2.13 8 poor design management process definition and control. 2.59 2.33 2.46 5 poor management of briefing stage by architects. 1.75 2.09 1.92 9 incorrect information and mistakes regarding the nature of client’s problem statement. 2.83 2.59 2.71 3= poor co-ordination of design information between design consultants. 2.50 2.50 2.50 4= poor assessment of process performance between design phases. 3.09 2.75 2.92 2 lack of risk assessment between design phases. 4.17 4.42 4.23 1 poor communication between design consultants and construction team. 2.42 2.58 2.50 4= design changes and buildability problems during construction. 2.59 2.83 2.71 3= the final building not satisfying client requirements. 2.42 2.00 2.22 6 acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 36 the respondents rated ‘poor assessment of process performance between design phases’ as the second highest problem, while ‘poor management of briefing stage by architects’ was rated last. 4.2 similarities between design management processes as used in manufacturing and by ec architectural practices 4.2.1 investigation phase table 3 lists the methods used in manufacturing during project appraisal and responses indicating which ones are used by ec architectural practices. the method used by all respondents is the interview (formal and informal) while the literature review is the second most used method followed by user surveys and questionnaires. no respondents indicated that they used the focus group method. it can thus be concluded that at least one of the methods used in manufacturing are used by ec architects. table 3: methods used during project appraisal stages of design process methods practice classification total average all % ranking small medium literature review 4 7 11 46 2 user surveys and questionnaires 3 6 9 38 3 focus groups 0 0 0 0 informal or formal interviews 12 12 24 100 1 none 0 0 0 0 other 0 0 0 0 4.2.2 research phase other results from the research revealed that respondents do not use any method for establishing clients’ value criteria, 59% indicated that they use scope management tools and 92% that they use schedule and time management tools. buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 37 table 4: documents/deliverables produced during appraisal and definition stages documents/deliverables practice classification total average all % ranking small medium stakeholder list 9 10 19 79 3 statement of need 4 3 7 29 7= business case 6 6 12 50 5 business plan 4 5 9 38 6 project execution plan 3 4 7 29 7= terms of reference 6 10 16 67 4 performance management report 0 0 0 0 8= communication strategy 0 0 0 0 8= procurement plan 0 0 0 0 8= project brief 11 9 20 83 2 design brief 12 12 24 100 1 value management 0 0 0 0 8= risk management plan 0 0 0 0 8= other 0 0 0 0 table 4 lists the documents/deliverables used in manufacturing during the appraisal and definition stages, and responses indicating which ones are used by ec architectural practices. the respondents indicated that they produced design briefs (100%), project briefs (83%), stakeholder lists (79%) and terms of reference (67%). some 50% indicated that they produced a business cases, while the least produced were business plans (38%), statements of need (29%) and project execution plans (29%). none of the respondents indicated that they produced performance management reports, communication strategies, procurement plans, value management and risk management plans. the findings suggest that architectural practices focus more on the documents/deliverables needed for production of the designs as indicated by the most produced deliverables and that they ignore deliverables needed for communication, process definition, process management and measurement. therefore architectural practices do not produce documents and deliverables needed for effective management of the design process and this often results in the final products not being delivered on time, at the right cost and quality. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 38 4.2.3 exploration phase table 5 indicates that none of the respondents use the 6-3-5 or c-sketch methods for conceptualisation of design solutions. altogether 54% of respondents indicated that they use the gallery method and the most used method is the ‘individual criticism’ method. the individual criticism method is similar to the gallery method, the only difference with the individual criticism method being that feed-back is given by an individual instead of a group. the reason for the popularity of the individual criticism method is that it is easier to implement and less time consuming as compared with other methods. table 5: methods used for conceptualisation of design solutions methods practice classification total average all % ranking small medium 6-3-5 method 0 0 0 0 3= c-sketch method 0 0 0 0 3= the gallery method 3 10 13 54 2 individual criticism method 12 10 22 92 1 (some practices indicated that they used more than one method) other results from the research revealed that respondents do not use any method for evaluating concept designs, that they used 2d cad renderings (100%), 3 dimensional cad (54%) and scale models (46%) for actualisation of design solutions, and that they used the percentage-complete matrix (42%) and qs estimates (75%) for monitoring and controlling project budget. 4.2.4 development and realisation phases table 6: documents/deliverables produced between design concept and technical documentation stages documents/deliverables practice classification total average all % ranking small medium concept design plan 1 3 4 17 3= outline concept design 3 5 8 33 2 full concept design 12 12 24 100 1= value engineering 0 0 0 0 4= buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 39 technical drawings 12 12 24 100 1= prototype and testing 0 0 0 0 4= cost plan 0 0 0 0 4= other 0 0 0 0 (some practices indicated that they used more than one method) table 6 lists the documents/deliverables used in manufacturing during the design concept and technical documentation stages and which ones are used by ec architectural practices. all respondents indicated that they produced concept design plans (100%), full concept designs (100%) and technical drawings (100%). the above documents are the standard set of documentation that architects need to produce for design development, contract procurement and construction. a third of respondents indicated that they produced outline concept designs and 17% indicated that they produce concept design plans. these two sets of documentation are produced during the feasibility study and most projects undertaken in architectural practices do not require feasibility studies. no respondents indicated that they produce value engineering (ve) because it requires an articulation and prioritisation of client’s and designer’s values. none of the respondents indicated that they produced prototypes or cost plans as costing on architectural projects is normally performed by the quantity surveyor. 4.2.5 post-project evaluation table 7: activities/documents produced after completion of projects activities/ documents practice classification total average all % ranking small medium maintenance plan 1 3 4 17 3 post-project review 4 5 9 38 2 none 7 4 11 45 1 other 0 0 0 0 total 12 12 24 100 table 7 indicates that 38% of respondents indicated that they produce a post-project review and only 17% produce a maintenance plan. this indicates that only 55% of practices produce activities/ documents after project completion is 55%. the remaining 45% of respondents indicated that they did not produce any activities/documents with the majority being smaller practices. this is acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 40 unsatisfactorily as preparing maintenance plans and manuals are vital tools for property owners. buys (2004: 182) states that a maintenance plan should be prepared so that any expected future maintenance is provided for. 4.3 similarities between continuous improvement philosophies and lean production principles as used in manufacturing and those used by ec architectural practices table 8: process improvement philosophies and lean principles implemented in architectural practices philosophies and principles practice classification total average all % ranking small medium continuous improvement 6 6 12 50 1= business process re-engineering 0 0 0 0 2= concurrent engineering 0 0 0 0 2= lean production 0 0 0 0 2= none 6 6 12 50 1= other 0 0 0 0 total 12 12 24 100 table 8 lists philosophies and principles used in manufacturing for process improvement and responses indicating which ones are used by ec architectural practices. altogether 50% of respondents indicated that they implement the continuous improvement philosophy, and the remaining 50% indicated that they did not implement any improvement philosophy or lean principles, i.e. business process re-engineering, concurrent engineering and lean production principles. these findings indicate that there is a great scope for improvement in ec architectural practices if they adopt the process improvements and philosophies from manufacturing. the ec architectural practices would not only make dramatic initial increases in efficiency and quality, but they would obtain the greatest value through sustained improvements. other results from the research revealed that two-thirds of respondents indicated that architectural practices can become more efficient by rethinking their service delivery processes, while the remaining respondents indicated that they invested between 0.1-0.5% of their annual business volume in research and development, process buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 41 improvement is not adequately addressed in board meetings, they are not adequately benchmarking other design practices and industries, they are encouraging employees to make suggestions to improve office processes and 58% of respondents indicated that they are not rewarding employees for improvement of office pro cesses, they are not adequately identifying and eliminating non-value adding activities, and that they are not adequately transferring processes from other industries. 4.4 similarities between ict used in manufacturing to that used by ec architectural practices table 9: ict and collaborative tools used by practices ict and collaborative tools practice classification total average all % ranking small medium internet 12 12 24 100 1= extranet 0 0 0 0 intranet 0 0 0 0 e-mail 12 12 24 100 1= other: 0 0 0 0 (some practices indicated that they used more than one method) table 9 indicates that the most utilised ict and collaborative tools are the internet and e-mail, used by all respondents from both classifications, while no respondents indicated that they used the extranet or intranet. other results from the research revealed that: ec architectural practices are not adequately identifying and implementing ict according to the needs of each project, not all ec managers are aware of current trends and technologies in project control, collaboration, cad and management; they are only using standard ict tools (e-mail and internet), and that they are not using extranets for project control. 5. conclusion the results indicated that architectural practices in the ec use the saia work stages protocol for management of the design process. respondents indicated that the saia work stages protocol was adequate for their design processes as it contributed to a limited extent to 10 of 11 problems identified by the literature review. however, acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 42 the saia work stage protocol contributed to a lack of risk between design phases. the researcher found that there is inconsistency in the way the saia protocol is implemented; this is due to the fact that the saia does not stipulate a definite set of deliverables in its phases. the inconsistency is made worse by the utilisation of temporary multiorganisational teams for each project, this making it difficult for professionals to organise themselves into a team working environment due to variations in their roles and responsibilities. the inconsistency has resulted in difficulties in performance measurement, control and attempts at continual improvement in design processes. the results also showed that design management processes used by ec architectural practices at various stages are not similar to those used in manufacturing. research by egan (1998) and kagioglou et al. (2000) has established that productivity in construction lags behind that of manufacturing and therefore ec architectural practices can increase their efficiency by adopting some of the design management processes, theories and deliverables used in the manu facturing industry. the results revealed that ec architectural practices are not using similar process improvement philosophies and lean principles as used in manufacturing and that the majority of ec architectural practices do not implement any process improvement philosophy. ec architectural practices can therefore improve their services by considering continuous improvement and lean practices originating from manufacturing. the results also indicated that ec architectural practices are not always utilising ict for simulation, integration, visualisation and communication of design projects. therefore more effective utilisation of ict during design management processes will result in improved communication and collaboration that will ensure design constructability and clear communication through ict tools. it is recommended that further research be conducted to develop an improved saia design management process protocol, using manufacturing principles as reference point, which will also consider the whole life cycle of construction projects whilst integrating participation under a common framework. furthermore, more in-depth research on how lean principles, as applied in manufacturing, can be applied to construction design management to improve performance. buys & sidloyi • design management procedures in manufacturing and architecture 43 references allinson, k. 1993. the wild card of design. oxford: butterworth architecture. ball, m. 1988. rebuilding construction: economical change in the british construction industry. london: tj press. buys, n.s. 2004. building maintenance management systems in south african tertiary institutions. unpublished phd thesis. university of port elizabeth cidb. 2004. status report. sa construction industry: pretoria. cull, p. 2004. building industry might be called on to double output. herald: 8, june 17. de mozota, b.b. 2003. design management: using design to build brand value and corporate innovation. new york: allworth press. egan, j. 1998. rethinking construction. report from construction task force, department of the environment, transport, and regions. united kingdom. gorb, p. 2003. the design management interface. antorio: the association of the registered graphic designers of antorio. howell, d. 1998. builders get the manufacturers in. professional engineer, 24-25, may. kagioglou, m., cooper, r., aouad, g., hinks, j., sexton, m. & sheath, d. 2000. rethinking construction: the generic design and construction process protocol. salford: engineering, construction and architectural management. kagioglou, m., cooper, r., aouad, g., lee, a., wu, s. & fleming, a. 2005. process management in design and construction. united kingdom: blackwell publishing. kilpatrick, j. 2003. lean principles. http://www.mep.org/textfiles/ leanprinciples.pdf. acessed 20 october 2008. koskela, l. 1997. lean production in construction. in: alarcon, l. (ed). lean construction. rotterdam: a.a. balkema. langford, d. & murray, m. eds. 2004. architect’s handbook of construction project management. london: riba enterprises ltd. mouton, j. & marais, h.c. 1992. basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences. pretoria: hsrc. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 44 oakland, j.s. 1995. total quality management: the route to improve performance. 2nd ed. boston: butterworth heinemann. riba. 2005. riba constructive change: a strategic industry study into the future of the architects’ profession. london: riba. saia. 2005. state of the profession. johannesburg: saia. sun, m. & howard, r. 2004. understanding it in construction. london: spon press. thompson, a. & strickland, a.j. 2004. strategic management: concepts and cases.13th ed. new york: mcgraw-hill/irwin. walliman, n. 2001. your research project. london: sage publication. 84 ar detering, malene campbell & johan de kock city-regional councils: a myth or method for better planning? the case of the khomas region (namibia) peer reviewed abstract the functions to be fulfilled by regional councils cannot be performed adequately by the khomas regional council, due to the council’s lack of funds, capacity, expertise and experience. the windhoek local authority council, in comparison, occupies a very dominant position in terms of size, financial standing and expertise. at present there is virtually no co-operation between these institutions. it will be proposed that a ‘city-regional council’ be formed, which would enable the joint administration of the windhoek local authority area and the khomas region’s urban fringe developments, settlements and rural areas. it is anticipated that this proposed joint administration for the area will streamline planning processes and speed up decision-making. keywords: windhoek local authority council, khomas region, namibia abstrak as gevolg van ’n gebrek aan fondse, kapasiteit, kundigheid en ondervinding kan die khomas streeksraad nie die funksies, soos vereis word van streeksrade, uitvoer nie. in vergelyking hiermee is die windhoek plaaslike owerheidsraad wat betref grootte, finansies en kundigheid in ’n baie beter posisie. tans bestaan daar byna geen samewerking tussen genoemde twee liggame nie. daar sal voorgestel word dat ’n ‘stad-streeksraad’ tot stand moet kom wat die gesamentlike administrasie van die windhoek plaaslike owerheidsraad se gebied en die khomas streeksraad se stedelike randgebiede, nedersettings en landelike gebiede moontlik sal maak. die verwagting is dat hierdie voorgestelde gesamentlike administrasie van die gebied beplanningprosesse sal vereenvoudig en besluitneming sal bespoedig. sleutelwoorde: windhoek plaaslike owerheidsraad, khomas streeksraad, namibië mrs ar detering, town planner in training, urban policy, strategy, facilitation & implementation services division, city of windhoek, namibia. email: <ard@windhoekcc.org.na> dr malene (m.m.) campbell, department of urban and regional planning, university of the free state. email: <campbemm.sci@mail.uovs.ac.za> mr johan de kock, senior town and regional planner, ministry of local and regional government and housing, republic of namibia. email: <jdekock@mrlgh.gov.na> 1. introduction the khomas region (please refer to figures 1 & 2) is one of namibia’s thirteen regions and is located in the central part of namibia (republic of namibia, 2003: 3). it is the only region in namibia that has a dominant urban character, as eight of the region’s nine constituency’s fall within the area of the city of windhoek. in comparison to the other regions, the khomas region is well endowed with basic infrastructure. windhoek forms an important railway junction, and the major international airport of the country, hosea kutako international, is also located in this region. namibia’s regional councils act of 1992 determines that a regional council be established in respect of regions determined in accordance with article 103 of the namibian constitution. the main functions of the regional councils are to undertake the planning of the region for which it has been established. furthermore; the regional councils are responsible for the establishment, management and control of settlement areas within the region (republic of namibia, 1992). hall (1992: 63) refers to a region as a place that is specifically concerned with economic development issues, for example high unemployment and low income in relation to rest of the country. to manage regional issues like these demand a special expertise. the functions to be fulfilled by a regional council cannot be adequately performed by the khomas regional council due to the council’s lack of funds, capacity, expertise and experience. the windhoek local authority council, in comparison, occupies a very dominant position in terms of size, financial standing and expertise. at present there is virtually no co-operation between these institutions. therefore, a management structure for a new windhoek city-regional council is an imperative that will serve to improve urban and regional planning and decision-making. 2. the need for planning according to banfield (1973: 139), planning is the process by which he (the planner) selects a course of action (a set of means) for the attainment of his ends. it is ‘good’ planning if these means are likely to attain the ends or increase the chances of their attainment. it is by the process of rational choice that the best adaptation of means to ends is likely to be achieved. 85 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils 86 acta structilia 2005:12(2) for the past 130 years there has been a definite shift from a society dominated by laissez-faire principles (glasson, 1978: 17), which is translated as ‘let things alone, let them pass.’ laissez-faire is also used as a synonym for strict free market economies: a situation where state intervention is accepted to varying degrees in many aspects of everyday life. the reason for this increase in planning is perceived to be the fact that the normal interaction of private action and market forces often results in situations which the nation is not willing to tolerate and which can only be improved by means of a control mechanism – planning. particular problems of the laissezfaire approach are the inequalities of income distribution amongst groups and regions. another problem is the divergence between the voluntary private costs and benefits and the involuntary social costs and benefits of private actions. furthermore, the rapid increase in population, increasing affluence and improved technology all increase the need for planning. in contrast to this, allmendinger (2002: 102) points out the power struggle between central government planning and the importance of market mechanisms to regulate local land use. hayek (2002: 110), however, is of the opinion that central planning is inefficient and that planning should be undertaken only at local level. webber (1973: 95) argues that city planners are likely to be key members in the new partnerships among professionals and politicians at several government levels. he is of the opinion that city planners are in a position to act as catalysts to bring into action the development plans prepared by a specialised group in government. individual plans thus, could be amended to satisfy criteria established by the plans for the next-larger system of components which, in turn, conform to comprehensive overviews of the future and of the community’s objectives. friedmann (1965: 59) views regional planning as “an academic discipline that is characterised by a concern with the classification of social objectives in the ordering of activities in supra-urban space”, and glasson (1978: 31) defines regional planning simply as being “an attempt to guide the development of a region.” the concept ‘regional development’ can also be referred to as ‘economic development’ and regional development can be the result of an attempt by government to interfere with the spatial development planning process. regional development concerns the incidence of economic growth. it is ultimately the result of the location of economic activities in response to differential regional attractions. shifts in the location pattern have direct repercussions on income, employment and welfare (glasson, 1978: 32). 3. decentralisation in namibia decentralisation can be defined as the transfer of responsibility for planning, management and the raising and allocation of resources from the central government and its agencies, to field units of government agencies and subordinate units or levels of government (de kock, 1989: 1). the decentralisation policy was introduced in namibia in order to transfer political, administrative, legislative, financial and planning authority from central government to regional and local councils. the policy strives to promote participatory democracy, empower the local population to make its own decisions and to determine its own destiny. the successful implementation of decentralisation in namibia will only be realised if regional councils and local authorities are able to exercise and demonstrate accountability downwards to their community for the performance of the services and functions for which they are responsible. regional councils and local authorities should strive to establish a clear link between taxes paid and services provided, so as to be able to get the much needed support and partnership from the local community in the decentralisation process (republic of namibia, 1998a: 29). 4. delimitation of the khomas region the number of constituencies allocated to the khomas region is as follows: khomas urban (8) and khomas rural (1) respectively. the nine constituencies of the khomas region and their estimated populations are given in table 1. it shows that the population of windhoek has increased since 1991. this increase can be ascribed mainly to people flocking to the city in search of employment. it further shows that the majority (91,8%) of the khomas region’s population resides within the windhoek local authority area (which makes up only 0,4% of the surface area of the khomas region). of the 19 908 87 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils 88 acta structilia 2005:12(2) people registered in the 2001 population census to be living in the rural area of the region, most lived on privately owned farms. there are only two more settlement areas within the khomas region which are to be developed and the number of people residing in these areas is very small. table 1: khomas region constituencies population: 243 272 population density: 7.2 persons per km2 constituency local authorityarea estimated population per constituency (1991) estimated population per constituency (2001) hakahana windhoek (city) 20 634 59 546 katutura central windhoek (city) 25 123 20 988 katutura east windhoek (city) 11 391 17 737 khomasdal north windhoek (city) 18 900 26 621 soweto windhoek (city) 11 278 13 809 wanaheda windhoek (city) 18 212 29 051 windhoek east windhoek (city) 18 150 16 643 windhoek rural windhoek (rural) 18 930 19 908 windhoek west windhoek (city) 23 367 38 969 total windhoek 165 985 243 272 source: republic of namibia, 2003: 17 5. khomas region overview the khomas region is situated in the central part of the country (see figure 1) and has, according to the second delimitation commission (republic of namibia,1998:2), a surface area of 36 805 km2. to the north it is bordered by the otjozondjupa region, to the east by the omaheke region, to the south by the hardap region and to the west it borders on the erongo region (see figure 2) (namibia development consultants, 2000: 1). detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils kunene legend five largest urban centres in namibia town oshakah walvtsbay swakopmund rehoboth population 42 649 27 379 25 442 21 782 grootfortein ot jozondjupa otjinelle omaheke st.snhausen hardap mariertal keetmanslloop karas notto scale figure i: location ofkhomas region in namibia source: namibia development consultants, 2000: annexure 89 90 ac ta struc tilia 2005:12(2) figure 2: location of settlements in khomas region source: namibia development consultants, 2000: annexure primary growth points community settlements proclaimed settlement area town municipality municipal boundary farms regional boundary village legend major routes minor routes 5.1 population statistics according to the 2001 population and housing census (republic of namibia, 2003: 10) it is estimated that the region’s population, which currently stands at 243 272, will increase to 375 900 by 2010. the reason for this expected sharp increase in population numbers can be attributed to the potential employment opportunities offered to the country’s unemployed population in the institutional, household and industrial sectors of windhoek. compared to the national average of 2.2 persons per km2, the population density within the region is relatively high at 7.2 persons per km2. the largest part of the population resides within the city of windhoek, with an estimated population of 223 364 people, or 91,8% of the region’s population (republic of namibia, 2003: 17). of the 19 908 people living in the rural constituency of the khomas region, about 1 400 people reside in groot aub, 610 in aris and 530 in kapps farm (swart, 2004: personal communication). unfortunately no population figure is available for the settlement at dordabis. 5.2 infrastructure the commercial farming sector and the region’s only municipality, windhoek, are well provided for in terms of infrastructure. the region’s strategic locality within namibia, as well as the presence of the capital city offers challenging development opportunities. the provision of adequate and reliable quantities of potable water 91 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils the main urban centre of the region, windhoek, is also the administrative, legislative and judicial capital of the country. the city hosts all the head offices of the various ministries, as well as the headquarters of banks and financial institutions. a strong industrial and trading sector supports the city’s economy. in comparison to the other regions, the khomas region is well endowed with basic infrastructure. windhoek forms an important railway junction, linking the city with the rest of the country’s rail network as well as with south and central africa. the major national roads connect the city with namibia’s southern, eastern and northern neighbours. the country’s major international airport, the hosea kutako international airport, is located approximately 42 km east of windhoek (see figure 2). 5.3 economy the khomas region has the strongest economy in namibia with a sound non-business sector (government services) and finance sector (banking, insurance), while the manufacturing, transport and agricultural sectors are also well established. most economic activities, however, are concentrated in the city of windhoek, which creates a skewed picture, as the economic development of the region as a whole is not more advanced than that of other regions in namibia. the importance of the mining sector has decreased after the closure of mines in the region. according to the regional plan for the khomas region (namibia development consultants, 2000b: 6), about 71% of the people in the khomas region, aged 15 years and older, are economically active, while 29% are economically inactive. the high employment ratio indicates the diversity and strength of the regional economy, mainly as a result of an absence of poorly developed communal farmland within the khomas region. the khomas region, and more specifically windhoek, has strong trade links with namibia’s neighbouring countries. trade is concentrated within the southern african customs union (sacu), although imports from south africa, the major trading partner, also contain imports of non-south african origin. meat and alcoholic beverages (mainly beer) are exported to the neighbouring countries, mainly to south africa and angola (namibia development consultants, 2000b: 6). cattle farming is the main economic activity on privately owned farms. there also are a number of guest and hunting farms in the region, which attract overseas tourists and thus foreign currency. 92 acta structilia 2005:12(2) remains the region’s biggest challenge (namibia development consultants, 2000: 7). an issue that makes it difficult for the khomas regional council to stimulate infrastructure development, is the fact that the majority of the inhabitants of the khomas region are located within the municipal boundaries of windhoek. the municipality of windhoek is therefore responsible for rendering urban services to its inhabitants. according to de kock (2004), the khomas regional council is currently responsible for the settlement areas of aris, dordabis, groot aub and kapps farm (see figure 2). 6.1 population statistics when comparing windhoek’s population size to that of other towns in namibia, it becomes clear that windhoek remains the largest city in namibia, with its closest rival being oshakati, situated in the northern part of namibia, with 42 649 residents. statistics of the past 10 years (1995-2004) also indicate that the gap between windhoek and the second largest city in namibia has widened. in 1991, windhoek’s primacy index was 4.23, but increased to 4.3 in 2001. this means that windhoek is 4.3 times bigger than its nearest competitor, oshakati (city of windhoek, 2001: 5). windhoek is the fastest growing city in namibia as people still migrate to the city in search of employment. in terms of national urbanisation management, something has to be done to counter this trend and to promote growth in rival towns to balance urban growth within the country (city of windhoek, 2001: 5). in order to discourage people from moving to windhoek in search of employment, economic development, and thus job creation, is encouraged in the northern parts of namibia, mainly around the second largest city in namibia, oshakati (see figure 1). there is no other mechanism in place to discourage people from moving to windhoek, other than the creation of job opportunities elsewhere. however, windhoek is still growing steadily with increased pressure on its infrastructure and resources, especially water. 93 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils the average annual household income of n$ 47 409 indicates that the khomas region has, by far, a higher average annual household income than the national average of n$ 17 198 (namibia development consultants, 2000b: 7). most (82%) of the households in the khomas region derive income in the form of ‘wages and cash’, compared to the national ‘wage and cash’ income of 44%. household income from ‘business’ accounts for 9%, followed by pensions (6%) and cash remittances (3%). subsistence farming is not practised within the region. 6. windhoek local authority area overview windhoek is situated on an inland plateau and is surrounded by mountains. apart from being the capital, it is also namibia’s main business, cultural and educational centre (city of windhoek, 2001: 5). 6.2 infrastructure after namibia’s 2004 rainy season, the water supply for the city of windhoek was estimated to last for at least two years, with the hope that it will be replenished during the 2005 rainy season (peters, 2004). discussions are currently taking place between the city of windhoek and namwater, the country’s national bulk water provider, to provide for the future water needs of the city. there are sufficient water resources in namibia, which could be put to full use in future, but only at great expense. the price of water in windhoek, therefore, is anticipated to rise tremendously. maybe this increase in the cost of living in windhoek will deter people from moving to the city to earn a livelihood. 6.3 economy windhoek is the major national manufacturing centre and hosts several industries that add value to agricultural produce such as abattoir and meat processing, hide processing and leather manufacturing. these industries have major growth potential for the export market and consideration is being given as to whether to grant them export producing zone status to encourage essential capital investment (namibia development consultants, 2000b: 9). the city of windhoek presents a classic example of what jacobs (1985) calls ‘elephant city’. it is the one economically very important city and city region in the country. the other cities in the country are not likely to develop significant city regions. the windhoek local authority council has budgeted n$ 51 068 536 in 2004 for township development in the city. in contrast, the khomas regional council has budgeted a mere n$ 2 888 560 for capital projects to serve the entire khomas region (khomas regional council, 2004). this situation vividly reflects the financial dominance of the windhoek local authority council over the khomas regional council. the total expected expenditure of the khomas regional council amounts to n$ 8 366 560. the windhoek local authority council annually contributes 5% of its income from property rates in its area to the khomas regional council. during the 2004/ 2005 financial year, the local authority council will contribute an amount of n$ 5 589 300 to the khomas regional council (city of windhoek, 2004). this amount represents about 68% of the regional council’s total income for the 2004/2005 financial year. 94 acta structilia 2005:12(2) • ensure that the majority of people in the city have access to basic services; • provision of water, sewer and sanitation to all people in the city; • upgrading of low income areas as well as provision of low income housing; • making available developed land for different categories; • ensure the implementation of local economic development and tourism strategies; and • the construction, improvement and maintenance of roads and streets in the city (city of windhoek, annual budget for the 2004/2005 financial year) the city’s importance and dominance, as discussed, illustrate that windhoek is the country’s major city. in this position, the city’s active economy has been compared to that of the khomas region where relatively little activity is taking place. the windhoek local authority council’s budget has been discussed to show that the city is financially stable and independent, compared to the khomas regional council. 7. the regional council’s involvement in development the main functions of the regional councils are to “undertake the planning of the region for which it has been established, taking into account the region’s resources and its economic development potential and the sensitivity of its natural environment” (republic of namibia, 1992: article 103). furthermore, the regional councils are responsible for the establishment, management and control of settlement areas within the region. taking the above into consideration, one would anticipate that the bulk of the khomas regional council’s income would be spent on the region’s (rural) development. this is, however, not the case, as the contribution of n$ 5.5 million made by the windhoek local authority to the khomas regional council far exceeds the amount of n$ 300 000 which is the council’s contribution towards municipal development projects. from its own resources, the local authority 95 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils the following is an extraction of the functions to be fulfilled by local authorities such as the windhoek local authority: 96 acta structilia 2005:12(2) of windhoek spends n$ 51 068 536 on development projects in the city (city of windhoek, annual budget for 2004/2005 financial year). these figures illustrate the financial dominance of the windhoek local authority over the khomas regional council. the khomas regional council has not yet sold any property in the settlement areas. n$ 184 800.00 is earned from the lease of properties in aris, kapps farm, groot aub and dordabis. n$ 50 000.00 has been donated to the khomas regional council as a grant by unicef. the office of the prime minister makes an annual contribution to create personnel structures within the regional council. the ministry of women affairs annually donates money to the regional council to be used for special projects like housing, education or health. a combined amount of n$ 510 000 is spent on development projects, specified as ‘rural, child (education), community and early childhood development.’ although it is presumed that the money spent on ‘child, community and early childhood development’ is used for the urban, as well as the rural area of the region, a mere amount of n$ 100 000 is specified to be used solely for ‘rural development.’ under ‘capital project budget’, another n$ 2 888 560.00 is allocated to ‘community projects from strategic planning.’ this money is most likely to be used for projects in settlement areas within the region, which have been identified in the regional plan compiled for the khomas region. although other funds, like the contribution to ‘health promoters’, grants and bursaries have been budgeted for the region, the amount assigned directly to development is minimal. the small amount of money allocated to development projects in the region is another indicator that there are virtually no development projects, which need regional support. 7.1 contribution by the khomas regional council towards urban development projects of city of windhoek the khomas regional council’s budget for the 2004/2005 financial year amounts to n$ 8 366 560. of that figure a mere n$ 300 000.00 will be donated to the windhoek local authority council for development projects. 7.2 regional land management the latest urban development trend in the khomas regional constituency is the development of small private urban settlements on the fringe of the windhoek local authority area. currently, the khomas regional council has no mechanism in place to manage these settlements (de kock, 2004). applications for the establishment of such settlements are being forwarded to the city of windhoek for technical comment, although these settlements fall outside the local authority area and the windhoek municipality has no jurisdiction over them. the management of these urban fringe settlements is a field where the joint administration of the local authority and khomas regional councils could be advantageous to both institutions. the khomas regional council recently appointed a consultant to draft town planning schemes for the two peri-urban areas of aris and kapps farm (de kock, 2004). although these areas have common boundaries with windhoek and directly affect the urban environment, no provision was made for consultation with the local authority in the terms of reference for the drafting of the schemes. since an integrated development or structure plan is essential to the successful implementation of development control in and around 97 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils the khomas regional council is responsible for development in the entire khomas region having a surface area of 36 805 km2. the windhoek city council is responsible for development in the windhoek local authority area which covers only 0.4% of the entire surface area of the khomas region. one would therefore expect the khomas region’s budget to far exceed the municipal budget. yet in the case of the khomas region and the windhoek municipal council, the situation is reversed. the windhoek local authority council’s budget for the 2004/2005 financial year amounts to n$ 255 690 852 (city of windhoek, 2004), being about 31 times the amount budgeted for the khomas regional council. the regional council generates only 2.2% of its income from levies and taxes from the region (de kock 2004). this reverse picture clearly demonstrates not only the financial dominance of the windhoek local authority council over the khomas regional council, but also the fact that the responsibilities of the city council are far more complex and extensive than those of the regional council. 7.3 administration of settlement areas according to section 31(1) (a) of the regional councils act, one of the main responsibilities of the regional councils is to co-ordinate and spearhead regional development. in practice, this is not happening, as the councils are not as yet able to generate their own funds and therefore are dependent on the ministry of local, regional government and housing and the 5% levy contribution by local authorities (namibia development consultants, 2000: 6). although there are four settlements within the region, namely aris, dordabis, kapps farm and groot aub, the ministry is currently involved in the planning and administration of only two settlements, being aris and groot aub. as aris and kapps farm border on municipal land, they have taken on urban characteristics and are, in practice, extensions of the city of windhoek townlands. in order to control the urbanisation of aris and kapps farm, town planning schemes are currently being prepared (de kock, 2004). as indicated earlier, no efforts are made to consult and co-operate with the windhoek local authority council in the drafting of these schemes. currently no development is taking place at dordabis and groot aub. here, again, is another function of the regional council that cannot be carried out due to, amongst other reasons, a lack of qualified manpower. 7.4 absence of communal land and dominance of commercial land ownership other regions in namibia, like the karas region, have large tracts of former communal land (namaland), created as a result of the odendaal report (1962), which recommended that the homeland system be created. it is another function of the regional councils to devise plans and supervise the implementation of the development of these communal areas to their maximum potential. furthermore, in the kunene and other regions in namibia there are conservation areas, which need to be developed and managed. the khomas region has neither communal, nor conservation areas and instead was reserved for commercial farmland by virtue of the odendaal report. this is yet another sphere of responsibility 98 acta structilia 2005:12(2) windhoek, this oversight is one more example of the lack of cooperation between the region and the city. 7.5 involvement in local authority matters the following serves as an example of unauthorised and unwanted involvement by the khomas regional council in local authority matters. the windhoek city council resolved that a certain municipalowned residential building, the pietersen flats, situated in a middleincome area in windhoek, should be demolished as it had fallen into a state of disrepair. the building had structural problems and was considered to be a safety and health risk to its inhabitants. the upgrading of the building was not considered to be an economically viable option. alternative accommodation in an adjacent township was offered to residents. this offer by the city, however, was declined, despite various attempts. residents argued that the alternative accommodation was too far removed and dangerous, and that they did not want to be separated from their family members and schools (city of windhoek, 2002b). as this building posed a threat to the inhabitants and in order to safeguard the city against future claims, evacuation notices were served on all residents. subsequently, the residents, without prior knowledge or consultation with the windhoek local authority, approached the khomas regional council and the regional council intervened with some incorrect and negative media releases. in an attempt to ‘salvage’ the building for use by either a welfare organisation or non-governmental organisation, the regional council met with the mayor of windhoek and made certain proposals (city of windhoek, 2002b). the above example illustrates the fact that the khomas regional council sometimes oversteps the boundaries of its jurisdiction. another example of unauthorised interference by the khomas regional council in local authority matters was described in the afrikaans daily newspaper, die republikein (2004: 5). in an interview, the chief executive officer of the khomas regional council was quoted as having said that according to the national development plan, the (khomas) regional council has the authority to encourage squatters in windhoek to start small-scale agricultural projects on their erven. money will be made available for that purpose. 99 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils where the khomas regional council is not in a position to exercise its function. 100 acta structilia 2005:12(2) obviously no consideration was given to the fact that the people residing in these areas cannot afford to pay the local authority for the increased water consumption. furthermore, the city of windhoek is situated in a very dry area with severe water shortages in dry spells, which means that the constant provision of water could pose a serious problem. the statement made by the chief executive officer clearly illustrates that no consultation with the windhoek local authority takes place, although, in the same interview, the ceo of the khomas regional council emphasises the importance of co-operation between the two institutions (die republikein, 2004: 5). combined administration and the sharing of knowledge and expertise between the local authority and the khomas regional councils, however, are an option, and avenues should be created for the correct application thereof. 8. city-regions in an attempt to come up with proposals in order to address the situation of the khomas region the city regions of berlin, hamburg and canberra were studied. a ‘city-region’ can be defined as “a geographic area with a city at its centre that has a strong impact on the region’s growth and development” (city regions, 2004: online). no attempt was made to compare any of the three structures to that of the windhoek local authority or the khomas regional council. the berlin city region accommodates more than 3, 3 million people and 12 districts. the administrative structure therefore has to be more extensive than for a region with only a fraction of that population. berlin is the german capital city in a federal state. in berlin governmental and municipal administrations are not separated. the cityregion of berlin is subdivided into 12 districts and berlin’s administration is taken care of by the berlin senate and 12 district administrations. the governing mayor of berlin is the head of the government of berlin (a city-state), and at the same time the head of the municipality of berlin (politics and administration, 2004: online). the city-region of hamburg accommodates germany’s biggest port. planning of the entire region, however, takes place in cooperation with the federal states of lower saxony with hanover as its biggest city and schleswig-holstein, with kiel as its biggest city. 101 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils the committee structure consists of a planning council, a regional committee, steering committee, support committee and regional development committees (metropolregion hamburg, 2004: online). the planning council is responsible for the organisation of the cooperation between the three federal states. it continuously informs the federal government on the state of affairs of the trilateral cooperation in the region. the regional committee consists of representatives from the three federal governments, worker unions, economic committees and members of the planning council. the committee discusses the development of the region and recommendations are made to the planning council (metropolregion hamburg, 2004: online). canberra, the australian capital city, is, as the australian capital territory, a self-governing city-state. the national capital authority is the commonwealth agency responsible for looking after the national capital aspects of canberra. the authority administers and reviews the national capital plan, the object of which is to ensure that canberra and the act are planned and developed in accordance with their national significance. on behalf of the commonwealth, the authority manages national land. the authority comprises the chairman, the chief executive and three members appointed by the governor general (canberra, australia’s capital, 2004: online). although the three regions that were studied have different backgrounds and are economically much more advanced than the city of windhoek and the khomas region under investigation, it gave an idea of what the structure of a joint administration of a city and region could look like. 9. advantages and disadvantages of a city-regional council for the khomas region and the city of windhoek the aim of the decentralisation policy, which was introduced in namibia in 1998, was to transfer political, administrative, legislative, financial and planning authority from central government to regional and local authority councils (republic of namibia, 1998b: 5). the government perceives the potential benefits of decentralisation in terms of: • promoting genuine democracy and political equity; • enhancing management efficiency; • showing flexibility and responsiveness; • creating enabling conditions for entrepreneurs and deve-lopment; and • aims at improving public sector management. as has been shown and discussed, the khomas regional council currently is not in a position to effectively carry out some of its responsibilities, due to a lack of know-how and experience. the combined administration of the city of windhoek and the khomas region by a city-regional council, as proposed in this article, could be beneficial in so far as it aids the planning process and thus enhances management efficiency. windhoek is the largest city in the country and is endowed with well-developed infrastructure. most economic activity is concentrated in this urban area. the khomas region dominantly consists of privately owned farmland. with a strengthened and more experienced planning component, the city-regional council might be in a position to speed up the development of the existing settlements in the khomas region. the khomas regional council is not in a position to spearhead regional development as it is not yet able to generate its own funds. at the moment it is dependent on the ministry of local, regional government and housing for their financial support, as well as on the 5% levy contribution, made annually by the windhoek local authority council. from a financial point of view, a combined cityregional administration would be beneficial for regional development, as available resources could be used more effectively. the khomas regional council is not always in a position to process planning applications, which leads to delays in decision-making. furthermore, private consultants have been employed by the khomas regional council to prepare town planning schemes for the settlements of kapps farm and aris (de kock, 2004). this type of work cannot be done in-house as the regional council does not have a functioning planning division. the windhoek city council employs qualified town planners and engineers who could assist with the drafting and management of development plans for settlements 102 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 103 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils in the khomas region. this could streamline the planning process and facilitate the prompt processing of planning applications. 10. conclusion and recommendation this article intended to illustrate that the regional council, although well aware of its functions, is not in a position to exercise some of them, mainly due to the absence of communal land and a limited number of settlement areas. urban fringe developments are taking place on the boundaries of the area under the jurisdiction of the local authority council. although these settlements fall under the jurisdiction of the khomas regional council, the council is not competent to fulfil this function, mainly due to a lack of qualified manpower and experience. the khomas regional council, although in a position to advise on and assist with city matters, interferes with issues falling under the jurisdiction of the windhoek local authority council. this interference is perceived by city officials as being unauthorised as no consultation and co-ordination with city officials take place, which leads to the situation that the two councils give conflicting advice on city matters. in order to overcome the constraints as mentioned above and to prevent further unauthorised interference in local authority matters by the khomas regional council, it is proposed that a ‘city-regional council’ be created. such a council, it is presumed, can be a joint venture between the city and regional councils to facilitate the combined administration of the windhoek city-region in order to regulate administration and streamline the processing of planning applications. a joined windhoek city-regional council is believed to be a sensible and workable solution for the capacity and financial problems being experienced by the khomas regional council. in addition, the windhoek local authority council could benefit greatly from such a new arrangement, as it would provide the opportunity to widen its planning vision and to plan beyond the present confines of the local authority area into the future. 104 acta structilia 2005:12(2) references allmendinger, p. 2002. planning theory. palgrave: macmillan. banfield, e.c. 1973. ends and means planning. in: faludi, a.a reader in planning theory. oxford: pergamon press. canberra, australia’s capital. 2004. canberra, the seat of government [online]. available from: <http://www/nationalcapital.gov.au> [accessed 14 april 2004]. city of windhoek. budget for 2004/2005 financial year. windhoek. city of windhoek. 2000b. management committee agenda 2002-10-24, windhoek. city of windhoek. 2001. windhoek urbanisation report (1991-2011). windhoek. city regions. 2004. glossary [online]. available from: <http://www. findmehere.com/search/dictionary/c_index.htm> [accessed 2 april 2004]. de kock, j. 1989. decentralisation of government functions. windhoek. de kock, j. february to september 2004, senior town and regional planner, ministry of local and regional government and housing. personal communication. windhoek. die republikein, 2004. 11 june 2004, p. 5. friedman, j. 1966. regional development policy: a case study of venezuela. cambridge massachusetts: mit press. glasson, j. 1978. an introduction to regional planning. 2nd ed. suffolk: st edmundsbury press limited. hall, p. 1992. urban and regional planning. 3rd ed. london: routledge. metropolregion hamburg. 2004. politik und verwaltung. [online]. available from: <http://www.metropolregion.hamburg.de> [accessed 14 april 2004]. namibia development consultants. 2000. khomas region. regional development plan. windhoek. peters, h.i. 18 august 2004. chief engineer: technical support. personal communication. windhoek. politics & administration. 2004. the federal state government of berlin. [online]. available from: <http://www.berlin.de> [accessed 13 april 2004]. republic of namibia, 2003. 2001 population and housing census namibia. windhoek, namibia: central bureau of statistics. republic of namibia, 1998. report by the second delimitation commission on determination of regions and constituencies. windhoek. (unpublished) p. 2. republic of namibia, 1998a. ministry of regional, local government and housing. decentralisation in namibia. the policy, its development and implementation. windhoek. republic of namibia, 1992. regional councils act 22 of 1992. windhoek: government printers. swart, f. november 2004. town planning consultant. personal communication. windhoek. webber, m. 1973. comprehensive planning and social responsibility: toward an aip consensus on the profession’s roles and purposes. in: faludi, a.a. reader in planning theory. oxford: pergamon press. 105 detering, campbell & de kock • city-regional councils 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l ad chasey1 & am schexnayder2 constructability: the key to reducing investment risk3 abstract the national technology roadmap for semi-conductors indicates that the growth of the advanced technology factory cost is creating an exponential growth in factory investment risk. management techniques are needed to help reduce that investment risk. constructability implementation, if performed right, is a management concept that has been shown to reduce construction costs by 10 to 20 times its implementation cost. a corporate and project level constructability implementation program was developed by the construction industry institute (cii) to help integrate construction knowledge with engineering, beginning at project inception. this article provides an historical base describing the development of constructability, constructability program criteria, and the constructability review process. keywords: constructability development, management. konstruksie-kundigheid: die sleutel tot 'n verlaging in beleggingsrisiko die national technology roadmap for semi-conductors in die vsa vestig die aandag op aanwysers ten opsigte van gevorderde tegnologiese fabriekskoste wat dui op 'n toename in fabrieksbeleggingsrisiko. bestuurstegnieke is nodig om hierdie beleggingsrisiko's die hoof te bied. konstruksie-kundigheid, reg aangewend, kan as 'n strategiese bestuurskonsep konstruksiekoste met 10 tot 20 keer die implementeringskoste ver1aag. 'n lmplementeringsprogram op korporatiewe en projekvlakke is ontwikkel deur die construction industry institute (cii) om hulp te ver1een met die integrering van konstruksiekennis met ingenieurskundigheid vanaf die uitset van 'n projek. hierdie artikel gee 'n historiese blik op die basiese vertrekpunt in die ontwikkeling van konstruksie­kundigheid, die kriteria vir 'n konstruksiekundigheidsprogram en die hersieningsproses van konstruksie-kundigheid. verder word 'n duidelike raamwerk vir die implementering van hierdie konstruksiekundigheidsprogram aangedui, soos dit in ontwikkelde tegnologiese industriee toegepas word. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie-kundigheidsontwikkeling, bestuur. dr allan d chasey, pe, del e webb school of construction, college of engineering and applied sciences, po box 87204, main campus arizona state university, tempe, az 85287-0204. e-mail: <achasey@asu.edu> 2 ann m schexnayder, del e webb school of construction, college of engineering and applied sciences, po box 87204, main campus arizona state university, tempe, az 85287-0204. e-mail: <ann.pittman@asu.edu> 3 the paper was read at the 2000 aace international transactions congress and the 44th annual meeting of aace international, june 25-28, 2000 in calgary, ab, canada. proceedings of the 2nd world congress on cost engineering, project management & quantity surveying and the 16th international cost engineering council congress (icec). chasey & schexnayder/constructability 1. introduction construction projects are evolving from a reactive to a proactive environment. constructability is re-emerging as a proactive program that has shown a positive effect on project quality, cost, and duration. the master builder of historical times combined the architect/engineer and constructor into one entity. during the 1940s and 1950s, the us construction industry experienced a separation of design and construction that resulted in declining construction value and quality (alaydrus, 1944). the division of the master builder's responsibilities has, over time, created an atmosphere that breeds construction and quality problems, resulting in increased rework and unnecessary cost (ganthner, 1997). the construction industry as a whole is in the process of reestablishing the historical master builder concept of the architect/engineer and constructor working as one entity. even though a variety of organizations participate in a project's life cycle, only the owners, architect/engineers, and constructors can ensure a project's success (ganthner, 1999). 2. the history of constructability concerned with identifying the cause of the decline in construction quality and wanting to identify possible solutions, chief executive officers from major us corporations formed the construction users anti-inflation roundtable in 1969. in 1972, this organization merged with others to form what is known today as the business roundtable (cicep, 1983). during the late 1970s, the business roundtable funded 23 separate studies, called the construction industry cost effectiveness (cicej project, to uncover causes and provide recommendations for reversing the construction industry decline in quality, efficiency, productivity, and cost-effectiveness (pritchett, 1986). report b-1 of the cice project, integrating construction resources and technology into engineering, addresses the significant savings in both costs and project duration obtainable from the careful interaction of construction with planning, design, and engineering into projects (cice, 1983). one case study reported by the cice project, report bi, was a $45 million new site synthetic detergent plant. the contractual agreement stated that the owner's architect/engineering department would lead conceptual design. project definition and design were performed by an architecture/engineering firm, and construction management was performed by a general contractor. both had cost-reimbursable contracts and had no previous 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l experience working together. constructability implementation began during the project definition and design phase. the integration cost was assessed at $75 ooo for personnel and travel associated with the architect/engineering. team involvement. schedule and quality benefits were hard to quantify, but conservatively were identified at $615 ooo, a return of more than eight to one. the cice project report concluded that significant benefits, such as reducing project costs and schedules, could be obtained by the thorough integration of construction expertise with project engineering, if certain barriers are overcome. some owners do not demand or support an integrated process because they do not understand or appreciate the potential benefits and attractive rate of return on the comparatively small investment. contractors do not fully implement constructability programs unless they have owner support. most contracts are not written to provide an incentive for contractors to integrate construction and architecture/engineering. in addition, the report identified a significant shortage of personnel qualified to significantly contribute to the integration process. from the cice project research, it was determined that more than half the time wasted during construction could be attributed to poor management practices. in response to the research findings, constructability, the integration of construction knowledge and up­ to-date construction technology into architecture/engineering, was recommended. when owners are willing to pay the small extra cost of implementing more sensible methods of construction, they will reap the benefits of more construction for their dollar. for example, emphasis on improved, safe construction methods could result in a cost reduction equal to 8 percent of the direct construction labour payroll. improved materials management could save an average of 6 percent of project labour costs. the support of contractor training programs for foremen and general foremen could expect a return of at least three-to-one on the investment. constructability has been shown to reduce construction costs by 10 to 20 times its implementation cost. in dollars, that would equate to a $1 million return for an outlay of $50 ooo on a $30 million project (cicep, 1983). the construction industry institute (ciij was formed in 1983, with one of its research focal points to improve the construction industry through new management methods and techniques (oglesby 1989). member organisations and university faculties participate in specialised task forces to identify needs, conduct research, and chasey & schexnayder/constructability implement results. acting on the cice project suggestions for the development of constructability training and reference manuals, the cl/ conslructability task force was established to identify and sponsor research relating to the integration of construction knowledge and experience into architecture/engineering (schappa, 1989). conclusions from this task force were published in several publications by cii in 1986, 1987, and 1993. 3. advanced technology construction construction costs for advance technology facilities could increase from a current $1 billion to an estimated $10 billion by the year 2005. directly related to this construction cost are the increased requirements of tool operational effectiveness, the ability of tools to process wafers at their maximum capacity throughout the manufacturing process. to meet the tool operational effectiveness requirements, larger, more complex facilities are considered necessary. facility complexities refer to water, gas, chemical, air, exhaust, and waste distribution systems, in addition to the extensive building automation controls required by the semiconductor production process. larger factories with more complex systems, coupled with changes in feature size and wafer diameter, significantly increase the manufacturing company's investment risk (ntrs, 1999). future manufacturing requirements are also in direct conflict with the time needed for factory construction, tool installation, and factory ramp. in the advanced technology industry, time from factory groundbreaking to first wafer start has doubled over the past 12 years, leading to increased investment risk. by the year 2012, the advance technology industry desires a first wafer start in approximately 12 months from the strategic planning phase, reduced from approximately 24 months in 1997 (ntrs, 1999). this desire implies a design/construction sequence of 9 months. to meet this demand, the elements of factory construction and manufacturing process preparation must be shortened and performed in parallel, as graphically represented in figure l. shortening construction time is expected to decrease overall project cost and thus reduce capital investment risk. the project life cycle refers to the complete project, beginning with the strategic planning phase and progressing through the conceptual planning phase, schematic design phase, construction, tool install/qualification, and terminating with facility operation/tool ramp. focus on the strategic planning phase through the construction phase for the constructability program 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l implementation is necessary because cii research indicates that a maximum investment return can be realised during this time frame. 23 months tool select and deliver design construction product ramp tool qualification tool select and deliver design 13 months figure l: time to first wafer start (predmore, 1999) 4. tqm, value engineering, and constructability the objective of tqm, value engineering, and constructability is to deliver a quality product in a manner that will provide the client with the most value per investment dollar. all three are management methods designed to jointly achieve the overall project objective. the difference between these methods is their focus. tqm is focused on installing quality into all aspects of construction. value engineering is focused on the functionality of the process. constructability is focused on improving the process of how the facility is built. total quality management, value engineering, and constructability are not mutually exclusive (figure 2). value engineering and constructability are complementary management methods that may be used as elements to achieve total project quality (alaydrus, 1994). at some point throughout the project life cycle the owner, architect/engineer, and constructor will each play the role of customer and supplier. the owner supplies the scope to the architect/engineer, the architect/engineer supplies the plans and specifications to the constructor, and the constructor supplies the built facility to the owner (juran, 1988). the principal focus of tqm is for each supplier to identify and satisfy or exceed the customer's needs in terms of cost, quality, and time. chasey & schexnayder/constructability total quality mana gement figure 2: relationship of twqm, value engineering, and con­ structability (alaydrus 1994) characteristics tqm constructability performance driver customer architect/engineer's customer constructor principle "do it right the first time" problem avoidence, optimize con !ruction process growth continuous improvement document lessons learned table l: tqm and constructability comparison (alaydrus, 1994) criteria value engineering constructobility focus overall reduction of life cycle optimize construction process in terms of cost. construction cost, schedule, safety and quality. implementation a brainstorming session where an integral part of project management life cycle cost alternatives is and scheduling allowing construction considered for systems knowledge and experience to be components while maintaining integrated into project planning and design function. design. timing performed during design phase on-going from conceptual planning through construction and start-up. table 2: value engineering and constructability comparison (alaydrus, 1994) 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 tqm and constructability are proactive approaches stressing commitment from all personnel. using a teamwork approach, the mutual goal is to instil quality into the final product. table 1 compares the tqm and constructability working relationships. the differences between constructability and value engineering are the analysis objectives and the point of application within the total project life cycle. the analysis objective of value engineering is to reduce the facilities total life cycle cost, whereas constructability focuses upon optimisation of the construction process (table 2) (alaydrus, 1994). value engineering is performed during the document development phase. at this point critical design decisions dictating construction methods have been made with the assistance of a construction expert. implementation of both methods within the project life cycle maximises overall project cost reduction, time reduction, and quality increase (cii, 1993). constructability is most beneficial if performed during the conceptual planning phase before the project scope is defined, because construction knowledge and experience are less restricted by design decisions. the benefit of implementation before project scope definition will be the realisation of maximum cost and time reductions. 5. constructability the formal definition of constructability is the optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, procurement, and field operations to achieve overall project objectives (cii, 1986). constructability is the process of doing everything possible to make construction easier, improve quality, safety and productivity, shorten construction schedules, and reduce rework (kerridge, 1993). both definitions indicate that beginning in the strategic planning stage, project construction methods must be considered and continue to be developed throughout the project life cycle. too often, construction managers are not involved until the crafts are mobilised to begin site operation. their efforts are usually concentrated on site with only occasional visits to the architect/engineer's office. the cice research indicated that a significant percentage of a project's results are fixed during the first 25 percent of the architect/engineering design and programming. therefore, the greatest effect potential on a project's overall outcome is before the design phase (figure 3), when basic decisions are made. chasey & schexnayder/constructability high -.. 0 u q) u c qi ::, 'e low i �:ngicmceptl-l lol-8 2-20% i design concept n-1 toll-8 65-93% i construction -concept illi i startu p & commission i ng 0.5 5% capital 1 invest ment i operation & maintenance time figure 3: time/cost relationship of constructability implementa­ tion (russel 1998) untapped constructablllty resources , ----\ -------po<ential --1 . -------------------------------,--------.... ---t ----------------t-··-------------------1 construction reviews construction coordinator construction personnel during detailed untapped design resoutce. trained/experienced engineers teamwork. innovation, extensive use ot lessons learned, construction involvement vs. review, early implementation. recognition and awards, construction coordinated schedules, training, process monitoring and continuous improvement. management commitment. figure 4: untapped constructability resources (alaydrus, 1994) 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 constructability programs were originally developed to achieve the level of design and construction integration once achieved by the master builder. the application of construction knowledge and experience to the strategic planning, design, procurement, construction, testing, and start-up project life cycle phases by construction personnel who are part of the project team will enhance the project's overall objectives, by optimising the overall project plan, design, schedule, costs, and building methods (asce, 1991). during the total project process, the architect/engineer (a/e) is responsible for developing a design that, when implemented by the builder, produces a project that meets the owner's needs and expectations (galvinich, 1995). many architect/engineers have never been exposed to field operations; therefore, they cannot visualise the labour and equipment sequencing required to construct the project. project design should incorporate economical building techniques that employ acceptable standard construction methodologies and afford the contractor opportunities to use innovative ideas, materials, methods, and equipment (civil engineering, 1986). most plans and specifications specify material use and end­ results. these prescriptive oriented plans and specifications, which restrict the means and methods for accomplishing the work, are in sharp contrast to the master builder concept of architecture/engineering and construction integration. due to the rapidly changing technology and the current legal environment, the a/e cannot assume an all-encompassing role. it is to the benefit of all project participants that the constructor be given the opportunity to use his/her full experience and expertise for project construction. when the a/e's only concern is the end result, he/she fails to conceptualise necessary construction methods and processes, and the builder is delegated significantly increased responsibility for the project success. these responsibilities can manifest themselves as conflicting requirements, possible schedule delays, inefficient resource use, and out-of-sequence work producing a devastating effect on the project's schedule and budget (galvinich, 1995). 6. constructability program to help eliminate construction problems, a constructability program must be implemented. a constructability program is the application of a disciplined, systematic optimisation of the chasey & schexnayder/constructability construction-related aspects of a project during the planning, design, procurement, construction, test, and start-up phases by knowledgeable, experienced construction personnel who are part of the project team. the program's purpose is to enhance the project's goals by optimising the overall project plan, planning and design, construction schedule, costs or estimates, and construction methods. constructability may be implemented in varying degrees of formality. informal constructability approaches are usually indistinguishable from other construction management activities and include design reviews and construction coordinators. formal programs usually have a corporate philosophy and a documented program that involve tracking past project lessons learned, team­ building exercises, and project planning participation by construction personnel. figure 4 is a graphical representation of how the resources of a formal constructability approach may yield greater benefits than an informal approach (alaydrus, 1994). 7. barriers to constructability the cice project research identified seven barriers that reduce the effectiveness of construction integration (cice, 1983): • resistance by owners: constructability programs add highly visible extra costs to projects but the benefits are less tangible • tradition: construction persons are unaccustomed to being involved during project planning and working in architect/engineering offices • resistance by architect/engineers: construction experts are sometimes perceived as meddling and troublesome during design • shortages of qualified personnel: it may be difficult to obtain qualified construction personnel • training: neither industry nor schools are training people in the integration of construction with architect/engineering • incentives: the incentives for contractors to expand integration are minimal • priority: integration has a low priority on many projects because owners are unaware of the potential savings. in an effort to counterbalance the highly visible extra costs of a constructability program, the constructability review fallacy was created. the review fallacy occurs when constructability is approached solely as a design review process, which is inefficient and ineffective. construction personnel are excluded 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 from the planning and design process, when maximum cost effect occurs, only to be invited to review completed or partially completed designs. this method creates an atmosphere of contention between the architect/engineer and constructor. after a design is partially complete and a review takes place, the architect/engineer has already publicly committed to the drawings. at this point, the construction reviewer will be reluctant to provide input lest he/she is perceived as being overly critical. in addition, at this point within the project life cycle, design changes are an expense of cost and time due to rework. constructability viewed in this manner is not an integration of architect/engineering and construction; therefore, it will not produce the results of cost and time reduction. the frequently cited rationale for implementing constructability in this manner is the ease of contracting a constructability service and the tangible deliverables in the form of marked-up drawings. the review fallacy also indicates that the construction industry does not understand how and when a constructability review should be implemented. industry application of constructability reviews is usually at the completion of design. a review at this time reaps low return because it takes place too late within the project life cycle. resistance between constructors and architect/engineers consists of two aspects, the lack of ability to communicate effectively with each other and the timing at which the constructor's perspective is requested. if the constructor and architect/engineer work together during strategic planning, a mutual respect is developed, creating a positive atmosphere. qualified construction personnel are available, but a contracting method that would allow construction companies to consul, yet not be excluded from the bidding process, has not yet been developed. cii and many universities currently teach the concept of constructability, but a lack of understanding still exists within the industry that distinguishes between value engineering, constructability programs, and constructability review. the incentive for contractors to offer constructability-consulting services is minimal. a major barrier for the contractor is possible exclusion from the bidding process if he/she offers the consulting services because of the intimate project knowledge he/she would have that would allow him/her to have a competitive advantage. owners are aware of the potential savings generated from constructability programs, but they want a quick, concise method of implementation in which benefits are tangible. chasey & schexnayder/constructability i planning i detlgn total project ure cycle ; t i construction acl\tal construetability .review application i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i startup & _j commlasloolnu: -· ···········"''"""""" ____ _ y minimum desired constnk:tabihty review application is jo%, 60% and 90% dcoign �ompletion operation & majntenance figure 5: constructability review inplementation relationship • l��tect/engineer i i owners executive committee .. constructabiltiy executive sponsor i owner project l._ ________ ..,pfo�·sl�ti°ctic>n· manager i... t_. manager ·r····-·-·*··········, i design/build ; j p"'ject r-j i constructor i constructabillty coordinator figure 6: core project constructability organizational chart 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 the most effective approach to constructability is owner, architect/engineer, and constructor integration from project inception. this approach creates an atmosphere in which team participants can form the essential bonds of trust, mutual confidence, and good rapport necessary for a successful project. when all team members are present from project inception, idea flow is smoother because the project has not been constrained by tight definitions, and participants are not as concerned with filtering their ideas. the result is minimisation of design rework and improved overall design quality. personal relationships that are established early within the constructability program foster continued co-operation, communication, and support throughout the project life cycle (cii, 1987). 8. constructability review the above problems can be alleviated if a constructability review is performed throughout the design process bringing the constructor and architect/engineer together under the concept of the master builder. a constructability review then becomes an evaluation of design and construction documents to determine bid ability, constructability, and operability. bidability identifies the degree to which design documents may be understood, estimated, administered, and enforced by checking for completeness and consistency. constructability identifies the compatibility of the design with the site, construction materials, building technique, schedules, and field conditions. it answers the question: can it be easily built? operability identifies the ease with which a completed facility can be operated and maintained in relation to frequency of service, accessibility, and effect of downtime ( kirby, 1985). it is not always easy to reconcile differences of opinion about design adequacy and constructability when the constructability reviewer confronts the architect/engineer. maximum constructability review benefits may be realised if conducted from project inception promoting a team atmosphere (civil engineering, 1986). the improvement of constructability is not limited to just drawing reviews, preassembly of components, or determining more efficient methods of construction mobilisation. it also focuses on the need for and importance of timely construction input through constructability programs (norwich, 1993). unfortunately, most construction reviews are performed on completed designs that do not support the concept of early constructability implementation. once a design system is chosen it should not be chasey & schexnayder/constructability changed or radically modified without real cause. it is therefore imperative that construction experts are actively involved, during the early design stages, to review the basic structural/civil systems alternatives being proposed by architect/engineering. a team of field-experienced construction experts should perform a formal, systematic constructability review of all architect/engineering design documents to ensure that the designs are practical from a constructor point of view. document critique has two major categories: drawings and specifications for procurement of materials and equipment. other factors to consider during the conceptual design reviews are construction manpower availability, plant orientation and layout, in light of available construction equipment, and preassembly of major components in light of available manpower, construction equipment, plant layout, and construction schedule {falgout, 1982). figure 5 is a graphical representation comparing the actual and minimal desired application of a constructability review throughout the project life cycle. 9. developing a constructabilty framework for advanced technology facilities the development of the constructability framework for advanced technology facilities began with generating ideas to overcome the barriers noted in the cice research. the ciis constructability task force issued three documents that presented essential elements and tools necessary for implementing a corporate and project level constructability program. cll's constructability program implementation manuals provided the basic elements necessary for capital investment return; however, the following problems in adapting the program to the advance technology industry were identified: • extracting information from the manuals takes too long • ascertaining the common thought process throughout the program is difficult • the tools are cumbersome, difficult to understand, and work independently • the materials are not presented in a clear and concise manner that is user friendly • the project manager constructability involvement is not clear and practical • constructability reviews are being substituted for program implementation. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l the advanced technology industry, which usually uses fast track construction combined with the design/build project delivery method, needs a modified approach to constructability implementation. the focus of the developed program is implementing construction knowledge and experience as early as possible within the project life cycle and capturing that knowledge for future projects. the target audience for the constructability program are those involved in the construction process, from owners to trades. for this program to work, everyone involved must understand the constructability concept and its benefits. extracting information from the cii manuals took too long; therefore the advanced technology constructability program was developed as a flowchart with supporting narrative. for ease of use, a flowchart was developed as a graphical guide along with written descriptions outlining, step-by-step, the evolution of the constructability program. the common thought process was to maintain the integration of construction knowledge throughout the entire project life cycle. the owner's first step in implementing a constructability program is to write a constructability policy statement that clearly states a description of the desired results, the implementation-supporting rationale, the level of corporate commitment, and the programme responsibilities. the strategic planning phase begins when the owner's executive committee performs feasibility studies to determine the requirements in support of the corporate vision. if project construction is necessary, preliminary project development begins. the preliminary project scope, budget, and schedule development is critical to the owner's decision in support of the corporate vision. a programming consultant may be contracted to gather facts critical to the executive committee's final decision; however, his/her focus is the development of the overall project scope definition in relation to the owner's needs. to reap the large investment return from implementing a constructability program, a constructability consultant should be added to the team during this critical decision period. the constructability coordinator's focus would be the development of the overall project scope definition in relation to the construction process. by adding a constructability coordinator to the team, the owner develops a more complete picture of all parameters that affect the final project cost and schedule, enabling a better final decision. chasey & schexnayder/constructability the owner will determine the project construction priority and the project delivery method based on information provided by the programming and constructability consultants. the constructability coordinator will continue to assist in the subsequent project phases, even if a construction manger is contracted. to help facilitate a smooth project evolution, the constructability coordinator possesses the corporate knowledge of the decisions made during the strategic planning phase and the owner's expectations. a construction manger must focus on the full project development. the construction coordinator will focus on facilitating communication between the architect/engineers and constructors, documenting construction related ideas and decisions for database entry, and ensuring that construction suggestions are incorporated into design. during the design phase, the constructability coordinator is responsible for overseeing that final construction documents are presented from a contractor's viewpoint that the construction phase can be completed within the given time frame, and that ambiguities that could lead to claims or impede construction productivity are eliminated (abdallah, 1985). the constructability coordinator's responsibility during construction will be to facilitate communication between the intent of the architect/engineer and the reality of the field. because the coordinator has been a member of the decision-making process since project inception, he/she logically has inherent acceptability as a resource to the field organisation. maintaining the continual service of the coordinator through construction should reduce rework, schedule delays, and change orders that may be related to a lack of communication between the architect/engineer, design intent, and the constructor's interpretation. the final responsibility of the coordinator is to document constructability ideas to be historically recorded in a database. the main goal of the constructability database is to capture construction knowledge and experience throughout the project life cycle. one form should be used for idea suggestion to easily facilitate documentation. the constructability coordinator should also add schedule and budget effects. the form may also be used to document field feedback and ideas on how specifications and drawings perform under actual project application and what claims were generated. a suggested core project team organisational chart is presented in figure 6. it is essential that the architect/engineer, constructor, and constructability coordinator be equal within the project 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l organisation to ensure that construction technology and experience will be incorporated into the engineering and design effort. a contracted constructability coordinator must be separate from the constructor so that the construction knowledge and experience critical to decisions being made at the beginning of the strategic planning phase are available without affecting the bidding process. construction of advanced technology manufacturing facilities, that usually uses fast track construction, combined with the design/build project delivery method, needs a streamlined approach to constructability implementation. the developed program focuses on implementing construction knowledge and experience as early as possible within the project life cycle and capturing that knowledge for future projects. the common thought process is to maintain the integration of construction knowledge throughout the entire project life cycle. the target audience for the constructability program are those involved in the construction process, from owners to labourers. for this program to work, everyone involved must understand the constructability concepts and the benefits that can be achieved. for ease of use, a flowchart is used as a graphical guide along with written descriptions outlining the evolution of the constructability program through each phase of the project life cycle. within each phase of the project life cycle, the constructability coordinator has designated responsibilities clearly showing how the evolution of construction integration changes with the development of the project. project managers have extensive responsibilities that do not need to be increased; therefore, constructability implementation, co-ordination, and documentation responsibilities rest upon a designated constructability coordinator. program focus, coordinator responsibilities, and basic database format must be consistent to facilitate easy learning, understanding, and use. to overcome the constructability review fallacy, the constructability coordinator is a team member equal to the architect/engineer during the strategic planning phase. the coordinator should also have the responsibility of educating the architect/engineer concerning areas that may be in conflict with the construction process as well as with the analysing of architect /engineer output for compliance with construction methods and requirements. this framework incorporates these philosophies into a project level constructability program for use in the construction of advanced technology facilities. chasey & schexnayder/constructability constructability creates a win/win situation for all members of the project team. with the integration of construction and architecture/engineering, the owner obtains a high quality product for less money and time, the architect/engineer creates a product that reduces conflict and litigation, and the construction trades believe that someone is finally listening to their field experience. it is believed that the use of the developed constructability framework will enhance the ability of the architect/engineer/constructor team to provide higher quality facilities in a compressed time frame, more cost-effectively. bibliography abdallah, e. 1985. constructability review of documents before bidding. avoiding contract disputes. proceedings of a symposium sponsored by the construction division of the american society of civil engineers. american society of civil engineers: new york, october 1985. ala ydrus, a., russel, j., shapiro, j. & swiggum, k. 1994. constructability related to tpm, value engineering, and cost benefits. journal of construction engineering and management, 8(l), february 1994. civil engineering 1986. can your design be built. civil engineering, 56(l), january 1986. construction industry institute 1986. constructability a primer. publication 3-1. austin, tx: construction industry institute constructability task force. july 1986. asce cii 1991. constructability and constructability programs. white paper. construction management committee of the asce construction divi­ sion. journal of construction engineering and management, 117(l), march 1991. 1988. guidelines for implementing a constructability program. publication 3-2. construction industry institute constructability task force. austin, tx: construction industry institute, july 1987. 1993. constructability implementation guide. special publication 341. construction industry institute constructability implementation task force. austin, tx: construction industry institute. may 1993. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l cice 1983. report b-1: "integrating construction resources and technology into engineering." new york: the business roundtable, construction industry cost effectiveness project. january 1983. cicp 1983. more construction for the money. construction industry cost effectiveness project. online. the business roundtable. january 1983. chasey, a.d. & schexnayder, a.m 2000. constructability: the key to reducing investment risk. aace international transactions congress and the 44th annual meeting of aace international. june 25-28, 2000 in calgary, ab, canada. proceedings of the 2nd world congress on cost engineering, project management & quantity surveying and the 16th international cost engineering council congress (icec). risk03.1-risk03.10. falgout, c.m. & ghaney, f.f. 1982. formal constructability review. topical meeting on power plant construction, operation, and maintenance supplement. american nuclear society, 4(1), march 1982. galvinich, t. 1995. improving constructability during design phase. journal of architectural engineering, l(1), june 1995. ganthner, j. 1997. the project players part i, may 1997.www.http:// construction.about.comlibrary weekly internet. june 30, 1999. 1999. the beginning of the great fragmented industry part i, april 1997.www.http://construction.about.com/library /weekly internet. june 30, 1999. ju ran, j.m. 1988. juran on planning for quality. new york: the free press. kerridge, a.e. 1993. part l: plan for constructability. hydrocarbon processing, 72(1), january 1993. kirby, j. 1985. better design documents through constructability review. proceedings of a symposium sponsored by the construction division of the american society of civil engineers. new york: american society of civil engineers, 1985. national technology roadmap for semiconductors www.itrs.net/ntrs/publntrs.nsf internet. august 23, 1999. norwich, w.t. & o'connor, j.t. 1993. fossil power plant constructability: applications of cl! concepts. journal of energy engineering, 119(l), april 1993. chasey & schexnayder/constructability oglesby, c.h. & parker, h.w. 1989. productivity improvement in construction. san francisco: mcgraw-hill. predmore, b. 1999. project organization. con 598-cleanroom construction. tempe, az: arizona state university. pritchett, h.d. & smith, m.a. 1986. industry implementation of the business roundtable's construction industry cost effectiveness project. source document 18. austin, tx: construction industry institute. russell, j. 1998. module l: characteristics of constructability industry. con 598principles of constructability. arizona state university, tempe, az. schappa, p. 1989. construction industry cost effectiveness: it does have an impact. proceedings of the american power conference. chicago, il: american power conference. 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 artikels articles verdigting: 'n beplanningstrategie vir die toekoms? sc verreynne & jj steyn opsomming suid-afrika is tans in 'n proses van politieke en sosiale verandering. hierdie verandering noodsaak ook sekere veranderinge ten opsigte van beplanning. toenemende verstedeliking lei tot 'n toenemende vraag no grond vir stedelike ontwikkeling en uitbreiding. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die verskillende metodes waarvolgens verdigting in stedelike gebiede toegepas kan word, te ondersoek en te beskryf. sodoende kan die voortdurende behoefte aan grond vir stedelike uitbreiding tot 'n mate beperk word. vooren nadele van verdigting word ook in die artikel ontleed en geevalueer. sleutelwoorde: stede, verdigting. densification: a planning strategy for the future? summary south africa currently undergoes certain processes of social and political change. these processes force planning itself to change. urbanisation increases the demand for land for urban expansion. the purpose of this article is to examine diffirent densification methods which can be implemented in urban areas. the continual need for land for urban expansion could therefore be limited. this article also· seeks to analise the advantages of densification. keywords: cities, densification. s.c. verreynne, mss departement stadsen streekbeplanning (uovs) dr j.j. steyn, b arch (uovs), mss (uovs), m arch (urban design) {to­ ronto), ph d /uovsj arg /sa), senior tektor. departement stadsen streekbeplanning /uovsj verreynne & steyn / verdigting lnleiding v erdigting is 'n aspek van beplanning wat deesdae in toenemende mate in beplanningskringe aandag be­ hoort te geniet. dit is nodig om onderskeid te maak tussen verdigting van die bestaande gebiede en verdig­ ting wat betref nuwe ontwikkelings. hierdie artikel fokus hoofsaaklik op verdigting binne bestaande gebiede. in 1993, tydens die 21 ste lnternasionale behuisingskongres gehou in kaapstad, het die volgende statistiek duidelik no vore gekom: "the role of urbanisation is increasing rapidly. from an estimated 55% total urbanised population today, it is estimated that 80% of the south african population will be urbanised by the year 2000" (du plooy, 1993: 1163). deur voortdurend grond vir ontwikkeling beskikbaar te stel, kan kosbare landbougrond in die proses verlore goon. die noodsaaklikheid van hoer digthede in stedelike gebiede word dus beklemtoon, aangesien grond vir stedelike uit­ breiding in die toekoms 'n al skaarser kommoditeit goon word. groot enkel-residensiele persele en lae woondigt­ heid is kenmerkend van die sogenaamde blanke residen­ siele gebiede van suid-afrika. dit is don juis hierdie gebiede wat moontlikhede vir verdigting bied. wat behels verdigting? verdigting in stadsbeplanning kan as 'n metode om be­ staande digthede in gebiede te verhoog, omskryf word. verdigting van residensiele gebiede behels dus die daar­ stel van meer wooneenhede per hektaar as wat tans die geval is. volgens swart en lamont ( 1984: 171 j het 'n toe­ name in digtheid kleiner erwe vir woonhuise (spesiale woonerwe) tot gevolg. die aantal persone per oppervlak­ te-eenheid word ook dienooreenkomstig meer. die begrip verdigting word dikwels verkeerd geinterpre­ teer. du plooy (1993: 1163) stel dit soos volg: "density is per­ haps the most misunderstood phenomenon in our cities. using rigid and unresponsive standards as we do, density 2 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 cannot be increased by reducing plot sizes alone." die rede hiervoor is die rigiede, vasgestelde standaarde betref­ fende nie-residensiele grondgebruike, soos bv. skole, paaie en oop ruimtes wat bepaal dot hoe meer erwe ontwikkel word, hoe meer skole en paaie benodig word. dit vermin­ der die algehele digtheid dus proporsioneel: ten einde die kwessie van verdigting in perspektief te plaas, kan daar na die volgende omskrywings gekyk word. digt­ heid van bewoning word deur swart en lamont (1984: 171) as die aantal persone per oppervlakte (hektaar in suid-afri­ka) omskryf. hierdie definisie is egter 'n oorvereenvoudiging, want schutte (1984: 6) sluit aan by rappoport (1977: 134) wat onderskei tussen verdigting en oorbewoning, waar oor­bewoning die maatstaf vir digtheid binne 'n wooneenheid is. die begrip digtheid word meer korrek volgens gallion en eisner (1986: 490, 491) gebruik om die aantal wooneenhede wat 'n gebied beset of kan beset, aan te dui. rappoport (1975: 136) onderskei verder tussen waarneembare (percei­ved) en werklike digthede. vir die doel van die studie word slegs met werklike digthede gewerk. digtheid kan op beide horisontale en vertikale vlakke van toepassing gemaak word. op horisontale vlak speel dek­ king 'n rol, terwyl vloeroppervlakteverhouding (vov) en hoogtebeperking digthede op vertikale vlak bepaal. van der merwe (1987: 122) definieer dekkirig as die persentasie erfoppervlakte wat deur 'n gebou se groncivlak beslaan word. dekking = grondvloeroppervlakte van gebou erf oppervlakte x 100 1 digtheid is verskillend op verskillende plekke. so vind die wereldbonk dot die koopse metropolitoonse gebied, met 'n bevolking van bykons 3 miljoen mense, 'n gebied dubbeld die grootte van mexico stod met 'n bevolking van 25 miljoen besloon. hierdie ekstensiewe stedelike morfologie noodsaok 'n buitesporige hoeveelheid van menslike beweging. wot van besondere belong vir ons as beplon­ ners is, is die feit dot indien koopstod teen die huidige koers uitbrei. die stod sy huidige grootte binne die volgende 20 joor sol verdubbel (daniels, 1996: 32). 3 verreynne & steyn / verdigting vloeroppervlakteverhou.ding is die totale netto vloeropper­ vlakte van 'n gebou, uitgedruk as 'n verhouding tot die to­ tale oppervlakte van 'n perseel (botha, 1990). vov = totale vloeroppervlakte van gebou erf oppervlakte hoogtebeperking behels die beperking wat door op die hoogte van geboue geplaas word. ten einde verdigting in residensiele gebiede toe te pas, is dit belangrik dot door van bogenoemde digtheidsmaat­ stawwe kennis geneem moet word. oordeelkundige aan­ passings hieraan kan 'n noemenswaardige verhoging in digthede tot gevolg he. lynch en hack (1990: 253) sluit hierby aan met algemene riglyne vir die stadsbeplanner betreffende digthede vir be­ huisingstipes. tabel 1 digthede volgens woningtipe (lynch & hack, 1990:253) gesinne per behuisingstipe vov· hektaar (net digtheid) enke/ residensieel 0-0.2 0-20 enke/ residensieel sander 0.3 20-25 bou/yne tweelinghuise 0.3 25-30 ryhuise 0.3 40-60 gestape/de meentbehuising 0.5 60-100 3-verdieping met trappe 0.8 100-115 6-verdieping met hysbak 1.0 160-190 13-verdieping met hysbak 1.4 215-240 • vov vloeroppervlakverhouding 4 woonbuurt digtheid 0-12 15 18 30 45 50 75 100 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 uit tobe/ 1 is dit duidelik dot hoer digthede in suid­ afrikaanse stede relatief laag is en dat hoer digthede wel bewerkstellig kan word. redes waarom verdigting moet plaasvind die hoe verstedelikingsyfer en gepaardgaande groei van stedelike gebiede in suid-afrika, noodsaak meer doeltref­ fende benutting van grond vir stedelike uitbreiding en 'n toename in stedelike digthede. verskeie redes kan aan­ gevoer word ten gunste van verdigting waarvan die vol­ gende vyf redes as oorkoepelend beskou kan word • verstedeliking • bevolkingsgroei binne stede • openbare vervoer funksioneer net effektief in gebiede van hoer digtheid • koste t.o.v. dienstevoorsiening • druk op landbougrond. volgens dewar in planning (1991: 67) behoort die groei van suid-afrikaanse stede oor die volgende l o tot 20 jaar tot binne die grense van bestaande stedelike gebiede beperk te word, in stede daarvan dot die stedelike randgebiede voortdurend uitgebrei word. du plooy (1993: 1165) sluit soos volg by bogenoemde aan: "low densir/sprawl increases the unit cost of utilities and essential services, not to mention social infrastructures. the urban textures of our cities are finely grained and evenly spread which generates limited economic opportunities, especially for informal sector business and employment. finally sprawl causes extensive loss in agricultural land and environmental resources." wanopvattinge soos oorbewoning, die ontstoan van hoer woonstelblokke en die ontneming van die natuurlike om­ gewing, behoort nie noodwendig 'n uitvloeisel van verdig­ ting te wees nie. daar bestaan vers.keie metodes waarvol­ gens verdigting in residensiele gebiede kan plaasvind en in5 verreynne & steyn / verdigting dien dit verantwoordelik toegepas word, kan bestaande woongebiede meer doeltreffend vir woondoeleindes aan­ gewend word. metodes waarvolgens verdigting kan plaasvind c onderverdeling in die tweede verslag van die kommissie van onder­ soek na dorpstigting en verwante aangeleenthede (venter-kommissie, 1983:51) word onder andere aan­ beveel dat veel beter benutting van bestaande woongebiede deur die onderverdeling van bestaande woonpersele teweeggebring kan word. die kommissie het bevind dat die gemeenskap bewus begin word dat privaatheid nie soseer aan perseelgrootte gekoppel word nie, maar in 'n groot mate deur kundige beplan­ ning, byvoorbeeld die rangskikking van geboue, skerm­ mure en plante, bepaal word. onderverdeling van bestaande erwe kan deur middel van pypsteelonderverdelings geskied, waar die agterste ge­ deelte van 'n erf op 'n perseel met behulp van 'n. rylaan straattoegang verkry. in die tweede verslag van die ven­ ter-kommissie (1983: 52) word 'n 3-meter toegangsruimte vir woonerwe aanbeveel. c konsolidasie konsolidasie kan ook as 'n meganisme dien om hoer digtheid te bewerkstellig, bv. twee of meer erwe geoormerk vir enkelwoon, word gekonsolideer en daarna gehersoneer om voorsiening te maak vir 'n hoer tipe digtheidsbehuising. c herontwikkeling 6 verdigting kan ook by wyse van herontwikkeling plaasvind. dit behels dat bestaande woongeboue ge­ sloop word en met nuwe geboue, wat 'n groter volu­ metriese inhoud het, vervang word. normale mark­ kragte sal die uitvoerbaarheid hiervan bepaal aange­ sien dit 'n relatief duur tipe verdigting is. 1997 acta structilla vol 4 no 1 a hersonering hoer woondigthede kan verkry word deur spesiale residensiele persele na 'n hoer woondigtheid, · soos bv. algemene woon, te hersoneer. deur dit te doen, kan hoer woondigtheideenhede soos woonstelle, dupleks­ woonstelle, meenthuise en groepsbehuising opgerig word. ten einde hierdie metode van verdigting te kan gebruik, sal dit in baie gevalle nodig wees om twee of meer kleiner per­ sele te konsolideer om sodoende 'n groter en dus meer prakties benutbare erf te skep. a oprigting van 'n tweede woning in die tweede verslag van die venter-kommissie (1983: 51) word aanbeveel dat provinsiale administrasies en plaaslike owerhede stappe moet oorweeg om eie­ naars van eiendomme in bestaande, reeds beboude woongebiede aan te moedig om 'n hoer benuttings­ digtheid vir veral enkelwoongebiede te verseker. dit kan bewerkstellig word deur 'n tweede woning op die­ selfde perseel op te rig. a verhoging van die vloeroppervlakteverhouding (vov) orn hoer digthede te bewerkstellig, word 'n verhoging van vloeroppervlakteverhouding aanbeveel. so 'n ver­ hoging van die vov bring 'n groot verskeidenheid ont­ wikkelingsmoontlikhede na vore. die onderverdeling van wooneenhede, die vestiging van meer as een geskakelde of losstaande wonings en die onderver­ deling van bestaande woonerwe word ook hierby in­ gesluit. a toevoegings tot bestaande geboue nog 'n metode van verdigting is die voile aanwending van die toegelate vloeroppervlakteverhouding deur by­ bouings aan bestaande geboue tot by die maksimum toelaatbare, te doen. die byvoeging van vloere bo-op bestaande vloere is egter net moontlik indien die struk­ tuur sodanige bobelasting kan dra. 7 verr�ynne & steyn / verdigting d straatsluitings hier kan die hollandse "woonerf"-gedagte (moudon, 1987: 63-79) gebruik word waar strate vir deurverkeer gesluit word en hierdie ruimte don sosiale waarde kry as 'n ruimte vir vryetydbesteding, veral as speelplek vir kinders. deur die woonerf maksimaal te benut, kan aan­ grensende woonerfdigthede verhoog word, want die straat verskaf don die vereiste oop ruimte. probleme wat met die toepassing van verdigting ondervind word die feit dot verdigting in bestaande woongebiede plaas­ vind, veroorsaak dikwels probleme. verskeie faktore speel in hierdie verband 'n rol. • die ligging van bestaande geboue op 'n perseel is byvoorbeeld 'n probleem wat dikwels tot gevolg het dot sodanige persele nie onderverdeel kan word nie. • die voorsiening van infrastruktuurdienste soos ·elektrisiteit, riolering, stormwaterafvoer en watervoorsiening, skep ook dikwels probleme met verdigting, aangesien meer dienste vir meer inwoners voorsien moet word en die bestaande netwerke se kapasiteit dit nie altyd toelaat nie. • die finansiele aspek wat by verdigting by wyse van onderverdeling betrokke is, skep probleme weens die kostes daaraan verbonde vir die eienaar. • onderverdeling van bestaande erwe geskied meestal by wyse van pypsteelonderverdelings en daar is nog nie so 'n groot vraag by mense na hierdie tipe woonerwe nie. die ontwikkeling van duet-behuising kan dalk die probleem oplos. • boulyne skep ook soms probleme met verdigting aangesien dit dikwels tot gevolg het dot persele wat normaalweg na onderverdeling benut sou kon word, as 8 verreynne & steyn / verdigting a straatsluitings hier kan die hollandse "woonerf"-gedagte (moudon, 1987: 63-79) gebruik word waar strate vir deurverkeer gesluit word en hierdie ruimte don sosiale waarde kry as 'n ruimte vir vryetydbesteding, veral as speelplek vir kinders. deur die woonerf maksimaal te benut, kan aan­ grensende woonerfdigthede verhoog word, want die straat verskaf don die vereiste oop ruimte. probleme wat met die toepassing van verdigting ondervind word die feit dot verdigting in bestaande woongebiede plaas­ vind, veroorsaak dikwels probleme. verskeie faktore speel in hierdie verband 'n rol. • die ligging van bestaande geboue op 'n perseel is byvoorbeeld 'n probleem wat dikwels tot gevolg het dot sodanige persele nie onderverdeel kan word nie. • die voorsiening van infrastruktuurdienste soos ·elektrisiteit, riolering, stormwaterafvoer en watervoorsiening, skep ook dikwels probleme met verdigting, aangesien meer dienste vir meer inwoners voorsien moet word en die bestaande netwerke se kapasiteit dit nie altyd toelaat nie. • die finansiele aspek wat by verdigting by wyse van onderverdeling betrokke is, skep probleme weens die kostes daaraan verbonde vir die eienaar. • onderverdeling van bestaande erwe geskied meestal by wyse van pypsteelonderverdelings en door is nog nie so 'n groot vraag by mense no hierdie tipe woonerwe nie. die ontwikkeling van duet-behuising kan dalk die probleem oplos. • boulyne skep ook soms probleme met verdigting aangesien dit dikwels tot gevolg het dot persele wat normaalweg no onderverdeling benut sou kon word, as 8 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 gevolg van die beperking wat boulyne meebring, nie meer benut kan word nie. • regeringsbeleid kan verdigting in die hand werk of teenwerk. die huidige regering se behuisingsbeleid sluit effektief enige moontlikheid vir die ontwikkeling van hoe digtheid stedelike behuisingsvorme uit. die fokus van bestaande behuising-subsidieskemas is op erf en dienskemas gerig wat op 'n enkel huis op 'n erf gerat is (daniels, 1996: 34). boie van hierdie probleme kan egter deur die toepassing van oordeelkundige beplanning oorkom word en sodoen­ de kan verdigting met sukses toegepas word. die navorsingsresultate van 'n praktiese verdigtingstudie wat vir die residensiele gebiede van willows en parkwes in bloemfontein gedoen is, het getoon dot verdigting van die gebiede wel kan plaasvind, (verreynne, 1992: 73-78). ver­digtingsmetodes soos hersonering, herontwikkeling, onder­verdeling van woning of erf, die oprig van tweede wonings en 'n verhoging van vov, word in die genoemde studie ge­bruik om hoer netto woondigthede in hierdie residensiele gebiede te bewerkstellig. lndien die nodige ontwikkelings­kriteria by die toepassing van verdigting in ag geneem word, sol verdigting nie 'n negatiewe impak op die omge­wing he nie (verreynne, 1992: 78). voordele van verdigting uit die veriter-kommissie se derde verslag ( 1983: 24) blyk dit dot 'n verhoging in digtheid 'n beter benutting van in­ genieursdienste en grond verseker. dit hou die volgende voordele in: • die koste-aspek is seker die vernaamste voordeel wat verdigting inhou. die installering van ingenieursdienste is die belangrikste uitgawe-item in die ontwikkeling van woongebiede. 'n verhoging in digthede het don ook 'n wesenlike impak in die verband. 9 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 gevolg van die beperking wat boulyne meebring, nie meer benut kan word nie. • regeringsbeleid kan verdigting in die hand werk of teenwerk. die huidige regering se behuisingsbeleid sluit effektief enige moontlikheid vir die ontwikkeling van hoe digtheid stedelike behuisingsvorme uit. die fokus van bestaande behuising-subsidieskemas is op erf en dienskemas gerig wat op 'n enkel huis op 'n erf gerat is (daniels, 1996: 34). boie van hierdie probleme kan egter deur die toepassing van oordeelkundige beplanning oorkom word en sodoen­ de kan verdigting met sukses toegepas word. die navorsingsresultate van 'n praktiese verdigtingstudie wat vir die residensiele gebiede van willows en parkwes in bloemfontein gedoen is, het getoon dot verdigting van die gebiede wel kan plaasvind, (verreynne, 1992: 73-78). ver­digtingsmetodes soos hersonering, herontwikkeling, onder­verdeling van woning of erf, die oprig van tweede wonings en 'n verhoging van vov, word in die genoemde studie ge­bruik om hoer netto woondigthede in hierdie residensiele gebiede te bewerkstellig. lndien die nodige ontwikkelings­kriteria by die toepassing van verdigting in ag geneem word, sol verdigting nie 'n negatiewe impak op die omge­wing he nie (verreynne, 1992: 78). voordele van verdigting uit die veriter-kommissie se derde verslag ( 1983: 24) blyk dit dot 'n verhoging in digtheid 'n beter benutting van in­ genieursdienste en grond verseker. dit hou die volgende voordele in: • die koste-aspek is seker die vernaamste voordeel wat verdigting inhou. die installering van ingenieursdienste is die belangrikste uitgawe-item in die ontwikkeling van woongebiede. 'n verhoging in digthede het don ook 'n wesenlike impak in die verband. 9 verreynne & steyn / verdigting • kleiner woonpersele hou ook kostevoordele vir die betrokke eienaar van die perseel in en wel ten opsigte van aspekte soos eiendomsbelasting, onderhoud en instandhouding van die perseel en ook goedkoper dienste. • verdigting kan ook die herontwikkeling van bestaande residensiele gebiede tot gevolg he. dit hou die voordeel in dot die gebiede opgegradeer word, wat weer tot 'n verhoging van grondwaardes sol lei. • 'n verdere voordeel is dot goedkoper openbare vervoer daargestel kan word, aangesien daar don meer mense woonagtig is wat daarvan gebruik kan maak. afstande wat afgele moet word, is ook aansienlik korter vanaf bestaande woongebiede as vanaf nuwe woongebiede. • die skaarsheid aan grond bepaal die waarde daarvan en indien verdigting van bestaande woongebiede plaasvind, sol minder addisionele grond vir stedelike uit­ breiding benodig word. buiten die ekonomiese voordeel hieraan verbonde, kan dit ook wees dot hoe-potensiaal landbougrond, wat moontlik vir residensiele uitbreiding gebruik sou moes word, nou eerder vir landboudoelein­ des aangewend kan word. nadele van verdigting alhoewel dit uit die voorafgaande gedeelte blyk dot ver­ digting slegs voordele inhou, is daar egter ook sekere na­ dele aan verbonde. een van hierdie nadele is dot die dienste in sodanige woohgebiede oorbelaai kan word, in­ dien verdigting nie met oorleg plaasvind nie. hierdie as­ pek moet dus deurgaans in aanmerking geneem word. dit word ook aanvaar dot te hoe digthede wat met oorbe­ woning gepaard gaan, uit 'n sosiologiese oogpunt 'n nega­tiewe uitwerking op die mens kan he, (schutte, 1984: 6,7). volgens mcharg (1971: 188) bestaan daar 'n sterk korrelasie tussen bevolkinsdigthede en fisiese, asook sosiale siektes. ondersoeke in digbewoonde gebiede het getoon dot fi­siese siektes soos hartverwante siektes, tuberkulose, suiker10 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 siekte, ens. en sekere sosiale siektes of afwykings soos self­ moord, diefstal, aanrandings, verkragtings, dwelmver­ slaafdheid, ens. baie meer in die gebiede as in minder dig­bewoonde gebiede voorkom (mcharg, 1971: 189). daar moet egter weereens daarop gewys word dat daar 'n defi­nitiewe verskil bestaan tussen verdigting en oorbewoning en dat eersgenoemde nie noodwendig aanleiding gee tot laasgenoemde nie. voordele versus nadele beide fisiese en sosiale siektes, soos omskryf in die vorige gedeelte, kan as 'n geleentheidskoste wat die mens moet betaal, gesien word. die rede hiervoor is dat die mens dik­ wels 'n prys moet betaal ten einde meer ekonomies of selfs nader aan werksgeleenthede te woon. die frekwen­ sie van hierdie siektes teenoor bevolkingsdigtheid word grafies in figuur 1 voorgestel. lndien ekonomiese koste en die geleentheidskoste op een grafiek voorgestel word, kan 'n optimum bevolkingsdigt­ heid afgelei word (figuur 2). dit kan as maatstaf dien in die proses van verdigting. die volgende afleidings kan uit figuur 2 gemaak word: by punt a met 'n lae bevolkingsdigtheid, is die ge­ leentheidskoste wat deur die mens betaal word baie laag (al), maar is die ekonomiese koste baie hoog (a2). by punt b 1 met 'n hoe bevolkingsdigtheid, is die ge­ leentheidskoste wat die mens moet betaal baie hoog (b 1) en die ekonomiese koste per kapita baie laag (b2). die optimum punt van bevolkingsdigtheid le dus iewers tus­ sen .punte a en b op die horisontale as. hierdie punt word verkry waar die kurwes van ekonomieseen geleentheids­ koste mekaar kruis (punt oj. by 'n bevolkingsdigtheid soos voorgestel deur punt o is__die geleentheidskoste en die eko­ nomiese koste wat betaal moet word, dieselfde (punt 01 ). 11 verreynne & steyn / verdigting 12 figuur 1: bevolkingsdigtheid versus fisiese en sosiale siektes hoog cl) � !:::! geleentheidskoste cl) as 0 bevolk/ngsd/gtheid hoog figuur 2: bevolkingsdigtheid versus kostes hoog a2 cl) 81 � 01 82 al 0 hoog bevolk/ngsd/gtheid 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 uit bostaande uiteensetting blyk dit dat alhoewel hoer woondigthede in residensiele gebiede bepleit word, daar 'n definitiewe afsnypunt bestaan waarna die geleentheids­ kostes te hoog sal raak, wat uiteindelik weer die ekonomie­ se kostes in terme van veiligheid, mediese dienste, ens. gaan opjaag. hierdie afsnypunt is egter nog nie bepaal nie. ten slotte stedelike ontwikkeling is 'n dinamiese proses wat daagliks met veranderende omstandighede en behoeftes te make het. hierdie veranderende omstandighede en be­ hoeftes sluit onder meer die toenemende behoefte aan grond vir stedelike uitbreiding in. sekere probleme en knelpunte rondom toenemende ver­ stedeliking en die voortgesette vraag na grond kan moont­ lik deur die toepassing van verdigtingsmaatreels opgelos word. in 'n onlangse konsep-dokument van die departe­ ment van plaaslike regering en nasionale behuising (south africa [rep.) 1994:7) word met dewar se studie saamge­ stem en word die volgende gestel: "south african cities are sprawling and land-extensive with gross densities far tower than those found in most cities elsewhere in the world due to firstly, speculative sprawl, secondly, the search for land by authorities to accommo­ date urban expansion and thirdly, squatting and informal housing." hui voorstel vir toekomstige herstrukturering sluit n6u aan by hierdie studie as gese word dat spesiale aandag ge­ gee moet word aan "effective densification of existing ur­ ban areas through in-filling of vacant land, redevelop­ ment of declining urban areas at greater densities than the orginal" (south africa [rep.] 1994: 8). geringe aanpas­ sings aan digtheidstandaarde kan aansienlike veranderin­ ge teweegbring. meer doeltreffende stedelike beplan­ ning met betrekking tot die bereiking van hoer digthede, groter kompaktheid en optimum gr6otte kan op die ma­ nier bewerkstellig word. 13 verreynne & steyn / verdigting verdigting kan dus met reg as 'n beplanningstrategie aan­ gewend word om toekomstige probleme betreffende die behoefte aan grond vir stedelike ontwikkeling die hoof te bied. deur die toepassing van verdigting sal stedelike kruip ( urban sprawl) wat in die bestaande stadskonteks aange­ tref word, afneem en kosbare landbougrond wat in die proses verlore sou raak, behoue bly. verdigting help ook om openbare vervoer bekostigbaar te maak asook om sekere dienste, byvoorbeeld buurtsen­trums lewensvatbaar te maak (behrens & watson, 1996: 152). verdigting kan egter nie oral toegepas word nie, want die dravermoe van die natuurlike omgewing plaas beperkinge op vervoersisteme, nedersettings en grense vir groei (barnett, 1995: 191). sonering en onderverdeling word dus deur die dravermoe be'invloed as basis vir digtheidbe­paling. dit is egter belangrik dat die stad as 'n geheel vir verdig­ tingsmoontlikhede ondersoek moet word. die oordeelkun­ dige toepassing van verdigting in stedelike gebiede sal 'n meer sinvolle en funksionele benutting van stedelike ruimte tot gevolg he. samevattend kan verdigting dus gesien word as daardie proses wat bydrae tot die voorsiening van sosiale en ekonomiese drumpelwaardes wat noodsaaklik geag word vir die voorsiening van die hele reeks omge­ wings en sosiale fasiliteite asook ekonomiese geleenthede. sulke verwantskappe kan as die basis van die voortduren­ de bestaan van lewensvatbare stedelike ge_rneenskappe beskou word. 14 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 bronnelys barnett, j. 1996. the fractured metropolis. improving the new city, restoring the old city, reshaping the region. icon edi­ tions. harpercollins publishers. behrens, r. & watson, v. 1996. making urban places. principles and guidelines for layout planning. urban problems re­ search unit, university of cape town. uct press, pty., ltd. botha, w j van h. 1990. grondgebruik en sonering. lesing, depar­ tement stadsen streekbeplanning, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. daniels, d. 1996. urban densification. housing and development, julie. dewar, d. 1991. the issue of urban densities. planning, 114, pp. 66-67. du plooy, d.w. 1993. the future of human settlements: chal­ lenges and opportunities. papers of 21st iahs world hous­ ing congress, cape town, south africa; 10-14 may. gallion, a.b. & eisner, g. 1986. the urban pattern. new york: d. van nostrand company. lynch, k. & hack, g. 1990. site planning. cambridge, massachu­ settes: the mit. press. mcharg, il. 1971. design with nature. new york: natural history press. moudon, a.v. (ed). 1987. public streets for public use. new york: columbia university press .. rappoport, a. 1977. human aspects of urban form. new york: per­ gamon press. south africa (republic) department of local government and national housing. 1994. proposed position paper for nego­ tiation with the national housing forum, january. schum, c.d. 1984. socia/ interaction and place perspectives ex­ perienced by residents of schubert park, a high-rise, high density flat complex in pretoria, pretoria: human sciences research council. 15 verreynne & steyn / verdigting swart, c.f. & lamont, a.m. 1984. die stad: sosiologie, beplanning en ontwikkeling. johannesburg: mcgraw hill boek­ maatskappy. van der merwe, i.j. 1987. die stad en sy omgewing: lnleiding tot nedersettingsgeografie. stellenbosch: universiteit uitge­ wers. venter-kommissie, 1983. derde verslag van die kommissie van on­ dersoek no dorpstigting en ver.vante aangeleenthede. pretoria: staatsdrukker. verreynne, s.c. 1992. verdigtingsvoorstelle vir residensiele ge­ biede in bloemfontein: willows en parkwes, ongepub­ liseerde mss-verhandeling. bloemfontein, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat. 16 jjp verster 1 strategies for successfully meeting the demands of quality and service excellence abstract the management of quality is crucial to business survival and merits the personal attention and commitment of executive management, but the primary responsibility for quality lies with those who perform the work. to enable production teams to accept responsibility for quality output, management must establish systems for control and verification of that output and must educate and train the workforce in the execution of duty. this training in techniques to achieve quality standards, will be re­ paid many times over by greater output, less waste, an improved pro­ duct and higher profits. keywords:quality standards, service excellence. strategiee om suksesvol aan die eise vir hoog­ staande kwaliteit en uitmuntende diens te voldoen opsomming kwaliteitsbestuur is van die grootste belong vir die oorlewing van enige onderneming en is 'n aanduiding van persoonlike aandag en betrokkenheid van bestuur. dit bly egter in die eerste plek die verantwoordelikheid van diegene wat die werk doen om kwaliteit te verseker. orn produksiespanne in stoat te stel om verantwoordelikheid te aanvaar vir kwaliteitdiens, moet bestuur stelsels in plek he vir die kontrole en verifikasie daarvan en moet die arbeidsmag opgelei en onderrig word in hul onderskeie take. opleiding in die tegnieke vir die daarstelling van kwaliteitstandaarde, sol groter omset en winsneming, minder vermorsing en die lewering van produkte van hoogstaande gehalte tot gevolg he. sleutelwoorde: kwaliteitsbestuur, hoogstaande kwaliteit, uitmuntendheid. professor jjp verster, ph d, uofs, head of the department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the orange free state, bloemfontein, south africa. 37 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence introduction q uality has at its root the universal idea of inspiration, de­ light and beauty. in the building industry, quality is vital, since the main functions of architectural design are: 0 functionality 0 structural stability 0 aesthetics or in architectural terms, referring to the functions according to vitruvius (van pelt & westfall, 1991: 177-180): 0 commodity 0 firmness 0 delight, if these functions are in harmony, the architectural object will captivate, motivate and inspire. through the ages this has been achieved in many locations throughout the world and today those buildings and structures evoke amazement and the question: "how did they do it?" by comparison, today's challenges are different in many ways, but the essence of life remains unchanged. the focus of this article is a strategic approach to quality. definitions of quality prior to any debate on the management and assurance of qual­ ity or ways and means of creating quality products, 'quality products' require definition. quality has been defined as: " ... the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied need" {ashford, 1989: 193). ashford ( 1989) further states that: "quality is a summation of all those characteristics which together make a product acceptable to the market. it follows that products that are lacking in quality will in the long term prove unmarketable, and that the purveyors of such products will go out of business. the truth applies not just to manufactured articles it is equally valid when ap­ plied to services and the construction industry. so the need to promote and control quality is of fundamental importance to any enterprise" (ashford, 1989: l). therefore (architectural) quality must not only be expressed in physical and functional terms, but quality products must also ad38 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 here to the requirements of beauty, form and ambience. the psychological needs of the market must be addressed. "the pur­ pose of a building is to provide shelter; the purpose of architec­ ture is to inspire" (ashford, 1989: 12). the quality of a building or structure depends on a number of factors, viz. that the: <:> product standard or specification properly defines fitness for purpose <:> product is produced to the specifications <:> product is delivered on site to standards in terms of expected performance <:> design of the building explicitly combines all its elements and components to ensure effective performance of the whole <:> building work complies with the designers' instructions <:> design adheres to the needs of users of the building facilities <:> building stands in sympathy with the environment (fletcher & scivyer, 1987: 369). the determinants of quality this paper argues that quality, quality management, quality control, etc. are not functions but products of sound manage­ ment. principles and effective management of design, scope, specification, documentation, cost, budgets and time are illus­ trated in figure 1. figure 1 management of a successful project a project is successful when completed within budget, on time, and to the owners' satisfaction. 39 40 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence from inception to the completion of a construction project, each function must be aimed at the achievement of quality, whether the function is design, specification, documentation or procurement. furthermore, the element of competition and what it purports to achieve, must not be forgotten. the traditional approach to competitive tendering involves the calling of tenders addressed to a principal, which purports to carry out specified work and/or the supply of goods in return for specified payment. in the evaluation of the tenders, the princi­ pal will seek a tender that best suits the specific requirements of price, time and quality. from time to time, other criteria may also apply. in recent south african experience, tenders submitted to the various state bodies might also be evaluated on the basis of: 0 affirmative action 0 training 0 labour content 0 local materials 0 community involvement {twyford, 1998: 343-345). the appointment of professionals may also be classified as 'competitive' as the consultant team should be able to produce a product meeting standard levels of acceptability, manage the process and motivate the contractor to achieve the highest levels of quality {figure 2). figure 2 context of projects cl why does the project exist? � project task a what client pro!jjems does it have to solve? ols theprojectinthe right form? corrmurrication a what is the project ,, to achieve? � project objectives oaretheseconfficting objectives �x,;;.;: communication cl concerned with use and p project functionality performance / rfflle ... • ' / quality i! ii cost {kelly & male, 1993:83) 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 taking the foregoing into account, the generation of quality products in construction is influenced by the following determi­ nants: 0 budgets 0 development cost plans 0 design and design management 0 specification 0 documentation 0 communication systems 0 total cost management and control 0 time scheduling and time management. quality is inherent in each of these processes which should not be reactive, but rather inherent in dynamic and proactive man­ agement of quality-achievement. at the risk of subordinating the purposes and interests of those who use and live in buildings, professionals, consultants, devel­ opers and contractors must realise the needs of the market, the people and the community they serve, the danger is that through "conceptual frameworks we risk isolating fragments of social reality, decontextualising, then recontextualising and, in so doing, creating a different kind of world" (shammas-toma, sey­mour, clark, 1998: 177-192). in the final analysis, quality can only be achieved in a specific context, within a specific environment, for a real community. the balance of functions unfortunately, resources are not plentiful and humans are not perfect. it is argued that quality is not absolute, but relative to the functions of quality. the major determinants of quality are time, scope and cost, where time embraces scheduling, time planning, management and control, while scope includes de­ sign, brief, specifications, planning and management. cost means economy, cost design, cost planning, cost control, budg­ eting and other management functions (nilsson (nordnet) 1997: l ). the client, developer, professional team and community should establish a pre-requisite balance between the main determi­ nants of quality to satisfy themselves that the highest relative level of quality is within reach. once this balance has been determined, project planning may continue and the results documented, to procure a contractor who can deliver the product to the pre-determined standard. 41 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence the contractor may, however, also form part of the quality­ planning team, depending on the system used. while this may be considered idealistic, potential success lies in the way the figure 3 economy: one of the three quality parameters in the project triangle time economy technique e the balance can shift depending on the clients needs (nilsson, 1997:1) team members approach their goals. applications in the context of the construction industry, certain role-players and stakeholders affect the quality-balance in the following ar­ eas of project development: 42 1. client: the aims, purpose and location of project 2. designers: the design and specification. "the designer is tasked to produce the 'best' design out of many alterna­ tives, i.e. the 'what', but cannot ignore the 'why', i.e. the overall worth of the project. thus both technical procedures and evaluation procedures are needed. the latter comprise both economic analyses, typically of the classic investment appraisal type and decision-making techniques" (summers, boxton & stephenson, 1998: 42). 3. cost engineers and quantity surveyors: cost design, cost planning, cost control, cost assessment and cost budgeting: for effective cost design, cost planning and cost control, it is essential that the cost professionals work in close co­ operation with the owner and design consultants. it hap 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 pens more often than not, that the budget guides the out­ come of a project thus stressing the importance of cost de­ sign 4. communities: community interests and the environment 5. manufacturers: materials and components supplies 6. contractors and subcontractors: construction and testing 7. users: use of the finished structures and their subsequent repair and maintenance (gunning, 1987: 376-378). the construction industry, the contractor and quality although the principles of producing quality products are univer­ sal, it must be realized that the construction industry differs in many aspects from other manufacturing industries. differences between factory and construction site cannot be ig­ nored. there are special factors which have to be taken into ac­ count, for example: 0 susceptibility to weather 0 mobility of labour 0 uniqueness of projects. these realities undoubtedly make the introduction of quality management difficult in comparison with other industries, where stricter control of production processes is more defined. knowledge of the differences between construction projects and manufactured products assists the professional responsible for quality management, quality assessment and quality control in producing a project approaching the required standards of quality. in greater detail, these are the following: l. most building projects are unique 2. a building site is unique in terms of environment and condi­ tions 3. the life cycle of a building project from inception to com­ pletion is longer than that of most manufactured products, and a building continues to evolve throughout its long life cycle in terms of both time and circumstance 4. the mobility of design and construction staff makes produc­ tion difficult to control 5. there are few clearly evolved, tested and precise standards for the evaluation of overall design and construction quality 43 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence 6. participants in the design and construction processes are usually different from project to project 7. feedback from the users of buildings to designers may be remote from the actual time of design and construction 8. conflicting costing systems exist between design/construc­ tion processes and maintenance expenditure. without the unification or compatibility of these two stages, real quality costs cannot be calculated 9. the respective role of communities and the environment are becoming more important in the development of new projects 10. there is a lack of integrated action between designers and builders 44 11 . another facet is the diverse delegation of responsibility for supervision work on construction sites (dalton, 1987: 363). various types of procurement systems in the construction indus­ try have also evolved and in recent years a trend towards inno­ vation in contract administration has developed. these phe­ nomena have been caused by extensive failures in past pro­ jects. major disappointments in project performance were caused by extensive delays in planned schedules, cost overruns, figure 4 construction project: characteristics, relationships, contracts & management : client . . t ; · :.-relationshi characteristics . a client nature , project a client familianty ••. characteristic a �:i��:ent · a complexity contractual g �:ij��rw: methods professional characteristics dprofessional specialisation oprojectcost ij main contractor a managing contractor �--------t.,cjproject manager a design & build environment (naoum & langford, 1987:45) 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 serious problems associated with quality assurance and an in­ creased number of claims and litigation proceedings. the con­ sumer (the public) does not obtain the best product for money (herbsman, ellis, 1991 : 150; naoum & langford, 1987: 45) (figure 4). if this situation exists in the construction industry in south africa, problems should be examined in strategic terms, assessing the aims, goals and value systems of the industry and its allied pro­ fessions. barriers to quality numerous barriers militate against achieving quality in the prod­ ucts of construction processes, even if it is accepted that quality standards relate to function. the following role players are most relevant: owners. returns within specific time frames are critical and developers often sell projects within a short period of time. long-term commitment is therefore not always present. designers. designers are compelled to adhere to the pres­ sures of budgets, returns, local conditions, the likes and dis­ likes of communities and fashion in the market place. cost management professionals. budgets and finances force cost professionals to advise on alternatives, procurement methods, documentation and systems that do not always promote quality. contractors. contractors are responsible for generating stan­ dards of workmanship embodied in specifications, some­ times within extremely tight time constraints. generally, their ability to deliver this undertaking is taken on trust. in prac­ tice each project will be tackled by a new management team, even if previous contractors are appointed. also, al­ most inevitably, different subcontractors and operatives will materialize on site. studies have shown that the final result is as much the outcome of a zealous agent, resident engi­ neer or clerk of works as would arise from details in respec­ tive project specifications. the final demonstration of quality is the absence or presence of defects in the medium and long term (bishop, 1987: 24). steps to quality it is very important to apply steps to quality during project plan­ ning and construction. these steps emanate from a combination of strategic approach and value system, which needs to be de­ signed. in the opinion of dillard (1997), five important steps leading to the achievement of quality projects may be identified. these are: 45 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence knowing the customer. who are the customers? what {and why?) are they developing? knowing the assignment. the assignment or brief should be identified clearly. the assignment must also be defined and be quantifiable. dividing and conquering. divide the work and conquer it through success. the work must be divided into smaller units that facilitate more accurate measurement. frequent reviews. internal and external sessions in respect of processes, goals, inspections, audits, etc. putting the team in control. the team must make decisions. 'successful teams' are willing teams; willing to be assessed and have their work reviewed. teamwork and proactive team co-ordination are essential to the success of a project. through a team-directed approach, the foregoing steps to quality become a logical part of the de­ sign, planning and construction process. the experience and knowledge base of the team that executes a project are also very important in ensuring that project results are what is expected by the client and the community, and that projects adhere to the quality standards set by the team itself. knowledge areas in the united states of america the institute of project manage­ ment has identified nine knowledge areas as fundamental to project management. these are: • integration • time • scope • quality • cost • human resources • communications • risk • procurement {walsh, nordnet, 1997). furthermore, education, training and experience are essential elements of all these knowledge areas and it is impossible to find the total scope of prerequisite competence in one single profes­ sion, person or party. teamwork will inevitably form part of effec­ tive management within these various fields of knowledge. team members who represent each of the foregoing knowledge 46 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 bases should serve as the managers of all matters relating to their specific fields of expertise. vital conditions for quality vital conditions prerequisite to ensuring project quality are: + profound knowledge and a deep understanding of agree­ ments, contracts and procedures + observance of the order of importance of agreements, contracts, procedures, etc. these are ranked on the basis of the most important to the least important + the applications of these principles in a proper manner (van roermund, nordnet, 1997). the implementation of these conditions occurs at various levels of management: policy. adherence to the internal and external influences and conditions that will affect the project management. meeting all the vital conditions administration. application of sound monitoring and control systems execution. maintenance of acceptable standards and conditions (van roermund, nordnet, 1997). quality will be successfully achieved only when the following as­ pects are also dealt with in the management process (van roermund, 1997; humphreys, nordnet, 1997): 0 quality and effective leadership 0 internal and external reviews and auditing 0 quality education and training and effective support for team members. other conditions that need to be addressed regarding quality management in construction projects, both locally and abroad, are: 0 accommodating different cultural preferences and protocols 0 achieving government investment objectives 0 building facilities fit for specific clients and according to the needs of specific communities 0 estimating project costs, which take cultural, technical, legal and climatic conditions into account 0 selecting equipment which is (locally) available (if possible) 0 applying available cost data with adjustment to suit specific projects, if necessary 0 taking account of local productivity statistics, weather condi­ tions, religious and construction practices 0 management of risk, with specific reference to price and time schedules. 47 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence furthermore: + management with a view to quality is an integrated pro­ active process + quality can be achieved only if the team adheres to a stra­ tegic approach in respect of the determinants and condi­ tions influencing both quality and outcome + the team must recognise its own shortcomings in respect of knowledge and skills and address these constraints. techniques to be applied in achieving project economics the utilisation and management of capital allocated to a spe­ cific project is essential to achieving successful quality standards. sound cost management systems and procedures must be im­ plemented to ensure that the best quality, scope and specifica­ tion for specific projects related to pre-set budgets, are realised. the role of the cost engineer and/or quantity surveyor is vital, re­ garding cost management in construction projects. the following will assist in achieving project economics: 0 cost design 0 viability calculations 0 advice on investment alternatives 0 cost benefit analysis 0 cost planning 0 cost control 0 life cycle costing 0 net present value calculations 0 cash flow predictions 0 valuation/market assessment 0 cost reporting (nilsson, nordnet, 1997). managing motivation different teams are motivated by different incentives. some are motivated by a rigid, military regimen, employing autocratic mo­ tivational tools, while other teams thrive within a civilian environ­ ment. eyp6r arnalds (nordnet, 1997) argues that the difference can be expressed in musical terms. some teams may be motivated by strong organisational structures, as is the case with classical music, while other teams tend to be stimulated by a structure comparable with improvisational jazz. there is, however, a universal set of rules that assists teams to­ wards the attainment of quality and success, including the fol­ lowing: 48 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 0 building teams that work 0 spreading responsibility 0 following leadership 0 acknowledging team successes; praise is oxygen 0 concentrating on goals and vision, not on problems (arnalds, nordnet, 1997). arguably, various rules may apply, but nevertheless, those out­ lined above provide a sound foundation for potential team suc­ cess. the following factors also influence the creation of quality­ driven, empowered teams and deserve mention: 0 the client's idea of quality 0 diverse team structures 0 upliftment and affirmative action within communities 0 client support during project creation 0 worker and team values (meaningful work, dignity, personal worth) 0 productivity heightened by team/worker interaction 0 delegation of function by project managers (design, cost management, procurement) 0 shared goals and vision. motivation is therefore not a product of emotions, but a product of sound planning and management. managers induce motivation by adhering to the rules, principles and factors that motivate others. motivated teams are goal-driven to achieve product success and quality (kezsbom, nordnet, 1997). project management which leads to quality products project management should adhere to or (at least) take cogni­ sance of the following major elements, if a quality product is to be generated: 0 clients and their vision 0 project scope and goals 0 a balance of functions within team activities 0 barriers to teamwork 0 budgets, costs and economics 0 steps to quality 0 knowledge and skills 0 vital conditions pertaining to quality management 0 documentation and project procurement methods 0 environmental and cultural factors 0 teamwork and motivation 0 time constraints and deadlines (figure 5). 49 u, figure 5 < 0 cd in delivery model --+ = main influences � ---+ = secondary influences � = links cd � = life cycle costing s· (cl ...... • :::r cd cl. cd 3 p., :::, cl. "' 8. .c c:: ee. � p., :::, cl. "' � cd < c=:;· cd cd � (") � et) ,,.. :::, ... (") cd .... 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 the foundation of quality in professional service lies in the ac­ ceptance and implementation of a value system. the profes­ sions allied to the construction industry cannot afford to neglect those values since it is through their application that quality is achieved. moral and ethical values are intrinsic to quality prod­ ucts. summary to conclude, the following statements regarding quality, are sig­ nificant: + the management of quality is crucial to company survival and merits the personal attention and commitment of exec­ utive management. + the primary responsibility for quality lies with those who per­ form the work required. + to enable production teams to accept responsibility for quality output, management must establish systems for con­ trol and verification of that output and must educate and train the workforce in the execution of duty (figure 6). + the cost of education and training in techniques to achieve quality standards, will be repaid many times over by greater output, less waste, an improved product and higher profits (figure 7). figure 6 quality management loop from iso 9004-2 (with service process documents removed) : interface service organisation i ' '' '' ' : design process/production/ : : documentation : key 0 =serviceneeds/results d =serviceprocesses c::j = service measures custome.; jupplier supplie•i�ustomer ,,:f i"··>m:'1" ' " ''''''''''' i .-_ .. , .. _ .. =<_' ---� i ----------__ -------__ ---____ -----____ ----------------------i (barrett, 1995: 10) 51 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence figure 7 srategies towards quality outcome quality outcome concepts ideas t innovation investments needed 52 the foregoing factors are not the only attributes influencing quality and success, they are extremely important and play a major role in the success of construction projects, especially in the early stages of project development when an improvement in quality is critical {figure 8) (barrett, 1995: 11). figure 8 "pareto effect" improvement 100 80 60 40 20 20 40 60 80 100 (barrett, 1995:11) effort 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 quality results not only from a set of rules, it results from a team's commitment and drive, utilising sound principles in achieving set goals and vision. bibliography arnalds, e. 1997. motivation is the key to quality. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project management association of ice­ land: congress, verkefnastj6rnunarfelag, reykjavik. ashford, j.l. 1989. the management of quality in construction. london: e. & f.n. spon. barreti, p. 1995. quality management for the construction professional: what a mess! the royal institute of chartered surveyors: interna­ tional seminar on strategic planning in construction, israel. rics re­ search paper series. vol. l, no. 4. rics publishers, london. bezelga a. & brandon, p. (eds.). 1991. management, quality and eco­ nomics in building. (european symposium on management. quality and economics in housing and other building sectors). london: e. & f.n. spon. bishop, d. 1987. barriers to entry: a means to ensure the industry's effec­ tiveness in the long term. (with reference to the u.k.). system for managing construction. vol. l. chartered institute of building. the ciob's 5th international symposium. london: e. & f. n. spon. dalton, j.b. 1987. quest for quality: developments in the management of quality by the uk department of the environment's property service agency. system for managing construction. vol. l. char­ tered institute of building. the ciob's 5th international symposium. london: e. & f. n. spon. dillard, j. 1997. ensuring quality in software development: five steps to keeping it simple. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project management association of iceland: congress, verkefnast­ j6rnunarfelag, reykjavik. fletcher, k.e. & scivyer, c.r. 1987. quality assurance (qa) in the u.k. building industry: its current status and future possibilities. system for managing construction. vol. l. chartered institute of building. the ciob's 5th international symposium. london: e. & f. n. spon. gunning, j.g. 1987. quality assurance in the u.k. construction industry, with particular reference to ready mixed concrete production. sys­ tem for managing construction. vol. l. chartered institute of build­ ing. the ciob's 5th international symposium. e. & f. n. spon, lon­ don. herbsman, z. & ellis,r.d. 1991. the cost/time/quality integrated bidding system an innovation in contract administration. bezelga a., brandon, p. (edit.). management, quality and economics in building. (european symposium on management, quality and eco­ nomics in housing and other building sectors). london: e. & f.n. spon 53 verster / meeting the demands of quality and service excellence humpreys, k. 1997. sources of international cost data. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project management association of iceland: congress, verkefnastj6rnunarfelag, reykjavik. kelly, j. & male, s. 1993. value management in design and construction: the economic management of projects. london: e. & f.n. spon. kezsbom, d.s. 1997. beyond teamwork: hands-on project management techniques for creating quality-driven, empowered teams. nord­ net 97. quality in project management. project management as­ sociation of iceland: congress, verkefnastj6rnunarfelag, reykjavik. naoum, s.g. & langford, d.a. 1987. management contracting: system for managing construction. vol. l. chartered institute of building. the ciob's 5th international symposium. london: e. & f. n. spon. nicholson, m.p. (ed). 1992. architectural management. london: e. & f.n.spon. nilsson, r. 1997. economy, one of three parameters in the project trian­ gle. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project man­ agement association of iceland: congress, verkefnastj6rnu­ narfelag, reykjavik. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project management as­ sociation of iceland: congress, verkefnastj6rnunarfelag, reykjavik. shammas-toma. m., symour, d. & clark, l. 1998. obstacles to imple­ menting total quality management in the uk construction industry. construction management and economics, 16(2), pp. 177-192. e. & f.n. spon, london. summers, b.m., boxton, 1.l. & stephenson, g.h. 1998. integrated life cy­ cle costing of alternative large made-to-order product designs. icec (international cost engineering council). 1998. transactions vol. i. 15th international cost engineering congress, rotterdam. nap/dace, leidschendam (holland). (pp. 41-50). twyford, j. 1998 the relationship between the competitive tendering process and claims in australia. icec (international cost engi­ neering council). 1998. transactions vol. ii. 15th international cost engineering congress, rotterdam. nap /dace, leidschendam (hol­ land). (pp. 343-345). van pelt, r.j. & westfall c.w. 1991. architectural principles in the age of historicism. newhaven and london, yale university press. (pp. 177-180). van roermund, a.j.g.m. 1997. incorporation of project management in a quality management systems. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project management association of iceland: con­ gress, verkefnastj6rnunarfelag, reykjavik. walsh, m. 1997. quality assurance and project management: the rela­ tionship. nordnet 97. quality in project management. project management association of iceland: congress. verkefnastj6rnu­ narfelag, reykjavik. 54 articles • artikels r g pearl1 & p a bowen2 construction time prediction: the forgotten service abstract the effective management of construction project cost. quality and time is essential for the attainment of client objectives. while consultant's roles in respect of cost (price) and quality issues are well recognised, less attention is paid to the equally important aspect of construction time assessment. this article describes an experiment conducted with south african contractors and consultants to determine the way in which they forecast project construction time. within the constraints of a preferred procurement model. keywords: contract duration, time prediction, estimating, forecasts, procurement, project planning. konstruksietyd-voorspelling: 'n vergete diens die effektiewe bestuur van konstruksieprojek-koste. -gehalte en -tyd is noodsaaklik vir die bereiking van kliente se doelwitte. hoewel die rol van konsultante met betrekking tot koste (prys) en aspekte aangaande gehalte erken is, word minder aandag geskenk aan die ewe belangrike aspek van konstruksietyd-raming. hierdie artikel handel oor 'n eksperiment waarin suid-afrikaanse kontrakteurs en konsultante betrek word om vas te stel hoe hulle te werk goon om projek-konstruksietyd te voorspel, binne die perke van 'n verkose verkrygingsmodel. sleutelwoorde: kontraktydsduur, tyd-voorspelling, beraming, voorspelling, verkryging, projekbeplanning. r g pearl. dip qs (cape town). msc (quantity surveying) (cape town), maqs, pr quantity surveyor. professor: school of civil engineering, surveying and construction, university of natal. 2 pa bowen (co-author), b sc (cum /aude) (natal), b com (natal), m sc (construction management) (herriot-watt) ph d (upe) maqs, pr quantity surveyor. professor: department of construction economics and management. university of cape town. pearl & bowen/construction time prediction 1. introduction the perceived lack of attention paid to the manner in which construction duration is estimated is not a new phenomenon. flanagan (1980) critically describes this shortcoming among uk­ based architects and quantity surveyors, reflecting a situation still existing in south africa. relatively little research has focussed on this important field of professional expertise. previous research in the field of construction time forecasting tended to concentrate on identifying variables that lead to time overruns experienced on projects (ahuja & nandakumar, 1984; almohawis & al-sultan, 1994; nkado, 1994; 1992; walker, 1980). a possible reason for this disregard could be that, in many instances, clients insist on a definite 'completion date' for their project, thereby removing one of the service functions of consultants. it can be argued, however, that even under such conditions, there is a need for consultants to provide the client with a report on the impact which various project time-scales can have on the accompanying aspects of cost and quality. another possible reason for the complacency displayed is the impression of clients and consultants that most building projects are completed within the contract period or an authorised extension thereof. while some may be pleased that clients are satisfied with time provisions in contract documents, this does not necessarily prove that construction time allowances are optimal or even feasible. some critics suggest that consultants can ensure client 'satisfaction' by inflating project cost and time allowances by a factor that will not result in the abandonment of a contract, but that provides a useful contingency allowance during the design and construction phases. 2. responsibility for construction time decisions nkado et al ( 1999) indicate that private sector clients in south africa have a greater tendency than their public sector counterparts to stipulate completion times. both groups, however, are more likely to set construction completion times on their projects than clients in the uk. where does the responsibility lie when the client does not stipulate a completion date? clearly, depending on the procurement model in operation, one of the principal consultants, namely, the project manager, architect, quantity surveyor, or engineer, should take this responsibility. 2 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 recent legislation has resulted in the promulgation of a new suite of parliamentary acts. which determine the activities of various professional participants. none of the acts. which pertain to the professions listed above, specifically refer to the provision of project duration forecasts. similarly, standard forms of contract do not indicate where this responsibility lies. the importance of the effective handling of this function is emphasised by the findings of bowen et al (1999), who found that clients have dramatically unrealistic expectations of project time. the engineering sector of the construction industry accepts that the engineer will usually perform this function. however. the situation is not as well defined within the building sector. when a project manager is appointed as the client's principal agent. it would seem logical that this activity should form part of his sphere of responsibility. in situations where there is no project manager. it would be common practice that the decision on project duration is a joint decision between the architect and the quantity surveyor. quantity surveyor respondents in nkado et al's ( 1999) survey clearly indicate that they play the more significant role in this process. with approximately 70% saying that they normally perform this duty. are built environment consultants adequately equipped to provide a 'scientific'/professional service in respect of project duration forecasts? in answer to this question. one primary indicator concerns a study of the 'trainee' professional's exposure to construction planning and programming while he is attending a university or technikon. a study of the curricula at south african tertiary education institutions reveals that this topic is virtually omitted from the courses for architects and engineers. however. several courses for students in quantity surveying address this skill, although not in detail. this situation is unsatisfactory, particularly as it is recognised that south africans undertake little 'in-service' training in the built environment, once they have completed their basic tertiary education. 3. techniques for predicting project duration atkin et al ( 1993) describe two main categories of time prediction models. namely, construction planning, and statistical analysis techniques. bowen ( 1993) discloses that very few south african consultants produce even fairly simple construction plans during the pre-tender stage of the building procurement process. this study also indicates that virtually no local consultants use statistics3 pearl & bowen/construction time prediction based techniques for cost planning. it is thus highly unlikely that statistics-based techniques are used for time forecasting. what then are the techniques used? nkado et al ( 1999: 168) note "experience is a common basis for the exercise of professional judgement by quantity surveyors". they categorise this to include 'personal experience' (based on past projects). and 'corporate experience' (using in-house data/ records). both these categories imply the use of systems based on some form of record-keeping for completed projects. the most common form of record-keeping will likely involve a cross­ referencing of construction time to financial turnover/ contractor's output or a typical cash flow profile. these 'formal' processes are in sharp contrast with those used by practitioners who claim that they use 'gut feel' as their preferred method of establishing project duration a process which ostensibly does not use formal records. but reflects the user's opinion as to a comparable construction allowance on a previous project. a comparable time is applied to the new project. without analysing the unique conditions relating to the earlier project. or questioning whether or not the contractual time allowance in the previous project was an optimal one in terms of balancing the client's needs concerning the interrelated factors of quality and cost. this 'system' can only be described as highly questionable it provides a service for a paying client who is entitled to expect a consultant to use a 'scientifically­ based' method of project duration estimation. 4. a south african experiment on project duration forecasting an extensive research project on south african project procurement issues, conducted by a number of south african and international universities, was recently completed with a series of report-back workshops held in durban. johannesburg and cape town during august 2001. in their research on the nature of the briefing process on south african building projects. bowen et al (2000) established that out of 12 contractual factors considered important during this stage of the project. the most commonly agreed-upon/finalised at this stage is the decision regarding the contract completion date. it was therefore decided to conduct an 'experiment' as part of the workshop sessions to establish the nature and potential performance 4 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 standards of various built environment professionals in respect of project time forecasting. the experiment was conducted at 2 workshop sessions in cape town, attended by a total of 142 built environment participants including 12 architects, 53 quantity surveyors, 12 engineers, 11 project managers, 43 contractors, 5 clients and 6 participants from 'other' disciplines. the experiment used the 8 well­ established procurement assessment criteria (pac) developed by nedo (1988). turner (1990) provides detailed examples, using 12 case studies of different project and client types, of how the pac (including project time allowance) can be used in choosing an appropriate procurement path for clients. participants at the local workshops were given the full details of one of these case studies, suitably adapted to reflect local conditions. the project described a new supermarket development of 18 600 m2 on the outskirts of paarl, with appropriate delivery facilities, customer and staff car parking, and landscaping. the participants were given a full description of the hypothetical client's wishes regarding the 8 pac (programme timing, degree of variation expected, complexity of the design, required level of quality, degree of price certainty desired, extent of price competition, allocation of responsibilities, and nature of risk avoidance/allocation). in addition, detailed descriptions/definitions of 9 potential procurement solutions were made available. these comprised 3 variants of 'design and build'; 2 forms of 'design and manage'; the 'traditional/conventional' system (using bills of quantities); an 'accelerated traditional' model (e g provisional bog/schedule of rates, etc); and 2 variants of management contracting. following an opportunity to address any outstanding queries, participants were asked to state their opinions on 3 specific issues relating to the case study, namely: • the procurement method considered most appropriate • their estimation of the optimal construction time period for the project, from site handover to construction completion • the basis upon which estimation of the project duration would normally have been made in practice. the options provided were: 1) gut feel; 2) experience; 3) a formula basis such as rand turnover per month; 4) comparison with projects in which they had previously been involved; and 5) a detailed analysis of primary activities (e g bar chart). 5 pearl & bowen/construction time prediction the rest of this article is devoted to a discussion of the findings. insofar as the choice of procurement system is concerned, the selections of participants are given in figure 1. '""" .conmjction monogement drnx1t1ono1 aoo r.l""""-"<ml--& li,j� .. --& manage 1•t----y.><(>49--ii 0develop&cons1ruct architect qs engirieer proj man controctor client other figure 1 : choice of procurement selection dcompettttve design & bvbd or.ect design & build the 'accelerated traditional' procurement model was clearly the most popular solution chosen for this hypothetical project. followed by 'management contracting'. this was also the preferred choice in the 'real life' case study described by turner. in reality, the supermarket was constructed using a system employing drawings and bills of approximate quantities. upon completion of the contract. the review process indicated that the project was successful in terms of meeting programme, price and quality requirements. it can be inferred from the above that the participants at the local workshops made an appropriate informed choice. subsequent discussions with many of the respondents, however, indicated that this is not necessarily the case their choice of procurement route was influenced to a large extent by their personal knowledge of/experience with the various models, which were generally restricted to the traditional method or its variants. there is a strong indication that this is the case by comparing the responses of quantity surveyors and contractors. it is also noted that clients seem to be unaware of the potential advantages of the 'accelerated traditional' and 'management contracting' models which are the preferred routes for all other respondents. the second aspect of the case study was the anticipated project duration period. the results of the workshop survey are shown in figure 2. 6 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 architect qs engineer proj man contractor client figure 2: project duration estimates other �25-30mlhs i,}]22-24mlhs 019-21mths .16-18mths ll13-15mlhs eij0-12mlhs !:j 7 9mlhs 8<-6mlhs • o-3mtm the participants were asked to predict the optimal time allowance for the project. expressed in months. the classification of the data into time groups as set out in figure 2, graphically illustrates the findings most effectively. it is obvious that most workshop participants estimated a project time scale of between 7 and 12 months. a few noteworthy observations can be made with regard to the responses from various respondent groups. first. 25% of the architects suggest that this project (involving a built area of 18 600 m2) could be built effectively in less than 6 months. at the other end of the time estimation scale, 17% of this particular respondent group proposes an optimal construction period of more than 1 6 months. whereas fewer quantity surveyors felt that the project could be built in less than 6 months (9%), 21% of this group felt that the optimal construction period would exceed 1 6 months. in fact. 12% of the quantity surveyors suggested that a construction period of more than 18 months was ideal. this response is fairly similar to that submitted by contractors. 11 % of whom estimated a construction period of less than 6 months, and 16% indicating that a contract period of more than 16 months was realistic. four percent of this group estimated that a construction period in excess of 18 months was appropriate. 7 pearl & bowen/construction time prediction the last issue raised at the local workshop sessions examined the processes normally used by local built environment professionals to decide on a contract time period. the aggregate results are shown in figure 3. e]gutfeel g experience .factor l!.!lcomparison d calculation 15% figure 3: procurement duration prediction method an analysis of the aggregate responses reveals that 72% of the participants admit to performing this important function without basing it on a 'scientific' or structured analysis. whereas contractors could be expected to generally apply a resource­ based approach to establish the project duration, only 13% of the contractor respondents indicated that this was the case. a greater proportion (15%) of contractors indicated that they used a 'factor' approach to this problem. normally plotting time against an anticipated monthly financial turnover. an analysis of the responses from the specific professional groupings provides further insight into the preferred methods applied by architects and quantity surveyors, in particular. it should be noted, however, that the sample size for archit�cts is small which renders the results questionable. the responses from this group indicate that 17% use a 'factor' approach, and 17% use a system which involves a detailed analysis of primary activities (e g bar charts. etc). this response still leaves a majority of 66% of architects who base their calculations on gut feel. experience, or a form of unstructured comparison with previous projects. 8 28% 29% 15% 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no l the group generally recognised as playing a major role in establishing project duration, namely, the quantity surveyors, was well represented at the workshop sessions. the stated preferences of this group of professionals for establishing construction time are indicated in rgure 4. /' (' \ ge,,c',qj�t\' � factor 17'j, figure 4: methods of time prediction preferred by quantity surveyors this group could be expected to favour the 'factor' approach (e g based on contractors' anticipated monthly turnover) to contract time estimation. however, the number of quantity surveyors who indicated this method as their preferred model (17%) is only marginally the average for all respondents. this preference is in line with nkado et a/'s (1999) findings tl1at approximately 15% of quantity surveyors used this method of time estimation. the 17% response rate for using a programming technique is higher than anticipated, as nkado et a/'s (1999) research clearly indicated that only 7% of quantity surveyors were adequately equipped to undertake this form of time projection calculation. figure 5 compares time predictions between those respondents using a detailed analysis of primary activities and those respondents using more subjective methods to establish contract duration. 9 experience ' 33% 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 be able to plan for a more reasonable construction period if he does the usual pre-contract resource-based planning and scheduling. 5. summary this article reviewed the way in which randomly selected contractors and built environment consultants establish what procurement system should be adopted on construction projects, and how they determine the construction period for incorporation in contract documentation. the widely variable responses concerning the optimal time allowance for the case study, and the way in which the activity usually takes place, supports nkado et al' s ( 1999) findings that local built environment professionals lag far behind their international counterparts in most aspects of construction time estimation. this is particularly relevant for the quantity surveying profession, which claims this responsibility for the majority of projects in the building sector. the time estimation problem may be linked to a lack of in-depth knowledge of procurement systems throughout the construction industry in this country. a further reason for poor time estimating performance by consultants could be a lack of knowledge of the actual construction process. making it impossible for them to produce detailed, resource-based programmes. it would appear that the most practical solution to overcoming these deficiencies lies in tertiary education institutions. whose curricula should include a detailed study of these issues. in addition, the various built environment professions must provide appropriate training within their continued professional development programmes, where theoretical knowledge mixed with practical experience can enhance the service ultimately provided to clients. references ahuja, h.n. & nandakumar, v.c. 1984. enhancing reliability of project duration forecasts. aace transactions. e.6.1 e.6.12. almohawis , s.a. & al-sultan, a.s. 1994. settling construction contract duration: public projects in saudi arabia. building research and information, 22(4),pp. 211-213. 11 pearl & bowen/construction time prediction atkin, b.l skitmore, m. & akintoy e, a. 1993. time cost planning of construction. rics research paper, 33, london: the royal institution of chartered surveyors. bowen, p.a. 1993. a communication-based approach to price modelling and price forecasting in the design phase of the traditional building procurement process in south africa. university of port elizabeth: unpublished ph d thesis. bowen, p.a., pearl, r.g. & edwards, p. j. 1999. client briefing processes and procurement method selection: a south african study. engineering construction and architectural management, 6(2), pp. 91-104. 2000. client briefing in south africa: an effective communication process? the civil engineering & building contractor, 35(1), pp. 37-43. flanagan, r. 1980. tender price and time prediction. university of aston, birmingham: unpublished ph d thesis. national economic d evelopment offic e (n edoj 1988. faster building for construction. hmso. nkado, r.n. 1992. construction time information system for the building industry. construction management and economics, 10, pp. 489-509. 1994. construction time influencing factors: the contractor's perspective. construction management and economics, 13, pp. 81-89. 2001. competencies of professional quantity surveyors: a south african perspective. construction management and economics, 19, pp. 481-491. nkado, r.n., akintoye, a., bowen, p.a. & pearl, r.g. 1999. forecasting construction time by quantity surveying practices in south africa. urban forum, 10(2),pp. 165-182. pearl, r.g. 1992. factors affecting the accuracy of quantity surveyors' pre-tender price forecasts in south africa. university of cape town: unpublished m sc dissertation. royal institution of chart er ed surveyors (ricsj 1992. the core skills and knowledge base of the quantity surveyor. london: rics. turn er, a. 1990. building procurement. london: macmillan. walker, a. 12 1980. a model for the design of project management structures for building clients. liverpool polytechnic: unpublished ph d thesis. 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 lnternasionaal international extended-stay lodging: a new high-return product reduced payroll and supplies costs make favorable return rates possible peggy berg & mark skinner summary "in the usa a relatively new real estate product called extended-stay lodging should become as established a finan­ cial asset as limited-service hotels or apartment complexes. the potential for superior financial performance is based on assump­ tions of tightly controlled development costs, rapid 'lease-up,• high occupancy, and low operating expenses. the lower end of the extended-stay market has been pioneered by apartment companies, while the mid-market is being promoted by hotel companies that have recently entered the picture." keywords: extended-stay lodging, apartments, hotels. verlengde verblyf-eenhede: 'n nuwe konsep vir 'n hoe-opbrengsproduk opsomming in die vsa het die konsep van verlengde verblyf-eenhede begin posvat. meer as 1 biljoen dollars is reeds no raming sedert 1996 tot nou in die nuwe ontwikkeling bele. s6 'n eenheid bestaan uit 'n ten voile toegeruste woonstelletjie wat veral byval vind by persone wat vir kort of longer termyne weg van die huis moet bly. die kombuisie is veral 'n groot pluspunt wat die huurders betref, terwyl dit vir die verhuurder lae onderhoud met 'n goeie inkomste inhou. sleutelwoorde: verlengde verblyf-eenhede, woonstelle, hotelle. permission was granted by authors to publish fhis article in acto structilio. it was written by peggy berg, cfa, ishc, president and mork skinner, msre, market and financial analyst of the highland group, hotel investment advisor group inc. a hotel industry consult­ ing firm based in atlanta, ga, usa as well as the publishers of the real estate review, warren, gorham & lamont, boston, usa. berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging m ore than 1 billion dollars will be spent in 1996 and 1997 in the usa to develop a relatively new real es­ tate product called extended-stay· lodging. within two years the product should be available in markets across the country, and the sector should become as es­ tablished a financial asset as limited-service hotels or apartment complexes. investor interest in extended-stay lodging has been generated by anticipated unleveraged internal rates of return that exceed 20% and by leveraged returns that are above 50%. the potential for superior financial performance is based on assumptions of tightly controlled development costs, rapid "lease-up," high occupancy, and low operating expenses. at the lower end of the extended-stay market (in which av­ erage rates range from $25 to $30 per night), the use of sec­ ondary sites, often behind retail and restaurant outlets, and apartment-quality construction keep development costs relatively low. as room rates increase and the extended­ stay product becomes more upscale, the use of higher value sites and improved development quality is man­ dated. the lower end of the extended-stay market has been pio­ neered by apartment companies, while the mid-market is being promoted by hotel companies that have recently entered the picture. some of the larger current investments are being made by newly formed public companies. the mid-market is expected to have average daily rates be­ tween $45 and $70. currently the upper end of the market is defined by the well-established residence inn chain, which commonly has daily rates of $80 to $100. as rates increase and services are expanded, apartment operating policies are being replaced by hotel operating policies and operat­ ing costs are increasing. a hypothetical pro forma exhibit 1 compares the statements or income and ex­ pense for a stabilized year of two hypothetical extended46 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 stay properties: ( 1) an economy property and (2) a mid­ priced property. typically, an economy-price facility achieves stabilized performance after its first few months of operation. for a mid-priced facility, stabilization is likely to occur in the second year. economy facilities tend to reach stabilized occupancy more quickly than their higher-priced counterparts because they require less mar­ keting and have a longer average length of stay. in the lowest price economy facilities, a substantial component of the market is essentially residential. each line item in ex­ hibit 1 is categorized according to the uniform system of accounts for hotels. assumptions the economy-priced facility is assumed to have 125 guest units and a small lobby/office area. it has no pool or other public space. the property is a ,two-story wood-frame building with exterior corridors. each guest room is a single bay ranging in size from 230 to 310 square feet. each guest room has one bed, a comfortable chair, a dresser. closet area, a full bathroom, and a kitchenette with sink, full-size refrigerator, microwave, two-burner cook-top, cabinet space, and cooking and dining utensils. the mid-priced building is a low-rise structure with ground­ level parking. it could have interior or exterior corridors. the lobby/office area is larger and better appointed than the one in the economy-priced property. guest units would range in size from 300 to 400 square feet and have a higher level of finish and better quality furnishings than do the units in the economy-priced product. however, each guest unit still has only one bed, a table and chairs, desk area, televi­ sion with remote control, full bathroom, and a similarly equipped kitchenette. both property types have telephone systems that permit unlimited local calls and long-distance calls on a credit card basis. guests could receive telephone calls that are 47 berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging transmitted directly to their room, or calls may pass through an "auto-attendant" that directs calls to guest rooms. front office operating hours in the economy-priced prod­ uct are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the mid-priced property, the office operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each facility provides maid service once weekly, and changes towels and re­ moves trash twice weekly. revenues exhibit 1 assumes that stabilized occupancy in the economy-priced property is 90%, whereas in the mid­ priced property stabilized occupancy is 87%. because the mid-priced property has fewer "residential" guests, and average stays are somewhat shorter, these facilities are more subject to weekly and seasonal fluctuations in travel than are economy-priced properties. although exhibit 1 reports average daily rates, rates at extended-stay facili­ ties are typically quoted on a weekly basis. no more than two people are expected to stay in a room. in the exam­ ple, the rate for the mid-priced product is the average for a modestly wide selection of room types. in the economy product, the price for one person would be, for example, $180 to $190 per week, but the average room rate includes some nightly business at a higher rate, for example, $50 per night. the facilities would also be making some incremental charges for double occu­ pancy. thus, the average daily rate of $30 in the econ­ omy property implies average weekly income of $210 per week. for the mid-priced product , the average daily rate of $51 ,50 equates to $360 for a week. this average in­ cludes a component of transient business that is higher than that allocated to economy facilities. the transient rate is assumed to be around $70 per night, while the sin­ gle extended-stay weekly rate would be in the $310 to $340 range. total room revenue is computed as: 48 occupancy rate x average daily rate x 365 days x the number of guest rooms 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 at similar occupancy levels, extended-stay properties have a lower revpar (revenue per available room per year) than hotels with similar development costs, but reve­ nues are higher than those of apartment buildings with similar development costs. occupancies are typically higher than in hotels, but rates are lower. conversely, oc­ cupancies are the same or lower than those of apart­ ments, while rates are considerably higher than apart­ ment rents. rooms departmental revenue represents most of the revenues of extended-stay properties, generally more than 90% of gross revenues. exhibit 1 comparison of income and expenses for hypothetical economy-priced and mid-priced facilities 1 economy-priced facility mid-priced facility occupancy 90% 87% average rate $30,00 $51,50 revenue amount amount total as ratio per availtotal ratio to per sales available to sales able room room revenue room revenue $1222020 91.76% $9 855 $2 027 720 92.49% $16 353 telephone $61 101 4.59% $493 $83 548 3.81% $674 rentals and $48 669 3.65% $392 $81 115 3.70% $654 others income total revenue $1 331 790 100.00'lli $10 740 $2 192 384 100.00'lli $17 681 departmental expenses rooms $132 308 10.83% $1 067 $216 29 910.67% $1 744 telephone $52 954 86.67% $427 $70 976 84.95% $572 total depart$185 262 13.91% $1 494 $287 275 13.1d'lli $2 317 mental expenses 49 berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging comparison of income and expenses for hypothetical economy-priced and mid-priced facilities undistributed operating expenses administrative & $98 704 7.41% $796 $169 950 7.75% $1 371 general marketing/ sales $33 295 2.50% $269 $87 695 4.00% $707 franchise fees $0 0.00% $0 $87 695 4.00% $707 energy $96 132 7.22% $775 $143 732 6.56% $1 159 property operalion and mainte$64 728 4.86% $522 $118 821 5.42% $958 nance total undistributed operating $292 859 21.99% $2 362 $607 893 27.73% $4 902 expenses gross operat$853 668 64.10% $6 884 $1 297 215 59.17% $10 451 ing profit fixed costs property. taxes $78 664 5.92% $636 $125 93 25.74% $1 016 insurance $21 700 1.63% $175 $34 61 21.58% $279 replacement reserve $61 265 4.60% $494 $97 523 4.45% $786 net operating $691 839 51.95% $5 579 $1 039 148 47.40% $8 380 income debt service $303 658 22.80% $2 449 $506 096 23.08% $4 081 pre-tax cash $368 181 29.15% $3 130 $533 052 24.31% $4 299 flow telephone revenue shown in exhibit 1 is based on the as­ sumption of $1,50 per occupied room night in the economy-priced model, and $2, 12 in the mid-priced model. these revenues would vary widely depending on the type of telephone equipment and service used. the longer the average stay in a facility, the lower the tele­ phone revenues are likely to be. 50 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 rentals and other income in exhibit 1 are derived largely from vending and commissions. other income also includes minor amounts of interest and income from occasional sales of small items for salvage. because extended-stay guest units include kitchens and do not offer room service, restaurants, or gift shops, vending sales can be substantial. vending machine revenue varies according to the selec­ tion of machines offered and on the availability of alterna­ tives, like convenience stores within walking distance. in exhibit 1, miscellaneous income of a little more than $1 per room night occupied shows that the economy-priced property has limited vending, primarily soda pop machines and a sundries machine. miscellaneous revenue in this de­ partment of just more than $2 per room night occupied in­ dicates that the mid-priced product has a wider selection of items, possibly sundry and snack machines. extended-stay hotels usually offers guests laundry facilities that longer-term guests may use extensively. revenue from washer and dryer machines can add up to a substantial component of the "rentals and other income" category. total revenue from all departments in the economy-priced product at stabilization is $1,3 million annually, while the mid-priced project earns almost $2.2 million in gross rev­ enues yearly. departmental expenses rooms department expense usually includes payroll and related expense for housekeepers, laundry staff and front desk staff. also included are linen, guest supplies, and cleaning supplies. costs of cable television and compli­ mentary breakfast (if offered) are also typically included in rooms departmental expenses, and when a reservation service is used, reservation charges are included. rooms departmental expenses in the emerging extended-stay properties are expected to be in the range of 10% to 12% of room revenue, whereas rooms departmental expenses 51 berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging at limited-service hotels average 24% to 28% of rooms revenue.2 the relatively low costs of rooms department expenses may be attributed to lower levels of required service. exhibit 1 as­ sumes that maid service is once per week and towels are changed twice per week, a service level that requires sig­ nificantly less labour expenditure than that of a hotel that offers housekeeping. in addition longer lengths of stay result in fewer check-ins and check-outs, which enables extended-stay hotels to operate with only one person at the front desk. front desk hours are limited, and in many fa­ cilities the manager operates the front desk shift for a pe­ riod. the economy-priced product should have cable television, but might not carry premium channels. mid­ priced facilities would be expected to carry one or two pre­ mium channels. because guests stays are relatively long, to­ tal cost of guest supplies is low. soap is not replaced daily, and the facilities need not offer room amenities, like sham­ poo, mints, etc. the expense figure in exhibit 1 assume a lim­ ited continental breakfast at the mid-priced property, but no food at the economy-level property. the difference in check-in and check-out traffic between most hotels and extended-stay properties makes a signifi­ cant impact on operating costs. a limited-service hotel with 125 rooms and a 1 ,2 day average stay would have 25 ooo to 30 ooo check-ins and check-outs, and changes of guest room tenants annually. an extended-stay property with 125 rooms, but a four-week average stay, would have to han­ dle only 1 ooo to 2 ooo of these encounters per year. in the economy-priced model, telephone departmental expense is 87% of telephone revenues and a slightly lower percentage in the mid-priced model. this is a higher ex­ pense ratio (lower profit margin) than is typical of a hotel. in extended-stay hotels, long-distance usage is lower be­ cause they have a lower transient component, and tele­ phone pricing is value-orientated. 52 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 undistributed operating expenses the category "undistributed operating expenses," in ex­ hibit i are the overhead items required for operations. they include administration, marketing, energy, opera­ tions and maintenance, and other overhead items. a administrative and general costs. administrative and general costs include payroll and related expenses for the general manager, accounting staff or service, secu­ rity (a highly variable requirement), office supplies, travel, bad debts, commissions, and other administra­ tive expenses. administrative and general expenses vary widely among hotels, depending on their manage­ ment structure. limited-service hotels with 125 rooms in­ cur approximately $1 200 to $1 600 of such expenses per room per year. the economy-priced extended-stay property in exhibit i incurs annual administrative and general expenses of only $800 per room. at an extended-stay property, office supplies, travel, bad debts, and commiss_ions are minimal. accounting is simple because there are relatively few transactions, and payroll is tightly controlled. in some cases, although not in the exhibit i models, the general manager lives on-site, reducing payroll cost. guests processing charges are low because the number of individual guests is low. bad debts are also low because, typically, room rent is collected in advance. rents in extended­ stay facilities, particularly in the economy segment, are often paid in cash or by check, thereby reducing credit card charges. most extended-stay rooms are booked by individuals or a relatively small business guest's secre­ tary. consequently, commissions to travel agents and other third-party reservationists are relatively small. be­ cause the mid-priced property has a higher rate of check-in and check-out and a somewhat higher level of service than the economy facility, it requires more administrative and general expenditure. however, total 53 berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging expense in the department is still lower than in a com­ parably sized hotel. exhibit 1 includes no expenses for property oversight and assumes that ownership handles this responsibility. o marketing and sales costs. economy-priced extended­ stay properties incur relatively low marketing and sales expenses. marketing usually consists of ( 1) sales calls by the general manager, (2) a clearly visible sign advertis­ ing the product and room rates, and (3) advertisements in telephone directories. mid-priced extended-stay fa­ cilities require more concerted direct sales efforts. in ad­ dition, as the transient component of demand for these facilities increases, they require more signage and more marketing. in exhibit 1, the economy-priced extended­ stay facility has annual marketing and sales expenses of $33 ooo, compared to $88 ooo for the mid priced prop­ erty. a typical limited-service hotel is likely to incur mar­ keting and sales expenses of 5% to 6% of total revenues, only slightly more than the expenses shown in exhibit 1 for the mid-priced facility. o franchise fees. the economy-priced product in exhibit 1 pays no franchise fee. to date, facilities of this type have been reasonably well received without national branding. during the course of time, national branding is likely to become more important. the exhibit 1 pro forma for the mid-priced facility pays a franchise fee equal to 4% of room revenues. the closer a facility is to a hotel product, the more likely it is to be franchised in order to obtain desired room rates. o property operations and maintenance expenses. main­ tenance for the economy property is shown at about $500 per available room per year compared to more than $900 for the mid-priced property, including staffing. both figures are within the range of limited-service ho­ tels. the variation is caused by the size and complexity of the guest room and equipment. during the course of time, maintenance on extended-stay properties would 54 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 tend to be increased by the costs of in-room kitchen maintenance. wear patterns for the rooms can be ex­ tended to be slightly different than in a hotel because of the extended-stay nature of the guest. a energy expenses. energy expense for the economy property is shown at $706 per available room compared to $934 per available room per year for the mid-priced property. both are conservative figures and reflect rea­ sonable energy-efficient design and new heating and cooling units. energy expense per room can be ex­ pected to be higher than for a traditional limited­ service hotel because of the in-room kitchens. a fixed costs. exhibit 1 bases property tax expenditures on an assumed development cost of $30 ooo per room for the lower-priced property and $50 ooo per room cost for the higher-priced property. insurance is based on gen­ eral insurance levels for hotels, and varies widely. the re­ placement reserves reflect detailed analysis of the capex requirements for limited-service hotels. because of the kitchens in these facilities, replacement reserves may need to be relatively higher than in hotels. financial results the exhibit 1 assumptions produce a gross operating profit for the economy-priced facility amounting to 64% of total revenue, compared to 59% for the mid-priced product. these profit margins are higher than those typically found in hotels. the key items of the difference are the lower la­ bour costs, reduced or absent franchise and manage­ ment fees, reduced cost of supplies, and lower adminis­ trative costs. exhibit 2 compares typical departmental and undistributed operating expenses per room of econ­ omyand mid-priced extended-stay properties and of a limited-service hotel. return rates the before-tax internal rate of return on an unleveraged irwestment in the economy-priced property is 22%. returns 55 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 3 & 4 assume that revenues and expenses increase by 3% annually to reflect inflation. exhibit 3 revenue, expense, and cash flow statement: economy-priced extended-stay hotel 1 year -0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 gross so $1 331 700 $1 371 744 $1 412 896 $1 455 283 $1 498941 $1543 910 $1 500227 revenues a total operating exso $639 951 $659 150 $678 924 $699292' $720271 $741 879 $764135 pensesa net operating income so $691839 $712 594 $733 972 $755 991 $778 671 $802 031 $826092 debt serso $303 658 $303 658 $303 658 $303 658 $303 658 $303 658 $303 658 vice cash flow unlever$(37!iidxj) $691 839 $712 594 $733 972 $755 991 $778 671 $802 031 $5!)84519' aged leveraged $(937 500) $388181 $408997 $430314 $452 334 $475 013 $498373 $3358640 reversion calculations sales prices' $5 317 966 sales costs $159539 net proceeds $5158 427 debt payment $2 322 221 before tax cash flow $2 836206 a increases 3'!(. amually b includes cash flow from reversion c based on year 8 no.1 of $850 875 capitalized at 16'!(. exhibit 4 nnvew revenue, expense, and cash flow statement: moderately-priced extended-stay hotel 1 year -0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 gross so $2006199 $2192384 $2258155 $2325900 $2395677 $2 467 547 $2541573 revenue• total operating expenses' so $1125962 $1153236 $1187833 $1223458 $1260172 $1297977 $1336917 net _operatso $880237 $1039148 $1070322 $1102432 $1135505 $1169570 $1204657" lfl0111come debt serso $506096 $506096 $506096 $506096 $506096 $506096 $506096 vice cash flow 57 berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging revenue, expense, and cash flow statement: moderately-priced extended-stay hotel 1 unleveri $(62500:xl) $880237 1 $10391481 $10703221 $11024321 $11355051 $1169570 i $8726986" aged leveraged i $(1562500) $374 141 i $533 052 i $564 226 i $596 336 i $629 409 i $663474 i· $4350521 reversion calculation sales prices' $7 754 979 sales costs $232 649 ne1 proceeds $3 870 369 debt paymen1 $2 322 221 before tax cash flow $3 651 900 a increases 3% annually b includes cash flow from reversion c based on year 8 no.1 of $1 240 575 capitalized at 16% before-tax internal rates of return for a typical limited­ service hotel that costs $45 ooo per room to develop and that operates at a stabilized occupancy of 75% at an aver­ age room rate of $55, are about 15% on an unleveraged basis_ under the same financing assumptions applied to the extended-stay properties, leveraged returns on equity for typical limited-service hotels would be about 30%. the pri­ mary reason for relatively high rates of return on extended­ stay properties are the low operating expenses possible in extended-stay facilities when compared to the transient "short-term" hotels. revenue statistics and rates of return are compared in exhibit 5. exhibit 5 return on investment comparison for hypothetical hotel properties 1 lodging product economy-price mid-price typical limitedextended-stay extended-stay service hotel development cost per room $30 ooo $50 ooo $45 ooo gross revenue $1 331 790 $2 192 384 $1 882 ooo gross operating prof� (net operating in64% 59% 4210 50% come as% of total revenue) pre-tax cash flow $386 181 $533 052 164000 58 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 return on investment comparison for hypothetical hotel properties 1 lodging product economy-price extended-stay mid-price extended-stay typical limnedservice hotel before tax internal rate of return on equity leveraged 51% 39% 30% unleveraged 22% 19% 17% conclusion given the present level of investment in extended-stay lodging product, this type of facility is expected to be a force in the real estate market. as this product type has evolved, it has moved away from the apartment model and closer to the hotel model. however, for long-term vi­ ability, extended-stay lodging must find its own niche. that niche could be considered a subset of the hotel industry or an independent real estate product, but extended­ stay properties cannot be highly profitable if they are op­ erated as hotels. the basic concept of the extended-stay product is that a guest staying several weeks to several months gets the highest value for his or her lodging dollar by staying in a fur­ nished efficiency unit that has all utilities, including tele­ phone. guests in these facilities consider kitchens to be important, but they will do without expensive personnel­ based services. the product must be carefully tailored for people who need lodging for periods of one week to sev­ eral months. extended-stay properties can afford to offer tremendous price-value to their guests as long as their service level re­ mains low. according to smith travel research's host re­ port, total payroll and related expenses at limited-service hotels average 26% of total revenues. a limited-service ho­ tel like the one profiled in this article would normally employ about 20 fulland part-time personnel. staffing for an extended-stay hotel of the same size is in the range of 10 to 14 individuals so that total payroll expenses are reduced to 59 berg & skinner/ extended-stay lodging approximately 15% of total revenues. the savings in payroll, coupled with reduced costs of operating supplies, enable extended-stay hotels to provide excellent value to extended-stay guests. consumers want extended-stay facilities for many reasons. these include corporate training assignments, equipment installations, relocations, short-term assignments, trips to handle family matters, etc. until recently, no existing prod­ uct type was well-suited for this purpose. it is difficult if not impossible to rent an apartment for a few weeks or only a few months. if they can be found, such apartments are unfurnished or poorly furnished, and often they do not have utilities and telephone service in place. hotels, on the other hand, are well-suited for stays of one to five nights, but lack convenient kitchen facilities for longer stays. they are also expensive. the underserved market and the possibility of strong poten­ tial returns from extended-stay lodging is expected to result in a national roll-out of these facilities. 1 source: the highland group 2 smith travel research, host report ( 1996) 3 source: smith travel research host report ( 1995) 60 acta structilia december 1995 die kontras tussen beboude omgewing en lewens­ en werelds-beskouings j. j. steyn 1 1 departement stads-en streekbeplanning, universiteit van die uovs, posbus 339, bloemfontein 9300, suid afrika. 21 sinopsis in argitektuur het kontras vir 'n groot deel van die eeu 'n belangrike rol gespeel by die ontwerp van geboue (brolin, 1980: 45). selfs die sa instituut van argitekte het in 1991 'n kongres gehou oor kontraste, maar wat is kontras? volgens die groot woordeboekvan van dale beteken kontras (1) "in bet oogvullende tegenstelling", en (2) "twee verskillende naturen". die eerste klink am per soos wat ons in argitektuur ervaar, naamlik die fisies waarneernbare verskille in die beboude ornge\\ing en rneer spesifiek waar die geboue in werklike teenstelling met rnekaar verkeer. die verskil in "natuur" verwys na die rnenslike aard, gewoonlik die eie persoonlikheid, rnaar die rnenslike natuur is rneer as net die ingebore, dit behels ook die kultuurwaardes van 'n volk. hierdie waardes is dit wat sin gee aan die bestaan van die individu. argitektuur en die beboude omgewing ons vind albei hierdie betekenisse in argitektuur, maar wat het hul met mekaar te doen? miskien is dit nodig om eers te gaan kyk wat behoort argitektuur te wees. in die woordeboek van die afiikaanse taal word argitektuur as volg beskryf: 1. kuns of wetenskap van die bou, insluitende die ontwerp, optrek en versiering van geboue, soos huise, kerke, brue, ens.; boukunde: (burgerlike en militere argitektuur). 2. bou as kunsvak, met stilistiese en antler eienskappe; boukuns: (gewyde en profane argitektuur. argitektuur van die natuuren kultuurvolke, van die oudheid, die ooste, die gotiek). 3. voorkoms , verdeling, inrigting van 'n gebou, bv. met die oog op doelmatigheid, aansluiting by die omgewing, ens.: (die argitektuur van 'n kerk, fabrieksgebou). 4. grondstruktuur, grondplan van die opbou van 'n geestesproduk, soos 'n kunswerk, afgesien van die boukuns, of van 'n wetenskap: (die argitektuur van 'n roman wat betref die saamvoeg of teenoor mekaar stel van grotere eenhede, soos episodes of teenstellinge ). " wat ons hieruit kan leer, is dat argitektuur 'n kuns, of 'n wetenskap, of albei kan wees. hierdie waameming verskil nie veel van wat tydens studies in die laat sestigerjare oor argitektuur geleer is nie. in die tyd was die groot meesters van die modeme beweging of die internasionale styl nog by die vrystaatse universiteit die mense wat nagevolg moes word. " form follows function, " was die enigste riglyn vir ontwerp, alhoewel eie skeppingsvermoe toelaatbaar was, maar niemand kon verklaar waarom nie. dus was <lit 'n woordeboek-opleiding met wetenskap en kuns as toelaatbaar in ontwerp. mies van der rohe het in 1960, kort voor sy vyf en sewentigste verjaarsdag,die volgende gese toe hy .. gevra is om sy werksdag te beskryf, " i get up. i sit on the bed. i think 'what the hell went wrong ? we showed them what to do"' (drexler, 1979: 4). dit was ook die toestand destyds in bloemfontein. hier is wel agtergekom dat variasies toenemend in die tydskrifte begin verskyn het. 22 acta structilia desemher 1995 in dieselfde tyd het die skrywer, toe nog 'n student, gemerk dat die meeste van die bekende figure in argitektuur kontak met die konununisme, of sy klein boetie die sosialisme, of met die groot intemasionale maatskappye het. al hierdie groepe het aanspraak daarop gemaak dat hulle van die wereld 'n beter plek wou maak, sowel fisies as psigologies. argitekte het meegedoen aan hierdie pogings tot die omskepping van die wereld. die idee dat daar in argitektuur universele beginsels {principles) is wat oral toegepas kan word en elke moontlike probleem kan oplos, is algemeen aanvaar. al kontras wat toe nie by hierdie intemasionale denke gepas het nie, was die streeksof volksof inheemse argitektuur. drexler (1979: 14) merk op dat dit " is all the more remarkable in that those historians who might have been expected to do so, by virtue of their sympathy for indigenious building, apparently respond to such work only when the cultures that produce it are poverty-stricken, archaic or dead ". tussen die sestigeren die negentigerjare het daar geweldige klemverskuiwings in argitektuur plaasgevind. dit wat eers belangrik was, soos funksionalisme, is nie meer ter sake in die nuwe woordeskat van argitekte nie. "skoon", "eenvoudig", "suiwer", "elegant", is almal woorde wat gedevalueer het. nou moet geboue kompleks wees met 'n historiese elektiese benadering, dit wil se daar word uit die verlede gekies aanneembaar is en wat sosiaal aanvaarbaar is. "rapid shifts in value, and perhaps cynicism, make it difficult for some observers to take competing views of architecture altogether seriously. reversals ofjudgement are seldom complete and never without ulterior motives. what was bad, for quite specific reasons, is declared good for the same reasons. treason, talleyrand remarked, is a matter of dates." (drexler, 1979: 6). orn hierdie punt te bereik, het een stroom in argitektuur in die sestigerjare die brutalistiese styl (wat herinner aan le corbusier) nagevolg. hierdie betonbeeldhouwerke is vir 'n groot verskeidenheid geboutipes gebruik. as argitektuur eers begin om beeldhouwerk te word, kan dit ook enige vorm aanneem, dit kan vrye vorms wees, dit kan ekpressionisties wees, selfs organies of enige antler gekose vorm. 'n ander stroom het die rasionele benadering probeer volg, waarin die strukturele beklemtoon word. hierin kan onderskei word tussen argitektuur wat lyk soos laaikaste, of die ander uiterste, waar die struktuur oorbek.jemtoon word, of waar die struktuur moontlik gerek word tot sy uiterste. die bekleding van geboue van kop tot tone met glas voer mies van der rohe se gedagtes verby die uiterste. (selfs in bloemfontein word hierdie uitheemse nywerheidstyl aangetref, sender inagneming van die invloed op die omgewing.) glas kan natuurlik ook gebruik word om kweekhuise te bou en so te poog _ om die natuur letterlik in te sluit by die ontwerp. 'n magdom basterstyle het in hierdie tyd ontstaan en in sommige geboue is hierdie vermenging wel sigbaar. waar die struktuur eers beklemtoon was, is begin met sekere elemente soos vensters, suite, die mure wat verander in dakke of omgekeerd. 'n soeke in die style van die skyn-inheemse argitektuur het gelei tot die willekeurige gebruik van historiese elemente wat nie nodig is in die ontwerp nie, maar wat die breuk met die sogenaamde moderne beweging illustreer. selfs die sogenaamde post­ modernisme is 'n voortsetting van die reaksie teen die modernisme. die meeste van hierdie veranderinge wat voortgevloei het uit die moderne beweging, of in reaksie daarteen ontst�n het, het wel iets in gemeen, naarnlik dat dit steeds internasionaal van aard is. daar het dus geen fundamentele bevraagtekening plaasgevind oor wat argitektuur behoort te wees nie, acta structilia december 1995 23 maar alleen die mode het verander. die ou spreekwoord, "li ewers dood as uit die mode", kan ook op argitektuur van toepassing gemaak word. wat behoort argitektuur te wees? een van die beste definisies van argitektuur wat ek ooit raakgeloop het, is die van van den berg (1981: i 0), wat in sy metabletiese ondersoek die ontstaan van verskillende boustyle aansny, naamlik: "de architectuur, die tot taak heeft binnen van buiten te scheiden en voor de tijd passend te onderscheiden, volbrengt deze taak door het bouwen van een grens. de architectuur is de �nst van een grens." die rol van die grens word op 'n ander vlak deur die sosioloog newman (1972: 6),in sy boek "defensible space", met die subtitel, "people and design in the voilent city", beskryf as 'n kulturele meganisme wat territorium aandui, want "in the evolution of human habitat over the past thousand years, men in every culture have developed cogent devices to define the territorial realm of their dwellings." dit gaan egter nie net oor die ontwikkeling van sodanige uitvindings nie, maar eerder oor die herkenning daarvan in die samelewing. newman (1972: 1) meld dat in die modeme samelewing "this heterogenity has crippled our ability to agree on the action required to maintain the social framework necessary to our continual survival". sy betoog draai dan daarom dat ons nou nuwe maniere moet vind om die betekenis van argitektoniese simbole aan die heterogene stedelike bevolkings oor te dra om sodoende misdaad in die gebiede te probeer bekamp. die herkenning van grense is nie moonlik nie, want die inwoners verstaan nie meer dieselfde taal wat simbolies in argitektuur uitgedruk word rue. dit bring ons by 'n volgende vraag, naamlik: watter rol speel die kuns of die wetenskap by hierdie herkenning van simbole in argitektuur? orn die betekenis en rol van kuns te verstaan moet die kultuur waarin dit voorkom, bekend wees, want anders is die simboliek daarvan vreemd. die wetenskap van argitektuur kan ons in elke kultuur of beskawing deurgrond, want dit het te make met natuurwette, byvoorbeeld swaartekrag, die deurbuigmoment van verskillende stowwe, of die klimatologiese eienskappe van 'n sekere materiaal. gevolglik is dit vir argitekte nodig om kultuur ag te neern, ook in ons modeme samelewing. rapoport (1969) poog om elemente van kulturele invloed in argitektuur uit te wys, maar bly in sy boek, "house form and culture", meestal by wat voorheen genoem is die verarmde, verouderde of uitgestorwe kulture. kultuur en beskawing kultuur word in die hat (handwoordeboek van die afiikaanse taal) uiteengesit as 'n " begrip wat gans die geestelike besitting van 'n volk op elke lewensterrein omvat". die verklarende afrikaanse woordeboek beskryf dit as " beskawing; ontwikkeling; veredeling; skeppinge en maaksels van menslike vemut''. in van dale se groot woordenboek der nederlandse· taal word dit omskryf as "beschawing, verfyning van het geestelike en zedelike leven, respectiewelijk het daarin bereikte peil, 24 acta structilia desember 1995 beschawingstoestand; cultuur is meer dan civilisatie; de toestand van een bepaalde volk op een bepaalde tijd." in webster's complete reference dictionary and encyclopedia word kultuur verklaar as "culture,tillage; the training or refining of the moral or intellectual faculties;". in funk en wagnells se standard dictionary of the english language vind 'n mens by sy sesde beskrywing van wat kultuur is die volgende bruikbare omskrywing " culture 6. the sum total of attainments and activities of any period, race, or people, including their implements, handicrafts, agriculture, economics, music, art, religious beliefs, tradition, language, and story . ". in die meeste definisies kom die term beskawing as deel van die uiteensetting van kultuur voor. volgens grobbelaar (1974: 11) het beide " 'kultuur' en 'beskawing' met die mens se bestaan, sy hele bestaan, hier op aarde te make, maar 'kultuur' kom eerste, en 'beskawing' is 'n besondere ontwikkelingstadium daarvan." daar kan van 'n primitiewe of barbaarse 'kultuur' gepraat word, maar nie van 'n barbaarse 'beskawing' nie. 'kultuur' kom dus eerste en 'beskawing' is 'n besondere ontwikkelingstadium daarvan. kultuuras le\vensen \vereldbeskouing vir die christen is kultuur egter meer as bostaande definisies, want die mens het 'n kultuuropdrag om te vervul op aarde. "wees vrugbaar en vermeerder en vul die aarde, onderwerp dit en heers oor die visse van die see en die voels van die hemel en oor al die diere wat op die aarde kruip . " hierdie kulttiuropdrag van die mens bring 'n derde dimensie aan die betekenis van argitektuur. argitektuur bet dus ook 'n ideologiese dimensie. hierdie drievoudige opbou van argitektuur sluit aan by goudappel (steyn, 1989, 14-15) se urbanistiese teorie oor die opbou van denke by die mens. volgens horn bestaan daar drie vlakke van denke wat by enige saak onderskei kan word, naamlik "1. de ideostruktuur; dat zijn de diepere acbtergronden die in bet filosofiese, ideologiese en religieuse vlak kunnen liggen; bet gaat daar vooral om de zingeving, bet waarom van ons bezig zijn; 2. de superstruktuur; de manier waarop onze samenleving in elkaar zit (organisatie) en funktioneert (proces), en de manier waarop wij daarover denken; 3. de infrastruktuur; de hele verzameling van (bouw)werken die we gemaakt bebben en nog steeds maken om te won en, te werken, verbindigen te leggen, enz". dit is egter moeilik om die drie elemente van mekaar te skei, aangesien hulle nou verweef is. van der berg (1977: 9) baal uit sorokon se boek "society, culture and personality", die volgende aan om die verweefdbeid te toon: acta structilia december 1995 "if the groups of an individual are in conflict; if they urge him to contradictory actions, duties, thoughts, convictions; if, for instance, the state demands what is disapproved by the church or the family, then the respective egos will be mutually antagonistic. the individual will be a house divided against himself, split by inner conflicts. there will be no peace of mind, no unclouded conscience, no real happiness, no consistency in such an individual. he will be like a ball pushed in opposite directions by several forces." 25 tereg kan die vraag gevra word waarom hierdie opbou nie in die sogenaamde christelike westerse beskawings bespeur word nie . volgens van den berg (1977) kan drie tydperke in die westerse wereld se geestesgeskiedenis onderskei word naamlik, 'n tydperk voor 1700, die tydperk tussen 1700 en 1900 en die tydperk na 1900. verandering kom, volgens van den berg in 'n hink-stap-sprong breuk met die verlede voor. die eerste breuk vind plaas met 'n hink, 1687-1699, 'n stap, 1733-1749, en die sprong, 1781-1800, terwyl die tweede breuk begin met 'n hink, 1894-1907, 'n stap, 1945-60, en die sprong word verwag iewers tussen 1995 en 2015 (van den berg,1977: 200). die mense van die eerste tydperk gebruik die bybel, dus gods woord as hut verwysings om te oordeel wat reg is. die mense van die tweede tydperk vervang die bybel en gebruik die mens se redelikheid of rasionaliteit om besluite te neem. maar nou bevind die wereld horn in die derde tydvak waar die mens verantwoording soek vir sy dade deur te verwys na sy tydgenote se menings. beboude omgewing en lewensen wereldbeskouing in argitektuur val bogenoemde drie tydperke moontlik saam met die verskillende magte wat argitekte in hul diens gestel het en die betekenis wat gedurende die verskillende tydperke aan argitektuur geheg is. in die eerste tydperk was die uitbou van die christendom die middelpunt waarom die meeste groot bouwerke gedraai het en was die kerk die groot beskermheer van die argitek. in die tweede tydperk was dit geboue wat die krag van die nasionalisme aantoon en was argitekte in diens van hierdie regerings of mense wat gehelp het om die nasionale "empires" uit te bou. in die derde tydperk word die argitektuur in ons stede oorheers deur die oprigting van groot toringblokke wat meestal gekoppel is aan finansiele instellings, wat deur byvoorbeeld rentekoerse, alle bouwerk beinvloed. die grootste stryd van die eeu is tussen verskillende waardesisteme. 'n moontlike indeling is die universaliste aan die een kant en die kulturaliste aan die ander kant. vir eersgenoemde handel dit oor die mens en sy behoeftes wat wereldwyd dieselfde is, en in ons eeu die beste verteenwoordig word deur die opkoms van die materialisme. die kulturaliste of volksgesindes, daarenteen, wil in vryheid binne 'n gemeenskap wat dieselfde kulturele waardes deel, die mag besit om oor hulself te regeer. die modeme mens word van die wieg tot die graf deur die media (veral televisie) gemanupileer wat lei tot die verswakking van sy oordeelsvermoe en verantwoordelikheidsgevoel (nijkamp en nijkamp, 1978 : 667). materialisme kan moontlik beskryf word as die gemene deler van ons tyd. 'n televisieprogram soos "the bold and the beautiful" wat tegelykertyd in die vsa, europa, die ooste en in suid-afrika vertoon word, is tiperend van die skepping van 'n nuwe waardesisteem. in die weste het verbruik van goedere 'n lewenstyl geword wat as 'n bevolkingskontrole gebruik word deur wereldmagte. george orwell het in sy boek, "nineteen eigty-four," presies verduidelik wat bevolkingskontrole is en hoe die mens gemonitor kan word. as sy boek "nineteen ninety-five" geheet het, sou hy heel moontlik besef het dat deur die stimulering en sistimatiese uitbuiting van die menslike hebsug deur hierdie tipe kondisionering van die homo consumptor, konrtole veel makliker 26 acta structilia desember 1995 deur die opkoms van die materialisme. die kulturaliste of volksgesindes, daarenteen, wil in vryheid binne 'n gemeenskap wat dieselfde j...-ulturele waardes dee!, die mag besit om oor hulself te regeer. die modeme mens word van die wieg tot die graf deur die media (veral televisie) gemanupileer wat lei tot die verswakking van sy oordeelsvermoe en verantwoordelikheidsgevoel (nijkamp en nijkamp, 1978: 667). materialisme kan moontlik beskryf word as die gemene deler van ons tyd. 'n televisieprogram soos "the bold and the beautiful" wat tegelykertyd in die vsa, europa, die ooste en in suid-afiika vertoon word, is tiperend van die skepping van 'n nuwe waardesisteem. in die weste het verbruik van goedere 'n lewenstyl geword wat as 'n bevolkingskontrole gebruik word · deur wereldmagte. george orwell het in sy boek, "nineteen eigty-four," presies verduidelik wat bevolkingskontrole is en hoe die mens gemonitor kan word. as sy boek "nineteen ninety-five" geheet het, sou hy heel moontlik besef het dat deur die stimulering en sistimatiese uitbuiting van die menslike hebsug deur hierdie tipe kondisionering van die homo consumptor, konrtole veel makliker uitgeoefen kon word. hierdie kontrole is in die hande van 'n klein groepie mense. lewis mumford, (1961: 612 & 613) in sy klassieke werk ,"the city in history" beskryf dit soos volg : "to seal this control one further step is necessary: the effective monopoly of advertising, news, publicity, periodical literature, and above all, of the new channels of mass communication, radio and television ......... " "all these media work to a common end: to give the stamp of authenticity and value to the style of life that emanates from the metropolis. they establish the national brand: they control the national market: they make every departure from the metropolitan pattern seem deplorably provincial, uncouth, and what is even more heinous, out-of-date. the final goal of this process would be a unified, homogeneous, completely standardized population, cut to the metropolitan pattern and conditioned to consume only those goods that are offered by the controllers and the conditioners, in the interest of a continuously expanding economy ......... " "just a few hundred great corporations control about half the industrial capital in the united states, so do a relatively small group from the financial and managerial classes control the organs of culture. when new lines of activity are to be promoted in the arts and sciences, it is to the swollen purses of the metropolis that the promoters direct themselves: there, more often than not, the new foundation settles". suid-afiika het nie hierdie strominge misgeloop nie, maar die geysoleerdheid van die kontinent het gehelp dat 'n groot groep christene nog aangetref word wat sin alleen sien in 'n lewe tot eer van god. hierdie belydenis sal egter van min waarde wees as ons dit nie probeer deurtrek na argitektuur nie. daar bestaan geen gedokumenteerde christlike argitektuurfilosofie en -teorie nie, maar dit is iets wat wel aan die orde moet kom. vir die christen word die mens se plek onder die lewende wesens bepaal deur sy relasie tot god, hiema volg die menslike kultuuropdrag en sy rentmeesterskap. morele waardes word deur eersgenoemde gereel, wat die argitek se gedrag behoort te beinvloed. argitektuur as uitbeelding van die kultuuropdrag behoort die eie volkskultuur te versterk of minstens moonlikhede te skep dat dit kan voortleef. hier sal 'n soeke na die oorsprong en aard van verskillende geboutipes, maar ook mensgemaakte omgewings, aan die orde gestel moet word. die doe! moet wees die opbou van gesinne, gemeenskappe en volke deur die skepping van ruimtes wat hierdie unieke aard van elke individu, maar ook groepe, versterk. alexander et a/(1977) wil 'n universele "pattern language" in argitektuur gebruik, maar is dit nie tyd dat ons 'n eie volkstaal in argitektuur gebruik nie? die acta structilia december 1995 27 hierdie is geen soeke na 'n aardse utopia nie, maar eerder 'n besinning oor wat reg en verkeerd is. die mens is onder die mag van die sonde en kan horn nie heeltemal losmaak van sy tyd nie. tog moet gesoek word na die idieele anders bly denke vassteek by die kuns en die wetenskap van argitektuur. die gevare van die materialisme en die kultivering daarvan deur die intemasionalisme bedreig die christelike waardesisteem en daarom ook argitektuur. alleen deur hieroor te debatteer kan tot nuwe insigte gekom word en kan die professie homself losmaak uit die greep van die intemasionaliste. miskien is dit nodig om te luister as schumacher (1973 : 26) waarsku teen die gevare van die materialisme en horn as volg uitlaat "the cultivation of expansion and needs is the antithesis of wisdom. it is also the antithesis of freedom and speech". bibliografie alexander, c. (et al). 1977. a pattern language. (3rd edition.) oxford university press, new york. brolin, b.c. 1980. architecture in context. van nostrand reinhold company, new york. drexler, a. 1979. transformations in modern architecture. the museum of modem art, new york. mumford, l. 1961. the city in history, cox & wyman ltd, london. newman, 0. 1972. defensible space: people and design in the violent ci.ty. architectural, press. london. nijkamp, p. & nijkamp van doornik. 1978. denken over de toekomst ii. de reformasie, vol. 53, no. 42, pp. 665-668. rapoport, a. 1969. house form and culture. foudations of cultural geography series. prentice-hall, inc., englewood cliffs, new jersey. schumacher, e. f. 1973. small is beautiful. abacus, london. 28 acta structilia desember 1995 steyn, j. j. 1989. publieke deelname as 'n kulturele determinant in beplanning binne die denkkader van die urbanistiekkonsep. ph.d. proefskrif, uovs,bloemfontein. van der berg, j. h. 1977. gedane zaken. n. v.nijkerk. van der berg, j. h. 1981. hoogte in de kerkbouw. een historisch overzicht. callenbach, n.v.nijkerk. international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 gerard de valence 1 trends in buildings and procurement: implications for construction econo­ mists in the twenty-first century abstract this article discusses trends that are reshaping traditional procurement and delivery systems used by clients of the building construction industry. procurement appears to have significant potential for innovation and improvement, particularly its potential for reorganisation to deliver better value for clients by making it both more open to design innovation and by encouraging best practice. procurement is here broadly defined as the process that deals with project definition and delivery and the technical capabilities of the industry. a survey of online databases on current journal articles and reporting on procurement identified trends and issues. the argument is made that a changing business environment will lead to fundamental changes in the roles of building project participants in general, and construction economists in particular. keywords: procurement, building construction industry. tendense ten opsigte van geboue en kontrakverkryging: die implikasies daarvan vir bou-ekonome in die een-en-twintigste eeu die artikel gee aandag aan vernuwende tendense ten opsigte van kontrakverkryging en dienslewering aan kliente in die bouen konstruksiebedryf. kontraklewering vra om innoverende denke ten opsigte van ontwerp-vernuwing. die verhoogde toepassingsmoontlik­hede hang nou saam met verbeterde dienslewering aan kliente. kontrakverkryging word breedweg gedefinieer as die proses wat betrekking het op projekbeskrywing en -lewering wat ook verband hou met die tegniese vaardighede binne die industrie. 'n opname van die jongste rekenaardata en tydskrif-artikels gee 'n aanduiding van die jongste rigtingwysers en vraagstukke. door word aangevoer dot 'n veranderende sake-milieu fundamentele aanpassings vir die rolspelers in bouprojekte in die algemeen en vir konstruksie-ekonome in die besonder, inhou. sleutelwoorde: kontrakverkryging, bouen konstruksiebedryf. gerard de valence is a construction economist at uts. this paper was read at the nziqs/paqs joint conference in queenstown, new zealand, june 1998. 79 international / lnternasionaal de valence/trends in buildings and procurement background a literature survey was conducted in 1997 with the aim of evaluating the growth in non-traditional procurement methods and use of alternative delivery systems in the international build­ ing construction industry. these are typically design and build (d&bj or design and construct (d&c) project delivery methods. the survey revealed a definite and widespread move away from traditional methods towards single-point project delivery systems ln the over 400 journal articles and reportage collected. the method used was to collect and classify current and emerging practices in tendering and procurement from as many sources and covering as many countries as possible, through a search. of online databases for relevant material. the major databases used were abl/lnform 1985-97, compendex plus 199397, current contents 1993-97, and carl uncover. the search was generally restrictesj to publications after 1993, to try to maintain currency and relevance. the increase in popularity of these alternative procurement practices can be accounted for by various factors, but attempts to improve time and cost performance and reduce the number of disputes appear to be the most prevalent reasons behind changing procurement practices. contributing to this are factors such as: • responses to changes in national and state regulations and government policies • the effects of international trade agreements; new financial structures to accommodate the transformations in the industry • refinements and changes in procurement and delivery methods that are occurring as problems are encountered • large number of trials and demonstration projects aimed at identifying the best methods. part of the difficulty in discussing procurement and tendering practices is the lack of a standard terminology. seven main types of procurement systems are in use: • traditional lump sum • provisional lump sum/schedule of rates • cost reimbursement (cost-plus) • design and construct (d&c) or design and build contract 80 international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 • construction management • project management • build, own, transfer (bot) and build, own, operate and transfer (boot). in this paper, any discussion of turnkey contracting equally applies to d&c or design/build (the us term) contracts and thus includes bot and boot projects. under a turnkey contract, the builder undertakes to furnish all the components of a project. this includes performing work design and construction to complete the plant; providing testing and start-up; and placing the plant in production. turnkey places all design, construction and building, and performance responsibilities under a single entity, and the primary advantage to turnkey work is this single point of responsibility. turnkey projects can be done by a lead company that subcontracts out the different aspects of the project, alternatively the principal participants join in a consortium or joint venture or other project arrangement. the goal under either framework is to appropriately allocate and assign the risks to the party best able to control that risk. schedule, performance and price guarantees can thus be provided with a maximum amount of risk sharing and a minimum opportunity for disputes. client role in 1994 the uk government began a review of its construction procurement policies based on the latham action plan for reducing construction costs by 30%. one of the key recommendations in latham's (1994) report was a call for the government to become a model client in an overhaul of the workings of the industry. clients should be demanding and become the driving force behind industry restructuring, and he targeted 30% because he thought it was the most realistic target. the savings would not all be made by productivity improvements, but also by reducing the contractual problems and interface effects which hamper the efficient working of the industry. latham clearly spelled out the need for a complete re­ engineering of the industry and argued that this must be led by the client (doyle, 1994). a series of inquiries, commissions and agencies have pursued building industry reform in australia since the late 1980s. there have been some successes in areas such as qa and multiskilling 81 international / lnternasionaal de valence/trends in buildings and procurement the site workforce, but benchmarking, best practice and quality management techniques have not been widely implemented (karim, marosszeky, de valence & miller, 1997a; 1997b). over the 1990s the nsw government in particular has become a leading edge client of the industry through its increasingly stringent prequalification requirements and its promotion of best practice, partnering and long-term relationships involving sequential contracting (of 35 projects) and maintenance contracts. there has been a series of discussion papers (nsw government, 1996, 1997) that led to the adoption of the construction australia policy document by all state governments in australia and the achievement of a public sector national procurement policy in 1997 (de valence & marosszeky, 1997). procurement and value the history of procurement over the last few decades strongly shows a rrend toward greater professionalism and specialisation by industry organisations, with the growth of project management, structured financing and increased subcontracting of site work being good examples. the main trends have been: 1970s emergence of formal construction management systems as clients expand their methods and scope. professionals trained in architecture and engineering assume a greater role in development process. 1980s real estate, development, financial arrangements and cash management become critical. alternative forms of ownership emerge, e.g. property trusts, syndicates, corporatisation and privatisation. 1990s total design solutions linked to new forms of company and project organisation become critical to value adding. clients seek single-point responsibility with the objectives of improved quality and efficiency of product. 2000 new procurement and organisational forms, ideas and methods emerge to deliver improvement in product quality and efficiency. the actual definition of procurement that applies here is from hawk's study of the 60 largest global contractors, from which the timeline above has also been adapted. he describes procure­ ment as a strategic activity: 82 international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 procurement includes the r&d for new and traditional materials for new and old uses. it includes development of new production methods of materials and new means of producing products with these materials. it can involve issues of automation, efficiency, product life cycle studies and responses to problems of environmental deterioration and pollution. linked to an improved model of design, procurement can be extremely important to transforming the industry (hawk, 1992: 47). procurement has become a more central issue to the industry for several reasons. clients have been demanding 'better value for money' since the early 1970s, driven partly by the industry's own poor productivity performance and partly by comparisons with manufacturing productivity growth. studies such as walker (1996) and lean construction reports (e.g. miles & ballard, 1997) show clearly that non-traditional procurement systems have better time performance and cost benefits. following hawk's argument above, non-traditional procurement systems would also offer better opportunities for "development of new production methods of materials and new means of producing products with these materials". this is the driving force behind the current thinking about procurement and innovation. as better benchmarks and performance measures evolve across a range of building features the idea of value is beginning to lose its fuzzy "eye of the beholder" quality and become focussed on the key performance indicators that are relevant to that building. examples are the features measured by the building quality assessment system used by rider hunt terotech, anderson consulting uses earnings per square metre of office space, supermar�ets revenue per metre, and so on. in all cases the better the building's internal environment and the systems that support it, the better the performance. the benefits include lower health costs and sick days in offices, also fewer mistakes in work and improved productivity, higher sales in well-designed retail, and so on. all these can often be delivered through the combination of good design and quality services. also, the method of project procurement and delivery used by the client determines the nature of competition in the industry. the industry may be seen as a competitive game with its players, with the rules set by its clients. the evolution of procurement and 83 international / lnternasionaal de valence/trends in buildings and procurement delivery strategies and policies developed by clients has changed the rules of the game over time, and clients are seeking ways to raise the standard of performance. at the end of the day, the industry competes on a playing field defined by clients under rules set by clients. thus the latham report ( 1994) urged the uk public sector to play a leading role in restructuring the industry, as did gyles in australia (rcbi, 1992). in the us the cii has promoted best practice to both clients and contractors with significant project time and cost results. singapore's cidb is the archetypal leading edge client (cidb 1994), and there are many other government ministries and agencies. examples from the private sector include british airways (ba), toyota, coca cola, shell, hewlett-packard, intel and ciba-geigy. in australia governments are experimenting with electronic procurement and alternative delivery methods. as argued in the nsw government discussion paper a perspective of the construction industry in nsw in 2005, innovative ways of procuring goods, services and infrastructure will increasingly distinguish one organisation from another. clients are raising their expectations and setting new standards, and in determining the standards of performance they expect they will increasingly monitor performance and reward the better performers. the nsw challenge to the local construction industry firms is to show that they can produce client-driven. high quality, value-for­ money outcomes, and sustain long-term relationships: in future, the services packaged for clients will extend beyond the familiar range of construction services associated with a single project. for example, to gain competitive advantage and improve profitability, a client may seek the means by which purchases and ownership costs can be reduced (including investment in capital infrastructure) and instead introduce management systems that transform purchasing, inventory, and materials management activities into strategic, value­ added, business functions/outcomes (nsw government, 1997:15). as a result of the push for better value, there is a renewed effort in investigating tendering and procurement practices around the world. the factors behind this interest are diverse, but greater efficiency and lower costs are universal goals, and a significant opportunity for the industry comes from the fact that improved 84 international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 environmental performance comes from better designed, more efficient buildings, which deliver lower through life costs. also a major impetus has come from the increasingly widespread use of it and electronic procurement by large public and private clients. trends in procurement many surveys have established that clients perceive the design and build approach as providing better value for money and giving rise to less disputes than other procurement methods, and that an experienced client with a clear brief can use it satisfactorily with most project sizes (songer and molenaar, 1996; feddersen, 1994; middleton, 1995; rosenbaum, 1995; ndekugri & turner, 1994; akintoye, 1994). the quality of the design brief and project specifications appear to be fundamental to the success of alternative delivery systems. some clients are concerned about the quality of the finished project and the possibility of disputes due to abortive work, inaccuracies in the clients' brief, conflict between the brief and the contractors proposal, valuation of variations, and the dubious quality of the work by some firms (dozzi et al., 1996; olson, 1996; friedlander, 1997). owners and clients are increasingly using a variety of alternative procurement methods aimed at reducing cost. achieving time schedules and milestones, shortening duration, reducing claims, and improving constructability and innovation. the overall trend is toward versions of design-build and turnkey construction because of the advantages of a project delivery system that combines designers, builders, and sometimes suppliers into a single entity. for example, changes in the us federal governments procurement system, to solve the problems inherent with traditional low-bid procurement, allowed federal agencies to use a limited form of design-build and many states are following this example by allowing procurement options that encourage alternative methods. the greatest concerns with alternative procurement methods are their long term performance, their influence on project performance, project delivery time and reliability (naoum, 1994; songer et al. 1997; sullivan, 1997; friedlander & roberts, 1997; middleton, 1995). however, it has statistically been found that costly competitive bids are likely to have high cost growth 85 international / lnternasionaal de valence/trends in buildings and procurement (crowley & hancher, 1995). with changes in procedure there are the inevitable unanticipated consequences and uncertainties, particularly as the methods are still evolving and players (owners and managers) are moving up the learning curve as they gain experience. apart from issues such as long-term performance and profitability, a concern facing owners and clients is the correct choice of delivery system appropriate to the project. the selection may have a direct bearing on the success or failure of the project, and the evaluation of tenders has become more complicated with all the variables to be considered. the design-build project delivery process can be procured with competitive negotiation, performance-based standards and best value selection criteria. whatever the exact form, the integrity of the bidding process is vitally important. ideally very clear criteria are established at the outset for evaluation of competing designs and work plans. a building purchased through a tender process, which must be able to evaluate design, production capability, time and price, and do so on a competitive basis, is an inherently complex process. one option is to select first on technical ability, and then on price, by a process involving two envelopes (connaughton, 1994). the technical tender is opened and evaluated first, whilst the 'fee' envelope remains sealed. the technical assessment is scored by the tender panel while the fee tender is assessed independently by the fee panel, who report back to the tender panel. british airways (ba) have recently introduced a variant of this process in their procurement of design, construction management and project management, in order to place emphasis on technical quality ahead of price. consultants are first asked to make two competitive bids for each project, that is one technical bid and one commercial bid. ba first assesses the technical bids and selects two bids for further assessment in the second stage, which involves analysis of the commercial bid. an interview then follows. this new scheme is intended to maximise technical value from consultants rather than merely taking the lowest price bid that may not offer technical competence. ba have acted on the basis that the cost of employing consultants is a small portion of the life-cycle costs of its buildings, but the function and value of buildings is greatly affected by the consultants involved in their procurement. 86 international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 the sort of detail as provided in a technical bid is much the same information considered in any process of prequalification: experience, resources, cvs, etc. all criteria are assessed and scored. the commercial bids from firms not short-listed on the technical appraisal are opened only after a contract has been awarded. this enables a check on the price paid to employ the most technically advanced consultants. craig ( 1997) discusses design and built or construction procurement systems where the contractor bears single-point responsibility for the complete product, like any other manufacturer. however, unlike, for example, deciding which car to buy either by description or by sample, a building is purchased through the tender process which must not only be able to evaluate design, but also production capability, time and price, and on a competitive basis. procurement of projects through the tendering processes appears to limit the successful tenderer's scope to be innovative. although tendering rules or codes have been developed to maintain the integrity of the bidding process, they are not designed to encourage innovation but rather to produce direct price competition for a specified product. it would appear that the traditional tendering process for building works is not amenable to design innovation by tenderers. alternatively, tenderers may seek competitive advantage through novel construction methods, to an extent permitted by the tender documents. there are, however, processes available in the procurement of separate design services that allow competition on innovative design, in which design technical matters of the tenders are evaluated separately from price. this process could also be used for 'design and construct' procurement (craig, 1997). regulatory and legislative trends to keep up with the changes in project delivery procedures, governments in several countries have made changes in their policies and regulations on procurement which have significant effects on the construction industry. a special case of this is the set of regulations formulated by the world trade organisation. examples of reforms carried out in individual countries include the us "dispute avoidance and resolution task force declaration of principles for the prevention and resolution of 87 international / lnternasionaal de valence/frends in buildings and procurement disputes in the construction industry"; britain's 1994 efficiency review of its construction procurement policies aiming to bring public sector practices in line with best practice in the private sector; indonesia's efforts to find ways to increase productivity by examining procurement practices, cost control, scheduling, and management integration, and the work of the cidb in singapore (korman, 1997; ashenfelter et al., 1997; mattoo. 1996; doyle, 1994; lchniowski, 1995; schriener, 1996). reforms are under way in the bidding and contractual systems used for public projects in japan, south korea, the us and other countries, to open their construction markets to contractors from foreign countries, often with less discriminatory and more competitive forms of tendering (hodgson, 1995; carbullo, 1995; bedelian, 1996; gransberg & ellicott, 1996; kunishima et al., 1995;, gelston, 1993; markus, 1997; krizan, 1996; loulakis & cregger, 1996; spacek, 1996; mcmanamy, 1994; reich, 1997). reform of the bidding and contractual system used for public projects in japan and government policies on further opening of the construction market to foreign countries are discussed by kunishima et al. (1995). japan's 1995 'action plan' provided for open and competitive bidding procedures to be used by public agencies for procurement of construction, design, and consulting work that are valued at or above the wto government procurement thresholds (dunn, 1995). legislative changes in the us are allowing public owners the opportunity to use design-build as a project delivery option (krizan, 1996; loulakis & cregger, 1996). changes in the us federal government's procurement system to allow federal agencies to use a limited form of design-build construction contracts has led to the establishment of strict procedures for the agencies to follow when they decide to enter into a design-build project. to combat the problems inherent with traditional low-bid procurement, many states are following the example of the federal government by enacting procurement options to allow and encourage alternative methods. the design-build project delivery process can be procured with competitive negotiation, performance-based standards and best value selection criteria (charles, 1996; markus, 1997). 88 international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 conclusion in conclusion, there is strong evidence from the literature that the trend away from traditional procurement and delivery systems is gathering momentum as more clients try new systems and public clients gain greater freedom to contract for buildings and structures. the trend is supported by two major external developments. world trade treaties are opening up previously protected national markets in public procurement, and this is happening at the same time as increased private participation in infrastructure projects come into being. there is also an increase in the use of two-stage tendering, where the first stage narrows the field of tenderers to a short-list of two or three finalists. this is typical of consortiums or joint ventures including design, building and financial firms, who prepare their bids on the basis of both price and value. the future for low-bid tenderers may not be very promising if clients pursue current moves toward alternative procurement and delivery systems based on value and performance. comparisons of the various project delivery methods are plentiful in the literature, with the characteristic features identified for each type. the traditional method of procurement and project delivery is generally considered the safest but is also the slowest as the design must be completed before the project is bid. design-build is faster and more convenient with the design and construction dovetailed and coming from a single point of responsibility, and d&b allows concurrent engineering, which is claimed to reduce project delivery time without increasing project overall cost. finally, design-build and finance is often used for large international engineering or construction infra­ structure projects, and provides expertise and capital for clients. the development of a two-level market noted by hawk ( 1992) and others is also apparent. the local or regional industry is increasingly separate from the global market for large projects, or those requiring specific expertise. for many firms in the industry irregular and infrequent clients in their local market will be the main source of demand for traditional forms of project procurement and delivery. however, based on the evidence from this survey, clients will increasingly use alternative forms because the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages from the client's perspective. use of d&b, bot and boot on projects 89 international / lnternasionaal de valence/trends in buildings and procurement in rapidly industrialising countries has raised familiarity with alternative procurement methods, and often involved complex consortia or joint venture structures. at the same time clients in the developed countries are increasingly using non-traditional forms of procurement on a wider range of projects as they redefine their expectations of the industry. in mid 1998 an australian local government authority let a d&b contract for a project worth $500 ooo. this paper has argued that these trends have the potential to transform procurement of buildings and structures. in particular, the combination of these three trends has enormous implications for the role of construction economists. the key trends are: • a shift toward a more complex range of services required by clients • the move toward single-point responsibility for projects • a greater focus on value (generally through life costs) by clients. one of the outcomes might include increased emphasis on build and maintain contracts, or warranty and insurance schemes for each building, or other measures as clients seek value from ongoing performance rather than just construction. this extends to the increasing use of maintenance contracts, as seen recently for railway track, highways and schools in nsw. other outcomes will include a greater diversity of procurement and delivery systems used by clients as they attempt to find the most appropriate method for individual projects or contracts. again, many of these contracts will be best met by consortia or alliances of specialist firms. the implications for construction economics of these trends in procurement discussed here present major challenges and opportunities to the profession, and to the education and training of graduates for the future. firstly, with the move away from traditional procurement and delivery come changes in the traditional roles in the industry. increasingly the construction economist's client will be a project-specific entity, a joint venture, consortium or alliance, and it will become more common for the qs firm to be a member of such an entity rather than an independent consultant (in my opinion). also, the move from bqs and cost plans prepared for principals toward builders' bills for tender bids will continue, and many of the larger contractors and 90 international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia voj 6 no 1 & 2 builders may want to bring this expertise inhouse. this suggests that among successful firms will be those that specialise in key areas and build competitive strength through strategic alliances in a more complex business environment. secondly, the profession has traditionally focussed on saving clients' money as their core service, but the new challenge is to find ways to add value to projects for all stakeholders. this requires greater involvement during the design stage of a project, where the cost outcomes of design and structural options can be calculated and discussed with clients, including life cycle costs, to help maximise the return on investment. the core competencies here are design literacy and financial analysis. it is therefore possible that a natural division will occur, as some qs firms position themselves with expertise in the design and pre-design stages of projects while others will focus on skills for managing the construction stage. thirdly, major projects are becoming part of an international globalised market as public sector procurement is deregulated and private sector clients develop relationships with industry partners. in both cases the traditional qs practice could be competing against aggressive new entrants into their field from other professions, such as accounting, finance and legal firms, that might try to use the increasing diversity and complexity of procurement methods to make a grab for a share of the market. also, the clients who have major projects are typically experienced, long-term investors with considerable expertise in alternative procurement methods. the alternative methods and systems of procurement and delivery being sought by clients will be value driven and emphasise innovative design solutions, the materials used and building methods employed, in order to lower ownership or occupancy costs. the opportunity is for those in the industry who are interested in responding to client requirements to find organisational forms and alternative delivery systems that will deliver better value for the money clients invest. 91 international / lnternasionaal de valence/frends in buildings and procurement references akintoye, a. 1994. 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"best-value contracting criteria". cost engineering, 39(6). hawk, d.l. 1992. forming a new industry: international building con­ struction. stockholm inter­ national business school. hodgson, g.j. 1995. design and build effects of contractor design on highway schemes. proceed­ ings of the institution of civil engineers-civil engineering. 108(2), may. ichniowski, t. 1995. "reform advances on procurement". engineering news record, 235(6). international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 karim, k. et al. 1997a. increasing profitability through performance measurement in construction. report to dpws. karim, k. et al. 1997b. benchmarking con­ struction. building research centre, unsw. korman, r. 1997. "reforms worry industry groups". engineering news recor, 238(5). krizan, w. g. 1996. "design-build faces legal hurdle". engineering news record, 237(7). kunishima, m. et al. 1995. changes and reforms of bidding and contracting sys­ tems in japanese public projects. proc 1995 construc­ tion congress 1995. asce. latham report 1994. constructing the team: joint review of procurement and contractual arrange­ ments in the u.k. construction industry, hmso, london. loulakis, m. c. & cregger, w. l. 1996. "federal legislation will increase design-build oppor tunities". civil engineering, 66(7). markus, e. 1997. "low bid alternatives earning respect". american city & county, 112(9). mattoo, a. 1996. "the procurement implications government agreement of economic 93 international / lnternasionaal de valence/trends in building and procurement theory" world economy. 19(6). nov. pp. 695-720. mcmanamy, r. 1994. "design-builders take a breather". engineering news record. 232(21 ). mcmanamy, r. 1996. "new practice manual moves design-builders to next stage". engineering news record. 237(18). middleton, w. d. 1995. "the design-build/ turnkey alternative". railway age. 196(2). miles, r. m. & ballard, g. 1997. lean construction: ap­ plication in high technology facility construction. first inter­ national conference on con­ struction industry develop­ ment. national university of singapore. naoum, s. g. 1994. "critical analysis of time and cost of management and traditional contracts". journal of construction engineering & management-asce. 120(4). ndekugri, i. & t urner, a. 1994."building procurement by design and build approach". journal of construction engineering & management­ asce. 120(2). jun. nsw government. 1996. the construction industry in nsw: opportunities and challenges. dept. of public works and services. nsw government. 94 1997. a perspective of the construction industry in nsw in 2005, sydney, discussion paper, dept. of public works and services. olson, c. 1996. "culture wars". building design & construction. 37(11 ). rcbi 1992. final report. royal commission into productivity in the building industry in nsw. sydney. reich, a. 1997. "the new gott agreement on government procurement the pitfalls of plurilateralism and strict reciprocity", journal of world trade. 31 (2). rosenbaum, d. b. 1995. "can't we ail just get along?" engineering news record. 235(16) schriener, j. 1996. "groups sign for no suing". engineering news record. 236(16). p. 10. songer, a. d. & molenaar, k. r. 1997. "project characteristics for successful public-sector design-build. journal of construction engineering & management-asce. 123(1). songer, a. d, & molenaar, k. r. 1996. "selecting design-build: public and private sector owner attitudes" journal of management in engineering. 12(6) nov-dec. spacek, j. 1996. "new law passed to allow design-build method of project delivery". water-engin­ eering & management. 143(7). sullivan, c. c. 1997. "what's next for design­ build?" buildings. 91 (2). international / lnternasionaal 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 walker, a. 1997. "construction time p e r ­ formance and traditional versus non-traditional procurement methods". journal of construc­ tion procurement. 3(1 ). 95 tinus maritz efficiency in the provision of production specifications for the south african construction industry peer reviewed abstract in most developed countries production specifications are based on national standardised specification systems, such as the national building specification or nbs (great britain), the national specification system or natspec (australia), master specification systems or masterspec (united states of america and canada), general materials and workmanship specifications or ama (sweden), and the national standard building specification or stabu (the netherlands). standard specifications are primarily designed to shorten descriptions in the texts of new projects, whether in respect of descriptions on architectural or engineering drawings and technical specifications or descriptions in bills of quantities, schedules of rates, etcetera. in some countries the development of computerised specification systems has reached the point that these systems are supplanting the traditional word processing method. these systems are also providing links or interfaces to other information systems of the construction sector, such as design, products and cost information systems, etcetera. the south african construction industry, however, lags behind these countries that have been involved in the development of construction information systems or processes over the years. a call is therefore made to improve the efficiency of providing production specifications, as inadequate project information has been identified as one of the major causes of inefficiency in the building process. keywords: specification, classification systems, construction information, interoperability, standardisation. 63 kommentaar • commentary tinus maritz, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. email: <mmaritz@postino.up.ac.za> 64 acta structilia 2005:12(1) abstrak in meeste ontwikkelde lande word konstruksie inligtingstelsels gebasseer op nasionale gestandaardiseerde spesifikasiestelsels, soos die national building specification of nbs (groot brittanje), die national specification system of natspec (australië), master specification systems of masterspec (verenigde state van amerika en kanada), general materials and workmanship specifi cations of ama (swede), en die national standard building specification of stabu (nederland). standaard of algemene spesifikasies bevat instruksies en/ of vereistes betreffende die uitvoering en gehalte van werk en verkort be skrywings in ander verkrygingsdokumente, soos byvoorbeeld beskrywings op argiteks of ingenieurstekeninge en tegniese spesifikasies of beskrywings in hoeveelheidslyste en skedules van tariewe. in sekere lande het die ontwik keling van gerekaniseerde spesifikasiestelsels die stadium bereik waar kon vensionele woordverwerkingmetodes vervang word met ’n objekgeoriënteer de benadering vir die organisering van konstruksie inligting sonder menslike intervensie. hierdie moderne stelsels voorsien ook skakeling of integrering met ander inligtingstelsels wat in die konstruksiesektor gebruik word, soos byvoor beeld met produksoek , tender en koste inligtingstelsels. die suid afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf het egter ’n agterstand teenoor lande wat oor jare reeds met die ontwikkeling van konstruksie inligtingstelsels of prosesse gemoeid is. dit is algemene kennis dat gebrekkige projekinligting een van die hoofoorsake van oneffektiwiteit in die bouproses is, en die feit kan nie weg geredeneer word nie dat integrasie van inligting op tekeninge en in spesifi kasies die hoogste prioriteit onder die veeltal betrokkenes in die veld van kon struksie inligting behoort te geniet. sleutelwoorde: spesifikasie, klassifikasiestelsels, konstruksie inligting, integrasie, standaardisering 1. introduction production specification can be defined as written informationprepared by the design team for use by the construction team,the main purpose of which is to define the products to be used, the quality of the work, any performance requirements, and the conditions under which the work is to be executed. it is common knowledge that many of the problems on construction sites are caused by poor or missing information. effective communication of high quality specification information between designers and constructors is therefore essential for the satisfactory execution of construction projects. the main thrust of the research undertaken by maritz (2003) for a phd thesis was an investigation into the establishment of a code of practice for the classification of construction information on which production specifications, bills of quantities, etcetera can be based. the study has shown, inter alia, that the evolution in the classification or specification processes, which form an indispensable part of the overall procurement process, has become stagnant in south africa and that little use is made of the benefits that the advancement in construction information technology (cit) offers. the construction industry status report, which was prepared by the council for scientific and industrial research (csir, 2002) for the department of public works (dpw), corroborates the findings of the abovementioned study. the objective was to report on the status, capacity and performance of the construction industry against development criteria. the report focused on a number of issues, two of which were: • standardisation of contract information in order to determine the percentage of contracts awarded on criteria other than price, as well as how many contracts meet the principles of modern forms of contract; and • customer satisfaction with construction products, delivery time, and quality of service and product. the summary of the findings on the first issue revealed that little uniformity in procurement practices exists and proposed that the construction industry development board (cidb) should not only have to develop best practices to promote uniformity, but would also need to ensure that ongoing training programmes for both 65 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications clients and professionals are available to keep people abreast of the latest best practices. on the second issue it was reported, inter alia, that traditional methods of preparing design specifications seem to pose a large problem in both the architectural and engineering domains, and neither clients nor contractors were satisfied with design specifications. professionals were of the opinion that the quality of specifications is still good, but that it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce quality specifications within the set time and budget constraints. this confirmed the general opinion that work processes are not up to international standards amongst a large contingent of professionals. the above shortcomings were further emphasised by the following concluding remark: clients and contractors perceive that consultants have lost a significant amount of expertise and capacity in devel oping specifications and documentation in the building sector. this leads to inaccurate specifications that result in a high level of design variations that in turn lead to an ad versarial and time consuming approach in dealing with variation orders. the next section of this article attempts to assess whether professionals in the south african construction industry agree with the view expressed in the above citation and outlines an overall analysis of these specific research issues and focal points within the framework of the research that was conducted by maritz (2003). 2. research approach for the collection of information from secondary sources an extensive review of related literature was carried out, and a selected number of classification and specification systems in use in other countries were reviewed. the developments in the field of classification were then examined in detail by reviewing the latest literature published in conference papers and on the internet, by attending seminars in the united kingdom (uk) and australia, and by making contact, either on a personal level or through correspondence, with some of the leading players in this particular field of the industry. 66 acta structilia 2005:12(1) the review process was supplemented throughout by the personal observations and experiences of the author, which have spanned a period in excess of three decades and which have occurred at the cutting edge of the industry. a two-stage descriptive survey (leedy, 1997: 196197; cooper & emory, 1995: 121) was ultimately chosen for the data generation and analysis. the first-stage survey process comprised obtaining qualitative data through structured interviews from a pre-selected sample of senior academics and practising quantity surveyors in the uk. “open-ended” questions regarding the current trends in compiling procurement documentation and systems for the classification of construction information were set on a non-standardised schedule (zikmund, 2000: 310-312). certain tendencies were identified and some of these were used for the second-stage survey. the secondstage survey process, which produced mostly quantitative data, comprised the design, pre-test and administration of a structured questionnaire that targeted architectural, quantity surveying and consulting engineering practices to obtain their view on the effectiveness of the procurement processes (which included the drafting of production specifications and the management of information for construction). 3. review of the literature on international and local (south african) specification systems the international construction information society (icis) published two very comprehensive reports (icis report no. 1, 1995; mindt report no. 2, 1997) that set out to compare the specification systems in 13 selected countries in europe and elsewhere. these reports show that there were no substantial differences between the specification systems; they all covered more or less the same basic construction works, their structure followed the chronology of a construction project, and their main users were consultants and contractors. further development of all the systems investigated seemed to be in the same direction and followed the technologically most advanced systems (more specifically those of switzerland and the netherlands). a common goal was the continuous integration of computer technology, mainly by providing interface facilities with other construction information systems. 67 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications since the publication of the abovementioned reports there have been further advances in cit and changes in computer-aided design (cad) applications. practically every design office now has a computer and access to the internet. recent developments have made it possible to build a virtual prototype of a project (i.e. a 3d model) on a computer. this enables errors, omissions and coordination problems in the production drawings to be identified and rectified before work starts on site. most of the specification systems investigated, however still use a word processor environment, which means that a ‘delete unwanted text’ or ‘cut and paste’ technique is used to draft a production specification. this has the result that the information is only interpretable by humans. in relational systems, bits of information can have a meaning that is ‘understood’ by a computer through definition of attributes and possible ranges of values, so that the information can be interpreted by the system and processed without human intervention. it was found that, although much work and research have been done in this regard, workable outcomes and full implementation would only be achieved in the next generation. the review of the literature on the application and development of specification systems for the south african construction industry that follow, draws a distinction between the private and public sectors. this has been done because of the distinct differences in procurement methods that have existed between these two sectors over the years. 3.1 private sector traditionally, production specifications for private works – whether general, particular, or both – were produced solely by the designer (architect/engineer), normally by making use of in-house general and project particular specifications. because of the absence of a national standardised specification system upon which these specifications could be based, they differed in style and format between the various firms. in recent years, however, the quantity surveying profession has become increasingly involved in the drafting of production specifications on private sector works. the designer generally issues only annotated drawings, occasionally accompanied by specific model 68 acta structilia 2005:12(1) specifications, to the quantity surveyor for measuring purposes. the standard system of measuring building work (ssm 1999) (asaqs 1999b) in the section general instructions prescribes that: quantity surveyors shall prepare bills of quantities containing clear and complete descriptions, leaving no reasonable doubt as to their intent and meaning; and descriptions must contain all the essential information ne cessary for pricing. without a proper and comprehensive production specification from the designer, the quantity surveyor is obliged to insert additional preambles in his bills of quantities, either as a complete section at the beginning of the document, or as part of the various bills (trades). it appears that quantity surveyors have taken cognisance of these changed circumstances as the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs) has produced model preambles for the building industry in an effort to meet the foregoing requirements. the 1999 edition of the model preambles for trades (asaqs 1999a) is currently the most frequently used document on major private building works, especially in instances where a quantity surveyor has been appointed as part of the professional team, and where bills of quantities form part of the building contract. 3.1.1 development and status of the model preambles during the late 1970s the asaqs produced the first standard preambles document (asaqs, 1980) that had as its basic function the abbreviation of descriptions in the text of bills of quantities. this document was revised in 1989 to accommodate coastal conditions where these differed from inland conditions. further editions followed in 1992, 1995 and 1997 with relatively minor amendments. a more representative committee, which included members from the south african institute of architects (saia) and the local master builders association (mba), representing the building industries federation of south africa (bifsa), was formed when the next edition was due. as a result of the interaction between the various sectors, an intensive examination of the entire document was carried out. this culminated in the publishing in 1999 of the current edition of the model preambles. 69 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications according to cahill (2002), the present chairman of the model preambles committee, the committee is currently dormant, but will presumably be revived when stocks of the current edition run low. in the meantime the chairman’s only task is to respond to queries and to keep note of various points raised by users of the document for possible inclusion in the next revision. 3.2 public sector the green paper on public sector procurement reform contains seven specific proposals regarding uniformity in contract documentation. two of these relate specifically to specification matters, namely: • construction standards; and • specifications. watermeyer (1997) raised the following issues on the abovementioned proposals: • there should be a complete separation in contract documentation between conditions of tender, conditions of contract, specifications and terms of payment (including methods of measurement). • government should play a leading role in the standardisation of contract documentation and contract options and set an example in this regard for the private sector. • construction standards common to all disciplines should be developed for engineering and construction works contracts. • the whole tendering process should be made more accessible to emerging enterprises by ensuring that tender documentation is: – ‘user-friendly’ and easy to comprehend; – free of unduly onerous requirements and conditions; – standardised. the current call according to watermeyer (2002), is to simplify documentation. simplification needs to deal with issues such as language, style, presentation, layout and numbering. at its core is coherency in documentation and structure. for example, project 70 acta structilia 2005:12(1) specifications and special conditions of contract should be drafted in such a manner that amendments to standard documentation can be readily detected. the white paper on creating an enabling environment for reconstruction growth and development in the construction industry addresses several aspects of procurement insofar as the construction industry is concerned, one of which was the establishment of the cidb. this led to the promulgation of the construction industry development board act 38 of 2000. this act tasks the cidb with, inter alia, the promotion and implementation of policies, programmes and projects aimed at procurement reform and standardisation and uniformity in procurement documentation, practices and procedures. the act also empowers the cidb to publish best practices, promote standardisation of procurement processes within government’s procurement policy framework, and allows the cidb to initiate, promote and implement national programmes and projects aimed at the standardisation of procurement documentation, practices and procedures (watermeyer, 2001). 3.2.1 the pw 371 specification of materials and methods to be used (pw 371) the fourth edition of pw 371 (dpw 1993) is the current primary specification document in use on most public building works. the dpw is the official body responsible for the publication and revision of the document. it was last revised in 1993 after the first edition was published in 1982. the format and application of the document are similar to that of the model preambles described above and the document therefore has the same limitations on its usage. this document is one of those identified in the aforementioned green paper that is in need of revision to make it acceptable. 3.2.2 sabs 1200 and sabs 0120 documents the sabs 1200 and sabs 0120 series of specification documents were developed for civil works and are exclusively used for this purpose. these documents will be withdrawn once a new specification for construction works that encompasses both civil and building works has been drafted. a working group has been constituted to develop this new specification, which will be referred to as sabs 2001: standardised specifications for construction works. only after sabs 71 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications 2001 has been completed (it is anticipated that it will be developed in a phased manner and may take several years to complete), and the south african institute for civil engineers (saice) has published its new measurement and payment system, will it be possible for sabs 1200 and sabs 0120 to be withdrawn or phased out. 3.3 commercial specification systems a number of commercial product library information systems have come onto the south african market in recent years for specific applications in the construction industry, mainly as a result of the advancement in cit. the initial objective of these systems was to replace the libraries of catalogues with complete on-line product information that would be accessible to designers, estimators, quantity surveyors, contractors, etc. some of the systems that have been developed to date are integrated with specific bills of quantities production programmes, with the information on products and services being classified according to the usual trade-format approach prescribed in the ssm. the information that is provided in these systems about products aims to be complete, i.e. without a need for further reference to hard copy catalogues. thus information such as place of manufacture, materials from which the product is made, complying standards, warranty details, application methods, etcetera are all provided. in addition, model bill descriptions of all likely items to be encountered for the specific product range are often provided and can thus be conveniently downloaded by the person responsible for the measurement. however, figure 1 shows that these systems are not used much in the construction industry. 72 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 4. trends indicated by data collected in the maritz study respondents in maritz’s empirical study were requested to rate hypothetical statements, conclusions and recommendations in accordance with a five-point rating likert scale in the first part of the questionnaire. at the end of each series of questions the respondents could state their own point of view by using the space provided for ‘open-ended’ responses. the questionnaire was compiled with several objectives in view, but the discussion in this article on the trends indicated by the data collected is limited to the objectives dealing exclusively with specification matters. the discussion is further limited to the drawing of abbreviated inferences and conclusions only. 73 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications 6.6 13.3 8.9 12.9 10 4.5 4.1 2.2 15.1 0 9.2 2.2 3.7 24 10.3 16.6 4.1 49.147.6 79.7 89.7 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 bu ild in g c e nt re a ut o sp e c bu ild in g in fo s e rv ic e c la ss id e x d a ta b ui ld esp e c ez e e -d e x in te rn e t ko m p a ss n a tio n bu ild e r in -h o us e s ys te m q ua nt a rc q pl d ia lo g sa b in e t sp e c ifi le sp e c ify in g d yn a m ic s sp e c ify in g t e c hn iq ue s sp e c ilin k ye llo w p a g e s o th e rs d a ily / o ft e n (% ) figure 1: the regularity of use of available product information sources daily / often source: maritz 2003: 164 ta b e 1 : sp e c ifi c e xp e rt ise a nd a p p ro p ria te e xp e rie nc e a re e ss e nt ia re q ui re m e nt s th a t th e d ra ft e r o f sp e c ifi c a tio ns s ho u d p o ss e ss 74 acta structilia 2005:12(1) to ta l g ra p hi c a l p re se nt a tio n ty p e o f r e sp o nd e nt a rc hi te c t q ua nt ity en g in e e r su rv e yo r to ta l r e sp o ns e s 26 8 16 3 66 39 st ro ng ly d isa g re e 0 0 0 0 % 0 0 0 0 m o d e ra te ly d isa g re e 3 2 0 1 % 1 1 1. 2 0 2. 6 u nd e c id e d 14 10 3 1 % 5 2 6. 1 4. 6 2. 6 m o d e ra te ly a g re e 92 59 19 14 % 34 3 36 .2 28 .8 35 .9 st ro ng ly a g re e 15 9 92 44 23 % 59 4 56 .5 66 .6 58 .9 m e a n 4 52 4 48 4 62 4 51 s d 0 65 0 67 0 57 0 68 30 60 90 12 0 15 0 so ur c e m a rit z 20 03 1 41 all three disciplines supported the statement (sample mean = 4.52) that the specification drafter should be in possession of specific expertise and experience. gelder (2001: 10) identified the following five desirable features of specification methods: • compatibility with the form of contract; • clear-cut responsibility for design; • internal consistency, both technically and contractually; • capacity to obtain a good price for the work; • ability to integrate and coordinate services, especially with structural and other services elements. designers (architects and engineers) are deemed to have expert knowledge with regard to the abovementioned specification matters, and should, generally, be more capable than quantity surveyors of preparing and managing project specifications. quantity surveyors would, generally, not have received the basic training required for drafting proper specifications, as little emphasis is placed on this aspect in their curriculum. quantity surveyors are mostly forced by the circumstances to provide ‘something’ in bills of quantities, or other types of procurement documents, in an effort to avoid later claims by the contractor that might result in cost overruns on budgets submitted to the client. smallwood (2002: 8) comments that “… design effectively defines the work to be done.” the designer should therefore take the leading role during the design and construction phases concerning specification matters to ensure effective supervision of standards of workmanship and quality of materials, which has to be measured against the project specification and design. in his doctoral thesis that investigated, inter alia, the effectiveness of the procurement process in south africa, grobler (2000: 368) confirms the importance of proper supervision by stating: quality control personnel must ensure that products are constructed according to drawings and specifications. (it seems so obvious, but quality control failed to prevent the many documented catastrophic failures in recent history). 75 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications 76 acta structilia 2005:12(1) ta b e 2 : th e re s ho u d o n y b e o ne c o m p re he ns iv e a nd u p -t o -d a te n a tio na b ui d in g s p e c ifi c a tio n in so ut h a fri c a so ur c e : m a rit z 20 03 : 1 49 to ta l g ra p hi c a l p re se nt a tio n ty p e o f r e sp o nd e nt a rc hi te c t q ua nt ity en g in e e r su rv e yo r to ta l r e sp o ns e s 26 7 16 4 65 38 st ro ng ly d isa g re e 11 7 3 1 % 4 1 4. 3 4. 6 2. 6 m o d e ra te ly d isa g re e 8 6 1 1 % 3 0 3. 6 1. 5 2. 6 u nd e c id e d 17 13 3 1 % 6 4 7. 9 4. 6 2. 6 m o d e ra te ly a g re e 60 38 12 10 % 22 5 23 .2 18 .5 26 .3 st ro ng ly a g re e 17 1 10 0 46 25 % 64 0 61 .0 70 .8 65 .8 m e a n 4 39 4 33 4 49 4 50 s d 1 02 1 06 1 00 0 89 30 60 90 12 0 15 0 the designer, and not the quantity surveyor, should have the responsibility for preparing the specification, and should, in addition to the quality control process, visit the site regularly to ensure that critical elements are constructed according to the design, and that construction techniques are sound and safe. these functions clearly belong to the designer and not to the quantity surveyor. all three disciplines supported the statement (sample mean = 4.39) that there should be only one comprehensive and up-to-date specification system in south africa. in the ‘open-ended’ responses following the statement two respondents noted the following: the industry should standardise nationally (with as much as possible ‘internationalisation’ to optimise the functioning of industry on a competitive basis and to cater for globalisa tion). all professions should contribute. the aim should be to standardise and unify the present diversification that exists. the private sector will only be enticed to make use of public sector documents if these documents embrace best practices that are superior to the documentation that they currently utilise. conversely, the public sector will only make use of private sector documentation if such documents adequately serve their requirements in the reformed procurement environment. this article contains an earlier reference to government’s proposal that the various systems currently utilised by the different public authorities be amalgamated into one, and also to the fact that government has no plans to revise the standard specifications within the foreseeable future. it seems, therefore, rather certain that the initiative to produce a single system would have to come from the private sector. the sample mean (4.05) of the total for all respondents indicates that the respondents agreed with the statement. in the ‘open-ended’ responses following the statement a respondent noted the following: one body controlling specifications must be in place that shall set standards throughout the country information must be obtainable and updated through the internet. 77 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications 78 acta structilia 2005:12(1) ta b e 3 : th e n a tio na b ui d in g s p e c ifi c a tio n sh o u d b e h a nd e d b y a n a p p o in te d c o m m itt e e u nd e r t he a us p ic e s o f a n um b re a b o d y su c h a s th e c d b so ur c e : m a rit z 20 03 : 1 52 to ta l g ra p hi c a l p re se nt a tio n ty p e o f r e sp o nd e nt a rc hi te c t q ua nt ity en g in e e r su rv e yo r to ta l r e sp o ns e s 26 9 16 5 66 38 st ro ng ly d isa g re e 12 8 2 2 % 4 4 4. 9 3. 0 5. 2 m o d e ra te ly d isa g re e 15 7 4 4 % 5 6 4. 2 6. 1 10 .5 u nd e c id e d 38 23 9 6 % 14 1 13 .9 13 .6 15 .8 m o d e ra te ly a g re e 86 55 20 11 % 32 0 33 .3 30 .3 29 .0 st ro ng ly a g re e 11 8 72 31 15 % 43 9 43 .7 47 .0 39 .5 m e a n 4 05 4 07 4 12 3 87 s d 1 10 1 09 1 06 1 21 20 40 60 80 10 0 the positive support from the sample on the above statement would therefore suggest that the respondents would be in favour of some intervention and cooperation by public authorities, such as the recently established cidb. in developed first-world countries, such as the uk, sweden, the netherlands, and the usa, the respective industries can probably afford to pay high subscription charges for the benefits of using a comprehensive and up-to-date specification system. however, the situation in south africa should rather be compared with that of other developing nations, such as singapore. according to goh and chu (2002), such developments in singapore are joint exercises between the government and private organisations, constituent bodies, etc. 5. conclusions and recommendations it is estimated that the potential for continued work by the local construction industry in the area of specification drafting is of such a scale that one or more working groups would have to spend a vast amount of time on it. decisions by all the industry role players will therefore be needed in respect of the most important priorities, such as the status of the proposed work sections; the extent and status of the information to be provided; the possible use of the information; and the financing of the work. in this regard the following salient aspects will have to be considered: • owing to the rapid progress of computer technology and its widening range of application areas, the demands of the various construction parties for interfacing possibilities between different programmes will increase. the following three technologies will be of particular significance for the exchange of information: – integrated knowledge-bases and data-bases for cad, enabling all construction parties to work simultaneously on a proposed building model; – computer-based communication networks; – electronic data interchange. • the increasing development of international standards, and their integration into national systems, will automatically lead to assimilation of the technical content of the various systems into local applications. 79 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications • international projects are increasingly being executed by individual professional firms or contractors or as joint ventures with overseas partners, and local systems have to be readily adaptable for international use. harmonisation of the different systems will be necessitated, due to growing international competition and globalisation, and to the growing use of cit. it is anticipated that as more and more specifiers and other users discover the advantages of databased information systems compared to computerised typewriters or the ‘cut and paste’ method, they would prefer to use these systems in order to rationalise and increase the efficiency of their work. • there should be only one comprehensive and up-to-date national building specification system covering all types of construction work. especially on small or medium-sized projects contractors often earn additional money from variations requested by the employer during the con struction period due to specifications only covering the basic necessities and therefore being incomplete. it is recommended, however, that the system should be divided into manageable parts, keeping building works separate from civil works, for instance. this is the case with most other international systems, such as the swedish and australian systems. • it is recommended that for production specifications to be effective, and to have widespread application, it should be linked or integrated to: – national (sabs/stansa) standards, codes of practice and other technical approval documents; – cost information systems; – product information systems (proprietary product specification by manufacturers); – design systems; – measurement systems. • it is finally recommended that a national standard for classification of construction information or code of practice be established. production specifications should follow this classification standard for the structuring of work sections and their subdivisions. 80 acta structilia 2005:12(1) references cahill, c. 2002. personal communication. 4 april, 17 june and 20 june, pretoria. cooper, d.r. & emory, c.w. 1995. business research methods. 5 th edition. richard d irwin inc. council for scientific and industrial research (csir). 2002. construction industry status report. unpublished report for the department of public works, pretoria. department of public works (dpw). 1993. specification of materials and methods to be used. 4th revision. pretoria: government printing works. gelder, j. 2001. “look before you leap.” specnews australia, 27, sidney. goh, b.h. & chu, y.l. 2002. developing national standards for the classifi cation of construction information in singapore. in: conference of the cib w78 international conference: distributing knowledge in building, 12-14 june 2002, the aarhus school of architecture, denmark. grobler, k. 2000. improving the effectiveness and image of the building and civil construction process. unpublished phd thesis. johannesburg: rand afrikaans university. hackett, m. & robinson, i. 2003. pre contract practice and contract ad ministration: the aqua group. oxford: blackwell publishing. international construction information society (icis). 1995. report 1: a description and comparison of national specification systems. unpublished report. switzerland. leedy, p.d. 1997. practical research, planning and design. 6th edition. new york: macmillan. maritz, m.j. 2003. towards establishing national standards for the classification of construction information in the republic of south africa. unpublished phd thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria. mindt, b. 1997. state, trends and perspectives of national specification systems in european construction. unpublished report (report no 2) for icis, switzerland. smallwood, j.j. 2002. “construction health and safety: motivation for the inclusion of client and designer responsibility.” construction world, october 2002 issue. bedfordview. the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs). 1980. model preambles. johannesburg. the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs). 1999a. model preambles. johannesburg. 81 maritz • efficiency in the provision of production specifications 82 acta structilia 2005:12(1) the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs). 1999b. standard system of measuring building work. 6th edition (revised). johannesburg. watermeyer, r. 1997. contract documentation in a changed environment. paper presented at the agm & convention of saace. 18-21 october 1997, mpumalanga. watermeyer, r. 2001. standardisation and uniformity in procurement documents for construction works in south africa: progress made and the challenges ahead. unpublished report. pretoria. watermeyer, r. 2002. an update on standardisation, simplification and uniformity in procurement documents. unpublished report. pretoria. wegelin, h.w. 2000. model building specifications and standard guide for architects. 4 th edition (amended). printed by author, pretoria. zikmund, w.g. 2000. business research methods. 6th edition. orlando, florida: the dryden press. 99 navorsingsartikels • research articles characteristics of the safety climate in teams with world-class safety performance on construction projects in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract accidents and incidents in the construction environment are not reduced or eliminated effectively, despite numerous efforts made to improve health and safety in the industry. an extensive field of research has been conducted on how teams in the construction environment interact to deliver a project successfully in terms of cost, quality and time. previous research exists on how team dynamics interface with safety, but is found to be of different focus or markets than this study. this study aims to determine the characteristics of the safety climate that exists in construction teams in south africa in terms of world-class safety performance, when compared to teams with poor safety performance. an adaptation of the modified safety pyramid (zohar, 2010) provides a useful conceptual model to investigate the link between safety performance and safety climate related to construction teams. by combining observations from literature and predominantly adapting the safety climate questionnaire (scq), a number of directly measurable factors are identified that can be correlated with safety performance and utilised in this investigation to identify the unique characteristics of safety climate in construction teams with world-class safety performance. the characteristics of the safety climate in construction teams were divided into eight groups, namely work pressure, incident investigation, adequacy of procedures, communication and training, relationships, personal protective equipment, spares, and safety. the framework developed in previous studies is used for assessing the responses of safety users to that of safety performance observations. it is found that relationships within an organisation are a major contributory factor douw boshoff, chris krugell & hennie van heerden dr douw (d.g.b.) boshoff, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south campus, pretoria 0002, south africa. phone:, +27 (12) 420 3781, email: <douw.boshoff@ up.ac.za> mr chris (j.c.) krugell, university of pretoria, secunda 2302, south africa. phone: 084 556 3003, email: <chris.krugell@gmail.com> hennie (a.h.g) van heerden, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south campus, pretoria 0002, south africa. phone: 012 420 4150, email: <hennie. vanheerden@up.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i1.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(1): 99-127 © uv/ufs mailto:douw.boshoff@up.ac.za mailto:douw.boshoff@up.ac.za mailto:chris.krugell@gmail.com mailto:hennie.vanheerden@up.ac.za mailto:hennie.vanheerden@up.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.5 acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 100 in safety performance, but also the way in which the safety climate is enforced in an inclusive management style through proper procedure, training and communication. this also supports the results of cohen (1977). keywords: construction teams, safety climate abstrak ongelukke en voorvalle in die konstruksie-omgewing word nie verminder of effektief uitgeskakel nie, ten spyte van talle pogings wat reeds aangewend is om die gesondheid en veiligheid in die bedryf te verbeter. ’n wye spektrum van navorsing is gedoen oor hoe die spandinamika in die konstruksie-omgewing werk om ’n projek suksesvol te voltooi ten opsigte van koste, kwaliteit en tyd. vorige navorsing is ook gedoen oor die invloed van spandinamika op gesondheid, maar daar is gevind dat die fokus of mark op die studies verskillend was. die doel van hierdie studie is om die eienskappe van die bestaande veiligheidsklimaat in konstruksiespanne in suid-afrika te bepaal in terme van wêreldklas veiligheidsprestasie, in vergelyking met spanne wat swak veiligheidsprestasie het. ’n voorstelling van die gewysigde veiligheidspiramide (zohar, 2010) verskaf ’n nuttige konsepmodel om sodoende die verband tussen veiligheidsprestasie en veiligheidsklimaat wat verwant kan wees aan konstruksiespanne, te ondersoek. deur gewaarwordings van literatuur te kombineer met die hoofsaaklik aanpassende veiligheidsklimaat vraelys (vv) kan ’n aantal direk meetbare faktore geïdentifiseer word wat met veiligheidsprestasie gekorreleer word en in hierdie ondersoek gebruik word om unieke karaktereienskappe van veiligheidsklimaat in konstruksiespanne met wêreldklas veiligheidsprestasie te identifiseer. die eienskappe van die veiligheidsklimaat in konstruksiespanne is in agt groepe verdeel, naamlik werkslading, voorvalondersoek, geskiktheid van prosedures, kommunikasie en opleiding, verhoudings, persoonlike beskermende toerusting, onderdele, en veiligheid. die raamwerk wat ontwikkel was in vorige studies is gebruik vir assessering deur die terugvoering van veiligheidsgebruikers te vergelyk met fisiese veiligheidsprestasie-waarnemings. die bevindings dui daarop dat verhoudings ’n groot bydraende faktor is tot veiligheidsprestasie, maar die manier waarop dit afgedwing word in ’n inklusiewe bestuurstyl deur middel van behoorlike prosedures, opleiding en kommunikasie speel ook ’n belangrike rol. hierdie bevestig dan ook die resultate soos bevind deur cohen (1977). sleutelwoorde: konstruksiespanne, veiligheidsklimaat 1. introduction the construction industry started as early as 40 000 b.c. and is one of the oldest industries dating back to the start of civilisation. the first evidence of safety regulations was found to date back to 2 200 b.c., when king hammurabi of babylon passed a law stipulating penalties for houses collapsing and causing death and injury to the inhabitants (pérezgonzález, 2005: 7). although the global trend of accidents has steadily decreased in recent years, due to the constant effort of industry (hallowell, 2011: 203), the construction industry remains one of the most hazardous industries at present (pinto, nunes & ribeiro, 2011: 216). boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 101 the construction industry contributes to a sizeable portion of the majority of countries’ gross domestic product (gdp). zou & sunindijo (2013: 605) state that the construction sector employs 7% of the world’s workforce, but contributes 30% to 40% of the global fatalities. according to the global construction perspective and oxford economics (2011), the construction industry worldwide accounts for over 11% of the global gdp. vilnius (2008) also states that more accidents occur on construction sites than in any other european economic sector. the construction industry has a unique characteristic when compared to other high-risk industries with small-scale accidents occurring at high frequency and from diverse hazard sources in construction (hallowell, 2011). when the south african construction industry is scrutinised, it is found that, since 2008, the industry contributed approximately 9% of the gdp and employed roughly 884 000 workers in the formal sector and a further 450 000 workers in the informal sector (cidb, 2015). from this it is apparent that the construction industry significantly contributes to the local economy and provides the necessary infrastructure to sustain growth and social upliftment. drever & doyle (2012) estimated the overall united kingdom construction workforce at roughly 1 994 746 and accounting approximately 10% of the gdp (vilnius, 2008). the south african construction industry is the third most hazardous and only exceeded by the agricultural and manufacturing sector with r287 million paid during 2013 alone (pwc, 2013). construction injuries and fatalities are unacceptably high and seem to be on the increase, with 50 fatalities reported in 2011 and 80 fatalities reported in 2013 (marx, 2014). a similar trend was observed in the hong kong construction industry, with an increase of 26.3% in fatalities for 2012 compared to the previous five-year average (hksar, labour department, 2013). this also seems to be the case with other leading countries, as indicated in table 1. table 1: the status of construction safety management in leading countries country description of the status of construction safety united states the census data from the u.s. bureau of labour statistics (bls) showed that a total of 774 workers died from injuries they suffered on construction sites in 2010, accounting for 16.5% of all industries. the fatality rate (9.8 per 100 000 full-time equivalent workers) ranked the fourth highest among all industries (bls, 2010). united kingdom one third of all workplace fatalities occurred on construction sites. it was a fatal injury rate over four times the average level of all industries and was the cause of the largest number of worker fatalities (health and safety executive (hse), 2009). acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 102 country description of the status of construction safety china the number of fatalities was 2 538 in the construction industry in 2007 (zhou et al., 2008). australia there were 30 fatalities recorded in 2012. this number of fatalities equated to three deaths per 100 000 workers, which was the fourth highest fatality rate of all the industries. singapore there were 24 fatalities in the construction sector in 2006, which occupied 39% of the total 62 workplace fatalities (ministry of manpower, 2007). korea the construction sector occupied the highest percentage of fatalities among all sectors (yi et al., 2012). source: zou & sunindijo, 2013 to ensure that the construction industry is sustained and expanded, it is crucial that safety be improved. in spite of safety statistics that seem bleak, the private sector, government and unions have shown their commitment in addressing the matter with the construction health and safety accord signed in august 2012 that aims to improve the status of health and safety in the construction industry (pwc, 2013). previously, the success of a construction project was measured by its performance in terms of cost, safety and quality, and safety should be added as a measure of performance (smallwood & haupt, 2005: 2). identifying the characteristics of teams with world-class safety performance will be of tremendous assistance in this process. preliminary investigation suggests that, in some incidents in construction, accidents are not reduced or eliminated effectively, despite numerous efforts made to improve health and safety in the industry. previous research has been conducted on understanding the team dynamics of role players in a construction project and their influence on health and safety that can potentially reduce the incidents of a construction project. however, this is different from this research in that the current study investigates the perception and performance of workers, rather than the perception of clients (smallwood, haupt & musonda, 2009), clients and consultants (kikwasi & smallwood, 2016), as well as architects’ perceptions (smallwood & haupt, 2007). this research focuses on workers, in general, while previous research was gender based (english, haupt & smallwood, 2006). this research also focuses on south african workers as opposed to previous research that focused on other countries (english et al., 2006; chiocha, smallwood & emuze, 2011). it is important to determine the characteristics of the safety climate of a construction project team with world-class safety records, in boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 103 order to assess what contributions these characteristics make to health and safety and how this could benefit the industry as a whole. 2. safety climate and culture characteristics in project teams safety climate is defined as referring to a set of attributes that can be perceived about particular work organisations and that may be induced by the policies and practices imposed by those organisations upon their workers and supervisors (niskanen, 1994; sinclair, martin & sears, 2010: 1478). safety climate is regarded as a manifestation of safety culture in the behaviour and expressed attitude of employees (cox & flin, 1998). safety culture is important, because it forms the context within which individual safety attitudes develop and persist, and safety behaviours are promoted (zohar, 1980). in the literature, there seems to be confusion regarding the distinction between the concepts of safety culture and safety climate (schneider, 1975; schein, 1984; cooke & rousseau, 1988). in their study, schneider & gunnarson (1991) found that climate reflects the attitudes and behaviour of organisational members, which are directly observable to outsiders, whereas culture is about assumptions, expectations, and outlooks that are taken for granted by organisational members and, therefore, not immediately interpretable by outsiders’ notions in their analysis of the psychology of the workplace through organisational climate and culture. schneider & gunnarson (1991: 542-551) argue that climate tells us “what” happens in an organisation, whereas culture helps explain “why” things happen in a particular way. hinze, hallowell & baud’s (2013: 139) study aimed to determine the best practices to be implemented in order to improve health and safety. the study found that not a single initiative was responsible for the firms having world-class safety, but rather a combination of different initiatives. the authors listed the 22 most important practices for safety management improvement, of which a significant portion is dependent on the safety climate, such as safe behaviour reward and recognition, and workers’ involvement in job hazard identification, to highlight but a few. regardless of these best practices, there is no consensus on a common set of underlying factors for this conceptualisation of the safety climate, due mainly to the complexity of the safety climate not being fully understood nowadays (guldenmund, 2000: 216). the safety climate questionnaire (scq) developed by glendon, stanton & harrison (1994) lists safety climate questionnaire items that tend to be behaviour anchored or that acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 104 deal primarily with respondents’ perceptions, making it a distinct conceptual instrument to identify possible factors to measure the safety climate of a construction team with world-class safety records. to assess the impact of safety culture and safety climate on a construction team, the two concepts will be differentiated and an attempt made to find links to safety performance that may exist and if measures on these concepts can be used to predict safety performance. 2.1 linking safety climate and safety performance the purpose of measuring safety climate is to identify areas for inquiry or change where improvements in safety performance can be realised. industrial organisations will be the major beneficiaries of safety climate improvements. it is thus critical that the safety climate factors should reflect the needs for improvement in these industrial organisations. reason (1997) developed the first conceptual model that linked safety climate and safety performance. zohar (2010) elaborated on this model by linking organisational culture and climate (zohar, 2010: 1520) (see figure 1). although the pyramid represents the original model developed by reason (1997: 54), it does so by progressing from individual to group and organisational level of analysis, by focusing on the targets of climate perception at each level (zohar, 2010: 1521). the conceptual method developed by zohar (2010) as a modified safety pyramid to measure the impact of the safety climate on safety performance of construction teams was used to investigate the linkage between safety climate and safety performance in construction teams in south africa. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 105 chance variations unsafe conditions latent pathogens investigation unsafe acts departmental priorities (speed vs. safety) organisational policies (espoused vs. enacted) symbolic social interaction (sense-making) enacted organisational policies and departmental priorities provide cues that employees use to discern shared safety climate perceptions (social/technical hazards) near misses cumulative exposure injury rate figure 1: conceptual model for safety climate source: zohar, 2010 the upper section of the safety pyramid explains the established theory that the likelihood of occupational injuries is a joint outcome of unsafe conditions at the workplace, unsafe acts, and chance variations (heinrich, 1959). this part of the modified pyramid refers to immediate causes of injuries, while the bottom section labours with the more distal layers of injury causation. the bottom section of the pyramid represents the organisational level policy, focusing on the distinction between espoused and enacted policies. the middle layer represents team priorities for competing operational demands, focusing on safety versus speed/productivity. the upper or surface layer refers to workers’ practices while performing high-risk operations, focusing on the prevalence or likelihood of unsafe acts among relevant employees (zohar, 2010: 1521). the original model aimed to uncover latent factors that increased the likelihood of an injury through the promotion of unsafe working conditions. however, incorporating the safety climate domain in the lower section of the pyramid adds an important dimension: incorporating employee shared perceptions of their organisation acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 106 with the objective targets of such perceptions. with the fact that the safety climate perceptions predict safety behaviours and subsequent safety outcomes (christian, bradley, wallace & burke, 2009: 1104), the modified model has an additional set of arrows suggesting the effect of the safety climate on the immediate injury factors. 3. methodology the conceptual method introduced earlier provides a framework to investigate the linkage between safety performance and safety climate of construction teams in south africa. glendon et al.’s (1994) safety climate questionnaire (scq) was used to measure the eight safety climate factors identified as work pressure, incident investigation, adequacy of procedures, communication and training, relationships, personal protective equipment, spares, and safety. specifically the linkages between these factors and safety performance were investigated in a structured manner. a behaviour sampling technique was used to measure the safety performance of each team member. this method is a reliable and sensitive method for evaluating safety performance (fitch, hermann & hopkins, 1976; tarrants, 1980: 285). this method involves observing behaviour at random intervals in order to determine safe performance. 3.1 data collection as this study explores the safety climate dimension and not the safety culture, it was important that a qualitative approach be followed (guldenmund, 2000: 220). data-gathering was performed using a survey consisting of behavioural observation, followed by a questionnaire completed by personally interviewing respondents. this was done, employing the scq and following a discreet nominal data set, in which the respondents answered either “yes” or “no” to the 46 questions in the scq. the questionnaire comprises eight factors and the question numbers correspond with the questionnaire used in this research: 1. work pressure (questions 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33) = 7. 2. incident investigation and development of procedures (questions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,) = 5. 3. adequacy of procedures (questions 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44) = 6. 4. communication and training (questions 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21) = 10. 5. relationships (questions 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) = 5. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 107 6. personal protective equipment (questions 34, 35, 36, 37, 38) = 5. 7. spares (questions 45, 46) = 2. 8. safety (questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) = . the questionnaire was distributed to, and collected from the respondents by the researcher. respondents were told that the questionnaire results would be used to improve safety. the safety behavioural observation was divided into two separate categories, use of personal protective equipment (ppe) and safety behaviour. compulsory ppe included for group a & c were: hard hat, safety shoes, hearing protection, gloves, glasses; for group b: hard hat, safety shoes, hearing protection, gloves, glasses, reflective vest; for group d: hard hat, safety shoes, gloves, glasses. the key behaviours observed were: using the correct tools for a specific task, i.e. chisel to break a brick, not other piece of steel; ensuring that protective plastic caps are installed on exposed ends of reinforcing steel; using safety harness when working on scaffolding; abuse of scaffolding, i.e. standing on rails; carrying metal sheeting without protective gloves; working underneath an operating crane; whether support is provided underneath both ends of steel being cut, and whether electrical extension cords are fixed to avoid tripping. workers’ behaviour was only observed when work was performed. no audit was performed on aspects such as evaluating the housekeeping, transport to and from site, preparation before work (such as toolbox talks) or other non-operational task of the construction site. 3.2 sampling method the study was conducted at secunda, which falls under the goven mbeki local municipality, gert sibande district in the mpumalanga province (south africa). of the 39 possible construction companies on sasol secunda’s vendor list, the four largest locally based companies were sampled. the sample size can be calculated as per equation 1 (krejcie & morgan, 1970): s = x2np(1-p) d2(n-1) + x2p(1-p) ……………………………………….............................. 1 where: s = required sample size acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 108 x = z value n = population size p = population proportion d = degree of accuracy. a convenient sample of four construction teams from the sample companies was used, consisting of between eight and 17 members; in total, 53 respondents could be included. the total population of construction workers in secunda is unknown. however, statistics sa (2017) provided the working age population of secunda as approximately 40 000, as per the 2011 census. if it is thus accepted that the population of construction workers should be between the sample size and the total population of secunda, that population should be between 53 and 40 000. for a population size of 53, the sample size indicates a degree of significance (significance) at 99%, whereas a population of 40 000 indicates a degree of accuracy (significance) of 89%. it could thus be said with all probability that there is between a 89% and 99% likelihood that the outcome of this research predicts the true situation of all construction workers in secunda. although the 89% level of significance is slightly low, it still indicates that the outcome would probably be true, rather than not be true. the four teams, each with a different number of members involved, i.e. team a (8), team b (11), team c (17) and team d (17), respectively, all operated in the goven mbeki local municipality. participants and members of the construction teams had to meet the following criteria in order to be included in the sample. they should: • work in teams. • work in the construction environment. • work in a specific team on a regular basis. • be 18 years or older. • preferably be multiracial of either gender. 3.3 response rate all of the 53 respondents that formed part of the sample participated and completed the questionnaires, ensuring external validity and a response rate of 100%. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 109 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings unsafe behaviours by members in each team were observed in order to obtain safety performance levels. the researcher then identified the compulsory ppe for each site and noted the number of respondents. by multiplying the number of compulsory ppe items required by the number of respondents in the team, a maximum score was determined for each team. from this, a percentage of ppe adherences could be determined for each team. the measure for safety behaviour was more challenging. the total time spent observing the team was multiplied by the number of respondents in the team to give the total amount of man-hours observed. due to the limited observation, the man-hours were reverted to minutes. this was then divided by the number of unsafe behaviours or activities observed on site in order to provide a frequency for the unsafe behaviour of each team. having collected and processed the data from the questionnaire by means of spss software, the feedback from respondents was measured by applying cronbach’s alpha to test the reliability of all responses. this is also compared to the feedback from individual groups and individual criteria for safety performance, in order to identify the unique characteristics of safety climate in construction teams with world-class safety performance. 3.5 limitations external validity may be limited, due to all construction teams studied being located in the goven mbeki local municipality, and more specifically in the secunda area. the results might, therefore, only be relevant to construction companies in the secunda area and are not tested for validity beyond this area. 4. results 4.1 safety performance the safety performance was measured by observing the construction teams for 20 minutes before they answered the questionnaire. from this observation, the safety performance was rated and the teams ranked accordingly. the safety performance observation was not a safety audit, but merely served as a measure to rank the safety performance between different teams. the safety performance was divided into acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 110 two separate categories, use of personal protective equipment (ppe) and safety behaviour. 4.1.1 personal protective equipment the researcher identified the compulsory ppe for each site and noted the number of respondents. by multiplying the number of compulsory ppe items required by the number of respondents in the team, a maximum score was determined for each team. from this, a percentage of ppe adherences could be allocated to each team, using equation 2. in terms of this, the percentage of ppe adherence is calculated by multiplying the number of respondents by the number of compulsory ppe items. the total number of violations was then subtracted from this and the result divided by the original number. for example, if two members of a team both did not wear safety hats and shoes, the violations would be the two members multiplied by the two ppe items that they did not wear, thus four violations. % ppe adherence = (number of team members x compulsory ppe items)-violations number of team members x compulsory ppe items ..... 2 the findings are summarised in table 2. table 2: group adherence to ppe requirements groups no. of respondents compulsory ppe items total observations total violations percentage adherence percentage violations group a 11 5 55 5 91% 9.1% group b 17 6 102 0 100% 0.0% group c 8 5 40 17 58% 42.5% group d 17 4 68 26 62% 38.2% total 53 265 48 82% 18.1% source: author calculations according to table 1, group b had 100% ppe adherence; group a was ranked second with 91% adherence; group d third with 62% adherence, and group c last with only 58% adherence. it is also necessary to compare the results of ppe adherence to the results of safety behaviour and then to feedback from questionnaires in order to draw conclusions regarding the safety climate in these teams. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 111 4.1.2 safety behaviour the measure for safety behaviour was determined using equation 3. the total time spent observing the team was multiplied by the number of respondents in the team to give the total amount of man-hours (converted to minutes) that was observed. this was then divided by the number of unsafe behaviours or activities observed on-site within this time frame to provide a frequency for the unsafe behaviour of each team. for example, group a had 11 members and was observed for 20 minutes, resulting in a total of 220 minutes of observation, during which five unsafe behaviours were observed. by dividing 220 by 5, the frequency of unsafe behaviour was rated as one unsafe behaviour every 44 minutes for group a. unsafe behaviour frequency = observation time x number of team members number of unsafe behaviours observed …..…. 3 these findings are listed in table 3. table 3: group safety behaviour frequency groups no. of respondents (n) time observed (mins) total number of unsafe actions frequency of unsafe behaviour (mins) unsafe actions per hour group a 11 20 220 5 44 1.36 group b 17 20 340 0 indefinite group c 8 20 160 11 15 4.13 group d 17 20 340 10 34 1.76 total 53 1060 26 41 1.47 source: author calculations according to table 3, group b is ranked first with no unsafe behaviour observed; group a is second with one unsafe behaviour observed on average every 44 minutes (1.36 unsafe actions per hour); group d third with one unsafe behaviour every 34 minutes (1.76 unsafe actions per hour), and group c last with the most frequent unsafe actions observed at an unsafe behaviour on average every 15 minutes (4.13 unsafe actions per hour). 4.1.3 safety performance ranking when comparing the results of table 2 and table 3, it is evident that the ranking of the different groups is in the same order within the two tables’ results. team b had an outstanding safety performance, with acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 112 team c being identified as having the worst safety performance, followed by team d and then team a (see table 4). table 4: group safety ranking groups safety ranking (1 best and 4 worst) questionnaire ranking (1 best and 4 worst) group a 2 4 group b 1 1 group c 4 3 group d 3 2 source: author calculations if the percentage ppe violations is compared to the unsafe behaviour violations per hour, as displayed in figure 2, a trend line comparing the increase in behaviour violations to ppe violations reveals that groups a and c’s behaviour violations are comparatively higher than ppe violations, whereas group d has a relatively higher level of ppe violations than behaviour violations. in order to investigate this, it is necessary to refer to the feedback from the survey answers in order to draw conclusions. a; 9.1%; 1.36 b; 0; 0 c; 42.5%; 4.13 d; 38.2%; 1.76 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% b eh av io ur v io la tio ns p er h ou r % ppe violations figure 2: ppe violations compared to safety behaviour violations source: author boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 113 4.2 results: survey answer the total number of respondents was 53, with 46 questions posed to each, resulting in a total number of 2 438 observations. table 5: safety climate survey answer sa fe ty c lim a te fa c to r a ll g ro up a g ro up b g ro up c g ro up d n m e a n ye s n o n m e a n ye s n o n m e a n ye s n o n m e a n ye s n o n m e a n ye s n o a d e q ua c y o f p ro c e d ur e s 31 8 0. 86 48 27 5 43 66 0. 71 21 46 20 10 2 0. 95 10 97 5 48 0. 95 83 46 2 10 2 0. 83 33 85 17 c o m m un ic a tio n a nd t ra in in g 53 0 0. 81 51 43 2 98 11 0 0. 46 36 50 60 17 0 0. 90 00 15 3 17 80 0. 80 00 64 16 17 0 0. 96 47 16 4 6 in c id e nt in ve st ig a tio n 26 5 0. 89 06 23 6 29 55 0. 76 36 41 14 85 0. 90 59 77 8 40 0. 92 50 37 3 85 0. 94 12 80 5 pp e 26 5 0. 82 64 21 9 46 55 0. 72 73 40 15 85 0. 92 94 79 6 40 0. 77 50 31 9 85 0. 81 18 69 16 re la tio ns hi p s 26 5 0. 78 87 20 9 56 55 0. 45 45 24 31 85 0. 82 35 70 15 40 0. 77 50 31 9 85 0. 97 65 83 2 sa fe ty 31 8 0. 82 39 26 2 56 66 0. 81 82 54 12 10 2 0. 90 20 92 10 48 0. 81 25 39 9 10 2 0. 75 49 78 24 sp a re s 10 6 0. 86 79 92 14 22 0. 59 09 12 10 34 0. 94 12 32 2 16 0. 87 50 14 2 34 0. 97 06 33 1 w o rk p re ss ur e 37 1 0. 70 35 26 1 11 0 77 0. 35 06 26 51 11 9 0. 88 24 10 5 14 56 0. 75 00 42 14 11 9 0. 73 11 87 32 to ta l 24 38 19 86 45 2 50 6 29 3 21 3 78 2 70 5 77 36 8 30 4 64 78 2 67 9 10 3 source: author primary data collection 114 ta b le 6 : re lia b ilit y te st re su lts g ro up a ll g ro up a g ro up b g ro up c g ro up d q ue st io n ty p e v a lu e c ro nb a ch ’s a lp ha n v a lu e c ro nb a ch ’s a lp ha n v a lu e c ro nb a ch ’s a lp ha n v a lu e c ro nb a ch ’s a lp ha n v a lu e c ro nb a ch ’s a lp ha n a ll 0. 81 5 0. 90 2 45 0. 71 2 0. 75 0 36 0. 95 1 0. 92 4 36 0. 95 8 0. 28 2 26 0. 83 3 0. 85 0 33 a d e q ua c y o f p ro c e d ur e 0. 86 5 0. 77 7 6 0. 71 2 0. 91 3 5 0. 95 1 0. 52 1 4 0. 95 8 -0 .6 00 3 0. 83 3 0. 77 3 6 c o m m un ic a tio n a nd t ra in in g 0. 81 5 0. 83 0 9 0. 46 4 0. 54 1 7 0. 90 0 0. 81 5 8 0. 80 0 -0 .8 59 5 0. 96 5 0. 07 5 5 in c id e nt in ve st ig a tio n 0. 89 1 0. 06 9 5 0. 76 4 -0 .2 22 2 0. 90 6 0. 73 6 3 0. 92 5 -0 .5 33 2 0. 94 1 -0 .4 00 3 pp e 0. 82 6 0. 69 8 5 0. 72 7 0. 85 8 4 0. 92 9 0. 86 3 5 0. 77 5 0. 75 1 4 0. 81 2 0. 41 9 5 re la tio ns hi p s 0. 78 9 0. 71 5 5 0. 45 5 0. 13 1 5 0. 82 4 0. 87 8 4 0. 77 5 -1 .0 43 3 0. 97 6 -0 .1 33 2 sa fe ty 0. 82 4 0. 28 5 6 0. 81 8 0. 24 5 4 0. 90 2 5 0. 81 3 -0 .3 48 2 0. 75 5 0. 73 7 4 sp a re s 0. 86 8 0. 30 1 2 0. 59 1 -0 .7 00 2 0. 94 1 0. 87 5 1. 00 0 2 0. 97 1 w o rk p re ss ur e 0. 70 4 0. 73 1 7 0. 35 1 0. 21 5 7 0. 88 2 0. 66 7 6 0. 75 0 0. 58 5 5 0. 73 1 0. 64 0 7 α ≥ 0 .9 ex ce lle nt 0 .9 > α ≥ 0 .8 g oo d 0 .8 > α ≥ 0 .7 a cc ep ta b le 0 .7 > α ≥ 0 .6 q ue st io na b le 0 .6 > α ≥ 0 .5 po or 0 .5 > α un a cc ep ta b le so ur c e : a ut ho r c a lc ul a tio ns boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 115 the respondents were requested to respond to all questions as either affirmative or negative (1 = yes, 0 = no). the analysis was then compared within the different groups interviewed and for each separate safety climate factor. the results are summarised in table 5, where n shows the number of observations per category. in order to determine whether the answers on the survey are reliable, the cronbach’s alpha is used to validate the results. the cronbach’s alpha is calculated for all questions on the whole sample of respondents, within each safety climate group of questions, for all questions, but distinguished between the different groups of respondents, and within each safety climate group of questions for each group separately. this is displayed in table 6, where n shows the number of questions per factor and value shows the mean between “yes” and “no” questions posed. the overall analysis revealed a cronbach’s alpha of 0.902, which is considered an excellent result for the whole survey. the average feedback is an affirmative value of 0.815 for all questions posed. the number of questions is displayed in table 6 as 45, as opposed to the actual 46 questions asked, due to question 20 being affirmative by all respondents and having a zero variance in the variable, and thus excluded in the calculation of the cronbach’s alpha. comparing this to the cronbach’s alpha for the individual groups, group b has the highest level of reliability, with an excellent score of 0.924. although group c has the highest affirmative score of 0.958, it has the lowest reliability on the survey answers at 0.282, with only 26 questions contributing to the cronbach’s alpha and the balance being excluded based on zero variance. due to this low level of reliability in the questions, it might seem that group c did not quite make an effort to answer the questions correctly, or did not quite understand the questions. this is also evident in the results of all the individual safety climate factors, with most of them having an unacceptable level of reliability, except three of the factors. this will be discussed later. this is further evident from the unacceptable reliability of answers to communication and training questions posed to group c, although this is indicated as having a good reliability for all respondents together. therefore, it seems that there is questionable quality of communication and training, due to the unreliable feedback on this for group c. it is interesting to note that group c has the lowest level of reliability in the survey results, and scored the worst on the safety behaviour and ppe observations, whereas group b has the highest reliability test on the very close to highest affirmative results for all questions. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 116 on the cronbach’s alpha for each safety climate factor as calculated for the whole group of respondents, three sets of questions were indicated to have unacceptable feedback, namely incident investigation, safety, and spares. on incident investigation, group b is the only group that had an acceptable level of reliability in the survey answers. the questions relate to more complex principles of safety behaviour and incidents, as they also relate to general work activities. this might explain why group b, being the best on safety compliance, is the only group to provide reliable feedback pertaining to incident investigation. on safety questions, group d was the only group to provide reliable feedback, albeit being the group with the lowest average affirmative value on the set of questions. group d confirmed that safety rules do not conflict with established work practice and are practical to implement in all situations. however, they had the lowest affirmative result on the question as to whether safety policy can be implemented under high production pressure. it therefore seems that group d is safety conscious, which is also evident from their better score on safety behaviour compliance, relative to ppe compliance. group d is undisciplined, as is evident from their higher relative level of ppe compliance and confirming the tendency to neglect safety policy under production pressure. group d also indicated that there is a high level of opportunity to express their views on operation problems, but there is a lower level of consultation pertaining to policy development and change in work practice. this top-down management style, one of open communication, is also reflected in group d’s score on relationships. three of the five questions under relationships are excluded, due to all respondents in group d having a positive response. on the remaining two questions, only one negative response each was obtained. with this in mind, the zero variance on three of the questions resulted in them being excluded from the calculation of the cronbach’s alpha, with the remaining two resulting in a very low score. the high score on the relationship questions might also explain the positive attitude towards safety behaviour and consciousness. the last safety climate factor with an unreliable cronbach’s alpha as measured for all respondents is spares. this consisted of only two questions and resulted in all but group c having unacceptable reliability. group c had a cronbach’s alpha of 1.00, due to only one respondent’s negative answer to both questions, and being the same respondent, resulted in a perfect correlation between the two questions, hence a perfect cronbach’s alpha. the fact that there are only two questions and that they produce unreliable results from all boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 117 other groups, and within group c it is one of only two results to have an acceptable level of reliability (also refer previous discussion on group c’s overall survey results), would be an indication to discard the question as overall unreliable. one of the safety climate factors as measured for all respondents had questionable reliability, although it is below an acceptable cronbach’s alpha value of only 0.002. this is for ppe questions. group a and group b had a reliability score considered to be good, while group c is in the mid-acceptable range (the only acceptable reliability score, given previous discussions), and group d having an unreliable score, resulting in the overall cronbach’s alpha score to be reduced well below that of group a’s and group b’s individual results. within group a and group b, all respondents but one indicated that ppe use is enforced, and all but three respondents indicated that personnel are trained in the use of emergency ppe. questions relating to the consulting of ppe users, monitoring of ppe use and acting upon findings, were largely affirmative in group b, with a large component of negative responses in group a. this results in the average affirmative response value to be 0.727 for group a and 0.929 for group b, although their reliability score is similar. it could be deduced from this that group a has a larger component of topdown management with hardly any communication at lower levels, whereas group b is experiencing more of an inclusive management style with visible actions and feedback on ppe use. group c had a lower affirmative value on ppe use enforcement, but confirmed that personnel are trained in the use of emergency ppe. there is a lower result on consultation of ppe users, although there is a high level of affirmation in monitoring and action upon findings. this confirms the top-down style of management in group c, as discussed previously, but also points out that ppe use is not heavily enforced, explaining the relatively higher ppe violations of group c, as discussed earlier. the confirmation of top-down management in group c might also explain the overall unreliable feedback, which could point to a negative attitude towards cooperation. group d had a fairly high affirmative value for the questions, but had an unacceptable reliability score. this is based on some uncertainty in the individual questions that seems to be slightly contradictory. there is, however, a bias towards enforcement of ppe use, with some evidence of topdown management style. three of the safety climate factors had acceptable cronbach’s alpha values, being adequacy of procedure, relationships, and work pressure. the questions relating to adequacy of procedures acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 118 posed to group a had the highest cronbach’s alpha value of all questions posed to all groups, safe for the disregarded questions on spares to group c. this confirms that there is, in fact, substantial evidence of procedure in place. the affirmative value for these questions is, however, the lowest from all the groups, with questions relating to identification of procedure, i.e. own effort to be very high (100% affirmation), while other procedures and communication, i.e. view of management and the group’s feeling of inclusivity, are lower, again confirming the top-down management style, with possible negative consequences to staff’s attitude to management. this is especially evident in the questions relating to relationships, where group a has the lowest score in confirming positive relationships, but also evidenced in uncertainty on this, due to unreliable results. it, therefore, seems that there is some contradictory feedback; uncertainty among staff on their belonging in the company appears evident. this is based on the fact that the question specifically asking if good working relationships exist, has a high level of affirmation, but staff do not trust management; there is a fairly low feeling of trust from management to staff; there is a very low level of confidence about staff’s future in the company, resulting in a low level of morale among staff. this could be interpreted as that staff have good relationships among each other, but that there is not a good relationship with management. the result is that group a had the lowest response towards work pressure questions and the lowest reliability on these questions. the unreliability of the feedback is cause for concern, with contradicting statements within the questions. this might point to an aspect of staff feeling that there is a problematic work pressure, but cannot really confirm this by concrete fact. the low feedback might be due to real unacceptable work pressure, but might also stem from an attitude towards the level of work, due to relationship issues. group b indicated that there is an adequate level of procedures, with an average affirmative value of 0.951. the cronbach’s alpha is, however, indicated to be poor. this might be due to the fact that the majority of the respondents were in agreement of the questions, with two of the six questions a 100% affirmation. however, in three cases, one person had a negative response, of which two of these questions were the same respondent. the last question had two negative responses, of which the one was the same respondent as in the previous two stated questions and the other respondent is different from the previous questions. it could thus be said that the feedback is overall positive, but the 0-1 scale of the research feedback might provide some uncertainty on the reliability; however, it appears to be acceptable. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 119 the feedback on questions relating to relationships also provided a very high level of feedback, with 82.4% confirmation of positive relationships at a cronbach’s alpha of 0.878. this is the highest cronbach’s alpha for all safety factor questions posed to group b and second after the questions on procedures posed to group a, i.e. second highest of all questions to all groups. the reasonably high affirmation value of this, in combination with the high correlation among respondents, as indicated by the cronbach’s alpha, might explain group b’s high performance on both safety behaviour and safety performance. it is evident that group b respondents are satisfied with job security, relationships with management, as well as among each other; this satisfaction seemingly has a positive influence on safety behaviour. questions relating to work pressure to group b have the highest affirmation value, with a questionable cronbach’s alpha. this is interpreted, similar to that of group a, as there being some uncertainty. in contrast to group a, it is a positive uncertainty, rather than a negative one. respondents are mostly of the opinion that work pressure is acceptable, but it is uncertain whether this feedback stems from the positive relationships and, hence, a positive attitude towards work obligations, or whether group b’s work pressure is indeed lower than the others. group c had fair to high response values, but the cronbach’s alpha coefficients range from very high negative to poor. it is, therefore, again questionable whether these results have any interpretation value and are disregarded. group d had a high level of positive response towards adequacy of procedures, with an acceptable level cronbach’s alpha. the group also had the highest level of positive relationships response of all groups, but the cronbach’s alpha is unacceptable for reasons discussed earlier. the work pressure questions also revealed a fairly positive attitude, albeit with a questionable cronbach’s alpha value. 5. conclusions and recommendations 5.1 research conclusion this research proposed a conceptual framework that identified the characteristics of construction teams with world-class safety records by linking the safety performance with the safety climate. the importance of safety in the construction industry and what factors contribute to the safety performance of construction teams were extracted from the existing literature. from this, a framework was developed to determine the characteristics of the safety climate acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 120 in construction teams and their influence on the safety performance of the teams. the safety climate questionnaire was used to evaluate the safety climate in construction teams and observations on-site done to evaluate the safety performance of the teams on-site. from the results obtained, the framework developed during the literature review was used for assessment, using correlations between the research questionnaire and safety performance observations. the findings revealed that one of the highest reasons for good safety behaviour and performance is good relationships. a positive relationship between staff and employer influences staff to react better to safety requirements. a high level of procedure also revealed good safety performance, but if this is not communicated well, it could result in poor relationships, causing a poorer response in safety behaviour. the enforcement of ppe equipment is necessary in order to ensure that employees adhere to requirements, but if this is performed within a top-down management style, it might hamper relationships and cause poor behavioural response. on the other hand, an inclusive management style without proper enforcement can improve behavioural responses; however, without the necessary enforcement, employees might take shortcuts on safety compliance when work pressure increases. 5.2 areas of concern the questions that received the lowest confirmation from the respondents were the trust between management and work teams as well as the question as to whether the employees had a future within the company. these questions formed part of the relationship factors. it is evident that management needs to set clear guidelines on what behaviour is deemed satisfactory and how this will be rewarded, within an inclusive management style with open communication opposed to a top-down prescriptive management style. the management needs to be consistent in how behaviour is rewarded from one project to the next in order to develop trust in the organisation. construction teams work almost independently from the organisation, due to their working off-site. this requires greater effort from management to ensure that the values of the organisation support an excellent safety climate, since it is clear that the team members’ perception of management is a major contributing factor to the safety climate and, ultimately, to the safety performance. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 121 from the research, it was found that the safety climate factors that contribute predominantly to safety performance are relationships and how it is communicated through adequacy of procedure, training and positive communication. this also confirms cohen’s (1977) findings, whereby the six factors influencing the success of an occupational safety programme were identified as: • management commitment; • management-supervisor-worker interaction (team dynamics); • workforce stability and industrial relations; • housekeeping and environmental control; • training, and • conventional safety practices. 5.2 further research recommendations from the surveys, it was found that the construction teams’ perception of safety performance did not reflect the actual performance, more specifically the area of adherence to the use of ppe. this is an important aspect that could contribute to the improvement of safety performance, since some teams were under the impression that they were adhering to the safety requirements, but were only complying by 58%, whereas other teams perceived that they were not complying, although they had a 91% adherence. eliminating such inaccurate perceptions could improve the safety performance within a team, since the safe behaviour of the team relies heavily on the perception of what is safe behaviour among the team members. it is suggested that further research be conducted on the perception of safe behaviour related to the actual safety performance in a team could be aligned, as well as the perception of work pressure related to industry norms. in the latter case, this study did not test specifically to what extent work pressure directly influences safety performance, i.e. comparing actual “time-on-the-task” results within different groups. this could provide further insight into the question as to whether work pressure responses, as identified in this study, are based on actual higher levels of work pressure or whether it is only a perception by employees, due to relationship concerns within the organisation. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 122 references list chiocha, c., smallwood, j. & emuze, f. 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(garland safety management series). new york: garland stpm press. vilnius. 2008. study of the construction sector: research report on skills need. methodological centre for vocational education and training. zohar, 1980. safety climate in industrial organizations: theoretical and applied implications. journal of applied psychology, 65(1), pp. 96-102. zohar, d. 2010. thirty years of safety climate research: reflections and future directions. accident analysis & prevention, 42(5), pp. 1517-1522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.019 zou, p.x. & sunindijo, r.y. 2013. skills for managing safety risk, implementing safety task, and developing positive safety climate in construction project. automation in construction, 34(2013), pp. 92-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2012.10.018 https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076919 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.11.003 https://doi.org/10.1108/17260530710746588 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.019 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2012.10.018 boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 125 appendix a stanton & harrison (1994) safety climate questionnaire items were modified for this study and are listed below. 1. safety rules are adhered to, even under production pressures. 2. safety rules can be implemented without conflicting with established work practices. 3. safety rules are practical to apply in all situations. 4. there are adequate opportunities for staff to express their views about operational problems. 5. there are adequate opportunities to discuss important policy issues. 6. consultation is adequate when changes in working practices are proposed. 7. meetings take place where causes of operational problems are openly discussed between engineers and management. 8. an effective system exists for communicating plant changes and their implications for safety to operating personnel. 9. users are involved in developing the incident investigation systems. 10. members of investigation teams are trained to identify factors that influence the causes of error. 11. there are clear and well-documented procedures for developing specific remedial actions on the basis of identified causes of incidents. 12. the procedure development system used job and task analysis to ensure that the contents of procedures reflect actual working practices. 13. explicit guidance is provided on human factor aspects of procedure layout (language, format, etc.). 14. effective training is provided on skills specific to individual tasks and equipment. 15. potential errors, consequences and recovery points are identified in training. 16. training includes effective skills practice for normal operations. 17. training includes skills practice for emergency (e.g., fault conditions). acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 126 18. individuals with relevant operational experience carry out training. 19. provisions are made to minimise the isolation of one employee from others. 20. employees are encouraged to support and care for each other’s wellbeing. 21. aspects of company policy are effectively communicated to individuals. 22. staff trust the management in this organisation. 23. management trust the staff in this organisation. 24. staff are confident about their future with the company. 25. good working relationships exist in this company. 26. morale is good. 27. staff has adequate time to carry out individual and concurrent tasks. 28. there is sufficient staff to carry out the required work. 29. there is sufficient “thinking time” to enable staff to plan and carry out their work to an adequate standard. 30. frustrations that arise from factors beyond staff control can be accommodated without adversely affecting work. 31. time schedules for completing work projects are realistic. 32. workload is reasonably well balanced. 33. workload adjustments that have to be made on short notice can be accommodated without adversely affecting work. 34. ppe use is systematically enforced. 35. relevant personnel are specifically trained in the use of emergency ppe. 36. ppe users are consulted for suggested design improvements. 37. ppe use is monitored to identify problem areas. 38. findings from ppe monitoring are acted upon. 39. operators can easily identify the relevant procedure for a job. 40. an effective documentation management system ensures the availability of procedures. 41. procedures are technically accurate. 42. procedures are complete and comprehensive. 43. procedures are written in clear, unambiguous language appropriate to users’ needs. boshoff, krugell & van heerden • characteristics of the safety climate ... 127 44. written procedures match the way in which tasks are done in practice. 45. critical spare parts are available from stock. 46. good availability of spares ensures that staff fit correct rather than substitute parts. the questionnaire comprises eight factors and these question numbers correspond with the questionnaire used in this research: 1. work pressure (questions 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33). 2. incident investigation and development of procedures (questions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,). 3. adequacy of procedures (questions 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44). 4. communication and training (questions 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21). 5. relationships (questions 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). 6. personal protective equipment (questions 34, 35, 36, 37, 38). 7. spares (questions 45, 46). 8. safety (questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). boekresensie silenced rivers: the ecology and politics of large dams patrick mccully l die outeur, patrick mccully, stel die vraag of die bou van groot damme om ontwikkeling in agtergeblewe gebiede te stimuleer, werklik enige waorde het. hy sluit aan by skrywers soos jane ja­ cobs (1994: 11oj and peter hall (1988: 163) wat tot die gevolgtrek­ king kom dot groot damme nie noodwendig streekontwikkeling bevorder nie en se die projek van die tennessee valley authority is 'n sprekende voorbeeld daarvan. mccully se standpunt is dot baie skrywers, leiers, ingenieurs, bu­rokrate, nasionaliste en rewolusioniste groot damme sien as magtige simbole van patriotisme en 'n manier waorop die na­tuur aan die genialiteit van die mens onderwerp kan word (1996: 1). die uitwerking wat die bou van groot damme (met 'n wal van 15 meter en hoer) ekonomies en sielkundig op die meer as dertig miljoen mense gehad het wat reeds wereldwyd in die proses van dambou verskuif moes word, is van so 'n aard dot weinig van hierdie mense ooit daarvan herstel. die skrywer wys byvoorbeeld daorop dot, in 'n poging om die probleme van die yl bevolkte droe westelike dele van die vsa deur middel van die sogenaamde "westelike waterontwik­keling" die hoof te bied, spekulante en groot grondeienaors die partye was wat die meeste voordeel uit die projek getrek het. die belastingbetalers en die inwoners (wie se grond oorspoel is) het aan die kortste end getrek. nog 'n voorbeeld waarna hy verwys, is die tennessee valley authority-projek, wat wereldwyd die simbool is van "'n groot dam", moor waor die inwoners in­derwaorheid armer is as die populasie in omliggende gebiede wat nie "voordeel" uit die tv a-ontwikkeling getrek het nie (1996: 17). mccully goon voort deur te wys op die sestig meter hoe dnesprostroi-dam in die dnieperrivier in die voormalige ussr. 'n groot gedeelte van die vrugbare ukra·1ne is nou onder water. sowjet-hidroloe het glo agterna gese dot indien hooi op die oor­ spoelde gebied geplant, geoes en verbrand sou word, door resensie deur: dr malene m campbell. mss (uovs). ph d (uovs). 'n lektor verbonde aan die departement stadsen streekbeplanning. universiteit von die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. sa. 113 mccully/ silenced rivers: the ecology and politics of large dams jaarliks dieselfde hoeveelheid energie beskibraar gestel sou kon word as wat deur die betrokke elektriese aanleg opgewek word (1996: 17). die auteur wys verder daarop dot die bou van groat damme die beeindiging van winsgewende kommersiele visbedrywe in die betrokke riviere tot gevolg gehad het. hy wys voorts daarop dot die farakka-dam in lndie 'n katastrofiese impak het op die ekonomie en die ekologie van bangladesh, wat stroomaf le. as alternatief vir groat damme stel mccully voor dot maatreels neergele behoort te word wat die groeiende behoefte vir elek­ trisiteit sol verminder deur byvoorbeeld die daarstelling van 'n stedelike en landbou-ontwikkelingsbeleid, wat die beperkinge van 'n droe landstreek verreken, deur nie water wat vir die ver­ bouiing van gewasse wat eerder in 'n landstreek met 'n hoer reenval tuishoort, te subsidieer nie. mccully klink aanvanklik soos 'n omgewingsfanatikus, moor eval­ ueer vervolgens tog die politieke, ekonomiese en menslike as­ pekte noukeurig. hy motiveer sy standpunt, deur middel van deeglik nagevorste voorbeelde van die effek van groat damme regoor die wereld, dot groat damme nie volhoubaar is nie. die auteur kom tot die gevolgtrekking dot die dam-industrie primer winsbejag ten doel het, ongeag daarvan of die projek tegnies en ekonomies haalbaar sou wees. mccully lewer beslis 'n bydrae tot die blootlegging van politieke realiteite, die rol van die wereldbank en die talle onvervulde be­ loftes wat groat damme sou inhou. die boek kan van groat waarde wees vir politici, ingenieurs, streekbeplanners en geograwe om bo en behalwe inligting oor die omgewingsimpak van groat damme en die mislukkings op tegniese gebied, ook 'n in diepte bespreking gee van die van die traumatiese gevolge wat hervestigings vir die betrokke plaaslike bevolkings inhou. publikasiedatum: 1996 uitgewer: zed books piek: londen prys: $15.95 bronnelys hall, p. 1988. cities of tomorrow. oxford: basil blackwell ltd. jacobs, j. 1984. cities and the wealth of nations. harmondsworth, middlesex: penguin books ltd. 114 book review silenced rivers: the ecology and politics of large dams patrick mccully 1 in his book patrick mccully asks the question whether the con­ struction of large dams actually do stimulate development in un­ derdeveloped areas. he comes to the same conclusion as jane jacobs (1994: 110) and peter hall (1988: 163), namely that those projects rather have a detrimental effect on regional develop­ ment than otherwise. one of the best examples according to him is the so called tennessee valley authority project in the usa. mccully says "to many other writers, leaders, engineers, bureau­ crats, nationalists and revolutionaries, big dams have been po­ tent symbols of patriotic pride and the conquest of nature by hu­man ingenuity" ( 1996: 1). the human consequences however of damming for more than thirty million people who were flooded off their lands by large dams (with a crest measuring fifteen me­tre or more from foundation to crest), are such that very few of them seem to have had recovered economically or psychologi­cally (1996: 7-8). in an attempt to solve the problems of the sparsely populated united states west through damming, speculators and large landowners, together with construction companies, benefited most from the project. the taxpayers and the indigenous people were the losers. despite all the money spent by the tennessee valley authority project (tv a), the local population was still poorer than those living in nearby areas (1996: 17). the sixty metre high dnesprostroi dam in the dnieper river flooded so much prime ukrainian farmland that soviet hydrolo­ gists came to the conclusion that the same amount of energy per annum could have seen yielded if the hay planted and har­ vested from the area submerged were burnt as fuel (p. 17). mccully comes to the conclusion that damming brings all exist­ ing commercial fishing industries to a halt. a good example, acbook review by: dr malene m campbell. mss (uofs). ph d (uofs). a lecturer at the department of urban and regional planning, university of the orange free state, bloemfontein, sa. 115 mccully/ silenced rivers: the ecology and politics of large dams cording to the author, is the farakka dam in india, which had a catastrophic impact on the economy of the country as well as on the ecology in downstream bangladesh. as an alternative to large dams mccully proposes that certain measures have to be taken to cut growing electricity demands. he suggests an urban and agricultural development policy that takes the limitations of an arid region into account by not subsi­ dising the cultivation of crops more suitable to a region with a higher rainfall. initially mccully seems to be an environment fanatic, but he does address political, economic and human issues and moti­ vates his viewpoint on the unsustainability of large dams with well researched evidence on the effects they have on the re­ gion involved. he finally comes to the conclusion that the dam industry has profit in itself as the prime motive regardless of the technical and economical viability of projects. mccully contributed towards the debate on large dams by ex­ posing the political reality, the role of the world bank, empty promises and all the elusive benefits large dams implies. the book also provides instructive information for politicians, engi­ neers, regional planners and geographers addressing the envi­ ronmental impact, technical failures and traumatic results of re­ settlement policies. published in: 1996 publisher: zed books place: london price: $15.95 references hall p. 1988. cities of tomorrow. oxford: basil blackwell ltd. jacobs, j. 1984. cities and the wealth of nations. harmondsworth, middlesex: penguin books ltd. 116 97 roy cumberlege, fanie buys & derick vosloo a review on the effectiveness of the joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement – a contractors’ perspective peer reviewed abstract with the growth experienced in the building industry, it is increasingly important to have a contract document that can be used on projects that is reasonably acceptable to all parties concerned. the focus of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement (jbcc 2000 pba) (edition 4.1, march 2005) as used in the building industry. although edition 5 (2007) was made available after this study was conducted, contractors still have the choice to use either one of them. primary data was collected by means of interviews and a structured questionnaire sent to selected contractors in the south african building industry. secondary data was obtained from the literature reviewed in relevant publications. the main findings were that the jbcc 2000 pba is the most favoured contract document used by contractors in the building industry but that there are still areas of concern with regards to the difficulty in interpreting and implementing numerous clauses of the document, amendments being made to the document without any legal advice and that developing building contractors experience difficulties in general where the jbcc 2000 pba is used as contract document on projects. the study concluded with recommendations for amendments to the contract document to ensure that the document will be acceptable to all contractors in the building industry and ultimately to be an internationally acceptable document. keywords: contract document, construction guarantee, contractors, disputes, jbcc 2000 pba, retention roy cumberlege, senior lecturer, department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. e-mail: <roy.cumberlege@nmmu.ac.za> prof. fanie buys, head of department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. e-mail: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> derick vosloo, director of school of the built environment, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. e-mail: <derick.vosloo@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 98 abstrak met die groei wat in die boubedryf ondervind word, is dit belangrik om ’n kontrakdokument daar te hê wat redelik aanvaarbaar is vir beide betrokke partye. die doelstelling van die navorsing was om die effektiwiteit van die joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement (jbcc 2000 pba) (uitgawe 4.1, maart 2005) soos wat in die boubedryf gebruik word, te bepaal. alhoewel uitgawe 5 (2007) beskikbaar gemaak is nadat hierdie studie gedoen is, het kontrakteurs nogsteeds die keuse om enige twee van die uitgawes te gebruik. primêre data was versamel met behulp van onderhoude en ’n gestruktureerde vraelys gestuur aan geselekteerde kontrakteurs in die suid-afrikaanse boubedryf. sekondêre data was verkry deur ’n literatuurstudie. die studie het aangetoon dat die jbcc 2000 pba die mees gewilde kontrakdokument is wat deur kontrakteurs in die boubedryf gebruik word, maar het ook bevestig dat daar areas van kommer is met betrekking tot die interpretasie en implimentering van sommige klousules in die dokument, veranderings word aan die dokument aangebring sonder enige regsadvies en dat ontwikkellende kontrakteurs dit oor die algemeen moeilik vind op kontrakte waar die jbcc 2000 pba gebruik word. ten slotte word aanbevelings gemaak ten opsigte van wysigings tot die kontrak dokument wat sal verseker dat die dokument aanvaarbaar sal wees vir alle kontrakteurs in die boubedryf asook internasionaal as ’n aanvaarbare dokument erken sal word. sleutelwoorde: dispuut, jbcc 2000 pba, konstruksie-waarborg, kontrakdokument, kontrakteur, retensie 1. introduction in recent years the conditions of the contract agreement have played an important role in the building industry. this is inevitably so because projects have become bigger and projects of greater magnitude tended to create problems that could hardly be solved without a keen appreciation of the meaning and intention of the conditions of the contract agreement. according to fouchè (1999: 35) in roman law an obligatio (obligation) is defined as a legal bond whereby a person is obliged to deliver some or other thing. it is clear that an obligatio must be between two or more persons or bodies which represent the employer and the contractor in the building industry. the obligatio creates a right in favour of the creditor, namely the right to claim the due performance from the debtor. in most contracts the parties are simultaneously creditors and debtors. from this it is clear that the obligatio creates a personal relationship between the two parties which is crucial for any building contract from the initial stage of the contract as per fouché. both employer and contractor must know their obligations towards each other and be absolutely sure what is expected from each of them in terms of the contract agreement. cumberlege, buys & vosloo • joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement 99 according to hughes & barber (1992: 43), the contract agreement is an integral part of any construction project. the contents and mechanism of the agreement together with the relevant sundry documents must be well known to the two parties concerned as well as to the consultants appointed to perform the professional services on the project. any misunderstanding or wrong interpretation of the agreement may lead to a dispute or even the cancellation of the contract, which will involve costs. malherbe & lipshitz (1979: 72) state that the following principles are essential for the creation of a contract: there must be agreement between the contracting parties • to create a legal and binding contractual relationship embracing rights, responsibilities, prerogatives and privileges; and the parties must be at one as to the consequences • contemplated by such agreement or, in other words, as to their intention in the application of agreed contractual relations. the tendering process creates an adversarial relationship between the employer and the contractor. the contractor must survive financially on the prices in his tender. a tight economy aggravates this relationship. this is further worsened where sub-contractors are also tendering on the same contract. everyone must make money on each contract to survive. onerous and wrongful conditions of contract have the effect of disadvantaging contractors, which will sour the relationship even more. samuels (1996) mentioned that many parties, the employer, contractor, architect, quantity surveyor, engineers and project manager are involved in the construction process. this makes the contracting process an involved and often complex process. loots (1995: 13) define a contract as an agreement that is intended to be enforceable by law. he also mentions that a wrong decision concerning the choice of process, materials, anticipated rock, soil, or weather conditions cannot always be avoided, but a person with sufficient knowledge of the law of contract can almost always avoid a wrong contractual decision. galbraith & stockdale (1993: 76) mention that it has become customary in english law to regard an agreement to consist of an offer and acceptance. it is therefore important to have a contract document that is manageable and workable and where all parties concerned underacta structilia 2008: 15(2) 100 stand the contract document to eliminate or minimise the possibility of any disputes on the contract. 2. the jbcc 2000 principal building agreement 2.1 general overview according to binnington (1992), the standard form of agreement applied to building contracts in south africa has been the agreement and schedule of conditions of building contract and has been used for some sixty years by both the public and private sector within the building industry. initially the agreement was approved and recommended by the institute of south african architects, the association of south african quantity surveyors, the building industries federation (south africa) (bifsa) and the south african property owners’ association (sapoa). this so called standard building contract agreement or ‘white form’ was widely accepted in the industry. it was even adopted by various government departments or para-statal organisations, with various amendments, to suit their own requirements. a totally new contract agreement was necessary that could be used uniformly within the building industry (finsen, 1991: v). in 1984, a committee was appointed for the purpose of redrafting a total new set of agreements. this committee was known as the joint building contracts committee (jbcc) which consisted of representatives from the institute of south african architects, the association of south african quantity surveyors, the building industries federation of south africa, the south african association of consulting engineers, the south african property owners’ association and the specialist engineering contractors committee. there were no representatives from any of the governmental bodies who, in turn, used their own versions of the old ‘white form’ of agreement or in some cases their own forms of agreement. according to finsen (1999: 56), the first entirely new jbcc principal building agreement and associated documents were published during 1991. although the agreement was still in an infant stage, the possibility existed that a revised agreement with some changes and amendments would see the light to suit the requirements of the building industry. while most part of the substance of the original contract had been embodied in the new contract agreement, a number of substantial changes with the intention of improvement, had been included which should have enabled the document to cumberlege, buys & vosloo • joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement 101 be used in a practical and effective way without the necessity for a host of special conditions. at the same time a new nominated/selected subcontract agreement was issued which, like its predecessors, was intended to be issued in conjunction with the new principal agreement. these documents were all intended to be read the one with the other, since knowledge of the principal agreement is an essential part of the operation of the subcontract agreement according to finsen (1999). after several years of intensive re-examination and re-drafting of the 1991 agreement, the new jbcc series 2000 was published in 1998 to replace the 1991 version. during april 2003 a third revised edition was published. the fourth edition saw the light during march 2004 in which the state’s provisions were included to meet the needs of the national department of public works. adjudication was included and is now the default method of dispute resolution. a revised fourth edition which is suitable for the public and the private sector was published during march 2005 according to finsen (2005: iv). this agreement is thus a contract document specifically tailored to south african construction law and circumstances of the building industry. it sets out the full details of the obligations and rights of employers, contractors and sub-contractors. the duties of the professionals in administrating the contract are also explicitly defined. finsen (2005) also mentioned that it was the intention of the jbcc to draft a series of documents that would meet the needs of all facets of the building industry and that there would be little or no need for amendments or the publication of new editions. it has been noted by participants of this survey that revised editions have been coming out at a dramatically increased frequency. finsen (2005) mentioned that with the changing circumstances in the building industry, the jbcc had published four editions within seven years. these frequent changes to the document could have some negative effects in the building industry, mainly where the contractors have to familiarise themselves with the latest revisions to the contract document. according to bold (2007: e-mail), sales of the jbcc 2000 pba for 2006 and 2007 were 6901 and 7452 respectively which denotes a 7.98% year to year increase. the sales of the jbcc 2000 pba over the period 2005 to 2007 account for 47% of the sales since the introduction of the series 2000 in 1998. it is clear from the above that there is a constant demand for the jbcc 2000 pba, on a yearly basis, to be used as contract document. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 102 2.2 risk analysis: construction guarantee vs retention clause entering into a contract, both parties concerned are at risk. the employer needs the project to be completed on time and within budget and the contractor on the other hand needs payment for work done. comparing the risk analysis between the two parties where the retention clause is applicable, the employer is highly at risk most part of the contract period. with the construction guarantee in place, the risk is evenly spread where it is mostly needed during the contract period. according to clause 3.1 of the jbcc 2000 pba, the employer shall provide a payment guarantee where required by the contractor in the accepted tender. the risk profile is well related where a payment guarantee is in place comparing to the retention clause where a changing risk profile exists. 2.3 the use of the jbcc 2000 pba in state contracts the most significant changes to the jbcc 2000 pba have been in respect of state requirements. it had been thought that the 1998 publication would satisfactorily cater for the state’s requirements and that the document would be adopted by the state. this was not the case and after lengthy negotiations with various state bodies, it would appear that a document was drafted incorporating specific state requirements. it was therefore necessary to make provision of substitute clauses in a number of instances. these substitute clauses are contained in clause 41 ‘state clauses’. all the clauses that are affected by these substituted clauses have been identified with a hash – ‘#’. this makes the document slightly difficult to read in state contracts where the contractor must take notice of all the clauses identified with ‘#’ and read them in conjunction with the substitute clauses in clause 41. the contractor must also familiarise himself with specific clauses relating to state clauses when completing clause 42 ‘pretender information’ of the jbcc 2000 pba. some of the major effects of the aforementioned clauses effectively withdraw the principal agent’s authority with regards to payment and completion certificates, extension of time and additional payment, loss and expense and final payment and reserves for the state itself all the aforementioned duties. it constitutes that the employer is judge in his own case. it is also clear that no longer any equitable balance of risk can be said to be incorporated into the jbcc 2000 cumberlege, buys & vosloo • joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement 103 pba where the state’s substitute clauses are incorporated in their present format. according to finsen (2005: 48) there is room for many mistakes and it is hoped that the jbcc may be persuaded to prepare separate documents for state use containing the appropriate state provisions. 2.4 amendments to standard contract agreements persons entering into or preparing contracts using the jbcc 2000 pba are warned by the joint building contracts committee of the dangers inherent in modifying any part of it. if it is considered essential to make changes, users are advised to ensure that such changes are drafted by qualified legal persons with extensive knowledge of the jbcc 2000 pba and the building industry. persons who set about copying and/or modifying standard printed forms of contract very rarely do so to the benefit of the contractor. more often the changes made are towards reducing the employer’s risk to the prejudice of the contractor’s risk which is often substantially increased. more frequently modifications to the printed contracts are made which result in upsetting the equitable balance of risk inherent in the contract and far too often such changes are drafted by persons, including members of the building industry professions, who are lacking sufficient legal knowledge with disastrous results to either of or even both parties to the contract. the objective of any contract is to obtain mutual intention, which is fair and reasonable to both parties and which should also apply to amendments according to hughes & barber (1992). terms are included in a written contract so as to qualify the intention of the parties to the contract. over the years, a number of rules have developed and been laid down as regards to the process of construing a contract, and in particular for building contracts as mentioned by hughes & barber (1992: 114). according to hughes & barber (1992), these rules refer to, inter alia: the background against which a contract must be • interpreted; the conduct of the parties;• the use of general words for a profession;• the deliberate inclusion and omission of items; and• acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 104 the list of items and extrinsic evidence as regards ambiguity.• as most standard forms of contract are not always fully comprehensive in that they may not always represent all the details or the true intention of the parties, these standard contract documents sometimes need to be amended. supplementary general terms are therefore almost a necessity. this leads to the fact that there are almost always revisions and/or amendments to standard forms of contract in order to meet the specific requirements of the individual projects. amendments can be costly to any one of the parties in the event of a dispute arising as a result of ambiguous amendments made to the contract document. uff (1991: 147) states that the following considerations should be taken into account when drafting amendments: the object of the document must be borne in mind;• it must be ascertained whether the document is dependent • on other documents, and if so, how the amendments will carry through; the appropriate form of the document must be selected and • the document must achieve the means in the simplest and clearest manner possible; the form of drafting must be ascertained as the document • may be as a result of negotiating and compromise or as result of legal advice; and the formal requirements must be ascertained, this may include • evidentiary requirements or statutory requirements. collier (1979: 233) states that amendments are often made after the conclusion of the contract. care must be taken in the drafting as amendments usually involve omissions and additions to the contract wording. it is therefore recommended that all amendments should be in writing and signed by both parties. a legal person should also be consulted to investigate the consequences of such changes. amendments do not have to be specifically in favour of the contractor or the employer. this is often a subjective view and such a practice is labelled ‘unfair terms’, according to collier (1979). these terms are subject to a ‘reasonable test’ in court should a dispute arise. there must be a balance as to the risk imposed on the contractor and employer and this will always affect the consequences cumberlege, buys & vosloo • joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement 105 of any amendments as one party will under normal circumstances try to pass on the risk to the other party involved. 3. research method research was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the jbcc 2000 pba. the use of a suitable research methodological approach is necessary to achieve the objective of any study. a two-stage approach was used to obtain data for the research. the first stage comprised interviews with ten randomly selected contractors to obtain/determine pre-questionnaire information. the second stage comprised a quantitative research approach by means of a structured questionnaire distributed amongst randomly selected building contractors in south africa who are registered with their respective mba’s. a total of 359 contractors were selected to participate in the questionnaire survey; this constitutes 31,2% of the total building industry population. this is acceptable for research of this nature according to gay & airasian (cited in leedy & ormrod, 2005). having taken cognisance of the questionnaire design process, it was decided that self administered questionnaires would be the most appropriate survey instrument to use in this study. the questionnaire was divided into 4 sections, namely general information, jbcc 2000 pba, joint ventures and amendments to jbcc 2000 pba. of the 359 questionnaires posted, 70 were returned which equates to a response rate of 19,5%. 4. findings the following findings emanated from the analysis of the completed questionnaire. percentages indicated in tables and figures below reflects the percentages of respondents, mean = (point total / sample size) and relative index (ri) = mean – 1 / k – 1. 4.1 jbcc 2000 pba as a contract document in terms of flexibility and complexity the majority (69%) of contractors indicated that the jbcc 2000 pba is only a little flexible whereas the minority of contractors indicated that the document is either very flexible (13%) or not flexible at all (18%). the majority of contractors (67%) indicated that the jbcc 2000 pba is only a little complicated while the minority of contractors indicated that the document is very complicated (13%) and 20% indicated that it is not complicated at all. cumberlege, buys & vosloo • joint building contracts committee series 2000 principal building agreement 113 the jbcc 2000 pba is also revised at frequent intervals, which is not preferred by respondents. ‘state clauses’ in the jbcc 2000 pba can create confusion to some contractors and it is recommended that a separate pba should be developed for ‘state contracts’ only. although the jbcc 2000 pba makes no provision for a formal retention clause, contractors are providing security based on a retention clause as an alternative form of construction guarantee. the majority of respondents indicated that they would prefer the inclusion of the retention clause as an alternative form of construction guarantee in terms of clause 14. the main reason for amendments to the contract document was to make the contract more favourable for a particular party. amendments to the contract document, especially those without any legal advice, are causing problems resulting in arbitration, mediation or litigation, and having a negative effect on the building industry as a whole. references binnington, c. 1992. the new building contract. the sub contractor, (17), january/february. bold, p. (jbcc2@mweb.co.za). 13 december 2007. poo.258 pba sales stats. e-mail correspondence to cumberlege, r.(roy.cumberlege@nmmu.ac.za). collier, k. 1979. construction contracts. virginia: reston publication company inc. finsen, e. 1991. the new building contract. cape town: juta & co, ltd. finsen, e. 1999. the building contract. a commentary on the jbcc agreements. kenwyn: juta & co, ltd. finsen, e. 2005. the building contract. a commentary on the jbcc agreements. cape town: juta & co, ltd. fouchè, m.a. 1999. legal principles of contracts and negotiable instruments. 4th edition. durban: butterworths. galbraith, a. & stockdale, m. 1993. building & land law for students. 3rd edition. newnes: oxford. hughes, g.a. & barber, j.n. 1992. building and civil engineering claims in perspective. london: longman scientific and technical. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 114 joint building contracts committee – jbcc series 2000. 2005. principal building agreement. edition 4.1 code 2101, march. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research – planning and design. 7th edition. new jersey: prentice-hall. loots, p. c. 1995. construction law and related issues. kenwyn: juta & co, ltd. malherbe, g de c & lipshitz, m. 1979. malherbe and lipshitz on building contracts. a publication of the national development fund for the building industry. samuels, b. 1996. construction law. penglewood: prentice-hall. uff, j. 1991. construction law. london: sweet and maxwell. 69 innocent musonda, theo haupt & john smallwood client attitude to health and safety – a report on contractor’s perceptions peer reviewed abstract the purpose of this article is to present findings of a preliminary survey on contractors’ perceptions of clients’ attitude relative to health and safety (h&s) implementation in the construction industry of botswana and southern africa. a questionnaire survey was conducted on construction projects to establish clients’ attitude towards h&s. interviews were also held with contractors’ representatives on selected construction sites in and around gaborone, botswana. findings from the survey include: clients do not perceive h&s to be very important on construction projects; the majority of clients do not address h&s adequately in contract documentation, and h&s is rarely a major item on the agenda of progress meetings. findings also included that clients are not fully committed to h&s implementation. the client sets the tone for h&s culture. client attitude is therefore very important for h&s performance improvement as all stakeholders are compelled to act in line with the client’s values. various researchers have recognised the importance of the client to h&s performance improvement. the extent to which clients are involved in h&s implementation has, however, not been researched extensively, especially in southern africa. this article therefore provides an insight into the clients’ attitude towards h&s and explains the reason for the current state of h&s in botswana’s construction industry. keywords: attitude, botswana, client, construction, health and safety abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om bevindings weer te gee van ‘n voorafopname oor kontrakteurs se persepsie oor kliënte, houding teenoor gesondheid en veiligheidsimplementering in botswana se konstruksie-industrie en op ‘n manier ook die houding daarvan in suidelike afrika. innocent musonda senior lecturer department of construction management university of johannesburg johannesburg south africa. phone: +27(0)11 559 6655 fax:+27(0)11 559 6630 email: <imusonda@uj.ac.za> prof. theo conrad haupt building construction science department college of architecture art and design mississippi state university usa. phone: +01662.325.5247 fax: +01662.325.8872 email: <thaupt@caad.msstate.edu> prof. john julian smallwood head of department department of construction management nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth south africa. phone: +27(0) 415042153 fax: +27(0) 415049935 email: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 70 ‘n vraelysopname is saamgestel oor konstruksieprojekte om te bepaal wat kliënte se houding is teenoor gesondheid en veiligheid. onderhoude is gevoer met kontrakteurs se verteenwoordigers van geselekteerde terreine in en om gaborone, botswana. bevindings van die opname sluit in: kliënte ervaar gesondheid en veiligheid nie as baie belangrik by konstruksieprojekte nie; meeste kliënte spreek nie gesondheid en veiligheid in kontrakdokumentasie aan nie, en gesondheid en veiligheid is selde ‘n besprekingspunt op vorderingsvergaderings se agendas. verskeie navorsers erken die belangrikheid van die kliënt vir gesondheid en veiligheidsverbetering. die mate waartoe kliënte betrokke is in gesondheid en veiligheids-implementering is nog nie intensief in suidelike afrika nagevors nie. daarom verskaf hierdie artikel insig tot die kliënte se houding teenoor gesondheid en veiligheid en verduidelik in ‘n mate die rede vir die huidige stand van gesondheid en veiligheid in botswana se konstruksie-industrie. sleutelwoorde: houding, botswana, kliënt, konstruksie, gesondheid en veiligheid 1. introduction the construction industry is an important sector to most economies and botswana is no exception. in the united kingdom (uk), for example, the construction industry contributes approximately 8% to the gross domestic product (bomel, 2001: 2.1). in botswana the construction industry contributes approximately 7% to gdp (world bank, 2008: online). the construction industry has also been growing at a high rate with a development expenditure estimated to be well over hundreds of billions of dollars at least for the next ten years. for the financial year 2008/2009, the construction sector recorded growth of 12% (benza, 2008: online). it is worth noting that in this part of africa infrastructure is becoming more complex compared to the past years and this will inadvertently cause many challenges for h&s. the construction industry is said to be dominated by a large number of small and medium-size contractors. this scenario is perceived to have arisen from an increasing reliance on subcontractors by larger firms (bomel, 2001: 2.4). research shows that small firms have proportionately more accidents and injuries than large firms (bomel, 2001: 0.7, smallman, 2001: 404). an increase in smaller contracting organisations and in complexity of infrastructure inadvertently pose a challenge to managing health and safety in the construction industry. it is believed that risks to h&s increase with a low level of awareness and lack of training (bomel, 2001: 8.42). research conducted in botswana revealed that the level of h&s awareness in the construction industry is low; h&s legislation is not complied with; the management of contractors is not committed musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 71 to h&s implementation; there is a lack of h&s management systems, procedures, and protocol, and clients and designers do not adequately participate in the implementation of h&s (musonda & smallwood, 2005: 61). a similar study conducted by van ooteghem (2006: 49) revealed that occupational accidents and fatalities continue to be recorded in botswana. between 2000 and 2003, a total of 251 occupational fatalities were registered with the workmen’s compensation authority from all sectors (van ooteghem, 2006: 49). 96 accidents in the construction sector alone were registered with the workmen’s compensation during the same period. it is totally unacceptable to allow this status quo to continue considering the contribution construction makes to the economy, the amount of labour force that is at risk, the anticipated complexity of projects to be implemented, the human suffering and the people who continue to face h&s risks. this serves as the motivation for this study. the need to find solutions to improve the above issue and to work at building a better h&s culture in the construction industry is now just as compelling as previously. this article proposes that, although safety is everyone’s business, improving h&s performance could be realised with the right attitude by the client to h&s. clients set the tone for h&s. 2. background 2.1 client role striving for a better h&s performance will remain elusive if the client is not actively involved in h&s implementation, especially in southern africa. huang & hinze (2006a: 165) rightly argue that the involvement of clients (owners) is an essential requirement for the zero injuries objective. the importance of the client to h&s management is well documented. construction h&s can be successfully influenced by clients (smallwood, 1998: 182; lingard, blismas, cooke & cooper, 2009: 132; bomel, 2001: 9.7) suraji, duff & peckitt (2001: 339) contend in their article on accident causation that construction accidents are caused by inappropriate responses to certain constraints and the environment. they observed, for example, that the client responses are the actions or omissions in response to constraints that emerge during the development of the project scope. according to them, these include reducing acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 72 the project budget, adding new project criteria, changing project objectives, and accelerating the design or construction efforts of the project. all these factors impact negatively on h&s. clients have a positive role to play in lowering injury rates (smallwood, 1998: 188; huang & hinze, 2006b: 180) 2.2 client attitude clients’ attitude can be deduced from the extent to which they are involved in the management of h&s. until now, as smallwood (1998: 185) observed, the major agencies of client influence have been prescriptive, regulatory or coercive measures as opposed to upstream proactive measures such as design, detail and specification and more importantly prioritisation. clients can be seen to be more involved by, for example, setting h&s objectives, selecting suitable contractors in terms of h&s, and participating in h&s management (huang & hinze, 2006a: 165). smallwood (1998: 182) outlines further responsibilities for clients and contends that they should: provide financial support;• include h&s as a prequalification criteria;• schedule h&s requirements prior to bidding process;• structure contract documentation to allow for h&s, and• conduct audits in h&s. • one of the areas in which clients can show leadership and attitude to h&s is by conducting periodical audits. auditing, if properly done, has many benefits for the implementation of h&s. according to thompson iv (1999: 833), successful auditing provides a methodical and comprehensive approach to the h&s programme analysis. auditing also identifies new areas of concern as the programme and project evolve. it is clearly an essential activity for the client to undertake and tells of their attitude to h&s in construction. in order to show commitment, clients should input adequate resources into construction h&s instead of relying on contractors (huang & hinze, 2006b: 180). successful implementation of h&s also depends on the extent to which construction-project clients participate and assign resources to the process. h&s performance improvement depends on the extent to which construction-project clients provide leadership on h&s matters. loosemore, lingard, walker & mackenzie (1999: 884) identified the musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 73 importance of this and contend that the lead must come from clients themselves. they maintain that without this, the construction industry has a long way to go in changing attitudes towards h&s. levitt & samuelson (1993: 215) also argued that monitoring which is one of the activities in providing leadership, makes a difference, and that excellent h&s performance can be obtained with the active participation of clients, even from average contractors. if the clients are taking the lead, they must know exactly what is required to develop a detailed comprehensive brief for the design team and to issue h&s specifications. in addition, as suggested by suraji, sulaiman, mahyuddin & mohamed (2006: 55), clients have the moral if not the legal duty to take reasonable care to ensure the safety of all workers on the construction site. the client should also carefully consider h&s control in ordering works, exercising supervision, and providing instructions. as huang & hinze (2006b: 181) correctly put it, clients set the safety culture tone for a project. 2.3 client interventions successful implementation of h&s also depends on the extent to which construction-project clients participate in the process (loosemore et al., 1999: 884). leadership on h&s must come from clients. without this the construction industry has a long way to go in changing attitudes towards health and safety (loosemore et al., 1999: 884). monitoring is one intervention whereby the client can make a difference (levitt & samuelson, 1993: 215). the client must also take responsibility for preventing accidents he/she should carefully consider h&s control in ordering works, exercising supervision, and providing instructions (watanabe & hanayasu, 1999: 60). several ways have been identified whereby clients could participate in the process. thompson (1999: 835) identifies auditing as one such activity that the client could undertake in order to participate fully in the process of h&s implementation. the list below as suggested by thompson (1999: 835) outlines some of the areas in which the client could be involved by auditing construction projects: management commitment• includes management’s demonstration of examples of safe ° and healthful behaviour and company resources allocated to the h&s programme. employee involvement• an example is investigation of procedures for reporting injuries. ° interviews with employees could reveal this. ° acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 74 work site hazard assessment• through observations of sites. ° hazard prevention and control• evidence of ppe and control measures in place. ° h&s training• audits consider how, when, why and where it is done and ° whether employees understand why they do and practise h&s. 3. research methodology this quantitative study was aimed at determining contractors’ perceptions of the clients’ level of commitment to h&s in construction projects. the reason for using this method is that it is easier to formulate an opinion without bias on specific information that is under consideration because the quantitative study and paradigm is based on positivism (sale, lohfeld & brazil, 2002: 44). although this method does not accommodate respondents’ opinions as they are restricted in the way they answer the questions, the method was deemed to be appropriate for the type of study at hand: to measure contractors’ perceptions of clients on h&s. the survey instrument was therefore designed to be able to capture clients’ actions and contractors’ perceptions of the clients’ level of commitment to h&s. it was decided that questionnaires to contractors’ project managers on construction sites coupled with physical observations constituted the best method to conduct the research because of the type of data that was to be obtained. as one of the research tools used in quantitative research (sale et al., 2002: 45), questionnaires were preferred to face-to-face interviews because respondents find it easier to answer questionnaires in privacy and in their spare time. on the negative side, the response rate to questionnaires is said to be lower. questionnaires are also a good way of obtaining information because it is relatively cheap and less time-consuming. the questionnaire was designed to address, among other areas, the clients’ level of participation or commitment to h&s on construction projects. both open-ended and closed types of questions were used. care was taken to avoid bias by providing for alternative responses by related and preceding closed questions. respondents were asked to ‘state or specify’. closed questions were placed before open-ended questions. rating scales based on the five-point likert scale were used for respondents to mark the level of importance, frequency, or severity. musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 75 on the clients’ level of commitment, the evaluation was conducted tby means of the following questions: evidence of clients’ active participation and influence, as • evident in the client project meetings, by establishing whether h&s was a major item on the agenda. the reasoning behind the question is that committed clients on h&s would ensure that h&s was at least a major item on the agenda in every project meeting they attended. respondents’ view on how clients and designers regarded • h&s in relation to other factors on a construction project. the purpose of the third question was to identify the • respondents’ opinion on how h&s could best be improved; client and designer participation was also included to assess whether respondents deemed these important. the extent to which clients and designers address h&s in • contract documents. the argument is that ultimately the client has a final say on the type of contract and budget. apart from using questionnaires to collect information on client commitment and attitude, physical observations on projects in the sample were made. in order to determine site behaviour displays, in other words, the actions of people and by extension what the clients condone, a checklist was developed to capture and learn about people’s actions as well as visible signs of h&s implementation. according to leady & omrod (2001: 197), checklists and rating scales are used to facilitate both the evaluation and quantification of behaviours. a checklist was preferred to rating scales in that specific behaviours, characteristics and signs were identified in literature and from legislature and were sought on site. it is easier to check whether each item on the checklist is observed, exhibited, present or true; or else not observed. the checklist was completed on all construction sites visited by the researcher. the checklist’s section relating to clients’ commitment and attitude aimed at evaluating the implementation of legislature. the reasoning behind the foregoing is that if clients were at all concerned about anything on h&s; it would be at least that all legal requirements on their projects are met. visible signs sought included the behaviour of workers on site and the artefacts at the construction sites, such as safety warning signs, housekeeping, etc. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 76 this methodology was considered appropriate as the only way to check for consistency and to provide a talking point on the relationship between responses from questionnaires and what was actually observed on construction projects. 3.1 analysis of data the primary data obtained from questionnaires and physical observations by using checklists was analysed using ms excel spreadsheet package and interpreted relative to secondary data obtained from the literature review. from observations and responses, inferences were drawn concerning the larger and general practice relative to client commitment and thus their attitude towards h&s. the calculation of an importance index was also done to establish the perception on the order of importance of h&s relative to other aspects on a construction project. the importance index was calculated by computing the total of all weighted responses and then relating it to the total responses on a particular aspect. the weights were assigned to each response ranging from one to five for the responses of ‘not important’ to ‘very important’. the weighting was allocated as presented in table 1. the weighting was developed based on the likert scale of 1-5. computation of the importance index was done with the following formula: importance index = 5a 1 + 4a 2 + 3a 3 + 2a 4 + 1a 5 sa table 1: opinion weighting on the level of importance opinion responses weighting very important important fairly important slightly important not important a 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a 5 5 4 3 2 1 3.2 the population the selection of the sample was based on the following: number of registered building contractors who were • undertaking projects in gaborone, botswana at the time of the study. limitations of time and financial resources. therefore the study • could not be extended to other regions in the country. musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 77 a survey was conducted before the study and it was determined that there were about 47 active building construction sites in and around gaborone. it is recommended that, for small populations of less than 100, there is little point in sampling (leady & ormrod, 2001: 221). based on the above, it was decided that the entire population should be included in the study. anecdotal evidence from other studies shows that questionnaire response rate is approximately 50 to 70%. based on the above, it was determined that at least 21 respondents would be realised. the study excluded construction sites for private homebuilders and civil engineering contractors. the justification for this delimitation was the time limit, resources, and the difficulty in obtaining information, especially from private homebuilders. private homebuilders usually have trades foremen as site managers and the directors also act as project managers. collecting information from private homebuilders was thus considered problematic and would have required more time. for the sample to be representative, it was determined that at least all categories of contractors should be represented in the study. the public procurement and asset disposal board (ppadb) categorisation is based upon five categories: for projects worth up to usd100,000.00, between usd100,000.00 and usd200,000.00, between usd200,000.00 and usd800,000.00, between usd800,000.00 and usd2,000,000.00 and the last category is for projects worth more than usd2,000,000.00 also referred to as the unlimited category. although there were 47 active construction sites at the time of the study, questionnaires were only sent to contractors on 40 construction sites. the reason for this is that some contractors had more than one construction site and there was a need to include at least all the categories of contractors as each category would have a different client profile. four categories contributed eight contractors each. the only exception was the fifth and the lowest category which only had five building construction sites at the time. in order to make up the numbers, three more construction sites from other categories were randomly selected to the category to make eight contractors. although some building contractors were working on more than one construction site, only one site was selected for each building contractor. table 2 provides a summary of the sample stratum. questionnaires were addressed to project managers, site engineers, and site agents depending on whether they were the overall manager in charge of the construction site. these were deemed to be the right people as they are based on site and are able to relate what actually transpires on projects. this group was viewed acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 78 as having sufficient knowledge and being impartial relative to top management and the actual practice on sites. it was also considered that this group would give an unbiased view of the client on their actions relative to their involvement in h&s implementation. site observations were conducted on all 40 construction sites. checklists were used to record or tick off the observed elements on sites. 3.3 response rates in total, 40 questionnaires were distributed to building contractors, of which 25 were completed and collected by the researcher. this equates to a response rate of 62.5%. response rates for all categories are shown in table 3. table 2: sample stratum category value in usd construction sites questionnaires distributed observations oc a b c d & e total < 100 000.00 >100 000.00< 200 000.00 >200 000.00< 800 000.00 >800 000.00<2 000 000.00 >2 000 000.00 5 11 10 8 13 47 5 8 8 8 11 40 5 8 8 8 11 40 table 3: questionnaire response rates category value in usd response (no.) response rate (%) oc a b c d & e total < 100 000.00 >100 000.00< 200 000.00 >200 000.00< 800 000.00 >800 000.00<2 000 000.00 >2 000 000.00 1 3 8 6 7 25 20.0 37.5 100.0 75.0 63.6 62.5 4. findings respondents were asked in question one how frequently h&s audits and inspections were conducted by clients and other key stakeholders. with respect to clients, 56% of the respondents indicated that clients had ‘never’ conducted h&s audits and inspections, and 28% ‘rarely’. the above compared to 40% of the respondents who indicated that contractors’ top management ‘never’ conducted h&s audits and inspections, 36% ‘rarely’, and 20% ‘often’ (table 4) musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 79 showed slightly more commitment by contractors than clients. results also show that 24% of the respondents indicated that contractors’ top management conducted inspections compared to the 8% for the clients. only 8% of the respondents indicated that clients ‘often’ conducted audits and inspections. none of the respondents indicated that clients ‘always’ conducted audits and inspections. clients’ leadership on h&s can also be noted in the supervising consultants’ conduct on h&s because supervising consultants are directly answerable to clients. from the results in table 4, it can be inferred that clients’ leadership on h&s and thus their attitude is questionable as over 50% of the respondents indicated that supervising consultants never conducted h&s audits and inspections. it follows therefore that consultants who are appointed by clients and receive instructions from them do not conduct inspections or audits because the clients do not tell them or remind them to do so probably because h&s is not a priority to them. the above may probably confirm the respondents’ perception that clients consider cost, time and quality to be more important than h&s (table 6). table 4: frequency of audits and inspections by all stakeholders entity response (%) never rarely sometimes often always contractor top management client supervising consultants factories inspector civil organisations 40.0 56.0 52.0 56.0 84.0 36.0 28.0 20.0 32.0 4.0 0.0 8.0 16.0 8.0 8.0 20.0 8.0 12.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 apart from inspections, site project meetings are important events where all issues regarding h&s can be raised and discussed. to indicate the extent of participation by clients and designers or supervising consultants, the position they accord to h&s on the agenda of project site meetings was used for measurement. this is all the more true because they mostly visit the sites at the time of these meetings. question two, therefore, sought to determine whether h&s was a major item on the agenda item of client progress meetings. approximately 28% of the respondents indicated that h&s was an important item on the agenda and 72% that it was not (table 5). acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 80 table 5: status of h&s in progress meetings response (%) yes no unsure total 28.0 72.0 0.0 100.0 it was deemed that contractors would best describe clients’ attitudes towards h&s. this would, in turn, explain the level of commitment by clients. therefore, contractors were asked to rate the importance of various aspects to clients on projects. the contractors perceived that clients regarded remaining within budget as the most important, followed by contract period. quality and avoiding litigation were ranked third and fourth, whereas h&s was identified as the least important (table 6). table 6: perceived importance of h&s according to clients aspect: response (%) 1 = not important, 5 = very important 1 2 3 4 5 importance index rank budget contract period quality avoid litigation h&s 0 0 0 4 24 0 0 8 12 48 4 12 8 4 16 16 20 16 24 8 80 68 68 56 4 4.76 4.56 4.44 4.16 2.20 1 2 3 4 5 in an endeavour to further establish the extent to which clients participate in h&s, respondents were asked whether, in their opinion, contract documents always addressed h&s implementation. the reasoning behind this question was that one way in which clients would definitely participate in h&s implementation is by allowing and addressing it in the contract documents. approximately 71% of the respondents indicated that h&s was addressed and 29% stated that it was not addressed. a follow-up question to check the validity of these responses was posed. the responses ranged between ‘not being addressed’ and ‘being fairly addressed’. only 4.2% and 8.3% of the respondents, respectively, indicated that h&s was ‘addressed’ and ‘fully addressed’ in the contract documents (table 7). musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 81 table 7: extent to which h&s is addressed in contract documents scale extent response (%) 1 2 3 4 5 not addressed slightly addressed fairly addressed addressed fully addressed no response total 25.0 29.2 25.0 4.2 8.3 8.3 100.0 one of the other areas in which clients could show commitment and leadership and thus their attitude towards h&s is in insisting and ensuring that contractors have safety programmes in place. respondents were therefore asked whether they had an h&s policy, procedures, programmes, meetings, representatives, and documented work procedures on their projects (table 8). more than 50% of the respondents indicated that they never had any of the above. between 20% and 30% of the respondents indicated that they had whereas less than 10% of the respondents were not sure. table 8: existence of h&s programme elements element response (%) yes no unsure no response h&s policy h&s procedures h&s programmes h&s meeting h&s representatives documented work procedures 20.0 28.0 4.0 20.0 12.0 32.0 64.0 60.0 64.0 64.0 68.0 56.0 4.0 0.0 8.0 0.0 4.0 0.0 12.0 12.0 24.0 16.0 16.0 12.0 specifically, 64% of the respondents responded in the negative relative to having the required elements of a management system. in order to further determine whether the requirements of the legislation were being complied with, respondents were asked to state whether they had a copy of the factories act and whether an abstract of the act was displayed in a prominent place on site as per the act’s requirement. 52% of the respondents indicated that they had a copy of the act, but only 23.1% of these indicated that they had displayed the abstract in a prominent place on site. this equates to 76.9% of the respondents not following the requirements of the act. 32% of the respondents indicated that they did not have a copy and 16% indicated that they were not sure. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 82 however, physical observations concerning the above revealed that only one contractor, representing about 2.5% of the 40 sites, had displayed the act. this indicates untruthfulness on the part of the respondents even though it was clear that the act was not displayed on sites. it was also thought that if clients had the right attitude towards h&s, they would have picked up this basic requirement. notwithstanding the above untruthfulness, even the 23% response is an indication of the general practice in construction and reflects the clients’ attitude towards h&s. results of the physical investigations reveal that all health, safety, and welfare provisions of the act are not adhered to. on almost 70% of the sites, slightly less than half of the workers on site were working in hazardous areas without hard hats. on 96% of the sites workers did not wear eye protection in areas or on tasks that required eye protection, and 91.3% of the sites had no protection against falling objects and/or persons. 5. discussion given the aforementioned, it can be concluded that the contribution by non-contractor stakeholders, specifically clients, is not significant. such stakeholder input and commitment is cardinal and essential to h&s performance improvement and describes the clients’ attitude towards h&s. the respondents’ ratings of the perceived importance of h&s to clients reveal the extent to which the client is committed and their attitude to h&s. relative to cost, time, quality, and avoiding litigation, clients consider h&s to be the least important aspect on a construction project. the attitude appears to be wrong in this instance and it can be argued that this influences h&s performance in construction. based upon clients’ attitudes and actions, respondents perceived that clients did not consider h&s to be important. responses relative to whether h&s was a major item on the agenda of client progress meetings validates the perception rating nearly 71% of the respondents mentioned that h&s was not a major item on the agenda. client progress meetings are an important event during a project as all stakeholders are required to attend such meetings on site. they are also a forum where progress is evaluated and problems on site are discussed. if clients had the right attitude and were committed to h&s, h&s could have been a major item on the agenda. standard contract documentation does not reflect clients’ commitment to h&s. although 70% of the respondents stated that h&s was addressed in contracts, only 8% indicated that musonda, haupt & smallwood • client attitude to health and safety 83 it was extensively addressed. on average, 26% of the respondents stated that it was either not addressed, slightly, or fairly addressed. a positive attitude towards h&s by the client would have influenced a different perception by respondents especially regarding the rating of h&s among other traditional project parameters. 6. conclusion it can be concluded that participation and commitment by clients to h&s is low, thus describing their attitude towards h&s as negative because of the following: clients and even designers never or rarely conduct h&s audits • and inspections. h&s is not regarded as a major item on the agenda of clients’ • progress meetings; approximately 72% of the respondents indicated this, and only 28% indicated that h&s was regarded as a major item on the agenda. clients influence project progress meetings. the right attitude would therefore have elicited higher percentages of respondents indicating that h&s was a major item on the agenda. according to contractors, clients and their agents, designers, • considered h&s to be the least important aspect on a construction project. it follows that, if clients perceive the importance of h&s to be low, their attitude is not positive towards h&s. in fact, avoiding litigation and quality were rated higher than h&s. clients set the h&s tone for construction projects. their attitude therefore exerts a great influence on the performance of h&s, especially among smaller national contractors. improving or addressing clients’ attitude would greatly contribute to the improvement of h&s in the sector. however, the question arises as to this can be achieved? references benza, b. 2008. non-mining has greater gdp. mmegi online [online]. available from: <http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=31&sid2=4& aid=16&dir=2008/november/wednesday26> [accessed: 15 january 2009]. bomel. 2001. contract research report 387/2001: improving health and safety in construction: phase 1: data collection, review and structuring. london, health and safety executive. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 84 hinze, j. 2005. a paradigm shift: leading to safety. in: haupt, t.c. & smallwood, j.j. 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(eds.). implementation of safety and health on construction sites. rotterdam: a.a. balkema, pp. 833-836. van ooteghem, p. 2006. work-related injuries and illnesses in botswana. international journal of occupational and environmental health, 12(1), pp. 42-51. watanabe, t. & hanayasu, s. 1999. philosophy of construction safety management in japan. in: singh, a., hinze, j.h. & coble, r.j. (eds.). implementation of safety and health on construction sites. rotterdam: a.a. balkema, pp. 55-64. world bank. 2008. world development indicators, botswana country brief. [online]. available from: <http://web.worldbank.org/website/ external/countries/africaext/bots> [accessed: 4 march 2009]. 5 life cycle costing and cost-effective design solutions aj stevens life cycle costing introduction according to ruegg and marshall 1 economic optimisation is the process whereby economic analysis is applied to determine the most economically efficient or cost-effective choice among alternatives. moreover, the attainment of optimum economic efficiency reflects a fundamental goal of the majority of investors. whereas traditional economic evaluation methods offer varying de�rees of proficiency in determinini optimum investment desirability, they fail to identify and evaluate the explicit relationships between capital costs and operating expenses. these inadequacies are especially relevant when viewed from the perspective of property investment evaluation. recognising the intimate links between imtial acquisition costs and subsequent running costs is fundamental to establishing the most cost-effective property development solution. llfe cycle costing (lcc) represents a financial assessment technique whereby these issues are addressed. lcc as a general management technique i�not new. the pr�cess is acknowledged as a weu established evaluation concept. robinson and blanchard remark that proven general business principles4 which have been used in industry and commerce for years, underpin themethod. marshall notes that lcc has traditionally been used by the united states government for large projects and currently most u.s. government agencies are required to employ formal life cycle evaluation methods. notwithstanding the perceived benefits, widespread application of lcc is not �versa!. the resistance to implernentini lcc is recognised by ashworth and au-yeung who reveal that, although the royal institution of chartered surveyors (quantity surveyors' division) has consistently supported the use of the technique in practice, there appears to be a reluctance on the/art of united kingdom practitioners to implement lcc services. according to norman the primary causes for this limited application may be attributed to the following: (')(ii) (iii) a lack of reliable data, a perception that, because it is essentially a forecasting system, lcc delivers questionable conclusions and is therefore inappropriate for decision-making, and the precise nature of lcc computations removes the scope for managerial discretion. various terms are applied to identify the technique of lcc. these include costs-in-use, terotechn?}ogy, engineering eco�mics and cost bgnefit studies. although �ijhors such as blanchard , ruegg and marshall , hanagan et al. , and dell'isola and kirk accept lcc as a valid method of 11 nsuring design efficiency optimisation, the approach has its detractors. lenard r2 al. challenge the merits of the procedure employed to evaluate �3 cycle costs. drake is more emphatic in his objections, while grover and grover emphasise the consistency problems in lcc appraisals. definition although employed in the decision-making process in a number of industries, lcc is examined in this paper specifically in terms of its relevance to property development evaluation. lcc as applied to building activity is the term employed to portray a financial appraisal technique that permits comparative evaluation of building projects and/or components/�-ystems constituting the physical asset. the life cycle cost of an asset 6 subsequent running costs and final disposal costs or income. whilst authors such as kerr and capper14 and bejrum and haugenls refer to income considerations, the lcc technigue is generally promoted as a cost con 1�t reflecting the cost consequences of design dec1sions. for instance, ruegg and marshall identify lcc as a method used to evaluate alternatives which compete primarily on the basis of ffsts. a similar interpretation is advanced by the royal institution of chartered surveyors . they introduce lcc as a technique that takes into account the total costs that a project imposes upon a client during the whole of its life. within these stringent definitions, emphasis is clearly placed on cost-effectiveness and income benefits are specifically excluded from the computation procedure. in essence lcc may be defined as a financial appraisal technique that permits valid comparative evaluations of available alternative possibilities based on time-phased costs over a specific investment period in order to arrive at the optimum cost-effective solution.' lcc functions although many basic design decisions are subject to outside influences such as town planning regulations, and are not candidates for life cycle costing, the majority have multiple options each with its own economic consequence. unless these alternatives are clearly defined, incorrect decisions may be made by the failure to recognise possible substitutes. even if several alternatives are considered, ineffective selections may result as a consequence of not having considered the best solution. a poor alternative will inevitably appear the best selection if compared with alternatives that are even worse. an lcc study _provides a framework for selecting the optimum alternative from among mutually exclusive options which may differ with respect to both initial and running costs. the technique facilitates the comparison of all relevant costs by converting them to equal terms at common points in time. lcc employed at the inception stage of a development may be used as a technique for determinin� whether or not to build, or for evaluating alternative building developments on the basis of initial, operating and maintenance costs over the economic life of the project. implementation of tiie ibchnique implementation process lcc represents a logical method of evaluating developments with respect to the design of complete buildings or elements or to the choice of individual components or materials. the implementation process is divided into the following stages: (i) establishing the life cycle: the determined life cycle applicable to all options is established in consultation with the investor in order to ensure that the time scale is compatible with investment objectives. within the established overall life cycle study period, differing life cycles appear for the various components and elements constituting the asset. (ii) determination of available alternatives: to ensure that the best options are selected, all suitable alternatives relating to design solutions and materials and forms of construction are identified. 7 (iii) estimation of total costs applicable to the available alternatives: the estimated current value cash flow for the determined life cycle applicable to each element or component includes capital costs, running costs, mamtenance costs, repair and replacement costs, alteration costs, finance charges and residual costs or revenues. the total cost commitment for the overall life cycle comprises the sum of the life cycle costs of the individual elements and components. (iv) time-phasing costs to date of occurrence: because estimated prices represent present day costs they are time-phased to the anticipated dates on which they are expected to occur. the time-phasing process incorporates price changes caused by inflation, changed working conditions, etc. (v) selection of discount rate: the selection of an appropriate or interest rate to convert the time-phased costs to future or present value equivalents, enables alternatives to be compared on an equitable basis at a common point in time. (vi) adjustments for income tax charges and depreciation allowances: the financial implications of income tax charges affecting both the discount rate and cash flow are computed. the financial relief precipitated by depreciation allowances is reflected as a reduction in life cycle costs. (vii) sensitivity analyses: this issue refers to testing the sensitivity of the analyses to the effects of changes to interest rates, life cycles or estimated costs. computation procedures three traditional methods employed in lcc studies are illustrated. all provide for cash flows, regardless of when they are incurred, to be converted to equal terms at common points in time. the methods are: (i) (ii) (iii) equivalent present value method: alternatives are evaluated in terms of their total single payment present worth. equivalent annual value method: alternatives are evaluated in terms of their equivalent annual value costs. equivalent future value method: alternatives are evaluated in terms of their total single payment future worth. these methods, -which are fully interchangeable, represent alternative means of presenting precisely the same information in a standard format. cost data reflecting current values are time-phased to represent actual costs as at the date of commitment. the prediction of future recurring or replacement costs must account for increases due to the following: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) inflation. differences in working conditions and scale of operations. replacement will not necessarily be on the same scale as the original operation and may be executed under more trying or difficult circumstances. costs of demolishing and removing existing work as well as the protection of remaining structures and finishings while the work is in progress. costs of disturbances to and/or by the occupiers during building operations. 8 notwithstanding cost considerations representing the primary basis for comparative purposes, all options must be capable of fulfilling stipulated functional objectives. apart from meeting acceetable technical standards and cost-effective qualities, a further criterion affectin� the decision is the irreducible factor. an irreducible factor is one that has no alternatives and, as such, outweighs any cost considerations. in the application of lcc analyses a number of issues are relevant to its successful implementation. these include income tax implications, tax depreciation allowances, the impact of inflation and financing considerations. these issues are individually examined in terms of their impact on lcc studies. income tax implications general the financial implications of income tax charges and tax depreciation allowances are investi�ated only insofar as they directly affect lcc studies. whilst lcc is concerned primarily with costs, certain expenditures do cultivate tax implications with respect to mcome benefits. therefore, apart from examining the effects of income tax on expenses, the indirect impact of tax on revenue is clarified. three tax issues are identified. these are the: 0 (ii) (iii) effects of income tax on the interest rate; indirect tax effects on revenue that results from expenditure commitments; and financial implications of tax depreciation allowances. the effects of income tax on the interest rate income ta"{ charges are equivalent to reductions in interest rates employed to transpose time-phased costs to present or future value sums. these adjustments to the applied interest rate result in delivering smaller future value sums and larger present value sums. the indirect tax effects on revenue wben expenditure is classified as deductible for tax purposes, it realises a saving in income tax payable. because lcc studies reflect only expenses, the financial relief created by tax permissible expenditures is treated as a reduction in life cycle costs. ti1e value of the tax charge reduction, which is e�uivalent to a decrease in expenses, is dependent upon the payment amount and the apphed tax rate. in the example illustrated in table 1 the r2 000.00 expense is eq_uivalent to an after-tax charge of rl 200.00. in mathematical terms the tax relief value precrpitated by permissible expenditure is the 'payment amount x [1 t]' and the actual worth of a r2 000.00 cost cmmmtment (assuming 40% income tax) would read: after-tax cost = a [1 t] = 2 000.00 [1 -.40] = rl 200.00 wben expenditure represents a capital cost, it is not permitted as a deduction for tax purposes. s�ch charges derive no tax relief benefit and the full costs are included in the lcc analysis. table 1 tax implications of expenditure of a revenue nature gross annual income annual operating expence redecoration net income before tax income tax 40 net income after tax project a rl0 000.00 3 000.00 __q,00 7000.00 uqq.00 r4200.00 after-tax income difference occasioned by cost of redecoration = rl 200.00 projectb rl0 000.00 3000.00 2.000.00 5 000.00 2..00!.1.00 r 3 000.00 9 in computing the present or future value equivalents for non-tax-deductible expenditure, effective after-tax interest rates are used m the equations to transpose data to their ultimate destination. if charges are designated as deductible for tax purposes, the benefits derived from the tax relief permutations are accommodated by multiplying the relevant equations by [1t]. the implications of tax depreciation allowances annual depreciation allowances represent positive cash flows and are processed as revenue streams that reduce life cycle costs. because depreciation amounts are not cash outlays, but bookkee.ping expenses that reduce taxable income, the method of accounting for the tax i�lications on these allowances differs from the procedure adopted in accommodating tax relief values attributed to operating costs. the primary distinction relates to the tax relief equation. tax depreciation allowances reduce the amount of tax payable and increase the after-tax income from an investment. in order to give a proper account for the financial implications of depreciation amounts, they are offset agamst the costs of the depreciated asset. for instance, the example in table 2 illustrates that the r3 000.00 depreciation allotment creates a rl 200.00 increase in after-tax cash flow, and effectively rel?resents a reduction of rl 200.00 in the cost of the asset. in mathematical terms the deprecration amount is offset against the cost of the asset by the equation 'depreciation amount x t' and accordingly r3 000.00 x 't' = rl 200.00. table 2 tax depreciation allowances gross annual income annual operating expenses tax depreciation allowance taxable income income tax 40% net income after tax project a rl0 000.00 3000.00 _q,_qq 7000.00 12 800.00 r4200.00 after-tax income difference occasioned by tax depreciation allowances = rl 200.00 project b rl0 000.00 3 000.00 3..00q,oo 6000.00 liqq.00 r5 400.00 10 financing costs general althou�h the subject of financing capital purchases is ignored by most of the literature pertaimng to lcc studies, the issue remains a crucial factor in capital investment decisions. the logic supporting the contention that financing provisions are intrinsic components of the evaluation process is not unanimously accepted. for instance, langston · maintains that borrowed money considerations should p<r excluded from lcc computations. this viewpoint is not reflected by flanagan et al . they argue that if the cost is financed through borrowing, explicit account needs to be taken of the resultant interest payments. borrowed money interest charges are tax deductible expenses that decrease taxable income and result in lower income tax payments. in contrast, loan capital repayments do not qualify as deductions for tax purposes and the total value of such amounts is reflected as an expense in the cash flow profile. in terms of lcc analyses, the computation complexities associated with interest and redemption repayments are largely dependent upon the financing arrangements. two primary financing methods are pertment. the first method provides for interest-only payments for the life of the loan and capital redemption at the conclusion of the loan penod. the second procedure assumes a constant payment pattern in which interest and redemption amounts vary in value as the repayment cycle progresses. the method provides for the systematic reduction of borrowed capital to zero value at the conclusion of the loan term. interest-only mortgage loans in terms of financial accountability, the interest-only type loan represents the less complex system. interest charges are reflected as a series of tax deductible uniform payments. when loan repayment schedules do not correspond with the project life, the computed values are transposed to dates that match either the start or end of the determined overall life cycle. although the debt capital repayment amount at the end of the loan period reduces the after-tax cash flow, it does not constitute a tax deductible expense, and the tax relief factor is not applicable. if the capital repayment date and life cycle evaluation point do not correspond, the outstanding debt amount is converted to the appropriate present or future value position. amortising mortgage loans because typical mortgage type loans reflect uniform payment amounts comprising varying proportions of interest and· capital redemption payments, they are more difficult to accommodate in lcc analyses. in a constant value redemption instalment schedule, interest charges initially constitute the major portion of each payment. over time the interest apportionment is gradually reduced until a stage is reached when the position is reversed and the capital redemption portion establishes the dominant component. because of lack of uniformity with respect to interest and redemption elements, uniform payment amortising type loans are best accounted for by developing separate cash flow schedules for the two components. each payment amount is individually transposed to present or future value equivalents by employing the after-tax single payment amount formula. while borrowing decreases immediate equity capital needs and postpones capital injection to the future, it does incur additional expenses m the form of interest charges. a problem associated with incorporating financing costs into lcc studies relates to the prospect of double accountini, because all discounted cash flow techniques implicitly account for the repayment of capital, care must be taken to ensure that capital cash flows are not included more than once. 11 table 3 borrowing and cash flow profiles year 0 1 2 3 cash inflow � � 0 cash outflow ry ry net cash outflow 0 ry ry ry rx 1 = amount borrowed from lender rx� = amount paid for asset on this instance equals borrowing) ry = interest and redemption payments to lender a typical cash flow profile initiated by loan capital repayments is highlighted in table 3. an asset, purchased entirely by loan monies to the value of rx, is repaid over a period of three years. because the initial cash inflow is balanced by the initial cash outflow, the lcc cost commitment schedule conforms to the pattern of 'nil' payments in year zero followed by uniform payments for years one to three inclusive. inflation and lcc studies general the estimated cash flow amounts in an lcc study reflect current prices which are time­ phased to their anticipated payment dates. either constant rand or actual rand values are adopted as the medium:ili'r reflecting price changes caused by inflationary pressures. although flanagan et al. indicate a preference for accommodating the influence of inflation through the use of inflation-free interest rates, whereby cash flows are expressed in real or constant rand terms, the approach is not favoured in this paper. the actual rand methodology is preferred primarily because it obviates the complications created by projects displaying a mixture of inflation resistant and inflation dominated cash flows. in the recommended approach current prices are time-phased to their anticipated payment dates. the projected payment amounts are then converted to equivalent present or mure worths at after-tax interest rates. further lcc issues general while many authors endorse the concept of life cycle costing there are those who remain suspicious of its value as a cost appraisal measure. although some of the criticisms are well founded, others originate primarily as a result of the failure to appreciate fully the concept of lcc, the more relevant problems and benefits associated with lcc studies are examined in the following paragraphs. understanding the interaction between capital and running costs misunderstanding of the interaction between capital and running costs frequently promotes unfounded criticisms of the lcc technique. for instance, the belief that lower running costs are necessarily the product of increased capital expenditure results is a common misconception. larger capital budgets will not ensure that lower mure maintenance and operating costs result. many poor design decisions generate increases in both initial cost commitments and future running expenses. if a true interpretation of the relationship 12 between initial capital costs and future running expenditure is to be ascertained, alternative options must be defined and compared on an eqmvalent basis. the issue similarly promotes problems with regard to the acquisition of sufficient capital to implement the most economic proposal. when inadequate funds are allocated to a particular project it is often difficult to convince clients of the long-term advantages that can result from increasing capital budgets. investor objectives one of the advantages of lcc is that it forces users to define investment objectives and to make implicit design decisions more explicit. the implementation of a systematic analytical procedure has the effect of separating subjective and objective considerations and of simplifying the evaluation of alternative design solutions. notwithstanding these benefits, failure to identify investor objectives properly, frequently promotes negative attitudes towards the lcc concept as a resul�pf conflict between management intentions and evaluation criteria. according to stone short-term developers are concerned with future costs only insofar as they anticipate the purchaser will take note of them. whereas purchasers are intimately concerned with maintenance charges, the developer/seller is primarily concerned with the difference between building costs and sellin� price. if the distinctive forces that motivate individual investors are not clearly recognised, the lcc study will not necessarily be compatible with investor requirements. uncertainty in forecasting because the application of lcc in the construction industry is associated with the evaluation of long-term durable assets, forecasting is fundamental to its existence. lcc study assumptions include forecasts of future inflation rates, discount rates, lives of buildings and their component parts, income tax rates, and residual or salvage values. these assumptions are not unique to lcc analyses and extend to other capital investment evaluation procedures. forecasting introduces the problem of uncertainty which materialises irrespective of whether predictions are concerned with estimates of initial costs or forecasts of future running costs. the degree of uncertainty is dependent upon the reliability of available information and the time over which forecasts have to be made. for instance, although a reasonable degree of accuracy may be accomplished in estimating initial costs, difficulties may arise in accurately forecasting the future replacement costs of the same components because of uncertainty as to the extent of the disturbance factor in the alteration operations. in this regard the importance of sound professional judgement should not be underrated. while it is acknowledged that there is always a measure of uncertainty as to the accuracy of predictions, modem risk analysis techniques have provided limited relief to the problem. furthermore, predictions and assumptions are not unique to lcc studies. these deficiencies extend to all dynamic investment evaluation procedures that assess projects on the basis of their investment lives. it is argued that there are distinct benefits to be derived from the technique. because it demands rational predictions, implicit assumptions are made explicit and objectively quantified. if no consideration is given to predicting future conditions it is comparable with the unrealistic presumption that current cjrcumstances will proceed unchanged into the future. changes in interest rates one of the main problems of lcc relates to the accuracy in forecasting changes in interest rates. market-related interest rates employed in lcc analyses comprise interest and inflation components. although the values attributed to these interest rates are dictated to 13 a lar&e extent by inflation pressures, because they frequently fluctuate in sympathy with inflation, movements in real interest rates tend to remain stable. the financial implications of interest rate changes are therefore not always as substantial as market movements indicate. obsolescence and durability a number of factors are relevant to predictions in expected life cycles and these vary for different clients, buildings and their component parts. the economically productive time scale for a building is not necessarily the same as its probable ph:ysical life. because it is possible to influence physical life to a certain extent by exercismg care in component specification and material selection, or by implementing positive maintenance programmes, this cost may be quantified in economic terms. however, the ability to predict realistically costs associated with functional or economic obsolescence is questionable. depending upon the extent of depreciation, obsolescence rectification ranges from minor works or renovation through to modernisation or complete redesign and construction programmes. although theoretically such charges can be related to failure of similar buildings, the unique nature of individual developments invariably ensures that the information is of limited value. assessment of income, indirect and intangible costs lcc is an economic appraisal process capable of reaching conclusions based on cost considerations alone. because their effects on total costs are difficult to measure, not all cost consequences can be costed directly. for example, an increase in initial costs introduced to enhance the appearance of a building may in the long term result in a higher occupancy rate, or greater contentment of the inhabitants. costs and returns of this nature are difficult to measure in monetary terms alone. in addition, there are aspects such as prestige that are impossible to quantify and as such do not forrqfart of the lcc study. these issues are addressed by flanagan, norman and robinson� . they have developed an lcc framework that permits the value of int�ble benefits and costs to be quantified and subtracted from the total costs of each option in order to identify the least cost alternative. a further problem area is the exclusion of the effects of design decisions on revenue cash flow projections. although revenue fluctuations may be measured in terms of reducing costs as a result of design modifications, the exclusion of any form of investment desirability evaluation from lcc studies does represent a distinct limitation of the technique. cost data a major problem in south africa is the virtual absence of suitable reliable cost data in the right form and detail to undertake studies of the nature envisaged. if lcc is to be introduced on a national scale, concerted efforts will have to be made for the collection of relevant cost information on an ongoing basis. the united states is probably the leader in the field of obtaining data in a suitable form for use in lcc analyses. although restricted availability of appropriate �ormation has been experienced in the united kingdom, according to flanagan et al. the data problem is becoming less severe with many clients and consultant organisations building up extensive and well-designed data bases. 14 conclusion the technique of lcc embodies well-founded economic concepts whereby the cost implications of design decisions are analysed. the greatest strength and appeal of the approach is undoubtedly its suitability as a cost control measure that facilitates the financial comparison of design options. whereas most other cost estimating procedures restrict the assessments to initial costs alone, the technique of lcc accommodates the long-term view with respect to the total cost of building ownership by establishing a mechanism whereby the relationships between initial and operating costs are effectively analysed. references 1. rosalie t. ruegg and harold e. marshall, 1990. building economics, theory and practice, new york: van nostrand reinhold, pp.3-15. 2. j.r.w. robinson, 1988. 'life cycle costing in buildings : a practical approach, the professional builder, vol.6, no.5, october, p.7. 3. benjamin s. blanchard, 1978. design and manage to life cycle cost, portland, oregon : m/ a press, p.1. 4. harold e. 1987. marshall, 'building economics in the united states', construction management and economics, volume five, special issue, london: e. & f.n. spon ltd., p.43. 5. alan ashworth and peter au-yeung, the evaluation of life cycle costing as a practicel tool during building design, cib, copenhagen, fourth international symposium on building economics, vol.a, 1987, p.83. 6. george norman, 1987. editorial comment, construction management and economics, volume five, special issue, london: e. & f.n. spon ltd., p.51. 7. benjamin s. blanchard, design and manage to life cycle cost. 8. rosalie t. ruegg and harold e. marshall, building economics, theory and practice, 9. roger flanagan, george norman, justin meadows and graham robinson, 1989. life cycle costing, theory and practice, london : bsp professional books. 10. alphonse j. dell'isola and stephen j. kirk, 1981. life cycle costing for design professionals, new york: mcgraw-hill book company. 11. d. lenard, c. roberts, c. langston and p. smith, 1988. 'the life cycle cost fallacy', the building economist, june, pp.11-13. 12. b. e drake, 1977. 'an objection to terotechnology', quality and total cost in buildings and services design, london: the construction press, pp.95-97. 13. richard j. grover and christine s. grover, 1981. consistency problems in life cycle cost appraisals, cib, copenhagen, fourth international symposium on building economics, vol. a, pp.17-30. 15 14. derek kerr and graham capper,1984. a cost be� approach to design optimisation, cib, ottawa, third international symposium on building economics, vol.2, pp.114-121. 15. hakan bejrwn and tore haugen,1990. long range property management decisions and life cycle decision support systems, cib, sydney, building economics and construction management, vol.3, pp.11-22. 16. rosalie ruegg and harold e. marsball,building &onomics, theory and practice, p.16. 17. royal institution of chartered surveyors, 1986. a guide to life cycle costing for construction,london : surveyors publications, p.1. 18. craig a lan�ton, 1990. the measurement of life costs a new approach, cib, sydney, building economics and construction management, vol.2, p.142. 19. roger flanagan, george norman, justin meadows and graham robinson, life cycle costing, theory and practice, p.51. 20. ibid., p.55. 21. p.a stone,1980. building design evaluation costs in use, 3rd ed., london : e. & f.n. spon ltd., p.7. 22. r. flanagan, g. norman and g.d. robinson, 1987. using a life cycle cost in practice, building cost modelling and computers, edited by p.s. brandon, london : e. & f.n. spon ltd., pp. 587-600. 23. roger flanagan, george norman, justin meadows and graham robinson, life cycle costing, theory and practice, p.viii. 2000 acta structilia vo! 7 no 1 eyvind finsen 1 the building contract: a commentary on the jbcc agreements review by j j p verster2 like finsen's previous books, the building contract, presents the industry, students and arbitrators with an excellent guide but does not represent a detailed investigation of construction contracts and the consequences of contracting or contractual issues. despite this shortcoming the book fills the vital gap created by the new jbcc 2000 series of documentation and is a must for professionals, developers, builders and managers in the construction industry. the publication is divided into three sections. the first section covers general contractual issues and explains the role of construction professionals. the second section explains the rights, obligations and administration as set by the clauses of the jbcc 2000. section three presents the actual documents (the principal agreement, forms, nominated/selected agreement and preliminaries). the building contract presents the professional student and construction mediator/arbitrator with an important guide in respect of professional practice and contractual interpretation. it is a great pity that the jbcc 2000 was once again altered after the publication of this book. we are awaiting the amendments to the book to suit the new international edition of the jbcc 2000 eagerly. eyvind finsen is an architect, arbitrator and construction contract consultant in private practice in johannesburg and cape town. he is president of the south african council of architects and honorary life fellow of the association of arbitrators (south africa). he is the author of quail on the building contract and the new building contract and joint author, with professor david butler, of arbitration in south africa. 2 professor j j p (basie) verster, head: department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. finsen/the building contract this publication and guide unfortunately includes some minor imperfections relating to a lack of understanding of the quantity surveyor's role in the construction, documentation and managerial process. furthermore, it provides limited references to some types of contracts and their implications. finsen must once again be thanked for his contribution to the construction industry. the building contract is just one of several publications by him regarding contractual issues and he must be commended for maintaining the high quality of his previous works. this book clearly indicates finsen's intimate involvement in the drafting of the jbcc 2000, which enhances the practical impact of this very useful publication even more3. date of publication: (first edition) 1999 publisher: juta printed in: cape town price: ± r235.00 3 this review is by professor jjp (basie) verster, head: department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloem­ fontein, south africa. 4 expert systems acta structilia desember 1995 the fifth generation more than a genealogical pursuit marius m. muller 1 1 old mutual properties*,?. 0. box 11315, johannesburg 2000, south africa • disclaimer : the views expressed in this article, are those held by the author and in no way reflect the views of his colleagues or employer. abstract this article describes the nature of ex-pert systems and outlines their possible use in the field of building economics. their usefulness in terms of quantification of uncertainty is also examined. it was found that the benefits of developing ex-pert systems are tremendous, but that the success of expert systems would be determined by their acceptance by the general public. keywords: artificial intelligence, building economics, expert systems, quantification of uncertainty. 1. introduction sir clive sinclair, referring to artificial intelligence, stated that " ... ·fifth generation' [ computing] is the greatest battle-ground of the century. lfwe lose we are out of the game" (brandon, 1984). bowen and edwards (1985) emphatically admit that no evidence exists to prove that there is a need for this paradigm shift and also that the hunt for a new paradigm emanates almost entirely from an academic pursuit of knowledge. does this in any way lessen the credibility of sir clive's statement that "the 'fifth generation' is the greatest battle-ground of the century"? so far the japanese government has invested us $500 million to this cause and the british government £200 million (brandon, 1984). this paper, by way of describing the nature of expert systems, outlining their possible use in the field of building economics and by commenting on their usefulness in the quantification of uncertainty, will help to decide whether the 'battle' is worth fighting. acta structilia 2. nature of expert systems december 1995 expert systems are a specialised form of artificial intelligence which are still in their embryonic stage (brandon, 1990). the text that follows will describe the nature of expert systems. 2.1 definitions: (addis, 1984; brandon, 1983; fiegenbaum, 1984; goodall, 1985) many authors have put forward definitions for expert systems. they all include terms which refer to the capturing of human expertise within a system which allows interaction with a person of lesser expertise, so that the latter will be able to solve significant problems by using the knowledge of the former. naylor (1983) extends this definition by sa)�ng that the capability of the system to justify its own line of reasoning in a manner intelligible to an enquirer is a further desirable characteristic. buchanan and duda (1983) encapsulate the fuller concept of an expert system by defining it as a computer program that provides expert-level solutions or advice to problems and is heuristic (self learning), transparent and flexible. 2.2 development as mentioned earlier, expert systems are specialised forms of artificial intelligence (brandon, 1990). bowen and erwin (1991), citing newton (1986) and steels (1988), propose two types of expert systems, viz. first generation expert systems which are founded largely on heuristic reasoning based on rules and second generation expert systems which incorporate the above concept as well as deep reasoning based on a model of the __ problem domain, i.e. a self-learning capacity. jackson (1986), however, proposes a three stage development. firstly, the classical period ( l 960's) characterised by "game playing heuristic" models. secondly, the romantic (mid 1960's to mid l 970's) involving the data capturing of specific and general principles. lastly, the modem period (mid l 970's to date) which leans towards self-learning knowledge based expert systems. 2.3 character the purpose of expert systems, among other things, is to increase the understanding of the future, serve as a reference point and to provide a "skeleton for professionals to flesh out"(brandon, et al 1987). this in tum would lead to further benefits such as enhancement and improvement of expertise, increased consistency in decision making and a speedier decision making process (brandon, 1988). in addition to this, bowen and edwards (1985) see a replication and union of expertise and an improvement in documentation. most expert systems at present are successful in areas involving surface knowledge, i.e. domain dependent knowledge (basden, 1983), whereas the real success of expert systems lies in the area of deep reasoning, which is domain independent (bowen and erwin, 1991 ). expert systems are by nature very competent. they are able to replicate, although to a limited extent at present, the thinking process of humans (winfield, 1982). winfield (1982) and brandon (1990) contend that expert systems overcome the 'black box' effect in that they allow for interaction with the user by allowing the user to question their "chain of reasoning" and to override any assumptions that have been made. this transparency of expert systems establishes confidence in the user as it allows actual control over the system. stockley (1987) maintains that with regard to expert systems it is important to realise the limitations of any expert system when using it so as to avoid failure. kidd and weldbank (1984) 5 6 acta structilia desember 1995 state that for an expert system to be successful it must contain "the richest collection of information possible about the knowledge which the expert uses." 3. use of expert systems in the field of building economics brandon (1987) says that traditional cost models are found wanting due to their inherent nature. these inherent problems of inexplicability, unrelatedness and detenninism are well documented by bowen and edwards (1985), beeston (i 987) and bowen et al (1987). a paradigm shift was therefore needed to overcome these problems (kuhn, 1970). in the context of this paper, a model is defined as a tool for evaluating, in terms of cost, different design options at a stage early enough to pennit design-to-cost control at the point where control is most needed, i.e. prior to sketch design (newton, 1987). 3. 1 purpose and usage brandon (1987) sees the expert system cost model as being to the advantage of society, the client, the employer and the expert. he also maintains that the expert system will be able to serve the building economist in his decision making process by fulfilling the role of a decision support system. this is echoed by blanning (1984) and hamilton (1987), the latter adding that the expert system should act as a checklist for the practitioner. to be meaningful as cost models for use in building evaluation, expert systems should be applicable throughout the building procurement process (bowen et al, 1987), should conform to a positive design/data/model/output interface (raftery, 1987) and should be iterative. the iterative concept is supported by higgin and jessop (1964) and morrison and stevens (1980). 3 .2 problems and developments gray (1987) says that due to the complexity and specialist nature of the building industry, expert systems have had limited success. this confirms rittel's (1966) statement that construction problems are "wicked" and that human input cannot be excluded. according to birrell (1980) these problems can be overcome. he proposes that there are rules by which construction work is executed. this would thus accommodate the development of a rule-based system. / bowen et al (1987) has decided to follow beeston's ( 1983) approach in opting to find a solution via the implementation of realistic models, as opposed to 'black box' models (brandon, 1982). they, however, add that this resource based model must take variability and uncertainty into account and will be based on pert/network type modelling. erwin and bowen (1990) in reply to gray's (1987) argument that networks cannot be accommodated by a rule-based system, contend that a script-based knowledge representation system can overcome this problem. a major problem with decision making however, is the fact that different experts have subjective views as to which solution is best (brandon, et al 1988). mathur and heah (1990) approach this problem with the solution of a multi-domain system which negotiates compromises. the solution is realised by developing a "conflict solving multiple domain system". expert systems will play an important role in the field of building economics in the future. it must be remembered that these models are only in their infancy stage and tremendous development still needs to occur. it is the author's opinion that ways should be found to favourably introduce acta struc:tilia december 1995 expert systems into the industry. this can be achieved by making the systems more user-fiiendly and by structuring them along lines which are familiar to practitioners in the industry. 4. the usefulness of expert systems in the specification of uncertainty. existing cost models according to higgin and jessop ( 1965), harris and wijesundera ( 1986) and bowen and erwin (1989) lack the ability to handle uncertainty satisfactorily. uncertainty may be defined as a state of knowledge about the variable inputs to an analysis (marshall, 1988) and is brought about due to the objectives, constraints and consequences of possible actions not being precisely known (after bellman and zadeh, 1970). 4.1 types of uncertainty according to mamdani and efstathiou (1985) no one technique exists that adequately treats all forms of uncertainty, viz. imperfect knowledge, intrinsic randomness, inherent indeterminancy and categorical uncertainty as is referred to by many authors (bellman and zadeh, 1970; zadeh, 1979; buchanan, 1982; tong, 1982; pang et al, 1986; klir, 1987; scott et al, 1988; allwood, 1989 and ng and abramson, 1990). 4.2 handling uncertainty traditionally, uncertainty was handled by way of techniques such as decision analysis, sensitivity analysis, input estimation, etc., but these were found to be lacking in their practical applicability (marshall, 1988). bowen and edwards (1985) propose that to overcome problems of quantifying uncertainty, there needs to be the development of a model . which encapsulates stochastic (random) simulation. mathur (1982) also takes this approach and suggests that expert systems can find their true niche in the development of models dealing with stochastic variability and uncertainty. 4.3 expert system-based approaches to uncertainty according to erwin et al (1991), expert systems provide many built-in features for the handling of uncertainty, as well as functions which facilitate calculations with probabilities. uncertainty features of expert systems can be classified into two main areas. firstly, the ability to handle uncertainty of outcome. this concerns the aspect of conditional probability (scott et al, 1988) and forward chaining (erwin et al, 1991 ). secondly, the ability to handle uncertainty of explanation. this refers to methods such as explanation description (waterman, 1986), backward chaining (holsapple and whinston, 1987) and abduction (incomplete reasoning) (giarratano and riley, 1989). therefore, according to erwin et al ( 1991 ), "various expert system based techniques for handling uncertainty exist" and they "appear suitable for use in a construction context". 7 8 acta structilia desemher 1995 5. conclusion it can thus be concluded that although empirical data for the need for expert systems does not largely exist, the benefits of developing expert systems are tremendous. the main benefit is that expertise will be unlocked for access by all thereby allowing more competition between "monopolising" professional bodies (brandon, 1984). the success of expert systems, however, lies mainly in the acceptance by the general public of the ability of expert sy�ems. references allwood, r.j. 1989. techniques and applications of expert systems in the construction industry. ellis horwood ltd., london. basden, a. 1983. on the application of expert systems. international journal of man­ machine studies, 19, pp. 461-477. beeston, d. 1987. a future for cost modelling, in building cost modelling and computers, edit p.s. brandon. pp. 17-24, spon, london. bellman, r.e. and zadeh, l.a. 1970. decision-making in a fuzzy environment. management science, 17(4), pp. 141-164. birrell, g.s. 1980. construction planning beyond the critical path. journal of the construction division, american society of civil engineers 106, c03, pp. 389-405. blanning, r.w. 1984. management application of expert systems. information & management. bowen, p.a. and edwards, p.j. 1985. cost modelling and price forecasting: practice and theory in perspective. construction management and economics, vol.3, pp. 199-215. bowen, p.a. and erwin, g.j. 1989. expert systems in building design evaluation. south african journal of science, 85(4), april, pp. 251-257. bowen, p.a. and erwin, g.j. 1991. second generation expert systems, machine learning, and the building procurement process. south african journal of science, forthcoming. bowen, p.a., wolvaardt, j.s. and taylor, r.g. 1987. cost modelling: a process-modelling approach, in building cost modelling and computers, edit p.s. brandon, pp. 387-395, spon, london. brandon, p.s., basden, a., hamilton, i. and stockley, j. 1988. application of expert systems to quantity surveying, rjcs (quantity surveyors division). brandon, p.s. 1984. computers: friend or foe? address to the 13th triennial conference, royal institution of chartered surveyors (q.s.division), april. acta structilia december 1995 brandon, p.s. 1982. building cost research need for a paradigm shift, in building cost techniques: new directions (ed. p.s. brandon), e. & f.n. span. london, pp. 5-13. brandon, p.s. 1987. models, mortality and the ghost in the machine, in building cost modelling and computers (ed. p.s. brandon), e.& f.n. span, ltd london, pp. 3-14. brandon, p.s. 1990. expert systems after the hype is oyer, in proceedings of the c.i.b. w55/65 international symposium on building economics and construction management, sydney, march, vol. 2, pp. 314-344. buchanan, b.g. 1982. new research on expert systems, in machine intelligence (eds. hayes, michie and pao), ellis horwood ltd., chichester, vol. i 0, pp. 269-299. erwin, g.j. and bowen, p.a. 1990. expert systems: script-based knowledge representation in building design evaluation, in proceedings of the c.i.b. w-55/65 international symposium on building economics and construction management, sydney, march, vol.2, pp. 462-472. erwin g.j., bowen, p.a. and strez, h.a. 1991. the treatment of uncertainty in the building procurement process using expert system-based techniques, in proceedings of the conference on, construction project modelling and productivity and fourth yugoslav symposium on organisation and management in construction, dubrovnik, april. giarratano, j. and riley, g. 1989. expert systems principles and programming. pws-kent publishing company, boston. goodall, a. 1985. the guide to expert systems. learned information (europe) ltd, england. gray, c. 1986. 'intelligent' construction time and cost analysis. construction management and economics, vol. 4, pp. 135-150. gray, c. 1987. expert system development for predicting time of construction at the early design stage, in building cost modelling and computers (ed. p.s. brandon), e. & f.n. span ltd., london, pp. 429-440. hamilton, i. 1987. developing expert systems for management applications, in building cost modelling and computers (ed. p.s. brandon) e. & f.n. spon ltd., london, pp. 441-451 . harris, f.c., wijesundera, a. 1986. using expert systems in construction. construction computing, july, 417. psb. higgin, g. and jessop, n. 1964. interdependence and uncertainty. tavistock institute, london. higgin, g. and jessop, n. 1965. interdependence and uncertainty. tavistock institute, london. holsapple, c.w. and whinston, a.b. 1987. business expert systems. richard d. irwin inc., new york. jackson, p. 1986. introduction to expert systems. addison-wesley: london. 9 10 acta structi/ia · desember 1995 klir, g.j. 1987. where do we stand on measures of uncertainty, ambiguity, fuzziness, and the like. fuzzy sets and systems, vol.24, pp. 141-160. kidd, a. and welbank, m. 1984. knowledge acquisition. expert systems: state of the art report 12:7, pergamon infotech limited, england, pp. 71-80. kuhn, t. 1970. the structure of scientific revolution (2nd edit). university of chicago press. mamdani, e.h. and efstathiou, h.j. 1985. higher-order logics for handling uncertainty in expert systems. international journal of man-machine studies, vol. 22, pp. 283-293. marshall, h. 1988. techniques for treating uncertainty and risk in the economic evaluation of building investments. national institute for standards and technology, nist special publication, no.757, september. mathur, k. and heah, k. 1990. expert systems in building design a multiple domains approach, in proceedings of the c.i.b. w-55/65 international symposium on building economics and construction management, sydney, march, vol. 2, pp. 514-524. morrison, n. and stevens, s. 1980. a construction cost data base. chartered quantity surveyor, june, pp. 313-315. naylor, c. 1983. build your own expert systems. sigma technical press, london. newton, s. 1984. system for setting on economic strategy for building design in commercial property: an interim report. portsmouth polytechnic, department of surveying. newton s. 1987. computers and cost modelling: what is the problem? in building cost modelling and computers, edit p.s. brandon, pp. 41-48 spon, london. ng, k. and abramson, b. 1990. uncertainty management in expert systems. ieee expert, april, pp. 29-48. pang, g., bigham, j. and mamdani, e.h. 1987. reasoning with uncertain information. ieee proceedings, vol.134, part d, no.4, pp. 231-237. raftery, j.j. 1987. the state of cost/price modelling in the u.k. construction industry : a multi criteria approach, in building cost modelling and computers (ed. p.s. brandon). e. & f.n. spon. london, pp. 49-71. rittel, h. 1966. · the universe of design'. paper, university of california. scott, i., gronow, s. and rosser, b. 1988. the nature and use of uncertainty in property valuation expert systems. journal of valuation, vol.7, pp. 218-247. steels, l. 1988. second generation expert systems, in principles of expert systems, ieee press, pp. 381-389. acta structilia december 1995 stockley, j. 1987. knowledge acquisition for expert systems, in building cost modelling and computers (ed. p.s. brandon), e. & f.n. spon ltd., london, pp. 477-489. tong, r.m. 1982. the representation of uncertainty in disciple. aids technical note, tn1018-1 waterman, d.a. 1986. a guide to expert systems. addison-wesley publishing company, reading, massachusetts. winfield, m.j. 1982. expert systems : an introduction for the layman. computer bulletin, vol.7, december. zadeh, l.a. 1979. a theory of approximate reasoning, in machine intelligence (eds. hayes, michie and mikulich), ellis horwood ltd., vol.9, pp. 149-194. 11 godfrey anyumba ecolodges and tourism development: planning and design contradictions and the consequences for historically disadvantaged communities in south africa abstract contradictions exist between the theoretical ecolodge as the idyllic rustic shelter set amid a variety of ecotourism destinations and its actual realization as a tourism-architectural object. this article briefly illustrates the discrepancy between the theoretical 'ideal' ecolodge and ecolodges in general. the former or ideal ecolodge is an adoption of the traditional buildings of the communities at the tourist destinations. the latter is often an eclectic comodification of the indige­ nous artefacts by architects for developments by large investment corporations. this article hypothesizes that the repercussions of 'ecolodge contradictions' are read­ ily recognizable in the instances when historically disadvantaged communities (hdc) wish to partake in the tourism industry. the irony is that the indigenous people whose architecture, art forms and other cultural symbols are commercially immi­ tated, are not in the position to enter the mainstream of the south african tourism industry because of the high inset costs. keywords: ecolodge, tourism architecture, historically disadvantaged communi­ ties, commercial developers, south african tourism. dr godfrey anyumba is a lecturer at the department of town and regional planning, durban institute of technology, durban, kwazulu-natal. the article is based on a paper presented at ecotour 2001 organised by biosphere at the brazil institute for the environment, 24-27 september 2001. 77 acta structilia 2002:9(2) eko-gastehuise en toerisme-ontwikkeling: teenstrydighede in die beplanning en ontwerp en die invloed op histories­ benadeelde gemeenskappe in suid-afrika teenstrydighede bestaan tussen die teoretiese 'ideale' ekogastehuis, 'n oor­ spronklike skuiling teen die elemente aan die een kant van die spektrum van eko­ toerismebehuising, en die moderne eko-gastehuis wat uiteindelik tot stand kom. hierdie artikel illustreer kortliks die verskille tussen die teoretiese, 'ideale', eko­ gastehuis en die eko-gastehuis wat oor die algemeen opgerig word. eersgenoemde is 'n geringe aanpassing van die oorspronklike tradisionele bou­ vorm en meublement van die onderskeie kulturele gemeenskappe, terwyl die tweede tipe eko-gastehuis, wat deur groot beleggingskorporasies ontwikkel word, 'n eklektiese samevoeging is van inheemse argitektuur. kunswerke, tradisionele meublement en gebruiksartikels in eietydse, moderne toeriste-behuising. die gevolge van hierdie 'eko-gastehuis teenstrydighede' word in die artikel aangedui, veral ten opsigte van histories-benadeelde gemeenskappe (hbg) wat tot die toeristebedryf wil toetree. dit is ironies dot die gemeenskappe wie se argitektuur, kunsvorms en ander kulturele simbole kommersieel nageboots word in ekogaste­ huis-beplanning en -ontwikkeling, weens die hoe insetkoste, uitgesluit word uit die hoofstroom van die suid-afrikaanse toerismebedryf. sleutelwoorde: toerisme-argitektuur, ekogastehuis, histories-benadeelde gemeenskappe, kommersiele ontwikkeling, suid-afrikaanse toerisme. l . introduction t his investigation starts with an interpretation of the 'contradictions' with regard to ecolodges. the second part of the article deals with the economic magnitude of tourism in south africa, followed by a sub-section on the impacts of the tourist market on the planning and design of ecolodges. south africa's tourism policies and the barriers to historically disadvantaged communities (hdc) participation in tourism are also delimited. the fifth section is an outline of the diversity and vari­ ety of lodges in the south african tourism scene as well as a compari­ son of the costs involved in the erection of a simple tourist rondavel. the sixth section is a description of some of the consequences of the situa­ tion to hdc aspiring to develop their own facilities. the article concludes with lessons learnt by stakeholders in the processes of trying to empow­ er hdc in small-scale tourism. 2. ecolodge contradictions there is a general consensus that ecotourism is essentially a tripartite partnership between the native/ aboriginal communities, tourism devel­ opers, and tourists. the sustained custodianship of the environment is the common denominator. under the conditions of ecotourism as opposed to traditional tourism relationships, this partnership attempts not to be intrusive or over bearing onto the life styles and the environ­ ments of tourism's destination communities. anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions the ecolodge is rightly a piece of the ecotourism experience. it is the shelter that welcomes the ecotourists at the commencement, the inter­ mediate or the termination of the tourist's adventure and learning and interpretation processes. the ecolodge thus has both functional and symbolic attachments. the ecolodge's major function is to shelter, to varying degrees, the human tourist from the unacceptably hostile ele­ ments of the environment. the ecolodge is therefore a temporary home/retreat. the ecolodge is also the container of nominal human functions, such as eating, defecating, bathing, resting and sleeping. it is the place where the ecotourist can plan, entertain and reflect on the day or night's experiences. a variety of symbolisms are attached to ecolodges. the ecolodge sym­ bolizes the resolution of the tension between modern man and the untamed elements of the wild. at one level this means detaching the sophistication of modernity and the acceptance of the rigors the 'prim­ itive' that environment demands. the ecolodge is part of the environ­ ment to which it should be 'harmless' and synchronous both in the short and long term (anyumba, 2001 ). another symbolic tenet is the utilization of the building materials, the codes and icons of the destination com­ munities in a new guise by developers. in other words the 'ideal' ecolodge should be 'place specific' and not harbour the character of 'placelessness' (bair, 1995:127-131; hardley & handesty, 1995:131-135). arising from this design philosophy, the aesthetics of the ecolodge is ideally linked or integrated to aboriginal built forms and the cultural sym­ bols attached thereon. however, there are contradictions between the theoretical ecolodge as the idyllic rustic shelter set amidst a variety of ecotourism destinations, such as tropical forests, savannah grasslands or motane environments, and its actual realization as a tourism-archi­ tectural object in many parts of the world. there are discrepancies between the theoretical ideal (outlined above) and the ecolodge that is developed by small family businesses as well as the large investment corporations. the former is an adoption of the existing or past built form traditions of the communities at the tourist's destination. it is more often an eclectic architectural co modification of the indigenous artefact. the extent of the architectural transformation process depends on the interpretive skills of the architect/planners, the cooperation and articula­ tion of the client and the sustainability of the enterprise (daroll 2000:38 43). on the other hand the indigenous built form artefact, in traditional societies is erected by the community through rituals, utilizing local building resources and varies in physical-spatial size. in the architect designed product, the ecolodges tend to be large and complex, more often miniature eco-resorts in many instances. these developments as a rule are undertaken by medium to large financial investment corpo79 acta structilia 2002:9(2) -.increasing match with aboriginal built forms, art and functions westernised functions con­ tained in aboriginal built form increasing levels of westernizotion and commodificoton of aboriginal buitt form, art and functions source: author figure l : differentition of the form and function of the ecolodge rations. the interrelationships between indigenous design and construc­ tion and their commodification by architects are depicted in figure 1. in theory all ecolodges fit the spectrum illustrated below. 3. tourism and eco-tourism in south africa from the, point of view of wealth and infrastructure, south africa is essen­ tially two nations in one: a 'first world' and a 'third world' side by side. almost four centuries of concurrent development and under-develop­ ment at the southern tip of africa, culminating between 1948 and l 994 as apartheid or racially separate development is the reason behind these contrasting worlds. until recently, south africa has been described as one of the most sophisticated and promising emerging markets in the world (stals, 1999). d tourism ill metals and autos d it and electronics • chemicals d clothing and textiles source: business and economic information centre, sa embassy figure 2: the tourism sector in foreign direct investment: 1995-2000 ----~---80 anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions today south africa is classified as a 'middle income country' with a per capita gdp of r22 ooo or us$3 215 (south african embassy 1999). despite a policy to diversify its economic base south africa still relies overwhelmingly on the export of primary and intermediate commodities to industrialized countries. however, africa absorbs 70% of the country's manufactured goods. foreign direct investment (fdi) between 1995 and 2000 was r83 billion (us$ l 2,2 billion). tourism (at r21 619 500,00) constitutes, in the above period, 13% of the total fdi sector investments (south arican embassy, 1999). tourism like all sectors of south african economy and society did not escape the strong dual character. consequently tourism was historical­ly a "white south african affair" (white paper on tourism, 1996). other communities, including blacks, coloured and asiatics were not central role players in the tourism of the prel 994 era. years after the l 994 watershed elections, these communities are still not significantly part of mainstream south african tourism. there are no national figures to sub� stantiate the implied magnitude. however, the skewed corporate and white ownership of the industry is well attested at tourism lndaba (con­ferences) and exhibitions nationwide. tourism is an important economic activity in south africa. there is an average of 400 ooo to 500 ooo foreign tourist arrivals in south africa every month (south african tourism satour.com). 70% of the above arrivals are from africa. arising from its dual character, the 'new south africa' inherited a very well organized tourism superstructure in the parts of the country where tourism development took place. tourism devel­ opment within this framework is reflected in the contrasting discrepan­ cies in that areas where infrastructure is well endowed also have the best government agencies provincially and locally. in addition, the same areas are the ones that have attracted and have been comple­ mented by private sector tourism investments both large and small. ecotourism on the other hand is a comparatively new concept. the white paper on tourism defines ecotourism as "environmentally and socially responsible travel to natural or near natural areas that promotes conservation, has low visitor impact and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of the local people" (white paper on tourism, 1996). although the government recognizes the existence of this special sub-sector of tourism, ecotourism statistics are not kept as such. it has been estimated that for every eight foreign visitors to south africa, one tourism job is created (media releases, 1999). at this point we need to note that south africa's wildlife and scenic beauty are the leading attractions for its international visitors (tourism sector www.satour l 999) this fact is important for the ecolodge because 81 acta structilia 2002:9(2) the vast majority of these structures are found in the above-referred areas of south africa. 3.1 the tourism market and its impact on the ecolodge in terms of the total numbers of visitors south african tourism is predom­ inantly african (shevel, 2002). this is a contrasting picture compared to many african tourist destinations, where the market is focused on the foreign tourist component for its survival. this however, does not mean that the foreign tourist is unimportant in south africa's tourism plans. to the contrary, the foreign tourist is valued as a source of foreign curren­ cy earnings, binding of international friendship amongst other things (bennett, 2002). the south african tourist market has traditionally catered for a relatively affluent populace both domestic and foreign. this fact must account historically for the planning and design of tourism facilities and today on the design of the ecolodge. to try and find a relationship between the tourism market, tourist type and the resultant ecolodge designs, i have applied plog's notions of 'psychocentrics' and 'allocentrics' as a tool to 'demarcate' and to come to terms with the range of tourist/ecotourist expectations (plog, l 991 : 55-74). according to plog the psychology underlying travel and the type of trav­ el destination is bewildering but is broadly divisible into two personality types; the 'psychocentric' and 'allocentric'. the former is the 'worrier' whose preferences are for the familiar and secure environments they can readily relate to. the type also leads a · non-active life-style'. the allocentric is the opposite. he or she is intellectually curious, adventur­ ous, enjoys discovery flexible and feel challenged to explore unfamiliar environments. without the proper market survey and analysis, one cannot without doubt state the predominant psychological characteristics of any given tourist population. however, it seems that the majority of the south african tourism market lies in the 'near psychocentric' to 'mid-centric' part of plog's distribution of psychographic segments. on the other hand, the conceptually restricted ecotourism market segment may be situated in the region of the 'mid-centric' to 'near allocentric' tourists (figure 3). the range of tourism and ecotourism adventure marketed in the elec­ tronic and print media points to the availability of tourist outlets for the 'extreme' allocentrics. bungy jumping is an example of allocentric exploits. an interpretation of plog's classification is that the tourists with allocentric inclinations would readily choose to stay in the 'aboriginal' end of figure 3. the mass market and less adventurous tourist (of the 82 anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions psychocentric allocentric source: plog (1991 :68) figure 3: distributions of psychographic segments psychocentric end of the market) would prefer in accommodation, termed 'the ecolodge of western form and function' in figure 1. what this section is tying to state is that south african tourism caters for all types of tourist psyche, but one suspect that the majority are inclined to the left end of plog's normal distribution curve. 4. the 1996 white paper on tourism and historically disadvantaged communities in tourism the 1996 white paper on 'the development and promotion of tourism in south afrizca' is a watershed government document. it is a policy doc­ ument, which appraised all facets of tourism in south africa and made recommendations in the midl 990s on the new directions for tourism development for the government, private sector, the non-governmen­ tal sector and for all its communities in an integrated manner. as our central concern here is with historically disadvantaged communities in tourism it ought to be noted from the onset that the geographical regions of south africa, which were designated as the homelands for the black population, were not and are not short of out­ standing features with tourism development potential. in these previ­ ously neglected areas are scenic landscapes, ecological diversity, archaeological sites, historic ruins, mythical geomorphological land­ marks and divergence of peoples and cultures. the major problem here is that all the above were and are still on the main known or familiar to the local/indigenous peoples, but remain largely unknown to tourism planners and developers in mainstream tourism circles (anyumba, 2000: 15-25). one of the most outstanding aspects of the white paper on tourism is its 83 mid-centric ------+--+----, neer psychocenlric ---+------< acta structilia 2002:9(2) address of the problem areas curtailing the potential role of historically disadvantaged communities in core tourism. twelve interlinked prob­ lem areas were identified at the time (opt cit white paper on tourism 1996). they are rephrased in this article as follows: 4. l 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4. 7 4.8 the first obstacle to the development of tourism in the previous­ ly neglected communities is that tourism was understood as an activity reserved for the white population of south africa (ibid) that the non-white populations of south africa were not exposed to the tourism industry, nor did the hdi benefit form tourist activ­ ities there is the 'suspicion and mistrust' of tourism plans. this arose from the fact that tourist/protected areas were proclaimed with­ out the consultation or the approval of affected communities. furthermore, communities had to bear the costs of having been restricted from exploiting natural resources from protected areas. furthermore, communities were not compensated direct­ ly or indirectly there is the lack of knowledge of what tourism is about by hdc. therefore, the greater opportunities offered by tourism are not cherished there is the lack of training opportunities in these previously neg­ lected communities. this in turn severely limits their participation in the tourism industry a serious constraint is the inability of hdc to accessing finance and to take advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunities pro­ vided by the industry (graham 2002) hdc were not involved in the planning process. the white paper identified these as 'planning, decision making, investment, and in the development and promotion of tourism'. neither were communities involved nor consulted with respect to develop­ ments in their localities (musyoki, anyumba & bikam, 2000) that the present inequalities, arising from historical inequalities had lead to the 'abuse of power' and the 'exploitation of local cultures and community groups'. there have been several examples of attempts at replicating aboriginal arts and crafts by the white south african groups possibly as economic survival strategies. however the inauthenticity of the exercise shows clearly in the marketed product. two examples include firstly, the sale of curios at phalaborwa by retrenched white mine worker 84 anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions families and secondly a venda traditional village at tshipise. 4.9 language is a barrier to communications given that english was the predominant tourism language of communication. this resulted in the exclusion of the majority of south africans 4.1 0 that negative attitudes tended to prevail in tourism of the prod­ ucts from previously neglected communities. these products were generally regarded as 'inferior' or 'depreciated'. currently this appears not to be the case (graham, 2002) 4.11 there is the lack of access to the lucrative tourism market by the local communities, as visitors tended to be kept in mainstream tourism establishments and rarely interacted with locals and their products (/bid). since these observations were made in the mid1 990s, considerable progress has been made in a number of directions. for example 'township tourism' has evolved in cities such as johannesburg and cape town. however, this is a rela­ tively new phenomenon (wolff, 2002) 4. l 2 that there are barriers to the entry of the small to medium sized players into the industry. the white paper identified the problem as caused by the 'very large companies and corporate struc­ tures, which control the market' (white paper on tourism, 1996). although the majority of the above hurdles were identified in the early 1990s, many still hold true. however, there have been positive move­ ments in eroding some of the above barriers. nevertheless, we may note that the cumulative historical conditions make it extremely difficult for hdc to partake meaningfully in south africa's tourism development. 5. the ecolodge in south africa the first issue that needs clarification is the use of the 'ecolodge' label in south africa. there appears to be a consensus of the meaning of an ecolodge by leading ecotourism and ecolodge consultants (hawkins 1995). however, many entrepreneurs world-wide tend to apply the term 'ecolodge' as a marketing ploy, whereas their facilities do not strictly sat­ isfy many of the tenets of ecotourism. the south african tourism services association (satsa) is a national organization representing the interests of the tourism private sector. accordingly its mission states " ... to strive for professionalism and integri­ ty and ensure the growth and recognition of the southern african tourism industry for the benefit of all its members" (satsa directory 1999). according to satsa classification there are eight distinct types of tourist related accommodation. these are: (i) hotels; (ii) game reserve lodges; 85 . acta structilia 2002:9(2) flush toilet--�-r-=---:a.&ih""'' hand bosin-+-----nl�:,l'/"'\.; source: author's sketch bedroom 1 figure 4: a sketch of a adventura tshipise ecolodge tourist rondavel source: anyumba 2001 figure 5: a frontal view of the adventura tshipise rondavel 86 anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions (iii) safari lodges: (iv) guest houses: (v) backpackers residences: (vi) bed and breakfast; (vii) game farm; and (viii) game resorts. from the descriptions of the satsa classification, ecolodges are most likely to be located in 'game reserve lodges' (/bid) and to some extent 'game resorts' (/bid). a perusal of the latest tourist picture books of south africa's lodges and the individual web sites of ecolodge operatives presents a more or less similar picture. the strong image of lodges that is conveyed is one of rugged 'indigenous' or transformed aboriginal architectural exteriors and 'comfortable' if not 'luxurious interiors'. in other words the built form structures have a remarkable semblance of a rich diversity of south africa's indigenous built forms (jordan, 2000). this assemblage of high standards of architecture and support infra­ structure is aimed at a market that expects these standards and is pre­ pared to pay for it. the above observation reinforces the earlier note that tourism was historically aimed at the upper and middle-income groups in south africa. it also reaffirms the white paper commentary that the major players in this game are the very large investment corpora­ tions. 5.1 tourist rondavel building cost compared in the beginning, this article hypothesized that 'ecolodge contradictions' are recognizable in the instances when historically disadvantaged communities (hdc) now wish to partake in tourism. this hypothesis will now be put to the test.rom interactions with black communities con­ templating the development of tourism, a clear initial wish appears to be to attract tourists. communities envisage attaining this objective by offering what they are most familiar with; i.e. aspects of their cultures (a traditional restaurant, a cultural theatre and arena, accommodation in traditional rondavels, ethno-ecological bush treks etc). the communities also have an understandable preference to contain these tourism activ­ ities in distinctive ethnic built form structures familiar to the community (musyoki, anyumba & bikam, 2000). the african rondavel (or hut) is a built form which is well spread on the african continent and has been widely used in the tourism industry. strictly speaking there is no such universal item as an 'african rondavel', but rather a variety of building forms depending on building materials used, geographical locality, ethnic design and planning traditions etc. in a case study the cost of a single l 30 square meter tourist rondavel erected by a community is compared with one designed by an archi­ tect. the calculations are based the basic plan in figure 4 it is a study of a rondavel at the tshipise ecolodge in the northern province of south africa. figure 5 portrays the front view of the aventura tshipise rondavel. 87 acta structilia 2002:9(2) for comparative calculations the assumption are that: 5. l. l the aboriginal rondavel is erected using commercially produced cement blocks, prefabricated doors and window frames, along with locally sourced rafters and thatch. the floor and walls are plastered. it is equipped with 'more affordable' beds in the two bedrooms, five easy chairs and a small dining table. further assumptions are that the food is cooked in a communal kitchen, showers taken place outside of the dwelling and the tourist use pit latrines some distance from the accommodation. 5. l .2 the architect-designed variant uses the same building materials, except that the finishing is of a higher standard. in addition there is a fully equipped kitchen, a bathtub and shower, a we toilet, four beds in two bedrooms, a sitting area with a table, four chairs and two easy chairs and two air conditioners. the estimates in tobie 1 below exclude service connections such as electricity, water and sewers. the figures also exclude the subsequent expenses involved in infrastructure maintaince. it was hypothesized that the hdc cannot themselves erect ecolodges that are at par with the table l : compative costs of ecolodge rondavel items aborigninal built architect designed & rondavel built rondavel the lodge r40 000,00 rl57 000,00 furniture 4 beds r796,00 (rl 99,00 x 4) r7 396,00 (rl 849,00 x 4) 2 bedroom cupboards r550,00 (275,00 x 2) rl 390,00 ir695,00 x 2) 4 lamps r80,00 (r20,00 x 4) rl 000,00 (r250,00 x 4) table & 4 seats r999,00 r5 999,00 2 easy chairs rl 998,00 (r999,00 x 2) rl 998,00 (r999,00 x 2) 54 cm 1v not provided rl 799,00 kitchen oven/stove not provided rl 499,00 refrigirator not povided rl 599,00 mini-cupboard rl 999,00 rl 999,00 sanitation bathtub and shower rl80,00 wc/toilet rl50,00 r2 999,00 sub-total r6 752,00 r27 678,00 total costs r46 700,00 rl85 000,00 (us$5 500,00) (us$21 800,00) source: quantity surveyors, ml sultan technikon, durban 88 anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions south african tourist market. this point is evident in the level of infra­ structure and lodge standards that have been set in the market place. furthermore one should take into account the absence of a disposable income in the local communities (refer to section 3). under prevailing circumstances, it is impossible for hdc to entertain any thought of entry in this aspect of tourism, unless south africa government authorities plan to meet the need. on the basis of the above cost comparisons, the aboriginal sourced and built rondavel of the same design but without the extra 'comforts' is approximately 25% (with generous over estima­ tion) of the cost of a well equipped and typical tourist rondavel. a large development would of course lower the building costs of the tourist ron­ davel. tf the earlier observation is correct the south africa's tourism market lies in the 'near psychocentric' to 'mid-centric' part of plog's distribution of tourist's psychographic segments. if this is not the case we would have to find other good reasons why most tourist outlets invest so heavily in the high levels of comfort that mark the present market1?tandards. 6. the consequences for aspiring black south african communities between 1998 and 2001 several black communities, which had decid­ ed to explore tourism and especially ecotourism in their localities as a new survival strategy, serves as a basis for this study. the people collec­ tively argued that tourism was a way of infusing finances, skill develop­ ment, community development capacity building, environmental upkeep and employment creation. these views were for example strongly articulated by committee members of the king mphephu community tourism forum (musyoki et al). the major consequence for the hdc is that because of a combination of current and historical reasons most communities will be unable to commence even the minimal levels of tourist built form developments. this is because having more or less established that there may be a potential market for tourists (indigenous, domestic or international) there is then the need to start with minimal facilities. the above simple exer­ cise illustrated that the hdc will still face hurdles in attempting to do pre­ cisely this at the standards already set by the market. on the other hand, if hdc decide to target the lower to middle class tourism market, which can live with lower infrastructure standards, then this may be a way forward. in this respect, 'township tourism' in johannesburg readily comes to mind. but this implies an acceptance to forgo the opportunities that lie in the established tourism markets. 89 acta structilia 2002:9(2) 7. conclusions ecotourism and the ecolodge can be interpreted to represent a late 20'" century western philosophy that attempts to integrate global and corporate investments in travel and accommodation with the custodi­ anship of the environment and the development of the local commu­ nities at the tourist's destination. the rondavel and other aboriginal built forms are of a particular interest in tourism because they have become the basis of merchandising eco­ tourism in south africa as elsewhere in tropical africa. it is of specific interest in hdc, because such communities appear to have a clear wish that their tourism packages be housed in the rondavel architecture or modifications of the same. from a planning and design viewpoint, it is still too early to be conclu­ sive on the potential impacts of the ad hoe efforts of incorporating pre­ viously neglected communities into south africa's tourism and eco­ tourism developments. however, an important observation in the process has been a steep learning curve for all involved in planning for tourism in hdcs. the communities we interacted with had to come to terms with the potential to improve their lot. consultants become facili­ tators and learners in the respective communities. the development aspirations of communities and the reality in terms of achievable objec­ tives, were often some distance apart. potential financiers and devel­ opers too had to face a sector hitherto neglected and were, for all intents and purpose, unfamiliar with unknown characteristics. the premier conclusion is that the observations made in the l 996 white paper regarding previously neglected communities in relationship to tourist developments is still valid and holds back the progress of these communities in tourism. from this fact we can tentatively conclude that nothing positive is going to happen to most hdc for the foreseeable future, unless specific polices are evolved to target their needs. the second conclusion is that there are basic conditions for a commu­ nity to make a start in tourism. thus a community will probably succeed if it operates with the assistance of a benevolent government with the right policies and resources in place. all communities, on the other hand, need to network their way into provincial tourism plans or to non­ governmental organization or an investment corporation's develop­ ment plans. unless these take place most communities will have to rely on community extension services from magnanimous local institutions to plan and design projects on their behalf. the prime conclusion is that the potential and shortcomings of tourism observed in the l 996 white paper regarding previously neglected corn90 anyumba/ecolodges & tourism development: contradictions munities is still more or less valid. however, due to the amount of work that still needs to be undertaken by existing and potential stakeholders, the progress of tourism development in these communities will take some time to bear fruit. from these facts we can tentatively conclude that what is required is some further 'tine tuning' of policies targeting hdcs tourism development needs. t he second conclusion is that there are basic conditions tor a commu­ nity to make a start in tourism. as already noted above, an 'enabling environment' has to be in place. given these situations, communities need to network their way into provincial tourism, non-governmental organisations or private public partnership tourism intitiatives. unless these take place, communities may have to rely on community exten­ tion services from magnanimous local institutions to 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keep black out of tourism game. sunday times, 7 july. at: www.sundaytimes.co.za/2002/07 /07 /business/ companies/corn 1 2.asp 91 i acta structilia 2002:9(2) graham, s. 2002. it's boomtime for the craft industry: small-scale entrepreneurs are set to make a good living from foreign tourists. sunday times, 13 october. at: www.sundaytimes.co.za/2002/l 0/l 3/business/news/news09.asp hardley, j. & handesty, j. 1995. ecotents. in: hawkins d. the ecolodge source book for planners and developers. ecotourism, pp. 132-134. hawkins, d., wood, m.e. & bittman, s. 1995. the ecolodge source book for planners and developers. ecotourism society. media releases 1999. launch of the tourism action plan. satour. at: http://tourism.org. za/media/releases/newsmessages/ l 6. html. musyoki, a., anyumba, g. & bikam, p. 2000. the king mphephu master plan, mphephu tourist development brief. environment assessment and advisory unit, school of environmental science, university of venda, sa. plog, s.c. 1991. why people travel and why they don't: the concept of allo­ centrism and psychocentrism. in: leisure travel: making a growth market again. john wiley & sons, pp. 55-74. south african embassy 1999. south africa at a glance, the economy, trade, foreign direct investment. at: www.southafrica.gr/index_33htm#3 shevel, a. 2002. 'safe' south africa getting a bigger slice of world tourism pie. sunday times. 21 july. stals, c. 1999. statement by the governor of the south african reserve bank, mr chris stals of south africa as an emerging market at the annual dinner of ethos private equity in stellenbosch, march 29. bis review 38. wolff, l. 2002. the inspirational township tour, beyond the shacks: the vibrant world of the townships. at: iafrica.com: http://travel.iafrica.com/ activities/township/21 2881 . htm 92 lnternasionaal • international n dewar1 & k shippey2 bridging minds and markets: the south african experience3 abstract at present an historical conjuncture of separate and essential unrelated developments concerning environmental management are occurring in south africa. these include the issues of standards assurance, certification of environmental practitioners and the development of curricula for a professional science degree at tertiary level. all these are occurring in the context of a rapidly expanding job market into which graduates with widely varying educational standards and practical competence are entering. this article reports on a survey of professionals in environmental impact assessment and environmental management in south africa that elicited opinions on the quality and appropriateness of professional training. it seeks to inform debate concerning these topics and to highlight limitations in the structure and content of contemporary education. it is argued that there is little standardization across curricula and that the core competencies as recognised by professionals are frequently being neglected. keywords: environmental practitioners, curricula development, professional training. die oorbrugging van persepsies en markte: 'n suid-afrikaanse ervaring 'n sameloop van omstandighede bring tans in suid-afrika aparte en essensieel nie-verbandhoudende ontwikkelings met betrekking tot omgewingsbestuur byeen. dit sluit sake in soos standaardversekering, die sertifisering van omgewingspraktisyns en die ontwikkeling van kurrikula vir professionele wetenskapsgrade op tersiere vlak. al hierdie fasette hang saam met die vinnig-groeiende arbeidsmark wat gegradueerdes met wyd­uiteenlopende opvoedkundige standaarde en praktiese opleiding betree. hierdie artikel gee aandag aan 'n opname oor die beskikbare professionele kundigheid en die omgewingsimpak met betrekking tot omgewingsbestuur in suid-afrika soos dit tans die geval is, asook die kwaliteit en toepaslikheid van professionele opleiding. die inligting werp nuwe lig op die hele kwessie van die beperkinge ten opsigte van die struktuur en inhoud van die huidige onderwysstelsel. door is skynbaar oak min standaardisasie binne die huidige kurrikula-spektrum. verder blyk dit dot kernsake, soos aangedui deur kundiges, totaal en al verwaarloos word. sleutelwoorde: omgewingsbestuur, kurrikula ontwikkeling, professionele opleiding. neil dewar. ph d (uct). department of environmental and geographical science, university of cape town, south africa <dewar @enviro.uct.ac.za> 2 karen shippey, b sc (hons). department of environmental and geographical science, university of cape town, south africa <shippey@enviro.uct.ac.za> 3 this paper was presented at the 6th audes conference. 'bridging minds and markets', venice, italy, 5-7 april 2001. 79 dewar & shippey /bridging minds and markets 1. introduction this article is predicated upon the confluence, at a singular historical moment, of several disparate, but ultimately interdependent, events and circumstances. these are: • regulatory change necessitates regular impact assessments or rather becomes mandatory for certain activities • a rapidly expanding market for professionals in environmental assessment and integrated environmental management • a review of the curriculum structure for the training of environmental scientists • national department of education recommendations for four­ year undergraduate degrees to be introduced in selected tertiary institutions with a view to meeting the demands of the market, and • current attempts by environmental organizations in south africa to set in place measures for the certification of professionals. in the context of growing market demand and attempts by the tertiary education system both to meet the requirements of the market and to establish and maintain standards commensurate with responsibility to clients, this article reports on a pilot study undertaken in the western cape to determine in what aspects of their work environmental assessment practitioners initially considered themselves to be inadequate and vulnerable. the western cape was selected as nearly one quarter of all professionals in the environmental sector are currently employed in this region (wesgro 2000). deriving from this, areas of core competence in the discipline were identified. it is argued that facility in these would ensure that environmental management in south africa maintains international standards and is recognised by international accreditation bodies. 2. regulatory change the south african constitution (act 106 of 1996) entrenched, inter alia, a right to a healthy and protected environment and committed the government of the day to the principles of sustainable development. a strong environmental ethic now informs policy-making in both the public and private arenas as well as individual behaviour patterns. several new environmental regulations and laws explicitly addressing environmental issues have been promulgated between 1996 and 2000 which, implicitly and explicitly, impose new obligations on environmental assessment professionals. 3. expanding market 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 the south african environmental job market initially displayed similar growth trends to those experienced internationally with a gradual increase through the 1970s and 1980s as environmental problems and the growth of environmental knowledge made political institutions and civil society increasingly aware of the deleterious effects of many human activities. however, it was only in the early 1990s that voluntary environmental impact assessments became common in the south african context. despite the existence of an active and innovative professional environmental sector for 15 years, the south african market for environmental scientists expanded exponentially when environmental impact assessments {eias) for specific 'listed' activities became a statutory requirement. in september 1997, regulations were gazetted {no 1182, government gazette no 5999) in terms of the environmental conservation act {no 73 of 1989). these require that environmental impact assessments {eias) be completed for activities listed in schedule 1 of the regulations. moreover. all developments that are 'listed activities' require authorization from the department of environmental and cultural affairs and sport through the sub­ directorate environmental impact management unit (eimu). the impact of this legislation caused unprecedented growth in the industry. this is illustrated by the fact that. in the study region. there was a 240 percent increase in the number of ia reports submitted to the authorities for approval between 1998 and 1999 {pers comm d laidler eimu) and duthie {2000) reports similar trends across the country. commensurately, membership of the south african institute of ecologists and environmental scientists (saie&es) has shown a dramatic growth during the post-apartheid period {1994-2000), nearly doubling the number of registered professionals. 4. review of the curriculum structure a direct consequence of the increased demand for the services of environmental scientists was an influx of individuals into the impact assessment market from varying backgrounds and with a diverse range of quafmcations and professional competencies. no formal means existed to ascertain whether indmduals undertaking environmental impact assessment (eia) projects possessed the appropriate skills and many indmduals took advantage of this to benefit from the increased eia project opportunities available. while nominally, professional quafmcations were {and still are) being awarded, evidence suggests that commensurate competence is frequently lacking. . . researci't melhodologies s,.· . . coastal zone management wet!;lnd � and management ! i conservation and society . i vtbon. economic a!ld developmi>i>t swdles blodivenily soeial impact as9essment envi,onmentll rltk nssesmenl ctimalology hydro!ogy r"source management e ovironmental pollution and cootrol sustainal>le development wmle management town and regional planning l environmental law g�raphical information systems : environmental impact assessment integrated environmental management 0% ................ ·.-�.---···� .. '• 10% ......... -.. f. , ... 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% figure l: enviromental science degree course content eseries1 60% 90% 100% a ::j q_ 3 a ""' 7' -+ v> 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 an analysis was undertaken of all universities in south africa that included the word 'environment' in the title of their postgraduate degrees. the survey served to identify both the full range of subjects relating to substantive environmental theory and management and the frequency with which they are offered. the graph (figure 1) clearly illustrates the variability with which courses are offered across tertiary institutions and points to the limited degree that subjects. considered fundamental to any degree programme with internal integrity or coherence in either environmental impact assessment or management, are included in the curricula. it would be invidious, and would serve no purpose, to identify particular institutions where environmental curricula are particularly superficial. it requires recognition, however, that few universities offer a high level of training, have registered lecturers and are held in high repute internationally. this variability in educational standards does, however, have serious societal and environmental implications. it is also important because the south african government, as a signatory to the rio declaration of 1992, has dedicated itself to making sustainable development a reality and to ensuring the welfare of the people in this and future generations. it is therefore imperative that graduates in the field of environmental science have the necessary competencies to realize this future. a not unrelated issue is that south african environmental professionals are being commissioned for internationally funded projects throughout africa and overseas. to ensure that qualifications and skills meet the requirements of funding agencies and multinationals, it is imperative that training and mentorship programmes be compatible with american and european standards. to this end. government instituted the south african qualifications authority (saqa) to ensure that tertiary institutions maintain appropriate curricula. the board tasked with defining the necessary criteria for environmental science professionals has not yet been constituted. 5. department of education recommendations a further parallel development was debate stimulated by recommendations contained in a report of the national department of education entitled, "towards a new higher education landscape: meeting the equity, quality and social imperatives of south africa in the twenty-first century". the essential purpose of the document is rationalization of resources and quality assurance. in it, the task team proposed that provision should be made for the introduction of a four-year first bachelor's 83 dewar & shippey/bridging minds and markets degree. the first two years of the degree "could provide for the development of required generic and foundation skills and include some broad discipline and multi-discipline based knowledge. years three and four of the degree could include a strong emphasis on single discipline and multi-discipline based specialization, including an introduction to elementary forms of investigation and research methodology" (chapter 3). further, it was recognized that those institutions regarded as 'comprehensive postgraduate research institutions' would need to pursue strong partnerships with the science councils, private sector research and development establishments, industry, and continental and international academic and research institutions. taking cognisance of these developments, some academic institutions are currently engaged in debate concerning the relative merits of extending the traditional three-year degree to four years and building upon a more structured 'programme' format. stated briefly, a strong programme would meet the criteria of, inter alia, overall coherence, well-structured core course requirements, sufficient formative electives to provide variety and depth, flexibility to adapt to new needs and opportunities, recognized exit standards, appropriate external evaluation, and a strong 'taproot' to postgraduate studies. other, more generic criteria included, requirements for excellence and equity, provision of transferable and disciplinary skills, and the potential to play an active developmental role in africa. this debate has been extended to solicit the opinions of professional bodies, commerce and industry and so on. 6. certification of environmental practitioners the term 'environment' encompasses biological, physical, social, economic and cultural elements and this broad definition has been embraced in post-apartheid south african legislation. in the light of this, critical comment was directed toward the fact that there existed no formal certification for environmental practitioners who had academic grounding other than in the natural sciences. it was contended that this biased employment opportunities towards the biophysical disciplines and marginalized the social sciences within the environmental sector (saie&es et al august 2000). in response to these critiques and the imperatives identified earlier, practicing professionals in environmental impact assessment and management, under the aegis of the southern african institute of ecologists and environmental scientists (saie&es) and the south african affiliate of the international 84 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 association for impact assessment (iaiasa), have mobilized to develop a formal certification process which will ensure the quality and professionalism of members. a public process that engaged with environmental assessment professionals was conducted during 1998 and 1999 to establish criteria for a voluntary professional certification. this culminated in the establishment of an interim certification board (icb) in early 2001. the icb has agreed to begin formal voluntary certification of environmental impact assessment practitioners by june 2001. a related contextual issue involves equity in employment. the environmental profession faces a considerable challenge to ensure that the industry is transformed to reflect the racial composition of the country and to provide socially equitable opportunities to previously disadvantaged race groups. south africa's history of institutionalized race-based education and job reservation has resulted in a marked lack of black professionals. the certification process had to ensure that it would not act as a barrier to emergent professionals and would provide the mechanism necessary to support black professionals. in particular, given the institutionalized inferior standards of black education during the apartheid era and their legacy, mechanisms had to be established that would adequately accommodate experience in the field. another challenge for the certification initiative was a challenge by related professions who felt that this initiative was an attempt to stop professionals with backgrounds other than environmental or biological sciences from undertaking impact assessments (gasson & todeschini, 1997). several routes for qualification for certification were, therefore, devised by the icb to ensure that the critical element of quality control was retained without inhibiting the necessary growth and racial transformation of the sector. it is proposed that only individuals actively involved in the co-ordination and management of the integrated environmental management process would be permitted to apply for certification. environmental scientists in government, consulting, non-governmental organisations (ngo) and academia are encouraged to become certified. as mentioned earlier, the certification process is attempting to provide quality control for an industry that is composed of individuals with varied backgrounds and training. they chose to adopt an approach of ensuring that individuals satisfied specific core competencies (see box 1) rather than to accredit particular courses or institutions. the specified core competencies prompted dewar & shippey/bridging minds and markets the authors to query whether current university curricula provide the required competencies for graduates. box 1: requirements for certification of environmental assessment practitioners • formal training in both socio-economic and biophysical environments, and experience in integrating and co-ordinating significant components of both in such a way as to evaluate options and trade-offs, and facilitate sound decision-making formal training and experience in environmental assessment and evaluation and an ability to make balanced judgements and objectively evaluate alternatives • formal training and experience in the application of tools contained in the integrated environmental management 'toolbox', e.g. scoping and public participation, environmental management plans/programmes, mitigation and optimisation of impacts, monitoring and evaluation, auditing • formal training in and knowledge of the concept of sustainable development. • formal training in the interpretation of environmental legislation experience in working in, and competently managing, a multidisciplinary team experience in recognising when to involve specialists. the selection and appointment of specialists, and in drawing up terms of reference for these specialists which answer the particular needs of that project or work • a working knowledge of current environmental policy and legislation • sound interpersonal and communication skills; both in oral and written form. 7. methodology in order to determine the needs of the market a pilot survey was undertaken. a questionnaire was issued to the members of the international association for impact assessment south africa (iaiasa) regional western cape branch. a total of 150 questionnaires were distributed with their quarterly newsletter. sixteen replies were received which constitutes approximately a 10 percent return rate. as a second phase of the pilot swot (strengths. weaknesses. opportunities and threats) analysis five professionals. selected on the basis of their experience. considerable expertise and professional status. were interviewed to obtain specific insights into the specific requirements and challenges for environmental scientists in the following sectors: local government. provincial authority, and private practice. the third phase of the analysis included an analysis of environmental course outlines offered by south african universities. 86 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 the first part of the research initiative explored perceptions of relative inadequacy and vulnerability. stated differently, it aimed to ascertain in which aspects of the respondents' professional activities they considered themselves to have been deficient or inadequately prepared by their training. the second part extended this question of vulnerability to shortcomings that they considered their employees possessed in the discharge of their responsibilities. 8. results a range of responses was elicited from respondents concerning those dimensions of their job in which they had initially found themselves wanting. these may conveniently be listed as a lack of knowledge or understanding of: • legislation • public participation • social impact assessment • required processes planning and legal • authority jurisdictions • report writing • budget and project management • ia procedure • industrial processes • monitoring techniques • environmental assessment ethics and principles • conflict resolution • ability to integrate • data interpretation. in general. it is apparent that the issues identified are located in the domain of organizational procedure, skills application and management rather than that of substantive theory. exceptions are environmental ethics and principles of social impact analysis, which does require a grounding in social. economic and political theory. admissions of functional inadequacy regarding the ability to integrate information from diverse disciplines and to operationalise a holistic or synoptic view, and relative ignorance regarding the principles of environmental impact assessment, public participation and conflict resolution, in particular, confirm earlier assertions about extremely variable standards within the profession. this wide range of perceived vulnerabilities may also be ascribed to the fact: 87 dewar & shippey/bridging minds and markets • that some individuals working as environmental scientists are limited to undergraduate training in 'traditional' geography courses and therefore have had only a notional exposure to process and principles of iem • many graduates have the perception that their tertiary education will provide them with all the necessary skills for professional practice when in fact 'on-the-job' training is an essential part of skills development. it is recognized that many professions require a period of internship or the serving of articles before competence. this begs the question whether environmental scientists need to formalise internships as part of professional training. the respondents and 'expert' interviewees were further requested to idef}tify generic topics that they considered essential or central to any professional degree programme (box 2). these reaffirmed the primacy of management theory and techniques. box 2: subject matter deemed essential by practicing professionals • basic physic-biological principles and theories • basic socio-economic principles and theories • integrated environmental management (iem) • environmental impact assessment • strategic environmental assessment environmental management system • environmental auditing • social impact assessment • environmental law • planning law • urban analysis (structure. function and form) • sustainability • green business economics (e.g. triple bottom line) • biodiversity and basic ecological principles • resource economics • industrial ecology • waste issues • research methodology • quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques • professional ethics • business skills (tendering. contracts. budgeting, meetings, terms of reference) • communication oral and written. 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 9. discussion it has been argued that south africa stands at a decisive juncture with respect to both environmental education and professional practice in integrated environmental management (iem). to reiterate, the overriding purpose of this investigation was to review the current status of the environmental profession in south africa. a secondary purpose was to contribute to the policy debate concerning certification criteria for professionals and. later. defining parameters for accreditation of professional degrees. consistent with the title, bridging minds and markets, the study was motivated by four interrelated. but essentially disparate developments, viz: • a government-driven standards assurance project • on-going efforts by the south african institute of ecologists and environmental scientists to establish a system of certification of individuals entering the profession and their intention later to evaluate university degree programmes for purposes of accreditation • government-initiated reform of tertiary education an important element of which would be the introduction of professional four-year degrees • curriculum reform within academia in the light of these developments • a rapidly expanding market for environmental professionals the consequence of legislation making mandatory the submission of environmental impact assessments for a range of 'listed' activities. the intention is to contribute to these major policy debates and also, given the degree to which they are logically interrelated, to argue for much greater coordination between the relevant institutions as the debates progress to finality. it can be argued cogently that these various initiatives need to be coordinated so that there is a clearly defined set of rules and structures within which educational institutions. students and professional certification bodies can operate regarding the requirements and expected competencies of environmental professionals. comparing the 'environmental courses' offered by tertiary institutions (figure 1) against the core competencies required by the professional certification initiative (box 1 ) , it is apparent that deficiencies exist. these deficiencies are highlighted by the results of the survey. in which practitioners identified their functional inadequacies and sense of vulnerability. although, at first glance, the list of subjects "deemed essential for environmental 89 dewar & shippey/bridging minds and markets practitioners' training" would appear to be addressed in the south african education system. it is significant that none of the degree courses offer all of these subjects and that the frequency with which many subjects are offered is extremely low. an overriding conclusion is the need for greater emphasis on many dimensions of management theory and practice. these would include auditing, budgeting. accounting, drawing contracts. specifying terms of reference for expert consultants. tendering, conducting meetings and so on. it is suggested that all graduates. in order to complement their degree. should have undergone some form of in-house or mentorship akin to accountants and lawyers serving articles. this would commit the profession, and give effect to a responsibility, to the next generation and would institutionalise continuity. it would also serve to expand professional networks and to inculcate the norms of professional behaviour. this emphasis on management-related procedures and skills reflects widely perceived limitations in current education. it does not, however, discount the central importance and relevance of substantive theory in particular disciplines and practical competencies that may be considered as 'core' to any degree curriculum. the aim of the paper is not to suggest the content and structure of a detailed curriculum but rather to highlight the perceived limitations of the status quo at present and argue for consensus on criteria that could inform policy-makers and standards adjudicators. logically, these criteria should also constitute the basis for the development of curricula in tertiary institutions nationwide. notwithstanding the right (and desirability) of regional specialisms and identity, there is an urgent need for a much greater degree of conformity in teaching structures and educational outcomes in the country. it is strongly recommended that undergraduate degrees should provide structured exposure to basic theory in a range of systematic disciplines in the sciences and humanities appropriate to understanding environmental processes and problems. they should also reflect a holistic, integrated system interpretive framework. environmental management and assessment in south africa is a thriving industry but it faces the risk of being discredited and marginalised unless the educational institutions, professional bodies and government standards assurance initiatives can adopt a coherent and comprehensive approach to training the environmental scientists of the future. the current certification initiative does not address accreditation of courses; rather it 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 certifies individuals based on their experience and training which may be inadequate as a longterm solution to quality control. professionals need to work together with educationalists to determine appropriate curricula and quality controls in order to ensure that integrated environmental management practice in south africa maintains international standards and is recognised by international accreditation bodies. an assertion by krige (2000:3) referring to the development of human settlements is equally apposite in the context of environmental management: "university curricula are often rather conservative and not able to respond adequately to current social, economic, cultural and environmental issues". it is vital to take the challenge beyond discussion and to proceed to action. what ultimately matters is the creation of better, and sustainable, human environments and this goal will not be achieved without a vision, co-operation between various role players, capacity-building, and a lot of hard work. references duthie, a. 2000. a comparative study of provincial eia administrative capacity in south africa, iaiasa national conference proceedings, october 2000 (unpublished). environmental conservation act no. 73 of 1989. gasson, b. & todeschini, f. 1997. settlement planning and integrated environmental management compared: some lessons, paper for, iaiasa national conference proceedings, october 2000 (unpublished). krige, s. 2001. the role of universities in capacity building for better human settlements in south africa. south african geographical journal, 83( 1 ):8-17. national department of education 2000. towards a new higher education landscape: meeting the equity, quality and social imperatives of south africa in the twenty-first century. centre for higher education, size and shape task team, pretoria. republic of south africa 1997. regulations no. 1182, government gazette no. 5999, sept 1997. republic of south africa 1996. south african constitution, act 106 of 1996. dewar & shippey/bridging minds and markets saie & es 2000. certification of environmental practitioners in south africa. august. wesgro 2000. background report: environmental industry sector in the western cape province, south africa, december. personal communicafion laider d 2000. environmental impact management unit (eimu), department of environment, culture and sport. western cape provincial administration, november 2000. acknowledgements dennis laidler, stephen granger, david shandler, jonathan crowther and john raimondo for their input. darryll kilian and richard fuggle for their comments on the earlier versions of this paper and iaiasa for their co-operation with the survey. iaiasa and the national research foundation are gratefully acknowledged for their financial assistance to the authors for attendance at the conference. 92 lnternasionaal • international james g zack jr1 are you prepared for mediation?3 abstract this article discusses mediation as an alternative dispute resolution (adr) process. it identifies why we ought to study the mediation process and discusses some of the good and bad points concerning the use of mediation as a form of dispute resolution. finally, the article offers a number of suggestions as to how to prepare for and win at a mediation session. keywords: mediation, alternative dispute resolution. is u gereed vir bemiddeling? die artikel bespreek bemiddeling as 'n alternatiewe proses vir dispuutoplossing. die redes waarom die bemiddelingsproses bestudeer moet word, word aangedui en enkele goeie en swak aspekte word bespreek met betrekking tot die gebruik van bemiddeling as 'n vorm van dispuutoplossing. laastens, bied die artikel 'n aantal voorstelle oor hoe om vir bemiddeling voor te berei om sodoende as oorwinnaar uit 'n bemiddelingsessie te tree. sleutelwoorde: mediasie, alternatiewe dispuutoplossing. j g zack (jr), vice president & director: pinnacleone institute university tower, 4199 campus drive, suite 659, irvine, ca 92612 <jzack@irvine.pinnacle one.com>/<www.pinnacleone.com> 2 the paper was read at the 2000 aace lnterational transaction congress and the 44th annual meeting of aace international, june 25-28, 2000 in calgary, ab, canada. proceedings of the 2nd world congress on cost engineering, project management & quantity surveying and the 16th international cost engineering council (icec) congress. zack/are you prepared for mediation? mediation: the process what is mediation? mediation has been discussed in a number of publications in recent years. one publication described mediation as follows (harris, 1994: 5): "mediation is the private, confidential, and informal submittal of a dispute to a non-binding dispute resolution process. in the mediation process, the parties (generally, the project owner and the prime contractor) collaborate to craft a solution to the dispute. an outside neutral, the mediator, assists the parties in their efforts to resolve the dispute resolution. the parties may opt for either a single mediator or a mediation panel." mediation is a very flexible process, considerably more so than arbitration or litigation. for example, in mediation there are no formal rules of procedure for the mediation session; testimony is not offered under oath; there is no formal transcript of the mediation; there is no cross-examination by opposing counsel; the rules of evidence so well practised in court do not apply in mediation, etc. the role of the mediator differs from that of an arbitrator or a judge. in essence, a mediator is a negotiation facilitator. as a neutral negotiation facilitator, the mediator's role is to help each party objectively analyse his position, and assist the parties in structuring an acceptable settlement. thus, the mediator is an advisor to both parties in analysing their position and finding ways to settle a dispute. the power to resolve the dispute actually rests with the parties to the dispute, not with the mediator. the parties control both the process and the outcome. thus, one of the keys to success in mediation is self-determination by the parties. the disputants pick their own solution; nothing is imposed upon them by outside forces as in arbitration or litigation. due to its inherent flexibility and the fact that the out-come of the process is solely controlled by the parties, mediation is capable of going well beyond traditional settlement negotiations. mediation can broaden potential resolution options and can even go beyond the strict issues in dispute to resolve multiple issues, should the parties decide that this is the desirable outcome. 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 why study mediation? in recent years, mediation has gained popularity as a form of adr in the construction industry. more people in construction are aware of mediation which is now more often suggested as a possible way to resolve disputes. in addition, mediation is a prerequisite in some nationally known (us) contract document forms. for example, clause 5.4.1.1 of aia document a511 mandates the use of mediation (aia 1987), as does article 10.2 of dbia document 535 (dbia 1998). thus, some owners and contractors may find themselves contractually bound to the mediation process, whether they want to or not. in addition, the parties may be operating in a jurisdiction where mediation is mandated by statute. the national conference of commissioners on uniform state laws, together with the american bar association's section on dispute resolution, ran a survey in which they determined that mediation is " ... embodied in more than 2.000 state and us federal statutes . . . (american arbitration association)." like it or not, the parties may be statutorily required to mediate a dispute. on the other hand, the parties may be 'judicially mandated' to mediate a dispute. that is, in some of the more crowded court jurisdictions, judges are suggesting in the strongest possible terms that the parties would be smarter to mediate their construction dispute rather than to litigate it. while they may not have the legal right to compel mediation, 'strong suggestions' from the trial judge prior to litigation generally carry great weight. further, mediation must be studied as an adr process because it differs from other forms of adr. unlike arbitration, it is a non­ binding process. it is a facilitated negotiation rather than a hearing like a mini-trial. as noted earlier. it does not have most of the formal. lockstep rules and procedures like litigation. mediators cannot make decisions as they can in arbitration or litigation. and, unlike a dispute review board, mediators will often not even make recommendations. finally, anyone considering mediation as an adr form must study mediation because the parties are allowed to control both the process and the decision. that is, they find their own solution and do not seek a third party to craft a solution for them. 97 zack/ are you prepared for mediation? the mediation process in the author's experience. mediation typically develops in the following manner. generally the contractor files a claim against the project owner. the owner analyses the claim and attempts to settle the issue(s) by direct negotiation. after numerous attempts. negotiations deadlock or fail altogether. at this point. the contractor either files a demand for arbitration or initiates litigation. depending on the terms and conditions of the contract. at this stage, attorneys and expert witnesses get involved and there is some initial 'bloodletting' on both sides. legal and expert witness fees are increasing rapidly. once the cost has risen to a painful level, one or the other of the parties may decide. 'there must be a better. faster. cheaper way!' at this point. one or the other party, having heard about mediation. offers mediation as a faster and considerably cheaper alternative to legal action. and the other party agrees. it should be noted that the formal legal action is not dropped but simply held in abeyance pending the outcome of mediation. once mediation is agreed to, the parties select a mediator. the mediator's first action is to assist the parties with the physical arrangements of the mediation itself; the date. the location, what information is to be exchanged, and when. the mediator monitors the information exchange to ensure that both parties adhere to their agreements. the mediator also assists the parties in setting the basic rules for the mediation itself. on the day of the mediation, the mediator opens the session by reiterating the basic rules previously agreed upon. the contractor, as claimant. presents his case first, followed by the owner. as defendant. the sequence of events depends on the basic rules established earlier by the parties. firstly, the mediator may sum up each party's case to highlight the issues. secondly, a question-and-answer or a discussion session may follow the presentations to air certain issues. at some point though. the parties are 'sent to neutral corners'. that is. the parties are separated into different rooms and the mediator starts the facilitated negotiation, first with one party, then with the other party. the mediator basically keeps the parties talking until they find a satisfactory settlement. 98 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 good and bad points it is generally safe to say that in construction, nothing is either all good or all bad! this is true for both mediation and any other system employed in the construction industry. strong points on the positive side, mediation is a relatively inexpensive process, especially when compared to arbitration or litigation, and it is certainly a considerably faster process. mediation is non-binding, thus no external decision can be imposed. mediation is private and confidential, and mediation agreements frequently include strict confidentiality agreements on the parties, the attorneys, and the expert witnesses. mediation is flexible, and it is generally limited only by the ingenuity of the mediator and the parties. mediation identifies and works with the strong points and the weak points of both sides of the dispute. it gives each party a better sense of the other party's case and gives each party the opportunity to test the other party's resolve in proceeding with the dispute. mediation also effects free discovery. finally, mediation tries to identify and focus on the common interests rather than on the specific mistakes each side may have made on the project. weak points as mediation requires such low investment of time and cost, either party can easily walk away, resulting in no decision arising from the process. another issue frequently mentioned by those who have experienced this process is that mediators are trained to 'drive a deal'. that is, their goal is to settle the case. in the process of seeking ways to settle the case, they may overlook what they consider to be minor issues, such as facts, documents, contract language, etc. it was mentioned earlier that mediation effects free discovery. this is indeed a sharp, two-edged sword. in the process of getting free discovery, each party also allows the other to discover a vast amount of information. finally, it is difficult to succeed in mediation if the parties are on the 'opposite sides of $0'. if the owner believes that there is absolutely no merit to the contractor's claim and that he is forced into mediation by contract, statute or judicial mandate, mediation is highly unlikely to succeed. zack/are you prepared for mediation? how to 'win' at mediation in a sense, mediation is a competitive sport. each party is trying to arrive at a number with which they will be satisfied. as with all competitive sports, certain actions must be taken in order to emerge victorious. this section of the article is intended to present a number of tips on how to achieve victory at the mediation table. general points • be prepared. go into the session knowing your facts! be able to document every point made in the mediation session. parties that go into mediation with nothing more than generalisations, vague stories, unfounded accusations or 'whining,' invariably lose in this process. • remain business-like. at the mediation session, remain cool and in control. remember that mediation is a facilitated business negotiation process. both parties should seek a good business decision. it is rarely personal. treat the process like business and you're more likely to succeed. • keep the process informal. in formulating the basic rules for the mediation session, strive for informality. the more legalistic the session appears, the more nervous the project participants are likely to be. remember only attorneys are trained to be comfortable on the floor of a courtroom. if the mediation seems like a court hearing then the project personnel involved will be less effective. • prepare and rehearse. spend as much time and energy as necessary to prepare a factual and well documented presentation. rehearse your presentation and plan the session thoroughly. • don't 'fall in love with' your case. the more time spent preparing for mediation, the more convinced you become of the righteousness of your case. this is a natural outcome of thorough preparation. however, keep doing reality checks. examine every point carefully and with a skeptical eye. it is relatively easy to fool yourself. it is much more difficult to remain rational and objective. to win at mediation, you must remain objective. • define 'win'. in the course of preparing for mediation you need to define what 'win' means to you. you must determine, prior to the day of mediation, what the 'good settlement' should be in terms of cost, time, and other considerations. know where you want the mediation to end before you even start. 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 preparing for mediation • mediator selection. one of the keys to a successful mediation is to select the right mediator. you need to carefully choose the mediator. the first choice is between an 'evaluative mediator' and a 'subject-matter expert'. evaluative mediators are typically attorneys who have practised in the construction litigation field for some time. they are well­ informed about construction but are typically not trained or skilled in the fields of architecture, engineering, construction, or construction management. thus. while they may be good evaluators. the presentation must start with the basics. on the other hand, some mediators are technical experts in certain fields (for example, construction scheduling) and may be preferred in the case of a very narrowly focused dispute. next, how do you identify mediators? obtain a list from the local american arbitration association office. speak with attorneys who practise in the field of construction litigation in your area, or check with other people in your area who have experienced mediation. once you have a list, carefully check the background and experience of the persons listed. speak with other people in your position (whether you're a contractor or an owner) to find out their opinion on the mediator and his/her personality. • process understanding. work with your attorney, for in this way you will gain a thorough understanding of the process and of your role in mediation. remember that mediators do not make decisions and may not even offer recommendations. this is your role as participant in the mediation process. • process participation. as mediation affects you directly, participate actively in setting the basic rules. how would you like the mediation session to run? participate in the document exchange. assist your attorney in writing the mediation brief. true, writing briefs is a legal function but the brief must be factually accurate, and since you. not your attorney, were on site, you have more command of the facts. finally, deter-mine your role at the mediation. mediation is not like a trial where attorneys do all the talking. in mediation, the project participants can, and often do. make the mediation presentation. lead the discussion session, and ask and respond to questions. finally, be prepared to make the decision. this is a key role that only project participants can fulfill. • be prepared. learn your case thoroughly. carefully calculate costs and losses. prepare arguments and documents 101 zack/are you prepared for mediation? thoroughly. if you do all this, you will not be caught off guard if the other party makes false statements at the mediation. • critical documents. during preparation, identify which of the thousands of project ·documents are critical to the case. organise these documents along with your presentation. bring multiple copies of these documents to the mediation so that they can be used and distributed to others when needed. • legal support. if there are legal issues that need to be settled in the mediation, be prepared to address them. issues such as attorney fees, statute of limitations, enforceability of contract language, etc, may need to be addressed. have case law, statutes, and contract documents at the mediation to address such issues. do not rely solely on presentation skills and logic. mediators may try to ignore logic to achieve settlement, but they cannot ignore documented legal issues. • learn your strong points. in preparing your case, learn your 'strong points'. these are clearly in your favour, are well­ documented, and cannot be argued or interpreted in any other fashion. find these strong points, document them, and figure out how to use them to influence a favourable settlement. • learn your weak points. learning the weak points of your case is equally important, but more difficult to do. these are facts that lead to a settlement in the other party's favour. you need not like these points but you must be prepared to live and deal with them realistically. be prepared to concede these weak points while minimising damage to your own case as much as practicable. • learn the other side's strong and weak points. an objective analysis of the other party's case is even more difficult. you need to examine it from their viewpoint. find their strong points; learn how to deal with them. find their weak points; learn how to use them to your advantage. remember that your objective in the mediation is to convince the mediator that your case is stronger and more likely to prevail and then let the mediator convince the other side of this. to accomplish this, you must shoot holes in the other party's case. find, document, and point out mistakes, inconsistent statements, over-inflated costs, unrealistic damages, double counted costs, new legal theories, etc. • know real damages. mediation focuses heavily on dollars and parties are often surprised when the first question the mediator asks in the private session is 'what will you really settle for?' they do this to determine how far you are 102 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 prepared to go to settle. the mediator often acts 'shocked' at your figure and suggests a figure considerably larger/smaller than yours in an effort to get you started. calculate your real figure. tie your calculation closely to the requirements of the contract documents. be prepared to give this calculation to the mediator to prevent them from influencing you against yourself. • estimate 'failure' cost. remember mediation typically starts with some legal action, which has been placed in abeyance pending the outcome of mediation. thus, should mediation fail. and should no settlement be reached, legal action is re­ instituted. therefore, preparing for mediation involves estimating your cost in order to arbitrate or litigate the cost. why? because mediators frequently open with, 'you may as well throw in your legal costs!' and, if you do not have an estimate of legal costs, the mediator is often willing to suggest a very high figure of their own to get you started. • rehearse. if the issue in dispute is sufficiently large, it may well be worthwhile to hire a mediator to run a one-day 'mock mediation'. this is analogous to a dress rehearsal and can be used to prepare you and your team for the real thing. at the mediation • authority to settle. successful mediation demands that both parties bring people to the table who have the full authority to settle issues. this is easy for private parties but considerably more difficult for public owners. public owners need to clarify their position at the outset. 'if we reach settlement today, i'm prepared to go to the city council tomorrow evening and recommend their full consent'. • participate. mediation is not arbitration or litigation where attorneys do most of the talking. be an active participant as well as a decision-maker. make the presentation; participate in discussions, etc. remember, it's your project, your case, your money, your solution, and you have to accept the outcome. • trust the mediator. for mediation to succeed, do not constantly question the mediator's approach, do not assume that he is biased against you, and that he can force you into a settlement you are not willing to accept. develop a rapport with the mediator, respond openly to his questions, and follow his lead as long as you are comfortable. seek advice from the mediator when appropriate. recognise that you both have similar goals: a reasonable settlement of all issues. 103 zack/ are you prepared for mediation? • team approach. it is easier for the mediator to follow and for you to prepare when a single person makes the entire presentation. when a team makes the presentation, this may bring a different perspective, more depth, and a more balanced approach to various issues. • summary presentation. mediation is a forum for discussing a settlement, not for detailed fact-finding. your presentation should be brief and to the point. details should be summarised. pick your key points carefully, document them well, and focus on them at all times. do not confuse the mediator by the myriad details of the project, most of which have little or nothing to do with the issues in dispute. • no insults. regardless of personal feelings, do not insult the other party or their attorney. insults harden positions and make it less likely that the other side will be flexible. impress the other side with facts; do not rile them with insults. as one famous set of authors stated some time ago in this regard, "be hard on the problem, soft on the people (fisher 1981 j ". remember the goal of mediation is settlement. you need the co-operation of the other side to achieve this goal. • factor in other benefits. when discussing settlement options, add in other benefits besides direct costs. for example, settlement allows both parties to close out the project, allows release of retained earnings, may allow release of previously withheld liquidated dam-ages, frees up the contractor's bonding limits, avoids the high cost of litigation, etc. you may wish to use other benefits in the settlement equation. • be creative. in discussing settlement options, think beyond the box. for example, you may be able to expand the pie by paying the price asked if the other side resolves other claims. you may be able to accept an extended bond or warranty in lieu of dollars. you may agree not to talk about the contractor's performance on this project to other project owners. things of this nature may add value to the settlement at no extra cost. • trial-ready graphics. mediation is a forum for persuasion. summarise your case in a few trial-ready (high quality) graphics. use the graphics to focus your case and to be of assistance in your oral presentation. • know your 'walk away' figure. mediation focuses on 'how much': on dollars. you must go into mediation knowing your real top or bottom line. once you know this and have estimated your failure cost, you can establish your walk away figure. your walk away figure is the amount beyond which it is probably better to re-institute legal action as your costs are 104 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 likely to be lower. if you reach your walk away figure without achieving a settlement, and with no good reason to change your figure, then walk away from the mediation. • maintain control. mediation can be lengthy and stressful. aggressive, inflammatory tactics will probably not work in mediation. you need to avoid getting angry or emotional. focus on being in control at all times. • do not panic. when the mediator starts telling you how weak your case is and starts throwing around outrageous figures, do not panic. the mediator is moving towards a settlement. panicked perceptions of your own weaknesses can be very expensive. that is, you will end up negotiating against your own position; either throwing more money on the table or taking more money off. remember your strong points and the other side's weak points. self-doubt during the process is normal. remember too, the mediator is beating up the other side, instilling in them their own self-doubts. • listen, then talk. practise 'active listening' during the mediation. try to experience and understand the situation from the other party's viewpoint. pay close attention to their opening and closing statements, as these are often the best summaries of their position. do not spend your listening time thinking of rebuttal statements. if you do this, you have stopped listening and may miss valuable information. • no non-negotiable demands. mediation is a structured, facilitated negotiation. non-negotiable demands, at least at the outset of the process, are inconsistent with the spirit of mediation and counterproductive. the 'take it or leave it' approach does not facilitate dialogue and is unlikely to effect a settlement. • no walkouts. one of the keys to successful mediation is to keep talking. walkouts, unless you have reached your walk away figure, are counterproductive in this regard. walkouts stop communication. in addition, they leave the other party with the false impression that, 'my case must be even stronger than even i believed. the other side tucked tail and ran'. that erroneous message makes it more. difficult to reach a resolution later. finally, walking out of mediation will likely lead the other side to re-institute the initial legal action. • make settlement easy. in trying to structure a settlement, identify the other side's concerns and try to address them in ways that do not cost you money. for example, emotional issues may be settled by a formal apology from one side to the other concerning the way in which the project was run. owners may promise no adverse commentary to other zack/ are you prepared for mediation? owners. no adverse performance ratings, or possibly a promise of future work. • be prepared to make business decisions. win-win settlements are obviously desirable but may not be possible. given the circumstances. potential settlements may not be entirely within the bounds of the contract but they may still make good business sense. all potential settlements must be approached from this perspective. each side may have to make painful decisions to achieve resolution. they may have to admit wrongdoing or compromise positions in order to reach settlement. but, if settlement is good business for both sides, then each side must be willing to pay the price. after mediation • sign the settlement at the mediation. once settlement has been verbally agreed to. have the mediator write out the settlement, including all the terms and conditions. and have all parties sign the document before anyone leaves the mediation room. this document may be hand-written and may have to be followed up with a more formal settlement document. it is important to get a signed agreement in order to avoid buyer's remorse the next morning, and to avoid the typical post-mediation problems. ('if only i had said ... ' or 'if i'd been there. i never would have given away the farm like you did!'). • 'sell' the settlement within your own organisation. almost without fail, people on both sides (especially those who did not participate in the mediation) will criticise the outcome. each side must return to its own organisation and explain why the settlement is a good deal. if things went wrong on the project. explain this so that others can learn a lesson and avoid similar problems in the future. you need to help everyone in your organisation understand the reasons for the settlement. and. on the public owner's side, the people at the mediation need to present the settlement to the relevant decision-makers. and convince them to approve the settlement. mediation is the continuation of previous negotiation efforts. in a more structured setting, and with the assistance of an external neutral person. contrary to popular belief. mediation is not easy. it should not be attempted without thorough preparation. 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 success in mediation requires careful preparation and a hard, realistic appraisal of your case and the other side's case. it requires a good, focused presentation by a well-prepared team of people. it also requires active listening and a willingness to make hard business decisions to achieve resolution short of arbitration or litigation. the outcome of mediation is totally under the control of the parties, unlike the outcome of arbitration or litigation. a properly executed mediation is a very effective mechanism for resolving disputes. on the other hand, mediation can be a very frustrating experience and result in a vast amount of free discovery for the other side. if you follow the guidelines set forth in this article, you can learn how to win at mediation. references american institute of architects (aia) 1987. document a51 l, guide to supplementary conditions for aia, document a201. design-build institute of america (dbia) 1998. document 535: standard form of general conditions between owner and design-builder. design-build institute of america. american arbitration association 1992. dispute resolution times. draft of uniform mediation act (released). july 2. fisher, r. & ury, w. 1981. getting to yes. boston. ma: houghton mifflin. harris, a.e., sink, c.m. & wulff, r.w. 1994. adr: a practical guide to resolve construction disputes alternative dispute resolution in the construction field. dubuque, ia: kendall/hunt publishing company. 139 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf schalk le roux om argitektuur te skryf peer reviewed abstrak sedert die jare dertig van die negentiende eeu het vaktydskrifte, saam met die stigting van die eerste institute vir argitektuur, die lig gesien. hulle het die institute se opgeneemde plig om lede se werk en status te beskerm en te bevorder, propageer. hierdie joernale is meestal deur argitekte vir argitekte geskryf. dit het daartoe gelei dat die argumente selde buite die beroep weerklank gevind het en die gesprekke tussen argitek en publiek frustreer is. argitekte word moontlik self deur hierdie toestand benadeel en daar word gestel dat dit nie so moeilik is om verstaanbaar oor argitektuur te skryf nie. die soortgelyke ondervinding in suid afrika word uitgelig. sleutelwoorde: argitektuur, instituut, joernaal, skryf, tydskrif abstract since the 1830s, along with the the founding of the first institutes for archi tecture, journals began to be published. they promoted the adopted duty of the institute to protect the works and status of its members. these journals were mostly written by architects for architects, which led to the situation that arguments seldom met with a response outside the profession, and caused the discourse between architect and public to be frustrated. this state of affairs is possibly injurious to architects themselves, and it is stated that it is not all that difficult to write intelligibly about architecture. a similar experience in south africa is highlighted. keywords: architecture, institute, journal, magazine, writing prof. schalk le roux, department of architecture, university of pretoria, south africa. email: <schalk.leroux@up.ac.za> 140 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 1. inleiding die belang om die status en werk van argitekte te omskryf, tebeskerm, openbaar te maak en te bevorder loop saam metdie opkoms van die eerste institute vir argitektuur in die negentiende eeu. die stigting van amptelike tydskrifte of joernale was hoog op die agendas van vroeë vergaderings van die ‘learned societies’ in engeland en amerika. dit het nie beteken dat die debat in hierdie tydskrifte verder as die argitekte self gereik, of dat die besorgdhede waarmee die institute geworstel het ooit wyer as ‘n kundige binnegroep gestrek het nie. die suid-afrikaanse ondervinding was nie anders nie. uniewording in 1910 het nie onmiddelik tot ’n landwye organisasie vir suid-afrikaanse argitekte gelei nie. die natal institute of architects en die association of transvaal architects, wat onderskeidelik in 1902 en 1909 gestig is, het eers in 1927 met die kaapse en vrystaatse argitekte as die instituut van suid-afrikaanse argitekte verenig.1 vereniging het nie eenheid gebring nie en verskeie sake het ongemak tussen veral die kaapse en transvaalse argitekte verseker (lewis, 1953: 7-8; 11). die nuwe instituut was baseer op die beginsels van die royal institute of british architects (riba), daardie ‘grootse, waardige en altoos hulpvaardige vader van alle institute’ soos die eerste gekose raad dit gestel het (lewis, 1953: 16), en, soos die riba was die mikpunt om ‘uniformity and respectability of practice in the profession’ te bereik en die veld van die argitek se optrede te definieer (saint,1983: 61). as een van die strategiese stappe om die begeerde resultaat te haal het die britse instituut dadelik met sy stigting in 1834 by publiseerde argitektuurpropaganda betrokke geraak. die latere vaste verband tussen instituut en amptelike joernaal was gestel. the builder het in dieselfde jaar sy verskyning gemaak en is deur verskeie ander gevolg; die riba journal het in 1893 en die durende achitectural review in 1896 verskyn.2 1 die kaapse, oos kaapse en vrystaatse argitekte was voorheen deur privaat geor ganiseerde liggame verteenwoordig (lewis, 1953: 7). 2 the builder dateer vanaf 1842; the architect 1869; british architect 1874; builders’ journal 1895. 141 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf die nuwe suid-afrikaanse instituut het ook hier in die voetspoor gevolg. by die eerste vergadering in 1928 het die raad dit belangrik geag om op die volgende te konsentreer: • reëls vir argitektuurkompetisies (baseer op die ekwivalante dokument van riba); • konsolidasie van munisipale bywette dwarsdeur suid-afrika; • professionele opleiding; en • die noodsaak vir 'n eie tydskrif (lewis,1953: 8). in ’n mate het die instituut al hierdie mikpunte bereik. ’n blywende sukses was om ’n tydskrif te bekom en aan die gang te hou. in 1928 het hulle die south african architectural record (saar) by die transvaalse instituut oorgeneem. hierdie tydskrif is in 1916 as die journal of the association of transvaal architects gestig en bestaan, ten spyte van vele naamsveranderinge, vandag nog as architecture south africa.3 afgesien van hierdie joernaal is daar talle ander tydskrifte wat hulle spesifiek op die boubedryf toespits en waarin argitekte hulle idees kan wissel en dit ook doen.4 2. om te skryf of te bou maar, dit is nie so maklik of gewoon om argitektuur te skryf nie. dit is nie 'n analitiese verbesondering nie, maar eerder ’n omvattende sintese van ondervinding wat alle ander spesialiteite – van die kunste tot die wetenskap – as matryse vir besluite wil neem en toepas. die gebou is in die argitek se woordeskat die eerste en vernaamste primêre bron, die verduideliking waarvan dikwels aan ander, veral historici, oorgelaat terwyl die volgende teks gebou word. 3 the architect, builder and engineer is terselfdertyd in die kaap publiseer; saar is later as plan en toe as architecture sa uitgegee. 4 byvoorbeeld: acta structilia, art south africa, de arte, suid afrikaanse tydskrif vir kultuurgeskiedenis, south african journal of art history, tydskrif vir wetenskap en kuns. die durende architect & builder van laurie wale het naas die tydskrif van die instituut, suid afrikaanse argitektuur sedert sy eerste uitgawe in februarie 1951 op die voorgrond gehou. artikels is deurgaans deur wale self geskryf of redigeer (wale, 1951: 19). 142 acta structilia 2005:12(2) hierdie stellings mag vreemd klink met die hedendaagse nadruk op die akademiese en teoretiese ondersoek en uitleg van argitektuur; tog het die benadering dat argitekte oor hulle eie werk skryf, dit verwoord en verantwoord nie ’n sterk historiese basis nie, nog ’n onbetwiste aanhang in die beroep self. in ’n langsame proses verskyn argitekte se siening van hulle eie werk as deel van die debat om argitektuurteorie en argitektuurgeskiedenis eers laat op die voorgrond. hierdie skynbare geringskatting van hulle standpunte is verrassend gesien teen die dikwels aangehaalde teorie wat sedert plato met ons is – dit is dat ’n bouwerk betekenisvol is in soverre dit die idees van ’n individuele ontwerper vertoon en verder, dat die geskiedenis van argitektuur ’n web weef van hierdie betekenisvolle idees soos in spesiale geboue uitgebeeld word (watkin, 1977: 1-2). dit is selfs meer ongewoon as daar met andrew saint saamgestem kan word dat een van die leidmotiewe van argitektuurteorie, veral sedert die negentiende eeu, meer as enige ander propageer is: dit is die tema van artistieke individualisme wat meriete in spesifieke bouwerke en algemene ontwikkeling in argitektuur volgens persoonlike bevatting soek – gewoonlik van styl (saint, 1983: 6). kritici is gewoonlik in die geesteswetenskappe geskool en ent die tradisie, om artistieke skepping as die voortreflikste eienskap te beskou, op die argitektuur oor. in werklikheid word ’n analoog met digkuns of musiek geskep en die hoofdeug word aan die oorspronklike skepper toegeken. tog, as daar verder in die geskiedenis teruggekyk word, het die argitek se begrip vir sy eie werk nie ’n voorste rol gespeel nie. afgesien van die egiptiese ‘argitek’, ineni, wat sy eie voortreflikheid, na ’n skynbaar skrale bydrae tot die argitektuur, onbeskroomd besing het (briggs, 1974: 7), weet ons min van die eerste argitekte en hulle sienings en evaluerings van hulle eie werk. oor die parthenon kan skaars iets nuuts geskryf word. tog is die idees van kalikrates en iktinos oor hulle ontwerpe onbekend (carpenter, 1970: 106; 111). en die argitek van alexandrië, dinokrates, se oorspronklike, maar hoogs ongewone, verkryging van die opdrag is meer bekend as sy argumente vir die ontwerp van die stad (el-abbadi, 1990:33-38). marcus vitruvius polio (aktief 46-30vc) se dwingende ‘krag, grasie en bruikbaarheid’, onderlê steeds argitektoniese argument, maar andersins dra dit weinig tot die debat by. uit die middeleeue het 143 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf ons feitlik net ab suger se getuienis oor st denis (1135-44) en die sketsboeke van villard de honnecourt (aktief c1225-1238). dit was gedurende die renaissance in italië dat die argitek-outeur op die voorgrond tree. die model vir die skrywery is deur leone battista alberti (1404-1472) in sy de re aedificatoria (1452, ten volle 1485) vasgelê. ’n eeu na sy dood is die mees algemeen bekende argitektuurgeskrif, i quattro libri dell’architetura, deur andrea di pietro, bekend as palladio (1508-1580) publiseer. hierin besin hy onder andere oor sy eie werk. michelangelo buanarrotti (1475-1564) het verkies om te teken en te bou. volgens vasari het hy hom min gesteur daaraan om sy idees selfs aan sy beskermheer bekend te maak. hy het ook moontlik die argitek se rol as ontwerper onafhanklik van die kliënt ‘of enigiemand anders’ die duidelikste gestel (vasari, 1965: 350-351; 396-397).5 terwyl hierdie, en soortgelyke stellings van ander argitekte, as arrogansie afgemaak kan word, is dit ook moontlik om dit as betrokke te beskou. die argitek moet wyer kyk as die beskermheer, die presedent, die konstruksie. die gebou is die teks van ondervinding en stelling, die ontleding daarvan kom ander toe en dit sluit die kliënt in. die argitek-outeur en ’n opvolger, die akademiese argitek wat dikwels glad nie bou nie, word steeds deur vele argitekte gewantrou omdat hulle nie altyd met die ‘werklikheid van die wêreld daarbuite’ te doen het nie. selfs suksesvolle argitekte wat hulle konsepte en voltooide geboue met gemak kan verduidelik, word dikwels met agterdog bejeën. sommige weier dat hulle geboue enigsins publiseer word. 'n anekdote sal dit tuisbring: voor die tweede wêreldoorlog – so lui die legende – het frank lloyd wright (1869-1959) die geleentheid gehad om le corbusier (1887-1966), wat baie geskryf en die rigting wat argitektuur in die e20 sou inslaan skerp aangedui het, te ontmoet. wright het dit afgewys omdat hy kwansuis nooit met joernaliste sou praat nie! 5 friedrich mielke het dieselfde begrip later moontlik meer delikaat gestel deur na die vele omstandighede en persone betrokke by die ontwerp van ’n struktuur saam en die uniekheid van die situasie waarbinne ’n bouwerk daargestel word te verwys (mielke, 1975: 25 31). 144 acta structilia 2005:12(2) die moderne het die oorlog oorleef; in werklikheid was die teëlaarde gunstig vir die beginsels van die internasionale styl – in steen en filosofie. die switserse profeet het hierdie beginsels skynbaar verraai – of so het sy vroeëre (en latere) volgeling, james stirling (1956: 155-61) geskryf – en uit die stroom padgegee. van nôtre dame des hauts sê die ‘joernalis’ die onmootlike, bevraagteken hyself die argitek as artikuleerde wese buitekant sy fisiese skepping: i have no more complete explanation to give, since the chapel will be before the very eyes of those who buy the booklet. that is better than the most eloquent speech (purdy, 1977: 293). sy volgelinge het hom die rug gekeer en aangestorm na die horison wat alle misverstaande genieë insluk.6 daar is wel ’n ander sy van die prentjie. étienne-louis boullée (1728-1799) se architecture, essai sur l’art, het groot invloed op sy tydgenote uitgeoefen en hy het sy vryheid om op papier te skep beklemtoon, dit terwyl vele van sy ontwerpe veridealiseerd was en onmoontlik konstrueer kon word met die boukundige tegnologie van sy tyd (maré, gerneke & le roux, 1987: 80). op die hoogtepunt van die postmoderne oproer in die vroeë jare tagtig het die luxembourgse argitek, leon krier, hom as volg uitgelaat: “i can only make architecture because i do not build. i do not build because i am an architect” en hom op skryfwerk en tekeninge toegespits (krier, 1981: vii). dit was voor hy deur een van die destyds meer bekende argitektuurkritici, die prins van wallis, oorgehaal is om ’n nuwe dorp, poundbury, te ontwerp, (sudjic, 2002: 146; davey, 2005: 51) die resultaat waarvan deur vele argitekte as bewys beskou is waarom hy eerder by sy vroeëre stelling moes gebly het! tog was krier, wat intussen feitlik van die toneel verdwyn het, se invloed rekenbaar.7 krier se sentiment is nie ’n uitsondering in die tweede helfte van die twintigste eeu waar die genoemde gebrek aan die argitek se standpunt op sy kop gedraai is nie. die jare twintig was utopies. 6 le corbusier het wel veel oor ronchamps te sê gehad. kyk tzonis (2001: 174 181). 7 krier se stelling kan ook gelees word teen die agtergrond van die zero en nega tiewe bevolkingsgroei wat in sommige van die hoogs industrialiseerde lande bereik is; nuwe bouwerke het minder belangrik geword, die nodigheid vir teorie en publikasie meer. in suid afrika is die probleem op die oog af omgekeerd. 145 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf bevry van die verlede het die argitek ’n onbekende toekoms tegemoet geloop: werk moes nuut wees, tydloos, slegs deur bruikbaarheid gevorm word, alles was meetbaar. wispelturige en arbitrêre besluite het aan die verlede behoort. die intensie van die argitek, versigtig versluier as konsep baseer op die realiteit van die probleem, het op die voorgrond getree. le corbusier is ’n goeie voorbeeld en om sy werk teenoor sy gestelde beginsels en uitgangspunte te evalueeer, het feitlik standaardpraktyk geword. dertig jaar later was hierdie benadering vasgemessel in argitektuur en met so ’n rykdom van beskikbare sienings, het die aanhaling dikwels by die foto as die hoofwyse van illustrasie oorgeneem.8 teen die vroeë tagtigerjare was die argitekte massimo scolari, wat teen daardie tyd slegs ’n tydelike fasade by ’n tydelike uitstalling op sy kerfstok gehad het, die krier-broers wat omtrent niks gebou gehad het nie, michael graves, wat reeds beroemd was na ’n klein aanbouing, john hejduk en franco purini, na slegs een of twee geboue, internasionaal bekend, kwoteer en nagevolg – dit slegs deur hulle gestelde idees en publiseerde konsepte. vandag hoef daar nie vir die argitek se uitgangspunte gesoek te word nie, om hulle te evalueer en te vertaal het eerder van belang geword. maar steeds word hierdie gesprekke meestal binne die beroep uitgeruil. 3. beroep en geskrif dit is nodig om vir ’n wyle by argitektuur as beroep stil te staan. die vestiging van ’n professie is deur die stigting van die eerste institute vasgelê. hulle was die resultaat van ’n strewe wat sedert die vyftiende eeu spook om van die argitek ’n opgeleide en spesialiseerde ontwerper te maak, ’n strewe wat saamloop met die opkoms van die kapitalistiese stelsel en die skerp afbakening van werkgeleenthede. dit loop verder saam met die opkoms van kunsgeskiedenis in die agtiende eeu, die [nasionalistiese] skepping van styl as die vernaamste kenmerk van geboue in die negentiende en die ewe stilistiese reaksie daarteen in die twintigste eeu – met die argitek as arbiter van style. hierdeur is die invloedsfeer afgekamp, het argitekte spesialiste geword. in hierdie geleidelike omwenteling is hulle veld van ingryping verbreed, het die invloed op die omgewing 8 in theory and design of the first machine age is daar 471 kwotasies en 137 foto’s (banham, 1960). 146 acta structilia 2005:12(2) uitgebrei, maar die veld van bevoegdheid gekrimp. van hierdie bevoegdhede is oorgeneem deur nog nuwe spesialiste: die ingenieur, stadsbeplanner, bourekenaar, boubestuurder, binneargitek, stadsontwerper en landskapargitek. die skuif loop chronologies met die verskyning van die instituut en die meelopende argitektuurtydskrif soos ons dit vandag ken en die [noodsaaklike] skepping van nuwe style: art nouveau, die eerste van 'n reeks bewegings waardeur styl doelbewus gestel is en die ontdekking van nuwe style9 in die verlede. die building news was die eerste om ‘suiwer argitektonies’ te word, dit wil sê deur slegs op styl toe te spits, maar dit was die architectural review wat oor die laaste eeu die glansblad en rolmodel geword het. die review het gou in ’n argitektuurjoernaal vir argitekte ontwikkel, beheer en saamgestel deur hulle, dit wil sê deur professionele ontwerpers wat as skrywers maar amateurs was. dit is maandeliks publiseer en het weinig plek aan bedryfsnuus afgestaan. die artikels was meestal nadenkend of histories. sy voorkoms is beïnvloed deur die tydgenootlike kunstydskrifte en in formaat, uitleg, kwaliteit van en aantal foto’s was dit duidelik beter as die weeklikse tydskrifte. siende dat dit minder tegnies en aantrekliker was het dit ook geleerde skrywers en lesers van buite die bou-industrie gelok. dit het gelei tot ’n tradisie van artikels deur scholars en dilletanti met ’n wydreikende verskil van opinie. die nuwe toestand het ook argitekte aangemoedig om op meer populêre wyse te skryf sodat ’n leke leserskap akkommodeer kon word. die architectural review en ook domus, wat in 1928 deur gio ponti gestig is en ook op mode, kuns en ontwerp konsentreer het, het die rol en aard van die institute se tydskrifte verander. teen die middel van die twintigste eeu was die idees van die jare twintig en dertig uitgewoed, het die buiteskrywers verdwyn en het argitekte weer oor en weer met mekaar in joernale verkeer wat deur hulle geskryf en beheer is. suzi gablik (1984: 13) gaan so ver as om te sê dat, deur die erfenis van die moderne, die kunstenaar, of argitek, alleen staan. omdat die gemeenskap geen rigting van sy kuns voorstaan nie, moet hy sy eie uitvind of versin. 9 byvoorbeeld barok, erken deur wölfflin in 1888, en manniërisme losgemaak van renaissance en barok deur die werk van vos (1920) en dvorák (1927). 147 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf die nuwe joernalistiek, meestal op verdoemende kritiek of utopiese manifes toegespits, was die argitekte se poging om deur gesprek by betekenis te kom, ’n betekenis wat minstens vir hulleself sinvol was. die verlede word ondersoek in direkte pogings om hulle optrede in die hede te verantwoord en te wettig. een van die beste voorbeelde was rex martienssen (1968: 112; 153-155) se idea of space in greek architecture en die gevolglik beredeneerde plasing van die parthenon op die akropolis – na aanleiding van die kontemporêre strewe wat in 1929 met die bou van villa savoy deur le corbusier tot die uiterste gevoer is. 4. ‘ongeskoolde’ skrywers hoewel argitekte in die laat agtiende en veral negentiende eeue ook as outeurs ontpop het, het hulle hulle aandag meestal op die argeologie en geskiedenis toegespits. hierdie betrokkenheid kan moontlik aan die aard van hulle opleiding en die tydsgees toegeskryf word. in die sewentiende eeu is die académie royale d’architecture gestig en in 1675 het dit tot die eerste argitektuurskool onder leiding van francois blondell gelei. na die rewolusie is dit tot die école des beaux-arts herdoop en die opleiding wat aangebied is, sou vir die volgende 250 jaar die model vir argitektuurstudies wees. carl gerneke het elders uitvoerig hieroor geskryf, maar die aard en gevolge van die opleiding raak slegs skrams aan die argument wat hier gevoer word (maré, gerneke & le roux, 1987: 80-81). argeologie het in die negentiende eeu sterk op die voorgrond getree, maar ’n begin met hierdie nuwe wetenskap is in die eerste helfte van die agtiende eeu gemaak. in 1738 is maria amalia christine van sakse getroud met karel van bourbon, koning van die twee siciliës en haar in napels gevestig. sy was verruk met die beelde in die paleistuin, afkomstig van die hange van vesuvius. op haar versoek is begin met ’n soektog na verdere kunsvoorwerpe. veertig jaar later is jj winckelmann (1717-1768) se monumenti antichi inediti publiseer. dit het ’n model vir argeoloë geword (ceram,1960: 3; 15).10 in 1798 het napoleon op sy onbedagte ekspedisie na egipte vertrek. dit was ’n militêre mislukking, maar het aanleiding gegee tot die merkwaardige eerste publikasie van egiptiese artefakte, description de l’égypte. 10 heinrich schliemann (1822 1890) het in 1870 by hissarlik begin en troje blootgelê, in 1876 het hy die eerste grafte by mukene ontdek; athur evans (1851 1941) het hom sedert 1900 op kreta toegespits. hierdie nuwe belangstelling het ook neerslag gevind in die werk van letterkundiges. walter scott (1771-1823) se romantiese beskouing van die middeleeuse lewe was fiktief, maar nogtans baseer op ’n diepgaande kennis van argeolgie. johann wolfgang von goethe (1749-1832) se von deutsche baukunst (1772) is een van die mees befaamde essays ooit oor die argitektuur geskryf. hy het die katedraal van strassburg deeglik bestudeer, meester erwin von steinbach as die skepper daarvan aanvaar en tot ’n romantiese genie verhef. sy belangstelling in die argitektuur vind later weerklank op ’n reis na italië (goethe, 1962). notre-dame de paris van victor hugo (18021885) was eweneens gebaseer op deeglike studie van die katedraal. uit engeland het john ruskin (1819-1900) sy invloedryke argumente teen veral restoureerders en restourasiemetodes van sy tyd gevoer. in al hierdie gevalle was dit die verlede en nie die argitektuur van hulle tyd wat die argitektonies ‘ongeskoolde’ outeurs besig gehou het. hierdie werke was aan ’n ingeligte lekepubliek gerig, eerder as aan argitekte. argitekte is nie gewilde keuses vir romantiese helde nie, maar in twee bekende romans is hulle tog in hulle eie tyd en in volle kleur as mense geskilder. van seth pecksniff is gesê dat hy ’n kerk kon bou deur net na ‘n vel papier te staar. of his architectural doings, nothing was clearly known, except that he had never designed or built anything; but it was generally understood that his knowledge of the science was almost awful in its profundity. hy was bowenal ’n morele man, veral in sy korrespondensie en gesprekke wat sorg gedra het dat die pligte wat hy die gemeenskap geskuld het uitgevoer is. the brazen plate upon the door (which being mr. peck sniff’s could not lie) bore this inscription, “pecksniff, archi tect”, to which mr. pecksniff, on his cards of business, added, “and land surveyor” (dickens, s.a.: 408; 411). in werklikheid was mr. pecksniff ’n swendelaar wat huurgeld versamel het en niksvermoedende jongelinge teen ’n premium vir drie tot vyf jaar onder sy sorg geneem het. daar het hy hulle losgelaat in ’n ruim vertrek waar “in the company of certain drawingboards, parallel rulers, very stiff-legged compasses… [they improved themselves].” salisbury katedraal is vanaf die suide, die ooste, die weste, die noorde, die suidweste en die noordweste geteken. “this,” said mr. pecksniff, throwing wide the door of the memorable 148 acta structilia 2005:12(2) two-pair front; “is a room where some talent has been developed, i believe. this is the room in which an idea for a steeple occurred to me that i may one day give to the world. we work here, my dear martin. some architects have been bred in this room: a few, i think, mr. pinch?” later in die roman, toon hy min gewetensbesware om ’n ontwerp van martin chuzzlewit, wat op besoek in amerika was, as sy eie toe te eien (dickens, s.a.: 67; 446-449). martin chuzzlewit is tien jaar na die stigting van die britse instituut publiseer. hoewel die keuse van ’n argitek in die rol van mr. pecksniff as lukraak beskryf is, is die ooreenkomste met die besorgdhede van die instituut geen toeval nie. hiervoor dui dickens die onsekerheid oor die status en professionele benadering van die argitek en die terloopse opleiding van argitekte te fyn aan. buite die argiteksberoep is howard roark sekerlik die bekendste argitek van die twintigste eeu. hy was ’n skepping van ayn rand in haar roman, the fountainhead, wat later ook verfilm is. ’n eeu na martin chuzzlewit is die held se opleiding nou aan ’n onberispelike instituut vir tegnologie (waaruit hy geskors is omdat hy geweier het om sy modernistiese benadering vir die instituut se beauxarts strewes op te gee). sy verhaal is welbekend, meer as ses miljoen kopieë van die roman is verkoop, en hoef nie hier herhaal te word nie. wat belangrik is, is dat die strewes van institute in die engelssprekende wêreld gedeeltelik geslaagd was. ten spyte van sy oordrewe ego (wat rand se filosofie onderlê), is roark ’n argitek in die professionele sin wat daaraan geheg word. die strewe van argitekte om verstaan te word het egter agtergebly en daar is steeds nie iemand om mee te praat buite die beroep (en in sy geval ook nie binne nie) of ’n paar ‘ingeligte en sterk’ enkelinge nie. dit is ironies dat ’n ‘argitek’ en sy idees deur rand se roman groot invloed by die wyer publiek uitgeoefen en ’n spesifieke, hoewel oordrewe, beeld van wat ’n argitek is daargestel het, iets wat die institute of hulle joernale nog nie kon doen nie. dit was hierdie laasgenoemde probleem wat die tydskrifte van die institute moes oorkom, ook in suid-afrika. 5. om argitektuur te lees deur martienssen, as redakteur van saar, het suid-afrikaanse skrywers by die wyer tendens aangesluit. deur na hulle publikasies te ver149 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf 150 acta structilia 2005:12(2) wys kan gevra word waarin argitekte skryf, waaroor hulle skryf en wie die skrywers is. om op die eerste vraag te antwoord. daar is geen tekort aan geskrifte waarin argitekte kan publiseer nie. omdat dit ook ’n toegepaste kuns of wetenskap is, die sukses minstens in die oprigting van geboue, waarvan vele ander in die vervaardigingsbedryf afhanklik is, word hulle publikasies deur advertensie en borgskap onderhou – so kan architecture south africa byvoorbeeld kosteloos aan instituutlede beskikbaar gestel word. hierdie situasie kan natuurlik tot 'n sekere oppervlakkigheid in die aanslag lei – soveel moontlik geboue, met soveel moontlik materiale moet in so min as moontlik plek publiseer word. dit is gevolglik nie verbasend dat geen tydskrif wat suiwer op die argitektuur toespits in suid-afrika akkrediteer is, en dat veral akademici wat erkende publikasie as hulle lewensbloed beskou, hierdeur geraak word nie.11 hulle is ’n klein groepie en daar is ander tydskrifte waarin wel met vrug en verbeeldingskrag geskryf kan word. waaroor en deur wie artikels geskryf word is die tweede vraag. in 1986 het estelle maré, argitek en professor aan die kunsdepartement van unisa, ’n artikel in hierdie verband publiseer. in die toe pas afgelope jaar kon sy 52 publiseerde werke opspoor (maré, 1986). sy klassifiseer vier aspekte wat deur die artikels aangeraak word. na ’n steekproef in die amptelike blad van die instituut in terugwerkende dekadespronge sedert 1992 gemaak is, is haar indeling aangepas en gewysig tot vyf deurlopende temas.12 hulle is: argitektuurkritiek: styl, estetiese en simboliese konteks; materiele en strukturele konteks; teorie: kulturele, sosiale, ekonomiese, politieke konteks; die wyer fisiese konteks en die beroep. ’n samevatting van die 303 artikels oorsigtelik bestudeer dui daarop dat meer as die helfte oor kritiek en teorie gaan, dit is veral deur die beskrywing van nuwe geboue of tekste, omtrent 15% oor die praktyk en professie, 18% oor die wyer omgewing en ’n skamele 7% 11 the journal of the institute of south african architects is binne architecture sa vervat. sommige artikels in laasgenoemde is gevolglik wel akkrediteer. 12 architecture sa, 1992 & 1982; plan 1972; saar 1952, 1942, 1932. 13 die meeste van hierdie akademici het ook praktiseer en heelwat oor hulle eie werk geskryf. oor materiale en konstruksie. dit is maklik om af te lei wat deur argitekte as belangrik geag word. ’n tweede afleiding is dat akademici in ekonomiese krisistye vir die beroep op die voorgrond tree.13 hier moet bygesê word dat dit feitlik tradisie is dat ’n akademikus die redakteur van die amptelike joernaal is. volgens hulle praktiserende kollegas het hulle die tyd om te skryf! dit bring ons by ’n ongestelde vraag wat natuurlik volg as die ignoreerde leidrade in die gesprek opgetel word: die "uniformity and respectability" van die beroep, die mikpunte van die plaaslike instituut, die verband tussen geboude en geskrewe teks en die sofistiese stryd wat hulle outeurs daarom voer, die strewe na spesialisasie, die mikpunt met betekenis en die onderwerpe van publikasies. vir wie word geskryf? is dit vir mede-argitekte? akademici van randdissiplines? vorige of toekomstige kliënte? of vir publikasie? dit is moontlik waar bekommernis moet setel: dat daar nog nie duidelikheid in hierdie verband gekry of gesoek is nie, en dat daar nie buite die beroep oor argitektuur gepraat word nie. as gevolg van hierdie oorsig is daar geen intelligente en kundige leserspubliek buite die veld van die spesialiste gekweek nie, is daar nie ’n publiek wat dit moontlik maak om ook die meer simboliese, selfs esoteriese aspekte van die dissipline, waaroor argitekte skynbaar so besorg is, te neem om die gesogde tydskrif moontlik te maak nie – ’n tydskrif waarin minstens deur die spesialisasieverskansings gebreek kan word. moontlik bestaan die woordeskat nie om oor grense heen te praat nie? ’n onlangse voorbeeld dui in hierdie rigting. in haar intreerede as hoof van die departement argitektuur aan die universiteit van pretoria het ‘ora joubert die ‘swak hedendaagse suid-afrikaanse argitektuur’ aangevat in ’n rede wat daarop gemik was om ’n soeke na die werklikheid van ons omgewing en die argitektuur wat daaruit kan spruit te propageer. sy het as een van die voorbeelde van wanaangepaste bouwerk terloops na die sogenaamde toskaanse styl verwys. die res van haar rede was gou vergete en in [meestal] afrikaanse koerante en tydskrifte van die kaap tot limpopo is ’n maandlange gesprek gevoer oor die waarde, al dan nie, van die ‘styl’ wat duidelik geword het was dat hier eerstens ’n onderwerp vir wyer bespreking was en tweedens dat daar ’n gedeelde woordeskat was om die gesprek te voer. 151 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf 152 acta structilia 2005:12(2) behalwe vir een oorsig in die burger (kirsten, 2004), het die gesprek geen werklike hoogtes bereik en is daar nooit tot enige werkbare slotsom gekom nie, maar dit was ‘n belowende begin. tog was dit duidelik dat argitekte en die publiek in dieselfde publikasies met – of minstens verby – mekaar kon redekawel. sommige argitekte glo dat hulle die styl, en vele ander, gebruik omdat kliënte dit verlang (de beer, 2004: 6). staan hulle dus weerloos voor hulle kliënte en die vereistes en versoeke van die praktyk? sou hulle toegelaat word, meen baie, sou hulle heel anders ontwerp. maar omdat hulle geleer het om net met mekaar te praat, tydens studies en in hulle joernale, het hulle nie die aanpasbare woordeskat om dieselfde gedagtes en strewes met hule kliënte te deel nie? dus, of so moet ons aflei, het hulle skole en hulle instellings hulle nie voorberei op die werklikheid nie. twee gesprekke word dus nodig, een oor argitektuur, met ’n hoofletter, en een oor bouwerk vir almal? dit is ironies dat vele kliënte se versoeke heel waarskynlik op die inligting uit randpublikasies tot die argitektuur kom. die versoeke is heel waarskynlik geskoei op die voorbeelde wat uit hierdie tydskrifte versamel kan word. vele glanstydskrifte is op winkelrakke beskikbaar – hierin word ‘styl’ of minstens sekere modieuse voorkomste “uit londen, parys en tokio” dikwels as amper noodsaaklik vir geluk voorgedoen (du preez, 2003: 4). die skryfwyse is onakademies, dikwels wuf en tog dogmaties, maar hierdie tydskrifte is gewild, verkoop in hulle duisende, en skep vele van die beelde wat verlang word. hierdie lesers sien nooit die gesprekke wat om argitektuur in die instituut se joernaal gevoer word nie, verstaan nie die terminologie gebruik nie maar ‘weet’ wat hulle wil hêen arriveer gereëld by argitekskantore met plakboeke uit hierdie tydskrifte saamgestel. daar is selde beelde wat uit die instituut se joernale kom. miskien neem argitekte die aard van hulle professie net te ernstig op, en word die gedagte om argitektuur te skryf met te groot erns bejeën?14 die eenvoudige verduideliking van die proses van ‘n ontwerp mag genoeg wees, die refleksie waardevol, die woordeskat verstaanbaar vir een en almal. en moontlik is hierdie gesprekke 14 so skryf die redakteur van leading architecture and design heel gemaklik: my interest in architecture and design began fom an early age, but somehow i ventured into journalism instead. i recently desided to do something about my interest in architecture, and enrolled for an architectural draughting course (garassino, 2003: 2) sonder verval in wartaal nie so moeilik nie, en is argitektuur nie te ingewikkeld om te verstaan en te verwoord nie – dit is as dit verwyderd praat van die geheim van skepping en skepper wat dikwels veel te groot aandag kry en nie deur leek of soms selfs die argitek verstaan word nie. die gevierde argitektuurkritikus, ada louis huxtable, het vyf-en-twintig jaar gelede reeds versugtend protesteer: i cannot think of better words for what is going on in architecture right now than ambiguous, strange and askew… architects’ writings today go beyond permissible ambiguity. they are being couched in the most obscure, arcane, and unclear terms, borrowing freely from poorly digested and often questionably applied philosophy or skimmings from other fashionable disciplines… small ideas are delivered in large words and weighed down with exotic and private references. intellectual trendiness is rampant (huxtable, 1980: 23). dit wil lyk asof niemand na haar geluister het nie. bibliografie banham, r. 1960. theory and design in the first machine age. cambridge: mit press. briggs, m.s. 1974. the architect in history. new york: de capo. carpenter, r. 1970. the architects of the parthenon. harmondsworth: penguin. ceram, c.w. 1960. gods, graves, and scholars. london: victor gollancz. davey, p. 2005. death of high modernism. architectural review, 117(1297), pp. 45-51. de beer, p. 2004. reflections. architecture south africa, pp. 5-6, nov/dec. dickens, c. s.a. [1844]. martin chuzzllewit. london: cassell & company. du preez, k. 2003. ed’s notes. elle decoration, p. 4, summer. el abbadi, m. 1990. life and fate of the ancient library of alexandria. cairo: unesco. gablik, s. 1984. has modernism failed? new york: thames & hudson. garassino, m. 2003. dear readers. leading architecture & design, p. 4, nov/dec. goethe, j.w. 1962. italian journey. harmondsworth: penguin. 153 le roux • om argitektuur te skryf 154 acta structilia 2005:12(2) huxtable, a.l. 1980. the troubled state of modern architecture. the new york review of books, 180, pp. 23-26, may 2. kirsten, j. 2004. wat van iets anders as ‘toskaans’? die burger. 27 november. krier, l. 1981. drawings 1967 1980. bruxelles: archives d’architecture moderne. lewis, j.s. 1953. the institute of south african architects its first twenty five years. supplement to the south african architectural record, may. maré, e. gerneke, c. & le roux, s. 1987. importance of architect’s views to architectural history. south african journal for cultural and art history, 1(1), pp. 76-90. maré, e. 1989. oorsig van argitektuurpublikasies in suid afrika 1985-1986. south african journal for cultural and art history, 3(3), pp. 181-185. martienssen, r.d. 1968 [1956]. the idea of space in greek architecture. johannesburg: wits university press. mielke, f. 1975. die zukunft der vergangenheit. stuttgard: deutsche verlags anstalt. purdy, j. 1977. le corbusier and the theological program. in: walden, r. (ed.) the open hand. essays on le corbusier. cambridge: mit press. saint, j. 1983. the image of the architect. new haven: yale university press. stirling, j. 1956. ronchamp le corbusier’s chapel and the crisis of rationalism. architectural review, 161(711), pp. 155-161. sudjic, d. 2002. ripensamenti: leon krier. domus, 846, pp. 146-148. tzonis, a. 2001. le corbusier the poetics of machine and metaphor. london: thames & hudson. vasari, g. 1965 [1550]. lives of the artists. selection translated by g. bull, harmondsworth: penguin. wale, l. 1951. these are our aims. architect and builder, 1(1), p. 19. watkin, d. 1977. morality and architecture. oxford: university press. 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 r c juries-whiteman 1 & mm campbell2 home-based businesses: issues and problems with specific reference to bloemfontein abstract there is a high occurrence of home-based businesses in bloemfontein (free state) and in other cities and towns in south africa. with the new role of local authorities as 'developmental local government' and their responsibility for local economic development, home-based businesses may be revised and a fresh, integrated approach be followed to assist in writing a new policy for improving the ability of such enterprises to contribute towards the local economy in bloemfontein. the bloemfontein town planning scheme (no l of 1954) with its high standards of land use, is not the ideal management document of land use to stimulate homebased development. contrary to this, annexure f of the black communities development act that is still used to control development of land use in mangaung, makes provision for the use of a portion of a residential property for business purposes without applying for the approval of the local council. annexure f is therefore a far less sophisticated scheme, with less participation and rudimentary protection of rights. keywords: home-based businesses, bloemfontein, local economic development. tuisondernemings: kwessies en probleme met spesifieke verwysing na bloemfontein bloemfontein (vrystaat) en ander stede en dorpe in suid-afrika word gekenmerk deur 'n hoe voorkoms van tuisondernemings. met die nuwe rol van plaaslike owerhede as 'ontwikkelingsplaaslike regering' en hul verantwoordelikheid vir plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkeling, kan daar opnuut na tuisondernemings gekyk word. 'n nuwe, geyntegreerde benadering kan gevolg word met die skryf van 'n beleid om sulke ondernemings se vermoe te verbeter om tot die plaaslike ekonomie van bloemfontein by te dra. die bloemfontein dorpsaanlegskema (no l van 1954), sowel as die meerderheid van ander dorpsaanlegskemas met hoe grondgebruikstandaarde, is nie die ideale grondgebruiksbestuursdokument om tuisondernemings te stimuleer nie. in teenstelling hiermee bepaal bylae f van die wet op die ontwikkeling van swart gemeenskappe, tans in gebruik vir grondgebruikbeplanning in mangaung, dot 'n gedeelte van 'n wooneiendom vir sake-doeleiendes gebruik mag word sander om by 'n plaaslike owerheid aansoek te doen. bylae f is dus 'n veel minder gesofistikeerde skema wat minder deelname verg waar die beskerming van regte baie elementer is. sleutelwoorde: tuisondernemings, bloemfontein, plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkeling. r c juries-whiteman ba hons (uwc), mu rp (ufsj. 2 mm campbell ba hons (ufsj, h ed (ufs), m u r p (ufs), ph d (ufsj, lecturer, ufs, bloemfontein. s.a. e-mail: campbemm@sci.uovs.ac.za 17 juries-whiteman & campbell/home-based businesses 1. introduction one of the biggest challenges facing the new south african government and its people is the need to address the serious social and economic problems. for example mass poverty, gross inequality and a stagnant economy. according to a household survey conducted in 1995, the unemployment rate was as high as 47% in the northern province, 24% in the free state. 29% in gauteng and 17% in the western cape (reconstruction and development programme (rdp) 1995: 17). indications are that unemployment is on the increase. since its inceptionjn 1994, the government of national unity has been striving to-rid south africa of apartheid. the governmery: -had to -change a1r\5spects of the lives of south african citizens for the better. in order to do this. many laws and policies had to change (rdp 1995: 1 ). these changes also had far-reaching and profound implications for planning. the constitution of south africa (act 108 of 1996). the development facilitation act (act 67 of 1995). new planning laws passed by some of the provinces and various national documents of sectorial legislation that imply planning have influenced the legal context of spatial planning since 1994. the white paper on local government is crucial. as it places municipalities at the centre of planning for better human settlements. the new municipal planning system seems to be formed on the concept of 'developmental local government' (green paper on development and planning, 1999: 9). developmental local government emphasises integrated development planning as a tool for realising the vision of developmental local government. the national development and planning commission and the department of land affairs, which made valuable contributions to the evolution of post-apartheid planning law and policy in south africa, believe that the function of spatial planning is of considerable national importance. positive. creative planning is needed to address the failure of the apartheid planning system to protect the rights and to meet the needs of the majority of south africans. "the current distorted settlement pattern found in many places will not correct itself automatically, nor will it be addressed by default" (green paper, 1999: 19). the government of national unity has also emphasised that local authorities should take responsibility for local economic development (led). and should follow an integrated approach 18 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 to spatial planning. within this mandate, local authorities should address issues such as unemployment, the informal sector and the development of smmes (small-, mediumand micro­ enterprises). the bloemfontein local council (lc) should, therefore, look at the problems of unemployment and embark on interim strategies such as support for home-based enterprises through an integrated approach (co-operation from other departments within the council and departments at provincial government level). the bloemfontein local council should thus assume a facilitative role rather than the present control and regulatory function, and at the same time protect the rights of all residents within a neighbourhood. this is not an easy task, as public opinion has always been a big challenge for planners. the term "home-businesses" entails the following, according to the city of tygerberg zoning scheme: the primary use for the premises is "dwelling house", while "house shop" (1999: 5.1.2 a and b) is. a consent use, where occupational practices are limited to 40% of the total floor area. the toronto metropolitan council encourages working from home and the sectors in which male and female workers were employed in general (clerical, service, professional occupations, etc) reflected the structure of the labour force (bassios, 2000). for the kimberley local council the term "residential business" includes "any trade, business, profession or action, which is required to pay a levy to the diamantveld district council, from which a physical income is generated, and which is conducted from a residential zoned site" (odendaal, 2000). activities. which cause disturbances such as noise, traffic congestion, air pollution or a lowering of aesthetic standards, are not allowed on residential properties (kimberley executive committee minutes, 08-03-1999). as these local authorities made provision for deviations from existing zonings there appears to be a reasonable understanding for the need to create self-employment as well as to preserve the neighbourhood quality. some of the functions of the local authority include the following: to process applications for home-businesses; to investigate complaints and contraventions of the town planning scheme; to co-ordinate and process applications in terms of special consent of uses permissible in terms of the town-planning scheme; and to co-ordinate and process applications in terms of the removal of restrictions act (act 84 of 1967). those persons who perform these "illegal" activities are forced to cease the activities. in many cases the local council cannot offer these residents an alternative for generating income. such restrictive actions seem 19 juries-whiteman __ & campbell/home-based businesses to contradict the proposed function of facilitating and supporting smme development. the question is whether the local authority is applying an integrated approach towards planning when it shuts down home-businesses without offering alternative options for generating income. with the new role of local authorities as 'developmental local governments', and their responsibility for local economic development, the policy regarding home-based businesses should be revisited and an integrated approach be followed in writing a new policy for improving the ability of such enterprises to contribute towards the local economy in bloemfontein. in a survey on home-businesses in bloemfontein conducted by kemp in 1997. it was found that a former white suburb, universitas, had a higher incidence of home-businesses than joe slovo, an informal area, despite joe slovo's much higher unemployment rate. it, therefore, seems that most home­ businesses are started simply to supplement the household income. this research paper examined this issue in order to determine whether this assumption is true. interviews were conducted with home-based business owners whose businesses were approved by the bloemfontein local authority. in a study (tsikoe & mokhotso, 1995) done on home-based enterprises and specifically spaza shops3 in rocklands, a township adjacent to bloemfontein, it was found that socio­ economic factors influence the establishment of spaza shops and that spaza shops can assist in raising the quality of life of the majority of the population in low-income settlements. the study concluded that spaza shops will remain an integral part of township life, and that town planners need to pay careful attention to accommodating them (tsikoe & mokhotso, 1995). the availability of references was an important factor that determined the completion of this study. information for the study was gathered from the following sources: previous studies in the field; unstructured conversations with residents in the study area; structured questionnaires; literature studies; interviews with knowledgeable people in the field, and the internet. 3 home-based enterprises providing consumer goods to the immediate surrounding community. 20 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 2. urban planning legislation it is said that the south african system of urban management and urban planning practice has been "severely criticised on a number of issues by mostly academics at english universities" (oranje, 1995: 22), but that the criticisms never had qn impact beyond the academic institutions. the close link between apartheid and urban management only exacerbated this problem (oranje, 1995: 22). despite criticism, the town-planning scheme is still central to planning in south african towns and cities. the townships ordinance (no 9 of 1969) of the free state may require a local authority to prepare a town-planning scheme. chapter ill of this ordinance states "that the scheme shall have for its general purpose the co-ordinated and harmonious development of the area to which it is to apply (including, where necessary, the re-layout and redevelopment of any part thereof, which has already been subdivided and built upon) in such a way as will most effectively promote the health, safety, order, amenity, beauty, convenience and general welfare of such areas as well as the efficiency and economy in the process of such development" (townships ordinance of the free state no 9 of 1969). simplified versions of these town-planning schemes were later introduced to urban townships. an example of these simplified versions is annexure "f" which controls the use of land in mangaung. in terms of annexure "f", for example, single dwellings can be used for any other purpose and residents do not have to apply for permission from the local authority to run a business from home. the same rule applies in tygerberg (cape town) and kimberley (personal interviews with a abrahams, city of tygerberg, 2 june 2000 and l odendaal. city of kimberley, april 2000). 3. the settlement pattern and land development management in south africa tod welch (1995: 40) is of the opinion that planning practice in south africa reflects two influences: stereotyping and ethnocentrism. the reason for this could be that the human settlement pattern in south africa is primarily characterised by racial. socio-economic and land use segregation. large dormitory towns and other settlements developed as a result of displaced urbanisation. these spatial environments are inconvenient and have no function for the majority of citizens .as they generate enormous amounts of movement with great costs 21 juries-whiteman & campbell/home-based businesses in terms of time, money, energy and pollution. settlement patterns make the provision of efficient and viable public transportation almost impossible, making servicing costly to the public revenue, and amenity potential has been destroyed, poverty and inequality have been aggravated, and opportunities for individual entrepreneurship have been dissipated (department of land affairs. green paper on development and planning: 7). no one has an absolute right to develop and use land under south african law. land can only be developed or used subject to the law's restrictions. cloete (1976: 241) refers to the "police power" of government units to limit the rights of individual property owners in respect to their property. the justification of the "police power" is said to be the protection of the general welfare of all people in the regulation of public health, morals and safety. the ideal is for the law to only regulate those aspects of land development and land use that are necessary, either to achieve particular strategic objectives or to minimise the negative impacts of land development and land use changes on neighbours and the public in general. if this ideal can be achieved, equal levels of protection and service delivery can be provided to all south africans, irrespective -of whether they live in a township, a suburb or a village. according to the development and planning commission (1999: 47), land management has two key goals. the first goal is to provide effective protection to both the natural environment and members of the public from the negative impacts of land development and land use change. furthermore it should attempt to ensure a continually improving spatial environment, particularly in terms of the quality of the public space. the second goal, according to the commission, is that it must provide a reliable degree of certainty to developers, members of the public and all spheres of government so that there is a shared and consistent understanding of the scale, extent and nature of permissible land development and land use within a specified time period. both these goals are believed to be essential for the operation of an efficient and fair land market. 4. a survey of home-based businesses in bloemfontein an investigation of home-businesses in greater bloemfontein was conducted with the approval of its council. a questionnaire was used to investigate the nature of these businesses as well as the attitudes of their neighbours towards them. 22 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 the 'neighbours' in the survey did not necessarily reside immediately next door to home businesses, but lived within close proximity to such enterprises. the period from january 1996 to may 2000 was chosen for the survey since the local authority saw a dramatic increase in the number of illegal businesses, as well as applications to run home-based businesses. during this period the municipality also appointed two inspectors whose task was to prosecute transgressors of the town planning scheme. a list of respondents was obtained from the local authority. respondents completed the questionnaires during home-visits. two different sets of questions were compiled. the first set was for home­ business owners and the second set for their immediate neighbours as well as for people who live in close proximity to home-based businesses. most questions in the questionnaires were multiple­ choice questions. 5. research findings the majority of home-business owners in bloemfontein are afrikaans-speaking, whereas only fourteen per cent are sotho­ speaking. most of the businesses in the survey had a member in the family who earned a formal income (64,3%) while 35,7% of the households had no income. table 1 indicates the monthly income of the households. half the candidates who were interviewed mentioned that they earn more than five thousand rand per month. the businesses that were interviewed included the following: hair salons (14,3%), tuck shops/house cafes (28,6%), beauty salons (21,6%), dressmakers (7,2%), doctor's consulting rooms (7,2%), occupational therapists, (7,2%), graphic designers (7,2%) and an art and frame studio (7,2%). table: 1: income composition income per month percentage <rlooo 7.14% r 1 ooo-r2000 21.42% r2000-r3000 14.29% r3000-r4000 7.15% r4000-r5000 0% >r5000 50% slightly more than half of the home-business owners do not employ additional staff and 28% employ two people. a total of 85,7% of the owners had to pay increased rates and taxes due to 23 juries-whiteman & campbell/home-based businesses their business while 71,4% of the home-businesses reported an average monthly increase of r350-00 in their water and electricity accounts. the majority felt that the increase was not justified. most home-business owners (92,85%) indicated that they did not experience problems with their neighbours, and were of the opinion that the city council was effective in controlling neighbourhood quality. only 7, 15% indicated that they experienced problems with their neighbours. the respondents also felt that all people should be allowed to run a business from home, provided that these businesses comply with the regulations for land-use (juries-whiteman, 2000: table 16). people start businesses from home for different reasons. the most frequently mentioned reason was financial gain and cutting down on business overheads. security issues and the convenience of working at home were also mentioned. many of the home-businesses in the study were survival businesses, in other words they depend on the profits generated from the business to meet their financial commitments. many of the women had not worked regularly for an employer, but due to hardships and inadequate income of breadwinners, these women were forced to supplement the household income. some of these business owners had lost their jobs or retired early due to ill health (unstructured interviews with home-business owners in survey 2000). seven per cent of the respondents reported that they had purchased their house for the purpose of running a business in close proximity to a shopping centre in order to take advantage of the excellent business location. some people stated that they could keep an eye on the children at home. home-businesses are effective in reducing theft, since people spent more time at home. surprisingly, a large number of home-business owners, although dissatisfied with the regulations regarding land use, were not interested in playing a more participatory role in the formulation of control regulations regarding land use. less than half of the respondents (42,85%) were interested in participating in the process. only seven per cent of those who are interested want total decision-making powers and 21 % only want to give their opinion. professional activities, artisans, administrative offices, educational uses and retail activities were considered to be very compatible with residential activities. activities such as panel­ beating, spray-painting, welding, garden refuse and furniture 24 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 removals, construction companies, kombi and car taxi operators, boilermakers, shebeens, taverns and pool and game centres were rejected outright (juries-whiteman, 2000: table 23). 6. responses of neighbours of home-based businesses neighbours were generally very tolerant of approved home­ businesses (juries-whiteman, 2000: table 2-6). a large majority (79%) of people who were interviewed felt that people should be allowed to run a business from home (juries-whiteman, 2000: annexure bj. some of the respondents reported that they had not been informed of their neighbour's intention to start a home­ business. the following complaints were received from people residing next door to home-based businesses: • traffic problems • lack of adequate parking facilities on premises • untidy backyards • window displays attract unwanted people • safety risk • noise • congestion of people • resale value of house was negatively affected • air pollution (juries-whiteman 2000:table 10). even though 50% of the respondents reported that they were familiar with the regulations, 36% said they were not sure if they were satisfied with the regulations, and neither did they display the willingness to be involved in the formulation of regulations regarding land use (juries-whiteman, 2000: annexure bj. the responses regarding non-residential activities on residential properties, were very similar to those of home-business owners (juries-whiteman, 2000: table 14). the most unwelcome businesses were: veterinary surgeons, boilermakers, panel beaters, spray painters, welders, warehousing and storage, construction companies, taverns, pool and game centres, shebeens and garden refuse and furniture removals. architects, dressmakers and after-school lessons were the most favoured businesses. the following uses were also regarded as permissible: doctors, physiotherapists, engineers, financial services, photographers, hair salons, nail art studios, beauty salons, television repairs, computer repairs, real estate agents, day-care facilities, creches, computer training and courier services. 25 juries-whiteman & campbell/home-based businesses 7. recommendations and conclusion the survey indicated that the state of the economy largely determines the number of people who would start a home­ business. several of these home-business owners are likely to return to formal work once the economy improves. this is particularly true of people who do not have a profession. professionals are more likely to start a business from home out of choice. to cut down on overhead business expenses and to gain tax benefits. some of the businesses could not afford the high rentals in an office complex or in the cbd and some had to downsize the company and no longer needed space for staff members. many home-business owners were starting a business for the first time and many were of the opinion that a new business should be started at home until it outgrows the maximum permissible size of a home-business. there was a considerably big income gap between professional home-based businesses (doctors) and artisans or non-skilled home-businesses (such as hair salons and tuck shops). on average, people are more tolerant of professional home­ businesses than of non-professional home-businesses. wealthy businesses were more .likely to contravene town planning scheme regulations in terms of the size and number of people employed. they also more frequently used the entire house for their businesses and were said to contravene the national building regulations. since capital is not a problem for these enterprises the buildings can be maintained and the necessary physical changes can be made. home-businesses such as creches and day mothers. ballet schools, nail studios and hair salons were reported to have difficulty in providing sufficient parking for clients. vehicles were often parked on the pavements and lawns of neighbouring properties. although most people might prefer the security of a well-paid job with benefits this is not always possible, not only because people are not well educated, but also because the south african economy has been unable to create adequate productive employment opportunities to absorb net increases in the labour force. therefore growth strategies should focus on increased productivity, macro-economic stability, local economic development, job creation and creating new economic opportunities. 26 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 most smmes cannot afford the high rentals and are forced to move from the cbd or offices and shops in suburban shopping centres to their homes. this not only leads to neighbourhood invasions, but also to the urban decline of the vacated areas. the loss of people and jobs often leads to vandalism of vacant buildings and increased crime rate. possible solutions include: area or areas that can be identified in bloemfontein and be made available to entrepreneurs at lower, affordable rates with less strict town planning controls. applications for home-based businesses should be considered on the basis of policy and principle rather than rules and regulations alone. the inputs of the department of the city treasurer are important in determining the payment of rates and taxes which should be lower in areas identified for the development of home-businesses in order to stimulate development. this department should also be aware of the new approach towards local economic development and should be able to influence policy in this regard. the records at the bloemfontein municipality indicated that many of the complaints received from residents were about noise generated by welding, the repair of cars and fumes from spray-painting. notices have been served on many car mechanics in the poor neighbourhoods of bloemfontein (smith, personal interview 2000). government departments and the local authority can meet and identify government buildings which are not in use or which are only partially used and which are adequate for the use of individual car mechanics who do not have the means to rent industrial premises. careful attention should be paid to the aesthetic quality of such premises as well as the direction of the wind and adjacent uses. the width of the road should allow for free and safe movement. an abundance of trees and bright coloured paint can be added to soften the hard appearance of these places, and waste should be removed on a regular basis to prevent pests and disease. taverns and taxi operations also received an unfavourable rating by people in the survey. the survey was in fact conducted mostly among residents in the suburbs where the bloemfontein town planning scheme was applicable. the municipality should be proactive and compile certain guidelines for handling applications for such uses. 27 juries-whiteman & campbell/home-based businesses kombi taxis are mostly owned and operated by people residing in mangaung and heidedal. the plots in these areas are very small and the streets narrow. kombis are parked and often serviced on these premises and particularly on the pavements, because of the small plots. this not only causes traffic problems, but also threatens the safety of children in the area and affects the general appearance of the neighbourhood. not much can be done about the existing plots. planning of future townships should take such factors into account when determining minimum plot sizes. with the integration of mangaung's town planning scheme into the bloemfontein town planning scheme, careful attention should be paid to such practical issues and control of such industries. the opinion of neighbours in the immediate vicinity of such enterprises will guide the decisionmakers. "-in many of the older suburbs in bloemfontein, title deeds of residential properties restrict the use of these properties for business purposes. the bloemfontein town planning scheme requires these restrictive conditions to be removed by means of an application in terms of the removal of restrictions act. at present, the cost of such an application is r2 ooo at the provincial government and r480 at the local authority. this means a total cost of r2 480 during the year 2001 . the areas with title deed restrictions are generally the older areas and more often than not, the less wealthy neighbourhoods. the nature and the extent of the home-businesses in these areas are low income­ generating industries. in many instances, the small profits generated from these home-based activities do not justify the cost of such an application. the result is that most of these enterprises are practically illegal. it is suggested that candidates with a title deed restriction be allowed to apply for a home-based business. should this be approved, the approval should only be valid for one year, after which the applicant has to re-apply for permission. such an approval will be 'conditional' and will be subject to certain conditions, which will only be valid for one year. the applicant has the option of applying for the removal of restrictive conditions during the mentioned twelve-month period and can then be issued with a letter of 'final approval' once the application for the removal of such conditions has been approved by the provincial government. 28 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 it may be concluded that home-based businesses are facing two possible scenarios. the negative scenario is that planning at local government level fails to understand and implement the concept of 'local economic development', 'integrated development planning' and 'developmental local government' and continues to use old planning tools and approaches which fail to address the needs of a rapidly changing society. this along with a further decline in the economy will lead to more contraventions of the town planning scheme, the creation of slum areas, higher crime rates and urban decay. the positive scenario is that if all role-players adopt a more tolerant attitude, a spirit of community, and a vision of financial independence gained through combined efforts of various role­ players, south africa can change into a success story. "economic development cannot be dissociated from the development of society as a whole. it depends on the active participation of everyone, and this can only be achieved through smoothly running institutions and the wholehearted support of individuals and groups. development embraces not only economic growth, but also any other processes contributing to generate a life which people themselves define as a better one" (uphoff, 1972: 21). 29 juries-whiteman & campbell/home-based businesses references bloemfontein transitional local council 1954. bloemfontein town planning scheme, no. l (as amended). cloete, j. 1976. munisipale regering en administrasie in suid-afrika. pretoria: van schaik. dear, m. 1992. understanding and overcoming the nimby syndrome in journal of the american planning association, 58(3). pp. 288-297. g reen paper on development and planning 1999. the development and planning commission. pretoria. hall, p. 1996. cities of tomorrow: an intellectual history of urban planning design in the twentieth century. cambridge massachusetts: blackwell publishers. juries-whiteman, r.c. 2000. a study of home-based businesses in bloemfontein: issues and problems, unpublished masters thesis. bloemfontein: university of the free state. kemp, l. 1997. die akkomodasie van meerdoelige grondgebruike in woonbuurte: met spesifieke verwysing no hilton, universitas en joe slovo square. bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. kimberley local authority 1999. executive committee minutes: home businesses in kimberley. oranje, m. 1995. the need for an appropriate system of urban development control in south africa: arguments and characteristics in town and regional planning journal, no 39, pp. 22-31. south african government 1984. black communities development act. act 4. pretoria: south african government. south african government 1996. constitution of south africa. act 108. pretoria: south african government. south african government 30 1995. development facilitation act. act 67. pretoria: south african government. 2001 acto structilio vol 8 no 1 south african government 1999. national development and planning commission. green paper on development and planning. pretoria: department of land affairs. south african government 1967. removal of restrictions act, act 84. pretoria: south african government. south african government 1995. the reconstruction and development programme, april 27. tod welch, c. 1995. a comparative analysis of community preferences in township layouts. town and regional planning, no 39, september. province of the orange free state 1969. ordinance no 9 of the province of the orange free state. townships. tsikoe, g.k. & mokhotso, k.g. 1995. home-based enterprises: spaza-shops in rocklands: an urban planner's view. bloemfontein: master's thesis in town and regional planning at the university of the free state. tygerberg local authority 1999. tygerberg zoning scheme. tygerberg local authority. uphoff, n.t. 1972. the political economy of development. london: university of california press. personal interviews abrahams a. city of tygerberg, june 2, 2000. bassios a. researcher, toronto metropolitan council. cilliers g. bloemfontein transitional local council, june, 2000. hauptfleisch p. bloemfontein transitional local council. june, 2000. odendaal l. city of kimberley, may 16. 2000. smith j. bloemfontein transitional local council. june, 2000. 31 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 erica de lange 1 & dieter holm2 die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep opsomming die invloed van die omgewingsklimaat se effek op die binneklimaat van geboue en dus hul termiese gemak is reeds lank intuitief en kwalitatief besef. met die koms van verhittingsen verkoelingstegnologiee het dit belangrik geword om 'n mikpunt vir binneklimaat gemak te definieer waarvoor aanvanklik 'n droebal-lugtemperatuur geneem is. as gevolg van (botsende) klimaatkameren veldstudies moes dit verruim word tot 'n termiese gemaksone wat vir 'n statistiese bevolking geld. die termiese gemaksone moes verder deur bykomstige dimensies beskryf word soos dit in bioklimatologiese kaarte vervat word. dit is die huidige stand van die iso­standaard. 'n verbetering hierop is die adaptiewe model waar gemaks­voorkeur gesien word as die resultante van fisiologiese reaksies asook die verwagtings gebaseer op vorige ondervinding. 'n verdere verbetering op laasgenoemde model neem in ag dot die mens 'n aktiewe rol speel in die skep van sy/haar termiese voorkeure. ten slotte blyk dit dot die klimaat vir gemak nie dieselfde as die klimaat vir produktiwiteit is nie. sleutelwoorde:omgewingsklimaat, termiese gemak. the history of the development of the thermal comfort zone concept the impact of the local climate on the indoor climate of buildings and in­door thermal comfort has long been understood, intuitively as well as qualitatively. with the advent of heating and cooling technologies, it became important to define a comfort target that was initially assumed to be a dry ball air temperature. as a result of (conflicting) climate chamber and field studies this point has to be broadened to a thermal comfort zone, valid for a statistical population. the thermal comfort zone had to be further described by dimensions as contained in the bioclimatic/psychrometric charts. this is reflected in the present iso standard. an improvement on this is the adaptive model that defines thermal comfort as the resultant of physiological reactions as well as expectations built on previous experience. an improvement on the latter accepts the fact that a person plays an important role in creating thermal preferences. finally it appears that a climate for thermal comfort is not the same as one for productivity. keywords:local climate, thermal comfort. ms erica de lange, b sc (zoology), b sc (hons.) (environmental design and management). presently a msc student and technical assistant at the depart­ ment, research and post-graduate study, university of pretoria. 2 prof dieter holm, b arch, m arcch, d arch (pretoria) misaa. head: department: research and post-graduate study, division for environmental design & man­ agement, university of pretoria. 51 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep lnleiding sedert dit moontlik geword het om klimaat kunsmatig te beheer het optimum klimaat vir gemak 'n kwessie geword. verskillende mense voel by verskillende temperature gemaklik. in 1996 is die gemaksone deur holm & viljoen gedefinieer as die om­ gewingstoestand waarin die meeste mense nie warm of koud kry nie, 6f soos holm (1996) dit beskryf, is dit 'n reeks van temperature waar die mens se liggaam gemaklik kan aanpas by die omgewing en steeds die meeste energie vir produktiwiteit behou. die mens het 'n sekere liggaamstemperatuur waarby hitte nie toegevoeg of verloor word nie. 'n neutrale temperatuurof termiese vlak van ewewig word dus bereik. termiese ewewig beteken dat dit is net so warm buite as binne is. orn gemaklik te wees moet dit in die winter warmer binne as buite wees en in die somer weer omgekeerd (holm & viljoen, 1996). die neutrale liggaamstemperatuur word be"invloed deur omgewingsfaktore soos lugtemperatuur, humiditeit, windspoed en straling (van straaten, 1967) binne in die persoon se onmiddellike omgewing. 'n persoon se liggaamstemperatuur kan ook be"invloed word deur ras, geslag, gedrag (gewoontes en liggaamsaktiwiteite), kleredrag, verwagtinge en ondervindinge in die verlede. dit verklaar hoekom mense wat in verskillende wereld dele woon by verskillende temperature gemaklik sal voel. hierdie stelling kan nog verder vereenvoudig word naamlik dit verklaar hoekom mense in verskillende klimaatstreke by verskillende temperature gemaklik voel. verandering in bogenoemde faktore be"invloed die wins of verlies van liggaamshitte wat termiese ongemak kan veroorsaak. daarom is 'n indeks nodig wat die gekombineerde effek van bogenoemde faktore kan bepaal (van straaten, 1967). die indeks het soos volg ontstaan: die verwantskap tussen klimaat en ontwerp in die klassieke tydperk tot en met die begin van die 19e eeu werk op termiese behaaglikheid is een van die oudste studiegebiede van die bouwetenskap. histories is daar van persoonlike ondervinding met plaaslike omgewings-toestande gebruik gemaak om huise te ontwerp. die kombinasie van boumateriaal en -vorm was 'n soak van leer en probeer 52 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 (burberry, 1992). so is door dus proefondervindelik gebou sodat gemak ervaar kan word. door is reeds in die jare voor christus besef dot klimaat 'n invloed het op gebou-ontwerp (auliciems & szokolay, 1997). dit is veral temperatuur en humiditeit wat bydra tot die mens se ongemak. vitruvius se werk is baie be"fnvloed deur sy bewustheid van die klimaat. in die middeleeue (500-1450) is hierdie praktiese aspek van sy werk gebruik (markus & morris, 1980). in die 15e eeu het alberti baie aandag gegee aan die kies van 'n gebied, die mikroklimaat, geskikte materiaal om 'n ruimte warm of koud te hou en vir beskerming teen die son en wind (markus & morris, 1980). vroeg in die 19e eeu is die belangrikheid van beheer oor humiditeit besef (markus & morris, 1980). te droe of te vogtige toestande was nie aan te beveel nie. die effek van nat­ baltemperatuur is ook in hierdie tydperk vir die eerste keer in ag geneem (burberry, 1992). sir john leslie het in 1804 'n ek­ speriment met 'n alkoholtermometer gedoen waar hy wind­ snelheid bepaal het deur die afkoeling van die verhitte termometer dop te hou (markus & morris, 1980). in 1826 het heberden die beperkte vermoe van die termometer om koue aan te dui besef tydens 'n eksperiment met 'n termometer wat bokant die buitelug temperatuur verhit is waarvan hy die afkoelingstempo waargeneem het (markus & morris, 1980). op die wyse is die verkoelingsvermoe van die omgewing bepaal. tredgold het reeds in 1824 die effek van laer temperature op mense naby 'n stralingsbron beskryf (markus & morris, 1980). in 1857 het die kommissarisse wat deur die britse algemene gesondheidsraad aangestel is om die verhitting en ventilering van geboue te ondersoek, aanbeveel dot die muurtemperature dieselde moet wees as die kamertemperatuur (markus & morris, 1980). lugtemperatuur moet ook hoer by die vloer wees as by 'n persoon se kop (burberry, 1992). die beginsel van die swartbaltermometer vir die meting van die gesamentlike effek van lugbeweging en straling is later, in 1887, deur aitken vasgestel. die behoefte vir die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone die eerste ernstige studie oor termiese gemak is deur haldane in engeland in 1905 gedoen (auliciems & szokolay, 1997). dit was nodig om ontwerptemperatuur vas te stel omdat tegnologie 53 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep veroorsaak het dot geboue oorverhit of oorverkoel word. lavoisier en pettenkofer het die effek van koolstofdioksied op oorverhitting in geboue beset. tot op daardie tydstip is die vier elemente: buiteklimaat , interne omgewing, die mens se reaksie en die materiaal van die gebou, vaagweg gesien as dele van 'n groter geheel moor die idee dot hierdie vier elemente op 'n komplekse manier interreageer kon nie ingesien word voordat die huidige algemene sisteemteorie ontwikkel is nie. in 1914 het leonard hill termiese gemak met die kata-termo­ meter probeer meet omdat dit 'n aanduiding van die verkoelingseffek van die omgewing gee (burberry, 1992). dit het nie gewerk nie omdat dit sensitiewer as die mens se liggaam vir lugbeweging is. houghten, yaglou en hulle kollegas (1923) het artikels die lig loot sien waarin hulle die gekombineerde effek van wind, humiditeit en lugtemperatuur beskryf en is die eerste effektiewe temperatuur-skaal (et) daargestel (markus & morris, 1980). die basiese skaal het mense sonder klere in ag geneem en 'n normale skaal, mense met klere (burberry, 1992). sekere kombinasies van die veranderlikes gee gelyke et waardes en dus gelyke temperatuur-sensasies. dit is later in die laboratorium as 'gemaklik' gedefinieer. et was gebruik vir die ontwerp van beide lugverkoelde en natuurlik geventileerde geboue (givoni, 1997). 'n probleem met die et-skaal is dot dit die effek van humiditeit by lae temperature oorskat en by hoe temperature onderskat (van straaten. 1967). die effek van termiese straling word ook in die et­ skaal foutiewelik weggelaat. in 1932 het vernon en warner die swartbal-temperatuur gekorrigeer vir natboltemperatuur om die et te bepaal; genoem die gekorrigeerde effektiewe temperatuur (cet) (markus & morris, 1980). dit beteken om die effektiewe temperatuur, met inagneming van straling deur van 'n baltermometer (globe) te gebruik, in plaas van 'n droebal (burberry, 1992). figuur 1 is 'n voorbeeld van hoe gekorrigeerde effektiewe temperatuur bereken is vir persone wat lig geklee is en ligte werk doen. cet was in die jare tagtig nog algemeen as indeks van die gemaksone gebruik (markus & morris, 1980). 54 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 figuur 1: grafiek om gekorrigeerde effektiewe temperatuur te bereken vir persone met ligte klere wat ligte werk verrig (van straaten, 197 6:28 vanuit bedford, 1946) 120, 110 100 90 globe-th�= &'0tempeaature!rtij 30 30 120 110 100 -90 -so wet-but.b tel!�ujre ., -70 60 -60 40 30 dufton het in 1929 na 'n indeks gesoek wat warmte in die algemeen in die omgewing kon aandui, onafhanklik van kleredrag en aktiwiteite en daarom het hy die "eupatheoscope" ontwikkel. dit het meer soos die menslike liggaam reageer ten opsigte van afkoeling in verhouding met die lugtemperatuur, lugbeweging en gemiddelde stralingstemperatuur (burberry, 1992). die hitteverlies was dieselfde gereken as die hitte inset en is op 'n termometerskaal gemeet as ekwivalente temperatuur (t eq l (markus & morris, 1980). in 1936 het dufton die oppervlak­ temperatuur aangepas om meer ooreen te stem met 'n geklede persoon en alle lesings is verwys na stil lug-toestande (d.w.s 0, 1 m/s) (markus & morris, 1980). tobe/ 1 toon die berekening van ekwivalente temperature (burberry, 1992:85). in gebiede waar humiditeit weglaatbaar is, was dit 'n goeie konsep, maar dit is nie geskik vir temperature bo 24°c waar humiditeit 'n groter rol begin speel nie (auliciems & szokolay, 1997). 55 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep tabel 1: bepaling van ekwivalente temperatuur deur gebruik te maak van lugtemperatuur en gemiddelde stralingstemperatuur (burberry, 1992:85) gemiddelde slrolingstemperatuur l 0c) om die volgende le gee luglemperotuur <>c ekwivolente temperotuur 18,5<>c el<wivolente temperoluur 21°c 10 32 37,5 � 1 12 28 34) � 15,5 25 31 : 18,5 21 27 � 21 18,5 24 24 14,5 20 � 3 vir enige gegewe ekwivalente temperatuur word die toestande met hoer mrt as at gewoonlik verkies: 1. 12°c is die minimum aanvaorbare lugtemperatuur 2. mees aanvaorbore 3. opsigtelik minder aanvaorbaor as mrt minder as lugtemperatuur is. misserard ( 1933) ontwikkel die resultante temperatuur lndeks wat effektiewe temperatuur met inagneming van straling is (burberry, 1992). bedford het in 1936 die ekwivalente wormte lndeks ontwikkel wat gebaseer is op waarnemings tydens veldstudies en dit don te analiseer (burberry, 1992). webb van die brs het in 1961 die ekwatoriale lndeks voorgestel wat soortgelyk is aan bedford se indeks moor gegrond is op data van singapoer (burberry, 1992). nuwe verwikkelinge in bepaling van die gemaksone: die invloed van menslike aktiwiteite teen 1992 was door twee tipes studies om die termiese gemak binnenshuis te bereken. een metode was klimaatkamerstudies wat aangetoon het dot mense wat dieselfde aktiwiteite doen in dieselfde klere gemaklik is by dieselfde temperatuur ongeag van ouderdom, geslag, kultuur, ras, seisoen, kleur van die kamer 6f die klimaat waaraan die kandidate gewoond was (humphreys, 1992). die verblyf in die klimaatkamer is van beperkte duur en is kunsmatig. die tweede metode was veldstudies wat gedoen is met normale aktiwiteite in normale omgewings. die temperatuur 56 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 waarby mense gemaklik voel kon bepaal word deur gemiddelde temperatuur van die kamer te meet wat verband hou met die buitetemperatuur van die spesifieke klimaatstreek en seisoen (humphreys, 1992). die gedagte was dot die proefpersone se gedrag hul gemak/ongemak sou aandui, eerder as om vrae te beantwoord wat bewustelik die aandag op gemak sou vestig. die probleem in hierdie stadium was dot die twee studies nie ooreengestem het nie. die veldstudies het 'n wyer reeks temperature as gemaklik uitgewys as die klimaat­ kamerstudies. humphreys (burberry, 1992) het gedemonstreer dot die mens nie by vinnige temperatuur veranderinge kan aanpas nie, moor as toestande oor 'n long tydperk konstant bly kan 'n persoon sy klere verander om aan te pas by omstandighede. tobe/ 2 toon die kombinasies van kleredrag en die c/o-waarde daarvan wat deur sittende persone gedra word met die temperature waarby hulle gemaklik sol voel. tabel 2: kombinasie van kleredrag (burberry, 1992:85) clo-waarde tipe klere t emperatuur waarby sittende persane gemaklik voel (<>cl o sonder klere 28,5 0,5 ligte langbroek en i-hemp 25 1.0 'n pak klere of 'n langbroek en oartrui 22 1.5 'n dik pak klere, onderbaadjie en wolkouse 18 2,0 'n dik oak klere, ias, wolkouse en hoed 14,5 fonger het in die jare sewentig die gemakvergelyking ontwikkel. hy het die temperatuur waarby gemak ervaar kan word afgelei vanaf die menslike hittevergelyking. die voorwaarde wat die vergelyking gestel het vir termiese gemak by 'n sekere aktiwiteitsvlak was dot die veltemperatuur en sweet afskeiding binne 'n sekere limiet moet wees (olgyay, 1992). hierdie statistiese formules is don binne die algemene hittebalans in vergelyking geplaas. so is die klimaattoestande vir 'n gegewe metaboliese tempo en termiese weer-standbiedendheid van klere (clo-waarde} analities afgelei (olgyay, 1992; steenkamp, 1987). fonger lei die "predicted mean vote" (pmv} vanaf die gemakvergelyking op die 7-punt gemakskaal of (tobe/ 3). 57 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep tabel 3: fonger se termiese skaal (markus & morris, 1980:53) koud -3 koel -2 ellens koel -1 neutraol 0 effenswarm +l warm +2 boie warm +3 pmv meet die gemiddelde reaksie van 'n bevolking en dui die termiese onbehaaglikheid in 'n gegewe omgewing aan (steenkamp, 1987). almal tussen -1 en + l sol as gemaklik beskou word en al die ander stemgetalle onder of bo die beperking is ongemaklik (markus & morris, 1980). hy vergelyk die gerekenariseerde pmv met klimaatkamerstemme en lei die "predicted percentage dissatisfied persons" (ppd) daarvan of (olgyay, 1992). die pmv hou direk verband met die persentasie mense wat verwag word wat ongemaklik is {figuur 2). figuur 2: die voorspelde persentasie ongemaklike mense (ppd) as 'n funksie van pmv (markus & morris, 1980: 55) wat daarop dui dot ten minste vyf persone van enige bevolking ontevrede sol wees io io .. pl'nictn ,.......,. ., 20 4isulisfie4 ii a & a ' --..... i'\. i\ \ -:z.o -1.5 -lo -0.5 ./ j i/ 0.5 lo pndictad ••an vcdl ,/ /" / ls :z.o in 1988 het tanabe (volgens olgyay, 1992) ses windsnelhede by fonger se pmv gevoeg en bepaal dot die pmv's wat deur fonger as te warm-beskryf is, wel aanvaarbaar is. fonger se pmv 58 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 het dus nie die verkoelingseffek van wind by medium-hoe temperature voldoende verreken nie. wentzel ( 1981, verwys na steenkamp, 1987) beweer dot fonger se indeks te beperkend is, want optimale gemak word beskou as wanneer mense termies neutraal voel. die agrementraad beveel 27,5°c cet aan as die boonste limiet vir gemak en 6,5°c dbt as die onderste limiet (steenkamp, 1987). met die ontwikkeling van inligtingstegnologie wat kan bydra tot die siek gebou sindroom (sbs), het dit nodig geword dot geboue korrek ontwerp moet word om produktiwiteit te maksimaliseer. ontwerp van geboue handel nie meer net oor die estetiese of behoud van termiese gemak nie. meese et al ( 1982) het bewys dot veral koue bydra tot verlaagde produktiwiteit in die meeste take van fabriekswerkers hetsy manlik of vroulik, blank of swart. hierdeur het hy ook bewys dot daar verskille is tussen die termiese gemaksones tussen geslagte en verskillende rasse. as gevolg van elektroniese apparaat en vervaardigingsprosesse moet omgewingstoestande meer beheer word as wat nodig is vir die mens se gemak (steenkamp, 1987). die ontstaan van ashraeen iso-standaarde winslow, herrington en gagge het begin om eksperimente te doen en inligting te versamel oor al ses veranderlikes (humiditeit, kleredrag, lugtemperatuur, straling, lugtemperatuur, aktiwiteit en windsnelheid) (markus & morris, 1980). hierdie data het don die basis geword vir die kriteria vir gemak van die "american society of heating, refrigeration and airconditioning engineers" (ashrae). een van die eerste indekse wat ontwikkel is, was die operatiewe temperatuur (t 0 ) wat soortgelyk is aan die ekwivalente temperatuur, maar wat verwys na 'n eenvormige omgewing wat gelyk is aan die werklike kombinasie van lugtemperatuur en straling en by dieselfde windspoed as die werklikheid (markus & morris, 1980). 'n ander metode wat ashrae gebruik, is om termiese gemak te bepaal deur die mense direk uit te vra oor hoe hulle voel oor die omgewing deur gebruik van 'n sewe punt skaal (tobe/ 4). 59 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep tabel 4: ashrae-skaal (markus & morris, 1980:53) koud koel effens koel neutrool effensworm worm boie worm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ashrae het in die jare tagtig 'n nuwe indeks ontwikkel, die nuwe effektiewe temperatuur (et*)-skaal wat al ses die hoofveranderlikes (humiditeit, kleredrag, lugtemperatuur, straling, lugtemperatuur, aktiwiteit en windsnelheid) in ag neem (markus & morris, 1980), moor gebaseer is op hitte-oordrag en fisiologiese beginsels, d.w.s. dit is die temperatuur (dbt) van 'n eenvormige omhulsel by 50% rh, wat dieselfde netto uitruiling van hitte deur straling, konveksie en verdamping sol he as die gegewe omgewing (auliciems & szokolay, 1997). hierdie indeks is later uitgebrei no die standaard effektiewe temperatuur (set). dit is die temperatuur van 'n eenvormige omhulsel by 50% rh, waar die gemiddelde liggaams­ temperatuur van 'n sittende persoon ( l, l met) wat 0,6 clo dra in min lugbeweging (< 0, 15 m/s) by seevlak dieselfde is as die werklike omgewing (auliciems & szokolay, 1997). tobe/ 5 toon die verwantskap tussen termiese sensasie, ongemak en set. tabel 5: die mens se termiese reaksie op standaard effektiewe temperatuur (set) (gewysig vanuit markus & morris, 1980:56) set (°ci t emoero tuursensosie onoemok beperkte t oleronsie 40 ontsettend worm boie ongemoklik baiewam, ongemoklik 35 war m effens ongemol<jik 30 effensworm 25 neutrool gemoklik 20 effens koel 15 koel effens ongemoklik koud 10 boiekoud \ onaemoklik volgens oleson (1982, verwys no steenkamp, 1987) is die iso standaarde vir gemak in 'n matige termiese omgewing -0,5 > pmv < 0,5 en ppd < l 0%. burberry, ( 1992:83) beweer dot gemaksindekse nie menslike gemak kan definieer nie "since they mask in one unified value 60 1999 acta structulia vol 6 no 1 & 2 directional variations of radiation, temperature gradients in the air or other factors which could cause unsatisfactory conditions which must be designed separately." dit wil se 'n vaste temperatuur kan nie gegee word as riglyn vir termiese gemak nie. 'n persoon pas sy omgewing en klere aan by die heersende omgewingstoestande en is (binne perke) gemaklik solank as wat termiese toestande redelik konstant is ongeag van die fisiese waardes (burberry, 1992). die gebruik van psigrometriese kaarte vir die bepaling van die termiese gemaksone szokolay (1986) gebruik psigrometriese kaarte vir die bepaling van gemaksones in warmer klimate. die temperatuur waaroor beheer uitgeoefen word, is die verskil tussen die klimaattoe­ stande en die begeerde binnenshuise toestande. die psigro­ metriese kaart toon die droe lug temperatuur (0c) op die x-as aan en die ah (g/kg) of dampdruk (kpa) op die y-as aan. hierdie metode het ook 'n aanduiding van 'n groot verskeidenheid ander veranderlikes soos not lugtemperatuur, rh, entalpie en digtheid gegee (szokolay, 1986). ashrae het ook 'n gemaksone op die konvensionele psigro­ metriese kaart getrek. dit spesifiseer die grense vir lugtempera­ tuur en humiditeit, vir sittende mense binne geboue waar mega­ niese meganismes die binnenshuise klimaat moet beheer (givoni, 1992). dit word hoofsaaklik gebruik vir kantoorgeboue met lugreeling, moor dit word ook gebruik om die binnenshuise klimaat van huise te bepaal. volgens givoni ( 1992) kan hierdie psigrometriese grafiek nie so effektief gebruik word om toestande binne geboue sonder lugreeling te bepaal nie, omdat die grense van die gemaksone verskil. die ash rae humiditeiten lugspoedbeperkinge neem nie akklimatisering en verwagtinge van gemak van mense in warm vogtige klimaat in ag nie soos aangedui deur figuur 3. selfs die minimum temperature word as ongemaklik beskou en in werklikheid word dit as gemaklik of selfs koel deur die inwoners ervaar. 61 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep figuur 3: die ashrae-gemaksone van 'n gebied met 'n warm vogtige klimaat .10 -5 ashaae comfort -summer --\ii inter iiet buli temperature 'c 20 relative humidity % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 25 20 15 10 �!.'.'i!���� · 10 is 20 25 30 35 40 45 55 dry bulb temperature ° c (givoni, 1992: 12) moisture content g/ kg (diy air) olgyay (givoni, 1992) het in hierdie stadium die gemaksone met behulp van sy 'bioklimatiese benadering' bepaal. die effek van alle eksterne klimaat-elemente is op een kaart saamgevoeg en was soortgelyk aan szokolay se psigrometriese kaart. givoni ( 1992) ontwikkel die "building bioclimatic chart" (bbcc) om die probleme wat met olgyay se kaart ondervind is te probeer oplos. die bbcc-kaart was op binnehuise temperature gebaseer in plaas van buitemuurse klimaat. dit was spesifiek gerig op natuurlik geventileerde geboue en het voorsiening daarvoor gemaak dot mense in hierdie geboue gewoond sou rook aan hoer temperature of humiditeite (brager & de dear, 1998). givoni se bioklimatiese kaart maak voorsiening vir gematigde en warm klimaat en dit kan gebruik word vir bepaling van die gemaksone onder windstil toestande, in geventileerde geboue, geboue met konveksie verkoeling, direkte en indirekte verdampingsverkoeling en passiewe sonverhitting (givoni, 1992). figuur 4 is givoni se bioklimatiese kaart wat die grense van die gemaksone by windstilte toon. 62 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 figuur 4: grense van die gemaksone onder windstil-toestande vir somer en winter, vir gematigde en baie warm klimaatstreke (givoni, 1992:15) -for developed counjries for hot developing counjijes -10 wet bulb 1emp'erajuie •c reiatm humidity% id% 8d% lll'li 60% 50% 40% 3d% 30 25 20 15 10 -10 -5 0 10 15 20 25 30 35 io 15 50 55 diy iulb lemfebatore ° c moistuie content gjkg (l)iyaii) die hede gebruik van klimaatindekse die huidige standaarde vir termiese gemak is steeds op die hittebalans-model van die menslike liggaam gebaseer en is afkomstig van veelvuldige klimaatkamerstudies (brager & de dear, 1998). hierdie standaarde was oorspronklik ontwikkel vir ontwerp van lugverkoelde geboue en dieselfde standaarde word oak aanvaar vir natuurlik geventileerde geboue. in die praktyk bied hierdie standaarde nie riglyne vir die ontwerp van natuurlik geventileerde geboue nie en dit gee nie die inwoners 'n manier om beheer uit te oefen oar hulle termiese omgewing nie (brager & de dear, 1998). auliciems & szokolay het in 1997 beset dot fisiologiese neutraliteit: (termiese ekwilibrium waar s = oj beteken nie noodwendig gemak nie. 'n paar ander faktore soos ondervindinge in die ver­lede, sosio-kulturele faktore, gewoontes en verwagtinge spe�i oak 'n rol. fisiologiese neutraliteit mag wel 'n voorvereiste wees vir gemak (dit wil se door moet eers fisiologiese neutral�j.t ,6,ei staan voor gemak bereik kan word) (auliciems & szokola·y, 1997). 63 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep akklimatisering word deur die meeste indekse nie in ag geneem nie. boie mense gebruik dbt as 'n indeks vir termiese gemak of neutraliteit. dbt is die mees bruikbare meting van die spesifikasie vir gemak, maar vir die meting van die mate van ongemak of stres moet ander maniere gevind word wat ook ander om­ gewinsfaktore in ag neem: humiditeit, straling en lugbeweging. lnternasionaal bestaan daar tans spesifieke wetgewing wat gebruik word om gemak binne geboue te bereik ten opsigte van lugkwaliteit (truter & annegarn, 1991), moor daar bestaan geen spesifieke wetgewing in sa nie. dele van bestaande wette soos die wet op masjinerie en beroepsveiligheid no. 6 1983 word in sa gebruik as regulasies vir bepaling van termiese gemak binne die werksopset in kommersiele geboue (truter & annegarn, 1991). die nodigheid en die toepassing van beheer in die industriele werksopset word algemeen aanvaar. maar die toepassing van die regulasie word nie afgedwing nie weens sekere objeksies tot die benadering. adaptiewe model bogenoemde was slegs statistiese modelle en dit is duidelik dot veldstudies van termofisiologiese voorspellings verskil. die mens se termiese voorkeure word ook be·invloed deur 'n geografiese komponent. volgens verbale kommunikasie is termiese neutraliteit (waar min stress ervaar word) tn afhanklik van die gemiddelde dbt of bal-temperatuur (ti). dit is belangrik om weereens daarvan kennis te neem dot daar nie 'n konstante of statiese optimum vir gemak bestaan nie. mense se temperatuurvoorkeure word be"invloed deur beide buitemuurse en binnemuurse faktore. auliciems ( 1981) het 'n adaptiewe model vir termoregulering geformuleer waar termiese voorkeur gesien word as die som van die fisiologiese reaksie op die onmiddelike binnenshuise parameters (soos die klimaatstreek. sosiale omstandighede, ekonomiese oorwegings en ander kontekstuele faktore, gemeet deur die indekse) en verwagtinge, gebaseer op vorige ondervindinge. 'n verbetering op die adaptiewe model neem in ag dot die mens 'n belangrike rol speel in die skep van hulle eie termiese voorkeure deur die manier hoe hulle in die omgewing omgaan, hulle eie gedrag verander (persoonlik, omgewing, tegnologies of kultureel), geleidelik hulle verwagtinge verander 64 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 (deur sielkundige aanpassings) en fisiologiese veranderinge (genetiese aanpassing, akklimatisering) ondergaan om by die omgewing aan te pas (brager & de dear, 1998). die hittebalans en adaptiewe benaderinge tot bepaling van termiese gemak komplimenteer mekaar. wanneer die hittebalansmodel gebruik word om termiese gemak in bestaande geboue te bepaal moet veldstudies die termiese toestande direk by die inwoner in terme van tyd en ruimte meet en 'n versigtige opname maak van die aktiwiteite, klere en die effek van die stoel of bank. die adaptiewe model kan terselfdetyd 'n bydrae maak, deur die terugvoer tussen ongemak en gedrag om aan te pas by die temperatuur, in berekening te bring (brager & de dear, 1998). samevatting door is sterk druk om 'behaaglikheid' te definieer. die druk het sosiale en ekonomiese dimensies, moor ook omgewings­ oorwegings. die geskiedkundige verloop van die ondersoeke no 'behaaglikheid' het oorspronklik uitgegaan van die veronderstel­ ling dot door 'n enkele indeks vindbaar sol wees wat as alge­ meen geldige maatstaf wereldwyd en vir almal sol geld. aanvanklik is gehoop dot 'n enkele droebal-temperatuur aan hierdie eis sol voldoen. die enkel-temperatuurkonsep moes op grond van bevindings tot 'n temperatuursone verruim word. hierdie sone is as 'n statistiese begrip met vae grense ge'fnter­ preteer en die dimensies van straling, lugbeweging, kleredrag en metabolisme moes daarby ge'fntegreer word. dit verteen­ woordig die tans aanvaarde iso-standaard. hierdie standaard is egter onhoudbaar ten aansien van die jong­ ste bevindings wat kwantifisering kan verleen aan akklimatisering en adaptasie. verkennende werk van geslag en rasvoorkeure is reeds gedoen. terwyl histories veel werk op die gebied van 'be­ haaglikheid' gedoen is, le die veld van omgewingstoestande vir produktiwiteit hoofsaaklik brook. 65 de lange & holm/die geskiedenis van die ontwikkeling van die termiese gemaksone-konsep bibliografie auliciems, a. & szokola y, s.v. 1997. thermal comfort. passive & low energy architecture international design tools & techniques. in association with the university of queensland department of architecture. brisbane. bedford, t. 1946. environmental warmth and its measurement. medical research council war memo­ randum no. 17, h.m.s.o. brager, g.s. & de dear, r.j. 1998. thermal adaptation in the buildt environment: a literature review. energy and buildings, 27, pp. 83-96. burberry, p. 1992. environment & services. ? de uitgawe. longman scien­ tific & technical: uk. givoni, b. 1992. comfort, climate analysis and building design guidelines. energy and buildings. 18, pp. 11-23. givoni, b. 1997. climate considerations in building and urban design. u.s.a.: van nostrand reinhold. holm, d. 66 1996. manual for energy con­ scious design. department minerals and energy. directo­ rate energy for development. pretoria. holm, d. & viljoen, r. 1996. primer for energy consc­ious design. department mine­rals and energy. directorate energy for development. pretoria. humphreys, m.a. 1992. thermal comfort in the context of energy conserva­tion. roal, s. & hancock, m. (ed's) in: energy efficient build­ing. oxford: blackwell scientific publications. meese, g.b., kok, r. & lewis, m.i. 1985. the effects of moderate cold and heat stress on the potential work performance of industrial workers. part 5. csir research report 590. national building research institute. pretoria. meese, g.b., kok, r. & lewis, m.1. 1986. the effects of moderate cold and heat stress on the potential work performance of industrial workers. part 6. cs/r research report 630. national buildin;; research institute. pretoria. markus,t.a . & morris, e.n. 1980. buildings, climate & energy. london: pitman publishing limited. olgyay, v. 1992. design with climate: bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism. van new york: norstrand reinhold. steenkamp, i.l. 1987. 'n opvoedkundige analise rekenaarprogram vir behuising. ma-verhandeling. pe: upe. szokola y, s.v. 1986. climate analysis based on the psychrometric chart. international journal of ambient energy, 7(4), pp. 171-182. 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 szokola y, s.v. 1990. climate indices. inter­ national journal of ambient energy, 11(3), pp. 115-120. truter, r. & annegarn, h.j. 1991. indoor air a regulatory imperative. proceedings of the first south african conference on indoor air quality. 201h may, eskom college, midrand. van straaten, j.f. 1967. thermal performance of buildings. new york: elsevier publications. wentzel, j.d. 1981. acceptable indoor thermal environmental con­ ditions. research report r/bou 895. pretoria: csir. 67 83 ayman othman & nishani harinarain managing risks associated with the jbcc (principal building agreement) from the south african contractor’s perspective peer review abstract construction is a complex and risky business. it is a time-consuming process involving a multitude of organisations with different objectives and skills. in addition, increasing client expectations coupled with the technological development of materials and equipment made the construction industry subject to more risks than any other industry. contracts are essential tools for organising the relationship between involved parties and managing associated risk. for years the south african construction industry had a very poor reputation in managing construction risks. in order to improve the image of the south african construction industry and to assist contractors to develop their proper risk management strategy, this article aims to manage the risks associated with the joint building contracts committees (jbcc) principal building agreement (pba). a research methodology, consisting of literature review, questionnaires and interviews, is designed to achieve four objectives. first, to review the topics of contacts and risks in construction projects and the jbcc (pba). secondly, to develop an innovative framework to enable contractors to identify, quantify and classify risks associated with the jbcc (pba). thirdly, to evaluate the developed framework from industry’s feedback in order to improve its performance. finally, to create a correlation matrix of contractor’s risk sources. keywords: contracts, risk, jbcc (pba), construction, framework, correlation matrix, contractor’s risk source, south africa. dr. ayman ahmed ezzat othman, school of civil engineering, surveying and construction, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban 4041, south africa, tel: +27 (031) 2602821, fax: +27 (031) 2601411, e-mail: <othman@ ukzn.ac.za> / <aaeothman@gmail.com> nishani harinarain, school of civil engineering, surveying and construction, university of kwazulu-natal, king george v avenue, durban 4041, south africa, e-mail: <harinarain@ukzn.ac.za> acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 84 abstrak konstruksie is ’n komplekse en riskante bedryf. dit is ’n tydrowende proses en sluit in ’n reeks organisasies met verskillende doelwitte en vaardighede. hoër kliëntvereistes, gekoppeld aan die tegnologiese ontwikkeling van materiale en toerusting, het die konstruksiebedryf meer blootgestel aan risikos as enige ander bedryf. kontrakte is die middele wat gebruik word om die regte en verpligtinge tussen die betrokke partye te bepaal en om die verwante risikos te bestuur. die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf het vir ’n hele aantal jare ’n swak reputasie gehad rakende risiko-bestuur. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die reputasie van die konstruksienywerheid te verbeter en om kontrakteurs by te staan met die ontwikkeling van hul vaardighede om die risikos soos uiteengesit in die gesamentlike boukontraktekomitee (gbk) se hoofbouooreenkoms (hbo) beter te bestuur. die navorsingsmetodologie bestaande uit ’n literatuurstudie, vraelys en onderhoude het vier doelwitte. eerstens, om ’n oorsig te gee van die kontraken risiko-aspekte van konstruksie-projekte in die gbk hbo. tweedens, om ’n innoverende raamwerk te ontwikkel om kontrakteurs te help om risikos in die gbk hbo te identifiseer, kwantifiseer en klassifiseer. derdens, om die ontwikkelde raamwerk te evalueer deur middel van bedryfterugvoering om sodoende prestasie daarvan te bevorder. laastens, om ’n korrelasie-matriks van die oorsprong van kontrakteursrisikos op te stel. sleutelwoorde: gbk pba, konstruksie, kontrakte, kontrakteursrisikosoorsprong, korrelasie-matriks, raamwerk, risikos, suid-afrika 1. research background and rationale numerous contracts are signed daily in construction, which is one of the largest global industries and an integral part of economic growth and social development (mthalane, othman & pearl, 2007; anaman & amponsah, 2007 cited in khan, 2008). these contracts range from new construction, refurbishment to maintenance. some projects are simple and worth a few thousands of rands whereas others are complex and may cost hundreds of millions of rands. some projects may involve just two organisations, whereas others may involve a multitude of suppliers, subcontractors and consultants. irrespective of how simple or complex the project is, all projects have something in common: they are exposed to risk and can go wrong (edwards & bowen, 2005). in his report entitled “construction the team” sir michael latham considered that no construction project is risk free. risk can be othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 85 managed, minimized, shared, transferred or accepted. it cannot be ignored (latham, 1994). according to smith (1999); finley, deborah & fisher (1994); flanagan & norman (1993) and papageorge (1988), risk is a natural part of any construction project. the reason for this is that construction is a multifaceted process that has a wide variety of complex processes. in addition, construction projects involve hundreds if not thousands of interacting activities that have time, cost and quality constraints. these constraints inevitably cause the risks of delay, inflation, cost overruns, natural or physical damages on site, potential harm and/or loss to people, property, reputation, business and reduction in qualified personnel, bankruptcy as well as client dissatisfaction. at present, the construction industry is facing a more challenging environment than previously. the increasing expectations of clients, the need to deliver higher quality products and services at tighttime scale and lowest cost; the development of new construction methods, procedures, materials and new types of buildings resulted in project stakeholders facing high risks towards attaining high standards of efficiency. it is therefore important to plan and make the right decisions, which will reduce risk on cost, time and quality of the building projects (edwards & bowen, 2005; carter, hancock, morin & robins, 1997; flanagan & norman, 1993). construction contracts organise the relationship between parties once the offer is accepted (finsen, 2005). they are the tools for managing risks (uff & odams, 1995) and establishing the rights, duties, obligations, and responsibilities of the various contracting parties in order to allocate risk. for years the south african construction industry had a poor reputation due to the lack of application of risk management. currently, a contractor is often given a mass of information and data at the time of bidding, which may or may not be well coordinated and organised. the contractor is expected to assimilate all the information in a relatively short period of time and to provide the client with an intelligent but profitable bid (smith, 1998; harinarain & othman, 2007). because of the importance to improve the image of the south african construction industry, coupled with the necessity to enable contractors to understand and develop their risk management strategy as well as the significance to overcome the limitation and the scant attention paid to this topic in construction literature, particularly in the south african context, this paper aims to manage acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 86 the risks associated with the joint building contracts committee (jbcc) principal building agreement (pba). 2. research methodology in order to achieve the abovementioned aim, a research methodology, consisting of literature review, questionnaires and interviews, was designed to achieve the following objectives: reviewing the topics of contracts and risks in construction • projects and the jbcc (pba). developing an innovative framework to enable contractors • to better understand and develop their risk management strategy. evaluating the developed framework by means of the • industry’s feedback to improve its performance. creating a correlation matrix of risk sources to the contractor.• a representative and non-biased sample of durban-based construction companies was selected. this helped increase the validity and reliability of collected data and research findings. the master builders association website (master builder association, 2008) was accessed to obtain a list of durban-based registered construction companies. the result was a list of 62 companies ranging from small, medium to large enterprises. all these companies were contacted to enquire whether they utilise the jbcc (pba). out of the 62 companies contacted, 23 stated that they utilise the jbcc (pba). these companies were contacted and the scope of the study was introduced to them. only 9 companies agreed to participate in the study. the survey questionnaires were faxed to these companies and respondents were then interviewed to gain thorough insight and feedback. 3. contracts in construction 3.1 definition and obligations a contract is an exchange relationship created by oral or written agreement between two or more persons, containing at least one promise, and recognised in law as enforceable (blum, 2007). such an agreement gives rise to personal rights and corresponding obligations. for a contract to be legally enforceable, an agreement should have legal purpose and form, offer and acceptance, othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 87 consideration and competent parties (athearn & pritchett, 1984). in construction, a building contract is an agreement between two parties, the contractor who agrees to erect a building and the employer who agrees to pay for it. this agreement creates personal rights and obligations, and the right of one party is the obligation of the other. the contractor has the obligation to erect the building and the right to be paid for it, while the employer has the right to have the building erected and the obligation to pay for it. a contract comes into existence on the acceptance of an offer. if either party defaults on his/her obligation, the other party may invoke the assistance of the law to enforce his rights (finsen, 2005). 3.2 the contract documents construction contracts differ substantially from the usual commercial ones. the commodity concerned is not a standard one but a structure that is unique in its nature and involves considerable time, cost, and risk. the usual construction contract consists of a number of different documents such as general conditions, supplementary conditions, drawings, bills of quantities and addendums. all contract articles should be carefully read before rather than after the contract is signed. after execution of the contract, the contractor is bound by all its provisions, whether one has read them or not (finsen, 2005; clough, 1975). a building contract is a trade-off between the contractor’s price for undertaking the work and his willingness to accept both controllable and uncontrollable risks. hence, the price for doing the work partly reflects the contractor’s perception of the risk involved (flanagan & norman, 1993). 3.3 the joint building contracts committee (principal building agreement) the joint building contracts committee (jbcc) represents the variety of interests in the south african construction industry. it has six constituent member organisations: the association of south african quantity surveyors; the south african institute of architects; the south african association of consulting engineers; the south african property owners' association; the specialist engineering contractors committee, and the building industries federation of south africa (van deventer, 1993). the jbcc series 2000 is a suite of documents comprising the principal building agreement, the nominated/ selected subcontract agreement and the preliminaries, which together constitute the terms and conditions of the agreement between the parties. in addition, there are sundry documents that acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 88 do not add to the rights and obligations of the parties but merely facilitate the administration of the contract. these include the contract price adjustment provisions, the construction guarantee, the payment guarantee, the payment certificate, the completion certificate, etc. (finsen, 2005). 3.3.1 parties to the jbcc contract the parties to a building contract are the employer and the contractor. in the jbcc series 2000 edition no mention is made either of the architect or of the quantity surveyor or of any of the engineers. instead, a principal agent assumes all these roles. he may be an architect, a quantity surveyor, an engineer or a project manager. he is not expected to fulfil all of these roles as provision is made for the employer to appoint other agents to play their traditional roles. however, only the principal agent can issue instructions, receive notices on behalf of the employer and bind to him. the principal agent is not a party to the contract and does not acquire any contractual rights and obligations. he acts on behalf of the employer in respect of a great number of his obligations which, for lack of training and expertise, the employer cannot perform himself. the duties of the principal agent and the other agents to the employer under a construction contract are: carrying out their duties with reasonable skill and care, independently exercising reasonable professional judgment, and protecting the employer’s interests (finsen, 2005; murdoch, 1996; van deventer, 1993). 4. risks in construction 4.1 overview and definition the future is largely unknown and most business decisions are taken on the basis of expectation, assumption, estimates and forecasts which involve taking risks. due to its nature, the construction industry is considered to be subject to more risk than any other industry. the reason is that getting the project from the initial investment appraisal stage through to completion and into use involves a complex and time-consuming design and construction process. the construction process involves a large number of people, from different organisations, with different skills and interests, and a great deal of effort is required to co-ordinate the wide range of activities undertaken. in addition, the increasing expectations of clients, technological advancement and development of complex facilities that involve multiple interacting systems increase the probability of othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 89 occurrence of unexpected events during the process of building procurement (murdoch, 1996). such events are called risks (shen, 1999). risk can travel in two directions: the outcome may be better or worse than expected. taking this into account, risk could be defined as the exposure to the possibility of economic or financial loss or gain, physical danger or injury, or delay as a consequence of the uncertainty associated with pursuing a particular course of action (chapman, 1995; raftery, 1994). 4.2 types of risk in construction projects risks in construction projects can be classified under many categories: according to the events, outcome risk can be classified as (a) • upside risk when the outcome of the event is better than the original forecast and (b) downside risk when the outcome of the event is worse than the original forecast. according to the possibility of occurrence, there are two kinds • of risks: (a) pure risk, which arises from the possibility of accident or technical failure and (b) speculative risk, possibility of loss and gain, which may be financial, or physical. according to the possibility of reduction, there are two kinds • of risk: (a) diversifiable risk, if it is possible to reduce risk through pooling or risk-sharing agreement, and (b) non-diversifiable risk, if pooling agreement is ineffective in reducing risk for the participants in the pool (williams, smith & young, 1995). flanagan & norman (1993) classified construction risks • as political, economic, technical, external relations, management, design, environmental, legal and operational. perry & hayes (1985 cited in shen, 1999) classified risks in • construction projects as physical, construction, design, political, financial, legal-contractual, and environmental. santoso, ogunlana & minato (2003) classified risk as physical, • personal, technical, safety-accident, construction design causes, political and regulation, financial, contractual, and environmental regulations risks. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 90 4.3 risk management process risk management is the process of identifying, analysing and responding to project risks. it includes maximising the results of positive events and minimising the consequences of adverse ones (pmbok, 2004). it is the process of protecting the organisation, its people, assets, and profits, against the physical and financial consequences of risk. it involves planning, co-ordinating and directing the risk control and the risk financing activities in the organisation (greene & serbein, 1983; valsamakis, vivian & du toit, 1999). edwards & bowen (2005) stated that risk is important for most project stakeholders as it affects their business and success. hence, risk cannot be disregarded or dealt with haphazardly. modern society’s expectations of corporate behaviour and public accountability demand that organisations consider the risks they face or create for others. the process of risk management can be classified as follows: 4.3.1 risk identification risk identification is considered to be the most important element of risk management. many of the major decisions with the greatest impact on the project are made during its early feasibility and design development stages. during these stages changes can be made with the least disruption. in addition, the information, upon which such decisions are made, is most likely to be incomplete or inaccurate. therefore, to ensure that the right decisions are made, all the important risks and their sources must be identified and assessed at the earliest possible point in the project’s life cycle (valsamakis, et al., 1999; laxtons, 1996). different tools and techniques can be used for risk identification, including experienced experts’ judgement; standard questionnaires and checklists; structured interviews; expert computer-based systems; outside specialists; brainstorming sessions; delphi technique, and the combined approach (valsamakis, et al., 1999; laxtons, 1996; papageorge, 1988) 4.3.2 risk analysis risk analysis is used to evaluate risks and ascertain the importance of each risk to the project, based on an assessment of the probability of occurrence (likelihood) and the possible consequence of its occurrence (severity). risk = likelihood x severity loss/gain (balfour beatty, 2000; raftery, 1994). risk analysis assesses both the effects of individual risks and the combined consequences of all risks on the project objectives. risk analysis enables decision-makers to improve the quality of their judgments by providing more realistic information othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 91 on which to base decisions. this is clearly summarised by tony ryan, chairman of guinness peat aviation ltd, as quoted in raftery (1994) “this is not a speculative game at all. our objective is not to avoid risk but to recognise it, price it and sell it.” there are many techniques used for risk analysis such as sensitivity analysis, probability analysis, simulation techniques, risk premium, expected monetary value (emv), expected net present value (enpv), emv using a delphi peer group, risk-adjusted discount rate (radr), detailed analysis and simulation, and stochastic dominance (shen, 1999; smith, 1999; raftery, 1994). there is no ‘best’ single technique, as every project will almost certainly have individual characteristics, which make it unique (amos & dent, 1997). 4.3.3 risk response and mitigation risk response and mitigation is the action that is required to reduce, eradicate or avoid the potential impact of risks on a project. the main aim of any response and mitigation strategy is to initiate and implement the appropriate action to prevent risks from occurring or, at minimum, limit the potential damage they may cause. this should ensure that the overall project objectives of time, cost and quality are not jeopardised. the information gained from the identification and analysis of the risks gives an understanding of their likely impact on the project if they are realised. this, in turn, enables an appropriate response to be chosen (laxtons, 1996). the general guiding principle of risk response is that the parties to the project should seek a collaborative and mutually beneficial distribution of risk (raftery, 1994). furthermore, risks need to be allocated to those parties best placed to influence both the likelihood of the risk occurring and its potential impact should it occur. the methods used for risk response and mitigation are risk avoidance, risk transfer, risk reduction and residual retention, risk retention, combination of two or more of these responses to risk (shen, 1999; smith, 1999; laxtons, 1996; flanagan & norman, 1993). 4.4 benefits of implementing risk management raftery (1994); godfrey (1996); mootanah (1998) and hiley & paliokostas (2001) mentioned that many benefits could be gained from applying systematic risk management process as follows: better understanding of project objectives and uncertainty.• better responding to unexpected events.• acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 92 effective team building and better use of skills and experience • of project personnel. promoting effective communication.• improving project management.• improving decision-making.• establishing the justification of contingencies.• reducing project costs.• providing value for money.• protecting the balance sheet by transferring or avoiding • unaffordable risks. eliminating unnecessary risks.• concentrating resources on what matters.• 5. the identification, quantification and classification framework (iqcf) framework is defined as the basic and logical structure for classifying and organising complex information (feaf, 1999). it is a structure for describing a set of concepts, methods and technologies required to complete a product process and design (edms, 2007). the identification, quantification and classification framework (iqcf) (hereinafter referred as ‘the framework’ or the iqcf) is the set of functions, activities, procedures as well as the tools and techniques required to assist construction contractors to better understand the risks associated with the clauses of the jbcc (pba). it is a decisionmaking tool designed to enable contractors to identify, quantify and classify the risks of the jbcc (pba) clauses. the iqcf will help the contractors draw the appropriate risk management plan to mitigate the adverse effects of these risks (harinarain & othman, 2007). 5.1 the need, aim and objectives of the iqcf the construction industry is one of the largest booming industries in south africa. it contributes 8% of the total employment of the country with 1,024,000 people in 2006 (south africa. department of housing, 2007). this involves hundreds of consultants, contractors and suppliers, as well as the establishment of contracts, especially since the rise in construction work for the 2010 soccer wold cup. the need for the iqcf stems from the importance to improve the image othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 93 of the south african construction industry, the necessity to assist contractors to better understand the risks pertaining to the jbcc (pba) as well as the importance to overcome the scant attention paid to this topic in construction literature. to achieve this aim, the following objectives must be achieved: identifying the risks associated with the jbcc (pba) contract • clauses from the contractor’s perspective. quantifying the identified risks to draw a complete picture of • the most serious risks. classifying the identified and quantified risks to collect them • in groups in order to allow contractors to distinguish those risks that originate from within the contractor’s organisation and those that are external to the contractor’s organisation. 5.2 the conceptual description of the iqcf the iqcf was developed in a systematic process consisting of three steps: identification, quantification and classification of the risks associated with the jbcc (pba). 5.2.1 identification of the jbcc (pba) risks since the framework adopts the contractor’s perspective, the first step of risk identification was to identify all potential risks that could possibly affect the contractor. this entailed carrying out in-depth literature review based on textbooks, academic journals, professional magazines, conference proceedings, seminars, dissertations and theses, organisation and government publications as well as internet and related web sites. first, literature review resulted in identifying (270) risks. secondly, these risks were reviewed and refined on a regular basis to omit repeated risks and merge similar ones. the end result was a list of 136 risks. thirdly, these risks were then compared with the clauses of the jbcc (pba) in order to ensure that the most important risks were covered in the jbcc (pba). finally, the criteria that will be used to state the risks associated with jbcc (pba) clauses were developed. in order to establish these criteria, it is essential to initiate a link between the identified risks and the factors that lead to an organisation’s success or failure. corporate analysis shows that every organisation has internal and external environments. each one of them has its effect on the success or failure of the organisation. internal environment consists of strength factors and weakness factors, whereas external environment consists of opportunities factors and threat factors. these factors are adopted to design the othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 95 following equation: rii = ∑w / an, where w=weighting given to each driver by the respondents and range from 1 to 5, a= highest weight (5 in our case); and n= total number of sample (kometa & olomolaiye, 1997; olomolaiye, price, & wahab, 1987; shash, 1993). 5.2.3 classification of the jbcc (pba) risks the last step of the framework development was the classification of the risks identified and quantified. classifying risks enables the contractor to consider them within a more coherent framework. it provides the construction professionals, in general, and the contractor, in particular, with a more uniform risk language, specifically in fields where risk needs to be communicated to a wide variety of project stakeholders. it allows the contractor to establish a common understanding of different risks, and provides an essential basis for effective knowledge transfer within an organisation and from one project to another (edwards & bowen, 2005). in order to comply with the risk identification criteria developed by the authors, this research classified risks affecting the contractor as internal risks and external risks: internal risks• emerge from within the contractor’s organisation or are within the control of the contractor. external risks• emerge from outside the contractor’s organisation, or are out of the control of the contractor. table 1 shows the overall format of the iqcf that hosts all the information gleaned in the previous steps. table 1: the identification, quantification and classification framework jbcc (pba) clause risk identification criteria risk quantification risk classification d e sc rip ti o n o f c la u se r e d u c in g o rg a n is a ti o n st re n g th s in c re a si n g o rg a n is a ti o n w e a kn e ss r e d u c in g o rg a n is a ti o n o p p o rt u n it ie s in c re a si n g o rg a n is a ti o n th re a ts p ro b a b ili ty ( p ) se v e rit y ( s) r e su lt = p *s in te rn a l r is k e xt e rn a l r is k source: harinarain & othman 2007: 148 acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 96 5.3 models and the modelling process 5.3.1 modelling the iqcf modelling is the process of developing an accurate description of a system. as technology grows, accurate system description becomes more vital. modelling helps to regulate the unplanned day-to-day administrative procedures and it is therefore a powerful framework for solving problems (marca & mcgowan, 1988). the iqcf is designed to be performed in a series of interrelated steps in order to enable contractors to adopt the appropriate risk management strategy when utilising the jbcc (pba). when the procedures to identify, quantify and classify risk cannot be reduced to the activities of a simple model, they could lead to complications. in general, modelling the iqcf will facilitate effective management and risk identification, quantification and classification, diminish confusion, enhance building contractors’ reputation, maintain focus on project completion and achieve better decisions. modelling requires determining the sequence of events and their relationship to each other so that this information can be presented in a network (othman, 2005). based on the properties of the iqcf, the process model was selected to be the appropriate model to represent the activities of the iqcf because it is concerned with representing consecutive steps or activities with the delivery of an end product or service. 5.3.2 reviewing the modelling tools a number of modelling tools were reviewed in order to select the most appropriate one to represent the iqcf. the criteria for representing the framework included the ability to analyse each clause of the jbcc (pba) in terms of risk identification, quantification and classification; ease of use and understanding by contractors, as well as applicability and relevance to the construction industry. some of these models were not suitable for representing the iqcf either because they are still in their infancy and are not widely used in construction like the unified modelling language (noran, 2005) and role activity diagrams (abeysinghe & phalp, 1997) or because they are difficult to read like the data flow diagrams (chung, 1989; ranky, 1994; anumba, cutting-decelle, baldwin, dufau, mommessin & bouchlaghem, 1998) as well as the hierarchy plus input-processoutput which has limited ability to show detailed information about a system (chung, 1989). othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 97 5.3.3 the integrated definition (idef-0) this is a requirement specification tool based on the concept of system modelling of input, control, output and mechanism (see figure 2). it uses natural and graphic languages to convey meaning about a system. this methodology defines functions and their interfaces, and facilitates hierarchy decomposition of detail in a system (chung, 1989). the two primary modelling components are functions (represented on the diagram by boxes) and the data and objects that interrelate those functions (represented by arrows) (national institute of standards and technology, 1993). figure 2: idef-0 diagram source: renssen 2001: online idef-0 was chosen as the most appropriate method to represent the iqcf because it: uses function and activity modelling which is ideal to model • the iqcf by describing its functions and activities step-bystep; is comprehensive (due to the elaborated information • required); is generic (for analysis of systems and subject areas of varying • purpose); control mechanism input outputactivity acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 98 is rigorous and precise (for production of correct, usable • models); is concise (to facilitate identifying, quantifying and classifying • risks in the jbcc [pba]); is conceptual (for representation of functional requirements);• allows for decomposition of a function into a number of • smaller sub-functions, and is flexible (to support several phases of the life cycle of a • project) (national institute of standards and technology, 1993: ii). 5.3.4 the functional representation of the iqcf table 2 shows the contents of the iqcf. a top level (iqcf/a-0) presentation of the framework is presented in figure 3. they are: identifying risk associated with the jbcc (pba) (iqcf/a1), quantifying risk associated with the jbcc (pba) (iqcf/a2), and classifying risk associated with the jbcc (pba) (iqcf/a3), shown in figure 4. table 2: table of contents for the iqcf diagram reference description iqcf/a0 investigating risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective. iqcf/a1 identifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective. iqcf/a2 quantifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective. iqcf/a3 classifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective. source: harinarain 2008: 85 othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 99 fig u re 3 : in v e stig a tin g risks a sso c ia te d w ith th e jb c c (p b a ) fro m th e c o n tra c to r’s p e rsp e c tiv e so u rc e : h a rin a ra in 2 0 0 8 : 8 7 im p ro v in g in d u stry e xp e c ta tio n s e n h a n c in g p ro je c t p e rfo rm a n c e m a n a g in g r isksad d in g v a lu e to c o n tra c tin g firm s in c re a sin g c o m p e titiv e n e ss a c h ie v e c lie n ts e xp e c ta tio n s im p ro v in g th e im a g e o f sa c o n stru c tio n in d u stry in v e stig a tin g r isk s a sso c ia te d w ith th e jb c c (p b a ) fro m th e c o n tra c to r’s p e rsp e c tiv e iq c stu d y te a m & d a ta c o lle c tio n a n a ly sis te c h n iq u e s a n d to o ls & b ra in sto rm in g te a m c o n se n su s se n io r m a n a g e m e n t a p p ro v a l & su p p o rt r isk id e n tific a tio n c rite ria p ro b a b ility & se v e rity r isk c la ssific a tio n c rite ria jb c c (p b a ) c la u se id e n tifie d r isk q u a n tifie d r isk c la ssifie d r isk othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 101 5.3.4.a identifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective this function aims to identify the risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective (figure 5). it is a decomposition of box (1) in the iqcf/a0 diagram (figure 4). the input to this function is the jbcc (pba) clauses. the identification function has to be carried out in an endeavour to improve the industry expectations, enhance project performance, manage risks, add value to contracting firms and increase their compositeness, achieve client expectations as well as improve the image of the south african industry. hence, gaining the approval and support of senior management is required to facilitate the acceptance and implementation of the study results. a study team has to be formulated to conduct the study. in addition, an orientation meeting prior to the study is essential to plan for the study and state its objectives, location and duration. selecting the right team members is crucial to the success of the identification study. the criteria developed by the authors for risk identification must be utilised. different data collection and analysis techniques and tools have to be used for risk identification. furthermore, team members have to be encouraged to generate as many risks as possible during the brainstorming session. the output of this process is the identified risks. once the risks have been identified and approved, the team can proceed to the next step. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 102 fi g u re 5 : id e n ti fy in g r is ks a ss o c ia te d w it h t h e j b c c ( p b a ) so u rc e : h a rin a ra in 2 0 0 8 : 8 9 im p ro v in g in d u st ry e xp e c ta ti o n s e n h a n c in g p ro je c t p e rf o rm a n c em a n a g in g r is ks a d d in g v a lu e to c o n tr a c ti n g fi rm s in c re a si n g c o m p e ti ti v e n e ss a c h ie v e c lie n ts e xp e c ta ti o n s im p ro v in g t h e im a g e o f sa c o n st ru c ti o n in d u st ry id e n tif y in g r is k s a ss o c ia te d w ith t h e j b c c ( p b a ) fr o m t h e c o n tr a c to r’ s p e rs p e c tiv e iq c s tu d y te a m & d a ta c o lle c ti o n a n a ly si s te c h n iq u e s a n d to o ls & b ra in st o rm in g te a m c o n se n su s se n io r m a n a g e m e n t a p p ro v a l & su p p o rt r is k id e n ti fic a ti o n c rit e ria jb c c ( p b a ) c la u se id e n ti fie d r is k othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 103 5.3.4.b quantifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective this function aims to quantify the risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective (figure 6). it is a decomposition of box (2) in the iqcf/a0 diagram (figure 4). the input to this function is the risks identified in the previous function. the quantification function has to be carried out in order to improve the industry expectations, enhance project performance, manage risks, add value to contracting firms and increase their compositeness, achieve client expectations as well as improve the image of the south african industry. in addition to the mechanisms used to carry out this function such as approval and support of senior management, study team, data collection techniques and tools, the probability and severity analysis must be used to quantify identified risks through brainstorming and team consensus. furthermore, the relative importance index (rii) is vital for ranking risks according to their influences. the output of this stage is the quantified risk. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 104 fi g u re 6 : q u a n ti fy in g r is ks a ss o c ia te d w it h t h e j b c c ( p b a ) so u rc e : h a rin a ra in 2 0 0 8 : 9 0 im p ro v in g in d u st ry e xp e c ta ti o n s e n h a n c in g p ro je c t p e rf o rm a n c em a n a g in g r is ks a d d in g v a lu e to c o n tr a c ti n g fi rm s in c re a si n g c o m p e ti ti v e n e ss a c h ie v e c lie n ts e xp e c ta ti o n s im p ro v in g t h e im a g e o f sa c o n st ru c ti o n in d u st ry id e n tif y in g r is k s a ss o c ia te d w ith t h e j b c c ( p b a ) fr o m t h e c o n tr a c to r’ s p e rs p e c tiv e iq c s tu d y te a m & d a ta c o lle c ti o n a n a ly si s te c h n iq u e s a n d to o ls & b ra in st o rm in g te a m c o n se n su s se n io r m a n a g e m e n t a p p ro v a l & su p p o rt p ro b a b ili ty & se v e rit y jb c c ( p b a ) c la u se q u a n ti fie d r is k othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 105 5.3.4.c classifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) from the contractor’s perspective within this function the risks identified and quantified in the previous two functions will be classified from the contractors’ perspective (figure 7). this function is a decomposition of box (3) in the iqcf/ a0 diagram (figure 4). the input to this process is the output of the previous function. classifying risks will help improve the industry expectations, enhance project performance, manage risks, add value to contracting firms and increase their compositeness, achieve client expectations as well as improve the image of the south african industry. the developed criteria for risk classification developed by the author which classify risks as internal and external risks will be applied. other mechanisms such as approval and support of senior management, study team, data collection and analysis techniques and tools, brainstorming and team consensus have to be used to achieve the function objectives. the output of this stage is the classified risk. acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 106 fi g u re 7 : c la ss ify in g r is ks a ss o c ia te d w it h t h e j b c c ( p b a ) so u rc e : h a rin a ra in 2 0 0 8 : 9 1 im p ro v in g in d u st ry e xp e c ta ti o n s e n h a n c in g p ro je c t p e rf o rm a n c em a n a g in g r is ks a d d in g v a lu e to c o n tr a c ti n g fi rm s in c re a si n g c o m p e ti ti v e n e ss a c h ie v e c lie n ts e xp e c ta ti o n s im p ro v in g t h e im a g e o f sa c o n st ru c ti o n in d u st ry c la ss ify in g r is k s a ss o c ia te d w ith t h e j b c c ( p b a ) fr o m t h e c o n tr a c to r’ s p e rs p e c tiv e iq c s tu d y te a m & d a ta c o lle c ti o n a n a ly si s te c h n iq u e s a n d to o ls & b ra in st o rm in g te a m c o n se n su s se n io r m a n a g e m e n t a p p ro v a l & su p p o rt r is k c la ss ifi c a ti o n c rit e ria jb c c ( p b a ) c la u se c la ss ifi e d r is k othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 107 5.3.5 evaluation of the iqcf in order to evaluate the framework and to get feedback from the industry, 26 survey questionnaires were sent to construction firms. out of these, 9 were completed and returned, providing a response rate of 47%. according to babbie (1992), as a rule of thumb 50% is adequate while mcneil & chapman (2005); saunders, lewis & thornhill. (2003); gillham (2000); tashakkori & teddlie (1998) and fellows & liu (1997) state that 30-40% is acceptable because few people respond to questionnaires. the questionnaire was divided into three sections based on the three components of the framework. the questions asked the construction company to rate the suitability and acceptance of the identification, quantification and classification criteria developed by the authors in the framework on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1=poor and 5 =excellent). room for suggestion of improvement is provided. for the first section 67% of the respondents rated the risk identification criteria of reducing the company’s strengths, increasing its weaknesses, reducing its opportunities or increasing its threats as 4 out of 5, while 33% rated it 3 out of 5. for the second section, 45% of the respondents rated the quantification method of probability and severity 4 out of 5, where 44% rated it 3 out of 5 and 11% rated it 2 out of 5. for the third section, 67% of the respondents rated the risk classification system of internal and external risks 4 out of 4, while 33% rated it as 3 out of 5. none of the respondents made any suggestions as to how these three areas could be improved. as general comments of the respondents, 56% of the respondents considered the framework a very good tool, while 44% rated it as good. one respondent did suggest that the framework could be elaborated on in further studies, by incorporating health and safety as well as quality aspects. 5.3.6 benefits of the iqcf the iqcf developed by this research is an innovative decisionmaking tool designed to enable contractors to identify, quantify and classify the risks of the jbcc (pba) clauses. the iqcf will help the contractors draw the appropriate risk management plan to mitigate the adverse effects of these risks. proper implementation and understanding of the iqcf will provide the following benefits: enhance risk identification;• improve risk quantification;• advance risk classification;• acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 108 reduce disputes and disagreements as well as improve • project performance; increase contractors’ reputation and their competitiveness;• improve the image of the south african construction industry • and achieve client expectations; make decisions on an informed basis, and• develop better risk management plans.• 5.3.7 limitations of the iqcf due to the current boom in the south african industry because of the soccer world cup 2010, there are some limitations that impede the adoption and application of the iqcf: time constraints, work commitment as well as lack of qualified and trained personnel. to overcome these obstacles and facilitate the use of the iqcf, the benefits of the framework have to be clearly presented to the senior management of contracting companies in order to win over their confidence and ensure their commitment to adopt the framework and offer the training necessary to the successful application of the framework. 5.4 the correlation matrix of contractor’s risk sources associated with the jbcc (pba) 5.4.1 identification of contractor’s risk sources associated with the jbcc (pba) based on the criteria of identifying risks associated with the jbcc (pba) developed by the authors, risk sources to the contractor could be defined as the person, authority or event that either reduces the strength of the company, increases its weakness, reduces its opportunities and increases its threats, thus ultimately affecting the achievement of the project objectives and client satisfaction (harinarain, othman & pearl, 2008). in this research, survey questionnaires and interviews were utilised to identify and quantify the contractor’s risk sources associated with the jbcc (pba). respondents to the questionnaires and interviews were asked to select the risk source from a list of project participants. these were (1) client, (2) principal agent, (3) architect, (4) quantity surveyor, (5) engineer, (6) supplier, (7) subcontractor and (8) government authority. the outcome of the questionnaires and the interviews is described below. othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 109 5.4.1.a the client as a risk source to the contractor data analysis showed that clients are the risk source to the contractor in 72.5% of the jbcc (pba) clauses. all respondents stated that the client is the main risk source to the contractor in clauses 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 31, 37, 38 & 39. the client represents a considerable risk source because s/he makes the decision to build, specifies the design requirements, states the ultimate budget, commencement and completion dates and if there are to be any variations. clients are risk sources to the contractor with varying degrees with regard to other clauses (see table 3). 5.4.1.b the principal agent as a risk source to the contractor analysis of responses showed that the principal agent represents the risk source to the contractor in 25% of the jbcc (pba) clauses with varying degrees. lack of leadership and experience of the principal agent to issue instructions to project teams, receive notices on behalf of the employer or represent him may cause many decisions to be suspended which, in turn, affect the daily work of the project and the contractor’s progress. 5.4.1.c the architect as a risk source to the contractor data analysis showed that architects are the risk source to the contractor in 25% of the jbcc (pba) clauses with varying degrees. design errors, unco-ordinated tender documents, design changes due to, for instance, incomplete project brief, lack of understanding client requirements, lack of design experience are risks the contractor confronts during the construction process. 5.4.1.d the quantity surveyor as a risk source to the contractor respondents mentioned that quantity surveyors are the risk source to the contractor in 32.5% of the jbcc (pba) clauses. 50% of the respondents mentioned that incorrect and late completion of the contract account (clauses 33 and 34) delays the contractor’s cash flow and impedes him from starting new projects. other risks that the quantity surveyors can cause to the contractor are adjustment to the contract value, delaying payment and dispute settlement (see table 3). acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 110 5.4.1.e the engineer as a risk source to the contractor respondents mentioned that in 10 out of 40 clauses of the jbcc (pba) the engineer is considered the risk source to the contractor. complexity of building design, lack of expertise, design error, missing information, unco-ordinated documents and resolving disputes represent risk sources to the contractor. engineers are risk sources to contractors with varying degrees in other clauses (see table 3). 5.4.1.f the supplier as a risk source to the contractor in 3 out of 40 clauses of the jbcc (pba) suppliers represent risk to the contractors. lack of access of the supplier to the work, revising the completion date and dispute settlement will hinder the supplier from delivering requirement materials and equipment on time which delays the contractor and prevents him from meeting the project requirements. 5.4.1.g the subcontractor as a risk source to the contractor in 37.5% of the jbcc (pba) clauses, subcontractors represent the risk source to the contractor. 22.2% of the respondents stated that in clauses 21 and 23, subcontractors were the main source of risk to contractors. this is because any delay caused by the subcontractor due to incompletion of his job will hinder the contractor to meet the project deadline and could cause penalties and client dissatisfaction. subcontractors are risk sources to contractors with varying degrees in other clauses (see table 3). 5.4.1.h the government authority as a risk source to the contractor in 12.5% of the jbcc (pba) clauses, government authorities represent the risk source to the contractor. 83% of the respondents stated that changing government regulations during the construction process are considered a risk that affects the contractor’s progress on site. government authorities are risk sources to contractors with varying degrees in other clauses (see table 3). it is worth mentioning that 21% of the clauses are not applicable because they either do not contain any words or are explaining various aspects of the contract. othman & harinarain • managing risks associated with the jbcc 111 ta b le 3 : c o rre la tio n m a trix o f risk so u rc e s to th e c o n tra c to r c la u se s so u rc e s o f r isk to th e c o n tra c to r client principal agent architect quantity surveyor engineer supplier subcontractor government authority 3 .0 d o c u m e n ts 1 0 0 % 9 .0 in d e m n itie s 1 0 0 % 1 0 .0 w o rks in su ra n c e s 1 0 0 % 1 1 .0 lia b ility in su ra n c e s 1 0 0 % 1 2 .0 e ffe c tin g in su ra n c e s 1 0 0 % 1 9 .0 a ssig n m e n t 1 0 0 % 3 1 .0 in te rim p a y m e n t 1 0 0 % 3 7 .0 c a n c e lla tio n b y e m p lo y e r lo ss a n d d a m a g e 1 0 0 % 3 8 .0 c a n c e lla tio n b y c o n tra c to r e m p lo y e r’s d e fa u lt 1 0 0 % 3 9 .0 c a n c e lla tio n c e ssa tio n o f w o rks 1 0 0 % 2 1 .0 se le c te d su b c o n tra c to rs 1 0 0 % 2 3 .0 d o m e stic su b c o n tra c to rs 1 0 0 % 2 2 .0 d ire c t c o n tra c to rs 6 7 % 3 3 % 2 7 .0 la te n t d e fe c ts 6 7 % 3 3 % 2 0 .0 n o m in a te d su b c o n tra c to rs 5 0 % 5 0 % 3 3 .0 r e c o v e ry o f e xp e n se a n d lo ss 5 0 % 5 0 % 3 4 .0 fin a l a c c o u n t a n d fin a l p a y m e n t 5 0 % 5 0 % 7 .0 r e g u la tio n s 1 7 % 8 3 % acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 112 c la u se s so u rc e s o f r is k to t h e c o n tr a c to r client principal agent architect quantity surveyor engineer supplier subcontractor government authority 3 2 .0 a d ju st m e n t to t h e c o n tr a c t v a lu e 4 4 .4 4 % 1 1 .1 % 4 4 .4 4 % 1 5 .0 w o rk s e xe c u ti o n 4 4 .4 4 % 4 4 .4 4 % 1 1 .1 1 % 3 5 .0 p a y m e n t to o th e r p a rt ie s 3 3 % 1 7 % 3 3 % 1 7 % 1 8 .0 se tt in g o u t o f th e w o rk s 3 3 % 5 0 % 1 7 % 4 .0 d e si g n r e sp o n si b ili ty 8 % 8 % 4 2 % 4 2 % 1 7 .0 c o n tr a c t in st ru c ti o n s 1 8 .8 9 % 1 8 .8 9 % 1 8 .8 9 % 1 8 .8 9 % 1 8 .8 9 % 5 .5 6 % 5 .0 e m p lo y e rs a g e n ts 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 1 .1 1 % 2 4 .0 p ra c ti c a l c o m p le ti o n 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 1 .1 1 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 2 5 .0 w o rk s c o m p le ti o n 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 1 .1 1 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 2 6 .0 fi n a l c o m p le ti o n 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 1 .1 1 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 7 .7 8 % 1 6 .0 a c c e ss t o t h e w o rk s 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 2 9 .0 r e v is io n o f d a te f o r p ra c ti c a l c o m p le ti o n 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 4 0 .0 d is p u te s e tt le m e n t 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 2 .5 0 % 1 .0 d e fin it io n s n /a 2 .0 o ff e r a c c e p ta n c e a n d p e rf o rm a n c e n /a 6 .0 si te r e p re se n ta ti v e n /a 8 .0 w o rk s ris k n /a 1 3 .0 n o c la u se n /a 1 4 .0 se c u rit y n /a 3 0 .0 p e n a lt y n /a 3 6 .0 c a n c e lla ti o n c o n tr a c to r’ s d e fa u lt n /a so u rc e : h a rin a ra in 2 0 0 8 : 1 3 3 acta structilia 2009: 16(1) 114 contracts are essential tools for organising the relationship • between different parties involved in the construction project and managing associated risks. the jbcc is a committee consisting of six constituent organisations that represent the variety of interests in the south african construction industry. the principal building agreement records the terms of agreement between the employer and contract. for many years the south african building industry had a very bad reputation due to the lack of implementing risk management in construction projects. in order to improve the image of the industry, this research • developed an innovative framework to enable contractors to identify, quantify and classify risks associated with the jbcc (pba). this will help contractors improve their performance, increase their competitiveness, add more value and achieve the industry’s and client’s expectations. in addition, the research developed a correlation matrix that identifies and quantifies the risk sources to contractors. clients, subcontractors and quantity surveyors were ranked the highest risk sources to contractors, respectively. benefits of the developed framework and the correlation matrix • must be presented to senior management in construction companies to facilitate their adoption and application as an approach for improving the global construction industry and, in particular, in south africa. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions and to prof. fanie buys of the nelson mandela metropolitan university, port 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marius h muller summary this article comments on the concepts of buying versus leasing in terms of decision-making theory regarding the procurement of contractor's plant. it was found that leasing offered the better option in the worked example presented herein, but that every plant buying or lease decision would have to be made individually on proven calculation and on merit. keywords: plant, purchasing, leasing, hiring. kontrakteurstoerusting: koop of huur? opsomming in hierdie artikel word die bestaande opsies behandel waarvoor die boukontrakteur te staan kom wanneer hy toerusting aanskaf. die vraag is: moet hy huur of koop. uit die voorbeeld wat hier aangehaal word blyk dit dot huur 'n beter opsie bied. dit is egter ook baie duidelik dot elke geval meriete het en dus individueel bekyk moet word. kostes moet teen mekaar opgeweeg word, veral met die kontrakteur se doelwit voor oe. sleutelwoorde: toerusting, boukontrakteur, aankope, huur, verhuring. marius h muller, b sc (qs) (uct} maqs, msaib dr muller is a property researcher. muller/ contractor's plant: whether to buy or to lease? t his article investigqtes the options available to the contractor for obtaining plant, either by buying or leasing it. the concepts of buying and leasing are first presented; the theory relating to these concepts is then put forward: following this is a worked example containing explanatory notes concerning decision making. finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made with regard to the contents of the article. concepts of leasing and buying buying will be understood to mean the instance whereby the contractor acquires plant by his personal action in re­ turn for an agreed payment in monetary value, as op­ posed to inheriting it. in turn, leasing will be understood to mean the temporary procurement of plant in return for an agreed payment in monetary value (barber, 1973). a lease is defined by ferrara ( 19 79), as a contractual agree­ ment between a lessee and lessor, where the lessee is the user of the equipment and the lessor is the supplier of the equipment. table 1 differences in leases (after ross & westerfield, 1990) operating lease financial lease 1. is a short-tenn lease, usually less 1. is a long-tenn lease, usually more than live years than live years 2. is not lully amortised 2. is lully amortised 3. lessor provides maintenance 3. lessee provides maintenance 4. has a cancellation option 4. no cancellation option leasing can be sub-divided into two types, viz. operating and financial leases. the operating lease is also known as a 18 ., 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 maintenance or service lease. the financial lease is also called a capital lease. the most significant difference be­ tween the two are listed in table 1. as the contractor may hire plant for one week or in excess of five years for one particular project, no further distinction will be made between the two types of leases. at this stage we will briefly consider the different leasing categories (idc (sa), 199-). they are: 1. direct lease. the lessee contracts a leasing company and obtains the sue of an asset that it did not previ­ ously own. 2. sales and lease back. the lessee sells an asset he owns to another firm and immediately leases it back. 3. leveraged lease. this is a three-sided deal among the lessee, the lessor and the lenders. for now, it suffices to say that for tax purposes and lower rental costs, the leveraged lease is the most advantageous. figure 1 is a schematic comparison which highlights the dif­ ferences between buying and leasing. theory of buying and leasing it is important to know when tendering for a job whether one should opt to buy or hire plant. at this stage one should not only consider the specific contract at hand but also rationally consider future contracts and their de­ mands on plant resources. nevitt and fabozzi ( 1988), and brealey and myers ( 1991 ) , list four sources of supply for contracting plant, viz.: a) direct leasing from manufacturers / suppliers b) leverage leasing through plant hire organisations 19 muller/ contractor's plant: whether to buy or to lease? figure 1 buying versus leasing (after bierman, 1982) buy firm u buys asset and uses asset; financing raised by debt and equity manufacturer/ supplier of asset q firm u buys assets from manufacturer 0 firm u: 1. uses asset 2. owns asset q creditors and equity shareholders supply financing to firm u 0 () lease firm u leases asset from lessor; the lessor owns the asset lessor: manufacturer i supplier of asset q lessor buys asset 0 1. owns asset /-'\ 2. does not '-r-1 use asset q creditors and equity shareholders supply financing to lessor lessee: (firm u) 1. uses asset 2. does not own asset 0 () i equity shareholder i i creditors i j equity shareholders i [cfe;;j c) acquisition of new plant or second-hand plant d) employing existing owned plant. the contractor, when considering his tender price and op­ tions available for plant usage must remember that the cost involved with this plant is very similar to that of a leasing company. it thus comes down to employing financial cal­ culations to see which option is the best, not only for the present, but for the future as well. according to harris & mccaffer (1986), facts to consider about the plant expen­ diture include: 20 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 1 . initial capital cost and residual value 2. interest and service charges on the investment 3. monetary policy, including investment. initial and an­ nual tax allowances 4. maintenance and repair costs 5. cost of administration. insurance, licensing and legal documentation 6. cost of fuel and other consumable items 7. cost of operating and supervisory personnel. if a contractor opts to purchase plant, he has further issues to consider. one of them is overhead costs. these have to be borne whether or not the machines are being used. the objective is to minimise these costs so as to reduce the unit costs of the plant. this can be best achieved by having the highest possible utilisation of each item of plant and a sup­ portive maintenance team. a further matter for consideration is obsolescence and after-sales service. with improved technology and design, manufacturers are updating and upgrading plant continuously, and plant that seems effective and efficient today may prove to be less productive tomorrow. although after-sales service may be of an acceptable standard, it is also an object of uncer­ tainty to the plant owner. also, how it is decided and who decides what type of plant is required, what size fleet will be purchased. and, if this size is determined on projected future demands, how accurate are those projections? if plant is purchased it will also be necessary to have vehicles available to transport the plant to different building sites. in addition to this, the mechanical and spare-parts workshop will also have to be moved to the different building sites. these can of course be hired. 21 muller/ contractor's plant: whether to buy or to lease? a further headache the future plant owner has to consider. is what the residual value of the plant will be, if any, and whether there will be a demand for the plant on a second­ hand market. once the plant has been purchased the contractor will re­ quire skilled operators who in turn may have to be trained. it will be beneficial to the contractor to employ skilled opera­ tors so as to obtain maximum benefit from the plant. the opposite of this scenario is that of leasing plant with a hire­ driver who is already familiar with the plant. another positive factor in favour of leasing is tax (only appli­ cable in certain countries) and inflation benefits. while us­ ing leased plant. the contractor can claim tax rebates for his costs. this is usually as a trade-off against depreciation rebates he would have received had he purchased the plant. leasing could also evade inflation in that it may not have escalation clauses written into the contract. this stands opposed to loans which in this case may have been taken to purchase plant. although the text thus far has been biased towards leasing, it is necessary to note that at times the contractor may have no other option than to hire plant. for example, when the deadline has been shortened. conversely, he may pre­ fer to hire, but if no plant is available, he will have to pur­ chase plant. mead and mitchell ( 1971) found that in the united king­ dom, contractor's plant constituted two-thirds purchased and one-third hired plant. this high purchasing ratio of two­ thirds is acceptable if the plant will be continually used throughout its economic life. also. if the contractor is in­ volved in specialised works, for example pile driving and fi­ nally if the two-third comprises mostly small plant. for example excavators. dumpers, etc. 22 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 decision making about leasing and buying a worked example consider the decision confronting mhm construction com­ pany. they have determined that they need a new exca­ vating machine. nlc makes an excavating machine that can be purchased for r 10 ooo mhm will save r6 ooo per year in reduced labour costs for the next 5 years if it uses the machine. mhm has a company tax rate of 34% and a 5 year fully amortised straight line depreciation policy. how­ ever, the leasing corporation has offered to lease the same machine to mhm for lease payments of r2 500 per year for 5 years. with the lease, mhm would remain responsible for maintenance, insurance and operating expenses. the following assumptions are applicable to the calcula­ tions: 1. the stated company will realise sufficient profit during the five years period to effect viable tax benefits to the company. 2. the tax benefits are due in the same year as the ex­ penses are incurred. 3. the rate of inflation and the prime rate do not change significantly during the five years period. 4. lease payments are due annually at the end of each year. 5. the scrap value of plant after year five is taken as nil. 23 muller/ contractor's plant: whether to buy or to lease? calculations 1 ) depreciation tax benefit = tax rate x depreciation ex­ pense per year r680 = 0,34 x (10�00) 2) after-tax cash flows: buy = lease = 6 000 x { l 0,34) + (0,34) (2 ooo) = 6 000 x { l 0,34) + (0,34) (2 500) r2 500 = r4 640 r2 310 table 2 shows the direct cash flow consequences of buying the machine and also signing the lease agreement table 2 cash flows to mhm for using nlc excavating machine: buy versus lease year 0 1 2 3 4 5 cost of machine (10 ooo) after-tax operating savings 3 960 3 960 3 960 3 960 3 960 depreciation tax benefit 680 680 680 680 680 total (10 ooo) 4640 4640 4640 4 640 4640 lease lease payments (2 500) (2 500) (2 500) (2500) (2 500) tax benefit of lease 850 850 850 850 850payments after-tax operating savings 3 960 3 960 3 960 3960 3 960 total 2 310 2 310 2 310 2310 2 310 table 3 (on page 25) subtracts the direct cash flows of buy­ ing the excavator from those leasing it. what can be concluded from the analysis in tables 2 and 3 are listed below table 3. 24 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 table 3 direct incremental cash flow consequences for mhm for the lease offered by leasing corporation year 0 1 2 3 4 5 lease minus buy lease lease payment (2 500) (2 500) (2 500) (2 500) (2 500) tax benefits of lease pay850 850 850 850 850 ments buy (minus) cost of machine (10 ooo) lost depreciation tax benefit 680 680 680 680 680 total (10 ooo) (2 330) (2 330) (2 330) (2330) (2 330) a operating costs are not affected directly by leasing. whether buying or leasing, mhm will always have an after-tax saving of r3 960 a if mhm leases, it will save r 10 ooo in year 0 a if mhm leases, it will have to give up its depreciation tax benefits a if mhm leases, it must pay r2 500 for 5 years. this means an after-tax lease payment of r 1 650 per year a leasing corporation's position is exactly the opposite. an initial cash outflow of r 10 ooo, but an inflow in years 1 to 5 of r 1 650 + r680 depreciation tax benefit. so far it has been found that the net cash flow of leasing versus buying for years o to 5 is: 0 1 2 3 4 5 r10 ooo (r2 330) (r2 330) (r2 330) (r2 330) (r2 330) 25 muller/ contractor's plant: whether to buy or to lease? if the discount rate = 7,58%; the net present value (npvj can be calculated as: npv r10 ooo = r593,09 f 2330 1=1 (\0758)' it appears that the lease is a good deal; but this conclusion may be premature. however, company tax is 34%, the cor­ rect discount rate= 7,58 ( 1 0,34) = 5%. the correct npv is thus: npv r10 ooo = (r87,68) � 2330 1=1 (t05)' analysing this we find that leasing is not such a good idea. furthermore, mhm could purchase the excavator at rlo ooo+ r87,68 = rlo 087,68. this means that mhm would have r87,68 available to re-invest elsewhere. if they decide to lease, the extra r87,68 would have to be used to finance the leasing agreement. conclusions leasing in theoretical as well as practical terms has been discussed. the former proved to be in favour of leasing and the latter 'in favour of buying. the greatest factor in favour of buying is that the depreciation tax rebate is lost in the form of opportunity costs when leasing (posner, 1990). leasing, on the other hand, in countering this drawback does have other cost re-imbursements. the first is tax shield­ ing. when the leasing company is in a high tax bracket, it re­ ceives a higher depreciation tax return. the company can therefore forward this benefit to the lessee in the form of lower leasing costs. secondly, a lease contract increases the value of a firm in that it transfers the risk of uncertainty of 26 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 the residual value of the plant to the lessor. thirdly, transac­ tion costs can be lower for a lease contract than for buying the asset and financing it with debt or equity. other benefits of leasing are that the balance sheet and in­ come statements of a company will look different as it em­ ploys less capital if it does not purchase the equipment. also, leasing can provide 100% financing on condition that no advance lease down-payment needs to be made. fi­ nally, leasing can be used to circumvent capital expendi­ ture control systems set up by bureaucratic firms. this simply means that. so as not to be held up by management deci­ sions as to whether an expensive machine should be pur­ chased or not, the leasing arrangement can be written off as an expense. recommendations a careful comparison is normally required to decide be­ tween leasing and purchasing. purchasing equipment will also depend on whether the cash is available or whether a loan can be raised. if you lease you also do not have maintenance costs or administration, insurance or licens­ ing costs connected with the ownership of these items of plant (wall, 1978). the plant hire company's decisions about buying is very dif­ ferent from that of the construction company, because the hire company makes its profits from hiring the equipment it owns to the hirer, while the construction company uses equipment it owns or that it hires or leases to do work from which they make their profits. even if the construction company loses money on owning equipment it can still make a profit from using it correctly. the opposite is also true, namely that the company can "make" a profit on its plant and lose it on construction. a good balance is required such that the correct plant rates are charged to ensure that the construction com27 muller/ contractor's plant: whether to buy or to lease? pany makes a profit and gets enough work, rather than making money on its plant but not getting sufficient work because its plant rates are too high to be competitive in the market. in general terms, plant is one of the resources available to the construction company; the others being labour, materi­ als, money and management. as such the construction company must maximise its use of these resources to maxi­ mise its return on its investment in the long-term. 1 . based on facts, figures and views contained in this ex­ ercise, leasing should be opted for over buying. 2. it should, however, not be used where the npv is so much below zero that the respective finance could be re-invested at a better rate of return. 3. if the npv is not too far below zero, the company concerned should use its economic intuition as to whether it would prefer the extra funding, meaning that they would have to buy a plant and would then be responsible for all the acquired responsibilities, for example, drivers, mechanics, workshops etc. or whether they would rather lease and thereby have more resources available for resource demand as and when needed. bibliography barber, g. 1973. builder's plants and equipment, london: newnes-butterworths. bierman, h. 1982. the lease versus buy decision, englewood cliffs, nj: prentice hall. brealey, r.a. & myers, s.c. 1991. principles of corporate fi­ nance, mcgraw-hill, inc. ferrara, w. l. 1979. the lease-purchase decision, new york: na­ tional association of accountants. 28 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 harris, f. & mccaffer, r. 1986. management and investment decision construction plant, e. & f. n. spon ltd. industrial development corporation (s.a.) (199-) standard lease buildings: why lease? sandton: the corporation. mead, m.t. & mitchell, g.l. 1971. plant hire for building and construction, london: newnes-butterworths. nevitt, p.k. & fabozzi, f.j. 1988. equipment leasing, dow jones­ irwin, inc., homewood, ill. posner, w.h. 1990. the leasing process: a guide for the com­ mercial tenant, ontario: captus press. ross, s. & westerfield, r. 1990. corporate finance, mcgraw-hill, inc. wall, r.d. 1978. lease and rental services south africa, cape town: george warman. 29 book review • boekresensie peter hall1 & ulrich pfeiffer2 urban future 21: a global agenda for twenty-first century cities3 with the publication of urban future 21: a global agenda for twenty-first century cities, hall and pfeiffer present a document that has depth in quality, and a text that is integrated with graphics, references to policies of international humanitarian bodies, as well as a bibliography including references from charles dickens ( 1854) to a readily accessible website. open­ ended questions are posed throughout the book forcing the reader to form an opinion, or at least think about one. city life has become more polluted, more dangerous, and more violent. cities are places that offer both opportunities and risks. people come to the city voluntarily. present indications are that the urban poor are unlikely to get what they wish for. these poor people depend on nobody but themselves. the central theme in the book is that poverty can be regarded as the greatest threat in achieving a good environment. it is with optimism that the authors give certain prescriptions for the sustainable city in chapter 1. this city should provide an environment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations. however, the price for any economic development should be part of the equation, whilst income distribution, democratic participation and empowerment should also be considered. chapter 2 concentrates on the driving forces that should create new opportunities for the city dweller. in terms of demographics, hall and pfeiffer argue that in developing countries a young sir peter hall, the bartlett professor of planning in the university college of london, acted as commission moderator for the 2000 world urban 21 conference in berlin, 'world report on the urban future'. 2 ulrich pfeiffer, secretariat of the commission, is the managing director of emperica, bonn, an economist and experienced consultant for the german federal government, and the author of germany: development policy for a developed country, 3 book review by jacques laubscher, lecturer in the department of architecture, university of the free state, bloemfontein, republic of south africa. hall & pfeiffer/urban future 21 population with an urban explosion is highly prevalent. cities offer prospects of jobs and a possible escape from traditional practices. according to the authors, this combination often proves irresistible. however, in developed cities the birthrate is considered low (in some instances the birth rates have dropped to below replacement levels) and this poses other problems. in order to enhance local government's ability to manage social change, urban governance should interact with the local economy and other external forces. hall and pfeiffer describe three kinds of cities (2000: 139): • the city coping with informal hyper growth • the city coping with dynamic growth, and • the weakening mature city coping with ageing. chapter 3 compares two scenarios for each of the above cities in the urban world of 2025. the authors make use of two columns to compare results of business as usual with alternative policies implemented in a sensitive manner. although this might seem a somewhat over-simplified method of conveying information, it allows the reader to compare results and formulate his/her own opinion. in chapter 4 the authors move from prediction to prescription. hall and pfeiffer argue for a more sustainable direction in the urban world together with a more integrated policy approach between different levels of government. section 24 of the south african bill of rights is quoted (hall & pfeiffer, 2000: 163): everyone has the right [ ... ] to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that[ ... ] secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources, while promoting justifiable economic and social development. various definitions of sustainable development are given in the book, while rules for good governance, the environment, economic policy, and infrastructure are also described. the authors attempt to give practical advice on both a national and city level for the three kinds of cities listed above. cities have to be livable and we find several dimensions to this statement according to hall and pfeiffer (2000: 334): "[ ... ] a decent home for every citizen, a built environment rich in urban design, with good quality services, easy access, varied land use, 110 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 cultural complexity diversity, and the right mixture of vibrancy and tranquility." the value of this publication lies in the fact that the urban future is not only discussed on a theoretical level but that practical advice is also given, both for developedand developing countries. in conclusion, i am of the opinion that this should become compulsory reading for all decision-makers. this attitude, however, will constitute one of nimby. this document should perhaps also form part of the university curriculum in numerous disciplines; it could even be studied at school level. all the answers for our unique environment cannot be found in this book, but i am certain that it will aid in the decision-making process. in my opinion, this process is not limited to policy, but can also be applied to daily life. published in: 2000 publisher: e & fn spon place: london isbn: 0-415-24075-1 111 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles frank berry, basie verster & benita zulch kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel vir die meting van bourekenkundige kommunikasie en kommunikasieinstrumente peer reviewed abstrak alhoewel die bourekenaar reeds vir ’n eeu aanspraak op die konstruksiebedryf maak, bestaan daar steeds ’n behoefte aan verdere wetenskaplike analises met betrekking tot die bourekenaar se kommunikasievermoë en kommunikasieinstrumente wat in die bedryf beskikbaar gestel word. as gevolg van die funksie wat die bourekenaar verrig, word daar van die professie verwag om op die voorgrond van huidige tegnologie van kommunikasie en kommunikasieinstrumente te wees. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die determinante van ’n kommunikasievolwassenheidsmodel ten opsigte van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar te bepaal. die voorgestelde belangrikste determinante wat gebruik word, vloei voort uit navorsing oor volwassenheidsmodelle en projekbestuur wat deur die universiteit van die vrystaat in samewerking met die wirtschafts university in vienna, oostenryk in 2005/6 gedoen is; die finale resultate is in 2008 bekend gemaak. die resultate van die tussentydse ondersoek na determinante van kommunikasievolwassenheid was positief ten opsigte van die bourekenaar se kommunikasie oor die algemeen en kan derhalwe ’n positiewe invloed op die konstruksiebedryf hê met deurlopende voordele vir die eiendoms-ontwikkelingsomgewing. die resultate van dié ondersoek dui daarop dat die mondelinge, skriftelike en kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar positief ervaar word. kontraktuele geldigheid as ’n element van die kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar word mees positief aangedui. die respondente dui die instrumente ‘beraming’ en ‘eindrekening’ as die belangrikste kommunikasieinstrumente aan. die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van die instrumente ‘eindrekening’ en ‘betalingsadvies’ word met die hoogste waarderingsuitslag aangedui. mr. fh (frank) berry senior lecturer department of quantity surveying and construction management university of the free state bloemfontein south africa. phone: +27(0) 51 4012198 email: <berryfh@ufs.ac.za> prof. jjp (basie) verster head of department of quantity surveying and construction management university of the free state bloemfontein south africa. phone: +27(0) 51 4012248 email: <versterj@ufs.ac.za> ms. b (benita) zulch lecturer department of quantity surveying and construction management university of the free state bloemfontein south africa. phone: +27(0) 51 4013849 email: <zulchb@ufs.ac.za> acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 2 ’n model wat die belangrikste determinante vir effektiewe kommunikasie identifiseer, word voorgestel. die model kan gebruik word om die volwassenheid van bourekenkundige kommunikasie en kommunikasie-instrumente in die konstruksiebedryf te meet. sleutelwoorde: kommunikasie-instrumente, kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel, kommunikasievermoë, bourekenaar abstract although quantity surveyors lay their claim to the construction industry for over a century there still exists a need for further scientific analyses with reference to the quantity surveyor’s communication capabilities and communication instruments as presented in the industry. this article aims to establish the determinants of a communication maturity model with respect to the communication capabilities of the quantity surveyor. the proposed most important determinants used were disclosed through research on maturity models and project management undertaken by the university of the free state in collaboration with the wirtschafts university in vienna, austria in 2005/6; the final results were issued in 2008. the results of the provisional survey with regards to the determinants of communication maturity show that respondents were positive with respect to the quantity surveyor’s communication in general. this can therefore have a positive influence on the construction industry with continuous advantages for the property development environment. the survey results also indicate that the verbal, written and contractual communication capabilities of the quantity surveyor are experienced positively. ‘contractual validity’ as an element of the contractual communication capability of the quantity surveyor was indicated as the most positive element. the respondents indicated that the instruments of ‘estimation’ and ‘final accounting’ are the most important communication instruments. furthermore, the respondents’ assessments regarding clarity and understandability of the instruments ‘final accounts’ and ‘payment advices’ were rated the highest. a model with the most important determinants identified for effective communication has been proposed. the model can be used by quantity surveyors to measure the maturity of quantity surveying communication and communication instruments in the construction industry. keywords: communication instruments, communication maturity model, communication capabilities, quantity surveyor 1. inleiding volgens gasse (2006: internet) streef nasies, streke, industrieë en maatskappye daarna om meer projekgeoriënteerd te wees. deur gebruik te maak van projekbestuurstegnieke in die organisering van projekte en programme bied die projekgeoriënteerde sisteme ’n kompeterende voorsprong. daar is ’n korrelasie tussen die gebruik van projekgeoriënteerde sisteme in projekte en programme, en die bereiking van projekbestuursvolwassenheid binne sulke projekte en programme. berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 3 die projekbestuursvolwassenheid van projekgeoriënteerde maatskappye en nasies kan gemeet word deur die toepassing van volwassenheidsmodelle en kan met die norm wat daarvoor geld, vergelyk word (garies, 2005: 584). project portfolio co-ordination and networking between projects assignment of a project or a programme assurance of the management quality of a project or a programme programme management project management business process management in the project-oriented organisation personnel management in the project-oriented company organisational design of the project-oriented company 100 80 60 40 20 0 maturity model figuur 1: volwassenheidsmodel vir ’n projekgeoriënteerde maatskappy bron: garies 2005: 516 figuur 1 verteenwoordig die determinante van ’n volwassenheidsmodel vir ’n projekgeoriënteerde organisasie. die determinante verteenwoordig elemente waarvolgens volwassenheid gemeet word deur ’n sekere gewig daaraan te koppel om die belangrikheid van elk aan te dui. bogemelde volwassenheidsmodel vir projekbestuur is gebruik om die volwassenheid van ander sisteme soos byvoorbeeld bourekenkundige kommunikasie te meet en die toepasbaarheid daarvan op sodanige sisteem te illustreer. 2. navorsingsmetodiek die effektiwiteit van die bourekenaar se kommunikasie asook die gaping in die huidige kommunikasieprosesse word ondersoek en die areas waar verbetering in kommunikasie nodig is of aanbeveel word volgens die respondente se opinie word hiermee ook vasgestel. die ondersoek is in 2006 gedoen met die doel om vas te stel wat die posisie van bourekenkundige kommunikasie op daardie stadium in die konstruksiebedryf was. die vraelyste is aan 22 (twee-en-twintig) prominente professionele persone gegee wat onder andere acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 4 12 (twaalf) bourekenaars, 6 (ses) ingenieurs, 2 (twee) argitekte en 2 (twee) konstruksiebestuurders verteenwoordig. hierdie navorsingsprojek was ’n verkennende ondersoek waar onderhoude met die respondente gevoer is met die versoek om terugvoer te gee op die vraelys ten opsigte van effektiewe kommunikasie en kommunikasie-instrumente van bourekenaars in die konstruksiebedryf. al 22 (twee-en-twintig) uitgesoekte professionele persone het die vraelys voltooi, wat ’n responssyfer van 100% verteenwoordig. ’n verdere ondersoek word beplan om sodoende die steekproef meer omvattend en verteenwoordigend te maak en om ook onder andere kliënte, ontwikkelaars en moontlike ander relevante persone in die konstruksiebedryf in te sluit. die data is geanaliseer deur gebruik te maak van ’n excelrekenaarprogram se sigblad-opsie met standaard statistiese verwerking. die resultate hiervolgens verkry en wat in die bespreking gebruik word, verwys telkens na die geweegde gemiddeldes van die verwerkte data. die invloed wat die groter getalle van die bourekenaars op die data het, versteur nie die data nie. indien die geweegde gemiddeld van net die bourekenkundige groep derhalwe vergelyk word met die geweegde gemiddeld van die totale groep is die resultaat bykans dieselfde. die beperking van die ondersoek is dat dit gerig is om tendense waar te neem eerder as om klein afwykings in die geweegde gemiddeldes aan te spreek. verdere navorsing word hiermee gesuggereer. die waarde van die vraelys se skaal van meting wissel van ‘laag’ = 1 na ‘hoog’ = 5. 3. bevindinge 3.1 die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar tabel 1 toon respondente se evaluering van die kommunikasieen begripsvermoë van die professionele bourekenaar in privaatpraktyk in die konstruksiebedryf teenoor dié van ander professionele konsultant op dieselfde vlak. tabel 1: kommunikasievermoë van professies respondente: totale groep kommunikasievermoë geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaars geweegde gemiddeld professionele konsultante mondelinge kommunikasie 4 35 4 25 skriftelike kommunikasie 4 48 4 33 kontraktuele kommunikasie 4 43 4 15 berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 5 die respondente het al die professionele konsultante se mondelinge, skriftelike en kontraktuele kommunikasievermoëns van goed tot baie goed ervaar. dit is egter belangrik om daarop te let dat die bourekenaar se kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë noemenswaardig hoër as dié van die professionele konsultant op dieselfde vlak beoordeel word (berry, 2007). 3.2 belangrike elemente in effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf ten einde gesonde kommunikasie te verwesentlik, is dit belangrik dat die verskillende beginsels wat dit rig, bestudeer moet word. die uniekheid van die mens het baie te doen met taalkommunikasie, maar dit is nie al nie, want die mens kommunikeer ook deur voorkoms, gedrag, houding en persoonlikheid (sieff, 1990: 38-39). hiermee saam is taalkundige vermoë ook ’n baie belangrike element om effektiewe uitdrukking aan kennis te gee. dit is nodig om elke woord reg in te span en die boodskap eenvoudig, verstaanbaar en logies oor te dra. indien ’n taal nie bemeester is nie, kan die kennis waaroor ’n mens beskik ten opsigte van ’n spesifieke vakgebied en/of aangeleentheid nie die nodige impak hê op die toehoorder daarvan nie (himstreet & baty, 1973: 13-14). die bourekenaar se mondelinge kommunikasie vind hoofsaaklik in terreinen konsultantevergaderings plaas. tabel 2: elemente vir mondelinge kommunikasie respondente: totale groep elemente geweegde gemiddeld integriteit 4 52 geloofwaardigheid 4 30 kennis 4 20 selfvertroue 4 05 oorredingsvermoë 4 00 taalvermoë 3 90 voorkoms 3 89 algemene indruk 3 75 dinamiese/uitgaande gedrag 3 63 die bourekenaar het in alle aspekte van effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie ’n hoë beoordeling behaal. dinamiese/uitgaande gedrag is die mins positiewe (3.63) beoordeel, terwyl integriteit (4,52) en geloofwaardigheid (4,30) die hoogste geag is. die hoë waarderingsuitslag van integriteit en geloofwaardigheid kan baie acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 6 positief vir die konstruksiebedryf wees aangesien dit waarskynlik daarop dui dat die bourekenaar hoë etiese waardes handhaaf (berry, 2007). 3.3 belangrike elemente in effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf ’n vorige studie deur bowen, cattell, michell & kabayanondo (2006: 26) het ook bevind dat die afwesigheid van skriftelike kommunikasie die verstaan van gegewe inligting negatief beïnvloed. die studie het ook verder bevind dat die bourekenaar die belangrikheid van skriftelike kommunikasie in die konstruksieproses verstaan. die notule van ’n terreinvergadering is ’n belangrike skriftelike kommunikasiemedium in die konstruksiebedryf en voorsien gewoonlik belangrike ondersteunde inligting ten opsigte van besluite wat op vorige vergaderings geneem is. die betrokke partye wat nie die notule opgestel het nie moet derhalwe seker maak van die akkuraatheid daarvan en of enige teenstrydighede daarin bestaan, sodat die regstellings op skrif in die daaropvolgende notule opgeneem kan word (chappel, powell-smith & sims, 2006: 153). die bourekenaar se skriftelike kommunikasie vind hoofsaaklik in beramings, kosteplan, betalingsadvies en briefwisseling plaas. tabel 3: elemente vir skriftelike kommunikasie respondente: totale groep elemente geweegde gemiddeld kwaliteit 4 36 = professionaliteit 4 36 = stiptelikheid 4 32 netheid 4 10 taalgebruik 4 05 algemene indruk 4 00 doelen opdraggerigtheid 3 95 wetenskaplikheid 3 77 die respondente het die bourekenaar deurgaans met ’n hoë waarderingsuitslag in skriftelike kommunikasie beoordeel met die elemente professionaliteit, stiptelikheid en kwaliteit wat die beste gevaar het en wetenskaplikheid wat die mins positiewe beoordeel is (berry, 2007). berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 7 3.4 belangrike elemente in effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf die hoeveelheidslysdokument as kommunikasie-instrument het in die verenigde koninkryk en elders as verkrygingsdokument in belangrikheid toegeneem. die suksesvolle kontrakteur se hoeveelheidslys word die instrument wat as basis vir die finansiële administrasie van die projek gebruik word. hierdie dokument vorm die basis om tenders te selekteer, dit bevat die verbintenis tot pryse en word vir die bestuur van die kontrak gebruik (kirkham, 2007: 124-125). die bourekenaar as koste-adviseur het die nodige kennis van konstruksie-ekonomie deur opleiding en ervaring in die konstruksiebedryf ontwikkel. verder beskik die bourekenaar oor die vermoë om koste-advies te gee, omvang van projekte met die nodige spesifikasies te bepaal, begrotings op te stel en kontrakverkrygingsmetodes aan te beveel. die bourekenaar stel ook die belangrike kontrakdokument, naamlik die hoeveelheidslys, wat vir tenderdoeleindes in die konstruksiebedryf gebruik word op (hauptfleisch & siglè, 2002: 44-45). die gesonde kennis van kontraktuele kommunikasie skep ’n uitstekende grondslag om die misinterpretasie van kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf tot ’n minimum te beperk (berry, 2007). die hoeveelheidslyste-dokument is dié dokument wat hoofsaaklik deur die bourekenaar gebruik word as ’n effektiewe kommunikasieinstrument. tabel 4: elemente vir kontraktuele kommunikasie respondente: totale groep elemente geweegde gemiddeld kontraktuele geldigheid 4 41 betroubaarheid 4 32 = ondubbelsinnigheid 4 32 = effektiwiteit 4 23 billikheid 4 05 onteenstrydigheid 3 62 die respondente het die bourekenaar se kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë as uitstekend beoordeel, waar onteenstrydigheid die mins positiewe en kontraktuele geldigheid as die mees positiewe gevaar het (berry, 2007). acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 8 3.5 die belangrikheid van die kommunikasie-instrumente wat die bourekenaar vir projekte gebruik volgens ashworth (1992: 210) word die bourekenaar wyd erken as die mees toepaslike persoon om koste-advies in die konstruksiebedryf te gee en hul bekwaamheid in die opname van meetwerk en waardering van konstruksiewerk word nie geëwenaar nie. verder is dit belangrik dat realistiese koste-advies gegee word aangesien dit bydra tot die totale sukses van ’n projek. die kommunikasie-instrumente wat in tabel 5 getoon word, is instrumente wat deur die bourekenaars self opgestel word en moet dus die verantwoordelikheid daarvoor aanvaar. tabel 5: belangrikheid van kommunikasie-instrumente respondente: totale groep kommunikasie-instrumente geweegde gemiddeld beraming 4 71 eindrekening/finale rekening 4 70 kosteverslae 4 60 kosteplan 4 26 betalingsadvies 4 21 eskalasieberekeningvoorlegging 4 06 die belangrikheid van beraming, eindrekening/finale rekening en kosteverslae as kommunikasie-instrumente is besonder positief ervaar (berry, 2007). die kommunikasie-instrumente wat in tabel 6 getoon word, is instrumente wat deur die bourekenkunde professie opgestel word en moet dus die verantwoordelikheid daarvoor aanvaar. tabel 6: belangrikheid van kommunikasie-instrumente respondente: totale groep kommunikasie-instrumente geweegde gemiddeld kontrakvoorwaardesdokument 4 47 standaardstelseldokument 4 00 = voorbereidselsdokument 4 00 = vakvoorskriftedokument 3 61 die belangrikheid van die kontrakvoorwaardesdokument as kommunikasie-instrument is besonder positief ervaar (berry, 2007). berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 9 die belangrikheid van die standaardstelsel-, voorbereidselsen vakvoorskrifte-dokumente was steeds hoog aangedui maar tog deur die respondente as die minder belangrike kommunikasieinstrumente beoordeel (berry, 2007). 3.6 die duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van kommunikasieinstrumente wat die bourekenaar normaalweg by projekte gebruik die kommunikasie-instrumente wat in tabel 7 getoon word, is instrumente wat deur die bourekenaars self opgestel word en moet dus die verantwoordelikheid daarvoor aanvaar. tabel 7: duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van kommunikasieinstrumente respondente: totale groep kommunikasie-instrumente geweegde gemiddeld eindrekening/finale rekening 4 20 betalingsadvies 4 19 beraming 4 14 kosteverslae 3 95 eskalasieberekeningvoorlegging 3 81 kosteplan 3 70 die eindrekening/finale rekening en die betalingsadvies se duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid is deur die respondente hoog beoordeel wat positief vir die konstruksiebedryf is, aangesien die rolspelers tevrede blyk te wees met die ouditproses van die bourekenaar om die geldsake goed te bestuur en tot tevredenheid af te handel (berry, 2008: 45). die kosteplan is redelik hoog aangeslaan, maar is tog deur die respondente, relatief tot die ander kommunikasie-instrumente, as minder duidelik en verstaanbaar uitgewys (berry, 2007). dit dui moontlik daarop dat praktisyns die kosteplan as instrument duideliker kan voorstel. die kommunikasie-instrumente wat in tabel 8 getoon word, is instrumente wat deur die bourekenkunde professie opgestel word en moet dus die verantwoordelikheid daarvoor aanvaar. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 10 tabel 8: duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid van kommunikasieinstrumente respondente: totale groep kommunikasie-instrumente geweegde gemiddeld voorbereidselsdokument 4 11 kontrakvoorwaardesdokument 3 95 standaardstelseldokument 3 89 vakvoorskriftedokument 3 79 die voorbereidselsdokument se duidelikheid en verstaanbaarheid is deur die respondente redelik hoog beoordeel (berry, 2008: 45). die vakvoorskriftedokument is redelik hoog aangeslaan, maar is tog deur die respondente, relatief tot die ander kommunikasie-instrumente, as minder duidelik en verstaanbaar uitgewys (berry, 2007). 3.7 die vermoë van die bourekenaar om ’n leidende rol in die uitvoering van projekte te speel die aanhaling van bennis & nanus (1985: 21) wys op die belangrikheid van leierskap en is eweneens van toepassing op die bourekenaar: the problem with many organisations, and especially the ones that are failing, is that they tend to be overmanaged and underled. there is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right things. tabel 9: vermoë om leidende rol in projekte te speel respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 3 76 respondente het ’n redelike hoë waarderingsuitslag van die bourekenaars se leierskapsrol. dit bevestig dat die bourekenaar nie net oor die vermoë beskik nie, maar moontlik ook ’n belangrike skakel in die konstruksieproses is (berry, 2008: 46). 3.8 die geskiktheid van die professies om as projekbestuurders op te tree emmitt & gorse (2003: 10) is van mening dat die kommunikasieproses en die tydige oordra van inligting die sleutel tot effektiewe koördinering en die beheer van projekte is. berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 11 vir ’n projekbestuurder om effektief en suksesvol te wees, is die bewys van effektiewe administratiewe en tegniese vaardighede nie alleen genoegsaam nie. daar moet ook ’n aanvaarbare styl van leierskap beoefen word. die leierskapstyl wat gebruik word, kan ’n invloed hê op die werkers se moraal en produktiwiteit, sodat die sukses van ’n projek direk afhanklik is van leierskap. die assosiasie van projekbestuurders beskryf leierskap as volg: leadership is about setting goals and objectives and generating enthusiasm and motivation amongst the project team, and stakeholders, to work towards those objectives (burke, 2003: 309). tabel 10: geskiktheid van professies om as projekbestuurders op te tree respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 4 06 argitek 3 41 strukturele ingenieur 3 12 elektriese ingenieur 2 44 siviele ingenieur 3 24 professionele projekbestuurder 4 35 die geskiktheid van die bourekenaar om as projekbestuurder van projekte op te tree, word meer positief aangedui as die ander professionele konsultante wat beoordeel is, maar minder positief as dié van die professionele projekbestuurder aangedui (berry, 2008: 47). 3.9 die effektiwiteit van die professies ten opsigte van tyd gedurende die dokumentasietydperk tabel 11: effektiwiteit van tydspandering gedurende die dokumentasietydperk respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 4 41 argitek 3 41 ingenieur 3 59 professionele projekbestuurder 3 69 ’n afleiding wat uit bogemelde resultaat van respondente se opinie gemaak kan word, is dat die professies redelik goed ten opsigte van tydspandering gedurende die dokumentasietydperk aangepas het, alhoewel dit blyk dat die bourekenaar die mees effektiewe is acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 12 wanneer dit by kontrakdokumentasie-produksie kom. die gebruik van voorlopige hoeveelheidslyste kan waarskynlik ’n rol in dié verband speel, aangesien die bourekenaar nie volledige werkstekeninge op daardie stadium benodig nie en dus die kontrakdokumentasie vinnig kan produseer (berry, 2008; 48). 3.10 die effektiwiteit van die professies ten opsigte van aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang tabel 12: effektiewe aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang respondente: totale groep professies geweegde gemiddeld bourekenaar 4 26 argitek 3 89 ingenieur 4 00 professionele projekbestuurder 3 73 ’n afleiding wat uit tabel 12 van respondente se opinie gemaak kan word, is dat die professies redelik goed vaar ten opsigte van aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang, alhoewel die argitek minder positief as die bourekenaars en ingenieurs beoordeel word (berry, 2008: 49). die respondente was die positiefste rondom die bourekenaar se effektiwiteit van aanpassing by tegnologiese vooruitgang en het die hoogste waarderingsuitslag toegeken (berry, 2008: 49). 4. determinante in die ontwikkeling van ’n volwassenheidsmodel ten opsigte van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar die beskikbaarheid van ondersteunende standaarddokumentasie as belangrike kommunikasie-instrumente, waarvan die kontrakvoorwaardes-, standaardstelsel-, voorbereidselsen vakvoorskrifte-dokumente sprekende voorbeelde is, is waarskynlik ’n besondere hulpmiddel in die hand van die bourekenaar vir kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf. ondersteunende dokumentasievermoë word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 124). die effektiewe gebruik van die belangrikste elemente wat vir die bourekenaar nodig is ten einde effektiewe kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf, word onder andere omskryf deur kontraktuele geldigheid, billikheid, betroubaarheid, effektiwiteit, ondubbelsinnigheid en onteenstrydigheid. dit is onwaarskynlik dat elke persoon ewe berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 13 positief ervaar word. kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 123). die belangrikste elemente benodig deur ’n bourekenaar vir effektiewe skriftelike kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf word beskryf deur onder andere netheid, kwaliteit, professionaliteit, algemene indruk, doelen opdraggerigtheid, wetenskaplikheid, stiptelikheid en taalgebruik. verskillende persone sal waarskynlik verskillend hiervoor geëvalueer word. skriftelike kommunikasievermoë word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 122). die mate van tegnologiese vordering word beliggaam in die vinnige en effektiewe aanpassing ten opsigte van die tegnologiese vooruitgang in ’n snel veranderde wêreld deur effektief in die konstruksiebedryf te kommunikeer. tegnologiese vermoë word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 127). kennis wat normaalweg met kwalifikasie gepaard gaan, word in verskeie belangrike elemente ten einde effektiewe mondelinge, skriftelike en kontraktuele kommunikasie te handhaaf, gevind en word onder andere omskryf in kennis, wetenskaplikheid en kontraktuele geldigheid. dit is onwaarskynlik dat elke persoon ewe positief ervaar sal word. kennisvermoë word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 125). die belangrikste elemente benodig deur ’n bourekenaar vir effektiewe mondelinge kommunikasie in die konstruksiebedryf word beskryf deur onder andere integriteit, kennis, geloofwaardigheid, selfvertroue, oorredingsvermoë, algemene indruk, voorkoms, taalvermoë en dinamiese/uitgaande gedrag. meeste individue sal hiervoor waarskynlik in ’n mindere of meerdere mate verskillend geëvalueer word. mondelinge kommunikasievermoë word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 120). kommunikasie-instrumente wat die bourekenaar normaalweg vir projekte gebruik, is onder andere betalingsadvies, eindrekening/ finale rekening, beramings, kosteverslae en dies meer. die effektiwiteit van ’n bourekenaar se duidelike en verstaanbare gebruik hiervan, kan gemeet en geëvalueer word. kommunikasieacta structilia 2009: 16(2) 14 instrumentevermoë (duidelikheid) word as ’n determinant vir die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar gereken (berry, 2008: 128). leierskap word beliggaam in verskeie elemente om effektiewe mondelinge, skriftelike en kontraktuele kommunikasie te help verseker. kennis, taalvermoë, geloofwaardigheid, oorredingsvermoë en selfvertroue is onder andere sprekende voorbeelde hiervan. ’n bourekenaar se effektiwiteit hier kan gemeet en geëvalueer word. leierskapvermoë word as ’n determinant in die model van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar bepaal (berry, 2008: 119). die resultaat wat voortspruit uit die 2006-studie ten opsigte van die agt determinante word in tabel 13 uiteengesit. dit weerspieël die geweegde gemiddeld van die totale groep se opinie ten opsigte van die volwassenheid van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar. die gemelde agt determinante is alternatiewelik antikloksgewys op die kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel in (figuur 2), beginnend by ondersteunende dokumentasievermoë wat die twaalfuurposisie volgens die nommering van ’n horlosie verteenwoordig tot en met leierskapvermoë wat ongeveer die eenuurposisie inneem. volgens berry (2008: 133) is die rede vir die antikloksgewysposisie gebaseer op die vraelyste wat in 1995 uitgestuur is en die resultate wat daarvolgens in 2008 gepubliseer is. dié determinante is volgens die 1995-resultate onderskeidelik in dalende orde vanaf die hoogste tot die laagste waarderingsuitslag by die nommering van ’n horlosie aangepas; die hoogste waarderingsuitslag is dus teenoor die twaalfuurposisie en die laagste waarderingsuitslag teenoor ongeveer die eenuurposisie op die kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel geplaas. tabel 13: kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar determinante geweegde gemiddeld: totale groep ondersteunende dokumentasievermoë 4 26 kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë 4 43 skriftelike kommunikasievermoë 4 48 tegnologiese vermoë 4 34 kennisvermoë 4 13 mondelinge kommunikasievermoë 4 35 instrumentevermoë (duidelikheid) 3 98 leierskapvermoë 3 91 bron: berry 2008: 131 berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 15 5. determinante wat ’n direkte invloed op die bourekenaar se kommunikasievermoë het dit word voorgestel dat gemelde determinante (kyk tabel 13) die kern vorm van die kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel, om die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar te bepaal (berry, 2008: 145). 5.1 voorstelling van ’n kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel ten opsigte van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar kennisvermoë mondelinge kommunikasievermoë instrumentevermoë (duidelikheid) leierskapvermoë ondersteunende dokumentasie vermoë kontraktuele kommunikasievermoë skriftelike kommunikasievermoë tegnologiesevermoë 100 80 60 40 20 0 kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel: bourekenaars figuur 2: kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel vir bourekenaars bron: aangepas uit garies 2005: 516 bogemelde kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel ten opsigte van die kommunikasievermoë van die bourekenaar word voorgestel om die ontwikkeling van die totale professie te ondersteun en sodoende ’n verdere bydrae tot effektiewe kommunikasie en gesonde verhoudinge binne die konstruksiebedryf te lewer (berry, 2008: 146). 6. slotbeskouing en toekomsvisie die belangrikheid van gesonde kommunikasie binne die konstruksiebedryf kan nie genoeg beklemtoon word nie en die impak wat die bourekenaar in hierdie veld uitoefen, moet deurlopend aangespreek en verder ontwikkel word. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 16 die bourekenaar beskik oor die kommunikasievermoë en die kommunikasie-instrumente om ’n leidende rol in die konstruksiebedryf te speel, maar moet deurlopend aandag gee aan die ontwikkelingsareas wat uitgewys is. die visie van die bourekenaarsprofessie behoort gerig te wees om kwaliteit leiers vir die toekoms te lewer met die nodige vaardighede en kennisvermoë wat die bedryf in alle moontlike fasette kan oorheers. die bourekenaar beskik oor die noodsaaklike mengsel van kennis en vaardighede om die projekbestuursfunksies met welslae te hanteer en hierdie geleenthede in konstruksiebedryf derhalwe verder te ontgin. die voorgestelde kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel wat die bourekenaar se kommunikasievermoë aandui, kan as ’n moontlike barometer dien om die leemtes in die kommunikasievermoëns van bourekenaars uit te wys. met die effektiewe aanspreek daarvan kan die professie in geheel daarby baat. die fokus van die bourekenaarsprofessie behoort gerig te wees om die aansien van die professie binne die konstruksiebedryf dinamies te ontwikkel en verder uit te bou. sodoende kan die status wat die professie tans in die kommunikasieproses beklee, verseker en uitgebou word. die uitdagings gaan eise stel, maar die voordele en moontlikhede is onbeperk. indien die bourekenaarsprofessie hierdie uitdagings aanvaar en verder ontgin, wag daar ’n nog beter toekoms op hierdie professie. verwysings ashworth, a. 1992. cost studies of buildings. england: longman scientific & technical. bennis, w. & nanus, b. 1985. leaders: the strategies for taking charge. new york: harper & row. berry, f.h. 2007. the influence of quantity surveying procedures on communication and communication instruments in the construction industry. in: proceedings of the 11th pacific association of quantity surveyors (paqs) congress on construction from a different perspective. auckland 9-13 june 2007, new zealand. berry, f.h. 2008. bourekenkundige-kommunikasie en kommunikasieinstrumente in die konstruksiebedryf. ongepubliseerde m.sc.(q.s.) tesis. bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. berry, verster & zulch • kommunikasie-volwassenheidsmodel 17 bowen, p., cattell, k., michell, k. & kabayanondo, e. 2006. the effectiveness of construction project briefing as an interpersonal communication process. acta structilia, 13(2), pp.19-38. burke, r. 2003. project management planning and control techniques. tokai: burke publishing. chappel, d., powell-smith, v. & sims, j. 2006. building contract claims. oxford: blackwell publishing ltd. emmitt, s. & gorse, c. 2003. construction communication. oxford: blackwell publishing ltd. garies, r. 2005. happy projects! 1st ed. vienna: manz. gasse, f. 2006. maturity model of the project-oriented company. [online]. vienna. project orientation international. available from: <http://poi.pmgroup.at/index> [accessed: 6 february 2007]. hauptfleisch, a.c. & siglè, h.m. 2002. structure of the built environment in south africa. hatfield: conqs-publishers. himstreet, w.c. & baty, w.m. 1973. business communications – principles and methods. 3rd ed. belmont ca: wadsworth publishing co. kirkham, r. 2007. ferry and brandon’s cost planning of buildings. 8th ed. oxford: blackwell publishing ltd. sieff, m. 1990. marcus sieff on management: the marks & spencer way. london: weidenfeld & nicolson. 89 fiona haslam mckenzie demographic challenges in non-metropolitan western australia: community development strategies in a neo-liberal economic environment reviewed abstract many communities throughout non metropolitan australia are experiencing change; changes in service delivery and infrastructure, changes in traditional industries and the industry mix, changes in the demographic and cultural mix of local residents and changes in local and political leadership. some com munities, particularly those in broadacre agricultural areas have experienced significant depopulation and struggle to remain viable, while others, particularly those on the coast, have experienced unprecedented population growth, creating pressure on the local economy, housing, infrastructure, long held traditions and social networks. it would appear that both types of communities often feel threatened and have grappled with change from a number of perspectives; some with more success than others. in the proposed article, the author will seek to understand why some com munities have coped with change better than others and identify the inhibitors and facilitators enabling the optimisation of change for sustainable regional development. related to this, is the need for greater exploration of the new styles of community leadership and strategies for continued commitment to capacity building and the creation of social capital in non metropolitan areas of australia, particularly those experiencing change. the economic, social and environmental implications will be viewed as a set of issues that are indivisible from other policy pursuits. it is proposed that two regions will be examined, one that has been threatened by depopulation, such as the central wheatbelt of western australia, and the other to be investigated will be one that has experienced significant coastal growth, such as the capes region of south west, western australia. the coping mechanisms and the regional development strategies of each will be compared and contrasted. an anticipated outcome would be strategies that encourage greater collaboration between the policy makers, authorities and stakeholders, thereby enhancing the capabilities and capacities. keywords: change, economy, australia, community development dr fiona haslam mckenzie, curtin research fellow, graduate school of business, curtin university of technology, gpo box u1987 perth, 6845. western australia. mckenzief@gsb.curtin.edu.au (tel: 61 89 266 1087) 90 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) abstrak baie gemeenskappe regdeur nie metropolitiaanse australië ondervind veran derings; veranderinge in diensverskaffing en infrastruktuur, veranderinge in tradisionele industrieë en die gemengde industrie, veranderinge in die demo grafiese en kulturele verskeidenheid van plaaslike inwoners en veranderings in die plaaslike en politieke leierskap. sommige gemeenskappe, spesifiek daardie in afgeleë landbou areas ondervind merkwaardige depopulasie en sukkel om te bestaan, terwyl andere, spesifiek op die kusgedeeltes ongekende populasie groei ondervind, wat druk plaas op die plaaslike ekonomie, behuising, infra struktuur, lang gehandhaafde tradisies en sosiale netwerke. dit wil voorkom asof beide tipe gemeenskappe bedryg voel en uit verskeie perspektiewe met verandering worstel, sommige meer suksesvol as ander. in die artikel poog die outeur om te verstaan waarom sommige gemeenskap pe verandering beter hanteer as ander en sal poog om die stremmers en fasiliteerders om die beste veranderinge vir volhoubare streeks ontwikkeling in staat te stel, te identifiseer. saam hiermee, is daar ’n behoefte vir groter ontdekking van nuwe gemeenskapleierskapstyle en strategieë vir volhoubare toevertrouing van kapasiteitsverhoging en die skepping van sosiale kapitaal in nie metropolitiaanse areas van australië, spesifiek die areas wat deur veran dering gaan. die ekonomiese, sosiale en omgewings implikasies sal gesien word as ’n stel sake wat ondeelbaar is van ander beleidsbelange. twee streke sal geeksamineer word, een wat deur depopulasie bedreig word, soos die sentrale wheatbelt van wes australië en die ander sal ’n areas wees wat baie groei ondergaan het soos die capes streek van die suid weste van wes australië. die hanteer meganismes en streeks ontwikkeling strategieë van elk sal vergelyk en gekonstrateer word. ’n geantisipeerde uitkoms sal strategieë wees wat groter samewerking tussen beleidsmakers, outoriteite en aandeelhouers aanmoedig om sodoende bekwaamheid en kapasiteit te verhoog. sleutelwoorde: veranderinge, ekonomie, australië, gemeenskapsontwikkeling * this paper was presented in part at the regional science association international conference, port elizabeth, south africa, april 2004. 1. background t hrough out the twentieth century, the australian population has grown (from 3.8 million at the beginning of the 20th century to 19.7 million in 2002) (australian bureau of statistics 2003b). for much of that time, farming and primary industry production have been key industries in the white history of australia and, it can be argued, were pivotal in shaping australian nationhood. until the mid-1950s, agriculture contributed 85 to 90 percent of the country’s export earnings (alston, 1995). this has now declined to about 30 per cent (australian bureau of agriculture and resource economics 2001). until the latter half of the twentieth century, agriculture had been dominant in macro and micro economies. in the last four decades, the changing relationships between the primary, secondary and the increasingly important tertiary sector, have been profound in australia. in that time, australia has integrated its production, realisation of profit and the circulation of financial capital into a rapidly increasing global market, driven by political and economic policies increasingly underpinned by economic rationalist principles. as a consequence, the nature of farming, farming communities and the people whose lives are inextricably tied to these places have been irrevocably changed. briefly, fundamental changes to the global economy began after the collapse of the bretton woods agreement in 1971 and the ensuing oil price shocks, which together were the catalyst for world recession and inflation. australia was not immune to these outcomes; high inflation, low economic growth and rising unemployment (marsden et al. 1993) battered the economy. the australian agricultural sector was effected by rising input costs, rapidly changing consumer demands, slowing markets and increasing protectionist policies in north america and europe. until this time, australian agriculture had been able to depend on traditional british markets and considerable domestic protectionist policies. from this time on, the decision was made by successive australian governments to orient the domestic economy to global markets. reform, deregulation and liberalised financial policies facilitated australia’s greater engagement with the global economy and from this time, adoption of sophisticated technologies and the growth of the services sector accelerated. globalisation of the australian economy has reinforced the effect of market changes causing continual development in technologies, products, markets and 91 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia modes of distribution. the philosophies of neo-liberalism and free market mechanisms have guided the australian commonwealth and state governments since the late-1970s, with a central aim being the efficient allocation of resources, including government services and infrastructure. an important premise for economic efficiency is a competitive environment and economies of scale (edwards, 2002). this is a marked shift away from government priorities prior to this time, when there was a concern that all australians, irrespective of where they lived, could expect equity of services and infrastructure. the key structural changes that have taken place are: • the decline of the primary sector in terms of jobs and output; • the decline of manufacturing in terms of jobs but growth in output; • growth in both jobs and output in the tertiary or services sector; and • a diminished pubic service and rationalization of government services. the outcomes of this were a drastic reduction in industry protection exposing australian primary producers in particular, to volatile market forces in a highly competitive international environment. the majority of australian agricultural commodity production is exported and therefore, returns are directly affected by international politics, social, environmental and economic activities. the australian policy changes coincided with declining terms of trade, particularly for agricultural products the world over, at the same time that the costs of australian imports were escalating (edwards, 2002; wiseman, 1998). this cost-price squeeze caused farmers to use their land more intensively to produce more, but prices have continued to drop and so too has real income dropped. consequently, farm incomes have risen more slowly than wages and farm amalgamations have occurred in many broadacre farming areas in order to achieve economies of scale, thereby maintaining similar rates of return. the overall drop in farming profit margins has contributed to a movement of people away from the land that has continued in australia since the early 1960s (pollard, 2001). 92 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 93 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia despite media reports and popular culture, ‘the bush’ and rural australia are not homogenous; in fact, there are considerable differences by state, statistical division, sub-division and even statistical local area (all of which are spatial categories in the australian bureau of statistics). there is increasing differentiation within rural regions regarding winners and losers in terms of economic advantage depending on access to full time work, skills, resources and the state capital cities. similarly, the ability of rural communities to survive from a socio-cultural perspective is highly variable (tonts, 2000; haslam mckenzie, 2000). these differences have been exacerbated by international influences that, with the advent of broad globalisation, have intensified economic, sociocultural and environmental changes in rural australia. the population trends explored in this paper are being experienced throughout select regions around australia. while government has taken a generally ‘hands off’ approach regarding regional development, it does have a responsibility regarding the provision of public policy and the delivery of regional services. this paper will review the broad national demographic trends within the context of the australian political system, focusing on particular regional examples from a western australian perspective. it will examine the notion of ‘winners and losers’ and explore the reasons why some communities are proving more resilient than others even though they may be in close proximity to each other and appear to have many physical and even industry similarities. examples from western australian will be discussed. 1.1 the australian political system: a brief overview australia is a federal state with seven different sovereign governments: the commonwealth and six states. the australian constitution outlines the broad framework of the australian system of government including the distribution of powers between the states and the commonwealth. there are two levels of government, the federal or commonwealth and the state, both of which are independent but intersect in policy-making (fenna, 1998). importantly, local government is not recognised in the australian constitution, and it is therefore an arm of the state. consequently, local governments in australia continue to derive their powers solely from state legislation and most of these powers are contained in a local government act in each state. over the last sixty years, there has been a great increase in the powers of the federal government at the expense of state governments, largely due to the financial power of the former. the commonwealth is a very influential player in regional development because it controls: • the bulk of the public monies; • telecommunications policy and infrastructure which are vital for business growth; • australia’s signatory to international environmental conventions; • social security; • tertiary education provision; • the national economy; • international trading relations; and • transport networks and funding. the states have residual responsibility for powers not specifically assigned to the commonwealth under the constitution, effectively covering such major policy areas as health, housing, education, land management and law and order within state boundaries. over time, the state government role has progressively been that of service provider and environmental manager, change agent and mentor. more recently, (since the 1970s) responsibility has increasingly been pushed to the local level. local government is the form of government closest to the people and is an important link to the higher levels of government. in an era where citizens feel remote and disenfranchised from the political process, and powerless in the face of rapid global change, the coalface of politics is local government (mackay, 1999: 39). however, it has limited resources, depending on the commonwealth for the bulk of its operational funds with its only tax base coming from property rates. in many respects, local government has a difficult regional development role because its focus is directed at “specific local strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and has to develop bespoke strategies reflecting local circumstance” (sorensen, 1998). the commonwealth has dominance by virtue of its management of macro-economic events and 94 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) control of the purse string, devolving grassroots action to local government which provides necessary but rarely sufficient support for a region’s economic development (sorensen, 2002). as it stands now, local government is too under-resourced and too fragmented to provide real solutions to problems of uneven regional development. in all australian states and territories there is a myriad of institutions and agencies working for the development of localities and regions. currently, the responsibilities for regional development policy are spread across numerous departments and agencies from all tiers of government. the constitution does not list regional development as an area where the commonwealth has policymaking responsibility. generally the states have primary responsibility although the delineation of regions and the provision of administrative arrangements for regional affairs are not covered directly under either the states’ or commonwealth’s jurisdictional constitutions. rather, the establishment and operation of regional organisations and the delineation of regional boundaries to cover specific governmental activities (for example, the delivery of services or the operation of a department or agency) lies wholly within the arrangements of a particular jurisdiction. thus, we see regional delineation and operational arrangements for both commonwealth and state bodies causing overlaps and gaps in service provision. 2. globalisation, western australia and regional development western australia is a vast state, comprising 2.5 million square kilometres. western australia produces 29 per cent of the nation’s exports (australian bureau of statistics 2004b). spread over vast distances, the majority (73 per cent) of the state’s population of 1.9 million people live in the capital city, perth (see figure 1). while many people live in the city, it is argued that most western australian’s lifestyles and livelihoods are closely linked to the regional, or nonmetropolitan western australian industry base with 83 per cent of the state’s exports (department of local government and regional development 2003) coming from the regions. in the past, the western australian state government implemented policies that contributed to economic development, while also attempting to anticipate the social needs of the rural population. 95 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia 96 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) fi g u re 1 a u st ra lia , d e ta ili n g s ta ti st ic a l d iv is io n s th is m a p h a s b e e n r e p ro d u c e d w it h t h e p e rm is si o n o f th e b u re a u o f r u ra l s c ie n c e s 2 0 0 0 97 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia it provided and maintained public services and infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals, police stations, courthouses, libraries and roads, and a much more generous per capita basis than was the case for urban areas (greble, 1979). this resulted in the establishment of an intricate web of crosssubsidised public services and infrastructure in the state’s agricultural areas. however, with the advent of a greater engagement with globalization within an economic rationalist policy framework, economic policy became a prime focus, pressuring governments to reduce their social expenditure. it became increasingly difficult for state and commonwealth governments to justify current levels of service provision, despite those communities contributing a significant proportion of the nation’s wealth through large scale commodity production. as a result there have been significant social, environmental, economic and cultural changes in non-metropolitan western australia and many people have gone from the region. these changes are threatening sustainability in many rural and regional communities as the sense of wellbeing in many of the communities experiencing these changes has been compromising, subsequently impacting on the standard of living and residents’ sense of community. the continuing social and economic restructuring is placing enormous stress on individuals, families, relationships, social and community organizations (kenyon & black, 2001; lockie & bourke, 2001). 3. demographic changes 1901-2001 despite popular culture, australia has always been highly urbanised. in 1933, more than one in three australians lived in rural areas but by 1976, the proportion had fall to one in seven (gray & lawrence, 2001) and since then, the move to metropolitan areas has accelerated. salt (2001; 1992), has documented population change over two decades and has found that while people of all ages were leaving mostly inland non-metropolitan areas, young people were notably over-represented, leaving rapidly ageing populations. while it is clear that there has been non-metropolitan population decline, it is important to note that the changes are occurring in a spatially uneven manner (see figure 2). the australian population continues to grow steadily (approximately 1.1 per cent annually) (australian bureau of statistics 2003b) and cities are the most populous with 64 per cent of australians residing in one of the seven 98 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) fi g u re 2 n o n -m e tr o p o lit a n p o p u la ti o n c h a n g e so u rc e ( sa lt 2 0 0 4 ) capital cities although regional centres are gaining population, often from their own regions (salt, 2001; gray & lawrence, 2001). smaller settlements and those areas which are predominantly dedicated to broadacre agricultural production are those areas most prone to depopulation. according to the australian bureau of statistics (abs), the number of farming families declined by 22 per cent nationally (australian bureau of statistics 2003a) which equates to 31,800 people. single industry cities such as whyalla in south australia, mt isa in queensland and broken hill in new south wales (all of which are towns dedicated to servicing the mining industry), are also vulnerable and have battled against industry and population diminution. while many hinterland locations have struggled to maintain a viable population base and therefore services, other nonmetropolitan locations, mostly in coastal locations have struggled to keep up with population growth. since the 1970s, there has been a rural-urban turnaround, a phenomena referred to as counterurbanisation (burnley & murphy, 2004; mitchell, 2004 and hugo, 1996), in select parts of australia and those areas are most commonly coastal and to a lesser degree, select communities within 100 kilometers of the coast (tonts, 2000). as shown in figure 1, the trend is patchy and tends to be focused on “the metropolitan fringe and coastal areas with environmental amenity, [which] are attracting the great bulk of population increase and redistribution” (maher & stimson, 1994). australian bureau of statistics data (australian bureau of statistics 2004a) released earlier this year show that the population growth of australian coastal areas is outstripping other parts of rural australia while rural areas continue to decline. in 2003, 70,000 people moved to coastal areas, which was 7 per cent more than the previous year. the trends in western australia reflect those of the rest of australia. localities such as busselton, margaret river, denmark and jurien (between perth and geraldton) have all boomed as ‘weekender’ and sea change1 destinations. as disposable income and leisure time has increased for some and transport and road access has improved, these localities are now affordable and an easy 99 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia 1 the word ‘seachange’ (or words sea change) have become important in the australian vernacular, underscored by the australian broadcasting corporation (abc) series of the same name. it has come to represent people wanting to escape the city to pursue arcadian, nostalgic or alternative beachside lifestyles. three hour drive from the capital city perth. consequently, these coastal locations draw a high proportion of their migrants from the capital cities (haslam mckenzie & johnson 2004; salt 2004; gray & lawrence 2001). 4. the social implications of population increase with their increase in popularity, coastal locations attract new housing as people build holiday homes, permanent homes for the ‘sea changers’ (burnley & murphy, 2004) as well as investment homes for rent to tourists (salt, 2001) and permanent residents. while the growth does exert considerable pressure on the available infrastructure, it also brings with it a variety of social issues. in a number of these locations, up to a third of the properties are owned by wealthy perth or to a lesser degree, overseas residents who use the properties for a short period over summer and then leave the properties vacant. most absentee landowners have invested in substantial and often luxurious holiday homes, usually occupying premium real estate with coastal views, thereby driving up the value of property and therefore local government rates (sanders, 2000; economic consulting services, 1999). while there is clearly some wealth residing and investing in these localities, research (haslam mckenzie & johnson, 2004; selwood, curry & jones 1996 and selwood & tonts, 2004) shows that the critical mass of wealth visits when the sun is shining. they then return to their city address or overseas in the cooler months to create the wealth that drives the growth that is evident in the construction and development industries, but which does not contribute to regional development or to year-round regional consumption, thereby guaranteeing a more reliable marketplace for goods and service providers. as noted by murphy forthcoming (2004: 13), jobs and business opportunities follow population growth but the nature of demand in communities such as growing coastal locations tends to be “at the low-end of the service economy ... because the economies are narrowly based and not dynamic”. stimson, baum & o’connor (2003), have identified a number of characteristics that consistently describe the sustainability and self-sufficiency of a number of categories of coastal towns around australia. many of these coastal communities, including hervey bay, burnett and bowen in queensland, nambucca in new south wales and exmouth, manduarah and busselton in western australia have 100 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) grown rapidly but are in fact vulnerable (burnley & murphy, 2004; stimson, baum & o’connor, 2003). non-metropolitan coastal towns (65%) dominate the bottom twenty towns in terms of per capita income australia-wide and are prone to high unemployment. they often have a low proportion of high income households, small shares of commercial investment, a below average proportion of persons with a university degree, a low proportion of full time labour participation and a high incidence of social security recipients (o’connor, 2004). other indicators of vulnerability include a relatively high incidence of single parent families compared to the state average, underemployment, a significant number of households paying high proportions of their incomes on housing and a considerable proportion of aged households. permanent residents of coastal communities are likely to be made up of a proportion of retirees, many of whom are on fixed incomes and are unlikely to invest after purchasing their place of residence. this cohort of residents is potentially demanding of infrastructure such as health and transport services. the sole source of income of a proportion of residents, albeit not significant in most locations, is social security. social security payments are portable and obviously social security recipients can live where they choose and many have chosen to live in scenic places such as coastal communities where there is the possibility of casual seasonal work in the agricultural or tourism industries. the trend for transient income-support recipients into sea change localities and the ensuing social issues has been well-documented (burnley & murphy, 2004; the sydney morning herald, 2002; weekend australian, 2003; phillips, 1998). however, as noted by burnley & murphy (2004: 230), “price inflation resulting from the influx of money from the cities is a strong trend and has negative implications for affordability”, particularly for cheaper housing such as caravan parks. data australian bureau of statistics 2003b, also shows that young families move to coastal locations looking to take advantage of possible job opportunities from seasonal work (for example, during the grape picking season and high tourist visitor periods) and the high percentage of privately owned small businesses that often follow population growth locations. these types of jobs are however fickle and prone to market volatility, contributing to the volatile population movements of the younger, unskilled family cohort. research undertaken by burnley & murphy (2004: 207), show that in many high 101 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia population growth communities “there are diverse socioeconomic groups, but with a status bipolarity towards professionals and unemployed persons”. this clearly sets up a number of controversial issues including a ‘divide’ between permanent residents or ‘locals’ and absentee landowners. population growth, as noted earlier, brings change and potential conflicts as residents try to balance lifestyle while maintaining the beauty and integrity of a place as well as putting in place infrastructure that many expect in a fully developed community. the concern of many ‘locals’ and absentee landowners/second home owners alike is that development will not only change the landscape, but, in the long run, will undermine property values and tourism development potential. residents of growing coastal communities around australia regularly voice concern about future development and the continued growth, giving rise to the contradictions of the ‘drawbridge’, nimby (not in my backyard) lulu (local unwanted land uses), goomby (get out of my backyard) and banana (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything) responses. phillips (1998) and burnley & murphy (2004), identify these responses as typical of ‘gentrified’ sea change areas, noting that growth restrictions would immediately result in land price inflation; beneficial for current landowners but limiting access to the broader population and potentially displacing lower socio-economic ‘locals’ due to rising housing costs. they suggest that ‘nimbyism’ is, typically, indicative of gentrification, but also “unconducive to economic growth and therefore prejudicial to the prospects of workforce age populations”; exactly that age cohort that has struggled to maintain stability in these communities. it is becoming clear that the bipolarity referred to by burnley & murphy (2004), has the potential to be divisive and undermine the community. gradually, communities are recognizing that all residents have a sense of appreciation and ownership of their community and ‘special place’ but unless there is an understanding of the drivers of local and regional economic development and the broader social contexts, then the essence of the place could be eroded. a refocusing on a sense of community and place may restore some of the creative human aspects associated with sustainability and consequently, viability. 102 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 5. the social implications of population decrease as global economies, alliances, markets and trends have changed, there have been significant social, environmental, economic and cultural changes in the communities that support them. this is particularly evident in those communities which have limited industry diversity, such as broadacre agriculture and mining communities. the shift towards a market-led allocation of resources has resulted in the rationalisation and withdrawal of many public services from small rural communities (wiseman 1998). increasingly, public services and the employment and development that they generate are being concentrated into larger regional centres (tonts, 2000). while such changes are arguably efficient and even percipient, they do not necessarily accommodate the needs of the local community and inevitably have a flow-on effect. insistence on self-reliance and the cutting of funding in the name of community autonomy to meet the demands of restructuring depletes community resources and the pillars of social capital. research done by haslam mckenzie (2002) and tonts (1997), has found that there have been some painful social costs associated with agricultural and economic restructuring with negative impacts on large and small enterprises. even profitable farms and businesses are experiencing social issues that undermine the efficacy and economic returns of the enterprise and ultimately, the community. for example, the incidence of mental and other stressrelated illnesses have increased, the inability of young farmers in particular to find partners and young people cannot see a future for rural or even regional australia and they drift to cities for education and work and usually stay there (kent, 2004; james, 2001). as a consequence, these communities are ageing, with the median age of farmers increasing from 47 years in 1986 to 51 years in 2001 (australian bureau of statistics 2003a). data alston (1998) and haslam mckenzie (1999), indicate that women bear the brunt when social services in rural communities are reduced. isolation and limited support for women are consistent reasons for them wanting to leave a rural situation. regions, which are losing population or employment because of a perceived lack of good business opportunities, lose capital and potential entrepreneurs and therefore vibrancy and optimism, continuing the cycle of pessimism and devaluation. 103 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia cox (2001); edgar (2001); gray & lawrence (2001); scanlon (2000); winter (2000) and putnam (1993a), indicate that there is an awareness that one of the important determinants of regional development is the capacity of people to live, learn and work together in a happy and constructive environment. social capital is a concept that relates to social cohesion and it has the potential to engender vitality in rural communities: (it) comprises all the formal and informal social relation ships, institutions and groupings that build systems of values, trust and mutual support. social capital can also be defined as the sum of values and constructive social relationships that express and generate the culture of place (national economics 1999). the importance and contribution of a sense of place and sense of community have been highlighted in numerous research. black & hughes (2001); kenyon (2001); moore (1997) and stayner (1999) stated the difference between the existence of a future for a community and its demise. furthermore, as warned by putnam, (1993b), should the quality of the social fabric of a community or society generally be overlooked, then ultimately all facets of society will pay for it. many people have gone from the region, and the demographic mix of those that are left is very different from that of 40 years ago. as a consequence, towns look different, as do the landscapes. the challenge for those living in the region and australian policy-makers generally, is: what strategies can be implemented that might sustain the region, enabling it to be viable from economic, social, environmental and cultural perspectives while at the same time being a responsive global citizen? those communities that have coped better with the challenges of globalisation and restructuring have tended to be those communities where people have looked to their own resources and developed their capacities through value-adding and regionalization. rarely has this been achieved in isolation but rather, through community self-determination and collaboration with agencies with strong links to broader networks including government. 104 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 6. communities successfully accommodating change as noted by elkington (1997), the sustainability agenda is complicated and is far more than harmonising the traditional bottom line with environmental considerations. it is claimed by elkington and others horwitz & heller (2001); hussen (2000); daly (1996) and daly (1990) that if these two are tempered with social justice and cultural dimensions, then sustainability is a possibility, although not necessarily guaranteed. the push by government for australian communities to be more self-determining and self-reliant has shifted the focus of community development to local leadership. while populations in the broadacre farming areas of western australia, (the most population and services depleted region of the state) have continued to diminish over the last thirty years, local leadership has often been confined to an ageing few, many of whom have had a long tenure on formal leadership positions. new styles of leadership were seen as potential catalysts for looking at persistent ‘problems’ from a new or different perspective. a western australia state government funded but local-driven strategy was devised to develop new regional leaders and broaden community perspectives towards regional business and social opportunities. the program, progress rural wa, acknowledged the need for regional economic viability but understood the value and contribution of socio-cultural and environmental considerations in the quest for community and regional survival. the progress rural wa programs aimed to widen community leadership and were designed to encourage participants to be transformational leaders; to empower those around them and support them in the process of change. the outcomes of the program over a five-year period demonstrated that devolving decision-making to communities regarding their future, encouraging community promotion of local attributes and the development of community leadership can progress social and economic capital, thereby re-building, at least in the short term, vigorous and sustainable rural and regional communities. progress rural wa showed that some small communities may have the potential to turn themselves around by working with government support rather than entirely being on their own. 105 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia there were several examples of communities moving beyond pariochial small town insularity and reaching out to other communities close by to develop a more holistic, collaborative regional development strategy. as tonts (1996), noted, pitting small towns against each other inevitably spells the demise of one while the other will survive, but probably only for a finite period before it too suffers at the hands of a larger regional centre. some examples include: • a state-wide on-line community marketing initiative using electronic information technology to promote rural and regional businesses. government has assisted with the technical start-up but community members have raised funds to employ it technicians, a web designer and administrative support. • the establishment of telecentres throughout rural areas to enhance the availability of information technology in the community, to teach local people computer skills and in several instances, to re-establish a local newsletter. government provides the basic infrastructure but the community undertakes the facility feasibility and ongoing staffing of the centre. telecentres offer a user-friendly and efficient facility for the communication of information as well as an informal local venue for the coming together of people. telecentres have enormous potential for filling a variety of practical, social and emotional needs. there have been examples of information sharing and networking for issues related to suicide and other mental health needs. the advantages of email electronic network lists include their accessibility at any time and participation can be passive and cost efficient. • the establishment of a youth advisory centre in several communities, all of which are loosely linked. several government departments (including family and children services, community development, local government and regional development and department of agriculture provide ongoing email newsletter links. • mine rehabilitation groups which co-ordinate community groups collecting seeds and planting of small trees. 106 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) • regional branding and promotion project. the regional branding group based in the central wheatbelt covers the largest area in western australia and in many ways, faces the greatest challenges due to distance and a fragmented transport and services infrastructure. nonetheless, this entrepreneurial initiative is a useful case study for demonstrating how, with the interest and support of government and through the building of capacity in social capital, these rural communities have shown resilience in the face of economic and social decline. while many of the participants in the regional branding group remain committed to their community and industry, many are willing to try new ways of value-adding, marketing and collaborating in order to achieve competitive advantage in a global environment. their appreciation of market demand for perfection and value has stimulated co-operation, mutual understanding of their different communities’ and industries’ challenges and advantages as well as the formation of a forceful lobbying group. the regional branding initiative has succeeded in overcoming elements of community and small town parochialism, replacing it with a commitment to collaboration, regional pride and determination for success. the concept of capacity building has confirmed that process-related considerations deserve equal attention with the more visible concerns of investment in product-related activities. the progress rural wa programs aimed to widen community leadership and were designed to encourage participants to be transformational leaders; to empower those around them and to support them in the process of change. the program aimed to give them specific leadership tools and knowledge that could be used to initiate and drive community social and economic development. the progress rural wa programs demonstrated that economic outcomes on their own do not necessarily guarantee community longevity, but that integration with the less tangible but equally important dimensions of social and environmental considerations can enhance community sustainability with ongoing support and encouragement of government. 107 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia none of the western australian coastal communities cited in figure 2 participated in the progress rural wa programs. the reason for this is largely due to these communities being generally fragmented and because diminution of infrastructure is not usually an issue in these communities. to date, only one coastal town in western australia has recognized the need to come together as a community to co-determine their future and that is the shire of augustamargaret river. while broadacre agricultural industries are still important to the augusta-margaret river local economy, new industries have developed, such as viticulture, agricultural valueadded produce and boutique artisan production, tourism and leisure industries such as surfing as well as traditional fishing. furthermore, sophisticated infrastructure has enabled people to access a broad range of services and to enjoy lifestyles often considered more common in the city. the community boasts good infrastructure, being well serviced by roads, a comprehensive health service, a range of schools and good water and energy infrastructure, all of which are key to the realization of business opportunities and future development. the notion of e-commerce and tele-commuting from augusta-margaret river is no longer restricted to the realms of dreamers. this relative wealth has also fragmented the community. the local population has quadrupled in the last two decades and the newcomers are a mix of retirees, semi-retirees who have also developed small businesses around the tourist trade, people who have sought a lifestyle change and who have established small viticulture or horticultural businesses, surfers and service industry workers. there are many of the ‘local’ or ‘old timers’ who remember the area as a sleepy and often struggling farming town with cheap land and poor services. as well, there is a significant proportion of landowners in the shire who are mostly absentee landowners and only visit the area periodically. it is this group who bear the brunt of local angst. as observed by burnley & murphy (2004) and o’connor (2004), this cohort are relatively wealthy, drive up local land prices and buying up productive farming land for lifestyle rather than practical purposes. they do however represent significant buying power and many would like to live longer in the area if there were work opportunities. 108 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) the shire of augusta-margaret river acknowledges the myriad different stakeholder groups in the shire and recognize the often potentially destructive perceived differences between them. in the quest to integrate the community more successfully, the shire has joined with australia’s commonwealth scientific and industrial research organisation (csiro), a national organization dedicated to providing new ways to improve quality of life through research and development, with the aim of developing more resilient rural communities inclusive of all of their constituents. to that end, the partnership between the shire of augusta-margaret river and csiro is drawing together a comprehensive range of stakeholders, documenting the community history and assets, ascertaining community threats and then moving forward to determine an agreed sustainable future. this is achieved through comprehensive community consultation over a two year period with all the diverse community groups and stakeholders, including absentee landowners. as noted earlier, a challenge facing many coastal locations is the need to broaden their range of activities. rather than differentiating itself from neighboring local government areas, augustamargaret river, recognizes the potential advantages of cementing regional linkages and developing clusters of local businesses to provide firms and markets with economies of scale and scope. the notion of agglomeration and regional clusters has been a popular approach in regional development for some time (beer, haughton & maude, 2003; beer, maude & pritchard, 2003; porter, 1998). beer, maude & pritchard (2003), recognize the inherent challenges for relatively remote places such as augusta-margaret river and advocate the ‘virtual cluster’ whereby firms are linked in collaborative relationships across regions (and even nations) through information technologies. o’connor (2003) suggests: a way of thinking about this involves recognizing the import ance associated with physical environments as work places, which opens up the possibility that individuals and firms will establish in a region because of the environmental attrac tions rather than because of the existing base of activity. this is associated with the idea that some particular ‘lifestyle’ dimensions, associated with clean and green environmental circumstances and often expressed as anti urban values act as important influences upon the firm and residential location decisions. 109 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia the physical attractiveness of a locale such as augusta-margaret river area may entice ‘lone eagles’,2 thereby enticing social diversity and high quality educational opportunities. tourism is an important industry to the local economy but as already noted, it is fickle with unpredictable returns. industry investigations undertaken for this research show that the industry remains highly seasonal with high volumes restricted to school holidays and the summer months. it would appear that the sector is oversupplied in the local area and profitability for many businesses is marginal. those businesses that are accurately meeting their target market, providing diligent service and maintaining supply are likely to find some success, but it would appear that generally, there is poor understanding of the market and inconsistent supply of product and service. in short, amateurism is undermining the potential of the tourism sector. the community is now attempting to address these problems through a public campaign to better understand the market and provide more reliable and friendly service. there is a general acceptance that all residents must share ‘their place’ and be more welcoming if repeat business is to be secured. there is a growing understanding that the ‘drawbridge’ and ‘nimby’ phenomena discussed earlier are unhelpful. a local campaign to welcome newcomers and understand the economic importance of visitors and tourism is likely to give the area a commercial advantage. 7. winners and losers it is clear that economic reform has had uneven outcomes for all of australia, not least the non-metropolitan regions (pusey, 2003). similarly and not unrelated, australia has a very uneven population distribution (hugo, 2003) with rural areas consistently depopulating while beach locations continue to grow every year (shepherd, 2003). there are both winners and losers in this period of unprecedented change. as noted by numerous commentators sorensen (2002); kenyon & black (2001) and beer, maude & pritchard (2003), large-scale producers, those who are willing to innovate and communities and individuals which demonstrate new and strong styles 110 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) 2 highly skilled individuals whose work is usually global in nature and linked by telecommunications rather than proximity or locality. of leadership are those most likely to succeed, while those communities and individuals which have struggled to adapt have been overcome by the forces of change. as noted by sorensen (2002: 263), the viability of small town business and its capacity to adapt to changing circumstances is closely tied to both the health of the local community and the quality of com munity especially the wealth, diversity and cohesiveness of its social and human capital. therefore, even though local government is not a constitutionally recognized tier of government, it has a very important role in regional economic development. this was borne out in the work undertaken for this paper and is further reinforced by recent work. plowman et al. (2003), indicating that local governments which are the most vibrant are those where leadership rather than leaders thrive. the progress rural wa programs really flourished in those communities where local government, both the elected members and perhaps more importantly, the paid employees, actively supported and engaged with the programs and local participants. in co-ordinated campaigns, they galvanised community effort to take advantage of the opportunities being offered through the progress rural wa programs. they targeted business development, raised local capital, identified available workforce skills and determined training needs for both labour and management. for many in small rural, regional and remote communities, survival requires a good knowledge of local networks, time, an understanding of the administration of community projects, knowledge of potential funding sources and the motivation to make a commitment to community development. importantly, the skills and capacity development, once developed, are intrinsic and of longterm benefit to the community. in all of the communities which were involved in the progress rural wa project, the local commitment to the initiatives was the key to success. where there is a lack of effective leadership, insufficient human and economic resources, a sense of defeatism or apathy (sorensen & epps, 1996 and tonts 1999), or difficult economic circumstances in the community, effective business and economic development is less likely to materialise. in rural and remote areas of western australia there are many small towns with less than 5,000 residents, and their “spheres of influence are at risk unless they become forward looking, ready to take on new ideas, risks and look for opportunities in this new, emerging 111 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia environment” (collitts, 2000). observers of this scenario collitts (2000); forth (2000) and sorensen (1993), have seen many small towns find themselves stuck in, as collitts (2000), aptly terms, ‘quicksand’ in responding to the challenges of the ‘new economy’. edgar (2001: 110) states that two thirds of investment in regions comes from local, already existing businesses, and the more effective regions are those able to attract new investment, expand the range of regional infrastructure and invest in the training of skilled people. flora’s (1998), research has found that those communities with stable infrastructure were more likely to develop diverse community networks through which trust and social capital was developed and legitimacy established. social capital was found to be particularly important if and when a part of the community was threatened, economically or socially, and it consequently reinforced a ‘sense of place’. it would appear that the intangible but nonetheless crucial elements of social capital and ‘sense of place’ are key elements missing from those growing beach side communities that see themselves threatened by population growth. 8. conclusion globalisation has brought unprecedented rates of change in many regions of non-metropolitan australia and, while this paper has focused on two western australian regions, the unevenness of both the positive and negative effects of population change on regional development is typical throughout australia. the changes have been due to a variety of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors including depopulation in those areas which are usually limited to one primary resource, such as farming or mining, where there has been unparalleled efficiency drives and restructuring of the industries in line with neo-liberal economic principles. this has encouraged the pursuit of economies of scale and the wholesale harnessing of technology over labour inputs, causing large numbers of people and families to leave the industry sector and often the local community. these policies have influenced the rationalization of service and infrastructure provision in communities which has subsequently undermined the confidence of many regarding the future of small towns and communities in particular. 112 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) at the same time, there is a growing proportion of the population, particularly those who have become disenchanted with city living, moving to non-metropolitan coastal locations. while these towns are unlikely to have the problems with the provision of basic infrastructure, such services are often stretched and these communities also struggle to cope with the economic and social changes. both types of communities feel threatened and have grappled with change from a number of perspectives; some with more success than others. there is no simple solution to the problems of decay and growth, particularly as government at state and federal levels is reluctant to engage in proactive regional development initiatives. this paper has shown that new styles of leadership and the encouragement of non-traditional leaders to step forward was an important break with the past, and sparked new networks and initiatives to deal with old problems. it has also demonstrated that where government provides meaningful guidance to communities attempting to help themselves, then sustainable outcomes are more likely. as noted in this paper and others, cocklin & alston (2003); black & hughes (2001); kenyon & black (2001) and tonts (2000), the corralling of local people and resources in partnership with agencies such as government, thereby building local capacity, has resulted in productive outcomes for communities and even regional sustainability. an important ingredient is the willingness and commitment of local residents to drive new development agenda, often using new skills and collaborating across diverse, previously unknown, networks, including those of government. it is the presence of these catalysts which are often the difference between a community being a winner or loser in the restructured landscape. while many of the projects presented here are relatively small in scope, their impact has been broad, often prompting further initiatives. the hallmark of these successes has been a combination of both economic development but also community involvement and achievement, thereby enhancing quality of life. 113 haslam mckenzie • demographic challenges in western australia 114 acta structilia 2004:11(1&2) references alston, m. 1998. farm women and their work: why is it not recognised? journal of sociology, 34(1), pp. 23-34 australia. department of local government and regional development. 2003. indicators of regional development in western australia. perth: department of local government and regional development australian bureau of agriculture and resource economics. 2001. commodity news. abare update, 20, october. australian bureau of statistics. 2003a. australian social trends: family and community living arrangements: farming families. canberra: australian bureau of statistics. australian bureau of statistics. 2003b. australian social trends: population national summary tables. canberra: australian bureau of statistics. australian bureau of statistics. 2004a. regional population growth, australia, australian bureau of statistics. canberra, cat. no. 3218.0.55.001. australian bureau of statistics. 2004b. unpublished international trade statistics data. beer, a., haughton, g. & maude, a. 2003. international comparisons of local and regional economic development. in: beer, a. haughton, g & maude, a. 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(eds.). the land of discontent: the dynamics of change in rural and regional australia, sydney: unsw press, pp. 52-72. winter, i. (ed). 2000. social capital and public policy in australia. melbourne: australian institute of family studies. wiseman, j. 1998. global nation? australia and the politics of globalisation, cambridge: cambridge university press. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 w p smith1 south african wine farm valuation: a methodical approximation abstract in recent years obvious changes have taken place regarding the valuation of wine farms (and other farms) in south africa. the value of the rand declined strongly against other world currencies, for example the american dollar and the pound sterling. many foreigners used this opportunity to buy farms, especially wine farms, in south africa. the current poor exchange rate has drastically influenced the value of these farms. unreasonably high prices paid for a property destabilise the market and influence the property value of adjacent farms. the poor exchange rate as well as other factors e.g. the location, the state of the infrastructure and the current goodwill, to a large extent influence the final sales price, and thus focus on local property valuation methods. keywords: farm valuation, south africa, property value. suid-afrikaanse wynplaaswaardasie: 'n metodiese benadering die waardasie van wynplase, en ander plase, het die afgelope poor jaar 'n wending geneem. dit kan toegeskryf word aan die relatiewe swak waarde van die rand teenoor ander geldeenhede soos die amerikaanse dollar en die pond sterling. heelparty buitelanders maak van hierdie geleentheid gebruik om wynplase in suid-afrika te bekom. ander waardebepalende faktore speel ook 'n rol in die bepaling van die verkooppryse van hierdie plase, soos onder meer die fisiese aard van die grond, die bestaande infrastruktuur en die klandisiewaarde wat aan die plaas gekoppel is. die waardasie-metode wat gevolg word is uiters belangrik. dit is duidelik dot hierdie metode weldeurdag moet wees, veral weens bestaande wisselvallighede ten opsigte van sake wat in berekening gebring moet word. in kanada word byvoorbeeld daarop aangedring dot al drie basiese waardasie-metodes toegepas word ter verkryging van 'n meer betroubare antwoord, terwyl plaaslike waardeerders bloot die resultaat van 'n waardasie hoef te toets teen 'n alternatiewe waardasie-metode. die waardasie van elke wynplaas moet eerder as 'n unieke geval gehanteer word en 'n deeglike studie behoort van elke eiendom gemaak te word, ongeag watter metode gevolg word. sleutelwoorde: plaaswaardasie, suid-afrika, eiendomswaardering. willem p smith, nat. dip. building (ct) b tech(qs) (ct) m tech(qs) property valuation (ct). ph d in quantity surveying in process (ufs). masaqs. 67 smith/south african wine farm valuation 1. introduction 1.1 the subject matter a detailed study of the process of wine farm valuation to cover all its aspects is essential. however, this is not the aim of this article. this article focuses on the basic principles of wine farm valuation rather than on specialised scientific analysis. no attempt is made to provide a detailed explanation of the academic terminology and definitions of property valuation with respect to: • finance • highly specialised aspects influencing the market value • economy. 1.2 terminology of basic principles excellent books on property valuation in general are available and by consulting some of these sources the reader can acquire a sound knowledge of all terminology regarding the basic principles of property valuation as indicated in the bibliography. 1.3 the aim of this research this article may be useful to legal advisers in terms of wine farm valuation, to wine farmers, and to other role-players. people without the scientific knowledge regarding the basic aspects of property valuation may also benefit since the article raises the latest issues regarding wine farm valuation in south africa. 1.4 the problem very little research has been conducted on the topic of wine farm valuation in south africa. information on the subject of local wine farm valuation has only recently become available, though many american authors have shared their thoughts on this and similar subjects in the past. south african property appraisers can benefit from the experience and knowledge of their overseas peers. one of the most prominent figures in property appraisal in the world, the late r u ratcliff ( 1972: 5) commented on the subject as follows: 68 neither the adequacy of the market information which the appraiser can adduce nor the analytical techniques at his command will permit him to make a prediction of market price which is certain of exact realization should the property be exposed for sale. appraisal is an economic analysis under 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 conditions of uncertainty and its findings can be expressed only in probabilistic terms. upon careful consideration of the above-mentioned statement, it is obvious that notwithstanding the quality of the information obtained, there is always the probability that the end result may vary. this exacerbates problems experienced by appraisers worldwide. the one factor that aggravates the local situation is the lack of factual written information. by consulting leading figures in property valuation in south africa, it is possible to highlight some issues regarding the process of valuation. valuers compiled a questionnaire during wine farm valuations. the list varies in some instances depending on the information available at the time of valuation, and includes some of the following questions: • what method of valuation is best when valuing wine farms? • what factors mostly influence the value of farms? • can an improved method of valuation regarding wine farms be derived or are the current methods adequate? • does the fact that specialised wine farms are seldom appraised, force these properties into the so-called 'specialised property' segment of the market, or can all wine farms be considered as an entity of one type and be valued accordingly? 1.5 physical factors contributing to the farm's value the most important contributing factors to the wine farm's value are the physical conditions of the property. the factor that has the greatest influence on property value is the location of the farm. this is true for most properties. the better the location, the greater the value. the location of a property is directly related to its market price. only a limited 'supply' of areas are suitable for wine-farming in south africa and all the available land in these areas is usually developed into wine farms, making it difficult for prospective developers to find other suitable land. in south africa some of the few good locations for grape production are: the boland, hex river valley, orange river district and some districts in the western cape. this scenario 'forces' a prospective farmer to buy a developed farm. it can be stated that the market for wine farms is based on scarcity. airea (1983:311-312) has the following opinion regarding 'scarcity': ... [l]f demand is constant, the scarcity of a commodity makes it more valuable. land, for example is still generally 69 smith/south african wine farm valuation abundant, but useful, desirable land is relatively scarce, and therefor has greater value. no object, including real property, can have value unless scarcity is coupled with utility. air, which has a high level of utility, has no definable economic value because it is abundant. many physical factors influence the production of wine and contribute to the value of the farm in the sense that they complement the location of a specific farm. farms producing grapes for wine-making must be situated in the right climate zone. normally, the hotter the climate, the sweeter the grapes produced. cultivars for the production of chardonay and cabernet, the drier wines, thrive for example in the boland district. wine farms should have suitable soil conditions including an abundant water supply for irrigation purposes. climatic conditions, such as frost, may have a devastating effect on a harvest, and cultivars such as colombar that are easily affected, even by mild frost, must therefore be planted on higher ground. because of the limited sunshine, slopes and locations in europe are carefully examined to find the right spot for each of the various cultivars. we do not experience this problem in south africa, but farmers may consider planting cultivars such as riesling in cooler areas and cultivars such as shiraz, bukettraube and colombar in those areas protected from wind and frost. it is obvious that many physical factors influence the value of a wine farm, thus aggravating matters further. 2. methods used in the valuation of wine farms hofmeyer ( 1997) states that valuation in south africa seldom differs from that in overseas countries. however, we must bear in mind that certain aspects relating to valuation in south africa are different. it is true that the basic principles are similar, but some form of change is necessary to accommodate our specific needs. hofmeyer ( 1997) indicates that each valuation must be analysed individually. the final decision on the specific method to be used must only be made once all information concerning the property has been considered. canadian laws prescribe, for example, three major appraisal methods. by implementing this policy they hope to reduce human errors or faulty data used in a specific method. some of the major banking groups in south africa also use this procedure. 70 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 2.1 the comparable sales method the basic principle for this method entails the use of data collected from the sale of comparable property. the properties must, however, be recently sold under bona fide market conditions. many valuers see this method as the most reliable method of property valuation due to the fact that data from actual sales are used to compile a value of the relevant property. airea ( 1983:313) further states that the comparable sales method for property valuation has proved itself in many aspects of valuation throughout its history. the greatest disadvantage of this method, however, is the non­ availability of comparable sales, especially in the market for wine farms. some districts, classified as traditional wine areas, experience a fairly good turnover under new management. in other districts wine farms seldom change hands and in these cases the valuer might find it difficult to obtain useful information to apply in his calculations. another factor to take into account is the time of a sale and when comparable sales are selected. it is useless to obtain information on property not sold recently. fluctuations in the market can create a sudden escalation or drop in the value of wine farms. the performance of the wine-sales on the open market indicates to a large extent the value of the wine­ producing estate. ratcliff ( 1972: 252) states: the price that a property will command in the market place reflects the expectations of buyers and sellers with respect to future productivity. the above-mentioned statement should be considered carefully in the case of income-producing property. the main issue regarding the goodwill of wine farms is the impact of supply and demand on the market. farms marketing popular wines will be more valuable to their owners than farms whose wines are currently not so popular. the effect of goodwill on the market­ value of the farm can therefore be a useful tool, indicating the rise or fall in the generally assumed selling price. this will be dealt with in more detail in a discussion of the income capitalisation approach. the application of the comparable sales method is fairly simple if information is available. to make the chosen sale comparable to the property in question, the valuer uses a matrix table comprising the utilities of the subject property of those recently sold. as such the valuer determines whether the subject property 71 smith/south african wine farm valuation or the comparable is more desirable and a range of values can be established. the most important issue, however, is the use of property reflecting good market data. kinnard (1979: 101) describes sound market data as those that reflect the typical actions and reactions of buyers and sellers in the market place. smith (1998: 135) emphasises this point by stating that the value of the result of the application of the comparable sales method depends mainly on the scrutinising skills of the valuer. poorly chosen sales may cause the end result to shift to such an extent as to create the wrong perspective of the subject property. behrman (1995: 12) mentions the following typical points that need to be considered when judging comparable sales: • the size of a farm • the specific type of wine farm • the date of sale • the location • the production capacity • the extent of improvements to the farm. each of these characteristics affects the market value of the farm and must be carefully scrutinised before deciding on whether it is necessary to incorporate a specific point under consideration. wine farms do not sell as frequently as beef ranches or sheep farms. it all depends upon the district where the sale is taking place. in order to obtain information regarding farm sales, local estate agents and the deeds office must be consulted. the effectiveness of the comparable sales method of property valuation depends .to a great extent upon the quality of data collected by the valuer. when comparing properties, the appraiser has to decide on the nature of the variables between the comparable sales and the subject property. it is essential, according to airea (1983: 124), not to have too many variables because too many additions to and subtractions from the sales prices of both subject and comparable property tend to cause inaccuracies. airea (1983: 124) prefer those variables with the largest influence on sales prices. one of the most common variables is the size of the farm. sizes normally differ to such an extent that it is best to make smallscale comparisons rather than to take the entire property into account. the use of this method is, according to smith (1998: 141), based on the comparison between units expressed in hectare and does not include additional value factors such as homesteads, cellars, etc. this tends to be the more popular version to date. 72 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l in addition it is necessary to emphasize the necessity to use only bona fide sales figures. when property economists analyse sales figures of farms in a certain district they usually apply the abnormal lease in or decrease in sales figures over a short period of time to incorrect methods or data used to appraise the property. farmers usually enquire how to improve the value of their wine estates. the answer to this question is simple. because the sales comparisons approach to market valuation is most frequently used in south africa, it would be wise to follow these indicators: • make sure that the physical condition of the farm is at its best, but over-capitalisation on physical features are not advisable. • plant only those cultivars that perform well in the target market. • farmers should not try and compete with other farms with specialised additions such as cellars and distilleries. these additions are expensive and need careful management in order to maintain their feasibility. it is surprising how many private cellars marketing their own brands of wine do not fare so well as they would have hoped to. however careful management and aggressive marketing can make such specialized additions one of the most valuable assets of a farm. • quality management is of the utmost importance. some physical factors are costly to improve. these improvements can lead to over-capitalization and must be avoided. it is necessary to look at the advantages and disadvantages of the sales comparison approach to wine farm appraisal. here actual sales are compared. there are no statistics involved and the answer is based on recent market-related sales. this method is simple to grasp and easy to follow. the main disadvantage of the comparable sales method is the fact that none of the comparable sales of wine farms used are alike. every property has its own character and the additions and subtractions in value to make it 'comparable' to the subject property, have their risks.the availability of comparable sales can prove to be a problem, especially if no recent sales took place in the district where the subject property is situated. moritz ( 1983: 116) indicates that most often the appraiser has no inside information regarding surrounding sales transaction. this may affect the market value of the specific property. this method is however the most popular and user-friendly one with regard to wine farm valuation. 73 smith/south african wine farm valuation 2.2 the income capitalisation method airea (1983: 407) describes the income capitalisation method as follows: the income capitalization approach to value is a procedure through which anticipated economic benefits are converted into a value estimate; it is a basic tool for the valuation of income-producing property. the income capitalisation approach reflects the relationship between the annual net earnings of an interest in property and the value or sales price of that interest. it is based on the anticipation of buyers that the specific property might yield certain estimated profits in the future. in the valuation of wine farms the earnings from the land and the annual cash flow are the primary concern (airea, 1983: 408). in projecting income, the valuer with a good knowledge of farming operations will provide better results since he is aware of those factors that impact on the income. it is important to note that farm income should not only reflect the current year's records, but also provide an average record of the past three to five years. the data from one year's income can be misleading, especially when that particular year proves to be a bad or exceptionally good year. on the other hand an average record of a few years can provide an inaccurate reading of the current trends in the market. in order to be able to calculate gross and net income, the valuer has to understand the total economy of the farm. knowledge of the essential factors regarding the calculation of gross and net income will enable him to interpret the available data. according to airea (1983: 408-409), production capacity and good management create gross income. to determine the quality and stability of the income stream, the property characteristics must be viewed against other similar properties in the area. attention should be paid to both the management of the property and the current and anticipated trends in agricultural economy. this method of wine farm appraisal can thus prove to be a useful tool, because wine farms are income-producing property. kinnard (1979: 150) emphasizes this point and indicates that this method is used as a way to express the ratio between the annual net income and the possible sales price. murray (1969: 112) indicates several aspects regarding the use of the income capitalisation method of appraisal. the main issue of murray's findings is that the appraiser must have a sound 74 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 knowledge of the type of property to be appraised. some of the factors to investigate are: specific production capacity, the quality of the farm's management and access to capital. all these factors influence the income and must be carefully scrutinised. airea (1983: 423) indicates five steps in valuing property by implementing the income capitalisation method: • estimate the typical gross income • estimate the potential net income by subtracting the expenses from the gross income • determine the most appropriate capitalisation method • develop the appropriate ratios • complete the calculations. the most important aspect of this method of property valuation is the research, which the appraiser completes before attempting to do any calculations (airea, 1983: 423). 2.2.1 calculation of income a wine estate can be managed in two ways: by ownership or by renting. when valuing the farm the valuer needs to investigate the typical ownership in the vicinity of the farm. according to airea (1983: 422), it is almost axiomatic that better management is attracted to better farms. in farming communities where good management is standard practice, above-average production usually follows. the opposite holds in the case of poor management. the net income or annual cash flow generated by a specific farm illustrates the debt-carrying capacity of the estate. this may have a significant impact on the sales terms. in south africa there are more owner-operator farms than otherwise. one of the most important considerations regarding the calculation of the net income of a wine farm is an intimate knowledge of the farming operations. a study of airea (1983: 420-422) reveals that the typical operations of farms can differ from district to district, and indicates that landlord-tenant income and expenditure is the most reliable method for applying the income capitalisation approach to rural property valuation, and states: it is the most reliable and expedient method for extracting the specific income that is attributable to the real property itself. consequently, this is the method most typically relied upon in rural appraisal. it must, however, be borne in mind that the above-mentioned statement applies to the american situation as far as farm appraisal 75 smith/south african wine farm valuation is concerned. the use of a more comparable sales method might be preferable within the south african context. a) calculating gross income both ratcliff (1979: 122) and airea (1983: 425) belong to the same school of thought when they describe the purpose of determining the gross income. according to them, the primary purpose is a step towards the calculation of the net income. airea (1983: 425) stresses the importance of determining whether the various cultivars planted on the farm actually represent the cultivars that prove to be popular in that particular district. the incorporation of new cultivars normally provides good results, and unknown or unfamiliar cultivars must be carefully considered. grapevines may have a productive life of up to twenty years or more. replanting with other cultivars could prove to be a costly exercise. b) calculating effective gross income the effective gross income of farms can be seen as that income generated from all external sources such as subsidies from the government or from foreign sources. in the current economic times these subsidies will not have an effect, but must be dealt with as and when they do occur. kinnard (1979: 132) stresses that no wine farm functions as a separate entity. it is incorporated in an existing system, which include labourers, the market places and the infrastructure of the surrounding areas. all these factors eventually have an effect on the value of a farm. 2.2.2 analysing the expenses in order to determine the net operating income of a farm, all expenses must be deducted from the gross income. it is essential to conduct a proper study to allow the valuer to make a sound valuation, not only of the direct expenses but also with regard to the indirect expenses such as possible improvements, to enable the farm to generate a larger income. some of the expenses to be included in the valuation are: labour, insecticides, irrigation, tax, insurance on the harvest and the maintenance costs. the farmer can thus minimise these expenses by maintaining the structures on the farm or by concentrating on aspects that will reduce the expenses on for instance insurance. however, only those strategies that truly enhance the value of the farm must be implemented. the next step in the income capitalisation approach to property valuation is to determine the net operational income. this refers to a calculation of all expenses over the past five years. 76 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l 2.2.3 capitalisation rate the capitalisation rate refers to the likely proceeds generated by the implementation of a comparable method of investment. according to airea (1983: 418), the formula for determining the market value is expressed as follows: market value = net operating income 7 capitalisation rate. in the event of the valuation of a wine farm, where some of the additions such as specialised equipment have a short lifespan, two steps counteract the latter: • a reserve addition to the income-expense statement that acts as a buffer to counteract rapid depreciation of an asset • a component similar to the one indicated above, is implemented in the capitalisation rate, though this tends to have a negative impact on the value of a farm. according to airea (1983: 419), it is interesting to note that the capitalisation rate is much higher in the case of owner-operated farms than otherwise, where the capitalisation rate tends to be higher. a higher capitalisation rate indicates a higher risk, but higher risks tend to yield higher profits. the process for obtaining a capitalisation rate is not a simple one and should rather be left to professionals. suter (1992: 145) indicates that the higher the capitalisation rates the lesser the value of the farm and vice versa. this issue can be illustrated in the history of farm sales in america in the seventies. at that time, the capitalisation rate was approximately l ,25% and the farm values were relatively high, but in the eighties, when the capitalisation rates rose to 7,5%, the value of those farms dropped accordingly. according to behrmann (1995: 24) there are a few instances when a low capitalisation rate is preferred: • if the subject property is family-owned and the likely buyer is to be the farmer and owner • when the expected buyer indicates that he does not want the farm for monetary reasons only • when the relevant property is a portion of a farm that is doing good business • when the farm is adjacent to a wine-farming community • if the farm is situated in an area where its physical assets are considered to be good. the discounted cash-flow analysis is a more appropriate and more useful method of property valuation. this method is best applied when a computer is used in the process of valuation. as 77 smith/south african wine farm valuation with the previously mentioned methods, it largely depends upon the availability and the quality of data. the better the information received, the better the answer. according to airea (1983: 420), the discounted cash-flow analysis calculates the amount, risk and timing of the estimated income by means of a specific time-related income projection. each period's net income will be discounted to a present value by making use of an interest rate. the use of spreadsheets on a computer will simplify this process to a large extent. 2.3 the cost method the basis of the cost approach of property valuation renders this method almost inappropriate for the valuation of wine farms. the main reason for not recommending this method of valuation for wine farms is that it is almost impossible to calculate depreciation. it can, however, be used when sufficient information is not available to implement the other two valuation methods. when the normal depreciation formula is applied on a 300-year-old farm, the value of the farm will be considerably less than that of the same farm valued by using one of the other two methods. most of the old farms are considered 'property with historical value' and are worth much more than some of the 'young farms with new buildings, and new irrigation systems'. according to airea (1983: 345), values derived from the cost approach are not supported by market information, and must be considered with caution. in south africa the tendency is to use professional quantity surveyors to 'value' structures. experienced valuers for wine farms are scarce. usually valuers derive the 'value' of a structure by estimating the replacement cost of the structures on the property. the building-depreciation is deducted from the reconstruction cost, and the answer indicates the 'value' of the structure. in the case of older properties, such as many wine farms, the term 'depreciation' poses problems. 3. what is considered good value for money? the typical buyers of wine farms in south africa are primarily interested in making a profit, and farms with notable goodwill will raise higher prices than those with a less favourable name or turnover. it is thus essential to farm and market in such a way that the goodwill of the estate increases on an annual basis. the good name of the farm together with respected goodwill eventually account for a price increase. 78 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 another factor which influences the market value of wine farms is the location of the farm relative to other farms in its vicinity. research indicates that the effect of the location on the final market value is not as large as expected when compared with the income utility generating attributes in other types of property such as cattle farms. the location can, however, be the decisive factor when buyers consider a specific property. factors such as the distance from the market, the surroundings of the farm and the area in which the farm is situated play a definite role in the buying process. many wine farms make use of unique marketing strategies to sell their products. some of these strategies include catering for foreign tourists with the hope of entering foreign markets. it is therefore essential to develop the farm in such a way that it meets the needs of the seasoned tourists. an effort to market a wine farm which is not yet ready for the specific market can do more harm than good if a maximum market value is not an objective (smith, 1998: 335). 4. conclusion an overall view of property valuation and the valuation of wine farms, in particular, indicates that much research needs to be done in south africa. regardless of the valuation method used, the answer should always be tested against another method or by applying market-related information. practically all the data used in valuation equations are market-related. hence, property valuation is a non-scientific field of study. opinions differ and most valuers adhere to their own method. bibliography airea 1983. eighth edition. the appraisal of real estate. airea: chicago. behrmann, h.i. 1995. form land valuation. department of agriculture economics, pietermarizburg: university of natal. ellenberger, e.l. 1982. the valuer. durban : butterworths. gildenhuys, a. 1976. onteieningsreg. durban: butterworths. hofmeyer, d. 1997. personal notes on the valuation of farms. cape town. 79 smith/south african wine farm valuation kinnard, w.n. 1979. principles and techniques of real property appraising. mass.: lexington books. maritz, n.g. 1983. business economics bec306-3 /market valuation/ study guide. pretoria: university of south africa. murray, w.h. 1969. fifth edition. farm appraisal and valuation. iowa: ames iowa state university press. ratcliff, r.u. 1972. readings on appraisal and its foundation economics. wisconsin: university of wisconsin press. smith, w.p. 1998. 'n ontleding van wynplaaswaardasie-metodologie in suid­ afrika. departement van argitektuur en boukunde. kaapstad: kaapse technikon. squire, b. 1975. south african property and the valuer. cape town: juta. suter, r.c. 80 1980. third edition. the appraisal of farm real estate. danville: interstate printers & publishers inc. 115 ian moss & john smallwood an investigation of training and mentoring of emerging contractors in the eastern cape peer reviewed abstract having an effective mentoring programme in place in the construction industry is critical to the development and growth of emerging contractors as well as the industry as a whole. a survey was undertaken among the mentees who attended a specific mentoring programme in the eastern cape to establish the need for training, mentoring and monitoring of emerging contractors. primary data was collected by means of a telephonic survey of the emerging contractors as well as the mentors and service providers regarding the mentoring programme. secondary data was obtained from the survey of the literature. the main findings were that there is a huge need for training and mentoring of emerging contractors and that monitoring after completion of the programme is a necessity. furthermore, although it was determined that all facets of training and mentoring are important, in order to ensure the overall development of emerging contractors, the development of financial and management skills on site requires the most attention. keywords: training, mentoring, monitoring, emerging contractors abstrak om ’n effektiewe mentorskap-program in plek te hê vir die konstrukie-industrie is krities vir die ontwikkeling en groei van opkomende kontrakteurs, sowel as die industrie as geheel. ’n studie is onderneem tussen opkomende kontrakteurs wat ’n spesifieke mentorskap-program in die oos kaap bygewoon het, om vas te stel of daar ’n vraag na opleiding, mentorskap en monitering van opkomende kontrakteurs bestaan. primêre data is gevorder deur middel van ’n telefoniese vraelys aan opkomende kontrakteurs oor die mentorprogram so wel as die mentors en diensverskaffers van die program. sekondêre data was gevorder vanaf literatuur. die hoof bevindinge is dat daar ’n groot aanvraag vir opleiding en mentorskap van opkomende kontrakteurs is, en dat monitering na voltooiing van die mentorskapprogram ’n noodsaaklikheid is. verder is daar gevind dat, alhoewel alle fasette van opleiding en mentorskap belangrik is, om te verseker dat algehele ontwikkeling van die opkomende kontrakteur plaasvind, finansiële en bestuursbekwaamheid die meeste aandag benodig. sleutelwoorde: opleiding, mentorskap, monitering, opkomende kontrakteurs mr ian moss, lecturer faculty of engineering, department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, 5247, south africa. email: <qssel@telkomsa.net> prof. john smallwood, head of department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa. email: <john. smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 116 1. introduction the greeks defined the term ‘mentoring’ as early as 800bc (carruthers, 1991). a more recent definition of mentoring is: a mentor is a trusted councillor or teacher and can be seen as the process of walking alongside someone to learn from them (anon, 2005: online). training is a method of instruction and should not be confused with mentoring. according to anon (2005: online) training involves the transfer of learning from one individual, usually an expert, to another individual or a group. furthermore, as a result of mentoring having been viewed as a career development tool in organisations, researchers have focused on identifying the antecedents and consequences of mentoring, and have not specifically focused on integrating mentoring with other career and organisational constructs such as the construction industry (greenhaus & callanan, 1994). since 1994, the democratically elected government of south africa has brought about various changes and challenges. the construction industry entered into a new ‘era’ with a plethora of ‘emerging contractors’ entering the market. this resulted in changes in mindsets and new approaches as to how projects should be managed from a consulting point of view, as well as from the emerging contractors’ perspective. for a number of years the main focus was on ‘economic empowerment’, which in the building industry specifically refers to black emerging contractors (sigcau, 2000; hauptfleisch, 2000). this in turn resulted in new challenges, inter alia, to ensure that not only ‘empowerment’ is experienced, but that sustainable business enterprises are realised. however, due to the poor performance of emerging contractors in the form of either late completion on non completion of projects, it become clear that there was a dire need for the training of emerging contractors. initially, training constituted a minor component in terms of realising sustainable business enterprises and more and more emphasis was placed on ‘mentoring’ as well as ‘monitoring’ of emerging contractors. various training and mentorship programmes have been developed and implemented. in terms of the skills development act of 1998, the construction education and training authority (ceta) were formed (ceta, 2006). the ceta developed a sector skills plan through a consultative process, which allowed for a ‘training and development strategy’ for the sector (ceta, 2006). furthermore, the national government launched the emerging contractor development programme (ecdp), which focused on the building industry (department of public works, 2002). this was specifically designed with the empowerment of black emerging contractors in mind moss & smallwood • training and mentoring of emerging contractors in the eastern cape 117 (hauptfleisch, 2000). sigcau (2000: online) highlights the importance of mentoring as follows: in essence, we are talking of black contractors who are struggling to overcome business impediments as a result of apartheid, and who therefore need support to ensure that they do indeed merge into the mainstream of the south african economy. the critical research question is whether the need for training and mentoring still exists and if the level of literacy or skills relative to certain facets of building affect firstly, the focus of mentoring and training, and secondly the outcome or results obtained through the mentoring and training programmes. this article reports on research conducted relative to a specific mentoring programme and presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations for the future development of similar programmes. 2. research method the primary objective was to establish the level of literacy, building literacy or competency of emerging contractors and determine whether a need for training and mentoring relative to certain facets exist. furthermore the objective was to determine what effect the training and mentoring had on emerging contractors that had undergone training on a mentoring programme. the descriptive survey method was used for data generation and analysis (leedy & ormrod, 2004). the quantitative research method was applied which relies on measurement of variables to compare and analyse the data. a questionnaire was developed relating to the research problem and sub-problems and the required data was gathered through telephonic interviews. telephonic interviews were used as it was quicker and most of the target population were contactable by phone. the research population targeted was from areas where the questionnaire, in many cases, would not have reached the correspondents by post and where certain questions posed would have required an explanation to ensure that the interpretation of the question is fully understood. neuman (1991) states that the telephonic interview is a popular survey method as about 95% of the population can be reached by telephone. babbie (2004) remarks that sometimes respondents will be more honest in giving answers especially socially disapproved answers if they do not have to look you in the eye. du plooy (2001) agrees that the fact that respondents do not have time to think about their answers can increase the control over and the accuracy of respondents. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 118 the data was analysed with the help of a data analyst and the software package spss version 14. secondary data was obtained through a literature review of relevant publications and sources from libraries and the internet, which was used in the compilation of the questionnaire for the survey. 3. sample population the sample population comprised of respondents that were part of the original eastern cape development corporation (ecdc) mentoring programme. the population was classified according to two geographic profiles obtained from the ecdc. a total number of 34 possible respondents were identified comprising of 22 emerging contractors or mentees, 10 mentors or consultants and 2 service providers who provided the academic training component of the programme. 27 constituents of the entire research population were sampled utilising availability as a sampling method and this formed the basis for the data analysis and the drawing of subsequent conclusions. it should be noted that some members of the population were not contactable or had left the industry. a number of the respondents, mentors as well as the training providers requested that the results be made available to them, underscoring the importance of the study. leedy & omrod (2004) provide guidelines for the identification of a sufficient sample and for a small population of less than 100, in which case the target population requires no sampling. 4. survey results the perceptions of the respondents were measured on the basis of a five point likert type scale. the five points were scaled as: 1 = very low or poor; 2 = low or below average; 3 = average; 4 = high or above average, and 5 = very high or excellent. the data was analysed firstly by exploring the demographic characteristics of the research participants. the demographics section is sub-divided into descriptives and cross-tabulations. the descriptives’ section examines the frequency scores of the variables town, gender, age, home language, total experience in the building industry, total experience in management, highest qualification, as well as personal involvement. secondly, the data was examined through the compilation of descriptive and inferential statistics. in terms of descriptive statistics, the variables, namely literacy, need for mentoring, need for training, effect of training and mentoring as well as the need for monitoring, moss & smallwood • training and mentoring of emerging contractors in the eastern cape 119 were examined through a mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores. findings in terms of descriptive statistics were prepared by a means comparison with sub-grouping of the variables, variable 1: training and mentoring, and variable 2: literacy and the effect of training and mentoring. 4.1 sample population and response rates table 1 illustrates the composition of the sample population and the response rates. table 1: sample population and response rates designation sample population response rate number percentage number percentage training service provider 2 5.9 2 100.0 mentors 10 29.4 10 100.0 emerging contractors 22 64.7 15 68.2 total 34 100 27 79.4 an overall response rate of 79.4% was achieved, which included a 100% response rate relative to both the training service providers and mentors, but only a 68.2% response rate relative to the emerging contractors. 79.4% is a relatively high overall response rate and therefore the findings should provide a true and accurate reflection of the prevailing status. the respondents all originate and are resident in the eastern cape and although spread throughout the rural areas, it is notable that the two major urban areas, port elizabeth and east london, had an equal representation of 29.6%. the majority of respondents (74.1%) were male and the remaining 25.9% female, reflecting the distribution in an environment that has historically been dominated by males. of the respondents, 33.3% were within the 35-44 age category closely followed by the age group 45-54 (29.6%). the age group 34 and below were represented by 18.5% of the respondents. cross-tabulations of demographic data were used to highlight some correlations between descriptive demographic variables. cross tabulations were conducted relative to gender and age, gender and personal involvement, personal involvement and home language, and experience in the building industry and personal involvement. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 120 4.2 home language and form of involvement 14 of the 15 contractors were xhosa speaking, compared to 1 afrikaans speaking contractor (table 2). this indicates that the emerging contractor programme is addressing the needs of previously disadvantaged individuals. table 2: home language relative to form of involvement language form of involvement (no.) total mentor / consultant contractor xhosa 2 14 16 afrikaans 3 1 4 english 7 0 7 total 12 15 27 4.3 experience and form of involvement the majority of the mentors had more than 15 years experience in the building industry (table 3). this indicates that the mentors should be considered capable as they possess the requisite experience. most of the contractors had less than ten years experience in the building industry, whereas only 2 contractors had more than ten years experience, which clearly indicates that the correct people are being mentored. table 3: experience per form of involvement years experience form of involvement (no.) total (%) mentor / consultant contractor 0-5 0 3 11.1 6-10 2 6 29.6 11 – 15 2 2 14.8 16–20 1 3 14.8 21 + 7 1 29.6 total 12 15 100.0 4.4 general literacy and skills of emerging contractors the questionnaire addressed the general literacy and competencies of the emerging contractors and the findings indicate that the general literacy pertaining to reading and writing was of an acceptable standard, the mean score of 3.56 being > 3. although cross-cultural communications (4.11), interpretation of building plans (3.30), and management and administration of building sites (3.04) achieved moss & smallwood • training and mentoring of emerging contractors in the eastern cape 121 mean scores above 3, interpretation of bar charts (2.67) and financial management (2.67) did not. this clearly indicates the lack of critical skills in terms of managing projects and also the business of construction, and that the emerging contractors lack, or need financial skills and programming skills. furthermore, the mean score relative to management and administration of building sites (3.04) is marginally above 3, which indicates a need for enhancement of this skill. 4.5 need for training and mentoring the need for training in financial management was identified as the greatest, with a mean score of 4.11, further supported by the fact that not a single respondent scored a 1 relative to this skill. furthermore, the standard deviation was the second lowest of all the elements, indicating that there is low dissent among respondents relative to this skill. this need was closely followed by training in construction programmes and bar charts (3.74), and training in the interpretation of building plans (3.63). although, the management and administration of building sites has a mean score of 3.44, there is a need for training relative thereto. given that the reading and writing mean score is 3.00, this skill can be deemed to be the one requiring the least enhancement. as expected, that in terms of the need for mentoring there is a strong correlation with the need for training, with scores ranging from 1, a very low need for mentoring, and 5, a very high need for mentoring. however, the need for mentoring in financial management (3.89) was identified as the greatest. this is further supported by the fact that not a single respondent had scored a 1 relative to the skill. as with the need for training in financial management, the standard deviation was the second lowest of all the elements, indicating that there is low dissent among respondents relative to this skill. this need was closely followed by the need for mentoring in interpretation of bar charts and follows the same trend as in the case of training. table 4 indicates that with the exception of reading and writing, overall there is a need for mentoring relative to all the skills. table 4: need for mentoring mentoring pertaining to no. of respondents minimum maximum mean score standard deviation reading and writing 27 1 5 2.67 1.27 interpretation of building plans 27 1 4 3.48 1.01 interpretation of bar charts 27 1 4 3.85 0.91 acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 122 management and administration of building sites 27 1 4 3.48 1.01 financial management 27 1 4 3.89 0.97 4.6 effect of training and mentoring with the exception of reading and writing, the mean scores for all the skills were above 3.00, which indicates that the training and mentoring can be deemed to have enhanced the respective skills (table 5). the mean score relative to reading and writing, which scored significantly lower than the other skills, indicates where training and mentoring had the least effect. however, previously cited statistics indicated that there was not a major need for improvement relative to this particular skill. table 5: effect of training and mentoring on skills skill no. of respondents minimum maximum mean score standard deviation reading and writing 27 1 5 2.63 1.18 interpretation of building plans 27 1 4 3.07 0.78 interpretation of bar charts 27 1 5 3.30 0.87 management and administration of building sites 27 1 4 3.11 0.97 financial management 27 1 4 3.04 0.71 4.7 need for monitoring the need for monitoring, which includes continuous training and mentoring, achieved a very high mean score, namely 4.37. monitoring can be deduced to be extremely important since the intervention makes an overall difference in the sustainable performance of contractors. however, 88.8% of the respondents perceived monitoring to be of the utmost importance reinforcing the deduced need therefore. the continuous monitoring of mentees, especially after the completion of the training and mentoring programme will ensure that the programs are having the desired effect on the mentees and the building industry. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 124 5. conclusions an enormous amount of money is spent on training and mentoring programmes by government and other role players in the industry. the results of the survey indicate that for the programmes to have the desired effect, the following recommendations should be considered by the implementation agencies or institutions that are involved with training and mentoring in the construction industry: all facets of the training programme should be covered and • are equally important to the success of the mentees; more time should be spent relative to financial management • and cost control on a building project; trainers and mentors should ensure that the emerging • contractors, after completion of the programme, have the ability to not only read and interpret the construction programmes, but have the ability to develop and understand construction programmes or bar-charts themselves; mentors should dedicate more time to the mentoring • of emerging contractors relative to administration and management of a building site, and institutions or implementing agencies that administer training • and mentoring programmes should budget for the monitoring of emerging contractors to ensure the successful completion of a sustainable programme. a lack of funding should not be seen or used as an excuse not to train and mentor emerging contractors. the growing economy, which fuels the building industry, requires the delivery of projects to requirements, which needs to be achieved using sustainable contractors, emerging contractors included. however, this can only be achieved through substantial investment in the training and mentoring of emerging contractors. sustainability of these contractors can further be ensured by the funding and implementation of monitoring programmes after completion of mentoring programmes to ensure that the initial investment is secured for the industry. moss & smallwood • training and mentoring of emerging contractors in the eastern cape 125 references anon. 2005. training, facilitation, coaching and mentoring: understanding the differences. [online]. available from: <http://www.strategicperformance.net> [accessed 1 june 2005]. babbie, e. 2004. the practice of social research. 10th ed. belmont, california: thompson-wadsworth. carruthers, j. 1993. the principles and practice of mentoring. in: caldwell, b.j. & carter, e.m. (eds.). the return of the mentor – strategies for workplace learning. london: falmer press, pp. 9 43. ceta, 2006. the ceta sector skills plan. available from: <http://www. ceta.org.za/sectorskillsplan/chapter_01.htm> [accessed 6 september 2006]. du plooy, g. 2001. communication research. cape town: juta. greenhaus, j. & calanan, g. 1994. career management. 2nd ed, london: dryden press. hauptfleish, d. 2000. mentorship empowering emerging building contractors. projectpro, march, 15. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j. e. 2004. practical research planning and design. 8th ed. upper saddle river, new jersey: prentis-hall inc. neuman, l. 2003. social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches. 5th ed. boston: allyn and bacon. department of public works. 2002. emerging contractor development program. road pavement forum, 7-8 may. sigcau, s. 2000. towards a national emerging contractor development programme public sector workshop, opening address by minister stella sigcau, 24 january, [online]. available from: <http:// www.polity.org.za/html/govdocs/speeches/2000/sp0124.htm> [accessed 6 september 2006]. 106 gerald steyn african courtyard architecture: typology, art, science and relevance peer reviewed abstract because current international trends in urban design principles are towards compact neighbourhoods and housing, attempts to accommodate south africa’s lower-income households in massive schemes of identical little freestanding houses is increasingly being questioned. but instead of only considering euro-american models, should planners and architects not also investigate traditional settlements for formative ideas? most sub-saharan vernacular dwellings, including the archetypal clustering of huts around an open living space, are conceptually a courtyard configuration, and courtyard housing offers relatively high densities, privacy and protected outdoor living space, as well as allowing a social mix – all desirable characteristics of a good contemporary neighbourhood. this study attempts to determine the relevance of traditional african courtyard houses for contemporary urban solutions by investigating a number of representative examples in terms of their potential for densification, ability to provide privacy and psychological well-being, climatic behaviour and responsiveness to social and economic needs. while both informal and formal housing have been wasteful in the use of land, functioning historic towns along africa’s east coast arguably offer ideas and concepts for the definition of a true african neighbourhood. the study suggests that, from the synthesis of historic precedent and custom, a contemporary model of courtyard houses could be developed that would contribute towards much more compact, low-energy an d socio-economically equitable neighbourhoods. keywords: african architecture, courtyard architecture, african urbanism prof. gerald steyn, ph.d. (architecture), research professor, dept of architecture, tshwane university of technology, private bag x680, pretoria 0001, south africa. email: <steyngs@tut.ac.za> 107 steyn • african courtyard architecture abstrak omdat internasionale tendense in stedelike ontwerp tans na kompakte woonbuurte en behuising neig, word pogings om suid-afrika se laer-inkomste huishoudings in massiewe skemas met identiese klein losstaande huisies te huisves toenemend bevraagteken. maar in plaas daarvan om slegs euro-amerikaanse modelle te oorweeg, moet beplanners en argitekte nie ook tradisionele nedersettings ondersoek vir vormende idiees nie? die meeste inheemse huise in sub-sahara afrika, insluitende die aartstipiese groepering van hutte rondom ’n oop leefruimte, is konseptueel binnehofkonfigurasies, en binnehofhuise bied ’n relatief hoë woondigtheid, privaatheid en beskermde veilige buiteleefruimtes, en maak sosiale vermenging moontlik – almal begeerlike eienskappe van ’n goeie hedendaagse woonbuurt. hierdie studie poog om die toepaslikheid van die tradisionele binnehofhuise van afrika vir hedendaagse stedelike oplossings te bepaal deur ’n aantal verteenwoordigende voorbeelde te ondersoek wat betref hul potensiaal vir verdigting, hul vermoë om privaatheid en sielkundige behaaglikheid te verskaf, hul klimatologiese gedrag en hul responsiwiteit teenoor sosiale en ekonomiese behoeftes. ofskoon sowel informele as formele behuising grond verkwis het, is daar geskiedkundige dorpe langs die ooskus van afrika wat idees en konsepte bied vir die definiëring van ’n ware afrikawoonbuurt. hierdie studie stel voor dat daar uit die sintese van historiese voorbeeld en gebruik ’n eietydse model vir binnehofhuise ontwikkel kan word wat tot baie meer kompakte, lae-energie en sosio-ekonomies regverdige woonbuurte kan bydra. sleutelwoorde: afrika argitektuur, binnehofargitektuur, afrika stedelikheid 108 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 1. c introduction and historical background ompact neighbourhoods and clustered housing are firmly entrenched principles in the new urban movement and rapidly becoming institutionalised in many parts of the world as a more sustainable alternative to suburban sprawl. the row upon row of small, identical, box-like, freestanding low-cost houses on the periphery of south african towns and cities are unquestionably problematic – not only is the wasteful low-density detached-unit approach of the past being perpetuated, but the situation is actually worse because these units are even more remote from economic opportunities, smaller and often of a much lower quality. in fact, the critic alan lipman not only laments the persistent provision of these single house per plot layouts to the exclusion of clusters, courtyards and other forms of low-rise highdensity housing, he also accuses local planners and architects of not having learned anything from traditional south african settlement models (2003: 95). one of the first manmade shelters was probably the ‘living-room floor’, a paleolithic phenomenon, which originated about a million years ago in the rift valley of east africa, the cradle of humankind. fences and windbreaks were added, and the space was sometimes cobbled (oliver, 1999: 21, 23). this arrangement eventually evolved into the temporary shelters of nomadic hunter-gatherers like the khoisan. the great bantu migrations, however, changed this stone age landscape. these iron-working agriculturalists gradually moved from their cradle land in west africa and established villages consisting of more permanent huts (reader, 1999: 184). the dissemination of their language, bantu, is significant: it is a language family that originated in the eastern nigeria-cameroon region and is the dominant language of africa south of the equator. most authors broadly agree that the bantu reached lake victoria by about 200 bc and the indian ocean by 200 ad, and moved down the zaire and through east africa, reaching the northern parts of mpumalanga and kwazulunatal by 300 ad, and the most southern limit of their expansion by about 1700 ad (wilcox, 1988: 95) (figure 1). the characteristic circular floor plan with wattle-and-daub walls and conically thatched roof evolved during the early iron age, 7th century bc (garlake, 1978: 61; oliver 1999: 84), and indeed seems to predominate in some areas to this day (figure 2). these dwellings have been built 109 figure 1: map of the great bantu migration source: mcevedy, 1995: 40 steyn • african courtyard architecture without architects and are classified as vernacular. such buildings are not designed to academic theories and rules, but rather follow the traditions of the people, as found in particular places. papanek (1995: 14) identifies some of the characteristics of the vernacular as human scale, a less self-conscious image, the use of local materials, customs and tradition, a good ‘fit’ with local ecology, energy efficiency and protection of raw materials. no wonder chrisna du plessis of the csir writes: “in a sense, this early architecture of grass or mud huts … can be seen as the ultimate in green architecture” (2001: 46) – a sound basis for a contemporary contribution to the international discourse on sustainable building and urbanism. acta structilia 2005:12(2) 11000 km d beehive • cone-on-cylinder rondavel • rectangular plan, cuboid or pitched roofed figure 2: distribution of styles in sub-saharan africa source: walton, 1956: 128 110 111 steyn • african courtyard architecture 2. aim, method and structure this study aims to explore the relevance of traditional african courtyard architecture to contemporary housing. relevance in this instance is simplistically described as historic concepts and configurations that could serve as patterns for appropriate contemporary settlements. interpretation relies on the comparative analyses of typologies, as well as an investigation of the art and science of their architecture. the biggest advantage of courtyard housing is the ability to achieve relatively high densities with a high level of privacy and protected outdoor living space. in addition, it encourages a social mix, evidently because its introverted nature is less revealing about the socioeconomic status of its occupants than western-type extroverted houses (schoenauer, 2000: 424). based on these inherent characteristics, the title reflects the structure of the study: • aggregation potential in order to achieve densification – typology; • privacy and psychological well-being – art; • climatic behaviour – science; • responsiveness to social and economic needs synthesised with the above – relevance; and • conclusions and recommendations for further research complete the report. 3. typology julia robinson identified four ways to classify environments (1994: 185), as set out in table 1. although this study recognises the critical impact of climate, culture and economic activities on house form, the focus is on the physical properties: form and layout … the aspects that could contribute towards broad-based contemporary conceptual solutions. table 1: robinson’s classification of environments 112 acta structilia 2005:12(2) classification related terminologies physical properties epistemic mode, formal orconfigural type how environments are made genetic code how environments are used functional mode how environments are understood symbolic/associational mode referring mostly to norberg-schulz (1985: 26-29), at homestead scale we define typology as a classification according to plan and three-dimensional form, topology as the spatial organisation of a plan, and morphology as the articulation of a type by applying the elements of style. at settlement scale, norberg-schulz regards typology as the synthesis of organised space and built form. he describes topology as the way the various parts of the settlement are grouped, and morphology as the “particular local character” of an environment (1985: 26, 33-48). baron is less ambiguous (1994: 253): “urban morphology is every material substance, artificial or natural, that makes up the urban artifact.” if the iconic image of the western house is the hearth and that of mediterranean and middle eastern houses that of the introverted courtyard, then the prevailing image of the archetypal indigenous southern african dwelling is unquestionably that of thatched huts around a courtyard. some observers might insist that a courtyard is tectonically a more enclosed form of open-to-sky space – as in greek and roman dwellings – but this study proposes that any open living space that is the focus, or organising structure, of a dwelling can typologically be classified as a courtyard. such spaces are indeed called a ‘courtyard’ by many scholars (elleh, 1997: 202; oliver, 1987: 185; kostof, 1995: 219; mönnig, 1967: 200), but are generally referred to variously as lolwapa, lelapa, or commonly, just lapa, in southern africa. this is the system of, amongst others, the ambo, sotho, pedi, tswana and ndebele tribes. both schoenauer (2000: 98) and brower (1996: 74) recognise a relationship between the traditional houses of sub-saharan africa and those of the middle east, based on the shared concept of courtyards (figure 3). the first villages evolved in the fertile crescent, and like these early middle eastern settlements, residential patterns developed in africa that are still in use today. both streams probably 113 steyn • african courtyard architecture started with windowless one-room mud-brick dwellings. evidence indicates that shelters in the near east originated from round houses in c. 7000 bc, but it seems as if the room evolved into the form adopted in the middle east in c. 3000 bc – a rectangular space with a horizontal floor and ceiling and vertical walls. bianca proposes that the courtyard house, adopted as a prototype by islam, was already ‘fully developed’ in ur by 2000 bc (bianca, 2000: 56). figure 3: comparison of african and arab settlement source: steyn, 2005: own drawing accepting this relationship offers a methodological benefit: it allows seamless comparison between purely african, afro-arab (swahili) and arab precedents – types that have co-existed along the east coast of africa for many centuries. the last category would include the omani houses found in stone town, zanzibar, for example, and those of north africa, which are outside the scope of this study, but are considered to offer the purest examples of the classic courtyard house (bianca, 2000: 81). a simplistic typological methodology, relying on diagrammatic reduction to reveal underlying principles, is applied. this is the methodology of bernard leupen and his colleagues at the faculty of architecture at the delft university of technology (1997). data on about fifty examples of dwelling types and forty of villages and towns were collected during the course of this study and drawn to scale 114 acta structilia 2005:12(2) figure 4: classification of types according to enclosure and density source: steyn, 2005a: own drawing • whether rooms are bunched or dispersed, in order to rate the degree of enclosure of courtyards and • whether homesteads are aggregated or freestanding, to determine the potential to achieve densification. it should be noted that these examples indicate a broad trend, and that there are most certainly exceptions. the four examples at the corners of the matrix are, therefore, probably spatially the extreme forms of settlement-making found in sub-saharan africa (figure 4). the lamu house – a tradition evidently inspired by the traditional houses of the arabian peninsula and the gulf – is the most compact urban form, while the malindi house, a vernacular derivative of the early swahili lamu type, is today the most prevalent residential form along the kenyan and tanzanian coast. many lamu houses are still owned by patrician merchant families, but many are also now being converted into holiday homes. most malindi houses are owned by merchants and craftsmen working from a front room. there is also a long tradition of subletting one or more rooms off the central corridor, with all the women using the courtyard for cooking. matthews writes that in african homesteads the value systems and social hierarchies of the owners are often clearly expressed. for example, in many african villages, the layout of a family compound will clearly show how many wives the head of the family has, the status of children, and whether cattle are more important than grain (1994: 16). that is certainly true. the pedi village at groblersdal shows a protective clustering facing the cattle kraal, while the open compound at watamu is indicative of small-scale vegetable and fruit farming, supplemented with fishing. the transitional examples are probably the most flexible types. the two nigerian examples are especially noteworthy because of their urban nature, with the zaria case showing the effect of rapid and unplanned urbanisation. of special significance is the location of contemporary informal settlement at the transect of both axes. the example shown is a mud-walled house on the rural-urban edge in montshiwa, outside mmabatho, south africa. it demonstrates the 115 steyn • african courtyard architecture on a computer. using a morphological matrix, the examples were graded according to the following two sets of criteria: 4.1 art what are the main differences between the ways arab and african courtyards are experienced and used? talib writes that the enclosed courtyard, as found in arid regions, “which forms the core of the house not only acts as a climatic moderator but generates a unique private lifestyle of cultural as well as spatial significance.” in arab countries, therefore, courtyard houses respond equally to cultural and climatic demands (talib, 1984: 45). oliver agrees (1987: 118): desert settlements tend to be clustered together and urban forms of compact housing are common throughout the middle east, as well as in many parts of the dry, savannah regions to the south of the sahara. muslim preference for domestic seclusion, particularly of women, plays an important part in the organization of villages and towns, but the climate exerts powerful constraints on building. lamu houses are enigmatic. the fact that the stone houses are climatically uncomfortable seems to confirm rapoport’s theory that traditional societies might have ceremonial and religious needs that are more important than climatic requirements. this situation could actually result in ‘anticlimatic’ solutions (1969: 20-22). early swahili existence seems to have been in a state of very precarious equilibrium. it worked, and the houses were part of the ‘magic’. they were symbols and inherent to the swahili culture. to change them 116 acta structilia 2005:12(2) robustness of vernacular rural technologies and the adaptability of indigenous forms in an urbanising situation. in the big cities overcrowding and unavailability of rural materials force squatters to adopt the ubiquitous shack technology of sheet metal over a timber frame. 4. art and science the ‘art’ and the ‘science’ of courtyard architecture are intrinsically related – the customs and social systems that make courtyard configurations so necessary emerged from a way of looking at the world that is heavily influenced by the climate and geography of the particular place. referring to art and architecture, risebero writes (1982: 11) that culture in general is “dependent ultimately on the way a society earns its living”, and that is inevitably determined by climate and natural resources. the categorisation below is, therefore, artificial and the divide blurred. 117 steyn • african courtyard architecture would mean changing the entrenched values and perceptions of the society. the african homestead consists of a scattered layout of separate huts around an open living space (talib, 1984), and a village consists of a scattered layout of such homesteads, sometimes with an enclosure wall. while each hut is simply an enclosed room, the open spaces – courtyards – are outdoor rooms, which are the settings for daily activities. the climates of eastern and southern africa allow year-round outdoor living, and enclosed space is used for cooking in inclement weather and sleeping only. this settlement form might seem ‘haphazard’ to the uninformed, but it is ecologically responsive and according to strict farming rules and cultural beliefs, which developed over centuries. even superficial examination reveals considerable order. units are certainly not randomly scattered, but organically arranged around a central space. spaces and paths in an african village are hierarchically organised, from public through semi-private to private. sleeping arrangements are also based on a strict age, gender and kinship division, and rarely require large spaces, even for the needs of extended families (figure 5). the fundamental concept is that a hut is not a home – the whole ensemble is (frescura, 1981: 162). in fact, walton writes (1956: 52): “the ‘lelapa’, enclosed by the reed screen, was actually the real home, the hut itself serving only as sleeping quarters and store room.” the bilobial dwelling with its front and rear courtyard is a significant type (figure 6). generally the front courtyard is a semi-public outdoor space used for cooking, eating and entertaining, while the rear courtyard provides the family with private outdoor space (mönnig, 1967: 208-209; frescura, 1981: 154-157). marc suggests that “african villages are usually planned in a circle around a central area, a garden for everyone”, where the individual psyche prefers a communal rather than isolated setting (1977: 116). but, as crouch and johnson write, “the courtyard in all its guises is one of the most satisfying of these gathering places” (2001: 272). another authority adds that “the courtyard is a place of contemplation” (polyzoides et al., 1982: 55) and norberg-schulz declares that it has served as the ‘inner world’ of the private dwelling since ancient times (1985: 98). it is clear, therefore that a courtyard has physical as well as symbolic and psychological significance. 118 acta structilia 2005:12(2) figure 6: a pedi bilobial homestead source: roodt, 2003a: own drawing figure 5: a tonga homestead in zambia source: roodt, 2003: own drawing 4.2 science talib suggests that both the african and middle eastern courtyards demonstrate ancient but lasting solutions to the problem of settlement in extremely hot climates (1984: 47) – hot-dry and hot-humid, respectively. whereas houses in the middle east became more complex with many rooms aggregated around courtyards, africa retained the pattern of a number of separate single-room units around an open living space. also, middle eastern houses were clustered on narrow, winding streets that ultimately created dense urban precincts, while african homesteads are only loosely related to communal paths. both types of settlements grew organically and incrementally, but, significantly, they developed over centuries and are particularly responsive to the extreme climates in which they exist. as a matter of fact, while rapoport suggests that climate is a modifying rather than form-determining factor (1969), talib argues that climate, rather than culture, was initially the dominating influence in both arab and african settlement (1984). the dense middle eastern settlement provides protection against the sun and dust in a hot-dry climate, while courtyards allow airflow and daylight. in hot-humid climates, however, cross-ventilation is the major concern, which the dispersed pattern of the african homestead addresses. in both climates, therefore, courtyards are not only settings for outdoor living, but are also climatic moderators. 5. relevance the spread-out african settlement seems more suited to a rural environment, while the compact middle eastern settlement is arguably primarily an urban type. its biggest advantage is the ability to achieve relatively high densities with a high level of privacy – very much a contemporary concern. a significant consideration is that the ‘classic’ courtyard houses of antiquity have changed very little since the earliest times. they are still found and inhabited all over the mediterranean, middle east and africa, and in south american countries colonised by spain; in fact, in most regions where the climate allows outdoor living. 119 steyn • african courtyard architecture 120 acta structilia 2005:12(2) figure 7: the growth of different types of courtyard houses source: steyn, 2005b: own drawing 121 steyn • african courtyard architecture since the traditional african courtyard dwelling is essentially a rural model, could it be reconfigured to suit contemporary urban demands or are there other appropriate models? both options are theoretically feasible. the compounds of zaria, nigeria, convincingly demonstrate how a dispersed dwelling could be enclosed, compacted, aggregated and incrementally developed inside. the transition from round plan form to rectangular is noteworthy. this allows for better integration of the single units into compact houses and thus paves the way for densified urban structures (bianca 2000: 59). as denyer points out, in parts of africa, for example, the chad basin, rural houses were traditional thatched round huts, while urban housing was cuboid. the risk of fire in a dense urban situation could, of course, explain this transition to a flat-roofed configuration (1978: 159-165). in south africa most huts have traditionally been rondavel types (also known as cone on cylinder), but rectangular units have been built since the 1870s (frescura, 1981: 81) and both forms are commonly found in the same homestead. but there is another option too: adopting the ‘classic’ courtyard pattern (figure 7). the characteristic irregular plan forms of sites in zaria were probably the result of the need to create privacy in an urbanising situation by enclosing the originally rural compound with a surrounding wall. the ‘classic’ courtyard house also develops incrementally, but within a predetermined site, usually in a foursided form, growing organically and incrementally into a distorted urban grid. it remains debatable whether mapungubwe and great zimbabwe were large villages or small towns. the only pre-colonial urban precedent in eastern and southern africa is, therefore, the settlements of the swahili city-states, of which lamu is the only surviving and functioning example. but it is inappropriately modelled after an arab-islamic city in a hot-dry region. stone town in zanzibar, on the other hand, was rebuilt by the omanis in the 1800s and is also a functioning historical city with a labyrinthine topology, but its layout reflects the demands of a hot-humid climate with much looser planning and wider alleys. unique for arab houses, windows to the street allow cross-ventilation (figure 8). 122 acta structilia 2005:12(2) figure 8: a typical 19th c. omani house in stone town, zanzibar source: roodt & steyn, 2002: own drawings • the hierarchy of spaces; • the value of outdoor living spaces, and • verandas. the veranda is typologically identical to the loggia found in omani houses. it protects against sun and rain, creates a transition between inside and outside and expands the area of an enclosed space. apart from the veranda, other ways to provide open but roofed outdoor living space include retaining trees for shade and constructing gazebos. what is the relevance of all this? while squatter settlements and previous and current formal mass housing schemes have been causing massive sprawl, functioning historic towns such as stone town on zanzibar island, tanzania, and old malindi, kenya, offer appropriate and proven settlement and land-use patterns which should be seriously explored for ideas to create an african urbanism (figure 10). from such patterns and the synthesis of historic precedent and custom, a paradigm of courtyard houses could be developed that would contribute towards much more compact, lowenergy and socio-economically equitable neighbourhoods in the region (figure 11). 123 steyn • african courtyard architecture zanzibar offers the exact antithesis of urban sprawl – the neighbourhood is eminently compact and walkable. alleys are punctuated with small, intimate public squares. barazas (built-in seating) allow easy socialising and conversation at street level. these, together with small, intimate squares and places where people meet informally for coffee, keep the stone town streets alive. the streets are generally only two to three metres wide and shield walls and people from direct sunshine, adding to street-level comfort during most of the day. typical of arab-islamic cities, central streets form the spines for narrow alleys, which lead, labyrinth-like, into the various quarters or wards (petherbridge 1978: 195). called mtaa in swahili, they allow groups with different cultural and economic backgrounds to co-exist (allen, 1993: 224). a comparison between the omani and pedi models reveals fundamental differences but also a number of elemental similarities (figure 9). their typologies reveal three very similar features that seem relevant from a contemporary perspective: 124 acta structilia 2005:12(2) figure 9: a comparison between pedi and omani settlement models source: steyn, 2005c: own drawing 125 steyn • african courtyard architecture figure 10: a comparison of land-use patterns showing percentage cover source: steyn, 2005d: own drawing 126 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 6. conclusions and recommendations this cursory review of the typology, art and science of traditional sub-saharan dwellings seems to substantiate that many are courtyard configurations, a concept eminently relevant to current thinking on higher urban densities. just as the arab-islamic renaissance resulted in a revival of interest in traditional building forms, so the introduction of courtyard housing could reinforce the african renaissance with architecture with an african identity and character. the african – afro-arab swahili – middle-eastern omani arab settlement paradigm seems to offer the historical justification, the theory and the built examples from which contemporary solutions could be evolved. this was essentially a baseline study and focused on simplistic spatial issues. it revealed a number of themes for further investigation: figure 11: a new courtyard paradigm source: steyn, 2005e: own drawing 127 steyn • african courtyard architecture • the history of african settlement – who built what, where and when, with relationships between them and external influences, where applicable. • the expansion of the morphological matrix into a threedimensional model in order to include a larger number of representative examples and to also classify them in terms of style. • the spatial hierarchy at settlement and building scales, intimacy gradient, and functional and gender separation. • response to climate. • the continuum from rural compound through urban shacks to alternative forms of housing. • frameworks for the integration of urban structures and subcultures to eliminate the prevailing fragmentation. • the nature of an appropriate african urbanism and its coding. the low densities of south africa’s residential areas offer tremendous opportunities for restructuring. in particular, many of the older apartheid-era townships and the more recent informal settlements contain coherent community structures and vibrant informal economies that could be enhanced by lessons learned from traditional courtyard architecture. there now is clearly a need to develop an afrocentricity in the way we shape the built environment, which should not be ignored! 128 acta structilia 2005:12(2) references allen, j. de v. 1993. swahili origins: swahili culture & the shungwaya phenomenon. london: currey. baron, r. 1994. the inherited city as a resource. in: bartuska, t.j. & young, g.l. (eds). the built environment: creative enquiry into design and planning. menlo park, ca.: crisp, pp. 253-263. bianca, s. 2000. urban form in the arab world: past and present. london: thames & hudson. brower, s. 1996. good neighborhoods: a study of in-town and suburban residential environments. westport: praeger. crouch, d.p. & johnson, j.g. 2001. traditions in architecture: africa, america, asia and oceania. oxford: oxford university press. denyer, s. 1978. african traditional architecture. new york: africana. du plessis, c. 2001. bringing together head, heart and soul: sustainable architecture in south africa. architectural design, 71(4), pp. 46-51, july. elleh, n. 1997. african architecture: evolution and transformation. new york: mcgraw-hill. frescura, f. 1981. rural shelter in southern africa. johannesburg: ravan press. garlake, p. 1978. the kingdoms of africa. oxford: phaidon. kostof, s. 1995. a history of architecture: settings and rituals. 2nd ed. oxford: oxford university press. leupen, b., grafe, c., körnig, n., lampe, m. & de zeeuw, p. 1997. design and analysis. rotterdam: o1o. lipman, a. 2003. architecture on my mind: critical readings in design. pretoria: unisa press. marc, o. 1977. psychology of the house. london: thames & hudson. matthews, h. 1994. four traditions in the built environment. in: bartuska, t.j. & young, g.l. (eds). 1994. the built environment: creative enquiry into design and planning. menlo park, ca.: crisp, pp. 13-27. mcevedy, c. 1995. the penguin atlas of african history. london: pengiun. mönnig, h.o. 1967. the pedi. pretoria: van schaik. norberg-schulz, c. 1985. the concept of dwelling. new york: rizzoli. oliver, p. 1987. dwellings: the house across the world. oxford: phaidon. oliver, r. 1999. the african experience: from olduvai gorge to the 21st century. london: weidenfeld & nicolson. papanek, v. 1995. the green imperative: ecology and ethics in design and architecture. london: thames & hudson. petherbridge, g.t. 1978. the house and society. in: mitchel, g. (ed). architecture of the islamic world. london: thames & hudson. polyzoides, s. 1982. courtyard housing in los angeles: a typological analysis. berkeley: university of california press. rapoport, a. 1969. house form and culture. englewood cliffs: prentice-hall. reader, j. 1999. africa: a biography of the continent. new york: knopf. risebero, b. 1982. modern architecture and design: an alternative history. london: herbert. robinson, j. 1994. the question of type. in: franck, k.a. & schneekloth, l.h. (eds). ordering space: types in architecture and design. new york: van nostrand reinhold, pp. 179-192. schoenauer, n. 2000. 6 000 years of housing (revised and expanded edition). new york: norton. talib, k. 1984. shelter in saudi arabia. london: academy editions. walton, j. 1956. african village. pretoria: van schaik. wilcox, a.r. 1988. footprints on a southern land. winterton: drakensberg publications. acknowledgements data for this report had been collected since 2000 as part of two projects funded by the national research foundation (nrf). these grants allowed visits to many of the sites in eastern and southern africa referred to in the article. 129 steyn • african courtyard architecture tim grant & dominique hes possible roles for environmental life cycle assessment in building specifications abstract life cycle assessment (lca) is a systematic methodology for evaluating the envi· ronmental impacts of different product systems. it is a useful tool for comparing different alternative products or systems (including buildings. however, complexities of the built environment and limitations in current lca data and methodology make implementation of lca into decision making for building design and specification, very difficult. streamlined lca techniques and life cycle thinking are currently the easiest ways to introduce lca to the building sector. however, in the future, with new developments in lca, more rigorous tools should become available. keywords: life cycle assessment, environmental impact. die moontlike rol van lewenssiklus·ontledings (·assessering) van die omgewing in bouspesifikasies lewenssiklus-ontleding (lso) is 'n sistematiese metodologie vir die evaluering van die omgewingsimpak van verskillende produksisteme. dit is 'n bruikbare hulpmiddel om die onderskeie alternatiewe produkte of sisteme (ingeslote geboue), te verge­ lyk, moor die kompleksiteit van die beboude omgewing en die beperkinge in die bestaande lso-dato en metodologie. maak die implementering van die lso vir besluitneming vir geboue-ontwerp en -spesifikasies, baie moeilik. vaartbelynde lso­tegnieke en -lewenssiklus-ontleding is tans die maklikste manier om lso in die boubedryf te inkorporeer. nuwe ontwikkelings op die terrein van lso kan mocntlik daartoe lei dot meer effektiewe metodes in die nabye toekoms beskikbaar gestel word. sleutelwoorde: lewenssiklus-ontleding, omgewingsimpak. tim gront and & dominique hes are both from the centre for design at the rmit university in melbourne, gpo box 2476v, melbourne 3001. email: <tim.gront@rmit.edu.au> and <dominique.hes@rmit.edu.au>. the paper was read at the 3"' world congress on cost engineering. project management and quantity surveying incorporating the 6" pacific association of quantity surveyors congress (paqsj held in melbourne, australia, 14� to 1 8" april 2002. 113 acta structilia 2002:9(2) introduction i n a world where purchase price is the only criterion, all useful information about products is found at the point of sale. if the full financial conse­ quences of decisions are taken into account it is necessary to look beyond initial up-front cost to the running costs and eventual disposal incomes or costs at a product's end of life. if environmental considerations are going to be taken into account it is necessary to look both forwards towards the use and disposal of the product, and backwards to the pro­ duction processes and inputs which go into the manufacture of these prod­ ucts. this is referred to as the 'life cycle' view and forms the basis of an envi­ ronmental assessment method called life cycle assessment (lca). lca has a particular complexity that relates to the incomparability of the environmental flows it measures. unlike cost. which is generally lim­ ited to comparable dollar values, environmental impact is measured in terms of damage or potential damage to the environment. this could include global warming, increasing nutrient loads in waterways, urban air quality and so on. the procedure for accounting for these signifi­ cantly different impacts is called life cycle impact assessment. the challenge for decision makers, be they builders, clients, specifiers or architects, is to make some sense of the complex environmental infor­ mation and integrate it with other decision criteria. this article intends to provide an overview of what lca entails with regard to the current sta­ tus of methodology and practice in australia, and to indicate what forms of lca may be introduced into the building, design and con­ struction process. life cycle assessment (lca) lca can be understood on a number of levels. firstly, as a way of think­ ing, lca broadens our understanding of the environmental impacts of products, to include upstream and downstream effects of decisions. in trying to implement this new thought process, questions inevitably arise about what exactly are the impacts of these decisions. this is where the more literal view of lca becomes important. that is, as a systematic methodology for evaluating the impacts of different product systems ('product' in this context includes materials, services and so on). lca takes a systemic view of the interaction between human activity and the environment. figure 1 indicates the supply chain of human activity with in the 'system boundary', which defines the elements of human activity considered in the assessment (note that this can be truncated in some lcas depending on the scope). there are flows from the envi­ ronment that are required by the human activity, which are generally resources and energy, and there are flows from the human activity back 114 grant & hes/environmental life cycle assessment system boundary input raw materials acqu�rtion distribution and transportation use/re-use/maintenance recycle waste management output wotelbome wastes figure l : product system from life cycle perspective to the environment, namely releases to air, water and soil. the system also produces some usable products or functions, which are the main reason for the system activity in the first place. the lca methodology has developed over the past three decades, and despite substantial diversity in approaches, an agreed methodology has been documented in the iso l 4040 standards. the standards (international standards organisation, 1997) break lca up into 4 stages: l) definition of the goal and scope of the lca, that is, the questions under investigation 2) life cycle inventory analysis of materials and energy used and environmental releases from all stages in the life of a product or process 3) life cycle impact assessment, examining potential environmen­ tal and health effects related to the use of resources (materials and energy) and environmental releases 4) life cycle interpretation of the results to check significance of trends and quality of key data effecting the conclusions. a detailed description of the methodology is not intended here but can be found in guinee, gorree et of (2001 ). between viewing lca as a guid­ ing principle and undertaking detailed lca studies according to the iso l 4040 standards, there is a spectrum of lca activity that is often referred to as streamlined lca. streamlined lca is undertaken for differ­ ent reasons, but most often to reduce the costs and time that can be associated with full lca studies. according to weitz, todd et al., (1996) 115 acta structilia 2002:9(2) lca can be streamlined by: v narrowing the boundaries of the study, particularly during the inventory stage v targeting the study on issues of greatest interest (narrowing the indicators examined) v using more readily available data, including qualitative data. narrowing the boundaries of the lca can be undertaken without a loss in study integrity if it can be demonstrated that the most important stages are included (based on previous studies) or that for the purpose of comparing two options, the stages left out of the study are roughly equivalent for both systems. targeting the indicators of most interest or importance may be sensible if these were going to be the only points considered in the decision making regardless of what else was examined in the lca. it is also less problematic if the systems being compared have similar industrial char­ acteristics, and a reduction in one indicator could be expected to pro­ duce reductions in most indicators examined. it is dangerous, however, when substantially different systems are compared, for example when timber is compared to steel production. some qualitative caveats need to be included if this sort of streamlining is being undertaken. the most popular streamlining approach is to reduce data collection through the use of previous studies and generic lca databases. many software packages are available which include data sets for basic materials and processes, as well as standard environmental impact models. this software-based approach con quickly provide insights into the possible impacts of products. most software allows for the examina­ tion of impact results across different stages of the life cycle. figure 2 is an example of a process tree, generated from simapro lca software for the production of concrete. at the top of the tree is the final product (in this case concrete) and the processes are indicated in each box below (in lca referred to as unit processes) that contributes to its production. each unit process may have inputs and outputs to the environment (for example the electricity process will have cool inputs and carbon dioxide output). the unit process may also have other processes, which it requires (for example cement production needs the process of clinker production, gypsum production and so on as shown in figure 2). the side bar each unit process represents is set in this example to show cumulative green­ house impacts through the life cycle (from the bottom of the tree up to the final production at the top of the tree). 116 grant & hes/environmental life cycle assessment concrete -11 reodyrrnx _ ��•ttt•��---.. i i -=j ������ .1 electrlclty au hv electricity au hv energy from fuel oil en8fgy from natural gas en8fgyfrom fuel oil energy from fuel oil figure 2: example of a process tree from simapro 5 lca software show­ ing cumulative greenhouse impacts for different unit process­ es' used in the manufacturing of concrete. the difficulty with streamlined studies using the lca data provided in software is in determining the relevance and reliability of these results to the specific real world situation being studied. the alternative, or possi­ ble supplement to software-based streamlining, is the use of matrices to organize and prioritise environmental impacts. there are many approach­es to this that have been documented (lewis; gertsakis et of., 2001; graedel, 1996; weidemo, 1997). in this approach, a matrix is used to organise infor­mation gathered either from other studies, or from a workshop of experts and/or stakeholders. this approach relies on a broad knowledge base of participants filling in the matrix. this would normally include people famil­iar with the product or material under examination and people with more general environmental experience. the matrix can also be informed by streamlined quantitative information from an lca software tool. not oll uni1 processes are represented in the diagrom some have been truncated due to formatting requirements. for example, gravel has processes below it such as transport and energy for extraction and crushing. 117 acta structilia 2002:9(2) lca and the built environment early developments in lca in europe and the united state were all focused on packaging (and generally for beverage containers as described by bonifaz, nikodem et al (1996); hunt and franklin (1996) in their description of the early year of lca). prior to 1992, pedersen and christiansen (1992) found that approximately half of published lcas were on packaging. given this history, it is important to recognise the differ­ ences between packaging and buildings when considering the use of lca in the built environment. tobie 1 compares a packaging system and a building in terms of the complexity and predictability of both. table l : comparison of characteristics of packaging and building systems package system building system consists of 1 1 o moteriols contains 1 01 00 main materials life cycle of weeks up to a year life cycle of years to centuries generally little interaction between building form generally hos dramatic impact of product contained in influence of operational impacts and package and type of package local conditions millions af copies produced by buildings ore constructed by many people few suppliers and many are unique it is the last two points in table 1, which make lca of buildings so diffi­ cult. any assessment methodology needs to be able to be easily reap­ plied for each building, given different locations, desired forms and available materials. this also leads to great frustration among specifiers, designers and architects, who want a clear indication of the most envi­ ronmentally preferable materials, when in reality this is highly dependent on individual applications. it has also led to substantial controversy when environmental claims have been made for or against specific materi­ als, in the absence of a reference to a specific situation. this suggests that if simplifications are going to be made in the appli­ cation of lca to the built environment, they should not be in the selec­ tion of life cycle stages to be included. this is particularly problematic when materials ore assessed in the absence of operational impacts. a safer simplification would be to reduce the indicators being used, for example. to greenhouse and energy, or energy and smog emissions. more difficult indicators such as toxic air pollutants or biodiversity may be dealt with in the decision making in a more qualitative manner. 118 grant & hes/environmental life cycle assessment in the netherlands, a tool has been developed, based on dutch lca data and european impact methodologies, to provide a series of sim­ ple indicators for architects, designers and specifiers to use in the early design stages of buildings (ivam environmental research 2001 ). similar tools are under development in the united states (us epa office of applied economics, 2001 ), canada (the athena sustainable materials institute, 2001) and australia (lcaid a computer tool developed by the department of pubic work, nsw not yet commercially released). most of these tools, however, are still struggling to provide necessary data and material options to cover the multitude of design and material options, commonly considered in the design process. recommendations for including lca in the specification process given the current situation in lca in australia and in many other parts of the world, it is obvious that we are still some distance from an all inclu­ sive assessment tool. while advances ore being made in the area of building modeling and lca data, a bigger challenge still exists in the development of simple yet rigorous indicators of environment. in the meantime the authors suggest the following actions to begin the process of lca in the built environment. in the first instance, promote the life cycle view to get specifiers. designers and clients thinking beyond the material itself to the life impact prior to and after, the material installa­ tion: v in undertaking streamlined lca, limit the indicators before trun­ cating the life cycle stages. in particular it is ·important to con­ sider the impacts of material production and building operation, and depending on the volume of individual materials at end of life v keep track of qualitative information and criteria alongside quan­ titative data throughout the decision-making process v before undertaking lca work, prioritise the key areas for study, based on the main impact areas of the product or building being studied. conversely avoid lcas which ore trivial. or for which the main impacts will be incomparable without a detailed environmental impact model (as we have none in australia as yet) recognize lca as a decision-making support tool and not a final answer. 119 acta structilia 2002:9(2) conclusions lca is a powerful decision -making tool. and is ideally suited to many of the current questions being raised in relation to the design and opera­ tion of buildings. unfortunately the methodological infrastructure for lca, that is, inventory data about production processes and impact models to compare and rank different environmental issues, are not well enough developed to produce simple lca tools for ready imple­ mentation in the building industry. streamlined lca work con provide some information for decision-making, and the overall concept of life cycle thinking is a valuable perspective for the design of a decision­ making process. new developments in lca methodology and data con be expected over the next five years and these will increase the possi­ bilities for integrating lca into more general decision-making process­ es. references bonifaz, o. & nikodem, h. et al 1996. lca how it come about on early systems analysis of pack­ aging for liquids. international journal of life cycle assessment, l(2), pp. 62-65. graedel, t.e. 1996. weighted matrices as product life cycle assessment tools. international journal of life cycle assessment, 1 (2), pp. 85-89. guinee, j.b. & gorree, m. et al 2001. life cycle assessment on operational guide to the iso standards. final report. leiden, netherlands, ministry of housing, spatial planning and the environment and centre for environmental studies. hunt, r.g. & franklin, w.e. 1996. lca how it came about: personal reflections on the origin and the development or lca in the usa international journal of life cycle assessment, 1(1), pp. 4-7. international standards organisation 1997. iso 14040 environmental management standard-life cycle assessment, principles and framework (australian standards pub­ lished as as 14040 in 1998). sydney. ivam environmental research 2001.ec oquantum website: http://www. ivambv. uvo. nl/uk/producten/product7. htm 120 http://www.ivambv.uva.nl/uk/producten/product7.htm grant & hes/environmental life cycle assessment lewis, h., & ger tsakis, j. et al 200 l . design & environment: a global guide to designing greener goods. london: greenleaf. pedersen, b. & christiansen, k. 1992. a meta review on product life cycle assessment. copenhagen & stockholm, nordic council of ministers & the nordic council, pp. 24-104. the athena sustainable materials insti tute 2001. athena website. the athenatm sustainable materials institute. website: < http://www. athenasmi. ea/index. html>. us epa office of applied economics 2001. building for environmental and economic sustainability website: < http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees.html>. w eidema, b.p. 1997. environmental assessment of products. a textbook. helsinki: uetpeee. w e itz, k., todd, j.a. et al 1996. streamlining life cycle assessment considerations and a report on the state of practice. international journot of ute cycle assessment, l (2), pp. 79-85. 121 mentorskap as bestuurshulpmiddel bourekenaarsfirmas jjp verster1 en f.t. preller2 binne 1oapartement bourekenkunde en konstruks/ebestuur,unlversftelt van die o v s, posbus 339, b/oemttmteln, suid afrika en 2 schoombie hartmann bourekenaars, posbus 35951, menlopark, 0102, suid afrtka sinopsis ondersoeke het getoon dat daar in suld-afrika die neiglng bestaan vfr bourekenaars om of buite die professie werksaam te wees, 6f blnne 'n kleiner flrma-opset (enkelkantoorfirmas) 'n toekoms te soek. 'n gebrekkige benadertng tot die daarstel van mentorskapprogramme, asook die opleldlngsproses, is as moontllke oorsake gerdentlflseer. verder het die suld-afrikaanse ekonomle die afgelope aantal )are gebuk gegaan ender 'n tekort aan bekwame en opgeleide personeel • veral persona met bepaalde bakwaamhede om bestuursposte te vul. dit is dus duldellk dat die fokus gaplaas moet word op programme om tekortkominge binne die organisasie te ldentlflseer en te ontwikkel. die ontwikkelingsleemtes van swartmense, wat vlr die suld-afrikaanse bourekenaarsfirma van toenemende belang is, herbevestig die noodsaaklikheld vlr die daarstel van effektiewe mentorskapprogramme. mentorskap kan in die ffrma van die toekoms 'n sleutelrol speel in die ontwikkeling en voorsiening van bestuurstalent. mits dlt geskled aan die hand van 'n effektiewe, geyntegreerde benadering. hlerdie artikel ondersoek mentorskap as bestuurshulpmlddei binne 'n professlonele bourekenaarsffrma. dear word gefokus op deflnisies van mentorskap, mentor en protege; die rol van mentorskap in die ontwikkeling van personeel; voordele van mentorskap; keuses en koppeling van mentor en protllg�; vroulike protllglle en prot6g� van kleur; asook mentorskap en die organisasie. die daarstel van 'n toekornsperspektief van mentorskap in die bourekenaarsprofessle beklemtoon die belangrikheid van mentorskap as hulpmiddel tot die bevordering van die belange van d!e professle. research has shown that there is a tendency for quantity surveyors to either work outside the profession, or to seek their future within a smaller firm (single office flltti). possible causes of this tendency have been identlfled as a negative attitude towards the establishment of mentorshlp programmes, as well as the education process. furthermore, the south african economy has, over the past number of years, been characterised by a shortage of competent and trained personnel • especially people with specific competence to fill managerial positions. thus it is clear that the focus. should be on programmes aimed at identifying shortcomings within the organisation, and their development. the development void experienced by black people is of particular importance to south african quantil'j surveying firms. and confirr,,.s the necessity for the establishment of effective mentorshlp programmes. mentorshlp could play a key role in the firm of the future with regard to the 28 development and provision of management ablllty, provided that these programmes are implemented with an effective, integrated approach. this article investigates mentorshlp as a management tool within a professional quantity surveying !inn, with the focus on definitions of mentorshlp, mentor and protege; the role of mentorship in the development of personnel; the advantages of mentorshlp; the selection of and relationship between mentor and prott§ge; the female protegee and proteges of different race groups; as well as mentorship and the organisation. a mure perspective of mentorship and the quantity surveying profession emphasises the importance of mentqrship as management tool in promoting the interests of the profession. 1.inleiding samson (1987: 14) het aangetoon dat op 28 februarie 1986 slegs 64 persent van die lede van die _ vereniging van suid-afrikaanse bourekenaars binne professionele praktyke werksaam was. dit blyk oak verder dat van die totale aantal bourekenaarskantore wat op 28 februarie 1991 ingelyf was by die vereniglng, 48, 7 persent enkelkantoorflrmas was. 'n vraag wat opduik, is: "waarom bestaan die neiging vir bourekenaars om 6f buite die professie werksaam te wees 6f in 'n kleiner firma-opset 'n toekoms te seek?" 'n deel van die antwoord kan gelee wees in 'n gebrek aan formele of informele mentorskapprogramme binne die grater bourekenaarsfirmas. as besef word dat die suid­ afrikaanse ekonomie die afgelope 15 jaar benadeel is deur 'n tekort aan opgeleide en bekwame p�rsoneel met bepaalde vaardighede am bestuursposte te vul, is dit duidelik dat die fokus geplaas kan word op programme om bestaande talent binne organisasies te identifiseer en te ontwikkel. omdat mentorskap oak gekoppel kan word aan die vooruitgang '(an swartmense, wat in die suid-afrikaanse bourekenaarsfirma waarskynlik toenemend belangrik gaan word, het dit ongetwyfeld sosiale, ekonomiese, politieke, morele en etiese waarde. mentorskapprogramme kan 'n sleutelrol vervul in die ontwikkeling en voorsiening van bestuurstalent, veral as dit geskied aan die hand van 'n effektiewe, ge'integreerde benadering. ten einde die potensiaal van mentorskap te beskou, moet die volgende vraagstukke ontleed word: • hoe definieer bestuurslui die begrippe mentorskap, mentor en protege? • wat is die rol van mentorskap in die ontwikkeling van personeel? • wai is die voordele van mentorskap? • tot watter mate bepaal die keuse van mentor of protege die sukses van mentorskapprogramme? • hoe word vroulike protegees en anderskleurige proteges hanteer? • wat is die verband tussen mentorskar:, en die organisasie? 29 • w�t is die toekomsperspektief vir mentorskap in die suid-afrikaanse bourekenaarsprofessie? 2.die begrippe mentorskap, mentor en protege mentorskap is, volgens nasser (1987), 'n proses waardeur die kennis, vaardighede e n lewenservaring van ' n uitgesoekte, suksesvolle bestuurder oorgedra word aan 'n ander werknemer in die organisasie, sodat die werknemer kan groei in bekwaamheid, vaardighede en doeltreffendheid, of anders gestel "mentoring . .. relates closely to the apprenticeships typical of craft traders. but mentoring, as viewed today, doesn't concern formal roles as much as it does relationships" (wilbur 1987: 38). die mentorskapverhouding betrek twee persona: mentor en protege. zey (1984: 7) beskryf die mentor as "a person who oversees the career and development of psychological support, protecting and at times promoting or sponsoring". moerdyk en louw (1990: 24) verwys ook na mentorskap as: "interactions between equals .. .'buddy' mentoring or 'peermentoring'". dit kan moontlik van toepassing gemaak word op 'n professionele praktyk soos bourekenkunde, waar die agtergrond 'n redelike mate van sinergie toon weens gelykvormige onderrigen opleidingstandaarde. mentors kan dus beskou word as persona met 'n bepaalde stand, status en posisie binne 'n organisasie wat ondergeskiktes met bestuurspotensiaa! kan identifiseer en ontwikkel. hu!le is derhalwe in 'n posisie om hierdie talentvolle werknemers se vordering en loopbaanontwikkeling binne die organisasie te be'invloed. alhoewel verskeie definisies van mentorskap aangetref word, kom min definisies van 'n protege voor. bosman, van der merwe en hiemstra (1984) beskryf 'n protege as 'n beskermling. wanneer gekyk word na die eienskappe waaraan 'n protege voldoen, blyk dit dat 'n protege gedefinieer kan word as 'n begunstigde persoon met bestuurspotensiaal en die vermoe om gesag, verantwoordelikheid en risiko ender beskerming van 'n mentor te aanvaar. die mentor-protege verhouding is egter nie slags 'n verhouding om toekomstige bestuurders te ontwikkel nie, maar kan ook gerig wees op iemand met potensiaal vir 'n spesialis-pos, byvoorbee!d 'n rekenaarprogrammeerder. die mentorskapverhouding is 'n komplekse en belangrike verhouding, en behels meer a s die normale bestuurder-ondergeskikte verhouding o f bloot goeie onderlinge verhoudinge tussen twee manse in die organisasie. mentorskapprogramme kan 'n belangrike rol vervul in elke organisasie. 30 3.die rol van mentorskap in die onlwikkeling van personeel en bestuurstalent uiteenlopende opinies word in publikasies gehuldig oor wat die rol van die bestuurder behoort te wees wanneer hy as mentor optree. samevattend kan hierdie rol soos volg omskryf word: as onderwyser dra die mentor organisatoriese en beroepsvaardighede aan die protege oar en word laasgenoernde onderrig in gesagsverhoudinge, organisasiepolitiek en -klimaat. gedurende hierdie proses word vertroulike inligting met die protege gedeel; is die mentor behulpsaam met die oplos van spesifieke probleme; en skep hy leeren ontwikkelingsge!eenthede vir die protege. as raadgewer en sielkundige ondersteuner poog die mentor om selfvertroue by die protege te kweek en aan sy selfbeeld te bou. as tussenganger tree hy op as bemiddelaar wat die protege teen oormatige organisasiedruk beskerm en as hoe presteerder met besondere bestuurstalent aan ander bestuurders "verkoop". as borg vervul die mentor 'n belangrike rol am die protege op sy loopbaanpad te bevorder en sodanige bevordering te inisieer. die mentor tree ook op as die duiwel se advokaat wanneer hy die protege met bepaalde standpunte konfronteer, horn leer om selfgeldend op te tree, sy saak te stel en homself te verdedig. die mentor meet 'n ondersteunende afrigter wees en die geleenthede en klimaat skep vir die protege om homself te leer ken. die rol wat die mentor in die ontwikkeling van personeel en bestuurstalent speel, stel hoe eise aan horn en sy tyd, terwyl dit ook sekere risiko's inhou, byvoorbeeld wanneer 'n protege as bestuursmateriaal bevorder word. • die voordele van mentorskap mentors, proteges en organisasies stel om verskeie redes in die mentorskapverhouding belang waarskynlik vanwee die wedersydse voordeel wat elke party uit die verhouding kan kry. onderskeie deelnemers in die proses verwag dat hul loopbane positief daardeur be'invloed sal word. soortgelyk verkry die organisasie sekere voordele deur die mentorskapproses. zey (1984) beskou loopbaanvordering as die belangrikste rede waarom 'n protege horn tot 'n mentorskapverhouding verbind. vir die mentor bied dit professionele bevrediging en sy eie bevordering word ook deur die opleiding van 'n opvolger gefasiliteer. vir die organisasie lei 'n mentorskapprogram tot organisasiegroei en -sukses, bestuursontwikkeling en 'n afname in arbeidsomset. 31 ter uitbreiding van bogenoemde stel dinsdale (1990: 27) die volgende voordele van mentorskap: "to increase employee initiative, problem-solving, decision-making and produciivity; to accelerate development processes for young managers and the induction of young professionals; 'to contribute to shifting corporate culture to a more developmental orientation; a management development process for all managers and the preparation of identified groups for management; and to provide management skills which go far beyond traditional coaching and counselling." in suid-afrika met sy besondere bevolkingsamestelling is mentorskap 'n kragtige instrument vir die ontwikkeling van mense en die skep van bestuurders uit alle rassegroepe. dit geld in besonder vir die inlywing van anderskleurige bourekenaars. veral bestuursvaardighede, wat tradisioneel deur omslagtige opleidingsprogramme verkry is, kan baie vinniger deur mentorskap behaal word. nasser (1987) meld egter dat talle organisasies daarop aanspraak mask dat hulle mentorskap gebruik vir die ontwikkeling van talent maar dat dit in die meeste gevalle afrigting is. mentorskap gebeur nie vanself nie, dit moet doelgerig wees en binne die organisasie ontwikkel word. dit blyk dat die suksesvolle implementering van 'n mentorskapprogram voordele vir organisasies en deelnemers inhou, mits dit by 'n organisasie se strategie geinkorporeer word. 4.die keuse van mentor en protege die mentorskapproses behels 'n wedersydse verbintenis tussen mentor en protege, en om suksesvol te wees, moet die kriteria vir die seleksie van mentor en protege begryp word. in die keuringsproses moet gefokus word op talentvolle individue met vermo�ns, bekwaamhede en vaardighede wat ontwikkel kan word. • keuse van mentor · die funksies wat die mentor meet verrig as opleier, raadgewer, ondersteuner, tussenganger, onderhandelaar, loopbaanvoorligter en verskeie ander, stel hoe eise. nasser (1987) het egter die volgende selekteringskriteria daargestel wet as belangrik beskou kan word in die seleksie van 'n mentor: empatie; buigsaamheid; vermoe om te vertrou; mensen taakgeorienteerdheld; goeie kommunikasievermoe; inisiatief en kreatiwiteit; matige waagmoed; vermoe om konflik te hanteer; meet 'n suksesvolle rolmodel wees; persoonlike gewilligheid om as mentor op te tree en mense te ontwikkel; 'n bewese rekord van goeie prestasie en suksesse behaal; behoort in 'n posisie te wees om invloed uit te oefen. hofmeyer (1987) identifiseer die vermoe om saam te werk as 'n voorvereiste in die mentorskapkeuse. 32 as ideaal behoort die mentor en protege in dieselfde departement of takkantoor te werk, alhoewel dit nie noodsaaklik is nie. nasser (1987) stateer oak dat die mentor en protege een of meer vlakke van mekaar verwyder behoort te wees, sodat die mentor spesifiek kan fokus op die protege se groei en ontwikkeling en nie net op sy werksprestasie nie. dit verleen aan die mentor, wat op 'n hoer vlak funksioneer, 'n magsbasis om die werksomgewing te betnvloed waarin die protege moet ontwikkel. hierdie standpunt word bevestig deur moerdyk en louw (1990), wat wys op die neiging van ewekniementorskap of "peermentoring". dit blyk dus dat mentorskap die ontwikkeling van die totale persoon en nie slegs werksvaardighede behels nie. aangesien ontwikkeling oar 'n tang tyd geskied, is dit belangrik dat die mentor oor gesonde interpersoonlike vaardighede meet beskik ten einde aan te pas by ontwikkelingsfases van die protege. 11 keuse van protege hunt en michael (1983) asook nasser (1987) tys die volgende kriteria as riglyne in die keuring van 'n protege: intelligensie; ambisie; behoefte en vermoe om gesag, verantwoordelikheid en risiko te aanvaar; vermoe om die mentor se eise te hanteer; lojaliteit; vermoe om verder te ontwikkel; drang na sukses; sigbare bewys van dryfkrag deur werksprestasie; geneigdheid tot matige waagmoed; inisiatief en kreatiwiteit; selfversekerdheid en selfgelding; matige individualisme; kommunikasievermoe; begrip vir sakemilieu; akademiese kwalifikasies; vermoe om probleme te oorbrug; kritiekaanvaarding; goeie presteerders; beskik oar die regte sosiale agtergrond; 'n goeie uiterlike voorkoms; sigbaarheid. faktore soos ouderdom en geslag speel ook 'n rol. proteges is dikwels jonger as hul mentors. kram (1985) stateer dat die behoeftes en belangstellings van proteges, afhangende van hul ouderdom, sal verskil, en dat probleme mag ontstaan wanneer die protege dieselfde ouderdom of ouer as die mentor is. 5.die vroulike protegee en proteges van kleur die geslag van die protege sowel as die mentor beynvloed die aard van sukses van die mentorskapprogram. dit blyk dat manlike mentors beter mentors vir mans en vroue ls, terwyl vroue beter mentors uitmaak vir ander vroue. dit is veral waar ten opsigte van swartmense in suid-afrika, soos beweer deur nasser en buitendag (1984: 127): "in south africa this would almost certainly be the case in the majority of organisations whose corporate culture emphasises the maleness of the managerial role. black males would probably resent a female mentor." die betrokkenheid en samewerking tussen mentor en protege vereis dat beide partye die verhouding beleef as emosioneel objektief en ongekompliseerd. die waarskynlikheid dat emosies in die wag kan staan van 'n suksesvolle mentorskapprogram is dus grater waar manlike en vroulike persona in 'n spesifieke milieu saamwerk. kram (1985) het bevind dat vroulike protegees in die algemeen oorbeskerm word terwyl dear op sosiale vlak 'n grater verwydering voorkom. nieteenstaande die toename in vroulike bestuurders binne ondememings in suid-afrika, blyk dit dat vroue in sekere organisasies steeds met vooroordele·en ongegronde beperkinge deur manlike ewekniee te kampe het grootiiks weans die tradisionele beskouing van die vrou in die werksituasie; die bedreiging wat sekere manlike kollegas in vroue sien en die persepsie dat vroue nie oar die vermoens beskik om in suksesvolle bedryfsleiers te ontwikkel nie. mentors kan in hlerdie proses 'n belangrike bydrae lewer om hindernisse te oorkom. dit is voorts belangrik dat beide mentor en protege nie aan 'n spesifieke ras of geslag gekoppel mag word nie. reich (1986: 52) bevestig hierdie standpunt: "women, like men, gained from being protege and mentors . . . both sexes valued the opportunity to make tough decisions, learn management skills, join winning teams, develop useful contacts, and achieve more rapid promotions." daar bestaan egter tans min vroulike mentors, en vroulike protegees vind dit moeilik om geskikte mentors te kry. vroue wat tradisioneel manlike beroepsvelde betree, vind dat hul keuse van mentors dikwels deur hul geslag en ouderdom beynvloed word (hartslief 1989: 20). die belangrikheid van die mentorskapproses vir die ontwikkeling van mense van kleur word deur die volgende opmerking van mafuna (1986: 18) onderstreep: "does it work for black executives? it does, if you do the first things first like de-bugging your recruitment and selection mechanism, preparing your management colleagues for the impending intake of black trainees." dlt sal waarskynlik veral in 'n toekomstige suid-afrika nodig wees in die bourekenaarsprofessie om landsburgers van kleur in te lyf in die bestuursvlak van praktyke. voordele wat uit 'n ondememing se mentorskapprogram kan voortvloei, is soos volg deur hartslief (1989: 21) opgesom: • dit verseker dat talentvolle mense van· kleur in poste geplaas of bevorder word waarvoor hulle die baste gekwalifiseer is. • dit verseker dat swart bestuurders 'n duidelike begrip van die organisasie se aard, waardes en norme ontwikkel. • die mentorskapverhouding verseker dat proteges van kleur beskerm word teen afbrekende magte wat in sommige organisasies teenwoordig kan wees. die mentorskapproses help die protege om op sy eie voete te staan en mettertyd vir homself te sorg. 34 • mentorskap moedig die protege van kleur aan om homself te leer ken en te begryp. hy word bewus gemaak van sy sterk en swak punte en dit leer horn om sy temperament, gemop.dstoestand en begee.rtes te beheer. dit blyk uit bogenoemde dat mentorskap binne die veranderende sosiale strukture van suid-afrika 'n belangrike kataliseringshulpmiddel kan wees, ook vir die inlyf van mense van kleur binne die bourekenaarsprofessie. 6.koppeling van mentor en protege mentors moet betrokke wees in die keuring van hut proteges, am sodoende die moontlikheid van 'n verkeerde koppeling met 'n gepaardgaande botsing in persoonlikhede uit te skakel en die mentor se verbintenis en betrokkenheid tot die ontwikkeling van die protege te versterk. nasser en buitendag (1984) het bevind dat daar in suid-afrika 'n betekenisvolle voorkeur bestaan vir die mentor om die onmiddellike toesighouer van die protege te wees. hierdie situasie sal oak nadele inhou, veral as die onmiddellike toesighouer geheel en al ongeskik vir die doel sou wees. bogenoemde uitgangspunt kan veral van toepassing wees in 'n geografies-verspreide bourekenaarsfirma waar dit verkieslik is dat die mentor en protege, weens die noue aard van die verhouding, in dieselfde takkantoor werksaam moat wees. die kern van die koppeling is egter volgens dinsdale (1990: 28) "that the structure of the relationship and the objectives of the intervention will depend on the unique needs of each organisation". 7.mentorskap en die organisasie mentorskap behaal die baste resultate wanneer dit in die strategiese konteks van die grater organisasiestrategie gesien word. nasser (1987) asook moerdyk en louw (1990) stateer dat dit van belang is dat die omgewing genoegsaam voorberei is en dat bestuur die regte klimaat vir die installing van 'n mentorskapprogram sal skep deur modellering en die daarstel van voldoende vergoeding van suksesvolle deelnemers. die ondersteuning en aanvaarding van aanspreeklikheid deur top� en ander bestuursvlakke vir die mentorskapprogram, lewer 'n belangrike bydrae. voorts is 'n geformaliseerde en gestruktureerde benadering tot mentorskap, as 'n instrument waarmee talent ontwikkel kan word, 'n vereiste vir sukses. daarmee saam is dit belangrik dat die proses saam met ander ontwikkelingsprosesse binne die organisasie moet geskied. die bestaande organisasiekultuur, bestuurstyl, struktuur en norme wat binne die organisasie geld, is eweneens van belang by die implementering van 'n mentorskapprogram. die mentorskapprogram moat nie in geheimsinnigheid gehul en tot 'n eksklusiewe forum vir 'n voorgeskrewe aantal elite persona verhef word nie. die oogmerke, voordele en keuringskriteria ten opsigte van proteges en/of mentors meet duidelik geformuleer en aan 35 elke werknemer gekommunikeer word. onvoldoende kommunikasie gee aanleiding tot verwarring en skep valse verwagtinge. na die mening van die auteur behoort die mentorskapprogram as dee! van die ontwikkelingsproses hanteer te word, en kan dit die volgende behels: • die mannekragbeplanningsfunksie. • die opvolgbeplanningstrategie. • prestasie-evalueringsprogram. ii gelyke geleenthede-program. • die strategiese doelwitte van die organisasie. die sukses van 'n organisasie se mentorskapprogram word in 'n groot mate bepaal deur opleiding en ondersteuningsprogramme wat beskikbaar is. volgens nasser (1987) is die baste vorm van opleiding vir die mentor en protege gebaseer op 'n proses van longitudinale ontwikkeling wat oor 'n tydperk geskied en wat aspekte soos kultuur, waardes en norme asook individuele vordering ten voile integreer. in hierdie proses ontvang die protege en mentor opleiding en is daar beloning vir suksesvolle deelnemers. hoewel gestruktureerde evaluering die finale fase van 'n formele mentorskapprogram is, meet die proses deurlopend geevalueer word deur die bestuur van 'n ondememing (nasser 1987). dit kan die volgende insluit: • gereelde onderhoude met mentors en proteges ten einde spesifieke terugvoer te ontvang. • 'n gereelde, organisasiewye ondersoek na die houdings van deelnemers sowel as nie-deelnemers teenoor die program. • voorstelle vir verandering en verbetering behoort altyd aa11gespreek te word. • kanale moet geskep word vir anonieme en vertroulike voorlegging van griewe. ooreengekome uitsette of ander metingsmaatstawwe kan gebruik word om die sukses van die program te meet. moerdyk en louw (1990) stel die volgende riglyne vir die implementering van 'n mentorskapprogram in 'n organisasie: • verseker dat die organisasie wel suksesvolle kandidate kan absorbeer. • pas volkome outonomie in die selekteringsproses toe sender voorskriftelikheid. • verseker totale toewyding deur mentors tot die proses deur opleiding, ondersteuning en motivering. • verseker die korrekte funksionering van die mentorskapprogram binne organisasieverband. • spreek probleme aan veral met betrekking tot anderskleurige proteges. • laat die mentorskapproses tussen mentor en protege natuurlik ontwikkel. 36 ill laat onttrekking aan die program toe en verseker dat deelnemers dit met waardigheid kan doen. • gee die program 'n langtermyn toetsperiode, maar tree korrigerend op indien nodig. • bepaal die prosedures wat geld by die beaindiging en herdefiniering van fases. • antisipeer buitengewone invloede op die mentorskapprogram en hou gebeurlikheidsplanne gereed om dit teen te werk. 8. 'n toekomsperspektief uit die voorafgaande blyk dit dat mentorskap 'n kragtige instrument is waardeur bestaande en sluimerende talent binne organisasies, ook bourekenaarsfirmas, ontgin kan word. dit is in der waarheid 'n proses van kruisbestuiwing tussen die talente van individue. die sukses daarvan behels 'n strategiese benadering asook spesiale aandag van alle bestuursvlakke. ten spyte van die vele ge"identifiseerde voordele, toon empiriese navorsing dat 'n groat persentasie bourekenaars neig om 6f buite die professie werksaam te wees, of in 'n kleiner firma-opset 'n toekoms te soek. is 'n bydrae hiertoe nia juis daarin gelee dat senior bestuurslui binne bourekenaarsfirmas: 11 nie oor voldoende kennis insake die metodiek en voordele van mentorskap as bestuurshulpmiddel beskik nie? of 1:1 orn verskeie redes, onwillig is om as mentors op te tree vir die jonger lede van die professie? laasgenoemde, moontlik weans 'n vrees om "uitgewerk" te word uit 'n gemaksone deur meer bekwame jonger lede van die professie 'n uitgangspunt wat dikwels tot nadeel van die firma self of die professie as geheel is. mentorskap kan 'n besliste bydrae lewer om kundigheid en talent binne die professie te behou. waarom is dit op die oog af so dat sommige lede van die bourekenaarsprofessie verwag dat universiteitsonderrigde bourekenaars priml!r "tegnies" kundig moet wees? word korttermynvoordele bo langtermynvoordele vir die bourekenaarsprofessie as 'n geheel gestel? die filosofie van mentorskap het juis ten doe! die "totale" ontwikkeling van die bourekenaar in die toekoms, tegnies sowel as in die gedragsen bestuurswetenskappe. dit is duidelik dat 'n nuwe benadering met betrekking tot die onderrig en opleiding van bourekenaars, asook die aanwend van mentorskap as bestuurshulpmiddel, benodig word. aanbevelings om in hierdie verband 'n bydrae te !ewer, kan die volgende behels: • 'n nuwe benadering met betrekking tot onderrig van bourekenaars aan suid­ afrikaanse universiteite kan gevolg word waar mentorskapverhoudinge reeds op universiteit tussen dosent en student gevestig kan word om sodoende te verseker dat "kollegas van die toekoms" gereed sal wees om uitdagings in die toekoms die 37 hoof te bied. daar moet gewaak word teen die oorevaluering van manse. die klem kan eerder verskuif na die "totale ontwikkeling" van mense. • die huidige toetsing van bourekenaars-in-opleiding voor toelating tot professionele registrasie kan met sukses 'n mentor-protege verhouding insluit, tydens die opleidingsperiode, voor die afle van die bevoegdheidstoets. hierdie mentorskapproses, as voorbereiding tot toelating tot die professie, mag nie ondergeskik gestel word aan die tegniese element van die toetsingsproses nie. orn potensiele kandidate slegs op 'n tegniese grondslag voor toelating tot die professie te keur, kan tot nadeel van die potensiele toetreder en die professie wees. mentorskap tydens indiensopleiding kan 'n bydrae lewer om 'n kandidaat se potensiaal beter voor te berei vir die aksie wat benodig word. a binne praktykverband behoort praktiserende lede ingelig en opgelei te word oor die voordele asook die metodiek van mentorskap. die vereniging van suid-afrikaanse bourekenaars behoort die daarstel van 'n praktykhandleiding asook opleidingseminare in die verband te oorweeg. die bydrae wat mentorskap as deel van 'n firma se opvolgbeplanning kan !ewer, meet eweneens nie onderskat word nie. die koppeling van mentor en protege binne praktykverband in ooreenstemming met aanvaarde riglyne, kan 'n beduidende rigtinggewende bydrae !ewer tot sukses in die jare wat voorle. die uiteindelike bydrae van 'n gesonde mentorskapproses tot die welstand van 'n organisasie in besonder, asook die bourekenaarsprofessie as 'n geheel, is aansienlik. die voordele wat dit vir die organisasie en individue daarby betrokke kan inhou, word waarskynlik goed deur nasser (1987: 15) saamgevat: "not only does return on assets managed improve there is futhermore an unearthing of much latent talent; relationship between boss and subordinate improves, and a general atmosphere of developmental focus occurs in those organizations where mentoring forms an important part of corporate life. the return on investment is significant, and the process is challenging." bibliografie [1] [2] [3] bosman,d.b., van der merwe, i.w. & hiemstra, l.w. 1984. tweetallge woordeboek. kaapstad; tafelberg. dinsdale,r. 1990. formal mentorship: building effective future managers. human resource management, february 1990: 26-28. hartslief,j.a. 1989. 'n mentorskapmodel vir suksesvolle ontwikkeling van bestuurspotenslaal. ongepubliseerde skripsie. pretoria: universiteit van suid-afrika. 38 [4] hofmeyer,kb.1987.can mentorship be institutionalized? 1pm journal, april 1987. [5} hunt,d.m. & michael,c.1983.mentorship: a career training and development tool. academy of management review, 8(3). [6] kram.ke. 1985. mentoring at work: developmental relationships in organizational life. scott, foreman & company. [7] mafuna,e. 1986. mentorship a sound system to train black managers. human resource management, april 1986. [8] moerdyk,a & louw, l. 1990. mentoring: a powerful tool in the career development process. 1pm journal, october 1989. [9] nasser,m., buitendag, j. 1984. mentoring key to accelerate manager development. sa training 1984 yearbook. [10] nasser,m. 1987. mentoring the key to optimizing your corporate talent. imp journal, november 1987. [11] reich,m.h. 1986. toe mentor connection. personnel, 63(2). 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[15] zey,m.g. 1984. the mentor connection. homewood, illinois: dow jones-irwin. 39 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 a m tsotetsi1 , g m steenkamp2, w f van zyl3 & w j v h botha4 the contribution of tourism planning to local development at harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens abstract this article emphasises the major principles underlying tourism development. the case study highlights the most important factors that impact on tourism development and the critical role of town and regional planners in the process of enhancing social and economic development in rural districts. current theoretical perspectives in the field are applied to three towns, harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens in the eastern free state, and recommendations to strengthen their position as tourism destinations are also included. keywords: tourism development, town planners, urban planners. die bydrae van toerismebeplanning tot die ontwikkeling van harrismith, phuthaditjhaba en clarens toerisme is 'n wye begrip. in die artikel word gekyk no toerisme vanuit 'n teoretiese agtergrond en aandag word gegee aan die faktore wat 'n invloed daarop uitoefen asook op verdere ontwikkeling. die kritiese rol van staden streekbeplanners in die uitbou van die sosiale en ekonomiese ontwikkeling in landelike distrikte kry veral aandag. die studiegebied betrek drie dorpe in die oos-vrystaat: harrismith, phuthaditjhaba en clarens. aanbevelings word gedoen om die gebied as toerismebestemming te ontwikkel en te bemark. sleutelwoorde: toerisme, ontwikkeling, beplanners. 2 3 4 a m tsotetsi, m u r p student at the department of urban and regional planning, university of the free state, bloemfontein, sa. gm steenkamp, ms s (mu rp), department of urban and regional planning, university of the free state, bloemfontein, sa. w f van zyl, lecturer at the university of the north, qwaqwa branch, phuthaditjhaba. w j v h botha, professor in the department of urban and regional planning, university of the free state. bloemfontein, sa. 39 tsotetsi. steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning 1. introduction tourism is internationally regarded as one of the world's fastest growing industries. the tourist industry contributed 11,7% to the world's gross domestic product in 1998. moreover, from our perspective, south africa remains a highly attractive tourist destination, full of promise and potential, and is striving to position itself as a world-class contender within this high-growth global industry (gcis, 2000/01: 321). this study examines tourism in general, as well as the eastern free state as a tourist destination, with specific reference to harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens. the role of the planner is highlighted in the development of tourism in the region. 2. concepts 2.1 a tourist: defined a tourist may be defined as a person who temporarily has some free time and who wishes to experience a change and decides to visit an area away from his/her usual place of residence. a tourist may also be described as someone who has traveled to a destination from some other location and does not plan to stay permanently. tourists may enter an area when they visit friends or relatives, attend a convention, or special event (e g music event), embark on sightseeing, participate in sports events (e g skiing, canoeing, sailing), pass through en route to another location or engage in recreational activities. regardless of their reasons for traveling, tourists spend money that may have a positive impact on the destination area (van harssel, 1994: 149-150). hudman and hawkins (1989: 5) divide tourists into two categories, namely, tourists who visit an area for longer than 24 hours, and excursionists who spend a period of less than 24 hours in a particular area. this categorisation is of particular interest to tourism providers, as tourists' primary need is suitable accommodation, while excursionists require transport and shopping facilities. four basic kinds of tourists have been identified as favouring tourism destinations that feature natural attractions (lindberg, 1991: 8): • hard core. scientific researchers or members of tours specifically arranged for education, removal of litter, or similar purposes 40 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 • dedicated. people who take trips specifically to see protected areas and who want to understand local natural and cultural history • mainstream. people who visit popular well-known destinations primarily to take trips outside their normal day-to-day experience. • casual. people who incidentally partake in nature experiences as part of a more comprehensive trip. this typology, however, provides a simple description of market segments for planning purposes. for example, hard-core and dedicated nature tourists are more likely to be tolerant of limited amenities than casual tourists (theobald, 1994: 265). theobald (1994), and lickerish & jenkins (1997) identified the following forms of tourism: • domestic tourism. comprising residents visiting their own country • inbound tourism. comprising non-residents travelling in a given country • outbound tourism. comprising residents travelling in another country. a tourist is thus a person who travels away from home, visiting other places for some or other purpose. tourism is a business and an industry where the resources natural or man-made are offered to the client (the tourist) for temporary use. the tourist pays for services that generate an income for the local community. 2.2 tourism and economic development tourism is south africa's third largest earner of foreign exchange and job creator. in 1998, its direct contribution to south africa's gross domestic product was 6%, while its indirect contribution was estimated at 2%. one in every nine jobs in the country is linked to tourism, and some 7 40 ooo jobs in south africa are created by the tourism economy. it is projected that in 2010 the south african tourism economy will employ more than 1.2 million people (directly and indirectly) (gcis, 2000/01 : 321 ). according to van harssel (1994: 170), tourism, compared to other economic activities, may be seen as a flexible and stable industry with excellent long-term growth prospects. it is adaptable to new markets and may be exploited as an alternative to market cost. in addition, empirical data indicate that tourism has grown steadily over the past three decades, 41 tsotetsi. steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning particularly when compared to other industries. lastly, nearly all the causative factors, including income, leisure time and mobility, are continuing to rise, at least in the major tourist­generating regions of the world, making the long-term prospects of tourism development favourable. in comparison with other forms of economic development, tourists and tourist expenditure may relatively quickly generate an improvement in living standards. no sophisticated technology is required to establish the basic facilities. since much of the industry is labour intensive, tourism can absorb unemployed labour resources, which is particularly valuable in an area with surplus unskilled labour. many of the operational skills are relatively simple and may be developed rapidly by the citizens; higher skills, if required, can usually be imported (tsotetsi, 1998: 13). in some locations, tourism may provide basic infrastructure, which in turn forms the basis and the stimulus for the diversification of the economy and for the development of other industries. an established tourism infrastructure often serves as an attraction to new and less directly related economic activities. tourist expenditure may therefore be said to stimulate the economy beyond the sector directly concerned with the industry. lastly, to a developing country tourism offers the prospect of early and substantial foreign currency earnings (burkart & medlik, 1981: 65-66). john ward et al (1996: 80) state that "the net economic value of leisure and tourism to a region or country depends on a range of factors. these include: • whether it derives income from other industrial sources • whether demand for the specific attractions and facilities it offers is constant • whether the majority of leisure and tourism facilities and developments are locally owned • the systems of taxation and public spending in operation • in the case of international tourism, the strength of the local economy and its currency compared with those of overseas • the ability of the standards found in developments and infrastructure to keep pace with the growing demands and sophistication of the market • the ability to persuade local residents not to counteract increasing earnings by going out of the region or country to spend them" (outbound tourism). 42 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 the community is assumed to be part of a larger economic system. and interdependent on the rest of the system through trade. tourism is classified as a basic industry because its focus is to sell the product to non-residents so that earnings from outside the region come into the community. this is true even though the non-resident must be physically present in the community to consume its tourism services. tourism complements other export products, and adds diversity to the export base of a country, thus, it assists in stabilising a country's foreign exchange earnings. in theory, tourism offers developing regions considerable potential for economic growth. the extent to which tourism is an agent of development depends on the characteristics of the region. the identification of realistic goals that are in line with these characteristics, and the ability to achieve these goals. tourism may foster development in underdeveloped regions. the industry is labour intensive and unskilled workers may be used. tourism makes a useful contribution towards creating an infrastructure. outside money promotes the local economy, while tourism enhances the diversification of the region's economy. 3. tourism in south africa in 1999. approximately 5 900 ooo foreign tourists visited south africa. africa continues to generate the bulk of international arrivals in south africa (72%). with europe accounting for about 62% of the overseas market. the european market experienced a 5% growth in 1998. north and south america, the middle east, australasia and the indian ocean islands continue to be very marginal contributors. asia has shown a 13% increase in tourist arrivals; the fastest growing market in 1999. since 1994 there has been a 37% increase in foreign arrivals to south africa. there is no doubt that tourism is a growing industry (stat sa, 1999: 1). the fastest growing segment of tourism in south africa is ecological tourism (eco-tourism). which includes nature photography, bird watching. botanical studies. snorkeling, hiking and mountaineering (gcis, 2001: 321). south africa is one of the 17 megadiversity countries of the world, according to a list compiled by mittermeier et al. two of these countries are in africa. it is interesting that south africa is the only country on this list that does not have a tropical rainforest system within its borders. one of the regions of megadiversity is the alpine habitat 43 tsotetsi, steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning of the drakensberg mountains where the research area is situated (ledger, 2001 : 21 ). village tourism is also gaining in popularity. the tourist wants to experience life in the rural community (gcis, 2000/01: 21). in this region there are many rural communities that could exploit this niche in the market. domestic tourism plays a particularly important role in the south african tourism industry. this market will continue to grow as previously disadvantaged people are now tourists and travelers (white paper 1996:3). according to bennett (1995: 13-15), a number of writers, including jooste, hattingh, reitz and de bruin, have shown that greater emphasis should be placed on domestic tourists, for the following reasons: • few attractions and tourist facilities are able to survive economically solely on overseas visitors. the domestic tourist market is larger than the overseas tourist market. domestic tourism is also an important part of economic growth as it is estimated that 7,9 million domestic tourists in south africa undertook 17 million holidays in 1994 (croukamp, 1996: 14) • it is easier and cheaper to launch marketing campaigns in the domestic market. domestic tourism results in a saving of foreign exchange, and in that way contributes to a more favourable balance of payments • factors such as urbanisation, a higher standard of living, increased buying power and population growth could contribute to a 100% increase in local black tourism by the year 2000 compared with the 1985 figures (strydom, 1993: 1 oj. the biggest market for south africa is the tourist from africa. the next group comprises the overseas market, especially the eco­ tourism category (hard core and dedicated), as well as the village tourism market. we should therefore consider catering for the domestic market. 4. tourism products, natural environment and local communities the environment. whether it is natural or man-made, is the fundamental ingredient of tourism products. however, as soon as tourism activity occurs, the environment is inevitably changed or modified to facilitate tourism activities and facilities (cooper et a/., 1993: 102). tourism often relies on an unspoiled natural and 44 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 cultural environment for basic attractions. in order to achieve sustainable tourism development, the following tools may be used as indicators to determine the interaction with the local community, and practicable environmentally friendly eco­ tourism (van harssel, 1994: 198). all tourism product owners interviewed in harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens stated that their products were environmentally friendly. they were, for example, conscious of the dangers of pollution and provided rubbish bags to visitors. according to van der merwe (1995: 8), tourists mostly experience the country at the community level. entrepreneurs also operate at this level. local communities will have to take greater responsibility for planning, promoting and managing their tourist resources. thus, they would receive a much greater share of the benefits especially if they promoted village tourism. we must bear in mind that there is a threshold of tolerance among hosts, temporally and spatially. as long as the impact of the tourists on the community is within this critical level, the local community welcomes the industry and the tourists, but if this threshold is exceeded numerous problems may occur (tsotetsi, 1998: 98). the development facilitation act (dfa) states that local development objectives (loo) must be formulated for every community. the local government transition act has led to the integrated development planning (idp) process. "it was indicated clearly that the idp process should be based on a structural public participation process with the emphasis on capacity building and the empowerment of all protagonists" (steyn & viviers, 2000: 273). within the research site, the support and interaction of local communities with tourism products vary from one area to the next. this is also influenced by the way people perceive public participation. the findings reflect that the local community at harrismith does not often visit local tourism products. there is more significant interaction between the local community and tourism products in phuthaditjhaba and clarens (according to the product owners) than elsewhere. as this study focuses mainly on tourism products and owners, a geographical or spatial analysis approach was followed in combination with a swot-analysis, which was used systematically to identify strong and weak points, opportunities and threats in pinpointing potential future business opportunities in the area 45 tsotetsi, steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning studied. questionnaires and personal interviews were used to obtain information from 26 product owners. 5. tourism products at harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens (hpc) a tourism product is defined as an amalgamation of many components. the attractions of destination, the facilities at the destination and their accessibility (bennett, 1995: 251j. the components of tourism products vary from one setting to the next. the research area. which shows how tourism planning has contributed to local development in harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens. is situated in the eastern free state (figure 1 j. harrismith is situated in the northeast. adjacent to the n3 national road. while phuthaditjhaba is located at the junction of the borders of the free state, kwazulu-natal and lesotho. clarens is 37 km southeast of bethlehem. this region is dominated by rural settlements. namely, villages, small towns and townships. the r712 route. connecting harrismith, phuthditjhaba and clarens. is an alternative route from harrismith to ficksburg, along the border of lesotho, also known as the highlands route. this route includes two nature reserves, namely, the sterkfonteindam nature reserve and the golden gate highlands national park. this region has unique natural and cultural resources. the drakensberg mountains are basalt formations. which are fascinating to those interested in geological formations. for the bird-watchers. this is the region where one finds the bearded vulture, the orange-breasted rockjumper, the drakensberg sisken. the yellow-breasted pipit and many other unique bird species. the zoologist again might like to see the ouvo/k (cordilfes gigantius). a kind of iguana. the botanist would look for indigenous aloe species (e g aloe po/yphylla). many of these are threatened species according to the red data book (highlands development, s.a.: 3. 5). you will also encounter san paintings in many of the caves in the region and numerous sesotho villages. the research was intended to evaluate the tourism products in terms of their location, accessibility and infrastructure. more particularly, the study deals with the road networks linking harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens with major national cities. it further investigates the interaction of the tourism product with the natural environment and local community, economic viability of products and job creation. 46 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 5.1 attractions of the hpc attractions, whether natural or man-made, are the core elements from which tourism products are created. these may include the natural, scenic, architectural, historic, adventurous, educational, culinary, festive or cultural phenomena (van harssel, 1994: 222). they are regarded as anything interesting or unusual to see or to do (cooper et al., 1993: 20). attractions may be nodal or linear in character. a nodal character of a destination is one where the attractions of the region are geographically closely grouped, e g the golden gate national park with all its attractions and amenities is confined to a small area. the notion of a "linear character of tourist destinations" refers to attractions that are spread over a wide geographic area, with no obvious centres of interest (heath 1987:85), e g the tourist products on various farms along the road between golden gate and clarens would be a case in point (table 1). table 1: identified unique tourism attractions in the hpc study area harrismith phuthaditjhaba clarens sterkfontein dam mount-aux-sources golden gate national park game reserve basotho cultural village sandstone mountains platberg mountain qwaqwa national park historic war sites battlefields metsi matsho & fika-patso motouleng cave diverse types of diverse types of diverse types of accommodation accommodation accommodation source: tsotetsi ( 1998: 106-144) a swot-analysis was performed to evaluate the potential of tourism products and attractions in the research area. weak points in harrismith and clarens are, among others, the absence of regulations for the establishment of bed-and-breakfast accommodation, as well as poor utilisation of tourism products by local township residents. in these two areas, opportunities exist for eco-tourism, while harrismith has opportunities for conference­ based tourism. the large number of government-led tourism products and poor coordination between private and public tourism products have an adverse effect on phuthaditjhaba's tourist industry. opportunities include the following: establishing eco-tourism ventures and guesthouses. threats include, among others, snow during winter. urban sprawl and environmental deterioration. crime is a threat in all these areas. 47 tsotetsi, steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning 5.2 facilities at hpc tourist facilities refer to those elements, which on their own do not generate tourism flows, while the absence of such facilities discourages tourists from visiting a destination (bennett, 1995: 12). facilities at destinations comprise accommodation, catering, entertainment, as well as internal transport and communications, which enable the tourist to move around during his/her stay. due attention must be paid to accommodation. in the study area, accommodation was considered a critical component in tourism support facilities. the type, scale and nature of accommodation available at the destinations determine the type and scale of tourism that can be accommodated at such a destination. the type and nature of accommodation will also be partly determined by what competitors in neighbouring regions have to offer, and by the type of . transportation visitors use to reach the destination (bennett, 1995: 52). a distinct feature of accommodation is the wide range required to match the needs of different income groups of visitors. the range includes hotels, motels, inns and bed-and-breakfast operations, guesthouses, etc. today, tourists are looking for greater freedom, more adventure and less formality. hence there is a need for informality (no regulated arrival and departure times or dinner and breakfast times), as well as a need for greater self-sufficiency (self-catering facilities). this creates a new demand for diversity in accommodation facilities. the owners of a tourism product provide diverse types of accommodation (cooper et al 1993:85). harrismith and clarens offer a large number of bed-and-breakfast facilities, while phuthaditjhaba has none (tsotetsi, 1998: 113). 5.3 accessibility of tourism products a tourist attraction would be of little value if it were difficult to reach by means of normal transport. the lack of good infrastructure in the form of road and communication links may result in tourists rather visiting alternative, more accessible tourist attractions (strydom, 1993: 19). the accessibility of a tourist destination refers to all those elements that affect the cost, speed, and convenience with which a tourist destination may be reached (bennett, 1995: 12). a region will not attract tourists on a large scale unless it is accessible, regardless of its amenities. infrastructure is one of the 48 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 pillars of accessibility. generally, infrastructure includes all forms of construction, on and below surface level, required by any area where its inhabitants communicate on a large scale with the outside world, as well as high levels of human activity within such a region. the notion also refers to roads and parking areas, railway lines, harbours and airport runways, as well as utility services such as water supplies, drainage and sewage disposal and power supply. 5.3.1 harrismith harrismith is situated halfway between bloemfontein, johannesburg and durban. a railway line and airstrip back road infrastructure. tarred roads with good road signs are in place. and tourist accommodation is clustered in and around the town. disadvantages identified in terms of accessibility in the area include the deteriorating condition of secondary roads in the countryside, for example, the road to qwantani resort and the gravel road to the mount everest holiday game lodge. a major advantage of this area is the intersection of the n3 and n5 national roads. these roads connect these towns by means of secondary roads to the interior parts of the eastern free state (r71 l and r712) (figure 1 ). 5.3.2 phuthaditjhaba phuthaditjhaba is easily accessible via harrismith, clarens and bethlehem (figure 1 ). major tourism products such as the basotho cultural village, qwaqwa national park and qwaqwa hotel are located along main roads. the following inadequacies were identified: a poor gravel road to witsieshoek mountain resort and mount-aux-sources, and no public transport to cater for local tourists. this almost complete lack of access roads into the villages surrounding phuthaditjhaba is presently a major stumbling block to improving the participation of local communities in the tourism industry. 5.3.3 clarens clarens is a three-hour drive away from johannesburg, while travel by car to bloemfontein and durban takes two and four hours respectively. tourism products, clustered in the town and its environs. form a linear pattern in the countryside adjacent to the highlands tourist route. two disadvantages are the absence of tarred roads in the town and the lack of public transport for local tourists. in general, external road signs indicating directions to towns are clear. internal directions to guide tourists to the major attractions are either inadequate or non-existent. 49 fs legend ;;;,;; roads t-------------------1-.-��v::�! anddams hatfona/park.s -··-··-··borders figure 1: location of harrismith phuthaditjhaba and clarens v> 0 -+ <d -+ �(/) <d <d ::j 7' 0 3 "p < 0 ::j n 's.. 90 oj 0 -+ ::j" 0 0 c ::::!. v> 3 -0 0 ::j ::j :r co 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 6. economic viability of tourism products and job creation in economic terms, tourism may, as a result of tourism development, generate many benefits, including employment, income and improvement of infrastructure (lickerish & jenkins, 1997: 7 4). tourism is also acknowledged as the largest global industry, employing one in every 15 workers and generating over 3, 1 trillion dollars in indirect earnings annually (mcmanus, 1997: 51). however, employment in tourism is highly seasonal and contributes to fluctuations in the levels of local and regional employment, and is therefore beneficial only to those requiring seasonal employment, such as students, housewives and part­ time employees (mathieson & wall, 1982: 81). table 2 reports the opinions of individual product owners on the economic viability of their operations as income-generating businesses. subjects' responses were categorised into poor, average and high. table 2: economic viability of tourism products economic viability harrismith phuthaditihaba clarens high 3 1 6 average 3 2 6 low 2 1 2 total 8 4 14 source: tsotetsi 1998: 146 according to table 2, employment generated by the tourism product owners varies from one area to the next. in harrismith jobs are mainly created by the establishment of accommodation facilities, specifically at hotels, resorts and guesthouses, while at phuthaditjhaba, the local community has created informal jobs. they sell cultural products to tourism product owners at the basotho cultural village, and some tourism product owners sell cultural products on behalf of hawkers at the witsieshoek mountain resort and the tourist information centre. at clarens, the golden gate highlands national park, kiara lodge and maluti lodge, guesthouses and guest farms employ a significant number of people. 51 tsotetsi, steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning table 3: employment generated by tourism products staff employed harrismith phuthaditjhaba clarens no of people no of people no of people management 28 16 30 administration 18 5 14 services 147 133 194 total 193 152 238 source: tsotetsi, 1998: 124, 135, 145 an interesting fact revealed by the figures in table 3 is that the size of a town does not necessarily reflect its importance as a tourism destination. a small town such as clarens outperforms the medium-sized town of harrismith and the larger settlement of phuthaditjhaba. the figures also reflect that many jobs have been generated in the unskilled category, while job creation has been moderate in management, with administration falling behind. although tourism is generally regarded as a potentially highly viable industry in the economy, the opposite is true for the area that was the subject of this study. in many cases, tourism is regarded as a supplementary business. the reason for these phenomena derives from the importance of the free state province in general as a lower-ranked national destination that has not yet developed its full potential. 7. suggested planning strategies planning refers to the idea of achieving a goal (particular ends) by following a detailed set of procedures to allocate the use of land and to improve the environment, thereby attempting to improve human lifestyles. planning should not only eliminate the problems, but also provide the positive mechanism for land acquisition, design, development and management, to have the greatest user satisfaction. in this sense, planning is intended not only to avoid problems, but also to solve problems. from a holistic perspective the aim of tourism planning is to maximise benefits and to minimise costs (gunn, 1994:2). "the integrated development planning (idpj process is a statutory strategic planning exercise. the aim of the process is to focus the limited human and capital resources available to local authorities, on those issues that are of greatest importance to the community at large" (steyn & viviers, 2000: 272). the suggested 52 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no l planning strategy for the hpc area is a future-directed planning approach that deals with the following issues: • accessibility. access is by way of roads, and the capacity of existing facilities. all tourism products in the hpc study area are located in a specific location, so that there is optimal access to streets or roads that connect the site to other destinations. planners may be consulted to arrange for the subdivision or rezoning of tourism products, sites. areas or regions • accommodation. this is available for visitors in various forms. the hpc area offers diverse types of accommodation. cheaper types of accommodation (rondavels and camping sites) may be promoted in order to cater for low-income tourists. at the same time, higher standards for guesthouses, hotels and motels may be maintained • marketing. this aspect refers to the impact of large numbers of seasonal visitors on the infrastructure of the region, with particular reference to roads. so far, the eastern free state as a whole has not reached a tourism saturation point, because it has not been marketed effectively yet • the need to protect the landscape. historical sites or natural assets that attract tourists and holidaymakers in the first place, are critical. in this regard, a joint venture involves various departments sharing responsibility, such as the department of environmental affairs and tourism, the department of technology, art and culture, and the department of agriculture. practising and enforcing integrated environmental management principles is of critical importance in the research area for planning and development purposes. most tourism product owners have taken precautionary measures, such as practising conservation principles. teaching tourists not to litter, and providing security officers and tourist guides • the impact on local communities. this aspect includes employment, income and the effect of foreign visitors on local traditions, customs and culture. the impact varies in the research site. harrismith and particularly clarens have generated more employment opportunities in the tourism industry than phuthaditjhaba. income generation has increased at harrismith and clarens because local residents have converted their houses into guesthouses. at phuthaditjhaba, residents generate income by producing cultural products and selling them to tourism product owners who, in turn. sell them on their behalf. because of improved accommodation facilities, foreign tourists visiting harrismith 53 tsotetsi, steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning and clarens have a greater impact on the visitor pattern than in the case of phuthaditjhaba. 7.1 the role of planners tate and mulugetta (1998:80) have identified various roles for planners. among these the most popular one is in the field of environmental and economic development. with various communities at different economic and social levels of development, it is clear. in terms of decision-making systems, that planners may assume divergent roles in this region. to determine the greatest potential for a region, a regional scale of planning is needed. tourism planning is an integrated process involving government, provincial and local authorities as well as stakeholders. private initiatives and communities. the entire region must become tourism-minded. the loo and idp processes could be used to orientate the community to become more tourism-driven. regional planning is important in developing infrastructure and increasing the accessibility to tourism products. the role of the planner is to help identify unique features of the community and environment, the development of these features, marketing and the sustainable use of these products for tourism. planners will be concerned with. for instance, planning accessible and affordable tourist facilities for all communities as a means of effecting stability in society (wilson & van zyl 1996:55). 7.2 proposals for tourism product development planning 7 .2.1 accessibility of tourism products access is a prerequisite for the utilisation of any space. in fact. all tourism products visited have access to transport routes. the problems identified were the shortage and poor design of parking spaces and signage. the following recommendations are made: • adequate parking, closer to the product. should be provided; that is. parking that accommodates all types of vehicles. parking for cars. coaches and buses should preferably be in separate locations. a number of smaller linked parking areas are preferable and the means of access should be adequate and clearly marked with international direction signs • at the square in clarens. congestion occurs at peak times, because of the lack of proper planning for adequate parking space. parking vehicles along the street next to or in front of 54 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 local commercial outlets must be avoided, because it is inconvenient for the local inhabitants who use the street for other purposes • trees are essential in all parking areas. because people and vehicles need shade on hot summer days. by planting indigenous trees, shade could be provided and it could enhance the character of the town. 7.2.2 infrastructure (road networks) poor primary roads connect some of the tourism products in the hpc area. primary streets in clarens. which lead to tourism facilities. are gravel roads. at harrismith, the two primary roads connecting mount everest and the qwantani resort are in poor condition. at phuthaditjhaba, the only entrance road to witsieshoek mountain resort and mount-aux-sources is in very poor condition at present. local government is responsible for developing and upgrading roads and streets. they could consider the use of pavement bricks for the road surface in the construction phase. these bricks are not only cost-effective. but will generate employment opportunities because their production is labour-intensive and requires the use of local materials for construction. 7.2.3 accommodation taking into account the number of tourists visiting the tourist attractions and the distance between the various spots. the only shortage of accommodation identified has been at the basotho cultural village. consideration should be given to the promotion of the local cultural heritage of the area. the design of accommodation structures should reflect the art and style of the local culture. various kinds of accommodation facilities. including pioneer and traditional architecture. can also be utilised in order to reflect the cultural heritage of all sectors of the community. 7 .2.4 facilities because of its strategic location as a tourism destination, this area may attract other facilities. such as a casino. harrismith presents sustainable possibilities for a casino, because it would attract tourists on their way to durban, johannesburg and bloemfontein. harrismith also has adequate shopping, banking and telecommunication facilities to support such ventures. 55 tsotetsi. steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning the research elicited significant interest from international companies interested in investing in the eastern free state. taking the empowerment of rural communities into account in the development of tourism products, it is necessary to warn against leaving it solely to international investors, because of the danger of exploitation or misinterpretation of the local cultural heritage and resources. a 50/50 partnership between local and international companies is advisable. 7.2.5 transport no public transport is available at present for local tourists who cannot afford to rent a car. there is a need for local government and local tourism organisations to investigate the possibility of subsidising public transport such as taxis and buses .. 8. conclusion based on the findings of this study, it is strongly believed that tourism may contribute substantially to local development if the planner, local communities and product owners interact continuously to achieve a collective goal for sustainable development. the proposals to improve the tourism products and environment have to address the weak points, counteract threats and capitalise on the attributes and opportunities identified for the research site. an integrated development planning (idp) process for the study area must be promoted. it should also take land development objectives into consideration in order to achieve sustainable tourism development that will be beneficial to all stakeholders. a more in-depth analysis of development opportunities in the various tourism sectors is necessary to guide future development of the area, as the research site is one of south africa's most promising tourist destinations. references bennett, j.a. 1995. managing tourism services. pretoria: van schaik academic publishers. burkart, a.j. & medlik , s. 1981. tourism, past, present and future. 2nd edition. london: heinemann. cooper, c., fletcher, j., gilbert, d. & wanhill, s. 1993. tourism, principle & practice. london: longmann group. 56 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 croucamp,j. 1996. tourism: major growth ahead. human resource management, 12(114):14-15. gcis 2000/01. south african yearbook 2000/01. government communication and information system. pretoria. gunn, c.a. 1994. tourism planning basic, concepts, cases. new york: taylor & francis. heath, e.t. 1987. the need for the development of strategic marketing planning framework for regional tourism in south africa. port elizabeth: university of port elizabeth. highlands development & ofs nature conservation s.a. come and explore the enchanting highlands treasure route of the eastern free state. pamphlet. hudson, l.e. & hawkins, d.e. 1989. tourism in contemporary society: an introductory text. englewood cliffs: prentice-hall. ledger,j. 2001. written in red the challenge of conserving endangered species. timbila, 3(2). lickorish, l.j. & jenkins, c.l. 1997. an introduction to tourism. oxford: butterworth & heinemann. lindberg, k. 1991 . economic policies for maximizing nature tourism's contribution to sustainable development. washington dc: world resource institute. mathieson a & wall g 1982. tourism, economic, physical and social impacts. london: longman. mcmanus, g. 1997. the quality of south africa tourism. management today previously human resource management, may, 13, pp. 51-52. perloff, h. et al 1960. regions, resources and economic growth. resources for the future. baltimore: john hopkins press. smith, v.l. & eadington, w.r. 1993. tourism alternatives potential land problems in the development of tourism. usa: international academy for the study of tourism. 57 tsotetsi, steenkamp, van zyl & botha/tourism planning south africa 1995. development facilitation act (act 67 of 1995). pretoria. 1996. development and promotion of tourism in south africa. white paper. pretoria. 1996. local government transitional act second amendment (act 20 of 1993), amended by act 97 of 1996. pretoria. steyn, jj.. & viviers, m. 2000. integrated development planning process in south africa: a case in the northern free state province. people's empowerment in planning 35th international planning congress cancun, mexico, 7-11 september 2000. strydom, a.j. 1993. a strategic plan for the effective utilization of the tourism potential of the orange free state. institute for social and economic research. bloemfontein: university of the orange free state. tate, j. & mulugetia, y. 1998: policy forum sustainability: the technocentric challenge. town planning review, 69(1), pp. 80. theobald, w. 1994. global tourism: the next decade. london: butterworth-heinemann. tsotetsi, a.m. 1998. the contribution of planning tourism in the local development of harrismith, phuthaditjhaba and clarens. unpublished m u r p thesis, the department of urban and regional planning. bloemfontein: university of the free state. van der merwe, i. 1995. muniviro: tourism with a difference. african panorama, 12(2), pp. 8. van harssel, j. 1994. tourism, an exp/oration (3rd edition). new york: prentice-hall. ward, j., higson, p. & campbell, w. 1996. gnvq advanced leisure and tourism. musselburgh: scotprint. wilson, g.d.h. & van zyl, f.d.w. 1996. planning for leisure in south africa: meeting new challenges. stads-en streekbeplanning/town and regional planning, no 41, june. internet source stat sa, 1999: south african tourism statistics foreign tourist arrivals 1999. http://www.environment.gov.za/tourism/factsheet2000/index.html 58 mm campbell & jaa lazenby 1 bewoningstevredenheid onder inwoners van hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising in grater bloemfontein opsomming sekere determinante van bewoningstevredenheid in hoeen medium­ digtheidsbehuising in groter bloemfontein is ondersoek en geevalueer ten einde eerstens riglyne door le stel en tweedens die rol te identifiseer wat die gemeenskap, beleidformuleerders en rolspelers uit die privaat­sektor (ontwikkelaars, bouers, stadsbeplanners en argitekte) kan vertolk ten einde 'n verhoogde bewoningstevredenheid onder inwoners le bewerkstellig. sleutelwoorde: bewoningstevredenheid, digtheidsbehuising, bloemfontein. residential contentment/satisfaction of inhabitants of high and medium density residential structures in the greater bloemfontein abstract in order to evaluate urban facilities and services according to the needs identified by the residents of the greater bloemfontein certain determinants of residential satisfaction in the greater bloemfontein were investi­gated. the evaluation was also carried out to establish guidelines in the first place and secondly to identify the role of the community and policy formulators as well as role-players in the private sector (developers, builders, town-planners and architects) to attain a higher level of residential satisfaction under residents. keywords: residential satisfaction, bloemfontein, urban facilities. m.m. campbell ba (uovs), ba hons (uovs), ma (uovs), d. phil (uovs), bcom (uovs).vakkundige beampte: departement stadsen streekbeplanning, uovs. j.a.a. lazenby ba (uovs), ba hons (uovs), hod (uovsj, mss {uovs), ph d (uovs). senior /ektor: departement ondememingsbestuur, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat. 81 campbell & lazenby/ bewoningstevredenheid in grater bloemfontein lnleiding s ekere determinante van bewoningstevredenheid is onder­ soek om te bepaal watter faktore 'n invloed uitoefen in gevalle van hoe sowel as lae tevredenheid, ten einde riglyne door te stel vir verhoogde tevredenheid. verster (1994: 50-51) wys daarop dot beplanning voor die bepaling van behoeftes steeds 'n probleem in suid-afrika is, aangesien 'n sosiale orde ontstaan het waar die regering vir mense gedink het en waar die mens nie gevra is no sy behoefte nie. sy behoefte is aan horn voorgeskryf in terme van die verandering van die fisieke omgewing en oak in terme van behuising. agtergrong tot hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising door is gepoog om bewoners van hoeen mediumdigtheidsbe­huising se houding jeens die tipe behuising te bepaal, om as uit­gangspunt te dien by beleidbepaling wanneer publieke deelna­me verreken word. volgens steyn (1989: 135) is inspraak deel van 'n kommunikasiesisteem tussen burger en owerheid asook ower­heid en burger om vervreemding tussen die partye te oorbrug. hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising word beoordeel teen die agtergrond van sherwood se tipologie van bewoningsvorme wat verwys no die tipes behuisingstrukture, byvoorbeeld woon­ stelle, meenthuise en duetwonings (sherwood, 1978: l) en nie no digtheid per oppervlakte nie. dit het tot gevolg gehad dot 96% van die respondente wit is, aangesien hierdie tipe behuisings­ trukture hoofsaaklik in die tradisioneel wit gebiede gelee is. lynch en hack (1990: 252) wys daarop dot digtheid op 'n verskei­ denheid maniere gemeet kan word waarvan netto-digtheid die mees praktiese verhouding tussen grondoppervlakte en woon­ eenhede aandui, waar die beskikbare grondoppervlakte verd­ eel word deur die totale aantal eenhede. hoedig­theidsbehuising van tot sewe verdiepings is sedert die klassieke tydperk in rome gebou en is bewoon deur verskillende gesinne wat nie familie van mekaar was nie (tyrwhitt, 1968: l). medium­digtheidsbehuising is sedert die vroee sestigerjare in amerika ge­bou as "high density, low rise housing types typically clustered in planned unit developments" waarvan tuinhuise en ryhuise voor­beelde is (davis, 1977: 83). die volgende tipes behuising is gevol­glik uitgesluit: enkelwonings, kamers (in koshuise en ouetehuise), hostelle vir enkellopende mans en staatsgesubsidieerde eenhe­ de, aangesien dit nie vir die algemene publiek beskikbaar is nie. bewoningstevredenheid is 'n bruikbare sosiale barometer wat konsekwente interpreteerbare resultate daarstel (moller, 1996: 237). 82 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 ten einde te bepaal watter aspekte verreken moet word in toekomstige stadsen behuisingsbeplanning, is dit nodig om te weet wat die huidige inwoners se tevredenheidsvlakke is. deur hierdie voorkeure te bepaal en te verreken kan belangrike sosia­ le verandering of aanpassing teweeggebring word, wat die ar­ mer lede van die gemeenskap in stoat sol stel om te deel in die voorregte van die welvarende gemeenskap (arnstein, 1969: 216). die vraag wat ontstaan, is of beplanners en beleidmakers altyd weet hoe en wat om vir mense te beplan? "their planning tech­ niques indicate that their perceptions of situations are different from that experienced by the people. this conflict of interest is evidenced by the increased number of dissatisfied people who confront planners" (moodley, 1988: 55). beplanning moet toelaat vir groepsidentiteit, groepsgevoel, sub-kultuur, kultuur en individu (verster, 1994: 53). data 1 is verkry deur in groter bloemfontein 'n studie te maak van die residensiele tevredenheid onder inwoners van hoeen medi­ umdigtheidsbehuising 2 in die groter bloemfontein. 3 'n waarde­ bepaling van stedelike fasiliteite en dienste is gedoen na gelang van behoeftes wat by die inwoners ge"i"dentifiseer is. dit is in lyn met die beleid van die regering van die dog, wat 'n stedelike strategie, die "remaking of south africa's cities and towns" deur 'n taakgroep laat opstel het met volhoubare stede ten doel en waar die klem op bewoonbare stede en veilige ge­ meenskappe val (thomas, 1996: 21). in suid-afrika het stedelike vestigingspatrone 'n eiesoortige ka­ rakter ontwikkel wat gekulmineer het in die apartheids­ tad-ideologie, wat ingrypende gevolge vir die suid-afrikaanse stedelike morfologie gehad het. huidiglik word verwag dot verstedeliking in suid-afrika op 'n meer markgerigte grondslag sol ontwikkel (botha, 1990: 136). campbell, m.m. 1997. ongepubliseerde verhandeling. 2 by die aanvang van die studie was door 11 328 hoeen mediumdigt­ heidseenhede binne die grense van die plaaslike oorgangsraad van groter bloemfontein waarvan 'n verteenwoordigende steekproef van 4% getrek is. 3 die groter bloemfontein sluit die regsgebied van die ou munisiplaiteit van bloemfontein in tesame met die kleurlinggebiede, heidedal en opkoms. asook die vorige aanliggende munisipaliteite mangaung (swart), bainsvlei en bloemspruit. 83 campbell & lazenby/ bewoningstevredenheid in grater bloemfontein bewoningstevredenheid in die literatuur (lazenby, 1988: 54; varaday & preiser, 1998: 189; bullamore, 1978: 2) word die terme bewoningstevredenheid, be­ huisings-tevredenheid, residensiele tevredenheid en woon­ buurt-tevredenheid algemeen gebruik. aangesien bewonings­ bevrediging ook algemene bevrediging ten gunste van die fisie­ se en sosiale omgewing insluit, word hierdie term vervolgens ge­ bruik en as die mees toepaslike in hierdie verband beskou. dit is die mate waarin woonhuisbewoners aanneemlike vlakke van te­ vredenheid ervaar met bepaalde gekose residensiele, fisiese en sosiale omgewings, sowel as bepaalde behuisingsattribute (la­ zenby, 1988: 54-55). dit reflekteer ook die huishouding se siening van die wenslikheid van sy residensiele situasie (bullamore, 1978: 2) en berus op sekere verwagtinge waaraan behuising moet voldoen, soos die gedeeltelike realisering van die verbrui­ker se behuisingsaspirasies, asook die behuisingsverbetering van die koper van 'n nuwe huis (brink en johnston, 1979: 340) en die woonbuurt se sosiale samestelling (bullamore, 1978: 2). bewoningstevredenheid is in hierdie navorsing nie net ondersoek as tevredenheid ten opsigte van die wooneenheid nie, moor 'n groot komponent van die tevredenheid wat ondersoek is, spreek die residensiele omgewing aan. die belangrikste bydrae van 'n humaniter-georienteerde studie le juis daarin dot dit na­ vorsers gevoelig maak vir die daaglikse en heel dikwels intieme gehegtheid wat mense het aan daardie plekke wat hulle om­ ring (cloke, philo & sadler, 1991 : 81). faktore wat hier in ag ge­ neem word en ondersoek is, is sosiale interaksie, die fisiese infra­ struktuur en omgewingsfasiliteite, want navorsing van bewoning­ stevredenheid in die enkelwoningsektor in bloemfontein het ge­ toon dot residensiele omgewingsbevrediging met woonhuiste­ vredenheid korreleer (lazenby, 1988: 188). woonbuurte verskil nie alleen ten opsigte van die dienste wat voorsien word nie, moor oak ten opsigte van sosiale en fisiese as­ pekte. 'n studie in gaborone het aangetoon dot sosiale interak­ sie deel vorm van die stedelike ontwikkelingsbeleid, ten einde segregasie van sosiale stand, kultuurof inkomstegroepe te ont­ moedig (mosha, 1996: 119). sodoende word gepoog om die vor­ ming van lae inkomste krotbuurte te ontmoedig. in san francis­ co woon lae inkomstegroepe in aparte kleiner gemeenskappe. hierdie vestigingspatroon is ook daarop gerig om die ontstaan van krotbuurtes teen te werk (parker, 1995: 39). in 'n studie wat onder inwoners van mediumdigtheidsbehuising in pretoria uitge84 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 voer is, is bevind dot die inwoners matige tevredenheid in die geheel ervaar het (van wyk, 1990: 37). die respondente het dui­ delik te kenne gegee dot hulle hierdie tipe behuising bo toring­ blokwoonstelle (hoedigtheidsbehuising) verkies. in singapoer en soerabaja is egter sukses behaal met hoesowel as mediumdig­ theidsbehuisingprojekte. volgens diacon (1995: 18) kan die resi­ densiele tevredenheid van beide projekte teruggevoer word no 'n regering wat vasberade was om die behuisingprobleem op te los, 'n ge"integreerde benadering van verstedeliking gehad het en behuising-voorsiening sowel as die groat rol wat gemeens­ kapsbetrokkenheid in die implementering van behuisingprojekte speel. 'n sosiale profiel van die inwoners suksesvolle behuising moet nie net sosiaal en kultureel aanvaar­ baar wees nie, dit moet oak ekonomies haalbaar wees om te verseker dot die grootste deel van die bevolking dit kan bekos­ tig (rapoport, 1969: 120). lategan (1974: 78) sluit hierby aan en bevind dot behuising belangrik is vir die welsyn van die mens en dot dit in noue verband met faktore soos inkomste, beroep en opvoedingspeil staan. gesien teen hierdie agtergrond word 'n profiel van die teikenpopulasie weergegee. die hoof van die huishouding was in 53,6% van die teikengroep manlik, waarvan 35,7% ongetroud was en 35.2% matriek as hoogste kwalifikasie gehad het. die meeste wooneenhede is deur kerngesinne bewoon. wat inkomste betref verdien 82% van die hoofde van huishoudings (in die geval van getroude perso­ ne is dit die gesamentlike inkomste van die man en vrou) r60 ooo per jaar of minder. in antwoord op 'n oopvraag oar be­ roepstatus het 21, 1 % aangedui dot hulle pensioentrekkers is, ter­ wyl die tweede hoogste persentasie (8.9%) ambagsmanne of tegnici is. die kultuurgroepe, kerkverband en huistaal van die teikengroep is bepaal omdat homogeniteit 'n positiewe aspek van sosiale interaksie kan wees (lategan, 1974: 27). die oorgrote meerderheid respondente (96%) is wit, waarvan 78,2% afrikaans­ sprekend is. terwyl 97.4% aangedui het dot hulle christene is (campbell, 1997: bylae a). determinante van bewoningstevredenheid die volgende determinante, wat die inwoners se bewoningste­ vredenheid bepaal, is deur middel van 'n vraelys gemeet: sosia85 campbell & lazenby/ bewoningstevredenheid in grater bloemfontein le interaksie, die fisiese omgewing en woonbuurtkomponente, asook omgewingsfasiliteite (campbell, 1997: bylae a). die verskillende komponente wat die bovermelde determinante van bewoningstevredenheid beskryf, word in tabelle 1 tot 3 vol­ gens waarde van hoog no laag gelys. die hoogste gemiddelde waarde wat per komponent per vraag behaal kan word, is 5 en die laagste waarde is 1. 'n gemiddelde waarde van hoer as 3 verteenwoordig 'n positiewe gevoel teenoor die betrokke kom­ ponent. dit is gevolglik 'n aanduiding van tevredenheid. alhoewel behoeftes van huishouding tot huishouding verskil, blyk dit dot door sekere universele behoeftes is wat bepalend in be­ woningstevredenheid is. huishoudings wil hulle tuis voel in hulle omgewing, hulle wil veilig voel en die tipe behuising moet vol­ doen aan daardie behoeftes wat vir hulle belangrik is in die le­ wensiklusstadium waarin hulle hulle tans bevind (campbell, 1997: 156; alexander, et al. 1977: 145). sosiale interaksie een van die sake wat aandag geniet in sosiaal-sielkundige stu­ dies van plaaslike gemeenskappe, is die rol wat die gemeens­ kap speel in die tevredenheid van die inwoners (rossi, in camp­ bell & converse, 1978: 89, 105). hier word daarop gelet of die in­ woners inskakel by die gemeenskap en of door 'n samehorig­ heidsgevoel onder inwoners heers. genoemde twee faktore, so­ wel as 'n vriendelike omgewing waar inwoners veilig voel, dra by tot 'n sosiale klimaat wat weer tot 'n verhoogde lewenskwaliteit bydra. die onderskeie attribute van die omgewing het aangedui dot bewoningstevredenheid beduidend deur omgewingsfaktore be"i"nvloed word (campbell, 1997: 147). die sosiale omgewing speel die grootste rol. die inwoners se sosiale ondersteuningstel­ sel bestaan uit familie, vriende en ander inwoners. van die kom­ ponente van sosiale omgewing wat in hierdie studie verreken is, is hoe waardes toegeken aan inwoners wat tuis voel in die ge­ meenskap, en die tipe mense wat hier woon. minderheidsgroe­ pe het egter hier onwelkom gevoel en bygedra tot 'n laer totale tevredenheid (tabel 1 ). orn deel te wees van 'n gemeenskap word enersyds gedefi­ nieer deur interpersoonlike verhoudinge met vriende, kollegas of kerklike gemeentelede, en andersyds is 'n gemeenskaplike plek daardie area wat territoriaal afgebaken is, byvoorbeeld deur woonbuurtgrense. vier faktore onderliggend aan die woonbuurt se betekenis as gemeenskap is, lidmaatskap (lede voel tuis hier), 86 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 samehorigheid, behoeftebevrediging en gedeelde emosionele kontak (cochrun, 1994: 92-93). tabel 1: bloemfontein: sosialisering as komponent van bewoningstevredenheid in hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising* ����'%::..� komponent u voel tuis in die gemeenskap die tipe mense wat hier woon bure maak nie inbreuk op privaatheid nie u woon naby u vriende lnwoners loon belangstelling in mekaar hier is samewerking onder die inwoners hier is nie baie konflik tussen bure nie mense staan mekaar by in 'n krisis minderheidsgroepe voel hier welkom * campbell. 1997:147 waarde 3,97 3,81 3,47 3,30 3,28 3,28 3,28 3,02 2,81 woonbuurtkomponente woonbuurtkomponente soos instandhouding, onderhoud, toe­ ganklikheid, dienste en die nabygelee natuurlike omgewing is rolvertolkers in bewoningstevredenheid (kaplan, 1985: 116). met die rangskikking van die woonbuurtkomponente volgens die ge­middelde waardes wat elkeen behaal het, het parke, sportge­riewe en ontspanningsterreine onder die laagste gefigureer. hierdie drie fasiliteite het dus tot 'n mindere mate bygedra tot die totale tevredenheid (label 2). volgens lategan (1974: 53) kan vryetydsbesteding in 'n hoedigtheidsbehuisingsgebied dig­theid in die woning verlig en spanning wat deur oorbewoning geskep word, neutraliseer. met die rangskikking van die woon­buurtkomponente volgens die gemiddelde waardes wat elkeen behaal het, het parke, sportgeriewe en ontspanningsterreine on­der die laagste gefigureer. hierdie drie fasiliteite het dus in 'n mindere mate bygedra tot die totale tevredenheid (label 2). in bloemfontein wat beskik oor 'n universiteit, technikon en onder­wyserskollege is door gevolglik heelwat jong volwassenes. wan­neer 'n groot persentasie van die bevolking jong volwassenes is, 87 88 campbell & lazenby/ bewoningstevredenheid in grater bloemfontein is dit belangrik om voorsiening te mack vir ontspanningsfasiliteite (soni, 1980: 23). in antwoord op die vraag: "wat beskou u as die grootste voor­ deel van woonstelbewoning?" het inwoners van langenhoven­ park, 'n buurt met lae digthede en heelwat oop ruimtes, no die landelikheid van hul woonbuurt verwys (campbell, 1997: 150). die fisiese omgewing be'i'nvloed bewoningstevredenheid hetsy negatief of positief soos dit blyk uit tobe/ 2. 'n belongrike rolspe­ ler van tevredenheid van die fisiese omgewing is die nabygelee notuurlike omgewing (kaplan, 1985: 116). dit is uit die tabel dui­ delik dot die rustigheid van die woonbuurt en parke 'n relatief hoe waarde behaal het ten opsigte van tevredenheid. 'n voorbeeld van 'n oopruimte wat bydra om die inwoners se residensiele tevredenheid te verhoog is die pork de la villette in 'n werkersklasbuurt in parys, frankryk. "the total environment ... is one which had the most positive and uplifting effect on my spirit ... " (holden, 1996: 11). smuts (1978: 52) sluit hierby aan en beklem­ toon die belangrike rol van oop ruimtes in die leefbaarheid van stede. tabel 2: bloemfontein: komponente van bewoningstevredenheid in hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising* vullisverwydering haekkafee parkeerruimte . . . komponent rustigheid van die waanbuurt die gaeie naam van die waanbuurt eiendam in hierdie amgewing is 'n gaeie belegging die verkeersvalume in die straat daar is genaeg parke dit is 'n gaeie buurt am kinders in groat te maak hier is genaeg groen areas in die buurt spartgeriewe is valdaende akademiese standaard van nabygelee skale ontspanningsterrein telefaanhakkies waarde 4,64 4,50 4,18 3,95 3,85 3,53 3,47 3,41 3,28 3,24 3,23 2,89 2,89 2,81 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 * campbell, 1997: 147 omgewingsfasiliteite omgewingsfasiliteite is daardie fasiliteite wat die behoeftes moet bevredig wat ontstaan as gevolg van die milieu waarin ons ons tans bevind wat eise stel ten opsigte van werk, vryetyds­ besteding, gesondheid en onderwys wat aangespreek moet word {castells & hall, 1994: 207). volgens tabel 3 was die omgewingsfasiliteite wat die meeste by­ gedra het tot residensiele tevredenheid: vullisverwydering (4,64), hoekkafees (4,50) en parkeerruimte (4, 18). die komponente wat negatiewe waardes ten opsigte van tevredenheid behaal het, was telefoonhokkies (2,81), die akademiese standaard van na­ bygelee skole (2,89) en 'n ontspanningsterrein (2,89). dit blyk dot daar nie, in die mate wat vir inwoners bevredigend is, aan al hierdie spesifieke vereistes voldoen word nie, en gevol­ glik word bewoningstevredenheid negatief be"i"nvloed. die tevre­ denheid ten opsigte van die akademiese standaard van naby­ gelee skole is 'n voorbeeld hiervan (tabel 3). tabel 3: bloemfontein: fasiliteite as komponente van bewoningstevredenheid in hoeen medium­ digtheidsbehuising* komponent waarde lnkoopsentrum 4,15 restaurante 3,90 bushaltes 3,87 busdiens 3,77 museums 3,77 teater 3,73 wieg/kleuterskole 3,59 klinieke 3,56 rolprentteaters 3,55 primere skool 3,47 sekondere skool 3,47 bitjlioteek 3,02 89 campbell & lazenby/ bewoningstevredenheid in grater bloemfontein * campbell, 1997: 147 riglyne vir die verbetering van bewoningstevredenheid sekere riglyne word vir ontwikkelaars en beleidbepalers in die praktyk gegee. hierdie riglyne is gebaseer op die hipotetiese uit­ gangspunt dot hoe laer die vlak van bevrediging van 'n be­ paalde attribuut is, hoe hoer is die prioriteit vir die verbetering van die betrokke faset van die leefomgewing van die residensi­ele huishouding (lazenby, 1988: 268). daardie attribute met die laagste tellings, ten opsigte van bewoningstevredenheid, word beskou as die aspekte wat voorkeur moet geniet ten opsigte van moontlike verbeterings ten einde die vlak van bewoningste­ vredenheid te verhoog. 'n groot deel van die verantwoordelikheid om aksies van stapel te stuur ten einde die omgewingskwaliteit te verbeter, berus by die owerhede en veral stedelike plaaslike besture. lndien die be­ planner die verband tussen die omgewing, die ekonomie en die kwaliteit van lewe verstaan, berus die verantwoordelikheid by horn om dit oor te dra aan die plaaslike bestuur. die verantwoor­ delikheid berus ook by die beplanner om die publiek effektief te betrek (fowke & passad, 1996: 65,66). dit kan begin by studies soos hierdie waar die publiek se vlak van tevredenheid getoets word. uit die tabelle blyk dit dot die meeste attribute deur die inwoners self meer konsekwent aangespreek moet word, terwyl die plaas­ like bestuur ook 'n belangrike rol te vervul het. die openbare en privaatsektore kan ook insette !ewer ten einde die vlak van resi­ densiele tevredenheid van inwoners in hoeen mediumdig­ theidsbehuising in bloemfontein te verhoog. waar woonstelle meer as middestadbehuising gesien word en enkelwonings as voorstedelik, kan die voorsiening van parke, sportgeriewe en ontspanningsterreine bydra om die middestad meer vriendelik vir inwoners met kinders te maak. die rustigheid van woonbuurte, asook die verkeersvolume in stra­te kan aangespreek word deur goeie stadsontwerp. die fisiese omgewing kan deur straatuitlegte 1 so verbeter word dot dit kan lei tot verhoogde bewoningstevredenheid. komplekse moet ook so beplan word dot 'n private oop ruimte geskep word wat dit vir inwoners veiliger maak en terselfdertyd 'n beskermde ruimte 90 'n voorbeeld is die sogenaamde "woonerf" of residensiele straat wat nie net voetganger-vriendelik is nie, moor ook 'n plek is waar inwoners ontmoet en kinders speel (joseph, 1995: 505). 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 skep waar kinders deur hulle ouers/oppassers vanuit die woon­ eenhede dopgehou kan word terwyl hulle speel. die open bareen privaatsektore kan ook insette lewer ten einde die vlak van residensiele tevredenheid van inwoners in hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising te verhoog. komplekse kan so be­ plan en gebou word dot 'n privaat oopruimte geskep word wat veilig is vir inwoners. 'n piek waar kinders kan speel onder toesig vanuit die wooneenhede. samevatting die attribute van residensiele tevredenheid is uitgelig, waarmee die inwoners meer of minder tevrede is in hoeen mediumdig­ theidsbehuising in groter bloemfontein (campbell, 1997: 188). die betekenis daarvan vir bloemfontein in besonder, is die feit dot die negatiewe sosiale, maatskaplike en sielkundige konnotasies van hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising soos nagevors in wereldstede en ook in suid-afrikaanse stede, nie in die stad tot so 'n mate realiseer dot dit tot residensiele ontevredenheid aan­leiding gegee het nie. bloemfontein is op skaal kleiner as ge­noemde stede wat 'n moontlike verklaring hiervoor kan wees. in bloemfontein is hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising 'n aanvaar­ bare tipe behuising waarmee inwoners tevrede is, soveel so dot 20,3% van die respondente aangedui het dot hierdie tipe behui­ sing geen nadele het nie. bibliografie alexander,c. ishikawa, s & silversein, m. with jacobson, m. fiks­ dahl-king, i. & angel, s. 1977. a pattern language: towns, build­ings, construction. new york: oxford university press. arnstein, s.r. 1969. a ladder of citizen participation. atp journal, 35(4), pp. 216-224. botha w.j. van h. 1990. die informele sektor in stadsbeplanning met spesiale verwysing no oorlewingsbedrywe, ongepubliseerde ph.0.-verhandeling, departement stadsen streekbeplanning, uni­ versiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. brink. s. & johnston, k.a. 1979. housing satisfaction the concept evi­ dence from home purchase behaviour. home economics re­ search journal, jui. 7(6), pp. 338-345. bullamore, h.w. 1978. neighborhood sources of residential satisfaction. ann arbor university, michigan. campbell a. & converse, p.e. (editors). 1972. the human meaning of social change. new york: russel sage foundation. campbell m.m. 1997. residensiele tevredenheid en mobiliteit onder in­ woners van hoeen mediumdigtheidsbehuising in die grater 91 campbell & lazenby/ bewoningstevredenheid in grater bloemfontein bloemfontein. ongepubliseerde ph.d.-verhandeling, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. cardew, r. 1996. residential densities in sydney. australian planner, 33(2), pp. 105-113. castells, m. & hall. p. 1994. technopoles of the world: the making of twenty-first-century industrial complexes. london: routledge. cloke. p .. philo, c., sadler, d. 1991. approaching human geography: an introduction to contemporary theoretical debates. new york: guilford press: . cochrun, s.e. 1994. understanding and enhancing neighborhood sense of community. journal of planning literature, 9(1), pp. 92-99. davis, s. 1977. the form of housing. toronto, van nostrand reinhold ltd. diacon, d. 1995. crucial factors for success in housing provision the examples of singapore and surabaya. open house international, 20(2), pp. 17-22. fowke, r. & passad, d.k. 1996. sustainable development, cities and local government. australian planner, 33(2), pp. 61-66. holden, r. 1996. shaping open space. planning, 147, pp. 8-11. joseph, e.-b. 1995. changing the residential street scene. journal of the american planning association, 61(4), pp. 504-514. kaplan, r. 1985. nature at the doorstep: residential satisfaction and the nearby environment. journal of architectural planning research, 1985, 2, pp. 115-127. lategan, e. 1974. die maatskaplike implikasies van hoedigtheidsbe­ huising soos dit voorkom in manenberg. universiteit van stellen­ bosch, departement maatskaplike werk, stellenbosch. lazenby, j.a.a. 1988. bewoningsbevrediging in die blanke woonhuissek­ tor binne die munisipaliteit van bloemfontein: 'n studie van proses, patroon en strategie. ongepubliseerde d.phil.-verhandeling. uni­ versiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. moller, v. 1996. household satisfaction: past, present and future per­spectives. development in southern africa, 13(2), pp. 237-254. moodley, v. 1988. residential satisfaction as an indicator of the quality of life in a public housing estate: a case study in chatsworth. on­ gepubliseerde meestersgraadverhandeling, universiteit van durban-westville, departement geografie, durban. mosha. a.c. 1996. the city of gaborone: botswana. planning and man­ agement, 15(2), pp. 118-25. parker, c. 1995. making a twenty-first-century neighborhood. places: places to work, l0(l), pp. 36-45. rapoport, a. 1969. house form and culture. prentice-hall inc, englewood cliffs, n.j. sherwood, r. 1978. modern housing prototypes. harvard university press, london. 92 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 soni, d.v. 1980. a socio-economic and land-use survey of umzinto­ north. university of durban: institute for social and economic re­ search: durban. steyn, j.j. 1989. publieke deelname as 'n kulturele determinant in be­ planning binne die denkkader van die urbanistiekkonsep. onge­ publiseerde proefskrif vir die d.sc.-graad, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, departement stadsen streekbeplanning, uovs, bloemfontein. thomas, l. 1996. remaking south africa's cities and towns: the govern­ ment of national unity's urban strategy. urbanisation and health newsletter, no. 29, june, pp. 21-24. tyrwhiti, j. 1968. high rise apartments and urban form, athens center of ekistics, athens. van wyk, a.c. 1990. relative satisfaction with duplex housing in pretoria. journal dietics and home economics, 18(2), pp. 37-40. varaday, d.p. & preiser, w.f.e. 1998. scattered-site public housing and housing satisfaction-implications for the new public housing pro­ gram. journal of the american planning association, 64(2), pp. 189-207. verster, j.j.p. 1994. die behuisingprobleem: 'n studie om ingesteldheid, prosedures en boukoste in die behuisingsbedryf te evalueer met klem op die woning as bate. ongepubliseerde ph.d.-verhandeling. universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. 93 hans wegelin ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur aan die universiteit van pretoria in die tydperk 1943-2005 abstrak boukonstruksie is tradisioneel ’n kernvak in die graadkursus in argitektuur aan die universiteit van pretoria. die vak ondersoek die vernuf van bou, en lewer ’n belangrike bydrae tot die studie van die ontwerp van geboue. die verloop van die vak sedert stigting van die departement argitektuur in 1943 aan up word beskryf, waartydens die kursus moes tred hou met ’n veranderende wêreld. ’n oorsig oor vroeë wêreldwye opleiding in konstruksie ontbloot die draad van handwerk en vakmanskap wat deur die middeleeue loop, die stryd en ondergang van die kunsvlytbeweging (arts and crafts movement), die industrialisasie van die moderne beweging, en die kommersialisme van vandag. verandering in aanslag van doseer en leer in konstruksie aan up word deur omstandighede en doseerpersoonlikhede beïnvloed, en word in drie tydperke ingedeel: die tydperk 1943 1960, ’n tyd van ontwaking en die begin van ongekende groei; die tydperk 1961 1985, oorheers deur ’n wetenskaplike aanslag en groot bou aktiwiteite; die tydperk 1986 , wat volg op politieke en sosiale omwenteling en ’n ontploffing in kennis en bouprodukte. sleutelwoorde: boukonstruksie, universiteit van pretoria, argitektuur abstract building construction is traditionally a core subject in the degree course in architecture at the university of pretoria. the subject examines the skill of building, and delivers an important contribution to the study of the design of buildings. the course of the subject since inception of the department of architecture in 1943 at up is described, during which time it had to keep up with a changing world. a review of early global construction training reveals the thread of craft and workmanship through the middle ages, the struggle and demise of the arts and crafts movement, the industrialisation of the modern movement, and today’s commercialism. change in emphasis on teaching and learning in construction at up is influenced by circumstance and teaching personnel, and is divided into three periods: the period 1943 1960, a time of awakening and the start of unparalleled growth; the period 1961 1985, domin ated by a scientific approach and vast building activities; the period 1986, following on political and social change and an explosion of knowledge and building products. keywords: building construction, university of pretoria, architecture 83 bekendstelling • introduction hans wegelin is medeprofessor aan die departement argitektuur van die universiteit van pretoria. epos: <hans.wegelin@up.ac.za> 1. inleiding boukonstruksie is tradisioneel ’n kernvak in graadkursusse in argi-tektuur aan tersiêre inrigtings.1 die vak ondersoek die vernufvan bou, en kan beskryf word as die studie van die eienskappe en aanwending van boumateriale en hulle montering in strukture. die studie van konstruksie is terselfdertyd die studie van die ontwerp van geboue, naamlik die kuns om verbeeldingryke, volhoubare2 en ekonomiese geboue te kan ontwerp. die volgende gedagtes behandel die verloop van doseer en leer van konstruksie aan die universiteit van pretoria (up) se departement argitektuur sedert stigting van die skool in 1943. onlangse samesmelting met die departement landskapargitektuur en die binne-argitektuurstudente van die destydse departement huishoudkunde, met gevolglike verdubbeling van studentetalle en personeel, asook die onlangse instelling van ’n tweegraadkursus, het die vakkursus beïnvloed. al drie rigtings loop nou dieselfde konstruksiekursus in die eerste twee jaar.3 2. agtergrond formele onderrig van argitekte kon van die 17e tot diep in die 19e eeu in die ecôle des beaux arts in parys, frankryk geneem word. die oorgrote meerderheid boukundiges is egter opgelei in meestertot-leerlingwerkwinkels, met die klem op vakmanskap en handvaardigheid (piazza, 1973). die renaissance-argitek (louw, 2002) leun swaar op dié vaardigheid, en die uitgevoerde gebou lyk dikwels anders as sy tekening, want vakmanne ken hulle werk en geniet vryheid in die aanpassing van die ontwerp. vakmanskap in daardie sin verdwyn met die koms van die industriële rewolusie toe masjiene in fabrieke bouprodukte op kommersiële skaal begin 84 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 1 vóór 2002: universiteite: pretoria, port elizabeth, vrystaat, witwatersrand, natal, kaapstad, bulawayo; technikons: pretoria, cape, peninsula, port elizabeth, witwatersrand, ml sultan, northern gauteng, natal. sedertdien het verskeie samesmeltings plaasgevind, o.a. die technikon witwatersrand met die randse afrikaanse universiteit, nou bekend as die universiteit van johannesburg. 2 volhoubare (of toepaslike) bou kan omskryf word as omgewingsverantwoorde konstruksie oplossings wat beskikbare vaardighede, energie en hulpbronne optimaal gebruik. 3 kyk bylae vir uiteensetting van die volledige kursus. produseer. die vervanging van handvaardigheid met masjientegnologie lei daartoe dat argitekte minder seggenskap oor die vervaardiging van bouprodukte het, maar groter beheer oor strukture en die manier waarop materiale en produkte aanmekaargesit word. konstruksie is vir die eerste keer ook ontwerp, en argitekte begin ’n nuwe liefdesverhouding met detailering (ford, 1990). ten spyte van ’n dapper poging van die kunsvlytbeweging (arts and crafts movement) tussen 1880 en 1910 om handvaardigheid as inherente bestanddeel van argitektuur te red, is kommersiële industrialisasie nou gevestig en handvaardigheid grootliks dood. argitekte is in beheer, en kon hulself tereg as ‘leier van die bouspan’ sien. die mees invloedryke moderniste, frank lloyd wright (1869-1959), walter gropius (1883-1969) en le corbusier (1887-1965), aanvaar die beginsel van gemeganiseerde produksie, en ontwikkel ’n nuwe argitektoniese taal vir ’n vooruitstrewende industriële eeu sonder historiese presedent. onder gropius se leiding blom die bauhaus in duitsland as skool van die industriële ontwerper. argitekspraktyk beweeg geleidelik na professionalisme, en die opleiding daarin na ’n kennis-gebaseerde dissipline, gegrond op die kunste en die wetenskap. gedurende die 1960’s is die akademiese model van argitektoniese opleiding in die universiteitstelsel gevestig. in suid-afrika is argitektuuropleiding grotendeels op die franse en britse skole (middel 1850’s) geskoei, met invloed van die bauhaus van voor die tweede wêreldoorlog (mallows 1969), asook opleiding in die vsa.4 die universiteit van die witwatersrand (wits) is die eerste wat ’n kursus in argitektuur aanbied, gevolg deur die universiteit van kaapstad (uct), albei in die 1920’s. wits help met die stigting van argitektuurskole te pretoria in 1927 (by die transvaal university college, voorloper van die universiteit van pretoria) en in natal gedurende die 1930’s, terwyl kursusse te bloemfontein en port elizabeth sedert die 1950’s volg. die aanslag is ’n mengsel van franse intellektualisme en britse pragmatisme (mallows, 1969). die argitekgenerasie van rex martienssen (1905-1942), gordon mcintosh (1904-1983) en norman hanson (1909-1991) begin in die 1930’s in johannesburg ’n moderne rewolusie wat suid-afrika in die 85 wegelin • ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur 4 veral deur louis kahn van die universiteit van pennsylvania in die 1950’s en 1960’s. hoofstroom van die internasional styl plaas. die nuwe argitektuur het op ongekende skaal veral tot die ontwikkeling van die middestad gelei (lewcock, 2000). naas chicago is johannesburg seker een van die vroegste stede wat staalen gewapende beton kommersiële strukture oprig. argitektuur-opleiding is in dié tyd op ’n hoogtepunt by wits onder professor ge pearse (1885-1968). die stigting van die onafhanklike departement argitektuur by up in 1943 onder leiding van prof al meiring (1904-1979), en die vroeë dood van dr martienssen in johannesburg, lei tot ’n verskuiwing van die argitektoniese snykant van johannesburg na pretoria, die tradisionele hoofstad van die beskaafde afrikaner. die eerste studente gradueer in 1949, ’n jaar ná die nasionale party aan bewind kom. dié graduandi was afrikaanssprekend en opgewonde oor hul nuwe taak (fisher, 1998). hier ontwikkel ook ’n streeksbenadering in huisbou wat in stryd was met die neergelegde beginsels van die moderne beweging. die leidende figuur was norman eaton (19021966), maar ook helmut stauch (1910-1970) en robert schmikl (19031977) was hoofspelers: sonbeskerming, staandakke met groot oorhange, die oopmaak van die huis na stoep, tuin of oop binnehof met groot glas skuifdeure, asook die ontdekking en spaarsamige5 gebruik van plaaslike vaardighede en materiale soos klinkerstene, roostermure, saksmeerpleister en groefteëls. die tegnologie was eenvoudig, met golfysterdakke. dié oortuigings is met passie in die klaskamer ingedra. stauch was ’n invloedryke ateljeemeester by up vanaf 1945 (peters, 1998). die klem is op presiese detailering, keuse van geskikte materiale, en oorspronklikheid. die aanslag van dosering in konstruksie aan up verander daarna onvermydelik, duidelik gelei deur omstandighede en doseerpersoonlikhede. 3. aanslagverskuiwing doseringsaanslag in konstruksie vir argitektuurstudente aan up, sedert stigting van die departement in 1943, kan in drie periodes ingedeel word: 1943-1960; 1961-1985; 1986-vandag. dié datums dui slegs die middelpunte van geleidelike oorgange tussen periodes aan, en kom breedweg met globale verskuiwings ooreen. 86 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 5 pretorianers was minder gegoed as hul johannesburgse bure 3.1 1943-1960 dié periode begin in ’n na-oorlogse wêreld waar bouprodukte weens regeringsbeperkings op boumateriaal en geskoolde arbeid ten gunste van die oorlogspoging, nog skaars is. hoop en optimisme kry egter momentum soos toestande verbeter, maar saam daarmee ’n besef van die enorme taak wat voorlê. argitekte word geïnspireer deur boeke soos new ways of building van eric de maré (1948), en building materials – science and practice van cecil c handisyde,6 beide britse argitekte. de maré skryf: in the gigantic job of building which faces this country, in spite of present restrictions, architects will eventually be presented with greater opportunities than they have ever had before. but there is a danger that many of those op portunities, both aesthetic and practical, will be missed through lack of time to study and assimilate new ideas and techniques (de maré, 1948). profetiese woorde! baksteenkonstruksie was reeds sterk gevestig in pretoria weens die invloed van ingevoerde hollandse argitekte in die departement openbare werke (dow) in paul kruger se tyd, asook weens die ondernemingsgees van die skotse immigrant-kontrakteur kirkness, wat sedert 1887 ’n groot steenmakery in die groenkloofvallei gehad het (fisher, 1998). ook die moderne produkte van die industriële rewolusie was plaaslik beskikbaar: golfplaat was, soos in die res van die wêreld, ’n groot sukses, en het spoedig die grasdak vervang. golfplaat, profiele vir staalraamvensters, en staalstawe vir gewapende beton was een van die eerste produkte van yskor in 1937. sement is reeds in 1888 in pretoria vervaardig, en argitekte het geeksperimenteer met gewapende beton kolom en bladkonstruksie, insluitend plat dakke met waterdigting. al die bouprodukte van die dag kon in een katalogus7 gevind word, baie waarvan reeds plaaslik vervaardig is. 87 wegelin • ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur 6 handisyde, c. c. 1950. building materials science and practice. london: the architectural press. 7 w. r. boustred bpk, foxstraat, johannesburg. kennis kon volledig en outokraties in die klaskamer aangebied word. die vak se naam is boukonstruksie. studiebronne is die britse mckay’s building construction8 en mitchell’s building construction,9 geredelik in pretoria beskikbaar in ’n aantal goeie boekwinkels, waaronder van schaik’s. details word ‘geleer’ en gekopieer. doseerpersoonlikhede was cole-bowen en basil south, beide van wits. cole-bowen forseer sy studente om presies te werk. hy leer hulle akkurate antropomorfiese data, soos die groottes van meubels en die minimum kashoogte om ’n lang aandrok in te hang. hy ontwerp sy huise streng op ’n 3’-41/2” module, gebaseer op ’n standaard staalraam venster, met ’n vlerkdak van golfplaat. hy was ’n eersteklas tekenaar en fotograaf (gerneke, 1994). 3.2 1961-1985 dié periode verteenwoordig groot groei, met dubbelsyfer groeikoerse en ’n boubedryf wat deur koorsagtige bedrywigheid en tekorte aan materiaal en mannekrag gekenmerk word. dié eise lei tot selfondersoek – vordering in die wetenskap ná die tweede wêreldoorlog het reeds aanvaar dat vooropgesette ontwerpoplossings laat vaar moet word (broadbent, 1973). die aanslag is wetenskaplik, met klem op die invloed van klimaat op geboue, en volg op ontwikkeling in die wetenskap en praktyk van boumateriale en metodes. die wetenskaplike en nywerheids navorsingsraad (wnnr) se nasionale bounavorsingsinstituut (nbni) publiseer uitstekende plaaslike wetenskaplike literatuur op verskeie gebiede van bouwerk soos fondamente, termiese gedrag, sonbeheer, laekostebehuising, hospitale, skole en alternatiewe boumetodes. die suid-afrikaanse agrémentraad word in 1969 tot stand gebring, geskoei op ’n internasionale evalueringsliggaam wat lisensies uitreik vir nuwe innoverende boumetodes. die stigting van dié liggaam was ’n poging om die tekort aan tradisionele materiaal en vakmanne die hoof te bied deur nuwe boumetodes aan te moedig. bouregulasies, vir lank die prerogatief van plaaslike owerhede, word gerasionaliseer en in maart 1985 genasionaliseer. 88 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 8 mckay, w. b. 1938. building construction, volume 1 & 2. london: longmans 9 mitchell’s advanced building construction. revised by denzil nield. 1959 seventeenth edition. london: b. t. batsford aan up bedryf die departement argitektuur ’n laboratorium met apparaat vir grondtoetse, vir die meet van termiese en akoestiese gedrag, en vir die ontleding van strukture. die wêreldbekende australiese bouwetenskaplike, henry j cowan, besoek die departement en gee advies. konstruksiedetails word nie meer net ‘geleer’ nie maar moet uitgedink word as deel van die wetenskaplike ontwerpproses. so sal die vervaardiging en inbou van vensters behandel word met gedagtes oor die invloed van venstervorm en posisie op ligkwaliteit en termiese gedrag in die vertrek, en die vooren nadele van verskillend geskarnierde of skuiwende oopmaakdele op lugvloei en skoonmaak, dus op gesondheid en ergonomie. die konstruksiedetail, by uitstek ’n vorm van dink, word bevorder as ’n aktiewe werktuig tot die beskikking van die ontwerper. geblikte details is verdag. studiebronne is mitchell’s advanced building construction en plaaslik saamgestelde kernnotas. die vak se naam verander na boutegnologie, en later na bouwetenskap. doseerpersoonlikhede is alewyn burger en charles swanepoel. franz wepener was betrokke by die wnnr se klimaatnavorsingsprogram (fisher, 1998), en dié belangstelling is voortgesit deur dieter holm en johan kemp, beide waarvan dosente geword en nagraadse studie daaroor voltooi het. burger begin doseer kort ná graduering, en word as hoof aangestel ná prof at meiring se uittrede in 1967. met sy aanstelling verdwyn meeste van die ouer personeel, en moes burger ’n nuwe begin maak. hy werk met groot ywer om konstruksie op ’n stewiger grondslag te plaas. hy is ’n uitstaande dosent, en word veral onthou om sy ‘kernnotas’ in afrikaans, en sy gebruik van mondelinge eksamens waar die arme student kewergevrete hout, skroewe, ’n stuk dakplaat en ander monsters moes kon beskryf. nie alleen voldoen burger se kernnotas aan ’n groot behoefte van die oorheersend afrikaanssprekende studentebevolking nie, maar pleit hy dat kennis en notas tussen tersiêre inrigtings uitgeruil word: as kollegiale korrespondensie op hierdie vlak ’n werklik heid kan word, is daar ’n kans dat ons in suid afrika, met ons mannekragprobleem, die mas sal opkom met die op voeding van argitekte (burger, 1973). nodeloos om te sê het dit nie gebeur nie. aan up dien sy kernnotas as inspirasie vir sy personeel om terminologie, begrippe en prosesse in afrikaans te boekstaaf (fisher, 1992 & wegelin, 1984). navorsingsliteratuur, inligtingsvelle en spesifikasies van die nbni, sabs, sement89 wegelin • ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur en beton instituut en die destydse departement bosbou voorsien waardevolle inligting in beide engels en afrikaans. swanepoel was ’n begaafde en bekende tekenaar, ewe tuis in die teken van perspektiewe vir praktiserende argitekte, as in die voorbereiding van werkstekeninge. in daardie dae was dit nog mode om te rook, ook in die klas. swanie, soos hy bekend was, het sy sigarette stylvol in ’n sigarethouer vasgehou en nooit die as afgeskud nie. ons studente was altyd gehipnotiseer om te sien wanneer en waar dit dan val. hy was ’n meester in die uitwerk van details, en ’n kenner van spesifikasies. alhoewel die boubedryf gedurende dié periode onrus ondervind weens die swart stedelike behuisingkwessie, arbeidskwessies, materiaaltekorte, inflasie en fluktuerende marktoestande, is dié periode in die akademie ’n tyd van sekerheid. die kennisveld van konstruksie was binne begripsvermoë. daar was antwoorde op meeste probleme. daar is geen twyfel dat veral staatsgeboue wat in dié tyd gebou is goed beplan, ekonomies, en termies doeltreffend was nie. vandag sou hulle as ‘volhoubare geboue’ beskou word. hul institusionele voorkoms lok natuurlik, soos elders in die wêreld, die verwagte teenreaksie uit. 3.3 1986-vandag die sekerheid van die vorige periode vervaag in ’n maalstroom van faktore: ’n tyd van politieke omwenteling; ’n ontploffing in kennis, inligting en produkte; die verskyning van bruikbare tekenprogramme op goedkoop persoonlike rekenaars, met ’n gevolglike verskuiwing van tekenbord na sleutelbord (burger, [s.a.]) tot nadeel van handvaardigheid in tekenwerk; verlies van beheer van argitekte oor die bouproses, aangehelp deur die verskyning van ’n nuwe professie, die boubestuurder; vandag se vakman is die gesofistikeerde fabrieksvervaardiger wat produkte in pakkette van vervaardiging, installering en onderhoud bied; verandering in tenderprosedures en voorwaardes, met bemagtiging van arm gemeenskappe ten doel; baie bouwerk word deur ongeskoolde arbeid verrig. in die akademie word ‘wetenskap’ as determinant in ontwerp verdag. die vak konstruksie se grense brei uit na die humaniora en die historiese, byvoorbeeld ’n soeke na die afrosentriese belang in die verwantskapstudie tussen sosio-politiek, kultuur en bouvorm, en ’n 90 acta structilia 2005:12(1) soeke na die belangrike generiese en inheemse inligting wat vandag vir ontwerpers van die bou-omgewing in suider-afrika, met sy dwingende sosiale en omgewingsvraagstukke, so nodig is. klimaat as ontwerpdeterminant in die vorige tydperk word ingesluk deur ’n nuwe begrip, volhoubaarheid, wat ’n hele stelsel verteenwoordig waaronder beskikbare vaardighede, energie, hulpbronne, afval, onderhoud, bestuur en sloping. ondanks goeie vordering hieroor in die kursus, is daar steeds weinig argitekte en ingenieurs met die vermoë om behoorlike omgewingsbeheer oor die ontwerp van geboue uit te oefen. die aanslag van dosering word noodwendig illustratief, tiperend, aan die hand van die model. eerder as om omvattend te probeer wees, word voorbeelde van tipiese konstruksie, met gepaardgaande beginsels, aan studente toegelig. geskiedkundige aspekte van konstruksie en die [her]ontdekking van inheemse vaardighede uit die verskillende kulturele agtergronde word in die vak ingetrek. interaksie met ontwerp word sterker beklemtoon en deur middel van tegniese studies, beide geskrewe en geteken, ondersoek. die vak is weer konstruksie. outeur stel in dié periode vaknotas vir konstruksie op. die klem val op die suider-afrikaanse streek (suid van die 16e breedtegraad), kennispoel en geskiedenis (wegelin & fisher, 2002). die notas is parallel in engels en afrikaans opgestel, en daar word voorsien dat dit in ’n derde, swart taal vertaal word. die notas is kernagtig, verduidelik begrippe, prosesse, eienskappe en metodes, en is ’n opsomming van die leerstof wat behandel word. dit het ’n illustratiewe aanslag, en probeer om materiale en metodes in konteks van die geskiedenis te plaas. die notas vul ’n groot leemte, en word tans deur verskeie suid-afrikaanse tersiêre inrigtings gebruik. 4. doseer en leer doseer en leer gebeur in al bogenoemde periodes by wyse van notas, lesings, ateljeewerk, en besoeke aan fabrieke en terreine. skoling is altyd gedissiplineerd maar terselfdertyd buigsaam en vatbaar vir opinie. handelsmerke word vermy om die student generies te laat dink. groter klasse (130 eerstejaars), weens die samesmelting van argitektuur met landskapen binne-argitektuur, maak die taak meer uitdagend. die taalbeleid aan up skuif sedert 1994 na dubbelmedium onderrig. in praktyk beteken dit ’n swaai na engels. sodoende word die aanslag mondain, vaal en monokraties, 91 wegelin • ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur en sukkel studente wie se huistaal nie engels is nie (90%). baie afrikaanssprekende en meeste swart studente verkies om in engels onderrig te word, waarskynlik onder die waan dat dit die wêreld vir hulle oopmaak. met die groot getalle studente word persoonlike aandag moeilik of onmoontlik. die lesing is steeds die maklikste metode van onderrig vir die dosent en dikwels die mins nuttige vir die student. die dosent is aktief met die aanbied van bekende materiaal teen sy eie pas, terwyl die student passief is en teen die dosent se pas moet werk. die student kan nie verpoos en dink nie, en kan nie luister terwyl notas geneem word nie. die lesing vervaag as studente tot die debat toetree. die lesing is dikwels ’n bedroefd-ondoeltreffende manier van leer, al is dit ’n aantreklike manier van onderrig (michael, 1961), selfs wanneer dit met die jongste hulpmiddels soos dataprojektors aangevul word. boukonstruksie is gelukkig ’n genoegsaam lewendige onderwerp om studente se aandag te hou. dit is ’n populêre vak onder studente. die omvang van die werk word tydens lesings bespreek, debat word uitgelok, klem word gelê en onsekerhede word aangespreek. monsters van materiale of produkte word getoon en rondgestuur. details word op die swartbord geteken – steeds ’n demonstratief vermaaklike en doeltreffende medium. ateljeetyd word gebruik om die student te leer tegnies teken, modelle te bou, en kennis in ontwerp toe te pas. meestal is die tegniese tekeninge slegs tekenoefeninge van voorbeelde. probleemoplossing vind in die ontwerp-ateljee plaas. modelle word gebou van onderwerpe wat driedimensioneel doeltreffender verduidelik kan word, soos dakof houtraamstrukture. ateljeewerk is ’n veel doeltreffender manier van leer omdat studente besig is om iets hulle eie te maak. tekenwerk word op skaal, vryhand of met tekeninstrumente, of op rekenaar gedoen. studente moet ook wys dat hulle self werk deur ’n portefeulje met eie tekeninge, foto’s en aantekeninge op te bou. die portefeulje word aan die einde van elke kursus ingehandig. studente word verder aangemoedig om op hul eie bouterreine te besoek, te lees, waar te neem, te meet en te teken. hulle moet ’n hardehoed aanskaf wat hulle op bouterreine moet dra, waardeur hulle leer om veiligheidsregulasies te respekteer (hulle hou van die heldergeel hoede as statussimbool, soos die mediese student sy stetoskoop!). 92 acta structilia 2005:12(1) 5. slot ’n eeu gelede speel wetenskap ’n onbeduidende rol in die ontwikkeling van geboue. in die laaste twintig jaar skiet die kurwe van beskikbare kennis van materiaal en tegnieke die hoogte in. soos de maré in 1948 kan ons vandag weer vra: kan begrip oor die toepassing tred hou met die ontwikkeling? watter rigting slaan die vak in die toekoms in? hoe lyk doseer en leer dan? twee faktore beïnvloed die antwoord: • integrasie die uitdaging vir die ontwerper van geboue in die 21e eeu, met sy gefragmenteerde spesialisasie, is sonder twyfel die geheelprentjie, die gestalt. dit is ’n feit dat van die beste geboue in die wêreld vandag deur interdissiplinêre praktyke ontwerp word met ingenieurs (geologies, struktuur, verwarming, lugversorging, verkoeling, akoesties, verligting, water, riool), argitekte, landskapargitekte, binne-argitekte, stadsbeplanners, bourekenaars en boubestuurders op hulle staf. spanwerk vereis die vermoë om te luister en in gesprek te tree. daar is slegs enkele sulke kantore in suid-afrika oor, veral weens dalende aanvraag na groot geboue. die dissiplines sal móét leer om nouer met mekaar saam te werk, al is hulle nie onder een dak nie, en hier het die tersiêre inrigting ’n belangrike taak. in die tweejarige gedoseerde magistergraad val die klem reeds sterk op integrasie.10 • die digitale rewolusie die detail as tekening is baie kragtig, maar het nog geen wiskundig-manipuleerbare vermoë nie, selfs al is dit digitaal geteken. ons kan bakstene en glas toon, maar nie warmtekapasiteit en -vloei nie. rekenaargesteunde tekenprogramme (cad) sal hopelik vorder tot rekenaargesteunde ontwerp (met dieselfde akroniem), waar materiale en produkte tesame met hulle eienskappe soos lyfenergie,11 lewenskoste en termiese gedrag uit biblioteke gehaal word en onmiddelik in die totaalsom van volhoubaarheid sal reflekteer. 93 wegelin • ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur 10 kyk bylae 11 outeur se poging vir embodied energy bylae konstruksie as vak is een van ses of sewe vakke in die driejarige bsckursus in argitektuur, binne-argitektuur en landskapargitektuur. formele onderrigtyd beloop gemiddeld 3-uur lesings en 11/2 -uur ateljeetyd per week, of 15% van die totale formele onderrigtyd. in drie jaar moet die student leer hoe ’n dubbelverdiepinggebou met kelder, dienste en toebehore, in messelwerk, gewapende-beton, staal, en hout gebou word, tesame met dienste, paaie, plaveisel en meubels, en dit tegnies kan dokumenteer. in die eerste semester van die eerste studiejaar word tekenkonvensies, opmeetkunde, kontoere, die tipiese stadserf en ’n inleiding tot boumateriale behandel. in laasgenoemde word die fundamentele eienskappe van materiale en produkte soos beweging, termiese en akoestiese eienskappe, brandbestandheid, meganiese eienskappe, duursaamheid, voorkoms, produksie, vervaardiging, montering en lyfenergie (die ‘ingeboude energie’ van ’n produk deur ontginning, verwerking, montering, installasie en sloping) bespreek. in die tweede semester word die volledige konstruksie van ’n dubbelverdiepinghuis met gemesselde mure, hellende houtraamdak met plaaten teëlbedekking, stoep en prieel behandel. dié kursus word gesamentlik deur al drie argitektuurstudierigtings geloop. in die eerste semester van die tweede studiejaar word dubbelverdieping kommersiële geboue met gewapende-beton-, staalen houtstrukture behandel, asook fondamente en kelders, dakke, glas en skrynwerk. dié kursus word ook deur al drie rigtings geloop. in die tweede semester van die tweede jaar word ’n verskeidenheid modules aangebied om die verskillende rigtings te pas: die ontwerp en konstruksie van waterleidings, terreinhellinganalises en kontoermanipulering, en die afloopberekenings van stormwater en die ontwerp van hidrouliese strukture vir landskapargitektuurstudente; grondmeganika, fondamente en kelders, en terreinstrukture soos trappe, keermure, plantbakke, en dekke vir argitektuuren landskapstudente; interieurkonstruksiestelsels soos hangplafonne, valsvloere en droëmure, gesondheiden veiligheidsregulasies, menslike bewegingstelsels, sekuriteit, en uithangborde en tekens vir argitektuur en binne-argitektuurstudente; kombuisontwerp vir binneargitektuurstudente. in die derde studiejaar, eerste semester, loop al drie rigtings ’n kursus in elementêre terreinen geboudienste soos water, riolering, elektrisiteit, stormwater en besproeiing, waterelemente, straatmeubels, konstruksietoerusting en verligting, insluitend 94 acta structilia 2005:12(1) die ontwerp, tegniese dokumentering en bou van ’n volskaalmodel van ’n ligarmatuur of straatmeubel, en ’n kursus in gevorderde materiale, nl. keramiek, plastiek, hegen seëlmiddels, en verf. die tweedesemesterkursus word apart aangebied en loop in al drie gevalle uit op die ontwerp en tegniese dokumentering van ’n gebou, landskap of binne-element, insluitend spesifikasies, kosteberaming en betaalbaarheid. in die tweejarige gedoseerde magisterkursus in argitektuur, binneargitektuur en landskapargitektuur lê die klem in konstruksie sterk op vindingrykheid, aanwending en integrasie met alle stelsels van terrein, gebou, interieur en gemak. voorbeelde is modulêre koördinasie as bevorderaar van spaarsamigheid; integrasie van stelsels as doeltreffendheidmaksimering van hulpbronne en energie; vaardigheidsbenutting en -ontwikkeling as opheffing van gemeenskappe; erkenning van professionele deskundigheid en die integrasie daarvan in ontwerp; geboue as dinamiese en tydgebonde stelsels wat afval genereer. die proses en lewensiklus van die geboude en gemaakte omgewing word dus getoets teen die skaal en kompleksiteit van die omgewing, die ekonomie en die gemeenskap. tegniese aangeleenthede word as integraal tot die ontwerpproses beskou. 95 wegelin • ’n oorsig oor boukonstruksie as vak in argitektuur 96 acta structilia 2005:12(1) bibliografie broadbent, g. 1973. current problems in design methodology. architectural teachers’ seminar: durban, july 1973. durban: university of natal. the school of architecture. buger, a.p. 1973. voorgeskrewe boeke vir tegniese vakke hul nut en tekortkomings. architectural teachers’ seminar: durban, july 1973. durban: university of natal. the school of architecture. burger, a.p. [s.a.]. cad and schools of architecture. ongepubliseerde lesing. de maré, e. 1948. new ways of building. london: the architectural press. fisher, r. 1998. the third vernacular. in: fisher, r.c. & le roux, s.w. architecture of the transvaal. pretoria: unisa, pp. 123-147. fisher, r.c. 1992. visuele leksikon van die suid afrikaanse woning. cape town: unibook. ford, e.r. 1990. the details of modern architecture. cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press. gerneke, c. 1994. suddenly it was yesterday. architecture sa, jan feb: 24. lewcock, r. 2000. south african architecture in this century. in: archi tecture 2000 a review of south african architecture. cape town: picasso headline. louw, h. 2002. architecture and craft: a working relationship? 13e sophia grey gedenklesing. actavaria architecturae 2002.2. bloemfontein: universiteit van die vrystaat. mallows, e.w.n. 1969. professional education and the academic dialogue. durban: school of architecture, university of natal. michael, i. 1961. teaching and learning. the architects’ journal supplement on architectural education. the architects’ journal, pp. 103-106, july 19. peters, w. 1998. houses for pretoria. in: fisher, r.c. & le roux, s.w. archi tecture of the transvaal. pretoria: unisa, pp.175-195. piazza, p.j. 1973. some aspects of the relevance of history in architectural education. architectural teachers’ seminar: durban, july 1973. durban: university of natal. the school of architecture. wegelin, h.w. 1984. bouerswerktuie: verklarende en geïllustreerde lys; afri kaans, engels en fanakalo. pretoria: universiteit van pretoria, departement argitektuur. wegelin, h.w. & fisher, r.c. 2002. aantekeninge oor boukonstruksie in suider afrika vir tersiêre onderrig. pretoria: universiteit van pretoria. 16 planning for the upgrading of informal setilements wj v h botha en jt kruger! abstract planning for the upgrading of informal settlements is still a relatively unknown field for planners in south africa and it is certain to receive more attention in future. the role of the upgrading of informal settlements in providing low income housing will be discussed, as well as certain factors that play an important role in planning projects of this kind. a "strategy", involving certain alternative solutions available to the planner in the field, will then be put forward. findings from a study done in joe slovo square, bloemfontein, will be used to illustrate the article. planning for upgrading informal setilements planning for low income groups in the past was dominated by top-down policies and segregation between racial groups. on entering a new phase in the future of south africa it is important that planners, and all other disciplines involved with low income housin�, should adopt strategies that are directed at the development of people and their environments from the bottom up. the upgrading of informal settlements is seen as an important part of a strategy to provide housing to low income groups in south africa. in this article the following issues will be discussed: the role of upgrading in providing low income housing. a strategy for upgrading informal settlements. 1. housing: upgrading or resetilement informal settlements can be seen as the physical manifestation of the housing backlog in third world countries, which can be attributed to the enormous urban growth in those countries and housing policies implemented by governments to accommodate this growth. before the 1960's, housing policies concentrated on the j?rovision of mass produced housing by the public sector and the relocation of people living m informal settlements. one of the major problems with this approach was that third world governments could not afford to provide all the homeless with conventional housin$. low income groups could also not afford conventional housing without heavy subsidisation by the authorities. the research of charles abrams and john turner in the 1950's and 1960's, changed the attitude towards informal settlements. traditionally these settlements were seen as "chaotic and disorganized misery belts, populated by poverty striken migrants fresh from the countryside who were ripe for revolution" (dwyer 1975: 199). the research gave new meaning to the concept of self-help; it showed the important contribution that these settlements can make 1. dr wim botha is a senior lecturer, department of urban and regional planning, uofs, bloemfontein with wide experience as a planning consultant. mr tindall kruger is a graduate of the same departinent presently working for the qwaqwa housing corporation. 17 in relieving the housing shortage, and it also noted the negative effects of the destruction of these settlements (laquain 1983: 15-16). this change in attitude was the origin of schemes providing sites and basic services and the upgrading of informal settlements. the upgrading of informal settlements is reactive planning and is not the ideal way of providing housing for the urban poor. the reason for this is that upgrading is the treatment of the symptoms of urban growth, whereas attention should be given to the causes of the problem. however, the problem of informal settlements is a reality which should include proactive planning and both a housing and urbanisation policy (kruger 1991: 28). one alternative to the upgrading of informal settlements is the resettlement of the people living there in either conventional housing schemes, site and services schemes or relocaung them without making provision for improvements. some of the negative effects of resettlement are: financial loss due to the destruction of existing housing structures (laquain 1983: 13-14). restraining the development of communities (platzky and walker 1985: 20). multidimensional stress (scudder 1975: 455-468). a break in family and friendship ties. because of the negative effects of resettlement on people, this alternative for dealing with informal settlements should be seen as a last resort. in other words care should be taken that resettlement is more advantageous for the people themselves than the in situ upgrading of the settlement. according to the urban foundation, there are seven million people, including backyard squatters, living in informal housing in south africa. (urban foundation 1991: 6). however, the number staying in informal settlements is difficult to determine, although it forms a substantial part of the total. south african planners should thus give serious attention to the upgrading of informal settlements. 2. the slovo square upgrading study (fig 1) the discussion in this article is based on an extensive study carried out in slovo square, an informal settlement in bloemfontein. no formal planning was involved in this settlement which was established after february 1990 and was part of a series of land invasions initiated and organised by the mangaung civic association. there were 664 informal housing structures in the settlement. i mangaung [ill "'ost /se� fl(s10(:>11'1.:i.� uc:lftl.gpr.:nr ·-rmn !!��:>roe, i '(c9<i0t>o�� .,. i i 1".09:s���"' 2 3. f'��m..-,e�� l !'·.�·;:.:: .... ,,,,,,,. .. __ ---·:�:::�'..::::.".,.,,.. ,�·-:· .. :-:: ·-: -· _ .. �:i 18 for this study basic information was collected by way of informal conversations with people living in the settlement and people involved with these settlements. use was also made of literature on the area. on the basis of this, a questionnaire was used to gather more specific information. reference will be made to the findings of this study in the ensuing discussion. 3. factors governing the upgrading of informal settlements certain factors are identified as important for the succes: of upgrading projects, in particular security of tenure, location, participation and needs. 3.1 security of tenure people cannot be expected to take part in an upgradin� project if they are not sure of their future in a certain location. the participation of the mhabitants, which is essential for a successful project, will depend on security of tenure or the perception thereof. there are a number of ways in which security of tenure can be provided, such as: freehold, leasehold, staged tenure and community control. in slovo square it was found that security of tenure does not receive a high priority in terms of the needs of the inhabitants (kruger 1991: 143). it was ranked second last at 4%. this may be related to the fact that the hind was "given" to them by the mangaung civic association and so the inhabitants see this as sufficient security of tenure. because of this, 10% of the dwellings in slovo square are already built of more permanent building materials. however, the authorities are still comtemplating the resettlement of the people from this settlement. an important deduction which can be made is that people living in informal settlements need to receive education concerning land tenure. 3.2 locatio!l of the informal settlement one of the aims of upgrading is to reduce the amount that urban poor spend on housing. this reduction will enable these people to spend more money on other basic needs. however, if the location of the informal settlement is far removed from job opportunities and services, transport costs for the urban poor will increase and thus cause a reduction in money available for other basic needs. this makes the location of the informal settlement very important in the decision to upgrade. slovo square can be viewed as a perfect example of a well located informal settlement, sited 4 kilometres from the bloemfontein central business district and less than 2 km from the major industrial and business areas. resettlement of the inhabitants by the authorities 19 1 would at least double this distance, thereby increasing transport expenses for these people. 3.3 community participation "of all the resources now being devoted to improvement of conditions in slums and squatte settlements, those of the people themselves are by far the most significant." (united nations 1976, in harrison 1983:176). one of the major advantages in upgrading informal settlements is the fact that the target population can easily be identified. the planner thus knows who he/she is planning for and therefore it may be easier to establish community participation than in other housing projects. community participation can be incorporated in the planning and implementation stages of an upgrading project, and has advantages for the community and the planning agency, such as: a. priority is given to specific community needs. this causes a cost reduction because money is not wasted on low priority needs. physical labour done by the inhabitants during implementation also saves money. b. community organisations modelled specifically for upgrading can remain intact after the project has been executed. this will give the community the opportunity to develop autonomously (skinner 1983: 127). c. cost saving can accrue to the project agency. tasks that can be better executed by community organisations can be left in their hands (skinner i983: 126). although problems are experienced with community participation, huizer, 1971, (in skinner 1983: 138) is of opinion that: "if treated as intelligent individuals, they are more likely to participate in the project than if dealt with as inferior beings." 3.4 needs the existence of different income, ethnic and education groups makes it necessary to treat every informal settlement as unique in the determination of the needs of that specific community. for this purpose community participation is indispensable. due to the lack of financing, in projects of this kind, it is also important that the order of priority of needs in a community be determined. in theory one would expect to find importance attached to: security of tenure, physical services (such as roads, water, electricity, sewerage and refuse removal), housing, and facilities for health and education. however, in the slovo square study the needs (in order of priority) were found to be the following (kruger 1991: 143): (fig 2) water, a properly built house, education, job opportunities, church, health and sewerage. as noted before, "security of tenure" had low priority. the needs of the people of slovo square (ranked on priority) -housing 13.9% figure -work 9.q'l, ·electricity 1 s't -security of tenuro 4 0% 4. standards for infras1ructure and services 20 in the past, standards in the third world countries were based on those of the first world. these standards did not address the real needs of the people and were beyond the means of the urban poor. turner (lm: 151) makes a distinction between what people should get and what people can afford. in other words, the standard of infrastructure and services should be determined by the needs of the people and their ability to pay. because of varying financial and physical situations in informal settlements, set rules and regulations concerning standards may not be realistic. subsidisation of higher standards should be considered in situations, not only to the advantage of the community, but also for the population of the urban area as a whole. one cannot expect the urban poor to pay more for something that is not a high priority need for them. for example, should a low mcome community pay for a sewerage system that will prevent the contamination of the groundwater of the rest of the city? in the slovo square study it was found that the inhabitants of the settlement cannot afford the most basic iorm of services. however, three possible choices exist, namely subsidisation of services, communal services, or installation of services in stages, whenever the community can afford it 5. the roles of the different aci'ors research done in informal settlements sees the provision of housing as a process instead of a product delivered to the user. as more actors become involved in the housing process, the role of each actor has to be determined during the planning of the upgrading project acceptance of the self-help principle places more responsibility on the community and the family, especially in terms of building the housing structure. the authorities usually play a facilitating role m this process. the role of the professional in this process is mainly to provide a framework in which the community can undertake the upgrading. in the south african situation the role of nongovernmental organisations (ngos) has much potential. the basic role of ngos is to assist local communities, support specific policies and act as mediator between communities and the authorities (turner 1988: 175). 21 at present, organisations of this kind are needed in south africa to work with people at grass roots level by establishing successful community participation. in the slovo square study it was found that the community was not aware that the authorities were still contemplating the resettlement of the people (kruger 1991: 119). even the mangaung civic association was not aware of this, which suggests the important role that ngos can play in bridging the gap between communities and authorities. 6. financing tiie upgrading project three basic elements in upgrading projects need financing, namely land, infrastructure and the housing strncture. in terms of finance for obtaining land, care should be taken when making assumptions about what people in an informal settlement are willing to pay. it will often be the first time that people pay for the land on which they live and the concept is thus unknown to them. the willingness of people to pay will also depend on their perception of security of tenure (tym 1984: 214). in slovo square 89,6% of the people are willing to pay for the land on which they live. however, the average amount that they are willing to pay for a site of 500 square metres is r29,00 (kruger 1991: 149). this shows the dangers of making assumptions about the willingness of people to pay and stresses the importance of educating people in these matters. the most important feature of infrastructure that will have an influence on the cost is the fact that it is a public good which cannot be installed by the individual. therefore the infrastructure cost for the individual is debatable in all cases, depending on the local and national circumstances (tym 1984: 215). financing the housing structure is seen as less important because it will be built informally or incrementally and will usually be undertaken by the occupant. because of this, financing schemes should be made available to members of the community for the building of their houses. 7. a "strategy" for upgrading upgrading can be undertaken in three phases, namely: gathering information, analysing the information (plan formulation) and implementating the plan. community participation is central to all these phases and should be a continuing process integrating the different phases. because of the disparate conditions in different informal settlements, it is important to see each informal settlement as unique. for this reason the discussion can only set guidelines for the planner involved. 7.1 phase 1 gathering information this phase can be split into the following tasks: a choice of settlement to be upgraded. it is important to choose the settlement with the greatest need for upgrading and not to decide in terms of political advantages for the authorities. political pressure by a well-organised community should also not influence the decision. b the demarcation of the area to be upgraded. care should be taken not to divide existing organisational structures and the area should consist of a fairly homogeneous population. c mapping of the demarcated area. this will simplify further collection ofinformation. standards for mapping should suit the specific situation (i.e. time andmoney available should determine detail and accuracy.) simplified 22 techniques can include using aerial photowaphs or orthophotographs as base maps and field mapping techniques. it is llllportant that public organisations that have aerial photographs and orthophotographs of these areas make them available for use in planning. d information about the surrounding area. can the informal settlement earmarked for upgrading be consolidated into bigger area? information concerns the capacity and location of transportation, sewerage, stormwater drainage, water distribution and electricity. e general information about the settlement to be upgraded. essential here would be information on the present size and physical characteristics of the settlement, demographic data, and the needs, preferences and wants of the inhabitants. for the slovo square study, general information was first gathered through unstructured conversations, observation and attending meetings. this information was used to compile a structured questionnaire. this method of information gathering was highly successful m the study. because of this the use of as many methods as possible is suggested. 7.2 phase 2 analysis of information and plan formulation in this phase j.>lanning is based on the information gathered with four basic aspects receiving attent10n, i.e. financing, layout, provision of services and security of tenure. each of these aspects will be discussed briefly. 7.2.1 financing the financing of a project will depend on the involvement of the authorities and the willingness and the ability of the community to contribute. the responsibility of the authorities in the provision of low income housing is ongoing and no definite final estimate can be made. in slovo square 89,6% of the inhabitants were willing to pay for installation of services and 77,1% were willing to pay a monthly instalment (kruger 1992: 149). however, the people do not have any idea of the costs involved in the installation and provision of services. the incomes of the people are such that at most 50% of the households can afford basic services (kruger 1991: 148). 7.2.2 planning the layout three basic factors, other than town planning, play a role in determining the layout. a. the willingness to move the willingness of the people to move will determine the cost effectiveness of the layout. if all the people are willing to move, a conventional low-income layout can be designed which will reduce the cost of the provision of services. unwillingness to move will cause time delays during the implementation of the project. movement of structures and allocation of sites should be organised to satisfy as many of the households as possible. 23 b. size of sites besides basic town planning, consideration should also be given to tmique circumstances. the following factors should determine the size of a site: the need for low-income housing; the availability of land for low-income housing; present and future family size; present size of sites; and permitted activities on the site. these activities may, for example, include the growing of vegetables or small home industries and the size of a site should not restrain these activities. c. land use attention should be given to the land use situation at present in the settlement. in slovo square the community provided for necessities, such as shops, churches and sport facilities. however, the planner should determine the amount of land required for necessities such as education, medical clinics, open spaces and community facilities, in cooperation with the community. 7.2.3 the provision of physical services the provision of services will depend on the finance available and the needs of the community. a choice exists between three methods for the installation of services (kruger 1991: 96-97). a. communal services points this entails that a certain number of households make use of central service facilities for water, sewerage and other basic services. if this method is chosen for a project, the future development and upgrading of the settlement should be considered, smce providingservices to individua households at a later stage may render the services already provided useless. b. infrastructure in phases infrastructure will not be provided immediately, but over a period of time, whenever the need arises and financing is available. the major disadvantage of this method is the disturbance of community life for longer periods. c. conventional method with this method all the necessary infrastructure is installed simultaneously, but it is not seen as realistic for upgrading because of the financial implications thereof. the advantage of this method is that it will cause the least disturbance to the community. 24 7.2.4 provision of security of tenure the information gathered in phase one should include the needs of the community concerning security of tenure, and it is important that the community has adequate knowledge of what this entails. to ensure that the provision of security of tenure will not hamper the implementation of the upgrading project, provision in stages is seen as a viable solution. acceptance of the proposed plan by the community is the key to the success of the project and its implementation. this cooperation entails the movement of housing structures, physical labour and monthly payment for services installed and provided. if the proposed plan is not accepted it should be changed and the planner should explain the implications of such changes to the community. 7.3 phase 3 implementation of the plan it is important that the project is accepted by the authorities involved in the area, for the following reasons (kruger 1991: 99): if the project is not accepted no financial sup.port will be given. the sojourn of the people on the land will still be seen as against the law, and registration of ownership will be impossible. connection with existing infrastructure will be impossible. if the application for the implementation is not successful, the authorities might give more urgent attention to the resettlement of the people. if the authorities accept the proposed plan, tenure of the land should be acquired and if necessary rezoning should be applied for. the next step will be the surveying and ma{jping of the area. land surveying standards in south africa are very high and therefore, with reference to appropriate standards for low­ income communities, the proposal is made that standards for this type of project should be lowered. more detailed surveying can be done whenever money and time are available. this lowering of standards can be justified on grounds of the low priority that security of tenure is given in these communities (kruger 1991: 143). surveying is thus most necessary for the installation of services and the ordering of the settlement. however, the cost involved and the ability to pay with, play an important role in the decision on the standard of surveying. physical imj?.lementation of the plan can occur in phases or post haste, according to the finance available. the role of the community in implementating the plan should be determined during the planning phase. conclusion the major difference between planning for the upgrading of informal settlements and other housing schemes is that the people for whom the planning is being done can be consulted during the three phases of planni�. this fact should be used to plan better environments for the lowmcome residents m these settlements. central to successful planning for these settlements is the adaptation of standards to suit the needs of the inhabitants. the planner should therefore also be able to adapt to the specific situation and should not have any preconceived ideas concerning standards. 25 although it has been shown that the upgrading of informal settlements is not the only solution to the low-income housing problem in south africa, it makes an important and necessary contribution to the betterment of the conditions for a large part of the low­ income population. bibllography dwyer, d.j. 1975. people and housing in third world cities: perspectives on the problem of spontaneous settlements. london: longman. harrison, p. 1983. the third world tomorrow: a report from the battlefront in the war against poverty. second edition. hammondsworth : penquin books. kruger, j.t. 1991. die opgradering van informele nedersettings met spesifieke verwysing na joe slovo square. skripsie vir die graad magister in stadsen streekbeplanning, uovs. laquian, aa 1983. basic housing: policies for urban sites, services, and shelter in developing countries. ottawa : international development research centre. platzky, l. and walker, c. 1985. the surplus people: forced removals in south africa. cape town : galvin sales. scudder, t. 1975. resettlement. in: man-made lakes and human health. ed. by n.f. stanley and m.p. alders. london : academic press, pp.453-471. skinner, r.j. 1983. community participation: its scope and organization. in: people, poverty and shelter: problems of self-help housing in the third world. london : methuen. turner, a (ed.) 1980. the cities of the poor. london : croom helm. turner, j.f.c. 1972. housing as a verb. in: freedom to build: dweller control of the housing process. ed. by john f.c. turner and r. fichter. new york : macmillan company, pp.148-172. turner, j.f.c. 1988. issues and conclusions. in: building community. ed. by bertha turner. london : building community books, pp. 169-181. tym, r. 1984. finance and affordability. in: low income housing in the developing world. edited by geoffrey k. payne. chichester : john wiley and sons, pp. 209-220. urban foundation. 1991. informal housing, part 1: the current situation. report no. 10: policies for a new urban future. braamfontein : urban foundation. york : macmillan company, pp.148-172. turner, j.f.c. 1988. issues and conclusions. in: building community. ed. by bertha turner. london : building community books, pp. 169-181. tym, r. 1984. finance and affordability. in: low income housing in the developing world. edited by geoffrey k. payne. chichester : john wiley and sons, pp. 209-220. urban foundation. 1991. informal housing, part 1: the current situation. report no. 10: policies for a new urban future. braamfontein : urban foundation. 182 boekresensie • book review facilities management practice by a.c. hauptfleisch, 2017. 1st edition. pretoria: south africa: career excel academy being in facilities management for over a decade, i was eager to find out if there is more that i can learn. what a surprise. i found this book to be of utmost value and requested that everyone in our division should read it. it correctly points out that an organisation falls within a particular culture, a way of doing things. this book provides a fresh and practical outlook that can be implemented on ground level. changing facilities management could have a huge impact on the organisation, thus paving the way for new creativity and enthusiasm. the book covers every aspect of facilities management as well as the current buzz­ words and trends such as sustainability, technology, intelligent buildings, life­cycle costing, and greening. it clearly defines the role of the facilities manager and provides clear guidelines to processes and practices. client satisfaction is part of our daily opera­ tions at university. our success depends on understanding both the client and his/ her needs. this book covers this topic well and explains it in such a way that enables the person who works with the clients to understand and act accordingly. practical implementation remains the golden thread throughout the book. a sure must for every facilities manager. nico janse van rensburg nico janse van rensburg, senior director university estate, university of the free state, phone: 051 401 9309 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.7 issn: 1023­0564 e­issn: 2415­0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 182­182 © uv/ufs http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.7 86 oorsigartikels • review articles tinus maritz & andries schutte the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects peer reviewed abstract a lack of understanding often exists between contractors, client organisations and consultants as to what may, and what may not, be included in acceleration claims on construction projects. the aim of this article is to create a better understanding of the complexity of acceleration claims. it should also lead to new insights into claim procedures and the substantiation of acceleration costs. the impacts and delays which may result in acceleration claims on a project were analysed as they form the basis for establishing liability in terms of a particular contract. matters of principle that are applicable to acceleration claims, regardless of the form of contract recommended for use in the south african construction industry, were also examined. the findings indicate that there are significant differences on a number of aspects regarding the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects between contractors, consultants and employers/developers. the majority of the respondents, however, were of the opinion that of the various methods used for calculating acceleration costs, the time impact analysis is most frequently applied, but that the modified total cost approach is the method most suitable on projects where there is a significant increase in the scope of work, something that occurs regularly on construction projects. keywords: construction, delays, acceleration, claims, float, critical path abstrak daar is dikwels onsekerheid by aannemers, kliënte-organisasies en konsultante oor wat mag, en wat mag nie, in versnellingseise op konstruksieprojekte ingesluit word. die doel van hierdie artikel is om ’n beter begrip rakende die kompleksiteit van versnellingseise te bewerkstellig. die artikel behoort ook te lei tot nuwe insigte oor die prosedures vir eise en die substansiëring van versnellingskoste. die oorsake en vertragings wat aanleiding gee tot versnelling op ’n projek is ontleed aangesien dit die grondslag vir die bepaling van aanspreeklikheid ingevolge ’n spesifieke kontrak vorm. belangrike prinsipiële aspekte wat op versnellingseise betrekking het, ongeag die kontrakvorm wat in die suidafrikaanse konstruksiebedryf vir gebruik aanbeveel word, is verder ondersoek. die bevindinge dui daarop dat daar tussen aannemers, konsultante en kliënte/ ontwikkelaars aansienlike verskille op verskeie aspekte bestaan met betrekking prof. marthinus (tinus) maritz head of the department of construction economics university of pretoria pretoria 0002 south africa. phone: +27 (0)12-4202581 e-mail: <tinus.maritz@up.ac.za> andries schutte project controls manager – mines ivanhoe mines mongolia inc. (immi) mongolia. phone: +86 10-84307500 cell: +86 13718536641 cell: +27 736688771 email: <andriess@ivancorp.net> <andriess@ymail.com> maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 87 tot die berekening van versnellingskoste op konstruksieprojekte. meeste respondente was egter van mening dat die “time impact analysis”-benadering die meeste toegepas word, maar dat die “modified total cost”-benadering die mees geskikte metode is op projekte waar daar ’n beduidende toename in die omvang van werk is, iets wat dikwels op konstruksieprojekte voorkom. sleutelwoorde: konstruksie, vertragings, versnelling, eise, vlot, kritiese pad 1. background 1.1 delay classification and claims for acceleration costs sanders & eagles (2001: 3) define a delay as an event that results in an extension of the time necessary to complete all or part of a project. halvorson (1995: c&c.1.1) indicates that the contractor’s right to recover increased performance costs as a result of acceleration depends on the type of delay that reduces the performance period. he classifies delays as follows: nonexcusable delay;• excusable delay;• compensable delay, suspension and disruption;• imposed milestone, and• concurrent delay.• constructive acceleration occurs in the absence of owner-directed acceleration. the employer’s refusal to grant an acceleration order or extension of time (eot) for excusable delay will result in an acceleration effort by the contractor in order to complete the project on the contractual completion date. the construction industry in the united states of america (usa) has become accustomed to the concept of a constructive acceleration order. davison (2003) points out that the refusal to grant eot for excusable delay in the usa is normally converted into an implied instruction to accelerate. in south africa, however, the situation is somewhat different as indicated hereinafter. the approach under english law, as pointed out by o’reilly (2007), is that if there is no express authority in the contract to accelerate, then no entitlement arises to claim extra costs for acceleration. o’reilly (2007) further states that the only exclusion is where the certifier is expressly empowered under the contract to order acceleration on the employer’s behalf. therefore, the refusal to grant an eot acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 88 cannot amount to a “deemed” instruction to accelerate. a claim for constructive acceleration under english law must be based on the ordinary principles for breach of contract and damages. the conditions of contract recommended for use in south africa (the nec, fidic, jbcc and gcc) all make use of different definitions and/ or attach different interpretations to the term ‘acceleration’, while some do not address the issue at all. the meaning of acceleration as used by the nec is to bring the completion date forward, which differs from the usage in the fidic where acceleration means speeding up the work to ensure that the completion date is achieved. the jbcc does not refer specifically to acceleration, whereas the gcc provides for acceleration in its clause 40.3, but without defining it anywhere. for the purpose of this article acceleration is defined as the execution of outstanding contract work within a shorter time than originally planned to mitigate the extension of time that the contractor would have otherwise been entitled to. 1.2 methods to calculate acceleration costs loots (1995: 777) argues that there is no hard and fast formula for calculating acceleration costs. he emphasises that each situation should be individually assessed to determine what costs were sustained in the attempt to buy back time. davison (2003) points out that specific methods or a combination of methods which can be used to calculate acceleration costs exist. these are: the global or total cost approach;• the modified total cost approach;• the time impact methodology;• the measured mile approach, and• formula approaches.• claims in construction contracts very often result from the lack of a good control system. if there is no control system that can effectively register every change that occurs during the project execution, disputes are likely to emerge. the contents of a claim can be checked against sotelo & del mercado’s (1993: g.5.6) content checklist. the checklist is compiled as follows: a summary of items and amounts to be claimed;• documents that support the claim;• maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 89 a detailed analysis of how the amounts were calculated, • and legal and contractual support.• each standard form of contract has its own detailed requirements regarding record-keeping, document control, notices, etc. the prime source of information for any claim between the parties is the contract and the specific requirements contained therein. the process of keeping project records should start during the tender process. tender documents are often used in disputes to help substantiate the costs that a contractor expects to incur on the project. other project records such as project cost reports, daily logs and progress reports, daily payroll records, site instructions and related support documentation, minutes of meetings, project correspondence, documentation of design changes, photographs, etc. will be vital in substantiating an acceleration claim. 1.3 float ownership float utilised efficiently by the employer and contractor can reduce the negative impact that acceleration or eot may have on a project considerably. in the critical path method of scheduling, the time difference between the earliest finish and the latest finish of an activity is called total float. employers in the construction industry are inclined to believe that all float exclusively belongs to the party who is defined as the employer to the particular contract. contractors, on the other hand, are generally of the opinion that all float belongs to them as they have prepared the detailed programme and have allowed extra time and/or float for activities where high risks are involved (de leon, 1986: 12). float is then regarded as a saleable resource belonging to the contractor. another school of thought is that float should belong to the project and not a specific party to the contract. float will then be used on a first come, first serve basis. however, this solution may be regarded as being biased towards the employer as he absorbs float over which he has no influence over and which he has not earned. 2. motivation for the study the study attempts to define the views, opinions and understanding of employers, consultants and contractors in the construction industry regarding procedures and methods used to calculate and to substantiate acceleration costs on projects. the reasons underlying the study are as follows: acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 90 exploring whether most acceleration claims are the • consequence of significant project scope increase; creating a better understanding of the complex nature of • acceleration claims, and pointing out differences of opinion among consultants, • contractors and employers regarding acceleration claims. 3. problem statement 3.1 main problem which procedure or methodology will normally be used by contractors, client organisations and consultants to calculate the acceleration costs on a project? 3.2 sub-problems is there a specific impact or delay that is normally the cause • of accelerated working on a project? are there key areas relating to acceleration claims where • contractors, client organisations and consultants have significant differences in opinion among each other? 3.3 hypotheses the main hypothesis is that contractors, client organisations and consultants will generally choose the ‘time impact analysis’ as a method to calculate acceleration costs on projects. this is broken down further into corresponding sub-hypotheses as follows: most acceleration claims are the consequence of significant project • scope increase as a result of numerous contract instructions. the parties normally involved in acceleration claims on • projects have different opinions regarding: ownership of float; ° contractor’s ability to claim additional costs for preliminaries ° or acceleration; reduction of time to complete a project where work is ° omitted, and implied instruction to accelerate where consultants refuse ° to issue instructions for acceleration or extension of time where excusable delays occurred. maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 91 4. research approach the study can fundamentally be characterised as descriptive quantitative research. data collection was done by means of questionnaires which were completed by a selected group of 60 individuals. the questionnaires tested respondents’ views and knowledge regarding issues relating to acceleration claims on construction projects in south africa. leedy & ormrod (2005: 183) define survey research as follows. the researcher: poses a series of questions to willing participants;• summarises the participants’ responses with percentages, • frequency counts or more sophisticated statistical indexes, and draws inferences about a particular population from the • responses of the sample. 4.1 target population and sampling the target population consisted of clients, consultants and contractors operating in the building, construction and mining industries in south africa. the three categories represent the following parties: employers: this category consists of the clients who undertake • the projects and are responsible for the funding of such projects (i.e. the party engaging in a contract with a contractor). consultants: this category includes the project specialists • such as project managers, engineers and quantity surveyors who are registered with a governing body in terms of south african legislation and provide specific services to a client as prescribed by the particular contract. contractors: this category consists of building and engineering • contractors from the mechanical, electrical, civil and mining fields. the research was restricted to individuals who were based at their respective organisations’ head offices in johannesburg, gauteng. purposive sampling was used to select a representative group. a group of 60 individuals was selected (20 employers, 20 consultants and 20 contractors) as they represent the diverse opinions on acceleration matters and provide a cross section of all clients, consultants and contractors within the south african project environment. respondents were requested to answer questions related to projects where the following factors were applicable: acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 92 contracts with bills of quantities (boq) and detailed programmes.• contracts based on either nec, fidic or jbcc terms and conditions.• work remeasured to determine the final value.• work where a main contractor, main consultant and employer • were involved. 4.2 data collection procedure the main objective of the research was to acquire information from three groups of people (contractors, consultants and employers/ developers) concerning their opinions on and previous experiences with regard to project acceleration. a questionnaire containing eight main areas (section a – h) of questioning was used to collect the data. the department of statistics at the university of pretoria evaluated the questionnaire to establish whether meaningful conclusions could be derived from it. section a illustrates which impacts or delays have the biggest influence on construction projects. these impacts or delays generally cause acceleration and/or extension of time on projects. the impact or delay which occurs most frequently will determine the method to calculate acceleration costs. section h indicates the method the respondents opted for when certain impacts or delays occurred. the six scenarios illustrated in section h relate to the impacts and delays described in section a. section b reflects the success of contractors’ acceleration claims. this is an indication of how well claims are prepared and substantiated. the results of sections c to g are indicative of the respondents’ knowledge relating to acceleration matters in general. appointments were made with the selected group of participants and the content and purpose of the questionnaire were explained to them. the researcher hand-delivered all questionnaires to the relevant participants. the participants were requested to complete the questionnaires before 23 september 2007. a pilot study was conducted where questionnaires were handed out to four respondents in order to establish whether they contained any unintelligible or weak areas. this resulted in minor changes to two sections of the questionnaire. maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 93 5. results and recommendations 5.1 section a: delays or impacts causing delays on construction projects rated frequently & often substantial increase in the scope of work late information from the employer fa lure by employer to provide unimpeded or well-timed access to site numerous variation orders late delivery of client-provided material equipment plant manpower etc unforseeable shortages in material labour or other resources mismanagement and/or poor site organisation by contractor himself errors in contract documents labour unrest and labour disputes exceptionally adverse weather conditions 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% impact or delay figure 1: delays and impacts on construction projects the results from figure 1 show that a ‘substantial increase in the scope of the work’ is the delay or impact that most frequently causes delays on construction projects. 5.2 section b: how often contractors receive certain levels of compensation for claims rated frequently & often 50 – 74% of the acceleration claim less than 50% of the acceleration claim 75 – 99% of the acceleration claim 100% of the acceleration claim 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% level of compensation 78% 50% 40% 23% figure 2: compensation received by contractors for acceleration claims submitted the results from figure 2 indicate that the contractors targeted in the survey were of the opinion that the level of compensation most often received by them for an acceleration claim is 50 – 74% of the original amount of the acceleration claim. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 94 5.3 section c: views regarding the origin of acceleration claims section c.1 c.2 c.3 c.4 c.5 c.6 c.7 c.8 n u m b e r o f re sp o n d e n ts 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 agree neutral disagree figure 3: views regarding the origin of acceleration claims the following conclusions are drawn from the results portrayed in figure 3: the respondents agreed that employers should allow more • time and funds for the study (design) phases of projects (c.1). most acceleration claims are the result of an increase in the • scope of work (c.2). a poorly defined project scope is usually the reason for the • high number of variation orders and claims on projects (c.3). an increase in quantities on admeasured contracts where • such extra, addition or variation was ordered in writing often give reason to acceleration claims (c.4). there was a significant difference of opinion among • contractors, consultants and employers/developers with regard to the statement that contractors regularly fail to identify and to alert the client to project risks such as an ill-defined scope in the early stages (e.g. at the tender clarification meetings) of a project (c.5). there was a significant difference of opinion among • contractors, consultants and employers/developers with regard to the statement that contractors can generally accommodate contract variations and scope increases up to the value of 15% of the contract amount without claiming additional costs for preliminaries or acceleration (c.6). there was a significant difference of opinion among • contractors, consultants and employers/developers with maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 95 regard to the statement that costs for preliminaries can be added to variation orders at any stage even if a contractual clause states that additional preliminaries can only be claimed once variations and scope changes exceed 15% of the contract amount in total (c.7). scope changes can be identified in the early stages of a • project by the contractor’s quantity surveyor when he/she starts to remeasure work according to the issued construction drawings and specifications (c.8). based on the results of section c the following recommendations can be made: the employer must bear the risk where the scope of work is • poorly defined. the attention of the parties to the contract must be drawn to the • fact that no variation order is required where there is an increase in quantities based on a quantity surveyor’s remeasurements. contractors must not be forced into a situation by employers • where they have to accept contract conditions that prescribe an obligation to accommodate contract variations to a value of 15% of the contract amount without being able to claim for additional preliminaries. scope changes must be identified through the employer’s • scope management processes. 5.4 section d: views regarding the impact of delays and float on the programme section d.1 d.2 d.3 d.4 d.5 d.6 d.7 n u m b e r o f re sp o n d e n ts 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 agree neutral disagree figure 4: views regarding the impact of delays and float on the programme acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 96 the following conclusions are drawn from the results portrayed in figure 4: delays or impacts which cause extension of time and/or • acceleration are a frequent occurrence (d.1). float in the programme (baseline) as submitted by the • contractor within the period as required in terms of the particular contract belongs to the contractor and can be used at his/her discretion (d.2). float does not belong to the project but to a specific party to • the contract. float cannot be used on a first come, first serve basis (d.3). the respondents indicated support for the following contract • clause to be inserted: “extension of time shall be based solely upon the effect of delays to the work as a whole…time extensions shall not be granted for delays to parts of the work, whether or not changed by any variation order, that are not on the critical path of the official schedule. further, time extensions shall not be granted until all float time available for parts of the work involved is used” (d.4). the respondents agreed that if the employer intends to gain • the most advantage from the programme, the schedule should be prepared jointly by the contractor and consultant and be accepted as the baseline programme (d.5). the contractor cannot use the float for inexcusable delays • such as slow work or lack of supervision (d.6). there was a significant difference of opinion among • contractors, consultants and employers/developers with regard to the statement that the project manager or principal agent in terms of the particular contract can reduce the time for completion of the contract where work is omitted (d.7). based on the results of section d the following recommendations can be made: the ownership of float must be clearly defined in the • procurement documentation. parties to the contract must be informed of the fact that • the time for completion of the contract cannot be reduced where work is omitted. finsen (2006: 160) supports this recommendation by stating the following in respect of time where work is omitted: maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 97 authorities such as mckenzie, quail and malherbe and lipshitz, relying on the judgement in kelly and hingle, conclude that the principal agent does not have the power to reduce time where work is omitted. the employer will gain the most advantage from the • programme (optimisation) if the schedule is prepared jointly by the contractor and the consultant. 5.5 section e: views regarding constructive and directed acceleration section e.1 e.2 e.3 n u m b e r o f re sp o n d e n ts 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 agree neutral disagree 35 40 figure 5: views regarding constructive and directed acceleration the following conclusions are drawn from the results portrayed in figure 5: the respondents held opposing views with regard to the • statement that the refusal of the certifier in terms of the particular contract to grant extension of time to a contractor for an excusable delay can be viewed as an implied instruction to accelerate (e.1). a warning by the project manager or principal agent in terms of • the particular contract, which states that a contractor is behind the agreed schedule (due to owner-caused delay), cannot be viewed as an implied instruction to accelerate (e.2). the respondents were divided in their opinion regarding the • statement that the certifier (consultant) seldom instructs the contractor to accelerate even when it is evident that an ownercaused delay made acceleration or eot inevitable (e.3). acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 98 based on the results of section e the following recommendation can be made: the attention of the parties to the contract must be drawn to • the fact that the refusal of the certifier in terms of the particular contract to grant eot to a contractor for an excusable delay cannot be viewed as an implied instruction to accelerate. o’reilly (2007) supports this recommendation by stating that the refusal to grant an eot cannot amount to a “deemed” instruction to accelerate. 5.6 section f: quality of contractor’s acceleration claims section f.1 f.2 f.3 n u m b e r o f re sp o n d e n ts 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 agree neutral disagree f.4 figure 6: views regarding the preparation of acceleration claims the following conclusions are drawn from the results portrayed in figure 6: the respondents agreed that contractors’ acceleration • claims frequently fail to clearly point out all the instances of contract breach (f.1). the respondents were divided in their opinion regarding the • statement that contractors frequently cannot submit proper substantiated acceleration claims due to the bad quality or absence of project records such as project cost reports, daily logs and progress reports, daily payroll records, variation orders, minutes of meetings, project correspondence, etc (f.2). the respondents were divided in their opinion regarding the • statement that contractors are reluctant to include a wide variety of project records in their acceleration claims (f.3). maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 99 the respondents were divided in their opinion regarding the • statement that contractors frequently neglect document control on construction sites (f.4). based on the results of section f the following recommendations can be made: the attention of the parties to the contract must be drawn to • the fact that contractors’ acceleration claims should clearly indicate all the instances of contract breach in order to be successful. the attention of the parties to the contract must be drawn • to the fact that contractors should adhere to certain quality standards regarding contract administration and document control. 5.7 section g: the most suitable person to prepare an acceleration claim contractors personnel planner quantity surveyor construction manager n u m b e r o f re sp o n d e n ts 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 agree neutral disagree site manager figure 7: views regarding the best equipped or skilled person employed by the contractor to prepare an acceleration claim the following conclusion may be drawn from the results portrayed in figure 7, which reflect the views of the respondents as to who among the contractor’s personnel would be the best equipped or skilled person to prepare acceleration claims: the contractor’s quantity surveyor was regarded to be the • best equipped or to have the necessary skills to prepare an acceleration claim, but the respondents indicated that the construction manager would also be able to perform this task. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 100 5.8 section h: the best method for calculating acceleration costs section h.1 h.2 h.3 h.4 h.5 h.6 n u m b e r o f re sp o n d e n ts 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 total cost approach modified total cost approach time impact analysis measured mile approach eichleay formula figure 8: methods to calculate acceleration costs the following conclusions are drawn from the results portrayed in figure 8: with the exclusion of h.2, contractors preferred the time • impact analysis to calculate the acceleration costs on delay events (h.1, h.3 – h.6). the modified total cost approach is the preferred method for • calculating acceleration costs where there is a substantial increase in the scope of work (h.2). 6. conclusions the following conclusions can be drawn based on the results of this study, and more specifically those obtained from section h, as well as matters related to the claim methods, which were discussed in the literature study: the preferred method for calculating acceleration costs by • contractors for most delay events is, in the opinion of most of the respondents, the time impact analysis; this opinion supports the main hypothesis. other methods can also be used under certain conditions as indicated under scenario h.2. results from the study indicate that a significant increase in the scope of work is a regular occurrence on construction projects. the modified total cost approach is in this instance regarded as the method most suitable to calculate the acceleration maritz & schutte • the calculation of acceleration costs on construction projects 101 costs. in this approach the detailed project as-planned and as-built activity schedules are analysed to identify the time frame of specific delays, disruptions, changes, acceleration, etc., which can be summarised by the following equation: acceleration costs = total actual expenditure – contract amount – contract amendments – non-compensable cost elements the results further indicated that in many areas relating to • acceleration claims differences of opinion exist among contractors, client organisations and consultants; this supports the sub-hypothesis. this can be eliminated by implementing the necessary project management principles and by improving all stakeholders’ knowledge of the commercial and legal issues involved in construction projects through continuous professional development. references davison, p.r. 2003. evaluating contract claims. oxford: blackwell. de leon, g.p. 1986. float ownership: specs treatment. cost engineering, 28(10), pp. 12-14. fidic. 1999. conditions of contract for construction for building and engineering works designed by the employer. switzerland: fidic. finsen, e. 2005. the building contract. a commentary on the jbcc agreements. johannesburg: juta. halvorson, g.c. 1995. proving and pricing constructive acceleration claims. aace international transactions, c&c.1.1-4. jbcc inc. 2007. principal building agreement. 5th ed. code 2101. johannesburg: jbcc. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th ed. upper saddle river: pearson education. loots, p.c. 1995. construction law and related issues. south africa: juta & cole ltd. the institution of civil engineers. 1995. the engineering and construction contract – b: priced contract with bill of quantities. 2nd ed. london: thomas telford. o’reilly, m. 2007. dispute resolution. available from: <http://www. rics.org/publications> [accessed: 18 march 2007]. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 102 sanders, d. & eagles, w.d. 2001. delay, disruption and acceleration claims. borden ladner gervais llp, may, 3. sotelo, r.c. & del mercado, r.v. 1993. claims – what and when to claim. aace international transactions, g.5.1-6. 53 navorsingsartikels • research articles an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing building projects in abuja, nigeria peer reviewed and revised abstract the total amount of cost overruns for any construction project can be fully determined once the project is completed. estimating the amount of cost overruns at different stages of ongoing construction projects is important for project success. there is, however, a dearth of research for this exercise. this article reports the results of an investigative study on cost overruns for ongoing building projects in abuja. the quantitative technique was adopted in this study. the investigation included ongoing buildingconstruction projects within abuja, from which a sample of 30 building projects (public and private) was purposively selected (project value of zar100 million and above). the data were sourced from the archival records (drawings, bills of quantities, project progress reports, and specifications) on the issues relating to the costs and duration of building projects. the data were analysed using descriptive (percentages) and inferential methods. the results revealed that the percentage of cost overruns ranged from a minimum of 5.56% with 90% project completion, and within 88% of the estimated time limit, to a maximum of 216.08% with merely 5% project completion, and within 8.3% of the estimated time limit. the entire projects had average cost overruns of 44.46%, with an average project completion of 52.4%, and within 91.4% of the average estimated time limit. based on these findings, it can be concluded that continuous investigation into, and analyses of cost overruns at stages of building projects would encourage professionals to apply the best mitigation measures, in order to achieve a significant reduction in the total cost overrun at the completion of a project. construction professionals should be well informed of these consequences (cost overruns) at an early stage, in order to evaluate the extent to which these consequences could be minimised. keywords: actual cost, cost overrun, estimated cost, nigeria, building projects ibrahim saidu & winston shakantu dr ibrahim saidu, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, eastern cape, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 810916224, +23 48037796321, emails: <s214344924@nmmu.ac.za>, <isaidu525@yahoo.com>, <saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng> prof. winston (m.w.) shakantu, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, eastern cape, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 785147492, email: <winston.shakantu@ nmmu.ac.za> the author(s) declared no conflict of interest for this title and article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i1.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(1): 53-72 © uv/ufs mailto:s214344924@nmmu.ac.za mailto:isaidu525@yahoo.com mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.3 acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 54 abstrak die totale koste-oorskryding van enige konstruksieprojek kan ten volle bepaal word nadat die projek voltooi is. koste-oorskrydingberamings op verskillende stadiums van deurlopende konstruksieprojekte is belangrik vir ’n projek se sukses; maar daar is gebrekkige navorsing daaroor. hierdie artikel gee die resultate van ’n ondersoek oor koste-oorskryding van voortgesette bouprojekte in abuja. die kwantitatiewe navorsingmetode is in hierdie studie gebruik. die ondersoek sluit deurlopende bouprojekte binne abuja in, waaruit ’n steekproef van 30 (openbare en private) bouprojekte doelgerig geselekteer is (projekwaarde van zar100 miljoen en hoër). die data is verkry uit die argiefrekords (tekeninge, wetsontwerpe van hoeveelhede, projek-vorderingsverslae en spesifikasies) oor die kwessies wat verband hou met die koste en duur van bouprojekte. die data is ontleed met behulp van beskrywende (persentasies) en inferensiële metodes. die resultate het getoon dat die persentasie van koste-oorskryding gewissel het van ’n minimum van 5.56% met 90% projekvoltooiing, en binne 88% van die beraamde tydslimiet, tot ’n maksimum van 216.08% met net 5% projekvoltooiing, en binne 8.3% van die beraamde tydslimiet. die hele projek het ’n gemiddelde koste-oorskryding van 44.46% met ’n gemiddelde projekvoltooiing van 52.4%, en binne 91.4% van die gemiddelde geskatte tydslimiet gehad. op grond van hierdie bevindinge, kan daar afgelei word dat deurlopende ondersoek en ontleding van koste-oorskryding by stadiums van bouprojekte professionele persone sal aanmoedig om die beste versagtingsmaatreëls toe te pas, ten einde ’n aansienlike vermindering in die totale koste-oorskryding op die voltooiing van ’n projek te bereik. professionele konstruksiemense moet goed ingelig wees van hierdie gevolge (koste-oorskryding) op ’n vroeë stadium, ten einde die mate waartoe hierdie gevolge geminimaliseer kan word te evalueer. sleutelwoorde: beraamde koste, bouprojekte, koste-drempeloorskryding, nigerië, werklike koste 1. introduction the construction industry contributes to the socio-economic growth of any nation by improving the quality of life and providing infrastructures such as roads, hospitals, schools, and other basic facilities. hence, it is imperative that construction projects be completed within the scheduled time, within the budgeted cost, and meet the anticipated quality. however, being a complex industry, it is faced with severe problems of cost overruns (abdul-rahman, memon & abd karim, 2013: 268). cost overrun is a common problem in both the developed and the developing nations, making it difficult to complete many projects within budget. being a common problem, allahaim & liu (2012: 2) reported that cost overruns were found across 20 nations and five continents. cost overruns affect 90% of completed projects (flyvbjerg, holm & buhl, 2004: 7; memon, 2013: 1; abdul-rahman, memon & abd karim, 2013: 268). however, the majority of developing countries experience overruns exceeding 100% of the initial budget (memon, abdul-rahman, zainun & abd karim, 2013: 1970). the argument in the construction industry on how to reduce or totally remove cost overruns from projects has been saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 55 ongoing among built-environment professionals, project owners, and users for the past 70 years (apolat, alinaitwe & tindiwensi, 2010: 305; allahaim & liu, 2012: 1). there is, however, no substantial improvement or significant solution in mitigating its detrimental effects (allahaim & liu, 2012: 1). consequently, studies from different countries have revealed that cost overruns represent a large percentage of the production costs. for instance, 33.33% of the construction project owners in the united kingdom are faced with the problem of cost overruns (olawale & sun, 2010: 511; abdul-rahman, memon & abd karim, 2013: 268). the big dig central artery/tunnel project in boston could not be completed within its budgeted cost, and it had an overrun of 500%. the wembley stadium in the united kingdom had a 50% cost overrun, and the scottish parliament project, which had a time overrun of over three years, also experienced a cost overrun of 900% (love, edward & irani, 2011: 7). over the years, research interests in addressing construction cost overruns across the world have resulted in a large number of publications. however, research evidence has shown that previous studies from different parts of nigeria have centred on the investigation into the total amount of cost overruns for completed works; identification of causes of cost overruns, as well as the control measures for mitigating cost overruns in the construction industry (ogunsemi & jagboro, 2006: 253; olatunji, 2008: 1; ameh, soyingbe & odusanmi, 2010: 51; olawale & sun, 2010: 511; ubani, okorocha & emeribe, 2011: 74; kasimu, 2012: 775; malumfashi & shuaibu, 2012: 21). nonetheless, these studies have failed to objectively investigate cost overrun for ongoing building projects in nigeria. therefore, this led to the development of the problem posed in this study that data on the amount of cost overruns for ongoing building projects are minimal in the nigerian construction industry. on this basis, this article reports the findings of an objective investigation into cost overruns for ongoing building projects in abuja, nigeria. the recommendations of this paper, if properly implemented, would achieve the best value for money to the client, as it would encourage professionals to explore possible ways of minimising the rate of cost overrun on site. 2. literature review 2.1 the concept of cost overrun in the construction industry cost overrun is referred to as “cost increase” or “budget overrun”. it involves unanticipated costs incurred in excess of the budgeted amounts (shanmugapriya & subramanian, 2013: 735). saidu & acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 56 shakantu (2016: 125) view cost overrun as simply an occurrence, where the final or actual cost of a project surpasses the original or initial estimates. cost overrun is defined as a percentage difference between the final completion cost and the contract-bid cost (shanmugapriya & subramanian, 2013: 735; shrestha, burns & shields, 2013: 2; saidu & shakantu, 2016: 125). cost overrun has also been referred to as the percentage of actual or final costs above the estimated or tender cost of a project (ubani et al., 2011: 74). nega (2008: 48) defines cost overrun as an occurrence, in which the delivery of contracted goods/services is claimed to require more financial resources than was originally agreed upon between a project sponsor and a contractor. 2.2 cost overruns worldwide the history of the construction industry worldwide abounds in projects that were completed with a significant amount of cost overrun, despite the use of modern technologies and software packages (memon, 2013: 16). in the united states of america, only 16% of the 8 000 surveyed projects in 1994 could satisfy the following requirements: timely completion within the budget, and maintaining a high standard of quality (ameh et al., 2010: 51). in canada, 50 roadconstruction projects were investigated, and the results revealed a cost overrun of up to 82% in 2006 (odeck, 2014: 71). cost overruns were slightly lower in europe compared to north america and other geographical areas (brunes & lind, 2014: 3). in the united kingdom, barrick revealed, in 1995, that almost one-third of the clients complained that their construction projects generally overran budget (memon, 2013: 16). cantarelli, vanwee, molin & flyvbjerg (2012: 87) noted that the dutch construction projects were reported to have an average cost overrun of 10.6% for railways, 18.6% for roads, and 21.7% for fixed links. in portugal, construction projects face, on average, a minimum of 12% of cost overrun (abdul-rahman, memon, abdul-azis & abdullah, 2013: 1964). these results of cost overruns are not different in the developing countries. in bosnia and herzegovina, abdul-rahman, memon & abd karim (2013: 288) reported that, in a study of 53 building projects, 29 new construction projects experienced a cost overrun of 6.84% on average, while the remaining 24 re-construction projects had a cost overrun of 9.23% on average. in pakistan, the minimum amount of cost overrun was reported to be approximately 10% for small-sized firms, 40% for large construction firms, and this percentage could saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 57 increase to 60% for medium-sized firms (azhar, farooqui & ahmed, 2008: 506). aziz (2013: 54) surveyed 15 different projects in kuwait, and the results revealed that only one project had been completed without a cost overrun. aziz (2013: 52-53) also reported that 70% of the building projects in oman experienced a delay and were completed with cost above the initially estimated budget. moreover, a study conducted on 359 projects (308 public and 51 private projects) in malaysia revealed that only 46.8% and 37.2% of public sector and private sector projects, respectively, were completed within the budget, with an average cost deviation of 2.08% (endut, akintoye & kolley, 2009: 244). in nigeria, olawale & sun (2010: 602) conducted a survey on cost overrun and found that 41% of the respondents had experienced a cost overrun of less than 10% of their projects, while 59% of the respondents had experienced a cost overrun of 10% or more on their projects. in south africa, baloyi & bekker (2011: 53) reported that the construction of fifa 2010 world cup stadia in different cities was completed with cost overruns ranging from 5% to a maximum of 94%. in uganda, apolot, alinaitwe & tindiwensi (2011: 310) reviewed 30 projects of the civil aviation authority of uganda and found that 535 of the projects, although not fully completed, experienced cost overruns; 40% of these projects were within the budgeted cost, and 7% of the projects were still below the budget. a total of 84% of the cost overruns were occasioned by changes in the scope of the work, while the remainder were largely attributed to material-price inflation. in zambia, kaliba, muya & mumba (2009: 523) revealed that road projects also faced over 50% of cost overruns as a result of delay and other factors. 2.3 causes of cost overruns the causes of cost overruns are critical to the success of any project (allahaim & liu, 2012: 2). hence, it is imperative to comprehend the main causes of cost overruns for different projects. therefore, cost overruns have been attributed to a number of sources, including technical errors in design or estimation; managerial incompetence; risks and uncertainties; suspicions of foul play; deception and delusion, and even corruption (ahiaga-dagbui & smith, 2014: 683). according to flyvbjerg, holm & buhl (2004: 7), the two main causes of cost overruns in a project are optimism bias (systematic tendency of decision-makers to be more positive about the results of planned acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 58 action) and strategic misrepresentations (confusing or misleading actions to ensure that projects succeed). allahaim & liu (2012: 2) contend that the practical causes of cost overruns are the lack of experience among the project team; contract size/complexity, and design error. other surveys have identified the following four major factors that cause cost overruns for a project: variations in design; insufficient project planning; inclement weather conditions, and building materials’ price fluctuation (allahaim & liu, 2012: 2). love et al. (2011: 7) opined that design error at the pre-contract stage of a project is the major cause of cost overruns for hospital and school buildings. in india, subramani, sruthi & kavitha (2014: 1) surveyed the causes of cost overruns, and the results indicated that the major causes of cost overruns are slow decision-making at the planning stage of a project; poor project schedules and management; increases in the prices of materials and machines; poor contract management; poor design/delay in producing design; rework due to mistakes or wrong work; land-acquisition problems; poor estimation or estimation techniques, and the long time taken between the design and the time of bidding/tendering. in egypt, aziz (2013: 51) examined the factors causing cost overruns in waste-water projects and concluded that the major causes of cost overruns are lowest tendering procurement method; additional works that are not included in the original work; bureaucracy in tendering or offering methods; wrong cost-estimation methods, and funding problems by client. in nigeria, ameh et al. (2010: 49) concluded that the significant factors causing cost overruns in the telecommunication projects include the contractor’s lack of experience; the high cost of importing materials, and the materials’ price fluctuation. kasimu (2012: 775) found that “fluctuations in materials prices”, “insufficient time”, “lack of experience in contracts works”, and “incomplete drawings” were the major causes of cost overruns in building-construction projects in nigeria. malumfashi & shuaibu (2012: 19) conducted a study on the causes of cost overruns in the infrastructural projects in nigeria. the results revealed that the major causes include “improper planning”; “material-price fluctuations”, and “inadequate finance from the project’s inception”. in south africa, baloyi & bekker (2011: 61) conducted a study on the causes of cost overruns for the 2010 fifa world cup stadia. the results revealed that the main causes of cost overruns are project complexity; increases in labour costs; inaccurate quantity estimations; differences saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 59 between the selected bid and the consultants’ estimates; variation orders by clients during construction, and manpower shortage. in zambia, kaliba et al. (2009: 524) concluded that the problem of cost overruns was caused by inclement weather conditions; changes in the size of projects; the cost of environmental sustainability; delays in the work programme; civil unrest; technical constraints, and increases in material prices. other studies have identified a variety of causes of cost overruns, including technical factors such as the lack of experience; the project size; errors in design; price fluctuations; wrong estimates, and scope changes (love et al., 2011: 6; memon et al., 2011: 59). 2.4 mitigation measures for cost overruns project cost overrun is minimised and mitigated when maximum attention is paid to well-developed technical skills in modern projects (doloi, 2013: 267). olawale & sun (2010: 513) noted that a critical investigation into cost overrun mitigation measures would result in their categorisation according to the broad function they perform. thus, olawale & sun (2010: 513) identified the top five leading causes of cost overrun for a project and recommend a total of 90 mitigation measures for them. these mitigation measures were further categorised into four major classes, namely preventive, predictive, corrective, and organisational. some of these measures (categories) are fluid and can sometimes appear as though they could be classified into more than one category, depending on their actual usage during the project. they include corrective-preventive and corrective-predictive measures. similarly, abdul-azis, memon, abdul rahmann & abd karim (2013: 2627) identified and categorised cost overrun mitigation strategies into three major classes, namely proactive, reactive and organisational strategies. the proactive and organisational approaches are similar or almost the same as the preventive and organisational measures recommended by olawale & sun (2010: 513). the reactive strategies, however, are adopted to mitigate the effect of the factor that actively contributes to cost overruns, while the organisational strategies are the normal measures put in place by an organisation, which must not be specific to one project, but would normally affect all projects. some of these measures are classified in more than one strategy. for instance, proactive and organisational; reactive and organisational; pro-active and reactive, as well as pro-active, reactive, and organisational-control measures. the issues in each control measure are detailed in figure 1. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 60 proactive-organisational measures proactive-reactiveorganisational measures pro-active measures: pro-active-re-active measure: re-active organisational measures: re-active measure: organisational measures:• effective strategic planning • project planning and scheduling • effective site management and supervision • systematic control mechanism • use of appropirate construction methods • use of up-to-date technology • clear information and communication channels • pre-construction planning of project tasks and resources • frequent coordination between parties • human resource development in the construction industry • comprehensive contract administration • emphasis on past experience • use of experienced subcontractors and suppliers • improving contract award procedure by giving less weight to prices and more weight to the capabilities and past performance of contractors • frequent progess meetings figure 1: cost overrun factors from each mitigation measure source: researcher’s construct adapted from abdul-azis et al., 2013 flyvbjerg (2008: 6-7) suggested two main concepts for minimising the cost overruns on construction projects, namely reference-class forecasting and increased public sector accountability through more involvement by the private parties. brunes & lind (2014: 5) suggested three key areas on how cost overruns could be reduced in a project: decentralization of budgets, where cost overruns in one project in a region lead to less cost overruns in other projects in the specific region … it should be easy to see when and where cost overruns occur, and who was primarily responsible … ensuring a systematic use of external reviewers at the different stages of a project. peeters & madauss (2008: 81) recommend a five-step approach to mitigating the effects of cost overruns in a project: realistic cost saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 61 estimation; considering the project’s life-cycle cost; appropriate contractual framework; cost control and risk management during the project phase, and a communication-managed insurance approach. memon et al. (2013: 1970) concluded that sitemanagement factors are the important factors causing cost overrun. they thus suggest that improved site management and supervision of contractors could result in better control of cost overruns. in conclusion, the magnitude of the cost overrun was reduced after a mandatory quality assurance process was introduced in norway (magnussen & olsson, 2006: 286). 3. research methodology the mode of inquiry in this research is the quantitative method that is rooted in the positivist research paradigm, because the data were generated from the numeric measurement of the estimated costs of projects, estimated time and actual time for projects, estimated cost and actual costs of work completed, as well as the amount of cost overrun for each project. the study covers “ongoing” building-construction projects in abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria, from which a sample of 30 projects was selected. the sample comprised both public and private projects, with a value of 1.6 billion naira/zar100 million and above, using purposive sampling techniques. the rationale for the selection of purposive sampling is that building-construction projects of zar100 million and above are likely to generate a huge amount of cost overruns, when compared with projects of less value. in addition, it is possible to have more experts (experienced professionals) than in smaller sized/lower valued projects. abuja was selected as the geographical case-study area, because it is one of the metropolitan cities in nigeria with the highest population of professionals within the built environment, and many ongoing construction projects. this study focused mainly on the primary data, which included the archival records and project progress records in abuja, nigeria. 3.1 projects’ archival and progress records the data on estimated cost of project (ec), estimated time for project (et), cost now/actual cost (cn), and time now/actual time (tn), the percentage of the work completed (%ofwc), the estimated cost of the work completed (ecwc), and the actual cost of work completed (acwc) for different projects were all collected from the acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 62 archival records (bills of quantities, specifications, and drawings) and the project-progress records compiled by the quantity surveyor for individual projects. the collected values of “acwc” were deducted/ subtracted from the values of “ecwc” to determine the project’s cost overruns. the percentage amount of cost overrun for each project was determined by dividing the amount of cost overrun by the estimated cost of work completed and multiplied by 100. 3.2 data analyses both descriptive and inferential analyses of the data were employed in this study. the descriptive analysis included the percentage distributions (percentage amount of cost overruns for each project). this included describing and comparing the percentages of cost overrun to the percentages of work completed for projects. the linear regression (inferential) analysis available from the statistica software package was performed to determine the relationships between the following variables: estimated time (x) and actual time (y) of projects; estimated cost (x) and actual cost (y) of projects; percentage of work completed (x) and amount of cost overruns (y), as shown in table 2. the results of this research are presented in tabular form. the linear-regression equation was used to determine the relationship between the variables. for a linear regression equation: y = a + bx, and x = a yb , b = n∑xy (∑x)(∑y) n∑x2 (∑x)2 where “y” is the dependent variable (volume of waste); “x” is the independent variable (volume of material used); “b” is the coefficient of “x” and “a” is a constant. the approximate conversion rates used as at the period of data collection were: nigerian naira to us dollar = ₦200 = 1usd; nigerian naira to south african rand = ₦16 = zar1. for the purpose of anonymity, the names of the firms and the projects are not disclosed in this research, but are represented by project numbers. 4. results and discussion it is apparent from table 1 that all the building projects visited had attained an average percentage completion of 52.4%. approximately 15 out of the 30 projects were 50% completed and saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 63 only seven were 90%-99.9% completed, because the constructions were ongoing as at the period of data collection. these findings are reliable, because the average percentage of project completion is above 50%. moreover, research results from table 1 also show that the percentage amount of cost overruns ranges from a minimum of 5.56% up to 90% project completion, and within 88% of the estimated time limit. this rose to a maximum of 216.08% with merely 5% project completion, and within 8.3% of the estimated time limit. all the projects had an average cost overrun of 44.46%, with an average project completion of 52.4%, and within an average estimated time limit of 91.4%. these results confirm the findings of flyvbjerg, holm & buhl (2004: 7); ameh et al. (2010: 49-53); memon (2013: 1-3), and abdul-rahman, memon & abd karim (2013: 268) that cost overrun is a common problem in the construction industry, because a huge amount of cost overrun has been noticed in a project with merely 5% completion. table 1: the research data pr oj ec t n o. es tim a te d c os t o f pr oj ec t in (₦ )0 00 es tim a te d t im e (m on th ) a ct ua l t im e (m o nt h) pe rc en ta g e of w or k co m p le te d (% ) es tim a te d c os t o f w or k co m p le te d in (₦ )0 00 a ct ua l c os t o f w or k co m p le te d in (₦ )0 00 a m ou nt o f c os t ov er ru n (₦ )0 00 pe rc en ta g e a m ou nt of c os t o ve rru n (% ) 1 3,200,000 24 11 17% 544,000 800,000 256,000 47.06% 2 14,000,000 24 15 47% 6,580,000 8,540,000 1,960,000 29.79% 3 1,650,000 20 36 59% 973,500 1,155,000 181,500 18.64% 4 6,000,000 24 12 35% 2,100,000 2,400,000 300,000 14.29% 5 5,880,000 22.5 54 43% 2,528,400 3,609,400 1,081,000 42.75% 6 1,800,000 16 11 63% 1,134,000 1,632,321 498,321 43.94% 7 15,900,782 36 13 30% 4,770,235 5,678,313 908,079 19.04% 8 7, 300,000 24 32 30% 2,190,000 3,285,000 1,095,000 50.00% 9 1, 800,000 24 21 68% 1,224,000 1,681,100 457,100 37.35% 10 6, 000,000 24 16 23% 1,380,000 1,800,000 420,000 30.44% 11 1, 650,000 24 23 65% 1,072,500 1,451,300 378,800 35.32% 12 1, 900,000 18 9 25% 475,000 600,000 125,000 26.32% 13 2, 580,333 18 7 15% 387,050 5,805,745 193,525 50.00% acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 64 pr oj ec t n o. es tim a te d c os t o f pr oj ec t in (₦ )0 00 es tim a te d t im e (m on th ) a ct ua l t im e (m o nt h) pe rc en ta g e of w or k co m p le te d (% ) es tim a te d c os t o f w or k co m p le te d in (₦ )0 00 a ct ua l c os t o f w or k co m p le te d in (₦ )0 00 a m ou nt o f c os t ov er ru n (₦ )0 00 pe rc en ta g e a m ou nt of c os t o ve rru n (% ) 14 40,000,000 36 3 5% 2,000,000 6,321,562 4,321,562 216.08 15 20,940,557 48 19 17% 3,559,895 5,152,850 1,592,955 44.75% 16 3,450,000 24 11 23% 793,500 1,293,512 500,012 63.01% 17 1,666,346 18 8 31% 516,567 833,732 317,165 61.40% 18 2,300,000 24 10 25% 575,000 805,000 230,000 40.00% 19 2,300,000 24 21 90% 2,070000 2,185,000 115,000 5.56% 20 15,031,448 40 5 11% 1,653,459 1,935,632 282,173 17.07% 21 1,880,000 20 14 48% 902,400 1,534,000 631,600 69.70% 22 1,686,921 17 39 99.9% 1,670,052 3,100,000 1,429,949 85.62% 23 1,635,000 24 18 56% 944,693 1,265,324 320,631 33.94% 24 1,800,000 26 16 68% 1,224,000 1,364,562 140,562 11.48% 25 1,686,951 24 54 99.9% 1,670,082 2,700,000 1,029,918 61.67% 26 1,700,000 68 92 60% 1,020,000 1,360,000 340,000 33.33% 27 2,860,000 24 36 88% 2,516,800 3,162,831 646,031 25.67% 28 2,635,001 18 21 95% 2,503,251 2,985,333 482,082 19.27% 29 1,931,622 24 24 98% 1,892,989 2,161,313 268,324 14.18% 30 63,000,000 60 96 90% 56000,000 62,333,222 5,333,222 9.52% average = 27.25 24.90 52.4% ==24.9/ 27.25*100== ===91.4% average cost overrun= 44.46% 4.1 regression analyses the result of the linear-regression analysis for 52.4% average project completion reveals the following. it was observed from analysis no. 1 (relationship between the ‘estimated time’ and the ‘actual time’ of projects) that the probability value (0.000355) was less than the 0.05 (5%) significance level, and an r-square value of 37.08%. therefore, it is inferred that the relationship was statistically significant. the result implies that, on average, the actual completion times (months) for projects are moving in line with saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 65 the estimated times. this result differs for some individual projects, as further explained in tables 3 and 5. analysis no. 2 (relationship between the ‘estimated cost of work completed’ and the ‘actual cost of work completed’) revealed a statistical significant relationship between the variables with a probability value of 0.00000 less than the 0.05 (5%) significance level, and a very strong r-square value of 98.9%. this implies that, on average, the ‘actual costs of work completed’ are in line with the ‘estimated costs of work completed’ for all the projects. however, this is different for some individual projects, as further explained in table 1. analysis no. 3 (relationship between the ‘percentage of work completed’ and the ‘amount of cost overrun’) shows that the evidence is not statistically significant, because the probability value (0.854496) was greater than the 0.05 (5%) significance level. this implies that the ‘amount of cost overruns’ does not necessarily depend on the ‘percentage of the work completed’. in other words, cost overrun could occur at an early stage of a project with a small percentage of project completion. this result is further explained in table 3. table 2: results of the linear regression analyses sn variables type of analysis observation inference x y r square adjusted r2 r p value remarks 1 estimated time (month) actual time (month) linear regression 37.08% 34.8% 0.6089 0.000355 statistically significant 2 estimated cost of work completed actual cost of work completed linear regression 98.9% 98.85% 0.994 0.000 statistically significant 3 percentage of work completed amount of cost overrun linear regression 0.122% 0.021231 0.0349 0.854496 not significant 4.2 building projects that have high cost overruns of 50% and above table 3 shows the results of the projects that have high cost overruns (50% and above). it is obvious from table 3 that pn14 recorded a maximum of 216.08% cost overrun with merely 5% completion, and acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 66 within the first three months of the project commencement. this could not be as a result of delay, because the project was not delayed in any way, but could be occasioned by other factors such as mismanagement of resources, poor planning, or even corruption. both pn22 and pn25 had an additional 22 and 20 months, respectively, to attain 99.9% completion level. they recorded a cost overrun of 85.62% and 61.67%, respectively. these could have been as a result of extension of time and other related factors. however, pn8, which was to be completed within 24 months, instead took an additional eight months, was only 30% completed, and had a cost overrun of 50%. table 3: projects with high (50% and above) cost overruns project no. from table 1 estimated time actual time (month) difference in time (month) percentage of work completed percentage of cost overrun pn8 24 32 +8 30% 50% pn13 18 9 -9 15% 50% pn14 36 3 -33 5% 216.08% pn16 24 11 -13 23% 63.01% pn17 18 8 -10 31% 61.40% pn21 20 14 -6 48% 69.70% pn22 17 39 +22 99.9% 85.62% pn25 24 54 +20 99.9% 61.67% 4.3 building projects that have ‘low percentage of work completed’ and ‘high cost overruns’ it is apparent from table 4 that pn14 had the highest cost overrun (216.08%), and that only 5% of the work was completed within the first three months of the estimated 36 months. moreover, both pn1 and pn15 had percentage completion of 17%. they were both within their estimated time limits (13 and 29 months left), but had cost overruns of 47.06% and 44.75%, respectively. pn13, which had only 15% rate of completion had a cost overrun of up to 50%. this implies that, unless the management of the projects is tight, these projects can continue to overrun their initial budget. saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 67 table 4: projects that have ‘low percentage of work completed’ and ‘high cost overruns’ project no. from table 1 estimated time (month) actual time (month) difference in time (month) percentage of work completed percentage of cost overrun pn15 48 19 +29 17% 44.75% pn14 36 3 +33 5% 216.08% pn1 24 11 +13 17% 47.06% pn13 18 7 +11 15% 50% 4.4 building projects that have ‘high percentage of work completed’ and ‘low cost overruns’ it is clear from table 5 that pn25, which was 90% completed, had the lowest cost overrun of 5.56%, although the project had an extension of 30 months. this is followed by pn30, which was 90% completed, had an extension of 33 months, and recorded a cost overrun of 9.25%. these percentage amounts of cost overrun could probably have been as a result of the extension of time and other related factors. moreover, pn24 was 68% completed, had a cost overrun of 11.48%, and the project is still within its normal estimated time limit (10 months left). however, pn29, which was almost completed (98%) within the estimated time limit, also had a cost overrun of 14.18%. pn28, which had a cost overrun of 19.27%, had an additional three months’ extension to be completed at 95%. these results confirm the findings of ameh et al. (2010: 49-53) who believed that the history of the construction industry worldwide abounds in projects that are completed with significant cost overruns. despite the high percentage of work being completed, these projects still recorded low amounts of cost overruns between 5.56% and 19.25%. table 5: projects that have ‘high percentage of work completed’ and ‘low cost overruns’ project no. from table 1 estimated time actual time difference in time percentage of work completed percentage of cost overrun pn30 60 96 -36 90% 9.25% pn29 24 24 0 98% 14.18% pn28 18 21 -3 95% 19.27% pn24 26 16 +10 68% 11.48% pn25 24 54 -30 90% 5.56% acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 68 5. conclusion and recommendations estimating the amount of cost overrun at different stages of a construction project is important, but the total amount of cost overrun can only be determined once a project is completed. the dearth of research that determines the amount of cost overruns for ongoing building projects necessitated this study. the aim of this research was to report the results of cost overruns for ongoing building projects in abuja, nigeria. the relationship between the ‘estimated time’ and the ‘actual time’ and ‘estimated cost’ and the ‘actual cost’ of projects was statistically significant. the results imply that, on average, the actual completion times (months) and the actual cost for projects are moving in line with the estimated times and the estimated costs, respectively, although the results differ for some individual projects that recorded high cost overruns. conversely, the relationship between the ‘percentage of work completed’ and the ‘amount of cost overrun’ was not statistically significant. this implies that the ‘amount of cost overruns’ does not necessarily depend on the ‘percentage level of the work completed’ to occur. in other words, cost overrun could occur at an early stage of a project with a small percentage of project completion. the results also revealed that the percentage amount of cost overruns ranged from a minimum of 5.56% with 90% project completion, and within 88% of the estimated time limit, to a maximum of 216.08% with merely 5% project completion, and within 8.3% of the estimated time limit. the projects had an average cost overrun of 44.46%, with average project completion of 52.4%, and within the average estimated time limit of 91.4%. the projects that had high cost overruns ranged from a minimum of 50% to a maximum of 216.08%. similarly, the project that had high percentage completion and low cost overruns ranged from the minimum of 44.75% cost overrun, with 17% completion to a maximum of 216.08% cost overrun, with 5% completion. however, the projects that had a high percentage of completion time and low cost overruns ranged from a minimum of 5.56% cost overrun, with 90% completion to a maximum of 19.27% cost overrun, with 95% completion. based on these findings, it can be concluded that continuous investigation and analyses of cost overruns at stages of building projects would encourage professionals to apply the best mitigation measures, in order to achieve a significant reduction in the total cost overrun upon completion of a project. saidu & shakantu • an investigation into cost overruns for ongoing ... 69 it is recommended that construction professionals be well informed of these consequences at an early stage of a project, in order to enable them to evaluate the extent to which these consequences could be minimised. references list abdul-azis, a.a., memon, a.h., abdul rahmann, i. & abd karim, a.t. 2013. controlling cost overrun factors in construction projects in malaysia. research journal of applied sciences, engineering and technology, 5(8), pp. 2621-2629. abdul-rahman, i., memon, a.h. & abd karim, a.t. 2013. significant factors causing cost overruns in large construction projects in malaysia. journal of applied sciences, 13(2), pp. 286-293. https://doi. org/10.3923/jas.2013.286.293 abdul-rahman, i., memon, a.h., abdul-azis, a.a. & abdullah, n.h. 2013. modeling causes of cost overrun in large construction projects with partial least square-sem approach: contractor’s perspective. research journal of applied sciences, engineering and technology, 5(6), pp. 1963-1972. ahiaga-dagbui, d.d. & smith, s.d. 2014. dealing with construction cost overruns using data mining. construction management and economics, 32(7-8), pp. 682-694. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2 014.933854 allahaim, f.s. & liu, l. 2012. cost overrun causes the framework in infrastructure projects: toward a typology. paper presented at the 37th annual conference of australasian universities building educators association (aubea), sydney, australia, 4-6 july, university of technology, sydney. editor liu l.; 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(ed.). the 9th cidb postgraduate conference: “emerging trends in construction organisational practices and project management knowledge area”, 2-4 february, cape town, south africa, pp. 124-134. shanmugapriya, s. & subramanian, k. 2013. investigation of significant factors affecting time and cost overrun in indian construction projects. international journal of emerging technology and advanced engineering, 3(10), pp. 734-740. shrestha, p.p., burns, l.a. & shields, d.r. 2013. magnitude of construction cost and schedule overruns in public work projects. journal of construction engineering, 2(3), pp. 1-9. https://doi. org/10.1155/2013/935978 subramani, t., sruthi, p.s. & kavitha, m. 2014. causes of cost overrun in construction. iosr journal of engineering (iosrjen), 4(6), pp. 22788719. https://doi.org/10.9790/3021-04640107 ubani, e.c., okorocha, k.a. & emeribe, s.c. 2011. analysis of factors influencing time and cost overrun on construction projects in south eastern nigeria. international journal of management sciences and business research, 2(2), pp. 73-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190500521041 https://doi.org/10.1108/13664380810882084 https://doi.org/10.1080/01446191003674519 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2008.02.006 https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/935978 https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/935978 https://doi.org/10.9790/3021-04640107 _goback 12 acta structilia desember 1995 die rol en betekenis van hipoteek as 'n vorm van sekerheidstelling in die boubedryf j.j.p. verster 1 en j.j.j. briimmer 2 1departement bourekenkunde en konstruksiebestuur, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, posbus 339, bloemfontein 9300, suid afrika 2 stadsraad van bloemfontein, posbus 31019, fichardtpark, 9 300 suid afrika sinopsis die aangeleentheid rondom die hipoteek as 'n stilswyende reg,is krities ondersoek en die rol en betekenis daarvan is in perspektief geplaas. dit is uitge\\)'s dat die afd\\ing van 'n hipoteek oor die eiendom van die bouheer een van die belangrikste beskermingsmaatreels is waaroor die aannemer beskik om betaling te ontvang ,ir rnateriaal gelewer en vir werk verrig. 1. inleiding die oogmerk wat 'n aannemer wil bereik d'eur 'n boukontrak met 'n bouheer aan te gaan, is om betaling te ontvang vir materiaal gelewer en vir werk verrig met die verdere verwagting dat betaling betyds ooreenkomstig die bepalings van die kontrak sal geskied (mckenzie, 1988). die reg van die een party maak die verpligting van die ander party uit (finsen, 1991). by boukontrakte geld dit dat die aannemer verplig word om 'n gebou op te rig en dan die reg verkry op betaling daarvoor, terwyl die bouheer weer die reg verkry om die gebou te ontvang en verplig word om daarvoor te betaal. lndien die een party sou nalaat om sy verpligtinge teenoor die ander party na te kom, sal die ander party daarop geregtig wees om die nodige regstappe te neem om sodoende sy regte af te dwing (brummer, 1993). boukontrakte maak oor die algemeen voorsiening vir die uitreik van periodieke betaalsertifikate aan die aannemer. ofskoon daar van die aannemer verwag word om sekuriteit vir die voltooiing van 'n bouprojek aan die bouheer te verskaf, word daar normaalweg nie vereis dat die bouheer 'n waarborg sal !ewer dat betaling wel sal geskied en betyds sat geskied nie. die meeste boukontrakte bepaal dat die aannemer sy dienste onder 'n kontrak kan beeindig indien die bouheer sou versuim om verskuldigde bedrae, ooreenkomstig die bepalings van die kontrak, te betaal. die reg van die aannemer om sy dienste onder 'n boukontrak te beeindig, dien nie as 'n waarborg vir betaling nie, . maar beklemtoon slegs die bouheer se aanspreeklikheid om te betaal vir materiaal gelewer en vir werk verrig. alhoewel 'n verskeidenheid vorme van waarborge beding kan word om as sekuriteit vir betaling te dien, bestaan daar in die suid-afrikaanse regstelsel 'n stilswyende waarborg waartoe 'n aannemer horn ter enige tyd kan wend om betaling af tedwing. hierdie stilswyende waarborg staan bekend as 'n hipoteek (quail, 1978; finsen, 1989). acta structilia 2. definisie van 'n hipoteek december 1995 13 'n hipoteek is 'n retensiereg wat ontstaan as gevolg van die feit dat 'n persoon geld of geldwaarde in die eiendom van 'n ander bele (mckenzie, 1988). dit is volgens quail (1978) en finsen (1989) die mees effektiewe vorm van waarborg in die suid-afiikaanse regstelsel wat ontstaan uit die werking van die reg, selfs sender 'n ooreenkorns tussen die kontrakterende partye. claassen ( 1988) wys daarop dat 'n hipoteek nie as 'n waarborgvorm in die engelse regstelsel erken word nie en dat 'n hipoteek in die engelse reg afgedwing kan word by wyse van 'n ooreenkorns tussen partye. gaurn ( 1979) beskou 'n hipoteek as 'n stilswyende reg wat aan 'n persoon, wat in besit van iernand anders se.eiendom is, oorgedra is om besit daarvan te bebou totdat die party wat die reg bet, vergoed is. 'n hipoteek is in wese 'n waarborg en nie opsigself'n reg orn vergoeding te eis nie. volgens brummer ( 1993) kan 'n hipoteek beskou word as 'n verweer deur die persoon in wie se besit 'n eiendorn is, tot 'n aksie wat deur die eienaar ingestel rnag word om sy eiendorn terug te kry. in conress (pty) ltd. and another v gallic construction (pty) ltd. 1981 (3) sa 73 (w) is bepaal dat 'n aannerner slegs besit van 'n eiendom kan bebou wanneer geld onder die kontrak aan horn verskuldig is. 'n hipoteek of bouersretensiereg (ius retentionis) is gevolglik 'n regsrniddel wat die aannemer in die vorm van 'n waarborg kan uitoefen orn die eiendom van die boubeer in sy besit te bebou en te weier om dit af te staan, tensy betaling ontvang word vir rnateriaal en arbeid gelewer (quail, 1978).mckenzie, 1988; finsen 1989). die boubeer bet daarom geen reg om 'n eiendom te betrek alvorens daarvoor betaal is nie (kyk ploughall (edms) bpk. v rae 1971 (1) sa 887 (t)). die gevolge van 'n hipoteek is dus tweeledig van aard: • dit dien as 'n waarborg wat die aannerner kan uitoefen om die eiendorn in sy besit te bebou totdat betaling ontvang is en • dit het ook 'n uitwerking op die bouheer om so gou as rnoontlik te betaal, ten einde sy eiendom te ontvang. die oogrnerk van 'n aannemer met 'n boukontrak is om betaling te ontvang en ook om betyds betaling te ontvang vir materiaal en arbeid gelewer en dit kan met die afdwing van 'n hipoteek bereik word sender dat daar 'n geskrewe waarborg as sekuriteit tot betaling bestaan. die aannerner moet gevolglik daarvan bewus wees dat die suid-afrikaanse regstelsel deur rniddel van 'n hipoteek aan horn 'n stilswyende regsrniddel verskaf. 14 acta structilia desember 1995 3. vorme van hipoteek in d glaser & sons (pty) ltd v the master and another nd (1974) 4 780 wys regter j. baker daarop dat 'n aannemer ooreenkomstig sy kontrak en as gevolg_ van die feit dat hy geldwaarde in die eiendom van die bouheer sit, twee samelopende vorme van hipoteek oor 'n eiendom verkry, naamlik: • 'n verrykingshipoteek ("enrichment lien") as gevolg van herwinning of verbetering wat ontstaan wanneer 'n persoon, wat in besit is van die eiendom van 'n ander, noodsaaklike en/of nuttige uitgawes aangaan om die waarde van die eiendom te verhoog. alhoewel hierdie vorm van 'n hipoteek nie deur 'n kontrak geskep word nie aangesien dit op beginsels van die natuurreg gegrond is waarvolgens geen persoon homself ten koste van 'n antler persoon mag verryk nie, kan dit ontstaan as gevolg van omstandighede wat voortspruit uit 'n kontrak. • 'n debiteureen krediteurehipoteek ("debtor and creditor lien") as gevolg van uitgawes aangegaan in terme van die kontrak tussen die aannemer en bouheer. 3 .1. verrykingshipoteek volgens gaum (1979) is die toestemming van die eienaar van 'n eiendom, waarop 'n verrykingshipoteek later van toepassing is, nie belangrik wanneer uitgawes in verband met die eiendom aangegaan word nie. die omvang van die verbeteringe moet egter in gedagte gehou word by die afdwingbaarheid van 'n hipoteek. die volgende vorme van uitgawes kom ter sprake by die omvang van verbeteringe: • noodsaaklike uitgawes om 'n eiendom in stand te hou of te onderhou, by gebreke waar die eiendom tot niet sal gaan of in waarde kan verminder. • nuttige uitgawes wat betrekking het op uitgawes wat binne redelike perke aangegaan is om die markwaarde van 'n eiendom te verhoog. • luukse of weelderige uitgawes wat nie as noodsaaklik of nuttige uitgawes beskou kan word nie, maar wat in wese aangegaan word om die behoeftes van die eienaar te bevredig. 'n verrykingshipoteek word volgens mckenzie (1988) m twee klassifikasies ingedeel en het betrekking op: • herwinningsof herstellingshipoteek ("salvage liens or liens for repairs") (necessariae impensae) dit wil se noodsaaklike uitgawes wat aangegaan is vir die bewaring van 'n eiendom. • verbeteringshipoteek ("improvement liens") (utiles impen sae) in united building society v smookler's trustees and golombick's trustee 1906 ts 623 is daarop gewys dat 'n persoon 'n debiteureen krediteurehipoteek verkry wanneer hy werk volgens 'n ooreenkoms verrig (de vos, 1987). acta structilia december 1995 15 die vorm van 'n hipoteek behels uitgawes wat aangegaan is om 'n behoefte van 'n bouheer te bevredig en kan slegs uit 'n kontrak ontstaan. die bedrag wat hier as 'n hipoteek ter sprake kom, is dus die kontrakbedrag waartoe daar tussen die partye ooreengekom is en dit is slegs geldig ten opsigte van die kontrakterende partye (mckenzie, 1988). 4. vereistes vir die afd\\'ingbaarheid van 'n hipoteek 'n hipoteek ontstaan uit die beginsels van 'n verrykingsaksie. daar bestaan volgens de vos (1987) die volgende vereistes van verrykingsaanspreeklikheid wat gevolglik ook op 'n hipoteek van toepassing moet wees, naamlik: * die verweerder moet verryk wees. in wynland construction (pty) ltd. v ashley-smith and others 1985 (1) sa 534 (c) kon die aannemer nie daarin slaag om te bewys dat die bouheer verryk is nie en gevolglik kon sy eis nie slaag nie. * die verryking moet ten koste van die eiser wees. indien die verweerder ten koste van die eiser verryk is, moet die eiser verarm wees. * die verryking moet ongeregverdig wees. 'n verrykingsaksie sal slegs ontstaan wanneer die verryking ongeregverdig of ongegrond is, dit wil se wanneer daar nie afdoende regsgronde bestaan vir die verskuiwing van die waarde van die een boedel na 'n ander een nie. ten einde 'n aannemer in staat te stel om 'n hipoteek oor 'n eiendom van die bouheer te kan afdwing, moet hy in besit wees van die eiendom. by gebreke hieraan sal hy sy reg tot 'n hipoteek verloor (mckenzie, 1988). die appelhof het in s v brick 1973 (2) sa 571 (ad) die begrip "besitnerning" beliggaam wat die volgende drie elemente moet bevat naamlik: • detentio : die fisiese element, naamlik die kontrole of beheer oor 'n voorwerp. • animus possidendi : die geestelike element, die bedoeling om _'n spesifieke voorwerp te besit. • animo sibi habendi : die bedoeling om 'n voorwerp te besit vir persoonlike gebruik en/of genot. in 'n praktyknota van die gesamentlike studiekornitee uitgereik deur die instituut van suid­ afiikaanse argitekte (nommer 15 van 10 februarie 1977), is daarop gewys dat besitnerning twee primere vorme bevat, naamlik fisiese besitname en simboliese besitname. die gesamentlike studiekornitee toon die verskil tussen die twee vorme van besitnerning by wyse van die volgende voorbeelde aan: • 'n aannemer beskik oor fisiese besitnerning van 'n gebou wat nog nie die stadium bereik het waar dit gesluit kan word nie. lndien die gebou by sy tydelike afwesigheid omhein is en indien die gebou wel gesluit kan word, beskik die aannemer oor fisiese besitneming indien hy alleen oor 'n sleutel tot die gebou beskik. simboliese besitnerning is byvoorbeeld waar 'n kennisgewingsbord op 'n bouterrein aangebring is met die bewoording dat oortreders vervolg sal word. mckenzie (1988) wys egter daarop dat in moss v begg 1908 th i uitgewys is dat simboliese besitneming nie voldoende gronde is om 'n hipoteek af te dwing nie en dat die fisiese element van besitnerning ook teenwoordig moet wees. 16 acta structilia desember 1995 besitneming van 'n eiendom is nie die enigste maatstaf wat gestel word om 'n hipoteek af te dwing nie. die inbesitnemimg van die eiendom moet aaneenlopend geskied, aangesien 'n hipoteek by die verlies van besitneming verval. in muller and another, nno v bryant & flanagan (pty) ltd 1976(3) sa 210 (d) het die aannemer nie aaneenlopend besitneming van die gebou behou nie (hy was vir drie maande afwesig van die terrein en hy was slegs in besit van die sleutel van 'n stoorkamer). in die saak is die aannemer se reg tot 'n hipoteek van die hand gewys. hieruit volg dit dat 'n reg tot 'n hipoteek slegs afgedwing kan word indien besitnerning van 'n gebou aaneenlopend geskied en die aannemer in besit is van al die sleutels van die gebou. gaum (1978) en mckenzie (1988) wys daarop dat die aannemer steeds besitneming oor 'n eiendom sal behou indien hy soms, by geleentheid vir kort periodes van die eiendom afwesig is. mckenzie (1988, p. 59) se kommentaar ten opsigte van besitnerning is as volg: "the possession necessary is not possession as owner, but possession with a view to protection as against the owner. there must be physical control or occupation (detentio) and the intention of holding and exercising possession (animus possidendi)." 5. die regte van onderaannemers 'n onderaannemer (geselekteerd, benoemd of gewoon) het geen kontraktuele verbintenis met die bouheer nie en is daarom nie geregtig om 'n debiteureen krediteurehipoteek af te dwing nie. aangesien hy daarvan bewus is dat die aannemer (met wie hy 'n kontraktuele verhouding het) nie die eienaar van die eiendom is nie, is die onderaannemer slegs 'n onregmatige (malafide) besitter (gaum, 1979). in brooklyn house furnishers (pty.) ltd. v knoetze and sons, 1970 (3) sa 264 (a.d.) is daarop gewys dat 'n onderaannemer we! 'n verrykingshipoteek teen die bouheer sal kan afdwing.in die, saak is die volgende beginsels neergele: • enige besitter van iemand anders se eiendom, wat die eiendom teen beskadiging bewaar of dit verbeter, is geregtig op 'n verrykingshipoteek, mits besit nie op 'n onregmatige wyse verkry is nie. verryking van die eienaar deur die besteding van nuttige of noodsaaklike uitgawes aan die eiendom, is ten koste van die persoon wat die uitgawes aangegaan het. daarom is dit ten opsigte van die bestaan, al dan nie, van 'n hipoteek, nie ter sake of uitgawes aangegaan is ingevolge 'n geldige kontrak met 'n derde teen vergoeding nie. hierdie beginsels was ook van toepassing op die feite in howes & clover (pty.) ltd. v. ruskin and others 1978 (i) sa 99 (yi), waarin regter j. franklin beslis het dat 'n onderaannemer, wie in opdrag van 'n aannemer 'n eiendom opgerig het, 'n hipoteek oor die eiendom van die eienaar sal kan uitoefen. daar bestaan wel omstandighede wanneer 'n onderaannemer nie 'n verrykingshipoteek oor die eiendom van die bouheer sal kan afdwing nie. in colonial government v. smith, lawrence and mould & others, (1885) 4 s.c. 194 is bevind dat 'n onderaannemer onder die volgende omstandighede nie 'n verrykingshipoteek sal kan afdwing nie: acta structilia december 1995 17 • waar die bouheer die aannemer direk betaal. (die interpretasie is dat indien die bouheer die aannemer direk betaal, die verryking van die bouheer beskou word as uitgawes deur die aannemer aangegaan en nie deur die onderaannemer nie) • waar die bouheer nie die aanstelling van 'n onderaannemer magtig nie. (die bevinding van regter j.a. botha in die saak brooklyn house furnishers (pty.) ltd. v knoetze and sons, 1970 (3) sa 264 (a.d.) kom ook hier ter sprake, naamlik, dat 'n onderaannemer 'n verrykingshipoteek teen die bouheer sal kan afdwing, mits besit nie op 'n onregmatige wyse verkry is nie ). 6. rangorde van sekuriteitsvorl\fe by die in sol vensie van die bouheer in d. glaser & sons (pty) ltd v the master and another no (1974) 4 780, plaas regter j. baker in die geval van insolvensie deur die bouheer, 'n verrykingshipoteek wat deur 'n aannemer gehou word in voorrang as 'n sekuriteitvorm bo 'n verband wat oor dieselfde eiendom gehou word. in soverre dit 'n debiteureen krediteurehipoteek betref, wat betrekking het op nie-verrykingsuitgawes, plaas hy dit in rangvolgorde as 'n vorm van sekuriteit, naas 'n verband wat oor dieselfde eiendom bestaan. nie­ verrykingsuitgawes behels volgens regter j. baker uitgawes aangegaan wat nie noodsaaklik of nuttig is nie en nie die waarde van 'n eiendom verhoog nie en so 'n hipoteek is bloot 'n persoonsreg teen 'n debiteur en 'n eis vir die balans van die kontrakprys. 'n praktyk wat soms deur die borge van die aannemer gevolg word, is om van die aannemer te vereis om afstand te doen van sy hipoteek ten gunste van di, borge vir die bedrag van die verband wat deur die bouheer aangegaan is. dit kom daarop neer, dat die aannemer se verrykingshipoteek nie voorrang sal geniet ho die van die borge oor die eiendom van die bouheer nie. die hipoteek van die borge sal dan voorrang geniet bo alle ander eise teenoor die eiendom van die bouheer. die praktyk van afstanddoening van die aannemer se pandreg ten gunste van borge, is in 'n praktyknota van die gesamentlike studiekomitee (nommer 15 van 10 februarie 1977) aangespreek en word beskou as baie gevaarlik aangesien die aannemer by die opsegging van sy hipoteek geen waarborg sal verkry dat hy in die geval van wanprestasie deur die bouheer vergoed sal word tot die bedrag waarmee hy die bouheer verryk het nie. die gesamentlike studiekomitee doen in di, praktyknota aan die hand dat die afstanddoening van die aannemer gepaard moet gaan met 'n aanvaarbare sessie deur die bouheer, ten gunste van die aannemer, vir die bedrag van die verband. 7. die hipoteek en die retensiefonds in l.jp construction v cousins 1985 (1) sa 297 (c), wat gehandel het oor die vraag of die retensiefonds onder 'n boukontrak binne 'n hipoteek val, is daarop gewys dat die retensiefonds tesame met en los van 'n hipoteek kan staan waar die aannemer in besit van 'n bouterrein is. in conress (pty) ltd. and another v gallic construction (pty) ltd. 1981 (3) sa 73 (w) is bevind dat 'n aannemer nie 'n hipoteek kan afdwing ten opsigte van retensiegeld wat verdien is, maar nog nie verskuldig is nie. die retensiegeld moet gevolglik aan horn verskuldig wees. waar retensiegeld dus nog nie verskuldig is nie, sal die aannemer nie 'n hipoteek daaroor kan uitoefen nie. 8. die hipoteek en bouprojekte in die openbare sektor 'n vraag wat ontstaan is of 'n hipoteek ook op staatskontrakte van. toepassing sal wees. volgens claassen (1988) is die vraag nog nie voorheen in die geregshowe getoets nie, maar hy is egter van mening dat 'n hipoteek nie op die staat van toepassing sal wees nie, en wel om die vo]gende redes: 18 acta structilia desember 1995 • die rede waarom die hipoteek geld, is om die aannemer teen kwade trou of insolvensie van die bouheer te beskerm en hierdie rede geld nie teenoor die staat nie en • sodanige hipoteek teen openbare werke kan die staat in die verleentheid stet en is teen die openbare belang. in randcon natal limited v florida twin estates limited 1973 (4) sa 181 d, is bevind dat die argitek deur die uitreik van 'n betaalsertifikaat onrniskenbaar die bouheer se verpligtinge ten opsigte van die betaling van 'n vasgestelde som geld erken. in ocean diners (pty) ltd v golden hill construction cc 1993 (3) sa 331 (a) is bevind, dat 'n finale sertifikaat dien as onweerlegbare bewys van die waarde van materiaal gelewer en werk verrig en dat dit ook die bindende verpligting van die bouheer uitwys om die gesertifiseerde bedrag binne die voorgeskrewe tyd te betaal. hieruit volg dit dat die status en regsgeldigheid van betaal sertifikate as likiede dokumente erken word. dit impliseer ook die erkenning van die likiditeit van betaalsertifikate deur die staat. in longtill construction ltd v lithabern (pty) ltd sa 1978 (2) sa 240 (w) is regstatus verkry vir 'n proses bekend as voorlopige vonnis, waarby daar aan 'n eiser wat op 'n likiede dokument sou steun, 'n vinnige metode verskaf word om betaling te ontvang sonder die noodsaaklikheid van 'n lang pleitstuk en 'n hof geding. ofskoon voorlopige vonnis in wese 'n voorlopige bevel is, is die gesamentlike studiekomitee in praktyknota nomrner 3 van 30 mei 1974 van mening dat voorlopige vonnis in die meeste gevalle 'n finale uitspraak van die geregshof sal wees, aangesien die bouheer selde in staat is om 'n bevredigende basis vir verweer op te stet wanneer 'n betaalsertifikaat likied is. in die praktyknota is die mening ook uitgespreek dat vir alle praktiese doeleindes voorlopige vonnis op alle sertifikate verkry sat kan word. die aannemer sal dus na alle waarskynlikheid, ook in terme van staatskontrakte spoedige betaling kan afdwing deur voorlopige vonnis op 'n betaalsertifikaat te verkry. die gevolg hiervan is dat die oogmerk wat 'n aannemer met 'n boukontrak wil bereik, deur betaling te ontvang en dat betaling betyds ooreenkomstig die bepalings van die kontrak moet geskied, in terme van staatskontrakte bereik kan word sonderdat die aannemer op 'n hipoteek as 'n waarborg hoef te steun om betaling af te dwing. 9. slot • die oogmerk wat 'n aannemer met 'n boukontrak wil bereik, is om betaling te ontvang vir materiaal gelewer en werk verrig en dat betaling betyds ooreenkomstig die bepalings van die kontrak moet geskied. • die oogmerk van die aannemer kan met die afdwing van 'n hipoteek bereik word sonder dat daar 'n geskrewe waarborg as sekuriteit tot betaling bestaan. • die uitoefening van 'n hipoteek is die mees effektiewe vorm van waarborg in die suid-afrikaanse reg wat ontstaan uit die werking van die reg, selfs sender dat daar 'n ooreenkoms tussen partye bestaan. acta structilia december 1995 19 • die gevolge van 'n hipoteek is tweeledig en dien as 'n waarborg wat die aannemer kan uitoefen om die eiendom van die bouheer in sy besit te behou, tensy hy betaling ontvang en dit het ook 'n uitwerking op die bouheer om so gou as moontlik te betaal ten einde sy eiendom terug te ontvang. • 'n hipoteek kan afgedwing word indien die verweerder verryk is, indien die verryking ten koste van die eiser is en indien die verryking ongeregverdig is. • ten einde 'n hipoteek te kan afdwing, moet die aannemer in besit wees van die eiendom van die bouheer en die inbesitnernimg van die eiendom moet aaneenlopend geskied, aangesien 'n hipoteek by die verlies van besitnerning verval. • ofskoon 'n hipoteek na alle waarskynlikheid nie op die staat van toepassing is nie, sal die oogmerke van die aannemer om betaling te verkry en betyds betaling te verkry, om die volgende redes in terme van staatskontrakte bereik kan word: die likiditeit van betaalsertifikate word deur die staat erken en dit geld as 'n waarborg vir betaling van alle kontrakte met die staat en u die aannemer sal na alle waarskynlikheid ook spoedige betaling kan afdwing deur voorlopige vonnis op betaalsertifikate van die staat te verkry. • daar moet daarop gelet word dat die afteken van die hipoteek ten gunste van ander persone en/of instansies 'ngevaarlike praktyk is en dat dit die geldigheid van die hele hipoteekaksie tot niet kan maak. • die hipoteek bly een van die belangrikste beskerrningsmaatreels waaroor die aannemer beskik. bronverwysing brummer, j.j.j. 1993. geskille in die boubedryf: 'n studie om die skikking en beslegting van boukontrakgeskille te evalueer. ph.d.-proefskrif, universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat, bloemfontein. claassen, c.j. 1988. seminaar: bouen konstruksiereg. johannesburg conventions, pp. 4-5 en 1-13. general council de vos, w. 1987. verrykingsaanspreeklikheid in die suid-afrikaanse reg. derde uitgawe. kaapstad : juta en kie, bpk. finsen, e. 1989. quail on the building contract. port elizabeth : qs publications. finsen, e. 1991. the new building contract. kenwyn : juta & co, ltd. gaum, l. 1978. obiter dictum : is possession ownership ? sa builder, 57(2), pp. 29-30. gaum, l. 1979. obiter dictum: liens.sa builder, 58(5), pp. 16-17. mckenzie, h.s. 1988. the law of building and engineering contracts and arbitration. 4th. ed. cape town: juta & co.ltd. quail, g.p. 1978. the building contract. sunnyside : building publications (pty) ltd. 20 hofsake acta structi/ia desember 1995 brooklyn house furnishers (pty.) ltd. v knoetze and sons, 1970 (3) sa 264 (a.d.) colonial government v. smith, lawrence and mould & others,(1885) 4 s.c. 194 conress (pty) ltd. and another v gallic construction (pty) ltd. 1981 (3) sa 73 (w) d glaser & sons (pty) ltd v the master and another no 197 4 ( 4) 780 howes & clover (pty.) ltd. v. ruskin and others 1978 (1) sa 99 (w) longtill construction ltd v lithabern (pty) ltd sa 1978 (2) sa 240 (w) moss v begg 1908 th 1 muller and another, nno v bryant & flanagan (pty) ltd 1976 (3) sa 210 (d) ocean diners (pty) ltd v golden hill construction cc 1993 (3) sa 331 (a) ploughall (edms) bpk. v rae 1971 (1) sa 887 (t). randcon natal limited v florida twin estates limited 1973 (4) sa 181 d s vbrick 1973 (2) sa 571 (ad) up construction v cousins 1985 (i) sa 297 (c) united building society v smookler's trustees and golombick's trustee 1906 ts 623 wynjand construction (pty) ltd. v ashley-smith and others 1985 (i) sa 534 (c) commentary / kommentaar 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 wallace van zyl 1 the south african townscape conservation & development conflicts abstract this article examines some aspects of urban conservation practices in south africa since world war two. the conservation of individual homesteads in rural areas is being neglected in favour of the powerful inter-relationship and context implied by townscape. the continuation of this trend does not, however, mean that rural landscape conservation is unimportant, but rather indicates the primary need for sustainable townscaping. keywords:urban conservation, sustainable townscaping, south africa. die suid-afrikaanse stadsbeeld: bewaring en ontwikkelingskonflikte hierdie artikel ondersoek sekere aspekte van stedelike bewarings­ praktyke in suid-afrika sedert die tweede wereldoorlog. suksesvolle bewaring van indivuele wonings in landelike gebiede sol oor die hoof gesien word ten gunste van die sterk samespel en konteks wat die stads­beeld impliseer. dit beteken nie dot landskapsbewaring onbelangrik is nie, moor eerder dot die aksent op stedelike volhoubaarheid vol. sleutelwoorde: stedelike bewaring, stedelike volhoubaarheid, suid-afrika. professor wallace van zyl. previously head of the department of urban and regional planning, uofs, is currently a planning consultant in fish hoek, western cape, south africa. this paper was read at a planning conference held in sydney, australia, in july 1998. 69 commentary / kommentaar van zyl/south african townscape introduction in most countries worldwide, planners question the feasibility of conserving town centres, in view of pressures such as wholesale speculative development, urban sprawl and the motor car. for south africa, the present period of "reconstruction and redistribution" is far more complex than that of eastern europe or the re-unification of germany. here the dreaded word "poverty" must also feature in the list of challenges facing conservation. since 80% of the south african population has such very basic needs as housing, health and education (quantity) it seems difficult to justify the allocation of scarce resources to quality. the public sector but before any decision can be made on this issue, the roles of the public and private sectors must be examined. the ideal role of government is threefold: to facilitate conservation by setting a good example in its public works, to provide "seed money", and to forge partnerships with the private sector. as long ago as 1980 the central government's white paper on conservation laid down guidelines for co-ordination, increased power, education and awareness. the new south african constitution contains some promising "environmental" clauses and a national trust is in the offing. it is instructive to examine the national monuments council, which falls under the ministry of culture, arts and science. the main functions of this long-established council are the research, identification and "declaration" of buildings and townscapes worthy of conservation. such an advisory body occupies an uneasy position in a civil service hierarchy comprising powerful departments like public works, transport and community development (now defunct). although the department of public works owns hundreds of important buildings, from courts and housing to ministries and parliament itself, it has no direct conservation function, nor does it take kindly to advice on re-use or adaptation. the demolition of government buildings is subject to the permission of the monuments council, but in practice unilateral decisions are made. the defunct department of community development might have been expected to contribute to conservation and 70 commentary / kommentaar 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 urban renewal. however, it was responsible for the destruction of historic housing in district six (cape town) or pageview. the old south african transport services (now "unbundled") owned a large part of the built heritage, including fine victorian railway stations, harbour warehouses and strategically used land. one promising development in this context is a partnership between the private sector and the railways, aimed at re-using and conserving railway property. the durban station, for example, was restored as a prestige office building. workshops were refurbished as a shopping mall and exhibition centre. in cape town an exciting plan has converted the old victoria & alfred basins into an upmarket entertainment and marina complex, the waterfront, not unlike the rocks, in sydney. one should also mention the work of parastatal corporations or large industrial and mining projects that pay little or no respect to the built fabric. the electricity supply commission, for example, completely neglects the appearance of power stations and townships. spider-webs of power lines dwarf or negate conservation while the post office's microwave towers deface the townscape. however, 1978 saw a watershed in south african conservation when the post office, for once, bowed to public pressure and saved the west frn;:ade of church square in pretoria, at the heart of the gridiron plan of the country's capital. the country comprises nine provinces, which form the second tier of government. by comparison, the provinces have less power than similar australian states. the south african museum services in most of the provinces try to find uses for historic buildings, and in the cape alone l 00 buildings have been saved. in the city core of durban there is an outstanding example of recycling by the province the well-known natal playhouse for the performing arts council. it is thus clear that maximum financial backing from sponsors and moral support from the second tier of government, the provincial level, can only be beneficial. in theory, the third tier of government should address conser­ vation at a "grassroots" level, but in practice expertise is scarce since approval or finance is required from senior governments. some of the larger municipalities like cape town or durban employ highly sensitive urban conservation units which implement policies and use persuasion to establish partnerships with the private sector. however, most municipalities suffer from 71 commentary / kommentaar van zyl/south african townscape the negative impact of large motorways, with inner city routes more often than not slicing through historic parks or housing. in port elizabeth, for example, a massive aerial freeway cuts off the historic core of the city from the harbour. in the case of cape town, public outcry halted the construction of one side of the inner loop. pedestrian malls, too, often tend to be planned in isolation, instead of forming part of an integrated strategy for conservation and traffic management. the private sector it has been argued that galbraith's ideas on "private affluence and private squalor" influence the attitude of the greater part of the private sector towards conservation, but here, too, inherent conflicts between the profit motive and public goals are played out in the built environment. incentives for private sector participation {tax rebates or the transfer of development rights) can only be effective as part of firm civic policies and partnerships. four bodies are involved in this process. a pioneer in this field was historic hopes, founded in 1966 and based in the cape-dutch university town of stellenbosch. it has saved over 100 properties, and undertaken 200 restorations, always attempting to restore interiors to their "best period". its useful spin-offs include the creation of specialist building teams and firms of conservation architects of outstanding quality in the western cape. some forty years ago the van der stel foundation was established with the aim of increasing awareness and raising funds for conservation. with branches in most provinces, this foundation is motivated by cultural idealism rather than profit, but it tends towards "elitism", which is unfortunate in the new south africa. two civic trusts, in durban and cape town, respectively, help to cherish the indian and malay cultures. in 1997 the cape town heritage trust was instrumental in saving the historic heritage square, the only place in the world where a unique mix of georgian and cape-dutch styles, dating from 1771, is to be found. f\,jrther north, the city of johannesburg founded on gold devours its built fabric with every generation, while some dutch and english traces remain in pretoria. here we note the work of vernacular societies, as well as a healthier trend away from the 72 commentary / kommentaar 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 conservation of single buildings to an awareness of the townscape. to summarise the four problems common to the public and private sectors: 1. codes of conduct. one rule, whether in the form of legislation or administration, is required for both the public and the private sector. state agencies should not exempt themselves from control, and the public good must figure in profit­ generating projects. 2. sponsorship & incentives. in south africa business is far more eager to support sport sponsorship than conservation. there is scope here for more financial incentives. 3. co-ordination & teamwork. adequate legislation for con­ servation already exists, but the given framework needs to be streamlined and enforced. furthermore, there is a lack of mid­ dle management and expertise. teamwork and negotiation do not suit a macho, competitive society. 4. attitudes. besides the nimby ("not in my back-yard") syndrome, the benefits of "privatising" public spaces such as town squares, parks and waterfronts are seldom weighed against the social costs thereof. the townscape is internalised and public participation is seen merely as a token or even as a nuisance. three case studies three case studies of medium-sized cities will now be discussed, namely bloemfontein (1846), kimberley (1871) and grahamstown ( 1812). bloemfontein was founded some 700 km from the coast (10 years after adelaide in australia) for military and com­ munication reasons. not surprisingly, it was laid out like a roman gridiron with a square at the crossing of the axes. three sub­ sequent axes are noteworthy. besides the main maitland street (east-west) and the linear water supply, the spruit (east-west), a third monumental boulevard, president brand street, developed on the north-south axis. it presents a unified townscape and landscape around a cluster of institutions such as the appeal court, high court, presidensie and city hall (see figure 1) . . due to development pressures and "benign neglect", however, bloemfontein has destroyed most links with the past. in particular, a new ice blue civic centre in glass and steel has been built 73 commentary / kommentaar van zyl/south african townscape alongside the warm sandstone and tile roofs of president brand street. the architect justified it by saying that it provided "harmony in contrast". in hoffman square a formal garden has been replaced by hard surfaces, and a retail chain almost persuaded the city council to allow the rezoning of a public open space. the linear open space and drainage channel (the spruit) had already suffered the intrusion of a bus station and shopping centre (built right over it). much like ballarat or kalgoorlie, arid kimberley in the northern cape was a roisterous mining town most famous at the time of the diamond rush of 1871. at one stage its population even exceeded that of the colonial capital, cape town. amid its spider-web of streets (wheelbarrow tracks!) and the spoil heaps of the big hole, a symbolic town square is left open. the town hall is part of a remarkable victorian townscape, which had great potential for conservation and tourism, but has received mixed treatment. further problems were caused by the demolition of the humble houses of the malay camp. this was considered a neat way of privatising a historic area so that large civic buildings could be inserted on the south side. on the edge of the town square to the north, the post office prevailed upon the municipality to relax height and bulk regulations for the sake of a gray slab-like skyscraper. grahamstown, the oldest of these examples, was also founded for military reasons about the same time that raffles founded singapore. it was an attempt to settle the border wars in the eastern cape. it lies in a hollow surrounded by superb hills and has the only real high street in south africa. two unique public squares have evolved, namely church and market. church square is in fact a "triangle" and has a rich townscape consisting of elements like a town hall, a cathedral and some victorian shops (see figure 2). here massive traffic and parking intrusion are experienced that beg for pedestrianisation. a good example for conservation incentive is fiddlers green, a charming open space downhill from church square. the grahamstown trust is concerned that the municipality will allow shops there. half of the second largest square has already been allocated for a police station, while some quarter is used for a parking lot. besides rising ethical questions, there is the dubious practice of "privatizing" land in public ownership and offering it to speculators. after all 74 commentary / kommentaar 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 there are values of sentiment and symbolism involved which give special meaning to non-material and shared cultures. conclusion the south african society is a complex mix of people with differing priorities and at different stages of development. there is an inherent conflict between informal development and planned conservation. besides climatic contrasts and environ­ mental interaction, patterns of conservation reflect a complex cultural mix and a lack of shared values. sustainability in conservation will depend on greater teamwork between public and private sectors, and much needed public participation. permanence and change in south african townscape will only be achieved by determining needs, setting priorities, examining alternatives and acting decisively. synergy and sensitivity are paramount in achieving balance between development and conservation in our cities. 75 commentary / kommentaar van zyl/south african townscape figure l: bloemfontein's core with its three axes: (l) bloemspruit. (2) maitland street and (3) president brand street with historic buildings 76 secondary pedestrian flow figure 2: grahanstown's core area showing (1) church square and (2) the old market square. note the main pedestrian flow � (!) (!) (!) )> s' � c: � ;;;· < q. 2 0 qo "' () 3 3 cd :::::l '< ...._ 7" 3 3 cd :::::l .... 0 0 -, 106 navorsingsartikels • research articles stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors for sustainable facilities management practice in universities in subsaharan africa peer reviewed and revised abstract the development of an optimal sustainable facilities management (sfm) strategy for university-built assets in sub-saharan africa (ssa) is desired. however, this requires an in-depth understanding of the perspectives of different stakeholders on the probable success factors. the elicitation of such perspective is considered imperative, as it allows facilities managers to engage with effective sfm planning in a manner that caters to the interest of these stakeholder groups. this study seeks to identify and, subsequently, assess these success factors, according to stakeholders’ perspectives. a sequential mixed method research design is utilised wherein 29 semi-structured interviews were conducted initially, followed by a questionnaire survey conducted with 113 respondents, in the second stage. interviewees were purposively selected from a university of technology (uot) in south africa, whilst respondents were drawn from universities within ssa. data from the first stage was analysed, using qualitative content analysis, and subsequently applied towards questionnaire development. the questionnaires appraised stakeholder perceptions of the criticality of success factors identified during the interviews. the mean item score (mis) was used to rank the responses. results from the analysis indicate that ‘presence of a well-articulated fm plan for a specified interval’ and ‘adherence to the tenets of the sd agenda (supply chain)’ were selected as most critical of the success factors identified. bankole awuzie dr bankole awuzie, senior lecturer, department of built environment, central university of technology, private bag x20539, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +27(0)51 507-3532, email: <bawuzie@cut.ac.za> rasheed isa dr rasheed isa, lecturer, department of building, federal university of technology, minna, nigeria. phone: +23 4805114689, email:<batunde@futminna. edu.ng> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i2.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(2): 106-127 © uv/ufs mailto:bawuzie@cut.ac.za mailto:batunde@futminna.edu.ng mailto:batunde@futminna.edu.ng http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.4 awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 107 it is expected that the study’s findings will contribute to the development of a viable sfm strategy in ssa universities. keywords: facilities management, sub-saharan africa, success factors, sustainable development, universities abstrak die ontwikkeling van ’n optimale volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur (vfb)-strategie vir universiteitsgeboude bates in sub-sahara-afrika (ssa) word benodig. dit vereis egter ’n grondige begrip van die perspektiewe van verskillende belanghebbendes oor die waarskynlike suksesfaktore. hierdie perspektiewe word as noodsaaklik beskou, aangesien dit fasiliteitsbestuurders in staat stel om effektiewe vfb-beplanning te kan doen op ’n wyse wat omsien na die behoeftes van hierdie belangegroepe. hierdie studie poog om hierdie suksesfaktore te identifiseer en te evalueer, volgens belanghebbendes se perspektiewe. ’n opeenvolgende gemengde metode navorsingsontwerp word gebruik waar 29 semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude aanvanklik uitgevoer is, terwyl ’n vraelys-opname met 113 respondente in die tweede fase gedoen is. onderhoudvoerders is doelbewus gekies uit ’n universiteit van tegnologie (uot) in suid-afrika, terwyl respondente van universiteite binne ssa getrek is. data uit die eerste fase is geanaliseer met behulp van kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalise en daarna op die ontwikkeling van vraelyste toegepas. die vraelyste het belanghebbendes se persepsies van die kritisiteit van suksesfaktore wat tydens die onderhoude geïdentifiseer is, beoordeel. die gemiddelde item telling (mis) is gebruik om die antwoorde te rangskik. resultate uit die analise dui aan dat ’n teenwoordigheid van ’n goedgeartikuleerde fm-plan vir ’n bepaalde interval ‘en’ nakoming van die beginsels van die sd-agenda (toevoerketting) gekies is as die mees kritiese van die geïdentifiseerde suksesfaktore. daar word verwag dat die studie se bevindings sal bydra tot die ontwikkeling van ’n lewensvatbare vfb-strategie in ssa-universiteite. sleutelwoorde: afrika suid van die sahara, fasiliteitsbestuur, suksesfaktore, volhoubare ontwikkeling, universiteite 1. introduction recent developmental patterns depict a quest for transformation from consumption patterns, hitherto described as unsustainable, towards sustainability. noticeably, society’s quest to attain sustainable development (sd) has continued to gain momentum (sarpin & yang, 2012: 602). the increasing nature of the advocacy is buttressed by the rise in the number of publications on sustainability science (bettencourt & kaur, 2011: 19541). organisations have concerned themselves with (re)designing their business models to contribute towards this aspiration. considering their reputation as societal change agents, universities are assuming a pivotal role in sd implementation (cortese, 2003: 16; stephens, hernandez, román, graham & scholz, 2008: 320). extant studies highlight the role of universities in mainstreaming sd ethos into their core activities and acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 108 within the broader societal context (ferrer-balas, lozano, huisingh, buckland, ysern & zilahy, 2010: 607-610). these activities are usually embedded within the teaching and learning, research, and operations facets, respectively. universities have been admonished to do more concerning the systemic integration of sustainability ethos across every facet of their endeavour (mcmillin & dyball, 2009: 57). literature points out that the majority of universities are concerned with attaining su status through the embodiment of sd ethos not only in teaching, learning and research aspects, but also across the operational facets of which fm forms an integral part (swearingen, 2014: 235). however, whereas appreciable efforts by universities in developing countries have been observed in the integration of sd into their curriculum and research activities, not a great deal has been reported about the operational aspects. this is particularly the case in sub-saharan africa (ssa). this deficiency deters the quest by these universities to achieve su status. efforts towards the attainment of su status will be successful if these universities achieve a systemic integration of sd ethos across their organisational facets (ferrer-balas et al., 2010: 608). facilities management (fm) bodes immense potentials for the attainment of sustainability gains in organisations (elmualim, shockley, valle, ludlow & shah, 2010: 58). this is due to its vast scope which usually transcends the boundary of property management within organisations such as universities. despite the recognition of fm’s significance, a paucity of studies exploring its role in the attainment of su status for universities has been observed. such paucity is quite pronounced within ssa, hence necessitating this study. in its contribution towards resolving this impasse, this study seeks to identify and assess the success factors for sustainable fm (sfm) practice in universities from a stakeholder’s perspective. it is expected that the findings will contribute to extant literature by highlighting how different stakeholders understand and assess sfm performance in ssa universities. furthermore, it will provide a platform for the design of a robust sfm strategy by facilities managers working in universities which will cater to the needs of the stakeholders. awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 109 2. theoretical perspective 2.1 sustainability, sustainable development and universities in acceptance of the leadership role in society (cortese, 2003: 15), universities have, over the past three decades, committed themselves towards making significant contributions towards society’s sd aspirations. accordingly, they have signed onto various declarations, charters and initiatives (dcis), adopting sd as a significant aspect of their institutional strategy (lozano, lukman, lozano, huisingh, & lambrechts, 2013: 11). universities within the ssa context have not been left out of these dcis. a commendable number of these universities have signed up to dcis at regional, national and international levels. yet, lozano, ceulemans, alonso-almeida, huisingh, lozano, waas, lambrechts, lukman & hugé (2015: 2) admit that being signatories to such dcis does not automatically guarantee attainment of su status and subsequent contribution to the attainment of sd aspirations in the wider society, reiterating that only optimal implementation of the tenets of such dcis will. the paucity of studies reporting on sd implementation performance of universities within the ssa context further lends credence to this assertion. 2.2 need for sustainable facilities management practice in universities amaratunga and baldry (2000: 293) describe fm as an integrated approach for engendering the maintenance, improvement, and adaptation of an organisation’s buildings in order to create the desired ambience required to support the attainment of the organisation’s core mandate. yim yiu (2008: 502) reiterates that fm marks a shift from operational services towards strategic resource management, thus distinguishing it from property management. judging from these strategic roles, fm’s significance within organisations cannot be overemphasised. effective fm practice influences organisational success factors such as profit determination, productivity, management of energy and waste, employee welfare, and public perception (awang, mohammad, sapri & rahman, 2014: 71-72). accordingly, these scholars have called for the incorporation of sd ethos into fm practices at organisational level. the incorporation of sd ethos into organisational fm, it has been argued, will contribute to the attainment of the organisation’s sd objectives. such advocacies have resulted from the paradigmatic shift towards sd in organisations such as universities. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 110 universities are noted for their ability to provide conducive environments for scholarship to thrive (cortese, 2003: 15; stephens et al., 2008: 321; escrigas, polak & jegede, 2011: 13). as a result, they invest considerably in campus infrastructure renewal/redevelopment/ development programmes. arguably, there is an increasing need for these universities to showcase their sd credentials through the nature of the built assets procured. different phases of the life cycle of these built assets are often superintended by the institutions’ fm directorates (wright & wilton, 2012: 119). this makes the adoption of sfm practice in the management of these assets, imperative. ikediashi, ogunlana, oladokun & adewuyi (2012: 169) trace the advancement of the sfm concept to the need to contribute to a reduction of the built environment’s debilitating impact on the environment. over the past few decades, a trend signalling this growing recognition of fm in universities has been observed (amaratunga & baldry, 2000: 293-294). perhaps this recognition can be attributed to the views similar to those espoused by price, matzdorf, smith & agahi (2003: 213), wherein they observe the potential of the facilities available to a university to considerably impact on student choices. they also add that the nature of the work environment provided by universities can limit their ability to attract the kind of personnel they desire. the aspiration of several ssa universities of assuming an su status in the not too distant future is significantly dependent on their fm department’s ability to apply sd tenets to its entire operations. these operations consist of the four cardinal roles of fm identified by yim yiu previously. although the significance of sfm has been noted, the corpus of relevant literature appears silent on the success factors required to achieve this feat within the context of universities, especially in ssa. this study seeks to contribute towards bridging this gap. 2.3 critical success factors for sustainable facilities management according to müller and jugdev (2012: 758), success factors can be described as project elements possessing the likelihood of bringing about successful project outcomes, if managed effectively. they insist that these factors and the success criteria have formed an integral aspect of the project performance debate and should be taken seriously if the desire for project success is to be accomplished. therefore, critical success factors (csf), as the name implies, represents project elements that are critical to the success of any project delivery programme (müller & jugdev, 2012: 758). as such, the facilities manager’s ability to identify these csfs and assess their awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 111 significance from the perspectives of the stakeholders in the university context will contribute to the development of an sfm strategy. in the absence of relevant literature on csfs for sfm in universities, this study derives its success factors from a list of barriers (failure factors) to effective sfm in conventional organisations. based on the description of success factors and the csfs, it can be deduced, in the absence of established csfs for sfm in universities, that the csfs for sfm will be the opposite of the identified barriers (see table 4). the authors relied on this list of barriers to the implementation of sustainable fm practices in organisations, as compiled by sarpin and yang, to derive potential csfs (sarpin & yang, 2012: 604) (see table 1). this kind of scenarios abound in the literature (see zhou, huang & zhang (2011: 244-246); babatunde, akintayo & akinsiku (2012: 215-222)). table 1: barriers to the implementation of sustainable fm practices in organisations barriers past research main barriers 1 knowledge elmualim et al. (2010) lack of knowledge nielsen et al. (2009) limited knowledge regarding environmental themes elmualim et al. (2009) knowledge chasm shah (2008) management of sustainability knowledge lai and yik (2006) low knowledge level regarding sustainability hodges (2005) discrepancy in knowledge 2 capability shah (2008) lack of capabilities/skills hodges (2005) lack of capabilities/skills elmualim et al. (2010) time constraint, lack of senior management commitment, diversity of fm roles, undervaluation of contribution to organisation success 3 management nielsen et al. (2009) lack of incentives to create routines on environment issue nielsen et al. (2009) shah (2008) too little time and few resources to implement awareness on whole-life value, increasing liability hodges (2005) unwillingness to implement sustainability, lack of financial support nielsen et al. (2009) limited data on local consumption of energy, water 4 authority shah (2008) performance indicators bosch & pearce (2003) lack of guidance documents source: sarpin & yang, 2012: 604 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 112 3. research methodology the objective of this study is twofold, namely to identify csfs for sfm and to assess the significance of these so-identified csfs from the stakeholders’ perspectives. this provides veritable information and a platform upon which the development of an sfm strategy in ssa universities will be predicated. 3.1 research design to achieve the aforementioned objectives, this study adopts a sequential mixed method research design. mixed method research designs are renowned for their ability to enable a juxtaposition of data collection and analysis instruments in the conduct of a particular research project (leech & onwuegbuzie, 2009: 266). furthermore, proponents of the research design opine that it allows the shortcomings of the data collection and analysis instruments, belonging to either the qualitative or quantitative genres, to be overcome by the strengths of the other genre being applied therein (hesse-biber & johnson, 2015: 10). the mixed method design in this study is considered sequential, due to the utilisation of different data-collection and analysis techniques belonging to each of the two major genres at two distinct, but interlinked phases of the study (hesse-biber & johnson, 2015: 10). 3.2 sampling method and sample size a mixture of purposive, snowballing and convenience sampling techniques was adopted in the selection of 29 interviewees from a south african uot (denscombe, 2014: 46). such sampling techniques enabled the authors to select only stakeholders who had some knowledge concerning fm, sfm and sd at the university. in all, 29 individuals were successfully recruited for the interview sessions held in the first stage (see table 2). table 2: interviewee demographics stakeholder group position/job description code management sustainability manager sm support director of maintenance dfm support clerk of works cow support assistant clerk of works acow contractor/consultants/suppliers consultant cidp awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 113 stakeholder group position/job description code contractor/consultants/suppliers project manager pm academic staff lecturer las1-4 academic staff senior lecturer slas1-2 contractor/consultants/suppliers subcontractors scc student postgraduate pgs1-7 student undergraduate us1-10 total 29 source: authors’ field work (2016) in what may seem to be a limitation, these interviewees were recruited from a uot in south africa based on convenience sampling. further, the students were selected from the department of built environment’s b.tech. class, whereas the postgraduate students were selected from a cohort carrying out sustainability-themed research at masters and doctoral degree levels in the faculty of engineering and information technology at the uot. therefore, these interview sessions can be considered at best, exploratory. for the second phase, respondents were recruited through the participating universities mentioned in the guni, iau and aau joint survey report on “the promotion of sustainable development in higher education institutions in sub-saharan africa” (escrigas et al., 2011: 99-101). universities, which posted questionnaire completion and response rates surpassing 80%, were selected. it was expected that completion rates beyond 80% implied a reasonable level of awareness among various stakeholders within such institutions on the sustainability theme. of the universities, 41 met this criterion. in addition, it was noted that some of the institutions were situated within french-speaking parts of the ssa, hence the need to adopt english and french in the preparation of the questionnaires. gatekeepers were identified and approached in 32 out of 41 universities through the use of snowballing sampling technique. but, after a prolonged duration of engagement and discussions, only gatekeepers from 21 universities were recruited to not only participate, but also assist in the identification of individuals to be issued with the questionnaire alongside their email addresses. based on a subsisting agreement pertaining to confidentiality, the names of the universities, from which the respondents were recruited, cannot be mentioned. however, the number of questionnaires issued was dependent upon the availability of email addresses. a total of 215 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 114 questionnaires were administered electronically with the aid of surveymonkey, a software package that allows a researcher to administer a survey exercise to a vast majority of respondents via email. care was taken to ensure that respondents were sourced from various stakeholder groups present in the universities, namely management staff, academic staff, support staff (comprising of nonacademic staff and staff of the facilities/works department, where possible), students, and contractors/suppliers. an interval of two months was given for the collation of responses. however, reminders were sent to the respondents at the end of the first month on the need to complete and submit the completed questionnaires. in total, 113 respondents were drawn from universities in ghana, kenya, nigeria, and south africa, respectively (see table 3). table 3: distribution of respondents per stakeholder group stakeholder group number of respondents management 16 academic 23 support 21 student 26 contractors/suppliers 27 total 113 source: authors’ compilations (2017) 3.3 data collection in the first phase, semi-structured interview sessions were conducted with interviewees, individually, at different times. this phase was conducted as a pilot study to identify the cfss for sfm practice in a university context, hence the suitability of the utilisation of the number of interviewees. interview sessions were stopped upon attainment of theoretical saturation (fusch & ness, 2015: 1409-1410; guest, bunce & johnson, 2006: 60-62). questions asked during these interview sessions focused on the elicitation of interviewees’ perception concerning the success factors against which sfm practice performance in the university can be benchmarked. these interviews lasted for an average of between 30 and 45 minutes each. with the permission of interviewees, the sessions were recorded and subsequently transcribed. for reasons awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 115 bordering on confidentiality, the names of the interviewees were anonymised using relevant codes. the second phase of this study was predicated on the findings of the thematic analysis of the results generated from the first phase (see table 4). in this phase, the need to obtain perspectives of a larger sample of stakeholders within the ssa region prompted the decision of the authors to develop a structured questionnaire for conducting a survey of stakeholders within the study context. in preparing the questionnaire, the guidelines presented by choi and pwak (2005) were adopted to eliminate respondents’ bias. these guidelines indicate how the researcher can prevent respondent bias through proper question and questionnaire design as well as during the administration of the questionnaire (choi & pwak, 2005: 1-13). the questionnaire consisted of four parts. the first section contained a bio-data section with questions pertaining to the respondent’s attributes. questions in the second section dwelt on establishing the respondent’s level of understanding of sustainability, sustainable development, facilities management and sustainable facilities management. the third section covered questions regarding the respondent’s perception of sustainable facilities management implementation performance. lastly, section four encompassed a list of success factors identified from interview sessions conducted in the preliminary study. however, it should be noted that only data from sections 1 and 4 was utilised for this study. the questionnaire was intended for the wider study. in section 4, the respondents were expected to indicate the success factors that were critical to optimal sfm performance, based on a 5-point likert scale measurement ranging from 1 to 5. 3.4 response rate a total number of 141 responses were collated. this represented a response rate of 65.58%. although this number was unevenly spread among the stakeholder groups present within universities (see table 3), it was deemed sufficient for the study. thereafter, returned questionnaires were checked for completeness. it was discovered that 28 questionnaires were not completed and did not add value to the objective of the data-collection exercise. this left the authors with a balance of 113 usable questionnaires. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 116 3.5 data analysis in analysing the qualitative data, the authors relied on the preset themes deduced from the list of barriers mentioned in table 1. the transcripts were read and re-read severally by the authors, independently. consequently, they coded aspects of the manuscripts and jointly compared the codes. emergent themes surfaced during the comparing of notes between them. this led to the determination of csfs for sfm practice in universities. this speaks to the benefits accruable from multi-investigator triangulation, as espoused by patton (1999: 1192-1193). in the second phase, the responses obtained from the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics approach the mean item score (mis). this approach was deemed appropriate for achieving the study’s objective which was to assess and rank the perceptions of university stakeholders on the various csfs for sfm practice identified previously. according to audu and kolo (2007: 124), mis entails the process of assigning numerical values to respondents’ ratings of variable’s importance, for example very high influence (5 points), high influence (4 points), in this order. the mis of every importance was computed using equation (1) ms =∑ (fxs) n 1≤ms≤5 ............................................................................... (1) where: s = the score assigned to each factor by the respondents, it ranges in dependent on the ordinal scale in use (in this case 1-5) f = frequency of responses to each rating (1-5) n = total number of responses in the respective score. table 4 presents the mis ranking, based on stakeholders’ perceptions, as reflected on a 5-point likert scale measurement where 1 indicates not important, 2 indicates rarely important, 3 indicates neutral, 4 indicates important, and 5 indicates very important. 4. presentation of findings the findings from the first phase of the study are presented in table 4, and the findings from the second phase of the study are presented in table 5. awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 117 table 4: list of csfs identified from the interviews csf category csfs identified interviewees (codes) knowledge-related/ authority-related establishment of proper framework for sharing sd-based knowledge between various stakeholders within the university cidp, slas, las, acow, sm knowledge-related/ management-related consultative forums to debate new developments and for the development of sd-based knowledge within the university cidp, slas, las, pgs, sm knowledge-related improved face-to-face communication about the use of facilities us, pgs, slas, sm, acow knowledge-related effective information systems to provide up-to-date information on the use of existing and new structures slas, dfm, cidp, las knowledge-related/ management-related proper communication of the university’s sd policy guidelines, if any, to various stakeholders within the university cidp, slas, sm, cow, dfm, us, pgs knowledge-related/ capability-related constant site meetings with contractors and fm department to share lessons learnt as it pertains to sd in their respective projects dfm, cidp, cow, fc, scc, knowledge-related/ management-related presence of a well-articulated fm plan for specified intervals cidp, slas, las, sm authority-related/ management-related integration of smart and sustainable fm principles into planning stages for the procurement of new infrastructure projects as well as maintenance at the university dfm, cidp knowledge-related development and dissemination of a set of clear sd policy guidelines to be adopted in the maintenance and delivery of infrastructure projects. cidp, slas, sm management-related/ authority-related provision of incentives for proper use of workspaces and other types of building stock slas, las, sm, cidp authority-related/ capability-related. demand for adherence to the tenets of the sd agenda in the selection of supply chain members (sustainable procurement) cidp, dfm, fc, scc capability-related csfs provision of financial and organisational support for knowledge and capability development workshops on sd within the fm department sm, slas acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 118 csf category csfs identified interviewees (codes) capability-related presence of required competencies for delivering on smart and sustainable fm cidp, slas, las, capability-related/ authority-related/ management-related presence of a sustainability champion cidp capability-related use of appropriate contracting strategy for project delivery and maintenance cidp, dfm capability-related/ authority-related adoption of a set of standards to ensure compliance by end users and contractors alike. cidp authority-related/ capability-related early engagement of contractors during the procurement of new infrastructure or during the planned phased maintenance of existing building stock cidp, dfm capability-related development of a skills database for the institution’s supply chain cow, cidp, dfm management-related adequate timespan for the budget implementation dfm, cidp management-related adequate funding dfm, cidp, slas source: authors’ compilation (2016) based on the findings from the interview sessions, a list of 20 csfs for sfm practice in universities was identified (see table 4). some csfs, which did not form part of the initial pre-set themes identified prior to the commencement of the interview sessions, were also realised from the data. whilst efforts were made to group these csfs as mentioned previously, it was discovered that the majority of csfs identified, overlapped. going by the csfs listed therein, the absence of a consensus among all stakeholders on what the csfs for sfm entailed, was observed. from the data, it was obvious that stakeholders were only interested in csfs from which they were able to derive benefits. this culminated in the decision of the authors to assess and rank these identified csfs from the viewpoints of an enlarged stakeholder audience. the results from this exercise are reported in table 5. awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 119 ta b le 5 : ra nk in g o f c rit ic a l s uc c e ss fa c to rs fo r s us ta in a b le fa c ilit ie s m a na g e m e nt b y st a ke ho ld e rs c rit ic a l s uc c e ss fa c to rs m a na g e m e nt a c a d e m ic st a ff su p p o rt st a ff st ud e nt c o nt ra c to r (s up p lie r) su m m a ry mean rank mean rank mean rank mean rank mean rank mean rank w e lla rt ic ul a te d f m p la n fo r s p e c ifi e d in te rv a l 3. 81 10 3. 74 10 4. 67 1 3. 50 11 4. 22 4 3. 98 1 a d he re nc e t o t he t e ne ts o f t he s d a g e nd a ( su p p ly c ha in ) 4. 13 2 3. 26 18 4. 38 3 4. 08 5 4. 11 6 3. 98 1 c le a r s d p o lic y fo r d e liv e ry a nd m a in te na nc e o f p ro je c ts 4. 37 1 3. 09 19 4. 38 3 3. 69 9 4. 33 2 3. 95 3 ef fe c tiv e c o m m un ic a tio n sy st e m o n ne w fa c ilit ie s/ b ui lt a ss e ts 3. 06 18 4. 74 1 3. 00 18 4. 04 6 4. 15 5 3. 93 4 pr e se nc e o f a s us ta in a b ilit y c ha m p io n 4. 13 2 3. 83 8 3. 76 11 4. 27 2 3. 59 14 3. 90 5 d e ve lo p m e nt o f a s ki lls d a ta b a se fo r s up p ly c ha in 3. 94 7 3. 30 17 4. 48 2 3. 88 8 3. 89 10 3. 88 6 c o m p e te nc ie s fo r d e liv e rin g o n sm a rt a nd s us ta in a b le f m 4. 00 6 3. 83 8 3. 95 7 3. 58 10 4. 07 8 3. 83 7 a d e q ua te fu nd in g 3. 88 8 4. 22 3 3. 24 17 3. 12 18 4. 63 1 3. 83 7 im p ro ve d c o m m un ic a tio n o n fa c ilit ie s 3. 50 12 3. 52 14 4. 14 6 3. 92 7 3. 33 17 3. 77 9 su p p o rt fo r k no w le d g e a nd c a p a c ity d e ve lo p m e nt o n sd 4. 13 2 4. 17 4 3. 43 15 3. 31 15 3. 70 13 3. 72 10 ea rly in te g ra te d s m a rt a nd s us ta in a b le p rin c ip le 3. 44 13 3. 65 11 3. 57 12 3. 42 12 4. 33 2 3. 70 11 a p p ro p ria te c o nt ra c tin g s tr a te g y fo r p ro je c t d e liv e ry 3. 44 13 3. 65 11 3. 57 12 3. 42 12 4. 11 6 3. 66 12 in c e nt iv e fo r p ro p e r u se o f w o rk s p a c e 3. 13 17 4. 00 5 3. 33 16 4. 12 4 3. 48 15 3. 65 13 a d o p tio n o f a s e t o f s ta nd a rd s to e ns ur e c o m p lia nc e 3. 44 13 3. 48 15 3. 86 8 3. 27 16 3. 96 9 3. 61 14 pr o p e r c o m m un ic a tio n o f s d p o lic y 3. 88 8 3. 91 6 2. 71 20 4. 54 1 2. 89 19 3. 58 15 a d e q ua te t im e sp a n fo r t he b ud g e t im p le m e nt a tio n 3. 31 16 3. 39 16 3. 81 10 3. 19 17 3. 85 12 3. 52 16 c o ns ul ta tiv e fo ru m fo r n e w d e ve lo p m e nt d e b a te 4. 06 5 3. 91 6 2. 71 19 4. 23 3 2. 70 20 3. 50 17 fr a m e w o rk fo r k no w le d g e s ha rin g 2. 88 19 4. 65 2 3. 86 8 2. 88 20 2. 93 18 3. 43 18 ea rly e ng a g e m e nt o f c o nt ra c to rs d ur in g t he p ro c ur e m e nt 2. 75 20 3. 00 20 4. 38 3 2. 96 19 3. 89 10 3. 42 18 c o ns ta nt s ite m e e tin g w ith c o nt ra c to rs a nd f m s ta ff 3. 63 11 3. 61 13 3. 52 14 3. 38 14 3. 41 16 3. 37 20 so ur c e : a ut ho rs ’ o w n c o m p ila tio n (2 01 7) acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 120 table 5 is self-explanatory and details the various mean item scores ascribed to each of the 20 csfs, as ranked by respondents. the first column provides the list of csfs, whereas the succeeding columns present both the mean item scores and ranks given by respondents from each stakeholder group for these csfs. the last columns, entitled summary, provide an aggregation of the entire mis and ranking of the csfs as carried out by the various stakeholder groups surveyed. from the rankings, the presence of a well-articulated fm plan for a particular duration was deemed as the most significant csf for engendering sfm practice in universities in the ssa region, whereas constant site meetings with contractors and fm staff was ranked as the least csf by the stakeholders. 5. discussion of findings discussions will seek to focus on the perceptions and the ranking accorded to the csfs by the respective stakeholder groups involved in the study. it is expected that the discussions therein will provide readers with an insight into the rationale behind the ranking of the csfs. 5.1 management staff perspective in the study, management staff are considered to consist of staff members who carry out administrative responsibilities in the university system. they can be situated at any position between the middle management and the strategic management ends of the continuum. this cadre of staff are responsible for the daily running of the university and the formulation of policy. such policies will usually consist of the sd plan and the associated implementation framework. studies have shown that this stakeholder category remain pivotal to the success or otherwise of the sfm practice in organizations such as universities (elmualim et al., 2010: 57). the position of these scholars was further alluded to by several interviewees during the interview process, as presented in table 4. however, when asked to assess and rank the identified csfs, the respondents from the management stakeholder group ranked the presence of clear sd policy for delivery and maintenance of projects, the presence of a sustainability champion in strategic management cadre, and support for knowledge and capacity development on sd in first and joint second positions, respectively. they also ranked the early engagement of contractors as the least csf for ensuring sfm practice in their universities. awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 121 yet a closer observation of the operational structure of the majority of the universities, from which the respondents were sourced, indicates the absence of sustainability managers or champions at the strategic level. whilst some institutions have closed down the position as a result of cost-containment measures, others have not allowed such a position to thrive. in addition, the absence of clear and explicit sd-oriented policy guidelines was observed in a majority of these institutions. a cursory review of documents made available to the authors and commentaries from the interviewees showed a clear lack of such policies at the university level. the development and dissemination of this document happens to be the exclusive preserve of the management staff. whilst it is good to note that the respondents consider these csfs as central to optimal sfm practice, it behoves them to carry on with the development of these policies and guidelines, as this will not only assist the institution of sfm practice, but also engender enhanced institutional contribution towards sd. 5.2 academic staff perspective the core activity of universities worldwide revolves around knowledge creation and dissemination through teaching and learning as well as research activities (lukman & glavič, 2007: 107-110). therefore, for this category of stakeholders, their interest lies in the provision of a conducive environment for them to function along these enunciated roles. they will also expect their research outcomes to be implemented in the university’s drive for su status through improved sfm practice. therefore, it is not surprising that respondents in this category will ascribe the first and second position to ‘effective communication system on new structure’ and ‘the presence of a framework for knowledge sharing’ among constituents of the university community. this was the case in this study. furthermore, their non-involvement in the procurement processes in the university is observed from their ranking of the csfs bothering on procurement of built assets and their subsequent maintenance. for instance, they ranked ‘clear sd policy for delivery and maintenance of projects’ and ‘early engagement of contractors during the procurement’ in position 19 and 20, respectively. accordingly, the ranking of the csfs for sfm from an academic staff perspective, as presented in the findings, appears justifiable. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 122 5.3 support staff perspective as mentioned in the preceding section, the provision of support for the conduct of core activities in organisations such as universities through the management of non-core activities is not only imperative, but also viewed as the central role of fm and sfm (amaratunga & baldry, 2000: 293). stakeholders grouped under this category participate in the provision of these non-core activities. accordingly, their views are critical to the enthronement of optimal sfm in the university. as part of the facilities and services delivery team in a university’s operational apparatus, they interface with suppliers and contractors during the project-delivery and maintenance cycle. apparently, this justifies their proclivity to ranking csfs pertaining to maintenance of assets higher than others. based on the available data sets and the mis computed and highlighted in table 5, respondents within this stakeholder group ranked csfs ‘well-articulated fm plan for specified interval’, ‘development of a skills database for supply chain’ and ‘early engagement of contractors during the procurement’ in the first, second and third positions. interestingly, the csf pertaining to the ‘choice of an appropriate contracting strategy’ ranked a dismal 12th position despite being within the purview of the support staff. perhaps, this may have resulted from the manner in which the procurement of projects is alleged to have been carried out, wherein the management staff have full control over the choice of contracting strategy without input from the designated support staff. this much was obtained during the interview sessions. yet, much of the perspectives espoused through the ranking by this stakeholder group seem to be valid. 5.4 student perspective students make up a significant proportion of the university community population (nejati & nejati, 2013: 102). besides this, this era of increasing cost of education at the tertiary level and attendant degree of unaffordability among many of the urban populace make the provision of facilities that are apt for scholarship in these institutions, essential. views held by students cannot be overlooked (price et al., 2003: 213). although an effort was made to get across to a larger sample of the student population during the respondent recruitment exercise, the respective gatekeepers reported a lack of interest on the part of the students to complete the questionnaires. whilst this apathy can be attributed to the low levels of awareness concerning sustainability and sd among these students, as reported awuzie & isa • stakeholders’ perception of critical success factors ... 123 in the findings made by escrigas et al. (2011: 67), it is beyond the remit of this study to proceed with an investigation along this route. unsurprisingly, the students ranked ‘efficient communication of sd policy within their institutions’ as being cardinal to the successful implementation of sfm practice in their institutions. obviously, this cannot be farther from the truth, as these sets of individuals require information concerning what sustainability and sd connotes in order to be able to contribute to its attainment during their interaction with the built assets, waste disposal systems and green areas in their respective campuses. yet, it is befuddling to observe from the ranking that the students who have so highly rated the need for effective communication will turn around to rate the presence of a knowledge-sharing framework as the least ranked csf. it is expected that this aspect will be investigated further. 5.5 contractors/supplier perspective contractors and suppliers play a significant role in the delivery of fm-related services in universities, hence their inclusion in the interviews and surveys thereafter. it goes without saying that any attempt at securing a transformation towards sfm practice and, eventually, an su status will entail the transformation of the fm supply chain towards sd-oriented tenets. according to the responses obtained from respondents from this stakeholder group, ‘adequate funding’ was ranked in the first position. this is typical of the contractors and suppliers, as the issue of funding remains critical to them. the ranking of csfs such as ‘clear sd policy for delivery and maintenance of projects’ and ‘early integrated smart and sustainable principle’ in joint second position does not come as a surprise, as this group of stakeholders usually seek clarity of specifications at an early stage as well as certainty of workflow over a defined period to enable them to plan accordingly. yet, the poor ranks allotted to csfs such as ‘presence of an sd knowledge-sharing framework’, ‘proper communication of sd strategy’ and ‘the establishment of a consultative forum for debate on new development’ by these respondents leaves room for more in-depth studies into the probable causes of such perceptions. it is obvious that, with the exception of a few cases, a significant number of respondents promoted aspects of sfm csfs which they considered to be critical to their performance or success. this is not unexpected. however, the aggregation of these perceptions vis-àvis the ranking indicated in the last two columns provides a veritable platform for the development of an sfm implementation framework acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 124 in universities in the sub-saharan africa context. the reason for this is that the ranks accorded to the various csfs will enable strategic facilities managers operating within this context to prioritise during the development of this framework for optimal sfm performance, directly, and the attainment of su status in their respective universities, indirectly. 6. concluding remarks the potential of universities to contribute towards the actualisation of society’s sd aspirations has been observed. the adoption of sfm practice has been identified as capable of making significant contributions towards achieving this feat. but, a review of relevant literature also revealed that this aspect was being undermined by universities worldwide in comparison to the aspects of teaching and learning as well as research. opinions had been expressed concerning this deficiency, wherein several commentators have sought to blame the absence of success factors and criteria for assessing the integration of sd ethos into operational aspects of university activities, particularly, facilities management. buoyed by this observation and associated commentaries, this study set out to contribute towards bridging this gap by identifying and assessing the csfs for engendering sfm in these universities from the perspectives of relevant stakeholders. the study achieved its objective through an overt reliance on a sequential mixed method research design. whereas semi-structured interviews were used to elicit data in the first phase, the use of email-based questionnaires was utilised in the second phase. data resulting from the first phase was used to develop questionnaires for the second phase, thus indicating complementarity. data sets from the second phase were categorised according to the perceptions of the individual stakeholder groups initially, prior to the subsequent aggregation of the perceptions of these stakeholder groups into a unified set of csfs with their associated ranking. the ‘presence of a well-articulated fm plan for a specified interval’ and ‘adherence to the tenets of the sd agenda (supply chain)’ ranked as joint 1st csfs for sfm, whereas ‘constant site meeting with contractors and fm staff’ ranked the least. summarily, this study provides a platform for further studies into the concept of sfm in 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vosloo & tinus maritz oorsigtelike artikels • review articles landscaping: an analysis of current contracting processes and documentation peer reviewed abstract landscape work, forms an integral part of most land development projects, whether they are building works or civil works. environmental protection, reha bilitation and landscape beautification are nowadays considered essential aspects in land developments. building contracts for the construction industry have been developed over many years through the changing needs of clients and contractors, new levels of technological skills and development of new materials and construction methods. however, the varied nature and wide scope of landscape projects often make them difficult to be reconciled with standard forms of contract commonly in use in the construction industry. this article reviews the problem areas in the field of landscape contracting and landscape maintenance brought about by a lack of suitable forms of landscape contracts/subcontracts. standard forms of contract generally do not allow for the circumstances that are unique to landscape contracting, and this short coming is regarded as a serious problem facing the landscape industry. this article will, therefore, also attempt to address the issue of how to effectively reconcile landscape work with standard forms of contract that are generally in use in south africa, all of which have been written specifically for building or civil works type projects. keywords: procurement, building contracts/subcontracts, model documenta tion, landscape projects piet vosloo, senior lecturer, department of architecture, university of pretoria, south africa. tel: +27 12 420 4128, email: <piet.vosloo@up.ac.za>. prof. tinus maritz, associate professor, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. tel: +27 12 420 2584, email: <tinus.maritz@ up.ac.za>. 43 vosloo & maritz • landscaping abstrak landskapwerk vorm ’n integrale deel van die meeste grondontwikkelings projekte, hetsy bouwerk of siviele konstruksiewerk. omgewingsbewaring en rehabilitasie asook landskapverfraaiing word deesdae as onontbeerlike aspekte van ontwikkelingsprojekte geag. boukontrakte vir die konstruksiebedryf is oor baie jare ontwikkel in reaksie op veranderende behoeftes van bouhere en aannemers, nuwe vlakke van teg nologiese vaardighede en die ontwikkeling van nuwe materiale en boume todes. die wyduiteenlopende aard en omvang van landskapprojekte maak hulle egter dikwels moeilik versoenbaar met die standaard kontrakvorms wat algemeen in die konstruksiebedryf gebruik word. hierdie artikel bied ’n oorsig oor die probleemareas in die veld van landskap kontraktering en landskaponderhoud wat ontstaan as gevolg van ’n gebrek aan geskikte kontrak en onderkontrakvorms. standaard kontrakvorms laat gewoonlik nie toe vir die omstandighede wat eie is aan landskapkontrakte ring nie, en hierdie tekortkoming word beskou as ’n ernstige probleem wat die landskapbedryf in die gesig staar. in hierdie artikel word die saak aan gespreek hoe om landskapwerk effektief te versoen met kontrakvorms wat algemeen in suid afrika gebruik word, maar wat almal geskryf is spesifiek vir bou en siviele werk projekte. sleutelwoorde: verkryging, boukontrakte/ onderkontrakte, modeldokumentasie, landskapprojekte 44 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 1. introduction pleasant visual effects created by a landscaped environmentcan lead to an increased attractiveness to developers, tenantsand buyers, which in turn can lead to increased profitability for the building owner. it has become the norm in south africa for office developments in particular to be set in an extensively landscaped environment and for such landscapes to be maintained at a high level. landscape work has also over time become specific ‘specialist’ work and within the south african context, since 1935 has evolved into an industry with a turnover of r1.314 billion in 1999 (staples, 1999) – employing approximately 160 000 people. the way that the formalised building industry structures and regulates itself has led to specialist subcontractors, such as landscape contractors, being involved in an ever-increasing way. however, through expedience and a lack of widely accepted alternative forms of contract, the contractual systems developed for building work have been and are still widely used for landscape work. the intrinsic differences of working with live plant material, as opposed to the inanimate components in all other building trades, render the forms of contract and subcontracts typically used in the construction industry in south africa1 to some extent unsuitable for landscape work, which can lead to financial disadvantages for clients, consultants, main contractors or specialist subcontractors. 1 focus group 6 of the interministerial task team for construction industry develop ment recommended that only the following forms of contract be used in south africa to comply with the provisions of best practice #2: features of a modern form of engineering and construction contract. these are: 1. fidic (french acronym for international federation of consulting engineers) 1999 2. the general conditions of contract for construction works (gcc) 2004 (in corporating colto general conditions of contract for road and bridge works for state road authorities 1998) 3. the joint building contracts committee (jbcc series 2000) 4. the new engineering contract (nec also referred to as the engineering and construction contract ecc). whereas the joint building contracts committee (jbcc), which has been developed in south africa to suite local practices, is the preferred contract documentation system in the building industry for private projects, it does not have any representation from an organised landscape contractors’ body such as the south african landscapers institute (sali) or the institute of landscape architects of south africa (ilasa). the fact that the majority of large landscaping projects, i.e. commercial or industrial projects, are tied to the jbcc system exacerbates the problems experienced when using inappropriate forms of contract for landscaping. 2. definition of terms 2.1 pre-main contract the term is used to describe those contracts that are entered into between a landscape contractor and the client for certain work to be done before and in anticipation of a main contractor to be appointed to undertake the bulk of the development project. premain contracts typically include growing contracts to ensure the required number and species of planting will be available to be used in the main contract, environmental protection and rehabilitation work, and relocation and protection of existing flora. 2.2 in-main contract the term is used to describe those landscape contracts that are entered into between the landscape contractor or subcontractor and the client or the main contractor during the duration of the main project construction contract. 2.3 post-main contract the term is used to describe those contracts that are entered into between the client and the landscape contractor for landscape work to be done after the main contractor, usually a building or civil works contractor, has completed the principal construction contract and it becomes difficult for him to have the landscape subcontractor under his control for an extended period normally not allowed for in the form of principal contract agreement. 45 vosloo & maritz • landscaping 3. a brief overview of the model forms of contract recommended for use in south africa in the south african institute of architects’ practice note no. 1/1999 (saia, 1999) the advantages of using pro-forma contract documentation are spelled out as follows: the advantage of using model documentation is that there is a fair distribution of risk between the parties to the agree ment. a further advantage is that the parties become familiar with their obligations and are in a position to enter into the building agreement with confidence. however, the green paper on public sector procurement reform in south africa (1997) made the observation that there is little uniformity in contract documentation and delivery systems in south africa. in works contracts, the tendency is to follow the recommendations laid down by professional associations and learned societies and to utilise standard industry documents and systems, which are adapted to suite the need, style and culture of the organisation calling for bids. consequently the focus group 6 on procurement of the interministerial task team on construction industry development (2000) recommended that the public sector should procure engineering and construction works in terms of a limited range of standard and approved procurement documents (see footnote 1). to assist clients and their consultants in selecting an appropriate form of contract, the construction industry development board (cidb) has identified in its best practice guideline c2 (2004: 11-12) the following factors to take into account: • the complexity of the works; • management capacity, capabilities and expectation of the parties and their agents; • requirements for specific contracting and pricing strategies, viz: ° construction management; ° management contract; ° design and build; ° develop and construct; ° activity schedules; 46 acta structilia 2005:12(2) ° bills of quantities; ° cost reimbursable; ° target cost; and ° partnering; • requirements relating to: ° the assignment / management of risk; ° back to back contracts for the engagement of all types of subcontractors; and ° the management of cost and time overruns; • the ability and capacity within the client body to handle different administrative procedures for building and civil engineering contracts, e.g. the use of jbcc on building contracts and gcc / fidic on civil engineering contracts; and • training requirements. figure 1 illustrates the logic to be followed in deciding which form of contract within a series is required for a specific application. choosing the right form of contract is a strategic decision that an organisation needs to make. there can be little doubt that the reduction in the prolific number of forms of contract in use in south africa to the abovementioned four series of documents will assist in the elimination of many of the inefficiencies and losses associated with having to interpret the many varied approaches used to establish the risks, liabilities and obligations of the parties to a contract and the administration procedures associated therewith. the nec and fidic families of contract documents are international series of documents that can be used on all types of engineering and construction contracts. the gcc and jbcc forms of contract, however, have been developed in south africa, and are confined to civil engineering and building works, respectively. these series of documents, with the exception of the gcc, all contain short versions of engineering and construction works contracts, and collectively cover the commonly encountered contracting strategies that are currently being pursued internationally. 47 vosloo & maritz • landscaping 3.1 an overview of the jbcc series 2000 suite of documents the jbcc was founded in 1972 and is supported by all the major professional and contracting bodies in the building industry in south africa. the constituent bodies that form the jbcc are: • association of construction project managers (acpm); • association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs); • master builders south africa (mbsa); • south african association of consulting engineers (saace); 48 acta structilia 2005:12(2) figure 1: the selection of an appropriate form of contract for engineering and construction works source: cidb best practice guideline c2, 2004: 13 49 vosloo & maritz • landscaping • south african institute of architects (saia); • south african property owners association (sapoa); and • specialist engineering contractors committee (secc). the jbcc documents were first published in 1991 and were replaced by the series 2000 published in 1998. the jbcc documents are compiled in the interests of standardisation and portray the consensus view of the jbcc of good practice and an equitable distribution of contractual risk. the documents are intended to provide a clear, balanced and enforceable set of procedures, rights and obligations, which when competently managed and administered, protect the employer, contractor and subcontractor alike. the principal building agreement is the cornerstone of the jbcc series 2000 document range, and also contains standard provisions to cater for the requirements commonly associated with government contracts. 3.1.1 the jbcc minor works agreement the jbcc minor works form of contract is aimed at projects that are comparatively small in extent, uncomplicated and where less sophisticated contractors with a low capital base can be accommodated. the agreement is designed for use where: • the contract is for minor works of simple content; • the employer appoints only a principal agent to administer the contract; and • the employer appoints direct contractors for specialised work or installations not to be undertaken by the contractor. the agreement is suitable but not limited for use where the contractor is a small to medium enterprise, the employer carries the major liabilities related to the works, and the employer is responsible for the primary insurances related to the works. 3.1.2 using the jbcc agreements for landscaping work the jbcc agreements make full provision for subcontracting, whether for the contractor’s domestic subcontracts, nominated/selected subcontracts or direct contracts. the contracts within its family of contracts suited to landscape work are: • the jbcc nominated/selected subcontract agreement for use between a main contractor and the subcontractor. the same form of agreement is used for both nominated and selected subcontracts, as the contractual relationship between the contractor and the subcontractor is the same whether the subcontractor is nominated or selected. the differences are dealt with in the principal agreement, as they effect the contractor’s liability to the employer for the consequences of the subcontractor’s default or insolvency; and • the jbcc minor works agreement that is a form of contract suitable for a direct contract between the employer and contractor/subcontractor for the landscape works. it can be used with the principal building agreement as a direct contract in terms of clause 22: employer’s direct contractors, or as an independent direct contract on its own, or in conjunction with other subcontracts all using the same form of contract. the principal agent administers the contract, or can delegate certain of his duties to other agents, e.g. an architect or landscape architect, to act on his behalf. 3.2 an overview of the gcc 2004 contract the foreword of the abovementioned document states that the south african institution of civil engineering (saice) has a strong tradition of developing, publishing and maintaining forms of contract and has over several decades published six editions of the general conditions of contract for civil engineering works. the sixth edition, gcc 1990, was modified by the committee of land transport officials and republished by saice as the general conditions of contract for road and bridge works for state authorities (colto, 1998). the gcc 2004 contract replaced the gcc 1990 and colto 1998 contracts, but retains the language, style, ethos and current wording of these documents. it remains a form of contract primarily for use in contracts where the contractor undertakes construction on the basis of full designs issued by the employer and bills of quan50 acta structilia 2005:12(2) tities for payment purposes. it satisfies the cidb requirements for a standard form of contract, and is suitable for use in procurement documents that are prepared in accordance with the provisions of sans 10403, formatting and compilation of construction procurement documents. 3.2.1 using the gcc 2004 contract for landscaping work in the south african federation of civil engineering contractors’ newsletter no. 20/2004 (safcec, 2004) the following statements are made: colto 1998 is basically a revised version of the gcc 1990 document which incorporates certain standard amend ments previously issued together with the gcc 1990 by in dividual road authorities. there are, however, two issues which differ significantly between the two documents, namely the authority of the engineer and the status of the nominated/selected sub contractor. the colto document requires the engineer to act as the agent of the employer and does not make provision for a nominated subcontractor. the colto document was used as the point of departure, being the most recent edition, for the revision of the gcc 2004 contract and, therefore, follows closely the provisions of the equivalent subclauses of colto. as stated above, this had the result that the term “nominated subcontractor” has disappeared from the new document, being replaced by the term “selected subcontractor”. all subcontractors, such as for landscape work, will be appointed in terms of clause 6: subcontracting, the contractor being fully responsibility for their performance. it is important to note that under the gcc 1990 contract, the nominated subcontractor could be selected by either the engineer or the employer, whereas under the gcc 2004 contract, the appointment is the exclusive preserve of the contractor and the employer; the engineer now being precluded from participating in the selection process. there is no short form of contract as the procurement and delivery management panel resolved that the short conditions of contract (1996) for minor works be withdrawn. the engineer administers the contract, but can nominate a person as his representative, or can delegate certain of his duties to others, to act on his behalf. 51 vosloo & maritz • landscaping 3.3 an overview of the fidic family of contracts fidic was founded in belgium in 1913 and is an association of national member associations. at present membership is drawn from more than 60 countries, of which more than 10 are from africa – south africa being one of the early members. the documents prepared and published by fidic are widely used internationally, mostly for civil engineering and process plant projects. it includes both professional-driven and contractor design and construct variants. since its formation fidic has addressed a whole range of pro-fessional issues affecting consulting engineers, but it has become known outside that profession, particularly amongst client bodies, the international financing institutions, lawyers and contractors because of its work in preparing and publishing standard forms of contract, often referred to as the ‘fidic rainbow’. in 1999 fidic extended its ambit into other disciplines with the publication of first editions of a new family of contracts comprising four new standard forms of contract: • conditions of contract for construction; • conditions of contract for plant and design-build; • conditions of contract for epc / turnkey projects; and • short form of contract. in addition to the above documents fidic has produced a number of other documents for use by its members. these include: • tendering procedure; • model services agreement between employer and consultant; • joint venture agreement; • sub-consultancy agreement; and • various guides and supplements. 3.3.1 using the fidic contracts for landscaping work according to ahier (2004) the fidic short form of contract is particularly well-suited to small construction projects and landscaping work. being a member of the fidic family of standard form con52 acta structilia 2005:12(2) tracts it uses the same philosophy, format and terminology as other members of the family. it is basically a contract between the employer and the contractor with the provision of an employer’s representative, such as the architect/engineer, an optional extra. it also deals with the provision of design by the contractor, which is often the situation in landscaping contracts. the employer may administer the contract himself, or may delegate any of his actions to others, such as an architect or landscape architect, to act on his behalf. 3.4 an overview of the nec family of documents the nec family of documents is an integrated and multi-discipline set of contracts for engineering and construction projects covering both construction and the associated professional services. the documents were first conceived in 1985, when the council for the london institution of civil engineers (ice) approved a recommendation from its legal affairs committee to lead a fundamental review of alternative contract strategies, with the objective of identifying the needs for good practice. this recommendation arose out of the belief of many engineering and construction professionals that there was an urgent need for a whole new approach to contracting, in line with modern approaches to project management. a consultative version was published in 1991, which after use and feedback resulted in the issue of the first edition in 1993. the ice published a second edition in 1995, which incorporated refinements and changes prompted by comments from the industry and feedback from projects that had been executed under the first edition. the nec is the title for the complete family of documents that comprises: • engineering and construction contract (ecc) – the ‘black book’; • ecc guidance notes – the ‘brown book’; • engineering and construction subcontract; • flow charts; • main options a – f; • secondary options g – z; 53 vosloo & maritz • landscaping • nec professional services contract; • adjudicator’s contract; and • engineering and construction short contract (ecsc). the nec system is designed to be suitable for use anywhere in the world and by any organisation, whether public or private. 3.4.1 using the nec contracts for landscaping work according to baird (2004) the nec has four contracts within its family of eight contracts, suited to landscape work. they are: • nec engineering & construction short contract (ecsc) that would be used between an employer and contractor for the design and construction of typically straight forward work, which does not require a high degree of project management; • nec engineering & construction short subcontract (ecss) that is a back-to-back form of subcontract for use with the above document, when the landscaping contractor is required to subcontract any of the construction or installation work; • nec professional services contract (psc2) that is a form of contract suitable for the appointment of professionals of any discipline. this contract would be used on larger projects where a landscaping professional is appointed to carry out scheme design, and perform services for an employer on a fiduciary basis; and • nec term services contract (tsc1) that is a form of contract used by an employer with a contractor for the management and/or maintenance of an existing facility for a term of say two to five years. it also includes provision for a certain amount of design during that period. the form most likely to be used would be the ecsc. being a member of the nec family of standard form contracts it uses the same philosophy, format and terminology as other members of the family. a set of guidance notes and flow charts is also available to assist preparation and administration of contracts using the form, and its back-to-back subcontract, the ecss. 54 acta structilia 2005:12(2) r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & moritz o landsc aping as with the fidic contracts, the employer may himself administer the contract . or may delegate any of his a c tions to others. 4. problem areas en countered in landscape contracts in south africa the following problem areas con be identified in the field of landscape contracting and landsc ape maintenance: a lack of suitable forms of landscape contract. which. allow for the specific circumstances and problems encountered in the landscape industry in respect of pre-main contract, in-main contract and post-main contract landsc ape work refer to the definition of terms hereinotter; more specifically, there is a lock of suita ble forms of contrac t between a client and a landscape contractor for landscape work to be undertaken before a main building contractor is appointed and where such landscape contractor may eventually be a subcontractor to the main contractor for the further execution of the landscape work; there is also a lock or suitable forms of contract between a main contractor and a landscape subcontractor. such contrac ts should however be compatible with the standard construction industry forms or contract generally in use; the lock or suitable forms of contrac t between an employer and a landscape contractor for continuing landscape maintenance and development work to be done after the main building works c ontract. in which the landscape contractor was a selected or nominated subcontractor. in the absence of a landscape maintenance programme. embodied in on appropriate form of contract between the employer and the landscape contractor. the value or cost of the original landscape installation con be negated within a single season: the c urre nt jbcc and similar forms of subcontrac t between a main building or civil works contractor and a landscape su bcon tractor do nof cater for the specific circumstances and problems pertaining to landscape work. an example that con be given is the issue of interim landscape main55 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) acta structilio 2005: i 2{2) tenonce to be done before practical completion has been certified: the current jbcc and similar forms of contract between on employer and a main controct0< and between the main contrac tor and his landscape subcontractor do not allow for the continuation of landscape maintenance work between pra ctical completion and the end of the defects liability period nor ofter the defects liability period had ended: the landscape subcontractor having to complete his work in areas already in use by the employer; and financial implications for the employer and main contractor when only the landscape portion of work is incomplete and which delays the issue of the practical completion certificate. this issue becomes pertinent if the value of the outstanding landsc ape work is very smoll against the loss of income for the employer a nd late completion penalties for the c ontractor. 5. proposed conceptual contractual systems for the landscaping industry in south africa 5.1 pre-main landscape contracts the landscape contractor may be appointed by the employer to do certain work. before a main c on trac tor is employed. for the following purposes: o pre-main contract growing or procurement of plant material; and pre-main contract removal, reloc ation and conservation of o n-site flora and other natural features. the awarding of one or both of these contracts to a specific landscape contractor does not necessarily imply that this contractor will be awarded the landscape installation or construction contract. which normally is associated with the main project construc tion contract. for any of these pre-main contracts, the landscape contrac tor will most often enter into a direct contract with .the employer under 56 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & moritz • landscaping the direction of the projec t manager and/or landscape architect on the employer's behalf. the lotter will undertake work inspections and issue payment certificates. 5.1. 1 growing contracts the objectives o f o growing contract could be one or more of the followi ng : to procure or collect the specified plant species at o lower cos t, soy due to their smaller size. than that of the some species obtainable in retail nurseries shortly prior t o their being planted; to hove the correct species and required number of plants a vailable at the specified time : to hove plants at the req uired size a vailable of the specified time; • to hove the plants a cclimatised to the intended planting conditions: and to provide replacement stock for landscape maintenance on big contracts. in a growing contract the conditions that will require special attention ore: transfer of ownership: work/ material insurance: guarantees/ liability for planting material ceases on a c ceptance of material by the in-main co ntract landscape c ontrac tor: and · • payment conditions costs o f procurement and plant growing/maintenance costs. in the technica l specific ations of q growing contract t he essentia l issues to be addressed include: the size plants that will be required on d elivery dote: specific growing co 0 nditions for plants t o be cold acclimatised; and 57 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) acta structilio 2005:12(2) specific horticultural requirements. such as pruning. root development, propagation methods, regular replanting to bigger containers and fertilizing. 5. 1.2 conservation contracts the objectives of a conservation contract c ould include: to conserve existing flora under threat of building/construction ac tivities; to relocate. maintain and rep lant existing flora; o to propagate rare endemic species from those that hove to be reloc ated to allow building i civil works a c tivities; and to c reate site conditions before and during site co nstructions that would prevent environmental degradation such as: 0 0 0 0 0 plant cover loss: soil erosion; sedimentation of water bodies and courses; lowering of water quality: and increase in stormwater runoff. the following aspects of a conservation contract need to be addressed by means o f appropriate contract conditions: where necessary, the transfer of ownership of plant material to be relocated: · work/material insurance; guarantees/liabilities for plant material relocated . conserved and replanted; and payment conditions. in the technical specifications of a conservation contract the essential issues to be addressed should include: 58 authorisations or permits to be obtained from provincia l government to remove and tronsp6rt specified rare endemic species covered by law; and r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & moritz • landscaping specific horticultural requirements of existing flora. such as pruning. root development, propagation and regular replanting to bigger containers. 5.2 in-main landscape contracts the types of contracts entered into for landscaping work to be undertaken during the period that the main building or c ivil works contract is executed can be divided into: • direc t contrac t between the client and landscape contractor; nominated or selected landscape subcontract between main contra c tor and landscape su bcontractor; and domestic subcontract between main contractor and landscape subcontractor. any in-main landscape contract should recognise in its intent and clauses that the installation of the landscape is the first of o two-part p rocess and should allow for o smooth and practical tran sition to a landscape maintenanc e contract being implemented afterwords. 5.2.1 direct contract between the client and landscape contractor this type of contrac t requires the landscape contractor to enter into o contrac t directly with the client. and not through any main contrac tor. although. normally, a m ain cont rac tor would be working on the site at the some time. the purpose of suc h a c ontract would be for the client to contract directly w ith a landscape subcontractor. · the adva ntages of this form o f contrac t are: for the c lient: no mark up. or attendance. on the landscape co ntrac tor by the main contra ctor; for the client: this contract c on easily be an extension of a pre-main contract; and • for the landscape contractor: d irect and earlier payment of monies certified. 59 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) acta structilia 2005: 12(2) the disadvantages of this form of contract are: there is normally no contra-responsibility between the main building o r civil contractor and the landscape con tractor. however, it is possible to make reference and state responsibilities in one contract to the other; it con be difficult to prove liability or responsibility for damages to landscape work caused by other con trac t ors working in t he same areas due to the nature and timing of landscape work in typical commercial type developments. because of the absence of co-responsibility brought about through a main and subcontractor relationship. the various contractors often do not display due care and consideration for the landscape work in progress. examples include trenching through landscaped areas. trampling newly planted shrub beds, and damaging irrigation pipe lines: and ~ for the landscape architect administering the contract on behalf of the client. it creates on undefined, difficult and time-consuming relationship between himself and other consu ltants such as the client's princ ipal agent, architect or project manager. the con trac tor should also be mode aware at tender stage of the fac t that other controcto r( s) w ill be working si multaneously in the some area. the tender documentation could provide on item to be priced by the landscape contractor to allow for this situation and possible ramific ations. 5 .2.2 nominated i selected landscape subcontract the use of nominated i selected subcontracts is very common on larger type construction contracts in south africa. in this regard finsen ( 1999: l 17 118) no tes that 60 emplo yers sow the opportunity of gettin g the best of both worlds. and the nominate d subcontrod was introdu c ed which enabled /he employer lo hove the benefit of a princ ipal c ontrac tor to control the entire building operation fond to assume the risks that went with it) while ye/ b eing able themselves to choose specific subcontrac tors lo und ertake specific work ... r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo &. moritz o landscaping the objective of the nom ina ted/selected landscape subcontract is to facmtate landscape work on a construction project, and where the agreement is made between the main contrac tor and the landscap e subcontractor. in this case it is the m a in contrac tor that desires the landscape subcontractor to execut e the la ndscape subcontract works. but normally under the direction and supervision of the landscape architect. with this form of contract the main building/civil contractor on the instruction o f the client's principal agent. typically the project manager. architect, or occasionally the landscape arc hitect. appoints the landscape contractor. the form of contract most commonly used between main contractors and landscape subcontractors in south africa is the jbcc. it should be note d that according to the jbcc nominated/selected subcontrac t agreement only the main con tractor and principal agent may issue instructions to a subcontrac tor. this has the e ffect tha t a consultant such as the land scape architect may not issue instructions direct to the land scape subcontractor. the principal a gent may however delegate this authority to the landscape architect. it is a recommended practice to have the main contractor countersig n all writt en instructions from the consultant to a subcontractor in order for the m ain contractor to remain up to date with project variations. nomina ted/selected subcontrac t agreements have been developed for the more ' traditional' building trodes. suc h as masonry, steelwork and c arpentry, and do not cater for the spec ific nature of la ndsc ape work. the following are some o f the inherent differences between these traditional building trodes and landsc ape work a nd the contrac ts tha t govern them : using ina nimate c omponents as opposed to live matter. suc h as plants: o the defec ts liability for land scape work c annot be applicable if the landsc ape constructio n contrac t is not linked to a m a intenance contrac t: for the some reason the standard three-month defec t s liability period cannot be applicable w ithout some form of maintenance contract after practical completion; and longer-term m a in tenance contracts are not catered for. 61 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) acta structilia 2005: 1212) these intrinsic differences seem to suggest that, although contracts can be changed to suit specific circumstances. these contracts have not been designed to deal with landscape work. advantages of the nominatedselected subcontract are: o the main contractor still retains overall control of the execution of the works; and o the main contractor hos the authority to ensure all subcontractors adhere to the construction programme. disadvantages of the nominated/selected subcontract ore: 62 it is not designed for, nor does it address, the inherent differences between 'building' and 'landscape' worl::. as retention or a construction guarantee for landscape worl:: is not really applicable after practical completion, the main contractor often holds these against the landscape subcontractor and does not pay certified monies. if a threemonth maintenance agreement is included in the subcontract to coincide with the defects liability period of the main contract it will, unless special provisions hove been mode, require additional monthly maintenance payment certifica tes, which could conceivably delay the completion of the final account: and the subcontractor often encounters the following problems within the subcontract agreement with the main contractor: 0 0 0 " late payment of c ertified monies to the subcon tractor by the main contractor; unfair treatment by the main contrac tor in .the sense of being denied certain rights stated in the subcontract and then through intimidation by the main contractor being unwilling to insist the reon; main contractors going insolvent and not paying over certified m onies; and in practice, given that landsc ape work is mostly executed at the end o f a building or civil works project, the main contractor will invariably use the period allocated for landscape works to absorb delays caused by other vydrks to the d isadvantage r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & moritz• landscaping of the landscape subcontractor. thus forcing the landscape contractor to c omplete the work in unrealistic time and site c ircumstances. 5.2.3 domestic subcontract the objective of the d omestic subcontrac t is for the client to hove landscape work executed under the main contract. furthermore. the client may elect not to nominate or select a landscape subcontrac to r due to the fo llowing: small size/simplicity of the landsc ape work: insufficient time to follow the nominated or selected subcontra c t tender procedure; and • insufficie nt pre-planning of c ontrac t programming. in this form of contract the main contractor appoints the landscape subcontractor directly without any approval by and instruct ion thereto by the landscape architect or princ ipal agent. no prime c ost {pc) amounts are allowed in the tender documents and the subcontractor prices the work from scheduled items. the mbsa non-nominated subcontract. which is compatible with the jbcc nominated/se lected subcontract agreement. is often used the jbcc d oes not intend to publish ifs own domestic subcontract. the disadvantages of the domestic subcontract are : the landsca pe arch itect has very little input on fhe appointment of the landscape subcontractor; often fhe landscape architect is not even involved in the contrac t management a nd works inspec tions; in terms of the mbsa non-nominated subcontrac t, instructions issued to the subcontractor by the c lient. or any person acting on the client 's behalf. such as the landscape architect. shall hove no authority unless authorised by the main con trac tor: and the main contrac tor loses securities from the subcontractor whe n interim completion of subcontrac t works is certified . which has resulted iq main con tractors being reticent to use this form o f subcontract. 63 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) acta structilia 2005: 12{2) 5.3 post-main contracts for landscape projects the need often exists for a post-main contract after installation of the landscape work to maintain the work through its first critical period. in areas where extreme climatic conditions such as frost and droughts can occur. the survival of the plant material is largely affected by the maintenance care the landscape work receives in this initial period . examples abound of so-called 'construct-and-run ' projects where speculative developers install the minimum landscaping and onsell the projects as soon as possible. a typical example of such landscaping is the laying down of instant lawn over soil contaminated by concrete or other cementitious material or compacted by construction activities. trees are often also planted in minimal size holes without a proper growth medium backfill. in both these examples the short-term appearance will probably deceive an observer, but the landscaping will soon display wilted and discoloured grass and stunted trees. the long-term owners more often than not then have to totally re-construct the landscaping, thereby incurring abortive costs. it is clear that such speculative developers will not appreciate the need for any landscape maintenance contract after completion of the project. the post-main landscape contract is entered into by the client and the landscape contractor. and is distinctly separate from the landscape installation contract where the land scape contractor was most likely a subcontractor to a main building or c ivil works contractor. the landscape maintenance con tract cannot be a construction type contract, as issues such as liability for damages to plants due to vandalism and insufficient maintenance need to be spelled out. this is especially applicable for projects that ore open to the public and subject to vandalism. it is unrealistic to expect of the landsc ape contractor to give a landscape construc tion guarantee. and to accept liability for the landscape installation if there is no maintenanc e contract between the client and the landscape contractor who installed the landscape originally. this post-main or maintenance contract. ideally of l 2-month durat ion. must preferably b e awarded to the landscape contractor that installed the landscape work in the fi~t·place. various reasons can be given for this recommendation. such as: 64 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & maritz o landscaping the responsibility for plant defects should be borne by the landscape contractor as he is still on site and cannot disc laim liability for potent. latent or maintenance defects: the irrigation systems often require adjustments to cater for differing micro-climatic conditions. such as local swirling winds and overshadowing. the position. direction and height of irrigation emitters also need to be adjusted to cater for growth in plant material: water features. often constructed at huge costs, are notorious for falling into d isrepair if not maintained with due core. a period of core by the specialist installer is necessary. also for training the e mployer's own maintena nc e staff; constructed ecological systems. such a s artificial wetlands and water purificatio n systems often require man's intervention to be sustainable ; o in projects of significant environmental value . long-term environmental maintenance is often an identified environmental issue. the planning and construc tion approval of large projects ore usually conditional upon complying with on environmental management pion (emp) in which the landscape maintenance and environmental auditing ore specified. the landscape maintenance contrac tor is best placed and qualified to ensure compliance with such requirements; and o in instances where the employer is able. throug h his own staff and resources, to maintain the landscaping, a reduced maintenance contract. typica lly o f six-month duration is however still recommended. this maintenance con tract ' s specifica tion can so be worded that there is an overlapping period during whic h the landscape contrac tor works alongside the employer's maintenance staff to point out the working of systems and a ny specific horticultural requirements. in the specification that accompanies any landscape maintenance agreement, the following items typically need to be addressed: upkeep, adjusting and replacing defective irrigation components; ·. 65 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) acta structilio 2005: 12(2) accepted horticultural practices, such as pruning. fertilising and staking; the required programme of lawn mowing. veld sloshing, cutting and burning: and o seasonal p lanting of annuals. 6. recommendations the following advice is offered to the parties that ore involved in landscape work : 6.1 to the developer consider well in advance of the construction of the project if there could be bene fits or requiremen ts to have plant material grown for the projec t or to protect and co nserve existing flora on the site. if so. a professio nal landscape architect is probably the best independent person to advise on the most appropriate form and conditions of con tra c t; and consider the issue of landscape maintenance after the construction phase is finished . allow in the operational budget of the project for landscape maintenance that will ensure a sustainable landscape or risk the chance that all money spent on the land scape installation could be worthless within a short time . there are distinct benefits to hove the land scape contra c tor that installed the landscape also take on the respon si bility of maintaining it for a certain critical initial phase. 6.2 to the employer's principal agent and/ or landscape architect o advise the c lienl o f the advantages of appointing a landscape architect as port o f the consultant team; 66 advise the client of the benefits o f pre-main landscape contracts suc h as growing contracts or conservation contrac ts. ensure tha t the c ritical issues suc h a s transfer o f ownership. works and materials insurance, and guarantees ore addressed in any suc h contract: ' r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & moritz• landscaping o if the client con be convinced of the benefits of a landscape maintenance contract. ensure that the tender documents for both the landscape construction and maintenance contracts ore simultaneously let. tenderers ore to be mode aware of the fact that in evaluating the tenders. a lthough they will be tendering for 1wo separate contracts, the combined tender prices will be considered. and that the successful tende rer will be appointed for both contracts: advise the client to budget for a post-main landscape maintenance contract in the operational phase of the project; and consider the implications of the practical interface of a landscape su.bcontroct with a landscape maintenance contract. issues to be considered are: 0 0 0 interim landscape maintenance before practical completion; landscape maintenance in the three-month defects liability period; and cancellation of the performanc e or construction guarantee of the landscape subcontractor and settlement o f the final account between the main contractor and the landscape subcontractor once practical completion has been certified. it serves little purpose for a main contractor to hold a performance guarantee or any form of retention on the landscape subcontractor if the lotter hos no mandate to maintain the landscape during the defects liability period. 6.3 to the contractors. both as main and subcontractors ensure that the responsibility for interim landscape maintenance before practical completion is covered with regard to aspects such as cost of water and electricity used and damages to sections o f landscaping already completed; 0 reach agreement qetween the main and subcontractor on when and under what conditions the landscape subcontract will terminate: and 67 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) ac ta structilia 2005: 12(2) the subcontractor should advise the main contractor if he would be able to guarantee the landscape work and be responsible for defects if there is no landscape maintenance contract in place. 7. conclusion from the analysis of the forms of contract for landscape works currently in use in south africa, and the associated problems that have been identified, the authors conclude that whereas all the researched forms of contract have versions that con be used for specialist subcontract works, the specific requirements for a landscape works con tract have not been addressed. it is suggested that an addendum titled general and specific conditions for landscape (sub)controct works. be prepared and appended to such contracts. references ahier. t.b.c . 2004. personal communication . 22 april. pretoria. baird. a. 2004. personal communication. 11 moy. pretoria. committee of land transport officials (coltoj . 1998. general conditions o f contract for rood and bridge works for stole authorities. republished by the south african institution of civil engineers (saice). halfway house . construction lndus1ry development boord (cidb). 2004. best practice guideline c2: choosing on appropriate farm of controct for engineering and construction works. morch. pretoria. federation lnterna lionale des lngenieursconseils (fidic) . 1999. f/d/c con· diliom of contract for construction for building and engineering works de· signed by the employer. lausanne. switzerland . finsen. e. 1999. the building contract. a commentary on the jbcc agree· ments. cope town : juta. institution of civil engineers (uk) . 1995. th e engineering and construction contract: an nec document. 2nd edition. thomas telford . london. jo int building controcls committee (jbcc). 200 1. jbcc series 2000 minor works agreement. edition 2, april 2001 . johannesburg. joint building contracts committee (jbcc) . 2005. jbcc series 2000 pn'ncipal building agreement. edition 4.1 . morch 2005. johannesburg. 68 r ep ro du ce d by s ab in et g at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e p ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 2) vosloo & moritz o landscaping joint building contracts committee (jbcc) . 2005. jbcc series 2000 nominated/selected subcontract agreement. edition 4.1. morch 2005. johannesburg. south africa . depar1ment of public works. 2000. features of o modem form of engineering and construction contract. reporl o n p rocurement by focus group 6 of the lnterministeriol task team for construction industry development. government printing works. pretoria . sou th africa. ministries of finance and public works. 1997. the green paper on public sector procurement reform in south africa. pretoria: government printing works. south african council for the landscape architectural profession (sac lap) . 2002. practice guidelines and code of conduct . pretoria. soulh african federalion of civil engineering controclors (safcec). 2004. safsec newsletter ref. no. 20 i 04 . bed fordview. south african institu te of architects (saia) . 1999. practice manual. johannesburg. south african institution of civil engineering (saice}. 2004. general conditions of contract for works of civil engineering construction (gcc 2004). 1st ed ition . halfway house. staples. c . 1999. extract from unpublished phd thesis entitled: identifying critical success factors for customer satisfactian in the interior and exterior plontscaping industries. published in porks & grounds issue 125. february/ morch 2002. 69 ba brooker, tl webb & ms badenhorst 1 the lease evaluation process for office buildings occupied by state departments in south africa: an evaluation abstract the department of public works leases close on two million square me­ tres of office space for state departments in south africa. the depart­ ment follows an extensive lease evaluation process. including a multi­ faceted evaluation on aspects such as suitable depth of space versus natural light, appropriate electrical distribution for the planned office lay­out and an evaluation of the amount of partitioning that will be required as a function of shape on plan. a questionnaire survey was conducted among public works department leasing officials to establish the extent and depth of their knowledge of these factors. it was concluded that the existing lease evaluation has many strong points. the survey results, however, indicated serious limitations to the existing understanding of leasing officials of crucial aspects in the evaluation process. proposals are presented to improve on the process in general. keywords:lease evaluation process, public works, south africa. die huur-ev alueringsproses van kantoorgeboue vir staatsdepartemente in suid-afrika: 'n evaluering opsomming die departement openbare werke huur sowat twee miljoen vierkante meter kantoor-ruimte vir staatdepartemente in suid-afrika. die departement volg 'n omvattende huur-evalueringsproses, insluitende 'n meervoudige evaluering van aspekte soos geskikte diepte van die ruimte teenoor natuurlike lig, toepaslike elektriese bekabeling vir die beoogde kantooruitleg, sowel as 'n evaluering van die afskortings wat benodig word as 'n funksie van planvorm. 'n vraelysopname is onder huurbeamptes van die departement openbare werke onderneem om die omvang en diepte van hul kennis aangaande bogenoemde faktore vas te stel. dit het geblyk dot die huidige huur-evaluering as sodanig verskeie sterk punte het. dit het nietemin geblyk dot daar ernstige beperkings bestaan wat betref huurbeamptes se begrip van kritieke aspekte wat met die huur-evalueringsproses verband hou. voorstelle word aan die hand gedoen om die proses in die algemeen te verbeter. sleutelwoorde:huur-evalueringsproses, openbare werke, suid-afrika. ba brooker. b sc(qs)(natal) m(t&rp)(up), lecturer: department of construc­ tion economics and management, university of cape town; tl webb, d sc(up), dsc(hc) (rhodes), professor emeritus, unisa; ms badenhorst. b sc (t&rp) (up) d phil(rau), head: department of town and regional planning, university of pretoria. brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process introduction t he department of public works has two methods of provid­ ing office accommodation for government departments, namely, the development of new office buildings and the leasing of existing office buildings. the socio-economic pri­ orities of the present government have decreased the funds available for the construction of new office accommodation. approximately 1,86 million m2 of office accommodation is pres­ ently leased in south africa by the department of public works. during 1995/96, 203 new leasing contracts were concluded, 158 were cancelled and 2 624 were administered. the net rental ex­ penditure for 1995/96 was r550 million, an increase of r40 million (8%) on the 1994/95 amount of r510 million (department of pub­ lic works, 1995). this paper focuses on the lease evaluation process of the de­ partment of public works in south africa. the south african gov­ ernment enters into over two hundred new lease contracts per year, which results in a substantial amount of money and time being spent in lease contract decision-makin,g. poor space utili­ sation has resulted in an increase in total area leased which has a direct effect on other cost factors which are proportionate to the total area leased such as lighting, heating, security and cleaning of the leased accommodation. these related expenses also contribute to an increase in total lease expenditure for gov­ ernment departments. energy efficiency and the sick building syndrome, are however, not considered here. factors impacting on space utilisation the theory of factors that influence the utilisation of office space can be divided into two main groups. the first group includes the type of tenant, its organisational structure and the operational requirements of the tenant. the second group includes the mor­ phological factors of the building under consideration, such as the shape and height of the building, the floor to ceiling height and the depth of space. the above factors influence both the total amount of rentable area required as well as the running cost per m2 for the tenant. the two major objectives in establishing the operational aims of the state department requiring office space is to tabulate the amount of space necessary to house the organisation and, sec­ ondly, to translate a two dimensional organogram into three di­ mensional office space (saphier, 1968). 2 1998 acta structilia val 5 no 1 & 2 documents that will assist in the establishment of operational re­ quirements include the existing floor plans of the organisation under inspection and the personnel list of the organisation. an in­ spection in loco of the existing premises, together with a mem­ ber of a central state department, would yield greater insight into the interrelationships within a central state department. bailey ( 1990) states that large corporate organisations involved in a variety of business endeavours would have many depart­ ments at the same level in the organisational hierarchy. a rela­ tively low rate of change will occur in large organisations, due to the fact that any major restructuring of these organisations would impact on all departments as a result of dependencies within the organisation. the type of office space that would suit a large organisation is invariably open plan office space. the nature and size of the user department, the hierarchy and status of the people employed within the user department, and the security requirements of the user department, will influence the organisational requirements of the office space to be se­ lected. the shape on plan of the office building is one of the most im­ portant criteria that will have the greatest influence on the rent­ able/usable (r/u) ratio of office space leased (towsend, 1983). the circle is the shape that has the smallest perimeter in relation to area. but circular buildings seldom produce an efficient use of internal space (seeley, 1983). generally the simpler the shape, the better the r/u ratio will be. irregular shaped office buildings usually result in more circulation space as well as more "dead space". shallow space that is usually associated with linear-shaped buildings makes full use of daylight and outside awareness, and can permit natural ventilation where this is desirable (dashing office furniture, 1995). this type of space is, however, negatively affected by the large areas of external facade that will permit unwanted heat gains in summer and excessive heat loss in win­ ter. medium depth space has been very popular with those devel­ opers speculating in office rentals in the nineties. part of the space is naturally lit, while the internal area furthest away from the windows is artificially lit. the deeper the office space, the longer the time period that will require artificial lighting. bailey ( 1990) and joedicke ( 1962) states that by having usable office space on both sides of the circulation area, the r/u ratio 3 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process would be more efficient than a building with only office area on one side of the circulation area. an increase in the total height of a building will decrease the rentable/usable ratio. high rise office buildings have a direct in­ fluence on increasing the annual operating cost for central state departments. to support this statement, seeley ( 1983) states that the presence of vertical transportation in the form of lifts and staircases necessarily increases the amount of related horizontal circulation space. fire protection becomes an important factor in high-rise build­ ings, and it is important for leasing officials to be aware of the regulation as detailed in the national building regulations. larger buildings require wider passages, which increases the amount of unusable rentable office area. notwithstanding the fact that rentable area is measured in a horizontal plane, increasing the floor to ceiling height has an ef­ fect on the rentable usable ratio. if the office building is air­ conditioned, an increase in the area of external facade per floor would increase heat gains, resulting in a need for additional conditioned air (ferry & brandon, 1991). the increase in floor to ceiling height increases the volume of air in the office space to be air-conditioned. operating costs when evaluating the cost implications of leasing one office building over that of another office building, most tenants focus on the rental rate per m2 (posner, 1990). very few tenants place enough emphasis on the operating costs relating to a particular office building. operating costs of office buildings are those costs that keep the building operational during the period of the lease (spedding & holmes, 1994). cleaning, repairs and main­ tenance, electricity, water, security and property management fees are some of the operating costs that must be determined to establish the total leasing cost (boma, 1994). the net rental rate, together with the operating costs, make up the gross rental rate for a building. the average operating cost per month for a-grade office space as indicated in figure i is r 12,50 per m2 (rode, 1996). operating costs can account for 25 % of total leas­ ing costs and, as a result, form an important part of the lease evaluation process (barrett, 1995). at the start of a lease contract, there are initial costs that only occur once during the leasing contract period. these initial costs include stamp duty, legal fees and installation costs. these costs can be paid by either the tenant or the landlord, depending on 4 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 figure 1 operating costs for an office building • electricity • rates d repairs d security !illl cleaning r 2.as !illl management ii insurance ii water 11111 other the conditions of the lease contract and, as a result, have a bearing on the total leasing cost (walker, undated; timm, 1987), it can be established that the impact of initial costs and running costs associated with a new lease contract are significant. each cost type is influenced by many factors e.g. the shape of the of­ fice building being leased, the management capacity of the building administrators, and the quality of the design, specifica­ tion and construction methods employed to develop the office building. certain operating expenses such as electricity can be controlled by the tenant, while other expenses such as security and mainte­ nance, are not controllable by the tenant and, as a result, place the tenant in a position that will limit his potential to keep operat­ ing expenses to a minimum (mc keever, 1968). the impact of op­ erating costs and installation costs on total leasing costs clearly shows that these costs should not be ignored in the lease evaluation process. overview of the lease evaluation process since 1967 in 1967, the then secretary of the prime minister issued guidelines for the administration of accommodation for central govern­ ment departments. these guidelines formed the basis for the evaluation of leased office accommodation by the department of public works (department of the prime minister, 1967). a new manual on leasing was issued in 1982 by the head office of the department of public works (department of community devel­ opment, 1982). in september 1989, the office of the auditor 5 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process general released a report on leasing administration in the de­ partment of public works. this report drew attention to the pres­ ent method of lease evaluation undertaken by the department of public works and high-lighted the shortcomings of the evalua­ tion process (office of the auditor general, 1989). this report was followed by an investigation of four user departments to deter­ mine the average leasing cost per person for each department. this investigation lead to the implementation of new space norms for office accommodation (department of public works, 1993). it can be concluded that the lease evaluation process continually evolves, and that the process discussed, reflects the present process. the first step in the evaluation process is the identification, by a central government department that a need for additional of­ fice accommodation has arisen. based on the schedule re­ ceived from a central state department, the accommodation control section of the department of public works establishes the total amount of usable and rentable area required. the method used for determining the total area required is done in accor­ dance with the guidelines set out in a document entitled "space and cost norms for office buildings funded wholly or partially by the state" (department of community development, 1987). these space norms were adjusted in 1993 after an investi­ gation initiated by the cabinet standing committee for expendi­ ture (department of public works, 1993). each rank of staff is allocated a particular size of office. norms for storage space, filing space and meeting space are also used to establish the total assignable area. the non-assignable area is calculated as a percentage of the assignable area, ±20%. the non-assignable area includes circulation area, toilets and foyers. the combination of the assignable and non-assignable areas constitutes the total rentable area required. if it is found that funds are available, then the financial approval document is sent to the leasing section for further processing. if the total rentable area approved exceeds 1 ooom2 in extent, then the department of public works will be expected to adver­ tise the request for space in two local newspapers (state tender board, 1993). if the space required is to be located in a cbd of a major city or town, and many buildings are known to be vacant or partly vacant, the department of public works may advertise for space less than 1 ooom 2 in extent. once all offers to lease are received within the allotted time frame, the offers are opened in front of two representatives of the regional office of the department of public works. all offers to lease are recorded on a summary evaluation sheet. it is note­ worthy that large amounts of information requested in the offer 6 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 to lease form are excluded from the summary evaluation sheet. leasing section officials evaluate all offers to select the most suit­ able office accommodation. those offers of accommodation that do not comply with the requirements of the advertisement, are excluded from the list. an inspection of the remaining office accommodation is under­ taken by members of the leasing section, the central state rep­ resentative requiring office space, and the property broker, who is representing the landlord of the accommodation offered. they must establish whether or not the office accommodation is suitable for occupation by a central government department. this inspection that entails approximately twenty minutes per building visited, requires those present to make a multi-faceted and integrated evaluation on aspects such as suitable depth of space versus natural light, appropriate electrical distribution for the planned office layout, and an evaluation of the amount of partitioning that will be required as a function of shape on plan. it was the obvious importance of this particular stage of the evaluation process which prompted the issuing of a question­ naire to public works department leasing officials to establish the extent and depth of their knowledge of the factors pertinent to the decision-making process (brooker, 1998). a recommendation is then made to the leasing committee for the approval of the selected accommodation. the selection of the most suitable lease is usually based on the net rental, per­ centage escalation, area offered to lease, installation cost, run­ ning costs, and maintenance costs. once the evaluation pro­ cess is completed, the signing of the lease contract takes place. survey in an endeavour to establish the extent of state official under­ standing of the influence of shape and layout factors on the suit­ ability of office accommodation for leasing, a questionnaire sur­ vey was compiled. the results of survey are documented to es­ tablish, in effect, the current understanding of lease officials in the department of public works in the evaluation of office ac­ commodation. a total of 25 questionnaires were mailed to all seven regional of­ fices and to the head office of the department of public works. three leasing officials per regional office were requested to each complete a questionnaire, whereas four officials at the head office were requested to complete the questionnaire. a total of 16 questionnaires were returned (64%). at least one re­ turn per region was received. the response rates of the survey are depicted in tobie i. 7 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process table 1: response rates for questionnaire m�, �'¥� '* description total responses not returned bloemfontein 1 2 regional office durban 3 0 regional office johannesburg 1 2 regional office pretoria 1 2 regional office cape town 2 1 regional office kimberley 1 2 regional office port elizabeth 3 0 regional office pretoria 4 0 head office total no(%) 16 9 (64%) (36%) the results of the survey are henceforth discussed. shape of the cellular office total dispatched 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 2.5 (100%) the respondents were requested to indicate which office layout presented in figure 2 is considered the most suitable for meeting the working space requirements of a state official. this question sought to establish the respondents' understanding of the rela­ tionship between the shape of the office and the functional re­ quirements of the state official requiring office accommodation. moreover, it sought to determine the relationship between the shape of the office and the amount of circulation space that is generated as a result of a particular shape. none of the respondents selected office 'a' as the most suitable office shape for meeting the working space requirements of a state official. sixty-nine percent of the respondents selected of­ fice 'b' as the most suitable office layout of the three options de­ picted in figure 2. the most commonly cited reason by respon­ dents for selecting this office layout is that the office is more suited to the furniture requirements of a state official. one re­ spondent stated that his reason for selecting that particular of­ fice is that it would provide more natural light. this reason is, in fact, incorrect as office 'c' has more external window area and 8 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 is a more shallow office than office 'b'. thirty one percent of the respondents selected office 'c'. the reason given was the same as that given for the selection of office 'b' viz., a more suitable shape of office to meet the furniture requirements of a state offi­ cial. the responses to this question are summarised in table 2. figure 2 shape of the cellular office 6m 1.5 m 2m office a= 12 m 2 4m 1.5 m 3m office b = 12 m 2 3m 1.5 m 4m office c = 12 m 2 9 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process table 2: selection of cellular office type description office a office b office c total most suitable 0 11 5 16 office the question relating to the shape of offices was correctly an­ swered by most (68%) of the respondents, but none of the re­ spondents quantified their answer by stating that the circulation area for office 'c' is 6m2 while the circulation area of office 'b' is only 4,sm 2 . in other words, office 'b' contains 25% less circulation space than office 'c', remembering that the circulation area is included in the rentable area of a building. according to the department of community development ( 1987), circulation area for a typical office building is 20% of the assignable area. cable distribution network respondents were requested to indicate the type of cable distri­ bution network they would select for an open plan office build­ ing. as the information technology requirements of office work­ ers increase, so does the demand on technology increase to satisfy the cable distribution requirements of a building (camrass and barrow, 1988). an unsuitable cable distribution network would potentially limit the office layout potential which, in turn, would increase the amount of rentable area required to meet the needs of a state department. an ability to recognise the ca­ ble distribution requirements of a particular state department is therefore needed in the selection of the more suitable office ac­ commodation for a state department. cellular and open plan offices require different cable distribution networks to suite the office equipment requirements of state offi­ cials. system 'a' is more suitable for cellular offices and is most likely to be the cheapest form of distribution. moreover, such a network distribution is unlikely to disrupt the circulation of people. however, alterations involving the cutting of new holes and chases, will result in considerable disruption. system 'a' is ideal for cleaner's sockets in passages, providing permanent supply positions. systems 'b', 'c' and 'd' are more suited to open plan offices as they allow for final distribution to work stations from any position of the cable distribution network. 10 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 figure 3 selected types of cable distribution networks type a type b ii '-.. i "'' ' ' � ii type c type d respondents were asked which cable distribution network in fig­ ure 3 best suits an open plan office. table 3: selection of cable distribution network descripsystem a system b system c system d total tion selection of 2 2 5 7 16 system most (75%) of the respondents selected systems 'c' and 'd', stat­ ing that the power point can be moved, thereby not limiting the placing of workers. this reasoning is correct as the constraints on an ideal office layout are reduced. although this reasoning is valid, one should note that the access flooring system is only needed if the demand for power and related cabelling is above the average demand, for example, in a main-frame computer room (bailey, 1990). the selection of an access flooring system would be excessive for the typical requirements of the average administrative official. one respondent stated that the cost of 11 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process systems 'b', 'c' and 'd' would be very high. although this may be true, these costs do not necessarily impact directly on the rental amount to be paid by the state. structural frame of the building identifying and evaluating the impact of the structural frame of the building is important in determining the usable portion of the office building. both buildings depicted in figure 4 have the same shape and external dimensions. the major difference be­ tween the two buildings lies in the fact that building 'b' has much larger columns than building 'a' due to the fact that it is a twenty storey building. the larger columns will decrease the amount of usable area in relation to rentable area. ideally, a leasing official should be able to identify the impact of the struc­ tural frame on the rentable/usable (r/u) ratio. the rentable area is 200m2 and the usable area is l 86m 2 for building 'a', while for building 'b', the rentable area is 200m2 and the usable area is l 75m2. the responses to this question are depicted in table 4. figure4 plan view of the structural frame of each building building a ground floor of a 2 storey office building in the cbd building b ground floor of a 20 storey office building in the cbd table 4: structural frame of each building �@:..���� description building a building b total building selected 11 5 16 sixty-nine percent of the respondents selected the most appro­ priate option, but only half of these stated that building 'a' has the most usable space. some of the other reasons given for the choice of option 'a' included the notion that the smaller col­ umns will not restrict the view of workers and visitors, and that more parking will be available in this building. how these respon12 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 dents established the effect on parking availability is unknown to the author, but this response clearly shows that most leasing offi­ cials are unable to identify those aspects of design that improve the r/u ratio. the reasons given for the selection of building 'b' include the opinion that this building could more easily be identified due to its height. although this statement is correct, the respondents were requested to confine their responses to measurable items such as area and cost. other respondents stated that it would result in better utilisation of office space, which, in fact, is incor­ rect. none of the respondents stated unambiguously that the type of structural frame and the height of the building would have a di­ rect influence on the amount of usable area in relation to rent­ able area, although most (69%) had selected the correct build­ ing for other reasons. system of partitioning the system of partitioning selected by the leasing official for the administrative section of a state department will have an influ­ ence on both the usable area of the office building and on the possible types of office layouts available to the occupants (boje, 1971 ). the selection of a particular partitioning system will reflect the understanding of the leasing official with regards to the needs of the occupants, i.e. flexibility to change spaces continu­ ally or the need to increase the amount of usable area due to the thickness of the partitioning system. three systems of parti­ tioning were proposed, namely: 0 solid brickwork or blockwork 0 studwork and plasterboard 0 proprietary relocatable system figure 5 partition system a partition system b partition system c types of partitioning systems solid or blockwork a studwork & plasterboard b proprietary relocatable c 13 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process the amount of money that is usually provided by the lessor for the initial installation of the offices must be deducted from the total cost required to partition the offices. partition system a is not suitable for any changes that may take place in the organi­ sation, due to the relatively permanent nature of the construc­ tion. changes to office layout would be disruptive to the occu­ pants and costly. partition system b would allow for the limited change that might occur in a mature organisation. while still maintaining a suitable level of acoustic performance and struc­ tural stability. a stud or plasterboard system can be re-used, po­ tentially decreasing the cost of future changes in the office lay­ out. partition system c is used in open plan offices. and is more suitable for organisations with continually changing needs, as the system can be relocated with limited inconvenience during the lease contract. system b is, at present, best suited to meet the needs of a state department, as cellular offices dominate the space requirements of user departments. the responses to the question on the selection of partitioning systems are de­ picted in table 5. table 5: selection of partitioning systems �����moo..����� description partition partition partition total system a system 8 system c selection of sys0 2 14 16 tern eighty-seven percent of the respondents selected the proprie­ tary relocatable system (system cj, stating that it would facilitate easy and inexpensive re-arrangement if modifications to office layout are desired. this answer is correct. but the initial cost of this type of partition system is expensive and the probability of change in a mature organisation is relatively low. the remaining thirteen percent of respondents selected the studwork and plas­ terboard system (system bj. the reasons given for selecting sys­ tem b are that this system is relatively cheap and easy to relo­ cate. one can conclude from these findings that most leasing officials attach value to the benefit of being able to relocate partition­ ing, even though the amount of changes made in state depart­ ments is not very high, if historical changes in state departments are taken into account. 14 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 storage criteria the ability of a leasing official to identify criteria that will en­ hance the storage capability of a building is important. appro­ priate selection of storage space will decrease the rentable area needed to accommodate departmental files. due to the nature and size of state departments. storage space for files consumes large amounts of usable space in each build­ ing leased by the state respondents' decision criterion and rea­ sons for selecting office space for the storage of files are listed below. criteria reason for selecnumber lion floor strength to support heavy loads 7 large open spaces to maximise rack space 6 fire protection system since material is flam4 mable basement area or lower due to excessive floor 6 floors loads appropriate lighting to prevent miss-filing 3 ventilation or air condito prevent rotting 6 tioned provision for security to prevent theft 8 and safes from the above list of criteria, one can conclude that most leas­ ing officials appreciate the requirements for storage space. the only criteria that was not listed by the respondents was the influ­ ence of floor to ceiling height on storage capacity. in essence. storage space required is not determined by area. but rather by volume. the addition of 400mm of height to a typical floor would decrease the required area for storage by some 12 percent (panero and zelnik, 1979). understanding the definition of rentable area clearly, it is important for state officials to possess an understand­ ing of the definition of rentable area in order that they appreci­ ate the implications for the determination of rental. respondents were provided with a hypothetical plan layout (figure 6) and re­ quested to illustrate the areas to be included in the rentable area of an office building as defined by the sapoa method of measuring floor area (sapoa. 1992). 15 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process figure 6 floor plan for measurement of rentable area external wall column projection d d d column column column responses to this question are given in table 6. table 6: areas to be included in the rentable area name of area correctly indicated on plan incorrectly indicated on plan toilets 8 8 columns 4 12 projections 0 16 only fifty percent of the respondents correctly included the toi­ lets in the rentable area, with only twenty-five percent correctly including the columns. all respondents incorrectly omitted the projections for the determination of rentable area. it can be concluded that most {66%) leasing officials do not have an ac­ ceptable understanding of which areas are included in the rent­ able area of a building. this shortcoming must potentially limit their ability to evaluate the difference between buildings offered to the state for leasing purposes. respondents were then asked to comment on areas to be ex­ cluded from the deter-mination of rentable area. the responses to these questions are given in table 7. 16 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 table 7: areas not to be included in the rentable area name of area correctly excluded on plan incorrectly excluded on plan external wall 14 2 duct 14 3 staircase 13 3 lifts 13 3 most respondents (85%) have a much better understanding of which areas are not included in the rentable area of the office building. as respondents would seem to have difficulty in identifying the exact rentable area on plan, one can conclude that they would have difficulty in identifying the same at a site visit to a building offered for lease, if the building under scrutiny has numerous col­ umns and projections which would decrease the available us­ able area, which would result in the state department leasing more space. shape of the building on plan cellular offices of l 2m2 are more suited to shallow space build­ ings than deep space buildings. for example, the shallow floor space of building 'b' maximises the use of daylight and outside awareness and can permit natural ventilation where this is desir­ able (stone, 1980). building 'b' is more suited to housing the small cellular offices of a government department than building 'a'. building 'a' is more suited to open plan office accommodation with its deep space layout (figure 7). figure 7 shape of office buildings building a building b 17 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process table 8: shape of office buildings :ffi:�,r !st: , ·:«"' .... . ;.� description building a building b total number of respondents that selected a particular building 7 9 16 that best suited cellular office space forty-four percent of the respondents incorrectly selected the deep space building, building 'a', stating the following reasons for the selection (table 8): 0 better utilisation of office space 0 each office will have a window and a door 0 easy access to service areas for all offices 0 easy to arrange office-layout and functional. the remaining fifty-six percent of the respondents selected the more suitable building to accommodate the government de­ partment. the following reasons were given for the selection: 0 more offices can be accommodated in the building 0 more natural light 0 offices of 4m x 3m can be accommodated, each with a window 0 cross ventilation will work and no air-conditioning needed 0 easy to partition. these survey results indicate limitations to the existing under­ standing of leasing officials of the department of public works. proposed changes the proposed changes are presented to ensure that the aims and objectives of the green paper for the department of public works {public works department, 1996), are achieved. proposed changes to a central state department's requirements user department accommodation schedules should focus on function rather than status in determining the amount of office area required. status should only be taken into account if it has an impact on additional office space been required to fulfil the 18 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 function of the official. a better understanding of functionality can be achieved by studying work flow, staff interaction, shift work and current utilisation rates for areas such as meeting rooms and conference facilities of a central state department. an interview with the management of a central state depart­ ment is encouraged to ensure that this central state department accommodation schedules reflect present and future utilisation rates for the office accommodation required. accommodation schedules should be prepared by a central state department in accordance with the space norms document entitled "space and cost norms for office buildings funded wholly or partially by the state" (department of community development, 1987), to ensure that the evaluation of space required is not duplicated by the department of public works. proposed changes to the department of public works head office evaluation section the terminology relating to rentable and usable area used by the department of public works should fall in line with the termi­ nology advocated by the south african property owners asso­ ciation (sapoa, 1992). the quality of office buildings required by a central state department should be classified as either a b or c grade office buildings. more open plan office norms should be incorporated into the of­ fice space accommodation requirements of user departments, and if a high percentage of cellular offices is required by the user department, only shallow space buildings should be se­ lected for occupation by a central state department. proposed changes to the department of public works' regional office evaluation the allocation of appropriate resources and time to the lease evaluation process of the regional office should be directly re­ lated to the capitalised value of the proposed lease contract. the capital value will be determined by the size of office area, the duration of lease contract and the standard of office ac­ commodation required. appropriate resources would include the training of existing lease officials so that they can contribute more meaningfully to the correct selection of leased office ac­ commodation. the length of time for which the required space is advertised and the response period for landlords and brokers to respond to the request for office space should be related to the capitalised value for the required lease contract. 19 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process the regional office should ensure that the rentable area of the office buildings offered for lease is correct. once the rentable areas are established, office layout drawings should be pre­ pared to establish if the office space requirements of the user department can be met in each of the buildings offered for lease. to reduce the amount of time that is required to produce layout drawings, landlords and brokers can be requested to pro­ duce layout drawings that meet the requirements of the user de­ partment. to assist the landlords and brokers to produce the lay­ out drawings, the accommodation schedules of the user de­ partment can be given to them. once the rentable area is established, based on the layout drawings and the offer to lease form, a financial model can be used to calculate the net present value of each lease offered by the landlords and brokers. as operating costs are an impor­ tant part of the lease contract, all offers to lease should include each operating cost, the party responsible for the payment of each cost, and the method used to determine these costs. to ensure that an appropriate value is attached to each operating cost, a data base of operating costs incurred by each user de­ partment for different grades of office buildings should be devel­ oped and managed by the department of public works. before the in loco inspection of each office building is under­ taken, a checklist should be compiled by the leasing officials to­ gether with the technical staff to ensure that all aspects of the office building are inspected to establish the suitability of the building for occupation by the user department. the checklist may include information on the location of the building and its surrounding environment, the age and condition of the office building, and the quality of the existing services within the office building. energy efficiency and the sick building syndrome should also be part of the evaluation. more time should be taken by the regional office-leasing officials in establishing the existing condition of the office buildings of­ fered for lease. once the condition of the office buildings is es­ tablished, the leasing officials can determine if the amount of money made available for partitioning, finishes and services is sufficient to meet the requirements of a central state depart­ ment's office layout and service installation. a standard proposal form should be used for easy comparison between different office buildings by the head office leasing committee. the use of a standard proposal form would also en­ sure that no important information was excluded from consid­ eration by the head office leasing committee. 20 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 proposed changes to the department of public works head office leasing committee evaluation the head office leasing committee should evaluate each offer received in response to the advertisement placed in the local newspaper. only information received from the landlords and brokers in response to the offer to lease and additional informa­ tion gathered at the in loco inspection should be tabled at the meeting. those buildings offered for lease that do not meet the require­ ments of a central state department should not be discussed at the leasing committee meeting. only the remaining buildings should be discussed, covering the salient features such as the net present value of each lease contract, the location of each office building, and the quality of each office building. once all the buildings have been discussed, the lease contract with the lowest net present value that is able to meet the requirements of the user department should be selected for occupation by the user department. conclusion in conclusion, this investigation has shown that the existing pro­ cess for lease evaluation has many strong aspects, such as well­ calculated space norms and an appropriate model for deter­ mining the net present value of each lease offered. however, the leasing officials that are expected to execute the lease evaluation process are not suitably trained to ensure that the most suitable office accommodation is leased by the depart­ ment of public works. references bailey, s. 1990. offices: a briefing and design guide. london: butterworth, architecture. barred, p. 1995. facilities management: towards best practice. oxford: blackwell scientific. boje, a. 1971. open-plan offices. london: business books limited. boma. 1994. experience exchange report: income/expenses analysis for office buildings. boma. washington, d.c. brooker, b. 1998. an investigation of the lease evaluation process for office buildings occupied by state departments in south africa. un­ published m (t&rp)-thesis. university of pretoria. pretoria. camrass, r. & barrow, m. 1988. information technology and the office, in proceedings of the high tech building seminar, cape town. 21 brooker, webb & badenhorst / the lease evaluation process dashing office furniture. 1995. office occupation south african style. sapoa news, june, pp. 21 23. department of community development. 1982. leasing accommodation handbook. department of community development, pretoria. department of community development. 1987. space and cost norms for office buildings funded wholly or partially by the state. depart­ ment of community development, pretoria. department of public works. 1993. report on the accommodation ex­ penses on user departments. department of public works, pretoria. department of public works. 1995. annual report. department of public works, pretoria. department of public works. 1996. green paper: public works towards the 21 st century. department of public works, pretoria. department of the prime minister. 1967. function of the department of public works: circular no. l o of 1967, department of the prime min­ ister, pretoria. ferry, d.j. & brandon, p.s. 1991. cost planning of buildings. sixth edition, oxford: blackwell scientific publications. joedicke, j. 1962. office buildings. london: crosby lockwood & son limited. mckeever, j.r. 1968. the community builders handbook. urban land institute, washington, d.c. office of the auditor general. 1989. department of public works' audit report on leasing of accommodation. office of the auditor gen­ eral, pretoria. panero, j. & zelnik, m. 1979. human dimensions & interior space. london: the architectural press limited. posner, w.h. 1990. the leasing process: a guide for the commercial tenant. north york: captus press. rode, e.g. 1996. rode's outgoings for office buildings. rode and asso­ ciates, bellville. saphier, m. 1968. office planning and design. new york: mcgraw-hill book company . sapoa (south african property owners association). 1992. the sapoa method of measuring floor areas in commercial and industrial buildings. sapoa, johannesburg. seeley, i.h. 1983. building economics. london: macmillan. spedding, a. & holmes, r. 1994. facilities management, ciob hand­ book of facilities management edited by alan spedding. longman scientific and technical, essex. state tender board. 1993. user manual: directives to departments in re­ spect of procurement. (st37). government printers, pretoria. stone, p.a. 1980. building-design evaluation: cost-in-use. london: e. & f.n. spon. timm, r. 1987. look before you lease. financial mail, june, p. 68. 22 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 towsend, p.r.f. 1983. the effect of shape and other factors on the cost of office buildings. unpublished ph.d. thesis, university of cam­ bridge, cambridge. walker, r.d. (undated) leasing and management of the complete project. unpublished notes. 23 45 bruce ramokolo & john smallwood the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors peer reviewed abstract construction management competencies are essential to realise sound practices among and to realise optimum performance by, inter alia, emerging civil engineering contractors. such competencies enable the success of the business of construction and the management of projects, with increased efficiency and reduced costs as a benefit. the article presents the findings of a masters study, the objectives in general being to determine the current practices and performance of emerging civil engineering contractors in the nelson mandela bay metropole. the descriptive method was adopted in the empirical study. the salient findings of the study are: most of the emerging civil engineering contractors do not possess civil engineering related qualifications; construction resources are inappropriately managed leading to construction failures; skills programmes are not well structured and supported; there is a lack of capacity at all management levels of the organisations in terms of managing the business of construction and projects; the nine functions of organisations in the form of general management, technical or production, procurement, marketing, financial, human resources, public relations, legal, and administration and information technology, are not comprehensively represented; and self-ratings indicate inadequacy relative to the controlling function of management work, and relative to certain activities of the organising function. the article concludes that emerging civil engineering contractors lack the requisite competencies and resources to realise sustainable contracting organisations. the article recommends that formal civil engineering and construction management education and training should be promoted throughout the industry for all categories of civil engineering contracting organisations. the article further recommends that all nine functions should be adequately staffed with suitably qualified people in order to manage and undertake the work successfully. organisations should have the requisite construction-related resources, and owners and managers should market their organisations to ensure the sustainability thereof. keywords: emerging contractors, civil engineering, construction, management bruce sabelo mpumelelo ramokolo, department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p.o. box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. tel.: 041 504 2790 fax: 041 504 2345 e-mail: <ecmanong@ iafrica.com> prof. john julian smallwood, head, department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p.o. box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. tel.: 041 504 2790, fax: 041 504 2345, e-mail: <john.smallwood@ nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 46 abstrak konstruksiebestuurbevoegdheid is van uiterste belang om deeglike uitvoering van, en optimale werkverrigting deur, onder andere, opkomende siviele ingenieurs, te verseker. sodanige bevoegdhede verseker die sukses van die konstruksie besigheid en bestuur van projekte, met toenemende doeltreffendheid en ‘n afname in onkoste as bykomende voordeel. die artikel gee die bevindinge weer van ‘n meesterstudie, met die oogmerk in die algemeen, om die huidige praktyk en werksprestasie van opkomende siviele ingenieur-kontrakteurs in die nelson mandela metropool, vas te stel. die beskrywende metode was gebruik in die proefstudie. die mees uitstaande bevindinge is as volg: meeste van die opkomende siviele ingenieur-kontrakteurs het geen siviele-ingenieur verwante kwalifikasies nie; konstruksiehulpbronne word ondoeltreffend bestuur wat lei tot konstruksie mislukkings; vaardigheidsprogramme word nie goed gestruktureer en ondersteun nie; daar is ‘n tekort aan kapasiteit op alle bestuursvlakke in terme van besigheidsbestuur van konstruksie en projekte; die nege funksies van organisasies in die vorm van algemene bestuur, tegnies of produksie, verskaffing, bemarking, finansies, menslike hulpbronne, publieke skakeling, regsaangeleenthede, en administrasie en inligtingstegnologie, is nie omvattend verteenwoordig nie; en self-evaluering dui onvoldoende beheersfunksie van bestuurswerk aan, en ook met betrekking tot sekere aktiwiteite van die organiseringsfunksie. die artikel kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat opkomende siviele ingenieur-kontrakteurs tekortskiet aan die nodige bevoegdhede en hulpbronne om volhoubare kontrakteurs-organisasies te verwesentlik. die artikel beveel aan dat formele siviele ingenieursen konstruksiebestuur onderrig en opleiding aangemoedig moet word in die industrie vir alle kategorieë van siviele ingenieur kontrakteur-organisasies. die artikel beveel verder aan dat al nege funksies voldoende beman word deur toepaslik opgeleide persone, om sodoende die bestuur en onderneming van werk suksesvol te kan uitvoer. organisasies behoort die vereiste konstruksie verwante hulpbronne te hê, en eienaars en bestuurders behoort hul organisasies te bemark ten einde die lonendheid daarvan te verseker. sleutelwoorde: opkomende kontrakteurs, siviele ingenieurs, konstruksie, bestuur 1. introduction south african’s gross domestic product (gdp) grows at between 4%-5% per annum, of which 5.1% is invested in construction. the construction industry employs more than 500 000 people of which only 45% are estimated to be working in the formal sector. the need for sustained growth of the construction industry is given impetus by government’s commitment to infrastructure investment to achieve economic growth and to address the infrastructure backlog emanating from apartheid. the performance and capability of the construction industry is pivotal to transport and communication, import and export, industrial development, and to all the logistics of a growing economy that increasingly supports an ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 47 integrated and economically-active population. it is in the context of these challenges that government has proclaimed the construction industry as a national asset to be developed, maintained and transformed through a range of policy, institutional and practical initiatives. active promotion of an efficient and effective construction industry that is comprised of adequately qualified and well-trained practitioners, that reduces waste, and that improves the working environment of its people for better employment and greater productivity. consequently the sustainability of emerging contractors is complementary to the objectives of government. fellows et al. (2002: 6) state that construction management entails the management of the business of construction as well as the management of projects, which in practice are interdependent. the nine recognised functions applicable to all organisations, need to be integrated and are equally important in terms of the functioning and sustainability of an organisation, namely: general management; technical or production; procurement; marketing; financial; human resources; public relations; legal; administration and information technology (smallwood, 2006: 64). the general management function in turn, is constituted by the five functions of management work, namely planning, organising, leading, controlling, and coordinating (allen, 1973: 50). the first four functions of management in turn collectively entail nineteen activities. planning includes forecasting, developing objectives, programming, scheduling, budgeting, developing procedures, and developing policies. organising includes developing organisation structure, delegating, and developing relationships. leading includes decision-making, communicating, motivating, selecting people, and developing people, and controlling includes developing performance standards, measuring performance, evaluating performance, and correcting performance. according to rwelamila et al. (1997: 369) the inability to manage the business of construction due to poor management accounting, inaccurate estimating, and under pricing, causes insolvency in civil engineering contracting organisations. lack of adequate marketing skills, strategic and operational factors further exacerbates failure in civil engineering contracting organisations. furthermore, although it is important to be able to successfully manage projects, the ability to manage the business of construction is critical in terms of sustainability. furthermore, hutchings & christofferson (2001: 265) state that quality workmanship and products, good subcontractors / subcontractor relations, customer communications and relations, teamwork, work ethic / commitment, and effective sales and acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 48 marketing are success related factors in terms of the management of construction. good subcontractors employ the bulk of the workforce, and they need to produce site supervision and quality workmanship which satisfies the customer. jacquet (2002: 6) reinforces the importance of competencies and states that in order for an incumbent to perform in a chosen operating field of expertise, an adequate qualification relative to the relevant industry is a pre-requisite. construction management competencies complemented by adequate resources, yield successful construction results. this includes personnel who possess adequate construction–related qualifications, and the relevant management and technical skills. furthermore, implementing the right technology is critical to an organisation’s success, and sustaining a skilled, highly educated and motivated knowledge workforce is equally a valuable asset. gamble (2004: 192-193) states that 92% of emerging civil contractors have a low-level of knowledge and skills and he recommends the establishment of an ideal further education and training (fet) curriculum that must make a clear distinction between a low, intermediate and high level of knowledge and skills. this would strengthen intermediate level knowledge and skills and create a platform that will move away from the manner in which emerging civil engineering contractors are associated with trade apprenticeships that are characterised by ‘mindless’ doing in response to prespecified procedures. the current skills development programmes are not structured to cater for this notion. given the low-level of knowledge and skills attributed to emerging contractors, it is notable that training is receiving much attention from contemporary business as an important career development tool. it yields better job performance of individuals, career satisfaction, and enhances rapid growth of individuals within the organisational structure. however, the current training programmes available do not strive to achieve construction–related strategic objectives, and do not focus on addressing sustainable construction. chileshe et al. (2005: 18) support this by stating that higher education institutions (heis) need to form a collaborative endeavour jointly with the business world of construction with the aim of formulating a holistic construction curriculum that will serve the needs of the contracting environment. given the poor performance of emerging civil engineering contractors and the abandonment of projects in cases, which results in cost overruns to clients as a result of the projects having to be completed by other contractors, a study was conducted to determine the capacity and causes of failure of such contractors. the following constitute the hypotheses which were evolved for testing: ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 49 emerging civil engineering contractors lack construction • related qualifications; emerging civil engineering contractors lack construction • management competencies; a range of factors contribute to the failure of emerging civil • engineering contractors; the level of skills development in emerging civil engineering • contractors is inadequate; and the level of construction resources in emerging civil • engineering contracting organisations is inadequate. 2. review of the literature this section provides a review of the literature pertaining to emerging civil engineering contractors in terms of the possession of construction–related qualifications, construction management skills, existence of construction resources, the availability of skills programmes, and factors associated with construction failures. 2.1 existence of construction-related qualifications the construction education and training authority (ceta) (2004: 4) cites the black construction industry report which states that levels of formal education of emerging civil engineering contractors are low, with only 13% of the sample having grade 12. 53% of the sample has a level of education between standard 6 and 9, with one third having a level of education less than standard 5. similarly, the level of training is low, with 36% having received on the job training, but no qualification, 32% with trade certificates and 15% with other qualifications. of the 15%, only 1% has a higher education diploma or degree in management. 2.2 civil engineering education lawless (2005: 126) states that civil engineering programmes do not address the construction process; neither do they include business and project management skills. there is a dire need to address the construction process and the completion of such courses with the aim of preparing graduates to manage the business of construction and that of projects. the civil engineering competencies recommended by the south african qualification authority (saqa) do not include those that are required to manage the business of construction relative to acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 50 the eight recognised functions which are complemented by general management in all the respective levels of management of contracting civil engineering construction organisations. the saqa registered qualifications only focus on theory and application of civil engineering technology. given that civil engineering and related contracting organisations should be structured according to these functions, the sustainability of an emerging civil engineering contracting organisation is dependent upon the effective management and integration of these functions (smallwood, 2006: 65). 2.3 construction management competencies table 1 presents the top ten construction management skills per level of management based on frequency of use emanating from the findings of phases 1 and 2 of a ‘practice of construction management’ study conducted in south africa (smallwood, 2006: 73). it should be noted that the mean of all levels for phase 1 was used as the basis for the identification of the top ten. it is notable that in general the five functions of management work are expressed as skills. furthermore, the ranking of oral communicating is notable. the implication of these findings is that the managers of the business of construction and projects need to be empowered with such skills. however, the reality is that management focused programs such as construction management are the most likely to achieve such empowerment (smallwood, 2006: 73). table 1: top ten skills for all levels of construction management based on frequency of use skill levels of management operational middle top mean p h a se 1 p h a se 2 p h a se 1 p h a se 2 p h a se 1 p h a se 2 p h a se 1 p h a se 2 communicating (oral) 2 1 3 1 1= 1= 1 1 communicating (written) 14 2 13 2 4= 4 9 2 decision making 8= 8 1= 4= 1= 3 2= 3 organising 5 6 5 4= 12 6= 7= 4 administrative 8= 7 6= 8 4= 5 5= 5= leadership 10= 11 10= 10 7 1= 7= 5= coordinating 6= 4 6= 11 4= 8 4 7 planning 3= 9 4 4= 13 11 5= 8 interpersonal 10= 13 10= 9 14= 9 10 11 controlling 3= 10 1= 15 3 10 2= 13 source: smallwood 2006: 69 ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 51 table 2 presents the top ten construction management knowledge areas per level of management, based on frequency of use, emanating from the findings of phases 1 and 2 of the ‘practice of construction management’ study conducted in south africa (smallwood, 2006: 73). as previously noted, the mean of all levels for phase 1 was used as the basis for the identification of the top ten. notable findings include: the importance of technology; the management of parameters such as cost, quality, subcontractors, and productivity; planning, and project management. the implication of these findings is that the managers of the business of construction and projects need to be empowered in terms of technology and management, and especially relative to the management of resources within defined parameters. the implication of these findings is that the managers of the business of construction and projects need to be empowered with such skills. however, the reality is that management focused programs such as construction management are the most likely to achieve such empowerment. table 2: top ten knowledge areas for all levels of construction management based on frequency of use knowledge area levels of management operational middle top mean p h a se 1 p h a se 2 p h a se 1 p h a se 2 p h a se 1 p h a se 2 p h a se 1 p h a se 2 construction methods (building) 1 1= 1 2 6= 9= 1 2 cost control 3 9 2 4 2= 15 2 6= quality management 4 8 6 7= 6= 20 3 6= contract administration 5= 16 3= 3 9 12 4= 8 subcontractor management 2 4 8= 6 12= 25 4= 5 contract documentation 10= 18 3= 9 6= 22 6 15 planning (programming) 7 10= 7 16= 17 17 7 12 customer service 19 21 10 7= 1 2 8 4 project management 18 27= 3= 10= 12= 16 9 20 productivity 14 5 12 14= 18= 23= 10 9 source: smallwood 2006: 87 2.4 causes of construction failures a study conducted by rwelamila et al. (1997: 369) identified marketing, followed by operational management and strategic factors, as the predominating factors that cause contractor failures (table 3). acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 52 these findings highlight the importance of the management of the business of construction, and more specifically the importance of the marketing function. table 3: factors associated with contractor failures factor response (%) strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree unsure operational management 35.0 33.0 18.0 13.0 1.0 strategic factors 20.0 37.0 27.0 15.0 1.0 personal 10.0 10.0 40.0 37.0 3.0 technological 10.0 27.0 33.0 25.0 5.0 environmental 2.0 15 0 53.0 25.0 5.0 marketing 70.0 30 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 rises in costs 20.0 23 0 33.0 17.0 7 0 source: rwelamila et al. 1997 2.5 existence of construction resources the availability of adequate construction resources promotes sustainable growth of the construction industry and the sustainable participation of the emerging contractor sector. the existence of construction resources enhances performance and best practices by all participants in the construction delivery process. smallwood (2006: 87) states that eleven construction resources need to exist in all contracting organisations and that the requisite competencies must be present at all levels of management in a contracting organisation. this is supported by emery et al. (2005: 2) who state that emerging civil engineering contracting organisations have inadequate resources for the business of construction, in that they do not have adequate capacity both technically and financially. 2.6 extent of skills development the cidb, dpw, and ceta co-authored report (2005: 1-10) records the availability of the following construction skills programmes: department of public works: contractor incubator • programme; sakhasonke emerging contractor development programme;• ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 53 department of transport – kwazulu natal: vukuzakhe emerging • civil engineering contractor programme; limpopo sakhasonke contractor development programme;• csir – boutek: south african construction excellence model • (sacem) and emerging contractor development model (ecdm); safcec emerging contractor development model;• ethekwini municipalities: ethekwini emerging contractor • learnership programme; and expanded public works programme (epwp) contractor • learnership programme. jacquet (2002: 6) states that although much work has been done in terms of formulating skills development programmes in construction, there is a need to further develop the programmes in such a structured manner that they will suit the environment in which the business of construction and that of projects are managed. 2.7 investment in skills training table 4 indicates that civil engineering contracting organisations concentrate on training that develops low level skills, is short in duration, and tends to focus on application in the workplace rather than high levels of skills development (badroodien, 2004: 156). table 4: civil engineering construction organisations’ level of training level per annum type outcomes training investment as percentage of payroll (%) in-house 0.4 outsourced 0.2 number of hours of training per employee (hrs) managers 21 semi-skilled 16 trained and unskilled 11 training places per employees (no.) managers 0.3 semi-skilled 0.3 trained and unskilled 0.3 source: badroodien 2004: 156 chand (2005: 12) is of the opinion that for a contracting organisation to compete and sustain its business practices, a highly skilled workforce delivers higher quality production returns than mediocre acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 54 workers. competitive organisations rely on employees who provide innovative solutions to problems the organisation might encounter. 3. research methodology the survey of the literature led to the identification of civil engineering and construction management competencies, construction resources, management functions, organisation functions that are necessary to sustain emerging civil engineering contracting organisations. 3.1 research method a descriptive survey method was adopted, which involved the use of structured questionnaires for an in-depth exploration of the constructs underlying all subject matter of the research. this type of research observes the existing conditions, and describes the characteristics of the variables of interest in a given situation (cropley & harris, 2004: 7). a preliminary research approach comprising of a quantitative method of data production using the questionnaire was employed in order to obtain the data from the target population. the need for content validity was not established as no pilot study and pre-testing was done on the questionnaire. the reliability for internal consistency of the factors was validated from a scale of selfrating by the respective emerging civil engineering contractors. 3.2 sample strata the sample strata consisted of ten successful and ten unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors that were undertaking projects for which the lead researcher was providing a consulting service, and four established civil engineering contractors that were contracting in the nelson mandela metropole at the time of the study. the emerging civil engineering contractors were differentiated on the basis of their having completed projects and having not completed projects respectively. the questionnaire surveys were administered by the lead researcher to ensure the standardisation of data gathering, to decrease non-response errors and to increase response rates as recommended by cooper & schindler (1998: 21). nine of each of the successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors completed the questionnaires, which equates to a response rate of 90%. all four of the established civil engineering contractors completed the questionnaire. ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 55 3.3 analysis of the data the data was analysed using ms excel. descriptive statistics and a measure of central tendency in the form of a mean score between 1 and 5 were computed based upon responses to the five-point likert scale questions. this was done to interpret percentage responses to the five-point likert scale and to enable ranking of variables and a comparison of the emerging successful, unsuccessful and established successful civil engineering contractors. variables in the form of inter alia, knowledge, skills, and factors were ranked based upon their mean scores. further, a standard deviation was computed for each variable in case two or more variables tied in terms of achieving the same mean scores. in the case of such an event, the variable with the lower standard deviation was ranked higher. mean scores and standard deviations were computed to two decimal places. 4. research section 4.1 presents the salient findings of the study in the form of tables 5-17. section 4.2 presents a summary of the findings, and the testing of the hypotheses is presented in section 4.3. 4.1 findings the findings presented in the tables if the form of frequencies and mean scores are introduced and discussed. in the main, successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractor organisations are compared, but relative to certain aspects emerging and established civil engineering contractor organisations are compared. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 56 ta b le 5 : a c o m p a ris o n b e tw e e n e m e rg in g a n d e st a b lis h e d c iv il e n g in e e rin g c o n tr a c to rs ’ q u a lifi c a ti o n s p e r le v e l o f m a n a g e m e n t p e r fu n c ti o n q u a lifi c a ti o n s p e r le v e l o f m a n a g e m e n t (% ) to p m id d le o p e ra ti o n a l e m e rg in g e st a b lis h e d e m e rg in g e st a b lis h e d e m e rg in g e st a b lis h e d < matric non constr 3-year quali 4-year quali < matric non constr 3-year quali 4-year quali < matric non constr 3-year quali 4-year quali < matric non constr 3-year quali 4-year quali < matric non constr 3-year quali 4-year quali < matric non constr 3-year quali 4-year quali g e n e ra l m a n a g e m e n t 2 7 .8 4 4 .4 2 2 .3 5 .6 0 .0 0 .0 1 6 .7 4 9 .9 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 1 6 .7 1 6 .7 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 p ro d u c tio n 5 .0 2 2 .7 1 1 .6 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 5 .0 1 1 .6 2 1 .6 5 .0 0 .0 0 .0 3 3 .3 3 3 .3 8 .9 5 .0 3 .8 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 3 3 .3 0 .0 p ro c u re m e n t 1 1 .1 5 9 .1 2 4 .3 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 2 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 4 0 .0 4 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 5 .6 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 m a rk e ti n g 1 0 .0 5 8 .6 3 1 .5 0 .0 3 3 .3 3 3 .3 3 3 .3 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 fi n a n c ia l 1 2 .5 4 9 .1 1 3 .4 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 1 0 0 . 1 7 .9 0 .0 7 .2 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 h r s 1 6 .7 2 7 .9 1 6 .4 5 .0 2 2 .2 1 1 .1 1 1 .1 1 1 .1 5 .6 2 0 .0 8 .6 0 .0 0 .0 1 1 .1 0 .0 3 3 .3 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 p u b lic re la ti o n s 1 5 .0 4 5 .0 1 0 .0 2 .5 4 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 5 .0 2 0 .0 2 .5 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 2 0 .0 2 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 2 0 .0 0 .0 le g a l 1 6 .7 2 5 .0 1 1 .1 0 .8 8 .3 0 .0 0 .0 6 6 .7 8 .4 2 4 .3 5 .6 8 .3 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 2 5 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 a d m in a n d it 2 6 .0 3 3 .1 9 .1 0 .0 1 3 .7 1 8 .2 0 .0 0 .0 1 3 .7 1 8 .2 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 2 0 .0 4 0 .0 2 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 57 table 5 provides a comparison between emerging and established civil engineering contractor’s qualifications per level of management and function in their contracting organisations in terms of percentage responses. when comparing the qualifications of emerging and established civil engineering contractors’, it is notable that the responsibility for functions in emerging civil engineering contractor organisations is concentrated at top management level, and that top management of established civil engineering contractor organisations has higher qualifications. it is also notable that top management of emerging civil engineering contractors have more non-construction qualifications than that of established contractors. although there is more middle management responsibility relative to the various functions in emerging than established, the qualifications are ‘low level’. further, it is also notable that there is limited responsibility at operational management level in both categories of contractor organisations. therefore, based upon percentages, emerging civil engineering contractors can be deemed to be deficient relative to adequacy of qualifications (4-year degree) at top, middle and operational management levels, and sufficient relative to adequacy of qualifications (3-year degree) at top and middle management. established civil engineering contractors can be deemed deficient relative to adequacy of civil engineering construction qualifications of practitioners at top and middle management level and those functions that correlate with the nature of the business of construction. table 6: a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractor ratings of management in their organisations relative to the functions of management work activity successful unsuccessful mean ms rank ms rank ms rank planning: forecasting 3.89 4 = 4.00 3 = 3.95 3 developing objectives 3.33 13 = 3.56 15 = 3.45 14 programming 3.67 6 = 3.44 8 = 3.56 9 scheduling 3.44 11 = 4.00 18 = 3.72 7 budgeting 3.44 11 = 3.67 3 = 3.56 9 developing procedures 3.33 13 = 3.11 12 = 3.22 17 developing policies 3.11 19 4.00 20 3.56 9 organising: developing organisation structure 3.56 9 = 3.25 19 3.41 15 acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 58 delegating 3.67 6 = 3.67 12 = 3.67 8 = establishing relationships 4.11 1 3.67 12 = 3.89 4 = leading: decision-making 4.00 2 = 4.44 1 4.22 1 communicating 4.00 2 = 4.22 2 4.11 2 motivating 3.67 6 = 4.00 3 = 3.84 6 selecting people 3.89 4 = 3.89 6 = 3.89 4 = developing people 3.33 13 = 3.78 8 = 3.56 9 = controlling: developing performance standards 3.33 13 = 3.33 13 3.33 16 performance measuring 3.22 17 = 3.22 17 = 3.22 17 = evaluating performance 3.00 20 3.00 20 3.00 20 = correcting performance 3.22 17 = 3.22 17 = 3.22 17 = coordinating 3.56 9 = 3.56 9 = 3.56 9 = table 6 provides a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractor ratings of management in their organisations relative to the five functions and related activities of management work in terms of mean scores (mss). it is notable that all the activities have mss above the midpoint score of > 3.00, which indicates that in terms of the mean, both categories of emerging civil engineering contractors rate their management more adequate than inadequate. however, it should be noted that three mss are on the limit of the range, namely 3.00. when comparing the mss the following can be noted: planning: five (71.4 %) out of seven unsuccessful mss are > • successful mss, and two (28.6 %) out of seven successful mss are > unsuccessful mss; organising: one (33.3%) out of three successful and • unsuccessful ms is equal, and two (66.7%) out of three successful mss are > unsuccessful mss; leading: one (20.0%) out of five successful and unsuccessful • ms is equal, and four (80.0%) out of five unsuccessful mss are > successful mss; controlling: all four (100.0%) out of four activities for both • unsuccessful and successful mss are equal; and coordinating: all (100.0 %) out of four activities for both • unsuccessful ms and successful ms are equal. ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 59 it is notable that the greatest difference between mss is relative to scheduling, developing policies, establishing relationship, decisionmaking and developing people. in general it is also notable that unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors rate their management’s competencies more adequate than successful emerging civil engineering contractors do, however, not relative to the function of organising. this higher percentage may be attributable to a lack of understanding of the actual activities and related competencies, and or an overestimation of adequacy. furthermore, this could also be construed to be a lack of appreciation of limitations. table 7: a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisations’ level of adequacy in the top ten knowledge areas of construction management subject areas successful unsuccessful mean ms rank ms rank ms rank industrial relations 4.33 1 = 3.78 6 4.06 1 = construction methods (civil) 4.11 3 = 4.00 1 = 4.06 1 = planning (programming) 4.00 4 = 4.00 1 = 4.00 3 contract documentation 3.89 7 = 4.00 1 = 3.95 4 quality management 4.33 1 = 3.50 10 3.92 5 project management 3.89 7 = 3.89 5 3.89 6 productivity 4.00 4 = 3.75 7 3.88 7 total quality management (tqm) 3.67 9 = 4.00 1 = 3.84 8 subcontractor management 4.00 4 = 3.56 9 3.78 9 plant and equipment management 3.67 9 = 3.67 8 3.67 10 table 7 provides a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisations’ level of adequacy in the top ten subject areas of construction management in terms of mss. it is notable that all subject areas have mss above the midpoint score of 3.00, which indicates that in terms of the mean, both categories of emerging civil engineering contractors rate their knowledge areas in construction management more adequate than inadequate. when comparing the mss the following are notable: five (50.0%) out of the ten subject areas of the successful mss • are > than unsuccessful mss; two (20.0%) out of the ten subject areas of the unsuccessful • mss are > than successful mss; and acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 60 three (30.0%) out of the ten subject areas of the successful • and unsuccessful mss are equal. in general it is notable that successful emerging civil engineering contractors rate their organisation’s level of adequacy in the top ten construction management skills more adequate than unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors do, however, not relative to the subject area of contract documentation, and total quality management. further, it is also notable that the greatest difference between mss is relative to quality management and industrial relations. table 8: a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisation’s level of adequacy in the top ten construction management skills skill successful unsuccessful mean ms rank ms rank ms rank leadership 4.11 1 = 4.33 1 = 4.22 1 decision making 4.11 1 = 4.22 3 4.17 2 communicating (oral) 3.89 8 = 4.33 1 = 4.11 3 communicating (written) 4.00 3 = 4.00 5 = 4.00 4 = coordinating 4.00 3 = 4.00 5 = 4.00 4 = planning 3.89 8 = 4.11 4 4.00 4 = organising 4.00 3 = 4.00 5 = 4.00 4 = controlling 4.00 3 = 3.89 9 3.95 8 interpersonal 4.00 3 = 3.78 10 3.89 9 administrative 3.56 10 4.00 5 = 3.78 10 table 8 provides a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their managements’ level of adequacy in the top ten construction management skills in terms of mss. it is notable that all ten (100%) of the skills have mss above the midpoint score of 3.00, which indicates that in terms of the mean, both categories of emerging civil engineering contractors rate their management’s skills more adequate than inadequate. when comparing the mss per skill the following are notable: two (20.0%) out of the ten subject areas of the successful mss • are > than the unsuccessful mss; ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 61 five (50.0%) out of the ten subject areas of the unsuccessful • mss are > than the successful; and three (30.0%) out of the ten subject areas of both successful • and unsuccessful mss are equal. it is also notable that the greatest difference between mss is relative to oral communicating and administrative. in general it is notable that unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors rate their management’s skills more adequate than successful emerging civil engineering contractors do, however, not relative to the skills of interpersonal and controlling. these higher ratings may be attributable to a lack of understanding of the actual skills and related competencies, and or an overestimation of adequacy. furthermore, this could be construed to be attributable to a lack of appreciation of limitations. table 9: a comparison of training statistics relative to successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors measure response per aspect (%) / hrs / no successful unsuccessful training investment as a percentage of payroll (%) 0.7 0.2 number of hours of training per employee per annum (hrs) 71.1 68.6 training places per employee (no) 3.1 1.6 table 9 provides an overview of salient training statistics relative to both successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors. when comparing the successful and unsuccessful measures, the following can be noted: training investment as a percentage of payroll (%): • the successful percentage is 28.6 % > the unsuccessful percentage; number of hours of training per employee per annum (hrs): • both successful and unsuccessful categories allocate more or less the same number of hours per employee; and training places per employees: the successful number is • almost double that of the unsuccessful. when considering the three measures it can only be deduced that the training undertaken by the successful emerging civil engineering acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 62 contractors is more expensive than that of the unsuccessful per employee. table 10: a comparison of the extent to which various aspects contribute to the failure of contractors according to successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors aspect successful unsuccessful mean ms rank ms rank ms rank operational management 4.78 1 4.11 1 = 4.45 1 strategic factors 4.00 2 3.89 3 = 3.95 2 rises in costs 3.67 3 3.89 3 = 3.78 3 technological 3.22 4 4.11 1 = 3.67 4 personal 3.00 5= 3.78 5 3.39 5 marketing 3.00 5 = 3.00 7 3.00 6 = environmental 2.89 7 3.11 6 3.00 6 = table 10 provides a comparison of the extent to which various aspects contribute to the failure of contractors according to successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors in terms of mss. it is notable that all the aspects have mss > the midpoint score of 3.00, which indicates that in terms of the mean, both categories of emerging civil engineering contractors consider the aspects to contribute to the failure of contractors. however, it should be noted that two mss are on the limit of the range, namely 3.00. when comparing the mss per function, the following can be noted: two (28.6%) out of the seven aspects of successful mss are • greater than unsuccessful mss; four (57.1%) out of the seven aspects of unsuccessful mss are • greater than successful mss; and one (14.3%) out of the aspects of mss is equal. • it is also notable that the greatest difference between mss is relative to technological. in general it is notable that unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors rate the extent to which various aspects contribute to the failure of contractors higher than successful emerging civil engineering contractors do. ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 63 table 11: a comparison of skill programme undertaken by and need for training in successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractor’s organisations. skills programme response per form (%) successful unsuccessful yes need yes need knowledge management 10.0 50.0 55.6 22.2 personal and team effectiveness 60.0 40.0 33.3 44.5 monitoring and evaluation of projects 20.0 40.0 44.5 33.3 negotiation and conflict management 40.0 20.0 55.6 22.2 professional business writing skills 30.0 30.0 22.2 66.7 meeting management 60.0 40.0 33.3 66.7 computer skills 40.0 40.0 22.2 77.8 health systems management 20.0 40.0 22.2 66.7 human resource management 50.0 30.0 44.4 55.6 mentoring and coaching 60.0 40.0 66.7 33.3 labour relations 50.0 50.0 44.4 44.5 financial management for non-financial managers 60.0 30.0 16.7 77.8 quality and customer relations management 60.0 40.0 33.3 44.5 construction contracts sustainable development 70.0 30.0 33.3 44.5 table 11 provides a comparison of skills programme undertaken by and need for training in successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors in terms of percentage responses: ten (66.7 %) out of the fifteen successful ‘yes’ percentages • are > unsuccessful ‘yes’ percentages; five (33.3 %) out of fifteen unsuccessful ‘yes’ percentages are • > successful percentages; four (26.7%) successful ‘need’ percentages are > unsuccessful • ‘need’ percentages; and eleven (73.3 %) unsuccessful ‘need’ percentages are > • successful ‘need’ percentages. in general the successful emerging civil engineering contractors have subscribed more to training than the unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors; however, the latter have a greater need than the former. however, in terms of ‘yes’ percentages, there is a notable difference between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering relative to knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation of projects and computer skills. unsuccessful emerging civil engineering acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 64 contractors do not consider skills development training relative to negotiation and conflict management, mentoring and coaching important in their organisations. the converse is notable in successful emerging civil engineering contracting organisations relative to personal and team effectiveness, meeting management, human resource management, mentoring, labour relations, financial management for non-financial managers, quality and customer relations management, costing and estimating organisational development, and construction contracts sustainable development. furthermore, in terms of ‘need’ percentages there is notable difference between successful and unsuccessful and successful emerging civil engineering contractors relative to quality management, information technology, human resource planning, and budget control. table 12: a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors’ ratings of the adequacy of resources in their organisations resource successful unsuccessful mean ms rank ms rank ms rank management 3.67 2 3.56 2 3.62 1 competencies 3.78 1 3.44 3 3.61 2 supervision 3.33 5 = 3.67 1 3.50 3 information 3.50 4 3.33 4 3.42 4 innovation 3.56 3 3.00 5 = 3.28 5 labour 3.11 9 3.00 5 = 3.06 6 plant & equipment 3.33 5 = 2.56 9 = 2.95 7 = finance 3.33 5 = 2.56 9 = 2.95 7 = technology 3.22 8 2.67 8 2.95 7 = materials 3.00 10 2.78 7 2.89 10 co-contractors 2.89 11 2.56 9 = 2.73 11 table 12 provides a comparison between successful and unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors’ ratings of the adequacy of resources in their organisations in terms of mss. it is notable that with the exception of finance, technology, materials, plant and equipment, and co-contractors, all the resources have mss above the midpoint score of 3.00, which indicates that in terms of the mean, both categories of emerging civil engineering contractors rate their resources marginally more adequate than inadequate. however, it should be noted that three mss are on ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 65 limit of the range, namely 3.00. it is also notable that ten (90.9%) out of the eleven resources relative to successful emerging civil engineering contractors are greater than those relative to unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors. further, it is also notable that only one (9.1%) out of the eleven resources relative to unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors is greater than those of successful emerging civil engineering contractors. these higher percentages may be attributable to a clear understanding of actual resources, and a realistic estimate of adequacy. furthermore, it is also notable that the greatest difference between mss is relative to, plant and equipment, and finance. table 13: a comparison between the form of functions in emerging and established civil engineering contractor organisations function response per form (%) emerging established separate included with another separate included with another su c c e ss fu l u n su c c e ss fu l m e a n su c c e ss fu l u n su c c e ss fu l m e a n general management 14.3 14.3 14.3 85.7 85.7 85.7 0.0 100.0 production 14.3 14.3 14.3 85.7 85.7 85.7 50.0 50.0 procurement 50.0 28.6 39.3 50.0 71.4 55.4 50.0 50.0 marketing 60.0 50.0 55.0 40.0 50.0 52.5 100.0 0.0 financial 85.7 25.0 55.4 14.3 75.0 65.2 0.0 100.0 human resources 85.7 50 0 67.9 14.3 50.0 58.9 0.0 100.0 public relations 66.7 62 5 64.6 33.3 37.5 51.1 50.0 50.0 legal 85.7 71.4 78.6 14.3 28.6 53.6 100.0 0.0 administration & it 14.3 28 6 21.5 85.7 71.4 46.5 0.0 100.0 table 13 provides a comparison between the form of functions in emerging and established civil engineering contractor organisations, in terms of percentages. in terms of ‘separate’ functions it is notable that only four (44.4%) out of the nine established functions’ percentages are > the mean emerging percentages, and five (55.6 %) out of the nine emerging functions’ percentages are > than the established percentages. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 66 it is also notable in terms of ‘included with another’, only four (44.4%) out of the nine established functions’ percentages are > emerging, and five (55.6 %) emerging percentages are > than the established percentages. further, it is notable that the greatest difference between mean emerging and established civil engineering contractors in terms of ‘separate’ is relative to production, marketing, financial, and human resources relative to ‘separate’ and marketing, financial, legal, and administration and information technology relative to ‘included with another’. table 14: a comparison of the deployment of management in emerging and established civil engineering contractor organisations level deployment of management per level of management (%) top middle operational emerging e st a b lis h e d emerging e st a b lis h e d emerging e st a b lis h e d su c c e ss fu l u n su c c e ss fu l m e a n su c c e ss fu l u n su c c e ss fu l m e a n su c c e ss fu l u n su c c e ss fu l m e a n single 22.2 44.4 33.3 75.0 44.4 66.7 55.6 50.0 44.4 44.4 44.4 25.0 multi 77.8 55.6 66.7 25.0 55.6 33.3 44.4 50.0 55.6 55.6 55.6 75.0 table 14 provides a comparison of the deployment of management in emerging and established civil engineering contractor organisations in terms of percentage responses. when comparing the percentage responses of emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ organisations, it is notable that the top management of emerging civil engineering contractor organisations is responsible for more than one level of management, whereas the top management of established civil engineering organisations is dedicated more to a specific level. it is also notable that at middle management level, management in emerging and established civil engineering contractors are generally responsible for either a single or more than one level of management. however, the operational management of established civil engineering contractor organisations is responsible for more than one level and albeit it to a lesser extent, the management of emerging civil engineering organisation. ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 67 table 15: a comparison of emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their management’s competencies relative to the functions of construction management activity rating of competencies per activity per category of contractor (ms) emerging established successful unsuccessful mean planning: forecasting 3.89 4.00 3.95 3.50 developing objectives 3.33 3.56 3.45 3.25 programming 3.67 3.44 3.56 3.75 scheduling 3.44 4 00 3.72 3.75 budgeting 3.44 3 67 3.56 3.25 developing procedures 3.33 3.11 3.22 3.00 developing policies 3.11 4 00 3.56 3.00 organising: developing organisational structure 3.56 3.25 3.41 3.75 delegating 3.67 3.67 3.67 3.00 establishing relationaships 4.11 3.67 3.89 3.75 leading: decision-making 4.00 4.44 4.22 3.25 communicating 4.00 4.22 4.11 2.75 motivating 3 67 4.00 3.84 3.50 selecting people 3 89 3.89 3.89 2.75 developing people 3 33 3.78 3.56 2.75 controlling: developing performance standards 3 33 3.33 3.33 2.50 performance measuring 3.22 3.22 3.22 2.50 evaluating performance 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.25 correcting performance 3.22 3.22 3.22 3.00 coordinating 3.56 3.56 3.56 2.25 table 15 provides a comparison between emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their management’s competencies relative to the functions of construction management in terms of mss. it is notable that overall thirty three of the mss, most relative to emerging contractors have mss > 3.00, which indicates that both categories of contractors rate their management’s competencies more adequate than inadequate. however, it should be noted that seven mss are on limit of the range, namely 3.00. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 68 when comparing the mss of the two categories of contractors, the following can be noted: planning: five (71.4%) out of seven emerging mss are > • established mss, and two (28.6%) out of the seven emerging mss are < established mss; organising: two (66.7%) out of three emerging mss are > • established mss, and one (33.3%) out of the seven emerging ms is < established ms; leading: five (100.0%) out of five emerging mss; • controlling: four(100.0%) out of four emerging mss are > • established mss; and coordinating: one (100.0 %) out of one of emerging ms is > • established ms. further, it is notable that the greatest difference between mss is relative to communicating and coordinating. in general it is notable that emerging civil engineering contractors rate their management’s competencies more adequate than established civil engineering contractors do. these high ratings, particularly those relative to unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors, may be attributable to a lack of understanding of the related competencies, and or an over estimation of adequacy. table 16: a comparison of emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisations’ level of adequacy in the top ten knowledge areas of construction management knowledge areas rating of knowledge areas per category of contractor (ms) emerging established successful unsuccessful mean construction methods (civil) 4.33 3.50 3.92 4.25 cost control 3.89 3.89 3.89 3.75 quality management 4.00 3.75 3.88 3.50 contract administration 4.33 3.78 4.06 3.75 co-contractor management 3.67 3.67 3.67 2.50 contract documentation 4.00 3.56 3.78 3.75 planning (programming) 4.11 4.00 4.06 4.00 customer service 3.67 4.00 3.84 3.25 project management 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.75 productivity 3.89 4.00 3.95 3.50 ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 69 table 16 provides a comparison between emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisations’ level of adequacy in the top ten knowledge areas of construction management in terms of mss. it is notable that with the exception of co-contractor management relative to established civil engineering contractors, all the mss of both categories are > 3.00, which indicates that both categories of civil engineering contractors rate their knowledge areas in construction management more adequate than inadequate. it is also notable that nine (90.0%) out of the ten knowledge areas of emerging mss are > established ms. however, relative to construction civil one (10.0%) out of the ten knowledge areas of the established ms is > the emerging ms. therefore, based upon mss, established civil engineering contractors can be deemed to be deficient relative to certain construction management knowledge areas in their organisations, in particular co-contractor management. as previously stated, the high ratings, particularly those relative to unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors, may be attributable to a lack of understanding of the related knowledge areas, and or an over estimation of adequacy. in the essence, emerging civil engineering contractors rate their adequacy higher than established civil engineering contractors do. table 17: a comparison of emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisations’ construction management knowledge and skills competency rating of construction management competency per category of contractor (ms) emerging established successful unsuccessful mean knowledge 4.33 3.56 3.95 4.25 skills 4.11 3.44 3.78 4.00 table 17 provides a comparison between emerging and established civil engineering contractors’ ratings of their organisations’ construction management knowledge and skills in terms of mss. it is notable that both established mss are > unsuccessful emerging mss, but not the successful emerging mss. it is also notable that established civil engineering contractors have higher mss in the all encompassing competencies, whereas acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 70 emerging have higher mss in most of the single competencies, knowledge, and skills than the established do. 4.2 summary emerging civil engineering contractors do not have adequate construction–related qualifications. construction management competencies are not clearly understood in terms of their need and the application thereof. emerging civil engineering contractor organisations are inadequate in terms of having the critical construction resources – inter alia, the resource that supervises the activities of the physical construction process. overall, emerging civil engineering contractors rate themselves lower than established civil engineering contractors in terms of overall knowledge and skills. however, successful emerging civil engineering contractors rate themselves higher. the nine universal functions in an organisation are not fully represented in emerging civil engineering contractor organisations in terms of management dedicated thereto. 4.3 testing of the hypotheses table 5 indicates that emerging civil engineering contracting organisations are comprised of individuals who do not have formal construction–related qualifications. no emerging civil engineering contractor has an employee in possession of a higher education diploma or degree in the discipline of construction management, which could be deemed the ideal qualification in terms of managing a construction contracting organisation. table 6 indicates that unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors generally overrate themselves relative to successful emerging civil engineering contractors, in terms of their management’s competency relative to the functions of management work. table 7 indicates that successful emerging civil engineering contractors rate their adequacy relative to the top ten knowledge areas of construction management higher than unsuccessful emerging contractors do. table 10 indicates that unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors recognise the extent to which various aspects contribute to the failure of contractors more so than successful emerging civil engineering contractors do, they do not do so relative to operational management, and strategic factors. table 9 indicates that the level of training is of low skill in terms of skills development as an investment. table11 indicates that successful emerging civil engineering contractors have undertaken substantially more training than successful emerging civil engineering contractors. ramokolo & smallwood • the capacity of emerging civil engineering contractors 71 table 12 indicates that successful emerging civil engineering contractors rate themselves higher than unsuccessful emerging civil engineering contractors do in terms of adequacy of resources in their organisations. table 13 indicates that in terms of the mean, functions in emerging civil engineering contractors’ organisations are generally afforded separate status more so than they are in established civil engineering contractor organisations. table 14 indicates that in terms of the mean, the top management of emerging civil engineering contractors is working at more than one level of management, which is not the case in established civil engineering contractors. table 14 further indicates that established civil engineering contractors have less individuals at more than one level of management than emerging civil engineering contractors have. table 17 indicates that in terms of the mean, emerging civil engineering contractors rate themselves lower relative to overall construction management knowledge and skills than established civil engineering contractors do. the results of the testing of the hypotheses are as follows: emerging civil engineering contractors lack construction • related qualifications is supported; emerging civil engineering contractors lack construction • management competencies is partially supported; a range of factors contribute to the failure of emerging civil • engineering contractors is partially supported; the level of skills development in emerging civil engineering • contractors is inadequate is supported; the level of resources in emerging civil engineering contractors • is inadequate is supported; construction management competencies are more • pervasive in successful established civil engineering contractor organisations than in emerging civil engineering contractor organisations is supported; and established civil engineering contractor organisations are • better resourced than emerging civil engineering contractor organisations is supported. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 72 5. conclusions emerging civil engineering contracting organisations are not fully competent in terms of the functions and activities of management work that constitutes the general management function, which is necessary to achieve intended results. marketing, which is a key function in that effectiveness thereto, is essential to realise a sustainable business. the environment and information technology are not seen as important aspects in order to record success. 6. recommendations construction management as a discipline needs to be marketed with the intent of attracting more recruits to the discipline from potential construction-related practitioners. emerging civil engineering contractors need to be adequately educated. civil engineering programmes directed towards empowering future contractors need to be management, economics, and science and technology focused. further, barriers to entry to the civil engineering construction industry need to be implemented and regulated by enforcing criteria to register. if government pursues emerging civil engineering construction as a paradigm, then there is a need for government to embark on a national training initiative. given that construction is a science, art, and profession, the reality needs to be acknowledged and accepted by all built environment practitioners, and the concept of emerging civil engineering contractors needs to be reviewed. references allen, l.a. 1973. professional management: new concepts and proven practices. london: mcgraw-hill book company. badroodien, a. 2004. understanding the size of the problem. the national skills development strategy and enterprise training in south africa. shifting the understanding of skills in south africa. cape town: the hsrc press. chileshe, n., haupt, t.c. & fester, f. 2005. assessing the readiness of building diplomates for the south african construction industry. proceedings of the 4th triennial international conference. rethinking 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(eds.). reading bernstein, researching bernstein. london: routledge falmer. hutchings, m. & christofferson, j. 2001. factors leading to construction company success. perceptions of small-volume residential contractors. in: asc proceedings of the 37th annual conference, university of denver, denver, colorado, 18-22 june. jacquet, a. 2002. sustainable contractor development through coordinated and focus interventions. sustainable engineering as a pre-requisite for sustainable development. paper presented at the joint built environment profession convention, sandton, south africa, 1-3 may. acta structilia 2008: 15(2) 74 lawless, a. 2005. numbers and needs. addressing imbalances in the civil engineering profession. halfway house: south african institution of civil engineering (saice). rwelamila, p.d., lobelo, l. & ebohon, j. 1997. factors associated with insolvencies amongst civil engineering contractors in south africa. proceedings of the 2nd international rics cobra research conference [lhttp:www.rics.org.uk/researcg/cobra97] university of portsmouth. united kingdom. smallwood, j.j. 2006. the practice of construction management. acta structilia, 13(2), pp. 62-89. articles • artikels b both ma 1 & c e cloete2 a facilities management system for the maintenance of government hospitals in south africa abstract the current state of maintenance in government hospital facilities in south africa is reviewed. certain factors that contributed to the current state of hospital facilities are identified. a system for hospital maintenance management is proposed. several immediate as well as long-term benefits of the proposed system are indicated. it is suggested that the proposed maintenance system be further enhanced by means of a facilities management approach. keywords: maintenance, hospital facilities, facilities management, maintenance management, asset register, priority schedules, maintenance resources 'n fasiliteitsbestuurstelsel vir die instandhouding van staatshospitale in suid-afrika 'n oorsig van die huidige toestand van instandhouding van fasiliteite in staatshospitale in suid-afrika word gebied. sekere faktore wat bygedra het tot die huidige toestand van hospitaalfasiliteite word ge'i'dentifiseer en 'n stelsel vir die bestuur van hospitaalinstandhouding word voorgestel. verskeie kortsowel as langtermyn-voordele van die voorgestelde stelsel word aangedui en daar word gesuggereer dot verdere waarde toegevoeg word aan die voorgestelde stelsel deur gebruik te maak van 'n fasiliteitsbestuursbenadering. sleutelwoorde: instandhouding, hospitaalfasiliteite, fasiliteitsbestuur, instandhoudingsbestuur, batebestuur, prioriteitskedules, instandhoudingshulpbronne. b bothma, b eng (mech) (pre!). b com (unisa), m sc (real estate) (pre!), director, bba facilities management inc, pretoria. tel & fax (012) 361-3082. e-mail <bbothma@bbafm.co.za> 2 c e cloete, b sc (pre!), msc (pre!), d sc (pre!), b a (hons) (pre!), b th (unisa), professor, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of pretoria. tel (012) 420-2554 fax (012) 420-598. e-mail: <ccloete@postino.up.ac.za> bothma & cloete/facilities management system 1. introduction 1.1 new challenges facing the public health sector since the inception of a new democratic south africa in 1994, the public health sector has been confronted with several new challenges: • emphasis on primary health care (burger, 1999: 2) • serving all communities and geographical areas on an equitable basis (south africa, ministry of health, 1997, chapter 3) • reduced per capita health expenditure in real terms (barron, 1998: 33) • a change in emphasis from expensive to more cost-effective levels of care • a move towards measuring cost-effectiveness • producing measurable results • enhancing income (south africa, ministry of health 1997, chapter 3.5.l) • providing free health care services to pregnant mothers and children under the age of six years (burger, 1999: 2) • the increasing strain on hospital facilities due to the aids pandemic. 1.2 the condition of health facilities in addition to the new challenges, the existing hospital facilities are in a poor condition (sa ministry of health 1997, chapter 17). buildings and building services have deteriorated due to a lack of proper maintenance and proper maintenance management. the general state of neglect of these buildings can impact on several issues, for example: • the ability to provide health services can be hampered by the condition of the health facilities • a greater portion of the available budget may have to be spent on maintenance and the upgrading of projects, rather than on the provision of services • full-paying patients, i.e. patients with medical aid or an adequate disposable income, may prefer well-maintained private hospitals. it must be noted that the maintenance problems with respect to government hospitals in south africa are not unique. similar problems are evident in other parts of the world (seeley, 1987; ai­zubaidi, 1997) as well as in other south african government departments (mazibuko, 1997; potgieter, 1999). 2 2000 acta structilia val 7 no 1 1.3 total fixed investment the previous statements must be viewed in context with the total fixed investment regarding government hospitals. according to the results of the national health facilities audit· ( n h fa) ( barron, 1998: 127), the cost of health facilities can be summarised as follows: • replacement cost of current health estate: r24 billion • reinstatement of existing health estate to acceptable condition: r8 billion • ongoing replacement of outdated stock: r480 million per year. the health estate refers to 434 public sector hospitals and 103 health centres. 1.4 reasons for the poor state of government hospitals the reasons for the present state of affairs are wide and varied, including: 1.4.1 a lack of vision and accountability in the past, sufficient funding was available to make select hospitals appear good (barron, 1997: 74), despite improper maintenance management. in addition, due to the relatively newer hospital portfolio, maintenance problems were less apparent. there was a lack of vision regarding the maintenance, of hospitals, and its long-term effects. maintenance in several instances did not occur, resulting in the huge current backlog. this can partly be ascribed to a lack of accountability and a lack of maintenance systems. 1.4.2 government structures several studies (barron, 1997: 35) refer to the structure of the government health system as not being conducive to efficient management and transformation. part of this problem stems from the fact that various national and provincial departments are responsible for the health estate. for example, in gauteng province, maintenance of hospitals and clinics resorts under the department of transport. 1.4.3 the age of the hospital portfolio the hospital portfolio as a whole is reaching a relatively mature age, with some hospitals dating back to 1898 (crisp, 1997). lack of maintenance tends to be more noticeable in ageing facilities due to the accumulation effect, causing consequential damage. 3 bothma & cloete/facilities management system the collapse of one element negatively impacts upon others (abbott, 1999). 1.4.4 lack of maintenance management culture in the past, the focus was on rectification or repairs. modern maintenance concepts, for example preventative maintenance, life cycle costing, etc, were seldom implemented or practised. alexandre ( 1999) refers to the inability of the health and education sectors to apply effective and efficient management practices. 1.5 maintenance management system maintenance of government health facilities cannot be adequately addressed at present due to several structural and other factors as identified previously. although all the problems need to be addressed in order to provide a long-term solution, the following items must be resolved before long-term strategies can be formulated: • what must be maintained? • what is the current condition of the items to be maintained? • how must it be maintained? • how must limited resources be allocated to the maintenance process? clarity on these issues, in turn, requires certain essential system information tools. 1.6 system information tools before a maintenance system for hospitals can be implemented certain essential system information tools are required (spedding, 1994: 158). these are: • asset register • condition register • space priority schedule • service priority schedule • space/service priority matrix. it is recommended that all the information tools be kept and maintained on a computerised database in order to facilitate reporting. 1.6.1 asset register the first step in establishing a maintenance management system for health facilities is to determine what must be maintained 4 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l (seeley, 1987: 354). the component asset register is a database of all the items that need to be maintained. the asset register can be set up during an initial audit of existing facilities whereby all major items are recorded. detailed information pertaining to sub-components and sub-systems are not required at his stage. however, it is recommended that the asset register be expanded over a period of time to include these items. maintenance of the asset register is achieved as follows: • new projects and improvements: information is to be recorded from fitted drawings and operating and maintenance manuals • missing items: have to be recorded as they become apparent • redundant items: are to be removed as they become apparent • biannual inspections in order to verify data: these inspections can be combined with other necessary inspections. minimum requisite components of the asset register include the following: l ) building services the item must be classified in terms of the following building services (more services can be utilised if required. however, this is not recommended as it may lead to confusion): • buildings and facilities: building envelope including walls, floors, roof and structural components, including roads, walkways and gardens • mechanical: all mechanical services including electro­ mechanical services and excluding mechanical services associated with other services, e.g. a sewerage pump will be associated with wet services • electrical: all electrical and electronic services, excluding electrical items associated with other services e.g. air­ conditioning and switchboard • wet services: domestic water, storm water and drainage. 2) services all items must be classified with respect to a specific service within a building service. examples of typical service classifications include: • buildings and facilities: roofs, walls, floors, roads • mechanical: air-conditioning, medical gas, incinerators, boilers • electrical: high voltage and transformers, main low-voltage rooms and reticulation, secondary distribution boards and reticulation 5 bothma & cloete/facilities management system • wet services: domestic water supply, water storage tanks and storm water. 3) major components items must be classified as major components within a service. the major component classification must be as close as possible to the actual description of each item, for example: air-handling unit, transformer, floor tiles, etc. 4) unique numbers each major component must have a unique number. ideally this number should have some abbreviated reference to the component. the unique number is to be followed by other numbers referring to the location, building, site, etc. should other numbers be used, it is crucial that the unique number be written first since maintenance staff tend not to record the last digits accurately. a typical number may be constructed as follows: ahu-24/b2/l /jgh, where ahu-24 refers to air handling unit number 24 (24 being a unique number), located in building number 2 on the first floor of site jgh johannesburg general hospital. 5) others further information is not required at the initial stage. however, in order to fully utilise the asset register as a maintenance management tool, the following typical information should be added over a period of time: • make • model • abbreviated specification: capacity /rating/size • serial number • supplier information • major parts & serial numbers. 1.6.2 condition register in order to manage the maintenance process, it is necessary to record the condition of each item in the asset register at certain intervals. it is recommended that the condition register be updated on an annual basis. this can coincide with other inspections where applicable. the aim of the condition register is to record the current condition of the item in terms of serviceability. the purpose of the condition register is as follows: • to provide a general summary to management of the current condition of facilities 6 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 • as a planning tool, it can be used to allow for items that are deteriorating or to allocate resources in order to improve the condition • as a management tool, it indicates the effectiveness of the maintenance performed. 1) repeatability & measurability in order to keep the condition register effective and useful, the conditions must be repeatable and measurable by unqualified staff. repeatability. the system must allow for two distinct assessments to show the same results, should other factors not change. measurability. the system must allow for the condition to be measured by unqualified staff. subsequent measurements carried out by various staff members must produce the same result, should other factors be of a consistent nature. 2) conditions in order to ensure repeatability and measurability, the possible conditions need to be kept very simple. condition 3. good: item is in a very good running condition. condition 2. reasonable: item is in a running condition but requires attention. maintenance or minor repairs are required. condition 1. bad: item is not operational or operational with severe defects. immediate attention is required. 1.6.3 space priority schedule in order to make maintenance decisions, hospital spaces and services should be prioritised. 1) schedule a typical hospital space priority schedule comprises the following: spaces. the listing of all the spaces in the health facility: emergency routes should always be defined as a space, although they may form part of a corridor or other route. priority. the allocation of priority to the various spaces based on functionality with respect to the core business and importance of client service and functionality: emergency routes will normally have the highest priority whereas storage spaces will normally have a very low priority. 7 bothma & cloete/facilities management system 2) usage the space priority schedule is an important aspect of every maintenance system as it forms part of a structured approach to maintenance decision-making in the light of limited resources. this schedule will indicate to the user that functional spaces (e.g. hospital theatres} have a much higher maintenance priority than non-functional areas (e.g. store rooms}. 1.6.4 service priority schedule the service priority schedule is very similar to the space priority schedule except that it lists services rather than spaces. the services should not be confused with the area being served and are listed in accordance with their functionality with respect to the core service i.e. heath care. 1} schedule a typical service priority schedule comprises the following: services. the listing of all the services to be carried out in the facility. priority. the allocation of priority to the various services should be based on functionality with respect to the core business and importance of client service and functionality. services essential to patient safety, e.g. fire services and medical gas, will normally have a high priority whereas comfort services, e.g. ventilation to staff ablution facilities, will normally have a low priority. 2) usage the service priority schedule is an equally important aspect of every maintenance system as it forms part of a structured approach to maintenance decision-making in the light of limited resources. this schedule will indicate to the user that essential services (e.g. medical gas and electricity} have a much higher maintenance priority than comfort services (e.g. hot water}. 1.6.5 space/service priority matrix once the space and service priority schedules have been drawn up, a space/service priority matrix can be set out. this matrix is obtained by combining the space and service priority schedules in a matrix format and multiplying the various priorities with each other. this matrix is used to make maintenance decisions: 8 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 • high-priority items will suggest a comprehensive preventative maintenance programme and emergency repairs in the case of a breakdown • low-priority items will suggest a low-key maintenance programme, possible only aimed at repairs from time to time. downtime can be tolerated and repairs will be planned to suit the most cost-effective method • in case of budget restraints, maintenance to low-priority items can be stopped. this decision can easily be justified to management via the priority matrix • essential spares may have to be kept on site for high-priority items. 2. hospital maintenance strategies hospital maintenance personnel often view the development of suitable maintenance strategies as a very complex task, possibly due to the lack of a suitable maintenance system. maintenance strategies, and budgets in accordance with these strategies, were usually determined on an ad-hoe basis with little resemblance to what is actually required. developing a suitable maintenance strategy need not to be a daunting task and can be accomplished by utilising the following systematic approach. 2.1 inputs the basic inputs required for developing hospital maintenance strategies are the following: 2.2 information tools (seeley, 1987; spedding, 1994) • asset register. a data-base of all items for maintenance • condition register. states the condition of all items in the asset register to provide the basis for planned repairs and maintenance • priority matrix. formal method to determine which items must be maintained to a certain standard. 2.3 specifications • national building regulations. all requirements of the nbr must be met and maintained. the nbr therefore forms part of the hospital maintenance specifications • ohsa. all requirements of the occupational health and safety act (act 85 of 1993) must be complied with. this act therefore forms part of the maintenance specification 9 bothma & cloete/facilities management system • relevant sabs codes • manufacturer's service and maintenance specifications • design parameters & design redundancy. availability of additional capacity or stand-by equipment. 2.4 maintenance strategies the ideal strategy for each item can be determined by analysing the inputs described above. this process will typically involve the following ( cloete, 199 4): • statutory requirements. if the item does not meet the relevant requirements of the nbr / ohsa regulations it must be upgraded to conform to these requirements as soon as possible • priority matrix high priority. these items require a high level of maintenance. the maintenance plan for these items will involve maximum preventative maintenance by means of high-frequency regular services/inspections, condition monitoring and emergency repairs in the case of breakdown • priority matrix low priority. these items require a low level of maintenance. the maintenance plan will typically involve very little preventative maintenance and repair of breakdowns will be scheduled in the most cost-effective manner, usually to coincide with other similar repair work • condition register. high-priority items must normally be in condition 3. should these items be in a lower condition the maintenance strategy will normally allow for these items to be upgraded to a higher condition. normally condition 1 items cannot be tolerated within a hospital environment and the maintenance strategy for these items will usually include an upgrade/repair at least to condition 2. 10 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l 2.5 examples of maintenance strategies the following examples may assist in determining suitable maintenance strategies: example l building service: mechanical service: medical gas item: vie oxygen generator number: vie-02/pah condition: 2 priority: l maintain condition 2 (back-up from vie-01) daily inspection/cleaning maintenance strategy: monthly service emergency repair: <30min pressure vessel inspection: month 6 as per ohsa example 2 building service: building service: wet services item: hand wash-basin number: hwb-l 84/b4/l 2/chm condition: 3 priority: 38 repair to condition 2 maintenance strategy: annual inspection planned repair if reported the following can be inferred from the above examples: • the vie oxygen generator is a life-supporting service which requires a very high level of preventative maintenance. condition 3 would normally be required. however, condition 2 is acceptable due to the presence of a back-up system • this hand wash-basin with a low priority is located within the cleaner's restroom (space priority 12 in this case). a hand wash-basin within the theatre scrubbing area will have a very high priority and will require a condition 3 with appropriate maintenance strategy. 11 bothma & cloete/facilities management system 2.6 maintenance budgets hospital maintenance budgets, like other types of maintenance budgets, are frequently based on the previous year's allocation plus a percentage (seeley, 1987: 342). in other cases, maintenance budgets are determined as a percentage of the replacement cost of the relevant service per annum. typical percentages indicated by various authors include: • 6% to 10% (adam, 1997) • 1 % to 2'fo for buildings and 2% to 3% for plant (halbwachs, 1997) • 4% (abbott, 1999). adam ( 1997) further states: "in facilities that don't have accurate and updated fixed assets registers, the determination of this 6% or 10% is almost impossible and the proper budgeting of maintenance for the equipment is a shot in the dark." by utilising the proposed maintenance system, budgets can be formalised from a zero-based principle. budgets can be formulated for each item in accordance with the maintenance strategy: • determine tasks and costs for upgrading of condition (if applicable): this can easily be determined by obtaining budget quotations • determine the cost for preventative maintenance services and inspections: budgets can be obtained from quotations • allow for repair of major components: this should not be based on an ad-hoe allowance, but on field observations by qualified personnel. these items must be specific in order to monitor the expenses e.g. allow r 12 500 material and 12 hours' labour for refurbishment of compressor number 3 on chilled water generator chwg-08/chm compression ratios deteriorating and noisy bearings • allow for breakdowns and failure of components: this should 12 be based on estimates from experienced personnel: this section must allow for typical repairs e.g. unblocking of drains, repair of steam traps, replacement of fan belts, etc. planned repairs: each item must be broken down into a material and a labour component emergency repairs: for items that may require emergency repairs, separate budget items should allow for emergency call-outs and after-hours labour rates if applicable. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 further notes on maintenance budgets: • maintenance budgets cannot, and should not cover all eventualities. the aim is to make provision for the most likely scenario • a maintenance system will, over a period of time, provide for more accurate budgets as historical breakdown trends can assist in forecasting • the maintenance budget does not only indicate the value of materials required but also provides an indication of the level of human resources required • labour hours must be translated into labour rates and labour cost, including overheads and mark-up, for outsourced activities • material cost must include overheads and mark-up for outsourced activities • under the current government structures the cost of direct employed labour and administrative support staff cannot be accurately determined. these costs are currently budgeted for at regional office level and do not influence the actual maintenance budget for a specific health facility at present. 2.7 maintenance resources after determining what needs to be done, i.e. the maintenance strategies, it is necessary to determine the resources required in order to perform the required maintenance tasks. if the required resources are not available, alternative measures must be taken. this will in turn influence the budget. the final maintenance strategy will be an iterative process involving a maintenance strategy, budgets and resources. 2.8 human resources the following can be derived from the maintenance strategies and the maintenance budgets: • qualification and expertise required for each task • time required for each task • additional direct support personnel are required for each task e.g. number of unskilled helpers required, etc. should sufficient qualified human resources not be available, alternative strategies (e.g. outsourcing) can be considered. 13 bothma & cloete/facilities management system 2. 9 financial resources the maintenance budget determines the financial resources required. the following items can be added to the budget: • tools and special equipment • cleaning materials and protective clothing • sundry items (must be identified) • essential spares. should there be insufficient financial resources, as is often the case, decisions must be made as to which maintenance activities should be curtailed. certain maintenance tasks may be scrapped altogether. these decisions must be based on the formal priority list as determined by space/priority matrix (seeley, 1987: 11). 2.10 facilities management approach although the proposed system will enhance maintenance and maintenance management, several other structural issues are hampering the maintenance process. in order to comprehensively address health facilities management, a holistic approach is suggested. this approach should result in a facilities management strategy. the following objectives of a facilities management strategy for government hospitals in south africa are proposed to ensure: • that government hospitals in south africa are properly maintained • an environment that can guarantee the safety of patients (clients) • that hospital facilities reflect the best appropriate health care standards in the world • the process of maintenance and that maintenance management contributes towards the development of smme's (small, medium and micro enterprises) and pdls (previously disadvantaged individuals) • that the maintenance contributes towards reducing the real cost of health care • the extension of the economic life span of hospital facilities. a facilities management strategy may incorporate some of the following concepts: • adopting a facilities management approach • entering into service level agreements • benchmarks and measurement • formal facilities maintenance management system 14 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 • outsourcing • promoting condition of equipment. 2.11 benefits of a maintenance system a properly implemented maintenance system will have the following immediate benefits: • strategic maintenance planning • system for allocating limited resources against priorities • formalised maintenance plans and schedules • accurate zero-based budgets • record of actual maintenance expenditure • record of equipment • record the condition of the equipment. in addition, a properly implemented and managed system will entail the following long-term benefits: • a move from unplanned maintenance to planned maintenance • reduction of maintenance expenditure in the long term • reduced life cycle cost • longer useful economic life of equipment • reduced down times. 3. conclusion although there is no proper maintenance system for government hospitals in south africa, some progress has been made in this field since the 1995/1996 national health facilities audit (south africa, 1996). a building maintenance management system (bmms) is being developed (abbott, 1999). it is envisaged that the bmms will be based on the concept system outlined in this article, with some refinements and additions. should this bmms be successfully implemented, it is suggested that further development will lead to a fully integrated hospital facilities management system. 15 bothma & cloete/facilities management system table 1: typical hospital services and classification this table illustrates typical services that can be expected. a separate list must be drawn up for each hospital as services and usage of services differ from hospital to hospital. building service service building & facilities building structure building & facilities fire appliances buildino & facilities fire & emeroencv sionaoe building & facilities roofs building & facilities floors building & facilities doors building & facilities walls building & facilities windows buildinq & facilities ceilinos buildino & facilities cupboards & enclosures building & facilities miscellaneous fittings buildino & facilities general sionaoe building & facilities paving & roads buildino & facilities fences building & facilities gardens & irrigation electrical emergency generator & fuel storage electrical e�er�er:icy power switchgear &ret1cu at1on electrical main lt /distribution & switchgear electrical hv /transformers & switchgear electrical sub db's/reticulation electrical electrical outlets electrical light fittings & lamps electrical nurses call system mechanical medical gasses system ( excl. gas supply) mechanical gas autoclaves & aeration cabinets (eoj (excl. gas supply) mechanical medical compressed air & vacuum system mechanical steam generation & feed water installation ( excl. coal supply) mechanical steam & condensate reticulation svstem mechanical steam-heated autoclaves mechanical laundry equipment mechanical larger industrial a/c & ventilation plants & ancillary equipment mechanical kitchen equipment mechanical cold-, treezer rooms, mortuary cabinets & ice machines 16 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l mechanical hot-water generation & central heating mechanical incinerators mechanical domestic & industrial loose freezers & fridges mechanical small split& window a/c units & vent fans wet services main domestic water supply wet services plumbing & fittings wet services sewerage wet services pumps & storaqe tanks wet services storm water table 2: typical space priority schedule area priority consultinq room l treatment rooms 2 theatres 3 intensive care units 4 sterilisinq 5 sluices 6 specialist treatment 7 isolation 8 pharmacv 9 wards 10 kitchens 11 bathrooms and ablution facilities 12 medical stores 13 administration 14 non-medical facilities 15 site 16 notes: l . this is a typical example indicating that separate area priority tables must be drawn up for each facility. 2. the specific functional areas will differ for each facility. areas will be similar for facilities in similar categories e.g. regional hospital, district hospital, tertiary hospital, etc. 3. the areas should not be confused with medical departments. no differentiation with respect to maintenance is required between different departments. 17 bothma & cloete/facilities management system table 3: typical service priorities building service service buildino & facilities buildino structure buildinq & facilities fire appliances building & facilities fire & emergency sionage electrical emergency generator & fuel storage electrical emergency power switchqear & reticulation electrical main lt/distribution & switchaear electrical hv /transformers & switchgear wet services main domestic water suooly electrical sub-distribution boards/ reticulation electrical electrical outlets wet services plumbino & fittinas wet services seweraqe wet services pumps & storaoe tanks mechanical medical gasses system ( excl. oassupplyl gas autoclaves & mechanical aeration cabinets (eo) fexcl. aas suoolvl mechanical medical compressed air & vacuum system electrical liqht fittinqs & lamps steam generation & mechanical feed water installation ( excl. coal supply) mechanical steam & condensate reticulation system mechanical steam-heated autoclaves mechanical laundry equipment electrical nurses call system building & facilities roofs larger industrial a/c & mechanical ventilation plants & ancillary equipment 18 priority l 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l mechanical kitchen equipment 25 cold-, freezer rooms, mechanical mortuary cabinets & 26 ice machines mechanical hot-water generation 27 & central heating mechanical incinerators 28 buildino & facilities floors 29 buildinq & facilities doors 30 buildinq & facilities walls 31 building & facilities windows 32 buildinq & facilities ceilinqs 33 wet services storm water 34 mechanical domestic & industrial loose freezers & fridges 35 building & facilities cupboards & 36 enclosures buildinq & facilities miscellaneous fittinqs 37 building & facilities general signage 38 building & facilities paving & roads 39 mechanical small split& window 40 a/c units & vent fans building & facilities fences 41 buildinq & facilities gardens & irriqation 42 notes: l . the service priorities will differ from hospital to hospital. 2. the availability of private sector facilities must be considered e.g. incinerator services, food preparation and supply and laundry services, etc. can be outsourced in major centres in the case of an emergency. 19 bothma & cloete/facilities management system references abboti, g. 1999. developments from the 1995/1996 national health facilities audit. paper presented at the south african federation of hospital engineers conference. 10-12 november 1999. langebaanweg, south africa. adam, h.a. 1997. cost control measures in private sector hospitals. paper presented at the south african federation of hospital engineers conference. 8-10 october 1997. sun city, south africa. al-zubaidi, h. 1997. assessing the demand for building maintenance in a major hospital complex. property management 15(3), pp. 173-183. alexandre, c.s. 1999. our hospitals are busy dying. paper presented at the south african federation of hospital engineers conference. 10-12 november 1999. langebaanweg, south africa. barron, p. (ed.) 1998. south african health review 1997. health systems trust. publication on the internet, http://www.hst.org.za/sahr/97 1999. south african health review 1998. health systems trust. publication on the internet, http://www. hst.org.za/sahr/98 bothma, b. 1997. facilities maintenance management: reducing the life-cycle cost of fixed health assets. paper presented at the south african federation of hospital engineers conference. 8-10 october 1997. sun city, south africa. burger, d. {ed.) 1999. government communication and information systems. 1999. abstract on health from south africa yearbook 1999. publication on the internet. http://www.gov.za/yearbook/health.htm cloete, c.e. 1994. property management. part one. sandton: s a property education trust. crisp, n. 20 1997. analysing the existing problems and experiences, anticipating future scenarios for long-term solutions regarding hospital facilities. paper presented at the south african federation of hospital engineers conference. 8-10 october 1997. sun city, south africa. 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l csir 1996. national health facilities audit. national audit conducted by the council for scientific and industrial research for the national department of health. pretoria: ministry of housing. halbwachs, h. 1997. cost implications of maintenance and repair services in health care. paper presented at the south african federation of hospital engineers conference. 8-10 october 1997. sun city, south africa. mazibuko, g. 1997. policy interventions regarding property and facilities management. paper presented at the public sector property management conference. 22-24 april 1997. helderkruin, south africa. potgieter, f.j. 1999. calculation of the maintenance backlog of police stations in the republic of south africa. unpublished m sc(real estate) treatise. university of pretoria. seeley, i. 1987. building maintenance (2nd ed). hampshire: macmillan press. s a ministry of health 1997. white paper for the transformation of the health system in south africa. government gazette n° 17910. pretoria: government printers. spedding, a. (ed.) 1994. c/08 handbook of facilities management. bristol: the chartered institute of building. 21 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 sources of international cost data * kenneth k humphreys summary a good estimator can readily develop the estimate for a project in the home country, but such is not always the case for other nations. while cost engineers, quantity surveyors and project managers are generally very familiar with major sources of cost data in their own country, they are often unaware of useful sources of cost data and related information in other countries. this problem is exacerbated by lack of time to perform a proper search, publications in various languages, and lack of information about key factors that can impact the estimate for particular geographic locations. keywords: cost data, international countries, estimate. bronne vir internasionale koste-data opsomming 'n goeie kosteberamer ondervind min probleme om die koste van projekte in sy eie land te beraam, moor dit is nie die geval waar werk in die buiteland aangepak word nie. terwyl koste­ingenieurs, bourekenaars en projekbestuurders meestal op die hoogte is met die vemaamste bronne van plaaslik koste-data, is hulle redelik in die duister oor nuttige data-bronne en inligting in die buiteland. tydsdruk vererger die probleem, gevolglik kan 'n behoorlike soektog nie altyd geloods word nie. publikasies in ander tale is soms onverstaanbaar en moeilik bekombaar en ver­der bestaan door 'n algemene tekort aan inligting oor sleu­teldata wat 'n impak mag he op beramings rakende besondere geografiese liggings van terreine van projekte. sleutelwoorde: koste-data, buiteland, kosteberaming. keynote address presented at the nordnet '97 conference, "qual­ ity in project management", reykjavik, iceland 1997. dr. kenneth k. humphreys, pe cce, secretary-treasurer, international cost engi­ neering council, 1168 hidden lake drive, granite falls, nc 28630, usa. his paper was originally presented at the fourteenth interna­ tional cost engineering congress, guadalajara, mexico, february, 1996. it received the jan m. korevaar outstanding paper award from the international cost engineering council. the paper was up­ dated and expanded for presentation at the 1997 nordnet confer­ ence. humphreys/ sources of international cost data introduction i ndustrial firms are increasingly multinational, and many companies now build and operate plants in several na­ tions. economic cooperation agreements between na­ tions, such as the european economic community (eec), the north american free trade agreement (nafta), and the general agreement on tariffs and trade (gattj are encouraging further industrial globalization. it is therefore becoming increasingly important for project control professionals to be familiar with techniques for esti­ mating costs in other countries and to be able to compare costs in different nations. the questions that are always be­ ing asked are: "what will this plant cost in the u.s.?" "what about australia, germany, norway, and mexico?" and "which location is the most attractive financially?" a good estimator or cost engineer can readily develop the estimate for a plant in the home country, but such is not al­ ways the case for other nations. while cost engineers, quantity surveyors, and project managers are generally very familiar with major sources of cost data in their own country, they are often unaware of useful sources of cost data and related information in other countries. this prob­ lem is exacerbated by lack of time to perform a proper search, publications in various languages, and lack of infor­ mation about key factors that can impact the estimate for particular geographic locations. the following discussion is far from complete but should pro­ vide some insight into the availability of international cost data and location factors. included are: 1. descriptions of multicountry data sources for prelimi­ nary or conceptual cost studies, 2. notation of major database sources of unit price/cost data for specific countries, and 62 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 3. presentation of some example data to illustrate the kind of resources available for international project studies. limitations of published data the information sources described in this paper are primar­ ily periodical publications of various types. published infor­ mation must always be used with care. every location factor or commonly available cost index has its own under­ lying method of construction, with its particular inherent components and weightings. it is vital for the estimator us­ ing such quick-estimate data to understand how it was cre­ ated,· and to recognize just what its limitations and applications are. published data also is often inadequately explained and is frequently improperly dated. date of pub­ lication is meaningless because the data may be months or years old and may require adjustment to current cost levels. equipment cost data may or may not include ancillaries and/ or transportation and installation costs, etc. too often it seems that in the rush to complete the assignment, people will grasp any number they can find without fully under­ standing how it was derived, or what it represents. with location factors, one must recognize that they gener­ ally reflect only the relative cost to replicate a facility ex­ actly in another location. the factors do not consider cost effects which are introduced by unique site conditions such as climate, earthquake and geological considerations, etc. if the design is not identical in both locations, the cost differences are not generally accounted for if location fac­ tors alone are used. background sources it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the many complex problems that must be recognized in preparing estimates for international projects. nevertheless, due to 63 humphreys/ sources of international cost data their importance, some mention of the available back­ ground literature is appropriate. in order for a proper estimate to be made of a particular in­ ternational project, it is vital to understand the conditions existing in the country or countries where a project is to be located. in a 1978 paper presented at the fifth international cost engineering congress, utrecht, netherlands, c.g. walker( 1) outlined the major economic system parameters to be evaluated as follows: political stability attitude towards foreign investment type of bureaucracy finance banking system insurance regulations tax system duties legal system · laws governing conduct of business and individual freedom social system business ethics education language and religion geography infrastructure and communication climate industry capacity diversity efficiency many other authors(2l 0) have discussed siteor country­ specific factors that can impact the cost schedule, and/or price for an international project. these include: local ma­ terial quality/availability, labor availability, equipment availability, labor productivity, import duties, import li64 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 censes, local taxes, language, length of workweek, holi­ days, inflation, fluctuating exchange rates, religious customs, buy-local laws, shipping cycles, weather/climatic impacts, workforce level of education, logistics, workforce housing, and many other relevant factors. regional varia­ tions of these factors within a country must also be ex­ pected, and remoteness/distance from major cities or supply centers can often aggravate the above problems even further. a. patrascu( 11-13) has proposed pre-estimate survey checklists to help identify background concerns for foreign construction projects. these checklists delineate a large number of factors which must be considered, including those described by walker( 1). for offshore projects, an excellent detailed checklist(14) is available from the association of cost engineers (ace), lea house, 5 middlewich road, sandbach, cheshire cwl 1 9xl united kingdom. based on north sea oil field construction experience, this publication provides a very detailed breakdown for offshore work. many other practical references ( eg, 15-27) are useful in preparation for estimating international projects. however, background literature such as the publications mentioned here cannot replace pre-estimate site visits, proper con­ tract development, and talking with others who have expe­ rience estimating work in the particular country or countries of interest. review of appropriate literature, however, can help to ensure that all important factors for the project have been considered in developing the estimate. to this point, this paper has described the extreme com­ plexity involved in costing out-of-country projects. the refer­ ences mentioned, while far from being a complete list, should nevertheless make the cost engineer aware of most of the potentially important considerations which are unique to international work. 65 humphreys/ sources of international cost data international location factors when little time is available or warranted to perform the type of background studies suggested above, and de­ tailed design and engineering has not been completed, estimators must turn to published indexes, location factors, or other sources of relevant data for help. a location factor is an instantaneous, overall, total cost fac­ tor for converting a base project cost from one geographic location to another. this factor recognizes differences in productivity and costs for labor, engineered equipment, bulk materials, commodities, freight, duty, taxes, indirects and project administration. the cost of land, scope/design differences for local regulations and codes and differences in operating philosophies are not included in the location factor. with the current rush of industries attempting to globalize, use of location factors has become increasingly important. location factors should be used to factor a base estimate for comparing costs at differing locations and not for the funding estimate for the selected location. after selection, a higher quality estimate should be developed for project funding. many countries do not have the capability to manufacture certain specialized equipment and routinely import this ma­ terial. so the degree of local vs import and the relative cost differences need to be part of the location factor calcula­ tion. many companies use u.s. costs and apply percent­ ages for freight, import duties and customs and broker fees. two other issues that should be considered are: 66 a. importing of certain items because of quality or scheduling problems; and 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 b. importing and paying the associated costs (if local regulations so allow) of materials from another country because local manufacturing costs are high. these items can greatly affect the material and equipment costs for an actual project. the location factor needs to re­ flect the above considerations and expected or known strategies with the factors being adjusted accordingly. local monetary rates, productivity differentials and benefits and burdens vary enormously in individual countries. gov­ ernmental employment regulations, rules for foreign work­ ers, travel and support costs, and religious and cultural differences must be carefully evaluated. all can impact a location cost factor program. table 1 shows some details and location cost factors for a range of countries(78). table 2 contains a series of worldwide area productivity factors(78). as indicated, the basic elements are weather, culture and work ethic, trade skills, and numerous other fac­ tors. the factors are conceptual numbers and considerable judgement is required for their proper application. in addition to the factors described above, table 3 provides a listing of international data sources.the references in ta­ ble 3 are examples of multicountry data sources. for con­ ceptual studies these may be useful, depending on what countries are of interest. other references (eg, 6, 35, and 36) may also be of help. various reports by banks, govern­ ments, trade associations, etc also exist if one is willing to search for them. an example is a report(37) that compares building costs in a number of countries to those in malaysia. this special report was issued by a government task force and provides a handy reference for those comparing build­ ing costs in pacific rim countries. massa(3,4) has developed international cost location fac­ tors based upon a weighting of 33.05 percent for a labor 67 humphreys / sources of international cost data factor, 53.45 percent for an equipment and civil material factor, and 13.50 percent for an indirect and home office cost factor. he presents a detailed form for calculating these three factors and the composite factor for any given country referenced to u.s. gulf coast costs. massa has also provided labor factors for many countries. his factors are presented in table 4 along with a list of country location factors previously reported by bridgewater(5, 38). the bridgewater factors are for complete chemical plants and are referenced to both the united kingdom and the united states. (note: the bridgewater factors were developed in the late 1970's and reflect currency exchange rates, taxes and duties prevailing at that time. they should not be used without adjustment for changes which have occurred since the factors were developed.) in addition to these sources, another excellent source of lo­ cation factor information is the aace international "loca­ tion factor" committee. this committee maintains a listing of industry contacts who are willing to share location fac­ tors and foreign cost estimating data. the contact list in­ cludes representatives of many multi-national firms. the committee may be contacted via aace international at 209 prairie ave., morgantown, wv 26505; phone (800) 858-2678 in the us or (304) 296-8444 (other countries); fax (304) 291-5728 or through the committee chairman, mr. ber­ nie a. pietlock, dupont engineering, nemours 7440-6, 1007 market street, wilmington, de 19898, usa; phone (302) 77 4-1191; fax (302) 77 4-1347; e-mail: bernard.a.piet­ lock@usa.dupont.com. country cost indexes cost indexes are valuable proven tools for adjusting costs for changes over time and, in combination with appropri­ ate location factors, can facilitate development of con­ ceptual estimates. the aace cost engineers' notebook(39) describes 28 indexes and index sources for u.s. and cana­ dian costs and 27 indexes and index sources for many other 68 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 countries, including australia, brazil. england, france, italy, japan, mexico, the netherlands, new zealand, and ger­ many. a description of each index or index source is given in table 5. cost data sources various compilers and publishers maintain databases of costs which form the basis for their various cost publications. a few of these are listed in table 6. of these, the dutch asso­ ciation of cost engineers pricebook( 61) is particularly valu­ able as a source of information for european process plant costs. the book reports actual installed project costs as re­ ported by nearly 200 dutch companies. a though the book is published in dutch, an english glossary of terms makes it very easy to use by those who do not read the dutch lan­ guage. the r. s. means company(33) publishes numerous cost books for the us and canada and distributes many for other countries in cooperation with other publishers. nota­ ble are a russian version of means' well known building construction cost data and an english language newslet­ ter construction market intelligence russia which are pre­ pared in cooperation with co-invest (79), a russian firm. means also distributes costos(80), a guide to mexican build­ ing costs and square meter construction costs in mexico (81 j in cooperation with bimsa; construction investment guide for vietnam in cooperation with rawlinsons (82); and construction and development in vietnam in cooperation with davis langdon and seah, international (83). another major source of information is the project and cost management forum or "tcmforum" on compuserve and its companion vendor forum, "tcmven." founded by aace international. these forums have attracted over 20,000 cost and project professionals who regularly use them to share cost information and project experience. 69 humphreys / sources of international cost data beyond these, an invaluable source of information and costs are the various cost engineering and project man­ agement societies throughout the world. their members and employing firms are the most valuable network of inter­ national cost information that exists anywhere. at the time of this writing, the member societies of the inter­ national cost engineering council (icec) represented, ei­ ther directly or through their branches and chapters, over 40 countries. these societies have individual members in well over l 00 countries, thus being an extensive worldwide network of information sources. the international project management association (ipma) similarly has about 26 member societies representing many nations. a list of the members of icec and ipma is given in table 7. many of these societies do not have permanent headquarters of­ fices. a complete list of all ic ec or ipma members with con­ tact addresses including e-mail and internet homepage links is available at all times on the icec internet homepage, <http://www.lcoste.org>. alternately, icec or ipma may be contacted directly to obtain current address information for any of their member societies. summary the best summary for this discussion is from john r. barry's paper, "ten commandments of international cost engi­ neering," presented at the 1993 annual meeting of aace international (25): the reliability of available data is usually suspect, so test, test, and retest it. communication problems are difficult across cultures, and sometimes language differences can cause misunderstandings when soliciting data. the use of international factors is a session all on its own. a few basic principles for guidance include keeping in mind that a time or place factor means nothing without an exchange rate and date and that a base city must be identifiable, since variation can exist within your home country. 70 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 the paper concluded with barry's "ten commandments for worldwide cost engineering," which have appeared in several of his articles over the years. they are a fitting con­ clusion to this paper as well. john barry's ten commandments for worldwide cost engineering l. thou shalt not begin an international cost engineer­ ing assignment without preparing for the differences in culture and protocol. 2. thou shalt not ignore investment objectives of the target country's government. 3. thou shalt not look at building your own facilities as the only way to enter business in a country. 4. thou shall not use biased estimated scope that does not reflect technical, cultural, legal, and climate dif­ ferences. 5. thou shalt not ignore what equipment must be im­ ported and the impact on cost and schedule. 6. thou shalt not accept as gospel cost data for other countries without thoroughly checking for under­ standing and testing for reasonableness. 7. thou shalt not ignore productivity, weather, religious practices, and construction methods when calcu­ lating labor cost. 8. thou shalt not ignore the additional risks associated with cost and schedule on international projects. 9. thou shalt not forget that aace and icec members are valuable resources who are capable and willing to help. l 0. thou shalt not ignore the previous nine command­ ments. 71 humphreys / sources of international cost data references and information sources 1. walker, c.g., "estimating construction costs abroad," transactions of the fifth international cost engineering congress, paper a.10, dutch association of cost engi­ neers, the hague, netherlands, 1978. 2. cran, j., "a cost and location index grid," aace transactions, paper f.2, american association of ·cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1984. 3. massa, r.v., "a survey of international cost indexes, a north american perspective," 1st european cost engi­ neering forum, international cost engineering coun­ cil, oslo, norway, 1985. 4. massa, r.v., "international composite cost location factors," aace transactions, paper f. l, american as­ sociation of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1984. 5. humphreys, k.k., jelen 's cost and optimization engi­ neering, 3rd ed., mcgraw-hill book co., new york, 1991 , pp. 423-428. 6. kharbanda, o.p., process plant and equipment cost estimation, craftsman book co., carlsbad, ca, 1979. 7. richter, i.e., international construction claims: avoid­ ing and resolving disputes, mcgraw-hill book co., new york, 1983. 8. stallworthy, e.a., international construction and the role of project management, gower press, brookfield, vt, pp. 128-133, 1985. 9. kharbanda, o.p. and e.a. stallworthy, how to learn from project disasters, gower publishing co., hamp­ shire, uk, 1983. 10. kerzner, h., project management: a systems ap­ proach to planning, scheduling and control, van nostrand reinhold, new york, 1989, pp. 895-920. 11. patrascu, a., construction cost engineering, crafts­ man book co., carlsbad, ca, 1978, p. 55. 72 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 12. patrascu, a., construction cost engineering hand­ book, marcel dekker, inc., new york, 1988. 13. patrascu, a., "pre-estimating survey. the international aspect," aace transactions, paper b.a, 1979, and cost estimating: concepts and approaches, aace technical monograph series, ce1, 1989, american association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1989. 14. estimating check list for offshore projects, association of cost engineers, sandbach, cheshire, united king­ dom, 1982. 15. foreign labor trends, u.s. department of �abor, bu­ reau of international affairs, washington, dc. periodic reports of labor trends in various countries. 16. hanscomb/means international construction cost in­ telligence report (newsletter), hanscomb associates, 1175 peachtree st., n.e., atlanta, ga 02356. 17. smith, k.a., "forecasting construction costs for inter­ national projects," aace transactions, paper c. l, american association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1978. 18. grinberg, m., "planning and scheduling an interna­ tional project," aace transactions, paper h.7, ameri­ can association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1981. 19. milot, m., "third world estimating in project manage­ ment," aace transactions, paper 0.5, american asso­ ciation of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1984. 20. sinclair, d.n., estimating for abnormal conditions, in­ dustrial press, inc., new york, 1989. 21. ruddock, l., "productivity in the uk construction in­ dustry," aace transactions, paper l. l, american asso­ ciation of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1991. 22. hinojosa, l.c. and r. vazquez del mercado, "mexico infrastructure projects cost engineering support," 73 humphreys/ sources of international cost data aace transactions, paper g.3, american association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1992. 23. watson, r.b., "cost control of engineering sources in buildings," (uk) aace transactions, paper e.5, ameri­ can association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1992. 24. hinojosa, l.c. and r. vazquez del mercado, "para­ metric cost estimating of building construction-us, canada, and mexico," aace transactions, paper k.2, american association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1993. 25. barry, j.e., "ten commandments of international cost engineering," aace transactions, paper l.4, aace in­ ternational, morgantown, wv, 1993. 26. "symposium int" (eight papers on international cost estimating and cost management), aace transac­ tions, aace international, morgantown, wv, 1994. 27. transactions of the 13th international cost engineering congress, association of cost engineers, sandbach, cheshire, united kingdom, 1994. 28. mcconville, j.g., the 1996 international construction costs and reference data yearbook, john wiley & sons, inc., new york, 1996. 29. united nations monthly bulletin of statistics, united na­ tions, new york. 30. engineering news-record (weekly magazine), mcgraw-hill book co., new york. 31. varela, leopoldo, costos de construccion pesada y edificacion, compubras, s.a., anaya monroy 168, mexico df 03590, mexico. 32. e & fn spon, ltd., 2-6 boundary row, london sel 8hn, united kingdom. 33. r.s. means co., 100 construction plaza, po box 800, kingston, ma 02364-0800. 74 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 34. richardson engineering services, 17 42 s. fraser dr., po box 9103, mesa, az 85214-1903. 35. woodward, p .n., oil and labor in the middle east, praeger publishing co., one madison ave., new york, 10010. 36. bu-bshait, k.a. and manzanero, i., "a look at planning & scheduling in the middle east," aace transactions, paper d.6, american association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1989. 37. fong, c.k., ed., "report on the cost competitiveness of the construction industry in singapore," construc­ tion industry development board, 133 cecil street #09-01 /02, keck seng tower, singapore o 106. 38. bridgewater, a.v., "international construction cost lo­ cation factors," chemical engineering, 86, p. 5 (nov. 5, 1979). 39. cost engineers' notebook, american association of cost engineers, morgantown, wv, 1989. 40. building cost index, australian institute of quantity sur­ veyors, national surveyors house, po box 301, deakin west, act 2600, australia. 41. construction cost index, amax australia ltd., 200 st. george's terrace, perth, wa 6000, australia. 42. australian builder, australian builder publishing co. pty. ltd., 332 albert street, east melbourne, victoria 3002, australia. 43. corde/i's building cost book, cordells building publica­ tions, 33 chandos st., po box 124, st. leonards 2065, nsw, australia. 44. monthly summary of statistics, australian bureau of statistics, po box 10, belconnen, act 2616, australia. 45. revista de precos, av. n.s. de capacabana, 749 gr 801, rio de janeiro, brazil. 75 humphreys / sources of international cost data 46. bo/etim de custos, rua dana mariana nn. 2, bota­ foga, rio de janeiro, brazil. 47. a construcao, rua anhaia 964, cep 01130, saopaulo, brazil. 48. conjuntura, lnstituto brasileiro de economic, funda­ cao getulio vargas, praia de botafogo 188, rio de janeiro, brazil. 49. ntc-associacao nacional dos transportadores de cargas, ave beira mar 262, gr 301-302, rio de janeiro, brazil. 50. statistics canada, prices division, ottawa, ontario, canada k 1 a ot 6. 51. a.c.e. indices of erected plant costs, association of cost engineers, ltd., lea house, 5 middlewich road, sandbach, cheshire, cwl 1 9xl, england. 52. price index numbers for current cost accounting, de­ partment of industry, economics and statistics, div. 4a, sanctuary buildings, 16-20 great smith street, lon­ don swl p 308, england. 53. index coefficients, roux s.a., 51 ampere, 75017, paris, france. 54. lndicatori mensili, lnstituto centrale di statistica, via cesare balbo 16-00100, roma, italy. 55. index, centro statistica aziendale s.r.l., via a. baldesi 20, 50131, firenze, italy. 56. prezzi lnformativi delle opere edili in milano, camera di commercio lndustria artigianato e, agricoltura di milano, directtore redazione amministrazione, via meravigli 9/bls, 20123 milano, italy. 57. construction price indices by year, price indices of general machinery and equipment, nonlife insur­ ance institute of japan, 6-5, 3-chome, kanda, suru­ gadai, chiyoda-ku, tokyo, japan. 76 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 58. mrc monthly standard building cost indexes and unit price data bulletin. management research society for construction industry, japan. 59. cifras de la construccion, fuente camara nacional de la lndustria de la construccion. c/o sociedad mexicano de lngenieria economica, financiero y de costos, anaxagoras 17-101. col. navarte. 03020 mex­ ico df, mexico. 60. lndice nacional de precios al consumidor, fuente banco nacional de mexico, c/o sociedad mexicano de lngenieria economica, financiero y de costos. anaxagoras 17-101. col. navarte, 03020 mexico df. mexico. 61. dutch association of cost engineers prijzenboekje (pri­ cebook). nederlandse stich ting voor kostentech­ niek/stichting nederlandse apparaten voor de proc­ essindustrie. po box 443, 2260 ak leidschendam, netherlands. 62. ministry of works and development construction cost index. ministry of works & development, po box 12 041, wellington north, new zealand. 63. monthly abstract of statistics, department of statistics. aorangi house. 85 molesworth street, wellington, new zealand. 64. fachserie 17: preise. verlag w. kohlhammer gmbh, abt. veroffentlichungen des statistischen bunde sam­ tes. philipp-reis strasse 3. postfach 42 l l 20, d-6500 mainz 42. hechtsheim. germany. 65. bureau of the census. construction statistics division, u.s. dept. of commerce. washington, dc 20233. 66. construction industry institute. 3208 red river st .• suite 300, austin, tx 78705-2650. 67. whitman. requardt & associates. 2315 st. paul street, baltimore. md 21218. 77 humphreys / sources of international cost data 68. turner construction co., 150 e. 42nd street, new york, 10017. 69. smith, hinchman & grylls, inc., 455 w. fort street, de­ troit, ml 48226. 70. boeckh division, american appraisal associates, inc., 525 e. michigan st., milwaukee, wi 53201. 71. marshall & swift, inc., 1617 beverly blvd., los angeles, ca 90026. 72. chemical engineering (bi-weekly magazine), mcgraw-hill, inc., 1221 avenue of the americas, new york, ny 10020. 73. u.s. dept. of transportation, federal highway admin­ istration, interstate management branch, hng-13, washington, dc 20590. 74. u.s. dept. of labor, bureau of labor statistics (bls), washington, dc 20212. 75. associated equipment distributors (aed), 615 west 22nd street, oak brook, il 60523. 7 6. the building economist, australian institute of quantity surveyors, national surveyors house, 27-29 napier close, deakin, act 2600, australia. 77. shenzhen property and building price yearbook (in english and chinese), shenzhen construction quota­ tion price management department, west, 14th floor, jianyi tower, 6 zhen xing rd., futian, shenzhen, guangdong province, peoples republic of china. 78. bent, j.a. and humphreys, k.k., eds., effective project management through applied cost and schedule control, marcel dekker, inc., new york, 1996. 79. co-invest, 79, vernadsky prosp., room 1311, 117943 moscow, russia. 80. costos edicion nacional, bimsa southam s.a. de c.v., s6focles no. 118, col. chapultepec polanco, 78 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 deleg. miguel hidalgo, c.p. 11560, mexico, d.f., pub­ lished monthly. 81. l. varela a., costos por metro cuadrado de construc­ cion (square meter construction costs), bimsa southam, mexico, d.f. 82. rawlinson's, rawlhouse publishing pty .. ltd., p.o. box 145, west perth, western australia 6872. 83. davis langdon & seah international, 21 st floor, 2101 leighton centre, 77 leighton rd., hong kong. 84. empresa de obras publicas do estado do rio de janieroemop, campo de sao crist6vao 138, rio de janeiro, brazil. acknowledgement a paper by this same title was coauthored by kenneth k. humphreys and barry g. mcmillan for presentation and publication in the transactions of the 6th annual meeting of the association franc;:aise des lngenieurs et t echniciens d' estimation, de planification et de projets and 11 th interna­ tional cost engineering in paris. much of the information in­ cluded in this paper is taken from the earlier paper. the author thanks afitep for permission to include this material and expresses his deep appreciation to barry g. mcmillan for mr. mcmillan's invaluable contributions to the original paper. 79 humphreys / sources of international cost data table 1 conceptual estimating location cost factors basis imported material (average) labor imlocal produc· locacountry exchange duty, freight vat, ported mate$/ tivity faelion rate/$ % % % material rial in· hour cost index dex tor factor australia 1.42a$ oto 7 15 20 1.35+ 1.3 24.80 1.6 1.4 brazil 1.10real 14 10 18 1.42 1.2 4.00 1.8 1.1 canada 1.40c$ 0 5 7to 1.07+ 1.0 20.15 1.2 1.0 19.84 china 8.32 rervn 8+ 10 17 1.35+ 0.7 3.00 3.0 1.0 france 5.8 fr 0 5 18.6 1.236 1.2 19.83 1.2 1.15 germany 1.72dm 0 5 0 1.05 1.15 36.57 1.1 1.2 india 36.4 65max 20 0 1.851.1 2.01 3.0 1.0 rupee japan 122.5 yen 3.4 10 3 1.13 1.4 27.30 1.0 1.35 mexico 8.2 7 5 10 1.22 1.25 3.38 1.7 1.0 new peso poland 3.4 zloty 14 10 22 1.46 0.8 10.33 1.7 0.95 saudi ara3.75 oto 12 15 0 1.15+ 1.2 5.00 1.6 1.0 bia riyal south af· 4.8 rand 5 15 10 1.30 1.1 17.82 1.3 1.1 rica united 3.67 arab dirham 1• 10 0 1.11 1.0 4.03 1.6 0.95 emirates united 0.60 0 10 17.5 1.275 1.3 42.58 1.2 1.4 kingdom pound 80 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 conceptual estimating location cost factors basis imported material (average) labor imlocal locacountry exchange duty, freight vat, ported material $/ productivlion rate/$ % % % material index hour i1y factor cost index factor notes: 1. duties for australia and saudi arabia = o for imported materials which are not available domestically. 2. australian sales taxes of 20 percent apply to local material. 3. canadian vat varies from 7 percent to 19.84 percent depending upon the province or territory. 4. china duties are shown for the special enterprise zones. duties are higher elsewhere in china. 5. india may grant concessional duties for major projects. duties as low as 20% have been granted for recent power projects. although there is no vat in india, a national sales tax of 4% plus state sales taxes of 4 to 15% apply to local material. 6. united arab emirates duty is 4 percent minus a subsequent rebate of 3 percent for a net of 1 percent. table 2 international labor productivity factors basis: southeast united states (non union) = 1.0. united states locations non union union southeast (carolinas, florida, etc.) 1.0 alabama/georgia 1.3 alaska 1.9 arizona/california 1.1 1.2 colorado/utah/wyoming 1.5 hawaii 1.5 illinois 1.6 northeast 1.6 northwest 1.6 texas 1.1 1.2 other countries average remote areas australia 1.6 belgium 1.3 brazil 1.8 81 humphreys / sources of international cost data international.labor productivity factors basis: southeast united states (non union) = 1.0. canada 1.2 china 2.2 eastern europe 2.0 finland 1.7 france 1.3 germany 1.1 great britain 1.5 hong kong 1.5 india 2.5 indonesia 1.9 ireland 1.65 israel 1.8 italy 1.4 japan 1.1 kuwait 2.1 malaysia 1.9 mexico 1.5 1.8 netherlands 1.35 new zealand 1.5 norway 1.75 pakistan 2.2 philippines 2.5 poland 1.9 russia 2.0 saudi arabia 1.6 singapore 1.6 south africa 1.4 1.9 south korea 1.3 spain 1.7 sri lanka 2.5 sweden 1.35 82 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 international labor productivity factors basis: southeast united states (non union) = 1.0. switzerland 1.5 taiwan 1.3 united arab emirates 1.7 venezuela 1.65 1.8 productivity factors are heavily influenced by weather (rain, cold/heat, etc.), culture and work ethic, religion, inherent trade skills, available resources and infrastructure, and site conditions. the above factors are averages only and must be adjusted as appropriate for specttic conditions and location. adapted from j.a. bent, effective pr�ect management through ap-plied cost and schedule control, k . . humphreys, ed., marcel dekker, inc., new york, 1996. table 3 international data sources: multiple country foreign labor trends (15) periodic reports of labor trends and costs for specific countries-includes key labor indicators hanscomb/means international construction cost intelligence report (16) newsletter provides comparative building construction cost information for many countries. u.n. monthly bulletin of statistics (29) includes a variety of production engineering news-record (30) weekly magazine primarily u.s. and canada costas de construccion pesada y edificacion (heavy construction and building costs) (31) cost estimating database on building spon 's architects· and builders' price book (32) contains a european section for tendering and costs of labor and materials in 13 countries. spon's european construction costs handbook provides coverage of 28 countries in europe plus the united states and japan. spon's asia pacttic construction costs handbook provides similar coverage of 15 countries in asia plus the united states and the united kingdom. spon's middle east construction price book is a two volume set which provides detailed unit cost information for 6 middle east countries. the two handbooks and the middle east books are also dlstributed by the r.s. means co. (33) in north america. r.s. means co. (33) various cost books published annually for building and industrial construction in the u.s. and canada. richardson engineering services (34) unit cost database published for u.s. and canada building and �eneral construction; special estimating set for process plant construction;international onstruction factors location cost manual for 16 countries wortdwide. lntematlonal construction costs and reference data yearbook (28) provides detailed information on construction costs 83 humphreys / sources of international cost data table 4 * sample location factors massa's labor probridgewater's factors for chemical plants ductivity factors (3,4) (38) location us= 1.0 uk= 1.0 us=1.0 algeria 1.82 australia 1.20 (0.96-1.45) 1.4 1.3 argentina 2.00 (1.30-2.60) austria 1.60 (1.57-2.10) 1.1 1.0 belgium 1.14 (1.14-1.50) 1.1 1.0 canada, east 1.14 (1.08-1.17) canada, west 1.07 (1.02-1.11) canada 1.25 1.15 central africa 2.0 2.0 central america 1.1 1.0 chile 2.70 (2.00-2.90) china (imported element) 1.2 1.1 china (indigenous element) 0.6 0.55 colombia 3.05 denmark 1.28 (1.25-1.30) 1.1 1.0 egypt 2.05 finland 1.28 (1.24-1.28) 1.3 1.2 france 1.52 (0.80-1.54) 1.05 0.95 germany (west) 1.20 (1.00-1.33) 1.1 1.0 ghana 3.50 greece 1.49 1.0 0.9 india 4.00 (2.50-10.0) india (imported element) 2.0 1.8 84 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 sample location factors* massa's labor probridgewater's factors for chemical plants ductivity factors (3,4) (38) india (indigenous element) 0.7 0.65 iran 4.00 iraq 3.50 ireland 0.9 0.8 italy 1.48 (1.10-1.48) 1.0 0.9 japan 1.54 (1.00-2.00) 1.0 0.9 malaysia 0.9 0.8 mexico 1.56 (1.54-3.15) middle east 1.2 1.1 netherlands 1.25 (1.25-1.60) 1.1 1.0 newfoundland 1.3 1.2 new zealand 1.4 1.3 nicaragua 2.67 nigeria 2.22 north africa (imported element) 1.2 1.1 north africa (indigenous element) 0.8 0.75 norway 1.23 1.2 1.1 philippines 2.86 portugal 1.66 0.8 0.75 puerto rico 1.54 singapore 4.00 south africa 1.58 1.25 1.15 south america (n) 1.5 1.35 south america (s) 2.5 2.25 spain 1.74 spain (imported element) 1.3 1.2 85 humphreys/ sources of international cost data * sample location factors massa's labor probridgewater's factors for chemical plants ductivity factors (3,4) (38) spain (indigenous element) 0.8 0.75 sri lanka (ceylon) 3.50 sweden 1.18 (1.10-1.20) 1.2 1.1 switzerland 1.2 1.1 taiwan 1.52 (1.52-7.20) thailand 2.82 turkey 2.32 1.1 1.0 united kingdom 1.53 (0. 70-2.46) 1.0 0.9 untted states 1.00 1.1 1.0 venezuela 2.00 * note: increase chemical plant factor by 10% for each 1 ooo miles or part of 1 ooo miles that the new plant location is distant from a major manufacturing or import center or both. when materials or labor, or both, are obtained from more than a single source, pro-rate the appropriate factors. factors do not consider investment incentives. note also that the bridgewater factors reflect currency exchange rates prevailing in the late 1970's. appropriate adjustments must therefore be made prior to using these factors today. table 5 country indexes country/index comments australia building cost index construction labor and material costs (40) construction cost weekly earnings; building and nonbuilding materials ( 41) index 86 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 country indexes country/index comments australia builder price information on raw materials (42) cordells building cost book price information for non-residential building (43) monthly summary of statistics manufacturing articles: materials, buildininon-building materials, metallic materials, wage rates; indexes ( 4) brazil revista de precos cosvprice indexes for residential and non-residential construction; portuguese (45) boletim de custos cosvprice indexes for residential and non-residential construction; portuguese (46) a construcao residential and non-residential construction and project costs; por-tuguese (47) conjuntura indexes for industrial machinery and equipment; residential and non-residential construction material; portuguese (48) ntc-associacao nacional dos transtransportation rates for industrial materials; portuguese (49) portadores de cargas canada statistics canada variety of cosvprice indexes for construction costs and capital ex-penditures; english and french (50) england a.cost.e. indices of indexes of erected cost of typical process plants (51)erected plant costs price index numbers· indexes for non-residential construction, machinery, equipmentfor current cost accounting (52) france index coefficients general index for building and machinery replacement costs (53) italy lndicatori mensili government statistics and indexes; italian (54) index costs and indexes for various industries; italian (55) prezzi lnformativi indexes for residential and non-residential construction, consumer delle opere edili in milano prices, raw materials, and wage rates; italian (56) 87 humphreys / sources of international cost data country indexes country/index comments japan construction price indexes by year, non-life insurance institute publication for use by industrial insur-price indexes of general machinery ers in japan; english (57) and equipment mrc monthly standard building cost cost indexes of many comtonents of construction and certainindexes and unit building types; japanese ( 8) price data bulletin mexico cifras de la congeneral construction index; spanish (59) struccion lndice nacional de precios al consumiconsumer price index; spanish (60) dor the nethertands die workwoeri be-gratings rob emen unit �rices for chemical plant construction in the nethertands;in de hemische indute (61) dustrie (webci) new zealand ministry of works and development construction cost weighted construction cost index (62) index monthly abstract of statistics variety of labor force indexes by industry; residential construction, wage rates, other (63) germany fachserie 17: preise indexes for general machinery and building construction: german (64) united states 88 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 country indexes country/index i comments general purpose indexes: engineering news-record, 20-city construction cost engineering news-record, 20-city building cost u.s. dept. of commerce, composite (65) burec, general building construction industry institute, construction price (66) factory mutual, industrial building handy whitman, building construction (67) lee saylor, inc., materiavlabor r.s. means construction cost (33) selling price indexes, building: fru-con corp., industrial lee saylor, inc., subcontractor turner, general building (68) smith, hinchman & grylls, general (69) valuation indexes: boeckh, 20-city commercial/manufacturing (70) marshall & swift, industrial equipment (71-72), special purpose: nelson-farrar refinery cost inflation index chemical engineering, plant cost (72) federal highway construction bid price (73) h_andy whitman, public utility construction bulabor statistics consumer price index (74) bulabor statistics producers price index (65) aed average rental rates for construction equipment (75) 89 humphreys/ sources of international cost data country indexes country/index i comments note: many of the above listed indexes for the united states are published regularly in the engineering news-record "quarterly cost roundup" issues. (30) table 6 country databases for project costs country source building economist (76j, quarterly australia cordells building cost ook (43) rawlinsons (82), various books a construcao �) brazil conjuntura (48 , monthly empresa de obras publicas-rj (84), various publications canada r.s. means �33), various books richardson ngmeering (34), data books china shenzhen construction quotation price management department (77) costos de construccion pesada y edificacion (31) mexico costos edicion nacional (80) costas por metro cuadrado de construccion (81) netherlands dace price booklet (prijzenboekje) (61) russia co-invest (79j, various publications r.s. means ( 3), various publications united kingdon e & fn spon (32), various books united states r.s. means p3), various booksrichardson ngmeering (34), data books vietnam construction investment guide, rawlinsons (82) vietnam construction and development in vietnam, davis langdon & seah (83) r.s. means (33), various publications 90 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 table 7 member societies of the international cost engineering council (icec) and the international project management association (ipma) society country icec ipma member member aace-canada, the canadian association of canada yes no cost engineers aace international (aace-1) (chapters in canunited corporate ada, saudi arabia, japan, australia, south afstates yes member rica, puerto rico, egypt and norway) associacao portuguesa de gestao de projectos portugal no yes associaci6n espanola de lngenieria de proyecspain no yes tos (aeipro) association of cost engineers (acoste) (chapunited yes no ters in hong kong and siberia) kingdom association fran�ophone de management de projet (afitep) (chapters in belgium and switfrance yes yes zerland) association of professional project managers ireland no yes association of project managers (apm) united no yes kingdom association of south african quantity surveyors south former no (asaqs) africa member associazione nazionale di lmplantistica lndusitaly no yes triale (animp) associazione ltaliana di lngegneria economica italy yes no (aice} australian institute of quantity surveyors (aiqs) australia yes no building suryeyors institute (bsi) japan yes no 91 humphreys / sources of international cost data member societies of the international cost engineering council (icec) and the international project management association (ipma) society country icec ipma member member chinese association for project managers china no yes cost enginee�ng association 11 countries in of southern yes no southern africa (ceasa) africa csnk internet czech no yes republic egyptian society of engineers, management egypt no yes engineering society (mes) foreningen for dansk projektledelse (fdp) denmark yes yes gepipari tudornanyos egyesiilet / moszaki hungary yes no ktiltsegtervezo klub (gte/mkk) gesellschaft fiir projektrnanagernent (gpm) germany no yes hellenic project management association greece no yes hong kong institute of surveyors hong yes no kong institute of project managers of sri lanka sri lanka pending no lnstituto brasileiro de engenharia de custos brazil yes no (ibec) lnstituto de costos de construccion del colegio venezuela pending no de lngenieros de venezuela institution of surveyors of malaysia malaysia pending no iranian association for project managers iran no yes korean institute of project management and south koyes no technology (promat) rea macedonian association of project managemacedono yes rnent nia magyar ftivallalkozok sztivetsege hungary no yes 92 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 member societies of the international cost engineering council (icec) and the international project management association (ipma) society country icec ipma member member nederlandse stichting voor kostentechniek netheryes no (dace) lands new zealand institute of quantity surveyors new zeayes no (nziqs) land norsk forening for prosjektledelse (nfp) norway yes yes project management associates india no yes project management association of slovenia slovenia no yes projektitoimintayhdistys (pmaf) finland yes yes projektmanagement austria-lnstitut austlia no yes russian association of cost engineers russia pending no russian project management association russia no yes (sovnet) singapore institute of surveyors and valuers singapore pending no sociedad mexicana de lngenieria econ6mica, mexico yes no financiera y de costas (smiefc) svenskt projektforum (spms) sweden yes yes swiss society for project management (spm) switzerno yes land ukranian project management association ukraine no yes (ukrnet) verkefnastj6rnunarfelag _slands (vsfi) iceland yes yes yugoslav project management association yugoslano yes (yupma) via 93 humphreys / sources of international cost data member societies of the international cost engineering council (icec) and the international project management association (ipma) society icec secretariat address: 1168 hidden lake drive granite falls, nc 28630, usa phone: 1-704-728-5287 fax: 1-704-728-0048 e-mail: icec@icoste.org internet: http://www.lcoste.org 94 i icec i ipma country member member ipma secretariat address: c/o chris seabury po box 30, monmouth np5 4vz, uk phone:44-1594-531-007 fax:44-1594-531-008 e-mail: ipma@btinternet.com internet: http://www.ipma.ch 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 recreational pursuits of wheelchair users: overcoming time-space limitations goh wilson, l kok & ps hattingh summary wheelchair users are individuals with unique and specific needs in terms of recreation. in general, people overcome obstacles by making choices, thus establishing a certain pattern of activi­ties. for wheelchair users this is not so easy: they cannot always overcome time-space limitations imposed upon them by a hos­tile environment which prevents them from making appropriate choices. keywords: wheelchair users, time-space limitations. deelname aan rekreasie-aktiwiteite deur rystoelgebruikers: hoe om die ruimte-tyd-beperkings te bowe te kom opsomming rystoelgebruikers is individue, elk met 'n eie unieke behoefte in terme van ontspanning. oor die algemeen oorkom mense struikelblokke deur middel van besluitneming, dit wil se, om buitemuurse aktiwiteite te beplan en deur te voer. vir die rystoel­gebruiker is die saak nie so eenvoudig nie. 'n onvriendelike omgewing maak dit vir hulle uiters moeilik om sulke besluite te kan neem. die beskikbaarheid van vervoer, vrye toegang tot sportfasiliteite en mobiliteit binne sulke sentrums, is voorvereistes vir deelname aan rekreasie-aktiwiteite. sleutelwoorde: rystoelgebruikers, ruimte-tyd-beperkings. dr gdh wilson, m a (university of potchefstroom) d phil (up) mss (uofs) ms l kok, m a (up) prof ps hattingh, ma (witwatersrand) d phil et litt (unisa) all from the department of geography at the university of pretoria wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users t here is general recognition of the_ benefits that par­ ticipation in recreation holds for disabled persons (shivers & holis, 1975; vermeer, 1987; schleien & ray, 1988). what stein (1986: 49) calls their 'right to recreation', is however, often impaired by the limitations imposed by environmental factors (van zijderveld, 1987). when cer­ tain obstacles in the environment limit the space that they can utilize, limitations are imposed upon their time as well, since they need time to overcome these obstacles. con­sequently the time-space environments that disabled per­sons can use b�come so restricted that they have very lit­tle time in which to participate in recreational activities outside their homes. they often have to spend their free time in isolation. for the purposes of this paper, the term disability is used as defined by goldenson et al. (1978): any chronic physiologi­ cal or mental inability caused by injury, illness or innate de­ fect. for the term recreation the definition of neumeyer (1949: 22) is still valid, although it was formulated nearly five decades ago: "an activity pursued during leisure, either individual or col­ lective, that is free and pleasurable, having its own imme­ diate appeal, not impelled by any immediate necessity." in this paper the term recreation is used synonymous with 'leisure', where 'leisure' refers to surplus time or to a state of mind, in other words, the free use of free time. all sport ac­ tivities are included in the term recreation. the availability of transport, free access to places of recrea­ tion and mobility within the spaces are prerequisites to fa­ cilitate the participation in recreation of wheelchair users (laus, 1977, quoted by schleien & ray, 1988: 1 oj. any re­ striction of the independent movement of a wheelchair user minimizes their community participation. this paper is based on research done during the period 1990 to 1993 on the recreation patterns of wheelchair users in greater pre­ toria, an area that includes pretoria, akasia, atteridgeville, 32 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 centurion, eersterust, laudium, mamelodi and soshanguve hereafter referred to as pretoria. answers to two questions were sought: 1. to what extent are wheelchair users limited in their use of time and space during their recreation? 2. what are the restrictions that impede the participation of wheelchair users in recreational activities? the following data gathering techniques were used in order to identify, from a time-space perspective the role played by time and space in the recreation patterns of wheelchair users: 1) structured questionnaires, completed by 170 wheel­ chair users in pretoria; 2) structured interviews, conducted with 37 owners or managers of recreation facilities in pretoria; 3) in addition, 42 of the respondents (from 1 and 2) were interviewed to elucidate and explain some of the findings; and 4) finally, one of the authors undertook both an excur­ sion in a wheelchair through the streets of pretoria and to various recreation facilities to experience in person what wheelchair users have to face. wheelchair users are individuals with unique and specific needs in terms of recreation. in general, people overcome obstacles by making choices, thus establishing a certain pattern of activities. for wheelchair users this is not so easy: they cannot always overcome time-space limitations im­ posed upon them by a hostile environment which prevents them from making appropriate choices. the study employed hagerstrand's principles of time­ geography which emphasize the existence of limitations that can influence personal choice. his principles formed the basis of an activity pattern with relation to recreation as embodied fairhurst's (1992) model (figure i). 33 wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users figure 1: limitations of time and space operational milieu source: fairhurst, 1992 time suitability t space opportunity external internal hagerstrand (parkes & thrift, 1980) identified three types of limitations, namely, ( 1) efficiency (within the limits of the in­ dividual's capabilities); (2) coupling (where and for as long as social interaction is needed); and (3) authoritative limita­ tions (through regulations). action within a specific space is possible only if time is suitable and space offers an opportu­ nity for action. time-geography the concept of time-geography aims to develop a model of community where limitations on behaviour (activities) can be formulated in physical terms, that is in terms of lo­ cation in space and in time (parkes & thrift, 1980). these writers emphasize the role played by time, space, choices and limitations in an understanding of human behaviour and thus provides a valuable framework within which wheelchair users' recreation in available time and space can be studied. the approach is used to evaluate the physical boundaries of time and space as they conflict with the intended recreation activities of wheelchair users. the choices made by such users in terms of recreation are dictated, far more than is usually the case, by these limita­ tions. for instance, they might decide to spend their lei­ sure time at home not because they particularly want to, 34 c.> (11 motivation choice result � � � 1:hjmiuh1h !time appropriateness! 1. physiological needs, e.g. health 2. need for protectioo, e.g. safety 3. social needs, e.g. �oosh� 4. need for a good sett-image 5. self-actuaizatioo development of individual poteotial 1 capabuities constrarns :��ihlty -time -money • transport 2 cou�ing constraints ·colllllillion 3authority constrailts legal !spatial opportunity! subsequent choices are determined by previous experience ::0zm )> c") ::0 ::0mm en j> -i -i::0 0 c") z ::!a <-nm :;em :i: z m <m ::o r 0 c") z :i: s:: )> m ::o zc: -i enm ::0 en wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users but because they have so few options to go anywhere else. personal preferences of wheelchair users figure 1 contains the components motivation and choice, culminating in an activity pattern. chapin ( 197 4) main­ tains that human action consists of three components: motivation, choice and results. all were introduced into fairhurst's model, and from it was developed another model (figure 2) that illustrates how choices that a wheel­ chair user makes in relation to recreation come about and how the outcome of these choices is determined. human action is motivated by basic needs, their partici­ pation in recreational activities is motivated by the extent to which these needs are met. personal preferences also play a role, but is often of less importance as the choices of wheelchair users are influenced by what they can do rather than by what they want to do. limited recreation activities are often not the result of the wheelchair user's disability, but is caused by the failure of the time-space environment to provide for free movements of wheelchair users. constraints of participation experienced by wheelchair users participation in recreation activities do not follow the mere availability of recreation facilities as a matter of course. in this regard mercer (1980: 34) remarked: "even if the facility for engaging in a special activity exists, indi­ viduals may still not participate either because they do not know if th�opportunity is there or because they do not have the transport, are physical-handicapped, are too poor or are prevented through other reasons." mercer ( 1980) stressed the importance from a planning point of view to know what people do not do and why people do not take part in certain activities. important constraints of the participation by wheelchair users in recreation activi­ ties were identified from the following questions: ( 1) reasons why wheelchair users do not frequent certain recreation facilities: (2) reasons why wheelchair users do not go on holiday; (3) reasons why they do not take part in sport; and 36 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 (4) reasons why they do not attend sport events as spec­ tators. these reasons constitute a number of constraints, which we will now discuss. general accessibility ingram (1971: 101) defines accessibility as " ... the inherent characteristic (or advantage) of a place with respect to overcoming some form of spatially operating source of friction (for example time and/or distance)". accessibility has two major components: the mobility of an individual or the individual's capability to move about, and the characteristics of the available facility. breheny (1978) sees the urban area as a pool of unequally distributed re­ sources or opportunities whereto people have various de­ grees of access. to identify the constraints on wheelchair users in their pursuit of recreation outside the home envi­ ronment, accessibility is evaluated in terms of constraints that influence choices according to the time-geography approach by hagerstrand (parkes & thrift, 1980). these constraints are the limitations of capability, coupling and authorities (fig. 2). limitations of capability several factors affect the capability of wheelchair users to participate in recreation activities: time, physical accessi­bility, finances and transport (fig. 2). time according to tuan (1974: 216) people are " ... more con­ strained by time than by the curbs that space may im­ pose". to establish the extent of the constraint of time, re­ spondents were questioned about the time they have available for recreation. although wheelchair users are just as busy as other people, it seems as if, in general, they do have sufficient free time for recreation. a lack of time as reason why they do not take part in recreation was cited by only 11,5% of respondents: only 4,5% of those who do not go on holiday; and by 19% for not taking part in sport. 37 wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users figure 3: restrictions imposed by certain factors ,r----tt-------1 • very lmpoftanl 80 • very lmpoltlnl jo cl very important a, 60 � 50-------------ht---fti � 40......at-----=------.t------+t---ttt � 30 a, a.. 20 10 0 source: kole, 1994 3 4 5 6 7 constraints 1 bridging obsta�les 2 looking for parking 3 planning beforehand 4 dependent on transport 5 inconsiderate public 6 journey to recreation venue 7 climbing in and out of a vehicle although they have sufficient free time for recreation, the utilization of this free time for recrea­tion can be severely restricted by several factors (fig. 3). the figure shows that most of their free time is taken up by attempts to overcome obstacles in the way of their recrea­tion participation, or by finding a convenient parking place at the recreation facility. their dependence on others necessitates careful planning to co-ordinate the recreation activities of wheelchair users with the available time of their helpers. it is significant that time is not a restrictive factor where wheelchair users can help themselves, but only when they do have to depend on others. physical accessibility recreation space can only provide an opportunity for recreation participation if it is accessible to wheelchair us­ ers. even one step, says kennedy et al. (1987: 68) can de­ prive wheelchair users of their independent access to a facility. table 1 lists the obstacles experienced by respon­ dents at recreation facilities: the four major obstacles all have to do with accessibility, with stairs being the single most hampering factor in the recreational pursuits of a wheelchair user. 38 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 table 1: obstacles experienced by wheelchair users at recreation facilities percentaae (n = 156) obstacles very important important unimportant stairs 84.4 7,1 8,4 lack of lifts 70,8 11,7 17,5 turnstiles 55,2 29,2 15,6 narrow doors / passages 55,2 29,2 15,6 cramped rooms 50,6 28,6 20,8 uneven surfaces 49.4 30,5 20,1 inaccessible auto banks 48,7 26,6 24,7 high counters 42,2 33,1 24,7 lnacccesslble phone booths 39,0 22,0 39,0 lnconsid�rate public 27,3 24,7 48,0 finances the financial means of wheelchair users varies as for other people. yet they can often do less with their discretional income available for leisure than other people. because they have to pay more for facilities with adequate ac"' cess. for instance, for more expensive holiday accommo­ dation in hotels or flats rather than cheaper camping holi­ days. transport in modem urban society transport is of utmost importance for any person who wishes to lead an independent life. for the wheelchair user this is even more so. cohen (quoted in the star. 1991: 9) calls mobility " ... the lcey to in­ dependence for the disabled". 39 wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users unfortunately, public transport systems are seldom accessible to wheelchair users. buses, trains and even aeroplanes are designed with the non-disabled user in mind. because of this,jack of suitable transport is given as a major reason why wheelchair users do not go on holi­ day (52,3%), do not participate in sport (21%) or do not at­ tend sport events as spectators (23,2%). the following specific transport related problems were ex­ perienced by the respondents: a lack of parking place (48,7 %); transport only certain times available (22,5%); high costs (20,5%); wheelchair doesn't fit in (16%); have to book well in advance (11,5%); irregular hours (10,9%); not close to their homes (10,9%); .a long time to wait or travel (9,6%). only 27% indicated that they do not experience transport problems. in table 2 the various problems are summarized in relation to the different modes of transport. parking none expensjve table 2: problems with transport experienced by wheelchair users percentage (n = 156) own assisted tax! minibus for the public transport by others handicapped transport 100,0 0 0 0 0 54,8 35,7 4,8 4,8 0 35,5 48,4 9,7 0 0 extended waiting / travellng time 6,7 33,3 46,8 6,7 6,7 booking in advance 5,6 77,8 0 11,1 0 wheelchair 4,0 62,0 32,0 12,0 0 doesn't flt limited 0 74,3 14,3 11,4 0 availabillty infrequent 0 64,7 29,4 5,9 0 not close 0 47,0 52,9 0 0 40 other 0 0 6,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 coupling limitations factors in the environment often prevent wheelchair users from participating at the same level as others in recrea­ tion activities, unless they are assisted by somebody. their opportunities for recreation is thus determined by the pe­ riod and time thot they can be coupled to someone else. whenever they wish to visit a recreation facility, they need a companion to help with transport and help to over­ come obstacles that restrict access. these coupling limita­ tions cause 45,5% of the respondents who do not go on holiday to give the lack of a companion as main reason, and 28% give the same reason why they do not attend sport events. next we will pay attention to the time-space environ­ ments that would facilitate the participation of wheelchair users in recreation activities outside the home. respon­ dents were asked if they would participate more in rec­ reation if ( 1 j the recreation environment was more convenient; (2) better transport was available; and (3) a companion was available. the question was not structured and the responses were spontaneous. the answers are summarised in table 3. table 3: motivating circumstances for wheelchair users for participating in recreation outside the home environment specific percentage (n = 156) circumstances yes no more convenient recreation environment 74,7 25,3 companion more frequently available 58,4. 41,6 better transport available 44,8 55,2 41 wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users to create the circumstances favourable to recreation participation by wheelchair users, the help of authorities is needed. the ignorance about the needs of wheelchair users of some authorities, and their failure to fulfil these needs create restrictions (kennedy et al., 1987) that con­ stitute limitations in terms of authority. public sector constraints the biggest breakthrough for wheelchair users in south af­ rica came in april 1986 when the national building regu­ lations for the first time made provision for the accessibility· of buildings. ramps, accessible toilet facilities, slip-free sur­ faces, convenient parking areas, etcetera, were for the first time prescribed (joubert, 1990). these requirements should also be taken into account when older buildings are refurbished. yet wheelchair users find that these regu­ lations are not always adhered to and that both the pub­ lic sector and the private sector are not alwdys informed about the needs of wheelchair users. a remark made by krauss (1983: 286) could also refer to the fate of wheelchair users in pretoria: "it is clearly evident ... that great numbers of disabled per­ sons are not receiving the benefits of our nation's recrea­ tion resources. the severity of their disabilities, architect baniers, nonacceptance by society and slowness of the recreation profession to adjust its programs and facilities to their needs all have contributed to a serious lack of op­ portunity." conclusion this study highlights the plight of wheelchair users in rela­ tion to their recreation needs. for too long they had been stuck away in their homes, mostly because time-space constraints prevented them from emerging and mixing in the recreation environment of the rest of society. it is only in the last few years that authorities and the public be­ came increasingly aware of their specific needs, and that attempts have been made to meet these needs. every­ one who has the freedom of movement should accept responsibility to create an accessible recreation environ42 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 ment for wheelchair users, because, in the words of kessler (1953: 251j, " ... most of us are ordinary people seek­ing extraordinary destinies. the physical disabled are ex­traordinary in that they seek but an ordinary destiny". references breheny, m.j. 1978. the measurement of spatial opportunity in strategic planning. regional studies, 12, pp. 463-479. chapin, f.s. 1974. human activity patterns in city. newyork: john wiley. fairhurst, u.j. 1992. a time-space perspective on the daily lives of economically active single mothers: south african urban study. unpublished d.phil thesis. pretoria: university of preto­ ria. goldenson, r.m. dunham, j.r. & dunham, c.s. 1978. disability and rehabilitation handbook. newyork: mcgrawhill. ingram, d.r.1971. the concept of accessibility: a search for an operational form. regional studies, 5, pp. 101-107. joubert, i. 1990. die aanpassing van gestremde persona in die gemeenskap. welsynsfokus, 25(1), pp. 19-25. kennedy, d.w., austin, d.r. & smith, r.w. 1987. special recreation opportunities for people with disabilities. new york: cbs college publishing. kessler, h.h.1953. rehabilitation of the physically handicapped. new york: university press. krauss, r. 1983. therapeutic recreation service. principles and practices. new york: cbs college publishing. locker, d. 1983. disability and disadvantages. londen: tavistock. mercer, d. 1980. in pursuit of leisure. malvern: sorreti. nagler, m.1990. perspectives on disability. california: health mar­ kets research.21 neumeyer, m.h. 1949. leisure and recreation. new york: a.s. barne and comp. 43 wilson, kok & hattingh / pursuits of wheelchair users 0dendal, f.f., schoonees, p.c.; swanepoel, c.j.; du toit, .s.j.; booy­ sen, c.m. 1988. hat. verklarende handwoordeboek van die afrikaanse taal. johannesburg: perskor. parkes, p. & thrift, n. 1980. time, space and places. chichester: john wiley & sons. schleien, s.j. & ray, m.t. 1988. community recreation and per­ sons with disabilities: strategies for integration. baltimore: paul. brookes. shivers, j.s. & hous, f.f.1975. therapeutic and adapted recrea­ tional services. philadelphia: lea & febig�r. stein, j.u. 1986. including disabled participants. parks & recrea­ tion, 21(1), pp. 49-52. the star.1991. let disabled have their chance in the real world. 26 augustus. johannesburg. tuan, y. 1974. space and place: humanistic perspective. pro­ gress in geography, 6, pp. 211-247. van zijderveld, b.1987. sport and normalization. in: vermeer, a. (red.), sports for the disabled, pp. 25-30. haarlem: de vriese­borch. vermeer, a. (red.).1987. sports for the disabled. haarlem: devrie­ seborch. 44 petr/a j00ste-smjt 1 earth construction: a changing tradition abstract in the recent past, this age-old construction technique has been trans­ formed through thorough research, the application of scientific methods and innovative experimentation. today this traditional system has a much more sophisticated application, has a longer life span, looks mod­ ern and may accommodate all the modern amenities that africa's peo­ple strive for. we may benefit from this method of construction in south africa since it may contribute towards the empowerment and develop­ment of local people through the development of skills, the provision of job opportunities and the limitation of building costs, since local materi­als are used. the opportunity is thus created to live in harmony with the environment, whilst evoking memory and identity. keywords: earth construction, south africa. grondkonstruksie: 'n tradisie in verandering opsomming 'n eeue oue tradisionele grondbou-metode, eie aan afrika, is weer besig om te herleef, nadat dit byna deur die moderne boumetodes verdring is. in onlangse jare het die tegniek egter no navorsing en die toepassing van wetenskaplike metodes met inbegrip van innoverende eksperi­ mente, weer begin herleef. deesdae is die tradisionele sisteem baie meer vaartbelyn, het 'n longer lewensduur en 'n moderne voorkoms wat pas by die hedendaagse inwoners van afrika. suid-afrika kan baie boat vind by hierdie grondbou-metode, aangesien dit die plaaslike ge­ meenskappe kan bemagtig met basiese vaardighede, dit werk kan skep en die boukoste laag kan hou wanneer plaaslike grondstowwe gebruik word. bowenal bied dit die geleentheid om met die omgewing te identi­fiseer en terselfdertyd lei dit tot die ontginning van die geheue en identiteit. sleutelwoorde: grondkonstruksie, suid-afrika. b. arch, m arch, senior lecturer at the department of architecture, university of the orange free state, bloemfontein, south africa. 55 smit/ earth construction introduction one of the rich traditions of africa is the use of earth as a build­ ing material and construction technique. this method is familiar to most of the people of this country. in our modern society how­ ever, this tradition is disappearing rapidly although it still has much to offer to contemporary african societies and cities. the egyptian hassan fathy can surely be called the father of modern earth construction. he spent three years of his life build­ ing the village of new gourna that was meant to be a model vil­ lage for the whole of egypt. he used mud bricks as the main building material for all the buildings, public and private, and for walls and roofs (domes and vaults). but he invented neither the mud brick building system nor its resultant forms. his major achievement was to identify traditional building not as a source of visual reference, but as a living system that has many advan­ tages over the alternative building systems that are available (gibbs: 17). this means that the integration of all systems, cultural, social, and technical, must be achieved in order to provide a habitable settlement (gibbs:17). the ideas of hassan fathy on the tradition of earth construction are used as the theoretical framework. this is a traditional african model which is referred to and within the framework with contemporary examples in africa, e.g. egypt, mayotte and nigeria. tradition "it may be that that what we call modern is nothing but what is not worth of remaining to become old" (alighieri, dante) (fathy, 1969: 24). 'tradition' is not necessarily old-fashioned or synonymous with stagnation. some problems are easy to solve, and take a day while others take years or a lifetime. other solutions can take generations before they are complete and this is where tradition can play a creative role. it is only through tradition, by respect­ ing and building on the work of previous generations, that prog­ ress can be made in solving a problem (fathy, 1969:24). when a specific tradition has been established and accepted, it is the responsibility of the individual artist to keep this tradition alive and strong, by being inventive and using his insight to give it that additional momentum that will keep it from coming to an end. tradition relieves the individual artist from making decisions, but he will need to make other demanding decisions, to be in­ novative, to stop the tradition from dying on his hands (lbid:25). 56 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 this idea of working with the old and transforming it into some­ thing new and vigorous is also echoed in the words of the ago kahn in his opening speech at the ceremony for the ago khan award for architecture. "we strive for appropriate solutions to the problems of today's muslim societies. firmly anchored in the present, the best architectural efforts are those that dare to in­ novate, to start from what we have, and actively invent the fu­ ture in practical, empowering terms, thereby creating a heritage to the future" (steele, 1992:25). no architect can avoid using the work of his predecessors, no matter how much he would like to be original. the largest part of his work will be in one tradition or another (fathy, 1969:25). he should therefore work in the tradi­ tion of the area instead of using foreign traditions in an artificial and uncomfortable synthesis (lbid:26). when an architect works within a tradition, he should not think that it will restrict his creativity. on the contrary, it will make a relevant contribution to the tradition and to the enrichment of the culture of the community. james steele ( 1992:51) describes fathy's contribution to tradition as follows: "throughout his life, he struggled to ensure that this new identity which continues to evolve, would reflect the best elements of both the past and the present, in order to truly express the cultural richness and com­ plexity that is the essence of egypt rather than the foreign mate­ rialistic values that are completely alien to it." in the words of the ago khan: "what ... i suggest, is more of those innovative architects who can navigate between the twin dangers of slavishly copying the architecture of the past and of foolishly ignor­ ing its rich legacy. it needs those who can thoroughly in­ ternalise the collective wisdom of bygone generations, ... and then reinforce them in the language of tomorrow" (steele, 1992:25). this observation captures the essence of this discourse since we contemplate: 0 how one can look at tradition as a source of knowledge, in­ spiration, guidelines, wisdom, etc. 0 how one should innovate on tradition and thus make it pros­ per 0 how tradition and the innovations can be synthesised and lead to a new architectural language. these three main ideas will act as guidelines for the three parts of the article and form the main points for discussion on which the author will expand. 57 smit/ earth construction part 1 : the contribution of hassan fathy to all of the three above-mentioned ideas: 0 how he tried to understand the egyptian peasants' tradition on all the possible levels 0 how he innovated on those traditions with a thorough under­ standing of it as a system 0 how he developed that system into a specific language of earth architecture. part 2: modern innovations on the tradition of earth architec­ ture and earth construction, highlighting the second main idea. part 3: the possibility of creating a new architectural language in the current south african context by using both part i, the ideas of fathy (as the traditional model) and part 2, the recent modernizations of his model (as the innovative part). part 1 : the contribution of hassan fathy "fathy thus opened up a new era of architectural re­ search the identification of the nature of existing tradi­ tional building systems. the way in which they work and their potential for future application" (gibbs:17). we will look at the contribution of fathy (in terms of the three guiding ideas) by using the above quotation. " ... the identification of the nature of existing traditional building systems." what is the nature of the system that fathy promoted? by ad­ dressing this question an attempt is made to identify principles that may be used in modern societies. 58 • it is cheap (local materials, no expensive machinery) fathy knew how poor an a egyptian peasant was and he said: "there does not exist a factory on earth that can pro­ duce a house that a peasant can afford" (fathy, 1969:32). "to talk of prefabrication to people living in such poverty is worse than stupid, it is a cruel mockery of their condition" (lbid:32). so fathy uses the material that egypt has a lot of; earth and sand with straw and water; very cheap and eas­ ily available. no sophisticated machinery is necessary, only moulds that can be handled by one person. a team of four can make 3 ooo bricks per day (lbid:89). • gives character, meaning and evokes memory this method of building with earth has its own character that is implicit in the material and method. 1998 acta structilia val 5 no 1 & 2 + takes into account local customs, traditions, culture it was very important to fathy to understand the local cus­ toms and traditions. he did not see tradition as necessarily old-fashioned or synonymous with stagnation (lbid:24). if one accepts that tradition is not restrictive, creativity backed by a living tradition can inspire work that is much greater than the work of an artist who has no tradition to work in (lbid:25). fathy does this by reviving local, but almost extinct crafts carpentry, making doors from small pieces of wood (lbid:35). he understood the culture very well e.g. if he put running water in the houses, the girls would not get a chance to leave the house to fetch water and would there­ fore not be seen by the young boys of the village. "a girl who stayed in the kitchen, drawing water from the tap, would never get married" (lbid:99). this made fathy decide not to put running water in the houses. it would upset the so­ cial system. he looked at the vernacular architecture of old gourna and interpreted that, e.g. the beds where the chil­ dren slept looked like big mushrooms. the reason was to keep scorpions away from the children (lbid:41). his search for local forms and their incorporation into the new village was not a sentimental attempt to keep a souvenir of the old town. he wanted to restore something of the heritage of their own building tradition (lbid:43). he also worked within the arab tradition by building houses around a courtyard. this puts something of the traditional meaning back into the houses (lbid:55-57). the above explains how important local customs and culture were to him, how he tried to under­ stand it, tried to make life easier by making some traditions and customs easier to keep, but without disrupting the sys­ tem (photo l ). this is something that will need to be looked at carefully in the sa context. photo 1: the mosque at new gourna. egypt (jooste-smit. p) 59 smit/ earth construction 60 • works in the climate; environment fathy understood the climate of upper egypt very well. it is a hot, arid zone with big differences between day and night temperatures. he used this to his advantage to create buildings that were cool during the day on the ground floor and hot during the night on the upper floor (fathy, 1969:46). ventilation is very important. he used a wind-catch to get air movement through the house (lbid:49) (figure 1 ). these methods and devices all make a contribution to the aes­ thetics of the buildings. their forms, character, etc. were very strongly influenced by the climate. these are different in other parts of egypt. figure 1: plan of malkaf (wind-catch) in kathoda, fourteenth cen­ tury (fathy, h., llustration no. 49) • the individual is important the individual is very important in the work of fathy. he re­ jected mass housing by governments. they use statistics to design a house that will suit the average person {fathy, 1969:30). if an architect designs one house and then puts six zeros to it, he is multiplying something that cannot be multi­ plied {lbid:31 ). he then acts like an engineer who designs one section of a road and unreels it for any number of miles {lbid:33). nobody expects a doctor to do mass-production operations: "if you chop off appendixes by thousands with a machine, your patients will die, and if you push families into rows of identical houses, then something in those fami­ lies will die ... the people will grow dull and dispirited like their houses, and their imagination will shrivel up" (lbid:31). 1998 acta structilia val 5 no 1 & 2 each person has his own needs and own initiative. one does not have to built a house for him, just as one does not have to built a house for the birds. if one gives people a chance, they will make their own contributions to the solu­ tion of the housing problem (lbid:32). • traditional crafts, skills are important the architect is in the position to revive the traditional crafts of people in two ways: by giving it prestige, and by giving commissions. this will help the traditional craftsman to regain his self-respect and self-confidence (fathy, 1969:35). the architect is in a posi­ tion to revive the peasants' belief in his own culture. if he shows interest in local forms and also uses them, the peasants will begin to look at their own tradition with renewed pride. something that has been ignored in the past, becomes something to boast about (lbid:43). the importance of regional craftsmanship is also stressed at the ago kahn award as one of the elements that im­ proves the quality of the environment (steele, 1992:26). it is one of the elements that is able to evoke memory and revive iden­ tity. • socio-economic situation part of the system that fathy talks about, is the socio­ economic situation. by reviving some of the traditional crafts, the people of gourna could sell their products and skills to tourists and surrounding villages (fathy, 1969:61). but fathy looked much wider than gourna. one must be care­ ful not to have too many industries in one place, since this could prevent other towns in the vicinity from getting an op­ portunity to grow. gourna must fit into the bigger pattern re­ garding all the different levels of social and economic growth. it must make a contribution to the environment and not upset it (lbid:62). "the way in which they work ... " • a co-operative method knowing the material and how to use it, and keeping in mind its low cost and availability, what can we learn from how the peasants work within a traditional system (fathy, 1969: 119)? they work within a co-operative system, helping each other to build their houses. you help your neighbour, friend etc. and when you need a house, they will help you build yours. if it is done for free it becomes a community activity like harvesting, or helping to extinguish a fire. like 61 smit/ earth construction 62 bees or ants they co-operate without very much organiza­ tion or leadership. the disadvantage of this system, is that it only works within a traditional set-up where not too many houses will be build in a year so that one can still do one's normal work (this is still the case in rural areas in south af­ rica). the co-operative system is a good one it is cheap and works like a living organism. the problem is to make it work in non-traditional circumstances. the motivation be­ hind such a system of free service is that you will receive the same service when you need it. each person that helps to build a house receives the right to be helped; he " ... opens an account in a kind of labour bank. if this principle is rec­ ognized and if the exact amount of work to a man's credit can be calculated and recorded, the cooperative system will begin to appeal to even the most commercially minded peasant" (lbid:120). this means that one has to find a way to establish how many useful hours a person had worked and how many hours went into a specific component of a building. fathy did this in gourna by analyzing the cost of each part of the work and establishing a standard part that could be converted in terms of money or hours for each part of each building (lbid:121 ). this specific method might not be practicable in present communities, but the principle of looking at localized ways of working is important. this prin­ ciple was applied in a school in burkina faso in songa where the village was entrusted with the 'contract' (bertag­ nin, 1992:99). • aided self-help fathy argues that the government will always have to play a part in the building revival, especially when it comes to housing the poor. it will have to create the conditions for a revival where the individual plays a part in building his own house (fathy, 1969:33). this usually involves aided self-help systems where the government provides people in remote places with equipment and materials to build their own houses. the labour is provided by the people (ibid: 116). the disadvantage is that the 'self-help' only lasts as long as the 'aid' lasts. people learn to use a cement mixer, but as soon as the free materials are used up, they are in the same posi­ tion as they were before, except for the finished houses. they cannot apply the skills they learned because they can­ not afford the materials. the craftsman learns a sophisti­ cated trade that he will later be unable to apply (lbid:117). rich countries will give a certain amount of cement or 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 money for a million prefabricated houses. donors should however help the peasant to recognize his own creativity and to realize it (lbid:117-118). fathy gives a few conditions for a system of aided self-help: the materials must be cheap so that the peasant can afford it or for the government to give it away. use local materials that one can easily obtain, should the schemes come to an end. do not make use of skilled labour, other than what will normally be available in the village, e.g. carpenter, mason. "in brief, 'aided self-help' must aid peasants to build in local, vir­ tually costless materials, using skills which they themselves al­ ready have or can easily require" (lbid:118). fathy also describes a system of aided self-help that was used in sa, the nucleus sys­ tem where a core of some sort is put up and the owner builds the rest. however, the owner may not be able to finish his house in the same material as the core, and in the case of south af­ rica, this core was usually a toilet and water-point like a sink or wash-basin that became generally known as toilet towns. like other nucleus systems, this does not stimulate local crafts or teach the owner any skills that he can use later on (lbid:119). • use of local materials the use of local materials is one of the conditions that fathy sets. this is closely linked with local crafts. the ago khan also stresses this aspect (steele, 1992:26). " ... and their potential for future application." • do not copy the specific place and its character is very important. a building must be something that is true to that place. "being faithful to a style, in the way i mean it, does not mean the reverent reproduction of other people's creation. it is not enough to copy even the very best buildings of another generation or another locality" (fathy, 1969:44-45). you should strip your mind of pictures and let the buildings grow from the daily lives of the people who will live in them. it must be an architecture that is an expression of the charac­ ter of the community (lbid:45). the ago kahn also emphasizes that one should copy nei­ ther the past nor solutions developed for other problems and other cultures (steele, 1992:25). 63 smit/ earth construction 64 + use scientific methods although fathy argues strongly for much more attention to be given to the traditional systems of each culture, he does not exclude the possibility of intervention and modification of the tradition through scientific experimentation (fathy, 1969:23). fathy looked at the problems people experienced and tried to make a contribution by using simple scientific methods to improve their lives. for instance he used aerody­ namic principles to work out airflow through and around buildings (lbid:46). he developed a glaze that melted at a low temperature for which an ordinary kiln was adequate (lbid:64). he later developed a type of compressed earth brick when he worked in mit-el-nasara. this was because the village had to be built very quickly after a fire destroyed part of it and left 200 families homeless. a drier mix was used, which was wetted by steam and then pressed in a mechanical press (ibid: 134). he promoted the services of soil mechanics engineers to test the different soil conditions for different types of bricks, earthbricks, stabilised earth bricks etc. (ibid: 140). this is a very important aspect if the whole idea of earth construction is to be accepted by peo­ ple. scientific experimentation can make a contribution to the change of perceptions regarding earth buildings. + adapt to the specific situation one should look at the specific situation as a whole and adapt the system to suit that situation. the system used at gourna was different from the one used in mit-el-nasara. in gourna sun-dried bricks could be used, because they had three years and the villagers had homes to stay in. this was not the case in mit-el-nasara where they did not have time and therefore used a brick that did not need time to dry (fathy, 1969: 134). in a place like egypt the cost of the con­ tract system is too high for peasants and fathy therefore promoted a system of co-operation (ibid: 113). he also worked out a new way of pricing buildings, because the go­ vernment will still be responsible for the public buildings that will be built by paid workers. the other part of the system is the co-operative system, for which fathy worked out a method of pricing work and hours (lbid:140). again, the situation must be understood on different levels and adapted accordingly. • give prestige to and commissions for traditional crafts the local craftsmen's work should have prestige not only because it is good for trade, but also because it is a way of 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 evoking memory and establishing identity. it is thus a way of promoting progress without the loss of identity, because meaning is carried forward into the future. • adapt organization to suit the situation one has to adapt the organisation of work so that it suits the peasant. the contract system is expensive, because of a lot of middlemen, especially with large schemes (fathy, 1969:113). • training training of people and professionals is necessary. in service training for the peasants (fathy, 1969: 123) postgraduate training for architects (ibid: 141). fathy did not believe in technical schools for training. one should give someone just enough to put up a house for himself and perhaps help his neighbour. by starting with the public build­ ings one can train a lot of people simultaneously, and one can use skilled people to do the training, among them architects, master builders, etc. (lbid:122). fathy worked out a pay system and curriculum for the training of peasants (ibid: 124-126). there is also a need for architects trained to work in the rural ar­ eas. fathy proposed a two-year postgraduate course. students will study the existing examples and with that as a background, design buildings in the rural areas (ibid: 141-142). training and education are important. because they imply a long-term in­ vestment; knowledge that can be used afterwards and trans­ ferred to others. why did gourna fail? although fathy worked out an ingenious system for poor peas­ ants in egypt, the project in gourna was a failure (fathy 1969: 149). the town has never been finished and up till today it is not a flourishing village. there are many reasons for the failure, but i shall list only a few of the most important ones: • there was little understanding from the side of the govern­ ment. it did not deliver straw on time (ibid: 155,161) and the government interfered with the way fathy appointed work­ men (lbid:157). • the people of gourna were not interested in leaving the old town. the gournis were tomb raiders. they lived on top of old tombs and sold the treasures to tourists at very low prices in relation to what they are worth. the government in collaboration with the department of antiquities decided to move the whole town to a new place. they were thus ex65 smit/ earth construction hausting some of the richest treasures. this was a great loss in some cases to egyptology, because nobody knew the provenance of their finds (ibid: 15). it is thus not strange that the gournis were reluctant to move to the new town or help to build it. they did not want to take part in the designing of their houses (lbid:39). they tried to stop the building process by deliberately damaging one of the dikes which flooded the village or parts thereof (lbid:176). + the government was used to working with big contractors. + the government did not support the revival and promotion of local crafts and traditions and promoted modern, expen­ sive materials. + regulations made organization difficult. part 2: development and innovation in earth construction technology although fathy's project in gourna seems to have failed, much has been written about his work since the publication of "archi­ tecture for the poor" (gernicke, may/ june, 1992:37). after some interest in earth construction in different parts of the world, the french took the lead in innovative earth construction in the sev­ enties (lbid:37). in 1973, craterre, the centre for research and application of earth construction was founded by a group of engineers and architects, for research and development in earth building technology (lbid:38). this group has since ac­ quired international renown through its publications, interven­ tions in real building schemes, research programmes and profes­ sional and university teachings (project monograph, january 1987:2). many foreign people have attended short courses at craterre and a network of experts is being built up over the world (gernicke, may/june 1992:38). their work can serve as an example of how the principles of fathy can be introduced in our times. 66 + research and experimentation craterre and the ecole nationale des travaux publics de l'etat has specialized in the study of earth construction. much new work has been done on the composition and properties of soils and building methods; this includes: cob, adobe (sun dried bricks), pisse de terre, compressed earth blocks and also surface protection of earth buildings (lbid:38). one of the important experimental projects was the building of a village at villefontaine near lyon. this is in a region of france where a lot of historical earth buildings still 1998 acta structilia val 5 no 1 & 2 exist. the 'domaine de la terre' was completed in 1985 and in this social housing project, earth has proven its technolog­ ical pertinence and its architectural potential in the modern world. one of the many consequences of the project was that it has encouraged the development of scientific and technical research into the material itself, architectural de­ sign and the means of production and construction (project monograph, 1987:1). "the intention behind the project was to prove that within the current social, cultural, technical, economic and legal situation, the vernacular tradition of earth construction could be brought up-to-date with the help of modern knowledge and technology" (lbid:2-3). from this quotation one can hear echoes of some of fathy's ideas. three tech­ niques were used: rammed earth, vibro-compacted stabi­ lised earth blocks and a straw-earth mix. they also experi­ mented with improved frames, the means of compacting the earth (lbid:5). apart from using earth, the project also experimented with economy of energy by using different devices to make use of natural ventilation, heating, etc. (lbid:6). here the ideas of fathy of working with the climate can again be seen. this experimental village has achieved its principal goal," ... to provide a 'missing link' between in­ tuitive traditional practices, ill adapted to the modern world, and a more rational, resolutely modern form of earth architecture that takes account of the production con­ straints of today. this project represents a stage within a global strategy, relevant to both industrialised and develop­ ing countries, aiming to make the best possible use of earth architecture for economic housing" (lbid:8). + scientific methods with an understanding of the african context craterre has gone futher, with domaine de la terre, acting as a precedent and its members are now acting as consul­ tants to governments and other organisations all over africa (rigassi & joffroy, july, 1994:31-37). they use the scientific methods they have developed, but adapt them to the afri­ can situation. their methods can be used in remote places, rural and urban areas. this can be illustrated by using one method, compressed earth blocks (ceb) as an example. there are many more, but ceb's have proven to be one of the most acceptable methods of earth construction as it looks like a fired brick and many of the problems concern­ ing water has been dealt with. it is also chosen because the 67 smit/ earth construction soils of south africa, especially that of the free state, are very suitable for ceb's, as we will explain later on. very simple methods of testing the raw material and the finished product have been developed, (cigar test, etc.) and also simple ways of mixing the materials with very basic equipment like shovels, budgets, etc. and the use of very simple machinery. some of this equipment like brick presses are manufactured by small building enterprises in for exam­ ple kenya (agevi, july 1994:5) projects craterre has been involved in which can serve as examples, are schools in burkina faso (bertagnin, 1992:90-99) for the ministry for basic education and mass literacy, and a programme for the global improvement of housing on the island of mayotte (guillaud, et al. 1 /92: 11-16). + improvement of the product compressing earth blocks are surely an advanced earth building product. it can be manufactured very easily with semi-skilled labour. it is also quite cheap to manufacture and is a product with all the properties that appeal to the modern world, since it looks modern, is sophisticated, has a longer life span and can accommodate all the modern amenities modern people strive for. making compressed earth blocks is a simple process that works as follows: identification of the raw material: it consists of four components: gravel, sand, silt and clay ( 15%). the raw material can be tested by way of laboratory tests or photo 2: a ceb production yard showing sieving, press­ ing and curing, mangaung, bloemfontein (jooste-smit, p) 68 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 field tests where little more than one's two hands are necessary (lectures notes, 1994:77). + now one can go over to the production process (photo 2): sieve the material mix it with a stabilizer e.g. 5-8% cement; this is a dry mix that can easily be measured off with a bucket, cans or wheelbarrow compress in brick press the compressed blocks are packed on an even sur­ face and wrapped with plastic. they are left in this condition for one week. under the plastic a humid condition develops which activates the chemical pro­ cess of the cement. after three weeks one has a cured, hard brick without the consumption of any en­ ergy (lectures notes: 1994:8). then it should be left un­ covered for three weeks. + after the bricks have been cured, one can run simple quality tests for: capillary action by leaving bricks in water abrasion by using a steel brush do a rupture test to find the bending strength of the block. these are only a few of the tests that can be conducted to do test control of the quality of the end product and they show how easily this can be done without the use of expensive equipment. if one wishes to obtain more accurate and scientific results, tests can also be run by a laboratory (lectures notes: 1994:79). although this is a very easy method of making bricks it is a scien­ tific method with an end product that looks like a face brick and is used like a face brick. it can also be plastered if one prefers a plastered wall, but some rules must be obeyed. + can implement on different scales an important advantage of the ceb technique is that the production of blocks can be implemented on different scales, and the technique can therefore be used by gov­ ernments as well as small entrepreneurs. "in practice, how­ ever, the production of earth building materials remains competitive thanks to the wide range of levels of invest­ ment possible. thus industrial large-scale production units can be set up, but equally so can craft workshops ... " (houben, h. & d'ornano, s., basin-news, july, 1991 :26). the industry is therefore quite flexible. governments can estab­ lish big, fully mechanized plants, while a small entrepreneur 69 smit/ earth construction can move his brickyard around on a small lorry. this also provides for a difference in investment, from as low as r2 200,00 for a manual brick press to r75 000,00 in south africa. it also allows for mechanization at different stages of pro­ duction e.g. manual earth removing with mechanical pulverizers, manual mixing and manual pressing. one can intervene at each of the production levels and this gives to a small entrepreneur a chance to start with a small manual production process and develop that gradually into some­ thing bigger and more mechanical (lbid:27). • must understand the technique one of the major factors determining the success of build­ ing with earth is an understanding of its strong and weak points. what can be done with earth and what not. "good architectural design and good building work depend on the knowledge and skills of designers and builders. it is by re­ newing links with a long tradition of earth "design skills" and by making good use of recent technological inputs, that high quality earth architecture can be produced. there are a number of regional sayings which reflect this popular common sense and wisdom, such as this saying from devon in england: 'all cob wants is a good hat and a good pair of shoes', in other words a good roof and good footings" (lec­ tures notes: 1994:33). the main problems (or aspects) that one has to understand very well fall in two categories, namely: l ) structural problems that force one to respect the principles of earth's good compressive strength as well as its poor ten­ sile and shearing strength. the designer must choose appro­ priate structural design and construction details. 2) problems with water and humidity that result in erosion, streaming water, splash back, infiltration and absorption. again these make the designer aware of fundamental prin­ ciples: protecting the top and base of walls, allowing the building to breathe and using suitable detail (lbid:33). the above are very general comments on principles involved in understanding the technique and using the best possible appli­ cation. one has to understand the material, its physical charac­ teristics and properties. knowing the specific technique that is going to be used, one has to know the special equipment and ways in which they are applied (lbid:35). it is important with any material that one has to understand the basic principles in­ volved when using that material. in the same way it is necessary 70 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 to understand the essential principles involved in earth construc­ tion. part 3: the current south african context south africa is in a situation similar to the one that fathy de­ scribes. we have a huge shortage of affordable housing and a huge number of people who cannot pay for housing that the government supplies. like egypt we also have a long tradition of earth construction in south africa. it can be divided into two main categories, namely the european tradition and the indige­ nous tradition. both contributed to the earth construction tradi­ tion in its own way. today very little use is made of these tradi­ tions. in rural areas new earth buildings are still being con­ structed, but in the same way as it had always been done. none of the recent developments in earth construction techniques are used. this is not due to unwillingness or resistance, but to total ig­ norance. gernicke (architecture sa, jui/aug, 1992:44) writes, "such lack of interest by the building industry and architectural profession does not invalidate the crucial role building in earth still plays in southern africa. the informal sector cannot be quan­ tified, but many thousands of south africans are still housing themselves as they have done for ages by building their own shelter in wattle and daub, sod or adobe all over the country." the most important difference between our situation and the one fathy describes, is the fact that we do not work with tradi­ tional settlements and that very many of the problem areas are urban. possible guidelines for implementing earth building on a larger and wider scale in south africa will be discussed in the fol­ lowing section. this will be done by looking at earth building as a system and then at a possible strategy for implementation. earth building as a system in south africa if we want to revive our earth tradition and transform it to some­ thing that people will be proud of, we should see it as a system and not just as a means of supplying houses. a system that can possibly create a language that evokes memory and provides identity. like fathy, one should think of the culture of the people, their as­ pirations, and skills that can be used that are already existing in the community, e.g. in rural areas earth building is well known, but techniques must be upgraded. climatic conditions should play a role, as we have vastly different climatic zones in south africa. providing for climatic conditions will necessitate inven­ tions that may have a profound effect on design. if we look at 71 smit/ earth construction earth building as a system of which tradition, culture, economy, local crafts, local materials, local skills etc. form part, we may take part in a very exciting future. 72 • a system that creates jobs through training of small builders "on the other hand, this low investment requirement is counter-balanced by a fairly high consumption of labour" (basin-news, july 1991 :25). the manufacture of earth build­ ing components like ceb's is a labour intensive process. in a country like south africa, we have many unemployed peo­ ple, unlike most industrialised countries of the world. we can create jobs for thousands of people by training those who would like to begin small and medium-sized private enter­ prises. for instance if you begin a manual production line, you can provide work for 9-10 labourers, make on average 600 1 ooo bricks per day; an investment of r 15 ooo. or one can have an automated production line, give 9 people work and produce 5 ooo 6 ooo blocks per day, an invest­ ment of rloo ooo. to produce 6 ooo blocks per day, type 1 will need 9 manual production lines, 86 men, while type 2 need 1 automated line, 9 men per day. this shows on aver­ age that with manual production many more people are employed, which is something we should consider very seri­ ously in south africa, rather than an automated situation. even if labour costs equal that of the automated process, we shall still have more people who are employed (lectures notes: production, 1994:9-10). many of these small to me­ dium-sized enterprises can be established all over the coun­ try and can supply work to hundreds of people. • a system that uses local materials one of the problems that fathy identified was the use of ex­ pensive, foreign materials ( 1969:32). local materials, and in this case earth, can be obtained very cheaply. the govern­ ment can also play an important role in identifying quarries. this will help to prevent the removal of earth from sensitive areas and to prevent erosion caused by the removal of topsoil. by using local materials (with local skills and adapta­ tion to the climate) one can create something that is unique to a specific place. consequently a place will have its own forms and character. in burkina faso, the "research, experimentation and popu­ larisation of materials project" (locomat a creation of the ministry of public works) promoted local materials in the first years of its existence. this led to a situation where both 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 the technical and economical feasibility of buildings in local materials could be proved (rigassi and joffroy, july, 1994: 34). • a system that develops local skills the development of local skills can be divided into two as­ pects: 1) building with ceb's is almost the same as building with fired bricks. it is a normal brick-building process, and skills already exist in brick masonry in south africa. one can now develop these skills further by introducing earth bricks. 2) skills to work with earth are also available, especially in the rural areas, but one can upgrade the traditional techniques by using the appropriate equipment and complying with the rules of ceb masonry (basin-news, july 1991 :27). it is important to remember that one should first look at the type of skills and type of soil available. it might be the case that one should rather use adobe bricks. ceb's are used as an example of an advanced earth product that might be accepted more eas­ ily. implementation strategy: some points • put up experimental structures if we want to promote earth as a building material and use it on a large scale in south africa, we shall have to put up experimental structures (fathy) to convince the people, the government and financial institutions. this was also done in cameroon (rigassi and joffroy, july, 1994:32), and mayotte (guillard, gate, 1/1992:11-12). in south africa this could mean that the structures will have to be high-profile build­ ings in the urban context and not necessarily low-cost (like the domain de lo terre in france). the acceptability of the material and method might be greater if used for prestige buildings. the method will then not be stigmatized as alter­ native, low-cost or inferior. it should start from the top down (contrary to the common belief in the country at the mo­ ment), in the sense that one should start with important buildings. it is also important that the government should play a part in this by promoting these methods through commissions (fathy, 1969:35, and cameroon; rigassi and joffroy, july, 1994:33). • training and education much development has taken place on the equipment front and a whole range of different products is available. 73 smit/ earth construction 74 what is also necessary now is investment in technical skills. the university at grenoble has begun to integrate building with earth as a specialized discipline in its own right. post­ graduate courses are also running. this includes research on building materials, production and application methods (houben & d'ornano, basin-news, july, 1991 :28). in south africa we shall need to educate and train people in earth construction on different levels, and provide training to peo­ ple who want to establish small brickyards. this should be different from courses for professionals and decision-makers. it is also important to run courses in our schools of architec­ ture and other institutions. fathy propagated a 2-year post­ graduate course (fathy, 1969: 141). we are in the position to­ day to change our university courses to include earth as one of the many materials and methods of construction, but it must be given the same priority as steel, concrete, etc. another area of research and training will be the way the prices of buildings are calculated. because earth is not a common material in our present building industry, no stan­ dardized method of calculating the costs exists in our coun­ try. such systems have been worked out, but they will have to be adapted to the south african situation. • change the way the organization and payment of work are done fathy promotes a double system of organizing the building industry. on the one hand are the public buildings that could still be built by contracting firms. in the case of public buildings the normal way of payment will still be used. the private buildings on the other hand can be done in a differ­ ent way. it may be difficult to use a co-operative system as fathy suggested, but it may be possible to work with many of small entrepreneurs, as in cameroon, burkina faso and nigeria (rigassi and jaffray. basin-news, july, 1994:31-36). such a system can provide employment for many people. the people themselves will make a contribution to the hous­ ing problem and local customs and skills can easily be intro­ duced and developed. by using smaller entrepreneurs, the danger of mass repetition of houses is lessened. such a builder will build fewer houses, because of the smaller size of his operation. these builders can also employ local people to help with the process and thus give buildings a local and perhaps also an individual character. 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 • standard building regulations must change part of the research that one should undertake is the estab­ lishment of a system of standardization. the establishment of standards is not to penalise producers, but to promote high-quality products and thus open up markets for earth building products. there are standards established for earth products by organizations like unido, unchs and others (houben & d'ornano, basin-news, july 1991:28). we do not have any standards in south africa. nothing about earth building exists in the national building regulations or munici­ pal regulations. this means that anybody who wants to build an earth structure will be unable to get their plans ap­ proved and will be unable to get a loan from a building so­ ciety. this applies when one wants to put up an earth build­ ing within a municipal area. outside municipal areas, in squatter camps, on farms etc., this will not pose a problem. • role of the government the government must be realistic in what is possible. "in ni­ geria i saw a public relations display two panels, one show­ ing the worst african hovels photographed from unflattering angles, the other showing clean european type buildings in concrete and aluminium, and the question 'this or that?' the officials there confessed that these were not real alter­ natives at all; the country could afford only mud and straw" (fathy, 1969:36). the government has an important role to play in the building industry, but should not promote unreal­ istic expectations of what is economically feasible. the shortage of housing in south africa is a very sensitive and controversial issue. a situation similar to that which fathy ex­ perienced in nigeria is developing in south africa. millions of houses have been promised to people, but the economic situation does not allow for the building of these houses. ni­ geria has realized this and has started a joint effort by the national commission of museums and monuments of nige­ ria (ncmm), and the co-operation service of the french embassy to nigeria, launching a programme aimed at the exploration of the potential of building with earth for low­ cost housing. the objective is to contribute to the national housing policy by finding solutions to reduce the significant dearth of housing at national level (rigassi and joffroy, july, 1994:35). what fathy found in nigeria came true; they are now building with earth. the government has a further role to play, and that is to create the climate and conditions for a building revival 75 smit/ earth construction 76 starting from the individual family. fathy writes: "it would have to remove the various obstacles to private building, it would have to give a great deal of guidance to the com­ pletely inexperienced people ... the training of people in the craft of building, and the giving of material help at the right points ... " (1969:33). the government can also promote aided self-help schemes within the conditions that fathy set. people must be encouraged to play an active part in housing them­ selves. if people see that they can build good houses them­ selves for next to nothing, they will get enthusiastic. "if you want a flower, you don't try to make it with bits of paper and glue, but you devote your labour and intelligence in­ stead to preparing the ground, then you put a seed in and let it grow. in the same way, to make use of the natural de­ sire of the villager to build, we must apply ourselves to pre­ paring the ground by creating an atmosphere or social cli­ mate in which building will flourish, and we must not waste our energy on the construction of buildings which, however smart or striking they may be, will be as sterile and unpro­ ductive as artificial flowers" (lbid:119). + architects must use and develop the method architects and all the other disciplines involved in the build­ ing industry should promote earth construction as one of the systems that we have at our disposal. if architects do not design earth buildings, nobody will build earth buildings. ar­ chitects are in the position to introduce new materials and techniques in their designs. this can contribute to the ac­ ceptance of earth as a building system. it does not mean that every part of the building need to be of earth; on the contrary. a mixture of materials can provide an interesting aesthetic effect. an architect in toulouse, colzani, tries to use ceb's in every project he is involved in, in a limited way. the function, design and size of the building etc. all play an important role in the decision of where to use earth. he does this to make earth acceptable to people. his work is interesting because he combines earth building techniques and traditional earth forms like domes and vaults with mod­ ern technology and materials like steel. this stresses the ex­ citing design possibilities of working with earth techniques. by working within the limits and characteristics of earth and combining that with other appropriate materials, a new world of design possibilities is opened up to the innovative architect. 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 photo 3: contemporary flats in earth, auroville, india (craterre­ eag library) • what is happening in other parts of the world gernicke (jui/ aug, 1992:40), shows a map of areas in france and the world where earth building is still a flourish­ ing practice (photo 3). all of southern africa and a narrow strip northwards are shown as lacking the tradition. in parts of the world like the usa, more than 176 ooo earth houses were to be found in 1980, mainly in the south-western states. earth building is increasing at a rate of 30% per year in cali­ fornia. in new mexico, in 1981. there were 48 adobe facto­ ries that produced 4 million blocks per year. in france wattle and daub is gaining popularity, because of mechanization and a scientific approach to the material, which has im­ proved the quality (houben & d'ornano, july, 1991 :26). small and medium-sized enterprises are playing an impor­ tant role in the manufacturing of ceb's in africa (rigassi & joffroy, july, 1994:31-36). seeing that earth building is used in developed and developing countries, we should be able to use similar systems in south africa. we experience many of the same problems as the rest of the african continent in respect of unemployment, housing and over-population. if the rest of africa can take earth building seriously, we can learn a lot from them. • what is happening in south africa today? in 1996 the unit for earth construction was established as 77 smit/ earth construction 78 part of the department of architecture at the university of the orange free state (uofs). many of the above strategies have been employed since then. experimental structures experimental structures were put up to promote the material. one is a prototype house at glen near bloemfontein, where stabilized compressed earth bricks were used. the structure of 45 m2 was erected for r 17 147,73 excluding labour. another demonstra­ tion project is the albert luthuli day care centre. here both adobe and ceb's were used for the construction. the cost of the structure was r301,00 m2 excluding la­ bour. this building is very popular with the community. many people were sceptical about the technology at the outset of the process, but are now convinced of its quality. adobe and ceb's are the two methods of con­ struction used for these buildings, because of the fol­ lowing reasons: oo the red soil of the free state is suitable for both these techniques. oo masonry skills needed for both these techniques are available. oo adobe is the traditional way of building in the free state. ceb is an upgrading of the existing skills and methods. training and education training is provided by the uec on different levels and for different groups of people. students receive train­ ing as part of their building construction and design courses. short courses are also presented to profes­ sional people in the building industry. these courses fo­ cus on specific fields of interest. training is also pro­ vided to communities and small builders as part of community projects, like the one mentioned above. this training focuses on knowledge that can immedi­ ately be used in the project. this includes training on the raw material, production of blocks and the con­ struction of the building itself. the information given is less theoretical and more practical exercises as many of these trainees are illiterate. this provides an opportu­ nity for creative ways of teaching. standard building regulations standard building regulations should change since this is one of the biggest problems in the sa construction industry. the situation is being addressed on different 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 levels and by different groups, e.g. the nbri in the country. tests by the south african bureau of standards (sabs) have successfully been performed on earth walls in buffalo flats in east landen (sabs test report, 4471 /89608). some machine manufacturers have per­ formed sabs tests on their own products like masakane bricks. another machine manufacturer, hydraform, re­ ceived certificates from the agrement board (agrement certificate, 96/237). an acknowledgement system of standards does not exist in south africa, but many groups are working towards it. individual munici­ palities are approving plans of buildings in earth, some under certain conditions. in east landen the municipal­ ity is erecting a pilot housing project in earth. in bloemfontein the use of earth will be approved if the uec is in charge of the project. this is not an ideal situ­ ation yet, but from all parts of the country interested parties are working to change the situation so that earth will later be included in the national building reg­ ulations. the role of the government the uce have made numerous presentations to local government in the free state. everybody seems to be interested, but nothing is mobilized. one can only speculate as to what the reasons may be. the author is of the opinion that the government is not realistic in their expectations in terms of housing in this country. not only regarding the number of houses, but also re­ garding the type of materials one can obtain for the subsidy amount. this amount has not changed in the past years, despite the drop in the value of the rand. the cost of building materials are far more expensive than when the government announced their subsidy scheme. the experience of the uec is that private or­ ganizations and clients are far more advanced in their approach to earth construction. the role of architects many architects in south africa are using earth as a building material and technology and design buildings in earth, but the majority of architects do not have enough knowledge about this concept, since it was perhaps not included in their curricula at university. the uce endeavors to teach this technology as part of the students' course, as to put them in the position to know how use the material where appropriate when they start practicing. 79 smit/ earth construction conclusion progress has been made in south africa in the field of earth ar­ chitecture and specifically its acceptability. many contempo­ rary buildings in earth are being built today. one such an exam­ ple is the alliance fran<;:aise building in mitchell's plain that was built with ceb's. this technology in its modern form is exiting, but a lot has still to be done. as gernicke says: "the timeless custom of building in earth, part of the col­ lective consciousness of mankind from time immemorial, will yet have to be taken seriously here (south africa), and could be exploited to great advantage in a country with a low economic growth rate and a high proportion homeless citizens" (gernicke, july/aug., 1992:44). bibliography agevi. 1994. basin-news, july, p. 5. alighierl dante. in fathy, h. 1969. gourna: a tale of two villages. minis­ ter of culture, cairo. university of chicago press. cairo. bertagnin, m. 1992. mud schools. space & society, 1/3(57), pp. 90-99. fathy, h. 1969. gourna: a tale of two villages. foreign cultural informa­ tion department. (prism art series 4). gibbs, p. (s.a.) hasan fathy's contribution to architectural thought. gernicke, g. 1992. the return to earth: 2 reinstating earth building. ar­ chitecture sa. 5/6, pp. 36-40. gernicke, g. 1992. the return to earth: 3 earth building in south africa. architecture sa, 7 /8, pp. 40-44. guillaud, h.i. et al. 1992. is mayotte a model for development? gate, 1, pp. 11-16. houben, h. & d'ornano, s. 1991. the compressed earth block: from craft workshop to industrial production. basin-news, 7, pp. 25-30. in l'lsle d'abeau: 'le domaine de la terre". 1987. project monograph, 1, pp. 1-8. lecturers notes: 1994. controlling raw materials, p. 77. lecturers notes: 1994. product control, p. 79. lecturers notes: 1994. the project's building dispositions, p. 33. lecturers notes: 1994. production, pp. 9-10. rigassl v. & joffroy, t. 1994. the housing problem and the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (smes). basin-news, 7(8), pp. 31-37. steele, j. (ed.) 1992. architecture for a changing world. london: acad­ emy editions. 80 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 p potgieter1 'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning opsomming onduidelikheid is besig om te eskaleer ten opsigte van algemene begrippe soos 'beplanning' of 'beplanners', gestel teenoor die werksaamhede binne die beroep van stadsen streekbeplanning self en die betrokke beplanners. praktisyns en akademici in die professie praat dikwels van 'beplanning' of 'beplanners' wanneer hulle verwys no stads­ en streekbeplanning of wanneer hulle die betrokke beplanners sou wou aandui. hierdie veralgemenings is veral opmerklik in die engelse spreektaal waar die begrippe 'planning' of 'planner' opduik binne professionele verband. in hierdie artikel word die reikwydte van die term 'beplanning' ('planning') oorweeg asook die rol van die stadsen streekbeplanner binne die beplanningsproses. dit is duidelik dot die professie nie sol baatvind by 'n naamverandering nie, vanwee die besondere aard van die beroep. sleutelwoorde: begrippe, beplanning, beplanners. 'planning' versus town and regional planning a misunderstanding regarding the difference between 'planning' or 'planners' in terms of urban/town and regional planning is becoming increasingly obvious. practitioners and academics in the profession regularly use the terms 'planning' or 'planners' with reference to the profession and professionals themselves. this generalisation is particularly noticeable in english where the terms 'planning' and 'planner' are applied in the work environment. this article focuses on the term 'planning' and the role of the urban and/or town and regional planner in the 'planning' process. the term 'planner' covers a wide range of activities and using this term in a non-specific manner causes misunderstanding and misapplication, and may jeopardise the distinctive nature of the profession. a name-change will only complicate matters further and may adversely affect the profession it serves. keywords: terms, planning, planners. mr. piel potgieter, ba (lo), hod, mss (uovs) lsaiss, is a lecturer at the department of town and regional planning at the university of the free slate, bloemfontein, south africa. potgieter/'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning 1. lnleiding die vraag bestaan of door 'n beduidende verskil bestaan tussen 'beplanning' of 'beplanners' aan die een kant en 'stadsen streekbeplanning of -beplanners' aan die ander kant. praktisyns en akademici in die professie praat dikwels van 'beplanning' of 'beplanners' wanneer hulle in werklikheid stadsen streekbeplanning of -beplanners in gedagte het. hierdie veralgemening is veral opmerklik in die engelse spreektaal waar die woorde, 'planning' of 'planner' dikwels binne die professie opduik. die teoretiese ooreenkomste en verskille tussen 'beplanning' en 'stadsen streekbeplanning' behoort geen onduidelikhede op te lewer nie, veral nie ten opsigte van die onderskeie betekenisse nie. in die teorie bestaan verskeie definisies oor 'beplanning' en 'stadsen streekbeplanning'. die terme het te make met 'n rasionele proses waarby die rede betrokke is om idees te vorm en dit don te orden om sodoende tot 'n gevolgtrekking te kom waarby die enkeling, 'n instansie of groep, die gemeenskap en ook die omgewing kan boat. die beplanningsproses is 'n rasionele proses en planne word bedink om die mens en sy omgewing te rig; dit is 'n wetenskaplike benadering. 'n duidelike onderskeid kan getref word tussen die terme wanneer die definisies onder oenskou geneem word. 'beplanning' dui op 'n bree algemene begrip; die mens maak omgewingsbestuurs­ planne, ekonomiese bestuursplanne, vakansieplanne, doen gesinsbeplanning, ensovoorts. hierdie lys is feitlik eindeloos. bogenoemde lys van 'planne' mag verregaande klink, dog elkeen moet aan een kriterium voldoen, naamlik die van 'beplanning'. vir elke plan is 'n idee nodig; is kennis van die feite nodig; is 'n weldeurdagte beredeneringsproses teenwoordig; en word alternatiewe bestudeer, alvorens 'n besluit oor 'n plan van aksie geneem word. 'stadsen streekbeplanning' is 'n baie spesifieke onderafdeling van wetenskapsbeoefening, naamlik die beplanning van 'n stad of 'n streek. die reikwydte van die term 'beplanning' ('planning'), die rol van die stadsen streekbeplanner in die beplanningsproses en/of die professie van 'stadsen streekbeplanning' self, loot die vraag ontstaan of 'n naamsverandering nie oorweeg moet word nie. 2. begripsverklarings stuart hampshire ( 1959: 11) skryf: 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 men may think with a view to knowledge, or they may think with a view to action. they may ask themselves 'is this statement true or is it not?' and also 'shall i do this or shall i not?' both kinds of questions can be formulated in words, and there would be nothing properly called though unless such questions could be formulated in words. patsy healey ( 1997: xii) se in hoar boek oor deelnemende beplanning: this book is about why urban regions are important to social, economic and environmental policy and how political communities may organise to improve the quality of their places. hierdie aangehaalde gedeeltes hou twee belangrike begrippe in, naamlik: teorie en beplanning. 2.1 teorie die verklarende handwoordeboek van die afrikaanse taal (hat), omskryf die term 'teorie' soos volg: grondreels van 'n wetenskap om waargenome feite of verskynsels te verklaar; voorstellings in 'n mens se gedagte, sander om rekening te hou met die werklikheid (hat, 1985: 1141). die engelse verklaring van die begrip word deur die concise oxford dictionary (cod) s6 verduidelik: a supposition or system of ideas explaining something, esp. one based on general principles independent of the particular things to be examined (cod, 1990: 1266). in die begrip 'teorie' soek ons dus no verklarings wat sol help om toekomstige onverwagte gebeurlikhede die hoof te bied en ons sodoende in stoat te stel om die werklikheid te trotseer. in dieselfde trant kan die begrip 'beplanning' bestudeer word. 2.2 beplanning die akademie huldig 'n groot verskeidenheid van uitgangspunte ten opsigte van die beg rip. steyn (1989: 67) haal 35 definisies aan wat deur verskillende skrywers aangebied is oor die afgelope aantal jare. die hat omskryf die begrip 'beplanning' s6: "'n plan uitwerk; iets bedink" (hat, 1985: 80). in bree terme kom al die bekende definisies dus daarop neer dot 'beplanning' enige potgieter/'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning handeling, voorstelling of aksie kan behels waarmee die mens sy toekoms probeer rig. hampshire (19 59: 11) se verder: [ ... ] for there is no sence in 'could' and 'could not' as they are used here, unless we have first given the rules or principles that would exclude certain methods of differentiation as impossible. 'beplanning' is dus 'n proses waarbinne spesifieke reels en beginsels geld voordat 'n antwoord, 'n gevolgtrekking of 'n plan tot stand kan kom. net soos in enige teoretiese studie, is hier ook verskeie metodes oor hoe om 'n plan van aksie ten uitvoer te bring. banfield (faludi, 1973: 141-142) verwys no die rasionele model, wat uit vier stadia bestaan en wat besluitneming voorafgaan. hierdie 'besluit' le die beplanningsproses ten grondslag waarbinne die toekoms gerig word. dit is 'n rigtinggewende en rasionele proses wat duidelik deur die filosofie van beplanning aangespreek word. die stadia is: • 'n analise van die situasie • 'n oorweging van die moontlike uitkomste • die ontwerp van sekere metodes van aksie • 'n vergelykende evaluasie van die moontlike gevolge. 2.2.1 die filosofie van beplanning in die oxford companion to philosophy (ocp) word filosofie op 'n eenvoudige wyse as "thinking about thinking" gedefinieer, naamlik: [ ... ] generally second-order character of the subject, as reflective thought about particular kinds of thinking formation of beliefs, claims of knowledge about the world or large parts of it (1995: 666). hieruit vloei die gedagte dot filosofiese denke neerkom op rasionele, kritiese denke, wat min of meer sistematies van aard is ten opsigte van die algemene toestande in die wereld (metafisika of die bestaansteorie) . door kan ook onderskei word tussen denke aangaande die regverdiging van geloof (epistemologie of die teorie van 'kennis') en gedragspatrone (etiek of die teorie van 'waarde') (ocp, 1995: 666). filosofiese denke handel met ander woorde oor die dinge wat veronderstel is om te 'wees'. die filosofie van wetenskap word onderverdeel in twee bree velde, naamlik die epistemologie van die wetenskap en die metafisika van die wetenskap. eersgenoemde handel oor die regverdiging en objektiwiteit van wetenskaplike kennis, terwyl 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 laasgenoemde die raaiselatighede van die werklikheid, wat deur wetenskap ontbloot is, op filosofiese wyse belig (ocp, 1995: 809). die ocp (1995:448) se: "science systematically corrects the errors of common sense" en verwys s6 no die epistemologie (1995: 241): like 'epistemological', an adjective derived from 'episteme', a greek word for knowledge. anything thus described has some relation to knowledge (or at least to the justification for belief), or to the general theory of these (epistemology). a proposition is epistic if and only if it has some implication for what, in some circumstances, is rationally worthy of belief. kennis (epistomologie) is dus wetenskap. wetenskap is 'n rasionele proses en die rede is die oorsprong van idees. die ocp onderskei tussen fisiese (1995: 389), rasionele ( 1995: 390), en aangebore idees (1995: 409). nieteenstaande die teoretiese verskille en die verskillende benaderings wat deur verskillende filosowe en interpreteerders van die filosofie voorgestel en gepropageer is, dien al hierdie benaderings een sentrale doel, naamlik die ordening, vereniging en die rig van die mens se ondervindings ten einde praktiese uitkomste te verseker; met ander woorde beplanning. 2.2.2 die teorie van beplanning in die beplanningsteorie onderskei mcconnel (steyn, 1989: 74) drie vlakke van die teorie: teorie in; teorie van; teorie vir. hy word hierin deur steyn ( 1989: 22) ondersteun. die gedagte word soos volg voorgestel: teorie in: praktyk = teorie van: teoriee = teorie vir: idees = toepassing van reels hetsy regulasies en die uitvoer van opdragte norme, teoriee en wette bogenoemde waaraan onderhewig is die ideele of agtergrond van waardes wat bepalend is vir die tot standkoming van die teorie. met ander woorde, dit wat veronderstel is om te gebeur. potgieter/'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning w anneer gesoek word no 'n gepaste definisie vir stadsen streekbeplanning, is dit belangrik om bogenoemde terminologie te omskryf. die verskil tussen hierdie drie begrippe word s6 verduidelik deur vermeulen (potgieter, 1992: 19): teorie in = infrastruktuur = die 'wat' van beplanning teorie van = superstruktuur = die 'hoe' van beplanning teorie vir = ideostruktuur = die 'waarom' van beplanning. dit is duidelik dot, alhoewel hierdie drie teoriee verskillend en selfstandig is, dit interverweef is, want vir enige aksie wat plaasvind, is rede gereed asook 'n metode van hoe dit gedoen behoort te word. 2.3 stadsen streekbeplanning 'n derde dimensie, naamlik stads en streekbeplanning kan aan hampshire (1959: 11) en healey (1997: xii) se beskrywings toegedig word, aangesien denke rasioneel ingespan word om gemeenskappe se fisiese omstandighede te verbeter. soos in die voorafgaande aangedui (2.2.1 ), is die beoefening van stadsen streekbeplanning 'n rasionele proses omdat die vorming van idees en die beraming van planne 'n groot gedeelte van die beplanningsproses uitmaak. in die hat word 'stadsbeplanning' soos volg omskryf: [ ... ] georganiseerde rangskikking van strate, parke, ens. in 'n (nuwe) stad met die oog op algemene gerief, aangename voorkoms, reeling van verkeer, ens. (1985: 1060). 'streek' (hat 1985:1095), daarenteen, word gedefinieer as: 'gebied, landstreek, omtrek, omgewing' en 'streekbeplanning' as: "ontwerping van 'n ontwikkelingskema vir 'n bepaalde streek of bepaalde streke [ ... ]. ten opsigte van die bestudering van stadsen streekbeplanning skryf richert en lapping (apa journal, 1998: 125) die volgende met betrekking tot ebenezer howard se uitgangspunte: "how shall we resolve the ambiguities that have attached to him in the century since his book arguably launched the modern era of city and regional planning." hulle dui verder aan: [ ... ] at the end of the nineteenth century and early in the twentieth century, the countryside was emptying into ever more concentrated, congested and unhealthy cities. the main concern was the well-being and housing of an impoverished urban working class (apa journal, 1998: 125). 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no 1 in hierdie twee gedeeltes word die destydse oogmerke met stadsen streekbeplanning saamgevat, in die sin dot door vir longer as 'n eeu gepoog is om die welsyn van mense binne en buite stedelike gebiede te bevorder. door is verskeie ander teoriee, moor dit is nie hier ter sake nie. stadsen streekbeplanning behels dus veel meer as praktykgerigte optrede aangesien die stadsen streekbeplanner die mens in sy totaliteit bestudeer en sodoende poog om 'n hormonieuse samelewing door te stel. 3. 'stadsen streekbeplanning' gestel teenoor 'beplanning' die stadsen streekbeplanningsprofessie word deur die wet op stadsen streekbeplanners van 1984 (wet 19 van 1984), soos gewysig, beheer, en word in terme van hierdie wet deur 'n statutere road gereguleer en geadministreer. die professie is tans besig om die kommentaor te evalueer van sy onderskeie lede ten opsigte van die nuwe konseptwetsontwerp. in gevolge hierdie nuwe wet op stadsen streekbeplanners, bestaan door geen woordomskrywing wat die terme 'beplanning', 'stadsbeplanning', 'streekbeplanning' 6f 'stadsen streekbeplanning' verduidelik nie. in teenstelling met die bestaande wet word door in artikel l van die konsepwetsontwerp met betrekking tot die beplanningsprofessie (die draft planning professional bill), duidelik aangetoon wat 'beplanning' behoort te wees. die voorgestelde konsepwetsontwerp definieer 'beplanning' s6: '[p]lanning' means the dicipline which manages and regulates land use in the built environment by co-ordinating and integrating social, economic and physical factors in order to further human development and environmental sustainability {draft planning professions bi/1,2000: 4). uit hierdie voorgestelde definisie van 'beplanning' is dit duidelik dot die omskrywing volgens bestaande definisies (hat), teoriee en die praktyk geheel en al op dft wat tans as 'stadsen streekbeplanning' bekend staan, van toepassing is. die vraag is nou: vir wie word die nuwe wet geskryf? 4. wie en wat is die 'beplanner'? na 'n vereenvoudigde blik op kennis, wetenskap en beplanning in die algemeen, word hier gefokus op verwysings no 'n 'beplanner' en meer spesifiek die stadsen streekbeplanner met betrekking tot die bestaande en die konsepwetsontwerp. in die bestaande wet (wet 19 van 1984) word 'n stadsen streekbeplanner beskryf as sou potgieter/'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning dit 'n persoon wees wat kragtens artikel 20 van die wet geregistreer is. in die nuwe voorgestelde konsepwetsontwerp word die term 'beplanning' gedefinieer, maar'n 'beplanner' word glad nie beskryf nie. die begrip 'professional' word wel soos volg aangedui: "' [p] rofessional' means a person registered as a professional in terms of section 14" (draft planning professions bill 2000:4). beide die bestaande en voorgestelde wette is vaag in hulle definisie van die persoon waarna verwys word en die enigste beskrywing is dot hulle in terme van een of ander artikel geregistreer moet wees. net soos in die geval van die bestaande wet (artikel 20), verduidelik artikel 14 van die konsepwetsontwerp nie wat die took van die 'professional' (of die sogenaamde stads­ en streekbeplanner) veronderstel is om te behels nie. beide dokumente is dit egter eens dot so 'n persoon 'n voorgeskrewe, erkende eksamen moet slaag. in terme van die nuwe voorgestelde wet (artikel 9) m6et die raad toesien dot eenvormige norme en riglyne deur die hele stadsen streekbeplanningsprofessie gevolg word. na gelang van die opleiding wat die stadsen streekbeplanner tans aan tersiere inrigtings ontvang, verrig hulle die took dienooreenkomstig die vereenvoudigde aanduiding in artikel 1 (definisies) en in terme van die betrokke beskrywing van die term, 'beplanning'. hoewel registrasie 'n vereiste is (artikel 20), kan enige persoon (privaat, professionele argitek, prokureur landmeter, ens.) feitlik enige stadsen/of streekbeplanningsaansoek hanteer en hulle dus op die terrein van die sogenaamde 'ware' stadsen of streekbeplanner begeef. in 'n studie wat in 1992 onder vrystaatse stadsen streekbeplanners onderneem is, het respondente aangedui dot te veel nie-stadsen streekbeplanners op hulle gebied oortree (potgieter, 1996). 5. wat behels die beplanningsprofessie? die voorafgaande dui aan dot die lys van professies wat op professionele beplanningstatus aanspraak sou kon maak, lank is. vir elkeen van hierdie 'planne' is 'n kundige nodig. net so lank as wat die lys van beplanningsorganisasies is, so lank is die lys van persone wat in die beplanning van hierdie organisasies betrokke is, bv. 'n omgewingskundige, 'n ekonoom, 'n reisagent en andere, wat op professionele beplannerstatus aanspraak sou kon maak. as die benaming in die konsepwetsontwerp 2000 acto structilio vol 7 no l bestudeer word, moet elkeen van hierdie persone of professies in die bogenoemde lys, oon die nuwe wet onderhewig gemook word. lndien dit nie gebeur nie, is die voorgestelde definisie vir die term 'beplonningsprofessie' diskriminerend van oord en sluit dit enige onder persoon uit, hetsy die president se ekonomiese roodgewer, sy beplonner, die beplonningskommissie, die omgewingsbeplonner, die reisogent, die sosioloog, die geogroof en die gesinsbeplonner; enigeen dus wat horn besig hou met die teorie van beplonning, soos voorheen (2.2. l) aangedui. lndien die wetsontwerp wel goedgekeur word, kon die gevoor bestoon dot so 'n wetsontwerp horn die reg kon toe-eien om beheer oor elkeen van die bogenoemde beplonners uit te oefen. as gevolg van hierdie feit is die voorgestelde wetsontwerp soos dit tons door uitsien, onprokties en kon beheer slegs oor geregistreerde lede uitgeoefen word. nerens word door in die nuwe voorgestelde wetsontwerp eenvormige norme en riglyne, (artikel 9 (1)) en registrosieen opleidingsvereistes (artikel 10 (2) en (4)) gestel wot van toepossing is op orgitekte, geogrowe, sosioloe, ens. wie die werk van stodsen streekbeplonners doen nie. in die nuwe voorgestelde wet word wel melding gemook van werkreservering (artikel 17). lndien hierdie klousule saom met artikel 9 gelees word, word nie net die professionele (geregistreerde) stodsen streekbeplonner beskerm nie, moor kon dit die professie se status verhoog en sol nie-gekwalifiseerdes hulself versigtiger op die terrein van stodsen/of streekbeplonning begeef. die kwessie wot nou oongerook word is die vroog of hierdie persone hulself beplonners kon noem. het dit net betrekking op die geregistreerde lede van die rood, 6f word net persone betrek wot geregistreer is en stodsen/of streekbeplonningswerk doen? en is door oon die nuwe voorgestelde wet die nodige 'tonde' gegee om die professie (prokties en sy reputosie) te beskerm en die vervolging van oortreder te verseker? hierdie ospek word nie in die nuwe voorgestelde wet oongespreek nie. dit dui op 'n leemte soos dit tons lees. lngevolge die bestoonde wet word persone wat as stodsen streekbeplonners proktiseer by die suid afrikoonse rood vir stodsen streekbeplonners geregistreer. lndien die voorgestelde konsepwetsontwerp, soos dit tons die beplonningsprofessie omskryf, aonvoor word, kom dit doorop neer dot die huidige rood ook moontlik vervong sou kon word met een wot 'die suid afrikoonse rood vir beplonners' sol heet en nie noodwendig stodsen streekbeplonning as enkele groep verteenwoordig nie. potgieter/'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning 6. gevolgtrekking die volgende gevolgtrekkings kan gemaak word: • dot in terme van die teorie, die begrippe 'beplanning' en 'stadsen streekbeplanning' onafskeidbaar verweefd is • dot die praktyk getoon het dot 'n persoon wat homself 'n 'beplanner' wil noem, nie noodwendig 'n bestaande kursus in stads-en streekbeplanning aan enige van die suid-afrikaanse tersiere inrigtings hoef te volg nie • dot geen registrasie vir of lidmaatskap van 'n professionele of statutere liggaam nodig is om die took van 'n stadsen streekbeplanner te verrig nie • dot die nuwe voorgestelde wet geen formele norme en standaarde stel wat as riglyn kan dien en waaraan stadsen streekbeplanning moet voldoen nie • dot die registrasievereistes vir voornemende stadsen streekbeplanners nie in die voorgestelde wetsontwerp (artikel 14) doeltreffend aangespreek word nie en dot dit die deur oop loot vir onopgeleides om die beroep van stadsen streekbeplanningsprofessie te betree • dot ander professionele beroepe, waarby beplanningsaspekte betrokke is, nie deur die voorgestelde wet op die beplanningsprofessie beheer kan word nie • dot die naam van die voorgestelde wet te 'wyd' ge·interpreteer kan word om werklik doeltreffend te wees • dot die voorgestelde wet nie die huidige dilemma waarin die stadsen streekbeplanningsprofessie verkeer, daadwerklik aanspreek nie • dot die professie nie 'n naamverandering kan oorweeg nie aangesien die reikwydte van die term 'beplanning' nie akademies, teoreties en prakties deur die voorgestelde konsepwetsontwerp verantwoord kan word nie. 7. slot stadsen streekbeplanning is 'n beroepsgerigte professie wat reeds vir longer as 'n eeu beoefen word. dit sol 'n fout wees om by wyse van 'n naamverandering die professie te veralgemeen tot net nog 'n beroep sonder 'n identiteit en waarvoor geen etiese, teoretiese of praktiese regverdiging bestaan nie. ten einde die professie se voortbestaan te verseker, moet eerder gepoog word om die beroep op 'n professionele wyse te bemark en te beskerm. dit sol nie net verseker dot die individu, wat van 'n stadsen streekbeplanner gebruik maak, die beste diens ontvang nie, moor dot stadsen streekbeplanners ook die geleentheid kry 2000 acta structilia vol 7 no l om binne die bepalings en vereistes van bestaande wetgewing, regverdig te kompeteer vir werk waarvoor hulle eintlik die beste gekwalifiseer is. die raad sol sodoende ook beter beheer kan uitoefen oor die professie en die aktiwiteite wat doarmee gepoard goon en op hierdie wyse die oogmerke wot sy totstandbrenging ten grondslog le, ten beste kon dien. bibliografie concise oxford dictionary 1990. oxford: clarendon press. draft planning professions bill feb 2000. department of land affairs. republic of south africa. faludi, a. 1973. a reader in planning theory. oxford: pergamon press. healey, p. 1997. collaborative planning: shaping places in fragmented societies. london: macmillan press. hampshire, s. 1959. thought and action. london: chatto & windus. honderich, t. 1995. oxford companion to philosophy. new york: oxford university press. potgieter, p.j. 1992. 'n studie na die rol/invloed van etiek vir beplanners by besluitneming rakende stadsen grondgebruikbeplanning: 'n moontlike riglyn vir deelnemers by die ovs-dorperaad. bloemfontein. uovs: ongepubliseerde mss-skripsie. 1996. etiek vir beplanners: sestien jaar na howe en kaufman. junie 1996. tsaiss. richert, e. & lapping, m. 1998. ebenezer howard and the garden city. apa journal. spring 1998. steyn, j.j. 1989. publieke deelname as 'n kulturele determinant in beplanning binne die denkkader van die urbanistiekkonsep. uovs: ongepubliseerde ph d­ verhandeling. bloemfontein. verklarende handwoordeboek van die afrikaanse taal (hat) 1995. johannesburg: perskor-boekdrukkery. potgieter/'beplanning' versus stadsen streekbeplanning wet op stadsen streekbeplanners wet 19 van 1984. republiek van suid-afrika. 201 how to cite: michell, k., nkado, r. & bowazi, k. 2019. book review. quantity surveying pre-contract administration. publisher: fanie buys. first publication: 2016. acta structilia, 26(1), pp. 201-201. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as boekresensie • book review kathy michell prof. kathy michell, department of construction economics and management, upper campus, university of cape town, private bag x3, rondebosch 7701, south africa. phone: 021 650 3444, email: kathy.michell@uct.ac.za raymond nkado prof. rymond nkado, school of construction economics and management, university of the witwatersrand, 1 jan smuts avenue, braamfontein 2000, johannesburg, south africa. phone: 0117177011, email: raymond.nkado@wits.ac.za kenneth bowazi mr kenneth bowasi, built environment and mechanical engineering, newham sixth form college, prince regent lane, london, uk, e13 8sg. phone: 020 7473 4110, email: info@newvic.ac.uk doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.8 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 201-201 quantity surveying precontract administration by fanie buys first publication: 2016 prof. kathy michell following on the success of prof. fanie buys’s first book that provided worked examples to the measuring of building work of a single residential building, this book entitled quantity surveying, precontract administration builds on his previous work by utilising a three-storey reinforced concrete structure building as the basis for the worked examples. this book provides the reader with a set of clear worked solutions for the estimates (square-metre and elemental), the feasibility study, the measurement of, and the final bills of quantities for a three-storey shop and office building. in doing so, it provides a comprehensive collection of the fundamental ‘measurement’ building blocks required in a professional quantity surveyor’s ‘toolbox’. moreover, it highlights the underlying philosophical differences in one’s approach to the measurement of building works at the different stages of design, thereby providing a useful benchmark for students and practitioners alike in making the connections between the fundamental theory of measurement http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.8 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.8 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 202 and its practical application. the book will serve as an extremely useful resource for quantity surveying students, lecturers and candidate quantity surveyors needing to develop and/or enhance their fundamental understanding of the process of measurement and the associated standard documentation processes in estimates, feasibility studies and bills of quantities. prof. raymond nkado quantity surveying pre-contract administration places the measuring of building work within the context of assessing the feasibility of a project. prof. buys takes the reader through the key components of the quantity surveyor’s cost advice roles at pre-contract stages, including: establishing early estimates of project cost, assessing the feasibility of the project, refining the estimate through elemental analysis as more design and specification information becomes available, and producing and pricing the full bills of quantities for project procurement. a three-storey commercial office project is aptly used to illustrate each of the above processes. there are ample side notes to clarify the choice of parameters as well as to guide the reader through the measurement processes undertaken. the text incorporates the latest guide to cost estimating issued by the association of south african quantity surveyors, among other relevant reference materials. future editions could give more detailed guidance to readers on calculations of contract escalations, net present value, the internal rate of return and choice of cash-flow factors for feasibility analysis. this book is highly recommended for honours students of construction studies (quantity surveying, construction management, property management), lecturers and practitioners. candidates in training for registration as professional quantity surveyors with the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) will also find this a particularly useful text. mr kenneth bowazi the book quantity surveying, pre-contract administration covers very important aspects of the estimating and measuring processes relevant and applicable to any construction project. it takes one through the whole thought process of coming up with a cost of proposed building works from inception to completion. it has very detailed drawings, including window, door and finishes schedules that give more details and facilitate the job of the estimator to provide a better estimate. estimating, including the common methods of estimating, is well discussed in this book. one of the most important aspects included in this book is the feasibility study which enables decision-makers on michell, nkado & bowazi • quantity surveying pre-contract... 203 inception to make critical decisions whether to proceed or not with a project at hand. the sample feasibility study included is very educative. besides feasibility studies, the bill of quantities and dimension paper with calculations of quantities has been included and makes those in academia and practice understand the processes well. note that, while this book will help the industry in south africa, a great part thereof can also be used for teaching and learning worldwide. this book remains a suitable tool for practising professionals, students, and teachers in tertiary education. _goback 26 die argitek, sy aanstelllngsvoorwaardes en evaluering va.n sy magte jjpverster dit word redelik algemeen aanvaar dat die argitek by aanstelling omvattende magte ontvang om te doen wat hy nodig vind om 'n projek te voltooi. hier kom die aanname ter sprake dat sekere geiinpliseerde magte in die argitek setel bloat as gevolg van die feit dat hy normaalweg as hoofagent van die bouheer optree. hierdie oorsig het ten doe[ om die magte te beskou en aan die hand van drie bekende hofsake te evalueer. sekere omstandighede wat aanwesig was by die hofsake wat beskou word, sal uit die aard van die saak nie altyd geld nie en elke argitek\klient-ooreenkoms moet op eie meriete beoordeel word. die hofsake le egter belangrike beginsels neer wat deur alle boukonsultante ter harte geneem kan word. die hofsake spreek die volgende drie gebiede aan, waar verwarring kan voorkom ten opsigte van die argitek se magte: 1. argitek se mag om 'n bourckenaar aan te stel. 2. die argitek se mag om 'n kosteperk te oorskry. 3. die argitek se mag om noodsaaklike opdragte, ten opsigte van ekstras, uit te reik. wat bier ter sprake kom, is die magte en verpligtinge wat die argitek van die klient ontvang ln terme van hulle ooreenkoms en nie in terme van die boukontrak nie. 1. die argitek se magte om 'n bourekenaar aan te stel. in "ayris v cooke 1928 cpd 380" het die bourekenaar, ayris, geappeleer teen 'n landdroshofuitspraak ten gunste van die bouheer, cooke, waar 'n eis ten opsigte van professionele dienste gelewer, van die hand gewys is. in die hofsaak het dit aan die lig gekom dat die respondent nie die appellant direk aangestel het nie en ook dat hy nie sy argitek met die magte beklee het om 'n bourekenaar aan te stel nie. die respondent het egter wetende bygestaan en kennis gedra van die feit dat die argitek 'n bourekenaar aangestel bet. hy het verder twee afskrifte van die hoeveelheidslys in ontvangs geneem waarop die appellant se naam en beskrywing as bourekenaar verskyn. die respondent bet ook die argitek toegelaat om tenders deur rniddel van hierdie dokurnente in te win. die argitek het ook die bourekenaar (appellant) aangestel om verrninderde boeveelhede \<ir besparingsdoeleindes te bereken waarvan die respondent nie kennis gedra het nie en ook nie die argitek met die mag beklee het nie. die volgende is beslis: dat daar wel 'n kontrak tot stand gekom het tussen respondent en appellant en dat die respondent aanspreeklik is vir die vergoeding wat die appellant toekom vir die werk deur horn uitgevoer (ten opsigte van die oorspronklike hoeveelhede). dat in die afwesigheid van instemrning deur die respondent spesifiek, deur gedrag of andersins, die bourekenaar (appellant) nie geregtig is op gelde nie en dat die appellant se eis om vergoeding ten opsigte van die afneem van verminderde hoeveelhede vir die projek derhalwe nie geslaag het nie. die moontlikheid dat argitekte onder 'n verkeerde indruk kan verkeer, bestaan wel en die rede hiervoor kan �evind word by die argitek\klient-ooreenkoms van die instituut van suid-afrikaanse argitekte: 27 "where the architect deems it necessary to obtain any specialised advice from consultants this shall be provided under his direction. .. " (the institute of south african architects, 1981, practice manual cl-1, p.9). alhoewel hierdie klousule van die ooreenkoms na die klient verwys en die aanstelling by wyse van ooreenkoms met die klient moet geskied, beklee dit tog die argitek met sekere magte wat die aanstelling van konsultante aanbetref. gemelde ooreenkoms word nie altyd gebruik tussen argitekte en kliente nie en dikwels geld ander voorwaardes en soms is ilie ooreenkoms mondeling en is die argitek se aanstellingsmagte nie duidelik nie. die beginsel wat egter duidelik deur gemelde hofsaak neergele word, is dat die argitek nie sonder die spesifieke ondersteuning van die klient die magte het om ander konsultante aan te stel nie al is by as boofagent aangestel. die argitek moet derbalwe die ma� uitdruklik ontvang alvorens by sodanige aanstellings kan doen al benodig by sodamge dienste dringend, en die ander konsultante moet seker wees dat hy met aanstellingsmag beklee is alvorens werk uitgevoer word. 'n verdere beginsel wat hieruit afgelei kan word, is dat die boubeer bloot deur sy handeling kan instem tot optrede van die argitek wat op eie beweging konsultante aangestel bet. 2. die argitek se mag waar 'n kosteperk gestel is die kostei?erk waarna hier verwys word, is die perk wat by aanvang van beplanning gestel word en me ander perke wat gestel word tydens die konstruksiepenode nie. in die meeste gevalle beskik kliente oor kosteperke, begrotings ensovoorts wat aandui hoeveel geld 'n klient kan bekostig of o{' 'n projek wil spandeer. in "du plessis v st,ydom 1985 (2) 142 t" eis die argitek sy profess10nele gelde vir werk tot op 'n sekere stadium uitgevoer nadat die verweerder beslmt het om nie met die werk voort te gaan nie. die verweerder se saak is gegrond daarop dat die werk nie beboorlik vakkundig en in ooreenstemming met die voorskrifte van die aanstelling uitgevoer is nie. alhoewel waarnemende re�er f a steyn die eiser gelyk gegee bet, bet hy sekere belangrike beginsels neergele, naamlik: 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 dat die argitek die bewyslas ontvang, indien hy die eiser is, om te bewys dat hy sy werk en opdrag, vakkundig, tydig en ooreenkomstig die leidrade van die skema gedoen het. as die opdraggewer die eis betwis, moet hy bewys dat die argitek nie die opdrag uitgevoer bet soos ooreengekom nie en dat daar uitdruklik 'n ooreenkoms aangegaan is wat horn onder omstandighede vrywaar om die gelde te betaal. die argitek bly ieregtig op gelde al sou sy ontwerp nie diskresionere owerbeidstoestemnung verjcry nie of al moet dit nog in die toekoms verkry word. as die verweerder (bouheer) kan bewys dat hy 'n voorafgesproke pertinente kosteperk of prys bepaal bet en die argitek bet nie daarby gebou nie, is by vrygestel van sy verpligtinge om die professionefe gelde te betaal. bogemelde uitspraak word verder ondersteun deur die wtspraak in die bofsaak wilkens nel a,yjtekte v. stephenson, 1987 (2) 628 (0) aihoewel �enoemde bofsake na verskillende aangeleenthede verwys, is dit belangrik dat die verwysmg na kosteperk of prys spesiale aandag geniet. professionele konsultante neem dikwels aanstellings aan waar kosteperke wel genoem word, maar as gevolg van omstandighede en tyd vervul dit nie 'n oorwegende rol tydens beplanning nie. dit is juis bier waar die argitek en ander professionele konsultante probleme kan verwag en mag vind dat 'n bouheer bulle gebonde bou aan 'n gestelde kosteperk met nadelige gevolg vir almal. 28 dit bly derhalwe van groot belang dat die ontwerp, beplanning en koste, hand aan hand sal beweeg en deeglik in ag geneem sal word tydens alle fases van ontwerpontplooiing. 3. die argitek se mag om noodsaaklike opdragte ten opsigte van ekstras uit te reik. verskillende kontrakte beklee die argitek met verskillende magte ten opsigte van opdragte en die omvang van opdragte wat hy mag gee. dit word derhalwe aanvaar dat die argitek vanwee sy werk en as agent oor genoegsame magte beskik om die ontwerp ten voile te laat afhandel, wat impliseer dat hy bykomende fondse kan aanwend om noodsaaklike bykomende werk te laat uitvoer. in die hofsaak "haywood & co v pauling 1907 sc 142" is sekere beginsels duidelik uitgeklaar. mev pauling, die verweerder, het aan william adamson, 'n argitek, opdrag gegee en born met die mag beklee om sekere veranderinge en aanbouings aan haar woning "stanmore" te laat aanbring. sy bet ook aangedui dat die koste binne die perk van £1700 moes bly. die eiser het, nadat die argitek aan horn opdrag gegee het om ekstra werk uit te voer, die ekstra werk gedoen wat buite die kontrak geval bet en 'n bedrag van £188 ls 9d geeis as billike en redelike vergoeding vir die ekstra werk. die eis het berus op grond daarvan dat die argitek opgetree bet onder sy algemene bevoegdheid as argitek en omdat by opgetree het onder sy spesifieke bevoegdbeid wat hy van die verweerder ontvang bet. die verweerder se saak bet daarop berus dat sy 'n baie spesifieke opdrag aan die argitek en nie aan die bouaannemer gegee bet nie. dat die opdrag die argitek gebind bet tot 'n sekere maksimum uitgawe en dat sy horn nie spesifiek gemagtig het om 'n kontrak met die eiser aan te gaan nie. alhoewel die venveerder ten tye van die uitgawe oorsee was, het die argitek haar adres gehad en kon hy haar kontak. die argitek het derhalwe, volgens die verweerder, buite sy magte opgetree. in sy uitspraak het regter j maasdorp die volgende beslis: waar die argitek 'n spesifieke oj?drag ontvang het, as agent, bet hy nie die mag om buite die opdrag te gaan nie en 1s dit 'n verpligting van die party wat met die agent ooreenkom om ook sy magte en beperkinge vas te stel. die verweer dat pauling nie aan die argitek spesifiek opdrag gegee het orn met die eiser 'n kontrak aan te gaan nie, is nie geldig nie. die argitek het deur die magte om 'n sekere som geld te bestee die mag ontvang om 'n kontrakteur deur rniddel van tenders te evalueer en aan te stel. die vraag wat ontstaan, is hoe hy anders die werk sou kon uitvoer. die perk op uitgawes, om nie 'n spesifieke bedrag te oorskry nie, is baie spesifiek deur die bouheer bepaal en hy bet niks gese of gedoen om dre eiser onder 'n ander indruk te bring nie. hieruit is dit duidelik dat die argitek nie die mag of bevoegdheid gehad het om die bouwerk verder uit te brei nie. die uitspraak is met koste in die guns van die verweerder gelewer. 4. slot die beginsel� wat deur voorafgaande vasgele is, is duidelik en van groot belang vir professionele konsultante in hulle kontrak met kliente in die bouen konstruksiebedryf. 29 dit � vreemd voorkom, maar sommige konsultante is geneig om in hulle verhouding met kliente algemeen te aanvaar dat hulle magte ontvang wat in werklikheid nie kontraktueel die geval is nie. die beginsel wat derhalwe bier sterk na vore tree, is dat die bepalings van die ooreenkoms tussen konsultant en klient bepalend is en so omskryf moet wees dat dit albei partye genoegsaam beskerm, maar tog ruimte laat waarbinne die argitek en ander konsultante hulle werk na behore kan uitvoer. wat spesifiek deur hierdie artikel uitgewys word, is die aangeleenthede wat ter sprake gekom bet tydens die betrokk:e hofsake en wat op die volgende neerkom: • die ar¥itek moet seker maak dat sy opdrag ruimte laat om noodsaaklike hulp in die vorm van m�enieurs en bourekenaars aan te stel en dat die verpligtinge van gelde teenoor hulle duidelik in terme van sy ooreenkoms met die bouheer\klienf uitgeklaar is asook presies wat die verpligtinge behels vir almal betrokke • konsultante, maar veral die argitek en bourekenaar, moet sorg dra dat die opdrag wat ontvang is duidelik is en deur almal aanvaar word en ook wat die doel van 'n begroting en kosteperk is. vera! ten opsigte van die kosteperk is duidelikheid nodig. • dit is belangrik dat die argitek en antler konsultante op hoogte is van hulle magte en verpli�e om die bouwerk na behore te laat uitvoer. die konsultant se verpli�inge spruit mt sy kontrak met die klient, maar verder ook uit sy verpligtinge wat mt die boukontrak vloei. in beide gevalle moet by op hoogte wees van sy magte en verpligtinge want, soos getoon, kan �e wat volgens sy oordeel in hom gevestig is aaik nie kontraktueel uitgespel wees me met die risiko wat dit kan meebring. wat duidelik hieruit blyk, is dat dit vir die argitek, bourekenaar, ingenieurs en ander konsultante van wesenlike belang is dat opdragte van k:liente duidelik uitgeklaar en verstaan moet word en dat dit nodig mag wees om self pro-aktief die opdrag vas te le. waar die opdrag en ook die agent se kontrak met in agneming van die probleme wat uit genoemde hofsake gevloei bet, gedoen word, kan probleme van die aard grootliks uitgeskakel word. bronnelys davies, m.c. 1989. avoiding claims : a practical guide for the construction industry. first edition. e. & f.n. spon ltd. london. loots, p.c. 1982. engineerir.g and construction law. fifth edition. juta & company limited, cape town. mckenzie, h.s. & mckenzie, s.d. 1988. the law of building and engineering contracts and arbitration. fourth edition. juta & company limited, cape town. hofsake 1. ayris v cooke 1928 cpd 380. 2. du plessis v strydom 1985 (2) 142 t. 3. haywood & co v pauling 1907 sc 142 4. wilkens ne! argitekte v. stephenson 1987 (2) 628 (0) 30 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles deciphering priority areas for improving project risk management through critical analysis of pertinent risks in the zambian construction industry peer reviewed and revised abstract risk identification is the first step in the riskmanagement process. a plethora of current studies in literature dwell overwhelmingly on risk identification much to the exclusion of the source, and the possible mitigation interventions. in a limited effort to address this deficiency in the body of knowledge, this article reports the results of a study conducted using 15 purposive semi-structured interviews and 198 questionnaires targeting clients, contractors and consultants in the building sector in zambia. this study uses threats to identify improvement areas in the zambian construction industry (zci). as a consequence, this research uses the pertinent risk factors as a point of critical analysis to recommend improvement areas for project risk management. findings show that most of the risks could be categorised as managerial, technical and finance related and could severally be associated with clients, consultants, and contractors compared to project managers. these could be mitigated in the pre-contract phase and construction phase, with the most deficient knowledge areas being cost management, procurement management, integration management, communication manage ment, and scope management. this article provides areas of focus for built environ ment professionals to improve project delivery and thereby enhance project execution efficiency. keywords: building sector, risk identification, pareto analysis, project risk management, zambia chipozya kosta tembo-silungwe mrs chipozya k. tembosilungwe, school of construction economics and management, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 11 717 7625, email: <chipozya@yahoo.co.uk> nthatisi khatleli dr nthatisi khatleli, senior lecturer, school of construction economics and management, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 11 717 7651, email: <nthatisi.khatleli@wits.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i2.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(2): 1-43 © uv/ufs mailto:chipozya@yahoo.co.uk mailto:nthatisi.khatleli@wits.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.1 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 2 abstrak risiko-identifikasie is die eerste stap in die risikobestuursproses. ’n oorvloed bestaande literatuurstudies handel oorweldigend oor die identifisering van risiko’s tot die uitsluiting van die bron en moontlike versagtende intervensies. in ’n beperkte poging om hierdie tekort aan kennis aan te spreek, het hierdie studie 15 doelgerigte semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude en 198 vraelysopnames gedoen wat kliënte, kontrakteurs en konsultante in die bousektor in zambië teiken. bevindinge toon dat meeste van die risiko’s gekategoriseer kan word as bestuurs-, tegniese en finansies verwant en kan afsonderlik met kliënte, konsultante en kontrakteurs geassosieer word met projekbestuurders. dit kan verminder word in die voorkontrakfase en konstruksiefase, met die mees gebrekkige kennisareas, naamlik kostebestuur, verkrygingsbestuur, integrasiebestuur, kommunikasiebestuur en omvangsbestuur. hierdie artikel bied fokusareas vir geboue in die omgewing om projeklewering te verbeter en sodoende die doeltreffendheid van projekuitvoering te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: bou-sektor, risiko-identifikasie, pareto-analise, projek risikobestuur, zambië 1. introduction although risk abounds in all spheres of life, the construction industry has the worst record, as it is only surpassed by mining as the most dangerous industry (ardeshir, mohajeri & amiri, 2016: 2546). al-bahar and crandall (1990: 534) define risk as “the exposure to the chance of occurrences of events adversely or favorably affecting project objectives as a consequence of uncertainty”. cano and de la cruz (2002: 473) define risk as “an uncertain event that, if it occurs, has a positive (opportunity) or negative (threat) effect on a project objective”. this definition, therefore, entails that the current body of knowledge stresses risk as an occurrence or event, which can present threats and/or opportunities. chapman and ward (2003: 98) and smith, merna and jobling (2014: 2) posit that the manner in which risks are managed determines whether the risk would be an opportunity or a threat. lehtiranta (2014: 647) is of the view that opportunities in project teams are rarely seen. this lack could explain why the perception of risk in projects is normally negative and the emphasis is on dealing with negative risk events as opposed to the opportunities that could be harnessed from the risk events. project risk management is, therefore, the logical method of establishing the context, identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and communication of risk associated within any activity, function or process in a way that enables losses to be minimised and opportunities to be maximised (australian and new zealand risk management standard-as/nz 4360 1999: 4). one of the most noted barriers to risk management is lack of knowledge (chileshe & kikwasi, 2014: 2; dey, tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 3 2001: 634; choudry, aslam, hinze & arain, 2014: 1-9; lyons & skitmore, 2004: 60). the construction industry in zambia is characterised by quality shortfalls, cost and time overruns as well as project abandonment (kaliba, muya & sichombo, 2009a; muya, kaliba, sichombo & shakantu, 2013; auditor general’s office, 2006-2012: online). the auditor general reports focus on public-sector projects carried out by various government ministries, agencies and authorities. in addition, the zambia development agency reports that the zambian government procures over 70% of work in the republic (zda, 2013: online). mañelele and muya (2008) found that community projects in zambia (a subsector of the building sector projects) underperform, due to poor risk identification. the following risks were identified: participation, project initiation, budget and finance, skilled labour, material procurement, technical supervision, and quality control. studies by kaliba et al. (2009a) and muya et al. (2013) on engineering and road projects in zambia revealed the following major causes of cost escalation in zambia’s road-construction projects: inclement weather such as heavy rains and floods; scope changes; environmental protection and mitigation costs; schedule delay; strikes; technical challenges; inflation, and local government pressures. time overruns were attributed to delayed payments, financial processes and difficulties on the part of contractors and clients, contract modification, economic problems, materials procurement, changes in drawings, staffing problems, unavailability of equipment, poor supervision, construction mistakes, poor coordination on site, changes in specifications, labour disputes, and strikes in road-construction projects. these were grouped into four categories: poor financial planning and management; poor change management; lack of capacity, and poor schedule management. in addition, kaliba, muya and sichombo (2009b) found that, in the final analysis, incomprehensible risk identification is a contributing factor to poor project delivery, contributing to poor risk allocation. another study by sibanyama, muya and kaliba (2012) on risk factors that result in claims found that claims are rampant in the zambian construction industry and cited poor risk-sharing as one of the contributing factors. similarly, in a study targeted at investigating unethical practices contributing to poor project delivery in the zci, mukumbwa and muya (2013) found that construction contracts in zambia are characteristically one-sided, with risk mainly shifted to the contractor. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 4 given the aforementioned, risks are prevalent in the zci and are affecting performance. in terms of volume, building sector projects are the majority (zda, 2013: online), yet few studies in the zambian context have identified risks affecting this sector, apart from risks identified by mañelele and muya (2008) from a subsection of the sector. this study is, therefore, justified by focusing on the whole building sector where it is unclear in which areas the knowledge is lacking and where professionals should focus to alleviate the situation. given this knowledge gap, a literature study on project cycle and knowledge areas, risk categories as well as on risk factors in the construction industry of developing countries helped identify risks and assist in categorising these risks into various risk categories determined by the identified risk factor. by categorising the risks identified from the literature review, combined with the risks identified from semistructured interviews, this study listed pertinent risk factors which were ranked in a questionnaire survey as a point of critical analysis to recommend improvement areas, possible mitigation and alleviation for project risk management in the zambian construction industry. 2. nature of risks risks can be known or unknown (chapman & ward, 2003: 98). unknown risks are referred to as uncertainties. jaafari (2001: 89) defines uncertainty in project contexts as “an unknown probability of impact of a project variable on its objective function”. a further extension of jafaari’s (2001: 89) postulation is that certain events have a 100% probability chance of occurrence, while totally uncertain events have 0% probability chance of occurrence. risk has to be understood as the uncertainty that can be measured, while uncertainty is the risk that cannot be measured (serpella, ferrada, howard & rubio, 2014: 655). nonetheless, both have an impact on project delivery if unmanaged (hilson, 2002: 239). this study focuses on the known risks influencing performance in the zci. anything that increases risk or susceptibility is a risk factor (zou, zhang & wang, 2007: 605). risk factors usually have measureable characteristics or elements (business dictionary, 2016: online), especially when they pertain to volatile issues such as exchange rate, interest rate, labour shortage, or market price. 2.1 risk categories in the construction industry risk categorisation or classification is important as it helps identify the possible root cause for a risk factor (chapman & ward, 2003: 99). for instance, political risk may indicate instability in a given area. tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 5 therefore, contracts for use in such an area should cover political risks. the classifications or categorisations of risks may occur in various forms such as political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental. others are impact related, such as insurable or uninsurable; acceptable or unacceptable. another classification could be positive or negative (ebrahimnejad, mousav & seyrafianpour, 2010: 577). some of these risks could emanate from a contractual relationship, while others are non-contractual (murdock & hughes, 2001: 83). zou et al. (2007: 605), on the other hand, categorise the risks as quality related, cost related and time related. however, the broader classification of risk is internal and external (tah & carr 2000: 492; barlish, marco & thaheem, 2013: 709). furthermore, the concept of risk owner may be used as a classification method; such categorisations have been used by jarkas and haupt, (2015: 175-177) who categorise the risks as client related, contractor related, consultant related only when they pertain to internal risks. in this categorisation, risks external to the project team are classified under the umbrella term of external risks. when risks eventuate, more than one party may be affected. in this article, the concept of risk owner is used to refer to who is supposed to manage a particular risk (smith et al., 2014: 4). internal risks could be local (labour, plant, subcontractors, materials, and site) and global (construction, design, financial [company/ project] location, precontract, client, contractual, environmental, management, and time frame). external risks include economic, physical, political and technological (tah & carr, 2000: 492). zavadskas, turskis and tamoscitience (2008: 351) suggest internal risks (stakeholders, designers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers) and external risks (economic, social, weather, protetivism). barlish et al. (2013: 709) formulate a risk taxonomy/category for the construction industry as internal (client/owner, design, job site related, subcontractor, operational, and managerial) and external risks (political, financial/economic, social, cultural, technological, legal regulation, and environment). a synthesis of studies by tah and carr (2000: 492); lam, wang, lee and tsang (2007: 491; rezakhani (2012: 33); tadayon, jaafar & nasri (2012: 57, 66); charoenngam and yeh (1999: 32), as well as barlish et al. (2013: 709) shows that the universal risk categories are financial, economic, environmental, legal, and political risks. in addition, further categories are formulated to determine risks present at different levels. for instance, zhi (1995: 232) proposes categories for use on overseas projects with risk categorisation for national/ regional, construction, company, and project level. this discussion acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 6 provides evidence that risk categories are selected, based on the nature of information needed. risk factors can cause many risks and form a causal network with the risks (tah & carr, 2000: 500). moreover, risks are triggered by risk factors (ebrahimnejad et al. 2010: 576). various research has been conducted on risk factors affecting the construction industry. table 1 shows the various risk categories and risk factors found in previous research. internal risk (within the control of a project team) categories include design risks, productivity risks, client-related risks, contractor risks, and management risks. external risk (beyond the control of a project team) categories include economic, legal, force majeure, political, and social (table 1). 2.2 risk factors in the construction industry table 2 highlights the various risk factors found in the construction industry as identified in different developing countries, namely china, egypt, ghana, india, indonesia, jordan, malaysia, mozambique, nigeria, pakistan, poland, south africa, sri-lanka, swaziland, uganda, vietnam, and zambia. knowledge of the risk factors affecting other developing countries provides a basis for risk mitigation or alleviation of similar risks. some of the risks identified are construction sector specific, while others apply to a whole industry. financial, planning and operational risks seem rampant in developing countries (see table 2). table 1: common risk factors and their categories in the construction industry risk category risk factors authors client related client interference, design change, improper intervention el-sayegh (2008: 437); tadayon et al. (2012: 57-69); santoso et al. (2003: 46-53) contractor related contractor capabilities: inexperience, contractor liability, defective construction, subcontractor failure, subcontractor default, novel construction methods lam et al. (2007: 491); tadayon et al. (2012: 57-69); tsai & yen (2006: 396); ghosh & jintanapakanont (2004: 637640); nieto-morote & ruz-villa (2011: 227); wiguna & scott (2006) coordination and cooperation cooperation, poor communication, teamwork between contractor and consultant mahamid (2011: 611); tsai & yen (2006: 396); santoso et al. (2003: 46-53); enshassi et al. (2009); hwang et al. (2013: 120) corruption bribe, fraudulent practices baloi & price (2003: 264) tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 7 risk category risk factors authors cost cost overruns, estimator related, poor cost control baloi & price (2003: 264); zou et al. (2007: 605); wiguna & scott (2006); medda (2007: 216) delay delay in resolving disputes, time overruns, tight project schedules, time constraints, unrealistic schedules el-sayegh (2008: 437); tadayon et al. (2012: 57-69); goh & abdulrahman (2013: 25); turkey (2011: online); ghosh & jintanapakanont (2004: 637-640); medda (2007: 216) design design changes, design defects, delay in producing detailed drawing, design issues, engineering design santoso et al. (2003: 46-53); oztas & okmen (2005: 234); enshassi et al. (2009); el-sayegh (2008: 437); medda (2007: 216); chung et al. (2010: 47-53); kuo & lu (2013: 602-614); nieto-morote & ruz-villa (2011: 227); wiguna & scott (2006); oztas & okmen (2005: 234); medda (2007: 216) economic and financial inflation rates, delayed payment, market, exchange rates, financial failure of client, price inflation, uncertainty in price, level of competition, market, unavailability of funds, financial failure of contractor wiguna & scott (2006); ghosh & jintanapakanont (2004: 637-640); baloi & price (2003: 264); zou et al. (2007: 605); el-sayegh (2008: 437); goh & abdul-rahman (2013: 25); mahamid (2011: 611); turkey (2011: online); kuo & lu (2013: 602-614); chung et al. (2010: 47-53); medda (2007: 216); lam et al. (2007: 491); xu et al. (2012: 896); ebrahimnejad et al. (2010: 581) environment inclement weather, unforeseen site ground conditions wiguna & scott (2006); zou et al. (2007: 605) force majeure invasions, natural hazards kuo & lu (2013: 602-614); enshassi et al. (2009); chung et al. (2010: 47-53) legal difficulty in obtaining permits, frequent changes in law and statutory regulations lam et al. (2007: 491); tsai & yen (2006: 396); xu et al. (2012: 896) management construction management, project management, site management nieto-morote & ruz-villa (2011: 227); dikmen & birgnoul (2007: 60-66); kuo & lu (2013: 602-614); santoso et al. (2003: 46-53) acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 8 risk category risk factors authors political frequent changes in statutory laws, government action and regulations, change in law, public risk enshassi et al. (2009); mahamid (2011: 611); tsai & yen (2006: 396); lam et al. (2007: 491); tadayon et al. (2012: 57-69); chung et al. (2010: 47-53); medda (2007: 216) productivity shortage of labour, lack of manpower, inadequate staff by contractor, low equipment efficiency, equipment unavailability, construction equipment maintenance, labour productivity, resource risk, construction delay santoso et al. (2003: 46-53); kartam & kartam (2001: 329-333); wiguna & scott (2006); oztas & okmen (2005: 234); turkey (2011: online); mahamid (2011: 611); el-sayegh (2008: 437); zeng & smith (2007: 589-600); dikmen & birgnoul (2007: 60-66); hwang et al. (2013: 120); enshassi et al. (2009); zou et al. (2007: 605); ghosh & jintanapakanont (2004: 637640); kuo & lu (2013: 602-614); mahamid (2011: 611) project related engineering risks, inadequate site investigation, project complexity, site factor physical/technical, unclear scope nieto-morote & ruz-villa (2011: 227); lam et al. (2007: 491); dikmen & birgnoul (2007: 60-66); zeng & smith (2007: 589-600); xu et al. (2012: 896); tadayon et al. (2012: 57-69); wiguna & scott (2006); oztas & okmen (2005: 234); el-sayegh (2008: 437) third parties right-of-way problems ghosh & jintanapakanont (2004: 637-640); turkey (2011: online) social culture, human factors lam et al. (2007: 491); chung et al. (2010: 47-53); zeng & smith (2007: 589-600) . tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 9 ta b le 2 : ri sk fa c to rs in s e le c te d d e ve lo p in g c o un tr ie s c o un tr y a ut ho r n a tu re o f c o ns tr uc tio n financial and payment improper planning operational risks economic risks design risks change orders and scoping owner related weather conditions poor site management coordination subcontractor inadequate contractor experience inadequate site investigation poor contract and project management political instability c hi na zo u e t a l. (2 00 7: 6 05 ) x x eg yp t kh o d e ir & m o ha m e d ( 20 14 : 5 ) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x x fr im p o ng e t a l. (2 00 3: 3 24 ) x x x x a g ya kw a -b a a h & c hi le sh e (2 00 9: 9 33 ) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x x in d ia iy e r & j ha ( 20 05 : 2 91 ) x x x x d o lo i e t a l. (2 01 2: 4 84 ) x x x x in d o ne sia w ig un a & s c o tt ( 20 06 : 1 12 911 35 ) bu ild in g s x x x x so e p riy o no ( 20 13 : 4 65 -4 72 ) x x x x jo rd a n o d e h & b a tt a in e th ( 20 02 : 7 0) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x x x x sw e is e t a l. (2 00 8: 6 72 -6 74 ) x x x x m a la ys ia g o h & a b ul -r a hm a n (2 01 3: 2 5) x x sh e hu e t a l. (2 01 4: 6 4) x ti p ili & ii ya su ( 20 14 : 1 113 ) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x x be le l & m a hm o o d ( 20 12 : 3 -4 ) x x x x a ib in u & o d e yi nk a ( 20 06 : 6 72 ) x x x x m o za m b iq ue m ui a ng a e t a l. (2 01 4: o nl in e ) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x x x x x pa ki st a n c ho ud ry e t a l. (2 01 4: 1 -9 ) x x x x po la nd sk o ru p ka ( 20 08 : 1 21 -1 22 ) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x so ut h a fri c a c hi hu ri & p re to riu s (2 01 0: o nl in e ) en g in e e rin g a nd c o ns tr uc tio n x x x sr i-l a nk a pe re ra e t a l. (2 00 9: 9 3) ro a d s x x x x pe re ra e t a l. (2 01 4: 1 ) ro a d s x x x x u g a nd a a p o lo t e t a l. (2 01 1) c o ns tr uc tio n x x x x v ie tn a m le -h o a i e t a l. (2 00 8) x x x x za m b ia m a ñe le le & m uy a ( 20 08 : 4 ) c o m m un ity p ro je c ts x x x m uy a e t a l. (2 01 3: 5 368 ) ro a d s x x x x x x to ta l 19 12 10 8 8 5 5 6 2 4 4 1 3 8 2 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 10 2.3 risks, project cycle and knowledge areas given that the gap identified is a knowledge gap, it is important to have a basic understanding of construction stages and processes in order to determine where the knowledge gaps could reside. different risks factors affect a project at different stages of the project, while some risk factors may permeate all stages and processes of the project. the generic stages of the project include: 1 pre-project stage, 2 pre-construction stage, 3 construction stage, 4 post-construction stage (kagioglou, cooper, aouad & sexton, 2000: 148-150), while pmbok (2008: 18) and iso 21500 (2012: online) highlight the following processes: 1 initiate, 2 plan, 3 execute, 4 controlling, 5 close out. though risks mostly eventuate and manifest themselves in the construction phase (lehtiranta, 2014: 129; osipova & eriksson, 2011: 1151), this does not entail that this is the stage where the risks have their source. the pmbok (2008: 67-69) further outlines knowledge areas for practice and application as shown below. other knowledge areas are also considered: • integration management (pmbok 2008: 71-101): the knowledge area is devoted to identifying and defining the work in all project phases. this knowledge area deals with efficiently integrating changes into the project at all stages. • scope management (pmbok, 2008: 103-128): this knowledge area deals with the project scope, project requirement scope, project work, making the work breakdown structure, making the scope baselines, and managing the scope of the project. this area aims to plan the ways in which to keep the project within the established boundaries. this is applied at initiation, planning, and control/monitoring. • time management (pmbok, 2008: 129-163): the project managers/leaders estimate the duration of the tasks in this knowledge area. tasks are sequenced here and the choices of resources required for achieving the objective of the project are made. the schedule is monitored and managed to keep the project on track. this knowledge area permeates planning, execution, and control/monitoring. • cost management (pmbok, 2008: 165-187): budget baseline is established and costs are estimated in this knowledge area. the plan to manage the costs is categorised in the cost management knowledge area. this knowledge area permeates planning, control/monitoring, and execution. tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 11 • quality management (pmbok, 2008: 189-213): this is the knowledge area where the quality requirements for project deliverables are planned and tracked. in this area, all the quality issues are monitored and fixed. this is applied to planning, execution, and monitoring/control. • human resources management (pmbok, 2008: 215-241): this comprises the essential processes to define the ways in which human resources are utilised, developed, acquired, and managed. this is dealt with in the planning and execution phases. • communications management (pmbok, 2008: 243-270): the knowledge area defines how communications within the project will work. the project manager/leader makes the communication management plan, ensures the plan is followed, and controls information flow within the project. the knowledge area permeates all phases of a project. • risk management (pmbok, 2008: 273-311): this consists of identifying risks, planning risk management, conducting risk assessments, and controlling risks. this knowledge is used in the planning and control/monitoring phases. the area concentrates on identifying, analysing, and planning responses to both ‘threat risks’ (negative) and ‘opportunity risks’ (positive). • procurement management (pmbok, 2008: 313-340): this deals with the processes, which project managers/leaders usually follow to acquire the material required for the successful completion of the project. in this knowledge area, project managers/leaders come up with the plan for conducting procurements, controlling the procurements, and closing out the procurements. this is utilised in the planning, execution, controlling/monitoring, and closing out phases. • stakeholder management (pmbok, 2008: 261-265): the area encompasses all the processes used by a project manager/ leader for recognising and satisfying those who are affected by the project. the affected party can be either internal or external in nature. close attention needs to be paid to stakeholders who have a powerful positive or negative impact on the project. this is applied throughout the project cycle. • claim management (lichtenthaler, 2017: online): this is the process of systematically and efficiently managing claims (construction defects) in building projects. claims run through acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 12 the phases of detection, examination, and correction of the defects. this occurs in the construction phase. • safety management defines the safety obligations on all duty holders, including the client, project supervisor for design process and construction process (smart market report, 2013: 15). this is normally planned in the pre-contract stage by either the design team or the contractor submits a risk management plan at the tender stage. it is executed in the construction phase. • project financial management: this process brings together planning, budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, internal control, auditing, procurement, disbursement, and the physical performance of the project with the aim of managing project resources properly and achieving the project’s objectives (nctc, 2017: online). this is normally planned in the pre-contract stage and executed in the construction phase. it is done in the form of an audit to check the planned against the actual work completed. • environmental management (he, 2010: 208). this is the management of the impacts of a project management’s activities on the environment. it provides a structured approach to planning and implementing environmentprotection measures. this is normally planned in the precontract stage and executed in the construction phase. the knowledge areas are important for managing a project, as project management is the application of knowledge to achieve the project objective(s). therefore, these knowledge areas were used as the basis for determining knowledge gaps. 3. methodology this article is part of a bigger study on risk allocation on building projects; therefore, the methodology reported here reflects what was done for the whole study. saunders, lewis, and thornhill (2012: 138) suggest that the methodology comprises the research philosophy, approaches and strategies, choices in methods, time horizons, techniques and procedures for data collection and analysis. the research used a pragmatism philosophy. pragmatism entails focusing on problems, and problem-solving to inform future practice (saunders, lewis & thornhill, 2016: 137). the philosophy normally allows mixing of qualitative and quantitative data or several approaches. the strategies employed in this study are interviews and surveys in a sequential manner, as shown in tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 13 figure 1. the methods chosen are semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys collected in a cross-sectional manner. therefore, the research is both qualitative and quantitative, because the approach makes use of both numbers and words in determining the pertinent risks impacting on the zambian building sector and further, deciphering the root causes of such risks. this approach was deemed appropriate, as the nature of the problem is a practical one. the importance of this worldview is that it focuses attention on the research problem and uses several approaches to derive knowledge about the problem (creswell & clark, 2011: 45-46). a deeper understanding of the nature of the risks enabled the identification of possible target areas for improvement. the study respondents were consultants, clients and contractors involved in building projects in the zambian construction industry. research flow diagram   research questions what are the important risk factors? how can they be categorised to offer meaningful mitigation measures? semi-interviews consultants, clients and contractors questionnaire survey consultants, clients and contractors literature review zambian construction industry, risk management and construction stages and process results interviews questionnaire discussion  figure 1: research flow diagram applicable to this article 3.1 sampling method the construction industry in zambia is, comparatively speaking (visà-vis south africa, for instance), very small. the people who were approached were from the public and private sectors working in the construction industry. sampling is the process or technique of selecting a suitable sample for determining parameters or characteristics of the entire population (adams, khan, raeside & white, 2012: 87). the study took each sub-population (clients, professionals and contractors) (see table 4) as manifesting different characteristics and dynamics and, as such, different sampling techniques were employed to acknowledge these differences, in order to enable credible data to be elicited from the different groups/ sub-populations. four sampling methods were used based on acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 14 probability (random sampling and stratified random sampling) and non-probability (purposive and census) for the various categories of respondents as shown in tables 3 and 4. 3.1.1 semi-structured interviews the purposive method was employed for the semi-structured interviews to select participants, with at least 10 years’ experience in the construction industry, from diverse backgrounds, professions and project experiences. the purposive heterogeneous sampling was intentionally selected for this purpose. this method of sampling enables accessing respondents from diverse backgrounds with in-depth knowledge about a particular issue (adams et al., 2012: 87: babbie, 2013: 126). leedy and ormrod (2014: 196) propose a sample of five to 25 participants for semi-structured interviews. in this research, 15 respondents participated, as shown in table 3. triangulation of risk factors from different respondents was used as a measure of validity for the interviews. 3.1.2 questionnaire survey the questionnaire survey utilised three types of sampling: simple random sampling for consultants who are ordered or arranged according to services (for example, architecture, quantity surveying and engineers), while a simple census was done for clients and project managers, as these populations were less than 30 (saunders et al., 2012: 266). for contractors, stratified random sampling was used, as the contractors targeted were listed in different building categories and had different capacities, thereby presenting heterogeneous characteristics across groups and homogeneous characteristics within groups. each contractor grade (grades 1-3) was treated as a stratum where proportional samples were drawn (adams et al., 2012: 89). for building category grade 1, limitation of contract value to be tendered is over k40million (us$ 4 m); grade 2 between k20m and k40 (us$ between 2m & 4m), while the grade 3 category is k10m and k20m (us$ between 1m & 2m) using an exchange rate of 1us$=k9.77. 3.2 sample size the sample sizes are shown in tables 3 and 4 for the respective datacollection methods used. the sample size for the interviews is 15 and for the questionnaire survey the sample is 198. table 3 further shows the nature of building projects in which the interviewees have participated. tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 15 table 3: respondent profile for interviewees sampled purposively respondent no. sector years of experience role in construction nature of building projects engaged in 1 public 15 quantity surveyor offices, houses, schools 2 public 12 civil engineer offices, hospitals, schools 3 public 10 procurement officers offices, houses 4 public 20 quantity surveyor housing units, offices, health facilities, hospitals 5 public 19 architect schools, offices, border infrastructure, houses 6 private 10 contractor houses, student hostels, high-rise buildings 7 private 32 quantity surveyor/project manager offices, hospitals, residential, banks, filling stations, stadia, factories 8 public 21 client org primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, houses 9 public 23 project manager prisons, military installations, houses, rural health centres, flight terminals, border facilities, offices 10 private 30 engineer consultant showrooms, schools, filling stations, hospitals, hotels, office buildings 11 private 29 contractor housing, offices, banks, schools, hostels 12 private 10 contractor high schools, maternity wards, student hostels, offices 13 private 10 client org markets, fire stations, bus shelters, houses 14 public 15 procurement officer office blocks, houses, farm layouts and different buildings, lodges, banks 15 private 10 architect houses, offices, shops, farm buildings, banks table 4: respondent profile for questionnaire survey category sampling/ selection strategy subgroup population responses response rate % contractors as at 14 august 2014 stratified random sampling group 1 51 22 43.1 group 2 30 15 50.0 group 3 69 43 62.3 consultants (firms) engaged in buildings random sampling quantity surveyor 36 32 88.9 engineers 32 28 87.5 architects 54 38 70.4 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 16 category sampling/ selection strategy subgroup population responses response rate % project managers (firms) census project managers 17 14 82.0 clients census public (ministries) private 6 5 4 2 66.7 40.0 total 300 198 66.0 the sample size for construction-related professionals was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608). the table gives recommended sample sizes for general research activities, applicable to any defined population. from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 300 is 169, for 10 000 it is 370, and for 1 000 000 it is 384. this recommendation validates the sample size of 198 as efficient for the population of 300. 3.3 data collection data collections were twofold: semi-structured interviews and a self-administering questionnaire. an interview protocol was used to collect the primary data for the semistructured interviews in a faceto-face interaction. the interview protocol had three main sections. the first section included questions regarding the background of the respondent; the second section, questions on the risks perceived as pertinent to building projects, and the last question addressed the possible risk management and mitigation measures for the risks used in practice. this article deals with only the analysis on pertinent risks. during the interview sessions, probing questions were asked to gain a deeper understanding (babbie, 2013: 253). the interviews ranged between 30 minutes and 70 minutes. the interviews were captured using a digital recorder. back-up notes were taken during the session in case any problems occurred with the audio-taping and for respondents who did not agree to be audio-recorded. the recording was then transcribed prior to the commencement of the analysis. respondent bias during the questionnaire survey was reduced with closed ended questions (bryman & bell, 2015: 175). the nature of questions for the survey was similar to that of the semi-structured interviews, starting with background or demographic information, risk practices and measures taken for mitigation and management tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 17 of encountered risks. a reliability test using cronbach’s alpha was calculated for the 55 items and the reliability test scored was 0.96. according to reynold and santos (1999: 35-36), a cronbach’s alpha value greater than 0.7 implies that the instrument is reliable. 3.4 response rate of the 222 questionnaires distributed, 198 completed questionnaires were returned, resulting in an overall response rate of 66% (see table 3). this is beyond the response rate, recommended by moyo and crafford (2010: 68) for the built environment, of between 7% and 40%. the number of purposive interviews was well within the range of recommended numbers advocated by leedy and ormrod (2014: 196) of between five and 25 respondents (see table 3). the response rates demonstrate a high level of reliability. 3.5 data analysis the research for the semi-structured interviews used content analysis to determine pertinent risk factors and other categories arising. for the questionnaire survey, descriptive statistics in the form of frequency/counts, mean and standard deviation were calculated. in addition, pareto analysis was conducted to determine the stage at which most of the risks could be mitigated, the owners of the risks considered pertinent, the possible deficiency in knowledge areas using the project management body of knowledge (pmbok, 2008) and to determine the risk categories of the pertinent risks. a total of 31 pertinent risk factors were generated from a list of 55 important risks generated from the literature and semi-structured interviews. from the literature, over 100 risk factors were generated; some of these were eliminated because they do not apply either to the context of building projects or in the zambian built environment, e.g. snow, and so on. 3.5.1 qualitative data analysis from the interviews the qualitative data arising from the interviews was transcribed and a manual 10-step thematic content analysis, adapted from burnard (1991: 463-466), was conducted and strictly followed as follows: 1. notes were made after the interviews regarding topics discussed during the interviews. the interest was mainly in areas considered pertinent to the study. 2. the reading of transcripts elicited themes which were then categorised to map out some trends in the data. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 18 3. the categories were revisited in order to expand on their meaning in terms of what they were telling the researchers. 4. any commonalities between categories were identified and the categories were ranked according to whether they were major or minor categories in terms of the themes they encapsulated. 5. once the ranking was done, the categories were compared and contrasted, in order to merge and observe any inclinations. 6. a similar approach was done for all the transcripts. 7. the categories from different transcripts were further juxtaposed to identify any fits or divergences, in order to elicit any useful signals from the data. 8. the next stage was simply to check if there was uniformity in all the transcripts in the data. 9. once discrepancies were dealt with, some categories were merged and some had to be subcategories, as they could, in the whole, be subsumed by major categories. 10. in the last stage, the transcripts were revisited to find out whether all that needs to be done was done, and to avoid any major mistakes in recording data. in addition to the thematic analysis after the risk factors were identified, a process of categorisation took place. the project management body of knowledge (2008) processes and knowledge areas were used to map out the processes and knowledge areas of the project in which the identified risks could be mitigated. kagioglou et al.’s (2000: 148-150) stages of contract were also used to map out the stages in the construction process where the risk factors reside. this was done to give an indication of the project process and stages where a risk could be alleviated or eliminated. 3.5.2 quantitative data analysis (questionnaire) for the questionnaire survey, a 5-point likert-scale measurement was used to obtain perceptions of the respondents on risks considered pertinent and affecting performance. the scale was ordinal in nature, where 1 was not important at all and 5 exceptionally important. the quantitative data was imputed and analysed using excel and spss 20 programs. interpretations were then made to make meaning of the data. the mean score and standard deviation were used to determine the factors considered pertinent, as the approach has been applied in other similar research [see shehu et al. (2014: 61-63); tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 19 mbachu & taylor (2014: 29); wang & yuan (2011: 214)]. in addition, pareto analysis was used. this technique prioritises possible changes by identifying the problems that might be resolved by making the proposed changes. the analysis is based on the pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, based on the idea that 20% of the causes generate 80% of the results (kendrick, 2010: online). the pareto is guided by the following procedure: • identify and list problems (risk factors); • identify the root cause for each (knowledge area, phase in project, risk category); • score problem; • group problems together by root cause; • add up the score of each group (kendrick, 2010: online) 4. results and discussion 4.1 respondent profile the respondents for the interviews had an average of 17 years’ experience, a median of 15 years, and a mode of 10 years. the minimum qualification was first degree, except for procurement officers who had training at advanced diploma level. table 4 shows that the respondents have been involved in various types of projects with a mix of smallto large-scale building projects. the qualifications of the respondents were as follows; for clients, all had the minimum of first degree, with over 80% having 6-10 years’ experience. for project managers, the majority (79%) had first degree, while 21% had qualification at masters level. for consultants, first degree qualification (70%), masters degree (20.4%), diploma (5%) and certificate (1%). lastly, contractors’ academic qualifications were as follows: first degree qualification (74%), masters degree (6%), diploma (13%), and certificate (6%). project managers had on average 10 years’ experience, whereas clients, contractors and consultants had an average of nine years’ experience each. the respondents are of acceptable experience levels. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 20 4.2 nature of building works engaged in 4.2 nature of building works engaged in figure 2: building works by volume   new construction 34% renovation 23% demolition 13% rebuilding 14% extension 16% building work by volume new construction renovation demolition rebuilding extension figure 1: building works by volume the findings from the questionnaire survey show that the majority of works, in which consultants, project managers and contractors are engaged, are new works (34% by volume). renovations and refurbishments (23% by volume) of existing buildings are also common, followed by extension (16% by volume) of existing buildings (figure 2). the least practised are rebuilding works (14%), which are often necessitated by demolition works (13%). 4.3 types of buildings there are various types of buildings. table 3 shows the nature of building projects on which various interview respondents have worked, while figure 2 shows the nature of building projects from the questionnaire survey data. tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 21   0 5 10 15 20 residential offices shops/markets hospitality stadia schools clinics hospitals fire stations factories prisons police filling station banks farm buildings airport building types professionals are engaged in project manager client figure 2: types of buildings questionnaire survey on examining the two data sets closely (table 3 and figure 2), it appears that the common building types in the zambian construction industry are residential, offices, schools, fire stations and health facilities such as clinics, health centres and hospitals. 4.4 pertinent risks in the building sector to gain an understanding of the pertinent risks in the zambian building sector, the respondents were asked to identify pertinent risks, which have been categorised according to prevalence, depending on the count from the content analysis. table 5 shows the results from the interview data. table 5: risk factors from interviewees risk prevalence risk factors high prevalence (indicated by 10-15) late payment; contractors’ financial difficulty; lack of inspection, monitoring and supervision by contractor and consultants; lack of adherence to contractual provisions by public client acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 22 risk prevalence risk factors moderate prevalence (indicated by 5-9) change in material prices and exchange rates; slow and bureaucratic decision-making process; poorly skilled artisans and poor workmanship; incomplete and insufficient designs; extension of time without costs; unavailability of funds/budget; changes in scope low prevalence (indicated by 0-4) lack of interest on delayed payment; poor quality works; non-compliance with tender requirements on site; difficulty in implementing clauses by contracting parties; poorly prepared contract documents; poor quality of materials; unavailable material; contractors’ lack of skill and experience; difficult access to site; late site hand-over by client; corruption; poor interpretation of contract; poor safety on site; disputes; high taxes; political interference; inclement weather; low level of subcontracting; inadequate site investigation table 5 shows that the majority of the pertinent risks categorised as highly prevalent are financial in nature, while those categorised as moderately important are mainly linked to scoping and technical know-how. lastly, the low importance category includes diverse risks that could be termed project specific. these could be linked to managerial or operational risks. the interview data helped generate risks for the questionnaire. interviews revealed that clients and consultants (60%) perceived that contractors account for more risks, followed by external risks. in addition, the findings from the interviews and questionnaire point out that stages in the risk management include risk identification (using brainstorming, checklist, local knowledge, and expert judgement) and qualitative risk (brainstorming and expert judgement) analysis, communication and occassional monitoring, especially in the public sector, due to lack of finance and inadequate personnel. 4.5 pertinent risk categories and risk owner fifty-five risk factors identified by source (client related, contractor related, consultant related, and external risks) were used in the questionnaire to determine the pertinent risk factor in the industry. the perceptions of respondents were indicated using the 5-point likert scale where 1 has no importance on performance and 5 is exceptionally important to performance. the mean and the standard deviations of each factor are calculated to determine the rank. if two or more factors have the same mean item score value, then the one with a lower standard deviation was considered more important. the risk factors with mean item score values greater than the average value of all mean values (3.81) are classified as important/pertinent tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 23 risk factors affecting construction in the zambian building sector. the pertinent factors are shown in table 6. table 6: pertinent risks factors in the zambian building sector from questionnaire survey risk factor n mean std. deviation risk rank lack of clarity of drawings and technical specifications 180 4.328 .775 1 contractor’s underestimate of construction cost 194 4.309 .793 2 client’s financial stability 197 4.254 .787 3 contractor’s financial difficulties 191 4.157 .904 4 defective workmanship and rework 193 4.124 .767 5 poor supervision 184 4.103 .878 6 poor quality materials 193 4.067 .872 7 errors and omissions in design drawings 192 4.057 .875 8 unclear scope of works 185 4.054 .901 9 inadequate site investigation 191 4.037 .903 10 poor coordination and communication 192 4.036 .808 11 poor supervision on site 190 4.016 .826 12 inadequate budgeting and contingencies 194 4.016 .908 13 poor planning of resources materials, labour, equipment 195 4.010 .919 14 delay in payment process by the client 194 3.990 .846 15 lack of inspection of works 189 3.990 .881 16 delay in consultant’s approval of materials submission 197 3.980 .926 17 inadequate specification 194 3.974 .890 18 escalation in material prices 191 3.974 .986 19 lack of coordination among design disciplines 190 3.963 .939 20 delay in contractor’s payment certification by the consultant 193 3.953 .909 21 poor labour productivity 192 3.938 .890 22 omission in design contract documents 189 3.937 .873 23 holding key decisions in isolation 191 3.911 .851 24 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 24 risk factor n mean std. deviation risk rank delay in consultant’s approval of shop drawings 193 3.907 .953 25 delay in consultant’s response to requests for information 196 3.898 .900 26 unstable exchange rates 191 3.895 .906 27 ineffective monitoring of risks 193 3.855 .935 28 late delivery of materials 192 3.849 .900 29 lack of experience in similar projects 194 3.835 .860 30 frequent change of orders by client 192 3.823 .921 31 though not all respondents ranked each risk, the responses obtained present a reliable overview. the respondents were diverse in nature and some decided not to provide a response for areas outside their expertise, as they feel that they are not qualified to rank the risk or that their knowledge on the influence of a particular risk was limited. table 7: pertinent risk factors in the zambian building sector risk factor internal external risk category risk owner lack of clarity of drawings and technical specifications x design consultant delay in consultant’s approval of materials submission x managerial consultant inadequate site investigation x technical consultant inadequate specification x technical consultant omission in design contract documents x design consultant delay in contractor’s payment certification by the consultant x managerial consultant delay in consultant’s response to requests for information x managerial consultant delay in consultant’s approval of shop drawings x managerial consultant poor supervision x managerial consultant errors and omissions in design drawings x design consultant poor labour productivity x technical contractor/ consultant tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 25 risk factor internal external risk category risk owner poor quality materials x technical consultant/ contractor poor supervision on site x managerial contractor/ project manager poor planning of resources materials, labour, equipment x managerial contractor contractor’s underestimate of construction cost x financial contractor late delivery of materials x managerial contractor lack of experience in similar projects x technical contractor contractor’s financial difficulties x financial contractor defective workmanship and rework x technical contractor unstable exchange rates x economic client/ contractor escalation in material prices x economic client/ contractor client’s financial stability x financial client delay in payment process by the client x managerial client frequent change orders by client x managerial client inadequate budgeting and contingencies x technical client/ consultant unclear scope of works x managerial client poor coordination and communication x managerial project manager lack of inspection of works x managerial project manager/ consultant lack of coordination among design disciplines x managerial project manager holding key decisions in isolation x managerial project manager ineffective monitoring of risks x managerial project manager acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 26 4.5.1 risk categories figure 3 shows the risk categories for the pertinent risks, with over half (54.84%) of the risks being managerial/operational in nature. the lowest categories are economic risks (which is normally grouped with financial risks) and design. economic risks are normally external in nature, while financial risks are normally internal, hence the need to separate them in this instance. the pareto chart shows that the managerial, technical and financial risks are risk categories associated with 80% of the pertinent risks. figure 4: risk categories   17 24 27 29 31 54.84 % 77.42% 87.10 % 93.55% 100.00% 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 frequency cumulative frequency cummulative percentage figure 3: risk categories these results are not different to risks categories shown in tables 1 and 2 for risks found in other countries. therefore, the planning phase and monitoring phase should be given particular attention to these categories of risk. moreover, going by the pareto analysis, it can be argued that paying particular attention to these processes will result in mitigation of 80% of the risks (kendrick, 2010: online). 4.5.2 risk owner the risk owners for most of the pertinent risks are the consultant and the contractor. however, this basically depends on the procurement method used. but, in this instance, the traditional method is applied, as it is the most prevalent procurement method in the zci. tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 27 figure 5: risk owner analysis   13 24 31 3721.21% 54.55% 63.64% 100.00% 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 frequency cumulative frequency cummulative percentage figure 4: risk owner analysis the pareto chart in figure 4 shows all project participants as risk owners of pertinent risks at 80%. however, consultants and contractors account for over 50% of the risks. this means that both parties’ contractor and consultant (normally acting on behalf of clients) should contribute more in managing risk. 4.6 pertinent risks according to project stage and knowledge area the mitigation stages for the pertinent risks shows that the majority of the risks occur in the construction phase, while others occur in the planning stage-pre-contract phase (see table 10). table 10: pertinent risks according to project stage, knowledge area and process risk factor stage in the project when risk could have been mitigated using generic stages process in the project management knowledge areas that could be a possible problem area (pmbok 5) process mapping using pmbok 5 errors and omissions in design drawings pre-contract procurement planning unclear scope of works pre-contract scope planning acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 28 risk factor stage in the project when risk could have been mitigated using generic stages process in the project management knowledge areas that could be a possible problem area (pmbok 5) process mapping using pmbok 5 inadequate site investigation pre-contract scope planning inadequate budgeting and contingencies pre-contract cost planning inadequate specification pre-contract procurement planning omission in design contract documents pre-contract procurement planning clarity of drawings and technical specifications pre-contract procurement planning lack of experience in similar projects tender stagepre-contract human resources planning contractor’s underestimate of construction cost tendering-precontract cost planning contractor’s financial difficulties construction cost execution defective workmanship and rework construction quality monitoring and control poor supervision by consultants construction integration monitoring and control poor quality materials construction quality execution poor coordination and communication construction communications whole project cycle poor supervision on site contractor construction integration execution poor planning of resources materials, labour, equipment construction procurement execution delay in payment process by the client construction cost execution lack of inspection of works construction integration monitoring and control delay in consultant’s approval of materials submission construction time execution tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 29 risk factor stage in the project when risk could have been mitigated using generic stages process in the project management knowledge areas that could be a possible problem area (pmbok 5) process mapping using pmbok 5 escalation in material prices construction cost execution delay in contractor’s payment certification by the consultant construction cost monitoring and control poor labour productivity construction human resources execution holding key decisions in isolation construction communication execution delay in consultant’s approval of shop drawings construction time execution delay in consultant’s response to requests for information construction integration execution unstable exchange rates construction cost monitoring and control ineffective monitoring of work construction integration monitoring and control late delivery of materials construction procurement execution lack of coordination among design disciplines project cycle communication monitoring and control frequent change orders by client project cycle scope execution client’s financial stability project cycle financial whole project cycle 4.6.1 risk stage the pareto analysis in figure 5 shows that 80% of the risks are caused by poor mitigation in the construction phase and pre-contract phase; very few risks could be said to occur on account of the tendering stage. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 30 figure 6: risk stage   19 28 31 61.29% 90.32% 100.00% 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 frequency cumulative frequency cummulative percentage figure 5: risk stage 4.6.2 knowledge area several knowledge areas are essential for managing projects. the pertinent areas that seem to be attributed to the risks are shown in figure 6. figure 7: knowledge area   7 12 16 19 22 24 26 28 30 31 22.58% 38.71% 51.61% 61.29% 70.97% 77.42% 83.87% 90.32% 96.77% 100.00% 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 frequency cumulative frequency cummulative percentage figure 6: knowledge area tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 31 the pareto analysis in figure 6 shows that 80% of the pertinent risks are caused by inappropriate application and/or lack of knowledge in cost management, procurement management, integration management, human resources management, communication management, time management, and scope management. the knowledge areas accounting for over 50% of performance are cost, procurement, scope, and integration management. 4.6.3 process management the pareto analysis in figure 7 shows that 80% of the pertinent risks are caused by inappropriate application and/or lack of knowledge in project execution, project planning, and monitoring and control. the processes accounting for over 50% of ineffective processes are execution and planning. 29.03% 54.84% 93.55% 100.00% 12 21 29 31 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 frequency cummulative percentage cumulative frequency figure 7: processes 5. discussion this section discusses the pertinent risks in view of their nature, the risk owner, the stages of the project and the processes during a project where care needs to be taken. in addition, the applicable knowledge area associated with the risk is identified. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 32 5.1 nature of pertinent risks and risk owner the results show that the majority of the pertinent risks are internal in nature. this implies that the mitigation of these risks lies within the project team on a given project. therefore, risks can be reduced by careful risk planning (goh & abul-rahman, 2013: 21) by the project team. this can be coupled with the selection of participants with capabilities to mitigate such risks. the important risks are from the managerial, technical and financial categories. this implies that the contracting parties must pay particular attention to these categories of risk and sharpen their skills in the aforementioned management areas. this could be dealt with during the pre-contract phase. the results in section 4.5.2 show that all project participants, to some extent, account for the risks experienced on projects. nevertheless, both parties (client and contractor) should carry out their roles to mitigate risks (lehtiranta & junnonen, 2014: 143; mu, chen, chohr & peng, 2014: 453) and improve performance. from a traditional procurement perspective, the client needs to put more effort into risk mitigation. this is important, because the interviews revealed that clients and consultants (60%) perceived that contractors account for more risks, although the analysis by risk owner proves otherwise. it has been argued that perceptions influence how risks are responded to and planned for (lehtiranta, 2014: 641). moreover, amundurud and aven (2015: 43) argue that decisions on risk are strongly dependent on perception. consequently, imperfect perceptions may account for improper risk response and planning (floricel, bonneau, aubry & sergi, 2014: 1093). the imperfect perception by parties in the building sector could account for the poor performance in the sector. the findings provide evidence that both parties contribute to undesirable performance (quality shortfalls, cost/time overruns). this calls for the parties to manage their risks better. 5.2 stage of project where risks should be mitigated the findings show that most of the risks occur in the construction phase and more measures should be put into this phase. this is congruent with the finding of osipova and eriksson (2011: 1151) who point out that most of the risks eventuate in the construction phase. risks during this stage are normally due to poor monitoring and control of risks (goh & abul-rahman, 2013: 21). in this instance, the interview data provided evidence of poor control and monitoring, due to poor funding and inadequate personnel. this is most prevalent in the public sector. in addition, the findings suggest that planning carried out in the pre-contract phase is inadequate, as risks such as tembo-silungwe & khatleli • deciphering priority areas ... 33 unclear specifications and omissions in design eventuate. planning should, therefore, be effectively carried out to reduce risks in the construction stage. 5.3 the deficient knowledge areas the pmbok (2008: 69) posits that effective management of projects requires the application of all knowledge areas. while risk management is a distinct knowledge area, it has been demostrated, in this instance, that other knowledge areas must be applied, in order to manage risks in the construction industry, as the findings show that, for effective mitigation to be in place, all other knowledge areas might need to be applied. the zambian building sector professionals need to gain more knowledge in cost management, procurement management, integration management, communication management, time management, human resources management, and scope management, in order to mitigate 80% of the eventuating risks. it has been argued that risks occur on projects due to lack of skill in risk management (dey, 2001: 634; chileshe & kikwasi, 2014). the findings show that skill is also needed in other knowledge areas. this view is supported by perez, gray & martin (2016: 8) who identify project management, technical and business management skills as skills needed for effective risk management in queensland. in addition, the findings from the interviews and questionnaire point out that stages in the risk management conducted include risk identification and qualitative risk analysis, communication and occassional monitoring, especially in the public sector, due to lack of finance. it was clear that quantitative risk analysis is rarely done, due to lack of knowledge. this implies that the posibility of occurrence and impacts of such risk rarely have values attached to the possible loss. 6. conclusion the empirical findings show the pertinent risks (managerial, technical and financial) encountered in the zambian building sector. most of these risks are consultant and contractor related, mainly resulting from imperfect planning and monitoring in the pre-construction and construction phases of the project, respectively. furthermore, the results show that 80% of the pertinent risks point to deficiency or imperfect application of knowledge in cost management, procurement 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'n hindemls kan gedefinieer word as 'n argitektoniese of omgewingsobstruksie in die pad van die bewegende persoon, wat met standaard-langkierietegniek opgespoor en oorkom kan word. dit sluit vuilgoeddromme en parkeermeters in (wardell, 1980: 478-480). 'n gevaarpunt kan gedefinieer word as 'n argitekioniese of orngewingsobstruksie in die pad van die bewegende persoon, wat nie opgespoor en oorkom kan word met standaard­ langkierietegniek nie. dit sluit, onder andere, oorhangende takke en sonskerms voor vensters in (wardell, 1980: 480-481). 3. beplanning vir visueel gestremdes groot vooruitgang is die afgelope paar jaar gemaak om argitekte, ingenieurs en stadsbeplanners meer bewus van die behoeftes van die gestremde te maak; spesifiek die rolstoelgebruiker. voorbeelde van hierdie aanpassings is randsteenopritte, spesiale parkeersones en toiletfasiliteite. die behoeftes van die visueel gestremde word egter gereeld oor die hoof gesien, wanneer dit by beplanning vir gestremdes kom. een van die wyses waarop vir die visueel gestremde voetganger beplan kan word, is deur middel van die aanbring van omgewings-modifikasies. daar word reg oor die w�reld op 'n gereelde basis met formele omgewingsmodifiksies geeksperimenteer. sodanige modifikasies het ten doe! om die visueel gestremde van inligting te voorsien sodat daar vrylik, onafhanklik en veilig in 'n omgewing beweeg kan word. voorbeelde van formele omgewingsmodifikasies wet op 'n universele basis in gebruik is, sluit die volgende in: • verskillende tipes orienteringsblokke wat by treinstasies, voetoorgange en op sypaadjies aangetref word. • hoorbare verkeerstekens wat visueel gestremdes met die kruising van strata help. • randsteenopritte wat ontwerp is om vir rolstoelgebruikers en visueel gestremdes van hulp te wees. • doelbewuste kleurkontras vir swaksiendes. 41 bogenoemde tipes formele omgewingsmodifikasies vereis egter beplanning wat goed deurdink, wetenskaplik benader, en op 'n langtermyn basis aangepak moet word. die meeste van die informele omgewingsmodifikasies vir obstruksies wat as 'n hindemis of 'n gevaarpunt deur die visueel gestremde beskou word, is egter eenvoudig om aan te bring. dit kos min en kan ook tot voordeel van die siende persoon strek. vervolgens sal enkele algemene gevaarpunte en hul modifikasies bespreek word. 4. algemene gevaarpunte op sypaadjies en in wandelgange die algemene gevaarpunte, wat 'n groot groep straatmeubels insluit, kan in drie tipes verdeel word. die eerste tipe is alle onbewustelik oorhoofse obstruksies wat s6 geplaas is dat dit 'n gevaar vir veral die kopgedeelte van die voetganger inhou. die tweede tipe is obstruksies wat aan 'n persoon se sykant aangetref word. die derde tipe obstruksies word op die loopvlak van 'n voetgangerroete aangetref (cardwell, 1977: 463). vervolgens sal die drie tipes afsonderlik bespreek word. 4.1 oorhoofse obstruksles hierdie tipe obstruksie sluit die volgende in: sonskerms voor vensters, boomtakke, ankertoue van dienspale, en sekere trapkonstruksies. sonskerms kan maklik tot bokant kophoogte gelig word om die gevaar van beserings by visueel gestremdes sowel as siendes uit te skakel. oorhangende takke op sypaadjies skep ook 'n groat gevaar omdat dit nie met 'n langkierie opgespoor kan word nie. dit is voorts 'n probleem wat herhaaldelik opduik, omdat borne as't ware "lewendige straatmeubels" is, en oorhangende takke kan dus slags deur middel van gereelde aandag of beheer uitgeskakel word (cardwell, 1977: 463). met die onderhoud van oorhangende boom-takke moet onthou word dat takke baie laer afnang nadat dit gereen het (benson, s.a.: 3). die hoekige posisie van die ankertoue van dienspale skep 'n gevaarpunt, aangesien 'n persoon se kop met die kabel kontak maak voordat die langkierie dit kan identifiseer (figuur 1 ). figuur 2 toon 'n bater plasing van die ankertou. die hoekige posisie van die ankertou is uitgeskakel deur die loodregte hegting daarvan aan die grand. die paal en die ankertou bly dus steeds obstruksies, maar nie gevaarpunte nie (wardell, 1980: 486). 42 oienspaal as obstruksie figuur 1 · figuur2. modifikasie van diensp�al 43 in sekere omstandlghede, soos in figuur 3 getoon, kan konstruksies, soos byvoorbeeld trappe, 'n gevaarpunt skep. dit is die geval in omstandighede waar die onderkant van die trapkonstruksie oop is en daar dus niks is waarmee die langkierie kan kontak maak om die visueel gestremde teen die obstruksie te waarsku nie. hierdie obstruksie kan deur die plant van 'n blomof struikbedding ender die obstruksie opgelos word. selfs vuilgoeddromme of enige groat· voorwerp kan in so 'n geval as 'n modifikasie gebruik word (cardwell, 1977: 463}. figuur 3 trappe as gevaarpunt 4.2 sykant-obstruksies hierdie tipe obstruksie sluit die volgende in: muurgemonteerde betaaltelefone, spieels aan motors, verkeerstekens wat te laag gemonteer is, brandblussers, lugreelaars en enkelrelings wat net uit 'r. bo-versperring bestaan (cardwell, 1977: 463). volgens cardwell (1977: 463) is daar nie 'n enkele oplossing vir die uitskakeling van al bogenoemde obstruksies nie. dubbelrelings kan gebruik word om die voetganger te beskerm teen gevaarlike areas, of selfs die plasing van 'n potplant ender 'n muurgemonteerde lugreelaar of brandblusser behoort as 'n goeie waarskuwing te dien. by betaaltelefone behoort die panele wat rondom die telefoon aangebring word tot op die grond te strek en nie net tot borshoogte nie. 'n ander oplossing is om hierdie tlpe telefoon in 'n muur in te bou sodat geen deal daarvan uitstaan nie. lndien bogenoemde twee modifikasies nie aangebring kan word nie, behoort daar gepoog te word om alle betaal telefone buite die normale lyn van voetpfngerbeweging te plaas (wardell, 1980: 484}. die onderkant van alle verkeerstekens behoort 2 m vanaf die grondoppervlak gemonteer te word, maar hierdie "wet'' word baie oortree. in sekere gevaffe sal die langkierie die paaf raak wat dan as 'n waarskuwing sal dien. in ander gevalle, soos in figuur 4 aangedui, kan die verkeersteken so ver uitstaan dat 'n persoon beseer kan word, sender dat die paal geraak word. dit is veral die tweede verkeersteken op figuur 4 wat 'n emstige gesigbesering kan veroorsaak, aangesien die kante van die meeste padtekens vlymskerp is (wardell, 1980:492). figuur 4 verkeerstekens as gevaarpunte 4.3 oppervlakobstruksles hierdie tipe obstruksie sluit die . volgende in: onverwagte trappe, ongemerkte randsteenopritte, oop mangate, roltrappe en krake in sypaadjies (carclweil, 1977: 463). sypaadjies wat deur boomwortels opgebreek en opgelig word, sowel as gekraakte sypaadjieblokke moat op 'n gereelds basis herstel word (templer e.a., 1990: 567). indian daar herstelwerk aan die loopoppervlak van sypaadjies gedoen word, behoort so 'n gebied deeglik versper te word soos in figuur 5 aangedui. so 'n tipe versperring behoort nie hoer as 70 cm te wees nie sodat dit maklik met die langkierie geidentifiseer kan word. kettings wat gebruik word om 'n gebied soos byvoorbeeld 'n grasperk af te kamp, is oor die algemeen 'n baie gev;:iarlike versperring vir visueel gestremdes en is in die nag selfs vir siende persona 'n gevaarlike versperring. as 'n algemene reel behoort kettings nie gebruik te word as versperrings nie (templer e.a., 1990: 567}. 45 i 1 00000000000000000 0 000000000000�0000 �00000000000000000 .· 1 s oboooooooooooooooo 000000000·00000000 re==.--__--_. . . . n -3·. . .. . . l . . · . . -�---120cm -------l figuur 5 effektiewe versperring 46 soos bogenoemde bespreking aandui, is dit belangrik dat daar spesifieke aandag aan die gevaarkomponent gegee word, aangesien dit die gebied is waar beplanning moontlike oplossings kan bied. die meeste hindemisse kan egter deur die toepassing van goeie langkierietegnieke oorkom word, maar dit betaken nie dat dit geen effek op die voetgangerbeweging van 'n visueel gestremde lang-kieriegebruiker het nie. vervolgens word hierdie invloed d.m.v. 'n stapspoedeksperiment bewys. 5. stapspoedeksperiment 5.1 die doel en hipotesestelling die doel met die eksperiment is am te bepaal watter effek obstruksies op sypaadjies op die stapspoed van die visueel gestremde het. die hipotese-stelling vir die eksperiment is die volgende: • dit neem 'n visueel gestremde langer am 'n roete te stap waarop onbekende obstruksies voorkom, as wat dit sou neem am dieselfde roete sander obstruksies te stap. • indian die obstruksie bekend is, sal die persoon vinniger stap as wanneer die obstruksies onbekend is, maar hy sal nag steeds stadiger stap as wanneer hy/sy weet dat daar geen obstruksies op die roete voorkom nie. 5.2 metode veertien visueel gestremde langkieriegebruikers hat aan die eksperiment deelgeneem. al hierdie kliente het 6f reeds die ori�ntasieen mobiliteitskursus geslaag, 6f is besig met die kursus. die klient(e) wat nag nie die kursus voltooi het nie, is egter almal goed vertroud met die tegnieke ten opsigte van die hantering van obstruksies. 'n afstand van 1 oom is op die sypaadjie afgemeet, en vier obstruksies is verspreid op die sypaadjies geplaas. orn die eksperiment getrou aan die werklikheid te hou, is vier obstruksies, wat gereeld op sypaadjies aangetref word, gebruik. dit sluit in 'n motor, 'n fiets, vuilgoedsakke en 'n advertensiebord. die obstruksies is s6 geplaas dat dit met die regte langkierietegnieke geidentifiseer kan word (sien figuur 6). 47 100m i i i i l i i ·--, i ' r--.l --, ·�·· i , i ' i �--,·_.ji i i i i�--.1--i i . i : c.--1· ,•· i l--1--.j ' ' :j-: i i i < 1_ t _1 ' : _j_ ___ ---moontlike lyn van beweging figuur 6 voorstelling van stapspoedeksperiment 48 begin punt i eindpunt daar is ook gesorg vir genoeg ruimte langs die versperrings, sodat die kliente nie nodig sou he om die sypaadjie te verlaat om die versperrings te oorkom nie. daar bestaan altyd 'n moontlikheid dat. 'n langkieriegebruiker wat die sypaadjie verlaat, probleme met orientasie kan ondervind en 'n aansienlike tyd kan neem om weer rigting te vind om met doelgerigte voetgangerbeweging voort te gaan. so 'n orientasieprobleem kan 'n onjuiste beeld skep en die uitslae van die stapspoedeksperiment be'fnvloed. elke klient het die afstand van 1 oom drie keer afgele en die tydsduur van elke poging is aangeteken. die eerste poging (a) is afgele sender waarskuwing dat vier versperrings op die sypaadjies aanwesig is. poging a stel dus die situasie van onverwagse, onbekende versperrings op 'n voetgangerroete voor. nadat die eerste paging voltooi is en die tyd geneem is, word die klient aan elke versperring bekendgestel en klem word ook gale op die omseilingsmoontlikhede van elke versperring. die tweede paging, b, word dan afgele en die tyd word geneem. paging b stel dan die situasie van bekende obstruksies voor. met die laaste paging, c, word al die versperrings van die sypaadjie verwyder en word 'n obstruksielose voetgangerroete dus voorgestel. die kandidaat se tyd word dan ook tydens paging c geneem. die drie tye van die drie pogings word dan vergelyk om te bepaal watter invloed bekende en onbekende obstruksies op die stapspoed van langkieriegebruikers het. 49 5.3 resultate tabel 1: resultate van die stapspoedeksperlment tyd in minute klient geslag ouderdom a b c l m 20 2-00 l-46 l-15 2 m 17 l-21 l-13 1-0l 3 ill 17 2-12 2-08 1-43 4 m 17 2-23 2-ll l-39 5 v 16 2-15 l-55 l-27 6 v 16 4-30 3-48 2-27 7 ill 16 2-40 2-51 1-41 8 m 13 2-41 2-28 l-50 9 v 17 2-29 2-07 l-46 10 v 16 2-29 2-02 1-39 ll v 17 3-13 2-46 2-03 12 m 20 l-32 l-10 1-03 13 m 37 1-39 1-17 1-15 14 ill 20 1-26 .!.:ll 1-12 gemiddald• tye 2-20 2-09 134 twaalf van die veertien kliente se drie pogings het die verwagte resultate gelewer, naamlik paging a stadig, poging b vinniger as a en poging c die vinnigste van die drie pogings. slegs twee kliente (no 7 en no 14) het stadiger gevaar met poging b as met poging a. seide die kliente het tydens paging b 'n "verkeerde" opsie gekies om die motor te omseil en sodoende onnodige tyd gem ors om die 1 oom-afstand af te i�. die gemiddelde tydsverskil tussen poging a en poging b is 11,6 sekondes en tussen poging b en paging c, 34,8 sekondes. die gemiddelde tydsverskil tussen poging a en poging c is dus 46,4 sekondes. sommige manse kan redeneer dat hierdie tydsverskil van minder as 'n minuut nie werklik in die praktyk 'n rol op die stapspoed van die langkieriegebruiker speet nie. lndien die scenario gaskets word dat 'n persoon byvoorbeeld 1 kilometer ender die omstandighede wat deur die eksperiment voorgestel word, sou slap, 50 sal die gemiddelde tydsverskil tussen poging a en poging c tot 7 minute 44 sekondes verleng word. uit bogenoemde eksperiment en vergelykings tussen die onderskeie pogings is dit dus duidelik dat obstruksies 'n beduidende rol speel in die stapspoed van die langkieriegebruiker. die resultate kan soos volg opgesom word: • onbekende obstruksies op sypaadjies veroorsaak tydsgewys die meeste probleme vir die langkieriegebruiker. • bekende versperrings op sypaadjles veroorsaak tydsgewys minder probleme as onbekende obstruksies. • geen versperrings op sypaadjies verskaf tydsgewys die baste omstandighede vir onafhanklike langkierievoetgangerbewewing. 5.4 gevolgtrekking bogenoemde resultate impliseer dat die langkieriegebruiker baie moeilik kan bepaal hoe lank dit vir horn sal neem om van een punt na 'n volgende punt te beweeg. in die praktyk kan dit dus beteken dat so 'n persoon laat by sy werk kan opdaag as gevolg van onbekende versperrings wat onverwags op sy gereelde voetgangerroete voorkom. in die huidige tydsgewrig waarin die waarde van stiptelikheid en die kosbaarheid van tyd gedurig beklemtoon word, kan bogenoemde implikasies verreikende gevolge vir die langkieriegebruiker inhou. 6. slotgeoagte visueel gestremdes word voortdurend op hul voetgangerroetes gekonfronteer met versperrings. hierdie versperrings is van beide die hindernisen gevaarpunttipe en albei het 'n beduidende rol te speel om dit vir die visueel gestremde onmoontlik te maak om vrylik, onafhanklik en veilig in 'n omgewing te beweeg. die rede vir die aanwesigheid van die meeste van die versperrings wat in hierdie artikel bespreek word, is onkunde. die algemene publiek en ampte!ike besluitnemers moet bewus gemaak . word van die gevare en problems wat ongewenste versperrings veroorsaak. die skrywer stel voor dat roetes wat baie deur visueel gestremdes gebruik word, in voetganger-"snelwee" omskep word. op hierdie roetes behoort versperrings en gevaarpunte tot 'n minimum beperk te word, en behoort die loopvlak van die sypaadjies ten alle koste in stand gehou te word. 51 daar is ook in suid-afrika 'n behoefte vir 'n "toetsstasie" waar veral formele omgewingsmodifikasies wetenskaplik, prakties en oor 'n jang periode getoets kan word, voordat 'n besluit ten opsigte van die implementering van sodanige modifikasie geneem word. worcester word as 'n ideale keuse vir 'n "toetsstasie" beskou, omdat dit reeds 'n sentrum vir gestremdes is. die voorstelle in die. artikel dek nie al die moontlikhede wet vir die visueel gestremde volkome toegang tot die siende wei"eld ken verleen nie. die visueel gestremde vra nie vir drastiese veranderings van die omgewing nie, maar slegs vir 'n sensitiwiteit tot die probleem en eenvoudige ontwerpveranderings om plekke meer toeganklik en meer "voetgangervriendelik" vir die visueel gestremde te maak. i pick 'n pey i i �pirkeririg i i i i i i i i i� i 1: i = lina blacks i i s bump blocks i "' i i i ii / " i i kerkstraat i i ' /i ro•'l'a ,. . i i i i i fig 7 plan van voorgestel de voetg,nger 'snelweg•, worcester 52 bibuografie [1] benson, s. (s.a.). so what about independent travel? the national federation of the blind. usa. [2] cardwell, h. 1977. barriers to mobility. journal of visual lmpainnent and blindness. december. [3] matthysen, p.h. 1992. voetgangerbeplanning vir die visueel gestremde met spesifieke verwysing na worcester. uovs ongepubliseer. [4] templer, j. e.a. 1990. sight-impaired, design for. in: encyclopedia of architecture, design, engineering and construction. vol. 5 by j.a. wilkens. usa the american institute of architects. [5] wardell, kt. 190. environmental modifications. in: foundations of orientation and mobility. ed. by r.l. welsh and 8.8. blasch. new york: american foundation for the blind. 53 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 bonnie britz1 architecture and the city: conceptual shifts in a time of change abstract the majority of the south african population presently lives in mushrooming, unstructured cities. such cities recognise neither their inhabitants' cultural and social needs nor the realities of their everyday lives. it is essential to create credible conceptual frameworks capable of integrating the complexity and diversity of the modern metropolis. this article therefore discusses two aspects of the problem: • the identification of criteria which urban contexts should meet in order to be experienced as meaningful and life-sustaining. • an analysis of the approaches of current structuring systems in the light of these criteria. comparison of these approaches leads to the proposal of a possible "key model" for the structuring of the contem­ porary multi-cultural city. keywords: cities, south africa, multicultural city. argitektuur en stad: konseptuele verskuiwing in tye van verandering die meerderheid van die suid-afrikaanse bevolking woon tans in uitspreidende, ongestruktureerde stede. hierdie stede neem nog die kulturele en sosiale behoeftes van hul inwoners, nog die werklikhede van hulle alledaagse lewens in ag. door is 'n behoefte om geloofwaardige konseptuele raamwerke te skep wat die kompleksiteit en diversiteit van die moderne stad kan integreer. hierdie artikel handel vervolgens oor twee aspekte: • die identifikasie van kriteria waaraan stedelike omgewings gemeet behoort te word om as betekenisvol en lewensondersteunend beleef te word. • die analise van bestaande struktureringsisteme in die lig van hierdie kriteria. die vergelyking van hierdie benaderings word don aange­ wend om 'n moontlike 'sleutelmodel' vir die strukturering van die hedendaagse multi-kulturele stad voor te stel. bonnie britz, professor and head of the department of architecture, university of the orange free state, bloemfontein, south africa 13 sleutelwoorde: stede, suid-afrika, multi-kulturele stad. britz/architecture and the city introduction the main aim underlying this article is to explore the possibility of identifying frameworks that would accommodate the complex needs of the inhabitants of the present-day city and specifically the dynamic trans-cultural african city in a period of accelerat­ ing change. it is postulated that there is at present no accepted paradigm from which to structure a city that is both sustainable and capable of being experienced as meaningful. this vacuum is of particular concern since poverty and deprivation in the rest of africa are currently causing a disconcerting influx of illegal immigrants into south africa. the durban area and/or gauteng may soon look like mexico city. in this type of expansion, south african cities are at present following the example of other erstwhile colonial cities whose urbanisation has one trait in common: "continuing speed of growth". this trend has been noted by the british geographer, emrys jones (1990: 17,18), in cities such as calcutta, manila and lima. he is of the opinion that these cities, in spite of having "considerable elements of western culture", were "part of an overwhelmingly indigenous society and culture" and as such "embody the achievements of distinctive local cultures". historically, the order of a city was imposed by powerful rulers, often with the assistance of "cosmo-magical symbolism". this authority has, in the present day, been replaced by the profit motives of developers and the short-term objectives of politicians (wheatley, 1963: 188 ff). it is commonly accepted that the philosophy of commodification, combined with the potential of modern technology, has been a major instrument in the hands of these groups. however, if the planning of our cities is to be based on anything more than the current hit-andmiss housing policies, viable structuring strategies which would allow cohesive local cultures the opportunity to flourish or coalesce need to be identified and explored. the problem is that such structures cannot be invented ex nihilo. this could only lead to irresponsible utopianism. on the other hand, current eurocentric rational and aesthetic models do not seem to have produced an authentic "key model" (brummer, 1993: 20) which could provide a coherent conceptual scheme for the modern city. since experience has taught that new 14 1999 acta structilia val 6 no 1 & 2 concepts develop incrementally, the method applied in this article was to scrutinise the available philosophically based models in terms of criteria that may be seen to encompass the needs of the widest possible range of people and cultures. defining criteria for the structure of a viable city wisdom demands a new orientation towards the organic, the gentle, the nonvio/ent, the elegant and [the] beautiful (schumacher, in capra, 1988: 443). the solution to any problem has "what to do" and "how to do" components. selecting criteria to measure the relevance of a chosen approach forms part of the what aspect. the chosen conceptual structure for frameworks represents the how aspect. the initial requirement is criteria which may be used to measure whether an urban environment performs optimally and is life­ enhancing for as wide a range of people of various cultures and backgrounds as possible. this idea fits this author's view that all authentic artefacts are tools to improve the user's life­ experience, both physically and spiritually, and that man thus creates his own ecology wherever he settles. in defining criteria for cities that are ecological in the above sense, two approaches were combined: one originating from fridjof capra and the other from the philosopher john wilson. these approaches have been dealt with extensively elsewhere (britz, 1990: 64-72, xii xiii). for the sake of brevity, only the physicist fridjof copra's interpretation of the current global paradigm shift will be dealt with as a means of establishing such criteria, and they will be discussed only in outline. capra uses the concepts of yin and yang as developed in the "i ching" to explain this shift. the yin and yang deal with two opposing approaches to situations in life. some of the properties of the two approaches can be listed as follows: yang masculine demanding aggressive competitive rational analytical expansive surface and heaven (capra, 1982:21) yin feminine contractive responsive co-operative intuitive synthesising conservative interior and earth 15 britz/architecture and the city it is clear that the yang column corresponds with attitudes characteristic of the recent past. however, attitudes in the yin column are already asserting themselves, e.g. a concern for ecology, for the earth, for conservation and for female (and other) rights. capra (1982: 13) sees a dynamic 'balance' of yin and yang values as heralding a period in which the "highest and noblest expressions" are possible, "producing balance, integration and aesthetic fulfilment in art, philosophy, science and technology". it is interesting to note that the renowned swiss psychologist carl jung considered it essential to allow for a balance of these apparently opposite attitudes in individuals, in order to restore healthy communities. two important urban complexes, one very popular and the other distinctly unpopular, were analysed in the light of copra's observations. it should be noted that the particular complexes were chosen on the basis of their urban scale and potential impact. the eighty-year-old union buildings (figure i) is revered equally by laymen and professionals. this complex, which is for south africa what the eiffel tower is for france, was recently used for the inauguration of president mandela. the johannesburg general hospital (figure 2), by contrast, has been the subject of controversy since its inception and was at one stage voted "the ugliest building in south africa"2. in investigating the qualities of these two complexes, certain criteria for a viable urban design emerged. (brief notes elucidate the thinking behind the proposed criteria.) 1. the creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces, allowing for complex interrelationships where needed norberg-schulz (1979: 42) has stated that "the language of architecture expresses the existential structure called 'spatiality"'. this is certainly also true of the city as a collector of architecture. the union buildings integrates three types of space. on an urban scale it displays classical space, articulating a concrete presence comparable with that of a greek temple, rising out of and gathering the landscape. the second type of space, architectural in nature, is present in its wide variety of interior spaces, while the third type, to be found in the amphitheatre, evokes a special african quality. this complex orchestration of a variety of spaces agrees with the yin quality of interiority. 16 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 the hospital "city" is a 350 metre long concrete box straddling a gracious historical neighbourhood. it has no articulated spatial relationship to the city. its interior spatial qualities are restricted to an overly long foyer and hundreds of small cells. no spatial reference is made to the context. it is clearly a building where the outside surface constitutes the major design element. 2. empathy with the cultural specifics of the citizens and the creation of places that allow for and encourage the embodiment thereof leading theorists like rykwert (1988: 23), jones (1990: 13) and fathy (steele, 1988: 129-30) all agree on the importance of correspondence and congruence between the layout of a town and the inhabitants' cultural image of themselves. nyberg (1990: 9) talks of the "ethical bonding of community and place". herbert baker, inspired by the local landscape, is known to have wanted to create a specifically south african style. in his building complex he combined the sober dutch architecture of wierda and de zwaan with the english classicism of his own background. the two towers of the union buildings, linked by a colonnade. were to symbolise the unification of the two white tribes. they encircle an african amphitheatre which in size. symbolic function and orientation reminds one of the tswana kgotla (irving, 1981: 279). it is reasonable to deduce that baker's attitude was one of conserving elements of different cultures. the hospital complex, by contrast, was conceived as a carefully proportioned geometrical volume. it is built in a bland, anonymous style, typical of buildings designed for similar purposes, the world over. it cannot be said to pay the slightest homage to the cultural understanding(s) of its users. the huge precast wall elements of which it is constructed can only be described as expansive. 3. an understanding of the relationships between the designer, his audience and his work both gombrich (1980: 19) and baxandall (1985: 48) have commented on the dynamic relationship between the designer, his audience and the artefact. the sensitive designer is very much in touch with the responses of his/her clients and directs his/her efforts to stimulate, to entertain and to satisfy their expectations. irving (1981: 279) has documented how well baker. 17 britz/architecture and the city in designing the union buildings, anticipated the reactions of smuts and botha, appealing at once to their imagination. the unpopularity of the johannesburg general hospital with staff, patients, visitors and neighbours indicates an insensitivity to the expectations of all concerned. it would not be unreasonable to see these two buildings, respectively, as textbook examples of responsiveness and aggressiveness. 4. an understanding of the psychological and social needs of the inhabitants denyer (1978: 19) reminds us that "african villages usually expressed physically the social structure of the group of people living in them". the popularity of the union buildings among the inhabitants of the city as a place to promenade on weekends as well as its success as a venue for the inauguration of presidents and for state funerals testify to its social fittingness. by the same token, the individual, moving through the amphitheatre, experiences a profound sense of equilibrium and tranquillity. it could be said that it is a place that is responsive to the user's social and psychological needs. the same cannot be said of the hospital. its inhuman scale and configuration makes it a place people go to only if they have to. it is instructive to compare it with the zuid-afrikaansche hospital in muckleneuk in pretoria, on a similar site. here site and aspect have been incorporated in a way that the buildings contribute to the healing process. 5. an appropriate response to problems through dialogue with and extension of the traditions of the discipline gombrich (1963: 96-97) argued cogently that in a living art form the work only speaks through "dialogue and extension of the traditions of the discipline". baker's astute combination of the union buildings' hill site with the gridiron layout of pretoria indicates "an ability to combine familiar forms in unexpected ways" and so extend the traditions of city-making (irving, 1981: 273). this could be seen as an intuitive approach. 18 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 by contrast, the general hospital site was simply cleared and a huge box imposed on it, without considering any of the traditions of urban design. this represents a (so-called) rational approach. 6. the recognition and interpretation of the qualities of the landscape (the spirit of place) baker's success with the union buildings may be ascribed to the fact that the buildings grew out of the site and belong completely to it. an understanding of the quality of the local light, of the vegetation and of the geology combined with his skill in celebrating these properties. the configuration of the complex and the materials used to execute it gathered and focused the whole landscape. hence one may speak of a respect for the earth and the interior of the landscape. the bland storey-high pre-cast units of the hospital, enlivened by some bright colour splashes, do not indicate any awareness of the very special qualities of its parktown site. the emphasis here is on surface. ashihara (1983: 118) has referred to landscapes with geographical and social significance as "primal settings", which serve as the "birthplace of the spirit". the urban designer can respect and contribute to them, or destroy them. 7. the reinforcement and creation of authentic frameworks rykwert (1988: 6-7) stresses the "inevitability" or authenticity of concept which is needed in creating urban frameworks. the "pattern" of a city should be "strong enough to survive all its inevitable disorders and other vicissitudes, and structure the urban experience". the inevitable nature of baker's landmark is such that one can as little imagine pretoria without it as one can think of cape town without table mountain. on the other hand, and despite its size, the johannesburg general hospital is one of the most eminently forgettable buildings imaginable. it could be argued that the reason for the above contrast is that baker synthesised his design with the context, while the hospital was the product of abstract analytical thinking. thus, it has been shown that a work designed by a "foreign" architect, coming from a vastly different landscape, but working 19 britz/architecture and the city in a tradition as old as vitruvius, makes a relevant contribution to an urban south african context. baker's objectives may have differed from those of this article, which aims to define criteria for assessing the appropriateness of particular urban design approaches, but his end-product can be seen to reflect certain yin qualities. it could be stated that many alternative sets of criteria could have been developed. however, the author believes that the majority of practising and teaching urban designers will accept that these criteria may legitimately be used to evaluate various conceptual approaches to structuring the modern trans-cultural city (the what aspect of this article). if one relates the chosen criteria to the yin-yang characteristics mentioned by capra, they all seem to emphasise aspects of yin. thus, meaningful existential spaces relate to interiority; empathy with cultural specifics denotes a responsive and conserving approach; interaction between designer, audience and work reflects a co-operative and responsive attitude, and so forth. in trying to formulate how these criteria are to be used, copra's "systems approach" (1988: 303) comes to mind. he looks at the organic world, which consists of many natural systems displaying both independent and interdependent properties. this is in contrast with the mechanistic view of the world, which would prefer to unify it under one universal truthful system. the problem which remains is to find an urban framework capable of structuring and nurturing a responsive, living, urban ecology in the current period of exponential growth. evaluation of current conceptual approaches ... of layering, of creating strata which can accommodate change as well as future needs, which enhance . .. the interplay between transience and permanence, voids and layers, public and private, order and chaos {hadid, 1989: 87). it is normal for the human mind to think in metaphors or conceptual models (brummer, 1992: 135). in the recent past it has been common to use certain conceptual models derived from the fields of science, art and philosophy as conceptual models for structuring the environment. the most influential models of the recent past, modernism, neo-rationalism, deconstruction, post­ modernism, symbiosis and collage, have been chosen for 20 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 consideration as to their suitability for structuring our urbanising environment.3 1. modernism in considering modernism, it is proposed that its two manifesta­ tions be separately analysed. calinescu (1987: 41) has described how, ... at some point during the first half of the nineteenth century, an irreversible split occurred between modernity as a stage in the history of western civilization a product of scientific and technological progress, of the industrial revolution, of the sweeping economic and social changes brought about by capitalism and modernity as an aesthetic concept. 1.1 rationalist modernity this form of modernity is associated with ... the doctrine of progress, the confidence in the beneficial possibilities of science and technology, the concern with time ... , the cult of reason, and the ideal of freedom defined within the framework of an abstract humanism, but also the orientation toward pragmatism and the cult of action and success ... (calinescu, 1987: 41j (see diagram 1). comments on the evaluations in diagram 1: (i) ellis ( 1979: 4) notes that 11 ••• most modernists concluded that painting and single-building architecture were concerned with composition that is, with relationships between objects while urbanism was concerned with the typical nature of elemental objects themselves". (ii) fathy was against western-trained planners working in arab countries. according to steele ( 1988: 124), he considered that they did not understand arab cities and 11 ••• wiped out all the arts in arab architecture which distinguished it as a presence, ... rationali[sing] this [by calling] it ... 'international' architecture". (iii) richard martin ( 197 4: 1031) complained that ii keen, highly motivated young men develop models that are meaningless, africanised versions of living patterns that are 21 britz/architecture and the city entirely european in their cultural values, ... and it is in their capacity for a meaningful dialogue that the young men are weakest". {iv) designers with strong functionalist convictions normally pay some attention to this aspect. however, the highhanded approach of many modernist designers to the psychological and social needs of people is encapsulated in a reply by le corbusier to a question on priorities from the french sociologist, chomard: "who do you mean first of all? certain particular clients or people in general? the first type is stupid and have bad habits. i don't care for them at all" {steele, 1988: 125). {v) calinescu {1987: 4) has conclusively demonstrated that modernism is in essence anti-tradition: "tradition is rejected with increasing violence and the artistic imagination starts priding itself on exploring and mapping the realm of the 'not yet' ... ". this explains le corbusier's wish to have historical paris "cleaned off and carted away". {vi) the similarity of large cities around the world can be attributed to "the influence of modernism in architecture and planning [which] favour[s] a technological emphasis and expression" {nyberg, 1988: 7). {vii) the african {colonial) city is an extreme example of the lack of coherent structure to be found in the modern city: " ... a pastiche of zoned functions, land uses and populations". it was "not a civic entity ... not created to meet the needs of the new urban dwellers, and little provision was made for their social and cultural requirements. it was merely an administrative area built up and run by europeans and incidentally inhabited by africans" {blair, 1971 : 229). the above comments are in one way or other applicable to the concepts that follow. this is so because all these concepts, even post-modernism {which " ... engages the whole avant-gardist philosophy underlying the modernist project since the days of the bauhaus ... "), are based on the same premises as classical modernism {calinescu, 1987: 281). in this battle of the styles, aesthetic concerns are very much to the fore. 1.2 aesthetic modernity this kind of modernity has always seen itself as rejecting bourgeois modernity {the rationalist type) completely. like kant, 22 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 it viewed art as an autonomous activity with "purposiveness without a purpose" (calinescu, 1987: 45). urban design as an artistic composition, as demonstrated in brasilia or chandigarh, represents this kind of thinking. (see diagram 2) comments on the evaluations given in diagram 2: although the expression is different, the concerns are very much the same as with the previous approach. because of an aesthetic bias, a strong framework (vii), such as is used to structure an interesting composition, is usually present, as in the two above-mentioned cities. 2. neo-rationalism two aspects of neo-rationalism call for consideration. one is the ascetic type of tafuri and rossi; the other is leon krier's neo­ classicist version, which seems to be waning in popularity at present. both have strong roots in the classical city and are primarily concerned with typology. 2.1 neo-rationalism (tendenza) this back-to-basics approach tries to connect the city once more with the (european) tradition of making cities. it sees the city as having evolved as generic "type elements" which would include "the quarter, the block, and a variety of urban-space types such as streets, avenues, squares, arcades and colonnades" (gosling, 1984: 134). the elements of the cities of the neo-rationalists are composed of "perfect cubes, perfect cylinders, perfect prisms". thus rossi's towns are populated by "idealised, abstracted, geometrized" buildings (broadbent, 1990: 172-88). they do not seem to refer to people's customs or cultures, relate to specific landscapes, or indicate how present life-styles or movement systems are to be accommodated. (see diagram 3) comments on the evaluations given in diagram 3: (i) "rossi deals ... with urban facts ... the actual physical objects of which cities are made ... ". he is concerned with space and place-making. he states: " ... place is that which allows a particular architectural 'fact' [physical object of which a 23 britz/architecture and the city city is made] to acquire its condition of being". "but place itself is far more than any mere physical environment. place encompasses both that physical reality and its history" (broadbent, 1990: 166, 169). rossi's conception of space nevertheless remains rather narrow. its meaning is interpreted mainly in the western european context. (ii) tafuri's way of thinking of people is " ... a matter of regarding people as abstractions; units to be housed and so on" (broadbent, 1990: 165). (iii) rossi's interest in cities is deep, but restricted. he looks at aspects of typology, at the structure of the city, at the architecture of the city and its locus and at the problems of urban dynamics. but he does it " ... for its own sake without reference to outside disciplines such as sociology and other sciences, nor even, he says, to the history of architecture ... " (broadbent, 1990: 166). (iv) rossi's idea of the city as "... continuous mass into which large-scale elements [his monuments] ... can be inserted" could contribute to a legible city. the problem is that it does not fully recognise the extreme complexity of the modern city. 2.2 neo-rationalism (neo-classical) leon krier is the main (and vociferous) protagonist of this approach. the influence of this kind of rationalism is generally restricted to england and the east coast of the usa. krier shares tendenza's desire to restore historical european city-making techniques; in this instance with an emphasis on the type that norberg-schulz would call "roman". krier believes that the "city and its public places: 'can only be built in the form of streets, squares and quartiers of familiar dimensions and character', based on local and european traditions". he rejects zoning and advocates small self-sustaining communities ("the quartier an area up to 33 hectares within which there would be all urban functions", housing 10 ooo 15 ooo people) (broadbent, 1990: 195-6), huge urban monuments (an idea similar to rossi's) intended to structure the city, and a return to conventional building methods by means of a revival of artisanship. he also has the very eurocentric view that all building work should be executed in the classical language of architecture. (see diagram 4) 24 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 comments on evaluations given in diagram 4: {i) krier played an important role in focusing designers' attention on the positive qualities of traditional urban space. the problem, however, is that historically and spatially static conceptions of urban space do not allow for culturally divergent understandings. kutcher {1973: 74) has indicated how western-trained planners do not usually understand "middle-eastern platform space" as enc::guntered at the temple mount in jerusalem. this accords with the experiences of martin {1974: 1030-1) in zambia, where planners misread the spatial conceptions of african people. {ii) despite his marxist leanings, krier's empathy is more closely related to classicism, which was not the style of folk architecture but ironically that of the ruling elite! {iii) very little interaction and dialogue is possible, because of the attempt to revive a "scrambled version of an academic neo-classicism" {nyberg, 1990 (2): 1) as the language for the new city. in the opinion of collins (1965: 209), "as leonce reynaud puts it: ' ... the art of the middle ages is dead, and although one can galvanise a corpse, one cannot bring it back to life. it is precisely because thirteenth-century architecture was true in its day that it would be completely false now' ... " the idea of reviving an historical language holds very little promise. {iv) this approach is a sincere attempt to remedy the social and psychological ills of the modern city. however, it makes a basic error in believing that by reshaping the city one can reshape society to some utopian model frozen in time. {v) the aim of connecting and extending the traditions of european city making is the most positive aspect of this approach. it has contributed considerob�yin an awareness of the positive attributes of traditional urban space. however, the need to extend the capacities of traditional urban space, to articulate the complexities of the contem­ porary city, was not addressed. {vi) the types of framework proposed by advocates of this concept are usually strong, but fall short as a result of the self-imposed restrictions mentioned above. 25 britz/architecture and the city 3. deconstruction deconstruction is currently becoming very popular. while in philosophical terms its approaches can be considered an extreme extension of rationalist modernity, its manifestations can just as legitimately be read as a type of aesthetic modernity. despite the tendency of this mode to distortion, wigley (1988: 19) claims that its adherents ... develop an architectonic coherence by confronting the basic problems of building structure and function even if they do so in an unconventional way. concerning it characteristics, he aptly describes it as follows: " ... it is as if some kind of parasite has infected the form and distorted it from the inside". also, "this is an architecture of disruption, dislocation, deflection, deviation and distortion ... ". it "produces a feeling of unease, of disquiet, because it challenges the sense of stable, coherent identity that we associate with pure form" (wigley, 1988: 17). tschumi (1988: 38-9), its leading protagonist, has the following to say about his parisian project: the pare de la villette project thus can be seen to encourage conflict over synthesis, fragmentation over unity, madness and play over careful management. it subverts a number of ideals that were sacrosanct to the modern period and, in this manner, it can be allied to a specific vision of post-modernity. but the project takes issue with a particular premise of architecture, namely, its obsession with presence, with the idea of meaning immanent in architectural structures and forms ... deconstructivist projects generally leave one with an impression of one of the kinds of monumentality with which colin rowe worked: " ... raw collision, which tends to emphasise the visual monumentality of discreet parts, not only through contrast, but also through contradiction, irresolution, and blatant visual simplicity" (ellis, 1979: 24). this kind of monumentality could benefit a city, if present in the terms proposed by rossi and krier. in this way, tschumi's "mandarin style" (jencks, 1988: 61) made a functional contribution to paris. in no other way could this elitist approach, which produces in the initiated "a kind of intellectual 26 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 joy or cerebral ecstasy", have any meaning for the majority of urban dwellers. (see diagram 5) comments on the evaluations given in diagram 5: (i) (vi) while deconstruction in a way reflects the complexities, contradictions and discontinuities of the modern city, it is in essence a dialogue among members of a very select circle, and, like other strains of rationalism, it "ignores many real issues ... like the role of the automobile and recent electronic technology in a future urban life-style" (boden, 1989: 34). in the typical avant­ garde tradition, deconstructive projects withhold interaction with their context until it becomes the official style. (vii) certain techniques of deconstruction may be relevant to the modern city, which has to reconcile many co-existing systems. according to broadbent (1990: 316): tschumi superimposes three geometric systems: of points, of lines and of surfaces. each system is clear and coherent in itself but, superimposed, they affect each other. sometimes one reinforces another, sometimes they interfere to produce distortions and sometimes they simply co-exist. 4. post-modernism the historic avant-garde ... tries to settle scores with the past ... the avant-garde destroys, defaces the past ... but the moment comes when the avant-garde {the modern) can go no further ... the post modern reply ... consists of recognising that past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence, must be revisited: but with irony, not innocently ... (umberto eco, quoted in calinescu, 1987: 283-4). gutman (1990: 120) criticised architectural post-modernism as "a discipline turning on itself". although calinescu has indicated that this concept, whose name was coined by the english historian arnold toynbee, finds expression in all the arts and humanities, no specifically post-modern urban design theory would appear to exist. urban design schemes by architects like charles moore (kresge college and tegeler hafen) and arata lsosaki (tsukuba civic centre) were not designed for others to execute these designers were also the architects of the buildings. 27 britz/architecture and the city calinescu (1987: 282) has explained that " ... the postmodernist response to the utopian rigidities of the modernists was to call for a (modern) city with a memory. this explains the emergence of a new historicism". (coming from the field of literary criticism, calinescu would not be aware of rykwert' s (1988: 7) criticism that we are dealing with "catalogue-history, devoid of narration".) calinescu (1987: 276) also referred to jenck's definition of this approach as "... doubly coded part modern and part something else: vernacular, revivalist. local. commercial. metaphorical, contextual ... ", claiming that it has "adopted a more flexible, interpretive and self-consciously 'dialogic' attitude". thus it prefers venturi's "both/and" logic to modernism's "either/or" attitude. a meaningful formulation of the post-modern concept has come from the dutch landscape architects, meeus and vroom (1986: 301). as a result of the general discontent with functional approaches they developed practical post-modern strategies to deal with landscape designs. they see their task as creating "a spatial framework in which detailed functions can be filled in and substituted according to the (changing) needs of user groups". central to the procedures described by meeus and vroom is the participation of users in the design process for "negotiation over the organization of space". consultation with users in defining goals and priorities, and testing them, as well as the presentation of a catalogue of forms (usually very eclectic in nature) for dis­ cussion and choice all form part of this process of "consistent democratization". the result is often "a collage of elements taken from existing examples". (see diagram 6) comments on the evaluations given in diagram 6: if the influence of theoreticians like meeus and vroom is dis­ counted, no conscious post-modern concept of urban design seems to have evolved. rather, as rykwert ( 1977: 7) puts it, the "sins are now covered by a skin of ornament borrowed from the history books". thus while buildings have become more conven­ tional, resulting in more traditional urban spaces, with axial plan­ ning becoming more evident, there no coherent theory of urban design appears to underpin this practice. it could of course be that the concerns of post-modernism are taken care of (in a less aesthetic sense) by the established urban theoreticians. there would then be no need for a formal stance to be taken, as has 28 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 occurred in architecture. where urban design schemes have paraded under the banners of post-modernism, as in the cases of moore and lsozaki, it was felt that they did not deserve high ratings. because the inhabitants and the existing urban structures were positively considered, criteria (3) and (7) received higher ratings. one scheme which is an exception to the general ten­ dency to ignore the spirit of place (6), is portoghesi's design for a group of villages in the vallo di diano, salerno (gosling, 1984: 37). 5. symbiosis the symbiotic approach is propagated by kishu kurokawa, a founder-member of the metabolist school in the early sixties. originating in a progressive, optimistic period, the members of this group are described as "mega-utopians" by gosling and maitland (gosling, 1984: 36). the 1973 energy crisis brought about the movement's demise. however, the concept of symbiosis, one of the pillars of the metabolist school, was retained and extended by kurokawa. he propagates a pragmatic, eclectic approach, combining the best from all cultures "under the wing of japanese buddhism" (chaslin, 1988: 1oj. for huge cities he propagates incremental open-ended plan­ ning, where as much as possible of the prime natural environ­ ment and cultural heritage is retained. in his shonan life town he combined a farming community with urban dwellers. the new tokyo 2025 plan, with which he is involved, is a 30 thousand hectare island proposed in tokyo bay and intended to house 5 million inhabitants in "a twenty-first century high-technology city in order to take the pressures off tokyo and preserve the past and present tokyo {kurokawa, 1988: 115). his ideas are sometimes sketchy, but he talks of the city of the twenty-first century as "invisible". he sees the task of the urban designer as designing those "invisible links and relations" and considers the city itself as a "network" (kurokawa, 1988: 116) {see diagram 7). 29 britz/architecture and the city comments on the evaluations given in diagram 7: philosophically, kurokawa's approaches coincide to a large extent with the balanced yin-yang principles discussed above: (i) except for stressing the superiority of the street over the square, this aspect is not sufficiently developed. (ii) the concern for the preservation and nurturing of various cultures is arguably the main concern of symbiosis. (iii) functioning at a rather theoretical level, this aspect is not addressed. (iv) there is a definite concern for the needs of inhabitants, as in (2), but it is not clearly spelt out. (v) the idea of a different order of connectivity is important, but not sufficiently developed. (vi) kurokawa's project for a desert city in libya demonstrates a certain awareness of the genius loci. (vii) in looking at a new order of framework, kurokawa's ideas are convincing, but lack clarity. 6. collage if the city is to be known to its citizens as a 'legible' one, they must be able to read it as comprising at least one, but preferably several, superimposed and easily recognized patterns (rykwert, 1988: 7). colin rowe (ellis, 1979: 4) proposed that the pictorial techniques of collage painting may offer a paradigm for the making of cities. he intended this approach "to mitigate two perceived architectural images of the city: the traditional city with its open spaces carved out of a solid mass, and le corbusier's 'city in the park', with its isolated buildings standing free in open space." by reconciling the two approaches, one of the past and one of the future, he wanted his city " ... to be at one and the same time, quite explicitly ... both theatre of memory and theatre of prophecy". to do this he proposed a discourse "between type and context". this argument was to be "carried out through a range of compositional strategies: either a complete resolution of parts, or a collage of parts, or a collision between parts". 30 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 the character resulting from his approaches was ... usually (that) of a complex building or a coherent grouping that can be imposed upon a context, undergo a mutual deformation with that context, and become something new. ft sustains a general typological identity, usuaffy through geometrical regularity at its core, and promotes a focal particularity of composition, usually through irregularity at its edges (effis, 1979: 7). this process conforms with the characteristics of collage, where the fragments used retain their former identity, while at the same time assuming a new identity (that of the whole). a dialogue is thus set up among the various identities, allowing the work to reflect the complexities and tensions of the present-day world. one problem with this concept is that, in comprising strategies for composing cities, it falls within the ambit of "aesthetic urbanism", and that function plays little or no role. the opportunity to superimpose the many functional layers of the city, as perhaps prefigured in tschumi's pare de la villette's three superimposed geometric systems, opens up exciting possibilities in this regard. (see diagram 8) comments on the evaluations given in diagram 8: (i) the combination and the collision of various spatial types allow for "conditions of interdependence, independence and multiple interpenetrability" (broadbent, 1990: 265). (ii) the cultural diversity of multi-ethnic cities in transition could be mitigated if one thinks of the city as a collage of cultures, overlapping and interacting. (iii) interaction is an important aspect of rowe's city: we have attempted to constitute a fragment of ... a city of discreet set pieces and interactive local incidents, a city which represents coalition of intentions rather than the singular presence of any immediately apparent a/i-co­ ordinating ideas (rowe, in gosling, 1984: 17). (iv) some attention is given to social and cultural values: "societies and persons assemble themselves according to their own interpretations of absolute reference and traditional value; and, up to a point, collage accommo­ dates both hybrid display and the requirements of self­determination" (broadbent, 1990: 266). 31 britz/architecture and the city (v) rowe's method of reconciling two urban design traditions by means of the techniques of collage is possibly his most important contribution. (vi) in his many projects, rowe indicated how he would extend the fabric of existing cities. however, his theories did not include proposals for frameworks for new cities, which is a matter of great importance and urgency in a time of rapid urbanisation. diagram 9 summarises the preceding evaluations. no score is higher than 10 out of a potential score of 21 . it should be noted that none of the conceptual approaches discussed considers the expression of the 'spirit of place' as important. yet this is the element that assists man to dwell harmoniously in the landscape. thus the "placelessness" and alienation of the modern city are not addressed. the theories of classical rationalism, post­ modernism and collage all attempt to come to terms with the problems of making urban life a more positive experience. unfortunately, they are all still too much inspired by ideas of scientific progress and/or aesthetic avant-gardism. yet, if it is remembered that both capra and jung plead for a balance of yin and yang values, it would seem reasonable to permit the ordering element of the modern city to have yang characteristics, as long as it encourages diversity and is used to accommodate change rather than to restrict it. it is proposed that if elements of collage, post-modernism and deconstruction, as described above, were combined under the heading of collage, a viable structuring system might evolve. what is meant here is not the two-dimensional model proposed by rowe, although this could have value in the ordering of buildings as such. rykwert ( 1988: 7) spoke of a preference for " ... several, superimposed and easily recognisable patterns". this coincides with tschumi's concept of the pare de /a villette where he superimposed three geometrical patterns, each with its own identity. in an age where for many people the world of the electronic media is more real than the physical world, this concept allows for these media to form further layers. such layers do not need to coincide. in the past, the correlation of services, movement systems and built accommodation according to certain so-called rational principles comprised the core of the town planner's activity. here, a pragmatic approach, where 32 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 every system obeys its own rules with minimum interference, is propagated. where structuring layers cross or coincide, densification may be expected. a wide variety of urban conditions may be foreseen, in order to allow for a diversity of choices. the post-modern techniques of meeus and vroom, combined with the systems principles (the seven criteria), could then be used to determine planning in each area, according to the specific needs of its inhabitants. if this "key model" of a city were introduced, with its layered systems interacting and allowing an endless variety of lifestyles, cultures and opportunities, a richness and complexity unknown in the past might result. the most exciting aspect of the proposal is that neighbours within a single city may, according to their own personalities, habits and interests, choose to inhabit any (or several) of the many different superimposed cities. 2 [s.l.j(s.n.) [s.a.j style. 3 the evaluations are by the author. they have been submitted to a number of respected colleagues, who concur in principle. 33 figure 1: the union buildings, pretoria, 1910-12, by herbert baker. watercolor: william walcot. 1981. irving r.g. "indian summer" p. 288. 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 v') ll 0 :::) � � q) ·c c 0 a:i 0 v) v) q) 0 a:: 0 0 .r::. a... .....:. e ·o.. v) 0 i � q) c q) (.'.) ei :::, ..0 v) q) c c 0 .r::. 0 -, q) .r::. in q) :5 oj u::: 35 britz/architecture and the city key to diagrams 1 to 8 very concerned concerned sorneconcern • 4 0 no concern diagram 1 (i) l•l (iu) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer. audience and work understanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks diagram 2 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer. audience and work understanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks diagram 3 (i) (h) (ih) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer. audience and work understanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks diagram 4 (i) (ii) (ii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) 36 criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer. audience and work understanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks evaluation 0 evaluation 0 evaluation 0 0 evaluation • 0 0 0 • 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 diagram 5 criteria evaluation (i) (•l (ffi) (iv) (v) (vi) (vu) creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer, audience and work unde�tanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks diagram 6 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens evaluation 0 0 interaction between designer, audience and work unde�tanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks diagram 7 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer, audience and work unde�tanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement/ creation of authentic frameworks diagram 8 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (v11) criteria creation of a variety of meaningful existential spaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer. audience and work understanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban design recognition and expression of spirit of place reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks • 0 0 evaluation 0 • • • 0 0 evaluation • 0 • 0 • 0 37 c.:, 00 key to d1agram9 • = 3 4 = 2 0 = 1 = 0 creation of a variety of meaninaful existential soaces empathy with cultural specifics of citizens interaction between designer, audience and work understanding of psychological and social needs of inhabitants dialogue with and extension of traditions of urban desian recognition and expression of soirit of olace reinforcement / creation of authentic frameworks diagram 9 e � c: �� u� o 0 :;::: � oe ""e 0 q) c: q) q) q) "'"o ,g "o = "o 6 c: 0 0 "'0 q) � "'� �� z4 0 0 0 4 4 0 1/21 3/21 6/21 esi c: �o 0 0 u :;::: .e c ·;;; u q) 0 "' � "o "' "o8 0 q) -�c: � 0) "' 6 0 0 :0 6 q) u .,!. c5 e q) z q) cl >z0 "u v, 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 • 0 4 4 0 0 0 4 4 0 • 4 0 4 4 4 0 0 9/21 2/21 8/21 10/21 10/21 bibliography ashihara, y. 1983. the aesthetic town­ scape. cambridge, massachusetts: mit press. baxendall, m. 1985. patterns of intention. new haven: yale university press. blair, t.j. 1971. shelter in urbanising and industrialising africa. in: oliver, p. (ed) shelter in africa. london: barrie k. jenkins. boden, r. 1989. the urban designer as interpretant a case study from a developing country. unpublished ph.d. university of washington. britz, b.j. 1990. conceptual approaches in urban design and their applicability to an evolving african city. unpublished mud dissertation, university of the witwatersrand. broadbent, g. 1990. emerging concepts in urban space designs. london: von nostrand reinhold (inter­ national). brommer, v. 1993. the model of love. cambridge: cambridge uni­ versity press. calinescu, m. 1987. five faces of modernity. durham: duke university press. 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 capra, f. 1982. the turning point. london: flamingo fontana paperback. chaslin, f. 1988. transcontinental, in kurokawa, k. kisho kurokawa the architecture of symbiosis. new york: rizzoli. collins, p. 1965. changing ideals in modern architecture. london: faber & faber. denyer, s. 1978. african traditional archi­ tecture. london: heineman. ellis, w. 1979. type and context in urbanism. oppositions. no. 18. fall 1979. gombrich, e.h. 1963. tradition and expression in western still life. meditations on a hobby horse. london: phaidon. gombrich, e.h. 1980. four theories of artistic expression. aaq, vol.12. no. 4. gosling, d. & maitland, b. 1984. concepts of urban design. london: academy editions. gutman, r. 1990. taking care of architec­ ture. progressive architecture, 4 90. 39 britz/architecture and the city hadid, z. 1989. the city in planning. aa files. no. 18. autumn. irving, r.g. 1981 . indian summer: lutyens, baker and imperial delhi. new haven: yale university press. jencks, c. 1988. peter eisenmann, in jencks, c. (ed) deconstruction in architecture. london: aca­ demy. jones, e. 1990. metropolis. oxford: oxford university press. kurokawa, k. 1988. kisho kurokawa the architecture of symbiosis. new york: rizzoli. martin, r. j. 197 4. african paradox. the architect's journal, 30 october. meeus, j.h.a. & vroom, m.j. 1986. critique and theory in dutch landscape architecture. landscape and urban plan­ ning, vol. 13. 40 norberg-& schulz, c. 1979. kahn, heidegger and the language of architecture. oppositions, no. 18. nyberg, f. 1990. from bau-kunst to bau­ haus. final draft of unpublished lecture. rykwert, j. 1988. the idea of town. cambridge, massachusetts: mit press (paperback). steele, j. 1988. hasson fathy. london: academy editions. tschumi, b. 1988. pare de la villette, paris, in jencks, c. (ed) deconstruc­ tion in architecture. london: academy. wheatley, p. 1963. what the greatness of a city is said to be. pacific view­ point 4. wilson, j. 1966. thinking with concepts. cambridge: cambridge university press. articles • artikels rg pearl, a akintoye, pa bowen & c hardcastle analysis of tender sum forecasting by quantity surveyors and contractors in south africa peer reviewed abstract although extensive research has been undertaken on the accuracy of quantity surveyors' tender price forecasts, very little of this research contains information relating to the factors affecting tender sum forecasting by quantity surveyors and contractors. the primary objective of this empirical study was to gain insight into the factors influencing both quantity surveyors' and contractors' tender price forecasts. this was achieved through an analysis of tender information relating to 278 projects for a fifteen-year period and collected from 30 quantity-surveying practices and mbata tender records. the analysis of south african tender information reported in this article indicates an average forecast performance by quantity surveyors of 8.33% (std dev (standard deviation) = 11,183, cv (coefficient of variation) = 134,2%). the variability of contractors' tenders ranged from 0,37% to 46,53%, with a mean of 5,65% (std dev = 5,22, se (standard error) = 0,313). furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that forecast performance is dependent on type of project, client, function of project, size of project, location of project and number of bidders. the contractor's results suggest that local authority projects are associated with high variability of their tender sum forecasts. the only factor, which shows significance for quantity surveyors, is the date of tender which may tend to point to the importance of market conditions and economic cycle in the tender sum forecast performance of south african quantity surveyors. keywords: tender price forecasts, tender information, accuracy, building industry. professor rg pearl, school of civil engineering, surveying and construction, university of natal. professor a akintoye, department of building and surveying, glasgow caledonian university. professor pa bowen, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, rondebosch. professor c hardcastle, department of building and surveying, glasgow caledonian university. 5 acta structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) 'n analise van tenderprys-voorspellings deur suid-afrikaanse bourekenaars en kontrakteurs hoewel omvangryke navorsing gedoen is oor die akkuraatheid van bourekenaars se tenderprys-voorspellings, het min van hierdie navorsing inligting bevat aangaande die faktore wat die ramings van bourekenaars en kontrakteurs be'i'nvloed. die basiese oogmerk met die empiriese studie is om insig te bekom in die faktore wat 'n invloed uitoefen op bourekenaars en kontrakteurs se tenderprys­ voorspellings. dit is gedoen met behulp van 'n analise van tender-inligting oor 278 pro­ jekte wat oor 'n tydperk van vyftien jaar ingesamel deur dertig bourekenaarspraktyke en verkry is uit die tenderverslae van die westelike provinsie meesterbouers en verenigde handelsorganisasie (mbata). 'n analise van die suid-afrikaanse tender-inligting soos vervat in die artikel dui op 'n gemiddelde beraming van 8,33% deur bourekenaars (standaardafwyking = 11,183, koeffisient-afwyking = 134,2%). die kontrakteurs se tenders wissel tussen 0,37% en 46,53% met 'n gemiddelde van 5,65% (standaardafwyking = 5,22, standaardfout = 0,313). geen bewyse is gevind wat daarop dui dot die beramings afhanklik is van die tipe projek, die klient, die funksie, die omvang, die ligging 6f die aantal tenderaars nie. die kontrakteur se resultate dui daarop dot die plaaslike regerings se projekte moontlik verband hou met groot skommelinge in die tenderprys-voorspellings. die enigste beduidende faktor ten opsigte van bourekenaars is die tenderdatum wat moontlik dui op die belangrik­heid van marktoestande en die ekonomiese siklus in die tenderprys­ voorspellings van suid-afrikaanse bourekenaars. sleutelwoorde: tenderprys-voorspellings, tender-inligting, akkuraatheid, boubedryf. 6 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting introduction n umerous authors (barnes, 1974; adams & busch, 1981; bennett et al., 1981; flanagan & norman, 1983; betts & gunner, 1989; kwakye, 1994) have commented that absolute accuracy is virtually impossible to achieve in building price forecasts. the issue of what comprises an 'acceptable' degree of accuracy is inevitably linked to the aspect of expectation of performance by the client on the one hand, and achievement level of the estimator on the other. before any analysis of the accuracy of price predictions can logically be undertaken, consideration needs to be given to an appraisal of what is meant by the term 'accuracy'. previous attempts at defining accura­cy in terms of price forecasting in the building industry are questionable, most being based on the recognition of an "absence of error" when comparing the estimate with the price for which the work is contracted. flanagan and norman (1983) remark that this suggestion that the smaller the error, the higher the accuracy, and vice versa, whilst being partially true, is naive inasmuch as it requires a further definition of error. rapier (1990), however, suggests that for capital cost estimating "estimating accuracy is the degree of conformity of the estimate (our measure) to the final as-built project cost (our true value)". this definition suffers from the failing that no indication is giveri as to what extent of non-conformity is unacceptable, and would consequently be termed 'inaccuracy'. the proposal by true (1988) that accuracy is "the percent of difference between the estimated value of the product or work as compared to the price for which the product or work is contracted", although hinting that the process is quantifiable, is incomplete in terms of the need to provide parameters of acceptability. raftery (1987) introduces a different approach, when stating that the term should be considered in relation to "the etymology of the word 'accuracy' itself (exact, correct, from the latin accuratus, meaning performed with care)"; suggesting that it should be used to denote correctness or care in performance. in this article it is argued that an acceptable definition of the term, as applied to price forecasting in the building industry, should be based on the rationale of raftery (1987) given above, but additionally linking the performance to that which could reasonably be expected of an informed and suitably experienced estimator. 7 acta structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) bias, consistency and precision forecasting performance is often identified as consisting of two main properties: bias, which is concerned with the average of the differences (error) between prices and forecasts, and consistency, which is concerned with the degree of variation (dispersion) about the average (skitmore, 1990; gunner & betts, 1990; gunner & skitmore, 1999). many practitioners appear to confuse accuracy with precision (pearl, 1992). the two principles are totally different; it being quite possible to be precise, but inaccurate, and vice verso. the overall quality of perfor­ mance of the forecaster is usually considered in terms of the relationship between estimates and contract bids. the decision to measure the quan­ tity surveyor's estimating performance against the accepted (normally the lowest) tender, means that the assessment of accuracy is partially dependent upon the variability of the tender(s) chosen for this purpose. a number of measures of performance, such as the range, mean deviation, standard deviation and co-efficient of variation are described in the literature as measures of 'accuracy'. in effect, however, the blend­ing of these units of measure tends to reflect reliability of estimates, combining precision, bias, consistency and accuracy. factors influencing tender sum forecast accuracy it can be argued that the quantity surveyor's task in producing price forecasts should be to contemplate the same factors as the contractor takes into account in compiling the tender, so that the estimate produced reflects the actual project and its particular context, rather than an ideal or average situation otherwise presented. a brief review of published research on factors affecting the performance of both designs team price forecasters and contractors, is necessary to identify the principal features requiring detailed study. quantity surveyors pearl (l992) indicated that the expertise of the price forecaster and adequate and representative historical price data are the two most influential factors affecting the accuracy of pre-tender price forecasts produced by quantity surveyors in south africa. numerous other studies on the factors affecting estimating accuracy have been undertaken in other countries. beeston (1975), bennett et al. (1981), ashworth and skitmore (1982), flanagan and norman (1983), morrison (1984), skitmore (1987a), skitmore and tan (1987), and betts and gunner (1989) address a wide spectrum of issues affecting consultants' price forecasting per­formance. these are summarised by ogunlana (1989) in attempting to establish the most important elements with respect to estimating accuracy. 8 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle tender sum forecasting the factors examined in the studies include those related to project characteristics, such as the type, size, duration and geographi­cal location of the development; tender issues, including the number of bidders and the economic state of the construction market; the level of information available, and the ability of the estimator. the factors discussed below are those, which have been highlighted by previous researchers as being the most influential in price forecasting performance. type of project an examination of this factor needs to consider, firstly, the form of construction indexing, i.e. a classification structure such as the ci/sfb system, and secondly, what sub-division within each form should be separated. with regard to the building type to be identified, the researcher is essentially faced with a decision as to whether to use a formally identified structure (e.g. ci/sfb building classification system), or to rely on a subjective classification of building types, based on typical use. further subdivision, such as project value and floor area/volume, are dealt with separately under the heading of 'project size'. the issues of quality, structure type, and plan shape, are considered under the section of 'project complexity'. a further important consideration is whether any trend specific to a building type is caused by a strong relationship with one of the possible subdivisions referred to above (e.g. power stations being considered structurally complex); or if the trend is essentially due to the specific esti \mator being more familiar with a particular use of building (e.g. a quantity surveying firm handling many school projects). a study of the literature reveals numerous examples of variable estimating performance between different forms of construction or building types. however, in many instances it is not easy to clearly deter­mine the primary cause for such variance. for instance, a cause of variability in any set of figures could be that not all the estimates tested are produced by the same estimator, or by estimators with the same background or ability. the evidence from the following studies suggests that estimating accu­racy achieved by consultants relates directly to project type. mccaffer's (1976) analysis of 132 belgian public works building projects and 168 belgian road projects reveals that the estimates for the building con­tracts are less accurate (5,2% mean underestimation) than those for the road projects (l ,5% mean underestimation). complicating this analysis, however, is the fact that the estimates for the building projects are more consistent than those for the road contracts. 9 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) the results of harvey's (1979) analysis of 2401 canadian public works contracts let between 1973 and 1976, indicate that the accuracy levels of the building contracts in the large sample are generally slight­ly poorer than those for non-building contracts. a report produced in the same year by merrow et al (1979), describes unusually high inaccuracy levels in nuclear power plant estimates, implying that the level of accu­ racy achievable on 'new' or unique types of construction is very poor. this assertion is consistent with the record of substantial estimating errors occurring on 'one-off' structures and is ostensibly related to the magni­tude of uncertainty on such contracts. the property services agency (1980) observes from an analysis of the estimates obtained from six separate uk public sector quantity-survey­ing offices, that housing and school projects are associated with higher degrees of accuracy than other building types. in addition, estimating tends to be better on types of projects with which the estimator has had extensive personal experience, such familiarity being associated with an up to 40% improvement in forecasting accuracy. similar results are also reported by skitmore (1985) in experiments conduct­ ed with a small number of quantity surveyors in which quite different low bid/estimate ratios are recorded between schools and houses on the one hand, and offices on the other. the only analysis of this factor found to reflect a contrary opinion to that described above is that of skitmore (1988). a total of 33 uk local authority-building contracts of different types of use were examined, and no significant differences in bias of percentage errors between the project types or any difference in consistency was detect­ ed. the small sample size is possibly the reason for these different findings. project complexity this is perhaps the most difficult factor to define in terms of a standard for measurement purposes. tan (1988) states that complexity is also subject to changing technology; what is considered technological­ly complicated today may well be considered commonplace in a short period, due to advances through research, or continued appli­ cation and development through experience/expertise. the limited number of studies pertaining to aspects of this design fea­ ture deal either with a) design aspects such as plan shape or complex­ity of design detail, or b) the differences between 'new' building work and alterations to existing structures. tan ( 1988), in analysing the results of his study of 6 7 construction projects for nasa, contends that the pro­jects classified as "sophisticated" and those with a plan shape described as "very irregular", are the most consistently accurately 10 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle tender sum forecasting estimated with an underestimation of less than 0,5%. however, skitmore (1988), in referring to the same data, presents a contradictory opinion. in his view, consistency of estimates generally deteriorates with increas­ingly complex designs. in analysing 33 local authority building projects, tan (1988) indicates that the accuracy of estimates of alteration work is higher than those of new build construction. skitmore (1988), in com­menting on these projects, notes that the alteration work is less biased than the 'new building works', but places the findings in their correct context by observing that, because of the limited sample sizes, in none of the instances quoted is the magnitude of the results significant. the complexity factor is likely to be more significant in the decision­ making process in the very earliest stages of design development than at the pre�tender stage. the ability to conceive, and allow for extra costs due to complexities in the initial phase of project development, could be a significant factor in assessing the expertise of an estimator. project size recognition of the effect that project size has on price forecasting performance appears at first to be easier to establish than some of the other factors studied. however, closer examination indicates that contractors face the forecaster with a complex situation, involving con­ sideration of aspects as diverse as the measurement of the physical properties of buildings, and the psychological approach to the compilation of tenders. 'project size' can be construed to mean the physical parameters of the building (e.g. height, area, volume), or a defined interpretation associ­ated with the 'value' (i.e. either cost of erection, price paid by client, or intrinsic value to a party). the only study found linking price forecasting performance and physical measurements of buildings is that of tan (1988). tan notes, from the analysis of the 67 projects built for nasa, that consistency of estimates improves with increasing floor area. however, he also comments that a similar analysis of 33 buildings erected for a local authority in the uk reveals no apparent trend of this nature. a complication when reflecting on appraisals based on building value, is that many authors refer to 'small' and 'large' projects without due attention to what these terms may convey. from the perspective of the consultant quantity surveyor, a small firm (possibly comprising only a sole proprietor, such as is common in south africa, billett (l990) may consider a project of rl million as a 'large' project, while a larger firm may classify the same project as 'small'. in searching for reasons why larger projects may attract better estimating accuracy, ogunlana and thorpe (1991) suggest that a major cause could be the managerial 11 acta structilia 2003: l 0(1 & 2) aspect that favours keener cost estimating (tendering) in high value pro­jects. in support of this theory, it is suggested that as construction cost estimates are costly to prepare, only large projects can justify devoting much time to this activity. once more, no recognition is given to differ­ing interpretations of worth to other parties. 'small' contracting firms may adopt a perfectly acceptable level of attention to the compilation of tender estimates for jobs of lesser value. a large measure of contradictory opinion, with respect to the effect on forecasting performance of project size, is presented in the literature in both theoretical and empirical studies. a comprehensive literature search reveals that the only researchers suggesting that building size (value of contract) has no effect on the quantity surveyor's accuracy of price forecasting, are mccaffer (1976) and wilson et al. (1987). even less support is provided for the belief that accuracy of estimates is reduced with increasing project size. the only evidence of such an opinion is provided by harvey (1979) in a thesis on competitive bidding on canadian public construction projects. the vast majority of researchers appear to support the suggestion that quantity surveyors' estimating generally tends to improve with increasing project size. the property services agency's (1980) comprehensive research study is the earliest reliable reference source indicating this opinion, although it is observed that contrasting results are found in different data sources used for the study. skitmore (1988), in commenting on tan's (1988) research, notes that there is a general trend of improving accuracy with increasing contract value. this tendency appears to be fairly widespread, as indicated by the results of a statistical analysis carried out by betts and gunner (1989) on projects handled by an international firm of cost consultants in their singapore offices. ogunlana and thorpe (1991) and mills (1991) achieved similar results, in case studies on large numbers of contracts of varying value in the uk and australia, respectively. in both instances the projects studied are arbitrarily divided into different value ranges. further to the above, skitmore et al. (1990) conclude that price fore­ casters tend to under-estimate smaller and/or over-estimate larger size building projects. no reason is given for this phenomenon but it is possibly due to differing psychological approaches being adopted by estimators, such as the fear of possibly greater magnitude of repercus­ sions relating to 'errors' on large projects often done for major clients. this does not necessarily imply unprofessional conduct in respect of smaller appointments; merely a possible over-anxiety to perform well on the 'more important' projects. 12 pearl, akintoye, bowen & h ardcastle • tender sum forecasting another interesting observation of skitmore et al. ( l 990) is the implication that low price intensity contracts (based on rate per floor area) are more accurately forecast than high price intensity projects. again, no reasons to explain this phenomenon are provided. however, it is presumed that while this may be relevant in the early stage estimating systems (e.g. single-price rate methods), it is unlikely to be applicable at the pre-tender stage if bills of quantities are utilised. notwithstanding the opinions expressed above, it would appear as if project size is strongly linked to other factors, such as type of project, complexity, number of bidders, and quite possibly to individual estima­ tors' pricing philosophy. skitmore et al. ( l 990) reflect a similar view when commenting on the research of flanagan and norman (1983). the opinion is expressed that differences in relationships recorded between sets of data "seem to indicate that, if a contract size (value) biasing effect does exist, it is not universal in either its strength or direction, but somehow dependent on the source of the forecast" (skitmore et al. 1990: 9). number of bidders as expected, evidence indicates that the number of tenderers per project fluctuates according to the economic climate being experi­ enced. the study by hindle (1991 ), although reflecting a regional condition in south africa, is likely to represent the national situation fair­ ly, confirming this assertion. there are mixed opinions with regard to the effect that the number of bidders has on tender prices. wyskida (1986) is one of the few researchers to suggest that the number of bidders has no effect on tender price. most researchers, including mccaffer (1976), wilson et al. (1987), skitmore (1987b), and mills (1991 ), contend that, as the number of tenders increases, so the average value of the tenders fall. runeson and bennett ( 1983) observe that as the competition increases, not only does the price level fall, but the accuracy of the contractors' cost estimates on which the tenders are based, is improved, and the mark-up becomes more consistent. flanagan and norman (1985) suggest that little is to be gained from inviting more than five contractors with single stage selective tendering. other authors appear to support this view (drew 1990; mills 1991 ), commenting that to call for a larger number of tenderers only adds to the cost of the tendering process. however, the studies conducted to date on the effect of the number of bids on the price forecaster's accuracy have not provided conclusive results. ogunlana and thorpe (1991 ), in stating that the relationship between number of bidders on a contract and estimate accuracy evolves from 13 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) the degree of competition amongst bidders, propose that as projects with more bidders are expected to provide wider variability between tenders, design price forecasts may consequently be less accurate. the probable effect of this condition is that prices will be lower than those anticipated by the estimator, possibly resulting in over-estimation. other researchers indicate that as the number of bidders increases, price forecasters' accuracy improves. prominent amongst these authors are de neufville et als' (1977) analysis of data on all new construction costing over $1 00 ooo by the commonwealth of massachusetts bureau of building construction from 1961 to 1974. the result is a curved negative relationship between low bid/engineers' estimate ratios and the number of bids received. the findings of harvey (1979), flanagan (1980), and hanscomb associates' (1984) analysis of low bid/engineers' estimate ratios on over 11 00 us projects between 1977 and 1983, also indicate a significant trend towards improved performance with increasing numbers of tenders. contrary to the findings of the majority of previous studies in the field, the results of skitmore et als' (1990) experiments indicate that no correlation exists between competitive intensity and forecasting perfor­mance. more recent empirical evidence in support of this theory is provided by an analysis of 51 projects undertaken by ogunlana and thorpe (1991), showing no apparent trend in the mean accuracy. the linkage of this factor with others requires careful consideration an example being the assertion by skitmore (1987b), citing de neufville et al. (1977), that the good/bad year effect is separate from the number of bidders. this phenomenon needs to be studied carefully in other geo­graphical locations such as south africa, in order to establish the validity of their findings under different market conditions. further, when studying the 'project size' factor, the situation in south africa regarding the availability of contractors differs significantly from that commented upon in overseas literature. there are very few large contracting firms in south africa that are able to compete for large projects. although the effect of large numbers of tenderers on price forecasters' accuracy is expected to be the same as experienced overseas, it is anticipated that the result of combining project size and number of bidders may be entirely different. geographical location of project location exerts a powerful influence on the major components of construction cost and also on the manner in which building design is performed. avery (1982) identifies locational influences that may have an affect on the cost of executing work to any given design and 14 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting consequently concerns tenderers as well as those engaged in forecast­ ing tender levels. features mentioned are: a) remoteness from source of material supply, b) labour cost and productivity, c) water, power and sewage supplies, d) water and power for the works and mechanical plant, e) security, f) climate and weather, g) regional market conditions or climate of tendering, and h) local tendering customs. in south africa, with its wide range of climatic and geographic conditions, virtually all of the above locational influences are consid­ ered pertinent. even within relatively small geographic regions, certain of these factors may play an important part in the tendering strategy (e.g. differences in price levels of construction between neighbouring areas due to political violence). this allowance for 'local area' adjustments is often considered more difficult to make than that for working in distant regions. conclusions drawn from overseas experience (which is minimally recorded) can be considered inappropriate for south africa. it is of interest, however, to note that whilst harvey's (1979) analysis of variance shows significant differences in estimating bias across the six canadian regions studied, the results emanating from ogunlana and thorpe's (1991) empirical research are contrar y to their expectations. wilson et al. (1987) conclude their study by stating that it would appear as if location has no bearing on the accuracy of estimates. contractors few published papers reflect the impact of influencing factors on accuracy levels of contractors' estimates (akintoye, 2000). however, the literature does point to the influence of certain factors such as project size and number of bidders, which are described below. project size/value only three reference sources dealing with this factor in relation to the tendering performance of building contractors are referred to in the literature. the first study, presented by drew and skitmore (1990) dealing with the bidding performance of contractors on certain public sector projects in hong kong between l 982 and 1988, provides a number of interesting results. their findings confirm flanagan and norman's (1982) contention that "tendering strategy in general is affected by the type of project and value range". the study by shash and ai-khaldi (1992) which relates to the production of construction cost estimates in saudi arabia, similarly indicates that this factor has a major effect on the production of accurate estimates. 15 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) number of bidders empirical studies indicate that under conditions in which a contractor is forced by competition to lower the mark-up, there is a likelihood that this will be compensated for by attempting to improve the accuracy of the cost estimate (runeson & bennett, 1983). it is reasoned that a greater number of tenders is likely to reduce the lowest bid (beeston, 1983; runeson & bennett, 1983; flanagan & norman, 1985) and produce a larger range between the lowest and highest tender (goh & teo, 1992). mccaffer (1976), in a survey of tenders on 168 road contracts, investi­ gated the relationship between the low bid, the mean bid and the design engineers estimate, finding that the standard deviation of the differences decreases with the increasing number of bidders. a possible explanation for this phenomenon is that the nature of the projects leads to greater consistency in tendering on these contracts. summary an awareness of the effect that the above factors can have on a ten­ derer's pricing strategies is important to design consultants. an under­ standing of these issues may be constructively used to refine pre-tender estimates and to select contractors for inclusion in tender lists. the preceding review provides a summary of available literature on the measurement of accuracy in both quantity surveyors' and contractors' tender price forecasting. this provides a basis upon which the assess­ ment of an empirical study of south african estimating performance can be structured. the factors identified for this study are those that are indicated by the literature as being the most influential in price forecasting effectiveness. methodology the small size and structure of the typical south african quantity survey­ing firm (billett, 1990) results in a relatively low number of building contracts being handled by one practice. in order to gain access to a significantly large amount of data on tenders and related estimates, it was necessary to establish contact with a large number of firms. it was thought that support from practitioners on the sensitive matter of tender information (typically confidential), could best be achieved by approaching firms individually. the need to adopt this personalised approach means that the scope of information base for the study is limited to the cape peninsula geographic area of south africa. this area is responsible for a high proportion of construction activity; and apart from this it is an important commercial and industrial centre for the south african economy. 16 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting the projects for which tender information was collected and the names of the quantity surveying firms responsible for these projects, were obtained from the tender submission diaries of the cape peninsula master builders' and allied trades' association (mbata). the tender database of mbata contains a total of l 086 projects over a fifteen-year period. from the database 38 quantity surveying practices were identified as being currently active and were approached for tender information on projects listed under their names. thirty practices provided the details requested relating to 278 projects for the period reviewed. a gen­eral problem was the difficulty in providing information on projects put out to tender up to 5 years prior to the investigation. another problem, which may be regarded a shortcoming of this study, is that a small minority of firms appeared to have provided information on a selective basis, by providing information on projects where their forecast is regarded close to the contractor's accepted tender sum. tender information collected for each project included the location of the project (location), tender sums submitted by contractors for each project, number of tenders (nobid), and the quantity surveyor tender forecast. other information collected comprised type of project (new work or alteration), client or sector (private sector, local authority and central government), name of the contract, date of tender (year), classification of work (classifn based on ci/sfb classifications), amount of provisional sums and pc sums. seven locations for the study were identified within the cape peninsula. for the purpose of the empirical analysis, the contractor's accepted tender sum (tender price at which the project was awarded, which was in most cases the lowest tender) formed the basis for the analysis. based on the tender information for each project the contractors' tender coefficient of variation (ctr cov) for each project was determined. the contractor's accepted tender sum was used as a measure of the project size (projsize), which was further classified as a small, medium, large or mega-sized project. deviation of the quantity surveyor's forecast from the contractor's accepted tender sum for each project was determined and represented as a percentage. an absolute value of this percentage deviation (qsdevabs) was used as a measure of the tender forecast performance of quantity surveyors. deviation of the contrac­tor's acceptable tender from the mean tender for each project, expressed as a percentage of the contractor's acceptable tender sum, was also determined (bidrang). the empirical analyses were carried out based on the hypothesis that the factors location, year, type, sector, nobid, classifn, projsize influence quantity surveyors' forecasting performance (qsdevabs) and 17 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) contractors' bids variability (ctr cov). inspection of available data for the sample projects revealed that it was possible for a comparative analysis of both consultant and contractor price forecasting performance to be conducted simultaneously. data analysis and results statistical analyses, such as descriptive analysis, cross-tabulation, analysis of variance (anova), and linearity were employed in the empir­ical analysis of the data. the analyses were undertaken using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss). the empirical analysis produced the aescript,ve statistics (mean, standard deviation and coef­ficienr of variation (cv)) for eacn of the independent variables (type, sector, nobid, classifn, location, projsize, and year) based on the dependent variables (qsdevabs and ctr cov). the anova tests the null r1ypothesis that the mean of tne depenaent variables is equal in all the groupings defined by the independent variables. where the null hypoth­esis is accepted it suggests that the dependent variable is not affected by that independent variable. the eta statistics produced measure the strength of association between the dependent and independent variables. a test of the mean linearity between the dependent and independent variables was produced. this test produces the anova, which tests the null hypothesis that the mean of the dependent variables is a linear function of the value of the independent variable. the correlation coef­ ficients for the relationships are also produced. in both these anova tests, the f statistics and probability were produced; where p<0,05 implies that the null hypothesis is rejected at the 5% significant level, suggesting that the dependent variable is affected by the independent variable. the presentation of the descriptive statistics enables the level of accuracy of the dependent variable to be determined and provides more information when cross-tabulated with the independent variables. 18 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting tender sum forecast performance of the quantity surveying practices table 1 depicts the accuracy of the quantity surveying price forecasts grouped into 5 categories. table l : quantity surveyors' level of price forecast performance frequency percentage cumulative percentage 144 51,8 51,8 64 21,0 74,8 48 17,3 -r 92, i i 17 6,1 1 98,2 1 1,8---i level of performance 0-5% 6-10% 11-25% 26-50% over 50% 5 100,0 __, the absolute percentage devim1on of the quantity surveyors' 1ure,custs from the contractors' accepted render sum ranged from 0.00% to 88,37%, with a mean of 8,33% (standard deviation = 11,183; standard error (se) = 0,6 71 ). the forecast performance frequency is positively skewed (skewness = 3,161, se = 0, 146) with a high pearson's coefficient of skewness' (sk = 0,745). about 52% of the quanrity surveyors were able to forecast the contractor's accepted tender price to within ±5%, while almost 75% were able to predict to within the ± l 0% level of accu­racy. this result is consistent with beeston's (1975) opinion that the best that quantity surveying estimating procedures can be expected to produce in practical terms, is 52% of estimates within 5% and 84% of estimates within l 0% of the lowest tender, once the detailed design stage is completed. table 2 shows anova (analysis of variance) and linearity test results, which indicate the extent to which the quantity surveyors' performance in forecasting the contractor's accepted tender is determined by the size of project, the type of client, type of work, location of project, classification of work, number of bidders and the date (year) of tender. the table shows that the strength of association between the quantity surveyors' forecast performance and each factor listed is generally low (eta ranged between 0, l 00 and 0,309). the highest strength of associ­ation is due to date of tender (year) with eta of 0,309. anova results show that, with the exception of date of tender, there is no evidence that the forecast performance of the quantity surveyors is affected by any of the other factors. the linearity tests show no significant linear relationship between quantity surveyors' forecast performance and any of the factors, with the exception of the date of tender. pearson's coefficient of skewness, sk, is a measure of skewness that focuses on the diff&rsnce oeiween the mode and the mean, and then relates it ta the standard deviation. 19 acta structilia 2003: l 0(l & 2) table 2: statistical analysis on forecast performance of quantity surveyors anova linearity dependent independent variables variables eta fprob. correlation f prob. statistics statistics coefficient location 0.182 1.854 0.103 not opplicoble classifn 0.186 1.384 0.212 not applicable type 0.016 0.070 0.791 not applicable sector 0,028 qsdevabs 0,106 0.899 not applicable projsize 0.100 0.928 0.428 0.200 0.655 nobid 0.166 1.532 0.180 1.559 0.213 year 0,309 2,134 0,013 8,502 0,004 ctr cov 0.148 1.006 0.422 1.527 0,218 -0.027 0.075 -0,171 0,074 there is insignificant negative relationship between the quantity survey­ ors' forecast performance and project size. tables 3 to 7 indicate the cross-tabulation of qsdevabs with classification of work (classifn), type of work (type), type of client (sector), size of projects (projsize) and number of bidders (nobids), respectively. the tables show that the coef­ficient of variation (cv), which measures the degree of consistency in projects' tender sum forecasts by the quantity surveyor, is more than l 00% in all cases. 'count' in each case refers to the cumulative count. table 3 shows the cv of forecast performance of quantity surveyors in relation to the classification of work. and indicates that the highest degree of consistency relates to residential buildings, followed by utilities projects such as health clinics. the lowest degree of consistency relates to commercial projects, followed by religious buildings. an explanation for the poor price forecast performance relating to religious projects (e.g. churches, mosques) could be that this type of project is not under­taken on a regular basis by the practices. this explanation is supported by the fact that. of the 278 projects spanning 15 years, data relating to only 9 religious projects are included in the analysis. commercial projects have the highest number of projects (76 out of 278 projects in the analysis). the share number of commercial projects included in the analysis raises the possibility of the inclusion of outliers. although this share number will tend to suggest that the practices should be more familiar with this type of project with a consequence of better forecasting performance, it is not unusual for commercial projects to be more complex in design, scope and construc­tion. moreover, commercial projects are usually associated with the use of new materials and technology, all of which could contribute to the comparatively poor forecasting performance by quantity surveyors. the residential, utilities and industrial projects are associated with better forecasting performance than other types of projects, which could be explained by their simplicity of design, construction, and scope. 20 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting table 3: forecast performance of quantity surveyors' estimates in relation to classification of work sid quantity surveyors' level of forecast performance projects mean cv deviation count over % 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 50,0% 50,0% utilities 5.52 6.41 116.06 count 10 17 18 19 % 52,7 89,5 94,8 100 industrial 5.52 6,41 116,07 count 19 27 36 37 % 51,3 72,9 97,2 100 commercial 8.33 12,97 155.73 count 40 57 70 74 76 % 52.6 75,0 92,l 97,4 100 health 5.86 6.57 112.20 count 17 20 24 25 25 % 68.0 80.0 96,0 100 100 recreational 7,74 10,66 137,84 count 9 14 15 17 % 53.0 82.4 88.3 100 religious 12.29 18.15 147,62 count 5 7 7 8 9 % 55.5 77,7 77.7 88.8 100 educational 11,99 14.45 120.53 count 20 31 42 46 48 % 41,7 64.6 87,5 95.8 100 residential 7,74 8,64 111,57 count 24 35 44 47 % 74.5 93,7 100 average for all 8.33 11,18 134.23 totals 208 256 273 278 projects % 51.l 144 51.8 74,8 92,l 98,2 100 table 4 shows, contrary to expectation, that the cv for alteration projects is better than that for new work. quah's (1988) study suggests that refurbish­ment work, because of the uncertainty inherent in such work and the problems associated with pricing alterations work. is generally associated with a low degree of accuracy of tender sum forecast. the results emanating from the analysis of the south african data do not support the findings of quah's uk empirical study. table 4: forecast performance of quantity surveyors' estimates in relation to type of work sid quantity surveyors' level of forecast performance type of work mean deviation cv count over % 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 50,0% 50,0% new work 8.4412 11,6270 137,74 count 106 148 186 197 201 % 52.8 73,7 92.6 98,l 100 alteration work 8.0432 9.9955 124.27 count 38 60 70 76 77 % 49,4 78,0 91.0 98.8 100 average for all 8,3309 11, 1827 134,23 totals 144 208 256 273 278 projects % 51.8 74,8 92,l 98,2 100 table 5 shows that the highest consistency in the performance of quan­tity surveyors' forecasts of the anticipated lowest tender figure is associ­ated with local government projects, followed by private sector projects and central government projects. the results, however, should be treated with circumspection given the bias in the raw data towards pri­vate sector projects (72%). 21 acta structilia 2003: 10[ l & 2) table 5: forecast performance of quantity surveyors' estimates in relation to the type of client sid quantity surveyors' level of forecast performance projects mean deviation cv count over 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 50,0% 50,0% private 8,176 10,968 134,15 count 101 150 183 196 199 % 50,7 75,3 91,9 98.4 100 local govt 8,927 11,612 130,08 count 31 43 54 58 59 % 52,5 72,8 91,5 98,3 100 central govt 8,109 12.504 154.20 count 12 15 19 19 20 % 60,0 75,0 95,0 0,95 100 average for all 8,331 11,183 134,23 totals 144 208 256 273 278 projects % 51,8 74,8 92.l 98.2 100 table 6 suggests that both small and ver y large projects are associated with poor forecasting performance. the reasons are not immediately apparent although the results in respect of large projects are in line with overseas trends. the performance achieved on small projects is not surprising as a feature of these projects is a large number of bidders. this would normally be expected to result in unstable tendering conditions with consequential difficulties being experienced by consultants in estimating tender prices. table 6: forecast performance of quantity surveyors' estimates in relation to size of projects sid quantity surveyors' level of forecast performance projects mean cv deviation count over 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 50,0% 50,0% small' 7,92 10,62 134,07 count 55 82 95 101 103 % 53.4 79,6 92,2 98.0 100 medium 10,02 13,13 130,95 count 35 56 73 79 81 % 43,2 69,l 90,l 97,5 100 large 7, 16 8,69 121,29 count 28 37 47 50 % 56,0 74,0 94,0 100,0 mega 7,50 11, 10 148.06 count 26 33 41 43 44 % 59,l 75,0 93,2 97,7 100 average tor all 8,33 11, 18 134,23 totals 144 208 256 273 278 projects % 51.8 74,8 92,l 98,2 100 given the number of projects involved in the analysis, table 7 suggests that quantity surveyors are most likely to achieve a high level of forecasting performance with 7 to 8 bidders. the most likely reason for this is the potential for distorted tendering patterns when either very small or very large tender lists are encountered. 22 note: small projects (<rl million); medium projects (rl-2,5 million); large projects (r2,5-5 million); mega projects (>r5 million). pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting table 7: forecast performance of quantity surveyors' estimates in relation to the number of bidders sid quantity surveyors' level of forecast performance bidders mean cv deviation count over 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 50,0% 50,0% 2 4 bidders 8.39 10,76 128.26 count 15 21 25 29 29 % 51,70 72.40 86.10 99,90 100 5 6 bidders 8.42 12.86 152.67 count 40 61 73 76 78 % 51,30 78,20 93,60 97.40 100 7 • 8 bidd8!s 7,02 7,93 112,97 count 32 51 64 65 66 % 48.40 77,20 96,90 98.40 100 9 i o bidd8!s 6.79 9,09 133,94 count 36 45 56 57 58 % 62,00 77,50 96,40 98,10 100 11 14 bidders 10,97 13,87 126.42 count 15 23 29 33 34 % 44,10 67,60 0,85 97,00 100 (>;sf 14 bidders 14,28 14.62 102.39 count 6 7 9 13 % 46,20 53,90 69,30 100 av8!oge fo! all 8.33 11.18 134,23 totals 144 208 256 273 278 projects % 51.80 74,80 92.10 98,20 100 overall, these results suggest that the forecast performance of contrac­tors' accepted tender sums by quantity surveyors in south africa is not affected by any of the independent variables, with the exception of the date of tender. moreover, the fact that date of tender is significant in the analysis tends to suggest that the forecast performance of quantity surveyors is affected by the market conditions dictated by the turbulent economy cycle within south africa. analysis of variability of contractors' tenders fine (1974), beeston (1875), ashworth and skitmore (1982), runeson and bennett (1983), hodgetts (1987), newton (1991) and betts and brown (1992) have all commented on the wide distribution of prices between the lowest and highest tenders submitted on projects. the contributing factors responsible for the differences cited were cost structures of firms, disparate competitive strategies, and familiarity with particular type of projects and market conditions. table 8 shows the variability of the contractors' tenders grouped into 5 categories. the variability of the contractors' tenders ranged from 0,37% to 46,53%, with a mean of 5,65% (standard deviation = 5,22, se = 0,313). 23 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) table 8: variability of contractors' tenders varlablity frequency percentage cumulative level percentage 0-2,5% 40 14,39 14.39 2,6%-5,0% 116 41,73 56.12 6,0 10,0% 96 34,53 90,65 11,0 25.0% 22 7,91 98.56 over 25.0% 4 1.44 100.00 the variability performance frequency is positively skewed (skewness = 5,012, se = 0, 146). it is noteworthy that 90,6% of contractors' tender variability lies within the 1 0% accuracy margin, compared to the price forecasting performance of quantity surveyors, where 75% of the quantity surveyors sampled forecast the contractor's lowest tender price within the ± 1 0% level of accuracy. table 9 shows anova and linearity test results which indicate the extent to which the variability of the contractors' tenders is influenced by the size of project, the type of client. type of work, location of project, clas­ sification of work, number of bidders and the date (year) of tender. table 9: statistical analysis of the variability of contractors' tenders anova linearity dependent independent variables variables eta fprob. fprob. correlation statistics statistics coefficient location 0.135 1,012 0,411 not opplicoble classifn 0.125 0.608 0.749 not opplicoble type 0,043 0,520 0,471 not opplicoble ctrs cov sector 0,120 2.010 o. 136 not opplicoble projsize 0,103 0,978 0.404 2,007 qsabsdev 0,239 2.730 0,014 2,837 bidrang 0,629 44.743 0.000 128,412 year 0.232 1.152 0,316 4,986 nobids 0,122 0,816 0.539 l.780 1.158 0,093 0.000 0.026 0,183 -0.085 0.099 0.533 0.134 0,080 the table shows that the strength of association between the contrac­ tors' tender variability and the listed factors (with the exception of bidrange, eta = 0,629) is generally low, with eta ranging from 0, 1 03 to 0,239. the high strength of association between the contractors' tenders' coefficient of variation and bidrange is not unexpected, given that the two variables can indeed be used to measure contractors' bid variabil­ity. anova results also show that, with the exception bidrange and qsabsdev. there is no evidence that the variability of the contractors' tenders is influenced by any other factors. the linearity tests show no significant linear relationship between the contractors' bid variability 24 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting and any other factors, with the exception of bidrange. there is an insignificant negative relationship between the contractors' bid variabil­ity and project size. the results suggest that the contractors' tender price variability in south africa is not affected by any of the listed independent variables. tables 10 to 14 show the cross-tabulation of ctr cov with classification of work (classifn), type of work (type), type of client (sector), size of projects (projsize) and number of bidders (nobids), respectively. the tables also depict the cv of the contractors' tender variability. table l 0: contractors' bid variability in relation to classification of work sid contractors' bid variability projects mean cv deviation count over 2,5% 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 25,0% utilities 6.56 3.51 53.53 count 1 7 16 19 % 5,26 36.84 84,21 100 industrial 5,01 2,59 51.81 count 7 20 34 37 % 18,92 54,05 91,89 100 commercial 5.30 5.93 111,95 count 14 50 71 74 76 % 18.42 65,79 93.42 97,37 100 health 5.07 2.49 49,08 count 2 13 24 25 % 8.00 52.00 96,00 100 recreotional 4,53 1,97 43,60 count 2 10 17 % 11.76 58.82 100 religious 6.62 3.51 53,05 count 5 6 9 % 55.56 66,67 100 educational 6,10 6,67 109,39 count 8 28 43 47 48 % 16,67 58,33 89,58 97,92 100 residential 6.44 6.49 100.79 count 6 23 41 46 47 % 12,77 48,94 87,23 97,87 100 average tor all 5.65 5.22 92.43 totals 40 156 252 274 278 projects % 14,39 56,12 90,65 98.56 100 table 10 indicates that the contractors' tender variability in respect of commercial, educational and residential buildings is high (over 100%). however, the anova tests do not suggest that this is highly significant compared with other project classifications. further layer cross-tabulation analyses do not show that higher variability of the contractors' tenders associated with commercial, educational and residential building functions could be explained by any factors other than the higher-than-average number of projects (average per building function = 35) included in the analysis for commercial (76), educational (48) and residential (47) projects. religious buildings have the highest contractors' tender variability, which could be explained by the low number of projects of this type undertaken by contractors. utilities projects, typically associated with a wide range of construction methods and the extensive use of mechanical plant, also display a high level of contractors' tender variability, 25 acta structilia 2003: l0(l & 2) table 11 does not indicate any significant difference in the variability of the contractors' tenders between new work and alteration work. table 12 shows that the contractors' bids are highly variable in respect of local authority projects in comparison with private sector and central govern­ment projects. table l l : contractors' bid variability in relation to the type of work sid controctors' bid voriobility type of work mean deviation cv count 2,5% 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% over % 25,0% new work 5,51 4,97 90.16 count 30 115 181 199 201 % 14,93 57,21 90,05 99,00 100 alteration worlc 6.02 5,86 97.30 count 10 41 7l 75 77 % 12,99 53,25 92,21 97,40 100 average for all 5,65 5,22 92.43 totals 40 156 252 274 278 projects % 14,39 56,12 90,65 98,56 100 tobie 12: contractors' bid variability in relation to the type of client sid contractors' bid variability projects mean cv deviation count over 2,5% 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 25,0% private 5,29 3,54 66,90 count 32 113 179 198 199 % 16,08 56.78 89,95 99.50 100 local govt 6,83 9,21 134,77 count 8 36 53 56 59 % 13,56 61.02 89,83 94,92 100 central govt 5.78 l.65 28.64 count 7 20 % 35,00 100 average tor all 5,65 5,22 92,43 toto� 40 156 252 274 278 projects % 14,39 56,12 90,65 98,56 100 further analysis within the confines of the data shows that the only factor that could have explained the high variability associated with local authority projects (mean = r4,65 million, std = 6,43 million) is the size of those projects compared with those initiated by the private sector (mean = r2,55 million, std = 3,96 million) and central government (mean = r2,45 million, std = 2,06 million) projects. the fact that large projects are associated with higher variability of contractors' tenders is reflected in table 13, with mega-sized projects having a cv of 172,48%. although the small-sized projects display the highest mean variability, the tender sum forecasts by contractors within this group are the most con­sistent, with a cv of 57,45%. whilst the reason for this performance is not obvious, it is possibly a result of the familiarity that local contractors hove developed with this size of project. it is noticeable that l 83 of a total of 278 projects analysed foll into the 'small/medium' categories. 26 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting table 13: contractors' bid variability in relation to the size of the project sid contractors' bid variability projects mean cv deviation count over % 2,5% 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 25,0% small 6.33 3,64 57.45 count 6 44 87 103 % 5,83 42.72 84,47 100 medium 5,39 4,66 86.47 count 9 46 77 80 81 % 11,11 56.79 95,06 98,77 100 large 4,99 4,02 80,57 count 10 32 46 49 50 % 20.00 64,0 92,00 98,00 100 mega 5,31 9,15 172,48 count 15 34 42 42 44 % 34,09 77,27 95,45 95,45 100 average for all 5,65 5.22 92,43 tota� 40 156 252 274 278 projects % 14,39 56.12 90,65 98,56 100 table 14 shows that, although the 5 to 6 bidders range has the lowest contractors' tender variability (mean cv= 4,93), followed by the 7 to 8 bidders range (mean cv = 5,26), with the exception of over 14 bidders, the 7 to 8 bidders range displays the highest consistency of tender sum forecast performance by contractors with a cv of 53%. table 14: contractors' bid variablity in relation to the number ot bidders sid contractors' bid variability bidders mean cv deviation count over % 2,5% 5,0% 10,0% 25,0% 25,0% 2 4 bidders 5,82 7,46 128,23 count 9 15 28 28 29 % 31.03 51.72 96,55 96,55 100 5 6 bidders 4,93 5,14 104,18 count 17 49 74 77 78 % 21.79 62.82 94.87 98.72 100 7 8 bidders 5,26 2.79 53,00 count 5 37 60 66 % 7,58 56,06 90,91 100 9 10 bidders 6,54 6,82 104.26 count 6 34 47 57 58 % 10.34 58.62 81.03 98,28 100 11 14 bidders 6.21 4,34 69,89 count 3 15 31 33 34 % 8.82 44.12 91.18 97,06 100 over 14 bidders 6.18 2.55 41,26 count 6 12 13 % 46,15 92.31 100 averoge tor all 5,65 5,22 92,43 tota� 40 156 252 274 278 projects % 14,39 56,12 90,65 98,56 100 discussion of results published research dealing with the variability of contractors' tender sum forecasts tends to suggest that this varies between a 5% and 9% coef­ficient of variation. beeston (1975) has suggested that, due to several causes of tender variability applying in practice, there is little prospect of reducing the coetticient of variation tor tenders to less than 8%. this view is partially supported by the opinion of ashworth and skitmore (1982), who declare that contractors should estimate with an error of 27 acta structilia 2003: l 0(1 & 2) considerably less than 1 0% of their total final cost, and generally of the order of :±:5%, given a set of quantities and subcontractors quotations. in a study of 64 projects built by a large contracting firm in the uk, flanagan (1980) established that the coefficient of variation varied, depending on project value, between 2,85% and 11,55%. the mean for the sample analysis is 8,22%. flanagan concluded that the best measure of a contractor's ability to estimate his own costs on projects is 6,6% cv. barnes' (1974) analysis of 228 projects taken from 10 different contracting organisations found that the coefficient of variation measured between the contractors' estimate and the actual cost of the projects, was approximately 7%. skitmore's (1986) analysis of 269 build­ing projects in the uk shows that the estimating variability of construction contractors has a mean cv of 6,5%, while runeson's (1988) analysis of 1064 building projects produced a mean cv of 4,9%. greig's ( 1981) analysis shows that 72% of estimates produced by quantity surveyors are within 5% when compared with the accepted tender, and 73% when compared with the final account figure. morrison's (1984) research, based on an examination of 55 7 projects from 7 largely public sector sources, deduced that the best performance that quantity surveyors can achieve is roughly within 15,5% of the lowest acceptable tender. this contradicts an earlier opinion held by beeston (1975) who reasons that, using currently available methods of estimating, the best possible fore­ cast accuracy is in the order of 7 per cent and 8 per cent of the lowest accepted tender. the level of forecast performance was qualified as dependent upon the quantity surveyor's 'intuitive' estimating ability. a study based on 273 construction projects undertaken between 1974 and 1 981 by the national aeronautical and space administration (nasa) in the usa and cited by tan (1988), indicated that the cost consultants' forecasts average was 7,8% higher than the low bids accepted. skitmore (1988) analysed cost consultants' forecasts of the contractors' lowest tender price, the analysis being based on two sets of data. analysis of the first set of data, based on 67 building and engineering projects in the usa , found their forecasts to be an average of 1 2,38% higher than the low bids (std dev = 21,53, cv= 173,9%). analysis of the second set of data, based on 33 building contracts executed in the uk between 1983 and 1987, revealed that the estimates were, on aver­ age, 4,91 % lower than the lowest tenders (std dev = 17,22 and cv = 350.7%). in both of these instances there is high inconsistency in the forecast performance of contractors' lowest acceptable tender by the cost consultants. 28 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting conclusions the analysis of south african tender information reported in this paper indicates an average forecast performance by quantity surveyors of 8,33% [std dev = 11,183, cv = 134,2%). the results indicate that consultants in other countries less accurate and more inconsistent than those compile the pre-tender estimates produced by south african quantity surveyors. this situation demonstrates that there is considerable potential for improving the pre-tender estimating service provided to clients in south africa. no evidence has been found, in the case of these south african data, to link forecasting performance with the type of project, client, function of project, project size, location or number of bidders. the only factor, which shows significance is the date of tender, which may be an indicator of the importance of market conditions prevailing at the time that pre-tender estimates are produced. the current analysis of 278 projects in south africa for the period in ques­ tion shows that the variability of contractors' tender sum forecasts is 5,65% (std dev = 5,22, se = 0,313). analysis of these data, contrary to the findings of flanagan [1980), does not conclude that this variability is dependent on project value (pearson correlation = -0,026, p = 0,668). moreover, there is also no evidence, based on these south african data, to suggest that the variability of contractors' tender sum forecasts is dependent on building function, type of work [new or alteration), type of client, and the number of bidders. however, the results do suggest that local authority projects are associated with high variability of contrac­tors' tender sum forecasts, while 7 to 8 bidders produced the highest consistency in contractors' tender sum forecasts. overall, the south african results tend to support randomness of variability of contractors' tenders, a view held by beeston (1975). references akintoye, a.a. 2000. analysis of factors influencing project cost estimating practice. construction management and economics, 18(1), pp. 77-89. adams, j. & busch, j.k. 1981. reducing project uncertainty. in: proceedings of pmi symposium: the world of project management, boston, september, pp. 374-381. ashworth, a. & skitmore, m. 1982. accuracy in estimating. occasional paper no. 27, london: chartered institute of building, london. 29 acta structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) avery, d.w. 1982. problems of locality in construction in construction cost forecasting and control. in: brandon, p.s. (ed). building cost techniques: new directions. london: e. & f.n. spon, pp. 159-160. barnes, n.m.l. 1974. financial control of construction. control of civil engineering projects (eds sh wearne & edward arnold), chapter 5. beeston, d.t. 1975. one statistician's view of estimating. building technology and management, morch, pp. 33-37. beeston, d.t. 1983. statistical methods for building price data. london: e & fn spon. bennett, j., morrison, n.a.d. & stevens, s.d. 1981. cost planning and computers. london: property services agency. betts, m. & brown, p. 1992. construction tender bid variability in singapore. transactions. american association of cost engineers, pp. q.6.l-q.6.12. betts, m. & gunner, j. 1989. the accuracy of a consultant quantity surveyor's building price prediction. occasional paper no. 3/89, school of building and estate management, national university of singapore. billet, r.e. 1990. an investigation into estimating and cost planning methods used by quantity surveying firms in south africa. unpublished msc (building) thesis, faculty of architecture. johannesburg: university of the witwatersrand. de neufville, r., hani, e.n. & lesage, y. 1977. bidding models: effects of bidders' risk aversion. journal of the construction division, american society of civil engineers, vol. l 03(c01 ), pp. 57-70, march. drew, d.s. 30 1990. competitive bidding: an overview with reference to the hong kong construction industry. proceedings of the conference on construction costs and management. pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • t e nder sum forecasting drew, d.s. & skitmore, r.m. fine, b. 1990. analysing bidding performance: measuring the influence of contract size and type. proceedings of the c.i.b. w-55/65 international symposium on building economics and construction management. sydney, march, 6, pp. 129-139. 1974. tendering strategy. building, 25 october, pp. 1 16-121. flanagan, r. 1980. tender price and time prediction for construction work. unpublished phd thesis, birmingham: university of aston. flanagan, r. & norman, g. 1982. making good use of low bids. chartered quantity surveyor, march, pp. 226-227. 1983. the accuracy and monitoring of quantity surveyor's price fore­casting for building work. construction management and economics, l (2), pp. l 57 l 80. 1985. sealed bid auctions: an application to the building industry. construction management and economics, 3(2), pp. 145-161. goh, b.h. & teo, t.h. 1992. tender price index forecasting and bid analysis in singapore. london: royal institution of chartered surveyors. greig, m.d. 1981. construction cost advice is the customer satisfied? unpublished msc dissertation, department of building, edinburgh: heriot watt university. gunner, j. & betts, m. 1990. price forecasting performance by design team consultants in the pacific rim. in: proceedings of the cib. w-55/65 international symposium on building economics and construction management, sydney. march, 3, pp. 302-312. gunner, j. & skitmore, m. 1999. comparative analysis of pre-bid forecasting of building prices based on singapore data. construction management and economics, 17(5), pp. 635-646. 31 pearl, akintoye, bowen & hardcastle • tender sum forecasting ogunlana, s.o. & thorpe, a. 1991. the nature of estimating accuracy: developing correct associations. building and environment, 26(2), pp. 77-86. pearl, r. 1992. factors affecting the accuracy of quantity surveyors' pre­tender price forecasts in south africa. unpublished msc dissertation. rondebosch: university of cape town. property services agency 1980. construction cost data base. second annual report. london: property services agency library. quah, l.k. 1988. an evaluation of the risks in estimating and tendering for refurbishment contracts. unpublished phd thesis, heriot-watt university. raftery, j . l987. the state of cost/price modelling in the uk construction industry: a multicriteria approach. in: brandon, p.s. (ed). building cost modelling and computers. london: e & fn span, pp. 49-71. rapier, c.p. 1990. how to deal with accuracy and contingency. transactions. american association of cost engineers, pp. k.8. l-k.8.8. runeson, g. 1988. an analysis of the accuracy of estimating and the distribution of tenders. construction economics and management, 6, pp. 357-370. runeson, g. & bennett, j. 1983. tendering and the price level in the new zealand building industry. construction papers, 2, pp. 29-35. shash, a.a. & al-khaldi, z.s. 1992. the production of accurate construction cost estimates in saudi arabia. cost engineering, 34(8), pp. 15-24. skitmore, r.m. 1985. the influence of professional expertise in construction price forecasts. report: department of civil engineering. salford: university of salford. 1987°. the effect of project information on the accuracy of building price forecasts, in: brandon, p.s. (ed). building cost modelling and computers. london: e & fn span, pp. 327-336. 33 act a structilia 2003: l o( l & 2 ) 1987". construction prices: the market effect. london: report for the royal institution of chartered surveyors educational trust. 1988. factors affecting accuracy of engineers' estimates. transactions. american association of cost engineers, pp. b.3. l-b.3.8. 1990. early stage construction price forecasting a review of performance. report: department of surveying. salford: university of salford. skitmore, r.m. & tan, s.h. 1987. factors affecting accuracy of engineers' estimates. research report: department of civil engineering. salford: university of salford. skitmore, r.m., stradling, s. tuohy, a. & mkwezalamba , h. tan, s.h. 1990. the accuracy of construction price forecasts. salford: the university of salford. 1988. an investigation into the accuracy of cost estimates during the design stages of construction projects. unpublished bsc (hons) dissertation. salford: university of salford. true, n.f. 1988. determining the accuracy of a cost estimate. transactions. american association of cost engineers, pp. t.2. 1-t.2. l 0. wilson, o.d., sharpe, k. & kenley, r. 1987. estimates given and tenders received: a comparison. construction management and economics, 5(3), pp. 211-226. wyskida, r.m. 34 1986. personal communication. industrial systems and engineering, huntsville (usa): university of alabama. articles • artikels gn smit the maintenance of the productivity and value of farmland in savanna through the effective management of bush encroachment: ecological considerations abstract due to bush encroachment the grazing capacity of large areas of the southern african savanna has declined, often to such an extent that many previously eco­ nomic livestock properties are now no longer economically viable. causes of bush encroachment include the exclusion of occasional hot fires. the replace­ment of most of the indigenous browsers and grazers by domestic (largely graz­ing) livestock, the restriction of movement of herbivores by the erection of fences. poor grazing management practice and the provision of artificial watering points. removal of some or all of the woody plants will normally result in an increase of grass production and thus also the grazing capacity. however, the results of woody plant removal may differ between vegetation types, with the outcome determined by both negative and positive responses to tree removal. in view of this it can be concluded that any bush control program (chemical, mechanical or biological) should focus on tree thinning rather than clearing of all woody plants. it is important for any land manager to realize that there is no quick solu­tion to the problem of bush encroachment. effective management of bush encroachment should not be considered a once-off event. but rather a long­term commitment. keywords: savanna, bush encroachment. grazing capacity, herbivore. professor nico (gn) smit (phd) is with the department of animal, wildlife and grassland sciences, university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. email <smitgn@sci.uovs.ac.za>. 5 acta structilia 2002:9(2) die behoud van die produktiwiteit en waarde van plaasgrond in savanna deur die effektiewe bestuur van bosverdigting: die ekologiese oorwegings as gevolg van bosverdigting het die weidingkapasiteit in groat areas van die suider-afrikaanse savanna in der mate afgeneem dot veeboerderyeenhede stag­ neer wat voorheen ekonomies bedryf is. oorsake van bosverdigting sluit in: die uit­ sluiting van sporadiese warm vure; die vervanging van inheemse struiken grasvreters met gedomestikeerde (hoofsaaklik grasvretende) vee; die beperking van dierebeweging deur heinings; swak weidingbestuurpraktyke; en die voorsien­ ing van kunsmatige waterpunte. die verwydering van sommige of alle houtagtige plante sol normaalweg tot 'n toename in grasproduksie lei, ook ten opsigte van weidingkapasiteit. die resultate van boomuitdunning mag egter tussen verskillende plantegroeitipes verskil en die uitkoms bepaal word deur beide negatiewe en posi­ tiewe reaksies op boomverwydering. in die lig hiervan kan die gevolgtrekking gemaak word dot enige bosbeheerprogram (chemies, meganies of biologies) eerder op boomuitdunning gefokus moet wees as op totale ontbos-sing. dit is ook belangrik dot grondeienaars besef dot door geen kitsoplossing vir die bosvedigtingsprobleem is nie. die effektiewe bestuur van bosverdigting moet ook nie as 'n eenmalige pro­ ses beskou word nie, moor as 'n langtermyn verpligting hanteer word. sleutelwoorde: savanna, bosverdigting, weidingskapasiteit, herbivoor. 6 smit/bush encroachment l . introduction n southern africa the phenomenon of increasing woody plant abun­ idance is commonly referred to as bush encroachment. it involves indigenous woody species occurring in their natural environment and is thus mainly associated with the savanna biome. the term savanna (or savannah), once restricted to describe central south american grass­ lands in spanish, is now widely accepted as describing vegetation with a herbaceous layer, dominated by graminoids, with an upper layer of woody plants which can vary from widely spaced to a 75% canopy (edwards, 1983; rutherford & westfall, 1994). the savanna biome extends from north of 22°s into northern namibia, botswana, the higher rainfall areas of the northern cape, north-west province, northern province, the lower altitude areas of the north-western free state, mozambique, central and east swaziland, and the lower alti­ tude areas of mpumalanga, kwazulu-natal and the eastern cape province. the biome is the largest, comprising about 959 ooo km' or 46,2% of southern africa (one third of south africa) (rutherford & westfall, 1994). many savanna areas are water-limited ecosystems and bush encroach­ ment is considered a major factor contributing towards the low occur­rence or even total absence of herbaceous plants in severe cases (smit et al 1999). the grazing capacity of large areas of the southern african savanna is reported to have declined due to bush encroachment, often to such an extent that many previously economic livestock properties are now no longer economically viable. removal of some or all of the woody plants will normally result in an increase of grass production and thus also in the grazing capacity. however, the results of woody plant removal may differ between vegetation types, with the outcome deter­ mined by both negative and positive responses to tree removal. 2. the importance of woody plants in the savanna 2. l direct uses for woody plants woody plants in south african savannas are used for firewood, rough construction timber, the production of charcoal and woodcarving. for many rural communities, wood is still the only source of fuel for cooking and heating. the wood of several savanna woody species is known for its excellent fuel properties, especially species with dense heartwood. these species also yield excellent charcoal. branches from spiny woody species like acacia tortilis and a erubescens are used for the construc­ tion of fencing kraals where livestock can be protected from predators (smit, 19990). 7 acta structilia 2002:9(2) with the expansion of the tourism industry the market for woodcarving from indigenous tree species has become very popular. subsequently, woodcarving has developed into a major industry in many southern african countries and the wood of a wide range of tree species is being used. of some concern though is the threat of non-sustainable harvest­ ing of trees, brought about by increasing numbers of entrepreneurs who resort to this practice as an only source of income. this is especially true where larger trees are being cut down indiscriminately to produce larger and more spectacular carvings (smit, 19990). in addition, woody plants are an important source of food for browser herbivore species, which includes both domestic stock and game. with the expansion of game ranching the latter aspect is of increasing importance. game ranching is a recognised agricultural enterprise and is currently one of the' '.astest growing sectors in the agricultural industry. the northern province is a good example, as a recent survey showed that about 2 300 farms have already been fenced with game-proof fences, of which 83% with exemption. this represents an area of approximately 3,6 million ha (26% of the total area of the province) (van der wool & dekker, 2000). the presence of woody plants creates unique habitats that can thus support a greater diversity of herbivore game species than other ecosystems without woody plants. according to r.utherford ( 1979) it is important to have a clear under­ standing of what is meant by browse and available browse. he defined browse as the sum total of that material on woody species that is poten­ tially edible to a specific set of animals, and that browse is most com­ monly regarded as the current season's growth of both leaves and twigs. available browse, on the other hand, is usually a more restricted quantity than browse, and in most studies available browse is simply determined on the basis of the maximum height above ground to which a specific animal can utilise browse. the availability of browse below a specified browse height may be reduced by obstruction of browse material towards the centre of the plant by dense branch entanglements (rutherford, 1979), while the leaf senescence of winter deciduous species will lower available browse during certain periods (styles, 1993; smit, 1994). in savanna areas dominated by leguminous woody species, pods are important as forage, especially during the win­ter months (fagg & stewart, 1994). browsers select among plant species as markedly as grazers do (grunow, l 980). a preferred food species is defined as one which is pro­ portionally more frequent in the diet of an animal than it is in the avail­ able environment; and 'food preference' as the extent to which food is consumed in relation to its availability (petrides, 1975). a principal food 8 smit/bush encroachment species is described as one making a large contribution to the diet (grunow, 1980). barnes (1976) concluded that a proper understanding of animal-plant relationships in terms of intake would depend on knowl­ edge of the diet of the animals, the amount of the different species on offer and their distribution and availability. in addition, chemical defences of woody plants may influence the actual intake of available browse (van hoven, 1984; bryant et al 1992), as well as nutritional char­ acteristics of leaves in different phenological stages (hall-martin & bosson, 1975; cooper, 1982; owen-smith & cooper, 1987; cooper et al 1988; styles, 1993; van der waal, 2001). chemical defences of plants may include chemical substances, which may be poisonous (smith, 1992; taylor & ralphs, l992) or reduce palata­ bility (robbins et al 1987; bryant et al 1992). a diverse array of second­ ary metabolites deters feeding by mammals on woody plants. condensed tannins are especially important as a defence mechanism in woody plants (haslam, 1974; van hoven, 1984; martin et al 1985; hagerman et al 1992). tannins are a diverse group of compounds, widespread among dicotyledonous forbs and trees, which precipitate protein (asquith & butler 1985; robbins et al 1987) and sometimes act as a toxin rather than as a digestion inhibitor (hagerman et al 1992). regarding structural defences, cooper (1982) observed that the pres­ ence of straight spines or thorns has little effect on the feeding of goats and impalas, while hooked thorns are more effective deterrents. in some species the physical defences of juvenile and mature trees differ. juvenile a nilotica trees were found to be physically more heavily defended than mature plants (brooks & owen-smith, 1994). integrated quantitative data on total browse, available browse, its sea­ sonal nutritional and phenological characteristics and the way in which it is influenced by bush encroachment or tree thinning, are poorly reported in the literature. some quantitative data of aboveground peak biomass of burkea africana-ochna pulchra savanna has been report­ ed by rutherford (1982). he estimated the mean aerial biomass to be 16 273 kg ha', of which 236 kg ha-' comprised the current season's twigs and l l 00 kg ha' the leaves. of the potential browse, only 3,8% was estimated to be within reach of impala, 5, l % within reach of kudu and 67% within reach of giraffe. aboveground standing crop of colophospermum mopane in the klaserie private nature reserve, at peak biomass, has been estimated at 20 840 kg ha' of wood and 801 kg ha·' of leaves (scholes, 1987). kelly and walker (1976) estimated the mean standing crop of c. mopane in zimbabwe to be 19 940 kg ha-1, of which l 506 kg ha-' comprised the current season's shoots. 9 acta structilia 2002:9(2) 2.2 soil enrichment nutrients, such as nitrates, phosphorus, a series of anions and cations and various trace elements, are essential to the nutrition of plants (bel,l 1982), and act as determinants of the composition, structure and pro­ ductivity of vegetation. while the base-richness of the parent material is initially important in determining soil fertility, biological activities are important in the creation and maintenance of localised areas of enhanced soil fertility, often on base-poor substrates (scholes, 1991). trees may act as such a biological agent, creating islands that differ from those in the open. ample evidence in support of soil enrichment under tree canopies exists (bosch & van wyk, 1970; kennard & walker, 1973; tiedemann & klemmedson, 1973; kellman, 1979; bernhard­ reversat, 1982; belsky et al 1989; young, 1989; smit, 1994, smit & swart, 1994; hagos, 2001). in the north west province, bosch and van wyk (1970) found a higher content of n, p, k, mg and ca in soil from under boscia albitrunca, combretum apiculatum, acacia tortilis and a senegal in comparison with soil from the open areas. they also reported a higher ph and lower electrical resistance for under canopy soils. kennard and walker (1973) conducted an investigation in zimbabwe, which compared the nutrient status from soils under combretum mol/e, terminalia sericea and albizzia spp. with the nutrient status in open areas. in accordance with the results of bosch and van wyk (1970), they established a higher con­ tent of organic c and exchangeable mg, ca and k, as well as a high­ er ph, in soil from under tree canopies in comparison with soil from the open, but found little difference in p or mineral n. while kennard and walker (1973) reported no differences in soil depth and texture under trees and in the open, tiedemann and klemmedson (1973) found that the bulk density was lower in soil under prosopis juliflora trees, but increased with depth in that location. they also reported higher con­ tents of organic c, total n, k and total soluble salts in soils under p juliflo­ ra trees, but observed no significant difference in p or ph. differences with increasing soil depth were also recorded by them. kellman (1979) supplied more evidence of soil enrichment under tree canopies was supplied by. higher concentrations of ca, mg, k, sodium (so,), total n and p under the canopies of 5 broad-leaved tree species of the genera quercus, clethra and miconia were found by him. bernhard-reversat (1982) reported that organic c and n content of soils of savanna in north senegal were concentrated in the first few cen­ timetres of soil and increased under tree canopies (acacia senegal and balanites aegyptiaca). in the valley bus_hveld of the eastern cape, it was found by palmer et al (1988) that soils of the grasslands were poorer in 10 smit/bush encroachment ca, mg, na and organic material than those of bush clumps, while grassland soils had lower conductivity and ph values. in a semi-arid savanna in kenya, belsky et al (1989) established that soil organic matter, extractable p, k and ca were highest adjacent to trunks of both acacia tortilis and adansonia digitata, but declined away from the trunk, being considerably higher under the tree canopies than in the open grassland. calcium declined more rapidly further from the trunk of a. digitata than under a. tortilis, while the soil under a. digitata contained significantly more mg than the soil under a. tortilis. invasion of coastal fynbos by the alien acacia eye/ops, resulted in elevated n sta­tus of the fynbos and strandveld ecosystems (witkowski, 1991). contrary to reports of a higher ph under tree canopies (bosch & van wyk, 1970; kennard & walker, 1973; palmer et al 1988; young, 1989), belsky et al (1989) and hagos (2001) recorded a lower ph at the base of acacia trees than further from the trunk. similarly, falkengren-grerup (1989) claimed that stem flow appeared to have decreased ph and base sat­ uration in the topsoil of swedish forests. however, based on the positive association between increases in exchangeable cations and soil-ph [higher base saturation) [barnard & fblscher, 1972; kennard & walker, 1973; hatton & smart, 1984), a higher ph under canopies of savanna trees conforms more logically with the higher content of exchangeable cations in this subhabitat. corresponding with the report by tiedemann and klemmedson (1973), belsky et al [1989) reported a lower soil bulk density under tree canopies than in open grassland. soil enrichment can differ between tree species that grow in the same environment. smit and swart (1994) demonstrated that soil under both leguminous trees [mainly acacia erubescens) and non-leguminous trees [mainly combretum apiculatum) was richer in % total n, % organic c, ca and mg, while nutrients like k and mg differed in soil from under the two tree species. they also reported a higher ph from soil under both leguminous and non-leguminous trees, whilst electrical resistance was the lowest (i.e. brackish conditions) under tree canopies. evidence exists that soil enrichment under tree canopies is a slow process. this is demonstrated by correlations between total c and n in soil under tree canopies and tree girth, an index of age [bernhard-reversat, 1982; hagos, 2001). the question of source and mechanism of soil enrichment under tree canopies remains largely unexplained. many theories have been pre­sented. leaf litter from leaf fall has been mentioned as a possible source [bosch & van wyk, 1970; stuart-hill et al 1987; belsky et al 1989). a a litterbag experiment by schroth et al (1992) showed that within 6-7 weeks leaching and decomposition resulted in the release of 90% of the 11 acta structilia 2002:9(2) main nutrients from leaves and branches. ola-adams and egunjobi (l992) estimated that in the case of terminalia superba, leaf litter contributed over 97% of the nutrients returned to the soil surface. they ranked the relative nutrient contents of litter from tectona grandis and t. superba as ca>n>k>mg>p structural differences in leaves of micro­phyllous and broad leafed trees present a possible source of difference in the amount of leaves reaching the soil under tree canopies, the latter being more subject to further dispersion by wind (smit & swart, 1994). in a temperate mixed forest the pattern of leaf litter was found to correspond with the distribution of the canopy structure (hirabuki, 1991). stemflow and through/all represent a source of mineral input to soil (kellman, 1979; williams et al 1987; potter, 1992). kellman (1979) con­cluded that mineral nutrients concentrated beneath neotropical savan­na trees could not have been derived from weathering at depth and that they must have been derived from the capture of precipitation inputs. from an investigation by williams et al (l987) in britain, through fall and stem flow chemistry under bracken (pteridium aquilinum) was shown to be significantly different from that of precipitation above the bracken canopy. potassium (k) was found to be the most important cation, related to high levels of k release during senescence of brack­en. potter (1992) identified k , so, and po, ions to be the most easily leached ions from stems of young forest trees. alcock and morton (1981) concluded that the ph of through fall under the canopies of pine (pinus sylvestris) and birch (betula pendula) was reduced to below that of rainfall. nitrogen is one of the key elements in ecosystem functioning and pro­ ductivity (du preez et al 1983; tietema et al 1992). the occurrence of n­ fixation due to microbial activities under leguminous trees is a possible source of n enrichment (felker & clark l982; hogberg & kvarn-strom 1982; virginia & delwiche 1982; shearer et al 1983; hogberg 1986). the annual n fixation by leucaena leucocephala in a semi-arid site in tanzania was estimated at 11o kg ha-1 (hogberg & kvarnstrom 1982). in the burkea-savanna of nylsvley, zietsman et al (1988) established that dinitrogen fixation was almost exclusively due to activity of legume­ rhizobium symbiotic systems, and they could find no evidence of dini­ trogen fixation by symbiotic systems involving grasses. the review by chalk (1991), however, indicated that panicum maximum is distinctive as a non-legume capable of natural inputs of significant amounts of biologically fixed n,. according to miranda and boddey (1987) potential n inputs by p maximum from associated n, fixation, in the order of 30-40 kg n ha1y1 are possible. it was shown by hogberg (1986) that the nconcentration in leaves was substantially higher in potentially n,-fixing woody species of tanzania than in non-n,-fixing woody species, while 12 smit/bush encroachment there were no differences in the concentrations of k, mg, ca, s, mn and b. microbial c, n and p may also be influenced by other determinants. singh et al (1991) concluded that the maximum amounts of available nutrients and microbial biomass in a dry tropical indian savanna occurred in the dry period and a minimum in the wet period. they also established that grazing and burning increased inorganic n, bicarbon­ate-extractable inorganic p and microbial c. in contrast, holt and coventry (1991) , who emphasised the role played by microorganisms in the decomposition of organic matter and cycling of nutrients in savannas, claimed that their activity is restricted to the wet season. the contributions of bird droppings and dung of large mammals spend­ ing time under trees have also been mentioned as a source of soil enrichment (belsky et al 1989; teague & smit, 1992). this is an example of what scholes (1991) termed "nutrient import". 2.3 positive influences of trees on the herbaceous layer trees may have positive effects on grass growth and stuart-hill et al (1987) have argued that the net result of the negative and positive inter­actions on grass production is dependent on tree density. as stated before, established trees create sub-habitats, which differ from the open habitat and which exert different influences on the herbaceous layer (kennard & walker, 1973; tiedemann & klemmedson, 1973; kellman, 1979; grossman et al 1980; yavitt & smith, 1983; stuart-hill et al 1987; belsky et al 1989; smit & rethman, 1989; smit, 1994; smit & swart, 1994; smit & rethman, 1999; hagos, 2001). stuart-hill et al (1987) demonstrated a consistent pattern of grass production around isolated acacia karroo trees in the false thornveld of the eastern cape. high yields were recorded under and immediately to the south of the tree canopy, and low yields to the immediate north of the canopy. they attributed the for­mer to the favourable influence of the trees on the micro-environment (e g deposition of leaf litter, shading) and the latter to the reduced water input associated with the physical redistribution of rainfall by the trees. in kenya, belsky et al (1989) recorded significantly higher production of herbaceous plants under the canopies of both acacia tortilis and adansonia digitata than outside their canopies. in mixed bushveld of the northern province, higher dm yields have been recorded under the canopies of leguminous trees (a. erubescens) in comparison with yields under either nonleguminous trees (combretum apiculatum) or between the tree canopies, mainly due to the occurrence of panicum maximum under tree canopies (smit & swart, 1994). smit and swart (1994) con­cluded that contrary to most other grass species, the yield of panicum maximum increased with an increase in tree density, up to a 13 acta structilia 2002:9(2) point where after the yield of p. maximum was also suppressed through com­petition from the trees. in contrast, grossman et al (1980) measured sig­nificantly greater biomass in open veld than under burkea africana and ochna pulchra trees, although the canopied habitats did yield better quality forage. the relatively high nutrient status of soil under, compared to between, tree canopies, would be expected to lead to a relatively higher nutrient content of the grass growing under the tree canopy. however, reported results are variable. grossman et al (1980) reported no difference in the in vitro digestible organic matter content but a higher protein content of forage growing under burkea africana trees that are growing in open savanna. in mopane savanna, smit (1994) reported that subhabitat dif­ferentiation by mopane trees did provide some qualitative benefits. some good forage grass species, which typically have high crude pro­ tein and in vitro digestibility values, prefer the canopied sub-habitat to the open sub-habitat and would probably be lost with the removal of all the mopane trees. pieterse and grunow (1985) reported, however, that clearing all woody plants in combretum veld in the northern transvaal had no effect on forage quality. in addition, moughalu and lsichei (1991) could find no significant difference between the crude protein, lignin and fibre content of forb species growing in the open and under tree canopies in nigerian savanna. a possible contributory factor to the higher production of forage from under-canopy sub habitats in many southern african savannas is the well documented association between panicum maximum, a palat­able and potentially very productive species (jordaan, 1991; smit & rethman, l 992) and the under-canopy subhabitat of the larger trees in particular (bosch & van wyk, 1970; kennard & walker, 1973; belsky et al 1989; smit & rethman, 1992; smit & van romburg, 1993; smit & swart, 1994). this species may develop into pure stands under, for example, acacia tortilis, a. karroo and dichrostachys cinerea trees taller than 2,0, 4,0 and 4,5 m respectively (smit & van romburg, 1993). 3. causes of bush encroachment two processes primarily bring about an increase in woody plant abun­ dance. the first is by an increase in the biomass of already established plants (vegetative growth) and the second is by an increase in tree den­ sity, mainly from the establishment of seedlings (reproduction). some influences may inhibit vegetative growth and/or reproduction, resulting in the decreased biomass of woody plants. the reasons for an increase in the abundance of woody plants in any vegetation type are diverse and complex. in most situations man modified the determinants of 14 smit/bush encroachment savanna systems, either directly or indirectly. these determinants may either be primary (such as climate and soil) or secondary (such as fire and the impact of herbivores) (teague & smit, 1992). the latter ore of particular interest since, although they act within the constraints imposed by the primary determinants, management can often directly modify them. examples ore the exclusion of occasional hot fires, the replacement of most of the indigenous browsers and grazers by domes­tic (largely grazing) livestock often at extremely high stocking rates, the restriction of movement of herbivores by the erection of fences, poor grazing management practice, and the provision of artificial watering points (smit et al 1999). african savannas have an evolutionary history of high levels of browsing ungulate herbivore, capable of significantly modifying the structure and composition of woody plants (owen-smith, 1989). browsing herbivores may include small herbivores (belsky, 1984) and mega-herbivores, notably elephants (jarman, 1971; anderson & walker, 1974; guy, 1981; barnes, 1985; okula & sise, 1986; lewis, 1987; kalemera, 1989; ben-shahor, 1991a; lewis, 1991; styles, 1993). lewis (1991) found that although ele­phants in zambia browsed a high percentage of coppiced colophospermum mopane trees, a mean mortality of only 0,5% was recorded. however, an incident of intense browsing followed by a below-average rainfall reportedly led to a l 00% mortality of damaged trees. removal of browsing ungulate game species may have con­tributed to the bush encroachment problem. the impact of poor grazing practices would seem to be particularly severe during dry seasons because of the greater negative effect of such management on grass growth than on the tree growth during peri­ods of severe water stress (britton & sneva, 1991). the wormer and drier climate, which is reported to have been experienced over the past l 00 or so years may also have favoured the woody component of the savannas over the grass component (smeims, 1983). biological interac­ tions may be further complicating factors since they can modify the impact of the various determinants. it is generally conceded that high grazing pressure reduces the growth rate and reproductive potential of individual plants and in so doing influences the competitive relationships among the different species. van vegten (1983) identified overgrazing of grasses as the main cause of the increased woody plant density in the eastern areas of botswana. skarpe (l990) showed that in non-grazed and moderately grazed areas, shrub densities showed no consistent trend, but increased where grazing was heavy. the tree species whose abundance increased were shallow rooted (acacia mellifera and grewia flava) which, according to 15 acta structilia 2002:9(2) skarpe (1990), suggests that they were favoured by an increase in water availability in the surface soil following overgrazing of the grass layer. it is generally conceded, however, that trees are able to make more effective use of deep water than can the grasses (walker & noy-meir 1979; stuart-hill 1985) so that any management actions which increase water penetration to depth in the soil profile should stimulate growth in already established trees. knoop (1982) observed that on a site dominated by acacia species, large numbers of seedlings germinated and survived in an area cleared of vegetation, but few were to be found in an uncleared area. thompson ( 1960) reported that co/ophospermum mopane seedlings could not take root where the grass cover was dense. in contrast to these reports, brown and archer (1989) recorded high rates of emer­ gence and establishment of prosopis on long-term protected plots, which carried a good grass cover. similarly, in the eastern cape, spar­ ing veld did not prevent the establishment of acacia karroo seedlings after the eradication of mature trees (du toit, 1972). these reports are therefore at variance with the widespread and gener­ al view that long-term or heavy grazing is a requisite for increased rates of woody plant establishment. however, smit and rethman ( l 992) have reported that while woody plants increased in-sourish mixed bushveld, which had been leniently grazed over a period of 52 years, they increased much more rapidly in veld, which had been severely grazed during the growing season. smit and rethman ( l 992) indicate that woody plants correlate positive­ ly with increaser llb herbaceous species (species that increase under moderate overgrazing) and the latter correlate negatively with grass production. while representing the same amount of animal unit grazing days ha-1 (stocking density x period of occupation during growing sea­ son), a relatively high stocking density and occupation for part of the growing season had a less severe long-term effect on the increase of woody plants than a relatively low stocking density and occupation for the whole growing season. in the same study the number of tree equivalents (l te = a single stemmed tree 1,5 m high) per hectare and the percentage canopy cover of woody plants were found to be positively correlated with the number of animal unit (au)-grazing days per hectare (total and growing season) (smit & rethman, 1997). they concluded that the longer the period that severe grazing reduces the competitive ability of the grass­ es, the better the chances of woody seedling survival, hence an increased rate of woody plant establishment in response to an increase in the severity of the grazing treatment. 16 smit/bush encroachment the role of fire as a determinant of woody plant density has received considerable attention in the literature (trollope, l 980; rutherford, l981; belsky, 1984; sweet & mphinyane, 1986; trollope & tointon, 1986; sabiiti & wein, 1988). fire is widely used, ostensibly to control woody plants, in spite ·of it now having been repeatedly established that fire alone is not effective in killing woody components of the savannas of southern africa (rutherford, l981; belsky, 1984; sweet & mphinyane, 1986; trollope & tointon, 1986). this is, indeed, not surprising since the vegetation of africa has for long been subjected to regular fires and the woody species which now occupy these regions are well able to survive in its presence. veld fires may, however, be used to modify the structure of the woody layer and it is for this purpose that they are most useful. the following fire regime (season and frequency of burning) is consid­ ered to have the greatest effect on the woody plants and is recom­ mended for the prevention of bush encroachment (trollope l 980): (i) high intensity fire (>2 ooo kj s·1 m1) is required. this can be achieved with a fuel load of 2 000-4 ooo kg dry matter ha-1 (ii) the relative humidity must be low ( < 30%) (iii) air temperature should be above 25°c (iv) burn with the wind (head fire), but the wind speed should not exceed 20 km/hour (v) time of burning is also important and the best time is during spring when the woody plants have already started to grow but the grasses are still dormant (usually just before the first rains) (vi) the frequency of burning is not fixed. in wetter savanna areas a fire every 3 tot 4 years may be possible, while in drier areas it should be undertaken opportunely depending on the rainfall and the presence of small woody plants that need to be controlled. the total exclusion of fire or, conversely, the frequent occurrence of fire under conditions different from the above mentioned fire regime, may benefit the establishment of woody plants (smit et al 1999). 4. negative aspects associated with bush encroachment the botanical composition and productivity of any mature stand of veg­ etation is largely determined by competition (wilson, 1988). competitive interactions between the woody and herbaceous components of savannas, involving mainly available soil water as the primary determi­ nant of production, have been reported world-wide (australia: walker et al 1986a; winter et al 1989; harrington & johns, 1990; scanlan & burrows, 17 acta structilia 2002:9(2) 1990; north america: scifres et al 1982; scifres ,1987 : archer et al 1988; bozzo et al 1992; haworth & mcpherson, 1994; southern and east africa: donaldson & kelk, 197 0: dye & spear, 1982; scholes, 1987; belsky et al 1989; smit, 1994; smit & swart, 1994; smit & rethman, 1999; 2000; richter et al 2001 ). the roots of woody plants are fundamental in their competitive interac­ tions with herbaceous plants and other woody plants. roots determine the spatial distribution of water and nutrient uptake and can cause an increase or a decrease in resource availability [wu et al 1985). the roots of savanna woody plants extend well beyond their projected crown radius [wu et al 1985). in burkea savanna, for example, the lat­ eral roots of some species commonly extend linearly up to seven times the extent of the canopy [rutherford, 1980). roots of colophospermum mopane trees have been shown by smit [1994) to extend horizontally to a distance of approximately 7 ,6 times their height and 12,5 times the extent of their canopies, thus, the larger the tree, the larger the area of resource depletion and the greater its competitive effect on its neigh­ bours. in addition, a large proportion of the roots are concentrated at a shallow depth [ellis, 1950; kellman, 1979; muthana & amora, 1980; rutherford, 1983; knoop & walker, 1985; castellanos et al 1991: smit & rethman, 1998b), where they would actively compete with the shallow rooted herbaceous plants. the competitive advantage of drought adapted woody species over herbaceous plants is evident from a study by smit and rethman [1998a) in mopane savanna. they found that the total root biomass of colophospermum mopane ranged from 9 7 60 kg ha-1 to 29 790 kg ha' [mean: 17 354 kg ha-1). of these a mean of 19% was in the 0-1,0 mm diameter class, and 20,3%, 1 6,2% and 44,5% in the > 1,0-5,0 mm, >5,0-10,0 mm and > l o mm diameter classes respectively. a mean of 66, l % of all fine roots [ < 5,0 mm) was found within the first 400 mm of the soil. the coarse roots [>5,0 mm) were virtually absent within the 0-200 mm soil layer, with the highest co�ncentration between 200-600 mm. leaf biomass was found to be significantly lower than the root biomass. in a subsequent study smit and rethman [2000) presented evidence that the roots of the c. mopane trees are able to utilise soil water at a matric potential lower than that of grasses ['t' < -l 500 kpa). this feature, combined with high rainwater runoff losses due to a lack of an herba­ ceous cover, resulted in a dramatic reduction in the amount of plant available water with an increase in tree density. this enables the c. mopane trees to compete successfully with herbaceous plants and to prevent their establishment at high tree densities. 18 smit/bush encroachment moore et al (1985) reported reduced production of the herbaceous layer with increasing tree abundance in kalahari thornveld and shrub bushveld of the molopo area. they recorded increased grass produc­ tion of between 220% and 740% following aerial applications of an arborocide (tebuthiuron), which caused woody plant mortality. in anoth­ er study moore and odendaal (1987) found no reduction in grass pro­ duction up to a density of 200 tree equivalents (te) per hectare in the molopo area but grass production declined linearly with further increas­ es in tree density. a density of 2 ooo te ho'' almost completely sup­ pressed grass growth. they estimated that the grazing capacity was reduced from 8 ,7 ha au·' (i 200 kg grass om ho"') to 45,8 ha lsu·1 (230 kg grass om ho'') over the 200 to 2 ooo te ho'' density gradient. richter ( 1991) and richter et al (200 l) reported similar results from other parts of the molopo area of the northern cape. however, clearing woody plants in mixed savanna dominated by combretum apiculatum and a. tortilis resulted in only a small improvement in grazing capacity (from 9, l ha au·' to 7,3 ha au·') (donaldson, 1978). notwithstanding the references to higher grass om production at low tree densities than in open veld, much work has shown that the com­ plete removal of trees leads to substantial increases in grass production (donaldson & kelk, 1970; louw & van der merwe, 1973; dye & spear, 1982; walker et al 1986a; harrington & johns, 1990; scanlan & burrows, 1990; richter, 1991). donaldson and kelk (1970) found that grass yields did not decline linearly with increasing tree density. yields declined rap­ idly as tree density increased to 350 mature a mellifera trees per hectare, after which yields declined more slowly. similar results were recorded in the northern cape (richter, 1991; richter et al 2001) and in the mopane savanna of the northern province (smit, 1994). the negative relationship between tree basal area and herbaceous production has also been found to be curvilinear in the eucalyptus savannas of australia (scanlan & burrows, 1990) and similar to that described by donaldson and kelk (1970). however, the relationship between tree biomass and herbaceous biomass in a eucalyptus savanna in australia has been reported to be linear (walker et al 1986a; harrington & johns, 1990). these differences in the response to tree thinning or clearing may be ascribed to differences in soil type and soil fertility, both of which are important determinants of the magnitude of the response to tree thin­ ning (dye & spear, 1982). in years of high rainfall, higher yield responses have been attained in thornveld on relatively fertile clay soils than on nutrient poor sandveld. scholes (1987) estimated an absolute increase in herbaceous production with clearing of 300-500 kg ho"' in combretum veld, 300-2 500 kg ho"' in acacia veld and 300-350 kg h0'1 in mopane savanna. during a period of prolonged water stress he noted increased 19 acta structilia 2002:9(2) grass tuft mortality in uncleared plots, especially on soils with a fine tex­ ture (acacia and mopane sites). different components of the herba­ ceous layer may also react differently to tree thinning. smit (1994) demonstrated, for example, that in mopane savanna the dm yield of the grass component reacted positively to thinning but that the yield of forbs declined. the reaction of the herbaceous component to tree removal will, how­ ever, depend on rainfall. harrington and johns ( l 990) concluded that increased herbaceous biomass following clearing of all trees of a eucalyptus savanna in australia would be obtained in any month only if rainfall exceeded l o days' potential evapotranspiration and that herba­ ceous biomass would accrue at a rate of 0,5 g m' for each mm of monthly rainfall over this threshold. the total clearing of all woody plants resulted in a herbaceous biomass increase of 430% to 670%. in mopane savanna, grass yields of thinned plots were considerably high­ er than those of densely wooded plots, especially during years of below average rainfall, while grass yields at high tree densities differed little between seasons of varying rainfall (smit, 1994). tne aim of tree thinning.or tree clearing is usually to achieve increased herbaceous production, but the species composition of herbaceous plants is also important as species may vary significantly in their accept­ ability to grazing herbivores. other considerations include long-term sta­ bility as influenced by the state of plant succession (e g predominance of climax grasses, mainly perennials, as opposed to the predominance of pioneer grasses, mainly annuals), ground cover for prevention of soil erosion and water runoff [snyman & van rensburg, 1986), and the main­tenance of soil fertility (hook et al 1991 ). the effect of bush encroachment on herbaceous cover differs between mesic and arid savannas. in mesic savannas herbaceous plants still co­ exist with relatively high tree densities. under these conditions changes in the composition of the herbaceous layer may occur following tree thinning as a result of changing regimes like shade, soil temperatures, soil water and soil nutrients. depending on the situation, the advantage of increased production of herbaceous plants following tree thinning may, from an agricultural point of view, be offset by unfavourable species changes (e.g. whereby palatable, low fibre 'sweet' grasses are being out-competed and replaced by more unpalatable, high fibre 'sour' grasses) (smit & rethman, 1999). in arid savannas the herbaceous layer largely disappears under high tree densities, leaving large areas of bare ground. the spatial and tem­ poral pattern of herbaceous species establishment (succession) is of relevance under these conditions. plant succession has been defined 20 smit/bush encroachment as a progressive development of vegetation in an area through a series of different plant communities, finally terminating in a climax communi­ ty (trollope et al 1990). in this case the establishment of herbaceous plants can be considered as secondary succession, which is defined as succes­ sion that occurs after the destruction of part or all of the original vegetation on a site (trollope et al 1990). crust formations are known to reduce infil­ tration and cause substantial losses due to rainfall runoff (hillel & gardner, 1970; agassi et al 1981; ralph ,1989; harmse & nel, 1990). contrary to common belief that bush encroachment is detrimental to grazers, but not browsers, there are indications that bush encroachment may also be detrimental to some browsers. in mopane savanna a study by smit (200 l) showed that tree thinning reduced the available browse at peak biomass, but that trees from the low tree density plots displayed a better distribution of browse, having leaves in comparatively younger phenological states over an extended period. this would shorten the leafless period of the c. mopane trees in early spring and might even eliminate it. high-density stands may therefore not only be poorly suit­ ed to grazers because of reduced growth of herbaceous plants, but also to browsers because of their relatively poor browse supplying characteristics. 5. will thinning or clearing of the woody plant solve the problem? where tree densities are very high the first operation which may be required will be the thinning of trees to some predetermined density, after which a post-thinning management programme will be required to keep an area open (smit, 1994). tree thinning or clearing by means of mechanical or chemical methods will result in immediate changes in competition between woody and herbaceous plants, which often determines the growth and structure of savannas. the resulting gaps will lead either to increased growth of neighbouring individuals or to the establishment of new individuals (teague & smit, 1992). thinning colophospermum mopane stands has been shown to stimulate vegetative growth, flowering and seed bearing in the remaining trees (smit, 1994; smit & rethman, 1998). over a three-year period the leaf dm yield of the trees increased by 64, 9% in plots cleared to l 0% of the original density, compared to an increase of 22,2% in uncleared plots. scholes (1990) estimated that, through seedling establishment, recovery of cleared c. mopane thicket in the eastern lowveld to its precleared competitive ability would occur within l 4 years. this recovery period would be shortened by high rainfall and lengthened by drought. he estimated that the c. mopane trees would grow to their original precleared state within 40 years. 21 acta structilia 2002:9(2) in botswana, stem basal area increased by 11 to 21 o/o and tree height by 1,2 to 3,9% in thinned plots compared to increases of 3,5 and l, l %, respectively, in uncleared plots (coe, 1991j. smith & goodman (1986j found a significant increase in both stem diameter and shoot extension of acacia nilotica trees whose neighbours had been removed within a radius of 5 m. in time, therefore, the competitive ability of the remain­ ing trees will gradually increase and so reduce the impact of the initial thinning, even without seedling establishment. an important determinant of woody seedling establishment is competi­ tion from other plants, either from other woody plants or herbaceous plants (smith & walker, 1983; smith & goodman, 1986; schmitt et al 1987; smith & goodman, 1987; smith & shackleton, 1988; ben-shahar, 1991 b; grundy et al 1994). ben-shahar (1991 b) has demonstrated that tree species of communities dominated by acacia senegal a. tortil­ is and euclea divinorum a. nilotica have characteristic dispersal strategies. these were manifested through intraand inter-specific com­ petition among the dominant tree species. acacia senegal became dominant in areas previously dominated by a. tortilis, while e. divinorum was replacing previous dominance by a. nilotica. tree-on-tree competition appears to be species specific (smith & goodman, 1986) or related to the shade tolerance of the seedlings (story, 1952; smith & shackleton, 1988; o'connor, 1995). in some, seedling establishment is unaffected by a tree canopy while in others, establishment is limited to between-canopy environments (smith & goodman, 1986; grundy et al 1994). in the eastern cape, shading increased the density of surviving a. karroo seedlings (o'connor 1995), while at nylsvley in the northern province shading decreased the densi­ ty of surviving a. tortilis seedlings (smith & shackleton 1988). in another study it was established that euclea divinorum does have the ability to establish under canopies. while seedlings of several acacia species are distinctive as they fail to establish under the canopy of any established individual, regardless of species (smith & goodman, 1986). both a. nilot­ ica and e. divinorum were found to be regularly dispersed, but there was no significant correlation between nearest-neighbour distance and combined size for mixed-species nearest-neighbour pairs of a. nilotica and e. divinorum (smith & goodman, 1987). significant positive correlations between the size of a tree and the dis­ tance to its nearest neighbour were reported for large individuals of brachystegia spiciformis and julbernardia globiflora in zimbabwe (grundy et al 1994). however, they did not observe the same regular dispersion pattern in stands of immature trees. they ascribe this to the fact that young plants often grow in under-canopy environments and 22 smit/bush encroachment that positive correlations between tree size and distance to nearest neighbour only develop through a thinning process as the trees mature. 6. conclusion from this review it is clear that the presence of woody plants in savan­ na is associated with both positive and negative aspects, which are closely related to tree density or tree abundance. in view of this it can be concluded that any bush control program (chemical, mechanical or biological) should focus on tree thinning rather than on clearing of all woody plants. in making decisions on the intensity of tree thinning, the sizes of the trees, which should be removed, and the species to be thinned, cognisance should thus be taken of the balance between the need to reduce the competitive effect of the trees on the herbaceous layer and the positive influences, which the trees may have. the aridity of the area also needs to be borne in mind since more woody plants can be retained at wet than at dry sites without material­ ly affecting herbaceous yields. it is also important to realise that there is no single optimum tree density and that even within a vegetation type, the optimum density falls within a range rather than being represented by a single value. the rapid establishment of tree seedlings after the removal of some or all of the mature woody plants may reduce the effective time span of bush control measures. in many cases the result­ ant re-establishment of new seedlings may in time develop into a state that is in fact worse than the original state. it is hypothesized that a more stable environment can be created, which is not as prone to the rapid regeneration of new woody plants, by making use of system dynamics (smit et al 1999). here the natural functioning of the savanna system is allowed to stimulate the development of an open savanna comprised mainly of large trees. it is based on the principle that the distance between a tree and its nearest neighbour of the same species is not determined purely by chance, but that tree spacing is normally distrib­ uted. the larger the individual, the greater is the distance between it and the nearest individual of the same species. this is particularly noticeable with acacia species (smith & goodman, 1986; 1987). it is known that if a tree is killed, the reduced competition afforded· to the remaining individuals results in an increase in their growth rate (smith & goodman, 1986; coe, 1991; smit, 2001 ). competition between indi­ viduals in a community can result in the stagnation of growth in a tree population. if, in such a community, low intensity thinning is applied, the growth rate of individuals adjacent to the thinned individuals will increase and this will lead to a suppression of the growth of other woody species within the area thinned. the key here is low intensity thinning. if 23 acta structilia 2002:9(2) thinning is too intensive, the remaining trees will provide insufficient competition to prevent woody plants from regenerating in the cleared area. in time this approach can assist in the creation of a more stable and structured savanna that is more resistant to bush encroachment, especially in areas where all the larger trees were lost through previous non-selective control measures. it is important for any land manager to realize that there is no quick solu­ tion to the problem of bush encroachment. effective management of bush encroachment should not be considered a once-off event, but rather a long-term commitment. this may involve alternative approach­ es that are not necessarily the simplest or cheapest. it has been proven time and time again that the least expensive method of killing trees may not be the most economical approach in the long term. once the established matured trees are lost from the ecosystem, land owners may discover that they now have to manage a much more unstable system that requires frequent and repeated efforts in dealing with a high rate of re-encroachment, often from other, more threatening woody species. it is also important to avoid or minimize other direct or indirect causes of bush encroachment. of these, sound grazing management practices, which will ensure a vigorous and competitive herbaceous layer, are of critical importance. the cost of bush control measures is extremely high, especially when chemical arboricides are being used. the cost can vary from rl 20,00 to rl 000,00 or more per hectare, depending on the degree of encroachment and the control methods used. unfortunately the extent of bush encroachment on farmland is not always reflected in the value of such land. this is mainly due to adequate buyers, mostly profession­ al people, who acquire farms without proper knowledge of the ecolog­ ical factors influencing the productivity of farmland. such buyers often acquire farms for recreational purposes and are not dependent on the farm for an income. the consequence of this is that there is very little incentive to apply substantial sums of money for bush control measures, which will not increase the value of the property. for full time stock farmers who depend on their farms for an income, the only benefit from the application of bush control lies in increased ani­ mal production. due to the low profit margins on meat production the high cost of chemical bush control measures is often difficult to justify. such landowners often experience a situation where they cannot eco­ nomically continue their stock farming because of the reduced gracing capacity of their natural pastures, and cannot afford the high cost of bush control measures. wii°h the increased popularity of game ranch­ ing, a practice whereby capital (often borrowed money) is invested in 24 smit/bush encroachment fencing the property with a game proof fence is becoming popular. such a fenced farm is subsequently being sold as a 'game ranch' at highly inflated prices, despite the low production potential due to its encroached status. the new owners are often hugely disappointed in their investment after they discover the true potential of their 'bushveld farm' through stock or game losses during the dry months of the year. a possible solution for this undesirable situation is education and an increased awareness of the ecological factors that influence the pro­ ductivity of farmland in savanna. investors should always consult with an expert to evaluate the true potential of a property before buying it. once such a practice becomes well established the incentive to apply sensible, ecologically correct bush control measures will become stronger. this will benefit the potential investor and contribute towards the maintenance of our scarce and valuable natural resources. 25 acta structilia 2002:9(2) references alcock, m.r. & morton, a.j. 1981. the sulphur content and ph of rainfall and of through-falls under pine and birch. journal of applied ecology, 18, pp. 835-839. agassim, m., shainberg, i. & morin, j. 1981. effect of electrolyte concentration and soil sodicity on infiltration rate and crust formation. soil science society of america journal, 45, pp. 848-851. anderson, g.d. & walker, b.h. 1974. vegetation 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nitrogenase activity of the nylsvley nature reserve. south african journal of botany, 54, pp. 21-27. 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 elsona van huyssteen1 other experiences of planning for reconstruction and transformation: a narrative of planning and development histories in hammanskraal-temba2 abstract hammanskraal-temba is one of the areas in south africa that experiences a multitude of problems, ranging from an informal settlement lacking services, a struggling local economy, unemployment and housing shortages, to land claims and border disputes. however, a study of the historical development of the area and the impact of development initiatives such as planning policies and legislation on the area indicated the wide range of experiences and interpretations of the role of planners and planning. in an attempt to highlight these interpretations and the various [hi]stories, an alternative approach towards local historic analysis is used and is illustrated by some extracts from the hammanskraal-temba case study. the article aims in particular to illustrate some other experiences of planning for reconstruction and transformation and their implications for planning and planners. the article is based on a paper delivered at the planning history study group: millennium conference in may 2000, at the howard college at the university of natal in durban. the conference focused on the role of planning and planners in reconstruction. keywords: local historic analysis, planning, reconstruction, transformation, planners. ander ervarings t.o.v. beplanning vir rekonstruksie en transformasie: 'n verhaal oor die beplanningen ontwikkelingsgeskiedenis van hammanskraal-temba hammanskraal-temba is een van die gebiede in suid-afrika wat gekenmerk word deur 'n magdom probleme, wat wissel vanaf 'n informele nedersetting met die minimum dienste, 'n sukkelende plaaslike ekonomie, werkloosheid en behuisingstekorte, tot grondeise en grensdispute. uit 'n studie van die historiese ontwikkeling van die gebied en die impak wat ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe soos beplanningsbeleid en wetgewing op hierdie gebied gehad het, het dit duidelik geword dat daar 'n wye verskeidenheid en selfs teenstrydige ervarings en interpretasies ten opsigte van die rol van beplanners en elsona van hu yssteen is a lecturer in the department of town and regional planning, university of pretoria. <elsona@postino.up.ac.za> this is a condensed version of the manuscript. 2 hammanskraal-temba is located approximately 50 km north of pretoria on the border between gauteng and the northern province. 33 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation beplanning in ontwikkeling bestaan. in 'n poging om hierdie interpretasies en verskeidenheid na vore te bring is daar gebruik gemaak van 'n alternatiewe benadering tot historiografiese navorsing wat gemustreer word deur sekere uittreksels oor stories uit hammanskraal-temba se geskiedenis. die artikel illustreer die verskillende benaderings tot beplanning vir rekonstruksie en transformasie en lig die implikasie daarvan uit vir beplanners en beplanning. die artikel is gebaseer op 'n referaat gelewer tydens die planning history study group: millennium conference, in mei 2000 by die howard college aan die universiteit van natal in durban. die konferensie het spesifiek op die rol van beplanning en beplanners in herkonstruksie gefokus. sleutelwoorde: historiografiese navorsing, beplanning, rekonstruksie, transformasie, beplanners. 1. introduction my son will understand. as much as for any living being, i'm telling my story for him, so that afterwards, when i've lost my struggle against cracks, he will know. morality, judgement, character[ ... ] all starts with memory[ ... ]. i told you the truth[ ... ]. memory's truth, because memory has its own special kind. it selects, eliminates, alters[ ... ] it creates its own reality [ ... ] and no sane human being ever trusts someone else's version more than his own (rushdie in onega, 1995: 80). the contested nature of reality and experiences of reality is no new theme and has been quite eloquently debated and adopted in post-modern (jenkins, 1991; rosenau, 1992) and planning (sandercock, 1998) discourses. according to ryan (rosenau, 1992: 95) "post-modernists argue that in the absence of truth one must welcome multiple interpretations, whereas representation assumes something out there is true or valid enough to be represented. modern representation assumes meaning or truth preceded and determined the representations that communicated it. post-modernists argue it is the other way around; representations create the 'truth' they supposedly reflect." many post-modernists doubt the existence of reality and post­ modernism has a few theories on this subject. reality is regarded as existing only in so far as the perceived has meaning for those perceiving it (rosenau, 1992: 110). others see reality in terms of context, where truth for example is that which is agreed upon by a specific professional community and where "(r]eality is the result of the social processes accepted as normal in a specific context" (rosenau, 1992: 111). another point of view is that language represents the only form of reality and therefore reality is actually seen as a 'linguistic habit' (rosenau, 1992: 111). despite these discourses it is realised that just as there are different 34 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 realities and experiences, there are different histories, including histories of planning and planning for reconstruction the theme of the recent planning history conference held in durban during may 2000. in terms of the latter, some questions· could and should probably be raised: • what is planning for reconstruction and transformation? • who are the role players in planning for reconstruction and transformation? what is the role of so-called planners versus non-planners? • what are the implications and experiences of planning and implementation of reconstruction and transformation? before answering any of these questions, the following points should be be put into perspective: who asks, who is asked, and who answers? historicising planning (and most other disciplines such as architecture or engineering) can quite easily become experiences of realities and interpretations of a discipline, usually those of the planning (or professional) community, or in an event such as a planning history conference, those of the study group, the conference delegates or historians (bauregard in laburn-pearl, _2000). 2. taking into account 'others' in planning and the relative nature of history today's debates about planning take place in an always contested terrain of race and gender, class and ethnicity, against a permanent backdrop of long-term economic and environmental problems. can we, as planners, still afford to dream? can we afford not to, even knowing that our dreams amount to grains of sand in an ever-shifting dune? i still believe in dreaming. i am historian futurist. when i look into the future i see cosmopolis, or rather a necessary journey towards a cosmopolis a journey of coming to terms with difference, of connection with the cultural other, of an emerging sense of an intertwined destiny (sandercock, 1998: 4). according to leonie sandercock (1998: 4) "coming to terms with difference" and "creating an intertwined destiny" are some of the major challenges facing planning in the future. against this background and even more so in south africa, planning should take into account difference and diversity, and be participatory, democratic and inclusive. this approach to planning differs drastically from the modernist approaches to planning in the past. however, according to sandercock (1998), we as planners 35 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation will not be able to visualise another future if we do not get another perspective of the past. as [i]n telling stories about our past, our intention is to shape our future. if we can uncouple planning history from its obsession with the celebratory story of the rise of the planning profession, and demonstrate its multiple and insurgent histories, we may be able to link it to a new set of public issues. if we want to work towards a politics of inclusion, then we had better have a good understanding of the exclusionary effects of planning's past practices[ ... ]. and if we want to plan in future for multiple publics [ ... ] we need to develop a new kind of multicultural literacy [... and] familiarity with the multiple histories of urban communities [ ... ] (sandercock, 1998: 44). 3. background to the research qualitative research was undertaken in the hammanskraal­ temba area by: • analysing various planning and development texts on the area • telling the various role players' stories. and • playing off these various texts against each other. such as the eminent against the local discourses. hammanskraal-temba was used as a case study in the research. it should be noted that the original research focussed on a narrative of stories or texts about experiences related to planning and development intent. as well as physical and non-physical divisions (borders. boundaries and barriers). which in many instances resulted from these planning and development initiatives. hammanskraal-temba is located in the former bophuthatswana homeland about 50 km north of pretoria (gauteng) , and developed, among others. from the reconstruction of the veld into a homeland town (temba), a border industry town (babelegi) with an adjacent white sleep town (hammanskraal), and the transformation of a squatter area into a formal township (mandela village). the research for the study was undertaken during the course of 1996/1997 and therefore only includes texts, discourses and stories until the end of that period. all these stories are still unfolding and will inevitably continue to be much more far­ reaching than we will ever grasp. predict or follow in future. 36 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 the following sources regarding the issues of planning and development in hammanskraal-temba were used in the research: • official documentation and reports of various government departments or parastatals involved in planning and development in the area • academic discussions, critiques and articles on planning and economic development policies, programmes, acts, etc. • academic discussions and articles regarding the constitutional development policies within south africa and the former homelands • interviews with local industrialists • interviews with local officials and officials from interested government bodies • the expressive narrative a text reflecting on peoples lives and experiences within planning for reconstruction and transformation/development. according to colin falck (1994: 151) "[p]oetry or imaginative literature is our most fundamental mode of inscription of reality, and it is imaginative or imagistic concreteness that we need for this purpose, rather than the abstractions either of the intellect or of the traditional systems of religious symbolism". although the stories are not drawn from people of hammanskraal-temba, they represent comments by artists, writers and photographers of both eminent and local narratives, particularly those related to planning for reconstruction and transformation/development. the aim of this research is not to give an account of events, actions and discourses but rather to give some accounts that influenced my interpretation of the 'evidence' at my disposal. these narratives should not at all be regarded as an attempt to be the only narratives of those involved in planning for reconstruction and transformation/development in hammanskraal-temba. however, the reader should bear in mind that the various stories reflect the researcher's experiences and are not aimed at providing the ultimate truth. these stories reflect the various interpretations of the truth experienced by different role players. 37 northern provine• north-weal lo-��--.;,;;·o1·�" · =�-···=e!i.°i;;··-··------· -···-··-··.;··.;···:i.""�-----.,;; m kl)o� + . .zj()(!()(» • towns :··,/roads t.&j 8ophuthaww.na �ie(f by the i.aoofato!f)' to, teaching and rehardl in ots. ufs 051 <wi 2554 alber$ e;q1.j«il are•. u� tn m�e, ce,1tr•i mth'�ial'i l<&"e slatt<f�(d pa<.ll6ffl 18" and :,rs figure 1: the hammanskraal-temba region now forms part of the northern province < 0 ::j i c � v, co (d ::j .._ -u q ::j ::j s· co 0 ""' ii> () 0 ::j v, -+ ""' c () ::!: 0 ::j 0 ::j q. -+ 0 ::j v, 0 3 0 ::!: 0 ::j 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 4. reconstruction and development in hammanskraaltemba as indicated, a significant proportion of, in some instances interrelated and in other instances conflicting texts and stories about planning for reconstruction and transformation/development in hammanskraal-temba unfolded during the research. in order to set the scene and make the interpretations more meaningful. the following extracts from stories about development in temba briefly illustrate the various experiences of planning for reconstruction and transformation/development. 4.1 temba and its origin in the early 1940s the farm bezuidenhoutsfarm was situated about 50 km north of pretoria besides the kekana tribal land. the farm was guarded by rangers and off-limits to all members of the tribe. squatters arrived by truckloads and settled on bezuidenhoutsfarm. a tent-town soon started to develop. eventually the farm was bought by the south african native trust to resettle people who were not allowed in the white south africa and who were forcefully removed from places such as lady selbourne, orlando and klipspruit (pretoria and johannesburg areas). the inhabitants of the tent-town were desperate due to lack of services, and named their town sofasonke, meaning 'we are going to die'. the bantu commissioners asked the kekana chief to allow the people of sofasonke to make use of the tribal authority's schools, churches and other facilities, in return for payment. he agreed. soon afterwards permanent housing structures for the inhabitants of sofasonke were being built. this was good news as some people could now live in houses rather than in tents. sofasonke was renamed temba, meaning 'place of hope'. between 1946 and 1947, more people were forcefully relocated to this area. for a few years the town continued to grow and houses were built. however, not nearly enough houses were built for all the families in the town. circumstances were dire and people still had to make use of the adjacent tribal facilities. a group from wallmansthal was also resettled there. a heavy burden was placed on the tribal facilities despite the fact that the required payment was made to the authorities. the tribe possessed too little land and could not meet the needs of their people, due to the large number of cattle and people in the villages. 39 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation 4.2 temba: the first planned black town in a homeland temba was developed during the 1940s and was the only town developed in the then tswanaland, with a total of 250 houses before the 1960s (campion, 1977: 18-9). the responsible authority, the department of bantu administration and development (south africa, 1964: 11 j, stated that for the period 1960-1962: 4.3 the townships [ ... ] are being planned properly and houses are being erected by the sant (south african native trust) for leasing or sale to the bantu [ ... this] planning is done according to modem planning principles [. .. ]. originally only three such bantu townships were established, namely zwelitsha, umlazi and temba, near hammanskraal. the eagerness with which the bantu bought or hired sites and houses in these townships was beyond all expectation, and consequently these are now all occupied and a rapid expansion is being experienced. industrialists gradually realised the proposed mutual advantages of the establishment of border industries, and so, for example [ ... ] a cane furniture factory, at hammanskraal came into being (1964: 11). temba: babelegi industrial development it appears that temba experienced a continual population increase-this was not true of economic activity. temba's growth can possibly be ascribed to the development of babelegi (the nearby industrial growth point), as well as temba's close proximity to the pwv (the pretoria/witwatersrand/vereeniging area). by 1973 temba had a population of 15 ooo people and was one of 13 proclaimed towns, even though there was no town council as yet. the town had one general dealer and 2 087 housing units developed by the south african native trust (sant) a major role player in providing housing. by 1975 these figures increased to 3 015 houses and 3 596 properties with an occupation of 6.94 persons/unit {streekbeplanningsprojek no 5 1975: 71). in 1969 babelegi was proclaimed on a bare piece of land as the first industrial area in a black homeland with white capital investment (republic of bophuthatswana, 1977: 144). the hammanskraal township, situated just inside the border of a white south africa, was established especially as high-income housing area for white industrialists and by the 1990s it had about 350 houses. temba's growth and the large number of non­ tswanas (even though this is bophuthatswana) were probably the result of the resettlement programme and urbanisation of the 40 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 region, further exacerbated by the proximity of babelegi's industrial area (olivier, 1984: 225). 4.4 babelegi's development: the 1960s and later during the 1960s, dr koornhof (the then minister responsible for native affairs) negotiated with the kekana tribe for land in order to develop an industrial area. the government undertook to pay an agreed amount for the lease of the land. the government leased approximately 138 ha of grazing land from the tribe for the development of industries. however, the tribe was convinced that they had not been compensated for the full amount. in the same year the tribe stated that the contract for the sale of the land had never been adopted by a majority of adult male members of the tribe. babelegi was developed as agreed upon by the tribal authority (south africa, 1995: 4) and the tribe received the amount of r 100 7 64.00 on 22 october 1980. the state registered portion 9 of the farm leeuwkraal 92-jr in its own name (south africa). a dispute regarding chieftainship in the tribe caused the problem regarding land ownership. in 1977, bophuthatswana became independent and temba was renamed kudube. this initiated the development of babelegl which according to tradition owes its name to a tswana word meaning "to carry on the back". this refers to the aim of the industrial area, namely to carry the population economically. according to local industrialists, the name may simply have been derived from the afrikaans term 'bantoe-beleggings'. babelegi was well-situated for the import of raw materials, and could be developed due to the neighbouring south african infrastructure. the adjacent temba can accommodate some 80 ooo black people, and the whites working in babelegi can stay some 5 km away in hammanskraal (die bee/d, 1982: 4-5). in 1977 chief mangope, bophuthatswana chief minister (campion, 1977: 33), said in his speech at the opening of a new factory in babelegi: "seven years ago (1970) babelegi was a stretch of cattle-grazing land. today there are 80 factories in full production with another 20 under construction or on the drawing board [ ... ]." an article in the pretoria news (cokayne, 1986: 23) reported that no problems were envisaged with the provision of housing, as there were stands available for the possible influx of workers to babelegi. he also indicated that by 1977 about r25 million had 41 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation been invested in babelegi and that by 1986, there were 122 factories. it was regarded as the growth point with the largest number of industries in bophuthatswana (cokayne, 1986: 23). in 1989 babelegi was incorporated into the m unicipal boundaries of kudube and industrialists could, for the first time, buy the land on which their industries were situated from the bophuthatswana government, for which they were supposed to pay land tax. by 1992 babelegi had a total of 165 industries and a strong infrastructure, in an area of almost 50 hectares (beeld, 1992: 4). 4.5 temba (kudube ): conflict regarding exclusion from the new south africa with the dawning of the 1990s and president f w de klerk's reformist speech, south africa ushered in considerable change in bophuthatswana, especially in the temba-hammanskraal area. the future of bophuthatswana came under discussion with the establishment of the convention for a democratic south africa (codesa) at the end of december 1991. the aim of codesa was to create a climate for free political participation and, inter alia, to discuss the future of the tbvc states (transkei, bophuthatswana, venda and ciskei). according to jeffery (1993: 137), working group four of codesa was to investigate the re-incorporation of the tbvc states. seemingly chief mangope (together with the ifp) decided not to sign the declaration of intent, and stated that "the homeland was not a 'creature' of apartheid but had taken independence in 1977 to regain the sovereignty usurped by the british in the nineteenth century [ ... ]. bophuthatswana would exchange its independence only for something better, or alternatively, for a future [ ... ] at least as good" (jeffrey, 1993: 138). 4.6 temba: incorporation in the new south africa with the dawning of the new south africa and the first democratic elections in april 1994, the temba-hammanskraal functional area eventually formed part of one country and the town was renamed temba. it was the task of the negotiating council of the multi-party negotiating process to set up a commission on the demarcation/delimitation of the spr's (states/provinces/regions) to "make recommendations on the demarcation of spr's in south africa, realising that regional boundaries will be relevant to the electoral process, as well as to the structures of the constitution [and to] hear representation from the public at large and from different areas of the country [and to] allow interested parties and persons to submit their views 42 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 within a specific period [ ... ]" (commission on the demarcation/delimitation of spr's, 1993: 4). according to the commission's report (1993: 7), it was clear that the hammanskraal area was one of the sensitive areas regarding the inclusion of this area (amongst others) into the pwv area and the northern transvaal (nomvete and du plessis, 1993: 6-7). in temba the lack of housing, services and job opportunities, and the increasing number of people moving into the area, caused most families to look for jobs and incomes in pretoria where they were at least afforded better opportunities for shopping. a large number of people commuted to the city daily. the situation was exacerbated by the termination of the train service between pretoria and hammanskraal in 1989, resulting in bophuthatswana's bus system being responsible for transport. during the 1970s, with self-governance, border demarcations, consolidations and later independence, the scene was set for the start of a new chapter of local dramas. being a non-tswana, living in bophuthatswana where almost half of temba's population and all members of the kekana-ndebele tribe lived, meant possible eviction and no business rights. this prompted the kekana tribe's chieftain, esther kekana, to stand up for her people's rights. she challenged mangope. the conflict in bophuthatswana was mainly between the bophuthatswana government and the non-tswanas, and it ranged from unresolved issues and court cases of evictions to the banning of trade unions and inevitably to the resolutions and protests to cut ties with bophuthatswana. obviously there was considerable support for the freedom fight­ the right to vote, the right to be part of a democratic south africa in temba and surrounding areas where people demanded reincorporation with south africa. at the start of the 1990s with the reform in south africa, and mandela's release from jail, people felt strongly about freedom and the mockery of the homelands. immediately following mandela's release on 14 february 1990, 15000 residents of the hammanskraal area marched to the magistrates court and submitted a petition calling for the reincorporation of bophuthatswana in south africa. an enormous rally supported by thousands of people was held in temba. 43 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation 5. a new south africa with new prospects hammanskraal and temba anxiously awaited the dawn of the new south africa, hoping to become a functionally and administratively integrated settlement and society. with the dawning of the new south africa and the first democratic elections in april 1994, the temba-hammanskraal functional area eventually became part of one country. the borders once again caused problems as local leaders regarded the hammanskraal and temba functional area as sharing the same geographical area, as well as social and economic environment. apparently the demarcation board (in its demarcation of the amalgamated south africa in 1994) divided the functional area of temba and hammanskraal in such a way that parts of the former hammanskraal and babelegi became part of gauteng, while other parts, including temba, now formed part of the north west province. local elections in hammanskraal which were supposed to have taken place on the 4th of november 1995 were suddenly postponed until the 29th of november due to the overabundance of candidates. according to members of the local authority committee "the postponement lay in the dispute over the demarcation of hammanskraal. specifically over the incorporation of mandela village into hammanskraal (which was now inhabited by higher-income local people). people were afraid that their living standards would drop if mandela village were incorporated in hammanskraal. to them it was unconstitutional to deprive people of their living standards. the incorporation of mandela village was never published" (stucky, 1995: 7). the hammanskraal residents' association consequently appealed to gauteng's premier, as well as to the ministers of land affairs and constitutional development. to declare the incorporation of mandela village in hammanskraal invalid. various interest groups felt cut off from the functionally integrated area of temba, and babelegi, while being 'stuck' with mandela village and without any tax base. the temba residents, in particular the kekana tribe, were part of the north west (mostly former bophuthatswana) and once again separated from the pretoria area. this was obviously a brewing pot for more dissatisfaction. in addition to the local authority committee and the hammanskraal residents' association, "the amandebele ba libalo (sic) tribal authority, which owns the land where mandela village is situated, was also added to the list of affected parties [ ... ]. the purpose of the local authority committee's application 44 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 was to declare invalid the incorporation of mandela village in hammanskraal. it argued that this portion of land should fall under the north-west province, not gauteng. in october, the supreme court in pretoria postponed its decision on the application indefinitely. despite community actions and developmental projects and efforts, the mandela village {leeuwkraal) development forum still faced a major problem, viz. the issue of landownership. government cannot develop people who officially illegally stay on other people's land. in a letter to the minister of local government and housing, the development forum of mandela village stated that it "would like to voice its deepest disappointment in the manner in which the land ownership issue is handled by province. this is the only piece of land owned by a chief. until or unless the minister takes a position on this matter our people will never know what it means to be free in their own country. this problem makes it difficult for us to implement any rdp projects since the government insists that it will not put money on tribal land" (barnard, 1994: 1). meanwhile, the kekana tribe or rather amandebele-ba-lebelo tribal authority also proceeded to lodge a rather extensive land claim. it did not seem that this would be solved easily, not only because of the complexity of the land claims, but also because there were problems regarding the validity of some of the portions claimed and the still unresolved disagreements regarding chieftainship in the community. there was consequently doubt regarding the rightful claimant. according to an official of the north-west development corporation, the issues in the area caused serious economic problems. industrialists and businessmen indicated that they experienced problems with the delivery of basic services and the expansion of economic development. fortunately, industrialists seemed not too keen on relocating from babelegi, due to their large capital investment in the area. apparently north-west development corporation now owns most of the land and sold some of the properties to interested industrialists. even though the opinion holds that in the past, money was taken out of the area and working conditions were bad, it was pointed out that an effort should be made to reinvest in the area and attract development. "the local communities have engaged on some own initiatives in order to make things happen. in mandela village, the community and in some instances institutions, are working towards the provision of basic needs and services, despite the 45 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation ownership restriction. people are eager to develop in the area. as a sanco representative in hammanskraal put it 'people should do something to uplift themselves' (and) the local civic organisation and other role-players, have (sic) embarked on various community projects aimed at uplifting the living standards of the approximately 8 ooo residents of the mandela village informal settlement, situated east of hammanskraal" (tibane, 1995: 7). this spirit is definitely present in the community and can be noticed in some of the developments that have taken place since october 1994 (barnard, 1994: 2-4) due to local initiatives and the effort by the civics, the then pwv provincial administration and other parties: • the pre-paid card electricity-metering system in almost every shack installed by escom for which every household contributes r40 towards installation costs • water provided by a tanker system, subcontracted by the former tpa upgraded via a main water supply pipeline to the area, providing water taps installed by the magaliesberg water board in rustenburg, for which every household contributes r l 00 towards the installation • the agreement of the development bank of south africa to the community's request for the installation of toilets and a sewerage system • telkom's contributions for underground telephone cables to improve communication • the addressing of literacy by means of a special programmes. the construction of temba city is under way and in morokolong (one of the tribal villages) the community built themselves a community centre a sign of tangible upliftment for themselves. 6. problems facing temba as a homeland town it can be inferred from an article by professor p smit on the mobility and urbanisation of the homeland population (smit, 1976: 41-66) that, even as one of a few towns with an economic foundation, temba experienced many problems. like other homeland towns, it had an unnatural origin (as a result of the policy of separate development). it was planned and developed by whites to be inhabited by blacks, had too little economic development in order to cope with urbanisation, had economic links with rural areas or other towns and the town had too few retail facilities, a large number of migratory workers and an efflux of buying power to neighbouring white towns and cities, such as pretoria (smit, 1976: 55-58). other contributing factors for 46 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no l the population increase in the homelands between 1960 and 1970, were the restrictions placed on housing for blacks in white areas, as well as the growth of industrial towns such as babelegi (smit, 1976: 41). where consumer patterns in western settlements indicated a multiplier effect of between 3 and 4-; it was between 1.08 and 1.21 in temba in 1975-76 (smit & booysen, 1977: 28). however, towns bordering the homelands drew population from inner rural areas, resulting in the formation of large squatter camps. it was estimated that approximately l o ooo people commuted to pretoria daily by the end of the 1970s. 7. the problems facing planners in her article on planning history patricia burgess ( 1996: 20) deliberates whether planning history is still meaningful. she concludes that planners do not use their history effectively and can actually benefit by doing so. it is through history that we can understand or come to know about the hidden hopes, fears, dreams and offences. she argues that understanding planning history will presumably lead to better planning practice and concludes that even though it is debatable whether things are better or worse than in the past because of planning history we are better able as a society to address the problems than previous generations. we better understand the nature and number of forces and factors involved in urban and suburban growth and development. we know more how they relate to one another. we know better, too, the part that planning has been able [or in some instances unable] to accomplish (burgess, 1996: 20). a look into the history of planning in south africa can help us to better understand the differences in experiences of planning for reconstruction, role players in planning and the forces that are actively shaping planning and being shaped by it. it can probably be argued that much has been said and written on the policies of apartheid and its crippling effects. it can also be argued that from a post-modern approach the cause-and­ effect relationship between past policies and its manifestations on local level cannot be pinpointed in the complex and interconnected nature of events and intentions. planning history, however, bears little relevance if it is but a duplication of work done or a broad modernistic outline of planning policies. 47 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation taking the approach of a "reflexive historian", proposed by jenkins (1991: 168-169), as a starting point, it could be argued that by critically reflecting on the approach and methodology one can 'choose' a history that is aware of what it is doing and be able to study the well-known past (that has been so aptly constructed by historians, politicians, officials, institutions and academics) from a different and more democratic perspective. this "reinterpretation of the past in ways which give local meaning to the present" (cooke, 1990: 114-115), with the focus on the various texts and stories playing off the local against the modernistic and eminent policies and power relations of apartheid, highlights the unjustifiability of reflecting only on those eminent and general narratives. 8. conclusion as goodchild (1990: 121j notes, eminent narratives lost their legitimacy and "politics have to become more concerned with the practical impact of policies and events, more directly related to the 'life goals' of the self", implying political and cultural diversity in institutions, the public sector, grass roots action, etc. such an approach to histories/stories/ texts of planning and development can help us to: • become critical of where we get information from and which ·stories we subscribe to or choose to ignore • be sensitive to and reflective on the way our own role and efforts can be perceived • realise and acknowledge different interpretations and experiences, taking into account difference and diversity, not only of people in the planning process, but also of stories, realities and histories • not subscribe to one interpretation of reconstruction and transformation as it can mean different things to different people • emphasise the role of public participation and local knowledge from analyses to implementation • acknowledge our own limited role as so-called professionals in reconstruction and transformation, and give credit to contributions by other planners and developers, and local initiative and hopes, which reiterates an emphasis on empowerment and capacity-building. only by being attentive and sensitive to the way we as planners construct stories or allow others to construct their own 'stories' will we be able to enrich planning history and planning itself with these alternative experiences. 48 2001 acta structilia vol 8 no 1 references badasha, o. (ed) 1986. south africa: the cordoned heart. cape town: gallery press. barnard, c. 1994. leeuwkraal/mandela village as a first initial pilot project. draft memoranda 1-6. beeld 1992. babelegi 'abba' bevolking. 31 maart, p. 4. benbo (bureau for economic research) 1977. bophuthatswana at independence. babelegi: craft press. benito, j. 1995. david bradley's the chaneysville incident. the narrator as historian. in telling histories: narrativizing history, historicizing literature. edited by s onega. amsterdam: rodopi b v, pp. 74-84. berry, a. 1989. act by act: 40 years of nationalist rule in south africa a cartoon history of apartheid. johannesburg: lowry publishers. burgess, p. 1996. should planning history hit the road? an examination of the state of planning history in the united states. planning perspectives, 11(3), pp. 201-24. butler, j., rotberg, r.i. & adams, j. 1977. the black homelands of south africa: the political and economic development of bophuthatswana and kwazulu. perspectives on southern africa, no 21. berkley: university of california press. campion, h. 1977. bophuthatswana -where the tswanas meet. sandton: valiant. cokayne r 1980. rosy future for babelegi despite some hitches. pretoria news. 2 october, p. 23. commission on the demarcation/delimitation of spr's 1993. report of the commission on the demarcation/delimitation of spr's. report tabled at the negotiation council on monday 2 august 31 july 1993. cooke, p. 1990. back to the future. london: unwin hyman. falck, c. 1994. myth, truth and literature: towards a true post-modernism. cambridge: university press. 49 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation goodchild, b. 1990. planning and the modern/postmodern debate. town planning review, april, 61(2), pp. 119-38. henning, j.j. 1969. dorpstigting in die bantoetuislande. ph d-tesis. potchefstroomse universiteit vir christelike hoer onderwys. impey, b., kupper, i. & martin, r. (ed) 1992. a book of hope. cape town: david philips. jeffrey, a.j. 1993. conflict at the crossroads in bophuthatswana. johannesburg. south african institute of race relations. jenkins, k. 1991. re-thinking history. london: routledge. kies c w 1981 . leefbaarheidsaspekte van drie dorpe in bophuthatswana. d phil-tesis, lnstituut vir sosiologiese, demografiese en kriminologiese navorsing. raad vir geesteswetenskaplike navorsing. luti, l. 1989. hammanskraal workers lose train service. city press. 16 april, p. 5. malan, t. & hattingh, p.s. 1976. black homelands in south africa. pretoria: africa institute of south africa. mandela village (leeuwkraal) development forum 1995. land ownership issue. letter to the minister of local government and housing, gauteng. 5 january, p. 1. nomvete, b. & du plessis, a.s. 1993. report on further work on the demarcation/delimination of states/provinces/regions (sprs). report tabled at the negotiation council on friday 15 october. olivier, j.j. 1984. die problematiek van verstedeliking in bophuthatswana en kwazulu: 'n geografiese vertolking binne afrika-verband. d phil-tesis: universiteit van pretoria. onega, s. 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10, pp. 41-67. south africa 1962. bantu affairs commission. report of the bantu affairs commission for the period l st january, 1961-31 st december. pretoria: government printer. south africa 1964. department of bantu administration and development. report for the period l st january, 1960-31 st december. pretoria: government printer. south africa 1995. department of land affairs. leeuwkraal 92-jr and adjacent farms. report no 36/1995 to the land claims commissioner (e mashinini). 6 september 1995. south africa s.a. department of development aid, file gb6/5/2/1 /h7 /54, vol l. pretoria: the department. suid-afrika 1971. departement van bantoe-administrasie en ontwikkeling. 1971. vyfjaar ontwikkelingsplan vir die bantoegebiede in die republiek van suid-afrika. tydperk 1 april 1966 tot 31 maart 1971. pretoria: departement. 51 van huyssteen/planning for reconstruction and transformation streekbeplanningsprojek 1975. bophuthatswana, streek 5: odi i en moretele i, vol 1. potchefstroom: lnstituut vir streekbeplanning aan die potchefstroomse universiteit vir christelike hoer onderwys. stucky, c. 1995. rural voters perplexed by sudden postponement of their local election. the sunday independent, 5 november, p. 7. tibane, .e 1995. project transform mandela village. 31 july, p. 7. van huyssteen, e. 52 1998. borders, boundaries and barriers: a narrative on hammanskraal­ temba. unpublished thesis. pretoria: university of pretoria. 76 fanie buys & erol tonono reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector peer reviewed abstract facilities managers in the national department of public works (ndpw) have to manage one of the biggest property portfolios in south africa. this requires a systematic approach to ensure that taxpayers’ monies are not wasted. research was conducted to determine whether the required policies and expertise are in place or whether there is a need for a transformation strategy in the public sector relating to facilities management. primary data was collected by means of questionnaires to regional, property and facilities managers in the ndpw. secondary data was obtained from the literature reviewed in relevant publications. the main findings were that more than half of facilities managers are inexperienced, information management systems are not used extensively and that there is a need for the appointment of properly trained facilities managers in the ndpw. keywords: facilities management, transformation strategy, public sector. abstrak fasiliteitsbestuurders in die nasionale departement van openbare werke (ndow) is verantwoordelik vir die bestuur van een van die grootste eiendomsportfolios in suid-afrika. hiervoor is ’n sistematiese benadering nodig om te verseker dat belastingbetalers se geld nie vermors word nie. navorsing is gedoen om te bepaal of die nodige beleidsrigtinge en kundigheid reeds bestaan en of daar ’n behoefte is dat daar transformasie moet plaasvind rakende fasiliteitsbestuur prof. fanie buys, department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa, e-mail: fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za mr erol tonono, national department of public works, eben donges building, private bag x3913, north end, port elizabeth, 6056, south africa. e-mail: errol.tonono@ dpw.gov.za buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 77 in die ndow. primêre data vir die navorsing was verkry met behulp van vraelyste aan streeks-, eiendomsen fasiliteitsbestuurders in die ndow. sekondêre data is verkry uit relevante bestaande literatuur. die hoofresultate dui aan dat die meerderheid fasiliteitsbestuurders nie genoegsame kennis het nie, inligtingstelsels nie genoegsaam gebruik word nie en dat bevoegde fasiliteitsbestuurders dringend aangestel moet word. sleutelwoorde: fasiliteitsbestuur, transformasie-strategie, openbare sektor. 1. introduction the south african government has the largest property portfolio in the southern hemisphere; it is in the custodianship of the national department of public works. this portfolio constitutes approximately 243 000 properties at the value of r120 billion and its running costs amount to r4 billion per annum (sigcawu, 2000: online). it is estimated that the deferred maintenance (backlog maintenance) is in the region of r13 billion (bici, 2006). this is a huge challenge facing the south african government as well as facilities managers in this sector. research by mavasa (2007) indicated that the national department of public works (ndpw) is currently ineffective in asset life cycle management, there is no clarity on the existence of an immovable asset management plan and that there is an urgent need for competent personnel with adequate skills to verify, capture and correct property data in an effective asset register. smith (1995) states that maintenance is a cost that management does not understand well. the result is that it becomes an orphan at the budget table. this result in most of the decision-makers in an organisation failing to understand that maintenance is also an investment, an essential expense that ensures the long-term reliability and availability of operating equipment and infrastructure. buys (2004) concludes that having a sound maintenance management system (policy) is one of the most important criteria in any facilities management department. such a policy should ensure that sufficient funds are provided for maintenance. dunn (1990: 19) is of the opinion that “if funding for facility maintenance does not become a regular budgeted item, organisations will soon find themselves mired in the same situation despite today’s fixup campaign”. inappropriate maintenance budget methodology and unstructured facilities management (fm) in the public sector have resulted in inadequate allocation of funds and a substantial acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 78 decline in the condition of buildings over a number of years. hence, this sector now has a huge cost of deferred maintenance. it could be argued that a lack of understanding and the misinterpretation of fm placed it ‘in the basement’ for too long. the result is that its growth is forcing its place into the boardroom from a hidden function entrusted to the sleepy, slow, and steady to one performed by increasingly bright-eyed and dynamic facilities managers (becker, 1990). buys (2004) concurs by stating that it is vital that top management should be made more aware of the importance of maintenance and the consequences of neglecting maintenance/facilities management. 2. facilities management best, langston & de valence (2003) define facilities management as “the practice of integrating the management of people and the business process of an organisation with the physical infrastructure to enhance corporate performance.” atkin & brooks (2005) state that facilities management covers a broad spectrum of real-estate management, financial management, change management, human resources management, health and safety and contract management, as well as building and engineering services, domestic services and other utilities’ supplies. fm is a wide field, which encompasses models that tend to differ considerably from one organisation to another. atkin & brooks (2005) also agree with this statement by defining fm as a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure the functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process, and technology. the modern facilities manager has adopted the principles and concept of continuous improvement. best, et al. (2003), in support of this notion, emphasised that any organisation should strive for improvement in its operations whether it is customer satisfaction, increased productivity, better quality of output, better environmental performance, or any other performance indicator. fm emanates from the premise that “no building is perfect and buildings are never perfect” (cloete, 2002). it is important that professions involved in property development and occupiers of buildings start to acknowledge mistakes that come with the building and learn to manage them in order that organisational objectives can be achieved and programmatic dysfunction reduced (cloete, 2002). these are the factors that made fm grow at a very fast rate in the modern business environment. buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 79 it is this state of affairs that prompted this research project on fm in the public sector. fm is assumed to be the driving force of the future in the management of buildings and its related services; it could also rescue government from the stated dilemma. the article reports on attitudes and perceptions regarding fm in the ndpw to establish whether there is a need for a transformation strategy for facilities management in the public sector. 3. research method the primary objective of the research was to determine the perceptions and attitudes of people dealing with fm in the public sector and thereby determine whether there is a need for a transformation strategy. leedy & ormrod (2005: 1) state, “in virtually every subject area, our knowledge is incomplete and problems are waiting to be solved. we can address the holes in our knowledge and those unresolved problems by asking relevant questions and then seek answers through systematic research”. leedy (1993) continues by stating that ‘facts’ are needed to solve any research problem. a quantitative method of data gathering was used to generate important information from the target population. mouton & prozesky (2001) agree that, more often than not, data collection methods that are more quantitative in nature are used in action research. primary data was obtained through questionnaires completed by facilities managers, regional managers and property managers of the national department of public works (ndpw). the secondary data was obtained through a literature review of relevant publications and information sourced from libraries and the internet. the secondary data played a major role in the establishment of the criteria and theories against which the empirical research was to be measured and in the compilation of the questionnaire for the survey. 4. target population the ndpw has eleven regional offices, each headed by a regional manager and supported by heads of divisions who are supported by line managers. the target population consisted of 33 managers comprising regional managers (11), property managers (11) and facilities managers (11) selected by being involved in facilities management one-way or another. gay & airasian (cited in leedy & ormrod, 2005) have the following guidelines for the identification of a sufficient sample: acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 80 • for a small population – less than 100 people – there is no need for sampling; • if the population size is around 500, 50% of the population should be sampled; • if the population size is around 1500, 20% of the population should be sampled; and • beyond a certain point (at about 5000 units or more), a sample of 400 people is adequate. based on the above information, the target population for this survey did not require sampling. every effort to eliminate the likelihood of biased data has been made, but if any can be identified, it is acknowledged. buys (2004) defines bias as “any influence, condition, or set of conditions that may singly or together distort the data from what may have been obtained under the conditions of pure chance.” 5. survey results data gathered to achieve results, data analysis, and interpretation was analysed using descriptive statistics, namely frequency and percentages with the help of the department of statistics at the nelson mandela metropolitan university. 5.1 target population and respondents the first table illustrates the composition of the target population and the respondents. the three functional groups form part of the existing organogram of the public sector and was used for categorisation. the responses are shown in table 1. table1: target population and respondents function position target population respondents response group number percentage number percentage percentage regional managers chief directors/ directors 11 33.3 4 36.4 23.5 property managers directors/ deputy directors 11 33.3 2 18.2 11.8 facilities managers deputy & assistant directors 11 33.4 11 100 64.7 total 33 100 17 51.5 100 buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 81 a response rate of 51.5% was achieved and this formed the basis for the analysis and the subsequent conclusions. all facilities managers responded, but only 36.4% of regional managers and 18.2% of property managers responded. although regional and property managers play major roles in the formulation of the policies and programmes in the organisation, the high percentage (64.7%) of the facilities managers group, should give a true and accurate reflection of the state of fm in the public sector. 5.2 experience in facilities management in the public sector as experience plays a major role in any field it was important to establish how much experience respondents had in fm. experience is linked to tacit knowledge. tacit knowledge forms one kind of knowledge, which is sometimes difficult to articulate when using formal language. nonaka & takeuchi (1995) state that tacit knowledge is personal knowledge embedded in individual experience and involves intangible factors such as personal beliefs, perspectives, and value systems. table 2: experience in facilities management years number of respondents percentage cumulative percentage less than 1 year 3 17.6 17.6 1 5 years 6 35.3 52.9 6 9 years 3 17.6 70.5 10 years and more 5 29.5 100 total 17 100 most of the respondents (35.3%) had between 1 and 5 year experience while 17.6% had less than 1 year experience in fm. the table also indicates that more than half of the respondents (52.9%) had less than 5 years of experience in fm. this is not a satisfactory state of affairs taking into account the huge property portfolio of the public sector. 5.3 definition of fm table 3 indicates the respondents’ ratings of the definition of fm, measured by using a five-point likert scale, namely 1 = strongly disagree (sd), 2 = disagree (d), 3 = neutral (n), 4 = agree (a) and 5 = strongly agree (sa). respondents were not requested to rank the statements but merely to rate each statement on the 5-point scale. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 82 table 3: statements describing facilities management description of facilities management sd d n a sa total weighted average ranking 1 2 3 4 5 number of responses the management of buildings and their related services 0 2 0 9 6 17 4.11 1 practice of integrating people, business process, and physical infrastructure 0 0 4 8 5 17 4.05 2 management of specific physical entities to enable the business to carry out its functions 0 3 2 7 5 17 3.82 3 management of cleaning and gardening services 1 3 3 6 4 17 3.52 4 management of all services that support core-business 3 3 3 5 3 17 3.11 5 property management, facilities management, and asset management are the same 4 4 3 5 1 17 2.7 6 the results from the table above indicate that the respondents have a fairly good idea of the scope of fm. however, the definition of “management of cleaning and gardening services” was rated unexpectantly high as fm entails much more than just that. the low rating of 2.7 (disagree) for the last statement also supports the perception that the respondents are knowledgeable about the scope of fm. 5.4 factors stimulating growth of fm table 4 illustrates respondents’ perceptions on the factors that have stimulated the growth of the fm discipline. respondents rated all five factors higher than 3 (thus ‘agree’) and this correspondents with the opinion of becker (1990) who states that the five factors that stimulate the growth fm is global competition, information technology, the high cost of space, employee expectations, and the cost of mistakes. table 4: factors stimulating growth of facilities management factors stimulating growth of fm sd d n a sa total weighted average ranking1 2 3 4 5 number of responses global competition 0 0 1 9 7 17 4.35 1 buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 83 information technology 1 0 0 11 5 17 4.12 2 high cost of space 1 0 5 5 6 17 3.88 3 employee expectations 1 1 8 2 5 17 3.53 4 cost of mistakes 2 3 4 5 3 17 3.24 5 although the public sector does not compete globally with other organisations, it is affected to a large extent by the other factors and therefore plays a major role in the management of its facilities. 5.4 perceptions of fm table 5: perceptions of fm statements about fm sd d n a sa total weighted average ranking 1 2 3 4 5 number of responses a lack of knowledge of fm results in poor performance of state properties 0 1 1 6 9 17 4.35 1 a building needs to be nurtured, understood, and developed to its full potential 0 2 1 4 10 17 4.29 2 senior-level people should be appointed to interpret the policy in terms of fm to fulfil the role of an ‘intelligent client’ 0 1 4 6 6 17 4.0 3 fm has developed from its technical base to more of a management discipline 0 3 3 7 4 17 3.71 4 the public sector is far advanced in fm 0 10 1 1 5 17 3.06 5 the availability of funding is the only cause of decay in state properties 4 7 1 1 4 17 2.65 6 it can be noted from the results in table 5 that respondents agree that a lack of knowledge of fm results in the poor performance of state properties whilst they also agree that buildings need to be nurtured, understood, and developed to its full potential; ratings of 4.35 and 4.29 respectively. respondents also agree that senior-level people should be appointed to interpret the fm policy to fulfill the role of an ‘intelligent client’; thereby agreeing with cloete (2002). sievert (1992: online) is further of the opinion that the quality of decisions made by facilities managers is directly related to the quality of information available to them. buys (2004: 185) supports this viewpoint by stating: “maintenance/facilities managers have to make important acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 84 decisions regarding maintenance work to be carried out such as whether the work must be carried out immediately or whether it can be deferred, redirect or re-allocate resources for maintenance work to be done and determine whether an item should be repaired or replaced. to make these decisions, he/she must have all the relevant information available such as cost implications of the various alternatives and minimum acceptable standards.” although the previous results indicate that the respondents are ‘knowledgeable’ about the scope of fm, there appears to be a need for the appointment of properly trained facilities managers in the public sector. this view is further augmented by the respondents’ views that the public sector is not really advanced in fm (rating of 3.06 – ‘neutral’). a lack of funding is usually given as the main reason why there is decay in the condition of buildings. buys (2004: 10) states that “there is evidence that inadequate finance is one of the biggest problems facing maintenance managers as maintenance budgets seem to be the easiest to cut in times of financial stringency. the limited funds are rather used for new buildings than the upkeep of existing buildings with the result that the maintenance manager is faced with a growing portfolio of responsibilities but diminishing resources”. it is noted from the above results that respondents generally disagree (rating 2.65) that the availability of funding is the only cause of the decay or poor condition of state properties. 5.6 information management systems the use of information management systems can be very beneficial to any organisation as computer software makes it possible to store and retrieve maintenance data making it easier to obtain the required information in order to make the right decisions. magee (1988) maintains that the computer, because of its ability to store and manipulate large amounts of data, can be a valuable asset to the facilities manager. corti (2001) states that it is vital to have a system which can respond rapidly to inquiries from senior management, providing accurate and detailed information. buys (2004) concludes that it is vital for organisations to use computerised maintenance management systems to enhance data and information communication throughout the building life cycle and to assist maintenance managers to record, monitor and predict the maintenance costs associated with the building elements, components or parts. buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 85 table 6 indicates the extent to which information management systems are used in the ndpw. table 6: information management systems in use fm systems in use use of information management systems never always 1 2 3 4 5 total weighted average ratings number of responses facilities management information management system 14 1 0 2 0 17 1.41 property management information management system 7 0 4 5 1 17 2.59 maintenance management information management system 11 2 3 1 0 17 1.65 average rating 1.88 the average rating of 1.88 clearly indicates that information management systems are not used extensively in the ndpw. the highest rating is for using a property management information management system. although the reasons for the under-utilisation of information management systems was not made known, it may be that the software is too expensive, users are not trained to use the software, the organisation are not aware of the advantages of using information management systems or do not know which software to use. the effect of this phenomenon could result in major setbacks for the organisation such as client dissatisfaction, non-competitiveness, and the poor performance of the portfolio. smith (1995) states that the maintenance management system develops benchmark information from operating data and it helps the maintenance manager to determine where changes for improvement are needed. 5.7 fm activities fm covers a wide range of activities and a list of these activities was included in the questionnaire to ascertain which activities are included in the portfolio of the respondent and to what degree respondents rate its importance. these are generic facilities management activities which form the core of this discipline. the following table tabulates the activities, the percentage of respondents who are responsible for these activities, and respondents’ views on their importance. the literature review formed the basis for identifying the activities. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 86 table 7: fm activities fm activities: percentage of respondents responsible for the fm activity importance of activity 1=not important 5=very important weighted average ratings ranking 1 2 3 4 5 number of responses health and safety 88 4.600 1 statutory compliance 88 0 0 1 4 10 4.60 safety environment 88 0 0 1 4 10 4.60 real estate/property management 85 4.583 2 condition assessment survey 94 0 0 1 3 12 4.69 unplanned maintenance 94 0 1 0 4 11 4.56 planned maintenance 76 0 0 0 3 10 4.77 building maintenance plan 76 0 0 3 3 7 4.31 financial management 75 4.580 3 budget preparation 82 0 0 0 6 8 4.57 operating cost analysis 71 0 0 0 4 8 4.67 budget reviews 71 0 0 0 6 6 4.50 support services 57 4.330 4 cleaning 71 0 0 1 5 6 4.42 catering 29 0 0 1 1 3 4.40 horticulture 71 0 0 2 6 4 4.17 operations 79 4.435 5 management of contracts 82 0 0 0 4 10 4.71 preparation of specifications 88 0 0 0 6 9 4.60 analysis of requirements 82 0 0 0 8 6 4.43 benchmarking 65 1 0 1 5 4 4.00 managing services 68 4.275 6 fm strategic management 65 0 0 2 6 3 4.09 client satisfaction 94 1 0 1 6 8 4.25 value chain 71 0 0 1 6 5 4.33 research survey analysis 41 0 0 1 2 4 4.43 business management 78 4.200 7 business planning 82 0 0 0 7 7 4.50 strategic advice 71 0 0 2 6 4 4.17 business transformation 82 1 0 1 9 3 3.93 buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 87 business organisation 65 4.090 8 organisational structure 65 1 0 1 4 5 4.09 business strategy 65 1 0 1 4 5 4.09 security 65 3.810 9 security systems 65 2 0 2 2 5 3.73 security management 76 2 0 0 6 5 3.92 security risk management 53 2 0 0 3 4 3.78 work place/space planning 24 3.743 10 it distribution 24 0 0 2 2 0 3.50 energy conservation 18 1 0 0 1 1 3.33 post-occupancy evaluations 29 0 0 0 3 2 4.40 average 69 4.265 the table indicates that, with the exception of one fm ‘category’ (work place / space planning), more than half of respondents are involved with the fm activities listed. only a small percentage (29%) of respondents has ‘catering’ as an activity which falls within their scope of responsibility. the table also shows that, on average, 31% of fm activities are not performed by the ndpw. this may be as a result of the outsourcing of some of the fm activities; the questionnaire unfortunately did not make provision to ascertain this. spedding (1994: 218) defines outsourcing as “the procedure adopted to discover and introduce suppliers and service providers from outside the organisation, often on a competitive basis of price, quality and performance.” although outsourcing has many benefits e.g. management is relieved from the responsibility of managing the activity (e.g. maintenance), competition amongst outside service providers may have economical benefits for the organisation and it can be used where there is insufficient in-house expertise, it also has many disadvantages. barrett (1995) lists lack of control over suppliers and risk of selection a poor supplier as potential disadvantages while buys (2004) concludes that many organisations do not find outsourcing to be very cost-effective. ‘health and safety, real estate/property management and financial management’ were rated as the three most important fm activities. although ‘security and work place/space planning’ were ranked in the 9th and 10th position on the importance scale, it still had acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 88 average ratings of 3.81 and 3.74 respectively. none of the individual fm activities had an average importance rating of less than 3 (neutral). this indicates that although some of the fm activities do not fall within the scope of the respondents’ portfolio, they are all rated as important. 6. conclusion government is spending huge sums of money on infrastructure and development, but less on maintaining these structures. this results in the perceived poor condition of state properties. the results of the survey have indicated that although the facilities managers are fairly knowledgeable about fm and that almost 70% of the respondents are responsible for all fm activities, more than half of them have less than five years experience in fm. this is not satisfactory taking into account the huge property portfolio of the ndpw and the important decisions they have to make regarding managing its facilities. information management systems are not used extensively in the ndpw and the introduction of such systems could greatly assist facilities managers in managing fm. a lack of funding should not be seen as the only cause of the decay or poor condition of state properties; other causes may be the lack of properly trained facilities managers and a need for a transformation strategy which should include the appointment of properly trained facilities managers. these managers should set the necessary policies, frameworks, and interventions in place to ensure that taxpayers’ money is not wasted through poor management. tertiary institutions should not only offer built environment related programmes such as engineering, architecture, construction management and quantity surveying, but also programmes in fm to satisfy this need. references atkin, b. & brooks, a. 2005. total facilities management. 2nd ed. oxford: blackwell publishing. barrett, p. 1995. facilities management – towards best practice. oxford: blackwell science. becker, f. 1990. the total workplace: facilities management and elastic organisation. new york: van nostrand reinhold. buys & tonono • reasons for the transformation of facilities management in the public sector 89 best, r., langston, c. & de valence, g. 2003. workplace strategies and facilities management. oxford: butterworth-heinemann. bici, l. 2006. billion-rand opportunities for women in construction. the herald 20/4/2006. buys, n.s. 2004. building maintenance management systems in south african tertiary institutions. unpublished ph.d. thesis, university of port elizabeth cloete, c.e. 2002. introduction to facilities management. pretoria: the south african foundation trust. corti, p. 2001. empowering employees and the organisation by implementing and evolving a maintenance management system. conference proceedings no. 23, ninth maintenance management conference, juneau, alaska, july 16-20, 2000. washington d.c.: national academy press dunn, j.a. 1990. overview of tufts university’s experience in financing capital maintenance. in: meyerson, j.w. & mitchell, p.m. financing capital maintenance. washington: national association of college and university business officers. leedy, p.d. 1993. practical research, planning and design. 4th ed. new york: macmillan publishing company. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research planning and design. 8th ed. upper saddle river: pearson prentice-hall. magee, g.h. 1988. facilities maintenance management. united states of america: r.s. means company ltd. mavasa, t. 2007. the management of government immovable assets. unpublished msc built environment treatise, nelson mandela metropolitan university. mouton, e.b.j. & prozesky, p.v.b. 2001. the practice of social research. cape town: oxford university press, southern africa. nonaka, i. & takeuchi, h. 1995. the knowledge creating company. new york: oxford university press. sievert, r. 1992. asset management: facilities as strategic resources [online]. available: <http//www.p2pays.org/ref/24/23728 pdf>. [accessed 15 august 2006]. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 90 sigcawu, s. 2000. briefing by the minister of public works on behalf of the employment and investment cluster [online]. available: <http/ www.pmg.org.za/briefings/000208employmentcluster.htm> [accessed 15 august 2005]. smith, b.d. 1995. benchmark and maintenance management systems. circle reader service, 130, p. 75-78. acta structilia-14(1) gert basson project management processes simplified peer reviewed abstract project management involves the application of a number of knowledge areas and processes to projects, some being applied more and some less rigorously, depending on the characteristics of the project considered. this article motivates the grouping of these processes under three headings, i.e. core, facilitating and continuous processes. it also arranges them in a flow diagram format to summarise the entire field of project management on one page. keywords: project management, project processes, core processes, project management model, project flow diagram abstrak projekbestuur behels die toepassing van ’n hele aantal kennisvelde en prosesse op projekte. sommiges word strenger as ander toegepas, afhangende van die eienskappe van die spesifieke projek onder beskouing. die artikel motiveer die groepering van hierdie prosesse onder drie hoofde, naamlik kern-, ondersteunendeen deurlopende prosesse. dit rangskik hulle ook in ’n vloeidiagramformaat wat die hele veld van projekbestuur op een bladsy opsom. sleutelwoorde: projekbestuur, projekprosesse, kernprosesse, projekbestuurmodel, projek vloeidiagram 158 mr gert aj basson, programme leader project management, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. tel: +27 82 900 1500. email: <gert.basson@up.ac.za> kommentaar • commentary 1. introduction generic project management knowledge, skills and processesapply to all projects, albeit some to a larger and some to alesser degree, depending on the characteristics of the specific project. this means that the processes for each project are, to some extent, unique to suit its specific scope (the work to be executed or objectives to be achieved). it is thus not the processes which change or become less important, it is only that some are more or less accentuated, as dictated by the nature of the specific project. it is against this background that the main project management processes are grouped under three headings in this article. the basic principles of this arrangement are discussed by briefly summarising the constituent processes entailed in each main process under each heading and confirming its relevance and the reasons for its grouping. the result is a very simple (one page) presentation which might be useful: • as an introduction to or orientation towards the field of project management; • to put the project management processes in perspective; • to ensure that all project management processes are addressed; and • a practice guide in poster format 2. related references to the pmbok of the pmi the above principles are confirmed by the various editions of the project management institute’s (pmi of usa) publications: a guide to the project management body of knowledge (pmbok) (pmi, 1996; 2000; 2004): the processes identified and the interactions illustrated … meet the test of general acceptance — they apply to most projects most of the time. however, not all of the processes will be needed on all projects, and not all of the interactions will apply to all projects (pmi, 1996: 34; pmi, 2000: 37). or this does not mean that the knowledge, skills and processes described should always be applied uniformly on all projects. the project manager, in collaboration with the project team, is 159 basson • project management processes simplified always responsible for determining what processes are appropriate and the appropriate degree of rigor for each process, for any given project (pmi, 2004: 37). both the 1996 and 2000 editions of the pmbok distinguish between ‘core’ and ‘facilitating’ processes as follows: core processes — some planning processes have clear dependencies that require them to be performed in essentially the same order on most projects. for example, activities must be defined before they can be scheduled or costed (pmi, 1996: 30; pmi, 2000: 33). and facilitating processes — interactions among the other planning processes are more dependent on the nature of the project (pmi, 1996: 32; pmi, 2000: 34). both editions illustrate these in figures depicting relationships between processes. although the above refer to the planning process group only, it is stated that the same principle applies equally to the other phases or main process groups of a project. illustrative figures for the other phases are, similarly, provided. the 2004 edition of the pmbok conveys the same principle in terms of interactions by stating: “other interactions among the processes within the planning process group are dependent on the nature of the project” (pmi, 2004). it illustrates each of the main process groups by way of charts depicting interactions between processes. 3. proposed grouping of main processes considering the above and in an attempt to convey the total concept and field of project management in a simplified way as an introduction or to novices, three main process groups are distinguished. the three types of main process groups suggested are ‘core’, ‘facilitating’ and ‘continuous’ processes. they are defined as follows: 3.1 core processes core processes are pre-requisites to or essential for the planning and execution of any project. they are, to a large extent, interrelated and mostly carried out sequentially to cater for interdependencies (with obvious iterations between them, especially during planning). 160 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 3.2 facilitating processes facilitating processes are more supportive and dependent on the nature of the project. they are not always all required (or required to the same extent) on all projects. they can, in many cases, be performed in parallel to the core processes. in some cases, however, some of them can only be assessed or conducted after the core process are completed or sufficiently advanced to avail information required for or by them. they may thus lead to iterative work in necessitating partial or complete revision of the completed (up to then planning) processes. 3.3 continuous processes the ‘new’ main group defined is called continuous processes. they are those (prominently) present from inception to final close out of a project. they are organisational or managerial by nature and impact directly and throughout the project on all other processes. they also, to a large extent, embrace the main functions of the project manager himself. 3.4 conclusion: proposed grouping of main processes the above main groups and the constituent processes included under each are visually illustrated in flow diagram format as figure 1: project management processes simplified. the diagram also summarises the entire field of project management as defined by the project management institute (nine knowledge areas indicated in bold font) in a very simple format on one page. the names of the knowledge areas were (deliberately) chosen as the descriptions in the text boxes to (also) represent the respective constituent processes (although abbreviated for simplicity). the reasons for this were ease of reference to the well-known knowledge areas, to readily introduce any novice to the total field of project management and to simplify the one page poster format. 161 basson • project management processes simplified figure 1: project management processes simplified source: basson, 1996: authors own diagram 4. constituent processes the respective sub-processes included under the descriptions of each of the ‘constituent processes’ below are summarised to indicate the basic contents of the planning aspects of each ‘constituent process’, rather than repeating all the processes and interactions from any edition of the pmbok or related literature. the purpose of including any descriptions of sub-processes is to, also, serve as background to motivate the placing of a specific ‘constituent process’ under a specific heading or main type of process only and not to convey detailed information on such a ‘constituent process’ itself. 162 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 4.1 core processes these are the essential processes for the planning and execution of all projects as defined in sections 2.0 and 3.1, above, and consist of basic sub-processes and elements as summarised below: 4.1.1 scope management this entails project scope management during the initiation and planning stages, i.e. • statement of work (sow): what • milestone schedule: by when • specifications: how well • work breakdown structure (wbs): tasks and logic • resources: by whom, with what • responsibilities (lrcs, rams): roles / participation scope management must be a core process as it defines the project in terms of its objectives and requirements, without which no project can exist. it also includes the basic planning processes as basis for most other processes. 4.1.2 time management it includes the time planning processes and may entail scheduling to any technique (or combination of techniques) and various levels of detail, as summarised below: • activities (tasks): from wbs • duration of each activity: with team • logic diagram: interdependencies • time plan(s): bar charts: gantt/linear line of balance networks pert cpm precedence critical chain 163 basson • project management processes simplified due to its essence as a main project constraint, time planning, however rudimentary or elaborate of nature, must be part of the core processes. it can be performed in parallel with cost management 4.1.3 cost management cost management refers to the project cost management process during the initiating and planning stages, i.e. estimating to various repetitive degrees of accuracy: • activities (tasks): from wbs • resources and resource rates: labor, materials, etc • cost of each activity: estimates • role (add) up: budget cost management should, by virtue of its essentiality on any project, and, however basically estimated or determined in detail, be a core process. 4.1.4 cash flow (baseline) this text box combines the time and cost results in the form of a timerelated budget or cash flow. in graph format it will, typically, be the baseline e.g. earned value management and is a core product following from the preceding core processes. 4.1.5 project plan(s) the project plan summarises all the above planning processes for final evaluation, approval and go-ahead. it also provides the basis for execution. the main project plan may include various sub-plans, depending on the method of execution, e.g. sub-plans for tasks distributed to others or packages to be procured. it is a core document based on the core processes up to this stage and essential for those to follow. 4.1.6 execution the next core process is execution, i.e. converting planning into reality. should no portions require procurement, i.e. the entity is self sufficient enough to handle all aspects on its own, execution follows directly after the approval of the project plan. 164 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 4.1.7 close out the close out actions concludes the execution process. it includes the final acceptance of deliverables. it forms part of overall project close out under ‘integration management’. 4.1.8 conclusion: core processes the above (‘core’) processes are, clearly, all essential to the planning and completion of any project. it may even be stated that without these there can, in fact, not be a project or a final outcome. 4.2 facilitating processes these are the facilitating or supporting processes as defined in sections 2.0 and 3.2, above. their sub-elements are, apart from project specific aspects, already in place for routine or repetitive types of projects. ‘routine’ projects are those types of projects handled by the entity on a regular basis as part of its normal business. they are thus only freshly developed for project specific (unique) tasks on routine projects and, largely, re-developed for new types of projects or ventures. these processes are listed below, together with their main subelements: 4.2.1 quality management quality planning for new types of projects can be summarized as generating the following documents: • quality policy • prescribed standards / processes • benchmarking and tests • quality plan: systems processes procedures checklists the above descriptions for facilitating processes apply to quality management for which policies, systems, procedures and specifications exist on routine or repetitive projects, but will have to be largely re-developed for new endeavours. 165 basson • project management processes simplified the impact on time durations and cost rates of adhering to (‘normal’) quality standards are known and automatically discounted in the durations and rates of repetitive tasks. most of these are determined or factored from historical data for projects of the same kind. for new types of projects, the durations and rates have to be freshly determined, in many cases from first principles and taking cognisance of the quality processes entailed. the horizontal arrow indicates that new information on quality is fed into the system prior to time and cost planning being effected (or finalised). the control functions for quality are executed from inception to close out on all processes and for all projects (routine or new) as depicted by the vertical arrow in figure 1. 4.2.2 risk management the following aspects of risk management are executed during the planning stage of new projects: • planning • identification: sources, risks • quantification / analyses: impact/ranking/ amount & probability • evaluation • response: transfer retain (reserve) largely, the same principles and arguments presented in sections 2.0 and 3.2 for ‘facilitating processes’ and for ‘quality management’ in section 4.2.1, above, apply to ‘risk management’ to motivate it as a supplementary (‘facilitating’) process. for most routine or repetitive projects handled by an organisation very few new risks are present. ‘routine’ risks are, as for ‘routine’ quality, already taken care of in ‘routine’ time durations and cost rates. new ventures, on the other hand, may involve many new risks with completely different impacts on durations and rates and will have to be determined and assessed from scratch. some risks can only be determined once planning is advanced, but are, again, project specific. “for example, on some projects, there may be little or no identifiable risk until after most of the planning has been done and the team recognises that the cost and schedule targets are extremely aggressive and thus involve considerable risk” 166 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) (pmi, 1999: 32; pmi, 2000: 34). the latter is confirmed in the pmbok of 2004 (although slightly differently phrased) (pmi, 2004: 46). the latter situation will lead to iterative planning processes. 4.2.3 procurement management procurement, where required, entails the following for each package to be procured: • scope (and wbs): for each package • source investigations • procurement documents • contract type • tenders (bids) : rfi, rfp, rfb, rfq • evaluation, selection, appointment, agreement (= contract) • contract management • contract close out procurement is a typical ‘facilitating’ process as defined in sections 2.0 and 3.2, above. many organisations are able to execute projects entirely within their own organisations, i.e. no need for procurement (e.g. the manufacturing industry or research and development projects), while others have to source certain or most tasks out to external parties (e.g. the construction industry). only in the latter case will procurement of such external resources be required. procurement is effected as defined in and after the approval of the project plan (horizontal arrow) and managed during execution (vertical arrow). 4.2.4 conclusion: facilitating processes the above processes all fit the definitions of ‘facilitating’ processes in sections 2.0 and 3.2. they are considered at the opportune stage in the planning process and applied to the extent required by the specific project or project type. they impact on the other processes and are controlled throughout the remainder of the project as depicted by the horizontal and vertical arrows in figure 1. 167 basson • project management processes simplified 4.3 continuous processes ‘continuous’ processes are defined in section 3.3 and are those present from inception to final completion of the project. they also impact on all other processes. the processes grouped under this heading are indicated and briefly discussed below in terms of the basic contents and relevance of each: 4.3.1 human resource management this process entails human resource management and human relations in a broad context and may include, inter alia, the following sub-items and functions: • human resource requirements (from wbs); • recruitment / sourcing; • compensation schemes / agreements; • team formation (including stakeholders); • project organisational structure (or obs); • leadership; • team building; • negotiation; • conflict management; • performance evaluation (post mortems); and • dissolving the team (if required) the above commences at the first interaction when the project manager meets with his superior or client upon his appointment and lasts until final appreciation is expressed at close out. it is one of the most important functions of the project manager and (most probably) the single most determining aspect leading to project success or failure. 4.3.2 communications management this includes all aspects of project communications management, i.e.: 168 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) • communications planning : who needs what, when and how to supply it; • information distribution; • performance reporting; and • closure (and archiving) communications management, similar to ‘human’, commences when the first information is transferred at inception and lasts until all is archived. it impacts on all other processes and needs to be intimately managed and taken cognisance of by the project manager. 4.3.3 integration management integration management entails the items listed below to integrate the project as a whole: • develop project plan: actions, policies, procedures • direct and manage project execution (and interfaces) • integrated change control (and project plan updates) • total project close out integration, obviously, is required throughout the entire duration of the project to ensure centralised co-ordination. it also requires, to a large extent, the personal attention of the project manager to enable him to be fully informed and ensure that there are no loose ends between any participating parties or individual processes, respectively. 4.3.4 control control, in general, entails: • manage adherence to systems, processes and procedures; • measure performance; • evaluate outputs; • apply corrective actions (if and where required); and • update systems, processes and procedures 169 basson • project management processes simplified control is applicable to all processes individually, as well as the project as a whole (in an integrated manner) as part of integration management. it is, however intensive or rudimentary applied, mandatory from inception to final close out to ensure conformance. 4.3.5 conclusion: continuous processes the above processes are all essential throughout the entire ‘lifespan’ of any project. they commence at inception and remain active and of cardinal importance until final close out. it is, further, suggested that all other processes or ‘tasks’ can (to a large extent, if centrally managed and controlled) be delegated on a project. the latter processes, however, must be retained and executed by the project manager (or, at least, be intimately controlled by him on large projects). 5. conclusion the above recognises all processes and ensures that all are equally considered on each project so as to take cognisance of each and establish the prominence of their individual roles on the project or project type under consideration. the proposed grouping of main processes, however, also simplifies or demystifies the total concept of project management. it includes all the principles and constituent elements of the entire field of project management, yet presents it in a format enabling every person, even with only a basic knowledge of project management, to understand, use and apply it on any project. ‘it is only once one comprehends the full complexity that you grasp the simplicity’ 170 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) references basson, g.a.j. 2005. project management processes simplified. paper at the 49th annual meeting of aace international, new orleans, usa, 26 to 28 june 2005 project management institute (pmi). 1996. a guide to the project management body of knowledge. (pmbok guides). usa: pmi. project management institute (pmi). 2000. a guide to the project management body of knowledge. (pmbok guides). usa: pmi. project management institute (pmi). 2004. a guide to the project management body of knowledge. (pmbok guides). usa: pmi. abbreviations cpm : critical path method lrc : linear responsibility chart obs : organisational breakdown structure pert : programme evaluation and review technique ram : responsibility assignment matrix rfb : request for bid rfi : request for information rfp : request for proposal sow : statement of work wbs : work breakdown structure 171 basson • project management processes simplified 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 kommentaar commentary bouwerk op kleigrond: vanuit die oogpunt van 'n siviele lngenieur hendrik j marx* opsomming geen ekonomiese herstelmetode is tans beskikbaar waarmee die probleem van barste in bestaande geboue wat aan swel­ lende kleigrond te wyte is, geheel en al uitgeskakel kan word nie. regstellende werk kan hoogstens die grootte en voorkoms van krake beperk. sleutelwoorde: kleigrond, krake, bouwerk. construction on expansive clay: an engineer's viewpoint summary no economically viable repair method is available at the mo­ment to completely solve the problem of cracks in existing buildings resulting from the expansion of clayey soil. repair work can only control the size of cracks and help to avoid the aggravation of the problem. keywords: clayey soil, cracks, construction. * dr hendrik j marx, pr ing, b ing (hons) siviel stellenbosch, m sc & ph d universit�it van illinois, vsa., lsaisi (voorsitter, bloemfontein), aistruct e (londen), msaisc, lektor aan die universiteit van die oranje-vrystaat. marx / bouwerk in kleigrond h oeveel huiseienaars het nie al hul droomhuis loot bou net om binne die verloop van 'n jaar hand in die hare te sit oor 'n woning vol onooglike barste as ge­ volg van fondamente wat op swellende kleigrond gebou is nie? voornemende huiseienaars is baie onwillig om enige geld aan 'n behoorlike geotegniese fondasie-ondersoek te spandeer. dit is s6 dot mense gewoonlik nie graag vir iets wil betaal wat hulle nie kan sien nie. dit kan eienaars met klei­ grond op hul erwe egter baie duur te staan kom. swellende kleigrond is nie noodwendig 'n probleem nie. door moet egter deeglik beplan en begroot word alvorens bouwerk 'n aanvang neem. die geheim le daarin om vroegtydig van die dienste van 'n siviele ingenieur gebruik te maak. plaaslike owerhede vereis 'n ingenieursertifikaat vir bouwerk op kleigrond, want konvensionele strook-fondamente wat deur tekenaars en argitekte volgens die nasionale boure­ gulasies op bouplanne aangetoon word, is don nie meer toelaatbaar nie. die inligting wat hier weergegee word, is 'n vereenvoudig­ de verklaring van die oorsaak van barsvorming in die bak­ steenmure en hoe dit voorkom kan word. wanneer kleigrond se voginhoud verhoog, swel dit uit en wanneer die voginhoud verlaag, krimp dit weer. figuur (a) toon 'n oop stuk veld met plantegroei op 'n diep laag klei­ grond. die voginhoud van die kleigrond is hoog en orals dieselfde. wanneer 'n groot stuk plastiek op die grond neer­ gele en met bakstene vasgepak word om die wind uit te hou, gebeur die volgende soos in fig. (b) aangedui: waar die plastiekmembraan voorkom, word enige ver­ damping van grondwater deur die oppervlak versper en die grondvog bly hier hoog en konstant. ver van die plas96 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 tiekmembraan af, suig plantegroei die grondwater uit die kleilaag uit en die grondvog verminder ook verder weens die verdampingsaksie veroorsaak deur die son en die wind. hier is die kleigrond dus droer met 'n konstante maar laer voginhoud en krimp die kleilaag tot 'n laer vlak soos in fig. (b) aangedui. figuur (a) pt..,,uhegr0£1 figuur (b) oal<konstruksie v(rhoeo ul!"swmi yan ot£ 90pun7 va>4 ott muur in die omgewing van die rand van die plastiekmembraan is daar egter 'n oorgangsone. hier neem die voginhoud van die droer kleigrond toe, totdat dit die oorspronklike hoer konstante voginhoud bereik wat dieper onder die plastiek­ membraan in voorkom. hier varieer die hoogte van die grondoppervlak ook vanaf die laer, droer, gekrimpte 97 marx / bouwerk in kleigrond grondvlak tot by die natter, hoer, oorspronklike grondvlak dieper onder die plastiekmembraan in. let op dat die rand van die plastiekmembraan gesak het en dat die grondop­ pervlak in hierdie oorgangsone geroteer het en nie meer horisontaal is nie. wanneer 'n nuwe gebou opgerig word, vervul die beton­ vloer dieselfde rol as die plastiekmembraan hierbo: dit ver­ hoed die verdamping van grondvog in die kleigrond onder die gebou, terwyl die tuinplante, gras, wind en son dieself­ de rol as voorheen rondom die gebou vervul. die posisie van die buitemure van die gebou in fig. (c) stem ooreen met die rand van die plastiekmembraan. dit is hier waar die buitemure _r.elatief tot die binnemure, wat daaraan vas is, vers�m sodoende krake te vorm. verder hel die buite­ m1::1re ook na buite oor as gevolg van die rotasie van die grondoppervlak in die oorgangsone. by gewelmure is hier­ die oorhel no buite dikwels duidelik sigbaar. soms verhoed die dakkonstruksie dat die bopunt van 'n gewelmuur no buite kan uitswaai en don knak die gewelmuur met 'n dui­ delike horisontale bars. raad vir nuwe ontwikkelings en geboue: die heel beste raad is om 'n inspeksie te laat doen om vas te stel of van die bestaande geboue in die direkte omgewing van die erf gekraak is of nie. lnligting rakende die voorkoms van swellende klei in die omgewing moet van die plaaslike owerheid ingewin word. minstens twee toetsgate moet op die erf gegrawe word om vas te stel of daar kleigrond is of nie. lndien dit nie baie duidelik is dot door horde rots naby die oppervlak voorkom nie, kan die dienste van 'n siviele ingenieur verkry word om die ondersoek verder te voer. hy kan ook behulpsaam wees met 'n kosteberaming vir ingenieursontwerpte fonda­ mente wat probleme sol uitskakel. 98 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 tiekmembraan of. suig plantegroei die grondwater uit die kleilaag uit en die grondvog verminder ook verder weens die verdampingsaksie veroorsaak deur die son en die wind. hier is die kleigrond dus droer met 'n konstante 1maar laer voginhoud en krimp die kleilaag tot 'n laer vlak soos in fig. (b) aangedui. -::{')so.• (n -/ff\" wino figuur (a) figuur (b) figuur (c) oaickonstrulcsje \/£r�oeo uitswmi va/ii 0.£ 90pun7 vah olf. muur in die omgewing van die rand van die plastiekmembraan is door egter 'n oorgangsone. hier neem die voginhoud van die droer kleigrond toe, totdat dit die oorspronklike hoer konstante voginhoud bereik wat dieper onder die plastiek­ membraan in voorkom. hier varieer die hoogte van die grondoppervlak ook vanaf die laer, droer, gekrimpte 97 marx/ bouwerk in kleigrond grondvlak tot by die natter, hoer. oorspronklike grondvlak dieper onder die plastiekmembraan in. let op dot die rand van die plastiekmembraan gesak het en dot die grondop­ pervlak in hierdie oorgangsone geroteer het en nie meer horisontaal is nie. wanneer 'n nuwe gebou opgerig word, vervul die beton­ vloer dieselfde rol as die plastiekmembraan hierbo: dit ver­ hoed die verdamping van grondvog in die kleigrond onder die gebou, terwyl die tuinplante, gras, wind en son dieself­ de rol as voorheen rondom die gebou vervul. die posisie van die buitemure van die gebou in fig. (c) stem ooreen met die rand van die plastiekmembraan. dit is hier waar die buitemure �atief tot die binnemure, wat daaraan vas is, vers�m sodoende krake te vorm. verder hel die buite­ mt:jre ook no buite oor as gevolg van die rotasie van die grondoppervlak in die oorgangsone. by gewelmure is hier­ die oorhel no buite dikwels duidelik sigbaar. soms verhoed die dakkonstruksie dot die bopunt van 'n gewelmuur no buite kan uitswaai en don knak die gewelmuur met 'n dui­ delike horisontale bars. raad vir nuwe ontwikkelings en geboue: die heel beste road is om 'n inspeksie te loot doen om vas te stel of van die bestaande geboue in die direkte omgewing van die erf gekraak is of nie. lnligting rakende die voorkoms van swellende klei in die omgewing moet van die plaaslike owerheid ingewin word. minstens twee toetsgate moet op die erf gegrawe word om vas te stel of door kleigrond is of nie. lndien dit nie baie duidelik is dot door horde rots naby die oppervlak voorkom nie, kan die dienste van 'n siviele ingenieur verkry word om die ondersoek verder te voer. hy kan ook behulpsaam wees met 'n kosteberaming vir ingenieursontwerpte fonda­ mente wat probleme sol uitskakel. 98 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 daar is verskeie opsies wat die siviele ingenieur in sy kosteanalise moet oorweeg om die mees ekonomiese oplossing aan sy klient te kan bied. voorbeelde hiervan is: a) lndien die kleilaag nie diep is nie kan al die swellende materiaal uitgegrawe word en die got met goeie in­ gevoerde gruis teruggevul en gekompakteer word. konvensionele strookfondamente kan hierna gebruik word. b) konvensionele strookfondamente kan ook gebruik word waar diep uitgrawings dwarsdeur die kleilaag gegrawe word sodat die fondamente op vaste rots gefondeer word. die fondamentmure onder die grond is in die geval egter baie hoer en gevolglik ook duurder. hier moet die betonvloer los van alle mure gegiet word, met 'n uitsetvoeg tussen die vloer en mure, om vrye beweging van die vloer toe te laat. c) 'n vlotfondament is 'n ander moontlikheid. dit bestaan uit 'n strukturele sisteem van gewapende be­ tonbalke wat in vlak slote, in 'n roosterpatroon, in die kleigrond gegiet word met 'n gewapende beton­ vloerblad bo-oor, om 'n starre en plat fonderingsvlak te skep. die soort fondament dryf in die kleigrond soos 'n vlot in water. die baksteenmure ondervind nou geen relatiewe versakking of rotasie wat dit laat kraak nie, want die vlotfondament se styfheid verhoed dit. door is verskeie gepatenteerde vlotfondamentstelsels beskikbaar. d) 'n stelsel van betonkolomme wat diep op vaste rots gefondeer word met gewapende fondamentbalke wat tussen hierdie kolomme span, bied dikwels ook 'n ekonomiese oplossing. raad vir bestaande geboue met barste: geen ekonomiese metode is tans beskikbaar waarmee die probleem van barste in bestaande geboue, wat aan swel­ lende kleigrond te wyte is, geheel en al uitgeskakel kan 99 marx/ bouwerk in kleigrond word nie. regstellende werk kan hoogstens die grootte en voorkoms van krake beperk. die volgende is sommige van die metodes wat deur siviele ingenieurs toegepas word om die effek van die kleiprobleem tee te werk: a) waterdigte plaveisels word rondom die gebou aan­ gebring wat versakking en rotasie van die buitemure help beperk. 'n diep vertikale plastiekmembraan word dikwels ook suksesvol rondom die gebou ge­ bruik om die grondvog onder die gebou konstant te hou en gevolglik die krimp en swel van die kleigrond te beperk. b) dele van erg gebarste mure word oorgebou met ver­ tikale bewegingsvoee in strategiese posisies. c) 'n metode van vlak boorgate rondom die gebou, wat gereeld met water gevul word om die grondvog in die omgewing van die gebou konstant te hou, word saam met metode a) hierbo toegepas. hier is die menslike faktor, om gereeld water te gee, pro­ blematies. d) die metode met uitgangspunt "as dit dan nie perma­ nent herstel kan word nie, steek dit eerder weg" deur gebarste mure met panele te beklee, bied 'n perma­ nente en praktiese oplossing. bibliografie donaldson, g.w. 1973. the prediction of differential movement on expansive soils. proceedings of the third international conference on expansive soils. august 1973. haifa, israel, pp. 289-293. jennings, j.e. & kerrich, j.e. 1962. the heaving buildings and as­ sociated consequences, with particular reference to the orange free state goldfields. transactions of the south afri­can institution of civil engineers, 4(11). pidgeon, j.t. 1988. guide to the universal method for the rational design of stiffened raft foundations for small structures. course on the design of stiffened raft foundations and ar100 1997 acta structilia vol 4 no 1 ticulated structures on expansive clay soils. division of build­ ing technology, csir. williams, a.a.b., pidgeon, j.t. & day, p.w.. 1985. expansive soils. problem soils in south africa state-of-the-art. the civil engi­ neer in souh africa, 27(7), july, pp. 367-377. (division of building technology reprint no. r/bou 1318) 101 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 j j p verster1 property development: in search of an environmental sensitive development model abstract the quantity surveyor (at times acting as principal agent or project manager) must become more pro-active, in the sense that returns, development costs, price, risk analyses and assessments are now crucial. to the quantity surveyor, this may sound like music to the ears, but if the profession is only concerned with the financial aspect of risk and return, there is an inherent danger that not only this generation, but also more specifically future generations, will be confronted with all the negative effects. this article proposes a model to assist with the management of the total impact of property development in an urban context. it also addresses the influence of property development on the rural environment. keywords: property development, environment, model. eiendomsontwikkeling en die omgewing: die soeke na 'n omgewingsensitiewe ontwikkelingsmodel die bourekenaar (soms in die rol van hoofagent of projekbestuurder) moet meer pro-aktief optree, in die sin dot opbrengs, ontwikkelingskoste, prys, risiko-ontleding en -beoordeling tans deurslaggewend is. vir die bourekenaar mag dit soos musiek klink moor as die beroep slegs die finansiele aspek van risiko en opbrengs raaksien, bestaan door 'n inherente gevaar dot nie alleen die huidige geslag nie, moor ook meer spesifiek, toekomstige geslagte, al die negatiewe effekte daarvan sol moet konfronteer. hierdie artikel stel 'n model voor wat kan bydra tot die bestuur van die totale impak van eiendomsontwikkeling in 'n stedelike konteks. die artikel beskou ook die invloed van eiendomsontwikkeling op die landelike omgewing. sleutelwoorde: eiendkomsontwikkeling, omgewing, model. j j p verster, professor and head of the department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state bloemfontein, south africa <verste�@sci.uovs.ac.za> 59 verster/property development and the environment 1. introduction winston churchill once said that "we shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us". this succinct statement illustrates how the built environment impacts on humans and nature. the role of cost engineering, project management and quantity surveying, a left-brain function sometimes performed in a right­ brain context, must be considered in terms of development and the environment. the professions must adopt a sympathetic and pro-active attitude because environmental impact is intimately related to cost and long-term risks. the following environmental influences are relevant: direct influences • the building site • plants on the site • trees • sunlight • environment • nature • micro-ecology /species. indirect influences • use of electricity and other forms of energy • use of water • air-conditioning • material mining • rehabilitation • industry attitude • philosophy about our place • indirect environments • energy. it needs to be recognised that cost should include the impact on the environment. risk should be regarded more as financial risk. environment implies considerably more than what is perceived on the surface. it must be realised that development for economic return only is a self-destructive attitude, even from the profession's point of view. 60 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 the quantity surveyor (at times acting as principal agent or project manager) must become more pro-active, in the sense that returns, development costs, price, risk analyses and assessments are now crucial. to the quantity surveyor, this may sound like music to the ears, but if the profession only considers the financial aspect of risk and return, there is an inherent danger that not only this generation, but also more specifically future generations, will be confronted with this. 2. the environmental impact 2.1 acfivities and influence economic and human actions influence the environment at various levels, to various degrees and in respect of urban, regional and rural activities, as well as resources: • local economy: employment, wealth • natural environment: wildlife, air, water, nature • aesthetics and culture: delight, usefulness, landmark • public and private services: security, recreation, transport, health, housing • social impacts: displacement, hazards, privacy, creativity (wathern, 1991 : 11 ). sustainable development is important to future life and the relationship between human activity and the survival of nature. agenda 21 is a comprehensive blueprint for global action, into the twenty-first century, by governments, united nations organisations, development agencies, non-governmental organisations, and the business community, in all areas of economic and social development and environmental protection. sustainable development means meeting the economic, social, and environmental needs of the present generation, without compromising future generations' ability to meet their needs. economic and social development as well as environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development (desai in lnoguchi et of., 1999: 235). to understand current trends and to manage the future of human kind, it is important to recognise the inter-relationship of the 'old' and 'new' attitudes within a city and rural context. some of these are elucidated below. 61 verster/property development and the environment 2.2 rural environment • happiness old: happiness was obtained by purchasing goods happiness basically emanates from good relations with families, friends, colleagues, new: communities and nature • other species old: new: • the future old: new: the riches of the earth are to be exploited by humans. and in particular by corporations we survive solely because of our interdependence with the rich web of microbial, plant, animal and even insect life, which supports us present generations count, since the "discount rate" means that future values have no economic significance in the present the new rule should be: "consider the effects of any action on the seventh generation" (callenbach, 1999: 22). 2.3 environmental impact studies a major shortcoming in many environmental impact studies has been their inability to establish the time frame indicating when impacts are likely to be manifested. since impacts are site­ specific, it is important to determine their distribution. impact studies must therefore provide useful and timeous information (wethern 1988:8). land information utilities and government land agencies cannot function effectively without accurate, affordable and timely information. land information represents one of their primary product lines (le roux 2.1.1: 2.2.2). 2.4 environmental subject matter the following subject-matter forms an integral part of the environmental professional's background or should be available to the professional developer: • basic physio-biological and socio-economic principles and theories • social impact assessment and integrated environmental management (iem) • environmental law • urban analysis • sustainability 62 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 • green business and resources economics • bio-diversity and basic ecological principles • industrial ecology and waste issues • research methodology and communication • quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques • professional ethics and business skills (dewar & shippey, 2001). informed persons with a combination of various professional skills should assess and address environmental risk. 3. risk, the environment, nature and human activity 3.1 assessment to manage the risk of environmental damage and deterioration in nature, these aspects must be assessed, described and their influence established as accurately as possible. several problems with respect to risk assessment may be identified. to be useful and reliable, such an assessment must also take into account the more difficult non-quantifiable influences. risk assessments tend to be quantitative appraisals; they are essentially statistical analyses of likely events based upon certain probabilities of occurrence. the use of risk assessment has certain implications, especially for non-numerate decision-makers. firstly, it suffers from a potential weakness similar to that of all quantitative predictions of change. non-quantified parameters must either be forced into a numerical guise, based upon arbitrary considerations, or be ignored. secondly, decision­ makers may treat such highly quantified assessments reverentially, affording them greater credibility than is warranted and weighting them more highly than more descriptive treatments of likely impacts. economic and environmental analyses tend to be treated separately when, in fact, they are closely interrelated (wethern, 1999: 21 ). pollution as an environmental risk is a major factor that must be assessed in terms of significant harm. the possibility of significant harm being caused should be gauged in relation to: • the nature and extent of harm • the time scale within which the harm may occur • the vulnerability of the receptors which may be harmed • appropriate guideline standards. 63 verster/property development and the environment generally speaking the more severe the harm, the more immediate its effect; or. the greater the vulnerability of the receptor. (richards, 1997: 11). in order to determine whether a site presents an environmental risk, or could do so in future, it is necessary to understand whether there are contaminants. their nature and concentration, and the site-specific risks associated with their presence (andrews in wathern, 1999: 27). 3.2 the human influence human activity exercises the greatest influence on the environment and entails the most significant risk of damage and pollution, therefore, some human activity and influence must be the focus of assessment. food, fresh water and energy constitute the core of contemporary and future environmental concerns, all of which being intertwined in an intricate web of ecological interdependence. ultimately, the consumption of these elements by humans, and therefore the market, is what really constitutes pollution, contamination as well as environmental and natural damage. market forces are fundamentally flawed in coping with this environmental dilemma (chung-in in chasek, 2000). human efforts to sustain higher living standards for increasing numbers of people have been accompanied by two serious ecological consequences. one is ecological scarcity and the diminishing carrying capacity of the planet earth, while the other is pervasive environmental degradation stemming from the misuse and abuse of the ecosystem. while environmental degradation has seriously undermined the quality of life, ecological scarcity, especially involving a vital resource such as food, water and energy, has threatened the foundation of organic survival of national populations and the global populace (chung-in in chasek, 2000). the way energy is produced and used, is at the root of many causes of environmental pollution and damage. for example, air pollution and acid rain are largely due to the burning of fossil fuels and urban transportation. greenhouse warming and climatic change are also due mainly to the burning of fossil fuels (goldenberg & chasek, 2000: 64). 64 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 3.3 architecture, the environment and human experience the built environment and architecture as human activity and experience not only influence the environment at all levels, but also impact directly on human experience. referring to architecture, luke (1994) uses soleri's project to show the influence, effect and role of this profession: • architecture denotes the alterations made to nature by the organic, the physiological and the mental • architecture materially expresses what society does • any radical social transformation also demands not only a reordering of ideas and institutions, but also society's most basic information technology • ecological development is part of theological and technological evolution. 3.4 risk and biodiversity biodiversity is one of the most important elements of nature and the experience of life, as well as the sustainability of all life forms. if biodiversity is threatened, life itself will be threatened and ultimately human life will be at risk. the loss of biological diversity may take on many forms, but at its heart is the extinction of species. species extinction is a natural process, however, it is beyond question that the rate at which man causes extinction, directly or indirectly, far exceeds any reasonable estimates of background extinction rates. man may exterminate species by using various types of impact, which can be divided into two broad categories: direct (hunting, collection and persecution), and indirect (habitat destruction and modification). over-hunting is perhaps the most obvious direct cause of extinction in animals. in terms of overall loss of biodiversity, however, the latter factor is undoubtedly far less important than the indirect causes of habitat modification and loss (groombridge, 1992: xv). the maintenance of biological diversity may be carried out either on site or off site. • in situ conservation the maintenance of a significant proportion of the world's biological diversity at present only seems feasible by maintaining organisms in their wild state and within their existing range. 65 verster/property development and the environment • ex situ conservation viable populations of many organisms may be maintained under cultivation or in captivity. this is clearly only feasible at present for a small percentage of organisms (groombrige, 1992: xv-xvi). in the south african· context, the protection of the better-known species has become an economic activity. many property development projects in rural areas are currently under construction not only for various income-generating reasons, but also to stop the loss of biodiversity and the risk of damage to ecosystems. the development professional may play an important role in respect of sensible development as developers and professionals understand the following premises: • economic return can only be secured within a long-term context • the influence of land, soil and grasslands on species • suitability of habitat for the specific species to be established • genetic integrity the smaller the unit (development), the larger the risk • the aim of the development: ecotourism trophy-hunting harvesting • fencing • cost and size of development • climate • species-mix • integrity and protection focus • quality and grazing patterns • social conduct of species • gender relationships • sheltering (smit, 2000: 27-28). humans and more specifically governments, developers and non-government agencies are now responsible for managing the risk and for introducing a comprehensive strategic approach. the development professional must take cognisance of these aspects in order to ensure pro-active participation in the process. 66 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 4. the professions and the environment: education of the cost consultant environmental management and assessment are a thriving industry, however, it faces the risk of being discredited and marginalised unless educational institutions, professional bodies and government-standards assurance initiatives can adopt a coherent and comprehensive approach to training future environmental scientists in the appropriate disciplines. it is vital to take the challenge beyond discussion and to proceed to action. what ultimately matters is the creation of better, and sustainable, human environments and this goal will not be achieved without a vision, co-operation among various role players, capacity­ building, and hard work (dewar & shippey, 2001 ). in respect of environmental matters and functions that are of concern to quantity surveyors, the following are important: • risk assessment and analysis • decision analysis • siting studies • project objective adjudication • assigning design • viability studies • cost planning and control. it is obvious that the professions have a role to play in protecting the environment and that cost is a major factor in assessing the impact of our activities on the environment. le corbusier ( 1929) reflected on attitude in an urban context: our constant aim, which we must pursue with patience and cunning, must be to throw out of action all the forces that make for the opposite of joy that is to say, despair. despairing cities! the despair of cities! [ ... ] it is the city's business to make itself permanent, and this depends on considerations other than those of calculation. it is only architecture which can give all the things which go beyond calculation. the professions that deal with costs, prices, calculations, economy, cost control, audits, etc should take note. professions in the development industries should also be concerned about the influence of rural development on nature and wildlife. in respect of: 67 verster/property development and the environment • responsible development • responsible caring for wildlife • humane practices • legislation • treatment of the environment and species • monitoring of actions • awareness (opperman, 2000: 24-26). planning and creativity, also in an environmental sense. must play a mutually supportive role to ensure success. quantity surveyors and cost engineers play an important role in these processes. professional education is defined as a system of formal education that prepares novices for highly skilled occupations by means of a combination of theory and practice and that culminates in an institution conferring a qualification. students need to learn the unique critical thinking required by their future profession, the social context and values of that profession, and how they, as future professionals. may best communicate with clients, patients and colleagues (curry et al., 1993). the key seems to be mutual understanding, co-operation, sharing, partnership and mutual focus. in this respect we may learn from other species: a pride of lions is a good example of social interaction and structure aimed at achieving mutual goals. the lesson that business may derive from a pride of lions as a team is the following: • each individual member is powerful • the total focus is on clear-cut and realistic goals • team members are alert to communication • incentives motivate and reward success • spirit consists of trust, confidence, respect and pride • the structure is flat • strict selection ensures that there are no passengers • training is intense • image enhances function • synergy the pride is more powerful than the sum of the strengths of its individuals. the unremitting application of these ten power points puts the pride in a win-win situation: the pride and its members thrive. the business and the individuals thrive (thomas, 1995: 59). 68 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 5. examples of hope 5.1 rural development on the hoarusib's northern banks in namibia, people live in harmony with their harsh environment, nature and wildlife. ehrens karatjaiva (herero sub-elder and farmer) explains: the elephants are down there in the river bed where there is water and food. there's no reason for them to come up here, so my people sleep safely. you just have to be very careful not to bump into them by mistake when you're walking in the river to get to the water [ ... ]. ehrens is pragmatic about the dangers of sharing your land with elephants, because he believes the elephants are one of the main drawcards for tourists to the area. our wildlife is our future, he declares. there's nothing else out here that could bring development to a place like purros (weinberg, 2001: 143). this indicates how wildlife and people live together in nature, allowing them to bring in the financial resources needed to sustain their way of life. there are many examples of new approaches that may be adopted once again to bring people who have lived for years with wildlife in a natural environment in touch with their inheritance, but then in an economically sustainable manner. some of the best examples of such an approach, aimed at promoting ecology, land ownership, development and economic opportunity, are found in masailand in kenya where great success has been achieved (see berger & ntiati in weinberg, 2001: 75). in the shade of a mopane tree in a dry river bed in the heart of koakaveld, namibia, a himba elder by the name of wapenga, asks a question: 'what is the way forward?' he asks (weinberg, 2001: 8-9). wapenga's simple but crucial question elicits different answers. each country has a different conservation policy, each region a contrasting set of ecological, political, economic and social dynamics: • in kenya, local people live side by side with wildlife • in south africa, there are fences and indigenous people who live outside most of the reserves • in zimbabwe, hunting is the key income-earner for many local people 69 verster/property development and the environment • in mozambique, now free from civil war, tourists are flocking back, but the country has no proper conservation management, thus, this beautiful environment is under threat • namibia has a very progressive policy, that allows local people, like himself, to declare a conservancy. once a conservancy has been established, interested parties may approach the local people and propose a partnership to set up a lodge, safari operation or a hunting concession (weinberg, 2001: 8-9). wapenga's question is echoed throughout the african landscape by millions of indigenous people. in essence, it asks how indigenous people may benefit from the resources they have cared for all these years (weinberg, 2001: 8-9). 5.2 wildlife, nature development people who have destroyed all their wildlife and live without it are not complete (chief liabon (spiritual leader) of the masai (kenya)) (weinberg, 2001: 7). in the sa context, good news for nature, wildlife and the environment is that more eco-friendly wildlife farms are being established for diverse reasons. however, as far as ecological reasons are concerned, the following should be mentioned: • lower production of livestock per unit • plant spectrum can sustain a greater variety and larger numbers of wildlife • game and wildlife have higher levels of resistance to parasites and diseases • game is less affected by droughts, etc • game adapt more easily to poor weather. and nature conditions (smit, 2000: 25). it cannot be ignored that protected areas and rural development, aimed at promoting game reserves, game farms and ecotourism, are positive developments in respect of environmental protection, nature and wildlife. 70 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 6. environmental models 6.1 determinants to design development models that address environmental problems and risks, the determinants that have to be accommodated in an environmental model must be noted: • green building standards • pest management • effects of chemicals, hazardous material and waste • air quality • biodiversity • energy, climate and ozone depletion • agriculture and wildlife • parks and open spaces • transportation • water • environmental justice • risks • education and information (callenbach, 1999: 25-27) • culture • partnerships • governance • direct development effect • networks • lifestyles • industrial effect • recycling (aoshima in lnoguchi et al., 1999: xiii-xviii). these are not the only determinants that can be identified, but they may be the most important determinants. the model stresses that a comprehensive strategic approach is necessary, integrating inputs from all role players, as well as aspects involved in managing the effect of development on environment and nature. 7. the structure of the model 7.1 environmental model duursema's (1999) model may form a basis for environmental and property development, but could perhaps be adapted to ensure the inclusion of the latest information and theory (figure 1 ) . 71 verster/property development and the environment figure 1: environmental model (duursema, 1999: ab) duursema 's ( 1999) contribution in respect of activity and environmental influence is also important: every single activity and action that we perform is part of an environment that forms part of a bigger environment. we do not work in isolation and need to interact with the different environments internally as well as externally (duursema, 1999: alo). not all the functions are a full-time job but could be performed by setting up various meetings, such as, for example, an intelligence meeting. the agendas of the various meetings must be drawn up to address the relevant issues. 7.2 function and product the success of a project or product is subject to more than the usual architectural, engineering and quantity surveying functions. a fresh approach by the professions would enhance the impact and value of professional services. this does not mean that the professions become everything to everybody; rather, the professions take the total effect of influence and project seriously. a definition of project success could be as follows: 72 a project is successful when it meets the needs of the owner in respect of risk, cost, scope, time and quality and society's demand for a healthy and nature friendly environment in an architectural sound cultural context (duursema, 1999: a1oj. 2002 acta structilia vol 9 no 1 the functions of a successful project may be listed as follows: • budget, cost and price • architectural context, scope and design • time and programme • risk • environmental impact and influence on nature • cultural effect and the place in city/rural context • psychological influence • quality approach • constructability. taking into account the above functions, the product will be a successful quality-producing project. 7.3 the proposed model the proposed model takes into account the functions and techniques to indicate the various links and the interaction needed for the success of the project. the following diagram illustrates the main elements of the model related to risk, budget and cost (figure 2): project nature rural/city figure 2: the main elements of risk, budget and cost 73 verster/property development and the environment the following diagram illustrates the proposed model (figure 3): figure 3: the model 7.4 conclusion the proposed model indicates the main elements of property development in an environmental context, the influences that need to be taken into account, as well as the essential functions to ensure that the project result is natureand environmentally­ friendly, and also accommodates culture, space and psychology, while the total architectural effect and the creation of places of the soul are not neglected. the aim should never be to create new functions and functionaries; rather, the intention is to prompt role-players to design and plan property within an integrative mode. the cost engineer and quantity surveyor will play a vital role in the construction of the city of the future, but they must, in a pro­ active sense, ensure that the role is extended to the rural environment where their skills are also needed. we live in a total ecosystem where one cannot survive without the health of the other; indeed, urban and rural planning, design and construction are interlinked. the effective management of and accountability for finances available are crucial. 74 references aoshima, y. 2002 acta 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[s is a] van schalkwyk, h. 2000. wildlife management penny wise, pound foolish. sa game & hunt. november, 6(11). wathern, p. 1990. environmental impact assessment: theory and practice. london: unwin hyman. weinberg, p. 78 2001. once we were hunters: a journey with africa's indigenous people. amsterdam: mets & schilt/cape town: david philip. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles lochner marais, lucius botes, andre pelser & anita venter the non-payment of mortgage bonds in south africa: the voice of defaulters1 peer reviewed abstract the aim of this article was to provide an understanding of the reasons for the non payment of mortgage bonds in the south african context. the article starts off with a brief history on housing finance under apartheid from 1948 to 1994. it then conceptualise current housing finance to the lower end of the market (mainly for black people) in south africa. this is followed by a literature review of possible reasons that contribute to the non payment of mortgage bonds in the south african context and a brief overview of the methodology followed during the interviews with defaulters. in the fourth part of the paper, the results from the empirical survey are discussed. the results of the survey confirm previous research that financial reasons are a fundamental factor that influences the non payment of mortgage bonds. according to the respondents, other factors that influence non payment include educational problems, political interfer ence and peer pressure, and the reaction and efficiency of the banks. the recommendations of respondents on solving the problem of non payment in clude shorter loan periods, improvement of bank management, and mortgage bond education. reward programmes are also mentioned as a possible solution to defaulting. the study concludes that long term affordability is one of the main reasons that contribute towards the non payment of mortgage bonds. an additional conclusion is that financial institutions need to rethink their management of mortgage loans to lower income households. keywords: mortgage bonds, non payment, financial institutions, south africa dr lochner marais, researcher, centre for development support (ib 100), university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. tel: +27 51 401 2978, email: <maraisl.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za>. prof. lucius botes, director, centre for development support (ib 100), university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. tel: +27 51 401 3723, email: <boteslj.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za>. prof. andre pelser, associate, centre for development support (ib 100), university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. tel: +27 51 401 2653, email: <pelseraj.hum@mail.uovs.ac.za>. anita venter, researcher, centre for development support (ib 100), university of the free state, po box 339, bloemfontein 9300, south africa. tel: +27 51 401 2119, email: <ventera.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za>. 1 funding from the national housing finance corporation for the baseline research that informed this article is gratefully acknowledged. 2 acta structilia 2005:12(2) abstrak die doel met hierdie artikel is om die redes vir die nie betaling van verbande in die suid afrikaanse konteks te verduidelik. die artikel begin met ’n kort ge skiedenis, vanaf 1948 tot 1994, wat handel oor behuisingsfinansiering onder apartheid. dit konseptualiseer dan die huidige behuisingsfinansiering aan die onderkant van die suid afrikaanse mark (vir hoofsaaklik swart mense). dit word gevolg deur ’n literatuuroorsig oor moontlike redes wat tot die nie betaling van verbande in die suid afrikaanse konteks bydra en ’n kort oorsig oor die meto dologie wat in die onderhoude met wanbetalers gebruik is. die resultate van die empiriese opname word in die vierde deel van die artikel bespreek. dit be vestig vorige navorsing, wat getoon het dat finansiële redes ’n grondliggende faktor is wat die nie betaling van verbande beïnvloed. ander faktore wat volgens die respondente nie betaling beïnvloed, is opvoedkundige probleme, politieke inmenging en groepsdruk en die banke se reaksie en effektiwiteit. respon dente se aanbevelings om die probleem van nie betaling op te los, sluit in korter leningstydperke, die verbetering van bankbestuur en opvoeding oor verbande. beloningsprogramme is ook as ’n moontlike oplossing vir wanbeta ling genoem. die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat langtermyn bekostig baarheid een van die hoofredes is wat tot die nie betaling van verbande bydra. ’n verdere gevolgtrekking is dat finansiële instellings weer moet herbesin oor hoe hulle verbande aan huishoudings in die laer inkomstegroepe bestuur. sleutelwoorde: huislenings, nie betaling, finansiële instellings, suid-afrika 1. introduction housing delivery to the poor is a key element in the south africandevelopment framework. soon after the first democratic elec-tions, the south african government embarked on a propoor housing policy, in terms of which the private sector has to play an important role (republic of south africa. department of housing, 1994; tomlinson, 1998). one of the focal areas of this role is that of private-sector housing finance. the south african white paper on housing stresses the importance of private-sector housing finance in the following terms: “unlocking housing credit is therefore seen as a fundamental requirement in order to facilitate the ongoing improvement of the housing circumstances of such households” (republic of south africa. department of housing, 1994: 23). the housing subsidy system in south africa was also designed to facilitate private-sector housing finance, in addition to the public sector subsidy (republic of south africa. department of housing,1994). these same sentiments are also expressed in the housing act (act 107 of 1997) as well as the housing code. the latest policy document of the government ‘breaking new ground’ further emphasises the need for housing finance and suggests mechanisms to overcome the down-payment barrier, loss-limit insurance, funding for social housing, fixed interest rates, new product development, and monitoring (republic of south africa. department of housing, 2005). various attempts have been initiated to ensure a larger degree of private-sector involvement since 1990 and, more specifically, since 1994. the home loan guarantee fund was established in 1990 to provide guarantees to short-term insurers in order to reduce the risk to financial institutions. the botshabelo accord was signed in 1995. through an agreement, it enforced the positions of various roleplayers (and specifically the private sector) in the housing process. the national housing finance corporation was initiated in the mid1990s for the further support of private-sector housing finance. other mechanisms that were implemented included the establishment of servcon to address the problem of non-payment – mainly through ‘right sizing’ – and the mortgage indemnity fund, which was aimed at opening up areas for possible private-sector investment. in 2000, the home loan and mortgage disclosure act (no 63) was passed (though not yet implemented) by parliament, with the aim of promoting ‘fair lending practices’ requiring financial institutions to provide information regarding the provision of home loans (republic of south africa, 2000b: 1). 3 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds despite these efforts to promote private-sector housing finance, not much progress has been made in the lower end of the housing market. in fact, shisaka (2003: 25) points out that “government has seen the withdrawal of … major banks from its housing programme …” in addition, approximately 50 000 household properties have been reclaimed by the original financers. this boils down to an exposure of banks to a possible loss totalling approximately r2 billion, as a result of people’s unwillingness or inability to pay for the houses any longer (tomlinson, 1997; porteous & naicker, 2003). this reality has major implications for the willingness of financial institutions to grant mortgage loans in certain areas. notwithstanding actions by the south african government, as well as a limited amount of relevant research (tomlinson, 1999b; porteous & naicker, 2003), there still seems to be little understanding of the reasons that contribute to the non-payment of mortgage bonds. meanwhile, empirical research in this regard has been limited, and the little that is available is already more than ten years old (porteous & naicker, 2003 with reference to the study conducted by the home loan guarantee fund in 1993). however, in most cases, this research conceptualised the problem well (tomlinson, 1999b), although empirical evidence has not always been available. this article attempts to address this gap by means of empirical evidence obtained from a study conducted amongst some of the mortgage bond defaulters themselves. against this background, the aim of the paper is to provide an understanding of the reasons for non-payment of mortgage bonds in the south african context, on the grounds of an empirical investigation conducted amongst a group of home-owners who are either unwilling or unable to continue to pay their mortgages. the paper will take the matter even further by debating the implications of the results within the south african context. in fact, in this regard we would like to put forward two main arguments. firstly, considering the fact that the research confirms previous research results, which led to the conclusion that financial inability and the inappropriateness of the mortgage lending instruments are the main contributing reasons for non-payment, the question is whether further pressure on the private sector is appropriate. most of the current ‘politically correct’ arguments suggest that the private sector should be more innovative. we would like to argue that, although it is probably true that there is room for more innovation, extending housing finance to people who cannot afford it will not solve the problem. secondly, the results of our research suggest that financial institutions could 4 acta structilia 2005:12(2) benefit from improved client relationships and management practices – an aspect that has been mentioned in other research too (tomlinson, 1997; porteous & naicker, 2003), but which, in our opinion, has been underplayed. in order to argue these two points, the paper is structured as follows: it starts off with a brief history of housing finance under apartheid. an attempt is then made to conceptualise housing finance to the lower end of the market (mainly comprising black people) in south africa, after which a literature review is provided in respect of possible reasons that may be contributing to non-payment of mortgage bonds in the south african context. this is followed by a brief overview of the methodology followed during the interviews with defaulters. in the fourth part of the paper, the results from the empirical survey are discussed. finally, a number of conclusions are drawn. 2. the south african housing policy and housing market between 1948 and 1994 this section reflects on housing policy and delivery after the implementation of apartheid in 1948. it is possible to divide housing delivery under apartheid into three phases. the first phase, between 1950 and 1976, was characterised by the provision of public-sector rental housing in almost all of south africa’s black townships (wessels, 1989). this large-scale housing delivery in the townships went handin-hand with influx-control mechanisms and mainly comprised a way to clear up townships (wessels, 1989; krige, 1991). the second phase of housing delivery under apartheid housing is associated closely with the soweto riots. the riots forced the apartheid government to consider 99-year leasehold and also led to the establishment of the urban foundation, which played an important role in changing government housing policies (wessels, 1989). according to wessels (1989), the third phase started in the mid-1980s, when it became possible for black south africans to access ownership in south african townships. at the same time, influx control was abolished at the end of 1985. the government of the day attempted to create a black middle class (in areas called ‘black spots’), which could support it in a democratic era (wessels, 1989). although the policy of orderly urbanisation that succeeded influx control still prevented the poor from gaining access to the cities, the acceptance of ownership for black people ensured that a new mortgage-bond market developed (parnell, 1991). however, it was not long before the nonpayment of these mortgage bonds was used as a mechanism to 5 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds support the political struggle against apartheid (tomlinson, 1999b; johnson, 1999). part of the problem was the breakdown of normal legal processes in townships, as mortgage lenders were unable to secure possession of bonded properties and avoid the eviction of defaulting occupants (porteous & naicker, 2003: 193). the apartheid history of housing delivery has probably influenced the existing housing market in former black townships in two fundamental ways. in the first place, normal housing mobility was virtually non-existent. its absence was related to the control mechanisms of the apartheid state with regard to housing delivery and the fact that a limited housing market existed, as a result of the lack of land ownership. no culture of housing upgrading through mobility has thus developed over time. furthermore, historically, virtually no housing market existed in black townships; and recent research suggests that even currently, little activity is under way (rust, 2004). secondly, the fact that housing delivery for black people was directly linked to housing in the south african black townships is related to the absence of housing mobility. the ability to be mobile and to upgrade was virtually absent. 3. the current south african housing market when the african national congress (anc) came into power in 1994, it inherited a housing market characterised by severe abnormalities, as a result of the policies and political turmoil of the predemocratic era (republic of south africa. department of housing, 2000a). recognising the housing shortage in south africa, the anc promised to deliver one million houses to the poor within five years (anc, 1994). at the same time, the botshabelo accord was signed between government and business to normalise the housing environment – in order to ensure a larger degree of private-sector housing finance as a supplement to public-sector housing finance, amongst other objectives. the one-million milestone was an important goal for the housing department of the post-apartheid government and was realised in 1999 by means of a targeted subsidy to the poor (dimant, 2001; schlemmer & smith, 2001; rust, 2003).2 how6 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 2 the subsidy initially provided r15 000 to households in which spouses earned a joint income of r800; r12 500 to households with incomes of between r801 and r1 500; r9 500 to households with incomes of between r1 501 and r2 500; and r5 000 to households with incomes of between r2 501 and r3 500. ever, despite this extraordinary achievement, very little of the housing delivery linked the private-sector and public-sector finance. the national housing finance corporation (nhfc) estimates that, by 2000, less than 2% of housing subsidies provided by the state were credit-linked (nhfc 2000). in some of the latest research commissioned by the national department of housing, shisaka (2003: 26) notes that the capital subsidy scheme has become increasingly less useful as a supply side intervention for attracting private-sector delivery. according to pillay (2003), it is possible to divide the current housing finance market into four segments.3 the first segment entails a significant number of households that fall into the category of those earning less than r1 500 per month. these households, in general, are unable to access private-sector finance (with the possible exception of finance from micro-lenders), and are mostly dependent on public housing finance by means of the subsidy. the second group comprises households earning between r1 500 and r3 500 per month. in addition to the state subsidy, low-income households that have an average household income of between r1 501 and r3 500 have access to supplementary finance through mortgages, pension/ provident lending, micro-finance and instalment sales (pillay, 2003; porteous & naicker, 2003). however, although the initial degree of access to private-sector housing finance was significant after 1994 (approximately 12% of all subsidies were linked to private-sector housing finance), it had decreased to less than 2% by the early 2000s. housing-finance institutions began to regard investment in this market as being too risky and costing to administer. another contributing aspect was the fact that the income bands were never expanded to accommodate inflation.4 a household income of r2 500 in 1994 is equal to an income of at least r5 000 in 2003. however, in 2003, such a household could not access a housing subsidy, owing to the fact that the income bands were still the same as in 1994. the third segment consists of households currently receiving an income of between r3 500 and r7 000 per month.these house7 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds 3 this division is applicable to the time at which this study was conducted. new announcements by the minister of housing have resulted in some changes in this regard. 4 some adjustments have taken place with a media release by the minster of housing in august 2004. holds are mainly dependent on private-sector finance, but such finance is virtually absent. the fourth segment comprises households earning above r7 000. private-sector housing finance is available for this category. furthermore, low-income households that are excluded from accessing housing subsidies include informally employed people and those who are employed in small businesses without a payroll deduction facility (smit, 2003: 174). although not exclusively, the non-payment for services has taken place in the income categories below r7 500 and, in the majority of cases, in former black townships in south africa. 4. possible reasons for defaulting on mortgage-bond payments in the low-cost housing sector: an overview the available literature suggests the following possible reasons for the non-payment of mortgage bonds: • financial and economic circumstances; • the lengthy period linked to mortgage bonds; • product defects; • political and community reasons; and • in-effective housing-education programmes. in recent times, the possible influence of hiv/aids has also been mentioned as it usually leads to an increase in medical costs for a household (tomlinson, 1999b; porteous & naicker, 2003). however, in an analysis that was carried out by the home loan guarantee company in 1993 (cf. porteous & naicker, 2003: 193), it was found that political issues were not among the main reasons for defaulting on mortgage-bond payments. according to the above analysis, the causes of defaults varied from problems in respect of affordability (59%) and lack of education (22%), to dissatisfaction with product delivery (11%) and, lastly, inappropriate lending mechanisms (4%) and political factors (4%). each of these main aspects will now be examined in more detail. 8 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 4.1 financial and economic reasons and the lengthy periods of mortgage bonds porteous and naicker (1993) related the non-payment for services to an inability to pay in 59% of these cases. research completed by the centre for development support in south africa confirmed the phenomenon of the inability to pay regarding the cost recovery related to service delivery (botes et al. 2001; mcgee et al. 2003; pelser & botes, 2003; botes & pelser, 2004; pelser & botes, 2004). research conducted in the 1990s (cf. wilson, 2001: 21-22) shows that south africa lost jobs in most sectors between 1993 and 1998 – except for the financial services sector. the average annual job losses were estimated at 5,5% in mining, 4,3% in construction, 2,1% in transport, 1,4% in utilities, 0,9% in agriculture and 0,6% in manufacturing. according to the census data of 2001, the official5 unemployment rate among economically active people (aged between 15 and 65 years) had risen from 33,9% in 1996 to 41,6% in 2001. the unemployment rate amongst black africans had increased from 42,5% (1996) to 50,2% (2001). amongst black african women, unemployment had risen from 52,4% (1996) to 57,8% (2001). besides retrenchment, other factors also influence the financial position of households and contribute to the non-payment of mortgage bonds. these factors include high interest rates,6 the inability to manage household incomes, incidental unexpected events such as illness or death and hiv/aids (schlemmer & smith, 2001; rust, 2002; tomlinson, 2002; quindium consulting, 2002). since subsidies for people in the r1 501 r3 500 income bracket have to be topped up with bonds and service payments, some of the beneficiaries in this income group may ultimately have less money for other essentials than would have been the case if they did not have housing finance obligations (schlemmer & smith, 2001: 46). tomlinson (1999a; 1999b) argued that beneficiaries who fell into this income group were much 9 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds 5 official definition of unemployment: statistics south africa defines the unemployed as those in the economically active populations who have not worked during the last seven days prior to being interviewed, who want to work and are available to start work within a week of the interview, and have taken active steps to look for work or provide themselves with self employment in the four weeks preceding the interview. 6 it should be noted that interest rates are currently (early 2005) at some of their lowest levels in history in south africa. more likely to complain that their circumstances had worsened after receiving the subsidy and mortgage bond than were beneficiaries who had received the full subsidy. many low-income borrowers are highly vulnerable when their financial circumstances worsen. when experiencing economic hardships, they are generally unable to protect themselves against the consequences of missing their monthly instalments (tomlinson, 1999b). other beneficiaries default because they misunderstand budget constraints or lack financial discipline. poor households like these are inclined to over-borrow when their economic circumstances deteriorate (rust, 2002; tomlinson, 2002). 4.2 product defects regarding low-cost housing dissatisfaction with housing products is often a main reason for the decision by a low-income household to stop paying its mortgage or loan (marais, 1997). one of many problems that have plagued housing delivery is the poor quality of houses (zack & charlton, 2003). in numerous cases, consumers’ complaints have been valid. many houses lacked proper foundations and developed cracks and leaks within a few weeks after erection (tomlinson, 1999a; cohen, 2000; schlemmer & smith, 2001). the unreasonableness of expecting people to pay for poor housing has also been noted (johnson, 1999; schlemmer & smith, 2001; tomlinson, 1997). although johnson (1999) as well as pelser and botes (2002) focused only on the issue of payment for municipal services, they are of the opinion that a definite correlation exists between levels of services in a community and payment (or willingness to pay) for such services. it is often argued that poor service delivery has resulted in a decision by beneficiaries to withhold payment for services delivered (mcdonald & pane, 2003; mcgee et al, 2003, pelser & botes, 2003; johnson, 1999). this was indeed found to be the case in the soweto survey of 2003 (see pelser & botes, 2003). however, the outcomes of both the wave 1 and wave 2 surveys in the mpumalanga province suggested no relationship between people’s satisfaction with service delivery and their actual payment behaviour – in other words, people do not necessarily pay less frequently because they are unhappy with the level or quality of service provision (botes & pelser, 2004). 10 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 4.3 lack of understanding and/or information many low-income home-owners do not fully understand the regulations applicable to housing, or do not realise the consequences of non-payment, nor do they seek appropriate advice in the event of hardship or a crisis (rust, 2002). many owners have a limited understanding of the difference between structural problems and cosmetic faults. first-time, low-cost home-owners often do not understand that the quality of the product is the developer’s responsibility and not that of the bondholder. when owners stop repaying loans as a result of structural defects, this is indicative of an inadequate understanding of loan conditions. some beneficiaries assume that, when an assessor inspects a new house, he or she is certifying its quality. they do not understand that the bank is simply verifying whether the value of the house is equal to or higher than the value of the bond (tomlinson, 1999b; rust, 2002). although the nhbrc have started to guarantee the quality of houses constructed under the project subsidies, it might still be a problem for years to come. many borrowers do not fully comprehend the nature or extent of their financial commitments because of limited education, inexperience and, often, inadequate information provided by financial institutions (tomlinson, 1999b). beneficiaries may misunderstand their repayment responsibilities because of the perception that the bank owns the property until it is paid off (rust, 2002: 23). some home-owners maintain that the banks constantly refuse to talk to them about reasons for non-payment, or to allow them to negotiate alternative instalment amounts for repayment that are more reasonable (schlemmer & smith, 2001: 46). advice tends to be available on demand only. 4.4 cultural and political factors the origins of non-payment in the housing sector are rooted in the fact that the state played a limited role in low-cost housing delivery in the apartheid era. the apartheid regime used housing delivery as a means to segregate the different population groups. as a majority group, black africans reacted with widespread resistance to the apartheid government through the boycotting of rent, as well as refusal to pay the fees charged for services and to make mortgage payments (kroukamp, 1995; parker, 1995; sono, 1995). at the time, community civic leaders would organise collective action 11 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds to prevent evictions from taking place. when an eviction did occur, communities would make sure that the houses were occupied again as soon as possible. this resistance was supported by liberation movements in an attempt to break down a government that had no legitimacy for the majority (jenkins & smith, 2001; tomlinson, 2002). it was expected that the culture of non-payment would decline after the political transition to a democracy. however, this did not occur – some people in the low-cost housing sector not only refuse to pay mortgage bonds or loans, but also resist being evicted. this culture of non-payment undermines the authority of the state and its capacity to deliver (khan & ambert, 2003: xxviii). it also increase risk of lending and banks to withdraw from this market segment. 4.5 impact of hiv/aids rust (2003) is of the opinion that the low-cost housing-finance sector is unresponsive to important factors such as the impact of hiv/aids (rust, 2003: 21). given the progressive and life-limiting nature of hiv/aids, mortality rates among certain sectors of the south african population are likely to increase substantially over the next few years. it is estimated that more than a quarter of the economically active south african population will be infected with hiv by 2006. in developing countries, the aids epidemic lags behind the hiv epidemic by some eight to ten years – the length of time the condition takes to give rise to serious illness and death. from this perspective, south africa is, only now, slowly entering a period of substantial and increasing deaths and disabilities – a situation which, according to projections, will peak between 2010 and 2015. arguably, the most severe impact of hiv/aids occurs at the household level. the broader macro-economic impacts of hiv/aids all originate at the household and individual level, which is where the real impact of the epidemic is felt. the household experiences a loss in income, owing to frequent absenteeism of the infected member from work, while household expenditure for medical expenses increases substantially. it is broadly assumed that few mortgage beneficiaries in the low-income sector will have access to sophisticated anti-retroviral medication and health management. many hivpositive individuals will only become aware of their hiv status when they fall ill, if at all. the death of the sick person results in permanent loss of income and, at the same time, an increase in household expenditure as a direct result of funeral and mourning costs. taking 12 acta structilia 2005:12(2) this into consideration, the mortgage lender is exposed to an escalating incidence of payment defaulting. the stigma associated with hiv/aids, along with the tendency towards non-disclosure among infected people, has serious consequences in respect of the nonpayment of mortgage bonds (quindiem consulting, 2002: 9, 13, 37). 5. non-payment of mortgage bonds: some empirical evidence in the remaining part of this paper, the emphasis shifts to the results of the empirical investigation conducted for this study. 5.1 methodological overview in order to facilitate an investigation of the responses of mortgage defaulters, 100 telephone interviews were conducted with randomly selected current defaulters in respect of mortgage loans in the gauteng province during the second semester of 2003. the majority of these interviewees resided in former black townships. specific areas were boksburg (27), vereeniging (18), germiston (12), tokoza (11), krugersdorp (6), pretoria (4), kempton park (3) and benoni (3). the focus of the questionnaire was on determining the reason for non-payment for services, as well as on trying to find possible solutions. the average registered bond amount at the time of the investigation was r41 532. according to servcon, the average age of these registered bonds is approximately 10 years. the initial dates on which the bonds were taken out vary from 1988 to 1996. the gender distribution of respondents was 51% female and 49% male. in terms of the age breakdown, 3% were between 18 and 29 years old, 21% between 30 and 39 years, 45% between 40 and 49 years and 31% were older than 50. at the same time, however, almost a quarter of the households generated a total monthly income of more than r5 000. of these, more than 10% fell into the income category of more than r7 000 per month. it should be noted that accessing the 100 respondents was no easy task. ultimately, more than 150 respondents had to be contacted, as most people were fairly suspicious when the purpose of the phone call was explained to them. 13 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds 5.2 the reactions of respondents and contributing reasons for non-payment 5.2.1 financial reasons as indicated in the literature overview, financial considerations were one of the main contributing reasons for the non-payment of mortgage bonds. in an open question, respondents were requested to indicate what they considered to be the main reason for not paying their mortgage bonds (see table 1 below). table 1: respondents’ reasons for not paying off their mortgage loans 14 acta structilia 2005:12(2) reason n % became unemployed 45 34 8 needed money for other expenses 21 16.3 spouse became unemployed 17 13.2 spouse became ill 14 10.9 cannot afford monthly instalment 9 7.0 other 23 17 8 total 129 100.0 it is noteworthy that all the reasons given for non-payment are, to some extent, related to either a direct change in the financial situation of a defaulting household or, indirectly, to someone in the household falling ill. the main reason (mentioned by more than one third of the interviewees) related to unemployment. if the instances in which the spouse became unemployed are added, this means that 48% of the respondents cited unemployment as playing an important role. this correlates well with the results of a different question in response to which 46.8% of the respondents said that their mortgage bonds had become too expensive. as already noted in the literature overview, the increasing unemployment undoubtedly plays a role. in this regard, it should also be mentioned that, under apartheid rule, the south african economy had been fairly protected. the opening of the economy in the early 1990s and the impact of globalisation have probably contributed to the levels of unemployment. a second aspect related to the financial situation is the fact that 16.3% of the respondents claimed that they could not pay their mortgage bonds any longer, as they were obliged to use the money to pay for other expenses, while 7% indicated that they could not afford to continue paying their monthly instalment. a factor that has probably contributed extensively to this state of affairs is the fluctuation of interest rates in south africa. at one stage, during the latter part of 1990, interest rates peaked at more than 20%. these fluctuations surely do have a major impact on household finances. a third factor with major implications for long-term housing finance relates to the possible impact of hiv/aids. it is noteworthy that 17 respondents (13.2%) related their non-payment to the illness of a spouse. although it is not possible to relate this directly to the impact of hiv/aids, it is probable that this factor does, in fact, play a crucial role in this regard. it is also noteworthy that the study conducted by porteous and naicker in 1993 did not in any way relate the nonpayment of mortgage bonds to home-owners becoming ill. the significant effect of poor financial means is further reflected in the fact that four out of every ten respondents indicated that they had been obliged to cut back on other expenses. the most prominent expenses entailed food, school fees and clothing. the problem of limited financial means was further assessed by asking respondents how they would spend an extra r500, if they had it. this strategy was aimed at achieving some understanding as to whether the respondents’ alleged problem of limited finances was genuine or not. thirty percent of the respondents indicated that they would spend the money on paying school fees; 21% responded that they would buy food; 15% would buy clothing; and 6.1% would pay for municipal services. overall, these figures confirm the importance of the lack of financial means as a contributing reason for the nonpayment of mortgage bonds. the above results clearly seem to support the conclusions in the literature about the inappropriateness of the conventional mortgage lending instrument. they also indicate that there is probably room for more innovative lending instruments. 15 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds 16 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 5.2.2 educational issues the survey also covered the respondents’ reactions when asked to indicate whether they had a clear understanding of how their bond repayments worked. sixty-five percent of the respondents indicated that the bond loan had been explained to them when they took up the bond. in contrast, an alarming proportion of respondents – 23% and 9% respectively – reported that the bond loan had never been explained to them, or that they were uncertain as to whether the conditions for repaying the bond had been explained to them. in the context of taking up a mortgage bond, a lack of proper education probably does not comprise a fundamental contributing reason for non-payment for services. however, the results probably indicate that a far better educational process is required when a mortgage bond is approved. in fact, 3% of the respondents indicated that, even though they had received instruction, they did not understand the consequences in the case of nonpayment. 5.2.3 political interference and peer pressure the virtual absence of political reasons for non-payment of mortgage bonds reflected by this survey is interesting. this is in contrast to the results of the research by porteous and naicker (2003). although political motivations were probably more prominent in the mid1980s and early 1990s, very little evidence of such motivations was found in this survey. however, in response to a specific question as to whether anybody had ever tried to persuade the respondent not to pay off his/her bond, 12% answered in the affirmative. this figure was lower than the percentage of respondents who indicated that they had been urged not to pay for municipal services. issues relating to peer pressure seem to be more relevant. approximately 19% of the respondents mentioned that they would consider discontinuing the payments on their bonds if they knew they would get away with it. a further 21% of the respondents indicated that they would stop paying their mortgage bonds if other people were not paying. these results also have major implications for the way in which banks operate, as well as for the normal legal process. what seems to be clear is that banks should not leave defaulters under the impression that they (the banks) are not serious about recovering their loans. 5.2.4 reaction and efficiency of the bank the efficiency of the bank should be considered at two levels. in the first place, one should consider the normal communication of banks with their clients and, secondly, the reaction of banks after the failure to pay the first instalment. the ways in which the banks manage their accounts and the problems that arise at the onset of non-payment, seem to be an essential consideration. although it is not always possible to compare survey results with the actual actions of banks, only 54% of the respondents indicated that they had received monthly statements on their bond accounts. a further 18% indicated that they had only received such statements once in six months, 9% had received statements once a year, whilst 17% indicated that they had never received such statements. a further 2% were uncertain. in addition, approximately one out of every five respondents said that they did not understand the statements that they had received. these figures reflect the limited realisation of financial institutions in respect of the need to manage their housing finance in these areas in more detail and more regularly. in addition to this problem, a further 21% of respondents mentioned that they had a limited understanding of the financial statements sent to them regarding their mortgage bonds. the second issue relates to the bank’s response after the failure to pay the first instalment. although this aspect is, once again, being considered from the point of view of the client, a number of interesting aspects should be mentioned. firstly, only 52% of the respondents reported that they had been contacted by the bank within the first month. interestingly enough, 34% had received a letter and 18% of the respondents had been contacted telephonically. the fact that such a low percentage of respondents had been contacted by phone indicates that this is an aspect on which banks could certainly improve. furthermore, only 6% of the respondents mentioned that a bank official had made a private appointment with them. an alarming 22% of the respondents said that they had received no reaction from the bank. in contrast, 84% of the respondents said that they had visited the bank to explain their situation. when asked what the bank should do in similar cases, 42% of the respondents suggested that the bank should sit down and discuss the problem with the client – something that has not happened in practice, according to respondents. what is clear is that banks need more strict credit control and prompt reaction. 17 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds the above results suggest that the banking sector will have to manage bonds for lower-income people with a far more ‘hands-on’ approach than seems to be the case at present. 5.2.5 actions of the defaulters having considered the issue surrounding the reaction of the financial institutions, the focus shifts to the action taken by the respondents after defaulting. respondents mentioned several steps that they had taken to pay their arrears. the largest proportion of respondents (38.1%) indicated that they had arranged for a fixed monthly instalment. attempts to borrow money from elsewhere (friends, family, other financial institutions and micro-lenders) were reported by 16.8% of respondents while 24.8% indicated that they had taken no remedial steps. in addition, respondents were asked whether they had cut back on other expenses to pay their arrears. almost four out of ten respondents indicated that this was indeed the case. 5.3 suggestions to solve the problems respondents were also invited to suggest alternatives and make recommendations. from the results, it seems that a range of possible actions could be undertaken to address the problem of nonpayment. tomlinson (1999b) has already suggested that alternative financing methods should be considered. special consideration should be given to financing models that cover shorter periods. our research supports this proposal on two grounds. firstly, the reasons for non-payment suggest that the 20-year period of a bond leaves many households vulnerable should they lose their regular income. secondly, the fluctuating interest rates also make it difficult to keep the repayments low. it should be mentioned that some progress has been made in this regard and that a number of alternative products have been developed lately. although they might offer different forms of security and although their repayment levels might entail shorter periods, the monthly instalments are not necessarily lower. although long-term income is a prerequisite for mortgage bond payments, the results of the survey also suggest that bank management in respect of default and mortgage-bond education should be improved and intensified. this was confirmed in the answers of respondents to a question on what banks should do to ensure mortgage bond payments (see table 2). 18 acta structilia 2005:12(2) table 2: respondents’ suggestions for increased mortgage bond payments 19 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds suggested actions n % 1. explain constantly why it is important to pay off the bond loan in time 51 29.5 2. lower the monthly instalment 38 22.0 3. keep regular contact by means of letters 32 18.5 4. ensure that the applicant can afford the loan 18 10.4 5. other suggestions 12 6.9 6. uncertain 10 5.8 7. implement an incentive/loyalty programme 8 4.6 8. impose heavy penalties for late/non payment 4 2.3 total 173 100.0 the most prominent suggestion relates to continued education and awareness with regard to payment. approximately 48% of the respondents expressed a desire for this. these respondents either asked for constant awareness in respect of payments, or requested regular contact by means of letters. at the same time, 22% of the respondents mentioned that consideration should be given to lowering the monthly instalment. however, interest rates usually impact on instalment amounts and are extremely difficult to manipulate – except by extending the payment period. however, this is also not preferable. reward programmes were also mentioned by 8% of the respondents as a possible method of improving mortgage bond payments. the current reward systems in the south african environment are fairly common. in general, individualised rewards were considered more acceptable than community-based rewards. for example, 87% of the respondents favoured a “lucky-draw” system and nearly 83% were in favour of receiving bonus points that could be used for purchasing household goods. seventy-eight percent said that regular and consistent payment should be rewarded with lower interest rates. however, just over 50% of the respondents felt that communities with a good record of payment should be rewarded by benefiting from development projects. another suggestion that was put forward by 24% of respondents was that banks should make absolutely sure that applicants can afford mortgage bonds before approving such bonds. this is, to a certain degree, in conflict with current government pressure to enhance private-sector finance to the lower end of the market. nearly 46% of the respondents mentioned that, if they were the bank, they would immediately discuss the problem with the specific client – something which had not happened in their experience. another area of management that could be improved is that of payment methods. approximately 69% of the respondents indicated that their method of payment was by means of cash. a further 26% and 4%, respectively, mentioned that their payments were deducted from their salaries or their bank accounts.when asked which method of payment they would prefer, 32% mentioned salary deductions, while 22% opted for deductions from their bank account. only 45% expressed a preference for cash payments. these results are a clear indication that, at the level of payment methods alone, banks could reduce their risks to a considerable degree. 6. recommendation the results of the survey have confirmed previous research results, which indicate that long-term affordability (or the lack thereof) due to poor health or unemployment is one of the main causative factors contributing towards the non-payment of mortgage bonds. in fact, a fairly large proportion of respondents suggested that banks should make sure that prospective clients can afford the services. on the other hand, government is placing increased pressure on the private financial sector to increase the financial services in the market. although there is always room for the development of innovative lending instruments, a simple increase in mortgage loans to poorer areas will not solve the problem. in fact, it could lead to an increase in non-payment, which in turn could result in an increased need for risk management on the part of the bondholder. the second main conclusion on the basis of this study is that financial institutions need to rethink their management of mortgage loans to lower-income households. banks may consider payment mechanisms that differ from current practices, as well as a more direct approach in the event of non-payment. in addition, a continued process of education will be required. although previous research has alluded to these issues, the current research has highlighted them as mainstream arguments that need careful consideration. 20 acta structilia 2005:12(2) 21 marais, botes, pelser & venter • non-payment of mortgage bonds in the light of the main findings, the research suggests that government should be far more careful in respect of trying to force financial institutions to provide housing finance to those who cannot afford it. secondly, banking institutions should change their current management processes in the lower end of the market. a far more direct and ‘hands-on’ approach than the current process is required. this should be enhanced by continuous contact and education of the client. other key recommendations include ensuring that life insurance is made available to beneficiaries without increasing the payment rate significantly. references african national congress (anc). 1994. reconstruction and development programme. johannesburg: umanyano. botes, l.j.s., arntz, t., booysen, f., burger, p., pelser, a.j. & moses, j. 2001. payment of municipal services: baseline survey report. for the joint centre for political and economic studies and nathan associates sponsored by usaid. bloemfontein: centre for development support, university of the free state. botes, l.j.s. & pelser, a.j. 2004. aspects pertaining to the implementation of a customer loyalty rewards programme for eskom: survey findings (wave 2). bloemfontein: centre for development support, university of the free state. cohen, t. 2000. land and 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(ed). housing policy and practice in post apartheid south africa. sandown: heinemann publishers (pty) ltd, pp. 166-191. sono, t. 1995. behind the tariffs, rent and rates and boycotts. strategic review of southern africa, 17(1), pp. 75-89. tomlinson, m. 1997. is mortgage bondage a financial noose? housing in southern africa. october, pp. 6,7,15. tomlinson, m. 1999a. from rejection to resignation: beneficiaries views on the south african government’s new housing subsidy system. urban studies, 36(8), pp. 1349-1359. tomlinson, m. 1999b. normalising the repayment environment. johannes burg: centre for policy studies. tomlinson, m. 2002. efforts and errors: south africa’s search to extend housing finance to low income households. johannesburg: housing finance resource programme. 24 acta structilia 2005:12(2) wessels, j. 1989. black housing in south africa: the need for shelter. paper read at the newick park conference. sussex: newick park. wilson, f. 2001. employment, education, and the economy. south africa survey 2001/2002. johannesburg: south african institute of race relations. zack, t. & charlton, s. 2003. better off, but … beneficiaries’ perceptions of the government’s housing subsidy scheme. johannesburg: housing finance resource programme. 98 navorsingsartikels • research articles a construction project management knowledge model: the type and level of knowledge required peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title. abstract construction project managers come from diverse backgrounds and may, therefore, lack the knowledge set currently required in order to be competent and effective in practice. the aim of this article is to establish the national qualifications framework (nqf) level of each type of knowledge area required for a competent and effective construction project manager in south africa. these levels of knowledge are important, in order to develop a proposed construction project management knowledge model to be used by the construction industry. a mixed methods research design was used, including structured questionnaires (n = 40), interviews (n = 10), and a single case study. the questionnaire survey, using closeended questions measured on a 5-point likert scale, tests the importance of and rated the nqf qualification levels of each knowledge type fit for project managers in the built environment. the rating assisted in knowing to what knowledge depth project managers need to be educated and trained. interviews were conducted with 10 construction professionals to obtain their views on the importance of industry-specific know ledge of a construction project manager and to critically review the form of knowledge considered essential. the case study of a building project to the value of r35 million was used to gain understanding of the impact that industry-specific knowledge, or the lack thereof, may have on the successful completion of a project. results showed that qualifications to gain industry-specific knowledge should at least be on nqf level 6; a qualification on nqf level 7 is recommended to gain adequate project manage ment knowledge (theory). these findings are important, as some construction project management courses in michelle burger dr michelle burger, lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield 0028, south africa. phone: 082 418 2833, email: <michelle.burger@up.ac.za> benita zulch prof. benita g. zulch, hod, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield 0028, south africa. phone: (012) 420-2581, email: <benita.zulch@up.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 98-125 © uv/ufs mailto:michelle.burger@up.ac.za mailto:benita.zulch@up.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.4 burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 99 south africa are currently below nqf level 6. this may be contributing to industry not producing construction project managers with the required knowledge set. the proposed model outlines the adequate knowledge sets and level thereof that can be used when designing training and educational degrees for construction project managers. the proposed model could also be used in practice as a guideline for placing or promoting construction project managers. keywords: construction project management, knowledge model, type of knowledge, nqf knowledge level, south africa abstrak konstruksieprojekbestuurders kom van uiteenlopende agtergronde, en mag dus die kennisstel kort wat tans benodig word om vaardig en effektief in die praktyk te wees. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die nasionale kwalifikasieraamwerk (nkr)-vlak van elke tipe kennisarea vas te stel wat benodig word vir ’n bevoegde en effektiewe bouprojekbestuurder in suid-afrika. hierdie vlakke van kennis is belangrik om ’n voorgestelde konstruksieprojekbestuur-kennismodel te ontwikkel wat deur die konstruksiebedryf gebruik kan word. ’n gemengde metodes navorsingsontwerp is gebruik, insluitend gestruktureerde vraelyste (n = 40), onderhoude (n = 10) en ’n enkele gevallestudie. die vraelys-opname deur middel van geslote vrae het die belangrikheid van en gegradeerde nkr-vlakke van elke kennissoort geskik vir projekbestuurders in die beboude omgewing, gemeet op ’n 5-punt likert-skaal. die gradering het gehelp om te weet tot watter kennisdiepte projekbestuurders opgelei moet word. onderhoude is gevoer met 10 konstruksiewerknemers om hul standpunte oor die belangrikheid van bedryfspesifieke kennis van ’n konstruksieprojekbestuurder te verkry en om die vorm van kennis wat noodsaaklik beskou word, krities te hersien. die gevallestudie van ’n bouprojek ten bedrae van r35 miljoen is gebruik om begrip te kry van die impak wat bedryfspesifieke kennis, of die gebrek daarvan, op die sukses van ’n projek kan hê. resultate het getoon dat kwalifikasies om bedryfskennis te verkry, ten minste op nkr-vlak 6 moet wees; ’n kwalifikasie op nkr-vlak 7 word aanbeveel om voldoende projekbestuurskennis (teorie) te verkry. hierdie bevindings is belangrik aangesien sommige konstruksieprojekbestuurskursusse in suid-afrika tans laer as nkr-vlak 6 is. dit kan bydra daartoe dat die industrie tans konstruksieprojekbestuurders sonder die vereiste kennisstel in diens neem. die voorgestelde model beskryf die toereikende kennisstelle en vlak daarvan wat gebruik kan word by die ontwerp van opleidingskwalifikasies vir konstruksieprojekbestuurders. die voorgestelde model kan ook in die praktyk gebruik word as riglyn om konstruksieprojekbestuurders te plaas of te bevorder. sleutelwoorde: konstruksieprojekbestuur, kennismodel, nkr-kennisvlak, tipe kennis, suid-afrika 1. introduction the pmi pulse of the profession highlighted that the high cost of low performance resulted in organisations, globally, wasting us$122 billion for every us$1 billion spent on projects, due to poor project management. organisations that use formal project management practices waste 13 times less money than organisations that do not (pmi, 2016). acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 100 the built environment is project driven, and to meet organisational aims and reach higher profits, these projects need to be completed as efficiently as possible (rad & levin, 2006: 1; trebilcock, 2007: 40). in the built environment, project management is used to produce better projects, and speed up the operational process (morrison & brown, 2004: 73-74). to manage projects successfully, organisations use project managers with the necessary knowledge about techniques that are used to ensure successful management of projects (burke, 2013: 1-5; chordas, 2008: 66-69; kerzner, 2013: 2-10; pmi, 2016). organisations in the built environment rely heavily on the proficiency of construction project managers (orr, 2004: 1). therefore, project managers cannot merely rely on experience, but they need, not only adequate knowledge, but also the correct knowledge set, in order to be competent and effective in managing projects (craig, 2005: 42). as the market place is highly competitive, organisations in the built environment will benefit in knowing what type of knowledge construction project managers require and to what level it should be (peterson, 2008: 38-42). a literature review identified some knowledge management models for project management (piraquive, garcía & crespo, 2015; yeong & lim, 2010; handzic & durmic, 2010), but a specific model for project managers in the construction industry may not exist. a proposed construction project management knowledge model may fill the void for a model that can be used by construction project managers as a possible enhancement tool for improved project management knowledge sets. a literature study clarified the type of knowledge project managers should have, as well as the level thereof based on the nqf scope of knowledge classification. this clarification was important to highlight some elements within the knowledge areas as well as the nqf level of knowledge classification that may contribute to the design of the proposed model. in order to determine the elements needed to design the model, a mixed methods research study design was used to test the importance of nqf levels of knowledge for project managers in the built environment from not important to critically important. interviews with construction professionals determined their views on the importance of industry-specific knowledge of a construction project manager. the case study of a building project was used to gain understanding of the impact that industry-specific knowledge and experience may have on the success of a project. burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 101 based on the findings, the knowledge expected from project managers was grouped into nqf level 6 (technical knowledge) and nqf level 7 (project management knowledge theory), which together with knowledge gained through experience form the main basis of the proposed model. 2. literature review 2.1 type of knowledge an effective project manager needs to have project management knowledge (pacelli, 2004: 54; sumner & powell, 2013: 2; udo & koppensteiner, 2004); technical (industry) knowledge and experience (kerzner, 2013: 9-1; petterson, 1991: 99). a combination of these knowledge areas is essential, in order to effectively manage a project (burger, verster & zulch, 2015: 69). to understand the importance of the type of knowledge within the proposed model, it is important to determine and define project management knowledge (theory), technical (industry) knowledge and experience that are considered in project management. 2.1.1 project management knowledge (theory) a successful project needs to be completed within time, cost and quality and according to the agreed upon scope. some organisations fail to realise that having staff, time and money is not enough to ensure success. some important factors to accomplish this are effective project planning, management, and control (chordas, 2008: 66-69; kerzner, 2013: 2-10). having project management tools and techniques is important, in order to plan. planning is important, in order to manage a project within time, cost, and quality parameters. by implication, integrated knowledge is required to have an understanding of, and an ability to apply and evaluate the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules and theories of project management to other fields, disciplines or practices (e.g., engineering) in the construction industry (longman & mullings, 2005: 5; kerzner, 2013: 2-10). project management is regulated by professional bodies, one of which is the project management institute (pmi). the pmi has published a knowledge guide known as the pmbok guide stipulating the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, and rules of project management areas. the nine generic project management areas include integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, and procurement. in addition to the nine pmbok knowledge areas acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 102 that are generic, the pmi have identified four additional areas known as the construction extension to the pmbok that are industry specific, namely safety management, environmental management, claims management, and financial management (pmi, 2015; burger et al., 2015: 53). the purpose of the construction extension is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of construction projects. the focus of this study is on nqf level qualifications. the 13 project management areas are only introduced and not discussed in this article. 2.1.2 technical (industry) knowledge a project manager must have detailed technical knowledge of the main areas of project management, in order to accurately understand and apply the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of the technical industry requirements of the project so that business needs are addressed and satisfied (cadle & yeates, 2001: 358; ashworth & hogg, 2002: 381-384). turk (2007: 25) states that project managers need to know what questions to ask and should be able to judge when they are not getting the full story. in order to do this, technical knowledge is required. this knowledge is also needed to evaluate technical concepts and solutions, assess risks and make trade-offs between cost, schedule and technical issues (kerzner, 2013: 146-149). a blend of technical knowledge and project management knowledge is, therefore, required. the following technical knowledge areas are required: construction science, finance and cost, construction processes, and design processes (burger et al., 2015: 22; sacpcmp, 2015). each of these four areas contains knowledge subsections. construction science includes understanding of structures, understanding of construction and building sciences, understanding construction and building finishes, and knowledge of building material. finance and cost includes understanding financial processes and having knowledge of the cost of construction. knowledge of construction processes includes site, plant and equipment, formwork systems, quality management, health and safety management, environmental management, organisational/management structures, general building sequences, general output and production factors, and basic knowledge of building trades. knowledge of the design processes consists of sequence of design processes and time required for design processes. the construction industry is unique, as it differs from, for example, the it industry. project management within the construction industry burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 103 requires a specialised form of management. a construction project manager requires technical competencies, in order to effectively execute the work s/he needs to do (sacpcmp, 2015: online). 2.1.3 experience petterson (1991: 99) mentions that project managers need a solid basic experience in the relevant field. this is also supported by sears, sears & clough (2008: 15) who state that the project manager needs certain attributes, in order to be successful. this includes a considerable background of experience and expertise. experience alone will not suffice. in order to progress in a career, project managers need the combination of both experience and knowledge (craig, 2005: 42). construction project managers thus need a blend of project management knowledge, technical knowledge, and experience in the field, in order to contribute to successful project management. the correct knowledge set will contribute to effective communication and trust in a project. these organisational elements are crucial for efficient and successful project management (burger et al., 2015: 69). 2.2 level of knowledge in south africa, all education and training qualifications need to be registered through the south african qualifications authority (saqa) and given a certain national qualifications framework (nqf) rating scale level. these nqf rating scale level descriptors are used to indicate the type and level of knowledge required for a qualification from nqf level 1 to nqf level 10 (saqa, 2015: online). the lower level descriptors relate to artisan training and, from nqf level 5, the focus moves towards management type of knowledge. as the level of knowledge sets of project managers is tested, the focus of this study is on nqf level 5 to nqf level 9. • nqf 5 (certificate). • nqf 6 (diploma level). • nqf 7 (first degree such as a bsc). • nqf 8 (honours level). • nqf 9 (master’s level). for education and training qualifications in construction project management, various project management courses, presented by different institutions in south africa have been registered and received a certain nqf level. these courses range from a nqf level 5 (certificate) to a nqf level 9 (master’s) (saqa, 2015: online). the acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 104 nqf rating level indicates that the knowledge presented in the course is on an adequate level as expected for that course. an institution can offer a level 5 certificate programme. however, the sacpcmp requires a minimum of a level 8 for registration. any lower nqf qualification will mean that the individual will need additional work experience or be required to write an entrance examination, in order to be registered as a professional construction project manager (sacpcmp, 2015: online). table 1 shows the scope of knowledge that is required for the various nqf levels defined by saqa. table 1: nqf levels nqf level qualification requirements 5 certificate knowledge of the main areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, including an understanding of the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of that field. 6 diploma detailed knowledge of the main areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, including an understanding of, and an ability to apply the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of that field, discipline or practice. 7 first degree such as a bsc integrated knowledge of the main areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, including an understanding of, and an ability to apply and evaluate the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of that field, discipline or practice. knowledge of an area or areas of specialisation and how that knowledge relates to other fields, disciplines or practices. 8 honours knowledge of, and engagement in an area at the forefront of a field, discipline or practice. furthermore, there is an understanding of the theories, research methodologies, methods and techniques relevant to the field, discipline or practice, and an understanding of how to apply this knowledge in a particular context. 9 master’s specialist knowledge to enable engagement with, and critique of current research or practices. an advanced scholarship or research in a particular field, discipline or practice is present. the above literature review introduces project management knowledge (theory), technical (industry) knowledge, and knowledge gained through experience in the field, as the three knowledge types considered to be important for construction project managers. project management knowledge (theory) requires integrated knowledge of an area of specialisation. table 1 shows that nqf level 7, defined by saqa, demands integrated knowledge of an area or areas of specialisation and how that knowledge relates to burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 105 other fields, disciplines or practices. therefore, it can be suggested that the project manager’s knowledge, as an expert in project management, should be at an nqf level 7. technical (industry) knowledge requires detailed knowledge that can be applied to more than one field in the construction management industry. the nqf guide of knowledge classification in table 1 shows clearly that, for construction project management qualifications, the nqf level should at least be on level 6, as detailed knowledge needs to be applied from more than one field. the sacpcmp (2015: online) requires a minimum of a level 8 to be registered as a professional construction project manager. 3. research this study addressed the importance of nqf qualification levels of knowledge for project managers as well as the importance of gaining knowledge through experience for construction project managers in the built environment. the validity and reliability of a study is important (creswell, 2009: 202-203). it was, therefore, decided to use a mixed methods study design, in which qualitative and quantitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell, 2005). in this study, a questionnaire survey (n = 40) was used to test the project management knowledge theory, which specifies that a sufficient level of construction project management knowledge will have a positive effect on project completion by construction managers in the built environment. the interviews (n = 10) and single case study explored the impact and the importance of industry-specific knowledge for construction project managers in the built environment. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the questionnaire survey (quantitative data), such as similar opinions regarding the importance of nqf levels of knowledge as well as the importance of industry-specific knowledge suggested by the interview and case study (qualitative data) respondents’ groups (creswell, 2005; creswell & plano-clark, 2007). 3.1 sampling method and size a combined list of 87 built environment professionals was obtained from the personal business contact list of the researcher as well as from colleagues regarded by the researcher as professionals in the built industry. the list was stratified between those professionals involved in quantity surveying (17), project management (33), acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 106 engineering (18), building contracting (8), architects (4), valuers (1), and built environment academics (6), which represent the sample size of the questionnaire survey. for the interview survey, using the original business contact list, the researcher selected 10 experienced senior project management professionals who work/worked for over 10 years on large buildings projects (r100 million and more) within the built environment in south africa. these professionals have qualifications on an nqf level 6. according to the sacpcmp’s (2016: 24) annual report, there are approximately 1,585 professional construction project managers registered in south africa. using the sample size table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608), where a sample of 278 for a population of 1,000 is recommended, the sample sizes appear to be small, but the validity of the information supplied was inherent in their wealth of experience on the subject matter and the number of years they have spent in the construction industry. a single case study of a building project to the value of r35 million was selected for the study. the reason for selecting the case study was the failure of the project, due to the limited previous built environment industry knowledge shown by the project manager who worked on the project. the project manager appointed on the project was registered as project manager and worked as a consultant for an engineering firm. he has a bcom qualification without any qualifications in the built environment. he has a few years’ work experience. 3.2 data collection leedy & ormrod’s (2010: 194) list of guidelines for compiling questionnaires was followed. a structured questionnaire was distributed electronically via email to a total randomly selected sample of 87 construction-related professionals in south africa. responses were returned within a two-month period. the project management knowledge topics used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature. some questions were based on the pmbok knowledge areas, while others were based on the technical knowledge areas for project managers in the built environment introduced by the sacpcmp. this resulted in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two sections, namely respondent’s profile, and questions to determine whether the respondents think that it is important for a project manager to have industry-specific knowledge and to discover what form of knowledge they regard as essential for a project manager. elements from the following main areas were burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 107 tested: experience in the built environment, project management knowledge, technical knowledge, and qualifications. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed ended questions were preferred (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). after the location city and addresses of the organisations were determined, interviews were planned, a date was set to meet, and the individual interviews were conducted with 10 professionals from built environment organisations in south africa. interviewees were asked to give their views on the importance of industry-specific knowledge of a construction project manager and to review the form of knowledge considered essential. topics discussed included important knowledge types, industry-related knowledge required, and required qualification. feedback from the qualitative research afforded an opportunity for respondents to elaborate on opinions, including experiences. all these discussions were recorded and used as the interview data. the interviews were conducted within two weeks. for the case study, the quantity surveyor working on the project was questioned on his assessment of problems faced on the project. the quantity surveyor reported on specific incidences where the project manager’s lack of industry-specific knowledge as well as projectmanagement knowledge affected the project. all the discussions and emails exchanged were noted. it was also determined that the data would be interpreted using specific categories including industryrelated knowledge and project-management knowledge. this crosssectional study was carried out only once (schoonraad, 2003: 139). 3.3 response rate forty completed questionnaires were returned, resulting in a response rate of 45%. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built environment survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. all of the ten interviewees invited to participate in the study took part in the interview discussions. 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings towards the proposed model for the questionnaire survey, a 5-point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. likert scales need a minimum of two categories and a maximum of eight or nine (neuman, 1997: 159; leedy & ormrod, 2010: 189). for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the scale measurement between 1 and 5 was used. likert-type or frequency scales are designed to acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 108 measure attitudes or opinions. in this research, these ordinal scales measure levels of not important/very important. the scales were 1 = ‘not important’, 2 = ‘fairly important’, 3 = ‘important’, 4 = ‘very important’, and 5 = ‘critically important’. the data were captured using the spss program, upon which the findings were reviewed against the foregoing literature review. this was used in order to make deductions and increase the understanding of the required knowledge for project management in the built environment. in the quantitative research, the raw data was coded prior to starting the analysis. the codes were then entered into a statistical computer program spss and usable statistics were compiled. all discussions during the interviews were recorded and used as the interview data. using microsoft excel 2003®, the raw data was analysed and organised into conceptual themes under the categories important knowledge types, industry-related knowledge required, and required qualification for construction project managers. these categories were tabulated. using qualitative analysis, the research case study was discussed and the data organised into specific categories. the category industry-related knowledge was coded: knowledge of construction science; knowledge of financial cost factors; knowledge of design processes, and knowledge of construction processes. the category project management knowledge was coded: integration, scope, trust, communication, time, and cost. these categories and codes were tabulated. 3.5 limitations this study is limited to construction project managers within south africa. in terms of the guidelines stipulating type of knowledge that project managers should have, this study focused on the nine pmbok knowledge areas from the pmi pmbok guide 4th edition 2008 and did not include the 5th edition, as the study was conducted prior to the release of the 5th edition. therefore, the study was limited to the nine pmbok knowledge areas and did not include stakeholder management as the tenth area. 4. results the findings from the analysis and interpretation of the data collected for this study are shown in tables 2 to 13. tables 2 and 3 – the respondents’ profile; tables 4 and 5 – the type of knowledge needed for project managers; table 6 – the importance of having burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 109 project management knowledge (theory); table 7 – the case study results of why the project failed, due to lack of project management knowledge; table 8 – the importance of having technical (industry) management knowledge in the built environment; table 9 – the interview and case study responses on the industry-related knowledge required for construction project managers; tables 10 and 11 – the importance of gaining knowledge through experience, and tables 12 and 13 – the level of knowledge (qualifications) required for project managers in the built environment. 4.1 respondents’ profile the first part of the interview survey and questionnaire survey contained questions on the demographic profile of the respondents who are in the best position to comment on the knowledge set that project managers should possess. table 2 shows the professions of the respondents and table 3 shows the years of experience in a profession as well as the respondent’s nqf qualification level. table 2: professions of respondents profession of respondents questionnaire: number of respondents in the correlating profession in column 1 % interview: number of respondents in the correlating profession in column 1 % quantity surveying 3 7.5 2 20 project management 21 52.5 3 30 engineering 10 25 3 30 building contracting 3 7.5 2 20 architects 1 2.5 0 0 valuers 1 2.5 0 0 built environment academics 1 2.5 0 0 total 40 10 table 3: respondents’ nqf qualification level and years of experience in profession profession years of experience in profession total nqf qualification level of respondents in the profession total questionnaire respondents 5-10 10-20 20+ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 quantity surveying 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 110 profession years of experience in profession total nqf qualification level of respondents in the profession total questionnaire respondents 5-10 10-20 20+ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 project management 6 7 8 21 0 0 15 6 0 0 0 21 engineering 2 4 4 10 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 10 building contracting 1 2 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 architects 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 valuers 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 built environment academics 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 total % 10 25 14 35 16 40 40 1 2.5 0 18 45 17 42.5 0 2 5 1 2.5 40 interview survey respondents 5-10 10-20 20+ total 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 total quantity surveying 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 project management 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 engineering 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 building contracting 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 total % 0 6 60 4 40 10 0 0 0 0 10 100 0 0 10 indicating first the questionnaire results and then the interview results, the majority of the responses (52.5%; 30%) and (25%; 30%) were received from project managers and engineers. the results show that (35%; 50%) of the professionals have over 10 years’ experience in their professions, of whom 40% from both respondents’ groups have 20 years or more experience. the interview survey respondents all had nqf level 8 qualifications and the questionnaire respondents’ nqf level of qualifications varied: 2.5% had nqf level 4; 45%, nqf level 6; 42%, nqf level 7; 5%, nqf 9, and 2.5%, nqf 10. 4.2 type of knowledge needed based on the scale measurement used regarding mean scores, where 1 = ‘not important’, 2 = ‘fairly important’, 3 = ‘important’, 4 = ‘very important’, and 5 = ‘critically important’, the results in table 4 show the mean scores for the importance levels of the burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 111 type of knowledge which a construction project manager should have, as perceived by the respondents who participated in the questionnaire survey. table 5 shows the tabulated responses from the interview survey. table 4: questionnaire responses: importance of knowledge types knowledge area questionnaire responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important average rating 1 2 3 4 5 total work experience number of respondents 1 5 15 14 5 40 4.35 percentage of total 2.5 12.5 37.5 35 12.5 100 project management knowledge number of respondents 1 5 15 14 5 40 3.85 percentage of total 2.5 12.5 37.5 35 12.5 100 technical knowledge number of respondents 2 2 8 17 11 10 3.83 percentage of total 5 5 20 42.5 27.5 100 table 5: interview responses: important knowledge types important knowledge industry-specific knowledge is essential. knowledge of project management, the built environment and knowledge gained though experience are essential. need project management knowledge plus industry-specific knowledge. need to have knowledge and experience within the built environment. the results in table 4 show that knowledge through work experience (ms = 4.35) was rated very important; project management knowledge (ms = 3.85) and technical (industry) knowledge (ms = 3.83) were rated important. tabulated responses in table 5 show that all ten interviewees indicated that a construction project manager needs technical (industry) knowledge, project management (theory) knowledge, and experience. 4.2.1 project management knowledge the generic project management knowledge areas listed in the pmi as well as the additional extension to the construction pmbok areas were tested. table 6 shows the weighted mean score averages for acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 112 the 13 areas ranked according to the importance, as perceived by the respondents who participated in the questionnaire survey. table 6: questionnaire responses: importance of project management knowledge pmbok project management knowledge response (n = 40) average mean score rank1 = not important ...... 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 project time management 0 0 7 22 11 4.10 1 project cost management 0 0 11 16 13 4.05 2 claims management (construction extension) 0 0 11 17 12 4.03 3 project risk management 0 2 9 15 14 4.02 4 project scope management 0 0 11 18 11 4.00 5 financial management (construction extension) 2 0 9 17 12 3.93 6 project human resources management 1 2 11 14 13 3.87 7 project quality management 0 0 10 17 11 3.83 8 project integration management 0 1 11 17 10 3.82 9 project communication management 1 2 12 15 10 3.79 10 occupational health and safety (construction extension) 1 3 12 15 9 3.70 11 project procurement management 1 6 10 16 7 3.55 12 environmental management (construction extension) 3 4 14 12 7 3.40 13 total average 3.85 areas that were rated very important, with mean scores of 4 and above, will be included in the proposed model. these areas are: project time management (4.10); project cost management (4.05); project claims management (4.03); project risk management (4.02), and project scope management (4.00). areas that were rated as important will be included in the proposed model. these areas are: project financial management (3.93); project human resources management (3.87); project quality management (3.83); project integration knowledge (3.82); project communication management (3.79); project occupation health burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 113 and safety (3.70); project procurement management (3.55), and project environmental management (3.40). with an ms of 3.85, respondents view it important that project managers should have project management knowledge (theory). to gain theoretical project management knowledge, integrated knowledge and specialisation of the field is needed. a qualification on nqf level 7 (first degree such as a bsc) allows for integrated knowledge and specialisation of a field, discipline or practice. table 7 shows the tabulated responses from the case study of why the project failed, due to lack of project management knowledge. table 7: case study results: project management knowledge project management knowledge reasons why the project failed integration the project manager lacked integrated knowledge there was inefficient management of the project for example, the waterline had to be moved, and would amount to r500,000. the project manager did not understand the implications and actions involved in moving the line as the project manager did not have knowledge about costing and construction processes scope the project manager could not check the project work of the consultants, as the project manager did not have the technical knowledge of the work required to do construction-related tasks, and he could, therefore, not determine whether it was complete or not the project manager did not know this, due to the fact that he did not have knowledge of the scope of work trust lack of knowledge and inability to answer the client’s questions led to mistrust in the project manager he did not instil trust among project team members, so they did not trust his expertise as project manager communication lack of knowledge led to miscommunication during the project he did not understand what the team members were saying and the implications of what they were saying he did not know what questions to ask and, therefore, asked the wrong questions time there were time delays, due to miscommunication due to his inadequate knowledge, he had to enquire about a lot of information that should have been part of his knowledge base cost time delays, as the result of insufficient knowledge, contributed to project cost increase the project manager did not understand the industry standard quantity surveying costing, as the project manager did not have knowledge about costing he could not justify the cost and the reason for the cost acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 114 the quantity surveyor who worked on the project is convinced that a large contributing factor in the eventual termination of the project was the project manager’s lack of project management knowledge. 4.2.2 technical (industry) knowledge technical knowledge areas, as listed by the sacpcmp, were tested in terms of their importance in the built environment. table 8 shows the mean scores for the importance levels of project manager technical (industry) management knowledge, as perceived by the respondents from the questionnaire survey. table 8: questionnaire responses: importance of technical (industry) management knowledge in the built environment sacpcmp technical knowledge areas response (n = 40) average mean score rank 1 = not important ....... 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 knowledge of financial cost factors 0 0 4 19 17 3.94 1 knowledge of design processes 0 0 10 17 11 3.83 2 knowledge of construction processes 0 2 11 17 9 3.80 3 knowledge of construction science 0 4 12 16 8 3.72 4 average 3.83 rated as important, the following technical knowledge areas were identified as knowledge areas to be included in the proposed model: knowledge of financial cost factors (ms = 3.94); knowledge of design processes (ms = 3.83); knowledge of construction processes (ms = 3.80), and knowledge of construction science (ms = 3.72). with a weighted average of 3.83, supported by the results from the interviews and case study tabulated in table 9, the findings show that having technical (industry) knowledge is important. burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 115 table 9: interview and case study responses: industry-related knowledge required industry-related knowledge required interview responses case study results: why the project failed knowledge of construction science industry knowledge is most important should know the essentials of the industry needs to understand the processes relevant in the industry to understand what is going to be developed and built needs project management knowledge plus industry-specific knowledge lacked knowledge in the fields of construction science and construction processes for example, the project manager did not know what bending schedules were. his lack of industryspecific knowledge caused frustration among project team members and negatively affected the project knowledge of construction processes needs above average knowledge about the industry and an understanding of how various elements fit together has to know and understand the process and systems needs a different level of required knowledge experience is one of the essential knowledge components the project manager did not understand the construction processes that had to take place. for example, the waterline had to be moved to a lower level. the project manager did not understand why it should be lower knowledge of design processes has to understand the processes involved in the industry has to be familiar with the steps and processes has to have knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in a building project the project manager did not understand what the team members were saying and the implications of what they were saying. for example, the 300 trees that were to be planted on site cost substantially more than expected and took longer. the project manager did not know that the costs and time involved were more than merely the purchase price per tree and the planting thereof knowledge of financial cost factors has to understand the processes involved in cost and finances the project manager did not have knowledge about costing. for example, the waterline had to be moved; this would amount to r500,000. the project manager did not understand why it costs so much acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 116 the case study indicated that the project manager lacked knowledge. the consultants working on the project agreed that the project manager lacked knowledge in the fields of construction science, construction processes, design processes, and finance. therefore, the project failed to be completed. 4.2.3 knowledge through experience respondents rated the importance of gaining project management knowledge through working within the built environment. with a weighted average of 4.35, the questionnaire findings in table 10 show that the respondents view experience in the built environment as a crucial knowledge element for a project manager. table 10: questionnaire responses: importance of experience in the built environment responses 1 = not important 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 1 1 21 17 40 percentage of total 0 2.5 2.5 52.5 42.5 100 average rating 4.35 of the 40 respondents, 38 rated the importance of experience as either 4 or 5, with 52.5% regarding it as very important, and 42.5% as critically important. a total of 95% indicated experience as being either very important or critically important. table 11 shows the coded interview responses supporting this finding. table 11: interview responses: knowledge through experience important knowledge types generic project management qualification without industry-specific knowledge will not suffice needs project management knowledge plus industryspecific knowledge needs to have knowledge and experience in the built environment 4.3 level of knowledge (qualification) to determine what the minimum level of qualification for construction project managers should be, respondents rated the nqf level of qualifications they deemed important on a 5-point likert scale. table 12 shows the ms and rank of the nqf level of qualification burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 117 which respondents from the questionnaire survey deemed important for a project manager in the built environment. table 12: questionnaire responses: nqf knowledge level required for a built environment project manager nqf level (n) response and (%) average mean score rank1 = not important ...... 5 = critically important 1 2 3 4 5 5 32 24 8 0 0 0 1.25 5 % 100 0 0 0 0 6 32 5 4 10 4 9 3.25 2 % 15.6 12.5 31.3 12.5 28.1 7 36 2 2 4 16 12 3.94 1 % 5.6 5.6 11.1 44.4 33.3 8 35 7 3 16 7 2 2.83 3 % 20 8.6 45.7 20 5.7 9 36 14 12 5 3 2 2.08 4 % 38.9 33.3 13.9 8.3 5.6 with a mean score of 1.25, no respondents viewed a qualification on nqf level 5 as important for project managers. nqf level 6, with a mean score of 3.25 was viewed as an important level of qualification which project managers in the built environment should have. with an ms of 3.94, nqf level 7 is rated the most important level of qualification which a project manager in the built environment should have. only 11.2% stated that it is not important (5.6%), or only fairly important (5.6%), compared to 77.7% who stated that an nqf level 7 is very important (44.4%) and critically important (33.3%). the results show an ms below average for nqf level 8 (2.83) and nqf level 9 (2.08), indicating that respondents overall did not view these levels of qualification as important. table 13 shows the coded interview responses of the nqf level required for project managers. table 13: interview responses: nqf knowledge level required qualification for project managers required qualification generic project management qualification (nqf level 6) without industry-specific knowledge will not suffice needs nqf level 7 qualification in the built environment, such as a degree in engineering, quantity surveying, or architecture acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 118 the majority of the respondents indicated an nqf level 7 qualification as adequate for project management knowledge (theory). rated as important, and very important, nqf level 6 and nqf level 7, respectively, will be included in the proposed model. in table 1, saqa describes nqf level 6 as ‘detailed knowledge of the main areas of one or more fields, disciplines or practices, including an understanding of, and an ability to apply the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of that field, discipline or practice’. rated as important in table 12, this study suggests that a project manager in the built environment should have technical industry-specific knowledge equivalent to nqf level 6. this implies that s/he needs to have detailed knowledge and understanding of areas such as construction science, design processes, finance and cost, and construction processes, which will be included in the proposed model. rated as important in table 6, with an ms of 3.85, project managers need project management knowledge (theory). this type of knowledge should be on a higher level than technical knowledge, because project managers need to be specialists in their primary field of work, namely project management. the level of project management knowledge needs to be detailed knowledge of that area of specialisation. this implies that construction project managers need to have specialised knowledge and understanding of the 13 project management areas introduced in this study. rated as very important in table 12, this study suggests that, for a project manager to gain this specialised level of knowledge, qualifications equivalent to nqf level 7 (first degree such as a bsc), as detailed in table 1, are suggested and will be included in the proposed model. 5. proposed model for construction project management knowledge with the literature and empirical reviews as foundation, a model is proposed that is viewed as an integrated system with effective construction project management knowledge as fundamental core, since the research demonstrated that efficient knowledge through work experience, qualified project management knowledge (theory), and technical (industry) knowledge support effective construction project management. burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 119 5.1 construction project management knowledge model figure 1 illustrates the model for construction project management knowledge. the model is viewed as an expanding circle with technical (industry) knowledge centre to project management knowledge (theory) and work experience. knowledge influences all activities related to project management. the efficiency of knowledge is again influenced by the level of knowledge (qualification), indicated in figure 1 as nqf level 6 and nqf level 7. the model consists of effective construction project management knowledge as the foundation with three circles around this core. the first circle constitutes nqf level 6 knowledge (technical knowledge); the second circle, knowledge through industry experience, and the third circle, nqf level 7 of knowledge (project management knowledge theory) that a construction project manager should have. figure 1: the construction project management knowledge model acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 120 5.1.1 nqf level 6 knowledge (technical knowledge) the first circle, nqf level 6, following the core foundation circle, is shown as a circle where construction science, finance and cost, construction processes, and design processes are overlapping to the second circle. this overlapping is sensible, as some of the technical knowledge in this circle is closely linked to the second circle (knowledge through industry experience). the circle shows industry knowledge closely linked to and overlapping to the core circle. an nqf level 6 qualification (diploma) will assist construction project managers to have detailed technical knowledge, including an understanding of, and an ability to apply the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of construction science, finance and cost, construction processes, and design processes within the built environment. a construction project manager cannot be without this technical industry knowledge. it is fundamental. however, the second circle, that is knowledge through experience, is also needed, in order to develop an in-depth understanding of the knowledge gained through the first circle. when the technical knowledge is on at least a nqf level 6 qualification, industry knowledge can be strengthened and enhanced and will assist the construction project manager to have a better overall knowledge set of construction science, finance and cost, construction processes, and design processes. 5.1.2 knowledge through industry experience the second circle, experience, shows the work experience within the industry. the arrows flowing from the second circle over the first circle to the core, illustrate the importance of gaining knowledge through experience to ensure effective construction project management. experience in industry is essential to contribute to effective project management. however, experience on its own, without the first and third circles, will not sufficiently contribute to effective project management. this set of knowledge supports and strengthens technical knowledge in the second circle and effective construction project management knowledge in the core circle. 5.1.3 nqf level 7 (project management knowledge theory) the third circle, nqf level 7, shows the level of qualification for project management knowledge areas in a sequence supported by the literature reviewed, but in combinations; this is sensible, as some of the project management knowledge areas are sequential and closely linked. the nine generic project management areas within burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 121 the circle are indicated in blue: integration management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management, human resources management, communication management, risk management, and procurement management. the four construction-specific project management areas indicated in green are: safety management, environmental management, claims management, and financial management. the third level incorporates the nine project management areas that are necessary for any project to be managed, as well as the four construction-specific areas. all these areas are important and influence each other. if communication management does not take place, all the areas are affected. there may be an increased risk, the project may have scope creep, be of a lower quality, at a higher cost with little integration between all the areas. if time, cost or quality are influenced, this may have an effect on each other. a project that is not completed within time may undergo a cost and quality adjustment. however, the third circle does not stand alone. the 13 areas in circle three are affected by circles one and two. lacking industry knowledge and experience may quite likely impact on project management elements in circle one. the aim of a project is to complete it on time, within cost and according to an expected quality. without the combined knowledge of all three, the achievement of effective project management may be affected. a qualification on nqf level 7 (first degree such as a bsc) will assist the project manager to have integrated knowledge of the main areas of project management, including an understanding of, and an ability to apply and evaluate the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, rules, and theories of project management. it should also assist project managers to gain specialised knowledge on project management theory so that they can have an understanding of how project management relates to other fields, disciplines or practices such as engineering, and so on. when project management knowledge theory is on at least a nqf level 7 qualification, project management knowledge can be strengthened and enhanced and will assist the construction project manager to have better knowledge of project management knowledge theory. the arrows flowing from the third circle over the second and first circles to the core illustrate the importance of having a qualification on nqf level 7 for project management knowledge, in order to ensure effective construction project management. this set of knowledge supports and strengthens work experience within acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 122 the industry in the third circle; technical knowledge in the second circle, and effective construction project management knowledge in the core circle. it is proposed that, if all areas of construction project management knowledge, from project management knowledge theory to technical knowledge and work experience are in position to ensure the gaining of efficient knowledge, the result will be a project manager that possesses efficient knowledge to execute effective construction project management. 6. conclusion and recommendation appropriate literature elicited a range of structured questions that were used to obtain quantitative and qualitative data from the survey and interview participants. analysis of the data with literature and the results from the surveys determined the elements of a proposed model and showed that the knowledge expected from project managers can be grouped into technical knowledge (construction science, finance and cost, construction processes, and design processes within the built environment), and knowledge through industry experience and project management knowledge theory (the nine generic project management areas include integration management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management, human resources management, communication management, risk management, and procurement management; the four construction-specific project management areas include safety management, environmental management, claims management, and financial management). the research results show that knowledge is fundamental to the development of effective construction project management, in order to produce successful projects. the model includes two nqf levels of qualification knowledge sets, which, used in combination with knowledge gain through industry experience, are proposed to assist construction project managers in developing their knowledge sets, and through improved levels of knowledge, ensuring the successful execution of projects. implementation and use of the proposed model relies on the willingness of construction project managers relative to understanding the importance of such a model. it is, therefore, recommended that the interrelated knowledge sets included in the model are of utmost importance. these include ‘engaging people’, which will encourage construction project managers to take ownership in an burger & zulch • a construction project management knowledge ... 123 attempt to introduce and implement this proposed construction project management knowledge model in their firms. this research does not consider the model as a complete means to an end. further research is needed, in order to develop 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defining project objectives; resource requirements; risk measurement; risk identification; risk assessment; communication approach and evaluation; risk response and action planning, as well as monitoring and review. it is important to note that the study was not conducted across south africa; hence, the findings cannot be generalized. despite the delimitation, the researchers recommend that these practices are for risk management in construction projects undertaken by smes in south africa. bérenger renault mr bérenger y. renault, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 73 101 6707, email: <renault08@ yahoo.fr> justus agumba dr justus n. agumba, department of construction management and quantity surveying, durban university of technology, durban, south africa. phone: +27 31 373 2466, email: <justusa@ dut.ac.za> nazeem ansary mr nazeem ansary, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 11 559 6056, email: <nansary@ uj.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 1-39 © uv/ufs mailto:renault08@yahoo.fr mailto:renault08@yahoo.fr mailto:justusa@dut.ac.za mailto:justusa@dut.ac.za mailto:nansary@uj.ac.za mailto:nansary@uj.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.1 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 2 keywords: factor analysis, risk management practices, small and medium enterprises, south africa risikobestuur (rb) word erken as ’n sleutelaktiwiteit in projekbestuur in die strewe om suksesvolle konstruksieprojekte te lewer. hierdie projekte word egter geassosieer met verskeie risiko’s wat projekprestasie dikwels in gevaar stel, veral onder klein en medium konstruksie-ondernemings (kmo’s). risikobestuurspraktyke (rbp) is ontwikkel om projekrisiko’s te beperk. tog is daar geen konsensus oor die praktyke wat rb vir kmo-projekte uitmaak nie. die hoofdoel van hierdie navorsing is dus om die rbp te bepaal wat aangepas kan word vir konstruksie-kmo’s om risiko in hul projekte te bestuur ten einde projeksukses te behaal. ’n uitgebreide literatuurstudie oor rbp is gedoen en gebruik om ’n gestruktureerde vraelys te ontwikkel wat aan konstruksie-kmo’s in die gauteng provinsie van suid-afrika gepos is. die empiriese bevindinge het nege rbp opgestel wat betroubaar en geldig was vir die bestuur van risikos in projekte wat deur konstruksie-kmo’s onderneem is, naamlik organisatoriese omgewing; definisie van projekdoelwitte; hulpbronvereistes; risiko-meting; risiko-identifikasie; risikobepaling; kommunikasiebenadering en evaluering; risikoreaksie en aksiebeplanning, sowel as monitering en hersiening. dit is belangrik om daarop te let dat die studie nie oor die hele suid-afrika uitgevoer is nie; daarom kan die bevindings nie veralgemeen word nie. ten spyte van die beperking, beveel die navorsers aan dat hierdie praktyke is wat vir risikobestuur in konstruksieprojekte deur kmo’s in suid-afrika onderneem moet word. sleutelwoorde: faktoranalise, klein en medium ondernemings, risikobestuurspraktyke, suid-afrika 1. introduction the construction industry (ci) is one of the largest employers globally. it employs approximately 7% of the global work force or 180 million people and it is predicted to account for approximately 13% of the global domestic product (gdp) by 2020 (nieuwenkamp, 2016). in south africa (sa), the ci employed 1 395 000 people (formal and informal sectors), contributing 3.9% to national gdp (statssa, 2017). despite its economic contribution, a construction project is well acknowledged as the riskiest project to execute because of the complexity of its activities, operating environment, and processes involved prior to and during project execution (gao, sung & zhang, 2013). the complexity of its activities and the risk environment lead to poor project performance, especially among small and medium construction enterprises (smes), whose contribution to the economy is substantial. this contribution has been recognised in many countries (mutezo, 2013: 157; abor & quartey, 2010: 223; ellegaard, 2008: 428) and especially in african countries such as south africa and nigeria, where they contribute 51% and 57% to national gdp (kalane, 2015: 15). in nigeria, smes have contributed approximately 48% of the national gdp in the last five years (aroloye, 2017). as such, the south african government utilizes smes to attain three main objectives, namely poverty alleviation, job creation opportunities, renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 3 and promoting economic growth (leboea, 2017: 39). to buttress this statement, mutezo (2013: 155) stated that smes are often regarded as the backbone of the economy and the main driver of economic growth in the country (falkner & hiebl, 2015: 131). regardless of the noted economic significance, it is estimated that many smes in south africa fail to go past the end of their second year of business establishment (marcelino, pérez-ezcurdia, echeverría lazcano & villanueva, 2014: 332; cant & wiid, 2013: 710). perera (2016) supported this statement by arguing that many smes do not survive beyond their first five years of business establishment and that eight out of ten smes fail every year. studies have revealed that many smes fail, due to a number of factors, which include, but are not restricted to the lack of access to finance (boone & kurtz, 2006; ramlee & bernma, 2013; brown & lee, 2014) and lack of appropriate management skills (olawale & garwe, 2010: 731). however, rostami, sommerville, wong & lee’s (2015: 98) study revealed that 80% of smes failures are as a result of management failure. it was indicated that there is a necessity to improve corporate governance and the link to risk management (rm). in performing their activities, smes face many risks that are often similar to those of large enterprises. smes, however, tend to experience more risks than large enterprises, and the risk of not delivering the project within its set target is higher in smes than in large enterprises (rostami et al., 2015: 98). as a result of high exposure to risk and failure, investors and banks have become hesitant about funding smes (ellegaard, 2008: 429; kraus, rigtering, hughes & hosman, 2012: 161). risk management practices (rmp) have been developed in order to curtail project risks. however, rm is still not widespread among construction smes. even though it is not a new concept, it has lately become a growing priority in any construction project management (jurgensen, duijm & troen, 2010: 1040). rm in construction refers to a process that consists of identifying, assessing, and planning actions to deal with potential risks that may influence the successful achievement of project objectives (kraus et al., 2012: 161). the inability of smes’ owners to apply the rm process has contributed in rm becoming one of the factors that leads to lowering the sustainability of smes (falkner et al., 2015:130). rm can help smes to efficiently deal with negative occurrences that could jeopardize the successful achievement of project objectives. however, marcelinosádaba et al.’s (2014: 332) study reported that many smes do not or not adequately apply rmps, mostly because they cannot afford to rededicate resources due to their constraints. lack of rm strategies in place also remains to be a common trend among smes amidst acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 4 many risks, a factor that could be closely linked to the high failure rate (nunes, viveiros & serrasqueiro, 2012: 453). according to gao et al. (2013: 683), knowledge on the risk management strategies applied by smes remains scanty, especially in less developed economies. furthermore, gunasekaran, rai & griffin (2011: 5494) point out that the lack of adoption and implementation of mitigative strategies in smes projects have resulted in many projects not achieving set objectives. chihuri & pretorious (2010: 65) postulated that, in south africa, risk management was also not widely used among both small and large firms and that there was a lack of actual adoption and implementation of rm practices. yaacob (2015: 496) argues that scientific effort among researchers to investigate issues on rmps is inadequate and emphasises that research on rmp of smes is minimal compared to smes’ critical contribution to the economy. in order to overcome project failures, cooke-davis (2002: 188) established that project success is highly dependent upon the implementation of rmps. rounds & segner (2011: 104) described it as one of the most capable areas and critical procedures that help complete projects successfully. furthermore, imbeah & guikama (2009: 778) argued that rmps are closely aligned with overall project performance. the scarcity of scientific research on rmps and poor project performance highlight, the need to determine rmps that construction smes can use to improve their project performance. furthermore, although many studies have been conducted on rm among smes, the plethora of studies lack consensus of the rmps to be used by construction smes. the purpose of this study is, therefore, to determine the reliable and valid rm practices tailored for construction smes projects, using exploratory factor analysis. 2. risk management in smes a study conducted by gao et al. (2013: 684) indicated that formal rm frameworks are designed for large enterprises, and that the frameworks are too complicated and pricey for smes to adopt. according to blanc-alquier & lagasse-tignol (2006: 18) and gao et al. (2013: 684), smes lack rm knowledge, skills and capability. smes’ owner managers are so knowledgeable about their ventures and are commonly not able to identify all the risk elements that have an impact on their business activities (smit & watkins, 2012: 6326). these statements are supported by sullivan-taylor & branicki (2011: 5565) and gunasekaran et al. (2011: 5498) who believe that implementing formal rm process is not feasible because of smes’ restricted resources. renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 5 contrarily, corvellec (2009: 288) argued that organizations might implicitly implement rm. rm is embedded in daily management activities and business processes. organizations do not openly state that they are addressing risks and implementing rm. nevertheless, they are addressing risks encountered by their organizations in an effective manner. poba-nzaou, raymond & fabi (2014: 488) concurred with the study. they revealed that smes’ rm practices are informal, unstructured, and instinctive. however, they still effectively address management risks. poba-nzaou, raymond & fabi (2014: 488) interpret this as smes demonstrating rm capability. establishing risk initiatives for construction smes is critical to the success of their projects. smes’ failure is often due to high levels of non-application of rm processes, unmanaged risks and worstcase scenarios, and the inability to manage risks. however, ekwere (2016: 32) notes that the objective of rm is not to prevent risktaking, but to ascertain that risk is taken with a clear understanding and knowledge to enable its measurement and mitigation with an organization. smes are also found to have backward-looking perspectives as opposed to a transformed and forward-looking approach that promotes continuous improvement (ching & colombo, 2014: 77). according to watt (2007: 26), sme senior managers should consider the following steps in their rm processes: establish the smes’ risk strategy; determine the risk appetite; identify and assess the risk, and prioritize and manage the risk. having an understanding of the rm process surrounding the organization is useless if inadequate rm initiatives are applied. owners and managers of construction smes need to take rm as a process that utilizes internal controls as measures to mitigate and control risk pertaining to their organizations. hence, owners and managers in smes need to be conversant with risk identification and analysis, in order to manage risks from a diverse range of sources (schultz, 2001). schultz’s statement is complemented by smit & watkins (2012: 6328) who stipulate that smes that incorporate rm are better equipped to exploit resources pertaining to their organizations, thus enabling smes to convert an expenditure activity into an activity that can yield a positive return (hsu, lien & chen, 2013). according to napp (2011: 34), risk occurrence can be a danger to smes in continuity; it is of paramount importance that smes focus and try to implement comprehensive rm. the main outcome of rm is to reduce the number of threats that materialize into problems and to minimize the effect of those that do occur (hillson, 2009). taking the above into consideration, it is clear that rm is of paramount importance. if rm is acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 6 managed effectively and efficiently, it can help businesses become more cost effective. 2.1 identified risk management practices there was no particular study with similar factors and the measures that deemed to influence project outcome. the extensive literature review suggested nine theoretical rm practices that smes could use to manage their projects in order to achieve successful project delivery. these practices are discussed in detail in this section. 2.1.1 organizational environment according to the institute of risk management (irm, 2002), the internal environment influences an organization in adopting a comprehensive and collaborative approach to risk and, therefore, impacts positively on the outcome of the project. in addition, it influences management decision-making to achieve the right balance of risk and opportunity. likewise, the external environment evaluates the strategic alignment of an organization’s rm and its external operating environment (irm, 2002). smit (2012: 67) indicated that understanding the organizational environment of risk ensures that all organizational stakeholders understand their responsibilities and accountabilities, as well as identify possible weak areas that may influence the project from achieving its objectives. as stakeholders play a crucial role in the success of any project, scholars studying the construction sector (olander & landin, 2005: 323; el-gohary, osman & ei-diraby, 2006: 597; bosher, dainty, carrillo, glass & price, 2007: 165; momeni, hamidizade & nouraei, 2015: 416) established that stakeholder involvement has undeniable impacts on project outcomes. furthermore, in exploring the effect of organizational environment, top management involvement, and stakeholder’s involvement on the success of a project, basu, hartono, lederer & sethi (2002: 516) observed that these factors were considerably related to project success. from the discussion, it can be suggested that understanding the organizational environment is an important practice of rm and project success. 2.1.2 defining project objectives according to goetz (2010), unclearly defined objectives lead the project into overruns, personality clashes, unhappy clients, and missed milestones. defining project objectives aids in aligning the organization whereby the project objectives are clearly visible and understood, hence positive and negative risks in achieving the objectives are identified and understood, and risk responses renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 7 are aligned (boubala, 2010: 14). in support of this statement, goetz (2010) and beleiu, crisan & nistor (2015: 64) added that keeping project objectives in the vanguard of every project assures that the project and the team are in sync during the course of the project’s life cycle. they deduced that clearly defined objectives will enable the project’s successful result. it can thus be suggested that defining project objectives is imperative practice for rm. 2.1.3 resource requirements rm resources are important in a project, as they enable rm performance of the project to be achieved (oztas & okmen, 2005: 1246; el-sayeh, 2008: 435). muthuramalingam (2008: 5) established that availability of resources was a good predictor of rm performance, thus contributing to a successful completion of the project. haughey (2014: 2-3) concluded that rm resources influenced project success. scheid (2011) stated that a project’s resources need to be considered, in order to keep on track with successful outcomes. manfredi & auletta (2013) concurred with scheid (2011) who indicated that the availability of resources had an impact on the decrease of cost overruns in projects. 2.1.4 risk measurement smit (2012: 71-72) indicated that defining and documenting the risk measurement of a project was crucial to its success. he observed that risk measurement influences the outcome of the project in defining the risk measurement criteria to be used (e.g., classification system of high, medium, or low); defining risk materiality (when risk is important), and determining the level of acceptable risk and risk time frame applicable to risk impact and risk probability (i.e., when risk is expected to occur, e.g., next month, next year, and so on). phoya (2012: 28) declared that, in order to successfully achieve project objectives, a project team has to define a classification rule set (risk measurement) for each impact type that is relevant. the author further stipulated that risk measurement can detect the key influences on project outcome and allow the effects of uncertainty to be determined. karimi, mousavi, mousavi & hosseini (2010: 9108) indicated that, when risk measurement is used, it reduces risk impact on the project regarding schedule, budget, and quality. goossens & van-gelder (2002) demonstrated that risk measurement, being one of the activities of rm, influenced project success and project performance. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 8 2.1.5 risk identification the results of al-shibly, louzi & hiassat (2013: 22) indicated that risk identification influenced project success. similarly, ewer & mustafa (2008: 1-6) observed that some authors (martins, 2006: 56; de bakker, boonstra & wortmann, 2011: 78; grote & moss, 2008: 88-89) inferred that, when management involvement increases in risk identification, the risk of unclear or misunderstood scope seems to lessen and improve project performance and, hence, influence positively a project’s outcome. a study conducted by de bakker et al. (2011: 78) stipulates that risk identification contributes to project success. they also inferred that the interaction through discussion between project members during risk identification has a positive impact on the perceived success of the project. 2.1.6 risk assessment roque & de carvalho (2013: 102) established that risk assessment activity makes a greater significant impact on the success of the project. the results indicated that adopting risk assessment has a substantial positive impact on the project success, as project staff are able to take actions to mitigate the occurrence of risks to a greater extent. al-shibly et al. (2013: 34) tested the relationship between risk assessment and planned budget. the authors established that there was an impact of risk assessment on project planned budget. furthermore, smit (2012: 83), zeng & smith (2007: 594), el-sayegh (2008: 433) and abu mousa (2005: 18-19) affirmed the influence of risk assessment on the successful completion of a project. they reported that assessing uncertainties during the project, making use of the rm strategies, and understanding the business environment, significantly impact on project outcome. by assessing risk, managers can distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable risk events, thus enabling them to capture and process information to assist them in the development of a risk management strategy (oztas & okmen, 2005: 1248; nieto-morote & ruz, 2011: 226; karimi et al., 2010: 9107). likewise, naidoo (2012: 24), indicated that risk assessment once performed, improved project objectives, accurate schedule, improved communication between relevant parties, and hence increased the likelihood of project success. 2.1.7 risk response and action planning al-rousan, sulaiman & salam (2010: 6-7) argued that there is no such thing as a project without risks and problems. the authors added that, if a project is successful, then it is not successful, because renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 9 there were no risks and problems, but because appropriate responses were developed which led to successful completion of the project. kutsch & hall’s (2005: 596) studies established that project performance can be improved by developing mitigating measures that positively influence risk response for project success. gajewska & ropel (2011: 32) and alberto & timur (2013: 72) stated that risk response and action planning influence project success. the latter authors established that, when conducted, risk response will change the risk profile through the project life cycle, and risk exposure will diminish. omphile (2011: 52) and aimable (2015: 9-10) established that risk response activities are strongly linked to the success of construction projects. omphile (2011: 52) further indicated that the impact of responding to a risk may make sense in the short term by saving design costs, allowing the team to meet schedule. moreover, baccarini, salm & love (2004: 288) indicated that one of the documented keys to project success is mitigating the influence of potential project risks to improve the chance of project success. 2.1.8 communication aulich (2013: 96) indicated that communication between project head and management is crucial to the success of construction projects. this is generally influenced by the principal agent relationship between the parties and the contract type chosen (kelkar, 2011: 112). naidoo (2012: 29) showed that a balance between formal and informal communication between project manager and other stakeholders reduces mistrust and conflict of interest. likewise, zulch (2012: 54) opined that communication influenced project success. the author further established that managers spend approximately 90% of their working time engaged in some form of communication, be it meetings, writing emails, reading reports, or talking to project stakeholders. therefore, communication in construction provides a positive contribution to projects, by improving the motivation of project members and the effectiveness of the performance (aulich, 2013: 96). de bakker et al. (2011: 83) stipulated that, in situations where risks are not shared openly, the positively communicative effect may not occur, hence, stifling the success of a project. 2.1.9 monitoring, review and continuous improvement a study by prabhakar (2008: 8-9) pointed out that monitoring, review and continuous improvement influenced project success. likewise, papke-shields, beise & quan (2010: 659) also asserted that the likelihood of achieving project success seemed to be enhanced by other factors, by regularly monitoring the project progress. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 10 in addition, hwang & lim (2013: 209) and kamau & mohamed (2015: 84) established that project monitoring and review allow management to verify that the control actions that were applied are efficacious in order to achieve project success. if control actions are found to be ineffective, these should be revised, or new control actions be implemented, thus enabling continuous improvement in future projects (deat, 2006: 8). rezakhani (2012: 19) indicated that project monitoring and continuous improvement is even more critical than planning in achieving project success. likewise, many researchers (spikin, 2013: 104-105; chin, 2012: 42 indicated that one of the elements of the project management methodology whose main aim is to achieve project success is monitoring project progress. 3. research the purpose of this research was to determine the rmps that can be tailored for construction smes to manage risk in their projects, in order to achieve project success. a quantitative research design was adopted. this type of design allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 1994). in the questionnaire, nine risk management practices (constructs), consisting of 42 measures, were extracted and set as the variables of risk management practices smes should follow (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003). exploratory factor analysis (efa) was used to assess these measured variables in terms of their validity and reliability. efa is a type of technique that analyses the unidimensionality (characteristics) of each of the defined risk management practices (original variables), in order to reduce it to a common score (smaller number of factors) by examining relationships among these quantitative factors (pallant, 2013: 192; rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 200). several factor analysis methods are available, but principle component analysis (pca) was used, because the eigenvalues could be extracted, which explains whether the factors tested had or had not a noticeable effect on people’s responses to the variables in the original test (analysed construct) (rossoni et al., 2016: 201; yang, shen & ho, 2009: 163-164; pallant, 2013: 192). 3.1 sampling method and size a list obtained from the cidb register of contractors containing 548 addresses of smes forms the population for the study. a total of 225 participants registered with the cidb, but located in the city of johannesburg metropolitan municipality, city of tshwane renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 11 metropolitan municipality, ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality, and the west rand district municipality, was conveniently sampled from this list, because they were easiest to access (etikan, musa & alkassim, 2016: 2). the sample size used the general rule of thumb method. van voorhis & morgan (2007: 34) recommend 10 participants per measurement; 20 participants should be added for each independent variable. with nine factors (constructs), the sample size was 9 x 20 = 180, but 45 additional participants were added, resulting in a total sample of 180 + 45 = 225. the sample size table by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608) recommends a sample size for a population of 500 as 217. this recommendation validates the sample size of 225 as efficient for the population of 548. 3.2 response rate from the 225 original questionnaires, 181 completed ones were returned, resulting in a high response rate of 96%. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40%, in general. 3.3 data collection a structured questionnaire survey was distributed to 187 smes in south africa, using the drop-and-collect method and electronic email from july to september 2016. topics on risk management practices used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two sections. section one on respondent’s profile obtained personal information on current position and years of experience in business, gender, education qualification, risk management responsibility. it also obtained the company profile information, which included location of the business and type of contractor. section two sets questions on nine risk management practices consisting of 42 measures. the respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement, in practice, with these measures defining the risk management practices. the data from these measurements forms the variables used in the efa, which tested the validity and reliability of the factors. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closedended questions were preferred for section two (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 12 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings the statistical package for social science (spss) version 23 was used to determine the factor analysability of the risk management practices, using inferential statistics (pallant, 2013). to rank which of the nine risk management practices consisting of 42 measures were practice, the measures were rated on a five-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = strongly disagree (≥ 1.00 ≤ and <1.80), 2 = disagree (≥ 1.81 and ≤ 2.60), 3 = neutral (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40), 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤ 4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤ 5.00). for analysis of the internal reliability of the factors in the questions on risk management practices, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347; wahab, ayodele & moody, 2010: 67). tavakol & dennick (2011: 54-55) and yount (2006) suggested that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.70 to 0.95. in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.70 was adopted. furthermore, the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) should range from 0.2 to 0.4, in order for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2013: 134). however, in this study, a value of 0.3 and above was adopted. to confirm whether the data from the measurements was sufficient for factor analysis (test the validity), the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) test (lorenzo-seva, timmerman & kiers, 2011) and the bartlett’s sphericity test (hair, black, babin, andersen & taham, 2006: 110) were performed. in the kmo test, as the values of the test vary from 0 to 1, values above 0.7 are recommended as being desirable for applying efa (hair et al., 2006) and a statistically significant bartlett test (p < 0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the analysis (hair et al., 2006: 110; pallant, 2013: 190). for factor extraction, principal components analysis (pca) was used to summarise most of the information into a minimum number of factors, by concentrating the explanatory power on the first factor (find the principal components of data) (rossoni et al., 2016: 102). in pca, when the number of variables (measures) is between 20 and 50, it is more reliable to use eigenvalues to extract factors, as it makes interpretation simpler (johnson & wichern, 2007). the highest eigenvalues in the data is, therefore, the principal components in the renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 13 data, which are retained to form a set of few new variables (less than the original variables started with in the analysis). 3.5 limitation(s) of the study it is important to note that the study was not conducted across south africa; hence, the findings cannot be generalised. 4. results 4.1 respondents’ profile the first part of the questionnaire comprised questions relative to the demographic profile of the respondents, the people in the best position to indicate their level of agreement in practice with the measures defining the risk management practices. table 1 shows the professions of the respondents. these include owner, ownermanager, manager, and project manager. it is obvious that the majority (87.6%) of the respondents were either owners or managers of their enterprise, male (81.8%), and had either matriculation (22.7%) or a certificate (20.4%); 43.1% of respondents had 10 years’ or less experience in construction. table 1: respondents’ profile position frequency percentage (%) owner 56 30.9 owner-manager 40 22.1 manager 28 15.5 project manager 31 17.1 other 26 14.4 181 100.0 gender frequency percentage male 148 81.8 female 33 18.2 181 100.0 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 14 risk management responsibility frequency percentage (%) top management 108 59.6 operation manager 15 8.3 organization collective effort 11 6.1 project manager 13 7.2 owner 29 16.0 the risk task team 5 2.8 181 100.0 highest education qualification frequency percentage (%) doctorate degree 3 1.7 master’s degree 11 6.1 honours/btech/bsc 27 14.9 hnd/diploma 29 16.0 certificate 37 20.4 matriculation 41 22.7 basic schooling 26 14.4 no qualification 5 2.8 179 100.0 years of experience in construction frequency percentage (%) 1-5 years 30 16.6 6-10 years 48 26.5 11-15 years 29 16.0 16-20 years 22 12.2 21-25 years 7 3.9 26-30 years 14 7.7 31-35 years 7 3.9 over 36 years 9 5.0 166 100.0 renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 15 4.2 smes’ profile table 2 shows the emerging contractors’ distribution according to the nature of their business. it further shows the frequency results of the municipality, in which their business was based. it is evident that the majority of smes were either subcontractors (37.6%) or general contractors (31.5%), and operated mostly in johannesburg (41.4%) and tshwane (30.9%) metropolitan municipalities. table 2: smces’ profile type of contractor frequency percentage (%) general contractor 57 31.5 subcontractor 68 37.6 civil contractor 12 6.6 specialist contractor 32 17.7 home building contractor 9 5.0 178 100.0 municipality frequency percentage (%) city of johannesburg mm 75 41.4 city of tshwane mm 56 30.9 ekurhuleni mm 19 10.5 west rand dm 30 16.6 180 100.0 4.3 risk management practices table 3 ranks the mean scores to show which of the nine risk management factors were applied in practice in smes. table 3: ranking of risk management factors risk management factor (n=181) (1 = strongly disagree ….. 5 = strongly agree) ms rank risk response and action planning 4.00 1 communication 3.94 2 risk assessment 3.38 3 monitoring, review, and continuous improvement 3.29 4 risk identification 3.27 5 resource requirement 3.23 6 risk measurement 3.04 7 defining project objectives 2.98 8 organizational environment 2.68 9 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 16 organizational environment with a ms of 2.68 is the least practised factor within smes. risk response and action planning with the highest score of ms of 4.00 was perceived to be commonly practised by smes. 4.4 exploratory factor analysis results the nine risk management factors were subjected to efa to assess their validity and reliability. the results report the suitability of the data to be analysed, factor extraction and rotation, and interpretation. 4.4.1 exploratory factor analysis for organizational environment in table 4, four measures defined organizational environment practice. the result posited that cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.889, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.740 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013:190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 4: organizational environment kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.740 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.073% of variance 76.831 cronbach’s alpha 0.889 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading oe1 i/we identify and assess the internal environment factors 0.862 0.878 oe2 i/we identify and assess the external environment factors 0.810 0.943 oe3 i/we use the organization business information system to document the internal and external environment 0.838 0.912 oe4 i/we understand the internal environment, which concerns all factors influencing the manner in which firms manage risks 0.918 0.762 the four measures (oe1, oe2, oe3, oe4) expected to define the organizational environment practice attained factor loadings greater than 0.762, as reported in table 4. these were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128) and pallant (2013: 200). an eigenvalue greater than 3.073 renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 17 was established in this factor; this explained 76.831% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. it can, therefore, be indicated that this risk management practice is reliable and valid to measure the risk management practices in construction smes’ projects. 4.4.2 exploratory factor analysis for defining project objectives in table 5, four measures (do1, do2, do3, do4) defined the risk management construct of defining project objectives. the findings indicate that the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.842, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.819 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 5: defining project objectives kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.841 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.358% of variance 83.959 cronbach’s alpha 0.935 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading do1 i/we define the organizational focus, e.g., organizational objectives and strategy 0.934 0.877 do2 i/we define the objectives and methodology of the risk management process 0.903 0.940 do3 i/we determine how the responsibility and accountability for the risk management process can be defined 0.923 0.900 do4 i/we determine how the effectiveness of the risk management process can be assessed 0.897 0.947 the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.877, as reported in table 5. these were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigenvalue greater than 3.079 was established in this factor, which explains 61.557% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. it can be inferred that defining project objectives is a reliable and valid practice of rm for construction smes’ projects. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 18 4.4.3 exploratory factor analysis for resource requirement in table 6, it is evident that there were five measures defining resource requirement. the result indicates that the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.901, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as indicated by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyerolkin (kmo) of 0.778 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 6: resource requirement kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.778 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.606% of variance 72.126 cronbach’s alpha 0.901 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading rr1 i/we consider personnel availability and know-how 0.858 0.906 rr2 i/we consider time requirement in terms of scheduling risk meetings/workshops 0.889 0.822 rr3 i/we consider information system requirement in identifying risks, implementing controls and follow-up activities 0.877 0.850 rr4 i/we consider risk communication mechanism, e.g., informal discussions, company newsletter. 0.890 0.814 rr5 i/we consider technology requirements, e.g., use of spreadsheets, risk profile 0.879 0.852 the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.814, as reported in table 6. these were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigenvalue greater than 3.606 was established in this factor, which explains 72.126% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. it can, therefore, be indicated that resource requirement is a reliable and valid rm practice for construction smes’ projects. renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 19 4.4.4 exploratory factor analysis for risk measurement table 7 shows the five measures defining risk measurement. the result indicates that the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.935, indicating acceptable internal reliability (hair et al., 2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.837 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 7: risk measurement kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.837 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.985% of variance 79.700 cronbach’s alpha 0.935 item measure cronbach level after deletion loading factor rm1 i/we define the risk measurement criteria to be used, e.g., high/medium/low 0.933 0.841 rm2 i/we define risk materiality, i.e., when risk is important 0.925 0.873 rm3 i/we define risk time frame applicable to risk impact and risk probability, i.e., when risk is expected to occur 0.922 0.887 rm4 i/we clarify risk terminology, i.e., use of terms such as impact, consequence, probability/likelihood 0.907 0.941 rm5 i/we determine the level of acceptable risk, i.e., the risk tolerance level of the firm 0.913 0.920 all five variables (rm1, rm2, rm3, rm4, rm5) expected to measure risk measurement loaded together on this factor. the factor loadings for all variables were greater than 0.841, as reported in table 7. these were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigenvalue greater than 3.985 was established in this factor, which explains 79.700% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. the reliability values were also above the recommended value of 0.70, as considered by hair et al. (2006: 102). it can be posited that risk measurement is a reliable and valid rm practice for construction smes’ projects. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 20 4.4.5 exploratory factor analysis for risk identification table 8 indicates that there were four measures of risk identification. the cronbach’s alpha for risk identification was greater than 0.70 at 0.825, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.712 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as recommended by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 8: risk identification kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.712 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eige value 2.642% of variance 65.628 cronbach’s alpha 0.825 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading ri1 i/we develop risk information database, e.g., information gathering, risk history database 0.779 0.818 ri2 i/we identify how and why risk arises 0.764 0.839 ri3 i/we conduct present and future risk identification, e.g., develop risk register information quality, management techniques 0.741 0.861 ri4 i/we use physical inspection to identify the risk 0.830 0.725 all four measures (ri1, ri2, ri3, ri4) expected to define risk identification loaded together on this factor. the factor loadings for all practices were greater than 0.741, as reported in table 8. these were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigenvalue greater than 2.642 was established in this factor, which explained 66.057% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. the reliability values were also above the recommended value of 0.70, as considered by hair et al. (2006: 102). the results infer that risk identification is a reliable and valid rm practice for construction smes’ projects. 4.4.6 exploratory factor analysis for risk assessment table 9 shows the five measures explaining risk measurement. the result stipulates that the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.908, indicating acceptable internal reliability (hair et al., 2006: renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 21 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.849 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 9: risk assessment kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.849 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.669% of variance 73.379 cronbach’s alpha 0.908 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading ra1 i/we determine the risk cause, risk duration, risk volatility 0.890 0.850 ra2 i/we determine the probability of the risk occurring, the impact, classification consistency, i.e., high/medium/low 0.892 0.843 ra3 i/we establish the risk profile, e.g., high probability/high impact, high probability/low impact 0.871 0907 ra4 i/we assess risks by quantitative analysis methods, e.g., probability, sensitivity, scenario, simulation analysis 0.875 0.899 ra5 i/we assess risks by qualitative analysis methods, e.g., direct judgement, comparing option, descriptive analysis 0.908 0.777 all five variables (ra1, ra2, ra3, ra4, ra5) expected to measure risk measurement loaded together on this component. the factor loadings for all variables were greater than 0.777, as indicated in table 9. these were greater than the recommended value of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128). an eigenvalue greater than 3.669 was established in this factor, which explains 73.379% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. the reliability values were also above the recommended value of 0.70, as considered by hair et al. (2006: 102). it can be postulated that risk assessment is a reliable and valid rm practice for construction smes’ projects. 4.4.7 exploratory factor analysis for risk response and action planning table 10 indicates the six measures of risk response and action planning. the cronbach’s alpha of the construct was greater than 0.70 at 0.864, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 22 recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.796 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000 were also obtained, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that exploratory factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 10: risk response and action planning kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.796 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 2.041; 1.451% of variance 34.021; 24.177 cronbach’s alpha 0.864 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading factor loading rp1 i/we identify risk treatment options by avoiding risk 0.952 0.276 -0.699 rp2 i/we identify risk treatment options by mitigating risk 0.944 0.368 0.657 rp3 i/we identify risk treatment options by retaining risk 0.86 0.742 -0.292 rp4 i/we identify risk treatment options by transferring risk 0.812 0.696 0.127 rp5 i/we predefine actions to counter the identified project risks 0.940 0.516 0.582 rp6 i/we prepare and implement risk action plan 0.922 0.727 -0.302 the exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis extracted two components. the results revealed that three of the measures (rp3, rp4, rp6) strongly loaded on the first component renamed “risk action plan” and the other three measures (rp1, rp2, rp5) loaded on the second component renamed “risk response”. the factor loadings were greater than 0.40, as reported in table 10, therefore acceptable measures of the factors (hair et al. 2006: 128; pallant, 2013: 200). an eigenvalue of “risk action plan” greater than 2.041 was established in this component, which explained 34.021% of the variance in the data. an eigenvalue of “risk response” greater than 1.451 was established in this component, which explained 24.177% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for these two constructs. it can, therefore, be indicated that risk action plan and risk response are risk management practices that are reliable and valid to measure the rm practices in construction smes’ projects. renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 23 4.4.8 exploratory factor analysis for communication table 11 indicates the four measures of communication. the cronbach’s alpha of the construct was greater than 0.70 at 0.841, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.735 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that exploratory factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 11: communication kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.735 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.281% of variance 65.628 cronbach’s alpha 0.841 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading factor loading c1 i/we establish a communication process for interactive (two-way) consultation with stakeholders 0.856 0.796 -0.040 c2 i/we establish a communication process for two-way consultation with external stakeholders 0.843 0.743 -0.547 c3 i/we establish a crisis communication strategy facilitating immediate information exchange 0.765 0.641 0.159 c4 i/we develop a communication evaluation mechanism 0.786 0.387 0.870 the exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis extracted two components. the results revealed that three of the measures (c1, c2, c3) strongly loaded on the first component renamed “communication approach” and only one measure (c4) loaded on the second component renamed “communication evaluation”. the factor loadings were greater than 0.40, as reported in table 11, therefore acceptable measures of the factors (hair et al. 2006: 128; pallant, 2013: 200). however, the rule of thumb suggests that a factor cannot be measured by one variable. therefore, based on this suggestion, the two components were combined and the communication practice was renamed “communication approach and evaluation”. an eigenvalue greater than 1.745 for “communication approach” was established in this first component, which explained 43.617% of the variance in the data. the second acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 24 component named “communication evaluation” attained an eigenvalue of 1.083 and explained 27.0635 of the variance in the data. the renaming of the rm practice suggests that sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. it can, therefore, be indicated that this risk management practice is reliable and valid to measure the risk management practices in construction smes’ projects. 4.4.9 exploratory factor analysis for monitoring, review, and continuous improvement from table 12, it is evident that the five measures of monitoring, review and continuous improvement attained acceptable internal reliability. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.892, as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.802 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.000, indicating consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.60 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p<0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results indicate that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. table 12: monitoring, review, and continuous improvement kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.802 bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 eigenvalue 3.540% of variance 70.796 cronbach’s alpha 0.892 item measure cronbach level after deletion factor loading mr1 i/we assign responsibility for monitoring and review actions 0.876 0.830 mr2 i/we identify and select monitoring and review techniques 0.850 0.912 mr3 i/we assess control effectiveness, measured in terms of meeting departmental/organizational objectives 0.890 0.777 mr4 i/we do control enhancement by revising ineffective controls identified 0.877 0.826 mr5 i/we report the new results from monitoring and review activities 0.868 0.856 all five measures (mr1, mr2, mr3, mr4, mr5) expected to define the monitoring, review, and continuous improvement of risk management practice attained factor loadings greater than 0.800, as reported in table 12. the loadings were greater than the recommended value renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 25 of 0.40, as suggested by hair et al. (2006: 128) and pallant (2013: 200). an eigenvalue greater than 3.540 was established in this factor, which explains 70.796% of the variance in the data. therefore, sufficient evidence of convergent validity was provided for this construct. it can, therefore, be indicated that this risk management practice is reliable and valid to measure the risk management practices in construction smes’ projects. 5. discussion of the results 5.1 organizational environment the results found that four measures defined organizational environment practice of rm. this suggests that the four measures, empirically tested, strongly congregated on this practice. hence, the result supported its theoretical conceptualization. in order for the organizational environment practice of rm to be demonstrated, four activities must be evinced, namely identify and assess the internal environment factors; identify and assess the external environment factors; use the organization business information system to document the internal and external environment, and understand the internal environment, which concerns all factors influencing the manner in which firms manage risks. these measures strongly congregated in defining organizational environment practice. furthermore, the empirical finding inferred that the organizational environment practice of rm was reliable and valid. previous studies by smit (2012: 62), olander & landin (2005: 324), el-gohary et al. (2006: 596), bosher et al. (2007: 167), and momeni et al. (2015: 418) are in line with this finding. it can be suggested that understanding the organizational environment is an important practice of rm and project success. 5.2 defining project objectives defining project objectives practice of rm was defined by four measures. the result was supported by the theoretical construction of this construct. the empirical finding established that the practice was reliable and valid. the following measures defined this practice: define the organizational focus (e.g., organizational objectives and strategy); define the objectives and methodology of the rm process; determine how the responsibility and accountability for the rm process can be defined, and determine how the effectiveness of the rm process can be assessed. the finding is also supported by the argument of goetz (2010) that vaguely defined objectives, acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 26 without objectives, leads the project into overruns, personality clashes, missed milestones, and unhappy clients. furthermore, defining project objectives helps align the organization, whereby the project objectives are clear and understood. in addition, the positive and negative risks in achieving the objectives are identified and understood, and risk responses are aligned (boubala, 2010: 88). 5.3 resource requirements the resource requirement practice of rm was reliable and valid. therefore, it can be used to manage the risks of projects involving construction smes. the measures of this rm practice congregated strongly on this practice; hence, construct validity was achieved. these measures were: personnel availability and their knowledge base; consider time requirement in terms of scheduling risk meetings/ workshops; consider information system requirements in identifying risks; implement controls and follow-up activities; consider risk communication mechanism (e.g., informal discussions, company newsletter), and consider technology requirements (e.g., use of spreadsheets, and risk profile). haughey (2014: 2-3), manfredi & auletta (2013), scheid (2011), and muthuramalingam (2008: 4) support this finding, as the availability of resources was a good predictor of rm performance, thus contributing to successful completion of the project. 5.4 risk measurement the five measures of risk measurement practice identified in the literature congregated strongly on this practice after empirical testing; hence, construct validity was achieved. these measures were: define the risk measurement criteria to be used (e.g., high/ medium/low; define risk materiality (i.e., when risk is important); define risk time frame applicable to risk impact and risk probability (i.e., when risk is expected to occur); clarify risk terminology (i.e., use of terms such as impact, consequence, probability/likelihood), and determine the level of acceptable risk (i.e., the risk tolerance level of the firm). furthermore, this practice of rm was reliable and valid. therefore, it can be used to manage the risks of projects involving construction smes. in line with this finding, smit (2012: 68) established that defining and documenting the risk measurement of a project was crucial to its success. smit (2012: 68) observed that risk measurement influences the outcome of the project in defining the risk measurement criteria to be used (e.g., classification system of high, medium or low); defining risk materiality (when risk is important), and in determining the level of acceptable risk and risk renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 27 time frame applicable to risk impact and risk probability (i.e., when risk is expected to occur: next month, next year, and so on). karimi et al. (2010: 9108) indicated that, when risk measurement is used, it reduces risk impact on the project regarding schedule, budget, and quality. goossens & van-gelder (2002) demonstrated that risk measurement, being one of the activities of rm, influenced project success and project performance. 5.5 risk identification the risk identification practice of rm was reliable and valid. therefore, it can be used to manage the risks of projects involving construction smes. the results are supported by al-shibly et al. (2013: 26) and de bakker et al. (2011: 82) who inferred that, when management involvement increases in risk identification, the risk of unclear or misunderstood scope seems to lessen and improve project performance and, hence, influence positively project outcome. further, the four measures of rm practice identified in the literature review congregated strongly on this practice; hence, construct validity was achieved. in order to ensure that risk identification is practised in the smes’ construction projects, the following four activities must manifest as per the empirical findings: develop risk information database (e.g., information gathering, risk history database); identify how and why risks arise; conduct present and future risk identification (e.g., develop risk register information quality, management techniques), and physical inspection to identify the risk. 5.6 risk assessment the current findings posit that five activities must be practised for risk assessment practice to be evinced in the construction projects of smes. the following activities defined risk assessment practice as they empirically congregated strongly on it: determine the risk cause, risk duration, and risk volatility; determine the probability of the risk occurring, the impact, and classification consistency (i.e., high/medium/low); establish the risk profile (e.g., high probability/ high impact, high probability/low impact); assess risks by quantitative analysis methods (e.g., probability, sensitivity, scenario, simulation analysis), and assess risks by qualitative analysis methods (e.g., direct judgement, comparing option, descriptive analysis). furthermore, the risk assessment practice was empirically deemed to be reliable and valid, and is supported by the findings of roque & de carvalho (2013: 101), al-shibly et al. (2013: 33), smit (2012: 78); zeng & smith acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 28 (2007: 593), el-sayegh (2008: 433), and abu mousa (2005: 20) as a rm practice to influence the successful delivery of construction projects. 5.7 risk action plan the findings stipulated that risk response and planning of rm practice was empirically represented by two practices. this result did not support the theoretical conceptualized risk response and planning practice. the results revealed that the renamed first practice (i.e., risk action plan) was defined by three of the measures i.e., risk treatment options by retaining risk, identify risk treatment options by transferring risk, and prepare and implement risk action plan, congregated strongly on the renamed practice of risk action plan. it can further be inferred that risk action plan is a reliable and valid rm practice for managing construction smes’ projects. 5.8 risk response the findings on risk response and planning of rm practice were empirically represented by two practices. as discussed earlier, this result did not support the theoretical conceptualized practice. the results revealed that the other three measures i.e. identify risk treatment options by avoiding risk, risk treatment options by mitigating risk, and predefine actions to counter the identified project risks, congregated strongly on the renamed rm practice of risk response. it can be inferred that this rm practice was valid and reliable. this finding is supported by the findings of omphile (2011: 54) and aimable (2015: 9-10) who established that risk response activities are strongly linked to the success of construction projects as an individual rm practice. however, gajewska & ropel (2011: 32) contrast this finding, as their rm practice combined risk response and action planning. 5.9 communication approach and evaluation the findings stipulated that communication as a rm practice was empirically represented by two practices. this was not in line with its theoretical conceptualization despite the evidence of two empirical practices manifesting. the first practice was renamed “communication approach” and was measured by three activities. the second practice was renamed “communication evaluation” and was measured by one variable. however, the rule of thumb suggests that a factor cannot be measured by one variable. therefore, based on this rule of thumb, the two components were combined, and the communication practice was renamed “communication approach and evaluation”. the essence of renault, agumba & ansary • an exploratory factor analysis ... 29 retaining the measures was informed by the sufficient evidence of convergent validity in each of the two renamed constructs. it can, therefore, be indicated that this rm practice is reliable and valid to measure the rm practices in construction smes’ projects. partially, the finding and argument are supported in the studies of aulich (2013: 97), kelkar (2011: 102), and zulch (2012: 51-52). de bakker et al. (2011: 83) stipulated that, in situations where risks are not shared openly, the positively communicative effect may not occur, thus stifling the success of a project. 5.10 monitoring, review and continuous improvement monitoring, review and continuous improvement practice of rm empirically supported its conceptual theory. this practice was valid and reliable as a practice of rm. this finding corroborates with the studies of prabhakar (2008: 7), papke-shields et al. (2010: 658), hwang & lim (2013: 206), and kamau & mohamed (2015: 90). rezakhani (2012: 19) indicated that project monitoring and continuous improvement are crucial to planning in achieving project success. in addition, the following five theoretical activities that were deemed to evince this practice empirically converged strongly on this rm practice: assign responsibility for monitoring and review actions; identify and select monitoring and review techniques; assess control effectiveness, measured in terms of meeting departmental/ organizational objectives; undertake control enhancement by revising ineffective controls identified, and report the new results from monitoring and review activities. 6. conclusion the empirical investigation of rm practice deduced and helped better understand the difference in the conceptualised rm practice and the empirically extracted rm practices. the empirical investigation inferred that 10 and not nine practices are reliable and valid to be used by construction smes. these rm practices are: organizational environment; defining project objective, resource requirements, risk measurement, risk identification, risk assessment, communication approach and evaluation, risk response, action planning, and monitoring, review and continuous improvement. the researchers suggest that the smes should be made aware of these rm practices and be trained in their implementation. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 30 7. further areas of research the researchers recommend that these reliable and valid rm practices can be used to successfully manage risks in construction projects undertaken by smes in south africa. however, to justify these statements, these rm practices should be validated in a national study to ensure that they positively influence the successful delivery of construction projects. furthermore, further research can be undertaken to justify the manifestation of two rm practices on each of the risk response and planning practice, and communication practice. references abor, j. & quartey, p. 2010. issues in sme development in ghana and south africa. international research journal of finance and economics, 39, pp. 218-228. abu mousa, e.j.h. 2005. risk management in construction projects from contractors and owners’ perspectives. master’s thesis, islamic university of gaza. aimable, s. 2015. effects of risk management methods on project performance in rwandan construction industry: a case study of the multi-storey buildings construction project of rssb. master’s thesis, university of agriculture and technology (kigali campus), rwanda. akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construction: the uk contractor’s perception. engineering, construction and architectural management, 14(6), pp. 597-617. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09699980710829049 alberto, m. & timur, n. 2013. earned value-based performance monitoring of facility construction projects. journal of facilities management, 11(1), pp. 69-80. https://doi.org/10.1108/14725961311301475 al-rousan, t., sulaiman, s. & salam, r.a. 2010. wprima tool: managing risks in web projects. 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africa. https://doi.org/10.1108/14725960910952532 https://doi.org/10.1108/14725960910952532 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.02.006 _hlk510099389 _hlk510099344 bbb0170 ha strydom 1 ,_,fwwj grondslae en oogmerke van die publiekregtelike regulering van stedelike verblyf opsomming in hierdie bydrae word eerstens 'n oorsig gegee van die historiese omstandighede wat aanleiding gegee het tot die ontstaan van die mo­ derne stoat. gevolg deur 'n verduideliking van twee belangrike voorfases in die totstandkoming van die regstaat. die publiekregtelike aard van die stoat en die doelstellings wat die stoat kan nastreef word toegelig en ook in verband gebring met die funksie van die stoat om verblyfreelings in moderne komplekse samelewings te reguleer in ooreenstemming met die publiekregtelike roeping van die stoat om 'n regverdige belangeafweging te bewerkstellig. hierdie problematiek word ten slotte binne die konteks van die nuwe grondwetlike bedeling in suid-afrika aangespreek. sleutelwoorde: regstaat, publiekregtelike regulering, grondwet, suid-afrika. foundation and aims of the public law regulation of urban residence abstract this contribution starts with an overview of the historical circumstances that led to the establishment of the modern state. followed by an expla­ nation of two initial phases in the development of the constitutional state. the public law nature of the state and the aims the state is entitled to pursue are explained in relation to the function of the state to regu­ late residence in modern complex societies in accordance with the public law calling of the state to bring about a just balance of interests. these issues are finally addressed within the context of south africa's new constitutional dispensation. keywords: constitutional state, public law regulation, constitution, south africa. b luris llb llm {uofs) lld {un/sa). professor. faculty of law. university of the orange free state, bloemfontein, south africa. 25 strydom / publiekregtelike regulering van stedelike verblyf lnleiding m oderne samelewings is komplekse samelewings wat ge­ kenmerk word deur 'n toenemende differensiasie in mens­ like ondernemingsvorme en behoeftes. hierdie verloop van die mensdom se verhaal goon gepaard met 'n ver­ digting van staatlike maatreels wat oenskynlik geen faset van die menslike bestaan vry van regulatiewe voorskrifte loot nie. die bekende duitse filosoof, jurgen habermas, het tereg no hierdie verskynsel as die juridifisering van ons lewenswereld verwys. 1 in 'n kritiese toon word oak dikwels no die moderne samelewing as 'n geadministreerde samelewing en no die moderne stoat as 'n administratiewe bewakingstaat verwys. dot menslike verblyf in ons verstedelikte samelewing nie aan die greep van die stoat se regulatiewe funksie kan ontkom nie, volg byna as 'n noodwendigheid in die lig van die toenemende mo­ dernisering, uitbreiding van ekonomiese aktiwiteit en bevolkings­ groei wat in alle samelewings in 'n mindere of meerdere mate aan die orde van die dog is. in die ontwikkelende wereld waar moderne en voor-moderne gemeenskappe, formele en infor­ mele nedersettings en hulle onderskeie ekonomiese bedrywe op harmonieuse wyse van 'n gekoordineerde saambestaan verse­ ker moet word, oorstyg die probleme dikwels die antwoorde. voorbeelde van mislukte staatlike ingrepe is wyd bekend en ge­ valle van staatlike kapitulasie in die aangesig van alternatiewe, self-regulerende insiatiewe is nie vreemd nie en in sekere gevalle waarskynlik oak nie ongewens nie. 2 hierdie verskynsels behoef 'n eiesoortige ondersoek en val buite die raamwerk van hierdie bydrae wat, indien die versoek van die redaksie korrek verstaan is, die oorsprong en aard van ver­ blyfregulering deur die stoat aan die orde moet stel. hierdie pro­ blematiek staan uiteraard nie los van die algemene juridiese plig wat op die stoat rus om die publieke regsorde in stand te hou op die basis van die stoat se geroepenheid om die verskeidenheid van regsbelange te integreer nie, dit wil se te versoen, in ooreen­ stemming met die eis van geregtigheid wat 'n billike afweging van belange veronderstel. wat in hierdie verband aan die orde 2 j habermas. theorie des kommunikativen handelns. bd 1 (1981: 524). "der ausdruck 'verrechtlichung' bezieht sich ganz allgemein auf die in modernen gesellschaften zu beobachtende tendenz der vermehrung des geschrie­ benen rechls. dabei konnen wir die ausdehnung des rechts, also die rechtfiche normierung neuer, bisher informe/1 geregelter sozialer sachverhalte, von der verdichtung des rechts, der spezialistischen auflosung von globalen rechtstatbestanden in weiteren einzeltatbestande unterscheiden". vgl bv die werk van h de soto: the other path: the invisible revolution in the third world (1989). 26 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 kom, is niks minder as die onderskeidende kenmerk van die reg­ stoat self nie, en daarom is dit ook gepas om die bespreking wat volg daarmee in te lei. die opkoms van die moderne regstaat die gunstige omstandighede vir die opkoms van die moderne stoat het beslag gekry met die aftakeling van die middeleeuse wereldbeskouing teen ongeveer die vyftiende eeu en die aan­ breek van die nuwe tyd bekend as die verligting. in hierdie pro­ ses van grondliggende verandering op alle lewensterreine sou feudale heerskappyverbande gaandeweg plek maak vir 'n an­ der heerskappyvorm gekenmerk deur 'n sentralisering van ge­ sag, groeiende burokrasie en 'n owerheid wat die eksklusiewe bevoegdheid verkry het om wette vir die inwoners van 'n afge­ bakende territorium te maak. hierdie ontwikkeling het beslag gegee aan die formele kenmerke van die moderne stoat wat voortaan as res publica, 'n publieke soak, sou bekend staan en wat van die feudale samelewing se heerskappyvorme daarin onderskei is dat die territorium en alles wat daarop aangetref is, nie meer tot die privaatvermoe van die heerser, wat dit na wille­ keur kon vervreem, gereken is nie. die nuwe owerheidsinstelling het nou die taak gehad om in almal se belong te regeer en om die stoat vir daardie doel in stand te hou en te beskerm. 1 hierdie ontwikkeling is verder aangehelp deur die adel se verlies aan betekenis, die resepsie van die romeinse reg en die groei­ ende belong daarvan teenoor die kanonieke reg van die rooms katolieke kerk en die stoat se toenemende betrokken­ heid by die lewens van sy burgers weens die vooruitgang op tegniese en ekonomiese gebied. 'n ontbrekende besef van eni­ ge substantiewe juridiese begrensing op die gesag van die owerheid onder invloed van die staatsoewereiniteitsleer van ver­ al machiavelli en bodin sou egter daartoe lei dat die eerste fase van hierdie ontwikkeling die weg gebaan het vir 'n opvatting wat alle lewensterreine vir die stoat sou opeis. hierdeur is die idee van 'n skeiding tussen staatlike en nie-staatlike lewensfere ondergrawe en die algemene of publieke belong eenvoudig met staatsbelang gelykgestel. 2 eers in die agtiende eeu sou met 'n kragtige poging onder in­ vloed van die humanistiese regstaatsidee vorendag gekom word om 'n einde te probeer maak aan die staatsabsolutistiese tradisie. lnstrumenteel in hierdie poging was die werk van die sien jpa mekkes proeve eener critische beschouwing van de ontwikkeling der humanistische rechtsstaatstheorieen {1946) i 08 ev. 2 ibid 110 ev. 27 strydom / publiekregtelike regulering van stedelike verblyf engelse regsgeleerde john locke en sy geesgenoot, die franse filosoof jean jacques rossouw, wat met die gedagte van 'n so­ siale kontrak vorendag gekom het om die aangebore en onver­ vreembare regte van die mens, wat in hierdie tyd aan promi­ nensie begin wen het, teen staatlike vergrype te verskans. 1 hier­ volgens word die reg gesien as 'n doel van die stoat en die reg verskraal tot dit wat as waarborge vir die individuele regte van die mens in aanmerking kon kom. in die verloop van hierdie wending het individuele regte 'n verabsoluteerde gedaante aangeneem en kenmerkend van die klassiek-liberale regstaats­ idee geword. die staatsmag het bloat 'n individualistiese doel gehad met die gevolg dot van 'n ware regsgemeenskap waarin oak die publieke (algemene) belong (in onderskeiding van staatsbelang) tot sy reg moes kom, nie sprake kon wees nie. 2 'n belangrike faset van locke se opvattings was die mate waar­ in hy die grondslag van die mens se subjektiewe regte in eien­ dom gesien het. elke mens, volgens locke, het 'n reg op besker­ ming van sy eiendom as bran van voeding en lafenis en daarom word die sosiale kontrak tussen individue aangegaan deur mid­ del waarvan die staatsowerheid die opdrag verkry om elke per­ soon se eiendom te beskerm. in hierdie konstruksie le die be­ gronding vir 'n staatsvrye sfeer wat aan die kragte van die vrye mark oorgelaat moet word volgens die voorstanders van die klassiek-liberale kapitalisme. lntussen het die eksploiteerpotensi­ aal van hierdie praktyk en die ekonomiese onreg wat dit in die hand kan werk, juis weer die vraag loot ontstaan no die rol van die stoat oak in die privaatregtelike kant van die mens se be­ staan in die staatlike samelewing. die juridiese integrering van regsbelange wat in bovermelde opvattings en vele ander nie voldoende ver­ reken word nie, is dot onderskei moet word tussen die aard van die stoat en staatsdoeleindes. 3 deur die stoat te probeer ver­ klaar met verwysing no die doeleindes wat die stoat van tyd tot tyd en ooreenkomstig wisselende omstandighede nastreef, ver­ kry die stoat self 'n wisselende aard met die gevolg dot door geen interne, dit wil se aan die stoat se eie-aard georienteerde, begrensing op die gesag van die stoat gestel kan word nie. elke sien hieroor h sabine en tl thorson. a history of political theory. 4 de uitg (1973) 483 ev; 529 ev; mekkes op cit 229. 2 vgl hj van eikema hommes. hoofdlijnen van de geschiedenis der rechtsfilosofie (1972) 111 ev. 3 vgl hj van eikema hommes. de wijsgerige gronds/agen van de rechts­ sociofogie (1986) 156 ev. 28 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 wisselende, tydsbepaalde oogmerk is tegelyk die hoogste reg van die stoat. ten einde hierdie aspek verder toe te lig, moet die toenemende differensiering en individualisering wat die kultuur-historiese ver­ loop van die menslike samelewing ondergaan, nie los gesien word van sy teenpool nie, naamlik 'n toenemende integrasie van regsbelange wat gerig is op die skepping van eenheid met behoud van die veelheid. sander hierdie teenpool sou die pro­ ses van individualisering en differensiering die gevaor inhou dot 'n belangehormonie uitgelewer word aan die eksesse van eie-belang 'n toestand wat die ekonomies en polities magtige groeperinge in die samelewing 'n vrypas sou bied ten koste van riskante groeperinge se regte en belange. die onderskeidende kenmerk van die stoat is dot dit 'n integre­ rende publieke regsorde is wat alle ook nie-staatlike belange en lewensvorme tot 'n eksterne, publiekregtelike eenheid saam­ bind. die oogmerk is om hormonie in belange en behoeftes te verseker en om te verhoed dot geen lewensvorm of instelling belange op 'n eksessiewe wyse bevorder en handhaaf nie. so kan die stoat in algemene belong standaordvoorskrifte verorden ten opsigte van bouregulasies, sanitasie, elektrisiteitsen water­ voorsiening, woonbuurten industriele ontwikkeling, moor sou juis sy kompetensie oorskry indien dit sou poog om aan eienaors van wooneenhede voor te skryf hoe die interne orgitektoniese versie­ ring en estetiese inrigting van sulke eenhede moet lyk. lnsgelyks sou inwoners tereg beswaar kon aanteken indien 'n eienaar sy eiendom op so 'n wyse aanwend dot dit die algemene higiene wat in stedelike gebiede gehandhaaf moet word ondermyn, of indien strukture 'n gevaor vir medebewoners sou inhou. omdat die staatsowerheid die publieke regsorde oor die ganse staatsterritorium en ten opsigte van alle aktiwiteite moet hand­ haaf, maak dit gevolglik nie sin om soos die klassiek-liberale teo­ rie aan te voer dot, byvoorbeeld, die ekonomiese aktiwiteite van die mens aan staatlike regulering onttrokke is of behoort te wees nie, moor aan selfregulering oorgelaat moet word. verder bring die publieke integreringsfunksie van die staatsowerheid mee dot die keuse van staatsdoeleindes en die wyse waarop dit gerealiseer word, steeds onderworpe bly aan die idee van 'n harmonieuse publieke regsgemeenskap van owerheid en staatsburgers. dit geld vir die primere staatsdoeleindes die in­ rigting van n wetgewende, uitvoerende en regsprekende gesag en die beskerming van menseregte in die politieke, ekonomiese en private lewe sowel as vir die sekondere staatsdoeleindes gesondheidsorg, huisvesting, opvoeding, ondersteuning van kul29 strydom / publiekregtelike regulering van stedelike verblyf turele aangeleenthede wat deur praktiese politiek en tydsbe­ paalde behoeftes bepaal word. 1 dit spreek vanself dot die toenemende differensiering en indivi­ dualisering van die samelewing, aangehelp deur ekonomiese bedrywighede, wetenskaplike ontdekkings en tegnologiese uit­ vindings, verandering kan bring in die wyse waarop die staats­ owerheid staatsdoeleindes identifiseer en by wyse van ower­ heidsregulering implementeer. gevolglik is hierdie 'n aan­ geleentheid van voortdurende evaluering en in die slotopmer­ king word weer hierop gewys. die impak van die suid-afrikaanse grondwet die nuwe konstitusionele bedeling wat deur die interim grond­ wet (1993) 2 ingelei is en deur die finale grondwet (1996) 3 be­ kragtig is, het die volgende kenmerke: 0 die vorige stelsel van parlementere soewereiniteit is vervang met die oppergesag van die grondwet. dit bring mee dot alle staatlike voorskrifte en beleid, sowel as besluite van amptenare, aan die grondwetlike voorskrifte moet voldoen. in plaas van die parlement is die grondwet (dws die reg) nou soewerein. vandam die verwysing no die huidige suid-afrikaanse republiek as 'n konstitusionele regstaat4• 0 die toetsingsreg van die howe is ingrypend verander. onder die stelsel van parlementere soewereiniteit was die howe slegs by magte om no te goon of die wetgewer die formele prosedurele voorskrifte vir die aanname van wetgewende maatreels nagekom het. die inhoud van sulke maatreels, dws of dit billik of onbillik was, kon nie deur die howe getoets word nie. tans het die howe jurisdiksie om no te goon of die inhoud van staatlike voorskrifte voldoen aan die waardes en begin­ sels vervat in die grondwets en die belangrikste verwysings­ punt in die verband is hoofstuk 2 van die grondwet wat die menseregtevoorskrifte vervat. <:> die grondwet gee uitdrukking aan die belange-afwegings­ funksie van die regstaat. dit bring mee dot geen reg absoluut is nie en gevolglik deur staatlike voorskrifte ingeperk kan word. staatlike inperking is egter nie arbitrer nie en moet die toets van artikel 36 kan deurstaan. hiervolgens is die vraag of ibid 157. 2 grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika 200 van 1993. 3 grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika 108 van 1996. 4 vgl bv arts 1 en 2 van die 1996 grondwet. 5 sien bv his 8 van die 1996 grondwet. 30 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 die beperking op regte redelik en regverdigbaar is in 'n oop en demokratiese samelewing gebaseer op menswaardig­ heid, gelykheid en vryheid. faktore wat by die beantwoor­ ding van die vraag in ag geneem kan word, sluit in die aard van die reg wat beperk word, die belangrikheid van die be­ perking se oogmerk, die aard en omvang van die beperking, die verband tussen die beperking en die nagestreefde doel en of dieselfde doel op 'n minder beperkende wyse verwe­ senlik kan word. die belong van artikel 36 is dot dit 'n konstitutionele plig op die stoat plaas om enige beperkende voorskrif aan die hand van die vermelde kriteria te regverdig. dit gee dus aan die howe 'n definitiewe maatstaf aan die hand waarvan beperkende staatli­ ke voorskrifte getoets kan word. slaag die voorskrif nie die toets van artikel 36 nie, is die hof bevoeg om die voorskrif ongeldig te verklaar. die grondwet kom oak op 'n ander wyse tot die hulp van 'n on­ tevrede burger. so verleen artikel 32 'n reg op inligting wat deur die stoat of 'n ander persoon gehou word en wat vir die uitoefe­ ning of beskerming van enige reg benodig word. verbandhou­ dend hiermee is die reg in artikel 33 op administratiewe optrede wat regmatig, redelik en prosedureel billik is en indien 'n persoon nadelig deur administratiewe optrede geraak word, het so 'n persoon die reg op die verskaffing van skriftelike redes vir die ad­ ministratiewe optrede. die doel van hierdie voorskrifte is om deursigtigheid in besluitneming deur die staatsadministrasie te verseker en om 'n konstitusionele meganisme in die !ewe te roep wat die ontevrede staatsburger die geleentheid bied om die regmatigheid van staatlike voorskrifte en besluite te toets. op die wyse kan vasgestel word of staatsamptenare hulle nie dalk deur irrelevante en diskriminerende oorwegings loot lei het in die neem van besluite nie. voor die nuwe grondwetlike bedeling was die gemeenregtelike posisie dot 'n persoon slegs 'n hof om hulp kon nader, indien aangetoon kon word dot die litigant 'n persoonlike of finansiele belong in die soak gehad het. hierdie posisie is radikaal deur die grondwet 1 verander deurdat oak persone met geen eie belong in 'n soak 'n hof kan nader om uitspraak te gee oar 'n beweerde skending of dreigende skending van regte nie. dit sol byvoor­ beeld moontlik wees waar 'n persoon namens iemand optree wat nie in stoat is om dit self te doen nie, of namens of in belong van 'n groep of klas persone of in die openbare belong. sien art 38 van die 1996 grondwet. 31 strydom / publiekregtelike regulering van stedelike verblyf omdat sake van verblyf en ontwikkeling grootliks binne die juris­ diksiegebied van plaaslike owerhede val, is dit wenslik om te let op die grondwetlike riglyne waaraan die oogmerke van plaasli­ ke owerhede moet voldoen. lngevolge artikel 152 van die grondwet moet 'n plaaslike owerheid, met inagneming van sy fi­ nansiele en administratiewe vermoe, die volgende oogmerke nastreef: 0 die voorsiening van demokratiese en verantwoordingspligti­ ge regering vir plaaslike gemeenskappe; 0 die verskaffing van dienste op 'n volhoubare wyse; 0 die bevordering van maatskaplike en ekonomiese ontwikke­ ling; 0 die bevordering van 'n veilige en gesonde omgewing; 0 die aanmoediging van die deelname deur plaaslike gemeenskappe aan plaaslike regeringsaangeleenthede. enkele aangeleenthede voortspruitend uit hierdie voorskrifte moet verder toegelig word. die bevordering van 'n veilige en gesonde omgewing moet saamgelees word met artikel 24 van die handves van regte in hoofstuk 2 van die grondwet. hiervol­ gens het elkeen die reg op 'n omgewing wat nie skadelik vir 'n persoon se gesondheid of welsyn is nie en op die beskerming van die omgewing, ter wille van huidige en toekomstige geslag­ te. deur redelike wetgewende en ander maatreels wat besoe­ deling en ekologiese agteruitgang voorkom. bewaring bevorder en ekologies volhoubare ontwikkeling en aanwending van na­ tuurlike hulpbronne verseker. 1 die grondwetlik voorgeskrewe oogmerk om maatskaplike en ekonomiese ontwikkeling te bevorder. moet saamgelees word met artikel 153 van die grondwet wat sekere ontwikkelingspligte aan plaaslike owerhede ople. hiervolgens is 'n plaaslike ower­ heid verplig om sy administrasie en sy begrotingsen beplan­ ningsprosesse so te struktureer en te bestuur dot voorrang ver­ leen word aan die basiese behoeftes van die gemeenskap en dot die maatskaplike en ekonomiese ontwikkeling van die ge­ meenskap bevorder word. gevolglik is 'n plaaslike owerheid ook verplig om aan nasionale en provinsiale ontwikkelingsprogram­ me deel te neem. die bepalings in artikel 152 waarna verwys is, staan in die konsti­ tusionele reg as staatsdoelstellings bekend en is as objektiewe 32 vgl ook c loots "the effect of the constitution on environmental manage­ ment" in the south african journal of environmental law and policy 2(1997) 223. 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 regsnorme bindend op die owerheidsinstelling wat jurisdiksie kragtens die grondwet daaroor verkry het. 1 in beginsel is dit ge­ volglik vir 'n hof moontlik om die owerheid te gelas om ooreen­ komstig die doelstellings op te tree of wetgewing of beleidsbe­ sluite wat in stryd daarmee is, nietig te verklaar. aangesien staatsdoelstellings dikwels onspesifiek en wyd geformuleer word, is die juridiese kontrole daaroor 'n praktiese probleem en is dit moeilik (maar nie onmoontlik nie) vir 'n hof om vas te stel of die betrokke owerheidsinstansie uitvoering daaraan gegee het, al dan nie. om probleme van hierdie aard die hoof te bied, kan die nie-nakoming van 'n staatsdoeleinde gekoppel word aan die skending of potensiele skending van 'n fundamentele reg wat deur die grondwet gewaarborg word. 'n voorbeeld hiervan wat as analogie gebruik kan word, is die geval van die groep huiseienaars in duitsland wat in 1981 by die duitse grondwethof beswaar aangeteken het teen lawaai wat deur 'n nabygelee lughawe veroorsaak is en aangevoer het dat hulle reg op mens­ waardigheid en beskerming van liggaamlike integriteit ook 'n plig op die stoat plaas om huiseienaars teen die nadelige gevol­ ge van die lughawe se lawaai te beskerm. hulle het ook beweer dat die maatreels wat tot op daardie stadium bestaan het, on­ toereikend was. die hof het hulle gelyk gegee en beslis dat die wetgewer longs konstitusionele wee verplig kan word om maat­ reels te tref of te verbeter, ten einde die beskerming te verskaf wat nodig is vir die handhawing van subjektiewe regte. lndien dus aangetoon kan word dat die nie-nakoming van 'n staats­ doeleinde 'n fundamentele reg skend, kan longs hierdie weg druk op die owerheid geplaas word om uitvoering aan die grondwetlik voorgeskrewe staatsdoeleindes te gee. slotopmerking staatlike regulering van verblyf, stadsbeplanning en ontwikkeling van gemeenskaplike areas waarin die burger leef en werk, staan tans in die teken van 'n nuwe radikale politiek, naamlik die ekologiese beweging. hierdie sogenaamde "groen" politiek het die afgelope dekade ook in suid-afrika aan prominensie gewen en alle tekens dui daarop dat dit toenemend 'n publieke tema en 'n integrale deel van die veelkantigheid van staatsbeleid en beplanning gaan word. die nuwe grondwetlike bedeling en vgl hieroor ede wet. the constitutional enforceability of economic and social rights (1996) 30-32; 72-77; 85 ev. 33 strydom / publiekregtelike regulering van stedelike verblyf daaropvolgende konsepbeleidsdokument 1 van die owerheid oor omgewing, verskaf reeds die buitelyne hiervoor. die implementering van 'n ekologies-vriendelike beleid as staats­ doelstelling in suid-afrika het vele hindernisse. die meeste suid-afrikaanse stedelike ontwikkelings is estetiese en ekologiese katastrofes en eerder uitbeeldings van 'n allesoorheersende eko­ nomies-gedrewe besitskultuur, as wat dit dien as voorbeelde van 'n denkwyse wat ruimte loot vir 'n harmonieuse integrering van natuurlike omgewing en mensgemaakte lewenswereld. voeg hierby die groeiende sosiale pobleme wat op die hakke van verstedeliking volg, asook die uitdaging om die ekonomiese ongelykhede uit te skakel binne die eise van volhoubare ontwik­ keling en die prentjie word aansienlik donkerder vir 'n perspektief wat 'n regmatige plek vir omgewingsvraagstukke wil beding. orn van laasgenoemde weg te skram, is egter om ligsinnig-on­ verskillig oor ons eie toekoms en ons verantwoordelikheid teen­ oor latere generasies, te staan. groen politiek het dikwels 'n radikale beeld omdat dit vra no 'n fundamentele rigtingverandering in politiek en moraal. die reha­ bilitasie van die verlore harmonieuse verhouding tussen mens en natuur vra immers dot ons huidige lewenstyle grondig hersien en die wysheid daarvan bevraagteken moet word. voorstanders van 'n toekomstige ekologiese samelewing pleit gevolglik vir 'n herstel in die balans en integriteit van die biosfeer as 'n doel in sigself. in so 'n samelewing sol diversiteit tussen menslike groepe­ rings en in die natuur bevorder word, wat veronderstel dot mag gedesentraliseer word no plaaslike selfregerende gemeenskap­ pe, gebaseer op sogenaamde klein tegnologiee wat bedryf word in ooreenstemming met 'n holistiese etiek. of 'n mens hier­ die meer radikale of 'n ander weergawe van groen politiek aan­ vaar of verwerp, die vol�ende samevatting van die britse sosio­ loog, anthony giddens kan beswaarlik in die wind geslaan word: "ecological politics is a politics of loss the loss of nature and the loss of tradition but also a politics of recovery. we cant return to nature or to tradition, but, individually and as a collective humanity, we can seek to remoralize our lives in the context of a positive acceptance of manu­ factured uncertainty. put in this way, it isn't difficult to see why the ecological crisis is so basic to the forms of political renewal discusssed in this book. it is a material expression of the limits of modernity; repairing the damaged environsien "white paper on environmental management policy for south africa" in staatskoerant no 18164 van 28 julie 1997. 2 a giddens beyond left and right: the future of radical politics (1996) 227. 34 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 ment can no more be understood as an end in itself than can the redress of poverty." bibliography de soto, h. 1989. the other path: the invisible revolution in the third world. de wet, e. 1995. die konstitusionele afwingbaarheid van sosiale en ekonomiese menseregte. ongepubliseerde ll d-proefskrif. uovs. de wet, e. 1996. the constitutional enforceability of economic and social rights. giddens, a. 1996. beyond left and right. polity press. grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika. 200 van 1993. grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika. l 08 van 1996. grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika. artikels 1 en 2 van 1996. grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika. artikel 38 van 1996. grondwet van die republiek van suid-afrika. hoofstuk 8 van 1996. habermas, j. 1981. theorie des kommunikativen handelns. bd l. hommes van eikema. h.j. 1972. hoofdlijnen van de geschiedenis der rechtsfilosofie. hommes van eikema. h.j. 1975. hoofdlijnen der rechtssociologie en de materiele indelingen van publieken privaatrecht. tjeenk willink. hommes van eikema. h.j. 1986. de wijsgerige grondslagen van de rechtssociologie. loots, c. 1997. the effect of the constitution on environmental man­ agement. the south african journal of environmental law and pol­icy, 2, p. 223. mekkes, j.p.a. 1946. proeve eener critische beschouwing van de ontwikkeling der humanistische rechtsstaatheorieen. libertas. rautenbach, i. & malherbe, e.f.j. 1996. staatsreg. butterworths. sabine, h .. thorson, t.l. 1973. a history of political theory. 4de uitgawe. von der heydte, f.a. 1952. die gburtstunde des souveranen staates. josef habbel. white paper on environmental management policy for south africa, staatskoerant no 18164, 28 julie 1997. 35 119 navorsingsartikels • research articles frank ikechukwu aneke mr frank ikechukwu aneke, department of civil engineering, faculty of engineering and information technology, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa. phone: 051-5073942, e-mail: <frankaneke4@gmail. com> (corresponding author) orcid: 0000-0002-7395-4900 bankole awuzie dr bankole osita awuzie, senior lecturer, department of built environment, faculty of engineering and information technology, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, 9300, south africa, phone: +27 51 507 3532, e-mail: <bawuzie@cut.ac.za> orcid: 0000-0003-3371-191x doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 119-137 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) conversion of industrial wastes into marginal construction materials peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract the circular economy concept (ce) makes a salient contribution towards resource efficiency through product-life extension, redistribution/ reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling as well as re-engineering of organizational processes. the construction industry is renowned for its influence on the attainment of society’s sustainable development (sd) aspirations. as such, there is a need for the industry to embrace ce principles. yet, the uptake of these principles has not been widely reported in the context of developing economies where greenfield construction activities are burgeoning. this observation gives rise to this study. this article reports on the findings of an investigation into the utility of industrial wastes in the production of marginal construction material. to achieve this objective, a thorough geotechnical evaluation of a selection of readily available industrial wastes such as dolomitic waste (dw), silica fume (sf), and river sand (rs) deployed in different ratios according to the mass percentage of the fly ash (fa) waste to produce fa bricks was conducted. findings suggest that the utilization of these industrial wastes in the production of fa bricks did not only portray some outstanding characteristics but also showed potential to make salient contributions to society’s sustainable aspirations. keywords: bricks, circular economy, dolomitic waste, fly ash, south africa abstrak die konsep van sirkelekonomie lewer ’n belangrike bydrae tot hulpbrondoeltreffendheid deur produk-lewensuitbreiding, herverdeling/ hergebruik, herverwerking en herwinning asook herontwerp van organisatoriese prosesse. die konstruksiebedryf is bekend vir sy invloed op https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 120 die bereiking van die samelewing se volhoubare ontwikkelingsaspirasies. tog is die opname van hierdie beginsels nie wyd gerapporteer in die konteks van ontwikkelende ekonomieë waar groenveldkonstruksie-aktiwiteite besig is om te groei nie. hierdie waarneming het aanleiding gegee tot hierdie studie. hierdie artikel rapporteer oor die bevindings van ’n ondersoek na die nut van industriële afval in die vervaardiging van marginale konstruksiemateriaal. om hierdie doel te bereik, is ’n deeglike geotegniese evaluering gedoen van ’n verskeidenheid geredelik beskikbare nywerheidsafvalle soos dolomitiese afval, silika fume, en riviersand wat in verskillende verhoudings ontplooi is volgens die massapersentasie van vliegas-afval om vliegas-bakstene te produseer. bevindinge dui daarop dat die gebruik van hierdie industriële afval in die vervaardiging van vliegas-bakstene nie net uitstaande eienskappe uitgebeeld het nie, maar ook die potensiaal toon om belangrike bydraes tot die volhoubare aspirasies van die samelewing te lewer. sleutelwoorde: bakstene, dolomitiese afval, sirkel-ekonomie, suid-afrika, vliegas 1. introduction the advocacy for a paradigmatic shift from a linear economy to a circular economy (ce) is gaining momentum in contemporary times. such momentum appears to be propelled by the instrumentality of ce to the attainment of the sustainable development (sd) goals (robinson 2004: 370; greyson 2007: 1382; geissdoerfer savaget, bocken & hultink, 2017: 756; winans, kendall & deng, 2017: 825; schroeder, anggraeni & weber, 2018: 1; bruel, kronenberg, troussier & guillaume, 2018: 1). of interest to this study are the potential contributions of ce towards enabling resource-efficient construction for sustainability. according to sfakianaki (2015: 233), sustainability as a concept within the construction industry revolves around issues such as economic efficiency, social responsibwwility, environmental performance, material performance, and so on. the construction industry has been identified as negating the achievement of society’s sd aspirations through the plethora of anthropogenic activities domiciled within the industry and the materials associated with such activities (kibert, 2013: 6). considerable amounts of resource waste and gas emissions are known to have resulted from the activities of the construction industry, hence giving verve to its time-honoured reputation as hindrance to sustainable development (dachowski & kostrzewa, 2016: 754-758). the noticeable spike in the cost of building materials, especially over the past decade, due to increased demand by an ever-increasing population, has also contributed to a shortfall in the availability of both green and conventional building materials. this trend has incentivised civil engineers and builders to explore the applicability of industrial wastes in various construction activities and, particularly, in the production of marginal construction building materials. perhaps, aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 121 this may be because of the increasing attention to the ce and sd principles by several sectors across the globe. the use of industrial wastes in the production of building materials can be described as conforming to the main thrust of ce and sd concepts; resource efficiency (lieder & rashid, 2016: 337; urbinati, chiaroni & chiesa, 2017: 487; zhu, fan, shi & shi 2018: 2). in south africa, disposal of over 120 million metric tonnes of ash annually from seven different power stations, with each power station contributing over 22 million tonnes each year, posed a major environmental challenge (reynolds-clausen & singh, 2017). this waste is often disposed of at dump sites, hence causing environmental problems that have, in turn, contributed to a preponderance of health issues being experienced by the populace (rycroft, 2017). therefore, channelling such industrial wastes towards more productive ventures such as the production of marginal construction materials for low-cost housing structures have advantageous implications for society. although researchers have previously worked on the utility of fa bricks as veritable building components for the housebuilding context (pimraksa, wilhelm, kochherger & wruss, 2001; rycroft, 2017), it has been noticed that these studies revolved around the various standards for brick utilization for singleand double-storey buildings used in construction work. for instance, pimraksa et al. (2001) developed a novel approach in making bricks from 100% lignite fa. the fa bricks developed by pimraksa et al. (2001) recorded more strength, when compared with red-fired clay brick. hamer and karius (2002: 521-530) conducted a pilot test at fullscale, recycled waste from harbour sediments and blend it with clay and waste from bricks. the bricks leachate was not hazardous to soil or groundwater when used in masonry or deposited as mass mineral demolition. cusido, cremades and gonzalez (2003: 273280), produced lightweight clay brick, compared with traditional clay bricks by reasonable proportioning of clay with sewage sludge, and forest debris. it was recorded that the level of emissions of greenhouse gas was 20 times more than the conventional ceramic firing bricks, even though they are legally allowed within the limitation of environmental protection agency recommendations. carretero, dondi, fabbri & raimondo (2002: 301-306) produced clay brick by fusing different clay, calcareous and non-calcareous limestone. this resulted in a brick strength that was within acceptable specification. in addition, menzeses, ferreira, neves et al. (2005: 1149-1158) investigated the chances whereby sawing waste can be used as an alternative to ceramic raw materials to produce ceramic bricks and tile. the resultant ceramic compositions showed acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 122 that results on the samples with 10%-30% granite waste portrayed some physical and mineralogical characteristics such as those of ceramic raw materials. lin, wu & ho (2006: 970-978) reported on the levels of permeability properties experienced within bricks produced with water treatment sludge and bottom ash (ba) without adding artificial aggregate. it was discovered that 20% by weight content of ba under high temperature of 1150°c, produced a brick with a strength of 256kg/cm2 with moisture absorption ratio of 2.78% and a permeability with level of 0.016 cm/s. bricks produced under this research conditions were considered to serve as water permeable bricks, on highway pavement. in furtherance to these, kavas (2006: 1779-1783) studied the possibility of using clay waste (cw) and waste from boron as a fluxing agent in the production of red-mud (rm) brick. loryuenyong, panyachai, kaewsimork and siritai (2009: 2717-2721) recycled glass waste from construction site wall fused with clay mixtures. chan (2011: 7-13) studied the properties of clay brick made by adding two natural fibres, namely oil palm fruit (of) and pineapple eaves (pe), to clay-water mixture with baked and non-baked conditions. alonso-santurde, coz, viguri and andrés (2012: 96-106) conducted a comparative study to manufacture ceramic bricks from clay with two types of foundry sand (green and core sand). faria, gurgel and holanda (2012: 7-12) produced bricks using recycled sugar cane bagasse as waste by replacing natural clay. ahmari and zhang (2012: 323-331) researched the feasibility of copper-mine tailings for producing bricks with reduced green gas emission based on the geo-polymerization technology. results showed that copper-mine tailings have a strength of 18mpa and can be used to produce environmentally friendly bricks based on the geo-polymerization technology to meet the american society testing of material (astm) requirements. however, it appears that none of these studies considered aspects concerning combined resource use as described by vivanco, wang, deetman and hertwich (2018: 1-12) in the attempts to achieve sustainable low-cost housing in developing countries. this study intends to contribute towards bridging this gap. the study investigated the possible attributes of fa with the combination of other industrial waste such as dw and sf in varying proportions, and, most commonly, the probable utility of such resultant combinations in the development of sustainable low-cost housing in south africa and the rest of the developing world. aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 123 2. materials and methods 2.1 source of materials fa used for this research study was collected from lethabo power station in south africa. the parent waste material was sampled from a remote distance far enough from the actual dumped site, in order to achieve the required degree of purity, whereas the dw was collected from an active dolomite mine in centurion, south africa. the sf was collected from a fully functioning ferro alloy plant (samancor cr middelburg ferro-chrome) in south africa. all the collected samples were subjected to some chemical and mechanical tests. the chemical constituents of these wastes (fa, dw and sf) were evaluated using x-ray diffraction analysis. the total (sio2+al2o3+fe2o3) constitution of the sampled fa was greater than 70%. thus, this qualifies it as a class ‘f’ fa, according to sans 50450. the dw chemical compositions also appeared to have very little cementitious properties, while sf is currently used in concrete production as a cement extender. the river sand used in this study is free from organic material and does not have any particle sizes retained in a sieve aperture size of 5 mm, hence ensuring compliance with sans 1090. various chemical characterizations of the respective samples and their mechanical index properties are presented in table 1. table 1: chemical compositions (%) and mechanical index properties (m2/g) area (m2/g) % sio2 al2o3 fe2o3 mgo cao loi surface fa 63.2 22.14 2.95 2.02 3.69 0.73 2.3 dw 2.48 9.21 3.90 27.31 55.1 38.31 9.01 sf 85.87 1.20 5.02 0.82 1.10 4.96 16.3 rs 65.9 21.5 4.46 2.02 0.055 2.2 methods an adequate quantity of air-dried samples was sieved through a 50µm sieve respectively and these samples were oven-dried for 24 hours at a temperature of 90°c. oven-dried batches of the parent fa blended in different ratios, i.e. 10, 20, 30 and 35% + 5% of dw and sf by weight of fa, were used for this study. a compaction test was acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 124 carried out in a laboratory to evaluate the relationship between the moisture content and corresponding dry unit weight for the mixed ratio, under specified compaction effort. however, this compaction test was done according to south africa national standard (sans 30001-gr30). the maximum dry density (mdd) and optimum moisture content (omc) were obtained by establishing moisture-density relationship of the materials that were prepared. subsequently, a desired level of water was added as was obtained from the compaction test, and the mixture was then thoroughly blended. plastic bags were used to cover the samples for a day to allow mellowing to occur. the mix ratio for the fa parent material with dw and sf was key for novel brick-making process, due to the highly anticipated pozzolanic reactions (pimraksa et al., 2001). the mdd and omc for each mix were determined, using mould size of 152mm in diameter and 127mm in height. the compaction test was carried out to determine the adequate water level needed to mix each brick sample. to ensure uniform size of these bricks, a known weight of mixture was used each time to fill the mould cavity. the dimension of the mould used was 222mm x 106mm x 73mm. a hydraulic press was used to apply pressure of 30 mpa for a period of 15 seconds (figure 1a). in the aftermath of this, the specimens (figure 1b) were ejected and left in open air for three days to allow moisture equilibrium within the specimens. figure 1a: hydraulic press machine source: authors figure1b: prepared bricks specimens source: authors the specimens were later transferred to the oven for 12 hours at temperature intervals of 600°c, 800°c, 1000°c and 1200°c, respectively. these specimens were allowed to cool for two days and their mechanical strength was measured according to sans 5863 before and after curing for 7, 28, and 90 days. table 2 shows the details of the trial mix bricks. aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 125 table 2: trial mixed design ratio for the studied bricks samples composition density (kg/ m3) optimum h20 content (%) mass of bricks (kg) mass of h20 (g) fa1 fa70% + rs30% (control) 1662 13 2.84 369.20 fa2 fa60% + dw10%+rs30% 1676 13.42 2.87 385.16 fa3 fa50% + dw10%+sf10%+rs30% 1687 13.64 2.88 393 fa4 fa40% + dw30%+rs30% 1705 13.78 2.92 402.4 fa5 fa30% + dw30% + sf10%+rs30% 1691 13.88 2.89 401.1 3. discussion of findings efforts are made to highlight the utility of industrial wastes in the production of marginal green building material that can portray highly recommended levels of strength, within the allowable specified strength for building in south africa, in a manner that is comparably better than conventional clay-fired brick. this was achieved with a view to producing suitable bricks such that the modified fa bricks may withstand loads from a singleand double-storey building and other strength-carrying capacity of masonry structure. 3.1 sieve analysis figure 2 shows the obtained curves for the rs, fa and dw. the curve shows that the rs contains 34% fines passing through sieve # 200, and 66% sand passing through sieve #4, while fa and dw samples contain 97% and 96% fines passing through the same sieve #200, respectively. this result indicates that fa and dw are 63% and 64% more fines containing than the rs. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 126 fa3 fa50% + dw10%+sf10%+rs30% 1687 13.64 2.88 393 fa4 fa40% + dw30%+rs30% 1705 13.78 2.92 402.4 fa5 fa30% + dw30% + sf10%+rs30% 1691 13.88 2.89 401.1 3. discussion of findings efforts are made to highlight the utility of industrial wastes in the production of marginal green building material that can portray highly recommended levels of strength, within the allowable specified strength for building in south africa, in a manner that is comparably better than conventional clay-fired brick. this was achieved with a view to producing suitable bricks such that the modified fa bricks may withstand loads from a singleand double-storey building and other strengthcarrying capacity of masonry structure. 4.1 sieve analysis figure 2 shows the obtained curves for the rs, fa and dw. the curve shows that the rs contains 34% fines passing through sieve # 200, and 66% sand passing through sieve #4, while fa and dw samples contain 97% and 96% fines passing through the same sieve #200, respectively. this result indicates that fa and dw are 63% and 64% more fines containing than the rs. figure 2: particle size analysis of rs, fa and dw the modulus properties of the rs and the tested waste materials were determined from the particle size distribution (psd) curve shown in figure 2. the major textural properties of brick material (i.e. the per cent fines; >0.425 mm), the particle sizes that permit 10%, 30%, 50% and 60% of the granular brick materials, the coefficient of uniformity (cd), and the coefficient of curvature (cc) are presented in table 3. table 3: gradation properties of bricks materials gradation properties river sand fly ash dolomitic waste 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 pe rc en t pa ss in g b y w ei g h t (% ) sieve size (mm) rs dw fa fine sand gravel figure 2: particle size analysis of rs, fa and dw the modulus properties of the rs and the tested waste materials were determined from the particle size distribution (psd) curve shown in figure 2. the major textural properties of brick material (i.e. the per cent fines; >0.425 mm), the particle sizes that permit 10%, 30%, 50% and 60% of the granular brick materials, the coefficient of uniformity (cd), and the coefficient of curvature (cc) are presented in table 3. table 3: gradation properties of bricks materials gradation properties river sand fly ash dolomitic waste d10 (mm) 0.0073 0.001 0.001 d30(mm) 0.061 0.0026 0.0037 d50(mm) 0.18 0.0074 0.0082 d60(mm) 0.25 0.009 0.01 cc 0.27 1.30 1.05 cd 2.039 0.75 1.25 fines (%) 34 97 96 #200 #4 3″ aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 127 3.2 chemistry and mechanism of reactions fa has a reactive silica and aluminium of 63.2% and 22.14%, respectively, as presented in table 1, while dw has 55.10% of free calcium in the form of [(camg(co3)2)] and the samples were prepared at varying proportions (see table 1). these brick specimens start to react slowly in the presence of water. ultimately, a reaction was triggered off at a high temperature of 800oc, as illustrated in the chemical equations below: 2ca + sio2 + h2o 800°c ca2o (sio2) h2o pozzolanic equation (2) dicalcium silicate the slow reaction occurs during the first few days (two days) leading to a very micro-strength gain; however, the hydration reaction is similar to that of tricalcium silicate. but, dicalcium silicate contributes little to the initial strength of pozzolans; hence, it leads to a substantial contribution of strength after being subjected to a high temperature. caso4.2h2o +al2o3 + ca3o 800°c 4caoal2o3.so.2h2o pozzolanic equation (4) 3ca + al2o3 +6h2o 800°c ca3o (al2o2).6h2o pozzolanic equation (3) 3ca + sio2 + 3[oh] 800°c ca3o2 (sio2). h3o pozzolanic equation (2) tricalcium silicate tricalcium aluminate (from dolomite) the pozzolanic reaction of aluminate minerals is somewhat more complex than that of the calcium silicates minerals, and it takes place depending on ca+ ions that are present in the voids of the bricks. tricalcium is soluble, even more so than dicalcium silicate. in a reaction that involves sf, this occurs with unduly reacted ettringite (ca6al2(so4)3(oh)12.26(h2o) from c3a and c4af when the sf is consumed, within the pores of the bricks, with the remaining c3a and c4af forming a newly high strength matrix brick. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 128 3.3 unconfined compressive strength figure 3 graphically presents the strength for tested specimens ranging from fa1 to fa5. it was observed that fa1 does not exhibit any significant increase in strength, irrespective of the sintered temperature and time duration in the oven. it was discovered that the specimens recorded an optimum strength of 2.2 mpa at a temperature of 1200°c from as little as 0.54 mpa at a temperature of 600°c on the average of two set specimens per test trial. the poor strength recorded was attributed to the low cementitious compound possessed by the fa. however, there were some great changes in morphology of specimen fa1 under sem/edx test, due to high temperature. this was to determine the effect of sintering temperature and time on the compressive strength of the produced bricks. the strength of fa1 brick is low compared to the brick strength reported by lin et al. (2006: 970-978) in the literature that recorded strength of 25mpa/256kg/cm2. the huge difference in the strength value is attributed to fa type, as 70% class “f” fa and 30% were used in the production of fa1 bricks, whereas water treatment sludge and bottom ash (ba) were used for the brick reported in the literature. however, specimens fa2 and fa4 gained great values in strength compared to the fa1 specimen. thus, fa3, which contains fa50% + dw10% + sf10% + rs30% recorded the highest strength among the tested bricks. this significant increase in strength was as a result of high temperature, heating hours, and the chemical composition of the studied waste (i.e. fa, dw and sf). the chemical composition of these wastes caused them to produce stronger matrix bricks under any form of curing condition than other trial mixtures, because of chemical reactions that occurred between these waste materials under high temperature and moisture. the fa3 specimen contained fa50% + dw10% + sf10% + rs30% and it was observed that the strength of this mix was increasing as the sintering temperature increases. however, similar behaviour was recorded among the tested bricks, especially fa5. nonetheless, fa5 mix did not increase in strength, as was anticipated, under 1200°c temperature. this response of fa5 under 1200°c confirms sans which allows <10% sf to be incorporated in cement and concrete production. nonetheless, in figure 3, the curve shows a traditional trend of strength gain as sintering temperature and time increase for all mixtures. the improvement in mechanical strength with sand has been attributed to the increased amount of free sio2, which reacts more easily with fe2o3 in sf and cao in dw (cicek & tanrıverdi, 2007). figure 3 explains this further as it concerns strength. generally, the tested bricks ranging from fa2 to fa5 gained strength under aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 129 sintering temperature. this result agrees with the results discussed in the literature, although the materials used in this study and the materials cited in the literature review are not the same, but portray the same behaviour under high temperature. figure 3: twelve hours brick strength at various temperature 4.4 effect of curing age on fly ash bricks the effects of curing period on compressive strength values of the tested bricks are summarized in figure 4. the specimens were cured using the fully submerged method of curing at room temperature of 22°c for 7, 28, 56 and 90 days, in order to investigate the strength gain under the water-curing method. the bricks selected for this curing method were those produced under sintering temperature of 1200°c for all mixes. based on the graphical result, it is observed that the early age of curing (i.e. (≤ 3-7 days) is practically inactive to trigger pozzolanic reaction, in order to give a reasonable amount of strength, even at higher dosage of fa and dw. as the curing period increases with higher dosage of dw, more vigorous pozzolanic reaction takes place, which improves the strength with curing time. moreover, the studied bricks ranging from fa2 gave a gradual rising slope of strength up to 56 days of curing, and this trend describes the extent of curing with pozzolanic reaction. it was observed that the compressive strength of fa3 bricks recorded a significant gain in strength of 3.1% from 5.3mpa for seven days curing time to 16.2mpa. it was observed that the strength of this brick for specimen fa3 increased as the curing age increases. the reason for this was the release of free calcium hydroxide (ca(oh)2) by the dolomite, which, upon crystallization, reacts with some active minerals in fa and sf to form calcium aluminium silicates. this reaction, in turn, contributed to the hardening of the brick, even at a later stage. the reaction occurred as the cao in dolomite encountered the pore water in the brick mixture, resulting in the formation of (ca(oh)2) ion. however, all the specimens invariably showed a similar trend of strength increase with increasing curing period, except fa1. this was caused by the crystalline phase of the fa that contained little quantities of cao, and this resulted in low strength gain. the south african national standards (sans 2001.cm1: 2007) require minimum compressive strengths of 10.0 mpa after a 28-day curing period for double-storey 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 c o m pr es si v e st re n g th (n pa ) sintering temperature (0c) fa1 fa2 fa3 fa4 fa5 figure 3: twelve hours brick strength at various temperature 3.4 effect of curing age on fly ash bricks the effects of curing period on compressive strength values of the tested bricks are summarized in figure 4. the specimens were cured using the fully submerged method of curing at room temperature of 22°c for 7, 28, 56 and 90 days, in order to investigate the strength gain under the water-curing method. the bricks selected for this curing method were those produced under sintering temperature of 1200°c for all mixes. based on the graphical result, it is observed that the early age of curing (i.e. (≤ 3-7 days) is practically inactive to trigger pozzolanic reaction, in order to give a reasonable amount of strength, even at higher dosage of fa and dw. as the curing period increases with higher dosage of dw, more vigorous pozzolanic reaction takes place, which improves the strength with curing time. moreover, the studied bricks ranging from fa2 gave a gradual rising slope of strength up to 56 days of curing, and this trend describes the extent of curing with pozzolanic reaction. it was observed that the compressive strength of fa3 bricks recorded a significant gain in strength of 3.1% from 5.3mpa for seven days curing time to 16.2mpa. it was observed that the strength of this brick for acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 130 specimen fa3 increased as the curing age increases. the reason for this was the release of free calcium hydroxide (ca(oh)2) by the dolomite, which, upon crystallization, reacts with some active minerals in fa and sf to form calcium aluminium silicates. this reaction, in turn, contributed to the hardening of the brick, even at a later stage. the reaction occurred as the cao in dolomite encountered the pore water in the brick mixture, resulting in the formation of (ca(oh)2) ion. however, all the specimens invariably showed a similar trend of strength increase with increasing curing period, except fa1. this was caused by the crystalline phase of the fa that contained little quantities of cao, and this resulted in low strength gain. the south african national standards (sans 2001.cm1: 2007) require minimum compressive strengths of 10.0 mpa after a 28-day curing period for double-storey construction load-bearing masonry units. the fa3, fa4 and fa5 brick mixtures cured at a 28-day period described in this study, hence satisfying the sans 2001.cm1: 2007 standards for compressive strength. after 90 days of curing, it was measured that the compressive strength of fa3 mixture containing fa50% + dw10% + sf10% + rs30% was 3.1 and 2.8 times greater than that of the control mix and red fired-bricks sample, respectively (see figure 4). the compressive strength of the tested brick as a result of curing recorded strength values close to the strength values reported in the literature by lin et al. (2006: 970-978) and ahmari and zhang (2012: 323-331). construction load-bearing masonry units. the fa3, fa4 and fa5 brick mixtures cured at a 28-day period described in this study, hence satisfying the sans 2001.cm1: 2007 standards for compressive strength. after 90 days of curing, it was measured that the compressive strength of fa3 mixture containing fa50% + dw10% + sf10% + rs30% was 3.1 and 2.8 times greater than that of the control mix and red fired-bricks sample, respectively (see figure 4). the compressive strength of the tested brick as a result of curing recorded strength values close to the strength values reported in the literature by lin et al. (2006: 970-978) and ahmari and zhang (2012: 323-331). figure 4: twelve hours compressive strength of cured bricks 4.5 durability results the specimens were cured in water at different curing ages, namely 7, 28 and 56 days, respectively. after several days of curing, the specimens were removed from the curing bath for two days and submerged in water at room temperature for a period of five hours. they were subsequently sent to the oven for 42 hours at a temperature of 71oc. they were then removed from the oven, giving each specimen two trim of strokes on all surface with the wire scratch brush. care was taken to ensure that the brush was held with its long axis parallel to the end as required to cover all areas of the full height and width of each specimen, with a firm stroke corresponding to a force of approximately 13.5n. it took 24 hours of wet-dry durability test to complete one cycle. the specimens were once again submerged in water and the procedures were repeated until 12 cycles. after 12 cycles, the specimens were dried to a constant mass at 71oc and subsequently weighed to determine the oven-dry mass of the specimens. the data collected was allowed for calculation of losses in mass for the bricks after the prescribed 12 cycles. this test is only recommended for road pavement materials, but it was chosen in this research to determine the extent to which these fa bricks can withstand severe weather conditions. 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 c o m pr es si v e st re n g th (m pa ) curing time (days) fa1 fa2 fa3 fa4 fa5 figure 4: twelve hours compressive strength of cured bricks aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 131 3.5 durability results the specimens were cured in water at different curing ages, namely 7, 28 and 56 days, respectively. after several days of curing, the specimens were removed from the curing bath for two days and submerged in water at room temperature for a period of five hours. they were subsequently sent to the oven for 42 hours at a temperature of 71oc. they were then removed from the oven, giving each specimen two trim of strokes on all surface with the wire scratch brush. care was taken to ensure that the brush was held with its long axis parallel to the end as required to cover all areas of the full height and width of each specimen, with a firm stroke corresponding to a force of approximately 13.5n. it took 24 hours of wet-dry durability test to complete one cycle. the specimens were once again submerged in water and the procedures were repeated until 12 cycles. after 12 cycles, the specimens were dried to a constant mass at 71oc and subsequently weighed to determine the oven-dry mass of the specimens. the data collected was allowed for calculation of losses in mass for the bricks after the prescribed 12 cycles. this test is only recommended for road pavement materials, but it was chosen in this research to determine the extent to which these fa bricks can withstand severe weather conditions. durability (wet-dry cycle) tests were conducted based on the tmh durability test method. however, most of the bricks satisfied the strength requirements, thus surviving the entire cycles, which proved their capability to withstand severe weather conditions. the results of the durability tests were reported in terms of weight and strength loss at the end of the 12 cycles. it was observed that the mass of the specimens decreased on the average of 0.48 per specimen, except for specimen fa1 that recorded a decrease in mass by 1.8% from 2.84kg to 2.750kg. however, this implied that fa1 did not utilize 73% of its moisture content for hydration reaction, contrary to other mixes that used up to 72.1% of their moisture content for pozzolanic reaction at 56 days of curing. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 132 durability (wet-dry cycle) tests were conducted based on the tmh durability test method. however, most of the bricks satisfied the strength requirements, thus surviving the entire cycles, which proved their capability to withstand severe weather conditions. the results of the durability tests were reported in terms of weight and strength loss at the end of the 12 cycles. it was observed that the mass of the specimens decreased on the average of 0.48 per specimen, except for specimen fa1 that recorded a decrease in mass by 1.8% from 2.84kg to 2.750kg. however, this implied that fa1 did not utilize 73% of its moisture content for hydration reaction, contrary to other mixes that used up to 72.1% of their moisture content for pozzolanic reaction at 56 days of curing. figure 5: final mass studied brick specimens after 12cycles 4.6 initial rate of absorption an effective laboratory test to determine the initial rate of absorption (ira) was conducted for bricks cured for 7, 28 and 56 days, by pouring a measured volume of water from a graduated container into a pan. the base of the brick was inserted approximately 7mm into the water for one minute. the water was poured back into the graduated container and the amount of water absorbed was recorded. the ira of the studied bricks was measured. it was observed that the ira of all the studied bricks were within the range of 4 to 37ml/min. this implied that the studied bricks do not exceed ira of 40ml/min stipulated according to sans1058:2011. this means that these bricks should not be wetted before laying. 2500 2600 2700 2800 2900 3000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 fi n a l m a ss ( g ) sintering temperature (0c) fa1 fa2 fa3 fa4 fa5 figure 5: final mass studied brick specimens after 12cycles 3.6 initial rate of absorption an effective laboratory test to determine the initial rate of absorption (ira) was conducted for bricks cured for 7, 28 and 56 days, by pouring a measured volume of water from a graduated container into a pan. the base of the brick was inserted approximately 7mm into the water for one minute. the water was poured back into the graduated container and the amount of water absorbed was recorded. the ira of the studied bricks was measured. it was observed that the ira of all the studied bricks were within the range of 4 to 37ml/min. this implied that the studied bricks do not exceed ira of 40ml/min stipulated according to sans1058:2011. this means that these bricks should not be wetted before laying. aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 133 figure 6: initial absorption rate of the bricks specimens 4.7 morphology analysis figure 7 illustrates the results from scanning electron microscope (sem) analysis deployed in understanding the morphology of 56 days cured bricks produced in this study. the micrograph showed newly formed cementitious compounds that coated the surface of the sand particles and filled the voids, because it was still at mature stage. this was characterized by flocculated arrangements and contributed to an increase in strength. the same formation was picked up by sem analysis for brick sample fa3 even at 7 days curing because of the addition of 10% sf. however, sem micrograph of brick sample fa1 that contains fa70% + rs30% cured for 7 days showed little cementitious compounds because pozzolanic reaction coated and joined both fa and rs particles as a network. the microstructure is characterized by flocculated arrangements and has fine-like structures in the porous system. this proved the relatively high value of ira and the low strength gained at seven days of curing. the microstructure of fa2, fa4 and fa5 showed both fibrous and gel hydration reaction products, i.e. 3caosio2, casi6o16(oh), 3caoal2o3, 3caoal2o3(oh)6. these hydration reaction products coated the sand particles and filled the voids completely within the bricks. fa1 fa2 fa3 fa4 fa5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 fa1 fa2 fa3 fa4 fa5 in it ia l a bs o rp ti o n r a te (m l/ m in ) brick specimens 7days 28days series 3 figure 6: initial absorption rate of the bricks specimens 3.7 morphology analysis figure 7 illustrates the results from scanning electron microscope (sem) analysis deployed in understanding the morphology of 56 days cured bricks produced in this study. the micrograph showed newly formed cementitious compounds that coated the surface of the sand particles and filled the voids, because it was still at mature stage. this was characterized by flocculated arrangements and contributed to an increase in strength. the same formation was picked up by sem analysis for brick sample fa3 even at 7 days curing because of the addition of 10% sf. however, sem micrograph of brick sample fa1 that contains fa70% + rs30% cured for 7 days showed little cementitious compounds because pozzolanic reaction coated and joined both fa and rs particles as a network. the microstructure is characterized by flocculated arrangements and has fine-like structures in the porous system. this proved the relatively high value of ira and the low strength gained at seven days of curing. the microstructure of fa2, fa4 and fa5 showed both fibrous and gel hydration reaction products, i.e. 3caosio2, casi6o16(oh), 3caoal2o3, 3caoal2o3(oh)6. these hydration reaction products coated the sand particles and filled the voids completely within the bricks. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 134 fa1 fa2 fa3 fa4 fa5 figure 7: morphology of the studied bricks from sem analysis 4. conclusions and recommendation the majority of the fa generated at coal-fired power plants in south africa remains unused and often ends up in landfills and slurry ponds. using fa to manufacture bricks not only produces a valuable commercial product, but also reduces a major waste disposal problem for power plants in south africa. based on the results obtained in this study, the following conclusions were reached. the densities of the tested bricks were close, irrespective of the percentages of fa, dw and sf, due to a constant percentage of rs. results from this study are indicative of the satisfactory performance of fa bricks as a load-bearing element, especially the bricks with mix ratio of fa50% + dw10% + sf10% + rs30%. it therefore provides an appropriate channel for the disposal of fa in a very efficient, useful and profitable way. the increase in compressive strength, unit volume weight, decrease in ira absorption capacity, apparent capacity and reduced pore volume observed during durability tests can be attributed to the brickforming pressure as well as the pozzolanic reaction that occurred between the dw, fa and rs particles. the mixtures containing fa50% + dw10% + sf10% + rs30% and fa30% + dw30% + sf10% + rs30% are evaluated to be the most satisfactory to produce masonry bricks when compared to other mixtures containing fa40% + dw30% + rs30% and fa60% + dw10% + rs30%. the highest compressive strength was observed in fa3 and fa5: 20.31mpa and 18.74mpa, respectively. in summary, utilization of industrial wastes such as fa, dw, and sf for the production of bricks was, to a great extent, proven to be cost-effective and eco-friendly. it serves as a cost-reducing and eco-friendly material when transformed into a useful construction resource in circular economy, although the manufacturing of the aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 135 bricks investigated in this study requires using high temperatures as in the production of ordinary clay-fired bricks, which is energyintensive and costly. in contrast, the bricks produced in this study can be produced at seven different power stations in south africa, since the high temperatures required to produce these bricks are being generated in different power stations without any use. using only a fraction of this energy in the production of fa bricks, electricity supply commission (escom) can have their own brand of bricks that will be more cost effective and create job opportunities. thus, the estimated production cost of this new masonry brick will be 7.5 times cheaper than that of traditional clay-fired bricks. obviously, the use of such materials can make significant 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zhu, j., fan, c., shi, h. & shi, l. 2018. efforts for a circular economy in china: a comprehensive review of policies. journal of industrial ecology, (2018), pp. 1-9. doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12754. _goback 103 paul bowen, richard hill, relebohile mabote, keith cattell & peter edwards the potential role of value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study abstract environmental impact assessment (eia) studies are undertaken to assess the anticipated environmental impacts of proposed projects. such studies typically address biophysical and socio-economic issues. using a case study approach, the effectiveness of the eia process adopted for a landfill project in maseru, lesotho, is reviewed. it was found that the maseru environmental impact statement (eis) was not fit for the purpose as it did not facilitate effective decision-making. this failure was to a large extent due to inadequate briefing by the client and ineffective study implementation and review procedures. it is proposed that value management (vm), a value-adding technique mainly applied in the manufacturing and construction industries, could improve the effectiveness of eia. keywords: value management, environmental impact assessment, sustainability, infrastructure, planning and design abstrak studies oor omgewingsimpakwaardering is gedoen om die geantisipeerde omgewingsimpak van voorgestelde projekte te skat. sulke studies spreek biofisiese en sosio-ekonomiese sake aan. ’n gevallestudie oor die effektiwiteit van die omgewingsimpakwaardering van ’n stortingsterreinprojek in maseru, lesotho is gedoen. daar is gevind dat die maseru omgewingsimpakverslag nie gepas was vir die doel omdat dit nie effektiewe besluitneming gefasiliteer het nie. hierdie mislukking was grootliks toe te skryf aan onvoldoende instruksies deur die kliënt en oneffektiewe studie implementering en oorsigprosedures. daar prof. paul bowen, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, south africa. phone: +27(0) 21 650 3443, email: <paul.bowen@uct.ac.za> dr richard hill, department of environmental and geographical science, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701,south africa, phone: +27(0) 21 650 2786, email: <richard.hill@uct.ac.za> relebohile mabote, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, south africa. email: <rmabote@ hotmail.com> prof. keith cattell, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, south africa, phone: +27(0) 650 2452, email: <keith.cattell@uct.ac.za> dr peter edwards, school of property, construction and project management, rmit university, gpo box 2476, melbourne vic 3001, australia. phone: +61 (3) 9925 3478, email: <peter.edwards@rmit.edu.au> kommentaar • commentary acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 104 word voorgestel dat waardebestuur, ’n waardetoevoegingstegniek grootliks toegepas in die vervaardigingsen konstruksie-industrieë, die effektiwiteit van omgewingsimpakwaardering kan verbeter. sleutelwoorde: waardebestuur, omgewingsimpakwaardering, volhoudbaarheid, infrakstruktuur, beplanning en ontwerp 1. introduction the national environmental policy act (nepa) was implemented by the federal government of the united states of america (usa) in 1970. nepa was the first legislation that required environmental impact assessment (eia) to be carried out before implementation of certain projects (lawrence, 1997: 79; george & lee, 2000: 3). the fundamental aim of nepa was to force all agencies of the federal government to integrate environmental concerns into their planning and decision-making (ortolano, 1997: 315). many countries have since adopted similar eia policies. requirements for eia are even imposed in countries that do not have legal eia mandates because development assistance organisations such as the world bank insist that eia be undertaken for projects that they finance (ortolano, 1997). despite this widening application of eia, critics claim that eia does not always meet the needs of informed decision-making (pardo, 1997: 137; saarikoski, 2000; sigal & webb, 1989 cited in hill, 2004). such eias are therefore ineffective and of limited value to the developer or the commissioning decision-maker. kelly, male & graham (2004) describe value management (vm) as a process in which the benefits of a project are elucidated and evaluated against a set of values held by the client. the application of this technique in the manufacturing and construction industries is well documented (see, for example: kelly & male, 1988; 1999: 333; male, kelly, fernie, grönqvist, & bowles, 1998a; thomson & austin, 2001; lin & shen, 2007). however, there is no published evidence of attempts to link the application of vm to eia. the premise of this study is that the application of vm principles in eia will facilitate the integration of environmental considerations into the decision-making process for development projects. the potential of vm to facilitate more effective eia is explored by means of a case study of an eia for a landfill project commissioned by the maseru city council in lesotho. bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 105 2. eia objectives the primary goal of eia is the provision of environmental advice to decision-makers. eia has multiple objectives (clark, 1984: 12; caldwell, 1988), including stimulating debate among interested and affected stakeholders about the nature and form of a development proposal and its environmental and social consequences, and assisting a proponent’s planning and design team to develop alternatives and/or mitigation measures that meet the proposal’s needs with reduced environmental impacts (brown & hill, 1995). lawrence (1997: 84) has called for a re-ordering of eia objectives, with environmental sustainability as the overarching goal. he proposes that objectives such as formulating more environmentally sound undertakings are more important than decision-making and institutional objectives such as the provision of environmental advice to decision-makers. eia seeks to attain its various objectives, as set out by hill (2004), in four main stages: scoping (planning); assessment (design); evaluation (approval), and management (implementation). terms in parentheses refer to a simplified view of the life-cycle for a project. scoping is conducted at an early stage of an eia as a participatory process to identify the key environmental issues and reasonable alternatives to a proposed project that are subsequently assessed by appointed specialists. the exploratory environmental studies for these issues are subsequently presented in an eia report which then informs a public evaluation of impacts and alternatives and the approval/rejection decision for the development proposal by a competent authority. 3. usefulness of vm in eia according to kelly (2007: 435), vm is: a project-focussed process that makes explicit and appraises the functional benefits of a product, process or service consistent with a value system determined by the client. kelly (2007), drawing on the work of borjeson (1976) and morris & hough (1987), provides guidance regarding the meaning, from a vm perspective, of the terms ‘project’ and ‘client’. a ‘project’ is: an investment by an organisation on [sic] a temporary activity to achieve a core business objective within a programmed time that returns added value to the business activity of the organization, while a ‘client’ is described as: the unitary or acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 106 multifaceted specifier of (construction) activity and employer of resources, sponsoring a project in parallel to the core business activity (kelly, 2007: 435). as he observes, it is the client whose requirements are to be satisfied and whose core business will be enhanced through the undertaking of the project. eia seeks to extend this limited delineation of project value to at least ensure that existing environmental and social attributes (that have value to society) will not be compromised by a project. it preferably seeks to ensure that a project will enhance these attributes by delivering wider benefits to society, such as restoring degraded environments, during project implementation. male et al. (1998a: 16) identify six situations which provide value opportunities when there is: an unstructured problem or business opportunity; a need for strategic commitment by the organisation; a convergence of information from different parties; uncertainty about or within the project; an introduction of new personnel to the project, or a need for technical and/or capital commitment. the last four and possibly all six of these situations typically apply to particular eias, to a lesser or greater extent. vm can take place at any stage of the project life cycle where opportunities for value improvement can be realised (kelly & male, 1988; save international, 1998: online). male et al. (1998a: 16) assert that vm uses structured, team-orientated exercises that evaluate existing or generated solutions to a problem by reference to the value requirements of the client. the vm process usually incorporates a series of workshops, interviews and reviews, whereby the project requirements are communicated and evaluated against the means of achieving them (constructing excellence, 2004: online). several vm techniques can be applied during the project life cycle. the choice of technique depends on the project stage at which vm is to be undertaken. kelly & male (1988; 1993: 21-22) describe four formal vm approaches: the charette (to review the brief); the 40-hour vm workshop; the vm audit, and the contractor’s change proposal. the vm framework developed by male et al. (1998a: 14-15) provides five additional vm approaches that can be used at specific stages during the project life cycle. these approaches are comprehensively described by male et al. (1998a: 14-15; 1998b) and include: the pre-brief workshop; a briefing workshop; an outline (sketch) design workshop; a final (sketch) design workshop; an operations workshop, and an implementation workshop. the relationship between the project life cycle, the eia process and bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 107 possible vm workshops is depicted in figure 1, but it should be noted that the timing of eia processes and vm workshop interventions is not intended to match exactly. of particular relevance to eia are the pre-brief (strategic brief) workshop, the briefing (project brief) workshop, the scoping brief review (charette) workshop, and the implementation workshop. the strategic brief sets out the broad scope and purpose of the project and its key parameters, together with an output specification. a primary function of the pre-brief workshop is to provide a clear indication of project mission and its strategic fit with the client’s business organisation. this vm approach has similar objectives to the eia scoping process, which engages with a range of external stakeholders to identify their environmental concerns. the project briefing workshop converts the strategic brief into operational terms. more specifically, it specifies the performance of the elements of the project; in essence, the deliverables. the project briefing workshop could be used at the end of the scoping process in eia to develop the terms of reference for the selected specialist studies which, in turn, generate predictive information about potential environmental impacts. the charette workshop is a vm audit of the brief, often undertaken before the project design is complete. in the context of eia, this intervention could occur when the scoping report and draft eia are completed. at this stage of eia, the value that different stakeholders attach to each impact is ascertained via participatory processes, typically either by written submission of comments to the eia team or by face-to-face dialogue. the evaluation stage provides information on values to the decision-maker to complement the more factual information on predicted impacts provided by the environmental specialists. information on facts and values can then be combined to weigh impacts, leading to the choice of a preferred project option. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 108 project life cycle eia process possible vm workshops sc op ing pl an nin g ap pr ov al de sig n im ple me nt ati on as se ss me nt ev alu ati on ma na ge me nt pr e-b rie f (s tra teg ic bri ef) br ief ing sk etc h d es ign (4 0 h ou r) fin al de sig n (v m au dit ) op er ati on s (ch an ge pr op os als ) im ple me nta tio n (p ro gr es s r ev iew ) ch ar ett e figure 1: relationship between the project life cycle, eia process, and vm workshops source: edwards, 2009: own drawing finally, the aim of the vm project implementation workshop is to ensure that the recommendations of previous workshops are implemented. this would typically include progress reports, solutions to problems encountered, reviewing, and fine-tuning. the vm implementation workshop can occur after any previous workshop; from the pre-brief stage through to site operations. in eia, the implementation stage is called eia follow-up, where the actual impacts of construction and operation of a facility or infrastructure are monitored to provide feedback to project managers for remedial action if necessary. after implementation of an eia, a post-hoc audit can be undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the eia process so as to generate lessons for improving future studies. during each vm workshop a generic vm process comprising a structured job plan is used to explore ways to maximise the value of the project (save international, 1998: online). the job plan comprises six phases which are all comprehensively documented by male et al. (1998a, 1998b): information gathering, functional analysis, creative speculation, evaluation of alternative ideas, development, and presentation. functional analysis and creative speculation are phases critical to the success and effectiveness of vm. bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 109 value improvement is not solely aimed at reducing costs; its primary purpose is to assist in delivering a project, product or service that best meets the requirements of the client, even if that eventually means added cost (de leeuw, 2001). in applying the concept of value improvement in eia, the requirements need to be broadened beyond that of the client to improve, or at least maintain and not degrade, the value of the environment into which a project is to be introduced. environmental values can be categorised as either economic or non-economic (erikstad, lindblom, jerpåsen, hanssen, bekkby, stabbetorp & bakkestuen, 2008: 132). the economic category consists of utilitarian values, in which the environment is valued for the direct benefits it provides to humans in the form of living and non-living resources. another set of functional (utilitarian) values are the less visible ecological processes and life-support systems that sustain human life, including agricultural systems, fisheries, forests, water catchment areas, and clean air (iucn, 1980). non-economic values attached to the environment are based on ethical or moral grounds, the so-called immaterial values (erikstad et al., 2008: 132). these include aesthetic values that people attach to aspects of the environment, which is an anthropocentric approach. this category of non-economic values also includes what is called an existence value, which is held to be an intrinsic value in nature that is independent of the use it has for humans – a claimed non-anthropocentric value of the philosophy of deep ecology (næss, 1973 cited in erikstad et al., 2008: 132) that is, nevertheless, a value held by people. eia adds consideration of environmental values to project planning and design, commencing with scoping, where environmentalists and experts are asked to identify those aspects of the environment that they value and wish to protect. the eia process then uses specialist studies to inform two aspects of environmental planning and design. on the one hand, eia identifies the intrinsic suitability of an environment for a particular development, by analysing physiographic constraints such as soils, slopes, flood plains, and climatic factors (mcharg, 1971). avoiding areas subject to these constraints in the planning of development can reduce the capital cost of engineering structures. on the other hand, eia also evaluates the impact of a development on those aspects of the environment that have social value, which mcharg (1971) defines widely to include wildlife, cultural heritage, and recreational value. eia and vm processes are thus complementary, in aligning value systems from the outset and bringing together representatives from competing value systems (male et al., 2007: 112-113). the potential usefulness of vm in eia is explored below using a case study. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 110 4. maseru waste landfill project maseru is the capital of the kingdom of lesotho, a mountainous country of approximately 30 350 sq. km surrounded entirely by south africa. the country, poverty stricken and with one of the highest rates of hiv infection in the world, has a population of two million people of which maseru accounts for some 174 000. the maseru city council was tasked with developing a sanitary landfill site to cater for the variety of municipal waste produced in maseru. since 1983 all municipal waste produced in maseru and its environs has been dumped in an abandoned quarry selected by the city as an official dump site (khalema & sets’abi, 1999). the quarry site is unsatisfactory, being located on sloping ground upstream from the main reservoir that supplies the city with potable water (chapeyama, 2004). it is situated within 25m of domestic dwellings in the hats’osane residential area (lesotho council of ngos, 2006: online), and produces noxious gases as a result of decomposition and spontaneous combustion (ministry of health and social welfare, 2005). the site thus poses serious health hazards to the local population (lesotho council for ngos, 2006). in addition, the rapid growth of the local textile industry, fuelled by trade opportunities initiated by the usa (chapeyama, 2004: 6), has resulted in a new source of solid and liquid waste which needs appropriate management. illegal dumping of sludge from some factories is already occurring on the outskirts of maseru (chapeyama, 2004: 10). the environmental problems, in particular the issue of waste disposal, associated with such economic expansion are further exacerbated by rural-urban migration (motsamai et al., 2003: online). it is against this background that a potential landfill site was identified by the maseru city council, and a consultant commissioned to undertake an eia of the site. the eia was commissioned in line with the environment act no. 10 of 2001 (government of lesotho, 2001) which provides a mandate within which eias are to be undertaken in lesotho (government of lesotho, 2001). even though the commencement date of the act has not yet been published (see lesotho: second state of environment report for 2002 [government of lesotho, 2004]), the national environmental authority is using the act to encourage developers to undertake eias voluntarily for projects with potential to cause adverse impacts on the environment. the contract to undertake the eia was awarded to a locally-based environmental consultancy. the objectives of the eia were to assess the biophysical and socio-economic impacts of the project and to use this information to establish the suitability of the project for the bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 111 area proposed for its development (maseru city council, 2005). the environmental impact statement (eis) was published in october 2005. the national environment secretariat rejected the first eia on the grounds that it was inadequate to inform decision-making. more specifically, it was deemed insufficient in scope and in detail (ts’asanyane, 2007: personal communication). faced with this problem, and given the national significance of the project, the maseru city council was obligated to commission a second consultant to repeat the eia exercise. this resulted in the council being faced with disruptive delays and abortive costs. the questions arising from this case are: (i) how effectively did the council communicate its eia requirements to the first consultant?; (ii) what steps were taken by the council to ensure that the consultant’s interpretation of the eia brief aligned with its own?, and (iii) what measures did the council implement to ensure that the eia procedures employed by the consultant would result in their brief being satisfied? given this specificity of context (yin, 1994: 13), the case study methodology was adopted, with a single case pilot study being selected as a prelude to further study (yin, 1994: 40-41). data was collected via: (a) a review of the documentary evidence, namely, the terms of reference prepared by the maseru city council for the consultant (scope of the eia) and the first eis developed by the consultant; (b) a semi-structured telephone interview with a representative of the council to establish how the eia was conducted, and (c) unstructured face-to-face interviews with officers of the local environmental authority regarding the inadequacy of the eia and to clarify issues relating to environmental legislation and eia procedures in lesotho. follow-up telephone interviews were conducted for clarification purposes. content analysis (see krippendorff, 1980) was applied to the project documents and responses to the interview questions. this technique allows systematic analysis of qualitative data so that generalised conclusions can be drawn (haggarty, 1996). by tracing the eia process from the perspective of each of the stakeholders, a series of ‘stories’ was developed (eisenhardt, 1991). through this storytelling similarities and differences emerge, facilitating a deeper understanding of the process under review (tzortzopoulos & sexton, 2007). cross-checking the results from one technique with those from another (triangulation) leads to greater reliability in the analysis (jankowicz , 2000). acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 112 5. discussion of the results 5.1 initiation of the eia the maseru city council, working in close collaboration with the project stakeholders, had prepared a scoping document outlining the terms of reference for the eia consultant. in addition, an inception meeting was held upon commencement of the eia. this meeting was attended by council representatives, the consultant, subcontractors and specialists, and other key stakeholders. the purpose was to reach a common understanding of the eia objectives, its scope, and the services the consultant would be offering. the inception meeting was used as a platform upon which the council’s requirements and expectations for the eia were communicated to the consultant. in essence, the consultant was tasked with undertaking a baseline survey comprising ecological, hydrology, geotechnical, and water quality surveys; investigating the socio-economic status of communities in relation to the proposed waste site; liaising with major stakeholders; promoting comprehensive public participation by engagement with villagers likely to be affected by the project; comprehensively assessing the likely impacts of the project, including prevention measures, mitigation or compensation, and analysing alternatives. the following evaluation shows that common understanding was not achieved in the first eis. 5.2 evaluation of the eis table 1 summarises the extent to which the consultant analysed issues identified in the scoping stage as being requirements of the eia. while the consultancy firm was selected for its technical ability to assess the issues to be covered in the eia, in many instances the level of detail contained in the first eis was inadequate for informed decision-making by the council and environmental authority. these shortcomings can be ascribed to a poorly defined eia brief (from the client) and execution plan (from the consultant) that failed to indicate specific procedures and methods that would be used to execute the eia, despite the inception meeting held to develop a shared vision of the nature and extent of the eia. it is against this backdrop that the process of vm is tested for its potential for maximising the effectiveness of eias. this is explored by highlighting the shortcomings of the eia undertaken by the consultant and indicating where the use of vm could have obviated or mitigated these shortcomings. bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 113 insofar as the baseline survey is concerned, a number of vm interventions would conceivably have rendered this phase more meaningful in terms of providing the council with sufficient information upon which to base decisions. the application of a vm charette workshop at the briefing stage could have clarified the need for investigation of the ecosystem structure and patterns, together with their propensity for disruption as a result of project activities. if such clarification had not occurred at that stage, a subsequent vm implementation workshop should have been able to identify this shortcoming and facilitate remedial action. similarly, the absence of a geotechnical map to facilitate assessment of the suitability of the area for the intended purpose, and the deficiency of information relating to water quality, might also have been addressed by vm interventions. the provision of infrastructure required for the effective functioning of the landfill, such as access roads and a transfer station, was not addressed by the eis, despite having been highlighted in the scoping brief. again, the use of a vm implementation workshop could have avoided this omission. a tenet of vm is the participatory nature of its processes. the apparent lack of participation by local village councillors is a serious deficiency of the eis, leading the maseru city coucil to conclude that public participation in the eia process had been inadequate. the use of vm workshops during the various phases of the project would have facilitated stakeholder participation; and would have been reported upon during the relevant implementation workshops. insofar as impact assessment is concerned, there was no indication in the first eis of how the infrastructure required for mitigating the negative impacts of the project would be dealt with. using vm techniques, these requirements would have been noted in the briefing workshop (application of the charette) and subsequently verified at an implementation workshop. a serious shortcoming of the eis is that of not providing a technical design with specifications. coupled to this was the failure to consider alternatives, thereby diminishing the possibility of objectively considering the proposed design and any alternatives. the eia consultant had been tasked with producing and assessing a technical design for the landfill project, and with proposing and assessing alternative designs (genesis environmental solutions, 2005). in addition, the consultant was supposed to assess alternative sites for the project that had been through the original site selection process, but only the preferred site was considered in the eis. since vm considers the technical attributes of selected components and acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 114 then proposes and analyses alternatives in terms of functionality and cost, these shortcomings would have been addressed by vm intervention. this would typically be carried out via a 40-hour (or shorter) vm workshop. again, a vm implementation workshop could be used to ensure that approved design decisions were implemented. finally, during the subsequent operations on site, the opportunities for contractor’s change proposal could be used to initiate project changes conducive to the attainment of the council’s (and other stakeholders’) objectives. the vm implementation workshop could again serve as a vehicle to ensure that imperatives decided at previous meetings were actually implemented and reported upon. bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 115 ta b le 1 : a n e v a lu a tio n o f th e e ia fo r th e m a se ru w a ste la n d fill p ro je c t e ia c o m p o n e n t a n a ly sis re q u e ste d b y th e c lie n t a n a ly sis d o n e b y th e c o n su lta n t a s re v e a le d b y th e e is sh o rtc o m in g s o f th e a n a ly sis im p lic a tio n fo r th e e ia o u tc o m e b a se lin e su rv e y u n d e rta ke e c o lo g ic a l su rv e y p la n t a n d a n im a l sp e c ie s fo u n d o n site w e re id e n tifie d e c o sy ste m stru c tu re a n d fu n c tio n in g is m o re th a n lists o f sp e c ie s; w h a t is n e e d e d is d isc u ssio n o f e c o sy ste m p a tte rn s a n d p ro c e sse s a n d h o w th e se m a y b e d isru p te d b y p ro je c t a c tio n s n o t a d e q u a te to in fo rm d e c isio n m a kin g u n d e rta ke h y d ro lo g y a n d g ro u n d w a te r su rv e y b o re h o le s w e re d rille d to d e te rm in e th e d e p th o f th e w a te r ta b le , th e p re se n c e o f a q u ife rs in th e a re a , a n d th e d ire c tio n o f g ro u n d w a te r flo w n o n e a d e q u a te to in fo rm d e c isio n m a kin g u n d e rta ke g e o te c h n ic a l su rv e y g e o lo g ic a l m a p u se d to d e sc rib e th e g e o lo g y g e o te c h n ic a l in v e stig a tio n s n o t d o n e to d e te rm in e th e su ita b ility o f th e a re a fo r th e p ro je c t n o t a d e q u a te to in fo rm d e c isio n m a kin g a n a ly se th e q u a lity o f g ro u n d a n d su rfa c e w a te r so u rc e s w ith in th e a re a p ro p o se d fo r d e v e lo p m e n t la b o ra to ry a n a ly sis o f th e w a te r sa m p le s fro m th e g ro u n d a n d su rfa c e w a te r so u rc e s to a sse ss th e q u a lity o f th e w a te r th e w a te r q u a lity d a ta p re se n te d w ith o u t a n y in te rp re ta tio n , n o m e n tio n o f th e p ro je c te d c h a n g e s in w a te r q u a lity w h e n th e la n d fill b e c o m e s o p e ra tio n a l n o t a d e q u a te to in fo rm d e c isio n m a kin g so c io e c o n o m ic in v e stig a tio n s c a rry o u t th e so c io -e c o n o m ic su rv e y in c o lle c tio n zo n e s o f m a se ru c ity m u n ic ip a lity p ro b le m s w ith th e c u rre n t so lid w a ste re m o v a l se rv ic e a n d th e w illin g n e ss to p a y o f th e w a ste p ro d u c e rs d e te rm in e d n o n e a d e q u a te to in fo rm d e c isio n m a kin g c a rry o u t so c io -e c o n o m ic su rv e y in th e c o m m u n itie s a ro u n d th e p ro p o se d site to d e te rm in e th e ir so c ia l a n d e c o n o m ic sta tu s th e so c io -e c o n o m ic sta tu s o f th e a re a d e te rm in e d w ith re sp e c t to so u rc e s o f liv e lih o o d s o f th e c o m m u n itie s a n d a v a ila b ility o f se rv ic e s a n d fa c ilitie s n o n e a d e q u a te to in fo rm d e c isio n m a kin g acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 116 st a ke h o ld e r p a rt ic ip a ti o n li a is e w it h a ll th e m a jo r st a ke h o ld e rs sc o p in g r e p o rt p re p a re d b y t h e c o n su lt a n t a n d s u b m it te d t o st a ke h o ld e r in st it u ti o n s; in c e p ti o n m e e ti n g t o e st a b lis h sh a re d v is io n b e tw e e n k e y st a ke h o ld e rs ; m e e ti n g s w it h s ta ke h o ld e r in st it u ti o n s; d e b rie fin g m e e ti n g ; st a ke h o ld e r w o rk sh o p so m e o f th e is su e s ra is e d d u rin g sc o p in g n o t a d d re ss e d in t h e e is . fo r e xa m p le , th e re is n o in d ic a ti o n o f h o w t h e f a c ili ti e s re q u ire d f o r th e f u n c ti o n in g o f th e la n d fil l w ill b e m a d e a v a ila b le , su c h a s a c c e ss r o a d s a n d a t ra n sf e r st a ti o n n o t a d e q u a te t o in fo rm d e c is io n m a ki n g p u b lic p a rt ic ip a ti o n u n d e rt a ke a c o m p re h e n si v e p u b lic p a rt ic ip a ti o n p ro c e ss p u b lic g a th e rin g s h e ld in t h e v ill a g e s to b e a ff e c te d b y t h e d e v e lo p m e n t fi n d in g s fr o m t h e in te rv ie w s in d ic a te d t h a t th e lo c a l c o u n c ill o rs in t h e v ill a g e s m e n ti o n e d in t h e e is w e re n o t a w a re o f th e p u b lic p a rt ic ip a ti o n m e e ti n g s sa id t o h a v e t a ke n p la c e in t h e v ill a g e s. th e lo c a l c o u n c ill o rs s h o u ld h a v e b e e n in v o lv e d in a ll m a tt e rs o f d e v e lo p m e n t p ro p o se d in t h e v ill a g e s. t h is r e v e la ti o n le d t o th e lo c a l e n v iro n m e n t a u th o rit y q u e st io n in g t h e a c c u ra c y o f th e e is o n t h is m a tt e r a n d c o n c lu d in g th a t th e p u b lic p a rt ic ip a ti o n w a s n o t a d e q u a te n o t a d e q u a te t o in fo rm d e c is io n m a ki n g im p a c t a ss e ss m e n t id e n ti fy a ll im p a c ts t h a t a re li ke ly to r e su lt f ro m t h e p ro je c t a c ti v it ie s a n d d e te rm in e m e a su re s fo r th e ir p re v e n ti o n , m it ig a ti o n o r c o m p e n sa ti o n im p a c ts id e n ti fie d a n d m it ig a ti o n m e a su re s in d ic a te d n o in d ic a ti o n o f h o w t h e in fr a st ru c tu re r e q u ire d f o r m it ig a ti n g im p a c ts w ill b e m a d e a v a ila b le , w h ic h t h e c o n su lt a n t sh o u ld h a v e d is c u ss e d w it h t h e re le v a n t g o v e rn m e n t a u th o rit y n o t a d e q u a te t o in fo rm d e c is io n m a ki n g a n a ly si s o f a lt e rn a ti v e s p ro v id e a n a n a ly si s o f a lt e rn a ti v e si te s a n d t e c h n ic a l d e si g n s o f th e p ro je c t p ro je c t d e si g n s w e re n o t d o n e , n e it h e r p re lim in a ry n o r a lt e rn a ti v e s to t h e p ro p o sa l. o n ly o n e s it e c o n si d e re d th e c o n su lt a n t st a te d in t h e e is t h a t th e p ro je c t d o e s n o t h a v e a t e c h n ic a l d e si g n w it h sp e c ifi c a ti o n s (m a se ru c it y c o u n c il, 2 0 0 5 ). w it h o u t p ro je c t d e si g n s (p re lim in a ry a n d a lt e rn a ti v e s) it w o u ld b e d iffi c u lt to a c c u ra te ly d e te rm in e s p e c ifi c im p a c ts o f th e p ro je c t n o t a d e q u a te t o in fo rm d e c is io n m a ki n g bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 117 6. conclusions this article explores the potential role of vm in eia, using a case study to illustrate how vm can be applied to improve the value of eia to a project client. the case study suggests that, while the maseru city council relied on eia consultants to produce an eis to communicate potential environmental impacts of the proposed landfill project, the council did not effectively brief and manage its consultants. the first eis did not provide information that was adequate to inform council’s decision-making, particularly with respect to proposing and assessing alternative sites and technical designs for the projects. the application of vm techniques could be directed, first, towards defining and reviewing methods to be used to execute the various aspects to be addressed in the eia. in this context, vm can improve management of, and co-ordination between, the range of organisations and individuals involved in the eia process. secondly, vm can contribute to the formulation of projects that not only meet a client’s need, but can also be adapted to address environmental values held by interested and affected parties, in reconciling competing value systems. this reconciliation can be achieved through vm’s change-orientated, participatory approach to facilitate the generation of alternatives that represent better value satisfaction to a range of stakeholders. in summary, vm in eia would focus on what male et al. (2007: 112) describe as ‘value system evolution and resolution’. this focus applies in two contexts: in managing the relationships between the multiple stakeholders involved in an eia’s organisational system more effectively, and in producing a project formulation that optimises environmental values in addition to the more traditional emphasis on cost and functional performance specifications. references borjeson, l. 1976. management of project work. the swedish agency for administrative development, satskontotet, gotah, stockholm. brown, a.l. & hill, r.c. 1995. decision-scoping: making ea learn how the design process works. project appraisal, 10(4), pp. 223-232. caldwell, l.k. 1988. environmental impact analysis (eia): origins, evolution, and future directions. policy studies review, 8(1), pp. 75-83. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 118 chapeyama, o. 2004. development of a landfill in maseru: report on assessment of needs for landfill development. regional center for southern africa, u.s. agency for international development, gaborone. clark, b.d. 1984. the aims and objectives of environmental impact assessment. in: clark, b.d., gilad, a., bisset, r. & tomlinson, p. (eds.). perspectives on environmental impact assessment. dordrecht: d reidel, pp. 3-13. constructing excellence. 2004. value management. constructing excellence in the built environment [online]. available from: <www. constructingexcellence.org.uk> [accessed: 30 august 2007]. de leeuw, p.c. 2001. value management: an optimum solution. in: proceedings of the international conference on spatial information for sustainable development, 2-5 october, nairobi, kenya. eisenhardt, k. 1991. better stories and better constructs: the case for rigour and comparative logic. academy of management review, 16(3), pp. 620-627. erikstad, l., lindblom, i., jerpåsen, g., hanssen, m. a., bekkby, t., stabbetorp, o. & bakkestuen, v. 2008. environmental value assessment in a multidisciplinary eia setting. environmental impact assessment review, 28(2-3), pp. 131-143. genesis environment solutions. 2005. environmental impact statement for ts’oeneng sanitary landfill and waste management in maseru city. maseru: genesis environment solutions. george, c. & lee, n. (eds.). 2000. environmental assessment in developing and transitional countries: principles, methods and practice. chichester: wiley & sons. government of lesotho. 2001. the environment act no. 10 of 2001. maseru: lesotho national environment secretariat, ministry of tourism, environment & culture. government of lesotho. 2002. draft guidelines for environmental impact assessment. maseru: lesotho national environment secretariat, ministry of tourism, environment & culture. government of lesotho. 2004. lesotho: second state of the environment report 2002. maseru: lesotho national environment secretariat, ministry of tourism, environment & culture. haggarty, l. 1996. what is content analysis? medical teacher, 18(2), pp. 99-101. bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 119 hill, r.c. 2004. theory for the practice of environmental assessment: mutual adjustment, critical rationality and power in planning and decision-making. unpublished phd thesis, university of cape town, cape town. iucn (international union for the conservation of nature and natural resources). 1980. world conservation strategy. iucn, gland, switzerland. jankowicz, a.d. 2000. business research projects. 3rd ed. london: thomson learning. kelly, j. 2007. making client values explicit in value management workshops. construction management and economics, 25(4), pp. 435-442. kelly, j. & male, s. 1988. a study of value management and quantity surveying practices. the royal institution of chartered surveyors occasional papers, london: surveyor publications. kelly, j. & male, s. 1993. value management in design and construction: the economic management of projects. london: e. & f.n. spon. kelly, j. & male, s. 1999. the implementation of value management in the public sector: a value for money approach? the royal institution of chartered surveyors, london: rics research foundation. kelly, j., male, s. & graham, d. 2004. value management of construction projects. oxford: blackwell. khalema, k. & sets’abi, s. 1999. the urban environment. in: chakela, k.q. 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[online]. maseru: lesotho council of ngo’s. available from: <http://www.lecongo.org.ls/newsletters/ big_brother_tsoasane.php> [accessed: 3 august 2007]. lin, g. & shen, q. 2007. measuring the performance of value management studies in construction: critical review. journal of management in engineering, 23(1), pp. 2-9. acta structilia 2009: 16(2) 120 male, s., kelly, j., fernie, s., grönqvist, m. & bowles, g. 1998a. the value management benchmark: a good practice framework for clients and practitioners. edinburgh: thomas telford. male, s., kelly, j., fernie, s., grönqvist, m. & bowles, g. 1998b. the value management benchmark: research results of an international benchmarking study. london: thomas telford. male, s., kelly, j., grönqvist, m. & graham, d. 2007. managing value as a management style for projects. international journal of project management, 25(2), pp. 107-114. maseru city council. 2005. feasibility study for ts’oeneng sanitary landfill and maseru city solid waste management. maseru: maseru city council. mcharg, i. 1971. design with nature. garden city, ny: doubleday. ministry of health and social welfare. 2005. national health care waste management plan. maseru: ministry of health and social welfare. morris, p.j.w. & hough, g.h. 1987. the anatomy of major projects: a study of the reality of project management. chichester, uk: wiley. motsamai, b., pomela, m. & keatimiloe, k. 2003. country reports: lesotho. in: environmental impact assessment in southern africa book. windhoek, saiea. available from: <http://www.saiea.com/ saiea-book/lesotho1.pdf> [accessed: 26 june 2007]. næss, a. 1973. the shallow and the deep, long-range ecology movement. inquiry, 16, pp. 95-100. ortolano, l. 1997. environmental regulation and impact assessment. new york: wiley. pardo, m. 1997. environmental impact assessment: myth or reality? lessons from spain. environmental impact assessment review, 17(2), pp. 123-142. saarikoski, h. 2000. eia procedure: environmental impact assessment (eia) as a collaborative learning process. environmental impact assessment review, 20(6), pp. 681-700. save international. 1998. value methodology standard (revised october 1998). save international, usa. available from: <http://www. value-eng.org/pdf_docs/about/vm%20standard%20methodology. pdf> [accessed: 7 september 2007]. bowen et al • value management in environmental impact assessment: a maseru case study 121 sigal, l.l. & webb, j.w. 1989. the programmatic environmental impact statement: its purpose and use. the environmental professional, 11(1), pp. 14-24. thomson, d.s. & austin, s.a. 2001. construction value management revisited: the designer’s role. in: proceedings of cobra 2001, rics construction and building research conference, 3-5 september, glasgow caledonian university, glasgow: rics foundation. ts’asanyane, t. 2007. (ts’asanyane is an officer at the national environment secretariat, maseru, lesotho). personal interview, 20 august, maseru. tzortzopoulos, p. & sexton, m. 2007. an investigation on the implementation of product development process models in construction companies. construction management and economics, 25(11), pp. 1153-1164. yin, r. 1994. case study research: design and methods. 2nd ed. applied social research methods series, vol.5, thousand oaks, california: sage publications. acta structilia-14(1) 33 gj crafford & jj smallwood clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies peer reviewed abstract traditionally, quantity surveyors have fulfilled the function of financial and contract controller of projects and therefore proficiency in the related competencies is important. however, the quantity surveying profession has endeavoured to broaden the role of quantity surveyors to include inter alia, project management, and facilities management in recent years. the article reports on the quantity surveying component of a study relative to the competencies of five built environment practitioners conducted among private and public sector clients. the focus of the study was to determine the importance of competencies, and the extent to which they manifest themselves. based upon inter alia, principal component analysis, findings include that the top two of five factors, namely ‘financial planning and control’ and ‘contract administration’, include the traditional quantity surveying competencies. recommendations include inter alia, tertiary institutions, the south african council of quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) and the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs) should address the perceived deficiency relative to the competencies identified by the gap analysis, particularly those competencies that achieved evidence scores below that of the overall average evidence score. keywords: clients, competencies, quantity surveyors gerrit crafford, department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6013, south africa. (dr crafford is currently working as quantity surveyor, rogerson reddan & associates, 78 haddington road, dublin 4. ireland), tel: 00353 1 6609155 fax: 00353 1 6609694, email: <gerrit.crafford@rra.ie> prof. john smallwood, department of construction management, nelson mandela metropolitan university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6013, south africa. tel: (041) 504 2790 fax: (041) 504 2345 e-mail: <john.smallwood@nmmu.ac.za> 34 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) abstrak tradisioneel het bourekenaars die funksie van finansiëleen kontrak beheer van projekte vervul. daarom is bekwaamheid van hierdie persone belangrik. die bourekenaars-professie het daarna gestrewe om die rol van bourekenaars te verbreed deur onder andere deesdae ook as projekbestuurders en fasiliteit bestuurders op te tree. die artikel lewer verslag oor die bourekenaars komponent van ’n studie wat gedoen is onder privaaten openbare sektor kliente om die bekwaamheid van vyf praktyke in die bou-industrie vas te stel. die fokus van die studie was om die belangrikheid van bekwaamheid te bepaal. die studie het bevind dat die twee mees uitstaande faktore naamlik financial planning and control en contract administration deel vorm van die tradisionele bourekenaars bekwaamheid. aanbevelings sluit onder andere in dat tersiêre instansies, die suid-afrikaanse raad vir bourekenaars en die vereniging van suid-afrikaanse bourekenaars professie (vsabp) die tekortkominge soos uiteengesit in die analise en veral daardie tekortkominge wat laer as die gemiddelde telling was, aandag moet geniet. sleutelwoorde: kliente, bekwaamheid, bourekenaars 35 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies 1. introduction built environment professionals are charged with the responsibilityof assessing clients’ needs and realising a productive designthrough added value engineering. this requires the continuing development of skill, application and experience in the knowledgeintensifying cycle (council for scientific and industrial research, 2004). the following quotation included in the south african construction industry status report — 2004, published by the construction industry development board (cidb) (2004), provides insight relative to the performance of the design team: “the quality of delivery varies and clients expressed dissatisfaction particularly with regard to timely preparation of designs, handling of variations, invoicing and final settlement of accounts.” this article is based upon a component of a doctoral study, and reports on the competencies of quantity surveyors based upon responses emanating from private and public sector clients. the input gathered from clients is invaluable as they in essence constitute the primary customers of quantity surveyors, and therefore their input can inform the practice of quantity surveying. the johari window can be figure 1: johari window source: robbins, 1998 36 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) used to explain the importance of input gathered from others and from self-disclosure. the combination of disclosure and feedback can enlarge the congruence area of the johari window (figure 1) as well as help to identify areas of focus for relevant future education and training of quantity surveyors (nkado, 1999). according to robbins (1998), proponents of the johari window imply that perceptual accuracy and communication would be improved if the size of the public area were expanded by increasing selfdisclosure and by acceptance of feedback from others even if such feedback is unflattering. nkado (1999) and crafford (2002) conducted research relative to the competencies required by quantity surveyors using quantity surveyors, architects and engineers as the target population. thus, it can be argued that self-disclosure did take place and that the johari public area was widened. the aim of this research is to: • obtain feedback from the clients on the competencies required by quantity surveyors; • reveal the extent to which quantity surveyors realise client requirements as per client perception, and • develop a meaningful model of the competencies. the research broadly follows the approach adopted by nkado (1999) and crafford (2002). upon completion of the research the johari public area should be even larger, yielding vital feedback for the quantity surveying profession. a justification for a study of competencies required by the design and construction team is that the ability of the design and construction team to meet the differing and changing client needs depends on the knowledge base of each discipline. prokesch (1997) advocates that building and leveraging knowledge is the key to success in this age of globablisation, while male (1990) opines that knowledge is an important power base for professions generally. 2. quantity surveying competencies the quantity surveyor is essentially a building economist, advising clients and architects on costs of alternative designs to ensure that the project is kept within the agreed budget (seeley, 1997). leveson (1996) indicates that quantity surveying competencies lie in the 37 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies financial and contractual control of the building project, but advises quantity surveyors to pay attention to developing interpersonal skills. the rics assessment of professional competence (apc) is primarily competency-based. it requires candidates to demonstrate that they have the skills and abilities needed to perform specific tasks or functions. these are based on attitudes and behaviours as well as skills and knowledge. the specific competencies candidates must achieve depend on the apc pathway being taken. there is an apc pathway for each of the discipline areas in which quantity surveyors work. as competence can be demonstrated on the basis of actual work experience, the pathway will be determined by the candidate’s employment. the candidate’s supervisor and counsellor will advise the candidate on which pathway to follow. the apc pathways are as follows (rics, 2006): • art and antiques; • building control; • building surveying; • commercial property practice; • environment; • facilities management; • geomatics; • housing management and development; • machinery and business assets; • management consultancy; • minerals and waste management; • planning and development; • project management; • property finance and investment; • quantity surveying and construction; • research; • residential property practice; • residential survey and construction; • rural; • taxation allowances, and • valuation. each apc pathway requires a period of structured training during which the candidate completes the mandatory and technical competencies that make up the minimum requirements for the apc (rics, 2006). the competencies have three levels of attainment which are progressive in terms of skills and abilities (rics, 2006): • level 1 — knowledge and understanding; • level 2 — application of knowledge and understanding; and • level 3 — reasoned advice and depth of technical knowledge. the candidate must satisfy three types of competency (rics, 2006): • mandatory competencies — personal, interpersonal and business skills common to all pathways; • core competencies — primary skills of the chosen apc pathway; and • optional competencies — selected by the candidate with the supervisor and counsellor from the list for the chosen pathway. 2.1 mandatory competencies these competencies are a mix of professional practice, interpersonal, business and management skills that are considered common to, and necessary for, all surveyors. these competencies are compulsory for all candidates. candidates must achieve the following minimum standards (rics, 2006): to level 3: • conduct rules; • ethics; and • professional practice. to level 2: • client care; • communication and negotiation; and • health and safety. to level 1: • accounting principles and procedures; • business planning; 38 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 39 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies • conflict avoidance, management and dispute resolution procedures; • data management; • sustainability; and • team working. 2.2 technical competencies for each apc pathway, specific technical competencies must be achieved. the competencies are divided into core and optional. for some pathways there will be an element of choice in the core competencies. for the optional competencies a choice must be made from the apc pathway list. for some pathways one optional competency can be taken from the full list of technical competencies. some pathways allow candidates to select a mandatory competency as an optional and take it to a higher level (rics, 2006). for the purposes of this research the quantity surveying route was chosen and the core and optional competencies are discussed below (rics, 2006). core competencies — a minimum of (rics, 2006): • conflict avoidance, management and dispute resolution — to level 2; • construction technology and environmental services — to level 2; • contract practice — to level 3; • design economics and cost planning — to level 3; and • health and safety — to level 2. optional competencies — from the full list of competencies, a minimum of (rics, 2006): • two competencies — to level 3; and • two competencies — to level 2. the full list of competencies is presented in table 1 below. 40 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) • access and easements for power, water and communications infrastructure, including way leaves • information technology • accounting principles and procedures • inspection • agriculture • insurance and risk management • analysis of client requirements • landlord and tenant • asset and investment planning • land use and diversification • auctioneering • law • building pathology • leadership • business management • local taxation / assessment • cadastre and land management • maintenance management • capital allowances and grants • management of the built environment • capital taxation • management of the naturalenvironment • collection, retrieval and analysis of information and data • managing people • commercial management of construction • managing resources • compulsory acquisition and compensation • mapping • conflict avoidance, management and dispute resolution procedures • marketing • conservation and restoration management • measurement • construction technology and environmental services • measurement and costing of construction works • consultancy skills • minerals management • contaminated land • negotiating skills • contract administration • object identification • contract practice • option appraisal • corporate and public communications • planning • corporate finance • procurement • corporate real estate management • project audit • corporate recovery and insolvency • project cost and financial control • customer care • project evaluation • design and specification • project process and procedures • design economics and cost planning • project strategy and control • development appraisals • purchase disposal and leasing • development / project briefs • real estate finance and funding • economic development • real estate management • engineering surveying • real estate management accounting • environmental assessment • real estate records • environmental audit • recruitment and selection table 1: list of apc competencies (rics, 2006) 41 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies • access and easements for power, water and communications infrastructure, including way leaves • information technology • environmental awareness • remote sensing and photogrammetry • environmental management • research methodologies • environmental sustainability • risk management • ethics, professional identity and accountability • securitisation • financial risk management • selecting the project team • forestry and woodland management • self management • geodesy • spatial data capture and presentation • gis • specification preparation • ground engineering and subsidence • strategic real estate consultancy • health and safety • surveying land and sea • housing aid or advise • team working • housing maintenance, repair and improvements • use of the marine environment • housing management and policy • valuation • housing strategy and provision • verbal communication • hydrographic surveying • works progress and qualitymanagement • information integration and assimilation • written and graphic communication 3. research 3.1 methodology the descriptive survey method was employed to process the data obtained through observation. this type of research involves either identifying the characteristics of an observed phenomenon, or exploring possible correlations among two or more phenomena. in every case, descriptive research examines a situation as it is. it does not involve changing or modifying the situation under investigation, nor does it intend to determine cause-and-effect relationships (leedy & ormond, 2005). thus, it observes existing conditions artificially, and is limited to ascertaining and describing the characteristics of the variables of interest in a given situation (cropley & harris, 2004). an exploratory study was conducted to enable the development of an optimum list of competencies. a qualitative approach was adopted during this phase which entailed the interviewing of ten architects, construction managers, engineers, project managers, and quantity surveyors in the eastern cape and western cape. the interviews investigated the various disciplines’ understanding of their own competencies, and the competencies of the other disciplines’, with the possibility of adding additional competencies to the pilot questionnaire. subsequently, during the primary study, a quantitative method of data production using a questionnaire was followed. the populations of respondents in the primary study can be divided into two categories: • public sector clients — a mailing list of all the municipal managers in south africa was obtained from the department of water affairs and forestry; and • private sector clients — a mailing list of all the property developers in south africa was obtained from the south african property owners association (sapoa). the total number of property developers or private sector clients on the sapoa mailing list totalled 74 members. the total number of municipality managers or public sector clients on the mailing list obtained from the department of water affairs and forestry totalled 284. 3.2 questionnaire design the questionnaire consisted of three sections. section one consisted of demographic questions, which were later used to test if any of the variables had a significant influence on the rating of the competencies. in section two each disciplines’ competencies were listed in alphabetical order with two accompanying scales, namely level of importance and evidence of competencies. the questionnaire was designed to include all the competencies which were gathered during the survey of the literature and during the exploratory phase interviews. the method of presenting all the competencies and then asking the respondents to rate the competencies according to current importance and evidence on the likert scale was adopted from nkado (1999). the two scales were: • the level of importance of a competency for a career in a specific discipline at present, from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important); and • how evident that competency is in the specific discipline in south africa, from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). 42 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 43 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies section three included a scale in which the respondents had to rate the level of importance of the performance parameters to clients, from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). 3.3 sample size and response rate krejcie & morgan (1970) suggest appropriate sample sizes for effective representation of the target population. however, the authors deemed it erudite to conduct a census of the target population due to the poor response rate in construction related questionnaires. of the 358 questionnaires posted, 59 were returned twelve weeks after the initial mailing — this equates to a response rate of 16.8%. however, 8 of the returned responses could not be included in the analysis of the data as not a single response had been recorded thereon. no reasons were given for returning the questionnaires blank. therefore, the effective response rate was 14.5% as shown in table 2. however, when comparing the amount of completed questionnaires to sample size recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970), it represents a 22.8% response rate. this response rate is not far below the 25% response rate recommended by nkado (1999) for construction research. table 2: analysis of respondent sample sector useful questionnaires (no.) questionnaires posted (no.) required sample size (no.) response rate of census (%) response rate of required sample size (%) public 38 284 165 13.4 23.0 private 14 74 63 18.9 22.2 total 52 358 228 14.5 22.8 3.4 rescaling data re-scaling is an explanatory, rather than causal analysis as the rescaled values are for the full set of observations over all the constructs that are rated. this limitation means that rescaling does not indicate how each respondent used the scale for each statement that was rated. according to bendixen & sandler (1995) “in some instances, the subsequent analyses produce results that are almost identical to those obtained when the assumption that the 44 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) original ordinal data behaved in an interval fashion was made or that the analytic techniques used were sufficiently robust. however, in equally as many instances, the interpretation of subsequent analyses was ‘cleaner’, easier and more precise.” bendixen & sandler (1995) and nkado & meyer (2001) argue that this procedure is essential for parametric manipulation and interpretation of the raw data. the conversion of the likert scale was performed separately for each of the three sets of ratings of important competencies, evidence of the competencies and future importance of the competencies. table 3 illustrates the conversions for ratings of important competencies based on a correspondence analysis of the ratings received for the 25 competencies. the rescaling shows that any assumption that the original ratings interval in nature would be questionable. table 3: re-scaling for rating of important current competencies likert scale of importance eigen value cumulative percentretained axis 1 0.20446 68.91 axis 2 0.04930 85.52 axis 1 coordinate axis 2 coordinate euclidean distance adjusted scale 1 not important 0.818 -0.616 1.0000 2 less than important 0.930 -0.293 0.8626 1.8626 3 important 0.669 -0.218 0.3909 2.2536 4 more than important 0.131 0.267 1.4540 3.7076 5 very important -0.468 -0.126 1.2924 5.0000 3.5 relative importance of competencies after re-scaling the ordinal data to interval data, the means of the competencies were computed. the means were then converted to percentage ratings. table 4 presents the importance and evidence ratings, and the percentage gap between the aforementioned which is calculated by obtaining the difference in the importance percentage and evidence percentage. 45 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies table 4: importance and evidence of quantity surveying competencies competency heading rating (%) gap (%) importance evidence qs07 cost control 94.6 82.0 15.7 qs10 estimating 94.5 80.9 16.9 qs17 measurement (quantities) 94.5 83.6 13.5 qs19 plan reading 93.3 86.2 8.9 qs09 economics of construction 89.2 76.5 15.8 qs22 professional practice 88.6 81.1 9.4 qs04 construction contract practice 88.5 82.0 8.2 qs03 computer literacy and informationtechnology 86.9 83.1 4.8 qs21 procurement 82.6 79.7 3.7 qs29 skills to work with emerging contractors 82.3 67.7 18.2 qs31 time management 82.3 79.3 3.7 qs32 valuation 82.0 78.7 4.2 qs20 planning and organising skills 80.7 78.2 3.2 qs08 development appraisal 80.0 74.9 6.4 qs06 coordinating 79.8 75.4 5.4 qs27 risk management 79.0 71.2 9.8 qs33 value management 78.6 76.5 2.7 qs05 construction technology andenvironmental services 77.5 77.3 0.3 qs15 management of joint quantity surveyingappointment 77.4 69.1 10.5 qs25 quality management / control 77.1 75.8 1.6 qs23 project management 76.6 76.8 0.2 qs01 advanced financial management 76.5 71.9 5.7 qs18 personal and interpersonal skills 75.1 79.8 5.9 qs30 structural knowledge 75.0 72.9 2.6 qs13 leadership and general management skills 74.4 73.5 0.1 qs28 skills in managing a business unit 73.5 71.4 2.7 qs02 arbitration and other dispute resolutionprocedures 73.1 66.9 7.9 qs12 law 68.2 69.2 1.3 qs24 property investment funding 65.0 62.8 2.7 qs26 research methodologies and techniques 64.7 67.3 3.3 qs11 facilities management 63.1 68.5 6.7 qs14 macro-economic perspectives 62.2 68.8 8.2 qs16 marketing 54.3 61.6 9.2 46 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the five most important current competencies required by quantity surveyors as ranked by clients are cost control, estimating, measurement, plan reading, and economics of construction. all the competencies were ranked as above average in terms of current importance. this supports male’s (1990) statement that the principal competencies of measurement, financial and contractual control of construction projects underpin the practice of quantity surveying. the five competencies that quantity surveyors are most proficient in according to clients are plan reading, measurement, computer literacy and information technology, cost control, and construction contract practice. the top five competencies in terms of deficiency as represented by the gap analysis are skills to work with emerging contractors, estimating, economics of construction, cost control, and measurement (quantities). it is notable that four of these are among the five most important current competencies. furthermore, the sixth highest deficiency is relative to management of joint quantity surveying appointment. 3.6 principal component analysis principal components analysis (pca) is a data analysis tool that is usually used to reduce the dimensionality or number of variables of a large number of interrelated variables, while retaining as much of the information or variation as possible. pca calculates an uncorrelated set of variables such as factors or pcs. these factors are ordered so that the first few retain most of the variation present in all of the original variables. unlike its cousin factor analysis, pca always yields the same solution from the same data, apart from arbitrary differences in the sign. the computations of pca reduce to an eigenvalue-eigenvector problem. ncss uses a double-precision version of the modern ql algorithm as described by press (1986) to solve the eigenvalueeigenvector problem. pca was applied to ratings of importance of the 33 competencies in the questionnaire. the principal analysis was carried out on the rescaled data. several methods have been proposed for determining the number of factors that should be kept for further analysis. several of these methods will now be discussed. however, remember that important information about possible outliers and linear dependencies may be determined from the factors associated with the relatively small eigenvalues, so these should be investigated as well. kaiser (1960) proposed dropping factors whose eigenvalues are less than one, since these provide less information than is provided by a single variable. jolliffe (1972) feels that kaiser’s criterion is too large. he suggests using a cut off on the eigenvalues of 0.7 when correlation matrices are analysed. other authors note that if the largest eigenvalue is close to one, then holding to a cut off of one may cause useful factors to be dropped. however, if the largest factors are several times larger than one, then those near one may be reasonably dropped. another criterion is to preset a certain percentage of the variation that must be accounted for and then keep enough factors so that this variation is achieved. however, usually this cut off percentage is used as a lower limit. that is, if the designated number of factors do not account for at least 50% of the variance, then the whole analysis is aborted. cattell (1966) first documented the scree graph. studying this chart is probably the most popular method for determining the number of factors, but it is subjective, resulting in differing people analysing the same data, but with differing results. the scree plot is a rough bar plot of the eigenvalues, which enables immediate determination of the relative size of each eigenvalue. many authors recommend it as a method of determining how many factors to retain. the word scree, first used by cattell (1966), is usually defined as “the rubble at the bottom of a cliff.” when using the scree plot, the eigenvalues which constitute the ‘cliff’ must be differentiated from the ‘rubble’ — the factors which constitute the ‘cliff’ are retained. cattell & jaspers (1967) suggest that those which constitute the ‘cliff’ plus the first factor of the ‘rubble’ be retained. the following methodology was adopted relative to the selection of factors: • all factors with an eigenvalue greater than one were eligible for selection; • visual inspection of the scree plot was undertaken to see where the ‘knee’ is. the ‘knee’ of the curve indicates the number of factors to use; • the percentage of total variance should generally be above 35% (nkado, 1999; zikmund, 1994); and • all the variables should be represented in the factors chosen. 47 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies 48 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) figure 2: quantity surveyor’s eigenvalue scree plot the first ten factors all had eigenvalues higher than one, but when looking at the scree plot it can be seen that only five are needed. the five factors explain 61.6% of the inertia, which is above the 35% needed. the varimax rotation of the five-factor solution was used so that only one factor gets a high loading for each competency in order to simplify the interpretation of the factors. the factor loadings after the varimax rotation are shown in appendix 7. it should be noted that only the loadings greater than 0.4 were considered to be relevant. variables loaded onto more then one factor were placed under the factor that the variable had the highest loading. table 5 presents all the competencies under their respective factor headings, including their rankings for current importance and evidence of competency. table 5: factor structure summary after varimax rotation ref factorloading quantity surveying competency rank importance evidence factor 1: core technical and general management skills qs17 -0.496321 measurement (quantities) 3 2 qs18 -0.404652 personal and interpersonal skills 23 8 qs23 -0.593813 project management 21 14 qs26 -0.455421 research methodologies andtechniques 30 30 qs29 -0.427637 skills to work with emergingcontractors 10 29 qs30 -0.813442 structural knowledge 24 21 qs31 -0.628055 time management 10 10 average of ranks 17.3 16.3 49 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies ref factorloading quantity surveying competency rank importance evidence factor 2: financial planning and control qs07 -0.710398 cost control 1 4 qs10 -0.806625 estimating 2 7 average of ranks 1.5 5.5 factor 3: contract administration qs01 0.520905 advanced financial management 22 22 qs04 0.79554 construction contract practice 7 5 qs05 0.501241 construction technology andenvironmental services 18 13 qs08 0.593621 development appraisal 14 19 qs09 0.536542 economics of construction 5 15 qs21 0.434016 procurement 9 9 qs22 0.607119 professional practice 6 6 average of ranks 11.6 12.7 factor 4: control and decision making qs03 -0.583648 computer literacy and informationtechnology 8 3 qs06 -0.665509 coordinating 15 18 qs19 -0.562997 plan reading 4 1 qs25 -0.535748 quality management / control 20 17 average of ranks 11.8 9.8 factor 5: commercial management qs02 -0.494321 arbitration and other disputeresolution procedures 27 31 qs11 -0.478954 facilities management 31 28 qs12 -0.775524 law 28 25 qs13 -0.744793 leadership and generalmanagement skills 25 20 qs14 -0.684322 macro-economic perspectives 32 27 qs15 -0.627105 management of joint quantitysurveying appointment 19 26 qs16 -0.613609 marketing 33 33 qs20 -0.571566 planning and organising skills 13 12 qs24 -0.652098 property investment funding 29 32 qs27 -0.422768 risk management 16 24 qs28 -0.598811 skills in managing a business unit 26 23 qs32 -0.547028 valuation 12 11 qs33 -0.676898 value management 17 16 average of ranks 23.7 23.7 50 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the competencies that are loaded onto factor 1 are mostly core technical competencies and managerial competencies. hence the name ‘core competencies and general management skills’. the average importance ranking of the competencies for this factor is 17.3, which results in a rank of fourth among the factors. this factor supports factor 2 and 3, which encompasses competencies with higher importance ratings. factor two comprises of the two competencies which can be seen as core traditional competencies to the quantity surveying profession. this factor is labelled as ‘financial planning and control’. the average importance ranking of the competencies for this factor is 1.5, which results in a rank of first among the factors. since the competencies present in this factor is ranked the highest in terms of current importance it is also considered to be one of the principal factors as depicted in the model (figure 3). factor three encompasses most of the competencies related to the administration of contracts. thus, this factor is named ‘contract administration’. the average importance ranking of the competencies for this factor is 11.6, which results in a rank of second among the factors. this factor along with factor two is considered to be the principal factors as indicated in the model (figure 3). factor four is named ‘control and decision making’. the main reason for the name is due to the fact that the co-ordinating and quality control competencies are included in this factor. the average importance ranking of this factor is 11.8, which results in a rank of third among the factors. factor five consists mostly of competencies required for managing a commercial business. thus the factor is named ‘commercial management’. the average importance ranking of this factor is 23.7, resulting in the lowest ranking among all the factors. 3.7 model the model indicates that the factors are interdependent and interact. the model also indicates that factors 2 and 3, which consist of the primary competencies for effective quantity surveying are supported by factors 1, 4, and 5, which are mostly secondary competencies. these factors in turn are influenced by the inter-relationships between the practitioners, continuing professional development (cpd) / research and universities, which in turn are influenced by the rics, asaqs, and sacqsp. these three organisations are ultimately influenced by the local and global environment. the model highlights the importance of a sound working relationship between the stakeholders involved in the practice of quantity surveying. 51 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies figure 3: quantity surveying competency model 52 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) parameter importance evidence gap % rank % rank % rank 1 cost 98.5 1 86.1 1 12.5 9 2 value 98.4 2 85.2 2 13.2 8 3 quality 98.2 3 73.5 3 24.8 7 4 time 97.9 4 71.7 4 26.2 6 5 developmental issues 92.6 9 65.8 5 27.5 5 6 black economic empowerment 93.4 7 64.4 6 29.0 4 7 environment 93.3 8 59.9 7 33.4 3 8 occupant health and safety 95.3 5 59.5 8 35.8 2 9 construction health and safety 94.4 6 58.5 9 36.0 1 3.8 client requirements table 6 presents the importance of various parameters to clients, the evidence of quantity surveyors’ competency relative thereto, and the gap between importance and evidence. after re-scaling the ordinal data to interval data the means of the importance and evidence of parameters were computed. the means were then converted to percentage ratings. all the parameters were above average importance. it is notable that the traditional project parameters, namely cost, quality, and time, are ranked within the top four. it is also notable that in all cases the evidence of competency relative to a parameter is lower than the importance of the parameter. table 6 also indicates the gap between the importance of a parameter and evidence of competency relative to a parameter. the largest gap, or deficiency, is relative to construction health and safety, which could be attributable to the status afforded thereto in tender and contract documentation. the second and third largest gaps are relative to related parameters, namely occupant health and safety, and the environment. table 6: importance of parameters to clients and evidence of quantity surveying competency relative thereto 53 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies 4. conclusions there is a need for quantity surveying skills in the built environment. based upon the predominating competencies in terms of importance, it can be concluded that quantity surveyors are perceived to fulfil their traditional role of financial and contractual controller of projects — cost control; estimating; measurement (quantities); plan reading; economics of construction; professional practice; construction contract practice; computer literacy and information technology, and procurement. the results of the pca, namely the first and second ranking of ‘factor 2: financial planning and control’, and ‘factor 3: contract administration’ respectively, reinforce this conclusion. the low ranking in terms of importance of the so called new competencies such as project management and facilities management, namely 21st and 31st respectively, lead to the conclusion that clients do not perceive these to be the functions of quantity surveyors. the evidence of competencies in the form of the percentage deficiency relative to the importance of parameters according to clients reinforces the conclusion that quantity surveyors still fulfil the traditional role of financial and contractual controller of projects. however, it can also be concluded that quantity surveyors are deficient in terms of competencies relative to the other parameters, in particular health and safety, and the environment, but also developmental, time, and quality. 5. recommendations it is recommended that tertiary institutions, the sacqsp, and the asaqs should address the perceived deficiency relative to the competencies identified by the gap analysis, particularly those competencies that achieved evidence percentage scores below that of the overall average evidence percentage score. this recommendation requires interventions during curricula design, accreditation, assessment of professional competency, and continuing professional development. 54 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) references cattell, r.b. 1966. the scree test for the number of factors. multivariate behavior research, 1, p. 245-276. cattell, r.b. & jaspers, j. 1967. a general plasmode (no. 30-10-5-2) for factor analytic exercises and research, multivariate behavioral research monographs, 67(3), p. 1-212. construction industry development board (cidb). 2004. sa construction industry status report. brooklyn: cidb. crafford, g. j. 2002. the design team’s views on quantity surveying competencies, unpublished msc (qs) dissertation. south africa. port elizabeth: university of port elizabeth. cropley, d. h. & harris, m. b. 2004. too hard, too soft, just right…goldilocks and three research paradigms. in: se, systems engineering, managing complexity and change. proceedings of 14th annual international symposium, toulouse, france, 20-24 june. jolliffe, i.t. 1972. discarding variables in a principal component analysis, i: artificial data. applied statistics, 21(2), p. 160-173. kaiser, h.f. 1960. the application of electronic computers to factor analysis. educational and psychological measurement, 20, p. 141-151. krejcie, r.v. & morgan, d.w. 1970. determining sample size for research activities. educational & psychological measurement, 30(3), p. 607-610. leedy, p d. & ormond, j.e. 2005. practical research: planning and design. 8th ed. new jersey: prentice hall. leveson, r. 1996. can professionals be multi-skilled? people management, 2(17), p. 36-39, august. male, s. 1990. professional authority, power and emerging forms of ‘profession’ in quantity surveying. construction management and economics, 8(2), p. 191-204. nkado, r.n. 1999. competencies required of quantity surveyors. unpublished mba treatise, south africa. johannesburg: university of the witwatersrand. nkado, r. n. & meyer, t. 2001. competencies of professional quantity surveyors: a south african perspective. construction management and economics, 19(5), p. 481-491. royal institute of charted surveyors (rics) 2006. guide for supervisors, counsellors and employers — graduate route to membership. london: rics. robbins, s. p. 1998. organizational behavior. 8th ed. new jersey: prentice-hall. seeley, i. h. 1997. quantity surveying practice. 2nd ed. london: the macmillan press ltd. zikmund, w.g. 1994. business research method. new york: the dryden press. 55 crafford & smallwood • clients’ views on quantity surveying competencies c heckroodt 1 lnternasionaal / international an evaluation of investment and investment decision-making in the construction industry in south africa abstract it seems out of a research survey carried out in south africa. as well as the general stand of the civil engineering and construction industries over the past few years. that economical and political factors have a far greater influence on the growth of the industry than internal organisational factors. the risk associated with projects. seen within the broad spectrum of other internal and external risk factors. seems to be the big­gest concern of investors and developers. financing construction projects is the second highest factor. and can be of critical importance. the view should always be to improve the cost-effectiveness of the decision of how and what and when to invest. it is evident that the quantity sur­veyor and/or cost engineer has an important role to play in this regard. keywords: finance, construction projects, economy, politics, south africa. 'n evaluasie van beleggings en beleggngsbesluit­ neming in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksiebedryf opsomming onlangse navorsing dui daarop dot ekonomiese en politieke faktore selfs 'n belangriker rol as interne organisatoriese faktore speel. in terme van groei in die konstruksiebedryf. risiko's veral ten opsigte van die finan­ siering van konstruksie-projekte, speel 'n kritieke rol. dit is hier waar kos­ te-effektiwiteit en besluitneming ten opsigte van waar. wanneer en hoe beleggings gemaak word. 'n deurslaggewende rol speel. die boure­ kenkundige en koste-ingenieur kan 'n groot bydrae maak wat betref projeken risiko-bestuur. uitvoerbaarheidstudies. koste-besnoeiings. en kontrole oor boumateriaal en -toerusting. sleutelwoorde: finansies, konstruksie-projekte, ekonomie, politek, suid-afrika. rqs. m(urp) bsc(qs) dip arch. maqs. asaib. aaarb. msaid. mihsa. senior lecturer: department of civil engineering and building. technikon free state. bloemfontein. south africa. a paper read at the 15th international cost engi­ neering congres. rotterdam (netherlands). 1998. 95 heckroodt / evaluation of investment introduction t he south african construction industry has been influenced by extensive economic fluctuations over the years gone by. during the economic isolation of south africa, the con­ struction industry went through serious surviving problems. the decrease in the value of the south african currency (rand) against the american dollar, as well as the inflation rate, contrib­ uted to this. despite the effects of these and other economic factors, like high bank loan rates, the construction industry survived the dry years of international isolation. with an estimated population growth rate of 2,61 % per annum in 1995, the demand from com­ munities for infrastructure, medical facilities, educational centres and schools, as well as, most important, proper housing, has shown a tremendous growth rate. this placed enormous pres­ sure on the rate of supply of these amenities. funds must be gen­ erated, either nationally or internationally, to supply the people of south africa in their demands. factors influencing investment in construction projects in an address by stals [1995], governor of the south african re­ serve bank, on the factors influencing interest rates, it was stated that the interest rate is determined by forces of demand and supply of loanable funds. if the demand for loanable funds tend to exceed the supply of loanable funds, the interest rate will tend to rise, and vice versa, when demand is less than supply, the interest rate will tend to decline. obviously, an increase in in­ terest rates indicates a shortage of funds, caused by increasing demand or a decline in the supply of funds. an increase in inter­ est rates therefor brings a clear message to borrowers: reduce your demand for loans. the construction industry is part of this staging of events. very lit­ tle working capital is available for investment in construction pro­ jects in south africa, and thus people are to some extent forced to make use of loans to satisfy their construction and infrastruc­ ture demands. thus, as interest rates increased, the supply of such amenities decreased, with the demand increasing almost on a daily basis. this led to a backlog in the south african con­ struction industry in supplying in the needs of the people. stals [1995] also mentioned that a net outflow of capital as south africa experienced from 1985 to 1993, reduces the amount of funds available for domestic application. in a country such as south africa, where gross domestic saving over the past decade 96 1998 acta structilia vo! 5 no 1 & 2 declined from about 25 percent to 17 percent of gross domestic product {gdp). the deficit on the government's budget absorbs private saving to an amount equal to about 6 percent of gdp, against the normal 3 percent of gdp. private consumption ex­ penditure grows at a steady 3,5 percent per annum. all these facts, according to stals [1995], indicate that interest rates must and will be high. were it not for the net capital inflow of about r20 billion since the middle of 1994, the level of interest rates would have been much higher in south africa. research related to investment in construction projects was un­ dertaken by the author during 1996. the research was done by means of an extensive questionnaire covering the period janu­ ary 1991 to december 1995. it was targeted at property devel­ opers, government departments, banks, local authorities, insur­ ance companies, mining industry and the construction industry as such, to determine the extent of the policy of deci­ sion-making and eventual investment in the construction indus­ try in south africa. the results of the research are represented in a number of graphical and tabled illustrations, with comments and conclu­ sions, in respect of 0 factors influencing investment in construction projects 0 risk management conditions 0 project life criteria 0 factors deterring investment 0 factors encouraging investment 0 gross annual construction investment, the latter clearly showing a distinction between the period be­ fore and after the democratic elections of 27 april 1994 elections (the "old" and "new" south africa). the construction industry can be considered to be in a vulnera­ ble profit and loss situation. the profit in any construction project can be threatened by a number of factors, both economically and organisationally. internal factors in the organisation can be critical. this includes too high overhead costs, the utilisation and operation of mechanical plant, labour, as well as bad adminis­ tration with the ordering and utilisation of construction materials. however, it seems out of the research survey and the general stand of the civil engineering and construction industries over the past few years, that economic and political factors have a far greater influence on the growth of the industry than internal organisational factors. it must, however, be said that the influ­ ence of such external factors are sometimes artificial, and this 97 heckroodt / evaluation of investment should be attended to. figure 1 [heckroodt: 1997] shows some of the internal and external influencing factors. ....j w > 40 w ....j a: 30 0 ii: a.. cl 20 w � 10 $ 0 risk and sensitivity figure 1 factors influencing investment the risk associated with each project, seen within the broad spectrum of other internal and external risk factors, seems to be the biggest concern of investors and developers. financing of construction projects is the second highest factor, and can be of critical importance. despite the statement of stals [1995] that one of the more important elements to cure high inflation, is ex­ tremely high interest rates, investors participating in the survey placed inflation rate on a much lower level of priority than other factors that may have an influence on investment. the quantity surveyor and/or cost engineer should play an im­ portant role in project planning, project management, risk man­ agement and the cost of projects, paying special attention to the feasibility of specific projects in terms of project demand, project life, cost savings on projects and control of materials and plant used on site. the risks associated with construction investments should be carefully managed and monitored, so as to act pro-actively on the possible negative effects of the indicated influencing fac98 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 tars. there are various means of managing risk, as indicated by south african investors and represented in figure 2 [heckroodt: 1997]. figure 2 risk management conditions predicted rate of return modified to take risk ano uncertainty into account (30.77%) project life evaluation no attempt made to take risk or uncertainty into account (7.69%) different stanoerds used for comparison of risk or uncertainty (15.38%) project life and investment life are also critical factors which should be carefully monitored. that is why feasibility studies are of vital importance. figure 3 [heckroodt: 1997] shows the basis on which project life is determined for investment purposes, as indi­ cated by the respondents that have taken part in the research. figure 3 project life criteria economiclifespan{33.33%) social life span(0,00%) figure 4 [heckroodt: 1997] gives an indication of the competent persons within investing organisations who are responsible for de­ termining and evaluating project life in south africa. investment decision-making the decision-making process concerning investments to be made in construction projects, is of critical nature. the process is a complex one owing to the quantitative and qualitative factors 99 heckroodt / evaluation of investment figure4 project life evaluation flowing from a particular investment option. by assuring the low­ est possible financing cost to the contractor in terms of construc­ tion investment, the project can become more cost-efficient and hence more competitive with the balance of investment options available. it is important to carefully evaluate all avail­ able investment options before arriving at a final decision. the view should always be to improve the cost-effectiveness of the decision of how and what to invest at which period of time. there are various financial options available. it is, however, im­ portant to realise that any investor has some form of risk when fi­ nancing a construction project in the construction industry. part of the investment research was to determine which factors dis­ courage and which encourage investment in construction pro­ jects. figures sa and sb [heckroodt: 1997] clearly show that a low return on investment compared to the return on other forms of figure sa investment deterring factors low return on investment {21.62%) investment in the financial sector, is the most important deterrent during the investment decision-making process. uncertain poli­ tics and instability of the economy also plays a major role. take note that the statement made by stals [1995] about the correla­ tion between high inflation and high interest rates, is clearly re­ flected in the response received from investors during the re­ search. it is unfortunately also true that high interest rates are 100 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 figure sb weighted investment deterring factors � 50+---+---<---+---+9 ,o+---+--+---+----+� jo+---+---,f----t---+ § ao+--1--+--+--httmillf+ �"'� ,;,"-'> '<"'<!? '<"'<!? �,\'<"�, �� "l'<, .,,&� ,;,-.j' s,"-' .<-. " "-'�'" -<»�,;."'�· o"' g-r,<s' ,<,cl<' "'"'"" s,'<"' ,,._<1-"-'> ,._<a'"'_{<"> ,;.'>'"''<-'s' ,i!-q -1'\,�-//! <t,.'i:' "' c;:i4:<-� ,t;.�' c:::,�� � rt-� ,;;:,q_\·?,f:, q �g 'j�(; «; r;:,��(t.:..::::,�� deterring factor bad for economic growth and that they will discourage new in­ vestment and restrict expansion in the economy, unoer supply of specirc buiung commooitv (15,00'i,) stable politics (15.00%) figure 6a investment encouraging factors other 3 (2,50%) stable economy (15,00%) roraft rates (7.50%) low interest rates (7.50%) figures 60 and 6b [heckroodt:1997] indicate that investors will be encouraged to invest in the civil engineering and construction figure 6b weighted investment encouraging factor 60-,---,c---,---,--,--r--.--.-,--.--,----, 101 heckroodt / evaluation of investment industries when a high return on the investment could be real­ ised (in effect, then, higher profit). a stable economy, stable poli­ tics and the under supply (which points out a high demand) of the specific commodity are also important motivating factors. figure 7 weighted investment encouraging factor 11u1rnrrrrrrn 1 1 1 11 102 1998 acta structilia vol 5 no 1 & 2 specific economic factors can influence the decision-making process during the investment planning phase of budgeting. the impact of these factors should be lessened by counteracting the non-investment disease caused by such factors. this may be done by reducing overhead costs, interest rates and the inflation rate, together with stability in the political arena. research un­ dertaken during the five years encircling the april 1994 events in south africa, pointed out the influence of these factors, whether politically or economically, on construction investment. extent of construction investment financing figure 7 [heckroodt: 1997] indicates the extent of investment in construction projects from 1991 to 199 5. figure 8 [heckroodt: 1997] indicates the comparative investment over these periods. figure 8 comparative investment in construction 20+-+-m-1----1--+--+-+-+-+--+--+--+-+-+-+--1------1--+--+--i � 1s+--hlli1ll------<----+-+-+-+-+-+---+-+-+-+-.j--1------<----+-+----< � 10 type of project • before 27/04/94 after 27 /04/94 the presence and existence of persistent influencing factors makes it even more important to carefully select an investor and the form of investment financing that will be earmarked and im­ plemented as investment in construction projects. investment can be done through various means, like private funding, bank loans, insurance company investments, foreign investment, re­ construction and development programmes (rdp funding) and real estate developers. figure 9 [heckroodt: 1997] indicates that insurance companies are the biggest source of financing for construction projects in south africa. 103 heckroodt / evaluation of investment figure 9 origin of investment funds working capital (11,54%) reconstruction and development programme (0,00%) aid funds (0,00%) investment corporation funds (0,00%) government funding (26,92%) foreign investment (0.00%) private/personal (0,00%) shareholder's funds (15,38%) debentures (0,00%) personal commercial bank loan (0,00%) personal ano commercial bank overdraft (0.00%) development bank loan (0,00%) insurance company investment (46, 15%) conclusion in conclusion it must be emphasised that investment in construc­ tion projects is a very sensitive matter which needs a lot of expert opinion and inputs, as well as elaborate planning and manage­ ment, before a final decision could be made whether to invest or not to invest. it is inevitable that the strategic planning of quantity surveyors and cost engineers around the globe will be of vital importance to the economic growth in the construction industry in south africa. references stals, dr chris. interest rates in south africa, adress at a meeting of the weekend argus/seeff trust investors club, cape town, south af­ rica, 1995 heckroodt, christo. a critical analysis of planning and evaluation of in­ vestment in constructionand civil engineering projects with spe­ cific reference to construction projects in south africa ( 1991-1995), unpublished concept thesis, university of port elizabeth, south af­ rica, 1997. 104 acta structilia-14(1) andre bester & theo haupt the role of the ceo in the performance of construction information systems (is): a pilot study. peer reviewed abstract the purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between construction information systems (is) performance and the involvement of the ceo. the information provided in this article is based on a knowledge, attitude and perception (kap) study that included a literature review and self-administered questionnaires with a small sample of ceos of construction companies. this study suggests that the performance of information systems in construction firms can be linked to the governance role played by ceos. other studies reported in the literature suggest a similar linkage, the reality is that in practice is in the construction sector is underutilised and performs poorly. similar sentiments have been expressed in the literature. one of the main reasons for is poor performance has been found to be the lack of executive support and involvement stemming from resistance from executive management. further, despite the use of is in construction companies, very few, if any have a strategic plan in place for is in their organisations. this article contributes to increased understanding of the importance of information systems in the construction sector, and the relationship between is performance and ceo commitment and involvement. keywords: information systems, is governance, ceo, cio 56 andre bester, cape peninsula university of technology, bellville, cape town, south africa. tel: 021 9596028 or mobile: 082 2020 674 dr theo c. haupt, research coordinator: faculty of engineering and coordinator & lead researcher: southern african built environment research center (bellville) faculty of engineering, po box 1906, bellville, 7535, tel: 021 959 6845, e-mail: <hauptt@cput.ac.za> abstrak die doel van die artikel is om the verhouding tussen konstruksie inligtingstelsels (is) en die betrokkenheid van die uitvoerende bestuurder van ’n maatskappy te ondersoek. die inligting in hierdie artikel is baseer op ’n kennis, houding en perseptuele studie wat onder andere ’n literatuurstudie en selfsaamgestelde vraelyste (versprei onder ’n klein groepie uitvoerende bestuurders van konstruksie maatskappye) insluit. die studie het bevind dat die werksaamhede van inligtingstelses in konstruksiemaatskappye direk verbind kan word aan die rol wat uitvoerende bestuurders van hierdie maatskappye speel. inligtingsbronne bestudeer vir hierdie studie het dieselfde bevind. die realiteit is dat inligtingstelsels in praktyk onderbenut en swak gebruik word. een hoofrede hiervoor is dat bestuurders van maatskappye nie die gebruik van (is) ondersteun nie. min bestuurders het ’n strategiese plan in plek vir die gebruik van (is) in konstruksiemaatskappye. hierdie artikel poog om die begrip vir die belangrikheid van inligtingstelsels in die konstruksiesektor en die verhouding tussen is werksaamhede en uitvoerende bestuurders’ se toegewydheid en betrokkeheid te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: inligtingstelsels, is bestuur, uitvoerende bestuurders 57 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems 1. introduction we [construction sector] will have to apply sophisticated technology in doing our work and to understand what our client industries need ... to develop engineering packages and give our clients a total service, that is the key ... be flexible, stay at the leading edge. for those who adapt to meet the changes the future is bright cordel hull, executive vice president of bechtel (betts, 1999: 7) construction is an increasingly dynamic sector that needs tothink differently about how it does business given the highlycompetitive and changing environment in which it operates. this dynamic environment is increasingly influenced by economic, technological and social factors (betts, 1999). however, the construction sector is reputedly lethargic to adopt innovation and, in particular, new technology. arguably it has not readily embraced information technology (it) given its reluctance to recognise the many potential efficiencies and competitive advantages afforded by this technology, specifically the impact of information systems (is) on organisations. information is becoming a key competitive resource that is critical to business performance (betts,1999; moody & walsh, 1999). the successful completion of construction projects depends on the accuracy, effectiveness and timing of the exchange of information between the project team members, a function easily managed with an information system (rono & arif, 2004). the construction industry development board (cidb) in south africa reported that only half of all construction projects had been completed on time, and within budget (cidb, 2004). arguably, there is still a fear in the construction sector that investment in is is risky with the possibility of backing the wrong technology or standards, and constantly having to keep the is investment up to date (betts, 1999). furthermore, past failure to deliver the benefits promised by is coupled with ongoing difficulty in quantifying the return on investment has possibly also contributed to the reluctance within the construction sector to invest in is. it is likely that the way is is allowed to be managed presents as a major problem, and therefore, it needs attention and improvement (stewart, 2002). most companies manage is through a decentralised structure, with is typically used by is specialists for discrete applications that are only used by staff at technical levels (betts, 1999). strategic is implementation is important in the context of issues, such as organisational structure, management style and human resource policy. chief information officers (cios) in construction companies typically do not participate in the formulation of business strategy (betts, 1999). 58 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) many construction organisations appear to approach the management of is in an unstructured or ad hoc manner (stewart, 2002). the uneasy relationship between executive construction management and is emanates from a perception by management that is historically fails to deliver the expected benefits (betts, 1999). because of their lack of system knowledge and understanding, executive management is reluctant to support is (tucker & mohamed, 1996). the factors that inhibit the adoption of is in construction include: • resistance from [executive] management; • tight profit margins; • lack of is/it awareness; • lack of employee education and training; • degree of required organisational change; and • a belief that the industry is doing well without is/it (stewart, 2002). the literature suggests ambiguity about the perceived strategic role of is in the construction sector and its implementation in practice. a multi-national, cross-sector study found that the construction sector did not necessarily lag behind other industrial sectors in its implementation of is (clark et al., 1999). a study by the council for scientific and industrial research (csir) in 2002 suggested that south african construction companies were in line with their international peers with regard to it implementation. further, the study reported that south african construction companies value it as a key enabler in their businesses and regarded it as critical for their international competitiveness (csir, 2002). a survey carried out in the western cape province of south africa revealed that most architectural practices had accommodated is in their operations. the study also found that is played a key part in the execution of building projects in the gauteng province. many construction companies had benefited from the strategic opportunity offered by is (rone & arif, 2004). despite intensive use of is in construction companies, none of the case studies revealed an explicit plan for is use (betts, 1999). 2. role of the ceo until recently ceos were able to survive even when they avoided anything related to is, leaving is leadership to others in the organisation (buuron, 2002). this attitude of ceos towards is governance resulted in large scale is failure during the 1990s, and ceos 59 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems paying the price. ceos needed to become is ‘believers’ to support business strategy and achieve superior performance (buuron, 2002). according to earl & feeny (2000) nearly every strategic issue that businesses are being confronted with are triggered by is. ceos can, therefore, neither avoid is nor delegate the issues it raises to others. organisations were less likely to make is strategic investments when the is perspective was not integrated into executive management (jenks & dooley, 2000). furthermore, it is found that if there was limited dialogue and mutual understanding between the cio and ceo, the ceo was less likely to view is as strategically important (johnson & lederer, 2003). earl & feeny (2000) suggest five important roles for ceos in steering is in the organisation, namely: • creating context — ceos must create a context of positive hunger for change, empower is to successfully exploit new ways of doing things and venture into the unknown; • setting priorities — ceos should highlight a small set of business priorities the importance of which they consistently reinforce; • signalling continuously — and positively — the beliefs of ceos are not private, and therefore their speeches, documents, comments, meetings and daily interactions impact on the whole organisation; • spending quality time — ceos must take their is leadership seriously and invest quality time with is matters and keep is on their agenda; and • working closely with the cio — ceos must create an organisational structure to enhance the working relationship with the cio, in terms of which they build a two-way relationship in which the ceo can challenge or question is thinking as well as provide business direction for is. additionally, callahan & nemec (1999) prescribe four key initiatives for ceos for driving is forward, namely: • make is a key part of the ceo agenda; • manage for value creation; • manage is spending and investment priorities in line with corporations overall investment priorities; and • deploy the best is management model. 60 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) given that the cio adds value to the organisation it is important for a ceo to capitalise on this value-adding characteristic through: • positioning is and the cio as agents of change; • focusing on achieving effectiveness, not efficiency from is; • institutionalising business value for is; and • building an executive team that includes the cio (delisi, danielson & posner, 1998). given that earl et al. (2000) it is important for ceos living in the information age to understand the need of new technologies imposed by is. they need to continuously possess a vision of the future and use is to analyse it. ceos need to sponsor is architecture through close engagement with is technologists, ensure is architecture standards are respected across the business and establish the necessary funding for maintenance and upgrades. the ceo ensures that is is embedded in the company by the ways that is strategies are created, potential is investment is evaluated and sanctioned, and projects to implement approved investment plans are set and governed. ceos need to challenge the supply side of is, in particular, sourcing and capabilities. ceos need to understand is and how they can make optimal use of is to achieve organisational goals. although is activity is highly technical and complex, top management can provide adequate guidance without detailed technical knowledge (doll, 1985; callahan et al., 1999). therefore, the problems of designing and implementing company-wide is are primarily managerial rather than technical. the role of the ceo in is/it planning and development should typically be: • measure the business value of the it by quantifying its overall economic value to the business; • recentralise control of it spending while maintaining flexibility; • communicate the results one expects in understandable financial terms; • keep the it architecture/infrastructure simple; • insist on rigorous pilot testing; 61 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems 62 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) • ensure that the new system has the capacity to handle the required number of transactions that need to be processed; • closely monitor what it suppliers are using to run their own businesses; and • avoid succumbing to hasty decisions based on the urgency of the situation. bennis & o’toole (2000) note that the right ceo can make or break a company, in part because of the ceo’s role in initiating and leading planned change. 3. organisational structure for is the environment plays an important role in which the organisation operates, and clearly reflects the different forms of organisational structures used. organisations need to design a structure that will support is to process information more effectively and efficiently (dibrell, 2002). according to karake (1992; 1994) the dynamic changes in it and its related technologies has a profound effect on people, processes, structures and strategies of organisations. technology and communications improvements and accessibility lead to systems centralisation of the business processes, and the growing reliance on integrated systems. two forms of organisations, namely mechanistic and organic, exist: • organic form — knowledge and control of task is located anywhere in the organisation. communication is predominately horizontal. there is a weak hierarchy of authority and control with few rules. employees contribute to the common task of their department. tasks are adjusted and redefined through employee’s interaction. • mechanistic form — knowledge and control of tasks are centralised at the top of the organisation. communication is predominately vertical. there is strong hierarchy of authority and control with many rules. tasks are broken down into specialised separated tasks (galbraith, 1977; brown & magill, 1994). most organisations and businesses struggle with how to deploy is to support strategic objectives and goals. one of the solutions to this problem is the way [de]centralisation is implemented by the organisation. figure 1 illustrates the situational dilemma organisations have in structuring is. executive management needs to decide which will best suit the organisation. 63 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems figure 1: two dimensions: situational factors determining is in the organisation source: (adapted from tan, 1994) from figure 1 it is evident that situational factors influence the structuring of is for the organisation. the following contingency variables influence the position of is in the organisation: • the structure of the organisation; • the culture of the organisation; • the importance of is for the company; • the current phase of is in the company; and • the extent of automation inheritance. the importance of is for a company depends on how companies value the current and future is. in table 1 the importance of is for a company can be measured through suggests the use of a simple grid. table 1: strategic grid to determine importance of is importance of future is high low importance of current is high operational strategic low supportive transforming source: (adapted from tan,1994) 64 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) figure 2: five organisational structures for is source: (adapted from tan (1994)) centralised is all is functions are controlled by cis located at top management level. application development and resources are usually provided on a project-byproject basis, and are not dedicated to specific bu. central co-ordinated is cis set and control the is standards throughout. dis situated at bu level, but report to cis. is resources are shared at both cis and dis. is tasks are delegated to dis through the bu. functional co-ordinated is cis set and control the standards, dis report to the bu managers, have a funcional relationship with central is. bu determines the “what” and dis the “how”. selective decentralisation is controlled from the top down. federated is cis co-ordinating standards, projects and participate in a “steering committee” run by top management, but share a mutual responsibility towards standards, combined projects and distribution of tasks. selective decentralisation controlled from the bottom up. decentralised is is functions and control are totally decentralised to the business unit (bu) level, each setting own standards and control is. the circles indicate the location of information systems (is) in relationship to the organisational structure of the company. = central is (cis). = decentralised function of is (dis). bu = business units. fd = functional departments 65 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems when the importance of the current and future is is low, then is will only play a supportive role and receive little attention from executive management. however, is are of operational importance when the current functioning of the organisation dependent on is, but relative few developments are expected in the future. when the current is has an expected supportive role and is vitally important to the survival of the organisation, is plays a transforming role. as seen from figure 2 there are five possible organisational forms for structuring is within the organisation. the two most extreme structures for is are normally total centralised is opposed to decentralised is functions. centralised is relies on a governance structure where information management reports up through a single chain of command. decentralised it, on the other hand, distributes management of is through a multitude of functional and regional commands (ulrich, 2004). studies also show that most is organisations utilize either a centralised (45%) or combination (hybrid) of centralised and decentralised (48%) governance structures. arguably, centralised is and decentralised is can coexist and flourish under the same governance structure. centralised and decentralised and other different hybrid configurations of is can flourish towards collaborative, adaptive governance (ulrich, 2003). in the past the function of is was primarily related to data processing. however, these days is plays a central role in competitive strategies. consequently, business management has a critical role to play. while is can deliver the technology, the benefits and value from this technology must be unlocked — a business management function. according to gottschalk & taylor (2000) “chief information officers (cio) have the difficult task of running a function that uses a lot of resources but delivers little evidence of its value. to respond to business and technological changes, cios now must build relationships with line managers [and executives’] “ 4. research methods the use of a suitable research methodological approach is necessary to achieve the objectives of any study. hussey & hussey (1997: 54) suggest that “methodology refers to the overall approach of the research process, from the theoretical underpinning to the collection and analysis of data.” this section describes the research design used to achieve the objectives of this particular study. 66 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) having taken cognisance of the questionnaire design process, it was decided that e-mail or self-administered questionnaires would be the most appropriate survey instrument to use in this study. questions pertaining to the research were developed using a grid proposed by frazer & lawley (2000) as shown in table 2. table 2: links between stages of research process questionnaire design research problem: research question/s: investigative questions research objectives relevant questions for questionnaire level of data proposed analysis technique used iq1 ro1 q1 nominal ratio ordinal interval frequencies and percentages, then appropriate measures of central tendency frequencies, means and standard deviations, then t-test to establish significant differences, or appropriate bivarate tests. considering that there could be a wide range of expected or possible responses, questions that were open-ended were kept to a minimum. where they were included, respondents had the freedom to fully explain their choice of response. for most of the questions a 5point likert scale was deemed appropriate and scaled responses were developed. the questionnaire was divided into 5 sections, namely, demographic information, organisational design, is governance, management of is, and information and knowledge management. this questionnaire was designed to be completed by ceos of construction companies. for the purpose of this paper two sections of the survey will be highlighted, namely: • organisational design that addresses is governance in the construction company. the aim of this section was to establish the importance of is for the ceo in terms of is strategy, is on the ceo’s agenda, is investment, importance of is output, and importance of a cio/ceo relationship; and • is governance that examines ceos of construction companies, and their role in organisational design. the aim of this section was to establish to what extent the ceo of a particular company is involved in the structuring of the 67 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation the ceo makes all major strategic decisions alone or together with a group of senior executives. n 0 0 01 4 4 4.44 0.527% 0 0 0 44.4 55.6 % 0 11.1 11.1 22.2 55.6 the management structure of my company is flat, uses crosshierarchical and cross functional teams, has low formalisation, possesses a comprehensive information network, and relies on participative decision-making n 1 1 0 7 0 3.44 1.13% 11.1 11.1 0 77.8 0 % 11.1 55.6 0 33.3 0 company, and more specifically how is is structured to play a strategic role in the company. respondents were also requested to indicate which structural form best described is in their company. ceos were asked to respond to questions on a 5-point likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree.’ ceos were also requested to add additional comments if they wished to clarify their responses. 5. findings in order to draw conclusions from the empirical data collected, statistical evidence is necessary to establish the existence and strength of the relationships between the variables represented by the data. the statistical package for social sciences (spss) was used to analyse the data from the survey instrument. the findings of the questionnaire as well as the analyses of the findings are as follows: 5.1 organisational design table 3 suggests that in most companies the ceo either alone, or with an executive management team, made all the major decisions. most companies regarded themselves as well established, large and serving different markets. fewer companies reported that their management structures were flat, used cross-hierarchical and crossfunctional teams, had low formalisation, possessed a comprehensive information network, and relied on participative decision-making. table 3: hierarchy of authority 68 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the results in table 6 suggest that the companies of most ceos are characterised by a flexible reporting structure in terms of which subordinate staff report to different managers, depending on the project or the location of the work. several companies regarded table 4: importance of is in organisational design process statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation i inherited the existing organisational structure and made changes that i deemed necessary n 1 1 0 2 4 3.88 1.55% 12.5% 12.5% 0 25% 50% % 77.8% 22.2 0 0 0 from table 4 it is evident that most ceos agree that the construction process is highly dependent upon both the transfer of information and the exchange of information between all levels of the organisation. further, that is is supported by the organisational structure of the company. ceos also consider is to be critical to the process of [re]structuring their companies towards more effective lean and flat management structures. table 5 suggests that most ceos inherited the existing organisational structure and made changes that they considered necessary, while all ceos were involved in developing the organogram or organisational structure of their companies. table 5: extent of ceo involvement in organisational development statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation given that the construction process is highly dependent upon the transfer of information and the exchange of information between all levels of the organisation [is] is supported by the organisational structure of the company n 0 0 0 5 3 4.38 0.52 % 0 0 0 62.5 37.5 ‘information systems’ are considered to be critical to the process of [re]structuring my company towards a more effective lean and flat management structure n 1 3 1 2 2 3.11 1.45 % 11.1 33.3 11.1 22.2 22.2 69 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems themselves as being well established, highly specialised and formalised in terms of work, with decision-making usually concentrated at top management level. fewer companies regarded themselves as young organisations serving a highly technical environment with decision-making spread throughout the organisation with power residing in the experts. even fewer indicated that they were temporary alliances between two or more organisations, grouped together to accomplish a specific venture, but were still formally structured. table 6: importance of structural forms in the organisation statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation my company is characterised by a flexible reporting structure in terms of which subordinate staff report to different managers, depending on the project or the location of the work n 0 0 2 5 2 4.00 0.71 % 0 0 22.2 55.6 22.2 my company is characterised as well established, work is highly specialised and formalised and decision making usually concentrated at top management level n 0 2 2 3 1 3.38 1.06 % 25 25 0 37.5 12.5 my company is regarded as a young organisation in a highly technical environment with decision making spread throughout the organisation while power resides in experts n 1 4 0 4 0 2.78 1.20 % 11.1 44.4 0 44.4 0 my company is characterised as simple with little specialisation or formalisation; consequently, power and decision-making are vested in the chief executive. n 4 2 0 2 0 2.00 1.31 % 50 25 0 25 0 company is a temporary alliance between two or more organisations that band together to accomplish a specific venture, but is still formally structured. n 7 1 1 1.67 1.41 % 77.8 11.1 11.1 70 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 5.2 information systems governance table 7 suggests that to most ceos is investment is an important part of their business strategy. slightly fewer ceos consider is as a strategic asset, and still fewer have a formal is strategy for their companies. to the least number of ceos it was not important to have an is strategy on the company’s strategic agenda. from figure 3 it is evident that the most popular organisational structure for is is centralised is (cis). a decentralised is (dis) organisational structure is less common, while centralised coordinated is (ccis), functional coordinated is (fcis), and federated is (fis) are the least popular in terms of organisational structure. figure 3: structure forms for is 71 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems table 7: importance of is strategy for the organisation statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation information systems support all managerial levels in my organisation( strategic management, tactical management, operational management) n 0 0 1 4 3 4.25 0.71 % 0 0 12.5% 50% 37.5% is has become critical to lower production cost, reduce time to complete projects, add value to the construction process and interact with clients and suppliers n 0 1 1 4 3 4.00 1.00 % 11.1% 11.1% 44.4% 33.3% table 8 suggests that most companies is supports all managerial levels of the organisation, while in slightly fewer companies is as a valuable tool is less important for lowering costs through all levels of the company. table 8: importance of is supporting operational processes of the organisation statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation is investment must be key part of the business strategy in order to build a competitive advantage n 1 1 0 3 4 4.11 1.05 % 11.1% 11.1% 0 33.3% 44.4% information systems (is) is a crucial part of the strategic assets of the business in terms of its long-term strategy, daily performance, and sustainability n 0 1 0 6 2 4.00 0.87 % 0 11.1% 0 66.7% 22.2% my company has an is strategy? (an agreement on the goals of the company for its use of is and the means of achieving these goals) n 0 1 1 6 1 3.97 0.83% 0 11.1% 11.1% 66.7% 11.1% % 0 22.2% 22.2% 33.3% 22.2% my company executive board makes provision for the discussion of company wide is strategy at its meetings n 1 2 0 5 1 3.33 1.32 % 11.1% 22.2% 0 55.6% 11.1% 72 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the findings in table 9 indicate that in most companies is plays an important role in reacting to changing environments, while in slightly fewer companies is has become the primary vehicle for creating new advantages, and warding off competitors. from table 10 it is evident that in most companies is is on the ceo’s agenda, while in fewer companies the involvement of the ceo in is strategic and project meetings is less important. table 10: importance of ceo support of is functions statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation is must be on the ceo’s agenda because so many high-priority agenda items rely on it for delivery and execution n 1 2 0 3 3 3.56 1.51 % 11.1% 22.2% 0 33.3% 33.3% it is important for the ceo to attend is project meetings, and be involved in information requirement analysis, participate and review recommendations and decision-making, and monitor is project progress n 2 2 1 3 1 2.89 1.45 % 22.2% 22.2% 11.1% 33.3% 11.1% table 9: importance of is supporting organisation sustainability statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation is plays an important role in the efforts of my company to be more efficient and effective in reacting to changing environments n 0 0 2 4 2 4.00 0.76 % 0 0 25% 50% 25% is has become the primary vehicle for creating new advantages and parrying the advantages of competitors n 0 3 3 1 2 3.22 1.20 % 0 33.3% 33.3% 11.1% 22.2% 73 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems table 11: importance of ceo/cio relationship in the organisation table 11 suggests that in most companies the cio reports directly to the ceo, and is a member of the executive management committee. however, in slightly fewer companies their cios had the skills to manage is themselves. in fewer companies designated persons took responsibility for is, and in some companies cios participated in strategic meetings. furthermore, in even fewer companies the articulation by the ceo of a clear mission for is to the cio is even less important. the results in table 12 indicate that to most ceos it is important for the executive management to use is output for objective verification and discussion, and for making decisions concerning strategy formulation or performance evaluation. in some companies all employees had an accurate understanding of the importance of is output to executive management. statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation the cio reports directly to me, and is a member of my executive management committee. n 2 3 0 0 3 3.88 1.25 % 25 37.5% 0 0 37.5% the cio has adequate knowledge, business and is skills for to be able to be responsible for is governance % 0 2 0 2 2 3.67 1.37 n 0 33.3% 0 33.3% 33.3% responsibility for is performance is the task of a designated person such as a cio n 0 3 0 4 1 3.38 1.19 % 0 33.3% 44.4% 11.1% the cio always (or when necessary) attends major strategy formulation meetings % 0 2 0 4 0 3.33 1.03 n 0 33.3% 0 66.7% 0 i (ceo) articulate a clear mission for the cio, including specific responsibilities for is/it that go above and beyond management of the head office is/it department n 0 3 0 2 1 3.17 1.33% 0 50% 33.3% 16.7% % 50% 50% 0 0 0 74 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 6. conclusion the study found that the participating companies had been in existence for lengthy periods and had experienced ceos. authority was typically vested in their ceos and executive management. the executive teams of construction firms participated in the structuring of their companies, making changes to the organisational structure as they deemed necessary. furthermore, ceos either made strategic decisions by themselves or together with other members of their executive team. the study suggests that most construction companies had flat management structures and centralised authority and control in the form of the ceo. most companies had structures based on a matrix form, which has dual benefits of the levels of technical expertise created by functional structure, and flexibility and teamwork. the matrix structure is also suitable for construction companies which carry out many projects concurrently, all of which need technical expertise and special managerial attention. further, evidence of hybrid structures was detected. these findings correlate with those of anumba et al. (2002) who determined in their study that the most common organisational type was the matrix structure, with the dual benefits of high levels of technical expertise created by the functional structure, flexibility and team work. the predominating forms of is structure in the surveyed companies were centralised and centrally coordinated is structures. these findings are supported by the findings of several other studies by karake (1994); brown & magill (1994), duncan (1997), burke (2004), douglas (1999), hitt et al. (2001), mcmillan (2002), lucey (2005), tan (1994), galbraith (1977), mintzberg (1979), dibrell (2002), ulrich (2004) and peppard & ward, (1999). statement sd td u ta sa mean std.deviation executive management uses is output for objective verification and discussion. for example, to make decisions concerning strategy formulation or performance evaluation n 1 1 3 2 2 3.33 1.32 % 11.1% 11.1% 33.3% 22.2% 22.2% employees [staff] at all levels of my organisation have an accurate understanding of the is output that my executive team uses/requires n 1 2 2 4 0 3.00 1.12 table 12: the importance of is output for strategic management evidently, most companies consider is investment to be a strategic asset, and have formal is strategies in place. furthermore, most ceos reported that is supported all managerial levels of their organisations. they also considered is to be a tool for lowering construction costs. the findings suggest that in most companies is assists them to react and adapt to changing environments while also providing them with competitive advantages. most ceos surveyed regarded is as an important agenda item. consequently, they remained involved in the is strategy and project meetings. the study suggests that ceos influence the performance of is by their involvement in strategic aspects of is governance. these findings are supported by the findings of other studies by callahan et al. (1999), ndebe-amandi (2004), carr (2003), yasin & quigley (1994), ramakrishna (2002), buuron (2000), chan (2000), daniels (1998), remenyi (1999), suwardy et al. (2003), ragunathan et al. (2002), mcmillan (2002), halachimi (1994), mcclearly et al. (1995), earl & feeney (2000), johnson et al. (2003) and palanisamy (2005). there is evidence from this study that most cios report directly to the ceo while taking full responsibility for is management and governance. further, most cios had adequate knowledge, business and is skills to perform their governance functions. ceos typically articulated a clear mission for their cios with specific responsibilities. most cios were required to attend major strategy formulation meetings. these findings correlate favorably with studies by earl et al.(2000), delisi et al.(1998), ragunathan et al.(2002), gottchalk (2000), yodakawa (2000), bai & lee (2003), miti (1999), jenks & dooley (2000), feeney & ross (1999), evans & hoole (2005). is was found to be important in the generation of reports, which were, in turn, important for strategic decision-making. there was consideration for and appreciation of the kind of information required to support and inform different strategic objectives. most ceos reported that their is gathered and processed data accurately and without redundancy. however, despite the study findings, the reality is that in practice is in the construction sector performs poorly. similar sentiments have been expressed in the literature. one of the main reasons for is poor performance in the organisation has been found to be the lack of executive support for is (itcortex, 2005). arguably, the lack of executive support for is typically results from: 75 bester & haupt • the role of the ceo in construction information systems • resistance from executive management; • organisational structure for is; • lack of is awareness; • tight profit margins that inhibit is investment; • lack of is fusion in the company relative to the alignment of business practice and performance to the overall is strategy; and • a general belief that the industry is doing well without is. this problem has been identified by researchers and practitioners as not only a local, but also a world-wide phenomenon. betts (1999) found that despite the intensive use of is in construction companies, very few, if any, had a strategic plan in place for is in their organisations. references anumba, c.j., baugh,c. & khalfan,m.m.a. 2002. organisational structures to support concurrent engineering in construction. industrial management & data systems, 102(5), p. 260 — 270. bai, r. & lee, g. 2003. organizational factors influencing the quality of the is/it strategic planning process. industrial management and data systems, 10(8), p. 622-632. bennis, w. & o’toole, j. 2000. don’t hire the wrong ceo. harvard business review, 78(3), p. 170-177, may-june. betts, m. 1999. strategic management of it in construction. uk: blackwell science. brown, c.v. & magill, s.l. 1994. alignment of the it function with the enterprise: towards a model of antecedents. management information systems quarterly, 18(4), p. 371-403. brown, c.v. & magill, s.l. 1994. alignment of the it function with the enterprise: towards a model of antecedents. management information systems quarterly, 18(4), p. 371-403. burke. m.e. 2004. relations between organisational design and information processing systems: a passionate affair or stormy interlude? proceedings of the 13th european conference on information systems, the european is profession in the global networking environment, ecis 2004, turku, finland, june 14-16, 2004. 76 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) buuron, m.a. 2002. the ceo in the information age: how to achieve business excellence trough it. inaugural speech in acceptance of the professorship at the universiteit nyenrode. 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[online]. available from: <www.systemtransformation.com/org_ transformation_articles/org_decentralization.htm> yasin, m.m. & quigley, j.v. 1994. the utility of information systems: views of ceos and information executives. industrial management data systems, 94(5), p. 25-29. yodokawa, k. 2000. the cio as the driving force behind it restructuring. numara research institute (nri), no. 7, june. 80 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 81 fanie buys & tamari mavasa the management of government immovable assets peer reviewed abstract asset management involves the management of immovable assets throughout its whole life cycle. this article presents the findings of research on the challenges facing national government on the management of its immovable assets. the research contemplates the management of government immovable assets throughout its whole life cycle, the importance of an asset register as well as an immovable asset management plan. the primary data was collected by means of conducting interviews with government department personnel to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the current theories and models within the government departments. secondary data was obtained from the literature reviewed in relevant publications. the main findings were that the national department of public works (ndpw) is currently ineffective in asset life cycle management, there is no clarity on the existence of an immovable asset management plan and that there is an urgent need for competent personnel with adequate skills to verify, capture and correct property data in an effective asset register. keywords: asset management, asset register, immovable assets, life cycle abstrak batebestuur behels die bestuur van vaste bates tydens die volle lewenssiklus van die bate. hierdie artikel beskryf die resultaat van navorsing oor die uitdagings van die nasionale regering betreffende die bestuur van sy vaste bates. die navorsing beskou die bestuur van bates tydens die volle lewenssiklus-fase, die belangrikheid van ’n bate-register sowel as ’n vaste bate bestuursplan. die primêre data vir die navorsing was verkry deur onderhoude te voer met regeringspersoneel om die sterken swakpunte van huidige teorieë en modelle in die staatsdepartemente te bepaal. sekondêre data is verkry uit relevante bestaaande literatuur. die hoofresultate dui aan dat die nasionale departement van openbare werke oneffektief is in die bestuur van vaste bates, daar is onduidelikheid oor die werklike bestaan van ’n vaste bate bestuursplan en dat daar ’n dringende behoefte bestaan aan bevoegde personeel om bates te verifieer, aan te teken en foute reg te stel in ’n effektiewe bate-register. sleutelwoorde: batebestuur, bate-register, vaste bates, lewenssiklus prof. fanie buys, head of department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa, e-mail: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za>. ms tamari mavasa. msc. student, national department of public works, private bag x65, pretoria, 0001, south africa, <e-mail: tamari.mavasa@dpw.gov.za> 128 oorsigsartikels • review articles building an infrastructure project performance in the north-west province department of public works and roads peer reviewed and revised abstract building and infrastructure projects at the northwest province department of public works and roads (nw dpwr) often perform poorly in terms of overrunning both the original approved timeline and the budget. adding to poor time and cost performances, these projects often do not meet the desired functional requirements. this article reports on findings of a study which investigated the causes of these poor performances in the nw dpwr. fifty potential causes of poor performance were identified from literature. these factors were grouped under three main related categories of owner-related, contractorrelated and consultant-related and were subjected to a questionnaire survey to identify the most critical causes of failure. the results were analysed using the relative importance index (rii) and spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. the results indicated that the most significant causes of poor building and infrastructure project performance in the nw dpwr include underestimation of project cost, the lack of experience in executing projects, contractor’s cash-flow constraints, corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase, as well as poor site management and supervision. recommendations are made to prevent similar causes of projects failure in the nw dpwr in future. keywords: building, construction projects, cost overruns, infrastructure, project performance, relative importance index, schedule delays davison murwira mr davison murwira, m.eng. student, graduate school of technology management, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 (0)12-420-2822. michiel bekker dr michiel (c.) bekker, senior lecturer, graduate school of technology management, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, pretoria, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 (0)12-420-2822, email: <michiel.bekker@up.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i2.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(2): 128-145 © uv/ufs mailto:michiel.bekker@up.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.5 murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 129 abstrak bouen infrastruktuurprojekte by die noordwes provinsie se departement van openbare werke en paaie (nw dpwr) ondervind gereeld tydvertragings in projekvoltooiing sowel as probleme soos oorspandering en die gebrek aan voldoening aan funksionele spesifikasies. hierdie artikel rapporteer resultate van ’n studie wat onderneem is ten einde die redes waarom projekte in die nw dpwr swak presteer, te ondersoek. vanuit literatuur is vyftig potensiële redes vir projekfaling geïdentifiseer. die redes is in drie verwante kategorieë gegroepeer, naamlik eienaarverwante, kontrakteurverwante en konsultantverwante kategorieë. deur middel van ’n vraelysopname is die mees kritieke redes vir projekfaling geïdentifiseer. die resulate is ontleed deur gebruik te maak van ’n relatiewe sterkte indeks asook die spearman rangorde korrelasie koëffisiënte. die resultate toon dat die mees beduidende redes vir projekfaling in nw dpwr sluit onderberaming van projekkoste, gebrekkige ervaring in projekimplementering, beperkte kontantvloei deur kontrakteurs, korrupsie en omkopery tydens die tenderproses en kontrakaanstellings, sowel as swak terreinbestuur en toesig in. aanbevelings is gemaak om soortgelyke probleme met toekomstige projekte in die nw dpwr te beperk. sleutelwoorde: gebou, konstruksieprojekte, koste-oorskryding, infrastruktuur, projekprestasie, relative importance index, skedulevertragings 1. introduction the north-west provincial government (nwpg) has a constitutional responsibility to provide better services to the people of the northwest province. the nwpg, through the department of public works and roads (dpwr), is mandated to provide office, residential and other service delivery facilities to provincial departments and political office-bearers. the initial policy of the nw dpwr, in full support of the objectives and targets of the government’s reconstruction and development programme (rdp), is to ensure that all south africans have access to basic infrastructure (rdp, 1994: online). the chief directorate infrastructure in the department is responsible for infrastructure planning, design and project implementation of infrastructure assets to meet the needs identified by the client departments under the capital expansion (capex) programme. the implementation of projects by the nw dpwr is based on the north-west infrastructure delivery management system (nw idms), which provides a systematic approach to infrastructure delivery, covering the full life cycle from needs identification, planning and budgeting to procurement, construction, handover, operations and maintenance. the nw dpwr often perform poorly in the delivery of all construction and maintenance projects on time, within budget and in accordance to the pre-determined requirements. a study undertaken by the south african government in 2002 to determine the issues and gaps in the delivery of infrastructure reported that there was a shortfall in acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 130 effective and systematic delivery systems, as well as a shortage in skills to deliver projects as per requirements (saice, 2016: 2). the most critical problems facing government’s infrastructure service delivery programme are the following: • delayed infrastructure investment, also known as the ‘blocked infrastructure project pipeline’, often due to inadequate planning allocation of resources, as well as excessive bureaucracy; • infrastructure delivery backlogs, particularly in respect of buildings infrastructure; • budgetary challenges in addressing backlogs in infrastructure delivery; • inheritance of unequal spatial distribution of infrastructure resulting in rural areas with limited access to basic, social and economic services; • underspending of capital expenditure; • poor application of project management practices, and • poor time management. the south african government has identified infrastructure development as a means to stimulate the economy (npc, 2011: 137). the government is the most significant construction client, contributing between 40% and 50% of the entire domestic construction expenditure (dlungwana, nxumalo, van huysteen, rwelamila & noyana, 2002: 2). according to ramokolo and smallwood (2008: 46), south africa aims to invest 5.1% of south africa’s gross domestic product (gdp) in construction. they also indicated that 45% of the more than 500,000 people, employed in the construction industry, are estimated to be working in the formal sector. in order to address infrastructure backlogs across the country, the government is committed to invest in infrastructure development in order to achieve economic growth and address the backlog. approximately 60% of the projects being implemented by the nw dpwr are not completed on time and on budget, often resulting in service delivery protests by local communities. in a bid to get to uncover some of the problems experienced in the delivery of building infrastructure projects by the nw dpwr, a preliminary internal evaluation and analysis of project performances and operational deficiencies in the nw dpwr was done. it was evident that there were various challenges facing the nw dpwr in delivering building and infrastructure projects, including termination of contractors for poor performance, cost and schedule overruns on projects such as murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 131 vryburg mini garona office park, vryburg hospital, and dpwr head office in mmabatho. these problems were further exacerbated by poor procurement practices and poor controls in the delivery process. despite overall poor performance, some projects were delivered successfully, namely tlakgameng community library, new hostels at bophelong special school, and tlou le tlou traditional offices. the discrepancies in overall project performance prompted the researcher to investigate and identify the causes of infrastructure project failures in the nw dpwr. this study aims to address the following three questions related to projects at nw dpwr: • what are the general factors causing the time and cost overrun of building and infrastructure projects? • what are the critical factors causing the time and cost overrun of building and infrastructure projects? • what are the perceptions of owners, contractors and consultants regarding the causes of time and cost overrun of building and infrastructure projects? 2. literature survey construction projects worldwide often suffer from poor performance in terms of time delays, cost overruns and quality defects. pheng and chuan (cited in adebowale & ayodeji, 2015: 1118) stated that, traditionally, successful delivery of a construction project hinges on the performance of the project manager, who must consider delivery time, budgeted cost and expected quality. however, with the delivery of projects predominantly a team effort, the allocation of single accountability for project performance to one individual might not achieve the desired results. in the past, various studies investigated and analysed factors causing poor performance on construction-related projects (table 1). the majority of these studies focused on identifying the major causes of time and schedule overruns, challenges facing contractors, as well as quality management in various construction projects. table 1 provides a summary of some of the common causes for poor performance of construction-related projects as per categories identified. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 132 table 1: summary of typical factors causing the poor performance of construction-related projects critical performance factors authors owner-related factors delayed monthly payments for completed work assaf & al-hejji (2006: 349); frimpong, oluwoye & crawford (2003: 321); fugar & agyakwah-baah (2010: 111); mansfield, ugwu & doran (1994: 254); odeh & battaineh (2002: 67); sambasivan & soon (2007: 526); sweis, sweis, hammad & shboul (2008: 671) owner’s cash-flow problems al-momani (2000: 51); assaf & al-hejji (2006: 349); kaliba, muya & mumba (2009: 522); koushki, al-rashid & kartam (2005: 294); monyane & okumbe (2012: 192); sweis et al. (2008: 671) scope changes from owner al-momani (2000); assaf & al-hejji (2006: 349); kaliba et al. (2009: 522); koushki et al. (2005: 294); monyane & okumbe (2012: 192); sweis et al. (2008: 671) delays in decision-making chan & kumaraswamy (1997: 55); monyane & okumbe (2012: 192) contractor-related factors inadequate and poor planning assaf & al-hejji (2006: 349); dlungwana, nxumalo, van huysteen, rwelamila & noyana (2002: 25-26); sambasivan & soon (2007: 526); sweis et al. (2008: 671) contractor’s financial difficulties aibinu & odeyinka (2006: 667-677); frimpong et al. (2003: 321); sweis et al. (2008: 671) shortage of skilled labour baloyi & bekker (2011: 63); dlungwana et al. (2002: 25-26); sweis et al. (2008: 671); thwala & phaladi (2009: 533) poor site management and supervision assaf & al-hejji (2006: 349); chan & kumaraswamy (1997: 55); kaliba et al. (2009: 522); sambasivan & soon (2007: 526) underestimation of project cost dlakwa & culpin (1990: 239); fugar & agyakwah-baah (2010: 111); mansfield et al. (1994: 254); thwala & phaladi, (2009: 535) lack of experience in executing projects koushki (2005: 294); muhwezi, acai & otim (2014: 21); nguyen & chileshe (2015: 398); sambasivan & soon (2007: 526); thwala & phaladi (2009: 533) increase in material cost baloyi & bekker (2011: 62); dlakwa & culpin (1990: 239); koushki et al. (2005: 294); mansfield et al. (1994: 254) consultant-related factors poor design capacity and design changes al-momani (2000: 51); baloyi & bekker (2011: 63); jackson (2002: 4); nguyen & chileshe (2015: 398); muhwezi et al. (2014: 13-23) incomplete designs by architect and engineering disciplines aibinu & odeyinka (2006: 667-677); baloyi & bekker (2011: 63); kpmg international (2013: 4); muhwezi et al. (2014: 13-23) architect’s incomplete drawing aibinu & odeyinka (2006: 675) design error made by the designers muhwezi et al. (2014: 13-23); tumi, omran & pakir (2009: 268) murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 133 3. research methodology due to the number of projects and stakeholders involved, it was decided to conduct a quantitative research design rather than a qualitative approach. as stated by cooper and schindler (1998: 21), a questionnaire survey assists with the standardisation of data gathering, decreases non-response errors and increases response rates. the number of people and entities participating in nw dpwr projects are numerous, and it is believed that the inputs and views of as many participants as possible will be valuable to objectively identify the key factor that leads to poor project performance. the structured survey questionnaire invitations were sent via e-mail. for this investigation, an e-mail distribution method offered the opportunity to access a bigger group of potential research participants. 3.1 sampling method a list of 310 approved consultants (258) and contractors (52) were obtained from the internal nw dpwr procurement database. this database is merely a list of consultants and contractors that are eligible to work for the department and contains the contact their names, telephone numbers and email addresses. a total of 258 consultants were listed in the database and included architects, civil and structural engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and quantity surveyors. a total of 52 contractor names were retrieved. introductory letters and questionnaires were sent to all companies listed. owner participants included employees from nw dpwr who interfaced directly with consultants and contractors on projects and had the mandate to provide managerial and technical guidance on the projects as well as approve or disapprove project deliverables. a total of 45 project owner participants were identified to participate. a simple random sampling selecting method resulted in a sample size of 355, representing project owners (45), contractors (52), and consultants (258). 3.2 data collection a structured questionnaire was distributed electronically, via email, to a total randomly selected sample of 355 project owners, contractors and consultants involved in building construction projects under the nw dpwr infrastructure chief directorate in south africa. the major causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr topics listed in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 134 sections, namely the respondent’s profile, and a ranking list of the 50 critical project failure factors where respondents were requested to rank each of the 50 critical project failure factors. the profile section consisted of questions pertaining to general demographics about the respondents. it was divided into three subsections: type of organisation owner, consultant or contractor; the respondent’s designation, and the professional experience of each respondent. to reduce the respondent’s biasness, and facilitate coding of the questionnaire, closed-ended questions were preferred (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.3 response rate a total of 100 validly completed responses were received, representing a response rate of 28.2%. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40% in general. it is significant in respect of the reliability of the response rate that, although the number of questionnaires distributed to consultants seems disproportionally high, the response rate from this category was relatively low, thus not causing any bias towards the results. the questionnaire return rate is provided in table 2. table 2: questionnaire return rate respondents questionnaires distributed responses returned response rate (%) owner 45 30 66.67 contractors 52 26 50.00 consultants 258 44 17.05 total 355 100 28 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings a 5-point likert scale was used to measure the opinions of the respondents. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997; burns & grove, 1997). for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the following scale measurement was used: 1 no contribution to failure; 2 slight contribution to failure; 3 significant contribution to failure; 4 very significant contribution to failure, and 5 major cause of project failure. from this general data, each of the 50 critical project failure factors could be ranked from having no, slightly, significant, very significant or major contribution to project failure. murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 135 to interpret the general data, a combination of the following three descriptive statistical analysis methods was used: • relative importance index (rii); • spearman’s rank correlation (rs), and • probability values (p-values). 3.4.1 relative importance index the relative importance index (rii) is commonly used to assess comparative results from research in the field of project performance (aibinu & odeyinka, 2006; baloyi & bekker, 2011; chan & kumaraswamy, 1997; kikwasi, 2012; muhwezi et al., 2014). for this study, rii was used to determine the ranking of different causes of building construction projects failure from the point of view of owners, contractors and consultants. rii = ∑ w ∕ (a x n), (0 ≤ rii ≤ 1) (1) where: w = the weight given to each factor by the respondents and ranges from 1 to 5 as per the likert scale. a = is the highest weight (i.e. 5 in this case). n = is the total number of respondents. the cause with the highest index is the most important, and with the smallest number the least important. the rankings made it possible to cross-compare the failure factors as perceived by the three groups of respondents. 3.4.2 spearman’s rank correlation this study used the spearman’s rank correlation (rs) to identify and test the strength of a relationship between the rankings of any two parties for a single failure cause, while ignoring the ranking of the third party (assaf & al-heijj, 2006; fugar & agyakwah-baah, 2010; odeh & battaineh, 2002). the correlation coefficients are calculated using the following formula (2): rs = 16∑d2 (n3 n) .......................................................................................... (2) where: rs = spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. d = the difference in ranking between any two parties. n = the number of causes of failure, which in this case is 50. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 136 the correlation coefficient varies between +1, which implies a perfect positive correlation (agreement) and -1, which implies a perfect negative correlation (disagreement). values close to unity in magnitude imply good correlation, whereas those near zero indicate little or no correlation (assaf & al-heijji, 2006). when r = 0, it means that there is no correlation (assaf & al-heijji, 2006). 3.4.3 probability values the p-value is the probability of observing a sample value as extreme as, or more extreme than the value actually observed, given that the null hypothesis is true (kamanga & steyn, 2013: 82). to determine whether the parties displayed significant agreement in their rankings, the null hypothesis stated as owner and contractors, contractors and consultants, and owner and consultants do not agree on ranking of the causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr was tested at a 95% confidence level (2 tailed tests). the p-value indicates if the correlation is statistically significant. the analysis was aided by the use of moonstats statistical software. 4. results 4.1 relative importance index table 3 shows a complete set of the survey results illustrating the rii as well as the ranking order where 1 shows the factors contributing the most to failure. murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 137 table 3: overall rii and rank of construction projects failure according to owner, contractors and consultants id causes of failure owner contractors consultants all parties rii rank rii rank rii rank average rii rank owner-related factors 1 late payment of completed works 0.759 13 0.792 7 0.682 28 0.744 16 2 owner’s cash-flow problems or non-access to funds constraints 0.753 14 0.769 13 0.758 10 0.760 12 3 late or delayed contract award by owner 0.593 45 0.536 50 0.526 49 0.552 49 4 late reviewing and approval of design documents 0.620 44 0.608 42 0.600 43 0.609 44 5 difference between selected bid and consultants’ estimates 0.552 49 0.592 43 0.662 32 0.602 45 6 delays in decision-making 0.733 19 0.746 23 0.702 24 0.727 18 7 unrealistic design development period 0.653 40 0.738 25 0.714 20 0.702 30 8 late issue of instructions 0.703 29 0.677 35 0.718 17 0.700 31 9 owner interference 0.717 24 0.669 39 0.643 35 0.676 35 10 poor project scope definition by owner 0.767 12 0.762 15 0.753 11 0.761 11 11 owner initiated changes during implementation 0.703 29 0.592 43 0.645 34 0.647 39 12 awarding of contracts primarily on price 0.772 11 0.776 12 0.823 5 0.791 6 13 corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase 0.857 4 0.800 5 0.809 6 0.822 4 14 poor information dissemination by owner 0.640 42 0.685 34 0.679 29 0.668 36 contractor-related factors 15 late payment of subcontractors for completed works by contractor 0.827 6 0.769 13 0.716 19 0.770 10 16 fluctuations in material, labour and plant cost 0.669 38 0.631 41 0.609 41 0.636 41 17 contractor’s cash-flow constraints 0.867 1 0.815 4 0.842 2 0.841 3 18 underestimation of project cost 0.867 1 0.877 1 0.836 3 0.860 1 19 shortage of skilled labour 0.793 8 0.762 15 0.786 9 0.780 8 20 increase in material cost 0.683 33 0.585 45 0.595 45 0.621 42 21 delay by subcontractor 0.673 35 0.672 38 0.636 38 0.661 37 22 poor site management and supervision 0.747 16 0.862 2 0.832 4 0.813 5 23 underestimation of time for completion by contractor 0.793 8 0.777 10 0.791 7 0.787 7 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 138 id causes of failure owner contractors consultants all parties rii rank rii rank rii rank average rii rank 24 contractor work overload 0.720 23 0.715 31 0.712 21 0.716 27 25 lack of experience in executing projects 0.867 1 0.824 3 0.870 1 0.853 2 26 unforeseen ground conditions 0.673 35 0.577 46 0.614 40 0.621 42 27 inclement weather 0.513 50 0.546 49 0.507 50 0.522 49 28 poor planning of material acquisition (shortage of available steel, concrete) 0.697 31 0.792 7 0.691 25 0.727 18 29 poor risk management by contractor 0.733 19 0.704 33 0.740 13 0.726 21 30 inadequate contingency allowance 0.587 47 0.569 47 0.595 45 0.584 48 31 defective works and reworks 0.752 15 0.754 20 0.750 12 0.752 15 32 incompetent subcontractor 0.747 16 0.731 28 0.791 7 0.756 14 33 lack of effective communication by contractor 0.747 16 0.715 31 0.712 21 0.725 23 34 deficiencies in the initial bill of materials 0.707 25 0.738 25 0.641 36 0.695 32 consultant-related factors 35 discrepancy between design specification and building code 0.673 35 0.677 35 0.600 43 0.650 38 36 incomplete designs by engineering disciplines 0.833 5 0.762 15 0.718 17 0.771 9 37 incomplete design by architect 0.807 7 0.731 28 0.738 14 0.759 13 38 poor quality of tender documents 0.707 25 0.754 20 0.738 14 0.733 17 39 poor design capacity 0.733 19 0.762 15 0.676 31 0.724 24 40 non-adherence to project schedule 0.707 25 0.777 10 0.595 45 0.693 33 41 complexity of building design 0.587 47 0.677 35 0.536 48 0.600 46 42 delays in issuing information to contractors 0.690 32 0.762 15 0.686 26 0.713 28 43 owner-initiated changes during design 0.593 45 0.562 48 0.609 41 0.588 47 44 lack of project coordination and integration 0.647 41 0.754 20 0.709 23 0.703 29 45 poor project conceptualisation and design 0.680 34 0.800 5 0.686 26 0.722 25 46 poor project scope definition by owner 0.660 39 0.785 9 0.735 16 0.726 21 47 risk identification and allocation 0.628 43 0.646 40 0.636 38 0.637 39 48 poor constructability 0.733 19 0.746 23 0.679 29 0.720 26 49 poor stipulation of quality parameters 0.707 25 0.728 30 0.638 37 0.691 34 50 lack of effective communication by consultants 0.793 8 0.733 27 0.656 33 0.727 18 murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 139 the rii of each cause, as perceived by all respondents, was used to illustrate the relative ranking. the results revealed that the three groups of respondents differ in the factors they identified as causing construction projects failure in the nw dpwr and in their ranking. 4.1.1 owners’ viewpoints the top five causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr identified by the owner representatives were the following: • contractor’s cash-flow constraints; • underestimation of project cost; • lack of experience in executing projects; • corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase, and • incomplete designs by engineering disciplines. 4.1.2 contractors’ viewpoints the contractors perceived the top five major causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr to be the following: • underestimation of project cost; • poor site management and supervision; • lack of experience in executing projects; • contractor’s cash-flow constraints, and • corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase. 4.1.3 consultants’ viewpoints the top five causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr identified by the consultants were the following: • lack of experience in executing projects; • contractor’s cash-flow constraints; • underestimation of project cost; • poor site management and supervision, and • awarding of contracts primarily on price. notably, consultants did not rank any consultant-related factors in the top five. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 140 4.1.4 overall viewpoints the top five overall views of all three parties to the survey were as follows: • owner and contractors ranked underestimation of project cost by the contractor as the major cause of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr; • owner and consultants ranked contractors’ lack of experience in executing projects as the major cause of construction projects failure; • owner and consultants ranked contractors’ cash-flow constraints as another major cause of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr; • according to owner and contractors, corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase by the owner is among the major causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr, and • based on their viewpoints, contractors claimed that poor project conceptualisation and design are major causes of project failure. all three parties agree that the following causes are the least important: • inclement weather; • late or delayed contract award by owner; • inadequate contingency allowance by the contractor; • owner-initiated changes, and • complexity of building design. 4.2 spearman rank correlation and p-values table 4 provides the values of correlation coefficients among the parties and their corresponding p-values. table 4: correlation test of all factors among respondents owner and contractors contractors and consultants owner and consultants spearman rank correlation coefficient p-value spearman rank correlation coefficient p-value spearman rank correlation coefficient p-value 0.694 0.000 0.736 0.000 0.763 0.000 murwira & bekker • building an infrastructure project 141 the rank correlation coefficients calculated for all factors among the respondents were: 0.694 for “owner and contractors”; 0.736 for “contractors and consultants” and 0.763 for “owner and consultants”, respectively. these values show that there is a positive correlation between the three groups. the p-values for the three groups were 0.000, denoting a significant relationship between the causes of construction project failure ranked by these three respondent groups. all the groups generally agreed on the ranking of the causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr. 5. conclusions table 5 reveals the overall ranking of the top ten most important factors causing construction projects failure in the nw dpwr. all the major stakeholders agreed that seven out of the top ten causes of construction projects failure are linked to contractor-related factors. four of the top five causes of construction projects failure in the nw dpwr are all contractor related. the highest ranked ownerrelated cause of construction projects failure is corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase; incomplete designs by engineering disciplines is the highest ranked consultantrelated factor. all the top ten factors are linked to the traditional view of project success/failure, which hinges on the ‘iron triangle’ parameters of time, cost and quality. table 5: top ten factors causing failure of construction projects id causes of failure average rii rank related category 18 underestimation of project cost 0.860 1 contractor 25 lack of experience in executing projects 0.853 2 contractor 17 contractor’s cash flow constraints 0.841 3 contractor 13 corruption and bribery during the bidding and contract award phase 0.822 4 owner 22 poor site management and supervision 0.813 5 contractor 12 awarding of contracts primarily on price 0.791 6 owner 23 underestimation of time for completion by contractor 0.787 7 contractor 19 shortage of skilled labour 0.780 8 contractor 36 incomplete designs by engineering disciplines 0.771 9 consultant 15 late payment of subcontractors for completed works by contractor 0.770 10 contractor acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 142 6. recommendations given the results of the research the following recommendations are proposed: • the nw dpwr should be wary of awarding tenders where the price of the recommended tender is below the pre-tender estimate by the quantity surveyor. the reason for low tender values could be due to various reasons such as desperation to get a contract and substitute the price with change order or an underestimation of the price of the works. • contractors should critically evaluate their ability and competency to successfully complete the required assignment. it is important for contractors to ensure that they understand the requirements of the project during the precontract and bidding period so that they go for works for which they have a competitive 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pakir, a.h.k. 2009. causes of delays in construction industry in libya. in: proceedings of the international conference on administration and business, 14-15 november 2009, faculty of administration and business, university of bucharest, romania. bucharest, romania, university of bucharest, pp. 265-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/bepam-10-2013-0042 https://doi.org/10.1108/bepam-10-2013-0042 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0263-7863(00)00037-5 http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/the_reconstruction_and_development_programm_1994.pdf http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/the_reconstruction_and_development_programm_1994.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.11.007 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.11.007 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.09.009 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.09.009 1._introduction 1.1._management_of_construction_projects 1.2._current_construction_project_manage 1.3._research_problem 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles felix le roux & chris cloete the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors peer reviewed abstract the standard and generally accepted guideline for the accounting treatment of revenue and costs associated with construction contracts is ac109/ias11: construction contracts which recognises that contract start and end dates usually fall into different accounting periods. this causes the problem that forms the primary focus of this article namely: the allocation of contract revenue and costs to the accounting periods in which construction work is performed. critical to the above allocation is the ability to determine percentage of completion of contract and cost to completion at the balance sheet date (reporting date). the important activities in this regard according to ac109/ias11 are to “measure” and “estimate” reliably. ac109/ias11 contains detailed guidelines on how these aspects should be dealt with. however questions arise as to who the relevant role players are and how these actions should be performed. it seems obvious that the guidelines used for determining the stage of completion should correspond with the guidelines for on site cost control. ac109/ias11 gives guidance by stating clearly that the provisions of the statement should be read in conjunction with ac000/framework: framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements. south african literature on the subject is limited to textbooks with detailed guidelines to assist accounting students and qualified accountants. no other discussions or guidelines could be found that are directed at the built environment professionals in general or the contractor in particular regarding the topic of recognition of cost according to formal accounting guidelines. the research on which the article is based attempted to obtain clarification on key aspects from the experts on the subject namely the registered auditors and accountants of contractors. the results of the survey indicated that they interpret ac109/ias11 to require no other skills than general accounting abilities. it also showed that certain important terms and activities described in ac109/ias11 are interpreted in ways that differ from how built environment professionals would interpret the same terms. from the study it became apparent that problems in construction accounting and reporting could arise due to the fact that certain guidelines and terms in ac109/ias11 are not consistently interpreted by all involved. these apparent ambiguities will influence the recognition of costs in different phases of completion of a construction contract. keywords: ac109/ias11 construction contracts percentage-of-completion method costs note: for clarity on referencing of accounting and auditing guidelines see reference section. felix le roux researcher department of construction economics faculty of engineering built environment and information technology university of pretoria south africa. tel. +27 12 420 3836. fax. +27 12 420 3598. email: <felix.leroux@up.ac.za> prof. chris cloete department of construction economics faculty of engineering built environment and information technology university of pretoria south africa. tel. +27 12 420 4545. fax. +27 12 420 3598. email: <chris.cloete@up.ac.za> acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 2 abstrak die standaard en algemeen aanvaarde riglyn vir die rekeningkundige verantwoording van inkomste en koste wat met konstruksiekontrakte verband hou is re109/ias11: konstruksiekontrakte wat erkenning gee aan die feit dat kontrakbedrywighede begin en afgehandel word in verskillende rekenpligtige tydperke. dit gee aanleiding tot die primêre fokus van hierdie artikel: die toedeling van konstruksieinkomste en konstruksiekoste aan die rekenpligtige tydperke waarin die konstruksiewerk verrig word. ’n kritiese aspek tot bogemelde toedeling is die vermoë om die persentasie van voltooing van die kontrak en koste tot voltooing daarop te bepaal op die balansstaatdatum (verslagdoeningsdatum). die belangrike aktiwiteite in die geval volgens re109/ias11 is om betroubaar te “meet” en te “beraam”. re109/ias11 bevat gedetaileerde riglyne vir die hantering van bogemelde aspekte. die vraag wat egter ontstaan het is wie moet wat doen en hoe dit gedoen moet word. dit het geblyk ooglopend te wees dat die riglyne vir die bepaling van die stadium van voltooiing sou ooreenstem met riglyne wat sou geld vir die beheer van kostes op terrein. re109/ias11 verskaf riglyne deur dit onomwonde te stel dat die bepalings van die standpunt saam gelees moet word met re000/raamwerk: raamwerk vir die opstel en aanbieding van finansiële state. suid-afrikaanse literatuur oor die onderwerp is beperk tot handboeke wat gedetaileerde riglyne bevat om hulp te verleen aan rekeningkunde studente en gekwalifiseerde rekenmeesters maar geen ander besprekings of riglyne kon opgespoor word wat gerig is op professionele persone in die bouomgewing in die algemeen of spesifiek op die kontrakteur ten opsigte van die onderwerp van erkenning van kostes ingevolge formele rekeningkundige riglyne nie. die navorsing waarop die artikel gebaseer is poog om duidelikheid te bekom rondom sleutelaspekte vanaf die kenners op die gebied naamlik die geregistreerde ouditeure en rekenmeesters van kontrakteurs. die resultate van die opname toon dat hulle re109/ias11 interpreteer dat daar niks meer as algemene rekenmeesters vermoëns van hulle vereis word nie. dit het ook aangetoon dat hulle sekere belangrike terme en aktiwiteite verduidelik in re109/ias11 verskillend geïnterpreteer as wat professionele persone in die bou omgewing dit sou doen. dit blyk daarom vanuit die navorsing dat probleme in konstruksierekeningkunde en -verslagdoening mag ontstaan weens die feit dat sekere riglyne en terme in re109/ias11 nie konsekwent geïnterpreteer word deur die betrokke rolspelers. die ooglopende onsekerhede beïnvloed die erkenning van koste in die verskillende fases van voltooiing van ’n konstruksiekontrak. sleutelwoorde: re109/ias11 konstruksiekontrakte persentasie-van-voltooiings metode koste nota: vir meer duidelikheid rondom verwysings na rekeningkundige en ouditriglyne raadpleeg die bronverwysings. le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 3 1. introduction a drian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. (1999: 3) stated that the success of a construction firm is closely aligned to and determined by its ability to forecast and control costs. both these functions have accounting as their base. although no other industry needs sound accounting practice more than construction firms, the construction industry has a history of neglecting to perform the accounting function properly. construction firms in the united states of america fail annually and many of the reasons can be traced to inadequate accounting practices (adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j., 1999: 3). literature, however, indicates that the many unique characteristics of construction accounting render generic financial management teachings almost useless. the problem is either related to the nature of construction accounting itself or to the way financial reporting in the construction industry is done. abraham briloff, as cited by adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. (1999: 3), in his book unaccountable accounting poses the question as to whether one plus one always equals two in the accounting profession, and draws attention to the fact that alternative accounting methods available to the profession often result in financial statements that are misleading or open to interpretation. adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. (1999: 121) indicated that these alternative accounting methods and means of expressing financial data in the financial statements are especially troublesome to the construction industry and often result in lenders and sureties falling victim to misleading financial statements. the contractor’s ability to continue as a going concern often depends on his accountant’s ability to present financial statements in the most favourable light. these type of statements (and allegations) led to the question whether accounting in construction should be considered differently from accounting in other fields. in a construction entity one would expect to find a variety of built environment professionals involved in planning, production, on site cost control, etc. they could be internal personnel or external consultants. furthermore, accounting professionals are expected to be involved in preparing financial records, once again as internal personnel or external consultants. it would be logical to assume and expect that these professionals use methods and systems that are mutually compatible to ensure effective and accurate information acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 4 sharing. enquiries into the validity of these perceptions, however, resulted in a different perspective. according to peterson (2005: preface v), business schools teach the fundamental principles of financial management to their students but the many unique characteristics of the construction industry, however, render the usefulness of these teachings almost meaningless. this is apparently more evident in the construction industry than any other industry. why does the construction industry experience accounting problems? the answer could be all or some of the following: • the accounting education of built environment professionals is not up to standard or the standard required has not yet been established or is misdirected. • the accounting education of built environment professionals is passed on to the accounting departments of those institutions where they encounter the problems as pointed out by peterson. is it assumed that built environment professionals will do the financial adaptations and applications to construction, on their own, as years go by? • contractors do not spend as much time, energy and resources on the financial planning of their businesses as they do on the operational planning of their businesses. the financial plan and the execution of that plan need to be in place before the contractor starts with construction on site. • according to shinn (2002: 3) the design of the accounting system for a construction entity can never be left to the accountant. the construction manager knows what information is necessary to successfully manage a project and therefore the accounting system should rather be management orientated and directed. utilising more than one reliable system is costly and could lead to time wasted on lengthy reconciliations or clarifying possible contradictions. • the situation might exist where accountants and contractors do not communicate with sufficient clarity to avoid ambiguity and costly mistakes. contractors cannot qualify as accountants, or accountants as built environment professionals, just to comply with guidelines such as the south african institute of chartered accountants’ (saica) ac109/ias11: construction contracts (reporting principles for contractors). ac109/ias11 should be clear to all parties le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 5 involved in the preparation and presentation of the financial statements of a contractor. are statements such as ac109/ ias11 written for qualified accountants only? will any user of the statement be able to interpret it correctly? will financial statements compiled by accountants and non-accountants show the same results if applied to the results of the same construction contracts? 2. the current situation or the current perception of the situation 2.1 the type of accounting problems encountered by contractors in practice the ability of a contractor to estimate as well as to manage the cash flow, distinguishes him from his competition in the industry. contractors seem to accept and even prefer a situation where their cost control on projects is done with the aid of systems other than their formal accounting system. numerous reasons are given for this. although it is apparent that the list below is not exhaustive, some consequential problems are discussed to determine its relevance to the recognition of costs in different accounting periods. the following seem to be general guidelines: 2.1.1 timeliness and affordability of accounting reports an accounting system is normally two to three months behind the current date unless a major effort is made in recruiting accounting personnel and purchasing expensive computer software and updates. the situation is worse for the smaller contractor than for the larger contractor and affordability of an adequate infrastructure is the main obstacle. reports are of no use unless received in time to implement changes to rectify emerging problems. 2.1.2 the perceived reliability of accounting reports an accounting clerk can verify that an expense is legitimate in terms of description, value, quantity and cost code, but he will not be able to verify it in terms of its sequence in the construction procedure. manipulations and errors are not easily spotted. this leads to a loss of confidence by managers (non-accountants) in reports that are technically correct but comply with principles unfamiliar and unclear to them. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 6 2.1.3 possible reconcilability of various financial reports it is difficult to persuade individuals, who spend long hours to ensure that their control systems are reliable, to sit down and reconcile it with another system that produces different answers, especially if they do not have experience in each other’s field of expertise. this could be avoided with simultaneous input by various professionals on the same system. everybody concerned needs to be able to interpret and understand the underlying accounting principles in a consistent fashion. 2.1.4 non-availability of reports containing estimated, budgeted and actual amounts very few accounting systems are capable of reporting on estimations, budgeted and actual amounts. most contractors settle for a hybrid spreadsheet solution that runs separately from the accounting system. these systems are usually maintained by built environment professionals rather than accountants. 2.1.5 comprehension difficulties with financial reports in general contractors generally seem to struggle with understanding accounting concepts. could this be attributed to unclear guidelines or merely lack of training opportunities? 2.1.6 summary construction entities operate mainly as public companies, private companies, close corporations, partnerships and sole traders. apart from a few exceptions these business forms are usually a reliable indication of the physical size and contracting abilities of the construction entity. the same applies to contracts awarded to them and the duration and extent thereof. the number of personnel making up the accounting department, their qualifications, expertise and experience, are almost always directly related to the entities’ size. a contractor that cannot afford the luxury of a qualified internal accountant will revert to the engagement of external auditors and/ or accountants. in the case of a company, the directors are responsible for the financial statements. private companies may, under certain circumstances and conditions, transfer this duty to their external auditors and accountants. usually when close corporations and other le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 7 types of businesses appoint registered auditors and accountants for their accounting and tax responsibilities, they would automatically request them to compile their financial statements. there is, however, no obligation to do so. the entity may compile its own statements. the question therefore is: will statements compiled by external auditors and statements compiled by internal accountants always be similar in principle and specifics? 2.2 general deductions and resulting questions: • where external auditors and accountants draw up the financial statements of a contracting entity, do they accomplish this on their own without any assistance from built environment professionals? • if built environment professionals know, at best, little or nothing about accounting principles and guidelines and the impact thereof on their financial statements, are they in a position to give any assistance in compiling financial statements? • built environment professionals are of the opinion that a person must first be able to measure before he can estimate. do accountants share this opinion? • if the built environment professionals do not assist the external auditors and accountants or their own internal accountants with the compilation of financial statements and verification of balance sheet items such as work-in-progress, where do accountants acquire the skills needed to measure and estimate to be able to audit items such as ‘cost to complete’ on a construction contract? • are registered auditors and accountants allowed to rely on the work of an expert when needed? according to saas620/ isa620 they can use the expert’s work but not accept it as final verification. in discussions between the aicpa and international accounting and auditing standards board (iaasb), the same concerns are being raised. whether this will result in feasible solutions remains to be seen. • the solution might be that registered auditors and accountants may make use of a built environment professional as a member of their audit team, or rely on internal controls designed to authenticate accounting procedures. the biggest shortcoming of internal auditors, however, is the acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 8 fact that they are usually accounting-orientated personnel. designers of controls (and systems) need to be experienced in accounting, auditing and construction related activities. such persons appear not to exist. 2.3. the unavailability of literature and guidelines on the topic of construction accounting useful publications on cost accounting are numerous but useful publications on construction accounting are scarce. the literature on construction accounting can be grouped as follows: • accounting literature that contains prescriptions, guidelines, statements, sections in acts and other statutory documentation. text books for accounting students (mostly textbooks on gaap for prospective chartered accountants) which are mostly theoretical of nature and contain little reference to practice. ac109/ias11: construction contracts, is such an example. • accounting material from the united states of america containing their alternative/equivalent of ac109/ias11. this includes the accounting research bulletin 45, (1955) and the 1981 statement of position 81-1. the american institute of certified public accountant’s (aicpa) professional issues task force practice alert (2000-3) for construction companies proves to be a valuable guideline. 3. ac109/ias11 and recognition of contract costs and revenue and recognition of proportionate profit based on the determination of percentage of completion on the date of the financial statements the standard guideline for accounting for construction firms is ac109/ias11: construction contracts, which recognises that with large contracts the start and end dates usually fall into different accounting periods. this creates a problem that forms the primary focus of this article namely the allocation of contract revenue and costs to the accounting periods in which construction work is performed. according to everingham et al. (2004: 22:1) the major accounting problem facing a contractor is the determination of “an equitable method of revenue and costs allocation” and failure to do so adequately can lead to profit manipulation. the longer the duration of the contract the greater the problems surrounding le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 9 profit recognition. critical to the above allocation is the ability to determine the percentage-of-completion of the contract and the cost-to-complete at the balance sheet date (reporting date). the important activities in recognition in this regard are to ‘measure’, ‘estimate’ and ‘identify’ reliably the revenue and costs associated with the contract. ac109.03/ias11.03 provides definitions for a construction contract, a fixed price contract and a cost plus contract. ac109.22/ias11.22 states that when the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably, contract revenue and contract costs associated with the construction contract should be recognised as revenue and expenses respectively with reference to the state of completion of the contract at the balance sheet date. the stage of completion should be based on the work completed on the contract at the balance sheet date. an expected loss on the construction contract should immediately be recognised as an expense in accordance with ac109.36/ias11.36. ac109.23/ias11.23 refers to a fixed price contract and states that in the case of a fixed price contract, the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably when all of the following conditions are met: • total contract revenue can be measured reliably. • it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the contract will flow to the enterprise. • both the contract costs to complete the contract and the stage of contract completion at the balance sheet date can be measured reliably. • the contract costs attributable to the contract can be clearly identified and measured reliably so that actual contract costs incurred can be compared with prior estimates. ac109.24/ias11.24 furthermore states that in the case of a cost plus contract, the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably when both of the following conditions are met: • it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the contract will flow to the enterprise. • the contract costs attributable to the contract, whether or not specifically reimbursable, can be clearly identified and measured reliably. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 10 in the introduction paragraph to ac109/ias11 it is stated that the provisions of the statement should be read in conjunction with ac000/ framework: framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements. the reference is repeated in the index part of ac109/ias11. the objective paragraph in ac109/ias11 places it beyond argument with the wording: the objective of this statement (ac109.01/ias11.01) is to prescribe the accounting treatment of revenue and costs associated with construction contracts. it is also stated that ac109/ias11 uses the recognition criteria established in the above framework and that ac000/framework provides practical guidance on the application of these criteria. 4. reliable measurement and estimates: the cornerstones of costs 4.1 definitions this article does not include the july 2006 discussion papers by the iasb (international accounting standards board) issued in conjunction with the fasb (financial accounting standards board of the financial accounting foundation). it is the opinion (of the authors) that the discussion papers would not have influenced the principles of research and deductions made from the results to the survey. ac000/framework’s definitions do not differ from the discussion documents to a degree that would affect the interpretations to ac109/ias11 references. the iasb document is titled preliminary views on an improved conceptual framework for financial reporting: the objective of financial reporting and qualitative characteristics of decision-useful financial reporting information. the fasb document no.1260-001/ july 6, 2006 is titled the preliminary views and is issued by the financial accounting standards board for public comments as a step preceding the development of an exposure draft of the initial parts of an improved conceptual framework for financial reporting. according to everingham et al. (2004: 2:13 & 3:14) ‘reliability’, ‘measurement’ and ‘reliability of measurement’ are all defined in ac000/framework: framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements that states: • reliability of measurement: the criterion for the recognition of an item is that it possesses a cost or value and that it can be measured with reliability. when, however, a reasonable estimate cannot be made, the item le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 11 is not recognised in the balance sheet or income statement. the disclosure in the notes is appropriate when knowledge of the item is considered to be relevant to the evaluation of the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise, by the users of financial statements. • measurement: measurement is the process of determining the monetary amounts at which the elements of the financial statements are to be recognised. this involves the selection of a particular base of measurement that is employed to different degrees and in varying combinations in the financial statements. historical cost, current cost, realisable (settlement) value and present value are the bases mentioned. historical cost is the measurement base most commonly used by enterprises. • reliability: to be useful, information must also be reliable and thus free from material error and bias and dependable to users. information can be relevant but unreliable and potentially misleading but must at least lead to faithful representation (information must represent faithfully the transactions and events it purports to represent although subject to some risk of being less than faithful), substance over form (information must be accounted for and presented in accordance with their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form), neutrality (information contained in financial statements must be neutral and free from bias to be reliable), prudence (preparers of financial statements have to contend with the uncertainties that surround many events and circumstances) and completeness (information must be complete within the bounds of materiality and cost). the question whether the accounting definitions contained in ac000/framework actually define measurements, as needed to calculate the stage of completion of a construction contract, is left to the accountants. the definitions contained in ac000/framework definitely do not define ‘reliable measurement’ in the same way that the built environment professionals’ literature and guidelines do. if the literature on ‘measurement’ and ‘accuracy’ of the built environment professionals are consulted, it is clear why misconceptions exist. the following reference by one of the authoritative textbooks prescribed to accounting students in south africa, illustrates the general approach to estimation, measurement and recognition of costs and revenue displayed by accountants. according to vorster et al. (2003: 237) the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably only if it is probable that economic benefits will flow to the entity. other aspects to be considered are the predictability acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 12 of the costs, the accuracy of cost allocations to the contract, the accuracy with which the cost to complete is established and the duration of the contract. the american institute of certified public accountants (aicpa) states in a document called sop 81-1 (statement of position 81 1) in paragraph 24 that the presumption can be made that construction companies (contractors) have the ability to produce estimates that are sufficiently dependable to justify the use of the percentage-ofcompletion method of accounting, and that persuasive evidence to the contrary is necessary to overcome that presumption. they further consent that the ability to produce reasonably dependable estimates is an essential element of the contracting business. the above assumptions contradict results of a survey done in the usa, duns review (1976), as cited by adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. (1999: 3), which indicated that the second most frequent reason for business failure in construction firms is inadequate project estimating and/or cost control systems. epstein & mirza (2005: 187) indicate that ac109/ias11 does not specifically provide instructions for estimating costs to complete. this has to be deduced from other statements such as saas540.03/isa540.03 which states that an accounting estimate means an approximation of the value of an item in the absence of a precise means of measurement, one of the examples given includes losses on construction contracts in progress. according to ac109.23/ias11.23 sub-paragraph 3, when both the contract costs to complete the contract and the stage of contract completion at the balance sheet date can be measured reliably are read in the context of the definitions supplied by ac000/framework, it becomes even more debatable whether ‘cost to complete’ forms the focus of ‘reliable measurement’ as contained in ac000/ framework. 5. reliable estimates and reliable measurement in the determination of ‘the stage of contract completion’ and ‘cost to complete’ according to adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. (1999: 282) both the percentage of completion and the cost to complete can present problems. lack of good accounting records can prevent the establishment of costs to date. even more troublesome is determining a project’s cost to complete. like determining incurred costs to date, it can have a major impact on calculating the percentage of completion. le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 13 many construction firms cannot give an accurate estimate of such costs which is evidenced in part by the high failure rate in the industry. defliese et al. (1975: 265-266) stated that the estimate of cost to complete is the most critical element in accounting for revenue and unbilled receivables under long-term contracts and evaluating the need to provide for estimated losses. everingham et al. (2004: 22:6 & 22:9) state that the provision for expected losses on one contract may not be set off against unrealised gains of another contract. the need to do estimates undermines the quality of the profit reported. in the practice alert (2000-3) issued by the aicpa concerning construction auditing and accounting, the difficulty of construction audits are highlighted by the following statements: • construction companies using the percentage of completion method of accounting is one of the more challenging audits. • auditing construction contractors or entities using contract accounting is complex. • such businesses rely on accurate and reliable estimates to operate their business as well as to prepare financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. • it is critical that the auditor gains an understanding of the contractor’s significant estimates and assumptions in operating his business. according to grosskopf (2005: 1) more than 50 percent of new contractors fail in the first five years of operation, most of these in the first two. despite good field knowledge they had little knowledge of the business and financial environment. a similar situation prevails in south africa. the cidb report (2004: 16) stated that the perception of the banking sector is that the construction industry is a highrisk industry and that almost all construction companies have been faced with serious financial problems at one time or another. 6. measurement and estimate as defined by ac109/ ias11: is it based on arithmetic or judgement by the accountant or the built environment professional? the definitions in ac000/framework require arithmetical accurateness and judgement from accountants. other professionals are not referred to. the definitions ‘reliable measurement’ and ‘reliable estimates’ as used in ac109/ias11 do not seem to imply more than arithmetical accurateness. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 14 build environment professionals would generally agree to the rough definitions of: • measure: the physical activity of taking off quantities from architect’s of engineer’s drawings or the physical measuring of dimensions on site • estimating: applying current construction cost rates to measurements (rough or accurate – depending on the quality of the information) in order to estimate the future construction cost. palmer et al. (1995: 400-401) stressed that in order to be fully effective in doing the internal auditing in a construction company the auditor should be able to review the plans, observe the physical progress of the job, know what the accounting records ‘should’ show, reconcile the records with what he has observed and know the normal sequence of physical work. 7. what is the best base and method to determine the percentage of completion of a construction contract on any given date? ac109/ias11 leaves the choice of the base and method to be used in determining the stage of completion, and therefore the recognition of profit on incomplete construction contracts, to the professional opinion of the accountants involved. the percentageof-completion method of accounting can be applied if the stage of completion can be determined which is, according to everingham et al. (2004: 22:6) “frequently difficult”. no restrictions are placed and no mention is made by ac109/ias11 of prohibiting the switching from one method to another. although ac109/ias11 seems clear on this point, ambiguities are found in other areas. the wording of ac109/ias11 contributes to this in that the question arises whether everyone interprets the wording in similar fashion. the guideline is such that more than one method could be applicable. this renders the choice of ‘the best method’ difficult for the accountant (or the non-built environment professional). adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. (1999: 282) cautions that, in spite of any auditing technique used the percentage-of-completion remains somewhat of an uncertain variable to the construction firm and le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 15 auditor and is therefore probably the most challenging area of construction firm auditing. according to sop 81-1 paragraph 44, some of the key aspects on the percentage-of-completion method in practice are that a number of methods are used to measure progress against completion. included are the cost-to-cost method, variations of the costto-cost method, efforts-expended method, the units-of-delivery method and the units-of-work-performed method. some of the measures are sometimes done and certified by engineers or architects. management should review and understand the procedures used by those professionals. palmer et al. (1995: 271-272) states that the cost-to-cost method is the most prevalent method of arriving at a percentage of completion for the purpose of recognising profit and losses on contracts in progress. many contractors use some form of labour base for determining percentage of completion, but perhaps the best method of computing percentage of completion is the physical observation method. palmer et al. (1995: 273) states on measuring the extent of progress towards completion that the results obtained should be evaluated periodically through physical observation by qualified personnel, in the same way that the results of perpetual inventory records are evaluated and adjusted by taking a physical inventory in a manufacturing enterprise. 8. the built environment professionals as experts in construction determining the percentage of completion on a construction contract using ac109/ias11 principles will include some of the following procedures: • determine whether it is a construction contract as defined; • determine whether a loss can be expected or not; • determine whether any changes in estimates occurred; • reliably estimate the outcome of the contract; • reliably measure costs to complete; • reliably measure cost attributable (costs to date); • reliably measure the stage of completion (the work executed); acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 16 • reliably measure income (revenue); • clearly identify cost attributable (costs to date); • compare actual costs with estimates; • agree on: the parties’ enforceable rights; ° the consideration to be exchanged; and ° the manner and terms of settlement. ° • determine whether the contract is sufficiently completed to warrant the application of the percentage of completion method; • determine whether the economic benefits will flow to the entity; • determine whether the contract(s) is to be combined or segmented; • verify existence of an effective internal financial budgeting and reporting system; • determine whether costs were incurred on: future activity on the contract; and ° advance payments to subcontractors. ° • determine whether costs were incurred: after date of securing contract; and ° before date of final completion. ° • costs incurred before the date of securing the contract, must be possible to: separately identify the items; ° reliably measure the items; and ° determine whether it is probable that the contract will be ° obtained. • determine whether costs that were incurred are qualifying costs, i.e.: directly related to the contract; ° attributable to the contract activity; and ° specifically chargeable to the customer. ° • determine whether costs exclude: le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 17 general administration costs; ° selling costs; ° research and development costs; and ° depreciation on idle plant and equipment. ° not all of the above will appear to the built environment professionals to be ‘accountant friendly’ activities but there is no alternative and feasible practice for adopting the work of independent, objective, qualified and experienced built environment professionals by registered external auditors and accountants of construction contractors. saas620.06/isa620.06 states with reference to using the work of an expert that in obtaining an understanding of the entity and performing further procedures in response to assessed risks, the auditor may need to obtain, in conjunction with the entity or independently, audit evidence in the form of statements by an expert. the examples given include “the measurement of work completed and to be completed on contracts in progress”. the competence and objectivity of the expert must be determined by the auditor. according to saas620.08/isa620.08, when planning to use the work of an expert, the auditor should evaluate the professional competence of the expert. this will involve considering the expert’s professional certification or licensing by, or membership of, an appropriate professional body and his experience and reputation in the field in which the auditor is seeking audit evidence. judging from an article by shanteau et al. (2002), the auditor will encounter problems in identifying what exactly constitutes an expert. 8.1 the nine traditional approaches although the traditional approaches have merit, the question of what constitutes an expert is not easily answered, for example: • experience — many professionals gain considerable experience but never become experts. • certification — this is more often tied to years on the job than to professional performance. • social acclamation — when there is some agreement about the identification of such an individual, that person is then labelled an expert by ‘social acclamation’ and not technical expertise. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 18 • consistency (within) reliability — intra-person (within) reliability is a necessary quality for expertise, i.e. an expert’s judgments should be internally consistent. • consensus (between) reliability — agreement between individuals is a necessary condition for expertise. • discrimination ability — the ability to make fine distinction between similar, but not equivalent, cases is a defining skill of experts. • behavioural characteristic — expert auditors share many common behavioural characteristics. some examples are self-confidence, creativity, perceptiveness, communication skills and stress tolerance. • knowledge tests — knowledge of relevant facts is clearly a prerequisite for experts. yet, knowledge alone is not sufficient to establish that someone is an expert. the problem is that it takes more than knowledge of facts to acquire expertise. • creation of an expert — in certain contexts, it is possible for experts to be ‘created’ through extensive training. the conclusion on the above is that the characteristics of ‘consistency (within) reliability’ and ‘discrimination ability’ are considered to be the trademarks of an expert. within those two characteristics are contained various degrees of accuracy effecting the identification of a person that belongs to an expert group or a novice group. according to the iaasb (2004: 2004-2009) the asb (american standards board) requested the iaasb (international auditing and accounting standards board) to reconsider the matter of using specialists or experts in certain audits. it is possible that under certain circumstances the contracting of experts could and should become mandatory and that non-contracting of experts by management could and should be considered scope limitation by the auditors. the question of ‘whether the auditor should obtain a description of the assumptions, methods, test data and findings of the ‘expert’ was also asked. according to cheney (2005: 15) the indication of what to expect, regarding the above, might be contained in the statement by landes, namely: “that what they want to do is take away what they think may be a practice problem in some situations – the over-reliance on the use of specialists’ work without the auditor doing sufficient due diligence and applying appropriate professional scepticism.” le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 19 in the practice alert by the pitf (2000-3) of the aicpa, it was emphasised that it is challenging auditing entities that use contract accounting. they stated that the main element of the contractor’s financial statements is based on estimates of cost. prior to auditing contractors, their auditors should ensure that they have the appropriate expertise to conduct such audits. it is crucial that the auditor gains an understanding of the contractor’s significant estimates and assumptions in operating its business. palmer et al. (1995: 457) stated that it is difficult and challenging for an auditor and/or accountant seeing that not many public accountants or internal accountants for that matter have enough knowledge or experience of the operational end of construction, to evaluate some of the important relationships between job progress as it exists in the field and what the job records show or should show. seeing that construction accounting and reporting is an arduous task, it was decided to focus on possible ambiguities in construction contract reporting guidelines, namely: ac109/ias11: construction contracts. 9. methodology a survey of the relevant laws, guidelines and practices concerning the disclosure and recognition of revenue and expenses on construction contracts in the financial statements of contractors, has been undertaken to attempt to define the content of the guidelines contained in ac109/ias11. a questionnaire was sent to the registered auditors and accountants of participating large general contractors registered in 2005 with the gauteng master builders’ association. small contractors are generally excluded from the definition of ac109/ias11’s construction contractors because of their size, duration of contracts, internal control and internal accounting knowledge and expertise. in determining the accountant’s interpretation of certain paragraphs in ac109/ias11, the registered external auditors and accountants proved to be the most knowledgeable group to consult. as far as could be established, registered auditors and accountants as a group of professionals, are the only accounting orientated professionals qualified to guarantee knowledge, correctness and consistency in applying the requirements of ac109/ias11. their consistent application of guidelines and knowledge of accounting principles in general, proved to be valuable. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 20 the questionnaire was sent out after obtaining the contractor’s permission to contact their auditors as the questionnaire was expected to address some sensitive issues with the contractors. the contractors selected included the listed companies and/or their group companies and larger unlisted companies. all the construction companies listed as the top construction companies in 2005, according to brummer (2006), took part in the survey. the construction companies’ registered external auditors and accountants included the ‘big four’ internationally registered audit and accounting firms (referred to as ‘international firms’ in the results section) as well as the other larger registered auditing and accounting firms in south africa (referred to as ‘other firms’ in the results section). all but one of the registered external auditors and accounting firms of the construction companies listed as the top companies in 2005, took active part in the survey. built environment professionals include construction managers, construction project managers, quantity surveyors, town and regional planners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, interior architects, property valuers, civil engineers, structural engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, electronic engineers, geotechnical engineers and land surveyors. in the questionnaire the questions were structured around the basic principles raised by issues such as: • does ac109/ias11: construction contracts provide clear and feasible guidelines for the determination of the stage of completion on a construction contract for disclosure in the financial statements of contractors and are ‘reliable measurement’ and ‘reliable estimates’, as contained in ac109/ias11, clearly identified as the most fundamental concepts and are they clearly defined? • do the terms ‘reliable measurement’ and ‘reliable estimates’ refer to the mathematical correctness of calculations, or do they refer to the use of special skills and experience of specific professionals and can each of the alternative methods of calculating the stage of completion provided for in ac109/ ias11, only be used in a specific set of circumstances, or in any given set of circumstances? • do the prescriptions and guidelines in saas620/isa620: using of the work of an expert, provide an adequate alternative for gaining audit evidence in verifying calculations and estimates of work in progress and the stage of completion of a construction contract? le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 21 the focus is on determining the reasons for misunderstanding of ac109/ias11 by the build environment professionals, other than due to lack of knowledge of accounting and reporting. 10. discussion of the results 10.1 the questionnaire the questionnaire contained sixty-six questions. it included sub-questions and amounted to 142 questions with 365 possible answers. 60 questions and 133 answers were directly related to ac109/ias11 principles and procedures. the questions were divided into categories that required all of the following qualities from the respondents; knowledge (of ac109/ias11 and other statements of gaap and gaas, such as ac000/framework), experience (of construction auditing, accounting and reporting) and an opinion (on the application of these accounting, auditing and reporting procedures and requirements). the respondents showed a 100% agreement on only 6 of the questions asked. the 6 questions ranged from whether they had any formal training on built environment skills to whether they recognise and employ built environment professionals to assist them on auditing procedures. the question “do you compare cost to completion with estimated costs on all contracts where profit is calculated based on percentage of completion?” can be considered the only question directly related to ac109/ias11 where all the respondents answered yes unanimously. the question is an example of the ease with which confusion is created where accountants work with phrases that are also common to members of other professions. ‘cost to completion’ or ‘cost to complete’ is ‘estimated costs’. it is difficult to envisage why one would want to compare an amount with itself. it sounds like the correct procedure to follow. ac109/ias11 is not clear on the topic. subsequently the one question on ac109/ias11 that was asked with the objective of determining whether accountants experience certain phrases in construction accounting to be ambiguous, (whether they acknowledge it or not) is in fact the question that the respondents agreed on unanimously. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 22 10.2 the respondents the respondents were all qualified chartered auditors and accountants in private practice with construction contractors as clients. all but one of the ‘big four’ international audit firms responded. the ‘missing link’ forwarded a written declination to respond, stating that he had been transferred to another department before he could discuss the remaining questions with his colleagues. a different choice of or number of respondents would not have resulted in a different conclusion. the fact that in only 0.75% of the ac109/ias11 related answers respondents were unanimous in their interpretation, verified the fact that contractors, and their accountants, would have difficulty with the interpretations of important aspects of ac109/ias11. 10.3 the most important concepts contained in ac109/ias11 the respondents are in agreement that the most important concepts contained in ac109/ias11 are contract revenue, contract costs and the recognition of revenue and expense. recognition of revenue and expense is considered by the respondents to be the most important concept contained in ac109/ias11. to a large extent that is correct. however, included in the recognition of revenue and expense are the principles of ‘reliable measurement’ and ‘reliable estimates’. together with ‘clearly identify’ they form the cornerstones of the actions to be taken when recognition is being considered. the concept ‘to be able to clearly identify costs’ was not included in the questionnaire because it is considered to form part of the skills of an auditor and accountant. the other two concepts were tested as they might be considered to be built environment professionals’ skills. to a certain degree it is a chicken and egg situation, but everyone should agree that if you can measure, identify and estimate, then you can recognise, according to ac109/ ias11, and not the other way around. table 1: the six most important concepts as identified by respondents no. concept considered ‘most important’ by respondents (percentage) 1 recognition of revenue and expenses 84 6 2 contract revenue 76.9 le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 23 3 contract costs 69.2 4 to measure reliably 61.5 5 to estimate reliably 53.8 6 changes in estimates 53.8 one of the following possible reasons may apply to the outcome, namely: • the respondents do not realise that measure and estimate form part of recognition and/or cannot really see how measurement and estimation can be of more importance than recognition. • the respondents are not of the opinion that recognition means to measure and to estimate and do not share the opinion that you have to be able to measure and estimate before you can recognise. • the respondents are of the opinion that ‘to estimate’ and ‘changes in estimates’ are similar and are of the opinion that measurement is ‘to establish the amount of’. • the respondents do not recognise that to determine the construction cost of a design by one professional, will require the expertise of another professional and do not feel that they are required to verify something that they are or might not be qualified to do. they do not feel confident discussing construction auditing and accounting without consulting a textbook or ac109/ias11. • the respondents encounter difficulty with the interpretation of some of ac109/ias11’s wording and might be aware of it and might or might not have a solution, but decided not to share that knowledge in answering the questionnaire. 10.4 reliable measurement and reliable estimates the possible reasons for the non-recognition of two of the more important and prominent aspects contained in ac109/ias11, namely reliable measurement and reliable estimates, might be that: • it is not defined in the document and is therefore not described and placed in context, acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 24 • it is not clearly linked to a specific action and is therefore not evident by whom exactly it ‘can’ or ‘should’ be performed and it is therefore not clear what skills are required. it is logical that users of ac109/ias11 assume that reliable measurement and reliable estimates are performed by an accounting person. when asked to define ‘reliable measurement’ and ‘reliable estimates’ some of the answers were: “defined in framework” and “for audit purpose i need to obtain an indication of a fair measurement of cost and revenue. this is done by means of what is accounted for in the accounting records compared with third party inputs”. these answers are contradictory. more so is the answer to the question: “the wording ‘measure reliably’ (and other synonyms) are used throughout the guideline but is never defined. do you agree with this statement?” the ‘international’ auditors and accountants were quite sure and gave a 100% ‘yes’ answer. the ‘other’ auditors and accountants were divided on the issue and 37.5% answered ‘yes’, 37.5 % answered that they were ‘unsure’ and 25% answered ‘no’. (a definition of reliable measurement is contained in ac000/framework.) table 2: response to the question whether concepts are defined adequately no. topic yes % unsure % no % ‘international’ auditors as part of “yes” answers ‘other’ auditors as part of “yes” answers 1 measuring reliably 61.5 23.1 15.4 100% 37.5% 2 estimating reliably 46.2 23.1 30 8 100% 12.5% 3 attributable costs 53.8 30 8 15.4 60% 50% 4 overheads 76.9 7.7 15.4 80% 75% 5 non-attributable costs 15.4 46 2 38 5 0% 25% 6 cost allocation in general 53.8 30 8 15.4 60% 50% 7 early stage of a contract 15.4 30 8 5.8 0% 25% le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 25 the uncertainty amongst the ‘other’ auditors, as illustrated by the table below in the answer to the question: do ‘estimate reliably’ and ‘measure reliably’ require the same skills? table 3: response to the question whether ‘estimate reliably’ and ‘measure reliably’ require the same skills? topic yes no ‘international’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer ‘other’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer measure reliably 84.6% 15.4% 100% 75% 10.5 auditing the work of built environment professionals this section discussed the measurement and arithmetic nature of various calculations required to produce the estimates of: • cost to complete • cost to date • stage of completion • costs attributable and • revenue due respondents answered several questions that were intended to determine the extent of their measurement and estimating skills. they did not seem to have any doubts that they do not possess the skills needed to perform the required task as would a built environment professional, but it did not seem to matter. respondents were of the opinion that the verification of the measurement, normally done by the built environment professionals, can be performed by accounting orientated personnel, but they were of the opinion that only senior accounting personnel would be able to perform this task. the following question was then asked: do you regard the calculations done in verifying the estimates made by the contractor as arithmetical in nature which can be checked by a clerk with the necessary experience? acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 26 table 4: response to the question whether estimates are arithmetical in nature topic yes no ‘international’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer ‘other’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer estimates by contractor is arithmetical in nature 84.6% 15.4% 80% 87.5% the respondents are of the opinion that they possess the skills and are able to perform the necessary verification of estimates done by contractors. 10.6 determining stage of completion the respondents are unsure whether this very important calculation can be done with accuracy and indicated as much. table 5: response to question on accuracy of stage of completion calculations topic yes unsure no ‘international’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer ‘other auditors as part of the “yes” answer stage of completion calculated accurately 61.5% 23.1% 15.4% 60% 62.5% in determining which of the methods for calculating the stage of completion are the most popular in practice, indication was that the preferred method is ‘costs to date’ compared with ‘total expected costs’. whether the method for calculation was a free choice affair or whether any specific prescriptions were applicable according to ac109/ias11, proved to be inconclusive. ac109/ias11, however, states that: “the enterprise uses the method that measures reliably the work performed.” the built environment professionals would expect that this will result in the “surveys of work performed” method. le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 27 table 6: response to the question on acceptable alternatives of methods of calculation topic yes unsure no ‘international’ auditors as part of the “no” answer ‘other’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer acceptable alternatives for any set of circumstances 61.5% 7.7% 30.8% 60% 75% in determining how final the choice of a calculation method is for future years, respondents indicated that it was a permanent situation, although no evidence could be found in ac109/ias11 to substantiate that opinion. questions about the extent of ‘accidental’ manipulation that could occur in determining the stage of completion on construction contracts, again led to confusion among the respondents. ac109/ias11 indicates that certain costs must not be allocated to contract costs or else allocated in a consistent manner. rework, for instance, would be excluded from contract costs in determining the stage of completion. direct costs do not seem to pose a problem but ‘indirect costs’ do. when asked whether ‘attributable costs’ and ‘overhead costs’ can be regarded as synonyms the respondents did not think so. according to ac109/ias11, however, ‘attributable costs’ include ‘overhead costs’. when respondents were asked whether the bill of quantities and ‘direct costs’ were to be regarded as synonyms they responded overwhelmingly with a ‘no’ answer. respondents’ view on whether they are of the opinion that ac109/ias11 could be manipulated in any way, resulted in candid answers. the fact that both groups of respondents were of the opinion that it can be done, is significant. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 28 table 7: response to the question whether manipulations are possible topic yes unsure no ‘international’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer ‘other’ auditors as part of the “unsure” answer manipulation possible 46.2% 53.8% 0% 100% 87.5% although auditors indicated that they do their best to verify the accounting and other evidence according to gaas, they did not agree on the interpretation of certain vague phrases contained in ac109/ias11. the construction progress on a contract that would lead to their being comfortable that the client can start recognising profits and/ or losses on the contracts is one such example. it seems that they might need the built environment professional in more respects than one. 10.7 using the work of an expert this question was asked to determine whether experience gained in construction contracts enable auditors to conduct an audit of construction contracts on their own or whether they will need outside assistance. the objective was to establish their need for built environment skills versus accounting skills. they did not indicate any need for assistance. when questioned on their knowledge of built environment professionals and their contact with them in the conduct of their audits, it appeared that they do have contact with certain of the built environment professionals, namely those involved in calculations. the one profession that does not seem to be consulted by auditors of construction contracts, is the construction manager or project manager. the construction managers will in most cases also be the project manager and could be very helpful to auditors in the auditing of construction contracts. the auditors did not appear to be knowledgeable on current professions and evolving professions in the built industry. built environment professionals being employed or otherwise engaged in conducting audits, is not currently general practice. le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 29 the above practice of non-employment and non-engagement continues even though an important role player such as the aicpa in their pitf report (pitf, 2000-3:2) stated that the auditor should visit construction contract sites and meet with project managers to identify and understand the extent of significant assumptions and magnitude of uncertainties on the contract. the pitf consider this procedure as fundamental to performing an effective audit of an entity, using contract accounting. not performing this function, according to the pitf, will result in an audit that does not comply with gaas. the respondents answered “no” to all the following questions in which they were asked: • whether they employ a specialist to visit the construction sites of the client and conduct interviews with the construction project managers of these sites • whether they employ built environment professionals to assist them in identifying and understanding the significant assumptions and uncertainties on the contract • whether they employ professional assistance in studying significant and unique contractual agreements • whether they have any formal training in construction contract law • whether they possess any expertise expected from built environment professionals. the respondents indicated that they do regard built environment professionals as a source of audit evidence and that they do indeed use built environment professional to help in measuring activities. though they declared that they do make “use of the work of an expert” in construction auditing, it appears that this refers to existing payment certificates issued by architects and quantity surveyors. they further indicated that they do not employ any of the built environment professionals on construction audits but do employ attorneys on those audits. the respondents are of the opinion that they can obtain all audit evidence needed without the built environment professionals’ assistance. the ‘international’ auditors expressed the opinion that they cannot conduct the audit without the assistance from the built environment professionals, which was directly in contrast with the opinion of the ‘other’ auditors. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 30 table 8: response to the question on audits of construction contracts without assistance from the built environment professionals topic yes no ‘international’ auditors as part of the “no” answer ‘other’ auditors as part of the “yes” answer the possibility of an audit without built environment professionals’ assistance 53 8% 46.2% 80% 75% the fact whether the built environment professionals are independent from the contractor, is not important to the respondents. respondents do not employ built environment professionals on a permanent basis. the respondents indicated that they do encounter all of the built environment professionals during routine construction contract audits and although answers were vague it is assumed that these professionals are mostly employees of the construction companies. 11. conclusion in order to apply the percentage-of-completion method of recognising revenue and costs to construction contracts, the outcome of the contract must be estimated reliably. 11.1 the built environment perspective to be able to estimate reliably it must be possible to measure reliably. built environment professionals would deem it logical that ac109/ias11 starts with measuring, then estimating and ending in cost recognition. 11.2 an ac109/ias11 perspective ac109/ias11 refers accountants to ac000/framework for the explanations to key aspects such as measurement and estimating. it bears no resemblance to the interpretations of similar words and phrases in the built environment. it is uncertain whether the wording of ac109/ias11 was meant to include built environment interpretations. no literature exists on this topic in the south-african context. le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 31 11.3 the respondents’ perspective on the question whether ac109/ias11 does provide clear and feasible guidelines for the determination of the stage of completion on a construction contract for disclosure in the financial statements of contractors, the respondents were: • adamant that no unclear wording and statements existed in ac109/ias11, but • unanimous in only 0.75% of the answers to ac109/ias11 related questions contained in the survey questionnaire. 11.4 comments at present the above appears to be irreconcilable differences. unless ac109/ias11 recognises this fact and addresses it properly, the uncertainty and ambiguity will persist. the respondents’ answers merely reflect the practical situation, although they seem unsure about the nature and cause of these uncertainties. informal discussions with respondents indicated that they do encounter problems in the auditing of construction companies, but have ways and means to overcome these problems. ambiguities exist as a result of choice of words, principles and actions originating from ac109/ias11. it might be more of a problem for the contractor and his internal accountant than they realise. in ac109/ias11 they are confronted with seemingly familiar phrases which actually have different meanings and expect different outcomes. ac109/ias11 refers to the accountants’ interpretation and definition of words common to both professional groups. the contractor and his internal accountant should be made aware of this possible ambiguity to ensure that they comply with ac109/ias11 and generally accepted accounting practice. if professionals with similar training and background differ, the possibility that contractors and their accountants would experience much more difficulty with interpreting ac109/ias11 seems likely. the mere fact that certain respondents differed or were unsure on certain ac109/ias11 issues, verifies the assumption that some confusion does indeed exists. it appears from the survey that problems in construction accounting and reporting could arise due to the fact that certain guidelines and terms in ac109/ias11 are not consistently interpreted by all involved. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 32 13. recommendations the results of the research and questionnaires substantiate recommendations in three problem areas, namely: • clear definitions and explanations to key concepts in ac109/ias1 that will result in consistent interpretation thereof. • built environment perspectives incorporated in ac109/ias11 to assist in the understanding of construction contract accounting. • guidance on the possible role of built environment professionals in determining aspects, such as cost to date and cost to complete, in reporting profit or expected losses on construction contracts based on the stage / (percentage) of contract completion on the date of the report. accounting and auditing guidelines referred to in text standards and statements by the south african institute of chartered accountants (saica), international accounting standards board (iasb) and international auditing and assurance standards board (iaasb): accounting (ac)/ international accounting standards (ias) ac000/framework: framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements ac109/ias11: construction contracts. south african auditing standards (saas) / international standards on auditing (isa) saas540/isa540: auditing of accounting estimates saas620/isa620: using the work of an expert statements and publications by the american institute of certified public accountant’s (aicpa) and financial accounting standards board (fasb): statement of position no. 81-1. 1981. accounting for performance of construction-type and certain production-type contracts. professional issues task force (pitf). 2000. practice alert auditing construction contracts. le roux & cloete • the disclosure of costs and income on incomplete contracts in the financial statements of contractors 33 references adrian, j.j. & adrian, d.j. 1999. construction accounting. stipes publishing l.l.c. illinois, usa. aicpa (american institute of certified public accountants). 1981. statement of position no. 81-1 — accounting for performance of construction-type and certain production-type contracts, july. brummer, l. 2006. so is syfers bereken. finweek, 30 march. (’n oorsig van sakeprestasie – bylaag). cheney, g. 2005. asb asks iaasb to look at use of specialists in audits. accounting today, 19(7), p.14 –15, apr 18 – may 1. construction industry development board. sa construction industry report. 2004. [online] available from: <http://www.cidb.org.za/ resources/publications.html>. defliese, p.l., johnson, k.p. & macleod, r.k. 1975. montgomery’s auditing. new york: ronald press. epstein, b.j. & mirza, a.a. 2005. ifrs 2005 interpretation and application of international accounting and financial reporting standards. john wiley & sons, inc. everingham, g.k. & watson, e. 2004. generally accepted accounting practice – a south african viewpoint. 2nd ed. cape town: juta & co, ltd. grosskopf, k. 2005. project simulation in construction finance education. in: transactions – proceedings of the 49th aace annual international conference. the association for the advancement of cost engineering (aace) international. new orleans. june. iaasb. project proposal – using the work of an expert. 2004. agenda item 2-a. iaasb main agenda. december. international standard on auditing 620. isa 620. 2004. using the work of an expert. effective from december15, 2004. iaasb. palmer, j.p., coobs, w.e. & smith, m.a. 1995. construction accounting & financial management. 5th ed. special reprint edition. united states: mcgraw-hill. petersen, s.j. 2005. construction accounting and financial accounting. u.s.a: pearson prentice hall. shanteau, j. weiss, d.j. thomas, r.p. & pounds, j.c. 2002. performance-based assessment of expertise: how to decide if someone is acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 34 an expert or not. european journal of operational research, 136(2), pp. 253 – 263. shinn, e. 2002. accounting and financial management for residential construction. 4th ed. u.s.a.: builderbooks. south african institute of chartered accountants. ac109/ias11: construction contracts. 1995. statements and guidelines.[online]. available from: <http://www.saica.co.za> [accessed: march 2004]. the american institute of certified public accountant’s (aicpa) professional issues task force. 2000. practice alert auditing construction contracts. aicpa – the cpa letter. september 2000. practice alert 2000-3. pp. 1 – 5. vorster, q., koen, m., koornhof, c., oberholster, & koppeschaar, z. 2003. descriptive accounting. 8th ed. durban: lexisnexis, butterworths. 120 how to cite: du plessis, h. 2019. facilitation of construction project management through building contracts: a south african perspective on the locally developed suites of contracts. acta structilia, 26(1), pp. 120-147. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as oorsigartikels • review articles hendri du plessis mr hendri du plessis, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein 9301, south africa. phone: +27 (0) 51 401 3322 or +27 (0) 73 177 8953, email: <duplessishb@ufs. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-6342-0702 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 120-147 facilitation of construction project management through building contracts: a south african perspective on the locally developed suites of contracts peer reviewed and revised april 2019 published june 2019 *the author declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract this article reviews the depth to which the south african suites of contracts may facilitate the effective implementation of construction project management practices. the hypothesis states that the standard south african forms of contract for building work have evolved to promote control through construction project management processes. the south african suites of contracts are reviewed against the project management office’s (pmo) main focus areas for best practices. this endeavours to establish the conduciveness to facilitate good project management functions on building projects. the main clauses of each contract are compared to the construction project management knowledge areas. two contracts are reviewed, and it is established that both contracts (general conditions of contract for http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:duplessishb@ufs.ac.za mailto:duplessishb@ufs.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6342-0702 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6342-0702 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.5 du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 121 construction work 2015 and the joint building contracts committee’s (jbcc) principal building agreement edition 6.2) provide the employer’s agent (ea) the necessary authority to manage the project for its intended purpose. it became apparent that the contracts may allow certain project management functions to be implemented by placing different emphases on different aspects of the contract. due to the complexity and uniqueness of each project, the number of standard contract conditions governing a contract are limited. a strong project management function must take place during the planning phases. the contract used influences the way in which the project management functions are applied during the project life cycle (plc). thus, the project manager must have an intimate knowledge of the content of the contract in order to implement the desired construction project management functions, as required during each of the plc stages. keywords: general conditions of contract for construction work (gcc), joint building contracts committee (jbcc), principal building agreement (pba), project life cycle; construction project management. abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die diepte waarop die suid-afrikaanse bou-kontrakte die effektiewe implementering van konstruksieprojekbestuurspraktyke kan fasiliteer. die hipotese verklaar dat die standaard suid-afrikaanse kontrakte vir bouwerk so ontwikkel het om beheer deur konstruksieprojekbestuursprosesse te bevorder. die suid-afrikaanse bou-kontrakte word vergelyk met die projekbestuurskantoor se hoof fokusareas vir beste praktyke. dit streef daarna om die bevorderlikheid van goeie projekbestuursfunksies op bouprojekte te evalueer. die hoofklousules van elke kontrak word vergelyk met die konstruksieprojekbestuur kennis areas. twee kontrakte word aanskou met die doel om vas te stel of beide kontrakte (general conditions of contract for construction work 2015 and the joint building contracts committee’s (jbcc) principal building agreement edition 6.2) die werkgewer se agent die nodige magtiging verleen om die projek te bestuur vir sy beoogde doel. dit het duidelik geword dat die kontrakte kan toelaat dat sekere projekbestuursfunksies geïmplementeer word deur die klem op verskillende aspekte van die kontrak te plaas. as gevolg van die kompleksiteit en uniekheid van elke projek, is die aantal standaardkontrakvoorwaardes wat ’n kontrak beheer, beperk. ’n sterk projekbestuursfunksie moet tydens die beplanningsfases plaasvind. die gebruik van die kontrak beïnvloed die manier waarop die projekbestuurfunksies toegepas word gedurende die projek lewensiklus. die projekbestuurder moet dus ’n intieme kennis hê van die inhoud van die kontrak om die verlangde konstruksieprojekbestuursfunksies te implementeer, soos benodig tydens elk van die projeklewensiklus stadiums. sleutelwoorde: general conditions of contract for construction work (gcc), joint building contracts committee (jbcc), principal building agreement (pba), projeklewensiklus; konstruksieprojekbestuur. 1. introduction the literature review builds on a previous article on the general similarities between the building contracts used in south africa and the construction project management (cpm) themes. this article focuses on the south african suites of contracts conducive for building acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 122 projects, namely the general conditions of contract for construction work third edition of 2015 (gcc) and the joint building contracts committee’s (jbcc) principal building agreement edition 6.2 (pba) of 2018. because of the number of possible contract suites available, the traditional lump-sum building contracts are used to evaluate the benefits of the contract in managing the construction process (du plessis & oosthuizen, 2018: 152-181). building contracts are reciprocal because a contractor undertakes to supply the necessary labour and materials to produce a building in all aspects. in return, the employers agree to pay the agreed contract price. lump-sum contracts may consist of bills of quantities or provisional bills of quantities, which will influence the tendering procedure and the stakeholders involved (finsen & segal, 2018: 18-40; adriaanse, 2016: 7). a large portion of building contracts are covered by the state of law although not directly referenced in the contract document. a good example is the construction regulations 2014, which bestow more responsibility on the employer towards health and safety (h&s) requirements. this, in turn, makes it obligatory for the appointment of the h&s consultant on most of the construction projects (finsen & segal, 2018: 39-40). it is thus not possible to compile standard contract conditions applicable to each situation. the objective of this article is to establish the depth to which the two main south african suites of contracts can facilitate the effective implementation of cpm practices. the hypothesis states that the standard south african forms of contract for building work evolved in order to promote control through cpm processes. this article first defines the objectives of cpm, before highlighting the cpm knowledge areas and their application in construction projects. the objectives of building contracts and the structure of the south african building contracts are subsequently defined, before comparing the south african building contracts to the cpm objectives and cpm knowledge areas. the logical flow is shown in figure 1: objectives of cpm knowledge areas and their application the sa building contracts and their application objectives of building contracts compare cpm knowledge areas and sa building contracts conclusion figure 1: layout of article du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 123 s ta ge 1 : i nc ep tio n s ta ge 2 : c on ce pt a nd vi ab ili ty s ta ge 3 : d es ig n de ve lo pm en t s ta ge 4 : d oc um en ta tio n an d pr oc ur em en t s ta ge 5 : c on st ru ct io n s ta ge 6 : c lo se -o ut c on tr ac t i n pl ac e (e xc lu di ng l at en t d ef ec ts p er io d) pr oc ur e m en t pr oc es s c on tr ac t be in g dr af te d c on tr ac t l ife c yc le c on st ru ct io n p ro je ct l ife c yc le }in iti at io n pr oc es s gr ou p – in te gr at io n an d st ak eh ol de r m an ag em en t }pl an ni ng p ro ce ss gr ou p – a ll 12 kn ow le dg e ar ea s }e xe cu tin g pr oc es s gr ou p }m on ito ri ng a nd c on tr ol lin g pr oc es s gr ou p – a ll 12 kn ow le dg e ar ea s • in te gr at io n• q ua lit y• r es ou rc es • c om m un ic at io n• pr oc ur em en t• st ak eh ol de r• h & s, s ec ur ity a nd en vi ro nm en tc lo si ng p ro ce ss gr ou p – • in te gr at io n• r es ou rc e• pr oc ur em en to ffe r an d ac ce pt an ce s ta rt e nd e nd im pl em en t – c er tif ic at e of c om pl et io n c on ce pt pr oj ec t pr op os al p ro je ct l ife c yc le d es ig n – b as el in e pl an c om m is si on c lo se -o ut re po rt b as el in e pl an fi g ur e 2 : in te g ra tio n b e tw e e n p ro je c t p ha se s (o w n d ia g ra m ) so ur c e s: a d a p te d fr o m c be , 2 01 1: 3 -6 ; c o o ke & w illi a m s, 2 00 9: 8 1, 1 32 ; p m i, 20 17 : 2 5; p m i, 20 16 : 2 0; b ur ke , 2 00 7: 4 8. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 124 traditionally, the contract comes into effect at the end of stage 4 and the beginning of stage 5 of the construction project life cycle (plc), as depicted below in figure 2 (du plessis & oosthuizen, 2018: 165-166). these stages are based on the south african council for the built environment’s (cbe) standardisation of plc stages (cbe, 2011: 3-6). figure 2 highlights and compares the ‘traditional’ contract life cycle, the plc (as per a traditional project management perspective), the construction plc (as per cbe/sacpcmp) (sacpcmp is the abbreviation for the south african council for the project and construction management professions) and the twelve1 cpm knowledge areas, in an endeavour to highlight the project management functions that take place before and during construction contract implementation (referenced below). from figure 2 and the process groups and knowledge areas mapping (pgkam) (pmi, 2016: 20), it is established that the cpm knowledge areas are emphasised differently during the plc. it is also clear that a large portion of the pgkam’s emphasis on planning is placed or located outside the contract. the fundamental objectives of the cpm and the plc are discussed below before comparing the specific contract conditions to the knowledge areas. 2. cpm objectives the objectives of a construction project must be condensed into a logical document on which an offer can be based. project management remains a combination of art and science that complement each other (msengana, 2012: iii). many commentators refer to the golden triangle, which mainly highlights the relationship between cost, time, and quality management (knipe, van der waldt, van niekerk, burger & nel: 2002: 18; burke, 2010: 35; dobre, 2007: 327; nicholas & steyn, 2012: 421). these correlate with one of the contributors to project failures, namely ambiguous requirements by the managing team (dalal, 2012: 160; moustafaev, 2015: 10). henri fayol states that management comprises four main functions, namely planning coordination (organising), commanding (leading), and controlling. his interpretation of control is that managers should receive feedback on the process in order to make amendments as 1 in 2016, the project management institute (pmi) amended the fourteen cpm knowledge areas to twelve by moving claims management to an annexure to the construction extension to the pmbok guide. safety and environmental management has now been combined as health, safety, security and environmental management (pmi, 2016). du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 125 and when required. if there are no effective systems in place, people may easily deviate from the plan (cited in msengana, 2012: 93). control depends on proper planning. successful projects cannot happen in a vacuum (cooke & williams, 2009: 3). a large amount of information is transferred from one stage of the project to another, and from one profession to another. figure 3 depicts a simplification of this information transfer and relates to the adoption of other industries striving to simplify the process of communication across different phases (bernstein, 2015: video). figure 3 indicates that the transfer of information happens (should happen) in such a manner that the party using that information takes ownership thereof and builds on the available information with the objective of sharing it after completion of their tenure. price quantity surveyors k n ow le dg e build contractor operate facility manager design architects & engineers less early more late time contract formation figure 3: the traditional method of information flow from one process to the other (modified: bernstein, 2015: video). building information modelling (bim) promises to address this challenge and has been successfully implemented in countries such as the united kingdom. one of the main aims of bim is to share knowledge efficiently, reducing both time and resources, thus increasing the value of the information (froise, 2014: 172; wamelink & heintz, [n.d.]: 158-159). bim cuts through the different plc stages, accumulating information as the model is developed (eynon, 2016: 8) and supports communication during the construction process (maritz & siglé, 2016: 25). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 126 successful project managers filter the noise of information and transfer the correct amount and quality of information to those involved in the project (dalal, 2012: 213). with the position of the contract formation established and considering figure 3, it is concluded that a substantial percentage of the information can be transferred through the contract documentation. construction projects not only fulfil stakeholders’ requirements, but also take the geography, site conditions, communities, physical environments, and existing infrastructure into consideration. a unique product is produced, coupled with a high degree of risk, and integrating different disciplines. many services have become speciality services, thereby increasing the challenge to impose control over the cpm knowledge areas. this subset includes technically advanced disciplines of planning and scheduling, cost management, risk management, document controls, and forensic analyses. these items, together with regulations and jurisdictional requirements, can create an even more complex construction environment, not to mention new materials, equipment, and social political environments that influence all stakeholders. it is important to remember that the inherent complexity of a project is not always apparent at the start of the project. the development team should carefully analyse the project to determine the complexities before confirming commitments for scope, time, quality, safety, and cost. risk-management procedures should be integrated in this process to minimize any adverse impact on the project. research shows that decisions made at the front end (e.g., the occupation and functionality of building influences major items such as the size, location and the facilities needed, and so on) of the project are major culprits for construction project failures, which, in many cases, are not considered (pmi, 2016: 1-5; aecom, 2018: 31-44). timely, balanced, and appropriate types of available data are critical to a project manager’s success. dynamic data management is essential to stakeholders at different stages of a project (dalal, 2012: 410-434). the scale and diversity of the industry and its role players are diverse, and clients range from home owners to the private sector or government. a construction project is not typical (cooke & williams, 2009: 4). project-relevant knowledge and information management should be acquired, disseminated, and stored. although applied technology and methodologies add value to a project, it is the project manager’s interpersonal skills, stakeholder awareness, presentation to management, and an understanding du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 127 of the rules that are key. proper project management is a blend of theory and skills (van der waldt & fox, 2015: 195). the project management office (pmo) should focus on enforcing best practices through some common practices, namely (pmi, 2016: 6): • good historical data regarding costs; • good h&s, security, and environmental practices; • quality control; • contract administration; • subcontractor supplier management, and • change and claims management. the main functions of a good project manager, however, include strong planning, pre-contract preparation, good communication and teamwork skills, as well as good administrative skills in terms of contracts. the importance of the urgency and transparency of information demanded by owners are often undervalued (pmi, 2016: 6). it is concluded that, due to the complexity of construction projects, a certain amount of skills and experience are needed to compile an inclusive contract. the link of good project management practices has, over the years, necessitated contracts to allow for certain basic requirements, as highlighted below. however, the supplementary requirements (transferring information) of the one of a kind product, managed by ad hoc teams in fluctuating circumstances, necessitate the objectives within each building project to be clear. simplified, the objectives of any project are neatly summarised through the golden triangle. 3. knowledge areas and their application this section focuses on the effective application of the twelve cpm knowledge areas during the construction process. this may provide adequate or measurable guidelines towards controlling project objectives. dobre (2007: 327-333) gives a guideline on this by stating that the process of controlling a project comes down to a clear plan about what will be controlled, how it will be controlled, and how much deviation from the plan will be allowed before action is taken. the actions and the methods of spotting these deviations should, however, be decided beforehand. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 128 according to kerzner (2013: 225), control is a threefold process, namely: • measuring – determining the progress through formal and informal reports; • evaluating – determining the cause of the deviation and how to act on it, and • correcting – taking control to correct an unfavourable trend. steyn et al. (2016: 160) summarises project control as follows: project control involves anticipating the quality of deliverables, measuring progress and expenditure and identifying undesirable results. during project execution, actual and anticipated outcomes are compared to the project plan and (if needed) actions taken to bring the project in line with the plan. the project manager reports variances and corrective actions to the relevant stakeholders. project control could include changing the plan in collaboration with stakeholders. control in a project involves systems and not people. it is a common challenge that project managers want to control people and not the circumstances within a project. there is a thin line between being in control and micro-management (msengana, 2012: 94-95). change management involves the compromise between time, cost, and performance, with alterations to specifications and compromises on quality in order to meet cost and time constraints (nicholas & steyn, 2012: 421). to be able to evaluate the contract conditions, it is vital to understand the cpm knowledge areas. an example might be the difference between financial management and cost management which, although they may seem similar, involve different management functions. cost management includes cost estimation, budgeting, monitoring and control, as well as the day-to-day managing of the project (pmi, 2016: 63). financial management focuses more on how the project will be financed and comprises revenue sources and monitoring net cash flows rather than day-to-day expenses of the contracting firm (pmi, 2016: 159). financial management is thus more applicable to the contractor. working capital is money needed by the contractor to fund the day-to-day activities, which is, in most cases, funded through financial loans (cooke & wiliams, 2009: 319). financial management is thus necessary to enable proper cost management on a construction site and usually applies mainly to the contractor. du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 129 due to the amount of information contained in all the cpm knowledge areas, this article uses project management process groups and knowledge areas mapping (pmi, 2017: 25) together with the cpm process groups and knowledge areas mapping (pmi, 2016: 20) to evaluate the forms of contracts. twelve knowledge areas in total are used to evaluate the conduciveness of the suite of contracts, taking into account the plc or process groups. considering the management of a site, it is in the contractor’s best interest to keep good site records to enable him/her to: • establish the basis of a claim; • defend a counterclaim; • substantiate applications for extensions of time; • claim payment for extra work not included in the contract, and • report at progress meetings (cooke & williams, 2009: 341). the aim is thus to evaluate the objectives of contracts against the measuring, evaluating, and correcting measures, as referred to earlier. this assists in evaluating the contracts’ conduciveness to management processes. with the control measures established, the objectives of the south african contracts can be established before evaluating the contracts’ control measures against the cpm knowledge areas. 4. objectives of building contracts simplified, a contract is an agreement between two parties, the contractor and the employer (finsen & segal, 2018: 1). lord diplock (cited in adriaanse, 2016: 1) describes a standard form of contract as … an entire contract for sale of goods and work and labour for a lump sum price payable by instalments as the goods are delivered and the work done. decisions have to be made from time to time about such essential matters as the making of variation orders, the expenditure of provisional and prime cost sums and extension of time for the carrying out of the work under the contract. as can be concluded from this definition, a building contract is not a simplified agreement of one natural person rendering a building to the required specification at the correct time and at a pre-agreed amount to another natural person. the factors highlighted under section 2 above all prevail, promulgating risk that must be managed. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 130 4.1 risks and administration risk allocation is a major part of any contract and one of the objectives of a contract is to mitigate or allocate the risk. risks are varied and can be categorised as the: • unforeseen, such as unexpected ground conditions; • length of the contract and the changes that may occur during this period; • number of participants and parties on a project, and • relationship in which conflict is possible (adriaanse, 2016: 5-6). planning is fundamental for control and involves following steps setting the standards, determining the actual facts, comparing the facts with the anticipated plans (establish variances), taking action, and revising the plan (cooke & williams, 2009: 329; steyn, et al., 2016: 161). the relationship between the contractor and planning is more extensive than many might realise. cooke and williams (2009: 12) state that formal contracts establish administrative arrangements such as notices, payments, delays, compensation, disputes, the type of programme that will be used, how the information will be displayed, and so on. the main advantage of using standard forms of contracts includes the equitable spread of risk between parties. it saves time on negotiation processes and the tender comparisons are easier. a disadvantage may include the fact that standard forms are cumbersome and complex to develop and may be difficult to understand at first. some parties may be reluctant to change, if it is required. change in standard forms usually takes a long time to realise (adriaanse, 2016: 6-7). another contributing factor to challenges on projects are changes that have not been captured correctly or that have been omitted from the contract (jaafar & aziz, 2013: 29). a fundamental aspect of contracts is that they stipulate the method and approach to address project change. contract administration facilitates change through stipulated methods, procedures, and responsibilities (nicholas & steyn, 2012: 421; jaafar & aziz, 2013: 29). appropriate reporting balances formal written and informal verbal reporting, and if done correctly, bestows confidence on the stakeholders (steyn et al., 2016: 161). the contractor is responsible for the construction processes and for carrying out the work according to the contract. the contractor has a duty to notify the employer if s/he notices faults in the design (adriaanse, 2016: 151). du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 131 from the above discussion, it can be concluded that the major objective of the contract is allocating risk and assigning responsibility, with a strong emphasis on communication. returning to the basic requirements of quality, time, and cost the next section discusses the risk these factors may pose to these objectives. 4.2 quality, time, and costs control over quality, scheduling, cost, and other critical risk factors should be balanced, in order to result in effective control. an experienced project manager will be able to use contingency reserves and work breakdown structures (wbs) in his/her planning and monitoring processes to set certain targets. through approaches such as earned value (ev), critical chain and critical path reporting, the project manager can identify the necessary key risk factors (steyn et al., 2016: 162-170; nagata, manginelli, lowe & trauner, 2018: 10-12). the primary objective of a project schedule is to communicate the planned progress so that the project participants can make timely decisions (nagata et al., 2018: 2). the relationship between the contractor and planning is more extensive than many might realise. cooke and williams (2009: 12) state that formal contracts establish administrative arrangements such as notices, payments, delays, compensation, disputes, the type of programme that will be used, how the information will be displayed, and so on. when a project has challenges or is failing, few stakeholders will take responsibility. people often rather defend themselves than acknowledge their contribution to the problem and thus how to contribute to a situation. most of the people in business organisation are in favour of collaboration – it is only when things start coming undone that silos are formed. disengagement occurs over time. the solution to this is not reductionism (reducing complex phenomena into simpler and more understandable pieces), it is a lack of system thinking (msengana, 2012: 110-112). from the above, the basic responsibilities stipulated within a building contract may best be summarised as the objectives of teamwork. 4.3 conclusion considering all these complexities, contracts have evolved to be more than agreements between two parties exchanging one deliverable for another. they have become a process of system thinking, where system thinking is defined as a holistic approach to acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 132 analysis that focuses on the way in which systems function over time within larger systems (rouse, 2005: online). it is derived that, because of the amount of information contained within a contract, a large portion of its content is assumed by the parties. thus, a standard form of contract may influence the particular party’s assumptions towards his/her expectations. the two main south african forms of building contracts are reviewed next. 5. south african forms of building contracts the two main south african conditions of contract are the jbcc principal building agreement edition 6.2 (jbcc pba), as published by the joint building contracts committee in 2018, and the general conditions of contract for construction works third edition (gcc 2015), as published by the south african institution of civil engineering in 2015 (cidb, 2015: 3-4) (cidb is the abbreviation for the construction industry development board). the jbcc pba has developed from a strong architectural or building background, while the gcc 2015 has a strong engineering background. 5.1 jbcc pba contract the joint building contracts committee (jbcc), established in 1984, published the first jbcc pba in 1991. it has since published various versions of the contract with the objective of being neutral to all parties and incorporating as many of the requirements of the stakeholders involved as possible. the documents also evolved over the years to accommodate government, mainly the central government department of public works’ requirements, as well as the international standards as imposed by the cidb (finsen & segal, 2018: 43). the contract clauses follow the project execution sequence and sets out enforceable procedures, rights, and obligations when competently managed and administered. it protects the employer, the contractor, and the subcontractors. specific employer and contractor requirements are recorded in the contract data (jbcc, 2018b: 1). the jbcc pba stipulates that the main obligations of the employer are, among others, to appoint agents, to hand over the site to the contractor, and so on. the contract also authorises the principal agent, appointed by the employer, to act and bind the employer in terms of the agreement (finsen & segal, 2018: 124). the nature of the contract may, however, not be altered. du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 133 table 1 summarises and assists in the comparison between the main sections of the jbcc pba and the cpm knowledge areas. many cpm knowledge areas are spread throughout the different sections and clauses of the contract and prove difficult to summarise in a single table. this is due to the sequential structure of the contract. table 1: jbcc pba comparison to cpm knowledge areas jbcc pba management themes sections project management construction management 1. interpretation stakeholder management health, safety, security, and environmental management scope management 2. insurances and securities risk management 3. execution procurement management resources management communication management 4. completion schedule management quality management 5. payment cost management financial management 6. suspension and termination 7. dispute resolution 8. agreement integration management source: jbcc, 2018a; pmi, 2016: 20 at first glance, the contract is structured more in line with the procedure of execution (sequential) than the project knowledge areas. this may lead to a different method of interpretation when project management procedures are applied. the jbcc pba, excluding the other sections of the tender document, mainly comprises three documents, namely: • the jbcc pba; • the contract data, and • the general preliminaries (formally known as the preliminaries and general) (finsen & segal, 2018: 44-51). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 134 as mentioned earlier, this excludes documentation such as drawings, specifications, tender conditions, and so on, which form part of the contract (verster, 2006: 7). this confirms that the compilation of a building contract is not an endeavour meant for the novice. 5.2 gcc 2015 as with the jbcc pba, the gcc 2015 starts with a general clause, followed by the basis of contract, on which the contract is structured. the obligations of the parties follow, before the specific contractual clauses (saice, 2015: iv-xiii). at the back of the document, the contract price adjustment schedule (cpap) and the adjudication board rules are included with five pro-formas given as appendixes (saice, 2015: 86-116). • appendix 1: form of offer and acceptance; • appendix 2: contract data; • appendix 3: performance statement; • appendix 4: disclosure statement, and • appendix 5: adjudication board member agreement. the gcc 2004 replaced the gcc 1990 and colto 1998, satisfying the cidb’s requirements for a standard form of contract, and is suitable to use in procurement documents. the gcc, second edition, 2010 (known as gcc 2010) replaced the 2004 version by clearing up responsibilities and providing for a wider range of construction works (saice, 2010: iii). the document is set out in 10 chapters, in which various clauses dealing with similar matters are arranged. the major enhancements from the 2004 version that have been incorporated in the 2010 edition are construction regulations on health and safety. greater emphasis is placed on programming of the works, a new performance guarantee, clarification of acceleration of the works, and updating dispute resolution to reflect the current way of thinking (claassen, 2010: 15). the gcc 2015 edition included more project management-type changes, for instance, contractor’s time risk allowances, which must be indicated in the works of programme (saice, 2015: ii). if the layout and the terminology of the gcc 2015 is considered, it would seem that the contract is more aligned with the cpm knowledge areas than the jbcc pba. this is illustrated in table 2. du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 135 table 2: gcc 2015 comparison to cpm knowledge areas gcc 2015 cpm knowledge areas clause number clause heading project management construction management clause 1 general scope management clause 2 basis of contract integration management communication management clause 3 employer’s agent stakeholder management clause 4 contractor’s general obligations human resources health, safety, security, and environmental managementprocurement management clause 5 time-related matters schedule management clause 6 payment and related matters cost management financial management clause 7 quality and related matters quality management clause 8 risks and related matters risk management clause 9 termination of contract clause 10 claims and disputes claims management source: saice, 2015; pmi, 2016: 20 6. comparison to cpm knowledge areas as mentioned earlier, it is concluded that the gcc 2015 is more closely aligned to the cpm areas, while the jbcc pba has a more sequential (or a plc) layout. it is further concluded that the jbcc pba gives more authority to the bills of quantities, especially regarding the preliminaries and the corresponding bill no. 1, in contrast to the gcc 2015, which emphasises the conditions of contract. table 3 compares the specific clauses of the conditions of contracts to the cpm knowledge areas as well as the plc. the objective of the table is to summarise the inclusiveness of each contract towards the cpm knowledge areas. this enables the conduciveness towards facilitating and pmo’s best practices to be evaluated. with the amount of information available, the clauses are grouped and listed before evaluating each contract’s contribution. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 136 table 3: cpm knowledge area comparison to contract clauses cpm knowledge areas cbe plc stages jbcc gcc number project management clauses highlighted clauses highlighted 1 integration management pba: clauses 1, 12, 17. prelims: clauses 1, 5. clause 1, 2.2. 2 stakeholder management pba: clauses 1, 10.1.2, 4, 6, 9, 12-17, dealing with execution of work. prelims: clauses 3, 4.2, 8, 11.1, 11.2, 11.5, 11.8-11.11. clause 1, 2.5, 3.1.1, 3.2.1, 8.4. 3 scope management pba: clauses 1, 3.1, 5.1, 7, 12, 13, 17. prelims: clauses 2, 3, 4.3-4.6, 5, 11.1, 11.2, 11.5, 11.10. clauses 1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.3, 2.4, 4.1.1, 4.2.1, 4.5.1, 4.5.4, 9, 6.4. 4 schedule management pba: some specific clauses include 1, 12, 24, 25. prelims: clause 4.1. clauses 1, 5. 5 cost management pba: clauses 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-17, dealing with execution of work, 24, 25, 26. prelims: clauses 2.2, 7. clauses 1, 4.5.4, 4.8.2, 6. 6 quality management pba: clauses 1, 7, 12, 14, 16, 18-22, dealing with completion. prelims: clause 6. clauses 1, 3.3.3.2, 4.1.2, 4.11, 7. 7 resources management pba: clauses 1, 12-17. prelims: clauses 2.1, 2.4, 8, 10. clauses 1, 3.3.6, 4.3.2, 4.4, 4.8.1, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12. du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 137 cpm knowledge areas cbe plc stages jbcc gcc number project management clauses highlighted clauses highlighted 8 communication management pba: clauses 1, 12, 17.5, 2.5, 5.5. prelims: clause 11.4. clauses 1, 2.1.2, 2.2, 6.3.2. 9 risk management pba: clauses 1, 8-11. prelims: clauses 3, 4.5, 4.6, 11.7, 11.9, 11.11 clauses 1, 4.7, 8. 10 procurement management (including claims management) pba: clauses 1, 12, 17, 14, 15, 16. clauses 1, 23, 25, 26, 27. prelims: clause 1 clause 1, 2.1.1, 4.4, 4.6, 5.6. claims management is covered in clauses 1, 10. 11 health, safety, security and environmental management pba: no specific clauses prelims: clauses 4.2, 11.3, 11.6-11.8. clauses 1, 3.2.4, 5.4, 5.8, 8.4, 8.5. no particular clauses for environmental management. 12 financial management pba: refer to item 4 above in conjunction with item 4, most of the clauses pertain to reporting and clauses that may affect the contractor’s cash-flow. some clauses, although not limited to that, are highlighted: clauses 4.3.2, 6.5.3, 6.7.1, 6.10. sources: pmi, 2016: 20; pmi, 2017: 25; jbcc, 2018: 1-30; finsen & segal, 2018: 512-525; saice, 2015: 1-116 table 3: continued acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 138 with the amount of data contained within each clause highlighted above, the reader may find value in referring to the forms of contract for more information. the main outcomes from the above table are highlighted below. 6.1 integration management jbcc pba: throughout the contract, such obligations are given to the principal agent who shall, on behalf of the employer and other agents, ensure that the contractor is provided with the required information timeously. the preliminaries also equip the principal agent through clauses 1 and 5 to arrange progress meetings and technical meetings, whereby a large portion of the stakeholder management functions can be managed (finsen & segal, 2018: 2, 4). gcc 2015: throughout the contract, integration management promoting clauses are found. general items are defined as items stipulated in the pricing data relating to general obligations, site services, facilities, and/or items that cover elements of the cost of work, which are not considered as proportional to the cost of the permanent works (saice, 2015: 3). interestingly, the default governing law is specified as the south african law, except if otherwise specified (saice, 2015: 7). 6.2 stakeholder management jbcc pba: no specific clause deals explicitly with stakeholder management. however, it is dealt with throughout the jbcc pba with some specific clauses in the preliminaries. gcc 2015: in the contract, certain definitions can be attributed to certain stakeholders in the contract. arrangements between the contracting parties are given at the beginning of the document. the extent of their authorisation shall be by means of a written notice specifying limits and identifying the person or office holder (clause 1.2.3) (saice, 2015: 5). the two south african contracts, however, still have a strong connection to the south african law, with privity being between the employer and the contractor. both contracts specify that the employer will appoint an agent to act on his/her behalf. du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 139 6.3 scope management jbcc pba: although clause 12 stipulates specific obligations towards the parties, supplementary documentation such as specifications is needed to assist management processes (jbcc, 2018a: 10-11). the preliminaries also provide for additional items to be added in its section c (finsen & segal, 2018: 512-513). gcc 2015: the scope of works is defined as the document that specifies and describes the works that are to be provided, and any other requirements and constraints relating to the manner in which the work is to be carried out (saice, 2015: 2-5). 6.4 schedule management jbcc pba: on the second page of the jbcc pba, a guide to actions is listed against specific time periods and linked to the applicable clauses in the contract (jbcc, 2018a: 2). obligations towards the schedule are also available in clause 12 (jbcc, 2018a: 10-11). the jbcc pba does not, however, give specific guidelines on the schedule’s design like some of the other forms of contracts. the preliminaries are also parched on this subject, with most of the obligations set out in the jbcc pba. gcc 2015: the contract devotes an entire clause to time and related matters. the clause starts by mentioning how time calculations will be done, considering the starting date of such calculation and special non-working days (clause 5.1). clauses 5.2 to 5.4 are concerned with the commencement date, which is subject to the instruction by the ea, the submission of the required documentation by the contractor, and the necessary access to the site being given (saice, 2015: 21-23). the contract also stipulates the minimum requirements for such a programme and the reporting thereof (saice, 2015: 23-24). 6.5 cost management jbcc pba: many clauses throughout the document pertain to cost management, with clauses 24-26 being more specific towards payments, and so on. the preliminaries also have two clauses pertaining to cost management, although they are more inclined towards financial management (finsen & segal, 2018: 2, 5). gcc 2015: an entire clause is dedicated to payments and costs, supplemented by the remainder of the document. the arrangements for payments, variations and day works, and more specific clauses pertaining to payment of items are specified in the contract and not in the bills of quantities. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 140 6.6 quality management jbcc pba: quality is interwoven in many of the clauses contained in the contract and goes hand in hand with scope management. the jbcc pba mainly allows the bills of quantities together with the specifications, drawings, and other supplementary documentation to specify the required quality (maritz & siglé, 2016: 16). the preliminaries do, however, have a specific clause pertaining to quality (finsen & segal, 2018: 4-5). gcc 2015: an entire clause is dedicated to quality, supplemented by the remainder of the document. all the quality specifications and inspections on the contracts amount to the final approval certificate issued by the ea stating the date on which the works were completed and all defects corrected in accordance with the contract. this is precluded by the defects liability period, which is defined as the period stated in the contract data, commencing from the issue of the certificate of completion, or certificates of completion in the event of more than one certificate having been issued for different parts of the works, during which the contractor has both the right and the obligation to make good defects in the materials, plant, and workmanship covered by the contract (saice, 2015: 2-3). please see sections 5.3.6 and 5.3.9, which directly relate to quality management. 6.7 resources management jbcc pba: resources management is mostly defined within the execution section of the document. the preliminaries do, however, stipulate some practical arrangements relating to some specific resources such as water supply, and so on (finsen & segal, 2018: 521-522). most of the responsibility, however, falls on the main contractor. gcc 2015: most of the responsibility falls on the contractor. the standards for equipment and appliances may be set, with subcontractors being subject to approval; certain information may be requested, e.g. clause 4.3.2 states that the contractor may be asked to present proof to the ea with regard to duties, taxes, levies, and contributions, as required by legislation applicable to the work and the particular contract (saice, 2015: 1-4, 14-15). through clauses 4.10 to 4.12, the ea receives greater authority or control over some resources of the contractor, albeit limited (saice, 2015: 19-20). du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 141 6.8 communication management jbcc pba: communication arrangements are summarised on page two of the jbcc pba document (jbcc, 2018a: 2). communication is further stipulated throughout the contract and only some of the applicable clauses have been highlighted in table 1. gcc 2015: throughout the contract, communication is highlighted, with no specific clause dedicated to it. as with the jbcc pba, specific definitions of communication are given (saice, 2015: 5-6). clause 6.3.2, for instance, highlights the fact that any order for variations should be in writing (saice, 2015: 37). the methods and time related to notices and other communications are also given within the specific clauses. 6.9 risk management jbcc pba: an entire section of the document is dedicated to insurances and securities, with other risks supplemented with other clauses throughout (jbcc, 2018a: 7-9). gcc 2015: an entire clause is devoted to risk management, with other clauses acting as supplementary clauses. minimum insurances and allowance are made for any additional insurances that may be required (saice, 2015: 60-67). 6.10 procurement management (including claims management) jbcc pba: the most powerful procurement management tool available to the employer is the procurement and appointment of a competent contractor. procedures are given, with an impartial agent appointed. prevention of disputes is possible, but not explicitly put on paper. the execution sections mainly deal with procurement arrangements, after the contractor has been appointed. clauses 14 to 16 deal with subcontractors and direct contractors and require the main contractor to forward proof if entered into a nominated or a selected subcontractor agreement (jbcc, 2018a: 13-15). gcc 2015: an entire clause is devoted to the claims, with other clauses acting as supplementary clauses. the preface of the contract indicates that the gcc 2015 should be used in conjunction with the cidb’s standard for uniformity in construction procurement and in conjunction with sans 1921 (ii). this portion of the plc falls outside the implementation phase, but, as already established, it influences the implementation phase. clause 2.1.1 relates to this matter, where the relevant information must be supplied to the contractor to make an informed offer (saice, 2015: 8). the contract further devotes an acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 142 entire clause to claims and disputes in clause 10. the contractor may claim for both extension of time and compensation (saice, 2015: 80). a large portion of procurement and prevention of claims is contained in the specifications and/or preambles. this mainly relates to the quality of the goods that must be procured and constructed. wellwritten specifications (maritz & siglé, 2016: 29) • are compatible with the form of contract; • state the clear-cut responsibility for design; • have internal consistency, both technically and contractually; • have the capacity to support the preparation of a balanced tender for the work to be performed, and • state clear integration and co-ordination of structural elements with installation of services. 6.11 health, safety, security and environmental management jbcc pba: the contract does not explicitly address health, safety, security, and environmental management. it does, however, address it through the preliminaries and allows specifications and additional requirements to be incorporated in the contract conditions (finsen & segal, 2018: 3-7). gcc 2015: some reference is made to particular h&s matters, but supplementary documentation is needed. no specific clauses for h&s are mentioned and legislation applies. the same applies to environmental issues and a very similar stance as per the jbcc pba is taken. the possession of site is set out in clause 5.4 with the access to site specified in the contract data (saice, 2015: 22). 6.12 financial management jbcc pba: the principal agent has limited control over the contractor’s financial management. clause 12, however, does allow the principal agent to scrutinise the projected cash-flow against the actual cash-flow and to request mitigation plans if required. other items that may assist the contractor are shorter valuation intervals, payment for materials on and off site as per clauses 25.4 and 25.5, and shorter payment periods. gcc 2015: as per the jbcc pba, the ea has limited power over the contractor’s financial management, except for requesting certain information and a procedure to assist the contractor with his cashflow. the gcc 2015 is, however, silent on the frequency of the du plessis • facilitation of construction project management... 143 payment certificates, but it can be specified in the contract data (saice, 2015: 36-51). 7. conclusion the objective of this article was to review the conduciveness to which the south african suites of contracts facilitate cpm practices. the hypothesis states that the standard south african forms of contract for building work promote control through construction project management processes. considering the pmo main focus areas, the conduciveness of the contract is evaluated based on the above evidence (pmi, 2016: 6): • good historical data towards costs: both contracts relay the accuracy of the bills of quantities and the processes outside the contract conditions. they do, however, allow the employer’s agents to enforce the measure, as stipulated in the contract data. a large portion of the success of this area relates to planning beforehand. • good health and safety, security and environmental practices: the contract does allow for enforcement of the area, as highlighted in section 5.3.11. the success of this area depends on adequate planning. • quality control: as noted earlier, quality is clearly emphasised in the conditions of the contracts, albeit emphasised differently between the jbcc pba and the gcc 2015. proper planning is needed to understand the relationship between the contract conditions, the specifications, and the bills of quantities. • contract administration: the basic contract administration is very clearly stipulated in the contract conditions and can be supplemented in the allowables of the contracts. this includes items such as minutes, and progress and cash-flow reports, which are stipulated in the contract conditions. • subcontractor supplier management: both contracts allow for subcontracting and a certain amount of control is given to the employer. the jbcc pba has specific guidelines for the nominated and selected subcontractors, with prescribed forms of contracts, although it is relatively silent on direct contractors. the gcc 2015, on the other hand, requires the employer to approve all subcontractors. • change and claims management: as established, construction projects are complex and thus changes during the execution phase are inevitable. both contracts are specific acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 144 on the obligations of the parties and give specific guidelines for reaction to instruction and notices. although claims avoidance is key, both contracts have specific and clear procedures if and when claims occur. the jbcc pba may seem to be the shortest form of contract, if only the contract conditions are considered. however, it addresses most of the management knowledge areas and allows the incorporation of supporting documentation. an experienced principal agent (project manager) will be able to use the contract effectively in the management of the construction project. when compared to the other contracts, it appears to correspond to the least specific project management requirements. for instance, it has less specific requirements in terms of the programme than the gcc 2015 and allows the preliminaries to fill the gaps with regard to legislation, while allowing the contract to be kept standard. it is noticeable that the gcc 2015 is written for south africa, when it refers to the health and safety act and the fact that south african law will be deemed to be the governing law if no other is specified. it addresses most of the management knowledge areas comprehensively. for instance, the gcc 2015 makes provision for the ea to instruct the contractor to remove any incompetent person from the works (saice, 2015: 20). the gcc 2015 is also specific about the programme and gives the employer’s agent the authority to accept or reject the programme. from the above analysis, it may be concluded that both contracts give the employer’s agent ample power to manage the project to its intended purpose. the hypothesis is subsequently proven. through the review, it has, however, become apparent that the contracts may allow certain project management functions to be implemented, by placing different emphases on different aspects of the contract. a very strong project management function must still take place during the plc. the 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(eds.). proceedings of the 1st icec & ipma global congress on project management, 5th world congress on cost engineering, project management and quantity surveying, ljubljana, 23-26 april 2006. slovenia: zmp. wamelink, j.w.f. & heintz, j.l. [n.d.]. innovation for integration: clients as drivers of industry improvements. in: ostravik, f., dainty, a. & abbott, c. (eds). construction innovation. hoboken, nj: wiley blackwell, pp. 149-164. https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/systems-thinking _goback 42 how to cite: mishiyi, h., cumberledge, r. & buys, f. 2019. challenges facing newly established quantity-surveying firms to secure tenders in south africa. acta structilia, 26(1), pp. 42-60. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as navorsingsartikels • research articles hletela mishiyi mr hletela (h) mishiyi, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 041-5042669, email: <hletele.mishiyi@mandela. ac.za> roy cumberlege mr roy (r) cumberlege, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 041-5043020, email: <roy.cumberlege@ mandela.ac.za> fanie buys prof. fanie (f) buys, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: 0415042023, email: <fanie.buys@ mandela.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 42-60 challenges facing newly established quantitysurveying firms to secure tenders in south africa peer reviewed and revised april 2019 published june 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract the article aims to determine the challenges faced by newly established quantitysurveying firms (neqsfs) in securing tenders in south africa. a quantitative research approach was implemented in the study which included a literature review and a questionnaire survey to identify the barriers experienced by neqsfs. the results revealed that the specific challenges faced by neqsfs are political influence and corruption in the awarding of tenders, excessive discounting of professional fees, and favouring large and established firms over neqsfs. this article is relevant, as it contributes to the understanding of key challenges faced by neqsfs and reveals gaps to be filled in order to position these new firms on a higher platform to be able to operate within the profession. furthermore, it also demonstrates to potential entrepreneurs the importance of considering these challenges in the start-up and growth of their businesses. keywords: challenges, south africa, tenders, quantity surveying mailto:hletele.mishiyi@mandela.ac.za mailto:hletele.mishiyi@mandela.ac.za mailto:roy.cumberlege@mandela.ac.za mailto:roy.cumberlege@mandela.ac.za mailto:fanie.buys@mandela.ac.za mailto:fanie.buys@mandela.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.2 mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 43 abstrak die doelwit van hierdie studie is om die uitdagings van nuutgevestigde bourekenaarsfirmas (ngbrfs) in suid-afrika ten opsigte van die toekenning van tenders te bepaal. ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetode is gevolg wat ’n literatuurstudie asook vraelyste ingesluit het om te bepaal watter struikelblokke ngbrfs ervaar. die resultate bevestig spesifieke uitdagings wat ngbrfs ondervind in die toekenning van tenders, onder andere politieke invloed en korupsie, buitensporige afslag op professionele gelde deur ander firmas en die bevoordeling van groter en gevestigde firmas bo die ngbrfs. hierdie artikel is relevant omrede dit bydra tot die bewusmaking van uitdagings wat ngbrfs ondervind en om die gapings te identifiseer om hierdie firmas die geleentheid te gee om met groter firmas mee te ding. die resultate van hierdie studie bevestig die hoofuitdagings wat ngbrfs ondervind in die toekenning van tenders in suid-afrika en dat dit belangrik is vir potensiële entrepreneurs om hierdie faktore in ag te neem in die vestiging en groei van hul besighede. sleutelwoorde: uitdagings, suid-afrika, tenders, bourekenkunde 1. introduction quantity surveying dates back to the beginning of the nineteenth century in england where quantity surveyors were known as surveyors or measurers (maritz & siglé, 2012: 1-7). the profession spread abroad and was eventually established in south africa. the early development of quantity surveying in south africa was greatly influenced by the country’s many political and economic changes. in response to a growing demand for quantity surveyors in south africa, more fully qualified quantity surveyors established themselves in larger centres in the country. after a long process that started in 1967, the quantity surveyors’ act (no. 36 of 1970) was published, resulting in the establishment of the south african council for quantity surveyors. in 2000, the quantity surveying professional act (no. 49 of 2000) was gazetted. the new act introduced a principle in terms of which registration with the south african council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp) would be compulsory for persons wishing to practise as professional quantity surveyors (maritz & siglé, 2012: 1-7). the quantity-surveying profession has faced enormous challenges since its establishment. it has developed and survived the storms to such an extent that it is currently a notable profession in the construction industry (wao, 2015: 1212). however, frei, mbachu and phipps (2013: 13) mention that there are still difficulties facing neqsfs in securing tenders; this threatens their survival, expansion and fortune. according to aliyu (2011: 17), consultants in the built environment, mostly quantity-surveying firms (qsfs), usually have a small number of key personnel. in south africa, where the small businesses constitute more than 80% of the business sector, the growth rate is low. this can be attributed partly to the lack of support offered acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 44 to small and medium enterprises, lack of management expertise, legal requirements not met, and poor staff relations (mboyane & ladzani, 2011). other barriers threatening the existence of neqsfs and qsfs internationally include the inability to apply value management knowledge techniques in order to create value for clients (kadiri & ayodele, 2013: 73). kadiri and ayodele (2013: 76) also mention that poor marketing of the profession can also be viewed as an inevitable challenge that hampers the sustainability and growth of qsfs. nigeria is an example where the majority of people have not acquainted themselves with the role and functions of a quantity surveyor, especially clients not realising the absolute importance of employing the services of a quantity-surveying firm on their construction projects. nyamagere (2010) and shikwambana (2016) mention that, in tanzania where the practice of quantity surveying is becoming relatively dynamic, challenges hindering neqsfs include favouritism and corruption, low fees charged by other competitors, and marketing ethics. furthermore, annunike (2011: 33) suggested that challenges faced by qsfs also include ancient business practices and structures that no longer meet the present needs of clients, coupled with incompetent personnel, due to the lack of continuous professional development (cpd) training and an inability to inspire and withhold capable specialists, as well as inefficient operational resources such as, for example, stationery, resulting in idleness when performing tasks, and outdated operational techniques. it is a great challenge as more established businesses deliberately frustrate emerging firms by appointing voluminous key personnel. thus, neqsfs may find themselves vulnerable to the ideology of ‘the bigger, the better’. in south africa, however, cpd opportunities have become more available to ensure that quantity surveyors can be kept up-to-date with modern technologies and provide better service to their clients. the challenges faced by neqsfs could be summarised as internal (micro-environment) and external (macro-environment), both of which may have contributed to the hiccups hidden, perpetually causing an unimpressive sustainable growth for neqsfs; this can also be true for neqsfs practising in south africa. mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 45 2. literature review in order to understand the challenges facing neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa, it is important to introduce the stages of entering the profession and some of the factors that may have an effect on neqsfs securing tenders in south africa. 2.1 three distinct life-cycle stages to practise as a quantity surveyor in south africa a person must abide by the following stages in order to register as a quantity surveyor and establish a new firm. applicant – according to the sacqsp registration guidelines (2013: 7), a person who intends to be registered as a professional quantity surveyor needs to complete the necessary documentation. upon submission for assessment, the sacqsp registration department will agree on the route to registration with the registration committee to validate the application. the registrar’s office will issue a receipt of the online application and, once payment has been received, a temporary “nt” processing number will be issued to enable the applicant to continue submitting the prescribed documentation. the registration department will not process the application until all the prescribed documentation has been received. candidate quantity surveyor – the certificate of registration will be issued by the sacqsp registration department and the registered person will commence his/her route to registration and the start of candidate training. candidates will then be issued with an “it” number to use on all documentation and formal communication with the council. candidates may only use the title candidate quantity surveyor or canqs, in addition to their formal academic qualification and their it registration number. professional quantity surveyor – after the successful completion of the assessment of professional competence (apc) interview, the candidate quantity surveyor will be issued with a certificate of prqs registration. the quantity surveyor may, thereafter, use the title professional quantity surveyor or prqs, in addition to his/her formal academic qualification and registration number (sacqsp, 2013). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 46 2.2 business environment conditions in the quantity-surveying profession although neqsfs initially have hardly any influence on the macroenvironment, all new business ventures form an integral part of the economy and prevail within a vigorous environment. in an open economy, business entities are controlled by, and have control on the variables in the business environment. the business environment can be subdivided into the internal (micro-) and the external (macro-) environments (van eeden, viviers & venter, 2003: 13). microenvironment could be regarded as internal barriers such as lack of personnel, lack of business mentorship, access to finance, marketing the firm, failure to implement strategic plans, management skills, location, and networking. macro-environment could be categorised as external factors such as political interference, economic climate, taxation, laws and regulations, and competitive rivalry (hough, thomson, strickland & gamble, 2008). in this study, problems experienced by neqsfs are categorised on the basis of their origin in the business environment. 2.2.1 laws and regulations the growth index for small to medium enterprises has repeatedly identified the regulatory burden as a critical challenge facing small businesses. frequent changes in the regulatory environment, the need to keep track of overlapping and sometimes conflicting requirements across multiple departments and levels of government, poor communication and access to information, as well as administrative inefficiencies in government departments mean that the small enterprise owner spends a disproportionate amount of time dealing with regulatory compliance such as business legislation, labour issues, taxation, and so on (sbp, 2014). organisations are in need of mechanisms to help assure that operational practices comply with standards and regulations. according to ernest and young (2007), cited in breaux, antón and spafford (2009), the top drivers of a practice are to comply with regulations and to implement policies and procedures that comply with the law. this appears to be a global tendency, as international evidence suggests that the regulatory environment can be a major hurdle to the survival and growth of new businesses. business owners in africa encounter more regulatory hurdles than in any other continent. as the costs of doing business in africa (which includes south africa) are prohibitive, due to burdensome laws and regulations, difficulties in securing property mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 47 rights, ineffective courts as well as weak institutions and infrastructure, more reform is needed (world bank, 2006). furthermore, various acts and programmes in south africa have a major impact on tendering on projects such as the preferential policy framework act of 2000 and the subsequent bbbe legislation to give preference to: • contracting with persons historically disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the basis of race, gender or disability • implementing the programmes of the reconstruction and development programme (government gazette no. 16085). the competition act (no. 89 of 1998) also had an impact when the fees for professional services changed from ‘minimum’ to ‘recommended’ fee scales, resulting in the discounting of fees, as mentioned earlier. 2.2.2 lack of key personnel neqsfs require access to a pool of suitably skilled and suitably motivated labour in order to sustain growth. this is corroborated by mahadea (2008: 16) who found that new firms find it difficult and costly to appoint competent employees in south africa. barrett, neeson and billington (2007: 686) also stated that directors of new firms frequently lament the predicament of sourcing competent employees. furthermore, nyamagere (2010: 89) mentioned that the construction industry’s growth rate is escalating and that building client’s requirements and construction technology are becoming complex; thus, the industry requires extensively experienced personnel to perform certain duties. the majority of neqsfs are not able to pay experienced personnel; hence, they recruit inexperienced and incompetent employees, mostly graduates with hardly any or no experience. owing to the latter problem, when it comes to bidding for tenders, neqsfs may not secure the appointment, as the company does not have extensive practice experience. 2.2.3 competitive rivalry the extent of competition also impacts on the market potential and growth opportunities of neqsfs. to survive and achieve success, new firms need to understand the dynamics of competition in the profession and develop skills and competencies that give them a competitive advantage, especially in non-government work (where not only the metrics of price and preference are scored). therefore, managers of new firms have to scan and interpret environmental changes in order to maintain their firms’ viability and performance acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 48 (zahra, neubaum & el-hagrassey, 2002). in the quantity-surveying profession, fierce competition has given birth to excessive discounting of professional fees. according to claasen and cumberlege (2014: 24), qsfs offer discounts of up to 70%, which is substantially below the tariff of professional fees published by the sacqsp. 2.2.4 political according to kotzè and masutha (2002: 5), political corruption has been a persistent phenomenon throughout history. corruption is an ethical issue, based on the values system of a nation, and its eradication requires total commitment and united efforts by government and civil society to change a polluted moral culture. it is a fact that political corruption poses a serious threat to newly liberated nations such as south africa, especially with regard to business development (kotze & masutha, 2002). numerous countries have become increasingly mindful of the significance of procurement as an area vulnerable to mismanagement and corruption, which is mainly caused by the political influence of that particular country (ambe & badenhorst-weiss, 2012: 245). other than lack of capacity to deliver required services, lack of financial control systems and lack of political stability, one of the biggest challenges facing the south african public sector is corruption and maladministration (thornhill, 2006: 322-323). madumo (2012: 50) concurs that corruption and mal-administration remain in all the spheres of government, especially in local governance. corruption occurs during the process of procurement of goods and services (mashimbye, 2016). it is either that the prices are inflated, contracts are awarded to friends or family, tenders are not advertised, bid committees are not properly constituted, or panel members did not declare their interest before the sitting of the adjudication committee. mashimbye (2016) suggests that, to a certain extent, most of the fraud and corruption in government occur through poor procurement management and control. as a result, neqsfs suffer the most, as equal opportunities are not presented to all firms in the construction industry. mashimbye (2016) further mentions that corruption and favouritism are unavoidable in the construction industry. moeti (2014: 17) also agrees, stating that, to this end, it is safe to argue that the relationship between public sector procurement and corruption is inevitable. it seems that one cannot exist without the other. mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 49 2.2.5 economic economic downturns have been the bane of the quantity-surveying profession since its inception. it has always been cyclic, with a boom for several consecutive years followed by a slump. with the global economic crisis starting around 2008, it did not spare the south african construction industry. limited construction projects were available to firms, thus negatively affecting their annual turnover and growth (kazaz & ulubeyi, 2009: 25). the south african construction industry had a major financial boost from the 2010 fifa soccer world cup, where great viable opportunities were available for firms. however, this benefited mainly large professional firms and ultimately forced neqsfs to compete for smaller projects. to keep their firms in business and to secure cash flow, firms resorted to intensified offers of discounts on their professional services to prospective clients (sacqsp, 2011). 2.2.6 marketing the firm park, cho and kandampully (2009: 134) state that the key factor which plays a role in business success is the formation of a solid brand. brand awareness refers to the strength of a brand’s presence in the customer’s mind. awareness is measured according to the different ways in which customers remember a brand, ranging from recognition (exposure to the brand), to recall (what can be recalled about the brand), to first in the mind (the brand appearing first in mind), and finally to dominate (chen, chen & huang, 2012: 114). quantity-surveying practitioners are restricted in terms of marketing requirements in south africa (nyamagere, 2010: 88; mashimbye, 2016). according to the asaqs code of conduct, when advertising, a prqs should ensure that any advertisement of his/her professional services “is not self-laudatory, is true, factual, dignified and creditable to the quantity surveying profession, is not misleading and does not imply in any matter that another practice would render a lesser service” (asaqs, 2016: online) although neqsfs need to expose themselves to the industry, they may find it difficult to secure projects with the above limitation in mind. furthermore, a further challenge to neqsfs is that the majority of clients prefer to work with practices with which they are familiar, due to previous appointments. 2.3 the procurement of professional services quantity surveyors, engineers, architects, health and safety consultants, and so on within the built environment serve the construction industry in south africa with a most significant pool of technically skilled resources that ensures successful, efficient acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 50 and cost-effective project delivery of a high calibre. cuttingedge innovation and immense investment, supported by better infrastructure development and skills, will enable the economy to expand faster and become more productive. this, in the long term, also plays an important role in ensuring that the country remains technically competitive from a global perspective (cidb, 2007). the south african national treasury introduced four core uniform objectives in the hope of dismantling past discriminatory practices against new consulting firms, one of which is to “replace the outdated procurement and provisioning practices in government with a supply chain management function and a systematic competitive procedure for the appointment of consultants” (cidb, 2007: 1). this cidb’s best practice guideline #7 on the procurement of professional services also yields that “it is necessary that certain minimum requirements of quality and efficiency be achieved when appointing consultants” (cidb, 2007: 1). accordingly, the processes of procuring services in the construction industry need to maintain a balance between reasonable compensation that will ensure the continued attractiveness and development of these professions, on the one hand, and ensuring competitiveness, on the other hand. 2.4 the qualification and award criteria in public tender adjudication with respect to the procurement of services, the contrast between qualification and award criteria may become obscure. in this situation, criteria such as past experience and the profile of the consultant, including elements such as the qualifications and experience of personnel, management structures, capacity and resources may be equally relevant to a particular bidder’s ability to deliver under the contract (as qualification criteria) and the merit of that bidder’s bid compared to other bids (as award criteria). the adjudication process stretches further to introduce a third approach, namely responsiveness. a bidder is regarded responsive if it complies in all material respects with the tender specifications (quinot, 2014: 1111). it is more likely that, during this stage, neqsfs will encounter challenges, due to the lack of detailed information during the expression of interest, which negatively influence their level of responsiveness. this is because information communicated during the invitation to bid is not sufficient for them to assemble an exceptionally calculated proposal. in order for a consultant to arrive at a feasible proposal, detailed information regarding the project must be provided (nyamagere, 2010: 88). mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 51 it is also important to note that, when a contractor does not perform satisfactorily in terms of completing within the stipulated contract period, neqsfs may end up with cash flow problems, as they have to provide professional services over a much longer period without additional compensation. 3. methodology the purpose of this research is to determine the challenges faced by newly established quantity surveying firms to secure tenders, using a quantitative research approach. this approach allows for the use of structured questionnaires surveys, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of population (creswell, 2014). the questionnaire rated the barriers faced when operating a quantitysurveying practice. a quantitative research approach supports the use of interval likert-type scales to measure data (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003) and allows for the use of descriptive statistics to analyse data (brown, 2011: 11). several data analysis strategies are available, but for this study the mean scores of interval data were used to calculate the central tendency and to determine the composite (average) score of the likert-type scale constructs (jamieson, 2004: 1217; bishop & herron, 2015: 279; nahm, 2016: 9). 3.1 sampling and response rate according to the asaqs online directory, there were 745 registered quantity-surveying firms in south africa. according to leedy and ormrod (2005), a sample size of 40% of the population (298 registered quantity-surveying firms) was chosen to participate in the survey. after a second email was sent to the targeted population as a reminder, 59 quantity-surveying firms responded to the survey; this represents a response rate of 20%. from the 59 respondents, 21 were neqsfs (established between 2011 and 2016), which forms the basis of this study. according to moyo and crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40%, in general. 3.2 data collection a structured web-based questionnaire survey was distributed to registered quantity surveyors in south africa during july 2017. the questionnaire consisted of four sections. the design of the questionnaire ensured the avoidance of ambiguous and imprecise questions which assume specialist knowledge on the part of the respondent. the first section relates to the demographics of the acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 52 respondents. section two is a set of fifteen likert-scale items relating to problems that have been experienced by firms in the microeconomic environment. section three covers a set of 13 likert-scale items regarding barriers that have been experienced by firms in the macro-economic environment. section four entails a set of 15 items used to determine barriers that firms experienced during the expression of interest in the public procurement sector. the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis of this study. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections 2 to 4 (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter. the covering letter stated the purpose of the research and guaranteed that the information given by the respondents would be treated as confidential, and that no names would be mentioned in the research. questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality. it was also assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses because of their anonymity. 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data a 5-point interval likert scale was used to measure how strongly respondents felt regarding the statements or questions in the likertscale constructs. likert scales are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11; leedy & ormrod, 2005: 185). for the purpose of analysis, the ranges relative to the ms are defined as follows: >1.00 to ≤1.80 (no effect/no barrier/not at all/not important; >1.80 to ≤2.60 (little effect/barrier/extent/importance); >2.60 to ≤3.40 (moderate effect/barrier/extent/importance; >3.40 to ≤4.20 (somewhat effect/extent/importance, and >4.20 to ≤5.00 (greatly effected/extreme barrier/very large extent/very important). the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22 (pallant, 2011) was used to process the interval scales and to analyse them using descriptive statistics such as means, modes, and standard deviations. the mean of responses was generated, in order to analyse and rank the challenges facing neqsfs. only the mean of the items was used to show the central tendency and to rank the factors in order of the most effected to the least effected. mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 53 the percentages, frequencies, mean, mode, and standard deviation of responses were generated in order to analyse the internal and external challenges affecting neqsfs in securing tenders. only the mean of the items was reported to show the central tendency and to combine the mss of the entire set of items in the construct to generate the composite (average) score for the elements. the percentages, frequencies, mean, mode, and standard deviation of responses were generated, in order to analyse the enhancement possibilities for new firms. only the mean of the items was reported to show the central tendency and to combine the mss of the entire set of items in the construct to generate the composite (average) score for the elements. 4. results and discussion 4.1 challenges facing neqsfs this part of the research intended to identify the overall business environmental challenges faced by neqsfs. from table 1, macroenvironmental factors are the dominant challenges, with the result that neqsfs have no control over them. table 1: challenges facing neqsfs challenges n o e ff e c t li tt le m o d e ra te so m e w ha t g re a tly e ff e c te d u ns ur e m s ra nk 1 2 3 4 5 political corruption and influence in the awarding of tenders 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 6 (29%) 13 (63%) 1 (2%) 4.64 1 outrageous discounting of professional fees by other firms 1 (5%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 3 (12%) 16 (78%) 0 (0%) 4.57 2 lack of detailed information 1 (3%) 2 (10%) 4 (20%) 6 (27%) 8 (39%) 0 (0%) 3.86 3 insufficient government support 3 (12%) 3 (12%) 3 (14%) 3 (15%) 10 (47%) 0 (0%) 3.81 4= quantity surveying marketing ethics hindrance 3 (12%) 2 (10%) 3 (14%) 5 (25%) 8 (37%) 1 (2%) 3.81 4= lack of key personnel 3 (12%) 2 (10%) 4 (20%) 3 (15%) 9 (41%) 1 (2%) 3.80 6 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 54 with a mean score (ms) of 4.64 revealed in table 1, the dominant challenge is the political corruption and influence in the awarding of tenders. the majority (90%) of the respondents indicated that another key challenge is the excessive discount on professional fees allowed by other firms, mainly as a result of lack of work. this once again proves that clients are seeking the lowest possible bid, which ultimately forces consultants to ‘cut’ fees to unacceptable levels. more than half (66%) of the respondents also stated that lack of detailed information is another challenge in securing tenders. lack of key personnel is sometimes experienced as a challenge (ms = 3.80). 4.2 internal and external challenges affecting neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa tables 2 and 3 show the ranking of various internal and external challenges of neqsfs. the ranking of the challenges was based on the mean scores (ms) given by the respondents (excluding responses of ‘unsure’). table 2 indicates the extent to which certain internal challenges affect neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa. the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses to a range of 1 (not at all) to 5 (very large extent), and a mean score (ms) with a minimum value of 1.00 and a maximum value of 5.00. table 2: internal challenges affecting neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa micro-environment (internal) challenges not at all – (5) very large extent m s st d . d e v. ra nk u 1 2 3 4 5 lack of brand awareness 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 0 (0%) 4 (19%) 16 (76%) 4.67 1.51 1 quantity surveying marketing ethics hindrance 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 2 (10%) 0 (0%) 5 (22%) 13 (63%) 4.29 1.22 2 lack of key personnel 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 3 (14%) 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 15 (71%) 4.24 1.41 3 lack of beneficial network for sustainability 0 (0%) 2 (10%) 2 (10%) 3 (14%) 1 (5%) 13 (61%) 4.00 1.20 4 difficulty of recruiting competent staff 0 (0%) 2 (10%) 1 (5%) 4 (19%) 4 (19%) 10 (47%) 3.90 0.90 5 lack of business mentorship 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 2 (10%) 4 (19%) 8 (37%) 6 (29%) 3.76 0.69 6 lack of finance to recruit key personnel 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 5 (23%) 4 (19%) 4 (19%) 8 (39%) 3.71 0.70 7 mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 55 micro-environment (internal) challenges not at all – (5) very large extent m s st d . d e v. ra nk u 1 2 3 4 5 access to financial assistance from banks 0 (0%) 4 (19%) 5 (23%) 6 (29%) 4 (19%) 2 (10%) 2.76 0.33 8 outsourcing specialists in strategic planning is too expensive 1 (5%) 4 (19%) 7 (32%) 4 (19%) 4 (20%) 1 (5%) 2.55 0.35 9 lack of start-up capital 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 12 (58%) 5 (22%) 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 2.45 0.41 10= lack of fixed capital to purchase permanent assets 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 12 (58%) 5 (22%) 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 2.45 0.41 10= lack of working capital, to support a firm’s short-term operations (e.g. paying bills) 0 (0%) 3 (14%) 10 (47%) 6 (29%) 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 2.38 0.33 12 lack of proper functional planning 0 (0%) 16 (76%) 3 (14%) 2 (10%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1.33 0.30 13 lack of training in business skills 0 (0%) 16 (76%) 4 (19%) 1 (5%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1.29 0.30 14= lack of existing strategic planning processes 0 (0%) 16 (76%) 4 (19%) 1 (5%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1.29 0.31 14= average ms (composite score) 3.00 the average mean of 3.00 demonstrates that internal challenges in the micro-environment somewhat affect neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa. lack of brand awareness, quantity-surveying marketing ethics hindrance, and lack of key personnel are ranked one, two and three (top-three), respectively, as they have mss ranging between ms range >4.20 to ≤5.00, which indicates that respondents perceive that these three challenges affect their neqsfs to a ‘very large extent’. the standard deviations of the top-three ranked are 1.51, 1.22, and 1.41, respectively. this indicates that the responses were all reasonably closely grouped together. the modes of the top-three internal challenges are all 5, which indicates that the respondents consider all of the top three challenges to affect to a ‘very large extent’. with a ms of >2.60 to ≤3.40, neqsfs sometimes experienced difficulties relating to financial assistance from banking institutions. other challenges experienced in this category are the lack of start-up capital, lack of fixed capital to purchase permanent assets, acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 56 ta b le 3 : ex te rn a l c ha lle ng e s a ffe c tin g n eq sf s in s e c ur in g te nd e rs in s a m a c ro -e nv iro nm e nt ( e xt e rn a l) b a rri e rs n o t a b a rri e r – ( 5) e xt re m e b a rri e r m o d e m s st d . d e v. ra nk u 1 2 3 4 5 po lit ic a l c o rru p tio n a nd in flu e nc e in t he a w a rd in g o f t e nd e rs 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 0% 2 (1 0% ) 18 ( 85 % ) 5 4. 76 1. 72 1 la c k o f p o lit ic a l s ta b ilit y 0% 0% 2 (1 0% ) 0% 3 (1 4% ) 16 ( 76 % ) 5 4. 57 1. 51 2 in su ffi c ie nt g o ve rn m e nt s up p o rt 0% 1 (5 % ) 1 (5 % ) 3 (1 4% ) 3 (1 4% ) 13 ( 62 % ) 5 4. 24 1. 19 3= o ut ra g e o us d isc o un tin g o f p ro fe ss io na l f e e s b y o th e r fi rm s 0% 3 (1 4% ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 2 (1 0% ) 15 ( 71 % ) 5 4. 24 1. 41 3= in a b ilit y to d e te rm in e t he m a rk e t p o te nt ia l, d ue t o fi e rc e c o m p e tit io n 0% 3 (1 4% ) 0% 2 (1 0% ) 8 (3 8% ) 8 (3 8% ) 4, 5 3. 86 0. 85 5 re c e ss io n in t he e c o no m y 0% 0% 6 (2 9% ) 9 (4 2% ) 4 (1 9% ) 2 (1 0% ) 3 3. 10 0. 49 6 h ig h in fla tio n ra te 0% 1 (5 % ) 6 (2 8% ) 8 (3 8% ) 4 (1 9% ) 2 (1 0% ) 1 3. 00 0. 43 7 c ut in b ud g e t fo r i nf ra st ru c tu re s p e nd in g 0% 1 (5 % ) 6 (2 9% ) 9 (4 2% 3 (1 4% ) 2 (1 0% ) 3 2. 95 0. 47 8 h ig h ta x ra te s 0% 8 (3 8% ) 7 (3 3% ) 5 (2 4% ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 1 2. 00 0. 31 9 c o m p le x ta x a d m in ist ra tio n 0% 10 ( 48 % ) 7 (3 3% ) 3 (1 4% ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 1 1. 81 0. 27 10 ta x c o m p lia nc e c o st s 0% 11 ( 52 % ) 8 (3 8% ) 1 (5 % ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 1 1. 67 0. 31 11 = re g ist ra tio n a nd c o m p lia nc e w ith t he d e p a rt m e nt o f l a b o ur 0% 14 ( 67 % ) 2 (1 0% ) 4 (1 9% ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 1 1. 67 0. 28 11 = c o st s o f r e g ist ra tio n a nd li c e ns e s 0% 13 ( 62 % ) 6 (2 8% ) 1 (5 % ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 1 1. 57 0. 27 13 a ve ra g e m s (c o m p o sit e s c o re ) 3. 03 mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 57 and the outsourcing of specialists in strategic planning which are too expensive. lack of training in business skills, lack of functional planning, and lack of existing strategic planning processes, ranked as the bottom-three, have a ms <1.00 to ≤1.80, indicating that these challenges do not affect neqsfs at all. the modes of these three challenges is one (1), which are considered not to affect neqsfs from securing tenders at all. the average mean of 3.03 demonstrates that external challenges in macro-environment somewhat affect neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa. table 3 reflects that political corruption and influence in the awarding of tenders, lack of political stability, insufficient government support, and outrageous discounting of professional fees by other firms are ranked as the top three, with insufficient government support and outrageous discounting of fees sharing a ranking of 3. a ms ranging between ms range >4.20 to ≤5.00 indicates that owners/directors of neqsfs perceive these barriers to affect their firms to a very large extent. the standard deviations of the top-three ranked macro (external) challenges are 1.72, 1.51, 1.19 and 1.41, respectively. this indicates that the responses were all reasonably closely grouped together. the modes of the top-three challenges are all 5, indicating that the respondents consider all of them to affect their firms to a ‘very large extent’. recession in the economy, high inflation rates and cuts in budget for infrastructure spending ranked 6, 7 and 8, respectively, have a ms ranging between mss >2.60 to ≤3.40 , indicating that, according to owners/directors of neqsfs, these barriers affect their firms to a ‘moderate extent’. the standard deviations of these challenges, which affect neqsfs to a ‘moderate extent’, were 0.49, 0.43 and 0.47, respectively. this indicates that the responses were all extremely closely grouped together. it may be assumed that most of the directors had the same view. the mode for both recession in the economy and cut in budget for infrastructure spending is three (3), which indicates that respondents consider them to affect their firm to a ‘moderate extent’, while high inflation rate with a mode of one (1) indicates that respondents consider it to not affect their firms at all. tax compliance, registration and compliance with the department of labour and costs of registration and licences, which are ranked as the bottom-three have mss ranging between <1.00 to ≤1.80, indicating that these barriers do not affect neqsfs from securing tenders at all. the standard deviations of the bottom-three ranked acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 58 were 0.31, 0.28 and 0.27, respectively. this is considered to indicate that the responses are extremely closely grouped together. the modes of all the bottom-three ranked challenges are one (1), which are regarded as not affecting the respondent’s firms from securing tenders at all. considering tables 2 and 3, the results show that the majority of the top-three ranked challenges of both the microand macroenvironment, which all have an ms of >4.20 to ≤5.00 (very large extent) have to do with statutory laws, government policies, and lack of a conducive business environment for newly established businesses. although the micro-environment is considered to have aspects of the firm over which the entrepreneur has full control, as attested to by mahadea and pillay (2008: 433), in this case the internal aspects of the business such as brand awareness and marketing are more regulated and controlled by the sacqsp rather than the norm of being decided upon by the business owner. this result agrees with annunike (2011: 12); as his findings showed that the majority of business failure, stagnant growth and underdevelopment is underpinned by rigid regulatory laws that do not present an enabling business environment. the result also agrees with barron’s (2011: 7) statement that south african government policies promote small business, but has provided hardly any support for smmes. the results displayed in tables 2 and 3 show that financial challenges and barriers, with the majority being ranked in the bottom-three, do not affect neqsfs to a ‘very large extent’ and a ‘large extent’; they only affect neqsfs from a ‘moderate extent’ to not affecting the neqsfs at all. this is contrary to mokoena’s (1998: 16) statement, cited in nieman and nieuwenhuizen (2009: 35), that many newly established businesses fail to perform, due to lack of finance being the main reason. on the other hand, it is in agreement with mashimbye (2016) who mentions that not having access to finance is not a major challenge for neqsfs. this is an encouraging result, as it reproofs that one does not need high monetary capital to establish a new qs firm. 4.3 enhancement possibilities of neqsfs to enable them to secure tenders in south africa table 4 indicates the importance which certain factors can contribute to the enhancement possibilities of neqsfs in securing tenders in south africa. the responses are tabulated in terms of percentage responses to a range of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important), and a ms with a minimum value of 1.00 and a maximum value of 5.00. mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 59 ta b le 4 : en ha nc e m e nt p o ss ib ilit ie s o f s e c ur in g t e nd e rs en ha nc e m e nt p o ss ib ilit ie s fo r n e w fi rm s n o t im p o rt a nt – ( 5) v e ry im p o rt a nt mode ms std. dev. rank u 1 2 3 4 5 tr a ns p a re nc y in t he a w a rd in g o f t e nd e rs 0% 0% 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 20 ( 95 % ) 5 4. 95 1. 93 1 c lie nt s ne e d t o p ro vi d e d e ta ile d in fo rm a tio n w ith re g a rd t o p ro je c ts 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 0% 1 (5 % ) 19 ( 90 % ) 5 4. 81 1. 83 2 be ne fic ia l n e tw o rk b o a rd t o p ro m o te q s jv s/ c o ns o rt iu m s o t ha t e st a b lis he d fi rm s c a n he lp ne w fi rm s 0% 1 (5 % ) 0% 0% 2 (1 0% ) 18 ( 86 % ) 5 4. 71 1. 61 3= a c c o un ta b ilit y in p ub lic s e c to r p ro c ur e m e nt 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 0% 3 (1 4% ) 17 ( 81 % ) 5 4. 71 1. 72 3= a b o lis hi ng t he d isc o un tin g o f p ro fe ss io na l f e e s 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 0% 4 (1 9% ) 16 ( 76 % ) 5 4. 67 1. 51 5 v ia b le s tr a te g ic p la nn in g 0% 0% 0% 3 (1 4% ) 2 (1 0% ) 16 ( 76 % ) 5 4. 62 1. 50 6 ef fe c tiv e q ua lit y m a na g e m e nt 0% 0% 0% 3 (1 4% ) 3 (1 4% ) 15 ( 72 % ) 5 4. 57 1. 40 7 o p e n a nd e ff e c tiv e c o m p e tit io n 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 3 (1 4% ) 2 (1 0% ) 15 ( 71 % ) 5 4. 48 1. 40 8 en tr e p re ne ur sh ip s ki lls t ra in in g 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 4 (1 9% ) 2 (1 0% ) 14 ( 66 % ) 5 4. 38 1. 30 9 m e nt o rin g s ys te m t o ju m p s ta rt n e w fi rm s 0% 0% 1 (5 % ) 3 (1 4% ) 5 (2 4% ) 12 ( 57 % ) 5 4. 33 1. 11 10 th e a sa q s to li a ise w ith fi na nc ia l i ns tit ut io ns t o h e lp ne w ly e st a b lis he d fi rm s se c ur e lo a ns 0% 0% 9 (4 3% ) 7 (3 3% ) 2 (1 0% ) 3 (1 4% ) 2 2. 95 0. 43 11 ta x re b a te in c e nt iv e s 0% 3 (1 4% ) 5 (2 4% ) 10 ( 47 % ) 2 (1 0% ) 1 (5 % ) 3 2. 67 0. 51 12 a ve ra g e m s (c o m p o sit e s c o re ) 4. 32 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 60 in terms of transparency in the awarding of tenders, clients need to provide detailed information regarding projects, beneficial network board to promote qs jvs/consortium in order for established firms to assist new firms and accountability in public sector procurement ranked as the top-three with the factors; beneficial network board to promote qs consortiums and accountability in public sector procurement sharing the ranking three (3) all have a ms ranging between >4.20 to ≤5.00 , which indicates that owners/directors of neqsfs perceive that these factors are very important for enhancing their chances of securing tenders in south africa. the standard deviations of the top-three ranked factors were 1.93, 1.83 and 1.61, respectively, indicating that the responses are grouped reasonably closely together. however, it does point towards the responses being moderately varied. the mode of the top-three factors is 5, which indicates that the respondents consider all of the top-three factors to be ‘very important’. the asaqs to liaise with financial institutions to help neqsfs secure loans and tax rebate incentives has a ms >2.60 to ≤3.40 , indicating that owners/directors of neqsfs perceive these to be of medium importance for enhancing their chances of securing tenders in south africa, which are also considered to be the bottom-two factors. the standard deviations of these factors are 0.43 and 0.51, respectively. this indicates that the responses were all extremely closely grouped together. the modes of these factors were 2 and 3, respectively, which indicates that respondents consider liaising with financial institutions to help neqsfs secure loans as ‘of little importance’, and tax rebate incentives as ‘of medium importance’. the average mean of 4.32 demonstrates that enhancement possibilities in securing tenders is very important for new firms in south africa. 5. conclusion and recommendation the purpose of the research was to determine challenges that hinder owners of neqsfs from start-up and growing their businesses. this research also sought to reveal gaps to be filled in order to place these newly established firms on a higher platform to enable them to operate and to be in a position to compete with other firms. with reference to the literature, annunike (2011: 33) suggests that the imminent challenges faced by qsfs are ancient business practices and structures that no longer meet the present needs of clients; incompetent personnel, due to lack of continuous professional mishiyi, cumberlege & buys • challenges facing newly established... 61 development training; inability to inspire and withhold capable specialists, as well as inefficient operational resources. the results of the research, however, proved these challenges to be questionable. it was interesting to note that “lack of existing strategic planning processes and lack of proper functional planning” were rated as two of the bottom-three micro-environmental challenges, whereas “lack of key personnel” was found in the top-three ranked challenges. the results from the current research indicate that the most prominent macro-environmental challenge experienced by neqsfs is “political corruption and influence in the awarding of tenders”, rather than “low fees charged by other competitors”, which was based on research findings conducted by nyamagere (2010). according to the results, the most prevalent barrier of the public procurement sector was “favour large and established businesses”. this agrees with the research findings conducted by nyamagere (2010). this challenge has led neqsfs not to fully utilize their professional potential in the construction industry, as they face difficulties with respect to job acquisition due to their unpopularity. the respondents indicated that it is very important that there is transparency in the awarding of tenders, as they believe that this will enhance their possibilities of securing tenders in the south african market. they also acknowledge that having tax rebates is not that important; they would rather have a conducive procurement system which supports and promotes the development of new firms. it is, however, acknowledged that failure to secure tenders cannot be attributed to one challenge and that, often, related challenges impact on the successful securing of tenders by neqsfs in south africa. the sacqsp and the government of south africa should collaborate so as to realise common ground for the development of neqsfs and the abolishment of their core challenges such as corruption and the outrageous discounting of fees. it is primarily the key function of the sacqsp to create and ensure a conducive working environment in order to nurture the 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[online]. available at: <http://worldbank.org/wbsite/external/ datastatistics> [accessed: 10 april 2016]. zahra, s.a., neubaum, d.o. & el-hagrassey, g.m. 2002. competitive analysis and new venture performance: understanding the impact of strategic uncertainty and venture origin. entrepreneurship theory and practice, 27(1), pp. 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-8520. t01-2-00001 http://worldbank.org/wbsite/external/datastatistics http://worldbank.org/wbsite/external/datastatistics https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-8520.t01 https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-8520.t01 _bookmark64 73 navorsingsartikels • research articles volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur in winkelsentrums in pretoria peer reviewed and revised abstrak alhoewel volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur toenemend erkenning in ontwikkelende lande geniet en in veral nuwe geboue geïm plementeer word, is daar min inligting beskikbaar oor volhoubare praktyke in fasiliteits bestuur wat plaaslik in suid-afrika, en veral in pretoria, toegepas word. in hierdie artikel word vyf belangrike gebiede vir volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur in winkelsentrums ondersoek, naamlik energieverbruik, watergebruik, mate riaalen hulpbronbestuur, interne omge wings kwaliteitbestuur en liggingsbestuur. verder is daar vasgestel watter volhoubare fasi liteits bestuurstrategieë en -metodes tans op hierdie gebiede toegepas word asook watter persepsies by eiendomsbestuurders oor volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur in winkelsentrums in pretoria bestaan. vir doeleindes van hierdie studie was alle winkelsentrums in pretoria met ’n handelsoppervlakte van 10 000m² of groter geïdentifiseer. ’n totaal van 69 winkelsentrums het aan die vereiste minimum grootte voldoen. vraelyste asook een-tot-een onderhoude met eiendomsen sentrumbestuurders is gebruik om die toepassing van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur te karakteriseer. waar die winkelsentrums deur die eienaars self bestuur word, is onderhoude ook met die eienaars gevoer. voltooide vraelyste is van sowat ’n kwart van die totale steekproefpopulasie, verteenwoordigend van ’n verhuurbare oppervlakte van 765 835m2 en 1 663 winkels terug ontvang. byna 90% van die respondente het aangedui dat die ‘eiendomsbestuurs’funksie intern uitgevoer word, teenoor meer as 94% wat die ‘fasiliteitsbestuurs’funksie intern bestuur. daar is bevind dat volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke wel toegepas word in winkelsentrums in pretoria, maar dat daar ’n duidelike voorkeur bestaan vir praktyke wat lei tot finansiële besparings, welke praktyke dan ook algemeen toegepas word. praktyke wat bydra tot sosiale en omgewingsdoelwitte jaco van der merwe, bouwer kleynhans & chris cloete mnr jaco van der merwe, msc (eiendomswese)-student, departement konstruksieekonomie, universiteit van pretoria, hillcrest, pretoria, 0002, suid-afrika. telefoon: +27 12 991 7305, e-pos: <gjvandermerwe@ gmail.com> mnr bouwer kleynhans, departement konstruksieekonomie, universiteit van pretoria, hillcrest, pretoria, 0002, suid-afrika. telefoon: +27 12 420 2554, e-pos: <bkleynhans@dsfm. co.za> prof. chris cloete, sacsc leerstoel in winkelsentrumstudies, departement konstruksieekonomie, universiteit van pretoria, hillcrest, pretoria, 0002, suid-afrika. telefoon: +27 12 420 4545, e-pos: <chris.cloete@ up.ac.za> the authors declared no conflict of interest to this title or article. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i1.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(1): 73-98 © uv/ufs mailto:gjvandermerwe@gmail.com mailto:gjvandermerwe@gmail.com mailto:bkleynhans@dsfm.co.za mailto:bkleynhans@dsfm.co.za mailto:chris.cloete@up.ac.za mailto:chris.cloete@up.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i1.4 acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 74 word tot ’n veel mindere mate toegepas, as gevolg van die persepsie dat sulke praktyke nie lei tot finansiële besparings of bydra tot die bestuur van die sentrums nie en dus as minder belangrik geag word. trefwoorde: volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur; eiendomsbestuur; volhoubaarheidskriteria; winkelsentrums. abstract although sustainable facility management is increasingly gaining recognition in developing countries and is implemented in new buildings, in particular, hardly any information is available regarding sustainable practices in facility management that are applied locally in south africa, and particularly in pretoria. in this article, five key areas for sustainable facility management in shopping centres are investigated, namely energy consumption, water consumption, materials and resource management, internal environment quality management, and location management. this study also established which sustainable facility management strategies and methods are currently being applied and what perceptions property managers in shopping centres in pretoria have regarding sustainable facility management. questionnaires and one-on-one interviews with property managers and centre managers and owners were employed to obtain qualitative information such as the perceptions and knowledge of the respondents, as well as quantitative information such as quantities and percentages. the sample and data collected for the study are limited to shopping malls in pretoria with a commercial area of 10 000m² or more, which yielded a total of 69 shopping centres. completed questionnaires were returned by approximately a quarter of the total sample population, representing a lettable area of 765 835m2 and 1 663 stores. nearly 90% of the respondents indicated that the ‘property’ management function is done internally, compared with over 94% that internally manage the ‘facility’ management function. it was found that sustainable facility management practices are being applied in shopping centres in pretoria, but that there is a clear preference for widely applied practices that lead to financial savings. practices that contribute to social and environmental objectives are applied to a much lesser extent, due to the perception that such practices do not result in financial savings or contribute to the management of the centres and are, therefore, regarded as less important. keywords: sustainable facilities management; property management; sustainability criteria; shopping centres. 1. inleiding suid-afrika se kleinhandelsmark is die grootste in sub-sahara afrika en 20ste grootste ter wêreld. as gevolg van ongewone hoë ekonomiese groei in die periode tussen 2006 en 2007 het uitgebreide ontwikkeling van winkelsentrums in suid-afrika tussen 2007 en 2011 plaasgevind. tydens hierdie periode is 43 nuwe sentrums met individuele vloeroppervlaktes van 30 000m2 en groter ontwikkel, teenoor die 30 sodanige sentrums wat tussen 1999 en 2007 ontwikkel is (muller, 2011: 13). volgens die suid-afrikaanse raad vir winkelsentrums/south african council of shopping centres (sacsc) is daar tydens 2011 en van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 75 2012 ongeveer 530 nuwe winkelsentrums toegevoeg tot die reeds bestaande 1 899 winkelsentrums in suid-afrika. die waarde van die totale kleinhandelseiendom in suid-afrika was geraam op r534 miljard in 2015, teenoor ’n waarde van r340 miljard in 2012 (pscc, 2016). met ’n totale beraamde handelsarea van ongeveer 23 miljoen m² is dit duidelik dat die impak van hierdie geboue op hul omgewing, asook die verbruik van water en elektrisiteit, wesenlik moet wees (sacsc, 2012: 3). dit is inderdaad die geval. die elektrisiteitsverbruik van ’n tipiese winkelsentrum beloop ongeveer 27 kwh per vierkante meter per maand (visagie & cloete, 2012), terwyl die waterverbruik sowat 100 liter per vierkante meter per maand is (van wyk, 2015). dit impliseer dat die beraamde 23 miljoen vierkante meter van winkelsentrums in suid-afrika meer as 600 miljoen kwh elektrisiteit en 2 500 miljoen liter water per maand verbruik. dit het uiteraard ’n aansienlike impak op die totale verbruik van skaars hulpbronne in die land. die bestuur van hierdie hulpbronne in geboue is tipies die verantwoordelikheid van die eiendomsbestuurder en (veral in groter geboue en eiendomsportefeuljes) die fasiliteitsbestuurder. talle definisies van fasiliteitsbestuur kom in die literatuur voor (sien bv. barrett, 1995: 167; becker, 1990: 6; finch, 1992: 196; binder, 1988: ix; owen, 1993; park, 1994). alhoewel daar klemverskille in die verskillende definisies voorkom, is die gemeenskaplike kenmerke van die definisies dat fasiliteitsbestuur streef na die optimale passing tussen mense en die bou-omgewing waarin mense werk, leef en speel (cloete, 2002), deur die toepassing van ’n geïntegreerde benadering tot die instandhouding, verbetering en aanpassing van die geboue van ’n organisasie ten einde ’n omgewing te skep wat die primêre doelwitte van daardie organisasie sal ondersteun (barrett, 1995: 167). uiteraard oorvleuel hierdie rol met die rol van die eiendomsbestuurder met betrekking tot ’n aantal aspekte, maar die eiendomsbestuurder se rol word tipies gesien as meer omvattend as die rol van die fasiliteitsbestuurder. hierdie artikel fokus op die rol van die fasiliteitsbestuurder met betrekking tot volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur. 2. volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur die proses om volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuursmetodes te implementeer, kan vereenvoudig word deur te konsentreer op die sleutelelemente wat wêreldwyd as basis dien vir die meeste sertifiseringsprogramme vir geboue (hodges, 2009). die vyf sleutelelemente van volhoubaarheid is energie, water, materiaal en hulpbronne, binnenshuise omgewing, en ligging. binne hierdie vyf sleutelelemente kan veelvuldige inisiatiewe en metodes deur fasiliteitsbestuurders geïmplementeer word ten einde ’n volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuursprogram te ontwikkel. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 76 2.1 die vyf sleutelelemente van volhoubaarheid 2.1.1 energieverbruik die mees algemene sigbare teiken vir volhoubare praktyke is besparing van energie en die meer effektiewe gebruik daarvan. hierdie aspek het die afgelope aantal jare toenemend belangrik geword in suid-afrika as gevolg van die steeds stygende koste van elektrisiteit en die verreikende impak van kragonderbrekings op verskillende terreine, insluitende winkelsentrums. in ’n tipiese groot lugverkoelde gebou kan die koste van energie sowat 40% van die totale bedryfskoste uitmaak. as die gebou swak ontwerp is of swak bestuur word, kan hierdie persentasie selfs hoër wees. sowat 40% van die energie word vir beligting en ’n verdere 40% vir lugversorging gebruik (cloete, 2015). benewens die kritiese ontleding van elektrisiteitstariewe, die beperking van die maksimum aanvraag en die toepassing van kragfaktorkorreksie, is daar vier hoofareas waarop gefokus moet word om meer effektiewe energieverbruik in geboue te implementeer, naamlik die skedulering van toerustinggebruik, foutiewe sensors, gelyktydige verhitting en verkoeling, en buitelugverbruik (doonan, 2011). na aanleiding van ’n aantal bestaande gevallestudies kom ramesh, prakash & shukla (2010) tot die gevolgtrekking dat ’n gebou 80-90% van die totale lewensiklus-energieverbruik1 tydens die ‘bedryfsfase’2 1 die lewensiklus-energie-analise is ’n ontleding wat rekeningskap gee van alle fases van energieverbruik in ’n gebou se lewensiklus. die bestudering van ’n lewensiklusenergie-analise help om die energievloei van geboue te kwantifiseer en te evalueer sodat strategieë ontwikkel kan word om energieverbruik te kan beperk. aangesien geboue energie direk of indirek gebruik gedurende hul bestaan, is dit nodig om ’n ontleding te doen vanuit die oogpunt van ’n lewensiklus. die drie fases in die lewensiklus van ’n gebou word onderskei as die konstruksiefase, die bedryfsfase en die slopingsfase (ramesh e.a., 2010: 1593). fasiliteitsbestuurders is tipies gemoeid met die bedryfsfase. 2 operasionele energie verwys na die energie wat benodig word om daaglikse instandhouding te doen en die gemaksomstandighede in die gebou te handhaaf. dit behels energie wat gebruik word vir die hitte, ventilasie en lugversorgingstelsel, warm water, verligting, sekuriteit en die werking van alle masjinerie en toebehore in die gebou. eksterne klimaatsomstandighede en tot watter mate die temperatuur in verskillende dele van ’n gebou gehandhaaf word, het ’n beduidende invloed op die energieverbruik. die slopingsfase van ’n gebou — wanneer ’n gebou aan die einde van sy leeftyd afgebreek en die afvalmateriaal weggery en soms ook herwin word — verbruik ook energie. die som van al dié energie in die onderskeie stadiums van ’n gebou se leeftyd is die gebou se lewensiklusenergie. van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 77 en slegs 10-20% ‘vergestalte energie’3 verbruik in die konstruksie en instandhoudingsfases. sowat 1% of minder van ’n gebou se lewensiklus-energie word verbruik om die gebou te sloop (ramesh e.a., 2010: 1594). hieruit kan afgelei word dat die ‘bedryfsfase’ die belangrikste fase is om strategieë en prosesse te implementeer om energieverbuik te bespaar aangesien ’n gebou tydens hierdie fase die meeste van sy energie verbruik. 2.1.2 watergebruik water is ’n beperkte hulpbron. slegs 3% van die aarde se water is vars water en slegs ’n klein persentasie hiervan is vir watertoevoerbehoeftes geskik. waterbronne word maklik beïnvloed deur besoedeling en klimaatsveranderinge en, namate die aarde se bevolking toeneem, neem die vraag na vars water vinnig toe (cosaboon, 2010: 8; turton, 2016). die primêre waterverbruik in geboue behels binnenshuise water, verwerkte water en water vir besproeiing. binnenshuise watergebruik sluit kombuise, ruskamers, badkamers, drinkwaterpunte, water vir skoonmaakdienste en wasmasjiene in. volhoubare praktyke wat binnenshuise waterverbruik kan verminder, vereis dat loodgieterwerke, pype en krane wat waterbesparing bevorder en meer doeltreffend is, geïnstalleer en gebruik word. in badkamers kan meer doeltreffende toilette met lae-spoel stelsels en waterlose urinale gebruik word. outomatiese kraansisteme voorkom dat krane nie oop gelos word nie en lae-vloei stortkoppe beperk oortollige gebruik. in kombuise verminder verlugtingskoppelings (aerator) waterspat en die hoeveelheid water wat verbruik word. behalwe waterbesparingstoebehore bestaan die moontlikheid ook om nie-drinkbare gryswater te hergebruik vir onder andere die spoel van toilette en besproeiing van tuine. verdere volhoubare waterbestuurspraktyke wat toegepas kan word, sluit in die deeglike isolasie van pypleidings, waterherwinningstelsels in geboue, reënwaterherwinning, die 3 energie wat gebruik word in die konstruksiefase van geboue, word beskryf as vergestalte energie en behels alle energie wat verbruik word in die konstruksie van die gebou. vergestalte energie kan verder verdeel word in aanvanklike vergestalte energie en herhalende vergestalte energie. aanvankilke vergestalte energie is die energie-inhoud van die materiale, tegniese installasies en oprigting van die gebou, asook die vervoer van die materiale en tegniese installasies. herhalende vergestalte energie behels die energie-inhoud van die verskillende materiale in ’n gebou wat gereeld gediens, onderhou en vervang moet word gedurende die lewensiklus van die gebou, asook die energieverbruik betrokke by die jaarlikse instandhouding (ramesh e.a., 2010: 1593). acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 78 gebruik van (inheemse) plante met lae waterbehoeftes, deeglike personeelopleiding, en wasgoeddienste. strategieë vir waterbesparing kom tipies in vier kategorieë voor, naamlik doeltreffende gebruik van drinkbare water deur beter ontwerp, tegnologie en instandhouding, opvangs van gryswater en gebruik daarvan vir besproeiing, opvangs en gebruik van stormwater, en die gebruik van herwonne water. toepassing van hierdie strategieë kan binnenshuise watergebruik met meer as 30% verminder en meer as 50% van watergebruik in tuine bespaar (cosaboon, 2010: 8; pereira, cordery & iacovides, 2009). 2.1.3 materiaalen hulpbronbestuur regulering van die inen uitvloei van materiale en produkte wat in geboue verbruik word, is van die mees effektiewe metodes om die impak op die omgewing te beperk. programme wat voorskryf dat slegs omgewingsvriendelike produkte in fasiliteite gebruik mag word en die afval en herwinning van produkte aanspreek, kan tot ’n groot mate ’n positiewe invloed hê op volhoubare gebruik van produkte en afval wat deur geboue gegenereer word. die primêre doel van ’n volhoubare skoonmaakprogram is om die impak van die skoonmaakproses op die natuurlike omgewing en gebou te verminder, sonder dat dit ’n negatiewe effek op menslike gesondheid sal hê. die gebruik van omgewingsvriendelike of groen skoonmaakmiddels en produkte, is ’n goeie begin vir meer volhoubare skoonmaakpraktyke. hierdie praktyke kan egter uitgebrei word deur gebruik te maak van omgewingsvriendelike gereedskap, toerusting en papiermateriaal. volhoubare skoonmaakdienste behels nie net die tipe produkte en materiaal wat verbruik word nie, maar sluit ook aspekte in soos beter gesondheid en veiligheidsregulasies vir die personeel wat verantwoordelik is vir skoonmaakdienste en die inwoners van die gebou. ’n deeglike groen skoonmaakprogram behoort nie net omgewingsfaktore in te sluit nie, maar ook sosioekonomiese aspekte in ag te neem (corbett-shramo, 2011: 7). deur middel van verbeterde skoonmaaktoerusting word minder chemikalieë in die skoonmaakproses gebruik en kan slytasie op matte en ander vloerbedekking verminder word. verbeterde toerusting stel skoonmakers minder bloot aan gevaarlike chemikalieë en verbeterde ontwerpe van toerusting kan die inspanning op sekere liggaamsdele van die gebruiker daarvan, verminder. skoonmaaktoerusting met minder geraasvlakke maak dit moontlik dat skoonmaakdienste gedurende die dag kan geskied. die van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 79 kansellering van skoonmaakdienste wat snags werksaam is, dra ook by tot verbeterde sosio-ekonomiese toestande (corbett-shramo, 2011: 17). 2.1.4 interne omgewingskwaliteitbestuur aangesien huurders die meeste van hul tyd binne ’n winkelsentrum deurbring, kan die kwaliteit van die binnenshuise omgewing ’n groot invloed op produktiwiteit hê en ook huurders se kwaliteit van lewe en gesondheid beïnvloed. sleutelaspekte wat omgewingskwaliteit beïnvloed, sluit onder meer in luggehalte en die insluiting van buitelug in die ventilasiesisteem, die beheer en toelaatbaarheid van rook in ’n gebou, die gebruik van chemikalië en van groen skoonmaaktegnieke (hodges, 2009: 12). verskeie studies (sien bv. edwards & naboni, 2013; kibert, 2016) dui ook op die positiewe invloed wat goeie ligkwaliteit en die gebruik van natuurlike lig op produktiwiteit het. die korrekte gebruik en bestuur van lig dra by tot ’n meer omgewingsvriendelike en produktiewe werksomgewing. 2.1.5 liggingsbestuur alhoewel die fasiliteitsbestuurder nie beheer het oor die fisiese ligging van die fasiliteite wat hulle bestuur nie, is daar tog sekere aspekte rakende ligging waar die fasiliteitsbestuurder volhoubare praktyke kan toepas. fasiliteitsbestuurders kan wel ’n invloed hê op die energieen diensteverbruik van ’n perseel en die produktiwiteit van die okkupeerders. energiebesparingstrategieë van toepassing op ’n gebou se ligging behels die gebruik van afstandswerk (persone word toegelaat om van hul huise af te werk) en werkers wat gebruik maak van openbare vervoerstelsels. alhoewel openbare vervoerstelsels grotendeels die verantwoordelikheid van die plaaslike owerhede is, is toegang tot sodanige stelsels ’n faktor wat in ag geneem behoort te word wanneer die konstruksie van fasiliteite beplan word (hodges, 2009: 12). alternatiewe werkplekstrategieë is nie ’n baie praktiese maatreël om in ’n winkelsentrumopset toe te pas nie, aangesien meeste werkers se dag-tot-dag aktiwiteite fisiese teenwoordigheid by hul werkplek vereis. die implementering van meer effektiewe werksvloei of meganisering van sekere funksies kan moontlik die vermindering van personeel help bevorder, wat weer energieverbruik sal verminder. die gebruik van voertuie met doeltreffender energieen brandstofverbruik by geboue lewer ook ’n bydrae tot die omgewing en bevorder volhoubare gebruik. die gebruik van elektries-aangedrewe voertuie kan aangemoedig word deur die voorsiening van herlaaipunte by die winkelsentrum. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 80 2.2 die rol en belangrikheid van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke die potensiële bydrae van fasiliteitsbestuurders tot die bereiking van volhoubaarheidsdoelwitte is goed gedokumenteer (wood, 2006; shah, 2007). die ontwikkeling van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke is aangespoor deur die behoefte om ’n bydrae tot die vermindering van die impak van beboude omgewings op die omgewing te maak (ikediashi, ogunlana, oladokun & adewuyi, 2012). die fasiliteitsbestuurder beskik oor die potensiaal, maar ook die verantwoordelikheid, om die impak van eiendomme op die omgewing te beperk. deur toenemende omgewingsbewustheid en nuwe wetgewing wat hulpbronen energieverbruik reguleer, toe te pas, kan fasiliteitsbestuurders ’n groot bydrae lewer tot die volhoubaarheidsagenda (elmualim, shockley, valle, ludlow & shah, 2009: 58; tippett, 2010; yudelson, 2010). in 2007 het die international facility management association (ifma) ondersoek ingestel na die belangrikste neigings wat fasiliteitsbestuurders na verwagting in die daaropvolgende paar jaar sou beïnvloed (ifma, 2007). volhoubaarheid, wat aspekte soos energiebestuur, groter omgewingsverantwoordelikheid, doeltreffende geboustelsels en binnenshuise lugkwaliteit insluit, is as ’n belangrike nuwe neiging geïdentifiseer. ifma het inderdaad aanbeveel dat volhoubaarheid ’n fundamentele vereiste is wat in alle industrië vereis behoort te word. in die toekoms sal dit ook van fasiliteitsbestuurders verwag word om kennis te dra van graderingstelsels soos leed (leadership in energy & environmental design), energy star en “green star” suidafrika asook van ander inisiatiewe wat volhoubaarheid bevorder. fasiliteitsbestuurders sal toenemend oor die vermoë moet beskik om volhoubaarheid te kan bestuur sodat dit ’n verskil sal maak aan die opbrengs en waarde van geboue as beleggings. programme om gebruik te verminder en om hergebruik en herwinning aan te moedig, sal ontwikkel moet word en bestuurders sal bykomende tegniese vaardighede en kennis moet bekom vir die toepassing van hierdie stelsels (ifma, 2007; vgl. ook appleby, 2013; muldavin, 2008; then & hee, 2013; wilkinson, sayce & christensen, 2015). volgens elmualim e.a. (2009) bestaan daar ’n aantal tekortkominge in die huidige fasiliteitsbestuursbedryf en ’n aantal hindernisse wat verhoed dat volhoubare praktyke ten volle geïmplementeer word. eerstens is daar ’n tekort aan professionele en wetenskaplike opleiding van die arbeidsmag in die fasiliteitsbestuursbedryf. tweedens beskik fasiliteitsbestuurders dikwels nie oor genoegsame van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 81 kennis oor volhoubaarheid en vaardighede om gewenste praktyke te implementeer nie. derdens is die volhoubaarheidsagenda en tendense wat meer fokus op die omgewing plaas ’n relatiewe nuwe verskynsel in die bedryf, met ’n gevolglike tekort aan ervaring van nuwe volhoubare praktyke (elmualim e.a., 2009). alhoewel volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur in ontwikkelende lande toenemend aandag kry en veral in nuwe geboue geïmplementeer word, is daar min inligting beskikbaar oor volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke wat plaaslik toegepas word. in die huidige ondersoek is ’n aantal volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurstrategieë en -metodes in winkelsentrums in pretoria geïdentifiseer wat as die mees effektiewe en doeltreffende beskou word. verder is daar bepaal watter volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurstrategieë en -metodes tans toegepas word asook watter persepsies by eiendomsbestuurders oor volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur in winkelsentrums in pretoria bestaan. 3. metodologie die opinies van bestuurders van winkelsentrums in pretoria met betrekking tot die omvang en toepassing van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke is getoets deur middel van vraelyste asook een-tot-een onderhoude. waar die winkelsentrums deur die eienaars self bestuur word, is onderhoude ook met die eienaars gevoer. die vraelyste is so gestruktureer dat kwalitatiewe inligting (soos die persepsies en kennis van die respondente) sowel as kwantitatiewe inligting ingewin is. die vraelys het bestaan uit 20 vrae. benewens inligting oor die winkelsentrum self en die aard van die fasiliteitsbestuurskontrakte, is bepaal of volhoubare praktyke volgens die opinies van die bestuurders toegepas word by die sentrums. indien wel, is bepaal waarom die praktyke toegepas word asook tot watter mate bestuurspraktyke toegepas word ten opsigte van die vyf sleutelelemente van volhoubaarheid, te wete energie, water, materiaal en hulpbronne, binnenshuise omgewing, en ligging. die mates van toepassing is bepaal deur middel van ’n 5-punt likert-skaal. die vrae in die vraelyste en onderhoude was daarop gemik om die volgende aspekte te bepaal: • die huidige kennis van fasiliteitsbestuurders oor volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur. • watter volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuursmetodes geïmplementeer word. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 82 • die redes vir die implementering van die volhoubare fasi li teitsbestuursmetodes. • die redes waarom volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuursmetodes nie geïmplementeer word nie. • die invloed van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurstegnieke op die bestuur en instandhouding van die eiendomme. • persepsies en sieninge oor volhou bare fa sili teits be stuurs metodes. • faktore wat die implementering of nie-implementering van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuursmetodes beïnvloed. • die invloed wat volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur op die waarde of omset van die eiendom het. 3.1 steekproef opname metode tshwane het die hoogste formele winkelsentrum digtheid van alle suid-afrikaanse stede, met 955m2 formele kleinhandeloppervlakte per 1 000 persone (broll, 2016). winkelsentrums in die pretoria-omgewing met ’n handelsoppervlak groter as 10 000m2 is vir hierdie studie geïdentifiseer, aangesien ’n groter waarskynlikheid bestaan dat hierdie sentrums van volhoubare fasileitsbestuurspraktyke gebruik maak. kleiner sentrums (tipies buurtsentrums) is nie in die ondersoek ingesluit nie. 3.2 ondersoekgrootte uit die totaal van 178 winkelsentrums in pretoria, is die ondersoek beperk tot die 68 winkelsentrums in pretoria wat aan die minimum handelsoppervlakte van 10 000m² voldoen het, met ander woorde sentrums wat tipies as gemeenskapsentrums en groter geklassifiseer word. 3.3 data insameling ’n gestruktureerde vraelys is elektronies versprei via e-pos na die bestuur van die winkelsentrums. waar terugvoering nie verkry is nie, is die belangrikheid van die navorsing aan die potensiële respondente per telefoon gekommunikeer in ’n poging om die reaksiekoers te verbeter. die volhoubaarheidspraktyke wat opgesom is uit die tersaaklike literatuur het gelei tot die formulering van ’n vraelys wat bestaan uit twee dele, naamlik die respondent se profiel, en die vlak van belangrikheid van volhoubaarheidspraktyke wat in die winkelsentrums gevolg word. om partydigheid van die respondente te verminder, is geslote-respons vrae verkies (akintoye & main, van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 83 2007: 601). aangesien die studie ook poog om vas te stel tot watter mate volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke toegepas word en watter persepsies hieroor bestaan, maak die vraelyste onder andere gebruik van die likert-skaal. die likert-skaal is ’n graderingsmodel waar vrae beantwoord word volgens ’n skaal van 1 tot 5. die stel van vrae op hierdie metode stel die navorser in staat om persepsies te toets en om vas te stel tot watter mate sekere tegnieke geïmplementeer word. 3.4 terugvoer ’n totaal van 17 voltooide vraelyste is terug ontvang, dit wil sê verteenwoordigend van sowat ’n kwart (24.6%) van die totale steekproefbevolking. alhoewel teleurstellend, verteenwoordig die response verkry vanaf die 17 winkelsentrums wat aan die studie deelgeneem het, wel 765 835m2 handelsoppervlak en 1 663 winkels. volgens moyo & crafford (2010: 68), wissel die reaksiekoers in kontemporêre bou-omgewingopnames tipies tussen 7% en 40%, terwyl die gemiddelde reaksiekoers vir studies wat data versamel van organisasies, 35.7% is met ’n standaardafwyking van 18.8% (baruch & holtum, 2008). die 17 voltooide vraelyste uit ’n bevolking van 68 wys op ’n betroubaarheidsvlak van 95% met ’n foutmarge van net minder as 20% (survey monkey, 2017). 3.5 data analise en interpretasie van die resultate ’n 5-punt likert-skaal is gebruik om die menings van die respondente te verkry en om die resultate te ontleed. likert-tipe of frekwensieskale gebruik vaste keuse responsformaat en is ontwerp om houdings of menings te meet (burns & grove, 1997; page & meyer, 2000). hierdie ordinale skale meet vlakke van ooreenkoms/verskil. vir die doel van ontleding en vertolking, is die volgende skaal gebruik met betrekking tot gemiddelde tellings waar 1 is nie belangrik (> 1.0 & ≤ 1.8), 2 redelik belangrik (> 1.8 & ≤ 2.6), 3 belangrik (> 2.6 & ≤ 3.4), 4 baie belangrik (> 3.4 & ≤ 4.2), en 5 uiters belangrik (> 4.2 & ≤ 5.0). “geen” het “nie gereageer het op die vraag” aangedui. die “geen” antwoorde is nie in ag geneem by die berekening van die gemiddelde nie. in ooreenstemming met vagias (2006), is die 5-punt skaal gebruik om reaksies te anker, en nie ’n 4-punt of 7-punt skaal nie. 3.6 beperkinge die steekproef is beperk tot winkelsentrums in pretoria. aangesien daar sowat 2 000 winkelsentrums landswyd bestaan met ’n totale handelsoppervlak van sowat 23 miljoen m2 (broll, 2016), behels acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 84 hierdie monster slegs sowat 3.5% van die totale grootte van winkelsentrums landswyd.4 4. ontleding van data daar is eerstens bepaal of die eiendoms bestuursfunksie asook die fasiliteitsbestuursfunksie intern uitgevoer word of uitgekontrakteer word. bykans 90% (88.2%) van die respondente het aangedui dat die ‘eiendoms’bestuursfunksie intern gedoen word, teenoor 11.8% waar hierdie funksie uitgekontrakteer word. daarteenoor het ’n totaal van 94.1% van die respondente aangedui dat die ‘fasiliteits’bestuursfunksie intern behartig word. meer terugvoer is dus verkry vanaf respondente waar die fasiliteitsbestuursfunksie intern behartig word as vanaf winkelsentrums waar hierdie funksie uitgekontrakteer word. moontlike redes hiervoor kan wees dat bestuurders van winkelsentrums waar die funksie intern behartig word ’n meer betrokke benadering tot die bestuur van hul eiendom het en dus moontlik ’n groter bewustheid het van die impak van hul gebou op die omgewing, terwyl kontrakteurs waarskynlik meer op die finansiële resultate van eiendomsbestuur fokus. tweedens is bepaal tot watter mate volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur wel toegepas word. analise van die vraelyste toon dat 82.4% van die respondente aangedui het dat daar reeds ’n volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuursbeleid in plek is en dat volhoubare praktyke wel toegepas word. ’n totaal van 88.2% van die respondente het aangedui dat die fasiliteitsbestuurders daarna streef om volhoubare praktyke te implementeer en 76.5% het aangedui dat hulle volhoubare praktyke aan eienaars voorstel en bevorder as ’n diens waarby die eiendom kan baat. ’n mens kan dus aflei dat die oorgrote meerderheid van respondente oor genoegsame kennis van volhoubare praktyke beskik. verder kan daar afgelei word dat volhoubare praktyke wel toegepas word en dat die fasiliteitsbestuurders hierdie praktyke aanmoedig en bevorder. alhoewel die oorgrote meerderheid terugvoer op ’n hoë vlak van kennis oor volhoubare praktyke dui, is dit opmerklik dat daar nie ’n volhoubaarheidsoudit op die meerderheid (58.8%) van hierdie eiendomme onderneem is nie. die twee hoofredes wat aangevoer was vir die uitvoer van ’n volhoubaarheidsoudit by respondente wat dit wel onderneem het, was dat dit die bedryfskoste help beperk en dat 4 die opinies kan egter as heelwat meer verteenwoordigend van die winkelsentrums in suid-afrika beskou word, aangesien die eienaarskap en bestuur van groter winkelsentrums in die hande van ’n beperkte aantal rolspelers is ’n totaal van slegs 31 bestuursmaatskappye is byvoorbeeld in die studie geïdentifiseer. van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 85 respondente dit beskou as deel van hul sosiale verantwoordelikheid aan die gemeenskap. daar is ook, in ’n mindere mate, aangedui dat ’n oudit onderneem is vir akkreditasiedoeleindes en om die reedsbestaande volhoubaarheidsbeleide en -strategieë te hersien. derdens is die omvang van toepassing van volhoubare praktyke in die belangrikste areas van fasiliteitsbestuur bepaal. vyf sleutelareas van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur is geïdentifiseer, naamlik energieverbruik, waterverbruik, materialeen hulpbronbestuur (insluitende afvalbestuur en hergebruik), interne omgewingsbestuur (bv. lugvloei en chemiese besoedeling), en liggingsbestuur (bv. openbare vervoer). figuur 1 bied ’n opsomming van die mate van implementering van hierdie sleutelareas. die verspreiding dui op die aantal respondente wat die betrokke praktyk gradeer as ’n 5 op ’n skaal van 1 tot 5 (waar vyf die hoogste mate van implementering aandui). energieverbruik 11% waterverbruik 22% materiale en hulpbronverbruik 44% binnens huis om gewing 11% liggings bestuur 11% figuur 1: sleutelareas wat tot ’n omvattende mate toegepas word uit hierdie ontleding is dit duidelik dat die meeste respondente volhoubare bestuurspraktyke van materiale en hulpbronne toepas. die moontlike redes hiervoor kan wees dat die implementering van acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 86 beleide oor die tipe skoonmaakmiddels en ander materiaal wat gebruik word, asook die herwinning van afval, nie so kapitaal-intensief as die ander elemente is nie. hierdie waarneming is in ooreenstemming met corbett-shramo (2011: 7) se bevinding dat volhoubare praktyke in verband met materiaal en hulpbronne van die doeltreffendste praktyke is om toe te pas. dit is ook duidelik dat energieverbruik die tweede meeste deur respondente toegepas word, gevolg deur waterverbruik. hierdie verskynsel kan waarskynlik toegeskryf word aan die stygende koste van energie en water en gepaardgaande kostes. verder blyk binnenshuise omgewingsen liggingskwessies die mins belangrike aspek te wees vir respondente van hierdie studie. die mate van toepassing van ’n aantal spesifieke praktyke binne elkeen van hierdie sleutelareas is deur middel van die vraelyste bepaal. verder is daar ook deur die vraelyste vasgestel wat die persepsies van respondente is ten opsigte van die belangrikheid van elkeen van die praktyke in elkeen van hierdie sleutelareas. die respondente se persepsies word dan vergelyk met die mate van implementering van die onderskeie spesifieke praktyke. 4.1 energieverbruik figuur 2 dui op die implementering van individuele fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke in terme van energieverbruik teenoor die persepsie van die belangrikheid daarvan by respondente.   68 64 54 86.8 86.8 12.4 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 e ne rg ie be sp ar in gs m aa ts ta w w e e ne rg ie ve rb ru ik -m et in g v ol ho ub ar een er gi eb ro nn ep er se nt as ie r es po nd en te volhoubare energieverbruik: persepsies vs implementering persepsie van belangrikheid implementering deur respondente figuur 2: volhoubare praktyke geïmplementeer in terme van energieverbruik en die persepsie van die belangrikheid daarvan van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 87 addisionele terugvoer van respondente dui daarop dat slim meting (“smart metering”) en deeglike maandelikse elektriese meterlesings by bykans alle winkelsentrums gedoen word. betreffende energiebesparing, is die algemeenste praktyke die gebruik van energiebesparingsverligting en -gloeilampe, tydskakelaars, dag/ nag-skakelaars en ge-outomatiseerde lugreëlingstelsels in die gemeenskaplike areas. van die repondente het ook uitgelig dat hul sentrums ontwerp is sodat natuurlike lig en ventilasie in die wandelgange voldoende sal wees gedurende die dag. slegs 11% van die respondente het aangedui dat daar van alternatiewe volhoubare energiebronne gebruik gemaak word. moontlike redes vir die lae implementering van alternatiewe volhoubare energiebronne kan wees die hoë kapitale uitleg en die lang tydperk wat dit neem vir die kostebesparing om met die kapitale uitleg gelyk te breek (elmualim e.a., 2009). die bestudering van hierdie vergelykende analises wys dat daar ’n verband bestaan tussen respondente se begrip van die belangrikheid van sekere volhoubare bestuurspraktyke en die implementering daarvan. dit kan egter ook waargeneem word dat die toepassing van sekere praktyke die begrip van die belangrikheid daarvan vêr oorskry en in ander gevalle vêr tekort skiet. in figuur 2 kan daar byvoorbeeld gesien word dat die gebruik van algemene energiebeparingspraktyke en elektrisiteitsmeting as belangrik beskou word en ook toegepas word. die toepassing daarvan oorskry egter die persepsie van belangrikheid daarvan. die gebruik van alternatiewe energiebronne word as die mins belangrike gesien en ook die minste toegepas, maar op ’n vlak heelwat laer as die persepsie van die belangrikheid daarvan. dit kan ook hier opgemerk word dat die meting van elektrisiteit, wat as die tweede belangrikste bestuurspraktyk in hierdie verband gesien word, waarskynlik vir die meeste winkelsentrums ’n meer algemene praktyk is wat nie noodwendig aan volhoubaarheid gekoppel word nie en dus ’n baie hoë implementeringsfaktor het. 4.2 water ’n opsomming van die resultate verkry vanaf vraelyste in terme van die toepassing van spesifieke waterbesparingspraktyke asook respondente se persepsies hiervan word in figuur 3 aangedui. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 88   62 54 38 77 68.4 8.5 0 20 40 60 80 100 w at er be sp ar in gs m aa ts ta w w e la ev lo ei -to eb eh or e g ry sw at er -h er w in ni ng p er se nt as ie r es po nd en te volhoubare waterverbruik: persepsies teenoor implementering persepsie van belangrikheid implementering deur respondente figuur 3: mate waarin verskillende tipes volhoubare waterbesparingspraktyke in winkelsentrums geïmplementeer word teenoor respondente se persepsies van die belangrikheid daarvan. die herwinning van gryswater word deur respondente as die mins belangrike element gesien en is derhalwe besonder laag. weereens is die koste teenoor die voordeel van die implementering hiervan ’n moontlike rede. 4.3 materiale en hulpbronne figuur 4 dui aan hoe belangrik die verskillende komponente van materialeen hulpbronverbruik geag word, asook tot watter mate bogenoemde praktyke by respondente voorkom.   68 60 59 52 81.3 55.9 66.1 35.5 0.0 25.0 50.0 75.0 100.0 w at er be st uu r e n he rw in ni ng v ol ho ub ar e ve rb ru ik sg oe de re g ro en s ko on m aa km id de ls v ol ho ub ar e ko ns tru ks iep er se nt as ie r es po nd en te volhoubare materialeen hulpbronverbruik: persepsies vs implementering persepsie van belangrikheid implementering deur respondente figuur 4: implementering van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke van materiale en hulpbronne teenoor die persepsie van die belangrikheid daarvan van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 89 bykans alle respondente (94.1%) het aangedui dat hulle herwinning in hul fasiliteitsbestuursproses toepas. hierdie verskynsel kan waarskynlik toegeskryf word aan die oorvloed van herwinningsinligting in die media asook die beskikbaarheid van kontrakteurs wat herwinningsdienste gratis of vir ’n minimale fooi toepas. die implementering van volhoubare konstruksiemetodes word veel minder geïmplementeer as die relatiewe belangrikheid daarvan. hierdie verskynsel kan verklaar word in terme van die koste verbonde aan alternatiewe konstruksiemetodes. die relatiewe hoë opname van groen skoonmaakmiddels kan dui op die algemene beskikbaarheid van sodanige produkte wat ook koste-effektief is. die hoë opname van hierdie drie klasse van materiaalen hulpbronbestuursaspekte verduidelik die analise van hierdie klas van bestuurspraktyke wat in figuur 1 as die hoogste aangedui word. die lae koste asook die eenvoud van toepassing van hierdie bestuurspraktyke maak die hoë gebruik daarvan moontlik. verder gaan hierdie praktyke nie gepaard met hoë kapitale uitleg nie en kan dit geïmplementeer word sonder groot verandering aan ’n sentrum se werkswyse en fasiliteite. 4.4 binnenshuise omgewing die implementering van verskillende praktyke vir die volhoubare bestuur van die binnenshuise omgewing word in figuur 5 aangedui.   69 63 59 56 91.9 36.1 40.2 28.7 0.0 25.0 50.0 75.0 100.0 r oo kb el ei de v er an tw oo rd el ik e ch em ik al ie ëg eb ru ik g ro en s ko on m aa kte gn ol og ie b in ne ns hu is e lu gk w al ite itp er se nt as ie r es po nd en te volhoubare binnenshuise omgewing: persepsies vs implementering persepsie van belangrikheid implementering deur respondente figuur 5: mate en tipe van implementering van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke in terme van binnenshuise omgewing teenoor die persepsie van die belangrikheid daarvan. acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 90 verreweg die meeste respondente het aangedui dat ’n toepaslike rookbeleid bestaan en toegepas word en dat chemiese middels verantwoordelik gebruik word, maar die implementering van groen skoonmaaktegnologie en bestuur van binnenshuise lugkwaliteit skiet heelwat tekort teenoor die persepsie van die belangrikheid daarvan. 4.5 liggingsaspekte die implementering al dan nie van praktyke wat met liggingskwessies verband hou, word in figuur 6 aangedui. dieselfde tendens in terme van persepsie teenoor implementering wat by ander maatreëls opgemerk is, geld weereens in terme van liggingskwessies.   49 35 32 31 80.1 40 13.3 13.3 0 25 50 75 100 n ab yh ei d to t p ub lie ke ve rv oe r w er kn em er pe nd el di en s a te rn at ie w ew er kp le ks tra te gi e g eb ru ik v an do el tre ffe nd e vo er tu ie p er se nt as ie r es po nd en te volhoubare bestuur van aspekte met betrekking tot ligging persepsie van belangrikheid implementering deur respondente figuur 6: implementering van volhoubare bestuurspraktyke met betrekking tot die ligging van winkelsentrums teenoor respondente se persepsies oor die belangrikheid daarvan ten spyte van die lae toegang tot publieke vervoerstelsels, bied slegs 17.6% van sentrums ’n pendeldiens vir werkers aan. twee respondente meld egter dat van hul huurders sodanige dienste aan hul eie werkers bied. die gebruik van energie-effektiewe voertuie deur fasiliteitsbestuurders is ook baie laag – slegs 5.9%. een respondent het egter aangedui dat hul sekuriteit van sedgway battery-aangedrewe voertuie gebruik maak. die gebruik van sodanige voertuie is ook opgemerk by die fasiliteit van nog ’n respondent, alhoewel dit nie so op hul vraelys aangedui is nie. die sekuriteit van hierdie respondent is egter uitgekontrakteer en vorm dus nie deel van hul interne fasiliteitsbestuurstrategie nie. uit die ontleding van die data kan dus afgelei word dat eiendomsbestuurders nie aandag daaraan gee om inherente probleme in van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 91 verband met die ligging van hul sentrums op te los nie en dat dit nie deur bestuurders as ’n belangrike kwessie gesien word nie. hierdie persepsie kan toegeskryf word aan die kostes verbonde aan die verskaffing van vervoerdienste en meganisering van prosesse en word dus nie as koste-effektief of as ’n prioriteit gesien nie. 5. bespreking van resultate en gevolgtrekkings uit die data-ontleding kom dit na vore dat materiaalen hulpbronnebestuur die meeste in winkelsentrums in pretoria toegepas word, gevolg deur energiebesparingsen waterbesparingsmetodes. respondente van hierdie studie gee die minste aandag aan volhoubare praktyke met betrekking tot die binnenshuise omgewing en liggingskwessies. uit ’n meer gedetailleerde ontleding van die onderskeie onderafdelings van elkeen van die bogenoemde kategorieë blyk dit dat die spesifieke metodes wat gebruik word om die onderskeie fasiliteitsbestuursdoelwitte te bereik, grootliks afhanklik is van die koste van implementering daarvan asook die moontlike kostebesparings wat aan elke strategie gekoppel is. verder kan daar opgemerk word dat die bestaan van wetgewing wat sekere praktyke vereis, byvoorbeeld rookwette asook wette met betrekking tot die gebruik en verwydering van chemikalieë, die implementering daarvan drasties verhoog. baie aandag word gegee aan die meting en besparing van elektrisiteit as gevolg van die stygende kostes van munisipale dienste. respondente meet dan ook elektrisiteit om sodoende die koste direk aan spesifieke huurders toe te skryf en so te verhaal. dit blyk uit die ontleding dat alternatiewe, volhoubare energiebronne vir respondente te duur is in terme van kapitale uitleg en dat die kostevoordeel daarvan nie die installering daarvan regverdig nie. hierdie siening kan natuurlik in die toekoms verander as implementering van alternatiewe energiebronne goedkoper word. dit dien verder gemeld te word dat die benutting van energie grotendeels die besluit van die huurder in die sentrum is, nie die sentrumbestuur nie. die dryfveer vir meting is kosteverhaling, nie energiebesparing nie. as gevolg van die struktuur van sogenoemde driedubbele netto huurooreenkomste, is die sentrumbestuur tipies slegs geïntereseerd in die energieverbruik in openbare areas van die sentrum. waterbesparingstrategieë wat nie ’n groot kapitale uitleg verg nie, byvoorbeeld die implementering van lae-vloei koppelings aan krane, word redelik wyd geïmplementeer, in teenstelling met die acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 92 gebruik van gryswatersisteme (wat ’n substansiële kapitale uitleg vereis) wat bykans glad nie geïmplementeer word nie. ontleding van die terugvoer vanaf respondente met betrekking tot hul persepsies van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke het aangetoon dat respondente se persepsies oor die belangrikheid van sekere volhoubare praktyke ’n direkte invloed het op die implementering daarvan. dit kan egter ook opgemerk word dat die toepassing van sekere bestuurspraktyke die relatiewe persepsie aangaande die belangrikheid daarvan ver oorskry. ’n voorbeeld hiervan is die geval van elektrisiteitsbeparing en -meting wat op ’n vlak ver bo die belangrikheid daarvan geïmplementeer word. hierteenoor is die gebruik van alternatiewe, volhoubare energiebronne baie laag, alhoewel dit as belangrik geag word. hierdie tendens kan regdeur die verskillende klasse van volhoubare energiebronne opgemerk word en kan verduidelik word aan die hand van die redes wat respondente aanvoer vir die implementering van volhoubare praktyke al dan nie. die algemeenste redes wat respondente aanvoer vir die implementering van volhoubare praktyke blyk die vermindering van diensterekeninge en die verminderde verbruik van dienste te wees; hierdie twee aspekte loop hand aan hand. etiese en sosiale kwessies blyk minder belangrik te wees. ’n moontlike rede hiervoor kan wees dat daar tans nog nie voldoende erkenning aan volhoubare praktyke gegee word nie. figure 7 en 8 dien as bevestiging van die gevolgtrekking dat finansiële oorwegings die hoof beweegrede is vir die implementering al dan nie van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke. van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 93   73 69 66 63 63 62 0 25 50 75 100 o m v er br ui ke rs ko st e en re ke ni ng e te v er m in de r o m v er br ui k te v er m in de r d ee l v an e ie na ar sb el ei d s os ia le v er an tw oo rd el ik he id e tie se r ed es ( so si al e ge w et e) h uu rd er ve re is te s p er se nt as ie re sp on de nt e redes vir die implementering van volhoubare praktyke figuur 7: redes vir die implementering van volhoubare praktyke soos deur respondente aangetoon 48 46 43 42 42 41 38 38 36 34 33 0 25 50 75 100 f in an si ël e b ep er ki n ge v er la a g ni e ko st es no em e ns w a ar di g n ie v oe g ni e w aa rd e to t ei e nd om t oe n ie t yd sb e pe rk in ge g e br ek a an k en ni s f is ie se /h is to rie se be pe rk in g e g e br ek a an ge re ed sk ap g e br ek a an o pl e id in g g e br ek a an be w u st h ei d g e br ek a an ei e na ar st oe w yd in g g e br ek a an b es tu ur se to ew yd in g p er se nt as ie r es po nd en te redes vir die nie-implementering van volhoubare praktykte figuur 8: redes vir die nie-implementering van volhoubare praktyke soos deur respondente aangetoon die meeste respondente het aangedui dat die kostebeperking van dienste, met ander woorde die winsmotief, as die belangrikste rede beskou word vir die implementering van volhoubare praktyke. die beperking van verbruik en gepaardgaande beperking van acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 94 kostes word as tweede belangrikste rede vir volhoubare praktyke aangevoer. in figuur 8 word aangetoon dat aspekte soos sosiale verantwoordelikheid, etiese oorwegings en huurdervereistes as die mins belangrike redes beskou word vir die implementering van volhoubare praktyke. dit blyk dus duidelik dat ekonomiese voordele, soos die verlaging van diensterekeninge soos elektrisiteit en water, steeds as die grootste motivering vir volhoubare praktyke beskou word. soos in die bostaande figuur blyk, word finansiële beperking as die grootste rede vir die nie-implementering van volhoubare praktyke beskou. verder is dit opmerklik dat die tweede grootste motivering vir nie-implementering die beskouiing is dat volhoubare praktyke nie bestuurskostes verminder nie. volgens die terugvoer van respondente kan daar afgelei word dat volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuurspraktyke wel in winkelsentrums in pretoria toegepas word, maar dat daar ’n definitiewe voorkeur is in terme van praktyke wat finansiële besparings ten doel het, welke praktyke grootliks toegepas word. praktyke wat tot sosiale en omgewingsdoelwitte bydra, word tot ’n mindere mate toegepas deur respondente, vanweë die persepsie dat dit nie tot finansiële doelwitte van die bestuur bydra nie en dus as minder belangrik geag word. alhoewel die studie aantoon dat sekere volhoubare eiendomsbestuurspraktyke wel in winkelsentrums in pretoria toegepas word, is dit duidelik dat daar nog baie ruimte vir verbetering is. die green star sa – existing building performance tool wat einde 2013 deur die green building council of south africa (gbcsa) geloods is, poog om erkenning te gee aan reedsbestaande geboue wat volhoubare bestuurspraktyke implementeer. dit sal in die toekoms duidelik word of die toepassing van hierdie maatstaf wel eiendomseienaars en -bestuurders sal aanmoedig om meer aandag aan alle aspekte van volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur te skenk. dankbetuiging die outeurs spreek hul dank uit vir die nuttige kommentaar gelewer deur die anonieme beoordelaars. verwysingslys akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construction: the uk contractors’ perception. engineering, construction and architectural management, 14(6), pp. 597-617. https://doi.org/10.1108/09699980710829049 https://doi.org/10.1108/09699980710829049 van der merwe, kleynhans & cloete • volhoubare fasiliteitsbestuur ... 95 appleby, p. 2013. sustainable retrofit and facilities management. london: routledge. baruch, y. & holtom, b.c. 2008. survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. human relations, 61(8), pp. 1139-1160. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726708094863 barrett, p. 1995. facilities management. towards 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[online]. beskikbaar by: <https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/sample-size-calculator/.> [geraadpleeg: 22 februarie 2017]. then, d., s-s. & hee, t.t. 2013. facilities management and the business of managing assets. london: routledge. tippett, m. 2010. the performance measurement challenge – sustainability benchmarking. retail space europe 2010. amsterdam: real estate publishers. turton, a. 2016. is water the new eskom in sa? voordrag gelewer by die 50ste sapoa-konvensie, sandton, 23 junie 2016. vagias, w.m. 2006. likert-type scale response anchors. clemson international institute for tourism & research development, department of parks, recreation and tourism management. clemson university. van wyk, r. 2015. hoof: eiendomsbestuur, woolworths. persoonlike mededeling oor waterverbruik in winkelsentrums, sacsc winkelsentrumtoer, turkye, 19 augustus 2015. visagie, l.a. & cloete, c.e. 2012. energy-efficiency of south african retail properties. journal of construction, 5(1), pp. 18-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13171-6 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9579-5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.05.007 https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470759677 https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470759677 https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/sample-size-calculator acta structilia 2017: 24(1) 98 wilkinson, s.j., sayce, s.l. & christensen, p.h. 2015. developing property sustainably. london: routledge. wood, b. 2006. the role of existing buildings in the sustainability agenda. facilities, 24(1/2), pp. 61-67. https://doi. org/10.1108/02632770610639206 yudelson, j. 2010. sustainable retail development: new success strategies. new york: international council of shopping centres. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2782-5 https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770610639206 https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770610639206 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2782-5 39 navorsingsartikels • research articles kofi agyekum dr kofi agyekum, lecturer, department of building technology, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, kumasi, ghana. phone: +233 246 761 879, email: <kagyekum.cap@ knust.edu.gh> barbara simons dr barbara simons, lecturer, department of building technology, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, kumasi, ghana. phone: +233 243 483 224, email: <nanaakuaayebea@ yahoo.co.uk> seth yeboah botchway mr seth yeboah botchway, graduate/research assistant, department of building technology, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, kumasi, ghana. phone: +233 248 637 501, email: <seth.botchway@ gmail.com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 39-61 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) factors influencing the performance of safety programmes in the ghanaian construction industry peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract although proper safety management in construction is of prime importance, evidence from literature suggests that many developing countries do not consider safety adequately. this article examines the factors that influence the performance of safety management programmes in the ghanaian construction industry. the objectives set to achieve this aim include identifying the safety elements incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms, and determining the factors that negatively influence the performance of such elements. for objectivity, a quantitative survey was conducted among safety managers of 60 d1 building construction firms located in the kumasi and greater accra regions of ghana. the questionnaire was structured into three parts, which sought the respondents’ profile, identified the safety elements incorporated in the firms’ safety programmes, and identified the factors that negatively influence the performance of the safety elements. following a detailed literature review, the respondents were asked to rate 13 elements and 17 factors on a likert scale. data was analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22. in addition to determining the reliability of the various constructs, the mss, modes and standard deviations were obtained. the findings revealed that all of the 13 elements were incorporated in the firms’ safety programmes. the key elements identified include ‘providing safety managers on site’; ‘providing written and comprehensive safety and health plans’; ‘introducing project-specific training and regular safety meetings’; ‘providing safety and mailto:kagyekum.cap@knust.edu.gh mailto:kagyekum.cap@knust.edu.gh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 40 health orientation training’, and ‘involving employees in safety and evaluation’. the findings further revealed that 16 of the 17 factors negatively influence the performance of the firms’ safety programmes. the identified factors were, among others, ‘insufficient communication of safety programmes’; ‘lack of workers’ self-protection and awareness’; ‘contractors ignoring safety, due to the time pressures of the project schedule’; ‘poor personal attitudes towards safety’, and ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’. findings from this study should be useful to construction practitioners seeking to improve the safety records of their firms. keywords: safety performance, safety programmes, safety elements, construction projects abstrak alhoewel behoorlike veiligheidsbestuur in konstruksie van groot belang is, dui die bewyse uit die literatuur daarop dat baie ontwikkelende lande, veiligheid, nie genoeg oorweeg nie. hierdie artikel ondersoek die faktore wat die prestasie van veiligheidsbestuursprogramme in die ghanese konstruksiebedryf beïnvloed. die doelwitte wat gestel word om hierdie doel te bereik, sluit in die identifisering van die veiligheidselemente wat in die veiligheidsprogramme van konstruksiefirmas ingesluit is, en die bepaling van die faktore wat die prestasie van sulke elemente negatief beïnvloed. vir objektiwiteit is 'n kwantitatiewe opname onder veiligheidsbestuurders van 60 d1 boukonstruksiefirmas in die kumasi en greater accra-streke van ghana gedoen. die vraelys is in drie dele gestruktureer: die respondente se profiel, die veiligheidselemente wat in die veiligheidsprogramme van die firmas opgeneem is, en die faktore wat die prestasie van die veiligheidselemente negatief beïnvloed. na aanleiding van 'n gedetailleerde literatuuroorsig, is die respondente gevra om 13 elemente en 17 faktore op 'n likert-skaal te gradeer. data is geanaliseer met behulp van die spss weergawe 22, statistiese pakket vir sosiale wetenskappe. benewens die bepaling van die betroubaarheid van die verskillende konstrukte, is die mss, modusse en standaardafwykings verkry. die bevindings het getoon dat al die 13 elemente in die firmas se veiligheidsprogramme opgeneem is. die sleutelelemente wat geïdentifiseer word, sluit in 'veiligheidsbeheerders op die terrein'; 'skriftelike en omvattende veiligheidsen gesondheidsplanne voorsien'; 'projekspesifieke opleiding en gereelde veiligheidsvergaderings bekendstel'; 'veiligheid en gesondheid oriëntering opleiding', en 'werknemers in veiligheid en evaluering'. die bevindings het verder onthul dat 16 van die 17 faktore die prestasie van die firmas se veiligheidsprogramme negatief beïnvloed. die geïdentifiseerde faktore was onder meer 'onvoldoende kommunikasie van veiligheidsprogramme'; 'gebrek aan werkers se selfbeskerming en bewustheid'; 'kontrakteurs ignoreer veiligheid, weens die tydsdruk van die projekskedule'; 'swak persoonlike houdings teenoor veiligheid', en 'oneffektiewe wette en gebrek aan handhawing'. bevindings uit hierdie studie behoort nuttig te wees vir konstruksiepraktisyns wat die veiligheidsrekords van hul firmas wil verbeter. sleutelwoorde: konstruksieprojekte, veiligheidsverrigting, veiligheidsprogramme, veiligheidselemente agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 41 1. introduction several studies have been conducted on safety issues in the ghanaian construction industry (gci) (mustapha, aigbavboa & thwala, 2016: 11; mustapha, 2016: 46; kheni & braimah, 2014: 24; dadzie, 2013: 35; kheni, gibb & dainty, 2010: 1104; kheni, dainty & gibb, 2008: 23). some of these studies determine how the clauses on appropriate health and safety standards in the labour act 651 are used on construction sites (dadzie, 2013: 36); others examine the institutional and legal environments relating to health and safety management in the construction industry (kheni & braimah, 2014: 23), while still others examine the occupational health and safety implementation barriers (mustapha, 2016: 46); improve occupational health and safety challenges (mustapha, aigbavboa & thwala, 2016: 11); develop a guidance framework for managing health and safety in adaptive retrofit projects (danso, badu, adadzie, nani & manu, 2015: 73), and examine the influence of the contextual environment within which ghanaian construction smes manage occupational health and safety (kheni et al., 2010: 1104). a further study has established the existence of safety management programmes in the gci (yankah, 2012: 56). despite the safety management programmes in the gci, the rate at which accidents occur on construction sites keeps escalating (danso et al., 2015: 73; kheni & braimah, 2014: 24; olutuase, 2014: 2; dadzie, 2013: 36). studies on effective safety management programmes in the vast majority of countries include and discuss the different elements in these programmes that help reduce the incident rates (lópezarquillos, rubio-romero, carrillo-castrillo & suarez-cebador, 2015: 286). however, from the literature available, it is not known which safety programme elements are incorporated in the safety programmes in the gci. neither is it known whether there are factors that negatively influence the performance of such safety programmes. it is against this background that this study was initiated to examine the factors that influence the performance of safety management programmes in the gci. to achieve this aim, the study set out two objectives: to identify the safety programme elements incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms, and to determine the factors that negatively influence the performance of safety programmes on construction sites. identifying such factors will help management ensure that proper strategies are put in place to deal with such issues, which, in the long term, will cause a massive reduction in accidents that occur on gcis. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 42 2. literature review in order to understand the performance of safety management programmes in the gci, it is important to introduce the current theory on the safety management concepts included in this study. the existing theory focuses on the general state of health and safety management in the gci; construction safety management systems; programmes and their elements for construction safety, and factors that influence the performance of construction safety programmes. 2.1 health and safety management in the ghanaian construction industry the gci plays a vital role in achieving socio-economic development goals, providing shelter, infrastructure and employment, thus contributing significantly to the overall gross domestic product (gdp) of the nation (dadzie, 2013: 35; anaman & osei-amponsah, 2007: 4). the gci relies heavily on labour-intensive methods. coupled with the fact that construction work is carried out in constantly changing working environments, this poses significant health and safety risks such as injuries, accidents, and loss of skilled workers (dadzie, 2013: 35; cheng, ryan & kelly, 2012: 363; alhajeri, 2011: 20; fugar & agyakwah-baah, 2010: 110; kheni et al., 2010: 1104; menzel & gutierrez, 2010: 180; kheni et al., 2008: 23; haslam hide, gibb, gyi, pavitt, atkinson & duff 2005: 403). to deal with occupational health and safety issues, the ghanaian government introduced several regulatory bodies that deal with safety issues occuring in all industries of ghana (annan, addai & tulashie, 2015: 146). these regulatory bodies include: the mining and minerals regulations 1970 li 665; the workman’s compensation law 1987; the ghana health services and teaching hospital act 2003 (act 651); the radiation protection instrument li 1559 of 1993, an amendment of the ghana atomic energy act 204 of 1963, and the epa act 1994 (act 490) (annan et al., 2015: 146). despite the vast literature recorded on the state of health and safety on construction sites in ghana, no health and safety regulations have been specifically developed for the construction industry to date (kheni & braimah, 2014: 24). however, the institutionalisation of the factories, offices and shops act 1970 made provision for a few sections dedicated to construction. the act serves as a preventive measure for health and safety, in general (dadzie, 2013: 35), and defines safety for factories, offices, shops, ports, and construction. the act designates the minister for manpower, development and labour to make regulations in respect of construction works in order agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 43 to address specific hazards (kheni & braimah, 2014: 25). section 57 of the act is specifically directed at building and civil engineering works. some of the relevant sections, as stated in section 57(1), include: sections 6 to 8 which require construction companies to register their sites and to report workplace accidents and dangerous occurrences to the factory inspectorate department; sections 10 to 12; section 19 which requires companies to provide toilet facilities on site; section 20 requires companies to provide wholesome drinking water on site; section 25 requires companies to provide personal protective equipment for their workers and to take preventive measures to control or prevent specific hazards on sites, to section 31. other requirements are outlined in sections 33 to 40; 43 to 54, and 60 to 87. in addition to the factories, offices and shops act 1970, the international labour organization’s code of practice on health and safety on construction sites is also in operation in ghana. the document provides guidelines in the implementation of the health and safety practice on construction sites for all workers. it also outlines the steps to be taken, including the provision of adequate welfare facilities; personal protective equipment appropriate for a job, and maintenance of a safe working environment for all workers on site (dadzie, 2013: 35). the above details clearly indicate that, although not complete, there is some form of institutional framework that ensures the proper monitoring and management of health and safety issues on construction sites in ghana. however, according to dadzie (2013: 35), the level of compliance with health and safety provisions in the labour act of ghana is poor, since its adherence and practice on construction sites is low. 2.2 construction safety management systems safety management relates to the actual practices, roles and functions that are associated with remaining safe (kirwan, 1998: 72). vinodkumar and bhasi (2011: 499) infer that “safety management is regarded as a sub-system of the total organizational management, and it is usually carried out through an organization’s safety management system with the aid of various safety management practices”. safety management systems have been designed for different construction sites in different countries, and the safety factors included in such systems differ from one country to the other, mainly because of the cultural differences in the construction industries (ismail, doostdar & harun, 2012: 418; ali, abdullah & subramaniam, acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 44 2009: 474; aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 416; fang, xie, huang & li, 2004: 45; wokutch & vansandt, 2000: 370). in the gci, effective safety management systems are usually made up of practices that comply with occupational health and safety requirements stipulated by the international labour organization (ilo) (yankah, 2012: 56). 2.3 construction safety programmes the key objectives of adopting and implementing any construction safety programme is to avoid unacceptable behaviour that may cause accidents on site; to discover and report any unusual behaviour that may cause accidents, and to ensure that accidents are reported and handled properly (abdelhamid & everett, 2000: 54; al haadir & panuwatwanich, 2011: 89). henshaw (2004: 1) opines that effective safety programmes have trifold benefits such as protection of human life, cost reduction, and boost of employee morale and drive. literature indicates that ‘written safety policies’, ‘accident investigation and report’, ‘safety records’, ‘safety manuals’, ‘safety checklists’, ‘accident statistical analysis’, ‘formal safety organizational structure’, ‘safe inspection’, ‘safety training scheme’, ‘safe work practices’, ‘safety meetings’, ‘safety audit’, ‘safe promotion’, ‘safety committees at project sites’, and ‘safety committee at company’ level are among the safety management programmes or practices that are put in place on construction sites (wachter & yorio, 2014: 118; ismail, doostdar & harun, 2012: 420). in the quest to minimize the disruptions caused by accidents on sites, construction industries implement safety management programmes that seek to prevent the occurrence of accidents rather than essentially managing such accidents (olutuase, 2014: 1). in general, construction firms that implement and follow the procedures set out in these programmes are expected to have highly safe construction sites and better project performance (ismail, doostdar & harun, 2012: 419; olutuase, 2014: 2). studies conducted by hinze and gambatese (2003: 162) and findley, smith, kress, petty & enoch (2004: 18) reveal that outstanding safety performance is closely related to construction projects where an operational safety programme is established, implemented and maintained. bottani, monica and vignali (2009: 157) reveal that, although safety management programmes are found to improve safety performance on construction sites, the majority of projects do not establish such systems on site. according to cheng et al. (2012: 34), inadequate commitment to such safety management programmes agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 45 on construction sites leads to reduced safety awareness among workers on the site. for such safety management programmes to be effective, competent safety personnel should be made responsible for determining and implementing the required preventive measures (olutuase, 2014: 1). 2.4 elements of construction safety programmes lópez-arquillos et al. (2015: 287) and hallowell (2010: 28) confirm that construction safety programmes are made up of certain key safety elements such as ‘upper management support’; ‘employee involvement in safety and evaluation’; ‘substance abuse programmes’; ‘written and comprehensive safety and health plans’; ‘project-specific training and regular safety meeting’; ‘subcontractor selection and management’; ‘job hazard analyses and communication’; ‘recordkeeping and accident analyses’; ‘emergency response planning’; ‘safety and health committees’; ‘safety manager on site’; ‘safety and health orientation training’, and ‘frequent worksite inspections’. for the purposes of this study, these elements will be set as the key safety elements tested in safety programmes of participating construction firms. table 1 introduces and describes these elements. table 1: safety programme elements and descriptions safety programme element description upper management support the upper management must be committed to ensuring worker safety and health as the primary aim of a firm. such commitments must be demonstrated through the participation in regular safety meetings, serving on committees, and providing funding for other safety and health programme elements. involvement of employee in safety and evaluation this entails the inclusion of all employees in the formulation and execution of other programme elements. with respect to health and safety activities, employees can perform job hazard analysis, participate in tools box talks, or perform inspections. evaluating employees’ safety performance includes considering safety metrics during regular employee performance evaluations. substance abuse programmes being able to identify and prevent the abuse of substances by workers. this includes random testing and testing after injury. written and comprehensive safety and health plan a plan that documents project-specific safety and health objectives, goals and methods for achieving success. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 46 safety programme element description project-specific training and regular safety meeting establishing and communicating project-specific safety goals, plans and policies prior to the construction phase of the project. subcontractor selection and management considering safety and health performance during the selection and management of subcontractors. job hazard analysis and communication reviewing and recording activities that are associated with a construction process, highlighting potential hazardous exposures, and documenting safe work practices that prevent injury. record-keeping and accident analysis regularly reporting the specifics of all accidents, including information such as time, location, work-site conditions and cause. emergency response planning a plan that documents a firm’s policies and procedures in case of a serious incident such as fatality. safety and health committees committees that have the power to effect changes and set policies consist of a diverse group such as supervisors, labourers, representatives of key subcontractors, among others. safety and health and orientation training participation of all new hires or transfers in orientation and training sessions that have a specific focus on safe work practices and company safety policies. safety manager on site employing a safety and health professional whose primary responsibility is to perform and direct the implementation of safety and health programme elements and serve as a resource for employees. sources: lópez-arquillos et al., 2015: 287; hallowell, 2010: 28 a survey conducted among large construction firms in ghana revealed that each of the firms admitted to having safety management programmes in place (yankah, 2012: 72). however, there was no evidence of the various elements that were incorporated in such safety programmes, making it necessary to seek the views of practitioners on some key elements that are incorporated in the safety management programmes of construction firms. agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 47 2.5 factors that influence the performance of safety programmes the monitoring of safety performance programmes at all stages of construction projects is inevitable, because safety rules and regulations not only overcome issues such as poor quality work, unsafe working conditions, and lack of environmental control, but also reduce costs and enhance productivity (wehbe, hattab & hamzeh, 2016: 340; koehn & datta, 2003: 565; pheng & shiua, 2000: 32). hsu, su, kao, shu, lin & tseng (2012: 6) define safety performance as the overall performance of the organisation’s safety management system in terms of safe operation. factors that influence the performance of safety programmes in the construction industry have been extensively studied. studies conducted in hong kong, kuwait, uganda, china, saudi arabia, south africa, honduras, india, malawi, and jordan, among others, indicate that ‘extensive subcontracting’; ‘inadequate safety training’; ‘absence of safety officers on site’; ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’; ‘extensive use of foreign workers’; ‘lack of workers’ self-protection and awareness’; ‘uncooperative clients and inadequate work procedures’; ‘poor accident record-keeping’, and ‘lack of management commitment to safety budget allocation’ are all factors that affect the performance of safety programmes (irumba, 2014; 112; alkilani, jupp & sawhney, 2013: 150; chiocha, smallwood & emuze, 2011: 72; al humaidi & tan, 2010: 74; zou & zhang, 2009: 623; farooqui, arif & rafeeqi, 2008: 78; teo, haupt & feng, 2008: 490; gibb & bust, 2006: 77; tam, zeng & deng, 2004: 570). yu, ding, zhou & luo (2004: 133) also suggest that ‘lack of an emergency response plan which includes detailed response procedures; workers’ unsafe operating of equipment and unsafe work practices’, and ‘contractors ignoring safety due to the time pressures of the project schedule’ affect the performance of safety programmes. other researchers also identified the following factors: poor personal attitudes (fang, chen & wong, 2006: 578); poor personal motivation (johnson, 2003: 40); inadequate safety meetings (el-mashaleh, rababeh & hyari, 2009: 65); inefficient training and enforcement systems (fang et al., 2006: 578; toole, 2002: 206); poor equipment maintenance (toole, 2002: 206); inadequate evaluation of programme (abudayyeh, fredericks, butt & shaar, 2006: 167-174); insufficient communication (abudayyeh et al., 2006: 169), and inadequate resource allocation (abudayyeh et al., 2006: 169). table 2 introduces and describes the various factors. for the purposes of this study, these elements will be set as the factors tested for negatively influencing the performance of safety programmes in participating firms. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 48 table 2: factors that influence the performance of safety programmes and descriptions no. factors influencing the performance of safety programmes description 1 extensive subcontracting where the subcontractor(s) employed by the main contractor do not have the needed expertise to understand or is/are unwilling to abide by the main contractor’s safety programmes. 2 inefficient training and enforcement systems where new hires and old employees are not given enough orientation and training sessions that have a specific focus on safe work practices and company safety policies. where employers, managers and supervisors do not receive training on safety concepts and their responsibility for protecting workers’ rights and responding to workers’ reports and concerns. 3 absence of safety officers on site where there is no safety and health officer to perform and direct the implementation of safety and health programmes in the firm. 4 ineffective laws and lack of enforcement where there are no written laws to document project-specific safety and health goals and objectives, and lack of enforcement of such laws as a result of the absence of a safety officer. 5 extensive use of foreign workers extensively using or hiring workers who are not originally employed by the firm and who do not understand the firm’s safety programmes. 6 lack of workers’ self-protection and awareness where the workers lack the necessary knowledge on how to protect themselves against injury or in case injury occurs. workers and their representatives are not involved in all aspects of the programme, including setting goals, identifying and reporting hazards, and so on. 7 uncooperative clients and inadequate work procedures where management does not set expectations for clients, managers, supervisors, workers and for the overall project. the overall work procedures are not clearly outlined, and there are no specific actions to improve worker safety and health. 8 poor accident record-keeping poor or no reporting on the specifics of all accidents, including information such as time, location, worksite conditions and cause. agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 49 no. factors influencing the performance of safety programmes description 9 lack of management commitment to safety budget allocation management does not demonstrate its commitment to eliminating hazards and improving workplace safety and health. no safety and health goals are established, and there are inadequate provisions made in terms of resources and support for the programme. 10 lack of an emergency response plan there is no plan that documents a firm’s policies and procedures in case of a serious incident such as fatality. 11 contractors ignoring safety due to the time pressures of the project schedule where management refuses to critically follow its safety programmes, only because the project is behind schedule. 12 poor personal attitudes where all the workers, including the contractors and temporary workers, duly understand their roles and responsibilities under the programme, but decide not to follow as such. 13 poor personal motivation where workers are not provided with the equipment needed to carry out their various activities. where there are potential barriers to workers’ participation in the programme (e.g., language, lack of information, disincentives, and so on). 14 inadequate safety meetings where there are no or hardly any safety meetings to inform workers on any changes or amendments in the safety programmes. 15 poor equipment maintenance where the equipment used is poorly maintained to the extent that it poses a hazard to the potential users. 16 inadequate evaluation of safety programme where control measures are not periodically evaluated for effectiveness. there are no laid down processes or procedures to monitor the performance of the programmes, verify the implementation of the programme, and identify the shortcomings and opportunities for improvement. where there are no necessary actions taken to improve the programme and overall safety and health performance. 17 insufficient communication where management does not communicate the hazards present at the worksite and the hazards created on site by contract workers. there is no coordination on work planning and scheduling to identify and resolve any conflicts that could impact on the safety programme. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 50 3. research methodology the purpose of this research was to examine the factors that influence the performance of safety management programmes in the gci, using a quantitative research approach. this approach allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 2014; hallowell, 2010: 27; kheni et al. 2010: 1107). the questionnaire rated the elements incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms as well as the factors that negatively influence the performance of these safety programmes. a quantitative research approach supports the use of interval likert-type scales to measure data (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003). quantitative research also allows for the use of descriptive statistics to analyse data (brown, 2011: 11). several data-analysis strategies are available. for this study, however, the mss of interval data were used to calculate the central tendency in the data and to determine the composite (average) score of the likert-type scale constructs (nahm, 2016: 9; jamieson, 2004: 1217). 3.1 sampling and response rate building construction firms in ghana should be registered according to the categories criteria set out by the ghanaian ministry of water resources, works and housing (mwrwh). the four categories of company classifications are d (building), k (civil engineering), e (electrical works), and g (plumbing works) (ayarkwa, agyekum, adinyira & osei-asibey, 2012: 5). the mwrwh also provides four financial sub-classifications within these categories, namely classes 1 (>500,000 usd), 2 (200,000 500,000 usd), 3 (75,000 200,000 usd) and 4 (>75,000 usd) (asare-yeboah, 2016: 10). these classifications set the limits for the companies with respect to their assets, plant and labour holdings, together with the nature and size of projects in which they can engage. class 1 has the highest resource base, and decreases through classes 2, 3 and 4 in that order (ayarkwa et al., 2012: 5). for this study, d1 (building construction firms), located in the kumasi and greater accra regions of ghana, was used, because cities in these two regions serve as the hub for these large construction firms. the inclusion of a contractor’s name in the mwrwh register is not compulsory (mwrwh, 2011). the snowball sampling approach was thus used to select a small population of known d1 individual firms from the mwrwh registry and expanded the sample by asking those initial participants to identify others that should participate in the study (alvi, 2016: 35). the d1 firms in the sample were known to have some safety programmes in place, although such programmes agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 51 do not clearly indicate the key elements outlined in table 1. a list compiled from d1 firms resulted in a total sample of 60 firms used in this study. 3.2 data collection using a face-to-face interview session, a structured questionnaire survey was conducted among safety managers of d1 building construction firms located in the kumasi and greater accra regions of ghana, from march 2017 to september 2017. topics on safety programmes used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into three sections. section one on respondents’ profile obtained demographic information on years of experience in the gci, number of projects involved in the gci, and availability of site safety programmes. section two is a set of 13 likert-scale items on the construct safety programme elements (coded as spe 1 to spe 13) (see table 1). respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement on the inclusion of these elements in order to examine what safety programme elements are incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms in ghana. section three is a set of 17 likert-scale items on the construct factors that influence the performance of safety programmes (coded as fsp 1 to fsp 17) (see table 2). respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement on these factors in order to examine if there are factors that negatively influence the performance of safety elements. the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis of this study. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections 2 and 3 (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter stating the purpose of the research, and the guarantee that the information given by the respondents would be treated as confidential and that no names would be mentioned in the research. interview questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality. it was also assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses because of their anonymity. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 52 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data a 5-point interval likert scale was used to measure how strongly respondents felt regarding the statements or questions in the likertscale constructs. likert scales are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11; leedy & ormrod, 2005: 185). for the purposes of analysis, it is important to note that the scale intervals were equally distributed, where 1 = not included/highly insignificant, 2 = least included/insignificant, 3 = neutral, 4 = included/ significant, and 5 = highly included/highly significant. data was analysed using frequencies and ms rankings. for a factor to be considered significant, the ms should be 3.0 and above. to measure the existence of internal reliability in the likert-type scales, the cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated and reported (gliem & gliem, 2003: 88). cronbach’s alpha coefficient indicates the average correlation among all the items that make up the scale, in order to determine the reliability of the measuring instrument (tavakol & dennick, 2011: 53; maree & pietersen, 2007: 214). the alpha coefficient can range between 0 and 1, where 1 = perfect internal reliability, and 0 = no internal reliability (pallant, 2011). for the purposes of this study, a minimum level of 0.5 was set as an acceptable level of internal reliability. the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22 (pallant, 2011) was used to calculate the cronbach’s alpha, to process the interval scales, and to analyse them using descriptive statistics such as means, modes, and standard deviations. the frequencies and percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to analyse the respondents’ profile. the percentages, frequencies, mean, mode, and standard deviation of responses were generated, in order to analyse the safety elements incorporated. only the mean of the items was reported to show the central tendency and to combine the mss of the entire set of items in the construct to generate the composite (average) score for the elements. the percentages, frequencies, mean, mode, and standard deviation of responses were generated, in order to analyse the factors that negatively influence the performance of the safety elements. only the mean of the items was used to show the central tendency and to rank the factors in order of the most influential to the least influential. agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 53 4. results and discussion 4.1 demography of respondents and firms table 3 presents a summary of the demographic characteristics of the respondents and their firms. experience is crucial when it comes to safety issues, in general. a large proportion (70%) of the respondents had over 10 years’ work experience in the gci, indicating their capability to provide well-informed responses. however, 30% of the respondents have between 1 and 10 years’ work experience in the gci. the results further indicate that 80% of the respondents have been involved in 7 or more projects within the gci, enabling them to make knowledgeable contributions to issues pertaining to safety. the respondents further indicated that site safety programmes have been in place for all the projects in which they have been involved, thus confirming yankah’s (2012: 56) assertion. table 3: demographic characteristics of respondents demographic details frequency percentage type of works engaged in number of years of experience in the gci: 1-5 years 10 17% 6-10 years 8 13% over 10 years 42 70% number of projects involved in the gci: 1-3 2 3% 4-6 10 17% 7-10 20 33% above 10 28 47% availability of site safety programmes: yes 60 100% no 0 0% acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 54 4.2 safety programme elements incorporated in the firms’ safety programmes this part of the research intended to identify the safety programme elements which the construction firms surveyed include in their safety programmes. respondents had to rate the elements on a 5-point likert scale, where 1 = not included, 2 = least included, 3 = neutral, 4 = included, and 5 = highly included; or ‘unsure’. the data for the safety elements evaluated obtained a cronbach’s alpha score of 0.50, which can be confirmed as reliable. although, at the initial stages of the questionnaire administration, the respondents had issues understanding the contents of these safety elements, a further description of the various elements (as indicated in table 1) eased their doubts and facilitated their understanding and better answering of the questionnaire. table 4 shows the mss, modes, and standard deviations of the various elements studied. the results reveal that the mss of all the 13 safety programme elements evaluated by the respondents are significantly greater than the mean value of 3.0. thus, in the opinion of the respondents, all the 13 elements are incorporated in the firms’ safety programmes. the findings further reveal that ‘providing safety managers on site’; ‘providing written and comprehensive safety and health plans’; ‘introducing project-specific training and regular safety meetings’; ‘providing safety and health orientation training’; ‘involving employees in safety and evaluation’, and ‘emergency response planning’ are the six key elements introduced by the firms into their safety programmes. the remaining elements, including ‘job hazard analyses and communication’; ‘safety and health committees’; ‘record-keeping and accident analyses’; ‘subcontractor selection and management’; ‘frequent worksite inspections’; ‘upper management support’, and ‘substance abuse programmes’ were all significant and, to some extent, also introduced in their safety programmes. table 4 shows that 57% of the respondents incorporated the element spe 11 into their safety programmes. spe 11 obtained a ms of 4.23, indicating that provision of safety managers on site is an element that is included in the safety programmes of the firms surveyed. a similar trend is observed in the elements spe 4 and spe 5, which had 78% and 50% of the respondents, respectively, indicating that such elements are incorporated in their safety programmes. the mss of 3.90 and 3.87 obtained by these elements (spe 4 and spe 5) indicate that provision of ‘written and comprehensive safety and health plans’, and the provision of ‘project-specific training and regular agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 55 safety meetings’ are further elements that are included in the safety programmes of the firms surveyed. the remainder of the elements (spe 12, spe 2, spe 9, spe 7, spe 10, spe 8, spe 6, spe 13, spe 1, and spe 3) saw a slight change in the respondents’ views. for instance, 42% to 100% of the respondents were neutral about the incorporation of these elements (i.e., spe 12, spe 2, spe 9, spe 7, spe 10, spe 8, spe 6, spe 13, spe 1, and spe 3) in their safety programmes. this notwithstanding, those elements obtained mss that were significantly greater than or equal to the mean value of 3.0 (see table 4). hence, they were considered as elements that were significantly included in the firms’ safety programmes. these findings simultaneously confirm and contradict those identified in other studies. for instance, a study conducted by hallowell (2010: 30) reveals that not all the 13 elements were practised by construction organizations located within the usa. the majority (approximately 81%) of such firms, however, implemented roughly 10 out of the 13 elements. this notwithstanding, some of the findings obtained in this section agree with those obtained by hallowell (2010: 30). construction firms in the usa also considered elements such as ‘regular written safety programmes’; ‘emergency response plan’, and ‘project-specific training’ that were incorporated in the safety programmes of ghanaian construction firms (hallowell, 2010: 30). however, elements such as employing a safety manager on site, which was ranked first in this study, was infrequently practised in the usa. table 4 also shows that ‘subcontractor selection and management’ and ‘upper management support’ were ranked 10 and 12, respectively. although incorporated, it was not given higher priority, thus agreeing well with hallowell’s (2010: 30) finding. the finding from this study further corroborates that of lópez-arquillos et al. (2015: 289). in their study, job hazard analysis and communication, safety and health orientation training, and safety manager on site were all considered and implemented in safety programmes of civil engineering organizations located in spain. the introduction of substance abuse programmes, which was considered the last option among construction firms in ghana, were not considered significant at all by the firms in spain. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 56 ta b le 4 : s a fe ty p ro g ra m m e e le m e nt s in c lu d e d in th e fi rm s’ s a fe ty p ro g ra m m e s c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha 0 .5 0 c o d e sa fe ty p ro g ra m m e e le m e nt 1= n o t in c lu d e d .. ... ... . 5 = h ig hl y in c lu d e d d e sc rip tiv e s ta tis tic s ra nk 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % u ns ur e % m e a n m o d e st d . d e v. sp e 11 sa fe ty m a na g e r o n sit e 0 0 10 57 33 0 4. 23 4. 00 0. 62 1 sp e 4 w rit te n a nd c o m p re he ns iv e s a fe ty a nd h e a lth p la ns 0 2 13 78 7 0 3. 90 4. 00 0. 51 1 2 sp e 5 pr o je c tsp e c ifi c t ra in in g a nd re g ul a r s a fe ty m e e tin g 0 3 27 50 20 0 3. 87 4. 00 0. 76 3 sp e 12 sa fe ty a nd h e a lth o rie nt a tio n tr a in in g 0 0 42 40 18 0 3. 76 3. 00 0. 74 4 sp e 2 em p lo ye e in vo lv e m e nt in s a fe ty a nd e va lu a tio n 0 3 48 42 7 0 3. 51 3. 00 0. 68 5 sp e 9 em e rg e nc y re sp o ns e p la nn in g 0 15 49 18 18 0 3. 40 3. 00 0. 96 6 sp e 7 jo b h a za rd a na ly se s a nd c o m m un ic a tio n 0 15 50 17 18 0 3. 38 3. 00 0. 95 7 sp e 10 sa fe ty a nd h e a lth c o m m itt e e s 2 3 67 23 5 0 3. 26 3. 00 0. 69 8 sp e 8 re c o rd -k e e p in g a nd a c c id e nt a na ly se s 0 18 50 20 12 0 3. 25 3. 00 0. 89 9 sp e 6 su b c o nt ra c to r s e le c tio n a nd m a na g e m e nt 2 0 83 15 0 0 3. 12 3. 00 0. 45 10 sp e 13 fr e q ue nt w o rk sit e in sp e c tio ns 7 18 38 35 2 0 3. 06 3. 00 0. 94 11 sp e 1 u p p e r m a na g e m e nt s up p o rt 2 0 95 0 3 0 3. 03 3. 00 0. 44 12 sp e 3 su b st a nc e a b us e p ro g ra m m e s 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 3. 00 3. 00 0. 00 13 a ve ra g e m s (c o m p o sit e s c o re ) 3. 44 agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 57 table 4 indicates a composite score (average ms) of 3.44 for the safety programme elements, indicating that, on the mean evaluation scale, respondents generally “agree” that these elements should be incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms in ghana. the differences between some of the findings in this study compared to those of hallowell (2010: 30) and lópez-arquillos et al. (2015: 289) are purely due to the differences in organizational culture. usa and spain are developed countries, whereas ghana is a developing country. as a result, the cost associated with the implementation of some of these elements is higher in the developed country than in a developing country. this is well iterated by hallowell (2010: 30) who found that elements such as ‘employing a site-specific safety manager’; ‘inspections and trainings’, and ‘regular safety meetings’ were the three most expensive and costly safety programme elements as defined in dollars in investment per million dollars of project scope. these three elements were, however, among the first five elements incorporated in the safety programmes of ghanaian construction firms. 4.3 factors that negatively influence the performance of safety programmes this part of the research also intended to identify the factors that negatively influence the performance of safety programmes among the construction firms surveyed. respondents had to rate the elements on a 5-point likert scale, where 1 = highly insignificant, 2 = insignificant, 3 = neutral, 4 = significant, and 5 = highly significant; or ‘unsure’. the data for the factors evaluated obtained a cronbach’s alpha score of 0.70, which can be confirmed as reliable. the various factors that negatively influence the performance of the safety programmes were described (see table 2) to ease the respondents’ doubts, thus facilitating their understanding and better answering of the questionnaire. the results shown in table 5 reveal that the mss of 16 out of the 17 factors evaluated by the respondents are significantly greater than the mean value of 3.0. thus, in the respondents’ opinion, 16 of the 17 factors negatively influence the performance of safety programmes. the findings further reveal the 6 key factors that negatively influence the performance of safety programmes, namely ‘insufficient communication’; ‘lack of workers’ selfprotection and awareness’; ‘contractors ignoring safety due to the time pressures of the project schedule’; ‘poor personal attitudes’; acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 58 ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’, and ‘poor equipment maintenance’. the remaining factors, including ‘inadequate safety meetings’; ‘inadequate evaluation of safety programme’; ‘lack of an emergency response plan’; ‘lack of management commitment to safety budget allocation’; ‘poor accident recordkeeping’; ‘uncooperative clients and inadequate work procedures’; ‘extensive use of foreign workers’; ‘absence of safety officers on site’; ‘inefficient training and enforcement systems’, and ‘extensive subcontracting’, were also considered to negatively influence the performance of the safety programmes. the respondents were, however, not in agreement with ‘poor personal motivation’ being an influencing factor. table 5 shows that 9 of the 17 factors received maximum percentage rating by the respondents as significant factors that influence the performance of safety programmes in the firms surveyed. these factors include fsp 17 (rated by 17% of the respondents as significant), fsp 12 (50%), fsp 4 (40%), fsp 14 (48%), fsp 16 (78%), fsp 10 (52%), fsp 9 (60%), fsp 5 (42%), and fsp 3 (40%). all these factors obtained mss greater than the mean value of 3.00, indicating that such factors significantly affected the performance of safety programmes in the firms. four of the 17 factors also received maximum percentage rating by the respondents as highly significant factors that influence the performance of safety programmes. these factors include fsp 6 (56%), fsp 11 (53%), fsp 15 (47%), and fsp 8 (33%). these factors obtained mss of 4.52, 4.43, 4.06, and 3.63, respectively, indicating the significance of such factors in negatively influencing the performance of safety programmes. furthermore, 3 of the 17 factors received maximum rating by the respondents as neutral. these factors include fsp 7(37%), fsp 2 (60%), and fsp 1 (77%). although the respondents rated these factors on the neutral bases, it can be noted that the mss of all the three factors were above the mean value of 3.00, an indication that such factors negatively influenced the performance of safety programmes. the respondents rated factor fsp 13 as insignificant, with a percentage rating of 55%, highly reflective of its ms being lower than the mean value of 3.0. studies conducted in hong kong, kuwait, uganda, china, saudi arabia, and south africa (irumba, 2014: 112; al humaidi & tan, 2010: 74; zou & zhang, 2009: 623; teo et al., 2008: 490; tam et al., 2004: 570) revealed that ‘extensive subcontracting’ and ‘absence of adequate safety training’ were among the key factors influencing the performance of safety programmes in the construction industry. agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 59 however, in the current study (table 5), ‘extensive subcontracting’ and ‘absence of adequate safety training’ (in this case, inefficient safety training and enforcement systems) were ranked 16 and 15, respectively. this indicates that, although the construction organizations in ghana view these factors as possible influencing factors of safety programme performance, they were not that much of a threat. table 4 explains this and indicates that ‘subcontractor selection and management’ and ‘safety and health orientation training’ were, to some extent, incorporated in safety programmes of construction firms in ghana. in countries such as honduras, india, malawi and jordan, factors such as ‘absence of safety officers on site’ and ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’ were viewed as influencing the performance of safety programmes on site (alkilani et al., 2013: 150; chiocha et al., 2010: 72), because the researchers agree with hallowell (2010: 31) that it is expensive to implement such elements in the safety programmes. in the current study (table 5), it is revealed that ‘absence of safety officers on site’ and ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’ were ranked 14 and 5, respectively. table 5 (next page) indicates a composite score (average ms) of 3.83 for the factors that influence the performance of safety programmes, indicating that, on the mean evaluation scale, respondents generally “agree” that these factors might influence the performance of safety programmes in the gci. the absence of safety officers on site, being ranked 14, depicts the reason why it is among the elements incorporated in safety programmes in ghana. however, for the respondents to indicate that ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’ (table 5) is a key factor that influences the performance of safety programmes in the gci needs attention. in kuwait, pakistan, china, jordan, botswana, egypt, nigeria, south africa, malawi, and so on, factors such as ‘extensive use of foreign workers’; ‘lack of workers’ self-protection and awareness’; ‘uncooperative clients and inadequate work procedures’; ‘poor accident record-keeping’, and ‘lack of management commitment to safety budget allocation’ were all viewed as factors influencing the performance of safety programmes in the construction industry. this corroborates the findings from this study. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 60 ta b le 5 : f a c to rs in flu e nc in g th e p e rfo rm a nc e o f s a fe ty p ro g ra m m e s c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha 0 .7 0 c o d e in flu e nc in g fa c to rs 1= h ig hl y in sig ni fic a nt … 5 = h ig hl y sig ni fic a nt d e sc rip tiv e s ta tis tic s ra nk 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % u ns ur e % m e a n m o d e st d d e v. fs p 17 in su ffi c ie nt c o m m un ic a tio n 0 0 12 78 10 0 4. 80 5. 00 0. 40 1 fs p 6 la c k o f w o rk e rs ’ se lfp ro te c tio n a nd a w a re ne ss 0 2 2 40 56 0 4. 52 5. 00 0. 62 2 fs p 11 c o nt ra c to rs ig no rin g s a fe ty d ue t o t he t im e p re ss ur e s o f t he p ro je c t sc he d ul e 0 0 10 37 53 0 4. 43 5. 00 0. 67 3 fs p 12 po o r p e rs o na l a tt itu d e s 0 2 12 50 36 0 4. 21 4. 00 0. 72 4 fs p 4 in e ff e c tiv e la w s a nd la c k o f e nf o rc e m e nt 0 5 18 40 37 0 4. 08 4. 00 0. 86 5 fs p 15 po o r e q ui p m e nt m a in te na nc e 2 3 28 20 47 0 4. 06 5. 00 1. 02 6 fs p 14 in a d e q ua te s a fe ty m e e tin g s 0 7 13 48 32 0 4. 05 4. 00 0. 85 7 fs p 16 in a d e q ua te e va lu a tio n o f s a fe ty p ro g ra m m e 0 0 12 78 10 0 3. 98 4. 00 0. 46 8 fs p 10 la c k o f a n e m e rg e nc y re sp o ns e p la n 6 0 16 52 26 0 3. 88 4. 00 1. 00 9 fs p 9 la c k o f m a na g e m e nt c o m m itm e nt t o s a fe ty b ud g e t a llo c a tio n 0 7 25 60 8 0 3. 70 4. 00 0. 72 10 fs p 8 po o r a c c id e nt re c o rd -k e e p in g 0 22 27 18 33 0 3. 63 5. 00 1. 16 11 fs p 7 u nc o o p e ra tiv e c lie nt s a nd in a d e q ua te w o rk p ro c e d ur e s 0 15 37 28 20 0 3. 53 3. 00 0. 98 12 fs p 5 ex te ns iv e u se o f f o re ig n w o rk e rs 0 20 23 42 15 0 3. 52 4. 00 0. 98 13 fs p 3 a b se nc e o f s a fe ty o ffi c e rs o n sit e 0 33 7 40 20 0 3. 46 4. 00 1. 16 14 fs p 2 in e ffi c ie nt t ra in in g a nd e nf o rc e m e nt s ys te m s 0 0 60 40 0 0 3. 40 3. 00 0. 49 15 fs p 1 ex te ns iv e s ub c o nt ra c tin g 0 3 77 0 20 0 3. 36 3. 00 0. 84 16 fs p 13 po o r p e rs o na l m o tiv a tio n 5 55 20 20 0 0 2. 55 2. 00 0. 87 17 a ve ra g e m s (c o m p o sit e s c o re ) 3. 83 agyekum, simons & botchway • factors influencing the performance... 61 5. conclusion numerous studies have been conducted on health and safety issues in the gci. however, in the absence of empirical studies to examine the influencing factors against the performance of safety programmes, this study was conducted to fill a necessary gap. the study sought to examine the factors that influence the performance of safety management programmes in the gci. to achieve this aim, the study set out two objectives: to identify the safety programme elements incorporated in the safety programmes of construction firms and to determine the factors that negatively influence the performance of such elements. with respect to the first objective, the respondents agreed that all the 13 elements were incorporated in the safety programmes of the firms surveyed. it was further revealed that ‘providing safety managers on site’; ‘providing written and comprehensive safety and health plans’; ‘introducing project-specific training and regular safety meetings’; ‘providing safety and health orientation training’; ‘involving employees in safety and evaluation’, and ‘emergency response planning’ are the six key elements introduced by ghanaian construction firms in their safety programmes. with respect to the second objective, the findings revealed that 16 of the 17 factors, which the respondents evaluated, negatively affected the performance of safety programmes on construction sites. it was also revealed that ‘insufficient communication of safety programmes’; ‘lack of workers’ self-protection and awareness’; ‘contractors ignoring safety due to the time pressures of the project schedule’; ‘poor personal attitudes towards safety’; ‘ineffective laws and lack of enforcement’, and ‘poor equipment maintenance’ are the six key factors that negatively influence the performance of safety programmes. this study provides a broad perspective on the issues that hinder the development of safe working practices in the gci. currently, in ghana, although the majority of first-class construction companies have safety programmes in place, it is not clear which key safety elements have been incorporated in such programmes. the safety elements identified in this study gave insight into which elements are of priority to such construction companies. identifying the factors that negatively influence the performance of the safety programmes should be useful to construction practitioners seeking to improve the safety records of their firms. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 62 6. limitation of the study although the objectives set out in this article were duly achieved, there are 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(eds). systematic ohs management: perspectives on an international development. amsterdam: pergamon, pp. 367-389. yankah, k. 2012. health and safety management practices by building contractors in the ashanti region. unpublished master of science in construction management thesis. kumasi, ghana, knust: department of building technology. yu, q.z., ding, l.y., zhou, c. & luo, h.b. 2014. analysis of factors influencing safety management for metro construction in china. accident analysis and prevention, 68(2014), pp. 131-138. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.aap.2013.07.016 zou, p. & zhang, g. 2009. comparative study on the perception of construction safety risks in china and australia. journal of construction engineering and management, 135(7), pp. 620-627. https://doi. org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0000019 91 hoffie cruywagen continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa peer reviewed abstract a system of continuing professional development (cpd) was introduced into the quantity surveying profession in south africa during 1999. after the initial 5-year cycle that ended in 2005, it became clear that the system is not without problems and difficulties. this article investigates the cpd system of the quantity surveying and other professions in south africa and elsewhere and sets out the perceptions of the participants to the system, specifically registered quantity surveyors. possible changes and improvements that can be implemented to simplify the current system and make it user-friendlier are also discussed. keywords: continuing professional development, quantity surveying abstrak ’n stelsel van voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling (vpo) is in 1999 vir die bourekenaarsprofessie in suid-afrika ingestel. na die aanvanklike 5-jaar siklus wat in 2005 ten einde geloop het, het dit duidelik geword dat die stelsel nie sonder probleme was nie. hierdie artikel ondersoek die suid-afrikaanse bourekenaarsen ander professie se vpo-stelsel en bespreek die persepsies van deelnemers daaraan, spesifiek geregistreerde bourekenaars. moontlike veranderinge en verbeteringe wat aangebring kan word om die stelsel eenvoudiger en meer gebruikersvriendelik te maak, word ook bespreek. sleutelwoorde: voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling, bourekenkunde hoffie cruywagen, senior lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, south africa. telephone: +27 12 4204973, e-mail: hoffie. cruywagen@up.ac.za kommentaar • commentary acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 92 1. introduction continuing professional development (cpd) is defined by the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics, 1993) as the “systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills, and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional and technical duties throughout the practitioner’s working life.” similarly, le roux (2000) quotes the institution of surveyors, australia who defines cpd as “the process by which professions maintain the quality and relevance of professional services throughout their working lives.” the association of south african quantity surveyors (asaqs) has introduced a cpd policy approximately 7 years ago, and the purpose of this article is to investigate whether this policy was successful and if any adjustments need to be implemented in future to improve the current system. 2. the need for cpd talukhaba (2006) states that cpd policies have been developed in many countries such as the uk, new zealand, hong kong, etc. this was done in order to foster professional competency and sustainability among registered persons. le roux (2004) is of the opinion that, as a consequence of the rapid move to a knowledge-based global society, careers have moved from ‘jobs-for-life’, built on a single, specialised skill, to professionals taking more control over their careers that require multiple skills. rochester (in le roux, 2004) stated that obsolescence of qualifications sets in after 5 years and without continuing education, the holders of obsolete qualifications couldn’t hope to compete in the labour market, thereby implying that continuing education and training throughout a person’s life is necessary. 3. cpd in the south african quantity surveying profession before 1998 the only statutory professional council in south africa who considered the implementation of compulsory professional skills upgrading for registered members, was the former south african medical council (currently the health professions council of south africa) (le roux & nkado, 2002). on 1 january 1999, the then south african council for quantity surveyors (currently the south african council for the quantity surveying profession) invoked its authority in terms of the quantity surveying act (act no. 36 of 1970 as amended), to introduce its mandatory cruywagen • continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa 93 cpd policy (south africa, 1970). when the above act was replaced in 2000 with the quantity surveying profession act (act no. 49 of 2000, government gazette, 2000), the status quo was upheld and the existing cpd system continued to be approved by the newly elected council members of the council for the quantity surveying profession (sacqsp). in south africa, the cpd system is administered by the asaqs in terms of the responsibility delegated to them by the sacqsp (asaqs, 1999). the asaqs, in turn, has an in-house edutech centre that administers the whole process of accepting submissions, verifying points, keeping the points database updated, etc. in short, the system works as follows (ibid): • cpd runs in 5-year cycles, during which period every quantity surveyor registered with the sacqsp is required to accumulate 200 points with a minimum of 25 points per year. • the points system is divided into 3 categories of educational and developmental activities, category 1 (1 hour = 2 points): appropriate activities arranged by ‘outside’ organisations, such as conferences, congresses, workshops, lectures, etc.; category 2 (2 hours = 1 point): small-group activities such as in-house skills training, organised small-group discussions, professional administration (committees, boards, etc.) and category 3 (2 hours = 1 point): individual activities such as self-study (i.e. trade journals), under/post graduate teaching, examinations, etc. • registered members must submit details of their cpd points annually (the submission period runs from 1 january to 31 december of each year). • the edutech centre scrutinises all submissions and captures the points earned by every member on its database. a copy of the record is sent back to the member for his/her records. • the asaqs is responsible (through its chapters, which is situated in each province of the country) for the validation and monitoring of courses, seminars, lectures and conferences offered for gaining cpd points. any institution or organisation such as universities/universities of technology, professional councils, bodies or groups offering education and development programmes or courses, manufacturing organisations, etc may apply to the asaqs to market their programmes and have the appropriate cpd points validated. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 94 4. cpd in other south african professions and abroad the engineering council of south africa (ecsa) has introduced cpd from 2006 with the south african council for the architectural profession (sacap) following suit from january 2007. because there is little difference between the working of ecsa’s and the sacap’s policies, only the ecsa policy will be discussed briefly (ecsa, 2005): • ecsa’s cpd runs in a five-year cycle during which period every registered person is required to accumulate 25 credits in order to retain registration. in any one year, the registered person is required to accumulate a minimum of three credits. additional credits earned in any one year may be carried over to subsequent years of the five-year cycle. • the credit system is divided into three categories namely 10 hours of category 1 activities (developmental activities) equal 1 credit; 50 hours of category 2 activities (work-based activities) equal 1 credit and 100 hours of category 3 activities (individual activities) equal 1 credit. • ecsa conducts random audits of up to 10% of the cpd records of all registered persons. if selected, persons are required to send, within four weeks, verification of their cpd activities for that period. in the south african medical field, 50 points must be acquired annually and points can be gained for both educational and developmental activities (one hour earns one point). there are three categories, category 1: organisational activities (conferences, workshops, etc.); category 2: small group activities and category 3: individual activities such as self-study, lecturing, higher studies, etc. in addition to complying with these requirements, a maximum of 80% of the points may be accumulated in any one of the above categories. a minimum of two points in professional ethics is required from all practitioners per year. in the united kingdom, the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics, 2007: online) seeks to develop ownership of cpd by the individual through: • emphasis on learning from a wide range of activities; and • integration of learning and work – the concept of work as a learning experience. the rics has three categories of cpd, namely professional workbased activities that includes business management skills, coaching/ cruywagen • continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa 95 mentoring, personnel management skills and planning and running an in-house training event; self-directed and informal learning that includes faculty and forum work and course accreditation exercises; and personal activities outside work such as courses, seminars and conferences. the rics requires that all qualified members adhere to cpd requirements, regardless of where in the world they are practicing. the obligation is for members to achieve a minimum of 60 hours of learning every three years, with at least 10 hours completed each year (rics, 2007). the hong kong institute of surveyors (2003) also requires from its corporate members to complete a minimum of 60 hours of cpd activities over a three-year period. it does not have specific categories, but at least 20 of the 60 hours must be in the form of what is termed “formal events” such as courses, seminars, conferences, workshops, etc. the new zealand institute of quantity surveyors (nziqs) introduced a voluntary programme of cpd in 1992 and in 2003 the number of cpd equivalent hours was increased to a minimum of 45 in each three-year period. cpd hours may be claimed for a variety of activities such as attendance at seminars, professional reading, professional body participation, teaching, additional qualifications, research, etc (nziqs, 2004: online). from the above it is clear that cpd is not unique to either the quantity surveying profession or south africa and that the basic concept is fairly similar for different professions and professional bodies. 5. the current situation regarding cpd in south africa 31 december 2005 was the end of the first 5-year cycle of cpd for the quantity surveying profession in south africa. it must be noted that the actual time was six and a half years, due to complaints by various members during the start-up period, resulting in the first period of the cycle stretching over two years. the original submission period from 1 july to 30 june of every year was changed in 2003 to run from 1 january to 31 december of every year. this resulted in one 18-month submission period (july 2002 to december 2003). at the end of this first 5-year cycle, the edutech centre of the asaqs received only 135 fully compliant submissions from registered quantity surveyors (asaqs, 2006). as this was unacceptable to the sacqsp, the deadline for submissions by registered members was extended to 31 december 2006 to bring their cpd programmes up to date (for a 6-year period). this was conveyed via a special, registered letter acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 96 to all registered members dated 27 october 2006, followed up by a council newsletter during december 2006. this letter sparked renewed interest among members with a flood of submissions from december 2006 to february 2007. at the end of february 2007, the submissions of fully compliant persons have increased to approximately 550 (edutech centre, 2007). with some 1692 persons registered with the sacqsp at the end of 2006 (sacqsp, 2006a), this meant that approximately 33% of the members were fully compliant with their cpd activities by that time. it is interesting to note that the cpd database contained the names of 720 people at the same time, which means that a number of registered persons have submitted one or more cpd submissions during the submission period, but were not fully compliant. 6. opinion survey among quantity surveyors in 2006 gildenhuys (2006) conducted a survey among quantity surveyors in south africa as part of his post-graduate studies. a questionnaire was drawn up and distributed on a random basis to registered quantity surveyors throughout the country. a total of 56 completed questionnaires out of 70 were returned, a response rate of 80%. although the results from the completed questionnaires cannot be seen as a representative indication of the situation regarding cpd in south africa because of the relatively small sample, some meaningful conclusions can be made from the results. the outcomes of some of the questions are discussed below: question: do you know what the requirements for compliance according to the council are? 86% of the sample group said that they were aware of the requirements for compliance and therefore it can be assumed that the sacqsp and the asaqs are successful in informing registered members of what is required of them. on the other hand, all of the respondents indicated in a previous question that they know what cpd is; therefore the question can be asked whether the remaining 14% who are unaware of the requirements are merely not interested? question: have you submitted any cpd points to the asaqs? the result of this question was that 64% of the sample group answered “yes”. this is in contrast to the reality. as pointed out previously, at the end of 2006 only 720 (43%) of the 1692 registered persons have submitted something. cruywagen • continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa 97 question: is your cpd up to date? this question went further than the previous and tried to establish how many of the respondents were fully compliant. 43% answered “yes” to this question, again differing from the actual figures as indicated by the edutech centre (33% fully compliant by the end of 2006). the only conclusion that can be made from this is that many of the members have enough points to comply and, although they have not submitted it, they consider themselves to be compliant. question: if not up to date, what would you say is the reason? in this question, respondents were given three options to choose from, as well as a combination of the three options. the results were as follows: 1. no time – 40% 2. not enough points – 20% 3. not interested / feel it is unnecessary – 11% 4. combination of 1 and 2 – 6% 5. combination of 1 and 3 – 11% 6. combination of 2 and 3 – 3% 7. combination of 1, 2 and 3 – 3% 8. no response – 6% from the above it is clear that the lack of time is the most important issue. this is indicative of the current construction boom in the country, but again it must be stressed that the cpd system has been in existence for the past six years and therefore lack of time cannot be put forward as an excuse indefinitely. the good news from the sacqsp’s perspective is that only 11% of the respondents stated “not interested/feel it is unnecessary” as the only reason why their cpd is not up to date. added to this it can be mentioned that two of the respondents qualified their choice of “unnecessary” by indicating that they were close to retirement age and therefore felt that it was unnecessary for them to attend courses, etc. another two respondents indicated that they were recently registered and therefore have not had enough time to accumulate sufficient points. question: does your company or place of employment encourage the gaining of cpd points? acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 98 this was an important question to see whether companies / firms support their employees in their effort to obtain cpd points by allowing them to attend such events, paying for their attendance, etc. 70% of the respondents answered “yes” to this question, which is encouraging. the 30% who answered “no” seems high, but it can also be that these were one-person or small operations where the onus is on the individual to gain cpd points. question: what is your opinion on the administration of cpd points? the aim of this question was to try and gauge the opinion of the registered persons regarding the feedback that they are getting from the asaqs on their points standing. whilst 24% of the respondents indicated this to be “good”, 50% of the respondents did not have any opinion, indicating either that they were happy with the state of affairs, or that they have not submitted anything and therefore could not have received any feedback from the asaqs. of the remaining 26% of the respondents, it was the opinion of 24% that it can be improved, whilst 2% indicated that more contact with members was required. the only real constructive information that came from the responses was that the cpd system could be monitored on a stricter basis. question: do you feel that cpd is necessary for quantity surveyors? elaborate please. this was probably the most important question of the survey, as previous questions have been regarding the cpd system, its requirements, consequences, administration, etc. this question however is vital in determining whether the cpd system is or will be supported by the persons registered with the sacqsp. the good news, from sacqsp’s point of view, is that 77% of the respondents felt that cpd was necessary, 14% felt that it was not necessary and the remaining 9% had no opinion. question: has the sacqsp / asaqs made enough effort to market / make you aware of the cpd requirements? do you have any ideas in this regard? the views expressed by respondents were not too favourable for the sacqsp / asaqs as 44% answered “no” to this question. some of the ideas that were mentioned, with comments / explanations in brackets, are as follows (most of the comments were by individuals and no single point stood out above the rest): • cpd should be earned for work done and a logbook should be kept. cruywagen • continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa 99 • improving on the asaqs e-mail database so that individual e-mails can be sent out regarding cpd events (this is already done by some of the bigger asaqs chapters, i.e. gauteng and the western cape). • more opportunities available on the internet [at the time of the questionnaire the golearning (2006) website of the asaqs was in operation for almost a year]. • monthly chapter lectures and a greater advertising of the association of arbitrators’ lectures (monthly lectures will be difficult to organise and sustain as this is done on a voluntary basis by members mostly in private practice). • make the asaqs website more interactive. • requiring annual compliance for re-registration as a registered professional with cpd compliance being a requirement (see later recommendations). • putting arrangements in place with institutions like ceta, ciob, cidb, etc. and other relevant professions like architects to try and organise events more often (this already happens in some chapters, but subjects must be of mutual interest). question: are you aware of the golearning website where points can be earned over the internet? the results showed that more than half (54%) of the respondents indicated that they are aware of the mentioned website to earn points. the reason why the remaining 46% are unaware of the website may be that they have not been informed, are not interested in cpd or do not have internet access. members should be urged to use this facility to earn cpd points. 7. recommendations to change the current cpd policy after the poor returns of cpd submissions in 2005 (the end of the first 5-year cycle), the sacqsp decided that it was time to have a re-look at the whole cpd policy and system and a cpd committee under chairmanship of prof. j.j.p. verster was appointed. this committee investigated the current system and also looked at systems used by other bodies (both in the built environment and elsewhere). the committee reported back to the executive committee of the sacqsp late in 2006 in the form of a draft updated cpd policy document (sacqsp: 2006b). the main differences between the existing and the proposed policies are as follows: acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 100 • in future cpd should be linked to annual renewal of registration of registered persons. currently it is not expected from registered quantity surveyors to renew their registration on a regular basis. section 22(1) of the quantity surveying profession act however states the following: “a registered person must, at least three months prior to the prescribed expiry date of his or her registration, apply in the prescribed manner to the council for the renewal of his or her registration.” furthermore, according to section 22(2) of the act, the council may determine conditions for renewal of registration. • there can therefore be little doubt that the act requires the council to set periods of registration (the south african engineering council requires its members to re-register every 5 years) and that it is within its rights to set, as a requirement of registration that members have to comply with its cpd requirements. • it must be mentioned that the concept of re-registration is not new. the 1999 cpd guideline booklet states (in clause 3) that: ”the council has delegated its authority…for monitoring, management, delivery and maintenance of standards and outcomes of professional development and training in quantity surveying leading to registration, renewal of registration with council” (author’s underlining) (asaqs, 1999). furthermore point 7 of the minutes of a council meeting held on 3 december 1997 states the following: “it was noted that the asaqs executive committee and the asqas board had considered the proposal by the qs edutech centre and had resolved that cpd, including training courses, would be instituted as a prerequisite to continued registration with effect from 1 january 1999. it was agreed that this proposal be accepted in principle” (the south african council for quantity surveyors, 1997). from the before mentioned it is clear that the intention of council was that registered persons should re-register at some intervals of their careers, and that cpd would be a prerequisite for such renewal, but for reasons that are not clear, this was never put into practice. • in lieu of points, registered quantity surveyors will be required to accumulate 25 hours of cpd activities per year. the reason for this is that the current system can be confusing with some members being uncertain whether to claim two points per hour or one point per every two hours. time-wise it will not make a big difference. currently members need an average cruywagen • continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa 101 of 40 points per year. according to the cpd guide (asaqs, 1999), a minimum of 80 points should be accumulated in category 1 over a 5-year cycle (average 16 points per year). say someone gets 20 points in a year in category 1 (10 hours of cpd), then he/she needs another 20 points for the year, which will take him/her another 40 hours in category 2 and/or 3, giving a total of 50 hours of cpd for the year – double the suggested requirement. • it is proposed that there should be two categories in which to gain cpd points, in lieu of the current 3. the proposed categories are as follows: category 1appropriate activities arranged by ‘external’ organisations, such as conferences, congresses, lectures, seminars, web-based learning, postgraduate studies, etc. category 2 will be informal, internal activities such as in-house training sessions, small-group discussions, self-study, undergraduate/post-graduate teaching, mentoring, etc. (sacqsp, 2006b). the reasoning behind the reduction in the number of categories was again an effort to simplify the process. • registered persons may either submit proof of their cpd activities when applying annually for re-registration, or they can submit an affidavit in which they indicate their cpd compliance. in the latter case, persons must retain documentary evidence of all cpd activities during the previous year. • random audits will be conducted annually of records. although it is not specifically stated in the cpd policy how many persons will be audited, the suggestion is that it will be approximately 20% of registered members. this will mean that over a 5-year cycle, the chances are good that every registered person will be audited at least once. • non-compliant members will be requested to submit a written explanation giving reasons for their non-compliance and also what they intend to do to rectify the situation. the member’s response will be considered by the registration committee of the sacqsp and the committee can either grant an extension of time, determine remedial measures for compliance (such as a structured programme to be followed in order to catch up) or, if all else fails, refer the matter to the executive committee of council for a final decision. this committee will then decide whether or not such a person’s registration should be terminated. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 102 8. conclusion from the above, the following conclusions can be made: • the principles regarding cpd are embedded in the professional act, rules and code of conduct of the sacqsp and is therefore here to stay, whether some registered persons agree with the concept or not. • the only way to make cpd compulsory is to link it to the registration of members, i.e. to make it a requirement of re-registration. although it was previously implied to be the case, previous councils never enforced it. • after going through teething problems during the first 5-year cycle (which was partly the reason why the cycle was extended to run over a six and a half year period), the proposed amendments to the current cpd policy should make it a more user-friendly system. • although de-registration should be the last option by the sacqsp against non-complying members, it now has got the authority to do so. previously it would have been difficult to act in such a manner against a non-compliant member, because cpd was never officially incorporated in either the rules or code of conduct as a prerequisite for registration. members were also not required to re-register periodically. • time will tell whether the sacqsp will have the capacity to annually deal with the re-registration of all registered persons (currently approximate 1692) as well as auditing the cpd returns of a portion of the members (approximately 338 returns if 20% of the total current membership is audited). this will however be an administrative problem and should be overcome with the appointment of more staff if it poses to be a problem. references asaqs (association of south african quantity surveyors). 1999. continuing professional development system. (in-house publication). midrand asaqs (association of south african quantity surveyors). 2006. qs news. newsletter of the asaqs. october 2006. midrand ecsa (engineering council of south africa). 2005. policy on continuing professional development. may 2005. johannesburg edutech centre, asaqs. 2007. personal communication. e-mail address: edutech@asaqs.co.za cruywagen • continuing professional development for the quantity surveying profession in south africa 103 gildenhuys, b. 2006. continuing professional development: is it necessary for quantity surveyors? unpublished bsc (honours) treatise, university of pretoria. october 2006. golearning. 2006. educational website of the association of south african quantity surveyors. [online]. available from: <www.golearning. co.za> [accessed: december 2006]. hong kong institute of surveyors. 2003. guide notes for continuing professional development. april, hong kong. le roux, g.k. 2000. the role of cpd in “client delight” relationship. project pro, 10(4), p. 29-31, july. le roux, g.k. 2004. the role of continuing professional development in sustaining professional practice in the built environment professions. unpublished phd-thesis, university of port elizabeth. le roux, g.k., & nkado, r. 2002. governing continuing professional development in the built environment professions in south africa. quest, midrand. september 2002. nziqs (new zealand institute of quantity surveyors). 2004. cpd diary (revised march 2004). [online]. available from: <http://www.nziqs. co.nz> [accessed: 01/02/2007]. rics (royal institution of chartered surveyors). 1993. cpd – review of policy and future strategy. wentwood way, coventry, uk. rics (royal institution of chartered surveyors). 2007. lld and continued professional development. [online]. available from: <http:// www.rics.org/careerseducationandtraining/lifelonglearning/ continuedprofessionaldevelopment>. [accessed: 01/02/2007]. south africa. 1970. quantity surveying act. act 36 of 1970. pretoria: government printer. sacqs (south african council for quantity surveyors). 1997. minutes of council meeting. midrand, 3 december. south african council for the quantity surveying profession. 2006a. newsletter to members. midrand, december. south african council for the quantity surveying profession. 2006b. continuing professional development policy. midrand, december. talukhaba, a.a. 2006. cpd policy for the built environment professionals. unpublished research report for the council for the built environment. 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 ms badenhorst 1 racial representation in the planning profession in south africa: some scenarios summary the planning profession in south africa, along with the majority of other institutions dating back to the previous dispensation, is to a large extent dominated by whites. given the role which planners can play in the reconstruction and development of the country, and concomitant governmental pressure, the profession must become more representative of the country's population at large. the question is, however, how long it will take to bring about significant changes in the composition of the planners' corps under specified conditions. in this article various scenarios are examined, based on certain assumptions and on variations in the output of graduates from the various planning schools. the most important conclusion is that the composition of the planning population is not going to change overnight. neither is there a quick-fix solution to the problem. the exploration indicates that a drastic change in the demographic composition of the planning profession lies beyond the professional lifetime of the majority of white planners of the present generation. keywords:planning profession, demographic composition, south africa. rasseverteenwoordiging in die beplannings­ professie in suid-afrika: enkele scenario's die beplanningsprofessie in suid-afrika, soos die meerderheid ander instellings wat uit die vorige bedeling dateer, is in samestelling in 'n groot mate blank-gedomineerd. gegewe die rol wat beplanners kan speel in die rekonstruksie en herontwikkeling van die land, asmede druk van owerheidswee, is die professie genoop om meer verteenwoordigend van die bevolking te wees. die vraag is egter hoe lank sol dit neem om beduidende verandering in die samestelling van die beplannerskorps te weeg te bring onder bepaalde omstandighede? in die artikel word verskillende scenario's ondersoek wat gebaseer is op sekere aannames en 'n variasie in die lewering van swart graduandi deur die verskillende beplanningskole. die vernaamste afleiding wat gemaak is, is dot die samestelling nie oornag verander kan word nie. daar bestaan ook nie 'n maklike oplossing vir die probleem nie. die ondersoek dui daarop dot 'n drastiese verandering in die demografiese samestelling van die beplanningskorps moeilik te voorsien is gedurende die dienstydperk van die huidige geslag blanke beplanners. sleutelwoorde: beplanningsprofessie, demografiese samestelling, suid-afrika. ms badenhorst. s(sa) trp(sa) b sc(t&rp) (up) d phil(rau), professor and head: department of town and regional planning, university of pretoria, sa badenhorst/racial representation in the planning profession introduction it hardly requires in-depth analysis to realise that the planning profession in south africa, likewise all other professions, is to all intents and purposes, dominated by whites. it is to a lesser degree male-dominated, since only 20% of the practising town and regional planners involved in a survey by badenhorst (1995), some five years ago, were female. this ratio is, however, continually improving, since one-half of the students enrolled nation-wide in town and regional planning in 1994 were female. this figure fell back to 41% in 1997 (table 1), which is probably only a temporary phenomenon. since the same survey revealed that 54% of town and regional planners were afrikaans-speaking, vis-a-vis 33% english-speakers, the profession is less linguistically dominated than in terms of gender or race. furthermore, if an extended definition of planners is applied including those holding qualifications in areas other than town and regional planning, such as development planning, which typically draws more black students, as well as foreign qualifications, the linguistic domination is even less severe now than it was five years ago. all spheres of south african society are under pressure to restructure so as to become more representative of society at large. it could well be argued that the pressure on the planning profession is even greater, given the pivotal role which planners can play in the reconstruction and development of the country and its people. the crucial question is: how long will it take to effect changes in the racial composition of the body of planners under given conditions at the entry level of the profession? the aim of this paper is, first, to present a number of scenarios to illustrate the change in racial composition of the planning profession that can be expected/effected under varying conditions. to achieve this, the paper firstly makes a projection of the size of the planning population in the near future. this projection is based solely on the assumptions guiding the exercise (see assumptions), and excludes any reference to the economy's future capacity to accommodate any particular number of planners. secondly, the paper forecasts the racial composition of the future planning population based on varying black/white ratios at the level of entry into the profession (table 3). before setting out the assumptions on which the analysis is 2 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 based, a brief description of the present situation in terms of enrolments and graduates will be provided. present situation the situation in terms of the gender and race of students enrolled in the seven departments of town and regional planning in the country is reflected in table 1. the most striking feature of the information in table 1, is the drop in the number of students registered for the various programmes in town and regional planning between 1994 and 1997 at the universities. the figure dropped from 402 in 1994 to 339 in 1997. the major slump occurred in 1997, as the enrolment figure for 1996 stood at 390 (badenhorst, 1997). however, the decline in the numbers of students (and female students in particular) entering the various programmes cannot be construed as a long-term phenomenon (badenhorst, 1998). from the contents of table 1, it also appears that africans have almost doubled their share of the enrolment figures, viz. an increase from 10,5% in 1994 to 19,2% in 1997. in absolute terms, however, this progress is not very significant as it involves only 23 more students. the doubling of the figure for coloureds occurred from an even smaller base. at the same time the share of whites dropped by almost 10% to 72,3%. in total, the share of blacks (africans, coloureds and asians) increased from 72 ( 18%) in 1994 to 94 (28%) in 1997. the survey of planning departments (badenhorst, 1997) focused only on those programmes in town and regional planning accredited for registration purposes with the south african council for town and regional planners. it therefore excluded technikons, as well as the masters programme in development planning at the university of the witwatersrand, which have since gained accreditation. according to muller ( 1998), approximately 30 students enrolled this year in the development planning programme, of whom an average of 20 would typically proceed to study for the masters degree. the number of graduates in 1997 was a round one dozen. a question on the number of graduates in 1996 was included in the 1997 survey of town and regional planning departments (badenhorst, 1997). however, due to incomplete information 3 table 1: gender and race of students in town and regional planning institution gender race total (universities of) male female african asian coloured white 1994 1997 1994 1997 1994 1997 1994 1997 1994 1997 1994 1997 1994 1997 pretoria 45 43 57 31 1 6 . . . . 101 68 102 74 witwatersrand 38 42 37 34 20 34 15 13 . 3 40 26 75 76 potchefstroom 40 57 44 21 1 1 . . . . 83 77 84 78 natal 20 18 22 12 13 14 8 5 2 . 19 11 42 30 stellenbosch 13 13 14 12 . . . . 2 5 25 20 27 25 cape town 13 9 15 16 5 3 . . 3 1 20 21 28 25 orange free state 33 18 11 13 2 7 . . . 2 42 22 44 31 total no. 202 200 200 139 42 65 23 18 7 11 330 245 402 339 % 50,3 59,0 49,7 41,0 10,5 19,2 5,7 5,3 1,7 3,2 82,1 72,3 100 100 source: badenhorst, 1998 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 returned on the question, the potential number of graduates per annum had to be calculated or deduced from the enrolment in the relevant year and in the previous year, viz. 1996 enrolments in the semi-final year for 1997 graduates, and so on. a graduation rate of 90% for the former was assumed. table 2: final year enrolment: town and regional planning-students african asian white coloured total n 21 6 91 5 123 1996 % n 17, 1 13 4,9 5 74,0 85 4,0 4 100,0 107 1997 1998* % n % 12,2 24 20,7 4,7 4 3,4 79,4 82 70,7 3,7 6 5,2 100,0 116 100,0 calculated from 1997 enrolment in semi-final year of study. source: badenhorst, 1998 total n % 58 16,8 15 4.3 258 74,6 15 4,3 346 100,0 from table 2 it can be calculated that some 312 graduates in town and regional planning could potentially have been produced in the three-year period ending in 1998 (346 x 0,9). the capacity of the seven departments of town and regional planning at south african universities to accommodate more students is nonetheless assumed to be higher as will be indicated. assumptions in order to construct the various scenarios with regard to future racial representation in the planning profession, a number of assumptions had to be made. in another paper, badenhorst ( 1998), applied a different size to the initial body of planners ( 1 200 vis-a-vis 2000) and a rate of entry into the profession of 120 planners per annum vis-a-vis 150 per annum in the present case. the outcomes of the two sets of calculations were remarkably consistent in so far as the rate of change in racial composition is 5 badenhorst/racial representation in the planning profession concerned. sensitivity analysis showed that the model is not very sensitive to reasonable variations. the specific assumptions on which this paper is based are as follows: • an extended definition of planning was assumed to include town and regional planners, development planners and those holding other professional planning qualifications. • the body of planners was assumed to total 2 ooo, of whom 1 900 (95%) are whites and 100 (5%) are blacks. (according to giudicci ( 1998) a total of 821 people are presently registered with the south african council for town and regional planners as professional planners and 273 as planners-in­ training. she estimates the former to represent slightly more than one-half of practising town and regional planners.) • the absorption of planning graduates into the workforce was accepted as 100% (see introduction). • the age structure of the planning population was adapted from the 1993 age structure of town and regional planners (see badenhorst, 199 5). • the entry rate into the planning profession was assumed to be 150 per annum ( 120 town and regional planners and 30 development planners and other professionals). • it was assumed that 40% of the entrants into the profession are younger than 24 and 60% 25 29 years. • the period of forecast was taken as 45 years, viz. the time it takes a person who enters the profession in the 20 24 years age category to exit the 60 64 years category. • the exit rate of people entering the profession was taken as one per cent per five-year period, i.e. for every 100 entering in 1998 at age 23, 92 will eventually exit at the age of 65 years in the year 2040. • the category "blacks" includes africans, asians and coloureds. methodology the cohort-survival method was applied to determine the outcomes of varying conditions relating to racial shares on the entry side of the profession. the population (2000) was divided into five-year cohorts, and the share of blacks in the new cohorts was varied in order to illustrate what effect each case would 6 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 have on the racial composition of the planning population for the different time frames. outcomes were calculated for a 33% share of black entrants, a 50% share, a 66% share, and a 90% share. in order to do this, however, the growth of the planning population had to be projected in terms of the assumptions dis­ cussed above. analysis the results of forecasting the planning populations are summaris­ ed in table 3. table 3: projected share of whites projected % share of whites year planning at various black entry rates 1998 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2043 population 2 ooo 2 300 3 ooo 3 600 4 150 4 700 5 100 5 600 5 900 6 050 6 ooo 33% 95 92 86 81 78 76 73 71 70 68 67 50% 66% 90% 95 95 95 90 89 90 80 75 66 73 65 54 68 58 44 64 53 36 61 48 30 58 43 24 55 40 19 52 36 14 50 34 10 starting off with a planning population of two thousand in 1998, a total of 6 ooo planners is projected for the year 2043 (figure 1). the three-thousand mark is expected to be reached by the year 2005, the four-thousand mark by 2013 and the five-thousand mark by 2023 (table 3). after passing the six-thousand level in 2035 and peaking at 6 200 in 2038, the population is projected to drop back to six thousand as the last of the current (white) planners exit at the age of 65. 7 badenhorsvracial representation in the planning profession figure 1: projected growth of planning population (x 103 ) 7 6 5 4 3 2 .,, / .. / � ff.. / f.. / �-' f.. �-1 � -1 6 �-' �-' f/. �-1 �-· 3 /2 -� • ill 1998 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2043 year ffffffigure 2 illustrates the effect that a 33% entry of black planners would have on the racial composition of the planning population up to the year 2043 (see also table 3). this scenario more or less represents the effect the indefinite maintenance of the present level of black entry for a 43 year duration would have on the racial composition of the body of planners. figure 2: racial shares (33% black entry per annum) 100 90 80 ... 70 60 z 50 40 30 .... 20 10 0 8 1998 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2043 year lawhites as1ocks j 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 the maximum share that blacks can eventually attain in the planning profession under prevailing conditions, i.e. with at maximum one-third of new entrants belonging to this category, is obviously not more than 33% (table 3). figure 3: racial shares (50% black entry per annum) 100 90 80 ... 70 60 z 50 40 30 .... 20 10 0 1998 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2043 year jcwhites •slacks j in the event of the share of black entrants into the profession being increased to 50%, a position of equal representation would be reached by 2043 when the last members of the present planning population exit the profession (table 3). figure 3 illustrates the outcome of a 2:1 black/white intake on the racial composition of the planning population. in this case equal black/white representation would be attained by the year 2023, i.e. two decades earlier than in the previous scenario (table 3). 9 badenhorst/racial representation in the planning profession figure 4: racial shares (66% black entry per annum) 100 90 80 w 70 � 60 z 50 w 40 � 30 .... 20 10 0 1998 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2043 year i a whites • blacks i figure 5: racial shares (90% black entry per annum) 100 90 80 w 70 � 60 z 50 w 40 � w 30 .... 20 10 0 1998 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2043 year j a whites • blacks i if the entry of blacks into the profession has advanced to 90% as from 1998, a position of equal representation between black and white planners would be attained by the year 2012. by 2043, nine out of 10 planners would be black, which would reflect the demographic composition of the nation by then (table 3). by that time, members of the present planning population would have reached retirement age. 10 1999 acta structilia vol 6 no 1 & 2 conclusion one overarching conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing, is that the racial composition of the planning population in the country is not going to be changed overnight. nor is there a quick-fix solution to the situation. there is indeed a long and arduous road ahead if a position of equal representation between blacks and whites in the profession is to be achieved. a time in future when the racial composition of the profession will reflect the demographics of the nation at large is indeed a lifetime away for the members of the present generation of planners if the present enrolment trend should continue. it is quite obvious that sustained efforts to set things right are required by all involved in charting the profession's future. references badenhorst, m.s. 1998. race and gender repre­ sentation in the town and regional planning profession in south africa: some scenarios. paper presented at the inter­ national conference once upon a planner's day. uni­ versity of pretoria. pretoria. badenhorst, m.s. 1997. questionnaire to town and regional planning depart­ ments at universities in south africa. badenhorst, m.s. 1995. the occupational profile of the town and regional planner in south africa ( 1993). town and regional planning, no 38. giuddici, f. 1998. registrar: south african council for town and regional planners. personal enquiry. muller, j. 1998. head: department of town and regional planning. university of the witwaters­ rand. johannesburg. personal enquiry. 11 acta structilia-14(1) 93 winston shakantu, john tookey, manya muya & paul bowen beyond egan’s supply chain management: advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry abstract the construction industry has globally been identified by investors and portfolio managers as under-performing in terms of return on investment (roi), while simultaneously exposing the capital investment of investors to the highest levels of risk compared to any significant industry. in some cases, construction firms have received rates of return of as low as 1.5 to 2%. this is typically an unsustainable level of return for investors as they can gain a considerably higher roi through much less risky financial vehicles such as gilts and bonds. given such a low rate of return, the construction industry has for a number of years attempted to increase efficiency and reduce costs as a means of winning further business and increasing profitability. one of the methods that have been espoused as offering significant potential benefits for construction has been the industry-wide adoption of the principles of supply chain management (scm). however, at present the bulk of scm practice is focussed on high level strategic issues, whilst largely ignoring more operational issues related to logistics. this is a major omission, given the fact that a recent study by the building research establishment (bre) in the uk indicates that as much as 30% of the cost of construction is attributed to transportation of materials. this article examines, through a review of literature, the role of scm in construction and the contribution an effective logistics system can make to increasing efficiency and reducing construction costs. keywords: scm, supply chain management, logistics, process optimisation, construction, transportation dr winston m. shakantu, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town south africa. tel: (021) 650 4327; fax: (021) 689 7564; email: <winston.shakantu@uct.ac.za> dr john e. tookey, department of civil and environmental engineering, university of auckland, tel: +64 9 373 7599 ext 88153; fax: +64 9 373 7462; j.tookey@auckland.ac.nz dr manya muya, department of civil and environmental engineering, university of zambia, p.o. box 32379, lusaka, zambia. tel: +260 1 260 967; fax: +260 1 260 967; mundiamuya2000@yahoo.co.uk prof. paul a. bowen, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town south africa. tel: (021) 650 3445; fax: (021) 689 7564; email: <paul.bowen@uct.ac.za> oorsigartikels • review articles 94 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) abstrak die bou-industrie word wêreldwyd deur beleggers en portefeuljebestuurders vereenselwig met die onderprestasie van opbrengs op belegging. terselfdertyd stel dit beleggers se kapitaalbelegging bloot aan die hoogste risikovlakke in vergelyking met dié van enige betekenisvolle ander nywerheid. in sommige gevalle verdien konstruksiefirmas opbrengste van slegs 1.5% tot 2%. vir beleggers is dit ’n onvolhoubare vlak omdat hulle ’n veel hoër opbrengs deur veel laer risiko middele soos verbande en borgaktes kan verdien. as gevolg van hierdie lae opbrengs het die bou-industrie gepoog om doeltreffendheid te verbeter en kostes te beperk om sodoende verdere besigheid te genereer en winsgewendheid te verhoog. een van die metodes wat uitstaan as ’n metode om betekenisvolle voordele vir konstruksie te bied is die industrie-wye aanvaarding van die beginsels van leweringskettingbestuur. maar, tans is die omvang van leweringskettingpraktyk afgespits op hoëvlak strategiese kwessies terwyl die meer operasionele kwessies van logistiek ignoreer word. as in ag geneem word dat ’n resente studie deur die building research establishment (bre) in die verenigde koninkryk aandui dat soveel as 30% van konstruksiekoste aan vervoer toegeskryf kan word, is hierdie ’n groot weglating. hierdie artikel ondersoek die rol van leweringskettingbestuur in konstruksie en die bydrae wat ’n effektiewe logistieke stelsel kan maak om doeltreffendheid te verbeter en kostes te sny. sleutelwoorde: leweringskettingbestuur, logistiek, optimalisering van proses, bou-industrie, vervoer 95 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry 1. introduction the construction industry plays an indispensable role both directlyand indirectly in any nations’ economic growth. the industry hasa substantial contribution to make to the quality of life. its products, buildings and other structures change the nature, function and appearance of towns and countryside (detr, 2000; van wyk, 2004). the construction industry also provides governments in many parts of the world with economic, regulatory and public sector policy and capacity delivery mechanisms (detr, 2000; hillebrandt, 2000; fellows et al., 2002; van wyk, 2004). construction products provide the basis for the property and infrastructure market which generates economic opportunities for investors (cain, 2003). however, in terms of investment performance, the construction industry has for a number of years been identified as one of the poor investment sectors in economies around the world (harvey & ashworth, 1997; fellows et al., 2002). the industry has globally been identified by investors and portfolio managers as under-performing in terms of return on investment (roi), and simultaneously exposing the capital of investors to the highest levels of risk in any significant industry (harvey & ashworth, 1997; fellows et al., 2002). in the uk for example, construction firms have traditionally received rates of return of 1.5 to 2% (macalister, 2003). this is typically an unsustainable level of return for investors as a significantly higher roi can be achieved through much less risky financial vehicles such as gilts and bonds. indeed, even in the current economic situation in the uk, where interest rates have been low and stable for many years, bank base rates are still in the region of 4% (bank of england, 2006). given such a low rate of return, the construction industry has for a number of years attempted to increase efficiency and reduce costs as a means of both winning further business and increasing profitability (cartlidge, 2002; cain, 2003). one of the methods that have been espoused as offering significant potential benefits for construction is the industry-wide adoption of the principles of supply chain management (scm) (detr 2000; cartlidge, 2002). supply chains usually comprise three flows: two directional flow of information between customers and suppliers; one directional flow of materials and products to customers, except where reverse logistics may arise; and the flow of cash from customers to suppliers, designating completed transactions as illustrated in figure 1. 96 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) figure 1: the supply chain concept source: muya, 1999 the adoption of scm principles has become a priority following the publication of the watershed egan report (1998) and quality of life report published by detr uk in 2000. these principles have been echoed around the world. for instance, in australia, the commonwealth department of industry, science and resources (disr) published a report on best practice supply chain management theory and practice. the report demonstrated through case studies how companies can improve their performance and competitiveness (tucker et al., 2001). in south africa, the principles of the egan report (1998) were included in both the 1999 government white paper on creating an enabling environment for reconstruction, growth and development in the construction industry and in the construction industry interim report (2004). in the uk, the egan report (1998) assumed the role of a banner under which government, industry and clients worked together for radical change and improvement in construction performance, efficiency and quality. a central theme of the report was the need to reduce waste at all stages of construction and throughout the supply chain (cartlidge, 2002; kelly et al., 2002; cain, 2003). however, for the construction industry to benefit from scm, it is necessary to understand exactly how the supply chain functions and what its components are. to this end, a variety of attempts to understand the workings of scm in the construction industry have been made (agapiou et al., 1998; formoso & revelo, 1999; barker et 97 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry al., 1999; vrijhoef & koskela, 2000; kumaraswamy & palaneeswaran, 2000; briscoe et al., 2004. on one hand the above works point to the benefits, functions and components of scm and on the other hand, the authors also pointed out numerous problems that hinder full exploitation of scm in construction. in the work of voordijk (1999), for example, it was found that the fragmented organisational structure of the construction industry prohibited development of efficient supply chain relationships. this fragmented state of the construction industry is a direct result of its historical development (satoh & morton, 1995; fellows et al., 2002; morton, 2002; cain, 2003; murray & langford, 2004; kalidindi & varghese, 2004). 2. structure of the construction industry extensive sub-contracting has led to strategic and operational fragmentation of the industry as companies become heavily outsourced and ‘slimmed down’. ‘slimming down’ in this context can be seen as externalising key skills and disciplines from traditional general contractors into sub-contracting organisations but retaining skeleton skills to manage contracts. this significantly reduces the level of integration within and between organisations (gray & flanagan, 1989; edum-fotwe et al., 1999). moreover, the components manufacturing process occurs off site in specialist manufacturers’ plant where technical specialisation and much of the product knowledge is held (gray & flanagan, 1989). such specialist subcontracting has become a very diverse, fragmented and complex sector of the construction industry, further reducing the level of integration between organisations (edumfotwe et al., 1999). regionalisation has also been endemic within the construction industry. reduced main contractor size, increased numbers of subcontracting organisations, and increasing fragmentation has had a significant impact on operational capability of contractors. the generally smaller, leaner companies remaining have reduced resources and capitalisation. the reduction in resources has led to a limitation in the scope of operations of small organisations to act locally or regionally, rather than nationally and globally (lansley, 1987). the reduction in scope of operations forced by a reduced size creates two main effects. firstly, smaller companies start to operate tactically, concentrating on the micro rather than macro view of the world. this has a significant impact on the inability of a locally focused company adopting best practice approaches. secondly, 98 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) smaller companies move into an economic mindset that emphasises short-term expediency, rather than investment in a longer-term integrative and strategic approach to operations (edum-fotwe et al., 1999; cidb, 2004). traditionally the construction industry exhibits other characteristics detrimental to taking a longer-term view. the industry is projectbased, making the creation of long-term teams very difficult and virtually unnecessary. architects and other designers traditionally create designs in isolation from the engineers and technicians who construct the industry’s product. this means that constructability becomes a secondary issue compared to the aesthetic qualities of the built environment. although artistically and culturally laudable, it could be seen as of no benefit to the cost effectiveness and timely delivery of construction. recently, these issues have been central to the problems faced in the construction of the new scottish parliament building in edinburgh. the problems of massive overspending and delay led directly to the commissioning of the fraser inquiry (fraser report, 2004; online). by extension, components supply is similarly sub-optimal. the specified sub-assemblies and components that are required for the total construction of a building are selected by the architect on the basis of architectural merit rather than technical performance (gray & flanagan, 1989). particular lack of understanding is demonstrated by the fact that designers have limited knowledge and experience of the capability of the companies selected as suppliers. the skills and tools required to select and monitor supplier performance tend to be held by either quantity surveying or construction management disciplines. however, these disciplines have minimal, if any, input into the design process. the above characteristics form a unique combination, which reinforces the preponderance of subcontracting. these key issues have been the generic challenges of the industry in the last 200 years and continue to-date. success has been attributed to the cutting of the cost base and externalisation of functions. this has led to a highly confrontational approach in the supply chain system of the industry. stiff competition among the contracting companies has led to lower profitability in the industry. risk is high and many new entrants become bankrupt within the first three years (cidb, 2004). in summary, the industry has over the past 200 years developed and maintained a system of construction with little fundamental change. 99 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry as a result, it has consistently been critiqued for lack of innovation. for the past 70 years, the industry’s clients have demanded improvement. yet as late as the 1990s and early 2000s, the industry was found to be underachieving and in need of radical change (latham, 1994; egan, 1998; morton, 2002). 3. catalyst for radical change the latham report (1994) proved to be a major catalyst for radical change in client attitudes because it put a figure of 30% on the cost of inefficiency and waste in the industry. for individual repeat clients, the message about the high level of unnecessary costs was a powerful driver for them to take a more active role in the industry (cartlidge, 2002; kelly et al., 2002; cain, 2003). the egan report (1998) strongly reinforced the concerns of clients regarding the high levels of inefficiency and waste, and equally strongly supported the earlier message of the need for integration. the egan report differed from earlier reports by urging the adaptation of best practice principles from other sectors of the economy, reflecting perhaps, sir john egan’s own experiences in the automotive sector. egan called for the investigation of total integration and management of design development and most importantly, construction scm. it resulted in tools for the systematic and managed approach to the procurement and maintenance of constructed facilities based on integrating all the activities of a preassembled supply chain under the control of a single point of responsibility (cain 2003; cavinato, 2005). the overall goal is to harness the full potential of the supply chain to deliver optimal value to the client while improving the profits earned by all parties and reducing waste in the system (kelly et al., 2002; kalidindi & vargesse, 2004). these high aspirations assume that lower level operational issues of logistics are well understood and function efficiently. however, notwithstanding the pivotal role of logistics within scm, at present little work has been done to ascertain the functioning of the logistics process in the construction supply chain. 4. the road to improvement as both a regulator and client of the industry, the south african government, in line with its u.k counterpart, is actively promoting an efficient and effective construction industry that uses resources efficiently, reduces waste and transforms the working environment of 100 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) its people for better employment and greater productivity (cidb, 2004; van wyk, 2004). notwithstanding the pressure on the industry to reform, construction remains confined to its old ways of doing business. risk is regularly and consistently shifted to others in the supply chain. typical methods include through non-payment, retention and ‘pay when paid’ practices (ashworth & hogg, 2002). while most industries have undergone significant transformations over the past three decades, the south african construction industry presents an obvious and glaring exception to such trends. it is renowned for its inefficiencies as well as the reluctance of its participants to adopt significant improvements (cidb, 2004; van wyk, 2004). surveys undertaken by the south african council for scientific and industrial research (csir) indicate that clients are not satisfied with the quality of outputs; and products are too expensive and take too long to build (wyk, 2004). the primary cause of the industry’s performance weaknesses is the segregation of design and construction which forms a barrier to any consideration of buildability, savings in labour usage, ease of maintenance and consideration and inclusion of safety at the design stage. the fragmentation reduces the efficiency of the industry and leads to much rework and wastage downstream (morton, 2002; cidb, 2004; van wyk, 2004). construction projects in south africa rely on a variety of firms with poorly integrated professional and contractor organisations. each firm performs a variety of wasteful activities within its own discipline. these fragmented processes create inefficiencies resulting in substantial delays and costs. south african clients, like their counterparts across the world, have begun demanding for radical improvements in construction performance. clients’ focus is on the effect construction has on other industries’ performance through its contribution to overheads. in contrast to construction, most firms in other industries have striven to improve their competitiveness by measuring and driving down unnecessary costs in their manufacturing or retail supply chains (hooley et al., 1998; gripsrud et al., 2006). at the same time, they have improved the quality of their products to more effectively meet the requirements of their customers (cain, 2003). with this in mind, the highly effective customers of the construction industry are demanding that their performance be replicated by the construction industry. because of their knowledge and skills in supply chain integration, these ‘supply chain savvy’ clients can clearly see the inefficiency and 101 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry waste that occurs at all stages of the design and construction process. it may be supposed that the experience of such clients in reconciling conflict in their own supply chains would give them a reasonable understanding of the likely problems of construction (lim et al., 2006). it seems imperative that the construction industry recognises the benefits and improvements that can accrue from adopting scm and attendant logistics practices from other industries (egan, 1998; cartlidge, 2002; kelly et al., 2002; cain, 2003). 5. the role of supply chain management (scm) in construction the supply chain is the network of organisations that are involved through upstream and downstream linkages in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate customer (cooper et al., 1997; lambert et al., 1998; handfield & nichols, 1999; lummus & vokurka, 1999; bowersox et al., 2002; coyle et al., 2003). parties in the construction industry include clients, designers, contractors, subcontractors and materials suppliers as illustrated in figure 2. all these provide inputs of one form or another that go towards the realisation of projects. all the direct resource inputs are supplied and managed by a linkage of companies that can, in aggregate, be termed construction supply chains. scm implies the management of upstream and downstream activities and relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as a whole (proverbs & holt, 2000; bowersox et al., 2002; ellram, 2002). it therefore follows that the object of effective scm is the coordination of the spectrum of all supply activities of organisations from their suppliers and partners to their customers referred to as clients in figure 2 (ganeshan & harrison, 1995: online; bowersox et al., 2002; coyle et al., 2003). these tenets of scm contrast sharply with traditional construction procurement (vrijhoef & koskela, 2000; vrijhoef et al., 2003). 102 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) figure 2: resources supply in construction supply chains source: muya, 1999 various authors have noted the fact that the construction industry’s traditional approach to procurement has been characterised by a largely fragmented, inefficient, sequential, wasteful and adversarial process (cartlidge, 2002; fellows et al., 2002; kelly et al., 2002; cain 2003). principally, this is manifested in little, if any; contribution made at the briefing, design and cost planning stages by main contractors and specialist suppliers (masterman, 1994). hill & ballard (2001) have argued that failure to adequately capture construction supply chain expertise at an early enough stage in the project delivery process is one of the primary causes of uncertainty, delay, increased costs and contractual conflict. to improve project delivery, egan (1998) recommended the use of integrated teams and integration of the processes (fellows et al., 2002; kelly et al., 2002). in essence, the report recommended the application of scm in the construction context (egan, 1998). this involves looking beyond the product of construction itself, into the processes, components and materials that make up the output (cartlidge, 2002; cain, 2003). scm can bring benefits to all involved when applied to the total construction process. the process should start with a detailed definition of clients’ business needs through the use of value management and end with the delivery of a product that provides 103 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry an environment in which the client’s business needs can be carried out with maximum efficiency and minimum facilities management costs (morton, 2002; cain, 2003). the overall role of scm in the construction industry is twofold. firstly, to deliver improved value to the client in cradle-to-grave performance of facilities. secondly, to improve the profits earned by all involved. this can be achieved through the measurement and elimination of unnecessary costs in the construction supply chain. measurement can help to identify and eliminate inefficiency and waste occurring at many stages of the design and construction processes (morton, 2002; tansey et al., 2004; tookey et al., 2004). scm also focuses on free information flow up and down the supply chain; feedback and learning that leads to continuous improvement and value chain analysis to determine where cost and/or value creation can be improved (fisher & morledge, 2002; cain, 2003; tookey et al., 2004). generally it is important to view the philosophy of scm in construction as an extension of the concept of partnerships into a multi-firm effort to manage the total flow of goods inventory from supplier to the ultimate consumer (bowersox et al., 2002; coyle et al., 2003). within the concept of scm there is an assumption of planning, forecasting and delivery efficiency leading to reduced inventory, waste, and defects (bowersox et al., 2002; fisher & morledge, 2002; coyle et al., 2003). given the predominance of the subcontracting practice and other disintegrative practices in construction, research needs to be conducted to ascertain how scm processes work and how they can be improved in the south african construction sector. various reports and research over the years have identified disintegrative behaviour as being the root cause of many problems in the industry. prominent among the studies were those conducted by the cidb (2004) and van wyk (2004). it is important to understand that construction is fundamentally a manufacturing operation generally utilising low cost and high volume materials. these materials have to be moved to constantly changing geographical locations. consequently, the scm function in construction should be of strategic importance. given the risk-averse nature of modern construction, effective planning should be taken as an essential precondition to the successful execution of projects. construction planners must take into account all the dynamics related to production and other operational issues of projects. the construction planner, therefore, ought to plan materials distribution, movement to site and related 104 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) information distribution and management and other scm and logistical activities carefully (agapiou et al., 1998; voordijk, 1999; vrijhoef & koskela, 2000; briscoe et al., 2004. there have been a number of studies undertaken on the supply chain management (scm) concept and its contribution to construction process optimisation. notable among these were those undertaken by lambert et al. (1998), larson & rogers (1998) and marbet & vankataraman (1998) these studies were well received and recently were enhanced through the contributions of vrijhoef & koskela (2000), ofori (2000), briscoe et al. (2004) and saad et al. (2002). therefore, it is not surprising that scm research has been driven by the need to improve the efficiency with which the construction industry operates its supply network (briscoe et al., 2004). the emphasis of construction procurement is currently on value adding supply chain relationships (cartlidge, 2002). this is because good lessons have been learnt from other sectors of the economy such as vehicle manufacturing which, by taking a holistic view of supply chain interactions, have developed closer value adding relationships (lamming & hampson, 1996). following successes in other sectors, a small but increasing number of construction organisations are beginning to adopt scm principles as a means to improving performance and to addressing their supply chain relationships. scm literature on construction has focussed considerably on lean production (vrijhoef & koskela, 2000) largely ignoring the more operational issues of scm such as the logistics function. this is a significant omission as the performance of materials handling, distribution and information flow in both upstream and downstream linkages are crucial in the scm process for the construction industry (agapiou et al., 1997; agapiou et al., 1998; voordijk, 1999; vrijhoef & koskela, 2000; edum-fotwe et al., 2001; briscoe et al., 2004. a recent study by the building research establishment (bre) in the uk indicted that 30% of construction costs are attributed to the transportation of construction materials (hill & ballard, 2001; bre, 2003). therefore, construction is uniquely placed to benefit from improved logistics because of the nature of materials consumed and the methods and volumes involved. currently, the transportation of construction materials from the point of production to the point of consumption is uncoordinated and inflexible with the majority of construction materials suppliers using their own vehicles assigned to dedicated delivery schedules, delivering ad hoc to various locations (agapiou et al., 1997, agapiou et al., 1998). it is important to examine construc105 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry tion vehicle transits in order to understand these operational issues of logistics in the construction industry. 5.1 construction vehicle transits the construction industry utilises millions of tonnes of materials and generates large quantities of waste. moving these volumes of materials and waste requires large numbers of loaded vehicle transits. for instance, the uk and south african construction industries utilise 1000 million and 400 million tonnes of materials and generate 100 million and about 10 million tonnes of waste annually respectively (detr 2000, lazarus, 2002, shakantu et al., 2003; shakantu, 2004). given the above figures for material consumption and waste generation, the requirement for transportation of materials to and waste from construction sites is clearly significant. for instance, transporting 100 million tonnes of construction and demolition (c&d) waste from sites around the uk alone equates to 5 million loaded vehicle transits, assuming that vehicles transporting waste were fully loaded to their maximum capacity (shakantu, 2004). when the volume of materials being transported to sites, which is approximately 10 times that of c&d waste, is taken into account, the shear scale of the transportation problem can be comprehended (koskela, 1999; detr, 2000; shakantu, 2004). a recent study seeking to optimise the logistics of construction found that construction materials delivery and c&d waste removal are usually considered to be entirely separate business activities (shakantu et al., 2003). a consequence of this scenario is that each vehicle type, when travelling to or leaving a construction site moves full in one direction and empty in the opposite direction. there is therefore a significant opportunity to utilise some of the concepts of logistics management to achieve process optimisation (coyle et al., 2003; nilsson, 2006). for instance, optimisation could be achieved through the application of reverse logistics solutions that merge the forward and reverse flows into one process (srivastava, s.k. & srivastava, r.k. 2006; wu & cheng, 2006). 5.2 logistics management logistics management is a complex task within both the modern manufacturing and construction industries. effective logistics management implies a mastery of various key processes including planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of 106 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) origin to the point of consumption in order to fulfil customer requirements (council for logistics management, [clm], 1991). the above definition by clm reflects the need for the total management of movement from the point of origin of materials to the location of the finished product. additionally, logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling and packaging. logistics management includes the design and administration of systems to control the flow of materials, work in progress and finished inventory to support business (bowersox et al., 2002). to manage these flows, leading firms have developed logistics systems capable of monitoring logistical performance on a real time basis, giving them the ability to identify potential operational bottlenecks and to take timely corrective action (bowersox et al., 2002). operational strategies of the fast moving consumer goods (fmcg) sector such as quick response (qr) and electronic data interchange (edi) which facilitate efficient transmission of data throughout the supply pipeline and allow stores to link supply with real time demand could be utilised. 5.2.1 logistics systems logistics management provides a systems framework for decision making that integrates transportation, inventory, warehousing space and other related activities that together encompass appropriate trade-offs involving cost and service in the supply chain. a logistics system is a set of interacting elements, variables, and parts or objects that are functionally related to one another and form a coherent logistics group (bowersox et al., 2002; coyle et al., 2003). a large part of the logistics system is transportation. transportation is one of the most visible elements of logistics operations (bowersox et al., 2002). transportation provides a major function in the logistics system, namely, product movement. in the construction industry, the size of the transportation problem is very significant as sub-optimally loaded vehicles move frequently through cities at inappropriate times. more often, adjacent sites fail to synchronise their activities and substantially contribute to the creation of congestion in the road transport system. construction traffic also fails to ‘back-haul’ materials from sites to the points of disposal. this contributes to increases in vehicular traffic as additional vehicles need to be made available to remove waste from sites. increased vehicular traffic exacerbates noise and air pollution across cities. concerns with gridlock and pollution have led to increasing analysis of approaches 107 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry to controlling the flow of traffic in cities. waste reduction and increased recycling have also received more attention in recent times. there is a growing interest in the industry in reverse logistics systems to support recycling and waste management (coyle et al., 2003). 5.3 the emerging role of logistics in construction process optimisation latham (1994) recommended the establishment of well-managed and efficient supply chains. according to cartlidge (2002) this was to be achieved through a reduction of development and production costs by 30%. for this reduction to happen it is important that operators and contractors work more closely together, pool information and knowledge can help drive down costs and thus indirectly promote efficient supply chains and value for money. conversely, operators should assist to remove waste from the construction process. within the supply chain this can be done through value adding activities that increase logistical and operational benefits. the role of physical distribution is critical to the logistics process. it requires skilful design and control of data flows connected with products and production. an integrated supply chain strategy creates a seamless supply chain for production and associated logistics processes. logistics integrates stocks, materials acquisition, transportation and other systems. effective logistics management reduces costs. according to tan (2001), the transportation system allows organisations to deliver products and services in a more timely and effective manner. therefore, the role of logistics is to satisfy the up-stream and down-stream members of the supply chain. integrated logistics activities provide supply chain members with the opportunity to optimise system performance. this represents a major departure from current logistics practices in the construction industry that are characterised by disparate efforts with limited or no coordination between organisations (handfield & nichols, 1999). catlidge (2002), kelly et al., (2002), cain (2003) and tansey et al., (2004) revealed that there are many stages of the design and construction process where inefficiency and waste occurs. value chain analysis can assist to determine where costs and value creation can be improved (fisher & morledge, 2002). currently, many firms do not understand or address the operational element of logistics. this position appears paradoxical considering 108 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) that logistics is widely cited as the pre-eminent subset of scm (bowersox et al., 2002; coyle et al., 2003). earlier studies showed that construction does not isolate logistics expenses and therefore there is no effort to reduce these costs. this is undesirable considering that transportation accounts for a large proportion of logistics costs, and up to 50% of some basic materials such as sand (shakantu et al., 2003). consequently, there appears to be a significant need for an enhanced understanding of logistics in a construction context in order to deliver the full benefits of scm. 6. conclusion scm in construction is a way of working in a structured, organised and collaborative manner shared by all participants in a supply chain. each company is a link in a chain of activities adding value at each stage designed ultimately to satisfy end customer demand (cartlidge, 2002; cain, 2003). scm in a modern context emphasises delivering customer value without compromising the ability of each member of the supply chain to maintain a viable business, that is, everyone makes a fair profit. the supply chain encompasses all those activities associated with processing, from raw materials to completion of the end product. this includes procurement, production, scheduling, order processing, inventory management, transport, storage and customer service and all other supporting information systems. logistics management is concerned with optimising flows within the supply chain. because the supply chain works as one team and does not pass unnecessary risk from one member to the next, supply chain optimisation benefits spread throughout the procurement system. risk is managed collectively. moreover, the problem solving / win-win attitudes lead to avoidance or reduction of further risk. improved collaboration means clients do not have to pay for risks that do not materialise. the entire team is more committed to economic sustainability of the construction process (cartlidge, 2002). this benefits both the client and the supply chain. given construction clients’ propensity to demand reductions in construction costs, facilitating effective and improved scm and logistical performance will be an increasingly attractive position for the construction industry. improved scm and logistical performance would invariably result in reduced cost, reduced risk and economic sustainability of the construction process. 109 shakantu et al • advancing the role of logistics in the south african construction industry primary points of interest to logistics should be the interfaces between parties, exchange of data and development across organisational boundaries. the primary focus of the logistics function in construction, should therefore, be to improve coordination and communication between project participants during the design and construction phases. it should provide accurate scheduling of materials, coordination of supplies and organisational planning and control of the supply chain. it should seek to minimise non-value adding activities and drive operating and investment costs and time in the supply chain down. consequently, there appears to be a significant need for an enhanced understanding of logistics in a construction context in order to deliver the full benefits of scm. this calls for going beyond egan’s scm and advancing the role of logistics in a construction context. 7. limitations of logistics and scm in the construction industry while the introduction of scm concepts is generally accepted as a worthwhile development, the project nature of construction poses unique challenges when compared to other industries. in the vast majority of cases, construction projects are one-off and location dependent, requiring that resource inputs be obtained in the proximity of projects, thus often rendering organisational relationships required in scm ineffective. however, given the scale of the construction logistics problem and its inherent cost to the industry, even a modest improvement would have significant results. any envisaged future logistics optimisation will have 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(eds.). logistics in the information age — proceedings of the 4th international symposium of logistics. italy: florence, p. 191-196. vrijhoef, r. & koskela, l. 2000. the four roles of supply chain management in construction. european journal of purchasing and supply management, 6(3-4), p. 169-178. vrijhoef, r., koskela, l. & voordijk, h. 2003. understanding construction supply chains: a multiple theoretical approach to interorganisational relationships in construction. proceedings of the annual lean construction conference (iglc-11), blacksburg virginia, 22-24 july. wu, y.j. & cheng, w. 2006. reverse logistics in the publishing industry: china, hong kong and taiwan. international journal of physical distribution and logistics management, 36(7), p. 507-523. toni bredeveldt, mark alexander, & paul bowen the acceptability of concrete block construction in low cost housing in the cape peninsula abstract this article presents the findings of a research project examining the acceptabil­ity of concrete block construction for low cost housing in the cape peninsula in terms of materials and execution. data were collected by means of a question­naire survey in which residents of low cost housing were interviewed. in addition, personal and telephonic interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from the construction industry involved in the delivery of low cost housing. the findings indicate that concrete block construction is being used extensively for low cost housing developments in the cape peninsula, owing to its defining characteristics such as ease of construction. affordability, durability, speedy delivery and acceptance. end-users are generally satisfied with the construction material used for the wall structure of their current houses. they are, however, dissatisfied with the workmanship of the construction, as they feel that problems such as cracking and damp have arisen because of hurried and incomplete construction. the end­users are aware that the wall structures are not plastered, but only bagged. even without any formal or technical knowledge of building houses, they state that they should be involved in the planning and construction stages of their new homes with regard to funding and appearance in order to make these homes more affordable and acceptable. despite a lack of technical knowledge of concrete technology, the respondents felt that the concrete block was the· most accept­able form of construction material available for wall structures because of its per­ceived strength and durability. keywords: end-user satisfaction, concrete block construction, low cost housing, materials. toni k (bredeveldt) stringer, msc, department of the built environment, faculty of engineering, peninsula technikon, cape town, south africa. email: <stringert@pentech.ac.za>. mark g alexander, p h d , department of civil engineering, faculty of engineering and the built enviro nment, university of cape town, cape town, south africa. email: <mark@engfac.uct.ac.za>. paul a bowen, phd, department of construction economics and management, faculty of engineering and the built environment. university of cape town, cape town, south africa. email: <bowenpa@eng.ac.za>. 41 acta structilia 2002:9(2) die aanvaarbaarheid van boubetonblokkonstruk sies vir laekoste-behuising in die kaapse skiereiland met hierdie artikel word die bevindinge van 'n navorsingsprojek oor die aanvaar­ baarheid van boubetonblok-konstruksies vir laekoste-behuising in die kaapse skiereiland in terme van materiaal en uitvoerbaarheid weergegee. die menings van die inwoners van laekostebehuising is deur middel van 'n vraelys nagegaan. persoonlike en telefoniese onderhoude is ook gevoer met alle betrokkenes in die konstruksiebedryt wat laekostebehuising verskaf. die bevindinge dui daarop dot betonboublok -konstruksies op 'n groat skaal vir laekostebehuisinge in die kaapse skiereiland aangewend word weens die besondere eienskappe daarvan soos maklike oprigting, bekostigbaarheid, duursaamheid, spoedige aflewering en aan­ vaarbaarheid. eindverbruikers is oor die algemeen baie tevrede met die materiaal wat in die oprigting van hulle huidige huise se mure gebruik is. die inwoners is egter ongelukkig oor die betrokke vakmanskap. hulle is van mening dot probleme soos barste en klam mure die gevolg is van oorhaastige en onafgeronde werk. die eindverbruikers is bewus daarvan dot die mure nie gepleister is nie, maar bloat gesaksmeer word. sells sander enige formele of tegniese kennis van die boubedryf, het hulle aangevoer dot hulle betrokke behoort te wees by die beplanningsowel as konstruksiefases van hulle eie huise ten opsigte van befondsing en die voorkoms, om sodoende 'n bydrae te maak met betrekking tot bekostigbaarheid en aanvaarbaarheid. ten spyte van die gebrek aan tegniese kennis van betonboubloktegnologie, glo die respondente dot betonboublokke die mees aanvaarbare konstruksiemateriaal vir mure is omdat dit sterk en duur­ saam is. sleutelwoorde: eindverbruiker-tevredenheid, betonboublok-konstruksie, laekoste­ behuising, boumateriaal. introduction a review of the literature reveals that in many countries, and espe­ cially those regarded as developing countries, affordable or low cost housing has many negative connotations, perhaps linked to a historical association with unsafe and sometimes uninhabitable dwellings (haupt & coble, 2001 ). in south africa, the overarching desire by the government to reduce the overall cost per unit, while increasing the number of units constructed within a given budget, contributes to these perceptions (haupt & coble, 2001 ). in improving housing for the poorer communities, constraints such as employment levels, income generation and access to housing, contin­ ue to be experienced in the provision of low cost housing. in south africa, the income of poor communities has continued to be too mea­ gre or unstable to permit commitment of their scarce resources to hous­ ing. consequently, improvement of housing conditions becomes almost impossible, directly affecting the performance of the housing policy (adebayo & adebayo, 2000). for many years the lack of appropriate housing has continued to be a serious problem. it would seem that even with an increase in the housing subsidy amount, the goal of a perma­ nent, complete dwelling remains an elusive one. furthermore, poor 42 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction people who are eligible for the capital subsidy programme are also unable to afford the range of ongoing water, electricity and rate charges associated with formalised owner-occupation (adebayo & adebayo, 2000; smit, 1998; bentil & herbsman, 1989). growing population during the 1980s and l 990s south africa witnessed a continuing increase in population especially in the poorer communities (beaumont & brown, 1993). looking at south african housing statistics, it is apparent that a serious housing problem has developed as a result of the increased population. on a national basis, the white paper on housing (department of housing, 1995) gives the population for 1995 as 42,8 million, with a projected growth rate of 2,27% per annum between 1995 and the year 2000. in terms of the number of households, this totalled 8,3 million in 1995 based on an average of 4, 97 persons per family (department of housing, 1995). more significantly, however, is the changing structure of south africa's urban areas. from a local perspective, the extent of the migration prob­ lem is highlighted in an executive summary of the african migration study conducted under the auspices of the western cape community based housing trust (wccht) (mazur & quangile, 1995). the summary showed households to be diverse and often not akin to conventional stereotypes. quantitatively, there are over 28 million or close to 66% of the population who are functionally urbanised. while the total rural pop­ ulation presently stands at 14,5 million or 34% of the population, many spend some of their working life in urban areas (mazur & quangile, 1995). thus, urbanisation with its associated demand for housing and services remains one of the main challenges in south africa today. the major factor of note regarding urbanisation in south africa, as figure 1 shows, is the significant rate of the urbanisation of blacks, which in real terms is greater than the migration pattern of all the other groups com­ bined. the effect of the increased movement of poorer people to urban areas and the marked deterioration in the availability of finance has forced a move towards more affordable solutions for housing. demand exceeds supply by an ever-increasing amount. this may also chal­ lenge the capacity of the south african construction industry to deliver at adequate levels to eradicate the shortage of low cost housing. 43 acta structilia 2002:9(2) 5,00% 4,00% 3,00% d whtte • asian 2,00% d coloured 1,00% d black 0,00% source: dbsa: centre for information analysis ( 1992), sa housing advisory council (1992) figure l: estimated annual urbanisation rates natural growth plus net migration affordability the south african government's basic requirements for shelter are sep­ arate ablution and toilet facilities with adequate privacy for parents and children of different gender. housing needs to increase proportionately as earnings decrease. the number of households not able to afford formal housing, or for whom affordability would be a concern, stood at about 8 mil­ lion of the population in 1995, as shown in table 1 (department of housing 1995). table l: projected monthly household income distribution (1995) income category percentage population (per month) ro r800 42,l 3,30m r800 rl 500 30,7 2.41 m rl 501 r2 500 12,5 0,98 m r2 501 r3 500 14,7 1,15m 100,0 7,84 m source: department of housing (white paper 1995) making homes more affordable to end-users with moderate to lower incomes in terms of lowering the purchase price has resulted in cost cutting measures that might potentially compromise the quality of the dwelling. less costly, and sometimes less durable, construction materi­ als have been used in this cost reduction effort, potentially creating dis44 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction satisfied end-users of these dwellings. furthermore, critical elements of end-user satisfaction, such as monthly repayments, appearance, qual­ ity, maintenance costs and safety are compromised (haupt & coble, 2001). since current government policies do not seem to be able to accom­ modate the very poor in terms of low cost housing, it is imperative to develop cheaper housing which is not of a lesser quality, while also offering expanded levels of financial assistance (mcintosh & fourie, 2000; aboutorabi, 2000). beneficiaries perceive that lowering the cost of construction of a build­ ing is similar to lowering the quality of construction. however, construc­ tion of acceptable low cost houses may be achieved by the optimum usage of labour and materials and does not necessarily entail the low­ ering of quality. imperatively, the cost of housing needs to be reduced in order to make it affordable to the growing population. the inability to do so creates socio-economic problems, such as the mushrooming of slum areas and a resultant burden on society due to crime and van­ dalism (cox, 1984). an investigation carried out by cox in 1984 revealed that construction costs consist mainly of the cost of materials, as illustrated in table 2. housing costs consist of the cost of the land and its development, as well as the cost of construction. table 2 shows that the majority of the construction cost is taken up by the materials, the bulk of the costs being for the superstructure. therefore, the construction of low cost houses; using more cost-effective materials, may reduce the cost of construction, and ultimately the over­ all cost of the house. table 2: low cost housing construction costs construction materials labour total components (%) (%) (%) foundations 9,5 3,0 12,5 walls 17,5 5,0 22,5 roofing 17,5 5,0 22,5 doors and windows 12,0 3,0 15,0 floortng 8,0 2,0 10,0 plumbing 8,0 2.0 10,0 electrical works 6,0 1.5 7,5 total 78,5 21,5 100,0 source: cox (1984) 45 acta structilia 2002:9(2) selection of materials for housing throughout human history, the selection and construction of shelter has been governed by the availability of materials and the need for pro­ tection from the elements and other threats, whether they be from ani­ mals or other humans. where the person requiring shelter has had a choice, aspects such as convenience, comfort and social customs have influenced those choices (morris & booysen, 2000). however, due to the philosophical approach to housing delivery, the inherent weaknesses in the system inevitably resulted in a considerable backlog. the major transparent weakness of inequality and duplication of function, caused by the fragmentation of society, greatly affected the housing supply and distribution. other constraints to effective hous­ ing development and provision lay in the lack of effective housing strat­egy (rubenstein & otten, 1994). construction of the superstructure of houses initially, the structure of housing in urban south africa comprised circu­ lar walls, with a stable timber frame, supporting a grass-thatched roof (green, 1993, citing slade, 1981). this was defined as a 'rondavel'. the walls comprised posts set along the circumference and saplings run­ ning in horizontal hoops enclosing an internal space between the posts. the cavity was filled with either rubble, stones, or packed earth and the wall then plastered with daga, a dampened cement and sand mixture. often, uprights were included in the walls to help support the roof (green, 1993). concrete blocks were first introduced into south africa in the 1950s, as a relatively poor quality, backyard product (hamm, 1994). since then, the industry has seen significant growth and improvements, especially in the quality of concrete block units manufactured and the applica­ tions thereof. additional developments in concrete block construction are the interlocking, dry-stacking and soil-cement types of masonry units, which form a small, but important percentage, of the total output of building blocks and bricks. improved technologies have contributed towards the manufacture of better concrete blocks. the improvement in quality was largely assisted by work undertaken by the concrete masonry association and the then portland cement institute, and the publication and implementation of various standard specifications and codes of practice implemented through the sabs (low & kelly, 1993; hamm, 1994). a concrete masonry unit is a precast building element of rectangular shape, either solid or hollow, formed from a mixture of cement, aggre46 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction gate and water. the units are made in a range of sizes, shapes, colours, textures and profiles and are designed to meet various requirements such as strength, thermal and acoustic insulation and fire resistance. concrete blocks are used extensively in the housing construction indus­ try. concrete masonry structures will have adequate strength and sta­ bility for their purpose when designed and built under competent super­ vision according to the applicable standards, codes and regulations (petersen, 1994). a further benefit of concrete block construction, in terms of the internal environment of a house, is the provision of 'thermal mass' due to the presence of concrete block walls. thermal mass, as opposed to thermal insulation, is the ability of a relatively thick wall such as concrete mason­ ry, to store heat accumulated by solar radiation, which is then released at a later stage. with south africa experiencing dry, relatively warm days followed by cold nights, this form of energy conservation is extremely practical. furthermore, concrete block construction is suitable for hous­ ing in south africa, due to its versatility, since concrete blocks can be manufactured by both manual backyard operations and sophisticated, mechanised concrete plants producing thousands of masonry units per day (low & kelly, 1993). the remainder of this article describes a research project to establish the types of construction materials being used for low cost housing in the greater cape peninsula area, as well as the end-users satisfaction levels with respect to the type of construction material used. research method the objectives of the research project were to investigate trends in the use of construction materials in the superstructure of low cost housing through a literature review. secondly, to establish what current methods and materials are used for low cost housing construction in the cape peninsula by means of a questionnaire survey, and thirdly, to establish the end-users satisfaction levels with regard to the use of concrete block construction by means of a questionnaire survey. finally, the analysis examines the appropriateness of concrete block construction for low cost housing with regard to acceptability by the end-users. the research project reported here was a qualitative study that. due to the time factor, practicality and cost, only sampled a portion of the total population of developers, contractors and end-users located in the greater cape peninsula area. the objective of this study was to gain and develop an understanding, discover meaning and explain phenomena of end-users' perceptions and feelings towards acceptability with regard to the use of concrete block construction. 47 acta structilia 2002:9(2) research participant identification process the sampling method employed is an important issue because of the fact that only part of the total population can be covered (leedy, 1993). however, it was important that the sample size reasonably represented the total population with respect to the situation in the greater cape peninsula area. the results obtained from the respondents in the various fields of con­ struction for low cost housing for this survey may not necessarily repre­ sent the views or practices of everyone in the field of low cost housing construction. few low cost housing developments in the greater cape peninsula area use anything other than concrete blocks for the wall superstructure. two developments were chosen because, although sim­ ilar in construction methods used, they were different in terms of size and intensity of construction, which would impact strongly on the qual­ itative data obtained. this factor may help establish the extent to which the use of concrete-based materials is valid in redressing of the prob­ lem of acceptability. the sample of building material suppliers and developers was drawn from a database compiled by the department of the built environment, faculty of engineering at the peninsula technikon. the database con­ sisted of the contact details of l 2 suppliers and l o developers through­ out the greater cape peninsula area. a sample size of 3 materials sup­ pliers and 4 developers was selected. in summary, the sample consist­ ed of 2 low cost housing developments (20 personal interviews), 3 material suppliers (personal interviews), and 4 developers (personal interviews). the use of questionnaires social desirability, anonymity, and socio-economic and educational differentials were considered during the questionnaire design. respondents were not required to state their names, and were assured that the results of the survey were going to be used in aggregate form only. questionnaires were designed to reflect appropriate levels of the respondent's understanding. very little response was expected from postal questionnaires, as initial enquiry revealed that affixed stamps would be kept for private use, and that low-income communities would not use their own funds to return a questionnaire. the questionnaires were therefore administered person­ ally to a selected group residing in the areas to be studied, as well as to material suppliers and developers of low cost housing. in both low cost housing areas, visits could only be made during the morning and midday for security reasons. furthermore, in a situation where other 48 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction forms of communication such as telephones were limited or non-exis­ tent, a questionnaire survey remained the most effective method of data gathering. results a summary of the findings of the study relative to the objectives is pro­ vided below. homeowners' response most (80%) of the homeowners interviewed had previously lived in infor­ mal settlements before acquiring a formal low cost house. these respondents reported that their houses in the informal settlements were constructed from materials such as wood, corrugated iron, asbestos sheeting and even plastic sheeting, that is, anything that provided shel­ ter against harsh weather conditions and offered protection. these six­ teen respondents stated that concrete block houses are a major improvement on their previous houses, but they felt that improvements to their existing house structures are possible. they also reported that they felt safer in a concrete block house. the physical characteristics of the informal houses in which the respondents lived previously, based on information obtained from the respondents, are presented in figure 2. the respondents, who reported that they did not reside in an informal settlement but in concrete block houses before acquiring their present house, were not the owners of those houses. in most cases these respondents rented or stayed with family or friends. frequency 2,10% d concrete blocks 6,30% d asbestos 4,20% bi! corrugated iron ii wood ii plastic sheeting 1,50% 7,35% figure 2: physical characteristics of the wall structure for informal houses (total number of respondents = 20 (l 00%) 49 acta structilia 2002:9(2) the present housing conditions, as perceived by homeowners, vary. generally, most of the respondents find their houses unsatisfactory in terms of space and privacy. they are, however, in favour of concrete block construction being used for their houses. table 3 shows that 5% of the homeowners consider themselves to be living in houses that are in a 'good' condition while 30% find their houses in an 'average' condition. a further 50% live in houses that are considered 'unsatisfactory', while l 5% considered their houses to be in a 'bad' condition. these respons­ es were based on the respondents' feelings due to inadequate space and lack of privacy in their houses. they are also unhappy about the lack of a back or front yard due to the houses being very close to each other. table 3: housing conditions number of housing conditions homeowners l good mortar cracks 6 average mortar cracks and visible damp 10 unsatisfactory mortar cracks, visible damp, thickness of walls and inadequate space 3 bad mortar cracks, structural cracks, visible damp, thickness of walls, inadequate spcae and a lack of privacy to establish what homeowners considered to be major problems con­ cerning quality, respondents were asked to list the major quality prob­ lems. responses to this question are shown in figure 3. percentage d loose ond broken fixtures [] cracking of wall structures d damp • thinness of wallstructures figure 3: major quaity problems associated with low cost housing (total number of' respondents = 20 (l 00%)) 50 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction two problems are considered to be dominant among all the respon­ dents questioned. these are cracking of walls and the appearance of damp due to exposed foundations or lack of damp-proof courses, and the fact that there are openings at the intersection between the roof and the walls. both these problems became evident very soon after the respondents moved into their homes. the cracks are fine mortar cracks, which are to be expected in any masonry construction. the damp appears to be emanating from the ground in some cases and from the roof structure in other cases. most (90%) of the residents considered that the appearance of damp is to be expected because the walls are not plastered. another problem that 12 (60%) of the respondents noted was that the walls are too thin as in most cases the external walls were observed to be only one layer thick (110 mm). an attempt was made to establish the type of construction material that respondents preferred for their homes. all the respondents preferred concrete block houses. they stated that concrete is solid and perma­ nent. the respondents reported that concrete is an extremely strong and durable material, and that the poor quality of their houses was due to bad workmanship by the contractors who are only concerned with the speedy delivery of houses, with no concern for the families who would eventually live in them. none of the homeowners had a choice in the type of construction material used to construct their homes. the respondents did, however, report that they would most likely choose concrete block construction after the researcher informed them about other methods of construc­ tion using clay bricks, timber, steel or adobe. materials suppliers' response the majority of materials suppliers reported that they supplied contrac­ tors with concrete blocks for wall construction, timber for roof trusses, door and window frames, as well as fibre cement and metal sheeting for roofs of low cost housing. one material supplier, who only specialised in concrete, supplied concrete lintels, vents and trestles for low cost housing. their general response was that concrete blocks are the most commonly used construction material for wall construction in low cost housing because they are cheap and easy to build with. materials suppliers reported that the technical problems concerning quality are associated with the poor manufacture of concrete blocks rather than poor workmanship on site. another serious problem as per­ ceived by the materials supplier�, which is evident in most wall structures of low cost housing visited by the researcher, is cracking of walls. the 51 acta structilia 2002:9(2) materials suppliers reported that this was due to the concrete founda­ tions not being cured for the correct period of time. the materials sup­ pliers explained that the foundations are cast and the wall structures are started the very next day because the contractors are only concerned with the number of houses to be built and not concerned with the qual­ ity of the houses they produce. this speedy delivery and insufficient cur­ ing time usually gives rise to rising damp in the wall structure. another interesting feature, which also gives rise to damp, is the fact that these walls are not plastered, but only bagged. all the materials suppliers agreed that concrete blocks are readily avail­ able as construction materials. materials suppliers reported that con­ crete blocks have been in use for forty years, and will continue to be readily available in the future. all the materials suppliers reported that concrete block construction is the most affordable form of low cost housing construction because of the ease of construction as well as saving on construction time because the concrete block is a large unit. this is due to the fact that concrete blocks are larger than conventional bricks and therefore requires less labour, as the labour rates in the cape peninsula are higher than in any other province in south africa. concrete block construction is an estab­ lished form of construction and does not require additional or new train­ ing. in addition, because concrete block units are larger than bricks, fewer units are required. the materials suppliers reported that concrete blocks are acceptable to the end-users, provided the manufacturing process can be monitored more effectively so as to ensure that the standards, as set out in sabs l 21 5 and sabs 0400, are adhered to. the respondents stated that hous­ es built forty years ago are still structurally sound, and therefore con­ crete blocks will still be used for construction purposes in the future. developers' response all the developers reported that they constructed walls of concrete blocks. one developer reported that his company uses a concrete block cavity wall for the external walls and a single concrete block wall_ internally, depending on the cost that was allowed for each house in a particular development. all the developers stated that concrete blocks are always their first choice as a construction material because of their durability in low cost housing construction. concrete block construction allows the contrac­ tors to use less material, because they are hollow, and can be laid by unskilled labour. the developers all stated that concrete blocks are affordable in terms of fewer blocks being required per house. the time 52 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction taken to build with blocks is therefore shorter than building with smaller types of bricks. concrete block houses can be maintenance-free because of their proven durability as is evidenced by houses which had been built thirty and forty years ago. two-thirds of the developers questioned agreed that if the concrete blocks were manufactured according to the standards, the end prod­uct would be durable and cheaper in terms of maintenance costs. these developers stated that manufacturers are producing poor quality concrete blocks to save on costs, and that houses built with these blocks would need significant maintenance work. analysis of findings it is apparent that the sole construction material used for the wall struc­ tures of low cost housing is concrete blocks. it is evident that homeown­ ers prefer concrete block construction as it gives the appearance of a 'conventional' house. homeowners are aware that concrete is a durable building material, which offers protection against harsh weather condi­ tions as well guarding their valuables and keeping them safe. however, the homeowners reported their dissatisfaction with the similarity of low cost houses in the same development in terms of their shape, finishes and colour. very importantly, low-income communities are not prepared to sacrifice quality for affordability, as they know that it will cost them even more in the long term due to repairs and maintenance. the end-users are generally satisfied with the construction material used for the wall structure of their current houses. the end-users are aware that the wall structures are not plastered, but only bagged. even without any formal or technical knowledge of building houses, they state that they should be involved in the planning and construction stages of their new homes with regard to funding and appearance in order to make these homes more affordable and acceptable. the end-users felt that concrete blocks were the most acceptable form of construction materi­ al available for the wall structures because of its strength and durability. it would have been futile asking for the income levels of these house­ holds, as this would have inferred that it was their choice to live in such unacceptable conditions. however, it was noted that household pos­ sessions tend to be greater in better houses. this implies that households living in concrete block houses command higher income levels and are able to acquire more assets. alternatively, it could be that households in houses built from less durable materials might delay consumption of conspicuous assets for security reasons. the developers stated that the main reason for the similarity in houses built in the same scheme was due to the limited expenditure that is allocated to each unit in a low 53 acta structilia 2002:9(2) cost housing development, which in turn restricts any innovations in the design of the low cost house. this also verifies that home owners do not have choices in the design and construction of their homes. materials suppliers appeared to be highly experienced individuals with­ in their areas of expertise. materials suppliers stated that concrete blocks are cheap compared to bricks and will always be readily avail­ able, provided that the manufacturers maintain the required standards for the concrete blocks. alternative methods of construction for low cost housing would require the additional expenditure of labour and training costs, as concrete block construction is a well-known form of construc­ tion used by all contractors. concrete blocks must be manufactured according to the south african bureau of standards, codes sabs 1215 and sabs 0400. these standards set specifications for the materials used to manufacture the concrete blocks. the strength of concrete blocks is considered only when han­ dling the blocks on site. the important properties of these concrete blocks are their finished texture and appearance. this is a result of low cost houses not being plastered, only bagged, as the cost of plastering is too expensive. the materials suppliers agreed with the developers that the contractors of low cost housing prefer concrete blocks, as the con­ crete blocks are cheaper and faster to build with than smaller bricks. this is due to the concrete blocks being hollow, which results in less materi­ al being used to manufacture the blocks. the concrete block is also much bigger than the brick, and this means that fewer blocks than bricks are required to build a low cost house. it is then evident that a saving in material costs of low cost housing, resulting in a saving in the total cost of the house. further questions relating the affordability of low cost housing yielded answers that generally supported concrete block constructions. developers would nevertheless be willing to use alternative methods of construction, provided that the new method is acceptable to the low­ income communities and is more affordable than concrete block con­ struction. the materials suppliers questioned all agreed with the homeowners as to the technical problems concerning quality, such as cracking and damp, associated with low cost housing. they also stated that the prob­ lems experienced by homeowners after moving into their homes are a result of hurried construction, where the concrete foundation is not given enough time to harden sufficiently and cure. as a result, cracks and settlement occur due to poor workmanship, and not poor quality of construction materials and methods employed. therefore, one of the major reasons for maintenance identified in this survey, with respect to 54 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction the durability of low cost houses built using concrete block construction, stemmed from poor construction and site practices. the material sup­ pliers and home owners agreed that quality of site work was inadequate and was probably the major cause of maintenance being required. the developers, however, disagree. they contend that the cracks are joint cracks, which generally occur in any form of masonry construction. all low cost housing have damp-proof courses installed, but no water­ proofing. it must be noted that the concrete block is a porous material, which does allow moisture and gases to migrate slowly through the material. the majority of the materials suppliers questioned are aware of new and alternative methods of construction using concrete, such as foamcrete, but stated that contractors are not using these methods for fear of failure and unacceptability to the end users. however, materials suppliers do admit that limited knowledge exists on alternative methods of low cost housing construction and would encourage their use if more information were made available. the developers, however, stated that no alternative method of con­ struction for low cost housing is as effective and efficient as concrete block construction. this is due, as stated previously, to the ease of con­ struction, no training being required, less concrete block units being required than bricks, and concrete's durability and proven performance in the construction industry. finally, it appears that all low cost houses in the greater cape peninsula area are currently being constructed using concrete block construction. conclusions the study set out to determine the satisfaction levels of the end-users with regard to the construction materials used for the wall superstructure of low cost houses in the greater cape peninsula area. the study showed that end-users are generally satisfied with concrete block con­ struction. however, feelings of dissatisfaction arise as a result of the ongoing costs associated with maintaining the end product. the deliv­ ery of low cost housing is driven by the need to accommodate as many of the poorer communities as speedily as possible. this usually results in poor workmanship and dissatisfied end-users. the construction of low cost housing should be seen as an all-inclusive approach with regard to the developers, end-users and the construction process. accordingly, concrete block construction is the preferred choice of construction method by the developers as well as the end­ users because of its quality and durability. the study showed that the defining characteristics of concrete block construction include its ease of construction, affordability, durability, speedy delivery and acceptance. 55 acta structilia 2002:9(2) concrete block construction is driven by the need to make low cost housing construction more cost effective, while producing more units. in essence, acceptability of low cost housing calls for a holistic and inte­ grated approach towards the delivery of housing for the poorer com­ munities. past and present low cost housing construction approaches have not addressed the needs of the very poor in conjunction with the needs of the developers of low cost housing. the ongoing political pres­ sure on the government to overcome the housing backlog has resulted in sig[lificant pressure on housing delivery organisations to rapidly deliv­ er large numbers of houses at the lowest possible price. the lowest pos­ sible price usually results in the use of cheaper construction methods, where developers are given a budget within which they must produce a certain number of units, which in turn, determines the cost per unit. this usually results in the use of cheaper construction materials as material costs make up the bulk of the construction costs. this pressure has superseded quality and acceptability considerations, which in the long run may result in dwellings that are only marginal improvements on the existing shacks. the appropriateness of concrete block construction for low cost housing can, therefore, be shown in terms of: a) the attributes of concrete block construction, namely, affordabil­ity, speedy delivery and acceptance by the low-income com­munities; b) the attributes named above are important for the housing needs of south africa, and more specifically the cape peninsula area, because of the high employment rate and the growing popula­ tion; c) contractors producing more units of housing per unit time due to the ease of construction and durability of concrete blocks; and d) concrete blocks, being larger than conventional bricks, results in the use of less materials for the wall superstructure, and in turn, this results in a reduction of the cost of the house. an additional cost reduction is achieved by bagging the walls instead of plas­ tering them as concrete blocks gives a smooth final finish. finally, housing the poor. in south africa is a long-term programme, the success of which is dependent on a delivery system in which individuals must participate. it is anticipated that a good record of economic growth will be able to place the poor on the road to affordability. 56 bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction acknowledgements the authors gratefully acknowledge research grants obtained from the south african institute of race relations, the university of cape town, and peninsula technikon. references aboutorabi, m. 2000. a study of housing affordability for low-income households in khayelitsha township, south africa. second southern african conference on sustainable development in the built environment, 23 to 25 august, pretoria, south africa, csir boutek, kruger & asso­ ciates. university of cape town & wsp environmental sa in asso­ ciation with cib & seed. adebayo, a.a. & adebayo, p.w. 2000 sustainable housing policy and practice-reducing constraints and expanding horizons within housing delivery: strategies for a sus­ tainable built environment. second southern african conference on sustainable development in the built environment, 23-25 august pretoria, south africa, csir boutek, kruger & associates, university of cape town & wsp environmental sa in association with cib & seed. beaumont, r.d. & brown, t.j. 1993. life cycle costing its relevance to the development and sus­ tainability of lower-cost services. world housing congress on the future of human settlements: challenges and opportunities, l 0-14 may, cape town, south africa. bentil, k.k. & herbsman, z . 1989. impediments to affordable housing: innovative housing prac­ tices, better housing through innovative technologies and financing. proceedings of the iahs world congress on housing, university of porto, portugal, 23 to 27 october. cox, j.e. 1984. objectives of the un international year of shelter for the homeless (iysh) 1987, ekistics/oikietikh: the problems and science of human settlements, july/august 51 (307), pp. 283-288. department of housing 1995. white paper a new housing policy and strategy for south africa. 57 acta structilia 2002:9(2) green, j.m. 1993. changing vernacular housing practices. world housing congress on the future of human settlements: challenges and opportunities, l 0l 4 may, cape town, south africa. hamm, p. 1994. the use of concrete masonry construction in low cost hous­ ing: concrete meets the challenge. concrete society of southern africa, silver jubilee commemoration, national convention, sun city, 18-21 september. haupt, t.c. & coble, r.j. 2001. occupant safety and health issues in low cost housing proj­ ects. the american professional constructor. american institute of constructors foundation, 25(1), pp. 23-27. landeau, j. l 991 . ratio analysis: a study of mortgage borrowers in tunisia, london/new york: routledge. leedy, p.d. 1993. practical research: planning and design, fifth edition, canada: macmillan publishers. low, r.i. & kelly, p.j. 1993. concrete masonry for the community. world housing congress on the future of human settlements: challenges and opportunities, l 0-14 may, cape town, south africa. mazur, r.e. & quangile, v.n. 1995. african migration and appropriate housing responses in met­ ropolitan cape town. western cape community housing trust. mcintosh, a. & fourie, c. 58 2000. decision-making for sustainability and affordability: strategies for a sustainable built environment, second southern african conference on sustainable development in the built environment, 23 to 25 august, pretoria, south africa, csir boutek, kruger and associates, university of cape town and wsp environmental in association with cib & seed. bredeveldt, alexander & bowen/concrete block construction morris, j. & booysen, q. 2000. earth construction in africa,: strategies for a sustainable built environment. second southern african conference on sustainable development in the built environment, 23-25 august pretoria, south africa, csir boutek, kruger & associates, universi1y of cape town & wsp environmental sa in association with cib & seed. petersen, c. 1994. capaci1y building in disadvantaged communities through the usage of concrete masonry in housing projects. conference on concrete meets the challenge. concrete socie1y of southern africa, silver jubilee commemoration, national convention, sun ci1y, 18-21 september. rubenstein, s. & otten, n smit, d. 1994. towards transformation: lessons from development strategies for southern african development. co-ordination conference, (sadc), maseru, lesotho, november. 1998. housing sector review paper. durban: metro housing. 59 acta structilia-14(1) 81 fanie buys & tamari mavasa the management of government immovable assets peer reviewed abstract asset management involves the management of immovable assets throughout its whole life cycle. this article presents the findings of research on the challenges facing national government on the management of its immovable assets. the research contemplates the management of government immovable assets throughout its whole life cycle, the importance of an asset register as well as an immovable asset management plan. the primary data was collected by means of conducting interviews with government department personnel to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the current theories and models within the government departments. secondary data was obtained from the literature reviewed in relevant publications. the main findings were that the national department of public works (ndpw) is currently ineffective in asset life cycle management, there is no clarity on the existence of an immovable asset management plan and that there is an urgent need for competent personnel with adequate skills to verify, capture and correct property data in an effective asset register. keywords: asset management, asset register, immovable assets, life cycle abstrak batebestuur behels die bestuur van vaste bates tydens die volle lewenssiklus van die bate. hierdie artikel beskryf die resultaat van navorsing oor die uitdagings van die nasionale regering betreffende die bestuur van sy vaste bates. die navorsing beskou die bestuur van bates tydens die volle lewenssiklus-fase, die belangrikheid van ’n bate-register sowel as ’n vaste bate bestuursplan. die primêre data vir die navorsing was verkry deur onderhoude te voer met regeringspersoneel om die sterken swakpunte van huidige teorieë en modelle in die staatsdepartemente te bepaal. sekondêre data is verkry uit relevante bestaaande literatuur. die hoofresultate dui aan dat die nasionale departement van openbare werke oneffektief is in die bestuur van vaste bates, daar is onduidelikheid oor die werklike bestaan van ’n vaste bate bestuursplan en dat daar ’n dringende behoefte bestaan aan bevoegde personeel om bates te verifieer, aan te teken en foute reg te stel in ’n effektiewe bate-register. sleutelwoorde: batebestuur, bate-register, vaste bates, lewenssiklus prof. fanie buys, head of department of building and quantity surveying, nelson mandela metropolitan university, p o box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa, e-mail: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za>. ms tamari mavasa. msc. student, national department of public works, private bag x65, pretoria, 0001, south africa, <e-mail: tamari.mavasa@dpw.gov.za> 82 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 1. introduction during the last decade, the concept of asset management,with particular reference to immovable assets, has gainedsupport on a global scale; many countries have embarked on implementing asset management principles and techniques in respect of all spheres of government. in the context of government, immovable asset management is defined as: “the planned alignment of immovable assets with service delivery” (national treasury, 2004). this alignment is achieved by the systematic, integrated and appropriate management of all decision-making processes throughout the useful life of an asset. the national department of public works (ndpw) is responsible for providing and managing accommodation, housing, land and infrastructure needs for all national departments. improving immovable asset management processes and principles can play an important role in attaining government’s objectives of economic growth and employment creation. it also has distinct benefits which relate to better service delivery, improved accountability, improved risk management and improved financial efficiency. campbell (1999) stipulates that before an organisation embarks on an improvement plan, it should assess the strengths and weaknesses of present systems. today’s manager of public assets faces many challenges in the management of immovable assets. the first key component of asset management encompasses the immovable asset management plan (iamp) that serves as the management tool to guide the planning, acquisition, operation and maintenance and disposal of assets. vanier (2000: online) states that the iamp should have a series of underlying principles established at high-level organisations. the second key component of asset management is the asset register that record the essential data pertaining to the status and condition of all immovable assets. wilson (1999) argues that it is important that the assets are recorded, numbered, labeled accurately and also highlights the time frame for property needing statutory inspection in the asset register. the third key component is the performance management system that records vital information pertaining to the performance of immovable assets in terms of achieving its strategic goals. 83 buys & mavasa • the management of government immovable assets 2. the key elements of immovable asset management 2.1 immovable asset management plan the iamp aligns service delivery strategies and priorities with the immovable asset strategies and proposes specific strategies for acquisitions, disposals, leasing, management and maintenance of immovable assets, as well as identifies funding solutions and addresses all risk related issues (national department of public works, 2003). the national treasury (2004) states that organisations use the iamp as instrument to demonstrate how it links service objectives efficiently and effectively. planning for immovable assets should be seen in the context of overall asset management practices and policies; it must focus the attention and activities of property users on the opportunity and long-term operational costs of property as a resource, as well as highlight the implications of not planning and optimising the properties utilised. asset strategy should be adjunct to the overall strategy of the organisation. brownless (2005) is of the opinion that asset strategy should be consistent with other policies or strategies, be able to identify the assets and the state of their required performance, be optimised and take into account the risk assessment, in particular identifying critical assets. wilson (1999) articulates that time is best spent on development of an asset strategy when there is an appreciation of knowledge of the corporate and production objectives, future operational needs of the property, an appreciation of the asset plans, an understanding of the property life cycle, knowing the impact of the latest safety regulations and statutory requirements, and understanding the objectives of assets. information, understanding and evaluation need to be explored in the process of the development of an asset strategy (gibson, 2005: online). 2.2 asset register managers of immovable assets should at least obtain a database that will contain details of all assets of the organisation, and provide information about assets needed for financial and operational management and servicing. french (2005: online) states that asset registers are records of fixed assets whose value is material, their function is to provide the information about assets needed for their financial management, operational management and servicing to support immovable assets as shown in the balance sheets. the 84 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) assessment and updating of information in the asset register will make the management processes more simple, effective, and easy to manage. training is crucial to the managers of the asset register. mather (2005) argues that in order to determine what strategic asset management is required, the organisation should analyse the existing component capabilities, skills and capacities. 2.3 performance management system as assets age, their performance or the level of service provided, deteriorates. immovable assets’ performance needs to be predicted when their ability to meet service standards drop to an unacceptable level. the performance management system assesses the effectiveness of operational, maintenance and capital works programs. the national treasury (2004) states that the primary tool for monitoring and evaluating the degree to which immovable assets contributes to realising the objectives of the organisation is through the implementation of a performance management system. 3. research method research was conducted by the nelson mandela metropolitan university to assess the management of immovable assets within south african government departments. the national department of public works was targeted as a potential organisation to participate in this study. leedy & ormrod (2005) state that research is a viable approach to a problem only when there are data to support it. interviews were conducted to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the current theories and models within the ndpw. a random sample of twenty staff members was drawn from all levels of the hierarchy to help ensure an unbiased sample population. according to patten (2004: online), the larger the sample size, the greater the probability the sample will reflect the general population. a target population of twenty was deemed sufficient for research of this nature. patten also identifies an unbiased sample as one in which every member of a population has an equal opportunity of being selected in the sample. 4. survey results of the target population of twenty staff members, only eighteen were interviewed as the remaining two persons were not accessible during the interview time frame. the responses to various questions 85 buys & mavasa • the management of government immovable assets were noted on a spreadsheet during the session with each of the interviewees after which the results were summarised in table format indicating number of respondents and ratings. 4.1 definition of asset management respondents were requested to state to what extent they agreed with a given definition of asset management to determine their knowledge of asset management, namely “asset management is a business discipline for managing the life cycle of infrastructure assets to achieve a desired service level while mitigating risk.” the results in table 1 indicate that 11.1% of the interviewees partially agreed with the definition. the majority (88.9%) of the respondents indicated that they either ‘agree’ (27.8%) or ‘strongly agree’ (61.1%) with the definition. the average rating of 4.50 is very positive, as it indicates that the majority of respondents have a good understanding of the concept of asset management. table 1: definition of asset management responses: do notknow rating 1=strongly disagree 5=strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 0 0 2 5 11 18 percentage of total 0 0.0 0.0 11.1 27.8 61.1 100 average rating 4.50 4.2 importance and effectiveness of asset management table 2: importance of asset management throughout its life cycle responses: rating 1=not important 5=extremely important 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 0 1 1 16 18 percentage of total 0.0 0.0 5.6 5.6 88.9 100 average rating 4.83 the results in table 2 indicate that 5.6% of the interviewees were doubtful whether it is important for an organisation to manage assets throughout its life cycle. the majority (94.2%) of the respondents 86 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) indicated that the life cycle management of assets is either ‘important’ (5.6%) or ‘extremely important’ (88.9%). the average rating of 4.83 (extremely important) is very positive, as the key element of asset management operates within a life cycle framework. responses: do not know rating 1=very ineffective 5=very effective 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 3 6 7 0 2 18 percentage of total 0 16.7 33.3 38.9 0.0 11.1 100 average rating 2.56 table 3: effectiveness of asset life cycle management in the ndpw the results in table 3 indicate that half the interviewees indicated that asset life cycle management is either ‘very ineffective’ (16.7%) or ‘ineffective’ (33.3), whilst 38.9% indicated neutral. the remaining 11.1% of respondents indicated that the organisation is very effective in asset life cycle management. the average rating of 2.56, which is below ‘neutral’, indicates that there are more respondents who are of the opinion that the ndpw is ineffective in asset life cycle than those who think it is effective. asset life cycle management should be effective in any organisation to ensure that assets are managed properly. 4.3 immovable asset management plan the aim of the immovable asset management plan (iamp) is to integrate the requirement for immovable assets with a wider service delivery strategy and to plan for such assets on a longer-term basis. responses: rating 1=not important 5=extremely important 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 1 1 2 14 18 percentage of total 0.0 5.6 5.6 11.1 77.8 100 average rating 4.61 87 buys & mavasa • the management of government immovable assets table 4: importance of an immovable asset management plan the summary of the results in table 4 indicates that 5.6% of the interviewees were neutral in whether an iamp is important to the organisation. the majority (88.9%) of the respondents indicated either ‘important’ (11.1%) or ‘extremely important’ (77.8%). the average rating of 4.61 is very positive as an iamp will enable the organisational priorities to be delivered. responses: rating 1=non existent 5=fully existent 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 6 2 1 3 6 18 percentage of total 33.3 11.1 5.6 16.7 33.3 100 average rating 3.06 table 5: existence of an immovable asset management plan the implementation of an iamp is a best practice improvement methodology that provides an asset management framework and improved guidelines to improve the management of assets in the organisation. any organisation that manages assets should develop an iamp that aligns service delivery strategies and priorities with the immovable asset strategies and that proposes specific strategies for acquisitions, disposals, leasing, management and maintenance of assets as well as identify funding solutions and address all risk related issues. the summary of the results in table 5 indicate that 44.4% of the interviewees indicated that the organisation does not have an iamp, 5.6% were neutral and the remaining 50% of the interviewees indicated that an iamp does exist to some extent. the average rating of 3.06 indicates that there is uncertainty amongst respondents whether an iamp really exists, or respondents are not well informed. 4.4 asset register the asset register is the basis of an asset management information system and it should contain relevant data beyond that required for financial reporting. the results in table 6 in relation to the definition of the asset register indicates that all interviewees agree to some extent 88 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) responses: rating 1=strongly disagree 5=strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 0 0 5 13 18 percentage of total 0.0 0.0 0.0 27.8 72.2 100 average rating 4.72 that an asset register contains all assets, financial and legal information of the company’s assets. table 6: definition of asset register the asset register is of strategic importance in the ndpw’s drive to obtain the best functional, social and financial returns from its property portfolio. the summary of the results in table 7 indicate that all interviewees agree that the asset register is important to asset responses: rating 1=not important 5=extremely important 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 0 0 0 2 16 18 percentage of total 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.1 88.9 100 average rating 4.89 managers. this indicates that it is important from a strategic management, planning, and performance measures perspective that the required property data is available and correct in the asset register. table 7: importance of asset register in managing assets the effectiveness of managing the immovable asset portfolio depends on the accuracy and completeness of the asset register. the results in table 8 indicate that only a slight majority (55.5%) of the respondents are of the opinion that the organisation does have an accurate and complete asset register. the majority of the respond89 buys & mavasa • the management of government immovable assets ents avowed that the organisation uses the property management information system as an asset register. the ndpw is, however, facing responses: do notknow rating 1=very inaccurate _ 5=very accurate 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 2 5 0 1 8 2 16 percentage of total 11.1 27.8 0.0 5.6 44.4 11.1 100 average rating 3.13 a huge challenge in completing the asset register as there is a lack of competent personnel with adequate skills within the organisation to research, verify, capture and correct property data. this is the main responses: do notknow rating 1=never, 2=every five years, 3=annually, 4=quarterly, 5=monthly 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 5 7 0 3 2 1 18 percentage of total 27.8 38.9 0.0 16.1 11.1 5.6 100 average rating 2.23 reason why maintenance to property is neglected and sharing of information contained in the asset register is lacking. table 8: accuracy and completeness of asset management software 4.5 performance measures for immovable asset table 9: frequency of monitoring asset performance the summary of the results in table 9 indicate that 32.8% of the interviewees indicated that the performance of assets are either monitored ‘annually’ (16.1%), ‘quarterly’ (11.1%) or ‘monthly’ (5.6%). the average rating of 2.23 indicates approximately every two years. it is, however, quite disturbing to note that 27.8% of the interviewees do not know how often the organisation measures the performance 90 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) of its assets, while almost 40% (38.9%) of the interviewees indicated that the performance of assets is never monitored. to determine the performance of assets when monitored, respondents were requested to indicate the level of performance. table 10 indicates that 16.7% of the interviewees do not know how well the responses: do notknow rating 1=very dissatisfactory 5=very satisfactory 1 2 3 4 5 total number of respondents 3 7 0 5 3 0 18 percentage of total 16.7 38.9 0.0 27.8 16.7 0.0 100 average rating 2.27 organisational assets are performing. 38.9% of the interviewees indicated that the performance of assets is very dissatisfactory. the remainder 27.8% of the interviewees was neutral and 16.7% indicated that the performance of asset from operational, functional and financial perspective is satisfactory. the average rating of 3.27 (dissatisfactory) indicates the negative attitude towards the poor performance of the government assets. the lack of monitoring and evaluation systems of assets within the department resulted in assets not maintained at their optimal value. over time this has resulted in government’s ia being stripped of their inherent value table 10: how well assets performs in organisation the average rating of 2.27 indicates that most government assets are not performing well, are deteriorating and need urgent upgrading to meet the required performance standards. 5. conclusion the main objective of the research was to investigate the management of government immovable assets. the research results indicated that the majority of the respondents had a good idea of the scope of asset management and also agreed on the importance of asset management. however, there are more respondents who are of the opinion that the ndpw is currently ineffective in asset life cycle management than those who think it is effective. 91 buys & mavasa • the management of government immovable assets although the majority of respondents indicated that the presence of a iamp is very important for the ndpw, the results indicated that there is uncertainty amongst respondents whether an iamp really exists, or respondents are not well informed. to have an effective asset management system, an accurate asset register is needed to obtain the best functional, social and financial returns from the ndpw’s property portfolio. although some respondents are aware of such an asset register, it seems to be inaccurate and there is an urgent need for competent personnel with adequate skills within the organisation to research, verify, capture and correct property data so that it can provide information that meets management decision-making requirements. two-thirds of the respondents indicated that they do not know whether the performance of the ndpw’s assets are monitored (27.8%), or indicated that it is not monitored (38.9%) at all. furthermore, almost 40% of respondents indicated that the existing performance of immovable is very dissatisfactory. a best practice asset management practice relies on the integration of knowledge, understanding, and experience of how assets can contribute to business planning, such as acquisition, disposals, workplace strategies and refurbishments. the ndpw should first define its role, responsibilities, goals and objectives in terms of its assets. an asset management framework should be developed and principles and processes should be put into practice. planning should be seen as the context of overall asset management practice. the development of the immovable asset management plan will enable the organisation to measure performance of assets. asset management training and leadership skills are required for asset managers at all levels of the organisation and there is a need to develop programs and activities for all personnel to raise awareness of asset management as a strategic corporate resource. the effective management of assets depends on the development of an iamp, accuracy and completeness of an asset register, and management of the immovable asset register throughout its whole life cycle. references brownless, g. 2005. an asset management model for uk railway safety. literature review and discussion document. harpur hill: crown copyright. 92 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) campbell, j.d. 1999. uptime: strategies for excellence in maintenance management. portland: productivity press. french, n. 2005. asset register and asset rents for local authorities: a viable property management tool. [online]. emerald group publishing limited. available from: <http://oberon.emeraldinsight.com/vl=4 > [accessed: 02 july 2006]. gibson, v. 2005. strategic property management: how can local authorities develop a property strategy. [online]. emerald group publishing limited. available from: <http://oberon.emeraldinsight. com/vl> [accessed: 2 july 2005)]. leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2005. practical research. 8th ed. new jersey: pearson education. mather, d. 2005. the maintenance score card: creating strategic advantage. new york: industrial press. national treasury. 2004. asset management: guidelines for implementing the new economic reporting format, learners guide. pretoria: government printers. patten, s.b. 2004. impact of antidepressant treatment on population health: synthesis of data from two national data sources in canada. [online]. population health metrics 2004. available: <http://www. pophealthmetrics.com/content/2/1/9> [accessed: december 2006]. vanier, d.j. 2000. advanced asset management: tools and techniques, innovations in urban infrastructure. [online]. seminar of the apwa international public works congress. louisville. u.s.a, pp. 39-56, available from: <http://www.nrc.ca/irc/uir/apwa/apwa00> [accessed: 17 july 2006]. wilson, a. (ed.). 1999. asset maintenance management: a guide to developing strategy and improving performance. oxford: alden press. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 68 how to cite: jibrin, i., & shakantu, w. 2021. implementation of the value re-engineering concept in the nigerian construction industry. acta structilia, 28(1), pp. 68-90. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels ibrahim jibrin dr ibrahim jibrin, phd student, department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment and technology, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (+234) 8036481755, email: <dabban53@gmail.com> winston shakantu prof. winston shakantu, department of construction management, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa email: <winston.shakantu@mandela. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4334-5004 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2021 28(1): 68-90 implementation of the value re-engineering concept in the nigerian construction industry: exploratory study received: september 2020 peer reviewed and revised: february 2021 published: june 2021 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract value re-engineering (vre) is considered a critical analysis and radical redesign of existing construction processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance measures. the dissatisfaction of customers’ value offered by the nigerian construction industry (nci) necessitated a rethink of a new approach to the customers’ need. hence, this article aims to explore the implementation of vre in the nci as a possible solution for the industry to resolve the challenges of customers’ dissatisfaction. a qualitative research approach was used to identify incremental adoption for the implementation of vre in the nci. qualitative data was collected, using a structured tick-box questionnaire interview schedule with 34 key stakeholders in the nci, including seven directors, nine project managers, nine quantity surveyors, and nine engineers. the tick-box interview schedule explored the level of importance of the activities of the implementation process in the eight phases (steps) for vre take-off in the nci. using qsr nvivo 12 (a qualitative content analysis tool), the tick-box data was given a numerical score, http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:dabban53@gmail.com mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 69 on a 5-point likert scale, so that the data could be rated and reported quantitatively. this included frequencies and percentages. the exploratory research findings indicate that there is a significant need for the process to be re-engineered and for establishing a vre organisational structure critical to achieving the successful implementation and adoption of vre. other most important activities for the successful implementation of vre include evaluating the impact of new technologies; monitoring employee attitudes, customer perceptions, and supplier responsiveness, as well as identifying disconnects (anything that prevents the process from achieving the desired results and, in particular, information transfer between organisations or people). identifying the customers’ needs by the nci helps create the market value of the product being produced by the industry players. on the other hand, this improves the global competitive market for the industry by adopting the radical redesign process for the industry. keywords: construction industry, implementation, incremental adoption, nigeria, value re-engineering abstrak waarde-ingenieurswese (vre) word beskou as ‘n kritieke ontleding en radikale herontwerp van bestaande konstruksieprosesse om deurbraakverbeterings in prestasiemaatreëls te bewerkstellig. die ontevredenheid oor kliënte se waarde wat die nigeriese konstruksiebedryf (nci) bied, het ‘n herbesinning oor ‘n nuwe benadering tot die behoeftes van klante nodig gemaak. daarom beoog hierdie artikel om die implementering van vre in die nci te ondersoek as ‘n moontlike oplossing vir die bedryf om die uitdagings van klante se ontevredenheid op te los. ‘n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gebruik om inkrementele aanneming vir die implementering van vre in die nci te identifiseer. kwalitatiewe data is versamel met behulp van ‘n geskeduleerde onderhoudskedule vir die afmerkvraelys met 34 belangrike belanghebbendes in die nci, waaronder sewe direkteure, nege projekbestuurders, nege bourekenaars en nege ingenieurs. in die afmerk-onderhoudskedule is die belangrikheid van die aktiwiteite van die implementeringsproses in die agt fases (stappe) vir vrebekendstelling in die nci ondersoek. met behulp van qsr nvivo 12 (‘n instrument vir kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalise) is die afmerk-data ‘n numeriese waarde op ‘n 5-punt likert-skaal gegee, sodat die data kwantitatief beoordeel en gerapporteer kon word. dit het frekwensies en persentasies ingesluit. die verkennende navorsingsbevindinge dui aan dat daar ‘n beduidende behoefte bestaan vir die herstrukturering van die proses en die vestiging van ‘n vre-organisasiestruktuur wat noodsaaklik is vir die suksesvolle implementering en aanvaarding van vre. ander belangrikste aktiwiteite vir die suksesvolle implementering van vre sluit in die evaluering van die impak van nuwe tegnologieë; monitering van houdings van werknemers, persepsies van klante en reaksie op verskaffers, asook die identifisering van ontkoppelings (enigiets wat verhoed dat die proses die gewenste resultate behaal, en veral inligtingoordrag tussen organisasies of mense). die identifisering van die klante se behoeftes deur die nci help om die markwaarde te skep van die produk wat deur die bedryfsrolspelers vervaardig word. aan die ander kant verbeter dit die wêreldwye mededingende mark vir die bedryf deur die radikale herontwerpproses vir die bedryf aan te neem. sleutelwoorde: implementering, inkrementele aanneming, konstruksiebedryf, nigerië, waarde-ingenieurswese acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 70 1. introduction project delays, cost overruns, poor quality work, as well as poor health, safety and environmental records signal that there is room for improvement in the nigerian construction industry (nci) (jusoh & kasim, 2017: 82). steven (2014) as well as ding, jiang, ng and zhu (2017: 456) elucidate that, due to clients’ dissatisfaction with the services delivered by the construction industry, major reforms are required in the construction industry’s process and structure. the adoption and implementation of the value re-engineering (vre) technique in the construction industry would help boost the application techniques such as lean construction (lc), total quality management (tqm), building information modelling (bim), value management/value engineering (vm/ve), and so forth (ding et al., 2017: 457). asikhia and awolusi (2015: 2) reiterate that vre is considered a critical analysis and radical redesign of existing construction processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance measures. however, hardly any research focuses on vre in the nci, especially the incremental adoption and implementation process that improves customer value offering. therefore, a wide gap has been identified in the vre implementation in the nci. vre is a new way of thinking that offers potential solutions, and it is slowly being included as part of standard industry working. customers’ dissatisfaction with value offered by the nci requires a new approach to the customers’ needs (safa, sabet, macgillivray, davidson, kaczmarczyk, haas, gibson & rayside, 2015: 625). consequently, the call for the incremental adoption and implementation of vre in the nci would be a breakthrough solution for the industry to resolve the challenges of customers’ dissatisfaction faced in terms of escalating budget, delay in delivery time, and poor quality of project delivery, leading to building collapse (soares, 2013: 2). incremental adoption of vre to construction process re-engineering by the nci is to learn as much as possible from other industries that have had to respond to massive cultural changes (ashworth, 2012: 73). yahaya (2020: 7) attributed some of the challenges faced in the adoption and implementation of vre in the nci to lack of awareness and derived benefits obtained using the new technique by the stakeholders in the industry. however, the innovation aspect of vre, especially the adoption and implementation processes, is overlooked, and very little is understood in the nci. it is, therefore, important to examine the incremental adoption of vre in the construction industries. this article explores the importance level of incremental adoption and implementation of vre, in order to improve the implementation process in the nci. jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 71 2. literature review to understand how the vre can work for the nci, it is essential to know the type of value techniques presently used by the general construction industry, namely lc, bim, tqm and vm/ve. 2.1 construction value techniques 2.1.1 lean construction the lc process is a derivative of the lean manufacturing process. it is concerned with the elimination of waste activities and processes that create no added value (ashworth, 2012: 192). ashworth (2012: 192) further expresses that lc is a philosophy about managing and improving the construction process to profitably deliver what the customer and the construction client require. huzaimi, jamil & syazli (2016: 634) view lc as promises resulting in managing the construction process and achieving the project’s goals by eliminating waste. collaboration and continuous improvement through stakeholder involvement enable team members to identify opportunities for eliminating the activities that do not add value (meng, 2012: 189; andrew & sarhan, 2013: 24). lc is about achieving a balanced use of people, materials, and resources, and facilitating an organisation to reduce costs, eliminate wastes, and deliver projects on time. marhani, jaapar, azmi and bari (2012: 87) advocate that lc is aimed at reducing waste, increasing productivity, as well as health and safety in fulfilling the client’s requirements of the construction industry. the cost, duration and quality of construction project delivery improved greatly as a result of lc (sacks, koskela, dave & owen, 2010: 972; tezel & nielsen, 2013: 237). subsequently, lc has been applied in the uk, the usa, japan and some other countries (sacks et al., 2010; sadreddini, 2012: 29). lc is about smooth running operations flowing effectively, while optimising resource usage and viewing projects as practising sustainability, even at a more detailed level (fazli, 2011: 33). according to harmon (2014: 477), lc represents a separate methodology that focuses on eliminating waste from process flows and is now often considered to be one of the tools that six sigma teams (members from the executive leadership committee of a company) ought to employ. 2.1.2 building information modelling bim is a digital representation of the building process to facilitate the exchange and interoperability of information in digital format (jupp & awad, 2018: 361). bim represents a fundamental change for individual disciplines acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 72 and in the construction industry as a whole (arayici & aouad, 2011: 189). according to coates, arayici, koskela, kagioglou, usher, and o’reilly (2010: 8) as well as arayici and coates (2012: 179), owners are starting to force architects and other design professionals, construction managers and construction companies to adopt bim. bim is rapidly transforming the design and the construction industry worldwide. bim individually has been adopted in a great number of applications such as supply chain management. bim plug-in can serve as a supporting tool for planning and decision-making in logistics and supply chain management in the construction industry (chen & nguyen, 2019: 301). furthermore, tomek and kalinichuk (2015: 563) show that the bim integrated product and process model facilitate improvements in the construction process, particularly with respect to collaborative design, project coordination, reduction in project duration, reduction in costs, claims and disputes, as well as improvements in product quality. chen, liu and hua (2017: 177) posit that bim has been considered a possible solution to common problems in the construction industry, such as rework and slow delivery, as well as an innovative resource providing potential competitive advantage for construction organisations. the adoption of bim in a construction organisation cannot always guarantee the expected positive value for the organisation, whether the structure of bim technology fits the business process of a construction organisation during bim implementation, or during the interaction between bim technology and the ve of a construction organisation that create value at the process level (arayici & coates, 2012: 179). 2.1.3 total quality management tqm is a management philosophy and company practices that aim to harness the human and material resources in the construction industry as the most effective way to achieve the construction industry objectives (lau, li, tang & chau, 2016: 561). iruobe, ojambati, akinpade and iruobe (2012: 345) stated that tqm consists of a set of systematic activities carried out by the entire construction industry to effectively and efficiently achieve its objectives, thereby providing products and services at a level of quality that satisfies customers at the appropriate time and price. tqm not only leads to increased productivity, higher standards, improved systems and procedures, as well as greater motivation and increased public satisfaction for the construction industry operatives. tqm also seeks to reduce costs and ensure savings by the construction industry players (naidoo & reddy, 2008: 38). jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 73 2.1.4 value management/value engineering vm addresses the value process during the concept, definition, implementation and operation phases of a construction project. it encompasses a set of systematic and logical procedures and techniques to enhance construction project value throughout the life of the facility (akaka, vargo & lusch, 2013: 2). vm embraces the whole value process and includes value planning, ve and value reviewing (atabay & galipogullari, 2013: 40). the vm approach offers a crucial method for the client to achieve a better built environment and a good opportunity to encourage upgrading in the construction process (al-yami & price, 2006: 2). according to olanrewaju (2013: 2), the vm approach reduces the risk of project failure, lowers cost, shortens projects schedules, improves quality, functions, and performance, and ensures high reliability and safety. the concept of ve is the reduced cost of products or services involving engineering principles (harini & widyarti, 2018: 75). these techniques attempt to achieve at least the same quality as planned at minimum cost. ve is the most appropriate technique to regulate value in construction projects, as other techniques focus on time and quality rather than value (karunasena & gamage, 2017: 80). arivazhagan, partheeban, guru and priya rachel (2017: 65) contend that ve is a systematic method to raise the value of goods, products and services by undertaking an investigation of intention. ve gets closer to cost control, because it looks at ways to reduce costs on specific items or activities (atabay & galipogullari, 2013: 39). however, it does not look at the total project picture or check the daily performance; it focuses only on specific items in the design, procurement or construction area. 2.2 adoption and implementation of vre in the construction industry eke and adaku (2014: 116) emphasise that industries can operate proactively by adopting the vre process, in order to achieve remarkable improvement in their organisational performance. according to madane and joshi (2018: 1844), incremental adoption and implementation of vre can be applied to any organisation, company or industry to enhance their corporation and bring about the desired change. for the construction industry, effective execution of process re-engineering (pr) significantly enhances the industry approach that adds to the competitive advantage of such industry (akam, okeke, kekeocha & onuorah, 2018: 15). similarly, dachyar and sanjiwo (2018: 2) emphasise that the study of pr is a veritable tool to enhance employee satisfaction, acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 74 teamwork and cooperation, quality of service delivery as well as attainment of organisational strategic goals. incremental adoption of vre implementation is considered an efficient solution of redesign in the construction industry processes and activities (sungau, ndunguru & kimeme, 2013: 210). accordingly, omidi and khoshtinat (2016: 430) reaffirmed that the industries become the object of permanent transformations after the incremental adoption and implementation of vre. however, eke and adaku (2014: 116) argue that, in countries where vre is incrementally adopted and implemented, the construction industry markets of such countries were reshaped greatly. a review of literature revealed five key adoption phases of the vre implementation process, namely preparing for re-engineering; mapping and analysing process; designing the process; implementing the re-engineered process, and improving continuously (emerie-kassahun & molla, 2013: 575). preparing vre for incremental adoption and implementation in the construction industry is done in phases. the implementation begins with the way in which industries try to adopt the process that makes it easy and convenient for its operation, in order to achieve the customer desired value (lilian, uzochukwu & francisca 2015: 24). figure 1 shows the process guide for the incremental adoption and implementation of vre in the construction industry: prepare for organisational re-engineering; begin organisational change; build the re-engineering organisation; map and design the process; identify the vre opportunities; understand the existing process; implement re-engineering improvement process continuously, and blueprint the new organisation system (borgianni, cascini & rotini, 2015: 135).   prepare for reengineering begin organisational change build the reengineering organisation map and design the process identify the vre opportunities understand the existing process implement reengineering improvement process continuously blueprint the new organisation system figure 1: process guide for the incremental adoption and implementation of vre source: adapted from borgianni et al., 2015: 135 during the incremental adoption and implementation phase, roles and responsibilities are designed to provide the quality of particular functions within the construction industry (chen, yang & tai, 2016: 249). jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 75 however, the organisational structure for the construction industry to those of the project management team in vre enhancing customer value satisfaction of the work when incremental adoption and implementation of vre in the construction industry/firm are jointly executed (ilin, kalinina, levina & iliashenko, 2016: 2). however, the approach can be adopted as for full-cycle construction in the construction industry (khrustalev, 2015; ilin et al., 2016: 3). vre implementation is a consecutive process encompassing key implementation activities that are needed to redesign the customer value process (sikdar & payyazhi, 2014: 980). therefore, the incremental adoption and implementation of vre in the construction industry for each of these identified vre phases will be elicited in this study through empirical investigation. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design the purpose of this research was to assess the level of incremental adoption and implementation of vre in the nci. following the phenomenological paradigm (a form of qualitative research that focuses on the study of an individual’s lived experiences), this study used a qualitative research approach (creswell, 2014: 14). this approach allows for the use of structured interviews, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (mustafa, 2012: 191; creswell, 2014). during the interviews, a tick-box questionnaire (answers were ticked by the researcher) collected perceived experiences from interviewees on vre adoption and implementation in their firms. a qualitative research approach supports the use of checkboxes to measure data (mathers, fox & hunn, 2009: 20). the qualitative data was given a numerical score, on a likert scale, so that the data can be analysed quantitatively and presented by means of descriptive statistics (brown, 2011: 11; saidu, 2016: 157). for this study, the frequencies were used to calculate percentages of the importance of the vre adoption and implementation activities (bhattacharyya & johnson, 2014). 3.2 population and sampling methods the population of the study included 30 (private or public) construction firms in abuja, nigeria, that are listed in the federation of construction industry (foci) and licensed by the corporate affairs commission (cac) to operate in the nigerian built environment under the companies and allied matters act 1990, and been duly registered as an agent for vat collection under “the value added tax (vat) decree no. 102 of 1993” (nbs, 2019). acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 76 using purposive sampling, nine of the 30 construction companies with a capital base of usd4.6 million (r79.9 million) and above were selected based on the premise that they execute building and civil engineering work. purposive sampling enables the researcher to select participants (stakeholders) from 10-15 different construction firms based on perceived experience and survival in business for investigation that is likely to give the ideal information on vre adoption and implementation as a result of their experience (leedy & ormrod, 2014: 154). from the nine construction companies, 34 key stakeholders, including seven directors, nine project managers, nine quantity surveyors and nine engineers, were identified as the sample to participate in the study. according to leedy and ormrod (2014: 147), the typical research sample size of the phenomenological study ranges between five and 25 participants in structured interviews. 3.3 data-collection methods from 2 december 2019 to 15 march 2020, the researcher conducted faceto-face structured interviews with the 34 participants, in order to collect data from construction firms that execute building and civil engineering work in abuja, nigeria. the interviews took place mainly at the interviewee’s offices and lasted from 45 to 75 minutes. based on the process guide for the incremental adoption and implementation of vre (see figure 1), the structured interview guide contained eight constructs (different stages of adoption and implementation) with a total of 67 items (activities for all the stages) that made up the phase adoption and implementation. to assess how important the implementation activities are in vre in the nci, the interviewees were requested to indicate which of the 67 items were considered in their firms. all items considered were ticked off on the interview guide list. at the start of the interviews, the researcher stated the purpose of the research, and guaranteed that the information given by the respondents would be treated as confidential and that no names would be mentioned in the research (gray, 2009: 69). this was to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality (gray, 2009: 73). 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings qsr nvivo 12, a qualitative content analysis tool, was used to analyse and interpret the collected tick-box data (qsr international, 2021). the tick-box data was given a numerical score, on a 5-point likert scale, so that the data could be rated quantitatively, based on cut-off points, as highlighted by saidu (2016: 157). for this study, the cut-off points, expressed in jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 77 frequencies, are further converted to percentages to calculate the importance level of the vre adoption and implementation activities in the nci. likert-scale ratings are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11). for the purposes of analysis (see table 1), it is important to note that the following scale measurement was used regarding cut-off point percentages, where 1 = unimportant (1% to 29%); 2 = less important (30% to 49%); 3 = fairly important (50% to 69%); 4 = important (70% to 89%), and 5 = most important (90% to 100%). data was presented using frequencies and cutoff point percentages to report the results for the four interview groups: d (7); pm (9); qs (9); e (9). table 1: cut-off points for how important the implementation activities are in vre s/no cut-off (1 to 5) cut-off in % (1 to 100) decision rule 1 less than 1.50 1 to 29 unimportant 2 1.50 to 2.49 30 to 49 less important 3 2.50 to 3.49 50 to 69 fairly important 4 3.50 to 4.49 70 to 89 important 5 4.50 to 5.00 90 to 100 most important source: adapted from saidu (2016: 157) 3.5 limitations the study is limited to the implementation of vre in the nci, focusing on both private and public construction companies executing building and civil engineering work located in abuja. it can be noted that the study was not conducted across nigeria; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised. 4. results and discussion 4.1 preparation for value re-engineering implementation in preparation for vre implementation (see table 2), nine implementation activities are involved in this phase. with ratings above 90%, the significant need for the process to be re-engineered (94%) and the formulation of mission or vision statements (91%) are the most important activities in preparing for incremental adoption and implementation of vre. these results are validated by the findings of sungau et al. (2013: 5) that the process of re-engineering required the critical identification of mission and vision of the area to be re-engineered. this indicates that certain reasons acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 78 must arise that will require the need for change before the mission or vision are accomplished. lilian et al. (2015: 23) argue that the impact of environmental changes (85%) and the absence of several key players that will implement vre techniques (82%) are important aspects to consider while adopting and implementing vre in any construction organisation. table 2: preparing for vre implementation phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % prepare for re-engineering significant need for the process to be re-engineered 7 9 8 8 32 94 formulation of mission and vision statement 6 8 8 7 31 91 impact of the environmental changes 7 8 7 7 29 85 absence of several key players 7 8 7 6 28 82 understand the expectations of the customers 6 5 6 6 23 68 development of executive consensus on the importance of re-engineering 5 6 6 4 21 62 strengthen the communication throughout the organisation 5 4 6 5 20 59 produced a cross-functional team 5 5 4 3 17 50 strategic direction from the top 5 3 2 1 11 32 4.2 begin the organisational change beginning the organisational change as shown in table 3 consists of three implementation activities. assessing the current state of the organisation (74%) and explaining the need for change (71%) were rated as important activities in preparing for incremental adoption and implementation of vre. these results are in line with the findings of llin et al. (2016: 8) which indicated that commencing the redesign process in construction firms will require reasons for the need and the current operation system and why the change. according to khrustalev (2015: 4), illustrating the desired state for organisational change is deemed to be fairly important in incremental adoption and implementation when beginning the organisational change for vre process in construction firms. jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 79 table 3: beginning the organisational change phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % begin organisational change assess the current state of the organisation 7 7 9 2 25 74 explain the need for change 5 6 6 7 24 71 illustrate the desired state 5 5 4 5 19 56 4.3 build the re-engineering organisation table 4 indicates that, with a rating of 100%, establishing a vre organisational structure is the most important activity required in building the re-engineering organisation for vre incremental adoption and implementation. it is also pertinent that choosing the personnel who will re-engineer is an important activity in building the re-engineering organisation for the new system. llin et al. (2016: 8) state that this forms the basic process of restructuring and requires specialist ideas in achieving the redesign process. however, creating a communications campaign for change and establishing the roles for performing vre in the construction industry are fairly important (khrustalev, 2015: 4). communication is the centre to all activities in the industry, as it drives the engine of growth in the industry. using a communication campaign cannot be ignored when redesigning the process. table 4: build the re-engineering organisation phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % build the re-engineering organisation establish a vre organisational structure 7 9 9 9 34 100 choose the personnel who will re-engineer 5 5 9 6 25 74 create a communication campaign for change 5 6 4 8 23 68 establish the roles for performing vre 6 4 4 3 17 50 4.4 map and design the process the map and design of the process consists of 11 implementation activities (see table 5). with a 94% rating, interviewees perceived identifying disconnects, which prevent the process from achieving desired results, as the most important activity in adopting and implementing vre. analysing acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 80 and improving new processes design (62%) is in line with eke and adaku (2014: 114). interviewees perceived attempting a new process design, while ignoring the existing processes, and performing simulation and analysing factors such as the time and cost involved, as fairly important in mapping and designing the process to be re-engineered. madane and joshi (2018: 1843) believe that less important or unimportant activities in the process of mapping and designing the process are innovative practices that can be adopted from anywhere, developing the to-be models, benchmarking, performing trade-off analysis the best possible to-be scenarios, understanding the existing process, alternatives to the current situation and the peer organisations need not be competitors are vital in mapping and designing the process for phase adoption of vre. table 5: map and design the process phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % map and design the process identify disconnects; anything that prevents the process from achieving desired results and, in particular, information transfer between organisations or people 7 9 8 8 32 94 analyse and improve on it to design new processes 5 4 6 6 21 62 attempt a new process design while ignoring the existing processes 3 5 5 4 17 50 perform simulation and abc to analyse factors such as the time and cost involved 5 4 4 4 17 50 adoption of innovative practices from anywhere 5 5 4 2 14 47 development of the to-be models 3 4 5 4 14 47 benchmarking 5 4 5 1 15 44 perform trade-off analysis the best possible to-be scenarios are selected for implementation 6 1 5 3 15 44 the need for understanding the existing process 4 5 4 13 38 alternatives to the current situation 2 3 4 9 26 the peer organisations need not be competitors or even from the same industry 1 3 2 1 7 21 jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 81 4.5 identifying the vre opportunities when identifying the vre opportunities, 12 activities are considered (see table 6). during this stage, important implementation activities include recognising potential change enablers (79%) and selecting the processes that should be re-engineered (71%). fairly important activities to consider during the identifying of vre opportunities stage include consulting with customers for their desires, identifying potential barriers to implementation, determining customer’s actual needs, formulating new process performance objectives, gathering performance metrics within industry, evaluating pre-existing business strategies, and establishing key process characteristics. these results agree with the findings of fasna and gunatilaka (2019: 2574). however, the interviewees regard identifying the core/high-level processes, prioritising selected processes, and gathering performance metrics outside industry as less important in identifying vre opportunities during phase adoption. table 6: identify the vre opportunities phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % identify the vre opportunities recognise potential change enablers 5 6 8 8 27 79 select processes that should be re-engineered 7 4 7 6 24 71 consult with customers for their desires 6 5 5 5 21 62 identify potential barriers to implementation 5 5 6 5 21 62 determine customer’s actual needs 7 5 5 3 20 59 formulate new process performance objectives 6 5 2 7 20 59 gather performance metrics within industry 7 3 5 3 18 53 evaluate pre-existing value improvement strategies 4 7 2 5 18 53 establish key process characteristics 5 5 4 3 17 50 prioritise selected processes 5 5 2 3 15 44 identify the core/high-level processes 7 1 6 1 15 44 gather performance metrics outside industry 4 3 2 5 14 42 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 82 4.6 understanding the existing process during vre adoption and implementation, the ‘understanding of the existing process’ stage considers six activities (see table 7). with ratings of 79% each, important activities during this stage include comparing the current process with the new objectives and understanding how information is currently used. with ratings between 50% and 65%, fairly important implementation activities include understanding the current organisational structure, understanding how technology is currently used, modelling the current processes and understanding why the current steps are performed, as implementation activities in understanding the vre existing process. these findings are in line with the results of omidi and khoshtinat (2016: 426) as well as those of dachyar and sanjiwo (2018: 8). table 7: understand the existing process phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % understand the existing process understand how information is currently used 7 6 6 8 27 79 compare current process with the new objectives 5 8 7 7 27 79 understand the current organisational structure 6 7 5 4 22 65 understand how technology is currently used 6 5 5 4 20 59 model the current process 6 4 5 3 18 53 understand why the current steps are performed 7 3 5 2 17 50 4.7 implement re-engineering improvement process continuously in the stage where the re-engineering improvement process should be implemented continuously, 15 activities are considered (see table 8). during this stage, the most important implementation activity is monitoring that should include measures such as employee attitudes, customer perceptions, and supplier responsiveness. with ratings of between 71% and 85%, other important activities to consider include quality output; how much more commitment the management shows; process cost reduction; the progress of action measured, and performance reviewing by team against clearly defined targets done. these results are validated jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 83 by omidi and khoshtinat (2016: 426). fairly important implementation activities included how well the change teams are accepted in the broader perspective of the organisation; responsiveness to customer needs; process time reduction; monitoring, and employee adaptability to the new process. with ratings of between 38% and 47%, activities considered to be of less importance during continuous implementation of the re-engineering improvement process include measuring the implementation process; how much more informed the people feel; setting up feedback loop, wherein the process is remapped, re-analysed and redesigned, and if an ongoing measurement is initiated. these findings agree with those of dachyar and sanjiwo (2018: 8). table 8: implement re-engineering improvement process continuously phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % implement re-engineering improvement process continuously monitoring should include measures such as employee attitudes, customer perceptions, supplier responsiveness 6 8 9 8 31 91 quality output 6 9 8 6 29 85 how much more commitment the management shows 7 8 7 6 28 83 process cost reduction 6 6 5 8 25 74 the progress of action is measured 7 6 5 7 25 74 performance reviewing by team against clearly defined targets is done 5 5 7 7 24 71 how well the change teams are accepted in the broader perspective of the organisation 5 5 5 7 22 65 responsiveness to customer needs 6 6 3 6 21 62 process time reduction 6 5 4 5 20 59 monitoring 4 5 5 5 19 56 employee adaptability to the new process 6 3 4 4 17 50 measure the implementation 5 4 4 3 16 47 how much more informed the people feel 5 3 1 6 15 44 feedback loop is set up wherein the process is remapped, re-analysed and redesigned 6 2 1 5 14 41 ongoing measurement is initiated 5 3 4 1 13 38 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 84 4.8 blue-print the new-organisation system table 9 shows the rating results for the seven implementation activities during the stage of blue-printing the new organisation of vre adoption and implementation. with a 94% score, impact evaluation of new technologies is rated the most important activity considered in blue-printing the new organisational system. these findings agree with those of omidi and khoshtinat (2016: 426). dachyar and sanjiwo (2018: 8) opine that brainstorming using vre principles (82%); using customer value as the focal point (79%), and considering the perspectives of stakeholders (71%) were important activities in vre incremental adoption and implementation for blue-printing the new organisational system. in line with madane and joshi (2018: 1843), interviewees perceived less important activities in vre adoption and implementation for blue-printing the new organisation as ensuring the diversity of the re-engineering team; brainstorm using change levers, and questioning the current operating assumptions. table 9: blue-print the new organisation system phase adoption implementation activities (%) (1 to 29 = unimportant … 90 to 100 = most important) d (7) pm (9) qs (9) e (9) total (34) % blue-print the neworganisation system evaluate the impact of new technologies 7 8 8 9 32 94 brainstorm using vre principles 7 7 5 9 28 82 use customer value as the focal point 7 7 5 8 27 79 consider the perspectives of stakeholders 7 5 5 7 24 71 ensure the diversity of the re-engineering team 7 5 4 4 20 59 brainstorm using change levers 6 6 3 3 18 53 question current operating assumptions 5 2 5 12 35 5. conclusion and recommendation the empirical findings from the study indicate that establishing a vre organisational structure is considered most important in redesigning the process in an organisation in achieving the implementation success. this can only be identified through the significant need for the process to be re-engineered by evaluating the impact of the new technologies on the implementation of the vre stage. the study further concludes that identifying disconnects in anything that will prevent the process from achieving the desired results and, in particular, information transfer between organisations or people, are prevented in order to achieve the objective of the implementation process. the study, therefore, recommends that the jibrin & shakantu • implementation of the value re-engineering concept 85 professionals in the industry be trained and retrained in the re-engineering improvement process continuously, through the implementation of proper monitoring of employee attitudes, customer perceptions and supplier responsiveness, while trying a new system for customer satisfaction in an organisation. references akaka, m.a., vargo, s.l. & lusch, r.f. 2013. the complexity of context: a service ecosystems approach for international marketing. journal of international marketing, 21(4), pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1509/jim.13.0032 akam, g.u., okeke, m.n., kekeocha, m.e. & onuorah, a.n. 2018. business process reengineering resources and the performance of quoted brewing firms in nigeria. asian business research journal, 3(1), pp. 15-25. https:// doi.org/10.20448/journal.518.2018.31.15.25 al-yami, a.m. & price, a.d.f. 2006. a framework for implementing sustainable construction in building briefing project. in: boyd, d. 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consequences on housing construction sites in lagos, nigeria. acta structilia, 27(1), pp. 59-84. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels oluwasinaayomi faith kasim* dr oluwasinaayomi faith kasim* (corresponding author), lecturer, department of urban and regional planning, university of ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. phone: +2348055607009, email: <kasimfaith@gmail.com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5985-1534 adekunle moruf alabi dr adekunle moruf alabi, lecturer, department of urban and regional planning, university of ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. phone: +2348034385874, email: <morufalabi@ymail.com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0137-7390 sunday wusu mr sunday wusu, department of urban and regional planning, university of ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. phone: +2349093481560, email: <sundaywusu2020@gmail. com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 59-84 risk assessment for hazard exposure and its consequences on housing construction sites in lagos, nigeria peer reviewed and revised march 2020 published june 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract despite housing construction’s economic contribution, the nature of work done is well acknowledged as risky to execute because of the occupational accidents and work-related hazards to which workers are exposed. most of the workers experience hazards, owing largely to inadequate or lack of safety infrastructure and mechanisms for protective gear. this article examines varying levels of hazards to which workers are exposed at housing construction sites in lagos, nigeria. a mixed methods research was used to collect the necessary data for the study. from the total number of 511 residential building construction sites identified, simple random sampling technique was used to select 255 (50%) of the buildings. a questionnaire was administered to the supervisors on each site to obtain information on the exposure of hazards on housing construction sites. in addition, one month’s data on incidents of near miss, accident and fatal cases were obtained from construction managers/supervisors for each site. the data was analysed with frequencies, percentages and inferential statistics. construction workers are exposed to multifaceted hazards. roughly 91% of the respondents had witnessed http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:kasimfaith@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5985-1534 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5985-1534 mailto:morufalabi@ymail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0137-7390 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0137-7390 mailto:sundaywusu2020@gmail.com mailto:sundaywusu2020@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.3 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 60 hazards of varying degrees. paired t-test values showed that, on average, 25.3 more near misses and 12.4 more accidents happened monthly on sites supervised by individuals/ owners than on sites supervised by trained supervisors. the pearson’s r test (r = -0.705) showed that not enough first-aid kits were provided on sites to meet the needs of workers. proper safety mechanisms to ensure strict adherence to safety rules and regulations at construction sites must be developed and enforced. keywords: hazards, construction health and safety, housing construction, risks assessment matrix, lagos abstrak ondanks die ekonomiese bydrae van behuisingskonstruksie, word die aard van die werk wat gedoen word, as riskant beskou omdat daar werksongelukke en gevare is waaraan werkers blootgestel word. die meeste werkers ervaar gevare weens grootliks onvoldoende of gebrek aan veiligheidsinfrastruktuur en meganismes vir beskermingsuitrustings. hierdie artikel ondersoek verskillende vlakke van gevare waaraan werknemers op die konstruksieterreine in lagos, nigerië, blootgestel word. navorsing met gemengde metodes is gebruik om die nodige gegewens vir die studie te versamel. uit die 511 geïdentifiseerde konstruksieterreine vir residensiële geboue, is ’n eenvoudige ewekansige steekproefnemingstegniek gebruik om 255 (50%) van die geboue te selekteer. ’n vraelys is aan die toesighouers op elke terrein gegee om inligting te bekom oor die blootstelling van gevare op behuisingskonstruksieterreine. ook een maand se data oor voorvalle van byna-misse, ongelukke en noodlottige gevalle is verkry van elke deelnemende konstruksiebestuurder/toesighouer. die data is geanaliseer met frekwensies, persentasies en inferensiële statistieke. konstruksiewerkers word blootgestel aan veelsydige gevare. ongeveer 91% van die respondente het in verskillende mate gevare gesien. gepaarde t-toetswaardes het getoon dat gemiddeld 25.3 meer byna-misse en 12.4 meer ongelukke maandeliks plaasgevind het op persele wat deur individue/eienaars onder toesig was as op terreine onder toesig van opgeleide toesighouers. die pearson r-toets (r = -0.705) het getoon dat daar nie genoeg noodhulpkissies op die terrein beskikbaar is om in die behoeftes van werkers te voorsien nie. behoorlike veiligheidsmeganismes om streng nakoming van veiligheidsreëls en regulering op konstruksieterreine te verseker, moet ontwikkel en toegepas word. sleutelwoorde: gevare, konstruksie-gesondheid en -veiligheid, konstruksie van huise, risiko-assesseringsmatriks, lagos 1. introduction the housing construction industry is one of the largest employers globally and can contribute up to $10.5 trillion to the world economy by 2023 (mgi, 2017: online; napbhr, [n.d.]: online). it employs approximately 7% of the global work force (ilo, 2005: 6; mgi, 2017: online; rhodes, 2019: 3-4) or 180 million people, and it is predicted to account for approximately 10% of the global domestic product (gdp) by 2020 (murie, 2007: 6-7; durdyev & ismail, 2012: 884-885; nieuwenkamp, 2016: online). owing to its substantial contribution to the gdp of the vast majority of nations, the development of the housing construction industry has been viewed as the foundation for contemporary and future economic growth and social development (agbola, 2005: 7-10; kasim, 2018: 955-959). kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 61 despite its economic contribution, the nature of work done within residential building construction is well acknowledged as risky to execute because of the complexity of its activities and risky external and internal environments (zou, zhang & wang, 2007: 602-603; lette, ambelu, getahun & mekonen, 2018: 58). the complexities of housing construction activities during execution expose workers to a plethora of hazards and generate enormous risks that may culminate into accidents if not well managed (orji, nwachukwu & enebe, 2016: 282-283). according to okeola (2009), workers in the housing construction industry are three times more exposed to a variety of near misses, accidents and fatalities (churcher & alwani, 1996: 29-31; orji et al., 2016: 282-285). the industry also accounts for 30%-40% of the world’s fatal injuries; 100,000 workforces are killed on sites every year (mgi, 2017: online; lette et al., 2018: 57-58). absence of a centralised safety agency (agwu, 2012: 213), inadequate or lack of safety infrastructure, regulations and mechanisms on sites, in the developing countries (nigeria included), are responsible for the death of one person on site every five minutes (takala et al., 2014: 326; united states department of labor, 2017: online). prior to 2004, government-centred policies and programmes failed to eliminate the gap between housing need and supply in lagos, nigeria (alabi & ajide, 2011: 32-33). post-2004, the nigerian national housing policy allowed for approximately 90% of housing provision in nigeria, especially lagos, to be constructed and provided by private sector with its associated hazards in the poorly monitored construction industry sector in nigeria (alabi, muraina & kasim, 2018: 46-47). although a number of studies has been done on construction hazard and risk assessment in general (babovic, 2009: 22-26; oladinrin, ogunsemi & aje, 2012: 50-60; zolfagharian ressang, irizarry, nourbakhsh & zin, 2011: 151-161; orji et al., 2016: 282-289), there is a dearth of study on exposure to hazards specifically in the housing construction industry. the scarcity of scientific research on exposure to hazards in the housing construction industry highlights the need to assess the hazards and risks, taking into consideration the safety measures in place to reduce hazards. the purpose of this article is, therefore, to investigate the exposure to hazards and the consequences thereof on workers, working on housing construction sites in lagos, nigeria. findings will be useful for all employers of construction workers, governmental and private employers, developers and other agencies that are involved in housing construction through the proffered safety measures towards mitigating hazard prevalence. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 62 2. literature review to understand hazard exposure and its consequences on housing construction sites in lagos, nigeria, it is important to introduce the current theory on hazard exposure concepts included in this article. the existing theory focuses on the concepts of human error, hazards, and vulnerability of workers in housing construction. 2.1 housing construction workers and human errors the construction industry is an economically important industry in any country. the sector supply infrastructure and physical structures of a country provides basic needs such as housing for the population (haupt & harinarain, 2016: 80). the construction industry employs workers cutting across different occupations and trades. the categories of workers in typical housing construction include carpenters, masons, painters, electricians, machine operators (concrete mixer, crane, and soil compactor operators and forklift drivers), iron benders, plumbers, machinists (precision material worker who assemble or fabricate mechanical parts, pieces or products, using a variety of tools and equipment at construction sites), foremen and professionals such as architects, civil engineers, builders, foremen and urban planners. jobs in the construction field require workers to hold various skills, from construction managers to floor installers. the skills are required as a gateway to the sector, but they can hardly protect the workers against hazards. the construction sector, including residential building construction sites, has a set of occupational hazards that are specific to the sector. work done on construction sites is considered to be high risk and may result in occupational accidents that are mostly viewed as human-induced incidents or human error (guo, yiu & gonzález, 2016: 5) human factors engineering is a relatively new engineering field dedicated towards understanding human interaction in the work environment such as executing construction activities (abdelhamid & everett, 2000: 54). human factor models capture worker interaction best in behaviour models that portray workers as being the main cause of accidents. this approach studies the tendency of human beings to make errors under various situations and environmental conditions (abdelhamid & everett, 2000: 54-55). in the construction industry, human error is always or sometimes attributed to accidents at construction sites, even at adherence or non-adherence to safety rules (babovic, 2009: 22; guo et al., 2016: 5-6). when the label ‘human error’ is used, it sometimes refers to the processes and systematic factors that influence people’s behaviour and performance in any situation. therefore, the scientific study of human error or failure should be concerned with the understanding of factors influencing the cognition, collaboration and behaviour of workers in a work environment (woods & cook, 2000). kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 63 however, it is important to holistically analyse the work environment with its inherent unsafe characteristics and analyse the design of workplaces and tasks that do not consider human limitations before the blame on workplace mishap can be labelled as ‘human error’ (abdelhamid & everett, 2000: 54-55). human factors engineering aims to achieve efficiency and better designed tasks, using appropriate tools, in a safe workplace, but it also acknowledges limitations of human physical and psychological composition and capabilities which, if not properly managed, can trigger latent hazards and inherent vulnerability (breeding, 2011: online). 2.2 construction hazards a hazard is a situation that poses a level of potential threat or risk to life, health, property, or environment (ccohs, 2020: online). the vast majority of hazards are dormant or potential, with only a theoretical risk of harm; however, once a hazard becomes active, owing to the relationship between a person and the work environment, it can lead to accidents and emergency situations (breeding, 2011: online). hazard exposure is driven by any activity, situation or condition within the physical environment with the potential to cause harm, injury or death to persons, and damage to assets and the environment (rausand, 2004). cardona (2001) notes that hazard refers to a latent danger or vulnerability to an external risk factor from an exposed system or subject. according to osha (2017), health hazards in the construction industry can be grouped under chemical, physical, and ergonomic hazards. chemical hazards can affect the body via inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption, including toxic gas from welding; fumes from dusts; burns from chemicals; skin irritation from cement and paints, as well as respiratory irritation from thinners and insulation materials (osha, 2017: 3-7). physical hazards are noise, heat, vibration and radiation, including acute noise generation; acute vibration; electrocution; exposure to excessive heat, and exposure to hot or pressurised liquid (osha, 2017: 10-15). ergonomic hazards include mainly manual handling of loads such as objects falling from a height; fall of workers from a scaffold; fall of workers from a roof or upper floor of a building; workers pierced by sharp objects; workers falling into unfenced excavation, and workers struck by earth-moving machines (osha, 2017: 27-29). in the context of this article, a hazard is defined as any form of mishap or injury suffered by workers as related to specific occupational demands or job requirements on site. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 64 2.3 construction hazards management scope, environment and working conditions on construction sites can trigger inherent hazards that could be managed, using safety management approaches. inadequacies in the safety system could influence and/ or lead to occupational accidents (ford & tetrick, 2011: 49-50; andersson, 2012: 210-212). for example, poor work ethics and flagrant disobedience to safety rules and regulations by workers would lead to accidents, regardless of the existing safety management approach. humanand, to a larger extent, non-human-related events are beyond control and prediction, as encapsulated in the safety management concept. hence, as observed by imriyas, phen and teo (2006: 272-274), estimation of exposure to hazards and the functionality of any occupational injury risks analysis in construction projects should be assessed, using two factors, namely a project’s safety management level and inherent hazard level (imriyas et al., 2006). figure 1 shows that, in construction safety management, inherent hazard level identification is fundamental, because unidentified hazards are the most unmanageable risks (carter & smith, 2006: 198). figure 1: hazard versus safety trade-off source: adapted from imriyas et al., 2006 as shown in figure 1, unmanageable and unidentified hazards would gravitate a construction project towards the accidentand hazard-related zone, while informed safety measures would pull the construction activities towards the safety zone. in addition, when and where the safety management force is equal to the degree of hazard generated, the construction activities would be inclined towards the neutral zone. however, if the safety management structure is lower than the hazard level, the project would be driven towards the accident zone. hence, the linkage and/or the assessment of a construction project hazard level and safety management structure prediction of occupational accidents inherent within the environment of a project. kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 65 bosher and dainty (2011: 1-3) observe that inherent hazards could lead to risks and these identified risks could be minimised, transferred, shared, accepted or managed, but should never be ignored. fundamentally, two phases are required in the control and management of construction hazards. first, the hazardous events prevention phase and, secondly, mitigating and adapting to the potential severity of hazards, if and when they occur (world bank, 2013: 6-10). varying degrees of hazards occur at construction sites. their degree of severity or fatality is dependent on the safety measures taken by workers on site. at construction sites, preventive measures are taken for different probable types of hazards such as protective boots against piercing; protective helmet against fall impact on the head; nose mask to filter fumes and dust, and to protect against respiratory diseases, and so on (ilo, 1999: 79-83). 3. research methods this study assessed the hazards faced by workers on housing construction sites in eti-osa, lagos state, nigeria, taking into consideration the level of exposure to, and the impact of the identified construction hazards. the study used a mixed methods design, in which qualitative and quantitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell, 2014). a quantitative structured questionnaire survey enables researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (bryman, 2012: 232; creswell, 2014). it also allows for descriptive and inferential statistical analysis (naoum, 2013: 104). in this study, hazard exposure records of housing construction sites were used to build the theory on hazard exposure, predicting that experience of ‘high-risk’ hazards will negatively affect the health of workers on housing construction sites in nigeria. the questionnaire assessed the level of hazards experienced by workers. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the hazards incident records, such as similar ‘high-risk’ hazards experienced from the respondents’ groups (creswell & plano-clark, 2007). 3.1 sampling method and response rate from a preliminary survey by the authors, a total of 511 new residential building projects, at different stages of construction, were identified in the study area. random sampling was utilised to select 255 of the residential buildings under construction. from these, at least one worker acting as supervisor/construction manager or owners’ representative from each site was targeted to participate (alvi, 2016: 35). the survey was undertaken with a sample of 255. the sample size for research done in construction-related populations was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 66 krejcie and morgan (1970: 608). from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 500 is 217, and for 550, 226. this recommendation validates the sample size of 255 as efficient for the population of 511 in table 1. table 1: sample and response rate localities in etiosa lga sample frame sample size 50% ownership responses response rate (%)individual corporate ado/langbasa/ badore 164 82 65 17 82 100 ajah/sangotedo 91 45 38 7 45 100 ajiran/osapa 101 51 35 16 51 100 ikatelekki 87 43 37 6 43 100 ikoyi 8 4 1 3 4 100 maroko okun alfa 48 24 19 5 24 100 vi/oniru 12 6 4 2 6 100 total 511 255 199 56 255 3.2 data collection structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 255 construction managers or owners’ representatives (supervisors) working on new residential building construction sites in eti-osa, lagos, nigeria, from 2 to 17 november 2016. the questionnaire consisted of five sections. the first section, on the respondents’ demographic profile, obtained personal information on age, educational level, and occupation. the second section set 14 tick-box options on hazard experiences to obtain if and how often workers experience hazard situations on site. section three set one likert-scale question with 18 items on the construct ‘exposure to hazard’ and section four set one likert-scale question with 18 items on the construct ‘consequence of hazard exposure’. participants were requested to rate the level of frequency and the level of consequence on the statements regarding hazard exposure on housing construction sites. section five contained four tick-box questions and one likert-scale question with 5 items on the construct ‘control strategies’. participants were requested to rate their level of agreement on statements regarding safety management of hazards on site. the results from these measurements form the items used in the descriptive analysis, matrix analysis, and the inferential statistics. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections two and three (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 67 in addition to the questionnaire survey, supervisors also provided a tabulated record sheet of one month’s data (2 november to 1 december 2016) on incidents of near misses, accidents and fatalities in all the sampled sites. all the 255 copies of the questionnaire administered were returned and used for analysis. the authors also recorded their own observations on safety management from the sites sampled. 3.3 analysis method and how to interpret data the statistical package for social science (spss) version 24 was used to determine the frequency and consequences of hazard exposure, by using descriptive and inferential statistics (pallant, 2013). the frequencies and/or percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to analyse the respondents’ profile, supervisor status and exposure to hazards, incidents records and safety management structure. for the analysis on the frequency, and consequences of hazard exposure, a 5-point likert scale was used to measure how strongly respondents felt regarding the statements in the likert-scale constructs. likert-scale rankings are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11; naoum, 2013: 89). for the purposes of analysis, it is important to note that the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores (mss), where 1 = very low/insignificant; 2 = low/minor; 3 = regular/moderate; 4 = high/major, and 5 = very high/catastrophic. data was analysed, using frequencies and ms rankings. to identify the major risks from hazard exposure, a risk matrix analysis was done to rank the 25 initial item scores on the basis of frequency and consequence. the matrix assessment is the multiplication of hazard exposure and its consequence: (hazard exposure x consequence). only one score for each item (as labelled) was considered to determine the influence of each item in the row on the statement in the column. for example, both consequences and occurrences range from 1 to 5. the risk matrix score for a specific hazard is the product of the rate of occurrence (row value) and consequence (column value). items in the matrix were weighted (scored) on a 5-point likert scale were 1 = very low risk; 2 = low risk; 2 = moderate risk; 3 = high risk; 4 = high risk, and 5 = very high risk. they were then classified according to their risk level where 1-4 = ‘low’; 5-15 = ‘medium’, and 16-25 = ‘high’, stipulated in the risk matrix assessment model of zolfagharian (zolfagharian, nourbakhsh, irizarry, ressang & gheisari, 2012: 1753) (see table 2). to analyse the hazards incidence records, a paired samples t-test with p=0.05 was done to compare the mean of cases, and to find any acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 68 correlations between the cases examined (ross & willson, 2017: 17). a pearson’s correlation test with p=0.05 was done to find any significant relationship between workers’ need for first-aid kits, and the provision of such kits by housing construction site managers. table 2: risk level classification of construction hazards consequence hazard and risk classification matrix 5 5 (m) 10 (m) 15 (h) 20 (h) 25 (h) 4 4 (l) 8 (m) 12 (m) 16 (h) 20 (h) 3 3 (l) 6 (m) 9 (m) 12 (m) 15 (h) 2 2 (l) 4 (l) 6 (m) 8 (m) 10 (m) 1 1 (l) 2 (l) 3 (l) 4 (l) 5 (m) occurrence 1 2 3 4 5 l = low; m = medium; h = high source: adapted from zolfagharian et al. (2012: 1753) 3.4 limitations owing to time constraint, focus-group discussions could not be organised in order to identify the sociocultural dimension influencing hazards in construction sites. a section of lagos and construction activity was also sampled; this may not be a true reflection of construction activities in nigeria. 4. results 4.1 respondents’ demographics table 3 displays the demographic profile of the participants. it is obvious that the majority of the respondents were foremen (19.4%), masons (16.9), carpenters (14.1%), and iron benders (11.4%); the professionals (architects, civil engineers, builders, and urban planners) constituted only 9.4% of the respondents. the results show that the respondents represented all relevant workers in the housing construction. the highest number (59%) of the respondents had a secondary school education (36%) or a primary school education (23%), and 12% had a technical college qualification; only 8% had a tertiary qualification. furthermore, the analysis of the respondents’ academic qualifications showed that 20% of the respondents did not have any formal education, especially the carpenters and the painters; they were trained through the artisanship system, the predominant informal training arrangement for tradesmen and artisans in nigeria (sanni & alabi, 2008: 17; adewale, siyanbola & siyanbola, 2014: 37-38). in addition, 19% of the foremen did not receive any formal education. analysis of the respondents’ age showed that 55% were younger kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 69 than 40 years, except for the machinists, foremen, and machine operators, the majority of whom were above 40 years of age. from the information on the academic qualifications of the respondents, it can be inferred that the majority of the supervisors possessed satisfactory education qualifications to understand the questionnaire and supply data for this study. table 3: respondents’ profile demographic f re qu en cy (n = 25 5) to ta l % occupation / trade age (years) educational level 15-39 (%) 40-59 (%) no formal education (%) primary (%) secondary (%) technical college (%) tertiary education (%) carpenter 26 (72) 10 (28) 19 (52) 12 (33) 4 (11) 1 (4) 0 36 14.1 mason 30 (68) 14 (32) 7 (17) 14 (32) 21 (49) 1 (2) 0 43 16.9 painter 4 (39) 7 (61) 6 (55) 3 (27) 2 (18) 0 0 11 4.3 machine operator 6 (39) 9 (61) 0 2 (13) 8 (53) 4 (27) 1 (7) 15 5.9 electrician 10 (47) 12 (53) 0 3 (12) 17 (78) 2 (9) 0 22 8.6 plumber 9 (52) 8 (48) 1 (5) 2 (12) 4 (24) 10 (59) 0 17 6.7 foremen 19 (38) 31 (62) 10 (19) 14 (28) 19 (39) 7 (14) 0 50 19.6 iron bender 21 (72) 8 (28) 8 (28) 9 (31) 12 (41) 0 0 29 11.4 machinist 2 (25) 6 (75) 0 0 6 (75) 2 (25) 0 8 3.1 professionals 15 (65) 9 (35) 0 0 0 5 (20) 19 (80) 24 9.4 total 142 (55) 114 (45) 51 (20) 59 (23) 93 (36) 32 (12) 20 (8) 255 100 4.2 supervisor hazard experience table 4 shows the status of supervisors as well as if and how often they experienced hazard situations on site. a vast majority (78%) of the residential building construction activities were supervised by owners (private individuals) or appointed cronies of the owners. as observed, most of these persons (74.3%) do not have prerequisite qualifications to supervise and manage housing construction projects. registered construction companies were involved in the construction of 22% of the residential building projects, and almost 98.2% employed qualified personnel to supervise work on site. construction activities are laden with hazards of varying magnitude and the level of exposure varies among the workers. analysis of the respondents’ experience with hazards showed that the majority of them (91.1%) had witnessed one form of hazard or other, while 9.9% had not witnessed any construction work-related hazard. from the total number of those who had witnessed hazards previously, 68.4% and 31.6% were supervised by persons without prerequisite qualifications in individual and corporate construction sites, respectively. a vast majority of respondents experienced hazards occasionally (45.5%) and frequently (47.2%). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 70 table 4: supervisor status and exposure to hazards supervisors category frequency (n=255) % ownership individual 199 78 corporate 56 22 qualification (individual) qualified 51 25.6 not qualified 148 74.3 qualification (corporate) qualified 55 98.2 not qualified 1 1.8 experienced hazards (overall) yes 230 90.1 no 25 9.9 experienced hazards frequency (overall) barely 19 7.4 occasionally 116 45.4 frequently 120 47.2 exposed to hazards (overall) individual 180 70.5 corporate 49 29.5 exposed to hazards by qualification (individual) qualified 63 31.6 not qualified 136 68.4 exposed to hazards by qualification (corporate) qualified 34 60.7 not qualified 22 39.3 4.3 ranking of exposure to hazards and its consequences table 5 shows the ranking of the level of exposure to hazards as well as the consequences of the exposure, as perceived by the respondents. the majority of the respondents (53.7%) perceived very high exposure to objects falling from a height, and 49.3% indicated that falling objects from a height (ms = 3.99) constituted a major health risk to workers. with an average ms of 3.24, results in table 5 show that respondents perceived regular exposure to hazards on construction sites. with ms ratings above 4.0, respondents perceived high exposure to ‘objects falling from height’ (ms = 4.25) and ‘skin irritation from cement, and paint’ (ms = 4.17). the majority of the respondents (85.6%) indicated that ‘skin irritation from exposure to cement and paint’ (ms = 4.14) is a major and sometimes catastrophic health risk to workers. almost three quarters of the respondents (73.1%) indicated high to very high levels of exposure to noise pollution. with ms ratings above 3.5, respondents are regularly exposed to ‘piercing by objects’ (ms = 3.79); ‘air pollution’ (ms = 3.67), and ‘falling from a roof’ (ms = 3.59). more than half of the respondents (60%) also indicated that ‘falling from a roof’ (ms = 3.62) and ‘piercing by sharp objects’ (ms = 3.57) may pose a major health risk to workers. kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 71 ta bl e 5: r es po nd en ts ’ p er ce pt io n on h az ar d ex po su re a nd it s co ns eq ue nc es e xp os ur e n =2 55 (% ) c on se qu en ce n =2 55 (% ) h az ar d v er y lo w lo w r eg ul ar h ig h v er y hi gh m s r an k in si gn ifi ca nt m in or m od er at e m aj or c at as tro ph ic m s r an k 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 o b je c t f a llin g h e ig ht 0 10 (4 .0 ) 51 (2 0. 1) 57 (2 2. 2) 13 7 (5 3. 7) 4. 25 1 9 (3 .7 ) 47 (1 8. 6) 12 5 (4 9. 3) 72 (2 8. 4) 3. 99 2 fa llin g fr o m a s c a ffo ld 6 (2 .4 ) 25 (9 .8 ) 11 1 (4 3. 5) 89 (3 5. 0) 24 (9 .3 ) 3. 39 8 5 (1 .8 ) 19 (7 .6 ) 12 0 (4 7. 1) 82 (3 2. 1) 29 (1 1. 4) 3. 43 5 fa llin g fr o m a ro o f 35 (1 3. 7) 70 (2 7. 6) 11 4 (4 4. 5) 36 (1 4. 2) 3. 59 7 36 (1 4. 3) 66 (2 5. 7) 11 1 (4 3. 6) 42 (1 6. 4) 3. 62 3 pi e rc in g b y o b je c ts 16 (6 .3 ) 72 (2 8. 4) 11 8 (4 6. 1) 49 (1 9. 2) 3. 79 4 32 (1 2. 6) 91 (3 5. 7) 85 (3 3. 3) 47 (1 8. 4) 3. 57 4 n o ise p o llu tio n 30 (1 1. 7) 39 (1 5. 2) 10 6 (4 1. 7) 80 (3 1. 4) 3. 92 3 35 (1 3. 8) 57 (2 2. 4) 41 (1 5. 9) 69 (2 7. 2) 53 (2 0. 7) 3. 18 7 el e c tr o c ut io n 11 8 (4 6. 5) 20 (7 .7 ) 74 (2 9. 2) 14 (5 .3 ) 29 (1 1. 3) 2. 27 11 11 2 (4 3. 8) 77 (3 0. 3) 58 (2 2. 6) 5 (2 .1 ) 3 (1 .2 ) 1. 86 12 fa ll in to tr e nc h 10 8 (4 2. 3) 94 (3 6. 7) 37 (1 4. 5) 13 (5 .2 ) 3 (1 .2 ) 1. 85 13 11 9 (4 6. 6) 86 (3 3. 7) 30 (1 1. 7) 10 (4 .0 ) 10 (4 .0 ) 1. 84 13 st ru c k m a c hi ne 10 5 (4 1. 1) 75 (2 9. 4) 54 (2 1. 0) 21 (8 .4 ) 1. 96 12 13 5 (5 3. 1) 27 (1 0. 4) 64 (2 5. 0) 29 (1 1. 5) 1. 94 11 to xi c g a s fo rm w e ld in g 56 (2 2. 2) 78 (3 0. 5) 40 (1 5. 5) 52 (2 0. 5) 29 (1 1. 3) 2. 68 10 70 (2 7. 3) 94 (3 7) 51 (2 0. 2) 25 (9 .9 ) 15 (5 .8 ) 2. 29 10 a ir p o llu tio n 14 (5 .4 ) 15 (5 .9 ) 81 (3 1. 7) 75 (2 9. 4) 70 (2 7. 4) 3. 67 5 20 (8 .0 ) 63 (2 4. 7) 79 (3 1. 1) 54 (2 1. 1) 39 (1 5. 1) 3. 11 9 bu rn s fro m c he m ic a ls 14 (5 .8 ) 82 (3 2. 0) 72 (2 8. 2) 38 (1 4. 9) 49 (1 9. 1) 3. 10 9 16 (6 .2 ) 80 (3 1. 5) 65 (2 5. 3) 43 (1 7) 51 (1 9. 9) 3. 12 8 sk in ir rit a tio n fro m c e m e nt , p a in t 10 (3 .9 ) 28 (1 1. 2) 12 5 (4 8. 9) 92 (3 6. 1) 4. 17 2 1 (0 .4 ) 7 (2 .6 ) 29 (1 1. 4) 13 4 (5 2. 4) 84 (3 3. 2) 4. 14 1 irr ita tio n fro m th in ne rs a nd in su la tio n m a te ria ls 1 (0 .4 ) 5 (2 .0 ) 11 4 (4 4. 7) 10 8 (4 2. 3) 27 (1 0. 6) 3. 60 6 15 (6 .0 ) 16 (6 .3 ) 10 1 (3 9. 7) 10 8 (4 2. 1) 15 (6 .0 ) 3. 36 6 to ta l 3. 24 3. 03 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 72 owing to the specialised nature of work to be done in electrical wiring and installation of electrical equipment in buildings, in addition to the fact that most of the work was done without active connections to electricity gridlines, 46.5% of the respondents considered exposure to electrocution to be very low and 43.8% of the respondents adjudged the consequence to be insignificant. exposure to ‘fall into trench’ (ms = 1.85) and ‘struck by a machine’ (ms = 1.96) were rated very low, showing that at housing construction sites the consequences of exposure to these two hazards (ms = 1.84; 1.94) is insignificant. 4.4 risk matrix results adopting the computation in table 2, the observed risk matrix assessment shows the classification level of hazard exposure and its consequences in table 6. with classification levels from 16 to 20, ‘fall of object from a height’, ‘fall of workers from a roof or upper floor of a building’, ‘acute noise generation’, ‘exposure to excessive heat’, and ‘skin irritation from cement and paint’ were classified as ‘high-risk’ hazards. experience of these highrisk hazards will have a major effect on the workers’ health. table 6: risk level classification matrix hazard exposure consequences h az ar d oc cu rr en ce r is k le ve l v er y lo w lo w a ve ra ge h ig h v er y hi gh in si gn ifi ca nt m in or m od er at e m aj or c at as tro ph ic 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 fall of object from a height 5 4 20 h fall of workers from a scaffold 3 3 9 m fall of workers from a roof or upper floor of a building 4 4 16 h pierced by sharp objects 4 3 12 m acute noise generation 4 4 16 h acute vibration 3 3 9 m electrocution 1 1 1 l falling into unfenced excavation 1 1 1 l struck by earth-moving machine 1 1 1 l toxic gas from welding 2 2 4 l toxic fumes from dusts 3 3 9 m hot or pressurised liquid 1 1 1 l exposure to excessive heat 4 4 16 h burns from chemicals 2 2 4 l skin irritation from cement and paint 4 4 16 h respiratory irritation from thinners and insulation material 3 4 12 m l = low; m = medium; h = high kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 73 4.5 hazard incidents results table 7 shows the records for near misses, accidents and fatal incidents recorded for the sampled housing construction sites. supervisors recorded 1,213 hazard-related incidents for one month, showing that workers are exposed to 40 hazard experiences daily. incident records also indicated that 631 near misses had been recorded (176 cases from private and 455 cases from corporate sites). approximately 380 actual accidents had happened (257 cases from private and 120 cases from corporate sites); 205 fatal cases were recorded (122 cases from private and 83 cases from corporate sites). falling objects from a height (249); piercing by sharp object (186); workers falling from scaffolds (175) and/or from roof or upper floor (155); exposure to excessive heat (143), and burns from chemicals (112) were hazards that occurred the most. table 7: hazard incidents record hazard individual supervisors corporate supervisors accident near miss fatal total accident near miss fatal total object falling from height 53 31 27 111 17 102 19 138 worker falling from a scaffold 37 19 11 67 15 65 28 108 worker falling from a roof 50 23 18 91 16 38 10 64 piercing by objects 46 17 32 95 13 72 6 91 electrocution 6 6 0 12 3 13 0 16 fall into unfenced trench 5 4 1 10 3 12 0 15 struck by earth-moving machine 0 11 0 11 11 12 1 24 machine contact overhead cables 1 6 0 7 3 6 0 9 hot/pressurised liquid 17 23 11 51 13 22 3 38 exposure to excessive heat 24 22 13 59 18 61 5 84 burns from chemicals 18 14 9 41 8 52 11 71 total 257 176 122 555 117 455 83 658 table 8 shows the t-test results on the mean difference between incidents reported by individual/owner and corporate supervisors. there was a significant difference between scores reported for near misses by individual and corporate supervisors (t=-3.322, p<0.008). the results show that, on average, 25.3 more near misses happened on sites supervised by individuals/owners than on sites supervised by trained people (95% ci [-42.37, -8.35]). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 74 table 8: paired samples test of incidents at the construction sites paired differences t df *s ig . ( 2ta ile d) mean std. deviation std. error mean 95% confidence interval of the difference lower upper pair 1 near miss individual – near miss corporate -25.36364 25.31905 7.63398 -42.37321 -8.35406 -3.322 10 0.008 pair 2 accident individual – accident corporate 12.45455 16.15155 4.86988 1.60378 23.30531 2.557 10 0.028 pair 3 fatal individual – fatal corporate 3.54545 10.43421 3.14603 -3.46434 10.55525 1.127 10 0.286 *significant at 0.05 there was also a significant difference between scores for accidents reported by individual and corporate supervisors (t=2.557, p<0.028). the results show that, on a monthly average, 12.4 more accidents happened on sites supervised by individuals/owners than on sites supervised by trained people (95% ci [1.60, 23.3]). however, there was no significant difference between scores for fatal incidents reported by individual and corporate supervisors (t=1.127, p<0.286). the results show that, on average, only 3.54 more fatal incidents happened on sites supervised by individuals/owners than on sites supervised by trained people (95% ci [-3.46, 10.5]). 4.6 safety management to mitigate hazards table 9 shows the results on how safety control and management prevent hazards on sites sampled. overall, only 7.8% of the supervisors provided regular medical orientation about the hazards to which construction workers were exposed in the course of carrying out day-to-day activities. the vast majority of the individual/owner supervisors (97.9%) did not provide any medical orientation drills to keep workers abreast of hazards associated with construction activities. corporate supervisors (80.4%) and individual/ owner supervisors (only 5.1%) provided safety officers on site to monitor compliance with safety regulations in the sampled housing construction sites. overall, more than half (64.7%) of the supervisors did not provide adequate emergency response plans and procedures to workers on site and 72.1% (the majority from the private/owner) of the supervisors did not provide the availability of on-the-job safety requirements and training to workers. overall, only 5% of the supervisors indicated that they provided insurance cover for workers on sites. none of the workers from the private construction sites had insurance cover, while roughly 23.2% of the workers in corporate construction sites had insurance cover. in the sampled sites, only 27.4% had functional first-aid kits to respond to emergencies. kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 75 table 9: safety management to prevent hazard safety management category individual (n = 199) % corporate (n = 56) % frequency (n = 255) % medical drills on site regular 6 3.1 14 25 20 7.8 irregular 195 97.9 42 75 237 92.9 first-aid kit adequate 24 12.1 46 82.1 70 27.4 not adequate 175 87.9 10 17.9 185 72.5 safety officer on site available 10 5.1 45 80.4 55 21.5 not available 189 94.9 11 19.6 200 78.4 on the job safety training yes 24 12.1 47 83.9 71 27.8 no 175 87.9 9 16.1 184 72.1 insurance provided 0 0.0 13 23.2 13 5.0 not provided 199 100 43 76.8 242 94.9 emergency response adequate 60 30.2 30 53.6 90 35.2 not adequate 139 69.8 26 46.4 165 64.7 in table 10, the results from the pearson’s test show that there was a significant relationship between the number of first-aid kits required by construction workers and the number of first-aid kits provided by construction site supervisors [r = -.705*, n = 255, p = .005]. this implies that the number of first-aid kits needed on site to respond to worker emergency situations and the number of first-aid kits provided by housing construction site supervisors are not enough. the situation was extremely dire in the private/ownersupervised sites, where 87.9% of the sites did not provide first-aid kits for the workers. site observations, during the course of the study, showed that in most sites visited, especially in owner-/individual-supervised construction sites, workers were not kitted up with the required wear and assemblage necessary to perform tasks assigned and to ensure personal protection from hazards. in addition, only a few made it mandatory for visitors to wear personal protective equipment before accessing construction sites. table 10: correlation between the need for and the provision of first-aid kits first-aid kits required first-aid kits provided request for first-aid kits pearson corr. 1.000 -.705* sig. (1 tailed) .005 n 255 255 provision of first-aid kits pearson corr. -.705* 1.000 sig. (1 tailed) .005 n 255 255 * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1 tail test) acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 76 5. discussion housing construction activities in lagos, nigeria, are initiated and executed by private individuals, corporate organisations and government as part of infrastructural facility and social support to the citizens. as shown in this study, safety measures expected to be enforced on site is a function of the executor and quality of supervision. it is clear from the study that most of the supervisors did not possess the required qualification to supervise construction projects. this has implications on the capacity to identify risks, reduce hazards and enforce hazard-abatement measures, in order to avert accidents. findings revealed that 91% of the respondents had direct or indirect exposure to hazards of varying degrees. there are hazards that presume high risks, due to high or very high level of exposure (occurrence) and a major or catastrophic consequence. in this study, exposure and consequence of object falling from a height; workers falling from roof top or upper floor; noise pollution; exposure to excessive heat and skin irritation as a result of contact with cement and paint were classified as ‘high-risk’ hazards. the hazards that pose ‘medium risks’, owing to average exposure and moderate consequences, include fall of workers from scaffold; piercing by sharp object, and poor ambient air quality with toxic atmospheric condition from fumes and dust particles. ‘low-risk’ hazards identified with rare or very low exposure with insignificant or minor consequences were electrocution; fall into unfenced excavation; struck by earth-moving machine; toxic gas from welding; burn from chemicals, and uncontrolled release of pressurised liquid. the leading causes of private sector worker fatality, as noted by the united states department of labor (2017: online), in the construction industry included falls, struck by object, electrocution, and caught-in/between (compressed by equipment or objects, and struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material). the four causes were collectively responsible for more than half (58.6%) of construction worker deaths. except for electrocution and caught-in/between, the hazards with high chance of occurrence and with major consequences identified in this study fall within the leading causes of fatality. in addition, electrocution may have a very low exposure as shown in this study, but its consequence is always fatal. as shown in the study, more than any other workplace activity, work at a height is very risky and accounts for more injuries and deaths yearly on construction sites (nadhim et al., 2016: 638-640; hamalainen, takala & kiat, 2017: 11-13; vanguard newspaper, 2017: online). falls from roofs is one of the leading causes of construction work-related fatalities (toscano, 1997: 38-40; kasim, alabi & wusu • risk assessment for hazard exposure 77 nadhim et al., 2016: 640; united states department of labor, 2017: online). it accounts for roughly one-fifth of all housing construction fatalities (bosher & dainty, 2011: 2-3; ede, 2011: 156). fall accidents in construction projects, particularly building works, are the most frequent accidents (parsons & pizatella, 1985; gillen et al., 1997: 650-651; latief, suraji, nugroho & arifuddin, 2011: 81-81; nadhim et al., 2016: 638-640). housing construction workers must adhere to stage hierarchy to all work at a height. these are the avoidance of work at height, the prevention of personnel from falling, and mitigation of effect of falls, should falls occur. for example, assembling of components should be done at ground level. however, if an activity must be done at a height, site managers must take appropriate measures to prevent workers from falling from a distance that could cause injury and fatality. the use of guard rails and scaffolding platforms to prevent falls and individual measures such as safety harnesses must be enforced. a plethora of hazards is associated with scaffold use and misuse (davies & tomasin, 1996). these include slippery conditions on the platform; defects in the members of the scaffold/ladder; overloading of materials and workers on the platform, and the nature of the platform on which the scaffold/ladder rests. however, observation from the sampled sites showed that most of the scaffolds, especially in the private-owned housing construction sites, were makeshift and the majority of these were constructed/made from bamboo. the design factors, particularly adequacy of design, have been compromised. this increases vulnerability to hazards, regardless of the safety management structure in place. overall safety management structures on housing construction sites sampled do not adhere to environment and occupational health and safety regulations of nigeria. for example, 72.5% of the sites did not have firstaid kits available for workers needed to respond to emergency situations. in the private-supervised sites, 87.9% of the sites did not provide firstaid kits for workers and only 0.5% had safety officers on site to monitor compliance with safety regulations. this non-compliance by the private construction supervisors may be as a result of additional cost to be incurred in engaging such safety professionals. housing construction activities is a capital-intensive venture, where the proponents usually seek avenues to reduce cost (agbola, 2005: 16; turok, 2016: 235; alabi et al., 2018: 47; kasim, 2018: 958). however, cost reduction should not override the dignity in labour and value of human well-being and for human lives. the provision of safe, hazard-proof construction sites is a function of the level of planning and decisions taken by qualified personnel appointed to supervise work on site. supervisors are technically excellent at their job, owing to years of experience, coupled with the engagement of workers who are also highly skilled, in terms of getting something built correctly. however, acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 78 this level of competence is not a guarantee for safety and hazard abatement at the construction site. this is made more precarious when the majority of the supervisors are not qualified and may have the general notion, as shown in this study, that the construction site is unsafe and the hazards and risks, to which the workers are exposed, are the usual dictates of the work environment (ilo, 2014: 2; guo et al., 2016: 5-6; lette et al., 2018: 57). therefore, nearly all construction hazards leading to accidents occur as a result of negligence on the part of the supervisor to impose supervisorworker responsibilities. the supervisors’ laxity transfers hazard to workers on site, because the supervisor is charged with the responsibility of overall site safety. the deficiency in the enforcement of construction sites’ health, safety and environment provisions manifests in workers carrying out responsibilities in blatant disregard for safety measures, by using inadequate and unsafe equipment in unsafe site conditions, as shown in this study. 6. conclusion and recommendations workers are prone to different construction work-related hazards in lagos, nigeria. the hazards have been identified and, with the probability of occurrences and consequences of impact, classified as high-, mediumand low-risk hazards. to correctly avoid fatalities caused by these risk hazards, proper safety mechanisms are needed. in this study, these mechanisms include qualified professionals as site supervisors, the enforcement of safety regulations on the sites, and the usage of appropriate personal protective equipment for specific jobs. supervisors have the highest influence on site safety, because they coordinate, direct and monitor the work of all the subsectors within the construction sites. it should be mandatory for housing construction projects to be supervised by professionals with the requisite knowledge of construction hazards and safety measures. the enforcement of compliance with specific safety regulations and rules for different construction activities in the context of construction methods, materials and execution is very important. adequate and continuous training for construction workers through workshops, regular site meetings focusing on safety must be adopted. laws regarding employers’ responsibility towards employees for every site construction activity must be enacted and enforced. it is expected that workers and visitors alike in the housing construction sites should undergo a safety drill and be supplied with head-protection gear and mandatory head-protection signs and footwear displayed around the site, especially at private construction sites. for the sustainability of the contribution that housing construction projects make to the overall economy of nigeria, a centralised regulatory framework to ensure that safety rules are acquired for every 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http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels polycarp alumbugu dr polycarp (p.o.) alumbugu, department of quantity surveying, federal university of technology, pmb 65 minna, niger state, nigeria. phone: (+234) 8025594835, email: <s216788099@mandela. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2342-8574 winston shakantu prof. winston shakantu, department of construction management, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (+27) 785147492, email: <winston.shakantu@mandela. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4334-5004 abel tsado dr abel (a.j.) tsado, department of quantity surveying, federal university of technology, pmb 65 minna, niger state, nigeria. phone: (+234) 7036113705, email: <s217072933@mandela. ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 30-56 assessment of transportation efficiency for the delivery of construction material in north-central nigeria peer reviewed and revised august 2020 published december 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract in nigeria, knowledge on the management of construction material logistics system, especially in transportation, is inadequate. this article assesses construction material manufacturers’ transportation efficiency for the delivery of construction material, in order to improve manufacturers’ transport operation in north-central nigeria. a total of 32 construction material manufacturers delivered their material to 42 distribution centres/warehouses and retailer stores, and 30 construction sites were purposely selected. the selected construction materials manufacturers produce six types of materials, namely cement, reinforcement bars (steel), ceramic tiles, crushed stones, masonry hollow sandcrete blocks, and sand (fine and coarse). a case study research design method was used, in which quantitative data were collected and analysed. an observation (quantitative) guide was used as the research instrument. the quantitative data collected were analysed, using descriptive statistical tools such as frequencies and percentiles. the results revealed that transportation efficiency levels are low in their vehicles’ dwell time, loading and off-loading vehicles at the warehouses, retailer stores, and construction http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:s216788099@mandela.ac.za mailto:s216788099@mandela.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2342-8574 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2342-8574 mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 mailto:s217072933@mandela.ac.za mailto:s217072933@mandela.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.2 alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 31 sites. it was also revealed that no technology was used in the transport system to integrate the manufacturers’ warehouses with the other logistics partners in the supply chain. the article concludes that manufacturers should address transportation operations along the delivery nodes to help ensure that the construction material arrives at its final destination at optimal quality, time and cost. keywords: construction material, efficiency, manufacturer logistics, technology, transportation abstrak in nigerië is kennis oor die bestuur van die logistieke stelsel vir konstruksiemateriaal, veral in vervoer, onvoldoende. hierdie artikel evalueer die doeltreffendheid van die vervoer vir die aflewering van konstruksiemateriaal deur konstruksiemateriaalvervaardigers, ten einde die vervaardigingsvervoer in noord-sentraal nigerië te verbeter. altesaam 32 konstruksiemateriaalvervaardigers wat hul materiaal by 42 verspreidingsentrums/ pakhuise en kleinhandelaarswinkels aflewer, asook 30 konstruksieterreine is doelbewus vir hierdie studie gekies. die gekose konstruksiemateriaalvervaardigers vervaardig ses soorte materiaal, naamlik sement, wapeningstawe (staal), keramiekteëls, gebreekte klippe, messelwerk, hol sandbetonblokke en sand (fyn en grof). ’n gevallestudie navorsingsontwerpmetode is gebruik, waarin kwantitatiewe data versamel en ontleed is. ’n waarnemingsgids (kwantitatiewe) is as navorsingsinstrument gebruik. die kwantitatiewe data wat versamel is, is geanaliseer met behulp van beskrywende statistiese instrumente soos frekwensies en persentiele. die resultate het getoon dat die doeltreffendheid van vervoer laag is in terme van voertuigverblyftyd, asook tydens die open aflaai van voertuie by die pakhuise, kleinhandelaarswinkels en terreine. resultate toon ook dat daar nie van tegnologie in die vervoerstelsel gebruik gemaak word om die vervaardigerspakhuis met die ander logistieke vennote in die verskaffingsketting te integreer nie. die aanbeveling is dat vervaardigers vervoerbedrywighede langs die afleweringsnodusse moet aanspreek om te verseker dat konstruksiemateriaal by die finale bestemming teen optimale kwaliteit, tyd en koste kom. sleutelwoorde: doeltreffendheid, konstruksiemateriaal, tegnologie, vervaardigerslogistiek, vervoer 1. introduction construction material is a basic constituent in construction projects and can make an important contribution to the cost-effectiveness of projects (kasim, latiffi & fathi, 2013: 7; abhilin & vishak, 2017: 911). research has revealed that the usual cost of construction material is roughly 50%60% of the total cost of a project (kasim, liwan, shamsuddin, zainal & kamaruddin, 2012: 450; duiyong, shidong & mingshan, 2014: 353). the logistics cost accounts for between 17% and 35% of the cost of material (duiyong et al., 2014: 353). transportation costs account for between 39% and 58% of the total logistics costs (ying, tookey & roberti, 2014: 262). thus, transportation costs of construction material represents a greater percentage of the total cost in the construction industry. the importance of transportation of construction material in the execution of a project cannot be overemphasised, because projects are made difficult by material inadequacies, delays in supply, increment in cost, material acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 32 wastage and damage, and the absence of storage space (kasim et al., 2013: 7; abhilin & vishak, 2017: 911). the management of the storage and flow of construction materials and related information between the point of production (manufacture) and the point of utilisation is the essential element of logistics management (cscmp, 2013: online). therefore, a small percentage reduction in transportation costs could lead to a significant reduction in the price of materials (ying et al., 2014: 264). studies on construction material logistical systems in nigeria focus mainly on supply chain management (scm), but with deprived knowledge on vital top subsections such as transportation (shakantu & emuze, 2012: 661). for example, construction material and transport providers/waste removal still operate as independent trades. in nigeria, a few studies on the construction material-manufacturing industry focus on mode of transport, the inventory, and challenges in transportation condition in the cementmanufacturing firms (adebumiti & muhammed, 2014: 234; adebumiti, muhammed, faniran & yakubu, 2014: 242). obiegue (2010: 8) appraised customer satisfaction and the challenges facing the transportation system of chemical and paint manufacturers. similarly, oludare & oluseye (2015: 18) studied the influence of construction materials supply chain network structures and strategies on project delivery and the impact of logistics factors on material procurement for construction projects (tunji-olayeni, afolabi, ojelabi & ayim, 2017: 1142). furthermore, isah, shakantu & ibrahim (2020: 22) observed that the technological aspect of construction logistics, especially the forecasting, is ignored and barely understood in the nigerian construction industry. hardly any study has been done on the nigerian construction material manufacturers’ transport system operational performance, showing that, currently, knowledge on the management of construction material logistics systems is inadequate. it is, therefore, important to assess construction material manufacturers’ transport efficiency. the article assesses the load/ offload period of vehicles at terminals, the number of vehicles loading at a time, the equipment/method used to load/offload vehicles, and the time and cost to load/offload vehicles, in order to improve the transport system of construction material manufacturers in north-central nigeria. 2. literature review to understand transportation efficiency for the delivery of construction material in north-central nigeria, it is important to introduce the present theory on transportation included in this article. the current theory focuses on transportation systems, transportation efficiency, vehicle loading method/equipment, loading and offloading periods at the terminals, dwell time and idling, as well as the use of technology in transportation. alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 33 2.1 transportation system the transportation system is the spatial link that joins customers, raw material suppliers, distribution centres/warehouses and supply chain partners in the management of construction material logistics systems (andrejić, bojović & kilibarda, 2016: 99). normally, transportation is a key cost element of the logistics supply chain (shakantu & emuze, 2012: 664). contrary to the construction industry, the manufacturing industry can choose where they should conduct their productive operations. the companies are sited on fixed locations, hence the need to move their products to where their customers are. this brings transport into the core of the city and built-up areas (pienaar, 2016: 386). the geographical region’s network is the key component responsible for the performance of transportation within the logistics service (kamali, 2018: 199). using an efficient and effective transportation network, a firm can obtain more advantages in terms of service level and cost-effectiveness measurements (chopra & peter, 2007: 156). in addition, chopra & peter (2007: 156) defined the types of transportation networks as follows: • the direct shipment system, where there is a direct transportation to one customer from a single merchant to a customer without a third party. • the transportation method that a few manufacturers utilise to fulfil their customers’ requests through intermediate stations in moving materials from one location to another. the strategy works by setting up distribution centres as an approach to attain the economies of scale in transportation. • the indirect transportation technique is handled by a third party logistics (3pl) company, in which their jobs are known as a helpful supply chain partner. in contemporary business, various kinds of 3pls service companies offer transportation services such as customised logistic solutions, joint logistic solutions, and in-house logistic solutions. even though there are few benefits with 3pls, a manufacturing firm can focus on its main business rather than on transportation services (kamali, 2018: 199). poor cost performance by manufacturers and suppliers can significantly increase the total acquisition cost (tac) of construction material which, through rising material purchase prices, results in higher construction costs (vidalakis & sommerville, 2013: 473). transport efficiency is critical for timely delivery of construction material. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 34 2.2 transportation efficiency according to pienaar and havenga (2016: 22), efficiency means realising an objective at the minimal cost. andrejić et al. (2016: 99) recognised two factors in their evaluation of the efficiency of transport systems. the first factor is fleet efficiency, which is focused on senior level decision-making, and the second factor is vehicle efficiency at the operational level of decision-making. understanding transportation economics and pricing is fundamental for efficient logistics management. the essential components of transportation costs are distance, volume, handling, liability, and market factors. these components control transportation prices, which are included in the budget as rates for performing specific services (bowersox, closs, cooper & bowersox, 2013: 203). pienaar (2016: 388) identified the following key factors of road transport efficiency: cost level, the economies of fleet size, the economies of vehicle size, the economies of infrastructure extension, and the economies of distance. transportation cost efficiency and customer responsiveness have been identified as the two most prominent supply chain performance measures (vanteddu, chinnam, & gushikin, 2011: 205; vidalakis & sommerville, 2013: 473). they further asserted that, in order to minimise transportrelated costs, distance and weight, as transportation cost drivers, should be considered. bowersox, closs and cooper (2007: 174) opined that the bigger the overall shipment and the longer the distance it is transported, the lower the transportation cost per unit. delivery consolidation is crucial to increase distance and weight per shipment and, in this manner, reduce the number of vehicle movements, while increasing loading efficiency. but there is always a trade-off between loading efficiency and operational frequency (geunes & taaffe, 2008: 184). in fact, even though the former guarantees low unit transportation costs, the latter can reduce lead times by delivery in less truck load. this is also supported by errasti, beach, oduoza & apaolaza (2009: 261) who refer to it as the task of balancing efficiency and responsiveness. construction material transport costs include capital and operating costs. the capital cost depends on the model and type of vehicle. apart from capital or purchase price, vehicle owners also have operating costs, which can be classified as fixed (overhead) and variable costs (pienaar, 2016: 386). another transportation performance metrics is responsiveness, meaning a supplier’s aptitude to react to customer requests reliably and timely (vanteddu et al., 2011: 206). this holds especially right for construction logistics, since last-minute requests are likely to happen, due to the absence of an inventory control system and poor storage capacity on-site (vidalakis, tookey & sommerville, 2011: 67). alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 35 for efficient delivery of material, transportation consolidation should be relied upon to bring about bigger total shipments and, hence, improved vehicle utilisation. vidalakis and sommerville (2013: 474) affirmed that, in order to give a total perspective on vehicle utilisation efficiency, three parameters must be considered, namely vehicle shipping efficiency (vse), vehicle journey efficiency (vje), and vehicle weighted efficiency (vwe). they established that vehicle loading efficiency levels were significantly lower for construction material than those assessed in other sectors. it also reveals the frequency of empty vehicle runs during backhauling (vidalakis & sommerville, 2013: 474). similarly, on time delivery (otd) is vital for efficient delivery. otd is defined as a measurement based on the percentage of customer orders delivered “on time and in full” (otif) (kamali, 2018: 188). the otd shows that manufacturers and suppliers could fulfil the delivery terms based on the agreed upon time, which is known as the delivery date (kamali, 2018: 198). thus, if they are unable to achieve the delivery on time, it will reduce the efficiency, considering that the otd process could be realised if all variables involved in the process work out effectively (kamali, 2018: 198). a study by kamali (2018: 2004) recommended that, based on the findings, to be able to tackle the otd issues, the following actions must be considered: full utilisation of the enterprise resource planning (erp) systems, improving management performance, and considering a 3pl partner as a strategic goal. ruamsook and thomchick (2012: 130) noted that the commonly used transport performance metrics in terms of efficiency are ‘costs’ (transport costs, inventory carrying costs, material handling costs); ‘quality’ (on-time and damage-free delivery, complete order), and ‘time’ (order cycle time length and variability, response time). however, the sustainability of these metrics in terms of material transportation is not sufficiently addressed. the absence of materials, when needed, is one of the main causes of loss of productivity at a job site. inefficient transportation of materials can lead to an increase of 50% in work hours (hasim, fauzi, yusof, endut & ridzuan, 2020: 020049-3). in addition, ahmadian, akbarnezhad, rashidi and waller (2014: 460) studied the significance of transportation in the procurement of construction materials. the results revealed that material-handling processes adopted in industry are highly disorganised and that transportation variables are ineffectively articulated. the results also established the need for methods to plan, monitor and control the transportation system as an independent activity in the material’s life cycle. in addition, the travelling distance, weight, dimension, mode of transportation, and terms of delivery were identified as the main factors affecting the transportation efficiency of the construction materials. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 36 2.3 vehicle loading method/equipment having efficient material-handling systems is crucial for maintaining and facilitating a continuous flow of materials through the workplace and guaranteeing that required materials are available when needed (leung & lau, 2018: 34). there is a need for efficient materials handling, with the purpose of control, productivity and cost in construction projects (patel, pitroda & bhavsar, 2015: 3). however, there are monetary trade-offs between high capital costs of mechanised systems, and increased labour costs in manual systems and types of manual handling that occur in such places (webster, dalby, fox & pinder, 2014: 7). the on-site materials handling, monitoring and locating are made difficult, due to the manual handling process that is labour intensive, inclined to mistakes, resulting in the delay in timely execution and increase in cost of construction projects (kasim et al., 2012: 448). in order to achieve the maximum benefits of specialisation, handling tools at the nodes ought to offer fast loading and offloading of products to make best use of the quantity of full vehicle load kilometre per unit of time. economies of density require the optimal use of big, strong equipment over as long a period as possible (pienaar, 2016: 381). these include automatic loaders, high-level cranes, forklifts, manual, loader shovels, excavators, overhead gantries, and the utilisation of saddle carriers. furthermore, a wide range of attachments is accessible for fitting to forklift trucks so that they can handle materials that cannot be moved by forks. these truck attachments links can permit additional grades of movement for handling unit loads (hannan, 2011: 32). masonry hollow sandcrete block manufacturers usually utilise self-loading vehicles with cranes mounted on the edge or on a removable mounting. big quarry trucks are usually loaded by loader shovels, while vehicles are often stacked by an excavator. manual loading may utilise less effort by means of a low truck and body. detachable bodies or containers can be left on the ground for loading and lifted onto the truck by a hydraulic or mechanical crane (rushton, oxley & croucher, 2001: 370). it is important to note michael’s (2015: 16) submission that each point of stockholding comprises handling of the material and, the more numerous handling of material, the more the total logistics expenses would be. the reason for this is that the process includes both equipment and human effort. this represents the cost of workforce in the warehouse and automation utilised to receive, put away, move, check, and count the inventory (parvini, 2011: 32). it should be noted that efficiency of offloading processes could be enhanced by 61% with information system advances (andrejić & kilibarda, 2016: 145). alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 37 2.4 period of loading and offloading at the terminals several customers receive products not only within working hours, but very early in the morning and later in the evening. the use of a vehicle that usually runs from 08h00 to 16h30, or for 8.5 hours, can be significantly improved if it can deliver goods between 07h00 and 08h00, thus avoiding peak traffic hours in the cities. the same would apply if deliveries can be made at night (vogt, 2016: 342). regardless of whether the delivery is optimised by a system or not, extended hours and flexible delivery times would significantly improve productivity. these times are bargained between the manufacturers, the distribution centres/warehouses, customers, suppliers, and facilities within the logistics chain. again, the reduction of restrictions, in this case customer receiving times, improves the potential for increased efficiency (vogt, 2016: 342). a few cities in the united states of america (usa) and the european union (eu) have implemented day-time restrictions on truck deliveries in their downtown core areas (ruamsook & thomchick, 2012: 142). this has a negative impact on logistics efficiency, as it creates longer waiting times for vehicles at the terminals. 2.5 dwell time and idling vehicles are not dispatched to their various locations, except when they are fully loaded or offloaded. the vehicle may wait at a plant, distribution centre/warehouse and a retailer store before it is sent to the next destination (eskigun, uzsoy, preckel, beaujon, krishnan & tew, 2005: 185). the whole of the load waiting time, the time wasted due to overcrowding, and other issues make up the total waiting time, or dwell time of the vehicle. idling differs by trip duration, season, geographic location, and trucking operation, making it difficult to quantify hours of truck idling for the truck population. idling is classified as discretionary (non-essential, though desirable) or non-discretionary (i.e., essential). discretionary idling includes overnight idling and delivery idling, and mainly serves to maintain driver comfort levels; it could be eliminated using a fuel cell (brodrick, lipman, farschchi, lutsey, dwyer, sperling, gouse, harris & king, 2002: 307). furthermore, there might be some idling time, due to managerial problems or ineffectiveness in the system. this may be unrelated to the volume of vehicles passing through these destinations (eskigun et al., 2005: 185; gwynne, 2014: 73). without proper scheduling of vehicle delivery, the workload in the facility will vary excessively. the burden on the operating staff increases during peak times and this reduces efficiency and the accuracy of the receipt (vogt, 2016: 334). there are also economic reasons to reduce idling. previous studies by the us environmental protection agency (epa) (cited in ruamsook & acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 38 thomchick 2012: 131) revealed that an average long-haul trailer truck idles for approximately eight hours per day for at least 300 days per year, consuming roughly 0.8 gallons of fuel per hour or close to 1,900 gallons of fuel per year. in addition, there is some evidence that the average idling time for long-haul trucks may be even higher (brodrick et al., 2002). the study by rahman, masjuki, kalam, abedin, sanjid & sajjad (2013: 171) confirmed that long-distance trucks can remain idle for between six to 16 hours per day. hence, to increase operation efficiencies, transporters are also concentrating on reducing idle time (ruamsook & thomchick, 2012: 131). 2.6 technology in transportation andrejić, bojović and kilibarda (2013: 3927) identified five causes of transportation loss or inefficiency in the logistics system, namely driver breaks, excessive loading time, fill or cargo loss, speed loss, and quality delay. in order to address some of these transportation logistics problems, ruamsook and thomchick (2012: 130) highlighted the influence of utilising technology in transportation. software for transport management systems (tms) allows for effective and efficient management of the transportation fleet used in the outbound logistics system (andrejić & kilibarda, 2016:143). tms makes it possible to assess driver performance and vehicle efficiency by remotely monitoring speed, braking, gear-shifting, idle time, and out-of-route miles (ruamsook & thomchick, 2012: 135). intelligent transportation system (its) incorporates information technology communications(wireless) and geographic information systems (gis)-based software into roads, trucks, traffic and transport management systems. furthermore, the technology allows drivers to minimize the chances of getting lost, to keep track of pickup and delivery schedules, and to find out about adverse weather or traffic conditions. its guarantees more up-to-date transport managers, customers and prompt response services, thus improving safety, fairness, efficiency, and ecological protection (kavran, jolic & cavar, 2009: 335). in an investigation into load shipment organisations, ndonye (2014: 2) advocated that they should utilise information technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their logistics performance in a bid to achieve a competitive advantage. andrejić and kilibarda (2016: 143) recommend that it is important to integrate tms, warehouse management system (wms) and other systems. a study where rfid is integrated with lean production in both central distribution centre (cdc) and local distribution centre (ldc) revealed a significant improvement in the entire supply chain, thereby saving 89% and 70% on waiting and transportation times, as well as value-added time, respectively (chen, alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 39 cheng & huang, 2013: 3396). similarly, isah et al. (2020: 22) observed that the manufacturing industries (100%) adopted erp technology for forecasting purposes (for material, demand, product, and production forecasts). unexpectedly, erp technology was not utilised for forecasting in the retailing and construction sectors. 3. research method 3.1 research design this study investigated the efficiency of the transportation system being practised and utilised in north-central nigeria by the construction material manufacturers to achieve customer satisfaction. using a case study research design (yin, 2014: 124), quantitative data were collected and analysed. karim (2008: 3) considers a case study method as reality “out there” and something that can be examined objectively. in this study, a semi-structured observation template (kamali, 2018: 192) was used to observe the dynamics of transportation efficiency in the 32 construction material manufacturing firms in aspects such as period of loading/offloading vehicles at the terminals; number of vehicles loading at a time; equipment/ method of loading/offloading vehicles; loading/offloading time, and cost of loading/offloading vehicles. the quantitative data were recorded based on the observation in the case study to determine the transportation efficiency utilised by construction materials manufacturers. 3.2 population, sampling methods and response rate the study area is the north-central geo-political zone of nigeria, which comprises of six states and the federal capital territory (fct), abuja. north-central is one of the fastest developing regions, with a high concentration of construction activity, near fct. from this wide zone, 32 construction material manufacturers were purposively selected. from these, 32 manufacturer firms, 42 distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and 30 construction sites were randomly selected, with at least two for a particular building material. in total, eight companies visited were identified as manufacturers of cement, reinforcement bars, ceramic tiles, and crushed stones, with two companies for each material. their products were produced within and distributed across the six states of north-central nigeria and the fct, abuja. in addition, 12 companies producing masonry hollow sandcrete blocks and 12 companies producing sand were visited with two in each of the five state capitals and abuja. chosen construction sites were carefully and logistically selected, instead of statistically, significant in the population (shakantu & emuze, 2012: 668). the sample selected in each construction site gave adequate transportation operations acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 40 and processes for analysis within a reasonable time. table 1 shows the type of material, the number of deliveries per each state capital and fct, distribution centres, and the warehouse and construction sites observed. table 1: companies and construction sites observed m a te ria ls n um b e r o f m a nu fa c tu rin g c o m p a ni e s tr a ns p o rt a tio n (n um b e r o f d e liv e rie s) location number of distribution centres/ warehouses and retailer stores c o ns tr uc tio n sit e s a b uj a m in na la fia lo ko ja jo s m a ku rd i d ist rib ut io n c e nt re s/ w a re ho us e s cement 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 reinforcement bars 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 ceramic tiles 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 crushed stone 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 hollow sandcrete blocks 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 sand 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 total 32 72 12 12 12 12 12 12 42 30 source: researchers’ field survey (2019) 3.3 data collection the researchers collected quantitative data using self-observations on material delivery operations from the construction sites in random order, time and day. the non-participant structured observations of logistics processes were conducted across the various sections of the companies, namely marketing/sales, packaging, warehouse, logistics/transport, and loading bays. in this study, the observation and measurement guide was used to record the time period (in hour time slots) for loading and offloading vehicles at the terminals as well as the vehicle dwell time on-site; the number (in frequency) of vehicles that could be loaded at a time; method and equipment (e.g. hand, crane, forklift) used for loading and offloading, and the average loading and offloading time for individual materials (per ton) at the terminals using a stop clock. the average loading and offloading cost for individual materials (per ton) at the terminals was recorded using the cost per company for equipment used, manual loading and offloading cost per vehicle per worker, and quantity of material transported per vehicle. the alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 41 types of technology (e.g. wireless, gps, speed limit) installed in vehicles used for delivery were recorded in frequency. the observations were made until there was a minimum of six customer orders, one each from the five states and abuja. all the deliveries were one drop and there was no multi-drop run that accounted for turnaround times at the various preceding delivery locations (see table 1). a total of 72 deliveries by transport providers was observed. this number of observations is supported by shakantu & emueze (2012: 662), in that 30 is the lowest number of observations on any phenomenon, which is statistically significant and could lead to the generalisable explanation of a phenomenon. the researchers improved the credibility of the observations by communicating directly with personnel involved in transportation operations. furthermore, the field study took place in an environment (standard manufacturer warehouse processes and transportation operations) not designed by the researchers and had the advantage of a natural real-world view. 3.4 method of analysis the observation data were entered into microsoft excel (bowen, edwards & cattel, 2012: 887) to calculate and report frequencies and percentiles using descriptive analytical tools (loeb, dynarski, mcfarland, morris, reardon & reber, 2017: 8). a percentage is calculated by dividing the number of times a value for a variable observed by the total number of observations in the population, then multiplying this number by 100. using thematic analysis, the data were first tabulated into three sections. the first section comprised warehouse/loading bay processes at the manufacturers’ firms; the second section consisted of processes that involved vehicles for delivery (arrival/ departure time, quantity loaded, time taken to load/offload), and the final section consisted of offloading (cost/time) operations in the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. thereafter, the tabulated data were analysed and classified into conceptual themes, period of loading/offloading vehicles at the terminals, number of vehicles loading at a time, equipment/method of loading/offloading vehicles, loading/ offloading time, and cost of loading/offloading vehicles. after tabulation of the data responses, a bar chart presentation was compiled to show the calculated frequencies and percentages of the observations. 3.5 limitations the researchers obtained management’s approval for adequate access to observe logistics processes and operations. however, the researchers were acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 42 denied access to some areas of operations and records of transactions, despite the assurance of anonymity and confidentiality. managers explained that these actions were taken to safeguard the technology and business strategies from their competitors. in addition, the workers might not like the fact that they were being watched while working and could have assumed that the researchers were a management spy. under such circumstances, the validity of the data may be compromised, as the workers would not behave ‘naturally’. 4. results 4.1 period for loading and offloading vehicles at the terminals the study sought to know how much time a vehicle waited at the manufacturers’ warehouse or the distribution centre/warehouse, retailer store and construction site before it was dispatched. figure 1 indicates that 75% of the manufacturing companies load vehicles between 08:00 and 18:00 hours (10 hours), during working hours only. 8. 33 75 .0 0 0. 00 1 6. 67 9. 72 81 .9 5 8. 33 0. 00 0,00 10,00 20,00 30,00 40,00 50,00 60,00 70,00 80,00 90,00 100,00 6.00-8.00 8.01-18.00 18.01-22.00 24.00 hours% o f p er io d fo r l oa di ng a nd of flo ad in g ve hi cl es u til is ed b y m fc si te s 110 period (hours) loading offloading figure 1: period for loading and offloading vehicles at the terminals the significant finding was that most of the company loading time was 10 hours out of the 24 hours per day. as a result, any vehicle that arrived at the plants/warehouses after 18:00 had to wait all night until the next morning before it could be loaded. the implication of this is that there is a longer vehicle dwell time between 18h00 and 08h00, a 14-hour difference. this reduced the vehicle utilisation, thereby increasing lead time. roughly 8% of the blocks/sand companies loaded between 06h00 and 08h00, and 17% of the cement companies for 24 hours. it was observed that only cement companies loaded for 24 hours per day. alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 43 the findings confirmed that 81% of the distribution centres/warehouses and retailer stores had an offloading period between 08:00 and 18:00, which are normal business hours. as explained earlier, all vehicles that arrived after closing time had to wait until the next day to be offloaded. this also increased vehicle dwell time by 14 hours. in addition, 9% of the distribution centres/warehouses and retailer stores offloaded their materials between 06h00 and 08h00, and 8% between 18h00 and 22h00. these are basically hollow sandcrete block and sand companies, which sometimes work slightly beyond normal working hours, as their point of discharge is not constrained by law for offloading. this is unlike for other materials, which are normally offloaded in the market area. most of the construction material markets have a fixed opening and closing time. this limits operations to working hours of between 08h00 and 18h00. the consequence is underutilisation of vehicles during operational hours, due to a longer dwell time of 14 hours per day at each or both terminals. however, most of the vehicle drivers would have preferred travelling during the night. 4.2 number of vehicles loading at a time there was a need to verify if there were queues, due to congestion at the dock or loading bay of the plants, as this may also create waiting time. therefore, data were collected on the number of vehicles that could be loaded at a time. results in figure 2 established that 37% of the company dock bays have a capacity for 1 to 3 vehicles loading at a set time. in addition, 21% of the dispatch bays have the capacity for 4 to 6 vehicles; 31% for 7 to 10 vehicles, and 6% for 11 to 15 vehicles loading at a time. 37,5 21,88 31,25 6,25 3,12 0 20 40 60 80 100 1-3 4-6 7-10 11-15 above 15 % o f nu m be r o f v eh ic le lo ad in g at ti m e in m f c s ite s 110 number of vehicles loading at a time figure 2: number of vehicles loading at a time this established that 58% of the manufacturer dock bays have the capacity for more than 4 vehicles at a time. no traffic congestion was observed at the company dispatch bays. this suggests that most of the time losses acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 44 were not connected to congestion at the loading bay; they could have been caused by other factors such as administrative issues or inefficiency in the system. this inefficiency in the system may be as a result of paper-based communication, manual handling, and lack of use of technology, thus leading to longer order-processing period and poor efficiency. 4.3 method of loading and offloading vehicles the study sought to understand the type and level of automation adopted to increase efficiency in loading and offloading vehicles. therefore, data on the method of loading vehicles at the manufacturers’ warehouses and offloading of vehicles at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites were analysed and are presented in figure 3. 0, 00 40 ,4 8 14 ,2 8 14 ,2 8 16 ,6 8 14 ,2 8 0, 00 0, 00 0, 00 75 ,0 0 0, 00 0, 00 0, 00 0, 00 25 ,0 0 0, 00 0,00 20,00 40,00 60,00 80,00 100,00 self-loading ( crane) hand loading forklift high level crane payloader automatic loader tipping device pump jack loader % o f l oa di ng a nd o ffl oa di ng e qu ip m en t ut ili se d by m fc s ite s 110 equipment/method loading offloading figure 3: method of loading and offloading of vehicles the results indicated that 40% of the companies used manual methods of loading at the manufacturers’ warehouses and construction sites. the other companies used pay loaders (16.67%), forklift trucks (14.29%), highlevel cranes (14.29%), and automatic loaders (14.29%) to load material. the major finding was that more than 60% of the company warehouses were automated. this signifies operational efficiency, in terms of increase in speed, accuracy and productivity, while reducing repetitive or potentially unsafe manual labour. in addition, the findings established that 75% of distribution centres/ warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites used manual methods of offloading material. however, 25% used the tipping method, which was basically for sand and parts of crushed stones. it was also observed that trailers were also used to transport crushed stones. since they cannot tip off, the material was manually offloaded. this signifies high operating time, cost, multiple handling, and low productivity. alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 45 4.4 loading and offloading time the economies of density are enhanced by using high-capacity technology to handle large bulk loads and minimise loading and offloading time and cost. therefore, the time of loading and offloading individual materials at the terminals was evaluated. the results of the average time taken to load and offload material per ton are presented in figure 4. 0, 02 0, 04 0, 07 0, 01 0, 11 0, 05 0, 11 0, 18 0, 17 0, 07 0, 12 0, 00 3 0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 cement reinforcement ceramic tiles crushed stones hollow sandcrete block sand a ve ra ge ti m e ta ke n to lo ad a nd of flo ad (h ou rs /to ns ) types of materials average time taken to load/ton (hours/tons) average time taken to offload/ton (hours/tons) figure 4: average time taken to load and offload materials per ton it was established that, for cement, the loading time was 0.02 hours/ton and offloading time was 0.11 hours/ton. records confirmed the average loading and offloading time for reinforcement bars (0.04 and 0.18 hours/ ton); ceramic tiles (0.07 and 0.17 hours/ton, and crushed stones (0.01 and 0.07 hours/ton). it is interesting to note that crushed stones offloading time is higher than its loading time. the reason for this is that trailer trucks were also used in the delivery of crushed stones. since they do not tip off, the material had to be manually offloaded, thus resulting in increased offloading time and costs. the implication is that time and costs are non-value-added costs. this cannot be recovered when an invoice is made out for the offloading of material. on the other hand, it achieved load consolidation by transporting a larger quantity in a single trip. 4.5 cost of loading and offloading material the time taken for loading and offloading construction material was analysed. however, it also has cost implications. the cost of loading and offloading individual materials at the terminals was thus evaluated. figure 5 shows the relationship of average cost to load and offload individual materials per ton. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 46 15 6, 62 4 25 ,6 3 50 7, 99 78 ,1 6 17 9, 73 15 1, 66 27 4, 70 86 1, 24 53 7, 31 15 0, 07 17 9, 73 25 ,5 3 0 200 400 600 800 1000 cement reinforcement ceramic tiles crushed stones hollow sandcrete block sanda ve ra ge c os t o f l oa di ng a nd of flo ad in g( ₦ /t on ) types of materials average cost of loading (₦/ton) average cost of offloading (₦/ton) figure 5: average cost to load and offload materials per ton the results confirmed that the average cost of loading per ton at the manufacturers’ warehouses was as follows: cement (₦56.62/ton or r2.02/ton); reinforcement bars (₦425.63/ton or r15.20/ton); ceramic tiles (₦507.99/ton or r18.14/ton); crushed stones (₦78.16/ton or r2.79/ton); blocks (₦179.73/ton or r6.42/ton), and sand (₦151.66/ton or r5.42/ton). figure 5 also reveals that the average cost of offloading at distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites was as follows: cement (₦274.70/ton or r9.81/ton); reinforcement bars (₦861.24/ton or r30.76/ton); ceramic tiles (₦537.31/ton or r19.19/ton); crushed stones (₦150.07/ton or r5.36/ton); blocks (₦179.37/ton or r6.41/ton), and sand (₦25.53/ton or r0.91/ton). the average cost of offloading reinforcement bars per ton was the highest, probably because this involves offloading, bending and stacking them. however, it should be noted that ceramic tile companies used both forklift trucks and manual labour when loading at the manufacturers’ warehouses. the major finding was that the average cost of offloading materials/ ton was higher than the average cost of loading, except for blocks and sand. this may be explained by the fact that blocks are both loaded and offloaded manually. the cost of loading sand is higher, because most of the companies did this manually, but they offloaded mechanically by tipping off. 4.6 technology used in vehicles technology in vehicles is required to integrate the transport subsystem with the warehousing subsystem and customers, in order to improve efficiency, and to monitor and track the load in transit. this forms the basis for which data were collected on the types of technology installed in the vehicles. alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 47 0 0 0 6,94 5,56 0 87,50 0 20 40 60 80 100 intelligent transport wireless gis and gps material tracker speed limit satellite no automation % o f t ec hn ol og y in st al le d in ve hi cl es u til is ed b y m fc s ite s 110 vehicle technology figure 6: types of technology installed in vehicles figure 6 indicates that 87% of the vehicles used for the shipment of construction material do not have any of the identified technology installed in them. about 7% of the vehicles had a material tracker, and 6% a speed limit tracker installed in them. this signifies that most of the vehicles do not have any of the technology installed in them. this further implies that the transport system is not linked to the manufacturers’ plants, distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites. the vehicles cannot be tracked and monitored while in transit. 5. discussion of results 5.1 loading and offloading periods most of the company loading took place between 08h00 and 18h00, a time when vehicles were loaded and offloaded at the terminals. similarly, most of the offloading times at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites occurred between 08h00 and 18h00. this means that vehicles are used only during operational hours, which leads to the longer dwell time of 14 hours per day in each terminal, or both. these results are in line with the findings of rahman et al. (2013: 171). they confirmed that long-haul trucks were idle for between six and 16 hours per day. this is also supported by andrejić et al. (2013: 3926) that inefficiency is measured in terms of the amount of time spent waiting on-site. the longer waiting time increases the inefficiency of vehicles’ output in terms of time consumption. however, a shorter time increases the efficiency of the transportation processes (drozd & kisielewski, 2017: 32). however, the findings are contrary to the fact that transport efficiency is achieved by full loads and utilising the transport for as long as possible each day (vogt, 2016: 342). in addition, flexibility of loading and offloading times can significantly improve productivity and increase the vehicles’ acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 48 efficiency. therefore, it can be deduced that underutilisation of vehicles during operational hours is due to the longer dwell time of 14 hours per day in each terminal, or both. this was due to restrictions and the inflexibility of loading and offloading periods. 5.2 number of vehicles loading at a time the study found that most of the manufacturer loading bays had the capacity to load four vehicles at a time. no traffic congestion was observed at the manufacturing companies’ dispatch bays. this contradicts the submission that vehicles waste time, due to congestion at the docks of plants, or at the distribution centres/warehouses and retailer stores (eskigun et al., 2005: 181; gwynne, 2014: 73). the waiting time could be due to administrative issues or inefficiencies in the system that are unrelated to the volume of vehicles passing through these locations (eskigun et al., 2005: 181). on this premise, it can be inferred that vehicle waiting time at the terminals was not related to the congestion at the loading bay. this long waiting time may be as a result of other adminstrative issues or inefficiencies in the system. 5.3 loading and offloading equipment the study revealed that two-thirds of the manufacturers’ warehouses used equipment such as automatic loaders for loading cement, high-level cranes for loading reinforcement bars, pay loaders for loading crushed stones/sand, and forklift trucks for loading ceramic tiles. these findings are supported by bouh & riopel (2015: 468) that the operations should be mechanised and/or automated, where feasible, in order to improve operational efficiency, reduce operating costs, and eliminate repetitive manual handling of material. however, the remaining companies used manual labour in the loading of ceramic tiles (semi-mechanised), blocks, crushed stones, and sand. furthermore, the results revealed that offloading was done manually at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites. these findings contradict pienaar’s (2016: 381) assertions that to reap the optimum rewards of specialisation, handling equipment at terminals should be provided for rapid loading and offloading, in order to save time and cost. more so, it also contradicted the view that block manufacturers normally use self-loading vehicles with cranes mounted on the edge or on a removable mounting (vidalakis & sommerville, 2013: 478). this truck equipment allows for extra grades of movement for handling unit loads (hannan, 2011: 36). it can now be deduced that the use of loading equipment at the manufacturers’ warehouses was minimal, while there was no offloading alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 49 equipment at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. hence, loading processes at the manufacturers’ plant/ warehouses, and offloading of vehicle processes at the distribution centres/ warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites were inefficient. 5.4 loading and offloading time the study sought to confirm the average time taken per ton for loading and offloading each material. the results revealed much disparity in the average time taken per ton for loading and offloading each material. it took much less time per ton to load at the manufacturers’ plants, where the loading was done mechanically. on the contrary, it took more time per ton to offload at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites, where most of the offloading was done manually. these processes combined used fewer machines, but more manual labour that involved multiple handling. these findings contradict pienaar’s (2016: 380) assertion that using highcapacity technology to carry and handle large bulk loads can help minimise loading and offloading times. therefore, the efficiency of loading and offloading time per ton is sub-optimal. 5.5 loading and offloading costs the study also revealed a great deal of disparity in average cost per ton for loading and offloading individual materials. it costs less per ton to load than to offload in companies where most of the loading is done mechanically at the manufacturers’ warehouses, as against most offloading being done manually at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores and construction sites. this finding supports the fact that the use of automation in material handling can increase efficiency, control costs, and optimise productivity (bouh & riopel, 2015: 468). the findings corroborate michael’s (2015: 16) submission that the more the multiple handling of material, the more the overall logistics expense. the implication is that the touch time costs are non-value-added costs that will never be recovered when an invoice is made out for the load (niggi, 2017: 52). thus, for construction material handling, the efficiency of loading and offloading cost per ton was sub-optimal and inefficient. 5.6 vehicle technology the study sought to find the level of utilisation of technology to integrate the transport system with the other subsystems. the finding revealed that most of the vehicles used for the delivery of material do not have any transport acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 50 system software installed in them. a few vehicles owned by the cement companies did have tracker and speed limits installed in them to enable their head office to monitor and track their vehicles. this did not link them to other subsystems and customers. andrejić and kilibarda (2016: 143) found that it was necessary to integrate the transport management system, warehouse management system and other systems. most importantly, the utilisation of tms software can provide effective and efficient management of the transportation fleet used in the distribution network (apte & viswanathan, 2000: 291). this study found that there was minimal use of transport management system software in vehicles. it can thus be inferred that the transport management system was sub-optimal and inefficient. 6. conclusion this article assessed transport efficiency for the delivery of construction materials. fundamentally, any inefficiency in the delivery of construction materials will result in higher material prices, thereby increasing construction costs. this assumption is well founded on the concept of tac and strongly connected with the general perception that poor cost performance of construction material manufacturers can add significantly to the tac of construction materials, which, by increasing material purchase price, results in higher construction costs. using the dynamics of transport operations as guidance for data collection, the evidence provided in the case study establishes significant inefficiency in construction material manufacturers’ transport system. the main problems observed on-site were low efficiency in vehicle dwell time, loading and off-loading vehicles at the warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. the study also revealed that there was no utilisation of technology in the transport system to integrate the manufacturers’ warehouses with the other logistics partners in the supply chain. the implication of the findings is high prices of materials and delay in delivery. furthermore, transportation inefficiency became increasingly clearer. this article concludes by providing the construction material manufacturers with areas that require addressing, in order to improve transportation operations along the nodes (terminals) to help ensure that the construction material arrives at its final destination at optimal quality, time and cost. due to the small sample of participating companies, performance values estimated in this article are relevant to these companies and should not be considered as industry benchmarks. however, it is believed that the dynamics and capacity of the manufacturing company to provide a costeffective service to the construction industry revealed by this research alumbugu, shakantu & tsado • assessment of transportation efficiency 51 will be applicable to similar typical manufacturing firms. this study was conducted using observations, which is one of the limitations of this study. another limitation of this study is the geographical aspect. since this study covered only one out of the six geopolitical zones of the country, 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https://doi.org/10.1108/ ecam-06-2013-0058. https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-06-2013-0058 https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-06-2013-0058 71 how to cite: musonda, i., gumbo, t. & okoro, c. 2019. an assessment of transformation strategies in south africa: a multi-case study of the accounting, financial services, government, and construction sectors. acta structilia, 26(2), pp. 71-106. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as navorsingsartikels • research articles innocent musonda prof. innocent musonda, associate professor, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, p.o. box 17011, doornfontein, johannesburg, 2028, south africa. phone: +27115596655, e-mail: <imusonda@uj.ac.za> trynos gumbo prof. trynos gumbo, associate professor, department of town and regional planning, university of johannesburg, po box 17011, doornfontein, johannesbur, 2028, south africa. phone: +27115596062, e-mail: <tgumbo@uj.ac.za> chioma okoro dr. chioma okoro, lecturer, department of finance and investment management, college of business and economics, university of johannesburg, po box 524 auckland park, 2006, south africa. phone: +27115594926 e-mail: <chiomao@uj.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(2): 71-106 an assessment of transformation strategies in south africa: a multicase study of the accounting, financial services, government, and construction sectors peer reviewed and revised august 2019 published december 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract globally, transformation is etched in all sectors of the economy. in the south african context, transformation is viewed as the catalyst to address the country’s socio-economic problems and their associated impact on different sectors and the economy at large. however, progress on transformation within the built environment has been slow in comparison with other sectors of the economy. as a result, this has led to a need to examine the transformation processes in the country. this article aims to analyse transformation strategies as conceptualised and implemented by various sectors. the article is based on a multi-case study of identified sectors and organisations that have developed and implemented transformation strategies. the materials used to conduct the study include sector transformation strategies, charters, journal articles, articles published in reputable south african newspapers, http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:imusonda@uj.ac.za mailto:tgumbo@uj.ac.za mailto:chiomao@uj.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.3 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 72 organisation reports, information publicly available on the internet, and interviews conducted with sector representatives. the findings show that, for all sectors, transformation strategies are driven through skills development of human resources, with a view to redressing historical imbalances and providing equal opportunities. the process of strategy development involves sectorwide participation and having a champion for the strategy. in order to ensure that strategies are implemented, specific structured training and education programmes from the grassroots to professional level, as well as monitoring of progress are emphasised. recommendations are made in line with the findings in order to guide the council for the built environment in the development of a strategy for the built environment. keywords: built environment, socio-economic; south africa; transformation abstrak transformasie word wêreldwyd in alle sektore van die ekonomie geëts. in die suid-afrikaanse konteks word transformasie gesien as die katalisator om die land se sosio-ekonomiese probleme en die gepaardgaande impak daarvan op verskillende sektore en die ekonomie in die algemeen aan te spreek. nietemin, in vergelyking met ander sektore in die ekonomie vorder transformasie binne die bou-omgewing stadig. dit het daartoe gelei dat dit nodig is om die transformasieprosesse in die land te ondersoek. hierdie artikel het ten doel om transformasiestrategieë te ontleed soos gekonseptualiseer en geïmplementeer deur verskillende sektore. die artikel is gebaseer op ’n multi-gevallestudie van geïdentifiseerde sektore en organisasies wat transformasiestrategieë ontwikkel en geïmplementeer het. die materiaal wat gebruik is om die studie uit te voer, is onder meer sektortransformasiestrategieë, handveste, tydskrifartikels, artikels wat in betroubare suid-afrikaanse koerante gepubliseer is, organisasieverslae, inligting wat op die internet beskikbaar is en onderhoude met verteenwoordigers van die sektor. uit die bevindinge blyk dit dat transformasiestrategieë vir alle sektore deur vaardigheidsontwikkeling van menslike hulpbronne gedryf word met die doel om historiese wanbalanse reg te stel en gelyke geleenthede te bied. die proses van strategie-ontwikkeling behels deelname aan die sektor en ook om ’n kampioen te hê wat die strategie dryf. ten einde te verseker dat strategieë geïmplementeer word, is spesifieke gestruktureerde onderrrigen opleidingsprogramme van voetsoolvlak tot op professionele vlak, asook die monitering van vordering, belangrik. aanbevelings is gemaak in ooreenstemming met die bevindinge om die raad vir die bouomgewing te lei in die ontwikkeling van ’n strategie vir die bou-omgewing. sleutelwoorde: bou-omgewing, sosio-ekonomies; suid-afrika; transformasie 1. introduction progress on transformation within the built environment has been slow in comparison to other sectors of the south african economy (odendaal, 2017: online). there are varying definitions and interpretations of transformation in different acts, frameworks and scorecards (moraka & van rensburg, 2015: 672). essentially, however, it is an intrinsic process that redefines form and leads to the expression of new values, principles and premises of thought (sacplan, 2015: online). it entails a fundamental change in an musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 73 economy vis-à-vis social, economic, industrial, legal and political or technological transformation (alternative prosperity, 2017: online). it strives towards creation of employment, expansion of industries, poverty eradication, restructuring of gender and racial inequalities, economic empowerment, social inclusivity, as well as professional growth (sacplan, 2015: online; unesco, 2017: online; south african government, 2019c: online). transformation in these areas is also related to the national development plan of the south african government, in consonance with the ninepoint plan and the 14 priority outcomes, outlined in the medium-term strategic framework (mtsf) 2014-2019 (sa news, 2019: online). the focus areas include education, health, safety and security, economic growth and employment, skills development, infrastructure, rural development, human settlements, local government, environment, international relations, public sector, social protection, nation-building, and social cohesion (south african government, 2019a: online; 2019b: online; 2019c: online; 2019d: online). nonetheless, these areas have two overarching themes: radical economic transformation and improving service delivery (south african government, 2017: online). as shown in figure 1, radical economic transformation encompasses productivity, workplace, expanded opportunities for the previously disadvantaged, addressing economic imbalances, education, and skills development (south african government, 2017: online). this suggests that systemic transformation is contingent on the transformation of the individuals who make up the system. therefore, practice transformation depends on individuals who practise in a given sector (ruddy, thomas-hemak & meade, 2016: 624). progress on professional registrations is a key component of transformation in any sector. transformation is necessary for the survival and sustainability of the built-environment profession. the skills pipeline in the built environment is a key enabler for transformation in the industry, with a holistic approach on promoting skills development to alleviate the skills shortage as part of tackling transformative ambitions (odendaal, 2017: online). registered professionals are needed to achieve the much-needed economic growth and development. however, 2016 statistics on professional registrations reported by councils for the built environment professions (cbeps) show that only 26% of all registered built-environment professionals are from the previously disadvantaged groups, whereas whites represent 74% (cbe, 2017a: online). registered african professionals only account for 17%, and women professionals (all races) account for 0.3%. relative to their population size, africans have the lowest representation of acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 74 registered professionals with 0.02% (that is, one registered african professional per 5,000 africans), whereas coloured professionals represent 0.03% of the coloured population (that is, one registered coloured professional per 3,300 coloureds). indian professionals comprise 0.19% of its population (that is, one registered indian professional per 526 indians), and white professionals account for 0.68% of its total population (that is, one registered white professional per 150 whites) (cbe, 2017a: online). this is in spite of the promising figures on candidate registrations in 2017, with african candidates accounting for 58%, white candidates for 29%, indians for 9% and coloureds for 4% (cbe, 2018: 154). previously disadvantaged individuals (pdis) at candidacy level make up 71% of the registered candidates for the built-environment professions (cbe, 2018: 154). total registered candidates increased with 82% over the past six years, with 17,958 in 2011 to 32,698 in 2017 (cbe, 2012: 64; 2018: 154). however, for future transformation, the cbe and cbep should focus on helping pdis candidates upgrade to professional status. figure 1: radical economic transformation elements in relation to the mtsf source: south african government, 2017: online. although the number of built-environment registered professionals has been increasing exponentially from 2,400 in 2011 to 45,063 musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 75 in 2017, the growth in the registration of africans has only seen a modest increase, compared to their white counterparts in all six cbep disciplines (cbe, 2012: 64; 2018: 148). consequently, many constituencies and organisations such as the south african institute of civil engineers (saice) contend that racial and related economic transformation in the civil engineering and construction sector is not happening as desired (saice, 2017: online; cbe, 2017a: online). notwithstanding the sluggish improvement in transformation, efforts have been made by various cbeps to transform their disciplines. however, transformation goals and objectives are varied among the cbeps. findings by the property sector charter council (pscc) show that commitment to transformation also varies across the builtenvironment sector, with the commercial property sector seemingly leading the progress of transformation, as evidenced by the number of bbbee certificate submissions (bee chamber, 2017: online). the slow progress on transformation within the built environment has been attributed to many reasons, including poor skills development, inadequate funding capacity, market factors, capacity constraints within client departments (various industry sectors at different levels of government), fraud and corruption, as well as data inconsistency and inaccuracy (cidb, 2017: online; eaab, 2017a: online). other reasons for the slow transformation have been cited as professional registration not considered compulsory, delays in the registration process, employer bodies not compelled to employ registered persons, and lack of clearly defined and protected terms (especially in the engineering sector) (senooane, 2016: online). it should, however, be noted that transformation-related legislation aimed at enabling the economic empowerment of south africans, especially women and black people, is in place. transformation in the built environment and other sectors is informed by charters, of which the national home builders registration council (nhbrc) transformation charter guides transformation in the built environment based on acts such as the employment equity act (eea), the broadbased black economic empowerment (b-bbee) act and codes, the skills development levies act, and the preferential procurement policy framework (brun, 2017: online; nhbrc, 2017: online). despite this extensive legislative framework providing for transformation, there is an absence of practical initiatives, mechanisms and clear goals to achieve this objective and to measure or monitor the impact of the expected outcomes (acemoglu, gelb & robinson, 2007: 2). consequently, the council for the built environment (cbe), whose mandate is enshrined in the council for the built-environment act, acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 76 no. 43 of 2000, is committed to providing leadership and drive initiatives that engender transformation of the built-environment sector (cbe, 2017b: online). one of its responsibilities is to promote human resources development in the built environment and facilitate participation of built-environment professionals in integrated development within the context of national socio-economic goals, among others. hence, the cbe recognises that transformation within the cbeps and the construction sector as a whole is very slow (cbe, 2017b: online). this slow progress presents unfavourable conditions for the cbe’s drive towards enabling a transformed built environment, able to contribute to the 2030 national development plan (ndp) target for a skilled workforce in south africa. therefore, the cbe sought to formulate a transformation strategy for the builtenvironment sector, taking into account stipulations of the ndp and other legislative frameworks impacting on the built-environment sectors’ ability to contribute to national socio-economic goals, specifically, the cbe’s target to increase the number of registered professionals from the designated groups (salga, 2011: online; cbe, 2017a: online). transformation, which broadens and deepens economic benefit and participation, is arguably the best way to facilitate south africa’s growth and development (busa, 2018: online). this article analyses and reviews the transformation strategies implemented by other sectors in south africa to inform and provide guidance for the cbe strategy to be developed on transformation of the built environment. 2. literature review 2.1 transformation concepts and drivers globally, transformation is etched in all sectors of the economy. in the professional sectors, transformation is related to change with regard to globalisation, sustainability, and technology (durmus, 2010: 26). in the united states of america, transformation in the health sector has focused on practice transformation and professional development (maloney, 2016: 107; ruddy et al., 2016: 624). efforts to achieve transformation of practice in healthcare service delivery have been directed at technical change as well as transformation of the individuals who make up the system, in order to achieve the quadruple aim of better health, better quality care, affordability, and satisfaction of patients and providers. in the united kingdom, transformation in the construction industry is related to digitisation or technological advancement to improve the performance, musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 77 productivity, and safety of construction through the better use of digital technologies (university of cambridge, 2017: online). in asian countries, structural transformation encompasses a focus on improving industrialisation, technological sophistication, employment generation, foreign investment, and productivity in all economic sectors of the economy (aci, 2014: online; srinivasan, 2013: 53). it entails the progressive upgrading of economies’ capabilities to produce more complex and higher quality outputs and thus investments in infrastructure, enactment of effectual policies to facilitate the development of sectors and entrepreneurship, as well as education and training are crucial (aci, 2014: online). in sub-saharan africa, with the per capita gdp increasing, between 2000 and 2014, by almost 35% in real terms, doubling in some countries in the region, economic and structural transformation concentrates on diversification of the labour force, improved governance, improved local and foreign investment, education, and high employment growth rates across different sectors (jayne, chamberlin & benfica, 2018: 779). in south africa, transformation is viewed as the catalyst to address the country’s socio-economic problems and their associated impact on different sectors and the economy at large. transformation is often driven by compliance considerations (alternative prosperity, 2017: online). the mining industry recognises that transformation is not only a regulatory requirement, but also a business imperative (minerals council south africa, 2019: online). in the mining sector, transformation entails a fundamental change in the economic structure of the sector and employment profile (mqa, 2014: 38). several drivers are at play, which inform the conceptualisation of transformation in various spheres. they include, among others, social, economic, technological, legal, and political factors (alternative prosperity, 2017: online). social transformation addresses the impact of globalisation, environmental change, as well as the economic and financial state, resulting in growing inequalities, extreme poverty, exclusion, and the denial of basic human rights (unesco, 2017: online). according to unesco, the need for social inclusion and transformation arising from environmental change, for example, demonstrates the need for innovative solutions conducive to universal values of peace, human dignity, gender equality, non-violence, and non-discrimination, with particular focus on the vulnerable and the disadvantaged. acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 78 economic transformation concerns the socio-economic improvements in the quality of life of all citizens. these include aspects related to equitable access to education, job creation, and reduction of the inequality gap and abject poverty (south africa first, 2013: online). economic transformation guidelines in south africa include, among others, the principles and values enshrined in the constitution: • to recognise the injustices of the past; • to honour those who suffered for justice and freedom; • to respect those who have worked to build and develop our land; • to uphold and protect human dignity, the achievement of human rights and freedom; • to uphold and protect non-racialism and non-sexism, and • to uphold and protect a government that is accountable, responsive and open. economic transformation also entails building an inclusive and more collective economy that will create more sustainable growth, higher investment, increased employment, reduced inequality, and lead to a de-racialised economy (madia, 2017: online). the notable concepts of economic transformation include black ownership and empowerment, natural resources development, national food security, economic rights, and access to education (south africa first, 2013: online). technological transformation occurred in the higher education sector through the implementation of e-learning (uys, 2007). political and legal forms of transformation had to do with enactment and enforcement of laws and policies to ensure that there is fairness, equity, and access to the most basic services (including education) and benefits (langa, 2006: 352; rapatsa, 2015). 2.2 transformation strategies and implementation transformation strategies are frameworks put in place to ensure realisation of the process of change (hernaus, 2008: online). therefore, transformation strategy should: • be specific and practical; • be measurable (impact); • be realistic within set time frames; • determine the position and the impact of the organisation within its industry, region and country, and • create shared value (alternative prosperity, 2017: online; cput, 2017: online) musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 79 consequently, the qualities and aspects needed to adopt and implement a transformation strategy are purpose, drivers, leadership, and impact measurements. similarly, the process of implementing transformation should be logical, beginning with the establishment of the purpose, baseline, developing the strategy, and providing leadership and oversight to ensure sustainability (alternative prosperity, 2017: online). in south africa, a number of institutions and sectors have developed and implemented transformation strategies using different concepts and drivers in order to achieve their goals. for example, the estate agency affairs board’s (eaab) transformation goal is to realise a reflection of the demographics of the south african population in their industry. to realise this goal, the eaab uses and observes the principles of b-bbee more in compliance than in breach as a driver for transformation (eaab, 2017b: online). likewise, sacplan strives to transformation to benefit the pdis and to ensure legitimacy and effectiveness in the profession. in order to realise this, they emphasise transformation of the mind, space, practice and our society at large, in order to embrace diversity and the empowerment of the previously disadvantaged (sacplan, 2015: online). transformation in the mining sector is viewed as a slow process of transforming the race and gender inequalities, as well as cultural change, a change in mindsets, embracing diversity, equalising rights and opportunities, and attaining social justice (moraka, 2016: 455). 2.3 transformation implementation challenges the transformation process encounters challenges that prevent sectors from advancing or achieving their transformation strategies. finance or funding is one such challenge. the lack of funds to support training and development of skills of young learners studying towards qualifications in the built environment was identified as a barrier to industry transformation (south african builder, 2017: online). in the higher education sector, in general, it was noted that financial constraints inhibited capable learners from furthering education (pmg, 2017). funding is, therefore, critical to transformation. capacity constraints within sectors, organisations, and departments are also cited as one of the major hindrances to transformation (ipmahr, 2006: online; cidb, 2017: online). the lack of training and, hence, capacity development hinder transformation (south african builder, 2017: online). capacity was noted in the mining sector, where there was a shortage of well-qualified, competent, and experienced professionals. this capacity problem was attributed to acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 80 the inability to recruit suitable candidates, competition for talent, mining not always being viewed as a suitable career choice, cultural diversity, lack of government support, debate on nationalisation of mines, racial tension, uncertainty about nationalisation of mines, and poor working conditions. consequently, moraka (2016: 460) rightly argues that the lack of capacity is a hindrance to transformation. more skilled professionals are needed if all transformation goals are to be achieved in the mining sector and indeed all sectors of the economy (odendaal, 2017: online). moreover, critical skills are increasingly needed to keep up with technological development and to support mentorship programmes (world economic forum, 2016: online; odendaal, 2017: online). inconsistent reports and statistics make the transformation goals difficult to achieve, as there is usually no real benchmark or goal to attain. in the construction sector, the construction sector charter council (cscc, 2014) identified data inconsistency, inaccuracy, and generally the absence of reliable data as being some of the barriers to transformation. similarly, in the mining sector, hesitance to submit evaluation reports, skills shortage, inadequate mentorship, having unrealistic targets, and practicability of the scorecards used for evaluation were identified as barriers to transformation (moraka & van rensburg, 2015: 673). the role of political will is also critical to the transformation agenda. the african development bank (adb), for example, identified political will as being necessary for transformation of the agricultural sector on the continent of africa (adb, 2017: online). political will is dependent not only on government, but also on all constituencies and professional bodies. a concerted effort from all is, therefore, needed. cbe recognises this critical ingredient to transformation of the built environment (cbe, 2017b: online). 3. research method and design this article analysed transformation strategies conceptualised and implemented by sectors other than the built environment in south africa. it used a qualitative research design, in which openended questions were employed to elicit information from the participants (creswell, 2012: 9). in this article, transformation documents from selected case studies of sectors and organisations, which have developed and implemented transformation strategies, were used to guide the cbe strategy to be developed on transformation of the built environment in south africa. the interviews explored insights into key drivers or enablers, strategies, implementation, and challenges musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 81 of transformation from the different sectors and organisations in south africa. the reason for collecting qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the transformation documents, and explore the views, experiences and motivation on strategies, implementation and challenges of transformation suggested from the interview groups (gill, stewart, treasure & chadwick, 2008: 292). 3.1 sample through a general literature review and analysis of transformation concepts and strategies within international and national contexts, the multi-case studies for the article were selected and consisted of four sectors that have developed and implemented transformation strategies and that have, to some extent, been successful or made significant progress. the sectors comprised non-built-environment (finance, accounting, government/public sector represented by hrdc) and built-environment sectors (a private construction firm). five representatives, one each from the financial services, accounting, and public sector as well as two from the builtenvironment sector were interviewed on the transformation strategies implemented by the respective sectors or organisations. the representatives were selected because they were managing/ executive directors and heads of group transformation and development departments in their organisations. 3.2 data collection a breakdown of transformation documents was reviewed, in order to analyse transformation in the different sectors and organisations in south africa. transformation documents included the national development plan, sustainable development goals reports and acts as well as transformation plans and charters of selected sectors and recognised professional bodies/organisations. the information extracted from the documents included general information on the strategies, implementation procedures, and challenges of transformation. subsequently, during february and march 2018, face-toface interviews were conducted with the five representatives. the transformation topics used in the interview schedule were extracted from reviews of the literature. the interview schedule consisted of open-ended pre-determined questions in three sections, which helped define the areas to be explored (gill et al., 2008: 291). section a contained two questions regarding the organisation and acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 82 portfolio of the respondents. section b comprised eight questions enquiring on transformation strategy conceptualisation within the sectors, while section c consisted of 13 questions on transformation implementation considerations, success factors and challenges. interviewees were asked to indicate the key drivers or enablers, strategies, implementation and challenges of transformation by their respective sectors or organisations. 3.3 data analysis the empirical data from the interviews was analysed for themes and descriptions, using text analysis and interpreting the larger meaning of the findings (creswell, 2012: 16). the analysis was undertaken with the aid of the atlas-ti software package for qualitative data analysis to identify common themes emerging from the interviews regarding the transformation aspects (friese, 2019: 9). based on frequency of occurrence, the themes were coded in six categories, including transformation imperatives, strategy guides and principles, strategy development, agents/key role players, implementation and tools, and challenges (smit, 2002: 69-70). the information extracted from the transformation documents as well as from published material publicly available in newspapers, online and organisation publications was used to triangulate and validate responses obtained from the interviews and vice versa. this process was important to increase the validity and reliability of the data (creswell, 2012: 259). 3.4 limitations due to time constraints, the research focused on including as many sectors as possible, even if it was one interviewee and representative from the “transformation” or similar department. 4. case studies in order to analyse transformation for the built environment, it is important to introduce the background on the selected sectors and organisations. 4.1 south african institute of chartered accountants (saica) – accountancy sector the south african institute of chartered accountants (saica) was constituted and operates in terms of its constitution. saica is a voluntary association registered as a non-profit organisation. musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 83 the objectives of saica are to promote the interests of its members and support the development of the economy and society in south africa. accordingly, saica is aligned to public interests and the development of a responsible leadership (saica, 2016a: online). accountants may offer professional services only if they are members of saica. the institute has been mandated to register accountants and grant them chartered accountant status. consequently, saica accredits academic programmes in institutions of learning. saica is an education and training quality assurance body (etqa). it accredits programmes leading to qualification as a chartered accountant. based on this standing, it was deemed to be of similar stature as the cbe and thus considered for inclusion in this study. saica’s transformation strategy is strongly influenced and driven by skills development. the thuthuka bursary fund is one of the tools used to implement the transformation strategy. the thuthuka programme has been so successful that the newly launched ikusasa student financial aid scheme (isfap) has been modelled on it (saica, 2016a: online). students highlighted that transport problems and other non-financial personal problems were reported with the thuthuka model. the isfap was thus established to provide a more holistic wraparound support model, providing for tuition, accommodation, meals, books, equipment, stipend, as well as academic, social and psychological support (mentoring and lifeskills training) to ensure that students truly thrive (isfap, 2019: online). as of the 2016 reporting year, saica had a membership of well over 41,000, where africans constitute 4,500 (11%), up from 1.5% in 2002. the combined representation for africans, indians and coloureds accounts for 25.6%, up from 7.6% in 2002 (saica, 2016a: online). becoming a chartered accountant is crucial in order to legally practise within the business community at large and benefit from associated gains including access to continuing professional education and up-to-date information centre as well as the saica website; membership of leading accountancy institutes in the world; networking opportunities, and committees (saica, 2019: online). therefore, once registered, opportunities to rise to positions of influence are many. hence, saica’s strategy is about developing individuals from primary school, high school and tertiary level to become chartered accountants (saica, 2016b: online). acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 84 4.2 the banking association of south africa (basa) – financial services sector basa is an industry body representing all banks registered and operating in the republic of south africa. its 37 members consist of all licensed banks. this is a very critical sector, as it is a custodian of the nation’s savings; finances major infrastructure projects, as well as provides and enables payment for goods and services overseas. banks are primary channels through which the reserve bank implements its monetary policies. basa has assets of r4.8 trillion (basa, 2017: online). basa is part of the financial services sector and accounts for the largest share in terms of membership. the financial services sector comprises the banking and non-banking sectors. this sector offers services covering commercial, retail, and merchant banking, mortgage lending, insurance, and investment (brand sa, 2018: online). the financial services board (fsb) oversees the non-banking sector. this is an independent body responsible for the regulation of financial markets and institutions, including insurers, fund managers, brokering operations, and national credit operations. since the banks act of 1990 governs the sector, the basa, as a transformation benchmark in the financial services sector of south africa, was selected. as the mandated representative of the banking sector, basa was thus chosen for this study. they achieve their goals through lobbying and advocacy; policy influence; guiding transformation in the sector; being a catalyst of constructive and sustainable change in the sector, and engaging with critical stakeholders. basa implements transformation through: • human resources development (hrd); • procurement; • enterprise development; • access to financial services; • empowerment financing; • partnership in financial sector, and • corporate social investment. the performance in the banking industry in terms of racial and gender equity has somewhat improved. in 2007, women formed approximately a quarter of the executive and senior managers in the financial services sector, with the figure increasing from 16.7% in 2004 to 27.8% in 2007. however, most of them were white (research focus, 2009: 22). ownership by blacks, measured by voting rights musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 85 and enterprise development, exceeded the target of 25%, reaching 26.7% by 2015 (basa, 2018: online). in management control, black people constitute the majority of all the managers in the banking industry (mostly at junior to middle management levels). 4.3 human resource development council (hrdc) – government/public sector the human resource development council of south africa (hrdc) is a national, multi-tiered and multi-stakeholder advisory body chaired by the deputy president of the republic of south africa. the ministry of higher education and training manages the hrdc. the hrdc was established in march 2010 to facilitate conditions that promote the optimal participation of all stakeholders in the planning, stewardship, monitoring, and evaluation of hrd activities in the country. one of the council’s key responsibilities is to build the human resource development base required to ensure a prosperous and inclusive south african society and economy, with the focus on the development of strategy. the hrdc was chosen for inclusion in the study, because it advises the government on human resource development strategy and its priorities. its main aim is to develop institutional synergies for an integrated human resource development strategy of south africa, able to stimulate a culture of lifelong learning and, therefore, transform south africa into a knowledge economy. the hrdsa strategy (2010-2030) was developed and focuses on: • educational attainment; • skills development; • science and innovation, and • labour market/employment policies. 4.4 aveng group aveng, a private-listed company, has operated for over 125 years and employs over 14,000 people. it has a turnover of r30 billion per year. it lists aveng grinaker-lta, mcconnell dowell construction, aveng mining, aveng manufacturing, and aveng steel as its companies. aveng was chosen for the study, because it was the first company in the construction sector to conclude the qakazana consortium, a high-level black empowerment economic transaction in 2005. aveng strives to achieve a high-level b-bbee contributor status. it has exceeded the ownership target allowed for in the construction charter. black representation in middle management increased by 55% to 40.3% in 2018; inclusion of blackand women-owned suppliers acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 86 increased by r3.1 billion and r839 million spent on blackand womenowned suppliers, respectively (aveng, 2018: online). in addition, one of aveng’s long-term objectives is to invest in people. it enrolled 643 candidates on a range of learning programmes and invested r17.8 million in education-focused socio-economic development in 2018. for these transformation efforts, aveng was included in this study. 5. findings and discussion 5.1 conceptualisation and transformation imperatives the accountancy sector conceptualised transformation and had as its imperatives the need to develop its skills for the 21st century. the interview respondents from saica explained that their focus in driving transformation is on occupations in high demand and an assessment of the skills that will be needed in the 21st century. equally, the urgent need to address the historical imbalances in terms of the previously disadvantaged in south africa from ownership of means of production and participation in the economy, weighed heavily and, hence, was a critical factor in conceptualising the transformation strategy. transformation for basa and its sector was primarily informed by the realisation that transformation was a business imperative. according to the interviewees, “economic inclusivity and balance was sustainability”. the banking sector needed to adopt new ways of doing business that included economic inclusivity and balance. inclusivity and balance entail educational outcomes at all levels, black enterprise development, diversity, supportive enterprise development, skills to meet the needs of a growing economy, poverty eradication, increasing productivity within sectors, increasing income, women primarily involved in increasing productivity, economic transformation, and how things can be done practically (odi, 2017: online; busa, 2018: online). in addition, it was critical for the sector to keep and maintain the performance record and global stature that it had attained. therefore, any transformation strategy had to be framed around the need to continue with its best practice and to achieve economic inclusivity and balance, knowing that transformation was a business imperative. in confirming the views of the interviewees, the ceo of absa noted that broader financial access and inclusion is necessary, in order to attain economic opportunity and growth (mckinsey, 2010: 46). equally, the national treasury to the financial services sector charter musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 87 council (fscc) indicated that the sector should “ensure that the financial sector is not only transformed, but [also] transformative”. it must focus on access and inclusion (with improved overall financial inclusion in addition to employment equity); ownership transformation, and procurement (national treasury, 2017: online). the standing committee on finance (scof) and the portfolio committee on trade and industry (pcti) affirmed basa and the financial services sector’s transformation conceptualisation, advising that the transformation agenda should equally accommodate the creation, growth and maintenance of financial stability, robustness, competitiveness, as well as being effective enough to allow it to “facilitate domestic and international commerce”. they argued that the more developed a country’s financial system is, the greater is its potential to reduce poverty and income inequality (scof & pcti, 2017: 3). the hrdc’s conceptualisation was found to be similar to that of saica. the transformation strategy and its conceptualisation were informed by the need to develop skills for the envisioned transformed society, whereby there is equitable participation by black people, with an emphasis on the most disadvantaged (women, youth, people with disabilities, and those living in poor households in townships and rural areas), a view supported by busa (2018: online). in addition to focusing on the nature of the transformed society and its needs, the hrdc interviewee noted that conceptualisation of their strategy recognised the fact that transformation should be about skills development, because this contributes to economic growth. commenting on the issues that have a negative impact on transformation, the hrdc interviewee noted that there is a need to focus on the scarce skills: “[w]e need engineers to be engineers … most of you are not working within your field … to attract them back to the professions … and most of the practitioners are de-registered and then you can’t practice.” the movement of engineers or other technical professionals to administrative roles as a result of acquiring non-engineering-related degrees, mostly in the fields of business administration or project management, thus impacts on transformation (ecsa, 2014: online). in addition, the complexity and time-consuming registration process may be a deterrent to renewal of registrations (ecsa, 2014: online). the aveng group’s conceptualisation of transformation was viewed to be a business and social imperative, in line with safety and care, environmental stewardship, investing in people, and transformation beyond compliance (black representation in acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 88 middle management, b-bbee contributor status, and expenditure with blackand women-owned suppliers). however, aveng’s head of transformation emphasised that when the transformation strategy was being formulated, they “refrained from making transformation to be a black issue”. transformation in the mining industry was conceptualised as a result of the inequitable and deleterious consequences of the industry for the majority of (previously disadvantaged) south africans (moraka & van rensburg, 2015: 670). the transformation imperatives in the mining sector may be construed from official documentation as “[s] ystematic marginalisation and exclusion of the majority of historically disadvantaged south africans (hdsas) from ownership of the means of production and meaningful economic participation in the mainstream economy, through concerted application of exclusionary apartheid-era policies” (south african government, 2016: i). in summary, transformation was conceptualised based on social, economic and business imperatives in the sampled organisations. 5.2 transformation strategy guides and principles for all the sectors reviewed in this study, it was reported that transformation is inevitable. the only question was how to develop and implement the transformation strategies. for saica, the voluntary commitment of all its members made it easier to develop the strategy. however, the real and evident skills demand for both present and future needs shapes and guides the transformation strategy. compliance was also a factor in guiding the strategy development and, therefore, the interviewees noted that it was important for them to refer to and comply with the b-bbee provisions. equally, the respondents advised that the transformation strategy was informed and aligned with the accountants’ demographics in south africa. having embarked on the journey of developing the strategy voluntarily, basa used a financial services sector-wide summit to shape the strategy. nedlac hosted and facilitated the discussions. as with the accountancy sector, the b-bbee was a key tool and guide in developing the strategy for compliance with the sector codes. according to the interviewee, the constant reminder in developing the strategy was the “need to do business differently”. the hrdc strategy development guide was far more elaborate than the other sectors. for its strategy, the b-bbee was consulted, including government policies and ilo conventions. in envisioning the skills for musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 89 the future transformed state, the ndp’s 14 priority outcomes and the government’s 9-point plan were guiding principles, upon which the transformation strategy was based for the public sector. “the ndp especially. remember it was published in 2011, but after the strategy was published. so, it was the main thing that the consultants looked into because they were saying; 1) whatever was in the old strategy is now old, so let’s look at the goals of the ndp to align them. 2) also to look at the mtsf of government; 3) to look at the 14 outcomes of government; 4) the skills development act, what was it saying in terms of how is the country supposed to be developing the skills. remember it is also now being revised based on the fact that skills are now changing within the country. 5) the 9-point plan of government was another document that was consulted”. in terms of aveng, the group’s long-term objectives were key to developing the strategy. the aveng interviewee also emphasised that it was important to have buy-in to the strategy from the entire organisation. therefore, one of the tools they used to guide the transformation strategy was results from a survey they had conducted within the company on their objectives and boundaries, in order to deliver sustainable outcomes. in addition, the construction sector charter and the department of labour’s prescripts were pivotal in developing the strategy. in summary, transformation, in the sampled organisations, was guided by the demographics of south africa, compliance with regulations, skills demand, contribution to the community and society at large, as well as the longand short-term objectives of the organisations. 5.3 strategy development process the development of the transformation strategy for saica started with its holding consultative meetings with a number of stakeholders from both private and public sectors. the consultations were held with other professional associations such as business leadership south africa, the engineering council of south africa, and other stakeholders. a similar approach was taken by basa. long before many others were considering a charter, the financial services sector voluntarily established the financial services sector charter (fscc) council and developed an agreement to which all members voluntarily subscribed. the fscc council drove the transformation agenda and processes and, as the b-bbee evolved, it likewise adapted to suit the current legal framework. in addition to consultation, the respondent acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 90 advised that it is important to allocate responsibilities to specific individuals: “our role, … we serve on the board of the charter council ... but we have a group of charter facilitators in each of the banks we bring together regularly to look at targets for a whole range of issues, from housing to infrastructure, to sme finance and to access to financial services, to internal hr related issues and so on”. although the charter exists, whereby all organisations in the sector including basa abide, basa conducted research to determine strategies for financial inclusion and tracking. the strategy development process was multifaceted as bee legislative environment evolved and the needs of the sector and industry changed. similar to basa, the hrdc has specific teams and individuals tasked with developing strategies for specific aspects of the transformation strategy. these technical teams were called standing committees. the respondent explained that “[t]here was a technical task team looking at different aspects … for example, at production of academics. another one was looking at entrepreneurship and education, and then they came up with results that were saying ‘entrepreneurship must start at foundation level; curriculum must change’ and it did.” the aveng group’s development of the transformation strategy involved conducting workshops, seminars or conferences with employees in various businesses. the aveng interviewee explained: “[w]e embarked on quite an extensive transformation workshop/ conference, where we engaged all the senior leaders of the organisation from the various businesses, and from junior management to top management.” in addition to using a consultative approach, aveng also used the carrot-and-stick method. this meant that transformation development was linked to the core business activities. the respondent explained: “[w]e decided to push the buttons immediately, with consequences, meaning that if you don’t start to align your business with ours, you could fall off the bus.” transformation was, therefore, a performance issue. in summary, the transformation development processes in the sampled organisations entailed engagement with stakeholders and employees for strategies and plausible solutions to achieve transformation, as well as establish committees to drive the transformation agenda. musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 91 5.4 transformation strategy agents/key role players findings from all the sectors show that transformation needs a proper structure with authority, one that can play an oversight role. in addition, it was clear that a very senior person should be in charge of the transformation structure. in the accountancy sector, the strategy implementation and monitoring primarily rests with saica. the choice of saica to oversee the transformation strategy implementation in this sector appears to have yielded the desired results. saica is an etqa and, therefore, it accredits academic programmes at universities and institutions of higher learning that offer qualifications leading to charteredaccountant status. consequently, saica is able to influence curricula, quality of educational offering, and employer buy-in. in addition, saica registers accountants for professional practice; it thus commands significant authority within the sector. in addition, the person in charge is at a very senior level and can, therefore, sit in strategic meetings for the sector. the financial services sector council drives its strategy on transformation. this was agreed upon by all members at the national economic development and labour council (nedlac) financial sector summit held during 2002 (dti, 2017: online; sa government, 2017: online). similarly, the hrdc secretariat is driving the transformation agenda assisted by what they call transformation agents. these include universities and technical and vocational education and training (tvet) colleges, sector education and training authority (setas), the dti, the department of small business, and the department of science and technology (dst). the deputy president of the country chairs the hrdc. “the departments that are responsible for implementing the strategy are the government departments and business.” the hrdc also uses what they refer to as the hr coordination forum within the hrdc. this committee monitors and evaluates progress on transformation initiatives being implemented. the aveng group executive director also echoed the need for transformation to be recognised in the organisation or sector structures. he argued that “[t]here is a key to transformation and i spoke at a conference about my views on who are the people that should be driving transformation; transformation agents; transformation managers; transformation practitioners … a very senior person with influence and able to report directly to the ceo.” acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 92 in summary, the key role players in the sampled organisations include persons capable of driving and monitoring the transformation strategy implementation and progress. 5.5 strategy implementation and tools for most of the organisations, transformation strategies have ended up on the shelf without any meaningful impact. in contrast to the sectors and organisations studied for this benchmarking report, it was clear that, in order to avoid redundancy of initiatives, it is important to engage in real activity-based programmes that advance transformation. saica has the thuthuka programme for their skilling for the 21st century strategy. in our interview, the director for nation-building at saica clearly stated: “i have been in the profession for 23 years, and if anybody thinks that you’re going to get transformation for your top skills occupations which are in high demand without doing anything, it’s not going to happen. so we in 2002, saica, embarked on thuthuka.” in addition to the bursary scheme for university students, saica has a structured candidacy programme, which exposes graduates to three years of training in different business units in saica-accredited organisations, to develop as well-rounded finance professionals. the saica respondent pointed out that, “[b]ecause your biggest problem in the engineering profession is this damn candidacy and nobody is listening. you have people registered as candidate for years and every time i speak to the same people, … i said we have to have a structured candidacy programme!” saica also oversees curriculum development and ensures that the developed courses meet the standards. in addition, saica has appointed thuthuka programme managers who are educators, not simply teachers. basa also utilises a number of programmes and tools to drive and see the transformation agenda to reality. these include evaluation tools to monitor transformation in the financial sector and business and to evaluate the human resources performance and other initiatives such as the youth employment service (yes) initiative. the fsc council, which is the independent regulatory agency, also monitors and evaluates the transformation progress. it is tasked with the role and mandate of engaging with policymakers to ensure that legislation enables transformation. it conducts research to understand challenges; it identifies opportunities to musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 93 expedite transformation, and it reports on transformation progress. it also enables the interpretation of guidelines and standards to promote understanding of the fss codes. the fss code commits all participants to promote a vibrant, transformed, and globally competitive financial sector that reflects the demographics of south africa, and contributes to the establishment of an equitable society by providing accessible financial services to black people and by directing investment into targeted sectors of the economy (fsc council, 2017: 187). a respondent commented thus: “[w]e felt that we can’t monitor our own progress; it needs to be monitored by an independent body. and on the board of the charter council sits labour, community groups, government (in the form of dti, treasury and the presidency), and the representatives of black interests – particularly the association of black securities and investment professionals (absips) – to represent the black interests in the sector and industry”; “and part of that is something we called the yes initiative: which is the youth employment service initiative ... aiming to employ for training 330 000 youth, not just the financial sector”. partnerships with other stakeholders as well as reforming human resource policies were also cited as effective implementation tools, as stated by the respondent: “our role up to now has been to bring the banks together to put together stretched targets for our banks, and the banks then perform against that and they report to the charter council; and an annual report is presented on performance.”; “i think you need to engage the people you oversee, i think you need to engage the various professions and if necessary through some of the other bodies they belong to … and my view is that you need to engage these bodies to impress upon them how transformation is important to their future sustainability”; “we want to change competition laws to promote transformation and growth, transformation must happen and some of the businesses respond that we’ll do transformation here.” transformation implementation and tools in the hrdc sector include skills and capacity development through the yes programme driven by business, partnerships with universities and tvet colleges, education and training of labourers to acquire artisan skills and the new generation of academics programme (ngap). this programme involves recruitment of highly qualified scholars as new academics, against carefully designed and balanced equity considerations and in light of the disciplinary areas of greatest need (south african government, 2015: online). on other programmes, the hrdc respondent listed support for the following programmes: “foundational learning, in science, technology, english and acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 94 mathematics, tvet colleges, higher education and innovation, and developmental state ... the ngap programme is encouraging, because it is focused on predominantly black women, making sure they get to higher degrees ... we also get reports from universities on the bursaries, the yes programme, and another, tshepo 1 million programme in the gauteng province”; “then there’s one for artisan skills in the kzn ... labour (is) supposed to encourage workers to study and get exposed to all these issues. within the strategy, we also refer to the ilo conventions. as long as labour is aware of the convention, we’ll be able to train more and more workers.” hrdc also identified partnerships with training institutions as a strategic tool to drive transformation. the respondent explained: “encouraging partnerships with universities and tvet colleges ... i can proudly talk about the ngap programme because it was one of the recommendations to say dhet work together with the dst”; “we partner with other businesses like sasol and sedibeng tvet college, working together to try and look at the demand … with state of art equipment.” the hrdc boasts partnerships with both public and private entities for hands-on practical training on relevant fields (for example, with ford, nissan, and so on), using state-of-the-art equipment from all over the world. these tools and programmes are yielding transformation results as envisaged. the respondent explained: “we work together with the nrf to provide bursaries and do whatever. it was one of the recommendations. we also spoke to the dst, how far are they with the nrf and the funding that are supposed to be distributed to the phd students .... we collaborate with hrdc and dst on 5 programmes on foundation learning, innovation, and science and technology.” on monitoring and evaluation, the respondent answered: “we are responsible for the overall management and leadership of secretariat … monitoring and evaluation. there’s monitoring and evaluation and reporting, the hrd, through the hr coordination forum … we put measures in place for quality assurance”; “the technical teams ... for instance on development of academics, we ask ‘what were the results of the study in terms of production of academics’.” in the same way, the aveng group has specific programmes in which they participate to drive the transformation strategy. these include the yes programme, and the maths and science education and teacher-training programmes, which aim to provide quality highschool education to learners from disadvantaged communities. the respondent informed that, “[w]e support two schools that focus on mathematics and science, one in limpopo and the other in diepsloot”. musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 95 aveng conducts what they refer to as training of entrepreneurs. the respondent said that “they do training of black business entrepreneurs … giving back”. another programme they have is enterprise supply development (esd). the respondent stated that one aspect of enterprise supply and development is preferential procurement. in addition to monitoring and evaluation, compliance and lack thereof, is taken very seriously. the respondent explained that, for strategies to succeed, there have to be consequences because, “[w]hat we found was a general lack of compliance to policies and processes in the organisation because there were no consequences”. further, in a practical way, aveng linked performance on transformation programmes to businesses. the respondent explained: “we also changed to a point where we now have structured kpis in the system performance management, and in cases of senior people, it is directly linked to their bonuses as well.” in summary, to ensure progress towards transformation in their organisations, there was a concerted effort to engage individuals, employees, stakeholders as well as the community in education and skills development with a view to achieving transformation targets. 5.6 strategy implementation challenges the study revealed some common challenges in implementing the transformation strategies in all the institutions studied for this report. some of the challenges were reported as inadequate funding; demographics (age and gender) of those in senior positions; inadequate career awareness; academic training, and inadequate incentive structure to motivate and retain human resources. other challenges included low levels of participation and meaningful progress in the transformation agenda by some of the sector institutions; lack of effective monitoring and evaluation of transformation progress; prevalence of incoherent and inconsistent data; market concentration, monopolisation and ownership; lack of imposed penalty (punitive fines) arising from non-compliance; inadequate skills development and capacity, and resistance to change. some of these were evident in respondents’ statements: “[s]ome (staff) do move out and go into other opportunities which is fine, but i think in the whole human resource side we need to look at the incentive structures and so on. so i think it needs to be part of people’s career to be trained and developed and so on.” the science technology english and mathematics problem: “for example, now acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 96 we have a problem with the stem. so the standing committee that is looking at m&s is looking at who is supposed to be teaching m&s, what kind of teaching is supposed to take place.” therefore, in aiming to achieve transformation, it is important to tackle the barriers, with formal and informal structures (odi, 2017: online). transformation strategies should be developed so as to respond to the challenges. developing and planning for transformation in any sector should take cognisance of the barriers that could hinder progress, and address them during planning and implementation. in order to achieve sustainable transformation, a proactive, innovative and scalable approach to transformation is needed in the short to long term (busa, 2018: online). 6. conclusion and recommendations the objective of the study was to establish transformation strategies implemented in various sectors in south africa. four organisations were selected based on their transformation processes and progress, as evidenced from secondary research (desktop study). information was obtained on transformation strategies, as conceptualised and implemented by the sectors. transformation in the identified four organisations representing different sectors revealed some level of success with their strategies. the organisations with similar regulatory functions included basa and saica. the hrdc and the aveng group were selected based on their performance and significance in the south african economy. findings revealed that transformation among the sampled organisations was conceptualised based on social, economic and business imperatives, guided by the need to achieve equity in the demographics (racial and gender) of south africa; compliance with regulations; skills demand; contribution to the community, and objectives of the organisations. other findings showed that persons who were responsible for driving transformation and for monitoring the progress of implementation engaged stakeholders and employees, in developing the strategies. the establishment of committees to drive the transformation agenda was key in ensuring that transformation goals are achieved. recommendations were made in line with the findings of the study, as depicted in figure 2, to guide the development of the builtenvironment transformation strategy. transformation should be conceptualised with a view to redressing historical imbalances and providing expanded opportunities for worker education and skills musonda, gumbo & okoro • assessment of transformation strategies... 97 fi g ur e 2 : r e c o m m e nd a tio ns fo r t he b ui lt e nv iro nm e nt s tr a te g y d e ve lo p m e nt acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 98 development from the grassroots, with attention to the previously disadvantaged. the development of transformation initiatives should be based on established codes, legislation, sector needs as well as key stakeholder inputs. implementation of transformation strategies could be achieved through specific structured training and education programmes from the grassroots to professional level. the importance of monitoring compliance and progress on transformation was emphasised and, therefore, recommended. the limitations of the study lie in the fact that few participants were involved in the study; therefore, the generalisability of the findings is limited. further studies could employ a larger sample and/or incorporate other economic sectors to decipher if different findings could emerge. in addition, alternative research methods such as quantitative techniques could be adopted to investigate transformation strategies and their impact on, and effectiveness in organisations. further, the scope of the current study encompassed providing evidence for the development of a strategy by the cbe. the subsequent strategy developed by the cbe was, therefore, not part of the study. further studies may focus on the cbe strategy developed for the built environment. notwithstanding the limitations, the current study presents evidence on transformation strategies as conceptualised and implemented successfully in various organisations, the drivers and processes, role players and tools that could be 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http://www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_shaping_the_future_of_construction_full_report__.pdf http://www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_shaping_the_future_of_construction_full_report__.pdf _goback 58 paul bowen, rob pearl, keith cattell, kirsty hunter & john kelly the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa: a research agenda peer reviewed abstract it is common cause that, for the most part, public sector service delivery in south africa is in a state of disarray. problems associated with service delivery include shortages of skilled staff, under-spending of budgets, corruption, and a general lack of capacity. best value in public service delivery is clearly not being achieved. best value is an emerging initiative that aims to improve the quality of public services. the basic premise of the best value initiative is that the public service should procure services on the basis of value for money rather than on lowest cost. the literature suggests the use of value management with risk management within a project management framework to achieve value for money. this article outlines a research agenda for examining the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa. keywords: public sector, service delivery, value management, best value, south africa prof. paul bowen, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, cape town, south africa. tel. 021 650 3443, email: <bowenpa@eng.uct.ac.za> prof. rob pearl, school of civil engineering, surveying and construction, university of kwazulu-natal, durban, south africa. tel: 031 260 1434, email: <pearl@ukzn. ac.za> prof. keith cattell, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, cape town, south africa. tel: (021) 650 2452, email: cattellk@ebe.uct.ac.za dr kirsty hunter, school of the built and natural environment, glasgow caledonian university, glasgow, scotland. email: <k.hunter@gcal.ac.uk> prof. john kelly, school of the built and natural environment, glasgow caledonian university, glasgow, scotland. email: j.r.kelly@gcal.ac.uk bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 59 abstrak dit is algemene kennis dat die grootste deel van dienslewering in die openbare sektor in suid-afrika in wanorde is. probleme verantwoordelik daarvoor sluit in: personeel tekorte, onderbesteding van begrotings, korrupsie, en ’n algemene tekort aan bekwaamheid. bestewaarde in dienslewering is nie bereik nie. bestewaarde is ’n noodsaaklike inisiatief wat daarop gemik is om die kwaliteit van openbare dienste te verbeter. die basiese doel van die bestewaarde inisiatief is dat openbare dienslewering diense moet verskaf op die basis van waarde vir geld eerder as op die laagste koste. literatuur stel voor dat waardebestuur met risikobestuur binne ’n projekbestuurraamwerk gedoen word om waarde vir geld te kry. hierdie artikel gee ’n navorsingsagenda om die rol van waardebestuur in die bereiking van bestewaarde in openbare dienslewering in suid-afrika te evalueer. sleutelwoorde: openbare sektor, dienslewering, bestewaarde in dienslewering, suid-afrika 1. research context best value is an emerging initiative that aims to improve the quality of public services (hunter & kelly, 2004). the basic premise of the best value initiative is that the public service should procure services on the basis of value for money rather than on lowest cost. the literature suggests the use of value management with risk management within a project management framework to achieve value for money (hm treasury, 2004). keady (1998) describes best value as ‘representing the greatest challenge local government has ever faced’. its main goal is to improve service quality (higgins et al., 2004). the essence of the problem is captured by raine (2000), who stresses the importance of “bedding best value as a philosophy as much as a technical requirement into the thinking and behaviour of local authorities.” this article is concerned with effective public sector service delivery in south africa and the potential role of value management in achieving best value. more specifically, it outlines the nature of, and problems associated with, public sector service delivery in south africa, introduces the concept of ‘best value’ for service quality improvement, outlines the tenets of value management, and describes a research agenda for examining the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 60 2. the nature of public sector services in south africa 2.1 background the new south african government of national unity (gnu) inherited a state in 1994 with a public service which was 85% white and 3% female and was tuned to delivering quality public goods and services to a white minority. communities of non-whites received extremely poor services, to the extent that they were served at all (ruiters, 2006). the inefficiency of the state in implementing its inequitable approach to service delivery ultimately caused a decline in revenue from state-owned enterprises, which in turn, resulted in mass boycotts of rent and service charges (smith et al., 2003). 2.2 public service objectives of the new south african government the imperative for efficient public service delivery originates in section 195 (1) of the constitution of the republic of south africa, which stipulates that public administration should adhere to a number of principles, including that services must be provided impartially, and equitably and that resources should be utilised efficiently, economically and effectively (rsa, 1996). in fleshing out this goal, the need for public services and for an appropriate public service delivery programme in south africa was clearly articulated in policy papers published by the new government of national unity (gnu) in 1995 and 1997 (rsa, 1995, 1997). the white paper on the transformation of public service published in november 1995 identified public services as those necessary to address the basic needs of people, which “extend from job creation, land and agrarian reform to housing, water and sanitation, energy supplies, transport, nutrition, education, health care, the environment, social welfare and security” (rsa, 1995). the 1995 white paper’s mandate was to cover those parts of the public sector, both national and provincial, which are regulated by the public service act (proclamation 103/94), but it specifically aimed to be relevant to the remaining areas of the public sector, such as local government and parastatals (rsa, 1995).there was also a clearly stated intention that, in pursuance of the aims of redressing past imbalances in service provision and the promotion of social equity, the gnu would seek to apply affirmative or corrective action principles in the delivery of public services in the “short to medium term”. the intention was to concentrate on meeting the basic needs of the bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 61 estimated 40% of south african citizens living below the poverty line in urban and rural areas who had been previously disadvantaged in terms of service delivery. however, the 1995 white paper noted as being relevant to south africa the international trend towards “[a] n increasing emphasis on quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness” (rsa, 1995). the gnu intended improvement in public service delivery to apply to three types of delivery agency: (i) administrative agencies such as ministerial offices which provide services to other departments rather than directly to the public; (ii) service delivery agencies, such as government departments which deliver services directly to the public; and (iii) “statutory agencies, such as the public service commission and the auditor-general, which are established by the constitution or other legislation as bodies independent from the executive with important regulatory and monitoring functions with respect to the public service” (rsa, 1995). 2.3 envisaged problems in public service delivery for the new government, the most severe problem with the public service and the delivery of public services was that it was largely the same public service that had been in place under the previous apartheid government. consequently, it was unrepresentative and lacked legitimacy. further, it was characterised by a bureaucratic approach which focused on the administration of rules and procedures rather than on a service culture, and possessed a centralised and hierarchical managerial structure. this created a climate in which accountability was limited to bureaucratic accountability, leaving little incentive for the pursuance of efficiency and productivity. relatively poor pay levels resulted in a demotivated and unproductive staff. these problems “served to inhibit the development of a professional work ethic and commitment amongst public servants” (rsa, 1995). the introduction of the new government in 1994 did not immediately remove these historical problems. the 1995 white paper (rsa, 1995) recognised that strategies would need to be developed to deal with both historical and new problems, which were identified as: • fear of change (especially with regard to the planned rationalisation and affirmative action programmes); • the high risk of an exodus of skilled public servants (‘brain drain’); acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 62 • public perception that change is not occurring quickly enough; • lack of clear and well-communicated vision of change; • lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities; • lack of co-ordination; • persistence of a rule-bound culture; and • lack of skills and capacity. 2.4 the situation a decade after the transition post-1994, public sector functions were divided between three spheres of government. exclusive functions of the state at national level included national defence, the criminal justice system, higher education, water and energy resources and the administrative functions of home affairs and national taxation. at provincial level functions comprised provincial roads, ambulance services and provincial planning as well as several concurrent functions. at municipal level functions included the provision of water, electricity, refuse removal, municipal infrastructure and emergency services (ruiters, 2006). the original 840 municipalities were collapsed into 284 new, non-racial and democratically-elected local authorities (ruiters, 2006). these municipalities must generate 90% of their budget from recovering costs of local services from consumers and from property rates. problems have been experienced in this regard with several municipalities failing to recover costs (77% of south africa’s consumer debt of r24billion in 2003 was owed to the largest 16 municipalities [ruiters, 2006, citing business day, 5 march 2003]). in addition, there has been a problem with capital budget underspending by “major and medium-sized municipalities on key service delivery priorities such as housing [and] water” (ruiters, 2006 citing national treasury, 2005). the intended improvements in service delivery have not been realised, prompting central government in 2005 to pursue greater centralisation. this has taken the form of: • shifting certain functions to other spheres of government (e.g. social security from provincial to national level; and electricity distribution from municipalities to regional electricity distributors); • the imposition of strict requirements in terms of governance, finance and administration under the public management finance act which actually allows municipalities to be taken over by provinces; and bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 63 • national government seeking the power to control the deployment of local municipal staff in terms of the municipal employees bill (ruiters, 2006). the problems in service delivery can clearly be linked to the government’s neo-liberal policies and the consequent reduction in the size of the civil service. local authorities, for example, lost 35000 workers between 1997 and 2003. at national state department level the losses were even more severe. the resulting exodus of skills is principally responsible for government’s inability to spend revenue and deliver services effectively. the consequent trend towards the use of consultants has grown to such a degree that the government has referred to them as a “parallel state” (ruiters, 2006 citing dpsa, 2001). the high vacancy rate of senior managers in provincial and local government departments is a major problem that, unless remedied, will seriously compromise service delivery. in addition to the problem of a lack of management capacity, underspending, underqualified personnel and high levels of corruption also threaten service delivery (ruiters, 2006). ruiters (2006) reviews performance in a few sectors as follows. the schooling system is failing to produce school-leavers with the necessary skills; the semi-privatised telkom telephone company shut down more lines than it made new connections between 2002 and 2004; in several provinces the majority of residents still lack access to water on-site; and the inability of the police services to provide adequate personal and residential security has engendered a trend towards gated communities and private security companies. clearly, best value in public service delivery is not being achieved. 3. the concept of best value best value is a concept that has emerged since 1997. its main goal is to improve service quality. the key principles of best value are accountability, transparency, continuous improvement, and ownership (higgins et al., 2004). accountability ensures that simple and robust information is used to demonstrate performance. transparency requires decisions to be open and transparent, with evidence of clear reasoning. ownership permits anyone with an interest in local authority services to be involved with a relationship between the public service and its stakeholders. continuous improvement encourages local authorities to ask questions of themselves, questioning whether they are achieving their goals and if they could do better. acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 64 higgins et al. (2004) take this concept further by asserting that local authorities should have to demonstrate the four ‘c’s’ of best value, namely: ‘challenge’, ‘compare’, ‘consult’, and ‘compete’, and produce performance plans and action plans. ‘challenge’ involves reviewing the approach to services and ensuring that stakeholders are benefiting. challenge is considered by geddes & martin (1999) to be the most important of the four ‘c’s’ because it encourages local authorities to do a complete rethink of how they are providing their services. ‘compare’ ensures that performance is analysed and compared with others through benchmarking and by using key performance indicators (kpis). ‘consult’ serves to ensure that all necessary stakeholders are involved, such as the local community, staff and management. the ‘compete’ aspect of best value involves the local authority being subject to external competition if in-house services are not performing. linked to the four ‘c’s’ are the three ‘e’s’ of best value, namely, ‘economy’, ‘efficiency’ and ‘effectiveness’. ‘economy’ involves the careful management of resources by achieving lower process and higher productivity. ‘efficiency’ refers to making the most efficient use of resources, processes, procedures, etc., and ‘effectiveness’ is ensuring that actual performance meets planned performance. the literature scottish government publications (2006: online) also refers to a fourth ‘e’, namely, equal opportunities requirements. best value aims to improve the quality of local government services by using various tools to support best value – through the formulation of a performance plan, by paying due regard to the four ‘e’s’ of best value, and assigning targets for performance indicators. performance can be subject to external review. for example, in scotland, every five years a best value review (bvr) is conducted by audit scotland to ensure that the local authority is continuously improving and is performing to a high standard. this review challenges the ‘why and how’ a service is provided, undertakes comparisons across a range of indicators, consults local taxpayers, users and businesses, and embraces fair competition. a bvr can apply to one service, a sub-service, or can be cross-cutting. an example of a cross-cutting review would be the case of reviewing the quality of life for elderly people in the community by examining services such as library facilities, housing and leisure services (scottish government news, 2005: online). tools used in local government to support best value are quality tools such as the balanced scorecard and iso 9000. bovaird & halachmi (2001) assert that the best value philosophy has strong links to value bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 65 management (vm) (known as value engineering in the usa). vm is seen as a technique directed toward analysing the functions of an item or process to determine best value, or the best relationship between worth and cost (omb, 1993). bovaird & halachmi (2001) suggest the implementation of vm across all government agencies to facilitate the achievement of best value. 4. the concept of value management value management (vm) has its roots in the manufacturing industry of north america, becoming a recognised methodology in 1947 (kelly & male, 1993). vm has been defined as ‘a proactive, creative, problem-solving or problem-seeking service which maximises the functional value of a project by managing its development from concept to use’. bone & law (2000) define vm as “a structured framework for reviewing any product, process, project, or service,” with the vm workshop as its basic tenet (male et al., 1998). vm has also been described as a powerful method of creating the best value of products or services on the basis that the function must be maintained (fong et al., 2001). phillips (2002) suggests that vm is applicable to projects, programmes or services as a business refocusing tool. in essence, vm is a methodology to be adapted to the nature of the study and the values of importance to the client (see woodhead & downs, 2001). opinion varies as to when vm should be applied during a project life cycle (see, for example, green, 1994; merna, 2002; male et al., 1998). the uk office of government commerce (2003) procurement guidance on value and risk management applied to government projects specifies that vm should be used throughout the project life cycle and outlines the points in the gateway review process (grp) when vm should be applied. the gateway process is used to review projects above a certain monetary value to determine whether or not the project is ready to progress to the next stage. this is a similar concept to the process protocol developed by cooper et al. (2005). in terms of the gateway process, the use of vm is suggested prior to each of the six gateways (uk office of government commerce, 2003): • gateway review 0 (strategic assessment) – to identify stakeholder needs and priorities; • gateway review 1 (business justification) – to review the various options; acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 66 • gateway review 2 (procurement strategy) – to review the options in more detail in relation to the project brief and to develop output specifications; • gateway review 3 (investment decision) – to review the selection and award criteria; • gateway review 4 (readiness for service) – to review whole life costs and buildability; and • gateway review 5 (benefits evaluation) – to review the lessons learned. suffice it to say that opportunities to improve value may be lost if vm is applied infrequently, and likewise, if applied too often may retard the progress of the project. the vm standard (bs en 12973: 2000) outlines the attributes of value management, namely, better business decisions, increased effectiveness, improved products and services, enhanced competitiveness, a common value culture, multidisciplinary and multitask teamwork, and decisions which can be supported by all stakeholders. hiley & paliokostas (2001) distinguish between two categories of benefits resulting from vm: traditional benefits, that include enhancing quality and the elimination of unnecessary cost, and ‘soft’ benefits, such as better communication, team building and understanding between project members and stakeholders. their research established that the greatest positive impact of the use of vm was the formation of clear objectives (hiley & paliokostas, 2001). benefits discovered by woodhead & downs (2001) from the perspective of vm clients are: the unearthing of the true purpose of the project under review, a connection between strategic and tactical organizational goals, use of a structured process, improved relationships and management of the supply chain, a creative approach to planning and problem solving, provision of an audit trail, and greater commitment to projects. various authors have drawn attention to the use of vm in local authorities (see bone, 1993; woodhead & downs, 2001 and kelly et al., 2002, 2004). bone & law (2000) outline a number of business sectors that have used vm to add value to their businesses. these include the construction, manufacturing, automotive, infrastructure and transportation industries, as well as local and central government and the service industry. given the widespread use of vm in a variety of sectors, there appears no valid reason why vm cannot be applied within local authorities in south africa to facilitate the achievement of best value. bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 67 5. nature and objectives of the project this project is concerned with determining whether or not value management can be applied effectively and successfully to best value projects in the public sector. the research will review value management principles as they apply to manufacturing and construction before determining the possible implementation scenarios in local government projects. this will be done through the study of project stages, success factors, and characteristics to develop a generic project model applicable to the public service sector. the primary research proposition underpinning this research project is that: ‘value management is a service that can maximize the value of public sector services to achieve best value’ a preliminary analysis of the literature (see hunter, 2006) leads to the following ‘research propositions’: • the value management methodology can identify opportunities to add value for any type of public service project by making the best use of resources, identifying the project objectives, determining the clients’ values, and the requirements of the end-user; • current public sector thinking is founded on closed-system thinking and risk-free solutions; the use of value management workshops will encourage ‘out of the box’ thinking; • all projects, regardless of industry sector, undergo similar stages throughout the life of the project. similarly, preand post-contract stages are also comparable in terms of activities undertaken to prepare and acknowledge the project in core business (see cooper et al., 2005). in essence, then, similar issues appear at similar project stages and that these are generic in nature; • the audit of best value can be facilitated by the methodical process of value management, which can illustrate the route taken by local authorities to achieve best value; • a logical project framework is required that involves an integrated team of local authority staff, informed by consultations with stakeholders, to provide a suitable platform for achieving best value; and • notwithstanding the uncertainty associated with the stages of public sector projects, most time should be spent in the acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 68 strategic project stage using vm to ensure stakeholder requirements are considered – thus providing project managers with an improvement tool to inform decision making. to confirm the above propositions, the research objectives of this project are to: • review the available literature on the application of value management in the public sector; • evaluate existing approaches to managing public sector service projects; • examine the differences, if any, between local, provincial, and central government procurement of projects; • develop a generic project model to be used to identify project stages in industry sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and services; • determine the likely intervention points for a service and construct a new model to indicate the service value opportunities; • determine whether different projects ( e.g. construction and service related) at comparable intervention points, have similar issues and whether or not these issues can be predicted prior to a vm workshop; • determine the scope of being able to predict issues prior to a vm workshop (if this proves to be a possibility from the findings), and analyse the advantages to be derived for a vm practitioner, the construction industry, and the client; • review the generic project issues that may be present in a typical local authority project and test on a local authority; • provide advice as to the kinds of local government projects that may be susceptible to the vm methodology; and • determine the extent to which vm can support best value in local government with respect of service delivery. 6. scope of the research the scope of research in the context of local government projects will be limited to the western cape in general, and the cape metro in particular. in the western cape there are 30 local authorities. bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 69 by focusing the research on the 30 local authorities in the western cape, this will ensure that there is an adequate analysis of the population in terms of targeting all western cape authorities. best value is concerned with the ongoing performance of core business services. it will be argued in this article that value management is ‘project based’. it will be shown that vm can be used as a value enhancing mechanism once best value systems have highlighted a project for action. the scope of the research does not extend to a comprehensive investigation of value management in construction and manufacturing as the successful application of vm in these sectors has been achieved and is widely documented (see, for example, pasquire & maruo, 2001; kelly & male,1993). notwithstanding this caveat, this research project may utilise examples relating to government projects. 7. the research methodology the focus of this article is value management (vm), with best value as the main thrust. it is recognised that vm and best value have the same goal, namely, to maximise value for the customer. a preliminary review of the literature indicates that vm is a project-focused service and that the technique could be used to support the attainment of best value on local authority projects. given this, the research methodology proposed to confirm the research proposition is: • a grounded theory study on value management case studies to explore project issues; • a questionnaire study on local authority projects targeted at all western cape local authorities; • an action research study in a value management workshop on a local authority project(s); and • a combined desk study and case study to explore the use of vm in a best value project to propose a methodology for the application of vm within a best value arena. the purpose of these chosen research methods was to: • identify commonalities of project issues (generic project issues); acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 70 • explore local authority understanding of projects and identify the key points in the project life cycle where vm could be applied; • confirm that vm could be used successfully on a local authority project and to validate and test the generic issues identified in the grounded theory study; and • derive a logical project framework that uses a vm approach to achieve best value. the envisaged research outputs flowing from the application of the research methodology are: • a predictive framework of generic project issues that can be used in any vm workshop regardless of project type; • a local authority generic project model; • a project model that indicates the vm opportunity points – the application points in the project life cycle when vm should be applied; and • a logical framework that uses a vm approach to achieve best value. 8. proposed work plan the proposed work plan may be documented as follows: • background to the research and literature review: this phase will entail: a background review of best value, how it evolved and the emphasis on continual improvement; a review of the nature of public sector services, the function of a public service and the delivery of public services; a background review of value management and the characteristics of vm. • project stages and characteristics: this phase will entail: a literature review on project stages in order to inform a generic project model to identify value opportunities for any type of project regardless of type; exploring project success factors by outlining the successful characteristics of a project; the management of projects; and the issues that impact on projects. • development of a generic project model: this phase will entail, firstly, an examination of how best value, vm and projects all relate to each other; and, secondly, the development of a generic project model. bowen et al • the role of value management in achieving best value in public sector service delivery in south africa 71 • application of the research methodology: it is envisaged that this phase will most likely consist of 4 sections, namely: exploring the case studies in the form of vm workshop ° reports using grounded theory; a western cape local authority questionnaire survey on ° projects; an action research study in a vm workshop; and ° examining the measurement of best value and proposing a ° logical project framework for the application of vm in a best value project. • development of a logical project framework: this phase will entail exploring the role of vm in the public sector by proposing a logical project framework that brings best value and vm together – to help ensure that best value is achieved alongside the implementation of vm. • feedback and dissemination: the final phase of the study will entail writing a report to summarise the findings of the study. in addition, feedback seminars will be provided to western cape local authorities. finally, the results will be disseminated to the wider academic community via the publication of journal and conference papers. 9. beneficiaries of the research project the beneficiaries of the project will be: • collaborating local authority clients and their construction supply chains through the development and implementation of a benchmarked continuous improvement programme; • procuring local authorities with major development programmes by being in a better position to judge the level and extent of the service they would receive from providers, and also how to approach their own internal processes more effectively within development programmes. this will help ensure that good practice is implemented within their programmes and on their projects; • providers of construction industry services by judging the appropriateness of their own service against researched good practice; • the government because this study is consistent with the call for quality improvement, value for money, and best practice within both the public and private sectors of the construction industry; acta structilia 2007: 14(2) 72 • the construction industry in general through improved communication and understanding of client needs and requirements. 10. collaborating local authorities at this stage it is impossible to state the full nature and extent of local authority collaboration in the project. swartland municipality has already agreed to participate in the project. suffice it to say at this stage that every effort will be made to secure the co-operation of the cape town metro and the local authorities in the western cape. 11. related research linked to the above research programme are areas identified for possible concurrent or future research activity, namely: • using value management for effective client briefing (covering strategic needs analysis; 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http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels idowu albert mr idowu albert, department of construction management, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa, email: <idowualbertino@yahoo.com> winston shakantu prof. winston shakantu, department of construction management, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa, email: <winston.shakantu@mandela. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4334-5004 saidu ibrahim dr saidu ibrahim, department of quantity survey, federal university of technology, pmb 39, niger minna, state nigeria. phone: +234 8037796321, email: <saidu.ibr@ futminna.edu.ng> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.6 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2021 28(1): 142-167 the effect of poor materials management in the construction industry: a case study of abuja, nigeria received: september 2018 peer reviewed and revised: february 2019 published: june 2021 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract effective materials management on construction sites is handled carelessly by construction practitioners. this may result in several challenges such as materials waste generation, poor quality of work, project delays, and poor materials flow. construction practitioners in abuja, nigeria, do not understand the consequences of these challenges to construction projects. this article investigates the effect of poor materials management on materials waste, quality of work, and project profitability in construction projects in nigeria. a qualitative research approach was adopted in the study which included collective case study investigations. the population for the study was ongoing building project sites (ten case studies purposefully selected) in abuja. the research instrument was directcovert observation by the researchers to observe and record the construction processes, people’s behaviour, actions and interactions relating to materials management. the construction processes observed included materials usage onsite, loading/ offloading of materials from procurement, storages, http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:idowualbertino@yahoo.com mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 143 as well as materials handling and movement on site. recording sheets with checklists were pre-set with statements (likert items) and responses to observe and document the effect of poor materials management. the statements were rated on an ordinal three-point likert scale. the observed/collected data were analysed using descriptive methods to determine the modal values. the findings from the study revealed that poor materials management has a considerable effect on material waste generation on any construction project site; moderate effects on quality of building projects, and both considerable and moderate effects on profitability in the construction projects. based on these findings, it can be concluded that effective management of materials in construction projects would reduce the amount of waste generation, increase the quality of construction work, and offer optimum profitability to construction contractors. it is, therefore, recommended that the construction industry in nigeria should collaborate with government agencies to develop guidelines for preparing a waste management plan for the construction industry. keywords: building materials, construction industry, materials management, poor materials management abstrak effektiewe materiaalbestuur op konstruksieterreine word onverskillig deur konstruksiepraktisyns hanteer. dit kan lei tot verskeie uitdagings soos die opwekking van materiaalafval, swak gehalte werk, vertragings in die projek en swak vloei van materiaal. die konstruksiepraktisyns in abuja, nigerië, verstaan nie die gevolge van hierdie uitdagings vir bouprojekte nie. hierdie artikel ondersoek die effek van swak materiaalbestuur op materiaalafval, kwaliteit van die werk en projekwinsgewendheid in konstruksieprojekte in nigerië. ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is in die studie gebruik, wat kollektiewe gevallestudie-ondersoeke insluit. die bevolking vir die studie was deurlopende bouprojekpersele (tien gevallestudies wat doelgerig gekies is) in abuja. die navorsingsinstrument was direkte-geheime waarneming deur die navorser om die konstruksieprosesse, mense se gedrag, optrede en interaksies wat met materiaalbestuur verband hou, waar te neem en op te teken. die opgemerkte konstruksieprosesse sluit in die gebruik van materiaal op die terrein, laai/aflaai van materiaal vanaf verkryging, opbergings, en materiaalhantering en -beweging op die terrein. optekenblaaie met kontrolelyste is vooraf opgestel met stellings (likertitems) en antwoorde om die effek van swak materiaalbestuur waar te neem en te dokumenteer. die stellings is op ’n gewone drie-punt likert-skaal beoordeel. die waargenome/versamelde data is geanaliseer met behulp van beskrywende metodes om die modale waardes te bepaal. die bevindinge uit die studie het getoon dat swak materiaalbestuur ’n groot uitwerking het op die opwekking van materiaalafval op enige konstruksieprojek; matige effekte op die kwaliteit van bouprojekte; en beide ’n groot en matige uitwerking op winsgewendheid in die bouprojekte. op grond van hierdie bevindings kan die gevolgtrekking gemaak word dat effektiewe bestuur van materiale in die konstruksieprojek sal lei tot die vermindering van die hoeveelheid afvalopwekking, verhoogde gehalte van konstruksiewerk en optimale winsgewendheid vir konstruksiekontrakteurs. dit word dus aanbeveel dat die konstruksiebedryf in nigerië saamwerk met regeringsinstansies om riglyne te ontwikkel vir die opstel van ’n afvalbestuursplan vir die konstruksiebedryf. sleutelwoorde: boumateriaal, konstruksiebedryf, materiaalbestuur, swak materiaalbestuur acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 144 1. introduction the nigerian construction sector plays an important role in the economic development of the country, as it has contributed roughly half of the total stock of fixed capital investment in the nigerian economy (ugwu & attah, 2016: 754; wahab, 2010: 94). the cost of construction materials may be 50% to 70% of the total construction expenditure, depending on the type of construction project (arijeloye & akinradewo, 2016: 169; albert, 2014: 2; patel & vyas, 2011: 1). construction waste has been identified as one of the major problems in the nigerian construction industry that presents significant implications for the efficiency in the industry as well as the adverse impacts on the environment (muleya & kamalondo, 2017: 2). sources of waste include unused materials, incorrect materials, surplus stencils or nails, packages of construction materials or components, surplus concrete materials resulting from fractures or deformations, due to improper storage or preservation of construction materials and components arriving at the construction site (albert & shakantu, 2017: 10). others include poor materials handling, resulting in breakage; erroneous cuttings, increasing quantities of waste; improper or faulty equipment, delaying project completion; poor storage facilities, making it difficult to coordinate the storage requirements for the various subcontractors; poor workmanship, impacting negatively on the quality standard set up by management, and inaccurate measurements, leading to poor accounting for materials (aziz & hafez, 2013: 683). managing materials on construction sites is a serious issue among nigerian subcontractors. sometimes, materials on site need to be moved from one place to another, resulting in additional costs (arijeloye & akinradewo, 2016: 175). the difficulty in storing materials on site, due to limited space, is another problem in nigerian construction material management. sometimes, machinery cannot be adjusted on site, due to space or mismanagement of site activities. many construction projects apply manual methods for tracking materials, and this involves paper-based techniques that can become problematic, due to many human errors (kasim, latiffi & fathi, 2013: 7). albert and shakantu (2017: 9) posit that the construction process depends on having the right people with the appropriate skills who are able to deliver the project on time and on budget. therefore, the main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of poor materials management (pmm) in the nigerian construction industry, with a view to enhancing site materials management and reducing waste. without identifying the effect of pmm on materials waste, quality of work and project profitability, it may be difficult to enhance site materials management and reduce waste in the nigerian construction industry. albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 145 2. literature review 2.1 materials management in the construction industry materials management is defined as the process to provide the right material to the right place on time and in the right quantity, in order to minimize the cost of a project (kulkarni, sharma & hote, 2017: 475). the main goal of materials management is to ensure a smooth flow of materials from the time the materials are ordered until they are used. in order to make materials management on site effective, a proper integrated materials handling process that includes the planning, identification, procuring, storage, receiving and distribution of material, should be in place (dallasega & rauch, 2017: 1888). the construction industry involves the physical erection of structures using construction equipment, materials, supplies, supervision, and management that are necessary to accomplish the project (clough, sears & sears, 2000). it involves many organisations such as clients or owners, architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers and vendors. it also includes the heterogeneous and often complex process of producing unique, large and immovable products with a supply of the resources (money, equipment, material, and labour). unfortunately, the nature of the complexity, uncertainty and dynamics of most of the construction projects creates difficulties for even the best project managers (duy, ogunlana & thi xuan, 2004: 404). in addition, they are challenged by materials shortages, delays in supply, price fluctuations, damage and wastage, and lack of storage space (asmara, 2015: 13; kasim, 2011: 33; ying, tookey & roberti, 2014: 263). construction materials management is defined as a reduction in the amount and environmental effect of material waste generated, by reducing the amount of materials used in a construction project (adafin, daramola & ayodele, 2010: 62). construction companies, which support an integrated material management process, practise the design and construction of new structures or the re-modelling of existing structures, in order to use materials more efficiently (kulkarni et al., 2017: 475; muleya & kamalondo, 2017: 5). this means that an excellent management system for handling materials from the design stage to the usage of the materials throughout the construction period contributes to the overall performance improvement of construction projects in terms of duration, budget, quality, productivity and material waste (asmara, 2015: 13-14; arijeloye & akinradewo, 2016: 169; kulkarni et al., 2017: 475). construction companies that do not implement a proper materials control and management system often experience cost and time overruns, substandard work, disputes and abandonment (adafin et al., 2010: 63; acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 146 adewuyi, 2012; ameh & itodo, 2013: 474). improper materials control results in careless handling of materials, excessive expenditure on materials, profit loss for the contractor, and loss for the supplier when mishandled materials are rejected and returned (omotosho, 2006). 2.2 effect of poor materials management pmm can have a negative impact on cost as a result of excessive waste, quality and time of work, which will affect project delivery and profitability. 2.2.1 effect on construction waste previous research on the causes of waste reveals that it may occur at any stage of the construction process from inception, through design, construction and operation of the built facility, due to one or a combination of many factors (muhwezi, chamuriho & lema, 2012: 13). ameh and itodo (2013: 748) believe that building material wastage on construction sites accounts for cost overruns, because the vast majority of the managers of construction projects pay hardly any attention to the effects of the generated material waste on cost overruns. meanwhile, osmani, glass and price (2008: 1149) believe that construction waste is effectively generated throughout the construction project, from beginning to completion, with the pre-construction stage accounting for a considerable amount. table 1 summarises the origin and causes of construction waste. table 1: origin and causes of construction waste s/n origins of waste causes of waste sources in literature 1 contractual errors in contract documents contract documents incomplete at commencement of construction osmani et al., 2008; ekanayake & ofori, 2004; zaneldin, 2006 2 design design changes design and detailing complexity design and construction detail errors unclear/unsuitable specification poor coordination and communication (late information, last minute client requirements, slow drawing revision and distribution) lu & yuan, 2011; osmani et al., 2008; llatas, 2011; faniran & caban, 1998 3 procurement ordering errors (i.e., ordering items not in compliance with specification) over-allowances (i.e., difficulties in ordering small quantities) supplier errors rajendran & gomez, 2012; muhwezi et al., 2012; ameh & itodo, 2013; kulkarni et al., 2017 albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 147 s/n origins of waste causes of waste sources in literature 4 transportation damage during transportation difficulties for delivery vehicles accessing construction sites insufficient protection during unloading inefficient methods of unloading muhwezi et al., 2012; osmani et al., 2008; faniran & caban, 1998 5 on-site management and planning lack of on-site waste management plans improper planning for required quantities delays in passing information on types and sizes of materials and components to be used lack of on-site material control lack of supervision tam, 2008; bossink & brouwers, 1996; faniran & caban, 1998; osmani et al., 2008 6 material storage inappropriate site storage space leading to damage or deterioration improper storing methods materials stored far away from point of application bossink & brouwers, 1996; osmani et al., 2008; arijeloye & akinradewo, 2016 7 material handling materials supplied in loose form on-site transportation methods from storage to the point of application inadequate material handling arijeloye & akinradewo, 2016; asmara, 2015; kasim, 2011 8 site operation accidents due to negligence unused materials and products equipment malfunction poor craftsmanship use of wrong materials resulting in their disposal time pressure poor work ethics gürcanli & müngen, 2013; doloi, sawhney, iyer & rentala, 2012; osmani et al., 2008 9 residual waste from application processes (i.e., over-preparation of mortar) off-cuts from cutting materials to length waste from cutting uneconomical shapes packaging rajendran & gomez, 2012; osmani et al., 2008; bossink & brouwers, 1996 table 2 summarises the origin and causes of construction waste that occurred on brazilian building sites. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 148 table 2: origin and causes of construction waste on brazilian building sites s/n origin causes sources in literature 1 overproduction this is the production of a quantity greater than required or earlier than necessary, resulting in waste of materials, man-hours or equipment usage. it usually produces inventories of unfinished products or even their total loss, in the case of materials that can deteriorate. an example of this type of waste is the overproduction of mortar that cannot be used on time. ugochukwu, agugoesi, mbakwe & abazuonu, 2017; pérez & costa, 2018; ali, arun & krishnamurthy, 2017 2 substitution this is monetary waste caused by the substitution of a material by a more expensive one with an unnecessary better performance, the execution of simple tasks by an over-qualified worker, or the use of highly sophisticated equipment where much simpler equipment would be adequate. butera, christensen & astrup, 2015; alwan, jones & holgate, 2017; bossink & brouwers, 1996 3 waiting time this relates to the idle time caused by lack of synchronisation and levelling of material flows and pace of work by different groups or equipment. one example is the idle time caused by the lack of material or of work place available for a gang. ugochukwu et al., 2017; alwa, et al., 2017; formoso, isatto & hirota, 1999 4 transportation this has to do with the internal movement of materials on site. excessive handling, the use of inadequate equipment, or bad conditions of pathways can cause this kind of waste. it is usually related to poor layout and lack of planning of material flows asmara, 2015; rajendran & gomez, 2012; tam, 2008; bossink & brouwers, 1996 5 processing related to the nature of the processing activity that could only be avoided by changing the construction technology. for example, a percentage of mortar is usually wasted when a ceiling is being plastered. arijeloye & akinradewo, 2016; faniran & caban, 1998; bossink & brouwers, 1996 6 inventories related to excessive or unnecessary inventories which lead to material waste by deterioration, losses due to inadequate stock conditions on site, robbery, vandalism and monetary losses, due to the capital that is tied up. it could be a result of lack of resource planning or uncertainty on the estimation of quantities. kasim, 2011; osmani et al., 2008; tam, 2008 7 movement concerned with unnecessary or inefficient movements made by workers during their job and this might be caused by inadequate equipment, ineffective work methods, or poor arrangement of the working place. formoso et al., 1999; asmara, 2015; ugochukwu et al., 2017 albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 149 s/n origin causes sources in literature 8 production of defective products this also occurs when the final or intermediate product does not fit the quality specifications. it may lead to rework or to the incorporation of unnecessary materials to the building that is, indirect waste, such as the excessive thickness of plastering. it can also be caused by a wide range of reasons such as poor design and specification, lack of planning and control, poor qualification of the teamwork, lack of integration between design and production. ugochukwu et al., 2017; muhwezi et al., 2012 formoso et al., 1999 the effect of pmm on materials waste is as follows: • increases quantities of waste. • negatively impacts on the waste management plan. • negatively impacts on the proposal for material waste recycling, recovering and disposal. • leads to mixing of waste. • makes it difficult to monitor the waste management plan. • makes it difficult to manage waste-related key performance indicators (kpis). • makes it difficult to manage site waste management plan cost data. • negates the effort for minimizing materials utilisation. • impinges on the need to assess and identify materials waste streams. • makes it difficult to account for materials waste. • makes it difficult to implement a materials waste management policy. 2.2.2 effect on quality of work pmm has a negative impact on the quality of construction work (ameh & itodo, 2013: 474). quality management in construction projects means maintaining the quality of construction works at the required standard to obtain customer’s satisfaction that will bring long-term competitiveness and business survival for the companies (khalek, aziz & sharabash, 2016: 391). construction firms worldwide are actively engaged in achieving internationally accepted quality levels to ensure sustainability in the current competitive market (abdul-rahman, wang & yap, 2010: 3744; khalek et al., 2016: 391; sinha, garg & dhall, 2016: 338). construction acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 150 firms must, therefore, provide the tools, techniques and procedures for a proper total quality control plan (khalek et al., 2016: 391). implementing the principles of total quality management (tqm) in the construction industry is not an easy matter (hoonakker, carayon & loushine, 2010: 955). some reasons are ‘the transient nature’ of building and construction, the lack of standardisation, and the many parties involved. the conservative nature of the construction industry is another reason (hoonakker et al., 2010: 955). to minimize the negative effect of pmm on the quality of work, construction firms should employ a quality control and management programme that focuses on the main principles of tqm (forbes & ahmed, 2011: 232). these principles focus, among others, on customers, processes, teamwork, employee participation and continuous overall improvement of the firm (forbes & ahmed, 2011: 232). according to kuo and kuo (2010: 623), construction firms that implement a tqm plan focus on: • leadership ability that refers to the extent to which top management embraces the concept of total quality management in construction business implementation. • human resources management, where top management supports quality improvement plans, systematically provides training courses, and creates an environment in which self-directedness in goal setting and implementation are facilitated. • process management, where the construction industry empowers its project leaders or other professionals to manage project execution during the project planning and design process. • cooperation of firms’ management, where the firm emphasises the measurement of the cooperation relationship with external alliances, in terms of the responsibility of quality improvement, the communication channels, and providing clear instructions of quality requirements to the cooperating firms. • continuous quality improvement and information on the firm’s strategies in continuous quality improvement, including obtaining customers’ feedback, the efficiency of gathering feedback, encouraging employees’ quality improvement ideas, and providing rewards for quality improvement innovations. in practice, this means that construction firms with improved quality control plans are characterised by, for example, employee involvement, management commitment, a skilled workforce, communication between managers and employees, sufficient training and education, and subcontractors’ involvement (kuo & kuo, 2010: 623). these firms also have well-defined roles and responsibilities, clearly defined goals and objectives, review/analysis used to improve performance, regular inspections and albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 151 audits, incentives for good performance, regular meetings, criteria used in pre-qualification in the bidding process, and written programmes or policies (hoonakker et al., 2010: 959). construction firms that implement tqm principles in their quality control plans have the benefit of survival in an increasingly competitive world, better service to customers, and enhancement of the organisation’s shareholder value (forbes & ahmed, 2011: 231-232). these firms improve the overall quality and safety of facilities, reduce project durations and costs, and utilize the talents of its people (forbes & ahmed, 2011: 231-232; senaratne & jayarathna, 2012: 103). all these activities will ensure that an organisation can provide a quality product at the right time, lowest cost and to the customer’s specific specifications (senaratne & jayarathna, 2012: 103). focusing on tqm, the effect of pmm on quality of work can be summarised as follows: • quality of work is compromised, because pmm leaves some materials spoiled. • impacts negatively on the quality of some of the materials on site. • negates the quality standard set up by management. • negates materials quality control. • makes it difficult to conduct materials quality audits. 2.2.3 effect on project profitability construction materials contribute significantly to the cost of any project. material wastage thus has a negative impact on construction costs, contractor’s profit margin, construction duration and can be a possible source of dispute among parties to a project (adewuyi & odesola, 2015: 83). the primary focus of a contractor is to deliver a project safely while maximising profit. contractors need to survive, and this is based on the profit realised as a result of their expertise (aiyetan & smallwood, 2013: 1162). nguyen, ogunlana and lan (2004: 404) acknowledge that a construction project is successful when it is completed on time, within budget, in accordance with specifications, and to the stakeholders’ satisfaction. functionality, profitability to contractors, absence of claims and ‘fitness for purpose’ for occupiers have also been used as measures of project success. the generation of wastes means loss of profits to contractors, due to extra overhead costs and delays in work execution, which lead to lower productivity (muhwezi et al., 2012: 12). contractors and other stakeholders must, therefore, be educated and sensitized about the strategies and acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 152 benefits of waste minimization on construction projects and the cost-saving measures that can be followed in waste reduction, which can ultimately result in increased profit margins (muhwezi et al., 2012: 18). materials management on site should seek to reduce loss of profit, due to theft, damage and wastage, as well as running out of stock (kasim, anumba & dainty, 2005: 795). in addition, management of construction materials in building projects can raise the project profit dramatically and save considerable time (zeb, malik, nauman, hanif & amin, 2015: 170). the effects of pmm on profitability are as follows: • pmm increases waste, thus reducing profitability. • suboptimal accounting for materials affects profitability. • poor site storage of materials leads to theft of materials, resulting in low profitability. • poor site storage of materials leads to damage/destruction, thus reducing profitability. • suboptimal materials quality leads to rework and decreases profitability. • pmm increases health and safety incidents, leading to claims/ expenses and affecting profitability. 3. research method this study investigates the effect of pmm in the construction industry in terms of materials waste, quality, and profitability in abuja, nigeria. the research adopted the qualitative method of research inquiry (cresswell, 2006: 54). although there are several types of qualitative methods such as, for instance, narrative analysis, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, the collective case study approach was deemed appropriate for this research (cresswell, 2006: 57). in this study, direct observation in the in-depth case studies provided an understanding of the pmm on construction sites (taylor-powell & steele, 1996: 1). as a research method, observation enables researchers to obtain a detailed description of social settings or events to situate people’s behaviour within their own sociocultural context (hennink, hutter & bailey, 2011: 170). observation provides the opportunity to document activities, behaviour and physical aspects without depending on peoples’ willingness and ability to respond to questions (taylor-powell & steele, 1996: 1). 3.1 study area the assessment was based on building construction project sites in the federal capital territory (fct) of nigeria. abuja is within the middle belt albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 153 region of nigeria. the capital city abuja is located within the wider abuja municipal area council. the territory is currently made up of six area councils, namely abaji, abuja municipal area council (amac), bwari, gwagwalada, kuje, and kwali. amac is the area under study. this area consists of 11 wards, namely city centre, garki, gwagwa, gwarimpa, jiwa, karshi, kabusa, karu, nyanya, orozo, and wuse. the study was carried out in the 11 wards under amac, but only 10 projects within the geographical area meet the purposive sampling requirement. 3.2 population and sample the population for this study is building construction sites in abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria, because it is one of nigeria’s metropolitan cities with the highest population of the built environment professionals in the country. it has many ongoing building construction projects, the proximity of the researcher’s state of origin to the study area (fct, abuja), and the location of the construction projects in the same area makes the study more economical in terms of cost and time. from this population, a sample of ten building projects were selected, with a value of 100 million naira and above, using purposive non-probability sampling techniques. the rationale for the purposive non-probability (typical case sampling selection) is that building construction projects of this value and above are typically likely to have pmm compared with projects of less value (patton, 2002: 236). 3.3 data collection the data were sourced from ten both public and private construction project sites within abuja, nigeria, with a project value of up to 100 million naira and above. between november 2018 and february 2019, the researcher visited each of these project sites and used covert observation (no one knows that they are being observed and the observer is a concealed or embedded research) to observe and record people’s behaviour, actions and interactions (mckechnie, 2008: 133). the observation was done for an average period of four hours for the four-month period. the study considered the majority of the building materials such as blocks/ bricks, timber, cement, reinforcement, mortar and aggregate (both fine and coarse) used in projects. these materials represent a significant percentage of the total cost of buildings in most of the traditionally built residential and commercial buildings in nigeria. the construction processes observed included materials usage onsite, loading/offloading of materials from procurement, storages, as well as materials handling and movement on site. the site workers involved in each operation were observed. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 154 for data collection, based on the literature review, recording sheets with checklists were pre-set with statements (likert items) and responses to observe and document the effect of pmm related to material waste, quality, and profitability. recording sheet 1 consists of 11 statements (likert items) on the effect of pmm on materials waste. the observer rated quantities of waste, waste management plan, waste recycling and disposal, mixing, kpi, costs, utilisation, waste streams, account waste, and waste policy in terms of materials usage onsite, loading/offloading of materials from procurement, storages, as well as materials handling and movement on site. recording sheet 2 consists of five statements (likert items) on the effect of pmm on quality. the observer rated spoiled materials, onsite materials quality, standards, control, and audits in terms of the materials usage onsite, loading/offloading of materials from procurement, storages, as well as materials handling and movement on site. recording sheet 3 consists of six statements (likert items) on the effect of pmm on profitability. the observer rated increased waste, suboptimal accounting, theft, damaged materials, rework, health and safety claims in terms of the materials usage onsite, loading/offloading of materials from procurement, storages, as well as materials handling and movement on site. for the purpose of anonymity, the names of the project sites are not disclosed in this article. instead, they are represented by case study (cs) numbers cs1-cs10. 3.4 data analysis and interpretation the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 23 was used to conduct descriptive analysis of the data computing the mode that describes the most frequently occurring effect of pmm in construction (field, 2013). to measure the central tendency of the effect of pmm on materials waste, quality and profitability, the statements (likert items) were rated on an ordinal three-point likert scale. likert-type scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure the strength of the researcher’s perceived agreement or disagreement with statements (likert items) (schmee & oppenlander, 2010: 14). the following scale measurement was used regarding modal value, where 1 = high effect; 2 = moderate effect, and 3 = low effect. 3.5 limitation(s) of the study this research focuses on the effect of pmm in building projects in abuja, federal capital territory of nigeria. this article only focuses on knowing the level of effects of pmm on waste generation, quality and profitability. subsequent research will address the mitigation strategies. this research uses observation of what was observed on site with the observation guide by the observer (researcher). no interviews were conducted. thus, the voice of the contractor/consultants was not considered. albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 155 4. results and discussion 4.1 effect of poor materials management on materials waste table 3: effect of poor materials management on materials waste statement case studies 3 = high effect; 2 = moderate effect; 1 = low effect mode cs1 cs2 cs3 cs4 cs5 cs6 cs7 cs8 cs9 cs10 pmm increases quantities of waste 3 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 pmm negatively impacts on the waste management plan 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 3 2 1 & 3 pmm negatively impacts on the proposal for material waste recycling, recovering and disposal 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 pmm leads to mixing of waste 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 1 1 pmm makes it difficult to monitor the waste management plan 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 pmm makes it difficult to manage wasterelated kpis 2 1 1 3 2 3 2 3 3 2 2 & 3 pmm makes it difficult to manage site waste management plan cost data 3 1 1 1 3 3 2 3 2 2 3 pmm negates the effort for minimizing materials utilisation 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 pmm impinges on the need to assess and identify materials waste streams 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 pmm makes it difficult to account for materials waste 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 & 3 pmm makes it difficult to implement a materials waste management policy 3 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 total 3 an overall model value of 3 (see table 3) demonstrates that pmm has a high effect on material waste in the construction industry in abuja, nigeria. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 156 this means that pmm exacerbates the problem of wastage of materials on sites. the results show that pmm increases the quantity of materials waste. this finding was supported by saidu and shakantu (2016: 106) that imprudent materials management does increase material waste on construction sites, with an additional result of a corresponding increase in the amount of cost overrun for a project. in addition, material waste has a significant impact on the cost of a project as well as an adverse impact on the environment (nagapan, rahman, asmi, memon & latif, 2012: 325). the study found that a waste management plan has a high effect on construction site materials wastage. this finding corroborates studies by tam (2008: 1074), bossink & brouwers (1996: 57), faniran & caban (1998: 183), and osmani et al. (2008: 1149), as highlighted in table 1. it is important to understand what wastes are likely to be generated and then focus on how the generation of those wastes can be avoided or minimized. regarding monitoring of the waste management plan, it was observed that pmm negatively impacts on the waste management plan. this corroberates the findings of dania, kehinde and bala (2007: 128) that site materials waste management is very poor and has much room for improvement. a waste management plan, therefore, provides an idea about different kinds of waste and how they can be managed to ensure minimal to no negative effect on the construction project. effective waste management approaches could reduce the negative impact of the construction industry on the environment. mixing of waste also had a negative effect on the construction sites. this corroborates the report of cox (2018) that mixing waste for disposal makes it almost impossible to meet the organisation’s waste management targets. the mixing of waste on sites should be avoided, as it is difficult to separate the waste at a later stage. efforts at minimising materials utilisation, site waste management plan cost data and a waste management policy had a moderate to high effect on the control of materials wastage. it is imperative to determine the waste-related kpis that are best for construction projects, because it is evident from the results in table 3 that waste-related kpis have a high effect on materials waste on construction sites. this means that the management teams selected the right kpi for the construction companies. this finding supports a study by chan and chan (2004: 203), which established that, in order to identify the ‘real’ success factors of construction projects, it is important to identify parameters (kpis) for benchmarking projects at the project selection phase, in order to achieve good project performance. pmm has a low effect on materials waste streams, because waste is not sorted into specific streams, from its source through to recovery, recycling albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 157 or disposal process on construction projects. this implies that pmm has a negative effect on construction projects. this contradicts a report by towing (1998) that recycling and controlled management of construction waste streams would save land and create better opportunities for handling other kinds of waste. in this context, managing materials waste means eliminating waste, where possible, minimising waste, where feasible, and reusing materials that might otherwise become waste. therefore, producing a site waste management plan before the start of a construction project would help achieve good practice waste management. 4.2 effect of poor materials management on quality table 4: effect of poor materials management on quality statement case studies 3 = high effect; 2 = moderate effect; 1 = low effect mode cs1 cs2 cs3 cs4 cs5 cs6 cs7 cs8 cs9 cs10 quality of work is compromised, because pmm leaves some materials spoiled 3 1 1 1 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 pmm impacts negatively on the quality of some of the materials on site 3 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 pmm negates the quality standard set up by management 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 pmm negates materials quality control 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 pmm makes it difficult to conduct materials quality audits 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 total 2 an overall modal value of 2 (see table 4) demonstrates that pmm has a moderate effect on quality in the construction industry in abuja, nigeria. it is clear from table 4 that the statement “poor materials management negates materials quality control” was considered to have a high effect on quality, since it has a modal value of 3. this is in tandem with the findings of khalek et al. (2016: 394) on achieving quality in materials management in construction projects. quality control is that part of quality management that ensures that products and services comply with requirements and standards. one way of controlling quality is based on the inspection or verification of products. the statements with moderate effects on quality were: pmm impacts negatively on the quality of some of the materials on site; pmm negates acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 158 the quality standard set up by management, and pmm makes it difficult to conduct materials quality audits. these were considered to have moderate effects on quality, because they all have modal values of 2. these results corroborate the findings of khalek et al. (2016: 394), who highlighted that onsite delivery of substandard materials and products is one of the major problems impacting negatively on the quality of materials on site. a quality audit is a review of how well the key areas of the project quality plan are being followed. the purpose of the audit is to determine whether the quality plan is working as intended. to achieve a successful materials quality audit, first, the correct procedures specified in the quality plan should be followed and, secondly, they should be followed consistently (oakland, 2014; dale, van der wiele & van iwaarden, 2007; juran, 1999). it is the responsibility of the contractor to assure the client of continuous conformity with the appropriate standards and regulations, and to conduct quality control through self-inspection, quality assurance, quality directing, and quality auditing. 4.3 effect of poor materials management on profitability table 5: effect of poor materials management on profitability statement case studies 3 = high effect; 2 = moderate effect; 1 = low effect mode cs1 cs2 cs3 cs4 cs5 cs6 cs7 cs8 cs9 cs10 pmm increases waste, thus reducing profitability 2 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 & 3 pmm leads to suboptimal accounting for materials, thus affecting profitability 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 1 2 & 3 poor site storage of materials leads to theft of materials, thus leading to low profitability 3 3 1 3 3 3 2 2 1 2 3 poor site storage of materials leads to damage/ destruction, thus reducing profitability 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 pmm increases suboptimal materials quality, thus leading to rework and decreasing profitability 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 pmm increases health and safety incidents, thus leading to claims/expenses and affecting profitability 3 3 2 1 1 3 3 2 3 2 3 total 2 & 3 albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 159 overall modal values of 2 and 3 (see table 5) demonstrate that pmm has a moderate to high effect on profitability in the construction industry in abuja, nigeria. the reason why contractors fail to achieve their desired profitability after winning a contract is that the materials required to complete the project are not managed properly during the construction period (kerzner, 2002). it was found that pmm increases waste, thus reducing profitability of construction projects. this means that materials waste on site reduces the contractors’ profits. this corroborates the submission that prevention and managing the causes of wastage may help reduce the impact on the project and increase profits (ahankoob, khoshnava, rostami & preece 2012: 196). there is a need to reduce materials waste on site, in order to achieve profitability. the research also found that pmm has a moderate to high effect on suboptimal accounting for materials, thus affecting profitability. this supports wahab and lawal’s (2011: 252) finding that there is a lack of record-keeping of materials supplied and used on site, thus affecting profitability. therefore, proper records of materials receiving, and materials requisition should be kept, and materials monitoring should be done. another high effect of pmm is on-site storage of materials, which leads to theft of materials and reduced profitability. missing materials due to theft need to be replaced by new materials, thus reducing profitability. another high effect of pmm was on poor site storage of materials, which leads to damage/destruction and reduces the profitability of construction projects. this finding agrees with kasim et al. (2005: 795), as highlighted in section 2.2.3 of this study. this means that, if adequate storage of materials is not put in place and if there is damage/destruction, more material is needed to replace the damaged/destroyed materials, thus decreasing profitability. there is a moderate effect in terms of how pmm increases suboptimal materials quality, which leads to rework and decreases profitability. rework could adversely affect time and productivity and, ultimately, also profitability. these results are in line with the findings of sun and meng (2009: 560), aiyetan (2013: 2), as well as hughes and thorpe (2014: 223), that the direct impacts of rework on construction projects would likely include additional time for rework; additional costs for covering rework occurrences; additional materials for rework and subsequent wastage handling, and additional labour for rework and related extensions of supervision manpower. all these studies agree that rework in construction projects has the potential to make at least a moderate contribution to the total project cost and to decrease profitability. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 160 in addition, the study found that pmm has a high effect on the occurrence of health and safety incidents, leading to claims/expenses and affecting profitability. this finding agrees with muhwezi et al.’s (2012: 11) assertion that materials waste on building projects caused not only financial setbacks to contractors, but also significant health incidents. during this study, it was observed that construction workers on sites lacked appropriate protective equipment. for example, workers were observed carrying out activities such as painting, excavations and concreting without the right protective gear such as helmets, masks, ear muffs, goggles, and overalls. there are always claims/expenses for health and safety incidents on site whenever they occur. 5. conclusion and recommendations this article investigated the effect of pmm on materials waste, quality of work and project profitability in the nigerian construction industry. the study’s findings revealed that pmm has a high effect on material waste generation on any construction project site, with the following statements: pmm makes it difficult to implement materials waste management policy; to account for materials waste; to manage site waste management plan cost data; to manage waste-related kpis; negatively impacts the waste management plan and increases quantities of waste. the study also found that pmm has a moderate effect on the quality of building projects in abuja, with the following statements: pmm impacts negatively on the quality of some of the materials on site; negates the quality standard set up by management and makes it difficult to conduct materials quality audits. in terms of profitability, it was found that pmm has both high and moderate effects on profitability in the construction industry in abuja, nigeria. the statements were: pmm increases waste, thus reducing profitability, and pmm leads to suboptimal accounting for materials, thus affecting profitability. based on these findings, it can be concluded that effective management of materials in construction projects would reduce the amount of waste generation, increase the quality of construction work, and result in optimum profitability to construction contractors. it is, therefore, recommended that the construction industry in nigeria should collaborate with government agencies to develop guidelines for preparing a waste management plan for the construction industry and ensure that top management adopts the culture of training and developing their staff about new managerial tools and techniques for site materials management. albert, shakantu & ibrahim • the effect of poor materials management 161 references abdul-rahman, h., wang, c. & yap, x.w. 2010. how professional ethics impact construction quality: perception and evidence in a fast-developing economy. scientific research and 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istanbul, turkey, pp. 170-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-06-2013-0058 https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-06-2013-0058 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.02.006 theo haupt from theory to practice: students' perceptions of co-operative construction education experiences peer reviewed abstract this article reports on the findings of a study that examined the attitudes of students at higher education institutions regarding their experiences of transferring theory to the workplace. employers in the construction industry contend that present construction-related academic programs inadequately prepare students for their future careers in the industry. it is argued that higher education institutions have given students too little that will be of real value beyond a credential that will help them get their first jobs. the opinions of first year students were surveyed before, and third and final year students after, their practical periods of employment in construction. the study concludes that all the co-operative part­ners in co-operative education can do much more to improve this approach to construction education in job-training. keywords: cooperative education, experiential training, practical experience, onthe-job training. van teorie tot praktyk: studente se persepsies van hul ervaring van kooperatiewe konstruksie-onderrig in die artikel word die bevindinge van navorsing oor die houdings van studente jeens hoeronderwysinrigtings weergegee, veral ten opsigte van hul ervaring van die oordrag van teorie no die werkplek. werkgewers in die konstruksiebedryf wys daarop dot die huidige konstruksie-verwante akademiese programme die studente nie voldoende voorberei vir hul toekomstige loopbane in die bedryf nie. door word van die standpunt uitgegaan dot hoeronderwysinstellings studente nie voorsien van dit wat werklik van waarde is nie, buiten as 'n toegang tot die eerste werksgeleenthede. die menings van eerstejaar-studente is eers bekom en daar­na die van derdejaaren finalejaarstudente, n6 'n praktiese dienstydperk in die bedryf. die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dot alle deelnemende partye op die gebied van opvoedkundige samewerking heelwat meer kan doen om hierdie benadering tot konstruksie-onderrig te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: opvoedkundige samewerking, praktyk-gerigte onderrig, praktiese ervaring. mr theo c haupt, research co-ordinator, peninsula technikon, faculty of engineering, bellville, south africa: email: <hauptt@pentech.ac.za>. 65 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) introduction e ducotion hos been described as all the ways in which people train and develop to fulfil their potential as a result of acquiring skills, attitudes, and values which reflect the social, cultural, and physical environments in which they live (guillaud & garnier, 2001). higher edu­ cation has as one of its objectives the preparation of persons to address emerging societal problems. institutions of higher education have a major role to play in providing the technological and business capability to underpin modern industrial and services development (frain, 1992). while maintaining the commitment to high academic standards, they also need to be committed to responding to the needs of industry both in course content and research. however, for some time academics and practitioners have recognized the need to balance the relationship between theory as taught in the classroom, and practice in the field or in the industry (ross & elechi, 2002). several authors hove highlighted that apart from course content relevant to job-related situations, there is the need for an appropriate teaching approach that bridges the perceived gap between formal academic instruction and on-the-job training (kim, williams & dattilo, 2002; sanyal, 1991: ellington, gordon & fowlie, 1998; schaafsma, 1996). this gap between what is taught in classrooms and what is needed in the workplace is well illustrated in table 1 adapted from cook and cook (1998). table l : traditional education versus workplace traditional education workplace requirements facts problem solving individual effort team skills passing a test learning how to learn achieving a grade continuous improvement individual courses interdisciplinary knowledge receive information interact and process information teaching separate from learning technology source: cook & cock, 1998 rather than relating the theory to the application that reinforces the basic concepts as taught in the classroom, the separation between practical and academic work results in a division in the mind of students. there are few studies, if any, that evaluate the relationship between con­ struction theory as taught in the classroom and construction practice in the field from students' perspectives. in particular, there is very little published research on the effectiveness of the latter aspect. in attempt­ ing to respond to the concerns of whether students in the disciplines of construction management and quantity surveying are adequately 66 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education prepared for their future careers, this article reports on the findings of a study that examined the attitudes of students at higher education institutions regarding their experiences of transferring theory to the work­ place. co-operative education co-operative education' is an educational model designed to achieve the objective of bridging the gap between the classroom and the work­ place by incorporating productive work experiences into the curriculum as an integral and regular element of a higher education program. as such it involves three co-operative partners, namely the academic institution, the student, and the employer (smith, 2000). it has been described as an instructional method that links classroom instruction and work for the purpose of enhancing the total educational program of students (schaafsma, 1996). it is therefore evident that the co-opera­ tive education experience comprises two components, namely an academic component and an experiential learning component. during the latter component students experience a range of learning (knowledge, skills and attributes) that is a direct outcome from linking the specific experience in the workplace with the course content provided at a higher education institution. according to the school-to-work (stw) opportunities act of 1994 in the united states, three components make up the stw experience. these are the school-based learning compo­ nent (academic), the work-based learning component (practical) and the connecting activities component that facilitates effective relations between the academic institution and employers. the work-based learning component is also known as industrial placement or work placement. it is described as a period of time when students are located in workplaces with the purpose of learning on the job and might either be paid or unpaid (schaafsma, 1996). as such it provides the underpinning knowledge and attributes of competence needed for the job as a whole, such as workplace culture, work norms and values. this particular approach provides opportunities for students to have direct hands-on experience as part of their course of study. in this way students are prepared for their future careers. they acquire valuable and specialized knowledge and skills by learning from experience and reflecting on that experience while becoming acquainted with the work processes (hicks, 1996; rainsbury et al., 1998). this form of experiential learning (l) may be expressed as the combina­ tion of three elements as follows: p+q+er=l ' also known os 'school-to-work', 'work-bosed learning', 'expertential learning', 'fieldwork', and 'practicum'. 67 act a structilia 2003: 10( l & 2) where p represents "programmed learning" or material presented in structured settings or programs such as the classroom: q represents "'questioning learning" or knowledge and skills gained via questioning, investigation and research; and er represents "one's own experience" reflected upon and revised (hicks, 1996). apart from co-operative education contributing to more effective learn­ing (schaafsma, 1996) it also has the potential to be mutually beneficial to both students and employers (frain, 1992). employers benefit from having a significant influence on course design and content by ensuring that industry-specific knowledge, awareness and values are integrated into the higher education process. students benefit from working as they experience at firsthand and come to understand the requirements of their chosen career. as they engage in the actual activities in the workplace they gain appreciation for the challenges of their particular job (ross & elechi, 2002). they are consequently better able to make informed decisions on their career choices. they also develop enhanced appreciation of concepts learnt in the classroom after applying knowledge in a professional setting (gordon, hage & mcbride, 200l). this working or in-service period is often the students' first opportunity to apply theoretical, classroom-based knowledge in a practical work situation. they gain a more realistic view of how the work­ing world operates. work experience is often a strong determining factor in whether or not students find employment. co-operative education provides the opportunity for students to enhance their prospects of employment once they graduate (frain, 1992). they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to prospective employers. through this approach, they already have work experience at the moment of academic graduation. students are introduced to the work ethic, and gain insight into the interpersonal skills needed to survive in the working world (schaafsma, 1996). they see the opportunities for career development and personal growth that are open to them in their field of study. the academic institution evaluates both components using feedback from students through academic evaluation programs, and feedback from employers through records of employment activities. several authors have argued for a more inclusive and participatory approach to evaluation that includes the academic institution, the employer and the student (hicks, 1996; rainsbury et al., 1998). the collaboration between the academic institution and employers emphasizes the connection between academic preparation and job requirements. it is argued that such a co-operative approach offers greater opportunities to blend academic and practical skills. a broad range of activities is required, therefore, to connect academic institutions and the modern 68 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education working environment. these activities provide program co-ordination and integration of the worlds of school and work. problem statement although students are expected to build connections between the theoretical knowledge they acquire in the classroom and the situation where they are to apply this knowledge (kim, williams & dattilo, 2002), they are unfortunately not applying much of the knowledge they have gained to real world job-related situations. consequently, their acquired knowledge may be inert and unavailable for use (jonassen, campbell & davidson, 1994). higher education institutions have given them too little that will be of real value beyond a credential that will help them get their first jobs (boyer commission, 1998). research in south africa, technikons offer programs in the disciplines of construc­ tion management and quantity surveying on the basis of co-operative education. the four-year bachelor of technology program is made up of three academic years spent full-time at the institution, with the second year spent working full-time in industry. during this 'experiential year' students complete projects in 3 subjects, namely construction management 2, construction technology 2 and quantity surveying 2. students are also required to keep a logbook of all their work activities on a monthly basis. the logbook sets out the required activities that students are expected to experience. in order to return to the institution to complete the remaining two years, students have to obtain passing grades in each of these subjects as well as submit a duly completed logbook. sample selection between september and october 2002 students at the two technikons in the western cape province in the construction management and quantity surveying programs, namely cape technikon and peninsula technikon, were surveyed. a total of l 07 first-year students and 66 third­ and final-year students participated in the survey. the questionnaires were administered at the respective institutions during sessions when the students were receiving instruction. consequently, the response rate was l 00%. the responses to the questionnaires were analysed using the statistical program for the social services (spss). survey instrument two short questionnaires were developed, namely one for students in their first year who were about to work in industry during their next year, 69 acta structilia 2003: 10[ 1 & 2) and the other for returning students who had completed their "experiential year". the objective of the first-year questionnaire was to measure the attitude of students about the content of the first-year subject offerings and their relevance to their experiential year. it also sought to establish their expectations before the experiential year com­ menced. the objective of the other questionnaire was to obtain the opinions of students after the experiential year. the questionnaires comprised ten and 16 open and close-ended ('yes', 'no' and 'not sure') questions respectively. some questions used a 5-point likert scale to determine the degree of sentiment expressed in the response. the strength of close-ended questions is that they foster uniformity in response due to the limitation of the number of possible responses. on the other hand, open-ended questions provide the possibility of rich contextual information being collected in a manner not possible with close-ended questions (fellows & liu, 1997). findings the responses to each questionnaire are reported for the entire sample and per discipline. first-year students survey the sample comprised l 07 first year students, namely 60 (56, l %) from cape technikon and 47 (43,9%) from peninsula technikon. of those who responded, there were 59 (60,2%) students studying quantity surveying (qs), and 39 (39,8%) studying construction management (cm) 9 students failed to respond to this question. first-year course content expectations there was generally a favourable attitude towards the first-year course content. from table 2, it is evident that 80 students (75,5%) felt that the first-year course content was what they expected it to be when they applied for admission; fifteen students (14,2%) felt that it was not, and the remaining eleven students (l 0,3%) were not sure. table 2: expectations of first-year course content answers frequency valid percentage yes 80 75.5 no 15 14,2 not sure 11 10,4 total 106 100,0 70 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education table 3: cross tabulation of expectations of first-year course content response cm qs yes is the course content 43,8% 56.2% who! you expe c t ii t o b e when you opplled for odmission? % within discipline 84.2% 69.5% o/ooftotol 33.0% 42,3% no is the course content 15.4% 84,6% who! you expected tt to be when you opplied for odmission? % within discipline 5.3% 18.6% o/oottotol 2.1% 11.3% not sure is the course content 36.4% 63.6% who! you expected tt to be when you opplied for odmisslon? % within discipline 10.5% 11.9% %oftotol 4,1% 7,2% table 3 shows the split between the quantity surveying and construction management disciplines.of those who felt that the content of the first­ year program was what they expected it to be, 43,8% were studying cm and 56, 2% were studying qs. of those studying construction management 84,2% felt the course content was what they expected. on the other hand, 69,5% of those studying quantity surveying felt this way. reasons given why students felt that the course content was what they expected included: subjects were based on and related to industry (17.3%) knew and expected course to be intense, tough and relevant (10.2%) had worked in and knew construction and therefore knew what to expect (7, l %) researched program before starting studies (15,3%), and provided information as expected (13,3%). reasons why they thought the course content was not what they expected included: not all subjects were what i expected or relevant (9.2%) thought it would be simple and not so difficult (7, l %) expected more practicals (3, l %), and i did not expect it to be so academic (1.0%). 71 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) relevance and responsiveness of first-year courses to industry needs most students had a favourable attitude about both the relevance of the subjects offered for the course as well as their responsiveness to the needs of the construction industry. it is evident from the.data in table 4 that 96 students (90,6%) believed that the subjects offered were relevant and responsive to the needs of the industry. table 4: relevance and responsiveness of course answers frequency valid percentage yes 96 90.6 no 5 4.7 not sure 5 4,7 total 106 100,0 the data in table 5 shows the responses per discipline. of those who felt that the subjects offered were relevant and responsive, 41,4% were studying cm and 58,6% were studying qs. of the cm students, 94, 7% and of the qs students, 86,4% had favourable attitudes. table 5: cross tabulation of relevance and responsiveness of course per discipline response cm qs yes do you think the subjects 41.4% 58,6% offered for the course are relevant and responsive to the needs of the construction industry? % within discipline 94.7% 86.4% %oftatal 37.1% 52.6% no do you think the subjects 100.0% offered for the course are relevant and responsive to the needs of the construction industry? % within discipline 8.5% %of total 5.2% not sure do you think the subjects 40,0% 60,0% offered for the course ore relevant and responsive to the needs of the construction industry? % within discipline 5.3% 5,1% %of total 2,1% 3,1% 72 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education reasons given why students felt that the course content was relevant and responsive to the needs of construction included: subjects provide insight into the industry (9,3%) class work relates to the industry (55, 7%) subjects are adequate at year l and basic and relevant to the industry (13.4%) • worked in industry before studying (2, l %). reasons why they thought the course content was not relevant and responsive included: some subjects were either irrelevant or needed more time and/or better teaching (12.4%), and some more subjects needed to be added to improve the course (2, l %). satisfaction regarding subjects offered for the course the majority of students expressed satisfaction with the subjects that they had been offered during their first year. from table 6 it is evident that 74 students (69,2%) were satisfied with the subjects offered while 21 students (19,6%) were not. table 6: satisfaction regarding subjects offered during first year answers frequency volid percentage yes 74 69,2 no 21 19,6 not sure 12 11.2 total 107 100,0 of those who were satisfied with the subjects offered during first year. 3 7, 9% was studying cm and 62, l % was studying qs. of the cm students, 64, l %, and of the qs students, 69,5%, had favourable attitudes, suggesting that a significant number of students in each discipline were either not satisfied with the offerings or were not sure. the responses are shown in table 7. 73 act a structilia 2003: l 0( l & 2) table 7: cross-tabulation of satisfaction regarding subjects offered per discipline response cm qs yes are you satisfied with the 37,9% 62,1% subjects you have been offered for the course? % within discipline 64,1% 69,5% %of total 25,5% 41.8% no a re you satisfied with the 42,9% 57,1% subjects you have been offered for the course? % within discipline 23,1% 20,3% %of total 9.2% 12.2% not sure are you satisfied with the 45,5% 54,5% subjects you have been offered for the course? % within discipline 12,8% 10,2% %of total 5,1% 6,1% reasons given why students were satisfied with the subjects offered during first year: based on experience (of first year) subjects are ok and relevant (34,8%) challenging but fair (4.3%) lots of practical exposure provided (2,2%) increases understanding of the industry (3,3%) something i just needed to do (2,2%) beneficial for future profession (7,6%). reasons why students were not satisfied with the subjects offered during first year included: • not all subjects are relevant: some were disorganized and others needed more [instruction] time [22,8%), and subjects are fine but lecturers are not (5,4%). those students who were not sure about whether they were satisfied or not with the subjects offered indicated that they: (were) not sure of what to expect on site (2,2%) could not comment/not sure (4,3%). 74 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education course as preparation for year 2 most students felt that the first-year course prepared them sufficiently for year 2. the data in table b indicate that 72 students (68,6%) thought that the course prepared them adequately for their second year the experiential/in-service year. on the other hand, 20 students (19,0%) were not sure whether this was so or not. table 8: course as preparation for year 2 answers frequency valid percentage yes 72 68.6 no 13 12.4 not sure 20 19,0 total 105 100,0 of those who felt that the first-year course prepared them adequately for year two, 33,8% were studying cm, and 66,2% were studying qs. of the cm students, 5 7, 9% and of the qs students, 7 4, l % had favourable attitudes, suggesting that a significant number of students in each discipline were either not satisfied with the offerings or were not sure. the responses are shown in table 9. reasons given why students thought the first year course prepared them sufficiently for year 2: theory prepares one for practical (51, l %) provides [the] basics for industry experience [although] the industry is broad (10,2%) provided you worked throughout the year (l, l %). reasons why students thought the first-year course did not prepare them sufficiently for year 2: some subjects don't have assignments/practicals (l 0,2%) • year l too short (2,3%) need to work with real materials in workshop sessions (2,3%) some lecturers do not know their subjects [well enough] to prepare us (3.4%). 75 acta structilia 2003: 10[1 & 2) tobie 9: cross tabulation of course as preparation for year 2 per discipline response cm qs yes do you think the course 33.8% 66.2% is preparing you sufficiently for year 2? % within discipline 57.9% 74,1% %of total 22.9% 44.8% no do you think the course 50.0% 50.0% is preparing you sufficiently for year 2? % within discipline 15.8% 10,3% %of total 6.3% 6.3% not sure do you think the course 52,6% 47.4% is preparing you sufficiently for year 2? % within discipline 26.3% 15.5% %of total 10.4% 9,4% those students who were not sure whether the first year course prepared them sufficiently for year 2 or not indicated that they: did not know what to expect from in-service training (l l ,4%), and did not understand initially and might not be ready (2,3%). academic or practical nature of first-year course opinions were more divided with respect to whether students felt that the course was too academic and less practical. from table 10 it is evident that 39 students (38,2%) thought that the course was too academic while 51 students (50,0%) did not think so. the remaining 12 students (l l ,8%) were not sure. tobie lo: academic or practical nature of course answers frequency valid percentage yes 39 38,2 no 51 50.0 not sure 12 11.8 total 102 100,0 76 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education of those who felt that the first-year course was too academic and less practical, 41, 7% were studying cm and 58,3% were studying qs. of the cm students, 39,5%, and of the qs students, 38,2%, thought that the course was too academic, suggesting that a significant number of students in each discipline were either not satisfied with the offerings or were not sure. of those who felt that the first-year course was not too academic, 40% were studying cm, and 60% were studying qs. of the cm students, 47,4%, and of the qs students, 49, l %, thought the course was not too academic. clearly, more students regarded the course as not being too academic than those who did. these responses are shown in table 11. reasons why students thought the first year course was too academic and less practical included: practical work more emphasis (37,4%) more practicals [and] site visits [13,2%) i wanted a more practical course (4,4%) course seems more practical (5,5%). table 11: cross tabulation of academic or practical nature of course per discipline response cm qs yes do you think the course 41.7% 58.3% is too academic and less practical? % within discipline 39.5% 38.2% %of total 16.1% 22.6% no do you think the course 40% 60,0% is too academic and less practical? % within discipline 47.4% 49,1% %of total 19.4% 29.0% not sure do you think the course 41,7% 58,3% is too academic and less practical? % within discipline 13.2% 12.7% %of total 5,4% 7,5% 77 act a structilia 2003: 10( 1 & 2) reasons why students thought the first year course was not too aca­ demic and less practical included: balanced approach (33,0%), and academic side is very important (3,3%). senior students survey the sample comprised 66 students, namely 24 (36,4%) from cape technikon and 42 (63,6%) from peninsula technikon. of those who responded, there were 37 (60%) students studying quantity surveying, and 26 (40%) studying construction management 3 students failed to respond to this question. with respect to the year of study, 59 students (89,4%) were in their third year and 7 students (l 0,6%) were in their final (4'h) year. year 2 experiential training almost all these students (62 students 95,4%) had some experiential training during year 2 as part of the workplace placement and work­ place-learning component of their programs. of the students studying cm, 96,2% had some experiential training while 91,9% of students studying qs had such training. the data in table 12 show the distribution of the types of enterprises students worked at. as expected most of the students worked for either construction companies (61, 7%) or quantity surveying practices (18,3%). the students studying qs, however, worked for a much wider range of enterprises. for example, 44, l % of qs students worked for construction companies whereas no cm students worked for qs firms. other enterprises qs students worked for included municipalities, consultants, suppliers, community organizations, developers and sub-contractors. length of employment the length of time that students were employed ranged from 6 months to 5 years. most students (52,4%) were employed for the prescribed 12 months, the mean period of employment was l, l6 years. 78 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education table 12: types of enterprises worked at sample qs cm type frequency valid frequency valid frequency valid percentage percentage percentage municipality l l. 7 l 2.9 construction company 37 63.8 15 44,l 22 91.7 cosultants 2 3.4 2 5,4 qsfirm ll 19,0 ll 32.4 supplier l l.7 l 2,9 corrmunlty organisation l l. 7 l 2,9 developer l l.7 l 2,9 project managers l l.7 l 4,2 sub-contractor 3 5,l 2 5,9 l 4,2 total 58 100,0 34 100,0 24 100,0 most students studying qs (57, l %) and 44,0% of students studying cm had been employed for the prescribed 1-year period. the mean period of employment for qs students was l , 14 years and for cm students it was l, 13 years. these results are shown in table 13. table 13: length of employment before year 3 sample qs cm years valid valid valid frequency percentage frequency percentage frequency percentage 0.50 3 4,8 l 2,9 2 8,0 0.58 l l.6 l 2,9 0.67 2 3.2 l 2,9 l 4,0 0,75 l 1.6 l 2.9 0,83 4 6,3 3 8,6 l 4,0 0,92 4 6,3 l 2,9 3 12,0 l.00 33 52,4 20 57. l 11 44,0 l.08 3 4,8 2 5.7 l 4,0 l. l 7 2 3,2 l 2.9 l 4,0 l.33 l l.6 l 4,0 l.50 4 6.3 l 2,9 3 12.0 2,00 l l.6 l 2.9 2.25 l l.6 l 2.9 3.00 l l,6 4,00 l l.6 l 4,0 5.00 l 1,6 l 2,9 total 63 100,0 35 100,0 25 100,0 79 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) satisfaction regarding placement both technikons endeavour to place their first-year students with prospective employers for their second year. students had favourable attitudes towards the manner in which their placement was handled. this finding is confirmed by the mean of the responses to this question being 3,62 on a likert scale of l to 5, and the median and mode being 4.0. most students were either satisfied (37,7%) or very satisfied (26,2%). this result is shown in tobie 14. similarly, most cm students were either satisfied (36,0%) or very satisfied (24,0%), while most qs students were either satisfied (35,3%) or very satisfied (29,4%). students studying qs were more satisfied with their year 2 placement (mean= 3,68) than were those studying cm (mean= 3,52). satisfaction regarding monitoring each institution monitors the progress of its second-year students during their experiential learning period of employment. the students are gen­ erally visited at their place of work. students were satisfied with the way their experiential learning was monitored. this finding is confirmed by the mean of 3,59 and the median and mode of 4,0. most students again were either satisfied (32,8%) or very satisfied (24,6%). a significant number of students (26,2%) had neutral attitudes about the monitoring of their experiential training. this result is shown in tobie 15. in the same way, most cm students were either satisfied (37,5%) or very satisfied (20,8%), while most qs students were either satisfied (29,4%) or very satisfied (26,5%). 29,4% qs students had neutral attitudes as opposed to 20,8% of cm students, suggesting that qs students felt more neutral about their monitoring than did their cm counterparts. students studying qs were more satisfied with their year 2 monitoring (mean = 3,65) than were those studying cm (mean = 3,46). table l 4: satisfaction regarding aspects of in-service training very nol neither very satisfied nor aspect dissatisfied satisfied dissatisfied satisfied satisfied total l 2 3 4 5 placement 4 9 9 23 16 61 6,6% 14,8% 14,8% 37.7% 26,2% 100,0% monitoring 4 6 16 20 15 61 6,6% 9,8% 26,2% 32,8% 24,6% 100,0% supervision 4 3 17 19 19 62 6,6% 4,8% 27,4% 30,6% 30,6% 100,0% experience 4 8 8 24 21 63 3.2% 12,7% 12.7% 38,1% 33,3% 100,0% 80 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education satisfaction regarding supervision employers supervise second year students during their experiential learning period of employment. students were satisfied with the way their experiential learning was supervised. this finding is confirmed by the mean of 3,74 and the median and mode of 4,0. most students again were either satisfied (30,6%) or very satisfied (30,6%). a significant number of students (27.4%) had neutral attitudes about the monitoring of their experiential training. this result is shown in table 14. similarly, most cm students were either satisfied (28.0%) or very satisfied (28.0%) while most qs students were either satisfied (32.4%) or very satisfied (35.3%). students studying qs were more satisfied with their year 2 supervision (mean= 3,88) than those studying cm (mean= 3,60). satisfaction regarding experience gained students were even more satisfied with the experience they had gained during their period of experiential learning. this finding is confirmed by the mean of 3,86 and the median and mode of 4,0. most students again were either satisfied (30.6%) or very satisfied (30,6%). this result is shown in table 14. similarly, most cm students were either satisfied (44,0%) or very satisfied (24.0%), while most qs students were either satisfied (37, 1 %) or very satisfied (40.0%). students studying qs were more satisfied with the experience gained during year 2 (mean = 4,06) than were those studying cm (mean = 3, 72). satisfaction regarding aspects of year 2 experience by analysing the means of the responses of students regarding their experience during year 2, the various aspects were ranked with respect to the degree of satisfaction they felt. this result is shown in table 15. table 15: satisfaction regarding aspects of year 2 ranking by means aspect sample qs cm placement 3,62 [3) 3,68 [3) 3,52 [3) man rt a ring 3,59 [4) 3,65 [4) 3,46 [4) supervision 3,74 [2) 3,88 [2) 3,60 [2) experience gained 3,86 [1) 4.06 [1) 3,72 [1) irrespective of discipline, students expressed the highest level of satis­ faction regarding the experience they gained during year 2, followed by the supervision they received from their respective employers. 81 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) they were least satisfied with the level of monitoring they received from their respective institutions. adequacy of year 1 as preparation for year 2 from table 16 it is evident that most of the students (44,6%) regarded the adequacy of the year l academic courses as "average" with respect to preparation for the practical year 2. only 15,4% of students regarded the year l courses as "very good". the mean of responses was 3,29 and the median and mode were 3,0. similarly, 24,0% of cm students regarded the year l course as "good" and 20,0% as "very good", while 13,5% each of qs students regarded the year l course either as "good" or "very good". however, 32,0% of cm students and 54, l % of qs students had neutral attitudes towards the adequacy of year l as preparation for year 2. students studying cm (mean = 3,36) were more satisfied with the adequacy of the year l course than were those studying qs (mean = 3,22). table 16: adequacy of year l as preparation for year 2 very poor average good very total poor good 1 12 29 13 10 65 1.5% 18,5% 44,6% 20,0% 15,4% 100,0% table 17 presents the reasons that students gave for their responses about the adequacy of the year l course. most of the students (34,6%) who regarded the course as inadequate to prepare them for year 2 indicated that "much of year l was irrelevant in the field". most of the students (19,2%) who felt that the course was adequate "knew enough to be able to start work". 82 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education table 17: reasons for the responses regarding adequacy of first year courses frequency valid percentage 18 34,6 3 5,8 3 5,8 2 3,8 5 9,6 10 19,2 3 5,8 l 1,9 l 1,9 l 1,9 l 1,9 2 3,8 l 1,9 l 1,9 reason much of yeor l wos irrelevant in the field average understood some terminology & some work wos familiar i worked hard and enjoyed the course needed some other skills not taught in year l knew enough to be able to start work needed more site visits: too theoretical had previous conrstruction experience what is done in industry is different from what is taught do in-service training in year 3 only used l' year in year 2 prepared me well for year 2 lecturers need to be more up to date well structured program total 52 100,0 adequacy of experiential training in year 2 in preparation for year 3 from table 18, it is evident that most students thought the experiential training during year 2 was adequate preparation for year 3. almost half of the students (47,6%) regarded the training as "good" and 19,0% regarded the training as "very good." the mean of responses was 3,71 and the median and mode were 4,0. table 18: experiential training in year 2 as preparation for year 3 very poor average good very total poor good 2 5 14 30 12 63 3,2% 7,9% 22,2% 47,6% 19,0% 100,0% similarly, 56,0% of cm students regarded the experiential training in year 2 as "good" and 16,0% as ''very good" while 37, l % of qs students regarded the experiential training in year 2 as "good" and 22, 9% as "very good". however, 31 ,4 % of qs students had neutral attitudes towards the adequacy of the experiential training in year 2 as preparation for year 3. the mean of responses of cm students was 3,64 and the median and mode were 4,0. similarly, the mean of responses of qs students was 3, 7 4 and the median and mode were 4,0. students studying qs were more satisfied with the adequacy of year 2 than were those studying cm. 83 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) table 19 presents the reasons that students gave for their responses about the adequacy of the experiential training during year 2 as preparation for year 3. most of the students (35,8%) who regarded the course as adequate to prepare them for year 2, indicated that "the work in year 3 was more familiar". they (20,8%) also opined that they had "gained experience and confidence". most of the students (17,0%) who felt that year 2 was inadequate "did not gain much experience". they (5, 7%) also thought that they did not have as "much site experience as i would've liked". table 19: reasons about the adequacy of experiential training as preparation for year 3 frequency valid percentage 19 35,8 ll 20,8 3 5,7 3 5,7 3 5,7 9 17,0 l l,9 l l,9 l l,9 2 3,8 reason the work in year 3 was more familiar gained experience and confidence enaibled me to cope better with the workload could apply some knowledge gained in industry not as much site experience as i would've liked did not gain much experience period of in-service training too short need closer monitoring by tech. training was good not always relevant to what year 3 requires total 53 100,0 relevance of subjects offered to the work situation the data in table 20 indicate that most students felt that the subjects offered in the present course were relevant to the work situation, with 40,3% thinking that the subjects were relevant and 29,0% that the subjects were very relevant. the mean of responses was 3,92 and the median and mode were 4,0. similarly, 20,8% of cm students regarded the subjects offered as rele­ vant to the work situation and 33,3% as very relevant, while 51.4% of qs students regarded the subjects offered as relevant, to the work situation and 28,6% as very relevant. however, 37,5% of cm students and 20,0% of qs had neutral attitudes towards the relevance of subjects offered to the work situation. students studying qs (mean = 4,09) were more satisfied with the relevance of subjects than were those studying cm (mean= 3,71). 84 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education table 20: relevance of subjects presently offered to the work situation very irrelevant average relevant very total irrelevant relevant 2 17 25 18 62 3,2 27,4% 40,3% 29,0% 100,0% table 21 presents the reasons that students gave for their responses about the relevance of the subjects presently offered to the work situation. most of the students (27,8%) who regarded the subjects as relevant, indicated, that "everything done at work [was] being taught this year", they (l l, l %) also opined that the "work was similar". most of the students (22,2%) who thought the subjects were irrelevant, suggested that the "work at tech does not always relate to what is done at work", they (l 9,4%) also indicated, that "only some subjects are relevant", nature of course the data in table 22 indicate that most of the students regarded the course as more academic than practical. the mean of responses about the academic nature was 3,57 and the median and mode were 4,0, on the issue of the academic nature of the course qs students (mean= 3,3) regarded the course as more academic than did their cm counterparts (mean = 3,42), table 21: reasons for responses regarding relevance of subjects to the work situation reason frequency valid percentage l 2,8 l 2,8 4 11,l 8 22,2 2 5,6 10 27,8 7 19,4 l 2 .. 8 l 2,8 l 2,8 at work i needed to do everything i learnt not all subjects were irrelevant work was similar work at tech does not always relate to what is done at work provided some idea of what to expect everything done at work is being taught this year only some subjects are relevant year l subjects could be done more in-depth average need industry involvement in program total 36 100,0 85 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) the mean of responses about the practicality of the course was 3,28 and the median and mode were 3,0. similarly, qs students (mean= 3,35) regarded the course as more practical than did their cm counterparts (mean = 3,08). however, when comparing the means of the responses to the aspects of practicality and academic nature of the course, irrespective of discipline, students regarded the course as more academic than practical. table 22: nature of program nature 2 3 4 5 total academic 2 3 23 24 9 61 3.3% 4,9% 37,7% 39,3% 14,8% 100,0% practical 4 25 18 61 6.6% 11.5% 41.0% 29,5% 11.5% 100,0% the reasons that students gave for their responses about the academic nature of the course are shown in table 23. table 23: reasons regarding the academic nature of the program reason frequency valid percentage covers most of the theory needed for the job l 4,3 provides some understanding of the industry 3 13,0 needs improvement/more practicals 11 47,8 need theory before practice 3 13,0 average 2 8,7 too practical l 4,3 well covered l 4,3 does not get to grips with the needs of the industry l 4,3 total 23 100,0 students who thought the course was too academic opined as follows: 86 needs improvement/more practicals (47,8%), and does not get to grips with industry needs. haupt • students' perceptions of construction education those who thought that the course was not too academic responded as follows: need theory before practice (13,0%) provides some understanding of the industry (13,0%) covers most of the theory needed for the job (4,3%). the reasons that students gave for their responses about the practical nature of the course are shown in table 24. table 24: reasons regarding the practical nature of the program frequency valid percentage l 5,0 3 15,0 10 50,0 l 5,0 3 15,0 2 10,0 reason covers a lot of technology needs more effort into practicals work at tech too theoretical; more site visits need to find good company to work for 2 years practical aspects important and enjoyable balanced approach total 20 100,0 socio-economic and political relevance and responsiveness of course most students regarded the program as relevant and responsive to the economic, social and political needs of south africa. the mean of their responses was 3,68 and the median and mode were 4,0. however, a significant number of students (40,4%) had neutral feelings about this aspect of the program. this result is shown in table 25. similarly, 40,9% of cm students and 43,8% of qs students were neutral about this issue. however, qs students (mean = 3,50) regarded the course as more relevant and responsive than did their cm counterparts (mean = 3,08). table 25: relevance and responsiveness of program to economic, social and political needs of south africa 4 23 25 1,8% 40.4% 43,9% 5 14,0% total 57 100,0% 87 acta structilia 2003:10(1&2) some of the reasons students gave for their responses relative to whether the program was relevant and responsive to the socio-eco­ nomic and political needs of the country included: allows for affirmative action to become reality important to economy to have the best qs's available equips us to contribute to infrastructure/economic development average and needs improvement exposed to what is needed internationally too irrelevant to express an opinion, and upgrading content of courses will improve contribution. discussion there are real concerns in the construction industry about whether construction-related curricula adequately prepare students for their future careers in the industry. this is particularly true of students studying construction management and quantity surveying. this research project sought to determine from students' perspectives whether they perceived a disjunction between theory and practice. as ross and elechi (2002) pointed out in their study, it might be questionable to expect students to determine with validity the disjunction between theory and practice. however, as previously stated, students are one of the three co-operative partners in the co-operative education model. this particular study sought, therefore, to examine the attitudes of cm and qs students concerning their own learning experiences relative to their career preparation. the author concurs with ross and elechi (2002) that, as the main clients of higher education institutions, students are in the best position to assess whether they were educationally prepared for their practical year in industry and whether this year prepared them for the remainder of their program. as such their views are important. the results of the surveys of students' attitudes regarding their co­ operative education experiences confirm in the main the findings in the literature on this educational approach. generally, first year students had favourable attitudes towards the course content of the year preceding their practical year. this attitude was influenced by their perception that the subjects offered in the class­ room situation were directly based on and related to the construction industry. almost all students, irrespective of discipline, thought that these subjects were relevant and responsive to the needs of the industry. while senior students also agreed with this finding, a large number of them in 88 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education each discipline had neutral feelings about the relevance of the program to the work situation. these students contended that work at the education institution did not "relate to what is done at work" . however, in addressing this perceived shortcoming, caution needs to be exercised that the cooperative curriculum does not become too nar­ row, resulting in an unbalanced approach that makes workplace train­ ing suit only the demands of the construction industry. rather students should be equipped to tackle the workplace and wider socio­civic issues and problems (wraga, 1998). further, irrespective of discipline, the majority of students expressed satisfaction with the subjects that made up the first year course. however, there was also a sizable dissatisfaction factor, with a significant number of students in each discipline either being dissatisfied outright with first-year subjects or not being sure. there is probably a need for a simple conceptual model that integrates course objectives with work­ based outcomes, preferably around a specific project or set of competencies (schoafsmo, 1996). students, faculty members and employers con work together to create practical educational problems that narrow the gap between the needs and expectations of the academic institution and the industry (smith, 2000). most students thought that the first-year course prepared them suffi­ ciently for their practical stint in industry. students recognized the link between theory and practice and they opined that: "theory prepares one for practical". a larger proportion of qs students than their cm counterparts hod fovoroble attitudes. those who disagreed suggested that they needed to "work with real materials" during their workshop and/or laboratory sessions at the technikon. the large proportion of students who expressed that they did not "know what to expect from in­ service training", suggests a need for comprehensive briefing sessions before industry placement. in his study schoofsma (1996) supports this finding by recommending that a set of guidelines for briefing and debriefing sessions are necessary to prepare students to provide evidence of measurable learning outcomes from sources such as log­ books and project reports. contrary to the opinions of first-year students, senior students who hod been working in industry regarded the adequacy of the first-year course as overage with respect to whether it prepared them sufficiently for their practical year in industry. this response was prompted by "much of year l being irrelevant in the field" and workplace. furthermore, a large number of students in each discipline hod neutral attitudes about this aspect of their program. a possible explanation is that first-year students provided their opinions based on their expectations before they hod gone into industry. the senior students provided more reflective responses. 89 acta structilia 2003: 10(1 & 2) irrespective of discipline, most first year students thought the course was not too academic. those who thought it were suggested that practical aspects and site visits needed more emphasis. senior students disagreed with this sentiment in that most of them regarded the course as more academic than practical. they agreed that 'more practicals' had to be included in the academic component. this finding is supported by smith (2000: 243), who suggested that: learner-centered methods of teaching help students understand work­ related problems and also develop a range of solutions that can be test­ed before trying to use them at work. most of the senior (third-and fourth-year) students had the prescribed 12month period of experiential training. an interesting finding was that a much wider range of employers employed students studying quantity surveying than those studying cm. employers not only included qs firms, but also contractors, municipalities, consultants, suppliers, community organizations, developers and subcontractors. qs firms did not employ any cm students. the findings suggest that employers were fulfilling their role as one of the partners in the cooperative education model by providing valuable industry experience and supervision in the workplace. on the other hand, the academic institutions need to revisit their monitoring and placement roles to ensure a greater degree of: satisfaction by students regarding their cooperative experience; and employability and resilience of students to workplace and work­ force changes (smith, 2000). of concern is the large number of students in each discipline who had neutral attitudes about the relevance and responsiveness of the program to the economic, social and political needs of south africa. conclusion this study sought to validate from student perceptions whether higher education institutions were fulfilling their objectives relative to construction-related programs, namely, the preparation of persons to address emerging societal problems; whether their co-operative education experience fostered and promoted the connection between academic preparation and job requirements; whether the present programs enhanced appreciation of the concepts learnt in the classroom after their application in the field, and whether the students' direct hands-on experience prepared them for their future careers. ,90 haupt • students' perceptions of construction education the findings of the study suggest that much more needs to be done to ensure that students are adequately prepared, not only in the confines of a narrow curriculum, to address the socio-civic needs of south african society. similarly, while the cooperative experience of students con­firmed that employers were fulfilling their role by supervising them and ensuring that they gained adequate practical and meaningful experience, higher education institutions needed to do more to close the gap between academic preparation and job requirements. it is possible to achieve this objective through more effective place­ments and monitoring during students' periods in employment. returning students confirmed that their practical period in industry enhanced their understanding of concepts in the classroom during their third and final years of study. however, it was inconclusive whether their direct hands-on experience had prepared them for their future careers in construction. while junior and senior students had different opinions about the disjunction between classroom learning and workplace experience, it is evident that all the cooperative partners, namely academic institution, student and employer, need to narrow the gap even further between the academic and experiential learning components. presently a study is concluded of the attitudes of employers concerning co-operative construction education at higher education institutions. acknowledgement the author acknowledges the contribution of the students and staff at cape technikon and peninsula technikon, whose participation and support made this study possible. references boyer commission 1998. reinventing undergraduate education: a blueprint for america's research universities, the boyer commission on educating undergraduates. stony brook: the research university, state university of new 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42(2), pp. 31-39. kim, b., williams, r. & dattilo, j. 2002. students' perception of interactive learning modules. journal of research and technology in education, 34(4), pp. 453-473. rainsbury, e., hodges, d. sutherland, j. & barrow, m. 1998. academic, employer and student collaborative assessment in a work-based co-operative education course. assessment and evaluation in higher education, 23(3), pp. 313-324. ross, l.e. & elechi, 0.0. 2002. student attitudes towards internship experiences: from theory to practice. journal of criminal justice education, 13(2), pp. 297-312. sanyal, c.c. 1991. higher education and the labor market. in: altbach, p.g. (ed). higher education: an encyclopaedia, l, pp. 147-168. shaafsma, h. 1996. back to the realworld: work placements revisited. education& training, 38(1), pp. 5-13. smith, e.a. 2000. applying knowledge-enabling methods in the classroom and in the workplace. journal of workplace learning, 12(6), pp. 236-244. wraga, w.g. 92 1998. the school-to-work movement in the united states: policies, problems and possibilities. the curriculum journal, 9(20), pp. 177-195. 144 how to cite: vosloo, c. 2020. early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers – a comparison of two financial office buildings. acta structilia, 27(1), pp. 144-177. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as christo vosloo prof. christo vosloo, graduate school of architecture, faculty of art, design & architecture, university of johannesburg, p.o. box 524, auckland park, 2006, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 (0) 11 559 1105, e-mail: <cvosloo@uj.ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2212-1968 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.6 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 144-177 early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers – a comparison of two financial office buildings peer reviewed and revised march 2020 published june 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract reuse, or the ability to continue using an item or building beyond the initial function, is a key concept in the literature on sustainability. this implies that a building should be designed in a way that will allow it to be repurposed when changing circumstances require changes in its layout or function; being energy efficient and environmentally sensitive is not enough. the building also needs to be financially viable and the people whose lives are impacted by it should wish to have it retained. as far as flexibility of high-rise or skyscraper buildings is concerned, the structural system and layout are some, but not the only aspects that are of particular importance in this regard. upside-down or ‘hanging’ buildings, because of the reduced use of columns, can potentially provide advantages when viewed from such a widened understanding of sustainability. two such buildings are the hong kong and shanghai bank (hsbc) headquarters building in hong kong and the standard bank centre (sbc) in johannesburg. the sbc stands virtually unused and in disrepair, while the hsbc remains fully operational and revered by the population of hong kong. this article review articles • oorsigartikels http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:cvosloo@uj.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2212-1968 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2212-1968 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.6 vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 145 compares the design and construction processes of the two buildings to determine why these two buildings ended up in such divergent situations. the aim is to make recommendations regarding structural systems and other factors that could assist in ensuring that future skyscrapers will be more sustainable, in addition to being energy and resource conserving. furthermore, this comparison sheds some light on the historical development of the understanding of sustainability and the difference between green design and sustainable design. keywords: hanging buildings, sustainable design, adaptability abstrak hergebruik, of die vermoë om ’n produk of gebou se lewensduurte vir so lank as moontlik te verleng nadat die oorspronklike funksie of gebruikspatrone verander het, is ’n sleutelbegrip in die literatuur oor volhoubaarheid. by implikasie is dit belangrik om geboue so te ontwerp dat hul uitleg en funksies aangepas kan word om hul bruikbare leeftyd vir so lank as moontlik te verleng. omgewingsvriendelike ontwerp is nie genoeg nie en daar is meer aspekte wat ’n rol mag speel. ander faktore is finansiële volhoubaarheid en die verhouding tussen die gebou en diegene wat dit voortdurend gebruik. wat toringblokke betref, speel die strukturele stelsel (onder meer) ’n sleutelrol in hierdie verband. ondersteboof ‘hangende’ geboue kan hier groot voordele inhou aangesien die verminderde aantal kolomme groter aanpasbaarheid beteken. dit beteken egter nie dat hierdie tipe geboue noodwendig meer volhoubaar is nie. twee van hierdie tipe geboue het in wyduiteenlopende situasies beland. die gebou van die hong kong and shanghai bank (hsbc) se hoofkwartier in hong kong word ten volle benut en is ’n gewaardeerde landmerk in die stad; hierteenoor is daar die standard bank sentrum (sbc) in johannesburg waarvan die gebou en die openbare ruimte daaromheen grootliks in onbruik verval het. in hierdie artikel word die ontwerp asook die ontwerpen konstruksieprosesse van die twee landmerkgeboue vergelyk ten einde te bepaal hoekom hulle in sulke kontrasterende situasies verkeer. die doel is om aanbevelings te maak rakende die verskillende struktuurtipes en ander faktore wat die volhoubaarheid van toekomstige toringblokke kan beïnvloed. die vergelyking sal ook lig werp op die ontwikkeling van die begrip ‘volhoubaarheid’ en die verskil tussen groen en volhoubare ontwerp. sleutelwoorde: hangstrukture, volhoubare ontwerp, aanpasbaarheid 1. introduction two topics that feature commonly in current conversations about architecture are sustainability and high-rise or skyscraper buildings. while some might be of the opinion that these are mutually exclusive, they are not. the noted author on, and practitioner of green architectural design ken yeang highlights that skyscrapers are not “energy-hungry parasites” when considering the acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 146 entire life cycle of the building within the context of the overall interrelated framework of human and environmental systems. furthermore, he contends that the chances of eventually recycling the materials used in this type of building are far greater, due to the quantities involved. in addition, the higher densities and associated compact cities that can result from this building type, considered with the aforementioned, mean that skyscrapers constitute a viable alternative to the low-rise, low-density alternative often associated with sustainable architecture (yeang, 1999: 18). a review of works on sustainable design shows that definitions and discourses on sustainability, particularly when it comes to buildings, even more so commercial buildings, tend to focus on energy efficiency and resource conserving design, and often ignore the financial and investmentrelated aspects, specifically the need for investments to provide sustainable returns on investment (yeang 1999; gauzin-műller, 2002; sassi, 2006; yeang & spector, 2011; edwards, 2014). this is not surprising, considering the high levels of embodied energy and the resources that are trapped in high-rise buildings, aspects that could be detrimental to the lifespan of such buildings. however, a building’s financial and investment prospects are equally important aspects that need to be considered, since they could also impact on the longevity of a building (fischer, 2010: 18). a second aspect of sustainable design that does not feature prominently enough is the need for flexibility in design: allowing for change and a reconfiguration of the uses or layouts to accommodate changes in technology or workplace protocols which can extend the usefulness and, hence, the lifespan of a building, thereby resulting in the sustained use of the embodied energy and resources (akadiri, chinyio & olomolaiye, 2012: 143). a third aspect that could affect the longevity of a building is the attitude towards it of the people whose experience is impacted by a building. a building that is appreciated by society has a better chance of surviving changes in lifestyle and technology (holmgren, kabanshi & sörqvist, 2017: 146). a much broader view of sustainable design is, therefore, proposed. hanging, suspension or upside-down structures, where floors are suspended from a small number of vertical supports, can provide greater flexibility, because the cross-sectional area of the hangers can be significantly smaller than that which columns in a conventional layout might have had. while a suspended structure is not the only type that can offer greater flexibility, the manner in which it is applied in a building can provide greater or lesser flexibility. used correctly, this type of structure could thus further improve the sustainability of a high-rise building (schierle, 2012), particularly office buildings, where reconfiguration is easier than it would be in the case of residential buildings.sassi supports yeang’s contention that skyscrapers can be environmentally friendly and points out that land is a limited vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 147 resource that must be used judiciously (sassi, 2006: 12). however, for this to hold true, it remains imperative that new skyscrapers are designed with a broader view on sustainability. to support the call for such a broader view on the concept of sustainability, this article compares two financial office buildings built in different parts of the world to show that there are a range of aspects that can lead to more sustainable environments. comparing these two buildings shows that the difference in the situations of the two buildings, one clearly suffering because of its ‘unsustainability’, can be found not only in their designers’ attitude to climatic and environmental matters, but also in the flexibility of their general layouts, coupled to their relation with the people whose lives are impacted by them. the purpose of the article is to provide a cursory oversight of the development of the construct ‘sustainability’ and to make recommendations for the design of future skyscrapers using hanging or conventional framed structures. it also aims to provide greater clarity about the difference between sustainable design and green design. 2. literature review to understand sustainable skyscraper design, it is important to review the current theory on sustainable design and skyscraper buildings. however, to fully appreciate the designs of the two buildings in question, a concise exploration of late-modernism and high-tech architecture and hanging buildings is required. 2.1 sustainable and green design sustainability has been defined as “the quality of being able to continue over a period of time” (cambridge business english dictionary, 2019; vosloo, 2020: 57) and “for humans […] the potential for long-term maintenance, of well-being, which has environmental, economic and social dimensions” (eberhardt, 2012: 3). when considering a building from a cost point of view, its potential in this regard has, for a long time, formed part of any thorough economic feasibility assessment. however, ‘sustainability’ is equally important from an ecological and environmental point of view, due to the resources and embodied energy captured in the completed building. it is important that the new building remains usable for as long as possible, in order to maximise the benefit that can be derived from the resources and embodied energy captured by it, even if some of it could be recycled at the end of the building’s useful life. the term ‘sustainable design’ is often used loosely in exchange with ‘green building design’. the world green building council ([s.a.]) defines a green building as “a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. green acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 148 buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.”. the world green building council ([s.a.]) holds that a number of features can make a building ‘green’. these include: • efficient use of energy, water and other resources; • use of renewable energy, such as solar energy; • pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of reuse and recycling; • good indoor environmental air quality; • use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical and sustainable; • consideration of the environment in design, construction, and operation; • consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction, and operation, and • a design that enables adaptation to a changing environment. with the exception of the last bullet, nothing relating to ensuring a long lifespan features in this description. yeang (1999: 8, in vosloo, 2020: 57) holds that ‘green’ or ecological building design entails the following: “… building with minimal environmental impacts, and where possible, building to achieve the opposite effect; this means creating buildings which have positive, reparative and productive consequences for the natural environment, while at the same time integrating the built structure with all aspects of the ecological systems of the biosphere over its entire life cycle.” he believes that such a holistic approach is crucial to stop the human species from overloading earth’s capacity to sustain all species and natural systems. vallero and brasier (2008: 168-169) hold that green architecture “allows people to become more in touch with the environment in which they live” and incorporates site characteristics and conditions (microclimate, light exposure, vegetation and urban factors) into the design. yet, sustainability implies more than what is said in any of the foregoing definitions of ‘green design’. at the same time, there is no generally accepted definition for sustainable development. one of the more readily recognised definitions, the so-called brundtland definition, describes it as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (edwards, 2014: 28). foster and partners define sustainable design as “creation of buildings which are vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 149 energy efficient, healthy, comfortable, flexible in use and designed for a long life” (edwards, 2014: 28, in vosloo, 2020: 57). alternative definitions describe sustainable design as “environmentally conscious, energy saving and utilises responsive and renewable materials and systems” (newman, in ali & armstrong, 2008: 2), or the creation of a balanced system wherein “society and its economic activities consumes minimal natural resources with the goal of sustaining the planet for future generations” (winchip, 2011: 7). from the foregoing, it appears that the two terms could essentially describe similar concepts. however, sassi reminds us that “no matter how energy and water-efficient a building might be, it becomes a waste of resources and a potential detriment to the community if no one wants to occupy it” (sassi, 2006: 9). thus, she links sustainability to usability, both of which are key to this study. she also includes two additional aspects, namely community and culture (sassi, 2006: 155). moreover, as indicated at the beginning of this section, and as underscored by winchip, sustainability also has economic and, hence, financial and investment connotations. more recently, robertson (2018: 133), suggested a change in the thinking about sustainability, by proposing the adoption of a new paradigm: “at the centre of the new paradigm must be human beings. climate change is a social, technical and cultural problem, and the needs of people should be at the heart of our decision making. buildings and infrastructure should be intuitive, data visualisations legible, and interactions easy and meaningful. fundamentally, we must learn from interactions between humans and buildings to improve performance and ensure that we are meeting our needs and allowing future and distant people to meet theirs. buildings should be robust, built to last, adaptable to functional change and climate change. they must be for us, our neighbours, our peers and our descendants, wherever they are.” therefore, to be sustainable, designs must not only be designed with a focus on energy usage, but the designers must also consider how human beings relate to them (akadiri et al., 2012: 128). the designs have to be flexible and adaptable, in order to be reconfigured easily in the face of changing circumstances, practices, requirements, and technologies (akadiri et al., 2012: 129). however, sustainable design must also take into account financial and economic requirements (akadiri et al., 2012: 130). clearly, ‘sustainability’ and ‘green’ have different meanings, aims, objectives, criteria, and implications. it must furthermore be noted that, despite the emphasis on green and/or sustainable design that has become evident since the energy crisis of 1979, the importance of considering local climatic and environmental conditions was well recognised before then. books on the subject included design with climate (olgay, 1963); man, climate and architecture (givoni, 1967), and thermal performance of buildings (van straaten, 1967). during the acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 150 1960s, even lay people knew that orientation and insulation were important for interior comfort levels.1 2.2 late-modernism and high-tech architecture jenks (1980: 6, in vosloo, 2020: 57) dates the ultimate death of modern architecture as july 1972. this resulted in a phase to which he refers as late-modern architecture. he viewed late-modern architecture as a “singlecoded” architecture in which the characteristics of modern architecture were taken to “an extreme, exaggerating the structure and technological image of the building in an attempt to provide amusement, or aesthetic pleasure” (jenks, 1980: 8). to him, prime examples of this style are norman foster’s sainsbury centre (1974-1978) and piano and rogers’ pompidou centre (1971-1977). jenks (1980: 32, in vosloo, 2020: 58) claims that the first signs of the late-modern period appeared as early as 1960 and that it continued in parallel to post-modernism, as the periods that followed modernism. based on his description of late-modernism, it could be argued that many of the recent buildings designed by foster and partners still fall within this category. however, the hanging buildings that were built during this period neatly fit his description (see section 5 in this article). quantrill (2018: 18) refers to many of the buildings listed above as exemplars of “high-tech” architecture. she explains that, since the end of the 1960s, this term was used to describe “any conspicuous display of technical composition in buildings – especially when exposed steel structure and mechanical systems were placed on the outside of the envelope” (quantrill, 2018: 18). to her, foster and partners’ hsbc bank building was a prime example. she cites davies who held that “[a]nalyses of high-tech architecture tend [sic] to trace an arc from the so-called experimental architecture of archigram and cedric price, through cultural buildings such as the centre pompidou, to projects for industrial clients or financial clients like hsbc, a lineage that depicts the transformation of anti-establishment ideas about flexibility and freedom into instruments of capitalist expansion” (davies, cited in quatrill, 2018: 118). while the hsbc bank building and others (see above) might fit neatly into the high-tech category, as described above, many of the most prominent hanging buildings do not fit this description, but they comply with jencks’ criteria. thus, on the whole, hanging buildings can be described as latemodern buildings. 1 the author can remember his mother (a housewife) insisting that their house had to be ‘north-facing’. vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 151 2.3 hanging buildings hanging buildings were mostly constructed between 1969 and 1985. the torre cepsa in madrid, designed by foster and partners and built between 2003 and 2009 (foster & partners, [s.a.]a), is the most recent example. while the large number of suspension bridges found throughout the world meant that suspended structures were not unusual, this period saw hanging structures becoming more common, due to the popularity of latemodernism and high-tech architecture. some of the buildings and structures constructed in this way during this period include the torres colon in madrid, by antonio lamela (1976) (palau, 2017 [s.p.]); rhone and iredale’s westcoast transmission tower in vancouver (1969); the standard bank centre, johannesburg, by hentrich and petschnigg (1970) (see figure 2); the munich olympic stadium, by frei otto (1972); the bmw headquarters in munich, by karl schwanzer (1973); gunnar birkerts’ federal reserve bank building in minneapolis (1973); bea and walter betz’s hypo bank in munich (1980); suncorp place in sydney, by joseland & gilling architects (1982) (suncorp place, [s.a.]); torre cepsa in madrid, by foster and partners, and the hong kong shanghai bank, by norman foster (1986) (schierle, 2012; archdaily ([s.a.]); duprè (2013: 92) (see figure 1). the advantages of hanging structures are the following (vosloo, 2020: 58-59; zunz, heydenrych & michael, 1971: 30): • the ground floor can be free of columns and load-bearing walls (the main vertical support excluded). should the ground floor be enclosed in glass, the inside could merge with its surroundings. • the absence of columns results in an increase in the useable or lettable floor area of each floor, enhancing the feasibility of the project. • the reduction in support structure could result in increased flexibility. • hangers can have a smaller sectional area than columns, giving better space utilisation. • the elements that transmit the loads to ground level are normally heavily pre-stressed and, therefore, able to resist bending moments imparted by lateral forces. • this method allows for top-down construction and, in the case of multiple stacks or banks (such as the sbc), working at different levels simultaneously. another advantage of this type of structure is that it, like suspension bridges, allows building in areas where site constraints such as rights of way and other servitudes might make building using conventional load-bearing or framed structures difficult if not impossible (miller, [s.a.]: online) acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 152 various suspended high-rise structural systems exist (scherlie, 2012: 2). typically, two structural types are often used in skyscrapers (scherlie, 2012: 2-7): a central core from which is hung the different floors, either by cables from the top as with the torres colon (the hideous green cap visible in figure 4 was not part of the original design) or prestressed concrete hangers as at the standard bank centre. alternatively, the support structure was split in two and moved to the (normally eastern and western) sides with cross-members acting as supports from which the floors are suspended. this option was used in the suncorp place, hsbc building, and torre cepsa. 3. research methodology the article compares two financial office buildings to identify aspects that can lead to more sustainable environments emanating from more financially sustainable buildings. the study made use of a qualitative comparative case study design based on literature reviews. boote and beile (2005: 5) believe that “[a] thorough, sophisticated literature review is the foundation and inspiration for substantial, useful research”. in this study, two buildings built in different parts of the world, but with many commonalities, are compared as cases that used hanging or conventional framed structures as building design. the reason for collecting qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the comparative analysis such as similarities and differences of sustainable design among the two buildings (cases) (yin, 2014). 3.1 rationale for selecting case studies in this article, sustainability will be considered with the aim of identifying aspects that can lead to more sustainable environments emanating from more financially sustainable buildings. this will be done by comparing two buildings built in different parts of the world, but with many commonalities. they were both commissioned by commercial banks that were founded during the colonial period in british colonies; they were both intended to be symbols of their owners’ financial success; they both came to be landmark buildings in their respective cities; their physical form was influenced by the desire of the respective cities to create more public open space in exchange for relaxed height restrictions in the most sought-after areas in their cities; both demanded considerable innovation and ingenuity from their designers and builders; both were designed by foreign architects; they shared the same (foreign) structural designers (ove arup and partners, london); both were designed at a time when the first warnings of imminent socio-economic, political and technological changes became part of the academic and social discourse. one building is standing derelict and for the most part unused, while the other is still fully functional. vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 153 the buildings are the hong kong and shanghai bank (hsbc) headquarters building in hong kong, designed by foster and partners (1978-1985) (figure 1) and the standard bank centre (sbc) in johannesburg, designed by heintrich-petschnigg and partners (1966-1970) (figure 2). figure 1: nhbc building, hong kong figure 2: standard bank centre, johannesburg source: image by author source: image by author 3.2 case study 1: the standard bank centre (sbc) in 1967, the johannesburg city council amended the town planning regulations for the central business district (cbd). they sought to ease the congestion in the area. to this end, they revised regulations, in order to allow higher buildings in return for the creation of public open space around the new building (chipkin, 2008: 136; vosloo, 2020: 60). standard bank sought to build a prestigious new headquarters building in the johannesburg cbd. in doing so, they intended to build a high-rise or skyscraper building as a symbol of their success. to give effect to their ambitions, they set down two objectives: • to construct a prestigious headquarters building that could bring national, and possibly international, recognition for them. • the building must provide an adequate return on investment. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 154 • furthermore, they required that the new building must • incorporate the bank’s executive offices and the bank’s most important divisions; • include the branch of the bank operating on the site for quite some time; • provide office space of a high standard, and • maximise the site’s opportunities to the limits imposed by the town planning restrictions (zunz et al., 1971: 30; hentrich, 1970: 16). in terms of the revised regulations, to be allowed a high-rise building (25-30 storeys), standard bank was required to restrict the tower’s coverage to less than 26% of the area of the site. figure 3 shows the location of the building and figure 4 shows the site layout. figure 3: location of standard bank building source: author, based on map from mapz.com vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 155 figure 4: site layout of standard bank centre source: author, based on figure in hentrich, 1970: 15 the first step taken was the appointment of a planning consultant who was asked to undertake a number of pre-design studies. prof. wilfred mallows, the planning consultant, made several recommendations; the most relevant for this article was that the design should opt for a deep-space office plan and that the lower ground (or first basement) floor should have easy access and commercial activity (zunz et al., 1971: 30; vosloo, 2020: 61). prof. mallows recommended that hentrich-petschnigg and partners from düsseldorf, germany, be appointed as architects. the motivation was that the firm was renowned for their skyscraper buildings such as the dreischeibenhaus (1957-1960) or the thyssen steelworks building, one of the most noteworthy post-war buildings in germany (zunz et al., 1971: 30). ove arup and partners (london-johannesburg) were appointed as structural engineers (hentrich, 1970: 6). 3.2.1 design and layout the architects ignored prof. mallows’ recommendation regarding deepspace office layouts. they developed a concept that prioritised the creation of “an open plaza with no obstructions at groundfloor [sic] level at all except the core of the tower” (hentrich, 1970: 27). no commercial activity would be acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 156 included at ground level and even the banking hall was relegated to the first level below the piazza, albeit linked spatially with the entrance foyer via a multi-volume space (see figures 3 and 4). hentrich describes their design approach as follows: “in order to reduce the office tower to a structural minimum on ground level [and] to create a plaza as open as possible, the architects decided to design the entire building as a hanging structure [...] the only structures at street level are the four cores measuring 5,48 m by 5,48 m” (hentrich, 1970: 27). unfortunately, this preoccupation with a minimalistic open space resulted in a space devoid of any planting or other features that would have encouraged its usage by the general population (see figure 4). the question is: beyond providing spatial relief, what is the advantage of a ‘public’ open space if the public cannot use it? hence, the aims of the city council were also ignored. 3.2.2 structural design the main support structure comprised four squares housing vertical movement facilities and service ducts. the four squares supported the 35-storey, 139 m high office tower. the tower is square in shape with the four corners cut out (zunz et al., 1971: 30). thirty floors are used for office space. they are arranged in three banks of ten floors, with the remaining floors used for services. each of the ten floor banks is suspended from eight reinforced concrete cantilever beams connected to the central core (see figure 5). precast and prestressed concrete hangers were used to support the precast, prestressed concrete floors in combination with the central core (zunz et al., 1971: 31). the basement comprised five floors, the first level being used for banking and the remaining floors housing parking and technical facilities. the underside of the first-floor slab was set at 10.8 m above ground level, in order to augment the spatial character of the design concept. the final form of the building was the result of the design of the structural system (see figure 5). the more common suspension system that utilised an umbrella-like structure at roof level could not be used, as it would interfere with the service runs (zunz et al., 1971: 31; vosloo, 2020: 63). it was thus decided to use the prestressed concrete cantilever beam system mentioned earlier. mechanical plant rooms are housed in the spaces between the cantilever beams. vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 157 figure 5: standard bank centre: section and isometric showing structural system source: artchist, 2016: online 3.2.3 sustainable elements the initial planning started in 1963, construction started in 1966, and the building was completed (ahead of schedule) in march 1970. while this was well ahead of the current focus on green/sustainable or environmentally compatible design, the building did include steps to reduce the energy load of the building: two thermal storage systems to serve all the air-handling plants were included. through their use, energy costs could be reduced by heating the water at night when the unit cost of electricity was lower. however, one of the fundamental principles of creating shelter (let alone ‘architecture’) has always been to attempt to create comfortable environmental conditions with the least possible use of energy. the architects’ brief required an ‘adequate’ return on investment, which implies keeping the operating costs as low as possible. much of this has always been part of good design and common sense; architects cannot claim that these aspects were not important in ‘those days’. hence, the choice of a square floor plan (see figure 6) (meaning that up to 50% of all windows face either east or west), as a result of the central core and supporting structure, must be questioned, particularly when considering that this type of layout has a negative impact on the flexibility of the office areas. surprisingly, the central core type of layout remains popular for high-rise buildings. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 158 figure 6: standard bank centre: office floor plan source: author, based on figure in hentrich, 1970: 15 while the extensive use of concrete in the external skin of the building – a feature that is commendable, given the large diurnal temperature variations in johannesburg – is appropriate and commendable because of the moderating effect this will have on interior temperature fluctuations, the windows on the eastern and western sides did not receive any treatment that would have reduced the heat gain of the offices on those sides. this would have increased the heat load and, eventually, the operating costs of the building. the inclusion of the thermal storage tanks indicates that this imperative was not lost on the entire design team, but that it did not suit the simplistic architectural and structural concept not to have all elevations looking the same. another positive was that, by dividing the office floors into three banks with mechanical and electrical plants housed in the intermediate floors, the effectiveness of the air-conditioning systems was enhanced by the relatively short service runs. likewise, the negative impact of the “tyranny of the central lift core” (sudjic, 2010: 178) on the productivity and job satisfaction of the workforce was not considered. this type of layout isolates each floor from the others, interfering with the flow of information and people through the building. the exception, in this instance, is the spatial linking evident between the banking hall in vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 159 the first basement level and the double-volume entrance foyer. as with the disregard of the needs and comfort of the general public displayed by not providing facilities that would enhance the use of the public space, the architects did not pay enough attention to the productivity, comfort and satisfaction of their clients’ workforce. this elegant and sculptural building (see figure 7) became one of the iconic skyscrapers in johannesburg. sadly, hentrich’s disregard for prof. mallows’ suggestion that the plan should allow for deep-space office layouts as well as the inflexible layout meant that, when standard bank took the decision to build a new headquarters building in 1978 (only eight years after moving to the standard bank centre!), the brief (to prof. mallows’ firm), among other things, was for the following (standard bank, 1982: 8; vosloo, 2020: 76): • a low-rise building that allowed for quick and easy vertical movement, and • a deep-space layout that would provide a completely flexible office layout system. standard bank chose to remain in the central city, as did some of the other major south african banks, and the new building is only a few street blocks to the south of the sbc. currently, the building is mostly unused. one of the reasons mentioned in informal conversation with an architect, who was commissioned to conduct a survey of the building during the recent past, was that asbestos was used in a number of applications and that the removal and replacement thereof was financially unviable. it seems that the bank had learned a lesson; buildings have to be designed in ways that will ensure their continued and sustained use, and that consider the comfort and productivity of those working in it (akadiri et al., 2012: 128). planning and feasibility studies should, from the outset, consider the complete life cycle of the building, as proposed by yeang (1999: 18; akadiri et al., 2012: 130; vosloo, 2020: 76). this should include considering where technology is going and what future users might require. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 160 figure 7: standard bank centre at completion source: image by j.g. boss, in hentrich, 1970: 47 3.3 case study 2: the hong kong and shanghai bank (hsbc) building 3.3.1 design and layout during the early 1980s, discussions on hong kong’s future started between the british and chinese governments (quantrill, 2018: 120). the discussions led to concerns and uncertainty about the territory’s future. during this period of uncertainty, the hong kong shanghai banking corporation headquarters building (1978-1985) was being constructed and served as a statement of confidence. the aim was to create the best bank building in the world (foster & partners, [s.a.]b). it is situated at 1 queen’s road central, central hong kong, on one of the most prominent sites on hong kong island, facing onto statue square, with no other buildings blocking its view of victoria harbour (see figure 8) (hsbc building, [s.a.]). due to this unique situation, a feng shui geomancer was brought in, which resulted in a process of questioning as to what should be the nature of banking in hong kong and how this should be expressed in built form. “in doing so it virtually reinvented the office tower” (foster & partners, [s.a.]). vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 161 figure 8: location of hong kong and shanghai bank building source: author, based on map from mapz.com one of the steps taken was to hoist the bank up (therefore, using a hanging structure) in such a way that it would allow the space beneath the banking hall to link to statue square, also allowing the public to get a glimpse into the interior of the building as they passed beneath it (sudjic, 2010: 171). in doing so, the airflow in this part of this predominantly hot and humid city was improved and sea breezes allowed deeper into the city. the welcoming gesture has resulted in the space becoming a public meeting place for filipino women, in particular. foster negotiated a higher plot ratio with the planning authorities to extend the public space underneath the building, which increased the value of the tower. another drastic departure was foster’s insistence that the lift shafts be moved from the centre to the sides of the building, thereby ending the “tyranny of the central lift core” (refer to figure 9) (sudjic, 2010: 178). this was because he acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 162 realised that this centralised arrangement was inflexible, limiting the way in which the floors could be used (sudjic, 2010:178). the internal movement pattern was further altered by only allowing the high-speed lifts to stop at the five double height floors. from here, movement is by escalator (foster & partners, 2005: 248). another was the decision to incorporate a bridge-type structure, so that the new structure could span right across the old banking hall (foster & partners, 2005: 248). foster regards this as “quite an efficient building in energy terms, with its extensive use of shading, displacement ventilation and sea water cooling” (hongkong and shanghai bank, 2011). figure 9: hong kong and shanghai bank building: typical lower stack floor plan source: author, based on foster & partners, [s.a.]b vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 163 3.3.2 structural design developing this idea led to the adoption of what was known as the ‘chevron scheme’: a steel structure, supported by double sets of masts comprising four sets of inclined steel columns (see figure 10). the steel masts are linked by suspension trusses (pawley, 1999: 75). the floors could be hung from this structure, thereby keeping the office floors as open and flexible as possible (pawley, 1999: 169). this aspect was greatly enhanced by the decision to move the service and movement cores to the edges of the building. figure 10: hong kong and shanghai bank building: structural system source: foster & partners, [s.a.]b the decision to use a hanging structure was also a result of the timerelated pressures: it would allow construction to take place upwards and downwards at the same time (foster & partners, 2005: 248). the speed at which the building had to be constructed also led to the large-scale use of prefabrication (foster & partners, 2005: 248) and modules being shipped in from, among other places, the united kingdom. financial viability was of great importance and various studies were undertaken in an effort to include the cost advantage of various pioneering design aspects. nonetheless, massive cost overruns occurred (quantrill, 2018: 119). at completion, the cost per square meter was substantially higher than that of other bank headquarters buildings. however, a specialist consultant persuaded the bank’s board that it was satisfactorily cost effective and that it would provide the bank with a positive rate of return (quantrill, 2018: 122): “exploited to offset the costs undertaken in the production of a acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 164 new space for financial operations, flexibility and precision assumed value in and of themselves” (quantrill, 2018: 132). planning regulations also influenced the design in other ways: the profile of the tower was a response to regulations seeking to prevent overshadowing at ground level. these regulations influenced the decision to divide the building into three bays, each of varying height (see figure 11). hence, the central bay rises to 47 floors, while the bay closest to statue square contains only 28, and the one on the opposite side comprises 35 floors (sudjic, 2010: 178). figure 11: hong kong and shanghai bank building: side view source: foster & partners, [s.a.]b at the lower levels, the floor slabs in the centre bay make space for a 52 metre-high cathedral-like space (see figure 12). this is the space visitors vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 165 enter after rising from the plaza via escalators (refer to figure 9). at the top of this space is a set of mirrors that are used to reflect light into and down the atrium space (pawley, 1999: 78). transparency is a strong theme permeating the project. a transparent building was part of the original concept (quantrill, 2018: 125). developing and testing various glazing systems received a substantial part of the budget (quantrill, 2018: 125). even the ‘underbelly’ (the floor of the atrium) was made of glass, allowing the sun that was reflected down this space by the ‘sun scoop’ mirror to reach street level. the design used a dramatic aluminium-clad steel exoskeleton and glazed curtain walls (hongkong & shanghai bank headquarters, [s.a.]). the use of lightweight materials here and in the building structure is appropriate from a heat-retention viewpoint when considering that the building is located in a hot, humid climate zone with low diurnal temperature variations. although basic open plan offices have been widely criticised (open plan, 2020), and quantrill expresses her misgivings about the success of the focus on transparency and continuous sight-lines (quantrill, 2018: 118). sudjic2 (2010: 176) regards this building as the clearest expression of the view that “architecture is an industrial process in which the ultimate objective is the creation of highly serviced, limitlessly flexible internal spaces and where formal values are eschewed in favour of exteriors that are made legible, expressing how they are made and what they do”. 2 deyan sudjic obe is a noted architecture and design critic. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 166 figure 12: hong kong and shanghai bank building: atrium and banking hall source: foster & partners, [s.a.]b 3.3.3 sustainable elements arup ([s.a.]), the structural engineers of the project, contend that “though completed more than 20 years ago, is still considered one of the most sophisticated and technology-savvy buildings in the world”. they list the following as elements that, technology wise, make this a sustainable building: using sunlight through a light scoop to light up the atrium to the public plaza; an eight-metre diameter tunnel [constructed beneath the building] to provide seawater for use in the air-conditioning system, and an underfloor air-conditioning system (access flooring). while the view across statue square determined the orientation of the building, it also made it possible to have the main views toward the north and south victoria peak and victoria harbour, the most important natural landmarks in the area. the decision to move the service and movement vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 167 cores to the perimeter of the building meant that they took up much of the problematic eastand west-facing sides. sunlight was drawn into the heart of the building. yet, despite having the basics in place, the building incorporates what is described as “a flexible assembly of components, comprising perimeter glazing, [including adjustable blinds], air conditioning, ceiling and lighting systems floor outlets, [and] partitions ...” (quantrill, 2018: 131), in order to provide “precise environmental management” that could be operated locally. given hong kong’s climate and the deep-space layout achieved, this is not surprising. quantrill (2018: 131) believes that “the substantial cost to the building’s envelope and environmental systems indicated their importance to the client”. furthermore, the clients’ strong forward-looking stance was augmented by the adaptability offered by the flexible layout and the provisions made for changing technology and procedures by including features such as moveable suspended floor plates (access flooring) with adaptable power sockets and air-conditioning outlets (quantrill, 2018: 122). the use of access floors meant that ventilation could be directed with greater accuracy, thus reducing the quantity of cooled air that had to be provided. it also reduced the fire rating and the need for firewalls, because the absence of suspended ceilings meant that they were no longer required. the clients insisted on an envelope that acted spatially, materially and visually to stimulate productivity. employee satisfaction was a priority. as a result, design and material development processes focused not only on technology, but also on cultural issues. they also regarded energy efficiency as critical as was a precisely controlled interior climate – at minimal cost. employee gratification was viewed as a direct link to commercial gains (quantrill, 2018: 130). various alternative glazing systems were proposed and tested to ensure good isolation, coupled with quality views from the inside. the architects, in turn, strove for transparency and refused to accept proposals to use reflective glazing. the building’s floor space is configured around a central indoor atrium surrounded by blocks of office floors clustered as a series of vertically stacked clusters. the boundaries of the office clusters are, like those of the sbc, visually expressed on the exterior of the building. however, in this instance, the divisions have been made more pronounced by large triangular trusses framing double height floors that serve as communal areas. although the focus was on creating a flexible and efficient layout supported by electro-mechanical systems to enhance comfort and productivity, the design of the building incorporates links to anchor it into the local landscape and, in doing so, also demonstrates sensitivity to local spiritual beliefs. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 168 quantrill (2018: 131) submits that “[u]pon completion, the hsbc headquarters promulgated a paradigm of environmental efficiency for commercial prosperity”. 4. discussion in considering these buildings, both held in high regard by the architectural community, it would be unfair not to conduct such an analysis without bearing in mind that the design of the sbc started in 1964, whereas that of the hsbc started in 1979. the 15-year period between these two dates saw many and dramatic changes, including the rise in computer and communications development and the energy crisis of 1979. furthermore, it must be noted that the buildings are both viewed in hindsight through the lens of 2020, almost 80 years after the start of the sbc’s planning process. it is also pertinent to bear in mind that the comparison is not done to determine which is superior, but rather to identify the lessons that can be learnt from the current situations of both buildings and the long-term effects of the various design decisions taken at the design stages of the buildings. 4.1 design and layout while the buildings share a number of common attributes (see 3.1), they also differ in a number of ways: their designers responded differently to the physical, environmental, technological, social and urban contexts in which they were conceptualised and designed. the hsbc was anchored and rooted in the city’s public spatial system, geography and beliefs, among other things, and took great pains to include the local population in the building and to find solutions that satisfied the needs of their clients and their own priorities. by contrast, the designers of the sbc ignored all local needs, climate and recommendations and gave the ‘johannesburgers’ a minimalistic design, more suited to the cold climates of northern europe. 4.2 sustainable elements the architects of the hsbc foresaw and made specific provision for the dramatic developments in the application of computer technology. while the sbc did include a computer centre (hentrich, 1970: 27) and a central control facility (hentrich, 1970: 59), there is no indication that the architects made any attempt to provide for the technological developments that some forward thinking or life-cycle planning would have indicated. while it might be unfair to expect those responsible for the design of the sbc to have foreseen the dramatic changes in information technology that took place in the years following the building’s completion, they could have done more to allow for future developments. the building was designed for mainframe computer systems, indicating that the designers were aware of the latest vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 169 technologies and that they cannot claim complete ignorance regarding future changes. designers (in this instance, architects and engineers) have to be forward-looking, because our buildings need to remain usable for at least 50 to 100 years, if not more. in fairness, those from standard bank who compiled the brief and signed off on the final design must share in the blame in this regard. one would expect that, with open-plan offices becoming more popular in the 1960s (open plan, 2020), they too should have been aware that technology and workplace protocols were undergoing rapid development. in addition, the sbc designers blatantly disregarded suggestions that would accommodate changes in the working environment and opted for a square plan form with central movement and a services core, while paying no regard to orientation. the only possible reason could be that they were seduced by the simplistic sculptural form that would result from it. having created the required public open space, the sbc architects finished it off as a minimalistic open space with no regard for the ‘public’ aspect, particularly the need for shade and seating that would have invited the public to use this space. the banking hall was relegated to the first basement level with limited commercial facilities to support it. the general population was not important to them and neither were any local traditions or beliefs or the comfort of the workers in the building – particularly those who were unlucky enough to end up with eastor west-facing offices. the building is an event in itself, an exercise in navel gazing that disregards the city and its people. by contrast, the architects for the hsbc building embraced the local population and endeavoured to create the maximum open space possible for their benefit, although they too could have done more to provide street furniture that would have provided comfort to the users of the space. in addition, the space so created becomes part of a network of public open spaces in the heart of this congested city. not only is the project anchored in a spatial network, the spatial network purposely recognises local beliefs and sensitivities. furthermore, it takes in the most dramatic views and geographic features of its environment. the hsbc building also incorporates the latest technology, often at great cost, to ensure that the building will remain functional over the long term by having a layout that is flexible and that allows for functional and technological changes. furthermore, the comfort of those working in the building is important: they are afforded opportunities to adjust climatic conditions; views of their city and its environment was a priority. the hsbc banking hall becomes a celebrated and dramatic space, the most prominent in the building; clients are welcomed into the building and their experience is prioritised. the building has become a popular landmark in the city and the population warms to it, even choosing it as a congregation point. in this way, it becomes a revered international landmark that achieves acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 170 the initial aims of both the bank and the architects: it is regarded by many as the best bank building in the world and an example of how office towers should be designed in order to remain functional. in addition, it provides the architects with the knowledge that informs future hanging structure skyscraper designs. 4.3 structural design while both buildings have hanging structures, the central vertical support chosen for the sbc has a number of negative implications, particularly in creating an inflexible layout and a plan form that is not suited to the local climate. it complicates the floor-to-floor movement of employees who have to wait for lifts to arrive, creating not only frustration but also negatively impacting on productivity. in the hsbc, the vertical supports (including lift shafts) are moved to the eastern and western sides of the building, the sides not suited for offices, with cross-members acting as supports from which the floors are suspended. in this way, the central part of the building is cleared, allowing for greater flexibility. vertical movement is facilitated by high-speed lifts that only stop at certain floors. movement between the intermediate floors is by escalator, avoiding productivity-sucking and frustration-causing delays. 5. compare with current sustainability design in order to compare the two buildings in light of current views on sustainability, the two buildings have been compared on the basis of robertson’s (2018: 133) construct (see 2.1 above) extended to include economical sustainability: “at the centre of the new paradigm must be human beings. climate change is a social, technical and cultural problem, and the needs of people should be at the heart of our decision making.” in this regard, the hbsc building stands head and shoulders above the sbc and, on this score, the time difference between the buildings cannot be offered as an excuse for the sbc’s failure. the human experience has been key to most (if not all) of the architectural theories. with the exception of the new public open space, the building does not provide the general public much benefit or positive response other than the novelty of the ‘floating’ superstructure and a sculpturally elegant building to appreciate and admire. the public space provides no more than spatial relief and a shortcut to those who cross it diagonally. nearly half of the people working in the building will do so in offices that, at certain times, could be uncomfortable, whereas all will be frustrated while waiting for lifts as they endeavour to move vertically through the building. on the positive side, most of them will sit next to a window, allowing them views out of the building (of neighbouring buildings). vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 171 much has been written about the negative aspects of open-plan offices as originally conceptualised; this, at least, they will be spared. the hsbc, by contrast, in addition to providing an open space, does it in a way that extends the current open spatial structure, allows cooling breezes to penetrate deeper into the city, and offers the experience of sunlight in this open space, even though it is underneath the building. those who use the space are made part of it by being allowed to look up into the atrium space into the banking hall. it also considers the spiritual and philosophical sensibility of the population (feng shui). the comfort and experience (views and comfort) of those who work inside were a priority of both the architects and the bank. “buildings and infrastructure should be intuitive, data visualisations legible, and interactions easy and meaningful. fundamentally, we must learn from interactions between humans and buildings to improve performance and ensure that we are meeting our needs and allowing future and distant people to meet theirs” (robertson, 2018: 133). hiding the sbc’s banking hall – the interface between the bank and its customers – in a basement as part of a tiny shopping area that cannot in any way be sustainable is counter-intuitive and transmits the wrong message and complicates interactions. on the other hand, turning the banking hall into the centrepiece of the building, opening it up for all to see and admire, results in an experience to look forward to, giving customers the feeling that they are valued and that the bank is not only about top management. in addition, the exterior of the building has become a landmark that transmits the institution’s symbolic technological prowess to the locals and visitors arriving by ferry or when looking down at the core of hong kong’s historical centre. “buildings should be robust, [economically viable over the short, medium and long term], built to last, adaptable to functional change and climate change. they must be for us, our neighbours, our peers and our descendants, wherever they are” (robertson, 2018: 133). in 1983, the cost of the hsbc was estimated to be eight billion hong kong dollars (quantrill, 2018: 121). at the time, it was the most expensive building ever constructed. a specialist consultant appointed by the hsbc concluded that the building was “satisfactorily cost-effective” (quantrill, 2018: 120). time has confirmed this assertion. quantrill (2018: 131) holds that “[u]pon completion, the hsbc headquarters promulgated a paradigm of environmental efficiency for commercial prosperity”. however, one may ask: has it stood the test of time? the renowned german architectural journal detail contends that it is one of only a few buildings that seemingly do not age (hongkong and shanghai bank, 2011). in the same interview, foster (2011) reports that the design acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 172 “... has given the bank huge flexibility. for example, they were able to introduce a large trading floor quite easily and without disruption – something that could never have been anticipated when the building was designed. no traditional bank headquarters building has anything like this degree of flexibility, which is a consequence of relegating the normal central core to the edges of open, flexible floors. interestingly, if you talk to the bank, they will tell you that they link their consistent financial growth and strong world rating to the way the building has been able to adapt to suit changing needs.” despite standard bank’s insistence that the building should be financially viable, this also is not enough to assure its sustainability. the current state of the two buildings confirms the validity of robertson’s construct as extended by the author, and as the above analysis confirms, the need for a broader understanding of what constitutes ‘sustainability’ as argued for in the introduction of this article. 6. conclusions from a sustainability point of view, hanging structures can have a number of important advantages. they can allow for a high degree of flexibility, which could significantly extend the usable lifespan of a building; can allow building in areas that otherwise would have been considered impossible to build on (resulting in the optimal use of land in city areas), and create public open spaces that will enhance the urban quality and experience in densely developed areas. moreover, they can create qualitative positive and visually dramatic spaces that will resonate with communities, thereby creating an affinity between the building and the people affected by it. an earlier analysis of the sbc (vosloo, 2020: 75) found that this building fails when evaluated from a green design perspective when analysed using yeang’s model (yeang, 1999: 65), and that its inflexible structural layout, particularly the central position of its main services and movement core, a layout often used with hanging structures, has contributed, directly and indirectly by forcing substantial eastor west-facing exposure, to its unsustainability and, hence, its current state. based on the analysis presented in this article, it was found that the sbc designers’ preoccupation with the building and its structure led to a building that turns its back on its local environment, its public, its users and those working in it. furthermore, it was found that the designers did not foresee or provide for the dramatic changes in technological, environmental, social and political environments which the late 20th century would hold. there is hardly any evidence of forward-thinking or pro-active design. thus, the design led to an unsustainable building, seen from any particular understanding of sustainability. the main causes of the current state of the building are vosloo• early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers 173 the overtly simplistic concept and the preoccupation of all involved with solving the technical and construction challenges without considering the ‘bigger picture’. from a sustainability viewpoint, the advantages a hanging structure could offer were lost. the hsbc building did not fall into this mode of thinking. the architects • recognised it as an integral part of the city of hong kong and its belief systems; • responded to the local geographical context; • understood it as a part of global technological developments; • allowed for development and future changes, and • showed a concern for the people who will use and even those who will simply pass by it. in this way, it became a building that “the community [...] wants to occupy” (sassi, 2006: 9). groups regularly meet and have gatherings in the building (foster and partners, 2005: 248). moreover, it remains fully functional and revered as one of the key buildings of hong kong. this building complies with the criteria for sustainability. this comparison provides lessons to architects and the architects of skyscrapers with sustainability objectives, in particular. first, hanging structures can enhance the sustainability of high-rise buildings, but the hanging (or other) structure selected must be configured to allow for a high level of flexibility. secondly, the design must respond to the socio-geographical and economic contextual issues listed above if the building is to be sustainable. feasibility studies should regard associated costs as opportunity costs, since they create value that will ensure the sustainability of the project. however, despite this experience to tap into, many new skyscraper developments such as london’s one blackfriars, the one world trade centre in new york, and strata se1 buildings still fall foul to “the tyranny of the central lift core” (sudjic, 2010: 178). many still regard sustainable design as a purely technological and material matter only. the truth is that all the fundamental attributes associated with ‘good’ architecture are required for a building to be truly sustainable, but that might not suffice. finally, it has been shown that the current understanding of sustainable design has developed to now include a wide variety of aspects, including human and economic/financial concerns: the relationship between the building and the natural environment, and economic, cultural and communal considerations, 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(real estate) graduate, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, hatfield, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 82 804 8555, email: <kobus@professionalvaluers. co.za> douw boshoff dr douw (g.b.) boshoff, senior lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood road, hatfield, 0002, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 3781, email: <douw. boshoff@up.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i2.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(2): 44-76 © uv/ufs mailto:kobus@professionalvaluers.co.za mailto:kobus@professionalvaluers.co.za mailto:douw.boshoff@up.ac.za mailto:douw.boshoff@up.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.2 van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 45 other regression techniques such as non-linear, geographic weighted regression and quantile regression. these other techniques would, however, require a larger data sample, in order to provide meaningful results. keywords: agricultural property, automated valuation methodology (avm), farm valuation, mass appraisal, valuation methodology abstrak daar is veelvuldige faktore wat die prys van ’n plaas beïnvloed, wat nie noodwendig suiwer finansieël van aard is nie. dit maak die taak van die waardeerder moeilik en kompleks, wat weer veroorsaak dat die moontlikheid bestaan dat daar groot verskille tussen die gewaardeerde waardes en die verkooppryse van plase voorkom. hierdie artikel rapporteer die resultate van ’n studie wat die unieke en onderskeidende eienskappe van plase ontleed ten einde te bepaal of dit moontlik is om ’n liniêre regressie-analiese model te ontwikkel (wat aan minimum akkuraatheidsvlakke voldoen) met redelik beskikbare inligting, vir die waardasie van plase. die verbetering van die akkuraatheidsvlakke van mramodelle sowel as die beperkings van hierdie mra-modelle, vir gebruik in plaas waardasies, is ook nagevors. deur middel van ’n stapsgewyse regressie-analiese metode, is 60 plase wat hoofsaaklik in die “gemengde bosveld” ekosone, in die westelike gedeelte van die limpopo-provinsie geleë is, ontleed deur van 10 onafhanklike veranderlikes gebruik te maak. drie modelle is ontwikkel. die resultate het aangetoon dat ’n regressiemodel ontwikkel kan word wat redelik akkuraat is, maar ’n model met ’n hoë mate van akkuraatheid kon nie ontwikkel word nie as gevolg van veelvuldige redes, insluitend redes wat nie direk verwant is aan plaasfaktore nie en die grootte van die geografiese gebiede. alhoewel akkurate mra-waardasies tot voordeel sal wees van plaas eienaars vir die bepaling van munisipale belastingwaardes en dit sal lei tot ’n wyer en meer algemene gebruik van mra’s vir plaaswaardasies, moet groot versigtigheid aan die dag gelê word met die gebruik van mra-modelle in plaaswaardasies omdat dit waarskynlik is dat die mra-modelle nie aan minimum akkuraatheidvereistes voldoen nie. dit is moeilik, tog moontlik, om ’n mra-model vir plaaswaardasies te ontwikkel wat redelik akkuraat is. dus, waar mra-modelle vir munisipale waardasies gebruik word, wat nie redelik akkuraat is nie, behoort die akkuraatheid verhoog te kan word. ’n mra-modelwaardasie sal egter nooit die waardasie van ’n ervare en kundige professionele waardeerder kan vervang, wanneer ’n maksimale akkurate waardasie benodig word nie. sleutelwoorde: landbou-eiendom, waardasie metodologie, massa waardasie, plaaswaardasie, ge-outomatiseerde waardasie metodologie (avm) 1. introduction the value of a specific agricultural property is determined by a wide variety of factors. barry, ellinger, hopkin & baker (1995: 344) pointed out that land values are influenced by many special factors that may differ among potential buyers. to illustrate, an agricultural producer with excess acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 46 machinery capacity may place greater value on a new tract of land than will a neighbour who must buy more machinery to operate the added land. some non-monetary factors are pride of ownership, family tradition, hobby farming, and rural living. no two farms are ever the same or entirely homogeneous. no two farms are ever alike in terms of (i) the basic resources (land, labour, or capital) that are available, (ii) the way these resources or factors of production are combined (iii) in terms of the amounts of various crops and livestock produced. suter (1992: 39-41) stated that a professional valuer who values farms has specialised knowledge and skills regarding farms. the valuer has acquired skills regarding agronomy, engineering, animal and crop science, economics, law and psychology. as a valuer walks a given subject property, he develops an overall comprehension of factors such as soils, topography, drainage, irrigation facilities and the practices influencing the crops raised in the area. the valuer understands the contribution of various buildings and improvements and whether the farm’s resources, as an operating unit, are balanced. an understanding of the farm real-estate market and for factors such as product prices, costs, earnings, rental rates, government regulations and the idiosyncrasies of both buyers and sellers of farms in his area is evident. factors such as the number of years of farming experience of the buyer, and if the buyer owns the adjoining farm, have an impact on the price the buyer is willing to pay (bourhill, 1998: 80). van schalkwyk (1992: 62) determined that the correlation between the debt per hectare, the population density and farm values is significant. farm values are also highly correlated with the gross farm income. when valuing an agricultural property, an important part of the valuation process is to do a thorough property inspection, in order to verify first hand all the relevant factors and data, which can influence the value of the property. this physical inspection has the distinct advantage that the heterogeneous factors applicable to a specific agricultural property are taken into proper account. the primary objectives of this article are: • to determine if it is possible to develop a linear multiple regression model for the valuation of farms (which satisfies accuracy requirements) with data of an acceptable quality that is readily available, given the fact that farms are very van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 47 heterogeneous and that a professional valuer of farms must have very specific skills and knowledge; • to contribute to the knowledge regarding the improvement of the accuracy levels of mra models in farm valuations, and • to determine the limitations that these mra models might have regarding their applicability to farm valuations. accurate mra valuation estimates will be to the advantage of individual farm owners regarding their municipal tax assessments. it will lead to a wider use of mras for the valuation of farms, with the associated benefits of lower valuation costs and speedier valuations, especially by financial institutions. 2. factors influencing the value of farms farms have numerous unique factors and attributes that influence their value. a mra model, which is inclined to satisfy accuracy requirements, will have to successfully take into account these value-influencing factors and distinctive attributes. 2.1 market value and the characteristics of agricultural property suter (1980: 3) stated that farms are bought and sold as businesses, as enjoyable places to live, as investments, or as insurance against a declining currency value. van schalkwyk (1992: 36-41) commented that the factors that influence the supply-and-demand function of farmland can be allocated in three categories, namely: • farm resource factors such as topography, soil potential, percentage of farm that is arable, extent of irrigation, and average rainfall; • non-farm factors such as debt per hectare and population density, and • interest rates. bourhill (1998: 92) mentioned that the most important determinant of land value (within a relatively homogeneous area) is the size of the farm. a review of the factors affecting land prices shows that external (non-farm) and non-economic factors complicate the analysis and cause a gap between market value and productive value, which, in turn, varies from submarket to submarket. he concludes by stating acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 48 that, in south africa, land prices are driven by factors that are difficult to predict and to quantify (bourhill, 1998: 94). pienaar (2015: 71-84) discussed 12 factors that influence a specific farm’s value in addition to the factors that influence the farm values of an area: • the unique combination of natural resources on a farm, namely the land type, soil form, and grazing capacity; • the topography of the specific farm; • the presence of rights, servitudes and endorsements; • the level of infrastructure development has a direct influence on the value; • the utility of the land; • location in relation to markets and input suppliers; • access to the farm; • farm shape and outlay; • farm extent; • condition of the veld; • labour versus capital intensity, and • the potential of the specific farm. 2.1.1 highest and best use principle the highest and best use principle is important to the potential value of farm properties. rainfall, temperatures, topography and soil types (murray, 1969: 385-392) typically determine the highest and best use of farmland; this includes the highest and best combination of enterprises. there are usually various alternative enterprises as well as various alternative improvements that could be considered. the valuer must ascertain if the subject property is developed and farmed according to the highest and best norms of the area where the farm is situated. if not, the farm must be valued as if it is developed to its highest and best use, and the cost to develop it as such should be deducted to determine the market value. the appraisal institute (2000: 149) stated: “... thus, an analysis of a property’s highest and best use is truly a property-specific economic study of market forces”. gildenhuys (2001: 306) alluded to the town of dieppe v snitch (1997) case where the judge commented: “it is not enough that the lands van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 49 have the capability of rezoning. in my opinion, probability connotes something higher than a 50% possibility”. 2.1.2 irrigation the presence of developed or potential irrigation on a farm has a large influence on the value of the farm. it is not easy to determine if the irrigation on a subject farm is legal. the valuer must have specific knowledge regarding the legality requirements of the irrigation as well as technical knowledge regarding the type of irrigation system that is used. according to pienaar (2015: 184), there are four potential possibilities regarding irrigation land on a farm: • irrigation land; • equipped land; • potentially irrigable dry land, and • potential irrigable veld. each of the above possibilities has a different effect on the market value of the farm. furthermore, the efficiency to which water is used also leads to different values per hectare for different irrigation systems. 2.1.3 the use of different valuation methods with farm valuations, due to the heterogeneity of farms, a combination of all valuation methods is required to account for all components of the farm such as land only, income-production capabilities, and improvements not otherwise accounted for. a mra model, which endeavours to satisfy accuracy requirements, will have to reflect the fact that all the various valuation methods are used to develop credible farm valuations. i. comparable market transaction method (direct sales comparison) according to gildenhuys (2001: 216), the comparable market transaction method is not reliable when not enough comparable market transactions have taken place, or when too many adjustments are needed. the prerequisite to use this method is the data availability of sufficient comparable transactions. the lack of farm transactions in a specific area leads to limited comparable transactions, resulting in the adjustment of the criteria in the valuation of the property. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 50 ratterman (2007: 53) made the point that the valuer should try to replicate the market conditions at the time of the transaction. thus, the valuer must assess which attributes of the farm influenced the buyer to pursue the sale transaction. these attributes must be taken into account when adjustments are made to estimate a market value of the subject property. the adjustment process requires considerable in-depth agricultural knowledge as well as the ability to skilfully evaluate and correctly interpret the relevant attribute(s) of each comparable transaction. the adjustments needed are part of the valuation process, which cannot be done by a person who does not possess this knowledge and skill regarding agriculture properties, in particular. this is also the part of the process where mistakes are easily made and thus lead to a wrong valuation of the subject farm. ii. productive value (income capitalisation) method reliable comparable transactions are not always available, hence often the productive value method becomes the preferred method to use. with climate playing a large role in the income-production possibilities of a farm, annual variances in the local climate can influence yields from year to year. the challenge lies in deciding on a realistic and sustainable yield. long-term average yields for the immediate area should be used, but the specific farm’s soil potential and its nutrition levels should be taken into account. this is further complicated by the abilities of the farmer or manager. an average farmer’s abilities should be used in the measurement of returns not that of an above average performer. it is not correct to value a farm based on yields that are achieved by an outstanding farm manager, but, according to murray (1969: 381-382), yields must be used that will be achieved by a typical manager. furthermore, farming income and costs can vary substantially from year to year, making it difficult to implement the productive value approach. according to van schalkwyk (1995: 124), one of the major concerns of using the income approach in the valuation of farmland relates to the use of the appropriate capitalisation rate. pienaar (2015: 103) mentions that, in order to determine the capitalisation rate, 21 (meaning a large number) assumptions have to be made. it is often not possible, due to a lack of farm transactions, to determine the correct capitalisation rate in the market. van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 51 iii. depreciated replacement cost method many farm valuers find this to be a vital approach, because, in numerous cases, no comparable properties (with similar buildings and improvements in terms of extent and quality) are available. therefore, to value the land as if vacant and to add the depreciated market value of the buildings is a practical and very often the only approach that can be used (pienaar, 2015: 91, 100). iv. proactive comparable method pienaar (2015: 106) explained that this method could be used when there is a lack of reliable comparable transactions. guidelines for an area are developed proactively (annually). the guidelines for a specific area are then used as benchmarks for farmland values. the guidelines are derived from actual transactions that have been analysed and evaluated. examples of guidelines are, among others, value/ha for a specific soil type where dry land crop production is done, value/ha for each of a specific veld type, and value/ha for centre pivot irrigation. it is important for relevant stakeholders such as valuers, financial institutions, agricultural cooperatives and land-reform offices to participate in the preparation of guideline values. v. land residual method this method is used to determine the value of the land only. the value of the land, considered as vacant, is calculated by deducting the value of the improvements from the total value. the land residual method may not be a preferred method but, at times, it prevails as the only alternative method available to value unimproved land (jonker, 2014: 87). vi. partial takings farmland is often subjected to the taking of a limited property right such as the requirement to erect high-voltage power lines or a road on the farm, with subsequent registration of a power-line servitude or right-of-way servitude. this is referred to as a partial taking: the whole property is not taken, only certain specific property rights on a specific geographic area of the farm. pienaar (2015: 74) described the influence of power-line servitudes on the value of a farm in three ways. first, it is the loss of full utilisation of the specific affected land. secondly, the area is occupied by pole structures and, lastly, the subjective issue related to the spoiling of the acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 52 scenery. pipelines and canal servitudes are very similar to power-line servitudes. gildenhuys (2001: 338) stated that, in the majority of anglo-american judicial systems, the before-and-after method is considered the preferred valuation method, because it leads to the most equitable value. he alludes to the comment in the “uniform eminent domain code”, where it is spelled out that the before-and-after valuation method is usually the most equitable. the before-and-after method is complex and only a valuer with specific knowledge and skill regarding farms can apply this method. 2.2 automated valuation models there is a paucity of literature regarding mass valuations and the use of automated valuation methods (avms), specifically for the valuation of agricultural property. the appraisal institute (2013: 295-296) commented that property tax assessors have, for many years, used regression models for mass appraisal, especially in highly developed residential markets. regression analysis models form the basis for many avms. thompson (2008: 1) argued that quantitative methods are undergoing a massive renaissance, specifically pointing out that a homogeneous valuation method is required worldwide, due to economic globalisation. 2.2.1 mass valuations valuation of properties is, by nature, an estimation of the value of a property as of a given date, and the precision demanded needs to be weighed against the cost of producing value (bond & dent, 1998: 373). thompson (2008: 31 & 41) stated that stratification of a residential market into rational market segments is the key to producing usable models and establishing the proper sub-populations for valuation, using comparable sales. the saiv (2014: 14-2) mentioned that, in a mass appraisal environment, valuation models must be developed that replicate the forces of supply and demand over an entire area. des rosiers and thériault (2008: 111) wrote that hedonic price modelling is popular for two main reasons: “first, it rests on multiple regression analysis which is a conceptually sound and very powerful van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 53 analytical device that combines probability theory with calculus, thereby allowing the sorting out of crossed influences that affect property values. second, it perfectly fits the very definition of market value, expressed as the most probable price that should be paid for in a competitive and transparent market setting.” gilbertson & preston (2005: 129) commented that the real danger remains that automated products will be confused with traditional valuations when this is not the case. valuations are a professional opinion and must be clearly distinguished as such. tretton (2007: 488, 505) wrote that avms are in use across the world with varying degrees of sophistication. most of these avms value residential property. 2.2.2 advantages and shortcomings of avms tretton (2007: 505-508) mentioned and described the advantages of avms: • full transparency and public access facilitated; • low cost; • consistency; • speed, and • annual revisions are possible. he also stated that considerable criticism, in the us, can be found of avms used by commercial companies for loans: • concern that the public does not appreciate/understand the difference between an automated valuation and a conventional valuation, which involves a physical inspection, understanding of the market condition, and a careful examination of comparable evidence close to the property; • the use of outdated or very limited data. a recurring theme being the lack of data available outside the public sector; • failure to take account of all the variables affecting value – a lack of individual inspection of the property, and • there is greater confidence in a “real person” undertaking the valuation. gilbertson and preston (2005: 127-129) commented that the fact that a valuer has hardly, if any, input to an avm has the advantage of eliminating human error and bias, and the disadvantage that it could also eliminate the physical property inspection, the skill, judgement and experience of the valuer. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 54 robson and downie (2008: 6) referred to specific constraints on avm use: • data limitations: avms depend on the accuracy, comprehensiveness and timeliness of the data they use; without sales or value data, they cannot produce a result. they are most reliable when valuing typical properties in homogeneous neighbourhoods at prices close to the median for the locality. subsequently, these models are less reliable when there are incomplete data records, few sales in a geographical area, unique properties, or unique local markets. the difficulty of modelling purchasers’ preferences for non-physical property characteristics such as views, gardens and sunshine is mentioned. • risk acceptance: the main impediment to further using avms is caution over inaccuracy. where accuracy is less critical, for instance when credit capacity is good, and where the physical property has already been checked, as for second mortgages, avms may be judged acceptable, despite this concern. thompson (2008) wrote that the phrase “garbage in/garbage out” captures the key message that the quality of the values produced is directly impacted by the quality of the data analysed and used to produce the property value estimates. 2.2.3 municipal taxation one of the major problems that municipalities face is the extraordinary high administration cost to determine the values of agricultural properties (fisher, 1996: 314). therefore, there is a very real cost benefit for municipalities to use avms for agricultural valuations. 2.2.4 trends and opportunities in the use of avms robson and downie (2008: 4) found that avms are in use throughout the world. this includes india, russia, south america, and many smaller countries. some countries are “early-stage” users, while others such as sweden, the us and canada are “established” users. the established users have confidence in its use for second mortgage purposes and have also started to use it for first mortgage purposes. they also found that a successful avm model in one country would not necessarily be applicable in another country. it has to be adapted to local market conditions that drive values. van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 55 if avms are properly understood and used, they will become a valuable part of the valuation process rather than the process itself (gilbertson & preston: 2005, 128). in a survey undertaken by robson and downie (2008), with the participation of 473 valuers across the world, 44% of the respondents believe that they can benefit by using avm data. however, 87% of the respondents believe that conventional valuations are more accurate than avms because of valuers’ local knowledge. of the respondents, 90% agreed that valuers’ ability to evaluate comparables is a major advantage over avms. gilbertson and preston (2005: 127) indicated that there is not enough access to highly comparable data, which makes the application of mass valuation technology much more complex in the commercial property sector than in the residential property sector. tretton (2007: 488 & 505) stated that the importance of [data] quality cannot be over-emphasised. it is no coincidence that the most highly developed commercial avm appears to exist in hong kong, where 99% of property is rented and the commissioner’s knowledge of transactions is very high. the key is data. the poorer the quality and quantity of data, the less feasible automation becomes. boshoff and de kock (2013: 12-13) found that 50% of the professional valuers they interviewed in south africa were of the opinion that avms can only be used for residential valuations, to a certain degree of accuracy. in their opinion, commercial property is a much more involved valuation exercise and the risks associated with this type of property need to be balanced and managed. 2.2.5 accuracy requirements according to pienaar (2015: 55), there is a general belief in the valuation industry that it is acceptable to have different valuations of the same property. these can differ by 10% in the value estimates. from personal communications with a number of valuers, who specialise in valuing farms, the common opinion is that, since farms are much more difficult to value than a residential property, the tolerable accuracy should preferably be within 15%. if it exceeds 20%, the valuation is not considered credible. crosby, lavers and murdoch (1998: 305) mentioned that “the margin of error” concept involves the proposition that, in considering whether a valuer exercised reasonable care and skill in carrying out a valuation, it is important to determine the extent to which that acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 56 valuation departs from the “true value” [selling price] of the property. crosby (2000: 321-324) stated that they researched 120 pairs of fairly typical commercial investment valuations. they determined that 65% of the valuations is within 10% of each other and that 90% is within 20% of each other. furthermore, they refer to a study by hutchison (1996) where the valuation estimates were compared with the actual selling price. the results of the research were similar: 65% of the valuations had a margin of error of less than 10%, and 90% of the valuations had a margin of error of less than 20%. crosby (2000: 14-15) refers to cases decided in the high court in britain, between 1977 and the year 2000, in which the margin of error was the matter of contention. “in the majority of cases in which the judge has ruled on the extent of the bracket, the result lies between 10 per cent and 15 per cent either side of what is found to be the ‘true value’ (or either side of the midway point in cases where no decision was reached as to the true value). moreover, while individual experts may occasionally demand (or concede) a wider bracket, there is no recorded instance of anyone favouring a figure in excess of ±20 per cent. it appears, therefore that, to date, ±20 per cent has been universally regarded as the absolute limit”. according to the iaao (2013: 13), the most generally useful measure for uniformity is the coefficient of dispersion (cod). however, it is important to take cognisance of the fact that ratio studies cannot be used to judge the level of appraisal of an individual property (iaao, 2013: 7). rossini and kershaw (2008: 1) conducted research to establish minimum requirements for accuracy in avms in the greater adelaide metropolitan area. they used 2 538 transactions that took place in 2005 and 2006 in their database. their research focused on establishing a set of standards for the accuracy of individual valuation. rossini and kershaw (2008: 8) concluded that for a “reasonable level of acceptance” of accuracy, the avm should have a minimum of 90% of the individual estimates within a 20% accurate range and the cod should be less than 10%.they stated that, if only 80% of the individual estimates are within a 20% accurate range and the cod is more than 13, the avm is “of no real value to users”. the major advantage of rossini and kershaw’s (2008) study is that they established guidelines for the accuracy of individual properties’, within a group of properties, appraisal accuracy. the iaao (2013: 17) prescribes specific maximum cod levels for specific types of properties: van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 57 • residential property, a cod of maximum 15%, and • income-producing property, a cod of maximum 20%. however, there is no maximum cod level specified for a developed farm. however, based on the above information, the researcher concluded that a cod of less than 10% and a 90% of individual estimates within 20% accuracy qualifies as a high degree of accuracy and a cod of 10%-15% and 80% of individual estimates within 20% accuracy as indicative of a fair degree of accuracy. 2.2.6 the use of regression analysis in the valuation of agricultural properties murray (1969: 276-285) described nine different studies done in the u.s.a. in the first study, the sale prices of 160 farms from 1916 to 1919 in minnesota were analysed. the last study he referred to was done in 1965 in the mississippi river delta, where 1 378 land transfers were analysed. multiple regression equations were developed in each study, which typically took variables such as the depreciated cost of buildings, land classification index, soil productivity index, land slope, drainage, water supply, distance to the market, distance to town, size of the farm, and other variables into account. murray concluded that the statistical approach could explain about three-fourths of the variations in values, but there was always a level of variance that was not explained by statistical analysis. there are similar complexities in the characteristics of both farmland and commercial property, which make the application of avms in the valuation of agricultural property more challenging. arguably, even more difficult than in the case of commercial property. • farms are highly heterogeneous, and • the quality and availability of data to develop successful avm models to use in the valuation of agricultural property are often poor and scarce. 3. methodology the stepwise regression method was used to develop three mra models. in this process, all the candidate independent variables in the model are checked to determine if their significance has been reduced below the specified tolerance level. if a non-significant variable is found, it is removed from the model (ncss, 2015: online). by following this process, the regression model has been improved by removing the independent variables that have a non-significant influence on the dependent variable. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 58 3.1 sampling method and size the aim of the researcher was to use data, as far as possible, from a homogeneous area regarding its natural habitat. sixty ecozone farms (“mixed bushveld”) (south african national biodiversity institute, 2005: 26) in the jr, kr, kq, lr, ls and mt registration divisions in the western area of the limpopo province were used. it can be described as the area north of the road from bela-bela (warmbaths) to northam, and west of the road from bela-bela (warmbaths) to makhado (louis trichardt (see figure 1). the only exception is four farms that are close to letsitele in the eastern part of the limpopo province. twenty-four farms have thabazimbi as the nearest town, four farms have vaalwater, eight have mookgopong (naboomspruit), four have alldays, four have warmbaths (bela-bela), four have makhado (formerly louis trichardt), four have letsitele, and eight farms have lephale (formerly ellisras) as the nearest town. figure 1: study area source: google maps eco-zone “mixed bushveld” is described as: altitude of 700-1 100 m; rainfall 300-500 mm, mostly in the form of thunderstorms. the summers are hot, reaching temperatures of 35°c and more by day, with only occasional frost during winter nights. due to the low rainfall, grasses do not form dense uniform stands. grass types are mainly a mix van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 59 between types with a higher grazing value and types with a lower grazing value. 3.2 data acquisition the data used for empirical analysis consisted of 15 valuations, plus three comparable transactions per valuation. thus, a total of 15 valuations plus 45 real transactions, giving 60 data sets regarding 60 farms. a quantity of 60 observations and 10 independent variables gives a ratio of 6:1 (observations: independent variables), which is considered to be sufficient. a ratio of 4:1 is considered the minimum (australian property institute, 2015: 489). 3.3 data analysis and interpretation of findings in this study, a number of statistical tests and indicators are used to analyse and evaluate the accuracy, applicability and statistical significance of the regression model(s). 3.3.1 pearson r correlation coefficient correlation coefficients measure the strength of linear association between two variables (gujarati & porter, 2009: 20). it can vary numerically between -1.0 and 1.0. the closer the correlation is to 1.0 or to -1.0, the stronger the relationship between the two variables. a correlation of 0.0 indicates the absence of any relationship. 3.3.2 r² the r² is the square value of the r correlation value. it is also called the coefficient of determination. the r² can vary numerically between 0.0 and 1.0. a value, for example, of 0.65 means 65% of the variation in the dependant variable is accounted for by the independent variables in the model. it also implies that 35% of the value of the dependent variable is not accounted for by the model (gujarati & porter, 2009: 493). 3.3.3 adjusted r² for comparative purposes, the adjusted r² is a better measure than the r². the adjusted r² value is a calculated value that adjusts the analysis model if independent variables are added to increase the r² (gujarati & porter, 2009: 493). when a variable is added to a model and the adjusted r² does not increase, the new variable indicates no acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 60 additional influence than would be explained by adding any totally irrelevant random variable (wolverton, 2009: 296). 3.3.4 standard error of the estimate this is also referred to as the root mean squared error. it is the standard deviation of the error term (spss, [n.d.]: online). when data is normally distributed, it is expected that approximately 67% of the data lie within ±1 standard deviation of the mean (australian property institute, 2015: 471) 3.3.5 coefficient of dispersion (cod) according to the iaao (2013: 13), the most generally useful measure of variability or uniformity is the cod. it is also the most important measurement for uniformity. the cod measures the average percentage deviation of the assessed values to the selling prices, from the median ratio (assessed value to selling price) and is calculated using equation 1. cod = 100 rm n n 1 ∑ | ri rm | ................................................................. (1) where: cod = coefficient of dispersion, i.e., the average per cent of dispersion around the median assessment ratio; rm = median assessment ratio; ri = observed assessment ratio for each parcel; n = number of properties sampled. according to wolverton (2009: 86), the cod is often used as a measure of uniformity in tax assessment studies to reflect the relationship between assessed value and actual value, or price. 3.3.6 t-value (significant testing) the t-value is a statistical test indicating the significance in the difference between the mean of the actual selling prices and the mean of the estimated values, calculated by the regression analysis model (gujarati & porter, 2009: 4). van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 61 a t-value of 0 indicates that the value of the dependent variable is not dependent on the independent variable (wolverton, 2009: 255). in a regression equation with 17 independent variables (as in model 1), a t-value of 1.740 and higher indicates a p-value of .05 and lower. 3.3.7 p-value (exact level of significance) in statistics, the term ‘significant’ means it is ‘probably true’. the p-value indicates how likely it is that something is not true. a p-value of 0.05 means that there is a 5% probability that something is not true. thus, it has a 95% probability of being true, and the null hypothesis can be rejected with 95% certainty. the p-value is defined as the lowest significance level at which the null hypothesis can be rejected (gujarati & porter, 2009: 835). 3.3.8 f-test the f-test is a test to determine the overall significance of the estimated regression analysis. it indicates significance of the coefficients in the model for the number of independent variables used in the analysis (gujarati & porter, 2009: 240-242). 3.3.9 durbin-watson autocorrelation is the measure of a correlation between the error terms (gujarati & porter, 2009: 412). autocorrelation is tested by way of the durbin-watson test. the value is always between 0 and 4. a value of 2 means that there is no autocorrelation in the sample. values approaching 0 indicate positive autocorrelation, and values toward 4 indicate negative autocorrelation (gujarati & porter, 2009: 434-435). an underlying assumption of regression models is that the error terms are independent (australian property institute, 2015: 487). 3.3.10 multicollinearity multicollinearity is when two or more independent variables have a strong correlation to each other. this implies that they overlap strongly in measuring the same attribute. the use and interpretation of a multiple regression model depend on the assumption that the independent variables are not interrelated (australian property institute, 2015: 487). acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 62 3.3.11 variance-inflatory factor (vif) the speed with which variances of a variable increase can be seen with the vif. it shows how the variance of a variable is inflated by the presence of multicollinearity. the extent of collinearity increases as the variance of a variable increases (gujarati & porter, 2009: 328). a common rule applied is, if the value of the vif index exceeds 10, that variable is highly collinear (gujarati & porter, 2009: 340). 3.3.12 heteroscedasticity this tests the variance of errors over a sample. if the variance of error is unequal, the sample is heteroscedastic (gujarati & porter, 2009: 65). it can be visually evaluated. when a graph of the regression analysis shows a systematic narrowing or widening of the range of the estimated values, it is an indication of heteroscedasticity (australian property institute, 2015: 487-488). an underlying assumption of regression models is that the variance of the error is homoscedastic, meaning the variance of the errors is equal (australian property institute, 2015: 487). 3.4 model descriptions 3.4.1 dependent variable used in the model this study aims to develop a regression model that calculates the total market value of the subject property, with the required accuracy. in model 1, the dependent variable is estimated value. in models 2 and 3, the dependent variable is vacant land value. the reason for using vacant land value as the dependent variable rather than the total value is that the depreciated value of improvements (dvi), which is to be added to the vacant land in order to calculate total value, depends on how accurate the valuer estimated these values. dvi has a very high probability of significance (p = .000 and t = 4.085) on the dependent variable. the value of the dvi variable, therefore, has a high significance on the dependent variable. the risk of a wrong dvi estimate is eliminated by using vacant land value as the dependent variable. 3.4.2 independent variables used in the model a number of authors (woolford & cassin,1983: 214, 216; bourhill, 1998: 81; pienaar, 2015: 71-84) have identified independent variables that have a significant influence on a farm’s value. van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 63 the following variables, which were identified by the abovementioned authors, are used in this study: • date of sale; • size of the farm; • dvi; • quality of the grazing; • the number of hectares per livestock unit needed; • the number of hectares legally under irrigation; • distance from the farm to the nearest town; • tourism infrastructure on the farm; • topography of the terrain, and • security in terms of game fence. 3.5 accuracy requirement rossini and kershaw (2008: 8) concluded that, for a “reasonable level of acceptance” of accuracy, the avm should have a minimum of 90% of the individual estimates within a 20% accurate range and the cod should be less than 10. they also stated that, if only 80% of the individual estimates are within a 20% accurate range and the cod is 13, the avm is “of no real value to users”. based on the above information, the researcher concluded that a cod of less than 10% and a 90% of individual estimates within 20% accuracy qualifies as a high degree of accuracy; a cod of 10%15% and 80% of individual estimates within 20% accuracy is indicative of a fair degree of accuracy. 4. results and discussion 4.1 model 1 dependent variable: total value. independent variables: all 10 of the abovementioned independent variables. table 1: summary of statistical indicators, model 1 model r r² adjusted r² std. error of the estimate durbin-watson cod 1 0.945 0.893 0.850 r1 748 826 1.915 14% acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 64 the r² value of 0.893 is fairly high. this means that 89.3% of the variation of the dependent variable is accounted for by the model. the adjusted r² value of 0.85 implies that 15% of the variation is not accounted for by the model. the standard deviation of the error term (value estimates) indicates that approximately 33% of the individual estimates differs more than r1,748,826 from the real value (if the data is normally distributed), indicating a questionable accuracy of the model. the cod is 14%. this is lower than the maximum cod of 15%, which is the requirement for fair accuracy. however, out of the sample of 60 farms, 23 individual farm estimates have an error term of more than 20%. therefore, only 62% of the individual estimates have an error term less than 20%. this indicates that this model is, in fact, not sufficiently accurate. the durbin-watson value of 1.915 indicates that there is no autocorrelation present. table 2: model 1 anova test results model 1 df f p-significance regression 17 0.642 .000 residual 42 total 59 the calculated f-value of 20.6 is more than eight times the critical f-value of 2.52; therefore, the level of significance of the results of the multiple regression model, given the number of independent variables used in the analysis, is high. overall the model is statistically significant (f = 20.6, p = .000). table 3: model 1 regression correlations and coefficients independent variable vif pearson correlation t-value p-significance grazing 1.773 0.166 -.366 .716 date 2.779 -0.263 -1.689 .099 dvi 1.760 0.512 4.000 .000 size 2.363 0.606 9.641 .000 ha/lsu 9.161 -0.139 -1.568 .124 irrigation ha 1.255 0.450 8.340 .000 town distance 2.552 0.245 -.144 .910 tourism 2.934 0.201 .347 .730 game fence 2.449 0.193 .476 .636 van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 65 independent variable vif pearson correlation t-value p-significance topography 1.488 -0.039 2.099 .042 vaalwater 5.349 0.103 -.870 .389 mookgopong 3.348 -0.232 -1.428 .161 alldays 1.633 -0.161 -1.512 .138 letsitele 4.967 0.253 -1.191 .241 bela-bela 3.743 0.085 .545 .588 makhado 3.000 -0.119 -2.243 .030 lephalale 2.276 0.160 -.974 .335 the vif values are all well below 10, indicating that there is little or no multicollinearity present. the ha/lsu variable is the highest, with a vif value of 9.161, which is still below 10. the size variable with a value of 0.606 has the highest correlation; the dvi variable with a value of 0.512 has the second highest correlation, and the irrigation ha variable with a value of 0.450 has the third highest correlation. the topography has the lowest correlation. the date variable has a negative correlation, because the older the transaction, the lower the impact on the dependent variable. thus, it indicates that the price of the farms increased over time. although it would be beneficial for the dependent variable to be time adjusted, a lack of accurate information for this purpose precludes this option. the use of a date variable as independent partly solves the difference in dates of sale, although it assumes a linear relationship between time and price. the date variable should be replaced by various date categories, if more data is available, in order to be more accurate, but would have to be considered in future research. the ha/lsu variable has a negative correlation, because, as the number of hectares to sustain one livestock unit increases, the value of the farms decreases. thus, it demonstrates that the price of the farms decreases when the carrying capacity decreases, which confirms the market value expectation. the independent variables size, dvi and irrigation ha have p-values of .000, which indicates 100% probability of significance that the dependent variable is dependent on these independent variables. the t-values of all three are statistically significant at the p = 0.001 level. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 66 topography with .042 and makhado with .030 have values with a higher than 95% probability of significance. their t-values indicate statistical significance at the p = 0.025 level. town distance with p = 0.910 has a less than 10% probability of significance. it has the lowest significance. the t-value is only -.144, which is statistically insignificant at a p = 0.25 level. visual inspection of the model indicated homoscedasticity (not shown). although the cod of 14% is within the maximum of 15, only 62% of individual estimates are within 20% accuracy, indicating that the model is not sufficiently accurate. there is a possibility that the model is sufficiently accurate for the purpose of preliminary investigations or budget purposes. however, great care should be taken to avoid pitfalls because of the relative inaccuracy of the model. 4.2 model 2 dependent variable: vacant land value.. independent variables: dvi and grazing were excluded in this model. this is advocated, as the value of the dvi is not included in the vacant land value and the dvi was also excluded as an independent variable. table 4: summary of statistical indicators, model 2 model r r² adjusted r² std. error of the estimate durbin-watson cod 4 0.931 0.867 0.822 r1 713 133 1.910 20 % the r² value of 0.867 is marginally lower than in model 1. this means that 86.7% of the variation of the dependent variable is accounted for by the model. the adjusted r² value of 82.2% is also marginally lower than model 1. this implies that 17.8% of the variation is not explained by the model. the standard deviation of the error term of r1 713 133 is very similar to the number in model 1. the cod is 20%, which is higher than model 1. it is higher than the maximum cod of 15% for fair accuracy. furthermore, out of the sample of 60 farms, 28 individual farm estimates have an error term of more than 20%. thus, only 53% of the individual estimates have an error term of less than 20%. both these values indicate that this model is not fairly accurate. van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 67 the durbin-watson value of 1.910 indicates that there is no autocorrelation present. table 5: model 2 anova test results model 2 df f p-significance regression 15 19.134 .000 residual 44 total 59 the f-value is marginally lower than in model 1. the calculated f-value of 19.134 is more than seven times the critical f-value of 2.52; therefore, the level of significance of the results of the multiple regression model, given the number of independent variables used in the analysis, is high. overall, the model is statistically significant (f = 19.1, p = .000) table 6: model 2 regression correlations and coefficients independent variable vif pearson correlation t-value p-significance date 2.730 -0.221 -1.770 .084 size 2.173 0.657 10.168 .000 ha/lsu 8.032 -0.109 -1.568 .124 irrigation ha 1.117 0.432 9.167 .000 tourism 2.539 0.304 .568 .573 game fence 2.202 0.137 .399 .692 topography 2.346 0.183 2.151 .037 vaalwater 1.479 -0.035 -.813 .421 mookgopong 4.773 0.104 -1.458 .152 alldays 2.742 -0.255 -1.596 .118 letsitele 1.563 -0.108 -1.144 .259 bela-bela 3.869 0.213 .724 .473 makhado 3.389 0.090 -2.369 .022 lephalale 2.567 -0.117 -1.048 .300 town distance 1.597 0.218 -.119 .906 the vif values are all well below 10, indicating that there is hardly any or no multicollinearity present. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 68 the pearson correlation values are similar to the values of model 1; therefore, the comments made in model 1 are also applicable to model 2. the independent variables size and irrigation ha have p-values of .000, which indicates 100% probability of significance. both the t-values are statistically significant at the p = 0.001 level. date with .084, game fence with .037, and makhado with .022 have values with a higher than 90% probability of significance. their t-values indicate statistical significance at the p = 0.05 level. game fence with a p = 0.692 has a 30.8% probability of significance. it has the lowest significance of the independent variables. the t-value is only -.399, which is statistically insignificant at a p = 0.25 level. a visual inspection of the actual versus the predicted values revealed that no severe heteroscedasticity is evident. all the statistical indicators show that model 1 is more accurate than model 2. there is a possibility that model 2 is sufficiently accurate for the purpose of preliminary investigations or budget purposes. however, great care should be taken to avoid pitfalls because of the relative inaccuracy of the model. 4.3 model 3 dependent variable: vacant land value. independent variables: reduced to only five, namely topography, irrigation ha, tourism, date, and size. these variables have the lowest p-values and the highest t-values, as indicated in models 1-3. a quantity of 24 observations and five independent variables gives a ratio of 5:1 (observations: independent variables), which is considered to be sufficient. a ratio of 4:1 is considered the minimum (australian property institute, 2015: 489). all the transactions that do have thabazimbi as its nearest town were used. this implies that the geographic area is as homogeneous as possible (with the data available to the researcher). the aim of model 3 is to do a regression analysis regarding an area that is as homogeneous as possible, where the most significant independent variables are used, and which is not influenced by the dvi. table 7: summary of statistical indicators, model 3 model r r² adjusted r² std. error of the estimate durbin-watson cod 7 .971 .943 .927 r1 055 333 1.889 14% van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 69 the r² of 0.943 and the adjusted r² value of 0.927 imply a high correlation between the dependent and the independent variables. the fact that the adjusted r² is higher and the number of variables is lower indicates that, in the previous models, variables were used that did not explain more than what is explained by adding any totally irrelevant random variable. the standard deviation of the error term of r1 055 333 is the lowest of all the models. this indicates that approximately 33% of the individual estimates differs more than r1 055 333 from the real value (if the data is normally distributed). the cod of the error term is 14%. this is lower than the maximum cod of 15%, which is the requirement for fair accuracy. out of the sample of 24 farms, four individual farm estimates have an error term of more than 20%. thus, 83% of the individual farm estimates is within 20% of the actual selling price. therefore, this model is fairly accurate, but it still does not satisfy a high degree of accuracy or a “reasonable level of acceptance”. the durbin-watson value of 1.889 indicates that it is undecided whether any autocorrelation is present or not. table 8: model 3 anova test results model 3 df f p-significance regression 5 59.614 .000 residual 18 total 23 the f-value of 59.614 is the highest of all the models. overall, the model is statistically significant (f = 59.6, p = .000). the calculated f-value of 59.614 is more than 13 times the critical f-value of 2.80; therefore, the level of significance of the results of the multiple regression model, given the number of independent variables used in the analysis, is very high. table 9: model 3 regression correlations and coefficients independent variable vif pearson correlation t-value p-significance date 1.424 0.095 -1.756 .096 size 1.756 .493 9.170 .000 irrigation ha 1.045 .756 14.416 .000 tourism 1.310 .178 .424 .677 topography 1.189 -.072 3.305 .004 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 70 the vif values are all well below 10, indicating that there is hardly any or no multicollinearity present. the independent variables size and irrigation ha have p-values of .000, which indicates 100% probability of significance. both their t-values are statistically significant at the p = 0.001 level. topography with .004 has a p-value with a higher than 95% probability of significance. the t-value indicates statistical significance at the p = 0.025 level. tourism with p = 0.677 has the lowest probability of significance. the t-value indicates statistical insignificance at a p = 0.25 level. the independent variables size, irrigation ha and topography have p ≤ .05 values, which indicates a significance of at least 95%. all the t-values are statistically significant at the p = 0.001 level. however, the tourism variable is insignificant with p = 0.677. the t-value is only -.424 which is statistically insignificant at a p = 0.25 level. the irrigation ha variable with a value of 0.756 has the highest correlation. this indicates how valuable the presence of irrigation is to the value of a farm. the size variable with a value of 0.493 has the second highest correlation, which indicates the fact that the bigger the farm, the higher is the value. the fact that it is not the highest correlation may be indicative of the phenomenon that the bigger the farm, the lower is the value per hectare, with the result that a log transformation on the data in this variable should be considered. the topography variable has a negative correlation, because the value of the farms decreases when the farm consists of a substantial area of mountainous terrain. thus, it confirms the a priori market value expectation. a visual inspection of the model output indicated homoscedasticity (not shown) and, therefore, satisfies one of the underlying assumptions of regression analysis. the cod of 14% and the 83% individual estimates that are within the 20% accuracy requirement indicate that this model is fairly accurate. limitations of model 3 are that it covers only a relatively small geographic area, namely the area around thabazimbi. one of the biggest limitations of model 3 is that the dependent variable is the value of the vacant land; it is thus not the total value of the farm. it is the value without the depreciated value of the buildings. in practice, it seldom happens that a farm has no buildings as improvements. this, therefore, implies that further research will have van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 71 to be done to develop a model that will accurately use variables for the depreciated value of the buildings, to enable the model to estimate the total value of a farm. table 10: summary of variables used model no. of farms in sample dependent variable independent variables 1 60 tv dvi, date, size, grazing, ha/lsu, irrigation ha, town distance, tourism, game fence, topography, all the towns 2 60 vlv as in model 1, without grazing and dvi 3 24 vlv date, size, irrigation ha, tourism and topography and with only the thabazimbi farms. legend tv = total value vlv = vacant land value vlv/ha = vacant land value/ha dvi = depreciated value of investment table 11: summary of the most important statistical values model adjusted r² std. error of the estimate fvalue cod % % of individual valuations that are within 20% accuracy 1 0.850 r1 748 826 20.6 14 62 2 0.822 r1 713 133 19.1 20 53 3 .927 r1 055 333 59.6 14 83 the r² of 0.943 and the adjusted r² value of 0.927 is the highest of all the models. the cod of 14% and the 83% individual estimates that are within the 20% accuracy requirement are also the highest of all the models and indicates that model 3 is the only model that is fairly accurate. however, it still does not satisfy a high degree of accuracy or a “reasonable level of acceptance”, which is defined by rossini & kershaw (2008: 8) as a cod of less than 10 and 90% of individual estimates to be within 80% of accuracy. it should, however, be noted that these international benchmarks were initially designed for the us market, and for homogeneous property type. although, they are acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 72 the only standards set, they may not necessarily be applicable in the south african context, or specifically to agricultural property. 5. limitations of the study there is a paucity of literature available regarding the application of mra models in the valuation of farms, other than some literature in the quarterly publications of the international association of assessing officers (iaao), which is only accessible by members at the cost of an expensive membership fee. the latter is not available to scholars. it is, however, suggested that the findings of this study be compared to those of the iaao. the availability of sufficient relevant and accurate data to develop mra models for farm valuations is a severe limitation. 6. conclusions a valuer has hardly, if any, input when using a mra and this is deemed a double-edged sword. it eliminates human error and bias and substitutes the physical property inspection as well as the valuer’s skill, judgement and experience. it is important to understand the factors that influence farm prices and the various unique and distinctive attributes that are inherently part of farms. these should be taken into consideration when valuing agricultural property. these value-influencing factors and distinctive attributes cause farm valuations to be complex and make it relatively difficult to satisfy accuracy requirements. the accuracy of a mra relies heavily on the quality and accuracy of the data used. thus, the availability of quality and accurate data has a significant impact on the potential accuracy of a mra. the use of avms in the south african residential property market is common. the results of this stepwise regression analysis showed that it is difficult to access appropriate and accurate data to develop a regression model for agricultural property, which satisfies accuracy requirements. model 3 does satisfy the accuracy requirements for fairly accurate estimates, but it is not sufficiently accurate to satisfy high accuracy requirements. the reasons for the difficulty to acquire sufficient accurate data in order to be able to develop a mra model that is sufficiently accurate to satisfy accuracy requirements, are multifaceted. some of these reasons are non-farm factors that are van der walt & boshoff • an analysis of the use of mass appraisal ... 73 difficult to translate into appropriate and accurate quantitative data in a mra model. an alternative approach to developing a mra model (which is as accurate as possible) is to ensure that the geographic area is as homogeneous as possible; the geographic area must be very small, in order to avoid the inclusion of too many changes in the inherent characteristics of data points due to location. this will imply that multiple mra models have to be developed for each municipal area. this will be a costly exercise and, therefore, contradict the cost efficiency of mra. to eliminate the negative impact of too much heterogeneity, further research should be done on more advanced models such as geographic weighted regression and quantile regression techniques. 7. recommendations all the models, except one, that were developed during the stepwise regression process are not fairly accurate. no model has a high degree of accuracy. it is difficult, yet possible, to develop mra models that are sufficiently accurate. therefore, if the mra models that are currently used are not sufficiently accurate for municipal valuation purposes, it should be possible to improve the accuracy. valuers should be cautious when using mra models in municipal farm valuations, because it is possible that the mra models do not satisfy minimum accuracy requirements. under the methods applied in this research, a mra valuation cannot replace a valuation done by a skilled and knowledgeable professional valuer, when high accuracy is required. this does, however, not preclude further research in the application of more advanced methods. references appraisal institute. 2000. the appraisal of rural property. chicago, illinois: appraisal institute. appraisal institute. 2013. appraisal of real estate. 14th edition. chicago, illinois: appraisal institute. australian property institute. 2015. the valuation of real estate. 2nd edition. canberra, australia: appraisal institute. barry, p.j., ellinger, p.n., hopkin, j.a. & baker, c.b. 1995. financial management in agriculture. 6th edition. danville, illinois: interstate publishers inc. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 74 bond, s. & dent, p. 1998. efficient management of public sector assets: the call for correct evaluation criteria and techniques. journal of property valuation and investment, 16(4), pp. 369-385. https://doi. org/10.1108/14635789810228169 boshoff, d.g.b. & de kock, l. 2013. investigating the use of automated valuation models (avms) in the south african commercial property market. acta structilia, 20(1), pp. 1-21. bourhill, j.f. 1998. determinants of farmland valuation. unpublished m.inst.agrar thesis. university of pretoria, pretoria, south africa. department of construction economics. crosby, n. 2000. valuation accuracy, variation and bias in the context of standards and expectations. journal of property investment & finance, 18(2), pp. 30-161. https://doi. org/10.1108/14635780010324240 crosby, n., lavers, a. & murdoch, j. 1998. property valuation variation and the ‘margin of error’ in the uk. journal of property research, 15(4), pp. 305-330. https://doi.org/10.1080/095999198368310 des rosiers, f. & therielt, m. 2008. mass appraisal, hedonic price modelling and urban externalities: understanding property valueshaping processes. in: kauko, t. & d’amato, m. 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reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this article or title. abstract this article assesses housing quality in ibejulekki, a peripheral settlement outside lagos metropolitan region. using purposive sampling, 370 housing units from clusters of 16 periurban settlements constituted the sample size. primary data was sourced through structured questionnaires, interview (with local planning personnel) and observation schedules administered through a field survey. using statistical package for social sciences, data analysis was done using descriptive analysis to generate frequen cies and percentages on socio-economic profile, neighbourhood quality, locational quality, dwelling quality, and building materials used. tests of correlation were conducted on the mean of variables of neighbourhood quality, locational quality and building materials, derived through recoding of variables by means of transform statistical tool, to establish the factors influencing housing quality in the study area. the findings show a significant positive correlation between household income and housing quality. the latter is found to be influenced by respondents’ socio-economic attributes, building materials, neighbourhood quality, and locational quality in the study area. it can be concluded that socio-economic characteristics, predominantly income of households, play a major role in the level of housing quality that can be accessed in the study area. it is, therefore, recommended that the state government and private developers should promote alternative building materials, in order to enhance housing affordability by the low-income group. this will reduce the spread of informal housing development. in addition, the state govern ment should align urban policy to eliminate disparity in funmilayo adedire dr funmilayo m. adedire (corresponding author), department of architecture, lead city university, ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. phone: 234-8080997437, email: <funmidire@gmail.com> michael adegbile dr michael b.o. adegbile, department of architecture, university of lagos, nigeria. phone: 234-8023892406, email: <mboadegbile@yahoo.com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 126-151 © uv/ufs mailto:funmidire@gmail.com mailto:mboadegbile@yahoo.com mailto:mboadegbile@yahoo.com http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.5 adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 127 infrastructural development which has impacted on poor neighbourhood and locational quality in lagos peri-urban settlements. keywords: dwelling quality, housing quality, locational quality, neighbourhood quality, peri-urban settlements abstrak hierdie artikel evalueer behuisingsgehalte in ibeju-lekki, ’n perifere nedersetting buite die lagos metropolitaanse streek. met behulp van doelgerigte steekproefneming, is 370 behuisingseenhede uit groepe van 16 stedelike neder settings gekies om die steekproefgrootte te verteenwoordig. primêre data is verkry deur gestruktureerde vraelyste, onderhoud (met plaaslike beplanning personeel) en waarnemingsskedules opgestel tydens veldwerk. met behulp van die statistiese pakket vir sosiale wetenskappe ssps 22 is data-analise gedoen met behulp van beskrywende analise om frekwensies en persentasies op sosio-ekonomiese profiel, buurtkwaliteit, liggingskwaliteit, woonkwaliteit en boumateriaal te genereer. korrelasietoetse is gedoen op die gemiddeldes van veranderlikes van buurtkwaliteit, lokasiekwaliteit en boumateriaal, afgelei deur herkodering van hierdie veranderlikes deur die transform statistiese instrument, om die faktore wat behuisingskwaliteit in die studiegebied beïnvloed, vas te stel. die resultate toon ’n beduidende positiewe verband tussen huishoudelike inkomste en behuisingskwaliteit. behuisingskwaliteit word ook beïnvloed deur die respondente se sosio-ekonomiese eienskappe, boumateriaal, buurtkwaliteit en liggingskwaliteit in die studiegebied. daar kan afgelei word dat sosio-ekonomiese eienskappe, hoofsaaklik inkomste van huishoudings, ’n belangrike rol speel in die vlak van behuisingskwaliteit wat in die studiegebied verkry kan word. daar word dus aanbeveel dat die staatsregering en private ontwikkelaars alternatiewe boumateriaal bevorder om die behuisings-bekostigbaarheid van die lae inkomstegroep te verbeter. dit sal die verspreiding van informele behuisingsontwikkeling verminder. ook moet die staatsregering die stedelike beleid in ooreenstemming bring om ongelykheid in infrastruktuurontwikkeling uit te skakel wat die swak omgewing en liggingskwaliteit in lagos peri-stedelike nedersettings beïnvloed het. sleutelwoorde: behuisingskwaliteit, buurtkwaliteit, liggingskwaliteit, woningskwaliteit, peri-stedelike nedersettings 1. introduction the interaction of different internal and external factors plays a role in the measurement of housing quality in peri-urban settlements (allen, 2010; chirisa, 2010). the geographical and ethnographic composition of the residents plays an important role in shaping housing quality in peri-urban settlements (rapoport, 1998). other factors such as neighbourhood quality, locational quality and regional response to patterns of development show that housing quality as a function is not limited to physical components of construction, but rather entails human satisfaction with urban attributes and facilities, environmental quality and locational advantages (el din, shalaby, farouh & elariane, 2013; rapoport, 1998). in african cities, in general, state or regional governments are responsible for the planning and infrastructure of peri-urban settlements acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 128 located outside the city (allen, 2010). the governance of peri-urban settlements in lagos is shared between local land owners and the state government, but less attention is paid to the infrastructure development of settlements outside state government’s acquired land (adedire & adebamowo, 2018). environmental quality, which has to do with good sanitation, security, parking space, light and drainage, and locational quality of housing, which is the spatial position relative to the central business district, are all external factors that create a gap in services delivery, giving room to infiltration of informal development and infrastructure inadequacy in peripheral towns (chirisa, 2010; allen, 2003). dwelling quality is internally controlled by the socio-economic and socio-cultural characteristics of the residents in peri-urban settlements; these determine the level of quality of housing they can access through their choice of building construction materials and methods of construction (fiadzo, houston & godwin, 2001). in the majority of peri-urban settlements, there exists social differentiation and service inequality among the indigenous residents and the immigrants (simon, 2008; ibem & aduwo, 2015). the saturation of the built-up area in metropolitan lagos has gradually led to the conversion of agricultural land in the peri-urban settlements in lagos for residential purposes to accommodate the multicultural and heterogeneous urban population (nwokoro & dekolo, 2012). the influx of low-income urban immigrants into lagos peri-urban settlements is significantly impacting on housing quality. lower income groups inhabit poor residential areas in peri-urban settlements associated with poor physical conditions, illegal development, limited or no access to water, and poor sanitation (daramola & ibem, 2010; lawanson, yadua & salako, 2012). the assessment of housing quality in lagos peri-urban settlements is significant to determine to what extent neighbourhood quality, location quality and the use of building materials contribute to the level of housing quality in these settlements. the findings might assist the state government to support the use of alternative building materials in the development of better quality housing for residents in these peri-urban areas. 2. literature review the differentiation of housing quality occurs on the basis of several dimensions: the structural or dwelling quality, neighbourhood quality, and locational quality (bates, 2006: 25; kain & quigley, 1970). each of these factors is influenced by elements such as, for example, income, family size, education and race of residents in settlements that control them (goodman, 1978). adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 129 2.1 structural or dwelling quality housing type, design, age of the building, aesthetics, lot size, window sizes, spatial arrangements, the number of rooms per household, tiled toilet, tiled bath, tiled kitchen, lights and water contribute to the measurement of dwelling quality (aderamo & ayobolu, 2010; štreimikiene, 2014: 27; amao, 2012). the methods of construction, building materials used and aesthetics are also indices for measuring dwelling quality (bradley & putnick, 2012). 2.2 neighbourhood quality neighbourhood quality is defined by the effects that neighbourhood characteristics have on a residence as a result of the environment in which it is located (clark & huang, 2003). characteristics such as neighbourhood deterioration, adequacy of services, safety and accessibility, and the overall assessment of the neighbourhood refer to the natural attributes of the neighbourhood (el din et al., 2013). the dynamic relationship that exists between the physical features of housing, streets, open spaces and general settings in the neighbourhood determines neighbourhood quality (rapoport, 1998; el din et al., 2013) that is very poor in most of lagos’ peri-urban settlements. the quality of the neighbourhood, particularly in terms of socioeconomic attributes, has also been found to be an important determinant for housing quality (south & crowder, 1997: 1040). residents’ socio-economic capacity influences the quality of housing they can enjoy (boamah, 2015). residential areas for low-income earners in metropolitan peripheral areas are generally known to have limited or no access to services, poor sanitation and are mostly informal developed settlements (allen, 2010). in these poverty areas, wastes are indiscriminately disposed of into canals and drainage channels; toilet facilities are open defecation, unimproved, or shared improved toilets that include flush toilets, flush latrines, and ventilated improved pit (vip) (allen, 2003; puttal & ravadi, 2014). depending on the income status of houses in the majority of peri-urban settlements, access to drinking water could be unimproved, improved and piped (allen, 2003). building materials in these poor areas include wood, reeds, grass for construction and roofing (simon, 2008). neighbourhoods occupied by middle-income earners have better dwelling quality and are usually segregated from the indigenous residents and the immigrants (simon, 2008; ibem & aduwo 2015). predominantly in african peri-urban settlements, community participation is a means for securing improved neighbourhood quality (lawanson et al., 2012; binns, maconachie & tanko, 2003). this acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 130 is encouraged in externally initiated projects such as governmentled infrastructure development, developer-initiated or in projects initiated by an association of community residents (obeng & whittal, 2014; binns et al., 2003). 2.3 locational quality the key measurement for locational quality involves residents’ mobility and living convenience, including features such as access to place of work, accessibility to central business district, access to public services, closeness to the market, and availability of schools, hospitals and shopping places (adebayo & aliu, 2010). in african peri-urban settlements, commuting and daily travels are often slow, due to traffic congestion and the poor conditions of the access roads to and from the main arterial routes linking peri-urban settlements to amenities (lawanson et al., 2012; acheampong & anokye, 2013). housing quality in peri-urban settlements in lagos suffer from neglect, due to the locational disadvantage of these settlements and the perception that it has no economic contribution to state development (adedire, 2017). as a result, these settlements, in consonance with prior findings, suffer from poor sanitary conditions, increasing commuting time, traffic congestion, pollution, poor water supply and sanitation problems, solid waste disposal, and lack of open space (dutta, 2012; simon, 2008). in addition, housing quality in peri-urban settlements in lagos is negatively affected by these poor environmental conditions, as they affect not only the sustainability of these places, but also people’s health. the spread of epidemic diseases is common where environmental quality is poor (boamah, 2015). 2.4 ibeju-lekki local government area ibeju-lekki local government area is located outside the metropolitan region of lagos state in nigeria. ibeju-lekki represents one of the rapidly urbanising peri-urban settlements in lagos in terms of residential development and population growth (obiefuna, nwilo, atagbaza & okolie, 2013). ibeju-lekki serves the housing needs of migrants from lagos island and its environs. it is approximately 75 kilometres long and roughly 20 kilometres wide, with a land area of approximately 646 kilometres square, which equals one quarter of the total land mass of lagos state (aluko, 2010). it is situated at approximately latitude 40 15’ north latitude 40 17’ north and longitude 13015’ east and 13020’ east. according to the national population commission (2006) census, ibeju-lekki had a population of 117,481 out of lagos state’s total of 9,113,605. adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 131 figure 1: map of lagos state showing ibeju-lekki peri-urban settlements source: adapted from the report on the review of the lagos state regional plan (2002), lasg ministry of physical planning & urban development acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 132 3. research methodology the purpose of this research was to assess housing quality in ibejulekki, a peripheral settlement outside lagos metropolitan region. a quantitative research design was adopted, as this type of design allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys that enable researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 1994). descriptive analysis was used to analyse the interview and field survey data on socio-economic profile, neighbourhood quality, locational quality, dwelling quality, and building materials used in the study area. this technique summarises data in an understandable way, by using frequencies and percentages (numerical) to reduce the number of responses to a mean score (satake, 2016: 663). from these numerical data (mean scores), the variables to measure dwelling quality, neighbourhood quality and locational quality could be determined and set. regression analysis was used to test these variables for correlation, by examining relationships among these quantitative variables (rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 200). several regression analysis methods are available, but correlation analysis was used, because the coefficient and p-values could be extracted, which explains the strength of the relationship between a pair of variables (bewick, cheek & ball, 2003: 452). 3.1 sampling method and size statistics from the lagos state government digest of statistics (2016) shows that, in 2016, ibeju-lekki had a total of 11,749 housing units and a population of 179,187 (lsg, 2016: 27). for adequate representation of the target population, the sample size was taken from the population of the residents and the housing units. a two-stage cluster sampling technique was adopted, because the population could be subdivided into clusters, and random samples could be collected from each cluster (alvi, 2016: 22). in the first stage, 16 peri-urban clusters were purposively selected from all lcdas/wards in the peri-urban settlements of ibeju-lekki. in the second stage, purposive sampling was used to select units based on the uniqueness of each peri-urban settlement. the samples chosen represent housing initiatives in the clusters; that is, self-built housing, government housing, and private developer housing. from the cluster sample, random sampling was used to select 370 housing units to represent the population. with a margin error of 5% and a confidence level of 95%, the krejcie & morgan’s (1970: 608) sample size table recommends a sample size for a population of 10,000 as 370. this recommendation validates the sample size of 370 as efficient for the population of 11,749. adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 133 3.2 response rate from the 370 original questionnaires, 366 completed ones were retrieved, resulting in a high response rate of 99%. according to moyo & crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40%, in general. 3.3 data collection a questionnaire survey was done on 370 selected household heads in ibeju-lekki housing settlement, using the spot collection method during non-working days and hours from 14 january to 25 march 2017. topics on different housing development initiatives used in the survey were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two sections. section one, on respondents’ profile, obtained personal information on gender, occupation, literacy level, tribe, monthly income, household size, and tenure of the household head. section two sets questions grouped by the various variables that define building materials used, dwelling quality, neighbourhood quality, locational quality and informality as determinants to establish which of these factors influence housing quality in the study area. 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings version 22 of the statistical package for social science (spss) was used to process and analyse data (pallant, 2013). for analysis of the socio-economic profile of household heads, as well as the rating of neighbourhood quality, locational quality, dwelling quality, informality and building materials used in the study area, the percentages and frequencies of responses were generated, but only the % frequencies of the variables were reported. to measure the existence of (p-value) and how strong (r-value) the relationships were between the set variables, the pearson’s r test was used (asuero, sayago & gonzález, 2006: 43). to do the correlation, the mean scores of variables tested in the survey were used to recode these variables with transform statistical tool. the newly labelled variables regarded as the mean variable defining neighbourhood quality, locational quality, dwelling quality and building materials were correlated to show if there were any relationships between these variables. the correlation coefficient adopted r values between -1 and 1, where: 1 indicates a strong positive relationship; -1 indicates a strong negative relationship, and 0 indicates no relationship at all. the further away r is from 0, the stronger the relationship. to test if the correlations were significant, the significance value (p value) was set at 5% (p < .05) (dahiru, 2008: 22). acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 134 3.5 limitation(s) of the study it is important to note that the study was conducted only on the peri-urban settlements of ibeju-lekki; hence, the findings cannot be generalized for lagos metropolitan region. 4. findings and discussion 4.1 socio-economic characteristics of the respondents analysis of the research questionnaires presented in table 1 shows that male-headed households are higher than female-headed households in ibeju-lekki peri-urban settlements. of the population, 36.6% is involved in informal trading and commercial enterprises, making it the predominant occupation in the study area. in addition to other unknown occupations, farming is the least engaged among all the occupations considered. civil service, skilled work and professional practices are well represented, with 19.1%, 15.3%, and 16.7%, respectively. only 9% of the respondents had primary school education and below, thus constituting the illiterates in the study area. the yoruba ethnic group constitutes the largest portion (71.9%) of the population, while the hausa tribe is the least represented in the study area. the predominant income group in the study area was the high-income group earning above n150,000 ($420) monthly. this income group constitutes 44.6% of the entire population. this runs contrary to the belief that the majority of peri-urban settlements is mainly dominated by the lowand the middle-income groups. in the low-income group, 36.3% earn n25,000 ($70)-n50,000 ($140) and live mostly in informal buildings and self-built housing. in the middle-income group, 19.1% earn n50,000 ($140)-n150,000 ($420) monthly and is the least represented in the study area. household sizes of 3-5 persons are the commonest, with 55.2% of the respondents’ population. household sizes of 10-12 persons are the least represented, with 2.2%. people have lived in the study area for over ten years, signifying the longest tenure as shown by 31.7% of the population. table 1: socio-economic profile of the household head variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % gender of household head male 223 60.9 female 143 39.1 adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 135 variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % occupation of household head civil service 70 19.1 informal trading 134 36.6 professional practice 61 16.7 skilled work (artisan) 56 15.3 farming 1 0.3 others 44 11.9 literacy level of household head postgraduate 56 15.3 first degree/higher diploma 105 28.7 national diploma 62 16.9 secondary 110 30.1 primary/below 33 9.0 respondent’s tribe yoruba 263 71.9 hausa 6 1.6 ibo 70 19.1 others 27 7.4 monthly income of household head low income n25,000-n50,000 ($70-$140) 133 36.3 middle income n50,001-n150,000 ($140-$420) 70 19.1 high income n150,001 and above ($420) 163 44.6 household size 1-2 persons 48 13.1 3-5 persons 202 55.2 6-9 persons 96 26.2 10-12 persons 8 2.2 more than 13 persons 12 3.3 tenure less than 5 years 114 31.1 5-10 years 116 31.7 more than 10 years 134 36.6 others 2 0.5 field survey (2017) * salary grouping is culled from the federal republic of nigeria’s federal civil service commissions acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 136 4.2 assessment of building materials the observation schedule and the analysis of the structured questionnaires presented in table 2 show diverse building materials used in the study area. the commonest wall materials were mainly block wall (93.4%), but thatch wall was used in areas belonging to the local natives in the fishing occupation; this is interspersed with thatch (1.9%) and mud wall (3.55%). aluminium roofing is predominantly used by 75.7% of the respondents. the major type of windows used were aluminium (68.7%). the following types of windows are also used, namely wooden windows (12.8%), louvre windows (10.1%), and casement windows (8.5%). wooden doors and steel iron doors were the commonest in the peri-urban, with roughly 62.6% and 35.5%, respectively. observation (appendix 3) shows that most of the secondary roads in the peri-urban area were either graded earth or ungraded earth roads. this corroborates the findings of early researchers on peri-urban study (chirisa, 2010; lawanson et al., 2012; acheampong & anokye, 2013). the majority of the housing developments were constructed with conventional building materials such as cement sandcrete blocks, aluminium burglar-proof windows, mostly wooden panel internal doors, and steel external doors. there is a limited use of louvre and wooden windows in the study area. aluminium roofing is the commonest in ibeju-lekki peripheral area. thatch roof was sparingly used in ibeju-lekki by the natives in the fishing and coconut farming. only some of the secondary roads in both locations are tarred. however, few buildings among selfhelp housing were built with traditional building materials such as mud block, thatch roofing sparingly in the peri-urban area. both government-led housing and developer-led housing rely a great deal on the use of conventional building materials. the findings show no trace of alternative building materials for the mentioned housing initiatives in the peri-urban settlement. table 2: building materials used in the study area variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % wall block wall 342 93.4 mud wall 13 3.55 thatch/others 7 1.9 adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 137 variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % roof aluminium 277 75.7 thatch 20 5.5 concrete slab 23 6.3 other 46 12.6 window aluminium 251 68.6 louvre 37 10.1 wooden 47 12.8 casement 31 8.5 door steel/iron 130 35.5 flush/panel/wooden 229 62.6 glass 2 0.5 others 5 1.4 field survey (2017) 4.3 dwelling quality in the study area, the variables under consideration for dwelling quality include state of disrepair, lot size, state of painting, building design, good openings (window sizes), burglary installation, number of rooms per family, toilet type, windows per room (cross ventilation), tiled bathroom, tiled kitchen, source of water, and electricity supply. 4.3.1 internal dwelling quality the analysis presented in table 3 shows good natural ventilation, as most of the buildings have cross ventilation aided by the appropriate window sizes. of the buildings, 85.8% have burglary installation, and 13.9% do not; 52.7% of the buildings have 1-2 rooms, and 47% have 3-4 rooms per household; 71.0% of the respondents’ kitchens are tiled, and 29.0% are not tiled in sampled houses; 72.1% of the toilets are tiled, and 27.9% are not tiled. this also affects the level of sanitary quality in ibeju-lekki peri-urban settlement. the vast majority (roughly 74.3%) of the peri-urban residents rely on a borehole water system. of the population, 25.7% are serviced by well and other sources of water. the quality of the water in the study area is poor, due to the water table and the type of vegetation in the area. there was a acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 138 sparse distribution of electricity in ibeju-lekki. electricity is generated by different means in different households. in-depth intervies revealed that most of the households, though connected to the power supply grid, do not have a regular supply of electricity. selfgenerated electricity constitutes 69.9%, while approximately 30.1% do not have a supply of electricity. table 3: households’ internal dwelling quality variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % good opening yes 339 92.6 no 27 7.4 neutral 0 0 burglary installation yes 314 85.8 no 51 13.9 neutral 1 0.3 number of rooms/ household 1-2 rooms 193 52.7 3-4 rooms 172 47 windows/room 1 146 39.9 2 220 60.1 toilet type flush 297 81.1 pit toilet 69 18.9 system 0 0 tiled bathroom yes 264 72.1 no 102 27.9 tiled kitchen yes 260 71 no 106 29 source of water tap/borehole 272 74.3 well/others 94 25.7 electricity supply yes 256 69.9 no 110 30.1 field survey (2017) adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 139 4.3.2 external dwelling quality findings show the high state of disrepair in most of the buildings. of the observed buildings, 62.6% had one or more wear and tear. although most of the disrepair is due to dampness in most of the areas, causing the paint to wear off, some of the disrepair is also caused by poor maintenance, especially among the low-income group. the saline water in the area contributes to change in colour of the external finishing. other states of disrepair include broken windows, doors and a leaking roof. a large percentage (74.3%) of the buildings observed have good painting, and 25.7% have bad external painting. of the houses, 83.9% are built on standard full plots, and 15.8% occupy partial plots. of the buildings observed, 70.2% have an innovative design, and 29.8% have the traditional tenement house design. table 4: observation on households’ external dwelling quality variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % state of disrepair low 137 37.4 high 229 62.6 state of painting good 272 74.3 bad 94 25.7 lot size full 307 83.9 not full 58 15.8 others 1 0.3 building design modern family house 257 70.2 tenement house 109 29.8 observation survey (2017) 4.4 neighbourhood quality the variables considered for measuring neighbourhood quality in this study include noise pollution, a good drainage system, appropriate waste disposal system, good roads, and environmental security. analysis of the field survey (table 5) shows that 30.6% of the respondents were affected by noise pollution, while 68.3% were not affected. of the respondents, 66.4% showed a lack of suitable drainage, thus making most of the areas prone to flooding and environmental acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 140 pollution. appropriate drainage systems can be observed in the government-serviced housing development in the study area, contrary to what is obtainable in self-help housing schemes. the lack of a suitable drainage system contributes greatly to vehicular congestion during the rainy season, causing high commuting time and reduced productivity. waste disposal management is a huge burden for peri-urban residents in ibeju-lekki. of the respondents, 33.1% are affected by lack of an appropriate waste disposal system. the private developer residential developments are well managed in terms of waste disposal. observation showed that the greater proportion of the residential areas lacked good roads; sandy untarred roads are common in most of the secondary ring roads in ibeju-lekki, and some areas have ungraded earth roads, resulting in delays in linking the primary highways daily. environmental security is an issue, as indicated by 28.1% of the respondents. table 5: respondents’ assessment of neighbourhood quality variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % noise pollution yes 112 30.6 no 250 68.3 neutral 4 1.1 good drainage system yes 119 32.5 no 243 66.4 neutral 4 1.1 good waste disposal yes 245 66.9 no 121 33.1 environmental security yes 260 71 no 103 28.1 field survey (2017) adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 141 figure 2: well-serviced drainage system in government-led housing and flooded road, due to lack of drainage in self-help housing development area source: (field survey, 2017) 4.5 locational quality the variables considered for locational quality in this study include closeness to work, closeness to market/cbd, availability of public transport, availability of children’s school, and availability of health facility. a greater percentage of the sampled population (85.8%) had good locational proximity to their places of work, as indicated by the analysis (table 6); 14.2% were affected by their residential location in relation to proximity to work. locational proximity to the central business district is an advantage to 86.1% of households in the peri-urban area. only 13.9% were not close to the business district area, thus increasing their frequency of visit to the city centre for basic needs. public health facilities are made available in the peri-urban area; 10.4% of the settlements further away from the city centre lacked medical facilities, due to the cost implication of locating such facilities in areas where housing density is low. over 88.5% have access to good health facilities. of the households, 94.3% showed satisfaction with the provision of children’s schools, and only 5.7% indicated their dissatisfaction. both government and private schools are evenly distributed in the peri-urban settlements. approximately 22.1% of households showed a lack of public transport as a locational deficiency in ibeju-lekki peri-urban area, while 77.6% are not affected by the lack of public transport. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 142 table 6: respondents’ assessment of locational quality variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % closeness to work yes 314 85.8 no 52 14.2 closeness to cbd yes 315 86.1 no 51 13.9 availability of public transport yes 284 77.6 no 81 22.1 availability of children’s school yes 345 94.3 no 21 5.7 availability of health facility yes 324 88.5 no 38 10.4 neutral 4 1.1 field survey (2017) figure 3: public schools in ibeju-lekki peri-urban settlement source: field survey, 2017 4.6 assessment of informality different variables such as plot size for building, set-back around the building, set-back from the road, availability of building permit, and basic building regularisation documents were considered in the measurement of informality in the selected peri-urban settlements. analysis of interview (appendix 2) with the planning personnel in the local building regulatory office, presented in table 7, shows the extent of informal housing development in the study area. of the sampled houses, 75.7% were built on the standard plot size, while 24.3% were not. of the houses observed, 35% have the standard adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 143 setback around the house, while 65% did not. of the household heads observed, 53% have standard setback from the gate, while 47% default. a larger percentage (67.5%) of the buildings were built with a building permit, while 32.5% were built without one. the mostly obtained land regularisation document among the household heads was the receipt of land purchase (73.8%), a deed of assignment (8.5%), and a survey plan (6.8%). it can be deduced from the analysis of the building regularisation documents that the major building regularisation documents obtained by people were the receipt of land purchase. a reasonable number of household heads in ibejulekki peri-urban settlements are regulation inclined by virtue of the availability of additional building regulation documents. table 7: measurement of informality variables ibeju-lekki n=366 % standard plot size yes 277 75.7 no 89 24.3 neither 0 0 standard setback yes 128 35 no 238 65 nil 0 0 gate setback yes 194 53 no 172 47 building permit yes 247 67.5 no 119 32.5 neither 0 0 regularisation document receipt of land purchase 270 73.8 deed of assignment 31 8.5 survey plan 25 6.8 stamp duty receipt 2 0.5 building plans 6 1.6 building permit and approval 9 2.5 certificate of occupancy/ governor consent 5 1.4 unapproved documents 18 5 no document at all 0 0 field survey, 2017 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 144 figure 4: untarred sandy road in ibeju-lekki; block and plank walls; thatch roofing and aluminium roofing in ibeju-lekki peri-urban area fsource: ield survey, 2017 4.7 correlation analysis findings to determine the factors that influence housing quality in the study area, the mean of building materials, dwelling quality, neighbourhood quality and locational quality was found by using the statistical tool transform to recode the variables. the new variables regarded as the mean variable were correlated to show if there was any relationship. 4.7.1 test of correlation between building materials and dwelling quality the correlation analysis presented in table 8 shows that there is a significant relationship between building materials and dwelling quality (0.556** p < 0.01). therefore, building materials influence dwelling quality. table 8: test of correlation between building materials and dwelling quality test variables pearson correlation p-value inference mean of building materials vs mean of dwelling quality 0.556** 0.000 there is a significant correlation between the two variables **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). list wise n=366 source: field survey, 2017 adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 145 4.7.2 statistical test of correlation between mean neighbourhood quality, mean locational quality and dwelling quality correlation between mean neighbourhood quality and mean dwelling quality (see table 9) shows that there is a significant relationship between the two variables (0.239** p < 0.01) in ibeju-lekki. there is also a significant relationship between locational quality and dwelling quality (0.192** p < 0.01). therefore, findings show that both locational and neighbourhood quality influence dwelling quality. table 9: test of correlation between neighbourhood, locational quality and dwelling quality test variables pearson correlation p-value inference total mean of neighbourhood and locational quality vs dwelling quality 0.236** 0.000 there is a significant correlation between the two variables mean neighbourhood quality vs dwelling quality 0.239** 0.000 there is a significant positive linear relationship between the two variables mean locational quality vs dwelling quality 0.192** 0.000 there is a significant correlation between the two variables **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). list wise n=366. 4.7.3 test of correlation between housing typologies and respondents’ socio-economic attributes the test of correlation between housing typologies and respondents’ socio-economic attributes (see table 10) shows that income is the only attribute that has a significant relationship with housing typologies in ibeju-lekki (-0.205** p < 0.000). this connotes that the lower the respondents’ income, the lower the quality of housing they can access. therefore, the respondents’ socio-economic attributes influence the housing typologies that are related to dwelling quality. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 146 table 10: test of correlation between housing typologies and respondents’ socio-economic attributes test variables sub-variables pearson correlation p-value inference housing typologies vs respondents’ socioeconomic attributes income literacy ethnic group -0.205** 0.043 0.061 0.000 0.410 0.242 there is a significant negative linear relationship between the two variables there is no significant correlation between the two variables there is no significant correlation between the two variables **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). list wise n=366. 5. conclusion dwelling quality is affected by households’ income in ibeju-lekki periurban settlements. housing development in ibeju-lekki attracts fairly good quality because of the socio-economic class of the migrants, predominantly high income and middle income. findings in this article have shown the interrelationship among the variables and how the complex interactions have impacted on the quality of housing in the study area. among the variables considered for neighbourhood quality, poor road and lack of suitable drainage constituted the major environmental challenges. in addition, waste disposal, to some extent in certain areas, especially the isolated settlements, is a challenge, though not with the magnitude of major challenges. although, in the majority of government housing, more attention was paid to dwelling and neighbourhood quality, in general, the study area has good locational quality, from the residents’ perception, based on the availability of basic services such as health facilities, children’s schools, and public transport. the external dwelling quality is generally fair, except in areas of disrepair which, by observation, are caused primarily by dampness and poor maintenance. in terms of internal dwelling quality, the major area of concern is the supply of water and electricity. there is no good supply of water; a greater percentage of households in ibeju-lekki relies on a borehole water system. observation shows that the quality of water from boreholes is very poor, due to the nature of the soil in ibeju-lekki. more houses conform to standard plot sizes in ibeju-lekki, but attention needs to be paid to the level of informality. the correlation test shows the factors affecting dwelling quality include building materials, adedire & adegbile • assessment of housing quality 147 neighbourhood quality, and locational quality. in addition, socioeconomic attributes of households, notably income, affect the building types. these, in turn, influence the quality of housing. the correlation test shows a negative correlation between housing types and socio-economic attributes: the less the income, the lower the quality of housing a household can access. in addition, the presence of gated exclusive residential developments in certain parts of the study area helps improve the housing quality. this is made possible because of the socio-economic class of the migrants, predominantly high-income group. the areas occupied by the low-income group lack good neighbourhood quality. it can, therefore, be concluded that housing quality in lagos peri-urban settlements is affected by households’ socio-economic attributes, building materials, dwelling quality, neighbourhood quality, and locational quality. 6. recommendation with the understanding of the factors influencing housing quality in the ibeju-lekki peri-urban settlements, stakeholders should advocate for participatory efforts toward a sustainable 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org/10.13165/ie-14-8-1-02 https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5049.190623 https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5049.190623 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.environ.33.021407.093240 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.environ.33.021407.093240 https://doi.org/10.1086/231039 https://doi.org/10.13165/ie-14-8-1-02 https://doi.org/10.13165/ie-14-8-1-02 141 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as innocent musonda prof. innocent musonda, director: centre for applied research and innovation in the built environment (carinbe), construction management, university of johannesburg, p.o. box 524, auckland park, south africa. phone: 011 559 6655, email: <imusonda@ uj.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-0270-6157. nomvula rakolote nomvula rakolote, adjunct prof., built environment, central university of technology (cut); ceo association of construction project managers (acpm), pegasus building, 210 amarand avenue, waterkloof glen ext 2, pretoria, south africa. phone: +27 120 032 892, email: <nomvula@ acpm.co.za>. issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: june 2021 peer reviewed and revised: november 2021 published: june 2022 keywords: construction, covid19, economic impact, infrastructure, project life cycle how to cite: musonda, i. & rakolote, n. 2022. impact of the covid-19 pandemic in the south african construction industry. acta structilia, 29(1), pp. 141-162. impact of the covid-19 pandemic in the south african construction industry review article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.6 abstract the covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted on many economic sectors globally. the regressed economic environment exacerbated its effects on the construction industry, especially in developing countries such as south africa. the article presents an evaluation of the impact of covid-19 on the construction sector, focusing on the construction delivery methods in south africa. the effect of covid-19 was evaluated against the south african council for project and construction management professions (sacpcmp)’s project life cycle framework. a mixed data-collection method was used for the study. literature was consulted, and empirical data was collected through focused online panel discussions and structured questionnaires administered through online polls. this article presents the results as effect and frequency of issues arising from covid-19, industry projections, and recommendations on sustainability. findings showed a general hold on original investment decisions by clients, in both the public and private sectors; increased professional services’ scope of works, and increased health and safety compliance requirements, together resulting in higher costs. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(1): 141-162 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:imusonda@uj.ac.za mailto:imusonda@uj.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 mailto:nomvula@acpm.co.za mailto:nomvula@acpm.co.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.6 musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 142 abstrak die covid-19-pandemie het ‘n negatiewe impak op baie ekonomiese sektore wêreldwyd gehad. die verswakte ekonomiese omgewing het die uitwerking daarvan op die konstruksiebedryf vererger, veral in ontwikkelende lande soos suid-afrika. die artikel gee ‘n evaluering van die impak van covid-19 op die konstruksiesektor, met die fokus op die konstruksieleweringsmetodes in suid-afrika. die effek van covid-19 is geëvalueer teen die suid-afrikaanse raad vir projeken konstruksiebestuursberoepe (sacpmp) se projeklewensiklusraamwerk. ’n gemengde data-insamelingsmetode is vir die studie gebruik. literatuur is geraadpleeg, en empiriese data is ingesamel deur gefokusde aanlyn-paneelbesprekings en gestruktureerde vraelyste wat deur middel van aanlyn-peilings geadministreer is. hierdie artikel vertoon die resultate as die effek en frekwensie van kwessies wat voortspruit uit covid-19, bedryfsprojeksies en aanbevelings oor volhoubaarheid. bevindinge het getoon dat daar ‘n algemene houvas op oorspronklike beleggingsbesluite deur kliënte is, in beide die openbare en private sektor; verhoogde professionele dienste op die omvang van werke, en verhoogde vereistes vir voldoening aan gesondheid en veiligheid, wat saam tot hoër koste lei. sleutelwoorde: covid-19, ekonomiese impak, infrastruktuur, konstruksie, projeklewensiklus 1. introduction the sudden appearance of the coronavirus disease in 2019 was first reported in wuhan city, china. the 2019 coronavirus disease, now expressed as covid-19, is a severe acute respiratory syndrome (guan et al., 2020: 1711). this highly contagious disease has spread worldwide and was declared a pandemic by the world health organization (who) in 2020 (cucinotta & vanelli, 2020: 157; gamil & alhagar, 2020: 122). covid-19 has impacted on the world’s economies and disrupted life, businesses, industries, financial markets, and supply chains (protiviti, 2020: online). covid-19 has caused multiple and different challenges to various economic sectors and countries across the world. globally, covid-19 has resulted in a considerable shift in how the construction industry operates. according to mclennan (2020: 25), the pandemic has brought about significant growth in resilience, contract re-structuring, and collaboration with subordinate industries. in addition, covid-19 has improved supplychain management, liquidity and cash flow, innovation and diversification, and embracing of new technologies in administration, finances and even implantation of projects in north america, western europe, and north-east asia (doddy & sorohan, 2020: 11; mclennan, 2020: 25). harari (2020: 14) contends that the covid-19 pandemic is the biggest crisis of our modern generation, and it may take years to recover from its impact. many countries face recession and an economic downturn as a result. as the pandemic’s effects are beginning to be felt worldwide, governments and corporates focus primarily on the safety of their people. experts argue that, even if the virus’ spread is contained in the short term, economies will continue to feel the pandemic’s effect for a long time to come. the full-scale musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 143 economic consequence of the pandemic on the construction industry in south africa is currently not known. moreover, uncertainty concerning the duration and severity of the crisis makes it difficult to anticipate how a recovery could unfold for the construction industry. however, experts advise that decisive actions must be taken to subsidise and plan new strategies, in order to avoid humankind’s travail (gamil & alhagar, 2020: 122). in south africa, the pandemic has negatively affected the construction industry. first, the impact has manifested in many diverse ways, including contractual, resource availability, supply-chain disruptions, increased health and safety risks, project delays, and contract cancellations (mckinsey, 2020: 5; protiviti, 2020: online). more crucially, many organisations have had to lay off key workers and now face the dilemma and uncertainty of skilled worker availability in the future. in addition, because many contracting organisations operate without substantial capital reserves, they risk insolvency. in order to find both shortand long-term interventions to ease the economic impact of covid-19 on the south african construction industry, this article determines what the general impact of the pandemic has been on the industry; examines the implications of the pandemic on the execution of the six project stages of the sacpcmp’s framework, and explores the decisive measures needed to ease the impact of the pandemic on the construction industry. 2. literature review 2.1 project stages for infrastructure delivery infrastructure delivery is made possible through a breakdown of work into packages or stages. each work stage is assigned resources necessary to execute it. crucially, each work stage also requires efficient, effective, and sustainable processes and systems to ensure delivery of infrastructure. the project stages for infrastructure delivery are not an easy feat, irrespective of the scale and scope of the project. a great deal can go wrong from planning to handling the ever-changing demands of clients to ensuring the deliverables on time. consequently, projects are divided into manageable stages, each with its own goals and deliverables, making it easier to control the output. generally, a typical infrastructure project commences with the initiation stage, with the aim of turning an abstract idea into a meaningful goal. this stage entails the development of a business case and definition of the project on a broad level. the initiation stage is followed by a planning stage, which requires complete diligence as it lays out the project’s roadmap (gallego, ortiz-marcos & romero ruiz, 2021: 162). the third stage is the execution stage, which involves the project implementation or musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 144 the construction stage (lampel, 2001: 472). this stage ensures efficient workflows and careful monitoring of the project’s progress (gallego et al., 2021: 162). the project closure stage is the fourth and last stage of the project (loftesnes, 2021: 543). the four generic project stages described above are further broken down into six stages in the sacpcmp project life cycle framework: project initiation and briefing; concept and feasibility; design development; tender documentation and procurement; construction documentation and management, and project close-out (sacpcmp, 2008: 5). specific deliverables and services are expected from the various supply-chain parties at each of the identified six stages. the client is also expected to fulfil its obligations at each specified project stage (sacpcmp, 2008: 5). in addition, key stakeholders have different levels of influence at each one of the project stages. consequently, given the covid-19 implications, various parties in the delivery of projects respond differently on the services they provide at each of the six project stages. as a result, projects have been reported to have varied outcomes from those initially planned 2.2 global impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on the construction industry the covid-19 pandemic had both a negative and a positive impact on the global construction industry. from a questionnaire administered to 71 construction industry professionals from various regions around the world, ogunnusi, salman and kouider (2020: 123) identify common positive and negative experiences with covid-19 (54.9% of respondents from africa, 2.5% from asia, and 18.3% from europe). when asked about positive effects, respondents agreed that the pandemic has empowered “the opportunity to improve on virtual alternatives”, where digital platforms have enabled the continuity of meetings previously held only face-to-face (ogunnusi et al., 2020: 126). concerning the negative effects perceived by respondents, the pandemic has exacerbated ongoing project issues such as cost and schedule overruns, owing primarily to the daily hardships faced by labour and ineffective work from home for sitebased processes (ogunnusi et al., 2020: 127). gamil and alhagar (2020: 127) gathered information from 129 respondents in a survey and 10 experts in a series of structured interviews to better understand the impact of covid-19 on construction. the most severe effects of the pandemic, according to respondents, are supply shortages; material price fluctuations; legal issues and interruptions in contractual terms; impact on existing completed activities; uncertainty of survival, and impact on research and technology. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 145 2.3 impact of covid-19 on project stages the impact of covid-19 has been observed in project performance across all the six stages of the sacpcmp project life cycle framework. gamil and alhagar (2020: 122) observe that legal challenges, suspension of works, and material price fluctuations have characterised the pandemic period. mclennan (2021: 25) asserts that the construction industry has been impacted by the pandemic and has recorded its most challenging year in history. the industry projects a global fall of 3.1% in the 2020/2021 year. doddy and sorohan (2021: 11) highlight the likely progression of the adverse impacts of covid-19 on construction projects, funding, administration, mapping, budgets, and timeous output. mckinsey (2020: 4) contends that the crisis is expected to hit long-term supply and demand beyond the shortterm impact of an economic downturn on construction demand, resulting in lasting shifts in investment patterns. table 1 gives a summary of some of the notable effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the construction industry, including labour, contractual, liquidity, and job site issues. table 1: impact of covid-19 on the construction industry impacts author(s) shortage of labour cosgrove et al. (2020: 10) supply chain disruptions cosgrove et al. (2020: 10); chivilo et al. (2020: 10); pwc (2020: 5); mckinsey (2020: 4); delays and disruption to contracts doddy and sorohan (2020: 12); kpmg (2020: 4); chivilo et al. (2020: 3) suspension and termination of contracts doddy and sorohan (2020: 11); mckinsey (2020: 4) stress on working capital and liquidity position doddy and sorohan (2020: 12) increased project cost, due to revised standard working procedures incorporating social distancing kpmg (2020: 4); mckinsey (2020: 4) additional interest cost on working capital loans kpmg (2020: 4) labour impact and job losses gamil and alhagar (2020: 5); pwc (2020: 5) time overrun gamil and alhagar (2020: 122) difficulties with funding pwc (2020: 5) cost overrun gamil and alhagar (2020: 122) remote or smart working mckinsey (2020: 4) source: researchers’ compilation musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 146 3. research methodology 3.1 research design covid-19 has disrupted the construction industry and threatened its sustainability. therefore, seeking an understanding of the nature of the pandemic’s effect on the industry and infrastructure delivery is crucial to ensure its sustainability. the study adopted a mixed methods approach, using quantitative and qualitative data-collection methods on the impact of covid-19 on the six stages of construction project delivery (creswell & plano clarke, 2017: 11). specifically, empirical data was collected, using surveys administered through online polls during and after the online panel discussions. in addition, the qualitative data was gleaned from panel discussions and collated around the generated themes. this data has been presented as expert views and contributions from the 136 study participants. the method, adopting live-polling and an online panel discussion, has successfully been used previously for data collection. studies include that of powell et al. (2015: 3) and that of sahu (2012: 55) who provide an argument for adopting such progressive web-based research methods. webinars were conducted over six days. each webinar session had expert panellists presenting on a specific topic, followed by another session involving webinar attendees asking questions or commenting on the expert panel presentations. live polling was administered during the webinars relative to the topic of the day. the live online polling yielded the quantitative data, while the panel presentations and responses to the questions yielded the qualitative data. 3.2 population and sample the study participants consisted of built environment professionals who had responded to an open invitation to attend the webinars organised by the association of construction project managers (acpm). the invitees, who mainly belong to the acpm, were built-environment professionals and stakeholders in infrastructure development representing client, consulting, and contracting organisations in south africa. table 2 presents the number of participants who attended the webinars on each day, ranging from 117 on 27 august 2020 to 162 on 20 august 2020. the acpm has a membership of 269 full members and 187 associate members, giving a total membership of 456. the increase in the number of attendees attests to the interest generated by the conversations on the covid-19 topic. on average, 136 participants attended each session. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 147 table 2: type and number of participants series panel date expert panellists discussion participants 1 project initiation and briefing 16/07/2020 4 126 2 concept and feasibility 24/07/2020 4 140 3 design and development 30/07/2020 4 136 4 tender documentation and procurement 13/08/2020 4 136 5 construction documentation and management 20/08/2020 4 162 6 project closeout 27/08/2020 4 117 average number of participants 4 136 3.3 data collection given the anecdotes with regard to the pandemic implications on project delivery and the restrictions on movements and gatherings, online panel discussions were held with experts and construction industry stakeholders. the webinars were hosted by the acpm in july and august 2020. acpm is a voluntary association of built-environment professionals in south africa. six webinar sessions were held, with each session lasting two and a half hours. online polls (quantitative) were conducted during breaks of each panel discussion (qualitative), to which participants responded voluntarily. the discussion participants either agreed or disagreed with the expert panellists’ views and provided information on their experience of the covid-19 pandemic. recommendations for keeping the industry sustainable postcovid-19 were also made. moreover, the questions solicited information on participants’ experiences on how the pandemic had affected project delivery, professional services, scope of work, implications through the six stages, and decisive measures to mitigate the impact of covid-19. question one on what the current impact of the covid-19 has been on the industry, had nine statements. the second question, which focused on establishing what the future impact of covid-19 might be, had seven statements that characterised the future effect. question three set six statements on the measures to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the construction industry. respondents were asked to rate the level of agreement on the statements in each question based on a five-point likert scale. other questions were based on a categorical scale and solicited a “yes”, “no”, or “unsure” regarding the impact of covid-19, whether construction regulations provided for the pandemic, and how professionals needed to respond to the pandemic. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 148 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings comments from the expert panellists were captured as qualitative data and the responses to the polls were captured as quantitative data. both approaches were designed to determine the impact, future implications, and measures to limit the effect of covid-19 on construction project delivery. to measure the respondents’ agreement levels, 22 statements were rated on a five-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (wegner, 2012: 11). the scale of 1 to 5 was used, where 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). the quantitative data were analysed using an excel-based statistical analysis application, statplus pro, version 7.3.0. the outputs from the analysis were sets of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, mean and median scores, as well as standard deviations. the outputs are presented in tables and charts for visualisation. the other statistical output from the analysis includes the coefficient of variation (cv) to indicate the extent of variability about the mean. 3.5 limitation one of the limitations of this research is that it only assessed the impact of covid-19 on construction project delivery in south africa. there is thus a need to use inferential statistics and to extend the study to other african countries for generalisation. 4. findings 4.1 current impact of covid-19 on infrastructure delivery table 3 shows a composite mean score of 3.96, which indicates that the vast majority of the participants (80%) agreed that covid-19 has had an impact on the construction industry. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 149 table 3: current impact of covid-19 on infrastructure delivery statements n=140 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) s tr on gl y ag re e (% ) a gr ee ( % ) n eu tr al ( % ) d is ag re e (% ) s tr on gl y di sa gr ee ( % ) m ea n m ed ia n s d 1 the project’s feasibility determination has been affected, due to uncertainty created by covid-19 35 57 4 0 4 4.20 4.00 0.82 2 the financiers are nervous about committing to their original investment decisions 34 54 8 2 2 4.15 4.00 0.82 3 project managers need new skills to obtain and convey information to clients 27 54 12 6 1 4.00 4.00 0.84 4 client priorities and decisions are primarily being driven by the covid-19 pandemic 26 54 12 6 2 3.99 4.00 0.84 5 clients are focusing on managing the existing project commitments 24 59 10 2 5 3.95 4.00 0.92 6 investment in private infrastructure is likely to fall, due to the effects of covid-19 23 53 14 6 4 3.86 4.00 0.95 7 covid-19 places more demand on cpms to allocate more resources to the concept and feasibility stage 19 55 19 5 2 3.83 4.00 0.85 8 clients are looking towards shifting schedule and cost risks to contractors 22 49 21 6 2 3.84 4.00 0.90 9 the impact of covid-19 on the clients has led to some construction projects being cancelled 22 50 16 11 1 3.79 4.00 0.96 composite mean 3.96 4.00 0.88 participants agreed that a project’s feasibility (ms 4.20), financiers are nervous about committing to their original investment decisions (ms 4.15), and project managers need new skills (ms 4.00) are the top three impacts experienced by the industry. participants (92%) reported that it was challenging to determine project feasibility, due to the high uncertainty prevailing. clients are not committing to their original investment decisions (88%) and are rather focusing on current commitments (83%). of the participants, 71% agreed that there is a shift in risk allocation, with clients passing on more responsibilities to contractors. consequently, 70% indicated that construction projects are being cancelled due to covid-19. in addition, participants (74%) indicated that project planning has changed as a result of the pandemic. they agreed that there is a greater demand for more resources to be allocated to the concept and feasibility study stages. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 150 a substantial majority of the participants (92%) indicated that the current situation demands more qualified project managers. consequently, the vast majority of study participants (76%) agreed that private infrastructure investment is likely to fall due to the pandemic. this finding was perhaps not surprising, given that most of the participants (80%) agreed that covid-19 may highly influence decisions to develop. therefore, the effect on construction development has focused on project planning, clients shifting risk allocation, and project cancellations (table 3) that influenced infrastructure delivery. these findings corroborate the expert panellists’ views who contend that the market conditions with a projected reduced economic growth, lack of confidence by project promoters in going ahead with a project, and the fact that investment in the construction industry had already been shrinking, have a definite effect on infrastructure delivery. the impact, according to the panellists, has been noted in the delays in getting statutory approvals and in changes in designs to accommodate the shrinking economic environment. the panellists (see table 4) also argued that covid-19 resulted in restrictions, policy uncertainty, supply chain uncertainty, and constrained financial resources at the macro level. other outcomes were worker absence and much-deteriorated investor confidence. at the micro-level, the pandemic has caused changes in contract conditions, reconfigured or adjusted scope, additional project appointments such as covid-19 compliance officers, confusion as to covid-19 roles and responsibilities, and contractual complications. the latter arose due to halted or suspended projects, reconfiguration, assignment of new duties on the projects, and response to the covid-19 regulations. table 4: panel views on the covid-19 impact finding what they said changes to contract conditions performance on covid-19 was not initially included in the contract conditions new project roles and responsibilities to manage covid-19 have emerged change to project organisation there is now a need to appoint or employ a covid-19 compliance officer. again, this adds cost to the project high level of uncertainty there is uncertainty about the restrictions imposed by the covid-19 policies and regulations initiated by the government musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 151 4.2 future impact of covid-19 on construction project delivery the effect of covid-19 in the construction industry widely speculated that the pandemic has altered our way of life forever and how the construction industry will operate in the future. however, no one knows for certain what the future impact will be. the study also revealed this. according to the participants, the pandemic will cause the industry to progress in areas such as safer sites, innovative buildings, and digital technologies that have lagged for years. the vast majority of the respondents (84%) agreed that innovative building technologies (ibt) adoption, with a mean rating of 4.10 (sd = 0.88, cv = 21%), would increase in the construction industry postcovid-19. many participants (85%) agreed that technology-enforced safety measures, with a mean rating of 3.98 (sd=0.73, cv=18%), would increase requirements such as for social distancing. moreover, over 96% of the respondents (figure 1) showed that covid-19 would accelerate the construction industry’s digital transformation. although several respondents (28%) were not certain, 61% (sd=0.92, cv= 25%) of the respondents indicated that the construction sites would be safer, due to the requirement to comply with the additional covid-19 regulations. however, the variability in the response suggests a more conservative response. table 5: future impact of covid-19 statements n=140 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) s tr on gl y ag re e (% ) a gr ee ( % ) n eu tr al ( % ) d is ag re e (% ) s tr on gl y di sa gr ee ( % ) m ea n m ed ia n s d c v % 1 innovative building technologies (ibt) adoption will increase in the construction industry post-covid-19 31 53 11 2 3 4.10 4 0.88 21 2 construction projects will take longer to complete, due to the impact of covid-19 38 45 9 6 2 4.11 4 0.95 23 3 technology-enforced safety measures will increase for requirements such as social distancing 18 67 11 2 2 3.98 4 0.73 18 4 labour disputes will increase in the construction industry, due to covid-19 25 52 12 8 3 3.89 4 0.95 24 5 construction sites will be safer, due to the requirement to comply with covid-19 regulations 16 44 28 9 3 3.64 4 0.92 25 musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 152 statements n=140 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) s tr on gl y ag re e (% ) a gr ee ( % ) n eu tr al ( % ) d is ag re e (% ) s tr on gl y di sa gr ee ( % ) m ea n m ed ia n s d c v % 6 covid-19 will force many construction and consulting companies to close or stop practising in the construction industry 10 32 26 25 7 3.11 3 1.12 36 7 contractual claims and disputes will increase in the construction industry during and post-covid-19 26 57 10 4 3 4.00 4 0.87 22 composite mean 3.83 3.86 0.92 24 the pandemic’s future negative impact on the construction industry was also noted on the project delivery period, increased labour disputes, contractual claims, and disputes. the majority of the respondents (83%) indicated that construction projects would take longer to complete, due to the impact of covid-19 showing a mean rating of 4.11 (sd=0.95, cv=23%). regarding project aberrations in infrastructure delivery, most of the respondents (77%) indicated that labour disputes would increase in the construction industry, due to covid-19 (sd=0.95, cv=25%). equally, the vast majority of the respondents (83%) agreed that contractual claims and disputes would increase in the construction industry during and post the covid-19 period (sd=0.87, cv=22%). a noteworthy finding was the varied response to the pandemic’s impact on the contracting and consulting organisations. with a mean rating of 3.11 (sd=1.12, cv=36%), respondents were split on the notion that covid19 will force many construction and consulting companies to close or stop practising in the construction industry (41% agreed, 26% neutral, and 33% disagreed). musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 153 no unsure yes figure 1: view on digital adoption in the construction industry 4.3 implications of the effect of covid-19 on construction work table 6 indicates that participants (91%), who are involved and work in the construction industry, have been affected by covid-19. table 6: effect of covid-19 on construction work no of valid cases 127 work in the construction industry is affected by the covid-19 pandemic count cumulative count percentage (%) cumulative (%) yes 116 116 0.0091 0.0091 unsure 4 120 0.0003 0.0094 no 6 126 0.0005 0.0099 total 127 127 0.0100 0.0100 the effect was noted in the way in which projects should be administered throughout the project cycle, from briefing to closure. in stages one to three, namely the briefing and initiation, concept and feasibility, and design development, the need to allocate more resources, involve the project team early, and have skilled project managers were identified (table 3). the expert panellists observed that the need for an accurate risk assessment and appropriate suitable designs that complied with the covid-19 musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 154 regulations were henceforth an essential requirement. panellist 1 captured the need for accurate risk assessment as follows: “… things are bad. this is a continuation of pre-existing conditions in the industry. the productivity is low, the supply chains have been disrupted, there are rampant budget cuts, and a high loss of life. in addition, there is an increased risk of fraud and misconduct in the procurement processes and supply chain management with huge implications on project viability and sustainability” panellist 1 (13 august 2020). the highlighted conditions place a huge responsibility on the professionals to ensure that an adequate assessment of risks is undertaken at the initiation, concept and feasibility, as well as the design development stages. on the tender documentation and procurement (fourth stage), study participants identified the need for more collaborative project structures to deliver infrastructure faster. table 7: procurement strategy better suited to dealing with covid-19 number of valid cases 136 what procurement strategy is better suited to dealing with the covid-19 challenges? count cumulative count percentage (%) cumulative (%) construction management 39 39 29 28.6765 design and build 24 63 18 46.3235 epc 13 76 10 55.8824 integrated project delivery 37 113 27 83.0882 management contracting 8 121 6 88.9706 traditional, design, bid build 15 136 11 100.0000 total 136 136 100 100.0000 of the available procurement methods (table 7), construction management (39/136, 29%) and integrated project delivery (37/136, 27%) were identified as the strategies that were more suitable to deal with the challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic. the design and build approach was the third most preferred strategy, with 17% (24/136) indicating that it would be suited to dealing with the pandemic. overall, the findings revealed that most of the experts looked to procurement methods that allowed for speedier delivery, collaboration, and more owner involvement. these features are characteristic of construction management, integrated project delivery, and the design and build approach. ahmed and el-sayegh’s (2021: 12) study also identified owner involvement, time, or delivery speed. during the construction stage, productivity will be the most affected in construction project delivery, and therefore, according to the respondents, musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 155 adaptability will be essential. most of the respondents (126/127, 97%) (table 8) identified the need to adapt work methods in the construction industry to respond to the demanding requirements of covid-19. table 8: work methods should respond to covid-19 number of valid cases 127 work methods in construction should respond to the requirements of covid-19 count cumulative count percentage (%) cumulative (%) no 1 1 1 1 unsure 2 3 2 2 yes 123 126 97 99 total 127 127 100 100 closing a project is another critical stage in the project cycle. most of the performed activities at the closing stage mainly have to do with documentation (kamal et al., 2013: 169). findings show that obtaining signoffs on the projects post-covid-19 and getting the project documentation such as occupation certificates will be more complex and affect the handing over of the built infrastructure. notably, participants agreed that items closely related to covid-19 (table 9), namely obtain all statutory compliance certificates (74%) and complete health and safety files for handover (71%), were perceived to be difficult to achieve during or after the pandemic. the other relatively complex items that might affect project closeout were noted as producing and coordinating design documentation (54%), release completion certificates (54%), technical items such as the supply of operating manuals, and coordination of design. the findings reveal that the restrictions in place and how work will be conducted in the future have implications on the level of collaboration, exchange of information, and compliance with all the regulations. table 9: effect on project closure aspect affected very easy (%) easy (%) no change difficult (%) very difficult (%) mean (%) mean lcl 95% sd (%) cv (%) 1 supply operating and maintenance manuals 2.25 10.11 37,08 44.94 5.62 3.41 3,24 0.70 0.24 2 supply of warrantees and guarantees 1.12 8.99 44,94 38.20 6.74 3.40 3,24 0.63 0.23 3 produce and coordinate design documentation 4.49 11.24 30,34 49.44 4.49 3.38 3,19 0.83 0.27 musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 156 aspect affected very easy (%) easy (%) no change difficult (%) very difficult (%) mean (%) mean lcl 95% sd (%) cv (%) 4 obtain all statutory compliance certificates 1.12 4.49 20,22 60.67 13.48 3.81 3,65 0.59 0.20 5 complete health and safety file 2.25 7.86 19,10 51.68 19.10 3.78 3,58 0.86 0.24 6 certify completion certificates 6.74 5.61 33,71 50.56 3.37 3.38 3,19 0.83 0.27 7 produce and coordinate as-built drawings 4.49 13.48 46,07 34.83 1.12 3.15 2,97 0.69 0.26 4.4 decisive measures to mitigate the impact of covid-19 the expert panellists suggested several decisive measures that could help lessen the impact of covid-19 on construction project delivery. the areas proposed include addressing how procurement should be done; reviewing regulations; adopting digital workflows, and setting up an industry oversight body for infrastructure development. the expert panellists proposed the need to implement e-procurement methods, in order to ameliorate the impact of covid-19, because the e-procurement systems give more flexibility and control over the entire purchasing process. the panel argued that e-procurement would help overcome problems associated with procurement in the covid-19 era. furthermore, a well-defined procurement process will provide a competitive advantage to an organisation by lowering costs across the value chain; increasing efficiency in the delivery of impeccable service; assisting with product innovation; mitigating supplier risk, and increasing supply chain resiliency. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 157 table 10: measures to mitigate the effects of covid-19 statements n=140 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) s tr on gl y ag re e (% ) a gr ee ( % ) n eu tr al ( % ) d is ag re e (% ) s tr on gl y di sa gr ee ( % ) m ea n m ed ia n s d c v ( % ) v al id c as es 1 testing and verification standards during commissioning on public infrastructure should be improved 36 53 7 1 2 4.20 4.00 0.65 19 88 2 e-procurement would help overcome problems associated with procurement in the covid19 era 29 54 12 3 2 4.04 4.00 0.73 21 135 3 digitalising as-built-drawings and installed asset information should be mandatory for medium and large public infrastructure developments 23 56 11 2 1 3.83 4.00 1.13 28 88 4 building standards should be revised, given the covid-19 implications 32 39 16 8 6 3.83 4.00 1.29 30 88 5 designers and project managers should be more accountable for the post-occupancy performance of infrastructure 20 51 20 4 3 3.81 4.00 0.87 24 88 6 covid-19 infrastructure command centre comprising industry professionals to support government decisions will mitigate risks of undue practices, and achieve infrastructure objectives 18 59 14 10 0 3.50 4.00 0.68 21 135 composite mean 3.86 table 10 shows that the study participants agreed with this view and rated the panel’s contention a mean score of 4.04 (sd=0.73, cv=21%). another proposal was that the forms of agreements should be revised to accommodate risks posed by pandemics such as covid-19. this proposal was also affirmed by most of the respondents (78%) and received a mean rating of 3.83 (sd=1.29, cv=30%). with a mean score rating of 4.20, participants strongly agreed that testing and verification standards during commissioning on public infrastructure should be improved. generally, both the panellists and the study participants noted that the current construction regulations were inadequate to respond to the challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic. the expert panels strongly advocated the need for skilled and knowledgeable professionals. they argued that, given the challenges posed by covid-19 musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 158 in the procurement, design, construction, and handover stages, it was time the industry promoted a high level of professionalism. participants in the study acknowledged that there is a need for professionals to craft new ways to respond to the pandemic. the industry’s call to uphold professionalism was also met with the professionals’ demand to ensure effective and efficient delivery of infrastructure. the study respondents indicated a need to establish an infrastructure oversight body, a central infrastructure command centre, comprising built-environment professionals to ensure effective and efficient infrastructure delivery. the majority of the respondents (76%) supported the idea of a command centre, rated at 3.50 (sd=0.68, cv=21%). 5. discussion and conclusion covid-19 has affected all the stakeholders in the construction industry and, therefore, impacted on the infrastructure delivery process. similar findings by jallow, renukappa and suresh (2020: 10) in the united kingdom found that the lockdown, a consequence of the pandemic, made it very difficult to manage projects. studies conducted in nigeria by ogunnusi, salman and kouider (2020) also found that the pandemic significantly affected the construction industry. it was noted that covid-19 had imposed new demands throughout all the project stages. findings show that the impact of the pandemic means that careful and detailed assessment of risks is now more critical than before. all the key players, including clients, financiers, professionals, contractors, and suppliers, have been affected. although some of the consequences were unavoidable, the study highlighted the need to revisit the way in which business is conducted, underscoring the importance of technology in improving efficiency and resilience. digitalisation of operations has particularly been adopted in many organisations to enable automation and/or for remote control systems (strusani & houngbonon, 2020: 9). administration of project contracts was also identified as a key issue that the pandemic tested. findings show that several forms of agreements were not adequate for the covid-19 pandemic. the study established that standard forms of contract should be revised to deal with current and future pandemics. consequently, ogunnusi et al. (2020: 127) recommended that modification of rules especially on health and safety, contingency plans, definition of force majeure, and standard forms of agreements should be considered. in conclusion, the following are recommended: 1. the creation of a covid-19 infrastructure command centre comprising industry professionals to support government decisions, musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 159 mitigate the risk of undue practices, and achieve infrastructure objectives. this is important, especially since the government has identified infrastructure development investment critical to economic recovery post-pandemic. 2. there is a need to revise the contracting terms, especially on risk allocation and fees, to correspond with an increased scope of work dealing with the pandemic. 3. prioritise health and safety requirements in the first four stages of the sacpcmp’s project life cycle framework. 4. shared risk between parties can be achieved by adjusting the standard forms of contracts. 5. collaboration and adoption of technology, use of virtual platforms for procurement and management. 6. allow for covid-19 or pandemic pricing in the documentation. acknowledgements we would like to thank and acknowledge the following: • the acpm exco, for arranging the construction conversations on the covid-19 pandemic and its effect on infrastructure delivery. we would like to acknowledge acpm exco and management by adjunct prof. n. rakolote, anthony afordofe, jedd grimbeek, preven naicker, tim white, mlungisi tshangela, jorge patricio, dev devan, godfrey ajusi, sheerish jhina, kelvin byres and bongani mahalangu. in addition ronnie s siphika, the founder & ceo at the construction management foundation for the development of the problem areas focusing on the impact of covid-19 on the six stages of construction project delivery. • participants, who responded to the construction industry conversations’ call, brought extensive knowledge on construction project management issues to the discussions. • the expert panellists, who took part in the discussions in all six sessions. the first session included vikash narsai, ceo vna consulting/sacpcmp transformation committee; dr claire deacon, director claire deacon & associates; allan nenguke, development head: sandton summit growthpoint properties. • the second session, which focused on stage two of the project cycle, concept, and feasibility, included kelvin byres (country manager, mace group); christelle bown, president, association of south africa quantity surveyors (asaqs); kerwin francis, head project and valuations property finance africa, and kerwen francis, head project and valuations property finance africa. musonda & rakolote 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 141-162 160 • the third session with a keynote address by isaac nkosi, president: sacpcmp and panellist were lorna cockran, commercial divisional manager at comsaf; zelda botma; wayne mansfield, partner with kmh architects; victor utria, consultant to osmond lange architects, as well as alan dinnie, development manager at profica. this session focused on the design and development stage of the project cycle. • the fourth session, with kabelo tubane from idm consulting, who gave a keynote address. while the panellists included mr rob mcguffin, land economist (uct nedbank urban real estate research unit); prof. raymond nkado, managing director qualconsul qs/chartered quantity surveyors. • the honourable minister of public works and infrastructure, minister patricia de lille, for the fifth conversation’s keynote address. the experts included prof. george gerghorn from michigan state university; rob scorgie, commercial director, enza construction, and prof. tinus maritz, ceo, the joint building contracts committee (jbcc). this session focused on the construction documentation and management stage. • mr morake charles morolo, the ddg public infrastructure department of public works, roads, and transport mpumalanga provincial government, for the keynote address as the panellists who took part in the sixth conversation (which focused on a project closeout). they included dr tshidi gule, chief medical officer of legulo group, and vikash narsai, ceo vna consulting/sacpcmp transformation committee and mr anthony afordofe, acpm president and akwenie group ceo. references ahmed, s. & el-sayegh, s. 2021. critical review of the evolution of project delivery methods in the construction industry. buildings, 11(1), pp. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11010011 chivilo, j.p., fonte, g.a. & koger, g.h. 2020. a look at covid-19 impacts on the construction industry. holland and knight alert. 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https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/how-construction-can-emerge-stronger-after-coronavirus# https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/how-construction-can-emerge-stronger-after-coronavirus# https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/how-construction-can-emerge-stronger-after-coronavirus# https://www.marsh.com/us/insights/research/five-ways-covid-19-has-impacted-construction-companies.html https://www.marsh.com/us/insights/research/five-ways-covid-19-has-impacted-construction-companies.html https://www.marsh.com/us/insights/research/five-ways-covid-19-has-impacted-construction-companies.html https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-015-0209-1 https://www.protiviti.com/za-en/insights/covid-19-impact-construction-projects https://www.protiviti.com/za-en/insights/covid-19-impact-construction-projects https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/crisis-solutions/covid-19/engineering-construction-post-covid-world.html https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/crisis-solutions/covid-19/engineering-construction-post-covid-world.html https://doi.org/10.4018/jicte.2012010106 https://doi.org/10.4018/jicte.2012010106 _hlk53392490 _hlk53392535 _hlk53392569 _hlk53392704 _hlk53393496 _hlk53360284 _hlk62897569 146 oorsigsartikels • review articles investigating alternative dispute resolution methods and the implementation thereof by architectural professionals in south africa peer reviewed and revised abstract given the number of role players and the complexity of the building process, disputes are inevitable. as an alternative to litigation, which is often costly and time consuming, alternative dispute resolution (adr) methods could be used. arbitration, mediation, negotiation and adjudication are a few examples of adr and, if understood correctly and implemented effectively, adr could prove beneficial to all parties involved in disputes. this article investigates the current knowledge, implementation and benefits of adr within the south african built environment. the focus population of the study is architectural professionals, as defined by the south african council for the architectural profession (sacap). a questionnaire was distributed among 581 architectural professionals to determine how informed these architectural professionals are about the different adr methods, their implementation and resultant consequences. the real-world problem is that architectural professionals do not apply adr methods because of the lack of knowledge regarding the implementation and benefits of adr. it is considered that the unique contribution of this article lies in the fact that all architectural professionals in south africa were asked to participate in the survey regarding adr, its methods, implementations, and their knowledge thereof. this is the first evidence of many anecdotal statements made on the lack of implementation and knowledge regarding adr methods within the architectural profession of south africa. the findings reveal that the tariene wilcocks ms. tariene wilcocks, parttime lecturer, department of architecture, tshwane university of technology, no 201 fairfield, 1164 dormer avenue, queenswood, south africa. phone: + 27 63 695 4584, email: <wilcockst@ tut.ac.za> jacques laubscher prof. jacques laubscher, head of department, department of architecture, tshwane university of technology, po box 95469, waterkloof, 0145, south africa. phone: + 27 12 382 5252, email: <laubscherj@tut.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i2.6 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(2): 146-167 © uv/ufs mailto:trieng@live.co.za mailto:trieng@live.co.za mailto:laubscherj@tut.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.6 wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 147 majority of the respondents are not familiar with the term adr and could not provide a clear definition; 69.4% of architectural professionals do not discuss adr methods with their client before entering into an agreement, and 58.4% of the population have hardly any or no knowledge regarding the methods and benefits of adr. these observations indicate that a significant portion of architectural professionals are currently in breach of the sacap code of conduct and could potentially lose their professional license. these results indicate a possible way forward to facilitate a larger implementation of adr in future building projects. keywords: south african council for the architectural profession (sacap), alternative dispute resolution (adr), litigation. abstrak gegewe die aantal rolspelers en kompleksiteit van die konstruksiebedryf is dispute onvermydelik. as ’n alternatief tot litigasie, wat soms duur sowel as tydrowend kan wees, kan alternatiewe geskilbeslegtingsprosedures (adr) gebruik word. arbitrasie, bemiddeling/mediasie, onderhandeling en beoordeling is ’n paar voorbeelde van alternatiewe prosedures en, as dit korrek verstaan en geïmplementeer word, kan dit voordelig wees vir alle partye betrokke in die dispuut. die studie ondersoek die huidige kennis, implementering en voordele van adr. die populasie vir die studie is gefokus op professionele persone in die boukunde, soos beskryf deur die suid-afrikaanse raad vir die argitektuurprofessie (sacap). ’n vraelys is versprei na 581 boukundiges om vas te stel wat boukundiges in die bedryf se huidige kennis is rakende die verskillende adr-metodes, die implementering daarvan en die bypassende gevolge. die werklike probleem is dat boukundiges nie die adr-metodes toepas nie, weens die gebrek aan kennis rakende die implementering en voordele van adr. die unieke bydrae van hierdie artikel lê in die feit dat alle boukundiges in suid afrika gevra is om aan die opname oor adr, metodes, implementering en hul kennis daarvan deel te neem. dit is die eerste bewys van baie anekdotiese stellings oor die gebrek aan implementering en kennis aangaande adrmetodes in die boukunde van suid afrika. die resultate bewys dat die meerderheid boukundiges nie vertroud is met die term adr nie en dus ook nie ’n duidelike definisie daarvan kan gee nie; 69.4% van die boukundiges bespreek nie adr-metodes met hul kliënte voordat hulle ’n ooreenkoms teken nie. daar is ook bewys dat 58.4% van die boukundiges min of geen kennis van die metodes en hul bypassende voordele het nie. hierdie waarnemings dui daarop dat ’n merkwaardige hoeveelheid boukundiges huidiglik die sacap-gedragskode oortree en dat hul professionele lisensies potensieel weggeneem kan word. die resultate dui ook daarop dat daar ’n moontlike pad vorentoe is om ’n groter implementering van adr in toekomstige bouprojekte te fasiliteer. sleutelwoorde: suid-afrikaanse raad vir die argitektuurprofessie (sacap), alternatiewe geskilbeslegtingsprosedures (adr), litigasie. file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); file:///c:/users/user/documents/work%202017/acta%20structilia/acta%20structilia%2024(2)/manuscripts/97/javascript:void(0); acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 148 1. introduction chapter 2 of the constitution of the republic of south africa makes provision for adr in section 34 (south africa, 1996: 14). it grants parties the right to have a dispute resolved by means of a public hearing as an alternative to legal proceedings. arbitration, mediation, negotiation and adjudication are some of the alternative methods that can be used when resolving disputes in south africa. this is, therefore, also applicable to the construction industry. adr has a variety of important attributes, including cost effectiveness, time saving, confidentiality, privacy, and the preservation of business relationships. if both parties agree to the method of procedure, the process of adr could be entered into on a voluntary basis (wipo, 2012: 5). the complex and specialised nature of construction projects contributes to disputes arising between two parties (maritz, 2007: 78). according to bvumbwe and thwala (2011: 35) and botha (2000: 1), the major causes of disputes are the following: • use of improperly or poorly drafted contracts; • financial issues and claims; • poor communication from client and contractor; • poor management – time, funds and programme, and • emotions – the ability to handle stress. this article is limited to the built environment professional’s knowledge regarding the implementation and benefits of adr methods, with specific focus on architectural professionals in south africa. the architectural profession act 44 of 2000 states that all registered persons are obligated to comply with the sacap code of conduct (board notice 154 of 2009). among others, board notice 154 of 2009 states that all architectural professionals should enter into professional service agreements that provide for dispute resolution. it is cause for concern that architectural professionals in south africa often overlook the necessity of professional service agreements that make provision for adr, despite the obvious risks involved. as a result, these professionals have no recourse for dispute resolution, should it be required. in 2008, the south african institute of architects (saia) published a professional service agreement titled the saia client-architect agreement (saia caa 2008). this agreement makes provision for mediation and arbitration when disagreements arise during the construction process. despite its availability, a large number of architectural professionals still do not make use of the saia caa 2008. in a study, pelser (2013: 36) concluded that, for architectural projects, wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 149 the saia caa 2008 was only used in 3% of construction projects documentation in pretoria over the past five years. one of the reasons for this is architectural professionals’ general lack of knowledge concerning the content of such agreements. it could be argued that a greater awareness of adr by architectural professionals could benefit all those involved in the building process. however, the lack of understanding of professional service agreements has a direct impact on the implementation of adr. it is, therefore, important to investigate the use and knowledge of adr in the built environment of south africa by introducing the origin of adr and how it relates to the built environment; collecting and analysing data from architectural professionals on the knowledge, implementations, consequences and benefits of adr, in order to inform architectural professionals on appropriate adr methods and the importance of the implementation thereof. this article aims to determine • the extent of the knowledge and implementation of architectural professionals on adr; • whether architectural professionals discuss adr with their clients prior to the commencement of a project, and • whether architectural professionals are informed about the different methods and benefits of adr. 2. a brief history of adr this article presents a brief historical overview of the origins of adr in the south african legal system as well as its relevance to the built environment. when faced with a dispute, built environment professionals could use this literature to obtain pertinent information on adr methods, implementations as well as some advantages and disadvantages of the different methods. the literature review also serves as a background to the study. 2.1 origin of adr in the south african legal system during the 1980s, adr was used increasingly in the united states (us) in an attempt to resolve court backlogs. subsequently, different forms of adr evolved to suit specific needs in different sectors (freyer, 1997: 108). in south africa, the existence of informal methods of adr can be traced back to the 1960s, when traditional african communities had disputes over food, land and partners (barrett & barrett, 2004: 10). acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 150 these disputes were often brought before a traditional leader during a meeting of the community. this method of resolving disputes is closely associated with adjudication, mediation or arbitration. in south africa, arbitration is governed by the arbitration act 42 of 1965. this act provides citizens with legal rights to have disputes settled by arbitration tribunals (ntuli, 2013: 9). this act applies to domestic and international arbitration proceedings and is of the opinion that foreign arbitration awards are accepted in south africa. when parties agree to submit any dispute arising out of the contract, the dispute has to be referred to one of the official arbitration bodies in south africa. there are four main arbitration bodies in south africa: • the arbitration foundation of south africa (afsa); • the association of arbitrators (southern africa) (aoa); • the commission for conciliation, mediation and arbitration (ccma), and • africa alternative dispute resolution (aadr). disputes occur in all facets of life. adr is rapidly expanding into all sectors of the economy, including divorce and child custody, educational settings, as well as commercial, engineering and construction disputes (trollip, 1991: 8). as some of these disputes are complex in nature and involve large amounts of money, adr can assist the parties involved to settle, or narrow down the issues of the dispute. it is also beneficial to parties with personal or business relationships that require confidentiality to favour early settlement in order to achieve a positive solution for all involved. the use of adr methods has established a mechanism to avoid formal court litigation and is expected to have a positive outcome. however, adr holds many challenges and has not yet been fully embraced by professionals in the south african built environment (de oliveira, 2012: 80). it is evident that awareness should be created to ensure that adr becomes an essential part of the legal system of south africa. 2.2 adr in the south african built environment the built environment of south africa has developed the process of adr over a period of three decades, when quail (1978: 165) established the introduction of the mediation process in 1976. the built environment of south africa is a large industry that brings together a variety of different professionals. verster (2006: 13) states that the built environment should address the possible risk of disputes that have an impact on the time and cost of building projects. it wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 151 has been reported that problems associated with payments have affected the supply chain of the construction industry and negatively impacted on the contracting environment (maritz, 2007: 419). in the construction industry, disputes are a common occurrence and affect the growth and performance of the built environment (thumbiran, 2015: 1). consequently, it is necessary to examine traditional means of resolving disputes, as litigation is too costly and time consuming. the development and implementation of adr methods often increase with accelerated rates of construction, design and procurement documents (finsen, 2005: 214-216). finsen (2005: 216) and verster (2006: 17) argue that adr is an essential part of the management of construction projects and plays a fundamental role in the successful completion of these complex projects, although it is not implemented throughout the south african construction industry. there are many other sectors in the economy where adr is expanding rapidly, providing parties with positive solutions to disputes. the adr network south africa is one of many agencies providing assistance in adr to both the public and the private sectors. however, there is a major need for appropriate resources and awareness regarding adr methods specific to the built environment of south africa. as mentioned earlier, the construction industry is known for its complex nature; it must, therefore, provide an expert facilitator to settle disputes. according to povey (2005: 2), the facilitator may be a currently practising professional with the necessary experience, or a retired professional in the industry. facilitators must also be registered with the aoa. verster (2006: 17) suggests that adr methods should be applied more effectively, resulting in more time being allocated to productively manage the project. it is necessary to understand that new procedures, methods and increased awareness may be vital, in order to expand the fast-track nature of the construction industry. 3. adr methods commonly used in the built environment since the late 1980s, standard forms of adr have evolved, each with their own characteristics, as a result of a search for quicker and cheaper alternatives to litigation (chong & zin, 2012: 433). according to motiwal (1998: 117), adr techniques have been developed by leading universities and adr centres in the us, great britain, canada and australia. in support of this statement, paul pretorius, advocate and editor of dispute resolution 1993, undertook two study tours in the us, in order to learn about alternate forms of dispute resolution. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 152 pretorius (1990: 39) concluded that as far as the us is concerned, significant academic resources have been devoted to the scientific study of conflict and the development of appropriate institutions and practices to establish appropriate adr methods. a study conducted by van zyl, verster & ramabodu (2010: 521) revealed that the following are the most preferred adr methods in south africa’s built environment: negotiation, conciliation, mediation, adjudication, and arbitration. 3.1 negotiation negotiation is one of the most commonly used adr methods for resolving disputes, because it is an informal method used as a preventative measure to avoid fully fledged disputes between parties (chong & zin, 2012: 430). fisher, ury & patton (1991: 6) define negotiation as “a basic means of getting what you want from others”. it is a process whereby parties attempt to reach a settlement without involving an independent third party (ramsden, 2009: 2). negotiation is convenient, unstructured and often preserves working relationships. the simplest way of settling disputes is by means of negotiation, because the parties themselves are in the best position to know the strengths and weaknesses of their own cases (wang, 2000: 191). however, negotiation does not always guarantee success when attempting to settle disputes between parties. according to pretorius (1993: 38), this may be caused by a general lack of knowledge, in conjunction with parties being too subjective and emotionally involved to make rational decisions. proposal and party a party b negotiation counter proposal interaction between parties successful/unsuccessful figure 1: summarised illustration of negotiation source: wilcocks, 2017: 22 wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 153 3.2 mediation mediation is an adr method in which a neutral third party, known as the mediator, seeks to resolve a dispute between the parties in conflict (chong & zin, 2012: 430). according to goldberg, sander and rogers (1992: 103), “mediation is an assisted and facilitated negotiation carried out by a third party”. mediation is also used in other sectors of the economy, namely commercial, civil, labour, family, interpersonal, community, complex public disputes, environmental cases and a wide range of other disputes (brown & marriot, 1993: 291). mediation proceedings may only take place if the parties are in agreement and willing to assist in reaching a settlement. if a settlement is reached, the mediator will provide the parties with a written agreement that will become legally binding once it has been signed by both parties (ramsden, 2009: 3). chong and zin (2012: 40) and bollen, euwema & muller (2010: 420) argue that the success of mediation depends on its fairness, simultaneously with the cooperation of both parties during the mediation. mediator non binding opinion party a interaction between parties mediation own solution party b figure 2: summarised illustration of mediation source: wilcocks, 2017: 23 3.3 conciliation conciliation is a process that is voluntarily entered into by the disputing parties; it involves an impartial third party. according to stewart (2006: online), conciliation is “a settlement out of court, usually by the assistance of a neutral third party”. loots (1991: 1012) further states that the method of conciliation is flexible and that the acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 154 outcome of the dispute is entirely dependent on the willingness of the parties to participate. previous parties have stated that their favoured method of adr is either mediation or conciliation. these methods are often more effective in resolving disputes than litigation, because the outcome of disputes is interest based for both parties rather than rights based and the process of conciliation is not as prolonged and costly as the process of litigation (rao, 2009: 320). conciliator settlement proposal conciliation interaction between parties party bparty a figure 3: summarised illustration of conciliation source: wilcocks, 2017: 25 3.4 adjudication the oed (2016: 16) states that the generally accepted definition of adjudication is as follows: “the process of making an official decision about who is right in a disagreement between two groups or organisations”. according to hibberd and newman (2001), the process of adjudication is an accelerated form of adr whereby a neutral or independent third party makes a binding determination on the dispute, unless it is overturned by an arbitrator. however, the parties involved may not proceed with arbitration or litigation until 28 days after the adjudicator has made the determination. this method of adr is less disruptive, as parties can continue with construction work and meet their obligations. adjudication is an adr method that allows for business relationships to continue while parties resolve their disputes. wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 155 case presentation adjudicator adjudication r = representative determination referral adjudication notice response party a party br r case presentation figure 4: summarised illustration of adjudication source: wilcocks, 2017: 26 3.5 arbitration arbitration is considered to be one of the most common methods of adr in the built environment. arbitration can be defined as “a judicial and more formal process where the disputing parties present their cases to an independent third party of their choice, known as the arbitrator” (pretorius, 1993: 5). this method was known to the romans, used by the dutch and english during the period of colonial expansion, and extensively used in the construction industry (finsen, 1999: 203-204). the process of arbitration is similar to court procedure and may be associated with a formal trial. however, it can be more informal and relaxed, as it can be modified by the agreed parties. brown and marriot (1993: 288) state that arbitration is a suitable method of adr, because a neutral third party with highly specialised knowledge on the subject matter makes a final and binding award, unlike other adr methods. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 156 arbitration r = representative arbitrators(s) final determination party a party br r final determination case presentation figure 5: summarised illustration of arbitration source: wilcocks, 2017: 27 4. methodology the study used a quantitative research approach, as the research involves numbers and measurement (data to be collected), thus emphasising frequencies and statistics (expressed in numbers) (struwig & stead, 2001: 7; leedy & ormrod, 2005: 179). because the study focuses on information-seeking behaviour around the current knowledge that architectural professionals have regarding adr and the implementation thereof, as provided for by the saia caa 2008, a survey research method would be the most appropriate for this study (courtright 2007: 273). williams (2007: 67) classifies a survey as a standard quantitative research method. survey research involves acquiring information about one or more groups of people, perhaps about their opinions, characteristics, attitudes, or previous experiences, by asking questions and tabulating the answers. the ultimate goal is to learn about a large population by surveying a sample thereof (leedy & ormrod, 2005: 183). survey instruments can be broadly classified into two categories, namely questionnaires and interviews (boubala, 2010: 55). this study used structured questionnaires to collect and analyse data obtained from architectural professionals in south africa. wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 157 4.1 data collection the questionnaire contained 17 main questions on whether architectural professionals implement adr; discuss adr prior to entering into an agreement with a client, and whether architectural professionals are informed about the different methods and benefits of adr. the questionnaire was designed to test the individual experience and understanding of professionals on the current knowledge, implementations, consequences, and benefits of adr. the questionnaire was used as a survey method, with two datacollection options. these data-collection methods were chosen to collect data from as many participants as possible. an online questionnaire, created using surveymonkey, was emailed to the specific target audience. this is a popular web-based survey software that provides for data collection, data analysis and brand management (surveymonkey, 2016). the second data-collection method is in hardcopy format. this was made available to professionals who found the online survey method impractical, or did not have access to the internet or email. the hardcopies were distributed where necessary, in order to reach as many participants as possible. the questionnaire addresses the relevant research questions developed by the researcher, in order to establish the current knowledge on adr. 4.2 design of the questionnaire the questionnaire was aligned with the specific research subproblems: • subproblem 1 are architectural professionals familiar with, and well informed about adr? • subproblem 2 do architectural professionals discuss adr prior to entering into an agreement with a client or only once disputes arise? • subproblem 3 are architectural professionals informed about the different methods and benefits of adr? the questionnaire was also discussed with the study leader, an independent statistician and an architectural practice specialist to ensure that the information stated in the questionnaire is relevant and meaningful. the questionnaire is divided into three sections: section a: general information this section covers the participants’ personal information as well as background on their education and category of sacap registration. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 158 section b: alternative dispute resolution (adr) this section addresses subproblems 1, 2 and 3, by establishing the knowledge and implementation of adr by architectural professionals in south africa. the researcher also aims to determine whether architectural professionals discuss adr prior to entering into an agreement with a client and whether architectural professionals are informed about the different methods and benefits of adr. section c: the south african institute of architects (saia) this section focuses on the basic knowledge that architectural professionals have regarding the methods and benefits of adr, as specifically provided for in the saia caa 2008. the initial questionnaire was pre-tested by circulating it to 10 registered members of sacap who formed part of the target population. the objective of the pre-test was to determine any uncertainty and/or errors. it also served as a testing mechanism to ensure that all of the subproblems were addressed effectively. this exercise also confirmed the estimated time required to complete the questionnaire. these questionnaires do not form part of the data for the main study, because they were only used to develop the questionnaire. 4.3 sampling size and its level of presentation of the population the saia agreed to make their database of contacts available. however, this had an impact on the representativity of the data, as saia is mainly focused on architects, not on all architectural professionals. therefore, the researcher approached sacap to ensure that all architectural professionals in south africa were reached (13 622 members). the sampling size was determined by the number of registered sacap members in south africa. the 2014/2015 annual sacap report listed 10 525 registered members in south africa (sacap, 2015: 27). however, sacap agreed to assist the researcher with the study and later informed the researcher that the survey was sent out to 13 622 professionals (van stade & chiunda, 2016). sacap distributed the questionnaire with only the contact details of the researcher and the supervisor, without placing other limitations on its 13 622 members. the sampling size was ultimately defined by the reality that all the architectural professionals in south africa were reached. the survey response from the sampling size totalled 581 participating architectural professionals. krejcie and morgan (1970: 608) recommend that, for general research activities in the wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 159 construction-related professionals, a sample size of 370 is valid for a population of 15 000. this recommendation validates the sample size of 581 as efficient for a population of 13 622. the 581 participants represent 4.27% of the registered architectural professionals. of the 581 responding participants, 396 completed section a and b of the questionnaire, consequently representing 2.91% of the architectural population in south africa. in total, the questionnaire was fully completed by 346 out of 581 research participants who, at the time of undertaking the research, represent 2.55% of registered sacap members in south africa. 4.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings biographical information on the research participants was required, in order to draw conclusions regarding the age and gender groups that might prefer to use adr. this could also determine whether or not a participant’s level of education impacts on the use of adr. the questionnaire also made use of three different categories of a 5-point likert scale, in order to obtain and analyse the respondents’ opinions. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997; burns & grove, 1997). for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the relevant categories of likert scales were measured by occurrences, agreement and content. occurrences is measured where 1 is never (10% of times), 2 rarely (25% of times), 3 sometimes (50% of times), 4 mostly (75% of times), and 5 always (100% of times). agreement is measured where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 don’t know, 4 agree, and 5 strongly agree. content is measured where 1 is never heard of it, 2 seen it before, 3 read it, 4 know most of it, and 5 know all of it. by using the various likert scales, the researcher was able to analyse the respondents’ opinions, knowledge and implementation. the researcher obtained the raw data from the online platform surveymonkey, upon which the findings were reviewed against the foregoing literature review. the data was then processed using the microsoft excel® (microsoft office® suite 2007) software program, in order to present statistical graphics. 4.5 comparative data the researcher grouped certain categories of possible answers together, using the online platform surveymonkey. this enabled the researcher to test the statistical significance from respondents, acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 160 regarding age, gender, qualification and category of sacap registration. these categories are presented in table 1. table 1: grouping of various categories age 25-45 years 46+ gender male female qualification degree (bachelors or masters) no degree sacap category of registration professional architect professional (senior) architectural technologist the comparative data will identify the relationship between various questions. the findings of the data might also identify possible gaps and problems within the profession. the comparative data will only make use of simplified answers by viewing strongly agree and agree as one, and strongly disagree and disagree as one. although it is not the main aim of this study, the link between gender and/or age (with a resultant level of experience) and the implementation of adr are questioned. should correlations become evident, shortcomings could possibly be addressed through mentorship programmes and continuing professional development (cpd) programmes. 5. findings the researcher analysed and interpreted the data gathered from the participants by graphically summarising each question individually, in order to formulate preliminary findings and subsequently proffer recommendations and conclusions. in this article, the major findings are addressed according to the specific subproblems and summarised graphically to assist the reader on the significant parts of the study. 5.1 results the following bar graph indicates the summarised results of architectural professionals in south africa on the implementation, knowledge, benefits and methods of adr as well as whether adr is discussed prior to entering into an agreement with a client. this wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 161 will mainly represent the overall knowledge of, and implementation of adr methods by architectural professionals in south africa. this is followed by explaining each subproblem and its relevant results.each subproblem and its relevant results.   not familiar 60.7% no 69.4% little/none 58.4% familiar 39.3% yes 30.6% moderate /fair 41.6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% familiarity with adr discuss adr before entering into an agreement knowledge on adr methods and benefits implementation and knowledge on adr figure 6: graphic summary of the implementation and knowledge regarding adr in the saia caa 2008 5.2 subproblem 1 are architectural professionals familiar with, and well informed about adr? research revealed that the majority of the respondents are not familiar with the term adr and could not provide a clear definition. only 39.3% of the population is familiar with adr. this suggests that if the majority of the target population does not have appropriate knowledge on this topic, they most definitely do not implement adr. the research indicates that the current lack of knowledge on adr is cause for concern, considering that the built environment is often faced with disputes arising between the professional and the client. the researcher is able to conclude that, due to the lack of knowledge, a large number of professionals do not implement adr, although it is provided for in various professional service agreements. 5.3 subproblem 2 do architectural professionals discuss adr prior to entering into an agreement with a client, or only once disputes arise? acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 162 the questionnaire revealed that 69.4% of architectural professionals do not discuss adr methods with their client prior to entering into an agreement. comparative data done by the researcher also revealed that age, qualification and category of sacap registration may also impact on the participant’s response. further cross-referenced data also revealed that participants who have been involved with disputes are more likely to discuss adr with potential clients. of all the required terms of confirming employment, the least likely item to be discussed is the provision for dispute resolution. the researcher concludes that the majority of architectural professionals do not discuss adr with their clients prior to entering into an agreement. this observation could indicate that a large number of professionals are in breach of the sacap code of conduct, rule 4.1. not only will professionals be at risk of possible formal court proceedings, but they will also run the risk of losing their professional license. 5.4 subproblem 3 are architectural professionals informed about the different methods and benefits of adr? data from the questionnaire indicates that 58.4% of the population have hardly any or no knowledge regarding the methods and benefits of adr. this indicates that professionals have a misconception about the benefits and regulations of adr. however, participants are able to identify some of the definitions of adr provided. the researcher concludes that the majority of architectural professionals are not informed about most of the matters, including the methods and benefits, of adr, although it is provided for in many professional service agreements used in the built environment. 6. discussion and conclusion the study set out to establish the existing knowledge that architectural professionals in south africa have about adr methods. the sacap code of conduct lists eight compulsory requirements in a written agreement. the article focused on the provision for dispute resolution and stated that adr shall form part of a formal agreement between contracting parties. the research has proved that architectural professionals have hardly any knowledge regarding adr methods, specifically the implementation thereof. it is concerning that 69.4% of architectural wilcocks & laubscher • investigating alternative dispute-resolution ... 163 professionals do not discuss adr methods with their client prior to the commencement of a project. the significant impact of this article lies in the fact that this study reached out to all the possible architectural professionals in south africa. although previous studies have addressed the many causes and results of adr, this study is unique, due to the fact that it specifically investigates the knowledge and implementation of adr by architectural practitioners in south africa. this is the first published evidence of many anecdotal statements on the lack of implementation and knowledge regarding adr methods in the architectural profession of south africa. the following main issues were derived from the analytical survey: • a large number of architectural professionals do not implement adr, and • a large number of architectural professionals are not familiar with the term adr and its associated benefits. the evidence indicates that a significant portion of architectural professionals are currently in breach of the sacap code of conduct and could potentially lose their professional license. as a result, it is recommended that architectural professionals familiarise themselves with the sacap code of conduct and other enforceable laws. the researcher recommends that regulatory bodies, voluntary associations (vas) and tertiary institutions urgently address these matters. it is recommended that regular workshops be held on this topic and that vas communicate the relevant documents to their members electronically. these actions could be in the form of regulated enforcement and, therefore, educating potential architectural professionals in practice-specific matters. professionals should also familiarise themselves with the relevant professional service agreements that are available and that provide adr methods as a means for resolving disputes. the built environment of 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[3 november 2016]. van zyl, c.h., verster, j.j.p. & ramabodu, m.s. 2010. dispute resolution alternatives: problems, preference and process. paper delivered at the construction, building and real estate research conference (cobra) of the royal institution of chartered surveyors (rics), 2-3 september 2010, université paris-dauphine. verster, j.j.p. 2006. managing cost, contracts, communication and claims: a quantity surveying perspective on future opportunities. in: proceedings of the 1st icec & ipma global congress on project management, 5th world congress on cost engineering, project management and quantity surveying, 23-26 april 2006, ljubljana, slovenia, cd rom. wang, m. 2000. are alternative dispute methods superior to litigation in resolving disputes in international commerce? no. 2. arbitration international. chartered institute of arbitrators, 189. wilcocks, t. 2016. investigating the use of alternative dispute resolution methods in the architectural profession of south africa. unpublished m.tech. dissertation. pretoria: tshwane university of technology, architecture. williams, c. 2007. research methods. journal of business and economic research. 5(3), pp. 65-72. wipo (world intellectual property organization). 2012. efficient resolution of disputes in r&d collaborations, licensing and other technology transfer. [online]. available at: <http://www.wipo.int/ export/sites/www/amc/en/docs/ipr20121127.pdf> [accessed: 22 august 2016]. https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/aboutus https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/aboutus http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/amc/en/docs/ipr20121127.pdf http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/amc/en/docs/ipr20121127.pdf 59 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as oluwaseun afuye miss oluwaseun oluwatosin afuye, department of building, obafemi awolowo university, ile ife, nigeria. phone: 07031996859, email: <oluwaseunafuye08@gmail.com>. omotayo aina prof. omotayo olugbenga aina, department of building, obafemi awolowo university, ile ife, nigeria. phone: 08033569170, email: <tayoaina@yahoo.com>. olubimbola oladimeji dr olubimbola oladimeji, lecturer, department of building, osun state university, osogbo, nigeria. phone: 08034376066, email: <olubimbolaolubimbola@gmail.com>, orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-00024770-2443 (corresponding author). tanko mohammed bldr. tanko a. mohammed, department of building technology, federal polytechnic, ado-ekiti, nigeria. phone: 08035806698, email: <engineertanko@gmail.com>. issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2022 peer reviewed and revised: april 2022 published: june 2022 keywords: accidents, construction health and safety, construction industry, safety behaviour how to cite: afuye, o., aina, o., oladimeji, o. & mohammed, t. 2021. perceptions of safety behaviourmodifying techniques in construction firms: insights from lagos, nigeria. acta structilia, 29(1), pp. 59-85. perceptions of safety behaviourmodifying techniques in construction firms: insights from lagos, nigeria research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.3 abstract unsafe behaviour is a major contributing factor to accidents on construction sites. measures must be taken to instil safety behaviour in construction workers, in order to reposition the industry for greater safety and performance on construction sites. the article examined the safety behaviour-modifying technique (sbmt) adopted by construction firms in lagos state with a view to increasing the likelihood of safe acts of workers in the study area. to achieve this aim, four major grouped components of sbmt (goals, training, feedback, and incentive) were identified consisting of 24 variables obtained from the literature. the literature informed the structured questionnaire that was administered to 106 representatives of construction firms within lagos state. the sbmt positions within construction firms were ranked, using the mean score (ms), and independent t-test was employed to compare the techniques used within the firms. the results of the analysis revealed that the safety training component was the most widely used sbmt in both large and medium-sized businesses. it was also observed that construction firms pay less attention to feedback on 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(1): 59-85 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:oluwaseunafuye08@gmail.com mailto:tayoaina@yahoo.com mailto:olubimbolaolubimbola@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 mailto:engineertanko@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.3 afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 60 safety performance and to providing incentives to personnel who carried out their work in a noted safe manner. the study recommended that, in addition to consistent safety training provided to workers, construction firms should set realistic and achievable safety goals, provide workers’ safety feedback, and reward workers for safety behaviour on construction sites. this practice may reduce the rates of accidents and injuries on construction sites, leading to a safer construction industry with less work-place fatalities. abstrak onveilige optrede is ’n groot bydraende faktor tot ongelukke op konstruksieterreine. maatreëls moet getref word om veiligheidsgedrag by konstruksiewerkers te vestig ten einde die bedryf te herposisioneer vir groter konstruksieterreinveiligheid en werkverrigting. die artikel het die veiligheidsgedragwysigingstegniek (sbmt) ondersoek wat deur konstruksiefirmas in lagos-staat aangeneem is met die oog op die verhoging van die waarskynlikheid van veilige optrede van werkers in die studiegebied. om hierdie doel te bereik, is vier groot gegroepeerde komponente van sbmt (doelwitte, opleiding, terugvoer, en aansporing) geïdentifiseer wat bestaan uit 24 veranderlikes wat deur die literatuur verkry is. ’n gestruktureerde vraelys gebaseer op die literatuur, is aan 106 verteenwoordigers van konstruksiefirmas in lagos-staat gestuur. die sbmt-posisies in konstruksiefirmas is gelys volgens die gemiddelde telling (ms) en ’n onafhanklike t-toets is gedoen om die tegnieke wat binne die firmas gebruik word, te vergelyk. die bevindinge toon dat die veiligheidsopleidingskomponent van die sbmt die meeste in beide groot en mediumgrootte besighede gebruik word. daar is ook waargeneem dat konstruksiefirmas minder aandag gee aan terugvoer oor veiligheidsprestasie sowel as die verskaffing van aansporings aan personeel wat hul werk op ’n bekende veilige wyse uitgevoer het. die artikel beveel aan dat bykomend tot konsekwente veiligheidsopleiding wat aan werkers verskaf word, konstruksiefirmas realistiese en haalbare veiligheidsdoelwitte moet stel, veiligheidsterugvoer aan werkers verskaf moet word en werkers beloon moet word vir veiligheidsgedrag op konstruksieterreine. hierdie praktyke kan die ongelukkeen beseringskoerse op konstruksieterreine verminder wat lei tot ’n veiliger konstruksiebedryf met minder sterftes in die werkplek. sleutelwoorde: ongelukke, konstruksiegesondheid en -veiligheid, konstruksiebedryf, veiligheidsgedrag 1. introduction the international labour organization (ilo) (2009) noted that the construction industry is a dangerous and highly hazardous industry because of the occurrence of accidents and fatalities compared to other manufacturing industries such as mining and agriculture. despite the mechanisation of some activities, the industry is still labour intensive (mhetre, konnur & landage 2016: 153). internationally, construction workers are viewed as being two to three times more likely to be killed than workers in other industries, while the risk of serious injury is almost three times higher (agwu & olele, 2013: 432). the accident rate reports, as cited in guo et al. (2019: 1), revealed that, in 2017, there were 1 967 fatal occupational injuries during goods production in the united states, with construction employees representing 49.4% (u.s. bureau of labour statistics, 2020: 10). fatal injuries in the main industries totalled 142 in great britain in 2020, and construction workers represented 27.4% (health afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 61 and safety executive, 2021). in 2018, there were 909 labourer deaths in japan, with construction workers accounting for 34.7% of the total (japan ministry of health, labour and welfare, 2019). this situation is worse in developing countries and nigeria, in particular, because there are no reliable sources of data for such accident records, as the industry does not always report accidents to the relevant authority (agwu & olele, 2013: 432). according to his domino theory of accidents, heinrich (1959) proposed that construction accidents can be prevented by identifying the root causes of accidents. this is possible by means of accident investigation techniques such as theories of accident causation. he found that unsafe behaviour by human beings is the main cause of accidents, and eliminating this factor is a major tool to prevent accidents (hosseinian & torghabeh, 2012: 54). generally, several researchers also classified the causes of occupational accidents into unsafe conditions and unsafe behaviours, with the largest proportion (about 80%) of the accidents caused attributed to unsafe behaviours rather than unsafe conditions (sadullah & kanten, 2009: 924; mat zin & ismail, 2011: 742; oostakhan, mofidi & talab, 2012:21; shin, gwak & lee, 2015: 298). unsafe behaviour is any act that deviates from the generally recognised safe way of performing a task and increases the likelihood of an accident (harsini et al., 2020: 02; shamsuddin et al., 2015: 626). meanwhile, clark (2006: 315-327) reported that failure to adhere to rules and regulations, following safety procedures conscientiously, and taking precautions against hazards (such as wearing personal protective equipment) is common in many industries such as mining and construction. this depicts the situation of the nigerian construction industry where violation of safety rules and procedures seems to be common practice while trying to make work more efficient, quicker, and more convenient. the reason for this is that most of the construction managers place more value on productivity than on safety (enshassi, choudhry & abd-abu alqumboz, 2009: 140). gurmu (2019: 2) opined that the occurrence of accidents has negatively influenced workers’ productivity, resulting in project delays and increased construction costs. agumba, pretorius and haupt (2013: 70) support effective health and safety practice in the construction industry and demand proactive measures (safety-leading indicators as an intervention) that will control accidentcausing behaviours before they finally result in accidents. efforts at safety improvement have focused on behaviour-based safety management, with research on the subject of behaviour modification being reported from the uk, hong kong and iran (duff et al., 1994: 67-78; lingard & rowlinson, 1998: 209-230; geller, 2011: 109-114; oostakhan et al., 2012: 21-25). the construction owners association of alberta (coaa) (2013: 6) also affirmed that safety behaviour-modification (sbm) is a proactive process that helps afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 62 change a work group’s safe behaviour levels before accidents occur. furthermore, boateng, davis and pillay (2019: 11) suggested measures such as management commitment, safety communication, workers’ involvement, safety knowledge, as well as safety and health training as factors that can improve safety behaviour in construction workers. although many researchers have suggested various ways to improve safety behaviour on construction sites, few researchers are investigating the level to which these techniques are adopted on construction sites in nigeria. it is thus important to go beyond the assessment of the traditional health and safety challenges to consider the proactive measures that focus on how efforts are directed towards modifying unsafe behaviours of workers in construction firms. the study assesses the safety behaviour-modifying techniques (sbmt) perceived to be adopted by construction firms in lagos state. 2. literature review 2.1 safety behaviour the institution of occupational safety and health (iosh) (2015: 3) defines behaviour as an individual action that is observable and measurable. shamsuddin et al. (2015: 628) described safety behaviour as the behaviour that is designed to reduce potential accidents and that supports safety practices in the workplace. thus, promoting safety behaviour on construction sites is crucial to reducing injuries as it indirectly influences the outcome of actions that cause injuries or accidents (agnew, flin & mearns, 2013: 96). several researchers have established a strong significant relationship between safety behaviour and safety climate that was discovered to be an important organisational factor influencing safety behaviour both in the workplace and on construction sites (neal, griffin & hart, 2000: 99-109; glendon & litherland, 2001:157-188; neal & griffin, 2002: 67-76; faridahwati et al., 2015: 1-8). they observed that the existing safety climate within an organisation influences the safety behaviour of workers. two dimensions of safety behaviour were postulated, namely safety participation and safety compliance. safety participation implies the behaviours that do not contribute directly to an individual’s personal safety, but that usually helps develop an environment that supports safety practices. these behaviours include activities such as helping colleagues with safety-related issues; putting an effort into improving safety in the workplace; participating in voluntary safety activities; promoting safety programmes; demonstrating safety initiative, and attending safety meetings regularly (neal & griffin, 2002). safety compliance is the core activity that needs to be carried out by individuals, in order to maintain afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 63 safety in the workplace. these behaviours include adhering to standard work procedures; wearing personal protective equipment and other precautionary measures to be taken to prevent accidents from occurring at the workplace (neal & griffin, 2002). lu and yang (2011: 329) also identified behaviours such as maintaining safety awareness at work, always paying attention to safety, complying with safety rules and standard operating procedures as good compliance on site. meanwhile, faridahwati et al. (2015: 3) proposed that safety participation and safety compliance are insufficient to capture the expected safety behaviour to be demonstrated by workers in their workplace, adding that safety reporting will be a proactive behaviour expected by workers to maintain a safe working environment. gyekye and salminen (2010: 431) also noted that workers’ perception of job satisfaction and safety enhances workers’ compliance with safety rules at work. meanwhile, the differences in individual workers’ responses to safety behaviour was linked to their level of safety knowledge, skill (boateng et al., 2019: 1) and how they are motivated (risath, sivatharsan & thishanth, 2017: 33). however, workers’ response to safety behaviour depends on the priority given by the organisation to the safety climate at the workplace. therefore, this research carefully summarised these safety features into the components of safety behaviour-modifying techniques, in order to assess their implementation in construction firms in lagos state. 2.2 safety behaviour modification (sbm) the process of promoting safe behaviour at workplace is an important part of the management of health and safety, because behaviour turns systems and procedures into reality (fleming & lardner, 2001: 473). although good systems on their own do not ensure successful health and safety management, their level of success is determined by how the organisation operates within the systems (fleming & lardner, 2001: 473). currently, in the uk, different terms are used to describe an approach to promoting safety behaviour of the work group which includes safety behaviour modification (sbm), behavioural safety (bs), behaviour-based safety (bbs), behavioural safety management systems (bsmm), and safety observation systems (sos). although different terms are used for these techniques, they are all forms of behaviour modification that are effective in promoting safety behaviour among workers (hse, 2000: 4). the effectiveness of this approach relies on engaging workers to understand (through effective training) how unsafe behaviours lead to injuries and how to eliminate them from the workplace. thus, the approach focuses on observable and measurable behaviours that are critical to safety in a particular work environment (iosh, 2015: 03). afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 64 2.3 components of safety behaviour-modification techniques (sbmt) behavioural safety applies the principle of the abc (antecedent, behaviour and consequence) behaviour model, i.e., this technique focuses on two antecedents: training and goal-setting related to target safety behaviours and two types of consequences, namely feedback and incentive (geller, 2011: 111; talabi, edum-fotwe & gibb, 2015:11). although antecedents are necessary for a behaviour to occur, it is not sufficient to ensure that the behaviour is maintained over time. therefore, to ensure the reoccurrence of behaviour, significant individual consequences will be required (hse, 2000: 3). thus, these components must be fully implemented on construction sites, in order to bring out the desired safety behaviour, as they are complementary to each other. research studies have investigated the importance of the various component parts of a sbmt to establish how they can be successfully combined. ray, bishop and wang (1997: 29) assessed three components of behavioural safety, including altering antecedents only (e.g., training); antecedents and feedback, and antecedents, feedback, and goal-setting. it was discovered that training alone failed to produce any significant change in safety behaviour or accident rates sustained by workers, whereas the introduction of group feedback through public posting of results led to measurably safer behaviour. in addition, after involving the union representative to set a 95% safe behaviour goal for themselves, it was also observed that the employees exceeded the set goal. the study concluded that safety training alone was not sufficient to change unsafe behaviour, whereas group feedback led to behaviour change and this effect was enhanced by goal-setting. the result of this study supports geller’s (2011) assertion. he noted that the impact of training is necessary to provide the needed skill to perform a task appropriately, but that it would be more beneficial to pay closer attention to consequences that drive the reoccurrence of behaviours. moreover, sadayappan and moayed (2010: 24-25) carried out a systematic review to study the relationship between feedback mechanisms and the reduced number of accidents, injuries, and illness in dynamic and static industries. the study showed that, in both static and dynamic industries, feedback or combinations of feedback reduce accidents, injuries, and illness in the workplace. the study concluded that feedback plays an important role in behaviour modification as it increases the level of safety and, in turn, reduces the number of accidents, incidents, and claims that need to be paid by the industries. fugar et al. (2010: 11-16) assessed the opinions of site supervisors, site engineers, and the management team on the most appropriate methods for encouraging safe work behaviour of construction workers by using training and reinforcement. it was observed that training afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 65 to increase workers’ knowledge and experience in the workplace and safety and health training provided to workers on the potential hazard to improve their safety knowledge would enhance construction safety by reducing workers’ ignorance, increasing production efficiency, lowering the accidents rate, and increasing the self-confidence of workers. it was also noted that personal recognition, monetary rewards, promoting workers on their job, as well as close and strict supervision of workers were important in ensuring safe work practices among construction workers. however, the foregoing revealed that these components complement one another, as they cannot work in isolation. focusing on one particular component and neglecting others may not produce the desired changes in workers’ behaviour regarding safety. therefore, an effort must be made to implement these components, in order to bring out the desired safety behaviour in the workers. in addition, cooper (2010: 16) opined that the construction industry in the uk must implement the strategies of sbmt to reduce accidents, owing to the fact that its benefits outweigh its costs. based on the reviewed literature, this study will be limited to the four components of the sbmt (goal setting, safety training, safety performance feedback, and incentive) to assess its implementation in construction firms in lagos state to aid workers’ safety behaviour. the safety variables will be compared in large and medium-sized firms’ categories because of their different organisational structures. abdul-rashid, bassioni and bawazeer (2007: 661) noted that the safety management systems in large construction firms are more likely to be well structured, documented, and applied than those in other firms because of their managerial ability to develop and implement some organisational policies. meanwhile, okoye and okolie (2014: 23) supported this assertion by reporting that, although most of the large firms do have a written safety policy on paper, workers are not always aware of its existence. in terms of the manpower capacity, the workforce in large firms is always greater than that in small firms (aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 712). therefore, the study will compare the operation of the sbmt across the two categories of firms. 2.3.1 goal-setting the safety goals on construction sites should give a clear picture, direction and focus for performing day-to-day activities, in order to achieve the desired results. the set-up goals must be realistic and achievable to aid progress towards accomplishing such goals and adequate measures can be taken for proper evaluation (aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 713). sadayappan and moayed (2008: 5) identified three kinds of goal-setting, namely participative, implicit, and assigned goals. according to the goalsetting theory developed by locke (1968), it was reported that, when workers are allowed to participate in setting goals, they will work harder to afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 66 achieve them than when they are assigned goals. hse (2000) also noted that, when workers are involved in setting challenging and achievable safety goals aimed at changing their behaviours, it adds to the positive effect of reinforcement and feedback. meanwhile, cooper (2008) affirmed that implicit and participative goal-setting has a greater impact on reducing injuries than the assigned goals. therefore, workers must be afforded the opportunity to participate in setting goals that will positively influence the company’s safety policy. 2.3.2 safety training el-nagar, hosny and askar (2015: 185, citing cherrington [1995]) defined training as a process that enables people to acquire new knowledge, learn new skills, and perform behaviours in a new way. it was also noted that training provides individuals with specific skills and knowledge needed to perform a particular job. carolyn et al. (2009: 6) reported that safety training instructs workers on the known hazards associated with their job, how to use available methods of protection, and educate workers on how to deal with potential hazards that may occur while performing their job. however, this training should cover the company’s safety policies, safety regulations, site orientation, personal protective equipment, and other organisational health and safety (ohs) training as required (amarh, 2014: 24). fugar et al. (2010: 6) reported that training to increase workers’ knowledge and experience in the workplace and safety and health training provided to workers on the potential hazard in order to improve their safety knowledge would enhance construction workers’ safety behaviour. various researchers also identified health and safety training as a key factor to improving safety behaviour and safety performance on construction sites (eguh & adenaiya, 2020: 12; agumba et al., 2013: 1; boateng et al., 2019: 6). 2.3.3 safety performance feedback cooper (2001: 186) defines feedback as “the extent to which people can obtain information about the effectiveness of their behaviour in order to modify their subsequent behaviour to achieve the desired goals”. it was also noted that the most effective feedback is derived directly from the job in hand as it progresses, rather than from an external source such as a supervisor on an occasional basis. the reason for this is that immediate feedback allows workers to instantly regain control over specific activities that might be causing errors. thus, immediate feedback exerts a greater influence on workers’ behaviour than delayed feedback. el-nagar et al. (2015: 185) also noted that regular feedback on workers’ safety performance can best be communicated to employees through signboards, caution signs, and other indicators. the performance feedback of workers’ safety will help the organisation maintain safety practice on afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 67 construction sites. sadayappan and moayed (2008:5) also identified four kinds of feedback mechanisms that can be used, namely briefing, verbal, written, and posted feedback mechanisms. cooper (2008) affirmed that the combination of verbal, written, and posted feedback will be more effective in reducing injuries and causing behaviour changes. 2.3.4 incentive incentive is one of the determinants that motivate workers to behave in a desired manner to safety regulations on site (lee & jaafar, 2012: 7; el-nagar et al., 2015: 184). based on the theory of operant conditioning by skinner (1974, cited in fugar et al. [2010: 5]), the study proposed four intervention strategies that managers can use to either encourage or discourage certain behaviours of workers. these strategies include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. positive reinforcement provides workers with a reward for performing the desired behaviour. according to this theory, teo, ling and ong (2005) stated that contractors should offer incentives such as praise, monetary rewards, and promotions on the job to motivate workers to perform their jobs in a safe manner. when positive reinforcement is used, the desired outcome is that behaviour is reinforced and that workers understand that the behaviour is desirable. they will as a rule repeat such behaviour in order to be rewarded. negative reinforcement encourages workers to perform the desired behaviour, in order to avoid a negative consequence. therefore, to motivate workers to perform their jobs in a safe manner, contractors may use criticism or the threat of losing a job. once the workers work in a safe manner, they stop receiving the undesired outcome (teo et al., 2005). according to fugar et al. (2010: 5), negative reinforcement such as close and strict supervision of workers will only instil fear into workers and lower their morale for better performance. it was also reported that close and strict supervision will not totally eliminate unsafe behaviour. rather, the unwanted behaviour may disappear when the supervisor is present but is likely to resurface when supervision is discontinued. punishment reinforcement gives workers a negative consequence so that they can stop performing undesirable behaviour (teo et al., 2005). these punishments may include pay cuts, temporary suspensions, demotions, and firing. extinction reinforcement withholds positive consequences to get the worker to stop performing undesirable behaviour. at the construction site, a worker who constantly flouts safety regulations may have his or her appointment terminated to curtail the unsafe practice. afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 68 in order to successfully change behaviour, one needs to understand the factors that give rise to and support safe and unsafe behaviours (sulzerazaroff, 1987). hse (2002) corroborated this assertion and noted that the emphasis on changing unsafe behaviour into safe behaviour will only be appropriate by paying attention to the factors that are responsible for unsafe behaviour in workers and by properly considering how workers are organised, managed, motivated, and rewarded in addition to changing their individual behaviour, which if not critically considered, will only imply treatment of the symptoms, while neglecting the root causes of unsafe behaviour in workers. 3. research methods 3.1 research design the study assessed the perceptions of safety behaviour-modifying techniques used in construction firms in lagos state. quantitative research was used for this study, since the focus was to identify the component of the sbmt perceived to be operating in the study area. data was collected using a closed-ended structured questionnaire, because researchers can generalise their findings from the sample frame (bryman, 2012: 232). a quantitative research approach supports the use of likert-type scales to assess data (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003). four major group components of sbmt were identified, consisting of 24 variables from reviewed literature, and the mean scores from the likert-scale ratings were used to calculate the central tendency to determine and describe the level of agreement with the operations of these variables in the respective construction firms. inferential statistics was used to test for any significant differences in the implementation of the safety behaviour-modifying techniques between large and medium-sized firms. 3.2 population, sampling, and response rate the target population for this study included the registered construction firms that have either head offices or branch offices in lagos, nigeria. large (over 200 workers) and medium-sized (50-200 employees) construction firms that are registered with the federation of construction industry (foci) in nigeria and that were, at the time of the study, engaged in an on-going construction project were considered for the study (aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 712). at the time of the research, the official website of the foci showed that 78 construction firms were registered members of the foci and that, out of the list, only 53 firms had head offices or branch offices in lagos. afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 69 hence, total enumeration was used for the study population, due to the limited number of firms available for sampling, resulting in a sample size of 53 registered construction firms. in each firm, two contractors’ staff members were selected through purposive sampling, resulting in a total of one hundred and six (106) respondents. out of 106 copies of questionnaires administered on the representatives of the participating construction firms in the study area, eighty-eight (88) copies were correctly filled in and returned (response rate of 83.02%), which is significantly high and very appropriate for this study having met the requirement laid down by fincham (2008: 48) who asserted that the result of a survey would be biased and of hardly any value if the return rate is lower than 50%. table 1 provides information on the sample size (questionnaire administration) and the number of questionnaires that were correctly filled in and returned, respectively. table 1: sample and response rate respondent sample (n=106) firm total responses received % responses medium large project manager 20 8 11 19 21.59 health and safety official 25 13 8 21 23.86 site supervisor 20 7 8 15 17.05 engineer 26 13 11 24 27.27 quantity surveyor 15 5 4 9 10.23 total 106 46 42 88 100 3.3 data collection primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire between november 2016 and january 2017. the researcher and research assistant delivered and collected the questionnaire by hand. the questionnaire was divided into two parts. the first part obtained demographic information of the respondents on academic qualification, role in the company, profession, and years of work experience. company profile information was obtained on the nature of work of the organisation and their workforce capacity. the second part was a set of 24 likertscale statements on the four components of sbmt (goal setting, safety training, feedback, and incentive) which the researchers had empirically proven as model for behavioural change. these components were presented to the respondents to rate their level of agreement on a fivepoint likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’ with the implementation of these components in their respective construction firms. the questionnaire made use of closed-ended questions for part 2. alao and jagboro (2017: 56) noted that it reduces the respondents’ bias and enhances easy presentation of question and quick response. afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 70 3.4 analysis and data-interpretation data analysis was done using the scientific package for social sciences (spss) version 25.0 software. descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and percentages were used to analyse the respondents’ demographic and company information. to measure respondents’ agreement levels on the adoption of the components of sbmt in their firms, the 24 variables were rated on a fivepoint likert scale and the mean score rating was calculated and reported. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure perceptions, attitudes, or opinions (wegner, 2012: 11). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = partially agree (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤ 5.00). inferential analysis in the form of an independent t-test with p>0.05 was done to test if there were any significant differences in the implementation of the safety behaviour-modifying techniques between large and mediumsized firms. 3.5 limitation of the study this study was carried out among large and medium-sized construction firms in lagos; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised to construction firms across nigeria. 4. results and interpretation 4.1 profile of the respondents table 2 shows that the vast majority (84.1%) of the respondents in both large and medium-sized firms had either a b.sc. degree (64.8%) or a higher national diploma (19.3%) and the majority (69.3%) of them had a minimum of five years or more work experience. over half (59.1%) of the respondents were trained as either civil engineers (37.5%) or builders/contractors (21.6%) and the others were almost equally trained as health and safety officers (13.6%), quantity surveyors (8.0%), building service engineers (8.0%), and architects (5.7%).the high proportion of respondents with postsecondary education proves that the respondents are qualified to work in the construction industry and have adequate experience to understand the questions in the questionnaire and to give reliable information that could help determine the safety behaviour-modifying techniques used in their firms. the respondents were almost equally distributed between the firms, with 53.3% employed in large, and 47.7% in medium-sized firms. except for afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 71 quantity surveyors, the respondents were almost equally employed as engineers (27.3%), health and safety officers (22.7%), project managers (20.5%), and supervisors (15.9%). most of the projects (68.2%) in both large and medium-sized firms included building and civil engineering works. this gives an indication that the respondents were well experienced in building and civil engineering projects and that the information provided by them can be considered reliable, based on their involvement in various construction processes, workers’ monitoring and supervision on construction sites. table 2: personal and organisation information of the respondents demographic category frequency (n=88) % large medium total large medium total education ond 2 1 3 4.3 2.4 3.4 hnd 7 10 17 15.2 23.8 19.3 b.sc. 32 25 57 69.6 59.5 64.8 m.sc. 4 4 8 8.7 9.5 9.1 ph.d. 1 1 2 2.2 2.4 2.3 no response 0 1 1 0.0 2.4 1.1 current role in the company project manager 7 11 18 15.2 26.2 20.5 site supervisor 6 8 14 13.0 19.0 15.9 site engineer 13 11 24 28.3 26.2 27.3 quantity surveyor 4 4 8 8.7 9.5 9.1 health and safety officer 13 7 20 28.3 16.7 22.7 no response 3 1 4 6.5 2.4 4.5 profession structural/civil engineer 16 17 33 34.8 40.5 37.5 builder/contractor 6 13 19 13.0 31.0 21.6 health and safety officer 10 2 12 21.7 4.8 13.6 building service engineer 6 1 7 13.0 2.4 8.0 quantity surveyor 3 4 7 6.5 9.5 8.0 architect 1 4 5 2.2 9.5 5.7 no response 4 1 5 8.7 2.4 5.7 experience (years) below 5 years 14 12 26 30.4 28.6 29.5 5-10 years 21 18 39 45.7 42.9 44.3 11-15 years 4 7 11 8.7 16.7 12.5 16-20 years 3 2 5 6.5 4.8 5.7 above 20 years 4 2 6 8.7 4.8 6.8 no response 0 1 1 0.0 2.4 1.1 nature of work building works 5 10 15 10.9 23.8 17.0 civil engineering works 3 3 6 6.5 7.1 6.8 building and civil engineering works 35 25 60 76.1 59.5 68.2 special project 3 4 7 6.5 9.5 8.0 workforce of the organisation 50-200 workers 0 42 42 0.0 47.7 47.7 above 200 workers 46 0 46 52.3 0.0 53.3 afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 72 4.2 perceptions on safety behaviour-modifying techniques (sbmt) adopted in the construction firms table 3 shows the descriptive statistics of the sbmt components perceived to be in operation in the construction firms. respondents in both large and medium-sized firms agreed that safety training (gm=4.36; gm=3.99, respectively) and goal-setting (gm=3.50; gm=3.30, respectively) were the top two most adopted safety behaviour-modifying techniques in their firms. in both large and medium-sized firms, incentive (reinforcement) (gm=3.38; gm=2.86, respectively) and feedback of workers’ safety performance (gm=3.30; gm=3.11, respectively) were the least adopted. table 3: ranking of the perceived safety behaviour-modifying techniques used in the different firms’ categories components of safety behaviourmodifying techniques (n= 88) 1 = strongly disagree … 5 = strongly agree large firm medium-sized firm ms rank gm ogr ms rank gm ogr goal-setting workers are allowed to participate in setting an achievable safety goal 3.87 3 3.50 2 3.64 3 3.30 2 safety goals are assigned to workers to follow 4.17 1 4.05 1 workers are indirectly compelled to follow safety goals set by the management 3.87 3 3.19 2 safety goals are posted in prominent places for workers to follow 4.17 1 3.43 4 safety goals are not set in my company 1.43 5 2.19 5 safety training workers are trained to enhance their skill and knowledge in the job they perform 4.20 2 4.36 1 3.90 2 3.99 1 safety training is provided to workers on how to behave safely and avoid unsafe acts 4.52 1 4.07 1 afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 73 components of safety behaviourmodifying techniques (n= 88) 1 = strongly disagree … 5 = strongly agree large firm medium-sized firm ms rank gm ogr ms rank gm ogr feedback of workers’ safety performance workers are brief about their performance during safety meeting 4.24 1 3.30 4 4.24 1 3.11 3 workers’ safety performance is written on the company’s noticeboard 3.80 3 3.80 3 workers are being communicated on their safety performance 4.0 2 4.0 2 performance of workers is posted graphically in a prominent area 3.20 5 3.20 5 feedback is made available regularly 3.52 4 3.52 4 feedback is delayed 2.46 6 2.46 6 feedback on workers’ safety performance is never made available 1.85 7 1.85 7 incentive (reinforcement) monetary reward in the form of bonuses is provided for safety behaviour 3.41 5 3.38 3 3.02 7 2.86 4 personal recognition given to worker for safety behaviour 3.74 3 3.40 3 worker is promoted for safety behaviour 3.15 7 2.98 9 other types of reward such as free lunch, extra vacation are giving to workers for safety behaviour 2.74 10 3.00 8 threat of losing job is given to workers to make them behave safely 3.65 4 3.33 4 close and strict supervision to make workers behave safely 3.93 1 4.12 1 workers are suspended from work for unsafe behaviour 3.87 2 3.48 2 demote workers for unsafe behaviour 3.13 8 3.10 6 imposed monetary fines for unsafe behaviour 2.89 9 2.86 10 terminate appointment for unsafe behaviour 3.30 6 3.29 5 ms=mean score; gm=group mean; ogr=overall group rank respondents in the large firms, under the ‘goal-setting component’, ranked ‘safety goals are assigned to workers to follow’ and ‘safety goals are posted in prominent places for workers to follow’ the highest with afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 74 ms=4.17, while ‘workers are allowed to participate in setting achievable safety goals’ and ‘workers are indirectly compelled to follow safety goals set by the management’ were ranked second (ms=3.87). ‘safety goals are not set in my company’ has the least mean value of 1.43. in mediumsized firms, ‘safety goals are assigned to workers to follow’ (ms=4.05), ‘workers are allowed to participate in setting achievable safety goals’ (ms=3.64), and ‘safety goals are posted in prominent places for workers to follow’ (ms=3.43) were ranked the top three and ‘workers are indirectly compelled to follow safety goals set by the management’ ranked fourth, with a mean value of 3.19. ‘safety goals are not set in my company’ has the lowest mean value of 2.19. the result shows that assigning safety goals to workers is the mostly adopted strategy in both large and medium-sized firms to enhance workers’ safety behaviour. in large firms, ‘safety goals are posted in prominent places for workers’ is another prominent technique adopted by the firms to modify their workers’ behaviour towards safety. ‘safety goals are not set in my company’ has the lowest mean value in both large and medium-sized firms, indicating that the vast majority of the firms have a safety policy in place with clearly defined safety goals. under the ‘safety training component’, respondents in both large and medium-sized firms strongly agreed that ‘safety training is provided to workers on how to behave safely and avoid unsafe act’ (gm=4.52; gm=4.07, respectively) and that ‘workers are trained to enhance their skills and knowledge in the job they perform’ (gm=4.20; gm=3.39, respectively). in the feedback of workers’ performance component, respondents in both large and medium-sized firms ranked ‘workers are briefed about their performance during safety meetings’ first (ms=4.24; ms=3.79, respectively). in large firms, ranked top two to four, respondents agreed that ‘workers are communicated on their safety performance’ (ms=4.0), ‘workers’ safety performance is written on the company’s notice board’, (ms=3.80); ‘feedback is made available regularly’ (ms=3.52), while they partiallly agreed that ‘performance of workers is posted graphically in a prominent area’ (ms=3.20) was ranked fifth. only a few firms indicated that feedback on workers’ safety performance is never made available (ms=1.85). respondents from medium-sized firms, agreed that ‘feedback is made available regularly’ (ms=3.60), and ‘workers are being communicated on their safety performance’ (ms=3.55) were ranked two and three, while they partially agreed that ‘workers’ safety performance is written on the company’s notice board’ (ms=3.36) was ranked fourth. a few firms indicated that feedback of workers’ safety performance is never made available (ms=1.95). the result shows that briefing workers on their safety performance is the most perceived technique used in the construction firms. afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 75 under the ‘incentive component’, respondents in both large and mediumsized firms agreed that the top four most adopted safety-modifying techniques are ‘close and strict supervision to make workers behave safely’ (gm=3.93; gm=4.12, respectively), ‘workers are suspended from work for unsafe behaviour’ (gm=3.87; gm=3.48, respectively), ‘personal recognition given to workers for safety behaviour’ (gm=3.74; gm=3.40, respectively), and ‘threat of losing a job is given to the workers to make them behave safely’ (gm=3.65; gm=3.33, respectively). the least adopted technique in large firms was ‘other types of rewards such as free lunch and extra vacation are given to workers for safety behaviour’ (ms=2.74) and in medium-sized firms, it was ‘imposed monetary fines for unsafe behaviour’(ms=2.86). comparing the safety behaviour-modifying techniques used by both large and medium-sized firms, table 4 presents the statistical difference in the responses of both large and medium-sized firms in terms of the components of sbmt adopted by the construction firms. table 4: independent t-test of the statistical difference in the firms’ responses to the implementation of safety behaviour-modifying techniques in the study area components of safety behaviourmodifying techniques large firm medium-sized firm n mean sd n mean sd p goal-setting 46 17.5217 2.7628 42 16.5000 2.6435 0.08 safety training 46 8.7174 1.2049 42 7.9762 1.7736 0.02* feedback of workers’ safety performance 46 23.0652 3.1013 42 21.3616 3.6161 0.06 incentive (reinforcement) 46 33.8261 6.6242 42 32.5714 7.0957 0.39 *significant at p>0.05; n=sample size; sd=standard deviation the results indicated no statistically significant difference in the components of safety behaviour-modifying techniques used by the two categories of firms (p>0.05), except with respect to safety training (p=0.02). accordingly, safety training as a behaviour-modifying technique was used more often in large firms (m=8.7174) than in medium-sized firms (m=7.9762) at p=0.02 level of significance. 5. discussion the results in table 4 indicate that the safety training component is the most perceived safety behaviour-modifying technique adopted by construction firms in lagos state. this result is consistent with the study of almustapha (2016) who reported that the mostly adopted human resource development strategy by construction firms is training programmes. this might be due to carolyn et al.’s (2009: 6) assertion that safety training instructs workers afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 76 of the hazards commonly associated with their jobs, how to use available methods of protection, and educates workers on how to deal with potential hazards that may occur while performing their jobs. likewise, fugar et al. (2010: 9) noted that safety and health training provided to workers on the potential hazard in order to improve their safety knowledge, would enhance construction safety, by reducing workers’ ignorance, increasing production efficiency, lower accidents rate, and increase self-confidence. meanwhile, olutuase (2014: 10) reported that, despite the fact that the nigerian construction industry has a form of safety management in place, the firms are poorly organised and experience inconsistency in their operations. there must be consistency in the level of safety training provided to workers by the construction firms in order to inculcate safety habits in them. olutuase (2014) noted that the component of safety system in the firm does not measure up to the minimum global performance benchmark. therefore, to effectively modify workers’ behaviour towards safety, safety training should be made available on a regular basis to the construction workers. lam and kam (2000: 286) also noted that effectiveness of safety training on workers’ behaviour requires continuity, in order to modify workers’ safety behaviour and enhance their understanding of the work’s potential hazards so as to avoid them. moreover, it is very expedient for construction firms to have measurable safety goals that are reviewed and amended regularly. this will serve as a guiding principle for day-to-day safety practices. the availability of safety goals would give a clear picture, direction, and focus for performing day-to-day activities, in order to reach the desired results. when realistic and achievable goals are set up, the progress towards accomplishing such goals can be easily measured (aksorn & hadikusumo, 2008: 713). the results show that, in large firms, the mostly adopted goal-setting component is assigning safety goals for workers to follow and safety goals are posted in prominent places for workers. likewise, in medium-sized firms, safety goals assigned for workers to follow was the most prominent adopted safety behaviour-modifying technique. it can be deduced from the results that both large and medium-sized firms are assigning safety goals for workers to follow, and this could be due to the inherent nature of man, which requires enforcement of laws and order in ensuring obedience and conformity. meanwhile, cooper (2008: 37) asserted that implicit and participative goal-setting has a greater impact on reducing injuries than the assigned goals. workers should thus be given the opportunity to participate when taking decisions that would enhance their safety performance. this could include enlisting workers as members of the site safety committee, giving them the privilege to report any unsafe practice to the management, declaring a zero-accident on construction sites, and making demands for essential resources or materials such as personal protective equipment afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 77 that could assist their safety behaviour. these will give them a sense of belonging in the firm and thus enhance their safety behaviour. feedback on workers’ safety performance was ranked third in mediumsized firms, while in large firms it was ranked fourth that is, the least adopted safety behaviour-modifying techniques. this study showed that the firms give less priority to the feedback of workers’ safety performance. this implies that workers’ safety behaviours are not duly put on record. among the components of the performance feedback, ‘workers are briefed about their performance during safety meetings’ was the most adopted in both large and medium-sized firms. this result agrees with the study of ismail et al. (2012: 580) who noted that, in the malaysian construction industry, there were irregular audits of safety system to provide feedback which can aid continuous improvement in workers, and that the top management has no mechanism in place to gather safety-related information and measure safety performance which can enhance safety awareness of workers. ray, bishop and wang (1997: 19) found that training alone could not produce any significant change in safety behaviour or accidents rates sustained by workers, but the introduction of group feedback through public posting of results could lead to measurable safer behaviour. therefore, apart from providing safety training and involving workers in setting achievable safety goals, supervisors need to ensure performance monitoring of workers and note that reliable feedback of workers’ safety performance can lead to safety behaviour in workers. incentives (reinforcement) in the form of either monetary or non-monetary reward are also an important component to encourage good safety behaviour in workers. despite being a critical issue that needs to be recognised by the firms, in order to reinforce safety behaviour in workers, in large firms, there seems to be partial consideration for incentive (reinforcement) component as it ranked third, while medium-sized firms seem to have very low regard of the component of reward allocation, as these firms ranked it fourth. the mostly adopted incentive component by both large and medium-sized firms is ‘close and strict supervision to make workers behave safe’, while the least implemented technique is ‘other types of reward such as free lunch and extra vacation given to workers for safety’ in large firms. in medium-sized firms, imposed monetary fines for unsafe behaviour received the lowest rating. the result agrees with the study of ismail et al. (2012), who noted that managers placed poor emphasis on the items of resource allocation in their current construction practices. the result agrees with the study of agbede et al. (2016: 23) and risath et al. (2017: 38). it was discovered that there was poor implementation of a rewarding system for safety behaviour in the south-west construction industry of nigeria. therefore, construction firms should ensure full implementation of the component, as incentives may be the reinforcement the construction afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 78 sector needs to address unsafe behaviour among construction workers and the occurrence of accidents on site which can increase the cost of the construction projects or even delay the projects’ delivery. in comparing the modifying techniques used by both large and mediumsized firms shown in table 4, the result indicated no statistically significant difference in the components of safety behaviour-modifying techniques used by the two categories of firms, except with respect to safety training which was more often used in large firms compared to medium-sized firms. this could be due to ahmed’s (2012: 1) assertion that large construction firms place more priority on safety compared to other firms. abdul-rashid et al. (2007: 661) affirmed that the complexity of the type of projects being executed by large firms, the company’s size based on the fact that large numbers of workers were employed and the existence of formal organisational structure with different departments that include the safety department and access to more resources might have contributed to their safety consciousness than other firms. 6. conclusions the study concluded that the respondents mostly use safety training to modify their workers’ behaviour. safety training is provided to workers on how to behave safely and avoid unsafe acts. workers are trained to enhance their skills and knowledge in the jobs they perform, and it was revealed that feedback on workers’ safety performance is not given priority in large firms, while medium-sized sreup mean score isoperation us,in term ofirefirms gave less priority to the safety behaviour-modyfying techniques itemised under the incentive (reinforcement) component. generally, less priority was given to the consequence of safety behaviour-modifying techniques stated under the feedback of workers’ safety performance and incentive component. this is the outcome of a behaviour that determines the possibility of such an action being repeated. the study serves as an indicator to construction firms and stakeholders on basic strategies that can improve workers’ safety behaviour. the study assessed construction workers level of safety performance with a focus on modifying workers’ safety behaviour. the result of this study is limited, based on the available number of firms used for sampling and the number of variables used in assessing the implementation of the components of the sbmt, especially the safetytraining components. other safety measures can be assessed to ascertain their implementation in construction firms. based on the findings and conclusions drawn from this study, the following recommendations are made: afuye, aina, oladimeji & mohammed 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 59-85 79 1. total implementation of the components of safety behaviour-modifying techniques should be adopted on construction sites that involves safety training, goal-setting, feedback of workers’ performance, and incentive components. 2. the management should be committed to providing training to workers, in order to increase their knowledge and level of experience at work. safety training should be provided on a regular basis to increase workers’ safety awareness, safety knowledge, and consciousness. workers must also be taught the right behaviour to counter unsafe behaviours, and punishment should be imposed when rules and regulations are violated. 3. it is often stated that he who fails to plan, plans to fail; therefore, construction firms should set a realistic and achievable goal in which workers are allowed to participate. contractors should work towards achieving the preferred result. 4. regular feedback of workers’ safety performance should be carried out to show workers’ performance level which is a great tool in behaviour modification. safety incentives should not be excluded, as they tend more to instil safety behaviour in workers and improve safety performance. references abdul-rashid, i. bassioni, h. & bawazeer, f. 2007. factors affecting safety performance in large construction contractors in egypt. in: boyd, d. 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[online]. available at: <https://www.bls.gov/news. release/pdf/cfoi.pdf> [accessed: 21 may 2021]. wegner, t. 2012. applied business statistics methods and excel-based applications solutions manual. 4th edition. cape town: juta. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf 33 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as polycarp alumbugu dr polycarp alumbugu, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 731291906, email: s216788099@mandela. ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2342-8574 winston shakantu prof. winston shakantu, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: 0415041400, email: winston.shakantu@mandela. ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4334-5004 abel tsado dr abel tsado, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +237036113705, email: s217072933@mandela. ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-1362-5566 wasiu ola-awo dr wasiu ola-awo, federal university of technology, minna, nigeria, phone: +2349043870563, email: olaade4u2006@ gmail.com, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-6709-1352 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: august 2022 reviewed and revised: augustseptember 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: automation, construction materials, efficiency, material handling how to cite: alumbugu, p.o., shakantu, w.m, tsado, a.j. & olaawo, w.a. 2022. efficient utilisation of automation in construction materials-handling processes. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 33-57. efficient utilisation of automation in construction materialshandling processes research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.2 abstract there is a limited understanding of automation in construction materials-handling processes utilised by manufacturing firms in nigeria. this article evaluates the level of utilisation of automation in construction materials-handling operations by manufacturing firms in north-central nigeria, to improve operational efficiency and reduce operating costs. using a case study research design, quantitative data (observation guide with measurements) were collected from 32 purposively selected constructionmaterial manufacturers. a total of 72 customers’ orders were observed and recorded to be representative of deliveries from the sampled (n=32) manufacturers’ warehouses to other terminals. the descriptive method of data analysis was employed using percentages and results presented in a form of bar charts. the study reveals low-level utilisation of automation in the combined processes of order picking, storage, loading, and offloading of material. these imply increasing material costs and causing a delay in delivery. the article concludes by providing construction-material manufacturers with areas that require automation to optimise material-handling 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 33-57 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 34 operations. a recommendation is made for further study to explore why automation is not utilised despite its advantage. abstrak daar is ’n beperkte begrip van outomatisering in konstruksiemateriaal-hanteringsprosesse wat deur vervaardigingsfirmas in nigerië gebruik word. hierdie artikel evalueer die vlak van benutting van outomatisering in konstruksiemateriaalhanteringsbedrywighede deur vervaardigingsfirmas in noord-sentraal nigerië, om bedryfs doeltreffendheid te verbeter en bedryfskoste te verminder. deur gebruik te maak van ’n gevallestudie navorsingsontwerp, is kwantitatiewe data (waarnemingsgids met metings) ingesamel van 32 doelbewus geselekteerde vervaardigers van konstruksiemateriaal. ’n totaal van 72 klante se bestellings is waargeneem en aangeteken as verteenwoordigend vir aflewerings vanaf die steekproef (n=32) vervaardigers se pakhuise na ander terminale. beskrywende data-analise is gebruik deur berekening van persentasies en resultate is in staafdiagramme vertoon. die studie toon ’n lae-vlak benutting van outomatisering in die gekombineerde prosesse van bestellingsoptel, berging, laai en aflaai van materiaal. dit impliseer toenemende materiaalkoste en veroorsaak ’n vertraging in aflewering. die artikel sluit af deur konstruksiemateriaalvervaardigers te voorsien van gebiede wat outomatisering benodig om materiaalhanteringsbedrywighede te optimaliseer. ’n aanbeveling word gemaak vir verdere studie om te ondersoek waarom outomatisering nie benut word nie ten spyte van die voordeel daarvan. 1. introduction construction materials are a fundamental component of projects in the construction industry and can significantly affect the cost-effectiveness of projects (abhilin & vishak, 2017: 910). according to studies, materials account for approximately 60% of the total project cost (kumar & nayak, 2018: 1371). apart from the direct cost, the cost of materials also includes handling costs. material handling is typically a high-cost, non-valueadding activity, accounting for between 30% to 75% of the total materialmanufacturing costs (horňáková et al., 2019: 2). in a typical manufacturing company, material handling takes up 25% of the workforce, 55% of all factory space, and 87% of production time (horňáková et al., 2019: 2). ineffective materials and equipment management is one of the main causes of construction project delays (kumar & nayak, 2018: 1376). construction companies are becoming increasingly concerned about the tracking and location of items on construction sites. this is due to the difficulty in tracking and locating materials when they are needed, as a result of the inappropriate handling and storage of resources in construction sites (abhilin & vishak, 2017: 910). construction waste has been identified as one of the main problems facing nigeria’s construction sector, with serious repercussions for both the efficiency of the sector and its detrimental effects on the environment (muleya & kamalondo, 2017: 2). the following are some of the sources of waste: poor materials handling, resulting in damages; inaccurate cuttings, increasing the quantities of waste; improper or faulty equipment, delaying alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 35 project completion; poor storage facilities, making it difficult to coordinate the storage requirements for the various subcontractors; poor workmanship, impacting negatively on the quality standard set up by management, and inaccurate measurements, leading to poor accounting for materials (aziz & hafez, 2013: 683). the distance between the materials storage area and the work site is an essential cause of waste because of the movement frequently done by skilled workers (said & el-rayes, 2014: 110). despite the construction industry’s growth in science and technology, it is nonetheless well-known for its client dissatisfaction, project delays, and cost overruns (sanni & eyiah, 2022: 12). most of these problems can be attributed to poor material handling, which causes delays, cost overruns, and subpar workmanship (kevin, 2013: 82). in nigeria, a few studies on the cement industry focused only on the inventory and challenges in transportation (adebumiti & muhammed, 2014: 235; adebumiti et al., 2014: 242). for chemical and paint manufacturing companies, only customer satisfaction was appraised and the challenges facing the transportation system were highlighted (obiegue, 2010: 8). the other studies include an evaluation of materials-management strategies in the nigerian construction industry (kevin, 2013: 82); the effect of poor materials-management on construction site in abuja (albert, shakantu & ibrahim, 2021: 42), and materials-management practices on construction site in nigeria (sanni & eyiah, 2022: 12). firms that manufacture construction materials are external to the organisation of the project and are thus observed to be of lesser significance in the project approach (seppänen & peltokorpi, 2016: 75). consequently, the material-handling function of manufacturing companies, even though critical, has been largely ignored. there is limited knowledge and understanding of automation in construction-material handling in nigeria. thus, this study aims to evaluate the types and level of utilisation of automation in some selected construction-material handling operations by the manufacturing firms in north-central nigeria, with a view to operational efficiency and reducing operating costs. 2. literature review 2.1 material management material management is the process of delivering the right material to the right place on time and in the right quantity, to reduce the project costs (kulkarni, sharma & hote, 2017: 475). a seamless flow of materials from the time they are ordered until they are consumed is the primary objective of materials management. an appropriate integrated materialhandling procedure that covers the planning, identification, sourcing, alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 36 storage, receipt, and distribution of material should be in place, in order to make materials management on site effective (dallasega & rauch, 2017: 1888). material management is a crucial task to increase efficiency in a construction project. the definition of the materials-management function includes takeoffs, vendor evaluation and selection, purchasing, expenditure, shipping, receiving, storage and inventory, and material distribution (ashika, 2019: 53). this suggests that material handling is a subset of material management. hence, to understand the utilisation of automation in construction-materials handling processes in north-central nigeria, it is important to introduce the present theory on automation included in this article. the current theory focuses on material handling, by explaining the automation principle of material handling, and introduce automation in terms of order picking, material-handling equipment, as well as storage equipment. 2.2 material handling material handling is a vital element of the supply chain that involves a variety of operations including the movement, storage, protection, and control of materials and products throughout the processes of manufacturing and distribution (horňáková et al., 2019: 1). material handling includes shortdistance movement that normally takes place inside a building, for example, a plant or a distribution centre and between a building and a transportation organisation (kay, 2012: 21). each point of stockholding encompasses the handling of the materials and the more several handling of materials, the more the overall logistics costs, as procedure comprises both equipment and human effort (michael, 2015: 16). this is the cost of labours in the warehouse/store and automation used to receive, put away, move, check, and count inventory. having efficient material-handling systems is crucial to construction firms for maintaining and facilitating a continuous flow of materials through the workplace and guaranteeing that required materials are available when needed (leung & lau, 2018: 23). the characteristics of materials determine the type of storage, handling, stowage, carriage, and packaging that they require (hannan, 2011: 24; michael, 2015: 13). 2.3 automation principle of material handling the automation principle of material handling is that the operations should be “mechanised and/or automated where feasible to improve operational efficiency, increase responsiveness, improve consistency and predictability, reduce operating costs, to eliminate repetitive or potentially unsafe manual labor” (mhi, 2000: 22). at the point when a warehouse or distribution centre is automated, it activates the systems upon dispatch, while simultaneously bringing up-to-date the records automatically, consequently orders are alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 37 placed on time (kim, 2006: 23). there is thus a necessity for efficient materials handling with the purpose of control, productivity, and cost saving in construction projects (patel, pitroda & bhavsar, 2015: 480). however, there are monetary trade-offs between high capital costs of mechanised systems, and increased labour costs in manual systems and types of manual handling that occur in such places (webster et al., 2014: 16). 2.4 order picking methods technology advancements in automation have considerably enhanced accuracy and productivity, while transforming the order-picking process. barcoding, voice technology, and pick-by-light systems have all been introduced, and have improved warehouse-picking processes and generated a respectable return on investment (gwynne, 2014: 93; vishu 2016: 166). paper-pick list, pick-by-label, pick-by-voice, barcode scanning, radio frequency identification, pick light/pick to light, put to light, and automated picking are all currently used in warehouses (gwynne, 2014: 93). barcoding alludes to the fixing of computer decipherable codes on items, cartons, containers, and trucks. these barcodes increase efficiency in three ways: speed, accuracy, and reliability (sople, 2010: 77). a study by biju and faisalu (2013: 147) established that most of the ceramic tiles manufacturers now use barcoding. the factors that impact on the measure of manual handling inside warehouses and distribution centres are multifaceted and interlocking. the main element is the strategy of the order-picking system, especially how much automation is utilised and whether pickers move between pick spaces or whether items are automatically delivered to them (webster et al., 2014: 17). order picking typically accounts for 50%-75% of the total operating expenses for a warehouse (de koster, le-duc & roodbergen, 2007: 484). any inefficiency in order picking can lead to unsatisfactory service and high operational expenses for the warehouse, and the entire supply chain (de koster et al., 2007: 484). manual order-picking methods are slower, as the picker must handle and read the paper, while if picking orders are given by a pick-by-voice method, this operation is removed. for example, systems that pick-to-light shows automatically where the picker can expect to locate the next item to pick, are likewise faster since they remove the operation of searching for the correct pick slot (webster et al., 2014: 17). when order pickers must travel from a storage region, the movement time and trip distance are increased (de koster et al., 2007: 484). in addition, construction firms are becoming increasingly concerned about tracking and locating materials on construction sites. it is challenging to monitor, track, and locate materials alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 38 when they are needed, due to the inappropriate handling and storage of materials on construction sites and in warehouses (abhilin & vishak, 2017: 910). automated methods are beneficial, as the warehouse management system (wms) documents the processes of both order pickers and operatives moving new stock to storage locations. the aberdeen group (2009: 22) reported that 70% of best-in-class construction material-manufacturing companies are more likely than all other companies to receive goods without using paper documents. all have moved to the utilisation of barcodes, radio frequency identification (rfid), or voice technology. a similar study by gwynne (2014: 93) indicated that various producers have presented a joined voice and automated guided vehicle (agv) or laserguided forklift truck system. by implementing both systems simultaneously, productivity improved by up to 70%. a related investigation by tambovcevs (2012: 67) establishes that enterprise resource planning (erp) system merchants need to work with manufacturing and construction industry professionals to improve more customised results for manufacturing and construction companies. in addition, tambovcevs (2012: 67) recommended that the application of erp can give considerable benefits. these benefits include, among other things, enhanced company operation through streamlining, improving, and controlling business processes of major importance such as procurement, customer offers, customer complaints, equipment maintenance, marketing campaigns, and others. in addition, significant cost reductions and time-savings in all the above-mentioned business processes. 2.5 material-handling equipment (mhe) researchers have discussed warehouse automation from different perspectives. these include warehouse technology, workshop equipment, warehouse systems, and factory equipment (kay, 2012: 20). rushton, croucher and baker (2006: 124) and gwynne (2014: 220) noted industrial doors and gates, forklift trucks and accessories, as well as automated guided vehicles (agvs). agvs are extensively used and are efficient and appropriate ways to move goods and materials to different parts of a manufacturing plant. autonomous mobile robots (amrs) are fundamentally different, although they will eventually allow automation to a great extent to keep the flexibility and versatility of human-operated vehicles (ghaffarzadeh, 2018: 22). amrs are different from agvs in their level of autonomy (foodmach, 2019: 16): • automated systems are designed to perform a set of repetitive tasks by following pre-defined instructions with minimal or no human intervention. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 39 • autonomous systems, on the other hand, are not only able to perform defined tasks automatically but also have the intelligence to make independent decisions in ‘never-seen-before’ scenarios. for the maximum benefits of specialisation to be achieved, handling equipment at the nodes ought to offer fast loading and offloading of material to make the best use of the quantity of full vehicle load kilometre per unit of time (pienaar, 2016: 354). furthermore, economies of density require the optimal use of big, strong equipment over as long a period as possible. these include automatic loaders, high-level cranes, forklifts, manual, loader shovels, excavators, overhead gantries, and the utilisation of saddle carriers (hannan, 2011: 32). this vehicle equipment permits additional grades of movement for handling unit loads. it should be noted that the efficiency of offloading processes could be enhanced by 61% with the use of automated information systems (andrejić, bojović & kilibarda, 2016: 102). a list of the material-handling and pallet-storage equipment used in united kingdom warehouses was evaluated in a study by baker & perotti (2008: 72-74). according to the study, the picker-to-goods method has been widely adopted, with the usage of pallet trucks, lift trucks, as well as shelving and racking as storage choices. in addition, organisations used a combination of equipment to handle different types of materials and order profiles. the significance of appropriate utilisation of mhe cannot be overemphasised. as indicated by rajes and subbaiah (2015: 117), the utilisation of mhe helps reduce the labour of workers, by reducing forces in lifting, handling, pushing, and pulling material. furthermore, it increases efficiency to control costs and optimises productivity (bouh & riopel, 2015: 461). in addition, there is a reduction in damage to material through human error and negligence, and a reduction in fatigue and injury when the environment is insecure or inaccessible (kay, 2012: 20). the more times material is handled, the more the overall logistics costs add up, as the process still comprises both equipment and human effort (michael, 2015: 16). despite the benefit of picking equipment, rogers’ (2012: 18) study revealed that 70% of the respondents in the united states planned to spend less than usd250,000 on warehouse equipment in 2013, with only 11% contemplating the purchase or evaluation of automated systems. 2.6 storage equipment storage equipment is utilised for stockpiling or keeping materials over a period. some storage equipment may include those used for transporting material such as automated storage and retrieval systems (as/rss) or storage carousels. roodbergen and vis (2009: 343) recognised that insignificant consideration has been given to the relationship between as/rs and other material-handling systems in production or distribution alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 40 centres. when no storage equipment is required, then the material is block stacked directly on the floor. storage racks are utilised to give support to a load and to make the load accessible (kay, 2012: 22). but interestingly, even in modern warehouses, the most popular forms of storage noted for the group of companies surveyed was floor storage and standard aisle racking (baker & perotti, 2008: 64). the advantages associated with block stacking include access, damage, stock rotation, and space utilisation (gwynne, 2014: 221). the warehouse height of 15m creates double volume to allow for optimal aisle width for forklift trucks and cube-method space utilisation (gwynne, 2014: 221). 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this article evaluated the level of utilisation of automation in constructionmaterial handling for operational efficiency by the manufacturing firms in north-central nigeria. this study adopted a quantitative case study research design method because it allows for examining reality ‘out there’ and is something that can be examined objectively, an environment (standard manufacturer warehouse processes and transportation operations) not designed by the researcher (scott & garner, 2013: 122). it also allows for the use of structured observations and descriptive analysis to understand automation and the process of on-time delivery performance implemented by the firms that participated in the case study (kamali 2018: 198). in this study, the structured observation included watching and recording the automation used in orders piking method, material handling, storage equipment, as well as method of loading and offloading material, whilst the time for loading and offloading material in vehicles was also recorded. the node versus links method is by far the most suitable way to observe the logistics system in a construction context (shakantu & emuze, 2012this particular paper reports on a multi case study investigation conducted in the city of cape town. present knowledge of logistics in general and transportation in particular, within south african construction is relatively limited. emphasis is more frequently placed on supply chain management (scm: 667). thus, the unit of analysis was the current material-handling operations at the manufacturers’ warehouse (node) and their transport delivery (link) to the distribution centres/warehouses, retailers’ stores, and construction sites. 3.2 population and sampling methods the study area is the north-central geo-political zone of nigeria, and includes five of the six states, namely (lokoja) kogi state, (lafia) nasarawa alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 41 state, (minna) niger state, (jos) plateau state, (makurdi) benue state, and (abuja) in the federal capital territory (fct). north-central zone is one of the fastest developing regions, with a high concentration of construction activity, near fct. in nigeria, it is hard to identify precise locations of either private or commercial builder merchants (bm) and material suppliers. the nigerian business directory (2019) showed that there were 156 construction-material manufacturers, 96 distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and 120 construction sites operating the north-central zone. from these, 32 construction-material manufacturer firms, 42 distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and 30 construction sites were randomly selected, with at least two for a particular building material. in total, the eight companies visited were identified as manufacturers of cement, reinforcement bars, ceramic tiles, and crushed stones, with two companies for each material. their products were produced within and distributed across the six states of north-central nigeria and the fct, abuja. in addition, 12 companies producing masonry hollow sandcrete blocks and 12 companies producing sand were visited with two in each of the five state capitals and abuja. chosen construction sites were carefully and logistically selected, instead of statistically, significant in the population (shakantu & emuze, 2012: 668). the sample selected in each construction site gave adequate transportation operations and automation processes for analysis within a reasonable time. table 1 shows the type of material, the number of deliveries per each state capital and fct, the distribution centres, as well as the warehouse and construction sites observed. 3.3 data collection quantitative data was collected using non-participant observations of material-handling operations from manufacturer warehouses and distribution centres/warehouses, and retailer stores, and construction sites in random order, time, and day. the observations were conducted across the various sections of the companies, namely order-picking methods, material handling, storage equipment/methods, as well as method of loading and offloading vehicles. the researcher used items obtained from the literature review and both modified lists of pallet storage equipment used in uk warehouses and material-handling equipment by baker and perotti (2008: 74) in the observation template, which includes the utilisation of automation in orderpicking methods (measuring nine variables), material handling (measuring 19 variables), storage equipment/methods (measuring 12 variables), method of loading and offloading vehicle (measuring eight variables), loading and offloading time (measuring six variables), as well as cost of loading and offloading material (measuring six variables). alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 42 methods used for order picking, material handling, storage, and vehicle loading/offloading were observed and, where a variable occurs to be utilised, it was ticked off against the same variable on the template. the average loading and offloading time for individual materials (per ton) at the terminals was observed, using a stop clock. the average loading and offloading cost for individual materials (per ton) at the terminals was recorded using the cost per company for equipment used, manual loading and offloading cost per vehicle per worker, and quantity of material transported per vehicle. the observations were made until there was a minimum of six customer orders, one each from the five states and abuja. all the deliveries were one drop and there was no multi-drop run that accounted for turnaround times at the various preceding delivery locations (see table 1). a total of 72 vehicle deliveries from material manufacturers to distribution centres/ warehouses, and retailer stores, and construction sites was observed. this number of observations is supported by shakantu and emuze (2012: 662), in that 30 is the lowest number of observations on any phenomenon, which is statistically significant and could lead to the generalisable explanation of a phenomenon. table 1: companies and construction sites observed materials n um b e r o f m a nu fa c tu rin g c o m p a ni e s tr a ns p o rt a tio n (n um b e r o f d e liv e rie s) location number of distribution centres/ warehouses and retailer stores c o ns tr uc tio n sit e s a b uj a m in na la fia lo ko ja jo s m a ku rd i d ist rib ut io n c e nt re s/ w a re ho us e s cement 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 reinforcement bars 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 ceramic tiles 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 crushed stone 2 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 hollow sand-crete blocks 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 sand 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 total 32 72 12 12 12 12 12 12 42 30 source: researchers’ field survey, 2019 3.4 method of analysis the observation data were entered into microsoft excel (bowen, edwards & cattel, 2012: 887), in order to compute and report frequencies and alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 43 percentiles using descriptive analytical tools (loeb et al., 2017: 8). a percentage is computed by dividing the number of times a variable value is observed by the total number of observations in the population and multiplying the result by 100. the data were first tabulated into three sections using theme analysis. the first section covered warehouse/loading-bay processes at manufacturers’ firms; the second section consisted of processes that involved vehicles for delivery (arrival/departure time, quantity loaded, time taken to load/offload), and the final section consisted of offloading (cost/ time) operations in the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. thereafter, the tabulated data were analysed and classified into conceptual themes, order-picking method, material-handling equipment, storage equipment, method of loading/offloading vehicles, loading/offloading time, and cost of loading/offloading material. after tabulation of the data responses, a bar chart presentation was compiled to show the calculated frequencies and percentages of the observations. 3.5 limitations the management granted the researchers permission to observe logistics operations and processes with sufficient access. despite being promised anonymity and confidentiality, the researchers were not allowed access to some sections of operations and transaction records. managers explained that these steps were intended to protect their company methods and automation from rivals. one of the limitations of this study is that the quantitative method was carried out using observations. in addition, it is possible that the employees did not like being observed while at work and thought the researchers were management spies. the veracity of the data may be jeopardised in such situations because the employees would not act ‘normal’. another limitation of this study is geographical in nature because this study covered only one out of the six geopolitical zones of nigeria. the study focuses on operational performance without considering strategic and tactical performance, which could be a limitation. another limitation was that the researcher allowed a limited number of assistants to help with the tracking of drivers and the recording of their time of arrival at the various destinations. 4. results 4.1 order-picking method used in manufacturers’ warehouses figure 1 presents the current (2019) automation utilised for order-picking processes in the construction-material manufacturer warehouses. this alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 44 established that 88% of the companies used the paper-picking method, while 12% use an automated method. the paper-based order-picking methods are slower, as the picker must handle and read the paper, while automated methods of pick-by-voice or barcodes would have been faster. the finding was that most of the companies used the paper-picking method, which suggests low adoption of automation in the order-picking method. figure 1: order picking methods adopted in the manufacturer’s warehouses 4.2 automated material-handling equipment used in manufacturer’s warehouses the study evaluates the type of material-handling equipment used in the construction-material manufacturer’s warehouses. figure 2 shows that 13% of the companies used a payloader, while 6% of the companies used mini automated loaders, high-level order-picking cranes, and forklift trucks. in addition, 69% of the companies did not use any of the order-picking equipment. this indicates less automation in material handling to reduce human effort, eliminate offloading charges, and improve the counting time at the warehouse. the finding was that most of the companies did not use any of the automated material-handling equipment. figure 2: automation material-handling equipment used in manufacturer’s warehouses alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 45 4.3 storage equipment used in manufacturer’s warehouses the study evaluated the automation of warehouses such as types of storage equipment and efficient utilisation of storage space. figure 3 shows that 88%, 6%, and 6% of the companies used floor/block, double deep, and pallet floor-racking storage equipment, respectively. based on the observations, most of the companies used the floor/block-storage method which suggests low take-up of pallet storage equipment in the warehouses. the low level of adoption of storage equipment and racks gives less support to loads and makes load accessibility and automated material handling problematic. figure 3: storage equipment used in manufacturer’s warehouse 4.4 method of loading and offloading vehicles figure 4 shows the results of the method of loading vehicles at the manufacturers’ warehouses and offloading of vehicles at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. this was done to understand the type and level of automation adopted to increase efficiency in loading and offloading vehicles. at the manufacturers’ warehouses and construction sites, 40% of the companies used manual methods of loading. the other companies used pay loaders (16.67%), forklift trucks (14.29%), high-level cranes (14.29%), and automatic loaders (14.29%) to load material. the results showed that 60% of the company warehouses were automated. this signifies operational efficiency, in terms of an increase in speed, accuracy, and productivity, while reducing repetitive or potentially unsafe manual labour. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 46 figure 4: method of loading and offloading of vehicles of distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites, 75% used manual methods for offloading material. however, 25% used the tipping method, which was basically for sand and parts of crushed stones. it was also observed that trailers were used to transport crushed stones. since they cannot tip off, the material was manually offloaded. this signifies high operating time, cost, multiple handling, and low productivity. 4.5 loading and offloading time the economies of density are enhanced by using high-capacity technology to handle large bulk loads and minimising loading and offloading time and cost. figure 5 shows the average time taken to load and offload material (per ton) at the terminals. for cement, the loading time was 0.02 hours/ton, and offloading time was 0.11hours/ton. the average loading and offloading time for reinforcement bars was 0.04 and 0.18 hours/ton, ceramic tiles, 0.07 and 0.17 hours/ton, and for granite, 0.01 and 0.07 hours/ton). granite offloading time is higher than its loading time because trailer trucks were also used in the delivery of granite. since they do not have a tip-off mechanism, the material had to be manually offloaded, which led to increased offloading time and cost. the implication of non-automatic offloading is that time and costs are non-value-added items that cannot be recovered when an invoice is made out for the offloading of material. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 47 figure 5: average time taken to load and offload materials per ton 4.6 cost of loading and offloading material figure 6 shows the relationship of average cost to load and offload individual material per ton. the average cost of loading per ton at the manufacturer’s warehouses was as follows: cement (₦56.62/ton or r2.02/ton); reinforcement bars (₦425.63/ton or r15.20/ton); ceramic tiles (₦507.99/ton or r18.14/ton); crushed stones (₦78.16/ton or r2.79/ton); blocks (₦179.73/ton or r6.42/ton), and sand (₦151.66/ton or r5.42/ton). in addition, the average cost of offloading at the distribution centres, warehouses, retailers stores, and construction sites was as follows: for cement (₦274.70/ton or r9.81/ton); reinforcement bars (₦861.24/ton or r30.76/ton); ceramic tiles (₦537.31/ton or r19.19/ton); crushed stones (₦150.07/ton or r5.36/ton); blocks (₦179.37/ton or r6.41/ton), and sand (₦25.53/ton or r0.91/ton). the average cost of offloading reinforcement bars per ton was the highest, probably because this involves offloading, bending, and stacking them. however, it should be noted that ceramic-tile companies used both forklift trucks and manual labour when loading at the manufacturers’ warehouses. table 6 show that the average cost of offloading materials/ton was higher than the average cost of loading, except for blocks and sand. this may be explained by the fact that blocks are both loaded and offloaded manually. the cost of loading sand is higher because most of the companies did this manually, but they offloaded mechanically by tipping off. the implication is that lack of utilisation of automation in loading sand in vehicles leads to higher cost of handling. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 48 figure 6: average loading and offloading cost per ton 5. discussion of results 5.1 order-picking method used in warehouses the study found that most of the companies used the paper-based picking method for materials handling. webster et al. (2014: 16) confirmed that manual order-picking methods are slower, as the picker must handle and read the paper. this could lead to errors if the writing is illegible or if there is confusion over the way it is written. slow manual operation is time consuming that leads to low throughput, long lead time, and high labour costs in warehouse operations (gwynne, 2014: 138). in addition, manual order picking creates problems in monitoring and locating of materials on construction sites because materials always come in bulk without proper identification (kasim et al., 2012: 450). this is contrary to the use of bar codes that will lead to a reduction in human mistakes, and an increase in speed, accuracy, and dependability (sople, 2010: 77). de koster et al. (2007: 484) noted that inefficiency in order picking can lead to unsatisfactory service delivery and high operational expenses for the warehouse and the entire supply chain. therefore, the inference is that the order-picking processes adopted by north-central nigerian construction-material manufacturing companies are sub-optimal and inefficient. however, technology advancements in automation such as barcoding, voice technology, and pick-by-light systems can be introduced (gwynne, 2014: 93; vishu, 2016: 166). these have improved warehouse order-picking processes and generated a respectable return on investment (vishu, 2016: 166). alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 49 5.2 material-handling equipment used in warehouses the observation results showed that, although most of the manufacturing companies did not use any handling equipment in their warehouses, a few companies did use material-handling equipment such as pay loaders, mini automated loaders, high-level order-picking cranes, and forklift trucks. the implication is that multiple handling of material causes low productivity in the warehouse. the findings contradict the baker & perotti (2008: 64) results on a survey of the type of equipment used in uk warehouses. they found that most of the companies use a combination of equipment to handle different types of materials. furthermore, the findings are contrary to the use of mhe to increase efficiency, control costs, and optimise productivity (bouh & riopel, 2015: 463). the implication of using materialhandling equipment is a reduction in worker manual labour and boosting of worker morale (rajesh & subbaiah 2015: 117). it also reduces damage to materials, possibly through human error or negligence, and reduces fatigue (kay, 2012: 20). observations showed that automation of the materialhandling processes in warehouses in the north-central nigerian zone was minimal and inefficient. for that reason, the study proposes the adoption of mechanisation/automation of warehouses. this can be achieved through incentives such as changes in legislation, contracts to facilitate reverse logistics, and tax relief on the importation of plants and equipment by enterprises (pienaar, 2016: 354). 5.3 storage equipment used in warehouses based on observation results, most of the manufacturing companies used floor/block storage methods in their warehouses. this finding was supported by baker & perotti (2008: 64), whose study of the modern warehouses of a group of companies revealed that the most popular form of storage was floor storage and standard wide aisle racking. this finding also confirmed the study by roodbergen and vis (2009: 343), which established that insignificant consideration has been given to the utilisation of automated storage and retrieval systems and other material-handling systems in warehouses and distribution centres. the finding is in contrast with gwynne’s (2014: 221) submission that most of the mechanical handling and storage-equipment manufacturers do have sophisticated systems, including simulation software that can assist companies with planning as to what type of racking and mhe will efficiently suit their operations. the study revealed that the use of storage equipment was minimal and inefficient in the north-central nigerian zone warehouses. this is contrary to the assertion by leung and lau (2018: 24) that many types of special equipment have been designed to reduce labour costs and/or increase space utilisation. storage and retrieval equipment can reduce labour costs. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 50 5.4 loading and offloading equipment the study revealed that two-thirds of the manufacturer warehouses used equipment such as automatic loaders for loading cement, high-level cranes for loading reinforcement bars, pay loaders for loading granite/sand, and forklift trucks for loading ceramic tiles. these findings are supported by the automation principle of material handling that the operations should be mechanised and/or automated, where feasible, to improve operational efficiency, reduce operating costs, and eliminate repetitive manual handling of material (mhi, 2000: 22). however, the remaining companies used manual labour in the loading of ceramic tiles (semi-mechanised), blocks, granite, and sand. the observation results revealed that offloading was done manually at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. these findings contradict pienaar’s (2016: 381) assertions that, to reap the optimum rewards of specialisation, handling equipment at terminals should be provided for rapid loading and offloading to save time and cost. more so, they also contradict the view that block manufacturers normally use selfloading vehicles with cranes mounted on the edge or removable mounting (vidalakis & sommerville, 2013: 478). this truck equipment allows for extra grades of movement for handling unit loads (hannan, 2011: 36). based on the observation results, the use of loading equipment at the manufacturer warehouses was minimal, while there was no offloading equipment at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. hence, loading processes at the manufacturer plant/ warehouses, and offloading of vehicle processes at the distribution centres/ warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites in the north-central nigerian zone were inefficient. but to realise the maximum benefits, provision of handling equipment at the nodes or terminals would offer fast loading and offloading of materials and make best use of the quantity of full vehicle load kilometre per unit of time (pienaar, 2016: 381). economies of density require the optimal use of big, strong equipment over as long a period as possible. 5.5 loading and offloading time the observations results revealed disparity in the average time taken per ton for loading and offloading each material. it took lesser time per ton to load at the manufacturing plants where the loading was done mechanically. on the contrary, it took more time per ton to offload at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites where most offloading was done manually. these processes combined used fewer machines, but more manual labour that involved multiple handling. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 51 these findings contradict the assertion by pienaar (2016: 381) that using high-capacity technology to carry and handle large bulk loads can help minimise loading and offloading times. however, the offloading process can be more efficient and enhanced by 61% if it improves its information systems (andrejić & kilibarda, 2016: 147). the implication is an increase in waiting time and lead time for delivery of materials. this cannot be recovered when an invoice is made out for the offloading of material (pienaar, 2016: 384). however, using automation in material loading and offloading can increase efficiency, control costs, and optimise productivity (bouh & riopel, 2015: 463). 5.6 loading and offloading costs the study showed disparity in average cost per ton for loading and offloading individual materials. it costs less per ton to load than to offload in companies where most of the loading was done mechanically at the manufacturer’s warehouse, as against most of the offloading being done manually at the distribution centres/warehouses, retailer stores, and construction sites. this finding supports the fact that the use of automation in material handling can increase efficiency, control costs, and optimise productivity (bouh & riopel, 2015: 461). the findings corroborate michaels’ (2015: 16) submission that the more multiple handling of material, the more the overall logistics expense. the implication is that the touch time costs are non-value-added costs that will never be recovered when an invoice is calculated for the load (niggi, 2017: 52). the implication is that this leads to increased labour cost, which invariably increases the price of construction material. but to realise the maximum benefits of automation, provision of handling equipment at the nodes or terminals would offer fast loading and offloading of materials (pienaar, 2016: 381). 6. conclusion and recommendation this article assessed the level of utilisation of automation in construction material-handling operations by the manufacturing firms in north-central nigeria. fundamentally, any non-utilisation of automation in construction material-handling operations will result in inefficiency in operations, such as prone to error, long lead time, and high labour cost. this assumption is well founded on the concept of non-value-added costs and strongly connected with the general perception that poor material-handling operations of construction-material manufacturers can add significantly to the non-value-added costs of construction materials, alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 52 which, by increasing labour time and cost, results in inefficiency, higher construction-material prices and delays in delivery to prospective customers. using the dynamics of material-handling operations as guidance for data collection, the evidence provided in the case study establishes significant non-utilisation of automation in construction-material handling. the main problems observed on-site were low utilisation of automation in order-picking methods, material-handling equipment, the use of storage equipment, loading and off-loading vehicles at the warehouses, distribution centres, retailer stores, and construction sites. the implication of the findings is increasing construction costs and causing delays in project execution. this article concludes by providing the construction-material manufacturers with areas that require addressing, in order to improve material-handling operations along the nodes (terminals) to help ensure that the construction material arrives at its final destination at optimal quality, time, and cost. to mitigate the inefficiency in material-handling processes, there is a need for the use of standard pallets or containers for the transportation of material (cement, ceramic tiles, and blocks) to create a unit load. this will assist in eliminating multiple handling during loading and offloading, minimising the risk of material damage, and making the best use of space in the vehicle. it can also reduce loading and offloading time and cost and improve productivity. the pallet or container should be reusable (recycle) to enhance sustainability. in addition, the use of a combination of, or separate equipment to handle different types of materials and order profiles will improve productivity and enhance efficiency. the study suggests automation of the manual process and the use of equipment such as forklifts, high-level cranes, power pallet jacks, and pay loaders to mitigate inefficiency in handling operations at the terminals (nodes). due to the small sample of participating companies, performance values estimated in this article are relevant to these companies and should not be considered as industry benchmarks. a recommendation is made for further study to explore why automation is not used, despite its purported advantage in improving the efficiency of material-handling operations. this study was conducted using observations, which is one of the limitations of this study. the sample size of 72 orders processed can also be increased in further studies. another limitation of this study is the geographical aspect. since this study covered only one out of the six geopolitical zones of nigeria, other zones should be studied, and the results compared. alumbugu, patrick, tsado & ola-awo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 33-57 53 references aberdeen group. 2009. warehouse operations: increase responsiveness through automation. boston, ma: 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the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as oluwaseun dosumu dr oluwaseun sunday dosumu, senior lecturer, department of construction management, college of science and technology, university of rwanda, p.o. box 3900, kigali, rwanda. phone: +250781563113, email: <oluwaseundosumu97@ gmail.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-9730-3598 clinton aigbavboa prof. clinton ohis aigbavboa, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27787958231, email: <c.aigbavboa@uj.ac. za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-2866-3706 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: august 2021 peer reviewed and revised: october 2021 published: december 2021 keywords: benefit, challenges, construction, driver, effect, factors, project, south africa, sustainability, sustainable construction how to cite: dosumu, o.s. & aigbavboa, c.o. 2021. drivers and effects of sustainable construction in the south african construction industry. acta structilia, 28(2), pp. 78-107. drivers and effects of sustainable construction in the south african construction industry research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i2.4 abstract sustainable construction is hardly practised in africa, despite the consistent campaign for its adoption. this study investigates the drivers and effects of sustainable construction in south africa. the quantitative survey research design was adopted for the study and the respondents were the construction organisations in johannesburg, south africa. the study identified 17 significant drivers of sustainable construction, with construction cost as the dominant variable. the important environmental (8), economic (12), and social benefits (7) of sustainable construction were also determined. the challenges (24) of sustainable construction were also identified. the study recommended that measures for low construction cost should be put in place, and awareness campaigns should be enhanced. economic benefits are still behind environmental benefits, and this could affect some prospective adopters. lack of knowledge and weak economies were prevalent challenges that underscore the need for western support for african nations to comfortably adopt sustainable construction. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article acta structilia 2021 28(2): 78-107 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 79 abstrak volhoubare konstruksie word min in afrika beoefen ten spyte van die konsekwente veldtog vir die aanvaarding daarvan. hierdie studie ondersoek die dryfvere en uitwerking van volhoubare konstruksie in suid-afrika. die kwantitatiewe opnamenavorsingsontwerp is vir die studie gebruik en die respondente was konstruksieorganisasies in johannesburg, suid-afrika. die studie het 17 beduidende drywers van volhoubare konstruksie geïdentifiseer met konstruksiekoste as die dominante veranderlike. die belangrike omgewings(8), ekonomiese (12) en maatskaplike voordele (7) van volhoubare konstruksie is ook bepaal. die uitdagings (24) van volhoubare konstruksie is ook geïdentifiseer. die studie het aanbeveel dat maatreëls vir lae konstruksiekoste ingestel moet word, en bewusmakingsveldtogte verbeter moet word. ekonomiese voordele is steeds agter omgewingsvoordele en dit kan sommige voornemende gebruikers raak. gebrek aan kennis en swak ekonomieë was algemene uitdagings wat die behoefte aan westerse ondersteuning vir afrika-lande beklemtoon om gemaklik volhoubare konstruksie aan te neem. sleutelwoorde: drywer, effek, faktore, konstruksie, projek, suid-afrika, uitdagings, volhoubaarheid, volhoubare konstruksie, voordeel 1. introduction worldwide, the construction industry generates more pollutants compared to industries such as manufacturing, banking, telecommunication, and agriculture, with debilitating effects on the environment (calautit & hughes, 2016: 1). the impact of the unsustainable activities of the construction industry on environmental degradation was put at 15% of freshwater resources, 40% of the world’s energy, and 23%-40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (dosumu & aigbavboa, 2018: 68). in south africa, the construction industry accounts for 23% of greenhouse gas emissions, while the production of construction materials results in 18 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum (simpeh & smallwood, 2018: 1829). hence, the construction industry must become aware of the importance of effectively and continuously adopting sustainable construction, in order to reduce the effects of its activities on the environment. the green building council of south africa (gbcsa) has adapted the green star south africa rating tool to assess and certify green buildings in south africa (sebake, 2008: 29). despite these steps, the south african construction industry has continually contributed to the negative impacts of unsustainable activities on the environment (dosumu & aigbavboa, 2018: 98). as a leading adopter of sustainable construction in africa, south africa is still relatively adopting sustainable construction at a low level, despite efforts by government, professional institutions, and the gbcsa to nationwide adoption (oke & aigbavboa, 2016: 526). despite the level of awareness of the concept of sustainable construction by construction professionals, its adoption consistently remains low (awuzie, monyane, koker & aigbavboa, 2021: 126). this indicates that there are dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 80 significant factors that are still responsible for this situation. without proper identification and mitigation of these factors, effective adoption of sustainability in the construction industry may remain a mirage. sustainability is a global subject that cuts across virtually all disciplines. how it affects the various sectors of the economy differs from one another (de vasconcelos, cãndido & heineck, 2020: 2). numerous researches have been conducted across many nations and sectors of national economies on the drivers of sustainability and their effects (banani, vahdati, shahrestani & clements-croome, 2016: 289; veselovská, 2017: 474; bodkin & hakimi, 2020: 1). however, the results of the studies indicate that the drivers of sustainability and their effects on the various sectors of the economies differ based on variables such as peculiarity of industries, geographical locations of countries, and level of national development (harris & sandor, 2013: 57; dosumu & aigbavboa, 2019: 274). studies have shown that many drivers of sustainable construction mostly differ along with many variables (marco & james, 2016: 199; heilman, 2016: 161; windapo, 2014: 6102). to achieve the collective and singular aims of sustainable construction, there is a need to conduct a study, specifically for the south african construction industry, on the drivers of sustainable construction and their effects (benefits and challenges) on buildings and the stakeholders (client, contractor, consultants, designers, the occupants, government agencies, and parastatals). hence, this study investigates the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable construction, the benefits derived from its use, and the challenges mitigating its adoption peculiar to the south african construction industry. 2. literature review 2.1 sustainable construction sustainable construction is the combination of economic, social, and environmental impacts of construction (heerwagen, 2006: 3; hwang, leong & huh, 2014: 46; windapo, 2014: 6092). it requires the designers/ consultants and contractors to utilise building practices that eradicate negative impacts such as pollution and carbon emission from the environment. sustainable construction guarantees the preservation of the environment as well as serious development-associated concerns that include efficient use of resources, constant social growth, steady economic growth, and the suppression of poverty (dosumu & aigbavboa, 2019: 264). economic sustainability is the monetary savings of sustainable construction. these savings are primarily gained through reduced utility costs and savings in operations and maintenance (salama & hana, 2018: 212). environmental sustainability implies preserving all living species and dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 81 ecosystems, as well as ensuring the responsible use of resources (simpeh & smallwood, 2018: 1830). social sustainability focuses on the people occupying a building and on its surroundings (xia, zuo, wu & ke, 2015: 2). sustainability encompasses the conservation of the environment and the efficient use of resources, continual social progress, stable economic growth, and the eradication of poverty (gibberd, 2010: 36). currently, human society can continue to meet its needs without hampering the ability of the future human society from meeting its needs on the earth. in the same vein, sustainable construction aims to eradicate the negative effects of construction activities on the environment, while ensuring that the social and economic benefits of construction activities are maximised (de vasconcelos et al., 2020: 28). many countries worldwide, especially the developed nations, have been reaping the rewards of adopting sustainable construction, even though it is accompanied by a few surmountable challenges. it appears, however, that africa is continually reluctant or slow in adopting sustainable construction (dosumu & aigbavboa, 2020: 5). 2.2 drivers of sustainable construction sustainable construction is being adopted and on the increase. however, its current rate of adoption appears not to be on par with the rate of the negative impact of construction activities on the environment. many factors have been advanced as being responsible for the reluctance and slow adoption of sustainable construction. the cost of sustainable construction has reduced over time, but it is still more expensive than traditional building methods. depending on the green features and materials to be used, the recovery period can be relatively short or long (simpeh & smallwood, 2018: 1831). acquiring green accreditation could also be cost intensive, time consuming and stressful, regardless of its potential to increase property rental value (feige, wallbaum & mcallister, 2013: 324). in addition, the availability and accessibility of sustainable materials and expertise, with sufficient knowledge on sustainable construction, is a key factor to be considered (ametepey, aigbavboa & ansah, 2015: 1686). the surroundings of the proposed building site become another factor that is worth considering. trees and other buildings could obstruct sunlight, thus decreasing the output of solar systems. other factors that influence the adoption of sustainable construction include financial and further marketbased incentives for sustainability adopters, governmental policies and regulations, and stakeholder participation (sherwood & pollard, 2018: 32). lam, chan, poon, chau and chun (2010: 657) classified twenty factors that influence the adoption of sustainable construction into stakeholder’s involvement, leadership and responsibility, principles and techniques, as well as feedback and building public confidence. bamgbade, kamaruddeen dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 82 and nawi (2015: 138) categorised the factors that influence sustainable construction into management, motivating factors, internal resources, external factors, readiness to adopt sustainable construction, supporting resources, and current practices. enhassi, kochendoerfer and alghoul (2016: 63) highlighted the following: scope and quality of the input of resources, flexibility of design changes to maintenance and variation, estimation of the cost of design and construction, unforeseen inflation in the process of materials for sustainable projects, and the management of the size and complexity of sustainable projects. abisuga and oyekanmi (2014: 115) classified thirteen factors into internal and external factors that influence the adoption of sustainable construction. kheni and akoogo (2015: 70) affirmed that the following factors influence the adoption of sustainable construction: awareness of the concept, its relative advantage in business and project use, its compatibility with the client and organisational goals, the complexity of sustainable construction projects, the feasibility of adopting sustainable construction, and the influence of peer companies on a company. dosumu and aigbavboa (2018: 142) investigated the various factors of sustainable construction, as identified in the literature, and classified them into three cardinal categories of economic, social, and environmental factors. economic factors contain 23 variables that were further divided into cost efficiency, affordability of the project, sustainable construction with minimum cost option, and job creation within the local economy. social factors include indoor environmental quality of projects, the safety of the people and environment, social and recreational amenities in a building and the community, accessibility to jobs, and amenities by occupants of sustainable projects. environmental factors include energy generation and consumption, amount of greenhouse carbon emission, water use, efficiency and conservation, material use and efficiency, use of construction land space, waste management, protection and promotion of biodiversity, level of noise and air pollution, and level of dependence on personal car. windapo (2014: 6095) categorised the factors of sustainable construction into economic factors (stakeholders’ demand and financial issues) and ecological/social responsibility factors (environmental and social responsibility). the results of the study indicated that the key factors of sustainable construction are the industry’s green star rating system, rising energy costs, legislation, and competitive advantages. sustainable construction includes ten economic factors, ten political factors, ten social factors, ten technological factors and ten ecological factors (veselovská, 2017: 478). it is clear from the literature reviewed in this study that several, almost inexhaustible factors are responsible for the adoption of sustainable dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 83 construction in the construction industry. this is not unexpected, because the factors responsible for the adoption of sustainable construction vary from one country to the other. these factors were summarised and compressed into 20 and then used for this study to determine the prevalent factors that influence the adoption of sustainable construction in south africa. 2.3 effects of sustainable construction this study reviews relevant literature on the effects (benefits and challenges) of adopting sustainability in the construction industry. 2.3.1 benefits of adopting sustainable construction it is a consensus that the benefits of adopting sustainable construction outweigh those of not adopting it (waidyasekara & fernando, 2012: 7). however, the key benefits of its adoption are not global, because they are mostly country and region specific. many studies investigated the benefits of sustainable construction as they relate to their local economies. in addition, the benefits investigated were mostly lumped rather than categorised into their constituent economic, social, and environmental benefits for easy analyses and understanding. hence, this study investigates the benefits of sustainable construction based on economic, social, and environmental factors. the main environmental benefit of sustainable construction is the protection of the ecosystem. this can easily be ensured by incorporating components of landscaping or by sourcing specialist ecologists to determine the specific needs of an area, initiate suitable management techniques, reduce activities that result in loss of habitat, and use species that should be planted in landscaped areas (ametepey et al., 2015: 1687). reduced carbon emissions that prevent global warming and extreme climate change were also described as environmental benefits of sustainable construction (vazquez, rola, martins, freitas & rosa, 2011: 271; simpeh & smallwood, 2018: 1845). environmental benefits of sustainable construction also include minimisation of wastages through recycling, reusing, and reducing waste streams and conservation of water through the water supply, water consumption, and wastewater systems (ametepey et al., 2015: 1688). out of 19 environmental benefits investigated by waidyasekara and fernando (2012: 10) in sri lanka, better air quality inside the facility, reduced energy use, lower fossil fuel use, and the protection of ecological resources were identified as the top four environmental beneficial factors. lower resource use was the least benefit. simpeh and smallwood (2018: 1844) noted that improved air and water quality, reduced waste, conservation, and restoration of natural resources protect biodiversity dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 84 and ecosystems, and reduce heat gain, particularly when buildings are designed and oriented to optimise the utilisation of daylight. dosumu and aigbavboa (2018: 145) summarised the environmental benefits of sustainable construction into the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through reduced energy consumption, reduction of air pollution, reduction of solid waste generation through the creation of space for storage and collection of recyclable waste materials, waste management practices on sites, and modular construction techniques, space utilisation in the form of erosion and sedimentation control, reduced lighting disturbances, reduced use of water, and decreased use of fossil and nuclear fuels. lower potable water use, better air quality inside the facility, reduced energy use, lower fossil fuel use, protection of ecological resources, lower pollution discharges to waterways, reduced air pollution, soil and water conservation, less carbon dioxide emissions, increase in local recycling market, land preservation, and decreased impact of fossil fuel production and distribution were described as the environmental benefits of sustainable construction (waidyasekara & fernando, 2012: 10). simpeh and smallwood (2015: 1845) noted that the economic benefits of sustainable construction can also be called financial benefits. however, they also noted concerns about the availability of information on the full benefits of sustainable construction in the south african construction industry. simpeh and smallwood (2018: 1845) noted that the economic benefits of sustainable construction are lower operating costs, expansion of markets for sustainable construction, enhancement of occupants’ productivity, and optimisation of economic performance beyond the lifetime of a building. economic benefits can also be regarded as direct benefits, as manifested in energy and water consumption (oluwunmi, oladayo, role & afolabi, 2019: 9). according to liu, pypłacz, ermakova and konev (2020: 6), the economic benefits of sustainable construction are inherent in the integration of green principles into a building’s design process. this can lead to roughly 40% further savings and 40% better performance than simply adding green technologies to traditionally designed facilities. other benefits linked with sustainable construction are reduced energy costs, reduced employee health problems, and increased productivity. waidyasekara and fernando (2012: 9) identified lower energy costs, lower annual electricity costs, reduced annual water costs and wastewater costs, as well as lower annual fuel costs as the economic benefits. similar to the other types of benefits, the social benefits of sustainable construction have hardly been discussed in the literature, thus making it a herculean task to differentiate the categories to which each of the benefits belongs. heerwagen (2006: 13) tried to discuss the meaning of social dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 85 benefits of sustainable construction but failed to itemise the benefits. it was pointed out that a sustainable construction project is not only defined by its environmental, economic, and social benefits, but also in its construction process (vazquez et al., 2011: 272). simpeh and smallwood (2018: 1847), however, noted that enhanced comfort, job creation, occupants’ health, and aesthetics are some of the social benefits of sustainable construction. preservation of water resources expanded market for environmentally preferable products, reduced adverse health impacts, improved occupant satisfaction and comfort, increased transportation options for employees, and better occupant comfort satisfaction (waidyasekara & fernando, 2012: 12). uncategorised benefits of sustainable construction are opportunities for research and development in the construction industry, more tax revenue for the government, climate change-related benefits, reduction of carbon emission, reduction in water and wastewater pumping, as well as reductions in the use of energy. others include reduction in pollution and environmental degradation, energy efficiency and water conservation, improved indoor air and water quality, protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, minimised strain on local infrastructure, protection of health and comfort, improved quality of life, giving a benchmark for future construction, facilitating a culture of best practice sharing, reduced operational cost, improved occupants’ productivity, and reduced utility cost (oluwunmi et al., 2019: 11). according to sinha, gupta and kutnar (2014: 48), the benefits of sustainable construction are cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly, natural resources-based, durable, construction healthy habitat for the occupants, preserved livestock, controlled use of resources, reduced dependency, pollution control, and better growth/yield. the commission for environmental cooperation (2008: 65) noted that, in north america, the benefits of green building were estimated by the usgbc to be to reduce energy consumption by 30%, carbon emissions by 35%, water consumption by 30%-50%, and generates waste cost savings of 50%-90%. sustainable construction promotes stronger societies and provides important benefits to human health and productivity. heilman (2016: 134) noted that the many benefits of sustainable construction need to be defined, strategised and identified. this was buttressed by rahim, yusoff, zainon, wang and lumpur (2014: 89) who stated that sustainable construction has many benefits, including operational savings, improved use of construction resources, and increased workplace productivity. hayles and kooloos (2008: 4) traced the benefits of sustainable construction to reduced energy costs, improved employee health, productivity, boosted company image, and a more pleasant workplace. in the real estate field, sustainable construction dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 86 gives higher building value, productivity, cost savings, and environmental gains (liu et al., 2020: 7). in view of these, the importance of clarifying the benefits associated with the south african construction industry cannot be overemphasised if its gains are to be maximised. 2.3.2 challenges of sustainable construction sustainable construction also has inherent challenges that hamper its effective adoption. karji, namian and tafazzoli (2020: 11) identified financial constraints, inadequate proactive plans, inefficient technology, an insufficient commitment of upper level management, insufficient environmental competencies, lack of awareness among stakeholders, lack of sustainable waste management, lack of workers’ training in sustainable operations, management’s unwillingness, political impacts, and preferences of suppliers/institutional buyers as the barriers to the effective adoption of sustainable construction in the united states. in nelson mandela bay, it was noted that perceived increased upfront costs, high material costs, minimum standard requirements, and lack of specialist knowledge are the main barriers to the full uptake of sustainable construction (marco & james, 2016: 196). the commission for environmental cooperation (2008: 56) advanced the following barriers: separate capital and operating budgets, split incentives, higher perceived/actual first costs, risks and uncertainties, lack of experienced workforce, lack of coordination and consistency in government policies, lack of investment in research, and issues specific to the region. simpeh and smallwood (2015: 96) identified the following barriers: capacity barriers, cultural and social resistances, lack of incentives to promote sustainable building, inadequate cost data for sustainable buildings, inadequate information regarding the financial and economic benefits and opportunities of sustainable buildings, limited range of sustainable materials, and delays in obtaining certifications and permits for sustainable buildings. among the highly ranked barriers of sustainable construction are poor sustainability education in academic institutions, lack of incentives for designers, ignorance of life-cycle cost benefits, sustainable construction is being less prioritised and other issues take priority, as well as resistance to cultural change in the industry (toriola-coker, alaka, bello, ajayi, adeniyi & olopade, 2021: 8). the challenges of sustainable construction were classified into external and internal challenges (awuzie et al., 2021: 125). hayles and kooloos (2008: 3) noted that, in australia, lack of accurate data, poverty and low urban investment, stakeholders’ lack of interest in sustainability, technological inertia and dependency, lack of integrated research and entrenched colonial codes and standards, lack of knowledge dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 87 and information on sustainable construction, as well as lack of affordable solutions are major obstacles of sustainable construction. in developing countries such as south africa, poverty and lack of technologies and materials are the key barriers to sustainable construction. to this end, it could be stated that the factors, benefits, and barriers to the adoption of sustainable construction are not fixed across countries and regions. this is coupled with the challenge of the obscurity of the benefits, challenges, and drivers of sustainable construction. in the south african construction industry, a great deal of research has been conducted on sustainable construction. these studies did not indicate clearly the benefits, challenges and drivers of sustainable construction. therefore, this study investigates the drivers of sustainable construction in the construction industry, the benefits, and associated challenges with the effective adoption of sustainable construction. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this study adopted the quantitative survey research technique. the survey involved the use of a closed-ended questionnaire because of its ability to allow researchers to generalise their findings from the sample frame (bryman, 2012: 232). it also allows for descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis (naoum, 2013: 104). a quantitative research approach supports the use of likert-type scales to assess data (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003). in this study, the likert-type survey determined how significant the factors are that define the drivers, benefits, and challenges for adopting sustainable construction. several data analysis strategies are available. for this study, the mean scores of data were used to calculate the central tendency and to determine the composite (average) score of the likert-type scale constructs (nahm, 2016: 9). the mean score ratings were tested with analysis of variance (anova), because the p-values could be extracted (brereton, 2019: 3). this explains any significant differences in the respondents’ opinions on all the factors identified in the study. 3.2 population, sample, and response rate sustainable construction is not only a national subject, but it is also global in nature. however, for effectiveness, the study was conducted in johannesburg (sandton, johannesburg, east rand, pretoria), south africa. johannesburg was selected for the study as it is the capital city and the central business district of gauteng province, south africa. gauteng province is the smallest of the eight provinces in south africa. however, it accommodates over 25% of the population of the country. in addition, dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 88 johannesburg is the largest city in gauteng province and has a great deal of sustainable construction works such as the rosebank link, commerce square, clearwater office ark, cedarwood house, amr office park, 1006 on the lake office building, among others, that can be useful for data collection and analysis. the population of the study comprised the construction (contracting and consulting) organisations in johannesburg. due to the indeterminacy of the exact number of contracting and consulting organisations in johannesburg, the study obtained a list of registered construction (contracting and consulting) firms (145 building construction firms) in johannesburg from a reliable website (www.yellowpages.co.za) on the internet. hence, the population of the study totals 145 building construction firms. the respondents for the study were the professionals (construction managers, quantity surveyors, engineers, and architects) in the construction firms that were used for the study. from the random sample size table of krejcie and morgan (1970: 608), the required sample size for a sample frame of 145 is 108. in view of this, a closed-ended questionnaire was sent by hand or by email to the 108 construction organisations that were selected by simple random sampling technique. hence, 56 copies of the questionnaire, which represent roughly 52% of the sample size for the study were filled in, returned, and used for the study. tables 1 and 2 represent the population, sample size distribution and collection of the questionnaire for the study. table 1: population, sample size and response rate by profession of respondents respondents population sample size/questionnaire distributed returned questionnaire architects 19 14 3 construction managers 65 48 33 engineers 21 16 4 quantity surveyors 40 30 16 total 145 108 56 table 2: population, sample size and response rate by specialisation of firms respondents population sample size/ questionnaire distributed returned questionnaire consultancy firm 52 39 20 contracting firms 93 69 36 total 145 108 56 dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 89 3.3 data collection the questionnaire for the study was delivered by hand (from january 2021 to march 2021) to selected companies and collected at a later earlier possible date. some companies received and completed their questionnaire via email. the questionnaire consisted of five sections. the first section, on the respondent’s demographic profile, obtained personal information on age, profession/area of specialisation, work experience, academic qualification, and sector of work. the second section set 18 likert-scale statements for the construct “drivers” that influence the adoption of sustainable construction. respondents were requested to rate the level of significance on how these factors influence the adoption of sustainable construction. the third section set 28 likert-scale items on the construct “benefits” of sustainable construction. respondents were requested to rate the level of importance of each benefit to sustainable construction. section four set 24 likert-scale items on the construct “challenges” of sustainable construction. respondents were requested to rate the level of importance of each statement in hindering the use of sustainable construction systems. the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive and inferential analysis of this study. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections two to four (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings the data for the study was analysed, using the statistical package for social sciences, version 26. the result of the study was presented with frequencies, percentages, mean scores, interpretation of mean scores, and ranks. the respondents’ information was analysed, using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. the drivers, benefits, and challenges of sustainable construction were analysed by means of mean score, interpretation of mean scores and ranks. the drivers and the challenges of sustainable construction were analysed, based on the following scale measurements: 1 = not significant (≥1.00 and ≤1.49); 2 = slightly significant (≥1.50 and ≤2.49); 3 = averagely significant (≥2.50 and ≤3.49); 4 = significant (≥3.50 and ≤4.49), and 5 = very significant (≥4.50 and ≤5.00). the benefits of sustainable construction were analysed, based on 1 = not important (≥1.00 and ≤1.49); 2 = slightly important (≥1.50 and ≤2.49); 3 = averagely important (≥2.50 and ≤3.49); 4 = important (≥3.50 and ≤4.49), and 5 = very important (≥4.50 and ≤5.00). in determining the internal reliability of the drivers, benefits, and challenges of sustainable construction, cronbach’s alpha values were determined in line with taber (2018: 1279) who stated that the acceptable cronbach’s dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 90 alpha values range from 0.70 to 0.95. in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.80 was preferred. the analysis of variance (anova) test with p ≤ 0.05 was done to find any significant differences between the means in the opinions of the six respondent groups on all the factors identified in the study. 3.5 limitation of the study this study was conducted in the gauteng province of south africa which, although suitable for the study, represents only one of the eight provinces in south africa. this indicates that a similar study may need to be conducted in other regions or countries to confirm or debunk the results of this study. similarly, the study was limited to building projects. hence, it may not be readily applicable to civil engineering, oil and gas, telecommunications, and other types of construction projects without carrying out a similar study. 4. findings 4.1 respondents’ profile table 3 shows the general information of the respondents of the study and their respective organisations. the data collected from the survey indicated that the vast majority (88%) of the respondents are construction/project managers (59%) or quantity surveyors (29%) and work in the private sector (92%). analysis of the respondents’ academic qualification showed that the majority of the respondents have either a first degree (45%) or a phd degree (37%); only 5% of the respondents have a masters’ degree. half (50%) of the respondents are aged between 31 to 50 years, and over half (53%) of the respondents have six years’ professional experience or more. table 3: respondents’ profile characteristic category frequency (n = 56) % age (years) 21-25 6 11 26-30 12 21 31-35 9 16 36-40 10 18 41-45 2 3 46-50 7 13 51-55 3 5 56 and above 7 13 dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 91 characteristic category frequency (n = 56) % profession architect 3 5 engineer 4 7 construction/project managers 33 59 quantity surveyor 16 29 work experience (years) less than 1 year 15 26 1-2 3 5 3-5 9 16 6-10 7 13 11-15 10 18 16-20 6 11 21-25 2 3 above 25 4 8 academic qualification diploma 7 13 bachelor’s degree 25 45 master’s degree 3 5 doctorate degree 21 37 sector of work private 52 92 public 4 8 these characteristics imply that the respondents have adequate education and experience to give substantial information that could help in making useful inferences and deductions on factors influencing the adoption of sustainable construction. 4.2 drivers of sustainable construction table 4 ranks the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable construction (drivers) in the construction industry. the cronbach alpha value was greater than 0.70 at 0.84, indicating acceptable internal reliability of the factors, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). with an average ms of 3.95, the respondents indicated that all factors significantly influence the adoption of sustainable construction in the construction industry, except for strategic planning, concept planning and project programming, and availability of institutional framework for effective implementation that were averagely significant. the study also indicated that there is no factor that ‘very significantly’ influences the adoption of sustainable construction. dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 92 table 4: factors influencing the adoption of sustainable construction in the construction industry descriptive statistics (n = 59) cronbach’s alpha 0.84 inferential statistics anova factor ms rank remark f value p-value sig. construction costs 4.47 1 significant 3.420 0.031* accessibility to resources, especially sustainable materials 4.34 2 significant 8.525 0.001* basic knowledge of sustainable construction 4.26 3 significant 6.127 0.004* government policies and regulations (e.g., tax and incentives of sustainable construction) 4.16 4 significant 4.680 0.011* efficiency of wind energy systems 4.15 5 significant 3.608 0.026* suitability of intended project area to maximise usage of sustainable construction 4.11 6 significant 1.933 0.154 efficiency of solar energy systems 4.11 6 significant 12.578 0.001* climate conditions of intended project area (number of hours of sunshine in a day for solar panels) 4.08 8 significant 15.163 0.001* availability of financial and marketbased incentives for adopters of sustainability 4.05 9 significant 11.870 0.001* green rating system and its criteria 4.05 9 significant 15.053 0.001* financial approval of sustainable project 4.03 11 significant 5.363 0.006* reliability of sustainable resources 3.95 12 significant 18.558 0.001* stakeholders’ level of participation in sustainable construction 3.95 12 significant 6.968 0.002* availability of independent expertise to develop and design sustainable buildings 3.89 14 significant 6.180 0.004* accessibility to sustainable builders’ services 3.84 15 significant 10.845 0.001* efficiency of hydro-energy systems 3.65 16 significant 7.783 0.001* strategic planning, concept planning, and project programming 3.45 17 averagely significant 2.307 0.090 availability of institutional framework for effective implementation 2.61 18 averagely significant 7.597 0.002* average ms (composite score) 3.95 note: * indicates a statistically significant difference between respondent groups, p ≤ 0.05 dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 93 respondents rated construction cost (ms 4.47), accessibility to resources (ms 4.34), basic knowledge of sustainable construction (ms 4.26), government policies and regulations (ms 4.16), and efficiency of windenergy systems (ms 4.26) as the top five factors that significantly influence the adoption of sustainable construction. the anova results indicate that there is a significant difference (p ≤ 0.005) in the respondents’ opinions on the ranking of the significance of the drivers identified in the study, except for suitability of intended project area to maximise the usage of sustainable construction (p 0.154), and strategic planning, concept planning and project programming (p 0.090). this means that all the respondents did not agree on the order of significance of 16 out of the 18 factors that influence the adoption of sustainable construction in south africa. 4.3 effects of adopting sustainable construction 4.3.1 benefits table 5 shows the individual and the combined (environmental, economic, and social) benefits of sustainable construction. the cronbach alpha value was greater than 0.70 at 0.84, indicating acceptable internal reliability of the factors, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). with an average ms of 4.33, respondents indicated that all environmental benefits are important for sustainable construction in the construction industry. among the eight environmental benefits investigated in the study, respondents rated conservation of natural resources (ms 4.61), reduction in wastage of water (ms 4.61), and reduction of waste (ms 4.50) as being very important. with an average ms of 3.80, respondents indicated that all economic benefits are important for sustainable construction in the construction industry. none of the economic benefits was very important to the respondents of the study. respondents rated more revenue opportunities (ms 4.18), utilities savings (ms 3.92), maintenance savings (ms 3.92), special tax incentives (ms 3.89), and improvement of occupants’ productivity (ms 3.87) as the top five economic benefits of sustainable construction. improvement of the lifespan of buildings was rated as an averagely important economic benefit of sustainable construction. with an average ms of 3.75, respondents indicated that all social benefits are important for sustainable construction in the construction industry. eight social benefits were elicited for the study and seven of them were rated as being important. the last social benefit was rated as being averagely important. the top five social benefits of sustainable construction as rated by respondents are improvement of the quality of life (ms 4.16), dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 94 ta bl e 5: b en efi ts o f s us ta in ab le c on st ru ct io n d es cr ip tiv e st at is tic s (n = 5 9) c ro nb ac h’ s al ph a 0. 84 in fe re nt ia l s ta tis tic s a n o v a b en efi ts c at eg or y c at eg or y m s c at eg or y ra nk c at eg or y re m ar k o ve ra ll m s o ve ra ll ra nk o ve ra ll re m ar k f va lu e p -v al ue s ig . c o ns e rv e n a tu ra l r e so ur c e s en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 61 1 v e ry im p o rt a nt 4. 61 1 v e ry im p o rt a nt 8. 00 4 0. 00 1* re d uc e w a st a g e o f w a te r en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 61 1 v e ry im p o rt a nt 4. 61 1 v e ry im p o rt a nt 10 .7 19 0. 00 9* w a st e re d uc tio n en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 50 3 v e ry im p o rt a nt 4. 50 3 v e ry im p o rt a nt 13 .2 81 0. 00 3* im p ro ve a ir a nd w a te r q ua lit y en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 37 4 im p o rt a nt 4. 37 4 im p o rt a nt 4. 21 8 0. 01 5* pr o te c t b io d iv e rs ity a nd e c o sy st e m s en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 18 5 im p o rt a nt 4. 18 5 im p o rt a nt 20 .5 08 0. 01 0* c lim a te re g ul a tio n en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 18 5 im p o rt a nt 4. 18 5 im p o rt a nt 5. 43 1 0. 00 9* m o re re ve nu e o p p o rt un iti e s ec o no m ic 4. 18 1 im p o rt a nt 4. 18 5 im p o rt a nt 22 .9 04 0. 00 1* m in im ise n o ise p o llu tio n en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 16 7 im p o rt a nt 4. 16 8 im p o rt a nt 9. 21 7 0. 00 1* im p ro ve q ua lit y o f l ife so c ia l 4. 16 1 im p o rt a nt 4. 16 8 im p o rt a nt 6. 13 7 0. 00 6* te m p e ra tu re c o nt ro l en vi ro nm e nt a l 4. 00 8 im p o rt a nt 4. 00 10 im p o rt a nt 11 .6 60 0. 00 1* m in im ise s tr a in o n lo c a l in fra st ru c tu re so c ia l 3. 97 2 im p o rt a nt 3. 97 11 im p o rt a nt 11 .6 60 0. 00 1* u til iti e s sa vi ng s ec o no m ic 3. 92 2 im p o rt a nt 3. 92 12 im p o rt a nt 2. 10 5 0. 14 1 m a in te na nc e s a vi ng s ec o no m ic 3. 92 2 im p o rt a nt 3. 92 12 im p o rt a nt 12 .0 31 0. 00 1* im p ro ve o c c up a nt h e a lth a nd c o m fo rt so c ia l 3. 92 3 im p o rt a nt 3. 92 12 im p o rt a nt 7. 70 0 0. 00 2* sp e c ia l t a x in c e nt iv e s ec o no m ic 3. 89 4 im p o rt a nt 3. 89 15 im p o rt a nt 2. 18 8 0. 13 0 im p ro ve o c c up a nt p ro d uc tiv ity ec o no m ic 3. 87 5 im p o rt a nt 3. 87 16 im p o rt a nt 1. 72 7 0. 20 9 dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 95 d es cr ip tiv e st at is tic s (n = 5 9) c ro nb ac h’ s al ph a 0. 84 in fe re nt ia l s ta tis tic s a n o v a b en efi ts c at eg or y c at eg or y m s c at eg or y ra nk c at eg or y re m ar k o ve ra ll m s o ve ra ll ra nk o ve ra ll re m ar k f va lu e p -v al ue s ig . re d uc e o p e ra tin g c o st s ec o no m ic 3. 81 6 im p o rt a nt 3. 81 17 im p o rt a nt 5. 54 2 0. 00 9* a llo w fo r c o m p e tit iv e te nd e rin g ec o no m ic 3. 81 6 im p o rt a nt 3. 81 17 im p o rt a nt 20 .5 08 0. 00 1* in c re a se o f p ro p e rt y va lu e ec o no m ic 3. 79 8 im p o rt a nt 3. 79 19 im p o rt a nt 5. 43 1 0. 00 9* o p tim ise s th e li fe c yc le o f th e b ui ld in g ec o no m ic 3. 76 9 im p o rt a nt 3. 76 20 im p o rt a nt 22 .9 04 0. 00 1* c re a te a n a e st he tic a lly p le a sin g e nv iro nm e nt so c ia l 3. 76 4 im p o rt a nt 3. 76 20 im p o rt a nt 9. 21 7 0. 00 1* c re a te m a rk e t fo r g re e n p ro d uc t a nd s e rv ic e s ec o no m ic 3. 74 10 im p o rt a nt 3. 74 22 im p o rt a nt 6. 13 7 0. 00 6* in c re a se s o c c up a nt s’ o ve ra ll m o ra l so c ia l 3. 68 5 im p o rt a nt 3. 68 23 im p o rt a nt 11 .6 60 0. 00 1* g re e n sy st e m s a c c re d ita tio n ec o no m ic 3. 66 11 im p o rt a nt 3. 66 24 im p o rt a nt 11 .6 60 0. 00 1* im p ro ve s w o rk e r p ro d uc tiv ity so c ia l 3. 66 6 im p o rt a nt 3. 66 24 im p o rt a nt 2. 10 5 0. 14 1 ‘f e e l g o o d ’ c o nc e p t o f sa tis fa c tio n in u sin g a nd a d o p tin g g re e n sy st e m s so c ia l 3. 55 7 im p o rt a nt 3. 55 26 im p o rt a nt 12 .0 31 0. 00 1* c o nn e c tio n to n a tu re so c ia l 3. 32 8 a ve ra g e ly im p o rt a nt 3. 32 27 a ve ra g e ly im p o rt a nt 7. 70 0 0. 00 2* im p ro ve b ui ld in g li fe sp a n ec o no m ic 3. 29 12 a ve ra g e ly im p o rt a nt 3. 29 28 a ve ra g e ly im p o rt a nt 2. 18 8 0. 13 0 a ve ra g e m s (c o m p o sit e sc o re ) en vi ro nm e nt a l ( 4. 33 ); e c o no m ic ( 3. 80 ); s o c ia l ( 3. 75 ) 3. 96 n ot e: * in di ca te s a st at is tic al ly s ig ni fic an t d iff er en ce b et w ee n re sp on de nt g ro up s, p ≤ 0 .0 5 dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 96 minimisation of strain on local infrastructure (ms 3.97), improvement of occupants’ health and comfort (ms 3.92), create an aesthetically pleasing environment (ms 3.76), and increase in occupants’ overall morale (ms 3.68). connection to nature (ms 3.32) was rated as an averagely important social benefit of sustainable construction. for the combined (environmental, economic, and social) benefits of sustainable construction, three out of the 28 combined benefits investigated in the study were found to be very important, two were found to be averagely important, and the remainder were found to be important. the top four benefits of sustainable construction as rated by respondents are all environmental benefits: conservation of natural resources (ms 4.16), reduction of wastage of water (ms 4.16), reduction of waste (ms 4.50), improved air and water quality (ms 4.37), as well as protection of biodiversity and ecosystems (ms 4.18). except for connection to nature and improvement of a building’s lifespan being rated as averagely important, the remaining benefits were rated as important. the anova results indicate that there is a significant difference (p ≤ 0.005) in the respondents’ opinions on the ranking of the importance of the benefits identified in the study, except for utilities savings (p 0.141), special tax incentives (p 0.130), improvement of occupants’ productivity (p 0.209), improves worker productivity (p 0.141), and building’s lifespan (p 0.130). this means that the respondents did not agree on the order of importance of 23 out of the 28 benefits of sustainable construction in south africa. 4.3.2 challenges table 6 indicates the challenges with the adoption of sustainable construction. with an average ms of 3.55, the respondents indicated that all challenges significantly hinder the use of sustainable construction systems. the cronbach alpha value was greater than 0.70 at 0.86, indicating acceptable internal reliability of the factors, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). one out of the 27 challenges investigated in the study was rated as being very significant and the remaining were rated as significant. hence, the top five challenges that hinder the adoption of sustainable construction are lack of knowledge on sustainable systems (ms 4.53), weakness of the economy (ms 4.39), lack of government incentives in the private sector (ms 4.26), lack of finances to attain sustainable materials (ms 4.24), as well as monetary and budget boundaries (ms 4.24). dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 97 table 6: challenges of sustainable construction descriptive statistics (n = 59) cronbach’s alpha 0.86 inferential statistics anova factors hindering the use of sustainable construction systems ms rank remark f value p-value sig. lack of knowledge on sustainable systems 4.53 1 very significant 0.619 0.556 a weak economy 4.39 2 significant 7.219 0.010* lack of government incentives in the private sector 4.26 3 significant 10.669 0.035* lack of finances to attain sustainable materials 4.24 4 significant 1.430 0.072 monetary and budget boundaries 4.24 4 significant 13.208 0.008* lack of government incentives in public sector 4.18 6 significant 8.125 0.046* lack of monitoring operations 4.16 7 significant 12.315 0.034* lack of innovation 4.16 7 significant 11.520 0.026* lack of finances to attain sustainable systems 4.08 9 significant 2.888 0.481 lack of stakeholder participation 4.05 10 significant 13.130 0.025* lack of compulsory green system accreditation requirements 4.00 11 significant 12.610 0.042* lack of innovative sustainable materials i.e., reusable concrete 3.97 12 significant 12.340 0.025* lack of financial viability 3.94 13 significant 11.520 0.026* lack of sustainable construction technology 3.92 14 significant 11.880 0.016* lack of set targets of implemented sustainable construction systems 3.89 15 significant 11.560 0.021* lack of sustainable construction processes 3.89 15 significant 0.476 0.634 lack of social viability 3.86 17 significant 5.163 0.011* lack of finances to attain an accredited sustainable builder 3.84 18 significant 2.690 0.062 lack of stakeholder participation 3.78 19 significant 8.061 0.002* resource scarcity 3.78 19 significant 5.785 0.007* lack of hydro-energy systems 3.76 21 significant 4.155 0.023* lack of environmental viability 3.73 22 significant 2.322 0.114 lack of efficient wind-energy systems 3.73 22 significant 13.331 0.001* lack of efficient solar energy systems 3.73 24 significant 12.570 0.001* average ms (composite score) 3.55 note: * indicates a statistically significant difference between respondent groups, p ≤ 0.05 dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 98 the anova results indicate that there is a significant difference (p ≤ 0.005) in the respondents’ opinions on the ranking of the factors that hinder the adoption of sustainable construction in south africa, except for the lack of knowledge on sustainable systems (p 0.556), lack of finances to attain sustainable materials (p 0.130), lack of finances to attain sustainable systems (p 0.481), lack of sustainable construction processes (p 0.634), lack of finances to attain an accredited sustainable builder (p 0.062), and lack of environmental viability (p 0.114). this means that the respondents did not agree on the ranking order of significance on 18 out of the 24 challenges of sustainable construction in south africa. the reasons for the differences in the respondents’ opinions on the factors that hinder the adoption of sustainable construction are not investigated in this study and hence not clear. there may be a need to conduct further investigation into the reasons for the differences in perception. 5. discussion of findings the study investigated the drivers and the effects (benefits and challenges) of adopting sustainable construction in the construction industry. 5.1 drivers of sustainable construction the results indicated that the cost of construction is the topmost driver for the adoption of sustainable construction. this means that sustainable construction would not be practised if the construction cost is too high for the client to bear. in addition, sustainable construction depends on the ease of accessing human resources and sustainable materials. the level of knowledge of sustainable construction was found to be a significant driver of the adoption of sustainability in the construction industry. other significant drivers in the study include government policies and regulations concerning sustainable construction, efficiency of windenergy systems, suitability of the area of construction for sustainable projects, efficiency of solar system, weather conditions, availability of market incentives for adopters, the criteria for green rating and the system adopted, financial approval for sustainable projects, level of confidence in sustainable resources such as materials, availability of human capacity to design sustainable building, availability of sustainable construction contractors, and efficiency of hydro-energy systems. a critical look at these drivers indicates that, even though some factors may be worked upon in favour of the successful adoption of sustainable construction, other drivers may naturally hamper the adoption of sustainable construction and may not be easily overcome. these factors include efficiency of wind systems (to prevent the use of fans and air dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 99 conditioners), efficiency of solar-energy system, climate condition in the area of construction (lack of adequate solar energy to power a building and its appliances), and efficiency of hydro-energy system (for adequate availability and use of water). hence, in areas where the natural drivers are prevalent, concerted efforts may need to be made towards the successful adoption of sustainable construction. this study discovered that 16 out of the numerous drivers of sustainable construction, which are discussed in literature, are significant for the south african construction industry. the significant drivers identified in this study are consistent with the studies of simpeh and smallwood (2018: 183), on construction cost; tabassi et al. (2016: 728), on green building rating system; ametepey et al. (2015: 1686), as well as kheni and akoogo (2015: 69), on poor sunlight for powering solar systems and fundamental knowledge and awareness of sustainable construction, and sherwood and pollard (2018)as well as the potential for risk diversification through investments in emerging markets. this study evaluated literature on investing in both emerging markets and integrating environmental, social, and governance (esg on poor governmental policies and regulations and lack of financial and market incentives for adopters of sustainable construction. further inferential statistics indicate that, even though the respondents of the study did not agree on the order of significance on most of the factors that influence the adoption of sustainable construction, they agreed on suitability of intended project area to maximise the usage of sustainable construction, as well as strategic planning, concept planning and project programming as being significant factors for the adoption of sustainable construction. 5.2 effects of adopting sustainable construction the effects include the benefits and the challenges of adopting sustainability in the construction industry. 5.2.1 benefits similarly, many benefits of adopting sustainable construction have been advanced in literature. however, this study identified three benefits of sustainable construction as being very important and 23 as being important. it is important to affirm that the benefits of sustainable construction that were very important (conservation of natural resources, reduction of water wastages, and waste reduction) fall under the environmental benefits. it is also important to state that all the environmental benefits of sustainable construction fall within the first ten benefits of the 26 combined (environmental, economic, and social) benefits investigated. dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 100 in addition, the top six benefits (conservation of natural resources, reduction of water wastages, waste reduction, improvement of air and water quality, protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, and climate regulation) of the 26 combined benefits investigated in the study were environmental benefits of sustainable construction. improvement of the quality of life, minimisation of strain on local infrastructure, and improvement of occupants’ health and comfort were the top three social benefits of sustainable construction and ranked as 8th, 11th, and 12th benefits, respectively. in the same vein, the top economic benefits of sustainable construction were more revenue opportunities, utilities savings and maintenance savings, ranked as 5th and 12th, respectively. to summarise this analysis. sustainability seems to be more entrenched in environmental preservation than the social and economic values they give. hence, this result is not unexpected, because the thrust of sustainability and sustainable construction is to preserve the environment such that natural resources are not further depleted, thus preventing continuous carbon emission and climate change. in general, the result of this study agrees with the studies of simpeh and smallwood (2018: 1845), dosumu and aigbavboa (2018: 145), waidyasekara and fernando (2012: 10), sinha et al. (2014: 48) and liu et al. (2020: 7). in addition, the analysis of variance on the benefits of adopting sustainable construction indicates that the respondents agreed on utilities savings, special tax incentives, improvement of occupants’ productivity, and building’s lifespan. 5.2.2 challenges the results of the study further indicate that lack of knowledge on sustainable system is a very significant challenge of sustainable construction. other challenges such as weak economy, lack of government incentives and regulations, lack of money to acquire sustainable materials, lack of monitoring operation, and lack of innovation were found to be significant challenges of sustainable construction. dosumu and aigbavboa (2018: 142) particularly identified lack of awareness of sustainable construction and technology as the bane of the adoption of sustainable construction in africa. hence, the findings of this study on the challenges of adopting sustainable construction are consistent with the findings of karji et al. (2020: 11) on lack of awareness among stakeholders, lack of compulsory green system accreditation requirements, and lack of innovative sustainable materials. similarly, the study agrees with marco and james (2016: 196) as well as with hayles and kooloos (2008: 3) on lack of specialists’ knowledge, capacity barriers, poverty and low urban investment, technological inertia and dependency, lack of knowledge and information on sustainable dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 101 construction. lastly, the study agrees with simpeh and smallwood (2015: 96) on lack of incentives to promote sustainable building, inadequate information regarding the financial and economic benefits and opportunities of sustainable buildings, limited range of sustainable materials, and delays in obtaining certifications and permits for sustainable buildings. the findings of the study also indicate that the respondents agreed on lack of knowledge on sustainable systems, lack of finances to attain sustainable materials, lack of finances to attain sustainable systems, lack of sustainable construction processes, lack of finances to attain an accredited sustainable builder, and lack of environmental viability as challenges to the adoption of sustainable construction system. 6. conclusion the study investigated the drivers and effects of adopting sustainable construction. based on its findings, the study concluded that the cost of sustainable construction is the topmost factor considered for its adoption. in addition, the availability of human resources and sustainable materials hampers the adoption of sustainable construction. lack of knowledge of sustainable construction is significant to the adoption of sustainable construction. other drivers of sustainable construction are government policies, weather condition, and market incentives. furthermore, the study concluded that there are natural drivers of sustainable construction that can hamper sustainable construction and require further efforts for successful adoption. conservation of natural resources, reduction of water wastages, and waste reduction are the most significant benefits of adopting sustainable construction. the environmental benefits of sustainable construction are at the top (above social and economic benefits) of all the benefits of sustainable construction. the top social benefits of sustainable construction are improvement of the quality of life, minimisation of strain on local infrastructure, and improvement of occupants’ health and comfort. the top economic benefits of sustainable construction are revenue opportunities, utilities savings, and maintenance savings. hence, the study concluded that environmental preservation is the thrust of sustainability above the social and economic values. lastly, the study concluded that lack of knowledge on sustainable system, weak economy or poverty, lack of government incentives and regulations, lack of money to acquire sustainable materials, and lack of monitoring operation and innovation are the top challenges with the adoption of sustainable construction. based on the conclusions of the study, it is recommended that construction stakeholders need to develop a mechanism for overcoming the natural factors that hamper the adoption of sustainable construction. government dosumu & aigbavboa 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 78-107 102 also needs to create an enabling environment for the practice of sustainable construction through favourable policies and regulations. these regulations would go a long way in mitigating challenges such as market and financial incentives, availability of sustainable materials, cost of sustainable construction, and certification for green buildings. awareness through educational institutions, professional bodies, and conferences needs to be done so that the adoption of sustainable construction can be encouraged and improved. references abisuga, a. & oyekanmi, o. 2014. organizational factors affecting the usage 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(eds). proceedings of the 19th international symposium on advancement of construction management and real estate. heidelberg, berlin: springer, pp. 169-179. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-662-46994-1_15 dosumu 40 navorsingsartikels • research articles an assessment of the causes, cost effects and solutions to design-errorinduced variations on selected building projects in nigeria peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title. abstract design errors and variations are inherently part of many construction projects and require deliberate effort to combat. the literature reviewed indicates that empirical studies of the cost effect of design-error-induced variations are scarce. this study investigates the causes of variation on building projects, the frequent design errors that lead to variation, the effects of design error on variation cost, and solutions to design-error-induced variation in design documents. a mixed methods research (interviews and 30 case study building projects) was used to collect the necessary data for the study. interviews were conducted with 25 construction professionals to obtain information on the causes of variation on building projects and solutions to design-error-induced variation on building construction projects. thirty documents including valuation breakdowns and variation/change order documents were obtained by convenience sampling technique and used for the extraction of design errors leading to variations and their associated costs. the data was analysed with frequencies and percentages. the study found that poor working drawing and lack of coordination among design documents are the major causes of variation. errors in design calculations and wrong descriptions in specifications are prominent design errors that led to variation. design errors account for roughly 36% of the variation cost of building projects. structural and architectural drawings contain the largest number of errors among design documents, but electrical and mechanical documents have oluwaseun dosumu dr oluwaseun s. dosumu, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, johannesburg, south africa / department of building, university of lagos, nigeria. phone: +27640476921 or 2348038825534, email: <oluwaseundosumu97@gmail. com> clinton aigbavboa prof. clinton aigbavboa, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 78 795 8231, email: <calgbavboa@uj.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 40-70 © uv/ufs mailto:oluwaseundosumu97@gmail.com mailto:oluwaseundosumu97@gmail.com mailto:calgbavboa@uj.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.2 dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 41 the highest contribution to variation cost. the study concluded that variation costs could be minimized if government policies, aimed at ensuring proper contract documentation, were put in place, and construction professionals were limited to their core roles on construction projects. rechecking of design documents prior to use, knowledge sharing, and use of computer programs were among the recommended solutions to design-error-induced variation in project documents. keywords: construction projects, cost of error, design documents, design error, variation cost, valuation documents abstrak ontwerpfoute en -variasies vorm inherent deel van baie konstruksieprojekte wat doelbewuste pogings verg om te bestry. die literatuuroorsig dui daarop dat empiriese studies van die koste-effek van ontwerpfout-geïnduseerde variasie skaars is. daarom ondersoek hierdie studie die oorsake van ontwerpfoutgeïnduseerde variasie, hul effekte op variasiekoste en oplossings vir ontwerpfoute in ontwerpdokumente. die studie is uitgevoer op geselekteerde bouprojekte in nigerië. die gemengde metode van onderhouden 30 gevallestudie-bouprojekte is aangeneem in die versameling van die nodige data vir die studie. onderhoud is met 25 konstruksiekenners gevoer om inligting te verkry oor die oorsake van variasie en oplossings om foute van boukonstruksieprojekte te ontwerp. dertig dokumente wat insluit waardasieafbreekpunte en variasie-/veranderingsopdragdokumente is verkry deur die gemaksbepalingstegniek en gebruik vir die onttrekking van ontwerpfoute wat lei tot variasies en hul verwante koste. die data is geanaliseer met frekwensies, somme en persentasies. die studie het bevind dat swak werktekening en gebrek aan koördinasie onder ontwerpdokumente die hoofoorsake van variasie is. foute in ontwerpberekeninge en verkeerde beskrywing in spesifikasies is die prominente ontwerpfoute wat tot variasie gelei het. ontwerpfoute verteenwoordig tot 36% van die variasiekoste van bouprojekte. strukturele en argitektoniese tekeninge bevat die meeste foute onder ontwerpdokumente, maar elektriese en meganiese dokumente maak die grootste bydrae tot variasiekoste. die studie het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat variasiekoste in ’n groot mate tot ’n minimum beperk kan word indien regeringsbeleid om behoorlike kontrakdokumentasie te verseker, ingestel word en professionele persone beperk word om die werk van ander professionele persone te doen. herontwerp van ontwerpdokumente voor gebruik, kennisdeling en gebruik van rekenaarprogramme is onder die aanbevole oplossings om foute van projekdokumente te ontwerp. sleutelwoorde: konstruksieprojekte, koste van foute, ontwerpdokumente, ontwerpfout, variasie, waardasie dokumente 1. introduction construction is, by nature, complex and uncertain. unlike the manufacturing and other sectors of the economy, the design and production activities of construction projects are usually separate functions. that is, the design and construction of a building are two separate functions performed by different parties working independently (juliana, ramirez & larkin, 2005). however, these acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 42 parties (contractors and consultants) have different interests in building projects. for instance, while the client wants value for money, the contractor wants to maximize profit. these interests normally lead to design error as a major source of variation, as claimed by asamaoh & offei-nyako (2013). variation is any deviation from an agreed, well-defined scope and schedule of construction projects after issuance of variation order (osman, omran & foo, 2009: 142; alaryan, emadelbeltagi, elshahat & dawood, 2014: 1). furthermore, while love, edwards and irani (2008: 234) defined errors as unintended deviations from correct and acceptable practice that are avoidable, dosumu & adenuga (2013: 677) noted that error entails different meanings and usages depending on how it is conceptualized across different fields of study. with these assertions, design error may be defined as preventable deviations from acceptable standards of practice during the design of construction projects. many projects in developing countries suffer from slipped milestone, cost and time overrun, due to variation in construction projects (ubani, nwachukwu & nwokonkwo, 2010: 141). muhammad, keyvanfar, abd-majid, shafaghat, magana & dankaka (2015: 91) revealed that variation occurs in all types of projects. muhammad et al. (2015: 96) noted three prominent sources of variation: design error and omission account for 65% of variation; design changes account for 30% of variation, and other reasons account for only 5% of variation. to buttress this position, diekmann and nelson (1995) affirmed that variation has a 65% likelihood of being caused by design error. therefore, it can be argued that there is a strong connection between design error and variation. it is on this basis that this study investigates the causes of variation, frequent design errors that lead to variation, cost effects of design errors on variation, and solutions to design-error-induced variation in building projects. researchers, including love & josephson, 2004; mohammed, 2007; long, 2011; love, edwards, han & goh, 2011; dosumu & adenuga, 2013; dosumu, idoro & onukwube, 2017, have worked on the causes, effects and remedies of error in construction documents. studies have also been conducted on variation and variation orders (anees, mohamed & razek, 2013; desai, pitroda & bhavsar, 2015). other studies (al-dubaisi, 2000; aljishi & almarzouq, 2008; zawawi, azman & kamar, 2010) were conducted to affirm that design error is the major source of variation on construction projects. however, there is a paucity of studies investigating the extent to which design errors affect variation cost of construction projects. without identifying the dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 43 design errors that have large contributions to variation cost, it may be difficult to reduce the total cost of variation and invariably cost overrun of construction projects. 2. literature review variation is a change or any modification to the contractual guidance provided to the contractor by the owner or consultants (ismail, pourrostam, soleymanzadeh & ghouyounchizad, 2012: 4969). changes including changes to plans, specifications or any other contract documents occur after the award of the initial contract or after work might have commenced. the changes may be due to various reasons such as inadequate design, change in design, and misinterpretation of drawings leading to construction error (memon, rahmon & abul-hasan, 2014: 4495). similarly, variation order is a formal document that is used to modify an original contractual agreement. it becomes part of the project’s documents (alaryan et al., 2014: 2). osman et al (2009: 143) and muhammad et al. (2015: 92) classified variation, according to their causes, as design errors and omission (65%), design changes (30%), and unforeseen conditions (5%). fisk (1997) stated that the two basic types of variation are direct and constructive changes. direct changes occur when a client instructs the contractor to perform works that are not specified in the contract document or makes additions to the original scope of work. constructive changes are informal acts or modifications to a contract, due to an act or failure to act. juszczyk, kozik, lesniak, plebankiewicz & zima (2014: 285) analysed the errors committed in design and classified them based on error group, person responsible for the error, and place of error in designs. variation has been an inherent part of construction projects and usually arises due to the causes attributed to the different stakeholders involved in project execution (alaryan et al., 2014: 1). variation is usually regularized by the issuance of a variation order. various causes of variation have been identified in construction projects and the enormity of these causes indicates that variation is part of construction projects and cuts across various stakeholders (sunday, 2010: 101). ibn-homaid, eldosouky & al-ghamdi (2011: 36) revealed that consultants are mostly responsible for variation order. the reason for this assertion is not known. oladapo’s (2007) study on the significance of variation as a cause of cost and time overruns revealed that changes in specification and scope initiated by clients and consultants are the most frequent causes of variation. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 44 other causes of variation include inadequate details of working drawings, change in schedule (memon et al., 2014: 4495); change in scope (cii, 1990); poor workmanship; client’s financial problem; change in specification, and design complexity (mohammad, che ani, rakmat & yusof, 2010: 75). alaryan et al. (2014: 1) noted that error and omission in design are the main elements of variation, even though there are main causes such as safety consideration, weather conditions, new government regulations, poor planning by contractor, technology changes, and changes in work procedures, among others. al-dubaisi (2000) and zawawi et al. (2010) revealed that errors and omission in design are the sources of variation. asamaoh & offei-nyako (2013: 23) stated that design complexity, change in specification, and lack of knowledge are part of the causes of design errors that lead to variation. muhammad et al. (2015: 93) revealed that impediment to prompt decision-making process, poor workmanship, lack of strategic planning, change in design, non-compliance of design with government regulation, aesthetics, cost, inadequate project objectives, mistake, and plan error are the causes of variation which originated from design error. researchers (jawad, abdulkader & ali, 2009; keane, sertyesilisik & ross, 2012; olsen, killingsworth & page, 2012) on the effect of variation in construction projects indicated that changes during construction will affect project performance. osman et al. (2009: 144-145) affirmed that the potential effects of variation on construction projects are increase in project cost, additional payment for contractor, increase in overhead expenses, completion schedule delay, as well as rework and demolition. increase in project cost and time are the two main effects of variation, according to aljishi & almarzouq (2008). it can be deduced from the literature reviewed for this study that design error is a major cause of variation. in order to reduce variation, design error needs to be diminished to the barest minimum. in addressing the conventional methods of reducing variation, it was suggested that error prevention should be viewed as a continuous process rather than a product of certain activities or behaviours, as it involves people, organisations and project systems (love, lopez, edwards & goh, 2012: 108). love, lopez & kim (2014: 813, 815, 817) noted that people-related error management includes cognition, behaviour, motivation and learning; organisational error management includes quality, culture and training, and project-related error management includes the use of integrated procurement methods, building information modeling (bim) and computer-aided design (cad). other methods of managing dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 45 design errors include specialists’ involvement in design planning and processing of construction works, preparation of detailed design, provision of elaborate project brief, day-to-day management of the project (ismail et al., 2012: 4971), reports among client, consultant and contractors, establishment of oversight committee, and budgetary allocations (asamaoh & offei-nyako, 2013: 24). table 1 summarizes the classifications of design-error-induced variations based on their causes, effects and solutions, as discussed in the literature review of this study. table 1: classification of design-error-induced variations based on their causes, effects and solutions classification causes effects solutions (alaryan et al., 2014; osman et al., 2009; fisk, 1997) (muhammad et al., 2015; memmon et al., 2014; alaryan et al., 2014; asamaoh & offeinyako, 2013; mohammad et al., 2010; cii, 1990; oladapo, 2007) (keane et al., 2012; olsen et al., 2012; osman et al., 2009; jawad et al., 2009; aljishi & almarzong, 2008) (love et al., 2014; asamaoh & offeinyako, 2013; love et al., 2012; ismail et al., 2012) design error and omission inadequate details in drawings, lack of knowledge, inadequate project objectives, and design complexity completion schedule delay, and increased project cost viewing error prevention as a continuous process, organisations and project systems cognition, motivation and learning; quality control, culture and training, use of integrated procurement methods, building information modeling (bim), computeraided design (cad), specialists’ involvement in design planning, preparation of detailed designs, elaborate project brief, day-today management of the project, establishment of oversight committee, and budgeting allocations acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 46 classification causes effects solutions design changes change in schedule, change in scope, clients’ financial problems, change in specifications, safety consideration, poor planning, technology change, slow decisionmaking process, noncompliance of design with government regulation, aesthetics, and cost additional payment for contractors, rework, demolition, completion schedule delay, increased overhead expenses, rework, and demolition quality control, culture and training, building information modeling (bim), computer-aided design (cad), specialist involvement in design planning, detailed design, and elaborate project brief unforeseen conditions poor workmanship, government regulations, and weather conditions increased overhead expenses, and completion schedule delay motivation and learning 3. research methodology this study addressed the causes of design-error-induced variation on building projects, the frequent design errors that lead to variation, the effects of design error on variation cost, and solutions to designerror-induced variation in design documents. the study used a mixed methods design, in which qualitative and quantitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell, 2005). in this study, valuation and variation documents from 30 selected case studies of building projects were used to build the theory of human error in designs, predicting that design-inducederrors will negatively affect the variation cost of building projects in nigeria. the interviews explored causes of and solutions to designerror-induced variation from construction professionals in nigeria. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the valuation and variation documents, such as similar causes of design errors and variation suggested from respondents’ groups (creswell, 2005; creswell & plano-clark, 2007). dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 47 3.1 sampling method and size twenty-five construction professionals, consisting of builders, architects, engineers and project managers, were interviewed on the causes of design-error-induced variation and the ways in which design-error-induced variation in construction projects may be minimized. the construction professionals were selected through the stratified sampling technique. the stratification was done according to the respective professional bodies (nigerian institute of building, nigerian institute of architects, nigeria society of engineers, and institute of project managers) in the nigerian built environment. the number of professionals interviewed appears to be small, but the validity of the information supplied was inherent in their wealth of experience on the subject matter and the number of years they have spent in the construction industry. the minimum qualification for corporate membership of professional bodies in the nigerian built environment is first degree (bsc/btech/beng); thus, the minimum qualification of the respondents was bsc/btech/beng. further informal interrogation indicated that the respondents had a minimum of 7 years’ work experience in the construction industry. the case studies selected for the study consisted of building projects that were completed between 2014 and 2016, and that had valuation/variation documents. however, due to the confidentiality of the type of information that was sought, it was necessary to select the building projects to be used for the study based on convenience and availability of the required information. therefore, 30 case study building projects were selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling technique and used as the source of data for this study (etikan, musa & alkassim, 2016: 2). 3.2 data collection the design-error mitigation topics used in the interview survey were extracted from reviews of the literature. in addition, the myriads of design-error-induced variations discovered in the case study projects prompted the researchers to interview professionals on how the problems may be solved. the interview survey contained one closed-ended and two open-ended questions. respondents were asked to indicate their role on building construction projects. the options were: (a) architect; (b) builder; (c) engineer (structural, mechanical, electrical), and (d) project manager. respondents were asked to mention the top causes of design-error-induced variation in building projects and briefly discuss ways in which design-errorinduced variation in construction projects may be minimized. email acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 48 messages were sent to respondents via the addresses obtained from the professional bodies, requesting them to grant an interview based on the questions raised in the accompanied interview template, or to reply to the questions in the template, provided they had completed a building project in the past two years and such buildings were not bungalows. a bungalow is a building that is limited to having only a ground floor level. bungalows do not usually have structural, mechanical and electrical drawings (in nigeria), which are the major documents investigated in this study. hence, bungalows were excluded from the study. professionals who did not meet the stated criteria were not expected to reply to the email invitations; they were automatically disqualified. while 10 of the respondents replied via email by completing the accompanied interview template, 15 respondents granted interviews to the researcher. further information was requested from those who replied using emails, where clarity was deemed necessary. for the case studies, the building projects were selected across nigeria, including commercial, residential and special purpose projects. the selection criteria of the case study projects included suitability of the project for the study (must not be a bungalow), in order to ensure that all case study projects must have all the necessary design documents, valuation/variation documents, and be completed between 2014 and 2016) and the willingness of the custodian of the required documents to release them for the study. it was ensured that projects used for the study were completed between 2014 and 2016 so that recent information could be collected for the study. a breakdown of valuation documents and variation order documents of the selected building projects were examined, in order to determine the design errors that led to variations, and their associated costs and effects on total variation cost of building projects. the valuation and variation documents were obtained from the quantity surveyors of consulting and contracting firms that executed the selected projects. the information extracted from the documents included general information on the types of building projects, design errors that led to variation, cost of each design error, and total variation costs of the building projects. 3.3 data analysis and interpretation of findings using the excel software program, the responses on causes of design-error-induced variation, the specific design errors that led to variation as well as the responses on the solutions to designerror-induced variation were subjected to content analysis prior to tabulation. content analysis is a technique that relies on coding and dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 49 categorizing the data (stemler, 2001: 137). once the responses from the interview results were analysed, the causes of variation, specific design errors, as well as the solutions were coded and categorized based on frequency of occurrence. since the data collected from valuation and variation documents for the study were mostly related to cost and frequency, they were analysed with sums, frequencies and percentages. to interpret the findings, the following formula was used to calculate the effect of design error on variation cost: variation cost (%) = design error cost total variation cost x 100 4. findings this section shows the findings from the analysis and interpretation of the data collected for this study. tables 2 to 5 show the general information of the case study projects used for the study. table 6 shows the causes of variation in construction projects. tables 7 to 8 indicate the frequent design errors that led to variation in the case study projects. table 9 shows the description of design errors that led to variation on building projects. tables 10 and 11 show the effects of design error on the variation cost of construction projects. table 12 presents the data analysis from the report of interviews conducted with construction professionals on the solutions to design-errorinduced variation in construction projects. 4.1 general information regarding the type of case study building projects table 2 shows the procurement methods used for the building projects investigated in the study. table 2: procurement method used for building projects procurement method frequency percentage (%) traditional 18 60.0 design and build 12 40.0 total 30 100.0 of the projects, 60% were procured traditionally, whereas 40% were procured through management methods (design and build). this indicates that the majority of the projects were procured using traditional methods. traditional procurement method separates the design from the construction process; a client appoints a main acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 50 contractor on the basis of competitive or single-stage tendering. tendering is a process whereby contractors are invited to bid for construction projects based on a competitive fee. table 3 shows the types of building projects investigated in the study. table 3: types of building projects investigated type of building project(in terms of use) frequency percentage (%) residential 15 50.0 commercial 8 26.7 special purpose 7 23.3 total 30 100.0 residential building projects were 50%, commercial buildings, 26.7%, and special-purpose building projects, 23.3%. special-purpose buildings are buildings with special construction materials and unique designs that restrict its use to what it was built for (that is, they may not be easily converted for other purposes). they are usually singlepurpose buildings and include churches, mosques, recreational buildings, theatres, and so on. table 4 indicates the sector to which the building projects clients belong. table 4: sector to which building projects clients belong type of building project client frequency percentage (%) private 23 76.7 government 7 23.3 total 30 100.0 projects belonging to private clients were 76.7% and projects owned by government (federal and state) were 23.3%. table 5 shows the different contract sums under which the building projects are categorized. table 5: contract sum of building projects contract sum (=n=) frequency percentage (%) below 100 million 15 50.0 100-500 million 10 33.3 above 500 million 5 16.7 total 30 100.0 dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 51 the number of building projects with contract sums above n500 million naira were 16.7%; 33.3% of the projects cost between n100 million and n500 million naira, and 50% were below n100 million naira. it is worth noting that all (100%) the projects investigated were multi-storey buildings. 4.2 causes of variation in construction projects table 6 indicates the result of the interviews conducted with professionals on the causes of variation in construction projects. once the contents of the interview results were analysed, 15 causes of variation were identified and tabulated as shown. the frequency represents the number of respondents who mentioned the identified causes, and the percentage represents the fraction of the individual frequency to the total frequency of occurrence of the variation. it is important to mention that some of the causes identified by the respondents may be taken as design errors, on the one hand, and they may, however, equally be regarded as causes of variation, on the other. table 6: causes of variation in construction projects causes of variation frequency percentage (%) rank poor working drawings 24 13.3 1 lack of coordination during design 20 11.1 2 change in scope of work by clients 19 10.5 3 omissions in design 18 9.9 4 design error 18 9.9 4 inadequate project objectives 16 8.8 6 mistakes 15 8.3 7 inexperience of designers 14 7.7 8 owner’s financial difficulties 12 6.6 9 difficult site condition 6 3.3 10 design complexities 6 3.3 10 incorrect assumptions 4 2.2 12 aesthetics 4 2.2 12 technology changes 3 1.7 14 fatigue 2 1.2 15 total 181 100 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 52 poor working drawing (13.3%) was the most rated cause of variation on construction projects, followed by lack of coordination during design (11.1%), change in scope of work by clients (10.5%), design errors (9.9%), omissions in design (9.9%), inadequate project objectives (8.8%), mistakes (8.3%), inexperience of designers (7.7%), owner’s financial difficulties (6.6%), design complexities (3.3%), difficult site conditions (3.3%), aesthetics (2.2%), incorrect assumptions (2.2%), technology changes (1.7%), and fatigue (1.2%), respectively. many of the causes of variation identified in the study were more design related; this is consistent with the claims made in the literature reviewed in this study. to elaborate on this finding, a breakdown of valuation/variation documents from the construction buildings of this study was done to examine specific design errors that led to variation in construction projects (see table 7). it was also important to examine the frequency of occurrence of design errors according to the types of errors identified (see table 8) and to describe the design errors that led to variation on building projects (see table 9). table 7 indicates the design errors that led to variation on construction projects according to the breakdown of valuation/variation documents examined. the frequencies, types of design errors and their descriptions were also obtained from the documents. due to space, table 7 presents only the frequencies of design error on construction projects and their corresponding percentages based on design documents and total number of design errors identified; other details are presented in table 9. table 7: design errors that led to variation based on design documents types of errors frequency total error per document (%) total design error (%) rank structural drawings wrong/inadequate description in specification 6 11.5 4.5 7 error in design calculation 34 65.4 25.8 1 omission of details 12 23.1 9.0 5 total 52 100.0 39.3 architectural drawings absence of specification 6 15.0 4.5 7 dimensional error 16 40.0 12.1 2 dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 53 types of errors frequency total error per document (%) total design error (%) rank wrong/inadequate description in specification 16 40.0 12.1 2 omission of details 2 5.0 1.6 12 total 40 100.0 30.3 electrical drawings omission of details 6 27.3 4.5 7 wrong/inadequate description in specification 14 63.6 10.6 4 error in design calculation 2 9.1 1.6 12 total 22 100.0 16.7 mechanical drawings omission of specification 6 33.3 4.5 7 error in design calculation 4 22.3 3.1 11 wrong description 8 44.4 6.1 6 total 18 100.0 13.7 total of totals 132 100 a total of 132 errors were found in architectural drawings (40), structural drawings (52), electrical drawings (22), and mechanical drawings (18), respectively. these figures translate to 30.3%, 39.3%, 16.7%, and 13.7% for the design documents, respectively. table 7 shows further that the frequency of occurrence of design errors in valuation documents based on design documents were in the order of structural drawings (39.3%), architectural drawings (30.3%), electrical drawings (16.7%), and mechanical drawings (13.7%), respectively. this shows that, if variations are to be greatly reduced, more attention needs to be paid to structural and architectural drawings (69.6%) during their preparation, in order to reduce the frequency of error occurrence. aside from consideration based on design documents, errors in structural design calculations (25.8%) showed the highest design error that led to variation, followed by dimensional errors in architectural drawings (12.1%), wrong descriptions in electrical specifications (12.1%), wrong descriptions in electrical specifications (10.6%), omission of details in structural drawings (9%), wrong description in mechanical drawings (6.1%), absence of mechanical specification (4.5%), absence of architectural specification (4.5%), wrong/ acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 54 inadequate description in structural specifications (4.5%), omission of details in electrical specifications (4.5%), errors in mechanical design calculations (3.1%), omission of details in architectural specifications (1.6%), and error in electrical design calculations (1.6%), respectively. table 8 presents the frequency of occurrence of design errors according to the types of errors identified. table 8: design errors that led to variation in construction projects based on type of error type of error frequency percentage (%) rank wrong/inadequate descriptions in specifications 44 33.3 1 errors in design calculations 40 30.3 2 omission of details in specification 20 15.2 3 dimensional errors in architectural drawings 16 12.1 4 absence of specifications 12 9.1 5 total error 132 100 out of the 132 design errors discovered in the design documents of construction projects, 44 (33%) were wrong/inadequate description in specifications, 40 (30.3%) were errors in design calculations, 20 (15.2%) were omission of details in specifications, 16 (12.1%) were dimensional errors in architectural drawing, and 12 (9.1%) were complete absence of specifications. this shows that errors in design documents of building projects are mostly characterized by wrong/ inadequate description in specifications, errors in design calculations, omission of details in specifications, and dimensional errors. table 8 also indicates that specification-related errors accounted for 57.6% of the total errors leading to variation in construction projects. this implies that many problems are yet to be solved in the specifications of construction drawings. these problems include provision of clear and detailed specifications for materials, and correct and adequate description of specification, among others. in addition, errors in design calculations constituted 30.3% of the total errors leading to variation in construction documents. in nigeria, at present, many civil/structural engineers do not use computer-aided designs (cad) software for their designs; yet they mostly do not carry out manual calculations before providing for numbers and sizes of reinforcement required as main and distribution reinforcement bars of construction projects. they only rely on residual knowledge of seemingly similar projects that have been designed at some point. dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 55 table 9 presents the design errors that were extracted from the valuation breakdown of investigated building projects and their descriptions on how they led to variations in those construction projects. it is clear from table 9 that all the design documents were characterized by one or other error. therefore, there is an urgent need to improvise means of preparing design documents that are near error free. table 9: description of design errors that led to variation on building projects types of building design errors description of design errors as stated in valuation breakdowns of investigated building projects residential buildings omission of detail on structural drawing. omission of details on electrical drawing. omission of specification on mechanical drawing. absence of specification on architectural drawing. inadequate specification on structural drawing. wrong description of specification on structural drawing. wrong description of specification on architectural drawing. wrong description of specification on electrical drawing. wrong description of specification on mechanical drawing. dimensional errors on architectural drawing. dimensional errors on structural drawing. error in structural design calculation. omission of 2.8 tons of reinforcement in beams. absence of specification on architectural drawing. inadequate specification of retaining wall on structural drawing. omission of specification of soil and storm upvc pipes on mechanical drawing. dimensional error leading to extension of wall on architectural drawing. dimensional error leading to increment in window dimensions on architectural drawing. wrong description of bar marks and changing it from y6 to y12 on structural drawing. addition of reinforcement on first-floor slab top and bottom on structural drawing. dimensional error on architectural and structural drawings, which later led to extension of roof. omission of garden light on electrical drawing. error in mechanical drawing, which led to removal of already installed pipes. omission of electrical fittings, which include fire alarm, internal and external lighting fittings, telephone systems, sub-main cables, and so on. omission of mechanical appliances, which include air conditioner, plumbing fittings, and so on. omission of columns on ground floor. dimensional error on slab, which led to extension of slab. omission of some details on roof from initial design, which led to re-design of the roof. error in roof slab, which led to redesign of roof slab. wrong description of floor tiles. extension of window sizes, due to dimensional error. wrong description of electrical cables. wrong description of plumbing and mechanical fittings. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 56 types of building design errors description of design errors as stated in valuation breakdowns of investigated building projects absence of roof gutters on architectural drawing. extension of living room, due to dimensional error. extension of slab along circular column, due to dimensional error. omission of beams on ground-floor slab. extension of beam 20 to grid line 5a. omission of columns on ground-floor slab. extension of ground beam, due to dimensional error. omission of columns on ground-floor slab. reduction of beam height, due to wrong description. increment of beam height connecting to isolated column. introduction of column, due to omission. introduction of beam, due to omission. inadequate specification of door type. wrong description of paving stone. introduction of cantilever beam from column c33 & c27 first-floor layout beam. introduction of rc roof gutter to replace original aluminium roof gutter. introduction of column c33 & 27 on first-floor slab layout. introduction of new roof floor beam (beam 15a). additional reinforcement to roof beam and slab. introduction of columns. addition of beams. additional reinforcement on roof slab. relocation of pipes at various locations. removal of floor screed in maid’s room and replacing with floor tiles. breaking of wall on gridline two for bedroom 2. reduction of swimming pool finish level from 1650mm to 1500mm. relocation of water heater and switches in various areas in the utility building. demolition of staircase. increased thickness of external concrete skirting of the main building to conceal pipes. dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 57 types of building design errors description of design errors as stated in valuation breakdowns of investigated building projects commercial buildings wrong description of specification on mechanical drawing. wrong description of specification on electrical drawing. wrong description of specification on architectural drawing. wrong description of specification on mechanical drawing. absence of specification on electrical drawing. omission of details on mechanical drawing. error on structural design drawing. error on electrical drawing extension of wall due to error on architectural and structural drawings. wrong description on mechanical drawing, which led to removal of duct and relocating it on another spot. relocating water supply riser on gridline (4, b). relocation to shaft between gridlines (1, 2) and b on the ground-floor ceiling level. swp riser on gridline (4, b). relocation to shaft between gridlines (1, 2) and b on the ground-floor ceiling level. omission of male and female toilets of 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors and fixing installation between gridlines (3, 5). redesign of duct, due to design error on mechanical drawings. relocation of lighting points on electrical drawing. absence of cctv, tv, normal and ups power points on electrical drawing. relocation of points for light switches, water heater, hand dryers, shaver sockets, normal and ups power points, due to wrong description of specification on electrical drawing. redesigning of roof trusses, due to errors on drawing. redesigning of electrical drawings, due to issues encountered during construction. wrong specification of drainage pipes and coupling. wrong description of distribution board to accommodate pumps. specialpurpose projects error in structural design calculation. design error in structural calculation. absence of specifications. 4.3 cost-effect of design error on variation cost of building projects table 10 shows the cost effects of design errors on variation and total cost of building projects based on design documents. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 58 table 10: effects of design errors on variation cost of building projects based on design documents types of errors cost of error (=n=) effect on document’s total (%) effect on total cost of error (%) effect on total variation cost (%) rank electrical drawings omission of details in specifications 26,475,763.86 20.9 10.6 3 wrong description in specification 15,183,882.82 12.0 6.2 6 error in design calculation 85,158,591.04 67.1 34.1 1 total 126,818,237.71 100.0 50.9 18.3 mechanical drawings absence of specification 23,342,763.68 46.3 9.4 5 error in design calculation 14,931,052.06 29.6 6.0 7 wrong description in specifications 12,167,522.98 24.1 4.9 8 total 50,441,338.72 100.0 20.3 7.3 structural drawings wrong/inadequate description in specification 831,880.00 2.2 0.3 12 error in design calculation 33,426,372.06 84.9 13.4 2 omission of details 3,330,131.66 8.9 1.3 10 total 37,588,383.72 100.0 15.0 5.4 architectural drawings absence of specification 453,810.00 1.4 0.2 13 dimensional error 5,332,677.76 15.4 2.1 9 wrong/inadequate description in specification 25,759,565.16 74.4 10.3 4 omission of details in specifications 3,060,000 8.8 1.2 11 total 34,606,052.92 100.0 13.8 5.0 impact of design error on variation cost (%) 36 total cost of error = n249,454,013.07 total variation cost of investigated projects = n692,723,179.98 according to design documents, electrical drawings had the highest cost effect on total variation cost (50.9%), followed by mechanical dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 59 drawings (20.3%), structural drawings (15%), and architectural drawings (13.8%), respectively. individually however, errors in electrical design calculations (34.1%) had the highest effect on total cost of error, followed by error in electrical design calculation (13.4%), omission of details in specifications (10.6%), wrong/inadequate description in specification (10.3%), absence of specification (9.4%), wrong description in electrical specification (6.1%), and error in mechanical design calculation (6%), among others. table 10 also indicates that, when design error costs were compared with the total cost of variation (= 692,723,179.98), electrical drawings contributed 18.3% to total variation cost, mechanical drawings contributed 7.3%, structural drawings contributed 5.4%,d and architectural drawings contributed 5%, respectively, to total variation cost of the building projects investigated in this study. in summary, if the works of services engineers (electrical and mechanical engineering works) are correct, 25.6% of the 36% variation cost could be saved. table 11 presents the effect of design error on total cost of error and variation cost based on types of errors. table 11: effects of design errors on variation cost based on types of error types of error cost of error effect of error on total error cost (%) effect of error costs on total variation cost (%) rank errors in design calculations 133,526,015.16 53.5 19.3 1 wrong/inadequate descriptions in specifications 53,942,850.96 21.6 7.8 2 omission of details in specification 32,865, 895.52 13.2 4.7 3 absence of specifications 23,796,573.68 9.5 3.4 4 dimensional errors in architectural drawings 5,332,677.76 2.2 0.8 5 total cost of error 249,454,013.08 100 36 total variation cost of investigated projects = n692,723,179.98 errors in design calculations (53.5%) had the highest effect on total cost of errors. this was followed by wrong/inadequate description in specifications (21.6%), omission of details in specifications acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 60 (13.2%), absence of specifications (9.5%), and dimensional error in architectural drawings (2.2%), respectively. this result shows that there is the need to reduce errors in design calculations to the barest minimum, in order to reduce variation cost. there is also the need to improve specification-related issues that accounted for approximately 44.3% of the types of errors leading to variation. this shows that specification-related issues and errors in design calculation account for approximately 97.8% of the total design error cost leading to variation. this is revealing, as it shows that specifications and calculations are the greatest issues of design errors and variation cost on building projects. furthermore, errors in design calculations contributed approximately 53.5% to the total cost of design errors, and errors in electrical design calculations alone took 34.1% (see table 9). the problem with electrical design in nigeria may be as a result of building services’ works being executed by mechanical and electrical engineers who have hardly any or no knowledge about building construction processes. in view of this, the nigerian institution of building (niob), the council of registered builders of nigeria (corbon) and the academia in the built environment have been clamouring and encouraging builders to specialise in building services rather than in the saturated construction management, construction technology, and building maintenance. in addition, table 11 shows the impact of design error costs on total variation cost of building projects investigated. errors in design calculation had 19.8%, wrong/inadequate description in specifications had 7.8%, omissions of details in specifications had 4.7%, absence of specifications had 3.4%, and dimensional errors in architectural drawings had 0.8%. the total contribution of design errors to variation cost, according to the investigation in this study, is 36%. that represents the probable net effect of design errors on variation cost of building projects. 4.4 solutions to design-error-induced variation in building projects based on the classification in table 1, the content analysis method was adopted to categorize measures for minimizing design-errorinduced variation in building projects so that variation costs can be drastically reduced. the main points from the interview results were tabulated. table 12 shows the suggested measures as well as brief explanations of how the measures can be practised. dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 61 table 12: measures and explanations for minimizing design-errorinduced variation in building projects classification suggested measure(s) explanation design error and omission visitation to site before designing many designs are produced on the assumption that construction sites are of levelled topography and, as such, designs are produced based on that assumption. this unethical practice should be avoided, as it has caused a great deal of design problems leading to litigations, delays, cost overrun, and wastages, among others. proper planning there should be proper planning and assessment of clients’ brief before project design commences. contractors’ representatives are important contractor’s representatives should be represented during the design process of building projects. an interviewee noted that the presence of a builder in the design build-up is of no little importance, as issues of discrepancies in contract documents, buildability and maintainability, methodologies, work programming, health and safety, quality management and building production management would be articulated before the final design is produced. this means errors and their potentials would be pointed out early enough and this would save a great deal of time and cost for the client. use of computer programs it was suggested that the use of computer programs, software and applications that are available across different disciplines in the built environment should be used for the design of construction documents. pay adequate attention to details this will improve concentration on projects, reduce oversight problems and negligence on the part of designers. the phrase used by one of the respondents is that designers must take design of building projects as ‘their baby’. for this to happen, it was noted that clients must be willing to pay adequately for design jobs. design changes clients to give more time for designs this suggestion was believed to be a major way forward if it is religiously followed. respondents noted that many clients are not aware of the tasks ahead for a project to be well designed. attempts to explain to clients mostly fail, because many of them lack sufficient education on how building projects are prosecuted. this condition is aggravated when clients believe that they are the financiers of projects and can always engage the services of another designer if a designer fails to abide by the time allocated. this condition is further compounded, as many designers who have been out of job for some time are willing to take up those jobs with a view that problems emanating from the designs will be solved one way or another during the project. construction professionals and their roles professionals should not only have adequate understanding of the project to be executed, but also understand the roles to be played. knowledge sharing there should be a forum for sharing knowledge on the experience of various building projects so that it can be useful for future projects. this is based on the learning curve theory. professionals should have checklists from a collective data bank that can be used for future projects this suggestion is like that of knowledge sharing. however, the difference is that, in this case, there is a recognized co-ordination point where other designers can furnish themselves with relevant information concerning the type of project to be executed. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 62 further discussions with professionals indicate that these suggestions will be mostly successful when adopted multilaterally rather than unilaterally. 5. discussion of findings this study investigated the causes of variation, design errors that lead to variation, effects and solutions to design-error-induced variation on building projects. 5.1 causes of variation and design errors in construction projects the findings of the study show that the main causes of design-errorinduced variation are poor working drawings, lack of coordination during designs, change in scope of work by clients, omission in designs, inadequate project objectives, mistakes, inexperience of designers, and owners’ financial difficulties. these results are consistent with the existing body of knowledge in the fields of poor working drawing (mohammad et al., 2010; ismail, et al., 2012; asamaoh & offeinyako, 2013; memmon et al., 2014; mohammad et al., 2015: 93-94); change in scope of work by clients (cii, 1990); omission in design error (al-dubaisi, 2000; zawawi et al., 2010; alaryan et al., 2014); inadequate project objectives (ismail et al., 2012; mohammad et al., 2015: 95); mistakes (mohammad et al., 2015; 93); inexperience of designers (asamaoh & offei-nyako, 2013: 22), and owners’ financial difficulties (mohammad et al., 2010: 78). the results of this study further indicate that errors in structural and architectural drawings constitute approximately 70% of the total design errors that led to variation in the projects investigated. this shows that, if structural engineers and architects can do something drastic about their designs, roughly 70% of design-induced variation could be eliminated. while muhammad et al. (2015) noted that design for aesthetics is a cause of errors in design documents (mostly architectural drawings), experience shows that civil engineers are used to design for reinforcement of construction projects, instead of structural engineers. this is inconsistent with the ethics of construction professional practice and needs to be mitigated. the findings of the study further indicate that errors in structural design calculations, dimensional errors in architectural drawings and wrong/ inadequate description in specifications are the most occurring design errors in the documents studied. in nigeria, for instance, there is no clear difference between civil and structural engineers by practice. however, professional structural engineers are statutorily dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 63 charged with the responsibility of reinforcement designs for all kinds of construction works, whereas civil engineers are simply constructors of engineering projects. besides, many reinforcement designers base their designs on residual knowledge and make provisions for reinforcements without doing any loading calculations. the result of many of these design practices is over-reinforcement of buildings that could be as dangerous as under-reinforcement. this practice has been found culpable for many cases of building collapses occurring in developing countries following investigations by concerned organisations such as government and professional institutions. in addition, wrong/inadequate description in specifications and omission of details could lead to delay and cost overrun, which could be due to late reply to request for information (rfi), change in scope of work, and clarifications to drawings and specifications. in general, the findings of the study indicate that wrong/inadequate description in specification and errors in design calculations were jointly responsible for approximately 64% of design errors in project documents. thus, deliberate efforts to improve on the descriptions of design specifications and calculations could lead to a reduction of over half of the total design errors leading to variation in building projects. in addition, it is cause for concern to discover that some large building projects investigated were being constructed without any specifications. this is not only unprofessional, but also dangerous to the cost, time, quality and safety of the building and occupants of such projects. it could also pose risks of buildings collapsing. 5.2 cost-effect of design error on variation cost of building projects much of the literature investigated in this study did not consider the effects of variation on construction projects in quantitative terms. hence, comparison with the results of this study may be difficult. this study found that electrical and mechanical drawings constitute approximately 71% of the total cost of error in design documents and roughly 26% of the variation cost of building projects. this shows that, even though structural and architectural drawings contain the most number of errors in design documents, those of electrical and mechanical drawings (services) have the most cost effects on variation when compared with other documents. this means that attention must be paid to services drawings if considerable reduction of design error and variation costs are to be achieved. in nigeria, for example, mechanical and electrical engineers are still responsible for the electrical, plumbing and other services in buildings. the problem is that many of them are not trained building acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 64 services engineers and this could be a major cause of the problem with services documents discovered in this study. therefore, young and upcoming builders need to be encouraged to shift focus from construction management and construction technology to building services. 5.3 solutions to design-error-induced variation in building projects lastly, the interview of experts revealed that design error variation can be reduced by rechecking designed documents before presenting them for use, using computer programs rather than manual calculations and designs, knowledge sharing among designers, use of competent designers, clients giving more time to designers, site visitation before designing, having design checklists, paying adequate attention to details, proper planning and assessment of clients’ briefs, good understanding of projects and the roles to be played, and representation of contractor in the design phase of building projects. comparing these suggestions with previous studies indicates that they agree with love et al. (2014) in respect of learning, use of computer-aided designs (cad) and building information modelling (bim). the learning corresponds with knowledge sharing among designers and cad/bim corresponds with the use of computer programs. the result also agrees with asamaoh & offei-nyako (2013) in respect of reports among consultants and use of oversight committee for designs. reports among designers goes with knowledge sharing among designers and use of oversight committees goes with rechecking design documents by the committees before presenting them for use. the result of ismail et al. (2012) is consistent with the representation of contractors in the design phase of building projects, as mentioned by the respondents in this study. it is important to state that one of the suggestions of love et al. (2014) is the adoption of the integrated procurement method (idp). even though many developing countries such as nigeria know all about the procurement method, professionals are still reluctant to adopt the method. the reason for this may be multivariate, ranging from the adoption of computer programs such as bim to the fear of running out of business for unknown reasons. it is important to clarify that the idp is adopted on some projects. many of the construction stakeholders, however, still vest their interests in the traditional procurement method, as is evident in the projects investigated for this study. therefore, more campaigns and enlightenment may be required to ensure that the idp is embraced in the construction dosumu & aigbavboa • an assessment of the causes, cost effects ... 65 industry. it is also important to mention that the campaign for sustainable design and construction is hinged on the adoption of idp, as all the professionals must simultaneously meet and brainstorm on the success of the project. 6. conclusions based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that poor working drawings, lack of coordination during designs, change in the scope of work by clients, omission in designs, inadequate project objectives, mistakes, use of inexperienced designers, and owners’ financial difficulties are the main causes of design-error-induced variation. in addition, structural and architectural drawings contain the highest number of errors in design documents of building projects. in these documents (structural and architectural drawings), errors in structural design calculations, dimensional errors in architectural drawings, wrong/inadequate description in specifications, and omission of details were the most implicated. furthermore, electrical and mechanical drawings (drawings of services engineers) contained fewer errors in comparison with structural and architectural drawings; they had the most cost effect on variation cost. the most implicated errors in these documents (electrical and mechanical drawings) were errors in design calculations, wrong/inadequate description in specifications, omission of details in specifications, and absence of specifications. lastly, the suggested methods of minimizing design-error-induced variation were rechecking of documents before use, use of computer programs, knowledge sharing, use of competent designers, giving more time to designers, site visitation before designing, having design checklists, paying attention to design details, proper planning and assessment of clients’ brief, understanding projects and the roles to be played, and engaging the contractor’s representative during the design phase. 7. recommendations all electrical, mechanical and structural design calculations should be verified by dedicated government authorities before proceeding to the site for construction. hence, legislation towards achieving this feat is recommended. furthermore, it appears that not much can be done about the current professionals preparing electrical and mechanical design documents, because there are hardly any building services professionals. in view of this, government and higher institutions are advised to sponsor staff in the building profession on acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 66 building services training. many schools in europe and universities in hong kong, in particular, are engaging in services trainings and researches including heating ventilation and air conditioning (hvac). the nigerian construction industry and the academia can tap into this wealth of knowledge and experience. moreover, all design organisations should be advised to establish quality control departments to verify all designs. appropriate sanctions should be prescribed for defaulters. in addition, only structural engineers should be allowed to carry out structural designs and detailing. civil engineers should be stripped from performing that function, as it is outside their professional roles. structural engineers are trained people who design the reinforcement details of structural construction works. civil engineers are generally trained construction managers on civil engineering works such as stadium, dams, roads, and so on. in addition, if any meaningful improvement is to be made on errors in design calculations, government policies or other means should compel structural engineers to use the recommended software to calculate the numbers and sizes of reinforcement required for structural designs. this will prevent the perennial problem of over and underdesigning that could result in recurrent building collapses. it is important to note that this recommendation is also applicable to other construction documents (architectural, electrical, and mechanical engineers) investigated in this study. lastly, since designers pay more attention to drawings than specifications, this study recommends that designs with specification-related issues be regarded as incomplete and not be 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[online]. available at: < www.malrep.uum.edu.my> [accessed: 10 october 2016]. www.malrep.uum.edu.my _hlk485483192 _hlk485483919 29 how to cite: mnisi, n. & karam, a. 2020. the impact of the integrated residential development programme on surrounding property values: case study of fleurhof, johannesburg. acta structilia, 27(1), pp. 29-58. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels nontokozo mnisi ms nontokozo mnisi, m.sc. student of science in development planning, school of architecture and planning, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. phone: 0761078183, email: <mninon10@gmail.com> aly karam prof. aly karam, school of architecture and planning, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. phone: 011 7177707, email: <aly.karam@wits.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 29-58 the impact of the integrated residential development programme on surrounding property values: case study of fleurhof, johannesburg peer reviewed and revised may 2020 published june 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract south africa is challenged with an increased backlog of adequate subsidised affordable housing for the marginalised in well-located areas that provide access to urban amenities and places of employment. however, the perception of subsidised affordable housing developments built in the urban core in close proximity to bonded properties is significantly negative. this article seeks to address whether the presence of subsidised affordable housing provided through south africa’s integrated residential development programme (irdp) impacts on the property value of bonded properties located nearby. this article examines the impact of the subsidised affordable housing development of fleurhof, johannesburg, on surrounding property values. it investigates, in particular, whether the irdp housing development decreases property values. using hedonic pricing models (hpm) with regressions, the housing attributes (characteristics) and property price data, dating from 2001 to 2017, were used to determine the effect on the value of acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 30 properties in the suburbs of meadowlands east zone 1 and orlando west in soweto and florida in roodepoort, as the two closest residential communities to fleurhof. the article reveals that the close proximity of the housing development in the initial stages (2001-2010) of the development affected property values negatively. however, in the long run, the housing development does not affect property values. keywords: hedonic price modelling, housing characteristics, integrated residential development programme (irdp), subsidised affordable housing, property value abstrak die agterstand in voldoende gesubsidieerde bekostigbare behuising vir gemarginaliseerders, in goedgeleë gebiede wat toegang bied tot stedelike geriewe en werkplekke, is ’n uitdaging vir suid-afrika. daar is egter ’n negatiewe persepsie oor die bou van gesubsidieerde bekostigbare behuisingsontwikkelings in die stadskern naby omgewings met eiendomme waarop verbande geregistreer is. in hierdie artikel word aandag gegee aan die vraag of die teenwoordigheid van gesubsidieerde bekostigbare behuising wat deur die suid-afrikaanse geïntegreerde residensiële ontwikkelingsprogram (irdp) aangebied word, die eiendomswaarde van die verbandgeregistreerde eiendom wat in die naby omgewing geleë is, beïnvloed. hierdie artikel ondersoek die impak van die gesubsidieerde ontwikkeling van bekostigbare behuising in fleurhof, johannesburg, op die omliggende eiendomswaardes, en veral of die irdp-behuisingsontwikkeling eiendomswaardes verlaag. deur gebruik te maak van hedoniese prysmodelle (hpm) met regressies, is die behuisingseienskappe en eiendomsprysgegewens vanaf 2001 tot 2017 gebruik om die waarde van eiendomme in die voorstede van meadowlands east zone 1 en orlando west in soweto en florida in roodepoort, as die twee woongemeenskappe naaste aan fleurhof, te ontleed. die studie toon dat die nabyheid van die huisontwikkeling in die beginfases (20012010) van die ontwikkeling eiendomswaardes negatief beïnvloed het. op die lange duur beïnvloed die ontwikkeling van behuising egter nie die eiendomswaardes nie. sleutelwoorde: behuisingseienskappe, eiendomswaarde, geïntegreerde residensiële ontwikkelings program (irdp), gesubsidieerde bekostigbare behuising, hedoniese prysmodellering 1. introduction the south african constitution (rsa, 1996: 11), in chapter 2 section 26, states that everyone has the right to access adequate housing. it is the responsibility of the national department of human settlements (ndohs) to ensure that this right is honoured and adhered to (rsa, 1997: 10). the delivery of sustainable subsidised affordable housing in south africa has posed a great challenge to the post-apartheid government. the country’s ever-increasing population and a limited supply of land within the urban core have resulted in a decline in the delivery of subsidised affordable housing (sisulu, 2016: online). in an effort to advance the delivery of subsidised affordable housing in south africa, the ndohs established the “breaking new ground” (bng) strategy (burgoyne, 2008: 30). the bng policy aims to redirect and enhance already existing housing delivery mechanisms in a more responsive, sustainable and effective way (burgoyne, 2008: 31). the policy also endeavours to “promote the achievement of a non-racial, integrated society through the development mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 31 of sustainable human settlements and quality housing” (dlgh, 2005: 8). thus, within the bng strategy, the integrated residential development programme (irdp) was introduced. the irdp is targeted towards the development of sustainable human settlements in well-located areas within the urban core whereby individuals of all socio-economic backgrounds are catered for (van der byl, 2015: 10-32; ndohs, 2010: n.p.). the development of subsidised affordable housing in well-located areas means that such developments could be built in close proximity to highto middle-income neighbourhoods. however, the locality of these developments raises issues whereby property owners and/or ratepayers oppose these developments because of their negative perceptions towards such developments (cummings & landis, 1993). these individuals are quick to conclude that subsidised affordable housing developments will ruin their neighbourhood (usrey, 2012: 1). it is a common belief that the close proximity of subsidised affordable housing will decrease the value of surrounding property values. this is based on the idea that such developments are unattractive, poorly maintained and managed, and will, in the long run, increase traffic and the level of crime in an area (habitat for humanity, 2008). property value, as an important aspect of the property market, determines the desirability of a neighbourhood (ge & du, 2007: 20). property value not only considers the price of the property, but is also dependent on various factors such as its location, the surrounding neighbourhood, its physical attributes, and accessibility (ajibola, awodiran & salu-kosoko, 2013: 195). time-honoured residents in an area, specifically property owners, are always on guard for any possible changes that may occur in their neighbourhoods or neighbouring land uses that may impact on their property values (scally & tighe, 2015: 750). property owners who oppose subsidised affordable housing are also referred to as “not in my backyard” (nimby) home owners, and they perceive the development of subsidised affordable housing developments as a raid of undesirable neighbours into their neighbourhoods who seek to undermine their security, quality of life and property values (tighe, 2010: 9). nimby home owners continually raise questions about whether or not the sale and the prices of their bonded properties are affected when a subsidised affordable housing development is located in close proximity to their properties (scally & tighe, 2015: 765). many studies (nourse, 1963; lyons & loveridge, 1993; lee, culhane & wachter, 1999; bento, lowe & knapp, 2008; castells, 2010) have found that subsidised affordable housing has neither a long-term nor a short-term negative impact on surrounding property values. other studies, however, have indicated that there is a negative impact (cummings & landis, 1993). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 32 in reality, many local communities still believe the fallacy that subsidised affordable housing developments in close proximity decrease property value (nguyen, 2005: 15). it was, therefore, important to analyse the property values of properties in the suburbs of meadowlands east zone 1 and orlando west in soweto and florida in roodepoort, as the two closest residential communities to fleurhof, in order to understand how the presence of the irdp housing development affects the property value of bonded properties located around the irdp development. 2. literature review in order to understand how the irdp impacts on property values, it is important to introduce the present theory on residential development and property value included in this article. the current theory focuses on integrated residential development, location, property value, housing markets, and neighbourhood character in south africa. 2.1 integrated residential development in south africa housing development in the south african context should be introduced against the colonial and apartheid spatial planning segregated policies of the past (malete, 2014: 20). the main features of the colonial-apartheid era such as the displacement of non-whites, racial segregation, and the introduction of influx control laws of non-whites brought an increased level of corruption on zoning ordinances motivated by race (luyenge, 2011: 102-111). the legacy of the past presented the democratic government with a huge housing challenge. they thus instituted the 1994 reconstruction and development programme (rdp) to address these socio-economic disparities (koma & joseph, 2014: 4). a key aim of this housing reform programme was to redress the country’s housing debacle, prioritising the building of adequate houses for all marginalised south africans who were previously located on the periphery away from economic opportunities (burgoyne, 2008: 40). rdp housing was a package involving secure tenure of land, a top structure and the supply of basic services (burgoyne, 2008: 14). however, by the late 1990s, concerns were raised about the quality of these housing units and their locality on the periphery, with critiques indicating that the housing delivery policy further prolonged apartheid spatial planning (koma & joseph, 2014: 5). in 2004, in order to strengthen and update the rdp policy in the housing context, the national department of housing (ndoh) released the breaking new ground (bng) policy – a comprehensive housing plan for the development of sustainable human settlements (shs) (koma & joseph, 2014: 6). this policy builds on existing housing legislation and policy and emphasises the need to accelerate the delivery of sustainable human mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 33 settlements (shs), redressing colonial and apartheid spatial planning through the development of socially, economically and spatially integrated housing delivery processes (langeberg local municipality, [n.d.]: online). in 2009, after reviewing the bng policy, the dhs found that the key focus remained housing rather than human settlement development (tissington, 2011: 80). the ndoh implemented the irdp to overcome existing housing policy programmes that focus primarily on the development of subsidised housing and do not provide much scope for area-wide settlement planning and the integration of a range of housing types and price categories, together with commercial and social amenities in a project (tissington, 2011: 81). the programme provides for the acquisition of land, servicing of stands for a variety of land uses, including commercial, recreational, schools, and clinics, as well as residential stands for low-, middleand high-income groups, taking an area-wide planning approach based on the needs of the community. the implementation of the irdp aims to facilitate the development of integrated human settlements, including all the necessary land uses, housing types, and price categories, creating social, economic and spatial integration, situated in well-located areas (chipingu, 2015: n.p.). in this article, well-located areas refers to areas within the urban core close to economic opportunities. subsidised affordable housing, provided through the irdp, is defined or constitutes fully subsidised bng housing, social housing and subsidised housing, which bridges the shortfall of housing delivered by the government and houses delivered by the private sector (referred to as gap housing) (rust, 2009: online). 2.2 location theory according to the location theory, the more accessible a location is to positive elements in the environment, the more valuable it is (jordaan, drost & makgata, 2004: 533). however, this also depends on the way in which the land is used, as land calls for different uses. for instance, residential land uses desire convenient access to social amenities (jordaan et al., 2004: 533). the importance of residential land accessibility is dependent on both monetary and non-monetary factors such as the cost of travelling to work or school and the level of peace and quiet an area provides (jordaan et al., 2004: 534). consequently, in this article, the term ‘well-located’ considers these factors. in an effort to reverse apartheid spatial planning, subsidised affordable housing should be located in areas with convenient access to social amenities, public infrastructure, and economic opportunities. location is an important factor in determining the value of a property, as it adds to the profitability of property investment (seth, 2017: online). location holds a time-distance relationship between a property or a neighbourhood acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 34 and all the different possible origins and destinations that people may go to or come from (herold & leonard, 1991: 343). herold and leonard (1991: 344) state that the more distance travelled to get to a location, where a property is located, and has many attractive features and amenities despite the long commute, will command more value than nearer locations that lack attractive features and amenities. 2.3 property value and housing markets “property value is defined as an estimate of what a home or a piece of land is actually worth” (sherman, [n.d.]: online). property value or fair market value is an estimated value of a property generated from the actual price of the property that both consumer and seller agree upon when making a property transaction deal (hummel, 2011: online). other factors such as market demand, physical characteristics of the property, proximity of the property to amenities, and the property’s location affect property value (uchenna, 2014: 24; goslett, 2011: online). when estimating an accurate value of a property, the main element that must be considered is current market conditions (goslett, 2011: online). several methods may be used to determine property value. the hedonic valuation technique is the most common, as it considers accessibility to amenities and that housing is a hedonic good (selim, 2008: 66). a hedonic good represents a bundle of attributes (both intrinsic and extrinsic) that contribute to a consumer’s utility and are valued by the consumer (mourouzi-sivitanidou, 2020: 257). intrinsic attributes are those attributes that characterise the property itself, whereas extrinsic attributes consider attributes that are external to the property, such as the environmental and locational attributes of a property and the exterior design of a property (mourouzi-sivitanidou, 2020: 258). housing markets in both the public and the private sector are interconnected (kim, 2010). a measure of the demand and supply of subsidised affordable housing and private markets may be applied in an effort to understand the interconnectedness of these different housing markets (kim, 2010). however, the relationship between subsidised affordable housing and bonded property values is fairly complex (nguyen, 2005: 16). 2.4 neighbourhood character neighbourhoods are characterised by their complex attributes that together determine their overall character (botein, 2002:15). the overall neighbourhood character is made up of the neighbourhood’s location, housing stock, socio-economic characteristics, and other attributes (botein, 2002: 360). when considering the impact of subsidised affordable housing developments, housing market conditions also need to be mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 35 considered, as the development of subsidised affordable housing has a quantifiable effect on housing markets (bento et al., 2008: 11). bento, lowe and knapp (2008: 13) state that the number of low-income households in an area will increase with the development of subsidised affordable housing in that area. meanwhile, the price of homes in that neighbourhood with a particular socio-economic character would eventually increase, while the size of new dwelling units would decrease (bento et al., 2008: 14). housing, like any other land use, has an impact on the surrounding neighbourhood (botein, 2002: 360). however, different types of dwelling units are anticipated to impact on neighbourhoods differently. this may be noted in the different types of zoning regulations used for different residential uses (freeman & botein, 2002: 360). the impact of subsidised affordable housing developments on property values, particularly in a depressed housing market, may, in reality, generate positive externalities that will, in the long term, improve a neighbourhood’s housing prices (woo, joh & zandt, 2016: 2490). a positive externality includes the benefits that bonded property home owners would gain when a subsidised affordable housing development is developed in the neighbourhood such as the revitalisation of their neighbourhood (mourouzi-sivitanidou, 2020: 258). 2.5 subsidised affordable housing, neighbourhoods, and property value a literature review on the impact of subsidised affordable housing on property values does not have a single conclusive answer to the overall impact of subsidised affordable housing on property value (cummings & landis, 1993). in addition, many of these studies are context-specific and, therefore, difficult to use or generalise in different contexts (nguyen, 2005: 19). some results found that the development of subsidised affordable housing had either negative spill-overs or externalities towards the neighbourhoods, thus affecting property values. for instance, the development brought undesirables such as noise and traffic into the neighbourhood (cummings & landis, 1993). in some neighbourhoods, however, the introduction of subsidised affordable housing not only increased property value, but also meant that their neighbourhoods experienced a revitalisation by eliminating disamenities (such as deteriorating buildings) in the neighbourhoods (woo et al., 2016: 2490). accordingly, subsidised affordable housing has no impact and has indicated that it is merely about perception rather than an actual decrease in property values that is the prevalent attitude of nimby home owners. woo (2014: 58) reveals that the way in which different subsidised affordable housing units are provided impacts differently on nearby property values. woo (2014: 142) makes particular reference to the fact that the different characteristics acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 36 of each housing programme, unit, and neighbourhood environment would result differently in terms of the overall impact on property value. for instance, the single detached housing unit provided through the bng policy would have a different impact on a neighbourhood’s property value than the mediumto high-rise residential units provided through the social housing programme (nguyen, 2005: 17). 3. study area fleurhof is an integrated residential development situated south west of johannesburg, gauteng (figure 1). it is located between the township of soweto and the affluent suburb of florida next to the already existing residential township of fleurhof extension 1 (dube, 2013: 62). fleurhof is situated in the city of johannesburg’s (coj’s) region c and is one of the largest integrated residential developments in gauteng (coj, 2017: online). the development is located in the urban core of the major urban concentration areas in the coj. construction of the development began in 2011. it covers a total area of 4.4 km2 with a total of 10 411 residential units, housing an estimated 83 000 people (calgro m3, 2014: online). the development is a mixed mode human settlement development that includes various housing typologies and tenures, which are targeted at specific economic markets that comprise fully subsidised bng housing, social housing, open-market rental housing, and open-market bonded housing (khan, 2014: 16). the project started in 2011 with the fully subsidised bng housing as the first phase, and the other types of housing happened only after two years. hence, the project was known for some time as a subsidised bng housing development. this study used the property values of 1 100 bonded properties located in the neighbourhoods of meadowlands east zone 1 and orlando west, which are located in the township of soweto, and florida, which is located in roodepoort, which surround fleurhof. mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 37 figure 1: locality of fleurhof source: google earth 3.1 rationale for selecting the study area whereas previous subsidised affordable housing developments were located on the periphery, fundamentally, enforcing the apartheid era’s spatial planning, fleurhof was considered in this study, as it is in the urban core where urban amenities are easily accessible to the residents of the subsidised affordable housing development (sihlongonyane & karam, 2003: 159; khan, 2014: 8). housing in fleurhof, provided in accordance with the irdp, is sustainable and located in the urban core, and provides better social and economic opportunity for residents (tissington, 2011: 8). subsidised affordable housing through the irdp is of better quality and infrastructure, thus decreasing poverty concentration in one locality, as the programme allows residents who are able to purchase property in the open private property market to build their own homes in the fleurhof development. this promoted the integration of individuals from different socio-economic backgrounds in the same neighbourhood (tissington, 2011: 8). soweto fleurhof florida roodepoort acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 38 4. research method this study assesses the impact of the integrated residential development of fleurhof, based on property price and/or property value data, from 2001 to 2017, from the suburbs of meadowlands east zone 1 and orlando west in soweto and florida in roodepoort, as the two closest residential communities to fleurhof. in this study, hedonic methods that use multiple regression techniques were used to analyse the locational value, because hedonic pricing models are essential in order to estimate the total price of the bundle characteristics of an individual property (selim, 2008: 66). the study applied a log-log functional form, as it provides better interpretation of the beta coefficients. the dependent variable (price) was logged and regressed against 10 independent variables (attributes) that fall under the categories of structural attributes, locational amenities, and neighbourhood characteristics. 4.1 the hedonic price model (hpm) and housing attributes in order to analyse the impact of the subsidised affordable housing development in fleurhof, it is important to briefly introduce the hedonic price model (hpm) and how it works. the hpm determines the price of a property by its internal characteristics, which include the property’s size, appearance and condition, and its external characteristics, which include factors such as the property’s accessibility to schools, shopping centres, and the value of other homes surrounding that residential property (woo, 2014: 8). the method only works well on goods that have varying amounts of attributes, which, in the case of a housing unit, reflect the value of the property based on the set of characteristics that an individual would consider important or desirable when purchasing that property (opaluch, grigalunas, diamantides, mazzotta & johnston, 1999: 2). hpm assumes that housing characteristics are traded as a bundle of inherent attributes (woo, 2014: 8; chin & chau, 2003: 155). consequently, the basic hedonic equation states that the market price (p) (dependent variable) of a property can be expressed as a function of a property’s attributes such as structural attributes (sa), neighbourhood characteristics (n), and locational amenities (la) (explanatory variables or independent variables in this study) (equation 1) (randeniya, gayani & amarawickrama, 2017: 114). p = f (sa, n, la) (equation 1) structural attributes (sa), also referred to as the internal attributes of a residential unit, describe the physical characteristics of the house such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and the size of the house) mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 39 (xiao, 2017: 18). the value of a property is frequently related to these attributes. if a property has more desirable attributes in comparison to other properties, the valuation of these attributes would be reflected in higher market prices for the house (xiao, 2017: 19). locational amenities (la), the accessibility to urban amenities and the cbd, no matter how accessibility may be defined, directly affect the price of a property (kohlhase, 1991: 2). some location attributes impact positively, while others have a negative impact on the value of a property. for instance, the view of a cemetery may have a negative impact on a property’s price (randeniya et al., 2017: 114). in the case of this study, the distance of fleurhof’s subsidised affordable housing development is closely considered. neighbourhood characteristics (n) depict the quality of economic and social characteristics of the neighbourhood such as the racial composition of a neighbourhood, in the case of this study. according to metz (2016: 15), the concentration of race, particularly of black people, in a neighbourhood decreases an area’s property value when socio-economic conditions are controlled for. other neighbourhood characteristics include the quality of municipal services such as schools, hospitals and places of worship located in a neighbourhood, and externalities such as the crime rate, traffic noise, and airport noise (randeniya et al., 2017: 115). the hpm also determines how various attributes of different housing units affect the value of a property. the traditional hpm technique is based on a multiple regression model, which observes a large number of property transactions as an independent variable and the value determinant as a dependent variable (bello, 2009: 8). because it is impossible to sell a property’s attributes separately, the regressions coefficients give way to the marginal contribution of each attribute to the sales price for the respective property. this, therefore, accounts for the differences in the way in which the price index of real estate is constructed from other property types. hence, the use of equation 2: p = f (saβ, nγ, laα) + ε (equation 2) where • p: a vector of observed logarithm of house values or prices • sa: a matrix of physical attributes of the property • n: the neighbourhood’s characteristics • la: the distance of a property to amenities • ε: the disturbance or the error term. the parameters (α,β,γ) describe the relationships between property prices and the measures included in the three classified attributes (sa, n, and la). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 40 the incremental change in the price of the house represents the additional amount which house buyers are willing to pay for a marginal change in the attribute holding all the other attributes. 4.2 sampling method and size a list provided by lightstone property (a reliable property acquisition company) showed 1 100 complete cases of registered sales happening around the development of fleurhof in the suburbs of meadowlands east zone 1, orland west and florida. the decision was to use all 1 100 cases, resulting in a 100% sample size. the table advocated by krejcie and morgan (1970: 608) for construction-related research samples recommends a sample size for a population of 1 100 as 275. this recommendation validates the sample size of 1 100 as excellent for the population of 1 100. 4.3 data collection lightstone property provided data on the year that each property was sold as well as property value records from 2001 to 2017. this is important, as it considers the time before the construction of the development of fleurhof to where the development stands presently (pre-construction and post-construction). neighbourhood demographic data (racial composition data) was obtained through quantec data and geographic information systems (gis) shapefiles that were available from the university of the witwatersrand’s geography department in the form of qualitative data. property price and characteristics data (attributes) were categorised based on the three main category variables in the hpm, which include structural attributes, locational amenities and neighbourhood characteristics. the model contains the purchase price (dependent variable) and 10 independent variables, which are presented in table 1 together with the definitions. these variables were selected, because a property is considered a hedonic good, which is impacted by both its intrinsic (structural attributes) and extrinsic (locational amenities and neighbourhood characteristics) attributes. mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 41 table 1: definition of selected variables descriptive statistics category variable definition dependent variable purchase price the purchase price of the property independent variables structural attributes erf size size of plot bedrooms the number of bedrooms in each individual property bathrooms the number of bathrooms in each individual property property’s age the age of the property year the year the property was sold locational amenities clinic the distance of each property to the nearest clinic police station the distance of each property to the nearest police station school the distance of each property to the nearest school retail centre the distance of each property to the nearest retail centre fleurhof the distance of each property to the integrated residential development of fleurhof neighbourhood characteristics racial composition constructed from the race of the property owner (black, coloured, white, and indian) source: authors’ own 4.4 data analysis descriptive statistics were used to analyse the variables for 1 100 properties before the regression analysis was done. only the mean, maximum and minimum values were reported. in order to investigate the impact of fleurhof’s housing development on surrounding property values, a multivariable ordinary least squares (ols) regression with the use of the linear formulation and log-log formulation using stata to run the regressions was employed. the ols multivariable model was used in this study, as it allows for the use of more than one independent variable and allows for the determination of statistically significant variables according to the considered independent variables (hutcheson, 2011: 224). the use of more than one independent variable provides for the best regression model in the case of this study, as it increases the robustness of the model. the hedonic ols model allows for the estimation of the effects of a residential property’s physical characteristics, neighbourhood characteristics and locational amenities, and the distance to the housing development of fleurhof on bonded property prices. the statistically significant variables were identified using adjusted r-squared (adj r2) statistic and p-value. r-squared is the proportion of difference in the dependent variable (property acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 42 price), which can be explained by the independent variables (locational amenities, neighbourhood characteristics and structural attributes) (frost, 2013: online). adjusted r-squared regulates the r-squared for the independent variables that have a significant impact in the model. this study considers the adj-r2 to identify significant variables in the regression. r-squared was also considered, as it is an overall measure of the strength of the regression and does not reflect the extent to which any particular independent variable is associated with the dependent variable (ucla, n.d.: online). essentially, adj-r2 represents the percentage of the response variable variation, which is explained in a linear model. the percentage of adj-r2 falls between 0 and 100%, whereby • 0% in the regression results shows that the model does not explain the variability of the response data, whereas • 100% in the regression results shows that the model explains all the variability of the response data (frost, 2013: online). the higher the adj-r2, the better the model fits the data. however, adjr2 does not show whether a regression model is adequate or not. for instance, a low adjusted r-squared value may indicate a good model or a high adjusted r-squared value may be shown for a model that does not fit the data. thus, the p-value was also used in this study to ensure that the independent variables were significant within the model (frost, 2013: online). the p-value also measures the statistically significance (p=0.05) of each individual independent variable within the regression. the p-value shows the level of randomness: when p-value is high, the t-stat is low, and viceversa. a low p-stat means a good fit for the independent variable under analysis (dodds, 2010: 35). 4.5 limitations the number of houses sold in the study area was a limiting factor. if the property market of the area was more active, it would have resulted in a larger sample. it would also have assisted in obtaining other sales for different areas that are close to subsidised housing and compare the results from fleurhof. this makes this study limited in the scope of generalisability to other areas in south africa. nevertheless, the model can be used to test these results in other areas in south africa. 5. results 5.1 descriptive statistics table 2 depicts the descriptive statistics of the variables for 1 100 observations (properties) used in running the regressions. the average real mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 43 estate purchase price is r437,045.10, ranging from r222.63 to a maximum value of r6,624,090.00. the average erf size is 537m2 and ranges from 21m2 to 3267m2. the year in which most of the properties were obtained was 2006, and, on purchase, properties were on average 3.45 years old. the distance to the nearest shopping centre is 4,527 km on average, whereas for clinics it increases to approximately 6,281 km. table 2: descriptive statistics variable observations mean standard deviation minimum maximum dependent variable purchase price lnreal purchase price 1100 11.57904 2.208159 5.405511 15.70622 real purchase price 1100 437045.10 523303.60 222.63 6 624 090.00 independent variables structural attributes erf size 1100 537.0364 590.2749 21 3267 lnproperty age 1100 3.456305 0.5001687 2.188296 4.47553 bathrooms 1100 1.330909 0.5220777 1 4 bedrooms 1100 2.468182 0.7375823 1 6 year 1100 2006 4.24898 2001 2017 locational amenities lndist to fleurhof 1100 7.479643 0.0719978 7.243484 7.570777 clinic 1100 6281.252 5520.331 1164 122199 lnclinic 1100 8.474055 0.7376852 7.059618 11.71341 school 1100 1524.925 756.4968 39 4200 lnschool 1100 7.157952 0.6817952 3.663562 8.34284 police station 1100 2816.974 1301.336 162 6058.714 lnpolice station 1100 7.81779 5309471 5.087596 8.709253 retail centre 1100 4527.19 2519.35 330.5654 8814 lnretail centre 1100 8.22915 0.6519196 5.800805 9.084097 neighbourhood characteristics racial composition 1100 0.6563636 0.4751375 5.2 regression results 5.2.1 model 1: regression by suburb the first model ran regressions on the acquired suburbs of florida, meadowlands east zone 1 and orlando west as well as a regression on all the suburbs for a final summary. this is done to test for the impact of the integrated residential development on property values of the different suburbs. the multivariable regression analysis is applied to further investigate and understand the complex relationship between the independent variables (attributes) with a keen interest on the distance to fleurhof variable on property values. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 44 the regression output in table 3 shows that the 1 100 housing units that were used or observed in the regression were statistically significant, with an adjr2 of 0.8741 (87%). this means that 87% of the variation in the purchase price of a housing unit is explained by the independent variables that have been selected in the regression. the independent variables are statistically significant, with a p-value less than 0.05, thus indicating that the coefficients have a 95% confidence level and that the selected independent variables have some effect on the purchase price of a property. the bedroom variable has been omitted in this regression, as it neither added nor retracted from the goodness of fit of the model. the regression output of 1 100 residential properties located in all suburbs indicated a negative coefficient or a negative relationship between the age of a residential property and property value. a beta value of -0.68 indicates that, with every year a residential property increases in age, the purchase price of the property decreases by 0.68 units, holding all other factors constant. the negative relationship of a property’s age towards the dependent variable (purchase price) may be due to the concern of the state or condition of the property (as many of the properties selected in this study were built 27 years ago), as an older residential property may be perceived as old fashioned and may have dilapidated over the years. this, therefore, decreases the property’s value; many home buyers may prefer newer built homes that are in style with current trends (clarke, 2010: online). positive coefficients such as bathrooms (0.17) and erf size (0.00) have an overall positive relationship with purchase price, essentially providing that these variables increase a residential property’s value. however, this positive impact towards a property’s value is significantly small. positive coefficients, on the contrary, indicate a positive relationship with the dependent variable. variables such as erf size and bathrooms indicate that, with every increase in the number of bathrooms or an increase in a property’s size, the purchase price of a property increases. this is expected, as tse and love (2000: 366) state that an increase in a property’s structural characteristics increases a property’s value. the distance to amenities such as schools and the police station are depicted with a positive coefficient, indicating that, with every one-metre increase in the distance to schools (specifically primary schools) or the police station, a property’s value increases. this shows that properties located right next to a police station or a school have lower property values than a property located further away from these amenities. this is unexpected, as common property valuation theory states that the close proximity of schools increases the property’s value (kim, 2010: 17). however, one of the reasons the proximity to schools is considered to decrease a property’s value is that the schools surrounding the suburbs selected in this study are not top-performing schools and may not be well managed aesthetically. further, the regression depicted mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 45 ta bl e 3: m od el 1 : r eg re ss io n by s ub ur b m od el 1 fl or id a o rla nd o w es t r eg re ss io n st at is tic s a n o v a r eg re ss io n st at is tic s a n o v a s ou rc e s s df m s n um be r o f o bs 58 5 s ou rc e s s df m s n um be r o f o bs 18 6 f( 10 , 5 74 ) 86 .0 2 f( 9, 1 76 ) 10 1. 22 m od el 17 4. 78 58 10 17 .4 78 p ro b > f 0. 00 00 m od el 18 5. 42 5 9 20 .6 02 8 p ro b > f 0. 00 00 r es id ua l 11 6. 62 70 57 4 0. 20 31 r -s qu ar ed 0. 59 98 r es id ua l 35 .8 23 1 17 6 0. 20 35 4 r -s qu ar ed 0. 83 81 a dj r -s qu ar ed 0. 59 28 a dj r -s qu ar ed 0. 82 98 to ta l 29 1. 41 29 58 4 0. 49 89 r oo t m s e 0. 45 07 to ta l 22 1. 24 8 18 5 1. 19 59 3 r oo t m s e 0. 45 11 5 ln re al pu rc ~e b et a c oe f. s td . e rr . t p >t [9 5% c on f. in te rv al ] ln re al pu rc ~e b et a c oe f. s td . e rr . t p >t [9 5% c on f. in te rv al ] ln di st to fl ~f 0. 25 26 0. 31 36 0. 81 0. 42 1 -0 .3 63 44 9 0. 86 86 ln di st to fl ~f 0. 47 37 3 1. 95 30 8 0. 24 0. 80 90 -3 .3 80 7 4. 32 82 07 e rf si ze 0. 00 01 60 0. 00 00 4. 72 0. 00 0 0. 00 00 94 0. 00 02 e rf si ze 0. 00 14 4 0. 00 05 4 2. 62 0. 01 00 0. 00 03 5 0. 00 25 25 6 ln pr op er ty ~e 0. 11 47 41 0. 07 14 1. 61 0. 10 9 -0 .0 25 59 5 0. 25 50 ln pr op er ty ~e -0 .6 30 2 0. 18 09 8 -3 .4 8 0. 00 10 -0 .9 87 45 -0 .2 73 08 68 b at hr oo m s 0. 04 55 87 0. 04 25 1. 07 0. 28 4 -0 .0 37 96 9 0. 12 91 b ed ro om s -0 .1 44 9 0. 07 50 9 -1 .9 3 0. 05 50 -0 .2 93 18 0. 00 32 12 b ed ro om s 0. 03 87 82 0. 03 06 1. 26 0. 20 7 -0 .0 21 45 5 0. 09 90 c lin ic -0 .0 01 7 4. 18 e -0 6 -4 .2 4 0. 00 00 -0 .0 00 02 -9 .4 7e -0 6 ln cl in ic -1 .4 32 30 4 0. 08 34 -1 7. 15 0. 00 0 -1 .5 96 29 5 -1 .2 68 ln sc ho ol -0 .0 34 4 0. 04 45 95 -0 .7 7 0. 44 00 -0 .1 22 50 0. 05 35 17 3 ln sc ho ol 0. 36 00 48 0. 06 54 8 5. 5 0. 00 0 0. 23 14 31 9 0. 48 86 ln po lic es t~ n 1. 24 04 1 0. 12 86 00 9. 65 0. 00 00 0. 98 66 1. 49 42 16 ln po lic es t~ n 0. 62 73 36 0. 06 70 7 9. 35 0. 00 0 0. 49 55 97 4 0. 75 90 ln re ta ilc e~ e -1 .5 35 4 0. 18 61 57 -8 .2 5 0. 00 00 -1 .9 02 81 4 -1 .1 68 03 9 ln re ta ilc e~ e -0 .1 56 14 0. 07 89 3 -1 .9 8 0. 04 8 -0 .3 11 18 02 -0 .0 01 r ac ia lc om p~ n -1 .1 50 4 0. 28 24 39 -4 .0 7 0. 00 00 -1 .7 07 87 7 -0 .5 93 06 77 r ac ia lc om p~ n 0. 34 88 17 0. 04 47 1 7. 8 0. 00 0 0. 26 09 93 0. 43 66 _c on s 14 .0 17 14 .8 19 94 0. 95 0. 34 60 -1 5. 23 00 9 43 .2 65 25 _c on s 15 .6 46 34 2. 45 99 9 6. 36 0. 00 0 10 .8 14 64 20 .4 78 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 46 m ea do w la nd s e as t z on e 1 a ll su bu rb s r eg re ss io n st at is tic s a n o v a r eg re ss io n st at is tic s a n o v a s ou rc e s s d f m s n um be r o f o bs 32 9 s ou rc e s s df m s n um be r o f o bs 11 00 f( 10 , 3 18 ) 82 .1 7 f( 9, 1 09 0) 84 9. 16 m od el 46 7. 00 98 10 46 .7 00 p ro b > f 0. 00 00 m od el 46 89 .8 0 9 52 1. 08 9 p ro b > f 0. 00 00 r es id ua l 18 0. 73 25 31 8 0. 56 83 r -s qu ar ed 0. 72 10 r es id ua l 66 8. 88 3 10 90 0. 61 36 5 r -s qu ar ed 0. 87 52 a dj r -s qu ar ed 0. 71 22 a dj r -s qu ar ed 0. 87 41 to ta l 64 7. 74 24 32 8 1. 97 48 r oo t m s e 0. 75 38 to ta l 53 58 .6 8 10 99 4. 87 59 6 r oo t m s e 0. 78 33 6 ln re al pu rc ~e b et a c oe f. s td . e rr . t p >t [9 5% c on f. in te rv al ] ln re al pu rc ~e b et a c oe f. s td . e rr . t p >t [9 5% c on f. in te rv al ] ln di st to fl ~f 1. 41 54 79 0. 57 01 7 2. 48 0. 01 4 0. 29 36 93 3 2. 53 72 ln di st to fl ~f 2. 24 01 6 0. 35 85 12 6. 25 0. 00 00 1. 53 67 09 2. 94 36 14 e rf si ze -0 .0 00 18 0. 00 10 1 -0 .1 8 0. 85 6 -0 .0 02 18 14 0. 00 18 e rf si ze 0. 00 05 6 0. 00 00 49 11 .3 1 0. 00 00 0. 00 04 63 6 0. 00 06 58 1 ln pr op er ty ~e -1 .2 17 17 5 0. 39 57 7 -3 .0 8 0. 00 2 -1 .9 95 83 8 -0 .4 38 ln pr op er ty ~e -0 .6 86 7 0. 05 99 00 -1 1. 46 0. 00 00 -0 .8 04 27 05 -0 .5 69 20 3 b at hr oo m s 0. 22 14 08 0. 18 05 5 1. 23 0. 22 1 -0 .1 33 81 92 0. 57 66 b at hr oo m s 0. 17 07 1 0. 05 10 39 3. 34 0. 00 10 0. 07 05 67 6 0. 27 08 61 b ed ro om s 0. 01 05 02 0. 09 01 4 0. 12 0. 90 7 -0 .1 66 84 35 0. 18 78 ln cl in ic -0 .4 05 3 0. 04 89 57 -8 .2 8 0. 00 00 -0 .5 01 39 65 -0 .3 09 27 48 ln cl in ic -0 .0 78 37 1 0. 06 85 7 -1 .1 4 0. 25 4 -0 .2 13 28 1 0. 05 65 s ch oo l 0. 00 01 6 0. 00 00 45 3. 53 0. 00 00 0. 00 00 71 3 0. 00 02 49 1 ln sc ho ol -0 .0 39 58 2 0. 09 00 3 -0 .4 4 0. 66 1 -0 .2 16 72 6 0. 13 75 ln po lic es t~ n 1. 25 22 5 0. 06 69 20 18 .7 1 0. 00 00 1. 12 09 46 1. 38 35 6 ln po lic es t~ n 0. 68 77 02 0. 11 97 9 5. 74 0. 00 0 0. 45 20 03 5 0. 92 34 ln re ta ilc e~ e -1 .6 99 0 0. 06 64 79 -2 5. 56 0. 00 00 -1 .8 29 48 5 -1 .5 68 59 8 ln re ta ilc e~ e -1 .6 10 51 8 0. 15 86 1 -1 0. 15 0. 00 0 -1 .9 22 58 -1 .2 98 r ac ia lc om p~ n 0. 00 62 5 0. 07 08 93 0. 09 0. 93 00 -0 .1 32 84 31 0. 14 53 62 7 r ac ia lc om p~ n -0 .9 53 97 9 0. 19 71 7 -4 .8 4 0. 00 0 -1 .3 41 90 4 -0 .5 66 _c on s 4. 04 69 1 2. 78 17 51 1. 45 0. 14 60 -1 .4 11 27 9 9. 50 51 07 _c on s 13 .7 77 49 5. 01 87 1 2. 75 0. 00 6 3. 90 34 04 23 .6 51 ta bl e 3: c on tin ue d mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 47 a negative beta coefficient for the distance to the clinic and the shopping centre. this shows that, with every one-metre increase in the distance of a property from a shopping centre or clinic, the purchase price of the property decreases. this reveals that residential properties right next to a shopping centre have an increased property value, which is in alignment with oloke, simon and adesulu (2013: 641) who state that the distance to amenities such as a shopping centre increases a property’s value. racial composition indicated a positive beta coefficient with a value of (0.006), indicating that, with every increase of black people into a neighbourhood, the purchase price of a property increases, holding all other factors constant. this is surprising as, according to metz (2016: 22), an increase of black people into a neighbourhood means a decline in property value. however, as mentioned earlier, metz’s (2016: 10) study was conducted in a predominantly white neighbourhood. the reason for the positive beta value may be that the suburbs used in the study have more black people residing in the neighbourhoods than any other race. consequently, the increase of black people into the neighbourhood has no impact on property values. the ‘distance to fleurhof’ variable shows a positive coefficient with the dependent variable purchase price. a positive beta coefficient indicates that, with every one-metre increase in the distance of a property from the housing development of fleurhof, a property’s purchase price increases by 2.24. the beta value of 2.24 is statistically significant with a p-level below 0.05. this positive coefficient, however, indicates that the further away a property is from the housing development of fleurhof, the higher a property’s price, essentially, providing that the housing development of fleurhof is perceived negatively the closer one’s property is located to the housing development. as mentioned earlier, the reason for this negative impact on property values may be because of perceived (by the residents living around the housing development) potential spill-overs the development may bring to the suburbs surrounding the housing development, as it has been perceived as subsidised bng housing development. model 1 indicates that the distance to fleurhof has a negative relationship with property values. this indicates that the general perception of the subsidised affordable housing development is negative, with many residents preferring to be located further away from the development. residents are, therefore, willing to pay more to be located further away from the subsidised affordable housing development. the negative perception of the housing development shows that nimby home-owner perceptions are prevalent towards the housing development in fleurhof. this negative perception in relation to the development has, in turn, resulted in a decline in property values in the surrounding neighbourhoods. the reason for this is that the development of the integrated residential development has raised home owners’ fears about acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 48 the potential negative spill-overs that the development may bring into the neighbourhoods such as an increased level of crime, more traffic and noise, consequently changing the character of their neighbourhoods. in addition, this study shows that the subsidised affordable housing development does not necessarily boost the property values of depressed neighbourhoods such as orlando west and meadowlands east zone 1. 5.2.2 model 2: regression by construction time the second model ran regressions on the time before (2001-2010) the construction of the integrated residential development in comparison to the post-construction (2011-2017) of the integrated residential development. this is done to observe the level of impact on property values after the development of the integrated residential development. this is done is an effort to understand the impact of the development over time and whether time-honoured residents’ concerns are valid or not. the model also used the log-log functional form, as depicted in equation 3. lnp = α + β0+ β1lnx1 + β2lnx2 +… β10 lnx10… +δ1z1 (equation 3) where lnp represents the log-transformed property value of the investigated houses; x1 to x10 represents the different explanatory variables that are considered which affect a property’s value. z1 represents the perceived disamenity, which is the distance of each individual property to the integrated residential development of fleurhof. the dependent variable used in estimating the hedonic equation was the purchase price of individual properties located close to the integrated residential development of fleurhof. 5.2.2. i pre-construction (2001-2010) table 4 shows that the ‘distance to fleurhof’ variable has a positive beta coefficient. the positive coefficient indicates that the housing development of fleurhof has a negative impact on property values. the further away a property is located from the housing development, the more the property’s value increases. this, however, would mean that properties located right next to the land proposed for the integrated residential development would have had a negative property value. with positive beta coefficients, structural attributes ‘erf size’ (0.00) and ‘bathroom’ (0.11) indicated a positive relationship with property value. this aligns with the literature. oloke et al. (2013: 639) state that an increase in a property’s size results in an increase in a property’s value. however, ‘bedrooms’ indicated a negative coefficient, with a beta value of -0.15. the negative relationship between the number of bedrooms and the purchase price may be because extra bedrooms within the selected mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 49 ta bl e 4: m od el 2 : r eg re ss io n by c on st ru ct io n tim e re su lts m od el 2 p re -c on st ru ct io n (2 00 120 10 ) p os t-c on st ru ct io n (2 01 120 17 ) r eg re ss io n st at is tic s a n o v a r eg re ss io n st at is tic s a n o v a s ou rc e s s df m s n um be r o f o bs 87 7 s ou rc e s s df m s n um be r o f o bs 22 3 f( 9, 8 67 ) 62 3. 27 f( 8, 2 14 ) 12 7. 53 m od el 37 26 .1 42 9 41 4. 01 p ro b > f 0. 00 00 m od el 49 5. 48 8 8 61 .9 36 1 p ro b > f 0. 00 00 r es id ua l 57 5. 91 96 86 7 0. 66 42 r -s qu ar ed 0. 86 61 r es id ua l 10 3. 93 0 21 4 0. 48 56 5 r -s qu ar ed 0. 82 66 a dj r -s qu ar ed 0. 86 47 a dj r -s qu ar ed 0. 82 01 to ta l 43 02 .0 62 87 6 4. 91 10 r oo t m s e 0. 81 50 3 to ta l 59 9. 41 9 22 2 2. 70 00 8 r oo t m s e 0. 69 68 9 ln re al pu rc ~e b et a c oe f. s td . e rr . t p >t [9 5% c on f. in te rv al ] ln re al pu rc ~e b et a c oe f. s td . e rr . t p >t [9 5% c on f. in te rv al ] ln di st to fl ~f 1. 42 83 26 0. 41 02 4 3. 48 0. 00 1 0. 62 31 36 7 2. 23 35 1 ln di st to fl eu rh of -0 .7 44 5 0. 69 86 3 -1 .0 7 0. 28 8 -2 .1 21 7 0. 63 25 23 9 e rf si ze 0. 00 04 64 6. 27 e -0 5 7. 41 0. 00 0 0. 00 03 41 5 0. 00 05 8 e rf si ze 0. 00 04 4 0. 00 00 9 4. 87 0. 00 0 0. 00 03 0. 00 06 26 3 b at hr oo m s 0. 11 28 95 0. 06 95 6 1. 62 0. 10 5 -0 .0 23 63 32 0. 24 94 2 b at hr oo m s 0. 15 37 6 0. 09 29 6 1. 65 0. 10 0 -0 .0 29 5 0. 33 70 03 8 b ed ro om s -0 .1 56 65 8 0. 04 87 05 -3 .2 2 0. 00 1 -0 .2 52 25 23 -0 .0 61 0 ln cl in ic -2 .2 17 2 0. 22 28 5 -9 .9 5 0. 00 0 -2 .6 56 6 -1 .7 78 01 3 ln cl in ic -0 .3 33 21 1 0. 05 24 7 -6 .3 5 0. 00 0 -0 .4 36 19 4 -0 .2 30 2 s ch oo l 0. 00 06 2 0. 00 01 2 5. 01 0. 00 0 0. 00 04 0. 00 08 73 ln sc ho ol 0. 16 68 35 0. 05 30 67 3. 14 0. 00 2 0. 06 26 80 4 0. 27 09 9 ln po lic es ta tio n 0. 76 92 0 0. 28 64 4 2. 69 0. 00 8 0. 20 46 1. 33 38 2 ln po lic es t~ n 1. 46 58 26 0. 06 89 75 21 .2 5 0. 00 0 1. 33 04 49 1. 60 12 0 ln re ta ilc en tre -0 .9 38 9 0. 22 46 2 -4 .1 8 0. 00 0 -1 .3 81 7 -0 .4 96 20 54 ln re ta ilc e~ e -1 .8 25 53 0. 07 38 73 -2 4. 71 0. 00 0 -1 .9 70 52 -1 .6 80 5 r ac ia lc om po si tio n 0. 17 51 5 0. 14 72 6 1. 19 0. 23 6 -0 .1 15 1 0. 46 54 24 7 r ac ia lc om p~ n -0 .2 02 12 0 0. 08 71 3 -2 .3 2 0. 02 1 -0 .3 73 13 -0 .0 31 1 _c on s 35 .8 21 1 5. 65 27 9 6. 34 0. 00 0 24 .6 78 9 46 .9 63 47 _c on s 6. 19 16 63 3. 27 63 26 1. 89 0. 05 9 -0 .2 38 79 52 12 .6 22 1 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 50 suburbs between 2001 and 2010 were not demanded by consumers, thus affecting property values negatively. distance to the clinic and retail centre indicated a negative beta coefficient, indicating that the further away a property is located from these amenities, the more a property’s value decreases. this shows that properties located within close proximity to these amenities have an increased property value. the ease of access to these amenities thus makes the property attractive to consumers and, therefore, increases such a property’s value. distance to the police station and schools, on the contrary, have a positive beta coefficient, indicating that, with every increase in the distance of a property from the police station or a school, a property’s value increases. 5.2.2. i post-construction (2011-2017) table 4 shows that the ‘distance to fleurhof’ variable has a negative beta coefficient. the negative coefficient indicates that the integrated residential development of fleurhof impacts on property values positively. the further away a property is located from the housing development, the more a property’s value decreases. this means that perceptions have changed over time, and the housing development is viewed positively, possibly with the start of the building of bonded housing after 2013. the variables ‘erf size’ and ‘bathrooms’ are depicted with a positive beta coefficient indicating a positive relationship with the dependent variable purchase price. the locational variables ‘clinic’ and ‘retail centre’ are presented with a negative coefficient, indicating that the further away a property is located from these amenities, the more a property’s value decreases. distance to the clinic and retail centre are presented with a negative coefficient, indicating that the further away a property is located from these amenities, the more a property’s value decreases. distance to the police station and schools, on the contrary, have a positive coefficient, indicating that, with every increase in the distance of a property from the police station or a school, a property’s value increases. racial composition is presented with a positive coefficient, indicating that the more black people that move into the neighbourhood, the more the property values will increase. in comparison to model 1, model 2 presented different outputs – the postconstruction regression presented a negative beta coefficient for the ‘distance to fleurhof’ variable. the negative beta coefficient indicates that the property value of properties after the development witnessed an increase in property value in comparison to property values of properties sold before formal construction began on the housing development. this shows that, following the announcement that the integrated residential development was to be constructed in 2009, property owners might have raised concerns about the possible negative externalities that may result from the development. mnisi & karam • the impact of the integrated residential development... 51 however, once construction began, the development was viewed positively, and such concerns may have decreased as property values located right next to the development had an increased property value. the reason for this may be that, before the start of the development, the land may have been used as a dump site that would change the environment of the neighbourhood, thus impacting on property values negatively. in addition, the study discovered that the presence of locational amenities such as a police station and a school in close proximity to properties impacts on property values negatively. this may be because the quality of the schools in the selected suburbs may not be good quality schools. thus, the schools may be viewed as a disamenity rather than an amenity. furthermore, the police stations may be perceived negatively by residents, as they may increase noise and traffic into the area. this is why people may prefer to be located further away from the police station. 6. conclusion although the results of this study may not be generalised and may not be easily adapted to other subsidised affordable housing developments across south africa, as the study is focused on fleurhof, literature dictates that minor differences in the neighbourhood such as the locality and the type of housing development may change the results of the impact of the housing development on property values (woo, 2014: 39). the study may help understand the effect of subsidised affordable developments on surrounding communities. a change in the general perspective of subsided affordable housing developments may also see a change in the overall impact on property values. table 5: summary of results on property values model property values model 1 – suburb all suburbs negative meadowlands east zone 1 negative florida negative orlando west negative model 2 – construction time pre-construction (2001-2010) negative post-construction (2011-2017 positive results in table 5 show that the subsidised affordable housing development had a negative impact on surrounding house prices in all the suburbs, however, at varying levels, indicating subsidised affordable housing developments impact different neighbourhoods differently. for instance, meadowlands east zone 1 had a higher impact in comparison to florida with a lower impact. this may be due to the difference in the socio-economic acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 52 standing of the two suburbs. meadowlands east zone 1 is a lower income suburb and florida is more affluent. furthermore, the suburb of florida may have taken more measures such as building higher fences and hiring more security companies around their houses and in the neighbourhood in an effort to keep themselves safe from potential perceived negative externalities that the residents may have thought the subsidised affordable housing development may bring such as an increase in crime. the negative impact of the housing development suggests that bonded property home owners perceive subsidised affordable housing development as an undesirable development rather than an instrument for poverty de-concentration and housing assistance for the marginalised citizens of south africa. in addition, as noted with low-income housing tax credit housing developments in america, the negative impact of the development on property values indicates that the development is built in a prosperous housing market (woo, 2014: 50). because of the increased nimby concerns preeminent about the subsidised affordable housing development, the development faces residential segregation, with many of the residents preferring to be located further away from the development and disagreeing with a mix of income backgrounds in one neighbourhood. the negative perspective of the housing development, in turn, reflects negatively on the property values of bonded properties surrounding the development. the results of this study showed that the property values in the selected suburbs are uniquely impacted by the independent variables (housing attributes) selected in the study. for instance, the distance to the locational amenities such as the police station and the clinic proved to decrease a property’s value the closer a property was to that amenity. in addition, an increase of black people into a neighbourhood proved to impact on a property’s value positively, indicating that it may not be black people moving into a neighbourhood that raises concerns, but rather the socio-economic background of the individuals moving into the neighbourhood, as noted with the distance to fleurhof, who bring a different socio-economic image into the neighbourhood. however, the results of the second model, specifically post-construction (2011-2017) of the subsidised affordable housing development results, indicate that the neighbourhoods may have witnessed increased property values, despite the fact that the subsidised housing development of fleurhof was being constructed. this shows that, as the development was being constructed (and still in the process of completion), residents have grown accustomed to 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(ed.). urban morphology and housing market economics. singapore: springer, pp. 11-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2762-8_2. 178 how to cite: ahmed, a. 2020. book review. architectures of informality. acta structilia, 27(1), pp. 178-178. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as book review • boekresensie ar.sayed ahmed ar.sayed ahmed, ma, anhalt university of applied science, dessau, germany. phone: 01707219556, e-mail: <ar.sayedahmed@gmail. com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.7 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 178-178 architectures of informality editor: ivan kucina series: dessau international architecture (dia) 2018 publisher: dia, graduate school, anhalt university of applied sciences http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.7 ar.sayed ahmed • architectures of informality 179 the book, written by students from the dessau international architecture graduate school, is a compilation of five contextual topics regarding informal architecture. this book might lack scholarship of academic expertise, as confessed by prof. ivan kucina, but it offers interesting reading for those with a passion for new and unconventional architectural ideas. in the first chapter, when cities are out of control, it is stated that one third of the world’s urban population, the poorest, has adopted informality, due to poverty and housing scarcity. informal housing is the dweller’s largest asset. but it is under permanent threat of demolition, as authorities opine that it is risky if slums are retained over the course of time. capitalist hegemony and globalisation might have freed people and business, but they have also failed to improve the unemployment situation of the urban poor. due to political manipulation and ineffective public administration, this group of people is marginalised, not by choice, but rather they are the victims of a harsh reality where workers work and dwell in worse environments as products of dysfunctional political systems in which corrupt politicians utilise or even patronise them. being socially excluded, such settlements are responsive to the constant needs of inhabitants. this group of people shows innovation, recycling and sustainability in picked materials, although their access to resources is limited. their materials produce less collective emissions of carbon. acute unemployment in cities proved that informality is flexible – it asks for nothing, but allows almost anything. the first example is the kawloon walled district of hong kong, where the inhabitants made power stations for electricity and allowed private suppliers to pump water from wells. on the other hand, rigid regulations of formal architecture have been challenged, as they segregate and limit actions. these laws were written years ago, and contemporary cities have changed a great deal since then. industrialisation ignited rapid urbanisation, and formality cannot function, as it is a bottleneck of bureaucracy. management of formal zoning for exclusive areas does not provide options for social mixing. but the inclusive informal development consists of blurred boundaries between settlements. it brought ‘incremental building’ ideas where any house can be built over a period of time in different stages, in order to achieve formal protocol in the future. formality and informality could thus be mixed as part of the socio-economic fabric of cities where actors will interact as part of a whole. the second chapter, self-organized building affairs, starts with an example from mumbai, india, where 60% of the total informal settlements are illegal slums. these are the most extreme conditions of informality, developed on waste-dumping land, with unhygienic and bad governance. such settlements host various economic backgrounds and developed poverty as a culture of the helpless outsiders. night restaurants for day labourers are effective economic and recreational spaces for such areas. for example, dharavi is an economically successful slum, because it has thousands of acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 180 home-based, low-tech, labour-intensive and recycling businesses such as textile, pottery, leather, and so on. a great example of urban redevelopment that brings out the total emotions of society is that dwellers are eager to live closer to one another. informality is not a product, but rather a process for both individual and collective needs. there is an example of chew jetty in pinang, malaysia, where a chinatown of early chinese fishermen immigrants provided waterfront housing developments. a british colonial character formed its ‘degree of formality’, but the religious purpose of buddhist shrines overtook traffic rules to transform this town as heritagebased economy. police bribery is the informal economy of night markets, while a profit-making and formal tourist economy already exist. informal economy evolved from the ‘emergence’ of human nature. an exact reflection of robert neuvirth’s system d means the self-reliance of such parallel economy. it will be the second largest economy of the world within the next 50 years. another example is gropius torten estate in dessau, germany, where the famous bauhaus style is being misused for the informal attitude of inhabitants. surely, informality is a reaction to the failure of formality, which is not only a problem for the third world, but also evident in developed countries. thus, architects need to be ready for the next era. informality develops practical solutions with flexibility, pragmatism, negotiation, continuous adaptation, and the struggle for survival. naturally chosen leaders of the community and their agents frequently cope with collective and territorial interests in a self-organised and interdependent community. all together, they comprise a network of semi-autonomous agents. this again follows laws, codes, regulations and incentives of formality, to some extent. in this instance, design is part of that self-organised system that triggers unpredictable complex dynamics to make our cities vibrant. the third chapter, bonds between formal and informal, states that formal architecture is all about façade to win market competition, while informal architecture pushed us outside the conventional horizon. it filled up the homogeneous void left by formal architecture such as static geometrical objects or parasites. basic construction techniques, innovative building typology, available materials, survival strategy in the informal economy, and the primal growth of instruments all challenge the authorised services of the city government. it raised questions to shift our intention from a topdown mechanism to a bottom-up action, with conflict and negotiation. such processes will compel architects to create a base for participatory and simultaneous transformation. these settlements are radically democratic and politically responsive; mass dominates over code; relationship prevails over composition, and adaptation is more important than statics. in every case, informality appears first in organic development, followed by formality with boundary and territorial sense. formality and informality cannot substitute each other, but they can overlap. formality is less ar.sayed ahmed • architectures of informality 181 adaptive, while informality is corrupted. foucault saw architecture as a diagram (cartography) that is again limited to the mechanism of power and boundary lines. it is a blind and mute machine, but it makes others see and speak. the chilean architect alejandro aravena took the concept. he had no fear of having no control over final aesthetics, but his concern is the position of void and observing the works around it for the time being. moreover, it reduced the cost of his project and the personalisation of each unit could cope with the changing demands. informality is thus effective for heterogeneous urban populations controlled by landlords in a sustainable urban ecology. increasing or decreasing formality does not affect society. the concept of urban commons has great potential to ensure collective ownership of resources through informal housing models, especially in thirdworld countries. current urban development policies segregate citizens and patronise the monopoly of commodification, a wrong practice indeed. the fourth chapter, quest for the fair city agenda, discusses the failure of chandigarh. it lacks unintentional interaction of its inhabitants, although its gridiron pattern is still beneficial. the walkways, corridors and verandas of an old city such as varanasi offer visual treats and intimacy. the whole streetscape is, in fact, a germination of public spaces full of collective memory, socialisation and educative interventions for the next generation. informality can bring equilibrium within a formal context and its façade can add rich fabric to the urban narrative. another example from caracas shows how, by the dint of community participation, a football stadium was transformed into a four-storey gymnasium. this introduced a network of pedestrian walkways converted into stairs equipped with utilities, and the landings were designed for social interaction. a participatory policy of ngos and volunteering agencies to ensure basic services, improvement of living environment, and land-tenure security is gaining popularity in the third world. for the past 30 years, community participation was part of urban management, but this effort did not influence the decision-making process to a great extent. previously, it was a tool, but if it were used as a process, it might be able to enhance their contribution, because a tool is subjective, whereas a process is constructive. the word ‘community’ is also wrong, as it identifies any group as a homogeneous entity bound by natural, social and administrative barriers and generalises all categories such as women, the poor, and so on under one canopy. informal architecture will primarily be a habitat trend, the focal voice of human beings in the next couple of decades. equality and sustainability will be the challenge. there will be several overlapping forces such as rapid urbanisation, wrong policies, financial rigidity, and unrealistic regulations. secure tenure-based practice could be replaced by comprehensive mixed use moulded by legal pluralism. an interesting example is that of ogun region in nigeria, where inhabitants provided documents of their dwellings and acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 182 the authority redesigned these later with legal infrastructures and services. this might take land from government, but, in return, it generates revenue. provision of accessibility and public space can be standardised in informal settlements in four steps: goal-setting, action plan, community participation for capacity-building, and accountability process. soft and micro-credit loans might have a long-term impact on the community. outdated plans should go through different transformation stages, in order to check further informal growth. issues such as setbacks, road width, and so on could be negotiated. the chapter what can architects do? first analyses, during the massive migration era of the 1960s, how the idea of the global south changed conventional architecture. its small-scale intervention and on-site building ability proved to be more efficient. teddy cruz admired it as a better recycling process in a conflicting environment such as the us-mexico border, while oscar lewis described it as a cancer, manifested in tension, but resulting in overall urban form. in this instance, the fragmentation of cities reflects the fragmentation of budget and agencies. for example, in caracas, the urban think tank of universidad simón bolívar under their mirco utopias concept: not to solve problems, but to pose new problems to influence diversified forces. it is a laboratory of low-cost cases, compost toilets, new routes and public spaces into existing fabric to transform streets into spaces of dialogue, even accommodate commerce and livestock. the seating hubs of informal public spaces could be implemented in formal development. such adaptive reuse is, in fact, an expansion of informality. architects such as lucien kroll found that mono-functional units of informality remain unused, whereas ottokar uhl is concerned about the lifespan of structures. space optimisation is another good quality of informality. architect gary chang transformed a tiny 344 square feet apartment with integrated furniture that can move over 24 different layouts. according to charles stokes, informal patterns developed as social foundations rather than physical bases. architects can thus design simple, low-cost and handicraft based economically on sound prototypes. a final example is the karail slum in dhaka, bangladesh, where architect hasibul kabir created a public gathering space, a playground for children, and a gardening area. he named it ashar mancha or ‘platform of hope’. he successfully educated the inhabitants about pollution, sanitation, ventilation and lighting that changed the mindset of other slums and had a great impact on the total cityscape. for all the above topics, architecture schools worldwide can now include informal architecture in their academic courses rather than overlooking it. _goback 148 how to cite: haupt, t. 2019. an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites. acta structilia, 26(1), pp. 148-166. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as oorsigartikels • review articles theo haupt prof. theo (t.c.) haupt, research professor, faculty of engineering, mangosuthu university of technology, 511 mangosuthu highway, umlazi, kwazulu-natal, 4031. phone: +27 82 6863457, email: <theo.haupt@mut. ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2531-3789 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.6 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 148-166 an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites peer reviewed and revised april 2019 published june 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract there is increasing concern regarding the impact of the consumption of cannabis by construction site workers on workplace safety and performance. this preliminary study explores the use of cannabis as a psychotropic drug and its consequences and effects on construction workers, considering the decriminalisation of its private use and personal consumption in south africa. these consequences and effects can be characterized as being behavioural, perceptual, physiological, emotional and cognitive. this study is a precursor for a more detailed ongoing study. the article was developed based on a review of empirical and theoretical studies previously published in a wide range of journals and commissioned reports. literature relating to drug and substance use in the construction workplace was obtained from research databases. the keywords “cannabis” and “construction industry” were used to search the databases. of the number of related articles found, a total of 41 articles and reports were cited in the study. the study reveals that cannabis use has short-term health effects such as acute mental illnesses, which could result in impaired reasoning and perceptions. long-term effects of frequent and continuous cannabis use include respiratory infections and hyperactivity. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:theo.haupt@mut.ac.za mailto:theo.haupt@mut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2531-3789 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2531-3789 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.6 theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 149 furthermore, the after-effects of the use and abuse of cannabis by construction workers poses numerous threats to the workplace safety of the construction industry. the article identifies loss of concentration and low productivity on site, abnormal and irrational behaviour, absenteeism from work and poor work quality as impacts of cannabis use on construction sites. the article highlights the need for site supervisors and construction employers to introduce improvement mechanisms to control the use of cannabis on construction sites. keywords: cannabis, construction site workers, health and safety, substance use, south africa abstrak daar is toenemende besorgdheid oor die impak van die verbruik van cannabis deur konstruksiewereldwerkers op veiligheid en prestasie op die werkplek. hierdie voorlopige studie ondersoek die gebruik van cannabis as ’n psigotropiese middel en die gevolge daarvan vir konstruksiewerkers in die lig van die dekriminalisering van sy private gebruik en persoonlike verbruik in suid-afrika. hierdie gevolge kan gekenmerk word as gedrags-, perseptueel-, fisiologies-, emosioneelen kognitief. hierdie studie is ’n voorloper vir ’n meer gedetailleerde studie wat aan die gang is. die artikel is ontwikkel op grond van ’n oorsig van empiriese en teoretiese studies wat voorheen in ’n wye verskeidenheid tydskrifte en opdragverslae gepubliseer is. literatuur wat verband hou met dwelmen substansgebruik in die konstruksiewerkplek is verkry uit navorsingsdatabasisse. die sleutelwoorde “cannabis” en “konstruksiebedryf” is gebruik om die databasisse te soek. van die aantal verwante artikels wat gevind is, is in totaal 41 artikels en verslae in die studie aangehaal. die studie het aan die lig gebring dat die gebruik van cannabis korttermyngesondheidseffekte gehad het, soos akute geestesongesteldhede wat kan lei tot verswakte redenasie en persepsies. langtermyn-effekte van gereelde en deurlopende gebruik van cannabis is gevind om respiratoriese infeksies en hiperaktiwiteit in te sluit. die nadelige gevolge van die gebruik en misbruik van cannabis deur konstruksiewerkers stel talle bedreigings vir die veiligheid van die werkplek in die konstruksiebedryf. die artikel het die verlies aan konsentrasie en lae produktiwiteit op die terrein geïdentifiseer, abnormale en irrasionele gedrag, afwesigheid van werk en swak werkgehalte as gevolg van die gebruik van cannabis op konstruksieterreine. die studie beklemtoon die noodsaaklikheid vir die terrein toesighouers en konstruksiewerkgewers om verbeteringsmeganismes in te voer om die gebruik van cannabis op konstruksieterreine te beheer. sleutelwoorde: beroepsgesondheid en -veiligheid, cannabis, konstruksiewerkers, middelgebruik, suid-afrika 1. introduction the construction industry is regarded as one of the most stressful industries to be working in. emotional and physical responses to this stress occur when there is tension between the demands of work activities and the environment and the pressure on construction workers to satisfy these demands (bowen, edwards, lingard & cattell, 2014: 1). these consequences and effects have been characterised as being behavioural, perceptual, physiological, emotional and cognitive (oraegbune, adole & adeyemo, 2017: 241). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 150 to alleviate these effects, construction workers have been found to resort to the use of psychotropic drugs that act as psycho-stimulants such as cannabis (oraegbune et al., 2017: 241). some of these effects include headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, muscle tension, palpitations, loss of appetite, crying, smoking, overeating, lack of concentration, and inability to get work done (oraegbune et al., 2017: 241). cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit drug in the world. in 2014, some 183 million people globally were found to be users (unodc, 2016: 43). cannabis use in africa is widespread across the continent and particularly high in countries of western and southern africa (approximately 5 million in the latter) and is the main drug of concern (unodc, 2004: 153). men are three times more likely to use cannabis (unodc, 2016: 46). the proportion of people in treatment for cannabis abuse in south africa rose from approximately 5% in 1996 to roughly 20% in 2002 (unodc, 2004: 153). a study conducted in the united states of america, reported in 2010, found that 12.3% of the construction workers between the ages of 18 years and 50 years admitted to using illicit psychotropic drugs (golaik, 2010). while a great deal is known about cannabis and its use, there is hardly any information about its prevalent use on construction sites in south africa; the interpretation of the recent court ruling and its impact on its pervasiveness on construction sites in south africa, knowledge of the actual implication of the court ruling; the management of its use in terms of labour relations and substance abuse policy; the effect of its use when viewed in the context of current construction oh&s regulations as legislative and other regulatory frameworks. this article seeks to explore the possible impact of cannabis use by construction workers in the industry, given the legitimisation of its use at home for personal use in south africa, in particular, with a view to increasing awareness among construction employers. the article outlines both the shortand long-term effects of the use of cannabis and impacts on construction sites and makes recommendations for improved on site control. 2. literature review 2.1 what is cannabis? cannabis refers to the tobacco-like greenish or brownish material made up of the dried leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of the cannabi sativa or indica (hemp) plants (unodc, 2007: 96). the theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 151 world health organization (who) also refers to it as a natural existing drug (unodc, 2016: 43). cannabis resin or “hash” is the dried black or brown secretion of the flowering tops of the cannabis plant, which is made into a powder or pressed into slabs or cakes (unodc, 2007). cannabis oil or “hash oil” is a liquid extracted from either the dried plant material or the resin (unodc, 2007). 2.2 legalization of cannabis the legalisation of the personal use of cannabis, also known as weed or marijuana, in south africa by the constitutional court on 18 september 2018 presents a challenge for the construction industry, where its use has been covert or clandestine and, in many instances, viewed as synonymous with high levels of productivity on sites. the ruling legitimises the possession, purchase and cultivation of cannabis, which is a psychotropic drug for personal use by an adult in a private dwelling (nel, 2018). south africa is not the first country in the world to have taken this step. others include canada and portugal (possi, 1996: 113), parts of the united states of ameria, belize, jamaica, spain, australia, argentina, uruguay, cambodia, belgium, the netherlands, switzerland, and the list is growing. several challenges, including what constitutes private use, arise from the court ruling in south africa. technically, if individuals in possession of cannabis step outside their home, retain the substance in their pocket, and it is for personal use, they have not broken the law. possession in itself would no longer carry the previous legal censure. further, allowing people to purchase marijuana would amount to the court sanctioning dealing in the substance. should the users want to grow their own cannabis, they would have to purchase the seeds or small plants from another party who would be deemed to be a dealer in marijuana. this is still an illegal practice. the purchaser would be an accomplice to dealing in cannabis. the south african government would need to make a decision about what quantities are allowed per person strictly for personal use. 2.3 common terms used for cannabis in order to deal with cannabis on construction sites, it is necessary to know the terms that are frequently used by workers when they refer to the use of the substance or discuss its use among themselves. there are over 1,200 words used for cannabis worldwide (ramo & prochaska, 2015: 106). some of the more common names used on construction sites include: acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 152 • marijuana; • weed; • pot; • grass; • dagga; • ganga; • herb; • joint; • reefer; • pill; • boom, and • zol. 2.4 health effects of cannabis cannabis is a psychotropic drug that affects and alters brain activities associated with mental processes, perception, and behaviour. psychotropic drugs are also referred to as psychotherapeutic or psychoactive. more particularly, cannabis is a psychoactive drug. as such, it is a chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, and behaviour (kosen & o’connor, 2003: 1788). cannabis also acts as a psycho-stimulant: it elevates the mood, and produces feelings of excitement, alertness, attention, energy, and euphoria. this elevation is usually followed by a breakdown (elsohly & gul, 2014: 3). what makes cannabis so appealing and of interest is the fact that there are 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids (bowen et al., 2014: 3). these cannabinoids form one of a class of diverse chemical compounds that act on cannabinoid receptors in cells that alter neurotransmitter release in the brain. in simple terms, cannabinoids slow down communication between cells in the body and the brain. the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) is responsible for the way in which a user’s brain and body react to cannabis (bowen et al., 2014: 3). it is argued that there are potential therapeutic benefits such as feeling relaxed and happy as well as health risks such as unpleasant, unwanted or negative effects on the brain and body that arise from the use of cannabis (ratini, 2018). theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 153 2.4.1 impact on the brain some short-term effects on the brain have been cited as: • confusion; • changes in mood; • fatigue or sleeplessness; • impaired ability to remember, concentrate or pay attention; • impaired body movement; • anxiety, fear or panic, and • reduced ability to react quickly (leirer, yesavage & morrow, 1991: 221; karschner, swortwood, hirvonen, goodwin, bosker, ramaekers & huestis, 2016: 684). the use of cannabis is reported to possibly involve psychotic episodes (meier, caspi, ambler, harrington, houts, keefe, mcdonald, ward, poulton & moffitt, 2012: 2658). these are generally severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and unrealistic perceptions. consequently, people with psychoses lose touch with reality. when cannabis is taken in high doses, these psychotic episodes are characterised by, inter alia, • temporary paranoia; • delusions; • worsening schizophrenia; • disorganized thinking, and • temporary hallucinations (wang, derakhshandeh, liu, narayan, nabavizadeh, le, danforth, pinnamaneni, rodriguez, luu, sievers, schick, glantz & springer, 2016; thomas, kloner & rezkalla, 2014: 188). cannabidiol (cbd) is one of the over 100 phytocannabinoids identified in cannabis sativa (unodc, 2004:128) and constitutes up to 40% of the plant’s extract, being the second most abundant component (grlic, 1976). it is possible for cannabidiol, a chemical in cannabis itself, can possibly reduce some of the psychoactive effects of its use such as disturbances in mood, perception, and psychotic symptoms (bhattacharyya, morrison, fusar-poli, martinsantos, borgwardt, winton-brown, nosarti, o’carroll, seal, allen, mehta, stone, tunstall, giampietro, kapur, murray, zuardi, crippa, atakan & mcguire, 2010: 764). drugs taken together are known to have a cumulative or synergistic effect, thus increasing the overall psychoactive experience (unodc, 2016: 48). there is evidence that, using cannabis, which acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 154 has 50% more tar than high-tar cigarettes (unodc, 2007: 278), in combination with other substances such as tobacco in blunts and spliffs/mulled cigarettes or alcohol, may increase the severity of some psychoactive effects (ramo & prochaska, 2015: 291) and the risk of mental health outcomes (schauer, rosenberry & peters, 2017: 364). the combined use of cannabis and tobacco presents a significant potential for nicotine exposure. this may lead to excessive tobaccouse patterns, nicotine addiction, and compounded health effects. 2.4.1 impact on the body the short-term effects on the body include: • damaged blood vessels caused by smoke; • decreased blood pressure, resulting in fainting or passing out; • intense nausea and vomiting; • chest pain; • increased heart rate, leading to increased risk of heart attack, especially in people with heart conditions, and • headaches (wang et al., 2016; thomas et al., 2014: 184; galli, sawaya & friedenberg, 2011: 242). in terms of impairment, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) affects: • coordination; • reaction time; • change in sense of time; • ability to pay attention; • decision-making abilities, and • ability to judge distances. impairment can last for over 24 hours after the use of cannabis which is long after the other effects have faded (leirer, yesavage & morrow, 1991: 222). one of the consequences in regular users could be the difficulty with skills needed to drive safely for weeks after their last use, because cannabis smoking increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents (karschner et al., 2016: 685). long-term effects of the frequent use of cannabis that continue for weeks, months or years develop gradually over time (meier et al., 2012: 2657). of concern is that these effects are found to last beyond when the use of cannabis has stopped and may not be fully reversible. long-term effects on the brain that affect brain development include: theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 155 • increased addiction; • damaged memory; • inability to concentrate; • reduced intelligence quotient (iq); up to 8 iq points between the ages of 13 years and 38 yearss (jackson, isen, khoddam, irons, tuvblad, iacono, mcgue, raine & baker, 2016: 502), and • reduced ability to think and make decisions. in addition, problems with child development during and post pregnancy have been found in several studies (national academy of sciences, engineering and medicine, 2017; goldschmidt, day & richardson, 2000; richardson, ryan, willford, day & goldschmidt, 2002; perez-reyes & wall, 1982). long-term effects on the body have been found to include: • risk to lung function; • increased frequency of lung infections; • bronchitis; • chronic long-term cough; • increased mucus build-up in the throat; • cardiac arrest and strokes; • seizures, and • hyperactivity (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine, health and medicine division, 2017). the frequent use of cannabis has also been linked to an increased risk of suicide, depression and anxiety disorders. if a person smokes cannabis daily, the risk of addiction has been found to be between 25% and 50% (volkow, baler, compton & weiss, 2014: 2219). cannabis addiction has been found to lead to, inter alia, • absenteeism and failing to execute major tasks and duties at work; • giving up important activities because of cannabis use; • unintentional increased frequency of use in larger doses, and • inability to reduce or control the use of cannabis (zwerling, ryan & orav, 1990: 2640). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 156 2.5 ways of using cannabis the main ways of using cannabis are by means of smoking (inhalation) or eating (ingestion). in the case of smoking, which includes vaping, cannabis begins to work fastest as thc is carried to the brain in the bloodstream and a user may start to feel ‘high’ within seconds or minutes. the amount of thc peaks in roughly 30 minutes and then fades after one to four hours. there are several ways in which cannabis can be smoked, including: • hand-rolled into a cigarette, known as a joint; • in a pipe or water pipe, referred to as a bong; • in a cigar that has been hollowed out and refilled with cannabis, called a blunt, and • in the form of sticky resins drawn from the cannabis plant which have a higher concentration of thc. when cannabis is consumed or ingested, the effects are slower than if smoked. typical periods before the onset of the ‘high’ feeling are between 30 minutes and two hours. the after-effects last up to eight hours. cannabis can be mixed, inter alia, • in food such as brownies, cookies and candy; • in teas in which it is brewed; • in hash oil or honey oil, which is a sticky glue-like liquid; • in wax or butter form, which is a soft texture-like lip balm; • in vaporizer in liquid form; • shatter, which is a hard amber-coloured solid, or • in tonics and tinctures. 2.6 reported therapeutic benefits of using cannabis several therapeutic benefits for the use of cannabis for medicinal reasons have been reported. for example: • feeling of relaxed well-being and heightened senses, making colours appear brighter; • increased sociability; • muscle relaxant in the case of stiff muscles or muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis; • analgesic effect to relieve ongoing pain, which is the most common use for medical cannabis; • help with sleep problems in persons suffering from fibromyalgia and sleep apnoea; theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 157 • appetite stimulation in cases where persons with aids suffer loss of appetite and weight loss; • anti-emetic effect, which prevents vomiting such as from chemotherapy; • anticonvulsant effect, and • lower intraocular pressure, namely pressure in the eye (ratini, 2018). 2.7 reasons for using cannabis several reasons have been posited for the use of cannabis as a drug on construction sites. these reasons directly or indirectly relate to the working conditions on job sites or the workers themselves (mushi & manege, 2018: 68). directly related reasons or coping strategies include the need to: • increase concentration; • increase self-confidence; • have more physical strength, and • reduce anxiety and tension. other non-work-related reasons include: • tradition and customs; • personal lifestyles, and • peer pressure (kikwazi, 2015: 363; laad, abdul, chaturveli & shaikh, 2013: 281; ntili et al., 2015: 49). a study conducted in nigeria found the following: • 85% of the construction workers depend on psychotropic drugs for productivity; • 90% of the construction workers claim that they cannot work for long periods at a time; • 93% of the construction workers report that the quality of work deteriorated, and • 73% reported that workers abused psychotropic drugs on site (oraegbune et al., 2017: 242). 2.8 possible signs of having used cannabis in order to control the use of cannabis, it is vital that management and site security are able to detect the symptoms of use. there are many tell-tale signs that could alert the use of cannabis by workers and them still being ‘high.’ however, these signs might also acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 158 be indicative of the use of other substances that include alcohol or strong medication. these signs include the worker having or demonstrating, inter alia, • glassy red eyes; • poor muscle and limb co-ordination; • delayed reaction times; • increased appetite; • sudden mood shifts, and • abrupt symptoms of anxiety, panic or hallucinations. the most distinctive sign of cannabis use is its skunk-like smell or odour that generally permeates the clothes and body of the worker (meier et al., 2012: 70). 2.9 paraphernalia and hideaway places cannabis users will be ‘inventive’ to conceal their cannabisrelated activities on construction sites. for example, the following paraphernalia, inter alia, could be found on site: • rolling papers; • pipes such as glass top of bottles (darkened from burn residue); • cigar papers with their content emptied, and • edibles with a green hue. examples of places where cannabis users will hide cannabis on site include the following: • in cavities and crevices; • carved out spaces at the top of doors; • over-the-counter medication packages to avoid detection; • soda or cooldrink cans; • in drop or suspended ceiling spaces; • in water bottles; • in their clothing; • in toolboxes; • in hammer handles, and • in spirit levels, to mention a few (mushi & manege, 2018: 69). theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 159 3. research method 3.1 literature search data for the study was obtained from papers related to cannabis and illicit drug use through multiple database searches up to 2018. online-computerised search engines, including elsevier (science direct), taylor and francis, emerald insight, researchgate and other internet sources covering the main peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in the field were selected. a systematic and extensive database search was conducted, using initial descriptors such as cannabis, health and safety, substance use, construction site workers, and south africa. other keywords related to advanced and emerging technologies such as ‘drugs’, ‘substance-related disorders’, ‘psychotropic drugs’, ‘workplace safety’, and so on were identified. articles reviewed and cited in this study include those published in reputable scholarly journals and reports. two rounds of searches were conducted and the results were exported into endnote x8. after excluding duplicates, a total of 128 publications were found. 3.2 literature review selection despite strict specifications, papers within the research theme may have been missed. possibly, papers that did not match the research theme, but matched the research topic were included. therefore, the total literature had to be further filtered. at this stage, a tworound selection was conducted. first, the types of publications were considered and fact sheets, summaries, videotapes, portable guides, patents and bulletins were excluded. a total of 76 publications remained after filtering. in the second selection phase, the abstract and keywords of the 76 publications were reviewed and unsuitable papers were eliminated, leaving the number of relevant publications at 41. 4. discussion 4.1 threats to the construction industry the effect of cannabis is felt within seconds of smoking and can last up to six hours. on the other hand, after eating or ingestion, the effects are felt within 30 minutes and last for up to 12 hours (bhattacharyya et al., 2010: 764). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 160 given that the after-effects of the use of cannabis last for many hours, it is likely that construction workers who used cannabis at home or off site could come to work feeling high. consequently, they place not only themselves, but also their fellow workers at risk on construction sites. there is emerging research into the effects of second-hand exposure from a cannabis smoker, for example, in close proximity (herrmann, cone, mitchell, bigelow, lodico, flegel & vandrey, 2015: 194; cone, bigelow, herrmann, mitchell, lodico, flegel & vandrey, 2015: 1). in south africa, as the overarching piece of legislation in the country, the constitution stipulates that employees are entitled to a working environment that does not present a threat to their health and safety. this entitlement is captured in the occupational health and safety act of 1993 as amended, in terms of which employers must ensure a working environment for all their workers that does not present a threat to their health and safety. the construction regulations of 2014 requires the development, implementation, monitoring and review of the siteand projectspecific health and safety plan to manage the health and safety aspects of the construction project. this plan would incorporate the provisions of several policies that should include a policy on substance abuse. this policy should ideally be a ‘zero tolerance’ one, with clear censures for non-compliance with its provisions. 4.2 impact on construction sites the use and abuse of cannabis by construction workers, given the likelihood that its use will be more visible and brazenly open, particularly in south africa after the court ruling, will lead to several impacts on construction projects. the construction sector will also be affected, unless its use on site or after-effects from use at home or off site are controlled on site in the workplace. these include: • high rates of absenteeism by workers who use cannabis and have after-effects from use before coming to work; • loss of productivity on site because of the lasting effects of use off site; • violent and unpredictable behaviour that could even include petty crimes such as theft and pilfering to fund the cannabis habit; • steadily decreasing work quality, resulting in unnecessary rework; • increasing inability to pay attention and concentrate for any length of time; theo haupt • an appraisal of the use of cannabis on construction sites 161 • needless risk-taking, threatening workplace safety and the safety of fellow workers on site, and • high labour turnover with the associated recruitment costs (laad et al., 2013: 281; ntili et al., 2015: 54; biggs & williamson, 2012: 451; pidd, roche & buisman-pijlman, 2011: 1627; pidd, roche & white, 2011), especially since the industry suffers from a chronic skills shortage. according to a recent study, 15.1% of the construction workers used drugs. another study of 150 construction workers between the ages of 20 years and 40 years found the widespread use of cannabis, because it was inexpensive and easily obtainable (mushi & manege, 2018: 66). 5. recommendations for on-site control construction sites have been found to be the most susceptible and vulnerable workplaces for cannabis use (pidd, shtangey & roche, 2008: 63; frone, 2006a: 4; frone, 2006b: 857). a study found that third parties such as women as food vendors were used to smuggle in cannabis under the guise of bringing or selling food to workers. security guards were paid to turn a blind eye (mushi & manege, 2018: 69). suggestions to improve the control of the use of cannabis itself on site or to reduce the likelihood of construction workers coming on to the site with the effects of cannabis use off site include: • the need for management including foremen, site supervisors and site security personnel to be knowledgeable, aware and vigilant (bowen et al., 2014: 10); • create behavioural change in the workplace through the combined use of the traditional extrinsic pathway governed by systems and rules with rewards and punishments and the intrinsic pathway which establishes voluntary compliance via individual commitment to health and safety (biggs & williamson, 2012: 451); • development of intensive awareness programmes presented using multiple media as part of toolbox talk programmes; • implementation of peer interventions and support initiatives, since workers are more likely to respond to their peers than to their supervisors; • development and communication with the involvement of trade unions and health and safety representatives of a acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 162 ‘no or zero tolerance’ substance abuse policy that includes regular random testing (bowen et al., 2014: 11); • disciplinary action where the substance abuse policy has been breached; • improving access and egress control of construction sites that may include random physical body searches and restriction of worker exits during working hours; • conducting frequent routine inspections of workplaces and ablution facilities; • setting up an anonymous helpline for workers to report use and to seek counselling if addicted to cannabis; • consideration for a strict no smoking policy or provision of designated smoking areas that are properly monitored; • reducing workplace stressors that include adjusting workloads and improving workplace culture and controls through holistic wellness programmes (bowen et al., 2014: 11), and • provision of lockers on site for workers in properly monitored areas. 6. conclusion it is likely that at least 15% of the construction workers, irrespective of trades, levels of skills and experience, are cannabis users. management and supervisors need to know their workers well enough to detect sudden changes and symptoms of possible cannabis use. younger male workers are most likely to use cannabis on site. appropriate policies with support and involvement of worker representatives are necessary. access control and regular inspections are required to prevent the smuggling of cannabis onto construction sites, with particular emphasis on items usually allowed on site. further study is necessary to determine the impact of the recent court ruling on the use of cannabis on construction sites in south africa as well as the challenges it presents 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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.09.042 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.09.042 www.unodc.org/pdf/wdr_2004/volume_1.pdf www.unodc.org/pdf/wdr_2004/volume_1.pdf www.unodc.org/pdf/26_june0709/typesofdrugs-brochure-en.pdf www.unodc.org/pdf/26_june0709/typesofdrugs-brochure-en.pdf www.unodc.org/doc/wdr2016/world_drug_report_2016_web.pdf www.unodc.org/doc/wdr2016/world_drug_report_2016_web.pdf 10.1056/nejmra 10.1161/jaha 10.1161/jaha 83 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mariam akinlolu dr mariam akinlolu, post-doctoral research fellow, department of construction management and quantity surveying, mangosuthu university of technology, durban, south africa. phone: 0840503384, email: akinlolumariam@gmail. com, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-6747-0205 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: february 2022 reviewed and revised: march june 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: adolescent, construction, career choice, career development, careers in the construction industry, gender, gender stereotypes, men, socio-economic status, ses, social class, women how to cite: akinlolu, m. 2022. gender stereotypes and career choices: a cross-sectional study on a group of south african students in construction programs. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 83-115. gender stereotypes and career choices: a crosssectional study on a group of south african students in construction programmes research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.4 abstract gendered perceptions may determine the aspirations and expectations, as well as the academic and career choice of young people. this article examines the role of gender stereotypes as a predictor of career choices of students in construction. a survey of 229 conveniently sampled students, enrolled in construction-related programmes was conducted. the objectives of the study are to measure the relationship between gender stereotypes and career choice behaviour, and to measure the effect of gender and socio-economic status on how gender stereotypes influence student’s career choices. the mann-whitney u and kruskal-wallis test were used to test for significant differences between gender and socio-economic status (ses) groups. results show that, as opposed to men, women seem to perceive gender stereotypes as having more influence on their career choices than men. the study finds statistically significant differences in gender stereotypes among the low and medium socio-economic groups. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 83-115 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 84 abstrak geslagtelike oortuigings kan die aspirasies en verwagtinge, sowel as die akademiese en beroepskeuse van jongmense bepaal. hierdie studie ondersoek die rol van geslagstereotipes as ’n voorspeller van loopbaankeuses van studente in konstruksie. met behulp van gerieflike monsterneming is ’n opname onder 229 studente, wat ingeskryf is vir konstruksieverwante programme, gedoen. die doelwitte van die studie is om die verband tussen geslagstereotipes en beroepskeusegedrag te meet en om die effek van geslag en sosio-ekonomiese status te meet, oor hoe geslagstereotipes studente se loopbaankeuses beïnvloed. die mann-whitney u en kruskal-wallis toets is gebruik om te toets vir beduidende verskille tussen die geslag en ses groepe. resultate toon dat, in teenstelling met mans, sien vroue blykbaar dat geslagstereotipes meer invloed op hul loopbaankeuses het as vir mans. die studie het statisties beduidende verskille in geslagstereotipes onder die lae en medium ses-groepe gevind. 1. introduction numerous studies concerning the career choices and aspirations of young people validate the fundamental principle that the historical and cultural environment moulds the development of an individual, particularly the youth (watson, mcmahon & longe, 2011: 414). their career aspirations gradually become constrained and influenced during and after high school. during these stages, occupational aspirations become progressively realistic, and their self-identity develops through their interaction with the environment, primarily through exposure to adult career roles (becares & priest, 2015: 2). young people become cognisant of career choices and opportunities as they become exposed to people in their immediate environment (galvaan, 2015: 39; olsson & martiny, 2018: 2). a variety of social and cultural factors such as family could affect career development and aspirations (schultheiss, 2003: 304; whiston & keller, 2004: 496; van tuijl & van der molen, 2016: 161; miville, mendez & louie, 2017: 175) personality interests, family, school, media, socio-economic and geographic settings have been found to have an impact on the professional aspirations of adolescents (porfeli, hartung & vondracek, 2008: 27; watson et al., 2011: 413; albien & naidoo, 2017). owing to south africa’s sociopolitical history, the process of career development is quite challenging (watson et al., 2011: 413). socioeconomic inequalities have been found to relate with gender, education and employment, and influence career development research, theories, and practice. watson et al. (2011) identified a connection between the influence of parents on the vocational aspirations of children and the occupations of parents. mouton, louw and strydom (2013) observed that school children display an unsatisfactory low progression rate, with children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, whose parents possess meagre educational qualifications being the most disadvantaged. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 85 gender has been identified as an influential factor in career choice behaviour, and such indicates that different trajectories may exist regarding gender stereotypes and career choice process for men and women (degol et al., 2018: 976; rocha & van praag, 2020: 842). the influence of society on children’s career development emerges from gender-role stereotyping of career aspirations and emanates from social influences (walton et al., 2011: 414; shapiro et al., 2015: 5; olsson & martiny, 2018: 3). numerous studies have been conducted to examine the stereotypical beliefs on career choice in male-dominated occupations and have hypothesized that the underrepresentation of women in the construction industry is due to genderstereotyping of careers (hadjar & aeschlimann, 2015: 26; banchefsky & park, 2018: 2). likewise, studies have identified a range of sociocultural motives on gendered differences in male-dominated environments (madikizela & haupt, 2010; enshassi & mohammaden, 2012; akinlolu & haupt, 2019). perceptions on the suitable occupations for women in the labour market and the inappropriateness of women undertaking careers in maledominated fields are commonly cited barriers (ahuja & kumari, 2012: 57; lekchiri & kamm, 2020: 577; o’connell & mckinnon, 2021). gender stereotypes have been found to contribute to the gender imbalance in the industry, which consequently has made construction an undesirable choice for many women (navarro-astor, román-onsalo & infante-perea, 2017: 202). misconceptions about construction and the influence of social and environmental factors have led women to perceive negative stereotypes regarding their abilities to perform in the industry (charity-leeke, 2012: 40). it is, therefore, important to examine the relationship between gender stereotypes and career choice behaviour. numerous studies have explored career choices in other non-traditional and male-dominated environments (shapiro et al., 2009; wells, delgadoromero & shelton, 2010; akinlolu & haupt, 2020; panteli &urquhart, 2022; anwar & khan, 2021), but few have specifically focused on the construction industry in the south african context, where the experiences of people may differ because of various sociocultural influences. findings from previous studies suggest that demography and ethnic differences may have an impact on career choice and perceptions of career-related barriers. although there have been numerous studies on gender issues in the construction industry (chileshe & haupt, 2010; english & hay, 2015; enshassi & mohammaden, 2012; rosa et al., 2017; vainikolo, 2017), fewer studies have focused on inter-group differences (holvino, 2010). this study aims to measure the effect of person variables such as gender and socioeconomic status (ses) on how gender stereotypes influence student’s career choices in the construction industry. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 86 2. literature review 2.1 career choice a career is a major predictor of a person’s wealth, income, status, nature of work, and lifestyle (kazi & akhlaq, 2017: 187). a wrong career choice can lead to failure and disappointment (bubić & ivanišević, 2016: 499). career choice and development is important because it has consequences for socio-economic equalities and mobility (kim, ahn & fouad, 2016: 515). overtime, the complexity of the career choice process has increased significantly. people are more likely to describe their career choice as a unique interaction between their development phases and environmental circumstances (kunnen, 2013). typically, young people are required to undergo a process of understanding, defining, and exploring different career options with the aid of career guidance and planning (polenova et al., 2018: 53; bubić & ivanišević, 2016: 499). proper career planning results in fulfilment, affirms a person’s unique identity, and promotes job satisfaction and well-being. 2.2 gender stereotypes and gender roles gender stereotypes are conceptions commonly held by society that attribute a set of characteristics, skills, and behaviour to men and women, indicating that what is masculine is feminine and vice versa (makarova, aeschlimann & herzog, 2016: 2). shelley, morabito and tobin-gurley (2011: 352) stated that gender role stereotypes are institutionalized when authorities and individuals in a society share a collective opinion concerning roles suited for men and women. as part of a societal belief system, stereotypes are descriptive and prescriptive (koenig, 2018: 1). the descriptive component of gender stereotypes uncovers how men and women behave and are usually perceived, while the prescriptive element reveals what men and women ought to be and, more importantly, what they ought not to be (hentschel, heilman & peus, 2019: 2). koenig (2018) argued that descriptive and prescriptive stereotypes are not different from one another; instead, there is an intersection between them, with a direct relation between prescribed behaviours and positive characteristics that describe each gender. these stereotypical beliefs are considerably moulded from sociocultural expectations, which include perceptions of males and females and their occupational roles (makarova et al., 2016: 4). socialization facilitated by parents, teachers, peers, and media during childhood through adolescence promotes gender stereotyping (francis, 2017: 255). gender stereotypes stem from an individual’s observation and perception of daily activities of a particular group and the perceiver’s belief that the personal attributes and capabilities required to conduct a task are typical of that group (hentschel et al., 2019: 1). https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2018.00058/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2018.00058/full akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 87 associated with stereotypical societal roles, men are expected to have higher power and occupy senior work positions, while women take up domestic roles and have a lesser status in society (makarova et al., 2016: 4). an example of such instances is when women are perceived to possess domestic skills, while men are considered to have mechanical skills (kornrich & ruppanner, 2021:11887). szelényi, denson and inkelas (2013) indicated that stereotypical beliefs emphasize the communality of women and the agency of men. men are believed to be self-asserted and dominant, while women are attributed with qualities of selflessness, empathy, and emotions. although it is flattering that women are perceived as warm, supportive, and kind, these stereotypes may also undermine their abilities and competence (szelényi et al., 2013). rudman and glick (2001) opined that, most of the time, perceptions of empathy and the proficiency of social groups are inversely connected and that practices of sexism that perceive women as warm but not competent, serve to promote gender inequality. therefore, these assumptions confirm that gender stereotypes are assigned by gender and are universal unfounded generalizations targeted to specific groups, resulting in a basis for the inaccuracy (saucerman & vasquez, 2014: 46). 2.3 gender stereotypes and career choices in construction historically, in south africa, women were at the centre of discriminatory laws that favoured men and were confronted with the burden of unwaged labour (haupt & fester, 2012: 56; makarova et al., 2016: 3). an inflexible and obdurate arrangement of working conditions and poor maternity rights prevented them from performing well, bearing in mind that they require breaks for childcare and family responsibilities (vainikolo, 2017: 26). these responsibilities often deny them the opportunity to undertake full-time paid employment (ibáñez, 2017: 41). reports from the international labour organization (ilo) initiated the start of research on gender inequality, poor working conditions experienced by women, and barriers to entry in the construction industry (charity-leeke, 2012: 45). therefore, construction research focusing on women post-1980 concentrated on women in developing countries and the bulk of the studies in the construction industry remains focused on developing countries, as gender issues are comparatively more severe in these countries (vainikolo, 2017: 26). studies have found a link between gender stereotypes and work opportunities concerning career choices and expectations (madikizela & haupt, 2010; atalay & doan, 2020). events and experiences that occur during childhood could influence an individual later in life (watson et al., 2011: 415). early childhood interaction enables and teaches young men akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 88 to master their environment, while young women learn to seek help and protection (moodley, 2012: 23; enshassi & mohammaden, 2012: 3). madikizela and haupt (2010) confirmed that young people begin to make career decisions by the age of 16 and that gender-based career stereotyping hinders the ability for young girls to make career choices or take contrary career decisions in opposition to the will of their parents. english and hay (2015) revealed that, although many parents were reluctant to encourage their daughters to take up a profession in construction, they showed no hesitance in allowing their sons to enter the construction industry. these findings offer explanations for the lack of consideration that many capable women give to construction-related careers. women’s participation in the construction industry breaks gender stereotypes and promotes the empowerment of women, by ensuring a rationale for sustainable sources of income (gupta et al., 2009: 399; moodley, 2012: 23). although some progress has been made with attracting women into the construction industry, since the industry begun to establish initiatives targeted to increase the representation of women within the sector, their involvement and participation remains relatively low (worrall et al., 2010: 270; aneke, derera & bomani, 2017: 38; vainikolo, 2017: 28; alves & english, 2018: 582). gender-based barriers continue to be a problem in the recruitment and retention of women in the construction industry (charity-leeke, 2012). the south african construction industry is the third most predominantly male sector and demonstrates extreme discrimination in the recruitment of women (navarro-astor et al., 2017: 202). 2.4 gender stereotypes and participation in the construction industry literature has indicated that women do not take up careers in construction for several reasons (wangle, 2009; rosa et al., 2017). heteronormative gender stereotyping is evident through men’s perception of women’s capabilities (wright, 2014: 985; vainikolo, 2017: 25). embedded social and cultural beliefs regarding construction work have reinforced the perception that women are unsuitable and unable to handle the heavy workload in the industry (adeyemi et al., 2006: 567; wangle, 2009: 35; francis, 2017: 255; vainikolo, 2017: 26). womens’ lack of interest in construction has been attributed to socially developed divisions in male-dominated occupations. the treatments, to which women, who enter these professions, are subjected by their male counterparts, affect their choices relating to flexible work hours and balancing childcare (moccio, 2006: 6; mangaroo-pillay & botha, 2020: 477). along with men’s perceptions regarding women’s unsuitability for construction work, maternal profiling creates doubts about akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 89 women’s abilities (saucerman & vasquez, 2014: 45; sassler et al., 2017: 193). this mindset intensifies gender disparities and puts women at a constant disadvantage (mangaroo-pillay & botha, 2020: 477). several studies revealed that women are often discouraged from undertaking careers in the construction industry by informal recruitment processes, advertisements, and promotional materials with content that reflects masculine qualities and interests, unfair selection measures, and chauvinist demeanours (english & lejeune, 2012: 145; moodley, 2012; kolade & kehinde, 2013: 77; othman & jaafar, 2013: 277; makarova et al., 2016: 3). empirical evidence shows that the existence of gender inequality in the construction industry affects the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and is primarily attributed to social and structural barriers (sang & powell, 2012: 239). women, especially black women, who were employed in the construction industry, identified problems such as women hindering the progress of other women, female managers achieving their real potential due to patriarchy, lack of role models, and lack of confidence (suraj-narayan, 2010: 234; mgcotyelwa, 2013). in a study conducted by mcdonald (2011: 325), the culture of the industry was identified as a predominant barrier to the recruitment and retention of men and women. although significant for both genders, the culture of the sector was found to be principally a significant barrier for women. discriminatory behaviours towards women include the belief that women are unsuitable to occupy executive positions, since the model of an ideal manager is based on masculine qualities (makarova et al., 2016: 4). women have to circumnavigate common issues such as discriminatory attitudes perpetrated by the dominant male management and adversarial business relationships (worrall et al., 2010; haupt & fester, 2012: 54). women occupy supporting roles involving secretarial, clerical, and administrative duties which are linked to society’s stereotypical beliefs that recognize women as nurturers (arditi, gluch & holmdahl, 2013: 981; kaewsri & tongthong, 2013: 291; wright, 2014: 986; francis, 2017: 254). this implies that women listen actively and use discretion in decision-making and problem-solving (vainikolo, 2017: 25). meanwhile, men’s roles consist of managerial duties and tasks that involve strength and lifting heavy tools (kaewsri & tongthong, 2013: 291). these gendered roles are assigned from the assumption that each gender possesses a distinct set of skills (vainikolo, 2017: 25). numerous studies have shown that women who look to pursue careers in the construction industry either have to behave like men to be successful, leave if they cannot adapt to the masculine culture, or maintain their feminine attitudes to occupy minor positions (english & lejeune, 2012; haupt & fester, 2012; moodley, 2012; english & hay, 2015: 147; vainikolo, 2017: 26). akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 90 2.5 gender stereotypes, academic choices, and societal expectations in line with gender stereotypes, several influences within the educational environment and societal expectations have been found to pressure girls and women to conform to standards of femininity and circumnavigate maledominated careers (esteban-gonzalo et al., 2020: 1370). consequently, women ultimately acknowledge professions such as nursing and teaching as progressively feminine. on the other hand, disciplines such as engineering are perceived as masculine (sangweni, 2015: 25). women steer away from socially unacceptable professions because of adverse reactions from family members and employers (haupt & fester, 2012: 54). a survey of female construction students found that over 50% of the respondents indicated that their family and friends influence their career decisions (jimoh et al., 2016). an investigation of the influence of parental attitudes on the career decisions revealed that mothers often expect their sons to outdo their daughters in scienceand engineering-related subjects and their daughters to surpass their sons in social and art-related subjects (wang & degol, 2017: 121; jacobs, ahmad & sax, 2017: 2). the studies further revealed that girls whose mothers held these perceptions performed poorly in mathematics and physics subjects as opposed to their performance in english and geography. girls who undertake studies in science and engineering fields were found to be disfavoured by both male and female teachers, while boys were given preference and expected to outperform the girls (chileshe & haupt, 2010: 222; o’donnell et al., 2015: 38; lavy & sand, 2018: 265). 3. materials and methods 3.1 research design using a quantitative survey research design, this study aims to measure the effect of person variables such as gender and socio-economic status on how gender stereotypes influence students’ perceptions of career choices in the construction industry. quantitative research uses statistics and numbers in the analysis (descriptive and inferential) (denis, 2019: 19, 41) and interpretation of findings that are generalised from the sample to the population (creswell, 2014: 11; bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2018: 16). it allows for using structured questionnaire surveys to measure objectives by counting and the use of several scales (bless et al., 2018: 16). for this study, ten gender stereotypes statements (see table 3) were set to measure and rank the influence of gender stereotypes on career choice. exploratory factor analysis (efa) was used to test the reliability and validity of the gender stereotypes construct (yong & pearce, 2013: 80). for analysis, akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 91 univariate (mean score and frequency), multivariate (mann-whitney u and kruskal wallis) and bivariate (pearson’s chi-square) tests were adopted because the study considered several research variables (hair et al., 2010: 82). results from these tests were used to test for significant differences between men and women and among socio-economic groups and assess the relationship between gender stereotypes and the career choices among students enrolled in construction-related programmes. 3.2 population, sample, and response rate during the time of the study (2021), 461 undergraduate students were enrolled in construction-related undergraduate programmes in two higher education institutions in the kwazulu-natal province of south africa. conveniently sampling, that is a non-probability sampling method (saunders, lewis & thornhill, 2009), was used to select 461 study participants, from this population of firstto fourth-year students enrolled in programmes such as land surveying, architecture, quantity surveying, civil engineering, and building. convenience sampling was preferred because it saves time and it is economical to select participants from institutions that are closest to the researcher and more convenient to access (sekaran & bougie, 2010: 50). because of the lack of probability sampling, there is no intention of generalizing the results of this study to a population of all students in south africa. the sample size table, compiled by krejcie and morgan (1970: 608), recommends a sample size of 210 for a population of 460. this recommendation validates the sample size of 461 as excellent for the population of 461. from the sample of 461, 229 participants completed and returned the survey responses, resulting in a response rate of 50%. according to moyo and crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. 3.3 data collection the survey questionnaire was administered for five weeks from december 2020 to january 2021. the questionnaire was designed using google forms and administered electronically by sending out hyperlinks to the questionnaire via email and the whatsapp platform. the first section of the questionnaire inquired about the gender, year, programme of study, and socio-economic status of the participants. the second section was a set of 10 likert-scale items on the construct gender stereotypes (extracted from reviews from the literature) (see table 3). respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement, to examine if gender stereotypes influence career choices in the construction industry. the data from the measurements in section 2 forms the variables used in the efa, which tested the validity and reliability of the factors. to reduce the respondent’s akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 92 bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section two (stockemer, 2019: 42). gatekeeper’s permission was obtained from the participating universities before the survey of the students. the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a consent form stating the purpose of the research, and the implications of participation in the study. consenting participants were guaranteed complete confidentiality in the treatment of their responses, as no names of participants were requested in the questionnaire and all other personal information such as phone numbers and email addresses were omitted in the data analysis. 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of the findings the statistical package for social science (spss) version 27 was used to analyse the gender stereotypes and measure them against sociodemographic variables, by using descriptive and inferential statistics (george & mallery, 2021: 112, 161). 3.4.1 descriptive analysis for descriptive analysis, the frequencies and percentages of responses were generated and reported, to analyse the respondents’ sociodemographic profile. to determine the socio-economic background of the respondents, participants were required to indicate the current or last occupation and the highest qualification of the breadwinner of their household. weightings were assigned to each measure under occupation and qualification. the weightings were then used to group the respondents into high, medium, and low ses categories. values less than 3 were assigned to low ses, while those less than 6 but greater than 3 were assigned to medium ses categories. finally, values greater than 6 were assigned to high ses categories. the mean score (ms) ratings were used to rank the level of agreement on how the ten statements on gender stereotypes affect respondents’ career choices. according to leedy & ormrod (2010: 185), likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure opinions. for the purpose of analysis, the ranges relative to the ms are defined as follows: 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 to ≤1.49); 2 = disagree (≥1.50 to ≤2.49); 3 = neutral (≥2.50 to ≤3.49); 4 = agree (≥3.50 to ≤4.49), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.50 to ≤5.00). in determining the internal reliability of the gender stereotypes scale, cronbach’s alpha values were determined in line with taber (2018: 1279), who stated that the acceptable cronbach’s alpha values range from 0.70 to 0.95. in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.70 was preferred. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 93 to determine the normality of the data gathered, the shapiro-wilk test was adopted. the shapiro-wilk test makes comparisons between the scores obtained from a sample to normally distributed score sets with the same mean and standard deviation. a non-significant test result, namely the test significance is greater than .05, means that the difference is insignificantly different from a normal distribution, therefore indicating normality (pallant, 2021). 3.4.2 factor analysis in a factor analysis, the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) should range from 0.2 to 0.4, for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2021: 188), and, in the current study, a value of 0.4 and above was adopted. the bartlett’s test of sphericity, and the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy test were used to assess the data’s factor suitability (pallant, 2021). factor analysis is deemed appropriate when the value of the kmo test is higher than the acceptable minimum limit of 0.6 and a limit of 1 (pallant, 2021; tabachnick & fidell, 2013: 482). a statistically significant bartlett test (p<0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the items in the construct to continue with the analysis (hair et al., 2010: 110; field, 2013: 38; pallant, 2021: 190). for factor extraction, maximum likelihood and promax with kaiser normalization rotation (oblique correlated) was used to calculate population values for factor loadings that maximize the likelihood of sampling the observed correlation matrix from a population (pallant, 2021). as each factor is extracted, the maximum likelihood analysis statistically tests the significance. item communalities between 0.25 and 0.4 have been suggested as acceptable cut-off values, and for this study 0.3 was adopted (beavers et al., 2013: 3). the kaiser’s criterion or the eigenvalue rule was adopted to determine the number of factors to retain (pallant, 2021; tabachnick & fidell, 2013: 38). eigenvalues greater than 1 were considered significant and retained (laher, 2010; matsunaga, 2010: 100). by conducting a correlation analysis, relationships between an item and another were measured (pallant, 2021). the value of correlation co-efficient ranges from -1.00 to +1.00. a correlation coefficient of 0 indicates no relationship between the variable in question. the closer the coefficient is to 1.00 (positive or negative), the stronger the relationship. to indicate discriminant validity, correlation coefficients should be above the cut-off value of 0.30 and less than 0.90 (kline, 2015). akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 94 3.4.3 inferential analysis following the result of the normality test, which revealed a non-normal distribution of data, a non-parametric test was deemed suitable to test for significant differences among the gender and ses groups concerning gender stereotypes and career choices. the study adopted the mannwhitney u test to test for significant differences between the gender groups and used the kruskal-wallis test for significant differences between the ses groups. the dunn-bonferroni post-hoc test was conducted to determine where the significant differences lie between the ses groups. a p-value of 0.05 or less indicates a significant difference between groups. the pearson’s chi-square test was used to test for any significant relationship between gender stereotypes and career choices. the parameter estimate is significant at p≤0.05. 4. results 4.1 respondents’ profile table 1 shows an almost equal distribution between men (50.7%) and women (49.3%) in the sample. first-year students had the largest number of participants, with 94 students (41%), followed by second-year students at 87 (38%). this rate of participation is possible because the first-year cohort of students at south african universities is usually larger than the later years or more advanced levels of study. the distribution shows that construction management (48%), quantity surveying (21.8%), and building (20.5%) were the best represented study programme groups. architecture represented the lowest number of students (n=1; 0.4%) in the sample because only one of the universities offered the programme and typically had fewer numbers of students compared to the other disciplines and programmes. table 2 shows that, based on the occupation and the highest qualification of the breadwinner of the household, 133 (58.1%) of the students were categorized to be of low socio-economic status. table 1: demographic distribution demographic category frequency (n = 229) % gender men 116 50.7 women 113 49.3 year of study 1st 94 41.0 2nd 87 38.0 3rd 30 13.1 4th 18 7.9 akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 95 demographic category frequency (n = 229) % programme of study construction management 110 48.0 land surveying 4 1.7 quantity surveying 50 21.8 civil engineering 17 7.4 building 47 20.5 architecture 1 0.4 table 2: socio-economic background characteristic category frequency (n = 229) % occupation of the breadwinner of the household unskilled 161 70.3 skilled 21 9.2 graduate 39 17.0 specialist 8 3.5 highest qualification of the breadwinner of the household post-matric 59 25.7 matric 54 23.7 high school 59 25.7 primary school 57 24.9 socio-economic status high ses 42 18.3 medium ses 54 23.6 low ses 133 58.1 4.2 ranking gender stereotypes based on career choice table 3 ranks the gender stereotypes influencing the career choices in the construction industry. the cronbach’s alpha value was greater than 0.80 at 0.939, indicating acceptable internal reliability of the factors, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). with an average ms of 2.39, the respondents disagreed that gender stereotypes influence career choices in the construction industry, except for work abilities, and harder work as counterparts, that were rated as neutral. the shapiro-wilk test indicated a non-normal distribution at p=0.000 (significant p>.05) for all the variables. maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors and chi-square was employed to account for the non-normal distribution of data. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 96 table 3: descriptive statistics – gender stereotypes statement descriptive statistics (n = 229) cronbach’s alpha 0.939 shapiro-wilk 0.000 ms rank remark value p-value sig. because of my gender, people will believe i possess lesser abilities in my work 2.70 1 neutral .882 0.000 because of my gender, i will have to work twice as hard as my counterparts 2.68 2 neutral .881 0.000 because of my gender, i will be expected to do administrative work 2.21 3 disagree .831 0.000 because of my gender, i will have to occupy a junior position at work 2.18 4= disagree .834 0.000 because of my gender, i will be expected to possess domestic skills rather than technical skills 2.18 4= disagree .794 0.000 because of my gender, i will be expected to choose a career different from the one i prefer 2.14 5 disagree .687 0.000 because of my gender, i will be expected to have a lesser status in the society 2.13 6 disagree .811 0.000 because of my gender, people will believe i will perform badly in mathematics and science subjects 1.96 7 disagree .761 0.000 because of my gender, i will be expected to have a low level of education 1.93 8 disagree .757 0.000 because of my gender, i will earn a lower salary than my counterparts for similar work 1.90 9 disagree .754 0.000 average ms (composite score) 2.39 disagree significant at p>.05 4.3 exploratory factor analysis ten items of the gender stereotypes construct with communalities loadings of 0.4 and above were subjected to efa. the kmo for gender stereotypes was 0.931, which is greater than 0.70, and a significant bartlett’s test of sphericity with p<0.000 was obtained, as shown in table 4. the results meet the criteria for factor analysability. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 97 table 4: kmo and bartlett’s test for gender stereotypes kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy .931 bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square 1943.421 df 45 sig. .000 from the results presented in table 5, one factor with an eigenvalue of 6.634 accounted for 66% of the variance. the factor analysis results suggest that one factor may be adequate to represent all the data for the construct gender stereotypes and are, therefore, considered unidimensional and adequate evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. table 5: initial eigenvalues for gender stereotypes factor initial eigen values total % of variance cumulative % 1 6.634 66.336 66.336 2 .792 7.917 74.253 3 .678 6.775 81.028 4 .479 4.793 85.821 5 .358 3.578 89.399 6 .310 3.103 92.502 7 .260 2.602 95.104 8 .253 2.526 97.630 9 .139 1.390 99.020 10 .098 .980 100.000 the corrected item-total correlation values were greater than the recommended cut-off value of 0.3, indicating that the items were a good measure of the construct. the factor loadings for all items were greater than 0.40, shown in table 6, and the communalities values of 0.3 and above for the items were all acceptable. this indicates that all factors are statistically valid to represent the construct. three items (gst4, gst5, gst6) had loadings above 0.900. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 98 table 6: gender stereotypes factor statistics item factor factor loading corrected item-total correlation communalities initial extraction gst1 because of my gender, people will believe i possess lesser abilities in my work .556 .569 .404 .309 gst2 because of my gender, i will have to work twice as hard as my counterparts .654 .653 .512 .428 gst3 because of my gender, i will have to occupy a junior position at work .804 .773 .678 .647 gst4 because of my gender, i will be expected to do administrative work .902 .851 .801 .813 gst5 because of my gender, i will be expected to have a lesser status in society .926 .865 .840 .857 gst6 because of my gender, i will be expected to possess domestic skills rather than technical skills .942 .885 .859 .888 gst7 because of my gender, i will be expected to have a low level of education .806 .790 .695 .649 gst8 because of my gender, i will be expected to choose a career different from the one i prefer .683 .692 .534 .467 gst9 because of my gender, people will believe i will perform badly in mathematics and science subjects .742 .748 .631 .550 gst10 because of my gender, i will earn a lower salary than my counterparts for similar work .798 .776 .650 .637 extraction method: maximum likelihood rotation method: promax with kaiser normalization as indicated in table 7, almost all items have positive and high correlation with each other ranging from r=.412 for gst1 and gst3 to r=.887 for gst5 and gst6. due to relative high correlations between items, with correlation values above 0.30 and less than 0.90, the ten items in the gender stereotypes scale would be good for factor analysis as all the construct items fulfil the requirement for convergent validity (that is constructs that are expected to be related are, in fact, related). akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 99 ta bl e 7: c or re la tio n co effi ci en t f or g en de r s te re ot yp es ite m g st 1 g st 2 g st 3 g st 4 g st 5 g st 6 g st 7 g st 8 g st 9 g st 10 g st 1 1. 00 0 g st 2 .5 41 1. 00 0 g st 3 .4 12 .6 24 1. 00 0 g st 4 .4 88 .6 06 .7 55 1. 00 0 g st 5 .5 15 .5 90 .7 69 .8 47 1. 00 0 g st 6 .5 03 .6 07 .7 25 .8 61 .8 87 1. 00 0 g st 7 .4 14 .4 84 .6 30 .6 74 .7 22 .7 69 1. 00 0 g st 8 .4 31 .4 63 .5 51 .6 22 .5 69 .6 21 .6 58 1. 00 0 g st 9 .5 03 .4 49 .5 39 .6 19 .6 53 .6 91 .7 12 .6 20 1. 00 0 g st 10 .4 39 .4 67 .6 52 .6 97 .7 27 .7 40 .6 97 .5 79 .6 92 1. 00 0 akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 100 4.4 inferential analysis 4.4.1 multivariate analysis to assess gender differences the mann-whitney u test was conducted to test for significant differences between men and women, with regards to the influence of gender stereotypes. table 8 shows the mean scores for the career choice predictor, and the rank order for men and women. table 8: test statistics for gender and gender stereotypes career choice predictor gender mis mann-whitney u men women z-value sig. gender stereotypes 24.03 27.07 4.000 0.000* *significant at p≤.05 on the gender stereotype construct, men reported a mean score of 24.03, while women reported 27.64. this indicates that women perceived gender stereotypes to have a slightly higher influence on their career choices, compared to their male counterparts. the z-value and the sig. value obtained from the mann-whitney u test were also presented. significant differences between the two groups were found, indicating that men and women perceived the influence of gender stereotypes differently, based on their gender (z=4.000, p=.000) as the sig. values were less than the cut-off value of 0.05. table 9 presents further assessment of each of the gender stereotype variables. both men and women perceived that occupying a junior position at work (z=.504, p=.614) or doing administrative work (z=2.560, p=.100) had no influence on their career choices in the construction industry. there were significant differences in the perception of men and women for gst1, gst2, gst5, gst6, gst7, gst8, gst9 and gst10. women perceived that possessing lesser abilities in work (z=6.657, p=.000), working twice as hard as counterparts (z=8.830, p=.000), having a lesser status in society (z=2.680, p=.007), possessing domestic skills rather than technical skills (z=2.709, p=.007), having a low level of education (z=2.934, p=.001), expectations to choose a career other than the preferred one (z=3.284, p=.001), performing badly in mathematics and science subjects (z=3.138, p=.002), and earning a lower salary than counterparts for the same work (z=2.397, p=.017) had a higher influence on their career choices in the construction industry compared to men. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 101 table 9: gender differences: further analysis for gender stereotypes item factors mis mann-whitney u men women z-value p-value sig. gst1 because of my gender, people will believe i possess lesser abilities in my work 86.92 143.82 6.657 0.000* gst2 because of my gender, i will have to work twice as hard as my counterparts 98.84 131.58 8.830 0.000* gst3 because of my gender, i will have to occupy a junior position at work 112.92 117.14 0.504 0.614 gst4 because of my gender, i will be expected to do administrative work 104.41 125.84 2.560 0.100 gst5 because of my gender, i will be expected to have a lesser status in society 103.98 126.31 2.680 0.007* gst6 because of my gender, i will be expected to possess domestic skills rather than technical skills 103.92 126.37 2.709 0.007* gst7 because of my gender, i will be expected to have a low level of education 103.31 127.00 2.934 0.003* gst8 because of my gender, i will be expected to choose a career different from the one i prefer 101.78 128.57 3.284 0.001* gst9 because of my gender, people will believe i will perform badly in mathematics and science subjects 102.39 127.95 3.138 0.002* gst10 because of my gender, i will earn a lower salary than my counterparts for similar work 105.47 124.78 2.397 0.017* *significant at p≤.05 4.4.2 multivariate analysis to assess ses differences the kruskal wallis test was conducted to test for significant differences in the influence of the career choice predictors between the ses groups. table 10 shows that significant differences were found for gender stereotypes (chi-square =9.228, p=.010) as the sig. values were less than the alpha value of 0.05. the mean score for the high ses was 26.23, the medium ses group was 20.09, and the low ses was 29.56. this result indicates that, compared to the other groups, the students from low socio-economic backgrounds found gender stereotypes to have a higher influence on their career choices in construction. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 102 table 10: test statistics for ses and gender stereotypes career choice predictor high ses medium ses low ses kruskal-wallis mis mis mis test static df sig. gender stereotypes 26.23 20.09 29.56 9.228 2 0.010* *significant at p≤.05 the results of the kruskal-wallis test indicate that there are differences among groups but do not reveal where the differences lie (field, 2013: 39). the dunn-bonferroni post-hoc procedure was adopted in this study to determine where the significant differences lie between the ses groups. the post-hoc test conducts multiple tests and adjusts the p-values by multiplying each p-value by the total number of tests performed. the bonferroni error correction produces the adj sig. value which adjusts for multiple testing. as shown in table 11, perceptions from the low ses group (p<.015) were significantly different from the medium ses group (p<.020). table 11: analysis of dunn-bonferroni test career choice predictor groups test static std. error adj. sig. gender stereotypes high-low ses 6.531 10.668 1.000 high-medium ses -38.234 13.602 0.015* low-medium ses -31.703 11.702 0.020* *significant at p≤.05 4.4.3 bivariate analysis of relationship between gender stereotypes and career choice the pearson’s chi-square test was used to test for any significant relationship between gender stereotypes and career choices. gender stereotypes were hypothesized to have a relationship and direct influence on career choice. the results in table 12 show the standardised regression relationship. the value of r2 was 0.518, and the p-value was 0.000, indicating statistical significance as the p-value was less than 0.50. this result shows that gender stereotypes have a positive relationship and direct influence on students’ career choices in the construction industry. table 12: testing direct influence of gender stereotypes on career choice relationship regression estimate p proposed hypothesis crc gsp 0.518 0.00* crc = career choice; gsp = gender stereotypes *significant at p≤0.05 akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 103 5. discussion with reference to the perception of men and women on how gender stereotypes influence their career choices, a statistically significant difference was found for the influence of gender stereotypes for men and women. the results illustrated that there are differences between men and women with regards to gender stereotypes and career choice in construction. as shown by the mean scores obtained, the women in this study perceived their career choices to be influenced by gender stereotypes more than the men. overall, this result is consistent with findings from previous research, indicating that gender stereotypes influence the career choices of men and women differently. previous research provides evidence that men and women differ in their perception of gender stereotypes (betz & hackett, 2006; eccles, 2011; su & rounds, 2015). serra et al. (2019) found that there was a higher likelihood for female students than male students to choose careers traditionally associated with their gender. evidence from literature examining gender stereotyping and the differences in career choice behaviour reveals that gender differences are due to gender role socialization (malach-pines & kaspi-baruch, 2008; wilmuth, 2016; solbes-canales, valverde-montesino & herranz-hernández, 2022). generally, masculine behaviours are socially preferred (ezzedeen, budworth & baker, 2015: 360). stereotypically, feminine traits such as gentleness and kindness have been attributed to weakness and are less valued in professions such as construction (olsson & martiny, 2018; makarova, aeschlimann & herzog, 2019). the extent to which the decision of men and women to undertake careers in construction are influenced by gender stereotypes and certain stereotypical masculine characteristics are commonly ascribed to men, which are not attributed to women. similarly, women held stereotypes about themselves that expected them to possess less masculine attributes and assumed stereotypical feminine supportive roles. differences in the perceptions of men and women regarding gender stereotypes were found to be largely as result of how the men perceived women (akinlolu & haupt, 2019; oo, liu & lim, 2022; tapia et al., 2020:813). consistent with these findings, it has been noted that gender stereotypes, through how men perceive women in the construction, may impact women’s decisions to undertake a career in construction (watts, 2009; wright, 2014; francis, 2017; opoku & williams, 2018). a statistically significant difference was found among the ses groups for gender stereotypes, therefore lending support to the assumption that ses differences exist for the influence of gender stereotypes on career choices in construction. poor performance and a low participation rate in construction-related professions has been reported for students of minority akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 104 and lower ses groups, resulting from gender stereotypes, which are accumulated during the socialization process, and is a major determining factor in making career choices (bécares & priest, 2015; dicke, safavian & eccles, 2019; oo et al., 2022). the relationship between gender stereotypes and the career choice in construction was found to be statistically significant. as established in literature, this result demonstrates the powerful role that gender-related stereotypes play in the career choice process of students. many studies have confirmed that continued gender stereotyping of the construction profession influences career choices in the industry (kay, matuszek & munson, 2015; rosa et al., 2017; naoum et al., 2020). social norms and unconscious biases have been found to reinforce the perception that construction is more appropriate for men than for women (powell & sang, 2015). these stereotypes became deeply rooted when girls rarely received encouragements to enter in male-dominated professions (mujtaba & reiss, 2013: 2980). 6. conclusion this study examined the role of gender stereotypes in the career choices of students in construction-related programmes, as well as the perception of gender and ses groups regarding choosing a career in construction, and specifically gender stereotypes as a predictive variable of career choice. the study’s findings confirm gender stereotypes as a predictor of career choice, and how gender stereotypes guide students towards careers deemed appropriate to their gender. findings of the current study have meaningful implication for practice in career choice and development in male-dominated environments and occupations. addressing the issue of gender role stereotypes within non-traditional environments could serve to empower women to pursue non-traditional professions more confidently and with a better understanding of the barriers to participation. although this study sampled men and women from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds in the kwazulu-natal province of south africa, a generalization of the findings to the entire south african population needs caution. since the present sample may be described as unique, due to the inclusion of only men and women enrolled in construction-related programmes at two higher education institutions, it is uncertain whether these results may not adequately represent the population of interest and be generalized to a general sample of students at other universities. akinlolu 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 83-115 105 references adeyemi, a., ojo, s., aina, o. & olanipekun, e. 2006. empirical evidence of women under-representation in the construction industry in nigeria. women in management review, 21(7), pp. 567-577. https://doi. org/10.1108/09649420610692516 ahuja, v. & kumari, s. 2012. issues and challenges for women in construction industry: global as well as indian perspectives. proceedings of the regional conference of the international network of women engineers & scientists (inwes), 12-13 october, india international centre, new delhi, pp. 1-11. akinlolu, m. & haupt, t.c. 2019. investigating a male-dominated space: female students’ perceptions of gendered cultures in construction workplaces. in: aigbavboa, c. & thwala, w. 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abstract real estate development can be one of the largest contributors of wealth in society; and it plays a key role in determining the level of economic prosperity of individuals, business firms and the country. for residential property developers to be successful wealth creators, they have to do sound financial planning, make the right decisions and use prudent financial management techniques. these decisions involve numerous alternatives, of which only one may yield the ultimate benefits and create the most wealth. the objective of this article is to investigate which financial techniques and methods residential property developers apply in practice when they undertake capital structure decisions or determine their cost of capital, as well as the methods they use when they make capital budgeting decisions., important relationships such as the sources of finance used by residential property developers and the capital structure they tend to choose were identified by means of statistical testing. the results showed relatively low costs for obtaining both debt and own funds. developers tend to disregard techniques such as the net present value (npv) and the internal rate of return (irr), because these techniques are unfamiliar to them. the relevance and importance of promoting the study of finance among real estate practitioners and familiarising them with its decision-making techniques and methods was one of the main recommendations of this article. keywords: capital asset pricing model, capital structure, cost of debt, cost of equity, dividend discount model, internal rate of return, net present value, residential property development, weighted average cost of capital abstrak eiendomsontwikkeling kan een van die grootste bydraes tot welvaart in ’n gemeenskap maak, en dit speel ’n sleutelrol in die bepaling van die ekonomiese vooruitgang van individue, besighede en ’n land. residensiële eiendomsontwikkelaars kan suksesvolle welvaartskeppers wees indien hulle goeie finansiële beplanning onderneem, die regte besluite neem en optimale finansiële bestuurstegnieke toepas. hierdie besluite behels verskeie alternatiewe, waarvan slegs een die hoogste opbrengs mag lewer en die meeste welvaart kan skep. prof. john henry hall department of financial management university of pretoria south africa. phone: +27(0) 12 420-3389 email: <john.hall@up.ac.za> mr gert abraham lowies department of financial management university of pretoria south africa. phone: +27(0) 12 420-3404 email: <braam.lowies@up.ac.za> hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 63 die doelwit van hierdie artikel is om ondersoek in te stel na watter finansiële tegnieke residensiële eiendomsontwikkelaars in die praktyk aanwend wanneer hulle kapitaalstruktuurbesluite maak of hul koste van kapitaal bepaal, asook die metodes wat hulle toepas wanneer hulle kapitaalinvesteringsbesluite maak. belangrike verwantskappe, soos die finansieringsbronne wat residensiële eiendomsontwikkelaars gebruik en die kapitaalstrukture wat hulle geneig is om te kies, is afgelei deur middel van statistiese toetsing. die resultate toon lae kostes in die verkryging van beide skuld en eie kapitaal. residensiële eiendomsontwikkelaars is geneig om tegnieke soos die netto huidige waarde (npv) en die interne opbrengskoers (irr) te ignoreer omdat hulle nie daarmee vertroud is nie. een van die hoofaanbevelings van hierdie artikel is dan ook die toepaslikheid en belangrikheid daarvan om die studie van finansies onder eiendomspraktisyns te bevorder, en om hulle meer vertroud met finansiële besluitnemingstegnieke en metodes te maak. sleutelwoorde: markprys waarderingsmodel, kapitaalstruktuur, koste van skuld, koste van ekwiteit, dividend verdiskonteringsmodel, interne opbrengskoers, netto teenswoordige waarde, residensiële eiendomsontwikkeling, geweegde gemiddelde koste van kapitaal 1. introduction the goal of any business is to maximise the wealth of its owners. real estate development can be one of the largest contributors to wealth in society. it plays a key role in determining the level of economic prosperity of individuals, business firms and the country. property developers can have a positive impact on a community, especially when they develop residential property. however, for residential property developers to be successful wealth creators, they have to do sound financial planning, make the right decisions and use prudent financial management techniques. when developers need to make financial decisions, they are faced with numerous alternatives, some of which are more beneficial to them than others. by applying sound financial principles and techniques, they can choose the best alternative – the alternative that will ultimately be the most financially rewarding and create the most value. one can therefore safely assume that there is a need among practitioners in the property development sector not only to understand the basics of financial management, but also to be informed of the application of optimal financial management techniques. the goal of this article is to determine which financial management principles and techniques property developers were already applying. more specifically, this article investigates the use of capital budgeting techniques such as the net present value (npv), the internal rate of return (irr) and the use of various financing sources (mainly debt or equity). acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 64 the goal is pursued by focusing on three sub-questions: • what is the capital structure (in other words, the mix between debt and equity finance, if any) that residential property developers use? • what is the cost of capital that residential property developers use? • do residential property developers use capital budgeting techniques such as the npv and the irr as decision-making criteria to evaluate development projects? the following hypotheses were tested by means of descriptive statistics: hypothesis 1: residential property developers use a mix of debt and equity finance to fund development projects. hypothesis 2: the cost of the various capital sources varies among residential property developers. hypothesis 3: discounted cash flow techniques (such as the npv and the irr) are decision-making criteria that residential property developers apply. 2. literature review the goal of any firm is to maximise its value for its owners. this value is a function of a firm’s investment opportunities measured by its share price. the share price is based on the risk, return and magnitude of cash flows generated (gitman, 2009: 15). the investment decision itself relates to the capital structure of a company and, according to du toit, neuland & oost (1997: 183), it is also related to the longterm financing forms of capital, namely: • shareholders’ capital, consisting of owner’s equity in the form of ordinary and preference share capital, retained earnings and reserves, and • long-term liabilities in the form of long-term loans and bonds. a company’s optimal mix of these forms of finance is known as its optimal capital structure (brealy & myers, 2000: 473). a company gears itself by introducing debt into the capital structure of the company. head & watson (1998: 209) refer to the term ‘gearing’ as the amount of debt a company uses relative to its equity finance. hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 65 capital structures are influenced by country-specific factors. in a european study conducted by bancel & mittoo (2004: 130), it was found that there are differences across countries with regard to several capital structure dimensions. the quality of a country’s legal system also plays an important role in cross-country variances as does the interpretation of the cost of capital. according to robinson (1989: 49), the capital needed for property development takes two forms. the first is debt (normally, shortterm bridging finance). the second form of capital needed by a developer is equity capital. normally, equity capital is used before debt capital is advanced. one of the functions of management is to consider whether the use of debt will contribute positively or negatively to the company’s operations and profitability. the use of debt differs according to industry – in the property industry, using debt is standard practice for both developers and service companies. firer, jordan, ross & westerfield (2008: 449) argue that “a firm’s overall cost of capital will reflect the required return on the firm’s assets as a whole.” gitman (2009: 504) describes the cost of capital as the rate of return that a company must earn on its project investments in order to maintain the project’s market value and to attract funds. brigham & gapenski (1996: 334) stress that the overall cost of capital of a company is critically important for the following reasons: • maximising the value of a company requires that the costs of all inputs, including capital, be minimised; and to minimise the cost of capital, one must be able to estimate it; • capital budgeting decisions require an estimate of the cost of capital for discounting purposes, and • many other types of decisions, including those related to the leasing of property, bond refunding and short-term asset management, require estimates of the cost of capital. a fundamental question in the study of finance is whether financial executives can increase the value of a business firm. gitman (2009: 13) explains that the key activities of a financial manager include performing financial analysis and planning, and making investment and financing decisions. the object of an investment or capital budgeting decision is to find real assets that are worth more than they cost, thus contributing to the maximisation of the value of the business firm and creating value for shareholders in the process. in the property development sector, the main focus is the development and management of construction projects in such a way that it satisfies the customer’s needs. gray & larson (2000: 4) acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 66 define a project as “a complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resources, and performance specifications designed to meet customer needs.” the question arises as to whether or not such a project will contribute effectively to the value of a business firm and, for the purposes of this study, to the value of a residential property development. ling & archer (2005: 421) claim that a discounted cash flow analysis (such as the npv and the irr) has become the main financial analysis tool used to evaluate the investment potential of real estate. gray & larson (2000: 37) explain the importance of using financial models such as the npv criterion in development projects, but they also stress that other factors, such as technology, public constraints and strategic fit cannot be disregarded, and are also important criteria for selecting and prioritising residential property development projects. this topic has been researched extensively by numerous authors. the arguments for and against using either the npv or the irr as decision-making criteria are well documented; and are discussed in nearly all the corporate finance textbooks. brealy & meyers (2000: 101-108) argue that it is a pity that many companies prefer to use the irr rather than the npv as an investment criterion. these authors explain the many pitfalls and difficulties related to the irr as a criterion. gitman (2009: 438-439) argues that, on a theoretical basis, the npv method is a better approach to capital budgeting, because the use of the npv assumes that the future cash flows generated by an investment are reinvested at the company’s cost of capital. in practice, however, many investors tend to use the irr criterion, because business people are more concerned with rates of return than the actual rand value earned. brigham & gapenski (1996: 410) rightly point out that different evaluation methods provide different information, and for an investor to make the correct decision, it would be unwise to disregard the information inherent in any of the above methods. ryan, a.r. & ryan, g.p. (2002: 355) assert that financial managers and academics do not always agree on the choice of the best capital budgeting method to use, and stress that, in the financial literature, the npv has always been preferred to the irr in terms of management preferences. sangster (1993: 309) argues that much attention has been paid to the npv and the irr as sophisticated capital budgeting techniques and that the payback criterion is no longer valid, as it is a less sophisticated technique. pike (1996: 89) presents findings similar to hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 67 those reported by sangster (1993); for example, the fact that the use of discounted cash flow techniques has increased and that a combination of techniques such as the npv and the irr is often used. firer & parry (1990: 58) conclude that, although frequent use of sophisticated capital budgeting techniques is limited to a small number of companies, a need for greater use of these techniques to assist decision-making is emerging. a recent study on south african companies by du toit & pienaar (2005) found that companies that undertake relatively large capital expenditure tend to prefer the irr and the npv methods. international studies on capital budgeting practices over four decades show that there has been a definite shift in the capital budgeting evaluation techniques employed by companies. a study by ryan & ryan (2002) indicated that financial managers have never been in full agreement on the choice of the best capital budgeting method. a detailed analysis of a number of past studies on capital budgeting techniques by cooper, morgan, redman & smith (2002) has confirmed the shift towards discounted cash flow techniques over time. in their analysis of various research projects, they found that the popularity of the irr as a primary capital budgeting method had increased from 10% in 1959 to 41% by 1975 and to 57% by 1990. however, the npv did not enjoy either the same popularity or the same spectacular increase in use over time. it therefore appears that empirical studies covering a period of decades indicate that the npv has trailed the irr as the preferred capital budgeting method for a long time and that the incorporation of risk in the capital budgeting process varies both in the methods applied and in the rate of application of these methods, but that this picture is changing. bruner, eades, harris & higgens (1998) report on a number of studies that investigated the use of various cost of capital techniques. first, they cite gitman & mercurio, who surveyed 177 fortune 1000 companies in 1982 and found that the respondents did not appear to apply current financial theory in their cost of capital measurement. secondly, they cite bierman, who found in 1993 that 93% of his respondents used a weighted average cost of capital. next, they cite trahan & gitman, who reported in a 1995 study that 30% of their respondents used the capital asset pricing model (capm). the study by bruner et al. (1998) found that 85% of their best practice firms used the capm. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 68 graham & harvey (2001) found that executives use the mainline techniques, the npv and the capm, that business schools have taught for years, to evaluate capital budgeting projects and to estimate the cost of equity. however, executives are less likely to follow traditional finance practice when setting their capital structure ratios. an important conclusion in respect of the use of financial techniques such as capital budgeting methods or cost of capital practices and their application to residential property development projects is that such techniques are a useful tool, but that they must be considered in the wider context of all the other factors related to residential property development projects. such techniques are decisionmaking tools and should not be regarded as the alpha and omega of selecting the best alternative from among a number of projects. 3. research method the property development industry in south africa entails residential, commercial and industrial development. it was decided to limit the focus of this article to residential property developers to prevent the study from becoming too general, too time-consuming and too expensive. descriptive statistics were used to limit the study to the research questions set out in the introduction of this article and to test the three hypotheses. the statistics were based on data obtained by means of a telephonic questionnaire. all the registered residential property developers in the gauteng province were initially included in the original sample. only residential property developers registered with the gauteng home builders association were used in this study. at the time of the sampling, a total of 33 residential property developers were registered with the gauteng home builders association. when an attempt was made to contact all 33 of these developers, it was found that a number of them were no longer operating. this limited the sample. in the end, only 20 from the population of 33 registered residential property developers were randomly selected according to the following criteria: • all the residential property developers had to be located in gauteng; • commercial and industrial property developers in gauteng were excluded, and • the sample had to be purely random. hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 69 the questionnaire was designed to be as brief as practically possible, taking into account the information needed for the study. the questions were designed to elicit relevant information in respect of the use of the selected financial principles and techniques. the questions were worded in such a way that they would test developers’ • use of a capital structure; • use of a weighted average cost of capital (wacc), and • evaluation of development projects by using the npv and irr as criteria. the aim of the questionnaire was to determine whether respondents used these financial principles and techniques in the decisionmaking process. all 20 of the telephonic interviews that were conducted were satisfactorily completed. in addition, there is no reason to believe that the questions in the questionnaire would cause bias in the answers received, because every respondent was asked the same questions in the same manner and the answers were recorded consistently. it is often possible to obtain only limited amounts of data, especially if the sample tested is relatively small, as was the case in this study. in such cases, it may be best to compute exact probabilities rather than one-sided alternatives for either probability models or a situation in which all the marginal totals are fixed (steel & torrie, 1980: 504). the test used in such calculations is fisher’s exact test which determines whether the probabilities (p) are statistically significant at a certain level, usually 5% (0.05). in this test, a comparison or standard was set against which the answer (p) could be tested. 4. research results the empirical research results are discussed below, paying particular attention to ascertaining the extent of the use of these financial techniques (use of capital sources, cost of capital calculations and capital budgeting methods) by property developers. in addition, any relationship between the use of these principles and techniques by the respondents and their time in the property development industry was investigated. it was assumed that the longer a developer had been in the property development sector, the more experienced the developer would be and the more likely it was that the developer would use these financial techniques. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 70 4.1 the relationship between sources of finance and length of time in property development table 1 presents the choice of capital sources by property developers. there were only three alternatives, namely debt, owner’s equity and a mix between the two. the use of the sources was also plotted against the number of years that a respondent had been in business. table 1: the relationship between sources of finance and length of time in property development time in property development sources of finance used 100% own funds (equity) 100% debt financing mixture between own funds and debt financing total % 0 10 years 2 1 5 40 11 -20 years 0 1 6 35 21+ years 1 0 4 25 total 3 2 15 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.7847 a total of 15 respondents (75%) used a mixture of own financing and debt financing to finance development projects, irrespective of the number of years they had been in the residential property development business. very few residential property developers in gauteng used either only their own funds or only debt financing to finance development projects. fisher’s exact test indicates that there is no statistically significant relationship between the two variables (p > 0.05). the results set out in table 1 relate to the first hypothesis, namely that residential property developers in gauteng used a mix between debt and equity to fund development projects. this hypothesis was proven to be true. the next set of results indicates the types, models and methods that developers used to determine the wacc. 4.2 the relationship between the cost of equity and length of time in the property development business table 2: the relationship between the cost of equity and length of time in the property development business time in property development cost of equity as a percentage (%) < 10% 11% 15% 16% 20% > 21% total % hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 71 0 10 years 3 0 2 1 38 11 -20 years 4 1 0 1 38 21+ years 1 3 0 0 24 total 8 4 2 2 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.1246 the data in table 2 shows that eight respondents’ cost of obtaining their own funds was below 10% (irrespective of the number of years they had been in the property development business). the prime lending rate from commercial banks at the time of the study was 13.5%. very few respondents’ cost of obtaining own funding for development projects was greater than 16%. fisher’s exact test indicates that there is no statistically significant relationship between the two variables, as p is greater than 0.05. 4.3 frequency analysis on the cost of equity for residential property developments table 3: frequency analysis on the cost of equity for residential property developments cost frequency percentage < 10% 8 52 11% 15% 4 26 16% 20% 2 11 > 21% 2 11 total 16 100 the data in table 3 confirms the analysis reflected in table 2. eight respondents’ (52%) cost of obtaining own funds was less than 10%, with 78% of the respondents’ cost of obtaining own finance below 15%. 4.4 the relationship between the cost of debt financing and length of time in the property development business table 4: the relationship between the cost of debt financing and length of time in the property development business time in property development cost of equity as a percentage (%) < 10% 11% 15% 16% 20% > 21% total % 0 10 years 6 1 0 0 39 11 -20 years 5 2 0 0 39 21+ years 3 0 0 1 22 acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 72 total 14 3 0 1 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.5436 table 4 indicates that 14 respondents’ cost of obtaining debt finance for development projects was below 10%. the prime lending rate at the time of the study was 13.5%. this is the same pattern that was established in table 2. however, fisher’s exact test shows that there is no statistically significant relationship between respondents’ number of years in the property development business and the cost of the debt finance they obtained. 4.5 frequency analysis on the cost of debt financing for residential property developments table 5: frequency analysis on the cost of debt financing for residential property developments cost frequency percentage < 10% 14 78 11% 15% 3 17 16% 20% 0 0 > 21% 1 5 total 18 100 table 5 indicates that the majority of respondents’ cost to obtain debt finance was below 10%. this data confirms the data set out in table 4. only four respondents paid more than 11% for debt financing. 4.6 the use of the constant dividend growth model and the capm in determining the wacc table 6a: use of the constant dividend growth model is this model applied? frequency percentage yes 0 0 no 20 100 total 20 100 the frequencies set out in table 6a clearly indicate that none of the respondents used the constant dividend growth model to determine the cost of equity for development projects. hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 73 table 6b: use of the capm is this model applied? frequency percentage yes 10 50 no 10 50 total 20 100 the data in table 6b shows that capital asset pricing was used in practice by 50% of the residential property developers in gauteng. however, the remaining 50% of respondents did not use the capm to determine their cost of equity and ultimately the wacc. the results set out in tables 2 to 6 address the second hypothesis, namely that the cost of various capital sources varies among residential property developers in gauteng. no statistically significant relationships were found in the analysis of these topics, showing that property developers were unfamiliar with the financial models in calculating the wacc. based on the analysis above, the second hypothesis had to be rejected. the last set of results reports on the use of capital budgeting techniques applied by property developers. whether the length of time they had been in the business was related to their choice of capital budgeting method was also investigated. 4.7 the relationship between the use of the npv by residential property developers and length of time in the property development business table 7: the relationship between the use of the npv by residential property developers and length of time in the property development business time in property development use of the npv use npv never use npv sometimes use npv always total % 0 10 years 2 4 2 40 11 -20 years 3 3 1 35 21+ years 0 3 2 25 total 5 10 5 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.8813 it is clear from table 7 that there was no relationship between the number of years residential property developers in gauteng had been in the property development business and their use of the npv criterion. only five respondents used the npv at all times, while acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 74 another ten used it at least sometimes and five did not use it at all. fisher’s exact test confirms this observation statistically, as the p value is much greater than 0.05. 4.8 the relationship between the use of the irr by residential property developers and length of time in the property development business table 8: the relationship between the use of the irr by residential property developers and length of time in the property development business time in property development use of the irr use irr never use irr sometimes use irr always total % 0 10 years 2 5 1 40 11 -20 years 3 3 1 35 21+ years 1 2 2 25 total 6 10 4 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 0.7637 table 8 reveals that, as was the case with the npv criterion, the use of the irr showed no relationship to the number of years spent by residential property developers in gauteng in the property development business. only four respondents used the irr at all times. another ten used it at least sometimes and six did not use it at all. fisher’s exact test shows that there is no statistically significant relationship between the two variables (p > 0.05). although there is no statistical significance between the variables in tables 7 and 8, it appears that the shorter time the respondents are in property development the more they tend to use npv and irr. this is a good sign but needs further investigation. 4.9 relationship between the npv and the irr as applied by residential property developers table 9: the relationship between the npv and the irr as applied by residential property developers use of the npv use of the irr use irr never use irr sometimes use irr always total % use npv never 5 0 0 25 use npv sometimes 1 9 0 50 hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 75 use npv always 0 1 4 25 total 6 10 4 100 fisher’s exact test: p = 1.539e – 06 table 9 reflects the relationship between the npv criterion and the irr criterion as applied by residential property developers in gauteng, expanding on the information contained in tables 7 and 8. it is interesting to note that these two tables, by quite a margin, yield the same results in terms of the number of years spent by the respondents in the property development business and the use of the respective decision-making criteria. these results point to the outcomes set out in table 9. a trend between the npv and the irr was established as follows: a total of five respondents never used the npv or the irr as decision-making criteria in development projects, while the same number of respondents used the npv and the irr as decision-making criteria between 1% and 50% of the time. three respondents used the npv and the irr as decision-making criteria between 51% and 99% of the time, while four respondents used these techniques as decision-making criteria all the time. fisher’s exact test confirms a statistically significant relationship between the use of these two variables, as p < 0.05. the data set out in tables 7 to 9 relate to the third hypothesis, namely that the npv and the irr are decision-making criteria applied by residential property developers in gauteng. the analysis showed that there is no statistically significant relationship between these techniques and the number of years that developers spent in the property development business. however, the results did show that there is a relationship between the use of the npv and the irr. this hypothesis was rejected, based on the results of this study. 5. conclusion and recommendations with regard to the financing of development projects, the majority of the respondents chose a mix of own funds and debt financing. no statistically significant relationship could be established between the number of years they had spent in the property development business and the sources of finance they used. there was no statistically significant relationship between the number of years spent in the residential property development business and the cost of equity or the cost of debt financing. the majority of the respondents paid less than 10% for both debt and equity. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 76 the lack of popularity of the constant dividend growth model (it was not used at all) and the capm in the determination of the cost of equity was disappointing but relevant. only half of the respondents used the capm. the most common reason given for not using any of these models was being unfamiliar with the models. the low estimates of the cost of equity and the cost of debt may be due to the fact that more than 50% of the respondents do not use capm. another important factor is that the chosen respondents are not listed firms which may make these models less attractive purely because of the dividend issue. further research may suggest how the 10 respondents who use the capm derive their beta. even more disappointing was the respondents’ use (or rather, nonuse) of the npv and the irr as decision-making criteria – there was a statistically insignificant relationship between the use of these techniques and the number of years spent by developers in the residential property development business. some of the most important reasons given by respondents for not using the above techniques were the following: • they do not know about the techniques; • they do not know whether the techniques are applicable, because their business activities are relatively small; • they prefer to use current market prices and the current business situation rather than complicated techniques, and • they determined prices according to the competitive nature of their activities. desspite the above findings, an important deduction can be made when the use of the npv and the use of the irr as applied by residential property developers in gauteng are related to each other. the trend that could be established between the use of the npv and the irr was that the majority of the respondents who used the methods at all used the two methods in conjunction. fisher’s exact test also confirms a statistically significant relationship between these two variables. although these techniques differ in principle, they are both regarded as sophisticated capital budgeting techniques. based on the results of this study, the following recommendations can be made: • academic institutions should ensure that financial management principles and techniques are combined with practical applications in the property development sector, and hall & lowies • financial management techniques used by residential property developers 77 • academic institutions should ensure that students in construction-related fields are taught the relevance of applying financial theory to the practical decisions they make. it is up to the academics in construction and finance to use the results of this study to improve the education that they provide for their students. such an improvement can only be achieved by adding practical, real-life situations to the financial theory taught to these students. case studies and projects designed to identify the problems that arise in the interface between theory and practice should be emphasised. this in itself requires further extensive research that involves both academics and practitioners. references bancel, f. & mittoo, u.r. 2004. cross-country determinants of capital structure choice: a survey of european firms. financial management (financial management association), 33(4), pp. 103-132. brealy, r.a. & myers, s.c. 2000. principles of corporate finance. 6th ed. new york: mcgraw-hill. brigham, e.f. & gapenski, l.c. 1996. financial management: theory and practice. 7th ed. orlando, florida: dryden. bruner, r.f., eades, k.m., harris, r.s. & higgens, r.c. 1998. best practices in estimating the cost of capital: survey and synthesis. financial practice and education, 8(1), pp. 13-28. cooper, w.d., morgan, r.g., redman, a. & smith, m. 2002. capital budgeting models: theory vs. practice. business forum, 26(1), pp. 15-19. du toit, g.s., neuland, e.w. & oost, e.j. 1997. capital investment decisions. pretoria: unisa press. du toit, m.j. & pienaar, a. 2005. a review of capital budgeting behaviour of large south african firms. meditari accountancy research, 13(1), pp. 19-27. firer, c. & parry, h.m.a. 1990. capital budgeting under uncertainty: an empirical study. south african journal of business management, 21(3), pp. 52-58. firer, c., jordan, b.d., ross, s.a. & westerfield, r.w. 2008. fundamentals of corporate finance. 4th south african ed. new york: mcgraw-hill. gitman, l.j. 2009. principles of managerial finance. 12th ed. boston, massachusetts: addison wesley longman. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 78 graham, j.r. & harvey, c.r. 2001. the theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field. journal of financial economics, 60(2-3), pp. 187-243. gray, c.f. & larson, e.w. 2000. project management: the managerial process. international ed. new york: mcgraw-hill. head, t. & watson, d. 1998. corporate finance: principles & practice. new york: financial times pitman. ling, d.c. & archer, w.r. 2005. real estate principles: a value approach. boston, massachusetts: irwin mcgraw-hill. pike, r. 1996. a longitudinal survey on capital budgeting practices. journal of business finance and accounting, 23(1), pp. 79-92. robinson, j. 1989. development feasibility analysis. australian accountant, 59(9), pp. 48-51. ryan, a.r. & ryan, g.p. 2002. capital budgeting practices of the fortune 1000: how have things changed? journal of business and management, 8(4), pp. 355-364. sangster, a. 1993. capital investment appraisal techniques: a survey of current usage. journal of business, finance and accounting, 20(3), pp. 307-332. steel, r.g.d. & torrie, j.h. 1980. principles and procedures of statistics: a biometrical approach. 2nd ed. new york: mcgraw-hill. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 120 how to cite: rantsatsi, n., musonda, i. & agumba, j. 2020. identifying factors of collaboration critical for improving health and safety performance in construction projects: a systematic literature review. acta structilia, 27(2), pp. 120-150. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as review articles • oorsigartikels ndaleni rantsatsi mr ndaleni rantsatsi, phd candidate, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, 55 beit st, doornfontein, johannesburg, 2028. phone: 0769008906, email: <rphinias123@gmail.com> innocent musonda prof. innocent musonda, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, 55 beit st, doornfontein, johannesburg, 2028. phone: 0115596655, email: <imusonda@uj.ac. za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-0270-6157 justus agumba dr justus agumba, department of building sciences, tshwane university of technology, private bag x680, pretoria, 0001. phone: 0123824414, email: <agumbajn@tut.ac.za> orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-00031077-1186 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 120-150 identifying factors of collaboration critical for improving health and safety performance in construction projects: a systematic literature review peer reviewed and revised september 2020 published december 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract collaboration is key to the success of construction project delivery. several researchers have realised the importance of collaboration for health and safety (h&s) performance. the construction industry (ci) is affected by poor h&s performance exacerbated by lack of collaboration. the purpose of the article is to conduct a systematic literature review to identify factors of collaboration that will improve h&s performance in ci. a literature review method was adopted; identification test method was used to identify collaboration factors. using scopus and google scholar, a total of 758 papers were identified. 57 papers were found to be relevant for review through content analysis and were analysed in terms of source and year of publication, research method, country of origin, and research focus. the review identified 11 critical success factors of collaboration: trust, culture, commitment, communication, clear roles and responsibilities, resource/information sharing, mutual goals, conflict resolution, early involvement of key participants, competence, and http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:rphinias123@gmail.com mailto:imusonda@uj.ac.za mailto:imusonda@uj.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0270-6157 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0270-6157 mailto:agumbajn@tut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1077-1186 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1077-1186 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.5 rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 121 continual improvement. these factors can influence h&s performance in construction projects. focusing on these factors can facilitate collaboration, thus improving h&s performance. the limitation of this article is that the literature review covered a period between 2010 to 2019. searches in other search engines might have provided additional information on collaboration. the findings of this study make way for future research into the impact of collaboration on h&s performance and provide an understanding that h&s performance can be improved by adopting collaboration. the review concludes that ci should adopt collaboration to influence h&s performance. keywords: construction industry, factors of collaboration, health and safety performance, literature review abstrak samewerking is die sleutel tot suksesvolle konstruksieprojekte. verskeie navorsers besef die belangrikheid van samewerking vir gesondheidsen veiligheidsprestasies (g&v). die konstruksiebedryf word geraak deur swak g&v-prestasies wat vererger word deur gebrek aan samewerking. die doel van die artikel is om ’n sistematiese literatuuroorsig te doen om faktore van samewerking te identifiseer wat die prestasie van g&v in die konstruksiebedryf sal verbeter. ’n literatuurbeoordelingsmetode is gebruik; die identifikasietoetsmetode is gebruik om samewerkingsfaktore te identifiseer. met behulp van scopus en google scholar is altesaam 758 artikels geïdentifiseer. daar is bevind dat 57 artikels relevant is vir hersiening deur middel van inhoudsanalise en is geanaliseer in terme van bron en jaar van publikasie, navorsingsmetode, land van herkoms en navorsingsfokus. die oorsig het 11 kritieke suksesfaktore van samewerking geïdentifiseer: vertroue, kultuur, toewyding, kommunikasie, duidelike rolle en verantwoordelikhede, die deel van hulpbronne/inligting, onderlinge doelwitte, konflikoplossing, vroeë betrokkenheid van sleuteldeelnemers, bekwaamheid en voortdurende verbetering. hierdie faktore kan h&s-prestasie in bouprojekte beïnvloed. deur op hierdie faktore te konsentreer, kan dit samewerking vergemaklik en sodoende die prestasie van g&v verbeter. die beperking van hierdie artikel is dat die literatuuroorsig ’n tydperk tussen 2010 en 2019 beslaan. soektogte in ander soekenjins kon moontlik aanvullende inligting oor samewerking verskaf. die bevindinge van hierdie studie maak plek vir toekomstige navorsing oor die impak van samewerking op g&v-prestasies en bied ’n begrip dat g&v-prestasies verbeter kan word deur samewerking. die oorsig kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die konstruksiebedryf samewerking moet aanneem om g&v-prestasies te beïnvloed. sleutelwoorde: konstruksiebedryf, faktore van samewerking, gesondheidsen veiligheidsprestasies, literatuuroorsig 1. introduction the construction industry (ci) is important for the development of any country (idrus, sodangi & haq husin, 2011: 1142; ofor, 2012: 5; umeokafor, 2018: 473;). the ci is significant for the development of infrastructure and physical structures (ofori, 2012: 5; kayumba, 2013: 34; kumar & bansal, 2013: 34) and is the driver for social and economic developments in a country (idrus et al., 2011: 1142; windapo & cattell, 2013: 65; kayumba, 2013: 510; pillay & haupt, 2016: 374). the ci is deemed critical for the economic advancements of south africa through infrastructure delivery such as roads, buildings and stadiums and, hence, the creation of acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 122 employment (pillay & haupt, 2016: 374; windapo & cattell, 2012: 65). conversely, a poorly performing ci can affect other industries. internationally, the ci ranks high in terms of dangerous and risky workplaces (atkinson & westall, 2010: 1007; pillay, 2014: 75; ilo, 2014: 8; okorie, 2014: 2). poor health and safety (h&s) performance is reported as a serious problem in the ci and results in loss of lives, skills, resources, time, and money (mroszczyk, 2015: 67; okorie, 2014: 12; saifullah & ismail, 2012: 604; benjaoran & bhokha, 2010: 395). poor collaboration between project participants has been identified as a serious impediment to achieving project objectives (sebastian, 2011: 179; akintan & morledge, 2013: 2; faris, gaterell & hutchinson, 2019: 2), including h&s objectives. scholars have criticised the ci for, specifically, relationships between clients, designers and contractors, where poor collaboration is identified as one of the shortcomings (sebastian, 2011: 179; akintan & morledge, 2013: 2; faris et al., 2019: 2). professionals such as project managers, designers, engineers, construction managers, and h&s professionals contribute to h&s in construction projects. despite, these contributions, the ci continues to experience accidents, injuries, and ill health at an unacceptable rate (mroszczyk, 2015: 67; okorie, 2014: 12). this poor h&s performance is exacerbated by lack of collaboration (deacon, 2016: 154; mroszcyk, 2015: 67; olsen, 2012: 2625). the purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic literature review to identify factors of collaboration that will improve h&s performance in the ci. 2. literature review 2.1 collaboration there is no one universally accepted definition for collaboration. the vast majority of researchers agree that collaboration is about jointly working towards achieving common goals (dietrich, eskerod, dalcher & sandhawalia, 2010: 60; patel, pettitt & wilson, 2012: 1; ozturk, arditi, yitmen & yalcinkaya, 2016: 798). in this article, collaboration refers to a process in which information, activities, responsibilities, and resources are shared to jointly plan, implement, and evaluate a programme of activities in order to achieve a common goal and a joint generation of value (camarinha-matos, afsarmanesh, galeano & molina, 2009: 47-48). the concepts of collaboration in the ci are complex and are influenced by different factors during the execution of projects (patel et al., 2012: 21). although there is evidence that collaboration as a management strategy (bidabadi, hosseinalipour, hamidizadeh & mohebifar, 2016: 1438) improves project performance, there is a paucity of empirical studies on the concept of collaboration in the ci (skinnarland & yndesdal, 2010: 356). rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 123 dietrich et al. (2010: 60) and faris et al. (2019: 1) stress the need for collaboration during construction projects worldwide, including south africa, that face problems such as poor collaboration between participants, frequent disputes, high stress levels (masemeni, aigbavboa & thwala, 2015: 8), poor quality workmanship, project delay, time and cost overrun (greenwood & wu, 2012: 299; pal, wang & liang, 2017: 1226), and poor h&s performance (saifullah & ismail, 2012: 604; mroszcyk, 2015: 67). mutual objectives, sharing of information, trust, commitment, culture, gain/pain sharing, as well as clear roles and responsibilities typify the collaboration process (hughes, williams & ren, 2012: 365; meng, 2013: 4260; faris et al., 2019: 4). the project-based nature of the ci justifies the need to focus on the collaboration process, in order to solve problems and exploit opportunities (cao & zhang, 2011: 174; ozturk et al., 2016: 798). through collaboration, simple construction processes are created; better quality service is provided (emuze & smallwood, 2014: 302); better relationships between main and subcontractors are created (schottle, haghsheno & gehbauer, 2014: 1278); h&s performance is influenced (deacon, 2016: 218; tau & seoke, 2013: 58), and performance in the construction supply chain improves (bidabadi et al., 2016: 1437; cao & zhang, 2011: 174). factors critical for collaboration include top management support, selection of an appropriate partner, and commitment to a win-win attitude (hasanzadeh, hosseinalipourb & hafezi, 2014: 816), no-blame culture, communication, fair distribution of responsibility, and proactive problemsolving (msomba, matiko & mlinga, 2018: 152), mutual goals, gain-pain sharing, early involvement of key participants, and trust (faris et al., 2019: 4). other factors such as continuous improvement (meng, 2012: 191), mutual goals (hosseini, wondimu, bellini, tune, haugseth, andersen & laedre, 2016: 250; meng, 2012: 190) and trust between actors (dietrich et al., 2010: 70; hosseini et al., (2016: 244), communication, conflict resolution, and understanding roles (rahman, induta, faisol & paydard, 2014a: 417; dietrich et al., 2010: 70; mensah, 2016: 16) have been mentioned as critical for collaboration. in south africa, findings indicate that the ci does not have enough partners with appropriate collaborative skills (emuze & smallwood, 2014: 302). 2.2 collaboration and health and safety management h&s on construction projects is managed by project managers, designers, engineers, construction managers, and h&s professionals who have diverse work experiences, resources, and skill sets. these professionals contribute to h&s (tymvios, gambatese & sillars, 2012: 342; antonio, isabel, gabriel & angel, 2013: 92). dietrich et al. (2010: 70) argued that collaboration may acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 124 lead to the creation of new or emergent knowledge or skills not possessed previously by every professional on the project. collaboration between designers and construction professionals could be effective in reducing construction worker injuries and fatalities (qi, 2011: 32). based on this, tymvios et al. (2012: 353) concluded that increased collaboration between professionals should be encouraged, in order to increase understanding of issues relating to h&s. since each professional provides resources and a set of skills to the team, collaboration and communication become critical (sebastian, 2011: 177), because collaboration is important for knowledge integration within projects (dietrich et al., 2010: 68). although, the south african construction regulations 2014 and the united kingdom (uk) construction design and management (cdm) regulations 2015 (hse, 2015: 17-18; deacon, 2016: 83) require that all those involved in projects should collaborate and address h&s, the ci continues to experience accidents, injuries, and ill health, because of an apparent lack of collaboration among these professionals (deacon, 2016: 223). 2.3 benefits of collaboration benefits of collaboration may include improvement in construction quality, risk sharing, and innovation (hasanzadeha et al., 2014: 816), creativity and working relationship (smith & thomasson, 2018 192), information sharing, and better communication (rahman et al., 2014a: 419). it may also include project efficiency improvements and the development of shared vision or objective (fulford & standing, 2014: 324; bidabadi et al., 2016: 1439), productive conflict-resolution strategy, mutual trust (mensah, 2016: 44), and reduction of supply-chain costs (bidadabi et al., 2015: 554). collaboration facilitates a combination of resources and expertise to increase project performance (faris et al., 2019: 2). collaboration leads to high levels of productivity among project participants and reduced reworks (torneman, 2015: 23). past studies have provided several benefits of collaboration to h&s management. collaboration between project stakeholders can lead to success in h&s management (lingard, blismas, cooke & cooper, 2009: 132). examples of collaboration benefits to h&s performance include better buildability and integration of h&s in projects (lingard, pirzadeh, blismas, wakefield & kleiner, 2014: 920). collaboration can facilitate trust, improve communication and better working relationships (jitwasinkul & hadikusumo, 2011: 524; deacon, 2016: 183), and can help share h&s information and resources (vinodkumar & bhasi, 2020: 2091). 2.4 barriers to collaboration barriers to collaboration include lack of commitment, communication, and breach of trust (deep, gajendran & jefferies, 2019: 1); lack of trust, unfair rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 125 risk sharing (faris et al., 2019: 1); ineffective communication (nursin, latief & ibrahim, 2018: 1); consultant managerial incompetence (akintan & morledge, 2013: 7); conflicting personalities, bullying, and lack of understanding (ey, zuo & han, 2014: 154), as well as lack of consistent production standards, and absence of formal training systems (kalantari, shepley, rybkowski & bryant, 2017: 569). it also includes lack of top management support and unrealistic deadlines (masemeni et al., 2015: 8), as well as fear of micromanagement, lack of trust, and lack of common goals (mensah, 2016: 40). barriers such as lack of commitment, resources and expertise, trust and confidence undermine effective collaboration (patel et al., 2012: 7; umeokafor, 2017: 481). barriers of collaboration on h&s performance are not limited to a lack of h&s legislation that specifies the h&s roles and responsibilities of all involved (dewlaney & hallowell, 2012: 169; umeokafor, 2017: 481). not being familiar with h&s principles, design and the construction process; lack of management commitment to h&s (mwanaumo, 2013: 208), and a poor safety culture (sunindijo, 2015: 111) are also barriers to collaboration in h&s. 3. research methodology 3.1 search strategy a systematic literature search was performed to identify critical success factors of collaboration. this search consisted of literature published between 1 january 2010 and 31 december 2019. first, the identification test from wu, greenwood & steel (2008) and faris et al. (2019), which reviewed 35 articles/papers on factors of collaboration for influencing project performance in the ci from 2000 to 2018, was used to identify related keywords based on their frequency rate (wu et al., 2008: 5). the identification test resulted in 11 most prevalent factors of collaboration (table 1). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 126 table 1: critical success factors of collaboration and their frequency of occurrence rank factors of collaboration frequency 1 trust 31 2 communication 26 3 conflict resolution 21 4 mutual goals 20 5 top management support 20 6 commitment 19 7 gain-pain sharing 18 8 culture 16 9 resource sharing 14 10 early involvement of key participants 14 11 clear roles 13 source: faris et al. (2019) the search was performed between 1 august 2019 and 25 february 2020. thereafter, a systematic search of the literature was performed on 1 april 2020 on google scholar and scopus (li, burnham, lemley & britton, 2010: 205-206). free search phrases with boolean search operators (and, or, not), including titles, abstracts and keywords, were used. in the main database search (scopus and google scholar), two sets of entry terms were applied (figure 1). the first set of entry terms describes studies on collaboration that influence project performance in the ci. the second set of entry terms describes factors of collaboration in the ci to be considered for h&s performance. 3.2 inclusion and exclusion criteria inclusion criteria: • papers published between 2010 to 2019. • papers with more than four factors of collaboration. • factors of collaboration in the ci, factors of collaboration between h&s professionals and project participants, factors of collaboration in the ci, impact of collaboration on project performance, success factors of collaboration, and impact of collaboration on h&s performance in the ci. exclusion criteria: • papers without the name of the author or the date of publication. • papers published prior to 2010 and post-2019. • papers investigating h&s performance mentioned nothing about factors of collaboration. rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 127 3.3 identification of studies the reference lists of the included literature were scanned, and relevant literature included. only full text research papers on collaboration and the ci written in english were considered. papers published in management science journals on the factors of collaboration were also considered, because some construction-related papers are published in management and social sciences journals. papers that addressed collaboration, h&s performance and the ci, but did not include any factors of collaboration, were consequently removed. another criterion was to target the majority of papers published by construction management journals such as international journal of construction management (ijcm), international journal of engineering and management (ijem), journal of construction management and economics (jcme), international journal of project management (ijpm), journal of built environment project and asset management (jbepam), journal of construction engineering (jce), and other peer-reviewed publications. ibrahim and belayutham (2019: 3), oraee, hosseini, namini & merschbrock (2017: 124) and wu et al. (2008: 6) recommended some of these construction journals. similarly, bemelmans, voordijk & vos (2012: 344) as well as ibrahim and belayutham (2019: 3) supported the idea of using construction-related publications that publish peer-reviewed papers, as these journals also include reference to other publications such as conference papers, masters or doctoral dissertations. 3.4 search findings a total of 769 results from each individual database search (google scholar, 426 results, and scopus, 343 results) were sent to endnote x5 and microsoft excel and the papers’ abstract and content were subsequently analysed (rokni, ahmad & rokni, 2010: 230; deep et al., 2019: 2; jessica, 2011: 23-37). after removing duplicates, the number of results was 520. the second search returned 220 paper results (figure 1). papers screened based on titles and abstracts produced 68 construction management papers and the use of references of the identified articles produced 10 nonconstruction management papers, some of which included dissertations. seventy-eight papers were subjected to content analysis, in order to identify critical success factors of collaboration. some of these factors of collaboration that influence project performance can be considered for h&s performance, but some of these factors are not limited to communication, trust, commitment, clear roles and responsibilities, culture, continual improvement, competence, early involvement of key participants, and top management. full text analysis resulted in 58 relevant papers, to be used in the final analysis (see figure 1). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 128 google scholar scopus initial search: keywords: collaboration in ci, partnering, cooperation, impact of collaboration on project performance. search period from 2010 to 2019 google scholar (426 papers) and scopus (343 papers) resulted in 769 papers. 520 papers after duplicates removed. screening based on titles and abstracts resulted in 68. 10 additional papers included after using references of the identified papers. full paper text analysis resulted in 58 relevant papers. second search: keywords: factors of collaboration between h&s professionals and project participants, factors of collaboration in the ci, impact of collaboration on project performance, success factors of collaboration, and impact of collaboration on h&s performance in the ci. this search resulted in 220 papers. figure 1: procedure of systematic literature review source: author’s own construction 3.5 analysis of identified literature one author scanned the titles and abstracts of the identified literature. literature that did not comply with the inclusion criteria was excluded. the full text was obtained for articles, and inclusion was subject to consensus among all three of the authors. first, data analysis was performed on the 58 relevant studies to identify articles on collaboration that influence project performance in the ci. they were classified according to the author(s), year of publication, type of study/research methods used, country where the study was conducted, journal/source of publication, and the research purpose/focus of the study. the results were reported by arranging the year of publication in ascending order (see table 2). thereafter, results from the identification test (table 1) were used as criteria to do data extraction by classifying the factors of collaboration in the ci. based on table 1, collaboration is demonstrated by 11 common factors. for this analysis, two factors were added, thus the criteria classified the data into rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 129 ta bl e 2: a rti cl es o n co lla bo ra tio n th at in flu en ce p ro je ct p er fo rm an ce in th e c i ( 20 10 to 2 01 9) n o. a ut ho r( s) a nd y ea r of pu bl ic at io n ty pe o f s tu dy c ou nt ry jo ur na l/s ou rc e of p ub lic at io n r es ea rc h pu rp os e/ fo cu s of s tu dy 1 d ie tr ic h e t a l. (2 01 0) li te ra tu re re vi e w d e nm a rk in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt c o lla b o ra tio n e le m e nt s a nd t he ir d e p e nd e nc ie s in m ul tip a rt ne r p ro je c ts 2 er ik ss o n (2 01 0) c a se s tu d y sw e d e n su p p ly c ha in m a na g e m e nt : a n in te rn a tio na l jo ur na l su p p ly c ha in in c o ns tr uc tio n; fa c to rs a ff e c tin g c o lla b o ra tio n 3 sk in na rla nd & y nd e sd a l (2 01 0) c a se s tu d y n o rw a y pe o p le c ul tu re a nd c ha ng e c o lla b o ra tio n in d ic a to rs t o d e sc rib e t he c o lla b o ra tiv e d e ve lo p m e nt p ro c e ss 4 lö fg re n & e rik ss o n (2 01 0) su rv e y sw e d e n lu le a u ni ve rs ity o f t e c hn o lo g y c o lla b o ra tio n e ff e c ts o n p ro je c t p e rfo rm a nc e 5 er ik ss o n & w e st e rb e rg (2 01 1) li te ra tu re re vi e w sw e d e n in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt h o w p ro c ur e m e nt -r e la te d fa c to rs a ff e c t p e rfo rm a nc e c rit e ria 6 ph o ng -a rja rn & je e na nu na t (2 01 1) su rv e y th a ila nd n e re su a n u ni ve rs ity j o ur na l fa c to rs t ha t ha ve in flu e nc e s up p ly c ha in c o lla b o ra tio n 7 pa te l e t a l. (2 01 2) li te ra tu re re vi e w u k a p p lie d e rg o no m ic s fa c to rs fo r t he c o sp a c e s c o lla b o ra tiv e m o d e l 8 m e ng ( 20 12 ) su rv e y u k in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt sp e c ifi c fa c to rs o f s up p ly c ha in re la tio ns hi p s 9 h ug he s e t a l. (2 01 2) m ix e d m e th o d u k jo ur na l o f c o ns tr uc tio n in no va tio n pr o d uc in g a c le a r d e fin iti o n fo r c o lla b o ra tio n w ith in t he u k c i 10 be m e lm a ns e t a l. (2 01 2) li te ra tu re re vi e w th e n e th e rla nd s en g in e e rin g , c o ns tr uc tio n a nd a rc hi te c tu ra l m a na g e m e nt su p p lie rc o nt ra c to r c o lla b o ra tio n 11 a ki nt a n & m o rle d g e ( 20 13 ) m ix e d m e th o d u k jo ur na l o f c o ns tr uc tio n en g in e e rin g c o lla b o ra tio n in t he t ra d iti o na l c o ns tr uc tio n p ro c ur e m e nt s up p ly c ha in 12 m e ng ( 20 13 ) su rv e y u k jo ur na l o f c iv il en g in e e rin g m a na g e m e nt su p p ly c ha in c o lla b o ra tio n a nd it s ro le in c o ns tr uc tio n 13 g ro e ne w e g e n (2 01 3) c a se s tu d y th e n e th e rla nd s d e lft u ni ve rs ity o f t e c hn o lo g y in d iv id ua ls’ v ie w s o n fa c to rs in flu e nc in g c o lla b o ra tio n 14 h a sa nz a d e ha e t a l. (2 01 4) c a se s tu d y ira n so c ia l a nd b e ha vi o ra l s c ie nc e s pr o je c t p a rt ne rin g a s a p p lie d in c i 15 fu lfo rd & s ta nd in g ( 20 14 ) c a se s tu d y u k in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt id e nt ify in g fa c to rs in hi b iti ng c o lla b o ra tio n acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 130 n o. a ut ho r( s) a nd y ea r of pu bl ic at io n ty pe o f s tu dy c ou nt ry jo ur na l/s ou rc e of p ub lic at io n r es ea rc h pu rp os e/ fo cu s of s tu dy 16 ra hm a n e t a l. (2 01 4a ) m ix e d m e th o d m a la ys ia in no va tio n, m a na g e m e nt a nd t e c hn o lo g y re se a rc h im p o rt a nc e o f c o lla b o ra tio n fro m c o nt ra c to rs ’ p e rs p e c tiv e s 17 h ud nu rk a r e t a l. (2 01 4) li te ra tu re re vi e w in d ia so c ia l a nd b e ha vi o ur a l s c ie nc e s fa c to rs a ff e c tin g s up p ly c ha in c o lla b o ra tio n 18 ey e t a l. (2 01 4) c a se s tu d y a us tr a lia in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt c ur re nt p ra c tic e s o f c o lla b o ra tiv e p ro c ur e m e nt 19 ra hm a n e t a l. (2 01 4b ) su rv e y m a la ys ia bu sin e ss , e ng in e e rin g a nd in d us tr ia l a p p lic a tio ns c o llo q ui um re a d in e ss o f m a in c o nt ra c to r f o r c o lla b o ra tio n in c i 20 je ff e rie s e t a l. (2 01 4) c a se s tu d y a us tr a lia en g in e e rin g , c o ns tr uc tio n a nd a rc hi te c tu ra l m a na g e m e nt fa c to rs t ha t in flu e nc e t he s uc c e ss fu l im p le m e nt a tio n o f p ro je c t a llia nc e 21 ku m a r & b a ne rje e ( 20 14 ) su rv e y in d ia be nc hm a rk in g : a n in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l su p p ly c ha in c o lla b o ra tio n in d e x 22 em uz e & s m a llw o o d ( 20 14 ) su rv e y so ut h a fri c a jo ur na l o f e ng in e e rin g , d e sig n a nd te c hn o lo g y a le ve l o f c o lla b o ra tiv e w o rk in g a m o ng p a rt ne rs in s o ut h a fri c a n c o ns tr uc tio n 23 d o na to e t a l. (2 01 5) li te ra tu re re vi e w a us tr a lia in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro c ur e m e nt m a na g e m e nt c o nc e p tu a l m o d e l f o r c o ns tr uc tio n su p p ly c ha in a c to rs 24 bi d a b a d i e t a l. (2 01 5) c a se s tu d y ira n in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f i nn o va tiv e s c ie nc e , en g in e e rin g & t e c hn o lo g y im p o rt a nc e o f c o lla b o ra tin g in c o ns tr uc tio n su p p ly c ha in 25 to rn e m a n (2 01 5) c a se s tu d y sw e d e n c ha lm e rs u ni ve rs ity o f t e c hn o lo g y te c hn ic a l c o ns ul ta nt e ng a g e m e nt in a c o lla b o ra tiv e p ro je c t 26 su p ra p to e t a l. (2 01 5) c a se s tu d y th e n e th e rla nd s in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt ef fe c ts o f c o lla b o ra tio n a nt e c e d e nt s o n p ro je c t p e rfo rm a nc e 27 la vi kk a e t a l. (2 01 5) c a se s tu d y fi nl a nd su p p ly c ha in m a na g e m e nt : a n in te rn a tio na l jo ur na l c o o rd in a tio n o f s up p ly c ha in n e tw o rk s 28 m a se m e ni e t a l. (2 01 5) su rv e y so ut h a fri c a sa c q sp ba rri e rs in t he e xe c ut io n o f c o lla b o ra tiv e m o d e ls 29 iy e r ( 20 15 ) li te ra tu re re vi e w u sa te xa s a & m u ni ve rs ity fr a m e w o rk t o a ss e ss c o ns tr uc tio n c o lla b o ra tio n 30 h o ss e in i e t a l. (2 01 6) c a se s tu d y n o rw a y en e rg y pr o c e d ia pa rt ne rin g p ra c tic e s 31 o zt ur k e t a l. (2 01 6) li te ra tu re re vi e w tu rk e y pr o c e d ia e ng in e e rin g fa c to rs a ff e c tin g c o lla b o ra tio n in t he d e sig n table 2: ta bl e 2 co nt in ue d ... rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 131 n o. a ut ho r( s) a nd y ea r of pu bl ic at io n ty pe o f s tu dy c ou nt ry jo ur na l/s ou rc e of p ub lic at io n r es ea rc h pu rp os e/ fo cu s of s tu dy 32 bi d a b a d i e t a l. (2 01 6) su rv e y ira n o rg a ni sa tio n, t e c hn o lo g y a nd m a na g e m e nt in c o ns tr uc tio n: in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l c o lla b o ra tio n to im p ro ve s up p ly c ha in c o ns tr uc tio n 33 ro b e rt s e t a l. (2 01 6) li te ra tu re re vi e w so ut h a fri c a so ut he rn a fri c a n in st itu te o f m a na g e m e nt d e ve lo p m e nt o f a m o d e l o f c o lla b o ra tio n 34 ko zu c h & s ie nk ie w ic zm a ly ju re k (2 01 6) li te ra tu re re vi e w po la nd tr a ns yl va ni a n re vi e w o f a d m in ist ra tiv e sc ie nc e s fa c to rs d riv in g e ff e c tiv e in te ro rg a ni sa tio na l c o lla b o ra tio n 35 m e ns a h (2 01 6) su rv e y g ha na kh a m e n kr um a u ni ve rs ity o f s c ie nc e a nd te c hn o lo g y ba rri e rs a nd b e ne fit s o f c o lla b o ra tio n 36 li u e t a l. (2 01 7) li te ra tu re re vi e w c hi na in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt c rit ic a l e ff e c ts o n b ui ld in g in fo rm a tio n m o d e llin g ( bi m ) c o lla b o ra tiv e d e sig n 37 pa l e t a l. (2 01 7) su rv e y c hi na in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt su p p lie r a nd c o nt ra c to r r e la tio ns hi p s 38 bo to n & f o rg ue s (2 01 7) li te ra tu re re vi e w c a na d a in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt c o m p le xi ty o f c o lla b o ra tio n in c i 39 ka p o g ia nn is & s he rra t (2 01 7) su rv e y u k bu ilt e nv iro nm e nt p ro je c t a nd a ss e t m a na g e m e nt in te g ra te d c o lla b o ra tiv e t e c hn o lo g ie s 40 ka la nt a ri e t a l. (2 01 7) m ix e d m e th o d m id d le e a st fa c ilit ie s o b st a c le s to c o lla b o ra tio n 41 a ye g b a e t a l. (2 01 7) li te ra tu re re vi e w so ut h a fri c a u ni ve rs ity o f t he w itw a te rs ra nd c o lla b o ra tio n a nd lo ng -t e rm re la tio ns hi p s in c i 42 bo nd -b a rn a rd e t a l. (2 01 8) su rv e y so ut h a fri c a in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f m a na g in g p ro je c ts in bu sin e ss tr us t a nd c o lla b o ra tio n fo r i nc re a sin g p ro je c t su c c e ss 43 n ur sin e t a l. (2 01 8) m ix e d m e th o d in d o ne sia m a te c w e b o f c o nf e re nc e s c rit ic a l s uc c e ss fa c to rs o f c o lla b o ra tio n 44 m so m b a e t a l. (2 01 8) li te ra tu re re vi e w ta nz a ni a in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f e ng in e e rin g r e se a rc h a nd t e c hn o lo g y en a b lin g fa c to rs o f c o lla b o ra tio n in ri sk 45 sm ith & t ho m a ss o n (2 01 8) c a se s tu d y sw e d e n pu b lic o rg a ni zr e ve pu b lic -p riv a te p a rt ne r c o lla b o ra tio n 46 a nd re a s & id a ( 20 18 ) c a se s tu d y sw e d e n jo nk o p in g u ni ve rs ity c o lla b o ra tio n a sp e c ts d ur in g t e nd e r p ro c e ss 47 h ug he s (2 01 8) m ix e d m e th o d u k u ni ve rs ity o f s o ut h w a le s a sp e c ts o f c o lla b o ra tio n 48 d e e p e t a l. (2 01 9) li te ra tu re re vi e w a us tr a lia in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt en a b le rs g o ve rn in g fa c to rs o f c o lla b o ra tio n 49 fa ris e t a l. (2 01 9) su rv e y ira q in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt u nd e rly in g fa c to rs o f c o lla b o ra tio n ta bl e 2 co nt in ue d ... acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 132 n o. a ut ho r( s) a nd y ea r of pu bl ic at io n ty pe o f s tu dy c ou nt ry jo ur na l/s ou rc e of p ub lic at io n r es ea rc h pu rp os e/ fo cu s of s tu dy 50 a g ha ni a e t a l. (2 01 9) su rv e y in d o ne sia in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f c iv il en g in e e rin g a nd te c hn o lo g y c o lla b o ra tio n in b ui ld in g p ro je c ts 51 h a m ze h e t a l. (2 01 9) su rv e y m id d le e a st (q a ta r, le b a no n) bu ilt e nv iro nm e nt p ro je c t a nd a ss e t m a na g e m e nt ex te nt o f f o rm s o f c o nt ra c t a d d re ss in g c o lla b o ra tio n 52 n a d e r ( 20 19 ) c a se s tu d y th e n e th e rla nd s d e lft u ni ve rs ity o f t e c hn o lo g y c lie nt a nd c o nt ra c to r c o lla b o ra tio n 53 o zt ur k (2 01 9) su rv e y tu rk e y jo ur na l o f m a te ria ls sc ie nc e a nd e ng in e e rin g in d iv id ua l l e ve l c o lla b o ra tio n a nd b im 54 by g b a lle & s w a rd ( 20 19 ) c a se s tu d y n o rw a y in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt m o d e l o f h o w p a rt ne rin g is in st itu tio na lis e d 55 o ra e e e t a l. (2 01 9) li te ra tu re re vi e w a us tr a lia in te rn a tio na l j o ur na l o f p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt ba rri e rs t o c o lla b o ra tio n in b im 56 m a rin e lli & s a lo p e k (2 01 9) m ix e d m e th o d u k jo ur na l o f e ng in e e rin g , d e sig n a nd te c hn o lo g y d im e ns io ns o f t he c o lla b o ra tiv e e th o s 57 li u e t a l. (2 01 9) su rv e y m a la ys ia m a te c w e b o f c o nf e re nc e s c o lla b o ra tio n c rit ic a l f a c to rs 58 ib ra hi m & b e la yu th a m (2 01 9) li te ra tu re re vi e w m a la ys ia m a te c w e b o f c o nf e re nc e s so c ia l c o lla b o ra tio n in b im -b a se d c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c ts r es ea rc h th em es to ta l a nd % c o lla b o ra tiv e p ro c ur e m e nt 2 ( 13 .7 % ) fa c to rs o f c o lla b o ra tio n in c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt 1 0 (1 7. 2% ) su p p ly c ha in in c o ns tr uc tio n a nd fa c to rs a ff e c tin g c o lla b o ra tio n 11 ( 18 .9 % ) c o lla b o ra tio n in t he d e sig n b ui ld in g e nv iro nm e nt 8 ( 13 .7 % ) c o nt ra c to r a nd s ub c o nt ra c to r c o lla b o ra tio n 4 (6 .8 % ) c lie nt a nd c o nt ra c to r 4 ( 6. 8% ) c o lla b o ra tio n m o d e ls 5 (8 .6 ) ba rri e rs a nd b e ne fit s o f c o lla b o ra tio n 4 (6 .8 % ) o th e r 1 0 (1 7. 2% ) s ou rc e: a ut ho r’s o w n co ns tru ct io n ta bl e 2 co nt in ue d ... rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 133 13 factors, namely trust, communication, resource/information sharing, mutual goals/vision, culture, commitment, clear roles and responsibilities, top management support, conflict resolution, early involvement of key participants, competence/experience, gain and pain sharing, and continuous improvement. content analysis was used to rank each factor of collaboration by reporting the number of articles that mentioned the factor. the ranking results show the factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects (see table 3). one author performed data extraction, and a second author checked the results 4. findings and discussion 4.1 collaboration in the ci the classification of articles on collaboration that influence project performance in the ci can be considered for h&s performance. table 2 ranks the articles based on the year in which they were published. 4.1.1 publication year and sources of publication the construction journals delivered 46 of the 58 articles, the largest contribution came from the ijpm (11), the ijcm (6), the ijec (4), other construction-related journals, and some papers from university masters and doctorate studies. social and management sciences studies delivered 11 of the 58 articles. the inclusion of other articles besides construction management-related journals was an attempt to bring a balanced view on factors of collaboration. publication sources included 51 journal articles and 7 papers from university masters and doctorate studies. the ijpm (11) has been the most used journal for publishing papers on collaboration factors in the ci. from the non-construction journals, journal of social and behavioral sciences provided 3 articles, which is the highest contribution. from 2010 to 2013, there was less focus on collaboration in the number of articles per year, but more articles focus on collaboration since 2014. this finding is consistent with a recent finding by deep et al. (2019: 4), indicating that construction organisations and professionals are realising the benefits of collaboration in the ci. 4.1.2 research methods used analysis based on the research methods used shows that most of the authors used surveys 18 (31%), literature reviews/conceptual 17 (31%), and case studies 16 (29%), while only a few 7 (13%) employed mixed method design in researching collaboration. existing empirical studies investigating collaboration, for example by suprapto, bakker and mooi (2015) and ey et acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 134 al. (2014), used case study method. the lack of studies on collaboration using the mixed method strategy points to a gap in knowledge. 4.1.3 country of origin studies on collaboration were undertaken in over 25 countries. researchers from europe published 27 (49%) articles; uk 9 (16%); asia 8 (14%); sweden 6 (11%); africa 6 (11%) (5 from south africa); middle east 6 (11%) (3 from iran); australia 5 (9%); north america 2 (4%), and india 2 (4%). based on the analysis, europe published almost half (49%) of the articles and africa only 12%. this suggests that collaboration in the ci is more researched in europe, with 9 articles in the uk and 6 in sweden, while africa only published 6 articles with 5 from south africa. this could mean that, in africa, there is less focus on collaboration in the ci and that research on collaboration is still at an early stage in africa and south africa. only one paper from africa (tanzania) investigated the factors of collaboration. the study used a literature review to identify factors of collaboration in construction risk management. 4.1.4 research purpose/focus of the study analysis on the research purpose/focus of the studies shows that researchers have investigated collaboration from many perspectives such as collaborative procurement 2 (13.7%); factors of collaboration in construction management 10 (17.2%); supply chain in construction and factors affecting collaboration 11 (18.9%); collaboration in the design building environment 8 (13.7%); contractor and subcontractor collaboration 4 (6.8%); client and contractor 4 (6.8%); collaboration models 5 (8.6%); barriers and benefits of collaboration 4 (6.8%), and other 10 (17.2%). only 4 (6.8%) studies investigated barriers to collaboration that are consistent with a study by bemelmans et al. (2012: 355); only one study discussed the barriers or obstacles to partnering. only 8 (13.6%) articles investigated interpersonal collaboration (client, contractor, subcontractor). this suggests that most of the studies are focused on interorganisational collaboration and a few studies focused on interpersonal collaboration. from the 58 identified articles, only 10 (17.2%), of which one is from africa, investigated factors of collaboration. none focused on factors of collaboration that improve h&s performance in the ci. it is reasonable to conclude that, while collaboration is slowly gaining the attention it deserves from researchers and practitioners, studies focusing on factors of collaboration for improving h&s performance are limited or not available. this suggests that identifying factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance is an important aspect to consider. rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 135 4.2 factors of collaboration in the ci to be considered for h&s performance table 3 shows the ranking of each factor of collaboration by reporting the number of included articles that mentioned or discussed the factor. mentioned 43 or more times, results show that the top three factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects are trust (48), communication (47), resource/information sharing (43), as well as mutual goals and commitment (43). factors such as continuous improvement, gain and pain sharing, early involvement of key participants, top management support, and culture have been overlooked, with only a table 3: factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s in the ci rank factor of collaboration frequency article number from table 2 that mentioned the factor 1 trust 48 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,18,19,20,2 1,22,23,25,26,28,29,31,32,33,34,35,36, 38,40,41, 42,43,44,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,55,56 2 communication 47 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23 ,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,35,36,39,40,41, 42,43,44,45,46,48,49,50,51,53,54,55,56 3 resource/ information sharing 43 1,2,3,4,6,7,9,10,11,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,23,24,2 5,26,27,28,30,31,32,33,35,36,39,40,42,43,44,45, 46,48,49,50,52,53,54,55,56,57 4 mutual goals/vision 43 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,20,21,22,23,2 4,25,26,27,30,33,34,36,37,38,39,40,42,43,45,46, 47,48,50,51,52,53,55,56 5 commitment 36 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,11,14,16,17,19,20,21,22,24,25,2 7,28,29,32,33,35,38,40,41,42,43,44,47,48,51,5 3,55,57 6 clear roles and responsibilities 30 1,2,3,7,9,11,12,13,14,16,20,21,24,26,27,31,32,33 ,38,40,44,46,48,49,50,51,54,55,56,57 7 competence 29 1,2,3,7,10,18,20,21,23,24,25,26,30,34,35,39,40,42,43,46,47,49,51,52,53,54,55,56,57 8 conflict/problem resolution 27 1,2,3,4,6,7,9,10,12,20,21,24,25,27,28,32,36,37,3 8,41,43,44,46,47,48,53,65 9 culture 26 1,3,6,7,10,11,14,19,21,22,24,25,28,31,32,33,38,39,42,43,44,46,48,53,54,57 10 top management support 20 3,6,7,9,14,16,17,18,23,24,25,27,28,30,31,33,40,42,46,48 11 early involvement of key participants 19 1,2,7,9,10,11,23,22, 24,28,39,46,47,48,50,53,54,55,56 12 gain and pain sharing 16 3,8,9,10,12,13,16,20,46,47,48,50,53,54,55,56 13 continual improvement 12 5,10,21,22,24,25,32,36,40,45,46,57 source: author’s own construction acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 136 few studies mentioning or discussing them. this indicates that the present literature focuses on certain factors, while others are disregarded. as the top-rated factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, trust is an important collaboration factor in project success (phong-arjarn & jeenanunat, 2011: 10; meng, 2013: 423; bond-barnard, fletcher & steyn, 2018: 434). for project success, knowledge exchange on time, cost, quality and h&s objectives creates expectations between project participants and is more likely to determine the level of trust between project members (hosseini et al., 2016: 244). a situation where project participants trust each other plays a critical role in ensuring collaboration (msomba, matiko & mlinga, 2018: 152). a more recent study by bond-barnard et al. (2018: 466) confirmed that the degree of collaboration did indeed increase as the level of trust in the project increased. the level of trust between h&s professionals and line managers (provan, dekker & rae, 2017: 27) is a key factor in influencing decision-making processes, as trust between team members influences the level at which the team performs (patel et al., 2012: 5). rated as the top-two factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, communication is a key for minimising project conflicts where diverse professionals with varying levels of knowledge and skills are involved (aghania, ramzani & raju, 2019: 125). previous studies identified lack of communication as the reason for project participants failing to collaborate, due to distrust and poor relationships (meng, 2012: 190; pal et al., 2017: 1227). information exchange among participants on achieving h&s goals (lingard et al., 2014: 920) to improve project performance in the ci include formal and informal or verbal and written means of communication (hse, 2008: 29; jitwasinkul & hadikusumo, 2011: 524). the importance of effectively communicating safety hazards and control measures among participants limits the probability of accidents (pandit, albert, patil & al-bayati, 2018: 2). to demonstrate its significance, the international organisation for standardisation (iso) (2018: 17) and the south african council for project and construction management professions (sacpcmp) (2013: 7) identified communication management as a key knowledge area within h&s management practice. resource/information sharing was rated one of the top-three factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects. free information exchange between clients, designers and contractors (jefferies, brewer & gajendran, 2014; akintan & morledge 2013; ey et al., 2014) is critical for improving collaboration, overall project performance (pal et al., 2017: 1227), and successful project completion (rahman et al., 2014a: 419). sharing of information and resources is important not only rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 137 for ensuring successful contractual relationships (bemelmans & voordijik, 2012: 355; banerjee & kumar, 2014: 188; rahman et al., 2014a: 414), but also for effective supply chain collaboration, because sharing of information ensures that activities are executed efficiently and effectively (banerjee & kumar, 2014: 189). as one of the top-three factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, mutual goals and commitment is key to improve collaboration between project participants (pal et al., 2017: 1227) and establishing mutual objectives among project stakeholders (faris et al., 2019: 5). in general, project managers, designers, construction managers, and h&s professionals have conflicting objectives (meng, 2013: 427), but mutual goals between project participants promote collaboration and better project performance (hosseini et al., 2016: 250). h&s performance improvement through mutual goals and commitment is key when setting h&s objectives in the ci (iso, 2018: 14). commitment was rated the top-four factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects and is important for interpersonal and interorganisational collaboration in the ci (bond-barnard et al., 2018: 439). commitment from top management (deep et al., 2019: 8) and individual project participants plays a vital role in achieving project h&s goals (msomba et al., 2018: 155). top management commitment for improving h&s performance is demonstrated by providing resources for h&s activities (iso, 2018: 9; el-nagar, hosny & askar, 2015: 185), while individual commitment is reflected through attending h&s meetings and other h&s-related activities. for instance, commitment to h&s can be shown through monitoring leading indicators of h&s performance (hinze, thurman & wehle, 2013: 26). conversely, findings of okori (2014: 208) revealed that inadequate site management commitment contributes to poor h&s performance. rated as the top-five factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, defining clear roles and responsibilities is important for successful collaborative relationships in the ci (meng, 2013: 426; kapogiannis & sherratt, 2017). clearly defined roles and responsibilities limit uncertainty and provide a fair distribution of the roles and responsibilities of project participants in h&s management (aghania et al., 2019: 125). unclear roles and responsibilities may lead to conflict that affects project team members psychologically and leads to poor performance (patel et al., 2012: 10). conflict/problem resolution, as a factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, refers to resolving or dealing with issues such as technical problems and disagreements between partners (banerjee & kumar, 2014: 189) that may affect procurement, acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 138 design, construction, and h&s processes. in the ci, setting proactive strategies for resolving conflict or problems is vital within a collaboration process, in order to save time, cost and improve h&s processes (msomba et al., 2018: 156). according to patel et al. (2012: 4), culture exists at national, organisational and professional levels, showing that each organisation, nation and professional has its own way of doing things. a culture of blaming each other is prevalent in construction projects (akintan & morledge, 2013: 3) and influences performance, people/employee behaviour and their level of optimism (meng, 2013: 190). a “no blame’’ culture enabling collaboration in risk management (msomba et al., 2018: 156). managing risks in high-risk industries such as the ci includes setting h&s objectives and establishing a good h&s culture in the ci. this becomes necessary for the safe improvement of h&s performance (lingard et al., 2009: 134; nielsen, 2014: 7). competence/experience, as a factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, refers to knowledge, skills and experience among project team members that contribute to the success of the project (msomba et al., 2018). working in collaboration integrates relevant knowledge and skills from past work experience of project participants (torneman, 2015: 23), increasing the project teams’ competence and knowledge of construction h&s processes and enhancing their capability for delivering a successful project (liu et al., 2017: 692). developing competence in h&s management through training and adequate supervision (hse, 2008: 31-32) gives project participants experience. applying skills and knowledge helps them identify hazards on construction sites. the support of top management, as a factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, is important for implementing a safety culture and safety standards (charehzehi & ahankoob, 2012: 306) and for establishing h&s policies and objectives in the ci (iso, 2018: 9). this support is necessary to create a culture for collaborating between project participants (faris et al., 2019: 5), in order to ensure that workers are safe (charehzehi & ahankoob, 2012: 304). top management also provides resources or funds for creating a safe workplace (mohammandi, tavakolan & khosravi, 2018). as a factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, early involvement of key participants such as project managers, designers, contractors, subcontractors and other consultants had the greatest impact on project innovation and improvement of project efficiency (hosseini et al., 2016: 248). early involvement of key project team members in h&s management who have specialised rantsatsi, musonda & agumba • identifying factors of collaboration 139 knowledge in project decision-making is linked to the adoption of higher work h&s risk controls (emuze & smallwood, 2014: 302). gain and pain sharing, as a factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, refers to shared profits or cost savings and shared losses, due to errors (for example, h&s) or cost increases between the parties in a construction project (meng, 2012: 190). according to faris et al. (2019: 2), in collaboration, risks and rewards are shared between all parties, but parties must find an effective way as to how to share risks and rewards between those involved, with a view to improving collaboration. one of the recommendations was to allocate risks and rewards fairly prior to tender. this will help improve project and h&s performance (hasanzadeh et al., 2014: 816). although continuous improvement was rated the lowest factor of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects, it is a key element in h&s management practice (andreas & ida, 2018), because it is characterised by non-ending improvements in products, services and processes (pal et al., 2017: 1227). in h&s management, leading indicators such as audits, training, incident recalls (hinze, thurman & wehle, 2013: 25; iso, 2018: 23), percentage of accidents, frequency of h&s meetings, and the number of trained workers on h&s are used to ascertain if h&s performance is improving. organisations with a “zero harm” policy will adopt the most effective leading indicators; that is, those that drive h&s management systems to continual improvement (sinelnikov, inouye & kerper, 2015: 241). 5. conclusion and recommendations the review contributes to literature about collaboration in construction h&s and the factors that can be used to influence h&s performance. findings show that there are 11 critical success factors of collaboration that can influence construction h&s performance: trust, communication, commitment, resource/information sharing, mutual goals, clear roles and responsibilities, culture, early involvement of key participants, competence, conflict resolution, and continual improvement. based on reporting the number of included articles that mentioned or discussed the factor, the top three factors of collaboration critical for improving h&s performance in construction projects are trust (48); communication (47); resource/ information sharing, (43) and mutual goals and commitment (43). during 2014-2019, studies investigating collaboration have increased, but studies on collaboration in the ci were limited in developing countries such as africa. limited studies used a mixed method research design and most of the studies were based on surveys, literature reviews, and case acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 140 studies. the literature review revealed that few studies investigated factors of collaboration and barriers inhibiting collaboration in ci. the limitation of this study is that the literature review and findings are based on studies done between 2010 and 2019 and that the unit of analysis was limited to studies obtained on google scholar and scopus databases. searches in other search engines might have provided additional information on collaboration. the findings make way for future research into the impact of collaboration on h&s performance and provide an understanding that h&s performance can be improved by adopting collaboration. the 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(eds). proceedings of the construction research congress (asce 2012), 21-23 may, west lafayette, indiana, usa, pp. 341-355. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412329.035. umeokafor, n. 2017. an appraisal of the barriers to client involvement in health and safety in nigeria’s construction industry. journal of engineering, design and technology, 15(4), pp. 417-487. https://doi.org/10.1108/ jedt-06-2016-0034. umeokafor, n. 2018. an investigation into public and private clients’ attitudes, commitment and impact on construction health and safety in nigeria. engineering, construction and architectural management, 25(6), pp. 798-815. https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-06-2016-0152. vinodkumar, n.m. & bhasi, m. 2010. safety management practices and safety behaviour: assessing the mediating role of safety knowledge and motivation. journal of accident analysis and prevention, 42(6), pp. 20822093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.06.021. windapo, a. & cattell, k. 2013. the south african construction industry: perceptions of key challenges facing its performance, development and growth. journal of construction in developing countries, 18(2), pp. 65-79. wu, s., greenwood, d. & steel, g. 2008. exploring the attributes of collaborative working in construction industry. northumbria built and virtual environment working paper series, 1(2), pp. 135-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.03.015 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.03.015 https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412329.035 https://doi.org/10.1108/jedt-06-2016-0034 https://doi.org/10.1108/jedt-06-2016-0034 https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-06-2016-0152 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.06.021 acta structilia-14(1) dr pieter le roux, senior lecturer, department of architecture, university of the free state, south africa, tel: 051 4013064, email: <lerouxpc.sci@mail.ufs.ac.za> wilandi esterhuysen, junior lecturer (units), department of architecture, university of the free state, south africa, m.arch candidate. 1 pieter le roux & wilandi esterhuysen revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research into workplace environmental conditions peer reviewed abstract following the centennial celebrations of the university of the free state in 2004, the need was identified to initiate a program according to which the image and future development of the university as a whole could be assessed. this included optimising the use of existing physical resources and prioritising on proposed new development. as part of this program, the historic main building was identified for revitalisation through an adaptive reuse program into office space for the executive management of the university. completed in july 2005, the refurbished facility now provides an updated approach to the concept of workplace by providing a mix of private and open plan offices. in an attempt to introduce the concept of performance evaluative research in workplace environments to students of architecture at the university of the free state, the revitalised main building workplace environment was regarded as a suitable example. performance evaluative research in workplace environments is a form of evidence-based research which aims to assess the functionality and serviceability levels of a specific facility on the basis of its ability to support and facilitate diverse work styles, as well as the user-needs and -requirements associated with it. the evaluation process was conducted according to the principles of an investigative-level post-occupancy evaluation (poe) study, and aimed to assess the impact of stimuli from the workplace environment on the ability of users to optimally perform and accomplish work-related tasks. the methodology according to which information for this poe study was collected consisted of various surveys. this included an activity survey, an activity duration survey, a communication survey, and a movement survey. the poe study lasted one working day, with the various mapping surveys undertaken simultaneously in 15-minute periods with 5-minute rest and preparation intervals between them. data collected in this manner thus provides a comprehensive view of all aspects pertaining to work performance and accomplishment in the specific office environment. the survey also included questionnaires distributed to all occupants of the workplace with a return rate of 86%. navorsingsartikels • research articles conclusions drawn from results of this study have indicated the response of users to the new workplace environment in terms of their perception of the impact of the overall work environment on their ability to concentrate and perform work-related tasks. in this regard problems related to limited or inconvenient access to office resources and problems related to poor thermal comfort (specifically with regards to the penetration of direct sunlight and lack of control over air-conditioning) occurred with a similar frequency (n = 48; f = 0.15). results of this study will: • serve as feedback for the continued alignment of the university’s physical resources with its dynamic resource management strategy — ; and • contribute to a database on work performance characteristics in south africa. keywords: building performance evaluation (bpe), post-occupancy evaluation (poe), facility management (fm), revitalisation, functionality, serviceability 2 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 3 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research 1. introduction research findings presented in this article are indicative of theworkplace environmental quality in the newly refurbished officespace in the historic main building on the campus of the university of the free sate (ufs) for members of its executive management. the main building (figure 1) is the oldest building on campus (built circa 1907) and is situated in the geographic centre of the campus (figure 2). figure 1: the historic main building on the campus of the university of the free state source: (photo by author) figure 2: layout of the core area on campus indicating the locations of the main building and the george du toit administration building source: (graphics by author). figure 3: ground and first floor plans of the main building prior to the commencement of refurbishment source: (graphics by author). 4 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the decision to relocate members of the executive management from the current george du toit administration building to the main building aimed to bring together considerations regarding the adaptive reuse of existing physical resources on campus — a topic which was previously discussed at length by the author at the 2005 safma (south african facilities management conference) under the title towards the improvement and optimisation of facilities on the campus of the university of the free state (safma, 2005). although matters pertaining to the facilities management (fm) policy of the ufs fall outside the parameters of this article, it must be emphasised that the revitalisation of the main building into executive office space form part of a wider strategy of overall resource optimisation. the process of transformation through adaptive reuse from class rooms to executive office space as illustrated in figures 3 to 5 are by no means an isolated effort. it forms part of an allencompassing strategy which deals with campus fm on various levels — ranging from administration and lecture facilities to pedestrian circulation routes and overall traffic management. figure 4: refurbished ground floor plan of the main building. the shaded areas indicate the open plan work office area which was the focus of this study source: (graphics by author). figure 5: refurbished first floor plan of the main building. the shaded areas indicate the open plan work office area which was the focus of this study source: (graphics by author) 5 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research 2. research objectives as was stated in le roux & kato (2004) employee satisfaction in the workplace environment can be interpreted from the perspective of marans & spreckelmayer (1982 cited boubekeri et al., 1991) who identify 4 factors to impact on the level of employee satisfaction. these factors are: • the specific organisational context; • job type and the characteristics of individual employees; • the nature of the workplace environmental attributes (spatial quality, colour, light, air quality, etc.); • the quality of the overall work environment as per the individual employee’s qualitative assessment thereof. given the executive nature of the specific environment in which this study was undertaken, two of the aforementioned factors are reflected in the primary objectives of this study. these are to determine: • the level of overall environmental satisfaction with the new workplace layout as perceived by employees; and • patterns of use and adaptation to the new open plan office environment. a secondary objective of the study was to introduce students of architecture to the concept of building performance evaluation (bpe) through post-occupancy evaluation (poe) (le roux, 2006). since these concepts are usually not intrinsic to the teaching of architectural design, the study was further aimed at providing an opportunity of illustrating the potential benefits of the awareness of these concepts during the conceptualisation of new design proposals in the design studio. although the collection of data and its contribution to workplace environmental conditions in the south african context remain the primary goal of this study, this initial exposure to concepts of bpe is indicative of how studies related to the reciprocal relationships between people and the built environment — generally referred to as person-environment studies — can be adopted into the teaching curricula of architectural design and other related subjects. 3. research methodology the research methodology for the bpe study of the refurbished main building workplace environment was structured according to the various stages of building performance evaluation through poe as per preiser et al. (1988). accordingly, stage one — indicative-level poe — was used to undertake a walkthrough of the office environment. this step ensures members of the research team have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the specific environment, determine the accuracy of layout drawings received prior to the walkthrough, and identify possible problem areas that should receive special attention during the actual survey (stage 2). following the indicative-level poe, a more in-depth survey was undertaken to determine aspects of workplace environmental quality. this stage is referred to as an investigative-level poe and 6 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) consists of various approaches aimed at obtaining information regarding aspects of workplace environmental quality such as workplace and workspace layout, workspace spaciousness, movement, filing, storage, and support facilities. during the one-day survey of the open plan office, data was collected with regards to the range of activities performed by employees, the duration of the various activities, and the extent and location of work-related movement and communication. this specific research methodology is consistent with that developed and discussed by the author and collaborative researchers in kato et al. (2005). in addition to the various mapping surveys, a questionnaire survey was distributed to all employees as a means of comparing perceived and actual or observed work performance characteristics. the questionnaire aimed to elicit employee-perceptions related to: • their level of job satisfaction; • the nature and extent or duration of their activities in the office; • the extent and location of work-related movement and communication; and • the overall level of satisfaction with the environmental quality of the new open plan office layout. questionnaires were distributed to all employees present in the office. with the consideration of employees who were not in the office during the survey, a return rate of 86.05% was achieved (37 out of 43 questionnaires distributed). observations made during the initial investigative-level poe resulted in the formulation of various hypotheses regarding the impact of the new open plan workplace environment on the work performance of employee. it was hypothesised that there would be: • a greater sense of satisfaction among employees who value the performance enhancing aspects of the new office environment; • a higher level of cross-functional and cross-departmental awareness, communication, and collaboration; • increased movement between the various departments to facilitate the increased levels of cross-functional and crossdepartmental activities; and • more opportunities for employees to express and act according to individual work styles. 7 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research overall number of individual workspace settings in the open plan layout: total number of enclosed offices assigned to individual employees: total number of occupied workspace settings 25 18 43 4. sample characterisation the surveyed workplace environment is located on the basement, ground, and first floors of the historic main building. the building served as lecturing facilities prior to it being identified as suitable for refurbishment into executive office space (figure 3). the new workplace environment accommodates a total of 43 employees (table 1) who belong to 12 different departments as detailed in table 2. from a total of 47 workspace settings (of which 4 is vacant) the workspace utilisation ratio — the relationship between the number of workspace settings provided and the number of employees accommodated — for the overall office was 91.50%. individual workspaces are provided in both open plan and enclosed layouts. from a total of 47 workspace settings, 19 (40.4%) are enclosed offices, 23 (48.9%) are open plan offices, and the remaining 5 (11.1%) settings are located in the basement work area as part of department m: meeting administration and language services (table 2). since only the ground and first floor layouts provided a layout diversity of both enclosed and open plan workspace settings, the basement layout was not included in the initial mapping survey. overall, these ground and first floors allow for a total of 1,390.50 m2 useable office space. of this area, 47.06% of the floor area (654.33 m2) is dedicated to 11 departments, 30.93% (430.04 m2) to primary circulation space, and 20.01% (280.65 m2) to meeting and support spaces (kitchens, copy rooms, etc.) as illustrated in table 3.3. the average depth of floor (when measured from the inside of the perimeter wall to the centre of the primary circulation route) for the largest part of the office was measured at approximately 7,730 mm. accordingly, the interior spatial quality of the building is categorised as a shallow-depth space, and illustrates the ability of the building to afford all employees direct visual access to the outside. table 1: accommodation of staff compliment in open plan and enclosed offices 8 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 9 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research interior finishes, as well as furniture in both the enclosed and open plan offices are of a high standard and reflect the executive status of the work environment. opaque glazing and doors with wooden frames were used together with partitions to separate the enclosed workspaces from those in the open plan office area. although the architect had originally intended to allow for visual contact between employees in enclosed and open plan offices by means of transparent glazing — and thereby contribute to the improvement of the level of cross-functional awareness and transparency — employees strongly opposed this idea due to their perception that it would contribute to their lack of privacy. subsequently, the different workspaces in the work environment are less integrated than what would have been the affect had transparent glazing been used (see figure 6c). as a result of this, employees are perhaps less aware of the functional nature diverse work styles and job descriptions in the workplace environment. in terms of workspace spaciousness, the average individual workspace surface in the open plan office area measured 2.15 m2 per setting (see table 3b). measurement of workspace spaciousness is a useful factor to relate possible complaints regarding too little workspace to, and as such forms part of the survey of the existing environment. lighting conditions in the workplace also received attention in terms of energy efficiency and aesthetic appearance. the selected light fittings as illustrated in figure 6b allow for a sufficient level of light on work surfaces (according to employees’ responses to related questions in the questionnaire). together with natural light from windows and the relatively shallow depth of the space the overall lighting environment was deemed satisfactory as no specific complaints were received to the contrary. although employees in the basement offices were included in the questionnaire survey, the actual mappings were limited to the office areas on the ground and first floors (compare with fig. 7 for the location of each department within the new office environment). 10 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) a). primary circulation route b). general open plan office c). glass partitions separating enclosed and open plan offices d). average individual workspace in the open plan office table 2: departmental classification and the respective staff compliment figure 6: photographic survey of the interior source: (photos by author) department no. of settingsprovided ground floor: a: office of the vice-rector (student affairs): b: office of the registrar (general affairs): c: office for diversity: d: office of the director (physical resources & special projects): e: office of the chief director (operations): f: office of the rector: 2 3 (1 vacant) 2 (1 vacant) 3 2 3 first floor: g: community service: h: strategic communication: j: planning unit: k: office of the vice-rector (academic planning): l: office of the vice-rector (academic operations): 4 8 (1 vacant) 11 2 2 basement: m: meeting administration & language services: 5 (1 vacant) total: 47 (4 vacant) 11 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research table 3: dimensions of individual workspace settings a). individual workspaces in enclosed offices (3.13 m2) b). individual workspaces in the open plan area (2.15 m2) 5. research results results of the research activities in the main building workplace environment were obtained through various mapping procedures as previously discussed. the data as discussed here serve as an indication of the workplace environmental quality within six months of occupation of the new workplace environment. 5.1 questionnaire analysis as was discussed by kato et al. (2005: 149-159) the mapping procedures depend primarily on observations by the research team regarding the workplace environment and the work performance behaviour of employees. since these observations are entirely based on what members of the research team observe themselves, there is a concern regarding the objectivity with which data is recorded. in order to address this specific concern, a questionnaire survey forms part of the data collecting process. questionnaires are distributed to all employees in the office and provide an opportunity to employees to give feedback pertaining their perceptions of workplace environmental quality, facility functionality (diversity in terms of userrequirements), and facility serviceability (the extent to which the facility accommodates diverse user-requirements). the responses employees gave to the questionnaire provided an indication of their level of satisfaction with the new workplace layout and the resulting environmental conditions. all responses received were subjected to a screening process during which their validity 12 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) were assessed and where necessary, disqualified for not bearing directly on matters related to the workplace environmental quality. from a total of 73 responses 6 (8.22%) were disqualified due to respondents following incorrect or inappropriate procedures in answering the questionnaire. following the screening process, a total of 67 (91.78%) comments pertaining to perceived performance inhibiting aspects of the workplace environment were identified and categorised as per table 4. accordingly, the most frequently perceived performance inhibiting categories were: • problems related to insufficient storage and filing space (n = 13; f = 0.19); • distractions due to background noise (n = 8; f = 0.12), as well as problems related to poor thermal comfort (n = 8; f = 0.12); and • problems related to inconvenient / poor space planning (n = 7; f = 0.10). negative perceptions pertaining to insufficient storage and filing space, inconvenient / poor space planning, and glare on work surfaces due to the penetration of direct sunlight matched the problem areas initially hypothesised. table 4: frequency distribution of perceived performance inhibiting workplace environmental variables (n = 67). workplace environmental variables n f 1. problems related to insufficient storage and filing space: • insufficient storage space • archive too small • no storage space in meeting rooms • no storage space for confidential documents 13 0.19 2. distractions due to background noise: • wooden floor is noisy • noise from telephones in open plan office • conversations from colleagues • the workplace environment is noisy 8 0.12 problems related to poor thermal comfort: • ineffective air conditioning • no personal control over air conditioning • no windows 8 0.12 3. problems related to inconvenient/poor space planning: • bathroom in basement too small • enclosed office too small • paraplegic toilets not private • visitor’s area not practical • computer cpu not easily accessible • no bookshelves 7 0.10 13 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research workplace environmental variables n f 4. problems related to excessive workplace / workspace spaciousness: • personal desk too large • too much open spaces • too many visitor spaces are not being used 5 0.07 problems related to office furniture (general): • office furniture very impersonal • not enough drawers • small mobile cupboard under desk is ineffective / impractical • no provision for stationary storage at desk 5 0.07 5. problems related to insufficient workplace/ workspace spaciousness: • desk space too small for filing / sorting work • not enough storage space for files at desk / personal items 4 0.06 problems related to the open plan layout: • no privacy for personal calls and/or conversations • have to share office space • no partitions • emphasise status barriers 4 0.06 6. problems related to insufficient meeting space/ seating in meeting spaces: • not enough seating in meeting room • insufficient meeting spaces 3 0.04 problems related to oa (office automation) equipment: • wrong type of printer (too slow) • copier located too far from workspace • copier on other floor 3 0.04 7. discomfort due to sunlight and glare: • sunlight penetration a problem in summer 1 0.01 problems resulting from the absence of notice boards: • no ‘pin-up’ boards 1 0.01 problems related to movement / circulation: • wooden floor ‘bounces’ under movement and causes computers to move 1 0.01 problems related to staff rooms/additional support spaces: • staff room not private due to people walking through it 1 0.01 problems related to insufficient width of space: • toilet facilities too small 1 0.01 problems related to management of the overall workplace environment: • very little opportunity for personalisation 1 0.01 problems related to security: • poor locks on doors, cabinets, and desks 1 0.01 14 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 5.2 activity and activity duration mapping the objective of the activity mapping is to determine firstly, the range of activities that form part of employees’ daily workplace activities, and secondly, the duration or time spent on the various activities. workplace activities consist of two main categories — these being: • work performed at individual workspace while in the office; and • work performed away from individual workspace while in the office. the subcategories which represent the diversity of activities performed in the workplace are indicated in table 5. classification of employees’ workplace activities in this manner enables the interpretation of both the frequency with which the various activities are performed, as well as the various locations where these activities are performed. as such, a clear indication of the extent to which individual workspaces are appropriated is obtained. by using this information it is possible to formulate individual employee profiles pertaining to the extent and location of workspace utilisation. a combination of these individual profiles further allows the formulation of departmental profiles that enable an improved overall understanding of departmental characteristics and the related spatial requirements. ultimately, this approach allows for improved departmental and organisational space budgeting. aspects of workspace utilisation were also addressed by becker (1990) with specific reference to the provision of territorial (fixed-address) and nonterritorial (free-address) workspace settings and staffing typologies. accordingly, fixed address workspace is classified as workspace which is occupied for more than 60% of the day, while free-address workspace is classified as workspace that is occupied for less than 60% of a day. the implications of these indicators on space planning strategies in open plan office layouts have been discussed at length by le roux (2005). 15 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research table 5: range of activities performed at and away from individual workspace while in the office activities performed at individual workspace activities performed away from individual workspace cw: computer work mf: formal meeting d: desk work mi (away) informal meeting / conversation tel.: telephone f (away) filing mi (at): informal meeting /conversation f/c/p: fax / copy / print f (at): filing m movement f/c/p: fax / copy / print o other although the body of evidence related to these implications is too extensive to be included in this article it can be summarised by means of the conclusion which states that employees who spend more than 60% of a day in the office should be accommodated through fixed-address workspace solutions. these employees are referred to as ‘sitters’ (le roux et al., 2001) and represent the traditional function of the office to provide individual workspace to employees. however, where employees spend less than 60% of a day in the office alternative workspace solutions such as free-address workspace might be more appropriate. this group of employees is referred to as either ‘walkers’ or ‘runners’ and represent a new type of work style where employees exhibit higher levels of mobility in performing and accomplishing their workplace activities (le roux et al., 2001). data from the activity mapping is therefore highly relevant to determining and adequately providing for work style diversity among employees. data presented in diagram 1 clearly illustrate the various activities on which employees in the different departments spent most of their time. the activity in which most departments — with the exception of department k (office of the vice-rector: academic planning) — scored high levels of performance, was computer work (cw) at individual workspace. performance of this activity ranged between a low of 26.7% (an average of 4 minutes per 15-minute interval) and a high of 51.5% (an average of 7.72 minutes per 15-minute interval). all departments appear to spend very little time (below 20%; an average of 3 minutes per 15-minute interval) doing desk work. two important findings relate to the relatively high frequency of telephone use at 16 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) individual workspaces (an average of 1.86 minutes per 15-minute interval) and the relatively high occurrence of filing (f) away from individual workspaces. this last observation corresponds with responses tabled as perceived performance inhibitors (table 4). although the relatively high occurrence of informal communication at and away from individual workspaces appear to be the result of increased crossfunctional awareness and contact between various departments in an open plan office layout, data from the communication mapping in section 4.3 illustrates that such communication was primarily between employees of the same department. movement in the office (m), as well as other activities (o) were similarly of a relatively high nature. however, based on the results of the questionnaire survey, these were not perceived by employees as performance inhibiting. findings presented in diagram 2 illustrates that the departmental averages for time spent at individual workspaces by employees in the open plan area for 4 departments were below 60%. this implies that individual or fixed-address workspaces were not used optimally. these departments are department b (office of the registrar: general affairs), department f (office of the rector), department j diagram 1: activity profile for all departments (see figure 7 for departmental classification) 17 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research (planning), and department k (office of the vice-rector: academic planning). since no employees belonging to departments c (office for diversity) and d (office of the director: physical resources & special projects) were present in the open plan office during the survey, no data were entered into the comparisons illustrated in diagrams 1 and 2. diagram 2: time spent at workspaces (note the office average) bringing together data pertaining to time spent in the office and time spent at individual workspace as illustrated in diagram 3 enables evidence-based decision-making pertaining to the allocation of workspace based on employees’ performance behaviour and their work style diversity. the matrix illustrated in diagram 3 contains 4 quadrants structured around previously mentioned research findings by becker (1990) pertaining to workspace utilisation above and below the 60% mark (refer section 4.2). as will be discussed in the following paragraph, interpretations of this matrix serve as a decisionmaking tool for issues related to workspace allocation strategies. in order to fully comprehend the interpretation of this matrix, a short discussion thereof is deemed necessary. the first quadrant refers to the hatched area where time in the office and time at individual workspace are both below 60%. this group of employees is identified as ‘walkers’ or ‘runners’. due to their increased level of mobility in work performance, this group is most likely to benefit from a free-address workspace solution. employees spending the majority of a day at their individual workspaces in the 18 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) office are classified as ‘sitters’ and belong to quadrant three where time in the office and time at individual workspace are above 60%. these employees are best accommodated through a fixed-address workspace solution. quadrant 2 refers to employees who spend less than 60% of a day in the office, but with individual workspace utilisation above 60%. these employees are usually those performing work requiring high levels of concentration. the last quadrant — quadrant 4 — includes employees who spend more than 60% of a day in the office, but less than 60% at individual workspace. this group of employees is characterised through increased levels of mobility in their work performance and accomplishment within the workplace environment. based on the information provided in diagram 3, the majority of employees in the main building office environment belong to quadrants 3 and 4. this implies that employees in this specific workplace environment display a tendency to be in the office for the larger part of the day — thereby justifying the current fixed-address workspace solution. 5.3 movement and communication mapping data regarding employees’ movement and communication behaviour in the open plan office environment provide further insight into the extent of performance and work style diversity in the office. movementrelated data was collected simultaneous to the activity mapping, and is diagram 3: illustration of work styles according to time spent in the office and time spent at individual workspace used to illustrate where employees circulate in the course of work performance, as well as their preferences in terms of the location of communication and collaboration in the office. movement lines for individual employees are constructed using the data collected during the 15-minute intervals. by combining these movement lines, it is possible to illustrate individual and departmental movement behaviour. combined movement patterns illustrated in figure 8 shows the overall movement for the ground and first floor respectively. an important observation in this regard is that when comparing the overall departmental movement lines as indicated in figure 8 with that of the departmental boundaries illustrated in figure 7, it is found that movement for all departments are mostly limited to: • movement within the same department; • between the department and the various support facilities (kitchens, copy rooms, and toilet facilities); and • shared entrance/exit areas. the high frequency of movement along the primary circulation route on the first floor also corresponds with negative feedback from respondents to the questionnaire. accordingly, most complaints were related to the noise of people moving on the wooden floors, as well disturbances due to movement of the wooden floor when people walk on it. the latter was particularly disturbing in instances where the floor movement resulted in computer monitors moving on desk surfaces. communication patterns as illustrated in figure 9 appear to be mostly the result of the observed movement patterns. in a similar fashion, communication was found to be primarily between employees of the same departments — a situation which emphasises the fact that there is less than expected cross-functional and cross-departmental communication and awareness. this situation is contrary to what was initially hypothesised. the communication behaviour observed in the departmental zones illustrated in figure 9 is also reflected in the respective communication wheels for the observed ground and first floor communication as presented in figure 10. the communication wheel — as discussed by kato et al. (2005) — is a circular diagram that contains reference to all employees in the surveyed workplace environment. employees are grouped in a departmental manner to ease illustration of the extent and frequency of communication between different employees and departments. based on interpretations of the communication wheel for the first floor, frequent communication occurred 19 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research 20 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) figure 7-2: ground floor plan illustrating overall departmental layout and proximities, as well as the location of the primary circulation area figure 7-1: ground floor plan illustrating overall departmental layout and proximities, as well as the location of the primary circulation area 21 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research figure 8: overall results of the movement showing the extent of departmental movement on the ground (bottom) and first (top) floors (see figure 7 for departmental classification) figure 9: overall points of communication in terms of departmental boundaries for the ground (bottom) and first (top) floors. the use of matching colours for points of communication and departmental boundaries illustrate the extent of intraand interdepartmental communication within department j (planning), as well as between departments j (planning), k (office of the vice-rector: academic planning), and l (office of the vice-rector: academic operations). based on observations during the mapping surveys, it is concluded that this situation can be explained more on the basis of adjacency and proximity of location in the open plan layout, than as a result of functionally related workplace activities. similar to the communication behaviour observed on the first floor, communication on the ground floor was found to be primarily intradepartmental. an important observation relates to employees f1 and f2 in department f (office of the rector). according to the communication wheel there was a high frequency of communication between these two employees. in comparing this finding with the movement study illustrated in figure 8 and the points of communication in figure 9 the frequency of contact between employees f1 and f2 was confirmed. what is significant is that these two employees are not located within visual or audio range, yet have frequent work-related contact. a conclusion to be drawn from this is that an improved adjacency for these two employees might contribute to improved job satisfaction, as well as improved levels of effective and efficient work performance and accomplishment. 6. discussion of research results the performance evaluation study of the executive office environment in the main building has emphasised a number of important and highly relevant issues pertaining firstly to workplace planning and design in this specific environment, and secondly, to bpe research in workplace environments in the south african context in general. in analogy to previous research on workplace environmental planning standards and methodologies (le roux et al. 2005; le roux & kato, 2004; 2003; le roux et al. 2001) a discussion of the application value of the results of the study for the surveyed office environment can be done according to previously developed database categories. the most applicable categories for discussion in this paper are: • floor area per workspace; and • individual workspace area. in addition results will also be discussed in terms of adjacency and proximity of locations and the deployment of spatial resources according to work style diversity. 22 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 23 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research figure 10: visualisation of data collected during the communication mapping. the communication wheel clearly illustrates the extent of communication between all employees in the office during the survey. communication between employees of the ground and first floor was found to be minimal 6.1 floor area per workspace for this part of the analysis, the useable office (departmental) floor area was calculated. this excluded areas such as primary circulation, staff rooms, tea kitchens, and primary support spaces such as storage rooms, archives, and copy rooms. in this case the floor area of the personal suite of the rector on the ground floor was also excluded due to the uniqueness of the specific environment. for this discussion on floor area per workspace, two indicators were identified to ease the interpretation and discussion of data. data for the ground floor indicated the average departmental floor area (indicator 1) to be 42.95m2. the average departmental floor area per workspace (indicator 2) was found to be 18.42m2 (refer to table 6-1). accordingly, departmental floor areas on the ground floor ranged from 29.18m2 (dept. c) to 64.14m2 (dept. b), while individual workspace settings ranged from 14.59m2 (dept. c) to 21.38m2 (dept. b) when interpreted in terms of the number of workspace settings per department. consequently, results of the evaluation of spatial characteristics of the ground floor layout indicated that maximum and minimum values for both departmental spaciousness and the spaciousness of individual workspaces were found within similar departments. accordingly, the maximum values pertaining to both indicators were found in dept. b (office of the registrar — general affairs), while minimum values for both indicators were found in dept. c (office for diversity). important to note, is the fact that while dept. b has only one employee more than dept. c (3 as apposed to 2), the departmental floor area was more than double that of dept. c. occupation of the first floor was significantly higher than that of the ground floor (refer to table 6-2). data for the first floor indicated the average departmental floor area (indicator 1) to be 84.22m2, while the average floor area per workspace (indicator 2) was 15.60m2. departmental floor areas on the first floor ranged from a minimum of 38.68m2 in dept. l to a maximum of 179.43m2 in dept. j. individual workspaces ranged from a minimum of 12.58m2 in dept. h to a maximum of 20.93 in dept. k. contrary to similar data for the ground floor, minimum and maximum values for both indicators did not occur within similar departments. average floor areas per workspace for the overall office environment are illustrated in table 6-3. accordingly, floor area per workspace when expressed in terms of the overall available floor area varies from 33.91m2 (inclusive of all excluded areas as discussed previously) to 16.56m2 (less all excluded areas as previously discussed). since no 24 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 25 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research table 6-2: spatial characteristics of the first floor recommended minimum standards regarding workspace spaciousness currently exist in south africa, data from nopa (the new office promotion association of japan) on office planning standards (le roux et al. 2005), as well as literature from the netherlands (van wagenberg, 1999) on healthy office building management will be used to comparatively illustrate recommended standards in this regard. table 6-1: spatial characteristics of the ground floor department / area name overall area (m2) number of settings aver. area persetting (m2) dept. a 38.85 2 19.43 dept. b 64.14 3 21.38 dept. c 29.18 2 14.59 dept. d 45.88 3 15.29 dept. e 38.68 2 19.34 dept. f 40.98* (+ 94.61) 2 20.49 total: 257.71 (+ 94.61) 14* (+ 1) aver./dept. 42.95 aver./setting: 18.42 meeting and support spaces 166.39 primary circulation 230.23 total: 654.33* (+94.61) note: * data indicated for dept. f excludes that of the rector’s personal suite (94.61 m2) department / area name overall area (m2) number ofsettings aver. area per setting (m2) dept. g 60.48 4 15.12 dept. h 100.66 8 12.58 dept. j 179.43 11 16.31 dept. k 41.85 2 20.93 dept. l 38.68 2 19.34 total: 421.10 27 aver./dept.: 84.22 aver./setting: 15.60 meeting and support spaces 114.26 primary circulation 200.81 total: 736.17 26 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) table 6-3: spatial characteristics of the overall workplace environment on the ground and first floors (refer to table 6-1 and 6-2) spatial characteristics: overall floor area (m2) 1. overall useable floor area (excluding the rector’s suite): 1,390.5041 (+ 1) 2. overall meeting & support space: 280.65 (20.18%) 3. overall primary circulation space: 431.04 (31.00%) 4. overall departmental area: 678.81 (48.82%) 5. overall number of workspace settings: 41 (+ 1) 6. average overall floor area / setting (incl. primary circulation, meeting space, and support space): 33.91 7. average departmental floor area / setting (excl. primary circulation, meeting space, and support space): 16.56 8. personal suite of the rector: 94.61 nopa — through its ‘new office minimum standard’ — recommends a minimum of 7 m2 per individual workspace setting. since this standard does not make reference to job function, the dutch standard for floor area allocation per job function as per van wagenberg (1999) is a useful means of comparison (table 7). table 7: minimum and optimum floor areas of dutch offices relative to the functional nature and the required facilities function utilisation min. floor area(m2) optimum floor area (m2) level 1 basic individual workplace 7 9 level 2 + additional computer equipment 9 11 level 3 + additional computer equipment andsufficient workspace for 2 people 11 12 level 4 + additional computer equipment andsufficient workspace for 4 people 13 14 level 5 + additional computer equipment andsufficient workspace for 6 people 18 18 level 6 employees with representativeresponsibilities 28 28 the dutch example (table 8) aims to enable the objective allocation of workspace in the office according to actual occupation and the required level of office automation and it in the specific workspace. 27 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research the comparison of the spatial characteristic of the main building workplace environment is thus similarly an exercise in evidencebased reasoning and decision-making with regards to the utilisation of spatial resources (figure 7). table 8: comparison of floor areas in the main building office environment with those recommended by the dutch standard dutch standards (table 7) main building function min. floorarea (m2) optimum floor area (m2) employee / department area (m2) level 1 7 9 employee c2: (office fordiversity) 12.34 level 2 9 11 employee g3: (communityservice) 12.20 level 3 11 12 strategic communication 21.74 level 4 13 14 planning (current) 58.53 level 5 18 18 planning (future) 58.53 level 6 28 28 employee a1: (office for the vice-rector: student affairs) 28.60 employee f3: (office of the rector — personal suite) 94.61 6.2 individual workspace area an interesting comment resulting from the questionnaire survey was employees’ mixed response with regard to workspace spaciousness. more responses were received of individual workspace being too large (n = 5; f = 0.07) than the same workspace being too small (n = 4; f = 0.06). workspace in the open plan office area measured on average 2.15 m2 while those in the enclosed offices were 3.13 m2 (table 3). 6.3 adjacency and proximity of location as was mentioned previously in the discussion of the results of the movement and communication mapping (refer to section 4.3) the frequency of movement and communication between employees, as well as the effectiveness thereof, can be managed through the improved understanding of adjacency relationships and the proximity of location. most workplace layouts accommodate employees on the basis of adjacency decisions that use spatial proximity to address decision-making on where employees should work. this means that employees are accommodated where they are closest to those they have frequent interaction with. according to research by becker (1990) workplace planning and design methodologies that support spatial mobility effectively shift the focus from the design of individual ‘cockpit’ workplace settings where employees are functionally isolated, to the notion of the office as system of loosely coupled settings appropriated on the basis of functional need. considerations on adjacency and proximity thus either enforce departmental cohesion by grouping people closely together, or employ the concept of ‘functional inconvenience’ to locate employees in such a manner as to promote cross-functional interaction and awareness. given the strongly departmental character of movement and communication in the surveyed office environment, careful consideration based on the organisational character and objectives might suggest a different approach to accommodating selected employees and functional groups. the most visible example in this regard is employees f1 and f2 (office of the rector) who had frequent workrelated contact, yet were situated out of visual and audio range of each other. rethinking such relationships on the basis of data resulting from the movement and communication mappings could improve functional cohesion and improve perceptions of the office environment’s level of serviceability (the extent to which the office layout accommodate user requirements and work style diversity). 6.4 deployment of spatial resources according to work style diversity a last discussion on the results of this study pertains to the acknowledgement of employee and work style diversity. data presented in diagram 3 on the relationship between time spent at individual workspaces and time spent in the office emphasises the need for recognition that there are real differences in the way people work. however, mere acknowledgement of these differences will not help employees to exercise autonomy with regards to the time and place according to which work is structured and performed. considerations in this respect are of special importance for employees identified as runners and walkers (employees that either spends more than 60% of their time in the office but less than 60% of the time working at individual workspaces, or employees that spend less than 60% of the time in the 28 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) office). special measures such as core time (a set time during the day during which all employees must be present in the office, for example, between 11:00 and 15:00) will help highly mobile employees such as those identified in quadrant 3 (refer to diagram 3) to be more effective and productive in performing their workplace activities. adoption of such strategies has the added benefit of enabling a better work-life balance since the focus moves from controlling the process (time in the office) to managing and facilitating work performance and accomplishment. 7. conclusion and recommendations conclusions from this body of research can be drawn on various levels. the most significant to be discussed here relates to the relevance of this study and its findings for the improvement of the main building workplace environment in terms of its functionality and serviceability levels, and the educational value thereof in sensitising students to the opportunities for, and value of person-environment studies in architecture. since the main building workplace environment was refurbished with work performance innovation in mind, the findings of this study serve as a benchmark of the level of achievement in terms of employee satisfaction with the environments level of serviceability. employee and work style diversity as discussed in this article in response to the research results imply that different employees will have different needs based on the work they are performing. according to becker (1990) optimal settings for work performance should vary according to changes in work content over time. given the emergence of increased spatial mobility in the performance of work among employees in the main building office environment, considerations regarding facility flexibility and serviceability are deemed of relevance for this specific office environment. the main building’s new status as an executive office further emphasises the need for implementing alternative solutions to the allocation and appropriation of spatial resources. this includes the careful assessment of specific work style diversities and the provision of dedicated space for concentrated work for employees in the open plan office. although alternative staffing typologies and workplace strategies on the basis of work performance characteristics require more effort in terms on proper management, the autonomy provided to employees to perform their work when, where, and how they deem necessary, is highly conducive to improved levels of employee satisfaction 29 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research and productivity (clements-croome, 2000). since employees regarded the lack of space for private or concentrated work as one of the performance inhibiting aspects of the new office environment, this aspect should receive proper attention. another aspect which was also perceived as contributing negatively to the working environment — the noise resulting from wooden floors, as well as problems related to the movement of the wooden floor — should similarly be addressed in an effort to improve the user-satisfaction with the workplace environment. results of the questionnaire were highly effective in identifying specific areas of user-dissatisfaction. the most frequent aspect which employees complained about was the lack of storage and filing space. this problem can be addressed by providing better access to the existing filing cupboards in the open plan workspace. by allocating individual filing space to each employee would also address the complaint regarding inadequate storage space for documents at individual workspaces. complaints pertaining to the archive being too small can similarly be addressed by adopting a more organised filing system and a better spatial planning in the archive room. in addition, complaints about the archive not being dust proof should be attended to as soon as possible. complaints pertaining to noise and movement of monitors on desks due to employee circulation across the wooden floor are however, more difficult to address. although loose carpets might provide the necessary dampening of sound and causes less movement of the wooden floor structure, careful consideration should be given to the impact thereof on general employee safety. this refers specifically to aspects of slip resistance. an added benefit of using loose carpets in this manner might be its contribution to the executive nature of the office. another performance inhibiting aspect of the open plan office is that of inadequate meeting spaces. complaints by employees regarding the low level of use of visitor spaces provide a solution to this problem. visitor spaces can be used as secondary meeting spaces — thereby using such areas more effectively. complaints pertaining to inadequate storage spaces in meeting areas should be addressed simultaneously to ensure all meeting spaces enjoying a high level of accessibility and ease of use. by doing so, the formal meeting rooms, combined with the visitor spaces serving as secondary meeting areas, can form a network of meeting spaces and facilities throughout the office environment. implementation of this solution would contribute to the workplace layout becoming 30 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) more efficient through its support of user-diversity, while also ensuring the optimisation of resources. a last aspect perceived by employees as inhibiting performance is that of copiers being too far from individual workspace. at present, a central copy room is provided which contains the photocopy units as well as paper and other related consumables. given the length of the open plan office and the fact that it is located on three floors (including the basement work area), the current policy of expecting employees to use an inconveniently placed central copy room contributes to dissatisfaction employees have with regards to the workplace layout. this specific problem can be addressed by locating photocopiers in distributed areas throughout the open plan office where they will be more accessible to employees. this arrangement will result in less time being spent on movement and circulation in the office (refer to diagram 1) and thus contribute towards higher levels of user-satisfaction while creating an opportunity for increased productivity. the distribution of photocopiers throughout the open plan office might also address the problem of movement of the wooden floor caused by high levels of movement between individual workspaces and support spaces. in addition to the direct implications of this survey and its results for the surveyed office environment, the survey also had an important educational value for students of architecture. by sensitising students to the importance of the reciprocal relationships between architecture as the built environment and people as the primary users thereof, the objectives of person-environment studies as discussed under the heading research objectives are also promoted. the inclusion of these concepts within the curriculum or architecture, together with the research activities of the centre for people and buildings — south africa (cfpb-sa) at the department of architecture, ufs ensures that graduates are made aware of their responsibility to consider the impact of their designs on the built environment and to formulate more responsive design solutions. the discussion of research results contained in this article will be used to formulate a feedback to the office of the director: physical resources & special projects, ufs who was responsible for the overall refurbishment of the existing main building into an executive office environment. follow-up studies are planned as part of an ongoing performance evaluative approach to office place-making in the main building office environment. 31 le roux & esterhuysen • revitalisation of a historic building through performance evaluative research references becker, f. 1990. the total workplace: facilities management and the elastic organization. new york: van nostrand reinhold. clements-croome, d. 2000. creating the productive workplace. london: e & fn spoon. kato, a., le roux, p.c., & tsunekawa, k. 2005. building performance evaluation in japan (chapter 14). in: preiser, w.f.e. & vischer, j. (eds.). assessing building performance. amsterdam: butterworthheinemann. le roux, p.c. 2006. building performance evaluation (bpe) in the design studio. (in the process of being published). le roux, p.c. 2005. towards the improvement and optimization of facilities on the campus of the university of the free state. 2005 annual conference of the south african facilities management association. october 10-11, 2005, midrand, south africa, cd-rom. le roux, p.c., kato, a. & tsunekawa, k. 2005. a comparative study on building performance evaluation methodology. journal of architecture, planning and environmental engineering, 589, p. 41. le roux, p.c., kato, a. & tsunekawa, k. & shiozaki, h. 2005. a study on the application of current and anticipated work style diversity. journal of architecture, planning and environmental engineering, 594, p. 33. le roux, p.c. & kato, a. 2004. workplace environmental satisfaction as an indicator of building performance. architectural institute of japan tokai branch technical research report, 42, p. 597-600. le roux, p.c., kato, a., taniguchi, g. & tsunekawa, k. 2001. staffing typologies and placemaking: workplace planning methodologies in the new kokuyo nagoya office. architectural institute of japan tokai branch technical research report, 39, p. 657-660. preiser, w., rabinowitz, h. & white, e. 1988. post-occupancy evaluation. van nostrand reinhold. safma. 2005. what if? exploring the opportunities and challenges. proceedings of the 2nd safma conference, 10 11 october 2005, midrand, south africa. cd-rom. van wagenberg, a.f. 1999. gezond beheren van kantoorgebouwen. stichting isso / bouwresearch (building research institute). 32 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 69 navorsingsartikels • research articles olanrewaju balogun mr olanrewaju a. balogun, master’s, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, corner siemert and beit streets, doornfontein, 2028, johannesburg, south africa. phone: + (27) 713 822 103, email: <lbalogun@uj.ac.za> justus agumba dr justus n. agumba, department of construction management and quantity surveying, durban university of technology corner botanic road and steve biko road, block s3 level 2, durban, south africa. phone: + (27) 713 373 2466, email: <justusa@dut. ac.za> nazeem ansary mr nazeem ansary, department of building sciences, tshwane university of technology, pretoria, south africa. phone: + (27) 12 382 5242, email: <ansaryn@tut. ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 69-93 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) evaluating credit accessibility predictors among small and medium contractors in the south african construction industry peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract the importance of small and medium construction enterprises (smes) in the south african economy has been recognised. however, construction smes are faced with difficulties in accessing credit from financial institutions. furthermore, past research has failed to reach consensus on the demographic and socio-economic factors that predict credit accessibility for construction smes in south africa. this study determines the predicting demographic and socio-economic factors for credit accessibility for construction smes from financial institutions in south africa. a quantitative research approach was used and data was collected, using a questionnaire survey from 250 construction smes who were conveniently sampled. the demographic and company profile factors predicting credit accessibility were modelled and set as the independent variables with credit accessibility to the construction smes as the dependent variable, irrespective of the amount obtained from financial institutions. the data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 22. binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the predictors of obtaining credit. in the first model, the results revealed that the credit accessed irrespective of the amount and those who did not receive credit at all, when modelled with the conceptualised predictors suggested, showed no significant predictors of obtaining credit. however, in the second model, when the conceptualised predictors were modelled with full and partial credit, the results https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 70 established that age group, current position in the organisation, tax number and location were good predictors of obtaining full credit. the findings of this study cannot be generalised across south africa, as the study was conducted only in the gauteng province. the value of this study informs owners of smes in the construction industry to provide their age and current position in the organisation when applying for credit. they should also provide the tax number and the location of the business in order to improve their chances of obtaining full credit from financial institutions. keywords: credit accessibility, determinants of credit accessibility, full credit, small and medium enterprises abstrak die belangrikheid van klein en medium konstruksie-ondernemings (kmo’s) in die suid-afrikaanse ekonomie is erken. konstruksie kmo’s word egter gekonfronteer met probleme om krediet by finansiële instellings te kry. daarbenewens het vorige navorsing misluk om konsensus te bereik oor die demografiese en sosio-ekonomiese faktore wat krediettoeganklikheid vir konstruksie-kmo’s in suid-afrika voorspel. hierdie studie bepaal die bepalende demografiese en sosio-ekonomiese faktore vir krediettoeganklikheid vir konstruksie kmo’s by finansiële instellings in suid-afrika. ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gevolg en data is ingesamel deur gebruik te maak van ’n vraelysopname onder 250 konstruksie-kmo’s. die demografiese en maatskappy profielfaktore wat krediettoeganklikheid voorspel, is gemodelleer en gestel as die onafhanklike veranderlikes. krediettoeganklikheid vir die konstruksie kmo is die afhanklike veranderlike, ongeag die bedrag wat verkry is van finansiële instellings. die data is geanaliseer deur gebruik te maak van die statistical package for the social sciences (spss) versie 22. binêre logistieke regressie-analise is gebruik om die voorspellers van die verkryging van krediet te analiseer. in die eerste model het die resultate getoon dat die krediet wat toeganklik is ongeag die bedrag en diegene wat nie krediet ontvang het nie, wanneer dit gemodelleer is met die konseptualiseerde voorspellers wat voorgestel word, geen beduidende voorspellers toon van die verkryging van krediet nie. in die tweede model waar die konseptualiseerde voorspellers egter met volle en gedeeltelike kredietmodelle gemodelleer is, het die resultate bepaal dat ouderdomsgroep, huidige posisie in die organisasie, belastingnommer en werkplek goeie voorspellers was om volle krediet te verkry. die bevindinge van hierdie studie kan nie oor suid-afrika veralgemeen word nie, omdat die studie slegs in die gauteng-provinsie uitgevoer is. die waarde van hierdie studie stel eienaars van kmo’s in die konstruksiebedryf in kennis om hul ouderdom en huidige posisie in die organisasie te verskaf wanneer hulle om krediet aansoek doen. hulle moet ook die belastingnommer en die ligging van die besigheid verskaf om hul kanse om volle krediet van finansiële instellings te verkry, te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: bepalers van krediettoeganklikheid, krediettoeganklikheid, volle krediet, kleinen medium-ondernemings 1. introduction the term ‘small and medium enterprises’ (smes) is defined by commonly used criteria such as the number of employees, total net assets, sales and investment level. the main criteria is the number of permanent employees in an organisation (aduda, magutu & wangu, balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 71 2012: 205). aduda et al. (2012: 205) define smes as companies that employ up to 300 employees and have total assets and sales of up to $15 million. however, in the south african construction industry, the term ‘small enterprise’ is defined as a company that employs 50 or less employees and has an annual turnover of less than r5 million. medium enterprises employ between 51 and 200 employees and have less than r20 million turnover annually (rsa, 1996: 15). in south africa, smes contribute not only to the economy, but also, together with co-operatives, towards defeating the scourges of unemployment, poverty and inequality (small enterprise finance agency (sefa), 2016). during 2017, r1 billion was injected in the south african economy to assist 43,000 smmes and co-operatives. this amount, in turn, helped create and maintain close to 56,000 jobs (sefa, 2017). despite the importance of smmes to the south african economy, the small and medium construction enterprises (smes) sector is still described as, to a large extent, underdeveloped; lacking the sophistication enjoyed by larger well-established contractors; left on the periphery of the mainstream economy, and not participating fully in the economy (department of public works, 1999). martin (2010) opines that smes face a lack of competencies, including knowledge of pricing procedures, contractual rights, and obligations; law, management techniques, and principles, as well as technology. furthermore, the construction industry development board (cidb, 2008) indicates that smes’ formal education is based on construction trade training such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical installation, and bricklaying. it can be argued that this level of training might impede smes’ knowledge of financial management. other studies in south africa have revealed that capacity and financial resources are major challenges among smes (fatoki, 2014; agumba, adegoke & otieno, 2005). according to grimsholm and poblete (2011), smes are not able to access finance or credit, thus stifling their growth and capability. it is vital to note that the concept of credit is predated by the use of money. this can be traced to as far back as the code of hammurabi, established in approximately 1750 b.c. (nagarajan, 2011: 109). from its beginnings, credit has been used as a selling tool, to bind customers to a particular vendor, and to allow them to acquire more substantial goods for which they do not have the necessary capital (mandell, 1990). the theory of credit suggests that financial institutions would be more willing to extend credit if, in case of default, they could easily enforce contracts by forcing repayment or seizing collateral. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 72 to some extent, the amount of credit in a country would depend on the existence of legislation that protects the creditors’ rights on proper procedures that lead to repayment (aduda et al., 2012: 203). it is accepted that smes are a vehicle of economic empowerment in the construction and other industries in south africa. however, they are faced with numerous constraints to enable them to maximize their economic potential. furthermore, construction smes find it difficult to access the credit for which they applied, let alone any credit at all. it can be unequivocally indicated that there is a paucity of studies in south africa to establish the determinants predicting full credit and partial credit accessibility and to assess the determinants predicting construction smes’ accessing the credit or not. lack of consensus on the predictors of credit accessibility among smes is a problem that must be solved. to find solutions for the predictors of credit accessibility for construction smes, it was important to determine the factors that prevent construction smes from accessing credit. to do so, the socio-economic and demographic determinants predicting full credit accessibility for smes from financial institutions were assessed and evaluated by means of regression statistics testing whether participating smes received full credit, part of the credit, or no credit at all. 2. literature review 2.1 challenges preventing smes from accessing credit according to alhassan & sakara (2014: 33) and bondinuba (2012: 25), the factors that stifle smes from accessing credit include informational barriers, lack of management expertise, high default rate, and monitoring. banks face these challenges in lending credit to smes. bondinuba (2012: 25) found that the main challenges that make it difficult for smes to access finance include policy regulation, inadequate financial infrastructure, stringent collateral security requirements, and a lack of institutional capacity of the smes sector. kayanula & quartey (2000) and the world bank report (2014) established that the non-availability and cost of finance as well as the legal framework and policies regarding investment, together with a lack of proper bookkeeping among smes, fail to provide the right support infrastructure to facilitate smes lending by the financial institutions in ghana. angela and motsa associates (2004) as well as foxcroft, wood, kew, herrington and segal (2002) reveal that entrepreneurs face several problems in their efforts to access and borrow finance for balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 73 business purposes, particularly from banks. the main problems are a lack of collateral, refusal to use own collateral, failure to make a remarkable own contribution, blacklisting, failure to review attractive financial records and/or lack of business plans, and high risk of small entrepreneurs. in south africa, banks advance four main reasons for their reluctance to extend credit to small enterprises, namely high administrative costs of small-scale lending, asymmetric information, high-risk perception, and lack of collateral (mazanai & fatoki, 2012: 60). the organization for economic cooperation and development (oecd) (2006: 9) argues that the difficulties that smes encounter when trying to access financing can be due to an incomplete range of financial products and services, regulatory rigidities or gaps in the legal framework, or a lack of information on both the bank’s and the sme’s side. banks may avoid providing financing to certain types of smes, in particular, start-ups and very young firms that typically lack sufficient collateral, or firms whose activities offer the possibilities of high returns, but at a substantial risk of loss (oecd, 2006: 11-12). 2.2 predictors of credit accessibility kimutai and ambrose (2013) establish that most of the commercial banks ration credit, in order to reduce risk and to avoid the risk of adverse selection and moral hazard. therefore, the key factors that influence credit rationing by banks are loan characteristics, firm characteristics, and observable characteristics. critical factors such as the availability of a business plan, collateral, maintenance of a good relationship (networking), managerial competency, a good credit score (capacity to pay; experience in credit use), and the borrower’s character (attitude towards risk) define the requirements for smes to have access to financial institutions and bank credit (aduda et al., 2012; fatoki, 2014; fatoki & odeyemi, 2010). together with financial activities such as business registration, documentation/recording, and asset ownership (nkuah, tanyeh & gaeten, 2013), the profile of the business terms of number of employees, size, sector and form of the business in the economy form some of the crucial factors to be successful in accessing bank finance (alhassan & sakara, 2014; kira & he, 2012; musamali & tarus, 2013). in south africa, educational achievement, investment in production costs, access to market information, and membership of the cooperative negatively influence access to credit, specifically for entrepreneurs in the farming industry (etonihu, rahaman & usman, acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 74 2013; pandula, 2011). a separate study by chauke, motlhatlhana, pfumayaramba and anim (2013) found that the predictors for credit accessibility by smallholder farmers were attitude towards risk, distance between lender and borrower, perception on loan repayment, perception on lending procedures, and total value of assets (chauke & anim, 2013; dzadze, osei mensah, aidoo & nurah, 2012). gender, marital status, lack of guarantor, and high interest rates predicted access to credit among rural framers (ololade & olagunju, 2013: 20). these factors might be different from those in the construction sector, hence reinforcing the need for the study. other factors such as membership with business association, capital, and economic conditions were considered to be moderately important in availing credit to smes (aduda et al., 2012; pandula, 2011). in view of these discussions, it is evident that a wide range of factors set the profile of lenders and predict credit accessibility to financial institutions. these factors can be grouped into the demographic and company profile factors that predict full credit accessibility from financial institutions for lenders. 2.3 the demographic and socio-economic determinants of credit accessibility for the purposes of this article, the demographic and socioeconomic determinants of gaining credit accessibility for smes were set as gender, age group, current position of the owner, type of business ownership, business tax number, location of the company, and collateral/security. 2.3.1 gender according to wilson (2017), gender plays a significant role in accessing credit. a number of studies have shown that, in smes, females are more constrained and face more obstacles than their male counterparts in accessing credit (carter, 2011; roper & scott, 2009). in their study of smes regarding the impact of gender on accessing credit, irwin and scott (2010) established that females obtain credit more easily compared to their male counterparts. it can, therefore, be argued that gender predicts credit accessibility. 2.3.2 age group the perception that a particular age group tends to behave differently from other age groups means that, for instance, older smes’ owners/managers mostly appear to be at risk (nakano & nguyen, 2011) and do not want to apply for bank loans. younger balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 75 smes’ owners/managers are perceived to be innovative and good performers; hence, they could attract credit accessibility. several studies have investigated the effect of the applicant’s age on access to credit, with mixed results, mainly on the significance of the effect. studies conducted by fatoki and odeyemi (2010) and slavec and prodan (2012) show that age does not have a significant effect on access to credit. however, contrary to the above findings, nguyen and luu (2013) demonstrate that age does have a significant effect on credit accessibility. despite the mixed results, age group will be considered a predictor of credit accessibility for this study. 2.3.3 current position according to the report of business partners (2011), the level of the position of the directors, manager, or owner in a company can determine the loan or credit the organisation can secure. the reason for this is that credit seekers with higher positions in a company and high levels of management position can access credit easily. therefore, it can be suggested that the current position of the applicant in his/her organisation will predict credit accessibility. 2.3.4 types of business ownership beck, asli and maria (2008) found that the legal status and corporate structure (i.e., public, private or foreign-owned) at the start-up of businesses have an influence on lending money from financial institutions. coleman and cohn (2000) found evidence supporting a positive relationship between credit leverage and sole trader on access to credit. similarly, freedman and godwin (1994: 242) suggest that sole traders are greater users of bank credit. thus, the form of business ownership influences credit accessibility. 2.3.5 tax number coolidge (2012) infers that smes employing workers were more likely to express a likelihood to register for tax than sole proprietors with no employees. it is imperative to note that smes, who kept complete financial records on paper and computer, were more likely to report an intention to register for tax than those who did not keep such records. furthermore, smes who agreed that government gives a good return on taxes paid in the form of government services reported a much higher likelihood of tax registration. according to the south african revenue services (sars) (2015), tax registration is a pathway to having a tax number. hence, it can be argued that this will aid in credit being provided by the financial institutions, as the enterprise is deemed a legal entity. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 76 2.3.6 location of the business according to berger and udell (2006) and gilbert (2008), sme firms that are geographically nearer to lending institutions are more likely to gain access to the financial institution. this means that financial institutions can utilise available qualitative information more easily to establish the credibility of the sme applicants. fatoki and asah (2011) support this and affirm that smes located in towns are more successful in accessing credit compared to those in rural areas. these studies, therefore, propose that the location of the business predicts credit accessibility. 2.3.7 collateral security in lending agreements, collateral is a borrower’s pledge of specific property to a lender to secure repayment of a loan (joan, 1995). the collateral serves as protection for a lender against a borrower’s default. if a borrower defaults on a loan, that borrower forfeits the property pledged as collateral. the lender then becomes the owner of the collateral. joan (1995) established that collateral is a major determinant of credit accessibility by smes. 3. research method and design this study determined the predictors for gaining full credit accessibility for construction smes from financial institutions in south africa. a quantitative research design was adopted, in which the use of structured questionnaire surveys enables researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 1994). in this study, using logistic regression analysis, the socio-economic and demographic data from construction smes in south africa were used to test and set the predictors of accessing full credit. in the questionnaire, factors preventing smes from accessing credit from financial institutions were rated and then ranked as the list of constraints experienced by smes from accessing credit (creswell, 2005). 3.1 sampling method and size a list provided by the cidb shows a total of 5,000 grade 1; 5,000 grade 2; 2,461 grade 3; 2,797 grade 4, and 1,758 grade 5 registered construction smes in south africa, resulting in a population of 17,016. non-probability convenience sampling was used to select participants from this population who were registered with the cidb, but located in the city of johannesburg metropolitan municipality, city of tshwane metropolitan municipality, ekurhuleni metropolitan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/loan_agreement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/default_(finance) balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 77 municipality, and the west rand district municipality as grade 1 to 6 contractors. from this list, a total sample of 250 sme contractors were selected for this study. this sample size is supported by the sample size table of israel (1992), at a sampling precision of +/-7%. the table gives recommended sample sizes for general research activities, applicable to any defined population. from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of >15,000 is 201. this recommendation validates the sample size of 250 as efficient for the population of 17,016 (israel, 1992: 3). 3.2 response rate from the sample of 250 construction smes, a total of 179 smes completed and returned the questionnaire survey responses in the period august to november 2015, resulting in a response rate of 71.60%. according to moyo and crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. 3.3 data collection a structured questionnaire was distributed using the drop-and-collect method as well as electronically via email to a selected sample of 250 sme contractors in the gauteng province, south africa. the topics on accessing full credit used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into three sections. section one, on the respondent’s profile, obtained personal information on age, gender, population group, education qualification, marital status, current position, and years of experience in business. section two obtained the company profile information, which included location of the business, ownership, construction industry development board (cidb) grading, number of full-time employees, and requirements of financial institutions (e.g., collateral and tax number). these socio-economic and demographic data form the independent variables used in the binary logistic regression analysis. section three sets questions that rate the factors preventing smes from accessing credit. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section three (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaires were completed anonymously. the collection of the data and the presentation of the results cannot harm the respondents or their employing organisations in any way. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 78 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22 was used to perform the binary logistic regression analysis (pallant, 2013). logistic regression is recommended over linear regression when modelling dichotomous responses, allowing the researcher to estimate probabilities of the response occurring (hosmer & lemeshow, 2000). to analyse the socio-economic and demographic data, the logistic regression coded these independent variables as gender (male 1 and female 2); age group (30 years and below 1, 31 years to 39 years 2, 40 years to 49 years 3, and 50 years and above 4); current position (director 1, owner 2, manager 3, and manager/owner 4); ownership (sole proprietorship 1, partnership 2, limited partnership 3, limited liability company 4, and corporation (for-profit) 5; tax number (no, 0, and yes, 1); location of business (city of johannesburg metropolitan municipality 1, city of tshwane metropolitan municipality 2, ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality 4, and west rand district municipality 4); collateral (no, 0, and yes, 1). for the analysis of credit accessibility, the logistic regression coded the dichotomous responses as “yes” = 1 and “no” = 0. the regression analysis modelled the dependent variables into two tests. in test one (table 4), the predictors of accessing full credit were defined as “yes” = having accessed full credit, and “no” = having accessed part of the credit. in test two (table 6), the predictors of accessing credit were defined as “yes” = accessed credit; and “no” = did not access credit. to test whether the data used in the model was good enough for the binary logistic regression, the hosmer-lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used. this test (table 5) compares the observed and expected frequencies of events and non-events in order to assess how well the model fits the data (hosmer & lemeshow, 2013). for this study, the significance level was set at 0.05. this means that, if the p-value for the goodness-of-fit test is higher than 0.05, the model can be used for statistical analysis. to predict the independent variables’ influence on credit accessibility (dependent variables), mathematical model 1 was set up as: ln (p/1-p) = β0 + β1x1 + β2x2 +… + βkxk ............................................. (1) where p is the estimated probability of passing, and x1, x2, …, xk are independent variables. balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 79 the specific logistic regression was modelled as follows: ln (p/1-p) = β0 + β1gender + β2age group + β3curpostion + β4typesbusownsh + β5taxno + β6locbus + β7collateral ε. (p/1-p) is the odds ratio, where (p) is the probability of the response occurring divided by (1-p), which is the probability of it not occurring. to find a relationship between the dependent and independent variables, the maximum likelihood of the odds ratio’s values is defined as: >1 (positive association); =1 (no association), and <1 (negative association). in reporting the level of significance (p-value), a value of >0.05 means that the independent variable shows little significance to be set as a predictor to gain full credit and a value of <0.05 means that the independent variable shows a strong significance to be set as a predictor to gain full credit. the factors preventing smes from accessing credit were measured using a 5-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997). for the purposes of analysis and interpretation, the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores (mss), where 1 = strongly disagree (≥ 1.00 ≤ and <1.80); 2 = disagree (≥ 1.81 and ≤ 2.60); 3 = neutral (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤ 4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤ 5.00). the data were captured using the spss program, upon which the findings were reviewed against the foregoing literature review. 3.5. limitation(s) of the study the study cannot be generalised across south africa, as the study was conducted only in the gauteng province. 4. results and discussions table 1 shows the socio-economic and demographic data of respondents. based on frequency of occurrence, the majority of the respondents were males (63%). the majority of the respondents was in the age group between 40 and 49 years of age (51%). of the respondents, 82% occupied the position of owners, and 98% of the smes are sole proprietors. the majority (41%) of the smes were located in the city of johannesburg metropolitan. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 80 table 1: profile of respondents and organisation gender frequency percentage male 112 63 female 67 37 age group 30 years and below 2 1 31-39 years 49 27 40-49 years 92 51 50 years and above 36 20 current position director 29 16 owner 146 82 manager 3 2 manager/owner 1 1 ownership sole proprietorship 175 98 partnership 2 1 limited partnership 1 1 limited liability company (llc) 1 1 location of company city of johannesburg metropolitan 74 41 city of tshwane metropolitan 42 24 ekurhuleni metropolitan 34 19 west rand district municipality 29 16 based on the scale measurement used regarding mss, table 2 shows the ranking of the factors preventing smes from accessing credit, as perceived by the respondents. balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 81 table 2: contraints in obtaining credit constraints of credit accessibility ms st. dev. rank lack of collateral 4.69 0.58 1 lack of cash flow statement 4.51 0.98 2 owner’s equity 4.39 1.01 3 sector of the business 4.14 1.21 4 lengthy and vigorous procedure for credit application 4.13 1.37 5 high interest rates 3.81 1.51 6 location of the business 3.76 1.27 7 lack of good reference on integrity 3.03 1.66 8 lack of awareness of existing credit schemes 2.97 1.71 9 a general lack of experience and exposure on construction project 2.75 1.73 10 lack of information on the cost obtaining such service 2.72 1.74 11 lack of appropriate education and training 2.21 1.68 12 lack of managerial ability 2.09 1.59 13 with a ms of 4.21 to 5.00, smes strongly agreed that lack of collateral, lack of cash flow statement and owner’s equity impede smes from accessing credit from financial institutuions. lack of collateral as a challenge is in line with the studies of bondinuba (2012), foxcroft et al. (2002) as well as kayanula and quartey (2000). showing ms of 3.61 to 4.20, smes respondents agreed that the sector of the bussiness, lengthy and vigorous procedure for credit application, high interest rates, and location of the business contributed to their difficulty in obtaining credit. furthermore, the smes respondents disagreed that lack of appropriate education and training, and lack of managerial ability are impediments to accessing credit. these two constraints showed a ms of between 1.81 and 2.60. table 3 shows the frequency results from the regression analysis on accessed credit in full or accessed only part of the credit. based on the results, 39 (21.91%) of the respondents received part of the credit for which they applied, and 139 (78.09%) of the respondents obtained the full credit. some smes not receiving the full credit for which they applied from the financial institutions is in line with the theory of credit rationing, as informed by stiglitz and weiss (1981). it can be argues that this theory is the demand of funds by small medium and micro acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 82 enterprises (smmes) and the supply of funds (mazanai & fatoki, 2012). furthermore, one respondent did not indicate whether the company received full or partial credit. however, table 6 justifies this finding, as the respondent indicated that the company did not receive credit at all. table 3: full or partial credit accessed credit accessed respondents regression code percentage accessed partial credit 39 no 21.91 accessed full credit 139 yes 78.09 total 178 100.00 table 4 shows the results of the binary logistic regression, in which the model tested demographic and socio-economic independent variables against the dependent variable (full credit accessibility) for their significance to be set as predictors of accessing full credit. with significance (p-value) levels of more than 0.050, gender (0.075) and type of ownership (1.000) did not predict full credit accessibility. reporting a significance level of less than 0.050, the results showed that the age group 40-49 years was more likely to receive full credit than applicants who were in the age group 30 years and below. this finding correlates with the findings of nguyen and luu (2013) as well as with those of abdulsaleh and worthington (2013: 38). it is interesting to note that applicants who are 30 years and younger are likely to receive partial credit rather than full credit. with a significance (p-value) level of less than 0.050, the current position predictor predicted full credit accessibility. the finding is in line with the findings of business partners (2011). however, it is interesting to note that no category of the current position held in the smes predicted full credit accessibility, as they all showed a significance (p-value) level greater than 0.05. the study found that, when the smes provided their tax numbers, they had a greater probability of accessing full credit, compared to those who did not provide their tax numbers. the level of significance was less than 0.05 at 0.015, hence a strong predictor. furthermore, the smes whose premises were in location, ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality in gauteng province had a higher probability of getting full credit, compared to smes in the city of johannesburg metropolitan municipality. this predicator was significant at 0.043, which was less than 0.05. the odds ratio showed that getting the full credit was 0.246 more than those smes in the city of johannesburg. this finding is supported by berger and udell (2006) and by fatoki and asah (2014). berger and udell (2006) indicate that the geographic location of a balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 83 firm’s close proximity to the financial institution had an influence on the firm obtaining credit. on the other hand, fatoki & asah (2014) indicate that those in urban areas were more likely to obtain credit than those in rural areas. therefore, it can be suggested that the location of the business is vital for credit accessibility. although the respondents ranked collateral as one of the variables that constrain credit accessibility, it is important to mention that, in the binary regression analysis, collateral did not show as a predictor of credit accessibility among construction smes. therefore, collateral is not included in tables 4 and 7, showing the results for predictors of accessing credit. table 4: predictors of accessing full credit variable exp. (b) odds ratio 95% c.i. for exp (b) lower 95% c.i. for exp (b) upper p-value gender (1) 2.102 0.929 4.757 0.075 age group 0.133 age group 31-40 years (1) 135383335.572 0.000 0.999 age group 40-49 years (2) 0.269 0.079 0.916 0.036 age group 50 years and over (3) 0.668 0.215 2.074 0.485 current position 0.040 current position owner (1) 0.000 0.000 . 1.000 current position manager (2) 0.000 0.000 . 1.000 current position manager/owner (3) 2.191 0.000 . 1.000 ownership 1.000 ownership partnership (1) 0.000 0.000 . 1.000 ownership limited partnership (2) 1.357 0.000 . 1.000 ownership limited liability company (llc) (3) 1.274 0.000 . 1.000 tax number (1) 0.050 0.004 0.564 0.015 location (municipality) 0.085 location, city of tshwane metropolitan municipality (1) 0.785 0.218 2.828 0.711 location, ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality (2) 0.246 0.063 0.958 0.043 location, west rand district municipality (3) 0.707 0.175 2.863 0.627 3470747228046773200.000 0.999 dependent variable: full credit accessibility (0 = partial credit; 1 = full credit) sig. at 5% acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 84 table 5: goodness of fit (hosmer and lemeshow test) step chi-square df sig. 1 9.919 8 0.271 significance level of the model > 0.05 table 5 shows the statistical analysis of the goodness of fit of the conceptualised model. the significance was achieved at the p-value greater than 0.05 at 0.271. this suggests that the independent variables were correctly conceptualised in predicting the dependent variable. therefore, the model was significant and can be used for statistical analysis. table 6 shows the results from the regression analysis on accessed credit or not accessed credit. based on the results, only 0.6% of the smes did not have access to credit, while 99.4% of smes had obtained credit. therefore, the majority of the respondents obtained credit. however, this finding is contrary to the findings of fatoki and odeyemi (2010) who found that, in south africa, only 27% of smes obtained bank loans, while 73% did not obtain the credit. table 6: accessibility of credit and no credit accessibility access to credit frequency regression code percentage no, i did not access credit 1 no 0.6 yes, i did access credit 178 yes 99.4 total 179 100.00 table 7 shows the results of the binary logistic regression, in which the model tested demographic and socio-economic independent variables against the dependent variable (credit accessibility) for their significance to be set as predictors of having access to credit or not having access to credit. with significance (p-value) levels of greater than 0.05, all the predictor variables in this test were not significant. therefore, gender, age group, current position, type of business ownership, location of the business, and tax number were not good predictors of credit accessibility. balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 85 ta b le 7 : p re d ic to rs o f a c c e ss in g c re d it v a ria b le ex p . ( b) o d d s ra tio 95 % c .i. fo r e xp ( b) lo w e r 95 % c .i. fo r e xp ( b) u p p e r pva lu e g e nd e r ( 1) 1. 54 7 0. 81 2 2. 94 7 0. 18 4 a g e g ro up 0. 37 6 31 -4 0 ye a rs ( 1) 0. 49 9 0. 01 6 15 .7 16 0. 69 3 40 -4 9 ye a rs ( 2) 0. 83 8 0. 33 4 2. 10 1 0. 70 7 50 y e a rs a nd o ve r ( 3) 1. 55 7 0. 69 5 3. 48 6 0. 28 2 c ur re nt p o sit io n 0. 52 6 o w ne r ( 1) 10 50 19 05 79 .9 80 0. 00 0 . 1. 00 0 m a na g e r ( 2) 16 65 20 37 59 .3 64 0. 00 0 . 1. 00 0 m a na g e r/ o w ne r ( 3) 63 15 00 32 73 .2 35 0. 00 0 . 1. 00 0 o w ne rs hi p 0. 99 4 pa rt ne rs hi p ( 1) 0. 00 0 0. 00 0 . 1. 00 0 li m ite d p a rt ne rs hi p ( 2) 0. 00 0 0. 00 0 . 1. 00 0 li m ite d li a b ilit y c o m p a ny ( ll c ) (3 ) 1. 73 3 0. 00 0 . 1. 00 0 ta x nu m b e r ( 1) 0. 32 4 0. 04 5 2. 35 3 0. 26 5 lo c a tio n (m un ic ip a lit y) 0. 58 7 c ity o f t sh w a ne m e tr o p o lit a n m un ic ip a lit y (1 ) 0. 57 7 0. 22 2 1. 49 8 0. 25 9 ek ur hu le ni m e tr o p o lit a n m un ic ip a lit y (2 ) 0. 52 0 0. 17 8 1. 52 1 0. 23 2 w e st r a nd d ist ric t m un ic ip a lit y (3 ) 0. 49 9 0. 16 9 1. 47 0 0. 20 7 34 70 74 72 28 04 67 73 20 0. 00 0 d e p e nd e nt v a ria b le : c re d it a c c e ss ib ilit y (0 = n o c re d it a c c e ss e d ; 1 = c re d it a c c e ss e d ) sig . a t 5% acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 86 5. conclusions the study elicited data from construction smes personnel who are conversant with the credit accessibility within their enterprise. the analysed data results indicate that smes agreed that a lack of collateral/security, lack of cash flow statement and owners’ equity prevent them from accessing credit. however, despite the constraints of accessing credit, which could be a stumbling block, the results show that the majority of the participating smes received credit, whether in full or partially. the construction smes that obtained credit partially can be impeded in their progress. it can be suggested that, when construction smes receive part of the credit, they might apply for credit in other financial institutions or request financial assistance from friends, in order to cover for the deficit. the age and current position held within a construction sme predicted full accessibility to credit when applicants apply for credit from financial institutions. however, the results of current position do not suggest which specific position within the construction sme predicted credit accessibility. it is imperative to note that the study did not test who was responsible for applying for the credit. hence, in terms of applying for the credit, the current position held by the participating respondents in their firms was not the credit applicant. furthermore, tax number and location of the business in the gauteng province were also predicators of full credit accessibility. however, the gender of the respondent, type of business ownership, and collateral (security) did not predict full credit accessibility by smes. however, when the predictors were modelled with whether the smes received credit or did not receive credit, the predictors were not good determinants. 6. recommendations based on the conclusions, the study recommends the findings to different stakeholders, namely government, financial institutions, and construction smes. 6.1 recommendations to government the government needs to encourage construction smes to approach financial institutions to apply for credit, as the majority of the smes indicated that they obtained credit. hence, the suggestion from literature that smes are not able to access credit can be rejected. the government needs to be informed of the challenges indicated by the construction smes. these restrict them from receiving credit. these balogun, agumba & ansary • evaluating credit accessibility... 87 are collateral (security), owners’ equity and cash flow statement. hence, government could help construction smes overcome some of these challenges. 6.2 recommendation to financial institutions the financial institutions should be informed of the impediments indicated by the construction smes as constraints in accessing credit. these constraints are collateral (security), owners’ equity, and cash flow statement. 6.3 recommendation to construction smes construction smes should be informed that they should provide the age and current position in the organisation of the person applying for the credit. the information will enable the financial institutions to deal with owners and, in case they are checking older applicants, the age will assist. they should also provide the tax number and the location of the business. the tax number will indicate that the business entity is registered and is thus legal. 7. further study • further research could determine if the findings of this research are consistent across different sectors. since the study concentrated on smes in the construction sector in only the gauteng province in south africa, further research in other sectors will shed more light on the findings of this study. • in addition, the need to replicate this research in the other eight provinces of south africa in the construction industry will confirm if the results of this research can be generalised across the country. • this study can also be carried out in other african countries for comparative purposes. • although the study establishes some predictors for access to full credit, not all the variables were good predictors. therefore, a further study can be undertaken to justify these findings. • the study proposes the use of stepwise logistic regression in future study. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 88 references abdulsaleh, a. & worthington, a. 2013. small and medium-sized enterprises financing: a review of literature. international journal of business and management, 8(14), pp. 36-54 . https://doi.org/10.5539/ ijbm.v8n14p36 aduda, j., magutu, o.p. & wangu, g.m. 2012. the relationship between credit scoring practices by commercial banks and 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[online]. available at: <https://siteresources.worldbank. org/extfinancialsector/resources/282884-1395933501015/ facilitating_sme_financing_through_cr_public_comments_web. pdf> [accessed: 10 april 2018]. ref5 1 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as how to cite: moyo, t., crafford, g. & emuze, f. 2019. decent working conditions for improved construction workers’ productivity on zimbabwean building projects. acta structilia, 26(2), pp. 1-38. navorsingsartikels • research articles tirivavi moyo mr tirivavi (t.) moyo, phd candidate, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +263773054568, e-mail: <tirivavimoyo@gmail. com> gerrit crafford prof. gerrit (g.) crafford, associate professor, department of quantity surveying, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 41 504 2153, e-mail: <gerrit.crafford@ mandela.ac.za> fidelis emuze prof. fidelis (f.) emuze, professor and head, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), private bag x20539, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +27 51 507 3089, e-mail: <femuze@cut.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(2): 1-38 decent working conditions for improved construction workers’ productivity on zimbabwean building projects peer reviewed and revised july 2019 published december 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract construction labour productivity is declining, due to shortcomings in the decent work agenda. this research seeks to determine decent working conditions that could improve the productivity of skilled and semi-skilled workers on construction sites in zimbabwe. a quantitative research approach enabled a self-administered questionnaire survey among site management and workers from selected trades. the randomly selected respondents work for construction companies affiliated with the construction industry federation of zimbabwe database. the companies are based in harare, bulawayo, and shurugwi. in addition, thirteen building project sites in the study area were purposively selected through the national social security authority register. the results indicate that adequate work-related health and safety conditions and facilities were identified through ranking as the most significant decent work conditions under which improved labour productivity can be achieved. it is also notable that all the decent working conditions http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:tirivavimoyo@gmail.com mailto:tirivavimoyo@gmail.com mailto:gerrit.crafford@mandela.ac.za mailto:gerrit.crafford@mandela.ac.za mailto:femuze@cut.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.1 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 2 assessed were deemed significant in terms of improving labour productivity. a kruskal-wallis test ascertained that there were no statistically significant differences due to the age, gender and experience of respondents. however, statistically significant differences were found due to the designation and educational levels of the respondents. the research study recommends that training on decent working conditions be undertaken and that accentuation of adequate decent working conditions on sites be encouraged. adequate planning and financing for decent work conditions are also proffered. keywords: construction, decent work, labour productivity, sustainable development, working conditions, zimbabwe abstrak die afname in die boukonstruksie se arbeidsproduktiwiteit is te wyte aan tekortkominge in die voldoende werksagenda. hierdie navorsingstudie poog om behoorlike werksomstandighede te identifiseer wat arbeidsproduktiwiteit op boupersele sal kan verbeter. ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering het ’n opname deur middel van ’n self-geadministreerde vraelys onder bouperseel en projekbestuurders asook ’n vraelys wat voltooi is tydens ’n onderhoud met geskoolde en ongeskoolde werknemers uit geselekteerde ambagte moontlik gemaak. die geselekteerde ambagte is beperk tot baksteenen bloklegging, timmeren skrynwerk asook verfwerk, aangesien hierdie die mees bevolkte ambagte is asook kritiese padaktiwiteite. die deelnemers aan die opname is geaffilieerd aan boumaatskappye wat in harare, bulawayo en shurugwi in zimbabwe gebaseer is. hulle is lukraak van die databasis van die konstruksiebedryf federasie van zimbabwe geselekteer. daarbenewens is dertien bouprojekpersele doelbewus uitgekies deur middel van die register van die nasionale maatskaplike sekuriteitsinstansie. die uitslae dui daarop dat voldoende gesondheidsen veiligheidsmaatreëls en fasiliteite geïdentifiseer is as die beduidendste behoorlike werksomstandighede waaronder verbeterde arbeidsproduktiwiteit bereik kan word. dit is ook opmerklik dat al die geskikte werksomstandighede wat in die navorsing geëvalueer is, beduidend is met betrekking tot die verbetering van arbeidsproduktiwiteit. ’n kruskal-wallis-toets het vasgestel dat daar geen statisties beduidende verskille was as gevolg van die verskille in ouderdom, geslag of ondervinding nie. nietemin is daar statisties beduidende verskille gevind as gevolg van die beroep en onderwysvlak van die respondente. die navorsingstudie beveel aan dat ingryping behoort plaas te vind met verwysing na opleiding met betrekking tot geskikte werksomstandighede en die beklemtoning van geskikte werksomstandighede op boupersele met gepaardgaande beplanning en uitvoering van aktiwiteite. konstruksiewerknemers behoort ook aan te dring op geskikte werksomstandighede in die omgewing van boupersele. voorts ondersteun die navorsingstudie die noodsaaklikheid vir voldoende beplanning en finansiering vir voldoende werksomstandighede gebaseer op die waarnemings van die bouperseelbestuur asook die boukonstruksiewerknemers. sleutelwoorde: arbeidsproduktiwiteit, konstruksie, voldoende werk, volhoubare ontwikkeling, werksomstandighede, zimbabwe moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 3 1. introduction the workforce is the most important asset in the labour-intensive construction industry (jang, kim, kim & kim, 2011: 93). therefore, it is essential for contractors to improve the conditions in which people work in the industry. construction labour productivity challenges are ever-present in the zimbabwean construction industry, and the current national drive towards achieving decency of work presents the need for a convergent resolution. although the national prerogative is “to promote and secure sustainable, full, productive and freely chosen decent employment for all the conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity” (government of zimbabwe, 2014: 25), lack of adequate health and safety requirements (chigara & moyo, 2014b: 157), lack of on-site facilities and non-compliance with statutory regulatory authorities (chigara & moyo, 2014a: 62) continue to affect construction workers. in addition, construction industry labour productivity continues to decline worldwide (chartered institute of building, 2016: 5; jones, 2018: online), due to, among others, ineffective management practices, focus on inspection, unclear performance standards, labour shortages, technology impacts, and inadequate construction training (forbes & ahmed, 2011: 28). according to mhlanga (2017: 3), productivity, profitability, performance and sustainability challenges within the zimbabwean construction industry are inevitably affecting workers. worker issues require a focus on human resources management. a focus on human resources is pertinent for achieving any meaningful advances. lill (2008: 864) supports this by stating that “sustainable development of the construction industry has to concentrate not only on sustainable building technologies and construction materials but also on respectful and considerate labour management strategies”. lill’s (2008: 864) stance is a further intimation that the workforce must be treated as the most valuable unreproducible resource. similarly, presley and meade (2010: 440) refer to respect for employees as being essential to ensure sustainable construction. comprehension of socially, economically and environmentally friendly embedded labour productivity has become relevant (kocer, 2014: 354). globalisation has necessitated the demand for economic, social and environmentally sustainable approaches for productivity improvement (burgess & heap, 2012: 336). therefore, fundamentals of the decent work agenda are embraced within the broader sustainability concept (international labour organization [ilo], 2009: 2, 3). this is owing to the ilo’s (2013: 1) recognition of the acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 4 fact that decent work is a means to achieve equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. several authors have investigated management-, manpower-, technicaland material-related factors, among others, that affect construction labour productivity (horman & kenley, 2005: 52; gong, borcherding & caldas, 2011: 737; chigara & moyo, 2014a: 57). however, few studies address the manner in which decent working conditions may enhance construction workers’ productivity. khan and sandhu (2016: 491) assert that no extensive literature on decent work practices is available, owing to its recent advent as a discourse in 1999, as reported by the ilo (2006: 2). this hinders its consolidation into productivity resolutions. while the zimbabwean construction industry faces significant productivity-related challenges, solutions should be sought within the increasing concept of sustainability (presley & meade, 2010: 435), as it has mutated into a strategic authority for the future of construction (galpin, whittington & bell, 2015: 1). the objectives of the study are as follows: to determine the most significant decent working conditions that lead to improved construction workers’ productivity on construction sites in zimbabwe, and to determine significant statistical differences between the rankings of site managers/project managers and skilled and semiskilled artisans, due to age, gender, designation, educational level, and experience. consideration of the decency of the working conditions will culminate in improved construction skilled and semi-skilled workers’ productivity and the generation of demographically targeted short and long-term interventions. durdyev and ismail (2016: 456) postulate the provision and control of decent working conditions as one of the most significant ways in which management can raise productivity. salaj, baricic and maamari (2017: 510) reiterate that decent working conditions will ensure employee satisfaction. this will, consequently, improve productivity and introduce a better base value for both employees and employers. the dual benefit of raising construction workers’ productivity and sustaining construction workers through ensuring decent work on construction sites is envisaged. 2. literature review in order to understand which of the most significant decent working conditions leads to productivity for construction workers on construction sites in zimbabwe, it is important to introduce the present theory on decent work included in this article. the current moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 5 theory focuses on the overall concepts of decent work and decent working conditions for construction workers on construction sites. 2.1 decent work the ilo (2006: 2) reports that the decent work concept was initiated with a primary goal to promote opportunities for both men and women to obtain productive work in conditions that encourage freedom, equality, security, and human rights. the report further states that, although considerable work has been undertaken along these lines, several questions remain unanswered. one of these critical questions is how the decent work approaches can be promoted in different countries with various economic, sociopolitical and environmental structures. adhikari and pandey (2011: 64) recommend that the government, workers and employers must play a significant role in order to achieve these objectives. to achieve this three-way solution, it is vital that all players’ requirements be captured. demographic trends are fundamental to the decent work and sustainability discourse. brennan and cotgrave (2014: 317) support the consideration of various respondent groups in this sustainability endeavour, as it provides variability and the opportunity to explore diverse perspectives. the ilo (2018d: 25) states that trends differ among regions and countries, with age, gender and training aptitudes being decisive. the ilo (2018a: 72) supports disaggregation of labour statistics as crucial in order to identify critical issues and tendencies concerning specific demographic groups and to inform the devising of targeted policies. they further propose demographic variables of gender, age, education, occupation (designation), economic activity and status in employment as being the most widely used at the international level. the variables of age (generations), gender, designation, experience and educational levels form part of this study. the consideration of experience is crucial and emanates from the occupation variable as an extension that seeks to qualify the different effects or inputs, due to the years spent within the occupations. tolbize (2008: 2), fernandes, hyde, ives, fleischer, evoy and van marrum (2012: online) as well as schroer (2008: online) differentiate the characteristics of age generations concerning the world of work. baby boomers are described as follows: protest against power characterising the formative years; individualistic; believe that hard work and sacrifice are the price to pay for success; more process than result oriented; confident; value health and wellness; seek job security, and thrive on the possibility for change. on the other hand, generation x are described as follows: aspirers for work-life balance; independent, autonomous and self-reliant; not overly loyal acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 6 to their employers; value continuous training and skills development; pragmatic and creative; not motivated by money, but demotivated by the lack thereof, and individualistic. they may like teamwork. generation y are described as follows: most confident generation; value teamwork and collective action; multi-taskers; embrace diversity; adaptable to change; optimistic; seek flexibility and a balanced life; a less demanding, highly educated generation, and value training. finally, generation z are defined as follows: embrace diversity, adaptable to change, and the most technically savvy. the significance of workforce-related factors such as overtime and associated fatigue, level of workforce training and workers’ health and well-being (durdyev & mbachu, 2017: 28) are paramount within the decent work agenda. jimoh, oyewobi, adamu and bajere (2016: 1429) also relate the need to address human resources challenges that negatively affect the participation of women in the nigerian construction industry. the effect of demographics on the responses is pertinent, as highlighted in studies by chileshe and yirenkyi-fianko (2012), chigara and moyo (2014a), as well as adnan and ressang (2016). chileshe and yirenkyi-fianko (2012: 592) report on the impact of age on job satisfaction of white-collar construction workers. chigara and moyo (2014a: 57) also report on the significant difference in managers’ and workers’ responses regarding the factors affecting labour productivity within zimbabwean building projects. adnan and ressang (2016: 197) include different designations and varying work experiences as variables for investigating the awareness of ergonomics on construction sites. chileshe and haupt (2010: 108) support this demographic analogy by highlighting the school of thought that claims the existence of differences concerning the impact of demographics, such as age and length of service, on the job satisfaction of construction workers in south africa. this analysis helps the consideration of targeted intervention strategies within the relevant population ensure the realisation of decent work within the construction industry in its entirety. 2.2 decent working conditions the ilo (2018e: 15) states that construction sites in developing economies are characterised by the most precarious working conditions that include unsafe practices and unfair workloads for workers. factors of poor workmanship, absenteeism and lateness, as well as accidents and occupational hazards must be eliminated in the work process (chigara & moyo, 2014a: 62; chigara & moyo, 2014b: 150) through the provision of adequate on-site conditions and the assurance of realistically set standard outputs. moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 7 this translates to proper management and personnel policy for creating a satisfying work environment, developing appropriate training for skills, and creating better working conditions. the government of zimbabwe (2013: 279) has considered important working conditions within its statutory framework. however, the translation of these conditions within the productivity measurement scope falls short (moyo, mangore & chigara, 2014: 43). the statutory instrument fails to contribute towards a standardised framework for undertaking productivity measurement construction company level through its failure to specify required decent working conditions (moyo, mangore & chigara, 2014: 43, 50). furthermore, as these decent working conditions are established, sustainability dimensions will be incorporated into productivity measurement. the ilo (2018a: 15; 2018b: 3) also indicates several working conditions that need intensive attention within the decent work discourse. these include health and safety, working time, remuneration, and social protection. hartrich (2018: 2) also highlights challenges of highrisk, physical demands, personal safety concerns and operating heat-intensive machinery for construction workers in rwanda, zambia and mozambique. the ilo (2018b: 32) recommends that sustainability concerns and needs of workers include social dialogue, social protection, and occupational health and safety. therefore, conditions of occupational health and safety organisation, ergonomics, personal protective equipment, climatic conditions, working time, work premises, and welfare facilities are considered within this objective, as they relate to the human aspect of work and are dignified and satisfactory to the worker (chigara & moyo, 2014a; chigara & moyo, 2014b; ilo, 2018a; hartrich, 2018; ilo, 2018b). 2.2.1 occupational safety and health the ilo (2018e: 20) states that occupational safety and health (osh) is an inherent risk on construction sites in developing countries, where a preventative safety culture is extremely rare. nunez and villanueva (2011: 56, 66) highlight the lack of consideration of osh activities within the sources of the intellectual capital of a company. due to this, they indicate the need for companies to invest in safety intellectual capital within their human capital. this has inevitably exacerbated the implementation burden of osh on construction sites (chigara & moyo, 2014b: 155). although legislation and compliance have also been set to address osh challenges on construction sites, the challenges persist (sherratt & sherratt, 2017: 389). this is partly owing to contractors’ resisting current osh legislation (wadick, 2010: 108) and to the fragmented nature of the industry acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 8 (emuze & smallwood, 2014: 294). however, the goal is to effectively plan and implement adequate osh organisation on construction sites that not only reduces injuries on sites, but also enhances productivity and improves worker morale (reese, 2016: 125). hare and cameron (2012: 193) reiterate that the effective management of firms must embrace osh management as an integrated process. in support of this, de silva and wimalaratne (2012: 387) associate challenges in improving performance in the sri lankan construction industry regarding accountable parties disregarding osh culture. osh must be a shared duty among the stakeholders. oswald, sherratt and smith (2017: 370) suggest the implementation of reward systems as a strategy to encourage safe behaviour on sites. this has cumulative benefits, as confirmed by chaturvedi, thakkar and shankar (2018: 350) who reported that safety gains on construction sites improve workers’ performance and advised on the introduction of a system that rewards positive safety performance. 2.2.2 ergonomics while ergonomics is synonymous with osh, the lack of awareness of ergonomics on construction sites, due to inadequate enforcement (adnan & ressang, 2016: 190), contributes to it being considered separately. furthermore, traditional health promotion, which is synonymous with ergonomics and maximises health, well-being and productivity in the workplace, has been addressed separately from osh (obiozo & smallwood, 2014: 139). adnan and ressang (2016: 190) reveal that the challenge of implementing ergonomics on construction sites is due to their dynamism and hazardous nature. eaves, gyi and gibb (2013: 101) also acknowledge that ergonomics and workplace design can have a substantial effect on working practices. goldswain and smallwood (2013: 359) also mention health, safety and ergonomics as being caused by inadequacies in designs. in addition, coupaud (2017: 93) deplores the emergence of musculoskeletal and psychosomatic disorders in industrialised countries as new risks for workers. however, obiozo and smallwood (2014: 146) support the greening of construction sites as a strategy to enhance ergonomics and performance on those same sites. chinyere (2014: 78) also supports the adoption of optimal work postures for greater job satisfaction. as such, proactive ergonomics is best emphasised during the generation of productivity outputs and method study, as this then sets a standard working procedure for the specific activities. moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 9 2.2.3 personal protective equipment the government of zimbabwe (2013: 280) details the personal protective equipment (ppe) that employers must provide. the ilo (2018e: 20) laments the provision of ppe as merely a boxticking exercise that is not effective in protecting workers against construction-site accidents. lack of adequate protection for workers is one of the significant conditions that have led to fatalities and near fatalities in the south african construction industry (emuze, 2017: 330). akawi, musonda and pretorius (2017: 478) attribute these challenges to pricing shortcomings emanating from competition and the lack of detail in consideration of health and safety aspects such as personal protective equipment. taderera (2012: 99) outlines the importance of competent hazard prevention through prevention and control measures assessment, the goal of which is to specify adequate and relevant ppe. implementation of a job hazard analysis will also aid in determining task-appropriate personal protective equipment (occupational safety and health administration, 2002: 1). consideration of “co-workers’ actual safety response” could also be effective in ensuring that all workers are appropriately protected (lingard, cooke & blismas, 2011: 159). it is, however, difficult to achieve this in zimbabwe, due to the fragmented approach deployed by construction project stakeholders concerning osh issues (chigara & moyo, 2014b: 150). thus, all variables must be considered before appropriate personal protective equipment can be selected and this must be operationalised during productivity measurement. 2.2.4 climatic conditions hasan, baroudi, elmualim and rameezdeen (2018: 932) reiterate that climatic conditions are one of the most significant factors that affect labour productivity. in support of this, durdyev and ismail (2016: 456) posit poor climatic conditions as one of the riskiest productivity external constraints. while the compound effects of exposure to these extreme climatic conditions are low task productivity (mincks & johnston, 2004: 193), it is apparent that the extent can only be determined within specific environments. in terms of the global threat of the climate change challenge, zimbabwe has not been spared. while empirical studies by chigara and smallwood (2016: 290) have shown a perceived positive effect of ambient temperatures on workers’ productivity, there is a need to ascertain the extent to which this has affected construction labour productivity. langston, song and purdey (2008: 65), who revealed significant satisfaction acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 10 differences by employees on commercial buildings in aspects of air quality and temperature, evidence this. mincks and johnston (2004: 193) further advocate for preconstruction planning that thoroughly analyses the relationship between productivity loss and the cost of temporary weather protection for cost-effective decisions to be made. beyond the cost aspect, sarode and shirasath (2012: 2736) state that a comfortable work environment is one where workers are exposed to a proper range of temperature, adequate ventilation and adequate humidity for work in confined spaces. they further report that the provision of these would guarantee improved employee productivity. chan, yam, chung and yi (2012: 60) recognise that construction workers are increasingly being subjected to heat stress from both confined spaces and outdoor physical work areas. the ilo (2018c: 26) also acknowledges that the rising global temperatures have led to the prevalence of heat stress. this has reduced worker performance and given rise to negative occupational health effects and workplace injuries. while recognising the difficulty in controlling climatic conditions, it is undeniable that failure to appropriately plan for these can have disastrous consequences. 2.2.5 working time smith and zagelmeyer (2010: 393) define working time as the hours worked by employees within organisations. they further highlight that the use of “overtime” does not have the same positive outcome as normal working time and that non-standard working time arrangements create constraints on the work-life balance of employees. arditi, ayrancioglu and shi (2005: 488) also discourage the adoption of night-time construction because of its being more hazardous owing to lighting and human factors. emuze (2017: 330) recognises that long working hours contribute to workers’ unsafe acts. construction companies need to move away from a culture of working long hours, in order to improve the work-life balance of employees. townsend, lingard, bradley and brown (2011: 70) suggest that this is a positive way for organisations to reach productivity targets. to utilise working time efficiently, kattenbach, demerouti and nachreiner (2010: 279) report that flexible working time has become an accepted model in most of the business areas. the government of zimbabwe (2013: 278) encourages the adoption of a 44-hour standard working week, and the national employment council of the construction industry in zimbabwe has generated productivity outputs based on these standard working times. it is imperative that moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 11 construction companies, which generate their productivity outputs, recognise the regulated standard working time and factor in any extra hours in their computations of productivity outputs. 2.2.6 workplace conditions beyond the need for adequate regulation, construction companies have the responsibility to maintain their premises because of the benefits, including timeous completion, that can accrue to them (aboagye nimo & emuze, 2017: 285). obiozo and smallwood (2015: online) suggest “greening” worksite premises, in order to increase workers’ productivity. sarode and shirasath (2012: 2735) confirm the direct impact of the physical aspects of the work environment on the productivity, health and safety as well as morale of workers. abrey and smallwood (2014: 7) empirically determined that unsatisfactory working conditions harmfully affect productivity on construction sites. similarly, mincks and johnston (2004: 191) state that the organisation of work premises will affect workers’ productivity. they further mention that adequate planning and crew supervision are fundamental to significantly reduce the impact of inadequate conditions. march (2009: 9) reports that the provision of adequate services of water and sanitation is essential to ensure that workers are not distracted from their core tasks. naoum (2016: 413) contends that the work environment and constraints on workers’ performance are factors that are highly likely to affect on-site labour productivity on construction sites. it is evident that adequate work premises are essential for improving construction labour productivity on construction sites. it is, therefore, incumbent on construction companies to address this condition effectively. sarode and shirasath (2012: 2737) emphasise that nurturing workers is achievable through providing suitable work premises. 2.2.7 welfare facilities the minimal requirements concerning welfare facilities are expounded in the factories and works act (22 of 2001), labour act (13 of 2002), and public health act, chapter 15:09. however, lack of appropriate regulation translates to construction companies’ inadequately budgeting for these and subverting minimum requirements during the construction phase (akawi, musonda & pretorius, 2017: 520). the government of zimbabwe (2013: 281) is silent on the standards of facilities that should be provided. hence, construction companies are not compelled by any specific regulation. however, various authors acknowledge the importance of welfare facilities within the productivity enhancement drive (mincks acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 12 & johnson, 2004; march, 2009; salaj et al., 2017). the construction industry development board (cidb) (2015: 14) indicates that the provision of adequate welfare facilities has a significant impact on construction workers’ productivity. mincks and johnston (2004: 213) also report that the provision of adequate temporary facilities related to project requirements has a distinct impact on the profitability of the construction project and craftsperson productivity. obiozo and smallwood (2015: online) also recommend the creation of a construction site that is beneficial and comfortable for productivity improvement. related to this, smallwood and haupt (2009: 1263) recommend welfare facilities that are gender sensitive on construction sites, as these affect wellness and performance. march (2009: 10) supports the provision of welfare facilities such as the provision of sanitary conveniences, safe drinking water and rest, washing, changing and eating facilities on construction sites. the provision of such facilities leads to the minimization of productivity losses, due to employees’ satisfaction (salaj et al., 2017: 520). welfare facilities are paramount to the health and well-being of workers and are regulated through various acts and statutory instruments. this fragmented approach potentially affects their effective regulation. 3. methodology 3.1 research design this research determined the most significant decent working conditions that lead to improved construction workers’ (skilled and semi-skilled) productivity and statistically determine significant differences in the ranking of these conditions, due to the demographics of respondents. a mono-method quantitative research study was used to do a crosssectional questionnaire survey on decent working conditions that significantly improve productivity as tested by respondents’ ratings. naoum (2013: 39) describes quantitative research as an inquiry based on testing a hypothesis of theory composed of variables concerning social or human problems, usually by gathering numeric data in a systematic format. it also allows for descriptive and inferential statistical analysis (naoum, 2013: 104). in this study, the spss chi-square test for significance results, together with questionnaire survey results on the ranking of decent working conditions, set the decent working conditions that are significant to improve construction workers’ productivity. these results form the dependent variables that were tested against demographic (independent) variables to establish whether there are statistically significant differences in the ranking of moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 13 decent working conditions among respondent categories (blumberg, cooper & schindler, 2008: 670). 3.2 population, sampling and response rate the population for the study consisted of managers from all the construction companies registered with the construction industry federation of zimbabwe (cifoz) and based in harare and bulawayo as well as of construction workers on 13 construction sites, six residential and seven commercial, situated within the same study area. these projects were undertaken by category a and b contractors that reflect the most organisationally and technically competent and financially stable companies in zimbabwe. random sampling was utilised to select 83 construction companies, and, from these, 68 site or project managers were targeted to participate (alvi, 2016: 35). through the national social security authority database, 142 construction site workers from the different classes (1 to 4) were purposively soughed and invited to participate. these classes include skilled tradespeople such as bricklayers (20), carpenters (15), and painters (14), as well as semi-skilled exempted bricklayers (24), carpenters (15), and painters (15) who were selected based on the premise that these are trades related to the critical path of construction projects and that they are benchmarked by the national employment council of the construction industry. the survey was undertaken with a sample of 172. the sample size for research done in constructionrelated populations was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608). from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 220 is 140, and for 250, 150. this recommendation validates the sample size of 172 as efficient for the population of 225 in table 1. table 1: response rate respondent category respondent group population sample size responses response rate (%) managers site or project managers 83 68 54 80.3 skilled workers (classes 1 to 4) bricklayers 28 20 16 80.0 carpenter/joiner 19 15 11 73.3 painter 18 14 10 71.4 total 65 49 37 74.9 semi-skilled workers (worker exempted) bricklayer 35 24 20 83.3 carpenter/joiner 21 15 12 80.0 painter 21 15 12 80.0 total 77 55 44 81.1 total 225 172 135 78.5 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 14 the survey achieved an overall response rate of 78.5%, with 80.3% for site/project managers, 74.9% for skilled, and 81.1% for semi-skilled workers. johnson and owens (2003: 132) state that, although no formal policies exist regarding minimally acceptable response rates, it is generally indicated that studies with response rates of less than 60% are rarely accepted for publication in journals. thus, an overall response rate of 78.5% is acceptable and supports the generalisation of results. 3.3 questionnaire design and administration self-administered and e-mailed questionnaires were used to collect data from site managers and project managers in construction companies and on construction sites in harare, bulawayo, and shurugwi from 3 september 2018 to 14 december 2018. intervieweradministered questionnaires were also conducted by the first author on skilled and semi-skilled workers within the study area. these were done in english, shona and ndebele to enable respondents to accurately understand the questions and competently express themselves. both types of questionnaires consisted of two sections. the first section, on the respondent’s demographic profile, obtained personal information on age, gender, designation, educational level, and experience. the second section set 7 likert-scale items on the construct decent working conditions. respondents were requested to rate how significantly these items improve construction labour productivity on sites. the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis of this study. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section two (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter stating the purpose of the research, and the guarantee that the information given by the respondents would be treated as confidential and that no names would be mentioned in the research (gray, 2009: 69). interview questionnaires were completed anonymously to ensure a true reflection of the respondents’ views and to meet the ethical criterion of confidentiality (gray 2009: 73). 3.4 data analysis the statistical package for social science (spss) version 24 was used to determine the significant working conditions and their analysability against demographic variables, by using inferential statistics (pallant, 2013). the frequencies and percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to analyse the respondents’ profile. moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 15 to do the normality test for decent working conditions, ghasemi and zahediasl (2012: 486) indicate that the kolmogorov-smirnov test and the shapiro-wilk test are used to test normality. these compare the scores in the sample to a normally distributed set of scores with the same mean and standard deviation, where a non-significant result (sig value >0.05) indicates normality. the test for normality culminated in the decision to use parametric or non-parametric tests for significance testing and significant differences owing to demographics. as the result (table 4) was <0.05, non-parametric tests that include the pearson chi-square test, the mann-whitney u test and the kruskal-wallis test were used. for the analysis and the ranking of decent working conditions, a 5-point likert scale was used to measure how strongly respondents felt regarding the statements in the likert-scale construct. likert-scale rankings are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11; naoum, 2013: 89). for the purposes of analysis, it is important to note that the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores (mss), where 1 = not significant; 2 = of little significance; 3 = somewhat significant; 4 = significant, and 5 = very significant. data was analysed using frequencies and ms rankings. for the analysis of the significance of decent working conditions, since it was erroneously perceived that likert scales intervals are equidistant (yelland, 2010: 2), correspondence analysis was used to re-scale the 5-point likert scale from ordinal to interval data (nkado & meyer, 2001: 485; yelland, 2010: 2). the means of the re-scaled respondents’ ratings were then considered, and the most significant were selected and used for the pearson chi-square test. table 2 shows the re-scaling. table 2: re-scaling of the 5-point likert scale for rating significance of decent working conditions likert scale for significance axis 1 co-ordinate axis 2 co-ordinate euclidean distance adjusted 5-point scale 1 not significant 0 0 1 2 of little significance -0.119 -0.036 0.124 1.116 3 somewhat significant -0.174 0.405 0.444 1.529 4 significant -1.141 -0.231 1.157 2.604 5 very significant 1.435 -0.138 2.578 5 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 16 the pearson chi-square goodness-of-fit test was used to test whether decent working conditions, identified from the ranking results (data in the model), were good enough for inferential testing. this test (table 4) compares the observed and expected frequencies of events and non-events, in order to assess how well the model fits the data (kothari, 2009: 236). for this study, the significance level was set at p <0.05. this means that, if the p-value for the goodness-offit test is lower than 0.05, the significant decent working conditions are established and can be used for inferential analysis. in addition, cramer’s statistic was used to measure the size of the association between decent working conditions and improved productivity. the highest cramer value, between 0 and 1, was deemed to have the highest significance (field, 2014: 743). for the inferential analysis, the kruskal wallis and mann-whitney u tests were used to test the statistical differences in rankings between site and project managers and skilled construction workers. kothari (2009: 298) describes the kruskal-wallis one-way analysis of variance as a rank-based non-parametric test that is used to determine if there are statistically significant differences between two or more groups of an independent variable on a continuous or ordinal dependent variable. blumberg, cooper and schindler (2008: 670) define a mann-whitney u test as a non-parametric test for comparing the central tendency of two independent samples. to find a relationship between the dependent (ranking of decent working conditions) and independent (demographics) variables, the statistical significance level is set at p = 0.05 and the effect size scale to measure the strength of the relationship as r = 0.10 (small effect); r = 0.30 (medium effect); r = 0.50 (large effect) (field, 2014: 79, 313). a cronbach alpha reliability test was undertaken to analyse the internal consistency of reliability of the statements on decent working conditions (taherdoost, 2016: 33). george and mallery (2003: 53) provide the following rules of thumb: >0.90 – excellent; >0.80 – good; >0.70 – acceptable; >0.60 – questionable; >0.50 – poor, and <0.50 – unacceptable for interpreting cronbach’s alpha coefficients. in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.80 was preferred. 4. findings and discussion 4.1 demographics of respondents table 3 presents the profile of respondents to the interview and questionnaire surveys. the distribution shows that generation x (40%) and generation y (57.8%) were the best represented age groups, translating to ages between 24 and 51 years. moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 17 d e m o g ra p hi c c a te g o ry m a na g e rs sk ille d w o rk e rs se m i-s ki lle d w o rk e rs fr e q ue nc y pe rc e nt a g e a g e ( g e ne ra tio n) ba b y b o o m e rs (1 94 619 60 ) 1 1 2 1. 5 g e ne ra tio n x (1 96 119 79 ) 13 23 18 54 40 g e ne ra tio n y (1 98 019 94 ) 39 14 25 78 57 .8 g e ne ra tio n z (1 99 5p re se nt ) 1 1 0. 7 to ta l 54 37 44 13 5 10 0 g e nd e r a nd d e sig na tio n (m a na g e rs a nd w o rk e rs ) m a le 47 28 41 11 6 85 .9 fe m a le 7 9 3 19 14 .1 to ta l 54 ( 40 % ) 37 ( 27 .4 % ) 44 ( 32 .6 % ) 13 5 10 0 ed uc a tio na l l e ve l d e g re e 39 39 28 .9 n a tio na l d ip lo m a 15 1 16 11 .9 m in im um o rd in a ry le ve ls 36 4 40 29 .6 n o m in im um o rd in a ry le ve ls 40 40 29 .6 to ta l 54 37 44 13 5 10 0 ex p e rie nc e 15 ye a rs 14 7 12 33 24 .4 610 y e a rs 24 8 16 48 35 .6 11 -1 5 ye a rs 10 8 4 22 16 .2 15 o r m o re 6 14 12 32 23 .8 to ta l 54 37 44 13 5 10 0 ta b le 3 : pr o fil e o f r e sp o nd e nt s acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 18 the advent of generation y as the best represented age group has the potential to contribute positively to the study and sustainable development agenda. tolbize (2008: 2) reports that they are adaptable to change and seek flexibility and a balanced life. the generation x age group also has similar characteristics such as continuous training and skills development as those required for driving sustainable development. in addition, they are pragmatic, creative, and may like teamwork (fernandes et al., 2012: online). these characteristics enable the effective implementation of decent work interventions related to the age of respondents. table 3 also shows that 85.9% of all the respondents are males and 14.1% are females. although this may represent a skew in favour of males, it is a reflection of the representation in the construction industry, which is biased towards males. the results show that the requirement of the zimbabwean government for a gender-inclusive construction industry is still to be met (government of zimbabwe, 2014: 25). skilled and semi-skilled workers (60%) were the best represented designation, with site/project managers at 40%. all relevant designations were also sufficiently represented in the study. the variability in the designation is bound to expose the inherent deficiencies in whiteand blue-collar workers and assists in the development of targeted intervention strategies for the different designation of workers. most of the educational levels are well represented in the study, except those with no minimum ordinary levels that are poorly represented. the ilo (2018e: 22) reports that skill is a substantial contributor to decent work concerns in the construction sector. therefore, the different education levels are expected to represent the varied decent work aptitudes. the majority of the respondents (35.6%) have between 6-10 years’ work experience, while the least represented range of work experience is between 11-15 years, reflecting 16.3% of the respondents. generally, work experience results include all the ranges sufficiently. this is relevant towards ascertaining inclusivity of this study. 4.2 ranking and significance of decent working conditions table 4 ranks the cramer’s value to show which of the seven decent working conditions is most significant towards improving construction skilled and semi-skilled workers’ productivity on construction sites. the average ms ranking of 4.50 is above the re-scaled rate of 2.604 in table 2 and shows that respondents perceive all the decent working conditions significant towards improving construction skilled and semi-skilled workers’ productivity on construction sites. moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 19 ta b le 4 : ra nk in g a nd s ig ni fic a nc e o f d e c e nt w o rk in g c o nd iti o ns d e p e nd e nt v a ria b le s pe a rs o n c hi -s q ua re t e st c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha 0 .8 27 ra nk in g t e st d e c e nt w o rk c o nd iti o n (n =1 35 ) (1 = n o t sig ni fic a nt … 5 = ve ry s ig ni fic a nt ) te st v a lu e d .f a sy m p si g ./ p -v a lu e c ra m e r’ sv m e a n st d . d e vi a tio n ra nk pr o vi sio n o f a d e q ua te o c c up a tio na l sa fe ty a nd h e a lth o rg a ni sa tio n o n sit e s 17 2. 87 0a 30 0. 00 0 0. 80 0 4. 80 0. 47 1 sa tis fa c to ry e rg o no m ic s o n sit e s 19 1. 87 7f 45 0. 00 0 0. 79 9 4. 36 0. 83 2 en su rin g t he m a xi m um s ta nd a rd w o rk in g t im e ( 44 h o ur s p e r w e e k) is a d he re d t o fo r a ll w o rk e rs 24 2. 13 0c 45 0. 00 0 0. 79 8 4. 53 0. 82 3 pr o vi sio n o f s uf fic ie nt p e rs o na l p ro te c tiv e e q ui p m e nt fo r w o rk e rs 25 8. 52 3b 45 0 .0 00 0. 77 3 4. 69 0. 54 4 a p p ro p ria te fo re c a st in g a nd p la nn in g fo r v a rio us c lim a tic c o nd iti o ns 29 3. 11 8g 60 0. 00 0 0. 74 7 4. 24 0. 81 5 pr o vi sio n o f a d e q ua te w o rk -r e la te d w e lfa re fa c ilit ie s o n c o ns tr uc tio n sit e s 34 3. 60 9e 60 0. 00 0 0. 73 7 4. 45 0. 86 6 sa tis fa c to ry w o rk p la c e c o nd iti o ns t ha t e na b le e nh a nc e d w o rk e r e ffi c ie nc y 30 1. 52 0d 60 0. 00 0 0. 68 8 4. 46 0. 62 7 a ve ra g e m s 4. 50 0. 71 a 40 c e lls (8 3. 3% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5; b 56 c e lls (8 7. 5% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5; c 54 c e lls (8 4. 4% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5; d 72 c e lls (9 0% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5; e 70 c e lls (8 7. 5% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5, f 5 4 c e lls (8 4. 4% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5; g 70 c e lls (8 7. 5% ) ha ve e xp e c te d c o un t le ss t ha n 5 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 20 the cronbach’s alpha value of 0.827 is above the recommended value of 0.800, as considered by george and mallery (2003: 53), showing that the seven decent working conditions are reliable and valid for improving construction skilled and semi-skilled workers’ productivity. the pearson chi-square goodness-of-fit test (p <0.05) indicates that all decent working conditions statistically tested highly significant for improving construction productivity of skilled and semi-skilled workers. with highest cramer value of 0.800, “provision of adequate occupational safety and health organisation on sites” is the decent working condition with the most influence to improve productive work for construction skilled and semi-skilled workers in zimbabwe. this is supported by moyo, mangore and chigara (2014: 43) who state that these conditions should be well articulated within the statutory frameworks and regulated within the construction industry. durdyev and ismail (2016: 456) as well as salaj, baricic and maamari (2017: 510) emphasise the importance of the provision and control of decent working conditions as a significant way in which management can raise productivity. 4.2.1 discussion on ranking of significant decent working conditions the dual benefit of preserving human life and achieving high productivity is inevitable if construction companies in zimbabwe inculcate this fundamental approach in their corporate strategies. improving construction workers’ productivity is borne out of ensuring that osh conditions are accorded the importance they deserve. indeed, workers’ health and well-being is a significant factor that affects labour productivity (durdyev & mbachu, 2017: 28). the lack of provision of these conditions by the construction companies will have disastrous consequences on productivity levels (chigara & moyo, 2014a: 62). de silva and wimalaratne (2012: 387) justify improving performance in the construction industry by adopting an ohs culture. this can be enhanced through initially integrating osh legislation within a construction industry bill (sherratt & sherratt, 2017: 389, chigara & moyo, 2014b: 150). recommendations by oswald et al. (2017: 370) to offer reward systems aligned to osh can also be implemented. thus, the resolution of osh inadequacies guarantees productivity gains. related to this, the provision of adequate personal protective equipment mentioned by the respondents is just as essential. providing adequate personal protective equipment and ensuring the adherence to a maximum standard working time of 44 hours per week were ranked second and third with mean scores of 4.69 moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 21 and 4.53, respectively. provision of adequate personal protective equipment should be preceded by appropriate task analysis (occupational safety and health administration, 2002: 1; lingard et al., 2011: 159; taderera, 2012: 99). furthermore, sufficient osh pricing will go a long way in ensuring its sufficiency in terms of provision of adequate personal protective equipment (akawi, musonda & pretorius, 2017: 478). respondents agree that adherence to a 44-hour working week is paramount to enhancing labour productivity. regarding construction firms embracing “overtime” as a remedy to delays, smith and zagelmeyer (2010: 394) as well as emuze (2017: 330) dispute this notion, asserting that it provides a net loss as diminished productivity is realised. townsend et al. (2011: 77) motivate for the observance to a standard working time by advocating for an appropriate work-life balance for workers, which has a positive psychological effect on their performance. appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions had the lowest ranking, although the score was high, potentially due to the not yet so adverse climatic conditions within the country. however, chan et al. (2012: 60) and chigara and smallwood (2016: 290) recognise the effects of climate change in developing countries, and the significant rating of 4.24 supports this. initiatives by the ilo (2006: 2) and adhikari and pandey (2011: 64) on the importance of decent working conditions are evident through the respondents’ perceptions. it is sensible that, as the construction industry evolves, the integration of working conditions for decent work is ascertained. 4.3 inferential analysis results 4.3.1 kruskal-wallis test on demographic profile vs decent working conditions the kruskal-wallis test was used to determine any differences in ranking of decent working conditions between the respondent groups based on their demographic profile. table 5 shows that there was no statistically significant difference in the collective decent working conditions concerning age (0.086), gender (0.352) and experience of respondents (0.553). however, designation (0.000) and educational levels of respondents (0.001) showed a statistically significant difference, since their p-value was <0.05. the demographic “educational level” had a statistically significant difference in the following decent working conditions, namely “provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers”; “provision of adequate work-related welfare facilities on construction acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 22 ta b le 5 : su m m a ry o f k ru sk a l-w a llis t e st re su lts o n d e m o g ra p hi c s ra nk d e c e nt w o rk in g c o nd iti o ns a g e (s ig .) g e nd e r (s ig .) d e sig na tio n (s ig .) ed uc a tio na l le ve ls (s ig .) ex p e rie nc e (s ig .) 1 pr o vi sio n o f a d e q ua te o c c up a tio na l sa fe ty a nd h e a lth o rg a ni sa tio n o n sit e s 0. 89 0 0. 83 0 0. 15 0 0. 10 0 0. 26 0 2 pr o vi sio n o f s uf fic ie nt p e rs o na l p ro te c tiv e e q ui p m e nt fo r w o rk e rs 0. 44 0 0. 37 0 0. 00 0 0. 00 0 0. 63 0 3 en su rin g t he m a xi m um s ta nd a rd w o rk in g t im e ( 44 h o ur s p e r w e e k) is a d he re d t o fo r a ll w o rk e rs 0. 75 0 0. 13 0 0. 06 0 0. 17 0 0. 82 0 4 sa tis fa c to ry w o rk p la c e c o nd iti o ns t ha t e na b le e nh a nc e d w o rk e r e ffi c ie nc y 0. 13 0 0. 17 0 0. 02 0 0. 09 0 0. 30 0 5 pr o vi sio n o f a d e q ua te w o rk -r e la te d w e lfa re fa c ilit ie s o n c o ns tr uc tio n sit e s 0. 18 0 0. 40 0 0. 00 0 0. 00 0 0. 88 0 6 sa tis fa c to ry e rg o no m ic s o n sit e s 0. 11 0 0. 68 0 0. 01 0 0. 05 0 0. 49 0 7 a p p ro p ria te fo re c a st in g a nd p la nn in g fo r v a rio us c lim a tic c o nd iti o ns 0. 08 0 0. 81 0 0. 00 0 0. 00 0 0. 67 0 a ve ra g e p -v a lu e s 0. 08 6 0. 35 2 0. 00 0 0. 00 1 0. 55 3 n o te : s ig ni fic a nt v a lu e is p < 0. 05 moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 23 ta b le 6 : m a nn -w hi tn e y u ra nk in g t e st re su lts o n sig ni fic a nt d e c e nt w o rk in g c o nd iti o ns v s e d uc a tio na l l e ve ls d e c e nt w o rk in g c o nd iti o ns (d e p e nd e nt v a ria b le s) ed uc a tio n le ve l n m a nn w hi tn e y u r *a sy m p . s ig . (2 -t a ile d ) m e a n ra nk su m o f ra nk s pr o vi sio n o f s uf fic ie nt p e rs o na l p ro te c tiv e e q ui p m e nt fo r w o rk e rs c e rt ifi c a te 36 43 8. 5 0. 35 0. 00 2 45 .3 2 16 31 .5 d e g re e 39 43 8. 5 0. 35 0. 00 2 31 .2 4 12 18 .5 to ta l 75 d e g re e 39 39 9 0. 44 0. 00 0 30 .2 3 11 79 m in im um o rd in a ry le ve ls 38 39 9 0. 44 0. 00 0 48 .0 0 18 24 to ta l 77 pr o vi sio n o f a d e q ua te w o rk -r e la te d w e lfa re fa c ilit ie s o n c o ns tr uc tio n sit e s d e g re e 39 39 4 0. 49 0. 00 0 30 .1 0 11 74 m in im um o le ve ls 38 39 4 0. 49 0. 00 0 48 .1 3 18 29 to ta l 77 a p p ro p ria te fo re c a st in g a nd p la nn in g fo r v a rio us c lim a tic c o nd iti o ns c e rt ifi c a te 36 44 8 0. 35 0. 00 2 45 .0 6 16 22 d e g re e 39 44 8 0. 35 0. 00 2 31 .4 9 12 28 to ta l 75 n o te : * si g ni fic a nc e t e st v a lu e o f p = 0 .0 05 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 24 sites”, and “appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions”. however, since the kruskal-wallis test shows the statistically significant difference in the combined perceptions on the significance of decent working conditions that ensure improved construction labour productivity, it did not establish where the significant differences lie across the five different education levels. in such instances, osei-kyesi and chan (2017: 32) support a post-hoc analysis using the mann-whitney u test. 4.3.2 mann-whitney u test on educational levels vs selected decent working conditions the mann-whitney u test on the significant strategies using a recalculated alpha value (p) of 0.005 (0.05/10). dividing by 10 relates to the number of groups that emanate from the five different educational levels. therefore, from table 5, the following decent working conditions were considered for ranking and significance testing, namely “provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers”; “provision of adequate work-related welfare facilities on construction sites”, and “appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions”. table 6 shows that there was a statistically significant difference in “provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers” mean rank score between certificate (45.32) and degree (31.24) holders and also between degree (30.23) and those with the minimum ordinary level (48.00) subjects required to have passed, since the p values of 0.002 and 0.000 are <0.005, with both having a medium effect size (r) of 0.35 and 0.44, respectively. field (2014: 225) states that the mann-whitney u test interpretation relies on scores being ranked from lowest to highest; thus, the lowest mean rank is the group with the greatest number of lower scores. this shows that certificate holders, who are predominantly skilled workers, view this condition as being more significant than the degree holders, who are predominantly site or project managers. the certificate holders view this condition as critical for enhancing construction labour productivity as compared to the degree holders. the differences due to the level of workforce training are evident as supported by durdyev and mbachu (2017: 28). despite the lack of appropriate instruction for those with the minimum ordinary levels, they perceive that the provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers is fundamental to enhancing construction moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 25 labour productivity. generally, the skilled and semi-skilled workers with certificates and minimum ordinary levels have a higher regard for this working condition compared to the degree holders. for the “provision of adequate work-related welfare facilities on construction sites”, the results show that there is a significant difference in mean rank score between degree holders (30.10) and those with the minimum ordinary levels (48.13), since the p-value of 0.000 is <0.005 with a medium effect size of 0.49. this shows that those with minimum ordinary levels, who are predominantly semi-skilled workers, view this condition as being more significant, since they are more affected than the degree holders, who are predominantly site or project managers. for “appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions”, the results show that there is a significant difference in mean rank score between certificate holders (45.06) and degree holders (31.49), since the p-value of 0.002 is <0.005 with a medium effect size of 0.35. this shows that those with certificates, who are predominantly semi-skilled workers, view this condition as being more significant, since they are more affected than the degree holders, who are predominantly site or project managers. chigara and moyo (2014a: 57) as well as durdyev and mbachu (2017: 385) confirm the apparent differences, due to educational levels. 4.4 compared ranking results of decent working conditions among designation groups in table 5, the kruskal-wallis test shows that the demographic “designation” had statistically significant differences in the following decent working conditions, namely “provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers”; “provision of adequate work-related welfare facilities on construction sites”, and “appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions”, since their p-value was <0.005. table 7 shows a comparison of site or project managers’ (spm) and skilled and semi-skilled construction workers’ (csssw) mean ranking scores of these three decent working conditions. acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 26 table 7: comparison of site or project managers’ (spm) and skilled and semi-skilled construction workers’ (csssw) ranking of decent working conditions decent work condition spm csssw mean rank mean rank provision of adequate occupational health, safety and well-being requirements on sites 4.864 1 4.704 1 ensuring the maximum standard working time (44 hours per week) is adhered to for all workers 4.778 2 4.167 4 provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers 4.753 3 4.593 2 provision of adequate work-related welfare facilities on construction sites 4.679 4 4.111 5 satisfactory workplace conditions that enable enhanced worker efficiency 4.593 5 4.259 3 optimum human factor (ergonomics) interventions on sites (a system of interacting components, including the worker, both the physical and organisational work environment, the task and the workspace) 4.556 6 4.074 6 appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions 4.395 7 4.000 7 average ms 4.660 4.273 “provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers” was ranked second by site or project managers (ms = 4.593) and third by construction workers (ms = 4.753). although the condition is significant for both designations, construction workers rated it much higher than the managers did. construction workers potentially reacted to the contention by the ilo (2018e: 20) that the provision of personal protective equipment as a mere box-ticking exercise is not effective in safeguarding construction workers against site accidents. thus, workers view this condition as pertinent to their enhancing construction labour productivity on construction sites. “provision of adequate work-related welfare facilities on construction sites” was ranked third by managers (ms = 4.259) and fourth by construction workers (ms = 4.679). the results are consistent with these conditions mainly affecting workers in their work on construction sites. site or project managers are tasked with ensuring that these conditions are conducive for workers; however, they are not directly affected by their status. the government of zimbabwe (2013: 281) failed to regulate construction companies regarding the provision of specific standardised work-related welfare facilities, culminating in dismal conditions. however, for workers, mincks and johnston (2004: 213) report that the provision of adequate temporary moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 27 facilities related to project requirements has a distinct impact on craftsperson productivity. owing to this favourable advantage, managers in construction companies are encouraged to afford this decent working condition the attention it deserves. fundamentally, march (2009: 10) also recognises that productivity losses emanate from employees’ attempts to access welfare facilities elsewhere. such facilities are less prioritised by managers of construction sites. “appropriate forecasting and planning for various climatic conditions” was ranked seventh by both managers (ms = 4.00) and construction workers (ms = 4.00). again, the workers have a higher rating of this condition. since construction projects are undertaken outdoors, they are the ones exposed to these climatic conditions as they go about their tasks. furthermore, construction workers are also affected in terms of remuneration, especially in situations of inclement weather. lastly, productivity generally declines when conditions are not optimal (mincks & johnston, 2004: 193). in support of this, sarode and shirasath (2012: 2736) guarantee improved employee productivity through the provision of a comfortable work environment, where workers are exposed to a comfortable range of temperature, adequate ventilation and adequate humidity. hasan et al. (2018: 932) as well as durdyev and ismail (2016: 456) reiterate that climatic conditions are one of the riskiest and significant factors that affect labour productivity on construction sites. 5. conclusions and recommendations the objective of this research was to establish the most significant decent working condition that leads to improved construction skilled workers’ productivity. the study also determined the existence of statistical differences, due to the demographics of the respondents (age, gender, designation, educational levels, and experience) concerning the ranking of the same decent working conditions. the results show that the provision of adequate osh organisation on sites was the most significant decent working condition that leads to improved construction skilled and semi-skilled workers’ productivity. a deliberate osh drive that incorporates training of site management and workers, including improved compliance to regulations, will lead to productivity gains. workers are inclined to improve their productivity if the environment in which they are working is safe and protects them against any aspects that can affect their health. implementation of reward systems associated with osh behaviour can also have a positive effect in enhancing such conditions within the industry. beyond these conditions, other acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 28 decent working conditions can be addressed competently within a proposed construction industry bill that is yet to be passed and implemented in zimbabwe. furthermore, the demographics of the respondents show significant differences in their perceptions and insights into the effect the decent working conditions have on productive work on sites, due to the designation and educational levels. instruction on the construction workers’ rights to decent working conditions is paramount, especially on the entitlement to adequate working conditions. on-the-job training that allows these rights to be developed is also pertinent. firmer collective bargaining by workers and an increased impact of trade unionism within the construction industry is envisaged. the consensus from both site and project managers and skilled and semi-skilled construction workers is apparent. despite there being on-site management concerns that must be dealt with by the relevant management structures on sites, it is evident that solutions must also be deliberated beyond the construction sites. this provides construction practitioners with a clear perspective on consequential actions within their contractual, financial, value and risk-management roles in pre-construction, construction and post-construction stages. sufficient budgets that ensure that such conditions are provided for and the competence to allow for them adequately must be prerequisites for the commencement of construction projects. furthermore, adjudication of tenders should entail more in-depth inspection and evaluation on sufficient value, financial and riskmanagement considerations of these fundamental conditions. appropriate planning, monitoring and control will inevitably lead to improving productive work on construction sites, enhancing national productivity and achieving economy within the zimbabwean construction industry. conclusively, various construction personnel potentially benefit from this research. construction, site and project managers benefit through empirical evidence of site conditions that would ensure enhanced productivity on construction sites. construction workers’ welfare is improved through site conditions that safeguard their health and well-being. beyond the scope of this research, analysis of broader conditions on a larger scale would address specific needs within various geographical areas. moyo, crafford & emuze • decent working conditions for improved... 29 references aboagye-nimo, e. & emuze, f. 2017. construction safety through housekeeping: the hawthorne effect. in: emuze, f.a. & behm, m. 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https://doi.org/10.1108/00483481111095528 https://doi.org/10.1108/02630801011044217 https://doi.org/10.3888/tmj.12 https://doi.org/10.3888/tmj.12 _goback 156 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as edwin k’oyoo mr edwin oluoch k’oyoo, phd student in landscape architecture, department of architecture, university of pretoria, south africa. email: <edwinkoyoo@ gmail.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-7049-1034 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2023 peer reviewed and revised: april 2023 published: june 2023 keywords: urban landscape identity, urban form elements, urban renewal, impact of changes, postcolonial, kisumu city, kenya how to cite: k’oyoo, e. 2023. impact of urban renewal changes on urban landscape identity: case study of kisumu city, kenya. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 156-185. impact of urban renewal changes on urban landscape identity: case study of kisumu city, kenya research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7036 abstract urban renewal undertaken to respond to physical deterioration and decay within cities results in various changes. the changes can impact on physical, socio-economic, and meaning aspects attached to various features, thus affecting the urban landscape identity of the city. urban renewal in africa is undertaken in the existing built forms in post-colonial times with the works impacting on city identities. cities are striving to be unique and distinct, in order to attract and promote world trade and tourism, making city identity an issue of great concern. this study postulates that a city’s uniqueness and distinctiveness lie in its landscape identity that should be highly considered when upgrading urban environments in renewals. this study aims to investigate the impact of changes in urban form elements, due to urban renewal, on landscape identity. this is a case study analysis of kisumu city, kenya, which has recently undergone the upgrading of urban forms. a sample of 384 participants were involved in the field survey, 12 participants for the photo elicitation interview (pei), and four key informants. quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. the survey results supported 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 156-185 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:edwinkoyoo@gmail.com mailto:edwinkoyoo@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7049-1034 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7049-1034 https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7036 k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 157 by pei responses revealed that renewal changes of urban physical forms had a positive impact on the city’s landscape identity, thus making it a visually appealing place. the vast majority of the respondents were satisfied with both the various components implemented and the overall outcome. they opined that the city had become a different but better place. the article highlights concern for the preservation of urban landscape identity within urban renewal projects in the post-colonial era. abstrak stedelike vernuwing wat onderneem word om te reageer op fisiese agteruitgang en verval binne stede lei tot verskeie veranderinge. die veranderinge kan ’n impak hê op fisiese, sosio-ekonomiese en betekenisaspekte wat aan verskeie kenmerke geheg word, dus word die stedelike landskapsidentiteit van die stad beïnvloed. stedelike vernuwing in afrika word onderneem in die bestaande geboude vorms van die postkoloniale tye met die werke wat ’n impak het op stadsidentiteite. stede streef daarna om uniek en afsonderlik te wees om wêreldhandel en toerisme te lok en te bevorder. dit maak stadsidentiteit ’n kwessie van groot kommer. hierdie studie postuleer dat ’n stad se uniekheid en eiesoortigheid in sy landskapsidentiteit lê wat hoog in ag geneem moet word wanneer stedelike omgewings deur hernuwings opgegradeer word. hierdie studie het ten doel om die impak van veranderinge in stedelike vormelemente as gevolg van stedelike vernuwing op landskapsidentiteit te ondersoek. dit is ’n gevallestudie-analise van kisumu stad, kenia, wat onlangs opgradering van stedelike vorms ondergaan het. ’n steekproef van 384 deelnemers is by die veldopname betrek, 12 deelnemers vir die foto-onttrekkingsonderhoud (pei) en vier sleutelinformante. kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe benaderings is gebruik. die opnameresultate wat deur pei-antwoorde ondersteun is, het aan die lig gebring dat vernuwingsveranderinge op stedelike fisiese vorms ’n positiewe impak op die stad se landskapsidentiteit gehad het en dit sodoende ’n visueel aantreklike plek gemaak het. meeste van die respondente was tevrede met die verskillende komponente wat geïmplementeer is en met die algehele uitkoms. hulle het gevoel dat die stad ’n ander maar beter plek geword het. die artikel beklemtoon kommer oor die behoud van stedelike landskapsidentiteit binne stedelike hernuwingsprojekte in die post-koloniale era. 1. introduction physical deterioration and decay within cities necessitate urban transformation through renewal, in order to improve the quality of urban life (bosselmann, 2008). urban renewal aimed at revitalising cities should also aim to reinvigorate the urban landscape identity and the collective memory, as a city’s uniqueness and distinctiveness lie here and should not be neglected in the wake of creating new urban environments occasioned by urban revitalisation. xuesong and hui (2008: 1) posit that globalisation has affected local urban landscape identity, resulting in homogenisation of cities, and thus affecting their form and aesthetics. studies confirm that urban form elements such as streets, squares, buildings, public spaces, urban furniture, and monuments all play a vital role in expressing the notion of urban landscape identity and memory. urban renewal usually involves changes to urban form elements and it should pay attention to their roles in shaping urban landscape identity and memory (enache & craciun, 2013: 311; oktay & bala, 2015: 20; ziyaee, 2018: 21; yaldiz, aydin & siramkaya, k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 158 2014: 224-231). according to beyhan and gurkan (2015: 159), as well as okesli and gurcinar (2012: 39), urban identity is not static, as it undergoes changes from time to time. urban identity is not only about pedestrian streets, city squares, buildings in the city, and other urban spaces, but also about participation of individuals who are the residents. this is in terms of the identification of those aspects that contribute to city identity and the possible impacts of the changes to be experienced on them, due to the renewal. hardly any studies from the global south and africa address landscape identity issues within changes due to urban development or renewal projects. this study. therefore, fills a gap in information in that regard. the few existing studies on africa include dimuna and omatsone (2010); njoku and okoro (2014); amado and rodrigues (2019); layson and nankai (2015), as well as leon et al. (2020). these studies covered issues of urban renewal without focus and emphasis on landscape identity, especially regarding the changes brought about by the renewal projects on both natural and man-made elements of the urban landscape. the studies were conducted in only three african countries, namely nigeria, angola, and tanzania. there is no existing literature on local studies of cities such as nairobi and other cities in kenya, where dynamic changes have taken place in the context of urban renewal and how the public perceives these changes. a study on the impact of changes in urban form elements, due to urban renewal in kenya, will add to the landscape identity body of knowledge of african countries as in kisumu city that recently underwent upgrading and improvements on various urban form elements. 2. literature review to understand the impact of urban renewal changes on urban landscape identity in kisumu city, it is important to introduce the concepts ‘landscape identity and change’, ‘urban renewal and change’, and ‘landscape identity maintenance’ used in this study within the global south context. this is covered first in terms of landscape identity and change and, secondly, the implication of urban renewal on change and the need to maintain landscape identity. 2.1 landscape identity and change stobbelaar and hendriks (2006: 2) posited that the recognition of certain units within the landscape is through the typical characteristics that people label with a certain identity. landscape identity is, therefore, the combined result of the physical environment, due to its characteristics and the people’s perceptions. however, both the people and the physical environment undergo changes over time (stobbelaar & hendriks, 2006: k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 159 2). seidl et al. (2021: 15) postulated that landscape identity is not fixed or permanent, as it undergoes changes over time despite originating from the characteristics of the spaces. its change and re-establishment are a result of the actions and interactions between people and their environment. this shows that it should be analysed from time to time to establish the changes caused. according to dominiczak, zawadzka & keira (2011: 3), managing change in a city that has established identity should not depend on the views of political decision makers that are more subjective and usually unpredictable. objective rules that are well understood by all stakeholders should be included before considering and designing the change. once established and documented in the city inventory, the information can be used to guide the city’s urban identity and act as a community resource available to all stakeholders who have an interest in the city’s urban landscape. this should be carried out in a sustainable manner to ensure preservation of the identified existing urban identity within the city. according to shao et al. (2020: 2), the rapid urban development in china, driven mostly by the priorities of creating cityscapes of building skyscrapers of outstanding appearances, failed to focus on the identity of the cities. the need to conserve the uniqueness of the city was not prioritised in most of the urban renewal projects. this would entail responding to the existing heritage within the landscape or rearranging the existing identity of the cities. homogenisation of the urban form, due to rapid changes in cities as a result of new developments and renewals, has caused cities to become identical, thus resulting in the loss of the unique distinctiveness of the landscapes affected. there is an urgent need to pay attention to landscape identity in an urban renewal project, in order to avoid loss of uniqueness and distinctiveness that is recognisable as a result of creating new, upgraded infrastructure. this occurs when the views and interests of the residents are not taken seriously through public participation. redzinska and szulczewska (2019: 259) revealed the main factors of perceived identity of the new landscape, the elements that constitute its identity, and whether national heritage values are present in residents’ awareness after landscape transformation. the case study of wilanow west showed that several factors act to influence people’s perception of identity within the landscape. these factors include the characteristics of the physical space or place, the urban design aesthetics, and the scale of the buildings within the built areas. in their study, aspects of landscape identity included place identity and the landscape meanings that are interpreted in the form of urban structure. place identification was according to the natural and cultural elements that were distinct from those of other neighbourhoods occurring within or in the vicinity of wilanow town. the meaning associated with different places was coded in the urban form in terms of buildings, street grids, street names, water elements, and the character of greenery k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 160 (redzinska & szulczewska, 2019: 259). the most important factor that constituted the perceived landscape identity was the quality of the physical settings that were influenced by the planning and urban design qualities. this study concurs with shao et al. (2020) in giving prominence to the contribution of the physical settings caused by the character of the urban form in shaping the landscape identity as perceived by city residents. in a study on landscape change, antrop (2005: 21) stated that the landscape cannot be static, as it represents the dynamic interactions between cultural and natural processes. however, historical landscape change was local, gradual, and embedded within the existing landscape structures. transformations of the landscape within a given city are driven by several interrelated factors, including globalisation in terms of trends and patterns; population growth in terms of rate and pattern; urbanisation patterns and speed; level of accessibility of the city; calamitous events that may occur; economic factors that drive the growth of the city; technological developments employed within various sectors of the city, and the cultural values of the people concerned that keep changing from time to time. the landscape change impacts on how individuals perceive and attach value to their surroundings. this influences their ability to maintain connections with their everyday surroundings within which they interact. transformations within the landscape influence how individuals engage with their environment. this influences interactions that enrich the social connectivity of the residents within the landscape (antrop, 2005: 21). gedik and yildiz (2016: 195) posited that there is a need for sustainable revitalisation to avert the negative effects of urbanisation and globalisation and the need to preserve and maintain the landscape identity. changes due to urban renewal impact on how city residents perceive and value their surroundings and, therefore, impact on landscape identity and associated memories. gur and heidari (2019: 134-142) showed how rapid urban changes influence the urban identity within the city. the authors investigated how attachment, satisfaction with a place, and the quality of life of local communities were affected by transformations that cause changes to urban spaces. their study concluded that there is a direct interaction between changes in the urban identity and the transformation processes causing changes within the cities. the changes also encompassed landscape identity as a component within the transformations. leon, babere and swai (2020: 6) pointed out that available literature about urban renewal in subsaharan africa was very limited at the time of their study. the available literature reviewed on urban renewal in africa mainly focused on the social and physical aspects of decayed residential neighbourhoods and the renewal of cbd in the case of leon et al. (2020) as well as amado and rodrigues (2019). they are mainly concerned with upgrading urban slums and squatter settlements to be viable communities with basic services and k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 161 amenities, whereas the preservation of landscape identity is not a major concern in most instances. this presents a potential research gap that can be filled by this study. few studies have focused on urban landscape identity and how changes due to urban renewal impact on it. leon et al. (2020: 6) postulated that there is a need to understand how changes are taking place in historical urban areas in africa, especially in the sub-saharan context, and the role played by heritage in the rapidly growing cities. this is in addition to how plans are made to renew the inner cities. case studies of african post-colonial cities are needed to understand how these changes in historical areas within cities have occurred and are managed and how these fit into the global discussion. according to leon et al. (2020: 3), transformations of the urban landscape in dar es salaam, tanzania, prioritised economic interests over cultural values. the authors revealed that colonial art-deco and modern typologies, as part of the architectural character of the area, were being replaced. the neglect of cultural heritage from the new constructions affected the integrity of the area and had other negative impacts on development (leon et al., 2020: 3). 2.2 implication of urban renewal on change and the need to maintain landscape identity according to oktay and bala (2015: 211), cities undergo changes over time. cities never remain static, as they evolve with continuous developments from time to time. cities change, due to social factors, economic drivers, and political forces that affect the residents. the process of evolving can cause the destruction and replacement of some parts of the city. urban identity must thus be considered from a perspective based on the prevailing factors at the time of its consideration. according to oktay (2006: 1), cities undergoing changes and new urban forms have their urban identity created by the interaction of several complex factors, including the natural environment, social aspects, and elements of the man-made environment within the city. boussaa (2017: 4-6) asserted that urban regeneration and identity show a strong relationship. improving the cities’ man-made environment through infrastructure upgrade contributes towards increasing their adoption by the residents as places of interaction. he concluded, by stating that the regeneration of city centres increases the residents’ sense of belonging and connection with the past. ujang (2012: 157) asserted that new developments within the settings of the city change the built spaces and the residents’ associated meanings and attachment within the different places. this is connected with the social and cultural settings within the city. ujang (2012: 157, citing hull [1994]) posited that attempts to sustain the meanings and identity of the urban elements are important because they contribute to the residents’ self-identity, collective k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 162 sense of community nature, and sense of place within the city. in his study, kaymaz (2013: 751) pointed out that the major problem in maintaining the identity of the urban realm in turkey was the lack of adequate awareness and the lack of sensitivity of the authorities at both national and local level. in turkish cities, the authorities are responsible for the deterioration of urban identity through urban renewal projects.urban renewal causes the changes without attention being adequately paid to the preservation and strengthening of the urban identity at the time (kaymaz, 2013). radstrom (2011: 90-91) opined that urban areas worldwide face an important phase in their histories as the global population continues to migrate to large urban areas. the trends include how the urban areas expand under the present globalisation that produces increasingly uniform cities. in many cities, the sense of place at local level is at risk of being lost, if not checked in good time. this can be ensured through sustainable developments. the adoption of global trends within increased globalisation has led to homogenisation of urban identity across many cities globally. antrop (2005) stated that globalisation as a driving force in landscape changes refers to all general processes and initiatives that affect the decisions and actions at the local level. new global and regional hierarchies of cities have emerged and vast areas have become increasingly peripheral. this process often breaks the relationship between a local society and its landscapes. radstrom (2011) asserted that this is particularly common in urban areas that are small in size and often lack attention. these cities often find themselves attracted to foreign ‘solutions’ that finally influence their local settings. these cities lack value for their local identity and usually result in being similar to other cities from which they have borrowed. radstrom (2011) suggested that there is a need for holistic, place-based solutions to provide remedies to the problems of sustaining local identities in various cities worldwide. according to okesli and gurcinar (2012), the physical characteristics of urban environments change continuously, according to the prevailing values at a given time. this is unavoidable, as urban identity keeps changing. however, the scale, conditions, and effects of the change should be checked and controlled, in order to achieve preservation and ensure that urban identity is sustained. they further posited that even the smallest changes in the factors and aspects that constitute identity of the city may result in different patterns and resultant identities within the cities. it is, therefore, important to define urban identity and its components, in order to decide which qualities are to be retained and sustained through preservation. the changes that occur in the urban realm from time to time must then be analysed to ensure that urban identity is sustained through preservation (okesli & gurcinar, 2012). k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 163 lee and chan (2008) advocated for the recognition of identity that is considered positive in every city undergoing change, due to urban renewal projects. according to them, every city undergoing urban renewal has its own identity and unique recognisable image. architectural forms of the built environment, the materials used over time, and the colour schemes selected determine, among others, the visual qualities within the cities undergoing urban renewal changes. the patterns of development and the residents’ activities contribute to the establishment of the image and orientation of the renewed areas within the cities. to retain the original identity of an area under renewal, existing land uses, properties, and features that contribute to the image of the area and reflect the past achievements of the residents must be earmarked for preservation. this must be done provided that conservation and restoration require reasonable efforts and affordable expenses. lee and chan (2008) concluded that, because new development during urban renewal cannot be avoided, it must reinforce or complement such positive urban identity during its implementation within the city. according to antrop (2005), the coherence of properties defines identity, and changing the characteristics and coherence leads to loss of identity or its change into a new one. he questioned what changes and how many changes are needed to transform a landscape, so that it becomes unrecognisable to the residents involved. what magnitude of change could cause a landscape to lose identity and become unrecognisable and what processes can irreversibly break down its coherence and continuity in the face of new developments? antrop (2005: 21) posited that current landscape changes are characterised by the loss of diversity, coherence, and identity of the existing landscapes, as they may be affected by the various developments and urban renewal projects. the author elucidates the various factors that are the driving forces for the changes in the landscape. the driving forces are accessibility within the cities, urbanisation during city development, and globalisation which brings about trends and patterns across the globe. he adds an additional and unpredictable factor, namely calamity. areas that are not easily accessible by people are often characterised as stable landscapes. when disclosed by a new transportation infrastructure, these areas start changing rapidly. hence, their local urban identity changes and thus affects the residents’ perceptions (antrop, 2005). kaymaz (2013: 749) mentioned that the heritage of the built environment is one of the most important aspects of the identity of an urban environment. cities are formed and keep developing throughout their existence without remaining static. cities constantly change, develop, and transform as various development projects and urban renewal are carried out. the heritage of the built environment within cities is the most apparent reflection of change within the urban areas through the various physical aspects that k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 164 are usually affected. this includes the symbolic meanings for the citizens and visitors because of historical events that are considered significant and associated with it. the buildings and structures of a city have meanings and cultural values attached to the stories of its past that they tell. this occurs over the time the city has existed. the author concluded that heritage is considered an important indicator of urban identity and thus the conservation of heritage within the built spaces is one of the major concerns in the sustainability of urban identity through preservation efforts (kaymaz, 2013). 3. study area the study was conducted in kisumu city, the third largest urban area in kenya. kisumu city is the main administrative centre and headquarters of kisumu county and is located 265km north-west of nairobi. it lies on the eastern shores of lake victoria, africa’s largest freshwater lake and is 1 146 m above sea level, 0o6’ south of the equator and 34o45’ east (cgk, 2019: 2). in 2022, the city covered an area of 417 km2 (157 km2 of water and 260 km2 of land), with a population estimated at over 500 000 people (wamukaya & mbathi, 2019:81). according to knbs (2019: 20) on kenya’s population and housing census 2019, the study area (kisumu town area and its outskirts) falls within kisumu central sub-county that has a total population of 174 145 people, consisting of 84 155 males (48.3%), 89 985 females (51.7%), and 52 331 households. the kisumu town area has a total population of 56 498 people and 17 258 households within a land area of 25.4 km2. sub-locations within the kisumu town area include kaloleni, bandari, southern, northern, and kanyakwar. the outskirts of the kisumu town area consist of kondele location, with a total of 35 073 house sublocations of manyatta a, migosi, nyawita, and nyalenda b. kisumu city has several ongoing and completed urban renewal projects in different sectors that have resulted in great improvement. the projects include non-motorised transport (nmt) within the cbd that comprises the improvement of pedestrian walkways, parking spaces, construction of new markets, bus parks, rehabilitation of public parks, beautification of roundabouts, road islands, and proposed new high-rise affordable housing. the lakefront has also been earmarked for improvements in addition to the port which has been revamped and has its previously stalled activities on again. k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 165 figure 1: map of kenya showing the location of kisumu county source: internet google maps, 2019 k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 166 figure 2: map of kisumu county, showing the location of kisumu city source: digitised satellite aerial imagery (city of kisumu [cok] gis department, 2019) figure 3: arcgis desktop 10.3 map, showing the location of the parks under rehabilitation, nmt road and street projects source: author, 2021 k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 167 4. methodology 4.1 research design the study investigated the impact of urban renewal on the landscape identity of kisumu city, kenya, by following a mixed research approach, where quantitative and qualitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell, 2014: 45). in this study, a questionnaire survey (quantitative) was done to compare data on the changes in urban form elements, due to urban renewal from the different neighbourhoods surveyed. the interviews (qualitative) explored the impact of urban renewal forms from photographic documentation and visual mapping shown to interviewees. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the photographic documents, such as similar impacts that urban renewal forms had on kisumu city image suggested by respondents’ groups (creswell & plano-clark, 2011). 4.2 population, sampling method, and size the kisumu town area and its immediate surrounding neighbourhoods underwent urban renewal and the households located within these two areas form the population for this study. kenya’s housing census of 2019 shows 17 258 households located in the kisumu central town area and 35 073 households in the kondele location on the outskirts of the kisumu town area (see table 1). using simple random sampling, 384 household heads were selected to participate in the questionnaire survey because they were permanent residents within these neighbourhoods, users of the renewed spaces, and aged 18 years and older. this ensured a heterogeneous socioeconomic characteristic of the respondents. similar studies that have used simple random sampling in the collection of data through field surveys include layson & nankai (2015: 70-71); oktay & bala (2015: 208); baris, uckac and uslu (2009: 725). using purposive sampling, another 16 interviewees were selected, including 4 key informants (cgk 1 to cgk 4) from kisumu county government and 12 (ksm 1 to ksm 12) kisumu city residents, based on their willingness, expertise, and professional roles in urban renewal. this resulted in a total sample of 400. the sample size is valid and within the recommended sample size of 381 for a population equal to or over 50 000 (krejcie & morgan, 1970: 608). out of the 384 questionnaires issued, 293 were valid responses, showing a 76.3% response rate. k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 168 table 1: sample size in various locations within kisumu central sub-county locations and sub-locations number of households sample response per location kisumu town area kaloleni 5 290 39 30 bandari 1 837 13 10 southern 2 300 17 15 northern 2 035 15 10 kanyakwar 5 796 43 35 subtotal 17 258 127 100 kondele (outskirts of the kisumu town area) manyatta a 14 086 103 80 migosi 6 777 50 35 nyawita 3 767 28 25 nyalenda b 10 443 76 53 subtotal 35 073 257 193 grand total 52 331 384 293 source: gok knbs, 2019 volume ii and author’s field survey 4.3 data collection from july to august 2021, through personal house visits, 384 questionnaires were distributed among the prospective respondents who lived in the kisumu town area and its immediate surrounding neighbourhoods. a structured questionnaire is considered an effective data-collection method for measuring respondents’ beliefs, attitudes, and opinions (alabi & jelili, 2023: 1337). the survey questionnaire was designed as a close-ended type. according to harlacher (2016: 9-10), a close-ended questionnaire is easy to handle, simple to answer, and relatively quick to analyse because it reduces the respondents’ bias. the first section obtained the respondents’ demographic information such as age, gender, educational background, and duration of residence in kisumu city. section 2 had three likert-scale statements on the impact of changes on urban physical form, due to renewal of urban identity. section 3 set 8 likert-scale statements on the impact of urban renewal projects on various aspects of kisumu city’s image. section 4 contained two tick-box questions on the perceived changes in kisumu city after undertaking urban renewal projects, where respondents were instructed to select, from the options, the one with which they most agreed. section 5 set 9 likert-scale statements on the satisfaction level with the renewal of kisumu city. for the likert-scale questions, the respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement/satisfaction or disagreement/dissatisfaction with the statements from the measurements scale options. k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 169 from july 2022 to august 2022, semi-structured interviews with the four officials of the county government of kisumu (cgk) included four questions on the aim, factors, and criteria for selecting the renewal projects, and the plans of the city management for the evicted businesses whose structures were demolished within the areas undergoing urban renewal. no personal information was requested, thus ensuring the anonymity of experts. in september 2022, the photo elicitation interviews (peis) included 28 photos, of which some were taken by the researcher on site for the ongoing and completed urban renewal projects consisting of streets, parks, and landmarks such as the city’s clock tower. other photos used were selected based on kisumu city’s urban project: cok kup (2019: 342) report on kisumu city sites of interest. aerial google maps were used to locate the various renewal projects in the streets and other spaces within the cbd. the interviewees were requested to select the photos they felt had the features that best represent the eight categories in urban renewal that is, physical, social, cultural, economic aspect, aesthetically appealing, historical development, collective memory, individual memory, as well as symbolic buildings, structures, and facilities. each interview session lasted one hour. 4.4 data analysis and interpretation of the findings the study had two units of analysis. the first unit of analysis was the city residents who are users of the spaces within the study area and who have an opinion on aspects of urban landscape identity and public participation in the urban renewal project that was carried out. the statistical package for social science (spss) version 26 was used to generate frequencies and percentages of responses to analyse and report the respondents’ profile (pallant, 2020). descriptive statistics such as percentages, mean scores, and standard deviation were generated to analyse the likert scale data, and report on the impact of, and the satisfaction level on the perceived changes in kisumu city after undertaking urban renewal projects. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = strongly disagree/very dissatisfied (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree/dissatisfied (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree/satisfied (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree/very satisfied (≥4.21 and ≤ 5.00). the second unit of analysis was the physical settings of the study area in terms of the urban form within the city’s cbd that includes streets, city square, buildings, public parks, markets, and roads that underwent urban k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 170 renewal through several projects. both the interview and the pei responses were written down separately for each respondent as the researcher listened. an audio recorder using a phone was also used to record the responses that were reported verbatim. using the excel software program, the responses on the aim, factors, and criteria for selecting the renewal projects, as well as the responses from the pei were subjected to content analysis. content analysis is a technique that relies on coding and categorising the data (bengtsson, 2016: 9). once the responses from the interview results were analysed, the impact of urban renewal projects were coded and categorised under the eight categories in urban renewal based on frequency of occurrence. the eight categories were reduced to four, including physical form, image aspects, perceived change, and satisfaction with change. 5. results 5.1 respondents’ demographics results on the demographic characteristics in table 2 indicate that the majority of the respondents were male (55.3%), aged between 25 and 39 years (54.3%), and had a tertiary education (78.5%). the age distribution is skewed to older age groups, implying that most of the participants were mature persons. of the respondents, 98% were educated beyond primary school, as supported by the situational analysis report (cok, kup, 2019: 64), indicating that over 70% of the residents in kisumu city had at least high school education. they were thus expected to respond adequately to the study questions about the effect of urban renewal projects on the elements that form the city’s image in kisumu city at the time of the study. over half (56.4%) of the respondents had resided 11 years or more in kisumu city, indicating that they had lived long enough in kisumu city to respond on the image/character of the city and the possible changes to the city, due to urban renewal and its effects. table 2: demographic characteristics of respondents characteristics category frequency (n=293) % age (years) 18-24 86 29.4 25-39 159 54.3 40-55 41 14.0 56 and above 7 2.3 gender male 162 55.3 female 131 44.7 k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 171 characteristics category frequency (n=293) % education primary 6 2.0 secondary 57 19.5 tertiary 230 78.5 duration in residence (years) 0-5 64 21.8 6-10 64 21.8 11-15 48 16.5 above 15 117 39.9 the four key informants (interviewees) from the county government of kisumu are officials involved in the planning, environment, and kisumu urban project (kup) departments. these departments were directly charged with overseeing the planning and implementation of the various urban renewal projects. the 12 participants in the pei were residents of kisumu city and were diverse in terms of age, gender, and professional backgrounds. participant availability and the willingness to take the long period that was required to discuss all the photos during each session were the factors that were considered in choosing the participants. 5.2 impact of changes on urban physical form with an average mean score rating of 3.92, the results in table 3 show that respondents agreed that, due to renewal, all three changes had an impact on urban physical form. most of the respondents (88%) strongly agreed (31.3%), while 56.7% (mean=4.06; sd=0.877) agreed that kisumu city, after renewal, was a beautiful place, considering its physical elements. of the participants, 76.7% strongly agreed (17.9%) and 58.8% agreed (mean=3.79; sd=0.922) that, after renewal, kisumu city had physical elements that had artistic value. the vast majority (80.1%) of the respondents strongly agreed (23.4%) and 56.7% agreed (mean=3.93; sd= 0.858) that, after renewal, kisumu city had physical elements that were visually appealing. this finding implies that there was a positive impact of changes on urban physical form, due to public renewal on kisumu city’s identity as perceived by the respondents. table 3: impact of changes on urban physical form statement measurement frequency and % (n=293) mean sdstrongly disagree (1) disagree (2) neutral (3) agree (4) strongly agree (5) physically beautiful place 7 (2.4%) 14 (4.8%) 19 (6.5%) 165 (56.7%) 88 (31.3%) 4.06 0.877 artistic value 7 (2.4%) 28 (9.6%) 35 (12%) 171 (58.8%) 52 (17.9%) 3.79 0.922 visually appealing 4 (1.4%) 19 (6.5%) 37 (12.7%) 165 (56.7%) 66 (23.4%) 3.93 0.858 average mean score 3.92 k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 172 field observation revealed changes within the cbd streets, where the nmt was implemented on ang’awa avenue, oginga odinga street, and jomo kenyatta highway. the streets were more orderly, clean, and provided with amenities such as waste receptacles, traffic lights, pedestrian streets, and cabro-paved sidewalks that were safely guarded with bollards from vehicular transport. the findings also revealed that beautification of various roundabouts within the city included various elements of artistic sculptures and water features that added beauty to the city’s landscapes. the field observation and analysis confirm findings that kisumu city has physical elements in terms of urban forms and architecture that were beautiful, artistic and visually appealing after the ongoing/completed renewal project. figures 4 and 5 show some aspects of the nmt that was implemented within the kisumu triangle. average mean score 3.92 field observation revealed changes within the cbd streets, where the nmt was implemented on ang’awa avenue, oginga odinga street, and jomo kenyatta highway. the streets were more orderly, clean, and provided with amenities such as waste receptacles, traffic lights, pedestrian streets, and cabro-paved sidewalks that were safely guarded with bollards from vehicular transport. the findings also revealed that beautification of various roundabouts within the city included various elements of artistic sculptures and water features that added beauty to the city’s landscapes. the field observation and analysis confirm findings that kisumu city has physical elements in terms of urban forms and architecture that were beautiful, artistic and visually appealing after the ongoing/completed renewal project. figures 4 and 5 show some aspects of the nmt that was implemented within the kisumu triangle. figures 4 and 5: newly constructed public toilet along ang’awa avenue with concrete planters in front and cabro-paved pedestrian walkway along the boundary wall fence of rehabilitated jaramogi oginga sports ground source: author, july 2021 according to a kisumu county official (cgk 2) interviewed, the main aim of undertaking the various aspects of the renewal project was to ensure a friendly environment for the residents of the city in terms of new better markets, affordable housing, better urban open spaces, safer and cleaner streets, and orderly streets through nmt. according to cgk 1, the aim of the county government of kisumu (cgk) is to protect, preserve, and conserve the open spaces through projects undertaken in terms of the roundabouts, parks, open spaces, greening of streets, and nmt. both cgk 1 and cgk 2 concurred that kisumu city was cleaner, safer, with ease of mobility in the streets after the implementation of nmt and decongestion of the streets within its various spaces within the cbd and in other areas where the renewal works were undertaken. this was supported by a resident participant in the pei: “the new look of the cbd streets is smart, the streets are clean and the new look/image is better than the image before” (pei interviewee ksm 2). 4.3 impact of urban renewal project on various aspects of kisumu city’s image figure 4 figure 5 figures 4 and 5: newly constructed public toilet along ang’awa avenue with concrete planters in front and cabro-paved pedestrian walkway along the boundary wall fence of rehabilitated jaramogi oginga sports ground source: author, july 2021 according to a kisumu county official (cgk 2) interviewed, the main aim of undertaking the various aspects of the renewal project was to ensure a friendly environment for the residents of the city in terms of new better markets, affordable housing, better urban open spaces, safer and cleaner streets, and orderly streets through nmt. according to cgk 1, the aim of the county government of kisumu (cgk) is to protect, preserve, and conserve the open spaces through projects undertaken in terms of the roundabouts, parks, open spaces, greening of streets, and nmt. both cgk 1 and cgk 2 concurred that kisumu city was cleaner, safer, with ease of mobility in the streets after the implementation of nmt and decongestion of the streets within its various spaces within the cbd and in other areas where the renewal works were undertaken. this was supported by a resident participant in the pei: “the new look of the cbd streets is smart, the streets are clean and the new look/image is better than the image before” (pei interviewee ksm 2). k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 173 5.3 impact of urban renewal project on various aspects of kisumu city’s image with an average mean score rating of 3.90, the results in table 4 show that respondents agreed that, due to renewal, all eight natural environment and man-made changes had an impact on kisumu city’s image. the vast majority of the respondents (80.4%) strongly agreed (38.3%) and 42.1% agreed (mean=4.10; sd=0.925) that the urban renewal project had a positive impact on lake victoria and its scenery. of the respondents, 65.7% agreed (mean=3.72; sd=1.07) that urban renewal projects had a positive impact on vegetation. these urban renewal changes in the natural environment positively affected kisumu city’s image. table 4: impact of urban renewal project on various aspects of kisumu city’s image statement measurement frequency and % (n=293) mean sdstrongly disagree (1) disagree (2) neutral (3) agree (4) strongly agree (5) natural environment lake victoria and its scenery 7 (2.4%) 9 (3.1%) 42 (14.4%) 123 (42.1%) 112 (38.3%) 4.10 0.925 vegetation 17 (5.8%) 17 (5.8%) 67 (22.9%) 122 (41.8%) 70 (23.9%) 3.72 1.07 built/man-made forms street furniture (seats, lights, paving, litter bins) 9 (3.1%) 16 (5.5%) 49 (16.8%) 113 (38.7%) 106 (36.3%) 4.18 0.908 pedestrian walkways 4 (1.4%) 10 (3.4%) 44 (15.1%) 104 (35.6%) 131 (44.8%) 3.99 1.014 public parks 4 (1.4%) 12 (4.1%) 58 (19.9%) 139 (47.6%) 80 (27.4%) 3.95 0.870 public central square 4 (1.4%) 9 (3.1%) 77 (26.4%) 117 (40.1%) 86 (29.4%) 3.92 0.894 landmarks, for example, clock tower 4 (1.4%) 24 (8.2%) 68 (23.3%) 126 (43.2%) 71 (24.3%) 3.80 0.942 monuments/ sculptures 6 (2.1%) 38 (13%) 80 (27.4%) 116 (39.7%) 53 (18.1%) 3.58 0.993 average mean score 3.90 with mean score ratings above 3.50, respondents agreed that all built/manmade urban renewal forms had a positive impact on kisumu city’s image. of the respondents, 75% agreed (mean=4.18; sd=0.908) that urban renewal projects had a positive impact mostly on street furniture (seats, lights, paving, litter bins) and public parks (mean=3.95; sd=0.870). of the respondents, 80.4% agreed (mean=3.99; sd=1.014) that urban renewals had a positive impact on pedestrian walkways and on the public central square (69.5% agreed) (mean=3.92; sd=0.894). of the respondents, 67.5% agreed that landmarks such as the cloak tower (mean=3.80; sd=0.942) and monuments/sculptures (57.8% agreed) (mean=3.58; k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 174 sd=0.993) were positively impacted, due to urban renewal. these findings imply that renewal of the natural environment and built/man-made forms positively affected kisumu city’s landscape identity, in general. field investigation within the cbd revealed the changes that were undertaken on the clock tower (see figure 7). an archive photo from the city of kisumu (cok) department of planning revealed the original form appearance of the tower before the changes at the time of the study (see figure 6). figure 6: archive photo of the clock tower before ongoing modifications source: cok, 2019 figure 7: ongoing changes on the clock tower source: author, july 2021 in the opinion of respondents ksm 4, ksm 5, ksm 6, ksm 9, and ksm 11, the clock tower needed preservation, and their comments included: “the clock tower is an important symbolic structure and there was a need to preserve it in its original form and colour because of the history it holds behind its development. although the current image of the tower after the upgrade is modern and good, its original structure cannot be told to whoever had not seen it before or knew about its existence” (pei interviewee, ksm 4). “the clock tower is a symbolic structure in kisumu city and had a lot of asian influence from its initial construction and was important to them. the upgrade was not meant to have taken place and could have been preserved in its original appearance” (pei interviewee, ksm 9). 4.4 perceived changes in kisumu city after undertaking the urban renewal project whenever urban renewal projects are undertaken in a city, there is a likelihood of favourable or unfavourable changes that may affect or replace the image of a city. the respondents were asked to select among several changes what they felt changed kisumu’s identity, due to the urban renewal project. table 5: perceived changes in kisumu city after undertaking urban renewal project category perceived change frequency (n=293) percentage city changed after renewal no longer unique 10 3.4 has not changed 10 3.4 is a more unique place 103 35.3 has become a different but better place 170 57.9 figure 6 figure 7 figure 6: archive photo of the clock tower before ongoing modifications source: cok, 2019 figure 7: ongoing changes on the clock tower source: author, july 2021 in the opinion of respondents ksm 4, ksm 5, ksm 6, ksm 9, and ksm 11, the clock tower needed preservation, and their comments included: “the clock tower is an important symbolic structure and there was a need to preserve it in its original form and colour because of the history it holds behind its development. although the current image of the tower after the upgrade is modern and good, its original structure cannot be told to whoever had not seen it before or knew about its existence” (pei interviewee, ksm 4). “the clock tower is a symbolic structure in kisumu city and had a lot of asian influence from its initial construction and was important to them. the upgrade was not meant to have taken place and could have been preserved in its original appearance” (pei interviewee, ksm 9). k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 175 5.4 perceived changes in kisumu city after undertaking the urban renewal project whenever urban renewal projects are undertaken in a city, there is a likelihood of favourable or unfavourable changes that may affect or replace the image of a city. the respondents were asked to select among several changes what they felt changed kisumu’s identity, due to the urban renewal project. table 5: perceived changes in kisumu city after undertaking urban renewal project category perceived change frequency (n=293) % city changed after renewal no longer unique 10 3.4 has not changed 10 3.4 is a more unique place 103 35.3 has become a different but better place 170 57.9 level of change after renewal positively 211 71.9 neither positively nor negatively 59 20.2 negatively 23 7.9 the results in table 5 indicate that nearly three-quarters of the respondents (71.9%) perceived a positive change of kisumu city and that 57.9% of the respondents were of the view that the city had become a different but better place after the urban renewal project was undertaken. the implication is that most of the respondents perceived that there were favourable changes to kisumu city that had made it either a more unique place or a different but better place in terms of its image. regarding the new image of kisumu city, based on the new structures and developments, a pei interviewee (ksm-9), an ict lecturer aged above 35 years who has lived in kisumu city for over 30 years, mentioned: kisumu has changed for the better, not comparable to any other town in kenya. street walking has been made easier due to the relocation of street vendors. the cbd has changed due to better structures and improvements done within the streets and roundabouts. the streets are more appealing due to more vegetation, the elimination of roadside structures that existed within them before, and kisumu is better economically. street lighting has improved the general security within the cbd as people feel much safer. from field observation, the researcher noted that the streets, where the nmt had been implemented, were free from roadside vendors and that previously existing temporary commercial structures had been demolished k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 176 and had to relocate to other places. a pei interviewee (ksm 3), a male accountant aged above 50 years who has lived in kisumu all his life, had this to say: upgrading has given kisumu a new good look. mobility is now controlled with the implementation of nmt, especially within oginga odinga street, ang’awa street, and jomo kenyatta street. there is a good organization by eliminating the street vendors that have achieved decongestion on streets. the streets are now safer, clean with a good look that can appeal to investors. field observation revealed that various landscape elements were provided within the streets, due to the upgrade in terms of pedestrian street seats, streetlights, planters to add to urban greenery, and cabro-paved walkways. a pei interviewee (ksm 4), a male building technologist aged between 25 and 30 years who has lived in kisumu for about 10 years, remarked the following in confirmation: the appearance of kisumu city due to the upgrade is better and more conducive. seats have been provided within some streets and there is the separation between pedestrians and motorists and has improved economic development of kisumu city in terms of job creation during the upgrading works undertaken. 5.5 respondents’ perception of satisfaction level with the renewal of kisumu city a field survey question on respondents’ satisfaction level with the renewal project of kisumu city aimed to assess different aspects of renewal projects within kisumu city over time. table 6 presents the results. table 6: respondents’ perception of satisfaction level with various aspects of the renewal project in kisumu city statement on aspects of renewal projects measurement frequency and % (n=293) mean sdvery dissatisfied (1) dissatisfied (2) neutral (3) satisfied (4) very satisfied (5) public transport to include pedestrian walkways, and street lights 8(2.7%) 15(5.1%) 15(5.1%) 125(42.8%) 130(44.5%) 4.21 0.952 new marketplaces 10(3.4%) 32(11%) 41(14.1%) 119(40.5%) 91(31%) 3.85 1.086 upgrading public parks 6(2.1%) 11(3.8%) 35(12%) 162(55.5%) 79(27%) 4.01 0.851 upgrading central square 5(1.7%) 11(3.8%) 61(20.9%0 142(48.6%) 74(25.3%) 3.91 0.871 clock tower changes 7(2.4%) 16(5.5%) 63(21.6%) 134(45.9%) 73(25%) 3.85 0.937 k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 177 statement on aspects of renewal projects measurement frequency and % (n=293) mean sdvery dissatisfied (1) dissatisfied (2) neutral (3) satisfied (4) very satisfied (5) round-abouts beautification 7(2.4%) 6(2.1%) 26(8.9%) 124(42.5%) 130(44.5%) 4.24 0.880 proposed new housing development 11(3.8%) 19(6.5%) 74(25.3%) 116(39.7%) 73(25%) 3.75 1.02 demolition/ relocation of roadside business structures 30(10.3%) 46(15.8%) 40(13.7%) 102(34.9%) 75(25.6%) 3.49 1.302 demolition/ relocation of structures along lake victoria 30(10.3%) 43(14.7%0 35(12.1%) 100(34.2%) 85(28.7%) 3.56 1.316 average mean score 3.79 1.124 the results in table 6 indicate that the composite mean and composite standard deviation are 3.79 and 1.124, respectively. this shows that the respondents are satisfied with all nine aspects of the renewal project. the majority (87.3%) of the respondents are satisfied with the implementation of public transport, including pedestrian walkways, street lights, and seats. the results further revealed that 82.1% of the respondents are satisfied with the implementation of new marketplaces, for example, kibuye market; 82.5% of the respondents are satisfied with the upgrading of public parks; 73.9 of the respondents are satisfied with the upgrading of the central square; 70.9% of the respondents were satisfied with a discussion about changes on the clock tower; 87% of the respondents are satisfied with the beautification of the roundabouts; 64.7% of the respondents are satisfied with the proposed new housing development at anderson and makasembo estates; 60.5% of the respondents are satisfied with the demolition and relocation of roadside business structures, and 62.9% of the respondents are satisfied with the demolition and relocation of structures along lake victoria. these findings of the study imply that most of the respondents are satisfied with the various projects undertaken under the renewal project so far in kisumu city. the satisfaction with all the various mentioned aspects of urban renewal was in sharp contrast with the lack of public participation, as indicated by most of the respondents. perception of the overall outcome revealed that 77.5% of the respondents are satisfied with the general outcome of renewal projects in kisumu city. based on the 12 pei interviews conducted, all the respondents are satisfied with the current image of the city in terms of its look and character based on the current renewal project outcome. comments regarding various aspects of the renewal within the cbd include the following. a pei interviewee k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 178 (ksm 1), who is a business lady aged roughly 40 years and who has lived in kisumu city for over 15 years, mentioned the following: the streets are well upgraded and have a spectacular new look, kisumu has a new look and image. this was supported by ksm 11 and ksm 12 who felt that the wide and wellpaved roads and streets provide a good new look to kisumu city. a pei interviewee (ksm 9), an ict lecturer aged above 35 years, who has lived in kisumu city for over 30 years, supports the demolition and relocation of the roadside structures that were not planned and has reasons to justify his opinion as captured below: the face of kisumu city has changed to be more attractive. the cbd has changed by accommodating better structures, illegal roadside and street structures that were demolished and relocated used to portray a bad image of the city. according to county officials cgk 1, cgk 2 and cgk 3, adequate measures to relocate the evicted roadside traders was put in place to pave the way for the implementation of the nmt, for example, within the kisumu triangle, where the renewal works began. being a donor-funded project, an appropriate relocation action plan was mandatory and led to the building of chichwa 1 and chichwa 2 markets to house the evicted roadside traders. 6. discussion the aim of the study was to investigate the impact of changes in urban form elements, due to urban renewal of landscape identity. results showed that most of the respondents agreed that kisumu city is presently a beautiful place, considering its physical elements that have artistic value and are visually appealing. hu and chen (2018: 13-14) investigated aspects relating to the physical elements of a given place, the architecture within the place, and urban form elements present in terms of whether they had beauty attached to them, had value that was considered artistic, and had an architecture that was visually appealing. although most of the respondents in the three neighbourhoods were of the opinion that the places are beautiful, have artistic value, and are visually appealing, statistics of attitudinal questions regarding identity within two places had the majority indicating that the identity in question has very little about them. this could have meant that the residents who responded noted hardly any identity to be present. according to sedigh and goodarzparvari (2018: 90), urban form elements can efficiently succeed and perform urban identity definition and formation. this can be made possible if they are designed to be multi-functional. this includes their k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 179 visual appeal among other effects. accurate planning and design are vital to ensure that the various urban elements within the city’s urban landscape serve effectively. the findings in this study support those by sedigh and goordarzparvari (2018: 87-93) in that the impact of the renewal changes on urban physical form resulted in a physically beautiful place that had artistic value and was aesthetically appealing. this implies that they agree with the planning and design of the various urban form elements that were implemented and thus resulted in the beauty of the city’s image at the time of the study. regarding the impact of the urban renewal project on kisumu city’s image on various urban form elements, most of the respondents agreed that urban renewal projects have a positive impact on the following: vegetation, lake victoria and its scenery, landmarks such as the clock tower, monuments/ sculptures, public parks, pedestrian walkways, the central square, and street furniture. these positively affected kisumu city’s image and the landscape identity. these findings were also strongly supported by responses during the peis. according to erdogan and ayatac (2015: 116), the city square, as the venue of public events when designed in a manner that the users understand the characteristics of the urban elements and the historical background associated with it, makes the people feel the urban image and identity within the spaces. to define urban image and identity, the important elements in a city square are the attractions, those considered destinations within it, convenience, safety provided, and a flexible design (erdogan & ayatac, 2015: 116). after renewal, the then state of kisumu city’s central square showed a strong image with artwork sculpture from branding by a private entity that was part of its upgrade, street seats for users, waste receptacles, and street lighting that made people comfortable during both day and night use. the square accommodated different uses from socialisation and relaxation to commercial use by small street businesses; the uses changed from time to time. responses regarding perceived changes in kisumu city, after undertaking the urban renewal project, revealed that the majority were of the view that kisumu city has become a different but better place. the implication of the finding of the study was that the favourable changes to kisumu city make it either a more unique place or a different but better place in terms of its image, due to the urban renewal project undertaken. the researcher’s interpretation of the response by the majority of the respondents that the city has become a different but better place implies that a new identity has been established. the findings, therefore, revealed that most of the respondents are of the opinion that a new identity has been established for kisumu city because of the renewal project. a minority of the respondents were of the opinion that kisumu city is no longer unique. contrary findings by oktay and bala (2015: 212) revealed that the majority of the respondents are of k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 180 the opinion that the urban identity changed negatively due to the survey respondents’ perceived changes in the city. the authors argued that urban identity must be analysed in a time-based manner, because a city keeps changing and is never static. it changes in response to prevailing social and economic factors as well as political forces. it is in a process of evolving as changes occur within cities. this finding on a new identity created in kisumu city after the urban renewal supports a viewpoint proposed by seidl et al. (2021: 2); oktay and bala, (2015:211), as well as stobbelaar and hendriks (2006: 1) that a city is not static, it changes, and that landscape identity changes when people change and their environment changes. the authors posited that a city changes and then re-establishes itself because of the action and interactions between people and their environment. responses regarding the perceived level of changes after the urban renewal project revealed that the majority of the respondents are of the view that kisumu city has changed positively. all the pei responses strongly support this positive change in the city. a study by baris et al. (2009: 727-729) showed that most of the respondents opine that the city has greatly changed and that it is completely positive, despite the changes made to the environment in terms of landscaping and increasing green areas that affect the city’s image. the study revealed that the respondents consider the change in the identity of kisumu as positive and believe that it has symbolic assets that are original in nature. it can be said that, if the respondents’ perceptions of urban landscape identity are positive, this indicates acceptance. the various elements of this identity are then considered to be symbolic elements of the places with which they interact in the city. the authors argued that identity as a concept is attributed to positive characteristics that are exhibited in the urban form elements within the city. the good characteristics of the elements thus result in the residents’ feeling of a sense of belonging to the city (baris et al., 2009: 733). the author believes that heritage preservation, in the wake of new developments and urban renewal, may often clash with the government’s need to use the existing spaces and effect urban forms for the sake of creating new improved environments. pressing needs for new housing, alternative and improved transportation routes, among other forms of developments, may necessitate the need to overlook the heritage value that the residents in a given city attach to these spaces and existing urban form elements within them. this creates an ambivalent situation that presents a precarious balance of what needs to be undertaken. k’oyoo 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 156-185 181 7. conclusions and recommendations the study concluded that the changes in the various urban form elements have a positive impact on urban landscape identity, as revealed by the majority of survey respondents and supported by pei participants. a new identity was created for kisumu city, due to the changes from the various renewal projects undertaken that have changed the face and appearance of the public spaces and other natural and man-made features. this resulted in new appearance, order, and safety, as indicated by the majority of the respondents. the urban renewal changes impacted on various natural and man-made components and made a significant contribution to the formation of kisumu city’s urban landscape identity. the greatest positive impact was on the elements of the natural environment, including vegetation, lake victoria and its scenery, and various public parks that, although they are considered man-made, are green spaces within the urban realm. various elements of urban landscaping, including beautification of roundabouts, road islands, and new planting of vegetation along the cbd streets were greatly praised as positive impacts by the urban renewal changes, thereby implying the great value that the residents placed on them. lake victoria, as a natural feature within kisumu city, should implement its proposed improvements, including landscaped clean promenades and other open spaces along it. the residents both welcomed and criticised the demolition of the temporary structures along its lakefront; 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peer reviewed abstract the presence of chinese construction companies working in namibia has had an impact on the namibian construction industry and the economy of the country. this article provides an overview of current trends and legislative acts relating to the construction industry in namibia. it also describes the effect that chinese construction companies have had on namibian contractors and the tender opportunities available to these local contractors, and analyses to what extent chinese construction companies comply with the various acts relating to the construction industry; as perceived by construction industry stakeholders. a questionnaire survey was conducted among namibian contractors and building professionals and the results revealed that chinese construction companies dominate and have a negative effect on local small and micro enterprises (smes). some of the chinese contractors are being awarded tenders without having complied with the tender regulations set by the tender board. keywords: chinese construction companies, namibia, small and micro enterprises, affirmative action, legislation abstrak die teenwoordigheid van chinese konstruksiemaatskappye in namibië het ’n impak op die namibiese konstruksiebedryf en die ekonomie van die land. hierdie artikel gee ’n oorsig oor die stand van die konstruksiebedryf en die onderskeie wetgewings van toepasing op die namibiese konstruksiebedryf. dit beskryf ook die effek wat chinese konstruksiemaatskappye op namibiese kontrakteurs het asook op die tendergeleenthede wat aan hulle beskikbaar is; soos gesien deur betrokkenes in die konstruksiebedryf. dit analiseer ook tot watter mate die chinese konstruksiemaatskappye voldoen aan die vereistes van die onderskeie wette verwant aan die konstruksiebedryf. ’n vraelysopname is onder kontrakteurs en professionele persone in die konstruksiebedryf gedoen en die resultate toon aan dat die chinese konstruksiemaatskappye die namibiese konstruksiebedryf domineer en ’n negatiewe uitwerking op klein prof. fanie buys head of department of building and quantity surveying po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 0415042023 email: <fanie.buys@nmmu.ac.za> mr sean hallick department of building and quantity surveying po box 77000 nelson mandela metropolitan university port elizabeth 6031 south africa. phone: 041-5042669 email: <sean.hallick@nmmu.ac.za> acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 2 en mikro-ondernemings het. daar word verder tenders aan sommige chinese kontrakteurs toegeken wat nie aan al die nodige tendervereistes van die tenderraad voldoen nie. sleutelwoorde: chinese konstruksiemaatskappye, namibië, kleinen mikroondernemings, wetgewing terminology local: when reference is made to ‘local’ contractors, builders, professionals, etc., it refers to namibia. chinese: when reference is made to ‘chinese’ or ‘foreign’ contractors, builders, professionals, etc., it refers to those other than namibian, but mainly chinese. 1. introduction there is much controversy around foreign construction companies in namibia and other african countries of which the chinese construction companies seem to be the main role players. the chinese are investing in africa because china has a rapidly expanding economy and the highest population in the world. it therefore has an enormous demand for oil, mineral resources and trade (lyman, 2005: online). the chinese construction companies use government-subsidised products; and as they do not adhere to the namibian government’s tender regulations (heita, 2007: online), under the affirmative action and the labour and social security acts, their labour costs in tenders are lower than those of the local namibian contractors (donnelly, 2008: online). therefore they are in a position to submit low tenders. in 2006 there were already an estimated 44 000 chinese people in namibia, working mainly in the construction industry (weidlich, 2006: online). dentlinger (2006: online) is of the opinion that the ‘takeover’ of the construction industry by chinese companies and chinese employees to the detriment of namibians is of serious concern to the namibian employers’ federation. a court case is currently being held in namibia in which namibia construction and murray and roberts (namibia) have taken the namibian tender board to court for awarding the tender for the new headquarters of the ministry of lands and resettlement to a chinese construction company (china nanjing international) on the grounds that they had not complied with the tender regulations (jauch & sakaria, 2009: online). buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 3 2. theoretical framework the review of the related literature focuses on the presence of chinese countries in africa, small and medium enterprises in namibia and the various acts relating to tendering on construction work in namibia. the literature was obtained from a literature study of relevant publications and information sourced from libraries and the internet. although various internet sources were used to supplement the limited number of other available sources, care was taken to only use reliable information. 2.1 china’s presence in africa the republic of china has a population of 1.3 billion, the world’s largest population. china’s industries are rapidly increasing in number and it has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. with so many people inhabiting a relatively small area of the earth’s surface, transport is an issue. there is currently a massive shift in the popular transport modes in china as people are moving away from bicycles and are purchasing cars. by 2010, china is expected to have 90 times more cars than in 1990. both these factors create an enormous demand for oil and mineral resources (luft, n.d.: online). for many industries, large-scale internationalisation began after the second world war. at that time there was a great need for the transfer of technologies, infrastructure and skills to countries that had suffered devastation during the war years (langford & male, 2001). these authors add that another motive why this movement occurred was due to the ability to communicate, both by data communication and by actual travel; this greatly increased as a result of the technology developed during the war and the subsequent reduction in the cost of such communication over the post-war years. currently massive changes are taking place worldwide and china is a country experiencing rapid economic growth. the chinese have therefore turned their attention particularly to africa in the 21st century. china has a great need for economic resources, and has enough economic strength to be a major influence in africa. the pattern seems to be for china to win a licence to operate oil and mineral resource projects in african countries with an incentive being offered, for example, to build a hydro-electric power station (lyman, 2005: online). according to corkin & burke (2008: 40), the people’s republic of china (prc) has become an important and influential role player in africa and an increasing source of political and financial support for governments across the continent, particularly countries rich in natural resources. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 4 the prc provides financial support, equipment and training to a variety of liberation movements, particularly in southern africa including angola, congo, mozambique, namibia, south africa and zimbabwe. chinese economic aid to newly-founded african states’ governments consisted primarily of soft commercial loans focused on infrastructure and development with the construction of highprofile projects such as the tanzam railway between tanzania and zambia. corkin & burke (2006: 7) state that a number of incentives drive china’s commercial engagement with africa; principal among these is china’s increasing need for energy sources and raw materials to fuel its rapidly growing economy. during the 1970s many large construction firms began to seek overseas opportunities due to the decline in demand for domestic construction work. some construction firms became so large that operating in foreign markets was essential for the company’s survival; large international projects such as the suez and panama canals offered opportunities for such firms during this time (ngowi, pienaar, talukhaba & mbachu, 2004). china first became involved in africa in the 1960s before african countries gained independence from their colonial governments. at that time china’s relationship with africa was conducted mainly for diplomatic reasons. it wanted to compete with both western and russian influence in africa. china donated money for projects which resulted in little economic development. one example concerns the olympic-style stadiums that were built in nigeria. in east africa, china competed directly with the west. the west built a road in tanzania while china built a railway almost parallel to it. during the next few decades china provided africa with technical expertise, doctors, scholarships and other forms of aid. chinese influence decreased in the 1980s as it was unable to compete with western aid programmes (lyman, 2005: online). the people’s republic of china and the republic of namibia established diplomatic relations on 22 march 1990. alden (2007: 52) states that virtually no chinese community existed in namibia at independence in 1990 but, by 2006, estimates differed, from four thousand to persistent claims that more than forty-thousand were in residence. edinger (2008: 1) comments that china’s relations with africa have grown exponentially over the past decade, both politically and economically through increasing bilateral trade flows, investment projects and development assistance. during the 1990s sino-african trade grew by 700% and in 2007 china’s buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 5 largest outbound investment was destined for africa. according to field (2004: 41), since 2000, trade between africa and china has increased by 63%, exceeding us$10 billion – a record high. since 1990, china has completed the drilling of wells, the construction of affordable housing, pumping stations and many other aid projects for namibia. various government ministries have set up exchanges, in terms of which chinese officials visit namibia and namibian officials visit china. the chinese and namibian governments have cultural and educational agreements. chinese medical teams and teachers are working in namibia, and namibian students are studying in china. co-operation on television has also started (chinese asian ministry, 2006: online). china is also a chief investor in sudan, nigeria and angola as these countries have large mineral resources. china offers to provide a package consisting of technical expertise, money and its influence in the united nations security council to protect the country being invested in from economic sanctions. western nations have often attached political and economic reforms as conditions to their aid. these conditions make the chinese presence in african countries more acceptable than western countries (chinese asian ministry, 2006: online). however, such loans from china do have their own conditions. in namibia, china has required funds to be used on contracts to chinese companies with strong ties to the government. furthermore, the majority of the investment grants to the namibian government seem to be related to the chinese government, where chinese state-owned companies do the construction or supply the services (lafraniere & grobler, 2009: online). another article reports that china offers the namibian government attractive incentives in return for its investments. namibia already has a trade volume of 400 million namibian dollars with china. added to this, the chinese president, hu jintao, gave a further n$100 million loan to the country together with n$72 million credit. such arrangements allow the chinese government easy access to all local african markets. this is essential for china as unemployment rates have escalated as a result of the credit crunch and many chinese labourers have been sent to find work in other countries (van den bosch, 2009: online). china’s export-import (exim) bank, the official credit agency of the people’s republic of china, assists with financing infrastructure required for extracting and transporting energy and mineral resources. its loans primarily benefit state-owned enterprises (soes) while private companies use china’s informal and private lending acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 6 markets. by the end of 2005, china’s exim bank approved loans worth us$ 6.5 billion for 260 projects in 36 african countries (le pere, 2008: 14). china also established the china africa development fund (cad) on 26 june 2007, with the initial sum of $1 billion (us) being available in the fund. the aim was to promote economic co-operation between china and africa and advance africa’s economic development. a further $3 billion (us) would be available in the second phase followed by another $5 billion in the third phase. the european union (eu) and the united states have been long-term trading partners with african countries. the current global recession has resulted in those countries reducing their investment. china currently has finances to continue expanding its interest in africa (rundell, 2009: 30). chinese investments in africa are mainly in the energy, mining, manufacturing, construction, retail and finance sectors. retail and construction are the main areas for chinese investment. china receives nearly 70% of namibia’s construction projects, including recently the new presidential residence (heita, 2009: online). further findings are that chinese companies operate at lower costs and are therefore able to undercut african firms and cause them to eventually close their businesses. this creates a situation where there are even fewer benefits to local economies (smith, 2009: online). china’s interests in africa are not merely for oil and mineral resources, but also for trade. china’s trade with africa has increased rapidly and chinese goods are flooding into local african markets. there has, however, been growing concern about the effect of these imports on local industry. chinese exports of textiles grew from 40% to 80% in 2004. in the same period, from 1996 onward, employment in the textile industry in south africa decreased, and 75 000 textiles workers lost their jobs (lyman, 2005: online). there is a major cause for concern regarding the chinese influence in african countries such as namibia because the investments from china seem to bring very little skill development and technology transfers, and the investments do not seem to be doing much to develop namibia’s manufacturing, nor to develop mineral resources. people in the northern parts of the country are losing patience with the government and feel betrayed by the government’s preferential treatment of the chinese. reports by the labour resources and research institute show that the government often does not enforce the statutory laws and regulations and does nothing about violations by chinese companies (heita, 2009: online). other concerns raised in the report are: buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 7 • individual chinese business people are entering the country with the intention to set up manufacturing businesses, but instead they set up retail shops selling cheap chinese imports. • chinese employers pay the lowest wages. this occurs in industries where there are minimum wage agreements between unions and the industry. • competition between chinese companies and other companies is unfair and unjust and favours the chinese. • there is a lack of proper control and enforcement of laws by government authorities. • the ministry of trade and industry has a ‘flexible approach’ regarding workers’ rights and working conditions for the sake of developing a better namibia. • commitments made by china to contribute towards the development of the country’s manufacturing sector have only resulted in small-scale projects such as the production of bricks, fabrics, detergents, mattresses, quilts, lighters, water processing, and assembling of diesel engines and power generators. the african labour research network report, funded by trade unions across africa, examines working conditions at chinese companies in ten african countries including namibia. the report finds that many chinese firms pay their local staff far below legal minimum wages and that safety regulations are not adhered to. a namibian worker asserts that if the employees complain about wages or conditions they are fired. the report also acknowledges that chinese labourers are also exploited. the report concludes that the chinese are the worst employers in the ten countries studied. the report also suggests that china’s relationship with africa is that of ‘classical colonial exchange,’ with china exporting raw materials and importing goods. this implies that africa is once again a supplier of raw materials, raising the question as to whether this is the best option for long-term development in africa (smith, 2009: online). 2.2 small and micro enterprises (smes) in namibia the current biggest challenge for namibia is to overcome poverty and inequality, while using natural resources efficiently. the sme sector is one of the sectors that can contribute towards achieving this goal. the namibian economy is in dire need of smes, with an unemployment rate of approximately 30%, and if under-employment is added, the figure rises to approximately 60%. namibia’s high population growth rate of approximately 3% per year is also a cause acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 8 for concern. between 1970 and 2002 namibia’s population grew by approximately 30% (labour resource and research institute, 2002: online). without a wellfunctioning sme sector, the unemployment rate could increase in the future. karvinen (1999: 41) is of the opinion that the namibian government needs to be proactive in promoting and supporting smes. formal small businesses are mainly engaged in mining, manufacturing, construction, retailing, catering and personal and business services. many of the formal small enterprises are urbanbased and concentrated around windhoek, namibia’s capital. small informal businesses are mainly engaged in trading (mostly retail) as well as manufacturing, construction and restaurants (karvinen, 1999: 41). in the four northern regions of namibia, where the majority of the people live, it was established that 58% of the enterprises have monthly turnovers below n$1000 (namibian), and 84% have turnovers below n$5000. it was also established that 78% of businesses were very small and employed less than three persons (ministry of trade and industry, 1998). prior to independence (1990), the role and significance of the small business sector was neglected. priority was given only to the larger business sector which was regarded as a stimulus for economic growth. potential small businesses operated informally and were not given the necessary support. they operated mostly in the retail trade and services sectors. today, the sme sector has been identified as a priority sector for reducing unemployment and under-employment as well as for helping to reduce poverty (karvinen, 1999: 41). the sme sector is regarded as a source of income and employment at a time when employment is decreasing and making a living out of subsistence farming is limited. it is estimated that the sme sector is providing employment to 160 000 people, approximately one-third of the namibian workforce (karvinen, 1999: 41). the main problem affecting the success and growth of smes in namibia is the difficulty in obtaining bank loans. people in the sme sector find it very difficult to get any form of capital to start or expand their businesses because banks are not willing to offer loans without collateral as security (tueumuna, 2009: online). another area of concern is that of the chinese-owned businesses. the namibian government’s policy states that chinese investors should invest a certain amount of money in the country and create employment for local people. this does not appear to be the reality. chinese business people are competing with the namibian businessmen and women at all levels of business. namibia’s current buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 9 trade and industry minister, hage geingob, stated that there is widespread concern over the dominance of foreign business in certain sectors in namibia, especially the sme sector, and particularly the small retailers (duddy, 2010: online). the problem in the construction industry is that the government has not been doing enough to promote smes. approximately 70% of all government tenders have been awarded to chinese construction companies (dentlinger, 2006: online). it has been said that the chinese construction companies arrive on site with their own employees, including labourers, cleaners, etc. (tueumuna, 2009: online). most of the labour done on construction sites, where chinese firms were working, required basic skills that namibians would either be capable of doing or learning (dentlinger, 2006: online). 2.3 tendering and legislative acts related to tendering in namibia 2.3.1 tendering the current procurement system has been in place in namibia for over a decade, during which time no substantial changes have been made to the legislation governing tendering (townsend, 2008: online). 2.3.2 the tender board act the tender board act (act 16 of 1996) outlines present public tender procedures in namibia. prospective tenderers are invited to tender by the tender board (either directly or via a newspaper). the tender board of namibia falls under the ministry of finance, and the board only deals with the procurement of services where the contract value exceeds 10 000 namibian dollars. namibia has a free market system and allows any prospective tenderers to participate in government projects by means of an open tender (namibia. ministry of finance, n.d: online). the primary aim of the tender board is to ensure that tenders are awarded to the best bid in an open or competitive bidding process. nevertheless, the procurement policy of namibia does permit price preferences according to certain socio-economic goals and strategies (townsend, 2008: online). the following preferences or reservations apply in namibia: • namibian domicile – 5% preference to persons domiciled or companies incorporated in namibia. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 10 • support of small-scale namibian industries – 2% preference if more than 10 but fewer than 25 workers are employed; 3% if more than 24 but fewer than 50 workers are employed; 5% if more than 50 workers are employed. • employment creation in communal or underdeveloped areas – 2% if more than 10 but fewer than 25 people are employed; 3% if more than 24 but fewer than 50 people are employed; and 5% if more than 50 people are employed. • implementing the approved affirmative action policy – 2% to 3% preference may be granted, depending on the merits of the case, i.e. structured training programmes, employment of women or handicapped people, other programmes benefiting disadvantaged namibian citizens (tendering in namibia, 2007: online). the most significant changes that have occurred since the implementation of the new tender board act are the inclusion of the affirmative action section. the affirmative action (employment) act now only requires the president’s signature in order to be promulgated. this is targeted at firms operating in depressed areas and at programmes which support the training and general empowerment of women and disabled as well as previously disadvantaged people. this preference is probably designed to increase the number of tenders from smes (townsend, 2008: online). the current president of namibia, hifikepunye pohamba, has promised that the namibian tender board act will be amended in the near future as part of the namibian government’s drive to promote the sector for small and medium enterprises (smes). the amendments will include a higher preference for smes, as the current system of price preference in the namibian tender board act is not geared towards the sme sector. the act will also be amended, in certain cases, to relax the tender requirements to accommodate smes (duddy, 2009: online). 2.3.3 the affirmative action act the affirmative action act (act 29 of 1998) requires every company in namibia, with more than 50 employees, to submit an affirmative action report to the employment equity commissioner to show how they implement affirmative action. on 1 july 2006 the act was amended to include companies with 25 or more employees (grobler, 2008a: online). section 42(1) of the affirmative action act stipulates that unless a relevant employer has a valid affirmative action compliance certificate, no contract shall be entered into by buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 11 or on behalf of the state and such employer; nor shall any guarantee, loan, licence, permit, grant or concession be given, made, issued, granted or awarded to any relevant employer by or on behalf of the government (van rooyen, 2000: 32). one of the ways in which some of the chinese construction companies have avoided being subjected to the affirmative action act is by sub-contracting smaller chinese companies with fewer than 25 employees, thereby keeping their employees below 25. this is not always the case, and many of the chinese construction companies awarded government tenders are in fact employing well over fifty employees. in addition, they do not include an affirmative action compliance certificate with their tender (dentlinger, 2006: online). one particular example of this is the awarding of the n$70 million (namibian) tender for the ministry of lands, resettlement and rehabilitation building to china nanjing international. the employment equity commission had exempted the chinese company from affirmative action measures, because they were not a relevant employer, and were therefore excused from the requirements of the affirmative action act. unfortunately, when the ministry of lands, resettlement and rehabilitation building tender was issued, china nanjing international was employing 78 workers at the united nations building site in klein windhoek. this means that the company was over-staffed in terms of the affirmative action act previously mentioned (dentlinger, 2006: online). in terms of section 42 of the labour act, no state tender may be awarded to any construction company that did not include an affirmative action compliance certificate with their tender. the fact that this company was awarded the multi-million dollar tender without the compliance certificate shows the lack of equality and justice displayed by the employment equity commission (dentlinger, 2006: online). section 19(3) of the act (act 29 of 1998) also stipulates that a relevant employer must train a namibian citizen as an understudy to every non-namibian citizen employed by the firm or organisation (van rooyen, 2000: 33). according to van rooyen (2000: 24), the affirmative action (employment) act (act 29 of 1998), states that the only exemptions for not having a namibian understudy are: • where it is deemed that the trade or profession of the nonnamibian employee is of such a specialised nature that it is not reasonably possible for the relevant employer to train a namibian citizen as understudy; or acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 12 • where it is, for any other reason, deemed impractical for the employer to train an understudy. 2.3.4 the labour act corkin & burke (2008: 48) posit the view that labour has been an extremely contentious issue with widely held perceptions that chinese construction companies bring their own labour from china, seriously underpay local workers, and subject them to extremely harsh conditions. holder & jackson (2008: 71) also point out that the chinese contractors were not adhering to namibian labour laws and minimum wage structures. the namibian labour act (act 11 of 2007) provides a standard set of rules and regulations according to which all the construction companies in namibia should manage and treat their employees. problems have been experienced in recent times regarding the labour act. discrepancies have arisen regarding the local and chinese construction companies and how they react to these acts. these include differences in minimum wages and payment methods, the provision or non-provision of pension funds and other fringe benefits, discrepancies in working hours and remuneration, as well as the location of a suitable work force (namibia’s new labour act, 2008). there is no official general minimum wage in namibia. wages for specific industries and regions are set by agreement between government, employers and trade unions. the minimum wage posted in the government gazette in 2008 for construction workers is 8,44 namibian dollars per hour. the chinese construction firms have been paying as little as 2,50 to 2,70 namibian dollars per hour, approximately a third of the official minimum wage (grobler, 2008a: online). the chinese are claiming to pay their employees according to the grading of skills and labour contribution. an example of this would be 18 namibian dollars per hour to a bricklayer or painter compared with 6 namibian dollars per hour to a general labourer (heita, 2007: online). chinese employers claim to pay namibian workers the same as the chinese. it was found that chinese workers employed at ramatex, a textile factory operating in namibia, were paid some of their wages in namibia and the rest in china. it appeared that the chinese workers were being paid the same as the locals but the reality is different. it is suggested that ramatex is not the only company doing this but that this is also happening in the construction industry (grobler, 2008a: online). buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 13 2.3.5 the social security act the social security act (act 34 of 1994) requires that every employee employed by a registered company must be fully registered as an employee with the ssc (social security commission). every registered employee must be a member of a medical benefit fund, a death benefit fund and a compulsory pension fund. companies must pay contributions for every employee and all employees are then issued with a social security card. the social security act was passed to establish the social security commission and to establish its structure and powers, duties and functions. its purpose was to make financial provision for employees when they had a reduced income resulting from child-bearing, sickness, old age, permanent disability and death, and to assist with education and training. the act is legislated to ensure that employees receive benefits for maternity leave, sick leave and death. it also provides for medical benefits to all employees and pension benefits for retired employees. it was also established to provide training schemes (development) for disadvantaged and unemployed people and students enrolled at tertiary institutions, bursaries, loans and other forms of financial aid (ministry of labour and social welfare, n.d. online). some of the namibian construction companies are not being awarded tenders as the foreign companies have been able to tender at much cheaper rates. one of the reasons suggested is that their firms are avoiding paying the social security contributions for their employees. in other words, they are not abiding by the laws that control the building industry and are thus having an illegal advantage when tendering for contracts. some of the larger local building companies, which do adhere to the law, are refusing to tender when chinese contractors are tendering as they are concerned about taking part in an illegal process (weidlich, 2007: online). 2.4 tenders of chinese companies chinese firms are able to enter the market offering extremely low rates through state-subsidised products and cheap labour. chinese construction companies have a range of advantages over their local and foreign competitors including: 1) good quality low-cost skilled labour, 2) hands-on management style, 3) high degree of organisation, 4) general aptitude for hard work, and 5) access to relatively cheap capital (corkin & burke, 2008: 44). complaints are rising in the construction sector that the chinese are not meeting legal requirements with regard to minimum wages, employment acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 14 equity, social security, pension and general work conditions. even though this seems to be the case, chinese construction companies continue to win most of the tenders for large state projects (donnelly, 2008: online). companies tendering on state construction projects have to meet a set of legal requirements. these requirements include providing proof of registration as a namibian tax payer, a certificate of good standing from the social security commission, a valid affirmative action certificate issued by the employment equity commission, and proof of compliance with the labour act. in terms of what is legally required from chinese and other construction companies in namibia, there are many unjust discrepancies (menges, 2007: online). the chinese construction companies, often backed by very cheap state financing, are able to tender at a lower price than their local competitors. apart from the new ministry of lands and resettlement building in windhoek where a chinese construction company has been awarded the tender despite not being registered with the employment equity commission and not having submitted reports required by the affirmative action act, there is new cause for concern: the offer from the chinese to build a new military academy at okahandja, valued at between 70 and 75 million namibian dollars and 7 430 m2 in size (grobler, 2008b: online). no local architects or quantity surveyors appear to be involved as the plans were prepared by the institute of architectural design in gansu, china (menges, 2007: online). in terms of section 24(2) of the architects’ and quantity surveyors’ act (act 13 of 1979), only locally registered architects and quantity surveyors may draw up plans and oversee construction of public structures exceeding 500m2. to determine the extent of problems in the namibian construction industry and the effect of foreign construction companies operating in the country, research was undertaken among the relevant stakeholders. 3. research and findings the review of the literature resulted in the formulation of two main research questions, namely: (i) the extent of involvement of chinese construction companies, and (ii) the extent of compliance with statutory regulations relating to tendering on construction projects. the survey instrument used to obtain the primary data for addressing the research questions consisted of a structured questionnaire circulated to a randomly selected sample of forty-six contractors, architects, quantity surveyors and engineers in namibia. a response buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 15 rate of 33% was achieved and this formed the basis for data analysis and the subsequent conclusions. the response group included quantity surveyors (33%), architects (33%), contractors (20%) and engineers (14%). none of the chinese contractors responded, but the fairly high percentage of responses received from (independent) professional consultants would have eliminated any concern for biased opinions. it was also assumed that the respondents were sincere in their responses as they were assured of their anonymity. responses were evaluated on a perceived level of agreement with statements based on a 5-point likert scale where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree. once the questionnaires were returned the responses were electronically captured using a microsoft excel spreadsheet to calculate frequencies, percentages and mean ratings, as indicated in the tables. 3.1 chinese construction companies in namibia respondents were requested to indicate to what extent they agreed with the following statements: table 1: chinese construction companies in namibia statement 1 = strongly agree 5 = strongly disagree total mean 1 2 3 4 5 1 chinese construction companies make up the majority of companies operating in namibia % 6.7 13.3 80.0 100 4.73 2 there is still sufficient work for local construction companies in namibia % 6.7 60.0 6.7 20.0 6.6 100 2.60 table 1 shows that 80% of respondents ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement that chinese construction companies make up the majority of companies operating in namibia (mean = 4.73). if the chinese construction companies employed local tradesmen and labourers it would have assisted in lowering the high unemployment rate in namibia. however, the literature indicated that chinese tradesmen and labourers are employed by the chinese construction companies. the table also confirms that, as a result of the many chinese construction companies operating in namibia, there is insufficient work for the local companies (mean = 2.60). further acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 16 analysis also showed that the majority of the respondents were of the opinion that the many chinese construction companies have forced some of the local firms to close down their companies. 3.2 tendering on construction work respondents were requested to indicate to what extent they agreed with the following statements: table 2: tendering on construction work statement 1 = strongly agree 5 = strongly disagree total mean 1 2 3 4 5 1 chinese construction companies tender mainly on government projects % 13.3 13.3 6.7 46.7 20.0 100 3.47 2 local construction companies tender mainly on government projects % 13.3 46.7 26.7 13.3 0.0 100 2.40 3 tendering procedures on government projects are fair and well controlled % 26.7 40.0 20.0 13.3 0.0 100 2.20 4 chinese construction companies are awarded tenders as a result of quality of service and efficiency % 26.7 53.3 13.3 6.7 0.0 100 1.60 5 chinese construction companies provide work which is of a high standard % 20.0 33.3 33.3 13.4 0.0 100 2.40 table 2 shows that the majority of the respondents ‘agreed’ (46.7%) and ‘strongly agreed’ (20%) with the statement that chinese construction companies tender mainly on government projects, whereas that is not the case with local construction companies (only 13.3% ‘agreed’). this may be a cause for concern for the namibian government as local construction companies should be equally involved in government construction projects to lower the high unemployment rate. local construction companies may feel that it is not worth tendering on government projects as they are aware that their tender prices will be higher because they comply with all the tendering rules and acts, whereas the chinese construction companies do not. the table also illustrates that chinese construction companies are not awarded tenders as a result of quality of service and efficiency (mean = 1.60) and the quality of their work is not of a high standard buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 17 (mean = 2.40); the owners of these buildings may have serious problems in the future if defects appear and the chinese companies have left the country. 3.3 compliance with acts relating to tendering respondents were requested to indicate to what extent they agreed with the following statements: table 3: compliance with acts relating to tendering statement do not know 1 = strongly agree 5 = strongly disagree total mean 1 2 3 4 5 1 chinese construction companies always submit an affirmative action compliance certificate when submitting tenders % 26.7 20.0 26.7 13.3 13.3 0.0 100 2.27 2 local construction companies comply with labour acts % 6.7 6.7 0.0 20.0 26.6 40.0 100 4.00 3 chinese construction companies comply with labour acts % 0.0 73.3 13.3 6.7 6.7 0.0 100 1.47 4 local construction companies comply with affirmative action acts % 0.0 13.3 0.0 6.7 46.7 33.3 100 3.87 5 chinese construction companies comply with affirmative action acts % 0.0 46.7 33.3 6.7 13.3 0.0 100 1.87 6 local construction companies pay their workforce reasonable wages % 6.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 73.3 20.0 100 4.21 7 chinese construction companies pay their workforce reasonable wages % 0.0 53.4 33.3 0.0 13.3 0.0 100 1.33 8 chinese construction companies have namibians working alongside them as understudies % 0.0 46.7 20.0 26.7 6.6 0.0 100 1.93 acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 18 table 3 shows that the majority of the respondents consider that: a. chinese construction companies do not: • comply with the affirmative action compliance certificate requirement when submitting tenders (mean = 2.27; ‘disagree’). • comply with labour acts (mean = 1.47; ‘strongly disagree’). • comply with the affirmative action act (in general) (mean = 1.87; ‘disagree’). this corresponds with weidlich’s (2007) statement that the construction industries federation of namibia claims that “not one single chinese (building) contractor in the country is in possession of a valid affirmative action compliance certificate”. • pay their workforce reasonable wages (mean = 1.33; ‘strongly disagree’). • have namibians working alongside them as understudies (mean = 1.93; ‘disagree’). whereas: b. local construction companies do: • comply with labour acts (mean = 4.00; ‘agree’). • comply with the affirmative action act (in general) (mean = 3.87; ‘agree’). • pay their workforce reasonable wages (mean = 1.33; ‘strongly agree’). it is evident from the above results that chinese construction companies are not adhering to the various acts relating to construction work. further comments received from the majority of the respondents indicated that: • the construction industry plays an important role in the socioeconomic development of the country. • chinese contractors have a negative effect on sme builders. • local contractors are of the opinion that the namibian government is promoting sme builders sufficiently and thereby encouraging employment and aid in solving many economic issues. buys & hallick • the effect of chinese construction companies on the namibian construction industry 19 some individual comments include: • “chinese contractors are allowed to take short cuts and are not controlled enough.” • “chinese contractors do tender far below the quantity surveyor’s estimates (whether it is due to a lack of knowledge or mistakes we do not know), but the final account is always a hassle with chinese companies. their final account figure is very similar to local tenderers’ prices in the beginning. in other words … the chinese tender very low to get the job … and then they try and make up for it in the final account.” • “chinese companies invade our sovereignty as the majority desperately seek permanent residence. revenue earned by these companies also leaves the country at an alarming rate.” • “main gripe is that i know the chinese contractors underpay their local labourers.” 4. conclusions and recommendations the namibian government’s biggest challenge is to overcome poverty and inequality. it has a policy that foreign investors should invest a certain amount of money in the country and create employment for the local people. the information found in the literature review indicated that china is the main foreign country investing in the namibian construction industry. there are positive benefits such as affordable housing, pumping stations and other aid projects, but there are also negative consequences. the chinese are perceived to be the main beneficiaries as they have been awarded nearly 70% of namibia’s government construction projects. this appears to be without adherence to legal tender requirements. the review also indicated that the namibian people are being employed by chinese contractors at low cost without legislated benefits and that namibian construction companies are unable to compete for tenders and are therefore closing; thus creating greater unemployment. chinese labourers are used on chinese construction sites instead of namibian sub-contractors, creating difficulties for smes and possibly further unemployment. of the many factors that affect the namibian economy, it can be concluded that a concerning issue is the fact that a large percentage of the namibian construction industry’s contractors and professionals are of the opinion that chinese construction companies are dominating, and have a negative effect on local smes as well as the economy. some of the chinese contractors are acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 20 being awarded tenders without having complied with the tender regulations set by the tender board and only a small percentage of respondents felt that chinese contractors were being awarded tenders because of a high standard of work. many of the chinese construction companies were not complying with the labour and affirmative action acts. other legal requirements such as working hours, understudy regulations, tender requirements, and social security requirements, are being ignored. this is causing an upset with the local construction companies which are complying with these regulations and still not being awarded fair and equal tender opportunities. chinese construction companies were not paying their labourers the legal minimum wage as posted in the government gazette. smes play a vital role in the economy of a country and, with the chinese contractors claiming most of their business, a large number of local labourers are unemployed. the chinese construction companies are not making use of the local labour force as labourers are brought in from other countries where they are paid very low wages. they also do not appoint local construction companies as sub-contractors. these smes have played a vital role in the economy of the country and this has a negative effect on the local namibian contractors as well as the namibian economy. another major concern is that money is sent back to china and does not remain in namibia. the adherence to tender procedures needs to be revised, and the requirements should be stringently applied to all forms of construction companies operating in namibia. tender requirements should be made easily accessible to all construction companies so 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[online]. available from: <http://www.namibian. com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=31070&no_ cache=1> [accessed: 23 september 2009]. 66 how to cite: abosede, a.o., opawole, a., olubola, b., ojo, g.k. & kajimo-shakantu, k. 2019. performance analysis of small and medium-sized construction firms in oyo state, nigeria. acta structilia, 26(1), pp. 66-96. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as navorsingsartikels • research articles afolabi olubunmi abosede, akintayo opawole, babalola olubola, grace kehinde ojo & kahilu kajimoshakantu mrs afolabi olubunmi abosede, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria, email: <bunnyezzy30@gmail. com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-3545-7006 dr akintayo opawole, postdoctoral research fellow, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +2348035125849, email: <tayoappmail@gmail. com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-8326-7824 prof. babalola olubola, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria, email: <bolalola@yahoo.co.uk> dr grace kehinde ojo, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria, email: <graceo2010@yahoo.co.uk> prof. kahilu kajimo-shakantu, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: 051 4012248, email: <kajimo-shakantu@ufs. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0368-1791 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 66-96 performance analysis of small and medium-sized construction firms in oyo state, nigeria peer reviewed and revised march 2019 published june 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract this article examines time and cost performance of projects executed by small and mediumsized construction firms with a view to enhancing the firms’ capabilities. the study adopted a quantitative descriptive analysis based on primary and archival data. sixty-eight (68) valid questionnaires obtained from top managers of the firms provided primary quantitative data for the assessment. secondary data were collected on the initial and final contract sums as well as on the initial and completion times of 184 public projects executed by the firms. data collected were analysed using descriptive analysis. the findings indicated that the small firms specialised in general building works, while the medium-sized firms specialised in civil works, in addition to general building works. project values in the case of small construction firms ranged between n1 million and n50 million, while those of medium-sized construction firms ranged between n51 million and n100 million. the performance index (pi) of the projects executed by the firms showed a general underperformance level. approximately http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:bunnyezzy30@gmail.com mailto:bunnyezzy30@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3545-7006 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3545-7006 mailto:tayoappmail@gmail.com mailto:tayoappmail@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 mailto:bolalola@yahoo.co.uk mailto:graceo2010@yahoo.co.uk mailto:kajimo-shakantu@ufs.ac.za mailto:kajimo-shakantu@ufs.ac.za https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0368-1791 https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0368-1791 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.3 abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 67 96.12% and 31.03% of the projects executed by small and medium-sized firms, respectively, had cost performance index (cpi) at budget level (cpi = 1). meanwhile, 37.42% of the projects executed by the small firms and 24.13% of those executed by mediumsized firms were completed as planned, that is, they had schedule performance index (spi = 1). the article provides implications for understanding the influence of the construction firms’ profile in relation to their pi that could assist in the capability development of small and mediumsized construction firms. keywords: construction firms, cost performance, public projects, time performance, time overrun, cost overrun. abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die tyd en koste prestasie van projekte wat uitgevoer word deur klein en mediumgrootte konstruksiemaatskappye met die oog op die verbetering van die firmas se vermoëns. die artikel het ’n kwantitatiewe beskrywende analise aangeneem wat gebaseer was op primêre en argiefdata. agt-en-sestig (68) geldige vraelyste wat van topbestuurders van die firmas verkry is, het primêre kwantitatiewe data vir die assessering verskaf. sekondêre data is ingesamel op die aanvanklike en finale kontrakbedrae asook aanvanklike en voltooiingstye van 184 openbare projekte wat deur die firmas uitgevoer is. data wat ingesamel is, is ontleed met behulp van beskrywende analise. die bevindinge dui op spesialisasie van die klein ondernemings in algemene bouwerke, terwyl die mediumgrootte firmas ook in siviele werke gespesialiseer het. projekwaardes in die geval van klein konstruksiefirmas het tussen n1 en n50million gewissel, terwyl dié van mediumgrootte konstruksiefirmas tussen n51 en n100million gewissel het. die prestasie-indeks (pi) van die projekte wat deur die maatskappye uitgevoer is, het ’n algemene onderprestasievlak getoon. ongeveer 96.12% en 31.03% van die projekte wat uitgevoer is deur die klein en mediumgrootte maatskappye het onderskeidelik die koste-prestasie-indeks (vpi) op begrotingsvlak (vpi=1). intussen is 37.42% van die projekte uitgevoer deur die klein firmas en 24.13% van dié wat deur mediumgrootte maatskappye uitgevoer is, volgens plan beplan, naamlik dat hulle skedule-prestasie-indeks (spi=1) gehad het. die artikel bied implikasies vir die begrip van die invloed van konstruksiefirmas se profiel in verhouding tot hul pi wat kan help met die vermoëontwikkeling van klein en mediumgrootte konstruksiefirmas. sleutelwoorde: konstruksiemaatskappye, koste oorskry, koste prestasie, openbare projekte, tyd prestasie, tyd oorskry 1. introduction the dynamic role of small and medium enterprises (smes), as engines whereby the growth objectives of developing countries can be achieved, has long been recognised (chilipunde, 2007: 1). small and medium-sized construction firms have the potential to enhance any nation’s growth and development, because they contribute to wealth creation, value re-orientation, job creation, and poverty eradication (ariyo, 2008: 109; ilori, 2017: 2). contracting firm’s performance is an important element in project success and a firm’s competitiveness has often been explained by the characteristics that define its ability to deliver a project within the parameters of acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 68 completion time, estimated cost, and quality satisfaction (aliyu, haruna, ali & ibrahim, 2015: 11). in nigeria, there are over 17.2 million small and medium enterprises that represent approximately 96% of all the businesses that contribute not less than 75% of the national employment (ilori, 2017: 25). in the construction sector, small and medium-sized construction firms are often not considered by all categories of clients for projects of higher complexities and profitability, for fear of their abilities to meet these parameters. it is the usual practice that ‘white elephant projects’ are awarded to big/large construction firms that are mostly owned by foreign investors (mitrofanova, russkova, batmanova & shkarupa, 2015: 274). this scenario has not enabled the potential of small and medium-sized construction firms to be explored in terms of global competitiveness. besides, there is still a lack of empirical evidence on the possible correlation of construction firm size to project performance that could enable the apportionment of performance criticism of the construction industry to small and medium-sized firms. while the contribution of small and medium-sized construction firms could be far-reaching in economic development through job creation and gross domestic product (gdp) growth, by improving their delivery capacity (onugu, 2005: 2; ogunsemi & jagboro, 2006: 255; ilori, 2017: 25), empirical studies on the competitiveness review of this category of firms are generally lacking in nigeria. moreover, construction management studies (for example, ahadzie, 2007; ihua & siyanbola, 2012; odediran, adeyinka, opatunji & morakinyo, 2012; wang, lee, yap & abdul-rahman, 2018) focusing on critical project performance indicators have not correlated the possible impact of construction firm size to performance. in this regard, the understanding of the profile of small and medium-sized construction firms and how their characteristics define the type of projects they execute, as well as the time and cost performance of the projects would be highly imperative to put the capacities of the firms into focus. the study would ultimately provide an insight into the implications for enhancing the delivery capacity of the firms in terms of better competitiveness. 2. literature review to understand the performance capabilities of small and mediumsized construction firms in nigeria, it is important to introduce the current theory on these firms’ characteristics included in this study. the existing theory focuses on the classification, definition, characteristics and performance of these construction firms. abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 69 2.1 classification of construction firms contracting organisations are generally classified as small, medium and large firms, on account of a number of criteria that influence the type of works they undertake (odediran et al., 2012: 259). the criteria that have been adopted in the classification include scope of operation (local, regional, national, and multinational); specialisation (building and engineering); size and category of contracts (small, medium, and large), and the nationality (foreign and indigenous) of the company’s owner(s) (muazu & bustani, 2004: 13; ldoro & akandesubar, 2008; ihua & siyanbola, 2012: 173). firms differ in their levels of capitalisation, sales and employment; hence, definitions that employ measures of size (number of employees, turnover, profitability, net worth, and so on), when applied to one sector, could lead to all firms being classified as small, while the same size definition, when applied to a different sector, could lead to a different result (kayanula & quarterly, 2000: 5). ayyagari, beck & demirguc-kunt (2003: 3) contend that the definitions of small and medium-scale enterprises vary according to contexts, authors and countries, which are defined by differences in capital requirements and levels of industrial development. in countries such as japan, peru and canada, small-scale business is defined in terms of annual turnover and the number of paid employees (ayyagari et al., 2003: 4, 8). shakantu, kajimo-shakantu, saidi & mainga (2006) and chilipunde (2007) observe that a small and medium contracting firm is a typical sole proprietorship firm, or in many cases, a familyowned business with few foremen who are mostly casual labour. kozak (2007) and idoro & akande-subar (2008) define small and medium-sized construction firms as companies with metric (usually number of employees or annual turnover) that fall below certain thresholds. basil (2005: 44) observes that, while the number of employees and rate of turnover are good indicators, the number of employees and the total amount of turnover for defining small and medium-scale firms in different countries are certainly not similar. the nigerian national policy on micro, small and medium enterprises (npmsmes) (2007) considered the classication of firms on the basis of size, sector, organisation, technology, location, employment, turnover, assets, and paid-up capital, with the view to understanding the nature, characteristics, performance, problems and challenges of business enterprises and for the purpose of a coherent national policy in nigeria. in view of this, the npmsmes (2007) adopted classifications and definitions based on the criteria of employment and assets (excluding land and buildings), as shown in table 1. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 70 table 1: classification of small and medium-scale firms s/n size category employment assets (n million) (excluding land and buildings) 1 micro enterprises less than 10 less than 5 2 small enterprises 10-49 5 less than 50 3 medium enterprises 50-199 50 less than 500 source: smedan, 2009 the npmsmes (2007) proposes that, where there is a conflict in classification between the criteria of employment and assets, the employment-based classification will take precedence and the enterprise will be regarded as micro/small. there is no definite agreement in existing literature on the definition of small and medium-scale firms (ayyagari et al., 2003: 3). in view of this, the small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria’s (smedan) (2009) definition of a small firm as an enterprise whose total assets, including working capital but excluding the cost of land, is between n5 million and n50 million with a workforce of between 10 to 49 full-time staff, and an annual turnover of not more than n10 million, may be considered very worthwhile. smedan (2009) defines a medium-scale enterprise as a company with a total asset, including working capital but excluding the cost of land and building, of over n50 million, but less than n500 million. moreover, the medium-sized firm has a staff strength of between 50 to 199 full-time workers, with an annual turnover of not more than n20 million. in this article, the definitions and classifications of small and medium-sized firms, as set out by smedan (2009), are adopted as the operational definitions. 2.2 characteristics versus project performance of construction firms according to olokoyo (1999: 54), small and medium-sized firms are characterised by the company structure, the company registration grade, the number of skilled and unskilled labour, the number of fulltime employees, the average annual turnover, collected company worth, year of establishment, year of incorporation, coverage of operation, area of specialisation, sources of project finance, sources of equipment, major client of the firms, tendering procedure for securing contracts, and procurement method adopted by these firms. time, cost, quality and satisfaction have been identified as the main criteria for measuring the overall success of any construction project (dissanayaka & kumaraswamy, 1999; aliyu et al., 2015: 11). cost and abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 71 time are the most popular measures because of their quantitative characteristics and direct economic implications if their thresholds are unnecessarily exceeded (ogunsemi & jagboro, 2006: 253). the understanding of the cost and time performances of projects executed by small and medium-sized firms could enable one to draw inferences on how the size of construction firms defines their performance. unfortunately, there is limited empirical evidence that has isolated the performances of this category of construction firms. most of the literature identified the characteristics of small and medium-sized construction firms as not suitable to be considered by all categories of clients for projects of higher complexities and profitability, for fear of their abilities to meet the overall success of projects (wasi, bridge & skitmore, 2001; dlungwana & rwelamila 2003; uduak, 2006; ibrahim, githae & stephen, 2014; ilo, 2015; mitrofanova et al., 2015; hussain & abdul hadi, 2018). dlungwana & rwelamila (2003: 3) identified the key features of small-sized contracting firms as largely unregistered, operation in the informal sector of the economy, hardly any formal business systems, largest percentage of total contractors, and very few permanent staff, usually less than ten employees. besides, the ownership structure is less complex (hussain & abdul hadi, 2018: 21), and capabilities for innovation are relatively low (martínez-román, tamayo & gamero, 2017; wang et al., 2018). the nature of contracts executed by small and medium-sized construction firms includes substantial maintenance works, refurbishment, and housing construction projects, which are carried out under lump-sum contract and through open tender procedure (wasi et al., 2001). moreover, most small and medium-sized construction firms are characterised by lack of policy for the implementation of new technologies and training, lack of preference on the types of construction work accepted, dominated by a single owner, and manpower shortages (sweis, bisharat, bisharat & sweis, 2014: 31-33; kamal & flanagan, 2014: 7-10). the international labour organisation (ilo) (2015: 19-20) identified the problems facing small and medium-scale construction firms as inadequate finance and inability to get credit from suppliers, inability to employ competent workers, poor pricing, tendering, and contract documentation skills. these also include poor mentoring and fronting for established contractors, lack of entrepreneurial skills, lack of proper training, lack of resources for either large or complex construction work, lack of technical, financial, contractual, and managerial skills, and late payment for work done. achuenu, izam & bustani (2000) identified the characteristics that bedevilled the level acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 72 of participation of indigenous contractors as resources constraints, problem of payments for executed work, abuse of mobilisation fund, and government inconsistencies. according to wasi et al. (2001) and ahadzie (2007), small and medium-sized firms are often characterised by cash-flow problems, financial skills, and lack of the requisite managerial skills to adequately compete. ofori (1991) asserts that the global construction industry experiences all kinds of challenges and problems and that there is a perception that the industry is lagging behind in terms of technological advancement, development of operational processes, and keeping up to date with prevailing business trends. hagstedt & thideman (2013: 34-38) identified financial, infrastructural, managerial, technological, human resources and safety problems as challenges experienced by small building contractors in norway. in the south african context, thwala & phaladi (2009: 533) showed that small and medium-sized contractors are characterised by poor technical, managerial and entrepreneurial skills, which generally explain the unsatisfactory performance of the projects they execute. the inability to provide securities, raise insurance, and obtain professional indemnity as well as delay or non-payment by government upon the completion of projects are significant factors limiting their engagement in large or complex construction works (thwala & mvubu, 2008: 97). in the ghanaian construction industry, factors such as lack of access to capital, low profit margin due to competition, and delay in collecting payments have contributed to the failure of small and medium building contractors (odonkor, 2011: 77). in the nigerian context, the characteristics that impact on small and medium-size contractor’s performance include limited access to credit, high cost of doing business (ihua & siyanbola, 2012: 182-183), cash-flow problems, fraudulent practice, and the nature of the working or construction environment (gambo & said, 2014: 1057). moreover, the underperformance of the nigerian small and medium-sized firms has been explained by under-capitalisation, high cost of construction finance (ugochukwu & onyekwena, 2014: 12), poor management practice, poor accounting standards, shortage of manpower (onugu, 2005: 15), lack of capital equipment, and shortage of skilled labour (mafimidiwo & iyagba, 2015: 105). table 2 summarises the major characteristics or challenges influencing the performance of projects executed by small and medium-sized construction firms. abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 73 table 2: performance characteristics of small and medium-sized construction firms characteristic challenges sources company lack of formal registration dlungwana & rwelamila, 2003 single or less complex ownership structure sweis et al., 2014; kamal & flanagan, 2014; hussain & abdul hadi, 2018 equipment relatively low capabilities for innovation martínez-román et al., 2017; wang et al., 2018 lack of policy for implementation of new technologies and training sweis et al., 2014; kamal & flanagan, 2014 resources constraints achuenu et al., 2000; hagstedt & thideman, 2013 poor technology, business trends awareness ofori, 1991 finance limited access to credit and credit facilities ihua & siyanbola, 2012; ilo, 2015 under-capitalisation, lack of access to capital, low financial and capital base ahadzie, 2007; odonkor, 2011; hagstedt & thideman, 2013; ugochukwu & onyekwena, 2014; mafimidiwo & iyagba, 2015 inadequate finance and cashflow problems ilo, 1978; wasi et al., 2001; gambo & said, 2014; ilo, 2015 high cost of construction finance, high cost of doing business in the construction environment ihua & siyanbola, 2012; gambo & said, 2014; ugochukwu & onyekwena, 2014 poor accounting and financial skills wasi et al., 2001; omisore & abiodun, 2014 inability to provide securities, raise insurance, and obtain professional indemnity thwala & mvubu, 2008 late payment from client, delay in collecting payments, problem of payments for executed work, low profit margin due to competition, abuse of mobilisation fund, fraudulent practice ilo, 1978; achuenu et al., 2000; ahadzie, 2007; odonkor, 2011; hagstedt & thideman, 2013; gambo & said, 2014 staff and labour manpower shortages and shortage of skills labour, very few permanent staff dlungwana & rwelamila, 2003; omisore & abiodun, 2014; kamal & flanagan, 2014; sweis et al., 2014; mafimidiwo & iyagba, 2015 lack of technical, managerial and entrepreneurial skills and poor management practice thwala & mvubu, 2008; ahadzie, 2007; hagstedt & thideman, 2013; omisore & abiodun, 2014 lack of capacity to employ competent workers, poor mentoring and fronting for established contractors, lack of proper training, lack of skill for complex construction work ilo, 1978; 2015 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 74 characteristic challenges sources operation and specialisation operate in the informal sector dlungwana & rwelamila, 2003 substantial maintenance works sweis et al., 2014 lack of preference on types of construction work accepted kamal & flanagan, 2014 clients delay or non-payment by government after completing projects thwala & mvubu, 2008 tender and procurement open tendering procedure and lump-sum contract wasi et al., 2001 poor pricing, tendering and contract documentation skills ilo, 2015 3. methodology this study describes the respondents’ opinion on how the characteristics of small and medium-sized firms define the types, as well as the time and cost performance of the projects they execute. a quantitative research design was used, in which the use of structured questionnaire surveys enables researchers to generalise their findings from a sample population (van laerhoven, van der zaag-loonen & derkx, 2004; bryman & bell, 2007; bryman, 2012: 232; creswell, 2014), usually by gathering numeric data in a systematic format (quinlan, 2011). it also allows for descriptive analysis where frequencies and percentages systematically describe the characteristics of a population (bhattacharyya & johnson, 2014; kowalczyk, 2015). together with the results from the questionnaire survey, archival data on time and cost performances of 184 public projects were considered and form the data sets for this study. 3.1 sampling method and response rate the target population comprised the ninety-two (92) small and medium-sized construction firms that were registered with, and that had executed projects for the oyo state government through the bureau of public procurement. oyo state is located in southwestern nigeria and has sizeable volumes of construction activities and head offices of construction and consulting firms. the study adopted a total enumeration method of the firms. considering the relatively small size of the population that means a complete selection of all items in a population under study (kothari, 2004: 55). according to leedy & ormrod (2010: 216), total enumeration sampling is appropriate where the population size is less than 100, and a desired level of accuracy is required (babbie & mouton, 2001). in this regard, the sample size for this study consisted of 92 small and medium-sized abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 75 construction firms. sixty-eight (68) valid questionnaire responses, representing a response rate of 73.91%, were returned (see table 3). fifty (73.0%) of these were obtained from small firms. this was higher than eighteen (26.0%) responses obtained from medium-sized firms. the response rate is considered adequate, as asserted by idrus & newman (2002: 15), in that the response rate of 30.0% is appropriate for construction management studies. 3.2 data collection a self-administered structured questionnaire survey was distributed among the 92 top managers including business administrators, accountants, architects, quantity surveyors, builders, project managers, and engineers, with at least one respondent selected from each building construction firm located in oyo state, nigeria, from june 2016 to october 2016. the questionnaire was developed based on the constructs of the literature review. it was divided into two parts. part 1 used fill-in and check-boxes questions to gather the respondents’ profile. these include the respondents’ academic and professional qualifications and years of working experience in the construction industry, in general. part 2 of the questionnaire consisted of 25 questions relating to the specific objectives of the study. this was further divided into two sections. using check-boxes and fill-in questions, section 1 consisted of 18 questions on the characteristics of the sampled firms, including the company structure, number of skilled and unskilled labour, average annual turnovers, year of establishment, coverage of operation, sources of project finance, and sources of equipment. in section 2, respondents answered 7 fill-in and check-boxes questions on the profile of the projects executed by the firms. these comprised variables such as project description, location of projects, type of clients, value of contracts, and completion duration, among others. the survey questionnaire was designed as a close-ended type. according to kothari (2004: 18), close-ended questionnaires are easy to handle, simple to answer, and relatively quick to analyse. the respondents were informed about the purpose of this study and their freedom to be anonymous. to draw inferences on the possible relationship of construction firm’s size and project performance, time and cost performances on the initial and final contract sums as well as initial and completion schedules of 184 public projects executed by the firms were examined. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 76 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22 (pallant, 2013 was used to calculate the mean of responses and to analyse them using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages (bhattacharyya & johnson, 2014). the frequencies and percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to analyse and describe the profile of the respondents, the characteristics of their firms as well as the profile of the projects executed by these firms (naoum, 2007: 103). in determining the time and cost performance of projects executed by the firms, archival data on past projects were collected on 155 public projects executed by small construction firms and 29 public projects executed by medium-sized construction firms in the study area. archival data relating to initial and final costs of past projects were collected and from these pairs of data sets, cost overruns were determined and project cost performance calculated, using the cost performance index (cpi) (jackson & steven, 2001). cpi is the ratio that measures the financial effectiveness of a project by dividing the budgeted cost and the actual cost, such that cpi > 1 is excellent performance over budget; cpi < 1 is underperformance over budget, and cpi = 1 means desired cost performance over budget (zhu & lin, 2004). archival data relating to completion schedules of past projects were collected and the initial and final durations of the projects were obtained. from this pair of data sets, time overruns were determined (zhu & lin, 2004; park, 2009) and project time performance calculated, using the schedule performance index (spi) adapted from kuprenas (2003). kuprenas (2003) defines spi as spi = bcwp/bcws, where bcwp = budgeted cost of the work performed, and bcws = budgeted cost of the work scheduled. spi value of 1 (spi =1) means the time was as planned (at the time value), spi value above 1 (spi > 1) means the project was ahead of schedule, and spi of less than 1 (spi < 1) means the project was behind schedule. 4. results and discussion 4.1 profile of the respondents figure 1 presents the respondents’ profiles. the distribution of the respondents showed that engineers involved in the study represented 32.0% of the sample, while 16.0% were project managers, 5.9% quantity surveyors, and 17.6% architects. each of the builders, accountants, and business administrators involved represented 20.5%, 5.9% and 1.5%, respectively. these results show that the respondents covered abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 77 construction management professionals that could provide adequate information on various types of projects executed by the firms in the study area. the analysis of the respondetns’ working experience showed that 35.3% had 6-10 years’ working experience, 26.5% had 11-15 years’ working experience, and 36.7% had 16-20 years’ working experience. only 1.5% had less than 5 years’ working experience. moreover, the average years of experience of the respondents was estimated at 13 years, which represents the working experience of approximately 63.2% of the respondents. figure 1: type of respondents hnd =higher national diploma; pgd = postgraduate diploma; b.sc. = bachelor of science; b.tech. = bachelor of technology; m.sc. = master of science; mba = master of business administration. figure 2: academic qualification of respondents acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 78 figure 2 presents the educational qualifications of the respondents. the results show that the respondents with a master of science (m.sc.) degree and a master of business administration (mba) were represented at 7.4% and 11.8% of the sample, respectively. the highest number of respondents were those with a bachelor of science/technology degree (b.sc./b.tech.), representing 30.9%. moreover, 22.1% obtained a higher national diploma (hnd) and 25% held a postgraduate diploma (pgd). table 3 presents the analysis of the respondents’ official designations. respondents who held the post of deputy director and manager were equally represented at 14.7%. approximately 42.6% of the respondents held the post of director, while 10.3%, 5.9%, 4.4% and 2.9% held the position of general managers, site engineers, project managers and site supervisors, respectively. moreover, each of the resident architects, technical officers, and principal consultants involved represented 1.5% of the sample. these outstanding profiles of the respondents (figures 1 and 2; table 3) were considered in assessing the appropriateness of data for this study. table 3: official designation of the respondents designation small firm medium firm total f % f % f % director 20 40 9 50.0 29 42.6 deputy director 9 18 1 5.6 10 14.7 manager 6 12 4 22.2 10 14.7 general manager 5 10 2 11.1 7 10.3 site engineer 3 6 1 5.6 4 5.9 project manager 3 6 0 0 3 4.4 site supervisor 1 2 1 5.6 2 2.9 resident architect 1 2 0 0 1 1.5 technical officer 1 2 0 0 1 1.5 principal consultant 1 2 0 0 1 1.5 total 50 100 18 100 68 100 f = frequency abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 79 4.2 characteristics of small and medium-sized construction firms data collected for the examination of the characteristics of the small and medium-sized firms include the company structure, the number of skilled and unskilled labour, average annual turnover, year of establishment, coverage of operation, sources of project finance, and sources of equipment. data were also collected on year of incorporation, company worth, area of specialisation, number of full-time employees, major clients of the firms, company registration grade, tendering procedure for securing contracts, and procurement method adopted by the firms. the results of the analysis presented in table 4 show that 40.0% of the small firms were sole proprietorship, followed by partnership (32.0%), and those owned as limited liability company (28.0%). in the medium-sized firm category, limited liability company had the highest percentage of ownership structure (55.6%), followed by partnership (33%), and sole proprietorship (11.1%). these results infer that a larger percentage of the small firms in the study area is owned mainly as sole proprietorship, while medium-sized firms are owned mainly as limited liability company. these findings corroborate chilipunde’s (2007: 1) definition of small and medium-sized contracting firms as a typical sole proprietorship firm in the small category as against the mediumsized result with the highest percentage of limited liability company structure. the analysis further shows the percentage and average number of skilled and unskilled employees employed by the firms. on average, the number of skilled employees was estimated at 11 and 30 for small and medium-sized firms, respectively. on the other hand, the average number of unskilled employees was estimated at 17 and 40 for small and medium-sized firms, respectively. moreover, the percentage distribution of the annual turnover of the firms shows that 42.0% of the small firms had an annual turnover of n1-n10 million, followed by 54.0% with an annual turnover of n11-n50 million. the percentage of small firms with an annual turnover of n51n100 million and n101-n500 million was 2.0% each. the average annual turnover for small firms was estimated at n26 million, while the turnover for medium-sized firms was estimated at n31 million. the results show that both small and medium-sized firms fell on the same range of n11-n50 million in annual turnover. these results contradict smedan’s (2009) classification of small and mediumscale firms in terms of annual turnover. smedan (2009) asserted that the annual turnover for small and medium enterprises is n10 million and n20 million, respectively. the analysis also shows the years of establishment of the firms. these were estimated at 15 and 20 years acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 80 for small and medium-sized firms, respectively. this result implies that most of the firms have been operating for over a decade, and a satisfactory level of experience in the construction industry could be inferred. the result of the analysis also shows the operations coverage of the firms. specifically, 44.0% of the small firms operate within the states in which they are located, 28.0% have their operations’ coverage within their geopolitical zone (southwest), and 28.0% operate at national level (covering the six geopolitical zones in nigeria). meanwhile, 55.6% of the medium-sized firms operate within the states in which their head offices are located, 33.3% within the southwestern geopolitical zone, and 11.1% within all the states of the federation in the medium-sized category. the fact that a greater percentage of the small and medium-sized firms operate within their states is true, because it could take time to build trust and confidence in a developing firm. the result of the analysis in table 4 further shows the sources of project funding by the firms. bank loans have the highest percentage of 82.0%, followed by equity (10.0%), and clients (8.0%), in the small firms. table 4: characteristics of small and medium-sized construction firms characteristics parameters small firms n=50 medium firms n=18 total n=68 f % f % f % company categorisation sole proprietorship 20 40 2 11.1 22 32.4 limited liability company 14 28 10 55.6 24 35.2 partnership 16 32 6 33.3 22 32.4 years of establishment 1-10 16 32 1 5.6 17 25.0 11-20 24 48 9 50.0 33 48.5 21-30 7 14 7 38.8 14 20.6 31-40 1 2 1 5.6 2 2.9 above 40 2 4 0 0 2 2.9 years of incorporation 1-10 17 34 2 11.1 19 27.9 11-20 22 44 9 50.0 31 45.6 21-30 8 16 6 33.3 14 20.6 31-40 2 4 1 5.6 3 4.4 above 40 1 2 0 0 1 1.4 coverage of operation within the state 22 44 10 55.6 32 47.1 within the geopolitical zone 14 28 6 33.3 20 29.4 national 14 28 2 11.1 16 23.5 abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 81 characteristics parameters small firms n=50 medium firms n=18 total n=68 f % f % f % source of project finance bank loan 41 82 13 72.2 54 79.4 equity 5 10 3 16.7 8 11.8 client 4 8 2 11.1 6 8.8 source of equipment in-house 30 60 15 83.3 45 66.2 lease 20 40 3 16.7 23 33.8 company assets (n) 1-50 18 36 0 0 18 26.5 51-100 1 2 0 0 1 1.5 101-500 27 54 15 83.3 42 61.8 above 500 4 8 3 16.7 7 10.3 number of skilled employees 1-10 27 54 0 0 27 39.7 11-20 18 36 4 22.2 22 32.4 21-30 4 8 6 33.3 10 14.7 31-40 1 2 4 22.2 5 7.4 41-50 0 0 2 11.1 2 2.9 above 50 0 0 2 11.1 2 2.9 number of unskilled employees 1-10 14 28 0 0 14 20.6 11-20 21 42 1 5.6 22 32.4 21-30 9 18 2 11.1 11 16.2 31-40 5 10 4 22.2 9 13.2 41-50 1 2 7 38.9 8 11.8 above 50 0 0 4 22.2 4 5.8 average annual turnover (n) < 10 21 42 0 0 21 30.8 11-50m 27 54 18 100 45 66.2 51-100m 1 2 0 0 1 1.5 101-500m 1 2 0 0 1 1.5 project category new 40 25.8 18 62.1 58 31.5 renovation 115 74.2 11 37.9 126 68.5 company registration grade grade a 12 24 0 0 12 17.6 grade b 21 42 0 0 21 30.9 grade c 17 34 0 0 17 25.0 grade d 0 0 18 100 18 26.5 major clients government 49 98.0 18 100 67 98.5 private 1 2.0 0 0 1 1.5 method of procurement traditional lump sum 39 78 16 88.9 55 80.9 design and build 2 4 0 0 2 2.9 management contracting 9 18 2 11.1 11 16.2 table 4: continued acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 82 characteristics parameters small firms n=50 medium firms n=18 total n=68 f % f % f % tendering procedure adopted open tendering 31 62.0 12 66.7 43 63.2 selective tendering 15 30.0 5 27.8 20 29.4 negotiation tendering 4 8.0 1 5. 5 5 7.4 full-time employee available 1-10 26 52 1 5.6 27 39.7 11-20 18 36 1 5.6 19 27.9 21-30 5 10 1 5.6 6 8.8 31-40 1 2 6 33.3 7 10.3 41-50 0 0 4 22.2 4 5.9 above 50 0 0 5 27.7 5 7.4 f = frequency = f in the medium-sized category of firms, 72.2% of the firms funded their projects through bank loans, 16.7% through equity, and 11.1% from clients. the results show that most of the projects executed by both small and medium-sized firms are funded through bank loans. this shows that accessibility to loan facilities is a key factor for enhancing the performance and delivery capacity of these firms. it is, therefore, imperative to address the issue of access to finance with reduced interest rate, in order to enhance the firms’ capacities. furthermore, the results show that 60.0% of the equipment stocks of the small firms are held in-house, and 40.0% are through lease. on the other hand, 83.3% of the medium-sized firms source their equipment in-house, while 16.7% are through lease. the results show that both small and medium-sized firms have the stock of in-house equipment that is fairly adequate for the type of projects they execute. this means that they could handle more complex construction projects to a satisfactory level of performance, as asserted by ibrahim et al. (2014). nonetheless, the firms’ equipment capacity must be improved, because construction activities are becoming complicated, complex and advanced, due to new innovations and technology (wang et al., 2018). the average years of incorporation of the firms are estimated at 15 years and 19 years for small and medium-sized firms, respectively. this implies that most of the firms have been incorporated for over a decade and have satisfactory experience in the construction industry. the analysis further shows the firms’ asset base. in the small firm category, 36.0% have company worth ranging between n1 and n50 million. approximately 2.0% table 4: continued abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 83 have n51-n100 million, 54.0% have n101-n500 million, and 4.0% have above n500 million. meanwhile, n101-n500 million range has the highest percentage of 83.3%, and 16.7% have above n500 million company worth in the medium-sized category. on average, the company worth of small and medium-sized firms is estimated at n213 million and n334 million, respectively. these findings contradict smedan’s (2009) classification of small and medium-scale firms in terms of total asset/company worth for small-sized firms, but are in conformity with medium-sized firms. smedan’s (2009) classification of small and medium-scale firms, in terms of total asset/company worth for small and medium-sized firms, indicates n50 million and n500 million, respectively. 4.3 projects executed by small and medium-sized construction firms in order to understand the profile of the projects executed by the firms, results of variables including contract or project descriptions, location of projects, type of clients, values of contracts, completion duration, and project types are evaluated and shown in table 5. table 5: projects executed by small and medium-sized construction firms characteristics parameters small firms n=50 medium firms n=18 total n=68 f % f f contract type civil work 5 10 8 44.4 13 19.1 general building work 37 74 7 38.9 44 64.7 civil and general building work 8 16 3 16.7 11 16.2 project type educational 139 89.7 3 10.4 142 77.1 residential 4 2.6 0 0 4 2.2 road works 3 1.9 12 41.4 15 8.2 health/hospital 0 0 5 17.2 5 2.7 commercial 3 1.9 9 31.0 12 6.5 drainage works 6 3.9 0 0 6 3.3 location of project ibadan 88 56.8 20 69 108 58.7 ogbomosho 19 12.3 4 13.8 23 12.5 oyo 11 7.1 0 0 11 6.0 others 37 23.8 5 17.2 42 22.8 type of client state government 154 99.4 29 100 183 99.5 private 1 0.6 0 0 1 0.5 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 84 characteristics parameters small firms n=50 medium firms n=18 total n=68 f % f f value of contract (n) < 1m 5 3.2 0 0 5 2.7 1m-10m 117 75.5 0 0 117 63.6 11m-50m 33 21.3 0 0 33 17.9 51m-100m 0 0 29 100 29 100 completion duration (weeks) 1-26 31 20.0 1 3.5 32 17.4 26-52 121 20.0 19 65.5 122 17.4 52-144 3 1.90 9 31.0 22 76.1 f = frequency = f educational infrastructure was the highest type of projects executed by the firms, with a percentage of 89.7%, followed by residential projects (2.6%), road works and commercial projects (1.9% each), and drainage works (3.9%) for the small firms. in the medium-sized firms, road works had the highest percentage of 41.4%, followed by commercial projects (31%), health/hospital projects (17.2%), and educational projects (10.4%). these results show that educational projects are the type of projects mostly executed by small firms, while road works, presumably substantial maintenance (wasi et al., 2001), is the public project mostly executed by medium-sized firms. the results of the analysis also show that 3.2% of the projects involving small firms have contract values below n1 million. approximately 75.5% of the projects’ contract values ranged between n1 million and n10 million, and 21.3% of the projects had contract values ranging between n11 million and n50 million. approximately all (100%) of the projects involving medium-sized firms have contract values ranging between n51 million and n100 million. these results show that most of the projects executed by small firms ranged between n1 million and n50 million, while those executed by medium-sized firms ranged between n51 million and n100 million. in addition, an evaluation of the duration of the projects executed by the firms shows that 20.0% of the projects by small firms have contract periods of between 1 and 26 weeks, while contracts lasting between 26 and 52 weeks and between 52 and 144 weeks are 78.1% and 1.9%, respectively. for the medium-sized firms, 3.5% of the projects have contract periods ranging between 1 and 26 weeks (65.5%) and 31.0% have contract periods ranging between 26 and 52 weeks and 52 and 144 weeks, respectively. the shortest contract duration for both categories of firms fell below 26 weeks, while the longest contract duration fell below 78 weeks. the results show that projects executed by small firms are substantially renovation abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 85 or rehabilitation works. on the other hand, 62.1% of the projects executed by medium-sized firms are new projects, while renovation works are 37.9%. these findings support wasi et al. (2001) who assert that the nature of contracts executed by small and medium-sized construction firms includes maintenance works, refurbishment, and housing construction projects, carried out under lump-sum contract through open tendering procedure. an assessment of the area of specialisation of the firms shows that they are mainly civil works, general building works, and civil/general building works. the percentage of firms that specialise in civil works, general building works, and civil/general building works are 10.0%, 74.0%, and 16.0%, respectively in the small firm category. moreover, 44.4% specialised in civil works, 38.9% in general building works, and 16.7% in civil/general building works in the medium-sized firm category. these results show that most of the small and medium-sized firms are engaged in general building works more than in other areas of construction works, presumably because the equipment owned by the firms are related to building works. the results of the analysis also show the number of full-time employees which is estimated at 12 and 38 for the small and medium-sized firms, respectively. these results conform with smedan’s (2009) classification of small and medium-scale firms in terms of staff strength and number of employees. however, firms in the medium-sized category may have to improve on their staff strength, in order to meet job requirements and demands. the results of the firms’ clients show that 98.0% of the small firms have public sector organisations as their major clients and 2.0% of private organisations. approximately all the firms (100.0%) in the mediumsized category have public sector organisations as their major clients, although some indicated that they had been engaged by corporate and private organisations. these findings show that the clients of the two categories of firms have substantially been public organisations. the evaluation of tendering procedure adopted in engaging the firms shows that most of the firms (62%) are engaged using open tendering. approximately 30.0% are engaged through selective tendering, and 8.0% through negotiated tendering in the small firm category. the analysis further shows that 66.7% are engaged through open tendering, and that 27.7% and 5.6% are engaged through selective and negotiated tendering, respectively, in the mediumsized firm category. these results could be attributed to the fact that government often adopts open tendering or competitive bidding for most of the public projects. the procurement systems adopted in projects where small and medium-sized firms are involved were acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 86 also examined. traditional lump-sum contract has the highest percentage of 78.0%, management contracting 18.0%, and the least was ‘design and build’ procurement system with 4.0% in the small firm category. moreover, 88.9% of the medium-sized firms are involved in projects procured through traditional lump-sum procurement and the least was management contracting with 11.1%. the result shows that small and medium-sized firms are involved in projects procured through both traditional and non-traditional procurement systems and that their involvement is extremely low in the non-traditional procurement system. the fact that the firms are engaged through the traditional method using lump-sum contracts suggests in part that clients perceive the firms as inexperienced in the management of non-traditional methods. the results also suggest that, if small and medium-sized firms are to remain relevant and attract more patronage and compete globally, they need to improve their skills more on the non-traditional procurement systems, as project complexity and clients’ requirements are geared towards innovative procurement systems (babatunde, opawole & ujaddughe, 2010: 1). 4.4 cost performance of projects executed by small and medium-sized firms cost overruns of the projects were determined and calculated as the difference between final contract sum and initial contract sum. table 6 shows the results of cost overruns and project cost performance as calculated by the cpi. table 6: cost performance of projects executed by small and medium-sized firms variable parameter small firms n=155 medium firms n=29 total n=184 f % f % f % degree of cost overrun 0% 150 96.8 9 31.0 159 86.4 1 to 10% 0 0 20 69.0 20 10.9 10 to 20% 2 1.3 0 0 2 1.1 -10 to -20% 1 0.6 0 0 1 0.5 > -20% 2 1.3 0 0 2 1.1 total 155 100.00 29 100.00 184 100.00 cost performance level cpi > 1 3 1.94 0 0 3 1.63 cpi = 1 149 96.12 9 31.03 158 85.87 cpi < 1 3 1.94 20 68.97 23 12.50 total 155 100.00 29 100.00 184 100.00 abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 87 approximately 1.94% of the projects executed by small firms have a cpi estimated at cpi > 1. meanwhile, 96.12% have cpi = 1 and 1.94% have cpi > 1. on average, the cpi of projects executed by small firms is estimated at approximately 1.00 (cpi =1). this implies that the projects executed by small firms achieved the desired cost performance level, as contended by uduak (2006: 2) and ibrahim et al. (2014). moreover, most of the projects executed by small firms do not have appreciable cost overrun, presumably because the projects were procured at a fixed contract price. furthermore, approximately 31.03% of the projects executed by medium-sized firms have a cpi of 1, while 68.97% have cpi < 1 and none of the projects were completed at a cost lower than budget (cpi > 1). on average, the cpi of projects executed by medium-sized firms is estimated to be 0.95, which implies that the projects executed by these firms fell within the cost underperformance level (cpi < 1). the results show that cost underperformance/overrun is more prevalent in the projects executed by medium-sized than by small firms, as only 31.03% of the projects by the medium-sized firms could achieve completion within the budgeted cost, while 68.970% experienced cost overrun at a range of 1%-10% of the estimated costs. however, a number of inferences could be made from these results. the final costs (mostly in the small firm category) suggest that most of the projects were awarded on fixed price contracts, as little deviation from the initial costs only exists in the values, because, ordinarily, it is difficult to have cpi = 1. there is also a high tendency that the contractors were paid huge mobilisation fees. besides, there is an indication of ‘foul play’ in the documentation of the final sums of the projects by the contractors to reflect cost overrun occurrence as less prevalent in the projects executed. this could be attributed to the fact that most of the projects are traditional lump sum in nature and government most often agrees on a fixed price with the consultants and contractors. moreover, the contractors are to work within these cost limits, because fluctuation claims are not often entertained as they are made to bear the burden of any extra cost on the projects. however, the most interesting inference could be a deliberate ‘figure fixing’ that portends a good performance of the projects, in order to guarantee the contractors’ future engagements and remain in business. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 88 4.5 time performance of projects executed by small and medium-sized construction firms time overruns of the projects were determined and calculated as the difference between final contract duration and initial contract duration. table 7 shows the results on time overruns and project time performance as calculated by the spi. table 7: assessment of time performance of projects executed by small and medium-sized firms variable parameter small firms n=155 medium firms n=29 total n=184 f % f % f % degree of time overrun 0% 59 38.10 7 24.10 66 35.9 1 to 10% 7 4.50 0 0 7 3.80 10 to 20% 3 1.90 2 6.80 5 2.70 > 20% 19 12.30 18 62.10 37 20.10 -1 to -10% 16 10.30 0 0 16 8.70 -10 to -20% 17 11.00 1 3.50 18 9.80 > -20% 34 21.90 1 3.50 35 19.00 total 155 100.00 29 100.00 184 100.00 time performance level spi > 1 3 1.94 0 0 3 1.63 spi = 1 149 96.12 9 31.03 158 85.87 spi < 1 3 1.94 20 68.97 23 12.50 total 155 100.00 29 100.00 184 100.00 approximately 18.71% of the projects executed by small firms have spi > 1, 37.4% have spi = 1, while 43.9% have spi < 1. these results show that approximately 18.7% of the projects were completed ahead of the planned schedule, 38.1% were completed to schedule, and 43.2% had time overrun. on average, the spi of projects executed by small firms is estimated at 0.95 (spi < 1), which implies that the time performance of projects executed by small firms is underperformed (although at some satisfactory level). the analysis further shows that 4.5% have a range of 1%-10% time overrun, 1.9% have between 10-20% overrun, and 12.3% have above 20% overrun. meanwhile, 38.1% of the projects were completed on time and 10.3% have between 1%-10% early completions, 11.0% have between 10%20% early completion, and 21.9% have greater than 20% early completion. the satisfactory time performance of these projects abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 89 suggests that a good number of the firms are fast developing financial and technical capabilities to undertake projects of a more complex nature. however, less satisfactory time performance in some of the projects could be attributed to delayed payment by the government and financial incapability of the contractors to fund their projects (odonkor, 2011: 77). the reason for this is that many of them depend solely on funds paid by the clients (through mobilisation fees and interim certificates) and that they could possibly not have access to bank loans or alternative sources to fund the projects. table 7 also shows the time performance of projects executed by medium-sized construction firms. approximately 68.97% of the projects executed by medium-sized firms have spi > 1, 24.13% have spi = 1, while only 6.91% of the projects executed have spi < 1. although the average time performance estimated at 1.24 (spi > 1) was satisfactory, the results of the analysis, nonetheless, show that approximately 6.91% of the projects are still at underperformance level. 5. conclusion this article examined the characteristics of small and medium-sized construction firms and how their profiles define the type, as well as the time and cost performances of the projects they executed. the findings obtained enabled recommendations to be indicated for improving the firms’ capabilities towards better performance. the findings established that 40.0% of the small construction firms are owned as sole proprietorship and that 55.6% of the medium-sized firms are owned as limited liability company. the value of projects executed by the small construction firms ranged between n1 million and n50 million, while those of medium-sized construction firms ranged between n51 million and n100 million. the shortest contract duration for both firms fell below 26 weeks, while the longest contract duration fell below 78 weeks. it was also established that 74.2% of the projects executed by small firms are renovation and maintenance works, while 62.1% of the projects executed by medium-sized firms are new projects. moreover, 58.7% of the projects executed by both firms were located in the states of their head offices. on average, the company worth of small and medium-sized firms is estimated at n213 million and n334 million, respectively. these findings contradict smedan’s (2009) classification of small and mediumscale firms in terms of total asset/company worth for small firms, but were in conformity with medium-sized firms. the results showed that projects executed by small firms were substantially renovation or rehabilitation works. on the other hand, 62.1% of the projects acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 90 executed by medium-sized firms were new projects, while renovation works accounted for 37.9%. moreover, the findings showed that the small and medium-sized firms engaged in general building works rather than in other areas of construction works, presumably because the equipment owned by the firms is related to building works and lack of access to finance. findings further showed that the clients of the two categories of firms had substantially been public organisations. the results showed that small and medium-sized firms are involved in projects procured through both traditional and non-traditional procurement systems and that their involvement is considerably low in the non-traditional procurement system. this fact suggests their inexperience in the management of projects procured through non-traditional methods. it also indicates that, if the firms are to remain relevant and attract more patronage and compete globally, they need to improve on their skill of procurement systems as project complexity and client’s requirements are geared towards a procurement system beyond the traditional system (babatunde et al., 2010). the performance of the projects executed by the firms showed a general underperformance level. approximately 96.12% and 31.03% of the projects executed by small and medium-sized firms, respectively, have a cpi at budget level (cpi = 1). meanwhile, 37.42% of the projects executed by small firms and 24.13% of those executed by medium-sized firms were completed as planned, that is, they had spi = 1. this performance level shows that projects executed by small firms did not have appreciable cost overrun, presumably because they were procured at a fixed contract price. on the other hand, the results of time performance in the case of medium-sized firms showed that only 24.1% were completed as planned, while 69.1% had cost overrun. a major recommendation of the study is the need for proper monitoring of the activities of small and medium-sized construction firms by smedan to ensure their compliance with operations limits in terms of the projects they undertake. besides, organisational development programmes by the firms should focus on financial and technical capabilities for a better performance of their projects in terms of budget and schedule. obviously, a limited sample size could restrict the generalisation of these findings. notwithstanding, the findings provided implications for enhancing the delivery capacity of the firms towards improved performance. further research on the performance assessment of small and medium-sized construction firms could focus on indicators such as quality, client satisfaction, as well as health and safety. abosede et al. • performance analysis of small... 91 references achuenu, e., izam, y.d. & bustani, s.a. 2000. investigating the activities of indigenous contractors in nigerian construction industry. nigeria journal of construction technology and management, 3(1), pp. 91-103. ahadzie, d.k. 2007. a model for predicting the performance of project managers in mass house building projects. ph.d. thesis, university of wolverhampton, uk. aliyu, a.a., haruna, a.a., ali, a. & ibrahim m.s. 2015. influence of building contractors performance on construction 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(ed.). proceedings of clients driving innovation international conference 25 – 27 october, surfers paradise, australia. brisbane, australia: crc for construction innovation. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2018.1626 https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2018.1626 https://doi.org/10.5130/ajceb.v1i1.2282 _goback 226 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as zakiyyah vawda ms zakiyyah vawda, fyiafrica architecture, 26 michelson rd, westwood ah, boksburg, 1477, south africa. phone: +27 61 786 4200, email: zakiyyah@fyiafricarch. com, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-5744-409x jan hugo dr jan hugo, architecture, university of pretoria, private bag x20, pretoria, 0028, south africa. phone: +27 (0)12 420 2578, email: jan.hugo@ up.ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-4840-2642 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: september 2021 reviewed and revised: februaryapril 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: climate change, netzero carbon building, social housing, environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation how to cite: vawda, z. & hugo, j. 2022. evaluating the energy performance of social housing as a catalyst towards net-zero carbon building in the mitigation of climate change in south africa. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 226-259. social housing as a catalyst towards netzero carbon building in the mitigation of climate change in south africa review article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.8 abstract since low-income and social housing are among the most vulnerable built environments to climate change, this article evaluates the energy performance of social housing in the context of enabling net-zero carbon social housing in south africa (sa). it seeks to investigate how improved and conscious energy-efficient design in the context of social housing contributes toward a climate change mitigation response in sa. the article analyses energy use and indoor comfort, based on ashrae 55-2004 standard, of two social housing case studies to review the potential of the social housing sector to contribute to the national climate mitigating agenda. the findings highlight that the housing provision itself is not an adequate response, but that bio-climatic design solutions with appropriate spatial and material choices, along with efficient envelope articulation, play a critical role in lowering energy use and improving user comfort. there is, however, a need to challenge the growing advent of (energy-) inefficient and carbon-intensive social housing in sa and simultaneously address the parallel crisis of homelessness, to enable a sustainable future for the built environment. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 226-259 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 227 abstrak aangesien inwoners van lae-inkomste en maatskaplike behuising onder die mees kwesbare geboue-omgewings vir klimaatsverandering is, evalueer hierdie artikel die energieprestasie van maatskaplike behuising in die konteks om netto-nulkoolstof maatskaplike behuising in suid-afrika (sa) moontlik te maak. dit poog om te ondersoek hoe verbeterde en bewuste energiedoeltreffende ontwerp in die konteks van maatskaplike behuising bydra tot ’n reaksie op klimaatverandering in sa. die artikel ontleed die energieverbruik en binnenshuise gerief, gebaseer op ashrae 55-2004 standaard, van twee maatskaplike behuisingsgevallestudies om die potensiaal van die maatskaplike behuisingsektor te hersien om by te dra tot die nasionale klimaatversagtende agenda. die bevindinge beklemtoon dat die voorsiening van behuising self nie ’n voldoende reaksie is nie, maar dat bio-klimaatontwerpoplossings met toepaslike ruimtelike en materiaalkeuses tesame met doeltreffende omhulselartikulasie ’n kritieke rol speel in die verlaging van energieverbruik en die verbetering van gebruikersgerief. daar is egter ’n behoefte om die groeiende koms van (energie-) ondoeltreffende en koolstofintensiewe maatskaplike behuising in sa uit te daag en terselfdertyd die parallelle krisis van haweloosheid aan te spreek, alles om ’n volhoubare toekomstige geboude omgewing moontlik te maak. 1. introduction “the climate imperative is clear: we must act now and with an ambition to decarbonize human activities to meet global climate goals” (unep, 2017: 11). the earth’s climate is changing as a consequence of various anthropogenic endeavours, primarily through the release of greenhouse gases (ghgs), causing the earth to heat up by the intensification of the greenhouse effect (ipcc, 2014; zalasiewicz & williams, 2009; howard, rowe & tchobanoglous, 1985). the most recent climate predictions by leading international scientific organisations disclose that the window to avert threatening global climate change is rapidly closing, as the global carbon budget diminishes further every year (unep, 2017). according to the united states green building council (usgbc) (2018: 2), the construction industry accounts for approximately 40% of worldwide energy usage and carbon dioxide (co2) emissions, out consuming both the industrial and transportation sectors and contributing significantly to climate change. furthermore, housing is the single largest subsector of the construction industry and a substantial contributor to environmental degradation, with high levels of energy consumption and ghg emissions. access to housing is, however, also a basic human right protected within the constitution of sa (sa, 1996: 5). moreover, its demand is substantial, making it a sector with considerable potential to mitigate the negative influence of the construction industry on climate change. the urgency to address the substantial growth of inefficient buildings has been widely recognised (unfcc, 2016, in gbcsa, 2018), particularly in the south african context, where an energy-intensive building will mean a very carbon-intensive building, due to our coal-powered electricity grid. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 228 internationally supported climate change mitigation strategies, in the form of renewable energy and energy-efficient projects implemented in developing countries between 2005 and 2016, are projected to reduce ghg emissions by 0.6 gtco2e in 2020 (unep, 2017: 7). likewise, sa’s national development plan (ndp) 2030 aspires to progressively reinforce the energy-efficiency requirements within the south african building legislation to realise a net-zero carbon building standard by the year 2030 (sa, 2012). spatial planning represents perhaps the most entrenched legacy of the apartheid era: the construction of a built environment characterised by both segregation and a concomitant absence of diversity (low, 2005). since the fall of apartheid in 1994, social housing delivery interventions in sa have continued to perpetuate the high carbon footprint of the apartheid urban form. consequently, the formation of vast ‘dormitory settlements’ of mostly mass-produced, low-cost, and replicated houses located at the urban periphery ensued (ramovha, 2017: 9). their typically remote location limits economic opportunity and has resource-intense transport access (sa, 2006). the infamous reconstruction and development programme (rdp) housing landscape was subsequently born: a housing model guilty of extending the sprawling spatial form of the pre-democratic regime. urban sprawl not only reduces biodiversity and causes the degradation of the natural environment (dea, 2011), but it is also more energy-intense and the high emission of ghgs of the local energy supply constraints climate change mitigation. the south african “comprehensive housing plan for the development of integrated sustainable human settlements”, commonly known as the “breaking new ground policy” (bng) of 2004 aspires to, among other objectives, eliminate informal settlements within sa as soon as possible (sa, 2004). in response to the prevailing housing provision mode, this plan leaves behind the rdp commoditised focus on housing delivery and takes on a more responsive approach, focusing rather on the multifaceted requirements of sustainable human settlements. accordingly, social housing (medium density2) has been identified as a suitable mechanism for this approach in the bng policy (sa, 2004: 2). the policy further states, in ‘section 3.7 enhancing the housing product’ (sa, 2004: 17), that there is a need for enhanced settlement and housing unit design and quality, which includes traditional and indigenous knowledge as well as alternative and innovative technologies and design, to alter the face of the stereotypical rdp house. 2 according to the social housing act (sa 2008), medium-density housing is defined as 40-100 dwelling units per hectare (du/ha) (gross). the dwelling types are semi-detached housing, row housing, and three-storey walk-up flats (tonkin, 2008: 2). vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 229 net-zero carbon social housing could realise this goal by providing energyefficient homes and environments in proximity to services, transport routes, clinics, schools, and economic opportunities, ensuring a more carbon-efficient solution. hence, medium-density social housing has been identified as a sustainable housing strategy with significant climate change mitigation and adaptation potential, and a departure from the “40x40x40 housing paradigm: 40sqm house, 40km outside the city, where 40% of income is spent on transportation to work” (fieuw, 2014: 2). furthermore, the world green building council (wgbc)’s ‘advancing net zero projects’ initiative’s goal is to ensure that the global building stock is net-zero carbon by the year 2050 and that all new buildings’ operational carbon emissions are net-zero by 2030 (gbcsa, 2018). locally, the gbcsa’s (2018) response to climate change and the paris agreement comes in the form of their latest certification scheme, the net zero/net positive certification scheme. net-zero carbon housing has been recognised as a crucial component for the justifiable transition to a low-carbon future in the implementation of the un’s sdgs (un, 2019). net-zero carbon housing encompasses more than simply reducing carbon emissions and encouraging renewable energy; it also has broader social and economic advantages such as the reduction of energy poverty and the improvement of human well-being for low-income communities. despite the obvious benefits of net-zero carbon social housing, currently, limited net-zero social housing has been developed in sa. as a result, an important opportunity for enabling a low-carbon future is lost (gibberd, 2018). there is a significant gap between the impact of social housing on the environment and the development of green or net-zero carbon social housing, particularly where the climate change mitigation of a building is the primary concern (brewis, 2012). furthermore, the literature on net-zero carbon or green architecture within sa focuses almost entirely on technological developments, often for a green-building certification in the high-end building sector, with the rare inclusion of low-cost net-zero carbon development (assaf 2011; harris et al., 2012). this study consequently evaluates the impact potential of net-zero carbon social housing in sa as a climate change mitigation strategy. it seeks to investigate how the design solution and the materiality of the social housing case studies affect the cases’ simulated energy use and carbon emissions, in order to determine how housing provision and its energy performance in the context of net-zero carbon can contribute toward a climate change mitigation response in sa. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 230 2. literature review 2.1 climate change “warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea level has risen” (ipcc, 2014: 2). the best available evidence indicates that climate change is already taking place and that it will continue throughout this century as a consequence of anthropogenic ghg emissions (bolin, 1980; heywood, 1995; pearman, 2005; ipcc, 2014; nasa, 2019). the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) (2015: 7) defines climate change as “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable periods”. hence, the unfccc and heywood (1995: 1255) differentiate between “human activities”-induced climate change and “climate variability due to natural causes” (ipcc 2014: 120). sa lines itself with a similar distinction. research suggests that recent climate change is due to human actions related to industrialisation, characteristic of human consumption and global domestic product (gdp) growth, and overwhelming anthropogenically induced environmental impacts (dea 2011; van wyk, 2012; dechezleprêtre, martin & bassi, 2016). in the period from the industrial revolution to 2018, the global average temperature anomaly reached 0.9°c, with the year 2016 ranking as the warmest on record (nasa, 2019). according to the stern review (stern, 2006), if the most detrimental impacts of climate change are to be evaded, the increase in the global mean temperature should be kept below 2°c of the pre-industrial levels. this has been reiterated across the literature spectrum (ipcc, 2014; ampofo-anti, dumani & van wyk, 2015; unfccc, 2015; gbcsa, 2018). the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) (2014) conveyed, through their fifth assessment report (ar5), that the global average temperature increase could be in the range of 3.7°c and 4.8°c by the year 2100 with the current “business-as-usual pathway” (unep, 2017: 11). this degree of warming would be catastrophic for everyone (pearman, 2005). in the paris climate agreement, an agreement by the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) regarding the release of ghgs, climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as an investment came into effect in the year 2020. the paris agreement aims to establish a global commitment to “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°c above pre-industrial levels and to pursue vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 231 efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°c above pre-industrial levels” (unfccc, 2015: 3). sa is also a signatory to this agreement. to meet the paris agreement’s climate change goal, global emissions are required to have peaked by 2020 and would thereafter promptly decline to reach zero emissions by the year 2050 (unep, 2017). the united nations environmental programme (unep) emissions gap report (2017: xvii) affirms that “for the 2°c goal, this shortfall could be 11 to 13.5 gt co2e; for the ambitious 1.5°c goal, it could be as much as 16 to 19 gt co2e”. thus, immediate and progressive climate change mitigation action is needed globally. sa’s response to climate change, as stated in the national climate change response white paper (sa, 2011a: 5), primarily aims to effectively manage inevitable climate change impacts and make a fair contribution to the global effort to stabilise ghg concentrations. in addition, it aims to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system within a time frame that enables economic, social, and environmental development to proceed sustainably (sa, 2011a: 5). global temperatures are anticipated to persistently rise, although the degree to which they are kept below 2°c, as recommended by the ipcc and stipulated by the paris agreement, may depend on the quantity of ghgs that the building sector continues to emit into the atmosphere (ampofo-anti et al., 2015). the distressing incidences of recent extreme weather events intensify the urgency of immediate climate change action. these events highlight the importance of incorporating the paris agreement within the built environment now (unep, 2017). 2.2 climate change and the built environment substantial cuts in ghg emissions in buildings could reduce the negative impacts of climate change, by reducing the amount of ghg in the atmosphere. it is also the sector with the most cost-effective climate change mitigation potential, as shown in figure 1 (ipcc, 2014; gibberd, 2017). reduced emissions in the built environment would also improve opportunities for effective adaptation, reduce the costs and challenges of mitigation, and enable climate-resilient pathways for sustainable development. inertia in the built environment, especially concerning socioeconomic aspects, impedes adaptation and mitigation opportunities, whereas innovation and investments in green and net-zero carbon building can decrease ghg emissions and improve climate change resilience (ipcc, 2014: 26; blok, afanador & van vuuren, 2017: 37). vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 232 figure 1: the economic climate change mitigation potential by sector by the year 2030 source: wri, 2016: 17 the sa national climate change response white paper is yet to translate into legislation and policies that enable mitigation action in common practices and ongoing planning across all spheres of government, including the built environment. the south african national climate change adaptation strategy (nccas) was, however, promulgated in 2020 and supports the country’s ability to meet its obligations in terms of the paris agreement. the strategy defines sa’s vulnerabilities to climate change, its plans and required resources to reduce these vulnerabilities, whilst determining advancements in climate change adaptation. a significant analysis of this review finds that the mitigation strategies detailed in the white paper have typically not yet been implemented and that extensive challenges are delaying their realisation (trollip & boulle, 2017). however, emergent adaptation and mitigation responses are present in some industries. critical urban-scale and policy‐based actions have, to some extent, been implemented, although industry challenges persevere. furthermore, stern (2006) suggests that a diverse range of economic studies have shown that the costs of delay and inaction far outweigh the costs of early action. this notion is reciprocated by the sa climate change white paper: “vulnerable low-income households and the marginalised unemployed will face the most severe impacts unless urgent steps are taken to reduce sa’s vulnerability to climate and economic shocks” (dea, 2011: 32). thus, mitigation action in the low-income housing industry will have both environmental and social benefits. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 233 the intersection between the built environment and climate change is a relatively new but rapidly expanding field of research (knieling & klindworth, 2016 in taylor, 2017; gibberd, 2017), but the many gaps in literature relate to low-cost applications. evidence, however, recognises that climate change presents growing threats to sustainable development within the built environment as a threat multiplier (ippc, 2014). it exacerbates existing threats to social and natural systems, placing additional burdens, particularly on the poor, and constraining possible developmental paths for all. action should be pursued now that will move towards low and zerocarbon pathways for sustainable development, parallel to the facilitating of the betterment of social, economic, and environmental well-being. this leads to the suggestive gap in the literature on the interrelationship between climate change and social housing globally and particularly in sa. more so since “enhancing the capacity of low-income groups and vulnerable communities” is recognised as an effective and complementary urban climate adaptation and mitigation strategy (ipcc, 2014: 97). 2.3 climate change and social housing in sa homelessness and the need for housing for the indigent have posed a serious challenge for the vast majority of cities in the global south, especially in africa. over half of these cities’ populations reside in substandard housing or informal settlements (chiodelli & moroni, 2014; van horen, 2000). on the other hand, social housing can address these communities’ increased vulnerability to the expected impacts of climate change. thus, the role that the government and other leaders in the social housing sector have to play in addressing climate change, as well as the housing backlog, can be realised through a climate change responsive social housing approach within sa. the ne51/9 housing model, produced and replicated for non-europeans in the 1950s-1970s in sa, reinforced the spatial agenda of the apartheid regime, creating poorly situated and impoverished living environments (low, 2005). despite a more neo-liberal regime prevailing since 1994, the housing delivery in sa still promoted a “1-house-1-site” approach similar to that of the ne51/9 housing model illustrated in figures 2 and 3. the result has been the fragmentation and compartmentalisation of a reductive design and delivery process, which has resulted in large energy-intensive human settlements (low, 2005: 1). vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 234 figure 2: perspective and plan of the ne 51/9 housing model source: chipkin, 1998: 172 figure 3: plan and elevation of a typical 40m2 rdp house source: ecosun, [n.d.]: 3 the delivery of sustainable and affordable housing is a global concern, especially in developing countries such as sa, where the severity of the crisis is relative to the rapidly developing urban sector, in which over a million people are born in or migrate to cities in the global south weekly (un-habitat, 2015: 1). furthermore, over one billion people, equivalent to 23.5% of the world’s urban population, are housed in informal settlements (un, 2019: 44). the un (2019) predicts that, if no significant progress is made, an estimated 3 billion people will require adequate and affordable housing by 2030. the un-habitat (2015) further suggests that responses to housing should be holistic, interdisciplinary, and multi-level, and should be in response to local economic, environmental, social, and legislative aspects, including climate change. there is a need to unearth sustainable social housing solutions that not only counteract the rising carbon footprint of the building industry, but also do not increase the number of households that incur an unsustainable level of carbon emissions in terms of embodied and operational energy and the implied costs (un-habitat, 2015). instead, solutions need to be established to address the crisis of inadequate housing, which also recognises the global crisis of climate change. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 235 social housing in sa can be a potential solution to these problems and is defined as “a rental or co-operative housing option for lowto mediumincome households at a level of scale and built form which requires institutionalised management, and which is provided by social housing institutions or other delivery agents in approved projects in designated restructuring zones with the benefit of public funding” (sa, 2008: 2). the objective of social housing is to also play a role in the national priority of restructuring south african cities and communities to address environmental, economic, social, and spatial dysfunctionalities. the minister of human settlements, mfeketo (2018: 3), in her 2018/2019 budget speech, reiterates the significance of creating integrated social housing to undo apartheid spatial planning in prime areas located close to economic opportunities, thus contributing to the sa government’s vision of sustainable human settlements (shra, 2020: 22). this is an integral part of a climate-responsive sa. the ipcc (2014) and un habitat (2015) share the stance that housing development has the greatest potential for climate change mitigation without significant additional initial costs in the future. combrinck (2015) and harvey (2012) argue that there is hardly any focus on the fact that cities can do well economically, while its people, apart from the privileged few, and the environment are persistently marginalised and degraded. correspondingly, low (2005) suggests that the simplification of design to a quantitative pursuit typical of the mass production of the previous rdp developments conflicted with the inherent requirements of sustainable development, and thus climate change response. the outcome of poorly designed, low-density, and isolated rdp settlements (findley & ogbu, 2011: 2) only further marginalises the population it was meant to serve. 2.4 net-zero carbon building for social housing in sa according to the gbcsa, a net zero-carbon building is a highly energyefficient building, “and the remaining energy use is from renewable energy, preferably on-site but also off-site where necessary so that there are zero net carbon emissions on an annual basis” (gbcsa, 2018: 2). this definition is reciprocated by the world green building council (wgbc) (laski & burrows, 2017: 8). the paris agreement of 2015 was hailed in the green building industry as a milestone in the plight against climate change (wgbc, 2018). it signified the setting of a timeline for how urgently the world needs to reform its carbonintensive path to enable all main business sectors to be operational with net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. likewise, since the built environment is responsible for a major portion of global energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions, it can play a significant role in achieving the vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 236 goals of the paris agreement. in the report, ‘from thousands to billions: coordinated action towards 100% net zero carbon buildings by 2050’, the wgbc (2018) calls for an ambitious transformation towards a wholly zerocarbon global building stock through the objectives of their advancing net zero programme (laski & burrows, 2017: 7): • all new buildings must operate at net-zero carbon from 2030: netzero carbon buildings must become a standard business practice as soon as possible, so we build right from the start, avoid the need for future major retrofits, and prevent the lock-in of carbon-emitting systems for decades to come. • 100% of buildings must operate at net-zero carbon by 2050: existing buildings require not only an acceleration of current renovation rates, but these renovations must be completed to a net-zero carbon standard so that all buildings are net-zero carbon in operation by 2050. in accomplishing these goals, the built environment may markedly assist in ensuring that the worst of climate change is avoided and simultaneously generate social and economic co-benefits (laski & burrows, 2017). consequently, highly energy-efficient buildings that satisfy their energy demands from renewable sources, whether on-site and/or off-site (i.e., net-zero carbon buildings), are recognised as a more feasible goal for the scale needed to realise the paris agreement’s target of ghgs emission reductions (wgbc, 2018). the two primary components of net-zero carbon buildings are energy efficiency and renewable energy. however, other zero-carbon strategies should also be considered when designing net-zero carbon buildings. for example, passive solar design can eradicate the need for carbon-intensive air conditioning and heating, while good daylighting can address artificial lighting energy demands (hughes, yordi & besco, 2020). transformations in how buildings are constructed and designed should be led by the government for the required scale and impact, by leading in the implementation of energy-efficient buildings to propel the movement towards net-zero carbon (gardner, 2020). the social housing sector is one where significant social and economic benefits, apart from the environmental and climate change mitigation implications, can be derived from incorporating net-zero carbon buildings. the concerted action of the private sector, government, and ngos is essential to achieve the potential carbon emissions reduction possible in the social housing sector. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 237 2.5 gbcsa’s net zero/net positive certification scheme the gbcsa is among the 24 green building councils contributing to the wgbc’s advancing net zero programme, in the attempt to enable a 100% net-zero carbon global building stock by the year 2050 (wgbc, 2018). the gbcsa has subsequently established its net zero certification scheme in response to climate change and to achieving the goals set out in the paris agreement (gbcsa, 2019). the gbcsa certification takes it further, by recognising buildings for net-zero (entirely neutralising) and net-positive (positively restoring) environmental effects within four categories: carbon, water, waste, and ecology. within the gbcsa’s net-zero carbon certification scheme, new buildings can achieve “level 1 net zero certifications and level 2 net zero/net positive certifications”. existing buildings can only attain “level 2 net zero/ net positive certifications”. the certification is valid for 3 years. the net zero carbon – level 1: building emissions accreditation would require the non-tenant “base building emissions (bes)”, when modelled over one year, to be equal to zero. this is meant to be the regulated emissions from the building’s fixed services (gbcsa, 2019: 13). the “net zero/net positive carbon – level 2: occupant emissions” accreditation takes into account the measured or modelled operational energy emissions of the building and the tenant for one year and represents the unregulated emissions, which is the energy usage by the building and its occupants, including electrical loads (“base building emissions + occupant emissions”) (gbcsa, 2019: 13). 3. research method this study followed the mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) research approach (schoonenboom & johnson, 2017) to describe, evaluate, and interpret the energy performance of social housing as a catalyst toward net-zero carbon building in the mitigation of climate change in south africa. the research employed multiple case studies, complemented with secondary data analysis and simulation modelling. case studies are the preferred research method when conveying an understanding of a multifaceted question; when the investigator has hardly any control over the subject matter, and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within a real-life context (yin, 1984: 13; hofstee, 2006). the number of factors that are possible to consider is often substantial, relative to the number of case studies and opportunities available, which may produce limited sampling instants in the identification of statistical interaction. this study was delineated from the outset to examine carbon emissions contributing to climate change in the use phase of the cases only. data were triangulated through secondary data, structured observation, and vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 238 primary data from the simulation modelling iesve software, which was also used in the analysis of the cases. 3.1 case studies the two case studies analysed in this study are k206, alexandra, johannesburg, and sandbag houses, cape town. the case study selection was based on the following criteria: • time frame: post-2004 (the year in which the bng policy came into effect [dhs, 2010]). • geographic area: urban areas of the republic of sa. • type of case: social (medium-density) housing project. • projects that have been recognised as sustainable initiatives, and at minimum exhibit climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies since there is currently no net-zero carbon social housing project. both case studies are recognised as innovative projects with numerous publications discussing them. k206 and sandbag housing unit plans (figures 4 and 5) were used to develop the geometry in the ies ve simulation software. figure 4: k206 housing unit first-floor plans source: adapted from osman & davey, 2011: 7 vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 239 figure 5: a 10x10 sandbag house floor plans source: adapted from johnson, 2014: online 3.1.1 simulation and statistical modelling the study followed a simulation method “to capture the essence of a process by identifying key variables and then creating a representation of it” (hofstee, 2006: 129). however, the prospect of over-simplification of reality presents a limitation, since the difficulty in capturing reality may get complicated on close observation. therefore, the case studies were carefully limited to addressing issues of energy and carbon emissions. residential buildings also tend to be problematic to model, due to broadly varying occupancy profiles and regularities, and the unpredictable precise use of the building (skelhorn, levermore & lindley, 2016). the same predefined occupancy use profile was thus assigned to both case studies. 3.1.2 integrated environmental solutions virtual environment (ies ve) 2017 software a building performance software, integrated environmental solutions (ies) ve program was used to model the case studies and to analyse them in terms of energy use and interior comfort. ies ve has been extensively used to achieve net-zero carbon buildings, by enabling more effective design approaches in favour of others to achieve a net-zero building (smith, 2016). vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 240 the case studies were first modelled in the modelit application of ies, based on the data gathered through secondary data analysis and structured observations. modelit is the ies ve module that is used to create the geometry and orientation of the projects. the weather file closest to the case study site was selected within the program (within a maximum of 50km from the site, as required by greenstar). thereafter, the solar shading analysis application, suncast, was run to include solar exposure and energy in the simulation. the relevant construction and thermal data, user profiles, and lighting were recorded in the apache tool, after which a dynamic simulation of the model was run, and the results were viewed within the vistapro tool in the software suite. the case studies’ energy and carbon are then calculated, by processing a dynamic simulation in the “ve-gaia building energy navigator” (ies, 2018: 36). the simulation generates the estimated annual energy use, including a breakdown thereof, as well as peak heating, cooling, and humidification loads, including internal thermal gains (ies, 2018). this was used in the analysis of the case studies. 3.2 data the data consulted both secondary and primary sources and constituted a combination of textual and numeric data. secondary data regarding climate change, carbon emissions, and energy was sourced from notable sources such as the unep, ipcc, statssa, wri, sabinet, as well as local, national, and provincial departments. gis data, including site information, location, accessibility, and nearby amenities, were sourced from sites such as google earth, maps and streetview, and afrigis, as well as previous studies on the social housing projects involved. the primary data regarding the case studies were gathered from the ies ve software and the structured observation of the case studies, to ensure further data triangulation. 3.3 technical data used to inform the modelling 3.3.1 the gbcsa net-zero carbon certification scheme the gbcsa net-zero carbon certification scheme was used as a guide to inform the modelling of the study. it entails the buildings to be modelled with the actual building’s data and analysed for energy use following specific parameters and with gbcsa-approved software. the ies ve program used in this study is among the approved software. the goal intended by the energy calculator is to decrease the quantity of ghgs produced through energy usage. accordingly, the generated energy usage figures are converted to their respective co2 emissions for vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 241 evaluation within the energy calculator. table 1 presents the kgco2/kwh conversions used in the energy calculator. renewable energy sources, not including biomass, are to be considered carbon emissions-free. the calculator produces an estimate of the ghg emissions in kgco2/m²/year. table 1: co2 emission of energy sources energy sources kgco2 /kwh mains electricity 1.2 diesel 0.267 lpg 0.227 natural gas 0.202 coal 0.354 biogas 0.025 town gas (coal) 0.160 source: gbcsa, 2019: 3 the energy modelling protocol required only one instance of each dwelling type to be modelled, as outlined in the gssa murt (gbcsa, 2011a). the specific modelling parameters used for the simulation are as follows: • weather data: a test reference year (try), where the building location is within 50km of a try location (gbcsa, 2011b: 8). • space types: the correct space types and areas (gbcsa, 2011b: 8). • geometry: the actual geometry of the building, including building form, shading, overshadowing, and orientation (gbcsa, 2011b: 9). • building fabric: the construction make-up of walls, ceilings, and floors, as well as insulation. • glazing properties: the windows and doors are modelled using the actual solar transmission, internal and external solar reflectance and emissivity, as well as the correct sizes and modulating types (gbcsa 2011b: 11) • air exchanges: infiltration: 0.5 l/s·m2 (gbcsa, 2011b: 12). operable window: 2 l/s·m2 (sa, 2011b: 22). non-operable window: 0.31 l/s·m2 (sans 204, 2011: 22). door: 5 l/s·m2 (sans 204, 2011: 22). • lighting: 4 w/m² or as the actual design. • equipment loads: 4 w/m² or as the actual design. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 242 • kitchen loads: 150 w/occupant sensible and 90w/occupant latent (gbcsa, 2011b: 13). • fresh air rate: actual design rate. • occupancy: dwelling occupants = no. of bedrooms + 1 or actual occupancy (gbcsa, 2011b: 13). • internal thermal gains and energy loads: table 2: internal thermal gains and energy loads for the case studies room code internal gain use profile count energy load (watt) total (kw) all people social housing 4 60 0,24 bedroom 1 cell phone charger sh equipment 2 10 0,01 bedroom 1 radio alarm constant on 1 5 0,005 bedroom 2 radio/alarm constant on 1 5 0,005 bedroom 3 cell phone charger sh equipment 1 10 0,01 kitchen stove sh cooking 1 3000 3 kitchen kettle sh cooking 1 1500 1,5 kitchen fridge constant on 1 250 0,25 kitchen microwave sh cooking 1 700 0,7 living area iron sh equipment 1 500 0,5 living area television 32 sh equipment 1 148 0,148 all lighting social housing 8 40 0,32 source: ies ve, 2018 since the case studies are passive buildings, the simulation modelling was further used to analyse whether the case study model complies with the gbcsa’s thermal comfort (ieq-9). the operative internal temperatures for bedroom and habitable areas must be within the ashrae standard 55-2004 80% acceptability limits, in line with the green star sa multi-unit residential v1 dts and energy modelling protocol guide (gbcsa, 2011b). this translates to ashrae recommending an indoor air temperature range of 19°c-28°c for thermal comfort purposes. 3.3.2 construction data tables 3 and 4 provide the construction material and its thermal conductivity and resistance thereof of each building component of the case studies. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 243 table 3: construction components of the k206 housing units component construction materials thermal conductivity u-value (w/m.k) thermal resistance r-value (k.m2/w) external wall 220mm fly-ash concrete brick wall 0.856 (bee 2017) 0.2570 groundfloor slab 85mm cast in-situ concrete floor slab 0.4 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.2125 first floor slab 170mm cast in-situ concrete floor slab 0.4 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.4250 roof 0.47mm corrugated steel roof sheeting 20 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.0001 ceiling none interior wall 220mm fly-ash concrete brick wall 0.856 (bee 2017) 0.2570 door steel framed 40mm timber door 0.13 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.3077 windows steel framed 6mm single pane window 0.96 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.1559 (u-value: 7.9) source: osman & davey, 2011: 1-4 table 4: construction components of the sandbag housing units component construction materials thermal conductivity u-value (w/m.k) thermal resistance r-value (k.m2/w) external wall 270mm sandbag wall; plastered 0.135 (ecobuild 2009) 2 groundfloor slab 100mm sandbag and screed floor 0.135 (ecobuild 2009) 0.74 first floor slab 170mm cast in-situ concrete floor slab 0.4 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.4250 roof 0.47mm corrugated steel roof sheeting 20 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.0001 ceiling 12.5mm gypsum ceiling and 100mm insulation 0.03 (isotherm 2019) 3.6 interior wall 90mm dry-walling 0.17 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.59 door steel framed 40mm timber door 0.13 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.31 windows steel framed 6mm single pane window 0.96 (eng. toolbox 2003) 0.16 / u-value:7.9 source: mpahlwa, 2011:1 vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 244 3.3.3 model assumptions and inputs the try weather file used in the k206 housing simulation is the johannesburgiwec.fwt. the weather file is based at the johannesburg international airport and is within 50km of the site (gbcsa, 2011b). it is located 13.25km away (google earth, 2015a). the try weather file used in the sandbag houses simulation is the capetowndoe2.epw. the weather file is based at the cape town international airport and is within 50km of the site (gbcsa, 2011b: guideline). it is located 10.4km away (google earth, 2015b). the thermal template used in the ies ve, designated ‘social housing’, has the parameters set as shown below: • orientation: actual observed on site. • use profile: sh residential: 4 people occupancy (the higher of the two: the design occupancy of sandbag houses and occupancy in line with the gbcsa (2011b: 13) energy modelling protocol, which estimates occupant numbers as follows: dwelling occupants = no. of bedrooms + 1). see figure 8. the cooling and heating setpoints are calculated as per the ashrae-55 (2004) adaptive comfort 80% acceptability limits: • cooling setpoint: k206: 26.279°c. sandbag: 26.345°c. • cooling system: natural ventilation. • heating setpoint: k206: 19.279°c. sandbag: 19.345°c. • heating equipment: 800w electric resistance heater. 3.4 analysis inductive analysis of the case studies was undertaken based on first examining the context of each project, then conducting an architectural design analysis focusing on the project’s materiality and design in terms of environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and carbon footprint, utilising primary observational data as well as secondary data. lastly, an analysis of the building operation-related carbon emissions of both case studies and its simulated energy loads and carbon emissions, to determine the potential of the net-zero carbon building in the social housing context as a climate change mitigation response. the project’s compliance with the greenstar ieq-9: thermal comfort requirement was also determined with the ies ve software and analysed. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 245 w ee kd a y sc h ed u le ti m e: 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 24:00 % o c c u pi ed 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 50% 25% 25% 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% 50% 50% 75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% w ee ke n d s c h ed u le ti m e: 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 24:00 % o c c u pi ed 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 50% 50% 50% 100% 100% 100% fi gu re 8 : ty pi ca l s h u se p ro fil e ba se d on 4 o cc up an ts u se d w ith in th e ie s v e s ou rc e: a ut ho rs vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 246 3.5 limitations while the results may be useful in other developing country contexts, the researcher limited the study geographically to urban sa, and projects incepted since 2004. 4. findings and discussion 4.1 evaluation and comparison of the case studies the two social housing projects, the k206 and sandbag houses, are explored to determine their energy performance in facilitating social housing to contribute to the overall sa climate change mitigation initiative. this is done by attempting to evaluate the cases by modelling the energy and carbon emission loads of the projects to understand how a net-zero carbon social housing landscape can be achieved in sa. table 5 represents the observational data collected on the researcher’s site visits to each of the case study projects. tables 6 and 7 represent the simulated energy loads of the case studies. the k206 housing unit’s total electricity per annum is calculated to be 8.9642 mwh per 84 m2 unit, 106.71 kwh/m2/annum and 128.06 kgco2/m 2/ annum; the sandbag houses’ total electricity per annum is calculated to be 2.9692 mwh per 54 m2 unit, is 54.98 kwh/m2/annum and 57.3 kgco2/m 2/ annum. the k206 housing unit’s energy (case study 1) consumption, as shown in table 6, reveals that the space heating load is substantial and higher than any other electrical use type (3.7681mwh/annum – 42% of the total energy use). however, the housing unit does not satisfy the thermal comfort ieq-9 ashrae 55-2004 80% acceptability limits for 85% of the year. the lighting (k206 – 17.5%; sandbag – 39%) and cooking electric resistance loads (k206 – 13%; sandbag – 38%) in both projects are also high and could be minimised by better day-lighting strategies and alternative renewable energy sources. while the sandbag housing unit (case study 2) almost satisfies the ieq-9 thermal comfort requirement (only the living room falls short and is within the comfort temperature range 75.8% of the time), this could be easily achieved through passive heating measures such as a shaded north-facing window. the use of an innovative and alternate building material with a high r-value (2 k.m2/w), together with adequate roof insulation, has enabled the sandbag houses to have a more comfortable thermal interior. the observational study revealed that natural lighting is inadequate in both projects, as electrical lighting is often used even during the daytime. vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 247 table 5: building data collected or verified through the observational study building component k206 housing project sandbag houses building exterior finish fly-ash face brick walls; plastered and painted in some instances. plastered and painted; portions of ship-lapped timber cladding that are painted. roofing and overhang steel channel rafters and corrugated roof sheeting; approximately 200mm overhang. no gutters or downpipes. eco beam rafters and corrugated roof sheeting; approximately 600mm and 300mm overhangs. gutters and downpipes are present. window treatment steel window frames; operable: side-hung. steel window frames; operable: top-hung. natural ventilation no cross ventilation or other ventilation initiatives are present in units. windows are located along the same or adjacent walls, except for the first-floor room (osman & davey, 2011). all habitable rooms have sufficient operable window area, i.e. minimum 5% of floor area as per sans 10400-o (sa, 2011b). cross ventilation is present in units. windows are located along adjacent and opposite walls. all habitable rooms have sufficient operable window area, i.e. minimum 5% of floor area as per sans 10400-o (sa, 2011b). hvac none. none. solar water heaters solar water heaters are present. solar water heaters are present. renewable energy none. none. space heating electric plug-in heaters (assumed). electric plug-in heaters (assumed). lighting one light and electrical outlet per habitable room. high mast security street lighting for residential purposes as per the minimum level of service for new housing projects within the department of human settlements (pmg, 2013). one light and electrical outlet per habitable room. high mast security street lighting for residential purposes as per the minimum level of service for new housing projects within the department of human settlements (pmg, 2013). natural lighting low natural daylighting; electrical lighting is used during the daytime. low natural daylighting; electrical lighting is used during the daytime. cooking appliances electric stove, plug-in microwave, and kettle. electric stove, plug-in microwave, and kettle. energyefficient appliances fridge (assumed). fridge (assumed). noise level high noise levels due to the adjacent main road (london rd). low noise level. interior wall finish none; some units have been plastered and painted or painted internally by the owner (osman & davey, 2011). plasterboard and painted (mpahlwa, 2011). vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 248 building component k206 housing project sandbag houses floor finish screed floor (osman & davey, 2011). screed floor; some units have been finished by the owner/ tenant (mpahlwa, 2011). ceiling and insulation none. 100mm isotherm insulation and gypsum board ceiling (mpahlwa, 2011). private outdoor space semi-private communal courtyard space is provided; some units have added yard walls or fences, creating private outdoor space (google earth, 2015a, osman & davey, 2011). private back garden space is provided; some units have added yard walls or fences in front, creating additional private outdoor space (google earth, 2015b). renovations/ additions backyard shacks were added in some instances. additional rooms have been added to the back garden on 6 of the 10 houses. none of the balconies has been converted into an additional bedroom, as was the intention of the design (mpahlwa, 2012). source: authors the total energy consumption of the k206 housing unit is simulated to be 8.9642 mwh/year, of which 3.7681 mwh/year is owed to space heating, whereas the sandbag houses’ energy consumption amounted to 2.9692 mwh/year, almost a quarter of the k206 housing unit’s consumption. the case studies have similar mean annual temperatures (ies, 2108), thus the heating and cooling requirements are comparable. the k206 housing projects also do not comply with the later energy usage in buildings regulations, the sans 10400-xa (sa, 2011b), and would require insulated roofs and hot-water pipes to comply, whereas the later sandbag houses do comply. the positive communal nature of the medium-density k206 housing units employing shared walls and courtyard space (osman & davey, 2011) addresses the negative impacts of urban sprawl and lowers the total mass of materials used and thus the carbon footprint of the project. the later incorporation of solar water heaters contributes to the energy efficiency of the project, a pathway to net-zero carbon building. however, the inefficient design, the lack of any insulation, cross-ventilation, adequate daylighting, and renewable energy initiatives are attributed to the high-energy intensity of the project. the incorporation of the ecobuild sandbag system in the construction of the sandbag houses provided superior thermal stability and thus a more energy-efficient and lower carbon footprint project. the support of unskilled labour and the use of sandbags in building taps into indigenous construction techniques well-suited for the south african context and sandy areas vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 249 ta bl e 6: k 20 6 en er gy c on su m pt io n an d c o 2 e m is si on le ve ls k2 06 c a se s tu d y pr o je c t f ile : k 20 6. m it si m f ile : k 20 6. a p s 04 /o c t/ 20 19 w e a th e r f ile : j o ha nn e sb ur g iw ec .fw t d a te to ta l e le c tr ic ity (m w h) in te rio r lig ht in g (m w h) c o o ki ng (m w h) re fri g e ra tio n (m w h) o th e r p ro c e ss (m w h) sp a c e he a tin g (m w h) sp a c e c o o lin g (m w h) el e c tr ic ity c e (k g c o 2) ja n 01 -3 1 0. 61 38 0. 13 89 0. 10 23 0. 01 86 0. 02 51 0. 16 16 0. 00 00 73 6 fe b 0 128 0. 60 17 0. 12 54 0. 09 24 0. 01 68 0. 02 26 0. 19 33 0. 00 00 72 2 m a r 0 131 0. 73 93 0. 13 89 0. 10 23 0. 01 86 0. 02 51 0. 28 70 0. 00 00 88 7 a p r 0 130 0. 79 81 0. 13 44 0. 09 90 0. 01 80 0. 02 43 0. 36 04 0. 00 00 95 8 m a y 01 -3 1 0. 86 02 0. 13 89 0. 10 23 0. 01 86 0. 02 51 0. 40 79 0. 00 00 10 32 ju n 01 -3 0 0. 85 70 0. 13 44 0. 09 90 0. 01 80 0. 02 43 0. 41 94 0. 00 00 10 28 ju l 0 131 0. 88 75 0. 13 89 0. 10 23 0. 01 86 0. 02 51 0. 43 52 0. 00 00 10 65 a ug 0 131 0. 86 60 0. 13 89 0. 10 23 0. 01 86 0. 02 51 0. 41 37 0. 00 00 10 39 se p 0 130 0. 78 55 0. 13 44 0. 09 90 0. 01 80 0. 02 43 0. 34 78 0. 00 00 94 3 o c t 01 -3 1 0. 76 95 0. 13 89 0. 10 23 0. 01 86 0. 02 51 0. 31 73 0. 00 00 92 3 n o v 01 -3 0 0. 71 30 0. 13 44 0. 09 90 0. 01 80 0. 02 43 0. 27 54 0. 00 00 85 5 d e c 0 131 0. 47 26 0. 07 17 0. 05 28 0. 01 86 0. 01 29 0. 14 92 0. 00 00 56 7 su m m e d to ta l 8. 96 42 1. 56 80 1. 15 50 0. 19 00 0. 28 30 3. 76 81 0. 00 00 10 75 7 s ou rc e: a ut ho rs vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 250 ta bl e 7: s an db ag h ou se s en er gy c on su m pt io n an d c o 2 e m is si on le ve ls sa nd b a g h o us e s c a se s tu d y pr o je c t f ile : s a nd b a g h o us e .m it si m f ile : s a nd b a g h o us e .a p s 11 /o c t/ 20 19 w e a th e r f ile : c a p e to w nd o e2 .e p w d a te to ta l e ne rg y (m w h) el e c tr ic ity (m w h) in te rio r lig ht in g (m w h) c o o ki ng (m w h) re fri g e ra tio n (m w h) o th e r p ro c e ss (m w h) sp a c e he a tin g (m w h) sp a c e c o o lin g (m w h) el e c tr ic ity c e (k g c o 2) ja n 01 -3 1 0. 25 02 0. 25 02 0. 09 92 0. 10 23 0. 00 01 0. 02 48 0. 02 38 0. 00 00 26 1 fe b 0 128 0. 22 64 0. 22 64 0. 08 96 0. 09 24 0. 00 01 0. 02 24 0. 02 18 0. 00 00 23 6 m a r 0 131 0. 25 59 0. 25 59 0. 09 92 0. 10 23 0. 00 01 0. 02 48 0. 02 94 0. 00 00 26 7 a p r 0 130 0. 25 56 0. 25 56 0. 09 60 0. 09 90 0. 00 01 0. 02 40 0. 03 64 0. 00 00 26 6 m a y 01 -3 1 0. 26 78 0. 26 78 0. 09 92 0. 10 23 0. 00 01 0. 02 48 0. 04 13 0. 00 00 27 9 ju n 01 -3 0 0. 26 08 0. 26 08 0. 09 60 0. 09 90 0. 00 01 0. 02 40 0. 04 16 0. 00 00 27 2 ju l 0 131 0. 26 88 0. 26 88 0. 09 92 0. 10 23 0. 00 01 0. 02 48 0. 04 23 0. 00 00 28 0 a ug 0 131 0. 26 92 0. 26 92 0. 09 92 0. 10 23 0. 00 01 0. 02 48 0. 04 27 0. 00 00 28 0 se p 0 130 0. 26 00 0. 26 00 0. 09 60 0. 09 90 0. 00 01 0. 02 40 0. 04 08 0. 00 00 27 1 o c t 01 -3 1 0. 26 61 0. 26 61 0. 09 92 0. 10 23 0. 00 01 0. 02 48 0. 03 96 0. 00 00 27 7 n o v 01 -3 0 0. 25 42 0. 25 42 0. 09 60 0. 09 90 0. 00 01 0. 02 40 0. 03 50 0. 00 00 26 5 d e c 0 131 0. 13 42 0. 13 42 0. 05 12 0. 05 28 0. 00 01 0. 01 28 0. 01 72 0. 00 00 14 0 su m m e d to ta l 2. 96 92 2. 96 92 1. 12 00 1. 15 50 0. 00 18 0. 28 04 0. 41 21 0. 00 00 30 94 s ou rc e: a ut ho rs vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 251 such as the project’s site (thompson-smeddle, 2009). the integration of community involvement and education in the construction phase, and the decision to build up and increase the density of the houses improved its overall pathway to a net-zero carbon building. a net-zero carbon building could be achieved in the case of the sandbag house if the building is improved through more energy-efficient appliances and lighting, adequate daylighting and solar gain, and a low-cost renewable energy system (gibberd, 2017). winter solar gain through shaded glazed openings on the north can reduce the projects’ heating and lighting load and improve daylighting. a solar pv cell with a backup battery or fed into the electrical grid could bring the sandbag housing project to net-zero carbon, thereby contributing to the overall sa climate change mitigation initiative. the purpose of net-zero carbon building is to decrease the amount of ghgs emitted through energy usage and address the fast-growing, inefficient, and carbon-intensive buildings, particularly within developing country contexts such as sa. furthermore, the 2050 wgbc’s international advancing net zero project endeavours to ensure that all buildings are to be net-zero carbon by the year 2050, and to support the development of net-zero pilot projects within sa (gbcsa, 2019). however, to warrant that all buildings are net-zero carbon by 2050, the net-zero carbon initiative developed to achieve this goal needs to include all building types, including low-cost and social housing. social housing projects in sa have a considerable energy load, as shown in the k206 project. considering the energy poverty present in the recipients of social housing and the high energy footprints of poorly designed housing, a specific focus on developing efficient and bio-climatically appropriate design responses must be undertaken. 5. conclusions and recommendations although there is an increasing demand and a large housing backlog in sa, social housing projects in sa do not address the substantial climate change mitigation potential that they could achieve. on the other hand, social housing projects undertaken by formal funding or governmental development initiatives can achieve mitigation objectives with immediate effect and are not dependent on factors such as social acceptance, environmental consciousness, and individuals buying into the concept. it has significant potential to perform as a climate change mitigation strategy, and help sa achieve its ndcs, while lowering energy poverty in sa. unfortunately, the sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change are often the ones that have contributed the least to climate change. they often also have hardly anything to do with the decision-making and vawda & hugo 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 226-259 252 planning processes of the homes in which they reside. as a result, they have hardly any control of the carbon emissions they consequently emit. the carbon intensity of social housing projects is mostly in the hands of the decision-makers in the housing sector and can either set the precedent for a low carbon sa or further embed vulnerability to climate change for the poor. thus, the interrelationship between social housing policy and the implementation of net-zero carbon building has an important role to play in optimising the potential that social housing can have in mitigating climate change in sa. based on the case studies and social housing research in sa, the current net-zero carbon building action in sa does not address the low-cost nature of social housing projects. the economic and technological limitations of social housing projects in sa may be a contributing factor. the lack of action in this sector, apart from the climate change mitigation and social justice implications associated with the implementation of a net-zero carbon social housing sector, also misses the opportunity for the government to lead by example. as a result, it does not acknowledge the significant potential this sector has in performing as a climate change mitigation strategy and contributing to local and international climate change mitigation goals. government and other role players could consider the following recommendations: • low or zero-carbon housing development in sa needs affordable, adequate, and sustainable social housing solutions to respond to the local housing backlog and climate change crisis. • a net-zero carbon social housing in sa could be achieved through the incorporation of sustainable building materials with high thermal resistance and thermal mass, adequate glazing and orientation, energy-efficient equipment, renewable energy systems, and passive solar design, among other energy-efficiency strategies. • an appropriate combination of research into social housing government regulation, energy-efficient technologies, renewable energy, and human behaviour could significantly contribute to the development of net-zero carbon social housing in sa and consequently reduce ghg emissions from the building industry. • net-zero carbon building action in sa could benefit from recognising the importance and potential of the inclusion of social housing in climate change mitigation strategies and addressing the method and extensiveness in which energy use and thus carbon emissions are calculated accordingly. • other means or indicators to assess the carbon intensity and sustainability of low-cost projects could also be beneficial, along with the development of guidelines and government policies on building regulations on the achievement of 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(ed.). climate change. amsterdam: elsevier, pp. 127-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-53301-2.00006-3 _hlk115792777 _hlk115792799 62 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as oluseyi adebowale dr oluseyi julius adebowale, post-doctoral researcher, department of building sciences, tshwane university of technology, pretoria, south africa. email: <adebowaleoluseyi@gmail. com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-1381-5658 justus agumba prof. justus ngala agumba, department of building sciences, tshwane university of technology. email: <agumbajn@tut. ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-1077-1186 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: april 2023 peer reviewed and revised: may 2023 published: june 2023 keywords: construction industry, construction organisations, contractors, labour productivity, smes how to cite: adebowale, o.j. & agumba, j.n. 2023. labour productivity in construction smes: perspectives from south africa. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 62-89. labour productivity in construction smes: perspectives from south africa research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7211 abstract small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) are strategic to south african economic performance. despite their strategic role in economic growth, south african construction smes are predominantly confronted with the problem of poor performance, which is partly due to poor productivity. this contributes to a negative outlook for construction and undermines its contribution to the nation’s economy. this study determines essential strategies to help improve construction smes’ productivity in south africa. qualitative data were collected from registered small and medium-sized construction organisations in south africa, using a semi-structured interview approach. the research data were analysed, using content analysis. the study reported key strategies, including the need for proficiency at managerial and non-managerial levels, effective teamwork, and effective planning, to improve contractors’ productivity. although existing studies have widely reported major factors influencing contractors’ productivity, there is still a shortage of research on smes’ productivity, especially in south africa. this research determines 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 62-89 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:adebowaleoluseyi@gmail.com mailto:adebowaleoluseyi@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1381-5658 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1381-5658 mailto:agumbajn@tut.ac.za mailto:agumbajn@tut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1077-1186 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1077-1186 https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7211 adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 63 smes-specific productivity challenges and the interventions needed to improve productivity in the sme sector. abstrak klein en mediumgrootte ondernemings (kmo’s) is strategies vir suid-afrikaanse ekonomiese prestasie. ten spyte van hul strategiese rol in ekonomiese groei, word suid-afrikaanse konstruksie-kmo’s oorwegend gekonfronteer met die probleem van swak prestasie, wat deels te wyte is aan swak produktiwiteit. dit dra by tot ’n negatiewe vooruitsig vir konstruksie en ondermyn die bydrae daarvan tot die land se ekonomie. hierdie studie bepaal noodsaaklike strategieë om konstruksie-kmo’s se produktiwiteit in suid-afrika te help verbeter. kwalitatiewe data is ingesamel vanaf geregistreerde klein en mediumgrootte konstruksie-organisasies in suid-afrika deur gebruik te maak van ’n semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudbenadering. die navorsingsdata is ontleed met behulp van inhoudsanalise. die studie het sleutelstrategieë wat die behoefte aan vaardigheid op bestuursen nie-bestuursvlakke, effektiewe spanwerk en effektiewe beplanning insluit, gerapporteer om kontrakteurs se produktiwiteit te verbeter. alhoewel bestaande studies wyd gerapporteer het oor belangrike faktore wat kontrakteurs se produktiwiteit beïnvloed, is daar steeds ’n tekort aan navorsing oor kmo’s se produktiwiteit, veral in suid-afrika. hierdie navorsing bepaal kmo’s-spesifieke produktiwiteitsuitdagings en die intervensies wat nodig is om produktiwiteit in die kmo-sektor te verbeter. 1. introduction south africa spends billions of rands annually on construction operations. small and medium enterprises (smes) benefit from a significant part of the spending, due to their role in job creation (barbosa, woetzel & mischke, 2017: 8). the construction engineering subsector is the second largest employer among smes, accounting for about 34.2% of total small business employment (adediran & windapo, 2017: 158). smes are tasked by the government to significantly reduce unemployment in south africa (balogun, ansary & agumba, 2016: 49). recently, there are records of poor performance amongst some smes in south africa (mkhonza & sifolo, 2022:1). some south african construction sme projects experience poor cost, quality, and time performance in project delivery (wentzel, smallwood & emuze, 2016: 1480), resulting in a high rate of business failure. of the construction smes, 70%-80% fail within their first five years of existence. this raises huge concerns regarding the sustainability of construction smes in south africa, the livelihoods of the people they employ, as well as their contribution to the economy (balogun et al., 2016: 62; wentzel, fapohunda & haldenwang, 2022: 16). several factors are reportedly responsible for their poor performance, including poor productivity (adebowale & smallwood, 2020: 332). south african construction labour productivity (clp) has been at its lowest in 46 years (bierman, marnewick & pretorius, 2016: 38). however, the construction productivity problem is not peculiar to south africa. karthik and rao (2019: 62) report a 15% loss of productivity in indian construction organisations. the indian clp loss was largely associated with the average adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 64 time on non-productive task motions. an overall 51% of hour loss on-site per week was also reported in iran (goodarzizad, mohammadi golafshani & arashpour, 2021: 763). the situation is similar in the united states and canada, where the average hour loss in projects was estimated at 19.7% and 13.6%, respectively, for projects with craft labour shortages and projects that did not experience craft shortages (karimi, taylor & goodrum, 2017: 369). workers’ efficiencies and working time distributions in commercial construction projects in alberta revealed an average direct effective working time that ranges from 49.5% to 52.1% (hewage & ruwanpura, 2006: 1077). construction labour costs account for 30% to 50% of the total cost of a construction project in many countries; thus, to a large extent, clp determines the profitability of construction organisations (jarkas & bitar, 2012: 816). clp is only equal to 85% of productivity in other industries. the global growth of clp is lower than the average annual growth of about 16% in many industries (hai & tam, 2019: 258). it is estimated that per 10% increase of clp in the united kingdom, there will be a saving of an equivalent of £1.5 billion (lu et al., 2021: 8). due to the prevalence of poor productivity in construction projects, studies have investigated clp in developed and developing countries (agrawal & halder, 2020: 571; durdyev & ismail, 2016: 449; hiyassat, hiyari & sweis, 2016: 141; jarkas, 2015: 96; jarkas & bitar, 2012: 813; jarkas, al balushi & raveendranath, 2015: 334; sebastian & raghavan, 2015: 92; thomas & sudhakumar, 2013: 105). researchers have identified factors affecting clp (alaghbari et al., 2019: 82; gurmu, 2021; tam et al., 2021: 16; adebowale & agumba, 2022b: 15; shoar & banaitis, 2019: 46). the effects of heat (yi & chan, 2017: 8) and building information modeling (bim) (wong, rashidi & arashpour, 2020: 15) on clp have been investigated. some researchers developed quantitative models (sarihi, shahhosseini & banki, 2023: 429; selvam et al., 2022: 2401; tsehayae & fayek, 2018: 210) and qualitative models (jalal & shoar, 2019: 288; palikhe, kim & kim, 2019: 429; nojedehi & nasirzadeh, 2017: 1519) to help improve clp. some researchers leveraged information technology to predict clp (mlybari, 2020: 208; goodarzizad et al., 2021: 763). arising from these studies are several interventions to improve human resource productivity in the construction sector. studies have also investigated south african construction smes’ performance (wentzel et al., 2016: 1478; aigbavboa, tshikhudo & thwala, 2014: 352; aghimien et al., 2019: 216; adediran & windapo, 2017: 159). a number of these studies have also addressed productivity challenges in south african construction (cidb, 2015: 8; bierman, marnewick & pretorius, 2016: 40; isabirye & orando, 2020: 342). bierman, marnewick and pretorius (2016: 37-44) investigated productivity management in south african construction. isabirye and orando (2020: 340-355) explored organisational adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 65 justice as a matrix for ethics and integrity to improve construction productivity. these studies have made a laudable contribution to improve productivity in south african construction, but the current poor smes’ productivity performance is an indication that the existing studies have not largely benefited the construction smes or research recommendations have not been taken up in practice by smes. considering the large number of construction smes in south africa and the implication of their productivity on business survival, the study investigates productivity in smes to determine smes-specific challenges and interventions that would set the industry on the path of growth and mitigate the extent of business failure. 2. literature review 2.1 an overview of south african construction smes smes in south africa are contractors with 250 full-time employees and an annual turnover of less than r220 million (renault, agumba & ansary, 2020: 9). the poor performance of sme contractors undermines their potential to contribute meaningfully to job creation (fatoki, 2014: 922). construction smes account for a significant number of contractors in south africa (balogun et al., 2016: 46). until 2016, more than 50% of construction smes were owned by previously disadvantaged south africans (george, 2016: 23). studies have shown that large contractors generally perform better than smes in terms of achieving project objectives (wentzel et al., 2016: 1478), while smes are more strategic for job creation and poverty reduction. although the government has spent a considerable amount to boost performance, present performance does not justify such spending (mafundu & mafini, 2019: 6; aigbavboa et al., 2014: 352). current smes’ challenges result from a combination of issues, including low productivity (adebowale & agumba, 2022a: 18). studies have reported salient factors hindering performance in south african construction smes. chimucheka (2013: 791) identified insufficient education and low entrepreneurial skills. aghimien et al. (2019: 217) recognised the need for capacity building of business owners, especially in corporate governance. wentzel et al. (2016: 1485) reported management, strategic planning, and inadequate funding. olawale and garwe (2010) found problems related to financial support, education, and training. aigbavboa et al. (2014: 355) and wentzel et al. (2016: 1483) contended that contractors receive significant financial support to succeed, but poor financial management is rather the issue. fatoki (2014: 922) reported the need for smes to cultivate a positive attitude toward training. aigbavboa et al. (2014: 354) believed that leadership training will give smes a competitive advantage, while abor and quartey (2010: 224) recommended adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 66 the participation of governmental and non-governmental organisations. both internal and external challenges confront construction smes (fatoki, 2014: 922). internal challenges include management functions, employee development, and attitude towards customers. external challenges include competition, rising costs of doing business, finance, and crime. access to funding is becoming increasingly difficult for contractors, due to rising interest rates (aghimien et al., 2019: 219). these and other challenges make it difficult for some smes to compete with large construction organisations in terms of performance (chimucheka, 2013: 789). 2.2 construction productivity research productivity is one of the major parameters for measuring the performance of any construction project (gurmu, 2019: 1462; karthik & rao, 2019: 58). for construction smes to meaningfully contribute to job creation, their productivity must continue to improve. studies from developed and developing countries have reported factors affecting clp. some of these countries include the united states, australia, saudi arabia, and india (kermanshachi, rouhanizadeh & govan, 2022: 1257; gurmu, 2021: 256; thomas & sudhakumar, 2013: 103; tam et al., 2021: 1-18). some researchers have undertaken reviews of factors influencing clp (adebowale & agumba, 2022a: 1-21; adebowale & agumba, 2022b: 4-17; adebowale & agumba, 2021: 1-20; hamza et al., 2022: 413). the studies have presented scientometric analyses, systematic reviews, causal layered analysis, and meta-data analyses of literature with respect to clp research. the reviews presented insights into emerging knowledge areas in construction productivity research. cla presents a transformed future for construction productivity in developed and developing countries. factors influencing clp in high-rise buildings have been identified (shoar & banaitis, 2019: 41-52; gurmu, 2020: 77-86). these studies indicated inflation in the cost of execution and improper project financing as the important factors influencing clp. construction materials management practices enhancing labour productivity in multi-storey building projects were investigated (gurmu, 2020: 77-86). bhilwade et al. (2023: 959) demonstrated a high degree of accuracy in predicting labour productivity for formwork activities in high-rise building construction. gurmu and aibinu (2018: 730) reported the management practices enhancing labour productivity in multi-storey building construction projects. nguyen and nguyen (2013: 569) advised practitioners to consider the relationship between building floor and labour productivity when planning manpower and construction activities. the impact of craft workers’ availability on north american construction project productivity was investigated (karimi et al., 2017: 368). projects that experienced worker shortages had lower productivity compared to projects that had adequate workers. aghayeva and slusarczyk (2019: 1-14) adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 67 considered the importance of motivated human resources to construction organisations’ productivity and reported a hierarchy of workers’ motivating and demotivating factors. tam et al. (2022: 1-18) used a self-determination theory to study motivation for construction productivity improvement in vietnam. jarkas and horner (2015: 633) created a baseline for labour productivity in building construction. the study used metrics specific to kuwait, but the principles of data collection, analysis, and use are generic and could be applied in other countries. statistical analyses and probability theories for plastering work have been applied to predict the amount of time required to complete construction works (kubeckova & smugala, 2021: 2535). in the united states, kermanshachi et al. (2022: 1278) developed management policies and analysed the impact of change orders on clp. gunduz and abu-hijleh (2020: 1-18) used the importance of rating and risk mapping methodology to assess the drivers of construction human resource productivity. chaparro et al. (2020: 1305-1309) examined the impact of workforce transportation on clp in australia. yi and chan (2017: 1-14) studied the effects of heat stress on clp in hong kong. wong et al. (2020: 1-21) evaluated the impact of bim on the clp in malaysia. construction organisations can use the research outcomes to minimise the negative impact commuting and heat stress can have on workers’ productivity, while the practical application of bim can be leveraged. the conditional frontier theory was used to investigate the convergence of clp. error correction models are implemented to identify the long-run equilibrium and dynamics of clp (ma, liu & mills, 2016: 287). clp model development and the lack of frameworks for adapting existing or original models in different contexts limit the possibility of reusing the existing models. tsehayae and fayek (2016: 227) developed a context adaptation framework that helps adapt existing or original clp models. in iran, sarihi et al. (2023: 4) developed, optimised, and validated a series of clp models to address the challenges of a systematic approach to measuring clp, while considering the complex relationships between multiple factors simultaneously. selvam et al. (2022: 2401) proposed a model that can be effectively used to determine a real-time project duration with the consideration of factors affecting labour productivity and project constraints. dijkhuizen et al. (2021: 950) considered the importance of using off-site construction to increase labour productivity. the study developed a conceptual model that describes critical factors influencing off-site construction. system dynamics has widely been used to model different causal relations among factors interacting with labour productivity (jalal & shoar, 2019: 385; nojedehi & nasirzadeh, 2017: 1516; palikhe et al., 2019: 427). system dynamics helps recognise the interrelatedness of productivity-influencing factors. system dynamics models could inform policymaking for decision makers (palikhe et al., 2019: 441). existing adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 68 studies have measured productivity based on different parameters related to the research objectives. in this study, productivity focused on the extent to which south african construction smes delivered construction projects within the constraints of cost, quality, and time. therefore, productivity is measured based on the performance of these key project objectives. while this section presented the contributions of scholars to construction productivity research, table 1 presents the key findings of factors influencing clp and summarises the significant productivity-influencing factors reported over 33 years. table 1: construction productivity-influencing factors factors country source lack of material, lack of tools, equipment breakdown, rework, changing of workers, interference, absenteeism, supervision delays indonesia kaming et al., 1997: 29 lack of material, incomplete drawings, incompetent supervisors, lack of tools and equipment, absenteeism thailand makulsawatudom, emsley & sinthawanarong, 2004: 6 poor supervision, the simplicity of building design, level of site experience, information flow, and communication with sub-contractors uk chan & kaka, 2007: 583 lack of monetary bonuses for good performance, younger craft workers not as motivated as the older ones, delays in work because of the absenteeism of other workers, errors on drawings, and lack of materials usa dai, goodrum, p.m. & maloney, 2007: 1151 material shortages, lack of labour experience, lack of labour surveillance, misunderstanding between labour and superintendents, drawings and specifications altered during execution palestine enshassi et al., 2007: 253 unavailability of material on time at the workplace, delayed material delivery by the supplier, unavailability of drawings on time at the worksite, equipment necessary to do the job not available on time, and poor pay india thomas & sudhakumar, 2013: 124 unrealistic design schedules imposed on designers, construction methods, unrealistic scheduling, low design fees, and payment delays oman jarkas & horner, 2015: 343 planning, worker-management relationships, education and experience, climate, technology, and equipment jordan hiyassat et al., 2016: 148 excessive bureaucracy, late delivery of materials, industrial action resulting from political activities, inadequate project planning, and inadequate workers’ skills south africa adebowale & smallwood, 2020: 345 source: authors adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 69 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this study used a qualitative research method to gather information from sme construction practitioners on their construction productivity experiences. the qualitative research method allows for interviews to collect data where participants are allowed to express and clarify their opinions on construction productivity without restrictions (mohajan, 2018: 35). it also allows for content analysis to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts to generate non-numeric data (akinyode & khan, 2018: 167). in this study, data from the open-ended questions in the semi-structured interviews (bernard, 2013: 215) were coded and grouped into six themes, of which three guide smes’ strategies for improving productivity, and three are the critical measures for construction smes’ productivity growth in south africa. 3.2 population, sample, and response rate the research was conducted with smes in gauteng province, south africa. according to the cidb (2015: 13), gauteng province has recorded more construction activities than other provinces in south africa. a list of registered smes obtained from the cidb showed that there were 152 grades 1-5 contractors registered with the cidb in gauteng province. these constitute the research population. qualitative researchers have several recommendations regarding adequate sample size for qualitative studies. bekele and ago (2022: 48) indicated that, if the research aims to understand common perceptions and experiences among groups of relatively homogenous individuals, 12 interviews will be adequate. ando, cousins and young (2014: 4) as well as picariello et al. (2017: 403) indicated 12 interviews as the minimum required to achieve data saturation in qualitative studies. according to namey et al. (2016: 438), a sample size of 8 to 16 interviews is required to answer a research question adequately. in this study, 15 interviews were conducted, using a purposive sampling technique to select research participants from construction companies. purposive sampling allows researchers to select knowledgeable participants who can provide relevant information on a topic under investigation (blumberg, cooper & schindler, 2008: 20). considering the subject under investigation, directors, site managers, and supervisors were considered knowledgeable to provide insights into productivity issues. the sample size was adequate, as data had reached saturation, and no new information was available. adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 70 3.3 data collection grades 1-5 contractors were randomly selected from the cidb list and contacted via their cell phone numbers to explain the study’s intent. the research questions were emailed to smes who agreed to participate, with a request to familiarise themselves with the questions. eight interview sessions were conducted on-site, while seven were conducted online via microsoft (ms) teams from october 2021 to march 2022. the research questions were divided into three sections. the first section dealt with the socio-demographic information of the respondents. respondents were asked about their years of experience, their organisation’s cidb rating, and the time their organisations have been in construction. before the second part of the research questions was presented to respondents, the definition of productivity applicable to this study was explained to avoid misrepresenting ideas. productivity was measured based on how smes used project resources to meet projects’ cost, quality, and time objectives. study participants provided their responses based on these parameters. in the second section, the respondents were asked to describe strategies which their organisations have found helpful in improving their productivity. the third section sought the respondents’ opinions on other essential measures that should be considered, in order to improve construction smes’ productivity. 3.4 data analysis content analysis is a research technique for determining the main facets of valid conclusions from written, verbal, or visual communication messages, either qualitatively or quantitatively, depending on the nature of the project and the topics to be covered in the research (kondracki, wellman & amundson, 2002: 224). content analysis is valuable for gathering and organising information and examining document trends and patterns. qualitative content analysis focuses on grouping data into relevant categories. by contrast, quantitative content analysis determines the numerical values of categorised data (i.e., frequencies, ratings, and rankings), by simply counting the times a topic is mentioned. qualitative and quantitative content analyses were performed in this study. on-site and online interviews were recorded. electronic data were transcribed into qualitative data. after data transcription, the data pattern was examined and manually coded. the data were grouped into relevant themes. categories were created by merging different codes under each theme. content analysis determines the presence of specific themes in specific data. after deriving the main themes from the responses, the number of factors associated with each theme was determined, indicating the severity of each category on productivity (tables 3 and 4). adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 71 4. data presentation table 2 presents the sociodemographic data of the study participants. site managers constitute 20%, directors 26.7%, and foremen 53.3% of the study participants. respondents were production drivers at the site and were, therefore, deemed relevant to the study, as they were largely aware of productivity and its influencing factors. the cidb classification of the participating organisations ranges from grades 1 to 5, which falls within the south african sme categories. of the contractors, 53.3% were registered in grades 1-3, classified as small contractors, while 46.7% were enrolled in grades 4-5, classified as medium-sized contractors. of the respondents, 53.3% have been in the construction industry for at least 16 years, while 46.7% have been in the industry for 5 to 13 years. the average construction experience of the respondents is 18.3 years. the data shows that 33.3% of the organisations surveyed have been operating for at least 16 years, and 66.7% for 3-14 years. table 2: respondents’ data interviewee (respondent) position years of experience cidb grading years of operation 1 construction manager 30 5 16 2 director 12 1 3 3 foreman 25 4 11 4 foreman 7 5 13 5 foreman 16 2 9 6 director 9 3 14 7 foreman 13 4 8 8 construction manager 23 5 13 9 director 31 4 20 10 foreman 8 3 12 11 construction manager 13 2 13 12 director 38 5 32 13 foreman 25 2 20 14 director 5 1 5 15 director 20 2 20 source: authors respondents reported the measures their organisations have implemented to improve the productivity of their projects. as indicated in table 3, feedback is grouped into three themes: human development, teamwork/relationship value, and effective planning. each category is described according to its perceived importance to respondents, derived from the number of factors related to each category. of the organisations surveyed, 46.7% reported human development as a means of improving the productivity of their adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 72 projects. some respondents (r) were more specific, indicating the forms of training they used to develop their organisation’s human capital. the on-the-job training system was helpful for two construction companies (r3 and r4), while r2 and r15 found that the use of more skilled individuals improves the competence of less-skilled workers to increase their companies’ productivity. following human development is teamwork between the members of construction projects. r1 expressed teamwork and good relations as a tool that has helped less skilled workers gain more experience than more skilled workers. collaboration across different levels of organisations and even with members and community representatives was identified as measures benefiting two organisations (r7 and r11). r12, a director, was very vocal about her commitment to her staff’s personal affairs, which she says encourages their commitment to work. effective planning was an essential tool for some of the organisations interviewed. r1’s organisation believes in the inevitability of poor performance in the event of poor planning. r3 reported on the importance of effective planning for time management in his organisation. r3 and r7 identified their organisations’ planning policies and frameworks that have helped improve their productivity. r12 considered effective planning as a strategy used by his organisation to remove obstacles in achieving its project goals. table 3: productivity improvement strategies in practice respondent themes and feedback human development r2 “…get a specialist in a trade to instruct others who are less skilled…” r3 “…train our workers on the job…” r4 “…offers on-the-job training in different trades…” r12 “…invest in training and retraining…” r13 “… train the poorly skilled and qualified workers…” r14 “…train our workers…” r15 “…use experienced workers to train inexperienced workers on the job…” teamwork / relational value r1 “…teamwork among workers makes our less experienced workers be more experienced…” r5 “…good working relationships among workers…” r7 “…ensures teamwork across board…” r11 “…maintain good relationships with stakeholders in the community where we have projects…” r12 “…intervene in their personal problems to help them sort out some issues in the best possible ways. i have a good relationship with my workers…” adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 73 respondent themes and feedback effective planning r1 “…operate with the saying that proper planning prevents poor performance…” r3 “…our company does not joke with planning because it helps us to manage our time. we have guidelines for planning…” r7 “…framework for planning our projects and remain committed to it…” r12 “…properly plan ahead and ensure we stick to plans as much as possible. doing these assist us toll away every stone out of our way…” source: authors the study participants provided insights into measures considered critical to smes’ productivity growth in south africa. measures are grouped into managerial and employee competence, leadership styles, and government support (table 4). most of the respondents viewed the competence of construction workers and managers as a key factor in improving contractor productivity. seven respondents (r1, r4, r6, r7, r9, r10, and r14) recommended staff training, while six respondents (r1, r2, r8, r12, r13, and r15) suggested training for managers. on-the-job training, supervisors mentoring their subordinates, and short courses were some recommended training systems for construction workers. respondents discussed the need for directors of construction companies to improve their skills through training. business and construction skills were the dominant interventions of the study participants. r1 recognised the need for directors to improve their cash flow. effective leadership styles were considered essential measures to increase contractor productivity. leadership is widely associated with managerial competence, which respondents highlighted as a critical concern. effective leadership was expressed concerning the relationship value of the employees of organisations, particularly between supervisors and their subordinates. some respondents expressed the need for improved employee relationship value through team building and social events. they advocated improved directors’ involvement in production processes, managers’ willingness to consider the perspectives of their subordinates, and good health and safety practices in construction projects. respondents believed that government intervention to increase support for contractors was one measure that would help increase contractor productivity. two areas of concern for study participants were contractors’ access to funding and government policy. four respondents (r2, r13, r14, and r15) advised the government to make funding more accessible to contractors. r15 indicated that the support should be in the form of loans. regarding government policy, it was considered that regulations detrimental to productivity should be eliminated (r8, r10, r13, and r15). adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 74 explicit reference was made to the policy requiring contractors to recruit within the geographic location of construction projects and policies related to construction workers’ benefits. it was reported that the government needed to review these guidelines. time wastage on government projects is reported to impede construction progress. time loss from late decisionmaking, late payments from contractors, and corruption were major issues in public works (r12). table 4: critical measures for smes’ productivity growth respondent themes and feedback proficiency r1 “… training during operations for artisans. business training to improve cash flow …” r2 “…we directors must also always be hungry for knowledge for a better way to do things…” r4 “…train the skilled workers more to become excellent and ask them to train others…” r6 “…workers should be taken for training outside the company and during work on their sites…” r7 “…workers need training. some should be sent on short courses…” r8 “…contractors should upskill in business and construction operations management. they must also train workers and use experienced supervisors…” r9 “…the few skilled workers should mentor the less skilled ones…” r10 “…owners must take training their workers, especially supervisors, very seriously…” r12 “…contractors must learn proper management of construction projects…” r13 “…members of the management team should attend capacitybuilding training…” r14 “…workers should be given the privilege of short courses…” r15 “…many company owners need to upskill and not just their workers…” leadership style r4 “…good leadership and business management strategies…” r5 “…owners should have a good bonding with workers…” r6 “…team building using different strategies like taking workers out for games and braai on monthly basis or how the company deems it suitable for their organisation…” r8 “…. directors should get more involved in day-to-day production…” r9 “…contractors must avoid discrimination by skin colours – it does not matter who corrects them, as long as it is with good intentions to prevent pitfalls, they should be willing to learn and accept corrections in good fate [sic]…” r10 “…managers must take safety more seriously. injuries slow down our productions because we have to investigate the root cause of every accident…” r11 “…operating the company should not entirely depend on the owners. owners should allow the participation of their employees by considering their opinions in running their companies…” adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 75 respondent themes and feedback government support r2 “…our government should increase access to funds for contractors…” r8 “…government should eliminate the policy of forcing workers on contractors and forcing contractors to pay a bonus to undeserving workers…” r10 “…the government must give contractors the free hand to recruit as their jobs demand and not compel them to employ certain individuals…” r12 “…in government projects, time-related wastes due to delay in decision making should be avoided. issues of corruption and late payments of contractors in public projects should also be avoided…” r13 “…government must develop skills for construction, provide financial support for contractors and eliminate bad policies in construction…” r14 “…government should make funds more available to us…” r15 “…government needs to give us loans and better policies…” source: authors 5. discussion of the findings table 5 shows that the challenges faced by south african construction smes are not only unique to the contractors but are also issues affecting different categories of construction organisations in other countries. based on the literature reviewed and the results from this study, human development, teamwork, management style, leadership style, and government interventions are common factors affecting construction productivity in south africa. the results show that these five challenges can be used as strategies and measures that could improve construction smes’ productivity in south africa. table 5: productivity improvement for construction smes strategies and measures country source human development (proficiency) bahrain, egypt, india, nigeria, qatar, uganda, usa, zimbabwe, india, uganda, south africa jarkas et al., 2015: 343; durdyev & ismail, 2016: 461; thomas & sudhakumar, 2013: 124; odesola & idoro, 2014: 108; jarkas, kadri & younes, 2012: 22; alinaitwe, mwakali & hansson, 2007: 175; karimi et al., 2017: 379; chigara & moyo, 2014: 63; sebastian & raghavan, 2015: 95; mafundu & mafini, 2019: 8; ntuli & allopi, 2014: 573; alaghbari et al., 2019: 88; alshammari et al., 2020: 8; chimucheka, 2013: 794; aghimien et al., 2019: 215 teamwork jordan, saudi arabia, south africa hiyassat et al., 2016: 148; mahamid, 2012: 284; oyewob, abiola-falemu & ibironke 2016: 233; yap, leong & skitmore, 2020: 1501 adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 76 strategies and measures country source project planning india, south africa, malaysia thomas & sudhakumar, 2013:124; adebowale & smallwood, 2020: 345; sambasivan & soon, 2007: 525; zwikael, 2009: 283; project management institute, 2017: 88 leadership style palestine, egypt, thailand, india, chile, iran, qatar, usa, zimbabwe, south africa enshassi et al., 2007: 253; hafez et al., 2014: 39; makulsawatudom et al., 2004: 6; thomas & sudhakumar, 2013: 124; rivas et al., 2011: 319; sebastian & raghavan, 2015: 95; zakeri et al., 1996: 425; jarkas et al., 2012: 22; dai et al., 2007: 1151; chigara & moyo, 2014: 63; mafundu & mafini, 2019: 9 government interventions uganda, south africa alinaitwe et al., 2007:174; adebowale & smallwood, 2020: 345 source: authors the results indicate human development, teamwork, and effective planning as leading smes’ strategies for improving productivity in south african construction. for some decades, south africa has operated an apprenticeship system that develops skilled workers for the construction industry. in recent years, the industry’s productivity has shrunk, due to its failure to meet its skill demands. this suggests that the apprenticeship system has become less effective or that the growing demand for infrastructure in south africa is overwhelming. the prevalence of skills shortages in the south african construction industry required contractors to develop internal skill-producing mechanisms that are peculiar to their operations. a study investigating the internal constraints on south african construction smes’ business performance also reported skills shortages as a challenge. the authors opined that south african contractors need more qualified and experienced workers (mafundu & mafini, 2019: 8). in a similar study conducted in a different south african province (kwazulunatal), inadequate skill for construction was found as one of the critical challenges confronting smes’ business performance (ntuli & allopi, 2014: 573). the findings of these studies emphasise the incidence of skills issues in the south african construction industry. contractors are typically cautious about spending their limited resources on training workers who may leave for another organisation, considering the project-based nature of construction. construction organisations have largely preferred costeffective systems such as on-the-job training and mentoring programmes to improve the skills of their employees. human development is the business of construction multi-stakeholders, including the government and the private sector, as the industry’s performance significantly affects the nation’s macroeconomics. inadequate skills necessitate human development for construction organisations to operate productively. challenges related adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 77 to construction skills are long-lasting and affect not only smes but also larger construction companies in many countries (alinaitwe et al., 2007: 174; durdyev & mbachu, 2011: 30; jarkas, radosavljevic & wuyi, 2014: 1088; hiyassat et al., 2016: 148; alaghbari et al., 2019: 85; manoharan et al., 2022: 13). in addition to construction organisations’ efforts for human development, more commitments are required from the public and private sectors with respect to skills development for the industry. this requires a broader, intensified, and more committed approach to construction human resource development from industry practitioners. the study found teamwork and good working relationships as measures that have helped increase contractors’ productivity. teamwork contributes to efficient project delivery and reduces rework (oyewobi et al., 2016: 233). yap and leong (2020: 1501) reported poor teamwork as a critical factor related to excessive rework, low productivity, and frequent design changes. construction professionals can improve team management and communication to increase project productivity. construction managers must promote synergies among project team members in their organisations, while ensuring inclusivity at all levels. aside from company-based challenges that interfere with construction operations, there are occasional intrusions from community dwellers where projects are implemented (adebowale & smallwood, 2020: 345). extensive engagement between construction stakeholders and community leaders can help prevent some of these disruptions. beyond community dwellers’ interference, unfortunately, activities of the construction mafia have led to disruptions in many construction projects. construction mafias are hooligans and thugs who invade construction sites to demand money from contractors (jerling, 2019: 6). while respondents have not mentioned the construction mafias as an issue associated with productivity, the mafias have the potential to cause a serious setback to productivity in south african construction. their violent disruptions stalled billions of rands in construction projects across the nine south african provinces (cawe, 2022: 45). south african construction stakeholders, including the government, must deal thoroughly with community interference and interruptions from the mafia buddies. contractors viewed effective planning for construction operations as a leading strategy to drive productivity in their organisations. three planning phases are essential for construction companies to achieve their goal of increasing productivity. this includes pre-contract, contract, and construction planning. contractors must view these planning phases as critical (zwikael, 2009: 283). it is not enough to develop project plans; it is also important to implement the developed project plans. while planning in construction is important, it is a challenging task for many contractors during project implementation (pmi, 2017: 88). small and adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 78 medium-sized contractors require effective planning, in order to improve their productivity performance. managerial and non-managerial proficiency, leadership styles, and government support were determined as critical measures to improve construction smes’ productivity. construction management literature has reported the importance of construction managers’ and workers’ proficiency (alaghbari et al., 2019: 88; alshammari, yahya & haron, 2020: 8). directors must recognise the need for upskilling, as their complacency could contribute to production setbacks in the organisation. this finding is consistent with chimucheka (2013: 794), who reported the lack of competent directors as being responsible for construction smes’ business failure. owners of construction smes should seek personal development and business competence (aghimien et al., 2019: 215). they must have a positive attitude towards improvement, especially in relation to their business demands. significant improvement in construction productivity is possible with effective management styles. poor leadership in an organisation is detrimental to the overall organisational goal. a similar study reported the lack of leadership skills as the main obstacle confronting black-owned construction organisations (mafundu & mafini, 2019: 9). managers at different levels of the organisation can create systems that promote operational synergies. participatory leadership styles, involving team members in critical decision-making, might produce desirable outcomes. this reduces the perceived discrimination against employees, especially those at the lower management levels. finally, improving the productivity of construction smes in south africa requires the government to intensify intervention in terms of improving access to finance, eliminating unproductive policies relative to employerlabour relations, and reassessing the apprenticeship system. measures must be implemented to eradicate corruption and expedite payments in public and private sector projects. corruption is most prevalent during the bid evaluation and tendering phases of projects. bowen, edwards & cattell (2012: 527) reported the leading causes of corruption in the south african construction industry. these include a lack of transparency in the award of public contracts and a lack of a positive operating environment. the barriers that impeded the effective reporting of corruption cases were other leading factors reported by the authors. consequently, the development of efficient and strategic anti-corruption measures can be better achieved, if a deeper understanding of the causes of corruption in south african construction is established. this necessitates more investigations to uncover the underlying causes of corruption in the contemporary south african construction sector. adebowale & agumba 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 62-89 79 6. conclusion many south african construction smes experience business failure within a few years of operation. their business failure is partly associated with low productivity during project deliveries. low productivity of construction smes negatively impacts on microand macroeconomic performance and contributes to job losses. some studies have examined measures to improve construction productivity, by jointly investigating productivityinfluencing factors in smes and larger construction organisations. these studies have made contributions that apply to all contractors in the construction sector. this study argued the need to exclusively address the productivity of small and medium-sized contractors, in order to gain insights into problems and interventions specific to these categories of contractors. the findings of this study are consistent with the results of some existing studies. this suggests commonalities in factors influencing construction productivity regardless of country and the size of construction organisations. the study reported key measures that south african small and medium-sized contractors should consider, in order to improve their productivity. the south african construction smes can leverage the outcome of this study to develop frameworks that promote improved managerial and non-managerial competence, teamwork, effective planning, appropriate leadership styles, and increased government support. such frameworks must be robust enough to provide sufficient skills for contractors’ personnel at all levels of the organisation. the leadership of smes must understand and deploy the most suitable and result-oriented leadership style under different conditions. effective leadership styles would contribute to developing plans that promote a more effective team and improved engagements with the government and other funding organisations. these would engender steady growth in smes’ productivity and ultimately mitigate business failures. consequently, the numerical strength of small and medium-sized contractors would increasingly be an advantage through increased job creation, thereby improving socio-economic development in south africa. the study is limited to a few construction projects; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised beyond the study area. considering some similarities in the results of this study and other studies, the industry can test the study’s intervention in different 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https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings10040066 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14091055 _hlk132614861 138 navorsingsartikels • research articles mandy malindi mrs mandy malindi, master’s graduate, department of construction management, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 0-11-682-0078, e-mail: <mandymalindi@ gmail.com> john smallwood prof. john smallwood, department of construction management, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 0-41-504-2790, e-mail: <john.smallwood@mandela. ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.6 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 138-177 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) the impact of the construction regulations 2014 on a water utility’s projects’ health and safety (h&s) performance in south africa peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract the construction industry plays a major role in south africa’s economic development. despite its importance, the poor health and safety (h&s) performance and associated costs to the industry are a concern. the literature review indicates that improved h&s performance can be achieved on a project where there is a collaborative approach among all stakeholders during the six project stages. this study focuses on the impact of the construction regulations 2014 on a water utility’s projects’ h&s performance. it determines the h&s involvement of client representatives and internal project stakeholders during the six project stages. it also addresses their commitment towards h&s, measures taken by them during planning and design, in contracts to improve h&s, and to select conscious contractors, and the extent of their h&s participation in construction h&s. mixed methods research (a questionnaire survey and four case study projects) was used to collect the data required for the study. a total of 67 responses were obtained from the five stakeholder groups from the water utility, namely client representatives, designers, quantity surveyors (qss), project managers (pms), and construction h&s (chs) professionals to obtain information regarding their h&s involvement during the six project stages. four case study projects (three preconstruction regulations 2014 and one postconstruction regulations 2014) were obtained, using a stratified random sampling technique and a checklist to obtain information regarding the stakeholder h&s involvement during the http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.6 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 139 six project stages and the overall project performance. the study found that the construction regulations 2014 are perceived to have had an impact on the water utility’s h&s performance. there is a direct relationship between stakeholder h&s involvement and project h&s performance. the integration of h&s in the initial project phases; early involvement of chs professionals, and h&s training for stakeholders are among the recommendations arising from this study. keywords: clients, construction health and safety professionals, designers, project managers, quantity surveyors abstrak die konstruksiebedryf speel ’n belangrike rol in suid-afrika se ekonomiese ontwikkeling. ten spyte van die belangrikheid daarvan, is die swak gesondheids en veiligheids (g&v)-prestasie en verwante koste kommerwekkend. die literatuuroorsig dui daarop dat verbeterde g&v-prestasie behaal kan word op ’n projek waar daar tydens die ses projekfases ’n samewerkende benadering onder alle belanghebbendes is. hierdie studie fokus op die impak van die konstruksie regulasies 2014 op ’n watertoevoerprojek se g&v-vertoning. dit bepaal die g&vbetrokkenheid van kliëntverteenwoordigers en interne projekbelanghebbendes gedurende die ses projekfases. die artikel ondersoek ook hul verbintenis tot g&v en die maatreëls wat hulle tydens beplanning en ontwerp geneem het in kontrakte om g&v te verbeter. verder ondersoek die artikel die kies van g&v-bewuste kontrakteurs asook die omvang van hul g&v-deelname aan konstruksie g&v. die gemengde metode van navorsing (’n vraelysopname en vier gevallestudie-projekte) is gebruik om die data vir die studie te verkry. 67 response is verkry vanuit die vyf watertoevoerprojekbelanghebbendes, naamlik kliëntverteenwoordigers, ontwerpers, bourekenaars (qs’s), projekbestuurders (pm’s) en konstruksie-g&v (gvp) professionele persone om inligting oor hul g&v-betrokkenheid te verkry gedurende die ses projekte stadiums. vier gevallestudies (drie voor-konstruksie regulasies 2014 en een na-konstruksie regulasies 2014) is verkry deur gebruik te maak van ’n gestratifiseerde ewekansige steekproefnemingstegniek. ’n kontrolelys is gebruik om inligting oor die belanghebbendes se g&v-betrokkenheid tydens die ses projekfases te verkry asook die algehele projekprestasie. bevindinge toon dat die konstruksie regulasies 2014 ’n impak het op die g&v van die watertoevoerprojek. daar is ’n direkte verhouding tussen die belanghebbendes se g&v-betrokkenheid en die projek se g&v-prestasie. die integrasie van g&v in die aanvanklike projekfases; vroeë betrokkenheid van die gvp-professionele persone, en g&v-opleiding vir belanghebbendes is van die aanbevelings wat uit hierdie studie voortspruit. sleutelwoorde: bourekenaars, kliënte, konstruksie gesondheidsen veiligheidspersoneel, ontwerpers, projekbestuurders 1. introduction the construction industry is considered to be risky, as it experiences high accident rates and ill-health problems (muiruri & mulinge, 2014: 2). the south african department of labour reported a rise in accidents during the period 2004/2005 to 2007/2008, with 162 fatalities in 2007/2008, excluding motor vehicle accidents, and 396 non-fatal accidents, namely temporary or permanent disablements (dol, 2012: online; cidb, 2009: 2). acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 140 to improve south african h&s performance, the minister of labour published a government notice under section 43 of the ohs act containing the construction regulations 2014, which repealed the construction regulations 2003 (rsa, 2014). in line with international trends, the construction regulations in south africa include the client and the final end-user (cidb, 2009: 17). the intention of the construction regulations is to reduce the number of fatalities, injuries, and disease plaguing the construction industry. however, despite the promulgation of the construction regulations, a disproportionate number of accidents continue to occur in south africa. the disabling injury incidence rate (diir) for the contractors undertaking work for the water utility, that is the subject of the study over the past three years, is above the industry average of 0.98 (cidb, 2009: 4), and a high level of h&s non-compliance is experienced on their related construction sites. this deficient performance, therefore, prompts the question as to whether clients and project stakeholders involved in the water utility’s projects become adequately involved in construction h&s during the six stages of the project. this study focuses on the impact of the construction regulations 2014 on a water utility’s projects’ h&s performance. the aim of this study is to determine the h&s involvement of client representatives and internal project stakeholders during the six project stages. the research objectives include their commitment towards h&s; measures taken by them during planning and design, in contracts to improve h&s, and to select conscious contractors, and the extent of their h&s participation in construction h&s. identification of such h&s involvement will ensure that proper strategies are put in place to deal with construction h&s issues during the six project stages, which, in the long term, will cause a reduction in accidents that occur on construction projects. 2. literature review 2.1 construction h&s management the construction industry is regarded as the most hazardous industry with complex processes and unique challenges that influence h&s management and contribute to a high number of incidents, including fatalities (saifullah & ismail, 2012: 604; kamardeen, 2013: 2; sunindijo & zou, 2015: 29). a report from the dol (2012) states that the building and construction sector is one of the high-risk sectors that was compensated more than r287 million for occupational injuries in 2010/2011 and experienced 171 fatalities and 755 injuries from 2007 to 2010. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 141 according to kikwasi (2009: 61), h&s management is inadequate in the industry, due to h&s not being taken seriously by parties involved in construction projects; clients and consultants being more concerned with quality of work than with h&s; inadequate h&s personnel and equipment; construction workers not trained or made aware with respect to the need to comply with h&s requirements; h&s not being budgeted for; h&s not being considered at the tendering stage and, as a result, clients expecting contractors to bear h&s-associated costs during project execution, and lastly, clients and contractors assuming that not making allowance for h&s reduces the project and construction cost. the poor h&s performance and non-participation by key project stakeholders such as clients and designers motivated the promulgation of the construction h&s legislation in 2003 to foster multi-stakeholder interventions and participation (agumba, pretorius & haupt, 2016: 70). the construction regulations (rsa, 2014) stipulate all h&s requirements in the construction industry that must be complied with by the client, the client’s agent, the designer, the principal contractor, and the contractors. the 2014 amendments include the construction work permit (cwp), and the registration of construction h&s professionals with the south african council for the project and construction management professions (sacpcmp) in terms of act no. 48 (rsa, 2000). these changes are intended to drive a h&s cultural change to ensure collaboration of all key stakeholders on all matters of h&s throughout the project. however, the industry has not fully implemented the cwp process, due to the exemption notice given by the minister in july 2015. the vast majority of organisations with construction projects of less than r40 million have not fully realised its impact. the construction regulations are perceived to have had a positive impact in terms of reducing h&s accidents and have increased the level of h&s awareness. they have also increased pms’ and general contractors’ consideration of, or reference to h&s (cidb, 2009: 11). however, they have not increased designers’ and qss’ consideration of, or reference to h&s. 2.2 h&s in the six construction project stages figure 1 shows the project stages, as defined by the sacpcmp, used for this study. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 142 pr o je c t in iti a tio n a nd b rie fin g c o nc e p t a nd fe a sib ilit y d e sig n d e ve lo p m e nt te nd e r d o c um e nt a tio n a nd p ro c ur e m e nt c o ns tr uc tio n d o c um e nt a tio n a nd m a na g e m e nt pr o je c t c lo se -o ut stage 1 stage 2 pre-construction construction postconstruction stage 3 stage 4 stage 5 stage 6 figure 1: six project stages source: authors various project stakeholders influence construction h&s throughout the six project stages. research indicates that clients, designers, pms, and qss influence and can contribute to h&s. however, their involvement is not constant; it differs during the various project stages (powell, 2012: 23). the client and the asset management staff are highly involved in stages 1 and 2, less involved in stage 3, and then more involved at take-over at the end of stage 5; the designer is mostly involved in stage 3, and usually involved in stages 2, 4 and 5. a study undertaken by phoya & eliufoo (2015: 424) among key project stakeholders such as clients, pms, architects, engineers, qss, site managers, and workers found that power is a predominant factor in terms of stakeholders’ participation in h&s management. it was also found that power has the potential to influence h&s performance. the diverse sources of power among project stakeholders created opportunities for them to participate in h&s in the various project stages. it was found that clients and pms have substantial influence throughout the project stages, whereas other stakeholders such as architects, engineers, and qss had substantial influence when they executed their duties in specific project stages. however, the use of influence was generally low, due to low levels of knowledge relative to h&s risk management among stakeholders. their perception was that their participation would lead to increased cost, time wastage, and that it was not their responsibility. chs professionals are not involved during the appropriate stages to influence the design or any critical h&s issues (deacon & smallwood, 2016: 6). the lack of knowledge of construction, formal and continued education, support from clients, and the buy-in at many levels are some of the barriers faced by chs professionals, thus preventing them from ensuring adequate levels of h&s (deacon, 2009: 3). this indicates that h&s involvement is “fragmented resulting in varying degrees of statutory compliance”, malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 143 thus increasing project risk. the sacpcmp has developed professional roles and responsibilities that are aligned to the six project stages for each of the chs professional categories to manage these challenges. 2.2.1 stage 1 (project initiation and briefing) and stage 2 (concept and feasibility) research confirms that clients play a key role in project implementation. this is also reflected in the united kingdom’s cdm regulations of 2015, and the south african construction regulations 2014 that require them to manage h&s throughout the project (phoya & eliufoo, 2015: 424). clients can positively influence project h&s performance, since they contribute to the funding of the project, and are able to include h&s during objective identification and project brief (saifullah & ismail, 2012: 606). due to constraints during the development of a project brief, the client may reduce the project budget, add new project criteria, change project objectives, and accelerate the design or the construction efforts of the project that play an essential role in accident occurrences (said, shafiei & omran, 2009: 128). according to lopes, haupt and fester (2011: 9), common h&s problems encountered during construction could be avoided if h&s was considered during the project brief and design phase (saifullah & ismail, 2012: 606). 2.2.2 stage 3 (design) the design phase provides an opportunity to eliminate hazards before they appear on the construction site. the ability to eliminate hazards diminishes as the project progresses. research indicates that qss have a direct influence on construction h&s by drawing up specifications that ensure contractors make adequate provision for h&s, whereas designers have a direct influence on construction h&s when they consider h&s in their designs. saifullah and ismail (2012: 606) state that most of the h&s issues arise from inadequate design, due to design professionals not taking responsibility owing to a lack of h&s education and training, lack of h&s design tools, and their attempt to limit their liability exposure (saifullah & ismail, 2012: 606). studies undertaken by gambatese, behm and rajendran (2007: 676) and by tymvios and gambatese (2015: 1) provide evidence of the link between a project’s design and construction site injury and fatality incidents. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 144 2.2.3 stage 4 (tender documentation and procurement) according to wells and hawkins (2010: 3), procurement systems are instrumental in promoting h&s practices. however, minimum attention is paid to improve procurement standards. a study undertaken by haupt and hefer (2015: 456) found that h&s was not adequately addressed in standard forms of construction contracts used in south africa. similar studies found that contract documentation did not provide contractors with the opportunity to price for h&s for improving h&s performance (kikwasi, 2009: 58), and the h&s specifications in the tender documents are marginally projectspecific and relatively lengthy (smallwood, 2007: 338). research indicates that there is limited emphasis on h&s requirements, and that budgeting for h&s in the contract documents ranged from 0.21% to 1.99% of the contract value (latib, zahari, hamid & yee, 2016: 53). however, according to the cidb (2009: 9), the cost of h&s is approximately 5.0% of the value of a contract. according to saifullah and ismail (2012: 608), the traditional procurement system focuses on tender cost, thus restricting contractors to work more efficiently. such competitive tendering marginalises h&s (smallwood & venter, 2002: 59). 2.2.4 stage 5 (construction) pms play a vital role in the execution of projects (phoya & eliufoo, 2015: 424) and are empowered by the conditions of the contract to issue instructions and inspect the contractor’s work on behalf of the client. research indicates that continuous monitoring and reviewing of h&s management practices are required in order to improve the poor h&s record and to enhance overall legal compliance. a study revealed that 60% of clients conduct periodic job-site h&s inspections or h&s audits; 50% of them participate in contractor h&s meetings; 20% of them participate in the investigation of all lost workday injury accidents, and 3% of clients employ h&s personnel on the project site to monitor injury incidence rate (said, shafiei & omran, 2009: 130). 2.2.5 stage 6 (project close-out) the last major phase of a construction project is when a client receives and approves all reports as required by the terms and conditions of the award, and notifies the contractor of the final acceptance and closure of the project (mpanza, mututo & pearl, 2008: 134). a study conducted among pms determined that inadequate or lack of h&s or h&s non-compliance indirectly impacts on the overall malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 145 project performance parameters of productivity, quality, cost, client perceptions, environment, and schedule (cidb, 2009: 8). research recommends that, at this stage, both successes and problems on the project should be identified through a ‘lessons learned’ process, which can be applied during stage 1 of future projects, in order to improve project performance. 3. research methodology this study focused on the impact of the construction regulations 2014 on a water utility’s projects’ h&s performance and addressed the h&s involvement of client representatives and internal project stakeholders during the six project stages. the study used a mixed methods design, in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. conclusions were then integrated (leedy & ormrod, 2015: 329). a questionnaire survey and four case study infrastructure projects were used to obtain data from a large water utility in south africa, within which several substantial construction projects were undertaken. the case study is a type of applied qualitative research, in which in-depth data are gathered relative to a single individual programme or event for the purpose of learning more about an unknown or poorly understood situation (leedy & ormrod, 2015: 329). the case study was found most appropriate for investigating the extent of stakeholder h&s involvement during the six project stages over a period based on the overall project performance as a result of the construction regulations. this complemented the quantitative research. 3.1 sampling method and size a combined list of 137 staff members, consisting of client representatives and project stakeholders working within the water utility, was obtained from the internal online directory available on the intranet. the staff list was stratified in five stakeholder groups, namely client representatives (17), designers (49), qss (4), pms (53), and chs professionals (14). a simple stratified random sampling selection method resulted in a sample size of 67, representing client representatives (11), designers (14), qss (4), pms (27), and chs professionals (11). the sample size for construction-related professionals was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608) and required sample size calculator by the research advisors (2006). the table gives recommended sample sizes for general research activities, applicable to any defined population. from the required acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 146 sample size calculator based on the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 137, a confidence level of 95%, and a margin of error (degree of accuracy) of 8.6% would be 67. this recommendation validates the sample size of 67 as efficient for the population of 137. the case study compared historic data from a sample of four projects based on a stratified random sample of projects selected by separating the projects into mutually exclusive sets, or strata and then drawing a simple random sample from each stratum. this list of projects was then generated from systems applications and products (sap), and the following criteria were used to separate the projects into strata: a. pre-construction regulations 2014 completed process plant construction projects; b. pre-construction regulations 2014 completed pipeline construction projects; c. pre-construction regulations 2014 completed upgrade of dam projects, and d. post-construction regulations 2014 construction projects falling under the annexure 1 cwp requirement that is still in progress. 3.2 data collection the questionnaire was evolved based on the findings emanating from the literature review. it consisted of fifteen (15) questions, fourteen (14) being close ended, using a 5-point likert scale, and one being open ended, the latter allowing for the recording of general comments. the survey used a single instrument for all respondent groups and was pre-tested. the questionnaire was e-mailed and posted to client representatives and project stakeholders to the target population within the water utility. respondents were asked to indicate the importance of various parameters: the level of contribution by various stakeholders during the six project stages; the importance of h&s during the six project stages; the extent to which h&s can be influenced during the six project stages; the level of h&s involvement by various stakeholders during the six project stages; the frequency of h&s actions undertaken by the various stakeholders during the six project stages; the factors that contribute to optimum h&s, and the contribution of the construction regulations 2014 on a project. while 52 of the respondents completed the questionnaire via email and replied via email, 15 respondents hand-delivered the questionnaire malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 147 to the researcher. further information was requested from those who replied using emails, where clarity was required. for the case studies, three completed pre-construction regulations 2014 projects and one active post-construction regulations 2014 project were selected. the selection criteria for the case study projects included projects that expended 100 000 person hours, had contract values in excess of r100 million, and had project h&s information that was available. the active project selected was the only cwp project undertaken by the water utility to obtain recent information after the amendments made to construction regulations 2014. all project documents were examined against a scorecard checklist based on a study done by huang (2003: 120) that contained a list of client and project stakeholder h&s actions that had a direct impact on influencing h&s performance and included aspects of project context; selection of contractor; contractual h&s requirements; contractor h&s programme requirements, and client’s involvement in project h&s management. this scorecard evaluated the level of client and project stakeholder involvement per project and determined the pattern of compliance to the construction regulations during the different periods measured as a percentage. 3.3 data analysis and interpretation of findings responses from the questionnaire were captured using the excel software program, and the analysis of data consisted of the calculation of descriptive statistics to depict the frequency distribution and central tendency, namely a mean score (ms), of responses to fixed response questions. to interpret the findings, the fixed response items were ranked according to the central tendency of responses. mss were calculated as follows: ms = 1n1 + 2n2 + 3n3 + 4n4 + 5n5 (no + n1 + n2 + n3 + n4 + n5) – *n0 * n0 were removed relative to non-importance questions. the variables are referenced in table 1. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 148 table 1: definition of likert scale points and related variables likert scale point variable unsure unsure unsure unsure n0 not important minor extent very low never n1 less than important near minor extent low rarely n2 important some extent moderate sometimes n3 more than important near major extent high often n4 very important major extent very high always n5 in order to describe the data in more detail, the following ranges and interpretation were used in analysing the weighted ms, as referenced in table 2. table 2: range and interpretation of the five-point likert scale scale range interpretation 1 > 1.00 ≤ 1.80 not important to less important minor extent to near minor extent very low to low never to rarely 2 > 1.80 ≤ 2.60 not important to less than important/less than important minor extent to near minor extent/near minor extent very low to low/low never to rarely/rarely 3 > 2.60 ≤ 3.40 less than important to important/important near minor extent to some extent/some extent low to moderate/moderate rarely to sometimes/sometimes 4 > 3.40 ≤ 4.20 important to more than important/more than important some extent to near major extent/near major extent moderate to high/high sometime to often/often 5 > 4.20 ≤ 5.00 more than important to very important/very important near major extent to major extent/major extent high to very high/very high often to always/always the documentation from the sampled case study projects was examined according to each of the 25 criteria on the checklist scorecard. the information reviewed was interpreted as criteria either being met, or not being met, respectively, by way of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses and captured using the excel software program. the data malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 149 for each project was given a percentage score to show the level of involvement in the project and grouped according to the bins as determined by huang (2003: 120): < 52% (weak involvement); > 52% < 88% (moderate involvement); > 88% (strong involvement). this data was compared with the project performance for each project, i.e. on time, difr, within budget, and the percentage h&s constituted of the project. 4. findings and discussion 4.1 questionnaire results 4.1.1 the importance of project parameters table 3 indicates the importance of five parameters to the respondents on a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. table 3: the importance of project parameters in terms of the stakeholder’s groups project parameter chs professional clients designers project managers quantity surveyors mean ms r ms r ms r ms r ms r ms r project h&s 5.00 1 4.82 2 4.71 1= 4.85 2 4.75 3= 4.84 1 project quality 4.73 2= 4.91 1 4.50 3 4.89 1 4.50 5 4.76 2 project cost 4.73 2= 4.45 3= 4.71 1= 4.78 3 5.00 1= 4.72 3 project time 4.73 2= 4.45 3= 4.23 4 4.63 4 5.00 1= 4.49 4 environment 4.55 5 4.45 3= 4.14 5 4.48 5 4.75 3= 4.43 5 respondent mean ms 4.75 4.62 4.46 4.73 4.80 4.65 the respondent mean mss are all between > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, indicating that stakeholders perceive h&s, quality, cost, time, and environment as more than important to very important/very important parameters to measure successful projects. both clients and pms perceive quality as the most important project parameter, and h&s as the second most important parameter. designers perceive cost and h&s as the most important project parameter, and thereafter quality as the second most important parameter. qss consider project cost and time as the most important project parameters, and chs professionals perceive project h&s as the most important project parameter. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 150 4.1.2 the level of contribution of the various stakeholders to the implementation of the construction regulations 2014 table 4 indicates the level of contribution of the various stakeholders to the implementation of the construction regulations 2014 in terms of the stakeholder’s groups on a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. table 4: the level of contribution of various stakeholders to the implementation of the construction regulations in terms of the stakeholder’s groups stakeholder chs professional clients designers project managers quantity surveyors mean ms r ms r ms r ms r ms r ms r construction h&s professional 4.73 1 4.82 1= 4.71 1 4.74 1= 4.33 2 4.73 1 principal contractors 4.60 2 4.82 1= 4.14 4 4.74 1= 5.00 1= 4.62 2 project managers 4.18 3 4.82 1= 4.29 3 4.59 3 5.00 1= 4.52 3 designers 3.78 6 4.18 5 4.50 2 4.19 4 4.33 3= 4.20 4 clients 4.09 4 4.09 6 4.08 5 4.07 6 4.33 3= 4.09 5 subcontractors 3.90 5 4.36 4 3.85 6 4.15 5 4.00 6 4.08 6 suppliers 2.78 8 4.09 6 3.33 8 4.06 7 3.67 7 3.52 7 quantity surveyor 3.00 7 3.82 8 3.46 7 3.56 8 3.33 8 3.49 8 respondent mean ms 3.88 4.38 4.05 4.26 4.25 4.16 the respondent mean mss are > 3.00, indicating that respondents perceived all eight stakeholders to contribute to the implementation of the construction regulations. chs professionals, principal contractors, and pms are the only stakeholders with mss > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, indicating that they are deemed to make between a near major to major/major contribution to the implementation of the regulations. pms, designers, and chs professionals view themselves as major contributors to the implementation of the construction regulations. 4.1.3 the importance of h&s; the extent to which project h&s can be influenced, and the level of h&s involvement during the six project stages table 5 indicates i) the importance of h&s; ii) the extent to which project h&s can be influenced, and iii) the level of h&s involvement during the six project stages on a scale of 1 (not important/minor/very low) to 5 (very important/major/very high), and a ms ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 151 ta b le 5 : th e im p o rt a nc e o f h & s; t he e xt e nt t o w hi c h p ro je c t h & s c a n b e in flu e nc e d , a nd t he le ve l o f h & s in vo lv e m e nt d ur in g t he s ix p ro je c t st a g e s st a g e c h s p ro fe ss io na l c lie nt s d e sig ne rs pr o je c t m a na g e rs q ua nt ity s ur ve yo rs m e a n m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r (i) t he im p o rt a nc e o f h & s d ur in g t he s ix p ro je c t st a g e s st a g e 5 4. 82 3= 4. 27 4 4. 62 1 4. 89 1 5. 00 1= 4. 66 1 st a g e 6 4. 91 1= 4. 45 2 4. 29 2 4. 19 4 5. 00 1= 4. 42 2 st a g e 3 4. 82 3= 4. 55 1 4. 14 3 4. 22 3 4. 25 5= 4. 36 3 st a g e 4 4. 91 1= 3. 73 6 3. 69 5 4. 59 2 4. 75 3 4. 27 4 st a g e 2 4. 73 5 4. 09 5 4. 00 4 3. 93 5 4. 25 5= 4. 12 5 st a g e 1 4. 45 6 4. 45 2 3. 57 6 3. 74 6 4. 75 3 4. 00 6 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 4. 77 4. 26 4. 05 4. 26 4. 67 4. 31 (ii ) th e e xt e nt t o w hi c h p ro je c t h & s c a n b e in flu e nc e d d ur in g t he s ix p ro je c t st a g e s st a g e 5 4. 55 1= 4. 27 2 4. 00 2= 4. 41 2 5. 00 1= 4. 36 1 st a g e 6 4. 55 1= 3. 91 5 3. 31 6 3. 26 6 3. 75 6 4. 30 2 st a g e 3 4. 36 4 4. 55 1 4. 23 1 4. 19 3 4. 50 3 4. 26 3 st a g e 4 4. 55 1= 3. 82 6 3. 77 5 4. 44 1 5. 00 1= 4. 08 4 st a g e 2 4. 09 5 4. 18 3 4. 00 2= 4. 04 4 4. 25 4= 3. 85 5 st a g e 1 4. 00 6 4. 09 4 3. 85 4 3. 63 5 4. 25 4= 3. 62 6 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 4. 35 4. 14 3. 86 4. 00 4. 46 4. 08 (ii i) th e le ve l o f h & s in vo lv e m e nt d ur in g t he s ix p ro je c t st a g e s st a g e 5 4. 55 1 4. 00 4 3. 31 2= 4. 59 1 4. 25 1 4. 21 1 st a g e 6 4. 09 2 4. 18 1= 3. 14 5 3. 81 3 3. 00 3 3. 73 2 st a g e 4 3. 27 3 3. 36 6 3. 31 2= 3. 93 2 4. 00 2 3. 61 3 st a g e 3 1. 90 4 4. 09 3 4. 00 1 3. 26 4 2. 25 4= 3. 29 4 st a g e 2 1. 70 5 3. 55 5 3. 21 4 3. 00 5= 2. 25 4= 2. 89 5 st a g e 1 1. 45 6 4. 18 1= 3. 14 5 3. 00 5= 1. 50 6 2. 88 6 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 2. 83 3. 89 3. 35 3. 60 2. 88 3. 44 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 152 the respondent mean mss are > 3.00 for (i) and (ii), indicating that all stakeholders perceive h&s to be important, and that it can be influenced during the six project stages. for item (i), stages 5, 6, 3, and 4 have mss that are > 4.20 ≤ 5.00; therefore, h&s can be deemed to be between more than important to very important/very important during these stages. it is notable that h&s is perceived to be more important in stage 5 and ranked first among the other stages, whereas stages 2 and 1 were ranked fourth and fifth based on their mss. for item (ii), stages 5, 6, and 3 have mss > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, indicating that h&s can be influenced between a near major to major/major extent during these stages. the vast majority of the stakeholders ranked stage 5 as the first stage at which h&s can be influenced, and ranked stages 2 and 1 as the stages when h&s can be least influenced. for item (iii), the respondent mean mss for clients, designers, pms are > 3.00, indicating that these stakeholders are involved in h&s during the six project stages. stages 3 to 6 have mss above the mid-point score of 3.00, indicating h&s involvement during these stages. it is notable that stage 5 has a ms > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, indicating high to very high/very high involvement during this stage. the involvement of clients in construction h&s during the various project stages is between moderate to high/high, except for stage 4, which is between low to moderate/moderate. the involvement of designers in construction h&s in stage 3 is between moderate to high/high, and in the other remaining stages it is between low to moderate/moderate. the involvement of pms in construction h&s in stages 4 and 6 is between moderate to high/high; stage 5 is between high to very high/very high, and in stages 1 to 3 it is between low to moderate/moderate. the involvement of qss in construction h&s in stages 1 to 3 is between very low to low/ low; stage 4 is between low to moderate/moderate; stage 5 is between high to very high/very high, and stage 6 is between moderate to high/high. the involvement of chs professionals in construction h&s in stages 1 and 2 is between low to very low/very low; stage 3 is between very low to low/low; stage 4 is between low to moderate/moderate; stage 5 is between high to very high/ very high, and stage 6 is between moderate to high/high. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 153 4.1.4 the extent to which various h&s factors contribute to optimum h&s on a project table 6 indicates the extent to which various factors contribute to optimum h&s on a project, on a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), and in terms of mss ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. table 6: the extent to which various h&s factors contribute to optimum h&s on a project h&s factors response (%) ms r u minor…………….…………...major 1 2 3 4 5 consideration of h&s in construction contracts 4.5 0.0 0.0 3.0 16.4 76.1 4.77 1 active client participation in h&s during construction 1.5 1.5 0.0 4.5 28.4 64.2 4.56 2 active client participation in h&s prior to construction (project planning) 1.5 0.0 3.0 6.0 35.8 53.7 4.42 3 encouraging designers to address h&s issues in the design phases 4.5 0.0 6.0 7.5 23.9 58.2 4.41 4 client dedication of funds to support the contractor’s h&s efforts 10.4 0.0 6.0 3.0 31.3 49.3 4.38 5 selection of contractors with good h&s performance records 10.4 4.5 7.5 9.0 17.9 50.7 4.15 6 client h&s recognition and reward programme 13.4 3.0 7.5 23.9 20.9 31.3 3.81 7 mean ms 4.36 the mean ms is > 3.00, showing that all stakeholders perceive the various h&s factors rated to contribute to optimum h&s on a project. it is notable that the top five ranked factors ‘consideration of h&s in construction contracts’; ‘active client participation in h&s during construction’; ‘active client participation in h&s prior to construction (project planning)’; ‘encouraging designers to address h&s issues in the design phases’, and ‘client dedication of funds to support the contractor’s h&s efforts’ have > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, indicating a near major to major/major contribution to optimum h&s on a project. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 154 4.1.5 the extent to which the construction regulations 2014 have contributed to a project table 7 indicates the extent to which the construction regulations 2014 have contributed to a set of positive aspects/actions on a project, on a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), and in terms of mss ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. table 7: the extent to which the construction regulations 2014 have contributed to a project aspect/action response (%) ms rank u minor……………………………major 1 2 3 4 5 increased h&s awareness 9.0 0.0 7.5 7.5 25.4 50.7 4.31 1 increased consideration for/ reference to h&s by project managers 10.4 3.0 3.0 7.5 34.3 41.8 4.22 2 improvement in h&s 6.0 1.5 1.5 9.0 47.8 34.3 4.19 3 improved conditions and h&s practices on site 7.5 3.0 0.0 11.9 41.8 35.8 4.16 4 project-specific plans for h&s 6.0 1.5 4.5 14.9 32.8 40.3 4.13 5 client h&s actions/ contributions to h&s 13.4 4.5 3.0 11.9 34.3 32.8 4.02 6 reduction in incidents/ accidents 11.9 0.0 6.0 20.9 31.3 29.9 3.97 7 increased consideration for/ reference to h&s by general contractors 9.0 6.0 0.0 22.4 32.8 29.9 3.89 8 constructability reviews by designers 17.9 3.0 3.0 22.4 31.3 22.4 3.82 9 increased consideration for/ reference to h&s by designers 10.4 6.0 1.5 28.4 25.4 28.4 3.77 10= increased consideration for/ reference to h&s by subcontractors 10.4 3.0 10.4 17.9 31.3 26.9 3.77 10= malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 155 aspect/action response (%) ms rank u minor……………………………major 1 2 3 4 5 integration of design and construction in terms of h&s 7.6 4.5 6.1 22.7 33.3 25.8 3.75 12 review of provision for h&s human resources 13.4 3.0 6.0 25.4 31.3 20.9 3.71 13 review of provision for h&s – financial 19.4 4.5 7.5 22.4 25.4 20.9 3.63 14 pre-qualification of contractors in terms of h&s 13.4 7.5 4.5 25.4 26.9 22.4 3.60 15 increased consideration for/ reference to h&s by quantity surveyors 16.4 6.0 17.9 16.4 26.9 16.4 3.36 16 choice and review of procurement system and practices 32.8 7.5 10.4 20.9 11.9 16.4 3.29 17 optimum project schedule (time) 16.4 9.0 11.9 34.3 19.4 9.0 3.09 18 mean ms 3.82 the mean ms is > 3.00, showing that the respondents perceived the construction regulations 2014 to contribute to a set of positive aspects/actions on a project. it is notable that the top two ranked aspects/actions, namely ‘increased h&s awareness’ and ‘increased consideration for/reference to h&s by project managers’ have mss > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, indicating between a near major to major/major contribution on a project. it is notable that 32.8% of the respondents were unsure as to the choice and review of procurement system and practices. this is attributed to the low to moderate/moderate involvement of stakeholders in stage 4. 4.1.6 the frequency at which h&s actions are perceived to be undertaken during the six project stages tables 8 to 13 present the frequency at which the respondents perceive h&s actions to be undertaken during the six project stages in terms of a frequency range unsure, never, rarely, sometimes, often, and always. the h&s actions undertaken during the six project stages are ranked based upon a ms ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 156 table 8 presents the frequency at which the respondents perceive the four h&s actions to be undertaken during stage 1. table 8: the frequency at which h&s actions are perceived to be undertaken during stage 1 (project initiation and briefing) h&s action chs professional clients designers project managers quantity surveyors mean ms r ms r ms r ms r ms r ms r compile a preliminary project risk profile 3.22 2 4.09 1 4.07 1 3.41 1 3.25 3 3.63 1 set project h&s goals 2.59 4 3.91 3 3.69 2 2.93 2 3.67 1= 3.24 2 involve the h&s agent in project initiation meetings 2.63 3 4.00 2 3.50 3 2.81 3 3.00 4 3.16 3 determine the optimum contract duration 3.44 1 3.36 4 3.33 4 1.38 4 3.67 1= 2.90 4 respondent mean ms 2.97 3.84 3.65 2.63 3.40 3.23 given that three of the four h&s actions’ mss > 3.00, these actions can be deemed to be prevalent during this stage. it is notable that three h&s actions, namely ‘set project h&s goals’, ‘involve the h&s agent in project initiation meetings’ and ‘determine the optimum contract duration’ fall within the range > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, between rarely to sometimes/sometimes. the respondent mean ms of all actions for chs professionals, pms, and qss is perceived to be undertaken at a frequency between rarely to sometimes/sometimes, whereas clients and designers perceive these actions to be undertaken between sometimes to often/often. table 9 presents the frequency at which the respondents perceive the nine h&s actions to be undertaken during stage 2. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 157 ta b le 9 : th e fr e q ue nc y a t w hi c h h & s a c tio ns a re p e rc e iv e d to b e u nd e rt a ke n d ur in g s ta g e 2 (p ro je c t c o nc e p t a nd fe a sib ilit y) h & s a c tio n c h s p ro fe ss io na l c lie nt s d e sig ne rs pr o je c t m a na g e rs q ua nt ity su rv e yo rs m e a n m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r c o m p ile a d ra ft h & s sp e c ifi c a tio n 4. 00 1 3. 91 4 3. 75 3 3. 04 1= 4. 67 3. 55 1 id e nt ify g e ne ra l h & s iss ue s in t he p ro je c t in c e p tio n re p o rt 3. 63 2 4. 27 1 3. 90 2 2. 74 4 4. 50 3. 41 2 id e nt ify s p e c ifi c h & s iss ue s fro m p rio r e xp e rie nc e 3. 22 4 3. 64 6= 3. 50 4 2. 89 3 4. 00 3. 24 3 pr o d uc e a c he c kl ist o f p o ss ib le h & s ha za rd s 2. 90 6 4. 00 2= 3. 00 7 3. 04 1= 4. 50 3. 23 4 c o ns id e r h & s a sp e c ts re la tiv e t o d e sig n. 2. 78 7 4. 00 2= 4. 08 1 2. 59 5 4. 00 3. 21 5 pr e p a re c o st e st im a te s/ b ud g e t fo r h & s 3. 40 3 3. 64 6= 2. 63 8 2. 58 6 4. 50 3. 05 6 a p p ro ve s p e c ia lis ts ’ h & s p la ns 3. 00 5 3. 80 5 3. 27 5 2. 28 7 2. 00 2. 85 7 a ud it sp e c ia lis ts u nd e rt a ki ng in ve st ig a tio ns 2. 75 8 3. 27 8 3. 13 6 2. 11 8= 2. 59 8 in vo lv e t he h & s a g e nt in d e sig n m e e tin g s 2. 60 9 2. 91 9 2. 08 9 2. 11 8= 4. 00 2. 36 9 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 3. 14 3. 72 3. 26 2. 60 4. 02 3. 05 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 158 the chs professionals’, designers’ and pms’ mean mss signify that they perceive all h&s actions to be undertaken at a frequency between rarely to sometimes/sometimes on average, whereas the clients’ and qss’ mean mss signify that they perceive all h&s actions to be undertaken between sometimes to often/often on average. six h&s actions (66.7%) have mss of > 3.00. however, no h&s actions’ mss fall within the range > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, between often to always/always. the mss of ‘compile a draft h&s specification’ and ‘identify general h&s issues in the project inception report’ fall within the range > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, between sometimes to often/ often. the mss of five h&s actions that are ranked third to seventh fall within the range > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, between rarely to sometimes/ sometimes. it is notable that the last two ranked h&s actions’ mss, namely ‘audit specialists undertaking investigations’ and ‘involve the h&s agent in design meetings’ fall within the range > 1.80 ≤ 2.60, between never to rarely/rarely. table 10 presents the frequency at which the respondents perceive the seven h&s actions to be undertaken during stage 3. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 159 ta b le 1 0: th e f re q ue nc y a t w hi c h h & s a c tio ns a re p e rc e iv e d t o b e u nd e rt a ke n d ur in g s ta g e 3 ( d e sig n d e ve lo p m e nt ) h & s a c tio n c h s p ro fe ss io na l c lie nt s d e sig ne rs pr o je c t m a na g e rs q ua nt ity su rv e yo rs m e a n m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r u p d a te a nd fi na lis e t he h & s sp e c ifi c a tio n 3. 60 1 3. 91 1 3. 25 2 3. 50 1 3. 00 1= 3. 53 1 u p d a te a nd fi na lis e t he b a se lin e ri sk a ss e ss m e nt a ft e r t he d e sig n p ro c e ss 3. 50 2 3. 82 2 2. 67 3 2. 81 2 3. 00 1= 3. 08 2 m o d ify d e sig ns d ur in g t he d e sig n p ha se to e lim in a te p o te nt ia l h & s ris ks 2. 22 7 3. 64 5 3. 38 1 2. 58 4 3. 00 1= 2. 90 3 a ss ist t he q s w ith h & s ite m s fo r c o st e st im a te s/ b ud g e ts 2. 44 6 3. 36 6= 2. 22 7 2. 68 3 2. 50 6 2. 69 4 a g re e o n th e fo rm a t o f th e h & s fil e 2. 60 4 3. 73 3= 2. 40 5 2. 41 5 2. 00 7 2. 68 5 u p d a te a ll h & s m a tt e rs re g ul a rly a nd in c o rp o ra te a t th e d e sig n st a g e 2. 67 3 3. 73 3= 2. 64 4 2. 22 6 3. 00 1= 2. 66 6 in vo lv e t he h & s a g e nt in d e sig n m e e tin g s 2. 45 5 3. 36 6= 2. 38 6 1. 96 7 3. 00 1= 2. 41 7 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 2. 78 3. 65 2. 71 2. 59 2. 79 2. 85 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 160 given that only 28.6% of the h&s actions have mss > 3.00, these actions can be deemed to be little prevalent during the design development stage. it is notable that the last ranked h&s action’s ms, namely ‘involve the h&s agent in design meetings’ falls within the range > 1.80 ≤ 2.60, between never to rarely/rarely. the chs professionals’, designers’, and qss’ mean mss signify that they perceive all h&s actions to be undertaken between rarely to sometimes/sometimes on average, whereas the clients’ mean ms signifies that they perceive all h&s actions to be undertaken between sometimes to often/often on average. lastly, the pms’ mean ms signifies that they perceive these actions to occur between never to rarely/rarely. table 11 presents the frequencies at which the respondents perceive the seven h&s actions to be undertaken during stage 4. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 161 ta b le 1 1: th e f re q ue nc y a t w hi c h h & s a c tio ns a re p e rc e iv e d t o b e u nd e rt a ke n d ur in g s ta g e 4 ( te nd e r d o c um e nt a tio n a nd p ro c ur e m e nt ) h & s a c tio n c h s p ro fe ss io na l c lie nt s d e sig ne rs pr o je c t m a na g e rs q ua nt ity su rv e yo rs m e a n m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r pr o vi d e a p ro je c tsp e c ifi c h & s sp e c ifi c a tio n/ h & s in fo rm a tio n a s p a rt o f t he t e nd e r d o c um e nt a tio n 4. 60 1 3. 45 4 4. 22 2 4. 63 1 5. 00 1= 4. 37 1 re q ui re t e nd e re rs t o p ro d uc e a p re lim in a ry h & s p la n a s p a rt o f t he t e nd e r r e tu rn a b le (s ) 3. 67 4 3. 73 3 4. 10 3 3. 89 4 4. 75 3 3. 92 2 d if r is us e d t o e va lu a te h & s p e rfo rm a nc e a g a in st a th re sh o ld 3. 13 5 3. 91 1 4. 00 4 4. 13 2 4. 00 6= 3. 90 3 re q ui re b ills o f q ua nt iti e s to in c lu d e it e m ise d p ro vi sio n fo r h & s 4. 10 2 3. 44 5 3. 50 5 3. 96 3 4. 25 5 3. 86 4 re q ui re t he c o nt ra c to r t o su b m it th e re su m é o f k e y h & s p e rs o nn e l f o r t he c lie nt ’s a p p ro va l a s p e r t he c o nt ra c t d o c um e nt 3. 89 3 3. 82 2 4. 30 1 3. 44 5 4. 67 4 3. 78 5 pr e -q ua lif y o r s e le c t c o nt ra c to rs b a se d o n h & s p e rfo rm a nc e 2. 38 7 2. 82 7 2. 57 6 2. 58 6 5. 00 1= 2. 64 6 a vo id c o m p e tit iv e t e nd e rin g 3. 00 6 3. 00 6 1. 00 7 1. 79 7 4. 00 6= 2. 11 7 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 3. 54 3. 45 3. 38 3. 49 4. 52 3. 51 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 162 all stakeholder groups show a respondent mean ms of > 3.00, indicating that the respondents perceived h&s actions to be prevalent during the tender documentation and procurement stage. it is notable that one h&s action’s ms, namely ‘provide a project-specific h&s specification/h&s information as part of the tender documentation’ falls within the range > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, between often to always/always. the sixth ranked h&s action’s ms, namely ‘pre-qualify or select contractors based on h&s performance’ falls within the range > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, between sometimes to rarely/rarely. it is notable that the last ranked h&s action’s ms, namely ‘to avoid competitive tendering’ falls within the range > 1.80 ≤ 2.60, between never to rarely/rarely. it is notable that 46.3% of the respondents were unsure about ‘avoid competitive tendering’. table 12 presents the frequencies at which the respondents perceive the twelve h&s actions to be undertaken during stage 5. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 163 ta b le 1 2: th e f re q ue nc y a t w hi c h h & s a c tio ns a re p e rc e iv e d t o b e u nd e rt a ke n d ur in g s ta g e 5 ( c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt a nd d o c um e nt a tio n) h & s a c tio n c h s p ro fe ss io na l c lie nt s d e sig ne rs pr o je c t m a na g e rs q ua nt ity su rv e yo rs m e a n m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r en su re h & s fil e is a p p ro ve d a nd h & s in d uc tio n is c o nd uc te d b e fo re a c c e ss t o s ite is g ra nt e d 4. 91 2= 4. 73 2= 4. 86 1= 4. 85 1 4. 75 9= 4. 84 1 en su re t he c o nt ra c to r p re p a re s h ir a s fo r t he p ro je c t 5. 00 1 4. 73 2= 4. 50 10 4. 56 4= 5. 00 1= 4. 67 2 en su re t he c o nt ra c to r a p p o in ts a fu lltim e h & s o ffi c e r o n sit e 4. 91 2= 4. 55 4= 4. 71 3 4. 56 4= 5. 00 1= 4. 67 3 en su re h & s is o ne o f t he m a in a g e nd a it e m s fo r e a c h p ro je c t sit e m e e tin g 4. 73 6 4. 45 7= 4. 57 9 4. 78 2 4. 67 11 4. 67 4 m o ni to r i nj ur y ra te s o n e a c h p ro je c t 4. 45 8= 4. 82 1 4. 86 1= 4. 44 8 5. 00 1= 4. 63 5 en su re n o a c c e ss t o s ite o c c ur s b y a ny p e rs o n w ith o ut t he re q ui re d p pe 4. 82 4 4. 55 4= 4. 64 5= 4. 48 7 4. 75 9= 4. 60 6 en su re t he h & s a g e nt c o nd uc ts m o nt hl y h & s a ud its / in sp e c tio ns 4. 60 7 4. 55 4= 4. 62 7 4. 56 4 5. 00 1= 4. 59 7 m o ni to r n e a r m iss e s o n a p ro je c t 4. 36 10 4. 45 7= 4. 69 4 4. 33 9 5. 00 1= 4. 46 8 in c lu d e t he c o nt ra c to r’ s h & s p e rfo rm a nc e in t he o rg a ni sa tio n’ s h & s p e rfo rm a nc e s ta tis tic s 4. 80 5 3. 45 11 4. 58 8 4. 65 3 5. 00 1= 4. 45 9 a p p ly p e na lti e s a nd /o r w o rk s to p p a g e s if c o nt ra c to rs d e fa ul t 4. 45 8= 4. 45 7= 4. 64 5= 4. 11 10 5. 00 1= 4. 34 10 pa rt ic ip a te in a n h & s re c o g ni tio n p ro g ra m m e 3. 45 11 3. 91 10 4. 00 11 3. 44 11 5. 00 1= 3. 65 11 pr o vi d e fu nd s a b o ve a nd b e yo nd t he c o nt ra c t va lu e t o p ro m o te h & s 2. 71 12 3. 33 12 3. 89 12 3. 19 12 3. 50 12 3. 28 12 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 4. 43 4. 33 4. 55 4. 33 4. 81 4. 40 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 164 all stakeholder groups show a respondent mean ms of > 4.20, indicating that the respondents perceived h&s actions to be prevalent often to always/always during the construction management and documentation stage. the top ten h&s actions’ mean mss fall within the range 4.20 and 5.00, between often to always. the last ranked h&s action’s mean ms, namely ‘provide funds above and beyond the contract value to promote h&s’ falls within the range 2.60 and 3.40, between sometimes to rarely. table 13 presents the frequencies at which the respondents perceive the seven h&s actions to be undertaken during stage 6. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 165 ta b le 1 3: th e f re q ue nc y a t w hi c h h & s a c tio ns a re p e rc e iv e d t o b e u nd e rt a ke n d ur in g s ta g e 6 ( p ro je c t c lo se -o ut ) h & s a c tio n c h s p ro fe ss io na l c lie nt s d e sig ne rs pr o je c t m a na g e rs q ua nt ity su rv e yo rs m e a n m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r m s r re tr ie ve a s b ui lt a nd a s la id d ra w in g s 4. 64 1 4. 60 1 4. 00 2 4. 16 1 4. 04 1 re tr ie ve t he h & s p la n fro m c o nt ra c to rs 2. 67 6 4. 00 2= 3. 80 4 3. 52 4 3. 88 2 pr e p a re a n h & s p ro je c t c lo se -o ut re p o rt 4. 27 2 4. 00 2= 3. 71 5 3. 62 2 3. 83 3 c a lc ul a te t he d if r fo r t he p ro je c t 4. 20 3 3. 70 5 4. 14 1 3. 54 3 5. 00 3. 81 4 ev a lu a te t he p ro je c t in t e rm s o f h & s g o a ls 2. 91 5 3. 64 6= 3. 83 3 2. 77 6 3. 09 5 pr e p a re h & s o p e ra tio ns a nd m a in te na nc e re p o rt s 2. 27 7 3. 64 6= 3. 67 6 2. 96 5 3. 04 6 a ud it th e c o nt ra c to rs d ur in g t he d e fe c ts li a b ilit y p e rio d 3. 00 4 3. 82 4 3. 33 7 2. 52 7 2. 98 7 re sp o nd e nt m e a n m s 3. 42 3. 91 3. 78 3. 30 3. 52 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 166 all stakeholder groups show a respondent mean ms > 3.00, indicating that the respondents perceived h&s actions to be prevalent during the project close-out stage. the chs professionals’, clients’, and designers’ mean mss signify that they perceive all h&s actions to be undertaken between sometimes to often/often on average, whereas the pms’ mean ms signifies that they perceive all h&s actions to be undertaken between rarely to sometimes/sometimes on average. the first four ranked h&s actions have mss > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, between sometimes to often/often. the last three ranked h&s actions’ mean mss fall within the range > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, between rarely to sometimes/sometimes. 4.2 case study results figure 2 indicates the percentage scores of the level of h&s involvement of the stakeholders in the sampled projects and the year in which the projects commenced. project a, undertaken in 2009, had a score of 44%, indicating a weak stakeholder involvement, and projects b and c, undertaken in 2012, had scores of 68% and 76%, respectively, indicating a moderate involvement. it is notable that project d, undertaken in 2015 after the promulgation of the construction regulations 2014, scored 80%, indicating a moderate involvement. this is, however, significantly higher than projects b and c. figure 2: the level of h&s involvement on different projects malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 167 4.2.1 pre-construction regulations 2014: projects a, b and c during the project file review for three sampled projects, it was noted that the ‘build only’ contract had little involvement across all project stages for projects a, b and c. pms, qss, and chs professionals had little involvement during stages 1 to 3. this is supported by questionnaire data where all three stakeholders ranked these stages as those with their least involvement. research found that clients and project stakeholders did not realise the significance of placing h&s in the initial phases of a project. stage 4 of these projects indicated greater involvement, by making provision for chs professionals, as well the requirement of an approved h&s policy to be part of tender submission. in addition, projects b and c also required contractors to provide historic difrs to assist in tender adjudication. stages 5 and 6 of projects a to c indicated greatest involvement of stakeholders through the monitoring and enforcing of h&s requirements on projects sites, including the measurement of contractor h&s performance. this is further supported by questionnaire data that indicated greater involvement of chs professionals and pms during the last three stages of the project rather than in the first three. the significantly better scores for stakeholder involvement for projects b and c, undertaken in 2012, can be attributed to additional actions undertaken in all six project stages. 4.2.2 post-construction regulations 2014: project d project d, undertaken post-construction regulations 2014, had a 80% level of involvement, indicating a moderate involvement, but significantly higher than the projects undertaken pre-construction regulations 2014. as opposed to projects a to c, project d used a design and build contract that is more favourable. this is supported by literature, as this type of contract complements h&s through the integration of the design and construction processes. 4.2.3 level of involvement vs. project performance to determine the pattern of compliance with the construction regulations 2014, the project performance of the three completed sample projects was assessed using the project difr, and if the project was completed on time and within budget as reflected in table 14. there is a direct relationship between stakeholder involvement and project h&s performance, also taking into consideration the acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 168 percentage that h&s contributes of the total project cost. based on the sampled project boqs, the percentage h&s constituted of project cost ranged from 0.10% to 0.61%, with only project a falling within the range 0.5% to 3.0%, cited by smallwood (2004) for implementing h&s. however, it could not be established if the cost of h&s was proportionally reflected on the payment certificates, as they were not verified. table 14: project performance on completed projects performance indicator project a project b project c project difr 1.18 1.3 0.34 on time no yes yes within budget yes yes yes percentage h&s constitutes of project cost 0.61 0.41 0.10 to reach a level of strong involvement, it was identified that stakeholders will need to opt more for design and build contracts, evaluate h&s training through testing, and participate in h&s recognition programmes. furthermore, h&s actions should be undertaken in the initial phases in order to achieve better h&s performance. 5. discussion of findings this study focused on the impact of the construction regulations 2014 on a water utility’s projects’ h&s performance. it determined the degree of h&s involvement of client representatives and internal project stakeholders, namely designers, pms, qss and chs professionals during the six project stages. it also examined their commitment towards h&s; measures taken by them during planning and design, in contracts to improve h&s, and to select conscious contractors, and the extent of their h&s participation in construction h&s. 5.1 involvement of clients and project stakeholders pms, qss, and chs professionals are more prominent from stages 4 to 6, whereas their involvement is low in the first three stages; clients are prominent in all stages of the project with a moderate to high/ high involvement, except for stage 4 with a low to moderate/ moderate involvement. designers are prominent in stage 3, due to malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 169 their expertise required during this stage and have low to moderate/ moderate involvement in the other stages. 5.2 stakeholder commitment towards h&s all stakeholders can be deemed to be committed to h&s, as they not only perceive it as the most important project parameter, but also believe that it can be significantly influenced during all stages of a project. they regard h&s as important to very important across all phases of a project, but more so in the construction stage that was ranked first, followed by project close-out, design, tender documentation, concept and feasibility, and initiation and briefing stage. the stakeholders perceived h&s to be more influenced during the later stages rather than the earlier stages of projects. all stakeholders contribute to some extent to h&s. however, the vast majority of the respondents regard chs professionals, contractors, and pms as the primary stakeholders. designers, pms and chs professionals perceived themselves as a major contributor to the implementation of construction regulations 2014. 5.3 measures taken by stakeholders during the project planning and design stage measures taken by stakeholders during the project planning and design stage are inadequate to address project h&s needs, as only 20% of h&s actions are undertaken at frequencies between sometimes to often/often. the case study data confirmed that implementing h&s actions during project planning and design translated to better client involvement, and consequently better project performance, as observed from the sampled projects. 5.4 measures taken by stakeholders in construction contracts to improve h&s all stakeholders perceive ‘provide a project specific h&s specification/h&s information as part of the tender documentation’ to be the measure most frequently taken during construction contracts to improve h&s. they also ranked first the ‘consideration of h&s in construction contracts’ as the factor that contributes the most to optimum h&s on a project. secondary data revealed that they have progressively improved in taking measures to improve h&s over time. older contracts made no provision for review and approval of résumés of h&s personnel on projects as opposed to the ‘newer’ projects. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 170 5.5 measures taken by stakeholders to select h&s-conscious contractors all stakeholders perceive that the selection of contractors with good h&s performance records has the potential to make between some contribution to a near major/near major contribution to optimum h&s on a project. the case study data confirmed that projects, where h&s performance was used to select h&s-conscious contractors, showed both better stakeholder involvement and better project performance. it can be concluded that any measure taken to select h&s-conscious contractors improves project h&s. 5.6 the extent of their h&s participation in construction h&s all stakeholders are regarded to participate in project h&s at varying levels during the six stages of projects. clients are significantly involved in stages 1 and 6; designers in stage 3; qss in stages 4 and 5, and pms and chs professionals in stage 5. in these respective stages, their involvement was deemed to be high to very high/ very high. active client participation in h&s during construction was found to make a near major to major/major contribution to optimum h&s on a project. the case study data confirmed that projects with greater client involvement were more likely to be finished on time and within budget. 5.7 the impact of construction regulations 2014 on h&s performance the construction regulations 2014 are perceived to have had an impact. ‘upstream activities’; ‘increased h&s awareness on projects’, and having prompted for the need for pms to consider/reference to h&s more frequently predominate. in addition, h&s actions are undertaken during all six stages of projects, but more significantly during stage 5, and the frequency of h&s actions undertaken during the six project stages varies with each stakeholder, depending on the stage in which they are involved. from the case study projects, the level of stakeholder involvement in h&s increased drastically over the years with improved project performance suggesting compliance, and the impact of the construction regulations on the project performance. the study also indicated that there is a direct relationship between stakeholder involvement and project h&s performance. the greatest h&s involvement of stakeholders in projects was during stages 5 and 6, and the least during stages 1 to 3. malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 171 6. conclusions research indicates that improved h&s performance can be achieved on a project where there is a collaborative approach among all stakeholders during the project stages. their attitude and involvement in h&s will impact on the h&s performance of contractors downstream. based on the findings, it can be concluded that the clients’ and project stakeholders’ h&s involvement influences h&s performance. the impact of the construction regulations 2014 is evident in the water utility, as some of the h&s actions are undertaken during the six project stages, more so in stage 5. in addition, the four case study projects provide evidence of their involvement in influencing project h&s performance. furthermore, h&s awareness on projects, as well as having prompted for the need for project managers to consider/reference to h&s more frequently predominates among the list of ‘upstream’, ‘midstream’ and ‘downstream’ aspects/actions. this is significant, as pms play a crucial role in driving further h&s improvements with the other stakeholders in order to integrate h&s in the design and construction phase, as revealed from the research. the study determined that the construction phase is still regarded as the most important stage to address h&s and this requires a mind-shift of the stakeholders to focus on the initial stages of the project in order to realise the benefits of h&s on a project. this will allow the water utility to progress to the transformative phase that will place emphasis on the integration of h&s into decision-making, eliminating h&s risks, and fostering a h&s culture. 7. recommendations h&s should be integrated in the initial stages of the project by streamlining all business processes to accommodate h&s in the planning and design phases of a project as well as to involve the chs professionals to assist with the facilitation of h&s management. literature confirms the gap in terms of built environment educational programmes not adequately addressing h&s. it is, therefore, necessary to plan for h&s training for stakeholders to improve their h&s contributions on a project. cost estimates for h&s should be established at the design stage so that it is relevant to the project, and the evaluation process should be improved in order to select competent contractors. follow-up research should be conducted to investigate if there are any improvements within the construction industry during the six project stages after the expiry of the cwp exemption period. further research on the cost of h&s should be acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 172 conducted to determine the costs of implementing h&s in order to establish cost estimates for h&s on future projects; a client and project stakeholder project h&s model for the six project stages based on best practices and legal requirements should be evolved, and the role of designers should be investigated to ascertain their 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requirement for the contractor selection less than 2.0? y n 4 are the qualifications of the project team reviewed? y n 5 are the qualifications of the safety staff reviewed? y n 6 does the evaluation of each contractor’s safety performance make a difference in awarding the contract? y n c contractual safety requirements 7 does the project use a design-build contract? y n 8 does the contract require the contractor to place at least one full-time safety representative on the project site? y n 9 does the contract require the contractor to submit all h&s personnel résumés for the owner’s approval? y n 10 does the contract require the contractor to prepare a site-specific safety plan? y n 11 does the contract require the contractor to submit a safety policy signed by its ceo? y n 12 does the contract require the contractor to provide minimum specified amount of training to construction workers? y n acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 176 d contractor safety programme requirements d1 which of the following are required to be included in the contractor’s h&s programme? 13 contractor must prepare a plan for site emergencies y n 14 contractor must conduct pre-task h&s planning on the project site y n 15 contractor must implement a substance abuse testing programme y n d2 owner’s involvement in project h&s management 16 does the owner’s safety representative investigate near misses? y n 17 are injury statistics on the projects maintained separately on each contractor? y n 18 are all project injuries included in the owner’s overall measure of safety performance? y n 19 does the owner actively participate (give presentations) during worker safety orientation/ induction? y n 20 is comprehension of safety training evaluated through testing? y n d3 which of the following activities are performed by the owner’s site safety representative? 21 enforcing safety rules and regulations y n 22 monitoring the implementation of pre-task planning/dsti’s y n 23 participating in safety recognition programmes y n 24 participating in safety and/or toolbox meetings y n 25 does the owner set zero injuries as its safety expectation before the commencement of site work? y n total count of yes responses % involvement (multiply the yes count by 4) % malindi & smallwood • the impact of the construction regulations... 177 what the score means: strong involvement moderate involvement > 88 % > 52 % < 88 % < 52 % strong involvement moderate involvement weak involvement project performance of the sample projects: no. indicator performance project a project b project c 1 project difr 2 on time 3 within budget 4 % h&s constitutes the project costs 91 how to cite: mahachi, j. 2021. development of a construction quality assessment tool for houses in south africa. acta structilia, 28(1), pp. 91-116. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels jeffrey mahachi dr jeffrey mahachi, department of civil engineering, university of johannesburg, doorfontein campus, johannesburg, 2028. phone: 011 559 6628/3511, email: <jmahachi@uj.ac.za> orcid: 0000-0002-1866-5559 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2021 28(1): 91-116 development of a construction quality assessment tool for houses in south africa received: february 2021 peer reviewed and revised: april 2019 published: june 2021 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract housing is a critical socio-economic driver in the vast majority of developing countries, including south africa. it involves many aspects such as construction quality, affordability, geographic location, long-term financing, and the environment. a key research concern is the quantification of the construction quality of houses and how this may be used to assist in the delivery of better quality houses. this article is based on studies undertaken on housing construction sites in south africa. a construction assessment tool is developed using principles similar to those used by conquas in singapore and malaysia. the tool thus developed is capable of measuring the quality of ‘as-built’ construction elements of a house against national technical standards and specifications, within reasonable time and cost. studies on the quality of houses were then conducted on 700 houses (two low-income projects and one middle-income project). the results showed that the two low-income projects had average quality scores of 58% and 64%, while the middle-income project scored 80%. details of the sub-elements of the scores indicated the developmental needs of the contractors involved in the projects. using the http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:jmahachi@uj.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 92 construction quality assessment tool, the government and other authorities can make better informed decisions when awarding contracts. if introduced and implemented correctly, the quality of the houses delivered across the entire housing spectrum can be measured and monitored, and improvement measures put in place. the data collected through this quality assessment tool will be invaluable for national authorities, regulators, and statistics south africa to evaluate and report if the housing stock being delivered is consistently improving. risk assessment studies will assist the regulators in developing proper quality management strategies. keywords: conquas, construction quality, housing quality, low-income houses, quality assessment, south africa abstrak behuising is ’n kritieke maatskaplik-ekonomiese dryfveer in meeste van die ontwikkelende lande, insluitend suid-afrika. dit behels baie aspekte soos konstruksiekwaliteit, bekostigbaarheid, geografiese ligging, langtermynfinansiering en die omgewing. ’n belangrike kwessie vir navorsing is die kwantifisering van die boukwaliteit van huise en hoe dit gebruik kan word om huise van beter gehalte te lewer. hierdie artikel is gebaseer op studies wat gedoen is oor konstruksieterreine vir huise in suid-afrika. ’n konstruksie-assesseringsinstrument is ontwikkel volgens beginsels soortgelyk aan dié wat deur conquas in singapoer en maleisië gebruik word. die instrument wat aldus ontwikkel is, kan binne ’n redelike tyd en koste die kwaliteit van ‘as-gebou’-konstruksie-elemente van ’n huis meet aan nasionale tegniese standaarde en spesifikasies. daar is vervolgens studies gedoen oor die kwaliteit van 700 huise (twee lae-inkomste-projekte en een middel-inkomste-projek). die resultate het getoon dat die twee lae-inkomste-projekte gemiddeld 58% en 64% gehad het, terwyl die middelinkomste-projek 80% behaal het. besonderhede van die sub-elemente van die tellings het die ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van die kontrakteurs wat by die projekte betrokke was, aangedui. met behulp van die instrument vir die evaluering van kwaliteit van konstruksie kan die regering en ander owerhede beter ingeligte besluite neem wanneer hulle kontrakte toeken. as dit korrek bekendgestel en geïmplementeer word, kan die kwaliteit van die huise wat oor die hele behuisingspektrum gelewer word, gemeet en gemonitor word, en verbeteringsmaatreëls ingestel word. die data wat deur hierdie instrument vir kwaliteitsbeoordeling versamel word, sal van onskatbare waarde wees vir nasionale owerhede, reguleerders en statistieke suid-afrika om te evalueer en te rapporteer of die behuisingsvoorraad wat gelewer word, deurgaans verbeter. risikobepalingstudies sal die reguleerders help om behoorlike kwaliteitsbestuurstrategieë te ontwikkel. sleutelwoorde: boukwaliteit, behuisingskwaliteit, conquas, kwaliteitsbeoordeling, laeinkomste behuising, suid-afrika 1. introduction the delivery of quality houses is a broad challenge in the vast majority of developing countries. in south africa, the political process that led to democracy in 1994 provided an effective political platform for mobilising previously disadvantaged people in securing tenure of housing. pre-1994, housing delivery was associated with sub-quality low-income houses, and the housing developments were in areas not suitable for human settlements and far from potential workplaces. to address these concerns, the 1994 south african democratic government formulated and implemented the national housing policy and established several state entities to assist in the mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 93 fast delivery of quality houses. the national housing policy and the subsidy housing programmes accommodate several government housing delivery mechanisms (south africa, 2010). since 1994, the south african housing market has been predominantly driven through the private sector, where the financial institutions primarily finance the middleand high-income end users, and houses are delivered mainly by established homebuilders. the low-income housing market, defined as those households earning up to r3,500 per month, has been delivered through the local or provincial governments and is mainly dominated by small and emerging homebuilders. the governmentsubsidised housing market delivers products on a fixed house price, commonly referred to as the subsidy housing quantum, and the houses are mass-produced. the lowto middle-income end user, earning between r3,500 and r22,000, is partly financed by the government, and the houses are usually delivered through the social housing schemes (butcher, 2020: 182). a low-income house is typically 40 square metres in footprint and has two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen, and a bathroom (south africa, 2009: 27). however, there is an apparent disparity in the quality of houses delivered in the two markets, despite the availability of information and construction guidelines. worldwide, housing is a critical socio-economic development driver and involves several aspects, including construction quality, affordability, geographic location, environment, and long-term financing. despite the measures put in place by the south african government over the past few decades, the quality of houses is not yet up to acceptable standards, as witnessed in many lowand middle-income housing development projects (nhbrc, 2019: 44). several researchers and research documents (sinha, sarkar & mandal, 2017: 337-340; streimikiene, 2015: 140-145; zunguzane, smallwood & emuze, 2012: 19-38, statistics new zealand, 2015: 13) have defined housing quality as encompassing several aspects. some of these aspects are reasonably objective and include the dwelling type, facilities, number of rooms, and the condition of the dwelling. subjective aspects, which are also included in housing quality, include user needs, desires, and expectations. other researchers (acre & wyckmansa, 2014: 183-204, sima, 2015: 307; streimikiene, 2015: 140) have gone beyond housing quality and have included user satisfaction in their analysis. they define user satisfaction in line with the user’s needs and aspirations compared to what was delivered physically on the ground. the minimum standards stipulated in the nhbrc home building manual (nhbrc, 2015) and the national standards (sans 10400, 2016) apply to all houses delivered in south africa. however, the standards and guidelines acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 94 are not prepared and presented efficiently, particularly for some emerging homebuilders. this substantiates a need to develop a tool that will enable the identification of training and developmental needs of homebuilders and assess if this intervention strategy does yield better results in terms of improving the quality of houses. this article recognises the broader aspect of housing quality assessment, but it focuses on one critical element, ‘construction quality’. there is minimal information on how the construction quality of houses is measured and quantified in the literature. the approach proposed in this article provides a formal, comprehensive, easy-to-use mechanism, in which housing construction quality can be quantified and measured. this article thus aims to outline local south african construction practices and benchmark international best practices on construction quality assessment of houses. the outcome of this will lead to the development of a comprehensive, straightforward, and effective assessment construction quality tool, which will enable users to assess the physical aspects of house construction that influence the quality of the ‘end product’, i.e., the housing top structure. this article addresses the following key research questions: 1. how can the physical construction quality of a house be measured and quantified and assure that the structural performance of the house meets the minimum requirements of the south african national standards (sans 10400, 2016)? 2. how can construction quality be monitored, and is there a progressive improvement in quality, as new entrants and technologies come into the marketplace? 3. does training of homebuilders lead to an improvement in construction quality? if this has a positive effect, how can the impact be measured? 4. what is the difference in the quality of houses delivered for lowincome earners compared to those for middleand/or high-income earners? the answers to these questions require the development of an objective, systematic house “construction quality assessment” tool capable of measuring ‘as-built’ construction elements against technical standards and specifications. the quality assessment needs to be carried out systematically, rapidly, and at an affordable cost. mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 95 2. literature review 2.1 housing delivery overview and quality of houses although there has been significant housing delivery in south africa over the past decades, the trend has been declining (see figure 1). houses enrolled through the national home builders registration council (nhbrc) are a good indicator of houses delivered through the private sector. the nhbrc is a state entity, established through an act of parliament (housing consumers protection measures act, act 95 of 1998, as amended “the act”) (south africa, 1998). the legislative mandate of the nhbrc is to: • regulate the home building industry. the act requires all homebuilders to register with the nhbrc; • establish and promote ethical and technical standards. every registered homebuilder is required to comply with the nhbrc code of ethics. all houses must be constructed in accordance with the nhbrc technical requirements, and • improve structural quality in the interests of housing consumers and the homebuilding industry. to achieve this, all houses must be enrolled and inspected by the nhbrc.  0 20 000 40 000 60 000 80 000 100 000 120 000 140 000 160 000 180 000 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 n um be r year: 2003-2019 private houses (nhbrc) govt subsidised houses (completed) figure 1: housing delivery statistics in south africa source: compounded data from nhbrc annual reports (nhbrc, [n.d.]: online) and department of human settlements reports (dhs, [n.d.]: online) although there has been a dip in the delivery of houses in the years 2009 and 2010, due to the financial crisis and economic meltdown, the growth in housing delivery has shown a steady increase over the past ten years. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 96 on the other hand, there has been a decline in the houses delivered by the public sector (south african government, 2019; nhbrc, [n.d.]: online). this explains why the housing backlog keeps on escalating, with the backlog being 2.3 million as of 2018 (msindo, 2018: online). since 1993, several studies have highlighted the challenges faced in the low-income housing delivery in south africa, especially in metropolitan cities. these challenges include the impact of population growth, shortage of land, corruption, unaffordability, and poverty (marutlulle, 2019; bonner, nieftagodien & mathabatha, 2012; jeffery, 2010; bradley, 2003; napier, 1993). apart from these highlighted challenges, other researchers believe that the apartheid government initially caused the housing challenges (setplan, 2008: 40-50; baloyi, 2007; eddy, 2010: 12-18). several objections to the above statement have, however, been made and argue that these housing challenges are due to the appointment of less experienced contractors, lack of monitoring of the contractors, the poor performing construction sector, irregularities in municipalities, political issues, fraud, and corruption (gibbon, 2010: 5; lubisi & rampedi, 2010: 2). south africa has a very sound legislative, regulatory environment and good technical standards for house-construction practices compared to other countries and states. however, despite the availability of all this information and enforceable regulations, poor-quality houses are still being delivered across the entire spectrum of housing (i.e., lowto high-income houses). the nhbrc annual report (nhbrc, 2019) highlights the root causes for poor-quality houses as due to any of the following: • the inadequate structural design caused by improper soil classification, resulting in an inadequate foundation solution; • construction details that are not built in compliance with design specifications; • use of unsuitable or poor-quality building materials that do not comply with south african national standards (sans 10400, 2016); • general poor workmanship; • inadequate or non-existent service infrastructure such as stormwater systems; • ineffective monitoring of homebuilders during construction, or • complete ignorance and/or lack of experience of homebuilders. gibbon (2010: 5) made similar observations related to substandard workmanship, inappropriate management systems, and lack of a monitoring mechanism on contractors operating in government-subsidised houses, thus contributing to poor-quality houses and delays in housing delivery. the appointment of emerging, less experienced contractors mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 97 further exacerbates construction delays (lubisi & rampedi, 2010: 2). in a study conducted in five of the nine provinces of south africa (i.e., gauteng, eastern cape, western cape, limpopo, and mpumalanga), mgida (2007) found that the application of unconventional building technologies, when used by emerging contractors, becomes an issue that impacts negatively on housing delivery. unconventional building technologies are commonly referred as innovative building technologies (ibts) or alternative building technologies (abts) and refer to building products that are certified for compliance with building regulations through a performance assessment (south africa, 1977). the performance assessment is conducted by agrément south africa (asa, [n.d]:online). the emerging contractors who use these unconventional building technologies have limited knowledge, and there is no proper training to assist them in implementing these technologies. zunguzane et al. (2012) further observed that municipalities impose unskilled labour on the contractors, thus causing further delays to housing delivery. there is also a minimum input from engineers to monitor the quality of the top structures. 2.2 beneficiary expectation on quality of houses in south africa a beneficiary refers to a household that occupies a completed house, while satisfaction in this article refers to the degree to which the end product (i.e., the house) meets the beneficiary’s needs, goals and expectations. according to a study conducted in braamfischerville, gauteng (moolla, kotze & block, 2011: 138-140), most of the beneficiaries of low-income houses expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of houses delivered. the vast majority of the houses had poorly built walls and unstable roofs, and the doors were poorly crafted, which resulted in them not functioning well. most of the beneficiaries complained about poor ventilation, no air vents, and lack of kitchen and bathrooms. the study concluded that 55% of the beneficiaries were not satisfied with the functional aspects of the houses. in a study conducted in diepsloot, gauteng (aigbavboa & thwala, 2012: 13), most of the low-income beneficiaries were highly dissatisfied with the lack of proper plaster finishing on the inner and outer walls of their houses. the houses were built with no ventilation system to neutralise the inner air condition during the cold and warm seasons. studies conducted in grahamstown, eastern cape (kota, 2010: 26) showed that over 50% of the beneficiaries were unhappy with roof leakages. in this case, the municipal officials had to provide the beneficiaries with plastics to cover the roof and prevent roof leakages. in a further study (zunguzane et al. 2012) conducted in wentzel park, alexandria, beneficiaries had to use their finances to rectify and self-assure quality on their government-subsidised acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 98 low-income houses. a high percentage (46%) of the beneficiaries had to use their finances to rectify the houses and, in general, over 50% of the beneficiaries were dissatisfied with the quality of the houses. as far back as 1967, observations were made that beneficiaries consider the closeness of primary services and essential infrastructure to be of higher value than the actual physical display of the housing compartment (turner, 1977). it was also noted that low-income houses are considered economical for beneficiaries if they are built close to places of economic activities (cities) and social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, libraries, clinics, and recreational parks (turner, 1977). although the south african government adopted a similar approach in its breaking new ground strategy (south africa, 2004), it is still criticised for commencing subsidy housing projects for poor citizens in the improper informal settlements on the outskirts of cities far away from inhabitants’ places of incomegeneration and primary facilities. thus, low-income housing beneficiaries end up selling and renting their houses and relocating back to where they were initially residing, or moving to places where it is reasonably close to workplaces and other facilities (napier, 2009: 71-97). 2.3 quantification of quality of houses research on housing quality dates as far back as 1946 (solow, 1946: 283). since then, research on housing quality has progressed to include several aspects, including the impact of the market value and microneighbourhoods (kain & quigley, 1970: 540). furthermore, over the years, housing quality has been broadly used to define the condition of a dwelling unit, the characteristics of the physical environment, and end user satisfaction (streinikiene, 2015: 140-142; mridha, 2015: 42-54). in 2011, a study was done in the united kingdom on the development of a housing quality indicator (hqi, 2011). the hqi is an online toolkit designed to measure, evaluate and improve the building’s design quality. the toolkit is broad and considers the location of the house, size, external environment, quality, and cost. other house-quality tools in the literature include the building for life (cabe, 2019: online), which has 20 criteria measures compared to the hqi’s ten criteria. in an article, sinha et al. (2017: 337-347) provide a detailed literature review summary of techniques used to analyse housing quality. however, all these housing quality assessment tools lack detail on the measurement and quantification of the construction quality of the house. the construction quality is influenced by the design of the house, workmanship during construction, and the quality of the materials used for the house (hqi, 2011: online). although construction quality is a subset of housing quality, it forms an essential aspect, particularly in developing mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 99 countries such as south africa, where the construction quality is poor (nhbrc, 2019). in the context of this article, construction quality is defined as compliance of the construction building elements with technical specifications that are stipulated as minimum standards in the south african national standards (sans 10400, 2016). the most established construction quality assessment tool found in the literature that quantifies the quality of a building is the construction quality assessment system (conquas 21, 2003), launched in singapore in 2003. after the launch, roughly 2,000 construction projects were assessed that year using the conquas tool. conquas is an assessment system used to measure and quantify the quality of construction building projects, referred to as the conquas score. the assessment method uses a sampling technique, based on the size of the building, to measure the quality of ‘selected elements’ of the building. conquas’ latest edition focuses on quality assessment of three components, namely structural, architectural, as well as mechanical and electrical work. the literature shows that the use of conquas (2003; 2017) has offered many benefits to the singapore construction industry. after implementing the system in 2003, the conquas score of singaporean buildings improved from an average of 68% to 75% within eight years, and the target score for 2019 was set to 85.8% (bca, 2021: online). conquas (2003; 2017) seems to be a robust quality assessment tool that can consistently measure the construction quality of building projects. the principles of conquas have been widely adopted in other countries such as china, australia and korea (kamath & jayaraman, 2013: 51-67). of particular note is the adoption of conquas by industri pembinaan malaysia (cis, 2014: online). the central concept used by the malaysians is similar to conquas, with the main difference being on the categorisation of buildings, the weightings of building elements, and the sampling guidance. a survey on quality of houses conducted in 2018 as part of the south african general household survey (statistics south africa, 2018: 34) indicated that 13.6% of south african households lived in state-subsidised houses (low-income). the survey also included statistics of the construction quality of state-housing units delivered by the government from 1994 to 2018. the level of quality was measured subjectively in terms of the household’s opinion whether the walls and roofs of the dwellings were very good, good, needed minor repairs, weak, or very weak. based on the stats sa survey, 10.2% of the households reported that their homes had weak or very weak walls, while 9.9% reported the same for their roofing structures. however, stats sa’s approach is based on perceptions by households (end users) and ‘lay-man’ understanding of structural failures. for this research, it was noted that a direct application of singapore’s conquas acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 100 to south africa would not be applicable as the two countries have different socio-economic conditions, geographic, technical, and political environments. table 1 highlights and summarises these differences. table 1: summary of comparison of singapore and south africa attribute singapore south africa geographic and spatial development a small tropical island of approximately 719 square kilometres. the land surface is relatively flat, primarily urban with tall buildings. 1.2 million square kilometres, significantly larger than singapore by roughly 1,700 times. geographic spread differs across the country, with some areas being mountainous and rural. most housing developments are single or double story. socioeconomic and technology (2020) a population of roughly 5.9 million. 2.9% of gdp is spent on education. a very low unemployment rate of roughly 2.2% and the standard of living is very high. the skills base is high, and the quality of education is generally high and acceptable. the usage and uptake of construction technologies to assist in construction delivery are high. a population of roughly 54 million. 5.9% of gdp is spent on education. a high unemployment rate (almost 30%), with more than 53% of youth unemployed. historical exclusivity limits the pool of skilled base, and the educational standards differ substantially across the country. limited use of technology in construction processes and resistance to adopt the use of innovative technologies. notwithstanding the above progress, no formal construction quality assessment systems have been developed in south africa and other developing countries. such a system should be able to take the economic and construction dynamics of developing countries into account. these dynamics differ substantially from singapore and other developed countries and will be highlighted in this article. 3. proposed housebuilding construction quality assessment tool based on the experiences and the situational analysis of the south african construction industry, the approach adopted in this article to develop the south african house building construction quality assessment tool was similar in principle to the methodology used in the conquas model. the similarity was mainly for the division of building elements and assigning relative weights to these elements. housing construction mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 101 quality in south africa is mainly associated with structural failures and poor workmanship, noticeably so in low-income houses. it was thus considered necessary to focus only on structural aspects affecting the integrity of the building and the roof structure. concerning the structural integrity, some considerations on electrical works were included in the development of the construction quality assessment tool. the following were established as the objectives of the construction quality assessment tool: • a tool that is objective, simple, and practicable, with a capability of assessing and quantifying the quality of house construction and the performance of home builders; • a tool that will enable the differentiation of homebuilders based on their performance in house construction, and • a tool that will assist in the development of homebuilders to improve the quality of their work. 3.1 elements the approach adopted in developing the assessment tool suitable for the south african housing construction industry was to break down the housing structure into five building elements that were then further subdivided into sub-elements, as presented in figure 2. this division forms a substantial departure from conquas regarding the number of components, the inclusion of foundations, the exclusion of separate components related to architectural finishes, and the relative allocation of weighting percentages. in particular, the distribution of weightings shifts the emphasis of the assessment tool away from architectural issues towards structural works. house foundation (30%) dimensions (15%) excavations (15%) reinforcement (15%) masonry in foundations (20%) mortar (15%) floors (15%) walls (25%) roofs (20%) electrical & plumbing (10%) building elements (100%) building sub-elements figure 2: building elements and sub-elements acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 102 the weightings were based on observation of structural failures of houses in south africa, and the actual weightings were determined using the analytical hierarchy process (ahp) (saaty, 1987). the ahp is a structured mathematical technique used to organise and analyse complex decisions. the technique was used to prioritise building elements that impact on the structural stability and integrity of a house. thus, the performance of floors (15% weight), for example, is of less importance compared to the walls (25% weight). the electrical and plumbing works (10%) were found to have a small impact on the structure. the impact of electrical and plumbing works on the structure is due to the chasing of walls to make provision for the conduits or pipes. the highest weight of 30% was assigned to the foundation and 25% to the walling element. the sub-elements were developed from each of the building elements, as shown in figure 2 for the foundation element. for the other elements of a building, the sub-elements are shown in detail in table 2. each building element was broken down into sub-elements that would influence the overall construction quality of the element. this process was based on the performance of historically completed houses, their associated failure patterns, and root causes of failure, and on-site investigations. saaty’s ahp (saaty, 1987: 161-176) approach, coupled with homebuilder interviews, was used to allocate the sub-weights of the sub-elements. table 2: building sub-elements for a typical low-income house item no. building element and weight building sub-element building subelement weight (%) weighted average (%) 1 foundation 30% dimensions 15 4.50 excavations 15 4.50 reinforcement 15 4.50 concrete 20 6.00 masonry in foundations 20 6.00 mortar 15 4.50 100 30.00 2 floors 15% dimensions 10 1.50 excavations 20 3.00 dampproof membrane 30 4.50 concrete 40 6.00 100 15.00 mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 103 item no. building element and weight building sub-element building subelement weight (%) weighted average (%) 3 walls 25% dampproof course 15 3.75 masonry walls 20 5.00 brick force 10 2.50 mortar 15 3.75 doors and window frames 10 2.50 lintels 15 3.75 plaster 10 2.50 glazing 5 1.25 100 25.00 4 roof 20% wall plate 10 2.00 timber 20 4.00 purlins, rafter beams 25 5.00 roof covering 15 3.00 bracings 15 3.00 roof anchors 15 3.00 100 20.00 5 electrical and plumbing 10% sewer trenches 20 4.00 waterproofing 40 8.00 chasing 40 8.00 100 20.00 3.2 assessment criteria the assessment criteria used in conquas (2003; 2017) employ a strict approach to score compliance items. a building element is assigned either a compliant and given a score of 1.0 or a non-compliant and given a score of 0. with this approach, most of south africa’s low-income houses will end up with a very low overall construction quality score. this will not be helpful, as hardly any information will be extracted from the data. an intermediate score of 0.5 was introduced to obtain reasonable scores and maintain consistency. this score allows some deviations (non-compliances) to occur, but only for those non-compliances that will not adversely affect the house’s structural integrity. other scoring systems such as likert’s five-point scale were considered inappropriate, as they allow too many non-compliances to be introduced and yield unreasonable results. a set of assessment criteria were developed, using the minimum technical standards and the south african national standards (sans 10400, 2016). a large pool of construction technical information was identified. the most relevant, inclusive, and accessible to a homebuilder is the nhbrc’s home building manuals (nhbrc, 1999; 2015). the information included in sans 10400 (2016) tends to be sophisticated to an ordinary homebuilder and acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 104 concentrates on details of issues pertinent to specific topics. due to that, the difficulty of access, and the cost of the standards, the sans 10400 documents are of less practical benefit to homebuilders. 4. research the proposed construction quality assessment tool developed was used to analyse the quality of 700 houses on three selected project sites located in gauteng, south africa. the study was undertaken on two low-income projects, shown in table 3 as project a (250 houses) and project b (350 houses), and one middle-income project, shown as project c (100 houses). in table 3, the homebuilders are indicated with the pseudo symbols a, b, and c, due to the sensitivity and confidentiality of the information. thus, project a had two contractors (homebuilders) shown in table 3 as a1 and a2, each allocated 120 and 130 houses, respectively. similarly, project b had three contractors, b1, b2, and b3, with 80, 110, and 160 houses, respectively. however, the middle-income project had one contractor (c1) allocated 100 houses. destructive investigations are usually costly and take longer to implement compared to visual assessment. in this study, a methodology was adopted in which an assessor would visit the site and assess (score) the various elements of the house structure without performing any destructive tests. 4.1 assessment before the study, an on-site, hands-on training of the tool and an interactive calibration based on the results were conducted. the on-site inspection assessment was based on technical documentation in the form of drawings and specifications provided by the homebuilder. several building elements were included for scoring, and assessors who used the tool were trained prior to the on-site assessment, in order to reduce subjectivity. to make the assessment easy and quick to use, very basic construction tools and instruments were used for the assessment. these included using a spirit level to measure levelness, a schmidt hammer to obtain compressive strength of concrete, a moisture meter, a measuring tape, and a camera. a trained assessor performed on-site assessment, using the quality assessment tool and verified, where applicable, with technical documentation (e.g., drawings) available on-site. the skills required for an assessor are a basic technical understanding of standards and experience of site inspection of a building during construction. the assessor is required to carry out the assessment of a building element and sub-element only once. this is in line with the recommendations of conquas (2017) mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 105 that encourages homebuilders to excel and deliver a good product the first time. based on observed workmanship and previously recorded structural failures, the tool was also designed to handle complex designs, construction methods, and the usage of different materials and products (e.g., unconventional building technologies) and can be used during and post-construction. assessments of the foundation and roof sub-elements (see table 2) of each house in the three selected project sites were conducted during construction. the final assessment (roof leak) was done six months after completion of the construction work. this process allowed the assessors to perform an objective analysis of the foundations during construction. to calculate the quality score for each house, each building element was scored, and when aggregated with other elements, it gives an overall score for the house. 4.2 limitations previous research has been conducted extensively on beneficiaries’ perceptions on quality of houses, as highlighted in the literature review, with hardly any work on the actual measurement and quantification of the quality of the top structure. as such, the limitations of this research are as follows: • the quality assessment research is only for the physical top structure and foundations of a house, and • the assessment is limited to structural aspects and does not include architectural finishes, plumbing, and electrical designs. 5. results and discussions 5.1 findings table 3 presents the scores for each project, per homebuilder, and the average score for each project. the scores varied from 54% to 80%. the average score for the low-income houses was 64%, for the middle-income, 80%, and the aggregate average score for all houses was 66%. the houses were found to have various types of defects, ranging from inferior quality walls, substandard materials to roof leaks. interestingly, the lowincome houses constructed by each homebuilder in each project showed similar patterns of defects. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 106 table 3: project scores project homebuilder type of houses no. of houses average quality score (%) (max. 100%) a a1 low income 120 77 a2 low income 130 67 subtotal 250 72 b b1 low income 80 59 b2 low income 110 62 b3 low income 160 54 subtotal 350 58 total 600 64 c c1 middle income 100 80 average score 700 66 figure 3 shows a plot of the frequency distribution of the quality of houses scores, where 100% indicates a near-perfect structurally defect-free house, complying with all relevant national standards. the scores in figure 3 are based on the elements presented in table 2. as shown in figure 3, the data fits in a normal distribution curve, whereby most of the houses have scores falling between 60% and 75%. as part of this research project, a benchmarking exercise on quality scores was conducted on houses that the nhbrc identified in eastern cape and kwazulu-natal provinces (nhbrc, 2011). these houses were delivered through the governmentsubsidised programme and had structural problems that varied from minor to major defects. according to this exercise, scores below 50% indicated very poorly constructed houses with significant structural defects and would require the houses to be demolished and reconstructed. scores between 50% and 60% indicated houses with major structural defects, and scores between 60% and 75% indicated houses with minor defects, while scores above 75% indicated houses with insignificant structural defects. the definitions of significant, major and minor structural defects were defined in the nhbrc home building manual (nhbrc, 1999). in the nhbrc manual, the damage or structural defect to a structural element is defined in terms of ease of repair. using the nhbrc definition in a slightly modified manner, the following was used in this research to define the defects in masonry walls of single-storey houses: • insignificant (hairline) cracks have crack widths in walls less than 0.25mm; • minor defects have maximum crack widths in walls between 0.25mm and 5mm. cracks occur internally and are not visible externally. redecoration of the walls may be required; mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 107 • major defects have crack widths between 5mm and 25mm. extensive repair works to the walls may be required, and • significant crack widths greater than 25mm would require major repairs, involving partial or complete demolishing of the wall. roughly 8% of low-income houses fell below the 50% score and required to be demolished. of the houses, 30% scored between 50% and 60%, indicating that these houses would require major rectifications. of the houses, roughly 36% scored between 60% and 75% and these houses would require minor rectifications to meet the local, national standards. as indicated earlier, a score above 75% indicates a house of acceptable quality standards; only 25% of the houses fall into this category. the defects on houses that scored above 75% were cosmetic and could be addressed by the houseowner at minimum cost. most of the low-income houses fell below the 75% score, with an average score of 64%. on the other hand, middle-income houses scored above 75%, with an average score of 80%. the difference in scores shows the disparity in the quality of houses delivered in the two mainstream markets. mainly small and or emerging homebuilders with limited housebuilding knowledge are involved in delivering low-income houses, while well-established homebuilders dominate the middle-income. figure 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 m or e % o f h ou se s quality score (%) minor defectsdemolish major defects acceptable figure 3: distribution of structural quality scores (all houses) acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 108 of further interest to observe is the comparison of the quality of building elements of the houses. the building elements and the sub-elements associated with these elements were defined in figure 2 and table 2. each building element has a score, and when aggregated with other elements, it gives an overall score for the house. for the low-income houses, the average quality score for the roofs and walls was 55% and 65%, respectively. this was not surprising, as most of the corrugated (ibr) roof sheets commonly used for low-income houses were torn, and as a result, the roofs were leaking within six months. some of the roofs had boulders on top to prevent them from wind uplift, or cement blocks were used to anchor the roof beams (see figure 4). figure 4: typical roof anchoring system used for low-income houses some of the walls were observed to have poor workmanship associated with skewness and substandard cement blocks. samples of cement blocks taken from the site for lab testing indicated that the compressive strength was far less than the 3mpa minimum prescribed in sans 10400 (2016). the compressive strength results ranged from 2.1mpa to 3.1mpa, with a mean value of 2.5mpa. an inadequate foundation system caused wide crack openings that were observed in some of the walls. the impact of crack width was determined as per the nhbrc home building manual (nhbrc, 2015) and sans mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 109 10400 (2016). unacceptable cracks had a high impact on the house’s overall score, which would require the houses to be demolished. as shown in figure 5, a log-normal plot represents the frequency distribution for the walls in one of the low-income housing projects. in this graph, approximately 20% of the walls scored below 50%, and roughly 45% scored more than 75%. from the data distribution in the graph, it appears that intervention strategies are required to improve the construction quality of houses in south africa. thus, to improve the quality of the walls, the graph must be shifted to the right, using mechanisms such as training, effective quality control, and monitoring, and the use of better quality materials. upon embarking on these strategies, the construction quality assessment tool can be used to re-assess the quality of houses delivered by the contractors. if the interventions are effective, the graph should shift towards the right. relevant regulatory authorities, stats sa, the stakeholders in the housing industry, will then be able to arguably present the housing quality statistics for south africa and determine whether indeed the quality of housing stock is improving with time. figure 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 % o f w al ls quality of walls (%) figure 5: percentage distribution of assessment scores for walls element much better insight is obtained by correlating building elements, as presented in figure 6, which gives the scores for project a. the scores of the walls are normalised against the scores of the floors. in the graph, a house is represented by a single data point, and a 45-degree regression line is drawn as shown. this line thus represents scores of equal magnitudes for acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 110 both the walls and the floors. a point plotting below the unity-regression line denotes a house in which the quality of the floors is superior to the walls. conversely, a point plotting above the diagonal line reflects the opposite situation. figure 6 shows that most of the houses had better quality floors than walls, as most of the data points plotted below the regression line. such type of correlation graph is useful where the project has many subcontractors. the graphs would enable training interventions that are required and identify which aspects of the project should be addressed, in order to obtain a better quality house. figure 7 presents a typical example of a poor sub-structure (floor) construction. the image shows that the floor level does not meet the minimum standard, which stipulates that the floor level must be at least 150 mm above the natural ground level. in the event of rain, the house is likely to flood, compromising the integrity of the foundation, the house, as well as the health and safety conditions of the occupants. therefore, a developmental strategy for this homebuilder would be on the basic understanding of the impact of storm water on top structure performance. a similar comparison of walls and roofs for the same project suggests that the relative construction qualities of both elements are of a similar order of magnitude. figure 6: correlation 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 w al ls ( % ) floors (%) higher quality floors figure 6: correlation analysis of floors and walls mahachi • development of a construction quality assessment tool 111 figure 7: example of poor substructure in low-income houses 6. conclusions and recommendations south africa has a dual housing market with an apparent disparity in the quality of houses delivered. a construction quality assessment tool was developed and presented in this article, taking into consideration the local south african conditions typical of the vast majority of developing countries. although the tool is simple to use, it does provide an objective way of assessing and quantifying the quality of a house objectively and consistently. implementation of the tool enables a comparison of quality outputs by various homebuilders and developers. it produces a consistent and statistically based measure of quality performance by the entire industry. when integrated with other housing quality systems, this tool will contribute to a holistic assessment of house quality. implementing the proposed ‘construction quality assessment’ tool for houses will benefit several stakeholders and role players in the homebuilding industry. the proposed assessment tool is capable of assessing and quantifying the quality of a house. an analysis of the data generated by the tool identified the developmental needs of the homebuilders. the regulatory authorities, contractor/building organisations, and associations can use the assessment tool to grade the homebuilders into different categories, depending on their historical quality assessment performance scores. good performers can use their quality assessment score, based on their performance category, to improve the quality of their acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 112 products and for marketing purposes. therefore, a potential client can benefit by being able to differentiate and appoint competent homebuilders who can deliver a better quality housing product. using the construction quality assessment tool, the government and other authorities can make better informed decisions when awarding contracts. if introduced and implemented correctly, the quality of the houses delivered across the entire housing spectrum can be monitored, and improvement measures put in place. the data collected through this quality assessment tool will be invaluable for national authorities, regulators, and statistics south africa to evaluate and report if the housing stock being delivered is consistently improving. risk assessment studies will assist the regulators in developing proper quality management strategies. 7. acknowledgements the author would like to acknowledge mr mudau from the nhbrc and former csir employee, dr a. goliger, for providing invaluable information and guidance to this research project. references acre, f. & wyckmansa, a. 2014. spatial quality determinants for residential building innovation: a methodological approach to the development of spatial quality assessment. 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[online]. available at: <http://www.statssa. gov.za/publications/p0318/p03182018.pdf> [accessed: 20 july 2020]. streimikiene, d. 2015. quality of life and housing. international journal of information and education technology, 5(2), pp. 140-145. doi https://doi. org/10.7763/ijiet.2015.v5.491 turner, j.f.c. 1977. housing by people: towards autonomy in building environment. new york: pantheon books. zunguzane, n., smallwood. j. & emuze, f. 2012. perceptions of the quality of low-income houses in south africa: defects and their causes. acta structilia, 19(1), pp.19-38. http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/p0318/p03182018.pdf http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/p0318/p03182018.pdf https://doi.org/10.7763/ijiet.2015.v5.491 https://doi.org/10.7763/ijiet.2015.v5.491 1 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as ignatius morgen chombo mr ignatius morgen chombo, department of architecture and architectural engineering, yonsei university, yonsei-ro, sinchon-dong, seodaemun-gu, seoul, south korea. phone: +82-2-2123-2780, email: <ignatiusmorgen@gmail.com> sang hoon youm prof. sang hoon youm, department of architecture and architectural engineering, yonsei university, yonsei-ro, sinchon-dong, seodaemun-gu, seoul, south korea. phone: +82-2-21232793, email: <syoum@yonsei. ac.kr>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-9607-903x issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: june 2021 peer reviewed and revised: september 2021 published: december 2021 keywords: building performance, public housing, residential building, harare how to cite: chombo, i.m. & youm, s.h. 2021. building performance evaluation of public housing in harare, zimbabwe. acta structilia, 28(2), pp. 1-22. building performance evaluation of public housing in harare, zimbabwe research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i2.1 abstract this study sought to evaluate the performance of residential building spaces in public housing in harare, zimbabwe. it specifically measured building performance indicators determined by the building’s characteristics and the physical, locational and service attributes of buildings. a quantitative research design was adopted, in which questionnaires and observations were used in data collection. a two-stage sampling technique was used, because the population could be subdivided into clusters. from residents in three clusters, which include highfield-venice flats, avenues flats and mbare flats, 263 respondents were conveniently chosen. results from the independent t-test that was conducted showed that, at 95% confidence level, there exist significant differences in residential satisfaction among residents of highfield-venice flats and those of avenues flats (t = 2.159, p-value= 0.035>0.05). overall, residents are dissatisfied with the attributes of the buildings in which they live and the general residential situation. there is a general dissatisfaction with the buildings, suggesting that the building performance is not meeting their needs and expectations. housing attribute preferences, privacy, dwelling proximity, and neighbourhood attachment 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2021 28(2): 1-22 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 2 showed a significant and positive impact on general residential satisfaction. hence, there is a need to improve housing attribute preferences such as improving the quality of air and lighting as well as noise levels, since respondents expressed dissatisfaction with these attributes. housing ceilings can be installed to reduce noise levels. more so, the quality of air and lighting can be improved by inserting more air ventilations and wider windowpanes. privacy should be improved by ensuring that the residential structures have boundary walls that may be needed by the residents. more so, dwelling proximity ought to be improved. the ministry of national housing and social amenities and other public housing institutions can consider developing structures such as shopping centres, public schools as well as roads and social amenities such as parks, pools and workout facilities before they build residential houses. abstrak hierdie studie poog om die prestasie van residensiële bouruimtes in openbare behuising in harare, zimbabwe, te evalueer. die studie het spesifiek die bouprestasie-aanwysers gemeet wat bepaal word deur die gebou se eienskappe en die fisiese, liggingen dienskenmerke van geboue. ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsontwerp is aangeneem waarin vraelyste en waarnemings in data-insameling gebruik is. monsters is in twee stadiums geneem omdat die populasie in groepe onderverdeel kon word. uit inwoners in drie groepe wat highfield-venice woonstelle, avenues woonstelle en mbare woonstelle insluit, is 263 respondente gerieflik gekies. resultate van die onafhanklike t-toets wat uitgevoer is, het getoon dat daar op 95% vertrouensvlak beduidende verskille bestaan in die tevredenheid tussen inwoners van highfield-venice woonstelle en dié van avenues woonstelle (t = 2.159, p-waarde = 0.035> 0.05). in die algemeen is inwoners ontevrede oor die eienskappe van die geboue waarin hulle woon en die algemene woongebied. daar is ’n algemene ontevredenheid oor die geboue wat daarop dui dat die bouprestasie nie aan hul behoeftes en verwagtinge voldoen nie. voorkeure ten opsigte van behuising, privaatheid, nabyheid van die woning en woonbuurte het ’n beduidende en positiewe impak op die algemene tevredenheid van die woonplek. daarom is dit nodig om voorkeure vir behuisingskenmerke te verbeter, soos die verbetering van die kwaliteit van lug en beligting sowel as die geraasvlakke, aangesien respondente ontevrede was met hierdie eienskappe. huisplafonne kan geïnstalleer word om geraasvlakke te verminder. die kwaliteit van lug en beligting kan verbeter word deur meer lugventilasies en groter vensters in te voeg. privaatheid moet verbeter word deur te verseker dat die woonstrukture grensmure het wat deur die inwoners nodig mag wees. die nabyheid van die woonstel moet verbeter word. die ministerie van nasionale behuising en sosiale geriewe en ander openbare behuisingsinstellings kan die ontwikkeling van strukture soos winkelsentrums, openbare skole sowel as paaie en sosiale geriewe soos parke, swembaddens en oefensentrums oorweeg voordat hulle woonhuise bou. sleutelwoorde: bouprestasie, openbare behuising, residensiële gebou, harare 1. introduction ibem, opoko, adeboye and amole (2013: 178) stipulated that the crucial aim of buildings is to provide occupants with conducive, safe, comfortable, healthy, and secured indoor environments to carry out different kinds of activities ranging from work, study, leisure, and family life to social interactions. in order to achieve this, buildings are designed, planned, constructed, and managed based on standards and specifications established by governments, professionals and experts who are supposed to have adequate knowledge of users’ needs and expectations. studies chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 3 have, however, shown that sometimes standards and specifications do not conform to the changing needs and expectations of users (ibem et al., 2013: 179; preiser & hardy, 2014: 181; gopikrishnan & topkar, 2017: 295; gopikrishnan & paul, 2018: 638) and thus, users are not always satisfied with the performance of their buildings. the consequences of this are manifested in building-related illness and ‘sick building syndrome’ (ibem et al., 2013: 181) that increase the desire for re-modelling or modifications or abandonment of completed buildings (mallory-hill, preiser & watson, 2012: 328), which may cause waste of energy and sometimes even damage to the building envelope components and the surrounding environment (mitterer, künzel, herkel & holm, 2012: 231). many reasons may be adduced as to why buildings perform poorly in meeting users’ needs and expectations. as kelly, crawford-brown and pollitt (2012: 6861) rightly observed, whereas designers in other fields of human endeavour expend considerable resources in examining the actual functioning and user satisfaction with everyday services and products and refining their design accordingly, professionals in the building industry appear not to have done well in this area. the main reason is the lack of adequate knowledge of users’ changing needs and preferences by architects and other professionals who design, construct and maintain buildings. this is obviously due to inadequate research on this subject. in light of the above, fatoye and odusami (2009: 929) suggested that one of the ways to improve the overall performance of buildings is to explore and understand users’ needs, expectations, and aspirations through regular performance evaluation. therefore, building performance evaluation (bpe) is used to constantly examine the extent to which buildings are effective and efficient in meeting the needs and expectations of users (preiser & hardy, 2014: 185; gopikrishnan & topkar, 2017: 296). among other functions, bpe relates clients’ goals and performance criteria set by experts to the measurable effects of buildings on the users and surrounding environment (gopikrishnan & paul, 2018). it also helps understand how occupants feel about their buildings, and thus provides basic information on users’ needs, preferences, and satisfaction (ibem et al., 2013: 178). put succinctly, bpe primarily seeks to improve the quality of design, construction, and management of buildings and, by extension, promotes sustainable built environment. therefore, the need for bpe to be part of the research agenda of architects and other professionals in the building industry cannot be over emphasized (fatoye & odusami, 2009: 929). existing studies (ilesanmi, 2010; ibem et al., 2013; clement & kayode, 2012) focus on the general performance of public housing in meeting occupants’ needs and expectations. from these studies, it is established chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 4 that the physical characteristics of residential buildings have a significant influence on occupants’ satisfaction with their residential environment. this implies that the dwelling unit component of housing plays a vital role in determining the quality of residential environment, in particular, and the performance of housing projects, in general (gopikrishnan & topkar, 2017: 296). hence, using the relative performance index, the study sought to examine the residents’ satisfaction to building performance of residential building spaces in public housing in harare. 2. literature review 2.1 residential satisfaction residential satisfaction is a multidimensional concept formed and defined over several decades and includes several theories and frameworks. residential satisfaction of habitable buildings in terms of the quality of residential environments includes a subjective evaluation of the performance of products or services in meeting the needs and expectations of users or customers during or after occupation (clement & kayode, 2012: 105; fatoye & odusami, 2009: 929). it compares the benefits or values users or customers derive to what was expected when a product or service is consumed (clement & kayode, 2012: 106). according to the expectancydisconfirmation theory, on which most of the studies on satisfaction draw, this means that, if the performance of a product or service meets users’ or customers’ needs and expectations, the user or customer is said to be satisfied with the product and/or service, and vice versa (mustafa, 2017: 415). researchers have found that the most utilised methods of quantification are conducted by way of questionnaires and this is done by using two approaches. one way is to measure residential satisfaction with one or more general questions about satisfaction with a specified degree of residential environment (smrke, blenkuš & sočan, 2018: 69). another way is assessment, by asking respondents on degrees of satisfaction with specific components of the residential environment which often tend to result in an index of residential satisfaction (smrke et al., 2018: 67). residential satisfaction can be divided into dwelling unit, neighbourhood, and community satisfaction (ibem et al., 2013: 178). buys and miller (2012: 336) pointed out that most of the research on residential satisfaction focused only on the neighbourhoods, whereas less was known about the satisfaction level of dwellings (aigbavboa & thwala, 2016: 85). this research will focus on neighbourhoods and dwellings’ satisfaction attributes and levels. chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 5 smrke et al. (2018: 67) showed that household economics, which form socio-economic characteristics, is an important determinant of residential satisfaction. they also found that residential environment, neighbourhood characteristics including dwelling proximity and neighbourhood attachment, as well as safety and crime prevention predict residential satisfaction. ibem and amole (2013a: 563) and buys and miller (2012: 319) found that housing characteristics such as spatial (functional) comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, and building integrity (structural and material performance) influence residential satisfaction. gupta and chandiwala (2010: 536) established that residential satisfaction is based on experiences and interactions with residential buildings. if the people have had a bad experience with a certain type of dwelling, they are likely to show low satisfaction. fatoye and odusami (2009: 929) indicated that, at the inception of building occupation, residents build various expectations on the performance of their buildings, which shows that they have various preferences of housing attributes. cao and wang (2016: 26) noted that residents consider the effect of environmental issues on their building as a significant factor of residential satisfaction. for purposes of this study, residential satisfaction is determined by eight attributes as shown in table 1. table 1: residential satisfaction measurement attribute source socio-economic characteristics chen, dang and dong (2020: 563); zunguzane, smallwood and emuze (2012: 35) residential status cao and wang (2016: 563), ofori (2020: 66) current housing characteristics cao and wang (2016: 563); huang and du (2015: 225) problems faced in the current dwelling gupta and chandiwala (2010: 530) housing attributes preferences fatoye and odusami (2009: 929) dwelling proximity and neighbourhood attachment wang and wang (2016: 45) safety and crime prevention wang and wang (2016: 46) outdoor environment cao and wang (2016: 563) 2.2 building performance evaluation a building is a product and contains an investment that is required to bring favourable returns not only for the investor but also for the user (gopikrishnan & topkar, 2017: 295). when dealing with the community and users, it is a requirement that the building must meet the needs and chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 6 expectations of the users, by supporting their daily activities and needs and improving their welfare through the quality of the built environment (ibem et al., 2013: 178). building performance evaluation assesses the architectural, functional, technical and economic value of buildings, by identifying the major weaknesses and strengths of buildings from the user’s perspective (gopikrishnan & topkar, 2017: 178; ibem et al., 2013: 178), with the potential to improve the quality of buildings after their construction through the provision of feedbacks on causes and effects of the environment and issues that relate to the building (amini, mahdavinejad & bemanian, 2019: 184). gupta and chandiwala (2010: 530) stated that evaluation and performance of residential buildings are based on either observation or user satisfaction surveys, as it allows users to give their feedback, feelings, views, and opinions about a building based on their experiences and interactions. jiboye (2012: 236) noted that building performance indicators (bpis) are an ideal way of identifying a condition that can be measured if one is to evaluate specific qualities and performances. kian, feriadi, sulistio and seng (2001: 10) and kim, yang, yeo and kim (2005: 1103) suggested the use of six bpis, namely spatial (functional) comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, and building integrity (structural and material performance). carratt, kokogiannakis and daly (2020: 121408) emphasised the concept of bpe being based on the building users’ experience, with bpis being based on the parameters related to the spatial (functional) comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, and building integrity (structural and material performance) of the satisfaction, behaviour, physiological and psychological comfort of the occupants. bpe can be intentionally used for assisting in the formation and implementation of government policies, and the development of new strategies and typologies in building theories, whilst able to assist, through sharing of information, the performance of building spaces to professionals, contractors, and the building industry stakeholders (kim et al., 2005: 1103). approaches to bpe include those that specify on functional aspects, physical condition, safety and statutory requirements; quality assessment of building needs and facilities provided; serviceability of building with respect to occupants’ needs and facilities provided; environmental performance in terms of indoor quality, air quality, intrusion, control, appearance, and lighting; energy consumption and indoor air quality; user satisfaction with the design and construction of and services in the building; post-occupancy evaluation of technical, functional and behavioural aspect of the buildings (gupta & chandiwala, 2010: 535). chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 7 various typical studies in countries such as nigeria (adedire & adegbile, 2018; zunguzane, smallwood & emuze, 2012), ghana (ofori, 2020), and south africa (landman, matsebe & mmonwa, 2009) focus on user needs and expectations and play a part in determining the quality of residential environment and the performance of housing in general. ibem et al. (2012) revealed that, in nigeria, papua new guinea and ghana, respectively, residents were dissatisfied with the building features. in nigeria (adedire and adegbile, 2018: 146), residents were found to be most satisfied with design features, rooms numbers, and rooms sizes in their dwelling units. 3. study area this research focused on harare, the capital city of zimbabwe, as the most populous city and the most densified and urban city in the country prove it to be a model for generalisation or sampling case that can represent the whole country by providing concise empirical data. it was established in 1890, when the british south african company’s pioneer column settled at harare figure 1: city map of harare source: google maps chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 8 kopje and hoisted the union jack (iweka, 2014: 120). the settlement began to grow from this point and was named after the then british prime minister, lord salisbury. salisbury, renamed harare at independence, was established as the seat of government. colonial laws ensured that it was a settlement with restrictive, racialised laws and planning mechanisms. harare had a predicted population of approximately 1 800 000 people in 2015. this figure is expected to grow (by 3.54% annually) to 2,337,000 people by 2025 (un habitat, 2014: 137). 4. research methodology the aim of this study is to measure residential satisfaction levels in public housing units measured as building performance indicators determined by the building’s characteristics and the physical, locational, and service attributes of buildings. a quantitative research methodology in the form of a questionnaire survey design was adopted, as this type of design allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys that enable researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 2014: 10). a questionnaire survey with similar questions allowed the researcher to compare data from the different neighbourhoods surveyed. descriptive analysis was used to summarise the questionnaire data on the building characteristics and attribute performance by using frequencies and percentages (numerical) to reduce the number of responses to a mean score (lawless & heymann, 2010: 227). from these mean scores and relative performance index, the variables to measure residential satisfaction could be determined and set. inferential analysis was used to examine the relationships among these quantitative variables. several inferential analysis methods are available, but t-test, pearson’s r test and regression analysis were used. using these tests, coefficient and probability-values (p-values) could be extracted, and thus explain the strength of the relationship between a pair of variables (bewick, cheek & ball, 2003: 452). 4.1 sampling method and size statistics from the zimbabwe statistical agency show that, in 2016, harare had a total of 12,483 housing units and a population of 153,265, specifically in the neighbourhoods highfields, mbare, and avenues (zimstats, 2017: 55). these were chosen since they are among the biggest public housing neighbourhoods and differ largely in terms of residential characteristics. whilst mbare and highfields are highly crowded with various housing typologies, avenues neighbourhood is less crowded with almost similar housing typologies. chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 9 two-stage sampling technique was used, because the population could be subdivided into clusters, and random samples could be collected from each cluster (alvi, 2016: 22). in the first stage, three clusters were purposively selected from the council-owned flats in the residential areas of highfields, mbare and avenues. from the cluster sample, quota sampling was used to select 2,476 housing units (see table 2) to represent the population of council-owned flats. the raosoft sample size calculator (2004) with a 90% confidence interval and 5% margin of error recommends a sample size for a total population of 2,476 to be 244. the current research uses a total sample size of 263 which is validated by the raosoft sample size calculator (2004). proportion is used to determine sample size for each residential housing neighbourhood (see table 2). table 2: population and sample summary clusters/flats population proportion of total sample sample highfields, venice 876 35.3% 93 mbare 950 38.4% 101 avenues 650 26.3% 69 total 2476 100% 263 4.2 data collection between 10 and 18 april 2021, the researcher and research assistants distributed the structured questionnaire by hand to the 263 selected residents living in council-owned flats in harare, zimbabwe. the researcher and assistants left questionnaires with the residents during the morning from 8am to 11am, and collected them in the late afternoon from 3pm to 6pm each day. among the residents who were able to respond to the questionnaires instantly, they did so for about 10 to 15 minutes and returned the completed questionnaires to the researcher. the researcher also made use of observations to determine the housing typologies and materials used in building the residential buildings. observations helped determine external characteristics such as safety and security structures (for instance, burglar bars, boundary walls, or fences). the observations were recorded in the questionnaire spaces if they had been left unfilled by the respondents. the building attributes that determine resident satisfaction listed in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature (ibem & amole, 2013a: 563; ibem & amole, 2013b: 55), resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into three parts. part one, on the respondent’s profile, obtained personal information on age, gender, marital status, years of living in unit, monthly income, and nature of tenure. part two is a set chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 10 of 25 likert-scale items related to the construct ‘building attributes’ that determines resident satisfaction. participants were requested to rate their level of satisfaction on the items regarding the attributions of the buildings in which they are living. part three covers 10 tick-box questions on the type of physical elements of the buildings in which they are living. the results from these measurements form the items used in the descriptive analysis. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for part two (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the researcher ensured no bias, as no participation incentives were offered to respondents. thus, participation by the respondents in the study was entirely voluntary. 4.3 data analysis and interpretation of the findings descriptive and inferential statistics data was analysed using the scientific package for social sciences (spss) version 25.0 software. frequencies and percentages were calculated in order to analyse the respondents’ demographic profile, and the characteristics of buildings. mean score ratings were also calculated to analyse residential satisfaction levels and the performance of buildings (pallant, 2013: 134). 4.3.1 descriptive analysis to measure the residents’ satisfaction levels with the building attributes, 27 attributes were rated on a five-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (wegner, 2012: 11). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = very dissatisfied (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = dissatisfied (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = satisfied (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = very satisfied (≥4.21 and ≤ 5.00). in the evaluation of building performance, relative performance index (rpia) was computed for each building attribute as the sum of the actual satisfaction score (ms) on the five-point likert scale given by all respondents on each building attribute (assac) as a proportion of the sum of maximum possible satisfaction score on the five-point likert scale that all the respondents could give on each attribute (assmax). the rpia is taken as a measure of the relative contribution of importance of each building attribute towards enhancing the activities and well-being of the residents. this is expressed mathematically as: in the result expressing the maximum value of rpia is 1.00 and the building attributes with rpia value closer to 1.00 are considered to have the most contribution to the performance of the buildings in meeting occupants’ needs and expectations. chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 11 4.3.2 inferential analysis inferential analysis in form of t-test and levene’s test of equality of variances were done to test if there were any significant differences in residential satisfaction between residents of the different sampled flats in various public housing neighbourhoods. pearson’s r correlation test was employed to find any significant relationship between residential satisfaction and amenities in the building (fenton & neil, 2019: 18). the correlation coefficient adopted r values between -1 and 1, where: 1 indicates a strong positive relationship; -1 indicates a strong negative relationship, and 0 indicates no relationship at all. other tests performed include the anova test for significance and the regression analysis to determine factors with significant impact on general residential satisfaction. the independent variables (neighbourhood attachment, residential situation, privacy, housing attribute preferences, dwelling proximity, socioeconomic characteristics, current housing characteristics) were tested for having significant influence on residential satisfaction (dependent variable). 5. results 5.1. characteristics of respondents table 3 shows that the vastmajority of the residents (65.1%) were females and rented (63.1%) their housing units. a large portion (64.4%) of the residents are 36 years or older and have lived in their housing units for over six years (61.6%), signifying the longest tenure (more than 11 years) as shown by 37.3% of the residents, indicating their capability to provide wellconsidered responses. the average monthly income for residents in high density housing in the three neighbourhoods were us$326.31 per month, showing that residents, on average, earn below the poverty date line, which according to the 2021 poverty date line pegged at us$418 (zimstat, 2021: 2). table 3: respondents demographics characteristic category frequency (n = 263) % gender male 92 34.9 female 171 65.1 chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 12 characteristic category frequency (n = 263) % age 18-35 years 93 35.4 36-50 years 122 46.3 51-65 years 33 12.6 +65 years 15 5.7 ownership rented 166 63.1 own 78 29.7 other 19 7.2 tenure length less than 1 year 17 6.5 1-5 years 84 31.9 6-10 years 64 24.3 over 11 years 98 37.3 monthly income mean us$326.31 median us$250 mode us$500 5.2 characteristics of the buildings table 4 shows the most common type of building sampled being midrise typology (85.9%) constructed of mixed materials of cement, bricks, concrete steel and timber materials. in cases where the respondents were not sure about the construction materials used in building the residential structures, the researcher made use of observations. table 4: building characteristics characteristics category frequency (n=263) % housing typology mid rise 226 85.9 high rise 35 13.3 low rise 2 0.77 building materials brick 261 99.2 concrete 248 94.3 cement blocks 137 52.1 cladding 63 23.9 other 15 5.7 lavatory inside 144 54.7 outside 119 45.3 kitchen inside 262 99.6 outside 1 0.4 chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 13 characteristics category frequency (n=263) % burglary proof on windows yes 96 36.5 no 167 63.5 boundary walls or fencing on perimeter yes 87 33.1 no 176 66.9 security post at entrance yes 6 2.3 no 257 97.7 external characteristics of the buildings showed that safety and security is lacking on the premises and the buildings as only 36.5% of the housing units had burglar bars on doors and windows, 33.1% had boundary walls or fences around their building units, and only 2.3% had a security post at their building’s entrance. 5.3 users’ satisfaction with building attributes and performance of the buildings table 5 shows the mean scores, assac, rpia and ranking of the 27 building attributes that measures resident’s satisfaction with building performance indicators. the average mean score (ms) of 2.17 indicates that overall, residents are dissatisfied with the attributes of the buildings in which they live and the general residential situation. with ms above 2.61, ‘quality of natural lighting in the house (ms=2.90), ‘quality of natural lighting in the building (ms=2.82), quality of air in the house (ms=2.75), ‘quality of air in the building’ (ms=2.69), and ‘location of the house unit’ (ms=2.64) were rated the attributes with which the residents were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. building attributes with ms between 2.01 and 2.27 show that residents are mostly dissatisfied with ‘public activity spaces’ (ms=2.01), ‘initial maintenance and costs’ (ms=2.03), ‘parking bays and lots’ (ms=2.12), ‘size of dining room space’ (ms=2.25), and ‘noise levels in the building’ (ms=2.27). building attributes with rpia value closer to 1.00 are considered to contribute the most to the performance of the buildings in meeting occupants’ needs and expectations. results in table 5 show that none of the 27 building attributes had values above 0.580, indicating that the building performance indicators measured in this study do not satisfy the needs and expectations of the occupants. results show the expected result with lowest rpia value of 0.403 and the highest rpia value of 0.580. this suggests that these attributes contribute the most and least, respectively, to performance of the buildings sampled. it can be deduced that performance of the different attributes with rpia values of 0.502 and above contributed highly to the performance of the building with those with rpia between chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 14 0.495 and 0.462 contributing moderately, and those with values below 0.462 contributing minimally. table 5: mean satisfaction scores and relative performance indices of bpis s/n building attributes (n = 263) 1 = very dissatisfied … 5 = very satisfied ms assac rpia 16 quality of natural lighting in the house 2.90 758 0.580 15 quality of natural lighting in the building 2.82 738 0.565 14 quality of air in the house 2.75 719 0.550 13 quality of air in the building 2.69 703 0.538 5 location of the house unit 2.64 690 0.528 3 location of the building 2.60 680 0.521 12 thermal comfort in the building 2.57 671 0.514 9 sizes of kitchen 2.51 656 0.502 18 noise levels in the house 2.47 646 0.495 11 privacy in the building 2.44 638 0.488 1 building type 2.44 637 0.488 8 sizes of living rooms 2.42 586 0.449 7 sizes of bedrooms 2.42 633 0.485 21 design in relation to way of life 2.38 623 0.477 24 amenities in the building 2.34 613 0.469 4 aesthetic look and appearance of the building 2.34 612 0.468 27 how satisfied are you with the general state of cleanliness? 2.31 605 0.463 6 number of bathrooms in the house 2.31 604 0.462 2 number of bedrooms in the building 2.31 603 0.462 26 how satisfied are you with your residential situation in general? 2.28 597 0.457 17 noise levels in the building 2.27 593 0.454 10 size of dining room space 2.25 589 0.451 25 parking bays and lots 2.12 555 0.425 19 initial maintenance and costs 2.03 530 0.406 23 public activity spaces 2.01 526 0.403 average ms 2.17 chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 15 5.4 inferential results table 6 shows the independent samples test results indicating any significant differences in residential satisfaction between residents of the different sampled flats in various public housing neighbourhoods. the researcher assumed unequal variances, since residential satisfaction in the neighbourhoods is likely to differ and no test was performed to determine whether the variances were equal. the independent t-test that was conducted showed that at 95% confidence level, there are significant differences in residential satisfaction between residents of highfield venice flats and those of avenues flats (t = 2.159, p-value= 0.053>0.05). table 6: satisfaction vs neighbourhoods group statistics (flats) n independent samples test equal variances assumed equal variances not assumed mbare 121 levene’s test for equality of variances f 6.220 avenues 33 sig. .014 t-test for equality of means t -9.848 -8.167 df 152 41.381 sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 mbare 121 levene’s test for equality of variances f 40.688 highfield venice 109 sig. .000 t-test for equality of means t -8.335 -8.133 df 228 173.340 sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 avenues 33 levene’s test for equality of variances f 3.193 highfield venice 109 sig. .076 t-test for equality of means t 1.966 2.159 df 140 62.016 sig. (2-tailed) .056 .053* *significant at 0.05 (2-tailed) however, at 95% confidence level, statistically insignificant differences were found in residential satisfaction between residents of mbare flats and those of avenues flats (t = -8.167, p-value = 0.000<0.05) as well as between residents of mbare flats and those of highfield venice flats (t = -8.133, p-value = 0.000<0.05). chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 16 table 7 shows the correlation results to test if poor building amenities are associated with dissatisfaction among residents in public housing neighbourhoods in harare. the pearson correlation test shows that there is a strong positive relationship between residential satisfaction and satisfaction with amenities in the building (r=0.715**, p-value = 0.000<0.01). hence, poor building amenities are related to dissatisfaction among residents in high-density housing in harare and vice versa. table 7: satisfaction vs amenities correlations general satisfaction amenities in the building general satisfaction pearson correlation 1 .715** sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 263 263 amenities in the building pearson correlation .715** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 263 263 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) regression analyses were conducted to examine if potential predictors significantly affect general residential satisfaction. tables 8 and 9 show the model summary and anova test results of the model. in table 8, the r square value shows that 68.1% of the variance in satisfaction scores can be predicted from the neighbourhood attachment, housing attribute preferences, residential situation, socio-economic characteristics, dwelling proximity, current housing characteristics, and privacy variables. the regression model is statistically significant, since the p-value of 0.00 is less than 0.05 and, therefore, the independent variables reliably predict the dependent variable. table 8: regression model model summaryb anovab model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate f sig. 1 .825a .681 .654 .250 25.604 .000a a. predictors: (constant), neighbourhood attachment, housing attribute preferences, residential situation, socio-economic characteristics, dwelling proximity, current housing characteristics, privacy b. dependent variable: general satisfaction * significant at the 0.05 level table 9 shows that, when general residential satisfaction was predicted, it was found that housing attribute preferences (b=0.40; p=0.00); chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 17 privacy (b=0.136; p=0.00); dwelling proximity (b=0.304; p=0.00), and neighbourhood attachment (b=0.191; p=0.00) were statistically significant predictors, since their p-values were below 0.05. table 9: regression coefficients coefficientsa model b unstandardised coefficients t sig.std. error 1 (constant) -.685 .390 -1.755 .083 socio-economic characteristics .031 .067 .462 .645 residential situation -.037 .049 -.759 .450 current housing characteristics .091 .059 1.540 .127 housing attribute preferences .400 .086 4.655 .000* privacy .136 .033 4.082 .000* dwelling proximity .304 .054 5.656 .000* neighbourhood attachment .191 .049 3.934 .000* adependent variable: general satisfaction *significant at the 0.05 level however, coefficients of other variables, including socio-economic characteristics, residential situation and current housing characteristics, were found to be statistically insignificant predictors of residential satisfaction, since their p-values are above 0.05. 6. conclusions this study set to evaluate harare’s public housing satisfaction levels in public housing neighbourhoods. the respondents’ results suggest that there is a general dissatisfaction with the buildings, suggesting that the building performance is not meeting their needs and expectations. it can be concluded that factors including housing attribute preferences, privacy, dwelling proximity, and neighbourhood attachment, determine residential satisfaction in the public housing neighbourhoods. the findings of this study imply that, in order to enhance the performance of residential buildings in public housing in harare in meeting the expectations and needs of the occupants, some steps need to be taken that are targeted towards enhancing the determinants of residential satisfaction. first, there is a need to improve housing attribute preferences, since regression analysis results showed that these have a positive and significant chombo & youm 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 1-22 18 impact on residential satisfaction. improvement can be done in preferences such as improving the quality of air and lighting as well as noise levels, since respondents expressed dissatisfaction with these attributes. housing ceilings can be installed to reduce noise levels. quality of air and lighting can be improved by inserting more air ventilations and wider windowpanes. secondly, privacy should be improved, since results from regression analysis showed that this has a positive and significant impact on residential satisfaction. privacy can be improved by ensuring that the residential structures have boundary walls that are needed by the residents. dwelling proximity and neighbourhood environment ought to be considered when setting up residential sites. thirdly, there is a need to improve dwelling proximity, which was also found to be a significant and positive determinant of residential satisfaction. the ministry of national housing and social amenities can consider developing structures such as shopping centres, public schools as well as roads and social amenities such as parks, pools and workout facilities before they build residential houses. this helps in ensuring that construction of these structures is not abandoned after residential houses have been built. 7. limitations besides the findings of this study, the research is limited in a number of ways. first, the number of neighbourhoods investigated cannot be generalised for all public housing neighbourhood typologies, as it studied mid-rise buildings and not single-story detached houses. secondly, with the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, 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[accessed: 8 july 2021]. zunguzane, n., smallwood, j. & emuze, f. 2012. perceptions of the quality of low-income houses in south africa: defects and their causes. acta structilia, 19(1), pp. 19-38. chombo 178 boekresensie • book review pierre oosthuizen mr pierre oosthuizen, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein 9301, south africa. phone: +27 (0) 51 401 3322 or +27 (0) 84 244 1344, email: <oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.7 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 178-179 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) built: the hidden stories behind our structures by roma agrawal. publisher: bloomsbury. first publication: 2018 bookstores and thunderstorms in bloemfontein are few and scattered far apart. whenever you find yourself in either of them, be grateful and cherish the moment. global warming might explain scarcer thunderstorm activity, but to find the reason for the tragic declining demand for printed paper, we might have to ask the “millennials” to google it. my latest encounter with one of my favourite bookstores revealed the colourful cover of a newly released book entitled built. this was neatly tucked away under the architecture section. this book is a maiden voyage by an energetic and inspiring 35-year-old female engineer, originally from mumbai, india. she is currently an associate director at aecom and a fellow of the institution of civil engineers. roma agrawal obtained her ba degree in physics from the university of oxford in 2004, and her msc structural engineering degree from imperial college london, in 2005. her fascinating résumé includes the impressive “the shard” building in london (the tallest building in western europe). she shares her engineering knowledge and experience as well as some personal stories with her readers in a practical and educational book, written in the first-person. similar to the title, the chapter headings consist of single noun terms with no mailto:oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.7 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ aneke & awuzie • conversion of industrial wastes... 179 numbering system. the introductory chapter, “storey”, could also be spelled “story”, as it tells the story of how the author fell in love with physics and engineering. the remainder of the chapters, “force”, “fire”, “clay”, “metal”, “rock”, and so on relate to the content of the chapter, except for the “clean” chapter dealing mainly with the ironically dirty london sewerage system. each chapter opens with a personal experience that flows into an engineering problem. there is, however, hardly any reference to the invaluable role of other professions in the built environment. it would have been interesting to learn about the design, financial, and execution challenges encountered with “the shard”. chapters such as “price”, “design”, space”, and “time” would not have looked out of place. these may be the topics for her second book. in my opinion, the perfect target market for this book would be the “millennial” or “google” generation. perhaps for tertiary scholars who consider a professional career in the built environment. (does this generation read printed books?) if you want to spoil your teenager this christmas with a well put together vintage present, consider built for r323 at exclusive books or r530 at amazon. merry christmas! 77 navorsingsartikels • research articles a post-contract project analysis of material waste and cost overrun on construction sites in abuja, nigeria peer reviewed and revised abstract material waste and cost overrun have been identified as common problems in the construction industry. these problems occur at both preand post-contract stages of a construction project. as a result of a dearth of empirical research and low level of awareness, the majority of managers of construction projects in nigeria pay hardly any attention to material waste issues that affect cost overrun. this article examines the material waste issues that affect cost overruns at the post-contract stage of building projects. the study covers building construction projects in abuja, nigeria. in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals using purposive sampling technique. it is purposive, because only building professionals handling projects that are worth over eight million usd are consulted/ interviewed. the professionals included 15 project managers, nine quantity surveyors, five site engineers and one senior technical officer of a waste management department/ unit. the interviews were on issues relating to material waste and cost overruns at the postcontract stage of a project. the collected data were analysed manually, using the deductive approach. this involves constant comparative analysis of the data to generate common patterns on material waste and cost overrun. the research found that poor quality-ofprocurement management, construction management, and site management would cause material waste, which contributes to project cost overruns. a good-quality procurement management entails procuring the appropriate materials, at the right time and in accordance with specifications. rework, site accidents, inadequate site security/ fencing, poor site organisation and discipline, ibrahim saidu dr ibrahim saidu, department of quantity surveying, federal university of technology, p.m.b. 65, minna, niger state, nigeria. +23 48037796321, email: <saidu.ibr@futminna. edu.ng> winston shakantu prof. winston (m.w.) shakantu department of construction management, faculty of engineering, the built environment, and information technology, nelson mandela metropolitan university, port elizabeth, south africa. phone: +27 785147492, email: <winston.shakantu@nmmu. ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as24i2.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2017 24(2): 77-105 © uv/ufs mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@nmmu.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as24i2.3 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 78 construction-site disputes, lack of experience, and lack of co-ordination among the parties all contribute to material waste and cost overruns. it can be concluded that proper attention to material waste issues has the potential to minimise the rate of cost overrun at the post-contract stage of a project. it is recommended that careful attention should be paid to the issues identified in this study, as they would help reduce the rate of material waste and cost overrun for projects. keywords: cost overrun, construction industry, material waste, post-contract stage abstrak materiaalafval en koste-oorskryding word geïdentifiseer as algemene probleme in die konstruksiebedryf. hierdie probleme vind plaas in beide voor en na-kontrakstadiums van ’n konstruksieprojek. as gevolg van ’n gebrek aan empiriese navorsing en lae vlak van bewustheid, gee die meeste bestuurders van konstruksieprojekte in nigerië min aandag aan materiaalafvalkwessies wat kosteoorskryding beïnvloed. hierdie artikel ondersoek die materiaalafvalkwessies wat koste-oorskryding in die na-kontrakstadium van bouprojekte beïnvloed. die studie dek boukonstruksieprojekte in abuja, nigerië. in-diepte onderhoude met professionele persone is gehou met behulp van doelgerigte steekproefnemingstegnieke. dit is doelgerig omdat slegs professionele persone wat projekte hanteer wat meer as agt miljoen dollar werd is, geraadpleeg/ ondervra is. die professionele persone het 15 projekbestuurders, nege bourekenaars, vyf terreiningenieurs en een senior tegniese beampte van ’n afvalbestuursafdeling/-eenheid ingesluit. die onderhoude het gegaan oor die kwessies wat verband hou met wesenlike afval en koste-oorskryding by die na-kontrakstadium van ’n projek. die versamelde data is geanaliseer deur die deduktiewe benadering te gebruik. dit behels konstante vergelykende analise van die data om algemene patrone op materiaalafval en koste-oorskryding te genereer. die navorsing het bevind dat swak gehalte-van-verkrygingsbestuur, konstruksiebestuur en terreinbestuur materiaalafval tot gevolg sal hê, wat bydra tot die koste van die projekkoste. goeie gehalte-verkrygingsbestuur behels die verkryging van toepaslike materiale, op die regte tyd en in ooreenstemming met spesifikasies. herstelwerk, terreinongelukke, onvoldoende terreinbeveiliging/heining, swak terreinorganisasie en dissipline, geskilpunte op die bouplek, gebrek aan ondervinding en gebrek aan koördinasie tussen partye dra alles by tot materiaalafval en koste-oorskryding. daar kan tot die gevolgtrekking gekom word dat behoorlike aandag aan materiaalafvalkwessies die potensiaal het om die koers van koste-oorskryding in die na-kontrakstadium van ’n projek te verminder. daar word aanbeveel dat deeglik aandag gegee word aan die probleme wat in hierdie studie geïdentifiseer word, aangesien hulle sal help om die hoeveelheid afval en die koste-oorskryding vir projekte te verminder. sleutelwoorde: oorskryding van kostes, konstruksiebedryf, materiaalafval, na-kontrakstadium saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 79 1. introduction the construction industry, which plays a leading role in improving the quality of the built environment, is faced with the problems of waste, time overrun and cost overrun (osmani, glass & price, 2008: 1147; saidu & shakantu, 2016a: 124). material waste has become a serious problem and requires urgent attention in the construction industry (adewuyi & otali, 2013: 746). the majority of this waste has not been well managed, thus causing health and environmental problems (imam, mohammed, wilson & cheeseman, 2008: 469) and affecting the performance of many projects (ameh & itodo, 2013: 746; saidu & shakantu, 2016b: 555). several authors reporting on the situation have disclosed the problem of material waste. for instance, 10%-15% of materials delivered to construction sites in the united kingdom (uk) end up as waste (osmani, 2011: 209; saidu, 2016: 12). the united states (us) generates 164m tonnes of construction waste annually, representing 30%-40% of the country’s municipal solid waste (osmani, 2011: 209). in malaysia, 28.34% of the total waste sent to landfills originates from construction activities (begum, siwar, pereira & jaafar, 2007: 190). for every 100 houses built in nigeria, there is adequate waste material to build another 10 houses (ameh & itodo, 2013: 748). cost overrun is a global problem which makes it difficult for many construction projects to be completed within budget (ameh & itodo, 2013: 748; memon, abdul-rahman, zainun & abd-karim, 2013). of construction project owners in the uk, 33.3% are faced with the problems of cost overrun (abdul-rahman, memon & abd. karim 2013: 268). flyvbjerg, holm & buhl (2004: 6) conducted a global study on cost overruns and concluded that cost overruns were found across 20 nations and five continents of the world, thus affecting 90% of completed projects in the world (saidu & shakantu, 2015: 95). the argument on how to totally remove cost overruns from projects has been on-going among the built environment professionals for the past seventy years (apolot, alinaitwe & tindiwensi, 2013: 33). relating material waste to cost overrun, ameh & itodo (2013: 748) believe that building material wastage on construction sites accounts for cost overruns. for instance, material waste accounts for an additional 15% of project-cost overruns in the uk; 11% in hong kong, and between 20% and 30% in the netherlands. the majority of these findings were survey based. however, saidu & shakantu (2016c: 99) investigated the contributions of material waste to cost overruns in abuja, nigeria, using field measurement of onsite material waste and determination of amount of cost overrun for each project. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 80 the research concluded that building material waste contributes to approximately 4% of cost overrun. the problems of material waste and cost overrun are occasioned by several causes at the preand post-contract stages of projects. the identification of these causes at these stages and the application of relevant control measures to minimise their occurrence is a step towards alleviating the consequences (mou, 2008: 20; oladiran, 2009: 2; nagapan, abdul-rahman, asmi & hameed, 2012: 23; saidu & shakantu, 2015: 96). this research addresses the problem of hardly any attention being paid by the majority of managers of construction projects to the effects of material waste on cost overruns. many studies have been conducted in this field. for instance, tam, shen & tam (2007: 1471) assessed the levels of material wastage affected by sub-contracting relationships and projects types with their correlations on construction site; ameh & itodo (2013: 748) assessed professionals’ views of material wastage on construction sites and cost overruns. the study adopted a survey (questionnaire) research approach. saidu & shakantu (2015: 96) examined the relationship between quality of estimating, construction material waste generation and cost overruns in abuja, nigeria; saidu & shakantu (2016a: 124) examined the relationship between material waste and cost overrun in the construction industry using a thorough literature search and recommended further empirical investigations. saidu & shakantu (2016b: 555) developed a framework and an equation for managing construction-material waste and cost overruns but these are not empirically inclined. there is need for a research that provides an unprejudiced assessment of the material waste issues that have effects on cost overruns at the postcontract stage of a building project. hence, this research examines the material waste issues that have effects on cost overruns at the post-contract stage of building projects by determining the material waste issues that relate to cost overruns at: a) the procurement stage of a project; (b) the site management stage of a project, and (c) the construction management stage of a project. 2. literature review it is important to note that figure 1 is not all about construction waste, but that it attempts to show the root cause of ‘material waste’ and ‘cost overrun’ from construction waste. moreover, tables 1, 2 and 3 contain information about material waste that relates to cost overrun and not only construction waste. therefore, information about material waste dominated the entire literature review. saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 81 2.1 material waste and cost overrun construction waste is a global challenge facing construction practitioners. it can have a significant impact on time, cost, quality and sustainability, as well as the success of projects (nagapan et al., 2012: 22). it is the difference between purchase and actual use (al-hajj & hamani, 2011: 2). construction waste has been described as any constituent generated, as a result of construction work, and abandoned, whether or not it has been processed or stocked up before being abandoned (yuan, lu & hao, 2013: 484; hussain, abdul rahman & memon, 2013: 32). cost is considered one of the most significant issues and a driving force of project success. it has been regarded as a major concern throughout the project management life cycle. in spite of its recognised significance, it is common for a construction project to fail to achieve its goals within the budget. cost overrun, according to azhar, farooqui & ahmed (2008: 499), is simply an occurrence, where the final or actual cost of a project surpasses the original or initial estimates. therefore, cost overrun is a very common issue that affects most of the projects in the construction industry (azhar et al., 2008: 499), while waste can have a significant effect on the success of a construction project, since it specifically has a major impact on the construction costs (nagapan, abdul-rahman, asmi & hameed 2012: 22). in nigeria, the lowest average reported percentage of cost overrun on a project was 14% (hussain et al., 2013: 32; ameh, soyingbe & odusanmi, 2010: 49). this problem, according to ogunsemi & jagboro (2006: 257), is attributed to a wrong cost-estimation method adopted at the early stage of building projects. ameh & itodo (2013: 749) assert that material wastage on site leads to an increase in the final cost of the building project. as materials are wasted, more are procured, thus affecting the estimated cost (teo, abdelnaser & abdul, 2009: 257). ameh and itodo (2013:754) highlighted that wastages from the following materials contribute to the total project cost: concrete 4%; blockwork 10%; waste from screeding and plastering 15%; packaging 5%, and formwork is based on the number of times it is re-used. furthermore, research evidence has shown (see tables 1, 2 and 3) that the main factors causing construction material waste are similar to those causing constructioncost overruns on site; hence, nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi (2012: 2-3) (see figure 1) categorised cost overruns and time overruns as part of non-physical waste, and other material waste as physical waste on a construction site. this shows that cost overruns, time overruns acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 82 and construction material waste are generally categorised as waste. this is supported by ma (2011: 118) who defines waste as anything that does not add value. therefore, cost overruns, material waste and material waste that may be lost to landfills do not add value to projects. therefore, nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi (2012: 2-3) assert that construction waste is not all about the quantities of materials that are wasted, but that it is also focused on factors such as overproduction, waiting time, material handling, inventories, and the unnecessary movement of workers that constitute a significant part of non-physical waste, to which the construction industry always pays the least attention. it is clear from figure 1 that, since construction waste entails both the physical and the non-physical waste, there is, therefore, a relationship between cost overrun emanating from the non-physical waste and material waste from the physical waste, as they both originate from the same waste family (saidu & shakantu, 2015: 97). figure 1: classification of construction waste   figure 1: classification of construction waste adapted from: nagapan, abdul-rahman & asmi, 2012: 2 furthermore, the causes of material waste and those of cost overruns identified from the literature are similar. these causes occur as a result of one, or a combination of several causes at different stages of a project (the preand the post-contract stages), and they are crucial in identifying effective cost performance and sustainable construction (saidu, 2016: 61). 2.2 material waste and cost overrun at the post-contract stage of projects the causes of material waste and cost overruns at the post-contract stage of projects are identified in three major phases, namely the quality-of-procurement management, the quality-of-construction management, and the quality-of-site management. tables 1, 2 and 3 present the results of different studies on the causes of material saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 83 waste and those of cost overruns at these three phases of the postcontract stage. in all three tables, columns 2-3 are combined under the heading “material waste”, while columns 4-5 are combined under the heading “cost overrun”. these columns depict that each material waste cause listed in column 1 was identified and linked under a source and the location/country in columns 2-3 as well as in columns 4-5. 2.2.1 procurement management phase table 1 lists the causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the procurement management phase of a building construction project. table 1: the material waste causes that are similar to those of cost overruns with respect to quality-of-procurement management causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the procurement management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location procurement and transportation errors/mistakes in material ordering/ procurement nagapan, abdulrahman, asmi & hameed (2012: 23) malaysia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia procuring items not in compliance with specification adewuyi & otali (2013: 748); osmani et al. (2008: 23) rivers, nigeria; uk allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia errors in shipping/ supply osmani et al. (2008: 1149); nagapan et al. (2012: 23) uk; malasia nega (2008: 48) ethiopia acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 84 causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the procurement management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location mistakes in quantity surveys: poor estimate for procurement (overprocuring) nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia aziz (2013: 57); allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) egypt; saudi arabia wrong material delivery procedures nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia aziz (2013: 57) egypt delivery of substandard materials nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia nega (2008: 48) ethiopia damage of material during transportation osmani et al. (2008: 1149) uk nega (2008: 48) ethiopia late delivery/ inadequate delivery schedule nguyen, gupta & faniran (nd: 6) geelong, australia al-najjar (2008: 51); abdul rahman, memon & abd. karim (2013: 1965) gaza strip; malaysia poor material handling osmani et al. (2008: 1149); nagapan et al. (2012: 23) uk; malaysia ameh, soyingbe & odusanmi (2010: 61-62) nigeria poor protection of materials and damage during transportation osmani et al. (2008: 1149); aiyetan & smallwood (2013: 1168) uk; lagos, nigeria nega (2008) ethiopia overallowance (difficulties in ordering less) osmani et al. (2008: 1149); nagapan et al. (2012: 23) uk; malaysia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 85 causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the procurement management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location frequent variation orders nguyen et al. (nd: 6) geelong, australia aziz (2013: 57); baloyi & bekker (2011: 55) egypt; south africa poor product knowledge nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia jackson (2002: 4) reading difficulties of vehicles in accessing site osmani et al. (2008: 1149); nagapan et al. (2012: 23) uk; batu, malaysia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6); zewdu & aregaw (2015: 185) saudi arabia; ethiopia manufacturers poor quality of materials adewuyi & otali (2013: 748) nigeria ameh et al. (2010: 61-62) nigeria non-standard sizes of materials osmani (2011) uk le-hoai, lee & lee (2008: 370) vietnam poor product information nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia lack of awareness al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221) uae ameh et al. (2010: 61-62) nigeria suppliers poor supply chain management al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221) uae ameh et al. (2010: 61-62) nigeria supplier errors odusami, oladiran & ibrahim (2012: 63) nigeria nega (2008: 48) ethiopia poor product incentive nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 86 causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the procurement management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location poor handling of supplied materials osmani et al. (2008: 1149); ameh & itodo (2013: 753) uk; nigeria ameh & itodo (2013: 753) nigeria poor methods of unloading materials supplied in loose form adewuyi & otali (2013: 748) nigeria nega (2008: 48) ethiopia 2.2.2 construction management phase table 2 lists the causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the construction management phase of a building project. table 2: the relationship between the causes of material waste and cost overruns with respect to the quality of construction management causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the construction management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location contractors incorrect scheduling and planning osmani et al. (2008: 1149) uk abdul rahman et al. (2013: 1965) malaysia; inappropriate contractor’s policies nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia aziz (2013: 57) egypt lack of awareness al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221-228) uae aziz (2013: 57) egypt saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 87 causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the construction management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location lack of experience nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia abdul rahman et al. (2013: 1965); ameh et al. (2010: 62) malaysia; nigeria poor site management and supervision nagapan et al. (2012: 23); ameh & itodo (2013: 753) malaysia; nigeria le-hoai et al. (2008: 370); allahaim & liu (2012: 6) vietnam; saudi arabia poor building techniques nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia aziz (2013: 57) egypt incompetent subcontractor/ supplier nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia ameh et al. (2010: 61-62) nigeria poor financial controls on site al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221) uae shanmugapriya & subramanian (2013: 737-738) india use of unskilled labour to replace skilled ones nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia memon et al. (2013: 10) malaysia culture lack of incentive al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221) uae memon et al. (2013: 10) malaysia lack of training and development al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221); adewuyi & otali (2013: 748) uae; nigeria olawole & sun (2010: 522) uk lack of support from senior management al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221) uae aziz (2013: 57); allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) egypt; saudi arabia lack of awareness among practitioners on waste management al-hajj & hamani (2011: 222) uae ameh et al. (2010: 62) nigeria acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 88 causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the construction management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location workers workers’ mistakes or errors during construction al-hajj & hamani (2011: 226) uae shanmugapriya & subramanian (2013: 737-738) india incompetent workers nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia aziz (2013: 57); olawole & sun (2008: 522) egypt; uk poor workers’ attitude nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia aziz (2013: 57) egypt lack of experienced workers nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia shanmugapriya & subramanian (2013: 737); love, edward & irani (2011) india; uk shortage of skilled workers nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia abdul rahman et al. (2013: 1965); olawole & sun (2010: 522) malaysia; india; uk inappropriate use of materials and equipment wahab & lawal (2011: 252) nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia poor workmanship odusami et al. (2012: 63) aiyetan & smallwood (2013: 1168) nigeria; lagos, nigeria nega (2008: 48) ethiopia damage caused by workers nagapan et al. (2012: 23); al-hajj & hamani (2011: 221) malaysia; uae allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia 2.2.3 site management phase table 3 lists the causes of material waste related to the causes of cost overruns with respect to the site management phase of a building construction project. saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 89 table 3: the relationship between the causes of material waste and cost overruns with respect to quality of site management causes of material waste related to causes of cost overruns with respect to site management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location wrong material/ equipment storage/stacking nagapan et al. (2013: 23) malaysia ubani, okorocha & emeribe (2011: 76) nigeria transfer of materials from storage to application osmani et al. (2008: 1149) uk ubani et al. (2011: 76) nigeria damage of materials by other trades aiyetan & smallwood (2013: 1168) lagos, nigeria jackson (2002: 4) reading poor site storage area osmani et al. (2008: 1149); odusami et al. (2012: 63) uk; nigeria jackson (2002: 4) reading long distance from storage to application point osmani et al. (2008: 1149) uk damage by weather osmani et al. (2008: 1149); wahab & lawal (2011: 252) uk; nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 6); memon et al. (2013: 10) saudi arabia; malaysia security inadequate site security/fencing nguyen et al. (nd) geelong, australia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia theft osmani et al. (2013: 1149) uk; nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia vandalism, sabotage pilferage, and material damage osman et al. (2008: 1149); ameh & itodo (2013: 753) uk; nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia power and lighting problems on site nguye et al. (nd: 6) geelong, australia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 90 causes of material waste related to causes of cost overruns with respect to site management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location site conditions poor site management odusami et al. (2012: 63) nigeria abdul rahman et al. (2013: 288) malaysia poor site and unforeseen ground conditions wahab & lawal (2011: 252); aietan & smallwood (2013: 1168) nigeria; lagos, nigeria aziz (2013: 57); allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) egypt; saudi arabia leftover materials on site osmani (2011: 38) uk ubani et al. (2011: 76) nigeria waste resulting from packaging osmani (2011: 38) uk allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia lack of environmental awareness nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia ubani et al. (2011: 76) nigeria difficulties in accessing construction site nagapan et al. (2012: 23) malaysia allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia site congestion and interference of other crews osmani (2011: 38) uk le-hoai et al. (2008: 370) vietnam inadequate site investigation osmani et al. (2008: 1149) uk shanmugapriya & subramanian (2013: 737-738) india disputes on site adewuyi & otali (2013: 748) nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia extra materials ordered are discarded instead of carrying over to next site oladiran (2009: 2) nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6) saudi arabia equipment failure on site adewumi & otali (2013: 748) nigeria shanmugapriya & subramanian (2013: 737-738) india saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 91 causes of material waste related to causes of cost overruns with respect to site management phase of a project material waste cost overruns author and date location author and date location rework al-hajj & hamani (2011: 225); adewuyi & otali (2013: 748); oladiran (2009: 2); ameh & itodo (2013: 753) uae; rivers, nigeria; nigeria; nigeria shanmugapriya & subramanian (2013: 737-738); le-hoai et al. (2008: 370) india; vietnam site accidents odusami et al. (2012: 63) nigeria allahaim & liu (2012: 5-6); le-hoai et al. (2008: 370) saudi arabia; vietnam lack of communication wahab & lawal (2011: 252) nigeria abdul rahman et al. (2013: 1965) malaysia 3. research methodology although the research analysis was done using a deductive approach, the research method applied for this research was inductive reasoning. this is a reasoning strategy that intends to learn about the phenomena under investigation by applying a less structured methodology in order to obtain richer and more detailed information (sutrisna, 2009: 9). to achieve this, a qualitative research method that is rooted in the phenomenological research paradigm was applied. this helped the researchers study the attitudes and behaviours of the research subjects within their natural settings (babbie & mouton, 2010: 51). this qualitative method involves analysing words; it refers to issues relating to people, objects and situations, and it focuses on naturally occurring, ordinary events in their natural settings (farrell, 2011: 6). this enables the researchers to examine the material waste issues that affect cost overruns at the post-contract stage of a construction project. based on the research problem advanced in this study, for instance, the majority of managers of construction projects pay hardly any attention to the effects of material waste on project cost overrun. this has prompted acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 92 the researchers to apply the qualitative method, in order to identify and examine these issues. the study population consists of building construction projects in abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria. abuja was selected because it is one of the metropolitan cities of nigeria with the highest population of professionals in the built environment and with many ongoing construction projects. 3.1 sampling method the sampling method was purposive/judgmental, because only building-construction professionals handling projects that are worth 1.6 billion naira/eight million usd and above were consulted/ interviewed. unlike projects of lesser value, those worth eight million usd and above are categorised as big projects that are likely to be handled by more experienced professionals, who might be more familiar with the issues leading to material waste and cost overruns (saidu & shakantu, 2016c: 104). through purposive sampling, the research targeted the most visible and experienced leaders. 3.2 sample size leedy & ormrod (2014: 220) believe that the size of a purposive sampling technique for a phenomenological research ranges between five and 25 participants. for this research, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 construction professionals, comprising 15 project managers, nine quantity surveyors, five site engineers and one senior technical officer of a waste-management department on the issues that relate to material waste and cost overruns at the post-contract stage of a construction project. 3.3 data collection the research instrument (interview guide) enabled the researchers to be consistent with the questions posed to the respondents. it also enabled the collection of data based on the perception of the construction professionals in abuja with regard to the issues that link material waste to cost overruns in the construction industry. twelve questions based on the objectives of this research were generated. the interview guide was structured in three major groups, namely quality of procurement management, quality of construction management and quality of site management (see appendix). probing questions were asked during discussion with the interviewees, in order to obtain further information. an average of 35 minutes was spent in conducting each interview. the interviews saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 93 were conducted between december 2014 and march 2015. the approximate conversion rates as at november 2014 were nigerian naira to us dollar = ₦200 = 1usd. all 30 respondents identified in this research through the purposive sampling method responded to all the questions presented for discussion. 3.4 data analysis the recorded, transcribed and interpreted interview data were analysed, using the ‘deductive approach’. the application of the ‘deductive analysis’ of data in qualitative research enabled the researchers to extensively condense raw data into a brief and summary format, and to establish clear links between the research purpose and the summary findings derived from the raw data (dey, 2005: 55). the data in this analysis was done manually after each respondent’s views were coded and similar views were brought together under a theme/heading. this method involves constant comparative analysis of the data after it has been sorted and coded to generate knowledge about any common pattern in the interviewees’ evidence on material waste and cost overrun. the analysis began by comparing the opinions of the first two interviewees. the process continued with a comparison of the data from the comments and inputs from each new interviewee, until all the responses had been compared with each other. the similarities and differences between the interviewees’ responses were used to develop a conceptualisation of the possible association between the various data items. the results are presented under subthemes under the following headings: quality of procurement management, quality of construction management, and quality of site management. 4. results and discussion the results are the summary of the interviews conducted with the 30 respondents after linking the similarities together. these are the key issues realised from the interviews. they are not literatures, but qualitative results. for presentation and discussion purposes, a summary of the interview results is presented under the following headings/themes, which are in line with the set objectives of the research, namely quality of procurement management; quality of construction management, and quality of site management. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 94 4.1 quality of procurement management 4.1.1 the quality of procurement management in the respondents’ organisations the majority of organisations/firms procure materials strictly in accordance with project specifications; with an efficient and wellorganised procurement management; they have the know-how of what to procure, what quantity to procure, at what cost to procure, and where to procure. some companies have the knowledge of current material prices, both locally and internationally, while few lack such knowledge. some have a network of procurement departments, both locally and internationally, in case the projects require foreign materials. 4.1.2 contribution of materials procurement to waste-generation and cost overruns procuring the appropriate materials, at the right time, in accordance with the specifications, and proper material handling and good product knowledge would reduce material waste and cost overruns. this result corroborates the findings of osmani et al. (2008: 1147) and nagapan et al. (2012: 22) who highlighted poor material handling as a cause of material waste, and ameh et al. (2010: 49) who also noted the same issue as a cause of cost overrun. 4.1.3 contributions of quality of firms’ procurement management to material-waste generation and cost overruns a good quality-procurement management team should envisage better transportation of materials, order the appropriate quantity of materials, and provide easy access roads. where these cannot be envisaged, waste would inevitably occur and contribute to cost overruns. in the absence of a competent and experienced procurement management, a job would probably be given to an incompetent contractor, who might end up wasting materials, thus leading to cost overruns. moreover, lack of quality control in procurement and adequate estimation for procurement, as stated in project specifications, may result in wastage of materials and contribute to cost overrun. this finding also supports the literature identified in section 2 of this study. saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 95 4.1.4 material waste causes on project cost-overrun with respect to quality of procurement management the following material-waste causes resulted in cost overruns at this stage: procuring items not in compliance with the specifications; engaging inexperienced personnel in estimation and procurement; procuring wrong quantity of materials; errors in shipping; damage of material during transportation, and lack of awareness. these results are in line with the causes of material waste that are similar to the causes of cost overrun identified in section 2 of this research study. 4.2 quality of construction management 4.2.1 quality of construction management based on the respondent’s experience quality of construction management entails managing the entire construction process from inception to completion with all the necessary management tools. some respondents believe that it is the practical way of achieving design reality through co-ordinating, controlling, organising, communicating, scheduling, motivating, proper building techniques, and good workmanship. some respondents view construction management as the pillar of every construction work, which has to do with the management of people, plant, materials, equipment, money, time, and the entire construction process. 4.2.2 relationship between the interviewee firms’ construction management, material-waste generation and cost overruns the respondents were not fully satisfied with their organisations’ approach to construction management. some disclosed that their firms/organisations were operating far below the average level in terms of construction management; some at the average level, while some still have a very long way to go. the reason for this is that there are situations where projects are not delivered on time, and sometimes within the budgeted cost. however, very few were doing above average. these are experienced and always plan ahead; hence, they generate less waste and cost overruns. 4.2.3 contribution of subcontractors and suppliers to material-waste generation and cost overruns both the subcontractors and the suppliers contribute to materialwaste generation and cost overruns. subcontractors are profitoriented individuals and the waste they generate directly affects acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 96 their profits. most of the contract agreements require subcontractors to generate waste at their own risk, which makes them more careful about the amount of waste they generate. for the suppliers, the quality control department evaluates the supplied product to ensure that they conform with the project’s specification. 4.2.4 impact of rework and mistake/error on material-waste and cost overruns inexperienced professionals/personnel or working contrary to project specification/contract lead to rework and mistakes/errors. an abortive work is already a waste, and it would require the same type of materials, the same labour, and the same costs to re-build. this result corroborates the findings of aziz (2013: 52) who concluded that abortive works contribute to cost overruns. 4.2.5 material-waste causes that affect cost overruns with respect to quality-of-construction management the following material-waste causes affect project-cost overrun with respect to quality-of-construction management: engaging incompetent workers; rework; incorrect scheduling and planning; shortage of skilled workers; lack of experience; poor financial controls on site; poor staff workers’ relationship; lack of awareness of waste management; lack of incentive, and the use of unskilled labour to replace skilled ones. these results corroborate the findings outlined in section 2 of this research. 4.3 quality of site management 4.3.1 respondents’ understanding of site management and its contributions to material waste and cost overrun site management is an aspect of construction management that deals with the planning, controlling, co-ordinating, communicating, motivating, scheduling, and organising of the entire activities on the site, including the 5ms (men, machines, money, materials, and management) to achieve the desired project objectives; it involves site security, access road, minimisation of wasteful time, timely provision of materials, and site safety; it has to do with the management of the routine activities on site, and it includes a certain group of people that administer the day-to-day running of a site from inception to completion of a project. therefore, site management contributes to material waste and cost overruns when saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 97 the management of the site issues is poor or not properly managed or addressed. 4.3.2 contributions of site security, site accident, and site disputes to material-waste generation and cost overruns inadequate site security would lead to pilfering/thefts and damage/ sabotage of materials on site. when the site is not properly organised and disciplined, accidents are bound to occur, and these might affect the workers, the structure, or even both. 4.3.3 material waste causes that affect cost overruns with respect to quality-of-site management the following material-waste causes affect cost overruns with respect to quality of site management stage: inadequate site security/ fencing; poor site organisation and discipline; construction-site disputes; poor site management and the 5ms; lack of experience; poor construction planning and control; lack of co-ordination among the parties; poor site storage area; communication problems and poor site supervision; problems relating to on-site health and safety; wrong location of cranes on site; inappropriate records of materials, and lack of environmental awareness. these results support the findings highlighted in section 2 of this study. 5. conclusion and recommendations material waste and cost overrun are common problems in the construction industry at both the preand post-contract stages of a construction project. as a result of a dearth of empirical research and a low level of awareness, the majority of managers of construction projects in nigeria pay hardly any attention to material waste issues that affect cost overrun. this article examined the material waste issues that affect cost overruns at the post-contract stage of building projects. the research concludes that both the literature and the empirical findings from the study have established a link between the issues on material waste and cost overruns at the post-contract stage of a project (procurement, construction management, and site management stages). it is concluded that proper management of procurement, construction-management and site-management processes, as well as their related material waste causes would reduce the rate of cost overruns for projects. acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 98 based on these, it is recommended that proper attention to material waste issues at the post-contract stage of any project has the potential to minimise the rate of cost overrun. therefore, careful attention should be paid to the issues identified in this study, as they would assist in reducing the rate of material waste and cost overrun for a project. construction professionals should be well informed of these issues at an early stage of a project, to enable them (professionals) to evaluate the extent to which their consequences could be minimised. references abdul-rahman, i., memon, a.h. & abd. karim, a.t. 2013. significant factors causing cost overruns in large construction projects in malaysia. journal of applied sciences, 13(2), pp. 286-293. https://doi. org/10.3923/jas.2013.286.293 adewuyi, t.o. & otali, m. 2013. evaluation of causes of construction material waste: case of river state, nigeria. ethiopian journal of environmental studies and management, 6(6), pp. 746-753. https:// doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v6i6.5s aiyetan, o. & smallwood, j. 2013. materials management and waste minimisation on construction sites in lagos state, nigeria. in: proceedings of the 4th international conference on engineering, project, and production management (eppm), 23-25 october 2013, bangkok, thailand, pp. 1161-1172. bangkok, thailand: the sukosol. al-najjar, j.m. 2008. factors influencing time and cost overruns on construction projects in the gaza strip. unpublished masters dissertation. gaza: the islamic university. department of construction management. al-hajj, a. & hamani, k. 2011. material waste in the uae construction industry: main causes and minimisation practices. architectural engineering and design management (heriot-watt university gate way), 7(4), pp. 221-235. allahaim, f.s. & liu, l. 2012. cost overrun causes, the framework in infrastructure projects: toward a typology. in: proceedings of the 37th international conference of the australian university building educators association (aubea), 4-6 july 2012 sydney, austrailia. sydney, australia: unsw, pp. 1-15. ameh, j.o. & itodo, e.d. 2013. professionals’ views of material wastage on construction sites. organization, technology and management in construction. an international journal, 5(1), pp. 747-757. https://doi.org/10.3923/jas.2013.286.293 https://doi.org/10.3923/jas.2013.286.293 https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v6i6.5s https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v6i6.5s saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 99 ameh, o.j., soyingbe, a.a. & odusami, k.t. 2010. significant factors causing cost overruns in telecommunication projects in nigeria. journal of construction in developing countries, 15(2), pp. 49-67. apolot, r., alinaitwe, h. & tindiwensi, d. 2013. an investigation into the causes of delay and cost overrun in uganda’s public sector construction projects. journal of construction in developing countries, 18(2), pp. 33-47. azhar, n., farooqui, r.u. & ahmed, s.m. 2008. cost overrun factors in construction industry of pakistan. in: lodi, s.h., ahmed, s.m., farooqi, r.u. & saqib, m. 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https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as23i1.4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.12.023 saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 103 wahab, a.b. & lawal, a.f. 2011. an evaluation of waste control measures. african journal of environmental science and technology, 5(3), pp. 246-254. yuan, h., lu, w. & hao, j.j. 2013. the evolution of construction waste sorting on-site. renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 20, pp. 483-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.12.012 zewdu, z.t. & aregaw, g.t. 2015. causes of contractor cost overrun in construction projects: the case of ethiopian construction sector. international journal of business and economics research, 4(40), pp. 180-191. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20150404.11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.12.012 https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20150404.11 acta structilia 2017: 24(2) 104 appendix an interview guide on “a post-contract stage analysis of material waste and cost overrun on construction sites in abuja, nigeria” section a: (preliminary questions) name of the person being interviewed __________________________ position ________________________________________________________ name of the firm/organisation __________________________________ name of the project ___________________________________________ project location ________________________________________________ project value (₦) ______________________________________________ years of experience in the industry ______________________________ highest educational qualification _______________________________ please describe your role in the organisation ____________________ section b: (main research objectives) a) quality of procurement management 1. can you tell me about the quality of procurement management in your organisation/industry? 2. does the quality of materials procurement contribute to material waste-generation? what about cost overruns? 3. does the quality of your firm’s procurement management contribute to material-waste generation and cost overruns? 4. based on your experience, what are the material waste causes that affect cost-overrun with respect to quality of procurement management? saidu & shakantu • a post-contract project analysis of material waste... 105 b) quality of construction management 1. based on your experience, what is the quality of construction management? 2. how can you relate the quality of your firm/organisation’s construction management to material waste generation and cost overrun 3. do sub-contractors and suppliers in any way affect the material waste generation and cost overrun? 4. does rework have any impact on the material waste generation and cost overrun? what about mistakes/errors? 5. what are the material waste causes that affect cost overruns with respect to the quality of construction management? c) quality of site management 1. what is your understanding of ‘site management’? how does site management contribute to material waste and cost overrun? 2. how do the site security, site accident and site dispute affect material waste generation and cost overrun? 3. what are the material waste causes that affect cost overruns with respect to the quality of site management? 107 how to cite: olugboyega, o. & windapo, a. 2019. theoretical model of trust-based relationships in building information modelling supply chain for construction projects. acta structilia, 26(2), pp. 107-141. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as navorsingsartikels • research articles oluseye olugboyega mr oluseye olugboyega, ph.d. candidate, faculty of engineering and built environment, department of construction economics & management, level 5, snape building, university of cape town, upper campus, rondebosch, cape town, 7701, south africa. phone: +277802303909, e-mail: <olgolu005@myuct. ac.za> abimbola windapo prof. abimbola windapo, faculty of engineering and built environment, department of construction economics & management, level 5, snape building, university of cape town, upper campus, rondebosch, cape town, 7701, south africa. phone: +27216502049, e-mail: <abimbola.windapo@ uct.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(2): 107-141 theoretical model of trust-based relationships in building information modelling supply chain for construction projects peer reviewed and revised august 2019 published december 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the structure of relationships among project participants has a significant impact on trust development, while the number of participants involved in the relationship increases the complexity of trust. hence, it becomes inappropriate to generalise the existing dimension and components of trustbased relationships to trust-based relationships among the building information modelling (bim) supply chain members because of the multiple structures of relationship and the numerous interpersonal and inter-organisations that participate on bim-based construction projects. this article investigates the nature of trust-based relationships among the bim supply chain members and establishes whether the requirements of the bim process influence trust-based relationships among the bim supply chain members. a five-stage prisma was adopted for systematic reviews and metaanalysis. the systematic review enabled the development of a theoretical model of trustbased relationships in bim supply chain which was subjected to meta-analysis for validation. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.4 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 108 the findings revealed that trust-based relationships among the bim supply chain members entail trusting and trustworthy behaviours, positive expectations, and positive reputations, under which twenty-seven components were identified and classified appropriately. the article concludes that the nature of trustbased relationships among the bim supply chain members, as influenced by the requirements of the bim process, can be explained as trusting and trustworthy behaviours, positive expectations, and positive reputations. the article advances the understanding of trust-based relationships among the bim supply chain members and recommends a first-hand investigation into the nature of trust-based relationships among the bim supply chain members in future studies. keywords: bim, bim supply chain, construction projects, trust-based relationships abstrak die struktuur van verhoudings tussen die projekdeelnemers het ’n beduidende impak op vertroue-ontwikkeling, terwyl die aantal deelnemers wat betrokke is in die verhouding, die kompleksiteit van vertroue verhoog. daarom word dit onvanpas om die bestaande dimensie en komponente van vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings te veralgemeen na vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings tussen die building information modelling (bim)-toevoerketting lede as gevolg van die veelvoudige strukture van verhoudings en verskeie interpersoonlike en interorganisasies wat deelneem aan bim-gebaseerde konstruksieprojekte. hierdie studie ondersoek die aard van vertrouensverwante verhoudings onder lede van die die bim-toevoerketting en stel vas of die vereistes van die bim-proses die trustgebaseerde verhoudings tussen die lede van die bim-toevoerketting beïnvloed. ’n vyf-stadium prisma is aangeneem vir sistematiese oorsigte en meta-analise. die sistematiese oorsig het die ontwikkeling van ’n teoretiese model van vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings in bim-toevoerketting moontlik gemaak wat aan meta-analise onderworpe gestel is vir validering. die bevindinge het getoon dat vertroue-gebaseerde verhoudings tussen die lede van die bim-toevoerketting behels vertroue en betroubare gedrag, positiewe verwagtinge en positiewe reputasies waaronder sewe-en-twintig komponente geïdentifiseer en gepas geklassifiseer is. die studie het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die aard van vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings tussen lede van die bim-toevoerketting, soos beïnvloed deur die vereistes van die bim-proses, as vertroue en betroubare gedrag, positiewe verwagtinge en positiewe reputasie verklaar kan word. die studie bevorder die begrip van vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings onder lede van die bimtoevoerketting en beveel aan om ’n eerstehandse ondersoek te doen na die aard van vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings tussen lede van die bimtoevoerketting in toekomstige studies. sleutelwoorde: bim, bim-toevoerketting, bouprojekte, vertrouensgebaseerde verhoudings 1. introduction trust as a concept is complex and dynamic, because it is difficult to create and slow to develop (woolthuis, hillebrand & nooteboom, 2005: 821). buvik and rolfsen (2015: 1485) as well as bakker (2010: 467) subscribe to the complexity of trust by indicating that it requires time, the experience of other parties’ trustworthiness, and prior collaboration to build. similarly, diallo and thuillier (2005: 238) describe olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 109 trust as a psychological state that brings about constructive interaction without fear of selfish intentions or hidden motives from partners. despite its complexity, trust is fundamental to successful interactions and dispositions among the construction project supply chain (mcknight & chervancy, 2000). swan, wood, mcdermott and cooper (2002) confirm that trust is essential for achieving flexibility, ensuring a smooth flow of information, and ensuring effective collaboration in construction project supply chain. nooteboom (1996: 987) claims that trust is an interaction that indicates a positive perception of an intention to behave in a trustworthy manner. simons and peterson (2000: 108) establish that trust has a positive impact on conflicts, costs, and team effectiveness. complementary to this, erdem and ozen (2003: 133) maintain that trust causes the development and protection of the team spirit by providing cooperation and solidarity among team members. trust-building requires time. however, owing to its importance to the success of construction project delivery, construction project supply chains (cpscs) are allowed to develop a ‘temporary trust’ (trust-based relationship) because of the temporary nature of construction projects (diallo & thuillier, 2005: 240; chow, cheung & chan, 2012: 931). bachmann and inkpen (2011: 286) posit that a trust-based relationship (tbr) is an interactive process on which trusting behaviour develops. although tbr is permissible for cpsc, its development is influenced by the characteristics of construction projects and the nature of relationships in construction projects. construction projects are temporary, unique, limited by time, and characterised by a high number of participants. all these characteristics have an impact on trust development (simons & peterson, 2000: 110). the nature of relationships in construction projects is such that the participating members have to work with new, old, unfamiliar, and heterogeneous members. the effect of this type of relationship on trust development is significant, because there may be no history of interactions, dispositions, and priorities among the members which are imperative to trust development (buvik & rolfsen, 2015: 1487). the nature of relationships in, and the characteristics of construction projects generate hierarchical and non-collaborative interactions among the project participants. this has given rise to opportunities such as excessive change orders and decentralised decisions for the pursuance of self-interest by the project participants (kadefors, 2004: 176). the solution to this problem, according to khalfan, mcdermott and cooper (2004: 2), is an integrated cpsc wherein the supply chain is centrally coordinated; relationships in acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 110 the chain are maintained during and beyond a specific project; the chain is directed towards sharing of information and transfer of knowledge; there is optimised integration, collaboration, and sharing of risks. an integrated cpsc typifies a building information modelling supply chain (bim-sc), because it significantly correlates with informationsharing, network communication, and knowledge transfer, all of which are the hallmark of bim-based construction projects and bim-sc (taylor & bernstein, 2009: 71; papadonikolaki, vrijhoef & wamelink, 2016: 486; talavera, 2013; chu & fang, 2006: 225). this implies that a bim-sc automatically forms in bim-based construction projects and that its members are expected to avoid the exploitation of opportunities for the pursuance of self-interests. in so doing, members of the bim-sc are obligated to undertake tbr for decision-making, information model development and exchange, communication, and collaboration. this will enable members of the bim-sc to understand their respective responsibilities in the bim process as well as each other’s needs and concerns, thereby guaranteeing a successful construction project delivery (talavera, 2013). it thus becomes imperative to develop an understanding of tbr in bim-sc so as to establish the dimensions of tbr in bim-sc (kadefors, 2004: 178). researchers have made several attempts to investigate the dimensions of tbr in a supply chain. these attempts can be categorised as tbr in buyer-supplier supply chain (holtgrave, nienaber & ferreira, 2017: 529; ashnai, henneberg, naude & francescucci, 2016: 130; mayer, davis & schoorman, 1995: 721); tbr in client-contractor supply chain (pinto, slevin & english, 2009: 641; tai, sun & zhang, 2016: 1783); tbr in contractor-subcontractor relationship (manu, ankrah, chinyio & proverbs, 2015: 1500; costa, 2003: 619; webber, 2008: 753); tbr in lean and agile supply chain (delbufalo, 2012), and tbr in project stakeholders relationships (simons & peters, 2000). specifically, holtgrave et al. (2017) explain that tbr consists of competence and good will, while ashnai et al. (2015) report attitude, behaviour, and outcome as the constituents of tbr. mayer et al. (1995) report more detailed dimensions of tbr together with their components. these include ability (skills, competencies, and characteristics), benevolence (loyalty, receptivity, and caring), and integrity (consistency, fairness, reliability, openness, and value). tai et al. (2016) propose a reputation-integrity-competence model of tbr for client-contractor relationships. likewise, delbufalo (2012: 382) proposes a reliability-credibility model of tbr in the lean and agile supply chain. olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 111 the dimensions of tbr such as goodwill and attitude, as provided by these existing models of tbr, denigrate the interactive process of tbr and contradict the complexity and requirements of trust development in a supply chain. apart from the contradictions in these existing models of tbr, they are inadequate for explaining tbr in bim-sc for three major reasons. first, a bim supply chain is network-related in that it consists of multiple interpersonal and interorganisational relationships such as client-contractor, contractorconsultant, contractor-supplier, bim manager-project manager, and bim manager-bim coordinator. secondly, the bim process comes with certain expectations such as, for example, integration, cooperation, coordination, interoperability, and collaboration that alter the nature of supply chain relationships. thirdly, in bim-sc, representatives of the participating organisations have a personal and organisational trustworthy reputation to protect (lau & rowlinson, 2011: 640). thus, it becomes clear that the concept and dimensions of tbr vary, based on the structure of relationships and the number of parties involved in the relationship. the structure of relationships has a significant impact on trust development, while the number of parties involved in the relationship increases the complexity of trust (simons & peterson, 2000: 111). with bim-sc exhibiting multiple structures of relationship and multiple interpersonal and inter-organisational participants, it becomes inappropriate to generalise the existing dimension and components of tbr to bim-sc (wong, cheung, yiu & pang, 2008: 823; costa, 2003: 615). this article aims to understand the nature of tbr in bim-sc and establish whether the requirements of the bim process influence tbr. in this article, the term bim supply chain (bim-sc) refers to shortor long-term networks of multidisciplinary bim-based project participants such as clients, subcontractors, main contractors, suppliers, and bim consultants (getuli, ventura, capone & ciribini, 2016: 545; papadonikolaki et al., 2016: 480; papadonikolaki & wamelink, 2017: 652; robson, boyd, and thurairajah, 2014; nawi, haron, hamid, kamar & baharuddin, 2014: 7; wu, mao & li, 2017: 43). members of the bim-sc denotes bim-based project participants as represented by persons or organisations. tbr refers to direct and intense interaction and dispositions that are based upon positive expectations of the behaviour and intentions of another over time. acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 112 2. research framework 2.1 theoretical framework trust as a concept is multifaceted in nature. therefore, to effectively capture the complexity or multifaceted nature of tbrs in bim-sc, this article draws from theoretical perspectives in behavioural decision theory, social exchange theory (set), and bim-enabled collaboration theory. the theory of behavioural decision-making in construction projects postulates on the actuality of project decisions such as trust, commitment, and risk management, as well as the influence of these decisions on project participants (stingl & geraldi, 2017: 126; morton & fasolo, 2009: 270; lloyd-walker, mills & walker, 2014: 233). the set, on the other hand, explains the relational exchange and mutual dependence among a network of actors, by postulating that social exchange occurs when the exchange partners have resources of value to exchange with each other and they must conduct an analysis of the exchange afterwards (zeng, huang & dou, 2009: 7; cropanzaro & mitchell, 2005: 879; chinowsky, diekmann & galotti, 2008: 808). bim application on construction projects requires the initiation and sustenance of collaboration among the bim-sc right from the early phases of construction projects through information-sharing and exchange, knowledge-sharing and transfer, communication, and collaborative procurement (manu et al., 2015: 1499). this indicates that the bim process is more about cooperation and collaboration, and that trust is an important ingredient for the continuous nurturing of collaborative processes (vangen & huxham, 2003: 11). the theoretical perspectives provided by lloyd-walker et al. (2014), zeng et al. (2009), cropanzaro and mitchell (2005), chinowsky et al. (2008), and manu et al. (2015) offer the required insights into the nature of tbr in bim-sc. these insights are summarised in the following five major principles that are significant to understanding tbr in bim-sc: • trust is a behavioural decision to be made by members of the bim-sc. • trust is a resource of exchange among members of the bim-sc. • trust is an element of collaboration in the bim process. • successful collaboration among members of the bim-sc depends on tbr. • relationships among members of the bim-sc manifest as collaboration through information-sharing and exchange, knowledge-sharing and transfer, communication, and collaborative procurement. olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 113 this was done so as to make available a theoretical grounding that will guide the formulation of the model of tbr in bim-sc. 2.2 theoretical model figure 1 illustrates a theoretical model of tbr in bim-sc. this model arises from the principles extracted from the theoretical perspectives in section 2.1 and theoretical background in section 3.2. the model explains that members of a bim-sc must meet the positive expectations from persons or organisations participating in a bimbased project; behave appropriately and as expected of a bimproficient person or organisation, and develop a positive reputation through consistent positive attributes. construction projects require heterogeneous relationships (buvik & rolfsen, 2015: 1488), while bim-sc entails multidisciplinary collaboration (manu et al., 2015). this understanding differentiates the relationships in construction projects from the other types of relationships and supports the complexity of tbr in bim-sc. figure 2 explains the nature of relationships in bim-sc and shows that tbr in bim-sc can manifest in a variety of ways (see figure 2): • ‘interpersonal relationships’: a relationship involving or occurring between two or more people. for example, client and main contractor, client and subcontractor, bim manager and bim coordinator, bim manager and project manager, client and bim consultant, and client and bim manager. • ‘organisational relationships’: a relationship between a person or organisations other than the one s/he represents or works for. • ‘intra-organisational relationships’: a relationship between multiple individuals across two or more organisations. acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 114 figure 1: theoretical model of tbrs in bim-s source: author figure 2: pattern of relationships in bim-sc (a = interpersonal relationship; b = organisational relationship; c = intra-organisational relationship; d = inter-organisational relationship; e = representative of the organisation, and f = organisation) source: author olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 115 2.3 theoretical background 2.3.1 trusting and trustworthy behaviours behaviour is a pattern of reactions over time or a manifestation of intentions through actions. in relation to trust, behaviour could manifest as trustworthy behaviour (actions that demonstrate trustworthiness), trusting behaviour (action that demonstrates how a truster relies on a trustee), or as both (lazzeri, 2014; vidotto, massidda, noventa & vicentini, 2012: 581). behavioural problems in interpersonal and/or inter-organisational relationships usually manifest as injurious behaviour, duplicitous behaviour, inconsistent behaviour, haughty behaviour, or opportunistic behaviour (talavera, 2013). according to jagtap and kamble (2015: 23), opportunistic behaviour emanates from the lack of trust among the supply chain members, with features such as motive to maximise one’s self-interest, failure to interact, and misuse of information. likewise, jaffar, tharim and shuib (2011: 197) identify behavioural problems among construction project supply chain members as including reluctance to check the clarity of information, professional stereotypes, and poor communication. ensuring the absence of behavioural problems in relation to the collaborative requirements of bim-sc means that certain cooperative behaviours such as reliability, promise fulfilment, and fairness are expected of members of the bim-sc (mayer et al., 1995: 7, 15). talavera (2013) claims that collaborative requirements of bim-sc, as manifested in cooperative behaviours, are founded on trusting and trustworthy behaviours, because they refer to the absence of behavioural problems in that they prevent members of the bim-sc from pursuing personal or professional interests and misusing shared information. a study by zhang, lu and rowlinson (2013) reports a case study of bim-based projects, where members of the bim-sc, who exhibited behavioural problems, are swiftly replaced with new members because of the need to sustain cooperative behaviours among members of the bim-sc. the study further links the absence of power conflicts and hierarchical behaviours to trusting and trustworthy behaviour among members of the bim-sc. conclusively, trust develops over time and, in construction projects, the long-time relationship is not feasible, owing to the temporary nature of construction projects. hence, trust and trustworthy behaviour become essential to trust development among members of the bim-sc, because such behaviours accelerate trust development. with regard to the link between trust and trustworthy acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 116 behaviours, a case can be made that trusting behaviour is the same as trustworthy behaviour, because trusting behaviour promotes trustworthy behaviour and trustworthy behaviour nurtures trusting behaviour (barr, 2003: 621). tanis and postones (2005: 418) agree with this claim, explaining that, in a group, team or supply chain, members engage in trusting behaviour, because they expect their behaviours to be reciprocated by other members. 2.3.2 positive expectations positive expectations are positive noteworthy contributions towards the success of construction projects by members of a bim-sc (nalewaik & mills, 2015: 6; nalewaik, 2011), because they help members anticipate the needs, concerns, and interests of one another. traditionally, the components of positive expectations from project supply chain include discretion, reliability, competence, integrity, concern, benevolence, consistency, foresight, intuition, empathy, commitment, self-awareness, responsiveness, and value congruence (chow et al., 2012: 929; das & teng, 2001: 261; mishra, 1996: 261; costa & anderson, 2011: 131). however, in construction projects, together with the collaborative requirements of bim, greater responsibilities are placed on members of the bim-sc. these responsibilities represent positive expectations from members of the bim-sc and cut across roles, competencies, ethics, skills, and contractual relationships (husain, razali & eni, 2018: 411). the positive expectations that enable tbr among members of the bim-sc are risk-sharing, cross-functional cooperation, the competence of personnel and organisation, problem-solving ability, openness in sharing information, lack of confrontation and adversarial relationship, work and social interaction, conflict resolution, and absence of competing interests (mikapagaro & germin, 2018: 138). for example, in a case study of bim-sc reported by zhang et al. (2013), openness in sharing information was a major positive expectation from members of the bim-sc, as every member of the bim-sc is expected to update and upload each revision of discipline-specific information models to the integrated bim database rather than delivering it to the bim manager. 2.3.3 positive reputation because of the short-term and multiple nature of relationships in bim-sc as well as the requirements of the collaborative interaction of the bim process, positive reputation becomes an essential part of tbr in bim-sc, because it helps predict trustworthy behaviours olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 117 and positive expectations of members of the bim-sc (cicmil & marshall, 2005: 529). trustworthy behaviour and positive expectations reveal a trustworthy attribute on the part of members of the bims, but it is only a consistent occurrence. these attributes lead to a positive reputation (aqueveque & ravasi, 2006). without prior ties and prior collaboration, abundant time to study the trustee’s attributes and experience of the trustee’s trustworthiness, a truster will have to engage in tbr with the trustee, based on his forecast of the trustee’s positive reputation (a set of consistent positive attributes) (vidotto et al., 2012: 583). this is a typical arrangement for accelerated trust development among members of the bim-sc. however, any negative attributes from any member of the bim-sc are detrimental to trust development (kadefors, 2004: 177). notwithstanding the need for accelerated trust development among members of the bim-sc, one-off positive attributes such as honesty and mutual commitment are required to initiate the process of trust development at the early stages of the construction projects. this must be followed up with a consistent exhibition of some unique positive and trustworthy attributes such as integrity. as pointed out by jiang, lu and le (2016: 428), integrity is a function of circumstances and opportunities. if it does not happen consistently, the individual or organisation in question cannot be said to possess integrity. a positive reputation is, therefore, defined as a set of consistent positive attributes of an entity (organisation or individual). an example of studies providing support for positive reputation as a dimension of tbr in bim-sc is the study by jamal and bakar (2017), in which positive reputation is associated with efficiency and a high level of professionalism. similarly, naismith, price, dainty, bryman, greasley and soetanto (2005: 16) report that a reputation for consistent positive attributes is a necessity for the occurrence of integration and collaboration on construction projects. naismith et al. (2005: 20) further identify positive reputation such as honesty, integrity, commitment, and confidence in other members, as significant factors in tbr. in summary, there is no tbr without positive reputation. as positive expectations and trusting and trustworthy behaviour ensure the initiation and development of tbr in bim-sc, positive reputation maintains the tbr at the later stages of construction projects or possibly on subsequent construction projects. the bim-sc is expected to collaborate through all the stages of a construction project and, if possible, on subsequent construction projects. therefore, a positive reputation is an important ingredient of tbr in bim-sc. acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 118 3. research methods this study adopts the 5-stage preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (prisma) method proposed by shamseer, moher, clarke, ghersi, liberati, petticrew, shekelle & stewart (2015). a systematic review attempts to collate all relevant evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria, in order to answer a specific research question (shamseer et al., 2015: 3). prisma outline a structured guide (protocol) that researchers agree to follow, in order to manage identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion of articles that formed the body of research studies included in their investigation (shamseer et al., 2015: 3). for this article, the 5-stage process includes defining the criteria for collecting articles from the data set (scopus, engineering village, ebesco, google scholar, and web of science); searching for articles in the data set; identifying dimensions from the articles; categorising the dimensions with variables (components), and conducting a meta-analysis. the criteria for collecting articles from the data set stipulate that the articles must be peer-reviewed, within the fields of trust and trust-based relationships in construction supply chain and bim-sc, written in the english language, and not have been published prior to 1997. 3.1 data-collection method the actual searching for articles in the data set was done using keywords such as bim-enabled trust, trust-based relationships in construction supply chain/bim supply chain, relationships among project participants in bim, effects of bim process on stakeholders’ relationships, and bim requirements and trust development. in total, 1,984 articles were collected at this stage. these articles were screened for eligibility by checking the relevance and content of their titles and abstracts. the searching and screening stages together with their respective number of articles are illustrated in figure 3. data from these articles were extracted onto structured fill-in forms with headings showing the formal data such as the purpose of the study, the method of data collection, a summary of the study’s aim, the country where the study took place, and the method of analysis. olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 119 figure 3: prisma flowchart for database screening 3.2 data analysis and interpretation the selected articles were analysed to identify the dimensions and components of tbrs in bim-sc. the analysis was done using atlas. ti 8 qualitative research tool following the procedures outlined by smit (2002: 69-70). the coding process for the analysis was carried out by assigning categories and concepts to the various segments of information that relate to the research objectives. the analysis was interpreted and summarised using qualitative data set synthesis process. according to major and savin-baden (2010: 130), data set synthesis brings original insights and mechanism to understand a phenomenon through a collective body of research. the synthesis process includes categorising the identified concepts into major themes (dimensions and components) and reaching consensus on the major themes, in order to assure credibility. the analysis was summarised graphically using a acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 120 descriptive figure (see figure 1). the analysis yielded three dimensions (positive reputation, positive expectations, and trusting and trustworthy behaviours) and twenty-seven components as the dimensions of tbrs in bim-sc. positive reputation has 5 components; positive expectations have sixteen components, and trusting and trustworthy behaviours have 6 components. the validities of the components were determined using metaanalysis (effect size and percentage of mention of the components). meta-analysis uses statistical techniques to combine and summarise the results of multiple studies/articles and report the findings in terms of effect sizes (hunter & schmidt, 2000: 278-280; rosenthal, 1995:184). for this article, the statistical analysis was done by determining the number of studies mentioning the components, the sample means, the frequency of mentioning the components, the population mean, the percentage of mention, and the effect size. the frequency and number of studies mentioning the components were identified from the outputs of the atlas.ti 8. a cloud-based statistical analysis tool (online calculator) from select statistics was used to calculate the sample means and the population mean (selectstatistics, n.d.: online). the sample means were determined using the total number of articles and the number of studies mentioning the components. the percentage mention of each component was based on the total number of studies mentioning the components and the frequency whereby these studies mentioned the components. the effect size was estimated using a cloud-based practical metaanalysis software (online calculator) from campbell collaboration (wilson, n.d.: online). only components with an effect size of 0.2 and above were considered relevant. 4. results tables 1-3 present the meta-analysis estimates for the components of tbr among members of the bim-sc and show overwhelming evidences for the components as valid elements of tbrs among members of the bim-sc. specifically, table 1 explains that ‘consistent integrity’ has the strongest effect size (d=2.78) and the highest percentage (81.6%) of mention among the articles used for the meta-analysis. the component with strong effect size and high percentage of mention is ‘display of confidence for each other’ (d=1.49; 63.30%). the other components have a medium effect size olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 121 and percentage of mention: ‘honesty and mutual commitment’ (d=0.50; 35%), ‘persistence of relationship after projects’ (d=0.21; 43.33%), and ‘mutual rewards and benefits’ (d=0.20; 40%). this result suggests that all the components have an acceptable effect size and more than 10% of mention by the studies in the meta-analysis. ‘display of confidence for each other’ has the highest percentage of mention by the studies, while ‘consistent integrity’ has the strongest effect size. table 1: meta-analysis estimates for positive reputation as a dimension of tbr among members of the bim-sc components f n χ % d consistent integrity 498 49 1.22 81.6 2.78 display of confidence for each other 213 38 1.57 63.30 1.49 persistence of relationship after projects 322 26 2.31 43.33 0.21 honesty and mutual commitment 238 21 2.86 35.00 0.50 mutual rewards and benefits 599 24 2.50 40.00 0.20 d = cohen’s d effect size, f = frequency of mention in the database, n = number of studies mentioning the components, χ = sample mean table 2 shows the results of the meta-analysis estimates for the components of positive expectations. ‘mutual exchange of ideas’ (d=1.14; 58.33%) has the strongest effect size and the highest percentage of mention. the component with strong effect size and low percentage of mention is ‘exploiting each other’s strength’ (d=1.09; 26.67%). the other components with a medium effect size and percentage of mention are ‘absence of competing interest’ (d=0.62; 33.33%); ‘lack of confrontation and adversarial relationships’ (d=0.20; 40%); ‘social interaction’ (d=0.21; 43.33%); ‘work interaction’ (d=0.22; 45%); ‘conflict resolution’ (d=0.50; 35%); ‘shared interests and project expectations’ (d=0.32; 46.67%); ‘risk sharing’ (d=0.22; 45%); ‘cross-functional cooperation’ (d=0.27; 38.33%); ‘competence of personnel and organisation’ (d=0.78; 53.33%); ‘problem-solving ability’ (d=0.55; 50%); ‘openness in sharing information’ (d=0.32; 46.67%); ‘compensating for each other’s weaknesses’ (d=0.85; 30%); ‘freedom to state opinions and perspectives’ (d=0.74; 31.67%), and ‘support for innovation and learning’ (d=0.55; 50%). acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 122 table 2: meta-analysis estimates for positive expectations as a dimension of tbr among members of the bim-sc components f n χ % d lack of confrontation and adversarial relationship 276 24 2.50 40.00 0.20 absence of competing interests 185 20 3.00 33.33 0.62 social interaction 168 26 2.31 43.33 0.21 work interaction 215 27 2.22 45.00 0.22 conflict resolution 164 21 2.86 35.00 0.50 shared interests and project expectations 208 28 2.14 46.67 0.32 risk sharing 231 27 2.22 45.00 0.22 cross-functional cooperation 215 23 2.61 38.33 0.27 competence of personnel and organisation 296 32 1.88 53.33 0.78 problem-solving ability 262 30 2.00 50.00 0.55 openness in sharing information 183 28 2.14 46.67 0.32 compensating for each other’s weaknesses 113 18 3.33 30.00 0.85 exploiting each other’s strengths 156 16 3.75 26.67 1.09 freedom to state opinions and perspectives 124 19 3.16 31.67 0.74 mutual exchange of ideas 298 35 1.71 58.33 1.14 support for innovation and learning 204 30 2.00 50.00 0.55 d = cohen’s d effect size, f = frequency of mention in the database, n = number of studies mentioning the components, χ = sample mean although the results suggest that positive reputation is mainly characterised by the ‘mutual exchange of ideas’ and ‘exploiting each other’s strength’, according to the strength of the effect size and percentage of mention, it also suggests that all the components characterise positive reputation, because they have an acceptable effect size and more than 10% of mention by the studies in the meta-analysis. table 3 explains the results of the meta-analysis estimates for the components of trusting and trustworthy behaviour. four of the components have a medium effect size and percentage of mention: ‘absence of silo mentalities/professional stereotypes’ (d=0.90, 55%); ‘emotional interaction’ (d=0.20, 41.67%); ‘non-misuse of information’ (d=0.90, 55%), and ‘absence of defensive behaviours’ (d=0.85, 30%). two components have strong effect size: ‘absence of racism’ (d=1.91, 15%), and ‘absence of tribalism’ (d=2.15, 11.67%). at 0.2 effect size and minimum of 10% of mention, the result suggests that all the components have an acceptable effect size and percentage of mention and are, therefore, considered valid components of trusting and trustworthy behaviour. olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 123 table 3: meta-analysis estimates for trusting and trustworthy behaviour as a dimension of the tbr among members of the bim-sc components f n χ % d absence of racism 40 9 6.66 15.00 1.91 absence of tribalism 26 7 8.57 11.67 2.15 absence of silo mentalities/professional stereotypes 269 33 1.82 55.00 0.90 emotional interaction 132 25 2.40 41.67 0.20 non-misuse of information 280 33 1.82 55.00 0.90 absence of defensive behaviours 116 18 3.33 30.00 0.85 d = cohen’s d effect size, f = frequency of mention in the database, n = number of studies mentioning the components, χ = sample mean 5. discussion of findings 5.1 influence of bim process requirements on tbr based on the theoretical model and meta-analysis estimates, this study identified 3 elements that determine tbr among members of the bim-sc. these elements are ‘positive reputation’, ‘positive expectations’, and ‘trusting and trustworthy behaviours’ (see figure 4). these elements were analysed to achieve a general understanding of their components, and the influence of bim process requirements on these elements was established. traditionally, opportunism and non-cooperative relationships characterise the construction project supply chain. however, the application of bim in construction projects fundamentally changes the nature of relationships among members of the bim-sc through the bim process requirements such as informationsharing, network communication, and knowledge transfer (chu & fang, 2006; papadonikolaki et al., 2016; talavera, 2013). based on these collaborative requirements of the bim process, the nature of relationships among members of the bim-sc requires trust. the findings of this study explain that trust development or trust-based relationship among members of the bim-sc depends on the ‘positive reputation’, ‘positive expectations’, and ‘trusting and trustworthy behaviours’. tai et al. (2016) list information-sharing, communication, interaction history, relation-specific investments, competence, reputation, integrity, and opportunistic behaviours as the factors affecting tbr in construction projects. these factors disagree with the complexity and requirements of trust development in a bim-sc. the dimensions or elements of tbr in bim-sc that agree with the complexity and requirements of trust development in a bim-sc, as acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 124 identified and validated in this study, are broadly consistent with the findings by jaffar et al. (2011: 196), singh, gu and wang (2011: 137), porwal and hewage (2013: 208), hooper and ekholm (2011), fazli, fathi, enferadi, fazli and fathi (2014: 1119), bryde, broquetas, and volm (2013: 975), gilligan and kunz (2007: 39), ilozor and kelly (2012: 28), kuiper and dominik (2013: 8), miettinen and paavola (2014:87), chen and luo (2014: 67), and khalfan et al. (2004: 2). jaffar et al. (2011) identify trusting and trustworthy behaviours such as racism, tribalism, and professional stereotypes as factors of conflict in construction project delivery. khalfan et al. (2004) identify integrity and display of confidence as a way of building a positive reputation among the integrated construction project supply chain. however, the dimensions of tbr in bim-sc, as identified in this study, do not agree with the model of first-based relationships proposed by wong et al. (2008). wong et al. (2008) identify communication, organisation policy, knowledge, thoughtfulness, emotional investments, and contracts as the dimensions of tbr in construction projects, information sharing, communication, interaction history, relation-specific investments, competence, reputation, integrity, and opportunistic behaviours. figure 4: dimensions of tbr in bim-sc olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 125 5.2 the nature of tbr in bim-sc 5.2.1 positive reputation and its association with tbr among members of the bim-sc reputation is required by members of the bim-sc in order to form opinions about each other and decide on how to relate and interact with each other (see table 1 and figure 5). a positive reputation will lead to trust development. this study found that a positive reputation can be created and maintained in bim-sc through consistent integrity, display of confidence for each other, persistence of relationship, honesty, mutual commitment, and mutual rewards and benefits. this component provides an explanation for the role of positive reputation in tbr among members of the bim-sc, because maintaining a positive reputation is fundamental to being transparent, responsive, and trustworthy. this indicates that consistent integrity is essential to the survival of tbr in bim-sc. integrity and consistent integrity refer to uncompromising truthfulness, accuracy, and adherence to ethical and contractual principles. bim is a process involving a fair amount of relationships. trust development in these relationships will not be smooth without consistent adherence to bim principles and requirements. this means that, without consistent integrity, there is no foundation on which to build tbr, because consistent integrity makes a person or an organisation trustworthy and dependable. figure 5: components of positive reputation as a dimension of tbr in bim-sc the persistence of relationships among members of the bim-sc after a particular project is also a way to develop trust through positive reputation, because positive reputation leads to better relationships in the bim-sc network. thus, this relationship could persist after acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 126 the current project in the form of referrals and recommendations. the study by dossick and neff (2013) confirms that the display of confidence for each other by members of the bim-sc is associated with a trust-based relationship. dossick and neff (2013) indicate that the display of confidence for each other by members of the bim-sc allows the quick defection of problems in the bim process. the display of confidence for each other by members of the bim-sc is an indication of a positive reputation, because it reveals a lack of fear and insecurities about the responsiveness and trustworthiness of each other. display of confidence for each other by members of the bim-sc is an essential ingredient for tbr, because they are expected to respect time, principles, and deadlines, so as to inspire confidence in each other. straightforward and mutual commitment, as a component of a positive reputation, indicate a mutual dependence that motivates members of the bim-sc to trust each other, thereby promoting a tbr. they guarantee that members of the bim-sc will do their best for the success of the projects and the bim process. this finding is consistent with that of hooper and ekholm (2011) who found that mutual commitment among members of the bim-sc is important to a collaborative process in bim. similarly, mathews, love, mewburn, stobaus and ramanayaka (2018: 209) report that bim application on projects creates a bim-sc where a network relationship is formed from hierarchical relationships that lead to mutual rewards and benefits. mutual rewards and benefits find a place in tbr among members of the bim-sc, because, when all the members are interested in contributing value to the bim process and expecting advantages that correspond to their respective value, the trust will effortlessly develop among them. 5.2.2 positive expectations and their association with tbr among members of the bim-sc this study describes positive expectations as a dimension of tbr in bim-sc, because positive expectations entail the behavioural forces that expect positive contributions from member of the bim-sc towards the success of the project and the bim process, while maintaining positive attributes that will attract positive contributions (see table 2 and figure 6). positive expectation is anticipation and exhibition of positive contributions from all the members of the bim-sc. some of the ways in which to achieve positive expectations are the absence of confrontation and adversarial relationships, absence of competing interests, work and social interactions, conflict resolution, shared interests and project expectations, risk sharing, problem-solving ability, olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 127 and openness in sharing information. confrontations and adversarial relationships occur when people or organisations on the bim-sc are opposing each other. this will create oppositional relationships that are devoid of trust and will affect project performance. however, a lack of confrontation and adversarial relationships will ensure tbr. this finding accords with the findings by glick and guggemos (2009) and olatunji (2015: 308), indicating that members of the bim-sc are expected to have a spirit of cooperation that will eliminate the functional and traditional adversarial relations among them. figure 6: components of positive expectation as a dimension of tbr in bim-sc closely related to confrontation and adversarial relationships is competing interests. competing interests occur when multiple interests are involved in a relationship. the existence of competing interests usually generates a conflict of interests and professional judgement that will interfere with project interests. therefore, the absence of competing interests will support the realisation of one acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 128 of the main bim objectives, namely collaboration. this qualifies the absence of competing interests as a component of tbr in bim-sc. love, edwards, han and goh (2011: 179) confirm that the absence of competing interests among members of the bim-sc is important, in order to achieve collaboration in the bim process, and this will be achieved when members of the bim-sc share common interests and problems through regular interaction. in addition, certain accidental, regulated, repeated, and regular social and work interactions must occur between members of the bim-sc. such interactions allow members to make positive contributions to the project at hand through their actions and reactions. liu, van nederveen and hertogh (2017: 678) confirm that there is a need for frequent social and work interactions in bim-enabled collaboration among members of the bim-sc, in order to stimulate the trust effects of bim application on projects. in the bim process, when a dispute arises, as it must, all members of the bim-sc are expected to make efforts to facilitate the peaceful ending of the dispute or conflict. doing so signifies not only professional growth, but also the existence of tbr. studies by azhar (2011: 19), ashcraft (2008: 9), as well as sacks, koskela, dave and owen (2010: 973) provide support for this argument. bim is required to foster a common understanding of project expectations among member of the bim-sc. therefore, when the understanding of the project expectations is common to all members of the bim-sc, it reflects a certain positive expectation that will lead to tbr. in support of this argument, dossick and neff (2008) explain that shared interests and project expectations can influence collaboration and eliminate conflicting obligations among members of the bim-sc. in the bim process, the probability and impact of risks are expected to be reduced through the appropriate distribution of the risk. failure to do this will frustrate trust development. this suggests that risk sharing among members of the bim-sc is a way of avoiding obstacles to information-sharing and exchange among members of the bim-sc (gilligan & kunz, 2007: 40; wong & fan, 2013: 141; aranda-mena, crawford, chevez & froese, 2009: 424). the personnel or organisations on the bim-sc must be able to demonstrate a set of bim-related skills, knowledge, and capability. this constitutes a positive expectation, because the competence of organisation and personnel positively stimulates the productivity level and the quality of work that influences project performance (aranda-mena et al., 2009: 426). another reason is that the level of bim competency of organisations determines the realisation of the benefits of the bim application such as collaboration (alaghbandrad & forgues, 2013). more olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 129 importantly, competence is a major expectation among members of the bim-sc, because it enables them to have confidence in the information models and reviews shared by the other members (liu et al., 2017: 688). another important component of positive expectations as a dimension of tbr in bim-sc, as identified in this study, is the problem-solving ability of members of the bim-sc. problemsolving abilities such as active listening, analytical skills, and teambuilding skills are highly useful and inevitable in tbr. problem-solving abilities enable members of the bim-sc to share with each other their own views on the conflict issues and the likely resolution tactics (aranda-mena et al., 2009: 428). this study also identifies openness in sharing information as an element of positive expectations among members of the bim-sc. the explanation for this is that concealment and restriction of access to information is catastrophic to trust development in bim-sc. openness in sharing information stimulates tbr in bim-sc, because it allows members of the bim-sc to better understand expectations and predict actions (won & lee, 2010: 144; won, lee, dossick & messner, 2013: 414; love et al., 2011:181; lu & issa, 2005: 63). this study also found that members of the bim-sc must have the right to pass across their opinions and perspectives. this creates a sense of belonging and provides feedbacks that are imperative to trust development. the freedom to state opinions and perspectives is a clear demonstration of commitment to each other and it nurtures trust among members of the bim-sc (liu et al., 2017: 691). it is encouraging to compare the findings of this study with those of grilo and jardimgoncalves (2010: 525), which indicate that mutual exchange of ideas secures the commitment of members of the bim-sc to a mutually agreed solution, thereby fostering trust. this confirms that members of the bim-sc must be able to come up with a suggestion as to a possible course of action towards the success of the bim process and projects. 5.2.3 trusting and trustworthy behaviours and their association with tbr among members of the bim-sc trusting and trustworthy behaviours deal with the promotion of trust development by eliminating behavioural problems such as racism, tribalism, silo mentalities, and defensive behaviours (see table 3 and figure 7). members of the bim-sc are expected to never exhibit behaviours that stem from strong loyalty to a tribe or social group or race. racist and tribalistic behaviour will promote prejudices, discrimination, and antagonism that will frustrate tbr. therefore, the absence of sociocultural issues such as racism and tribalism are acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 130 important to trust development in bim-sc (davies & harty, 2013: 18; carvalho, braganca & mateus, 2019: 177; kuiper & duffield, 2018). this study found the silo mentalities among members of the bim-sc to be a strong component of trusting and trustworthy behaviours which is a dimension of tbr in bim-sc. nothing damages tbr as a silo mentality on the part of members of the bim-sc, because it creates hierarchy and division in the bim-sc that will reduce the efficiency of members of the bim-sc. a silo mentality is a reluctance to collaborate with the other members of the bim-sc through non-sharing of resources such as data, information, ideas, and knowledge. emotional interaction was also identified as a feature of trusting and trustworthy behaviours. emotional interaction supersedes social and work interactions in that it serves as behavioural responses to the actions and reactions of other members. emotional interactions convey the internal state of the individuals in the bim-sc. information is of central importance in the bim process. the misuse of information is associated with the use and distribution of information models that usually manifest as copyright abuse and license abuse (rosenberg, 2007; azhar, 2011: 248; azhar, khalfan & maqsood, 2012: 23; arensman & ozbek, 2012: 150). the findings of this study agree with these observations. this study also finds the absence of defensive behaviour as a valid component of trusting and trustworthy behaviour. defensive behaviour is a form of response to perceived or anticipated threats that may not exist. with such behaviour occurring in the bim-sc, members will be struggling to dominate, deceive, or impress. defensive behaviour is distrustful and only the absence of defensive behaviour can ensure trust development in bim-sc. figure 7: components of trusting and trustworthy behaviours as a dimension of tbr in bim-sc olugboyega & windapo • model of trust-based relationships... 131 6. conclusions opportunism and non-cooperative relationships are the hallmarks of the traditional construction project supply chain. however, the application of bim in construction projects fundamentally changes the nature of relationships among members of the bim-sc. based on the collaborative requirements of the bim process, the nature of the relationships among members of the bim-sc requires trust. this study attempts to understand the nature of trust-based relationships in bim-sc, in order to establish whether the requirements of the bim process influence tbr. in this study, a model of tbr in bim-sc is developed to provide practical insight into the nature of tbr in bim-sc. the nature of a concept can be understood by investigating its factors, aspects, dimensions, elements, characteristics, or components. to achieve the objective of this study, dimensions and components of tbr in bim-sc were investigated and then identified using relevant theoretical perspectives, while the related components were identified using meta-synthesis. the relevance of the components was determined using meta-analysis estimates. this study developed a model of tbr in bim-sc, which categorised tbr in bim-sc into a positive reputation, positive expectation, and trusting and trustworthy behaviours. in terms of a positive reputation, tbr relates to ‘consistent integrity’; ‘display of confidence for each other’; ‘persistence of relationship after projects’; ‘honesty and mutual commitment’, and ‘mutual rewards and benefits’. positive expectation consists of ‘lack of confrontation and adversarial relationship’; ‘absence of competing interests’; ‘social interaction’; ‘work interaction’; ‘conflict resolution’; ‘shared interests and project expectations’; ‘risk sharing’; ‘cross-functional cooperation’; ‘competence of personnel and organisation’; ‘problem-solving ability’; ‘openness in sharing information’; ‘compensating for each other’s weaknesses’; ‘eeploiting each other’s strengths’; ‘freedom to state opinions and perspectives’; ‘mutual exchange of ideas’, and ‘support for innovation and learning’. while trusting and trustworthy behaviours entails ‘absence of racism’; ‘absence of tribalism’; ‘absence of silo mentalities/professional stereotypes’; ‘emotional interaction’; ‘nonmisuse of information’, and ‘absence of defensive behaviours’. the findings of this article 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(eds.). proceedings of the international council for research and innovation in building and construction (cib) world building congress, brisbane, australia, 5-9 may 2013. brisbane: queensland university of technology, paper 317, pp. 1-11. _goback acta structilia-14(1) 116 peter richards & paul bowen the management of clients’ strategic objectives using the jbcc principal building agreement: a case study peer reviewed abstract meeting the strategic objectives of construction clients is paramount in construction procurement for the project to be regarded as successful by the client. it is contended that the choice of contractual arrangement can act as a barrier to achieving these objectives. through an analysis of the south african jbcc principal building agreement, the authors explore how contractual arrangements can be a limitation to achieving the client’s construction strategic objectives. the research methodology adopted for the research comprises a desktop analysis of the jbcc principal building agreement together with the analysis of a single case study to explore how the jbcc principal building agreement addresses the client’s strategic objectives in theory and in practice. the findings indicate that the agreement neither makes provision to deal with the client’s strategic objectives nor are they met by its philosophy, structure, or parameters. it is concluded that construction clients who use the agreement or its equivalent for the benefit of its convenience and familiarity should consider its adequacy to manage strategic objectives within the wider sense of the investment and business case of the construction project. keywords: jbcc, strategic objectives, business case, construction client, contractual arrangement, south africa. prof. paul bowen, head of department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town, south africa. tel: (021) 650 3443, email: <bowenpa@ebe.uct.ac.za> mr peter richards, department of construction economics and management, university of cape town, private bag, rondebosch 7701, cape town, south africa. tel: (021) 686 2798, email: <petrich@iafrica.com> 117 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction abstrak konstruksieprojekte word deur kliënte as suksesvol beskou slegs wanneer hulle strategiese doelwitte bereik is. daar word beweer dat die keuse van ’n bepaalde kontraktuele ooreenkoms die bereiking van sodanige doelwitte moontlik kan belemmer. ontleding van die south african jbcc principal building agreement deur die outeurs het hulle ondersoek na die wyse waarop kontraktuele reëlings moontlik die bereiking van die kliënt se konstrukiseverwante strategiese doelwitte mag beperk, ondersteun. die navorsingsmetodiek ten opsigte van hierdie navorsing toegepas, behels ’n tekstuele ontleding van die jbcc en een gevallestudie om die wyse waarop die jbcc principal building agreement teoreties en prakties die kliënt se strategiese doelwitte aanspreek, te ondersoek. die bevindinge dui aan dat die agreement nòg voorsiening maak om die kliënt se strategiese doelwitte te bevredig nòg voldoen die filosofie, struktuur of parameters van hierdie ooreenkoms aan sodanige doelwitte nie. die gevolgtrekking is dat kliënte wat van hierdie of ’n soortgelyke ooreenkoms gemaksonthalwe of omrede die bekendheid daarvan gebruikmaak, behoort die toereikendheid daarvan al dan nie om strategiese doelwitte rakende belegging en bedryfsaspekte in die breë sin van die konstruksieprojek te bestuur, te oorweeg. sleutelwoorde: jbcc, strategiese doelwitte, bedryfsaspekte, konstruksie kliënt, kontraktuele reëling, suid-afrika. 118 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 1. introduction construction works are procured for strategic reasons: houses,for example, are built to provide shelter from the elements,factories are built to accommodate the manufacturing processes of industry, public amenities are built to provide community services, and commercial developments are undertaken by property developers for sale or investment. the strategic objectives for construction, therefore, can be broadly defined in terms of the needs of the construction client in relation to his or her ultimate use of it upon completion. classification of the strategic objectives of construction in this manner, however, does not complete the set of strategic objectives for construction. in recent years, for example, the socio-economic context of construction has given rise to a second order of objectives for strategic ends, which have come to be applied to each stage of the development cycle of the built environment, namely: • urban planning and development; • project design; • the manufacture of building materials and products; • building construction and processes; • maintenance and management of the built environment; and • deconstruction and reinstatement of the environment, after the construction works have served their purpose (ofori, 1998; hill et al., 2002). strategic objectives aligned with the development cycle of the built environment are premised upon the argument that construction works (i.e. infrastructure and buildings) should benefit society not only by their existence but also by the economic activity generated in the process of delivery (drewer, 1975; ofori, 1980; edmunds & miles, 1984; wells, 1986; rwelamila & meyer, 1996). the strong functionalist approach of construction, therefore, which in the past focussed more on project delivery, and which was measured by hard criteria like time, cost, quality and utility, has thus undergone a shift to create a balance by a more interpretive approach designed to: • address poverty and inequity based on the redistribution of opportunity; 119 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction • substitute natural to human made capital; • ensure the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems; and • maintain the performance, quality and service life of construction works (iucn, 1980; solow, 1993; gladwin et al.,1995, all cited by hill & bowen, 1997). these objectives relate specifically to the pillars of sustainable construction identified respectively as the social ‘pillar’, the economic ‘pillar’, the biophysical ‘pillar’, and the technical ‘pillar’ of sustainable development (hill & bowen, 1997). in view of the above, the strategic nature of construction raises two pertinent issues: • the manner in which construction works are procured; and • the measures applied to determine project success. these activities are linked. the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which the jbcc principal building agreement facilitates the management (and hence attainment) of clients’ strategic objectives. 2. research methodology a review of the literature shows that the strategic objectives of construction are well understood in procurement theory (hibberd, 1991; green 1994; rwelamila & hall, 1994; jennings & kenley, 1996; lenard & moshini, 1998; rowlinson & mcdermott, 1999), and procurement systems (franks, 1984; sharif & morledge, 1994; masterman, 1997; hamilton, 2001). a large body of literature also exists to assist the procurement specialist in advising the construction client on which procurement system is best suited to the client’s individual need (e.g. love & skitmore, 1996; ofori, 1996; masterman, 1997; kumaraswamy & dissanayaka, 1998; murray & langford, 1998). the advice, however, appears useful only up to a point. for example, with the exception of cox (1996, 1997), cox & thompson (1998), and cox & townsend (1998), nothing could be found on the best choice of supply relationship to be concluded between the construction client and the contractor, given the asset specificity of the contractor’s service (i.e. residual, complementary or strategic) to the construction client in the realisation of its objectives related the 120 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) investment/business case; nor was there any guidance on how to establish the necessary links between the supply relationship and the form of contract consistent with such objectives; and nor was there any direction on the choice of performance criteria and measures needed in the contract to manage and control supply chain resources activities sufficient to achieve objectives critical to the success of the project. the review of the literature was undertaken thematically within the context of the application of theory to the realisation of strategic objectives in relation to a ‘separated’ and ‘coordinated’ (i.e. the traditional or conventional) system of procurement. this was done in order to narrow the area of investigation. using a framework derived from the literature, the study proceeded with a desk-top analysis of the jbcc principal building agreement (2005) to understand the characteristics of the agreement in terms of: • the premise of its supply relationship; • the division of roles and responsibilities between the parties; • the structure of the control system and its inherent strengths and weaknesses; • performance criteria and measures; • the distribution of risk; and • the reimbursement mechanism. the desk-top analysis was followed by a field study of a single building project to determine how the agreement directs practice for the realisation of strategic objectives related to the investment/business case of a particular project. the research was not hypothesis driven as there was no intention to prove or disprove any particular theories about strategy or the management and control of strategic objectives in the contractual arrangements of construction projects. it was more concerned with seeking to augment a theory of practice for the management and control of strategic objectives within the context of a ‘separate and coordinated’ (i.e. traditional or conventional) procurement system using the particular contractual arrangement of the jbcc principal building agreement (2005). the methodology adopted, therefore, was evaluation research with a strong descriptive focus. 121 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction internal validity was achieved by explanation-building from inferences drawn from the data collected, making every effort to ensure that evidence was convergent and that all rival explanations and possibilities were adequately considered (yin, 1994). care was also taken to ensure a proper fit between the concepts (issues) involved and their measures (edwards, 2001, citing bryman, 1988). external validity in the traditional sense (i.e. the capacity to generalise findings beyond the context of the case itself to a larger universe of cases based on a ‘statistical’ generalisation) was not possible to achieve as only one case study was undertaken. the study, however, did focus on generalising the particular set of results to the broader theory of procurement based on a process of ‘analytical’ generalisation (yin, 1994). the study, therefore, may be defined as ‘instrumental’ case study research (edwards, 2003), as the case was undertaken to facilitate an understanding of the management and control of the processes affecting the outcome of strategic objectives in the contractual arrangements of construction projects procured under a ‘separated and coordinated’ (i.e. traditional or conventional) system using a particular contract form. the research questions posed were thus: • how are the strategic objectives of construction clients met and controlled in the jbcc principal building agreement?; and • how do the performance criteria of the jbcc principal building agreement contribute to the measurement of strategic objectives at project completion? operational links were intrinsic to both questions and it was this issue that constituted the rationale for choosing a case study design. 3. desk-top analysis of the jbcc principal building agreement an analysis of the jbcc principal building agreement shows that it is intended for use only to procure the construction works. the nature of the service to be rendered by the contractor is thus defined merely as ‘the execution of the works’ (cl. 2.1). the act of ‘execution’ of the works in the agreement is defined by two events: ‘commencement’ (cl. 15.3) and ‘completion’ (clause 15.3.2; 15.3.3 and 15.3.4), which is required to be carried out “with due skill, diligence, regularity and expedition ….” (cl. 15.3) to the building standards as may be stipulated by the principal agent from time to time (cl. 24.1.1). this 122 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) description demarcates not only the extent of the service to be rendered by the contractor, but also the limit of the contractor’s focus for management and control, and the measures it will no doubt apply to evaluate project success. 3.1 procurement system the limitation of the contractor’s service to the execution of the works only implies that the agreement is premised on the ‘separate and coordinated’ (i.e. traditional/conventional) procurement system, and all the assumptions of procurement strategy that its use too would necessarily imply (masterman, 1997). where the construction client’s strategic objectives cannot be met by the use of this particular procurement system, the agreement would itself therefore be an immediate barrier from the outset. this comment is made all the more relevant by the fact of the wide use of the jbcc principal building agreement as an industry standard in south africa without due consideration of the investment / business case drivers that may warrant the use of an alternative procurement system and thus a more appropriate form of contract. research in south africa indicates that little attempt is made by the professional team to match procurement system characteristics with client objectives. indeed, a significant proportion of professional advisors admit to a less than fulsome understanding of the characteristics of these alternative systems (bowen et al., 1999). 3.2 contractual control mechanisms 3.2.1 division of roles and responsibilities 3.2.1.a) the employer under the jbcc principal building agreement (2005), the employer has extremely limited powers. having entered into contract by mutual agreement with the contractor, the employer has the power to: i. appoint the principal agent (cl.5.1); ii. appoint agents as stated in the schedule, and may appoint further agents with the contractor being informed thereof (cl.5.2); iii. recover penalties for non-completion (cl.30.1); 123 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction iv. cancel the contract in the event of the contractor’s default (cl. 36.1) or by reason of destruction to the works, or the destruction of an existing building to which the works is intended to apply, howsoever caused (cl. 37.1); and v. recover damages, in appropriate circumstances (cl. 36.5.8). in respect of the first item listed above, it should be noted that appointment of the principal agent and other agents stated in the schedule (cls. 5.1.1; 5.2 or 5.4) is a material term of contract. the employer, therefore, cannot act directly on his or her own behalf in the management of the contract. this issue often proves problematic in practice. failure to effect the appointments of the principal agent or other agents stated in the schedule, or to replace them should they be unable to act or cease to be agents, entitles the contractor to cancel the contract (cl.38.1.1). the remedy, however, may be too drastic, except, for example, where the contractor believes that nonappointment will cause extreme prejudice. it is submitted, therefore, that a more appropriate remedy, if required, should be the suspension of the works by the contractor until the employer has fulfilled his or her obligations in this regard. no such relief, however, is available to the contractor in terms of the agreement. further roles of the employer not addressed by the agreement, but which are required by the south african constitution and other statutory legislation include the employer’s role in: • the protection of the environment (see the constitution of the republic of south africa, act no.108 of 1996: sect. 24) (republic of south africa, 1996); and • issues of occupational health and safety under the occupational health and safety act (no. 85 of 1993) (republic of south africa, 1993) to be performed in terms of the regulations published in the government gazette (no. 25207 of 2003) (department of labour, 2003). the environmental concerns of development during the planning and design stages of a construction project are addressed in terms of the regulations published in the south african government gazette (no. 18261 of 1997) (department of environmental affairs and tourism, 1997), as derived from the environment conservation act (no. 73 of 1989) (republic of south africa, 1989). implementation of 124 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) environment management systems (ems) for the management and control of construction activities are not yet mandatory in south africa but guidance does exist in terms of the code of practice for environmental management systems published by the south african bureau of standards (sabs, 1993) and the international specification for ems developed by the international organization for standardization (iso, 1995). 3.2.1.b) the principal agent the authority of the principal agent under the agreement does not follow the common law rules of agency in south africa in all respects. an agent under south african law is normally required to carry out his or her mandate in accordance with the full instruction, or under the direct commission, of his/her employer (hosten et al., 1983). the principal agent, in terms of the agreement, however, enjoys wide discretionary powers and may, in accordance with this discretion, exercise his or her judgement independently. moreover, interference by the employer in the independent exercise of the agent’s duties may found a claim by the contractor against the employer for damages, or even entitle the contractor to cancel the contract if the interference causes the contractor prejudice (cl. 38.1.7#). (note: the principal agent enjoys no such discretion in terms of this clause under contracts concluded by the state, and the contractor’s rights in this regard too fall away). the effect of this arrangement means that the principal agent cannot be held accountable for his or her actions as an agent entirely on the strength of his or her mandate. the employer therefore can seldom, if ever, bring a successful action in contract but can only seek a remedy on the basis of delict (hosten et al., 1983). this is because it is not inconceivable that the terms of the principal agent’s mandate may be such as to give the employer a contractual remedy against him or her on particular facts without contravening the terms of the agreement. this arrangement greatly weakens the control the employer may exercise, inter alia, over the management of strategic objectives. other than the powers retained by the employer as listed above under item 3.2.1.a), the employer surrenders all of his/her other powers to the principal agent, who is ‘the only person who shall have the authority to bind the employer, except where agents issue contract instructions under delegated authority’ (cl. 5.3). for example, it is only the principal agent who may: 125 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction i. issue contract instructions (cl. 17.1); ii. permit work to be executed and installed by others for whom the contractor is not responsible (cl. 22.1); iii. give the contractor interpretations and guidance on the standard and state of the completion of the works (cl. 24.1); iv. issue certificates of practical completion (cl. 24.3.1), works completion (cl. 25.2.1), and final completion (cl. 26.3.1#); note: a certificate of final completion is deemed conclusive evidence as to the sufficiency of the works and that the conractor’s obligations under the agreement have been met, other than for latent defects (cl. 26.6) v. extend the construction period in certain circumstances (cl. 29.7); vi. determine the amounts of payments to be made under an interim (cl. 31.1) or final payment certificate (cl. 34.5); vii. determine adjustments to the contract value (cl. 32.1); viii. calculate the monies recoverable by the employer for penalties (cl. 33.1.1); default interest (cl.33.1.2), and expense and loss in terms of clause 33.2 (cl. 33.1.3); ix. settle disagreements and disputes between the employer or his/her agents on the one hand and the contractor on the other that arise out of the agreement (cl.40.1), save those that are referred to adjudication (cl. 40.2.1#); mediation (cl. 40.7) or arbitration (cl. 40.5#); x. approve subcontract work (cls. 24.3.1; 25.2.1 and 26.2.1 of the jbcc nominated / selected subcontract agreement (2005); xi. determine adjustments to the subcontract value (cl. 32.1 of the subcontract agreement); and xii. determine the amount to be paid to a subcontractor under an interim (cl. 31.0 of the subcontract agreement) or final payment certificate (cl. 34.5 of the subcontract agreement). all these powers granted to the principal agent are exercised without any contractual liability for the performance of its duties under the agreement for the works. the reason for this is that the contract for the works is concluded between the employer and the contractor. 126 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the principal agent is not party to its terms and is thus not ‘privy’ to it (hosten et al., 1983). he or she is merely afforded powers under the agreement to govern the contract. the principal agent’s responsibilities are regulated by a separate contract of agreement concluded with the employer to act in a supervisory capacity. the principal agent’s contractual responsibilities, therefore, are disconnected from the agreement for the works. there is thus a complete separation of the principal agent’s duty from the very basis of his/her responsibility and accountability. 3.2.2 management of transactional behaviour the instruments used to manage transactional behaviour under the principal agreement include: i. security for due performance; ii. penalties for non-completion of the works; iii. rights of ‘set-off’; and iv. certain mechanisms for the management of conflict. 3.2.2.a) security for due performance in terms of the agreement, the contractor may elect to provide the employer with either a ‘variable’ or ‘fixed’ construction guarantee (cl.14.3 or cl.14.4 respectively) as security for due performance. the purpose of the security is to furnish the employer with a ready means to satisfy partially any loss that it may sustain through a breach of contract by the contractor. typically, this could include, late completion of the works, failure by the contractor to complete the works (which may necessitate the engagement of others to do so), or refusal by the contractor to re-do defective work, again necessitating the employment of others to make good the defects (finsen, 2005). it should be noted that payments made by the guarantor to the employer in terms of the construction guarantee do not prejudice the rights of the employer or the contractor under the agreement (cl. 14.6). the merits of the different kinds of guarantee are beyond the scope of this article but may be considered by referring to finsen (2005). what is important to note, however, is that the construction guarantee is restricted to the payment of money and that it is payable at call (cl. 14.3.4 or 14.4.5). the employer, therefore, is not put to the inconvenience of having to prove his or her loss before 127 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction receiving payment. the apparent simplicity of the process of recovery, however, is not so easily realised in practice. should the contractor fail to elect a form of security contemplated by the agreement within (21) twenty one days of the acceptance of the tender, the employer may cancel the agreement (cl. 14.7.2), or alternatively may ‘hand over the site to the contractor and withhold payment from the contractor until the amount withheld is equal in value to (10%) ten percent of the contract sum’ (cl. 14.7.1). the money thus withheld is deemed to be a cash deposit although, in this instance, the employer would be under no obligation to hold it in an interest bearing account (finsen, 2005). all forms of security place the employer in a very strong position of control as he or she is not required to exercise the common-law remedy of placing the contractor into insolvency, at least in respect of the recovery of amounts up to the value of the security. it is submitted that claims for damages beyond the value of the guarantee or cash deposit, however, must be recovered through the courts. 3.2.2.b) penalties damages as a remedy for breach of contract are recompense for non-performance. they are, therefore, not intended to recompense the innocent party for his/her loss, but to put in him or her in a position he or she would have been if the contract had been properly performed (victoria falls and transvaal power co. ltd v consolidated langlaagte mines ltd. 1915 ad 1). the courts, therefore, subject to certain qualifications, are concerned only with the financial position of the innocent party. for this reason, damages need to be proved otherwise none will be awarded (christie, 2006). this, however, is not the case with penalties agreed between the parties to a contract since the enactment in south africa of the conventional penalties act (no. 15 of 1962) (republic of south africa, 1962). penalties do not have to be an accurate pre-estimate of the damages likely to be suffered, nor are they limited to a consideration of the financial loss likely to be suffered by the employer. penalties may include ‘everything that can reasonably be considered to harm or hurt, or be calculated to harm or hurt a creditor in his property, his person, his reputation, his work, his activities, his convenience, his mind or in an way interferes with his rightful interests as a result of the act or omission of the debtor’ (van staden v central south african land and mines 1969 (4) sa 349 (w), cited by finsen, 2005: 144). 128 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) today, therefore, it is not uncommon for parties to an agreement to include a term in the contract which binds one party to pay a fixed sum of money (a penalty) in committing a specified breach or perhaps any breach of the contract. as mentioned above, the conventional penalties act regulates penalty provisions included in contracts. the most significant points of regulation being that where explicit provision is made for a penalty, the innocent party may not also claim damages for the same breach, nor the recovery of damages in lieu of the penalty, ‘except where the relevant contract expressly so provides’ (s 2(1)). the second point of significance is that the courts may reduce the amount of the penalty if it appears to be excessive (s 3). provision is made under the agreement for a penalty to be paid to the employer in the event of ‘non-completion’ of the works by the date for practical completion stated in the schedule, or by such revised date as may have been determined for practical completion by the principal agent (cl. 30.0). the penalty, therefore, relates only to the loss of time under the agreement. one may interpret from the provision for a penalty in the event of non-completion of the works that time is not the ‘essence’ of contract under the agreement, but merely ‘material’ from the point of view of the employer who stands to suffer financial loss should the works not be completed on time. in terms of the agreement, the penalty is calculated as a fixed sum per day for every day that the works remains incomplete. the benefit of a penalty clause under the agreement again is the fact that the employer is not required to prove the extent of his/her damages at law before making a claim against the contractor. the principal agent shall merely calculate the penalty due from the date of practical completion stipulated in the schedule to the actual date of practical completion (cl. 30). the amount of such penalty shall be reflected in the recovery statement and the amount due shall be deducted against the payment certificate issued to the contractor (cl. 33.1.1 and cl. 33.3). whereas the penalty provision under the agreement generally acts as a strong deterrent against the contractor not completing the works on time, it is submitted that its effect does not necessarily extend to all cases of non-completion. for example, construction works of a relatively low value may nevertheless place the employer at severe risk if not completed on time. a high penalty provision in 129 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction such circumstances may make contractors hesitant to submit a price for its execution, or they may merely include the amount of the penalty in the tender, or an amount equal to their perception of the risk to which they are exposed by contracting for the works. circumstances such as this may require the employer to forego the mechanism of a penalty to control transactional behaviour, and compel him/her rather to implement some other measure to manage the risk in the interests of procuring the works within an acceptable market budget. on the other hand, a low penalty, which in itself may be an accurate pre-estimate of damages likely to be suffered by the employer in the event of non-completion, serves little or no purpose. 3.2.2.c) rights of ‘set-off’ the right of ‘set-off’ is a recognised principle in south african common law (schierhout v union government 1926 ad 286, cited by christie, 2006), and is thus not an extraordinary remedy for the recovery for debts that are liquidated and fully due. the right can be excluded by contract. the right of ‘set-off’, however, is not excluded by an explicit contractual term under the agreement and is, therefore, available to both parties. it is submitted, however, that the rights of ‘set-off’ are limited in scope to the explicit provisions recorded in the agreement. it should also be noted that the rights of ‘set-off’ between the parties are weakened by the fact that they are placed under the governance and control of the principal agent who is the only one who may deal with debts that arise between the parties under the agreement by way of ‘set-off’ (cl. 33.3.1). items of expense and loss that the contractor may recover from the employer are limited to: • compensatory interest (cl. 33.1.4); • default interest (cl. 33.1.5); and • damages arising out of the employer’s default and cancellation of the contract by the contractor (cl. 33.1.6); and • advance payments (cl. 33.1.7) the employer’s rights of ‘set-off’ under the agreement for the recovery of loss and expense are much wider than that of the contractor and include: i. penalties for non-completion (cl. 33.1.1 and 30); 130 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) ii. default interest (cl. 33.1.2 and cl. 31.12); iii. insurance premiums paid which the contractor has failed to remit (cl. 33.2.1); iv. the cost of engaging others to carry out contract instructions which the contractor has failed to execute (cl. 33.2.2); v. additional costs arising from the cancellation of a nominated subcontract due to the default or insolvency of the contractor (cl. 33.2.3); vi. interest on any amount due by the contractor to the employer in terms of a previous interim payment certificate (cl. 33.2.5); vii. the additional cost of completing the contract whether the contract has been cancelled due to the default of the contractor (cl. 33.2.6); viii. amounts paid directly to nominated and selected subcontractors on the failure of the contractor to make such payments (cl. 33.2.8); and ix. default by the contractor (presumably for any other loss or expense incurred by the employer), subject to seven (7) calendar days notice detailing such default has been given prior to the issue of the next recovery statement in order to allow the contractor the opportunity to remedy such default (cl. 33.2.7). it is submitted that the scope of the employers rights of ‘set-off’ under the agreement provide a strong (albeit indirect) tool in the management of the transactional behaviour of the contractor, especially in view of the fact that the principal agent’s recovery statement and accompanying payment certificate would provide prima facie evidence of the extent of the loss and expense due for recovery by the employer. 3.2.2.d) certain mechanisms for the management of conflict in an effort to facilitate a structured process of negotiation, the agreement commences the dispute settlement process with the need for a notification to be given in writing by the aggrieved party to the respondent calling on the latter to resolve a ‘disagreement’ (cl. 40.1). no procedures are given, however, on how to ensure legitimacy of the nature of the disagreement, or on how to make 131 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction sure that the disagreement is properly documented before referring the matter up to the next level of management in both organisations, and/or prior to third party determination. the wide ambit of the clause, permitting ‘any disagreement’ between the parties being the subject of notice (cl 40.1), therefore, could lead to an abuse of process the agreement provides no definition as to what constitutes a disagreement and, added to the complexity of the wording, the agreement elevates a ‘disagreement’ to the level of a ‘dispute’ after a lapse of a nominal period of 10 (ten) days from the date of notification (cl. 40.2). this elevation of status of a ‘disagreement’ takes place notwithstanding the linguistic difference between the terms both in substance and subject matter (see longman dictionary of contemporary english, 1991; concise oxford english dictionary, 2004) and makes the dispute now immediately subject to adjudication by a third party (cl. 40.2.1#). although, by so doing, the parties are not thereby deprived of their rights to resolve a dispute by mediation at any time (cl. 40.6#) finsen (2005) in his interpretation of clause cl. 40.1 around the issue of a disagreement makes no clear distinction between the terms ‘disagreement’ and ‘dispute’, using them interchangeably, and cites merely two decided cases which propose that a disagreement must be a genuine disagreement, involving differing and conflicting points of view held by the respective parties, and not merely a failure of one of them to honour a contractual obligation. he argues, therefore, that if the respondent maintained his/her silence on the matter it cannot be said that a disagreement exists between the parties. the aggrieved party, therefore, would be put to the inconvenience of applying to court for a ruling in these circumstances. finsen’s argument is based on a proposition that a lack of ‘disagreement’ would prevent the issue from being brought within the scope of the dispute-resolution clause. the authors, however, question this interpretation in light of the most recent and authoritative english decision on what constitutes a “dispute” and how it may be construed to exist (collins (contractors) ltd v baltic quay management (1994) ltd [2005] blr 63 ca 74). the next step available to the parties should the disagreement not be resolved within a period of 10 (ten) days) is adjudication (cl. 40.2.1#), providing the parties did not agree otherwise at the time of contract to proceed rather directly to arbitration (see cl. 42.7.1 of the schedule). a state employer, however, proceeds directly to litigation 132 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) where a disagreement remains unresolved (see cls. 40.2.1# and 40.2.2# read together). the further option to proceed to arbitration, should the adjudication be challenged thus falls away in regard to the state. the process of adjudication is a dispute settlement mechanism recently borrowed from english law and adopted in the agreement (cl. 40.2.1#). the mechanism is also widely applied in other major construction agreements used in south africa (see fidic, nec3 and the 2002 edition of the gcc). the most obvious benefit of the mechanism is that it is informal and thus quick and easy to apply, providing speedy relief to the affected party. the jbcc adjudication rules (2005) require the adjudicator to make a determination within 20 (twenty) working days, subject only to an extension of time of 10 (ten days) by mutual agreement between the parties (rule 7.1.1). the weakness of the adjudication process in south africa is that there are no statutory provisions to enable a court to appoint an adjudicator, where the parties themselves could not agree on the appointment, nor to set aside the adjudicator’s appointment on the grounds of bias or his determination for misconduct, nor to enforce the adjudicator’s decision (finsen, 2005). the other challenge of the adjudication process is that the adjudicator determines an issue as an expert and not as an arbitrator and can, therefore, be held responsible for its result if the determination is defective and causes a loss to either of the parties (finsen, 2005). this may make it difficult to appoint someone as an adjudicator in the absence of a formal indemnity by the parties releasing him/her from such a consequence. for reasons not immediately evident in the agreement, or from the relevant literature, no obvious clarity exists on why the option of litigation is reserved only where the state is the employer (cl. 40.2.2). the state, clearly, may prefer litigation for reasons of probity and transparency in the event of a dispute affecting public funds. private sector clients, however, may also have strategic reasons for preferring rights to litigation in the event of a failure to resolve a dispute. these may well include, inter alia, the leverage it provides over a supplier as a threat of a loss of confidentiality due to the public nature of litigation, especially if the supplier is a public company or is sensitive about its reputation due to past behaviour, or even as unfair leverage, merely to retain the peril of a costly legal battle if disputes are not speedily settled. there may, therefore, be sound reasons for all parties, both public and private, to retain a right to litigation in the interests of the investment/business case. 133 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction arbitration in south africa is regulated in terms of the arbitration act, no. 42 of 1965. arbitration as a mechanism of dispute settlement, however, is not new. it has been practised since roman times. a comprehensive review of the merits and disadvantages of arbitration, therefore, are beyond the scope of this article, other than to mention a few points that determine its efficacy as a mechanism to resolve disputes between contracting parties in south africa, and the scope of disagreements/disputes that may be referred to arbitration under the agreement. provision is made in the act for the courts to support and assist the process of arbitration. the arbitrator’s award, therefore, is final and binding unless otherwise ‘agreed’ by the parties (s 28) (note: no such ‘agreement’ is provided for in the agreement). the courts, therefore, will not set aside the arbitrator’s award except in certain circumstances (s 33). the scope of disagreements that may be referred to arbitration under the agreement include “…any disagreement between the employer or his agents and the contractor as to any matter arising out of or concerning this agreement ….’’ (cl.40.1), and “…. any disagreement between the contractor and the subcontractor as to any matter arising out of this n/s agreement ….” (cl.40.1 of the jbcc nominated / selected subcontract agreement (2005)). finsen (2005), citing kathmer investments (pty) ltd. v woolworths (pty) ltd.1970 (2) sa 498 (a), points out that the provision thus also includes “a dispute about any of the rights and obligations of either of the parties under the agreement”, as well as “a dispute as to whether either party had breached the agreement or not, and a dispute as to whether a term of the agreement should be rectified.” as the dispute resolution clause survives the cancellation of the contract (cl.40.10), finsen (2005) suggests that a dispute as to whether or not a party which has cancelled the contract was lawfully entitled to do so would come within the scope of this clause. 3.3 performance management 3.3.1 time management three criteria/descriptors are given in the agreement that require the execution of the works (cl. 2.1) be carried out with speed: ‘diligence’, ‘regularity’ and ‘expedition’ (cl. 15.3). no objective measures related to these criteria, however, are provided in the agreement, which 134 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) leaves the employer without any direct or proactive means of management and control over time. the contract jbcc preliminaries (2005) stipulates merely that the contractor ‘shall be responsible for a programme for the works’ (cl. 4.2 of the preliminaries document), but places no onus on the contractor to construct the works in accordance with the programme or to update it at regular intervals in accordance with actual progress on site. the agreement, however, does make express provision for the recovery of damages (penalties) in a fixed amount per day in the event of delayed or nonperformance (cl. 30.0). the employer is thus merely afforded a remedy to recover any pecuniary loss suffered by reason of late delivery (cl. 33.1.1). the means of control is thus indirect and reactive. the employer also may not cancel the contract for reasons arising from a general failure of the contractor to proceed with diligence, regularity and expedition unless he or she has issued notice in terms of the agreement (cl. 36.2). 3.3.2 cost management the management of cost in the agreement falls wholly outside the contractor’s responsibility. the reason for this is that the employer must prepare and provide the documents on which the contract of agreement is based. the contractor merely tenders a price based on these documents. after acceptance of the price, it is only the employer who may vary its amount through instructions issued by the principal agent (cl.17.1). cost, therefore, is the responsibility of the employer and is thus not a performance measure under the contract. several other issues were identified in the agreement that further limit the employer’s control over cost: • the contract sum ‘as stated in the schedule’ is recorded merely for the purposes of contract. it does not establish the employer’s obligation to the contractor. it is merely a reference point (finsen, 2005). the agreement uses a mechanism termed the ‘contract value’ that is equal to the ‘contract sum’ as the instrument for varying the change in cost. a review of the conditions for change in the ‘contract value’ listed in the agreement (cl. 32) would seem to indicate that there is no intention to fix the final cost of the works at the outset; 135 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction • there is no provision in the agreement that obligates the contractor to keep the employer informed on the current financial status of the works. the employer is thus reliant on the professional team for such information, which often lags in the reporting process due to procedures and timelines (bowen & edwards, 1996); and • the employer’s control over cost is not direct. the management of cost falls under the control and administration of the employer’s principal agent who enjoys an independent discretion in the exercise of his or her duties (cl. 38.1.7#). the agreement records expressly, that only the principal agent ‘shall determine the value of adjustments to the contract value’ (cl. 32.1). in practice, however, especially on contracts let with a high proportion of prime cost/provisional sum items, and/or where the project budget is under threat, it is not uncommon for the contractor to play a significant role in assisting the principal agent to explore ways and means to manage and control cost through alternative specifications, designs, and/or building methodology. the contractor, however, is under no contractual obligation to perform this service. 3.3.3 quality management the descriptor/criterion used in the agreement to define the requirement for quality is the term ‘due skill’ (cl. 15.3). no definition of this term is given in the agreement and reference must thus be made to other reliable sources in order to gain a broad understanding of its intrinsic meaning. reference to longman dictionary of contemporary english (1991: 985) suggests that ‘skill’ is defined as “a special ability to do something well.” by implication this would require both a familiar knowledge of the art or science necessary to undertake the task, as well as the practical mastery required for its ‘execution’. the qualification given to the type of skill required is that it shall be ‘due’ skill, that is a skill (or a standard of proficiency) demanded by the very nature of the works to be executed. no objective measures for the criterion, however, are given in the agreement, which makes it very difficult to decide in advance how quality will be managed and controlled. the contractor must obviously produce a satisfactory standard of workmanship, and the common law position in south africa is that the contractor must produce a standard of workmanship that is of a similar standard to that produced by other competent contractors working in similar circumstances (finsen, 2005). 136 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the agreement does provide a contractual stipulation stating that “the principal agent shall inspect the works from time to time to give the contractor interpretations and guidance on the standard … of the works” (cl. 24.1.1). the obligation, however, does not extend to supervision or responsibility for the works to ensure compliance. this situation may be described as a divided responsibility (rwelamila, 1996) and constitutes a breakdown in the communication process necessary to maintain the link between the client’s expectations and the final quality of the outcome of the works. it should also be noted that there is a growing body of literature critical of the reactive focus of operational techniques and activities of ‘quality control’ and ‘quality assurance’ practices that have become a primary source of problems facing the construction industry globally (rwelamila, 1996). quality management in construction, however, ideally requires the implementation of systems that proactively minimise mistakes, and is not merely a bolton system of inspection that must continually order remedial action on completed work. 3.3.4 risk management the most important risks assumed by the employer relate to the very nature of the commercial venture to procure the works. as stevens (2001) points out, risk is an intrinsic attribute of construction and property development. these risks could be defined as the risks related to the strategic objectives arising from the investment / business case. none of these risks, however, are explicitly defined for management in the agreement, and any provision for their administration can only be inferred from the extent to which they are included within the parameters of time, cost and quality inherent in the contractor’s responsibilities for the ‘execution’ of the works. the flaw in the risk management system under the agreement therefore appears to be its very separateness from the commercial context of the overall strategic objectives for the project. 3.3.4.a) the employer’s risks risks borne by the employer include those external risks listed as uninsurable by the south african insurance associations exceptions. these risks include risks to the works arising from, inter alia, war, riot, nuclear activity, confiscation, nationalisation or requisition by any public or local authority (cl. 8.5). insurance for riot and related risks, however, may now be insured through the south african special risks 137 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction insurance association (sasria) and provision is made in the schedule to record the limit of liability should the employer elect that such insurance be effected. other risks specifically excluded from the contractor’s responsibility but that are internal to the project and fall on the employer (see cls. 8.0 and 9.0). (with due regard to certain exceptions) include, inter alia: • acts or omission of the employer, the employers servants or agents and those for whose acts or omission they are responsible (cl. 9.2.1); • an act or omission of a direct contractor appointed by the employer (cl. 9.2.2); • design of the works where the contractor is not responsible (cl. 9.2.3); • the occupation of any part of the works by the employer or his tenants (cl. 9.2.4); • the right of the employer to have the works or any part thereof executed at the site (cl. 9.2.5#); • interference with any servitude or other right that is the unavoidable result of the execution of the works including the weakening of or interference with the support of land adjacent to the site unless resulting from any negligent act or omission by the contractor or his subcontractors (cl. 9.2.6#); • physical loss or damage to an existing structure and the contents thereof in respect of which the agreement is for the alteration or addition to the existing structure (cl. 9.2.7#); • physical loss or damage to the contents of the works where practical completion has been achieved (cl. 9.2.8#); • the use or occupation of the site by the works (cl. 9.2.9#); and • advance payments where certified and duly made by the contractor to nominated subcontractors or selected subcontractors (cl. 9.2.10#). it should also be pointed out the employer is responsible for all the contractor’s risks that exceed the amount of the contract works insurance as may be stated in the schedule (cl. 8.4). the contractor, however, has an explicit obligation to inform the principal agent of any physical loss and damage that comes to his or her attention (cl. 8.7). 138 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) 3.3.4.b) the contractor’s risks the contractor’s listed risks relate to the risk of the works, from the date of possession of the site to the date of practical completion. the extent of the contractor’s risk in this regard includes the making good of physical loss and repairing damage to the works (cl. 8.3.1); the replacement value of materials and goods supplied by the employer to the contractor (cl. 8.3.2), and the cost of additional professional services of the employer’s agents. the contractor’s liability for risks, therefore, is wholly internal to the agreement in the execution of the works and is not explicitly focused on any of the broader issues of procurement that could determine strategic objectives. 3.3.4.c) the professional advisor’s risks professional advisors under the agreement carry the least risk for their participation in the construction project, notwithstanding the tremendous impact they are able to have on the project process, both negative or positive. the reason for this in south africa is because of the doctrine of the privity of contract. parties who are not privy to a contract cannot sue or be sued on it (christie, 2006). professional advisors, therefore, carry no contractual responsibility derived from the agreement for activities related to the execution of the works. they are, however, responsible for the risks associated with the execution of their own services and responsibilities to the employer under separate agreement, and the employer’s internal project risk is moderated to this extent. 3.3.4.d) the reimbursement mechanism in terms of the agreement, the contractor is entitled to receive interim payments (cl. 31). this practice is a departure from south africa’s common law for the letting and hiring of work. in terms of south africa’s common law of locatio conductio operis, the conductor operis is ‘normally obliged to carry out the work which he is engaged to do before the contract money can be claimed’ (de wet & van wyk, 1978: 138). the basis of this law is known as the principle of reciprocity which requires that there should be an exchange of performances between the parties to an agreement (christie, 2006). the contractor’s right to an interim payment, therefore, is contractual. the fact that it is interim, however, does not mean that it is made in settlement of the employer’s obligations for 139 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction work done. this is an important point in favour of the employer in the management of cost. the courts in south africa have held that interim payments made are merely advance payments against the totality of work still to be done (thomas construction (pty) ltd (in liq) v grafton furniture manufacturers (pty) ltd 1988 (2) sa 546 (a)). this means that interim payments are subject to revision on reasonable grounds and may be amended in value at the time when future interim payments are made, or at the time of determining the final account. the amount certified is required to be a ‘reasonable’ valuation of the total amount of work carried out to date, including variations, plus a reasonable valuation of unfixed materials and goods, whether on or off site, procured by the contractor for the works, less the total amount previously certified and with value added tax (vat) added to the resulting amount (finsen, 2005). finsen states, however, that only the final certificate for payment is a liquid document. interim payments are required to be calculated monthly and a payment certificate issued (cl. 31.1). the principal agent is not permitted to omit the issue of the certificate for any reason, even if the contractor has failed to bring the works to practical completion by the date stated in the schedule. the reason for this is that the agreement makes provision for the preparation and issue of a ‘recovery statement’ at the same time as the issue of the payment certificate which, inter alia, makes provision for the recovery of penalties levied in terms of cl. 30 in the event of non-completion. the payment certificate, therefore, may be for a nil or negative amount as may be determined by the circumstances prevailing at the time of issue, but it must still be issued in terms of the explicit requirements of the agreement. with the exception of state contracts concluded in terms of the agreement, the level of control that the employer may exercise over this process is again limited by the independent authority enjoyed by the principal agent. 4. project delivery using the jbcc principal building agreement: a case study details of the case study reported here are drawn from richards et al. (2005). a single case study approach was adopted as the project involved the use of the standard jbcc principal building agreement between a contractor and a developer with a development 140 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) agreement between the developer and the construction client. as such it constitutes an ‘extreme’ or ‘unique’ case (yin, 1994; united states gao, 1990) which, because of the existence of the two agreements, highlights the shortcomings of jbcc principal building agreement in addressing the client’s strategic objectives in the way the project process is made more complex when used alongside other sets of agreements which more closely reflect those objectives. at the time of the collection of the data, the contract for the project had already been signed between the client and the developer, and construction had been in progress for several months. 4.1 the client the client is an established tertiary education institution in the public sector that actively engages in education, training and research. the client’s activities are funded through a combination of state funding and fee income. owing to the restructuring and changing priorities of government, state funding for south african tertiary institutions is in a state of flux with funding being re-directed to redress historical imbalances with a consequent reduction in state subsidy to the client. to succeed, tertiary institutions are adopting a more business-like approach to management and marketing, boosting revenue by increasing the number of students, rationalising courses offered, enrolling more foreign students and entering into partnerships with the private sector in commercially exploiting research. the client’s mission is to be foremost in its areas of service in meeting the education needs of south africa within the parameters of government objectives, the imperatives determined by industry, and the expectations of the international community. the client’s strategy of increasing student enrolments and improving its research facilities has led to a considerable construction programme involving a number of new-build and refurbishment projects. in addition, the existing built estate requires an extensive maintenance programme. the client, therefore, commissions a steady stream of smallto medium-sized projects with at least one major new development every two to three years in the range of r30m to r50m (r14.00 = 1 gbp, december 2006). table 1 presents the client’s construction procurement features and processes. table 1: the client’s construction procurement features and processes the categories of the construction work undertaken by the client with their associated different business requirements are classed as new141 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction build, extension/modification and maintenance/refurbishment. newbuild projects are affected by the limit of available funds. research supply chain the client maintains a separate department responsible for its property development and maintenance programme. the department is well staffed with its own project managers, architects, engineers and quantity surveyors and it is able to manage projects up to r5m. projects larger than r5m are outsourced. supply chain relationship the client maintains a database of service providers for professional and construction services, and specialist suppliers. inclusion on the database is subject to a registration procedure. selection of a service provider for appointment to a particular project is based first on the state’s policy for black empowerment and preferential procurement and thereafter follows an assessment of technical competence, capacity, programme, and an understanding of the client’s requirements. the client, therefore, outsources only to preferred suppliers. professional consultants are appointed more or less on a rotation basis. construction contractors and suppliers are subjected to competitive tender. procurement strategy construction management is the preferred route of procurement for all projects under r5m. the main reasons for following this organisational method of procurement are that it: • allows the client to have a single point of contact with the supply base; • permits separate competitive tendering for all trade work packages and thus maximises cost savings; • affords an intimate understanding of market pricing; • strengthens the client’s strategic costs and value management systems; • facilitates fast-track programming, and thus early project delivery; • builds internal capacity in regard to product development; • facilitates lessons learnt which can be carried forward within the client’s organisation; • is focussed on strategic objectives driven by the low allocation of monies in current annual capital expenditure budgets. projects above r5m are wholly outsourced under the separate and coordinated (i.e. traditional) procurement system using a single principal building contractor. contractual arrangements projects procured under the construction management model are contracted in terms of the jbcc minor works agreement (2005) for each trade package. outsourced projects are contracted in terms of the jbcc principal building agreement. facilities are funded mostly by money made available through grants obtained locally or from abroad. the allocation of these funds is driven by strong stakeholder interests. student accommodation is procured on the strength of the business case by contracting with a developer using a lease back mechanism in order to avoid the need to raise large amounts of development capital. there is a strong focus on whole lifecycle costs on these projects rather than on initial capital cost. 142 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the client has definite generic strategic objectives for all its construction procurement as shown in table 2. however, specific strategic objectives arising from the business case are identified and defined on a project-specific basis. table 2: schedule of client strategic objectives in construction socioeconomic objectives the client endorses the principles of: • sustainable development, as enunciated in the constitution and thus seeks to comply with all statutory provisions and guidelines governing its own projects in the built environment; • sustainable construction, and has thus instituted an environmental management system (ems) framework in accordance with iso 14001 for implementation on all their projects; • the involvement of previously disadvantaged and marginalised sectors/individuals and thus procures its construction works in accordance with the preferential procurement policy framework act, no. 5 of 2000, and the targeted procurement policies developed by the depart of public works; • a safe working environment for all its staff and external service providers appointed to work on its property, and thus seeks to comply with the provisions of the health and safety act, no 85 of 1993, and the draft construction regulations published in government gazette 23310 of 2002. technological objectives the client has developed standards for all construction materials and finishes, building systems, installed equipment, and furniture and fittings. the standards relate directly to whole life-cycle building costs which must fall within defined parameters. operational objectives design functionality for all construction works must adhere to the operational requirements of its various departments responsible for the running and maintenance of its buildings after project completion. aesthetics the client maintains its own aesthetics committee which is mandated to ensure that all its buildings fit the context of the environment into which they are placed. in this regard, the client also seeks to cooperate with the aesthetics committees of other bodies, whether regulated or not, which may have a vested interest in the client’s construction projects. organisational objectives the client seeks to develop and empower its staff and thus increase its organisational capacity by the process of the development of its own property. objectives in this regard, are defined and undertaken on a project specific basis. stakeholder objectives the client maintains a proactive relationship with all its regular stakeholders and has constituted various forums in which to engage with them on a regular basis. project stakeholders are identified at the inception of each project and their needs are identified for negotiation in terms of project objectives. functional objectives objectives related to time, cost, and quality are project specific and are identified for management in terms on the investment/business case. 143 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction 4.2 the project the project was a new build student residence located on a piece of land strategically purchased by the client some years prior to the decision to build. the business case for the project arose from a shortage of student accommodation. the business case suggests that the annual cost of the lease offered by the developer who would finance and build the new residence could be covered by the normal accommodation rental paid by students. demand from end users was high and before the accommodation for the residence was built it was fully subscribed. the success of the business case, however, was premised upon gaining completion of the student residence before the commencement of the academic year. failure to gain completion by that time would have several significant consequences to the client: • the loss of the enrolment of the students who had applied for residence in the new facility, not only for the first academic year, but also for the full period of time intended for their studies; and • the loss of the revenue for the whole facility for the first twelve months of operation. the client regarded the combined business risks as significant requiring proactive management. two contract agreement documents involved in the procurement of the project are the development agreement between the developer and the client, and the jbcc principal building agreement between the developer and the contractor. the development agreement between the client and the developer require the developer to: • construct and deliver the new student residence within twelve calendar months from the date of handover of the site by a predetermined date; • appoint design consultants formally approved of by the client; • procure the construction works on the basis of the jbcc principal building agreement; • obtain prior written approval from the client before making payments to the contractor; and 144 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) • effect handover of the completed residence based on a final completion certificate issued by the principal agent in terms of the jbcc principal building agreement. the agreement also required the client to enter into a fixed period, and fully repairing, agreement of lease with the developer on completion of the works. the design in which the outline design was produced by the client and supply of a new residence building is in accordance with the client’s brief. the following section analyses both the development agreement and the jbcc principal building agreement to determine the manner in which the client had articulated its strategic objectives for the purposes of management, control and performance measurement. 4.3 reconciling the development agreement and the jbcc principal building agreement an inspection of the jbcc agreement between the developer and the contractor shows that it had been concluded without amendment, and that it agreed with the material terms of the development agreement signed by the developer and the client in all respects. it would therefore seem logical that the objectives of the client would be communicated to the contractor by the developer. after all, any construction risk that the developer would bear would sensibly be passed on to the contractor who is best placed to manage that risk. consequently, there ought to be a degree of alignment between the two agreements. 4.4 principle observations on the basis of this proposition, the contractual arrangements were evaluated for their suitability in meeting the client’s strategic objectives as shown in table 2 and a comparison of the two agreements in achieving this is presented in table 3. 145 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction table 3: analysis of the strategic objectives identified in the field study against the intrinsic provision made in the jbcc principal building agreement for their management, control and performance measurement strategic objective how strategic objective is met and controlled in jbcc how performance criteria in jbcc contribute to measurement of strategic objective on completion comments socio-economic objectives sustainable development no provision no provision could have been incorporated under preliminaries. sustainable construction no provision no provision ditto. black empowerment no provision no provision ditto. health and safety act cl. 7 no provision the obligation for health and safety (h&s) in the jbcc is placed on the contractor (cl.7). the regulations (2003), however, shift the primary onus of h &s onto employer. technological objectives building materials and finishes employer specification no provision materials used must be fitfor-purpose if not specified. building systems employerspecification no provision systems used must be fitfor-purpose if not specified. equipment employerspecification no provision equipment installed must be fit-for-purpose if not specified. furniture and fittings n/a n/a contract only for works execution. whole lifecycle costs employer specification no provision employer obligation. operational objectives design functionality n/a n/a employer obligation. contract only for works execution. aesthetics n/a n/a employer obligation. contract only for works execution. 146 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) the conclusion drawn from this analysis is that neither contractual arrangements supported the client’s strategic objectives. more specifically, the jbcc principal building agreement was not only at variance with the client’s established supply relationship with the developer, but it made no meaningful contribution to the management and control of the client’s strategic objectives, nor did it provide any basis for the measurement of project outcomes in terms of these matters. a review of all key planning documents and organizational systems revealed how the jbcc principal building agreement signed by the developer and the contractor failed to meet the client strategic objectives as there was: • no evidence that a project organisation had been purposefully designed to meet strategic project objectives; • no master development programme for the project in terms of time; strategic objective how strategic objective is met and controlled in jbcc how performance criteria in jbcc contribute to measurement of strategic objective on completion comments business case objectives organisational objectives no provision no provision would have to be negotiated with contractor. stakeholder objectives employer specification no provision employer obligation. functional objectives • time • cost • quality cl.15.2 no provision cl.15.2 subjective criteria no provision subjective criteria work to be executed with ‘diligence’, ‘regularity’, ‘expedition’. employer obligation. workmanship to be executed with ‘due skill’ to a standard determined by the principal agent. 147 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction • no formal quality management plan for the project in terms of the client’s technological objectives; • no formal site safety management plan; • no formal environmental management plan for the control of construction activities in terms of iso 14 001; • no stakeholder management plan for the management of project stakeholder objectives or relationships; and • no formal procurement management plan in terms of the client’s stated objectives for preferential procurement. following the review of the documentary evidence, interviews were conducted on a semi-structured basis with the project manager and the architect to explore these issues and to correlate and validate specific findings. both the developer and client were unwilling to be interviewed, although the client provided the project documentation. these documents confirmed the initial observation that the client’s strategic objectives in terms of the socio-economic objectives and corporate policy were not explicitly communicated to the team, nor stated in the project documents made available to them. both interviewees opined the supply relationship between the client and the developer prior to conclusion of the development agreement as being collaborative in nature; a de facto joint venture, where one party provided land and the other finance. both expressed surprised that the client subscribed to the jbcc principal building agreement. both considered the supply relationship and the contractual arrangement to be inappropriate for the achievement of the strategic objectives of the client for the project because of the number of unresolved issues that remained the start of the project. their opinion was that the jbcc principal building agreement is only appropriate where there is certainty in design information and where the client is fully involved in the construction process. both found that the division of roles and responsibilities between the client and developer in terms of their rights and obligations in respect of outstanding matters to be completely inadequate as there is no definition, nor any parameters for their resolution. two steps taken by the client and the developer to manage the project for the client’s stated strategic objectives were identified by the architect and project manager, namely: • putting a completion date in the contract; and 148 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) • the appointment by the developer of a professional planner. other than these, they were unaware of any specific measures or steps taken to manage project risk in terms of the contract and that performance criteria for the project were neither identified nor defined. an analysis of all the project documents provided yielded only one clear client strategic objective, namely, project completion by the date recorded in the development agreement. this objective was reinforced by significant penalties. this would indicate that the choice of supply relationship adopted by the client appears to have been ill-considered for several reasons: • the client procured the development by protracted negotiation with a ‘single source’ supplier. the relationship was highly collaborative from the start. both the project manager and the architect described the supply relationship at inception as being akin to a ‘joint-venture’; • the brief was incomplete at the date of contract. both the development agreement and jbcc principal building agreement suggesting that it was going to require significant levels of joint working throughout the construction period to ensure final product quality for project delivery; • the nature of the agreement to proceed with the project before contract was premised on a working relationship that was destined to last for more than two decades; and • a strong demand by client stakeholders that had impacted on project scope. it would appear that the essence of the contractual arrangement between the client and the developer was a ‘turn-key’ development contract. the arrangement in which both the development agreement and jbcc principal building agreement were applied to the project, however, proved unduly complex for several reasons: • the client had bound the developer to procure the construction works in terms of the jbcc principal building agreement and then, through the terms of the development agreement, agreed to bind itself to accept project completion based on a final completion certificate issued to the developer by the principal agent (see clause 26 of the jbcc principal building agreement) in terms of a contractual arrangement between the developer and the 149 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction contractor. the arrangement effectively precluded the client from exercising any direct control over an event intrinsic to its contractual rights under the development agreement; and • explicit in the development agreement was an understanding the client would rely on all systems of management and control intrinsic to the jbcc principal building agreement in order to satisfy its objectives. it should be noted that the client’s interests in this regard are not recorded in the construction agreement. the arrangement again effectively precluded the client from exercising any direct control over matters of immediate contractual right under the development agreement. the weakness in the development agreement was that the client chose to rely on mechanisms of control privy only to the developer in terms of its relationship with the contractor at the second tier of the supply chain. the client clearly stood outside this contractual relationship and left itself without any means to exercise its rights under those terms. the client’s contractual position was thus greatly weakened. it is postulated that this rather complex contractual arrangement between the client, developer and the construction contractor occurred because of a ‘thoughtless’ decision, possibly driven by ‘over-familiarity’ or ‘trade-usage’ (root & hancock, 1996) to make use of the jbcc principal building agreement which is so conveniently available to the construction industry. it is clear that the reliance of the parties (and in particular the client) on the jbcc principal building agreement was born out of a certain familiarity and confidence in its established use. regretfully, the approach of the parties prevented them from adopting a ready mind to their own unique contractual requirements. their attempt to cure their commercial arrangements in terms of this agreement, therefore, did much to weaken their contractual position with a tendency to produce many oddities that could consequently lay the foundation for serious conflict/dispute. 5. conclusions this article has shown that the south african jbcc principal building agreement deals only with the transaction to procure the built asset (construction work) within the parameters of the time required for its delivery, its cost, and the standard of quality to which it must be built. its focus, therefore, is placed on construction process and the 150 acta structilia 2007: 14(1) description of the product required for project delivery. the limitation of such a contracting method, in terms of the argument presented thus far, would seem to indicate that the agreement lacks utility for the control of strategic objectives, or to establish the measures necessary to evaluate their success. as a standard form document, jbcc principal building agreement makes no provision to deal with strategic objectives not met by its philosophy, structure, or parameters. all other procurement issues related to the strategic and organisational objectives of the investment and business case that should be decided and managed under appropriate parameters fall outside its structure and control. this means that construction clients who use the document for the benefit of its convenience are obliged to consider its adequacy to manage strategic objectives within the wider sense of the investment and business case. the document clearly prevents the client from accurately expressing his or her specific project wishes but rather merely moulds the client’s intentions into a prescribed document. at present in south africa there is the added focus of development objectives that have been identified as strategic for the whole country. the imperatives documented by government include the creation of sustainable employment, skills development, affirmative action, the active promotion of small and microenterprises, and the development of public sector capacity to manage the delivery process. government policy requires that the construction industry respond to these issues. these imperatives reinforce the strategic value of process over product and should be reflected in the way the project is organised overall and in the methods of implementation — a matter that is clearly absent from the current version of the jbcc principal building agreement. up until the present time, procurement emphasis has been placed on awarding contracts to companies with a requisite percentage of black equity shareholding. recent market signals indicate, however, that added weight is being placed on meeting the country’s imperatives by operational practices within the construction process. it has thus become more important to structure the contractual framework accordingly and to determine performance measures aligned with a uniquely developmental approach which, in turn, is responsive to specificities, and the resource base of the location in which it is to occur. 151 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction 6. future research the following suggestions are offered for further research: • methodologies need to be developed to assist in the examination of the appropriateness of the jbcc agreement to various client investment / business case scenarios; • alternative standard forms of contract should be developed for the different procurement systems used in south africa (e.g., construction management, management contracting, design and build, etc.); • mechanisms need to be developed for inclusion in the agreement to facilitate the management and control of second-order objectives related to sustainable construction; • mechanisms need to be developed to facilitate holding the principal agent and other agents contractually responsible for the performance of their duties in respect of the execution of the works; • an alternative mechanism(s) needs to be created to reimburse the construction client for his or her loss where the provision of a penalty on the contractor is inappropriate in respect of non-completion; • alternative mechanisms need to be considered for inclusion in the agreement in order to control transactional behaviour (e.g. joint working, financial incentives, etc.); • objective criteria need to be developed for the proactive management of time and quality; • mechanisms need to be developed to include cost management as part of the contractor’s responsibility; • mechanisms need to be developed to manage risk within the agreement that is intrinsic to the outcome of the strategic objectives of the investment/business 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(ed.). east meets west: proceedings of cib w92 procurement systems symposium, hong kong: university of hong kong, cib publication 175, p.107-114. rwelamila, p.d. & meyer, c. 1996. procurement and balancing project parameters in botswana and south africa. unpublished report, south africa: university of cape town, department of construction economics and management. sharif, a. & morledge, r. 1994. a functional approach to modelling procurement systems internationally and the identification of necessary support frameworks. in: rowlinson, s.m. (ed.). east meets west: proceedings of cib w92 procurement systems symposium, university of hong kong, hong kong, cib publication 175, p. 295-305. solow, r. 1993. an almost practical step to sustainability, reviewed in resources, 110, resources for the future, 1616 p street, nw, washington, dc 20036-1400. south african bureau of standards (sabs) 1993. code of practice environmental management systems sabs 0251. south africa, pretoria: sabs. stevens, a.j. 2001. the concept of risk and uncertainty. university of cape town, department of construction economics and management: project management postgraduate programme. united states general accounting office (gao). 1990. case study evaluations. program evaluation and methodology division, gao/pemd-91-10.1.9, usa. 157 richards & bowen • management of clients’ strategic objectives in construction wells, j. 1986. the construction industry in developing countries: alternative strategies for development. london: croom helm, andover, hants. yin, r.k. 1994. case study research — design and methods. london: sage publications. acknowledgements the authors wish to acknowledge, with thanks, the input of professor r.h. christie qc, department of commercial law, university of cape town; mr t. boxall, legal practitioner and part-time lecturer, university of cape town; and professor emeritus g.k. le roux. the authors are also indebted to the anonymous referees for their constructive comments on an earlier version of the article. 1 navorsingsartikels • research articles mutonyi nasila mr mutonyi m. nasila, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, pretoria, south africa. beglin woods architects, kenya, po box 22759, nairobi. phone: +254 723 872 479, email: <nasilamutonyi@gmail. com> chris cloete prof. chris cloete, sacsc chair in shopping centre studies, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, pretoria, south africa. phone: +27 795192717, email: <chris. cloete@up.ac.za> orcid: 0000-0002-0800-1679 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 1-38 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) adoption of building information modelling in the construction industry in kenya peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the current implementation of building information modelling (bim) by construction professionals in the kenyan construction industry is an area of concern. bim is increasingly being applied worldwide to improve communication between project stakeholders, visualization of design, detect potential clashes, reduced re design during project implementation, improve design quality, reduce costs, and improve the rate of return for projects. however, the application of bim in the kenyan construction industry is still lagging, resulting in poor co-ordination of information among construction project stakeholders. this study deter mines the current state of bim application, the benefits of bim application and the bim application barriers in kenya. a quantitative research approach was used and data was collected, using an online questionnaire survey from 310 registered construction professionals selected by stratified sampling. the benefits and barriers factors that influence bim application in kenya were rated and set as the independent variables with ‘years of experience’ and ‘total completed projects’ as the dependent variables. the data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 24. principal components analysis (pca) was used to extract the main factors for benefits and barriers of bim implementation. chi-square tests were used to determine relation ships between independent and dependent variables. improved communication was ranked as the most important bim benefit, while the high cost of buying and updating soft ware was ranked as the main barrier to the application of bim. based on the results of the study, improved design quality is influenced by the number of https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 2 years of experience one has in the building construction industry. the number of projects undertaken by a company using bim in any capacity has an influence on greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information. it is recommended that bim training should be undertaken by software vendors in vocational and tertiary institutions as well as in construction firms. in addition, the government should formulate policies and standards to support the use of bim. this study adds to the body of knowledge about bim application in nairobi, kenya that is beneficial to developers, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers, contractors, and facility managers. keywords: building information modelling (bim), bim adoption, kenyan construction sector abstrak die huidige toepassing van bou-inligting modellering (bim) deur professionele konsultante in die konstruksiebedryf in kenia is ’n bron van kommer. bim word toenemend wêreldwyd toegepas om kommunikasie tussen projekbelanghebbendes te verbeter, ontwerpe te visualiseer, potensiële botsings te identifiseer, herontwerp tydens projekimplementering te verminder, ontwerpkwaliteit te verbeter, koste te verminder en die opbrengskoers van projekte te verhoog. die stadige aanvaarding van bim in die konstruksie bedryf in kenia het swak koördinasie van inligting tussen betrokkenes in konstruksieprojekte tot gevolg. hierdie studie ondersoek die huidige stand van bimtoepassing, voordele van bim-toepassing en bim-toepassinghindernisse in kenia. ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gebruik en data is ingesamel, met behulp van ’n aanlyn-vraelysopname van 310 geregistreerde konstruksiewerknemers wat gekies is deur gestratifiseerde steekproefneming. die voordele en hindernisse wat bim-toepassing in kenia beïnvloed, is gemeet en gestel as die onafhanklike veranderlikes met ‘jare ondervinding’ en ‘totale voltooide projekte’ as die afhanklike veranderlikes. die data is geanaliseer met behulp van die statistiese pakket vir die sosiale wetenskappe (spss) weergawe 24. principal component analysis (pca) is gebruik om die beangrikste faktore vir voordele en hindernisse van bim-implementering te bepaal. chi-square toetse is gebruik om verhoudings tussen onafhanklike en afhanklike veranderlikes te bepaal. verbeterde kommunikasie is as die belangrikste voordeel van bim beskou, terwyl die hoë koste van die aankoop en opdatering van sagteware as die belangrikste hindernisse tot bim-toepassing beskou is. volgens bevindinge word die verbeterde ontwerpkwaliteit beïnvloed deur die aantal jare ondervinding in die boukonstruksiebedryf. die aantal projekte wat deur ’n maatskappy onderneem word met bim in enige hoedanigheid beïnvloed groter produktiwiteit as gevolg van maklike herwinning van inligting. daar word aanbeveel dat bim-opleiding deur sagtewareleweransiers onderneem word in beroepsen tersiêre instellings en konstruksiemaatskappye. daarbenewens moet die regering beleide en standaarde formuleer om die gebruik van bim te ondersteun. die studie dra by tot die korpus van kennis oor die toepassing van bim in nairobi, kenia, en behoort van waarde te wees vir ontwikkelaars, argitekte, ingenieurs, bourekenaars, projekbestuurders, kontrakteurs, en fasiliteitsbestuurders. sleutelwoorde: bou-inligtingsmodellering (bim), aanvaarding van bim, keniaanse konstruksiebedryf nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 3 1. introduction the construction sector is one of the key drivers of economic growth in kenya, accounting for 7% of the gross national product (turner & townsend, 2017). despite its critical role in the kenyan economy, the construction sector is faced with various challenges that have decreased the productivity and the rate of return on investments. among the most important challenges is the poor collaboration of information among stakeholders. this has led to increased wastage, cost overruns, rework, time overruns, and miscommunication among project stakeholders (balah & akut, 2015: 60). the old-fashioned two-dimensional (2d) approach to execute projects in the built environment industry impedes the efficient exchange of data among all stakeholders which occurs in all stages of the project development, namely from concept to construction and eventually to the management of the facility that is in operation (rohena, 2011). the introduction of building information modelling (bim) in the construction industry brought about new ways of conceiving, designing, constructing, and operating new buildings (azhar, khalfan & jaqsood, 2012: 15). bim is extensively used worldwide to design a visual presentation of the building process used to enhance the exchange of information among construction professionals (architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, and project managers) in digital format (eastman, teicholtz, sacks & sacks, 2008; silva, salvado, couto & vale e azevedo, 2016: 476). martínez-rojas, durán-álvarez, martínezaires & lópez-alonso (2015) emphasize three major types of digital data involved in bim: the three-dimensional modelling of a building (geometric), a description of the properties of the components (semantic), and details of the interrelationships between properties and components (topological). appropriate application of bim by construction professionals (architects, engineers, project managers, and facility managers) allows for benefits relating to five main aspects, namely design, scheduling, documentation, budgeting, and communication (azhar et al., 2012). however, application of bim is also subject to several obstacles, including (in order of importance) the high cost of execution, lack of awareness about the utilization of bim, absence of government support for its application, absence of training facilities, deficient research and innovation, and absence of laws and policies mandating its use (adebimpe & etiene, 2016: 232). bim is a relatively new concept in kenya and the adoption and implementation thereof is slow, because kenya has different acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 4 regulation bodies for the different sections of the building industry. these professionals’ bodies are the board of registration of architects and quantity surveyors (boraqs), the engineers’ board of kenya (ebk), and the institute of construction project managers in kenya (icpmk). the anticipated audience for bim is, therefore, fragmented and lacking a united focus to adopt and implement bim in largescale and complex building projects (njue & musyimi, 2017: 86). communication failures between the design and construction teams, due to fragmented information, is an area of concern and highlights the need to determine the views of these professionals on the status of implementation of bim in the kenyan construction industry, as well as its benefits and impediments to its implementation. 2. literature review 2.1 building information modelling concept every single developing meaning of bim depicts its transformative abilities and effect on the architecture, engineering, and construction (aec) industry and, very recently, on facility management (kassem, iqbal, kelly et al., 2014: 127). bim is not a new idea; early investigations were done on bim since the 1970s. for instance, the use of personal computers (pcs) as opposed to representations in building design was contemplated as early as 1970 (matarneh & hamed, 2017b: 326). eastman, teicholz, sacks and liston (2011) considered bim as “…the key medium to plan critical thinking, coordination and for correspondence”. since then, several studies have been carried out on the application of integrated computer technologies in design and construction management (matarneh & hamed, 2017b: 327). eastman et al. (2008) note that, due to bim innovation, a precise virtual model of a building is developed carefully and, once finalized, the computer-produced model contains the exact geometry and important information expected to help in the design, manufacture, and procurement of an actual building. bim is not only a technology, but also a process. the technology part of bim enables stakeholders to picture at an early stage any opportunities in the design, construction or functional issues, while the process segment allows for close cooperation and integration of roles played by all members of the design and construction team (azhar et al., 2012). the bim concept is based primarily on the reconciliation of procedures, upheld by an information-rich 3d display that permits one to clearly follow the entire life cycle of the project (sampaio, nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 5 2017: 195). in addition, all factors considered, it is expected that the entire procedure is more direct and simpler in exchange of data among all stakeholders, in developing the design, and later in the administration of the building. the collaborative feature in bim plays a vital role in all aspects of construction and project management, including design, scheduling, estimating, resource allocation, supply chain management, an account of deliverables during construction, and structural management (bhuskade, 2015: 834; kushwaha, 2016: 102). the ability of bim to do parametric design and store data about the life cycle of buildings can be used to investigate and regulate energy consumption, initial costs, ongoing costs in a building, as well as the implementation of other sustainable design principles in the construction industry (anbouhi, farahza & ayatollahi, 2016: 99). silva et al. (2016) provide a summary of the implementation of bim in various countries (see also khosrowshahi & arayici, 2012; hadzaman, takim & nawawi, 2015; enshassi & abuhamra, 2017; telaga, 2018; ahuja et al., 2018). 2.1.1 levels of building information modelling maturity the essence of categorising bim into maturity levels from 0 to 3 is to substantiate the types of technical and collaborative working involved at each level and give a comprehensive explanation of the processes, tools, and techniques used (cdbb, 2011: 15-16). the united kingdom adopted a unique system that describes the credentials of the designers and the design teams by assessing the bim process applied against a diagram that outlines the four levels of bim process maturity (sacks, gurevich & shrestha, 2016: 491). the four levels include: • 0 – cad: basic cad features using only drawings, lines, arcs and text. unmanaged cad probably 2d, with paper (or electronic paper) as the most likely data exchange mechanism; • 1 – ‘lonely bim’: includes some basic 3d elements, beginning of bim; • 2 – ‘collaborative bim’: includes the required information, supply chain management, and requires teams to be working together with 3d bim, however with no obligation for the 4d programme, 5d cost and operation elements to be included within the model, and acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 6 • 3 – ‘intelligent bim’: full integration of the bim model into the life cycle management of the project. 2.2 awareness level of building information modelling adebimpe and etiene (2016: 233) as well as kugbeadjor, suresh and renukappa (2015: 540) emphasise that expanding awareness on bim utilization and its advantages is the first and most vital stride to its implementation, to be done through government intervention, training, and retraining of building sector experts and association of the different expert bodies in the building industry. although education and training assume a major part in the bim appropriation process, a noteworthy number of associations are hesitant to invest in bim, principally because of the cost involved (kugbeadjor et al., 2015: 533). adebimpe and etiene (2016: 233) caution that expanded awareness in the application of bim ought to be done by utilising reasonable means and by considering the unique nature of the national construction industry. important professional bodies, agencies and associations, working together, ought to advise the legislature on the advantages of implementing bim. the following recommendations may be made on increasing the awareness of bim in the construction industry (matarneh & hamed, 2017b: 333): • government should set standards and codes for bim industry; • proper and open standards have a noteworthy part to play in the achievement of bim as a development factor. there is a requirement for all-encompassing co-appointment among the business’ partners, including the administration, business, bim vendors, customers, and instructional associations; • to address the deficiency of bim professionals, the industry and scholastic foundations should come together to create syllabuses that are in accordance with improvements in industry practice and techniques, and • to establish a framework within each firm to guarantee that the professionals hold, really apply and likewise share the information picked up from such bim projects. 2.3 application of building information modelling bim offers a variety of applications in the construction industry (shaikh, raju, malim, & jayaraj, 2016: 206). three-dimensional modelling and rendering can be produced, design drawings and shop drawings nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 7 can be generated, and construction standards can be reviewed by examining object parameters, while cost estimates and construction schedules can be applied in renovations, maintenance, and operations to make facility management more efficient (sarkar & modi, 2015: 54). in addition, various examinations and simulations can be carried out on the model to enhance the overall performance of any project (azhar, nadeem, mok & leung, 2008). in summary, bim projects facilitate efficient administration of construction projects and can be applied in all construction project stages: pre-construction stage, construction stage and post-construction stage (latiffi, mohammed, kasim & fathi, 2013: 3). 2.3.1 pre-construction stage the use of bim during the pre-construction stage is more visible than during the construction and post-construction stages, considering the executions associated with this stage, for example, design, scheduling and estimating (latiffi et al., 2013: 3). sarkar and modi (2015: 55) conclude that bim can be applied in the pre-construction phase for conceptual design, sketching, space planning, site inventory, and guaranteeing programme consistency with respect to site-related variables. 2.3.2 construction stage yamazaki, tabuchi, kataoka and shimazaki (2014) note that challen ges in the construction procedure are quickly comprehended and tackled by reviewing forms generated by bim during the construction phase. in addition to creative engineering and enhanced construction innovations, basic investigation in the construction procedure, mechanized crash checking innovation, continuous construction simulation, and 3d estimation innovation are keys to productively utilizing bim during construction (yamazaki et al., 2014). 2.3.3 post-construction stage in the post-construction stage, bim keeps track of built asset, manages facilities proactively, enables scheduled maintenance, and provides a review of maintenance history (latiffi et al., 2013: 3). sarkar and modi (2015: 55) emphasise that, in this stage, bim allows facility management to be implemented in relation to renovations, maintenance, operation, cost estimation by investigating the quantities of materials, and construction sequencing to make scheduling more consistent. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 8 2.4 benefits of using building information modelling application of bim in the construction industry can help overcome most of the challenges encountered in the process of design and construction relating to the exchange of data between members of the project team. latiffi et al. (2013: 4) emphasise that the benefits of implementing bim in construction projects are related to five main aspects: design, scheduling, documentation, budget, and communication. generally, bim technology allows for efficient collaboration of project stakeholders by allowing changes done by members of the design team to be updated in real-time and shared to all project stakeholders (doumbouya, gao & guan, 2016). bim has the capacity to minimize rework, design errors, omissions, design conflicts, and changes during construction processes (matarneh & hamed, 2017b: 332). table 1 illustrates bim applications for all stakeholders in the building construction industry. table 1: bim applications for project stakeholders in the building construction industry bim application owners designers contractors facility managers visualization x x x x options analysis x x x sustainability analysis x x quantity surveying x x cost estimation x x x site logistics x phasing and 4d scheduling x x constructability analysis x x building performance analysis x x x x building management x x source: awzhar et al., 2012: 22 nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 9 in summary, the benefits of adopting bim and using bim technology on projects in the construction industry are: • reduce rework during construction; • maximize productivity; • reduce conflict/changes; • clash detection; • enhance collaboration and communication; • improve visualization; • improve project documentation; • enhance design review; • faster and more effective method; • improve quality; • reduced construction time; • reduce contingencies, and • reduce construction cost (azhar et al., 2012: 22; adebimpe & etiene, 2016: 233; matarneh & hamed, 2017b: 332; chan, 2014: 31; gerges, austin, mayouf et al., 2017: 7; shaikh et al., 2016: 207; eastman et al., 2008; silva et al., 2016: 479). 2.5 barriers to the implementation of building information modelling the implementation of any innovation technology is confronted with difficulties prior to full implementation (matarneh & hamed, 2017a: 189). like any other innovative technology, several obstacles hamper the implementation of bim in the building construction industry. azhar et al. (2012: 25) classify bim application-related challenges in two broad categories: technology-related challenges and processrelated challenges. the following are some of the key technology and process-related challenges encountered in bim adoption in the building construction industry: • lack of support and incentives from construction policymakers to professionals and experts using bim; • lack of standards and codes for bim application; • lack of awareness about bim, resulting in professionals comparing bim to cad; • lack of client demand; • lack of a bim specialist in the region and majority of nonexpert staff in architectural firms; acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 10 • high costs (software, hardware upgrade, training, and time); • bim requires radical changes in workflow, practices, and procedures and, therefore, resistance to change from design and construction firms; • too many legal barriers; • lacking due to exchange and interoperability; • inadequate bim application research and development; • lack of it infrastructure to successfully implement bim, and • professionals in the industry entrenched in the current 2d drafting practices and the steep learning curve to develop bim expertise (adebimpe & etiene, 2016: 233; matarneh & hamed, 2017a: 189; chan, 2014: 32; gerges et al., 2017: 9; shaikh et al., 2016: 207; eastman et al., 2008; silva et al., 2016: 479). the review of the literature on bim revealed that application of bim in the construction industry helps overcome most of the challenges encountered in the process of design and construction relating to exchanging data between members of the project team (project owners, designers, contractors, and facility managers). the benefits of implementing bim in construction projects relate to five main aspects: design, scheduling, documentation, budget, and communication (azhar et al., 2012; latiffi et al., 2013: 4). despite these benefits, the application of bim encounters a number of obstacles, including, in order of importance, the high cost of execution; lack of awareness on the utilization of bim; absence of government support for its application; absence of training facilities to promote its utilization; deficient research and innovation, and absence of laws and policies mandating its utilization (adebimpe & etiene, 2016: 232). these barriers have contributed to the low level of bim application and awareness in the construction industry (matarneh & hamed, 2017a: 189; balah & akut, 2015). 3. research the purpose of the research was to determine the current status of implementation of bim in the kenyan construction industry, as well as its benefits and impediments to its implementation. a quantitative research design was adopted. this type of design allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 2003: 5). in the questionnaire, two constructs (benefits [consisting of 25 measurements] and barriers [consisting of 16 measurements]) were extracted and set respectively as the variables for the benefits nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 11 and barriers of bim application in the kenyan construction industry (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003). exploratory factor analysis (efa) was used to assess these measured variables in terms of their validity and reliability. efa is a technique that analyses the characteristics of each of the defined bim benefits and barriers (original variables), in order to reduce it to a common score (smaller number of factors), by examining relationships among these quantitative factors (pallant, 2013: 192; yong & pearce, 2013: 80; rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 200). several factor analysis methods are available, but principle component analysis (pca) was used, because the eigenvalues could be extracted, which explains whether the factors tested had or had not a noticeable effect on people’s responses to the variables in the original test (analysed construct) (rossoni et al., 2016: 201; yang, shen & ho, 2009: 163-164; pallant, 2013: 192). inferential analysis was used to establish the degree of association respectively between the number of years and the number of projects undertaken, tested against the application of bim technology in the kenyan construction industry (fisher, 1978). 3.1 sampling method and size a combined list of 1 599 members, registered in kenya, was obtained from official bodies of the board of registration of architects and quantity surveyors (boraqs); the engineers’ board of kenya (ebk) and the institute of construction project managers in kenya (icpmk). the list was stratified between those members involved in architecture (736), quantity surveying (397), engineering (376), and project management (90). stratified sampling was used to divide the population in smaller proportional groups, shi (2015: 3) resulting in a sample size of 310 representing architects (163), quantity surveyors (51), engineers (65), and project managers (31). the advantage of this method is that it narrows the difference between different types of individuals in the sample through classification (shi, 2015: 3). the sample size for research done in construction-related populations was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie & morgan (1970: 608). from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 1 000 is 278, and for 10 000, 370. this recommendation validates the sample size of 310 as efficient for the population of 1 599. 3.2 response rate out of the 310 questionnaires sent out, a total of 195 completed questionnaires were returned, resulting in a high response rate of 63%. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 12 3.3 data collection an online structured questionnaire survey was distributed to 310 participants by sharing the questionnaire link (https:// freeonlinesurveys.com/s/afufntrr) through text messages and social media platforms such as facebook, whatsapp, linkedin, twitter, google and yahoo e-mail. the survey was opened on 26 september 2017 and closed on 1 december 2018. topics on bim application used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into four sections. section one on respondent’s profile elicited personal information on years of experience in the construction industry as well as in the use of bim, number of projects undertaken using bim, software based for projects, and the type of tools used for bim. it also obtained information on the type of employer and the nature of the job of the respondents. section 2 set four questions on the awareness of bim, in general, as perceived by the participants. section 3 set one question on the benefits of bim, consisting of 25 measures. section 4 set one question on the barriers of bim implementation, consisting of 15 measures. the respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement, in practice, with these measures defining the importance of bim application. the data from these measurements forms the variables used in the efa, which tested the validity and reliability of the measured factors. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections two, three and four (vicente & reis, 2010: 260). 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of findings the statistical package for social science (spss) version 24 was used to determine the factor analysability of the bim application variables, using inferential statistics (pallant, 2013). descriptive statistics based on frequencies and percentages was used to measure central tendency and dispersion in order to describe the characteristics of the respondents as well as the current status of bim application in the construction industry (naoum, 2007: 103). to rank the importance of the barriers and benefits of bim application respectively, the measures on barriers (15) and benefits (25) were rated on a five-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to obtain levels of agreement by measuring attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1= least important (≥ 1.00 ≤ and <1.80), 2 = somewhat important https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/afufntrr https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/afufntrr nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 13 (≥ 1.81 and ≤ 2.60), 3 = neutral (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40), 4 = important (≥3.41 and ≤ 4.20), and 5 = most important (≥4.21 and ≤ 5.00). cronbach’s alpha values were extracted to analyse the internal consistency of reliability of the variables in the questions on bim application (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347; wahab, ayodele & moody, 2010: 67). acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.70 to 0.95 (tavakol & dennick, 2011: 54-55, garson, 2013: 30). in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.70 was preferred. to confirm whether the data from the measurements was sufficient for factor analysis (test the validity), the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) test (lorenzo-seva, timmerman & kiers, 2011) and the bartlett’s sphericity test (hair, black, babin et al., 2006: 110) were performed. in the kmo test, as the values of the test vary from 0 to 1, values above 0.7 are recommended as being desirable for applying efa (hair et al., 2006). a statistically significant bartlett test (p < 0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the factor analysis (hair et al., 2006: 110; pallant, 2013: 190). for factor extraction, principal components analysis (pca) was used, as this method allows for extracting eigenvalues where the highest eigenvalues in the data are, therefore, the principal components in the data, and they are retained to form a set of variables with new names/labels (rossoni et al., 2016: 102). pca also allows for running scree tests to determine the number of factors to retain. for this study, all components extracted that are above the initial eigenvalue of 1 are retained (kaiser, 1960). components were chosen according to the correlation between the variables. for something to be labeled as a component (and give a new name), it should have at least 3 representative variables (tabachnick & fidell, 2013). the pearson’s chi-square (p-value) test for independence was used to determine if there was a relationship between the number of years and the number of projects (dependent variables) undertaken and the application of bim technology (independent variables) in the kenyan construction industry. • null hypothesis h0: there is no association between the two statements. • alternative hypothesis h1: there exists at least some significant association. the p-value (or the calculated probability) is the probability of the event occurring by chance, if the null hypothesis is true (kamanga & stern, 2013: 82). the pairs of variables analysed were limited to acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 14 those with an observed p-value less than 0.100 (p < 0.100) with the significance level of (0.100). all pairs of variables with p-values above 0.100 were not considered and thus not included in this article. 3.5 limitation of the study it should be noted that, although the study was not conducted throughout kenya, all professionals in the construction industry are registered in nairobi. in addition, the professionals in the sample population are active across the country and hence the data is representative of the whole of kenya. 3.6 ethical clearance the online questionnaire was circulated with an introductory message stating the aim, purpose, and confirmation that all information received will be treated with strict confidentiality and for academic purposes only. prior to data collection, a formal request in writing to get authorization to collect data from construction professionals was done to relevant professional bodies in kenya. 4. results and discussion although 195 completed responses were received, only 146 responses were valid for reporting results on the barriers, and 137 responses were valid for reporting the results on the benefits of applying bim in the construction industry. 4.1 respondent’s profile tables 2 and 3 show the general demographic and work experience data of the respondents. based on frequency of occurrence, the vast majority of the respondents have 0-2 years’ (45.8%) experience of bim in the construction industry and (30.7%) have between 6-8 years’ experience. of the respondents, 47.3 % are consultants and 35.5% work for private clients. the vast majority (52.1%) of the respondents are in the field of architecture. whereas most of the professionals (42.8%) had undertaken a fairly limited number of projects (less than 5), nearly a third (32.7%) had completed 9 or more projects using bim. archicad was used predominantly as software as well as bim tool. nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 15 table 2: respondent’s profile on employer and experience respondent’s profile categories frequency percentage std deviation type of employer public client 17 10.1 1.586 private client 60 35.5 contractor 11 6.5 subcontractor 1 .6 consultant 80 47.3 total 169 100.0 experience in the construction industry 0-2 years 22 13.3 1.221 3-5 years 49 29.5 6-8 years 51 30.7 9-11 years 21 12.7 12 or more 23 13.9 total 166 100.0 experience in using bim 0-2 years 77 45.8 1.166 3-5 years 43 25.6 6-8 years 29 17.3 9-11 years 10 6.0 12 or more 9 5.4 total 168 100.0 table 3: respondent’s profile on occupation and bim use respondent’s profile categories frequency percentage std deviation nature of present job architecture 87 52.1 1.172 project management 20 12.0 engineering 33 19.8 quantity surveying 27 16.2 total 167 100.0 projects undertaken using bim 0-2 74 44.0 1.318 3-5 32 19.0 6-8 7 4.2 9 or more 55 32.7 total 168 100.0 software used for projects archicad 96 58.5 0.872 revit 26 15.9 autocad 41 25.0 google sketchup 1 0.6 total 164 100.0 type of bim tool used for projects archicad 98 60.9 0.843 revit 25 15.5 autocad 38 23.6 total 161 100.0 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 16 4.2 current status of the implementation of building information modelling based on the frequency results from table 3, very few respondents have undertaken projects using bim. this confirms that the current adoption of bim is still very low. these findings agree with results obtained by matarneh & hamed (2017a: 189), which indicate that the current state of bim implementation in jordan is still lagging, since only large aec organisations (5%) have prompted a serious move towards bim in certain categories, while 95% of organisations are not using bim in any capacity. table 4 shows the current status of bim application as perceived by the respondents. table 4: current status of bim application in the construction industry respondent’s profile categories frequency percentage std deviation awareness of bim and its benefits yes 149 88.7 0.408 no 15 8.9 unknown 4 2.4 total 168 100.0 bim is the future of project management agree 161 95.8 0.379 disagree 1 0.6 unknown 6 3.6 total 168 100.0 stakeholders not clear on the role of bim in project management agree 152 90.5 0.501 disagree 6 3.6 unknown 10 6.0 total 168 100.0 additional training on bim application is necessary agree 167 100 0.000 disagree 0 0 unknown 0 0 total 167 100.0 based on frequencies, results show that most of the stakeholders are not yet clear about the role of bim in project management and thus require additional training. these findings are also consistent with the results obtained by abuhamra (2015) and shaikh et al. (2016: 207), confirming that the level of bim awareness is low among nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 17 construction professionals. balah and akut (2015) carried out a similar study in nigeria and found that only 30% of stakeholders claimed to be aware of bim, with only 7% of the respondents having a proper understanding of bim. 4.3 benefits of implementing building information modelling table 5 ranks the mean scores to show which of the 25 variables measuring the benefits when applying bim applications in construction are considered important by construction professionals. table 5: ranking of benefits using bim kaiser-meyer-olkin value = .810 bartlett’s test of sphericity = 1,478.553 (p-value is 0.000) cronbach-alpha .907 variable measure benefits of bim implementation (n=137) (1= least important ….. 5= most important) rank mean std. deviation v12 improved management of projects schedule milestones 12 4.18 .756 v13 improved design quality 4 4.36 .716 v14 efficiencies from reuse of data or details (enter once use many) 14 4.14 .778 v15 enhanced energy efficiency and sustainability of the building 10 4.20 .839 v16 allowing increased energy analysis of the building 16 4.04 .839 v17 reduced redesign challenges during project implementation =3 4.39 .825 v18 fewer change orders at the construction stage 14 4.14 .917 v19 earlier and more accurate design visualization 2 4.46 .675 v20 generation of accurate and consistent 2d drawings at any stage 8 4.23 .675 v21 improved site analysis =20 3.82 .972 v22 improved communication between project parties 1 4.47 .718 v23 improved communication among various divisions of the same company 7 4.29 .749 v24 improved project information management =3 4.39 .634 v25 potentially improved whole life asset management 17 4.01 .840 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 18 kaiser-meyer-olkin value = .810 bartlett’s test of sphericity = 1,478.553 (p-value is 0.000) cronbach-alpha .907 variable measure benefits of bim implementation (n=137) (1= least important ….. 5= most important) rank mean std. deviation v26 enhanced management of security and safety information =20 3.82 .865 v27 improved maintenance due to building automation system 15 4.07 .763 v28 enhanced project information collaboration among stakeholders 6 4.30 .679 v29 potentially improved maintenance of the facility, due to the as-built model 13 4.16 .797 v30 enhanced work coordination with subcontractors/supply chain 10 4.20 .784 v31 allowing accurate site logistics plans 18 3.98 .870 v32 improved coordination in the construction phase 5 4.34 .701 v33 greater predictability of project time and cost =9 4.22 .846 v34 greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information =9 4.22 .694 v35 improved conflicts detection 11 4.19 .896 v36 improved human resources management 21 3.81 .912 the respondents indicated the most important benefits of applying bim in the construction industry in kenya, with mean score ratings above >4.21 as: improve communication (4.47); accurate design visualization (4.46); improve project information management (4.39); reduce redesign challenges during project implementation (4.39); improve design quality (4.36), improve coordination in the construction phase (4.34); enhance project information collaboration among stakeholders (4.30); improve communication among various divisions of the same company (4.29); generation of accurate and consistent 2d drawings at any stage (4.23); greater predictability of project time and cost (4.22), and greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information (4.22). the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at .907, indicating acceptable internal reliability as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure was .810, indicating that the data were sufficient for factor analysis. the bartlett’s test of sphericity (p=0.00) with significance of p<0.05 showed that there is some relationship between the variables. these results suggest that the data on the benefits of bim can be used for factor analysis. nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 19 4.3.1 factor analysis of building information modelling benefits the 25 benefits variables were subjected to component analysis in order to study the trend of inter-correlations between variables and to group these variables with similar characteristics into a set of reduced variables according to the hidden components in the collected data. the results report the component extraction, eigenvalues, correlation and interpretation. in figure 1, the scree plot consists of the eigenvalues and the data points above the break (point of inflexion), which are the components that are meaningful to retain. using a cut-off value of initial eigenvalues greater than one (>1.0), there were 7 components that explain a cumulative variance of 66.07%. figure 1: scree plot for factors of bim benefits the scree plot confirms the finding of retaining seven components. as a result, components from eight to twenty-five are not significant and thus not included for analysis. table 6 shows the seven components that are meaningful to retain, where component 1 explains 31.716% of the total variance; component 2, 7.344%; component 3, 6.840%; component 4, 6.058%; component 5, 5.232%; component 6, 4.474%, and component 7, 4.409%. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 20 table 6: total variance explained – extraction method: principal component analysis component initial eigenvalues total % of variance cumulative % 1 7.929 31.716 31.716 2 1.836 7.344 39.059 3 1.710 6.840 45.899 4 1.514 6.058 51.957 5 1.308 5.232 57.189 6 1.119 4.474 61.664 7 1.102 4.409 66.073 using varimax rotation method with significant factor of .04, table 7 shows the component loadings of correlation between components and variables after rotation. v12 improved management of projects milestones (0.391) was removed from the analysis, as it was not significant in the model. correlation exists between variables in components 1, 2 and 7 labelled as factor 1: comprehensive project management. correlations were identified between variables in components 3, 5 and 7 labelled as factor 2: design and building performance analyses, and correlations were identified between variables in component 4 labelled as factor 3: project data management. table 7: rotated component matrix for bim benefits variables components 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1, 2, 7 = factor 1: comprehensive project management 3, 5, 6 = factor 2: design and building performance analyses 4 = factor 3: project data management v12 improved management of projects milestones v13 improved design quality .424 .446 v14 efficiencies from reuse of data or details .673 v15 enhanced energy efficiency and sustainability .859 v16 increased energy analysis of the building .820 nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 21 variables components 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1, 2, 7 = factor 1: comprehensive project management 3, 5, 6 = factor 2: design and building performance analyses 4 = factor 3: project data management v17 reduced redesign challenges during construction .836 v18 fewer change orders during construction .824 v19 earlier and more accurate design visualization .801 v20 generation of accurate and consistent drawings .743 v21 improved site analysis .516 v22 improved communication between project parties .606 v23 improved communication within companies .763 v24 improved project information management .602 v25 potentially improved whole life asset management .655 v26 enhanced management of data (security and safety) .696 v27 improved maintenance .598 v28 enhanced collaboration of data among stakeholders .508 .468 v29 improved maintenance using as-built model .573 v30 enhanced work coordination with subcontractors .748 v31 allowing accurate site logistics plans .743 v32 improved coordination in the construction phase .695 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 22 variables components 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1, 2, 7 = factor 1: comprehensive project management 3, 5, 6 = factor 2: design and building performance analyses 4 = factor 3: project data management v33 greater predictability of project time and cost .512 .584 v34 greater productivity .721 v35 improved conflicts detection .620 v36 improved human resources management .421 .437 extraction method: principal component analysis. rotation method: varimax with kaiser normalization. in factor 1: comprehensive project management (components 1, 2 and 7), the variables that had high loading are: communication (0.763); work coordination (0.748); greater productivity (0.721), and accurate site logistics plans (0.743). studies on the benefits of implementing bim in construction projects show similarity to variables in factor 1: enhance collaboration and communication (eastman, teicholtz, sacks, & sacks, 2008); enhance design efficiency, scheduling, and documentation; reduces budget and reduced construction time (adebimpe & etiene, 2016); better communication, and efficient administration of construction projects (latiffi et al., 2013). in factor 2: design and building performance analyses (components 3, 5 and 6), the variables that scored high weights were: enhanced energy efficiency and sustainability (0. 859); reduced redesign (0.836); fewer change orders during construction (0.824), and increased energy analysis of the building (0.820). these findings are consistent with similar results obtained for bim benefits such as greater efficiency in change-order management (brown, 2015); enhance design review (shaikh et al., 2016); reduce rework during construction (matarneh & hamed, 2017b), and site analysis reduction of expenses incurred on utility and demolition (latiffi et al., 2013); energy optimization of the building (abuhamra, 2015), and building performance analyses (e.g., energy modelling) (azhar et al., 2012). in factor 3: project data management (component 4), the variables with high scores were: efficiencies from reuse of data or details (enter once use many) (0.673); improved conflicts detection (0.620); improved maintenance (0.598), and with the available building data (as-built model), bim enables easier facility management nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 23 (0.573). this finding agrees with similar studies that identified bim benefits such as bim enhances collaboration and communication among stakeholders (eastman, teicholtz, sacks & sacks, 2008); clash detection (shaikh et al., 2016), and bim allows for easier facility maintenance, due to existing building data (ahn & cha, 2014). 4.4 barriers in the implementation of building information modelling table 8 ranks the mean scores to show which of the 15 variables measuring the barriers when applying bim applications in construction are considered important by construction professionals. table 8: ranking of barriers in implementing bim kaiser-meyer-olkin value = .829 bartlett’s test of sphericity = 734.417 (p-value is 0.000) cronbach-alpha 0.856 variable measure barriers of bim application (n=146) (1 = least important …..5 = most important) rank mean std. deviation v37 high cost of buying and updating software 1 4.32 .909 v38 lack of awareness of bim by stakeholders 4 4.10 .938 v39 lack of knowledge of bim application by stakeholders =5 4.08 .903 v40 lack of awareness of benefits of bim by stakeholders 8 3.95 .985 v41 lack of government regulations to support implementation of bim 12 3.60 1.218 v42 lack of training at the university and colleges on bim application 3 4.16 1.044 v43 poor collaboration of bim information among stakeholders 7 4.01 .887 v44 resistance to adopt new technology due to change in workflow system in companies 6 4.06 .948 v45 inadequate finance in small firms to start new workflow system for bim 2 4.18 .902 v46 lack of government regulations to support implementation of bim 14 3.49 1.188 v47 lack of demand and interest from the clients on the application of bim in the design and construction of projects 13 3.55 1.192 acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 24 kaiser-meyer-olkin value = .829 bartlett’s test of sphericity = 734.417 (p-value is 0.000) cronbach-alpha 0.856 variable measure barriers of bim application (n=146) (1 = least important …..5 = most important) rank mean std. deviation v48 lack of case studies in nairobi, kenya that have implemented bim and realised positive investment returns 11 3.65 1.124 v49 lack of training for architects and engineers, due to costly training requirements in terms of time and money =5 4.08 .851 v50 uncertainties over interoperability of bim software with other software 10 3.68 .995 v51 lack of bim standards 9 3.75 1.062 the respondents indicated the most important barrier when implementing bim in the construction industry in kenya, with mean score ratings above (>4.21) as high cost of buying and updating software (4.32), and important barriers as inadequate finance to start new workflow system for bim (4.18); lack of training at the university and colleges on bim application (4.16); lack of awareness of bim by stakeholders (4.10); lack of knowledge of bim application by stakeholders (4.08); lack of training for architects and engineers due to costly training requirements in terms of time and money (4.08); resistance to adopt new technology, due to change in workflow system in companies (4.06), and poor collaboration of bim information among stakeholders (4.01). the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.856, indicating acceptable internal reliability as recommended by hair et al. (2006: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure was 0.829, indicating that the data were sufficient for factor analysis. the bartlett’s test of sphericity (p=0.00) with significance of p<0.05 showed that there is some relationship between the variables. these results suggest that the data on the barriers of implementing bim can be used for factor analysis. 4.4.1 factor analysis of building information modelling implementation barriers fifteen variables on bim implementation barriers were subjected to component analysis to study the trend of intercorrelations between variables and to group these variables with similar characteristics into a set of reduced variables according to the hidden components in nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 25 the collected data. the results report the component extraction, eigenvalues, correlation, and interpretation. in figure 2, the scree plot consists of the eigenvalues and the data points above the break (point of inflection), which are the components that are meaningful to retain. using a cut-off value of initial eigenvalues greater than one (>1.0), three components explain a cumulative variance of 53.16%. figure 2: scree plot for factors for bim application barriers the scree plot confirms the finding of retaining three components. as a result, components from four up to fifteen are not significant and thus not included for analysis. table 9 shows the three components that are meaningful to retain, where component 1 explains 34.695% of the total variance; component 2 explains 9.386%, and component three explains 9.088% of the variance. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 26 table 9: total variance explained: extraction method (principal component analysis) component initial eigenvalues total % of variance cumulative % 1 5.204 34.695 34.695 2 1.408 9.386 44.081 3 1.363 9.088 53.169 using varimax rotation method with significant factor of .04, table 10 shows the component loadings of correlation between components and variables after rotation. correlation exists between variables in component 1 labelled as factor 1: high cost of buying software and lack of training. correlations were identified between variables in components 2 labelled as factor 2: lack of bim standards and regulations, and correlations were identified between variables in component 3 labelled as factor 3: lack of bim awareness and inadequate finance. table 10: rotated component matrixa for bim application barriers variables components 1 2 3 factor 1: high cost of buying software and lack of training factor 2: lack of bim standards and regulations factor 3: lack of bim awareness and inadequate finance v37 high cost of buying and updating software .606 v38 lack of awareness of bim by stakeholders .648 v39 lack of knowledge of bim application by stakeholders .793 v40 lack of awareness of benefits of bim by stakeholders .545 v41 lack of government regulations to support implementation of bim .876 v42 lack of training at the university and colleges on bim application .504 v43 poor collaboration of bim information among stakeholders .604 nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 27 variables components 1 2 3 factor 1: high cost of buying software and lack of training factor 2: lack of bim standards and regulations factor 3: lack of bim awareness and inadequate finance v44 resistance to adopt new technology, due to change in workflow system within companies .674 v45 inadequate finance in small firms to start new workflow system for bim .689 v46 lack of government regulations to support implementation of bim .861 v47 lack of demand and interest from the clients on the application of bim in the design and construction of projects .546 v48 lack of case studies in nairobi, kenya that have implemented bim and realised positive investment returns .489 .464 v49 lack of training for architects and engineers, due to costly training requirements in terms of time and money .615 v50 uncertainties over interoperability of bim software with other software .631 v51 lack of bim standards .454 extraction method: principal component analysis rotation method: varimax with kaiser normalization a. rotation converged in 4 iterations. in factor 1: high cost of buying software and lack of training (component 1), the variables that had high loading were inadequate finance in small firms to start new workflow system for bim (0.689); resistance to adopt new technology, due to change in workflow system within companies (0.674); uncertainties over interoperability of bim software with other software (0. 631), and lack of training for architects and engineers, due to costly training requirements in terms of time and money (0. 615). studies on the barriers of implementing bim in construction projects show similarity to variables in factor 1: lack of awareness about bim resulting in professionals comparing acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 28 bim to cad (gerges et al., 2017); high costs (software, hardware upgrade, training, and time) (shaikh et al., 2016), and the majority of service providers are not actively using bim technologies on their projects due to increased costs (eastman et al., 2008). in factor 2: lack of bim standards and regulations (component 2), the variables that scored high weights were lack of government regulations to support implementation of bim (0.861), and lack of government regulations to support implementation of bim (0.861). these findings concur with results obtained from similar studies such as lack of standards and codes for bim application (chan, 2014), and absence of government support (matarneh & hamed, 2017b). in their study, matarneh & hamed (2017a) recommend that governments should set standards and codes for bim industry at both the hierarchical and undertaking store network level. in factor 3: lack of bim awareness and inadequate finance (component 3), the variables with high scores were lack of knowledge of bim application by stakeholders (0.793); lack of awareness of bim by stakeholders (0.648), and high cost of buying and updating software (0.606). these findings concur with results from other studies on bim awareness. abuhamra (2015) and shaikh (2016) confirm that the level of bim awareness is low among the construction professionals in gaza strip and mumbai (india), respectively. balah and akut (2015) state that only 30% of stakeholders in nigeria were knowledgeable of bim, with only 7% of the respondents having a proper understanding of the concept of bim. these findings confirm that the level of bim awareness is still very low in the nigerian construction industry. 4.5 inferential analysis the main objective of this analysis was to establish the degree of association between the number of years and the number of projects undertaken by aec professions and some of the application of bim technology by constructing two hypotheses (null and alternative). the hypotheses will be stated as follows: • null hypothesis h0: there is no association between the two statements. • alternative hypothesis h1: there exists at least some significant association. for purposes of this article, only the pairs of variables with asymptotic significance (2-sided) (p-values) below 0.100 (p < 0.100) were considered, because it shows that the null hypothesis is rejected and that the association between two variables is statistically significant. nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 29 all pairs of variables with p-values above 0.100 were not considered and thus not included for analysis in this article. the chi-square test found an association between the number of projects undertaken and greater productivity (table 11). an association between the number of years of experience and improved design quality was also observed (table 12). 4.5.1 the number of projects undertaken versus greater productivity figure 3 illustrates the cross-tabulation percentages of the number of projects undertaken using bim and greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information. the proportion of professionals from all the project groups who perceived the use of bim in projects as important was 52.44%, whereas the proportion of project groups who perceived the use of bim in projects as unimportant was only 9.76%. the difference in proportions is significant, χ²(9, n = 164) = 21.04, p = .012 (p < 0.100). figure 3: projects undertaken using bim versus greater productivity acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 30 table 11 shows the calculated results of the chi-square test of independence comparing the frequency of number of projects undertaken by a company using bim in achieving greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information. the chi-square test found an association between the number of projects undertaken and greater productivity, χ2(9, n = 164) = 21.046, p = .012 (p < 0.100). the observed p-value (0.012) is far less than the level of significance (0.100) and thus the number of projects undertaken by a company using bim in any capacity has an influence on greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information. table 11: projects undertaken using bim versus greater productivity. chi-square test value df asymptotic significance pearson chi-square 21.046a 9 .012 likelihood ratio 15.565 9 .077 linear-by-linear association .295 1 .587 n of valid cases 164 a.8 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. the minimum expected count is .09 4.5.2 number of years of experience versus improved design quality figure 4 illustrates the cross-tabulation percentages of the number of years of experience in the construction industry and improved design quality. the proportion of professionals from all the years of experience groups who perceived improved design quality as important was 44.57%, whereas the proportion of all the years of experience groups who perceived improved design quality as unimportant was only 5.41%. the difference in proportions is significant, χ2(16, n = 166) = 28.380, p =.028 (p < 0.100) table 12 shows the calculated results of the chi-square test of independence comparing the frequency of years of experience in the construction industry in achieving improved design quality. the chi-square test found an association between the number of years of experience and design quality, χ2(16, n = 166) = 28.380, p =.028 (p < 0.100). the observed p-value (0.0208) is far less than the level of significance (0.100) and thus the null hypothesis is rejected in favour of the alternative hypothesis. based on the results of the study, improved design quality is influenced by the number of years of experience one has in the building construction industry. nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 31 figure 4: years of experience versus improved design quality table 12: years of experience versus improved design quality chi-square tests value df asymptotic significance pearson chi-square 28.380a 16 .028 likelihood ratio 25.782 16 .057 linear-by-linear association .824 1 .364 n of valid cases 166 a.8 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. the minimum expected count is .09. 5. conclusions and recommendations the study established that the current status of bim application among professionals in the kenyan construction industry is still lagging. based on the results obtained, the vast majority (90.5%) of the respondents agree that construction industry stakeholders are not yet clear about acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 32 the role of bim in project management. this finding indicates that bim is still a very new concept in the kenyan construction industry. most of the benefits of bim application were rated as highly important, with a weighted average score higher than 4.0 (80.0%). among all indicators, improved communication between project parties with a mean of 4.47 (89.4%) had the highest rating and hence, was regarded as the most important indicator. correlation of bim benefit variables using factor analysis identified factors 1, 2 and 7 as ‘comprehensive project management’, factors 3, 5, and 6 as ‘design and building performance analyses’, and factor 4 as ‘project data management’. the majority of the bim application barriers were rated as highly important, with a weighted average score higher than 4.0 (80%). among all indicators, the high cost of buying and updating software with a mean of 4.32 (86.4%) had the highest rating and hence, the most important indicator. correlation of bim application barrier variables using factor analysis identified factor 1 as ‘high cost of buying software and lack of training”’, factor 2 as ‘lack of bim standards and regulations’, and factor 3 as ‘lack of bim awareness and inadequate finances’. based on inferential analysis, the results indicate that the number of projects undertaken using bim has a considerable influence on greater productivity, due to easy retrieval of information. in addition, improved design quality is influenced by the number of years of experience one has in the building construction industry. it is recommended that construction firms explore available subscriptions for bim products that allow a more flexible way to purchase the software through affordable instalments (monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription fee). tertiary institutions and small firms should also sign up for free versions of bim software. in addition, bim training by software vendors should be undertaken in vocational and tertiary institutions as well as construction firms. the government should also formulate policies, bim standards and regulations to support bim implementation by introducing state incentives such as tax credit for clients, professionals and contractors using bim in their projects. this will enhance the application of bim in the kenyan construction industry. nasila & cloete • adoption of building information ... 33 references abuhamra, l.a.a. 2015. an investigation into building information modeling (bim) application in architecture, engineering and construction (aec) industry in gaza strip, gaza: islamic university of gaza. 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peer review abstract project management has become a popular topic in the construction industry throughout the world. botswana is no exception and many developers are now insisting that project managers should also be in charge of their development projects. however, as project managers charge a considerable fee for some of the services that were historically handled by architects, some industry role players have expressed their doubts whether project managers are in fact worthwhile. project managers claim to do all these services better and faster than the traditional architect but it could be asked whether their involvement generated any tangible benefits to the construction industry to justify their added cost to a building project. the main aim of this article is to answer this question. a quantitative survey was conducted by means of a structured questionnaire involving various role players in the botswana construction industry. the results were interpreted and the authors would like to present their positive findings that project management is indeed a benefit to the construction industry in botswana. keywords: botswana, construction industry, project management abstrak projekbestuur is ’n gewilde onderwerp orals ter wêreld, veral in die konstruksiebedryf. botswana het nie die tendens vrygespring nie en derhalwe is daar ook baie ontwikkelaars wat daarop aandring dat projekbestuurders in beheer staan van hulle ontwikkelingsprojekte. daar is egter heelwat skeptici wat wonder of projekbestuur die moeite werd is veral as daar in ag geneem word dat die projekbestuurder aansienlike fooie vir sy dienste vra, ’n fooi wat tradisioneel in elk geval deur die ontwikkelaar aan die argitek betaal is vir dienste soos kontrakadministrasie, konstruksietoesig en spanleiding. hierdie artikel poog om vas te stel of die projekbestuurprofessie werklik enige konkrete verbeterings in die konstruksiebedryf in botswana teweeggebring het. ’n kwantitatiewe opname is gedoen deur vraelyste te stuur na verskeie rolspelers terryson k. himayumbula department of construction economics university of pretoria pretoria south africa 0002. phone: 00 267 71413711 email: <lterryk@yahoo.com> hendrik f. prinsloo department of construction economics university of pretoria pretoria south africa 0002. phone: +27 12 420 2584 fax: +27 12 420 3598 email: <hendrik.prinsloo@up.ac.za> acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 26 in die botswana konstruksiebedryf. die resultate is geïnterpreteer en die skrywers van hierdie artikel wil graag hul positiewe bevinding dat projekbestuur wel ’n positiewe uitwerking in die konstruksiebedryf in botswana het, aanbied. sleutelwoorde: botswana, konstruksie-industrie, projekbestuur 1. introduction since the dawn of construction the architect has played a leading role in the design and construction of buildings. finsen (2006: 38) confirms that “traditionally the architect managed the building project and controlled all aspects of its design and construction and in the vast majority of buildings today he still does so.” finsen (1999: 48) defines an architect as “a person who designs buildings and superintends their erection.” the advent of project management as a profession in the construction industry has changed this order across the globe. it is now commonplace that the developer would rather engage a project manager who, in turn, hires the rest of the construction professionals to execute the technical aspect of the project than engage an architect to be the project leader or manager, as has traditionally been the case. the project manager is the person responsible for the management of projects within the built environment from conception to completion, including management of related professional services (sacpcmp, 2006: 3). project managers have become very important because of the complexity of the development projects. in the early days of construction when projects were few, smaller and less complex, they could more easily be handled by architects or engineers. today, on a multi-million rand (pula) project, dr. tondolo (2007: personal interview) is quoted as saying “you cannot reasonably expect an architect to design and then manage the project to completion within time and within budget and to the required quality.” the reason for this statement is that most large construction projects would follow a fast track construction process. dr. tondolo further states that “it becomes quite essential that someone trained as a project manager takes over the leadership and hence the coordination of work. in that situation, project management can be used for saving money and time while improving on quality.” himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 27 according to finsen (2006: 38), “the project manager originated in undertakings involving numerous highly specialised professional disciplines and activities in complex projects such as nuclear power stations, chemical processing plants, etc.” a summary of reasons for the development of project management as listed by kaumba (2004: 28) includes, among others, the following: • resolving problems more quickly. • resolving future risk before problems arise. • improved communication. • the overrun of the construction period when architects/ engineers have been managing the projects. • the overrun of the construction budgets. • the compromised quality when in pursuit of either time or cost. • the complexity of development projects. • the requirement and demand that building projects be finished faster than ever before. • the high demand for a quick return on investment. based on the reasons given above, kaumba (2004: 29) states that it can be said that “professional project managers are very useful and helpful to catch the flying ‘fleeing’ time and hold down the escalating costs without quality compromises that disadvantage the developer.” the question of the benefits of project management arises from the fact that project managers charge a fee for their services. the question then is, “is the cost benefit trade off to pay an additional fee for a project manager to ensure the project is completed on time and within budget worthwhile for the developer?” as mentioned by basson (2007: 7) that matter becomes complicated when considering architects’ claim that the main cause of cost and time overruns is changes in scope. these changes are called for by the developer in nearly all projects. many architects claim that if developers made no changes after the approval of the final design, the projects could be finalised on time and within budget. as deduced from discussions by this researcher, some architects argue that when project managers join a project from an early stage, the developer’s freedom to make alterations is greatly limited. whenever the client wants to introduce scope changes, the project manager will object and argue a case against the changes to try and keep time and cost increases in check. architects then acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 28 ask whether this is a positive action worth paying for or is it ultimately a loss on the part of the developer who may fail to get what s/he wanted. it is also argued that in cases where the project manager has allowed changes, the budget had to be revised and the time extended in any case. it can then be asked what the difference is between this and the architects’ approach? on the other hand, project managers have argued that if scope change should be introduced, it should be a scenario where if the proposed changes are not affected, the loss will exceed the gain. with that in mind, project managers insist that the ‘developer’ must have his brief in order before the work starts and the design by the consultants must be as clear as possible so that they need not change anything when work commences. according to basson (2007: 10), project managers maintain that this is where they are needed most – at the development stage of the project. if project scope development is done with their full input, their consultancy fee should be a worthwhile investment for the developer. when asked to comment on the fees charged by project managers in comparison to the acclaimed savings, dr. tondolo (2007: personal interview) suggested that, given the complexity of projects and the inadequacy in the training of architects for project management, the professionally trained project managers are worth their fees. however, tondolo added that “if architectural firms could specifically employ architects specialising in project management and site supervision, experience over time would make such firms and persons more useful than a qualified project manager who may not have enough background knowledge of construction development.” he also indicated that because of such a lack of background knowledge, project managers often adhere to time and budget to the detriment of the project in the long run by omitting things that will cause serious maintenance problems. such action will in coming years outweigh any current acclaimed savings. this article does not aim to discredit project management but rather to ascertain whether or not project management as developed in western countries is being used optimally in botswana. wheatley (2006: 28), quoting stephen clark of east thames london uk, states: “project managers … would typically simultaneously manage between one and one and a half construction projects each”, any more than that he says, “it becomes complicated to keep track of multiple projects.” himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 29 at their office in london, stephen clark indicates that with the development of management software at best each project manager can only handle up to 3 projects at a time. suffice it to say, carl pritchard, quoted by wheatley (2006: 28), mentioned that “people are at their most efficient when they are focused. […] it is a simple fact that someone spending a quarter of their time on each of the four projects won’t be as efficient as someone focusing on one project.” 1.1 problem statement construction projects have in general been headed or coordinated by the architect or engineer depending on the type of project. the architect in previous building contracts was the lead consultant or principal agent. currently, project managers are taking on the role of coordinating the construction professional consultants. in the construction hierarchy chart, the architect is now slotted underneath this ‘new person’ who has claimed that his/her involvement is critical for the ultimate benefit of the client. the purpose of this article is to determine whether this ‘new’ position has really benefited the client as it is claimed, given the fact that the project manager him/herself claims payment for his/her services from the client in addition to the fees the client has been paying the consultants when led by an architect. in short, this article addresses the following problem: “have project managers benefited the client in botswana’s construction industry or not?” the answer will be found by examining savings in terms of time and cost that have been effected by the project manager when taking over project leadership from the architect. the following questions will also be investigated: • what value in terms of meeting that project’s objectives is added by the appointment of a project manager? • how can project management provide an improved service to the botswana construction industry? • the study was based on the following hypotheses: • project management has been of great benefit to the construction industry in botswana since it has saved considerably in cost and time overruns. • much can still be done for project management to deliver the best possible results and convince developers that it is an indispensable aspect of modern-day construction acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 30 development irrespective of whether the project is complex or simple. the involvement of project managers is critical to monitor scope changes that cause time and cost overruns. 2. literature review due to the fact that project management is new to botswana, little has been documented regarding their performance in either the public or private sectors of the construction industry in botswana. the available reference literature was mainly from past treatises written on topics in the same field such as the effects of delayed project completion and the different training curricula of architects, quantity surveyors and engineers as project managers versus the training curriculum of persons studying project management as a profession. other resources included literature written from the perspective of the south african, british, american and a few other developed countries’ construction industries, where project management has already been practised for a considerable time. another noteworthy aspect regarding training is that the majority of the project management courses in southern africa are more inclined towards the information technology and engineering fields than to the building construction industry as was the emphasis of this study. adlowa (2002: 17) alluded to the fact that many government construction projects have failed. as the cost of materials increases and the project is delayed even further, inflation also needs to be taken into consideration. these are generally signs of poor project management. a good project manager looks at a project more holistically including all aspects of the project management body of knowledge. morris & pinto (2007: 247) indicate that when aspects such as procurement are not managed, a project manager will be managing “... 50% of less of the project as a whole.” this could be a major reason why many projects in the botswana construction industry are subject to delays. these less qualified project managers do not know the number of issues that must be project managed or that constitute components critical for success. the authors believe that as more qualified project managers are appointed to represent the developer, and as more project managers are employed by contractors to coordinate their internal affairs, a great deal will be achieved to improve the situation. morris & pinto (2007: 198) also state that “organisations achieve superior himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 31 project performance through effective technological knowledge available to them.” this is where the knowledge of qualified project managers plays a vital role. based on the information provided during various structured interviews, it became evident that botswana is realising the need for strong project management throughout its different departments. to that effect, the university of botswana is developing an advanced course in project management and procurement methods. this is done in collaboration with professor dean kashiwagi, phd pe, director of the performance-based studies research group at arizona state university (asu). at present (2008-2009), institutions such as the bank of botswana (bob), the us embassy in botswana, the university of botswana it groups, the botswana department of buildings and engineering services (dbes) and the botswana development cooperation (bdc) are training personnel to use the new project management and procurement model. kashiwagi (2008: online) mentioned that there is a “tremendous interest in the changing paradigm of project delivery from reactive to more proactive.” although it is generally recognised that project managers are needed and important, government departments such as the department of building and engineering services (dbes) do not yet have professional provisions for such positions, and the industry in general does not know where to place or fit in the project manager, and his/her fees are not yet provided for in the standard approved department of building and engineering services’ fee structure. as a result, project managers interpolate their professional fees from other consultants’ agreed standard fees. another important source of information was the responses to the questionnaires. these were sent out to members of the construction industry, including architects, quantity surveyors, project managers and engineers. the questionnaires included various issues from cost, quality and time management to leadership, coordination and communication skills of the architect and project manager. 2.1 the construction industry in botswana the construction industry in botswana is considered important and has an impact on the overall performance of the economy. for this reason the government has tried many different schemes and acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 32 strategies aimed at helping the industry grow. the government has also implemented many schemes in particular to help the local enterprises to improve their companies. adlowa (2002: 24-30) listed the following initiatives developed to help the local contractors: • the 1995 presidential directive to bail out failing contractors on a ‘case by case’ basis (cab 37/85). • the 50-million pula bail out fund for citizen contractors of 1998. • the 30% reservation policy on projects over p1.8 million for local contractors. • the 100% reservation for all projects below p1.8 million. • the price preference during tendering. • the waiving of performance bonds. unfortunately, despite these good intentions, the government has not yet realised the best results. adlowa (2002: 17), quoting radujkovic, states “that only 16% of building construction projects were regarded as successfully completed.” simply too many projects have failed, many more are greatly delayed, and budgets have escalated by 100%. there are many other such problems. burgess & white (1979: 19) list the following among the many problems causing poor project delivery: • inefficient site management. • bad planning and programming. • poor site management support systems. • poor interpretation of specified quality requirements. both the findings in this article and the writers’ general experience in the botswana construction industry show that the general tendency to delay projects occurs from the smallest to the largest projects. however, the economic impact is felt much more on bigger projects rather than on smaller ones. in general, the problem could be that the smaller contractors, even with poor performances, are upgraded to a higher grading once they finish a few projects. aspects such as whether or not they finished those projects in time and within budget are not taken into account. no assessment is done regarding the difficulties encountered during the projects in order to determine the justification of upgrading the contractor to the next level. himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 33 2.2 the role of the architect in the construction team according to finsen (2006: 38), the architect has traditionally been looked upon as the project manager, which means that he must ensure that all the coordination is done while simultaneously designing the building and inspecting the work of other team members for compliance with his design. the issues of budget, scheduling and quality-control are also the responsibility of the architect’s office. this has generally led to the architects’ claiming the title of project manager. muchengwa (2006: 12-15) shows that this leads to many delays and project cost overruns and often to compromised quality. however, muchengwa (2006: 14) observes that projects led by architects were completed to a higher quality simply because their background in construction allows them to work more closely with the contractor to achieve quality workmanship. the architect knows and can easily see quality work, s/he is more inclined to forego money and time if s/he can convince the client or developer that quality must be achieved at any cost. smith (2008: personal interview) mentions that “the pain of poor quality you will live with for the rest of the building’s life, while the cost of quality will be forgotten soon after you start enjoying the returns of a quality building.” 2.3 the role of the project manager abrahamse (2002: 9) defines the project manager as an individual with characteristics such as: • broad knowledge and experience in his/her profession. • design and solution orientation. • ability to evaluate against a given broad background. • overall sight over such items as time, cost, quality, contractual requirements, stakeholder involvement, early warning signs, noting and acting, total project control. • good human relations. • ability to manage across disciplines. • more behavioural rather than quantitative orientation. • command respect because of seniority, experience and knowledge. • right attitude, view and open-mindedness with sufficient flexibility and gentleness but decisive and firm. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 34 the question concerning the role of the project manager has been raised many times. the general answer is that a project manager’s role is to deliver a project on time, to the required quality and within the given budget. taking the above into account, the project manager is supposed to be the controlling power. s/he must control the developer’s expectations so that the developer does not expect the impossible. s/he must also control the progress of work by the consultants so that the constraints are met. overall, s/he must control the scope so that time, cost and quality are achieved in the best possible way. kerzner (2006: 4) defines project management as “the planning organising, directing, and controlling of company resources for a relative short-term objective that has been established to complete specific goals and objectives.” a project manager is often a client representative who must determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. the ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party and to form close links with the nominated representatives is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realised. the project manager simply has to harness a team to work with him/her in order to achieve that. leadership, communication and motivation skills are very important character traits. theoretically, the project manager should lead a team to a welldelivered project and thereby indicate how important and perhaps indispensable the project manager is in any developmental project. 3. research methodology valuable information was obtained from the interviews and questionnaire survey. much learning was deduced from the interviews and industry survey. however, as stated previously, not much has been written directly or indirectly on the architects’ and project managers’ performances on construction projects in botswana. in analysing the projects, the following will be considered in each case: • the initial project duration. • the final project duration. himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 35 • the initial cost estimate. • the final account. this study was based on the assumption that project management is benefiting the botswana construction industry. this position was taken in view of the fact that many success stories have been written about project management in other parts of the world and in other sectors such as information technology. therefore, if it has performed well in so many places, why should it not also benefit the construction industry in botswana? a non-experimental quantitative research method, as explained by leedy & ormrod (2001: 101), was used. this qualitative study was also used to generate new and different ideas from the target population. the subsequent quantitative method of data gathering used the design, pre-testing and administration of a structured questionnaire. the target group included architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, construction managers and project managers based in gaborone and francistown, botswana’s two largest urban centres. the purpose of choosing these two cities was because 90% of the consulting firms are based in the two cities and in general only run small branch offices in towns such as maun, ghanzi, serowe, selebi phikwe and a few smaller ones. the data was collected by issuing 45 questionnaires and conducting eight semi-structured interviews. one third of the questionnaires was issued to architects, a third to project managers and a third to other professionals in the construction industry. the response was fairly good with 65% of the questionnaires being completed and returned. this is adequate for the analysis from the questionnaires to give a valid reflection of the prevailing situation. the one-on-one interviews were split as follows: two each with architects, project managers, engineers and quantity surveyors. these interviews supported the findings from the questionnaires and brought new dimensions that could be helpful in improving the project manager’s performance. 4. analysis and evaluation of research data the questionnaires were distributed by email and by hand. the completed questionnaires were either collected by hand or received by fax, email, or post. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 36 65% of the questionnaires were fully answered and returned. of the remaining 35%, some were either partially filled in or never returned, while a few telephonic responses and/or discussions were also received. 4.1 summary of results for ease of analysis and detailed comparison, the projects were divided into the following three categories: • projects below pula 100 million. • projects between pula 101 million and pula 200 million, and • projects above pula 200 million. generally, the responses showed that there were increases in the project time and cost from the initial tenders to the final project duration and final budget account. the purpose of this article is not to determine the exact causes of this increase. it was simply assumed that they were due to scope changes or scope creep. this assumption was based on the fact that neither would have occurred if planning was thorough right from the inception of the project and several gate points had been utilised along the design development process. it was also assumed that the increase was irrespective of whether the team leader was an architect or a project manager. the time analysis was divided into pre-contract design and tender documentation and post-contract construction period. the overall time taken for the pre-construction contract documentation was not convincingly shortened by the project manager although there was improvement where the project manager had been involved. the responses also show that there is no clear differentiation of roles between the architect and the project manager. it appears that some respondents (as well as one or two project managers) did not know what the project managers’ roles entailed. the most predominant opinion from the face-to-face interviews was that the architect is better at leading and coordinating construction consultant teams and coordinating construction projects. responses from the questionnaires, on the other hand, reflected the opinion that project managers were better coordinators. it should be noted that the responses came from both the architects and the project managers in equal proportion. the decisive responses were received from quantity surveyors and other professionals in the construction industry who had been allocated one third of the questionnaires. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 40 respondents opposed to project management gave the following reasons: • the long process of engaging them into the construction process. • the extra professional fees the developers have to pay over and above what they paid the architect for doing both design and coordination work. • the majority of them do not have a clear understanding of how to coordinate drawings, and they have limited understanding of design issues. • they do not resolve problems but rather simply pass on a problem from one consultant to the next and/or from the contractor to the consultant. in the process, the communication is delayed and or diluted. neither the client nor the contractor gets first-hand information. • clarity of information then depends on the competency of the individual project manager. • their overall role is unclear and there is general confusion concerning the architect’s role. • they compromise on quality as they override the architect when s/he insists on quality delivery. they want to save time and money but often ignore quality. 5. conclusions and recommendations this article focused on establishing whether or not project managers are benefiting the construction industry in botswana. the problem of project cost escalations are clearly a cause for concern in both government and the private sector. although there is no institution yet that recognises or governs project managers in botswana, such as for engineers, quantity surveyors and architects, there is an increasing call for more project managers’ participation in the industry. it should be noted that the involvement of project managers is a fairly recent activity, and the conclusions in this article may thus change over time as the field gains more ground and is better understood. this change may be either positive or negative. as is evident from the statistical analysis, the differences in each category were not significant. himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 41 5.1 conclusions it can be concluded from the discussion that project management is having an impact on the construction industry in botswana. the positive impact is measured in the range of 1% in cost savings, 2% in time savings, while 2% of the correspondents were of the opinion that project managers provided better coordination and effective communication. these low percentages do not justify the drawing of a strong conclusion but it goes a long way in showing that project management has already gained a foothold in the market and may be here to stay. as the profession reaches maturity these figures could be expected to change, probably in favour of the project manager. the fact that the government of botswana through the public procurement and asset disposal board (ppadb) and the department of buildings and engineering services (dbes) is consistently asking for the involvement of project managers is also a good sign that will make this discipline an industrial necessity. however, a major identified problem is the fact that there is no governing body in botswana that actively promotes project management and regulates its ethical conduct. this allows unqualified individuals to call themselves project managers who then fail to deliver and thereby tarnish the good image of project management. the hypotheses upon which this study was based have been validated. it can be stated that project management has indeed benefited the construction industry in botswana, albeit on a very small scale. 5.2 recommendations this article would like to make the following recommendations: • a repeat of this study in a few years’ time to show whether any improvements have been made as the awareness and use of project managers increase. • government should engage more project managers in projects but should check that they are academically qualified and have the necessary experience. • experience should also be seriously considered when allocating jobs. those with fewer years should learn from smaller projects, and so forth. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 42 • the architect’s role and that of the project manager should be clearly defined to avoid confusion that can lead to project delays. • the remuneration should also be related to the input. it must be standardised like the architects’ professional fees. references abrahamse, d.r. 2002. the potential role of project management in category b municipalities. unpublished m.sc. project management treatise. pretoria: university of pretoria, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology. adlowa, m. 2002. developing of small building contractors in botswana: a critical evaluation. unpublished m.sc. project management treatise. pretoria: university of pretoria, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology. basson, g. 2007. project management, (pjb 801), lecture notes. pretoria: university of pretoria, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology, burgess, r.a. & white, g. 1979. building construction and project management. new york: longman inc. finsen, e. 1999. the building contract. a commentary on the jbcc agreements. cape town: juta. finsen, e. 2006. the building contract. a commentary on the jbcc agreements. 2nd ed. cape town: juta. kaumba, j. 2004. principals for the formulation of policy framework to regulate the project management profession in botswana. unpublished masters treatise. pretoria: university of pretoria, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology. kashiwagi, d. 2008. project management update form botswana, pm forum breaking news. [online]. available from: <http://www. pmforum.org/blogs/news/2008/11/project-management-updatefrom-botswana.html> [accessed: 7 january 2009]. kerzner, h. 2006. project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling. 9th ed. usa, hoboken: john wiley & sons. himayumbula & prinsloo • is project management a benefit to the botswana construction industry? 43 leedy, p.d. & ormrod, j.e. 2001. practical research: planning and design. 7th ed. upper saddle river, new jersey: merrill prentice hall. muchengwa, s.m. 2006. the competencies of architects as project managers. a case of botswana. unpublished m.sc project management treatise. pretoria: university of pretoria, department of construction economics, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology. morris, p.g.w. & pinto, j.k. 2007. the wiley guide to project technology, supply chain, and procurement management. usa, hoboken: john wiley and sons. sacpcmp (south african council for the project and construction management professions). 2006. construction project manager: identification of work and scope of services for construction project managers registered in terms of the project and construction management professions act no. 48 of 2000. south africa: sacpcmp. smith, n. 2008. (principal partner and director for nuttal smith architects). personal communication on the benefits of project managers to the botswana construction industry. francistown, botswana. tondolo. m. 2007. (principal partner and director for tondolo and associates). personal communication on the benefits of project managers to the construction industry. randburg, south africa. wheatley, m. 2006. do more with less. with smart enterprise resource planning, organizations can manage an entire mix of projects. pm network, 20(3), p. 28, march. 85 how to cite: vosloo, p. & young, g. 2020. isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the relationship between commemoration, meaning and landscape design in post-apartheid south africa. acta structilia, 27(1), pp. 85-118. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as graham young graham a. young, (senior lecturer retired), department of architecture, university of pretoria, south africa. phone: 0824621491, e-mail: <grahamyounglandarch@ gmail.com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5052-7877 piet vosloo emeritus prof. piet vosloo, department of architecture, university of pretoria, south africa. phone: 0823744497, e-mail: <piet@kwpcreate.com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-8639-1254 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 85-118 isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the relationship between commemoration, meaning and landscape design in post-apartheid south africa peer reviewed and revised march 2020 published june 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract at the dawn of democracy in 1994, the nation was seeking a new identity and for many south africans it was to be an identity based on their african culture and tradition. politicians were seeking ways to commemorate those who had lost their lives in conflicts leading up to the first democratic elections when the african national congress (anc) came into power. in attempting to achieve this, the department of arts and culture initiated several legacy and heritage projects, including the isivivane, a memorial place at freedom park in the city of tshwane. this article determines the effectiveness of landscape design in communicating the intent and meaning of commemorative places in a multicultural postapartheid society. in this article, the isivivane is presented as a case study and the research survey has been used to gauge the visitors’ experience and perception of the isivivane. based on the results of a quantitative questionnaire, underpinned by theories rooted in phenomenological interpretation review articles • oorsigartikels http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:grahamyounglandarch@gmail.com mailto:grahamyounglandarch@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5052-7877 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5052-7877 mailto:piet@kwpcreate.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8639-1254 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8639-1254 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.4 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 86 and landscape narrative, the article confirms that peoples’ experience and perception of the isivivane are influenced by its design and that its landscape features are significant in evoking a response that enabled visitors to identify with the place and assign individual and collective meaning to it. the argument is supported by current theories of commemoration and meaning derived through landscape design. the implications of the study are useful and can potentially open doors for further studies that delve deeper into an understanding of the contribution that landscape design makes in the conceptualisation of commemorative places in a pluralistic and politically charged south africa. keywords: landscape design, memorials, commemoration, freedom park, postapartheid south africa, isivivane abstrak met die aanvang van demokrasie in 1994, het die volk gestreef na ’n nuwe identiteit en vir baie moes dit ’n identiteit wees gebaseer op hul afrika-kultuur en -tradisies. politici het ook maniere gesoek om die te herdenk wat hul lewens tydens konflikte in die aanloop tot die eerste demokratiese verkiesings, waarna die anc aan bewind gekom het, verloor het. in die strewe om dit te bereik, het die departement van kuns en kultuur verskeie nalatenskapen erfenisprojekte geïnisieer, insluitend die isivivane, ’n gedenkteken by freedom park in die stad tshwane. die doel van hierdie artikel is om die effektiwiteit van landskapontwerp te bepaal om die bedoeling en betekenis van sulke herdenkingsplekke in ’n multikulturele, post-apartheid suid-afrikaanse samelewing oor te dra. in die artikel word die isivivane aangebied as ’n gevallestudie en ’n empiriese data-opname is gebruik om die besoekers se ervarings en persepsies van isivivane te bepaal. gebaseer op die bevindings van die studie bestaande uit ’n kwantitatiewe vraelys, ondersteun deur teorieë gewortel in fenomenologiese vertolking en landskapnarratiewe, bevestig die artikel dat mense se ervaring en persepsie van die isivivane beïnvloed word deur die ontwerp en kenmerke van die landskap en dat laasgenoemde betekenisvol is by die ontlokking van ’n reaksie wat besoekers met die plek laat identifiseer en individuele en kollektiewe betekenis daaraan laat toeken. die argument word ondersteun deur huidige teorieë oor herdenking en betekenis wat afgelei kan word deur landskapontwerp. die implikasies van die studie is nuttig en kan moontlik deure oopmaak vir verdere studies wat dieper delf in ’n begrip van die bydrae wat landskapontwerp lewer in die konseptualisering van herdenkingsplekke in ’n pluralistiese en politiesgelaaide suid-afrika. sleutelwoorde: landskapontwerp, gedenktekens, herdenking, freedom park, postapartheid suid-afrika, isivivane 1. introduction prior to 1994, in the vast majority of south african landscape designs, the value and meaning of public places had been seriously neglected and had no meaning for most of the population. however, post-1994, the nation was in flux (barnard & young, 2009: 6), and the value of public space was debated as to its function, meaning, and relevance in south africa. this led to “the awareness that public projects were vitally important and could be employed in the service of engendering forms of national identity, resulting in politically motivated legacy projects” (barnard & young, 2009: 6). the designed public landscapes and the commissions that followed began to take on a significant role in attempting to be socially, culturally and young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 87 environmentally responsive. some of these places such as new provincial legislature buildings and their landscapes were intended to become icons of cultural expression in the new south africa. “slowly, the scene was set in the years after 1994, for the role of landscape architecture, and its application in design to take on a new significance as it grappled [with] these issues” (barnard & young, 2009: 6). within this formative context, the idea of a so-called ‘freedom park’ was first mentioned by the then president nelson mandela when he stated: “[w]e shall have a people’s shrine, a freedom park, where we shall honour with all the dignity they deserve, those who endured pain so we should experience the joy of freedom”.1 soon thereafter, freedom park in the city of tshwane was conceived as a monumental scheme that was to symbolise a reconciled nation. in 2003, the then president thabo mbeki stated that the freedom park “legacy project is the most ambitious heritage project to be undertaken by the new democratic government … an ambitious and noble task” (noble, 2011: 213). in 2000, co-author g. young was commissioned to be part of the team of designers to design a place that takes its cues from african culture, namely freedom park, a monumental south african government project to be located on salvokop, immediately south of pretoria’s cbd. in the past decade, many papers2 and books have been written about freedom park and other post-apartheid heritage projects and commemorative spaces. whilst being understood within the context of “the post-colonial policy of erecting new monuments in opposition to old colonial and apartheid” (jacobs, 2014: ii), these studies deal primarily with the political authenticity, national identity and social overtones of the projects. a study, on which this article is based, turned away from the often “messy issues of nation-building, national identity, healing and reconciliation and the social discourses associated with post-apartheid legacy projects” (young, 2019: 20). instead, it focused on the effectiveness or otherwise of designed landscape elements specifically at isivivane, freedom park, to evoke the meaning of place. the issue is not whether the meaning is ‘authentic’ in its expression, but to simply understand whether or not isivivane’s features were effective in enabling individuals to unpack the set of beliefs and values embodied in its design3 and, hence, its intended meaning, and to ultimately know what meaning individuals have attached 1 stated in a speech on 27 april 1999 at the freedom day celebrations in umtata (south african government information website, 1999). 2 jacobs’ (2014) meta-analysis consolidates some of the critique by referring to the writings of marschall (2006; 2008; 2010), mare (2006; 2007) and labuschagne (2012), among others. 3 nordberg-schulz (1985: 13, quoted in noble, 2011: 4) suggests that “public building embodies a set of beliefs or values, it ought to appear as an ‘explanation,’ which makes the common world visible”. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 88 to its aesthetic, through their “first-person”4 reading thereof. in order to understand whether experience and perception of the influences of landscape design features (places) can allow people to identify with the place and consequently attach meaning to it, it was important for this study to focus only on one aspect of freedom park, that is, isivivane (a place for ‘cleansing and healing’). young’s (2019) study explored the relationship between commemoration, meaning, and landscape design, with the main purpose to investigate the effectiveness of landscape architecture in communicating the intent and meaning of a commemorative place such as freedom park, isivivane, in post-apartheid south africa. 2. literature review in order to understand the landscape design concepts used in this article, it is important to introduce the theories used to describe the concepts of commemoration, meaning, and landscape. 2.1 commemoration, memory and identity commemoration, memory, and identity are fundamental concerns of human existence. the terms have been discussed in numerous scholarly media over many years, but “the relationship between issues of commemoration and identity, on the one hand, and gardens and landscape design, on the other hand, have not yet been investigated in the same thorough and comprehensive manner” (wolschke-bulmahn, 2001: 3). in south africa, gardens and designed landscapes have served many purposes from public parks, leisure activities, and infrastructure to the demonstration of power, wealth and image, the latter specifically for the ‘adornment’ of office parks that proliferated in the 1980s. gardens have also played “commemorative roles in the process of identity formation at different times and for different cultures” (wolschke-bulmahn, 2001: 3). this application has, however, not been widespread, as memorials have mostly been conceived with architectural elements as the central feature, such as the voortrekker (pretoria) and taal (paarl) monuments, or during colonial times when figurative sculptures proliferated. more recently, places such as the apartheid museum in johannesburg and the yet-to-be-completed sarah baartman remembrance centre, near hankey in the eastern cape, have incorporated landscape design as an element in their conceptualisation. 4 “the central structure of an experience is its intentionality, its being directed toward something, as it is an experience of or about some object. an experience is directed toward an object by virtue of its content or meaning (which represents the object) together with appropriate enabling conditions” (smith, 2018: online). young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 89 in his discussion on the constructs of memory and identity, wolschkebulmahn (2001: 2) argues that commemoration is closely related to memory and that “[i]dentity and memory are not stable and objective things but representations or constructions of [a particular take on] reality”. for example, south africans share the same history of the nation, but this does not necessarily mean that they have the same identity or agree with the interpretation of that history. the way in which members of a particular group identify depends on “their interpretation of history, their ideas about the future, and their political, moral and other ideals” (wolschke-bulmahn, 2001: 2). identity and memory, therefore, relate to specific interests such as class, gender, or the political agenda of any given ruling political party. according to gillis (1994: 3), these interests ultimately “determine what is remembered (or forgotten), by whom and for what end”. wolschke-bulmahn (2001: 2) finds that identity is perhaps inconceivable “without the remembrance and commemoration of history, however much such remembrance may distort historical events and facts”. thus, the conflation of these terms suggests that they are mutually dependent on each other, since the core meaning of individual or group identity is “sustained by remembering and what is remembered and is defined by assumed identity” (gillis, 1994: 3). the search for group identity and the need for places of commemoration in post-apartheid south africa gained traction with the legacy projects, which sought to redress history (trc, 2002) and to reflect an ‘african’ identity, which, it was hoped, would be shared by all south africans. jackson (1980: 92) confirms this notion by stating that “every new revolutionary social order, anxious to establish its image and acquire public support, produces many commemorative monuments and symbols and public celebrations” (wolschke-bulmahn, 2001: 3). whilst landscape architects may be well placed to design commemorative places, the elusiveness of objectivity in memorial design can be an issue in multicultural societies where content is often contested, specifically as it pertains to the search for a uniquely african ‘identity’, or universal south african identity in post-apartheid south africa. albertyn (2009: 172) addresses this issue when he suggests that, in the national liberation struggle, tribal and racial identities were strongly resisted in favour of a south african identity, which emphasised that “[b]lack south africans were citizens of south africa and not tribal subjects tied to ‘homelands’”. prinsloo (2012: 141) adds that “africanness involves a palimpsest approach where the project is not to deconstruct and de-layer the different gestalts of identity to discover the ‘original’, but rather the approach is to understand identity as being ‘dynamically constructed and fluid’ at any point in time and place and that ‘identities are marked by a multiplicity of subject positions’”. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 90 thinking of identity in this way is important, because no one identity could be expressed at isivivane. south africa is a multicultural society and the design narrative at isivivane was, by implication, to be ‘open’. when considering the relationship between commemoration and identity in the application of landscape design to memorial places, it is clear that political issues will always be at the forefront of the debate. wolschke-bulmahn (2001: 4) asks: “who are the social, political, ethnic, or other groups that ‘own’ history, who have the power to interpret it and to determine the ways to commemorate it?” a description of the processes involved in the case study sheds some light on these questions. ultimately, the debate moves to the intended meaning of the place and the effect that is to be created. this is the challenge, as it is not possible to accurately predict a visitor’s response to a place, yet wolschke-bulmahn (2001: 4) inquires “can landscape design facilitate a common experience, … or is the visitor’s reaction and perception of the place defined solely by his or her predisposition alone?” 2.2 place and design people perceive places holistically through their senses, recollection, and imagination to ultimately make sense of the place or experience its genius loci (norberg-schulz, 1980). to sense or to know the place involves an emotional interaction between people and the place. yet what makes up place and how do people identify with it? for relph (1976), there are three integrated aspects: its physical setting; its human activities and events that take place there, and the individual and group meanings that arise from their experience and reason for being there. the unique quality of place, therefore, lies in its “power to order and focus human intentions, experiences, and actions spatially” (relph, in seamon & sowers, 2008: 45). reinforcing these concepts and to safeguard memories of the place, pallasmaa (2009: 35) suggests that its design “must slow down and focus [on] the experience of the place”. when considering the design of a commemorative place, it is important to bear in mind the factors that make it memorable. as noted earlier, these factors relate to peoples’ memories and the vibrancy that the sense of place evokes as they experience the place, along with the associations they bring to it. relph (1976, cited in wattchow, 2013: 90-91) suggests that the distinctive characteristic of how a place is experienced is that of insideness. he elaborates by explaining that to be inside a place is akin to feeling some kind of attachment with it, and that, when you are there, there is a sense of being welcomed home. this suggests that, when experiencing a good place, it will feel familiar, safe, and comfortable. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 91 wattchow (2013: 91) believes that for a person to truly experience a place and its ‘sense’ requires that “[s/he] suspend[s] [her/his] belief in several cultural ideas and ideals that [s/he] hold[s] dear”. thus, to develop a reciprocal relationship with a place requires a person to actively engage with it, with the knowledge that it already is innately meaningful. the responsibility shifts to the participant who must not merely view it, but also see into and appreciate the essential elements of its identity. this ties in with relph’s concept of insideness, which demands a willingness of the participant to be open to the significance of a place; to be able to feel it, and to know and respect its symbols. experiencing a place in this manner will ultimately lead to a person being able to identify with it (relph, 1976: 54), and allows for the bonds that arise between a person and a place to be rich and powerful. knowing this, the responsibility shifts to designers to consider a place quite differently (wattchow, 2013: 91). therefore, in recognising the importance of ‘essential elements’ in good place-making, how do designers embed memories such that they are also clearly understood by those who engage with the place? lyndon (2009: 64) advocates that these essential elements can be “held in the mind” to allow for places to gain significance. it is the act of vivid recall that dwells in the mind of individuals. when these elements are incorporated into the design, shared conceptions are developed (lyndon, 2009: 64). these also reinforce a unified or common understanding of the place. lyndon (2009: 65) suggests that “[g]ood places are structured so that they attract and hold memories; they are sticky – or perhaps you would rather say magnetic … the difficulty often lies in the conflict between professional doctrine regarding the way things should be made, and the experience of places that people commonly enjoy.” schröder (2013: 2) contends that in the “creation of places of remembrance, landscape architects have a responsibility to history. more than anything, however, they are faced with the task of making remembrance possible in the here and now.” he is clear on the responsibility of designers to ensure an equitable approach to the design of memorials, and challenges landscape architects in this regard. he mentions that, while the design of a commemorative place is “always an individual process”, it should strive to ensure that more than one opinion or perception is expressed. the design “through its expression in space” should attempt to give “history intersubjective validity, to allow it to be accepted, not least and precisely because an objective historiography is not possible” (schröder, 2013: 2).5 5 in order to gain the knowledge and a variety of opinions during the conceptualisation process, this approach was adopted by the fpt who invited the design team to be part of focus-group workshops (with the youth, traditional healers, traditional leaders, women, war veterans, and so on) where this knowledge was used to guide the design process. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 92 lyndon (2009: 80) suggests that the commemorative landscape must also offer choice and create features that users can connect to their own lives. the importance, in this instance, is that the designer determines what these features might be through active participation with potential users. however, the designer should also incorporate universal or archetypical representation, thus not negating a participant’s understanding or interpretation of the place. by designing in this manner, the place can offer a wide variety of choices (and interpretations) and not be subjected to a singular pattern of use and sequencing of space predetermined by the designer. the designed landscape would thus offer a variety of associations and interpretations (lyndon, 2009: 80). pallasmaa (2009: 34) suggests that the [landscape] architect’s role “is to establish frames of perception and horizons of understanding”, which sensitise participants to the place, and become the “projection screen of remembrance and emotion”. supporting this understanding, wasserman (2002: 195) argues that good design should juxtapose elements in revealing ways and that many of the forms should be universally recognisable. for example, water used to symbolise renewal, healing, reflection, and contemplation, thus allowing for both a common and an individual interpretation of the place. potteiger and purinton (1998: 15) refer to this concept as “opening”. 2.3 landscape narrative potteiger and purinton (1998: ix) argue from the premise that “narrative is a fundamental way people shape and make sense of experience and landscapes”. they advocate that the story can link time, experience, and memory to the more tangible, physical aspects of a place, because “stories sequence and configure experience of place into meaningful relationships”. potteiger & purinton (2002: 136) explain the concept of an open narrative: “to link the practices of making landscapes to narrative practices requires an expanded notion of text, of the role of readers [of the landscape] in producing meaning, as well as recognition of landscape as a spatial narrative shaped by ongoing processes and multiple authors. design practice derived from understanding these conditions forms ‘open narratives,’ as opposed to the current trend for highly scripted and controlled narratives”. to achieve this, landscape narratives are produced within three interrelated realms: • “the story realm – which emphasizes the designer’s intentions to create meaning within the structures of the story being expressed in the design young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 93 • the contextual/intertextual realm – in which the design emphasis is on the role of users, community or memory in making the landscape narrative and • the realm of discourse – which requires attention to whose story is being told and to what ideologies are implicit in the telling” (potteiger & purinton, 2002: 137). supporting the place theory discussed earlier and the idea behind open narratives, potteiger and purinton (2002: 43) emphasise that “meaning in landscape narratives can only be derived by removing the designer as the sole creator of meaning and bestowing that purpose on the person experiencing the place”. this combination of user-interpretation and use of symbolic landscape elements leads to the ‘opening’ of the narrative, the opposite of which is a closed narrative that effectively seeks to eliminate diverse voices and a misreading of the place (potteiger & purinton, 2002: 143). typically, this approach would be used in memorials placed in a fascist context. in a pluralistic society, it is thus important to encourage a manifold reading of landscape design and, in the case of commemorative places that have a specific message, to “retain gaps, disjunctions, ambiguities and indeterminacies as intentional aspects of the work” (potteiger & purinton, 2002: 143). this technique effectively “shifts the production of meaning from the author to the reader, so that the vitality of the work is created by the active engagement of many readers” (potteiger & purinton, 2002: 144). but how does this come about? how do people make sense of landscapes and places? in reinforcing his ideas, wattchow (2013: 93) suggests two ways. the first is “being present in and with a place”, and the second is through “the power of place-based stories and narratives”. elaborating on these, he refers to lopez (1998: 67-68), who argues that narrative is a powerful way to learn about landscapes, and that those stories make visible those ‘invisible threads’ that connect people to the place. the narrative in the landscape, through symbolic representation, is thus capable of connecting the physical landscape to the interior landscape of the person (wattchow, 2013: 94). the implication for the designer is not only a matter of learning how to tell stories in landscapes, but “developing a critical awareness of the processes and implications of narrative: whose story is told and what values and beliefs [exist essentially] in the telling?” (potteiger & purinton, 1998: 25). “perhaps, then the most direct way to see the interplay between landscape and narrative is in places designed explicitly to tell a story” (potteiger & purinton, 1998: 15). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 94 2.4 meaning and landscape design it can be deduced from the discussion so far that a phenomenological perspective advocates that the meaning of place is embedded in the narrative, as expressed in metaphor or symbolism, each dependent on its context. however, when referring to the question “must landscape mean?”, treib (2002: 99) poses two questions: “can a (landscape) designer help make a significant place? yes.” and “can a (landscape) designer design significance into the place at the time of its realisation? no, or let’s say, no longer”. “significance” (or meaning),6 according to treib (2002: 99-100), “condenses at the intersection of people and place, and not alone in the form the designer’s idea takes”. the design is the filter through which the visitor experiences the place, and “while this transaction between people and place is never completely symmetrical”, it can “circumscribe the range of possible reactions to a designed place” (treib, 2002: 99-100). the implication is that the designer cannot make a place mean, but he can, “perhaps, stimulate reactions and emotions to that place, which fall within the desired limits of the intended (or wished for) reaction to the place” (treib, 2002: 99-100). this, of course, reflects pallasmaa’s (2009) thinking. treib (2011: 130) returns to this idea by arguing that, in multicultural societies, meaning over time can only be “constructed through a transaction between people and place – and that meaning is ultimately personal”. elaborating on this, he suggests that, because the individual is formed by his/her culture, and that s/he interprets meaning through his/her own experience and knowledge, “meaning” is, therefore, “fluid and changes with time as well as the individual; even meanings that are lucid today become obscure in the future as a society and its symbolic systems evolve” (treib, 2011: 131). raymond, kyttä and stedman (2017: 20) challenge this ‘long term’ perspective of the acquisition of meaning. they argue, from the perspective of affordance theory, that, through direct perception of a place, people create immediately perceived place meanings related to functional, social, or symbolic elements of the place, and that “meanings are assigned to places within one’s immediately perceivable environment”. scale is, therefore, important for immediately perceived place meaning to occur; in other words, the place must be able to be perceived immediately and it must have “clear material and perceptual components” (raymond et al., 2017: 20). they conclude that “perceived meanings, … may play a bigger role in ‘sense of place’ than we typically think. we propose that in any experience in life, a sense of place can be associated with immediately perceived place meanings.” they, however, do not eliminate the notion that place meanings 6 treib uses ‘significance’ and ‘meaning’ as interchangeable concepts in his essay. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 95 are also formed “through longer-term processes of social construction” (raymond et al., 2017: 33). given that perception and meaning can be infused either in the short term, as is argued by raymond et al. (2017), or more conventionally, over the longterm (relph, 1976; norberg-schulz, 1980; pallasmaa, 2009; treib, 2011) and that “meaning condenses at the intersection of people and place and not alone in the form of the designer’s mind” (treib, 2002: 100), what must designers do to create places that promote their intended meaning? as in any art, it is the designer’s role to set out the material and to select and arrange the various elements such that they create reference points to induce a certain curiosity and familiarity of the place. however, in memorial design, the theory suggests, it is also important that these reference points are evocative and encourage users to delve further to discover the significance of the place. olin (2011: 79) challenges designers to not be too complacent about the task at hand and to recognise the complexities inherent in landscape design: “at the same time the close reading one enjoys with poetry can only be applied to landscape with great care and subtle examination of the myriad elements and their relationships. landscapes are made of many diverse phenomena – visual, aural, tactile, olfactory – that may trigger the recall of things from our personal environmental history, which in turn combine with a world of information from our education and experience. for this reason, there is no question in my mind that the art of landscape design – when it is an art – is possibly the most complex and sophisticated art we possess.” wasserman (1998: 42) is encouraging when she advocates that landscape architecture is ideally placed to conceptualise commemorative places, because landscape architectural training typically includes rigorous studies of site history and user needs, as well as the use of the spatial organisation of materials and elements to transmit meaning. she believes that landscape architects have the appropriate credentials to “transform space into a place of significance, a place of storytelling, a place of lessons” (wasserman, 1998: 42). in summary, the literature review suggests that landscape design can facilitate a common experience of a place, when its form is structured to attract and hold memories that have been shaped by cultural representations that “encourage others to think of particular (or general) things, [and] to have both [a] sensory experience and discoveries of particular references” (treib, 2011: 74). designers of commemorative places must consider an open narrative approach that offers choices and includes elements that have universal meaning, so that visitors can also form their impressions and thoughts about the place. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 96 3. the isivivane case study described by the freedom park trust (fpt) as a garden of remembrance, freedom park was to integrate with the natural ecology of the site and include “symbolic spaces for cleansing and healing” (isivivane).7 in addition to being a place for “cleansing and healing”, isivivane was to be a “spiritual” place, a place where the memory of those who died in the cause of freedom could be honoured (fpt, 2004a). 3.1 the conceptual framework the conceptualisation of the isivivane by a consortium of architects and landscape architects8 originated through consultations with advisers and experts in the field of indigenous knowledge systems (iks). their challenge was to introduce cultural sensibility through a narrative based on the abstract expression of african values, but also related to universal archetypes. figure 1: isivivane (foreground left) located at the south-eastern side of freedom park on salvokop source: oca, 20159 7 in the naming of the various places at freedom park, the freedom park trust sought to use a variety of south africa’s 11 official languages: isivivane is isizulu; s’khumbuto is isiswati; //hapo is koisan; moshate is isisotho; tiva is zitsonga, and uitspanplek is afrikaans (mufamadi, 2014). 8 the team was made up of landscape architects, architects and artists who worked in conjunction with traditional healers, academics, historians and poets to conceptualise the project. the design team comprised nbgm landscape architects joint venture (newtown landscape architects, bagale environmental, greeninc landscape architects and gallery momo); oca architects (mma architects, mashabane rose architects and gapp architects and urban designers), and africon consulting engineers. 9 by permission of the office of collaborative architects (oca). young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 97 the close referencing of iks, introduced at freedom park (figure 1) with the conceptualisation of isivivane, advanced the idea of an iks-directed method to knowledge production. according to serote (2014: 41), “isivivane, which became the first element of the [freedom] park, … is a direct result and manifestation of the consultative processes … [and] the restructuring of the ruptured and fragmented african voice and belief systems based on iks”.10 serote (2014: 42) further emphasises that “[t]he design … was informed by harriet ngubane’s writings on the subject, and oral research done in south africa involving the variety of iks practitioners, … [and] borrowed from and also innovated iks concepts as they were adapted to the construction [of isivivane]”. the fpt (2004a: 7) later suggested that this approach “led to indigenous people taking control of the process away from the pervasive interpretation of indigenous knowledge through the gaze of non-indigenous people”, and that this knowledge must then be applied to its design. however, the fpt (2004a: 7) cautioned the design team: “in such [an] indigenous directed approach to knowledge production, caution should be exercised that it does not become an exercise to return to some golden age, but must be transformative towards a new future of a very different kind.” in attempting to deal with the differing perceptions and values that vary across the landscape of south african cultural identity, the fpt commissioned research and engaged with the greater south african community. these included focus-group meetings with indigenous leaders, indigenous healers, iks artists, and historians, among others, whose opinions were solicited as to what the isivivane should become. this material was filtered by the creative team and fpt to, ultimately, derive a concept believed to be responsive to, and representative of south africans’ expectations for a place of commemoration. this emphasis on indigenous knowledge, as the source of authentic african identity and meaning, had already found its way into the design and construction of the isivivane, which was handed over to president mbeki on 8 march 2004 (fpt, 2004a). thus, isivivane’s form, materiality, and organising principles were based on ideas originating in traditional values, iks, and african philosophy. the three-person committee and heritage department’s 2004 vision for the architectural design brief, written soon after the completion of isivivane, bears the influence of serote and a continued reference to african philosophy as the basis of design decisions for the remaining elements of freedom park. the document reinforces the emphasis on iks and authenticity, coupling these to a binding form of nationalism (fpt, 2004b). 10 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 98 3.2 location and design response the isivivane’s location was all-important and the design team, along with traditional healers, artists, and historians, debated this on numerous occasions when together on site. ultimately, it was decided to locate isivivane on the south-eastern slope of salvokop, where it “would see the sunrise throughout the year no matter what season” (figure 1), because, according to the traditional healers, this was of critical importance from an african cultural perspective. figure 2: members of the design team with iks and traditional healer advisors discussing the location of isivivane source: young, 2019: 46 professor harriet ngubane, who was commissioned by fpt to prepare a research paper on the concept of an african understanding of the concept of a memorial, cites examples of african custom and practice that signify types of memorialisation that are not necessarily tied exclusively to “commemorative buildings or portrayed in sculpture” (ngubane, 2003a: 1): “a well-known structure that portrays memorial is a heap of stones along long-distance pathways known as isivivane”. ngubane mentions that burial sites were fortified with stones and a planted aloe near the top end of the graveside and the practice of burying family members within the homestead ensured that “their own identity was embedded within the homestead precincts” (ngubane, 2003a: 1). concerning the naming of places to capture a special aura, she states that “the names of royal residences reflect the area or aura connected with a historical event” (ngubane, 2003a: 2). thus, in this case, young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 99 the naming of isivivane takes on special significance in african culture. concerning ngubane’s (2003a: 1) earlier statement about african memorial places not necessarily tied to buildings, it can be argued that isivivane was conceived as a landscape and not a building. noble (2011: 137) endorses this idea when he suggests that it is “a stylised landscape – not a building”. the fundamental concept for the layout of isivivane (figure 3) is that of an african ‘homestead’ encompassing ‘lesaka’ (the burial place and shrine) and ‘lekgotla’ (the meeting place) (serote, 2014: 42). lesaka is a setswana word, “which in african culture … [is used to describe] a circular structure – often a cattle byre commonly found in south african villages where generation upon generation are buried” (fpt, n.d.[a]: 2). figure 3: isivivane layout is based on the primary spatial arrangement of an african homestead source: young, 2011: slide 28 the chosen location of isivivane was on a steeply sloping piece of land (figure 4). the designers chose to “fill up the slope of the terrain, bubbling it out to form an inhabitable terrace rather than cutting into the side of the hill, a move that is uncommon to indigenous practice” (young, in noble, 2011: 237). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 100 figure 4: a sketch of isivivane showing its relationship to the site’s topography source: young, 2011: slide 30 symbolism was not translated literally at isivivane; rather, it remained abstract, “simple and devoid of clutter”11 (young, 2011: 11). the designers thus hoped that the ensuing aesthetic would evoke emotions of reverence that could be understood crossculturally and that relate to the meaning and themes of commemoration and healing (young, 2011: 11). the extensive use of stone, water and the limited use of indigenous plant materials form the basic design elements. isivivane is built primarily of stone and comprises nine boulders, one from each province placed near the edge of a circle. balancing these and completing the circle are two larger boulders representing the national government and the international community. contained within the boulders circle are stones that have come from countries outside south africa – symbolic of combatants and exiles that fell while they sought refuge in other countries (fpt n.d.[a]). “the circular pattern is all-important. it is an archetypical symbol of unity and equality and the boulders being placed in a circle at the same level, engage in a ‘dialogue’, where none is more important than the other” (young, 2011: 11-12). ngubane (2003b: 5) explains the importance of stone in african culture and particularly at burial sites. she mentions that placing a stone at a place is an act of leaving something behind that unites people with the “land and its people, spirits, flora and fauna”. a fine water spray at lesaka (figure 5) raises as a mist from the stone floor to eventually envelop the boulders. “the significance of this ‘smoke’ or 11 this directive came from dr serote during the first phase design review process. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 101 impepho12 emphasises the sanctity of the place and is also representative of the cleansing and healing process13 central to helping the south african nation heal from its past.”14 (young, 2011: 12). the spiritual and ancestral significance of lesaka is reinforced and captured in the words of a vhenda elder in a discussion with archbishop dandala during a fact-finding mission to vhenda (fpt n.d.[b]). these words, translated to english (the original is in tshivenḓa), are inscribed against a stone wall at the entrance to isivivane: i am an african if you dig the earth in this lesaka, you will find me if you dig and dig and dig you will find me still if you dig and dig and dig and even if you use the big machines which the human race has made to dig and dig and dig to the fathomless bottom there …. you will find me in the earth near lesaka, also on the terrace, a single tree is located in the curve of a stone bench as counterpoint to lesaka. it is a senegalia galpinii (mologa or monkey thorn) symbolic of a marker for the ‘lekgotla’, a place where elders would traditionally gather to discuss important tribal matters. “at isivivane, the lekgotla is a place where relatives, friends and loved ones of the freedom fighters who fell use the space for contemplation.” (serote, 2014: 42). the selection of plant species at isivivane was intentional and referenced african cultural practices. the spiritual bond that formed between the nguni people and the buffalo thorn trees inspired the choice of nine ziziphus mucronata that create a soft green, vertical edge to the lower terrace at isivivane (figures 3 and 4). the concept of ‘bringing the spirit home’ is central 12 impepho is an isizulu word for a plant very sacred to abanguni and also burnt to communicate with abangasekho who are entities of influence or a broader term for all types of souls who have passed on, but continue to exert positive influence on the ‘living’ (ntshangase, 2012: iv). 13 “at freedom park, the ceremonies at the isivivane are linked to the question of reconciliation and symbolic reparations for the human violations of the past because it is believed that the spirits of those who died for freedom must be cleansed and healed before coming to rest at the isivivane” (noble, 2011: 235). 14 when designing isivivane, young understood the universal symbol of water to represent cleansing and healing and he included a waterfall on the lower terrace. at a later date, another waterfall was included on the upper terrace to reinforce the archetypical reference to the process of “healing the wounds of the past” (young, 2011: 12). acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 102 to the purpose of isivivane. manqele and o’donoghue (1994: 1-3) state that the nguni people coped with death through an intimate and spiritual relationship connected to the buffalo thorn tree, and that the hlahlankosi (buffalo thorn) is one of the nguni ‘chosen’ trees. they suggest that, in earlier times, when a person died far away from home (often in battle), the elders of the family would send a party to “fetch the spirit”. branches from the tree were used in this ceremony. the party would carry a branch and, at the spot where the person had died, would call out the name of the dead person and announce that they had come to take his spirit home. significant to the purpose of isivivane, manqele and o’donoghue (1994: 5) further explain that “the practice of bringing the spirit home is still often observed when people have died far from home … and their bodies cannot be found.” figure 5: lesaka, a resting place covered in mist symbolising impepho source: young, 2019: 51 completing the main landscape features of isivivane are two waterfalls (figure 6) designed into the stone-packed walls near lesaka and beneath the buffalo thorn trees immediately above the spiral path. water flows over a trough and down stone pitched walls into shallow pools below to create an ambiance that the designers suggest may remind the visitor that, in this place, “the spirit flows and cleanses like water’” (young, 2011: 15). a still bowl of water is carved into the top of a large quartzite boulder placed near the western exit of isivivane. this functions as a basin in which visitors can wash their hands after visiting and paying homage at isivivane. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 103 figure 6: upper waterfall at the isivivane source: young, 2019: 52 3.3 reflection isivivane was designed around an iks-informed place-based narrative; beginning with locating and location, through to its design as ‘a place of burial’ and memorial. the symbolic elements and cultural values behind isivivane’s conceptual narrative, which were used to portray its meaning, were derived from the fpt’s engagement with various focus groups and commissioned research. there was no structured brief from the client; rather, the conceptual underpinnings were passed to the design team, who had to interpret these and create, through the designed response, “frames of perception and horizons of understanding” (pallasmaa, 2009: 43). in the context of post-apartheid south africa and the telling of this uniquely south african story, the designers sought to anticipate the audience’s reactions, perceptions, and experiences. in so doing, they hoped that the landscape design at isivivane, based primarily on narrative techniques, would become visible, tangible, and palpable, giving form to an experience that aesthetically, emotionally, and spiritually engages them. the designers also hoped that the place would become an effective crosscultural catalyst, enabling visitors to discover and know the meaning behind the place. while narrative is a fundamental way whereby people shape and make sense of their experience of a landscape (potteiger & purinton, 2002), the question still begs: can a visitor’s reaction to, and perception of isivivane be fostered through its built elements, in order to facilitate a common experience?, and: is isivivane a place that is responsive to, and representative of south africans’ expectations for a place of commemoration? acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 104 the case study and the theory neither provide verifiable comment about these statements nor confirm whether these sentiments would ring true with visitors to isivivane (figure 7). an empirical survey was carried out to better understand how visitors experience, perceive, and attach meaning to isivivane, and which landscape elements contributed to a better understanding thereof. figure 7: a visitor paying her respects at lesaka, isivivane source: young, 2019: 53 4. research survey 4.1 research design the study analysed user perceptions and the effect specific design elements had on their reading of isivivane relative to its discourse, as described in the case study. a quantitative research design was adopted, as this type of design allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys (creswell, 2014). in this survey, the data on how people comprehend and experience isivivane, together with the significance and meaning of the place as perceived, was analysed using descriptive analysis on respondents’ profile, reasons for visiting, experience, and building design elements used in the study area. this technique summarises data in an understandable way, by using frequencies and percentages (satake, 2016: 663). young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 105 4.2 sampling technique as they randomly arrived at freedom park, visitors to isivivane were the target population of the survey. using nonprobability convenience sampling, visitors, upon entering freedom park, were asked by staff and/or the research assistants whether they would like to take part in the survey. this is a method where there is no way of forecasting, estimating, or guaranteeing that each element in the population will be represented in the sample (leedy, 1989: 152). nonprobability convenience sampling was conducive to the situation at freedom park, as it would represent the typical cross-section of people attending freedom park. this sampling method was chosen, as it reflects the profile of visitors to the park and provides a first-person, physical experience of the place. there was no selection process. participation was voluntary and it was left to the individual to decide whether s/he wished to complete the questionnaire. 4.3 data collection based on the visitors’ first-person experience, the data were collected from 144 participants during an on-site survey between july and october 2015. the questionnaire survey consisted of four sections. section a on the participants’ bio-demographic profile obtained information on their country of origin, province, location type, race and educational level. section b set eight tick-box questions on the reasons for visiting isivivane. section c contained two open-ended and nine closed-ended 5-point likert-scale items on ‘experience’. participants’ level of agreement was rated to show their overall experience with visiting isivivane. section d set four tickbox questions, one open-ended and one closed-ended 5-point likert scale question on design features. these questions were an attempt to understand which design features could be vividly recalled after participants experienced isivivane, and, subsequently, to determine which of these elements were most effective/powerful in this regard. to assist participants’ cross-reference to the questionnaire, a graphic highlighting the main designed features of isivivane was included (figure 8). the questionnaire briefly introduced the participants to the researcher and the reasons for carrying out the study. ethical clearance from the university of pretoria’s ethics committee was given for the study and questionnaire. freedom park also gave written approval for the questionnaire to be distributed and the study to proceed. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 106 figure 8: layout of isivivane used to help participants understand the various landscape elements being referred to in the questionnaire source: young, 2019: 122 4.4 data analysis the statistical package for social science (spss) version 24 was used to measure each question in terms of validity (which takes into account the percentage of people who answered the question and does not take no response into this account), or missing answers to obtain the total number of returned questionnaires, namely 144. this data was then further analysed in terms of frequency, percentage, valid percentage, and cumulative percentage. for purposes of analysis, the 5-point likert scale questions that measured ‘experience’ ranged from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘don’t know’ or, ‘extremely powerful’ to ‘it made no impression at all’. it is important to note that only the single frequencies and valid percentage of those who answered the questions were captured and reported to analyse results for all the tickbox and likert-type questions. responses from the open-ended questions on ‘experience’ were reduced and tabulated to main themes. this included the landscape setting; the cultural/spiritual nature of the place, and the presence of a tour guide to help interpret the place. responses from the open-ended question on ‘design features’ were reduced and tabulated to main themes. this included visual, cultural, emotional, and social features. 4.5 limitations of the survey one of the authors was intimately involved with the design of isivivane, which could have led to a bias in the study. to address this, a quantitative young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 107 research design was adopted to effectively remove the researcher from the empirical data collection process. another limitation may have been the length of the questionnaire and the logistics of having to complete it at isivivane, or elsewhere in freedom park before the respondent left the site. many participants were attending freedom park as part of a field trip, and thus had limited time in which to complete the questionnaire before moving on to another aspect of the park. this could have led to the hasty completion of the questionnaire with not too much reflective cognisance taken by the respondent, specifically for the open questions. 5. results 5.1 bio-demographics of participants table 1: profile of participants demographic category frequency percentage n = 144 age 10-20 years 27 20 valid 138 missing 6 21-30 years 73 58 31-50 years 32 23 51-70 years 6 4 educational level no formal schooling 1 1 valid 135 missing 9 grade 7-11 11 8 matriculation 35 26 diploma/certificate 9 7 degree 39 29 postgraduate degree 37 27 other 3 2 non-south africans’ origin africa 41 77 valid 53 missing 91 europe 6 11 america 5 9 asia 1 2 south africans’ province limpopo 18 15 valid 120 missing 24 mpumalanga 19 16 gauteng 74 62 north west 2 2 western cape 2 2 free state 1 1 eastern cape 1 1 kwazulu-natal 3 3 race african/black 83 61 valid 137 missing 7 asian 1 1 coloured 1 1 indian 4 3 white 48 35 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 108 table 1 shows that the vast majority of the participants (78%) are young, well-educated individuals aged between 10 and 30 years. this suggests that many school and university groups take field trips to freedom park regularly. of the participants, 61% classified themselves as black africans and 35% as white; 29% had a bachelor’s degree; 27% had a postgraduate degree, and 26% had completed their grade 12 certificate. the vast majority of the participants came from gauteng province (62%), which stands to reason as freedom park is located in this province. participants who stated that they live outside south africa came mostly from other parts of africa (77%), 11% from europe, and the remaining 11% from the other continents. 5.2 reasons for visiting this section’s range of questions produced data to confirm whether the visitor came for purely tourist, traditional, memorial, faith-based or educational reasons (as part of a school or university group) or for reasons related to experiencing the beauty and serenity of the place. the vast majority of the participants (79%) were visiting isivivane for the first time without prior knowledge of it; 57% said that they were not aware of it, or arrived with any pre-conceived prospects of what to expect, and 61% indicated that they did not expect what they would experience at isivivane. this suggests that most of the participants would have entered isivivane with a relatively fresh perspective. the primary reason for visiting was given as educational, as part of a structured group outing (44% were with a school or university group). a combined 33% indicated that they visited for the beauty of the place or because it was a tourist attraction; 18% indicated that their visit centred around a memorial, ritual, political or faith-based ceremony, reflecting freedom park’s indented purpose for isivivane. an overwhelming majority (93%) stated that they wished to return, primarily to experience the calm and serene nature of the place, to share the experience with others, or for educational reasons, respectively. 5.3 experience of isivivane table 2 shows the experience participants had on visiting isivivane to understand whether the visitor identified with the space; felt a sense of familiarity or curiosity about it, and whether the place made them feel uneasy, or emotionally alienated. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 109 table 2: overall experience with isivivane isivivane as a place experience n=144 don’t know strongly disagree disagree agree strongly agree valid n f % f % f % f % f % will remember 5 4 3 2 5 4 61 46 58 44 132 relate to 6 5 9 7 21 17 56 45 33 26 125 feel safe 14 11 8 6 6 5 68 53 32 25 128 comfortable 5 4 5 4 22 17 60 47 35 27 127 interest and curiosity 2 1 7 5 5 4 63 49 52 40 129 sacred associations 9 7 6 5 9 7 60 47 43 34 127 emotionally alienated 12 9 17 13 46 36 37 29 15 12 127 quiet and reflective 1 1 2 2 8 7 51 42 60 49 122 intimate 7 6 4 3 18 15 61 50 33 27 123 solemn 12 10 3 3 21 18 54 47 26 22 116 spiritual 7 6 1 1 19 15 47 38 49 40 123 no meaning 7 6 15 13 50 42 27 23 21 18 120 identify with 16 13 9 7 21 17 39 32 39 32 124 heal past inequalities 18 15 6 5 21 16 51 43 24 20 120 somewhat dissatisfied dissatisfied neutral somewhat satisfied satisfied f % f % f % f % f % overall experience 0 0 3 3 15 12 52 43 51 42 121 results in table 2 show that isivivane projects a strong sense of place, in which most of the participants feel safe (78%) and comfortable (74%); in other words, 90% of the participants agreed that their experience of isivivane would easily be recalled long after their visit. following on these themes, 89% of the participants indicated that isivivane engaged their interest and held their curiosity, reinforcing its strong character and perhaps suggesting that participants would be open to engaging with the symbolic and cultural meanings of the place. this claim is reinforced, as 49% of the participants indicated that they did not feel alienated in any way, despite isivivane’s overt cultural or spiritual symbolism. the data also shows that isivivane is a place with which the vast majority of the participants identified, both individually (71% of participants mentioned that they could relate to the space and derive meaning from its character and form, and 81% indicated that it is a place of sacred and spiritual associations) and collectively. of the participants, 64% agreed acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 110 that isivivane is a place with which all south africans can identify. finally, the overwhelming majority of participants (85%) indicated that they were somewhat satisfied or satisfied with isivivane as a place. when asked how they emotionally relate to, or identify with isivivane, 91% specified that it was a reflective space; 78%, a spiritual place; 77%, an intimate place; 69%, a solemn place, and 41%, a pleasant place with no specific meaning. it must be noted that these answers are not mutually exclusive (that is, the occurrence of one outcome does not supersede the other), but when compared against each other, it becomes clear that the vast majority of the participants believed (given the variety of descriptive terms in the questionnaire) that isivivane is a reflective place with spiritual overtones. the open-ended question established that the landscape setting (physical characteristics) of isivivane and the participants’ perception that it is an inclusive place of spiritual and cultural meaning reinforced their positive experience thereof. on the other hand, fewer participants cited that not being able to associate with the cultural/spiritual nature of isivivane or the physical discomfort they experienced were the reasons given for weakening their experience. most of the participants who visited isivivane in a group with a tour guide indicated that they did not find the presence of the guide an annoyance. they appreciated that the guide enabled them to delve deeper into the symbolic references found at isivivane. 5.4 landscape design elements of isivivane table 3 shows the designed features to which the participants responded, in order to gain insight into how powerfully a designed feature embedded itself in their mind and, therefore, contributed most to their understanding of isivivane. table 3 shows that 81% of the participants indicated that the circle of boulders with its mist came vividly to mind; 77%, the place in its totality; 75%, the extensive use of stone; 70%, the hand-wash bowl in the rock at the exit to isivivane; 68%, the upper level waterfall; 59%, the lower level waterfall; 54%, large tree with a semi-surround bench, and 54%, the row of trees along the lower terrace. this pattern holds when participants were asked to indicate which features contributed most to their understanding of the meaning of the place. the results show that the circle of boulders with its mist (lesaka) rated the highest (88%) along with the place in its totality (also 88%). the extensive use of stone also rated high (81%); the handwash basin, 76%; the large tree with a semi-surround bench, 72%; the row of trees along the lower terrace, 69%, and the upper waterfall, 68%, also contributed substantially to the designed intent of the place. the lower level waterfall (56%) was considered the least effective in conveying meaning. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 111 is iv iv an e d e sig n fe a tu re s e xp er ie nc e n =1 44 c on tr ib ut e to u nd er st an di ng n =1 44 n o im pr es si on n ot p ow er fu l m od er at e po w er fu l p ow er fu l e xt re m el y po w er fu l v al id n y es n o v al id n f % f % f % f % f % f % f % c irc le w ith b o ul d e rs 3 3 1 1 17 15 39 35 51 46 11 1 98 88 13 12 11 1 lo w e r l e ve l w a te rfa ll 7 6 9 8 29 26 43 39 22 20 11 0 61 56 47 44 10 8 u p p e r l e ve l w a te rfa ll 7 7 6 6 21 20 46 44 25 24 10 5 72 68 34 32 10 6 la rg e t re e 6 6 8 7 29 27 36 33 30 21 10 9 80 72 31 28 11 1 st o ne 4 4 4 4 19 18 35 32 46 43 10 8 88 81 20 19 10 8 ro w o f tr e e s 7 7 14 13 29 27 36 34 21 20 10 7 69 65 38 35 10 7 w a te r i n ro c k 5 5 7 7 20 18 43 39 34 31 10 9 80 76 25 24 10 5 to ta l p la c e 5 5 4 4 15 14 48 45 34 32 10 6 96 88 13 12 10 9 ta bl e 3: d es ig n fe at ur es o f i si vi va ne acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 112 the final tick-box questions asked the respondents to describe the type of place that isivivane is, based on their experience: 87% said that it was a place of remembrance; 81% indicated that it was a spiritual place; 72% suggested that it could be a place of collective significance to all south africans, and 63% described it as a place of ritual. in their answers to the open-ended questions, the participants emphasised the fact that they found the place to be reflective and peaceful; others suggested that the collective significance of isivivane was important to all south africans and that the guides helped them in their understanding of and meanings behind the symbolism. it is interesting to note that three participants, however, suggested that they would have liked the opportunity to interpret the place on their own; one participant suggested the following: “i think monuments are more powerful with interpretation if left open”. 6. discussion it must be noted that the study was not about whether participants were able to give meaning to the place. the intended significance and meaning of this memorial place are conveyed on signage boards, in fpt literature they may have collected on their way into freedom park, or as expressed by a guide. neither was the study designed to delve deeply into the politically charged aspects of post-apartheid commemorative places as they relate to nation-building, healing, and national identity. instead, the study attempted to ‘unpack’ the ability and effectiveness of landscape design to stimulate an emotional response to isivivane and intensify the experience of the place, thus enabling visitors to interpret and identify with it through recognising personal meaning. isivivane was designed primarily by landscape architects with a directive from the fpt to create a meaningful, commemorative place that deferred directly to african symbolism and ritual as well as referenced universal archetypes with which south africans could identify. the study addressed the issues of identity, narrative, and unified meaning by engaging with the theoretical aspects linked to landscape architecture as a process and narrative, as well as the engagement with those who experience the place. the theory demonstrates that perceived meaning and identity, when crossreferenced to the landscape design processes, can be induced when the design of the place is derived from an appropriate combination of narrative and standard design principles. these perceptions can be immediate and contribute to a sense of place, as “cognitions are situated in relation to the environment, the individual, and one’s socio-cultural context” (raymond et al., 2017: 28). from a phenomenological perspective, the designed landscape also plays a pivotal role in establishing character and young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 113 sense of place, as place meanings are derived from embedded stories and metaphors. however, these meanings are dependent on context and rooted in an evolving set of circumstances (patterson, 1998, in raymond et al., 2017: 17) tied to the relationship between individuals and the lived experience of the places they visit. the phenomenology of the place is, therefore, closely intertwined with the identity of an individual and the value s/he attributes to a landscape, resulting from his/her connection to that place through these experiences. this realisation and the theory suggest that landscape architecture is ideally suited to creating places where feelings and emotions can be evoked through the creation of what pallasmaa (2009: 43) suggests are “frames of perception and horizons of understanding”. these perceptual lenses sensitise the user to the intended meaning of the place. meaning cannot be created through the physical landscape alone. meaning and identity can, however, emerge when symbolic representations are provided to address the relationship between peoples’ values and their culture or ritual of commemoration. the case study shows that the design was driven by knowledge derived from the interpretation of traditional and cultural practices gained through a community participation process carried out in the early stages of the conceptualisation process. place can be derived from the notion of ‘perceptual lenses’ and is, therefore, an abstract concept that evolves as a complex aspect of the daily encounters people have with the world in which they engage. to best describe a place, one needs to use “phenomenological methods which proceed from experiences rather than concepts” (relph, 2018: 2). landscape narrative is essential to making commemorative landscapes, as it configures cultural symbolism and meaning; the concept of ‘opening’ in landscape narrative holds the greatest potential for a unified meaning of place to emerge from the wide-ranging aspects of landscape design. the survey results confirm that isivivane is a quality place to which people can easily relate without any feelings of discomfort or concerns for their safety. they also indicate that people’s experience was successfully informed by immediate perceptions relating to isivivane’s landscape features, the activities that take place there, and the inferred meanings embedded in the place. the findings suggest that isivivane is a place where a crosscultural, unified understanding behind its meaning has emerged. the findings also show that isivivane in its totality (in other words, not one feature stood out) contributes most powerfully to a strong sense of place and identity, thus enabling visitors to enjoy the place, understand its symbolic representations, and ultimately make sense of its meaning, both individually and collectively. when integrating the theoretical aspects linked to landscape design, with a detailed description of isivivane and the processes that brought it into being, as well as the study survey findings, the narrative that emerges suggests acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 114 that isivivane is an important and meaningful place for many south africans. the process of its realisation can be traced back to its conceptualisation when engagement with various focus groups provided pertinent cultural and symbolic information to the design team. the team was then able to create a place where those symbolic and spiritual references were incorporated into the landscape features of isivivane. this created a situation where the project’s narrative was in tune with the characteristics of the place and the people who visit it. isivivane appears to function on an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual level and is understood as a place of reflection, commemoration, and collective meaning. 7. conclusions and recommendations the study has clarified the role that landscape design plays in elucidating the meaning and significance of commemorative sites in post-apartheid south africa. it supplements an understanding of the relationship between the concepts of commemoration, identity, and landscape design. while it did not intentionally focus on the relationship of a group or ‘african’ identity as they relate to commemorative places in south africa, the study found that a cross section of society could understand and relate to the inferred meaning of isivivane’s various landscape elements and, in so doing, enabled people to attribute an individual and a collective meaning to the place. despite some aspects of freedom park being fraught with political issues as to its purpose and significance and its overt focus on african values, the study clearly shows that, by inserting sacred african stories into a public open space, their meanings have had a positive impact on most peoples’ perception and reaction to the place. the study confirmed that isivivane’s features create a strong sense of place, which effectively serves its intended emotional, spiritual, and communal functions. although many reflect a specific african cultural perspective or set of values, they can be understood in universal terms. it can be deduced that isivivane is an important post-apartheid south african commemorative place that successfully functions as a place for memory; a place for mourning; a place for reflection and healing; a place for ceremony; a place that engenders collective identity; a safe and comfortable place, and a place of aesthetic beauty. the study offers unique insights into the profession of landscape architecture in terms of commemorative places. it is recommended that further research into the relationship of national identity, nation-building, and landscape design and the power relations associated with commemorative places in other post-apartheid projects be considered. young & vosloo • isivivane, freedom park: a critical analysis of the... 115 references albertyn, c. 2009. the stubborn persistence of patriarchy – gender equality and cultural diversity in south africa. constitutional court review 2(1), pp. 165-208. barnard, j. & young, g.a. 2009. newtown landscape architects – a retrospective. johannesburg: newtown landscape architects cc. creswell, j.w. 2014. research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. 4th edition. thousand oaks, ca: sage. fpt (freedom park trust). 2004a. freedom park, garden of remembrance. city 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articles successful transformational change in revenue management among beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy construction companies peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article. abstract transformational change is the second of three sub-models that resulted from the splitting of the original model following the data analysis as part of a thesis entitled a theoretical model for successful management of revenue for beneficiary communities of renewable energy companies in south africa. the sub-model provides specific guidance for project managers dealing with transformational change in communities to stakeholders, industry experts and community development practitioners in the renewable energy sector. the aim of the research was to promote a localised understanding of education, social interaction, social cohesion, infrastructure improvement and sharing to ensure success in managing the revenue for beneficiary community projects by renewable energy construction companies. a literature review of relevant literature on transfor mational change factors was conducted and used to develop a structured questionnaire distributed to national and international popu lation of project management practitioners who were conveniently sampled in south africa. using an electronic measuring instrument, the empirical findings established four factors that were reliable and valid for transformational change in communities, namely education, infrastructure development, human development, and change management. using these factors and construc ting a path diagram of ric amansure dr ric amansure, department of developmental studies, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth 6031, south africa. phone: +27 41 5860421, email: <ric. amansure@telkomsa.net> chris adendorff prof. chris adendorff, department of developmental studies, nelson mandela university, po box 77000, port elizabeth 6031, south africa. phone: 0027 41 5860421, email: <powerhouse@alfresco. co.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 71-97 © uv/ufs mailto:ric.amansure@telkomsa.net mailto:ric.amansure@telkomsa.net mailto:powerhouse@alfresco.co.za mailto:powerhouse@alfresco.co.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.3 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 72 the indepen dent variables (education, infrastructure develop ment, human development, change management) and subsequent intervening (good governance) and dependent variables (perceived success of revenue management), appropriate hypotheses were developed to test the model. the hypotheses were analysed and tested empirically using structural equation modelling (sem). determinants were identified as elements of transformational change that influence the success of revenue management for beneficiary communities for south african renewable energy companies. these included the use of education, infrastructure development, human development, change management, and good governance. keywords: beneficiary communities, community development, economic development, green energy, renewable energy, revenue management, socioeconomic development, project management, transformational change abstrak transformatoriese verandering is die tweede van drie submodelle wat voortspruit uit die opbreking van die oorspronklike model na die data-analise as deel van ’n proefskrif getiteld a theoretical model for successful management of revenue for beneficiary communities of renewable energy companies in south africa. die submodel bied spesifieke leiding aan projekbestuurders wat handel oor transformasieverandering binne gemeenskappe aan belanghebbendes, kundiges in die bedryf en gemeenskapsontwikkelingspraktisyns in die hernubare energie sektor. die doel van die navorsing was om ’n gelokaliseerde begrip van onderwys, sosiale interaksie, sosiale samehorigheid, verbetering van infrastruktuur en deel te bevorder om sukses te behaal in die bestuur van die inkomste vir begunstigde gemeenskapsprojekte deur hernubare energie konstruksiemaatskappye. ’n literatuurstudie van relevante literatuur oor transformasieveranderingsfaktore is gedoen en gebruik om ’n gestruktureerde vraelys te ontwikkel wat aan nasionale en internasionale populasie van projekbestuurspraktisyns in suid-afrika versprei is. met behulp van ’n elektroniese meetinstrument het die empiriese bevindinge vier transformasiefaktore gevind wat betroubaar en geldig was vir transformasieverandering in gemeenskappe, naamlik onderwys, infrastruktuurontwikkeling, menslike ontwikkeling, en veranderingsbestuur. met behulp van hierdie faktore en die konstruksie van ’n vloeidiagram van die onafhanklike veranderlikes (onderwys, infrastruktuurontwikkeling, menslike ontwikkeling, en veranderingsbestuur) en die daaropvolgende tussenliggende (goeie bestuur) en afhanklike veranderlikes (waargeneme sukses van inkomstebestuur) is toepaslike hipoteses ontwikkel om die model te toets. die hipoteses is empiries geanaliseer met behulp van strukturele vergelyking modellering (sem). determinante is geïdentifiseer as elemente van transformasieverandering wat die sukses van inkomstebestuur vir begunstigde gemeenskappe vir suid-afrikaanse hernubare energie maatskappye beïnvloed. dit sluit in die gebruik van onderwys, infrastruktuurontwikkeling, menslike ontwikkeling, veranderingsbestuur, en goeie bestuur. sleutelwoorde: begunstigde gemeenskappe, ekonomiese ontwikkeling, gemeenskapsontwikkeling, groen energie, hernubare energie, inkomstebestuur, projekbestuur en transformasieverandering, sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkeling amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 73 1. introduction as mentioned in a previous article entitled the success of multisector participation in the management of revenue for beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy companies – submodel a (amansure & adendorff, 2017: 63-75), one of the main benefits to be derived from the industry is not being achieved, owing to ineffective project management of revenue for beneficiary communities in the renewable energy sector in south africa. beneficiary communities refers to those communities that must receive socio-economic development benefits from the renewable energy companies located in the area surrounding the renewable energy farm. this investigation focuses on the second sub-model of a comprehensive model to explain transformational change in the perceived success of the management of revenue for beneficiary communities. this is of paramount importance to project managers, especially those operating in the renewable energy sector in south africa as part of the renewable energy independent power producers procurement programme (reipppp). the comprehensive model consists of three sub-models (in effect, three sets of independent variables), namely multi-sector participation, transformational change (addressed in this article), and sustainable initiatives (amansure, 2016). owing to the limited sample size, the entire matrix of responses in this study could not be subjected to a single exploratory factor analysis and was consequently split into the three sub-models. in order to promote a localised understanding of transformational change to ensure success in managing the revenue for beneficiary community projects by renewable energy construction companies, the factors (variables) that influence the success of revenue management solutions for the renewable energy sector in south africa were investigated and a theoretical business process model was developed for the perceived success of this revenue management. to test the proposed model, appropriate hypotheses were proposed and tested, and a path diagram of relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variable was constructed and measured. based on the results of the statistical analysis, the organisational and social variables that will ensure transformational change were identified. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 74 2. literature review sub-model – transformational change (see figure 1) change without transformation is simply window-dressing (amansure, 2016). transformation is about changing the way people view themselves – self-potential; how people view others around them — collective potential, and how people view the world around them (including the natural environment) — sustainable potential (amansure, 2016). transformation involves education, social interaction, social cohesion, infrastructure improvement, and sharing. therefore, every kind of participation referred to in submodel – multi-sector participation) must complement sub-model – transformational change and have a deliberate component of knowledge (education) and skills transfer so that beneficiary communities can take ownership of, and be responsible for growth and development. independent variables intervening variable dependent variable +h16 +h1 +h14 +h11 +h1 +h10 +h9 +h1 +h8 +h1 +h12 +h1 +h13 +h1 +h15 +h1 figure 1: proposed theoretical sub-model – transformational change to understand the elements in the proposed model, it is important to introduce the factors relating to transformational change that directly influence the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities. these factors form the independent variables used in the measuring instrument. two of the variables, education and infrastructure development, will be loaded together to form a factor labelled “developmental benefits”. the independent variables associated with this sub-model include developmental benefits, human development and the intervening variable of good governance, measured against the dependent variable: perceived amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 75 success of revenue management for beneficiary communities. this model alludes to a transformational approach to managing revenue for beneficiary communities. 2.1 independent variables 2.1.1 independent variable: education the development of a model for managing revenue for beneficiary communities must include the benefits of access to quality education for the rural poor, in order to address illiteracy in rural communities (atchoarena & gasperini, 2003). the renewable energy sector should be informed about the best methodology to follow when engaging with these communities to ensure that outcomes are positive and meaningful. in this model, “education” refers to formal and informal education and training in the form of learnerships, mentorships, further education and training, educational support, and resourcing to increase the success of revenue management for beneficiary communities. this will improve the socio-economic circumstances of members of beneficiary communities, enabling them to access the mainstream economy and contribute to local and national economic growth. 2.1.2 independent variable: infrastructure development there are still challenges in infrastructure development in south africa that must be addressed, especially in rural areas, before the country can reach its infrastructure goals. some of the challenges include funding of infrastructure projects, slow approval processes for projects, and skills shortages in carrying out the actual work. however, there are also opportunities in investing and developing infrastructure, namely job creation, social development, economic efficiency, and skills development (gauteng province provincial treasury, 2012: 1). the unique relationship between the renewable energy sector, government and the community must be approached with caution. in this model, “infrastructure development” refers to the physical systems of a renewable energy company or beneficiary community, such as buildings, transportation, communication, sewage, water, and electrical systems that can contribute to successful revenue management, thereby contributing to increased economic growth. infrastructure governance is also an integral part of this variable. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 76 2.1.3 independent variable: human development in 2010, the united nations development programme (undp) reported that south africa’s human development index (hdi) rose from 0.587 to 0.601 between 2005 and 2010 (hdr, 2010: 145). south africa falls into the medium human development category, with a ranking of 110 out of 169 countries (hdr, 2010: 149). united nations (un) documents emphasise that “human development” is measured by life expectancy, adult literacy, access to all three levels of education, as well as people’s average income that is a necessary condition to their freedom of choice. in a broader sense, the notion of human development incorporates all aspects of individuals’ well-being, from their health status and capabilities to their economic and political freedom (munene, 2012). in this model, “human development” refers to the increase of capabilities and opportunities that will ensure successful revenue management for beneficiary communities; to improvement in the quality of life and life expectancy of community members in beneficiary communities; to improvement of human capabilities such as improved health, knowledge and skills, and the use people make of the acquired capabilities for leisure, productive purposes or being active in cultural, social and political affairs in beneficiary communities. 2.1.4 independent variable: change management the department of energy (doe) sets the rules for the disbursement of revenue by renewable energy companies (eberhard & naude, 2017). these companies lack the experience and skills to deal with the often complex beneficiary communities that must benefit from funds spent on socio-economic development (sed) and enterprise development (ed) (tait, wlokas & garside, 2013). trying to meet the obligations of the doe has brought about sudden changes (such as large amounts of revenue inflow) in the beneficiary communities that fall within the geographic radius of the sed and ed obligations of multiple renewable energy facilities. unless these changes are managed correctly and systematically, it threatens to unbalance and have a negative long-term effect on the socio-economic growth of the beneficiary communities. in this model, “change management” refers to all the participants, methodologies and activities that will contribute to the success of revenue management for beneficiary communities in a transformational and sustainable manner. this will promote human development, socio-economic development, creativity, and innovation with a view to assisting in closing the poverty gap where it exists. amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 77 2.2 intervening variable: good governance corporate governance is a system of procedures and rules laid down by a company for its efficient and ethical functioning to achieve its mission, conforming to both public policy and law of government and the acceptable, ethical standards of society, resulting in equitable and just distribution/delivery of its benefits to all stakeholders and to society at large (colley, doyle, logan & stettinius, 2004). good governance has also been covered extensively by the king commissions report of the past few years (the institute of directors in southern africa, 2016). the code views good governance essentially as being effective, ethical leadership (the institute of directors in southern africa, 2016: 20). the application of sound governance principles to managing revenue for beneficiary communities in the renewable energy sector in south africa addresses issues of the mismanagement and misappropriation of funding in the short, medium and long term, as well as deterring incidences of fraud and corruption. in this model, “good governance” refers to the influence of good governance practices, the relationship with the identified variables, and the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities in south africa. this includes good governance infrastructure, processes, policies, systems, and procedures. 2.3 dependent variable: perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities in this model, “the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities” is defined as the degree to which the proposed revenue management model results in an increase in the quality and sustainability of benefits to beneficiary communities in the short, medium and long term, thus resulting in transformational socio-economic development that will reduce poverty and increase job creation and overall economic development of the country. the primary objective of sub-model – transformational change was to guide stakeholders, enterprises and consultants in the renewable energy sector towards a pro-active, effective and relevant decisionmaking process, in order to achieve transformation success in revenue management for the beneficiary communities. using proposed submodel – transformational change as a guide and constructing a path diagram of the dependent variable and subsequent independent and intervening variables, appropriate hypotheses were developed. table 1 shows the hypotheses considered to be tested for sub-model – transformational change. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 78 table 1: hypothesis for sub-model – transformational change hypothesis definition h8 there is a positive relationship between education and the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy companies. h9 there is a positive relationship between infrastructure development and the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy companies. h10 there is a positive relationship between human development and the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy companies. h11 there is a positive relationship between change management and the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy companies h12 there is a positive relationship between education and good governance. h13 there is a positive relationship between infrastructure development and good governance. h14 there is a positive relationship between human development and good governance. h15 there is a positive relationship between change management and good governance. h16 there is a positive relationship between good governance structures and the perceived success of revenue management. 3. research methodology for this research study, a positivistic research paradigm was adopted within which to identify the organisational and social variables that will ensure transformational change of revenue management among beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy construction companies. the positivist paradigm asserts that real events can be observed empirically and explained with logical analysis (aliyu, bello, kasim & martin, 2014: 83). the positivistic paradigm is also known as the quantitative, objectivist, scientific, experimentalist or traditionalist research paradigm (collis & hussey, 2003). this paradigm allows for quantitative research design which allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (creswell, 1994). in the questionnaire, transformational change, items expected to measure the factors of education, infrastructure development, human development, and good governance were extracted and set as the variables that will ensure transformational change (creswell, 2005). exploratory factor analysis (efa) was used amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 79 to assess these measured variables in terms of their validity and reliability. it is a type of technique that analyses the unidimensionality (characteristics) of each of the defined transformational change items (original variables), in order to reduce it to a common score (smaller number of factors) by examining relationships among these quantitative factors (pallant, 2013: 192; rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 200). several factor analysis methods are available, but principal axis factoring (paf) was used, because it analyses not only correlations, but also covariances, and the eigenvalues could be extracted which explains whether the factors tested had or had not a noticeable effect on people’s responses to the variables in the original test (analysed construct) (rossoni et al., 2016: 201; pallant, 2013:192; youngblut, 1993: 123). structural equation modelling (sem) was used to test the significance of the causal relationships hypothesized between the variables that influence good governance. sem is a technique that uses path analysis to test factor analysis and hypotheses in the same analysis (gefen, straub & boudreau, 2000: 5). 3.1 sampling method and size it is very difficult to ascertain the overall research population size, but the composition of the population that was targeted for this research study included practitioners from various renewable energy sectors, governmental institutions, non-governmental institutions, renewable energy researchers, community development specialists, and academics. snowball sampling was used, because this method is appropriate when the members of a special population are difficult to locate (babbie & mouton, 2001). as the snowball sampling progressed, databases were received from interested parties within the renewable energy community and economic development sector, resulting ultimately in 219 participating respondents. 3.2 data collection a self-administered questionnaire was developed and distributed to 219 respondents using electronic email from 1 july to 30 september 2016. the questionnaires were collated online, using an excel-based spreadsheet, and then downloaded by the researcher for analysis. topics on transformational change of revenue management used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two sections. section one on respondent’s profile obtained personal information on age, gender, level of education, experience in acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 80 community development, and connection with the renewable energy sector. section two sets 60 questions on factors influencing revenue management for beneficiary communities in the renewable energy sector in south africa. the respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement with these statements. the data from these measurements forms the variables used in the exploratory factor analysis, which tested the validity and reliability of the factors. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section two (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.3 data analysis and interpretation of findings prior to the implementation of sem, ibm statistical product and service solutions 23 (spss 23) for windows was used to determine the factor analysability of the measured constructs incorporated in the theoretical model (pallant, 2013). to rank which of the transformational change items were expected to measure the factors of education, infrastructure development, human development, and good governance, the measures were rated on a seven-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (simon & goes, 2013: online). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = strongly disagree (≥ 1.00 ≤ and <1.80); 2 = disagree (≥ 1.81 and ≤ 2.60); 3 = somewhat/slightly disagree (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40); 4 = neither agree nor disagree (neutral) (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40); 5 = somewhat/slightly agree (≥ 3.41 and ≤ 4.20); 6 = agree (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40), and 7 = strongly agree (≥ 4.21 and ≤ 5.00). for the analysis of the internal reliability of the factors in the questions on transformational change, cronbach’s alpha values were tested during the exploratory factor analysis (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347; nunnally & bernstein 1994; wahab, ayodele & moody, 2010: 67). tavakol and dennick (2011: 54-55) and yount (2006) suggested that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.70 to 0.95. in the current study, a cronbach’s alpha co-efficient of greater than 0.70 is used to indicate that a factor is reliable. furthermore, the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) should range from 0.2 to 0.4, in order for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2013: 134). however, in this study, a value of 0.3 and above was adopted. to confirm whether the data from the measurements was sufficient for factor analysis (test the validity and factor analysability of the data), the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) test (lorenzo-seva, timmerman amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 81 & kiers, 2011: 343) and the bartlett’s sphericity (hair, black, babin, andersen & taham, 2006: 110) tests were performed. in the kmo test, as the values of the test vary from 0 to 1, values above 0.7 are recommended as being desirable for applying efa (hair et al., 2006). a statistically significant bartlett test (p < 0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the analysis (hair et al., 2006: 110; pallant, 2013: 190). eigenvalues are used to explain the variance captured by the factor. eigenvalues greater than 1 are considered significant, whereas factors with eigenvalues less than 1 are considered insignificant and are discarded (hair et al., 2010). in this study, in exceptional cases, factors with eigenvalues lower than 1 were considered for retention provided that the factors (and items) could be interpreted. in determining the number of factors to extract, principal axis factoring (paf) was used to find the underlying factors related to the 60 questionnaire items based on correlations and on covariances, where the first factor accounts for as much common variance as possible (burton & mazerolle, 2011: 28; fabrigar, wegener, maccallum & strahan, 1999: 277). in paf, when the number of variables (items) is between 20 and 60, it is more reliable to use eigenvalues to extract factors, as it makes interpretation simpler (johnson & wichern, 2007). to clarify and simplify the results of the factor analysis, oblique rotation (direct quartimin) was used to examine factor/item loadings and to reveal any correlation between these factors (costello & osborne, 2005: 3). structural equation modelling (sem) was used to test the significance of the causal relationships hypothesized between the variables that influence good governance. the lisrel software application (v 8.8) was used to test the relationships among the factors that influence the perceived success of the management of revenue. 3.4 limitations the research was limited to the field of global and regional generation of electrical power by renewable energy. 4. findings the significant relationships identified in the study and the recommendations about how these determinants can be addressed are presented and discussed in tables 1-5. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 82 4.1 empirical results of sub-model – transformational change for sub-model – transformational change, labelled “transformational change”, paf with an oblique rotation (oblimin with kaiser normalisation) was used as the extraction and rotation method. bartlett’s test of sphericity returned a kmo value of 0.93 (p < 0.00), indicating that the data were suitable for factor analysis. in sub-model – transformational change, items expected to measure the factors of education, infrastructure development, human development, and good governance were assessed for discriminant validity by means of an exploratory factor analysis. initially, the number of factors to be extracted was not specified, but the eigenvalues suggested a total of three factors to be used as the independent variables. the final solution was reached through an iterative process of deleting items that did not demonstrate sufficient discriminant validity, and re-running the exploratory factor analysis until all the remaining items loaded to a significant extent (p > 0.4), with no cross-loadings (i.e., loaded on only one factor). all items with loadings < 0.4 were deleted. the independent variables were analysed first and the following results were obtained: table 1: rotated factor loadings: sub-model – transformational change variable factor 1 developmental benefits factor 2 human development factor 3 good governance ed5 0.822* -0.032 -0.009 id5 0.813* 0.020 -0.212 ed3 0.768* 0.051 0.054 id4 0.746* 0.025 0.106 ed4 0.709* 0.041 0.136 id2 0.673* 0.024 0.184 ed2 0.602* -0038 0.194 id3 0.551* 0.009 0.276 id1 0.533* 0.011 0.233 ed1 0.462* 0.011 0.289 hd4 -0.097 0.895* 0.004 hd3 0.025 0.853* -0.084 hd2 -0.041 0.744* 0.033 hd1 0.168 0.678* -0.131 amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 83 variable factor 1 developmental benefits factor 2 human development factor 3 good governance hd5 -0.038 0.528* 0.143 gg3 0.162 -0.009 0.732* gg1 -0.009 0.012 0.702* gg4 0.205 0.05 0.658* * = significant loadings (p ≥ 0.4); ed = education; hd = human development; id = infrastructure development; gg = good governance table 1 indicates that a total of 20 items, including three independent variables and one intervening variable, were grouped into three factors, which explained 65.24% of the variance in the data. the intervening variables were then analysed using the same procedure of factor analysis. 4.1.1 factor 1: dependent variable – developmental benefits all five items expected to measure the construct of education and infrastructure development loaded together on the same factor. consequently, based on the results of the factor analysis, this construct was redefined and renamed “developmental benefits”. in this study, “developmental benefits” are operationally defined as the benefits that the beneficiary community can derive from formal and informal education, training in the form of learnerships, mentorships, further education and training, educational support, and resourcing. benefits also include the development of physical systems such as buildings, transportation, communication, sewage, water, and electricity pertinent to the construction phase that will improve the socio-economic circumstances of the beneficiary communities. developmental benefits explained 45.01% of the variance in the data, with an eigenvalue of 9.00, as reported in table 1. all factor loadings exceeded 0.4 and were thus regarded as significant, providing sufficient evidence of discriminant validity of the construct. the cronbach’s alpha co-efficient of 0.93 for developmental benefits suggests that the instrument used to measure this construct was reliable. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 84 4.1.2 factor 2: independent variable – human development all five of the items that were expected to measure the construct of human development loaded together on one factor. human development explained 14.60% of the variance in the data, with an eigenvalue of 2.92, as reported in table 1. all factor loadings exceeded 0.4 and were thus regarded as significant, providing sufficient evidence of discriminant validity of the construct. the cronbach’s alpha co-efficient of 0.856 for human development suggests that the instrument used to measure this construct was reliable. the operationalization of human development, as described in section 2, remained unchanged. 4.1.3 factor 3: intervening variable – good governance all five of the items that were expected to measure the construct of good governance loaded together on one factor, as expected. good governance explained 5.64% of the variance in the data, with an eigenvalue of 1.13, as reported in table 1. all factor loadings exceeded 0.4 and were thus regarded as significant, providing sufficient evidence of discriminant validity of the construct. the cronbach’s alpha co-efficient of 0.88 for good governance suggests that the instrument used to measure this construct was reliable. the operationalization of good governance, as described in section 2, remained unchanged. 4.2 reformulation of the hypotheses and the revised theoretical model sub-model – transformational change (transformational change) was constructed using a separate path diagram depicting the causal relationships between the antecedent variable of developmental benefits and human development and the intervening variable of good governance and the dependent variable of perceived success of revenue management (figure 2). amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 85 independent variables intervening variable dependent variable +h8a +h1 +h6 +h1 +h7 +h8 +h1 +h8b figure 2: path diagram of causal relationships: revised theoretical model (submodel – transformational change) two variables, namely education and infrastructure development, loaded together to form a factor labelled “developmental benefits” (devb). the independent variable of change management was removed from the proposed theoretical model because its discriminant validity could not be confirmed by the exploratory factor analysis. after the reliability and discriminant validity of all the variables remaining in the empirical model had been confirmed, the statistical technique of sem was used to test the series of relationships of the revised model in figure 2. table 2: reformulated hypotheses for sub-model – transformational change reformulated hypotheses sub-model transformational change – transformational change h6 there is a positive relationship between developmental benefits and the perceived success of revenue management. h7 there is a positive relationship between human development and the perceived success of revenue management. h8 there is a positive relationship between good governance and the perceived success of revenue management. h8a there is a positive relationship between developmental benefits and good governance. h8b there is a positive relationship between human development and good governance. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 86 4.3 assessment of fit before the sem analysis was carried out, an assessment of the multivariate normality of the data was conducted. the following hypotheses were formulated for this purpose: h0: the data are normally distributed. ha: the data are not normally distributed. the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis, as formulated above, were evaluated by assessing the skewness and the kurtosis of the data, while the chisquare (x2) value was used to determine the relevant p-value. the results of the test of multivariate normality of the relationship between the independent and intervening variables are presented as follows. 4.3.1 the measurement and structural models for sub-model – transformational change (intervening variable of good governance) table 3 shows the fit indices for sub-model – transformational change, which assess the relationship between the independent variables of developmental benefits and human development and good governance. table 3: fit indices for the measurement and structural models for sub-model – transformational change – intervening variable fit indices for the measurement and structural models for sub-model – transformational change relationship between the independent and intervening variables (good governance) item measurement model structural model sample size 219 219 degrees of freedom 269 271 satorra-bentler scaled chi-square 466.463 (p = 0.00) 471.228 (p = 0.00) sbx2 / degrees of freedom 1.73 1.74 root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) 0.0580 0.0582 90% confidence interval for rmsea (0.0491; 0.0668) (0.0493; 0.0669) expected cross-validation index (ecvi) 2.654 2.657 amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 87 4.3.1.i measurement model the goodness-of-fit indices for the measurement model illustrated in figure 3 are reported in table 3. the satorra-bentler x2 divided by the degrees of freedom is 1.73, which is lower than the acceptable value of 2 and indicates a good fit. the rmsea (0.0580) is less than 0.06 and indicates a close fit (hu & bentler, 1999, while the 90% confidence interval for rmsea (0.0668) is less than 0.08 and is considered to be in the upper limit of the confidence level (maccullum, browne & sugawara, 1996). these fit indices all provide evidence of a model with a reasonable fit. consequently, the null hypothesis, that the data fit the model perfectly, must be rejected. however, although the data do not fit the model perfectly, the data can be described as having a close fit. 4.3.1.ii structural model the satorra-bentler x2 to degrees of freedom ratio is 1.74, which is lower than 2. values lower than 2 indicate a good fit (politis, 2003). the rmsea (0.0582) is less than 0.06 and indicates a very close fit (hu & bentler, 1991), while the upper limit of the 90% confidence interval for rmsea (0.0669) is less than 0.08 (roberts, stephen & ilardi, 2003). these fit indices all provide evidence of a model with a good fit. consequently, the null hypothesis, that the data fit the model perfectly, must be rejected. however, although the data do not fit the model perfectly, the data can be described as having a good fit. 4.3.2 the measurement and structural models for sub-model – transformational change (dependent variable of perceived success of revenue management) table 4 shows the fit indices for sub-model – transformational change, which assess the relationship between the independent variables of developmental benefits and human development, and dependent variable of perceived success of revenue management. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 88 table 4: fit indices for the measurement and structural models for sub-model – transformational change – dependent variable fit indices for the measurement and structural models for sub-model – transformational change relationship between the independent and dependent variables (perceived success) item measurement model structural model sample size 219 219 degrees of freedom 167 167 satorra-bentler scaled chi-square x2 279.470 (p = 0.00) 279.470 (p = 0.00) sbx2 / degrees of freedom 1.67 1.67 root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) 0.0556 0.0556 90% confidence interval for (rmsea) (0.0439; 0.0668) (0.0439; 0.0668) expected cross-validation index (ecvi) 1.676 1.676 4.3.2.i measurement model the ratio x2 to degrees of freedom is 1.67, which is significantly lower than 2. a value of lower than 2 is an indication of a good fit. the rmsea (0.0556) is within the reasonable fit range of 0.05-0.08, while the upper limit of the 90% confidence interval for rmsea (0.0668) is less than 0.08. these indices all provide evidence of a model with a reasonable fit. consequently, the null hypothesis, that the data fit the model perfectly, must be rejected. however, although the data do not fit the model perfectly, the data can be described as having a reasonable or acceptable fit. 4.3.2.ii structural model the satorra-bentler x2 divided by the degrees of freedom is 1.67, which is lower than 2 and indicates a good fit (politis, 2003). the rmsea (0.0556) is less than 0.06 and indicates a good fit (hu & bentler, 1991), while the upper limit of the 90% confidence interval for rmsea (0.0668) is less than 0.08, which is in the upper limit of the confidence level and indicates a good fit (roberts et al., 2003). these fit indices all provide evidence of a model with a good fit. consequently, the null hypothesis, that the data fit the model perfectly, must be rejected. however, although the data does not fit the model perfectly, the data can be described as having a good fit. amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 89 4.4 structural and measurement model figure 3 illustrates the structural estimation for sub-model – transformational change. independent variables intervening variable dependent variable +h8b path co-efficient = 0.01 n.s. t=0.27 path co-efficient = 0.02 +h7 n.s. t=0.43 path co-efficient = 0.84 +h6 p<0.001 t=5.18 path co-efficient = 0.93 p<0.001 t=6.38 +h8a path co-efficient = 0.88 p<0.001 t=3.99 su b -m o d el b +h8 figure 3: structural estimation for sub-model – transformational change (including t-values) where n.s. = non-significant 4.5 empirical results: hypotheses testing in the ensuing sections, the various steps of sem are applied to submodel – transformational change (figure 3) to evaluate whether the various hypotheses associated with this sub-model should be accepted or rejected. 4.5.1 developmental benefits and the perceived success of revenue management h6: there is a positive relationship between developmental benefits and the perceived success of revenue management. since various academics and practitioners suggested that the use of developmental benefits would improve the perceived success of revenue management, hypothesis 6 was assessed. figure 3 shows that developmental benefits are positively related to the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities (point estimate = 0.84, p < 0.001, t = 5.18), with 0.01% level of significance. hypothesis 6 was thus accepted. hypothesis 6 confirms that, when renewable energy companies incorporate developmental benefit projects such as education and infrastructure development into the socio-economic development approach, they will have a acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 90 positive impact on the revenue management for the company’s beneficiaries. this empirical result concurs with previous research recorded in literature by halina, wilson & zarsky (2007), dutton (2004), and nyahuye (2012). 4.5.2 human development and the perceived success of revenue management h7: there is a positive relationship between human development and the perceived success of revenue management. the empirical results of this study revealed that human development does not have a significant influence on the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities of south african renewable energy companies (point estimate = -0.02, p > 0.00, t = 0.43). therefore, hypothesis 7 was rejected. 4.5.3 good governance and perceived success of revenue management h8: there is a positive relationship between good governance and the perceived success of revenue management. various sources, both academically and practically oriented, have suggested that the use of good governance practices can improve the perceived success of the revenue management of renewable energy companies. it was against this background that hypothesis 8 was assessed. the results recorded in figure 3 confirm that the use of good governance practices is positively related to the perceived success of revenue management for beneficiary communities (point estimate = 0.93, p < 0.001, t = 6.38), with a 0.1% level of significance. hypothesis 8 was thus accepted. hypothesis 8 proposes that, when good governance measures are implemented, this will result in an improvement in the integrity of revenue management for beneficiary communities. this empirical result is supported by previous research recorded in literature by jonker & de witte (2006); walker & mokoena (2011); engelbrecht (2009); erasmus (2014); johnston (2009); boyce, griffith & king (2007), and rossouw (2012). 4.5.4 developmental benefits and good governance h8a: there is a positive relationship between developmental benefits and good governance. various sources, both academically and practically oriented, have suggested that developmental benefits can improve the perceived success of the revenue management of renewable energy companies. hypothesis 8a was assessed against this background. amansure & adendorff • successful transformational change ... 91 figure 3 shows that developmental benefits are positively related to the intervening variable of good governance (point estimate = 0.88, p < 0.001, t = 3.99), with 0.1% level of significance. hypothesis 8a was thus accepted. this hypothesis suggests that, when renewable energy companies consider the implementation of developmentally beneficial projects (education and infrastructure development), this will improve the company’s approach of good governance towards beneficiary revenue management. this empirical result confirms previous research recorded in literature by agenor (2013); dorel, rasa & olga (2015); boateng (2012); fourie (2006), and the economic commission for africa (2013). 4.5.5 human development and good governance h8b: there is a positive relationship between human development and good governance. the empirical results of this study revealed that human development does not have a significant influence on good governance (point estimate = -0.01, p > 0.00, t = -0.27), which is contrary to what was proposed in hypothesis 8b. therefore, hypothesis 8b was rejected. table 5: summary of all the sub-model – transformational change hypotheses summary of all the sub-model – transformational change hypotheses h6 there is a positive relationship between developmental benefits and the perceived success of revenue management. supported h7 there is a positive relationship between human development and the perceived success of revenue management. not supported h8 there is a positive relationship between good governance and the perceived success of revenue management. supported h8a there is a positive relationship between developmental benefits and good governance. supported h8b there is a positive relationship between human development and good governance. not supported 5. conclusion the independent variables associated with this sub-model include developmental benefits and human development, and the inter vening variable was good governance, which alludes to a transformational approach to revenue management for beneficiary acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 92 communities. therefore, every kind of participation referred to in submodel a (multi-sector participation) must complement sub-model – transformational change and have a deliberate component of knowledge (education) and skills transfer so that beneficiary communities can take ownership of, and be responsible for growth and development. there must be greater participation on the part of government and the ipps during the implementation of community projects to ensure that outcomes for the beneficiary communities are transformational in nature. the role of the intervening variable, good governance, must also form an integral part of project management to ensure that transformational change benefits the beneficiary community at all times and in every possible way. project management, especially during the construction phase, must include activities such as: • addressing human development needs as a priority. • prior to construction of the renewable energy facility, gain baseline knowledge and insight regarding the educational and infrastructural needs of the beneficiary communities (including engagement with the community at grassroots level). • scenario forecasting. • appointing internal and external service providers. • forming possible ppps or collaborating with other ipps. • managing finances and financial transactions. • monitoring, evaluating and reporting all activities. • include policies and procedures in all project management processes. it is now known from the most recent literature available (doe, 2015) that the quantum of the socio-economic development, enterprise development and community trust to be spent over the next 20 to 25 years in south africa in the renewable energy sector as part of the reippp program is over r50 billion. the renewable energy sector has the 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https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd https://doi.org/10.1097/00006199-199303000-00014 57 how to cite: ofori, p. 2020. housing poverty in developing countries: challenges and implications for decent accommodation in swedru, ghana. acta structilia, 27(2), pp. 57-92. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels peres ofori mr peres ofori, lecturer, department of real estate and land management, university for development studies (uds), wa, ghana, post office box 520, uds. phone: +233(0)542910525, email: <pofori@uds.edu. gh> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-5978-8398 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.3 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 57-92 housing poverty in developing countries: challenges and implications for decent accommodation in swedru, ghana peer reviewed and revised august 2020 published december 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract adequate supply of housing remains a challenge in developing countries. this article assesses the extent of housing poverty in developing countries and its implication for decent accommodation1 in swedru, ghana. using a cross-sectional survey design coupled with stratified and systematic sampling techniques, 1,161 household participants were selected. questionnaires and interviews were used to collect raw data from 496 houses in 16 neighbourhoods in the swedru township, ghana. findings showed that the vast majority of houses in the swedru township share common housing facilities such as bathroom and lavatory. this has compelled some households to resort to bathing in open spaces, while practising free range especially in the morning where households have to queue 1 decent home/housing is not about the moral conducts of the households, but rather about the extent to which households feel comfortable as occupants of a house to include adequate space, availability of facilities, and security. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:pofori@uds.edu.gh mailto:pofori@uds.edu.gh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5978-8398 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5978-8398 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.3 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.3 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 58 for bathing and using the toilet facility. a room occupancy rate of 5.51 indicates that households are congested and a population of 4,603 accommodated in 496 housing units is evident. it was revealed that the high level of non-decent accommodation in the municipality is attributable to ill-enforcement of building laws that has allowed houseowners to supply housing without lavatories with impunity. hence, effective implementation of the l.i.1630 was recommended. keywords: decent accommodation, deficit, housing facility, housing supply abstrak voldoende aanbod van behuising bly ’n uitdaging in ontwikkelende lande. in hierdie artikel word die omvang van behuisingsarmoede in ontwikkelende lande en die implikasies daarvan vir ordentlike akkommodasie in swedru, ghana, beoordeel. met behulp van ’n deursnee-opname-ontwerp tesame met gestratifiseerde en sistematiese monsternemingstegnieke, is 1 161 huishoudelike deelnemers gekies. vraelyste en onderhoude is gebruik om rou-data van 496 huise in 16 woonbuurte in die swedru township, ghana, te versamel. bevindinge het getoon dat die oorgrote meerderheid huise in die swedru township gemeenskaplike huisvestingsgeriewe soos badkamer en toilet deel. dit het sommige huishoudings genoop om te gaan bad in oop ruimtes, terwyl huishoudings moet wag om te bad en die toiletgeriewe te gebruik. ’n kamerbesettingskoers van 5,51 dui aan dat huishoudings oorvol is en dat daar ’n bevolking van 4 603 in 496 wooneenhede is. daar is aan die lig gebring dat die hoë vlak van nie-ordentlike akkommodasie in die munisipaliteit te wyte is aan die swak handhawing van die bouwette wat huiseienaars toegelaat het om straffeloos behuising sonder toilette te voorsien. daarom word ’n effektiewe implementering van die l.i.1630 aanbeveel. sleutelwoorde: behuisingsaanbod, behuisingsfasiliteit, ordentlike akkommodasie, tekort 1. introduction housing has become a growing concern across the globe and, with the growing number of the urban poor, particularly in africa, the situation has worsened to unprecedented levels and it seems that the trend is persisting (chirisa & matamanda, 2016: 41). aribigbola (2011: 26) reiterated that housing is crucial to the welfare, survival, and health of individuals. erguden (2001: 5) opined that housing, apart from being a treasured asset, has much broader economic, social, cultural, and personal connotations. in accordance with un-habitat (2003: 31), although africa is the least urbanised, it remains the continent urbanising the most, leading to a great challenge of providing decent housing for its urban population. a study by kempe (1998: 4) reveals that, by 2025, africa would have an average urban population growth of 3.05%, with west africa alone estimated to have an average annual population growth of 3.16% (see table 1). ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 59 table 1: average percentage annual growth rate of urban population in africa by region, 1990-2025 year range region 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 2010-2015 2015-2020 2020-2025 africa 4.94 4.72 4.48 4.21 3.85 3.43 3.05 east africa 6.41 5.94 5.44 5.12 4.72 4.24 3.74 middle africa 5.07 4.98 4.83 4.56 4.21 3.75 3.24 northern africa 3.92 3.66 3.40 3.08 2.71 2.36 2.18 southern africa 3.49 3.29 3.04 2.79 2.53 2.26 1.97 west africa 5.32 5.15 4.90 4.59 4.12 3.62 3.16 source: adapted from un, world urbanization prospects, 2012: 154-155 unrestrained urban growth makes it difficult for cities to offer residents social facilities such as decent accommodation units for households, despite the recent urban partiality with respect to development disbursements and strategies (rondinelli & kasarda, 1993: 17). with the growing density of people in urban areas, land becomes scarce and very expensive where the demand for housing is increasing, making it a challenge for the poor to access decent housing (jenkins & scott, 2007: 12). owing to the scarcity of land and the rising cost of housing, there is a paucity of affordable housing in africa (bashir, julius & rainer, 2017: 1). rapid urbanisation has led to overcrowding in most of the african countries and the rising urban population is not able, in most instances, to access decent housing, thus leading to slums and informal settlements that often do not meet formal benchmarks. according to un-habitat (2008: 13), at least 860 million people were living in slums in 2013, an increase of 725 million since the year 2000. the situation in ghana is no different. according to the gss (2005c: 24), the urban population has experienced a steady increase of 23.1% in 1960 and 43.8% in 2000. this situation has led to high levels of unsafe homes. houses constructed in an open space without a lavatory, water, light and sometimes a bathroom are common in most of the rural areas in ghana (habitat for humanity, 2009: 2). despite these conditions, the shortage of housing in urban areas has compelled many people to congest in small rooms in houses, where there are no acceptable housing facilities. these houses are mostly overcrowded and a room, which is meant to accommodate at most 3 persons, in accordance with the un-habitat (2016: 12) standard, is used by at least 6 persons. tenants have to queue in the morning and in the evening to have access to a single bathroom or lavatory. this condition is referred to as housing poverty in the context of this article. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 60 this article investigates the extent of housing poverty conditions in the swedru township, a conurbation of accra, the capital city of ghana, which provides accommodation for the overflow population of accra and its nearby metropolis. although some studies (ansah, 2014: 1; wuni, boafo, yeboah & dinye, 2018: 2; obeng-odoom, 2014: 357) have been conducted on the extent of housing shortage in ghana’s urban cities, none focused on swedru township. other similar studies (boamah, 2010: 1; appeaning, 2014; gillespie, 2018: 64) did not consider how decent or non-decent households are being accommodated, as far as the provision of housing is concerned, in terms of room occupancy rate and housing facility per person. this article investigates the state of housing conditions relative to overcrowding and the availability of in-house facilities, and examines how decent households are accommodated in the swedru municipality, as measured against the sdg11 and the un-habitat’s housing standards. 2. literature review 2.1 urbanisation and the extent of decent housing in developing nations africa is swiftly urbanising and will lead the world’s urban growth in the coming decades (world bank, 2015: 11). presently, africa is the leasturbanised continent, with 11.3% of the world’s urban population. the subsaharan region is the continent’s least-urbanised area. the region’s cities are growing rapidly, and africa’s urban population is projected to reach 1.2 billion by 2050, with an urbanisation rate of 58% (un-habitat, 2014a: 23). with this growth rate, africa will overtake asia as the world’s most rapidly urbanising region by 2025 (un, 2014: 6). although the nature and pace of urbanisation varies among countries, africa, with over a quarter of the world’s fastest growing cities, is undergoing a massive urban transition. the urbanisation progression in africa is linked to an increasing demand for affordable housing and other subsidiary urban services, which most of the countries fail to provide (un-habitat, 2012: 5; mugumbate, maushe & nyoni, 2013: 25a). as such, both academics and experts have acknowledged the need to reduce the rate of housing scarcity and poverty in developing cities (riley, fiori & ramirez, 2001: 521-531; sivam & kuruppannan, 2002: 71). the key test for african cities, however, has been the moderately low growth in per-capita income, which limits the resources that households invest in housing. recent studies have found that, in africa, investment in formal housing (based on national current accounts data) lags behind urbanisation (arvanitis, 2013: 2). furthermore, the capital investment in infrastructure needed to handle rapid urbanisation typically happens after housing has already been built, often in informal settlements. ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 61 relatively, jelili (2012: 9) observes that sub-saharan africa now has the third highest total number of slum dwellers of all the regions of the developing world (after southern asia and eastern asia). according to giddings (2007: 5), if this tendency continues, the slum population is expected to reach 400 million by 2020 in most of the sub-saharan african countries, specifically angola, ethiopia, mali, sudan, and tanzania. unlike the other african regions, where slums are on the increase, northern africa is experiencing negative slum development. in terms of urbanisation, some african governments tend to play a proactive role in urban planning. this has resulted in a proliferation of slums in the vast majority of african cities where the poor reside. this has resulted in a situation where rental accommodation has been acknowledged as an alternative method to address the housing predicament in sub-saharan countries, specifically ghana (ofori, 2019: 169). generally, decent housing and accommodation is inadequately provided across the cities in ghana. several studies (boamah, 2010: 4; osumanu, kosoe & frederick, 2016: 12) reveal that the average occupancy per room is above 3, coupled with illquality housing as standardised by un-habitat. according to chirisa & matamanda (2016: 4), decent housing must be characterised by adequate living areas within the dwelling, access to improved water and sanitation, and security of tenure. a dwelling apartment should be located in a non-hazardous location and have the capability to effectively protect the occupants from adverse climatic conditions. the occupancy ratio in decent housing should be 3 or less persons per room. however, this article focuses on occupancy per room, access to sanitation and hygiene, in terms of access to facilities such as lavatory and bathroom as indicators for decent accommodation in the swedru municipality of ghana. 2.2 causes of housing poverty (non-decent accommodation) among the urban communities of ghana 2.2.1 high cost of land and substandard land tenure system land is a basic resource to every country’s economic and social growth, since it is considered an economic good more than simply a social good (barlowe, adelaja & babladelis, 2013: 8). a few years ago, a small amount of money (peppercorn rent) was paid as allegiance to hold the land for economic or social activities (ariffian, afrane, hassan & iddrisu, 2016: 138). at present, in urban property markets, uncertainty over the ownership of land, bureaucracy in the endorsements and the issue of titles, land racketeering, lack of compliance with planning requirements, tardy acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 62 provision of infrastructure and other services, ill-disciplined land agents, and corruption in all aspects of the industry have led to distortions and inefficiencies in urban land markets (cdd, 2000: 14, cited in ariffian et al., 2016: 141). the repercussion of this situation is that the cost of land to the purchasers is much higher than it should be. this notwithstanding, the traditional land administration system has been blamed for the ineffective land tenure system in ghana, where ownership of land takes different forms, each with specific legal rights and incidents attached thereto (appiah, 2007: 15). 2.2.2 rural-urban migrations rural-urban drift has been one of the major contributing factors in making housing a challenge in the urban centre of ghana. the search for greener pastures in the cities encouraged rural communities to join their families in the cities, placing the burden on urban housing (business world ghana, 2012: 26). therefore, provision of housing has scarcely moved in tandem with demand, leading to pockets of slums and communities that seem to consist entirely of kiosks, containers and little by way of plumbing or drainage. for instance, in 2005, due to an acute shortage of housing and poor housing conditions, sub-saharan africa had 199 million slum dwellers, constituting 20% of the world’s total slum population (sean, 2014: 191). however, in the same year, ghana had 5.4 million slum dwellers and is anticipated to reach 7.1 million by 2020. the worst hit cities are accra, kumasi and sekondi-takoradi (un-habitat, 2006). swedru is a conurbation of accra and the situation is not different. 2.2.3 inadequate mortgage financing institution mortgage financing has become an increasing challenge in the commercial real-estate market in most of the developing countries, including ghana (buckley, 1989: 3; tomlinson, 2007: 2). in the developed countries, the mortgage industry has proved to be the most proficient and largest financier of the housing needs of the population (bank of ghana, 2007: 9). access to decent, affordable homes is a big challenge for a large part of the ghanaian population, because the economy is narrowed by fewer savings and borrowing, and there is a trade-off between financing housing and the supply of other infrastructure (okonkwo, 1998: 8). moreover, the problem with housing finance among the banks in ghana is that most of them are portfolio lenders and banks run a low-cost and low-risk business, where mortgage lending fits well in relation to other investment activities (noah, 2002: 13). ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 63 2.2.4 persistent change of government supply of housing is a long-term plan, mostly between five and fifteen years, and such plan needs a formidable policymaker to implement what has been put on paper. however, in ghana, the persistent change of government has led to the breakdown of continuity of housing projects. this has also contributed to inadequate infrastructure and provision of utility services (ariffian et al., 2016: 144). for instance, in seeking to boost the housing supply, the government of ghana, in 2005, pursued various programmes such as the affordable housing programme to build over 100,000 units of housing through private public partnerships (ppp) across the country (bank of ghana, 2007: 15). however, in 2009, after a change of government, all the projects were abandoned and left to squatters, with no intention to complete them. this housing project, when completed, could have accommodated hundreds of families (ghana web, 2012: 3). 2.2.5 high cost of building materials the provision of infrastructure and affordable housing for the citizens is constrained by the high cost of building materials (danso & manu, 2013: 14). building materials account for 50% of the total cost of construction in ghana (asibuo, 1994: 13). in addition, the high cost of building materials in ghana is attributed to the over-dependence on imported raw materials for buildings, for which local substitutes could be used if the necessary supports are given to the manufacturers (yeboah, 2005: 10). 2.2.6 rapid population growth and urbanisation during 2000-2020, ghana experienced a rapid population growth, coupled with sprouting urbanisation (plecher, 2020: 1). it is projected that ghana’s urban population will be roughly 52% of the national total growth by 2050 and central to this rapid urban growth are housing shortages and poor sanitation (un-habitat, 2006: 12). despite the increase in population growth and urbanisation, the increase in housing is slow, urban infrastructure scarce, social amenities and shelter conditions degraded, particularly in the accra and tema metropolis, making adequate housing a big concern for the ghana government at present (modern ghana, 2010: 4). 2.3 the extent of housing deficit according to the world bank (2002: 14), nearly 175,000 dwellings were supposed to be built in algeria between 2002 and 2012 to alleviate the housing deficit in the country. the annual prerequisite for new dwellings in ethiopia is projected to be between 73,000 and 151,000 housing units (un-habitat, 2006: 12). in the greater cairo region (gcr), it is speculated acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 64 that over two million housing units need to be built between 2010-2020 to meet the emergent urban population (un-habitat, 2010: 3). the situation is not different in uganda. according to the national population council secretariat (npc sec) of uganda (2007: 10), the estimated 1.5 million housing bottleneck, 211,000 units, was in the urban areas, while the remainder was in the rural areas, resulting in non-decent housing accommodation in the township. the urban housing deficit in zimbabwe rose from 670,000 to over 1 million between 1992 and 1999. the situation was aggravated by the mass expulsions and clearance of informal housing in 2005, resulting in an additional 92,460 buildings (tibaijuka, 2005: 6). for the purpose of this article, housing units are separate living quarters, where the occupants live separately from other residents of the structure (chen, 2020: online). in spite of this annual increase in housing deficit across africa, housing finance markets are discouraging, as the vast majority of governments do not invest a great deal in housing. the problem of delays in the housing construction sector is a major phenomenon in ghana as in other emerging countries (amoatey, ameyaw, adaku & famiyeh, 2015: 198), with the exception of morocco, namibia, and south africa (cahf, 2018: 5). this situation is increasing with the result that many dwellers live under nondecent housing facilities, most of which are slums.boamah (2010: 4) reveals that ghana is challenged by a severe housing deficit, as only 25,000 units are supplied yearly and the annual demand is 108,000. according to mahama and antwi (2006: 3), the deficit in housing units in ghana is 1,526,275. in 2000, the deficit in housing units in kumasi was 164,219 (gss, 2005d: 22) and in tamale 18,690 (gss, 2005c: 27). at least 52% of the houses in ghana accommodate between two and four households (gss, 2012b: 19). according to the ghana national development plan (gndp, 2008: 4), the deficit of 2 million housing units is a major socio-economic challenge confronting ghana presently (daily graphic online, 2014: 1; ariffian et al., 2016: 139). meeting the deficit implies providing 190,000 to 200,000 housing units annually for 10 years at a cost of us$3.4 billion (17.7 billion gh¢). this situation undermines sustainable development goal 11. the major question is: to what extent has an increase in housing deficit in ghana influenced non-decent accommodation in the urban cities? this study, therefore, explores the nature of housing accommodation and the characteristics of facilities within homes in terms of the l.i.1630 (cahf, 1996: 4) and sdg11. ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 65 3. study area the study was conducted in swedru, in the central region of ghana. swedru is the municipal capital of agona west municipal district, in the central region of south ghana, with a population of roughly 68,216 (gss, 2019: 1). it lies to the north of winneba and is approximately 40 km off the main accra-takoradi highway. it lies within latitudes 5 30’ and 5 50n and longitudes 0 3.5 and 0 55w. it is bounded to the east and west by effutu municipal and asikum/odoben/brakwa districts respectively; to the northeast with west akim; to the northwest with birim central, and to the south with gomoa central district (figure 1). figure 1: map of swedru, ghana source: maplandia, 2016: online the township has 14,201 houses, with 53,964 households and accommodates 3.8 households on average per house (wpr, 2020: 1). nearly seven out of ten (67.4%) of all housing in the municipality are compound houses; 19.3% are separate houses, and 4.2% are semidetached houses (gss, 2019: 1). nearly half (43.4%) of the housing units in the municipality are owned by members of the household; 28.9% are privately owned; 24.7% are owned by relatives who are not members of the household, and only 1.4% are owned by the government. however, less acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 66 than one per cent (0.6%) (gss, 2019: 1; gss, 2014: 13) of the housing units is owned through mortgage schemes. 3.1 rationale for selecting study area ghana does not have any database at present that shows the number of housing units available in the country. in most of the major cities, no data are available on the number of housing units supplied within a year, showing the acceptable in-house facilities. the situation in swedru is not exceptional. the selection of swedru township for the study was informed by the fact that it is one of the conurbations to the capital city of ghana, accra, and receives the overflow population of accra. the reason being that most of the people who move from the various towns in ghana in search of greener pastures in accra get employment in swedru, making the city overburdened with rural urban drift and its accompanied housing complexities. apart from the fact that it is one of the growing urbanised cities in ghana, swedru is sandwiched between three major cities (accra, winneba, and cape coast), where most of the people live and work in accra. in spite of the fact that the housing situation in the town lacks academic recognition, particularly how the housing conditions meet the acceptable housing standards as defined by (un-habitat, 2014b: 4; un-habitat, 2007: 16) and the sdg11, a preliminary survey of the town shows that few households have in-house facilities such as lavatory and bathroom. 4. methodology 4.1 research design this study examines the extent of non-decent housing in the swedru municipality of ghana and investigates the adequacy level of housing facilities supplied in the various houses across the municipality in terms of their availability and usage per household. this study uses a mixed methods approach, where both quantitative and qualitative data are collected simultaneously, analysed separately, and thereafter merged (creswell & plano-clark, 2018: 8; grbich, 2013: 27; isah, shakantu & ibrahim 2020: 8). a quantitative semi-structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data from household respondents to enable the researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (bryman, 2012: 232). semi-structured face-to-face interviews were held to solicit qualitative information from some key informants on issues relating to the state of housing in the various residential areas (isah et al., 2020: 8). data from the ghana statistical service (gss), housing policies of ghana and ghana ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 67 living standard survey (glss) provided secondary information on issues relating to ghana’s current housing stock and housing deficit. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the interviews and government documents, and to cross-check this data against the questionnaire data set such as similarities in factors that influence non-decent accommodation in the swedru municipality (creswell & plano-clark, 2018: 27). 4.2 population, sampling, and response rate using the housing stock of 14,201 and an estimated household population of 53,964 (wpr, 2020: 2) in approximately 48 observed neighbourhoods, the study employed purposive, stratified and systematic sampling techniques to select 496 houses and 893 households from 16 neighbourhoods (see table 2). it must be acknowledged that 893 households were selected for the study, because, each house had more than one household. the purposive sampling technique was used to particularly select the houses based on types and specific characteristics (rai & thapa, 2015: 6), as explained in the subsequent paragraphs. owing to the heterogeneity of the housing types, the study employed maximum variation sampling, also known as heterogeneous sampling, as a purposive sampling technique to capture a wide range of perspectives relating to decent accommodation and housing poverty (rai & thapa, 2015: 6). in addition, due to the larger size of the community and, in order to fully replicate the selected neighbourhoods in the study area, stratified sampling was used to categorise the entire study area into units called stratum. each stratum was treated separately, and participating households were drawn from each zone or stratum (kusi, 2012: 61). with the aid of quadrant stratification, the 16 neighbourhoods were categorised into four zones within the north-east, north-west, south-east, and south-west quadrants category, with four communities purposively selected based on their housing characteristics (inbuilt lavatory and bath, block or brick, types of roofing, location to the city centre, and age) of the neighbourhood under each zone (see table 2). out of the 893 households, the study selected two participants systematically from each household in each neighbourhood. a total of 1,786 participants were sampled to complete the questionnaires, with two key informants selected from within for face-to-face interviews. the sampling for this study follows the recommended sample size table of krejcie and morgan (1970: 608). from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 3,000 is 314, and for 3,500, 361. this recommendation validates the sample size of 1,786 as efficient for the acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 68 population of 4,603 in table 2. the trained questionnaire administration team retrieved 1,161 completed questionnaires, resulting in a 65.0% response rate. this response rate is good to support this empirical study, as built-environment survey response rates vary between 7% and 40%, in a broader perspective (see moyo & crafford, 2010: 68). table 2: population, sample, and response rate zones quadrant neighbour hood houses occupancy population sample response response rate (%) a southwest mangoase 19 67 64 southwest pipetank 38 93 89 southwest dwenwoho 22 72 68 northwest yaabam 17 56 53 total 96 288 274 241 87.9 b north-east botwe estate 51 328 186 north-east manhodze 21 119 79 north-east tezako 19 97 72 south-east bypass 23 146 87 total 114 690 424 280 66.0 c south-east odakwam 36 369 121 south-east ahmadya 28 297 173 south-east nine-nine 44 428 124 northwest mandela 25 236 116 total 133 1330 534 294 55.1 d north-east anwhease 31 493 114 north-east chapel square 23 397 98 north-east asesim 47 691 124 southwest nsusoaso 52 714 218 total 153 2295 554 346 62.5 overall 496 4603 1786 1161 65.0 4.3 data collection a breakdown of documents from the ghana statistical service (gss), ghana living standard survey (glss) and housing policies of ghana were examined to determine the number of housing units that are supplied annually in each of the neighbourhoods, in order to measure housing poverty relative to housing supply. however, these documents had no data on the annual supply of housing in the entire swedru municipality. ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 69 the semi-structured interview guide contains only one major question: “do you have any knowledge on decent accommodation? this question was asked to determine the perceptual views of the participants on what decent housing means. using the structured questionnaire, data was collected from 1,161 available household respondents in the swedru municipality of ghana from december 2019 to the end of march 2020. the questionnaire consisted of five sections. the first section, on the respondents’ demographic profile, obtained personal information on age and occupation. the second section set 20 tick-box options to measure the housing conditions in the swedru municipality relative to housing supply in each of the various neighbourhoods in the selected study areas (where households were asked to tell how many new houses have been built or completed in their vicinity from the start of the year to date), household access to sanitary facilities and overcrowding. section three and four contained 8 tick-box options, each to determine the types of housing in the swedru municipality and the income status and extent of housing tenancy among households. section five set one likert-scale question with 13 items on the construct ‘factors influencing non-decent accommodation’. participants were requested to rate the level of influence on the statements regarding factors that influence non-decent accommodation. the results from these measurements form the items used in the descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and inferential statistics (naoum, 2013: 39). to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections two to five (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 4.4 data analysis techniques and interpretation of the findings the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 20 was used to analyse housing poverty, by means of descriptive and inferential statistics (pallant, 2013: 134). the frequencies and/or percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to analyse the number of housing units that are supplied annually, the respondents’ profile, their perceptual views on decent housing, the types and non-decent housing conditions in the swedru municipality, the income status, and the extent of housing tenancy in households. a pearson’s correlation test with p=0.05 was employed to find any significant relationship between household income and housing ownership (fenton & neil, 2019: 18). spss was also used to determine the factor analysability of non-decent accommodation in the swedru municipality, using inferential statistics (pallant, 2013: 134). thirteen factors were acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 70 tested and, for the accurate selection of these factors, all were measured by ranking them, in terms of their mean scores, on the following scale measurement, where 1 = not at all influential (≥1.00 and ≤1.49); 2 = slightly influential (≥1.50 and ≤1.92); 3 = moderately influential (≥1.93 and ≤2.11), and 4 = most influential ((≥2.12 and ≤2.33). for the analysis of the internal reliability in the factors of the questions on non-decent accommodation, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347). yount (2006: 15) argued that the standardised values of cronbach’s alpha would range between 0.70 and 0.95. for this study, a cut-off value of 0.80 was assumed. in addition, the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) should vary between 0.2 and 0.4, in terms of factor reliability. for this study, a value of at least 0.3 was employed (pallant, 2013: 134). to confirm whether the data from the measurements was sufficient to test and validate the factor analysis, the meyer-olkin (kmo) test (lorenzo-seva, timmerman & kiers, 2011) and the bartlett’s sphericity test (hair, black, babin, andersen & taham, 2006: 110) were used. in the kmo test, as the values of the test vary between 0 and 1, values above 0.7 are required for applying efa (hair et al., 2006). a statistically significant bartlett test (p < 0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the analysis (hair et al., 2006: 110; pallant, 2013: 190). for factor extraction, principal components analysis (pca) was adopted to analyse the information into a minimum number of factors, by concentrating the explanatory power on the first factor (find the principal components of data) (rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 102). 4.5 limitations the housing conditions in terms of housing space, availability of facilities, usage of facilities per person, room occupancy rate, and average household per room in the swedru township show some similarities when compared to housing conditions in the vast majority of urban areas in ghana. however, these may differ in nature as the household’s educational and affluence level changes with time. as a result, the conclusions drawn in this study could differ, if similar statistical analyses are done of multiple household characteristics and of the people’s perceptual views on what decent housing is in another urban city in ghana. the availability of housing database in the various statistical services at both the district and municipal levels of the study area (swedru) limited the flow of information needed for the study. ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 71 5. results and discussion 5.1 participants’ profile table 3 shows the participants’ age and occupation profile. in all the zones, the vast majority of the participants (279) were aged 26-33 years, of which zone d had the highest number (89) of household participants who fall within the age range 26-33 years and have the largest number (55) of student occupants. the number of 65+ in the municipality were very limited (74). zone c recorded the highest number of 65+, namely 23. the swedru township shows ageing characteristics similar to developing or emerging cities with a growing population, where the number of youth or active population is always higher than that of the elderly. the vast majority (64.1%) of the household respondents rent houses (paying rent for the spaces) and the remainder are owner occupiers (without rent payment). table 3 shows that, in all the zones, the number of people who rent was more than that of owner occupiers. this study considers such situation critical to curbing the housing deficit in the swedru municipality. an analysis of the respondents’ occupations confirms the study by gss (2015: 13) that approximately seven out of every ten non-farm enterprises (69.4%) are found in urban areas. of the non-farm enterprises, 40.4% are drivers (22.4%) or traders (18%), considering the economic base of the township. this indicates how urbanised and active the swedru municipality is, as it is located closer to winneba and accra, the capital city of ghana, all of which are trading zones. 5.2 participants’ perceptual views on decent housing table 4 shows the results of the respondents’ perceptual views on whether the people in the swedru municipality know what decent accommodation is. table 4: view on decent accommodation question to respondents category frequency (n = 1161) % do you have any knowledge of what decent accommodation is? yes 89 7.7 no 1072 92.3 the vast majority (92.3%) of the participants do not know what decent accommodation entails and do not support the recommendations of the sdg11 goals (malcolm, 2018: online). this threatens housing development based on the fact that the knowledge on decent accommodation will help houseowners develop housing in a manner that is tenantable in terms of the provision of essential facilities that ensure comfortable living in a house. a key informant and a resident in one of the selected neighbourhoods stated: acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 72 ta bl e 3: a ge a nd o cc up at io n of p ar tic ip an ts c ha ra ct er is tic c at eg or y z on e a z on e b z on e c z on e d to ta l f re qu en cy (n =2 41 ) % f re qu en cy (n =2 80 ) % f re qu en cy (n =2 94 ) % f re qu en cy (n =3 46 ) % f re qu en cy (n =1 16 1) % a g e 18 -2 5 34 14 .1 36 12 .9 44 15 .0 44 12 .7 15 8 13 .6 26 -3 3 66 27 .4 71 25 .4 53 18 .0 89 25 .7 27 9 24 .0 34 -4 1 44 18 .3 50 17 .9 46 15 .6 73 21 .0 21 3 18 .3 42 -4 9 29 12 .0 38 13 .6 49 16 .7 49 14 .1 16 5 14 .2 50 -5 7 26 10 .8 33 11 .8 41 13 .9 41 11 .8 14 1 12 .1 58 -6 5 25 10 .8 32 11 .4 38 12 .9 36 10 .4 13 1 11 .2 65 + 16 14 .1 20 7. 1 23 7. 8 15 4. 3 74 6. 3 o c c up a tio n te a c hi ng 27 11 .2 31 11 .1 36 12 .2 42 12 .1 13 6 11 .7 d riv in g 50 20 .7 48 17 .1 60 20 .4 10 3 29 .7 26 1 22 .4 fa rm in g 59 24 .5 56 20 .0 73 24 .8 86 24 .8 27 3 23 .5 tr a d in g 60 24 .9 68 24 .3 56 19 .0 25 7. 2 20 9 18 .0 st ud e nt 28 11 .6 47 16 .8 43 14 .6 55 15 .6 17 3 14 .9 pu b lic s e rv a nt 17 11 .2 30 10 .7 26 8. 8 36 10 .4 10 9 9. 3 re sid e nt t yp e o w ne r o c c up ie d 82 34 .0 98 35 .0 10 8 36 .7 12 9 37 .3 41 7 35 .9 te na nt 15 9 65 .9 18 2 65 .0 18 6 63 .3 21 7 62 .7 74 4 64 .1 ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 73 “our aim is to get somewhere to lodge especially to escape from heavy rains and high sunshine and we have the belief that if you wish to have a comfortable room to stay in then you have to build your own house and decorate it the way you like.” a 48-year-old landlord reiterated: “my brother, i am aware that when you provide in-house bathhouse and lavatory it makes living very convenient but most of the tenants do not keep them neat and if you are not careful sometimes the stench from them may drive you away from your own house and that is why i decided not to add lavatory to the rented apartments.” 5.3 housing conditions in the swedru municipality 5.3.1 measuring sanitary facilities there are a number of measures and indicators of non-decent accommodation (see chirisa & matamanda 2016: 12), but, in the context of this article, it is restricted to inadequate amenities (access to bathroom and lavatory in terms of the number available and how many people use them) and overcrowding (in terms of the number of persons per room). according to un-habitat, the standard is one facility for three persons. table 5 shows the extent of the sanitary facilities in the housing units in the swedru municipality. table 5: sanitary facilities in the swedru municipality sanitation category frequency (n = 496) % available bathing facilities open space everywhere in the house 30 6.0 common bathroom in house 213 42.9 open partition attached to house 45 9.1 private bathroom for household 104 21.0 sharing bathroom with another house 59 11.9 individual bathroom attached to bedrooms 45 9.1 types of lavatory services used by households wc (in house) 27 5.4 common lavatory in homes 183 36.9 public toilet outside homes 33 6.7 pit latrine in house 130 26.2 free range on refuse dump sites 47 9.5 free range on any open space 31 6.3 public toilet with wc 19 3.8 households sharing lavatory with public schools 16 3.2 individual wc attached to bedrooms 10 2.0 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 74 although 9.1% of the housing units have bathrooms attached to their bedrooms, 42.9% share one bathroom, and 11.9% share a bathroom with another house, causing a very uncomfortable situation. while 9.1% of the housing units use an open partition attached to the house as a bathing facility, 6% are without bathing facilities and households depend on open space everywhere in the compound when the need arises. the practical implication is that, if the average occupancy per household is 9.30 (see table 6) and 213 houses have 213 bathrooms, then a single bathroom is used by at least nine persons and 30 housing units, without bathrooms having at least 279 persons bathing in open space. nine persons using one bathroom poses a health risk to tenants in circumstances where physical distances are required to curb contagious, airborne and infectious diseases such as the coronavirus (covid19). two hundred and seventynine persons bathing in open space expose tenants to various degrees of insecurity and women and children to all forms of attack, including verbal assault and rape (boamah, 2010: 5). this compromises the standards of decent accommodation proposed by chirisa & matamanda (2016: 31). table 5 also shows that 496 housing units use nine different types of lavatory services. although the vast majority (36.9%) of housing units share one lavatory per household and 26.2% use pit latrines in their houses, 15.8% use free range as a lavatory facility. free range, in the context of this article, is an indiscriminate means of defecating, where a person enters any bush nearby or any refuse dumpsite and defecates. only 3.2% of the housing units share lavatory services with public schools, while 3.8% use public toilets with wc. only 2% of the housing units have wc lavatories attached to their bedrooms. policy wise, the l.i.16030 (tasantab, 2016: 152) compels every housing unit to have at least one lavatory facility that is spacious enough to accommodate all household members. the implication is that inadequate supply of housing compels people to live in any building and disregard the non-decent nature of the accommodation. 5.3.2 measuring overcrowding table 6 indicates that the average number of housing units is 124 per zone in the swedru municipality, accommodating 223.25 households. the results confirm the study by smith-asante (2018: 2) that ghana has a housing glut of 130 to 140 housing units supplied every year for a decade. comparatively, however, it shows a minimum average of 2 rooms (zone a) and a maximum average of 5 rooms (zone d) in each house in each neighbourhood in the swedru municipality. ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 75 table 6: housing and household dynamics in swedru municipality dynamic category zone a zone b zone c zone d total houses units 96 114 133 153 496 mean unit per zone 124 number of rooms in house units 192 345 532 765 1834 average room per house unit 2 3.03 4 5 3.70 households size 182 216 224 271 893 mean number of households per zone 223.25 number of rooms in households 173 135 162 96 566 average room per household 1.05 1.60 1.38 2.82 1.57 average household size per unit 1.50 2 2.50 3 2.51 occupancy per unit 288 690 1330 2295 4603 average occupancy per house 3 6.05 10 15 4603/496=9.30 mean occupancy per household 1.58 3.19 5.94 8.47 4603/893=5.20 the average household size of 2.51 implies that there are at least 2 households accommodated in one unit, with at least five people occupying one room. the overcrowded rooms do not meet the standard of two people per room, as stated by the l.i.1630 (cahf, 1996: 4). the findings on average household size per unit (2.51) with 9.30 persons per house partially contradicts boamah’s study (2010: 10) that the average household size per house is 3.5 with 20.3 persons in every house in kumasi neighbourhoods. 5.4 types of housing in the swedru township table 7 shows eight different types of housing units in the selected study areas within the swedru township. although 22.7% of the participants live in duplexes, the vast majority (33.2%) of them live in compound houses. in this article, a compound house is a house with at least two households sharing a bathroom and lavatory together. more than three persons using a single lavatory and bathroom in every house is contrary to the l.i.1630 recommendations (cahf, 1996: 4) and compromises the sdg11 (see tasantab, 2016: 151). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 76 table 7: types of housing in the swedru municipality housing type frequency % compound house 165 33.3 single room self-contained 61 12.3 duplex 113 22.8 three bedroom semi-detached 31 6.3 three bedroom semi-detached 53 10.7 two bedroom semi-detached 30 6.0 three bedroom self-contained 20 4.0 four bedroom self-contained 23 4.6 total 496 100.0 5.5 measuring housing poverty relative to housing supply the report from the 2010 housing and population census indicates that ghana has a housing deficit of 1.7 million. hence, the country can meet the deficit only if 130 to 140 housing units are provided every year across the country for a decade. as such, using questionnaire responses, this study obtained the number of housing units that are built every year in each of the neighbourhoods selected in swedru for the year 2020 (see table 8). table 8: annual (2020) housing supply in the swedru neighbourhoods zones quadrant neighbourhood annual housing supply total a south-west mangoase 22 114 south-wes pipetank 31 south-west dwenwoho 36 north-wes yaabam 25 b north-east botwe estate 39 93 north-east manhodze 19 north-east tezako 23 south-east bypass 12 c south-east odakwam 34 116 south-east ahmadya 16 south-east nine-nine 37 north-west mandela 29 d north-east anwhease 11 55 north-east chapel square 21 north-east asesim 9 south-west nsusoaso 14 overall 378 average housing supply per neighbourhood 23.63 source: questionnaire survey, 2020 ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 77 table 8 indicates that, across the 16 neighbourhoods, a total of 378 housing units are supplied annually and, if that number is supplied for ten years, ceteris paribus, there will be 3,780 housing units. this is below the 5,200 minimum annual housing units required, according to gss (2014: 27; smithasante, 2018: 3). moreover, if 496 housing units in 16 neighbourhoods are accommodating 4,603 occupants (both owner occupiers and renters), then there is a 27.31% shortage, thus a deficit of 142 housing units. this could make 2,885 people across the 16 neighbourhoods either homeless or sleeping in places such as kiosks and the frontage of shops. this situation characterises housing poverty, as it does not support the un-habitat’s standards. 5.6 income status and the extent of housing tenancy among households table 9 shows the income levels of participants who rent and own housing in the swedru municipality. overall, the vast majority of the participants rent housing. most of them (245) earn a minimum income of gh¢200-800 per month and rent houses. in the gh¢3600+ income group, the majority (42) of them live in rented housing, and only 23 live in their own housing. table 9: income status and the extent of housing tenancy housing tenancy (households) income levels (per month-gh¢) total 200-800 900-1500 1600-2200 23002900 30003600 3600+ renting 245 74 50 52 53 42 516 owner tenancy 209 50 29 31 35 23 377 total 454 124 79 83 88 65 893 table 10: the extent of housing tenancy among households vs income levels of participants (per month-gh¢) chi-square test value df asymp. sig. (2-sided) *exact sig. (2-sided) exact sig. (1-sided) point probability pearson chi-square 6.144a 5 .292 .293 likelihood ratio 6.173 5 .290 .293 fisher’s exact test 6.037 .302 linear-by-linear association 4.615b 1 .032 .033 .016 .002 number of valid cases 893 *significant at 0.05 (2 sided) a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected a count of less than 5. the minimum expected count is 27.44. b. the standardised statistic is -2.148. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 78 in table 10, the pearson’s chi-square test results show a very weak relationship between income and the extent of housing tenancy among households [χ2 (5) = 6.144, n=893, p=.292 (>0.05)]. though there is a relation between income and the ownership of housing, the situation in swedru shows no strong statistical significance, because even higher income earners were living in rented apartments. akuffo (2006: 18) reveals that commercial banks in ghana are not interested in housing finance. they would rather concentrate on treasury bills and bonds. 5.7 ranking of factors influencing non-decent accommodation table 11 shows the mean score and ranking of the 13 critical, non-decent accommodation factors that have an influence on housing poverty. the rank of each variable was determined by calculating the mean score (ms), which is the sum of scores of the respondents on the variable divided by the total number of respondents, and subsequently arranged in a rank order. table 11: mean scores and ranking of factors influencing non-decent accommodation variables factors influencing non-decent accommodation in the swedru municipality (n = 893) (1 = not at all influential … 4 = most influential) bartlett’s test of sphericity value = .00 kaiser-meyer-olkin value = .870 ms cronbach’s alpha rank v3 ignorance on the part of houseowners 2.33 .985 1 v12 poor building plans 2.30 .984 2 v13 low income 2.24 .982 3 v6 overall housing deficit 2.22 .983 4 v4 high birth rate among household 2.21 .982 5 v11 outmoded cultural practices 2.21 .982 5 v8 lack of national policy for sustainable housing 2.17 .982 6 v9 land tenure problems 2.17 .982 6 v10 inadequate building supervision in ghana 2.16 .981 7 v7 higher rural urban migration 2.15 .981 8 v5 higher demand for housing over supply 2.11 .983 9 v1 poor implementation of the l.i.1630 1.91 .984 10 v2 lack of affordable housing 1.72 .986 11 average ms 2.15 984 ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 79 the average ms of 2.15 in table 11 indicates that household participants perceived all critical factors identified as most influential on non-decent accommodation, particularly, with ms above 2.23, ‘ignorance on the part of houseowners’ (ms=2.33), ‘poor building plans’ (ms=2.30) and ‘low income’ (ms=2.24) were rated the top three factors influencing nondecent accommodation. interestingly, ‘poor implementation of the l.i.1630’ (ms=1.91) and ‘lack of affordable housing’ (ms=1.72) were perceived to have a slight influence on non-decent accommodation. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.80 at .985, showing approvable internal reliability, as suggested by hair, tomas, ringle and sarstedt (2014: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of .870 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p <0.000, implies consistency with the recommended kmo cut-off value of 0.80 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p <0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results imply that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. 5.8 principal component analysis for factors influencing non-decent accommodation in the swedru municipality the 13 variables or factors influencing non-decent accommodation in the swedru municipality were subjected to pca to study the trend of inter-correlations between variables and to group variables with similar characteristics into a set of reduced factors according to the hidden components in the collected data. the results present the factor extraction, eigenvalues, correlation, and interpretation. in figure 2, the scree plot consists of the eigenvalues and the data points above the break (point of inflexion), which are the components that are meaningful to retain for rotation. using a cut-off value of initial eigenvalues greater than one (>1.0), three components explain a cumulative variance of 65.402%, indicating that the other factors are below the point of influence as far as non-decent accommodation is concerned. these factors are v3, v12 and v13, respectively. the scree plot confirms the finding of retaining three components. hence, components 4 to 13 are not significant and thus not included for rotation. table 12 shows that the three components that are meaningful to retain had a cumulative variance of 65.40, where factor one explains 46.445% of the total variance, factor two 10.782%, and factor three 8.174%. this indicates that all three factors had total initial eigenvalues greater than 1, thus component 1 (6.038), component 2 (1.402) and component 3 (1.063). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 80 figure 2: scree plot for the most influential factors on non-decent accommodation table 12: total variance explained, extraction method, principal component analysis component initial eigenvalues extraction sums of squared loadings rotation sums of squared loadings total % of variance cumulative % total % of variance cumulative % total 1 6.038 46.445 46.445 6.038 46.445 46.445 5.636 2 1.402 10.782 57.227 1.402 10.782 57.227 2.994 3 1.063 8.174 65.402 1.063 8.174 65.402 1.432 4 .877 6.749 72.151 5 .827 6.360 78.511 6 .611 4.697 83.208 7 .581 4.469 87.677 8 .438 3.370 91.048 9 .408 3.141 94.188 10 .255 1.958 96.147 11 .252 1.940 98.087 12 .155 1.192 99.279 13 .094 .721 100.000 point of inflection ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 81 the grouping of variables was based on their factor loadings. a factor loading indicates the degree of association of a variable with the component and the percentage variance of the component that is explained by the variable (oladimeji, 2019: 157). using principal component analysis and varimax with kaiser normalization rotation method and with a significant factor of .04, table 13 shows the correlation between components and variables after rotation. correlation exists between variables 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13, as they are loaded onto component 1, denoted as “ignorance on the part of houseowners”. correlations were also identified between variables 2, 9, 11 and 12, which are loaded onto component 2, denoted as “poor implementation of the l.i.1630”. variables 1, 3 and 7 show correlation as they are loaded onto component 3, denoted as “low income”. table 13: rotated component matrix for factors influencing non-decent accommodation variables components communalities 1 2 3 ignorance on the part of houseowners poor implementation of the l.i.1630 low income v1 ignorance on the part of houseowners .983 .674 .617 v2 poor building plans .861 .544 v3 low income .864 .871 v4 overall housing deficit .983 .410 v5 high birth rate among household .894 v6 outmoded cultural practices .889 .926 v7 lack of national policy for sustainable housing .926 .582 .948 v8 land tenure problems .907 .945 v9 inadequate building supervision in ghana .859 .893 v10 higher rural urban migration .856 .959 v11 higher demand for housing over supply .837 .713 v12 poor implementation of the l.i.1630 .896 .544 v13 lack of affordable housing .904 .731 for factor 1: ignorance on the part of houseowners (component 1), variables with high loadings above .90 are overall housing deficit (.983); ignorance on the part of houseowners (.983); lack of national policy to acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 82 sustainable housing (.926); land tenure problems (.907), and lack of affordable housing (.904). ghana had a housing deficit of over 2 million units in the year 2010 and approximately 5.7 million as of 2020 (gss, 2012a: 8; ansah, 2014: 1; willows property management, 2020: 1). this implies that the overall housing deficit in the country is compelling people to live in housing simply for the sake of being safe from the vagaries of the weather and not for comfortable living. land tenure problems occur, because the acquisition of land for housing purposes in ghana abounds in bureaucracy and land racketeering (see appiah, 2007: 15), leading to housing shortage. the lack of affordable housing has made many homeless in ghana and, although housing is acknowledged as a human right, government involvements have not met the housing needs of the poor (yirenkyi, 2014: 1). the lack of a national policy for sustainable housing has been a long-term policy problem in ghana (oleg & badyina, 2012: 1). however, since 1980, national housing policies have tended to focus on conferring ownership rights and largely omit rental housing, although it is a viable livelihood strategy for tenants (wsup, 2013: 2). for factor 2: poor implementation of the l.i.1630 (component 2), variables with high scores are poor implementation of the l.i.1630 (.896); poor building plans (.861); inadequate building supervision in ghana (.859), and higher demand of housing over supply (.837). since the l.i.1630 is the sole legislative body in ghana to regulate the construction industry, poor implementation of the l.i.1630 implicates that building plans are not properly approved, and that ongoing building constructions are poorly supervised (thong, 2014: 18). this has led to poor building quality and layout in the swedru township, with the resultant effect of poor road networks, while drains are blocked and poor quality housing structures put tenants in danger, due to fire outbreak and building collapse, aside the fact that buildings do not follow the accommodation standards for decent living (claude, omer & mempouo, 2017: 1). for factor 3: low income (component 3), low income (.864), ignorance on the part of the houseowners (.674) and lack of national policy for sustainable housing (.582). low income leads to poor housing in terms of construction materials, furnishes, building services and facilities that bring comfort to the tenants and, hence, decent homes or housing. housing completion, development and improvement are limited to financing, and in ghana, most of the houseand landowners are ignorant about how to get loans in the form of a mortgage to complete and improve their housing. a study by ofori and ameyaw (2020: 252) reveals that most of the mortgage loans applied for are used for the supply of commercial office spaces, because many residential space owners are concerned about the mortgage rates and perceive that the payment of mortgage loans is ofori • housing poverty in developing countries 83 perpetual in nature. this has even compelled some landowners to live in uncompleted buildings that lack salient building facilities that bring comfort. although there is a considerable lack of national policy for sustainable housing in ghana, in this study, such factor is considered not critical, as indicated by lower loadings. boamah (2010: 1) revealed that several housing policies have been instigated in ghana since independence in 1957. however, housing in ghana is branded by insufficient housing stock, congestion, neighbourhood disfigurement, jamming, and housing obsolescence. this study is of the view that in the swedru municipality of ghana, the income status of houseowners does not influence the supply of decent accommodation, but rather ineffective enforcement of building laws and regulations. such findings contradict those of mitlin (2010: 517), which revealed that the urban poor live in houses with unacceptable standards. the implication is that people feel discomfort in their housing and the policies to redress their challenges are futilely implemented. 6. conclusion the article investigated the extent of non-decent accommodation in the swedru municipality of ghana. it examined the types of housing available and found that, although most of the residents are accommodated in compound houses and duplexes, the annual housing supply of 378 houses in 16 communities shows a housing shortage in the swedru municipality. the study concluded that 16 communities with total housing units of 496 accommodating 4603 people, with an average occupancy per house of 9.30 persons, and 5.51 persons occupying a single room implies that most of the households in the swedru township are overcrowded. this is against the sdg11. the percentage of houses (42.9%) sharing a single bathroom implies that over nine persons using one bathroom pose a health risk in circumstances where physical distancing is a key measure to mitigating contagious diseases such as the coronavirus (covid19) and is against the sustainable development goal 11 that focuses on sustainable city development. an urban area with 15.8% of the households practising free range owing to inadequate provision of lavatories is a threat to the sdg6 that focuses on clean water and sanitation. a municipality with the vast majority of the population aged between 26 and 33 years implies that the birth rate would be 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southwest baptist theological seminary. https://doi.org/10.32598/jsrd.01.03.260 https://doi.org/10.32598/jsrd.01.03.260 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-005-8182-x 152 oorsigsartikels • review articles construction project management through building contracts, a south african perspective peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article. abstract this article reviews construction project manage­ ment and building contracts in south africa. it introduces general information and findings on the topic, forming part of a broader in­depth study, which proves difficult to encapsulate in one single article. the novice might perceive contract management, project management, and construction management to be the same concept. to clarify these concepts, the evolution of construction contracts and project management was studied to identify possible similarities between these concepts. this article commences with a brief history prior to a schematic analysis of the general characteristics of construction contracts and project manage­ ment. it investigates the application of these concepts within south africa and compares the general structure of the main contracts used within south africa. this general investigation clearly shows that the standard conditions of contracts used in south africa have similar structures to the main construction project management knowledge areas recognised by the project management institute (pmi). the article also reviews the four general conditions of contracts endorsed by the construction industry development board (cidb) in south africa and investigates the general clauses and themes of these contracts. the construction contract should consider all the project life­cycle (plc) stages. the construction contract should further be regarded as the project implementation plan (pip), on which the control procedures during construction are based. with the understanding of the evolution of the two streams (contracts and management), their relevance, goal, dependencies and responsibilities may be understood better. this may enhance the hendri du plessis mr hendri du plessis, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein 9301, south africa. phone: +27 (0) 51 401 3322 or +27 (0) 73 177 8953, email: <duplessishb@ufs.ac.za> pierre oosthuizen mr pierre oosthuizen, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein 9301, south africa. phone: +27 (0) 51 401 3322 or +27 (0) 84 244 1344, email: <oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i1.6 issn: 1023­0564 e­issn: 2415­0487 acta structilia 2018 25(1): 152­181 © uv/ufs mailto:oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i1.6 du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 153 professional manner in which the management of the entire project life­cycle (plc) is implemented and approached. keywords: agreement, construction, contract(s), general conditions, project management, project life cycle abstrak die artikel beskou konstruksieprojekbestuur en boukontrakte in suid­afrika. dit stel algemene inligting en resultate voor oor die onderwerp, wat deel uitmaak van ’n wyer indiepte studie, wat moeilik is om in een enkele artikel te vervat. die beginner kan soms kontrakbestuur, projekbestuur en konstruksiebestuur as dieselfde konsep beskou. om hierdie konsepte te verduidelik, is die evolusie van konstruksiekontrakte projekbestuur bestudeer om moontlike ooreenkomste te identifiseer. hierdie artikel begin met ’n kort geskiedenis voor ’n skematiese analise van die algemene kenmerke van konstruksiekontrakte en projekbestuur. die artikel ondersoek die toepassing van hierdie begrippe binne suid­afrika en vergelyk die algemene struktuur van die hoofkontrakte wat in suid­afrika gebruik is met mekaar. uit hierdie algemene ondersoek is dit duidelik dat die standaardvoorwaardes van kontrakte wat in suid­afrika gebruik word, baie soortgelyke strukture het in vergelyking met die belangrikste konstruksieprojekbestuursareas soos erken deur die projekbestuursinstituut (pmi). die artikel beskou die vier kontrakte wat deur die konstruksiebedryf­ ontwikkelingsraad (cidb) in suid­afrika onderskryf is en ondersoek die algemene klousules en temas van hierdie kontrakte. die konstruksie kontrak moet al die projek lewensiklus (plc) stadiums in ag neem. die konstruksie kontrak moet verder gesien word as die projek implementeringsplan (pip), waarmee beheer tydens konstruksie toegepas moet word. met dié begrip van die evolusie van die twee strome (kontrakte en bestuur), kan hul relevansie, doel en afhanklikhede beter verstaan word. dit kan die professionele manier waarop die totale projek lewensiklus (plc) geïmplementeer en benader word, verbeter. sleutelwoorde: algemene voorwaardes, konstruksie, kontrakte, ooreenkoms, projekbestuur, projek lewensiklus 1. introduction the subsequent literature review focuses on the four main construction conditions of contracts currently utilised in south africa and their relationship with respect to the project management knowledge areas (pmka), as recognised by the project management institute (pmi). it is anticipated that this may be the first in a series of articles on the relationship between project and construction management towards construction agreements. many different building contracts could be identified within the construction industry, and they are continuously being adjusted and revised to stay relevant in an ever­changing built environment (putlitz, 2013). the authors of the majority of standard conditions of contracts related to construction projects suggest that their contract conditions allow for the best project management principles and practices for certain projects (nec, 2015: online; jbcc, 2014: 1). acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 154 this article is limited to a general overview of building conditions of contracts (hereafter referred to as contracts or construction contracts) and project management principles for building projects in south africa. each construction project will dictate the type of agreement that is needed for the specific project (cidb, 2005: 1-2). it is generally agreed in the construction environment that a successfully completed construction project will comply with the specified quality and will be completed within the allowed time and budget (cooke & williams, 2009: 23; knipe, van der waldt, van niekerk, burger & nell, 2002: 18; winch, 2010: 71), as agreed upon prior to the commencement of the project. loots (1995: 13) highlights that construction law focuses on establishing and administering the contract. the relationships between engineer (agent) and the employer; the contractor and the employer; the contractor and the subcontractors are all intricate and influential towards the success of the project. managing a building project requires project management knowledge and a diverse range of skills and abilities such as technical, general, leadership and entrepreneurial management skills (burke & barron 2007: 25). during the project life cycle (plc), the implementation phase of a construction project, has a larger time, cost and scope implication, with the result of a higher risk factor than the other phases of the project (burke, 2010: 88; pmi, 2013: 40). it was observed that, in some cases, the professional team might be blamed for not complying with the conditions of the contract, resulting in unsuccessful completion of projects (finsen, 2005: 215; emmitt & gorse, 2003: 165). to determine the potential of the construction contract as a means to manage the construction project, it was necessary to find a relationship between the construction contracts most commonly used in south africa and the project management knowledge areas as defined by the pmi. the general structure of these main contracts was analysed and grouped based on defined main themes and clauses. to place the construction contract’s position within the plc, a comparison was made between the whole plc of a construction project and the contract life cycle (construction contract require­ ments). finding similarities will highlight the construction contract’s ability to act as a management tool in an experienced manager’s hands. the construction contract’s ability to assist in the management of the project could be a valuable realisation for all parties involved with the construction contract and could, therefore, make an important contribution to the construction industry. du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 155 1.1 brief historical overview in mesopotamia, unearthed clay tablets show written contracts by the sumerians, with some set wages for workers and administrative personnel tending to fields, and so on (phillips, 1999: 3). between 2284 and 1570 b.c., near the valley of the kings in egypt, painted limestone shards have been found, and show daily work records, administrators, craftsmen, artists and labourers housed in tha area to design, excavate, construct, and decorate the royal tombs (phillips, 1999: 3). it can be concluded from this, especially the presence of daily work records and administrators, that there were also project management principles at that time. knipe et al. (2002: 3) established that the origins of project management can be traced back to the construction of the pyramids as well as the great wall of china. standard contract conditions have been in use in south africa since 1904, but it was only in the late 1920s that an assertive effort was made to enforce such conditions for the building industry (malherbe & lipshitz, 1979: 1). at that time, prominence was given to a document published in britain in 1928 named agreement and schedule of conditions of building contracts (malherbe & lipshitz, 1979: 1). this ultimately led to a system of building in south africa that closely followed the system in great britain at the time. currently, this basic system has hardly changed; where it has changed, it has been done so to accommodate itself to those factors influenced by the south african economy that do not manifest themselves in the british economy (mills, 1982: 30). project management, on the other hand, only started to formalise in the 1930s in the united states of america, with risk analysis and scheduling in the 1950s (knipe et al., 2002: 3­4). it is interesting to note that the empire state building was completed in 1931 (the tallest building in the world at the time) in the early days of formalising what we refer to nowadays as ‘project management’. that amounts to a construction period of 13 months (berman, 2003). it was, however, only in the 1990s that project management became popular in the south african public sector (knipe et al., 2002: 3­4). the traditional system in south africa fragmented the building industry by separating the design phase from the construction phase. this has, over the years, led to an “arm’s length” type of contract that is “ingeniously arranged” between the owner and the contractor with the design team acting as the agent of the owner and the contract is worded in such a way that the contractor is “sure to have to take responsibility for almost any setback” (mills, 1982: 66). project management has thus developed to meet the need that has arisen to coordinate this acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 156 fragmentation of the design team. a recent development has been the separate appointment of professional project managers by owners (employers), with the object of selecting the best experienced project team, including contractors, architects, quantity surveyors, consulting engineers, principle agents, legal advisers, subcontractors, and so on (mckenzie, 2014: 1­2). in south africa, this project team is responsible for choosing the contract arrangement (van der merwe, van huyssteen, reinecke, lubbe & lotz, 1993: 13). in the year 2000, a series of acts were introduced to govern the built environment. the council for the built environment act (no. 43 of 2000), in particular, is the overarching council for all the regulating professional councils found in the built environment (maritz & siglé, 2016: 4; south africa, 2000b: 40). as part of this series of acts, the construction industry development board (cidb) act no. 38 of 2000 and its regulations established the cidb, which promulgates the standardisation of the construction contracts used in south africa (south africa, 2000a: 8). 2. construction contracts in south africa the construction contract, in its simplest form, is an agreement between two parties stipulating the responsibilities of both parties for the execution of a specific activity (finsen, 2005: 2). for example, a building will be erected by the contractor in exchange for a reasonable compensation by the employer (or client). the construction contract usually takes the form of an offer and accep­ tance, based on reasonable information available at the time of the tender or bidding (also known as the procurement process) (finsen 2005: 1; malherbe & lipshitz, 1979: 80; mckenzie, 2014: 1). when considering common law of contracts and roman­dutch law (as used in south africa), the building contract could be categorised as a letting­and­hiring contract (mckenzie, 2014: 1) (in latin referred to as locatio conductio operis). the building contract could be viewed as an essential tool for organising the relationships between the different parties involved in construction companies (othman & harinarain, 2009). the relationship between parties may become complex. in order to gain a similar understanding of concepts, an evaluation of the wording used in the signed building contract may assist in analysing the initial intention of the parties involved (loots, 1995: 38­39). building contracts have also evolved over the years to include the clauses necessary to make them work (mckenzie, 2014: 1). part of the du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 157 evolution of standard form contracts is the recognition that different categories of construction contracts have different requirements. therefore, the different categories of contracts offer different degrees of flexibility, levels of incentive and different levels of risk to the parties (loots, 1995: 89). thompson introduces the characteristics of the four different categories of construction contracts used in south africa, as illustrated in figure 1 (loots, 1995: 90). client project manager divided management design and construction 2. target-cost or costreimbursable contracts co-operative management design and construction special emphasis on management external project management organisation organisation for project management in house project management team organization for design and construction alternative contractual arrangements 4. package deal or turnkey 1. conventional admeasurement or lump sum contract in house team + management services 3. management contracting divided management design and construction figure 1: characteristics of different categories of construction contracts source: loots, 1995: 90 conventional admeasurement or lump sum contracts (1) include admeasure contracts, such as contracts with bills of quantities, contracts with provisional bills of quantities, and so on. thus, acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 158 contracts with some kind of quantifiable costs, on which the contracts are based, and usually with an offer and acceptance (loots, 1995: 91­149). target­cost or cost­reimbursable contracts (2): loots (1995: 142) divides this type of contract into three separate contracts, distinguishing between the incentives and cost limitation. with these type of contracts, the cost is uncertain when the contract is signed. the management of contracting (3) is an arrangement where the employer appoints an external organisation to manage and co­ordinate the design and construction of a project. the management contractor becomes part of the employer’s team as a consultant to the employer on the construction processes. the contractor advises the employer on the construction processes and the employer is, therefore, more involved through his/her project manager (loots, 1995: 147,148). package deal or turnkey contracts (4) provide a one­stop service to the client. the appointed contractor/ consultant is responsible for the design and construction of the project. the term ‘package’ usually refers to commercial projects, design­and­build to the construction/renovation industries, and the turnkey project usually refers to engineering projects (maritz & siglé, 2010: 11). for the purpose of this study, the search will be limited to conventional admeasurement or lump sum contracts only and the specific conditions of contract used for the study. in south africa, the project team remains responsible for choosing the contract arrangement (van der merwe et al., 1993: 13). it is important to follow a contract strategy where the project team knows the differences and characteristics of the main contracts to choose from. loots (1995: 143) lists the main differences between the characteristics in the four main contract categories as follows: • roles of the parties; • emphasis on management; • method of payment; • allocation of risk, and • nature of the work. “whilst the ideal of standardisation on one system of standard forms of contract for all engineering and construction works in south africa is, probably, just as illogical as it is for each employer to have its own form of contract; a balance has to be found between these two extremes” (cidb, 2005: 1). to find a balance, the number of forms of contract in use in south africa should be reduced based on standardisation and documents capable of catering for a wide range of client du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 159 requirements (cidb, 2005: 2). therefore, the best practice guideline #c2, set out by the cidb (2005: 2), recommends and supports four standard conditions of contract for the built environment in south africa, which are privately owned by independent organisations. these suites of conditions of contract suites are: • jbcc – joint building contracts committee; • gcc – general conditions of contract for construction works; • nec – new engineering contract, and • fidic – the fédération internationale des ingénieurs­conseils (cidb, 2015: 3­4; vosloo & maritz, 2005: 48­54). fidic, nec and gcc are forms of contract that are generally used on all types of engineering and construction contracts. the jbcc is, however, mostly confined to building works. the fidic, nec and jbcc series of documents contain short versions of engineering and construction works contracts. the four series of documents collectively cover the commonly encountered contracting strategies that are currently being pursued internationally (cidb, 2005: 2). table 1 illustrates the latest research done by the cidb on the construc tion industry and shows the percentage usage of the four standard conditions of contract for different project types. table 1: type of contract used for different project types 2014 project type % contract document type usage for each project type total (%) contract document type gcc nec jbcc fidic other residential building 20 ­ 68 8 4 100 non­residential building 13 1 83 0 3 100 civil works 76 4 6 10 4 100 mechanical works 27 13 10 23 27 100 electrical works 27 20 29 18 6 100 special works 31 6 44 13 6 100 % projects with contract document significantly amended 31 36 24 33 18 source: marx, 2014: 16 overall, the jbcc suite of contracts was utilised the most, but it was specifically popular to use for residential and non-residential building projects. the gcc suite of contracts was the most preferred to use for acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 160 civil work contracts. although the nec and fidic suites of contracts were less preferred, all these document types have been used on building projects previously. considering that the nec, jbcc and fidic conditions of contracts comprise different individual contracts, the research narrowed the specific suite of contracts down (cidb, 2005: 2-11) to conventional admeasurement or lump sum contracts (category 1) in figure 1, which, together with the best practice guideline #c2, determined the following specific contracts to be used further in the study (cidb, 2005: 14): • general conditions of contract for construction works (gcc); • nec engineering and construction contract (ecc) (hereafter referred to as nec); • jbcc principal building agreement (pba); (hereafter referred to as jbcc), and • conditions of contract for construction (red book) (hereafter referred to as fidic). in order to find a relationship between construction contracts and construction project management, the general structure of these main contracts was analysed and tabulated under the categories of main themes and clauses. table 2 introduces the main themes and clauses. table 2: content comparison between the four main contracts fidic gcc nec jbcc pba 20 main clauses 10 main themes 9 core clauses 7 main themes 1. general provisions 1. general 1. general 1. interpretation (clauses 1­7) 2. the employer 2. basis of contract 2. the contractor’s main responsibilities 2. insurance and security ­ risks (clauses 8­11) 3. the engineer 3. engineer 3. time 3. execution ­ roles and responsibilities (clauses 12­17) 4. the contractor 4. contractor’s general obligations 4. testing and defects 4. completion (clauses 18­24) 5. nominated subcontractors 5. time­related matters 5. payment 5. payment (clauses 25­27) du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 161 fidic gcc nec jbcc pba 20 main clauses 10 main themes 9 core clauses 7 main themes 6. staff and labour 6. payment and related matters 6. compensation events 6. suspension and termination (clauses 28­29) 7. plant, materials and workmanship 7. quality and related matters 7. title – pertaining to material and plant on site (to whom does it belong?) 7. dispute resolution (clause 30) 8. commencement, delays and suspension 8. risks and related matters 8. risks and insurance 9. test on completion 9. termination of contract 9. termination 10. employers taking over 10. claims and disputes 11. defects liability supplementary schedule of option 12. measurement and evaluation main option clauses, with six options 13. variations and adjustments dispute resolution 14. contract price and payment secondary options clauses 15. termination by employer 16. suspension and termination by contractor 17. risk and responsibility 18. insurance 19. force majeure 20. claims, disputes and arbitration source: fidic, 1999 source: saice, 2015 source: nec, 2013a source: jbcc, 2014 mckenzie (2014: 175) highlights specific topics normally found in a construction contract. when these topics are compared to the structures of the identified contracts (table 2), the following acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 162 most general contract themes are derived and will be used in the final comparison: • general; • roles and responsibilities; • time­related items; • payment (costs); • quality; • risks or change; • termination, and • claims and disputes. these topics correspond to the general project management areas, discussed below. 3. construction project management in south africa project management is regulated by professional bodies. one such body is the project management institute (pmi). the pmi (2013: 3) defines a project as a temporary undertaking to create a unique product, service or result. there is a definite beginning and end, but the impact may last much longer. every project creates a unique service or result and can create: • a product that can be either a component of another item or an end in itself – e.g., a building; • a capability to perform a service – e.g., a business function to support productivity; • an improvement in the existing product or service line – a six sigma project undertaken to reduce defects, or • a result such as an outcome or document – e.g., a research project. lester expands on the definition by defining the purpose and the main differentiating factor to any other business or enterprise. project management is concerned with the management of change instead of managing a continuum or business as usual. the main objectives of a project are to complete it on time, within budget, and to the required standard or quality (lester, 2013: 1­2). the pmi has published a knowledge guide known as the pmbok guide that stipulates the key terms, concepts, facts, principles, and rules of project management areas. the ten generic project management knowledge areas listed by the pmi (2013: 61) are: du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 163 1. project integration management; 2. project scope management; 3. project time management; 4. project cost management; 5. project quality management; 6. project human resources management; 7. project communications management; 8. project risk management; 9. project procurement management, and 10. project stakeholder management. in addition to the ten pmbok knowledge areas that are generic, the pmi have identified four additional areas known as the construction extension to the pmbok that are industry specific (pmi, 2003: ix). the purpose of the construction extension is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of construction projects. these areas are: 1. safety management; 2. environmental management; 3. financial management, and 4. claims management (pmi, 2015). the project and construction management professions act 48 of 2000 defines construction project management as “… the management of projects within the built environment from conception to completion, including management of related professional services” (south africa, 2011: 30). every new construction project typically consists of a new team. the experience of each individual team player contributes to the success of the project. the project and the management thereof usually take place in an environment larger than the project itself. kerzner (2003: 69­74) and burke (2007: 28) state that all construction projects can be divided into phases of development. these phases are collectively known as the project life cycle (plc) and contribute to better project control for project managers. the plc can be captured in a methodology with a definite start and end. the items in between can, however, vary considerably (pmi, 2008:15). burke (2003: 28) divides projects into the following four basic phases: concept, design, implementation, and closing. for the construction industry in south africa, six phases are identified and set out by the south african council for the built environment (cbe). these phases are inception, concept and acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 164 viability, design development, documentation and procurement, construction and close­out (cbe, n.d.: online). the greatest effort is experienced during the implementation phase (construction phase) of a project. effort gradually increases as the design of the project starts, and continues to increase steadily until tapering downwards as the projects nears completion (burke, 2010: 88). for the purpose of this article, project management and construc­ tion management will be referred to as construction project management (cpm). with the main themes identified for cpm, the process of comparing the cpm and the construction contracts could be conducted. 4. the project life cycle to understand how the contract fits into the project life cycle, it is important to show the integration between project phases, so that the relationship between the construction life cycle and the project life cycle is clearly understood. the standard for uniformity in construction procurement divides the procurement document into two distinct sections, namely the tender data and the contract data. these two sections culminate into an offer (on the form of offer and acceptance) that is either accepted or rejected (cidb, 2015: 15). figure 2 is a simplification of the process and does not necessarily illustrate how much information has to be transferred during this process. the objective of figure 2 is to illustrate how the procurement and contract formation fits into the plc. du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 165 s ta ge 1 : i nc ep tio n s ta ge 2 : c on ce pt a nd vi ab ili ty s ta ge 3 : d es ig n de ve lo pm en t s ta ge 4 : d oc um en ta tio n an d pr oc ur em en t s ta ge 5 : c on st ru ct io n s ta ge 6 : c lo se -o ut c on tr ac t i n pl ac e (e xc lu di ng l at en t d ef ec ts p er io d) pr oc ur e m en t pr oc es s c on tr ac t be in g dr af te d c on tr ac t l ife c yc le c on st ru ct io n p ro je ct l ife c yc le }in iti at io n pr oc es s gr ou p – in te gr at io n an d st ak eh ol de r m an ag em en t }pl an ni ng p ro ce ss gr ou p – a ll 14 kn ow le dg e ar ea s }e xe cu tin g pr oc es s gr ou p }m on ito ri ng a nd c on tr ol lin g pr oc es s gr ou p – a ll 14 kn ow le dg e ar ea s • in te gr at io n• q ua lit y• h um an r es ou rc es • c om m un ic at io n• pr oc ur em en t• st ak eh ol de r• sa fe ty • en vi ro nm en tc lo si ng p ro ce ss gr ou p – • in te gr at io n• fi na nc ia l• c la im o ffe r an d ac ce pt an ce s ta rt e nd e nd im pl em en t – c er tif ic at e of c om pl et io n c on ce pt pr oj ec t pr op os al p ro je ct l ife c yc le d es ig n – b as el in e pl an c om m is si on c lo se -o ut re po rt b as el in e pl an figure 2: integration between project phases (own diagram) sources: adapted from cbe, n.d.: 4; cooke & williams, 2009: 81, 132; pmi, 2017: 25; pmi, 2007: 21; burke, 2007: 48 acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 166 figure 2 illustrates the construction project life cycle, as described by the cbe on the left with the contract life cycle at the top (stages 1 to 6). the project management processes and the applicable knowledge areas are illustrated adjacent the plc stages and subsequently linked to the cpm life cycle (pmi, 2017: 25; pmi, 2007: 21). taking this into account, the south african council for the construction profession defined the six stages of the plc (south africa, 2011: 4-10). stage 1 (inception) includes the procedure of agreement of the requirements and preferences of the client, assessing user needs and options, appointment of necessary consultants in establishing project brief, objectives, priorities, constraints, assumptions and strategies in consultation with the client. the pmi lists the integration and stakeholder management knowledge area used during the ignition process. stages 2 and 3 (concept and viability through to design development) relate to planning process and to all 14 knowledge areas. stage 2 is defined as the finalisation of the project concept and feasibility, and stage 3 as the management, co­ordination and integration of the detail design development process within the project scope, time, cost and quality parameters. stage 4 (documentation and procurement) mostly involves the integration, quality, human resources, communication, procurement, stakeholder, safety and environment management planning processes. even though the decision on the type of contract to use may be decided in the earlier stage, the documentation for the tender process is finalised during stage 4. the sacpcmp defines this stage as the process of establishing and implementing procurement strategies and procedures, including the preparation of necessary documentation, for effective and timeous execution of the project. stage 5 (construction or implementation) may involve the finalisation of the contract and the appointment of the contractor. the main objectives of this stage include the management and administration of the construction contracts and processes, including the preparation and co­ordination of the necessary documentation to facilitate effective execution of the works. it further entails the monitoring and control of the project through the processes of all 14 knowledge areas. stage 6 (close­out) involves the process groups of integration and financial claim management. practically, this involves managing and administrating the project closeout, including preparation and co­ordination of the necessary documentation, in order to facilitate du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 167 the effective operation of the project. the specific outcomes of this stage may include works completion certificate, certificate of final completion, record of all meetings, and a project close­out report depending on the contract used. in project management, considering burke (2007: 75), the “baseline plan” or “project plan” is a portfolio of documents and policies that outlines how to achieve the objectives of the project. figure 2 illustrates when the contract comes into effect. by this time, a substantial portion of planning and design have been done. the construction contract thus has a very similar position within the plc to the project plan or the project implementation plan (pip). 5. similarities between construction contracts and project management figure 2 clarified the relationship between the plc towards the construction contract and the cpm knowledge areas. to consider the similarities between construction contracts and construction project management, in general, this article first considers the entire plc of a construction project compared to the contract life cycle (construction contract requirements). secondly, a comparison is made between the project management knowledge areas and the construction contract themes. table 3 shows the similarities between the general themes of the construction contracts compared to the knowledge areas of both project management and construction management knowledge areas. it also displays the applicable construction life cycle stages in rectangular blocks next to each theme and knowledge area. this serves as a link between figure 2, the plc, contract themes and construction project management themes. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 168 ta b le 3 : c o ns tr uc tio n c o nt ra c t th e m e s c o m p a re d t o p ro je c t­ a nd c o ns tr uc tio n kn o w le d g e m a na g e m e nt a re a s c o nt ra c t th e m e s pr o je c t m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o nt ra c t th e m e s ba sic re q ui re m e nt s to a d d re ss in t he c o nt ra c t kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a th em e 1: g en er a l pr e p a ra tio n o f t he d o c um e nt sc op e m a na g em en t c re a tin g a s c o p e m a na g e m e nt p la n a n o ff e r b y th e c o nt ra c to r c o lle c tin g t he re q ui re m e nt s a c c e p ta nc e o f t he o ff e r d e fin in g a nd d o c um e nt in g t he s ta ke ho ld e r’ s ne e d s a c c e ss t o t he w o rk s ­ w ho d o e s th e s ite b e lo ng t o e tc . su b d iv id in g p ro je c t d e liv e ra b le s fo rm a lis in g t he a c c e p ta nc e o f t he d e liv e ra b le s m o ni to rin g t he s ta tu s o f t he p ro je c t a nd t he s c o p e a nd m a na g in g c ha ng e s. in te g ra tio n m a na g em en t en su re t ha t th e v a rio us e le m e nt s o f t he p ro je c t a re p ro p e rly id e nt ifi e d , d e fie d , c o m b in e d , u ni fie d a nd c o o rd in a te d . du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 169 c o nt ra c t th e m e s pr o je c t m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o nt ra c t th e m e s ba sic re q ui re m e nt s to a d d re ss in t he c o nt ra c t kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a th em e 2: ro le s a nd re sp on si b ili tie s w ho is re sp o ns ib le fo r th e d e sig ns re so ur ce m a na g em en t d e fin in g h o w t o e st im a te , a c q ui re , m a na g e a nd ut ilis e p hy sic a l a nd t e a m re so ur c e s w ho is t he e m p lo ye r/ c lie nt ’s a g e nt s a nd w ha t is th e ir o b lig a tio ns ? th e p ro c e ss o f e st im a tin g t e a m re so ur c e s a nd t he ty p e a nd q ua nt iti e s o f m a te ria ls, e q ui p m e nt a nd su p p lie s re q ui re d si te re p re se nt a tio n re q ui re m e nt s o f p a rt ie s a c q ui sit io n o f t he re so ur c e s a ss ig nm e nt pu tt in g t he p ro je c t te a m in p la c e se tt in g o ut o f t he w o rk s m a na g e p ro je c t te a m a ss ig nm e nt m a na g in g t he t e a m su b ­c o nt ra c to r a rra ng e m e nt s 1 2 3 4 5 st a ke ho ld er m a na g em en t id e nt ify s ta ke ho ld e rs pl a n st a ke ho ld e r m a na g e m e nt m a na g e a nd c o nt ro l s ta ke ho ld e r e ng a g e m e nt th em e 3: ti m e re la te d ite m s pr a c tic a l, w o rk s a nd fin a l c o m p le tio n w o rd in g d e p e nd a nt o n c o nt ra c t ti m e or s ch ed ul e (a s p er 20 17 p m i) m a na g em en t pl a n, d e ve lo p a nd c o nt ro l t he p ro je c t sc he d ul e d e fe c ts li a b ilit y p e rio d s id e nt ify a nd d o c um e nt in g re la tio ns hi p s a m o ng a c tiv iti e s se c tio na l c o m p le tio n o f t he w o rk s se q ue nc e a c tiv iti e s re vi sio n o f c o nt ra c t p e rio d s/ d a te s es tim a te a c tiv ity d ur a tio ns a na ly sin g a c tiv ity s e q ue nc e s, d ur a tio ns , r e so ur c e re q ui re m e nt s a nd s c he d ul e c o ns tr a in ts c o nt ro llin g t he s c he d ul e ta b le 3 c o nt in ue d .. . acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 170 c o nt ra c t th e m e s pr o je c t m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o nt ra c t th e m e s ba sic re q ui re m e nt s to a d d re ss in t he c o nt ra c t kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a th em e 4: pa ym en t in te rim p a ym e nt s (p a ym e nt d ur in g p ro je c t p e rio d ) c os t m a na g em en t d e fin in g h o w t he p ro je c t c o st s w ill b e e st im a te d , b ud g e te d , m a na g e d m o ni to re d a nd c o nt ro lle d fi na nc ia l m a na g em en t it in c lu d e s th e p ro c e ss e s to a c q ui re a nd m a na g e fin a nc ia l r e so ur c e s o n th e p ro je c t a d ju st m e nt s a nd va ria tio n o rd e rs es tim a tin g t he c o st s in c o nt ra c ts t o c o st m a na g e m e nt ­ it is m o re c o nc e rn e d w ith re ve nu e so ur c e s a nd m e nt o rin g n e st c a sh fl o w s fo r t he c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c t re c o ve ry o f e xp e ns e s b y e ith e r p a rt ie s es ta b lis hi ng t he c o st b a ss lin e m a na g e m e nt o f d a y­ to ­d a y c o st s fi na l a c c o un t c o nt ro llin g t he c o st a g a in st t he b a se lin e th em e 5: q ua lit y w ith in s up p le m e nt a ry d o c um e nt a tio n to th e c o nt ra c t q ua lit y m a na g em en t d e ve lo p m e nt a nd im p le m e nt a tio n o f a q ua lit y m a na g e m e nt s ys te m w ith re g a rd t o p la nn in g , m a na g in g a nd c o nt ro llin g te st in g a nd c o m m iss io ni ng sp e c ifi c a tio ns ta b le 3 c o nt in ue d .. . du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 171 c o nt ra c t th e m e s pr o je c t m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o nt ra c t th e m e s ba sic re q ui re m e nt s to a d d re ss in t he c o nt ra c t kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a th em e 6: ri sk s w o rk r isk ri sk m a na g em en t pl a nn in g , i d e nt ifi c a tio n, a na ly sis , r e sp o ns e p la nn in g , re sp o ns e im p le m e nt a tio n a nd m o ni to rin g ri sk o n th e p ro je c t a re a ll p ro c e ss e s in vo lv e d in ri sk m a na g e m e nt sa fe ty m a na g em en t d e ve lo p , e xe c ut iv e a nd a d m in ist e r a s a fe ty p la n to im p ro ve h e a lth a nd in c re a se t he s a fe ty o n th e p ro je c t in d e m ni tie s in su ra nc e s se c ur iti e s, g ua ra nt e e s e tc . en vi ro nm en ta l m a na g em en t d e te rm in e w ha t im p a c t th e p ro je c t w ill ha ve o n th e e nv iro nm e nt . a ss ur e a nd c o nt ro l th a t th e p la n st a ys in t he e nv iro nm e nt a l st a nd a rd s th em e 7: te rm in a tio n by t he e m p lo ye r o r c o nt ra c to r a nd th e ri g ht s re la te d t o d e fa ul t a nd d isa st e r th em e 8: c la im s a nd d is p ut es li tig a tio n, a rb itr a tio n, a d ju d ic a tio n, m e d ia tio n e tc . c la im s m a na g em en t id e nt ify a nd q ua nt ify c la im s c a nc e lla tio n b y th e e m p lo ye r o r c o nt ra c to r a nd t he rig ht s re la te d t o d e fa ul t a nd d isa st e r se t th e c o rre c t in p ut to p re ve nt c la im s se t th e c o rre c t c la im s re so lu tio n st e p s ta b le 3 c o nt in ue d .. . acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 172 c o nt ra c t th e m e s pr o je c t m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o ns tr uc tio n m a na g e m e nt k no w le d g e a re a s c o nt ra c t th e m e s ba sic re q ui re m e nt s to a d d re ss in t he c o nt ra c t kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a kn o w le d g e a re a ba sic a sp e c ts o f a re a c om m un ic a tio n m a na g em en t pr e se nt s th e fo rm a l c o m m un ic a tio n p la n w ith in t he p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt p la n pl a n, m a na g e m e nt a nd c o nt ro l c o m m un ic a tio ns d ur in g t he p ro je c t pr oc ur em en t m a na g em en t th e p ro c e ss e s ne c e ss a ry t o a c q ui re p ro d uc ts , se rv ic e s, o r r e su lts n e e d e d fr o m o ut sid e so ur c e s: v e rs te r, 20 06 : 7 ; f id ic , 1 99 9; sa ic e, 2 01 5; n ec , 2 01 3; j bc c , 2 01 4 so ur c e s: p m i 2 01 7: 6 9­ 53 6 so ur c e : p m i 2 00 7: 1 19 ­1 79 ta b le 3 c o nt in ue d .. . du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 173 when comparing the themes of the four main contracts against the main themes of construction project management, they are found to be very similar in nature. it is apparent that the construction agreement and the construction project management knowledge areas have very similar themes or goals. however, a proper comparison proves difficult because of the different structures of each of the four standard conditions. an individual comparison of each of the standard contracts will be included in the anticipated forthcoming research. on the basis of table 3, the following general similarities could be highlighted. theme 1 the general theme of contracts generally relates to the scope and integration management knowledge areas. the document layout of all four of the standard contracts begins with an introduction, followed by general clauses. the general section of these contracts sets out how the contract should be read and interpreted. this is usually followed by a list of definitions. communication arrangements are included throughout the contracts, although most of the communication arrangements are contained within the general theme. procurement can also be linked to the general theme, although as shown above, it is contained outside the actual contract (fidic, 1999; saice, 2015; nec, 2013; jbcc, 2014). theme 2 roles and responsibilities relate to human resources and stakeholder management knowledge areas. by its nature, a contract can only be concluded by two people, one on each side of the obligation. more than one person may, however, represent either side or parties. representation is a legal and not a contractual phenomenon. it occurs when one representative concludes a juristic act in such a manner that the legal consequences of the act belong to the principal (person being represented in the case of a construction contract, the employer, or the client). the basic requirement for representation is that the parties must disclose that they are representing the principal. representation only occurs when the person or party has the authority to do so (van der merwe et al., 1993: 168­178). acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 174 theme 3 time­related items in the contract correspond to time management as a knowledge area. according to the terms of most of the building contracts, it is the duty of the contractor to complete the building by a specified date. where no such time has been specified, a reasonable time shall prevail. if the employer wants to claim damages, s/he will first have to place the contractor in mora (in delay or default) by means of a contract instruction, stipulating his/ her default. the necessity for extension of time on the works can be brought about by the contractor’s default, the client’s default, or through factors outside the control of the two contracting parties. the employer’s consultant/representative can also cause delays such as, for example, the late issue of drawings, and so on (mckenzie, 2014: 161­168). theme 4 the payment theme relates to the cost management knowledge area of pm and to the financial management of the cm knowledge area. mckenzie (2014: 201) notes that a building contract, in its purest form, is an “entire contract”. this means that only through a contract is the contractor entitled to interim payments. however, the reversed implication of this is that, in the absence of special provisions, payment is due immediately after the work has been completed by the contractor. in like manner, payment for extras is due when completed. to understand the final account specifications in the contract, the construction project manager should clearly define how the project cost is estimated, budgeted, managed, monitored, and controlled. theme 5 quality is also addressed by both the contract management themes and the pm knowledge areas. building quality is attributed to three main components, namely design, materials, and workmanship (malherbe & lipshitz, 1979: 102). design responsibility is defined in the contract and there may be areas where the subcontractor has to design certain specialist portions of the works. the source and supply are the responsibility of the contractor, except where it is supplied by the employer. workmanship, however, always remains the responsibility of the contractor (malherbe & lipshitz, 1979: 106­120). as a project manager, the contractor should develop and implement a quality­management system with regard to planning, managing, and controlling the specifications as set out in the contract. du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 175 theme 6 risks management is similar to the contractual themes of managing risks and managing health and safety risks. the processes involved in risk management should address time, cost, resources, and environmental management (loots, 1995: 261­269). risks must be identified, quantified, and managed through a proper safety plan. the construction regulations (south africa, 2014) emphasise risk identification during the design stage of the project, although these mainly focus on health and safety. theme 7 termination is a theme that is not specifically related to any management knowledge areas (see point 8 below). however, it can be regarded as change, which has to be managed. cancelation or termination can be caused by the default of one of the parties (employer or contractor) or by “no default” (finsen, 2005: 195­210). van der merwe et al. (1993: 359­395) distinguish between three types of termination of obligations of the parties within a contract, namely: • discharge by performance; • termination by agreement, and • termination by operation of the law. theme 8 claims and disputes, however, specifically relates to the cm knowledge area of claims management. construction contracts and their interpretation often lead to misinterpretation by one or both parties. this leads to potential disagreements concerning the rights and obligations of the parties and have been the cause of many claims and disputes. clear contractual arrangements such as the impact of cancellations, litigation, arbitration, and so on should allow for construction managers not only to set the correct input to prevent claims, but also to set the correct claims resolution steps. 6. conclusion the evolution of construction contracts as well as project manage­ ment in south africa was studied to identify possible similarities between the general characteristics of construction contracts and project management principles. to determine the potential of the construction contract agreement as a means to manage the construction project, it was necessary to find a relationship between acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 176 the construction contracts most commonly used in south africa and the project management knowledge areas as defined by the pmi. a comparison between the entire plc of a construction project and the contract life cycle (construction contract requirements) showed that the contract comes into effect only at the end of stage 4: documentation and procurement, and the start of stage 5: construction. the four general conditions of contracts endorsed by the cidb in south africa were reviewed and the general clauses and themes of these contracts were investigated, resulting in the following general contract themes: general; roles and responsibilities; time­ related items; payment (costs); quality; risks or change, and claims and disputes. compared to the main construction project management knowledge areas, these themes show that the controlling parameters of a construction project are identified through the main contracts used in south africa. these controlling parameters include seven areas with particular similarity. 1. the general theme of contracts allows for preparation of the offer, which relates to the scope and integration management knowledge areas. these areas allow for preparing the project scope by ensuring that the various elements of the project are properly identified, defined, combined, unified and coordinated. 2. the roles and responsibilities of the project team are set out in the contract and this relates to human resources and stakeholder management knowledge areas, where the stakeholders and roles of the project team are management. 3. time-related items in the contract for practical works and final completion depend on the wording of the contract. such wording corresponds to time management as a knowledge area, where the project manager plans, develops and controls the project schedule. 4. the payment theme in the contract provides for interim payments, recovery of expenses, and the final account. this shows similarity both to cost management as a knowledge area of pm, which defines how the project costs will be estimated, budgeted, managed, monitored, and controlled, and to financial management of the cm knowledge area, which includes the processes to acquire and manage du plessis & oosthuizen • construction project management ... 177 financial resources on the project from a contractor’s perspective. 5. quality specifications in the contract provides for testing and commissioning, which shows similarity to the pm knowledge areas that include the development and implementation of a quality management system with regard to planning, managing, and controlling the project. 6. the contract specifies risks management do address work, indemnities, insurances, guarantees, and so on. it is similar to the pm area of managing risks, which includes all the processes involved in risk management on the project. it shows similarity both to the cm knowledge area of managing health and safety risks and to environmental risks, which includes a plan to improve health, increase the safety on the project, and limit the influence on the environment. 7. the contract provides for claims and disputes by setting the legal criteria for the rights related to default and disaster when either the employer or the contractor cancels the project. this shows similarity to the cm knowledge area of claims management which identifies and quantifies claims, sets the correct steps to prevent claims, and specifies the correct claims resolution steps. these similarities highlight the building contract’s ability to act as a management tool in an experienced manager’s hands (pip). the comparison shows that the construction contract’s ability to assist in the management of the project could be a valuable realisation for all parties involved in the construction contract and could, therefore, make an important contribution to the construction industry. it is obvious that drawing up the building contract is not a simple task. the importance of involving an experienced construction project manager is key towards including the required construction management clauses during the development and selection of the contract agreement. the standard conditions of contract provide a guideline on which the construction project manager can build the contract. the construction contract should, therefore, consider all the project life­cycle (plc) stages. it should also be viewed as the project implementation plan (pip), that forms the basis for control procedures during construction. in understanding the evolution of the two streams (contracts and management), their relevance, goal, dependencies and responsibilities may be understood better and may enhance the professional manner in which the management of the entire project life­cycle (plc) is implemented and approached. acta structilia 2018: 25(1) 178 it is subsequently recommended that, in the short term, the four specific building contracts be investigated further, in order to investigate more fully the similarities and objectives of each contract. in the medium to long term, it is recommended to investigate the need for an additional knowledge area to assist in the management of the amount of information to be transferred during the procurement and implementation stages of a construction project. furthermore, how can the advent of bim assist in the transfer of this information from design, through the procurement stage into construction and ultimately to the facilities manager? references berman, j. 2003. the empire state building. new york: barnes & noble publishing inc. burke, r. 2003. project management, planning and techniques. 4th edition. ringwood, new jersey: rory burke publishing. burke, r. 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(eds.). proceedings of the 1st icec & ipma global congress on project management, 5th world congress on cost engineering, project management & quantity surveying, 23­26 april 2006, ljubljana, slovenia: zmp. vosloo, p.t. & maritz m.j. 2005. landscaping: an analysis of current contracting processes and documentation. acta structilia, 12(2), pp. 42­69. winch, g.h. 2010. managing construction projects. 2nd edition. chichester: wiley­blackwell. 58 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as ayodeji ajayi dr ayodeji olusola ajayi, urban and regional planning, osun state university, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. phone: +234 7033871651, email: ayodeji.ajayi@uniosun. edu.ng, orcid: http://orcid. org/0000-0001-6104-2632 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: september 2022 reviewed and revised: septembernovember 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: cooperative societies, housing delivery, housing finance, public-private collaborations, nigeria how to cite: ajayi, a. 2022. factors militating against cooperative societies’ contributions to housing development in osogbo, nigeria. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 58-82. factors militating against cooperative societies’ contributions to housing development in osogbo, nigeria research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.3 abstract various strategies are being deployed to address finance for housing development in nigeria. however, few localised studies have examined factors hindering the performance of cooperative societies to assist with housing development. the article aims to investigate the barriers that hinder cooperative societies' involved in housing delivery in osogbo and olorunda local government areas of osogbo, osun state, nigeria. the study used a quantitative research design, with a questionnaire survey. using the multi-stage sampling technique, 110 cooperative societies were selected across the local government areas and the structured questionnaire was administered to one member in each selected cooperative society. data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency table) and principal component analysis (pca). results of the communality values based on pca showed that financial and land regulation, loan management, and credibility of co-operators are the factors affecting the ability of cooperative societies in funding housing development in osogbo. the study concluded that cooperative societies have a significant impact on housing delivery in osogbo. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 58-82 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 59 based on these findings, it is clear that, if cooperative societies are well supported by government policies such as public-private collaborations on land acquisitions, urban housing production challenges could be reduced. abstrak verskeie strategieë word ontplooi om finansiering vir behuisingsontwikkeling in nigerië aan te spreek. min plaaslike studies het egter faktore ondersoek wat die prestasie van koöperatiewe verenigings belemmer om met behuisingsontwikkeling te help. die artikel poog om die struikelblokke te ondersoek wat koöperatiewe verenigings verhinder om betrokke te wees by behuisingslewering in osogbo en olorunda, twee plaaslike regeringsgebiede van osogbo, osun-staat, nigerië. die studie het ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsontwerp gebruik, met ’n vraelysopname. deur die multistadium steekproeftegniek te gebruik, is 110 koöperatiewe verenigings regoor die plaaslike regeringsgebiede geselekteer en die gestruktureerde beskrywende opname is op een lid in elke geselekteerde koöperatiewe vereniging geadministreer. data is ontleed deur gebruik te maak van beskrywende statistiek (frekwensietabel) en hoofkomponentanalise (pca). resultate van die gemeenskapswaardes gebaseer op pca het getoon dat finansiële en grondregulering, leningsbestuur, en die geloofwaardigheid van samewerkers die faktore is wat die vermoë van koöperatiewe verenigings in die finansiering van behuisingsontwikkeling in osogbo beïnvloed. die studie het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat koöperatiewe verenigings ’n beduidende impak op behuisingslewering in osogbo het. gebaseer op hierdie bevindinge, is dit duidelik dat as koöperatiewe verenigings goed ondersteun word deur regeringsbeleide soos byvoorbeeld openbare-private samewerking oor grondverkrygings, kan stedelike behuisingsproduksie-uitdagings verminder word. 1. introduction globally, people save for long-term or borrow money either to build or buy their houses or to finance housing projects. housing development is multifaceted, involving a series of linked stages such as preparation, production, acquisition, servicing, and maintenance carried out by several key players such as government (public), private, formal and informal sectors (adeoye, 2018: 31). finance is needed to develop housing, and government involvement in housing predicates on the premise that most of the citizenry do not have access to necessary funds to effect housing development. according to olujimi et al. (2021), housing is an important contributor to a nation’s economy, having a backward linkage to land markets, building materials, tools, furniture, and labour market. it has forward linkage with the financial markets (mortgage debt accounts for a large proportion of household debt) and supports the efficient functioning of the domestic and international financial market (olujimi et al., 2021). the pison housing company (2010: 15) affirmed that there were approximately 10.7 million houses in nigeria in 2007, and 60% of nigerians were homeless. in addition, pepple (2012: 229) noted that the housing deficit in nigeria in 2012 was approximately 17.5 million units. it was reported, in 2017, that over 108 million nigerians were technically homeless (the guardian, 2017). according to furtherafrica, (2021), “nigeria’s housing ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 60 deficit currently stands at between 17-22 million units and to stem this tide, 700,000 houses would need to be built every year over the next 20 years’’. several scholars have pointed out that the housing stock in nigeria is below what is expected in terms of quality and quantity (adedire & adegbile, 2018: 126; akande, 2021: 36). to redress the unacceptable housing stock situation, the nigerian government decided to review and update the draft national housing policy and that of the national urban development policy in september 2011, based on all relevant facts affecting the housing sector (frn, 2011). this review was necessitated to achieve affordable housing that will raise home ownership to approximately 50%; improve nigeria’s human development index (hdi) ranking; expand the construction sector and the mortgage market; significantly reduce poverty in households; increase the productivity and quality of lives of the citizenry, and improve the housing sector contribution (to over 20%) of nigeria’s gdp, as envisioned in vision 20:2020 (frn, 2011). nigeria is yet to meet these milestones because of rural-urban migration, insecurity, surge in population figures and inconsistencies in the government’s responses. all of these are worsening the housing situation in the country, to the extent that economic development and the welfare of the citizens are adversely affected (furtherafrica, 2021). although affordable housing can be achieved through both home ownership and renting, only a small percentage of nigerians have access to procure decent housing (olujimi et al., 2021). similarly, the aftermath of covid19 and inflation in nigeria have eroded nigerians’ disposable income amid rising rental values (the nigerian tribune, 2022). most of the tenants and those seeking new homes are finding it difficult to cope with surges in rental values of apartments and homes in major nigerian cities (the nigerian tribune, 2022). in trying to meet their housing need in the face of the multifaceted problems surrounding housing affordability and access, most of the households rely on self-financing through own equity, loans and gifts from friends and family, remittances from abroad, and contributions from co-operative societies (oyalowo, 2018). despite being an informal and private source of housing finance, cooperative societies give their members short-term funding for housing development. in some instances, apart from the issuance of housing loans to their members, cooperative societies embark on actual building construction, where members are encouraged to save towards purchasing and owning their personal homes. the foregoing aligns with oyalowo (2018: 15), who defines cooperative housing as varied interventions in housing supply by any type of co-operative societies, through direct construction for renting or sales, at market or subsidized rates, for the benefit of members and non-members alike. the basic element of cooperative ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 61 housing is that people pool their financial resources together voluntarily, in order to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a democratically controlled enterprise, organised and operated on cooperative principles (majee & hoyt, 2011: 50). a number of studies have been conducted on cooperative societies’ intervention in housing provision in nigeria. for instance, adeboyejo & oderinde (2013: 62) carried out an empirical assessment of the internal structural organization of the cooperative societies’ social housing delivery. the results show that cooperative societies had a high level of formalization, internal structural organization, and democratic content. they were also determined to be stable, viable, and effective in resource mobilization for sustainable housing delivery (adeboyejo & oderinde, 2013: 62). another study used the case-study approach in understanding the experience and responsibility of cooperative societies in poverty alleviation in a southwestern region of nigeria. the study observed a strong association between educational status and co-operative membership; moreover, a positive relationship was found between increased asset base of respondents and membership of co-operative societies with land ownership (aderounmu, oyedemi & adeleke, 2014: 2). ibem & odum (2011: 25) examined cooperatives society’s roles in securing land for urban housing in nigeria, with the affirmation that co-operatives play a significant role in addressing urban land and housing crisis confronting low-income people. in addition, adedeji & olotuah (2012: 23) asserted that the involvement of cooperative societies in housing provision has been successful. by contrast, ndubueze (2009) stated that cooperative societies are yet to make any significant impact on the nigerian housing sector development. literature also shows that there are cooperative housing intervention methods, including acquisition, allocation, processing of land and title documents, as well as construction material procurements (yakubu, salawu & gimba, 2012: 1427). other activities of cooperative societies are collaborative partnerships with built-environment professionals in providing housing schemes, granting loan facilities to members, as well as interior design and furnishing (adedeji & olotuah, 2012: 24). in some instances, cooperative societies provide home ownership schemes, rental loan schemes, and funding for property development (oloke et al., 2017). likewise, they provide general loans, housing construction loans, specific loans for land acquisition, special loans for renovation of existing buildings, and collective purchase of land for building construction (ibem & odum, 2011: 26; azeez & mogaji-allison, 2017: 40). ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 62 despite the abundance of information on the activities and modus operandi of different types of cooperative societies in nigeria, only a few specific studies have addressed the factors influencing the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing development in medium-sized cities in nigeria (oyewole, 2010: 245; mazadu, muhammad & iroaganachi, 2021: 3009), hence the relevance of this article. this article, therefore, aims to examine the factors militating against cooperative societies in funding housing development in osogbo with a view to providing information that could inform housing policy in addressing housing stock deficit in nigeria. the specific objectives were to analyse the administrative/management structure of the selected cooperative societies and identify factors militating against cooperative societies in financing housing development in osogbo. 2. literature review to understand cooperative societies’ contributions to housing development in osogbo, nigeria, it is important to introduce the concepts used in this article. these include, historical background of cooperative societies, housing finance, land availability, and urban housing development. 2.1 historical background of cooperative societies cooperative societies are formed, in order to achieve social or economic objectives. therefore, the formation and operations of the equitable pioneers of rochdale society (eprs), in 1844, signalled the genesis of cooperatives globally. this is recognized as the first modern cooperative because cooperative principles were developed there (abell, 2004). the rochdale society provided a model template of cooperative business, which was established between 1850 and 1855; a flourmill, a shoe factory, and a textile plant, which was quickly emulated throughout england. afterwards, similar organizations in france, germany, belgium, austria, italy, denmark, finland, norway, and sweden began to use the cooperative business model (abell, 2004). the history of cooperative societies in nigeria pre-dates independence. it was begotten by traditional collective saving methods as ‘ajo’ among the yorubas in the south-west, ‘isusu’ among the ibos in the south-east, and ‘adashi’ among the hausas of northern nigeria. the quest for the formation of formal cooperative forms emerged through the desires of agege planters’ union in 1907, in south-west nigeria who were motivated with the desire to curtail the exploitative tendencies of the colonial masters. this led to the emergence of other cooperative associations such as the egba farmers’ union and the ibadan agricultural society (ogungbemile, 2010: 2; oyalowo, 2018). ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 63 given the importance and relevance of cooperative societies in nigeria, a formal and legal framework has been instituted to guide their operations (onuoha, 2002: 11). this is contained in the nigerian cooperative societies decree 90 of 1993. according to enete (2010: 149), this enabled the creation of director of cooperatives at federal and state levels and the department of cooperatives under different ministries. in the same study, the author further affirmed that, in a bid to promote the formation and growth of cooperatives in nigeria, the above-mentioned law does not restrict cooperatives to any particular activity, as long as the overall objective is the promotion of its members socio-economic interests (enete, 2010; ibem & odum, 2011: 26). cooperative societies have fundamental rules and principles that are entrenched in constitutions. some of these tenets are self-help, selfresponsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. inherently, executive members and administrators as well as ordinary members draw their operational guidelines from these documents. in addition, their values are shared by the key stakeholders such as the cooperators, the cooperative leaders, and the cooperative staff and determine their way of thinking and acting (hoyt, 1997). dogarawa (2010) opined that the creation of the international cooperative alliance (ica), in 1985, facilitated friendly and economic relations between cooperative organizations of all types, nationally and internationally. the ica served worldwide as the final authority because of its acceptance by cooperators throughout the world, its role in defining cooperatives, and for determining the underlying principles that motivate cooperative enterprise. in 1995, the ica amended the cooperative principles from six to seven, in order to guide cooperative organizations at the beginning of the 21st century. the principles include voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community (rbcds, 1995; dogarawa, 2010). it is thus safe to say that a cooperative society consists of a group of people who have voluntarily come together to enhance their quality of life by working together for the interest of all and to address needs that require significant capital (hoyt, 1997; oyalowo, 2018: 15). internationally, the united nations recognizes the significant role of housing cooperatives in housing delivery. according to un-habitat (2002: 9), “cooperative societies support social cohesion and stability and give life to the concepts of corporate responsibility and citizenship. they provide essential services, ranging from housing to health care that strengthen community development.” therefore, the cooperative model of housing delivery has been used in the global north and south across countries ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 64 such as italy, united states of america, united kingdom, zambia, sweden, pakistan, philippines, denmark, norway, canada, and south africa with significant success (abdulkareem, ogunleye & ajayi, 2020: 79). 2.2 housing finance housing finance is fundamental to housing delivery. funding for housing development comes from either the private or the public sector (olujimi et al., 2021). the private sector provides the bulk of finances for home building from the early period of human existence to the modern period (oyalowo, 2018). in some instances, a hybrid model (public-private partnership) is developed to funnel resources into housing projects (olujimi et al., 2021). as stated in the draft national urban development policy of september 2011, housing finance “is the engine that drives the housing sector and generally refers to the money required for the development of housing units, provision of housing infrastructure and purchase or acquisition of housing units” (frn, 2011: 52). from an economic standpoint, warnock and warnock (2008: 240) argue that “demand for housing finance is a derived demand for housing, which in turn depends on the rate of household formation and income levels, while the supply side stresses the provision of housing finance by a lender as well as the mobilization of funds within an economy to ensure that lending institutions have ample access to the fund”. in order to make the housing finance mechanism effective, houses must be affordable to households, funds should be accessible with ease, and the financial institutions need to be sufficiently viable to mobilise housing developers (nubi, 2008: 2; amao & odunjo, 2014: 102). universally, different types of strategic interventions in housing finance have been observed among the cooperatives. olayinka et al. (2017) assert that cooperative housing finance models in the global north can be classified into four categories. first, the market rate or equity cooperatives, where members do not own a specific piece of property but a share in the cooperative corporation that owns the estate. secondly, a limitedequity cooperative that meets members’ housing needs by combining the equity contribution of cooperators with grants or subsidies from supporting institutions to provide housing units for its members. thirdly, the leasing cooperative which takes a long lease from an investor, a landlord, or a nonprofit organisation and operates the building collectively as a cooperative. fourthly, the mutual housing association, a non-profit corporation set up to develop, own, and operate housing (olayinka et al., 2016, cited in mazadu, muhammad & iroaganachi, 2021: 3009). in another related study, the international cooperative alliance (2012) affirms that direct financial assistance is given to housing cooperatives in austria, through ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 65 ‘housing promotion schemes’. the assistance includes long-term and lowinterest rates public grants or mortgages that cover 20%-60% of housing construction costs. similarly, the canadian government assists housing cooperatives with low interest on loans for 50 years through direct lending from the canada mortgage and housing corporation. the canadian government also makes grants available to housing cooperatives that are targeted towards reducing the costs associated with construction (international co-operative alliance, 2012). evidence from the african perspective also shows that cooperative societies adopt various methods in financing housing development, according to the united nations centre for human settlements (habitat) international cooperative alliance (unchs, 2001). for example, in kenya, katheru rural housing cooperative society gives housing loans to its members. the main security for the loans is the crop that is marketed through the society. in zimbabwe and tanzania, work-based cooperative societies operate whereby employees come together in groups as societies to give housing loans to their members (unchs, 2001, cited in oyewole, 2010). according to the international cooperative alliance (2012), egyptian housing cooperatives can receive a minimum of 25% discount on all state-owned parcels of land, and this could rise to approximately 50%, subject to the approval of the minister of finance. egyptian laws also compel the state to facilitate loans towards the acquisition of land by housing cooperatives (international cooperative alliance, 2012). in a bid to drive housing development in nigeria, the nigerian building society (nbs) was established in 1956 to mobilise savings from the public for housing loans. the nbs, which was given the mandate to mobilize savings from the public for purposes of granting housing loans, became the federal mortgage bank of nigeria (fmbn) in 1977 (frn, 2011). however, the transformation failed to yield the desired results because housing finance structure remained largely undeveloped and could not cope with changing conditions and increasing demands. moreover, inconsistencies in government policies as well as the ineffective operational modalities of both the federal mortgage bank of nigeria and the primary mortgage institutions also contributed to its failure. from the foregoing, it is obvious that there is a need to provide alternative models for housing finance such as those provided by cooperative societies. it is noteworthy to mention the recent efforts by the nigerian government in partnering with cooperatives to fund housing development. with the inauguration of the national housing cooperative development scheme (nhds), nigerian workers are encouraged to organize themselves into cooperative societies. they are required to acquire titled land, architectural ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 66 designs, as well as a planning permit to access mortgage loans at 9% interest rate per annum, with tenures of up to 30 years from the federal mortgage bank of nigeria (this day newspaper, 2020). 2.3 land availability and urban housing development one of the most cited factors by scholars, both local and international, is the difficulty to access land for sustainable housing development (ibem & odum, 2011: 30; adeboyejo & oderinde, 2013: 79; azeez & mogaji-allison, 2017: 42). access to secured land is crucial and significant in housing development. as reported by the food and agriculture organization (fao) of the united nations (2002), globally, issues of land ownership are complex and vary from one region to another. however, the fao identified four major categories of land tenure, namely private, communal, open access, and state ownership. under the private ownership, rights are assigned to private entities such as an individual, a married couple, a group of people, or a corporate body such as a commercial entity or non-profit organization. “for example, within a community, individual families may have exclusive rights to residential parcels, agricultural parcels, and certain trees. other members of the community can be excluded from using these resources without the consent of those who hold the rights’’ (fao, 2002: online). the second category is communal in nature. under this setting, “a right of commons may exist within a community where each member has a right to use independently the holdings of the community; for instance, members of a community may have the right to graze cattle on a common pasture” (fao, 2002: online). the third category of land tenure is open access and varies significantly from other types because specific rights are not assigned to any one and no one can be excluded. this typically includes marine tenure, where access to the high seas is generally open to anyone; it may include rangelands, forests, and so on, where there may be free access to the resources for all. an important difference between open access and communal systems is that, under a communal system, non-members of the community are excluded from using the common areas (fao, 2002). the most common type is state-owned, where property rights are allocated to selected consultants in the public sector. for example, in some countries, forest lands may fall under the control or jurisdiction of the state, whether at a central or decentralized level of government. as asserted by odum & ibem (2011: 30), “inadequate supply of land for cooperative housing development and tenure insecurity are the major constraints to effective housing delivery systems in many developing countries, including nigeria”. sarfoh et al. (2017) affirm that land disputes are the most reported challenge facing cooperative societies in the greater accra metropolitan ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 67 area, ghana, in their bid to provide housing delivery. litigations manifest in several forms, from multiple sales of land to contestation of ownership by different families/traditional authorities, to resistance from charlatans, to long duration of litigation by the courts. the authors opine that the litigation issues expose these cooperative societies to serious vulnerability as member contributions are used for such investments (sarfoh et al., 2017). meanwhile, in egypt and india, cooperative societies are given preferential access to public lands and other public support, thus reducing the challenges of cooperative associations with land acquisition to a large extent (international cooperative alliance, 2012). in instances where access is not an issue, the high cost of land was identified as one of the major constraint to housing production. unlike cooperative societies, whose budget could be limited and the demand for land is driven by the needs of members for immediate housing development, private land investors usually have deeper pockets and sometimes lock down land in choice locations in urban areas. this development is unhealthy for housing development because the parcels of land are bought for speculative purposes and later sold at exorbitant prices. consequently, cooperative societies might be forced to source for land in remote locations where land is cheaper, but lack the basic facilities and amenities. this assertion is substantiated by fruet (2005: 304) who reports that cooperative societies, mostly low-income earners, occupied squatter settlements in porto alegre, brazil, illegally. parts of the city that are least developed, with hardly any or no amenities, are usually acquired, as these parcels are relatively cheaper (fruet, 2005: 310). in nigeria, “a major shortcoming has been with ownership rights under the land use act 1978, which confers ownership of all land to the governors of each state and is a substantial deterrent to housing and housing investment in nigeria. in actual fact, this right of occupancy is endorsed with a certificate of occupancy issued to the recipient. this often delays and adds significant costs to the registration process’’ (agbola, 1987: 114). therefore, availability of land needed for co-operatives to meaningfully intervene in housing supply, is under threat and deserves special consideration. thus, the various policymakers will need to address the challenge of improving the supply of affordable housing (oyalowo, 2018). although some scholars have examined the roles of cooperative societies in housing development, few contextual studies exist and this study aims to fill this gap in the literature. ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 68 3. methodology 3.1 research design the purpose of this study was to assess factors influencing the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing development in osogbo, nigeria. in order to generalize the findings of this study from a segment of the population, quantitative research design along with a structured questionnaire survey was used to elicit information from respondents (creswell, 2014). the descriptive survey attempts to provide large volumes of data that can be analysed for frequencies, averages, and patterns (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2018: 16). the questionnaire set 15 variables that are barriers to fund housing development. principal component analysis (pca) was used to validate and reduce these variables to smaller factors pivotal to cooperative societies’ roles in housing delivery. rossoni, engelbert and bellegard (2016: 201) affirm that pca can be used to extract factors, in order to summarise the data into a manageable number of factors based on the highest eigenvalues. 3.2 population, sample, and response rate a list of 1055 cooperative societies in the city, obtained from the ministry of trade and cooperative investment in osogbo, forms the population for the study. the 1055 identified societies were stratified between the two local governments in osogbo, the capital city of osun state, based on their business addresses across olorunda and osogbo local government areas. osogbo local government area had 825 registered cooperative societies, while there were 230 in the olorunda local government area. however, during a reconnaissance survey, many of them were not found at their stated addresses; this may have been due to relocation, or discontinuity in their operations, or inconsistencies in documentation. thus, a total of 437 cooperative societies were physically identified at their addresses. from this list, purposive sampling technique (creswell, 2014: 50) was adopted to select 180 registered societies; one respondent from each society was selected for questionnaire administration. of this number, 152 were returned, but only 110 were correctly filled in and valid for the purpose of this study; this represented a response rate of 61%. although the sample size is not valid and not within the recommended sample size of 205 for a population equal to or above 440 (krejcie & morgan, 1970: 608), these 437 cooperative societies with traceable physical addresses, substantiate the size of the sample. ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 69 3.3 data collection one hundred and eighty (180) self-administered questionnaires were sent out between august 2019 and january 2020. prior to the date of data collection, the researcher sought the date when these societies met and obtained permission from executive members before selection and questionnaire administration. during their meeting days, the questionnaires were administered by random selection of one respondent from each society. the questionnaire for this study had three sections. a preamble gave the necessary background information on the study and instructions to be followed by the respondents. the first section elicited general information about the respondents and their societies such as year of establishment, source of income, the administrative purpose, and the management structure. the second section, made up of variables influencing the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing development in osogbo, was based on a 5-point likert rating scale. respondents were requested to rate the level of how they perceived the items as barriers to fund housing development. 3.4 analysis and interpretation of the data the data obtained from both primary and secondary sources were coded and analysed using version 22 of the statistical package for social science (spss). the general information about the respondents’ position within the society, the year and purpose of establishment, and their source of income were analysed using simple descriptive statistics. to rank the factors militating the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing development in the study area, measures were rated on a five-point likert scale; 5 = not a barrier at all (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 4 = somewhat a barrier (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 2 = moderate barrier (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 1 = extreme barrier (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997). the principal component analysis (pca) was used to extract factors pivotal to cooperative society roles in housing delivery. this study adopted the assertion made by hair et al. (2014) in selecting eigenvalues criterion to determine the maximum number of factors to retain in the model. using a pca criterion of initial eigenvalues greater than 1, the orthogonal varimax rotation and factor loading of 0.4 was considered to be good, as it had 30% overlapping variance. a range from 0.2 to 0.4 is the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loading) for the factor to be reliable (pallant 2013: 134, cited in bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa, 2022: 11). cronbach’s alpha value for the fifteen items was 0.850, which exceeded the minimum of 0.70 recommended by hair et al. (2014). ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 70 3.5 limitation(s) of the study it is important to note that the study was not conducted across nigeria; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised. 4. results and discussion of findings 4.1 cooperative societies and respondents’ profile the profile of the selected cooperative societies were analysed, based on frequency of occurrence. table 1 shows that, out of the 110 respondents sampled, the majority (41.2%) of them were ordinary members of these societies, while 35% were either presidents (20%) or vice presidents (15.0%) of these societies, and 23.8% of the respondents were financial secretaries. table 1: the profile of cooperative societies and respondents demographic category frequency n=110 % position of respondents presidents 22 20 vice presidents 17 15 financial secretaries 26 23.8 ordinary members 45 41.2 date of establishment earlier than year 2000 70 63 2000 – till date 40 37 purpose of the establishment land acquisition, facilitating and helping members own their house 40 36.3 enhancing entrepreneurship, and promoting economic empowerment of members through savings 65 59.1 granting of loans to procure building materials 5 4.6 source of income members’ contributions and interest on loans 94 85 other investments 16 15 the results show that most (63%) of the cooperative societies were established before year 2000 and this depicts that most of them have been in existence for at least 20 years and are still in operation. the purpose of forming cooperative societies varied according to the findings. the purpose of most (59.1%) of the cooperative societies is to enhance entrepreneurship and promote economic empowerment of members through savings, ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 71 grants, aids, and loans. while 36.3% of the cooperative societies facilitate members to own their own houses, only 4.6% grant loans to procure building materials. the results revealed that 85% of the cooperative societies grew their financial base from members’ contributions and interest on loans, while 15% obtained their income from other investments made. 4.2 ranking of barriers further analysis was conducted to investigate factors militating against cooperative societies’ contributions to housing development in osogbo. in table 2, a composite score average of 3.03 shows that all the 15 identified items were barriers facing co-operative societies in providing housing in the study area. the reliability statistics presented shows that the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at .850, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2014). table 2: ranking of factors militating against cooperative societies’ contributions to housing development factors n=110 5= not a barrier … 1= extreme barrier cronbach’s alpha = .850 ms sd rank willingness to take housing loan 4.35 .863 1 respondents’ perception of interest being charged on housing loans 4.29 .828 2 willingness to serve as guarantor for members 4.24 .491 3 consultation of relevant professionals before acquisition of land for housing development 3.73 .903 4 provision of loan facilities for building services 3.06 1.124 5 access to additional loans by members to do maintenance of their houses upon completion 2.96 1.407 6 difficult land acquisition 2.90 .411 7 high interest rate on mortgage loans 2.87 .390 8 lack of credible information of cooperative members 2.81 .521 9 difficult land-registration process 2.80 .468 10 lack of experience in managing housing loans 2.69 .507 11 lack of adequate collateral 2.50 .728 12 lack of credible leadership of cooperative society 2.46 .685 13 lack of information of credit worthiness of members 2.36 .657 14 high credit risk of informal market borrowers 1.57 .637 15 composite score (average) 3.03 ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 72 with mean score ratings above 4.24, respondents did not perceive the willingness to take housing loans (ms=4.35), the interest being charged by cooperative societies on housing loans (ms=4.29), and their willingness to serve as loan guarantors for members (ms=4.24) as barriers to housing development using the cooperative strategy in the study area. this result might be because cooperative societies charge the least interest rates on credit facilities, compared to the formal financial sectors in the nigerian financial system. these results are in agreement with the assertions made by ankeli et al. (2020: 558) that cooperative societies charge the least interest rates on loans and allow for flexible loan repayment, as the loan repayment period can be re-negotiated from time to time, in order to reduce the financial stress on the debtor. as presented in table 2, most of the respondents sampled were willing to take housing loans; this finding is similar to a study in akure, south-western nigeria (olujimi et al., 2021), where most of the respondents who were members of cooperative societies secured loans (funds) from cooperative societies for their building projects. it is gratifying to know that the practice of loan defaulting was not prevalent in the study area, as evidenced by the willingness of members to serve as guarantors. a similar result was also reported by olujimi et al. (2021), and the implication is that, if the management of cooperative societies is efficient, they can offer a reliable platform for their members to secure funding for housing development. although potent internal mechanisms are used to dissuade members from defaulting, in some instances, guarantors and debtors are given the opportunity to renegotiate repayment options but, in some extreme cases, the defaulters’ properties are confiscated. these findings show that members have some level of trust in their colleagues. however, consultation of professionals by cooperative societies before acquisition of housing sites was reported to somewhat inhibit housing delivery in osogbo (ms=3.73). according to the results, lack of experience in managing housing loans (ms=2.69), lack of adequate collateral (ms=2.50), lack of credible leadership of cooperative society (ms=2.46), lack of information on credit worthiness of members (ms=2.36), and the high credit risk of informal market borrowers (ms=1.57) were extreme barriers to cooperative societies’ contributions to housing development in osogbo. 4.3 principal component analysis of factors affecting the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing projects the need to ascertain the extent of adequacy of the data loaded for the study informed the use of kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) and bartlett’s test. the kmo value obtained (see table 3) was 0.865, which was higher than the minimum recommended value of 0.500 (shrestha & luo, 2017: 12). ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 73 furthermore, the bartlett’s test of sphericity has a significant value of p < 0.000, at 5% significant level. this test confirms that the data is suitable for factor analysis, as reported in ola-awo et al. (2021: 17) and pallant (2013). table 3: kmo and bartlett’s test kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy .865 bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square 507.694 df 105 sig. .000 the matrix in table 4 shows that, out of the fifteen initial variables, pca extracted 14 variables on five components with factor loading above 0.4, with the possibility of militating against the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing projects. the excluded factor was willingness to serve as guarantor for members because its score was less than 0.4. table 4: rotated component matrix of factors militating against the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing project s/n variables component communalities 1 2 3 4 5 1 high credit risk of informal market borrowers .837 .726 2 difficult land acquisition .074 .530 3 lack of adequate collateral .782 .662 4 difficult land-registration process .626 .694 5 lack of credible information on cooperative members .820 .727 6 lack of information of credit worthiness of members .757 .638 7 high interest rate on mortgage loans .483 .665 8 lack of credible leadership of cooperative society .765 .646 9 lack of experience in managing housing loans .695 .545 ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 74 s/n variables component communalities 1 2 3 4 5 10 willingness to take housing loan .657 .722 11 access to additional loans by members to execute maintenance of their houses upon completion .864 .832 12 consultation of relevant professional before acquisition of land for housing development .906 .835 13 respondents’ perception of interests being charged on housing loans .535 14 provision of loan facilities for building services .614 .479 extraction method: principal component analysis. rotation method: varimax with kaiser normalization. rotation converged in 6 iterations. presented in tables 4 and 5 are the outputs after rotation showing the component matrix and total variance obtained. in the final analysis (see table 5), five components with initial eigenvalues cumulatively explained approximately 66.747% of the total variations and should be retained. factor one explains approximately 20.772%; factor two accounts for 15.380%, while the third and fourth factors explain 10.941% and 10.278 %, respectively. the fifth factor accounts for 9.376% of the variance in the model. factor 1: facility management and professional expertise the first factor, facility management and professional expertise (component 1), had two correlating variables with high loadings, including access to additional loans by members to do maintenance on their houses upon completion (0.864), and consultation with relevant professionals before acquisition of land for housing development (0.906). this factor was the most significant because it explains 20.77% of the variance observed. this result indicates that, regardless of the potentials of cooperative societies’ efforts in reducing housing deficit, lack of professional expertise in managing construction processes inhibits effective housing development (amao & odunjo, 2014; adedeji & olotuah, 2012). the high factor loading of consulting relevant professionals prior to housing development in this study is indicative of their strategic roles to achieve successful cooperative housing strategy (oloke, 2015). ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 75 ta bl e 5: to ta l v ar ia nc e ex pl ai ne d us in g th e pr in ci pa l c om po ne nt a na ly si s c o m p o ne nt in iti a l e ig e nv a lu e s ex tr a c tio n su m s o f s q ua re d lo a d in g s ro ta tio n su m s o f s q ua re d lo a d in g s to ta l % o f v a ria nc e c um ul a tiv e % to ta l % o f v a ria nc e c um ul a tiv e % to ta l % o f v a ria nc e c um ul a tiv e % 1 3. 11 6 20 .7 72 20 .7 72 3. 11 6 20 .7 72 20 .7 72 2. 58 2 17 .2 11 17 .2 11 2 2. 30 7 15 .3 80 36 .1 52 2. 30 7 15 .3 80 36 .1 52 2. 06 9 13 .7 91 31 .0 02 3 1. 64 1 10 .9 41 47 .0 93 1. 64 1 10 .9 41 47 .0 93 1. 98 0 13 .2 00 44 .2 02 4 1. 54 2 10 .2 78 57 .3 71 1. 54 2 10 .2 78 57 .3 71 1. 73 1 11 .5 37 55 .7 39 5 1. 40 6 9. 37 6 66 .7 47 1. 40 6 9. 37 6 66 .7 47 1. 65 1 11 .0 08 66 .7 47 6 .9 11 6. 07 0 72 .8 18 7 .8 12 5. 41 2 78 .2 30 8 .7 52 5. 01 1 83 .2 40 9 .6 41 4. 27 5 87 .5 15 10 .4 93 3. 28 6 90 .8 01 11 .4 61 3. 07 0 93 .8 71 12 .3 11 2. 07 2 95 .9 43 13 .2 67 1. 78 0 97 .7 23 14 .2 03 1. 35 6 99 .0 80 15 .1 38 .9 20 10 0. 00 0 ex tr a c tio n m e th o d : p rin c ip a l c o m p o ne nt a na ly sis ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 76 factor 2: financial regulator the second factor, financial regulator (component 2), with three correlated variable loadings, high interest rate on mortgage loans (0.483), lack of adequate collateral (0.782), and insufficient information on credit worthiness of members (0.757), explained 15.38% of the total variance. this outcome may be explained by the fact that cooperative societies are always willing and eager to assist their members in financing housing development, but insufficient information on credit worthiness of members poses a huge challenge to accessing funding from commercial banks. this suggests that cooperative societies are restricted only to members’ monetary contributions, which limits the financial capacity of societies in funding housing (olujimi et al., 2021). this finding is corroborated further by the assertion of azeez & mogaji-allison (2017) that several cooperatives had problems sourcing funds from financing institutions for housing development. factor 3: members’ credibility and land acquisition in the third factor, members’ credibility and land acquisition (component 3), four correlated variables accounted for 10.94% of the total variance. these include difficulty in land acquisition (0.74), difficult land-registration process (0.626), lack of credible leadership of cooperative societies (0.765), and lack of credible information of cooperative members (0.820). this result has some implications for the development of housing in nigeria. the bureaucratic bottlenecks of land administration currently operating in nigeria makes it cumbersome for societies to easily secure and register them for housing development. azeez & mogaji-allison (2017) also highlight the role of bureaucracy in curtailing the provision of housing by cooperative societies. hence, efforts are required to unbundle this sector of the government for efficiency. in addition, the result on problematic land-registration process may be linked to the corruptive tendencies of government agencies in nigeria. this finding aligns with safoh et al. (2017), affirming that cumbersome land registration and land disputes were the major impediments preventing ghanaian cooperative societies in greater accra from effective housing development. given the fact that access and securing land titles are critical parts of housing development, this result calls for urgent action from policymakers to redress this worrisome trend in nigeria. traditionally, mutual trust among members makes cooperative societies thrive. this is particularly important because lowand middle-income earners are the major beneficiaries of these housing loans. if this trust is broken, it might affect members’ investment confidence in the organization and their financial capacity in funding housing development. ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 77 factor 4: loan propensity the fourth factor, loan propensity (component 4), explains 10.27% of the variance and had two correlating variables, namely willingness to take housing loan (0.657) and provision of loan facilities for building services (0.614). this finding indicates that cooperative members are highly motivated to procure housing loans. this might also be related to the moderate interest rate being charged on loans. an earlier study opined that moderate interest rates act as stimulators to obtaining cooperative housing loans (ankeli et al., 2020: 558). therefore, cooperative societies that are solely focused on housing development should be encouraged and supported in this regard, in order to improve and concentrate their resources on reducing housing deficit. a related study by oloke et al. (2017: 220) to evaluate the success rate of cooperative societies’ housing provision in lagos state, nigeria, made a case for re-strategizing the involvement of cooperative societies in housing provision for better performance. factor 5: ineffective loan management methods the fifth factor, ineffective loan management methods (component 5), had two correlated variable loadings, namely high credit risk of informal market borrowers (.837), and lack of experience in managing housing loans (.695) that accounted for 9.37% of the variance. these two barriers relate to loan management, which is central to the success of cooperative societies in housing development. furthermore, the lack of experience of cooperative executives in managing housing loans is a major factor limiting their success in housing funding. however, executive members’ good managerial capability is likely to stimulate the confidence of members in their handling of the cooperative affairs. this result is in agreement with the submission that good management and the hope of obtaining loans at short notice boost savers’ confidence (ayedun et al., 2017: 67; ankeli et al., 2020: 557). 5. conclusion the purpose of this study was to assess factors militating against the ability of cooperative societies to fund housing development in osogbo. a total of 14 factors that are vital for housing delivery by cooperative societies were grouped into five components via pca. issues relating to the credibility as well as credit worthiness of cooperative societies’ managers, land acquisition, ineffective loan management methods, financial regulatory, and professional expertise factor were the major encumbrances standing in the path of housing development in the study area. although the findings of this study show that most of the cooperatives are viable and highly instrumental in housing development, more still needs to be achieved on improving and ajayi 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 58-82 78 consolidating operational funds, because it limits their capacity to bankroll multiple housing projects. the findings in this study also have implications for housing development, since members’ financial credibility is questionable. in order to boost members’ confidence, leaders are encouraged to embrace information technology in the management of credit profiles of members. based on these findings, if cooperative societies are well supported by government policies such as public-private collaborations on land acquisitions, this could reduce the challenges of urban land and housing accessibility. this can encourage more local and foreign direct investments in the housing sector because investors will have more confidence and, in the long run, increase housing finance in the country. arising from this study, some suggestions are made for future studies. only registered cooperative societies in osogbo were considered in this study, which is a limitation. a broader context, including other cities and suburban 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ankara hilton hotel, turkey, 27-28 june 2002. yakub, a.a., salawu, a.o. & gimba, s.d. 2012. housing delivery via housing cooperatives as a tool towards achieving national development: an empirical study. in: proceedings of the 4th west africa built environment research (waber) conference, 24-26 july, abuja, nigeria, pp. 1427-1441. chombo _hlk118729836 1 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as emmanuel bamfo-agyei dr emmanuel bamfo-agyei, department of building technology, cape coast technical university, p.o. box dl 50 ghana. phone: +233244026432, email: <emmanuel.bamfo-agyei@cctu. edu.gh>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-3097-1644 didibhuku wellington thwala prof. didibhuku wellington thwala, department of civil engineering, college of science, engineering and technology, university of south africa (unisa), p.o. box 392, unisa, south africa. phone: +27833835537, email: <thwaladw@ unisa.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-8848-7823 clinton aigbavboa prof. clinton aigbavboa, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, p.o. box 524, auckland park, south africa. phone: +27787958231, email: <caigbavboa@ uj.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-2866-3706 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: september 2021 peer reviewed and revised: february 2022 published: june 2022 keywords: construction industry, control, labour-intensive work, management, productivity, road construction how to cite: bamfo-agyei, e., thwala, d.w. & aigbavboa, c. 2022. the effect of management control on labour productivity of labour-intensive works in ghana. acta structilia, 29(1), pp. 1-25. the effect of management control on labour productivity of labourintensive works in ghana research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.1 abstract in ghana, many construction projects end in dispute, because contractors are unable to meet the completion time. as many construction operations are labour intensive, the question of labour productivity becomes paramount, especially as higher productivity levels usually translate into superior profitability, competitiveness, and income. this article aims to examine the management control factors affecting construction labour productivity in ghanaian construction firms. it assesses the measuring techniques that are used to improve labour productivity in the construction firms. the article also determines the relationship between management control and labour productivity on labour-intensive works in ghanaian construction firms. the study adopted a quantitative research design that used a questionnaire-based descriptive survey. records available at the ghana social opportunity project (gsop) indicate that 920 professionals are involved in labour-intensive works on road infrastructure. a purposive sampling technique was used to select 40 districts involved in road construction projects; 560 respondents were considered for the study. the summary of the data consisted of means, standard deviations, 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(1): 1-25 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:emmanuel.bamfo-agyei@cctu.edu.gh mailto:emmanuel.bamfo-agyei@cctu.edu.gh https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3097-1644 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3097-1644 mailto:thwaladw@unisa.ac.za mailto:thwaladw@unisa.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8848-7823 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8848-7823 mailto:caigbavboa@uj.ac.za mailto:caigbavboa@uj.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.1 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 2 percentages, cross-tabulations, and frequencies. principal axis factor analysis revealed three (3) components with eigenvalues above 1 that may influence labour productivity of labour-intensive works on road construction. these components are effective communication, supervision technique, and design inadequacies. construction managers must monitor workforce performance by ensuring that the three factors influencing management control are considered. abstrak in ghana eindig baie konstruksieprojekte in dispuut, omdat kontrakteurs nie in staat is om die voltooiingstyd na te kom nie. aangesien baie konstruksiebedrywighede arbeidsintensief is, word die kwessie van arbeidsproduktiwiteit uiters belangrik, veral aangesien hoër produktiwiteitsvlakke gewoonlik omskakel in winsgewendheid, mededingendheid en inkomste. hierdie artikel het ten doel om die bestuursbeheerfaktore wat konstruksie-arbeidsproduktiwiteit in ghanese konstruksiefirmas beïnvloed, te ondersoek. dit assesseer die meettegnieke wat gebruik word om arbeidsproduktiwiteit in die konstruksiefirmas te verbeter. die artikel bepaal ook die verband tussen bestuursbeheer en arbeidsproduktiwiteit op arbeidsintensiewe werke in ghanese konstruksiefirmas. die studie het ‘n kwantitatiewe navorsingsontwerp aangeneem wat ‘n vraelys-gebaseerde beskrywende opname gebruik het. rekords beskikbaar by die ghana social opportunity project (gsop) dui aan dat 920 professionele persone betrokke is by arbeidsintensiewe werke aan padinfrastruktuur. ‘n doelgerigte steekproeftegniek is gebruik om 40 distrikte te kies wat betrokke is by padbouprojekte; 560 respondente is vir die studie oorweeg. die opsomming van die data het bestaan uit gemiddeldes, standaardafwykings, persentasies, kruistabelle en frekwensies. hoof-as faktor analise het drie (3) komponente met eiewaardes bo 1 aan die lig gebring wat arbeidsproduktiwiteit van arbeidsintensiewe werke op padkonstruksie kan beïnvloed. hierdie komponente is effektiewe kommunikasie, toesigtegniek en ontwerpontoereikendheid. konstruksiebestuurders moet werksmagprestasie monitor deur te verseker dat die drie faktore wat bestuursbeheer beïnvloed, in ag geneem word. sleutelwoorde: arbeidsintensiewe werk, beheer, bestuur, konstruksiebedryf, padbou, produktiwiteit 1. introduction as the backbone for growth and development, the construction industry provides infrastructure that is needed for other sectors of the ghanaian economy (amoatey et al., 2015: 199). ofori (2015: 115) indicates that construction industry development is a deliberate and managed process to improve the capacity and effectiveness of the construction industry. the industry supports and sustains national economy and social development objectives. despite the conscious efforts made by the government over the years, the country continues to witness construction project failure (amoatey et al., 2015: 202; damoah & akwei, 2017: 35). attar, gupta and desai (2012) note that ineffective management is a primary cause of low labour outputs. they identify the following barriers to improving intensive labour outputs: a lack of alignment among goals; contractual conflicts; difficulties in measuring bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 3 productivity; weak commitments to continuous improvement, and a lack of labour force focus. there is hardly any research on frameworks reflecting the relationship between management and construction labour productivity in ghana. these frameworks further fail to demonstrate accurately the productivity performance in road construction. this article examines the factors affecting management control of construction labour productivity on road construction sites. 2. literature review this section reviews the literature relating to the theoretical and conceptual perspectives on labour productivity in the construction industry. it also examines some of the historical developments leading to a definition of the term ‘productivity’; develops the concept of productivity into the various definitions, and discusses the accepted definitions in general and in construction at industry-, projectand site-production level. this section also reviews the major labour productivity theories on labour intensiveness in early and recent times and considers the factors influencing labour productivity in construction at both industry and activity level. it also examines the categorisation of factors affecting construction labour productivity such as delegation of responsibilities; integration of project information; use of incomplete drawings; use of complex designs in the provided drawings; variations in the drawings; project planning; scheduling of project activities; supervision of subordinates; communication between head office and site, as well as involvement of site managers in contracting meetings. 2.1 theories of management the management theories of thomas and sakarcan (1994: 228) and those of durdyev, ismail and kandymov (2018: 7) underpin the study. thomas and sakarcan (1994) identify management as influencing labour productivity, whereas durdyev et al. (2018: 7) identify management control to be the most significant factor impacting on labour productivity in infrastructure projects in malaysia. barnard’s (1938) theory observes the role of the management of a company. his primary target is not to increase labour productivity, but rather to make meaningful use of the efficiency of an organisation as a whole, in order to increase the productivity of the organisation of the company (barnard, 1938: 182). this increases labour productivity. barnard’s theory considers the authority to be ineffective if there are no consequences for not obeying the supervisors’ instructions. in an organisation, the management must consider both the subjective perceptions bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 4 and the objective aspects of their actions and these may not be disregarded (brem, 2013: 30). for this reason, it is fundamental for management to be willing and able to understand the needs of the organisation. 2.2 definition of labour-intensive works bentall, beusch and de veen (1999: 5) define the labour-intensive approach as an approach where labour is the dominant resource for carrying out works, and where the share of the total project cost spent on labour is high. within the south african context, thwala (2011: 6011) defines labour intensive as the combination of labour and appropriate equipment, which is generally light equipment. in other words, programmes based on the principles of labour-intensive work aim to devote as high a proportion of programme costs to unskilled and semi-skilled labour without jeopardising the technical quality of the product/project demanded by the specification. value for money is achieved by the intensive use of labour often employing innovative techniques of work and control. 2.3 conceptual framework on management control in developing taylor’s theory, liu, ballard and ibbs (2011: 238) explain that management control contributes to the labour productivity of the firm. the task system is identified as one of the techniques in measuring the productivity of labour-intensive works on road construction. bender et al. (2018: 378) describe a management control system as consisting of a device for measuring what is happening; for assessing the significance of the measured quantity relative to a standard, and for influencing the behaviour of managers, with an evaluation of performance based on this measure and standard. similarly, a productivity measurement system requires first a proper definition and the development of a productivity index. nguyen et al. (2017: 205) note that the management control system provides a means of gathering and processing information to assist managers in planning, control, and performance evaluation throughout the organisation. the information generated by the management control system serves two main purposes: to influence decision and to facilitate decision. managers can use the information generated from a comprehensive performance measurement system to assist them in managing their organisation’s operations (nguyen et al., 2017: 210). luft and shields (2001: 565) indicate that managers can use more comprehensive performance information to verify, confirm, and validate their beliefs about cause-and-effect relationships embedded in a firm’s bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 5 strategy and action plan. as a performance measurement system becomes more comprehensive, information will be needed to assist managers in their decision-making processes. the labour productivity framework to be tested in the postulated hypothesis based on prior study includes delegation of responsibilities; supervision of subordinates; communication; accuracy of information, and project planning. this is a multidimensional structure. figure 1 presents the postulated framework. the theoretical underpinning of this priority is derived from the works of thomas and sakarcan (1994: 228) as well as from the works of durdyev, ismail and kandymov (2018: 7). bamfo-agyei, aigbavboa and didibhuku (2018) adopt these frameworks of construction labour productivity and the approach. essential in the conceptualised framework is the notion that firms’ labour productivity is related to the evaluation of many variables. while the principal variable under consideration is the firm’s productivity, it is difficult to discuss it without reference to variables affecting labour productivity in the construction industry, and the inclusion of other exogenous variables. the outcome of labour productivity is expressed by the construction industry in ghana’s subjective evaluation of their productivity as defined by them. it is an empirical question as to which components are most relevant and they may differ under different circumstances. how firms assess productivity in a particular industry, for instance, is considered to be dependent on industry-specific characteristics. this is meant to include all experiences of the factors in the ghanaian construction industry that influence their evaluations. in this study, the objective evaluation of construction labour productivity is assessed by measuring the actual performance of firms on labour productivity outcomes. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 6 figure1: conceptualised management and control framework source: bamfo-agyei, aigbavboa and didibhuku, 2018: 516 2.4 management control factors affecting labour productivity in the ghanaian construction industry famiyeh et al. (2017: 182) identify management control as a key component affecting the productivity of the construction industry in ghana. the management control factors affecting productivity include unrealistic contract durations imposed by clients; poorly defined project scope; client-initiated variations; poor inspection/supervision of projects by consultants; poor site management; variations in designs; lack of communication plans, and poor financial management on site. cultural and partisanship politics factors may influence the failure of the ghanaian government construction projects. there is evidence that ghanaians’ approach to government work is poor, due to cultural orientation inherited from the colonial era, when public sector work was perceived as belonging to the ‘whiteman’, hence, could be handled haphazardly (damoah & akwei, 2017: 35). asunka (2016: 6) found that the ghanaian compliance with formal rules and procedures by public and/or government officials is significantly lower in districts where voters show strong commitments to partisan politics and vice-versa. delegation of responsibilities supervision of subordinates communication accuracy of information project planning management control labour productivity figure 1: conceptualised management and control framework source: bamfo-agyei, aigbavboa and didibhuku, 2018: 516 2.4 management control factors affecting labour productivity in the ghanaian construction industry famiyeh et al. (2017: 182) identify management control as a key component affecting the productivity of the construction industry in ghana. the management control factors affecting productivity include unrealistic contract durations imposed by clients; poorly defined project scope; clientinitiated variations; poor inspection/supervision of projects by consultants; poor site management; variations in designs; lack of communication plans, and poor financial management on site. cultural and partisanship politics factors may influence the failure of the ghanaian government construction projects. there is evidence that ghanaians’ approach to government work is poor, due to cultural orientation inherited from the colonial era, when public sector work was perceived as belonging to the ‘whiteman’, hence, could be handled haphazardly (damoah & akwei, 2017: 35). asunka (2016: 6) found that the ghanaian compliance with formal rules and procedures by public and/or government officials is significantly lower bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 7 in districts where voters show strong commitments to partisan politics and vice-versa. table 1: management control factors affecting labour productivity factors authors crowdedness, crew size, work quantity, job type, supervision and information flow tools and concrete pumping; factory conditions, material condition, materials transport, material procurement delay thomas and sakarcan (1994) non-payment to suppliers causing the discontinuation of material delivery to the site, late issuance of progress payment by the client to the main contractor, and coordination problems between the main contractor and the subcontractor abdul kadir et al. (2005) decision-analysis techniques durdyev et al. (2018) 2.5 measuring technique of labour productivity work measurement provides the basic information necessary for all the activities of organising and controlling the work of an enterprise in which the time element plays a part. cornwell and cornwell (2006: 5) assert that measurement is crucial prior to a management activity. however, it should be noted that an incorrect measurement of labour performance can lead to incorrect and distorted decisions by the management team. therefore, the importance of measuring the right productivity at the right time to reflect the true conditions of a company cannot be overemphasised. the measurements should offer the management an opportunity to make effective and accurate decisions. the various techniques available to supply information need to be explored, in order to identify the right measurement technique for the prevailing conditions. these techniques include time studies, work sampling, subjective evaluations, and personal recording of activities (grund & przemeck, 2012: 2150). the use of technological advances makes it easier to acquire accurate results efficiently. 2.5.1 task-measuring technique tasks can be simply defined as units of work activity that produce output (autor & handel, 2013: 59). in the task framework, human labour has some primacy over machine input in the production process. because it is intrinsically flexible and adaptable, human labour has historically preceded machine input in the performance of most types of tasks (autor & handel, 2013: 78). the task framework extends both delay and activity frameworks into a concept of site factors (agrawal & baruah, 2018: 5). the concept of site bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 8 factors recognises that, in the construction process time utilisation, certain activities are basic or necessary, others are additional but necessary, while there are unnecessary activities. the concept of site factors was developed by combining the assessment of time utilisation, work rate and allowing for relaxation. fernández-macías and bisello (2022: 827) argue that measuring task dimensions and indicators as continuous variables, and with separate and potentially overlapping scores, allows for a more nuanced analysis of the distribution of tasks across jobs, including the combination and clustering of tasks in particular task bundles. this framework allows for the assessment of the performance gap on a construction site by quantifying site factors. however, rating and allowances to be given for recovery from fatigue and other purposes are still largely matters of judgement and, therefore, fairly subjective, despite the various studies and guidelines that exist. where such subjectivity is likely to have a significant influence on the study results, it is best to utilise other methods less likely to incorporate subjectivity. this framework is likely to produce subjective results in this research, owing to a complete lack of work-study experiences, not only in construction but also in manufacturing. 2.5.2 activity-measuring technique the frameworks are based on work measurement, using an activity sampling approach. they measure the time spent in different pre-defined activities and can be applied to most of the construction activities. the main objective is to identify the proportion of unproductive time on site. it is assumed that the reduction of unproductive time will make more time available for direct work. how construction workers spend their working time is of great concern to construction companies. under the influence of lean thinking, in the construction industry, interest in labour time utilisation and eliminating waste is increasing (yi & chan, 2013: 216). work sampling (ws), a widely used work-study method in the construction industry, uses random observation to investigate how a workforce uses its work time. the activity framework is based on work sampling and is readily applicable to labour-intensive activities. a valid activity framework is required to show that direct work times and outputs are related in some predictable fashion (tsehayae & fayek, 2016: 212). however, past studies have shown that the definition of work categories and the subsequent task classifications can significantly affect the different proportions and subsequently their relationships with construction labour productivity (clp) (tsehayae & bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 9 fayek, 2016: 220). josephson and björkman (2013: 595) also conclude that work sampling studies provide hardly any value in measuring productivity. table 2: techniques for measuring labour productivity measuring technique main objective suitability ease of application in this research task identification of site factors (site production efficiency factors) this is essentially a benchmarking model; it requires specific training for effective utilisation specific knowledge and experience required for effective study activity identification and reduction of unproductive time suitable and detailed enough but does not focus directly on productivity can be applied effectively 3. research methodology 3.1 research design the study adopted a quantitative research design that used a questionnairebased descriptive survey to report on the factors influencing the labour productivity of labour-intensive works. it also reports on the productivity performance of the firms doing labour-intensive work. the descriptive survey attempts to provide large volumes of data that can be analysed for frequencies, averages, and patterns (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2018: 16; fellows & liu, 2008: 222; dixon et al., 2020). this design is ideal, because it gives the researchers the opportunity to generalise their findings from a target population (creswell, 2014: 11; bryman, 2012: 232; newman et al., 2020). in the questionnaire, thirteen items were set as the variables that management should use to measure labour productivity. principal component analysis (pca) was used to analyse factors and to reduce these measured variables to smaller factors critical for labour productivity. rossoni, engelbert and bellegard (2016: 201) affirm that pca can be used to extract factors, in order to summarise the data into a manageable number of factors based on the highest eigenvalues. 3.2 population, sampling and response rate the target population for this study includes all contractors, site engineers, facilitators, timekeepers, district engineers, and ghana social opportunity project (gsop) desk officers involved in labour-intensive works in road construction in ghana. records available at the gsop indicate that 920 professionals are involved in labour-intensive works. these are considered to be the study population. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 10 the gsop is divided into five zonal offices, namely bolgatanga, wa, temale, kumasi, and accra. since the country has been divided into zones, the stratified sampling technique was used, based on the diverse nature of the population. there are 60 district offices for all the zonal offices: bolgatanga has 12 district offices, wa has 10, temale has 11, kumasi has 14, and accra has 13 district offices. since not all the district offices were handling road-construction projects, the purposive sampling technique was used to select 40 districts that were involved in road-construction projects. of the 40 districts, one district engineer and one gsop desk officer were selected from each district, thus totalling 80 respondents. three (3) sites from each district were selected, making a total of 120 districts. of the 120 sites, one facilitator, one timekeeper, one site engineer, and one contractor from each site were selected, making a total of 480 respondents. in all, 560 respondents were considered for the study. out of 560 respondents, 543 gave a complete response to the questionnaire, thus a response rate of 97%. the table by krejcie and morgan (1970: 608) recommends a sample size of 175 for a population of 950. this recommendation validates the sample size of 560 as excellent for the population of 920. 3.3 data collection using the drop-and-collect and email methods, 560 questionnaires were distributed to the prospective respondents who did labour-intensive work on road-construction projects in ghana from november 2016 to august 2017. some items on labour productivity used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, and others were developed by the researcher, resulting in the compilation of a questionnaire divided into two sections. the first section obtained demographic information of the respondents such as age, gender, occupation, educational background, experience level, and geographical location. the second section set 13 likert-scale items on the construct ‘factors critical for management control’. the respondents were requested to rate their level of agreement on how critical these items are that influence productivity of labour-intensive works in ghanaian firms. the data from these measurements form the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis and the variables used in the inferential statistics tested the validity and reliability of the factors. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section two (harlacher, 2016: 9-10). bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 11 3.4 method of analysis and interpretation of the data the data were analysed using the statistical products and service solutions (spss) version 24.0 program and presented in tables and diagrams (pallant, 2013: 134). using descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages were generated and reported in rder to analyse the respondents’ background characteristics. the ranking of the mean scores of the management control factors (measuring tools) was done using a five-point likert scale to rate the quality of the initial 13 items for measuring labour productivity. likert-type or rating scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure opinions (singh, 2006: 202). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = very poor (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = poor (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = average (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = good (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = excellent (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). cronbach’s alpha values were conducted in line with wahab, ayodele and moody (2010: 67) to determine the internal reliability of the 13 items. acceptable cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.70 to 0.95 (tavakol & dennick, 2011: 54-55). thus a cut-off value of 0.70 was adopted for this study. for factor loadings to be reliable, pallant (2013: 134) suggests a range from 0.2 to 0.4 as the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loading). this study adopted a value of 0.4 and above. the meyer-olkin (kmo) (lorenzo-seva, timmerman & kiers, 2011), and bartlett’s test of sphericity (hair et al., 2014: 110) were conducted to determine the suitability of the data for factor analysis. for this study, values above 0.7 are required for applying efa (hair et al., 2014) as the kmo test values vary between 0 and 1. a statistically significant bartlett test (p<0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the analysis (pallant, 2013: 190). for factor extraction and rotation, oblimin with kaiser normalisation and pca was adopted to reduce the initial factors into a minimum number of factors, by concentrating the explanatory power on the first factor (rossoni et al., 2016: 102). 4. findings 4.1 demographic profile of the respondents and firms table 3 presents the profile of the 543 respondents. based on frequency of occurrence, most of the respondents (87%) were males, aged between 26 and 35 years (51.1%). the majority of the respondents (27.8%) were engineers and others were also employed as contractors, timekeepers, and bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 12 facilitators (22.1% each). most of the respondents (66.9%) had either a bachelor degree (36.3%) or a technical qualification (30.6%), and 16.9% had matriculated. although 47% of the respondents have between two and five years’ work experience, a slight majority (53.1%) have six years’ work experience or more. this proves that the respondents are qualified to work in the construction industry and have adequate experience to give information that could help in making deductions on factors measuring labour productivity. respondents were almost equally distributed for the geographical locations with 20.6% from bolgatanga, 20.6% from wa, 20.3% from tamale, 20.1% from kumasi, and 18.4% from accra. a greater percentage (61.5%) of the respondents work in the three northern regions of ghana, namely bolgatanga, wa, and tamale. table 3: respondents’ profile demographic characteristic frequency (n=543) percentage gender male 472 87 female 71 13 age <20 years 26 4.8 20-25years 52 9.6 26-30 years 148 27.3 31-35 years 129 23.8 36-40 years 106 19.5 41-45 years 73 13.4 46 years or above 9 1.7 occupation contractors 120 22.1 site engineers 119 21.9 timekeepers 120 22.1 facilitators 120 22.1 gsop desk officers 32 5.9 director of public works 32 5.9 education level masters degree 16 2.9 bachelor degree 197 36.3 national diploma 72 13.3 technical/ssce 166 30.6 matriculation certificate/bece 92 16.9 experience 2-5 years 255 47 6-10 years 202 37.2 11-15 years 51 9.4 16-20 years 22 4.1 20 years and above 13 2.4 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 13 demographic characteristic frequency (n=543) percentage geographical location bolgatanga 112 20.6 wa 112 20.6 tamale 110 20.3 kumasi 109 20.1 accra 100 18.4 4.2 descriptive analysis in table 4, an average ms of 3.88 shows that all 13 identified management control factors influence labour productivity of the firms in labour-intensive works in road construction in ghana. the cronbach’s alpha values for each factor was greater than 0.70, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2014). table 4: ranking of management control factors factors (n=543) 1 = very poor … 5 = excellent ms cronbach’s alpha rank attitude of site personnel 4.33 0.806 1 project planning 4.23 0.819 2 supervision of subordinates 4.19 0.732 3 delegation of responsibilities 4.19 0.829 4 accuracy of technical information 4.15 0.916 5 knowledge of project technology 4.01 0.778 6 scheduling of project activities 4.01 0.762 7 involvement of site managers in contracting meetings 3.76 0.874 8 presence of variations in the drawings 3.71 0.823 9 integration of project information 3.64 0.842 10 communication between head office and site 3.59 0.765 11 use of incomplete drawings 3.41 0.812 12 use of complex designs in the provided drawings 3.28 0.789 13 composite score (average) 3.88 with means score ratings above 4.21, attitude of site personnel (ms=4.33) and project planning (ms=4.23) were ranked top two and perceived by respondents as excellent factors when measuring labour productivity in their firms. supervision of subordinates (ms=4.19), delegation of responsibilities (ms=4.19), and accuracy of technical information (ms=4.15) were ranked three to five, respectively, and were rated by respondents as ‘good’ in their firms. other management control factors that were rated by respondents as ‘good’ were knowledge of project technology (ms=4.01), scheduling of bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 14 project activities (ms=4.01), involvement of site managers in contracting meetings (ms=3.76), presence of variations in the drawings (ms=3.71), integration of project information (ms=3.64), and communication between head office and site (ms=3.59). use of incomplete drawings (ms=3.41) and use of complex designs in the provided drawings (ms=3.28) were rated as ‘average’ and ranked the lowest of all the items. 4.3 inferential statistics 4.3.1 principal component analysis the 13 management control factors that can promote labour productivity of labour-intensive works in road construction were subjected to pca, in order to assess their validity and reliability. the results report the suitability of the data to be analysed, factor extraction and rotation, as well as interpretation. as shown in table 5, the kmo measure of sampling adequacy achieved a value of 0.802, exceeding the recommended minimum value of 0.7. bartlett’s test of sphericity was also statistically significant (<0.05), thus supporting the factorability of the data. table 5: kmo and bartlett’s test of management control kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.802 bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square 5643.636 df 78 sig. .000 the pattern matrix in table 6 shows that, out of the initial 13 variables, pca extracted 11 variables in four components with factor loadings above 0.4 with the potential to influence labour productivity of labour-intensive works in road construction in ghana. two variables (mc1 and mc12) had scores of less than 0.4 and are thus regarded as not reliable to influence labour productivity. these were excluded from the rotation. table 6: pattern matrix of management control variables (mc) variables component 1 2 3 4 mc2 integration of project information 0.915 -0.211 0.138 0.048 mc6 project planning 0.796 0.244 -0.253 -0.049 mc9 communication between head office and site 0.792 0.004 0.235 0.077 mc10 involvement of site managers in contracting meetings 0.748 0.044 -0.093 0.403 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 15 variables component 1 2 3 4 mc13 accuracy of technical information 0.746 -0.04 0.024 -0.678 mc11 attitude of site personnel -0.089 0.901 -0.082 0.090 mc8 supervision of subordinates -0.094 0.830 0.149 -0.310 mc7 scheduling of project activities 0.546 0.584 -0.223 0.201 mc4 use of complex designs in the provided drawings 0.068 -0.173 0.878 0.207 mc3 use of incomplete drawings -0.377 0.098 0.659 -0.434 mc5 presence of variations in the drawings 0.303 0.120 0.787 -0.672 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation table 7 shows that, after rotation, three components with eigenvalues exceeding 1.0 were extracted and are meaningful to retain. factor one explains 34.74% of the total variance; factor two, 21.33%, and factor three, 13.44%. thus, the final statistics of the pca shows that three extracted factors explain a cumulative variance of approximately 69.5%. table 7: total variance explained of management control variables (mc) component initial eigenvalues extraction sums of squared loadings rotation sums of squared loadingsa total % of variance cumulative % total % of variance cumulative % total 1 4.517 34.743 34.743 4.517 34.743 34.743 4.179 2 2.773 21.329 56.071 2.773 21.329 56.071 2.417 3 1.747 13.438 69.509 1.747 13.438 69.509 1.709 4 1.371 10.549 80.058 5 .772 5.942 86.001 6 .591 4.548 90.548 7 .343 2.640 93.189 8 .291 2.241 95.429 9 .150 1.157 96.586 10 .145 1.117 97.703 11 .128 .981 98.685 12 .099 .763 99.448 13 .072 .552 100.000 extraction method: pca; a.when components are correlated, sums of squared loadings cannot be added to obtain a total variance table 8 reveals the correlation of variables based on their factor loadings after rotation in pca. three components with eigenvalues above 1 (see table 4) were examined on the inherent relationships among the variables bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 16 under each factor. variables with the highest factor loading in one component belong to that component; the highest factor loading must be of significant value of 0.4 and above (see table 4). component 1 was labelled effective communication; component 2, supervision technique, and component 3, design inadequacies. the names given to these factors were derived from a close examination of the variables within each of the factors. table 8: rotated factor matrix for management control variables (mc) variables component 1 2 3 effective communication supervision technique design inadequacies mc2 integration of project information 0.915 mc6 project planning 0.796 mc9 communication between head office and site 0.792 mc10 involvement of site managers in contracting meetings 0.748 mc13 accuracy of technical information 0.746 mc11 attitude of site personnel 0.901 mc8 supervision of subordinates 0.830 mc7 scheduling of project activities 0.580 mc4 use of complex designs in the provided drawings 0.878 mc3 use of incomplete drawings 0.659 mc5 presence of variations in the drawings 0.787 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation component 1: effective communication this component with five sub-factors accounts for 34.7% of the total variance. as presented in table 7, correlation exists between variables 2, 6, 9, 10, and 13 as they are loaded onto component 1. the variables that had high loading are integration of project information (0.915), project planning (0.796), and communication between head office and site (0.792). the results obtained in this research were further endorsed by gerges (2015), who positions communication issues among workers and supervisors. it should be noted that poor correspondence and coordination among projects parties, in turn, influence the flow of project activities and indirectly affect labour productivity in road construction. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 17 component 2: supervision technique supervision technique accounts for 21.3% of the total variance and comprises three correlated variables that load onto component 2. attitude of site personnel (0.901) and supervision of subordinates (0.830) have the highest factor loadings. scheduling of project activities had a loading of 0.580. the outcome is justified because, when there is a lack of supervision and performance monitoring, change orders, poor management style, lack of coordination among the construction parties and client influence result in decreased construction productivity (durdyev et al., 2018). the related impact of this result is in agreement with the outcomes reported by jergeas (2009) who indicates that construction managers must provide properly detailed and realistic schedules to on-site supervisors so that they can follow and coordinate site works. jergeas (2009) recommends that construction managers supervise planned activities, whether they are properly implemented or not, and monitor workforce performance by asking their suggestions regarding productivity improvement. this will go a long way in achieving high productivity. component 3: design inadequacies this component with three sub-variables accounts for 13.4% of the total variance. correlation exists between variables 3, 4, and 5 as they are loaded onto component 3. use of complex designs in the provided drawings (0.878), and presence of variations in the drawing (0.787) had high loadings. use of incomplete drawings had a loading of 0.659. for management to play its role in ensuring productivity at sites, three factors need to be considered, including effective communication (ec) from management to the sites, supervision technique (st) which needs to be effectively done while there is a need to avoid or reduce the frequency of design inadequacies (di), as shown in figure 2. for effective communication to take place from management to the workers at sites, five key associated attributes need to be observed, including the integration of project information (ec1); project planning (ec2); communication between head office and site (ec3); involvement of site managers in contracting meetings (ec4), and accuracy of technical information (ec5). instructions can be given either directly to the labourers who are doing the work or indirectly through the gang leader. direct instructions should be used as much as possible, especially when artisans are involved. supervision technique (st) also had three key associated attributes that need to be observed. these include the attitude of site personnel (st1); supervision of subordinates (st2), and scheduling of project activities bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 18 (st3). the supervisors should demonstrate how the work should be done by actually doing the work for a short period. this is the best way to make the instructions understandable. it is always important to use simple words and clear expressions. inspecting is important after giving instructions to determine whether the instructions are being understood and followed. before the gangs are released for the day, the construction supervisor must inspect and approve their work. the supervisor must have good knowledge of the construction processes; the sequence of activities; the estimated time required for mobilising; starting up activities, and final clearance of the site. three key associated attributes formed the design inadequacies (di). if the following inadequacies are avoided, there will be effective management and control on sites. the attributes that constitute design inadequacies are the use of complex designs in the provided drawings (di1); the use of incomplete drawings (di2), and the presence of variations in the drawing (di3). bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 19 figure 2: management control labour productivity framework management control integration of project information project planning communication between head office and site involvement of site managers in contracting meetings use of incomplete drawings labour productivity presence of variations use of complex designs scheduling of project activities supervision of subordinate attitude of site personnel accuracy of technical information figure 2: management control labour productivity framework bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 20 5. discussion the results of the descriptive analysis show that 13 variables listed of the management control factors were identified. the findings indicate that ‘attitude of site personnel’ was ranked first, with a mean score of 4.33; ‘project planning’ was ranked second, with a mean score of 4.23; ‘supervision of subordinates’ was ranked third, with a mean score of 4.19; ‘delegation of responsibilities’ was ranked fourth, with a mean score of 4.19, and ‘accuracy of technical information’ was ranked fifth, with a mean score of 4.15. ‘knowledge of project technology’ was ranked sixth, with a mean score of 4.01; ‘scheduling of project activities’ was ranked seventh, with a mean score of 4.01; ‘involvement of site managers in contracting meetings’ was ranked eighth, with a mean score of 3.76; ‘presence of variations in the drawings’ was ranked ninth, with a mean score of 3.71, and ‘integration of project information’ was ranked tenth, with a mean score of 3.64. finally, ‘communication between head office and site’ was ranked eleventh, with a mean score of 3.59. ‘use of incomplete drawings’ and ‘use of complex designs in the provided drawings’ were the least ranked, with twelfth and thirteenth position, respectively. they had mean scores of 3.41 and 3.28, respectively. the results from the pca analysis identified three main factors (effective communication; supervision technique, and design inadequacies) that can influence management control in promoting labour productivity of labourintensive works in road construction. the outcome is, therefore, justified because, when there is a lack of supervision and performance monitoring, change orders, management style, lack of coordination among the construction parties and client influence result in decreased construction productivity (durdyev et al., 2018). the management and control component plays a significant role in transferring tasks and instructions to workers. the related impact of this factor is in agreement with the outcomes reported by jergeas (2009), who indicates that it is crucial for construction managers to provide properly detailed and realistic schedules to on-site supervisors so that they can follow and coordinate site works. the results obtained in this research are further endorsed by gerges (2015), who positions communication issues among workers and supervisors as his main 33 factors. it should be noted that poor correspondence and coordination between projects parties influences the flow of project activities and indirectly affects labour productivity in road construction. the findings from the descriptive analysis results agree with the preliminary findings of jarkas & bitar (2012); ghoddousi & hosseini (2012); lessing, bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 21 thurnell & durdyev (2017). they note that external factors can hardly influence the actual physical quantity and working hours; the hourly output measurement of productivity can provide an accurate proxy for construction activity efficiency. a successful construction project is completed on time, within budget, meets specified standards of quality, and strictly conforms to safety policies and precautions. 6. conclusion and recommendation there is a need for management to effectively communicate with their workers. the construction project management team plays a significant role in transferring tasks and instructions to workers. attention should be paid to the supervision technique to ensure the quality of the job executed. the novelty of this study also lies in the labour productivity framework for labour-intensive works in road construction; it informs as to the components, including effective communication; supervision technique, and design inadequacies that determine management control factor on labour productivity of labour-intensive works in road construction in the ghanaian construction industry. similarly, the latent variables, which led to the labour productivity outcome variables, could be used for the firms’ labour-productivity measurement in the ghanaian construction industry. construction managers need to find ways to improve the communication skills on the task system of the job. moreover, construction professionals could use this knowledge to help with decision-making in the firm. the results of this study can also be introduced as an important tool in planning, in order to fast-track the effective utilisation of road construction work using the labour-intensive approach to improve on productivity by completing the work as scheduled in the contract. it can also assist contractors in forecasting the time it will take to construct a given road, using the labour-intensive method. the study results also demonstrate the level of influence of the three constructs towards indigenous construction firms’ labour productivity in the ghanaian construction industry. the results may help the association of building and civil engineering contractors of ghana (abcecg) make decisions about the criteria to be given priority in providing the relevant support towards indigenous construction firms’ productivity in the ghanaian construction industry. it will ultimately enable the abcecg to know the vital areas to which to commit resources towards contractors’ capacity development. further, the management control framework (figure 2) may be used as a guide to ensure that all elements necessary for achieving high labour productivity of road construction firms are in place. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 1-25 22 references abdul kadir, m.r., lee, w.p., jaafar, m.s., sapuan, s.m. & ali, a. 2005. factors affecting construction labour productivity for malaysian residential projects. structural survey, 23(1), pp. 42-54. https://doi. org/10.1108/02630800510586907 agrawal, k. & baruah, s. 2018. a measurement-based model for parallel real-time tasks. in: altmeyer, s. 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business management, 5(15), pp. 6011-6020. tsehayae, a.a. & fayek, a.r. 2016. system model for analysing construction labour productivity. construction innovation, 16(2), pp. 203-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/ci-07-2015-0040 wahab, o.m., ayodele, a.e. & moody, j.o. 2010. tlc phytochemical screening in some nigerian loranthaceae. journal of pharmacognosy and phytotherapy, 2(5), pp. 64-70. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2001.76.4.561 https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2001.76.4.561 https://doi.org/10.1108/sasbe-02-2020-0016 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.018 https://doi.org/10.5700/rausp1234 https://doi.org/10.5700/rausp1234 https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(1994)120:1 https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(1994)120:1 https://doi.org/10.1108/ci-07-2015-0040 1 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as oluseye olugboyega dr oluseye olugboyega, building, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +23408066704465, email: oolugboyega@oauife. edu.ng, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-4556-6211 adekunle bolujoko mr adekunle bolujoko, construction project management, university of wolverhampton, uk. email: beejaypatrick@gmail.com godwin oseghale a/prof. godwin oseghale, building, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria. email: oseghalegodwin9@ gmail.com, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0058-4160 clinton aigbavboa prof. clinton aigbavboa, cidb centre of excellence, university of johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27787958231, email: caigbavboa@ uj.ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-2866-370 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: july 2022 reviewed and revised: august – november 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: construction site management, construction site managers, mobile technologies, digital technologies, nigeria how to cite: oluseye, o., patrick, b., ehis, o. & aigbavboa, c. 2022. measuring the effects of mobile technology barriers and enablers on acceptance and proficiency in the nigerian construction industry. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 1-32. measuring the effects of mobile technology barriers and enablers on acceptance and proficiency in the nigerian construction industry research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.1 abstract the impact of mobile technology (mt) barriers and enablers on mt acceptance and proficiency is poorly understood on construction sites in nigeria. as a result, this article investigated mt acceptance and proficiency levels, as well as mt barriers and enablers, to find out how they affect mt acceptance and proficiency. the research employs a quantitative research design with a structured questionnaire survey. mean score analysis, exploratory factor analysis (efa), and paired two sample t-test were among the statistical analyses performed. the research centred on construction site managers in lagos state, nigeria. the barriers and enablers of mt have a significant impact on mt acceptance and proficiency. mobile devices, mobile apps, site documentation, site organisation, and site communication all benefit significantly from task smoothening. complicated interfaces have a strong effect on site documentation; security concerns have a high impact on mobile devices and site 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 1-32 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 2 communication, and network outages have a greater impact on mobile services, mobile apps, site documentation, site programming, and site administration. the study suggests that the academic programme be updated, in order to produce digitally compliant future construction professionals and accelerate the advancement of mt-based innovative solutions in the nigerian construction industry. abstrak die impak van mobiele tegnologie (mt) hindernisse en instaatstellers op mt aanvaarding en vaardigheid word nie goed verstaan op konstruksieterreine in nigerië nie. gevolglik het hierdie artikel mt-aanvaarding en -vaardigheidsvlakke, sowel as mt-hindernisse en -instaatstellers ondersoek om te sien hoe dit mt-aanvaarding en -vaardigheid beïnvloed het. die navorsing gebruik ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsontwerp met ’n gestruktureerde vraelysopname. gemiddelde telling analise, verkennende faktor analise (efa), en gepaarde twee monster t-toets was van die statistiese ontledings wat gedoen is. die navorsing het gesentreer op konstruksieterreinbestuurders in lagos-staat, nigerië. die hindernisse en bemagtigers van mt het ’n beduidende impak op mt-aanvaarding en -vaardigheid. mobiele toestelle, mobiele toepassings, terreindokumentasie, terreinorganisasie en terreinkommunikasie baat almal aansienlik by taakverligting. ingewikkelde koppelvlakke het ’n sterk uitwerking op terreindokumentasie; sekuriteitsbekommernisse het ’n groot impak op mobiele toestelle en terreinkommunikasie, en netwerkonderbrekings het ’n groter impak op mobiele dienste, mobiele toepassings, terreindokumentasie, terreinprogrammering en terreinadministrasie. die studie stel voor dat die akademiese program opgedateer word om toekomstige konstruksie professionele persone wat aan digitaalstandaarde voldoen te produseer en om die bevordering van mt-gebaseerde innoverende oplossings in die nigeriese konstruksiebedryf te versnel. 1. introduction the construction industry is information-intensive, due to various bits of significant information that need to be transferred and exchanged throughout the construction project’s life cycle (el jazzar, piskernik & nassereddine, 2020: 504). the efficiency of the industry depends, partially, on the productivity with which right and timely information is exchanged between the various project stages and among the participants involved in a project (ghodrati, yiu & wilkinson, 2018: 107). because the actual construction processes and activities are carried out on site, construction sites become an information-intensive environment that requires a more elevated level of expert knowledge. various construction personnel in the field need large amounts of information ranging from project design drawings to personal diaries to support their ongoing works and to settle on choices about the process of construction. on construction sites, information that people need to support their works include requests for information; materials management; equipment management; cost management; schedule, means and methods; jobsite record-keeping; submittals; safety; quality control and assurance, as well as future trends (el jazzar et al., 2020: 505; ahmed, 2018: 108). olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 3 to manage the information intensity in the construction industry, the utilisation of information technology (it) has been broadly proposed and applied (yury & dmytro, 2019: 49). notwithstanding, the implementation of construction projects takes place on construction sites, where personnel experience issues in accessing conventional computer systems for their information requirements. managers, builders, engineers, and other key personnel spend more of their time moving from one site to another and to site offices. accordingly, mobile technologies (mt) were proposed as a method of utilising it on construction sites. the contentions for the utilisation of mt on construction sites have hinged on the need to gain access to information; embrace productive information sharing and transfer; improve work interpretation, and accomplish realtime information flow (hu, laxman & lee, 2020: 4616; sepasgozaar, shirowzhan & wang, 2017: 1239). with mt, the workers in the field can see plans, models, and punch lists and relay information to others through mobile devices. this eliminates paper-based communication and resolves the ignoring of significant issues that require speedy reaction and regularly makes on-site decisions be conceded. mt has settled the issue of deciphering field entries for different areas of a project, by empowering workers to gather data in a more structured format instead of on paper that lead to high possibilities of human mistake (hasan et al., 2019: 401; hasan et al., 2018: 5). mt on construction sites has the capacity to expand the limit of information systems from site offices to actual work sites and guarantee real-time data flow to and from work sites (rivera et al., 2020: 45). mt represents small, portable, and wireless technologies that are rapidly evolving from a simple phone and messaging device to a multi-tasking, instant messaging, geographic position services (gps) navigation, and internet-enabled device. these technologies are designed to be slender and lightweight, compact, relatively cheap, high performing, and user friendly, making them usable on a construction site. applications in mt incorporate viewing, editing, and submitting data online using the built-in web browser application. their ability to link to the internet empowers project stakeholders to access and share information right away. in particular, the increase in wireless network transfer speeds and improvements in mobile application performance give mt a strong potential to improve on-site construction information management and productivity. the use of mt on nigerian construction sites would help resolve issues such as quality and productivity concerns (okafor, ani & ugwu, 2022). however, studies on mt in the nigerian construction industry have only investigated the barriers to information and communication technologies (amusan et al., 2018); augmented reality application areas (oke & arowoiya, 2021); barriers to the adoption of the internet of things (oke et al., 2022); cyber-physical olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 4 system usage for construction projects (adeosun & oke, 2022), and mobile technological advancement strategies (alaba, 2020). generally, research on mt and the construction industry has been restricted to the acceptance of mt (sepasgozaar et al., 2017; hasan et al., 2021; hu et al., 2020; hasan et al., 2019); the benefits of mt (hasan et al., 2018; rivera et al., 2020; mandičák et al., 2021; ulhaq et al., 2020); systems and frameworks for applying mt (khelifi & hyari, 2016; núñez et al., 2018), and mt education (huang et al., 2020; leveaux & ornate, 2019). mt is evolving in terms of form and functionality, with an increase in its use on construction sites. however, if the site stakeholders are unfamiliar with mt, it will be difficult to reap its benefits. to ensure widespread mt proficiency on construction sites, however, an understanding of the relationship between mt barriers, enablers, acceptance, and proficiency is required. as a result, the purpose of this study is to investigate mt acceptance, proficiency, barriers, and enablers, in order to determine the impact of mt barriers and enablers on mt acceptance and proficiency on nigerian construction sites. 2. literature review 2.1 mobile technologies usage acceptance several studies have been conducted to investigate the use of mt in the construction industry. for example, in a study that presented scanner technology acceptance model (stam), sepasgozaar et al. (2017: 1237) utilised ‘usefulness’ and ‘ease of use’ to measure acceptance of scanner technologies. the study used scanners to collect raw 3d point clouds and transfer them into compact, semantically rich models aiding in updating construction drawings. the study asserted that stam enables technology suppliers to predict the technology diffusion rate and helps the users make decisions on picking the right technology in construction projects. underpinned by the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut2) model, hu et al. (2020: 4615) explored the acceptance, preparedness, and adoption of mt in china. the study zeroed in on behavioural intentions, use of mt, and variations between different demographic groups. findings from the study suggested that the most significant factors affecting behavioural intention and behaviours of use were their performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and habit. the research provides further verification of the effectiveness of the utaut2 model in the higher education context and the field of new technologies implementation. okoro, nnaji and adediran (2022) tested a conceptual model regarding the acceptance of immersive technology (imt) at the individual level in the construction industry. results indicated that attitude significantly influenced olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 5 the intention to use imts. perceived usefulness positively and significantly predicted the intention to use imts and usage attitude. further, the effects of perceived enjoyment on usage attitude, and social norms and perceived behavioural control on intention to use were positive and significant. perceived ease of use had negative and non-significant effects on the intention to use and usage attitude. by explaining 82% of the variance, the study established that the proposed model successfully evaluates how management-level professionals in the construction industry accept imts. abdalrahman et al. (2020) used the technology acceptance model 3 (tam3) to investigate the acceptance of building information modeling (bim) and augmented reality (ar) integration in the construction industry. the developed tam3 demonstrated that users’ control over bim-ar and perception of ease of use have the greatest influence on their perception of the system’s usefulness, which influences their intention to use the system. furthermore, unlike the original tam3, three variables of image, perception of external control, and voluntariness show new relationships that can be considered a novel outcome. using the technology acceptance model (tam), sorce and issa (2021) attempted to understand what factors improve the use and adoption of ict in the us construction industry. the findings revealed that the us construction industry follows the tam model, which states that, if a technology is perceived to be useful, it will be adopted. yassin and al naqbi (2022) investigated the barriers to mobile technology adoption in the abu dhabi emirate, by identifying 52 factors that motivate users to adopt mobile technology across a wide range of applications. these factors were classified into six groups: perceived ease of use; perceived user experience; attitude; customer satisfaction excellence; perceived usefulness, and intention to use. according to the study, the three most common categories considered by respondents when using any technology are perceived ease of use, user experience, and attitude. user experience is the second most important factor driving respondents’ use of technology. this is followed by the user’s attitude, which is what drives technology adoption. hewavitharana et al. (2021) investigated human behaviours that influence the digital transformation of the construction industry, using the widely accepted model of the unified theory of technology acceptance and use (utaut). the findings of the study examined the changing demands for human beings in digitally transformed environments such as industry 4.0. these studies assessed mt acceptance in the context of the construction industry and provided data for new technology providers to better understand mt acceptance patterns. the studies, however, revealed a lack of understanding of the dimensions of mt and its specific application on construction sites. to address the shortcomings of previous studies, the olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 6 researchers classified mt into three categories: mobile devices (portable and small computing and communication devices), mobile services (mobile networks to which these mobile devices are connected), and mobile apps (application software to support mobile services and devices). mobile devices are an important component of mt. they are designed to provide utility in a way that is user friendly, and through various features built into the devices as well as numerous applications that can be added to the devices. 2.2 mobile technologies proficiency in the construction industry, there is growing concern about mt proficiency. hasan et al. (2021) reported on findings from semi-structured interviews conducted to examine the use of mt in the australian construction industry. the interview focused on mobile information, communication, and technology (mict) and how construction project managers manage boundaries between work and life in the use of mict. the findings of the study showed that there is an absence of consensus among construction project managers with respect to how to view informal work prompted by mict. the study likewise discovered that, without relevant organisational policies and guidelines, work-life boundary management approaches taken by individual managers shift substantially and largely determine the degree of their mict usage for work during non-work hours and its implications for their work and life. in addition, the study clarified variability in the permeability of work-life boundaries based on three factors: individual behavioural characteristics, work attitude, and job factors. sattineni and schmidt (2015) interviewed end-users of mt to discover how they are utilising mt on construction sites. the study uncovered that mt is progressively effective in empowering site personnel in a myriad of ways such as communication and productivity enhancement. bilal et al., (2016: 503) undertook a review of the present status, opportunities, and future trends of big data that demarcated the concepts of big data engineering and big data analytics. likewise, it depicted the works such as building information modelling optimisation, construction litigation, and structural damage detection, utilising these technologies across various subdomains of the construction industry. rivera et al. (2020) studied the usability and performance of mobile manipulators as displaceable 3d printing machinery on construction sites, with accentuation on the three main different existing mobile platforms: the car-like, the unicycle, and the omnidirectional, with a ur5 manipulator on them. the study proposed the printing of the following building elements: helical, square, circular, and mesh, with different sizes using the printing machinery. the results of the study showed that the omnidirectional platform presents the lowest tracking error and lowest control effort for circular, helicoidal, and mesh building elements, while the car-like platform presents olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 7 the best results for square-like building elements. ulhaq et al. (2020) led a contextual investigation of mobile messaging applications as a tool for managing construction project stakeholders in vietnam. the study showed that mobile messaging platforms are prime channels to manage project site work together with advantages including real-time collaboration, seamless knowledge sharing, quick feedback, and consensus development. this article conceptualised the domains and areas of proficiencies that are attainable in mt, in order to adequately address the mt proficiency concern. in accordance with this concept, there are five areas of proficiency in mt, including site administration, documentation, programming, organisation, and communication. site administration skills include site security, surveillance, money and payment transactions, site supervision and control, site office management, site meetings, site team management and control, as well as document and material management. site documentation skills include the ability to use mt for work and information documentation, as well as site report writing. site programme competencies include the ability to use mt for access to information and interpretation, resource output management, on-site measurements and calculations, and equipment management. the ability to use mt for site investigation, layout, and facility management demonstrates site organisation skills. communication, collaboration, and information transfer and exchange are the areas of expertise in site communication. the article identified critical mobile devices, mobile services, and mobile apps that could be used to achieve these skills. 2.3 barriers to mobile technologies proficiency there is adequate information to suggest that mt is beneficial to construction activities and processes (mandičák et al., 2021: 379; hasan et al., 2018: 14). in an exploratory study on the impact of mt on productivity in construction projects, hasan et al. (2018) found that the absence of training and guidelines on compelling utilisations of these technologies in construction projects was found as a significant bottleneck. the study indicated that distinctions in utilisation style and user mentality have restricted the general effect of mt on efficiency. some studies have contended that the advantages and utilisation of mt rely upon future professionals’ understanding and knowledge of emerging mt (cline & davis, 2015: 30; huang et al., 2020: 3548; redden, collins & kim, 2017: 537; leveaux & ornate, 2019: 20; kim, 2018: 124; solnyshkova & dudysheva, 2020: 4). in view of this perspective, mt-based educational and training methodologies have been proposed to facilitate instruction of mt use in construction management and improve the effectiveness of students upon graduation. in cline & davis (2015), for instance, the olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 8 employed university provided ipads in construction management classes to expose students to mt before they enter the workforce. the study also led a pre-and post-test review of first-year and upper-level construction management students to examine their comfort with mt, their knowledge about mt in construction, and their views on whether they think that they can use mobile technologies in the workplace and for what tasks. the investigation discovered that, while certain students entered with an exceptionally low comfort level with mobile devices, there were gains in comfort level by nearly all of the students. the study likewise announced that most of the students were able to envision how mt could be utilised within the construction industry to perform various tasks, and their visions increased from the beginning of the semester to the end, even though no conventional guidance was done in this area. the study by huang et al. (2020) examined the influence of constructivist and traditional learning beliefs on university students’ intentions to use mobile learning in china and spain. in addition, social contrasts were also tested in the study. the results of the study gave proof of the significance of learning convictions as a predecessor of the importance of learning beliefs as an antecedent of perceived usefulness and perceived compatibility. in an examination of the value of augmented reality in the business of building management, leveaux and ornate (2019) applied augmented reality in building management systems, using an exploratory industrybased case study approach. the study focused on viable implementations of augmented reality in building management and presents a solution that can bring tangible benefits to the building management services sector. solnyshkova and dudysheva (2020) discussed hybrid laboratory construction to support the teaching of engineering geodesy. the study contended that hybrid laboratories give both physical and online forms of operation with the same equipment or devices of the same functionality. the study offered a simple configuration of a hybrid learning environment based on interactive virtual learning tools and mobile devices for the training of inexperienced students to make digital measurements on geodetic equipment. it was also guaranteed that a hybrid environment is equally suitable for use in stationary university laboratories and terrain practice. 2.4 enablers of mobile technologies proficiency literature has proposed systems that would enable the utilisation of mt in information-intensive places such as construction sites (khelifi & hyari, 2016: 56; konstantinov et al., 2017: 1515; alshuwaikh et al., 2018; núñez et al., 2018: 521). khelifi & hyari (2016), for instance, developed a mobile application system to support construction-site communication. the developed system is designed to upgrade communication among olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 9 home office employees, field office staff, and mobile users at the construction sites. it has two parts: a mobile application and a website. the mobile application part furnishes users with valuable features such as receiving sites’ instructions, sending requests for interpretations, and retrieving information about projects. the website component allows users such as home office employees to track projects’ progress and find projects’ locations. the developed system can be used on mt, such as android devices. alshuwaikh et al. (2018) developed a mobile application prototype that is expected to act as an automated procurement medium, a central medium of communication, and provide a direct link between clients and suppliers. the system has eight user and system functional requirements, including registering suppliers; registering clients; managing client and supplier records; creating and managing supplier stores; selecting material; placing an order; making payment, and managing the order. the system is accepted to upgrade the extreme cost and time of procured construction materials. si et al. (2020) proposed an innovative just-in-time solution for the construction industry and addresses the specific case of networks of mobile on-site factories. as indicated by the study, the system shows an intriguing new and creative business model for decentralised manufacturing on-site. núñez et al. (2018) proposed a user-centred mobile cloud computing platform for improving knowledge management in small to medium enterprises in the chilean construction industry. as asserted in the study, the system is a feasible and alluring choice to address the knowledge management issues in smes of the chilean construction industry, since it is possible to consider both technical and usability requirements. through a pestel framework and a value chain model, oesterreich and teuteberg (2016: 123) explored the state of practice of mt in industry 4.0. the study revealed the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal implications of adopting mt. in a survey of mt uptake by construction managers in the new zealand construction industry, liu, mathrani and mbachu (2019: 13) revealed a general uplifting outlook towards the utilisation of apps. perceptions of top-management personnel differed slightly from those of middle managers. while the former expressed interest in mobile apps usage at a strategic level such as improving long-term client relationship management and satisfaction, the latter were keener on the apps used at functional and strategic levels such as a taskor project-level productivity improvement. a study by hasan et al. (2019) showed that user characteristics such as age or years of experience are not the major factors affecting mt usage of construction management professionals in the australian construction industry. the study observed that several barriers hinder the effective usage of mt, olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 10 specifically work-family spillover, system quality issues, inconsistency in the way of using mt, and the lack of organisational support. huang et al. (2020) contended that 5g mt will carry an uncommon measure of utilisations with its high speed. hasan et al. (2018; 2019) empirically researched the main consequences of the use of mobile ict in construction project management and how the use of mt can ultimately affect construction productivity in the australian construction industry. the study distinguished five elements, specifically, improved communication and work relationship; distraction and waste of time; better information management on-site; better management of construction defects, and improved work planning, as the most important consequences of their use of mt. 3. methods 3.1 research design using a quantitative research design, this study tested the impact of mt barriers and enablers on mt acceptance and proficiency. a structured questionnaire survey was done that allowed the researchers to generalise their findings from a sample population (creswell, 2014). measured results from the questionnaire were set as the variables of mt barriers and mt enablers on construction sites in nigeria. efa was used to reduce these measured variables to smaller sets of barriers and enablers (rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 201). results from the efa were subjected to a paired sample t-test to test two hypotheses: hypothesis 1: barriers to mt acceptance affect mt acceptance (h1a) and proficiency (h1b), and hypothesis 2: mt enablers influence mt acceptance (h2a) and proficiency (h2b). correlation on the variables from the efa was done to test for any significant impact that might show between the variables. 3.2 population, sample, and response rate six hundred and fifty (650) construction site managers were purposefully selected from a list of construction projects maintained by the lagos building control agency (an agency tasked with enforcing and monitoring development control regulatory requirements) in lagos state, nigeria. based on krejcie and morgan’s (1970: 608) recommendations, a sample size should be 242 for a population of 650. the questionnaire was filled out and completed by 238 people, yielding a response rate of 98.34%. this indicates a valid sample and satisfactory response. olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 11 3.3 data collection using a combination of standby-and-collect and drop-and-collect methods, 242 questionnaires were delivered to construction site managers throughout lagos state from 14 july 2018 to 22 september 2019. the questionnaire included seven sections. topics on the mobile services and technology used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews from the literature. the questionnaire with likert-type items on a five-point scale included close-ended questions about the respondents’ profile, level of proficiency in the use of mobile devices (17 variables), level of proficiency in the use of mobile services (16 variables), level of proficiency in the use of mobile apps (19 variables), domain and areas of proficiencies in mobile technologies (38 variables), barriers to mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers (18 variables), and enablers of mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers (28 variables). the respondents were asked to rate their levels and areas of proficiency in the use of mobile technologies, and were also instructed to indicate their level of agreement with the statements describing the barriers and enablers of mobile technologies. 3.4 data analysis method mean score analysis (ms) and efa were used to analyse the data in spss version 21.0. the rating in the ms was done on a 5-point likert scale, where 1 = very low/strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = low/disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = average/neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = high/agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = very highly/strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00), as recommended by gliem and gliem (2003). an efa with varimax rotation as the method of rotation was performed to investigate the factor structure and the latent factors underlying the barriers and enablers of mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers. bartlett’s test of sphericity (p<0.05) and keiser meyer olkin (kmo) with an overall kmo of greater than 0.50 were used to determine the suitability of the data for factor analysis (watkins, 2018: 12-14). the number of factors to be extracted was estimated using parallel analysis and eigenvalues. the extracted factors were considered valid if they had convergent and discriminant validity and at least three measured variables and had initial eigenvalues above one. the pearson correlation coefficients and significance generated by the paired two sample t-test were used to validate the hypotheses and tested the impact that variables had on each other in this study. a paired sample t-test is an inferential test that determines whether the mean difference between the two sets of observations is zero (xu et al., 2017). for this study, the following correlation coefficient values (r) were used: weak (between 0 and 0.3); moderate (between 0.3 and 0.7), and strong (between 0.7 and 1.0) (ratner, 2009: 139). the significant level was p<0.05. olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 12 3.5 limitations of the study the site managers were unable to be interviewed about their requirements for a mobile device suitable for construction sites. a significant limitation is the lack of categorisation and differentiation of the various mobile apps. the perspectives of construction workers would also have enriched the study’s findings. future investigations should investigate the relationship between jobsite accidents, safety compliance, and the use of mt on construction sites. 4. results 4.1 profile of respondents as shown in table 1, based on frequency of occurrence, most of the respondents (64.1%) worked in organisations that operate nationally in nigeria. the vast majority of the respondents’ (87.6%) organisations are involved in building construction projects (47.9%), and projects that involve building construction and civil engineering (39.7%). although 17.8% of the organisations existed between 11 and 15 years, the majority of them (79.5%) have been in existence for 16 years and more. of these organisations, the majority (41.1%) employs between 100 and 150 employees. this proves that the organisations have adequate involvement in the nigerian construction industry to give information that could help in making deductions on mt acceptance, proficiency, barriers, and enablers, in order to determine the impact of mt barriers and enablers on mt acceptance and proficiency on nigerian construction sites. table 1: respondents’ profile demographic characteristic frequency (n=238) % operation level local 5 1.4 state 51 21.4 inter-state 27 11.5 national 153 64.1 international 2 0.3 project involvement building construction 114 47.9 civil engineering 17 6.8 building construction and civil engineering 95 39.7 industrial construction 5 1.4 special construction 7 2.7 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 13 demographic characteristic frequency (n=238) % company existence 6-10 years 5 1.4 11-15 years 44 17.8 16-20 years 98 41.1 21 years and above 91 38.4 company size 50-100 employees 56 23.3 100-150 employees 182 76.7 4.2 acceptance of the use of mobile technologies mt acceptance was divided into mobile devices, mobile services, and mobile apps. to determine mt acceptance, the respondents’ level of proficiency in every category was examined, by requesting that the site managers rate their degree of proficiency in the utilisation of mobile devices, mobile services, and mobile apps. results in table 2 show that, overall, respondents had high proficiency in the use of mobile services (ms=4.18) and average proficiency in the use of mobile devices (ms=2.99) and mobile apps (ms=2.96). table 2: acceptance of the use of mobile technology variables (n=238) 1 = very low (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = low (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = average (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = high (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = very high (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) cronbachs’ alpha= 0.839 cronbachs’ alpha= 0.888 cronbachs’ alpha= 0.812 mobile devices ms mobile services ms mobile apps ms android phones 4.32 phone calls 4.63 pdf viewers 3.86 laptops 4.14 short message services 4.56 whatsapp 3.86 samsung galaxy phones 3.93 phone camera 4.46 google map and calendars 3.64 tablets 3.78 wireless fidelity (wi-fi) 4.39 calendar application 3.61 blackberry phones 3.49 electronic mail services 4.30 blackberry messenger (bbm) 3.59 point of sale machine 3.24 phone video 4.19 mobile cad application 3.30 iphone 3.24 video calls 4.08 instagram 3.29 cell phone 3.15 modems 3.89 asset tracker 3.00 personal digital assistant 2.94 hotspots 3.79 tekla field 3d 2.94 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 14 variables (n=238) 1 = very low (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = low (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = average (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = high (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = very high (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) cronbachs’ alpha= 0.839 cronbachs’ alpha= 0.888 cronbachs’ alpha= 0.812 mobile devices ms mobile services ms mobile apps ms active rfid tags 2.71 bluetooth 3.73 ios application/ site monitor 2.91 gyroscope 2.61 dropbox 3.72 project wise explorer mobile 2.82 rfid ready phones 2.45 wireless local area network (wlan) 3.71 mobile bim application (bim360) 2.71 ipod touch 2.36 phone voice recorder 3.63 autodesk bluestreak mobile 2.61 passive rfid tags 2.31 universal mobile telecommunication 3.24 autodesk buzzsaw mobile 2.56 netbook 2.25 general packet radio service (gprs) 3.09 apple’s keynote 2.56 telenav 2.12 plotters 2.86 itunes 2.46 zoom 1.95 facebook 2.43 facebook 2.43 iannotate 2.40 twitter 2.24 composite score (average) 2.99 4.18 2.96 with mean score ratings higher than 4.21, respondents have very high proficiency in the use of android phones (ms=4.32), phone calls (ms=4.63), short message services (ms=4.56), phone camera (ms=4.46), wi-fi (ms=4.39), and electronic mail services (ms=4.30). there was no very high level of proficiency in the utilisation of mobile apps. in the category mobile devices, respondents have high proficiency (ms between 3.41 and 4.20) in the use of laptops (ms=4.14), samsung galaxy phones (ms=3.93), tablets (ms=3.78), and blackberry phones (ms=3.49). they have high proficiency in the use of mobile services, including phone video (ms=4.19), video calls (ms=4.08), modems (ms=3.89), hotspots (ms=3.79), bluetooth (ms=3.73), dropbox (ms=3.72), wlan (ms=3.71), and phone voice recorder (ms=3.63). in the category mobile apps, respondents have high proficiency in using pdf viewers (ms=3.86), whatsapp (ms=3.86), google maps and calendars (ms=3.64), and calendar applications (ms=3.61). olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 15 4.3 construction site management and mobile technologies’ proficiencies to analyse the proficiencies of the respondents in the utilisation of mt in construction site management, the article recognised site documentation, site programme, site administration, site organisation, and site communication as the categories of mt application in construction site management (see 2.2). results in table 3 show that, with mean score ratings higher than 4.21, respondents had very high mt proficiency in almost all areas in site documentation, especially for ‘site report writing and processing’ (ms=4.99) and taking pictures (ms=4.57) and videos (ms=4.54) for work documentation. in the site communication category, respondents had very high proficiency in connecting and communicating via the internet (ms=4.30), and in general communication on site (ms=4.28). table 3: mobile technologies’ proficiencies in construction site management category variable/area (n=238) 1 = very low 5 = very high cronbachs’ alpha = 0.826 ms composite score (average) site documentation site report writing and processing 4.99 4.37 taking pictures for work documentation 4.57 taking videos for work documentation 4.54 documenting project information 4.24 reviewing of documents 4.21 documenting work process and information 4.06 keeping records of site personnel 4.01 site programme accessing project information and documents 3.96 3.58 scheduling tasks and time 3.73 calculating data on site 3.62 tracking of materials and equipment 3.61 cost coding for labour and equipment 3.52 checking the availability of staff on site 3.58 vehicle diagnostics and compliance 3.31 monitoring of fuel consumption 3.27 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 16 category variable/area (n=238) 1 = very low 5 = very high cronbachs’ alpha = 0.826 ms composite score (average) site administration transferring and updating project information 4.19 3.78 sending and obtaining money 4.12 processing of payroll 3.82 sites surveillances and security 3.79 tracking construction vehicles 3.76 tracking labour hours and project cost 3.57 preventing theft of stored merchandise 3.49 tracking workers’ performance 3.46 site organisation networking the site office to the internet 4.21 3.68 networking the headquarters to the site office 4.14 navigation purposes on site 3.75 assessing site conditions 3.51 location of site facilities 3.46 setting out and surveying 3.38 securing access to a private network 3.33 site communication connecting and communicating via the internet 4.30 3.89 general communication on site 4.28 connecting and communicating with other devices and people 4.25 collaborating with project/site team members 3.85 scheduling site meeting 3.77 data networking services 3.74 holding virtual meetings 3.58 dial-up services 3.38 mean score ratings between 3.41 and 4.19 showed that respondents had high mt proficiency in almost all areas in the categories site administration and site organisation showing high ratings for ‘transferring and updating project information’ (ms=4.19), and ‘networking the headquarters to the site office’ (ms=4.14). overall, respondents had high mt proficiency in documenting work process and information (ms=4.06), keeping records of site personnel (ms=4.01), olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 17 sending and obtaining money (ms=4.12), accessing project information and documents (ms=3.96), processing the payroll (ms=3.82), collaboration with project/site team members (ms=3.85), in site surveillances and security (ms=3.79), scheduling site meetings (ms=3.77), tracking construction vehicles (ms=3.76), and scheduling tasks and time (ms=3.73). 4.4 barriers to mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers this article sought to comprehend the barriers to mt proficiency among construction site managers. results in table 4 show the high cost of data (ms=3.46), constant change in mt (ms=3.39), short battery life of mobile devices (ms=3.35), and limited network coverage as the barriers associated with the mobile devices, apps, and services. the 18 barriers to mt proficiency among construction site managers were subjected to cfa to study the trend of inter-correlations between items, and to group these items with similar characteristics into a set of reduced factors (barriers) according to the hidden components in the collected data. only the factors extracted with communalities loadings of 0.5 and above were subjected to efa. table 4 shows that three factors were retained, as factor 1 (complicated interfaces) explains 37.985% of the total variance; factor 2 (security concerns), 17.555%, and factor 3 (network hitches), 16.659%. the utilisation of efa was justified by the result of the bartlett test (x2650=153, p<.05), the result produced a statistically significant chi-square (p<.001). a kmo value of 0.62 was obtained, which is greater than 0.50, showing that the data is suitable for conducting factor analysis. table 4: barriers to mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers descriptive analysis (n=238) cronbachs’ alpha= 0.858 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree exploratory factor analysis (rotated matrix) barriers (items) ms complicated interfaces security concerns network hitches communality high cost of data access 3.46 .505 .540 .748 constant charge in mobile technologies 3.39 .584 .583 .843 short battery life of mobile devices 3.35 .739 .684 virus attack 3.34 .804 .747 security risks 3.33 .614 .901 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 18 descriptive analysis (n=238) cronbachs’ alpha= 0.858 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree exploratory factor analysis (rotated matrix) barriers (items) ms complicated interfaces security concerns network hitches communality slow connection on wireless network 3.32 .619 .553 non-longevity of battery 3.31 .682 .646 automated and cumbersome interfaces 3.30 .762 .866 limited network coverage 3.28 .874 .780 non-durability of mobile devices 3.21 .560 .762 difficulty in navigation of mobile devices 3.18 .681 .713 slow data transfer 3.16 .641 .637 exposure to the external environment 3.16 .772 .696 high learning curve 3.04 .750 .687 difficulty in operating mobile devices 2.96 .632 .823 small screen size of mobile devices 2.94 .569 -.584 .798 high cost of mobile devices 2.85 .697 .539 mobile computers are not supportive of multiple actions 2.64 .710 .573 composite score (average) 3.18 eigenvalue 6.837 3.665 2.338 % of total variance 37.985 17.555 16.659 total variance 72.199 4.5 enablers of mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers with mean score ratings above 4.21, results in table 5 show that respondents strongly agreed that six enablers contribute to mt proficiency among construction site managers. these are easy and fast sharing of information (ms=4.41); reduction in paper reporting (ms=4.39); less olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 19 paperwork (ms=4.38); multiple presences on several construction sites (ms=4.36), and faster and accurate communication and information (ms=4.25). this outcome affirmed the efficiency advantages of mt, as claimed by rivera et al. (2020), ulhaq et al. (2020), and huang et al. (2020). table 5: enablers of mobile technologies’ proficiency among construction site managers descriptive analysis (n=238) cronbachs’ alpha= 0.866 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree exploratory factor analysis (rotated matrix) enablers (items) ms cyber operative task smoothening work process acceleration paper & time saving communality easy and fast sharing of information 4.41 .701 .787 reduction in paper reporting 4.39 .738 .717 less paperwork 4.38 .825 .850 multiple presence on several construction sites 4.36 .709 .766 faster and accurate communication and information 4.25 .796 improvement in work quality 4.21 .813 .801 flexibility, convenience, and handiness 4.19 .792 .852 easy access to information 4.19 .793 improved communication among team members 4.19 .738 .862 instant analysis and correction of work 4.17 .792 .758 improvement in planning and forecasting 4.14 .876 effective planning and tracking of work orders 4.09 .752 .844 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 20 descriptive analysis (n=238) cronbachs’ alpha= 0.866 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree exploratory factor analysis (rotated matrix) enablers (items) ms cyber operative task smoothening work process acceleration paper & time saving communality improved quality of works 4.07 .847 cost reduction in site management 4.06 .525 .718 ease of synchronisation 4.03 .857 .801 reliable and accurate inventory control 4.00 .814 reduction in waste 3.87 .807 .814 improved cash flow 3.86 .706 .783 control of equipment 3.79 .757 reduction in logistical costs 3.75 .825 quick approval of requests and variations 3.73 .870 improvement in efficiency of workers 3.65 .811 possibility of wireless monitoring 3.64 .599 .849 performance improvement 3.59 .812 cost reduction in work administration 3.50 .719 possibility of remote connection 3.49 .509 .611 reduction in claims 3.47 .751 reduction in work cycle time 3.38 .790 .767 composite score (average) 3.96 eigenvalue 5.270 3.340 1.770 1.502 % of total variance 31.139 17.3124 12.2212 18.820 total variance 79.471 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 21 the 23 enablers of mt proficiency among construction site managers were subjected to cfa to study the trend of inter-correlations between items and to group these items with similar characteristics into a set of reduced factors (enablers) according to the hidden components in the collected data. only the factors extracted with communalities loadings of 0.5 and above were subjected to efa. the utilisation of efa was justified by the result of the bartlett test (x21080.482=378, p<.05), the result produced a statistically significant chi-square (p<.001). a kmo value of 0.651 was obtained, which is greater than 0.50, showing that the data is suitable for conducting factor analysis. table 5 confirms the retaining of four factors, where factor 1 (cyber operative) explains 31.139% of the total variance; factor 2 (task smoothening), 17.3124%; factor 3 (work process acceleration), 12.2212%, and factor 4 (paper and time saving), 18.820%. 4.6 impact of mt barriers and enablers on mt acceptance and proficiency in table 6, the pearson’s chi-square test result (r) shows a strong positive correlation between mt barriers and mt acceptance (r=.732, n=44, p=.000) and proficiency (r=.665, n=44, p=.000). there was a strong positive correlation between mt enablers and mt acceptance (r=.744, n=44, p=.000) and proficiency (r=.729, n=44, p=.000). this validates that the barriers to mt acceptance affect mt acceptance (h1a) and proficiency (h1b) and that mt enablers influence mt acceptance (h2a) and proficiency (h2b) on nigerian construction sites. results from the paired two sample t-test show a significant strong difference between the effect of barriers (=.363, n=44, p=.000) and the effect of enablers (t=.723, n=44, p=.000) on the acceptance of mt. the result implicates that mt enablers had a stronger effect on the acceptance of mt than the mt barriers. there was a significant moderate difference between the effect that barriers (t=.379, n=44, p=.000) and the effect that enablers (t=.402, n=44, p=.000) had on the proficiency of mt on nigerian construction sites. the result implicates that participants’ proficiency of mt is equally affected by mt barriers and mt enablers. regarding the impact of barriers on mobile technology acceptance and proficiency, complicate interfaces have a strong effect on site documentation (r=.709, t44=.355, p=.000), security concerns have a very strong effect on mobile devices (r=1.000, t44=.717, p=.000), and site communication (r=1.000, t44=.488, p=.000). network hitches have a very strong effect on mobile services (r= .000, t44=1.447, p=.000), mobile apps (r=1.000, t44=.905, p=.000), site documentation (r=1.000, t44=.637, p=.000), site programme (r=.919, t44=.551, p=.000), and site administration (r=.831, olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 22 ta bl e 6: p ai re d tw o sa m pl e t-t es t e st im at io n of th e eff ec t o f m t ba rr ie rs a nd e na bl er s on m t ac ce pt an ce a nd p ro fic ie nc y c a te g o rie s fo r b a rri e rs a nd e na b le rs m o b ile te c hn o lo g y a c c e p ta nc e m o b ile te c hn o lo g y p ro fic ie nc y m o b ile d e vi c e s m o b ile se rv ic e s m o b ile a p p s si te d o c um e nt a tio n si te p ro g ra m m e si te a d m in ist ra tio n si te o rg a ni sa tio n si te c o m m un ic a tio n ba rri e rs ( n= 44 ) c o m p lic a te in te rfa c e s r= 0. 57 4 p =0 .0 00 t= 0 .2 87 r= 0. 56 4 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 48 2 r= 0. 64 5 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 32 3 r= 0. 70 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 35 5 r= 0. 20 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 10 9 r= 0. 64 5 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 19 7 r= 0. 49 2 p =0 .0 0 t= 0. 24 6 r= 0. 56 4 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 45 2 se c ur ity c o nc e rn s r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 71 7 r= 0. 63 3 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 48 3 r= 0. 42 2 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 31 7 r= 0. 59 1 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 37 6 r= 0. 65 5 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 52 4 r= 0. 54 3 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 05 5 r= 0. 63 4 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 76 1 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 48 8 n e tw o rk hi tc he s r= 0. 75 2 p =0 .0 00 t= 1. 55 4 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 1. 44 7 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 90 5 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 63 7 r= 0. 91 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 55 1 r= 0. 83 1 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 33 2 r= 0. 65 3 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 39 2 r= 0. 53 8 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 21 5 to ta l r= 0. 77 5 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 85 2 r= 0. 73 2 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 80 4 r= 0. 68 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 51 5 r= 0. 76 6 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 45 6 r= 0. 59 4 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 39 4 r= 0. 67 3 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 19 4 r= 0. 59 3 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 46 6 r= 0. 70 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 38 5 to ta l hy p o th e sis 1 h 1a ( su p p o rt e d ) r= 0. 73 2 p =0 .0 0 t= 0. 72 3 h 1b ( su p p o rt e d ) r= 0. 66 5 p =0 .0 0 t= 0. 37 9 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 23 c a te g o rie s fo r b a rri e rs a nd e na b le rs m o b ile te c hn o lo g y a c c e p ta nc e m o b ile te c hn o lo g y p ro fic ie nc y m o b ile d e vi c e s m o b ile se rv ic e s m o b ile a p p s si te d o c um e nt a tio n si te p ro g ra m m e si te a d m in ist ra tio n si te o rg a ni sa tio n si te c o m m un ic a tio n ba rri e rs ( n= 44 ) en a b le rs ( n= 44 ) c yb e r o p e ra tiv e r= 0. 66 6 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 19 9 r= 0. 89 8 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 34 7 r= 0. 44 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 13 7 r= 0. 89 8 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 53 8 r= 0. 45 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 20 3 r= 0. 78 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 46 6 r= 0. 98 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 42 1 r= 0. 45 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 31 9 ta sk sm o o th e ni ng r= 0. 73 2 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 21 9 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 71 7 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 82 2 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t =0 .6 29 r= 0. 74 4 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 41 7 r= 0. 74 3 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 30 5 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 92 2 r= 1. 00 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 22 5 w o rk p ro c e ss a c c e le ra tio n r= 0. 65 6 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 32 8 r= 0. 65 6 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 26 2 r= 0. 89 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 36 9 r= 0. 89 8 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 52 9 r= 0. 44 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 21 6 r= 0. 44 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 31 6 r= 0. 98 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 21 5 r= 0. 45 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 48 6 pa p e r a nd t im e c ut b a c k r= 0. 50 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 21 2 r= 0. 51 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 20 4 r= 0. 91 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 36 8 r= 0. 91 1 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 51 0 r= 0. 50 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 23 8 r= 0. 50 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 34 1 r= 0. 51 0 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 30 7 r= 0. 89 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 60 2 to ta l r= 0. 63 8 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 23 9 r= 0. 76 6 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 38 2 r= 0. 82 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 46 9 r= 0. 92 6 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 55 1 r= 0. 53 5 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 26 8 r= 0. 61 8 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 35 7 r= 0. 86 7 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 46 6 r= 0. 69 9 p =0 .0 00 t= 0. 40 8 to ta l hy p o th e sis 2 h 2a ( su p p o rt e d ) r= 0. 74 4 p =0 .0 0 t= 0. 36 3 h 2b ( su p p o rt e d ) r= 0. 72 9 p =0 .0 0 t= 0. 40 2 s ig ni fic an t p <0 .0 5 olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 24 t44=.332, p=.000). the effect of network hitches on the other variables was found to be moderate. regarding the impact of enablers on mobile technology acceptance and proficiency, cyber operatives have a very strong effect on site organisation (r=.980, t4 =.421, p=.000) and site documentation (r=.898, t44=.538, p=.000). task smoothening has a very strong effect on mobile devices (r=.732, t44=.219, p=.000), mobile apps (r=1.000, t44=.822, p=.000), site documentation (r=1.000, t44= .629, p=.000), site organisation (r=1.000, t44=.922, p=.000), and site communication (r=1.000, t44=.225, p=.000). the effect of work process acceleration on mobile apps (r=.899, t44=.369, p=.000), site documentation (r=.898, t44=.529, p=.000), and site organisation (r=.980, t44=.215, p=.000) was very strong. paper and time cutback only have a moderate effect on mobile apps (r=.919, t44=.368, p=.000), site documentation (r=.911, t44=.510, p=.000), and site communication (r=.899, t44=.602, p=.000). 5. discussion according to the findings, overall, the site managers’ mt capability is average, as they can effectively use only four of the 18 mobile devices identified (ms=2.99) and four out of the 19 mobile apps (ms=2.96). site managers can effectively use 13 of the 16 recognised mobile services (ms=4.18). this result suggests that the site managers’ proficiency is in their effective use of mobile services. it could also imply that mobile services are the primary component of mt (hasan et al., 2021). mobile services could be used to perform most of the functions of mobile apps (khelifi & hyari, 2016; kim, 2018). mobile services are similar to the custom apps that came with mobile devices (hasan et al., 2018). this could be due to the fact that site managers are not limited to popular mobile apps and are exploring other mobile apps, or they are unaware of constructionrelated apps on their mobile devices. it could also imply that site managers are treating mobile devices as general or personal belongings rather than as a tool that could be used on site. given the pattern of proficiency in the use of mobile devices, this contention could be supported. mobile devices designed specifically for construction-related tasks were uncommon among site managers. personal digital assistants, passive and active rfid tags, barcodes, and rfid-ready phones, for example, were not thoroughly evaluated as mobile devices in which site managers are proficient. this suggests that the site managers are primarily using mobile devices for social and personal purposes. mobile devices are only used for constructionrelated activities that overlap with social and personal activities. this finding implies that site managers require information and understanding of the practical application of mt for construction site management. olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 25 this study reviewed the current state of architectural, engineering, construction, and operation (aeco) education in nigeria. clearly, the aeco educational programme is not fully informed about the state of progress in aeco research (huang et al., 2020; leveaux & ornate, 2019). this result is consistent with previous studies on the use of mt in the construction industry (hasan et al., 2019; hu et al., 2020). the conclusion is that the site managers are extremely capable of using mt for site documentation (ms=4.37) and communication (ms=3.89), compared to various areas of application for mt in construction site management. these findings support the conclusion that site managers are highly capable of using mobile services. mobile services such as phone cameras, wi-fi, e-mail, modems, and hotspots, used by site managers, correspond with site documentation and communication. the vast majority of mt application areas for site communication team members, such as scheduling site meetings, collaborating with site team members, and general communication on site, are linked via phone calls, e-mails, video calls, and hotspots. phone cameras and video are useful for documenting project information, handling site reports, taking photos and recording for work documentation, and archiving the work process. the findings revealed that the site managers had not been using mt beyond the standard mt application. the use of mt in construction has been limited (el jazzar et al., 2020). rfid tags, for example, were required for specialised mt applications such as vehicle diagnostics and compliance, as well as the prevention of theft of stored merchandise. however, the site managers lacked expertise in the use of rfid tags. this explains their lack of expertise in the areas of site programming and administration. only when site managers are proficient in the use of construction-specific mt can they use it to programme site activities and manage it on construction sites. checking on-site staff accessibility, tracking worker performance, laying out structures, and holding virtual site meetings all necessitate proficiency in the use of construction-specific mt. because of the high cost of data and the poor network coverage in nigeria, using mobile services is both expensive and frustrating. the design of mobile devices contributes to the constant change in mobile device variants, and the need to recharge their batteries consistently contributes to site managers’ low mt proficiency. the outcome is unmistakable: the site managers’ lack of mt proficiency is due to muddled mobile device interfaces, security concerns with mobile services, and network outages. according to the findings of this study, the impact of mt on construction productivity through reduced paperwork and time savings motivates construction site managers to become proficient in mt. given these results and the factors identified, the nature of the factors also supports the conclusion that mt affects productivity, compelling site managers to pursue mt proficiency. olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 26 the results of the study on the effect of barriers and enablers on site manager acceptance and proficiency revealed that barriers have a significant impact on mobile technology acceptance and proficiency, with security concerns having a very strong effect on mobile devices (r=1.000, p=.000) and network outages having a very strong effect on mobile services (r=1.000, p=.000). task smoothening has a very strong effect on mobile devices (r=.732, p=.000) and site communication (r=1.000, p=.000), and was found to have a significant impact on mobile technology acceptance and proficiency. the findings revealed that network outages would most likely have an impact on mobile service acceptance (r= .000, p=.000) and site managers’ proficiency in using mobile technology for site programme planning (r=.919, p=.000). this means that poor internet connectivity and slow speeds discourage the use of mobile technology and make mobile technology proficiency difficult. the findings also revealed that mobile technology’s work process acceleration and cyber-operational benefits would most likely influence its acceptance. cyber-operation, task simplification, work process acceleration, paper savings, and time savings are all likely to have an impact on site managers’ proficiency with mobile technology. 6. conclusion site managers’ acceptance and proficiency in mt were influenced by mt barriers and enablers. network outages, as a major mt barrier, have an impact on site managers’ mt acceptance and proficiency. work process acceleration and cyber-operational benefits of mobile technology also influence mt acceptance. the use of android phones, laptops, wireless fidelity, electronic mail services, pdf viewers, and google maps are among the site managers’ mt skills. the ability of the site managers to use these mt is acceptable, as they can effectively use a few mobile devices for standard mt applications. concerning the impact of barriers on mobile technology acceptance and proficiency, complicated interfaces have a strong impact on site documentation, and network outages have a very strong impact on mobile services, mobile apps, site documentation, site programming, and site administration. in terms of enablers’ impact on mobile technology acceptance and proficiency, cyber operatives have a significant impact on site organisation and documentation. mobile apps, site documentation, and site communication are only moderately affected by paper and time constraints. the site managers’ primary use of mt has been for social and individual functions, and they regard mt as a personal possession. when construction site activities intersect with social and personal activities, site managers inadvertently employ mt. the cost of data, poor network coverage, the design of mobile devices, the constant change in variants of mobile devices, and the need to recharge their batteries on a regular basis olugboyega, bolujoko, oseghale & aigbavboa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 1-32 27 all influenced the nature of mt usage by site managers. site managers are mostly motivated to use mt because it saves time and reduces paperwork. the study’s implications include, but are not limited to the inclusion of construction site-based mt applications in nigeria’s aeco curriculum. future construction professionals must be prepared to fully integrate mt into their professional responsibilities. without a doubt, mt increases productivity; thus, future professionals must be shown how to use it. furthermore, information on the use of mt for construction activities, as well as the imagination and inventive capacities of future professionals, may be triggered. this could lead to the development of innovative mt-based solutions to address the challenges in the nigerian construction industry. digitally compliant construction professionals also represent the industry’s most obvious opportunity for developing software, devices, and apps with construction-specific and preferred 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(ed.). proceedings of the selected papers of the 4th conference project, program, portfolio management. p3m 6-7 december, odessa, ukraine. ceur workshop proceedings, vol. 2856, pp. 47-51. chombo _hlk114896197 _hlk114898086 _hlk114959553 _hlk114900592 _hlk116036073 _hlk114902814 _hlk115683518 _hlk115769537 _hlk116032484 _hlk116019689 86 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mohammad kheradranjbar dr mohammad kheradranjbar, department of civil engineering, karaj branch, islamic azad university, karaj, iran. email: <kherad.ranjbar@ kiau.ac.ir>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5660-9400. mirali mohammadi prof. mirali mohammadi, associate professor in civil engineering, department of civil engineering, faculty of engineering, urmia university, po box 165, urmia 5756115311, iran. phone: +989141410650, email: <m.mohammadi@ urmia.ac.ir>, https://orcid. org/0000-0001-7194-9393. shahin rafiee prof. shahin rafiee, professor in mechanical engineering of agricultural machinery, faculty of agricultural engineering and technology, university college of agriculture & natural resources, university of tehran, karaj, iran. email: <shahinrafiee@ut.ac.ir>. issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: october 2021 peer reviewed and revised: march 2022 published: june 2022 keywords: building maintenance, building repair, repair and maintenance, multi-criterion decisionmaking, delphi method, swara, vikor how to cite: kheradranjbar, m., mohammadi, m. & rafiee, s. 2022. appropriate building repair and maintenance strategies using multicriteria decision-making analysis – a delphi study. acta structilia, 29(1), pp. 86-111. appropriate building repair and maintenance strategies using multicriteria decision-making analysis – a delphi study research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.4 abstract as an influential and significant factor in improving the service of building components and elements, maintenance plays an essential role in maintaining reliability, availability, and quality, as well as increasing efficiency and security. therefore, how to define this maintenance system and determine the appropriate criteria and strategies for that play an important role in the cost and longevity of the buildings after construction and during their operation. the purpose of the article is to determine the effective criteria for evaluating buildings based on maintenance and repair (r&m) and finally determining the appropriate strategy for the maintenance of residential buildings, using multicriteria decision-making methods. these criteria were first identified by reviewing the literature and using the delphi method to obtain the opinions of maintenance experts. the criteria were then prioritized, based on the swara method, and the results were compared and evaluated. based on comparison, safety, health, environment, and proper utilisation were rated the top four criteria to consider 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(1): 86-111 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:kherad.ranjbar@kiau.ac.ir mailto:kherad.ranjbar@kiau.ac.ir https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5660-9400 mailto:m.mohammadi@urmia.ac.ir mailto:m.mohammadi@urmia.ac.ir https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7194-9393 mailto:shahinrafiee@ut.ac.ir http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.4 kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 87 for building r&m. finally, using the vikor2 method, it was found that the breakdown maintenance (bm) and corrective maintenance (cm) strategies are the best strategies to use for the r&m of residential buildings. abstrak as ’n invloedryke en beduidende faktor in die verbetering van die onderhoud van geboukomponente en -elemente, speel instandhouding ’n noodsaaklike rol in die handhawing van betroubaarheid, beskikbaarheid, kwaliteit en die verhoging van doeltreffendheid en sekuriteit. daarom, hoe om hierdie instandhoudingstelsel te definieer en die toepaslike kriteria en strategieë daarvoor te bepaal, is belangrik vir die koste en langdurigheid van die geboue na konstruksie en tydens die bedryf daarvan. die doel van die artikel is om die effektiewe kriteria vir die evaluering van geboue op grond van onderhoud en herstel (r&m) te bepaal en uiteindelik die toepaslike strategie vir instandhouding van residensiële geboue te bepaal deur gebruik te maak van multi-kriteria besluitnemingsmetodes. hierdie kriteria is eers geïdentifiseer deur ’n literatuurstudie en die delphi-metode is gebruik om instandhoudingskundiges se menings daaroor te verkry. daarna is die kriteria geprioritiseer op grond van die swara-metode, en die resultate is vergelyk en geëvalueer. gebaseer op vergelyking, is veiligheid, gesondheid, omgewing en behoorlike benutting as die top vier kriteria aangewys om te oorweeg vir die r&m van geboue. laastens, met behulp van die vikor-metode, is gevind dat die breakdown maintenance(bm) en corrective maintenance(cm) strategieë die beste strategieë is om te gebruik vir die r&m van residensiële geboue. sleutelwoorde: gebou-instandhouding, gebouherstel, herstel en instandhouding, multikriterium-besluitneming, delphi-metode, swara, vikor 1. introduction the need to design, deploy and use maintenance systems in all industries is one of the most important factors in maintaining capital and it is important in terms of security and economy. the issue of maintenance in the construction industry is not exempt from this rule and has been considered globally, especially in developed countries (katabi & almasian, 2016: 1). the main purpose of building r&m is to optimise the capability of building equipment and elements to achieve maximum efficiency, reduce failure and breakdown. its minor objectives include increasing readiness and reliability, as well as reducing additional costs. considering that proper utilisation of buildings increases their useful life and that their r&m method has a significant impact on building costs during operation, it is necessary to conduct studies to determine the appropriate criteria in this regard. building assessment based on r&m is important for two reasons. first, the assessment should be done in several phases. the first phase is from the design to the repair management stage. the second phase is the assessment of the availability and features related to the useful life data, which is inherently heterogeneous, inaccurate, uncertain, and incomplete (talon, boissier & lair, 2008). 2 vlse kriterijumsk optimizacija kompromisno resenje. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 88 since numerous criteria are involved in the assessment of r&m of buildings (khodayari & abdollahzadeh, 2018: 281), it can be said that recognising and ranking those criteria and determining and prioritising appropriate r&m strategies of the building based on the mentioned criteria is of special importance. various r&m policies have been provided and the application of each strategy has different advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of industry (do et al., 2015). many researchers have applied multi-criteria decision-making techniques separately or simultaneously to determine the r&m criteria and related strategies in different industries. each of them examined this issue from a different perspective. however, the main problem facing experts and managers in the construction industry is the failure to understand and prioritise the key and appropriate criteria of the r&m system and finally choose the most appropriate r&m policy. therefore, choosing a maintenance strategy is a kind of multi-criteria decision problem. the best option can be selected from the possible solutions based on evaluating multiple criteria (bowersox & closs, 1996: 283). choosing the right r&m strategy for a building with combined decisions prevents premature deterioration of buildings during operation. therefore, the appropriate r&m strategy should be effective and based on certain criteria to identify and enhance building lifespan, operation, equipment, and elements, as well as reduce costs (kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee, 2022a: 2). although identifying and prioritising design and implementation defects are addressed in the building maintenance system, the construction industry is mainly focused on the design, supervision, and execution of the building relative to the r&m. if the issue is addressed, it is mostly qualitative. therefore, determining the quality criteria of building r&m will help the experts determine the effective sub-criteria of the building r&m system, formulate the codes and national regulations, and choose the appropriate r&m strategy, increasing longevity and reducing the costs during the operation. given the lack of comprehensive research in identifying and prioritising criteria and selecting the most appropriate r&m policy, the important issue is the relationship between the factors and the appropriate techniques to determine the relationship and evaluate the proper criteria. this article seeks to determine and prioritise the basic criteria and then select the appropriate maintenance policy in the r&m system of buildings to identify and analyse them in the buildings’ assessment with a multi-criteria decisionmaking technique. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 89 2. literature review 2.1 repair and maintenance methods an appropriate method should be provided for the r&m of projects, especially construction projects. for this purpose, one must first note the main reason for the maintenance policy in construction projects, in other words, one must first define the scope of the problem to carry out this process. then collect data and basic information to define the defects, identify and prioritise the relevant problems and defects, and finally proceed to plan solutions and organise and guide the implementation and control of solutions (kelly, 2006: 19-28). r&m includes a set of activities designed to prevent sudden breakdown of equipment and facilities. repairs are carried out when the equipment fails, does not function properly, or its operation is delayed (shi & zeng, 2016). the main purpose of r&m is to extend the life of equipment and reduce the costs in the most efficient manner that is defined from the time of installation of equipment and during operation (golchi et al., 2018: 2). r&m is an optimal way to achieve a satisfactory level of reliability, in order to reduce costs during the useful life of the building (das, lashkari & sengupta, 2007). the cost of maintaining and repairing buildings increases exponentially from the time of construction. if regularly inspected and evaluated buildings are neglected, this can lead to exorbitant costs; thus planning a maintenance management system can be especially important in reducing maintenance costs (moriconi & naik, 2010). various maintenance policies are applied in r&m, of which the most well-known and widely used one include emergency maintenance (em), breakdown maintenance (bm), corrective maintenance (cm), preventive maintenance (pm), pre-dictive maintenance (pdm), total productive maintenance (tpm), and proactive maintenance (prm). caballé et al. (2015: 103-105) briefly describe the policies used in this study. em: repair and preparation are done after the first breakdown and there is no prior preparation to deal with them; the experiences gained are neither recorded nor evaluated. bm: the repair process takes place after a breakdown has occurred, but prior preparation has been made for defects, cause, required corrective actions, repair instructions, tools, parts, and other equipment required. cm: after creating signs of a defect that does not cause the equipment to stop, special planning is done to correct the equipment defects and return them to their original state at the appropriate time. pm: maintenance of buildings and equipment at specific intervals and according to a specific schedule. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 90 pdm: at certain intervals, several equipment components such as vibration, pressure and temperature are measured. based on this data, decisions are made to repair or replace parts and equipment. tpm: maintenance is not solely the responsibility of the repairman and is part of the day-to-day maintenance process. prm: effective r&m is done to improve performance, reduce the need for maintenance, and eliminate the causes of failures, and instead of waiting for failures to occur, the management will have taken action previously and be in a good position. different indicators and approaches have been used to select the most appropriate maintenance strategy. due to budget constraints, a systematic approach is needed to more efficiently allocate limited resources to the maintenance and repair system. the maintenance system is not simply a technical process, but a socio-technical problem. therefore, several criteria must be considered and turned into a multi-criteria decision-making (mcdm) problem (das & nakano, 2021). 2.2 repair and maintenance criteria various building codes and regulations have been provided to improve the quality of the building in terms of design, construction, repair, and maintenance. these codes assess building quality based on different criteria. criteria are used to compare and rank maintenance policies; different classifications of these criteria have been proposed (wang, chu & wu, 2007: 152). according to several experts, these criteria are grouped into four main groups: cost, value added, safety, and feasibility (zaim et al., 2012: 18). some criteria such as hardware, software and costs of training, reliability, and equipment reliability are measurable and quantitative; however, others such as safety, flexibility, acceptance by workers, and product quality are qualitative and face problems in measurement. quantitative and qualitative criteria are classified into four main categories: economic, technical, social, and environmental (shafiee, 2015: 380). since the codes related to buildings change over time, according to the costs of buildings, for their proper maintenance and repair, new criteria should be proposed to develop these codes and finally determine the appropriate strategies for maintenance and repair of the building (martin, tognetti & hill, 2016). the main criteria for selecting appropriate maintenance policies that have been most emphasied in previous research are profitability, accessibility, environment, safety, and reliability (sherafat, karimi & davoodi, 2017: 718-719). kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 91 since the scope of this research is iran and according to the existing codes and regulations in the construction sector, articles in the framework of r&m criteria and experts’ opinions, basic criteria in technical, social, economic and environmental fields are addressed (khodayari & abdollahzadeh, 2018: 281-282). 2.3 repair and maintenance strategies and frameworks kheradranjbar et al. (2022) identified and prioritised effective criteria in the maintenance system of residential buildings, using a combination of multicriteria decision-making methods. in the proposed method, first the weight of the criteria was calculated and then the criteria were prioritised, based on multi-criteria fuzzy and non-fuzzy decision-making methods. finally, by considering the ratings obtained from these methods, the final ranking of the criteria was calculated using the average rating and copland method which ranked safety and health criteria the highest (kheradranjbar et al., 2022b). in a study using the ahp method and a likert-based survey, dolphin et al. (2021) prioritised basic policies to determine the relative importance of problems identified in the r&m sector of the hong kong construction industry, and finally recommended policies such as registration of rmaa workers, intensifying monitoring and enforcement, and provision of loan services for safety can overcome problems. zohrehei & mohtashami, (2020) presented a new method for selecting the optimal maintenance strategy based on fuzzy network analysis and ideal fuzzy multi-choice planning. they first calculated the fuzzy weights of the components by fuzzy network analysis method and then prioritized the r&m operation by defining the obtained weights, writing the ideals and the objective function, and fuzzy multi-choice goal programming (zohrehei & mohtashami, 2020). kameli et al. (2020) proposed a system that uses the industry foundation class data structure (ifc) and reader and facility identification database (rfid) to connect the bim model simultaneously and demonstrate the accessible information via the internet on a tablet. this approach provides a general framework for managing the data on maintenance of building facilities. this framework calls for the proposed system for preventive maintenance and reporting based on it. this system was used in a case study of building r&m in a football stadium and the results showed that it is useful for managing its r&m (kameli et al., 2020). mishra et al. (2009) addressed time-based reliability modelling and preventive maintenance planning for residential buildings. their purpose was to reduce the damages caused by the storm, using the gamma process to model random damage to building components. using multi-criteria simulation and decision-making, khodayari and abdollahzadeh (2008) examined an approach to determine appropriate maintenance policies kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 92 and multi-product repairs in a food industry production unit. the main criteria in selecting the r&m policies were profit, productivity, accessibility, environment, safety, and reliability. using a computer simulation and multicriteria decision-making, they selected the best policy for each production line separately. in a study of selection and ranking of optimal suppliers, ejadi maghsoudi et al. (2018) used the swara and topsis multi-criteria decision-making methods. after determining the criteria and decision alternatives for constructing the decision matrix using the past literature, they selected suppliers and then constructed the decision matrix. using the new swara weight method, they obtained the ideal weights of the decision criteria and ranked the suppliers by merging the obtained weights with the help of the topsis method. finally, they concluded that the swara-topsis method can be used as a suitable and accurate tool for ranking and evaluating similar problems. in examining the personnel selection approach in the tourism industry, based on the swara-waspas methods, urosevic et al. (2017) stated that managers should have the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies to make timely decisions to react to the changes that happened in their organisations. they thus presented the linear version of the personnel selection method in the tourism sector, using the swara-waspas methods. the proposed approach was used as well as its efficiency in a numerical example and the results showed that the introduced method has a high validity and the proposed approach can also be used to solve problems in other areas. for purposes of this study, the following thirteen (13) criteria (factors) that affect the r&m of buildings are considered to assess maintenance strategies: safety, health, proper utilisation, energy saving, economic saving, reliability, culture-building, environment, citizenship rights, intelligence, value added, risk, and comfort. out of 13 criteria, 9 criteria were selected with the opinion of supervisors and consultants and provided to experts. these building maintenance and repair criteria have been selected based on their concept of literature and maximum research. finally, the meaning of the final eight criteria is as follows: safety: the degree or degree of distance from danger. in fact, this condition has the potential to damage employees, equipment and buildings, destroy materials or reduce efficiency in performing a predetermined task (golabchi & amiri, 2015: 7). health: providing the physical and mental needs of residents and preventing accidents (hatami et al., 2019: 50). kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 93 proper utilisation: utilisation in the building can be expressed in the sense of efficiency and quality of equipment in providing service and maximum use of equipment, resources, and facilities (bakhtiari, dehghanizadeh & hosseinipour, 2014: 52). energy saving: the sense of changing the pattern of energy consumption by making optimal use of energy resources in a way that does not change economic well-being (naderian & haji mirzaei, 2007: 36). environment: in this study, the environment is the building of a residence in which all components and people living in it and other natural, artificial and social factors that are in contact with each other and affect the process of life in the building (sarmadi & masoumifard, 2016: 39-40). economic savings: the sense of better use of limited resources such as time, cost, etc., by using new methods (bagheri & makarizadeh, 2009: 66). accessibility: the length of time an asset and equipment can be used, if needed. in fact, accessibility indicates how much equipment is available when needed (dhillon, 2008: 60). reliability: this refers to the possibility of a system operating smoothly and correctly under specified and predetermined conditions for a given interval (karbasian, ghandehary & abedi, 2011: 22). to select the most appropriate building maintenance strategy using multicriteria decision-making methods based on the determined criteria, the following widely used net strategies are considered for this study: emergency maintenance (em), breakdown maintenance (bm), corrective maintenance (cm), preventive maintenance (pm), pre-dictive maintenance (pdm), total productive maintenance (tpm), and proactive maintenance (prm). table 1: summary of studies performed author year multi-criteria decision-making method kheradranjbar et al. 2022b use of data envelopment analysis method in evaluating the performance and the efficiency of the maintenance system in buildings dolphin et al. 2021 use the ahp method. prioritise basic policies to determine the relative importance of identified problems in the construction industry maintenance zohrehei and mohtashami 2020 prioritise maintenance strategies using the method fuzzy network analysis and ideal fuzzy multiple choice programming kameli et al. 2020 provide an overall framework for managing data on the maintenance of building facilities mishra et al. 2019 provide preventive maintenance planning for residential buildings using multi-criteria decisionmaking method https://www.sid.ir/en/journal/searchpaper.aspx?writer=318538 https://www.sid.ir/en/journal/searchpaper.aspx?writer=387180 https://www.sid.ir/en/journal/searchpaper.aspx?writer=318539 kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 94 author year multi-criteria decision-making method khodayari and abdollahzadeh 2018 investigating an approach to determine appropriate multi-product net policies ejadi maghsoudi et al. 2018 using swara and topsis methods for selecting and ranking suppliers optimally using multi-criteria decision-making method urosevic et al. 2017 using swara and vaspas methods in examining the personnel selection approach in the tourism industry 3. research design the purpose is to determine the criteria affecting the building r&m system and then select the most appropriate maintenance strategy in buildings, using multi-criteria decision-making methods. a quantitative research design was used, in which a questionnaire survey collected data that allows researchers to generalise their findings from the consensus of a group of experts (brady, 2015: 6). using the delphi study method, survey data were obtained from three rounds. a delphi study conducts a series of rounds to examine divergence and achieve consensus among a group of experts, using controlled feedback, anonymity, statistical aggregation of group responses, and repetition (sourani & soheila, 2014: 56; linstone & turoff, 2002: 11; rajendran, 2006: 110; skulmowski, hartman & kran, 2007: 2-3). in round 1, extracted from sources and existing laws and regulations, nine (9) effective criteria in the r&m system of buildings were identified as the initial factors used to assess maintenance strategies. in this round, experts proposed the accessibility criterion. in rounds 2 and 3, initial and additional factors affecting r&m were identified and rated, using a 5-point likert scale until consensus was reached. likert-scale measurement was used, because statements could be analysed on the mean rating for agreement of experts. statements with the highest rating indicate that most of the experts agree that the factor affects r&m system in buildings. 3.1 sampling and expert panel selection delphi sample sizes depend more on group dynamics in reaching consensus than on their statistical power (okoli & pawlowski, 2004: 19). the target population included specialists and university professors who were members of iran construction engineering organization (irceo). using non-probability sampling and targeted judgemental methods (mashayekhi et al., 2005: 199-204), initially five (5) researchers, including specialists and university professors in the field of building engineering who were members of irceo and active in the field of building maintenance, were nominated to participate in this research. the other members of the panel were introduced through these people. delphi panel members were introduced from construction specialists and prominent university kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 95 professors in the field of building maintenance. all those invited must be members of irceo for at least 5 years, in addition to building maintenance expertise, and finally the number of delphi panel members was 24. all experts responded to rounds one, two and three. in the delphi process, general rules-of-thumb indicate that 14-30 people for a homogeneous population (that is, experts coming from the same discipline such as, for example, specialist members of irceo) are generally considered to be sufficient to achieve consensus (clayton, 1997: 378). 3.2 data collection during july and august 2021, three rounds of data collection, using the delphi method and questionnaires, were performed. questionnaires for each round were distributed and collected electronically via email. in round 1, a list of nine (9) effective criteria (citizenship rights, reliability, energy saving, comfort, environment, economic savings, proper utilisation, health, and safety) for r&m that were extracted from literature was provided to the experts. they were asked to rate the criteria, using a 5-point likert scale, on the importance that it would have on evaluating a building, based on r&m conditions. in addition, they were asked to submit their ideas about other factors not on the list. the accessibility criterion was proposed in this round of the delphi method. in round 2, the factors that were proposed in the first round (accessibility), along with the primary factors (safety, health, proper utilisation, energy saving, economic saving, reliability, environment, citizenship rights, and comfort) extracted from the literature, were included in the questionnaire. in round 2, experts were asked to reconsider their judgement on the issues raised or to state their reasons for disagreement. in all rounds of the delphi process, to determine the importance of the factors affecting the r&m of the building, the following scale was used, where 1 = very low impact (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = low impact (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = medium impact (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = high impact (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = very high impact (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). in round 3, criteria for comfort and citizenship items were introduced with “very low” and “low ratings” and were dropped. consensus and non-consensus items rated “medium”, “high”, and “very high” in rounds 1 and 2 were provided to each panel member. members were requested to rate these factors in terms of their importance in evaluating a building, based on r&m conditions. statistical and qualitative feedback was provided to each expert in round 3. the outcome of round 3 indicated that there was a consensus (tengan & aigbavboa, 2017: 1972) among the experts regarding the building r&m system characteristics, stated in table 4, and thus no need for round 4. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 96 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data 3.3.1 questionnaires analysis descriptive analysis was used for the respondents’ profile information, in which the frequencies and percentages were generated and reported. the kendall coordination coefficient was used after performing three rounds of the delphi method to determine the degree of consensus among panel members. the validity and reliability of the questionnaires were calculated using lawshe (for expert panel validity) and cronbach’s alpha (for questionnaire validity), respectively. content validity rate (cvr) was used to quantify the votes of the panel members. cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (1) where “cvr” is the linear and direct conversion of panel group members who selected the phrase “required”, denotes the number of specialists who answered the “required” option, and ne represents the total number of specialists. if the calculated value is greater than the value in table 2, the content validity of that item is accepted. table 2: minimum cvrt3 and cvr values for different number of panel members minimum acceptable cvr number of panel members 0.99 5 0.99 6 0.99 7 0.78 8 075 9 0.62 10 0.59 11 0.56 12 0.54 13 0.51 14 0.49 15 source: lawshe, 1975: 567-568 3 the cvrt differs from the cvr only in the notation. the “t” designates ‘task’ (lawshe, 1975: 571). kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 97 content validity index (cvi) was used to determine the validity of the questionnaires. the cvi represents the comprehensiveness of judgements about the validity or applicability of the final model, test, or tool. cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (2) “cvr” is the linear and direct conversion of the panel members who selected the phrase “necessary”, and “retained numbers” is the number of remaining items (lawshe, 1975: 567-568). table 2 shows the cvr results related to the numerical mean of the judgements and the results of acceptance or rejection of building maintenance system criteria. 3.3.2 factor and strategy analysis this research applied multi-criteria decision-making methods to prioritise the criteria for factors and strategies that are important to evaluate a building, based on r&m conditions. the multi-criteria decision-making process consists of four basic steps: identification and assessment, weighting, selection of the best option and sensitivity analysis, and selection of the final option. multi-criteria decision-making is a suitable method for analysing the complexities of issues that can be used as an efficient method for comparative assessment of different options with respect to multiple and contrasting aspects (diakoulaki & karangelis, 2007; santoyo-castelazo & azapagic, 2014). one of the advantages of this method is to consider human preferences along with computational issues. operations research techniques such as the multi-criteria decision-making tool (mcdm), which includes multi-criteria decision-making (madm) and multi-objective decision-making (modm) have been developed to assist decision makers for evaluating. in this study, as part of mcdm, the swara decision-making method was used to analyse the factors and strategies that are important to evaluate a building, based on r&m conditions. in this method, the criteria are ranked based on value. accordingly, the most important criterion is ranked first and the least important criterion is ranked last. the swara method provides for weighting the criteria in multi-criteria decision-making problems (keršuliene, zavadskas & turskis, 2010: 245-250). using the swara method, experts each consider their own opinions and information in decision-making (ejadi et al., 2018: 4-5) and each decision maker is involved in assessing his/ her weight and rankings for ranking factors and in the negotiation stage that consists of all participants (zarbakhshnia, soleimani & ghaderi, 2018). in the first step, the research criteria should be extracted from different sources and, in the next steps, these factors should be assessed and the dependent criteria should be removed, in order to finalise the set of criteria. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 98 the final must be factors that are independent of each other. in the next steps, these factors are provided to the experts to determine their rank, whereupon they are placed in the swara method algorithm to extract their weight (keršuliene et al., 2011). 3.3.2.i steps of the swara method step 1: the criteria are categorised in descending order based on expected objectives. step 2: from the second criterion, experts state the relative importance of criterion j in relation to the previous criterion (j-1) and this performs for each specific criterion. this ratio is the comparative significance of the mean value, sj. step 3: the coefficient kj is determined as follows: cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (3) step 4: determine the recalculated weight as follows: cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (4) step 5: the final weight of the assessment criteria is determined as follows: cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (5) this shows the lineage weight of the criterion j and indicates the number of criteria (karabašević, stanujkić & urošević, 2015: 45-46). in this study, as part of madm, the vikor method was used to evaluate and prioritise three out of seven most widely used net r&m strategies in the industry. vikor is a serbian term meaning consensual solution and multi-criteria optimisation. this method was first introduced by opricovic in 1998 and later developed by opricovic and tzeng in 2004 (opricovic & tzeng, 2004: 47-49). the emphasis of this method is on ranking and selecting from a set of options and determining agreed solutions to the problem with conflicting criteria (chen & wang, 2009). the multi-criteria ranking index of this method is the degree of proximity to the ideal option (liu et al., 2014). in recent years, the vikor method and its development as a new solution to multi-criteria decision problems has received much attention. with the help of this method, different options can be ranked based on different criteria. in situations where the decision maker is not able to identify and express the kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 99 advantages of an issue at the time of its initiation and design, this method can be considered an effective tool for decision-making (talon, boissier & lair, 2008). 3.3.2.ii steps of the vikor method in a multi-criteria decision problem with n criteria and m options, the steps of the implementation algorithm to select the best option using the vikor method are: step 1: form a decision matrix and a weight vector of criteria. cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (6) step 2: normalise the decision matrix using equation (5). cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (7) step 3: determine the ideal positive point f* and negative f– for each criterion. cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (8) step 4: determine the utility (si). cvr= n e − n 2 n 2 table 1 table 2 cvi= ∑ cvr1n retained numbers step 3 𝐾𝐾� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑆𝑆� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 4 𝑞𝑞� = � 1 𝑗𝑗 = 1 𝑞𝑞��� 𝐾𝐾�� 𝑗𝑗 > 1 step 5 𝑤𝑤� = 𝑞𝑞� ∑ 𝑞𝑞����� � step 1 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐴𝐴� 𝐴𝐴� ⋮ 𝐴𝐴� 𝑥𝑥� 𝑥𝑥� ⋯ 𝑥𝑥� � 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� ⋯ ⋯ ⋮ ⋯ 𝑥𝑥�� 𝑥𝑥�� ⋮ 𝑥𝑥�� � step 2 𝑟𝑟�� = 𝑥𝑥�� �∑ 𝑥𝑥�� �� � step 3 𝑓𝑓 ∗ = max 𝑓𝑓�� , 𝑓𝑓 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓�� step 4 𝑆𝑆� = � 𝑤𝑤� � ��� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � , 𝑅𝑅� = max �𝑤𝑤� . 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓�� 𝑓𝑓� ∗ − 𝑓𝑓� � � (9) step 5: calculate the vicker index (q) according to equations (10) and (11). step 5 𝑆𝑆 ∗ = min 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑆𝑆 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑅𝑅∗ = min 𝑅𝑅� ; 𝑅𝑅� = max 𝑅𝑅� 𝑄𝑄� = 𝑣𝑣 � 𝑆𝑆� − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑆𝑆 � − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ � + (1 − 𝑣𝑣) � 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ � step 6 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) ≥ 1 1 − 𝑚𝑚 step 7 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) → 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < � 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) � + 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) (10) step 5 𝑆𝑆 ∗ = min 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑆𝑆 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑅𝑅∗ = min 𝑅𝑅� ; 𝑅𝑅� = max 𝑅𝑅� 𝑄𝑄� = 𝑣𝑣 � 𝑆𝑆� − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑆𝑆 � − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ � + (1 − 𝑣𝑣) � 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ � step 6 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) ≥ 1 1 − 𝑚𝑚 step 7 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) → 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < � 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) � + 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) (11) step 6: in the final step of the victor technique, the options are sorted into three groups from small to large, based on the values of r, q, and s. the best option is to have the smallest q if the following two conditions are met: condition one: if options a1 and a2 are ranked first and second among m, then relation (12) must be established. step 5 𝑆𝑆 ∗ = min 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑆𝑆 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑅𝑅∗ = min 𝑅𝑅� ; 𝑅𝑅� = max 𝑅𝑅� 𝑄𝑄� = 𝑣𝑣 � 𝑆𝑆� − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑆𝑆 � − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ � + (1 − 𝑣𝑣) � 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ � step 6 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) ≥ 1 1 − 𝑚𝑚 step 7 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) → 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < � 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) � + 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) (12) kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 100 condition two: option a1 must be recognised as the top rank in at least one of the groups r and s. if the first condition is not met, both options will be the best option. if the second condition is not met, options a1 and a2 are both selected as the top option. step 7: if condition one is not established, a set of options will be selected as the top option. step 5 𝑆𝑆 ∗ = min 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑆𝑆 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑅𝑅∗ = min 𝑅𝑅� ; 𝑅𝑅� = max 𝑅𝑅� 𝑄𝑄� = 𝑣𝑣 � 𝑆𝑆� − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑆𝑆 � − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ � + (1 − 𝑣𝑣) � 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ � step 6 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) ≥ 1 1 − 𝑚𝑚 step 7 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) → 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < � 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) � + 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑚𝑚𝑏𝑏𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑣𝑏𝑏 = 𝐴𝐴�, 𝐴𝐴�, … , 𝐴𝐴� (13) the maximum value of m is calculated according to the following equation: step 5 𝑆𝑆 ∗ = min 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑆𝑆 � = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑆𝑆� ; 𝑅𝑅∗ = min 𝑅𝑅� ; 𝑅𝑅� = max 𝑅𝑅� 𝑄𝑄� = 𝑣𝑣 � 𝑆𝑆� − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑆𝑆 � − 𝑆𝑆 ∗ � + (1 − 𝑣𝑣) � 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ 𝑅𝑅� − 𝑅𝑅∗ � step 6 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) ≥ 1 1 − 𝑚𝑚 step 7 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) − 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) → 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) < � 1 (𝑛𝑛 − 1) � + 𝑄𝑄(𝐴𝐴� ) (14) 4. results and discussion 4.1 experts profile table 3 shows the composition and characteristics of panel members to determine the criteria. most (41.6%) of the experts have construction expertise; 62.5% of the experts had a ph.d. degree, and 37.5% of the experts had an m.sc. degree. table 3: composition and characteristics of panel members expertise m.sc. p.hd. frequency % field of activity of panel members electricity 1 1 4.1 faculty member of islamic azad university, karaj machinery 1 1 4.1 faculty member of tehran university traffic 1 1 2 8.3 member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization kordestan faculty member of islamic azad university kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 101 expertise m.sc. p.hd. frequency % field of activity of panel members construction 4 6 10 41.6 faculty member of yazd university faculty member of islamic azad university karaj faculty member of islamic azad university karaj faculty member of islamic azad university karaj faculty member of islamic azad university uromia faculty member of islamic azad university robat-karim member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization golestan member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization zanjan member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization karaj member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization south korasan architecture 1 2 3 12.5 faculty member of semnan university faculty member of islamic azad university hashtgerd member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization elam environment 1 1 4.1 member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization karaj repair and maintenance 1 1 2 8.3 faculty member of islamic azad university tehran member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization uromia mechanics 1 1 4.1 faculty member of islamic azad university karaj urbanism 1 1 2 8.3 faculty member of islamic azad university karaj lecturer at sama college karaj surveying 1 1 4.1 member of the board of directors of the building engineering system organization khozestan total 9 15 24 62.5 ph.d. 37.5 m.sc. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 102 4.2 factor and strategy results and discussion in this study, the kendall coordination coefficient was used to determine the degree of consensus among panel members. in round 2, the kendall coefficient was 0.581 and cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.831 in the questionnaires. in round 3, based on the average opinion of the experts (ms rating), the criteria that had little and very little effect in round 2 were removed and expert opinions were asked again about the importance of the criteria. finally, in round 3, with mean score ratings above 3.41, eight (8) parameters were accepted as assessment criteria of maintenance system (see table 4). the kendall coordination coefficient for the members’ responses to the order of the eight criteria is 0.603 and the cronbach’s alpha coefficient is 0.707, which has not grown significantly in two consecutive rounds and shows the consensus among the members. the difference between kendall coefficient in rounds 2 and 3 was 0.022. in addition, professors and experts confirmed the apparent or formal validity of the questionnaires. although lawshe’s proposed method states that the minimum number of members to determine the content validity is 4 people, in this study, 14 experts were selected to ensure the results. then, by calculating the cvr, the content validity index of cvi = 0.80 was obtained, so the validity of the questions is confirmed (lawshe, 1975: 567-571). table 4: detailed description of the results in round 3 n um be r f ac to rs kendall = 0.603, cronbach’s alpha = 0.707 cvi = 0.80, ∑ cvr = 6.4 f re qu en cy m ea n s d m in . m ax . im po rt an ce (m ea n) f re qu en cy c v r a ve ra ge n um be r of ju dg em en ts a cc ep t o r re je ct 1 safety 24 4.92 0.282 4 5 1 14 1 3 accept 2 health 24 4.12 0.282 4 5 2 14 1 3 accept 3 accessibility 24 4.00 0.417 3 5 5 14 0.85 2.85 accept 4 proper utilisation 24 4.04 0.359 3 5 4 14 0.85 2.92 accept 5 economic savings 24 3.17 0.381 3 4 8 14 0.71 2.85 accept 6 environment 24 4.08 0.408 3 5 3 14 0.71 2.85 accept 7 energy saving 24 3.75 0.608 3 5 6 14 0.57 2.78 accept 8 reliability 24 3.71 0.464 3 4 7 14 0.71 2.85 accept considering the general consensus on the criteria raised in relation to the factors affecting r&m, in the next step, experts determined the importance of each criterion. then to increase the accuracy using the swara method the weight of each parameter was assessed and finally the rank of each index was determined. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 103 first, the criteria were ranked according to the opinion of experts and then the coefficient was calculated using the formula expressed in the third step (see 3.3.2.i). then the weight and the final weight were recalculated based on the fourth and fifth steps (see 3.3.2.i), respectively, the results of which are shown in table 5. table 5: calculation of criteria weight for swara method criteria rank sj kj=sj+1 wj=(xj-1)/kj qi=wj/sum(wj) safety 1 0 1.0 1 0.31 health 2 0.3492 1.3 0.7412 0.23 environment 3 0.4483 1.4 0.5118 0.16 proper utilisation 4 0.4458 1.4 0.3540 0.11 accessibility 5 0.4929 1.5 0.2371 0.07 energy saving 6 0.4746 1.5 0.1608 0.05 reliability 7 0.4813 1.5 0.1085 0.03 economic savings 8 0.3975 1.4 0.0777 0.02 in this test, safety with the most important criterion with the rank of 1 and economic savings with the least important criterion was introduced. examining the values in table 5, it was observed that the rank of safety, health and environment criteria have a higher priority, which indicates the high importance of these criteria compared to other criteria. since the data entered into the methods used were reviewed based on the experts’ opinions, the results can be used for the building m&r system. in the next step, using the swara method, the maintenance strategies of the building were ranked using the experts’ opinions and based on its efficiency and application in the construction industry and the conditions of iran, so that appropriate maintenance strategies were selected. table 6 shows the results. table 6: calculating the weight of strategies for swara method strategy rank sj kj=sj+1 wj=(xj-1)/kj qi=wj/sum(wj) emergency maintenance (em) 1 0 1 1 0.377 breakdown maintenance (bm) 2 0.673 1.67 0.597 0.225 corrective maintenance (cm) 3 0.743 1.74 0.342 0.129 preventive maintenance (pm) 4 0.44 1.44 0.238 0.089 pre-dictive maintenance (pdm) 5 0.26 1.26 0.188 0.071 total productive maintenance (tpm) 6 0.227 1.22 0.154 0.058 proactive maintenance (prm) 7 0.19 1.19 0.129 0.048 according to the results in table 6, it was found that three strategies, namely emergency maintenance (em), breakdown maintenance (bm), and corrective maintenance (cm), have the highest priority in the maintenance kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 104 system of buildings. therefore, these three strategies with higher priority are considered the main strategies of building r&m. by calculating the effective weight of each criterion by the swara method, in order to prevent the dependence of research results on the personal tastes and judgements of experts in the forward research approach, prioritisation and selection of appropriate maintenance and building strategies was determined using the vikor method (zhang & wei, 2013). the vikor method was used for this purpose, according to the weight of the criteria obtained for ranking and selecting the appropriate strategy for r&m of the building. table 7 shows the results of the criteria weight and the ideal surface distance from the options. table 7: criteria weight and ideal surface distance from option criterion weight criterion distance from the ideal surface emergency maintenance (em) breakdown maintenance corrective maintenance (cm) safety 0.31 0.31 0 0.100146 health 0.23 0.23 0 0.026816 accessibility 0.07 0.16 0 0.048299 proper utilisation 0.11 0.11 0 0.03472 economic savings 0.05 0 0.07 0.031041 environment 0.16 0.05 0 0.021831 energy saving 0.02 0 0.03 0.017283 reliability 0.03 0.02 0 0.008568 si 0.88 0.1 0.288705 ri 0.31 0.07 0.100146 the ranking of building r&m strategies are arranged based on the values of three utility criteria (s, regret (r) and vikor index (q) with size (v = 0.5) (see 3.3.2.ii). table 8 shows the calculation results. table 8: ranking of building maintenance strategies based on r, s and q criteria strategy rank based on s rank based on r rank based on q value rating value rating value rating emergency maintenance (em) 0.88 3 0.31 3 1 3 breakdown maintenance (bm) 0.1 1 0.07 1 0 1 corrective maintenance (cm) 0.288 3 0.334 3 1 3 as can be noted in table 8, considering that condition one is not established, a set of options are selected as the top option, according to the seventh step (see 3.3.2.ii) of the reform strategies, breakdown maintenance (bm) and corrective maintenance (cm) considered the top options of maintenance system in buildings. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 105 5. conclusion and recommendations selecting appropriate r&m criteria for building assessment is a matter of strategic decision-making. managers can prioritise and select the characteristics of the building maintenance system based on the decisionmaking methods described in this article. multi-criteria decision models can be placed in the framework of the decision-making approach (principled, analytical, behavioural, and instructional). that is, managers who use definite non-fuzzy models use a guiding approach, and when they use probabilistic and fuzzy models, they use an analytical approach. in this study, using the delphi method, eight effective criteria in maintenance of buildings were identified and the impact of seven maintenance systems in the construction industry were ranked using multi-criteria decisionmaking techniques. to select the appropriate strategy for r&m of buildings, the eight criteria were compared and ranked by experts on a 5-point likert scale and then, using the swara method, the criteria were weighted as part of the process of selecting the best option among the options for better and more efficient decision-making. thus, these methods were used to calculate the weights of decision-making criteria and ranking and final selection. by comparing the criteria, it was determined that the safety criterion has the highest priority and that the criteria of health, environment, and proper utilisation have the second to fourth ranks. finally, with the knowledge of the results of prioritisation of eight criteria, the vikor method was used to select the best appropriate building r&m strategy from the seven maintenance systems and it was found that the strategies emergency corrective maintenance (cm) and breakdown maintenance (bm) are the best strategies in the building r&m system. this allows engineers, specialists, and planners to decide on a strategy for the building maintenance system. this strategy should be determined according to the safety criteria as the highest priority. its sub-criteria should be considered more carefully in the maintenance system. it is suggested that managers and maintenance specialists assess the buildings by determining sub-criteria based on the eight criteria, in order to ensure that the r&m process of the building moves in line with the predetermined goals. it is also suggested for further research, in order to reduce the method error and approach the models and more realistic methods, using fuzzy decisionmaking methods. conducting this study was accompanied by some limitations that can be pointed out: the lack of proper knowledge among those involved in the r&m of buildings, about the subject of the research, which made the work difficult for cooperation. kheradranjbar, mohammadi & rafiee 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 86-111 106 references bagheri, f. & makarizadeh, v. 2009. analysis of building saving opportunities from economic and environmental perspectives. 7th national conference on energy (energy sustainability. supply security, demand management and consumption pattern modification), tehran, pp. 64-67. https://civilica.com/ doc/92171. 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[in farsi] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2018.01.023 https://doi.org/10.1177%2f1748006x19850702 https://doi.org/10.1177%2f1748006x19850702 https://doi.org/10.1177%2f1748006x19850702 https://doi.org/10.1177%2f1748006x19850702 https://doi.org/10.1177%2f1748006x19850702 _hlk105545070 _hlk101980577 _hlk101907055 _hlk103848506 _hlk95842097 _hlk103849808 _hlk95841371 _hlk95838061 _hlk95838149 _hlk105549834 _hlk95841546 _hlk95842755 _hlk88170451 _hlk95866914 _hlk101978093 _hlk105612442 _hlk101905382 _hlk61819974 _hlk63901517 _hlk67780548 _hlk88177008 _hlk101908366 _hlk94290886 _hlk105969255 _hlk105613425 _hlk94291645 _hlk94290794 _hlk94291713 1 how to cite: ola-awo, w., alayande, a., olarewaju, g. & oyewobi, l. 2021. critical success factors for effective internal construction stakeholder management in nigeria. acta structilia, 28(1), pp. 1-31. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels wasiu ola-awo dr wasiu adeniran ola-awo, lecturer, federal university of technology, minna, nigeria, pmb. 65, minna, niger state, nigeria. phone: +2348062382854, email: <olaade4u2006@gmail.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-6709-1352 aisha alayande aisha alayande, student, federal university of technology, minna, nigeria, pmb. 65, minna, niger state, nigeria. phone: 07010032567, email: <aishaalans92@gmail.com> ganiyu olarewaju dr ganiyu olarewaju bashir, lecturer, federal university of technology, minna, nigeria, pmb. 65, minna, niger state, nigeria. phone: 08036269235, email: <bashiroganiyu@futminna.edu.ng> luqman oyewobi dr luqman oyekunle oyewobi, lecturer, federal university of technology, minna, nigeria, pmb. 65, minna, niger state, nigeria. phone: +2348033823132, email: <l.oyewobi@futminna.edu.ng> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4492-2694 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2021 28(1): 1-31 critical success factors for effective internal construction stakeholder management in nigeria received: september 2020 peer reviewed and revised: february 2021 published: june 2021 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract in developing countries such as nigeria, stakeholder management (sm) practice is weak. the weakness of this practice often inhibits project goals in terms of time and cost overruns, disputes and lack of trust among the stakeholders. this article reports the results of a study on critical factors for successful sm in construction projects in nigeria, in order to suggest ways to enhance project performance. the study employed a quantitative survey research design, using self-administered questionnaires distributed to construction practitioners (quantity surveyors, architects, engineers, builders and project managers) on construction sites in two selected geo-political zones of nigeria. the collected data was analysed, using descriptive and inferential statistics. the results indicated that seven critical factors are important to successful sm in the research environment. these include engagement of competent project leaders and team members, effective communication, promoting good relationships, formulating a clear project mission statement, management support, and a good sm http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:olaade4u2006%40gmail.com?subject= https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6709-1352 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6709-1352 mailto:aishaalans92%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:bashiroganiyu%40futminna.edu.ng?subject= mailto:bashiroganiyu%40futminna.edu.ng?subject= https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4492-2694 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4492-2694 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.1 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 2 strategy which are instructive to improve sm. the study recommends the prioritisation of competency in the selection of project teams, effective relationship management and improved information dissemination during construction as the precursors of successful sm and project performance. stakeholders must be adequately identified and analysed to ensure that they are competent for the contract and appropriate for the job. construction practitioners, especially project leaders, could use identified critical success factors (csfs) as a road map in the development of appropriate solutions for successfully managing stakeholders associated in the nigerian construction industry. keywords: construction projects, critical success factors, nigeria, stakeholder management, stakeholder relationship abstrak in ontwikkelende lande soos nigerië, is die praktyk van belanghebbendes bestuur (bb) swak. die swakheid van hierdie praktyk belemmer projekdoelwitte in terme van tyden koste-oorskryding, geskille en gebrek aan vertroue onder die belanghebbendes. hierdie artikel rapporteer die resultate van ‘n studie oor kritieke faktore vir suksesvolle bb in konstruksieprojekte in nigerië, ten einde maniere voor te stel om die prestasie van projekte te verbeter. die studie het gebruik gemaak van ‘n kwantitatiewe navorsingsontwerp vir opnames met behulp van vraelyste wat self toegedien is aan konstruksiepraktisyns (bourekenaars, argitekte, ingenieurs, bouers en projekbestuurders) op konstruksieterreine in twee geselekteerde geografiese sones van nigerië. die versamelde data is geanaliseer met behulp van beskrywende en afleidende statistieke. die resultate het aangedui dat sewe kritieke faktore belangrik is vir suksesvolle bb in die navorsingsomgewing. dit sluit in die betrokkenheid van bekwame projekleiers en spanlede, effektiewe kommunikasie, die bevordering van goeie verhoudings, die formulering van ‘n duidelike missie van die projek, bestuursteun en ‘n goeie strategie vir die bb wat insiggewend is om bb te verbeter. die studie beveel die prioriteit van bekwaamheid by die keuse van projekspanne, effektiewe verhoudingsbestuur en verbeterde verspreiding van inligting tydens konstruksie aan as voorlopers van suksesvolle bb en projekprestasie. belanghebbendes moet voldoende geïdentifiseer en ontleed word om te verseker dat hulle bekwaam is vir die kontrak en toepaslik is vir die werk. boupraktisyns, veral projekleiers, kan geïdentifiseerde kritieke suksesfaktore (gks’s) as ‘n padkaart gebruik in die ontwikkeling van toepaslike oplossings vir die suksesvolle bestuur van belanghebbendes verbonde aan die nigeriese konstruksiebedryf. sleutelwoorde: bouprojekte, bestuur van belanghebbendes, kritieke suksesfaktore, nigerië, verhouding met belanghebbendes 1. introduction due to its complex nature, the construction industry requires the input of various stakeholders such as clients, consultants, designers, builders, suppliers, lawyers, financiers, and end-users (winch, 2010). these parties often share their experiences, knowledge, and insights to accomplish the project (aaltonen, jaakko & tuomas, 2008: 509). they may have varying interests that could lead to disagreements among project teams during project execution, and, ultimately, to adverse effects on the performance of projects. the survival of the construction organisation and the continuously gain of a competitive advantage of the firm rest on effective stakeholder management (sm) (el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 157). the success of ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 3 any project depends very much on fulfilling these stakeholders’ needs and expectations (aaltonen et al., 2008: 510; chinyio & akintoye, 2008: 591). globally, the construction industry has a poor record of sm compared to other sectors such as manufacturing (olander & landin, 2008: 553). this is due to a dearth of an elaborate tool to manage sm performance in construction projects (oppong, chan & dansoh, 2017: 1037). in addition, for a project to be successfully completed, the services of various stakeholders are required. these stakeholders originate from different professions, cultures and educational backgrounds, which could be responsible for divergent goals and expectations and consequently lead to challenges associated with managing project stakeholders (li, lu & peng, 2011: 9705). in construction projects, poor sm leads to problems such as inadequate resources assigned to the project, poor scope and work definition, poor communication, changes in the scope of work, and unforeseen regulatory changes, which result in project delays and cost overruns (el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 157; eyiah-botwe, aigbavboa & thwala, 2016: 154; nauman & piracha, 2016: 5; yang, shen, ho, drew & chan, 2009: 337). in nigeria, many construction projects could not achieve the set goals, due to weaknesses in sm, leading to a poor relationship, poor delivery, and disputes among the stakeholders (ekung, okonkwo, odesola, 2014: 101). most of the studies in nigeria focus on barriers to effective sm in the delivery of multifarious infrastructure projects. these barriers include failure to understand stakeholders’ needs and expectations; uncooperative attitude of stakeholders; failure to identify key stakeholders; failure to identify potential conflict areas, project manager’s poor knowledge of sm (zarewa, 2019: 85); lack of continuity in stakeholder management process; lack of clear definition or agreement as to who should be responsible for stakeholder management (molwus, 2014); civil unrest and lack of political stability; change in bye-laws and regulations; delays in site handover; delays in inspection and approval; financial problems, and non-adherence to specifications (yahaya, kasimu, shittu & saidu, 2018: 87). in addition, a lack of established critical success factors (csfs) for managing internal project stakeholders is responsible for most of the problems associated with construction projects in nigeria (molwus, 2014). a number of studies have been conducted to explore csfs for stakeholder management, especially in developed countries and a few in developing countries (eyiah-botwe et al., 2016: 153). none of these studies was conducted within the nigerian context (molwus, 2014). the absence of specific and significant studies on internal sm within the context of the nigerian construction industry validated this study. it is, therefore, important to identify success factors critical for successful internal acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 4 sm, in order to suggest ways to improve project performance in the nigerian construction industry. identification of csfs may assist project managers, who are responsible for overseeing sm activities, and project management to improve the performance and processes of sm. the findings would also assist construction managers in overcoming the challenges associated with sm and help manage relationships with stakeholders in the construction process in nigeria. 2. literature review 2.1 concept of project stakeholder there are various definitions of the concept ‘project stakeholder’. li et al. (2011: 9705) and freeman (1984: 49) define stakeholders as any individual, group, or organisation that may influence the performance of an organisation or a project, or whose interest is affected by the outcomes of the organisation’s objectives. oppong et al. (2017: 1038), citing freeman (1984), affirmed that the concept ‘stakeholder’ originated at the stanford research institute through an international memorandum in 1963. since then, the stakeholder notion has been presented in four main domains: corporate planning, systems theory, corporate social responsibility, and organisational theory. studies have classified stakeholders into external (secondary) and internal (primary) stakeholders (freeman, 1984; nilson & fagerström, 2006: 169; winch, 2010: 75; el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 158). external stakeholders have a public or special interest stake in the organisation or project (nilson & fagerström, 2006: 169), but less direct involvement, nevertheless sometimes extremely influential. in other words, external stakeholders are not directly connected with the project or the business, and there is no formal contractual bond with the project or th organisation nor direct legal authority over the organisation or the project, but they have a public or special interest stake in the project or the organisation (e.g., neighbours, local community, as well as public and local authorities) (freeman, 1984; nilson & fagerström, 2006: 169; el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 158). primary or internal stakeholders have a direct stake in the organisation and its success (nilson & fagerström, 2006: 169). examples are owners, customers, and suppliers (chinyio & olomolaiye, 2010: 3; el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 158). internal stakeholders have formal, official, or contractual relationships with the organisation and sometimes invest something of value in a firm in the form of capital, human, or financial aid (olander, 2003: 5). without their participation, the organisation cannot survive. internal stakeholders are active decision-makers, who must be ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 5 involved in all phases of the project, and their involvement greatly influences the success of the project (buertey, amofa & atsrim, 2016: 118). this article adapted freeman’s (1984) definition and winch’s (2010) classification, because they are globally cited by many authors (oppong et al., 2017: 1038). in the construction industry, there is a strong emphasis on the internal stakeholder relationship, such as procurement and site management, while the external stakeholder relationships are hardly considered. this article focuses on the internal stakeholder management perceptions. 2.2 stakeholder management in construction projects sm refers to effective relationships with stakeholders (el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 158; lim, ahn & lee, 2005: 831). freeman (1984) developed an sm framework that includes the process of identifying key stakeholders and winning their support (olander, 2003: 5). due to the fragmented nature of the construction industry, project activities are handled by different stakeholders who have different interests indirectly or directly in the project. a series of complex activities are involved during each phase of a construction project, in which stakeholders have a decisive role to play. proper management of the participating stakeholders (olander, 2003: 5; eskerod & jepsen, 2013) is important for construction projects to be successful; therefore, sm is designed to curtail stakeholder activities that might adversely affect the project. studies acknowledge the benefits of sm, which include the help to integrate managerial concerns that are frequently treated separately; to influence the projects’ outcomes positively, and to select realistic options, in order to maximise the ultimate project value (el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015: 158; oppong et al., 2017: 1037; yang, shen & ho, 2009: 160). in project execution, clients, end-users, public authorities, and other stakeholders have high expectations or demands. when their demands and expectations are met, mutual stakeholder satisfaction is achieved, which is an important indicator of the success of a construction project (nauman & piracha, 2016: 2; oppong et al., 2017: 1040). nauman and piracha (2016: 2) asserted that the project stakeholders may have either a positive or a negative impact on the success of projects. persistent stakeholder opposition may lead to delays and project failures. stakeholders’ obstruction or controversies during the design and implementation of the project may lead to time and cost overruns and poor quality, due to conflicts. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 6 furthermore, nauman and piracha (2016: 3) affirmed that integrating and managing the relationships and interests of shareholders to accomplish a successful project delivery is the central task in sm. at any time during project execution, some stakeholders have so much power that they can interfere, change the scope, and disturb the progress of the work. olander and landin (2008: 553) as well as chinyio and akintoye (2008) believe that different individuals and groups of stakeholders can influence the outcome of projects. stakeholders should be recognised based on their influence on the project outcomes. it can be inferred from the above statements that the stakeholders have resources and information to influence project outcomes. therefore, if there is no plan for sm in projects, this could not only create unexpected problems, but also cause uncertainty as to the completion of the project. many project problems could be overcome, if the stakeholders are actively engaged in early planning and integrated into the project team, and if a systematic approach is used to identify and manage stakeholders in the project delivery process. 2.3 critical factors for successful stakeholder management in construction csfs can be defined as areas of activities and practices that require satisfactory results, in order to ensure successful competitive performance for sm, the organisation and/or the construction project (rockart, 1979; yang et al., 2009: 337; winch, 2010; waghmare, bhalerao & wagh, 2016: 49). studies affirmed that csfs implications are limited to the specific environment in which they are established (toor & ogunlana, 2009: 149; yong & mustaffa, 2013: 959). the weakness in sm practices, due to lack of csfs, often inhibits project goals in terms of time and cost overruns, disputes and poor relationship among stakeholders (cleland, 1995). nilson and fagerström (2006: 169) as well as bourne and walker (2006: 650) highlighted the process of managing stakeholders. this process consists of identifying relevant stakeholders and their relation to the system; determining stakeholders’ needs and specifying the nature of their interests; measuring stakeholders’ interest, by establishing the stakeholder and requirement matrix; balancing the stakeholder requirement, by predicting the future behaviour to satisfy the stake; managing the influence of stakeholders’ behaviour on the project, and evaluating the participants. stakeholders possess three attributes, namely power, legitimacy, and urgency, which continuously change in a manager-stakeholder relationship. studies identified various factors that contribute to the successful management of stakeholders in construction projects in various countries. ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 7 for instance, yang et al. (2009: 337) in hong kong; li et al. (2011: 9705) in china; eyiah-botwe et al. (2016: 153) as well as amoatey and hayibor (2017:146) in ghana; el-naway, mahdi, badwy and al-deen (2015: 10651) in egypt; olander and landin (2008: 553) in sweden, and el-sawalhi and hammad (2015: 157) in the gaza strip. in hong kong construction projects, yang et al. (2009: 338) as well as yang, shen, drew and ho (2010: 778) developed a set of 15 csfs to be applied by project managers to ensure that stakeholders are effectively managed, under five main categories, namely precondition factor; stakeholder estimation; information inputs; decision-making, and sustainable support. yang et al. (2009: 337) found that the three top-ranked factors influencing sm are managing stakeholders with social responsibilities; assessing the stakeholders’ constraints and project needs, and frequently communicating with stakeholders. from the perspective of the project managers (pm), yang et al. (2010) identified social responsibilities, information input, and prompt communication as three vital csfs for sm. yang et al. (2009: 160) asserted that top management support is vital for effective stakeholder engagement. this study’s findings mainly reflect the sm environments in two regions where the studies were conducted. similarly, li et al. (2011: 143) studied the hierarchical groupings of 16 csfs for sm, based on a chinese case study. the study was conducted on local government construction projects and identified managing stakeholders with social responsibility, frequent communication with properly engaged stakeholder, as well as promoting and keeping a good relationship as csfs for sm in construction projects. they affirmed that, in order to cope with the uncertainties and complexities of construction, a flexible project organisation is required, through flexible project administration of recruiting personnel to achieve project objectives. eyiah-botwe et al. (2016: 153) identified five csfs for sm for the ghanaian construction industry, using 60 respondents, comprising both internal and external stakeholders. based on the descriptive analysis conducted, they found that early stakeholders’ identification; project managers’ competence; managing culture and political environment; formal sm process, and communication were highly ranked success factors. they believed that the cultural and political environment plays a vital role in stakeholder interest; a public project without political support would experience a setback. to develop a methodology for sm to achieve success on a construction project in egypt, el-naway et al. (2015: 10658) identified ten factors that have a great impact on effective sm. among the factors identified are prioritising stakeholders based on their influence and power on the project; analysing stakeholders with social responsibilities; formulating appropriate strategies to manage stakeholders, as well as defining and formulating a clear acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 8 statement and project missions. other factors identified were exploring stakeholders’ needs and constraints in projects; identifying stakeholders; ensuring effective communication for all project stakeholders; promoting a good relationship with stakeholders; understanding stakeholders’ areas of interests; building trust between project top management, and involving all the stakeholders in the project. in addition, amoatey and hayibor (2017: 143) conducted a study at local government-level projects in ghana to investigate the csfs for effective project sm. the study respondents were 92 (internal and external) stakeholders. the five top csfs identified were communicating with participating stakeholders; identifying stakeholders properly; formulating a clear project mission statement; keeping and promoting good relationships, and analysing stakeholder conflicts and coalitions. in a study conducted in the gaza strip on the factors affecting the sm process in construction projects, el-sawalhi and hammad (2015: 167) revealed that the top five factors affecting sm are engaging highly competent project managers; clearly assessing the alternative solution; ensuring effective communication between the project and its stakeholder; examining the stakeholders’ expectations and needs, as well as setting common project goals and objectives. in a study conducted in nigeria on factors influencing construction community sm outcome, results indicated that regulatory requirements and public expectations, location of projects, effect of cumulative development, poverty, and lack of information disclosure are some of the high-ranking factors influencing engagement performance. in a comparative study of factors affecting the external project sm of two railway development projects in sweden, olander and landin (2008: 553) identified five crucial factors for implementing external project sm, namely communicating benefits and negative impacts; analysing stakeholder concerns and needs; evaluating alternative solutions; media relations, and project organisation. in a study conducted in pakistan on project sm, nauman and piracha (2016: 1) identified effective communication among all project stakeholders, exploring stakeholders’ needs and constraints to projects were ranked first and second. chinyio and akintoye (2008: 591) affirmed that the provision of top-level management support; responding to power interest dynamism; maintaining existing relationships; being proactive; negotiations, and trade-offs, among others, are crucial for a successful sm engagement. abd-karim, abdul-rahman, berawi and jaapar (2007: 15) reviewed literature on the strategies and issues of sm in the construction industry. they concluded that vital features of successful sm are significant leadership and commitment of the management and their organisation; better interactions and relationships through communications and ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 9 understandings; alignment of values, motivations, and incentives for the stakeholders, and the advancement of assessment of the influences, interests and importance of stakeholders. furthermore, promoting a good relationship among the project team is another critical factor for the successful delivery of projects and for meeting stakeholder expectations. a construction project requires various contracting parties to realise its objectives and this feature makes it prone to conflicts, most especially in traditionally procured projects for lack of trust. therefore, to build and maintain a good relationship, interests such as reliable behaviour; good communication; sincerity; competence; integrity; commitment, and benevolence must be present and these lead to effective sm (karlsen, græe & massaoud, 2008: 7). trust and commitment among stakeholders can be built and maintained through good relationships and these are vital ingredients for effective sm. trust encourages the exchange of vital information and determines whether team members are willing to permit others to influence their decisions and actions that will serve as problemsolving. reliable behaviour is vital for trust-building and is important in sm, although trust may be lost through inconsistent behaviour. studies by, among others, jergeas, eng, williamson, skulmoski and thomas (2000: 121), karlsen et al. (2008: 7), as well as olander and landin (2008: 553) recognised that communication is a vital csf that encourages an effective relationship between the stakeholders and the project team. on the other hand, rowlinson and cheung (2008: 612) affirmed that stakeholder relationship management success depends on a well-defined communication strategy. jergeas et al. (2000: 121) believed that two factors are crucial for improving stakeholders’ performance in a developmental project, namely effective communication, common goals and objectives setting, and project priorities among stakeholders. regular and effective communication is necessary within all project teams for project success (el-naway et al., 2015: 10651). furthermore, aaltonen et al. (2008: 510) affirmed that the most crucial factor in project sm is relationship management. it is essential to understand the nature of the relationship between contract parties, as their interactions will aid the system (abd-karim et al., 2007: 3). when stakeholders understand each other’s views, it strengthens the relationships, thus preventing assumptions and preconceived ideas. the success of any project depends on the relationship management skills of the project leader(s). stakeholders’ attitude is another vital factor for the success of stakeholders in a project, as it influences their support of, or opposition to the project (amoatey & hayibor, 2017: 146; nguyen, skitmore, wong & kwok, 2009: 1129). the planning and design stages in projects require the involvement of all key stakeholders. the proper identification of stakeholders during the acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 10 project design stage allows for better understanding of their needs and increases the likelihood of meeting the goals of a project’s stakeholders (amoatey & hayibor, 2017: 151). stakeholder knowledge is another driver that has an impact on projects. the more knowledgeable a stakeholder is, the more the understanding about the project. stakeholder knowledge may range from full awareness to total ignorance (nguyen et al., 2009: 1134). a clear mission identification is another vital ingredient for effective sm (amoatey & hayibor, 2017: 151). the formation of a clear mission statement is an essential requirement for effective sm and project success. moreover, a construction project is associated with conflicts. whenever there is a disagreement, the ability to analyse conflicts and coalitions among stakeholders is a vital ingredient for sm (yang et al., 2009: 340; freeman 1984). table 1 summarises the sm’s critical success factors cited by the previous researchers. table 1: summary of stakeholder management’s critical success factors cited in previous studies csfs source effective communication with stakeholders el-naway et al., 2015; amoatey & hayibor, 2017; el-sawalhi & salah hammad, 2015; eyiah-botwe et al., 2016; yang et al., 2009; jergeas et al., 2000; waghmare et al., 2016 openness and building of trust el-naway et al., 2015; karlsen et al., 2008 clarity of stakeholders’ roles el-naway et al., 2015 management support zakuan et al., 2012 managing stakeholders with corporate social responsibilities yang et al., 2009; el-naway et al., 2015 commitment among stakeholders abd-karim et al., 2007; nauman & piracha, 2016 promoting a good relationship amoatey & hayibor, 2017; nauman & piracha, 2016; el-naway et al., 2015; yang et al., 2009 compromising interests and conflicts amoatey & hayibor, 2017; yang et al., 2009 resolving conflicts among stakeholders effectively yang et al., 2009; chinyio & akintoye, 2008 ability to identify and analyse potential conflicts and coalitions among stakeholders amoatey & hayibor, 2017; yang et al., 2009 understanding the area of interest of each stakeholder el-naway et al. 2015; yang et al., 2009 good understanding of the project task, goals and objectives, by setting common goal and objective. el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015; jergeas et al., 2000 ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 11 csfs source proper identification of the stakeholders (project team) buertey et al., 2016; amoatey & hayibor, 2017; eyiah-botwe et al., 2016; el-naway et al., 2015; yang et al., 2009 ability to formulate appropriate strategies for managing stakeholders buertey et al., 2016; el-naway et al., 2015 timely engagement or involvement of all stakeholders buertey et al., 2016 determining stakeholders’ requirements (needs), expectation and constraints buertey et al., 2016; yang et al., 2009; nauman & piracha, 2016; el-naway et al., 2015 ability to assess stakeholders’ behaviour/ attitude and reaction amoatey & hayibor, 2017; yang et al., 2009 formulating a clear project mission statement amoatey & hayibor, 2017; el-naway et al., 2015; jerges et al., 2000 engaging a competent project leader and team el-sawalhi & hammad, 2015; eyiah-botwe et al., 2016; waghmare et al., 2016 evaluating the alternative solution el-sawalhi & salah hammad, 2015; waghmare et al., 2016 understanding the influence of stakeholders on the project abd-karim et al., 2007; el-naway et al., 2015 proper assessement and prioritisation of stakeholders’ attributes (power, urgency, and proximity) el-naway et al., 2015; amoatey & hayibor, 2017; yang et al., 2009; nguyen et al., 2009 adequate management of culture and political environment eyiah-botwe et al., 2016 analysis of stakeholders’ concerns and needs olander & landin, 2008 communication of benefits and negative impacts olander & landin, 2008 allowing for flexible project organisation olander & landin, 2008; chinyio & akintoye, 2008; li et al., 2011 predicting stakeholders’ potential influence on the project jepsen & eskerod, 2009 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this study identifies the csfs for internal construction sm in nigeria. it uses a quantitative survey research design approach involving a self-study questionnaire that gives the researchers the opportunity to generalise their findings from the target population (creswell, 2014; bryman, 2012: 232). in the questionnaire, 27 original csfs, identified through the literature review, were set as the factors critical for successful sm in nigeria. statements on how critical each of the 27 factors is in the success of sm were extracted, based on the agreement levels of respondents. principal component analysis (pca) was used to reduce these measured variables to smaller factors critical for sm. oladimeji (2019: 149), citing pallant (2013: 192), affirmed that pca can be used to extract factors, in order to summarise acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 12 the information into a manageable number of factors with the highest eigenvalues in each component. 3.2 population, sampling and response rate the target population for this study is internal stakeholders (construction professionals, including project managers, architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, and builders) who are directly involved in public project execution in the study areas (lagos, abuja, oyo, osun, niger, and kogi). the rationale for choosing lagos and abuja as study areas includes the availability of substantive construction experts and projects; the accessibility to data, and location of the head offices of most of the construction professionals in those areas. the choice for oyo, osun, niger and kogi is the accessibility to data. unfortunately, there is no standard database and official list stipulating the number of stakeholders involved in sm. therefore, construction practitioners involved in sm cannot be readily ascertained in the study areas. based on this, the researcher contacted federal and state ministries in the study areas, including abuja municipal area council and fcda and the lagos state development and property corporation, to identify projects executed between 2010 and 2018, with stakeholders involved. this is in line with the submission by babatunde, perera, zhou & udeaja (2015: 74) on barriers to public private partnership projects in developing countries, where a high number of organisations are involved and their population cannot be readily determined. the researchers identified 100 public building projects executed between 2010 and 2018 in the study areas. they identified the names and addresses of construction practitioners (stakeholders) involved in sm in these projects. a list of 821 construction practitioners was produced, as the target population for this study includes project managers (89), architects (194), quantity surveyors (206), engineers (173), and builders (159) (see table 2). based on random selection, a sample of 450 construction professionals were selected, representing project managers (64), architects (98), quantity surveyors (111), engineers (82), and builders (95), all of whom were provided with questionnaires. the sample size was calculated in accordance with krejcie & morgan (1970: 608), where a recommended sample size for a population of 800 is 260. thus the sample of 450 is sufficient for a population of 821. of the 450 questionnaires distributed, a total of 175 valid questionnaires were returned, representing a 39% response rate. ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 13 table 2: population, sample and response construction practitioners involved population or respondents number of questionnaires administered number of valid questionnaires quantity surveyors 206 111 35 architects 194 98 27 engineers 173 82 40 builders 159 95 33 project managers 89 64 40 total 821 450 175 3.3 data collection this study used the drop-and-collect method in administering the questionnaire to 450 construction practitioners on the selected project sites from the study areas in nigeria from november 2019 to january 2020. the selected participants take full responsibility for the management of projects and play a central role in relationships with other stakeholders. the questionnaire consists of two parts. the first part obtained demographic information of the respondents on profession, level of education, number of years’ experience in the business, and the type of ownership in the business. the second section set 27 likert-scale items on the construct ‘factors critical to internal sm’. respondents were requested to rate their level of agreement on how critical these items are in managing internal stakeholders in the nigerian construction industry. the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis as well as the variables used in the inferential statistics, which tested the validity and reliability of the factors. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section two (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.4 method of analysis and interpretation of the data the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 20 was used to analyse factors critical for sm by means of descriptive and inferential statistics (pallant, 2013: 134). the respondents’ background information was analysed, using descriptive statistics, in which the frequencies and percentages were generated and reported. to rank the level of agreement by mean scores on how critical the initial 27 success factors are for sm, these factors were rated on a five-point likert scale. according to leedy and ormrod (2014: 185), likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure opinions. the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 14 (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). a kruskal-wallis test was used to test whether there is any significant difference in the ranking of the factors by the clients, consultants, and contractors at a 5% significance level. in determining the internal reliability of the critical factors in the statements, cronbach’s alpha values tested were conducted in line with wahab, ayodele and moody (2010: 67). the cronbach’s alpha acceptable values range from 0.70 to 0.95 (tavakol & dennick, 2011: 54-55). in this study, a cut-off value of 0.70 was adopted. in addition, a range from 0.2 to 0.4 was suggested as the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2013: 134). this study, therefore, adopted a value of 0.4 and above. furthermore, in determining the suitability of the obtained data for factor analysis, the following tests were conducted: meyer-olkin (kmo) (lorenzoseva, timmerman & kiers, 2011), and bartlett’s test of sphericity (hair, black, babin & andersen, 2014: 110). in the kmo test, as the values of the test vary between 0 and 1, values above 0.7 are required for applying pca (hair et al., 2014). a statistically significant bartlett test (p<0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the analysis (hair et al., 2014: 110; pallant, 2013: 190). for factor extraction, pca was adopted to analyse the information into a minimum number of factors, by concentrating the explanatory power on the first factor (find the principal components of data) (ahadzie, proverbs & olomolaiye, 2008; rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 102). 3.5 limitations the study was conducted across two geopolitical zones of nigeria and focused on public building construction projects. the findings mainly reflect the sm csfs in the study environments and should not be generalised, because it could only be applied for construction projects being undertaken in countries with a similar cultural context. 4. results and discussion 4.1 respondents’ profile it is obvious that the majority (23% each) of the respondents were engineers or project managers, and had either a masters’ degree (56%) or a first degree (39%); only 5% of the respondents had phd degrees (see table 3). analysis of the respondents’ organisation type showed that the ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 15 vast majority of them were consultants (42%), or contractors (39%) and over half of the respondents have fifteen years’ professional experience or more. these characteristics imply that the respondents have adequate education and experience to give substantial information that could help in making useful inferences and deductions on factors critical for internal sm. table 3: profile of the respondents demographic characteristic frequency percentage profession quantity surveyor 35 20 architect 27 15 engineer 40 23 builder 33 19 project manager 40 23 total 175 100 education level phd 8 5 masters 98 56 first degree 69 39 total 175 100 experience 10-14 years 70 40 15-19 years 60 34 above 20 years 45 26 total 175 100 organisation type clients 33 19 contractors 69 39 consultants 75 42 total 175 100 4.2 ranking of critical success factors for stakeholder management table 4 shows the mean score (ms), cronbach’s alpha and the kruskalwallis test results of the 27 identified factors critical for effective sm in descending order, as ranked by the respondents (clients, contractors, and consultants). with an average ms rating of 3.87, respondents agreed that all the factors evaluated are sm success factors within the nigerian context. table 4: ranking of stakeholder management’s critical success factors with their means, cronbach’s alpha and kruskal wallis value variable stakeholders csfs n=175 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) ms cronbach’s alpha kruskal wallis rank cf24 engaging project leader and team that is competent 4.51 0.893 0.992 1 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 16 variable stakeholders csfs n=175 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) ms cronbach’s alpha kruskal wallis rank cf6 good communication 4.43 0.896 0.122 2 cf22 promoting a good relationship 4.19 0.892 0.956 3 cf7 formulating a clear project mission statement 4.16 0.899 0.528 4 cf26 management support 4.08 0.909 0.963 5 cf1 good stakeholders’ management strategy 4.07 0.910 0.321 6 cf17 timely engagement or involvement of all stakeholders 4.06 0.908 0.090 7 cf9 openness and building of trust 4.02 0.917 0.058 8 cf21 commitment among the stakeholders 4.00 0.890 0.261 9 cf3 proper identification of the stakeholders (project team) 3.95 0.900 0.245 10 cf14 managing stakeholders with corporate social responsibilities 3.90 0.897 0.821 11 cf20 good understanding of the project task, goals and objectives through setting of common goal and objective. 3.87 0.906 0.142 12 cf4 ability to assess stakeholders’ behaviour/attitude and reaction 3.85 0.894 0.624 13 cf2 proper assessment of stakeholders’ attributes and prioritise them (power, urgency, and proximity) 3.84 0.874 0.787 14 cf18 resolving conflicts among stakeholders effectively 3.83 0.867 0.402 15 cf25 predicting stakeholders’ potential influence on the project 3.82 0.900 0.00* 16 cf19 adequate management of culture and political environment 3.82 0.879 0.269 17 cf16 understanding the influence of stakeholders on the project 3.78 0.887 0.211 18 cf11 ability to identify and analyse stakeholder possible conflicts and coalitions among stakeholders 3.74 0.901 0.190 19 cf13 allowing for flexible project organisation 3.73 0.887 0.951 20 cf27 analysing stakeholders’ concerns and needs 3.72 0.905 0.02* 21 cf12 communication of benefits and negative impacts 3.71 0.912 0.04* 22 cf5 determining stakeholders’ requirements (needs), expectation and constraints 3.71 0.856 0.035* 23 ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 17 variable stakeholders csfs n=175 1 = strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) ms cronbach’s alpha kruskal wallis rank cf10 clarity of stakeholders’ roles 3.60 0.877 0.723 24 cf23 understanding area of interest of each stakeholder 3.42 0.891 0.368 25 cf15 evaluating the alternative solution 3.40 0.889 0.982 26 cf8 compromising interests and conflicts 3.39 0.887 0.005* 27 average (composite score) 3.87 * significant p ˃0.05 respondents strongly agreed that engaging the project leader and the team, that is competent (ms 4.51) and effective communication (ms 4.43), are the top two factors critical for sm in construction projects within the nigerian context. promoting a good relationship (ms 4.19), formulating a clear project mission statement (ms 4.16), management support (ms 4.08), and good sm strategy (ms 4.07) are ranked three to six, respectively. this study’s findings are in line with el-sawalhi and hammad (2015: 167), who ranked project manager competencies first, while eyiah-botwe et al. (2016: 164) ranked it fourth, when investigating csfs for enhancing sm in the ghana construction sector. effective communication with all the stakeholders was ranked second by yang et al. (2009: 342), while communicating with all stakeholders engaged was overall ranked first by amoatey and hayibor (2017: 150) and third by el-sawalhi and hammad (2015: 157). promoting a good relationship was ranked fourth by amoatey & hayibor (2017: 150) and sixth by yang et al. (2009: 342). this factor concurs with jergeas et al.’s (2000) conclusion that successful relationships are vital ingredients for the successful delivery of projects. furthermore, formulating a clear project mission statement was ranked third by amoatey & hayibor (2017: 150), indicating that, for any project to be successfully completed, there must be a clear mission statement, which is a necessary requirement for effective sm. according to waghmare et al. (2016: 50), prior to any sm activity, the project leader/management team should have a clear idea of the objectives and tasks of the project at a particular stage. the kruskal wallis test was conducted to ascertain whether there are statistical differences in ranking the csfs for effective sm among the three groups (clients, contractors, and consultants). table 4 shows that there was no statistically significant difference in ranking 22 factors with p-values ˃0.05. this high level of agreement obtained in ranking is not surprising, as most of the respondents have adequate knowledge of sm. however, since their p-value was <0.05, respondents had different opinions acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 18 on ranking five factors, including predicting stakeholders’ potential influence on the project (0.000); analysing stakeholders’ concerns and needs (0.020); communicating benefits and negative impacts (0.040); determining stakeholders’ requirements (needs), expectation and constraints (0.035), and compromising interests and conflicts (0.005). the reason for the differences in ranking five sm csfs may be that the respondents are from different organisations, with different roles and responsibilities in the project. 4.3 principal component analysis for factors critical to achieving successful stakeholder management the kaiser-meyerolkin (kmo) value of 0.876 was obtained, which is greater than 0.70, and bartlett’s test of sphericity has the significant value of (p<0.05) at 5% level of significance, as shown in table 5. therefore, the obtained results indicate that the data is robust and suitable for conducting factor analysis in line with pallant (2013). table 5: kaiser-meyer-olkin measure and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy .876 bartlett’s test of sphericity approximate chi-square 1864.202 df 351 sig. .000 furthermore, the scree plot test and eigenvalues criteria were used to determine the maximum number of factors to retain. pca, with initial eigenvalue greater than 1 criterion, the orthogonal varimax rotation and a factor loading of 0.4 were used to determine the number of factors to retain and rotation in line with hair et al. (2014). based on the initial eigenvalue greater than one and scree plot criteria, shown in figure 1, seven factors (components) explain a cumulative variance of approximately 67% of the total variance. the scree plot consists of the eigenvalues and the data points above the break (point of inflexion), as shown in figure 1. ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 19 figure 1: scree plot of csfs for sm   point of inflextion figure 1 scree plot of csfs for sm the scree plot in figure 1 and table 6 confirms the retaining of 7 components, where component 1 (stakeholder identification and analysis) explains 30.861% of the total variance; component 2 (formulating an appropriate strategy to manage stakeholders), 7.689%; component 3 (effective relationship management), 6.567%; component 4 (support and commitment of top management), 6.202%; component 5 (project leaders and stakeholders’ adequate knowledge), 5.482%; component 6 (effective communication), 4.999%, and component 7 (adequate informationgathering about the project and stakeholders’ contributions), 4.795%. table 6: total variance explained – extraction method: principal component analysis component initial eigenvalues total % of variance cumulative % 1 8.062 30.861 30.861 2 1.806 7.689 38.550 3 1.503 6.567 45.117 4 1.405 6.202 51.320 5 1.210 5.482 56.802 6 1.080 4.999 61.801 7 1.025 4.795 66.596 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 20 based on pca, orthogonal varimax rotation with kaiser normalization rotation method and with a significant factor of .04, the correlation between components and variables after rotation are shown in table 7. the only factor that failed the loading test is managing stakeholders with corporate social responsibilities. correlation exists between variables 3, 5, 2 and 4, as they load onto component 1: stakeholder identification and analysis. similarly, correlations were identified between variables 1, 27, 25, 8, 15, and 18, which loaded onto component 2: formulating appropriate strategy to manage stakeholders. variables 22, 13, and 19 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 3: effective relationship management. correlation exists between variables 26, 10, 21 and 17, which all loaded onto component 4: support and commitment of top management. variables 24, 7, 11, 16, and 23 show correlation as they loaded onto component 5: project leaders and stakeholders’ adequate knowledge. variables 6, 9 and 12 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 6: effective communication. only variable 20 was loaded onto component 7: adequate information-gathering about the project and the stakeholders. table 7: rotated component matrix for csfs for achieving internal sm variable factor component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 f1: stakeholder identification and analysis cf3 proper identification of the stakeholders (project team) .708 cf5 determine stakeholders’ requirements (needs), expectation and constraints .707 cf2 proper assessment of stakeholders’ attributes & prioritise them (power, urgency, and proximity) .705 cf4 ability to assess stakeholders’ behaviour/ attitude & reaction .616 f2: formulating appropriate strategy to manage stakeholders cf1 good stakeholders’ management strategy .712 cf27 analysis of stakeholders concerns and need .618 cf25 predicting stakeholders’ potential influence on the project .556 cf8 compromising interest and conflicts .551 cf15 evaluation of the alternative solution .506 .424 cf18 resolving conflicts among stakeholders effectively .503 .409 f3: effective relationship management cf22 promoting good relationship .744 cf13 allow for flexible project organisation .696 cf19 adequate management of culture and political environment .632 f4: support and commitment of top management cf26 management support .708 cf10 clarity of roles of stakeholders .672 cf21 commitment among the stakeholders .642 cf17 timely engagement or involvement of all stakeholders .527 ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 21 variable factor component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 f5: project leaders and stakeholders’ adequate knowledge cf24 engaging project leader and team that is competent .735 cf7 formulating a clear project mission statement .695 cf11 ability to identify and analyse stakeholder possible conflicts and coalitions among stakeholders .536 cf16 understanding the influence of stakeholders on the project .461 .535 cf23 understanding area of interest of each stakeholder .507 f6: effective communication cf6 good communication .651 cf9 openness and building of trust .613 cf12 communicating the benefits and negative impacts .498 f7: adequate information gathering about the project and stakeholders cf20 good understanding of the project task, goals and objectives through setting of common goal and objective. .857 the seven emerged factors explained approximately 67% of the total variance, when factor analysis was conducted on the identified sm csfs. these factors are stakeholder identification and analysis; formulating an appropriate strategy to manage stakeholders; effective relationship management; support and commitment of the top management; effective communication; leaders and stakeholders’ adequate knowledge. and adequate information-gathering about the project and stakeholders. the finding of this study is similar to that of takim, akintoye and kelly (2004: 1130) when analysing measures of construction project success in malaysia. in their study, the analysis grouped into four factors that explained 64.989% of the total variance. factor 1: stakeholder identification and analysis with four sub-factors, this component accounts for 30.861% of the total variance. proper identification of the stakeholders has the highest loading (project team) of 0.708); determining stakeholders’ requirements (needs), expectation, and constraints has a loading of 0.707; proper assessment of stakeholders’ attributes and prioritising them (power, urgency, and proximity) has a loading of 0.705, and the ability to assess stakeholders’ behaviour/attitude and reaction has a loading of 0.616. jepsen and eskerod (2009) considered stakeholder identification as the first step in stakeholder analysis. since there are many parties involved in construction contracts, the key stakeholders must be adequately identified at the commencement of the contract so that their roles can be analysed, in order to understand their expectations and how they can potentially influence the project. this is in line with eyiah-botwe et al.’s (2016: 153) findings on sm acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 22 for the ghanaian construction industry, in which they affirmed that early stakeholder identification is critical to sm. factor 2: formulating appropriate strategy to manage stakeholders this factor accounts for 7.689% of the total variance and comprises six subfactors. good sm strategy has the highest factor loading of 0.712; analysis of stakeholders’ concerns and needs, 0.618; predicting stakeholders’ potential influence on the project, 0.556; compromising interests and conflicts, 0.551; evaluating the alternative solution, 0.506, and effectively resolving conflicts among stakeholders, 0.503. this is in line with the finding of el-naway and hammad (2015: 13-14), who discovered that formulating appropriate strategies allows for easy sm and productive results. the attitude and ability of the project management team to treat various stakeholders’ issues are referred to as the sm strategy (waghmare et al., 2016: 51). yang et al. (2009: 342) asserted that formulating appropriate strategies to deal with stakeholders is important, as this will guide how the project management team would treat different stakeholders. factor 3: effective relationship management effective relationship management accounts for 6.567% of the total variance with three sub-factors, where promoting good relationship has the highest loading of 0.744; allowing for flexible project organisation, 0.696, and adequate management of culture and political environment, 0.632. this study finding is similar to that of nauman and piracha (2016) in that a good relationship promotes trust that is vital to sm. this study’s finding is consistent with that of aaltonen et al. (2008: 510), who believe that managing the relationship between the project and its stakeholders is vital in project sm and improves the stakeholders’ performance on the project. abd-karim et al. (2007) concluded that it is essential to understand the nature of the relationship between contract parties and their interactions with the system. although stakeholder relationship management success depends on a well-defined communication strategy, according to rowlinson and cheung (2008: 618), cordial relationships between the project stakeholders and the project management team are important for successful project delivery and attainment of stakeholder expectations. the attitude and ability of the project management team to build effective relationships with stakeholders include that the project team must decide on the levels and methods of sm, and appropriate strategies to address issues raised by stakeholders (waghmare et al., 2016: 51). when the relationship between contract parties is sour, the possibility of having poor ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 23 performance is certain. effective relationship management can effectively reduce poor performance (meng, 2012: 194). factor 4: support and commitment of top management factor 4 forms 6.202% of the total variance, where management support has the highest loading of .708; clarity of stakeholders’ roles, 0.672; commitment among the stakeholders, 0.642, and timely engagement or involvement of all stakeholders, 0.527. this study finding concurs with that of chinyio and akintoye (2008) in that the provision of top-level management support is a vital ingredient for successful sm. el-naway et al. (2015: 10655) believed that building trust between project top management and stakeholders allows for meeting the expectation of all those who have an interest in, or impact on the project, due to the transparent assessment of all the possible solutions based on stakeholders’ interest. delivery or output of the project is affected by the support and management style of top management. top management shows support through the commitment of resources; formulating quality policy; effective communication with the project team at the time of need and at unexpected situations without delay, and managing the entire process through close monitoring. the commitment and support of top management is crucial in achieving results, as they are positioned to monitor the management process, facilitate problem-solving activities and use the effects of sm as an indicator for the performance measurement of the management team. factor 5: project leaders and stakeholders’ adequate knowledge this factor accounts for 5.482% of the total variance and has five subfactors. engaging project leader and team that is competent has the highest loading of 0.735; formulating a clear project mission statement, 0.695; ability to identify and analyse potential stakeholder conflicts and coalitions among stakeholders, 0.536; understanding the influence of stakeholders on the project, 0.535, and understanding the area of interest of each stakeholder, 0.507. nowadays, due to technological advancement and sophisticated tastes of the stakeholders that warrant the stakeholders’ needs to seek a variety of information from numerous sources led the stakeholders to be more knowledgeable than ever. the more knowledge a stakeholder has about the project, the more s/he may influence it (nguyen et al., 2009: 1137). the level of knowledge may range from full awareness to total ignorance and this knowledge cannot be bought; each stakeholder gains knowledge about the project through receptiveness project undertaking. waghmare et al. (2016: 52) asserted stakeholder knowledge as a driver with a significant impact on projects. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 24 the project manager should have a good understanding of the tasks and objectives at each stage of the project’s life cycle, including issues about cost, schedule, and budget (el-sawalhi & salah hammad, 2015: 162). they concluded that the project manager with competency, experience and good communication skills is successful in relationship management of stakeholders. this will contribute to the good performance of the project. factor 6: effective communication effective communication accounts for 4.999% of the total variance and has three sub-factors, where good communication has the highest loading of 0.651; openness and building of trust, 0.613, and communication of benefits and negative impacts, 0.498. trust can only exist where effective communication facilitates the exchange of visions and ideas. for construction projects to be successfully managed, all the professionals on the contract must be able to communicate effectively (tipili, ojeba & ilyasu, 2014). therefore, all key stakeholders must possess communication skills, in order to discuss difficulties relating to the project and facilitate the exchange of ideas and visions. a good communication system mitigates risks and increases the reputation of contract parties. a project environment where there is trust, open communication and employee involvement provides a sound basis for effective project delivery (hansen-addy & nunoo, 2014). a high level of trust and commitment naturally promotes cooperation, as well as open and joint problem-solving attitudes among contracters. according to rowlinson and cheung (2008: 6, 18) trust and cooperation are built on face-to-face communication between all concerned parties. stakeholders’ interaction with each other leads to the attainment of project or organisation goals, because it allows for exchanging information, sharing knowledge, disseminating instructions, and providing supporting tasks. factor 7: adequate information-gathering about the project and stakeholders this single factor accounts for 4.795% of the total variance. good understanding of the project task, goals, and objectives through the setting of common goals and objectives is the only item under this factor with a factor loading of 0.857. before commencing any management activity, extensive research and analysis on the project and stakeholders’ information is required (waghmare et al., 2016: 50). construction project problems are compounded by the diverse nature of stakeholders with varying interests on the project. it is, therefore, vital to identify and assess stakeholders’ areas of interests. in the project system environment, it is ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 25 important to identify the key stakeholders for the project manager to effectively interact with them. 5. conclusions the study investigated factors critical for effective internal project sm in the nigerian context, because scholars have identified csfs for construction sm in various countries, but no specific research prior to this study could be identified for the nigerian construction industry context. the results indicate that the six most significant factors for sm in the nigerian construction industry are engaging a project leader and a team that is competent; effective communication; promoting a good relationship; formulating a clear project mission statement; management support, and a good sm strategy. a total of 27 factors that are critical for effective internal construction sm in construction projects were grouped into seven components through factor analysis: stakeholder identification and analysis; formulating an appropriate strategy to manage stakeholders; effective relationship management; support and commitment of top management; project leaders’ and stakeholders’ adequate knowledge; effective communication, and adequate information-gathering about the project and stakeholders. the study concluded that these seven factors are essential for successful relationship management of stakeholders in the nigerian construction industry and will have a positive impact on good project performance, if special attention is paid to them. since, prior to this study, there are no specific csfs to improve sm within the nigerian construction industry context, the following recommendations are proposed: prioritisation of competency in the selection of a project team; effective relationship management, and improved information dissemination during construction as the precursors of successful sm and project performance. stakeholders must be adequately identified and analysed to ensure that they are competent for the contract and appropriate for the job. this study has added to the growing body of knowledge on project management, with an insight into the csfs for internal construction project sm within the nigeria context to focus on achieving project goals. the findings would help the decision-makers in the industry understand key factors for prioritising when managing stakeholders. the limitations of this study were the two geopolitical zones of the country. therefore, the study’s findings should not be generalised, since the scope of data collection was limited to only two zones. future studies may examine the relationship between internal sm csfs and the key measures of performance of the stakeholders in nigerian construction projects. in addition, studies acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 26 could also be conducted on a comparison of internal and external stakeholders’ performance. references aaltonen, k., jaakko, k. & tuomas, o. 2008. stakeholder salience in global projects. international journal of project management, 26(5), pp. 509-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.05.004 abd-karim, s.b., abdul-rahman, h., berawi, m.a. & jaapar, a. 2007. a review on the issues and strategies of stakeholder management in the construction industry. in: micra 2007. proceedings of the 6th international conference and annual meeting, management in construction research, 28-29 august 2007, shah alam, selangor, malaysia, pp. 1-18. ahadzie, d.k., proverbs, d.g. & olomolaiye, p.o. 2008. model for predicting the performance of project managers at the construction phase of mass house-building projects. journal of construction engineering and management, 134(4), pp. 618-29. https://doi.org/10.1061/ (asce)0733-9364(2008)134:8(618) akintoye, a. & main, j. 2007. collaborative relationships in construction: the uk contractor’s perception. engineering, construction and architectural management, 14(6), pp. 597-617. http://dx.doi. org/10.1108/09699980710829049 amoatey, c. & hayibor, m.v.k. 2017. critical success factors for local government project stakeholder management. built environment project and asset management, 7(2), pp. 143-156. doi: 10.1108/ bepam-07-2016-0030 babatunde, s.o., perera, s., zhou, l. & udeaja, c. stakeholder perceptions on critical success factors for public-private partnership projects in nigeria. built environment project and asset management, 6(1), pp. 74-91. https:// doi.org/10.1108/bepam-11-2014-0061 bourne, l. & walker, d.h. 2006. visualizing stakeholder influence – two australian examples. project management journal, 37(1), pp. 5-22. https:// doi.org/10.1177/875697280603700102 bryman, a. 2012. social research methods. 4th edition. new york: oxford university press. buertey, j.i.t., amofa, d. & atsrim, f. 2016. stakeholder management on construction projects: a key indicator for project success. american journal of civil engineering, 4(4), pp. 117-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j. ajce.20160404.11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.05.004 https://doi.org/10.1061/%28asce%290733-9364%282008%29134:8%28618%29 https://doi.org/10.1061/%28asce%290733-9364%282008%29134:8%28618%29 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09699980710829049 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09699980710829049 http://doi.org/10.1108/bepam-07-2016-0030 http://doi.org/10.1108/bepam-07-2016-0030 https://doi.org/10.1108/bepam-11-2014-0061 https://doi.org/10.1108/bepam-11-2014-0061 https://doi.org/10.1177/875697280603700102 https://doi.org/10.1177/875697280603700102 https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20160404.11 https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20160404.11 ola-awo, alayande, olarewaju & oyewobi • critical success factors 27 chinyio, e. & akintoye, a. 2008. practical approaches for engaging stakeholders: findings from the uk. construction management and economics, 26(6), pp. 591-599. https://doi. org/10.1080/01446190802078310 chinyio, e. & olomolaiye, p. 2010. introducing stakeholder management. in: chinyio, e. & olomolaiye, p. 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multifarious infrastructure projects. journal of engineering, project, and production management, 9(2), pp. 85-96. https://doi. org/10.2478/jeppm-2019-0010 https://doi.org/10.2478/jeppm-2019-0010 https://doi.org/10.2478/jeppm-2019-0010 1 how to cite: hoffman, d.j., huang, l., van rensburg, j.p. & yorkhart, a. 2020. trends in application of green star sa credits in south african green building. acta structilia, 27(2), pp. 1-29. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels danie hoffman mr danie (d.j.) hoffman, senior lecturer, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood rd, hatfield, pretoria. phone: +27834632031, email: <danie.hoffman@up.ac.za>, orcid: 0000-0003-0130-552 ling-yi huang ms ling-yi huang, postgraduate student, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood rd, hatfield, pretoria. phone: +27762110258, email: <bling211@gmail.com> jean van rensburg mr jean (j.p.) van rensburg, postgraduate student, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood rd, hatfield, pretoria. phone: +27825249676, email: <jpvanrensburg23@gmail. com> amy yorke-hart ms amy yorke-hart, postgraduate student, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, lynnwood rd, hatfield, pretoria. phone: +27823246766, email: <ayorkehart@gmail.com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 1-29 trends in application of green star sa credits in south african green building peer reviewed and revised november 2020 published december 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the south african green building industry is growing towards maturity. stakeholders need to observe, document, and be informed about trends and development of the industry. this article evaluates whether application trends have emerged of often achieved and seldom achieved green star sa credits by all new office buildings that received a green star sa rating between 2009 and 2015 in south africa. any observed trends are further described by aspects such as the categories of the green star sa tool and the green star sa rating achieved. the article considers the data of 95 office buildings, made available by the green building council of south africa (gbcsa). a quantatitive research approach is used to investigate the use frequency of every credit in the green star sa tool and to identify trends in credit use. the study finds that 21 of the 67 credits are achieved on average by >80% of the certified projects. another 14 credits have an average achievement rate of <20%. the nine categories of the green star sa tool also varies from average achievements of 84% for water to only 19% for innovation. the green star sa rating level is also found to be positively correlated to often used credits and negatively correlated to seldom used credits. this article observes industry-wide trends http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:danie.hoffman@up.ac.za http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0130-552 mailto:bling211@gmail.com mailto:jpvanrensburg23@gmail.com mailto:jpvanrensburg23@gmail.com mailto:ayorkehart@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.1 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 2 with the potential to negatively affect the ability of green buildings to deliver the required sustainability outcomes expected of them. this finding and the potential outcome thereof need to be monitored and managed by stakeholders such as the gbcsa. keywords: application trends, green building, south africa, sustainability, trends abstrak die suid-afrikaanse groenbou-industrie groei tot volwassenheid. dit is belangrik dat belangegroepe ingelig bly oor die verskillende fasette en ontwikkelings van die industrie. hierdie artikel ondersoek die tendense in die toepassing van die groenster-krediete van die verskillende nuwe suid-afrikaanse kantoorgeboue wat groenster-gradering verwerf het tussen 2009 en 2015. die studie soek na die bestaan van tendense in die nastreef van krediete wat verwerf is as deel van die groenbousertifiseringsproses. enige geïdentifiseerde tendense word verder beskryf deur evaluering van aspekte soos die kategorieë van die groenster-werksdokument en die groenster-graderingvlak wat verwerf is. die artikel oorweeg die data van 95 kantoorgeboue, beskibaar gestel deur die groenbouraad van suid-afrika (gbrsa). ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gevolg om die gebruiksfrekwensie van elke krediet in the groenster-werksdokument te ondersoek en om tendense in die gebruik van krediete te identifiseer. die studie bevind dat 21 van die 67 krediete gemiddeld deur >80% van gesertifiseerde geboue verwerf is, terwyl 14 ander krediete deur <20% van gesertifiseerde geboue verwerf is. die nege kategorieë van die groenster-werksdokument wissel ook van 84% gemiddelde benutting vir water tot 19% vir innovasie. die groenster-gradering was ook positief gekorreleerd met dikwels benutte krediete en negatief gekorreleerd met selde verwerfde krediete. die artikel identifiseer tendense met die potensiaal om die vermoë van groengeboue om hul verwagte volhoubare resultate te lewer, negatief te beïnvloed. hierdie bevindinge en die potensiële effek daarvan behoort gemonitor en bestuur te word deur ’n belangegroep soos die gbrsa. sleutelwoorde: groenbou, ontwerpstrategieë, suid-afrika, tendense, volhoubaarheid 1. introduction 1.1 background the adverse effects of global warming, such as rising average temperature and even a possible ice-free winter by 2040 (unep, 2007: 1), and an ice-free barents sea between 2061-2088 (onarheim & arthun, 2017: 1) have been widely published. birnie, boyle and redgewell (2009) stated that climate change might be the most significant environmental challenge of our time. the construction industry carries much of the blame for this situation, as the industry generates 50% of the world’s waste, much of the water pollution, and 40% of the world’s air pollution. buildings account for 25% of world wood harvest, one-sixth of the world’s freshwater withdrawal, and two-fifths of its materials and energy flows. it is, therefore, important that buildings should become more natural-resources efficient (gbcsa, 2015; wgbc, 2010; magoulès & zhao, 2010: 13-15; toller, wadeskog, finnveden, malmqvist & carlsson, 2011: 395). the challenge created by global warming also creates the potential for the construction industry to significantly contribute to ensuring a hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 3 greener and more sustainable environment (pekka, 2009: 4,6; cidb, 2009: 2). the challenge for the green building industry is to ensure that their green rating tools produce buildings that deliver on the promise of increased sustainability. energy consumption during the operation phase of the building may consume as much as 80% of total energy used (junnila, 2004). a study by jacobs and ragheb (2010: 21) indicates that the building’s operational demands over a 60-year lifespan represent 96% of the total life-cycle energy. construction methodologies, including construction materials and fittings, must strive to minimize the environmental impact from the operational phase of buildings. buyle, braet and audenaert (2013: 382) support a total life-cycle approach and argue that the choice of materials, construction methods, and end-of-life use deserve more attention from designers and specifiers. green building rating tools should, therefore, sufficiently allow for concepts of whole life cycle and embodied carbon (van der heijden, 2016). 1.2 importance of the study with the growing maturity of the sustainability industry, the degree and volume of criticism and calls for introspection on green building issues have also increased. over a decade ago, a study by scofield (2009a: 775; 2009b: 1389) questioned data published by the new buildings institute (nbi) and the united states green building council regarding energy savings produced by leadership in energy and environmental design (leed-) certified buildings. scofield found that the data offers no evidence that leed certification has collectively lowered either site or source energy demands of office buildings. more recently, cole and valdebenito (2013) as well as van der heijden (2016) found that green building is often restricted to high-end office buildings in upmarket business districts. not enough is done to extend green building to existing buildings and to address the behaviour of occupants. in a usa study, boschmann and gabriel (2013: 231) also warn against a superficial approach to the credits being pursued, in order to achieve green building certification. martek and hosseini (2018) proposed that the performance of green buildings should be independently audited. in an article in the australian financial review, the co-founders of the green building council of australia (gbca), maria atkinson and ché wall, warned that the gbca is risking watering down green building certification by extending the green star sa rating system to buildings that fall below the very top tier of sustainable practices and techniques (bleby, 2014: 2). the above examples of challenges faced by green building and of criticism acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 4 of the certification process put a high onus on the integrity of the design and the use of green building rating systems. green building is still relatively new in south africa, with the green building council of south africa (gbcsa) only founded in 2007. in 2009, the gbcsa launched the green star sa rating tool, which is based on the australian green star tool but customised to suit the south african context (gbcsa, 2020). the local industry has, however, developed relatively quickly. in 2016, the gbcsa certified the 200th green star sa certified building (gbcsa, 2016) and, in september 2018, the milestone of 400 certified buildings was reached within approximately ten years of its existence (gbcsa, 2018). however, for the south african green building industry to keep growing, it is necessary to have a sound understanding of the roles and functions of all primary industry stakeholders. the green star sa rating tool plays a critical role in setting the scene of how developers and consultants respond to the challenge of securing green building certification status. this article investigates whether there exist trends in the credits achieved by green building-certified projects, which is an important facet of the implementation of the green star sa tool. trends in the credits achieved may indicate trends in the application of credits pursued by the consultant teams of the different certified green building projects. if such trends do exist and are significant in scope, the resultant contribution of green buildings towards a more sustainable environment may be skewed, as some aspects of sustainable construction will be over-applied, while other aspects may be lacking. such development has the potential to negatively affect the ability of green buildings to deliver the required sustainability outcomes expected of them. 2. literature review 2.1 the global environmental sustainability scenario the global construction industry had to respond to the challenge of environmental sustainability. nine countries founded the world green building council (wgbc) in 1998, namely australia, brazil, canada, india, japan, south korea, mexico, spain, and the united states of america (gbca, 2014). the wgbc expanded over the next two decades to now include 80 member countries (wgbc, 2020). the growing market demand for environmentally friendly buildings required changes to building design and operation. measuring tools were needed for sustainability in the construction industry (haapio & viitaniemi, 2008: 469, 470). although cost was an issue, nixon (2009: 5) confirmed that people are much more attracted to resource-efficient products and services. hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 5 various green building rating tools were developed and launched to regulate, evaluate, and certify buildings that qualify as green buildings, suited to their local conditions. some of the most well-known green building rating systems are the building research establishment environmental assessment method (breeam) tool launched in the united kingdom in 1990, and the leadership in energy and environmental design (leed) launched in the united states in 2000 (wgbc, 2014). the gbca (2014) launched the green star system in 2003. according to the united states environmental protection agency (epa), green building can be defined as the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout a building’s life cycle (epa, 2018: 1) 2.2 green building council of south africa the gbcsa was established in 2007. south africa is still the only established member of the wgbc on the african continent, with ghana, cameroon, rwanda, mauritius, namibia, and tanzania as prospective members and kenya as an emerging member (wgbc, 2020). the gbcsa launched the south african green star sa rating tool in 2009. the tool is based on the australian green star tool but customised for the local context (gbcsa, 2014). the objectives of green star sa can be summarised as follows (gbcsa, 2020): • establishment of a common language and standard of measurement of green buildings; • promotion of integrated, whole-building designed buildings; • creating awareness about the benefits of green buildings; • reducing the impact that development has on the environment, and • recognition of environmental leadership. green star sa provides a full array of rating tools for the different types of buildings as well as for interiors and existing buildings’ performance: • new buildings and major refurbishments v1 & v1.1 (office, multiunit residential, public and educational, retail); • existing building performance v1; • interiors v1; • sustainable precincts; • green star sa custom (e.g. hotel, mixed use, hospital, industrial); • net zero carbon, water, waste, ecology; acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 6 • socio-economic category pilot; • energy and water performance (ewp), and • edge residential. the green star sa rating tool is based on the gbca’s green star – office v3 tool. the office rating tool version 1 was released in november 2008, and the amended version 1.1 was released in november 2014. the new buildings and major refurbishment rating tools provide for both design and as built phases of new developments (gbcsa, 2020). 2.3 rating categories and category weights the green star sa rating tool consists of nine different categories that assess the environmental impact resulting from the project’s site selection, design, and construction. the nine categories each include a number of credits that address different initiatives that improve a building’s environmental impact. each credit has been awarded a number of points. a project applying for green star sa certification may be awarded for each credit to the extent that the project has met the objectives (see table 1) (gbcsa, 2020). table 1: green star sa office v1.1 tool: categories and weights description of categories and credits weighting (score out of 100) management (man) 9 eight credits: man 1-man 8 promotes environmental principles through the inception, design, and construction phases of a development and the commissioning, tuning, and operations of the development indoor environment quality (ieq) 15 seventeen credits: ieq 1-ieq 17 promotes the comfort and well-being of all the occupants of the building. factors such as the hvac system, lighting, indoor air pollutants, and some building attributes contribute to a good indoor environmental quality. comfort factors including external views, individual climate control, and noise levels are also examined energy (ene) 25 five credits: ene 1-ene 5 aims to reduce energy consumption, which impacts on the greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful emissions that are related to energy production from fossil fuels transport (tra) 9 five credits: tra 1-tra 5 aims at similar principles laid out in the energy category by rewarding the reduction in automotive commuting as well as the use of alternative transportation methods hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 7 description of categories and credits weighting (score out of 100) water (wat) 14 five credits: wat 1-wat 5 aims to reduce potable water through the efficient design of building systems, rainwater collection, and water reuse materials (mat) 13 eleven credits: mat 1-mat 11 promotes re-use of materials and efficient management practices; therefore, it considers the consumption of resources ecology (eco) 7 four credits: eco 1-eco 4 promotes the reduction of the impact of buildings on ecological systems and biodiversity and initiatives to improve ecological systems and biodiversity surrounding the project emissions (emi) 8 nine credits: emi 1-emi 9 targets the impacts of the building’s emissions on the environment, including watercourse pollution, light pollution, ozone depletion, global warming, legionella, and sewerage total 100 source: gbcsa, 2020: online once all the categories have been assessed, a total score is calculated for the project, using category weighting factors. each category carries a different weighting depending on the importance of the category with regard to environmental performance. a maximum score out of 100 can be achieved (gbcsa, 2020). the overall score is then compared with the rating scale, and a rating is then determined. the rating scale is shown in table 2. table 2: green star sa rating tool scores overall score rating outcome 10-19 one star not eligible for formal certification 20-29 two star not eligible for formal certification 30-44 three star not eligible for formal certification 45-59 four star eligible for four star certified rating that was recognized/rewards ‘best practice’ 60-74 five star eligible for five star certified rating that recognizes/rewards ‘south africa excellence’ 75+ six star eligible for six star certified rating that recognizes/rewards ‘world leadership’ source: gbcsa, 2020: online acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 8 2.4 critical opinions on the green building industry section 1.2 refers to a growing volume of concerns and criticism being raised regarding issues relating to the green building industry. much of this critical perusal centres around concerns regarding the efficiencies of green building rating tools, about the application of green rating tools, and if green buildings are delivering on their promise. recent studies (cole & valdebenito, 2013; van der heijden, 2016: 575, 584) found that green rating tools are struggling to access much deeper than market leading companies in the high-end commercial office property market. van der heijden also found that green building certifications are largely pursued by new buildings, while finding much lower application in existing buildings. green building tools also focus on technology to reduce carbon load and energy consumption, but does little to change the behaviour of building users. hayden (2014) speculated that the preference of a technological rather than a behavioural approach to address carbon footprint may be due to the ecological modernisation of many countries supporting green building. a study by boschmann and gabriel (2013: 231) in colorado, usa, critised leed for only rewarding incremental solutions towards sustainability. the study proposed a more balanced approach to be pursued between rewarding the more superficial aspects of reduction of energy consumption and pollution through technology and green gadgetry versus a more in-depth approach involving local geographic conditions, natural climate systems, and informed design. martek and hosseini (2018: 3), from deakin university in australia, also recently raised concerns regarding the actual performance of green buildings. they advised that sustainability rating tools should be independently audited. most of the rating tools are predictive, while those few that take measurements use paid third parties. governments should also be participating in the process. 2.5 studies on green rating tools and application trends very few studies have focused on the difficulty of applying different credits included in green building rating tools. a recent study by zuo, xia, chen, pullen and skitmore (2016) did a comprehensive analysis of all the office buildings certified by the gbca at the time. the study focused on the green star sa rating tool to evaluate the challenges of achieving specific credits. the study found that credits relating to water efficiency, management of waste, and providing for alternative transport were relatively easy to achieve. credits in the categories of innovation, ecology and energy were relatively difficult to achieve. hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 9 another study by gou (2016: 627) considered the efficiency of green building for office interiors. the study found that very prominent and highly skilled architects and interior designers were often used in the projects considered. most of the projects achieved high levels of interior sustainability, with low emitting materials and energy-efficient equipment. however, there was much evidence of easily achieved credits or ‘low hanging fruit’ being pursued. the study suggested that more significant green features need to be considered. work by martek, hosseini, shresta, zavadskas and seaton (2018) places a specific perspective on the role and responsibility of green rating systems if the ideals of green building are to be achieved. green rating tools were born from the conflict between economic growth, protecting the environment, and providing human well-being and comfort. each rating tool proposes its own ‘balance’ between these conflicting interests. for green rating systems to work, they must be based on evidence of building performance. the embodied carbon of building products and processes over the full life cycle should also be integrated into green rating tools. 3. methodology 3.1 research method the main aim of this article is to investigate whether there exist trends in the credits achieved by green building-certified projects. such trends may indicate similarities in the green-building approach followed by the consultant teams of the different certified green building projects in the application of green building credits. the article considered the accreditation data of 95 green star sa-certified office buildings, made available by the gbcsa. the data is quantitative in nature and a quantatitive research approach was used to investigate the use frequency of every credit in the green star sa tool and to identify trends in credit use. the study was specifically looking to: • identify credits achieved very often or achieved very seldom; • compare the average achievement percentage of the different categories of the green star sa tool; • describe the effect of 4 star, 5 star or 6 star rating on the achievement percentage of credits, and • analyse if time/the year of certification affected the average achievement percentage of the different credits. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 10 3.2 sampling the study population is defined as all new office buildings that have been certified by the gbcsa with a 4, 5, or 6 star design or as built rating, using the office v1 and v1.1 rating tool from 2009 to 2015. a detailed credit score card also had to be available for each project. a total of 95 office buildings matched all of these requirements. the data of all of these projects was made available by the gbcsa to be included in the study. the fact that all qualifying buildings were included in the study addresses the aspect of validity and required that no further sampling was required. 3.3 data collection the data of the 95 buildings was captured on excel in a matrix consisting of a y-axis listing all the nine categories and the 67 credits of the green star sa tool and an x-axis listing all the 95 projects grouped according to their year of awarding of their green building certification from 2009 to 2015. every credit achieved by each of the 95 buildings was then captured in the matrix for analysis. at the outset of the study, the gbcsa was contacted to secure their support. the gbcsa data was made available and the findings of the study will be shared with the gbcsa. 3.4 data analysis most of the data analysis required descriptive statistics that were available in microsoft excel. the mean or average of data sets was calculated to describe the measures of central tendency of the often used credits (table 3), the seldom used credits (table 4), the average credit achievement per category (table 5), the effect of 4 star, 5 star or 6 star rating on the achievement percentage of credits (table 6), and if time/the year of certification affected the average achievement percentage of the different credits (figures 3-11). descriptive statistics such as the variance, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were used to describe the measures of dispersion of the average credit achievement per category (table 5) (berenson & levine, 2012). inferential statistics, more specifically the pearson product moment correlation, was used to explore and describe the linear relationships between the average credit achievement percentage and the green star sa weighting factor per green star category (table 5). the pearson product moment correlation was also applied to describe the linear relationships between the green star sa certification level and the number of often or seldom achieved credits (berenson & levine, 2012; puth, neuhauser & ruxton, 2014). hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 11 the number of credits achieved by all the projects per year was totalled and expressed as a percentage of the total number of projects for that year to calculate the average achievement percentage for a credit per year. for example, from the year 2012, a total of 15 projects were included in the study. in the category management, the credit man-1 was achieved by eight of the 15 projects, giving man-1 an average achievement percentage for 2012 of 8/15 = 53%. after the data of all 95 projects were captured, a total number and an average achievement percentage for every credit for the total period of 2009-2015 were also calculated. a deeper level of understanding of the credits targeted will be possible by analising the actual number of points of every credit that was targeted as well as the number of credits that was achieved. the data to enable this analysis was not available at the time of the study. a study to explore this aspect of application of green star sa credits similar to the study by zuo et al. (2016) is planned for the near future. trends of credits achieved very often or achieved very seldom were identified according to the following parameters: • credits with an average achievement rate of >80% were defined as “often achieved” credits that were favoured by the application approach followed. • credits with an average achievement rate of <20% were defined as “seldom achieved” credits that were avoided by the application approach followed. the effect of the star rating level achieved on the achievement percentage of credits was calculated by sorting the buildings according to their 4, 5 or 6 star rating achieved and repeating the sorting within the three groups of buildings to compare the findings with the overall findings to look for relationships. the same approach is used to study the effect of the date of certification on the achievement percentage of credits. the calculations will be done for buildings certified in every year for the period covered by the article: 2009-2015. 3.5 limitations allthough every building that meets the requirements of the study was included and a total of 95 projects were analysed by the article, an even larger number may ensure higher levels of statistical confidence in the findings made. for this reason, the study should be repeated in future when the data of more certified green buildings will be available. the article did not explore the achievements of green star sa credits to the depth of the total number of points available on each credit compared to the acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 12 number of points targeted and the number of points achieved. this deeper level of analysis will be able to explore the reasons for the existence of trends identified and should, therefore, be considered as a follow-up study. 4. findings 4.1 descriptive statistics 4.1.1 often-used green star sa credits the captured data was analysed to calculate the average achievement percentage for every credit for the period 2009-2015. the analysis revealed the following achievement percentage for the total number of 67 credits of the green star sa tool: six credits (0%-10%), eight credits (11%-20%), three credits (21%-30%), three credits (31%-40%), six credits (41%-50%), six credits (51%-60%), seven credits (61%-70%), seven credits (71%80%), eight credits (81%-90%) and 13 credits (91%-100%). a total of 21 credits or 31.3% were achieved by more than 80% of the office buildings studied. these 21 credits are listed in table 3 according to categories and are displayed in sequential order from lowest to highest achievement in figure 1. 80% 81% 81% 84% 85% 86% 87% 89% 91% 93% 93% 94% 95% 96% 97% 97% 97% 98% 98% 99% 99% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% c re di t a ch ie ve m en t % credits name figure 1: green star sa credits with > 80% achievement rate 4.1.2 seldom used green star sa credits the analysis also revealed that a total of 14 credits or 20.9% of the total number of credits had an average achievement rate of less than 20%. this trend may be due to technical, financial, or other constraints that hinder the frequent use of these credits. the credits are displayed in sequential order hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 13 table 3: green star sa credits with >80% achievement rate description average % achieved management (man) man-5 building users’ guide 97 man-7 waste management 85 indoor environment quality (ieq) ieq-1 ventilation rates 93 ieq-6* high-frequency ballasts* 98 ieq-8 external views 81 ieq-13 volatile organic compounds 97 ieq 17 environmental tobacco smoke avoidance 94 energy (ene) ene-1 greenhouse gas emissions 97 ene-2 energy sub-metering 89 ene-3 lighting power sensity 95 ene-4 light zoning 93 transport (tra) tra-2 fuel-efficient transport 80 tra-3 cyclist facilities 86 water (wat) wat-1 occupant amenity water 99 wat-2 water meters 98 wat-4 heat rejection water 87 materials (mat) mat-1 recycling waste storage 91 mat-6 steel 84 emissions (emi) emi-1 refrigerant/gaseous odp 96 emi-4 insulant odp 81 emi-6 discharge to sewer 99 * ieq-6 high-frequency ballasts credit has been removed from the green star sa v1.1 tool, as this is regarded as code-compliant standard practice. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 14 from the lowest to the highest percentage achievement in figure 2 and listed in the category sequence in table 4. 2% 4% 5% 5% 7% 8% 10% 13% 13% 14% 14% 16% 18% 19% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% c re di t a ch ie ve m en t % credits name figure 2: green star sa credits with <20% achievement rate table 4: green star sa credits with < 20% achievement rate description average % achieved management man-4 independent commissioning agent 16 indoor environment quality ieq-10 individual comfort control 19 ieq-11 hazardous materials 10 ieq-15 mould prevention 2 materials mat-2 building reuse 8 mat-3 reused materials 4 mat-9 design disassembly 5 mat-10 dematerialisation 18 land use and ecology eco-1 topsoil 13 eco-3 reclaimed contaminated land 5 emissions emi-2 refrigerant gwp 7 emi-3 refrigerant leaks 14 innovation inn-2 exceeding green star sa benchmarks 13 inn-3 environmental design initiatives 14 hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 15 4.2 inferential statistics 4.2.1 average achievement percentage of green star sa categories the average achievement percentage of each credit was used to calculate an average achievement percentage for the credits within every green star sa percentage category. this analysis revealed a significant difference in the average achievement percentage of the nine categories. the three categories with the highest average achievement percentage are water (84%), transport (79%), and energy (77%), respectively. the two categories whose credits had the lowest average achievement percentage are ecology (37%) and innovation (19%) (table 5). the large degree of difference in the average achievement percentage of the nine categories is confirmed by the standard deviation (s = 19.8%) and the coefficient of variation (cv = 0.344). table 5: green star sa categories average credit achievement percentage green star sa category average credit achievement % green star sa weighting factor management 64 9 indoor environment quality 56 15 energy 77 25 transport 79 9 water 84 14 materials 47 13 land use and ecology 37 7 emissions 57 8 innovation 19 0 total weighting factor 100 average credit achievement % variance = s² 0.039 standard deviation = s 0.198 coefficient of variation = cv 0.344 achievement % versus weighting factor pearson’s coefficient of correlation = r 0.665 the linear relationship between the average achievement percentage and the weighting factor was described by the pearson product moment correlation (puth et al., 2014). the green star sa weighting factor allocated to the respective categories could only, to some extent, explain this variability in average achievement percentage (r = 0.665). table 5 also indicates that a category such as energy with a 77% average achievement acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 16 also carries a weighted score of 25, which may explain in part why the energy credits were often included in green building strategies. the category transport, however, had an even higher achievement of 79%, although the category only carries a weighted score of 9. the category indoor environment quality carries the second-highest weighted score of 15, but only had a 56% average achievement percentage. the monetary implications or the cost per point scored are most probably a very real issue to consider when evaluating the application trend of green star sa credits. for example, credits in the wat category may be more affordable than credits in the ieq category. aspects such as technical challenges, financial constraints, credits that are not applicable to every project, and so on should also be considered when trying to explain this variability in average achievement percentage. 4.2.2 the effect of green star sa rating on the average achievement percentage of green star sa credits the study also evaluated the extent to which the certification level targeted (4 star, 5 star, or 6 star rating) affected the achievement percentage of credits. the findings detailed in table 6 reveal that higher green star sa ratings targeted resulted in significantly higher number of credits being often achieved. a total of 20 credits were often achieved by the 4 star buildings, but as many as 38 credits had to be often achieved by 6 star buildings. table 6: credit application versus green star sa certification level category often achieved seldom achieved total sample credits 21 14 4 star rating 20 18 5 star rating 31 9 6 star rating 38 5 the linear relationship between the above sets of data was explored with the pearson product moment correlation (puth et al., 2014). the weighted points score required for the different certification categories was compared against the credit achievement data (both often and seldom). table 7 confirms a strong positive correlation between weighted points required and credits with an average achievement of >80% (r = 0.992) and also a strong negative correlation between weighted points required and credits with an average achievement of <20% (r = -0.976). hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 17 table 7: green star sa rating versus average achievement percentage category green star sa rating pearson’s coefficient of correlation4 star 5 star 6 star weighted score required 45 60 75 no of credits with achievement >80% 20 31 38 0.992 no of credits with achievement <20% 18 9 5 -0.976 the correlation between green star sa rating and the achievement percentage of credits confirms that a relatively large number of credits (18) are left unattended by buildings that apply for a 4 star rating. this finding may indicate that most of the credits required by 4 star buildings are sourced from 20 ‘often used’ credits. by comparison, the 6 star buildings applied 38 ‘often used’ credits, while only five credits were left relatively unattended. when trends in green star sa credit use are considered, it is important to bear the certification rating of buildings in mind. 4.2.3 the effect of time/year of certification on the average achievement percentage of green star sa credits the final analysis was to consider the relationship between time/the year of green building certification and the 35 credits that had already been identified as often used or seldom used. figures 3 to 11 display these relationships graphically. in 2009, only a single green building was certified, and the analysis was, therefore, limited to only display data from 2010 to 2015. figure 3 details the management category with man-5 building users’ guide and man-7 waste management as often used credits and man-4 independent commissioning agent as a seldom used credit. man-7 has trended lower since 2010, with a 2013 achievement below 80%. man-4 has trended higher since 2010, and in 2013 and 2015 exceeded 20% achievement. this trend is significant in light of the recent criticism of green building, suggesting that independent auditing of actual green building delivery should be considered. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 18 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d man 4 man 5 man 7 figure 3: management category – often used and seldom used credits figure 4 focuses on indoor environment quality with ieq-1 ventilation rates, ieq-6 high-frequency ballasts, ieq-8 external views, ieq-13 volatile organic compounds, and ieq-17 environmental tobacco smoke avoidance as often used credits, and ieq-10 individual comfort control, ieq-11 hazardous materials, and ieq-15 mould prevention as seldom used credits. the often used credits had regular achievement rates of >80% other than ieq-8 that in 2011 and 2014 dipped far below 80%. ieq-10, ieq-11, and ieq-15, as seldom used credits, displayed three distinctly different trends. ieq-15 seldom featured in green application strategies. ieq-11 displayed an increasing use trend since 2010, and in 2014 and 2015 exceeded 20% achievement. ieq-10 was constantly declining since 2010 as green building credit and in 2015 scored <10% for the first time. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d ieq 1 ieq 6 ieq 8 ieq 10 ieq 11 ieq 13 ieq 15 ieq 17 figure 4: indoor environment quality category – often used and seldom used credits the energy category was detailed in figure 5 with ene-1 greenhouse gas emissions, ene-2 energy sub-metering, ene-3 lighting power density, and ene-4 light zoning as often used credits. in 2010 ene-2 still had <70% achievement but since then has risen to >90% use. the other three credits had been used very frequently throughout the study period. hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 19 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d ene 1 ene 2 ene 3 ene 4 figure 5: energy category – often used and seldom used credits the transport category detailed in figure 6 only had two often used credits, tra-2 fuel-efficient transport and tra-3 cyclist facilities. tra-2 displayed use frequency varying about the 80% level. tra-3 started in 2010-2012 as almost always used, but then declined, and in 2014 and 2015 was used by <80% f buildings. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% transport 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 % a ch ie ve d tra 2 tra 3 figure 6: transport category – often used and seldom used credits figure 7 details the water category with wat-1 occupant amenity water, wat-2 water meters, and wat 4 heat rejection water as often used credits. all three credits were used at around 90% frequency or more, other than wat-4 that, in 2010, was used <70%. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 20 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d wat 1 wat 2 wat 4 figure 7: water category – often used and seldom used credits the materials category is detailed in figure 8, with mat-1 recycling waste storage and mat-6 steel, as often used credits and mat-2 building reuse, mat-3 reused materials, mat-9 design disassembly, and mat-10 dematerialisation, as seldom used credits. both mat-1 and man-6 were used around 90% of the time other than mat-1, starting below 70% in 2010 and mat-6 being used <60% in 2011. the four seldom used credits mat-2, mat-3, mat-9, and mat-10 were all used around 10% from 2012 to 2015. one point is available for each of mat-3, mat-9 and mat-10, which may in part explain the low use rate. mat-2 and mat-9 are also primarily focused on existing buildings and since this study concerns new office buildings, the use factor of these credits can be expected to be low. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d mat 1 mat 2 mat 3 mat 6 mat 9 mat 10 figure 8: materials category – often used and seldom used credits however, any credits focused on reducing the extent of natural resources required by buildings or to extend the use life of resources that have been committed to construction should be regarded as important. this finding indicates that more focus or incentives may be considered to support the regular application of these credits. studies such as junnila (2004), jacobs and ragheb (2010) as well as buyle et al. (2013) confirm that green building tools must support sustainability over the full use life of buildings. hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 21 the land use and ecology category with two seldom used credits in eco-1 topsoil and eco-3 reclaimed contaminated land is detailed in figure 9. however, the nature of these two credits that are only applicable to very specific circumstances explains why both credits were used very sparingly, with only eco-1 used >30% in 2012. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d eco 1 eco 3 figure 9: land use ecology category – often used and seldom used credits the emissions category with five trending credits as detailed in figure 10. emi-1 refrigerant/gaseous odp and emi-6 discharge to sewer were both used >95%, but emi-4 insulant odp only stabilised at >80% use from 2013. emi-2 refrigerant gwp was constantly used by around 10% or less of buildings. emi-3 refrigerant leaks declined in use from >30% in 2010 to <10% from 2012. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d emi 1 emi 2 emi 3 emi 4 emi 6 figure 10: emissions category – often used and seldom used credits the last category of innovation, with only two seldom used credits of inn-2 exceeding green star sa sa benchmarks and inn-3 environmental design initiatives, is detailed in figure 11. both credits varied between the use of 0%-30%, but since 2013 has stabilised at <20%. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 22 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % a ch ie ve d inn 3 inn 2 figure 11: innovation category – often used and seldom used credits with the v1.1 version of the office tool, the number of points in the innovation category increased from 5 to 10. a wide range of items have been awarded as innovation credits to date. green building needs innovative ideas to grow and prosper. a new innovation item recognised by the gbcsa under the inn-3 credit is financial transparency which is worth two points and has no capital cost to the project. this credit should be included in every green star sa application. follow-up studies will be able to confirm if credits in the innovation category will be more often achieved in the futore. 5. discussion the study explored potential trends with regard to the application of green credit strategies followed by green star sa-rated office buildings in south africa from 2009 to 2015. the findings revealed which credits are readily accessible and which credits very seldomly achieved green star sa. these insights were previously not available. 5.1 often used green star sa credits the first trend identified was that, out of the 67 credits of the green star sa office v1.1 tool, a total of 21 credits (31.3%) were achieved by an average of more than 80% of the office buildings certified between 2009 and 2015. a total of 13 credits (19.4%) were achieved by more than 90% of these office buildings. this study, therefore, identified that there are specific green credits that are very accessible to the industry and that are included in the green building strategies of almost all south african green buildings. a similar but much earlier study by hoffman and pienaar (2013) on green building strategies identified that, within the first three years of using the green star sa tool in south africa, all but one of the above 21 often used credits were already identified as very often achieved by green buildings certified. this finding confirms that these credits had been favoured in the hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 23 vast majority of south african green building strategies from the early days of south african green building certification. a deeper and more detailed analysis of the credits and the actual points within these credits will add more value to, and insight into the use and application of green star sa credits in the south african green building industry. the ene-01 credit may be of specific interest in this regard to reveal if the green building industry has made a real difference in the past decade. if all the points of the above 21 often used credits are weighted and added, the sum of 50,78 weighted points, is 5,78 points (or 12.83%) more than is required for a 4 star rating. in theory, an effective green building strategy that targets all the points of every one of these 21 credits can secure the majority of points to secure a 4 star green building rating. however, if this process is repeated for 80% and more of buildings, the result may possibly be a less-than-ideal delivery outcome by certified green buildings from a sustainability point of view. the remaining 46 credits of the green star sa tool and their contribution to a more sustainable industry may then never be fully realised. the green star sa tool is not designed to have most of the credits achieved by the vast majority of the projects, but to rather offer a wide menu of credits to projects to select from according to the circumstances of each project. however, the current status of a range of credits with very low application may warrant some attention from the gbcsa. it is, therefore, a potential outcome that has to be monitored and managed. 5.2 seldom used green star sa credits this study also found a second trend of 14 credits or 20.9% of all 67 credits that were achieved by less than 20% of the certified green buildings. a total of six credits (9.0%) were achieved by less than 10% of these buildings. this finding indicates that some credits are very inaccessible to the industry and may be a challenge to implement as part of green building strategies. these 14 credits were all included in the green star sa tool with proper motivation and positive intent. these credits have the potential to make an important contribution to a more sustainable environment. the result of very seldom using these credits may again, as described in section 5.1, be a less-than-ideal outcome from a sustainability point of view. as proposed in section 5.1, this scenario will require monitoring and management. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 24 5.3 average achievement percentage of green star sa categories the study also made a third finding with regard to the average achievement rate of each of the nine categories of the green star sa office v1.1 tool. the average achievement rate per category varied between 84% for water and 19% for innovation. the three categories with the highest average achievement rates were water (wat-1 to wat-5) with 84% (varying between 73%-89%), transport (tra-1 to tra-5) with 79% (70%-83%) and energy (ene-1 to ene-5) with 77% (75%-86%). the three categories with the lowest average achievement rates were innovation (inn-1 to inn-3) with 19% (varying between 11%-24%), land use and ecology (eco-1 to eco-4) with 37% (26%-46%) and materials (mat-1 to mat-11) with 47% (44%-49%). the weighted points allocated to the respective categories could only, in part, explain this variability in average achievement. aspects such as technical challenges, financial constraints, credits not applicable to every project, and so on should be explored for a deeper insight to explain this variability in average achievement percentage. 5.4 the effect of green star sa rating on the average achievement percentage of green star sa credits the fourth trend identified was a strong positive correlation coefficient of 0.992 found between the green star sa rating level of buildings achieved and the number of often used credits as well as a negative correlation coefficient of -0.976 between the green star sa rating level achieved and the number of seldom used credits. table 7 lends some support to the conclusion suggested in section 5.1 that the 21 credits with a >80% achievement can potentially secure a 4 star rating. the finding also reveals that the additional credits required by a 5 star rating needed more credits to be included in the green building strategies, resulting in 31 credits with a >80% achievement. a 6 star rating requires even more credits targeted in the green building strategy, resulting in 38 credits with a >80% achievement. table 6 also details that 4 star buildings have 18 credits with an average achievement of <20%, while 5 star and 6 star buildings only have nine credits and five credits, respectively, with an average achievement of <20%. the above finding supports the hypothesis that most of the credits required by 4 star buildings are sourced from the ‘often used’ credits and that a relatively large number of credits can be left unattended. hoffman, huang, van rensburg & york-hart • trends in application of ... 25 5.5 the effect of time/year of certification on the average achievement percentage of green star sa credits the vast majority of trends by credits that the study identified, either as often used or as seldom used, were apparent for most of the study period from 2010 to 2015. time was, therefore, not found to have a significant impact on the majority of credit trends. some of the often used credits such as emi-4 had increased use, while man-7 seemed to be experiencing a decline in use. among the seldom used credits, man-4 and ieq-11 did experience an increase in use, while ieq-10 and emi-3 seemed to be declining even further. 6. conclusions and recommendations a young industry such as the green building industry that is starting to grow towards maturity lacks the well-defined descriptors of established industries benefiting from many years of development and analysis. this study explored facets of green building developments to look for possible industry trends in the application of green building credits. the findings revealed overall industry trends that may otherwise have remained hidden from view of individual stakeholders involved with a limited number of projects. the study did find and discussed a number of trends. after completion of the analysis of the data and the findings made, the following recommendations are made: • the study regarding green building application trends of green credits should be continued, in order to keep track of this dynamic aspect and to be aware of what is happening as the green building industry matures. • the trends identified should be studied in more detail to explore the underlying causes of these trends. • aspects such as credits with technical challenges, financial constraints and the cost versus point ratio of credits, and credits only applicable to specific project types should be included in the above follow-up study. • a study comprising the opinions of green star sa accredited professionals to explore and unpack the findings of this study will add insight into, and credibility to the findings and may be of value to the gbcsa when reviewing or updating the green star sa tool. • many of the green star sa credits are worth more than one point, and these credits should be explored in more detail to reveal the actual percentage of available points targeted and achieved. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 26 one way of managing the trends identified is to, on a continued basis, peruse and consider the green star sa tool and, specifically, the points awarded and the weightings applied to the respective categories. new versions of the green star sa tool may be amended to move weighted points from often used credits with more modest sustainability contributions in favour of seldom used credits with highly desired sustainability outcomes. the result of such amendments to the green star sa tool may be future green building strategies amended to suit the new version of the tool and green buildings with a more substantial contribution towards environmental sustainability. acknowledgment and a sincere thank you is due to the gbcsa for making the above data available to the study. references berenson, m.l., levine, d.m. & krehbiel, t.c. 2012. 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[online]. available at: <https://www.worldgbc.org/member-directory> [accessed: 22 june 2020]. zuo, j., xia, b., chen, q., pullen, s. & skitmore, m. 2016. green building rating for office buildings – lessons learned. journal of green building, 11(2), pp. 131-146. https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.11.2.131.1. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00340.x https://www.worldgbc.org/member-directory https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.11.2.131.1 94 navorsingsartikels • research articles tashmika ramdav ms tashmika ramdav, quantity surveyor, ldm consulting, 21 west riding row, sherwood, durban, 4001, south africa. phone: 031-2071340, email: <tashmika.12@gmail.com> nishani harinarain dr nishani harinarain, senior lecturer, university of kwazulunatal, king george the v avenue, durban, 4001, south africa. phone: 031-2602687, email: <harinarain@ukzn. ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/ as25i2.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2018 25(2): 94-117 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) the use and benefits of quick response codes for construction materials in south africa peer reviewed and revised *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract this article explores the use and potential benefits of quick response (qr) codes on construction materials in an attempt to ensure that the construction industry continues to be more technologically advanced. this qualitative research study consisted of interviews and case studies. a sample of 30 construction material suppliers in the durban region were purposively selected and interviewed, using a semi-structured interview schedule. five case studies were randomly sampled from the durban region where qr codes were implemented for selected material samples. knowledge, experience and the impact of qr codes on construction materials were examined. the investigation chiefly found that most of the participants are in favour of the concept of using qr codes, even though these are currently not widely used for construction materials in south africa. positive feedback was obtained from those participants who are using qr codes on products. the findings provided the opportunity to improve the construction materials sector by introducing and implementing qr codes as a technological advancement in the construction industry. keywords: qr codes, construction industry, construction materials abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die gebruik en moontlike voordele van vinnige reaksie kodes (qr-kodes) op konstruksiemateriaal in ’n poging om te verseker dat die konstruksiebedryf steeds meer tegnologies gevorderd word. die kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie het van onderhoude en gevallestudies gebruik gemaak. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as25i2.4 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/za/ ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 95 dertig konstruksiemateriaalverskaffers in die durban-streek is doelbewus gekies en onderhoude is met hulle gevoer deur middel van ’n semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudskedule. vyf gevallestudies is ewekansig uit die durban-streek geneem waar qr-kodes vir geselekteerde materiaalmonsters geïmplementeer is. kennis, ervaring en die impak van qr-kodes op konstruksiemateriaal is ondersoek. die hoofbevinding van die ondersoek was dat meeste van die deelnemers ten gunste is van die gebruik van qr-kodering, alhoewel qr-kodes tans nie wyd vir konstruksiemateriaal in suid-afrika gebruik word nie. deelnemers wat wel qr-kodes op produkte gebruik, het slegs positiewe terugvoer gegee. die bevindings het die geleentheid gebied om die konstruksiemateriaalsektor te verbeter deur qr-kodes bekend te stel en te implementeer as tegnologiese vooruitgang in die konstruksiebedryf. sleutelwoorde: konstruksiemateriaal, konstruksiebedryf, vinnige reaksie kodes 1. introduction the construction industry is extremely important in south africa. the economic development of south africa can be measured using the construction industry as one of the indices (mewomo & maritz, 2015: 8). construction projects are complex in nature and take place in an unprepared, uncontrolled and dynamic environment. each project goes through several phases towards completion. construction project completion relies on the participation of all contracting parties and resources. construction materials are a project resource that influences the quality of construction projects (wibowo, elizar, sholeh & adji, 2016: 187). real-time and accurate information is, therefore, required for sharing data among all the parties involved for the purpose of efficient and effective planning (sardroud, 2012: 382). currently, the construction sector has been slow to adopt new digital technologies (fuchs, nowcke & strube, 2017: online). one of the reasons for this trend might be the fragmented landscape of this sector, which includes various stakeholders that can make it difficult to explore new technologies. another reason might be that companies are unfamiliar with the new digital technology available (blanco, mullin, pandya & sridhar, 2017: online). according to mckinsey global institute (mgi) (2017), one of the many new digital technologies available to the construction sector is sensors and communication (nfc) technology (mgi, 2017: 100). these capture real-time data from crews, equipment, and stores, enabling contractors to streamline their supply chains, reconcile material plans with physical availability, and analyse productivity (mgi, 2017: 100). one such sensor and communication technology is quick response (qr) codes (price, 2013: 1-2). building and construction materials are the primary sources and activities that define the quality of engineering and construction structures (gulghane & khandvi, 2015: 59, wibowo et al., 2016: acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 96 185). currently, the construction materials sector is estimated at approximately r95 billion per annum, with 60% sold directly to endusers, and 40% sold through a distribution channel, of which there are roughly 10,000 outlets countrywide. approximately r17 billion (18%) is used for additions and alterations, as well as for the homeimprovement market (cidb, 2007: 21). materials account for up to 60% or more of the total cost of a construction project, depending on the type of project (gulghane & khandvi, 2015: 59). construction materials are, therefore, an extremely critical element in all construction projects and can make significant contributions to the cost effectiveness of projects. planning and managing the logistics of materials is critical, as they directly affect the cost and schedule of a construction project (sardroud, 2012: 381). cost imbursements due to delays, rework and unnecessary work may be a result of the inadequate identification of materials, lack of materials when required, re-handling, and insufficient storage. material management plays a significant role in the success of any construction project. the most significant fragment of material management is its identification and tracking (sardroud, 2012: 381). automation technology allows for speedy and accurate data transfer that managers can use to identify and track construction materials from different locations (sardroud, 2012: 381). one such technology is the use of qr codes to improve the identification, tracking, delivery, receipt, and location of materials and components (sardroud, 2012: 383). to explore the benefits of using qr codes in the south african construction materials sector, this article determines how qr codes could convey information for construction materials in south africa, and how qr codes on construction materials can assist the south african construction industry in becoming more technologically advanced. 2. literature review the built environment requires an estimate of over 100,000 different types of materials for construction, operation, and maintenance. materials such as cement in the form of concrete is one of the most heavily consumed materials on the planet, more so than even food or fuel (skanska, 2017). to understand the purpose for applying digital and automation technology in the construction materials industry, it is important to introduce its concepts to those who work in the construction industry. ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 97 2.1 qr codes defined qr code, an abbreviation for quick response code, is a machinereadable two-dimensional barcode (price, 2013: 1-2). qr codes form part of the matrix (two-dimensional) barcode technology and are usually attached to items as they contain information about the items. qr codes use four standardised encoding modes (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, and kanji) to store data efficiently (wave, 2016). the qr code was created for conveying data faster and at a high speed (weir, 2010: 12). both wave (2016) and chang (2014: 114) mention that qr codes are readable from any angle and are dirt and damage resistant. qr codes have a small printout size, with high-capacity encoding of data and a structured appending feature, making it suitable to use on construction materials (wave, 2016). qr codes are currently in their third generation. the storage capacity did not only increase with each generation, but new features such as the addition of company logos on qr codes were also added (demir, kaynak & demir, 2015: 406-407). figure 2: third-generation qr code (demir et al., 2015: 407) figure 1: first-generation qr code (demir et al., 2015: 406) 2.2 the origin of qr codes qr codes were first created by a toyota subsidiary, denso wave, in 1994 (weir, 2010: 11). according to probst (2012: 2), denso wave developed the qr code in an attempt to improve the manufacturing process and the tracking of vehicles and parts. qr codes were designed to allow for fast decoding speeds and owe their existence to the development and success of barcodes (wave, 2016). in the 1960s, as barcodes were developed to help cashiers lighten their burden of manually keying in prices, their use spread. however, their limitations also became apparent in that a barcode can only hold 20 alphanumeric characters of information as the dominant factor. users contacted denso wave incorporated (then a division of denso corporation), who were developing barcode readers at that time, to develop barcodes that could hold more information. a development team embarked on a journey to develop these barcodes (wave, 2016). acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 98 after announcing the release of the qr code in 1994, it was adopted by the auto industry and contributed considerably to the efficiency of their management work (wave, 2016). denso wave then decided to make the specifications of the qr code freely available to the general public. patent rights to the qr code were retained by denso wave. however, he chose not to exercise them; the qr code could thus be used by as many people as possible at no cost (chang, 2014: 113-114). the use of qr codes, which became widespread in japan in 2002, was facilitated by the trend of marketing mobile phones with a qr code-reading feature. the popularity of the code among the general public was due to its sheer convenience, as the qr code is an open code that anyone is allowed to use (wave, 2016). 2.3 advantages and disadvantages of qr codes 2.3.1 advantages the main advantage of qr codes is their versatility, which makes them very easy to use. they can be used for nearly anything and are beneficial for both customers and businesses (estate qr codes, 2016). qr codes can store a great deal of information such as text, videos, advertisements, business card information, personal information, and any other type of digital information (demir et al., 2015: 406). qr codes also combine different forms of marketing streams, thus maximising business exposure and generating more revenue (estate qr codes, 2016; gramigna, 2016). qr codes are extremely cost effective, as there are no start-up costs or monthly fees, and many qr code generators and readers are free (price, 2013: 1-2). using qr codes can save paper, thereby displaying content in a green way (price, 2013: 1-2). qr codes are easily generated, can be customised to suit promotional items, provide an easier way to manage the return on investment of one’s marketing presence, and allow effective learning about the audience’s interests (gramigna, 2016; qr code stickers, 2013). 2.3.2 disadvantages people’s lack of familiarity with the qr code is one of the biggest disadvantages. although qr codes can be found nearly anywhere, people do not know how to obtain the information they require (estate qr codes, 2016). the other major disadvantage is that a mobile device or a smartphone as well as a qr code reader are required in order to gain access to a qr code (gramigna, 2016). ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 99 2.4 qr codes and their use for construction materials in a typical construction-material outlet, customers choose a product either subconsciously or at a speed, because time is of the essence. the shopping environment can sometimes be disorderly and complex, causing shoppers to use clues such as familiar brands or pricing displays instead of finding the best option (kappa, 2017: 6). shelf-ready packaging is an effective way of applying digital technology such as bar codes to products, as shoppers react instantly to what they see in front of them (qr codes for innovative product packaging, 2017). using barcode technology in construction-material stores allows for materials managers to keep a centralised record on a computer system that tracks products, prices, and stock levels (woodford, 2017: online). managers can change prices as often as they like, without having to put new price tags on all the items on the shelves. one can instantly see when stock levels of certain items are running low and reorder. it also allows customers to read information about the materials such as their specification, source, fitting instructions, maintenance data, storage requirements, and safety information (kappa, 2017: 6). because barcode technology is so accurate, customers can use their smartphone devices to scan these codes (marketing natural products using qr codes, 2017). scanned codes link these devices to websites where customers can review products, manufacturers, brands, and companies before choosing to buy the products. another reason why qr codes are put on products is to ensure that buyers can participate in rewards programmes and are given discounts, free goods, and premium prizes. qr codes on packaging have also been used for promotions and raffles (qr codes for innovative product packaging, 2017). 3. research methodology with a focus on the impact of qr codes on construction materials in the construction industry, this study originates from an interpretative paradigm and follows a qualitative research approach (yanow & schwartz-shea, 2011). this type of paradigm allows for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem (creswell, 2014; mertens, 2009; welman, kruger & mitchell, 2005). it also allows for adopting a qualitative research design that justifies the use of semi-structured interviews and case studies (creswell, 2014: 17). in this study, semi-structured interviews used open-ended interviewing to explore the participants’ views on the use of qr codes in the south african construction-materials industry (thanh & thanh, 2015: 24). various products from five acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 100 selected building-material suppliers were issued with qr codes and used as case studies to test the effectiveness of using qr codes in construction-material outlets (creswell, 2005). another reason for using a qualitative research approach is that it supports thematic data analysis, which is the process of identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data (creswell, 2014; clarke & braun, 2013). in this study, thematic data analysis was used, because it is not tied to a specific theoretical perspective. this flexible method is used to present a detailed and nuanced account of data by transcribing, coding and setting themes from the interviews and case studies (braun & clarke, 2006: 87; clarke & braun, 2013). 3.1 sampling a total of 30 interviews were conducted with construction-materials suppliers in the durban region. the sample consisted of suppliers from the following building-material products: tiles, paint, bricks and precast cement, glass, timber, carpets and flooring, trusses, electrical and lighting, blinds, as well as plumbing. the construction-material suppliers were selected by means of the purposively sampling technique, using availability and willingness to participate as criteria (cresswell & plano clark, 2011). the case studies selected for this study consisted of five constructionmaterial suppliers. however, as qr codes are relatively new in south africa and many people may not know their nature or benefits, it was necessary to select the construction-material suppliers to be used for the study based on “who are easily available and convenient to interview”. therefore, five case study building-material suppliers were selected by means of the non-probabilistic convenience sampling technique and used as the source of data for this study (etikan, musa & alkassim, 2016: 2). the suppliers used for the case studies were corobrik, precast cement products, tile africa, timbercity, and top carpets & floors. 3.2 data collection the qr codes topics used in the interview survey were extracted from reviews of the literature. the interview survey contained open-ended questions. respondents were asked to indicate the type of building construction material they supply: a) tiles, b) paint, c) bricks and precast cement, d) glass, e) timber, f) carpets and flooring, g) trusses, h) electrical and lighting, i) blinds, and j) plumbing. to understand the level of qr codes technology in the construction-materials sector, respondents were asked to mention whether they knew what a qr ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 101 code is; use qr codes as a marketing tool; will continue to use qr codes; can suggest other ways in which qr codes can assist their company, and suggest implications with using qr codes. prior to the interviews, the researchers explained the following advantages and disadvantages of qr codes to respondents: the way in which they can be incorporated in the construction-materials industry, and their effect on the industry. the researchers ensured that all participating interviewees were asked the same questions. for the case studies, construction-material suppliers were selected where qr codes could be implemented on products with the potential for testing the application and use of qr codes and determining if they can make a positive difference in the industry. the researchers went to each supplier to obtain approval and were given samples of products on which to conduct the study. the researchers then collected information from the managers as well as from the websites and made the qr codes for the sample products. after scanning the qr code multiple times to ensure that it worked correctly, the researchers returned to the stores and inserted the qr codes on the labels or placed them near the samples. 3.3 data analysis and interpretation of the findings using thematic data analysis, a nuanced account of the data could be presented by transcribing, coding and setting themes from the responses of the interviews and case studies (braun & clarke, 2006: 87). the responses from the interview survey and case studies interviews with store managers and observations from customers form the data set for this study. once all the responses in the data set were transcribed, codes could be generated and were set as: qr codes general information; qr codes as a marketing tool; qr codes ease of use; qr codes future use; qr codes assist company, and qr codes implications with use. from this set of codes preliminary themes were set as: qr codes general information; qr codes as a marketing tool; qr codes use; qr codes benefits, and qr codes impact. based on the entire data set, these codes were refined into three specific themes which are defined as: qr codes convey information; qr codes benefit the south african constructionmaterials sector, and qr codes on construction materials assist the south african construction industry to become more technologically advanced. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 102 4. findings 4.1 respondents respondents were asked to indicate the type of building construction material they supply. table 1 shows the different suppliers from the sample that were used in the study. table 1: suppliers in the sample suppliers number tiles 5 paint 3 bricks and precast cement 2 glass 1 timber 5 carpets and flooring 5 trusses 1 electrical and lighting 3 blinds 2 plumbing 3 total 30 4.2 interview analysis based on themes 4.2.1 qr codes convey in♥formation this theme captured the respondents’ general knowledge and trends regarding the concept of qr codes. figure 3 shows the interviewees’ general views on qr codes. only one third of the interviewees knew what a qr code is. after showing a picture of a qr code and explaining to the twenty interviewees, who did not know what a qr code is, the researchers found that only one respondent still did not know what it is. this shows that qr codes are known, but that people do not necessarily know what it is called. only 30% of the ten people, who knew what a qr code is, are using them on products, while the other 30% use qr codes for payments, advertising, or as a link to their website. this clearly indicates that, although some suppliers may use qr codes, they have not yet experienced their full benefits. ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 103 figure 3: interviewees’ view on qr codes 4.2.2 qr codes as a marketing tool this theme captured the respondents’ general knowledge regarding the concept of using qr codes as a marketing tool. when asked about the type of marketing tools their company currently uses, 74% of the respondents replied websites and print; 21% replied social media and television, and 6% replied by word of mouth. the literature review shows that different forms of marketing can be streamed together, as qr codes can act as a link that exposes clients to many different ways of advertising the product. qr codes can, therefore, maximise exposure and increase revenue. of the 24 interviewees who are not using qr codes, only two did not see themselves using qr codes as a marketing tool in the future for the following reasons: “customers already know what they are looking for when they come in the store”. six of the interviewees said “maybe”. sixteen interviewees perceived themselves as using qr codes as a marketing tool in the future for the following reasons: the company tries its best to keep up with technology. i will know that it has been brought to my attention. qr codes are the next big thing. it will definitely help. i was just in a meeting about better ways to market and communicate, so qr codes have definitely given me an idea. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 104 4.2.3 qr codes use this theme captured the respondents’ knowledge regarding the concept of using qr codes in general in their companies. table 4 shows the reason why some interviewees do not use qr codes. the suppliers who were not using qr codes were then asked why they were not utilising them. some (12.5%) mentioned that they do not see the need for it; 29.5% of them were not sure, and 58% stated that “it has not been introduced”; “they haven’t thought about it”, or “the lack of knowledge about it”. this indicates that more marketing about qr codes and their benefits must be explained before they can be adopted in a company. figure 4: the reasons for some interviewees not using qr codes the interviewees, who are using qr codes, were then asked if they see the company continuing to use qr codes. a particularly happy respondent mentioned: we have been using qr codes for the past 8 years and it has really made a difference. it brought in a lot of business and clients are extremely satisfied with the company and the idea of being technologically advanced. qr codes are very attractive and clients always notice them and ask more about them. this makes them scan qr codes. therefore, i definitely see us continuing to use qr codes as a marketing tool in the future. the interviewees were asked if there are any implications of using qr codes. of the interviewees, 80% stated that there are no implications, while 20% believed that there are implications. the following explanations were given for the implications: sales representatives will no longer be needed. specifications on the qr code may be found in the hands of competitors and lack of skills training as not everyone is technologically orientated. ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 105 4.2.4 qr codes benefits this theme captured the respondents’ knowledge of the ways in which the use of qr codes can benefit their companies. the respondents also discussed other ways in which qr codes can assist the company, including the following responses: brand awareness. to assist with making more money and bringing in business. marketing. advertising. for compliance, as the respondent believed that they fail in this regard. qr codes can now be stamped on the product for effective tracking and communication. on websites. as a payment method. when asked about the benefits of using technology in construction, the following responses were received: bringing in more business. being easier. saving time and paper. upgrading equipment and software. testing materials. cutting out human error. assisting with safety regulations. assisting the entire construction process. the literature review indicated that qr codes are a technological advancement of barcodes and thus a quick and efficient way to move information. 4.2.5 qr codes impact this theme captured the respondents’ knowledge on the possible impact of the use of qr codes on the building and construction industry. figure 5 shows the interviewees’ views on the current state of the south african construction industry. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 106 of the respondents, 70% believe that qr codes are in fashion. this implies that qr codes are known and can certainly make an impact in the industry. twenty-five respondents believed that qr codes is a trend set to grow. figure 5: the interviewees’ views on the current state of the south african construction industry the suppliers who were using qr codes were asked if they measured the impact of qr codes. the following responses were provided: no, as we just started using qr codes. it is definitely working. it is effective. it brought in business. a positive response was received when asked about whether qr codes can impact on construction materials in south africa, with one of the respondents, who is currently using qr codes, stating that “it impacted this company tremendously …”, thus indicating unanimously that the interviewees believe that qr codes are the way forward for south africa’s construction-materials sector. of the respondents, 90% believe that qr codes should be implemented in the south african construction-materials sector. “they must”, emphasized one respondent. a negative comment was that “qr codes should not be implemented in the construction materials sector of south africa because there is no need for it.” ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 107 4.3 analysis of case studies using the same preliminary themes, the analysis from the case studies is discussed under each of them, but without headings: qr codes general information; qr codes as a marketing tool; qr codes use; qr codes benefits, and qr codes impact. 4.3.1 corobrik corobrik is a manufacturer and supplier of face bricks, non-face bricks, clay pavers, concrete, masonry, pavers, and earth retaining systems (corobrik, 2017). the researchers visited corobrik and, upon obtaining the required approval, were given a sample of two bricks to conduct the study on namely firelight and nebraska. the researchers then collected information from both the manager of the store and the website and made the qr codes fit on the label found in store. after scanning the qr code multiple times to ensure that it is in correct working order, the researchers went to corobrik and inserted the qr codes on the labels of firelight and nebraska. after using the qr codes consistently for 20 days, corobrik found that it was extremely quick and easy to scan and install the application. the responses from the interviews concerning the use of the qr codes were only positive ones; there were no complaints about the qr codes. after seeing the qr codes in action, the staff believed that there more signage should be provided, enabling more customers to take an interest in the qr codes. they opine that the qr codes require a great deal of visibility to realise their full benefits. corobrik liked the idea of qr codes and the staff can view qr codes as a permanent marketing tool in the company. corobrik believes that qr codes can assist the industry, as it is part of technology, which plays a big role in today’s world. 4.3.2 precast cement products precast cement products supply concrete blocks to both the domestic and the industrial market and specialise in textured and coloured face blocks with a range of 13 colours (precast cement products, 2017). after gaining the required approval from the manager of precast cement products, the researchers were given a sample of two blocks, namely fairface blocks and splitface blocks. the manager indicated that he would like the qr codes to be framed, due to the lack of space in the shopfront. the researchers then collected information from both the manager of the store and the website. they fitted the acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 108 qr codes in an a5 frame, as requested by the store manager. after scanning the qr code multiple times and with multiple qr code readers to ensure their correct operation, the researchers contacted precast cement products and placed the frame on the shopfront. after having the qr codes in the shopfront for 20 days, precast cement products were happy with the effect qr codes had on the company. they received no complaints; they thought that it was easy and effective to use, and they believed that they need to get more people involved in technology. they opined that it would assist their company if they get more people involved with scanning qr codes. the only improvement they would like to make to the qr code to increase its effectiveness is to insert pictures on the qr code. precast cement products is of the opinion that qr codes will assist the industry when there is a shortage of staff and when customers are left waiting for a sales representative. the customers can simply scan the code and obtain the information they require. 4.3.3 tile africa tile africa supplies local and imported floor and wall tiles in ceramic, polished or glazed porcelain, natural stone, slate, or decorative tiles (tile africa, 2017). upon the required approval, a sample of two tiles, namely houtbay weathered and houtbay bleached, were used to conduct this study at tile africa. the store manager then emailed the required information he wished to have on the qr code to the researchers. he wanted the qr codes to fit in the label of the required tiles. the researchers then made the qr codes and scanned them to ensure that they are operating correctly. the researchers then inserted the qr codes on the labels of houtbay weathered and houtbay bleached. tile africa used the qr codes consistently for 20 days. customers noted that the qr codes were extremely easy to use. tile africa did not experience any problems in using them and had no suggestions for further improvement. the customers were curious about what the qr code was about. this shows that qr codes are attractive and catch the eye of people. going forward, the company believes that it would be much easier to have a great deal of data accessible regarding specifications and technical information. sales consultants can also use these codes to access information and confidently answer customers’ questions. tile africa believes that qr codes can assist the construction industry if used by the right people, in the right way and for the right purpose. they agreed to have qr codes on all their products. ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 109 4.3.4 timbercity timbercity specialises in timber, board as well as hardware for cabinetry and carpentry. related services such as board cutting, edging and the pre-drilling of hinge holes are also provided (timbercity, 2015). after obtaining the required approval from timbercity, the researchers were given a sample of nine types and lengths of timber to conduct the study, namely 20x20 pine plain all round 1,800mm, 20x20 pine plain all round 2,400mm, 20x20 pine plain all round 3,000mm, 32x32 pine plain all round 1,800mm, 32x32 pine plain all round 2,400mm, 32x32 pine plain all round 3,000mm, 20x64 pine plain all round 1,800mm, 20x64 pine plain all round 2,400mm, and 20x64 pine plain all round 3,000mm. information was collected from the store manager and the qr codes were made to fit on the label found in store. after scanning the qr code multiple times, the researchers went to timbercity and inserted the qr codes on the labels of the required timbers. after having used the qr codes for 20 days, timbercity were of the opinion that the qr codes are easy to use and that they have no complaints. they believe that the qr codes were the ideal size for their company. so far, qr codes give customers more information. however, more advertising would have to be made available for customers to refer to. self-service in timbercity is a great help, as customers do not need the attention of a sales assistant to obtain information about a product. 4.3.5 top carpets and floors top carpets and floors offer a wide range of carpets, laminates, vinyls, ceramic tiles, other floor coverings, and blinds (top carpets and floors, 2017). after obtaining the required approval, the researchers placed qr codes on two types of laminate floors (elegant living and liberty) at top carpets and floors. the store manager then showed the researchers the required information to be placed on the qr code from the website. he wanted the qr codes to be on an a4 page, as the laminate flooring was displayed on the floor of the store. the manager intended to have the a4 page kept at the sales representatives’ desk near the laminate flooring. the researchers extracted the required information from the website and made the qr codes. they then tested qr codes several times with several acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 110 different qr code readers to ensure their correct operation and handed these over to the store manager. the qr codes were placed on pages on the sales consultant’s desk and not on labels or displayed for customers to view. top carpets and floors did not use the qr codes consistently for 20 days. they did admit that the qr codes are easy to use and that the customers did not experience problems when scanning them. however, they realised that having it displayed would elicit more feedback. top carpets and floors can perceive the company using qr codes in the future, but these will have to be more visible to get their full benefit. they believe that qr codes can assist the industry by providing much needed information to customers. 4.3 final analysis and discussion based on the results from the entire data set, three specific themes are defined and discussed: qr codes convey information; benefit the south african construction-materials sector, and assist the south african construction industry in becoming more technologically advanced. 4.3.1 qr codes convey information this theme captured the respondents’ existing knowledge on how qr codes can help the construction industry convey information, by including as much information as possible to ensure effective communication and information-sharing. during the interviews, the majority of the respondents expressed a positive experience with using qr codes to convey information to customers: qr codes are the next big thing. i was just in a meeting about better ways to market and communicate, so qr codes has definitely given me an idea. i definitely see us continuing to use qr codes as a marketing tool in the future. qr codes can now be stamped on the product for effective tracking and communication. the managers of the stores in the case studies believed that qr codes can convey information; they expressed a positive experience during the trial period when using qr codes on their products. ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 111 precast cement products: “the customers can simply scan the code and gain the information they require”. tile africa: “… it would be much easier to have a lot of data accessible regarding specifications and technical information. sales consultants can also use these codes to access information and confidently answer customers’ questions.” top carpets and floors: “… qr codes are working by giving customers more information.” the literature review shows that qr codes convey information horizontally and vertically. therefore, these codes store hundred times more information than normal barcodes (chang, 2014: 114). qr codes on products give customers a good reason to buy a product, as it can provide additional information as well as photos, videos and demos with user reviews, without crowding a store to ensure customers can confidently buy a product (qr code stickers, 2013). the essential point is that the respondents had a positive experience and supported the use of qr codes to convey information – for example, feeling positive – because they experienced that information can be sourced quickly and easily; information of products can easily be punched into a qr code creator, which will then create the qr code for fast and effective marketing and information-sharing; qr codes eliminate human error, as a sales representative may forget an important feature or may mix up two products; customers obtain the correct information at the click of a button, and customers no longer need to wait to talk to a sales representative for product information, thus saving time. 4.3.2 qr codes benefit the south african construction-materials sector this theme captured the respondents’ existing knowledge on the benefits of using qr codes in the south african constructionmaterials sector. during the interviews, the majority of the respondents expressed positive views on the benefits of using qr codes and on the ways in which qr codes can assist companies in the construction-materials sector: it brought in a lot of business. cutting out human error. assisting with safety regulations. brand awareness. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 112 for compliance qr codes can be stamped on products for effective tracking and communication. marketing and advertising. as a payment method. saving time and paper. the managers of the stores in the case studies believed that qr codes can benefit their companies. they also expressed a positive experience during the trial period when using qr codes on their products. corobrik: “qr codes need a lot of visibility so that the full benefits can be realised.” precast cement products: “we are happy with the effect qr codes had on the company … if more people scan qr codes, it will assist our company.” precast cement products & timbercity: “… qr codes will assist the industry if there is a shortage of staff and customers are left waiting for a sales representative. the customers can simply scan the code and gain the information they require.” top carpets and floors: “… can see the company using qr codes in the future but with it being more visible to get the full benefit of it … qr codes can assist the industry by providing much needed information to customers.” the literature review indicates that qr codes can benefit the construction-materials sector, because qr codes are versatile, user friendly and easy to use (qr code stickers, 2013). generators and readers are free to install and, once the application is downloaded, qr codes can be made by anyone and put anywhere, as they are relatively small in size (qr code stickers, 2013). there are no start-up costs or monthly fees, thus making qr codes extremely cost effective (price, 2013: 1-2). a great deal of information can be stored on the code (demir et al., 2015: 406). different forms of marketing can be streamed together, as qr codes can act as a link that exposes clients to many different ways of advertising the product or service. qr codes can maximise exposure and produce revenue (estate qr codes, 2016). responses on qr codes can easily be tracked, based on specific objectives (gramigna, 2016). the use of qr codes eliminates the gap between offline print and online pages, thus saving paper and displaying information in a green way (price, 2013: 1-2). ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 113 the important point is that the managers had a positive experience and supported the benefits of using qr codes on construction materials not only for their stores, but also for the construction industry – for example, feeling positive – because they experienced that qr codes can assist with brand awareness, marketing, advertising as well as a payment method. for compliance, qr codes can be stamped on the product to ensure effective tracking and communication; bring in business, as they are attractive and customers want to know more about them when they see them; have made companies grow, extend themselves to the world with information that is accessible anywhere, and set themselves apart from the rest; are quick, easy and simple; eliminate human error; make a sales representative’s job easier, and is a great tool for marketing and information-sharing. 4.3.3 qr codes on construction materials help the south african construction industry become more technologically advanced this theme captured the respondents’ existing knowledge on how the use of qr codes on construction materials can help the south african construction industry become more technologically advanced. during the interviews, the majority of the respondents expressed positive views on how the use of qr codes on construction material can help the construction industry be more technologically advanced: easier store management. easier to click a button for information. saving time and paper. upgrading equipment and software. preview materials. cutting out human error. assist the entire construction process. the company tries its best to keep up with technology. clients are extremely satisfied with the company and the idea of being technologically advanced. the managers of the stores in the case studies believed that qr codes on construction material can help the south african construction industry become more technologically advanced; they also expressed a positive experience during the trial period when using qr codes on their products. acta structilia 2018: 25(2) 114 corobrik: “… qr codes can assist the industry as it is part of technology and technology plays a big role in today’s world.” precast cement products: “… we are happy with the effect qr codes had on the company… we will get more people involved in technology.” the literature review indicates that qr codes on construction material can help the construction industry become more technologically advanced, because using qr code applications allows the industry to use matrix barcode technology and machine-readable barcodes that have advanced storage capacity (demir et al., 2015: 406). the widespread use of qr code reading features on mobile phones made it easier for the construction industry to use the advanced features of qr technology. qr codes use a software programme that is installed on smartphones to create, read and analyse the codes. once the software analyses the code, the necessary information and actions are displayed on the screen (chang, 2014: 114). the essential point is that the respondents had a positive experience and support the display of qr codes on construction material to help the construction industry become more technologically advanced – for example, feeling positive – because they experienced that qr codes are extremely technologically advanced; are completely digital, and are created, read and analysed with the click of a button, and there is no waiting time, as the code is created within seconds. qr codes can assist the industry in becoming more technologically advanced by moving away from paper. customers would no longer need to ask sales representatives for information, as they can simply click a button and scan the qr code to access information at their fingertips. 5. conclusion qr codes have the potential to take the construction industry to greater heights, not only by providing information at the click of a button, but also by being simple, easy, cost effective and technologically advanced. qr codes ensure that customers have valuable information at all times. the use of qr codes eliminates human error. with qr codes, information is accurate, true and reliable. this article described qr codes as a technological advancement of the construction-materials sector. the findings show that the respondents are in favour of qr codes and would like to adopt qr ramdav & harinarain • the use and benefits of quick response... 115 codes as a marketing tool on products, even though qr codes are not currently widely used for construction materials. the case studies show that, once qr codes are adapted in the company, it has the potential to make great strides towards becoming technologically advanced. in conclusion, it is recommended that stakeholders implement qr codes on some, if not all of their products, in order to gain a perspective of whether qr codes can work for them and the products they supply and to reap the benefits described earlier. it is further recommended that this study be done over a longer period, in order to track qr code usage and its effectiveness in the industry. references blanco, j.l., mullin, a., pandya, k. & sridhar, m. 2017. the new age of engineering and construction technology. 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[online]. available at: <https://www.explainthatstuff.com/barcodescanners. html> [accessed: 24 january 2018]. yanow, d. & schwartz-shea, p. 2011. interpretive approaches to research design: concepts and processes. new york, usa: routledge. https://www.explainthatstuff.com/chris-woodford.html _goback _hlk484693487 1 how to cite: nyakala, k.s., pretorius, j. & vermeulen, a. 2019. factor analysis of quality assurance practices in small and medium-sized road-construction projects: a south african perspective. acta structilia, 26(1), pp. 1-41. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as navorsingsartikels • research articles kgashane stephen nyakala dr kgashane stephen (k.s.) nyakala, lecturer, department of operations management, tshwane university of technology, south africa. phone: +27 84 435 8730, email: <nyakalaks@tut.ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5160-3747 jan-harm pretorius prof. jan-harm christiaan (j.h.c.) pretorius, professor, postgraduate school of engineering management, university of johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27 11 559 3377, email: <jhcpretorius@uj.ac. za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2023-749x andre vermeulen dr. andre vermeulen, senior research associate, postgraduate school engineering management, university of johannesburg, south africa. phone: +27(0) 82 786 8076, email: <avermeulen@uj.ac. za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-5744-4030 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 1-41 factor analysis of quality assurance practices in small and mediumsized road-construction projects: a south african perspective peer reviewed and revised february 2019 published june 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract although implementing quality assurance (qa) processes in construction is important in the south african economy, small and mediumsized enterprises (smes) faced difficulties in improving rural road infrastructure and highquality roads. hardly any effort is made on to how sustain quality in road-project construction through suitable construction strategy in local governments. this article aims to analyse and examine the quality of road-construction projects built by smes contractors in mopani district municipality, south africa. the article follows a quantitative survey approach in which a three-section questionnaire was administered to 160 purposively selected roadbuilding practitioners in south african construction smes. the questionnaire was structured into three parts, which sought the participants’ profile, identified the quality assurance practices (qaps) incorporated in the construction smes’ road-building programmes, and identified the factors that negatively http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:nyakalaks@tut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5160-3747 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5160-3747 mailto:jhcpretorius@uj.ac.za mailto:jhcpretorius@uj.ac.za https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2023-749x https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2023-749x mailto:avermeulen@uj.ac.za mailto:avermeulen@uj.ac.za https://orcid. org/0000-0001-5744-4030 https://orcid. org/0000-0001-5744-4030 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.1 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 2 influence the implementation of qa processes. data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 23. descriptive statistics was used to determine the reliability of the various constructs, mean scores, and standard deviations. the empirical findings established eight qaps that were reliable and valid for implementation processes that can control or minimise their causes of poor quality in projects undertaken by construction smes’ level of skill acquisition. these are: project planning and control techniques; project construction design; process implementation and process improvement; financial management; organisational structures; involvement of people, as well as quality standards and measurements. the eight factors attained high cronbach alpha values above the recommended 0.70, which indicates high internal consistencies among the sub-scales. this article is significant in that project managers working in similar environments may use the results of this study either as diagnostic tools or as a reference benchmark for strategic interventions in solving construction projects-related problems. the researchers also recommend that these practices are for qa in construction projects undertaken by smes in south africa. keywords: south africa, sme construction projects, quality assurance practice, road construction abstrak alhoewel implementering van gehalteversekeringsprosesse in konstruksie belangrik is in die suid-afrikaanse ekonomie, het klein en medium-grootte ondernemings (kmo’s) probleme ondervind met die verbetering van landelike padinfrastruktuur en hoëgehalte-paaie. min moeite word gedoen oor hoe om gehalte in die bou van padprojekte deur middel van geskikte konstruksiestrategieë in plaaslike regerings te handhaaf. hierdie artikel het ten doel om die gehalte van padbouprojekte wat deur mko-kontrakteurs in mopani distrikmunisipaliteit in suid-afrika gebou is, te analiseer en te ondersoek. die artikel volg ’n kwantitatiewe opnamebenadering waarin ’n drie-afdeling vraelys aan 160 doelgerigte padbou-praktisyns in suid-afrikaanse konstruksie-kmo’s gestuur is. die vraelys is in drie dele gestruktureer, die deelnemers se profile, die ïdentifisering van gehalteversekeringspraktyke (qaps) in die konstruksie-kmo se padbouprogramme, en die faktore wat die implementering van kv-prosesse negatief beïnvloed. spss-weergawe 23, die statistiese pakket vir die sosiale wetenskappe, is gebruik om die data te ontleed. beskrywende statistiek is gebruik om die betroubaarheid van die verskillende konstrukte, gemiddelde tellings en standaardafwykings te bepaal. die empiriese bevindinge het agt kvp’s vasgestel wat betroubaar en geldig was vir implementeringsprosesse wat hul oorsake van swak gehalte in projekte wat deur konstruksie-kmo’s onderneem word, se vlak van vaardigheidsverkryging kan beheer of verminder. dit is: projekbeplanning en beheertegnieke; projek konstruksie ontwerp; verwerking van implementering en prosesverbetering; finansiële bestuur; organisatoriese strukture; betrokkenheid van mense, en gehalte standaarde en metings. die agt faktore het hoë cronbach alpha-waardes bo die aanbevole 0.70 bereik wat dui op hoë interne geldigheid tussen die subskale. hierdie artikel is beduidend omdat projekbestuurders wat in soortgelyke omgewings werk, die resultate van hierdie studie gebruik as diagnostiese gereedskap of as verwysende maatstaf vir strategiese intervensies in die oplossing van konstruksieprojekte-verwante probleme. sleutelwoorde: gehalteversekeringspraktyk, kmo-konstruksieprojekte, padkonstruksie, suid-afrika nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 3 1. introduction the road-construction industry in southern africa is challenging, because there are many multifaceted responsibilities and operational procedures to adhere to (mofokeng & thwala, 2012: 712; windapo & cattel, 2013; george, 2016: 24). road-construction smes can be described as those smes who work on road-construction projects, comprising some components of the design and control of roadconstruction works as well as the quantity of building materials, tools, equipment, plant, transport and other services (rumane, 2011). the south african local government is obliged to provide roads to the local communities they serve. the provision of adequate roads contributes to economic growth, development and redistribution of a good roads network infrastructure (nyakala, vermeulen, pretorius & munyai, 2017: 636; statistics south africa, 2017). the upgrading of rural roads networks not only contributes to improve the socio-economic conditions of communities, but also supports the establishment of effective co-ordinating constructions throughout government to promote efficiency in road service delivery (fang & wu, 2013: 139). the annual report on south african sme construction projects mentions 30.1% to 39.4% inefficiency, poor quality of rural road-building, and lack of construction-process planning among smes contractors (statistics south africa, 2017). the sme road-construction industry has experienced a demand for an increased number of projects in rural road-building. the complexity of managing and executing these projects is challenging. despite the amount of sme road contractor’s activity available, south africa still does not perform well when compared to other countries worldwide (cidb, 2012; tshivhase & worku, 2012: 41; george, 2016: 23). south africa is mostly characterised by the failure of sme road-construction entrepreneurial capacity, which is largely characterised by low levels of entrepreneurial education, incomplete accessibility of road-network infrastructure, high demand for roads in rural connectivity, crisis management, and liveability (mofokeng & thwala, 2012; fang & wu, 2013; nyakala et al., 2017: 640). this has led to the improper implementation of rural road-construction projects, causing considerable problems such as drastic changes in product and process implementation, customer expectations, competitive behaviours as well as supplier attitudes for contractors (tshivhase & worku, 2012: 43; aigbavboa & thwala, 2014: 771; nyakala, 2017). unless local contractors raise their performance standards relative to foreign competitors, the current situation will deteriorate (aigbavboa & thwala, 2014: 712). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 4 it is against this background that this study not only examines the qaps incorporated in the rural road infrastructure of construction smes, but also determines the factors that positively influence the practice of road-construction smes. identifying such factors will help smes management to understand the processes of improving the quality of construction projects and to successfully implement, monitor and deal with qaps in road-construction smes (ahadzie, proverbs & olomolaiye, 2008: 675). 2. literature review road-construction organisations display distinctive characteristics, combined with the varying demands of the industry’s stakeholders, which includes uniting varied investors, clients, consulting professions and contractual engagements (badu & owusu-manu, 2011: 271; cidb, 2012). applying total quality management (tqm) principles in road-construction processes entails the involvement of everyone, where tqm has the potential to improve customer satisfaction and confidence in the organisation’s products/services, staff performance, teamwork and better management of workers within companies (arditi & gunaydin, 1997; haupt & whiteman, 2004: 166). understanding the relationship between process quality and product quality could consequently be useful in cultivating the qaps that can reduce poor quality practices in road-construction projects. in order to understand the implementation process of qaps in roadconstruction smes, it is important to introduce the present theory on the quality practices processes included in this study. the current theory focuses on the overall concepts of quality practices in the construction project and project management structures. 2.1 quality assurance in smes qa in sme construction projects is one part of quality system management. qa involves establishing project-related policies, procedures, standards, training, guidelines and systemic activities implemented in a quality system to fill quality requirements (basu, 2004; freeman-bell & balkwill, 1996; aziz & abdel-hakam, 2016; panuwatwanich & nguyen, 2017). having specific procedures, clear policies, standards, training, guidelines and systems designed to maximize employee performance in facilitating a business’ strategic objectives correlates with project success by directing attention, motivating and maintaining an efficient quality-management system (arditi & gunaydin, 1997; nyakala, 2017). nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 5 various researchers on quality-management approaches have agreed that, unless sme contractors play an active role and take the lead to improve productivity through quality-management systems in the civil construction industry, efforts and gains made by individuals and departments will be short-lived (arditi & gunaydin, 1997; basu, 2004; bierman, marnewick & pretorius, 2013). in south africa, project managers and project consultants are responsible for the overall construction success related to delivering infrastructure projects within the approved costs and time as well as the necessary quality and supervision. for any built-environment project to improve its competitive abilities in the construction industry, it should be able to determine the cost of poor quality and its impact on productivity and profitability (mahmood, ahmed, panthi & kureshi, 2010). therefore, smes cannot view quality as an expensive process, an expensive product, or time consuming, but rather as quality assurance that can improve their competitive capabilities in the marketplace (mofokeng & thwala, 2012: 713; kruger, ramphal & maritz, 2014). 2.1.1 level of skill-acquisition process mofokeng & thwala (2012: 722) postulate that the construction organisations need to spearhead the capacitation of employees through the process of skill acquisition and facilitate employees’ new skills. aziz & gunaydin (1997) note that opportunities for skills development in the construction industry have grown significantly and t h a t the main drivers are growth of businesses and infrastructures, environmental pressures and sustainability, as well as management commitment. the success of construction projects is grounded on the individual competencies of site managers or project managers responsible for the execution process (fotopoulos & psomas, 2009). vermeulen, nyakala & pretorius (2018: 2) clarified the main contributors of south african construction-project participants as the designer or architect, the client, the project/construction manager and the contractors. these are then extended with many subteams with their own leaders who perform different functions. 2.1.2 project planning and control techniques successful implementation of qa processes requires effective planning and control techniques, operations and review as well as stakeholder approval for business-project activities (nyakala et al., 2017: 650). to effectively implement their qaps, construction smes must meet their approved quality objectives and detailed requirements. windapo & cattel (2013) state that effective planning is essential for the successful execution of a project. a project manager holds the acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 6 same responsibilities, facilitates a formal system for record-keeping, and provids work breakdown detail to all stakeholders (cidb, 2012). construction-project management should include the design and execution of the infrastructure, the environmental impact of the job, the successful scheduling, budgeting, accessibility and delivery of building resources, the inconvenience to the public affected by construction delays and bidding (arditi & gunaydin, 1997; rumane, 2011; tshivhase & worku, 2012: 62). sme road contractors must use formal techniques of project management to enable citizens to have quality road networks and access to public services such as education, health facilities, and the movement of labour between workplaces (vermeulen et al., 2018: 2). in addition, quality controls are required to prevent the deterioration of maintenance backlogs, and focus the efforts of the project manager on the daily control of the numerous activities of the project (thorpe, summer & duncan, 1996; panuwatwanich & nguyen, 2017). 2.1.3 project-construction design the context of project-construction design within construction smes raised the question as to how senior project managers could adopt measurement tool in relation to qa processes and scope of work reporting on mistakes by the project team. kerzner (2013) also supports this view, stating that the chief engineer is responsible for organising technical personnel optimisation of construction scheme, improving the technical measures, and providing technical support for the effective cost control. according to kam and hamid (2014: 603), an example of an industry that heavily adopted the technology was manufacturing. as identified by dallasega, marengo, nutt, rescic, matt & rauch (2015), computerised project management has been introduced in construction organisations such as microsoft project and oracle primavera. dallasega et al. (2015) further state that technical inspection of the construction progress with a high level of reliability was applicable in the early stages of a construction project. one major practical issue that has dominated the road-construction projects for many years concerns the unpredictability in projectconstruction designs creating complications when implementing processes of qa to the industry. 2.1.4 process implementation the senior management team need to highlight the importance of applying proper management in dealing with the processes of qa in construction. a recent study conducted by aziz et al. (2016) found that, having more experienced and capable construction nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 7 managers as well as skilled labourers helped enable the industry to develop at a faster rate either nationally or internationally. the study showed that the proper process implementation of the quality-assurance system helped organisations better organise and synchronise their operations by documenting their procedures and clearly defining responsibilities and tasks among employees and subdivisions (gotzamani & tsiotras, 2001). project management also includes practical implementation (olawale & sun, 2015). it is widely accepted and welldocumented that implementing qa processes presents a good opportunity for organisations that want to respond to the challenge. 2.1.5 financial management skills financial management is a key factor influencing the construction industry. the timely completion of road-construction projects is considered one of the key factors referring to project achievement as well as quality and safety (aziz et al., 2016). in line with this, a cost-effective policy, competence and profitability are the main determinants of construction-project planning, covering activities needed to deliver quality in the work to meet the project requirements (mahmood et al., 2010). costs of restructuring the process must be controlled in order to eradicate the causes of poor quality and related preventive activities. this encompasses, for example, preparation, monitoring and analysis, project review, and quality improvement programmes (nyakala et al., 2017: 650). quality training and project control systems are essential for innovation and for technology advancement, as well as for improving the standard of living (obare et al., 2016). the implementation of project control systems perpetuates them as engines whereby the growth objectives of developing countries can be achieved (ahadzie et al., 2008). 2.1.6 quality standards quality standard represents organisational performance through construction-project management, quality policy, organisational structures and successful implementation of quality management practices by construction smes in the country (vermeulen et al., 2018: 3). the success of any construction organisation depends on how corporate strategies adopt continuous quality-improvement practices (kerzner, 2013). this will be supplemented in practical terms by implementing total quality strategies and empower employees in the construction project to identify opportunities and develop them more efficiently (gardiner, 2005). during building operations, there must be quality control to ensure that the roads are constructed to the expectations acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 8 of all role-players (honnakker, carayon & loushine, 2010: 954). quality control verifies that processes are performed in a satisfactory manner (kruger et al., 2014). quality product procedures, product reliability, standards and dimensions are essential. these allow the contractor to evaluate and assess project processes against applicable standards, quality management tools and techniques, total quality management (tqm), cause-and-effect diagrams, policies and procedures (gardiner, 2005). 2.1.7 organisational structure and improvement programmes in smes sme construction organisations are less able to deal with ‘disclosures’ in the global economy and, as a result, are mostly vulnerable. sme road-construction projects need to be managed and controlled in order to allow goal-setting for reconstruction, growth and improvement in the construction industry (vermeulen et al., 2018). in the south african local government, such knowledge gaps are critically confronted by a lack of communication technologies. these gaps further include inadequate connectivity and mobility to reach out and open up new opportunities as well as improper physical infrastructure and economic developments. enhancing competitiveness in the construction industry is measured to be a strategic prospect if it seems to be improving quality developments and incorporating engineering-management principles and practices (freeman-bell & balkwill, 1996). contractor development tools that meet the challenges of globalisation are nowadays viewed as techniques that frequently maintain the management of construction projects, multitudes of data, and tight deadlines that are characteristic of numerous industries and their extremely competitive settings (badu & owusu-manu, 2011). contractors need computerised systems that follow the value chain in construction-project delivery (arditi & gunaydin, 1997). this supports the notion that quality must be built-in during design and be achieved through communication, development and improvement (bierman et al., 2013; olawale & sun, 2015). organisational structure should put in place structures to support people and organisations in their pursuit of better quality. such procedures comprise an extensive variability of tools to plan work activities, gather data, analyse outcomes, monitor progress, and solve problems (bierman et al., 2013: 44). fotopoulos & psomas (2009) state that techniques need to be used and focus on improving quality activities in the construction industry. basu (2004) suggests statistical techniques of experimental design to optimise process sceneries nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 9 in order to decrease scrap or increase yield. project managers responsible for this frequently note process implementation, process optimisation, and practical implementation, future systems of the process, process expertise and process design (kerzner, 2013). 2.1.8 involvement of people leadership can influence project success by creating an environment in which project teams contribute towards success (helander, 2004). dallasega et al. (2015: 954) argue that an organisation’s success depends increasingly on having opportunities to learn, meet, teamwork and practising new skills. this can evidently influence project success. according to badu & owusu-manu (2011: 270), the critical success factor lies in the construction organisations’ real commitment to quality improvement and their true target of certification, which finally commands the way in which, and the depth to which the standards are implemented. employee involvement and empowerment has been identified as influential in planning on-site construction process and organisational performance (windapo & cattel, 2013). it is consequently important for workforces to be involved and empowered in the construction planning process by, for example, being able to prepare and meet project teams, use equipment and the skills and knowledge required to do work effectively (thorpe et al., 1996; rumane, 2011). employees should further be able to share resources, schedule project activities and respond to memos and emails to construction senior management (aigbavboa & thwala, 2014: 773). it is also important for sme contractors to be committed to, and involved in the processes of qa implementation at sme-led project level. 2.2 factors that influence quality-assurance practices of roadconstruction projects a study by obare, kyalo, mulwa & mbugua (2016: 420) points out that the quality cost model, the evaluation of quality management practices, customer focus, teamwork, employee empowerment, education and continuous improvement influence project success. in addition, fotopoulos & psomas (2009) also assert that performing check-up, analysis, and corrective actions seemed to obtain customer’s satisfaction. martin and lewis (2014) indicate that an effective communication system between project team leaders and management is crucial for the success of construction projects. windapo and cattel (2013) postulate that this is generally influenced by alignment of management commitment and subordinate actions. van wyk (2003) indicates that effective designers’ acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 10 performance evaluation in construction projects positively influences the success of a project. jarkas and younes (2014: 61) stipulate that, in situations where management commitment is ineffective, these should be revised, or new control actions be implemented, thus enabling continuous improvement in construction projects. in reviewing the literature, a number of studies have criticised the systems of managing quality during t h e construction process (arditi & gunaydin, 1997). it has been recommended that the failure of many roadconstruction projects in south africa may partially be ascribed to t h e poor quality of roads constructed by sme contractors in the country (dangalazana & newadi, 2005; statistics south africa, 2017). nkomo, desai & peerbhay (2016: 42) opines that developing key success criteria for rural development initiatives provides a positive contribution to projects. for the purposes of this study, work programmes, stakeholder involvement, national standards, quality control, strategic planning, recording changes, expert evaluations, evaluations during the construction stage, cost control, policy formulation, employee skills, employee involvement, employee qualifications, and employee responsibility are set and form the initial fifteen critical success aspects of qaps. 3. methodology the purpose of this research is to determine the factors that influence qaps that can be implemented for road-construction smes to facilitate or inhibit their projects, in order to achieve project success. a quantitative research design was used, in which the use of structured questionnaire surveys enables researchers to generalise their findings from a sample population (bryman, 2012: 232; creswell, 2014). in the questionnaire, 15 original critical success aspects for qaps were extracted and set as the variables of quality assurance practices that smes should follow. another 35 questions on the “level of implementation” and “importance” of each qap were extracted (pallant, 2013: 192). exploratory factor analysis (efa) was utilised to reduce these measured variables to smaller quality assurance practices (constructs). according to pallant (2013: 192), efa can be considered a type of technique that analyses the characteristics (unidimensionality) of each of the defined qaps (original variables), in order to reduce it to a common score (smaller number of factors) by examining relationships among these quantitative factors. several factor-analysis methods are available, but principle component analysis (pca) was used, because the eigenvalues could be extracted, which explains whether the factors tested had or had not a noticeable effect on people’s responses to the variables in the original nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 11 test (analysed construct) (rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 201; yang, shen & ho, 2009: 163-164; pallant, 2013: 192). 3.1 sampling method and response rate construction smes based in local municipalities of the mopani district municipality constituted the study’s population. a total of 160 questionnaires were returned, representing a 64% response rate of the 250 questionnaires distributed. this was mainly supported by the list secured from the department of transport and road. a total number of 102 registered construction smes participated in this study. 3.2 data collection using the drop-and-collect and email methods, 250 questionnaires were distributed to the prospective respondents who worked on the road-construction projects in the local municipalities of limpopo province, south africa, from november 2016 to august 2017. topics on quality assurance practices used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the compilation of a questionnaire divided into three sections. section a obtained the biographic profile of the targeted population, namely age, the highest educational level, the number of years’ experience in the business, and the type of ownership in the business. anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed. participants were not requested to provide personal details such as names, identity numbers and their physical address. however, pseudo numbers and names were used to classify the participants for purposes of data analysis. in section b, respondents rated questions on 15 quality assurance practices that could influence effectiveness of road construction. the data from these measurements forms the variables used in the efa, which tested the validity and reliability of the factors. in section c, respondents rated 35 questions on the construct ‘level of implementation’ achieved at their business for each practice. they then rated the construct ‘importance’ of each practice in achieving a high-quality road-construction project. the data from these measurements forms the variables used in the efa, to test the relationships in the variables among the ‘level of implementation’ and the relationship in the variables ‘importance’ of each factor. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for section b and c (teddlie & tashakkori, 2003: 232). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 12 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 23 was used to conduct descriptive and statistical analysis of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations (field, 2013; pallant, 2013). spss was further utilised to determine the feasibility of conducting a factor analysis of the qaps survey results relating to the qa processes implementation in the constructionproject delivery. to rank the influence of the initial 15 critical success aspects of qa processes on road-construction projects, the aspects were rated on a four-point likert scale. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (bowling, 1997; leedy & ormrod, 2014: 185). the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = not at all influential (≥1.00 and ≤1.74); 2 = slightly influential (≥1.75 and ≤2.49); 3 = moderately influential (≥2.50 and ≤3.24), and 4 = extremely influential (≥3.25 and ≤4.00). to rank the ‘level of implementation’ and the ‘importance’ for each practice, 35 quality assurance practices were rated on a five-point likert scale. the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = very poor/not at all important (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = poor/ slightly important (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = average/neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = good/moderately important (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = excellent/extremely important (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). for analysis of the internal reliability of the factors in the questions on quality-assurance practices, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347; wahab, ayodele & moody, 2010: 67). tavakol and dennick (2011: 54-55) and yount (2006) suggest that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.70 to 0.95. in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.70 was adopted. furthermore, the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) should range from 0.2 to 0.4, in order for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2013: 134). however, in this study, a value of 0.4 and above was adopted. to confirm whether the data from the measurements was sufficient for factor analysis (test the validity), the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) test (lorenzo-seva, timmerman & kiers, 2011; kaiser, 1994) and the bartlett’s sphericity test (hair, black, babin & andersen, 2014: 110) were performed. in the kmo test, as the values of the test vary from 0 to 1, values above 0.7 are recommended as being desirable for applying efa (hair et al., 2014), and a statistically significant bartlett test (p < 0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 13 the variables to continue with the analysis (hair et al., 2014: 110; pallant, 2013: 190). for factor extraction, principal components analysis (pca) was used to summarise most of the information into a minimum number of factors, by concentrating the explanatory power on the first factor (find the principal components of data) (rossoni et al., 2016: 102). in pca, when the number of variables (measures) is between 20 and 50, it is more reliable to use eigenvalues to extract factors, as it makes interpretation simpler (johnson & wichern, 2007). the highest eigenvalues in the data is, therefore, the principal components in the data, which are retained to form a set of few new variables (less than the original variables started with in the analysis). 3.4 limitation(s) of the study it can be noted that the study was not conducted across south africa; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised. 4. results and discussion 4.1 respondents’ profile table 1 displays the demographic profile of participants. it is obvious that the majority (41.9%) of the respondents were project administrators, male (76.3%), and had either a first degree/diploma (34.4%) or a honours/b-tech. degree (23.1%); only 8.1% of the respondents had 12 years’ or more experience in road construction. table 1: respondents’ profile frequency percentage % gender distribution male 122 76.3 female 38 23.8 160 100.0 highest educational level grade 11 or lower 32 20.0 grade 12 (n3) only 31 19.4 first degree/diploma 55 34.4 honours/b-tech. 37 23.1 masters/m-tech. 5 3.1 160 100.0 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 14 staff position occupied quantity surveyor 18 11.3 client/manager 24 15.0 project/construction manager 19 11.9 architect/qa engineer 25 15.6 project administrator 67 41.9 government official 7 4.4 160 100.0 number of years working in construction less than 3 years 5 3.1 3-6 years 42 26.3 6-9 years 37 23.1 9-12 years 63 39.4 12 or more years 13 8.1 160 100.0 4.2 smes’ profile table 2 shows the emerging contractors’ profile according to the nature of their business and the funding received of their business. it is evident that the majority of the smes work for either public companies (55%) or are sole proprietors (12.5 %) and that most of the sme-led projects were publicly funded (96.3%), while only 3.8% were jointly funded using private and public funds. table 2: smes’ profile type of business frequency percentage (%) sole proprietor 20 12.5 partnership 17 10.6 close corporation 19 11.9 private company 15 9.4 public company 88 55.0 other 1 .6 160 100.0 sme type of funded project frequency percentage (%) publicly 154 96.3 jointly funded using private and public funds 6 3.8 160 100.0 nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 15 4.3 critical success aspects of quality-assurance practices incorporated in the construction smes table 3 ranks the mean scores to show which of the 15 critical quality-assurance factors have an influence when they are applied in practice in road smes. table 3: critical success aspects of qaps v a ria b le critical success aspects of qa practices (n=160) (1 = not at all influential … 4 = extremely influential) bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 kaisermeyerolkin value = 0.728 ms cronbach’s alpha rank v5 hired consultants monitor and evaluate quality control of construction work 3.98 .912 1 v2 local stakeholders are consulted before the road project starts 3.97 .917 2 v4 local government managers monitor and evaluate quality control of construction 3.96 .917 3 v6 the field office provides accurate and reliable strategic planning for the project 3.96 .907 3 v11 policies and objectives are defined by the senior project management to ensure resources are used effectively 3.96 .913 3 v1 the company has a programme of work to direct the road-construction project 3.95 .909 4 v8 evaluations during critical steps are conducted by experts/senior members of the team 3.95 .905 4 v7 changes in the project are recorded and reported back to the field office 3.94 .906 5 v9 evaluations are conducted during the construction stage of the project 3.94 .906 5 v10 the project managers ensure that the architect’s designs are within the developer’s cost allowances and building requirements. 3.94 .910 5 v12 employees are employed with the necessary skills to complete the project on time 3.94 .907 5 v14 employees are properly qualified to perform the work on the project 3.94 .909 5 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 16 v a ria b le critical success aspects of qa practices (n=160) (1 = not at all influential … 4 = extremely influential) bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 kaisermeyerolkin value = 0.728 ms cronbach’s alpha rank v3 municipal managers promote the use of national standards when working with local contractors 3.93 .917 6 v13 every employee takes responsibility for the quality of his/her work. 3.93 .909 6 v15 employees are responsible for pursuing quality improvement activities to road construction 3.92 .908 7 average ms 3.94 .910 with an average ms of 3.94, results in table 3 show that respondents perceive all critical success aspects identified as extremely influential when applying qaps in road construction. ‘hired consultants monitor and evaluate quality control of construction work’ with a ms of 3.97 is rated the most influential qap within road smes. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.910, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2014: 102). it also means that there was a strong relationship between the implementation of qa practices and the effectiveness of road-construction sme-led projects. the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) of 0.728 with bartlett’s test of sphericity of p< 0.000, indicates consistency with the recommended kmo cut off value of 0.70 and bartlett’s test of sphericity of p< 0.05, as suggested by pallant (2013: 190). these results suggest that factor analysis could be conducted with the data. the significance in the results showed that respondents accepted all road-construction effectiveness aspects to be relevant when considering the qa practices implementation. 4.3.1 exploratory factor analysis for critical success qualityassurance practices the 15 critical success variables were subjected to efa to study the trend of inter-correlations between variables and to group these variables with similar characteristics into a set of reduced factors according to the hidden components in the collected data. the results report the factor extraction, eigenvalues, correlation and interpretation. in figure 1, the scree plot consists of the eigenvalues and the data points above the break (point of inflexion), which are the components nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 17 that are meaningful to retain for rotation. using a cut-off value of initial eigenvalues greater than one (> 1.0), 4 components explain a cumulative variance of 78.07%. figure 1: scree plot for qa practices incorporated in the construction smes the scree plot confirms the finding of retaining four components. as a result, components from five to fifteen are not significant and thus not included for rotation. table 4 shows the four factors that are meaningful to retain, where factor one explains 47.949 % of the total variance, factor two (13.285%), factor three (9.269%), and factor four (7.566%). table 4: total variance explained – extraction method: principal component analysis component initial eigenvalues total % of variance cumulative % 1 7.192 47.949 47.949 2 1.993 13.285 61.234 3 1.390 9.269 70.504 4 1.135 7.566 78.069 using principal component analysis and varimax with kaiser normalization rotation method with significant factor of .04, table 5 shows the correlation between components and variables after rotation. correlation exists between variables 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13, as they all loaded onto component 1 label as project acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 18 ta b le 5 : ro ta te d c o m p o ne nt m a tr ix fo r q a p ra c tic e s t ha t c o ul d in flu e nc e th e e ffe c tiv e ne ss o f r o a d c o ns tr uc tio n v a ria b le s c o m p o ne nt s 1 2 3 4 pr o je c t p la nn in g , c o nt ro l a nd c o ns tr uc tio n le ve l o f s ki ll a c q ui sit io n a nd in vo lv e m e nt o f p e o p le pr o c e ss im p le m e nt a tio n a nd p ro c e ss im p ro ve m e nt q ua lit y st a nd a rd s a nd m e a su re m e nt s v 1 th e c o m p a ny h a s a p ro g ra m m e o f w o rk t o d ire c t th e ro a d c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c t .6 91 .7 51 v 2 lo c a l s ta ke ho ld e rs a re c o ns ul te d b e fo re t he ro a d p ro je c t st a rt s .7 29 v 3 m un ic ip a l m a na g e rs p ro m o te t he us e o f n a tio na l s ta nd a rd s w he n w o rk in g w ith lo c a l c o nt ra c to rs .6 03 v 4 lo c a l g o ve rn m e nt m a na g e rs m o ni to r a nd e va lu a te q ua lit y c o nt ro l o f c o ns tr uc tio n w o rk .4 83 v 5 h ire d c o ns ul ta nt s m o ni to r a nd e va lu a te q ua lit y c o nt ro l o f c o ns tr uc tio n w o rk .7 64 v 6 th e fi e ld o ffi c e p ro vi d e s a c c ur a te a nd re lia b le s tr a te g ic p la nn in g fo r th e p ro je c t .6 76 .5 94 .5 48 v 7 c ha ng e s in t he p ro je c t a re re c o rd e d a nd re p o rt e d b a c k to th e fi e ld o ffi c e .8 68 .4 79 v 8 ev a lu a tio ns d ur in g c rit ic a l s te p s a re c o nd uc te d b y e xp e rt s/ se ni o r m e m b e rs o f t he t e a m .9 02 .5 06 .4 25 nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 19 v a ria b le s c o m p o ne nt s 1 2 3 4 pr o je c t p la nn in g , c o nt ro l a nd c o ns tr uc tio n le ve l o f s ki ll a c q ui sit io n a nd in vo lv e m e nt o f p e o p le pr o c e ss im p le m e nt a tio n a nd p ro c e ss im p ro ve m e nt q ua lit y st a nd a rd s a nd m e a su re m e nt s v 9 ev a lu a tio ns a re c o nd uc te d d ur in g th e c o ns tr uc tio n st a g e o f t he p ro je c t .9 16 .4 63 .4 27 v 10 th e p ro je c t m a na g e r e ns ur e s th a t th e a rc hi te c t’ s d e sig ns a re w ith in th e d e ve lo p e r’ s c o st a llo w a nc e s a nd b ui ld in g re q ui re m e nt s .8 36 .4 59 v 11 po lic ie s a nd o b je c tiv e s a re d e fin e d b y th e s e ni o r p ro je c t m a na g e m e nt to e ns ur e t ha t re so ur c e s a re u se d e ff e c tiv e ly .4 53 .7 94 v 12 em p lo ye e s a re e m p o w e re d w ith th e n e c e ss a ry s ki lls t o c o m p le te t he p ro je c t o n tim e .4 99 .7 97 v 13 ev e ry e m p lo ye e t a ke s re sp o ns ib ilit y fo r t he q ua lit y o f h is/ he r w o rk .4 04 .8 64 v 14 em p lo ye e s a re p ro p e rly q ua lifi e d t o p e rfo rm t he w o rk o n th e p ro je c t .9 27 v 15 em p lo ye e s a re re sp o ns ib le fo r p ur su in g q ua lit yim p ro ve m e nt s a c tiv iti e s to ro a d c o ns tr uc tio n. .9 31 ta b le 5 : c o nt in ue d acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 20 planning, control and construction. correlations were identified between variables 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15 label component 2: level of skill acquisition and involvement of people. variables 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 3 label process implementation and process improvement. correlations exists in variables 3, 9, 10, and 11 label as component 4: quality standards and measurements. in factor 1: project planning, control and construction (variables 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13), the variables that had high loading are evaluations are conducted during the construction stage of the project (0.916) and evaluations during critical steps are conducted by experts/senior members of the team (0.902). studies on qualityassurances practices incorporated in the construction smes show similarity to variables in factor 1: afford directives about the usage of measurement tools for construction projects (gardiner, 2005; cidb, 2012; aziz & abdel-hakam, 2016; george, 2016); enhance team work and better performance (obare et al., 2016); enable the success of qa process implementation in the road-construction projects (nyakala, 2017). in factor 2: level of skill acquisition and involvement of people (variables 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15), the variables that scored high weights are employees are responsible for pursuing quality improvements activities to road construction (0.931) and employees are properly qualified to perform the work on the project (0.927). these findings are consistent with similar results obtained for qualityassurances practices incorporated in the construction smes such mofokeng & thwala (2012); obare et al. (2016). van wyk (2003) summarised that, while project success still depends on formal project-management systems (project planning, cost control, and so on) and the availability of skilled people, the key point is that team members need to work with each other in a supportive setting in order to achieve successful project outcomes (arditi & gunaydin, 1997; aigbavboa & thwala, 2014); this leads to an increased ability for the designer and client to develop a shared understanding (nkomo, desai & peerbhay, 2016). leadership skills are important in leading the workforce (kerzner, 2013). martin et al. (2014) found that the effectiveness of construction smes needs to be supported by nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 21 strong leadership that binds employees to form multifunctional and self-working groups. in factor 3: process implementation and process improvement (variables 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11), the variables with high scores are the company has a programme of work to direct the road-construction project (0.751) and local stakeholders are consulted before the road project starts (0.729). this finding agrees with similar studies that identified quality-assurances practices for road-construction smes such as tshivhase & worku (2012); windapo & cattel (2013); vermeulen et al. (2018). rumane (2011) notes that quality-assurances practices assures well-designed constructions, roads and provides skilled, practical advice, and work directly with designers and clients. in factor 4: quality standards and measurements (variables 3, 9, 10, and 11), the variables that had high loading are policies and objectives are defined by the senior project management to ensure resources are used effectively (0.794) and municipal managers promote the use of national standards when working with local contractors. (0.603). studies on quality-assurances practices incorporated in the construction smes show similarity to variables in factor 4: ability to measure abilities and perform continuous improvement exercises (honnakker et al., 2010; kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014) and ability to measure output (mahmood et al., 2014). the significance of a quality standards and measurements have also been emphasised by kam & hamid (2014). 4.4 quality of implementation and importance of qualityassurance practices table 6 ranks the mean scores to show which of the 35 variables measured have an influence on the quality of qa implementation and the importance of qa variables when they are applied in practice in road-construction smes. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 22 ta b le 6 : q ua lit y o f q a im p le m e nt a tio n a nd t he im p o rt a nc e o f q a p ra c tic e s q ua lit y o f i m p le m e nt a tio n (n =1 60 ) (1 = v e ry p o o r … 5 = e xc e lle nt ) v a ria b le im p o rt a nc e ( n =1 60 ) (1 = n o t a ll … 5 = e xt re m e ly ) ka ise rm e ye ro lk in v a lu e = 0. 79 7 ba rt le tt ’s t e st o f sp he ric ity v a lu e = 0. 00 ba rt le tt ’s t e st o f sp he ric ity v a lu e = 0. 00 ka ise rm e ye ro lk in v a lu e = 0. 79 7 ra nk c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha m s m s c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha ra nk 30 .9 45 3. 53 v 1 u p -t o -d a te t ra in in g is p ro vi d e d fo r e m p lo ye e s 4. 86 .8 19 10 29 .9 34 3. 54 v 2 m a na g e m e nt is c o m m itt e d t o p ro vi d in g q a /q c tr a in in g 4. 92 .8 01 4 30 .9 33 3. 53 v 3 em p lo ye e s ha ve a h ig h le ve l o f s a tis fa c tio n w ith t he tr a in in g p ro g ra m m e 4. 92 .7 87 4 28 .9 35 3. 64 v 4 em p lo ye e s a re g iv e n th e o p p o rt un ity t o d e ve lo p s ki lls in d iff e re nt ro le s/ a re a s 4. 91 .8 03 5 27 .9 54 3. 73 v 5 m a na g e m e nt fa c ilit a te s e m p lo ye e s le a rn in g n e w s ki lls 4. 84 .8 91 11 22 .9 71 4. 09 v 6 ev e ry s ta ke ho ld e r b e c o m e s in vo lv e d d ur in g t he p la nn in g p ro c e ss 4. 83 .8 93 12 19 .9 66 4. 12 v 7 st a ke ho ld e r a p p ro va l o f t he w o rk p a c ka g e is fa c ilit a te d 4. 83 .8 45 12 14 .9 65 4. 19 v 8 a ll st a ke ho ld e rs re c e iv e t he p ro je c t d o c um e nt d ur in g th e p la nn in g p ha se 4. 88 .8 19 8 14 .9 65 4. 13 v 9 th e c o m m un ity p ro vi d e s in p ut o n c o st s a nd re so ur c e s fo r t he p ro je c t 4. 87 .8 22 9 16 .9 69 4. 17 v 10 pr o je c t m a na g e r p ro vi d e s w o rk b re a kd o w n d e ta il us in g c o m p ut e r/ so ft w a re 4. 86 .8 42 10 17 .9 74 4. 16 v 11 a fo rm a l s ys te m o f r e c o rd -k e e p in g is u se d fo r p ro je c ts 4. 79 .8 73 14 25 .9 70 4. 04 v 12 pr o je c t sc o p e is d e sig ne d t o a d o p t te c hn o lo g yre la te d q a p ro c e ss e s fo r r o a d c o ns tr uc tio n 4. 89 .8 18 7 24 .9 56 4. 05 v 13 sc o p e o f w o rk o r s p e c ifi c a tio n su p p o rt s th e re p o rt in g o f m ist a ke s b y th e p ro je c t te a m 4. 93 .8 11 3 nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 23 q ua lit y o f i m p le m e nt a tio n (n =1 60 ) (1 = v e ry p o o r … 5 = e xc e lle nt ) v a ria b le im p o rt a nc e ( n =1 60 ) (1 = n o t a ll … 5 = e xt re m e ly ) ka ise rm e ye ro lk in v a lu e = 0. 79 7 ba rt le tt ’s t e st o f sp he ric ity v a lu e = 0. 00 ba rt le tt ’s t e st o f sp he ric ity v a lu e = 0. 00 ka ise rm e ye ro lk in v a lu e = 0. 79 7 ra nk c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha m s m s c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha ra nk 21 .9 54 4. 10 v 14 u nf o re se e n a nd /o r d iff e re nt g e o te c hn ic a l c o nd iti o ns a re d e sc rib e d d ur in g t he c o ns tr uc tio n d e sig n 4. 94 .8 39 2 15 .9 68 4. 18 v 15 th e d e sig n o f r o a d c o ns tr uc tio n is fo rm a lly re vi e w e d 4. 91 .8 51 5 11 .9 67 4. 33 v 16 th e im p le m e nt a tio n o f q a p ro c e ss e s is p a rt o f t he o rg a ni sa tio n’ s vi sio n, p re se nt a nd fu tu re s ys te m s, a nd p ro c e ss a rc hi te c tu re 4. 89 .7 74 7 7 .9 67 4. 38 v 17 th e p ra c tic a l i m p le m e nt a tio n o f t he p ro c e ss fo llo w s e st a b lis he d p ro to c o ls 4. 89 .7 74 7 8 .9 15 4. 37 v 18 pa ym e nt s o r p ro c e ss in g t im e fo r t a x e xe m p tio n a re p ro p e rly c o m p le te d a c c o rd in g t o t he in iti a l a g re e m e nt 4. 87 .7 48 9 9 .9 06 4. 36 v 19 c o nt ra c to r’ s e st a b lis hm e nt c o st s a re e va lu a te d w ise ly to m in im ise d e la ys in in te rim p a ym e nt s 4. 91 .7 40 5 9 .9 07 4. 36 v 20 c o st s a re re -e st im a te d a nd /o r i nc o rp o ra te d w he n th e re a re c ha ng e s o n th e p ro je c t 4. 90 .7 69 6 26 .9 26 4. 03 v 21 a ll p ric in g /i nc e nt iv e s o f s e rv ic e s re nd e re d b y c o nt ra c to rs /c o ns ul ta nt s a re a p p ro ve d a nd m o ni to re d b y th e fu nd m a na g e m e nt 4. 86 .7 47 10 23 .9 35 4. 08 v 22 fi na nc ia l d iffi c ul tie s fa c e d b y th e c o nt ra c to r a re id e nt ifi e d a nd m a na g e d o n th e p ro je c t a c c o rd in g t o p ro c e d ur e s 4. 87 .7 35 9 13 .9 74 4. 28 v 23 ev e ry s ur ve y te a m a d he re s to a s ta nd a rd s e t o f g ui d e lin e s o n su rv e y im p le m e nt a tio n 4. 93 .7 50 3 ta b le 6 : c o nt in ue d acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 24 q ua lit y o f i m p le m e nt a tio n (n =1 60 ) (1 = v e ry p o o r … 5 = e xc e lle nt ) v a ria b le im p o rt a nc e ( n =1 60 ) (1 = n o t a ll … 5 = e xt re m e ly ) ka ise rm e ye ro lk in v a lu e = 0. 79 7 ba rt le tt ’s t e st o f sp he ric ity v a lu e = 0. 00 ba rt le tt ’s t e st o f sp he ric ity v a lu e = 0. 00 ka ise rm e ye ro lk in v a lu e = 0. 79 7 ra nk c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha m s m s c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha ra nk 13 .9 67 4. 28 v 24 q a p ro c e d ur e s a re a p p lie d t o d e sc rib e m o ni to rin g o f su rv e y im p le m e nt a tio n in a c tu a l s e tt in g s 4. 96 .7 62 1 12 .9 66 4. 29 v 25 ev a lu a tio n o f t he q a p ro c e ss is v isi b le t hr o ug ho ut t he su rv e y im p le m e nt a tio n 4. 90 .8 45 6 10 .9 68 4. 34 v 26 q ua lit y c o nt ro l o f c o ns tr uc tio n w o rk is c o nd uc te d b y su p e rv isi ng , m o ni to rin g , i ns p e c tio ns a nd e va lu a tio ns 4. 96 .7 82 1 6 .9 76 4. 39 v 27 d e fe c tiv e w o rk is re w o rk e d o r i m p ro ve d p rio r t o a p p ro va l b y th e s up e rv iso r 4. 92 .8 24 4 4 .9 80 4. 48 v 28 th e o rg a ni sa tio n im p ro ve s th e e xe c ut io n o f s tr a te g ie s a nd p la ns t hr o ug h fo rm a l s tr uc tu re s, e .g . m e e tin g s 4. 89 .9 40 7 1 .9 73 4. 54 v 29 th e o rg a ni sa tio na l s tr uc tu re is a lig ne d w ith q a p ro c e ss e s 4. 91 .9 00 5 2 .9 70 4. 51 v 30 pl a nn in g , l e a d in g a nd c o nt ro l a re fa c ilit a te d e ff e c tiv e ly to e ns ur e s uc c e ss fu l i m p le m e nt a tio n o f t a sk s 4. 91 .8 90 5 3 .9 85 4. 49 v 31 th e q ua lit y o f t he ro a d is d e fin e d , e st a b lis he d a nd c o nt ro lle d a t b o th s tr a te g ic a nd p ro c e ss /o p e ra tio na l le ve ls 4. 88 .9 21 8 5 .9 57 4. 42 v 32 c us to m e r f e e d b a c k sy st e m s a re in p la c e t o li nk a ll b us in e ss p ro c e ss -r e la te d c o m m un ic a tio n 4. 79 .8 54 14 21 .8 70 4. 10 v 33 th e w o rk fo rc e h a s b e e n g iv e n th e s c he d ul e s fo r p ro je c ts 4. 80 .4 67 13 20 .8 57 4. 11 v 34 th e p ro je c t o b je c tiv e s a re s ha re d w ith a ll ro le p la ye rs 4. 88 .4 84 8 18 .8 75 4. 14 v 35 th e re is c o o p e ra tio n b e tw e e n se ni o r m a na g e m e nt , w o rk fo rc e a nd c o m m un ity m e m b e rs 4. 89 .5 45 7 0. 95 9 4. 06 a ve ra g e m s 4. 88 0. 82 3 ta b le 6 : c o nt in ue d nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 25 the respondents indicated that only 13 assurance quality practices (aqps) are excellently (≥4.21 and ≤5.00) implemented in their practices, but the following aqps scored mean score ratings above (>4.40), the organisational structure is aligned with qa processes (4.54); planning, leading and control are facilitated effectively to ensure successful implementation of tasks (4.51); the quality of the road is defined, established and controlled at both strategic and process/operational levels (4.49); the organisation improves the execution of strategies and plans through formal structures, e.g. meetings (4.48), and customer feedback systems are in place to link all business process-related communication (4.42). although respondents indicated the level of implementation as good (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), the following aqps were ranked the lowest: up-to-date training is provided for employees (3.53); employees have a high level of satisfaction with the training programme (3.53), and management is committed to providing qa/qc training (3.54). the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.959, indicating acceptable internal reliability as recommended by hair et al. (2014: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure was 0.797, indicating that the data were sufficient for factor analysis. the bartlett’s test of sphericity (p=0.00) with significance of p<0.05 showed that there is some relationship between the variables. these results suggest that the data on the quality of implementation of qaps can be used for factor analysis. the respondents indicated all 35 aqps applied in practice in roadconstruction sme as extremely important (≥4.21 and ≤5.00), but the following scored mean score ratings above (>4.90): quality control of construction work is conducted by supervising, monitoring, inspections and evaluations (4.96); qa procedures are applied to describe monitoring of survey implementation in actual settings (4.96); unforeseen and/or different geotechnical conditions are described during the construction design (4.94); scope of work or specification supports the reporting of mistakes by the project team (4.93); management is committed to providing qa/qc training (4.92); employees have a high level of satisfaction with the training programme (4.92); the design of road construction is formally reviewed (4.91); the organisational structure is aligned with qa processes (4.91), and planning, leading and control are facilitated effectively to ensure successful implementation of tasks (4.91). the cronbach alpha was greater than 0.70 at 0.823, indicating acceptable internal reliability as recommended by hair et al. (2014: 102). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure was 0.797, indicating that the acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 26 data were sufficient for factor analysis. the bartlett’s test of sphericity (p=0.00) with significance of p<0.05 showed that there is some relationship between the variables. these results suggest that the data on the important qaps can be used for factor analysis. 4.4.1 exploratory factor analysis for implementation and importance of quality-assurance practices the 35 variables measuring the quality of qa implementation and the importance of qa variables were subjected to efa to study the trend of inter-correlations between variables and to group these variables with similar characteristics into a set of reduced factors according to the hidden components in the collected data. the results report the factor extraction, eigen values, correlation and interpretation. in figure 2, the scree plot consists of the eigenvalues and the data points above the break (point of inflexion). these components are meaningful to retain for rotation. using a cut-off value of initial eigenvalues greater than one (> 1.0), there were 8 components that explain a cumulative variance of 72.528%. figure 2: scree plot for implementation and importance of qa practices in the roadconstruction smes the scree plot confirms the finding of retaining 8 components. as a result, variables from 9 to 35 are not significant and thus not included for rotation. table 7 shows the 8 components that are meaningful to retain, where component 1 explains 29.503% of the total variance; nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 27 factor 2, 12.775%; factor 3, 7.442%; factor 4, 6.085%; factor 5, 5.399%; factor 6, 4.107%; factor 7, 3.975%, and factor 8, 3.245%. table 7: total variance explained – extraction method: principal component analysis component initial eigenvalues total % of variance cumulative % 1 10.326 29.503 29.503 2 4.471 12.775 42.279 3 2.605 7.442 49.721 4 2.130 6.085 55.806 5 1.889 5.399 61.204 6 1.438 4.107 65.312 7 1.391 3.975 69.287 8 1.136 3.245 72.528 using principal component analysis and varimax with kaiser normalization rotation method and with a significant factor of .04, table 8 shows the correlation between components and variables after rotation. correlation exists between variables 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31, as they load onto component 1 label as organisational structures. correlations were identified between variables 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, which loaded onto component 2: project design construction. variables 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 3 label as quality standards. correlations exist between variables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which all loaded onto component 4: level of skill acquisition process. correlations were identified between variables 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, which loaded onto component 5: project planning and control techniques. variables 33 and 34 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 6 label as people involvement. variables 17, 18, 19, 20, and 35 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 7 label as financial management skills. variable 32 loaded onto component 8: process implementation. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 28 table 8: rotated component matrix for implementation and importance of qa practices in the road-construction smes variables components rotated component matrix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 o rg a ni sa tio na l st ru c tu re s pr o je c t d e sig n c o ns tr uc tio n q ua lit y st a nd a rd s le ve l o f s ki ll a c q ui sit io n p ro c e ss pr o je c t p la nn in g a nd c o nt ro l te c hn iq ue s pe o p le in vo lv e m e nt fi na nc ia l m a na g e m e nt s ki lls pr o c e ss im p le m e nt a tio n v1 up-to-date training is provided for employees .684 v2 management is committed to providing qa/qc training .816 v3 employees have a high level of satisfaction with the training programme .819 v4 employees are given the opportunity to develop skills in different roles/areas .793 v5 management facilitates employees learning new skills .687 v6 every stakeholder becomes involved during the planning process .444 v7 stakeholder approval of the work package is facilitated .609 v8 all stakeholders receive the project document during the planning phase .869 v9 the community provides input on costs and resources for the project .919 v10 project manager provides work breakdown detail using computer/software .831 v11 a formal system of record-keeping is used for projects .571 nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 29 variables components rotated component matrix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 o rg a ni sa tio na l st ru c tu re s pr o je c t d e sig n c o ns tr uc tio n q ua lit y st a nd a rd s le ve l o f s ki ll a c q ui sit io n p ro c e ss pr o je c t p la nn in g a nd c o nt ro l te c hn iq ue s pe o p le in vo lv e m e nt fi na nc ia l m a na g e m e nt s ki lls pr o c e ss im p le m e nt a tio n v12 project scope is designed to adopt technology-related qa processes for road construction .766 v13 scope of work or specification supports the reporting of mistakes by the project team .777 v14 unforeseen and/or different geotechnical conditions are described during the construction design .727 v15 the design of road construction is formally reviewed .720 v16 the implementation of qa processes is part of the organisation’s vision, present and future systems, and process architecture .746 v17 the practical implementation of the process follows established protocols .517 .510 v18 payments or processing time for tax exemption are properly completed according to the initial agreement .709 v19 contractor’s establishment costs are evaluated wisely to minimise delays in interim payments .821 v20 costs are re-estimated and/or incorporated when there are changes on the project .653 table 8: continued acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 30 variables components rotated component matrix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 o rg a ni sa tio na l st ru c tu re s pr o je c t d e sig n c o ns tr uc tio n q ua lit y st a nd a rd s le ve l o f s ki ll a c q ui sit io n p ro c e ss pr o je c t p la nn in g a nd c o nt ro l te c hn iq ue s pe o p le in vo lv e m e nt fi na nc ia l m a na g e m e nt s ki lls pr o c e ss im p le m e nt a tio n v21 all pricing/incentives of services rendered by contractors/consultants are approved and monitored by the fund management .697 v22 financial difficulties faced by the contractor are identified and managed on the project according to procedures .757 v23 every survey team adheres to a standard set of guidelines on survey implementation .806 v24 qa procedures are applied to describe monitoring of survey implementation in actual settings .720 v25 evaluation of the qa process is visible throughout the survey implementation .628 v26 quality control of construction work is conducted by supervising, monitoring, inspections and evaluations .634 v27 defective work is reworked or improved prior to approval by the supervisor .547 v28 the organisation improves the execution of strategies and plans through formal structures, e.g. meetings .778 table 8: continued nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 31 variables components rotated component matrix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 o rg a ni sa tio na l st ru c tu re s pr o je c t d e sig n c o ns tr uc tio n q ua lit y st a nd a rd s le ve l o f s ki ll a c q ui sit io n p ro c e ss pr o je c t p la nn in g a nd c o nt ro l te c hn iq ue s pe o p le in vo lv e m e nt fi na nc ia l m a na g e m e nt s ki lls pr o c e ss im p le m e nt a tio n v29 the organisational structure is aligned with qa processes .922 v30 planning, leading and control are facilitated effectively to ensure successful implementation of tasks .923 v31 the quality of the road is defined, established and controlled at both strategic and process/ operational levels .838 v32 customer feedback systems are in place to link all business processrelated communication .732 v33 the workforce has been given the schedules for projects .828 v34 the project objectives are shared with all role players .802 v35 there is cooperation between senior management, workforce and community members .753 in factor 1: organisational structures (component 1), the variables that had high loading are, for example, planning, leading and control are facilitated effectively to ensure successful implementation of tasks (0.923); the organisational structure is aligned with qa processes (0.922), and the quality of the road is defined, established and controlled at both strategic and process/operational levels (0.838). studies on the quality of implementation and importance of qap in smes road-construction projects show similarity to variables in factor 1: in building construction, nguyen, ogunlana & lan (2004) table 8: continued acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 32 found 4 critical success factors: comfort; competence; commitment, and communication. in factor 2: project design construction (component 2), the variables that scored high weights are: scope of work or specification supports the reporting of mistakes by the project team (0.777) and project scope is designed to adopt technology-related qa processes for road construction (0.766). these findings concur with results obtained from similar studies such as gotzamani & tsiotras (2001); haupt (2004); kerzner (2013). studies on the barriers of emerging contractors in developing countries show similarity to variables in factor 1: poor site management (planning, organising, leading, controlling, and coordinating) (gardiner, 2005); lack of understanding of quality (honnakker et al., 2010); inadequate information and poor constructability (badu & owusu-manu, 2011); majority of roadconstruction smes are not actively using the critical incident technique (george, 2016). in factor 3: quality standards (component 3), the variables with high scores are: every survey team adheres to a standard set of guidelines on survey implementation (0.806); financial difficulties faced by the contractor are identified and managed on the project according to qa procedures (0.757), and qa procedures are applied to describe monitoring of survey implementation in actual settings (0.720). similar findings were obtained in a survey undertaken on construction quality, which investigated the perceptions of a range of stakeholders and various construction sectors (fotopoulos & psomas, 2009; nyakala, 2017). enhancing construction quality standards has also been at the core of various initiatives in the construction industry (statistics south africa, 2017). in factor 4: level of skill acquisition process (component 4), the variables that had high loading are: employees have a high level of satisfaction with the training programme (0.819); management is committed to providing qa/qc training (0.816), and employees are given the opportunity to develop skills in different roles/areas (0.793). efforts relating to continuing involvement of all stakeholders are needed to ensure the existence of general agreements and proper project control (jarkas & younes, 2014), and provide employees with assistance to help them use specific analysis tools (kerzner, 2013). skills shortages and insufficient workforce training, lack of management, and lack of strict quality control are the challenges facing the construction organisations involved in the construction of road projects (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014). nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 33 in factor 5: project planning and control techniques (component 5), the variables that scored high weights are: the community provides input on costs and resources for the project (0.919); all stakeholders receive the project document during the planning phase (0.869), and project manager provides work breakdown detail using computer/software (0.831). these findings concur with results obtained from similar studies such as freeman-bell & balkwill (1996); haupt & whiteman (2004), and george (2016). introduce tools and techniques to identify improvement opportunities (rumane, 2011). this should include self-assessment, quality costing and benchmarking (basu, 2004), and determinants of construction-project success (mofokeng & thwala, 2012). in factor 6: people involvement (component 6), the variables with high scores are: the workforce has been given the schedules for projects (0.828), and the project objectives are shared with all role players (0.802). these findings concur with results from other studies on the implementation and importance of qap. involve employees responsible for performing the processes in the construction projects (van wyk, 2003; fang & wu, 2013); recognise and reward individual contributions to the process team (bierman et al., 2013); improvement and development of formal meetings as communication systems help design team members (obare et al., 2016), and enhance good project performance (nyakala et al., 2017); improve and solve problems (panuwatwanich & nguyen, 2017). in factor 7: financial management skills (component 7), the variables that had high loading are: contractor’s establishment costs are evaluated wisely to minimise delays in interim payments (0.820); there is cooperation between senior management, workforce and community members (0.753), and payments or processing time for tax exemption are properly completed according to the initial agreement (0.709). studies on the quality of implementation and importance of qap in smes road-construction projects show similarity to variables in factor 7: availability of fund/resources has been ranked highest in recent researches (aziz & abdel-hakam, 2016; george, 2016; nyakala, 2017). jarkas & younes (2014) state that finance, properties, efforts, and leadership should always be available throughout the project’s life. in factor 8: process implementation (component 8), only one variable scored high weights: customer feedback systems are in place to link all business process-related communication (0.732). these findings concur with results obtained from similar studies such as nguyen and ogunlana (2004), and jogdand and deshmukh (2017). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 34 several researches on factors affecting process implementation have proposed either specific factors or general factors (aridti & gunaydin, 1997; ahadzie et al., 2008; olawale & sun, 2015). their studies found conflict among project participants, material shortage, unavailability of resources, poor quality of available equipment, and unavailability of highly experienced qualified project managers. 5. conclusion in this study, the quality-assurance practices of sme contractors relating to the local government of the limpopo province, south africa, were analysed via a questionnaire created from a suitable context based on the road quality paradigm. the study established that, although some qaps are perceived as extremely important, the level of implementation of these practices in roadconstruction smes is not excellent. based on the results obtained, the majority of the respondents indicated that training practices such as up-to-date training for employees; satisfaction with training programmes, and management’s commitment to provide qa/qc training are not yet excellently implemented in their firms. all the critical success aspects were rated as extremely influential, with a weighted average score higher than 3.90. among all indicators, ‘hired consultants monitor and evaluate quality control of construction work’, with a mean of 3.97, had the highest rating and hence, was regarded as the most influential indicator. correlation of critical success aspects variables using factor analysis identified factors 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 as ‘project planning, control and construction; factors 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15 as ‘level of skill acquisition and involvement of people’; factors 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11 as ‘process implementation and process improvement’, and factors 3, 9, 10, and 11 as ‘quality standards and measurements’. all of the qaps were rated as extremely important, with an average score higher than 4.21. ‘quality control of construction work is conducted by supervising, monitoring, inspections and evaluations’ and ‘qa procedures are applied to describe monitoring of survey implementation in actual settings’, with a mean of 4.96, had the highest rating and hence, was regarded as the most important indicator. only 13 of the 35 qaps were rated as being implemented excellently, with an average score higher than 4.40. ‘the organisational structure is aligned with qa processes’, with a mean of 4.54, had the highest rating and was regarded as the most excellent indicator. nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen • factor analysis of quality assurance... 35 correlation of the qap implementation and importance variables using factor analysis identified factor 1 as ‘organisational structures’; factor 2 as ‘project design construction’; factor 3 as ‘quality standards’; factor 4 as ‘level of skill acquisition process’; factor 5 as ‘project planning and control techniques’; factor 6 as ‘people involvement’; factor 7 as ‘financial management skills’, and factor 8 as ‘process implementation’. it is recommended that sme road-construction firms explore these 8 qaps and monitor, inspect and evaluate qa at both strategic and operational or process levels in their firms. chief executive officers (ceos) and project managers/administrators should formulate policies, qa standards and regulations to support qa implementation by introducing practical qa guidance, training, and the measurement of awareness, compliance and selfless adherence to quality. in addition, qa training by qa experts for local governments should be undertaken in sme construction firms. professional bodies such as the cidb and the government should also formulate specific policies, qa standards and regulations to support qa implementation by introducing state incentives such as tax credit for clients, professionals and contractors who comply with qa in smes road-construction projects. this will enhance application of qa in the south african smes road-construction industry. 6. further areas of research further study could determine that these reliable and valid qaps can be used to successfully measure quality of roads infrastructure in construction projects undertaken by construction smes. future studies could employ a more rigid research methodology to implement sustainable qa process efficiency, in order to achieve an improved road quality task at local government level. furthermore, to justify these statements, these qaps should be validated in a national study, in order to ensure that they positively influence the successful delivery of road-construction projects. this study can also be conducted in other african countries for comparative purposes. references 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phone: + 27 63 695 4584, email: <wilcockst@tut. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-3328-9026 jacques laubscher prof. jacques laubscher, head of department, department of architecture, tshwane university of technology, po box 95469, waterkloof, 0145, south africa. phone: + 27 12 382 5252, email: <laubscherj@tut. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-2086-7563 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 97-119 the implementation of alternative disputeresolution methods by architectural practitioners in south africa peer reviewed and revised february 2019 published june 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract disputes within the built environment are usually diverse, with their complexity often depending on the number of role players and difficulty of the construction project. disputes can be resolved through litigation, but this is often costly and time consuming. a study in 2012 reveals that, among others, arbitration, mediation, negotiation and adjudi cation are different forms of alternative dispute-resolution (adr) methods preferred and used to resolve disputes in the built environment. this article offers insight into the current preference and application of adr methods by architectural practitioners in the south african built environment. registered persons, as defined by the south african council for the architectural profession (sacap), formed the population of this study. according to sacap, a registered person is defined as a person who is registered in one of the categories of professionals and/or candidates. the study will refer to architectural practitioners as a collective population group. a questionnaire survey was distributed to 13 622 registered sacap http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:wilcockst@tut.ac.za mailto:wilcockst@tut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3328-9026 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3328-9026 mailto:laubscherj@tut.ac.za mailto:laubscherj@tut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2086-7563 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2086-7563 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.4 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 98 professionals and candidates to determine the implementation of adr methods. this questionnaire was distrusted by the chief operations officer, mrs barbara van stade to the aforementioned sacap database. the survey response amounted to 396 participating architectural practitioners, resulting in 2.91% of registered architectural professionals and candidates in the south african built environment. consequently, this is the most comprehensive study on the preferred use of adr methods by architectural practitioners in the built environment of south africa. this study specifically focuses on architectural practitioners who have been involved in settling disputes between the period of 2012 to 2016. the findings reveal a shifting preference in adr methods used since what the previous study found in 2012. although previous studies indicate adjudication as the preferred method to resolve disputes, the data reveals that architectural practitioners increasingly make use of negotiation, followed by mediation and then arbitration. this study identifies current adr trends, and provides a perspective on the future development of adr mechanisms for architectural professionals in the south african built environment. keywords: alternative dispute resolution (adr), architectural practitioners, built environment, south african council for the architectural profession (sacap) abstrak dispute in die konstruksiebedryf is oor die algemeen uiteenlopend en die kompleksiteit daarvan is gewoonlik afhanklik van die aantal rolspelers en moeilikheidsgraad van die konstruksieprojek. geskille kan soms opgelos word deur litigasie, maar dit is dikwels duur sowel as tydrowend. ’n studie in 2012 onthul dat arbitrasie, bemiddeling, onderhandeling en beoordeling onder meer verskillende vorme van alternatiewe geskilbeslegting (adr) metodes is wat verkies en gebruik word om geskille in die konstruksiebedryf op te los. hierdie studie bied insig tot die huidige voorkeur en implementering van adr-metodes soos toegepas deur argitektuurpraktisyns in die suid-afrikaanse boubedryf. geregistreerde persone, soos beskryf deur die suid-afrikaanse raad vir die argitektuurprofessie (sacap), het die bevolking van die studie gevorm. volgens sacap word ’n geregistreerde persoon gedefinieer as iemand wat geregistreer is in een van die kategorieë van professionele mense en/of kandidate. ’n vraelys is versprei na 13 622 geregistreerde sacap professionele mense en kandidate om die huidige implementering van adr-metodes te bepaal. hierdie vraelys is uitgestuur deur die hoofbedryfsbeampte, mev barbara van stade, aan die voorgenoemde sacap-databasis. die vraelys is volledig voltooi deur 396 argitektuurpraktisyns en verteenwoordig dus 2.91% van geregistreerde professionele mense en kandidate in die suid-afrikaanse boubedryf. hierdie is die mees omvattende studie oor die voorkeur en implementering van adr-metodes soos gebruik deur argitektuurpraktisyns in die bouomgewing van suid-afrika. hierdie artikel fokus spesifiek op argitektuurpraktisyns in die boukunde wat vanaf 2012 tot 2016 by geskilbeslegtigingprosedures betrokke was. die waarnemings dui op ’n verskuiwing van voorkeur rakende adrmetodes sedert die vorige studie se gepubliseerde navorsingsresultate in die gebruik daarvan in 2012. alhoewel vorige studies onthul dat beoordeling as die mees gekose metode gebruik is, toon die huidige resultate van die studie ’n toenemende gebruik in onderhandeling, gevolg deur bemiddeling/ mediasie en dan arbitrasie. hierdie studie identifiseer huidige adr-tendense en bied ’n perspektief op die toekomstige ontwikkeling van adr-meganismes vir argitektuurpraktisyns in die suid-afrikaanse konstruksie-industrie. tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 99 sleutelwoorde: alternatiewe geskilbeslegtingprosedure (adr), argitektuurpraktisyns, suid-afrikaanse raad vir die argitektuurprofessie (sacap) 1. introduction according to statistics south africa (2018), the south african construction industry has recorded a negative growth since 2016, losing approximately r1.7 billion in value. in countries facing difficult economic times, the built environment often experiences an increase in risk and liability issues, leading to regular dispute occurrences (el-adaway & kandil, 2009: 819; loosemore, 2009: 95; soo & lam, 2012: 115). annual reports from major south african construction companies indicate that losses are mainly attributed to disputes and the poor economic status of a country (group five, 2013; murray & roberts, 2013; wbho, 2013). several studies have been conducted on the complex nature of the south african construction industry and the number of role players contributing to disputes arising from contracts (povey, 2005; povey, cattell & michell, 2006; verster, 2006; verster & van zyl, 2007; maritz, 2007; 2009; van zyl, verster & ramabodu, 2010; bvumbwe & thwala, 2011; maiketso & maritz, 2012; du preez & verster, 2012; 2013; powell & nielsen, 2013; sithole, 2016; balogun, anzari & thwala, 2017). studies on effective dispute resolution include and discuss the different mechanisms and procedures that assist in resolving disputes (powell & nielsen, 2013; sithole, 2016; balogun et al., 2017). available alternative dispute-resolution (adr) mechanisms used to resolve disputes include arbitration, mediation, adjudication, negotiation, fact-finding, mini-trials, conciliation, neutral evaluation, and expert determination (bunni, 2000: 105; mccreary, gamman & brooks, 2001: 329; seifert, 2005: 149; gebken & gibson, 2006: 264). despite the fact that adr mechanisms and processes specifically designed to assist both parties in dispute settlement exist in the south african construction industry (butler & finsen, 1993), the rate at which disputes occur in the architectural environment is unclear (de oliveira, 2012: 80; wilcocks, 2016). from the literature it is also unknown which adr methods are currently preferred by south african architectural practitioners. it is against this background that this study was initiated to identify the preferred application of adr as indicated by architectural practitioners in the built environment of south africa. to achieve this aim, the study set out two objectives, namely to identify how many architectural practitioners have recently been involved in the process of dispute resolution, and to determine which adr method/s do architectural acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 100 practitioners prefer to implement when faced with these disputes. identifying such methods and their specific benefits will assist practitioners in ensuring that proper decision-making processes are put in place to deal with disputes, in future building projects. 2. literature review in order to understand the use of adr methods in the south african built environment, it is important to introduce the current theory on the various adr concepts included in this study. the existing theory focuses on the general description of adr mechanisms, goals, advantages and disadvantages, the general application of adr in the south african built environment, causes of disputes, and dispute methods commonly used in the south african built environment. 2.1 adr concept, mechanisms and main goal the majority of adr practitioners prefer the acronym adr to refer to appropriate/amicable dispute-resolution methods (goldsmith, pointon & ingen-housz, 2006: 7). according to the collins dictionary of law (stewart, 2006: 22), “alternative dispute resolution (adr) is used to resolve disputes through means other than by approaching the ordinary courts”. for the purpose of this study, adr is defined as a legal method that allows for the resolution of a conflict and/or dispute through a process that is tailored for the particular form of conflict and/or dispute. the main goal of adr is to provide a wide range of mechanisms/ procedures that are appropriate to all parties, in order to resolve disputes effectively without the use of litigation (finsen, 2005: 221-222; du preez, berry & oosthuizen, 2010: 164). these mechanisms/ procedures include agent resolution, ombudsman, adjudication, conciliation, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration (pretorius, 1993: 3; finsen, 2005: 32; verster & van zyl, 2007: 3; verster, ramabodu & van zyl, 2013; wiese, 2016). 2.2 advantages and disadvantages of adr studies on the advantages and disadvantages of adr mechanisms/ procedures identified various positive and negative attributes that might become specific to a particular case or situation (finsen, 2005: 221-222; goldsmith et al., 2006: 15-16; victorian law reform commission, 2008: 207-208; ramsden, 2009: 1; reynolds, 2010: 77; sorsa, 2011: 88; wipo, 2012: 5). table 1 shows a summary of the positive and negative attributes of adr. tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 101 table 1: advantages and disadvantages of adr advantages disadvantages allows access to justice by being time and cost efficient and making it more accessible than traditional litigation. may not be suitable to every form of dispute. it is mostly time efficient, with cases being resolved in a matter of weeks or months. adr could be viewed as an additional stage and if the outcome is not successful it could add to a delay. reduces the costs of court, lawyers’ fees and experts’ fees. practitioners and/or adjudicators may charge for their involvement in the adr. without a successful result, this will become an additional expense. promotes active participation by allowing both parties to engage and explain their viewpoints and experiences. a party may be vulnerable in stating a case should there be an unequal power relationship, particularly if the party is not represented during the proceedings. flexible and creative in mediating the issues at hand, with parties allowed to decide how to resolve the dispute which may include remedies not available in litigation, i.e. change in the policy or practice of a business. adr is not afforded the same safeguards as the courts, such as the right to reasons for the decision. attempts to enhance cooperation between the parties, thereby enabling them to preserve their future relations. lack of enforceability. reduces stress associated with court appearances. remains confidential. it may be used as a delaying tactic to obtain useful information from the opposition before proceeding with litigation. 2.3 adr in the south african built environment although adr is extensively used and developed internationally, the built environment of south africa was introduced to the process of adr with quail (1978: 165), establishing the introduction of the mediation process in 1976. since the late 1980s, standard forms of adr have evolved, each with their own characteristics, as a result of a search for quicker and cheaper alternatives to litigation (chong & zin, 2012: 433). some of these procedures are negotiation, conciliation, acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 102 mediation, arbitration, adjudication, mini-trial, private judging, summary jury trial, early neutral evaluation, last offer arbitration and mediation, and last offer arbitration (sithole, 2016: 36). some of the methods are institutionalised in the dispute resolution boards (drbs) (fenn, lowe & speck, 1997: 514), dispute-review boards and dispute adjudication boards (dab) (bunni, 2000; seifert, 2005), among others (steen, 1994; crcci, 2007; ehrlich, 2012: online). the built environment of south africa makes provision for adr methods in a variety of contracts. these include, among many others, the joint building contracts committee principal building agreement (jbcc pba) (2018), the general conditions of contract for construction works (gcc) (2015), international federation of consulting engineers (fidic) (2017), the professional client/consultant services agreement committee (procsa) (2017), and the south african institute of architects client-architect agreement (saia caa) (2008). it is necessary to understand that new procedures and methods are vital to expand the fast-track nature of the construction industry. the development and implementation of adr methods often increase with accelerated rates of construction, design and procurement documents (finsen, 2005: 214-216). finsen (2005: 216) and verster (2006: 17) argue that adr is an essential part of the management of construction projects playing a fundamental role in the successful completion of complex projects. according to povey (2005: 2), the facilitator of the adr process could be a practising professional with the necessary experience, or a retired industry professional. facilitators must be registered with the association of arbitrators (aoa: 2014). 2.4 cause of disputes within the south african built environment disputes arising within the built environment are usually diverse in nature because of the complexity of the construction industry (bvumbe & thwala, 2011: 32; thumbiran, 2015: 1). the underlying cause of disputes between the client and the contractor is that contracting parties attempt to protect their own interest (iwamatsu, akiyama & endo, 2008: 119). while clients seek to minimize construction costs, contractors aim to maximise their profits (iwamatsu et al., 2008: 119; powell & nielsen, 2013). different studies confirm the various interconnecting factors contributing to a dispute (crcci, 2007; reid & ellis, 2007; murdoch & hughes, 2008; bvumbwe & thwala, 2011: 35; sithole, 2016: 25). sithole (2016: 25) summarises the causes of disputes in construction contracts as: tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 103 • contractual issues – e.g. improperly or poorly drafted contracts • management issues – e.g. poor management of time, targets, tendering, procedures • design issues – e.g. change in design, scope, conditions, poor quality, errors, delays • communication issues – e.g. poor communication from client and contractor, unclear site instructions, lack of information, unavailability of information • quality issues – e.g. non-performance, defects, poor quality, control, and assurance • payment issues – e.g. non-payment, delayed payments, claims • human issues – e.g. conflicting cultural backgrounds, stress, behaviour, personalities, misunderstandings • external issues – e.g. project uncertainty, skills shortage, labour unrest, economic environment. 2.5 dispute methods commonly used in the south african built environment a study conducted by van zyl, verster and ramabodu (2010: 521) revealed that negotiation, conciliation, mediation, adjudication and arbitration are the most preferred adr methods used in the built environment of south africa. these methods can be divided into two main types of adr, namely adjudicative and non-adjudicative. table 2 illustrates the categories of adr methods under adjudicative and non-adjudicative. table 2: adjudicative and non-adjudicative adr methods non-adjudicative (disputing parties seek a compromise) adjudicative (a neutral third party decides on the dispute) negotiation mediation conciliation adjudication arbitration acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 104 although there are many different methods/procedures of adr, figure 1 shows a summary of the most common methods used in the south african built environment. figure 1: summarised illustration of various adr methods once there is a better understanding of adr and the benefits that it offers, the built environment can be positively adjusted and equipped for the settlement of disputes. 3. research methodology the purpose of this research was to identify the preferred application of adr as indicated by architectural practitioners in the built environment of south africa, with the specific focus on practitioners that have been involved with dispute settlements between 2012 and 2016. the study used a quantitative research approach which allows for the use of structured questionnaire surveys, enabling researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (courtright 2007: 273; boubala 2010: 55; edwards & holt, 2010: 25-41; hallowell, 2010: 27; kheni, gibb & dainty, 2010: 1107; creswell, 2014). the survey tested the personal experience of architectural practitioners regarding their involvement with dispute resolution over the past five years (2012-2016) and identified the preferred adr methods implemented by participating architectural practitioners. a quantitative research approach supports the use of dichotomous questions and checkboxes to measure data (mathers, fox & hunn, 2009: 20). quantitative research also allows for the use of descriptive statistics to analyse data (brown, 2011: 11). several tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 105 data-analysis strategies are available. for this study, however, the frequencies were used to calculate percentages of preferences (williams, 2007: 67; bhattacharyya & johnson, 2014). 3.1 sampling method, population and response rate a list of 13 622 architectural professionals and/or candidates, registered in south africa, was obtained from the official body, the south african council for the architectural profession (sacap) (2015: 27) (van stade & chiunda, 2016). without placing any limitations, the questionnaire survey was administered to all 13 622 members. responses from 396 participating architectural practitioners were received. the 396 participants represent 2.91% of registered sacap members in south africa. krejcie & morgan (1970: 608) state that a sample size of 370 is valid for a population of 15 000 for general research activities in the construction-related profession. statistician, steffens (2017) also clarified that a response rate of less than 5% is not unusual in studies with a population this size. steffens (2017) further stated that the response rate is acceptable to represent the respondents’ views and opinions. these statements support the validity for a sampling size of 396 out of 13 622 architectural practitioners. 3.2 data collection an online-created structured questionnaire survey (surveymonkey, 2016) was distributed to the 13 622 participants by sharing the questionnaire link through e-mail. the online survey was anonymous, allowing participants to feel comfortable and answer the questions truthfully. the need for a second data-collection method was recognised and made available in hardcopy format to practitioners who found the online survey method impractical, or who did not have electronic access. in an attempt to reach as wide as possible an audience, the hardcopies were distributed at relevant architectural conferences. topics on the preferred choice of adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners were extracted from reviews of the literature and resulted in a two-section questionnaire. section a requested information on the respondent’s profile to obtain personal information on the category of sacap registration, gender, educational background, and age. section b established the involvement of architectural practitioners with dispute resolution over the past five years and investigated the preferred adr acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 106 methods implemented by architectural practitioners. in section b, the respondents were required to indicate their level of involvement, in practice, with adr and adr methods. the data from these measurements were tabulated. to reduce the respondent’s bias, fixed closed-ended questions were preferred for sections b of the questionnaire (vicente & reis, 2010: 260). 3.3 data analysis and interpretation of findings microsoft excel® (microsoft office® suite 2007) was used to determine the preferred adr methods, using descriptive statistics (bhattacharyya & johnson, 2014). for the questionnaire survey, section a used dichotomous questions and checkboxes to obtain the respondents’ personal information. in section b, respondents answered a dichotomous question to determine their involvement with adr and used the checkbox option to indicate their preferred adr method. after tabulation of the data responses, a bar-chart presentation was compiled to show the calculated frequencies and percentages of the findings. these results form the data that was used to compare the 2012 study to the 2016 data in order to observe the change in preference of adr methods used by architectural practitioners against adr methods preferred by the built environment in 2012. 4. findings 4.1 respondents’ profile the first part of the questionnaire contained questions relative to the profile of the respondents, the people in the best position to indicate the current status of adr in the architectural practice. table 3 shows the category of sacap registration of the respondents. it is obvious that the majority (39.7%) of the respondents were professional tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 107 architects, male (69.9%), and had either a master’s degree (31.2%) or a baccalaureus degree (33.2%); 35.8% of the respondents were aged between 25 and 35 years. table 3: respondents’ profile category of sacap registration frequency percentage (%) candidate architectural technologist 39 9.8 candidate senior architectural technologist 17 4.3 candidate architect 18 4.6 professional architectural technologist 53 13.3 professional senior architectural technologist 61 15.6 professional architect 157 39.7 other 50 12.7 total 396 100.0 gender frequency percentage male 276.8 69.9 female 119.2 30.1 total 396 100.0 highest education qualification frequency percentage (%) master’s degree 123 31.2 baccalaureus 132 33.2 diploma 81 20.8 certificate 38 9.5 matriculation 11 2.6 other 11 2.6 total 396 100.0 age frequency percentage (%) 25-35 years 142 35.8 36-45 years 103 26 46-55 years 72 18.2 56-65 years 56 14.2 66 or more 23 5.8 total 396 100.0 4.2 involvement with adr the second part of the questionnaire first asked participants if they have recently been involved with dispute resolution. figure 2 is a graphical summary indicating the percentage of architectural practitioners who have been involved in dispute settlements between 2012 and 2016. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 108 candidate architect 18 4.6 professional architectural technologist 53 13.3 professional senior architectural technologist 61 15.6 professional architect 157 39.7 other 50 12.7 total 396 100.0 gender frequency percentage male 276.8 69.9 female 119.2 30.1 total 396 100.0 highest education qualification frequency percentage (%) master’s degree 123 31.2 baccalaureus 132 33.2 diploma 81 20.8 certificate 38 9.5 matriculation 11 2.6 other 11 2.6 total 396 100.0 age frequency percentage (%) 25-35 years 142 35.8 36-45 years 103 26 46-55 years 72 18.2 56-65 years 56 14.2 66 or more 23 5.8 total 396 100.0 4.2 involvement with adr the second part of the questionnaire first asked participants if they have recently been involved with dispute resolution. figure 2 is a graphical summary indicating the percentage of architectural practitioners who have been involved in dispute settlements between 2012 and 2016. yes 37% no 63% as an architectural practitioner have you been involved in dispute settlements in the past 5 years? yes no as an architectural practitioner have you been involved in dispute settlements in the past 5 years? figure 2: graphical summary of practitioners who have been involved in dispute resolution the study revealed that the majority (63%) of the respondents have not been involved with dispute resolution. only 37% of the respondents have been involved in some form of dispute resolution between 2012 and 2016. the researcher is of the opinion that a large number of architectural practitioners have not been involved with dispute resolution, due to their lack of knowledge on appropriate adr methods and the benefits it could have. this statement is supported by a previous study conducted by wilcocks (2016: 93), indicating that there is a strong link between the respondents’ level of knowledge and their involvement in dispute resolution. the study proved that 70.9% of the respondents, who have hardly any or no knowledge regarding adr, have not been involved with dispute resolution between 2012 and 2016. wilcocks’ (2016: 45) study also indicated that only 39.3% of the architectural practitioners are familiar with adr. this suggests that the majority of practitioners in the built environment do not have appropriate knowledge on this topic. among other reasons, this could serve as an explanation as to why the majority (63%) of the participants have not been exposed to adr mechanisms and its benefits. tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 109 4.3 preference of adr methods the second part of the questionnaire asked which method(s) were preferred by architectural practitioners who have implemented adr in an attempt to resolve a dispute. figure 3 is a graphical summary of the adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners between 2012 and 2016. figure 3: graphical summary of adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners between 2012 and 2016 the majority of the participating architectural practitioners preferred negotiation (37.3%) and mediation (26.5%) as the means of resolving disputes in the south african built environment. only 14.9% of the respondents prefer arbitration and 8.2% prefer adjudication. the data revealed that, although litigation does not form part of adr procedures, it is still implemented by 11.9% of the practitioners. negotiation is one of the most commonly used adr methods for resolving disputes, because it is an informal method that is used as a preventative measure to avoid fully fledged disputes between parties (chong & zin, 2012: 430). research also indicates that parties, who have been involved with disputes, favour mediation or negotiation as a method of adr (brand, steadman & todd, 2012; rao, 2009: 320). using a population size of 45 participants, a similar study for the built environment done in 2012 by du preez and verster (2013: 5) lists the preferred adr methods as arbitration, adjudication, negotiation, and mediation. a comparison between the preferences of adr methods in 2012 with the results of this study shows a change from arbitration (20.2%) and adjudication (19.3%) to negotiation (37.3%) and mediation (26.5%). figure 4 shows a graphic representation comparing the current preference of adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners to those in the built environment noted in the 2012 study by du preez and verster. 148 105 60 47 32 4 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% negotiation mediation arbitration litigation adjudication other fr eq ue nc y a nd % o f t he re sp on d en ts preferred method of dispute resolution adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners figure 3: graphical summary of adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners between 2012 and 2016 the majority of the participating architectural practitioners preferred negotiation (37.3%) and mediation (26.5%) as the means of resolving disputes in the south african built environment. only 14.9% of the respondents prefer arbitration and 8.2% prefer adjudication. the data revealed that, although litigation does not form part of adr procedures, it is still implemented by 11.9% of the practitioners. negotiation is one of the most commonly used adr methods for resolving disputes, because it is an informal method that is used as a preventative measure to avoid fully fledged disputes between parties (chong & zin, 2012: 430). research also indicates that parties, who have been involved with disputes, favour mediation or negotiation as a method of adr (brand, steadman & todd, 2012; rao, 2009: 320). using a population size of 45 participants, a similar study for the built environment done in 2012 by du preez and verster (2013: 5) lists the acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 110 preferred adr methods as arbitration, adjudication, negotiation, and mediation. a comparison between the preferences of adr methods in 2012 with the results of this study shows a change from arbitration (20.2%) and adjudication (19.3%) to negotiation (37.3%) and mediation (26.5%). figure 4 shows a graphic representation comparing the current preference of adr methods implemented by architectural practitioners to those in the built environment noted in the 2012 study by du preez and verster. figure 4: graphical comparison of the most preferred method of adr between 2012 and 2016 this comparison displays the ever-changing nature and implementation of various adr methods within the built environment of south africa. although du preez and verster (2013: 5) argue that the construction industry is changing towards the implementation of adjudication as a preferred method for resolving disputes, the comparative data covering the five years from 2012 to 2016 indicated a different scenario. in 2012, figure 4 shows negotiation, also known as agent resolution, ranking as the third preferred method of adr in the built environment, while it became the most preferred adr method implemented between 2012 and 2016 by architectural practitioners. in 2012, mediation was the least preferred adr method in the built environment, but between 2012 and 2016, it has been the second most preferred adr method implemented by architectural practitioners. negotiation is a private, voluntary and consensual process whereby parties attempt to resolve their differences personally by agreement without the intervention of an independent third party (havenga & havenga, 2010: 286; ramsden, 2009: 2), while mediation is an adr method in which a neutral third party, known as the mediator, seeks to resolve a dispute between the parties in conflict (chong & zin, 2012: 430). the benefits of using negotiation is that both the discussion and the outcome can remain confidential (havenga & havenga, 2010: 286). the benefit of using mediation is that the parties are in agreement and willing to assist the mediator and mediation proceedings in reaching a settlement (ramsden, 2009: 3; chong & zin, 2012: 430). despite its confidential benefit, negotiation is the simplest way of settling disputes, because the parties control the process and the outcome; the parties themselves are 17.4% 15.3% 20.2% 19.3% 37.3% 26.5% 14.9% 8.2% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% negotiation mediation arbitration adjudication % o f t he re sp on d en ts preferred method of dispute resolution adr preference in 2012 vs 2016 2012 2016 figure 4: graphical comparison of the most preferred method of adr between 2012 and 2016 this comparison displays the ever-changing nature and implementation of various adr methods within the built environment of south africa. although du preez and verster (2013: 5) argue that the construction industry is changing towards the implementation of adjudication as a preferred method for resolving disputes, the comparative data covering the five years from 2012 to 2016 indicated a different scenario. in 2012, figure 4 shows negotiation, also known as agent resolution, ranking as the third preferred method of adr in the built environment, while it became the most preferred adr method implemented between 2012 and 2016 by architectural practitioners. in 2012, mediation was the least preferred adr method in the built environment, but between 2012 and 2016, it has been the second most preferred adr method implemented by architectural practitioners. tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 111 negotiation is a private, voluntary and consensual process whereby parties attempt to resolve their differences personally by agreement without the intervention of an independent third party (havenga & havenga, 2010: 286; ramsden, 2009: 2), while mediation is an adr method in which a neutral third party, known as the mediator, seeks to resolve a dispute between the parties in conflict (chong & zin, 2012: 430). the benefits of using negotiation is that both the discussion and the outcome can remain confidential (havenga & havenga, 2010: 286). the benefit of using mediation is that the parties are in agreement and willing to assist the mediator and mediation proceedings in reaching a settlement (ramsden, 2009: 3; chong & zin, 2012: 430). despite its confidential benefit, negotiation is the simplest way of settling disputes, because the parties control the process and the outcome; the parties themselves are in the best position to know the strengths and weaknesses of their own cases (wang, 2000: 191). the outcome of a case through mediation can result in the immediate resolution of the dispute, if the parties agree based on their interests and needs (lawteacher, 2013: online). because arbitration takes decision-making power away from the parties, parties do not learn how to resolve their own conflicts more effectively in the future, as does mediation (lawteacher, 2013: online). adjudication procedures have a 28-day timetable, which means that parties involved can lose considerable sums of money in a very short timescale (expert evidence, 2017: online). this might be the reason for the change in adr preferences, as more architectural practitioners are familiarising themselves with the process of adr, and trying to avoid any formal court litigation. 5. discussion and conclusion based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that architectural practitioners in the built environment in south africa who were involved with adr between 2012 and 2016 preferred to use negotiation and mediation as methods to resolve disputes. a literature study reveals that available adr mechanisms used to resolve disputes include arbitration, mediation, adjudication, negotiation, fact-finding, mini-trials, conciliation, neutral evaluation, and expert determination. some benefits of using adr methods include time and cost efficient, active participation of parties, confidential, and no courtrooms. despite the benefits, some adr methods may not be suitable to every form of dispute. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 112 although arbitration and adjudication were known in 2012 as the most preferred adr methods to resolve construction disputes, architectural practitioners preferred negotiation and mediation in 2016. this points to the evolutionary challenges of adr in the south african built environment. a study by du preez and verster (2013: 5) suggests that arbitration and adjudication will remain profound as a support system to adr. 6. recommendations it is recommended that architectural practitioners keep track of the continuous development of adr methods. depending on the circumstances of specific construction disputes, architectural practitioners should study the different types of adr processes, methods and procedures, as adr has a variety of attributes. these include, among others, avoiding formal court litigation, flexibility, cost effectiveness, time-saving, confidentiality, privacy, and the preservation of business relationships. to limit the current lack of adr knowledge, architectural practitioners should develop adr implementation guidelines for their firms that focus on choice, procedure and methods best dealing with the interest of the parties involved in the dispute. these implementation guidelines should specifically focus on serving as a mechanism for avoiding formal court litigation. it is recommended that sacap and voluntary associations educate members through online training, continuing professional development (cpd) and bespoke adr courses, mentorship programmes and workshops. this should be done on a regular basis, as adr methods/procedures implemented are constantly changing, due to the changing nature of the south african construction industry. further studies should investigate possible activities to inform architectural practitioners of the benefits of adr. this will ensure good working relationships between practitioners and clients as well as possibly limiting costly and time-consuming court procedures. similar studies could also examine the possible impact when adr methods are not implemented during construction disputes and how to address these issues. thus, the study could be expanded by including the rest of the construction industry. tariené gaum • the implementation of alternative dispute-resolution... 113 references aoa (association of arbitrators). 2014. becoming an arbitrator. 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university, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2348066164525, email: <oluseyialao@yahoo. com, oluseyialao@oauife. edu.ng> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-6491-4117 prof. godwin onajite jagboro, professor, department of quantity surveying, faculty of environmental design & management, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2348039269416, email: <gojagboro@yahoo.com> dr akintayo opawole, postdoctoral research fellow, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +2348035125849, email: <tayoappmail@gmail. com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-8326-7824 dr dele samuel kadiri, senior lecturer, department of quantity surveying, faculty of environmental design & management, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2348035701241, email: <deleskadiri@yahoo. com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5369-5155 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.7 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(1): 167-200 assessment of resuscitation strategies of abandoned projects: a case study of public tertiary education institutions’ buildings in osun state, nigeria peer reviewed and revised march 2019 published june 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for this title or article abstract abandoned projects have contributed significantly to the inadequacy of teaching and research facilities in the nigerian tertiary education institutions. this article examines the strategies for resuscitating the projects based on the financing options that were employed. the aim of this article is to suggest sustainable cash-flow strategies that could be appropriated for financing abandoned projects, in general, and tertiary education institutions projects, in particular. the article adopts a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methodology. the respondents consist of 47 top officials in the physical development departments in osun state public tertiary institutions. the qualitative assessment is based on open-ended face-toface interviews involving three key informants, namely one quantity surveyor and two engineers. data collected are analysed using mean analysis, kruskal-wallis (k-w) test, and atlas.ti 7. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:oluseyialao@yahoo.com mailto:oluseyialao@yahoo.com mailto:oluseyialao@oauife.edu.ng mailto:oluseyialao@oauife.edu.ng https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6491-4117 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6491-4117 mailto:gojagboro@yahoo.com mailto:tayoappmail@gmail.com mailto:tayoappmail@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 mailto:deleskadiri@yahoo.com mailto:deleskadiri@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5369-5155 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5369-5155 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i1.7 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 168 solicitation for funds and yearly budgetary allocation were both frequently used and were efficient strategies. on the other hand, public-private partnership (ppp) arrangement, and the establishment of institution-based, abandoned projectresuscitation unit/department, and levy of beneficiaries were strategies that were both least used and inefficient. the article provides implications for financing abandoned educational projects in the education sector. keywords: abandoned buildings, public tertiary education institutions, resuscitation strategies abstrak projekte wat verlaat word, het aansienlik bygedra tot die ontoereikendheid van onderrigen navorsingsfasiliteite in die nigeriese tersiêre opvoedkundige instellings. hierdie artikel ondersoek die strategieë vir die herlewing van hierdie projekte, gebaseer op die finansieringsopsies wat gebruik is. die doel van die artikel is om volhoubare kontantvloeistrategieë voor te stel wat aangewend kan word vir die finansiering van verlate projekte in die algemeen en tersiêre opvoedkundige instellingsprojekte spesifiek. die artikel gebruik ’n driehoek van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodologie. die respondente sluit in 47 topamptenare in die fisiese ontwikkelingsdepartemente in osun state se openbare tersiêre instellings. die kwalitatiewe assessering is gegrond op oop aangesig-tot-aangesig-onderhoud met drie sleutelinformante, naamlik een bourekenaar en twee ingenieurs. die data wat ingesamel is, is geanaliseer met behulp van gemiddelde analise, kruskal-wallis (k-w) toets en atlas. ti 7. die werwing van fondse en jaarlikse begrotingstoewysing was beide gereeld gebruik en was doeltreffende strategieë. aan die ander kant was die openbare-private vennootskap (ppp)-ooreenkomste, en die vestiging van ’n instansie-gebaseerde projekherlewingseenheid/-afdeling, en die heffing van begunstigdes, strategieë wat die minste benut en ook ondoeltreffend was. die artikel bevat implikasies vir die finansiering van verlate opvoedkundige projekte in die onderwyssektor. sleutelwoorde: herlewingstrategieë, openbare tersiêre onderwysinstellings, verlate geboue 1. introduction abandoned construction projects are of great concern to stakeholders involved in construction projects delivery in nigeria (shakir, 2012: online; alao & jagboro, 2017: 42). an estimate of n300 billion was reported to have been spent on 4,000 uncompleted or abandoned projects belonging to the federal government of nigeria (kotangora, 1993, cited in ayodele & alabi, 2011: 142). similarly, a total of n12 trillion was reported by the chartered institute of project management of nigeria’ (cipmn) committee to have been spent on 56,000 abandoned government projects across the country (daily trust, 2015). in 2012, the needs assessment of nigerian public universities’ committee reported that 163 of the 701 uncompleted tertiary education institutions projects had been abandoned (needs assessment of nigerian public universities, 2012). alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 169 both publicly and privately initiated construction projects are abandoned at various stages of construction for reasons that are, among others, substantially political factors, inadequate planning, wrong estimate, incompetent project management, and inadequate finance (report on abandoned projects, 2011; ayodele & alabi, 2011; olalusi & otunola, 2012; hanachor, 2012; ubani & ononuju, 2013; ewa, 2013; ihuah & benebo, 2014; okwudili, 2014; alao & jagboro, 2017). the persistent spate of construction project abandonment has contributed to current infrastructure deficit and inadequate teaching facilities in the nigerian tertiary education institutions. the current facilities are being overstretched, due to an explosion in the number of students (committee on needs assessment of nigerian public universities, 2012) seeking admission into tertiary institutions. of the n1.3 trillion special intervention fund promised by the federal government for revitalising the nation’s universities for six years effective 2013 (federal ministry of education, 2013), the initial n200 billion ended up for starting many projects and commissioning very few or none, due to universities’ councils’/managements’ preference to award new contracts rather than to complete the abandoned projects, or standardise existing facilities (committee on needs assessment of nigerian public universities, 2012). abandoned tertiary education institutions projects seem to have persisted, because either there are no specifically defined strategies for their revival or the strategies being employed to revive them are ineffective. these occurrences and tendencies have triggered a number of studies relating to abandoned projects (ayodele & alabi, 2011; olalusi & otunola, 2012; hanachor, 2012; ubani & ononuju, 2013; ewa, 2013; ihuah & benebo, 2014; okwudili, 2014; tijani & ajagbe, 2016; alao & jagboro, 2017; mac-barango, 2017). however, there is a paucity of studies on strategies for the resuscitation of abandoned tertiary education institutions projects in nigeria. the aim of this article is to examine the strategies for resuscitating abandoned construction projects by exploring the effects of abandonment on the cost of resuscitation of some selected projects in the nigerian tertiary education institutions, and the financing options that provided successful delivery. the article is expected to evolve strategies in practice for resuscitating abandoned projects that could be adopted for different project types, and tertiary education institutional projects specifically. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 170 2. literature review to understand abandoned building projects in nigeria, it is important to introduce the current theory on resuscitating the projects included in this article. the existing theory focuses on the need for resuscitating, strategies used for resuscitating, and the effectiveness of these strategies for abandoned building projects. 2.1 need for resuscitating since resuscitation of abandoned projects seems to be a grey area in nigeria, it is necessary to develop strategies to facilitate the resuscitation of abandoned projects, while analysing the causes of abandonment and developing frameworks to prevent its occurrence. salisu (2012) opines that, while most of the abandoned public projects in nigeria are accepted to be ill-conceived and have hardly any economic relevance to the people, the real challenge for the government and the construction stakeholders should be how to revive some of the most strategic infrastructures such as power, education, roads, housing, and transportation that bear direct relevance to the economy. abandoned properties represent unrealised opportunities to rebuild communities. therefore, information on systems or initiatives necessary to revive or resuscitate abandoned projects will benefit the initiators of the construction projects (mallach, 2004). according to the united states conference of mayors (2008: 1), vacant and abandoned properties, whether residential or commercial, create costly problems for cities – problems which have been exacerbated by the mortgage foreclosure crisis. these properties are a drain on city budgets. they detract from the quality of life, as well as the economic opportunities, of those living around them. they are an impediment to individual neighborhood redevelopment and, ultimately, to achievement of city-wide economic development goals. minimizing the harm done by vacant and abandoned properties and restoring these properties to productive use are priorities for mayors across the nation, and many have developed successful strategies to accomplish this. the loss of substantial funds through failure or abandonment has a crippling effect on the capabilities of the investors and the financier(s), because, once a decision is taken to execute a project, scarce resources are tied down for a long period of time (nwachukwu & emoh, 2010; omeife, 2013; ogege, 2011), and other likely investment opportunities are foregone. alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 171 2.2 strategies for resuscitating abandoned projects 2.2.1 strategies in different countries in a study on the need for initiatives to resuscitate abandoned projects, abdul rahman, alashwal, ayub & abdullah (2013: 69) revealed that the malaysian government has established a division for the rehabilitation of abandoned projects and takes action to reserve the right of the purchaser because of their system of housing development (sell-then-build scheme). despite numerous government actions, abandoned housing projects still persist, showing that various risks are involved in the rehabilitation process (abdul rahman et al., 2013: 71, 72). abdul rahman et al.’s (2013: 72) study asserted that there is still a lack of investigations to verify the efficiency of the different proposed initiatives in order to mitigate the abandonment problem. therefore, these findings cannot be generalised to the nigerian development practice, because malaysian development is purely developer-oriented, housingspecific and well regulated. in a review of public housing projects abandonment in ghana, twumasi-ampofo, osei-tutu, decardi-nelson and ofori (2014) proposed a model for reactivation of abandoned public housing projects. this entails the proper implementation of public housing projects, positive politics practice by government, and adequate structures that ensure continuation when there is a change in government. the generated models lacked empirical analysis and failed to assess strategies that have been used to revive abandoned housing projects. studies on abandoned projects from the developed world have focused on the reuse of abandoned properties (abandoned houses work group, 2004; mallach, 2004; mallach, 2006; the united states conference of mayors, 2008). although the findings of these studies can provide the basis for strategies to revive abandoned construction projects, it cannot be generalised for direct application in the emerging economy. moreover, alufohai’s (2012) review showed that international lessons on how to avoid abandoned projects based on the united kingdom, the united states of america or some asian economies could be difficult in nigeria, due to the fact that projects abandonment is related, to a greater extent, to political and economic issues. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 172 2.2.1 strategies in emerging economies and nigeria in this study, strategies for the resuscitation of abandoned projects were conceptualised as all financing models for completing abandoned projects, with a view to achieving the purpose(s) for which they were initiated or to make them functional for alternative use. the uniqueness of construction projects in terms of design configuration (usually one-off), types of financier(s), stage/level of completion, and the conditions of contract, among others, call for appropriate strategies, not a one-cap-fits-all approach (hussin & omran, 2011). olalusi and otunola (2012) recommend the establishment of a national construction bank to rejuvenate abandoned construction projects. a bank or financial institution that provides an economic stimulus package solely to assist abandoned construction projects could determine the best investment decision on abandoned projects and ascertain the project’s viability by using investment models and analysis (othman, 2012) to help the recovery of seemingly lost scarce resources expended on the abandoned projects, and indirectly increase internally generated revenue (igr). for example, the construction bank could administer proposed funding for the completion of abandoned projects in some nigerian federal universities, as noted in table 1. table 1: proposed funding for completing abandoned projects in federal universities in nigeria (in nigeria naira (n) million) s/no institution 2003 (50%) 2004 (50%) total (100%) 1 university of ibadan 175.00 175.00 350.00 2 university of nigeria 175.00 175.00 350.00 3 obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife 175.00 175.00 350.00 4 university of lagos 175.00 175.00 350.00 5 ahmadu bello university, zaria 175.00 175.00 350.00 6 university of benin 175.00 175.00 350.00 7 university of calabar 150.00 150.00 300.00 8 university of ilorin 150.00 150.00 300.00 9 university of jos 150.00 150.00 300.00 10 bayeso university, kano 150.00 150.00 300.00 11 university of port harcourt 150.00 150.00 300.00 12 university of marduguri 150.00 150.00 300.00 13 usmanv dan fadio university, sokoto 150.00 150.00 300.00 14 university of uyo 150.00 150.00 300.00 15 nnamdo azikiwe university, awka 150.00 150.00 300.00 alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 173 s/no institution 2003 (50%) 2004 (50%) total (100%) 16 federal university of technology, owerri 100.00 100.00 200.00 17 abubakar tafawa belewa university, bauchi 100.00 100.00 200.00 18 federal university of technology, akure 100.00 100.00 200.00 19 federal university of technology, yola 100.00 100.00 200.00 20 federal university of technology, minna 100.00 100.00 200.00 21 university of abuja 100.00 100.00 200.00 22 university of agriculture, abeokuta 100.00 100.00 200.00 23 michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike 100.00 100.00 200.00 24 university of agriculture, makurdi 100.00 100.00 200.00 25 national mathematical centre, sheda 50.00 50.00 100.00 26 nigeria french language village, badagry 50.00 50.00 100.00 27 nigeria arabic language village, ngala 50.00 50.00 100.00 28 national institution for nigerian language, aba 50.00 50.00 100.00 29 division of agricultural college, abj zaria 50.00 50.00 100.00 30 national universities commission secretariat 3,600.00 3,600.00 7,200.00 source: ibiam & okunnamiri, 2007: 625-626 at present, there is no empirical evidence of the existence of governmental or non-governmental agencies with the sole responsibility to identify and resuscitate abandoned projects in the nigerian context (silberman, 2004). nigeria practises the establishment of committee(s) to assess the level of projects abandonment sometimes due to citizenry agitations or criticism. examples include, among others, presidential projects assessment committee (ppac) set up in 2011; committee on needs assessment of nigerian public universities (2012), and chartered institute of project management of nigeria (cipmn) committee (2015). hussin & omran (2011: 36) highlights the approaches of the malaysian ministry of housing and local government (mhlg) to the revival process. as a government arm, it acts as mediator/facilitator to house buyer committees, financiers and developers to determine the direction of the revival scheme; acts as adviser to project revivers (white knights) and other affected parties to ensure their full cooperation and commitment to revive the scheme; requests spnb to conduct viability studies to revive and complete a project should no other party want to; allows for winding up of a developer and placing of a project under an official receiver or applying for a court order to appoint receivers and managers, or a white knight to revive acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 174 it with the consent of the majority of the buyers; allows a project financier, as debenture holder, to use its powers to appoint receivers to take control, revive and complete a project; and directs a company to assume, control and carry on the business of a developer vide the minister’s powers under section 11 (1) (c) or to use section 11 (1) (d) to direct a developer to petition the high court to wind up its business. a strategy that can be inferred from these approaches is a department dedicated to resuscitating abandoned projects that will rekindle the hope of end users. the stage of completion prior to abandonment is another factor that will inform the strategies to be deployed in order to revive it (hussin & omran, 2011). motivating owners of abandoned properties to restore them purposefully through the instrument of law could improve the value of these properties, create jobs, and improve the landscape, because these development companies are equipped with the technical know-how and expertise (dahlan, 2011). dahlan & mariappan (2012) note that corporate voluntary arrangement (cva) and the judicial management are the new insolvency approaches introduced by the corporate law reform committee (clrc) of malaysia, besides the most popular ones such as liquidation, receivership, and scheme of arrangement (soa). in malaysia, the affairs and business of a wound-up housing developer company are usually taken over by either the private liquidator or the provisional liquidator or the official receiver (or) under the department of insolvency upon being petitioned. the liquidator may rehabilitate the abandoned projects left by the wound-up housing developer companies, if the projects are viable for rehabilitation with the approval of the creditors, contributors, the committee of inspection and the court and that there are adequate funds to finance the rehabilitation. if the project is not viable, it may be stalled for ever without any prospects for rehabilitation, to the detriment of the purchasers. abdul rahman et al. (2013) suggested governmentcentred initiatives and the creation of a special task force and a special purpose vehicle as strategies for the resuscitation of abandoned projects. this recommendation seems to share a similar philosophy to that followed by the malaysian government’s special agency named syarikat perumahan negara berhad (spnb), under the ministry of finance, to oversee the resuscitation of abandoned housing projects, among others (khalid, 2010; othman, 2012). actions taken by these special task forces and vehicles should focus on strategies to prevent the occurrence of abandoned properties and on remedies to alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 175 address the problem of abandoned properties after it has occurred (twumasi-ampofo et al., 2014). the following strategies to resuscitate abandoned projects can be deduced from the reviewed literature: • preserved right; • provide alternative funding to complete the project with preserved rights; • establish a special department for the resuscitation of abandoned projects; • motivate owners of abandoned properties to restore them, or purposefully revive them by assistance from the courts, and • intervention of a special government agency to determine viability and completion of the project. 2.2 effectiveness of strategies for resuscitating abandoned projects many of the tools that are currently allowed under the law and that can be useful are either not being used at all or are not being used effectively (abandoned houses work group, 2004). dahlan & mariappan (2012) opine that the corporate voluntary arrangement as recommended by the corporate law reform committee is insufficient to cater for the problems of abandonment of housing development projects of insolvent housing developer companies, especially for carrying out rehabilitation effectively in protecting the aggrieved purchasers’ rights and other stakeholders. in their study on the abandoned project rehabilitation process, abdul rahman et al. (2013) recommend that further studies to investigate the efficiency and reliability of proposed remedies are very relevant. mallach (2006) notes that the basic elements of an abandoned property strategy – prevention, control, and reuse – are common to all cities, but specific strategies will vary from city to city, based largely on three key issues: • the dynamics of abandonment in the community. abandonment patterns vary from one city to the next and from one neighbourhood to the next within the same city. each city’s strategy must take into account the types of properties being abandoned and the factors that are triggering abandonment. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 176 • market conditions. abandonment is driven by economics, and a city’s options are affected by its market conditions. the stronger the real estate market in the city or region, the more options a city will have, and the easier it will be to find developers and owners eager to use their money to restore abandoned properties. where the market is weaker, cities will have to provide incentives to encourage developers, owners, and homebuyers to restore vacant properties. • the community’s plans and long-term goals. each community must frame its own vision of its future and design reuse strategies to fit into that vision. the reuse of specific properties should grow out of a comprehensive strategy for the block, the neighbourhood, and the city as a whole. according to mallach (2006), there are five critical elements or dimensions of an effective abandoned property strategy: preventing abandonment; creating and using information systems; gaining control of properties; organising city government to make abandoned property strategies work, and targeting resources strategically. a successful strategy for both preventing abandonment and reclaiming abandoned and vacant properties begins with sound information. an effective information system not only enables a city to track conditions and identify problem properties, but also serves as the basis for an early warning system, identifying properties at risk of future abandonment. unavailability of information on abandoned projects often necessitates the formation of a committee to appraise abandoned projects, mostly when there is a change in administration. figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study, based on the reviewed literature. there are six boxes in the framework. generally, the objective of an initiated project is to commission it for use. the broken lead arrow from box 1 to box 2 explains this normal scenario. however, project abandonment factors (box 3) often disallow this primary objective. hence, projects are delayed. if the project abandonment factors persist, they lead to abandon projects (box 4) with their consequences (box 5); otherwise they lead to commission (box 2). the adoption of strategies for resuscitating abandoned projects (box 6) will lead to eventual commission (box 2) of the projects, in order to fulfil the objective for which the projects were initiated. alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 177 figure 1: conceptual framework for resuscitating abandoned projects 3. research design the study addressed the strategies for resuscitating abandoned construction projects with a view to suggesting sustainable cash-flow strategies that could be appropriated for their delivery. the study used a mixed methods design, in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (bryman & bell, 2003; creswell, 2005). in this study, interview results from three stakeholders with over 10 years’ involvement in building projects in public tertiary education institutions in osun state were used to develop the theory on resuscitating abandoned construction projects in nigeria. the questionnaire survey explored the financial strategies from 65 project developers for resuscitating abandoned construction projects. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the building projects transcripts, such as similar resuscitating strategies suggested from the respondents’ groups (johnson & onwuegbuzie, 2004; creswell, 2005; creswell & plano-clark, 2007). acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 178 3.1 study area the assessment was based on building projects in public tertiary education institutions in osun state that will enable proper capturing of all the abandoned and resuscitated projects in the study area (committee on needs assessment of nigerian public universities, 2012). osun state lies in the southwestern region of nigeria and has the highest concentration of tertiary institutions (osun defender, 2013). the target population for the study comprised the 16 tertiary education institutions in osun state, distributed as seven public and nine private institutions (joint admission and matriculation board, 2012; directory of accredited programmes offered in polytechnics, technical and vocational institutions in nigeria (2016), and the key stakeholders involved in the development of construction projects in these institutions. the public tertiary institutions include two universities: obafemi awolowo university (oau), ile-ife, established in 1962, and osun state university (uniosun), osogbo, established in 2006; three polytechnics: federal polytechnic (fedpoede), ede, osun state polytechnic (osunpoly), iree, and osun state college of technology (oscotech), esa-oke, all established in 1992, and two colleges of education: osun state college of education (oscoed), ilesha, and osun state college of education (oscoed), ila-orangun, established in 1976 and 1979, respectively. the private institutions are six universities and three polytechnics. the private institutions were excluded from the study, due to their recent establishment. most of them have been established for less than 10 years. in addition, private institution projects might not be well documented, because they are not constrained by transparency and accountability (cartlidge, 2013). 3.2 population, sampling method and size the target population consisted of the 65 physical development professionals: builders, architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, who are the in-house stakeholders involved in the administration and development of construction projects in the seven public tertiary education institutions. the study adopted a total enumeration method of the institutions, considering the relatively small size of the population that means a complete selection of all items in a population under study (kothari, 2004: 58). according to leedy & ormrod (2010: 141), total enumeration sampling is appropriate where the population size is less than 100, and a desired level of accuracy is required (mouton & babbie, 2001). table 2 shows the sample size for this study comprising all the 25 professionals in physical planning units (ppu) and 52 in the ppu/works units (excluding seven professionals in alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 179 uniosun satellite campuses and 4 others in oscoed, ila-orangun, who are only involved in maintenance). table 2: osun state public tertiary education institutions’ physical development: relevant professionals sample size % sample size professionals units architect m and e engineer civil/ structural engineer builder quantity surveyor total *ppu 7 6 6 1 5 25 100 25 ppu/works 2 16 14 3 5 40 100 40 total 9 22 20 4 10 65 65 *ppu – physical planning unit all the works and maintenance unit professionals were excluded, because they were presumed to be involved in the maintenance of the physical properties after development, except the nine professionals in the works and maintenance unit of osunpoly, iree, who are co-opted into physical development when necessary. for the interviews, three professionals (key informants), who had undertaken the resuscitation of abandoned projects from the five institutions, were identified through the snowball sampling technique, considering their adequate years of experience and similar responses provided by them. according to noy (2009: 327), snowball sampling generates a unique type of social knowledge that would be particularly valuable for an in-depth exploration of a key phenomenon such as the resuscitation of abandoned projects. 3.3 response rate from the 65 original questionnaires, 45 valid ones were retrieved, resulting in a response rate of 69.2%. according to idrus & newman (2002: 13) as well as moyo & crafford (2010: 68), the response rate is considered adequate as contemporary construction management survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. 3.4 data collection a structured questionnaire survey was distributed to 65 physical development professionals involved in building projects in public tertiary education institutions in osun state, nigeria. the copies of the questionnaire were self-administered with the assistance of the institutions’ staff members who served as field coordinators, from march to july 2015. topics on the strategies for resuscitating tertiary acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 180 education institutions’ abandoned building projects used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews of the literature, resulting in the formulation of a questionnaire divided into two parts. part 1 was designed to obtain the respondents’ personal profile on current professional status, area of work, profession, institution employed in, position and years of experience in higher education projects, age, education qualification, and involvement in resuscitation. part 2 set eight questions on strategies for resuscitating abandoned construction projects. the respondents were required to indicate the level of usage as well as the effectiveness of these strategies, in practice, on a five-point likert scale, where 1 = not used/not effective; 2 = rarely used/less effective; 3 = sometimes used/effective; 4 = often used/more effective, and 5 = always used/most effective. likert scales are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2012: 11; leedy & ormrod, 2005: 185). to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for par 2 (akintoye & main, 2007: 601; fellows & liu, 2008). using snowball sampling, open-ended face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with three professionals (one key informant per institution) from universities, polytechnics, and colleges, who had undertaken the resuscitation of abandoned projects. the interviewees were requested to respond to five questions on resuscitation, in order to identify and assess in how many buildings and projects of resuscitation they were involved, the factors that informed the strategies used specifically at these institutions, and to explore the strategies that they suggest might be adopted for resolving the resuscitation problem in tertiary education institutions. with the consent of the interviewees, the interviews were audiotaped and the recordings were transcribed. 3.5 data analysis and interpretation of findings in order to analyse and describe the profile of the respondents, the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22 (pallant, 2013) was used to calculate the central tendencies of responses and to analyse them using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages (bhattacharyya & johnson, 2014). arithmetic mean/mean item score was adopted to rank and determine the level of usage and the effectiveness of the strategies. alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 181 according to jose & montserrat (2009), if n numbers are given, each number denoted by ai, where i = 1, ..., n, the mean score is the [sum] of the ai’s divided by n for each variable as follows: (equation 1) where: a1 = first value, a2 = second value, an = last value and n = sample size or number of values. to rank and determine the level of usage and the effectiveness of these strategies, the mean scores and standard deviation were reported (naoum, 2007: 103). for analysing the internal reliability of the questions on usage level and the effectiveness of the strategies, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347). tavakol & dennick (2011: 54-55) suggested that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range between 0.70 and 0.95. in the current study, a cut-off value of 0.70 was adopted. the interview responses on strategies for resuscitating abandoned construction projects were analysed, using atlas.ti 7, and the result was interpreted by means of phenomenological interpretation. the latter is a technique that relies on audiotape recordings and transcriptions before coding responses (sutton & austin, 2015: 226). it also captures the similarities and differences as well as the ideas in people’s responses. from the breakdown, responses were coded into two categories: strategies used and recommended strategies. these key points provided detail and support for the findings from the questionnaire survey, as well as emerging responses not covered in the questionnaire survey. the kruskal-wallis test was used to test the level of agreement in rating of the variables by the professionals from the universities, polytechnics, and colleges. the kruskal-wallis test is a non-parametric test suitable for comparing ≥ 3 independent groups of sampled data that are not normally distributed (oyesiku & omitogun, 1999; fellows & liu, 2008; ibiyemi, 2009). a mean cut-off point based on mid-points was adjudged to be reasonable, in order to determine important or significant factors (muhwezi, acai & otim, 2014). that is > 2.50 on a 5-point likert-type scale. moreover, t-test showed no significant difference from 3.00. hence, mean score cut-off point ≥ 3.00 was recommended for this study. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 182 the hypothesis for the kruskal-wallis test with k ≥ 3 population can be written as follows: ho: all k populations are identical, i.e. p1 = p2 = p3 = … = pn, and h1: not all k populations are identical, i.e. p1 ≠ p2 ≠ p3 ≠ … ≠ pn. the kruskal-wallis test statistic is given as follows; degree of freedom = k 1 (equation 2) where: k = number of populations, ni = number of items in sample i, n = total number of items in all samples, and r = sum of the ranks for sample i. if the p-value is small (i.e. < 0.05), the idea that the differences are all a coincidence is rejected. findings from the questionnaire survey and interview results were compared, interpreted and cross-checked with evidences from the literature review to suggest sustainable resuscitation strategies for abandoned projects in tertiary education institutions. the overall results were structured to develop a conceptual framework for resuscitating abandoned projects (see figure 2). 4. discussion of results 4.1 profile of the respondents 4.1.1 questionnaire respondents table 3 presents the profile of respondents to the questionnaire. of the total duly completed copies of the questionnaire, 22 (48.9%) were obtained from the universities, 14 (31.1%) from the polytechnics, and nine (20%) from the colleges of education. it was established that, of those who responded to the questionnaire, 17% are architects, 17% are quantity surveyors, 8.5% are builders, 25.5% are mechanical and electrical engineers, and 31.9% are civil/structural engineers. the results show that the respondents represented all relevant construction professionals in the physical development of building projects. the data show that 28.9% of the respondents are polytechnic graduates (ordinary or higher national diploma, ond/hnd). alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 183 table 3: profile of the questionnaire respondents background characteristics frequency % organisation of respondents university 22 48.9 polytechnic 14 31.1 colleges of education 9 20.0 respondents’ area of work physical planning/work and maintenance unit 18 40.0 physical planning unit 20 44.4 work and maintenance unit 7 15.6 profession architect 8 17.0 m and e engineer 12 25.5 civil/structural engineer 15 31.9 builder 4 8.5 quantity surveyor 8 17.0 educational qualification polytechnic graduate (nd, hnd) 13 28.9 first degree (b.sc./b.tech.) 10 22.2 postgraduate (pgd, m.sc./m.ba/m.pa, ph.d.) 22 48.9 professional membership status graduate/probationer 14 31.1 corporate 26 57.8 fellow 3 6.7 no response 2 4.4 official cadre of respondents director/chief 10 22.3 assistant chief/principal/senior 19 42.2 engineer i/qs i/higher technical officer 10 22.2 engineer ii/qs ii/technical officer 6 13.3 age (years) <40 14 31.1 40-49 16 35.6 >=50 15 33.3 mean age (mean±sd) 43.67±9.45 work experience (years) <10 9 20.0 10-19 18 40.0 20-29 12 26.7 ≥30 6 13.3 mean years of work experience (mean±sd) 17.02±9.91 acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 184 background characteristics frequency % work experience in higher institution projects (years) <10 22 48.9 10-19 11 24.4 20-29 8 17.8 ≥30 4 8.9 mean years of work experience (mean±sd) 12.18±9.89 tertiary institution building project(s) resuscitated with respondents’ involvement none 14 31.1 <5 28 62.2 ≥5 3 6.7 n = 45; sd = standard deviation the highest number (48.9%) of the respondents had a postgraduate degree, and 22.2% of the respondents were university graduates (first degree). from the information on the academic qualifications of the respondents, it can be inferred that these professionals possessed satisfactory academic training to understand the questionnaire and supply data for this study. furthermore, the analysis of the respondents’ professional qualifications showed that 64.5% of the respondents were corporate members of their professional bodies. in addition, 64.5% of the respondents were senior level officers at their respective establishments. analysis of the respondents’ involvement in the resuscitation of abandoned building projects showed that 68.9% of the respondents had been involved in the resuscitation of at least one project. this means that the respondents were qualified to provide information on the topic of resuscitating abandoned building projects. 4.1.2 interview respondents table 4 presents the profile of the respondents in the interview. the interviewees were high level officers with over 10 years’ working experience on tertiary education projects. the mean years of working experience of the respondents = 27. moreover, they were involved in the development of a reasonable number of tertiary education institution projects which span all types of building projects and they participated in the resuscitation of the projects. this analysis strongly indicates that the information provided can be relied upon. table 3: continued alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 185 table 4: profile of the respondents to the interview interviewee characteristics interviewee 1 (r1) interviewee 2 (r2) interviewee 3 (r3) institution university college of education polytechnic area of work in the institution physical planning unit work and maintenance physical planning unit profession civil/structural engineer, builder, quantity surveyor, c and g examiner civil engineer civil engineer official cadre chief technical officer senior technical officer senior engineer highest academic qualification hnd hnd m.sc. professional affiliation(s) mniqs, m.i.e (london), miob (britain) nate mnse years of work experience 40 years 33 years 18 years years of work experience on educational institution projects 39 years 33 years 10 years number of educational institutions building projects involved in about fifty (50) 15 25 type(s) of educational institutions projects involved in faculty/dept buildings, lecture theatres, hostels, administrative buildings, libraries, bookshop, classrooms, laboratories, workshops faculty/dept buildings, lecture theatres, hostels, administrative buildings, libraries, bookshop, classrooms, laboratories, workshops faculty/dept buildings, lecture theatres, hostels, administrative buildings, libraries, bookshop, classrooms, laboratories/ workshops hnd = higher national diploma; mniqs = member of the nigerian institute of quantity surveyors; mie = member of the institute of engineers; nate = north american technician excellence; mnse = member of the nigerian society of engineers 4.2 questionnaire results 4.2.1 strategies for resuscitating abandoned building projects table 5 presents the assessment of strategies for resuscitating tertiary educationa institutions’ abandoned building projects. the results show ‘soliciting for funds’ (ms = 3.40) as the most frequently used strategy (table 5). the need for solicitation for funds to complete acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 186 ta b le 5 : s tr a te g ie s fo r r e su sc ita tin g a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts s/ n o st ra te g ie s fo r r e su sc ita tin g a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts m s sd rk u p c kr us ka l-w a llis te st m s rk m s rk m s rk kw p 1 so lic ita tio n fo r f un d s 3. 40 1. 05 1 3. 73 1 2. 79 4 3. 56 1 7. 57 4 0. 02 3 2 ye a rly b ud g e ta ry a llo c a tio n fo r a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts 3. 18 1. 30 2 3. 23 4 3. 29 1 2. 89 7 0. 84 8 0. 65 5 3 a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts re su sc ita tio n p o lic y 3. 16 0. 90 3 3. 18 5 3. 00 3 3. 33 3 1. 03 1 0. 59 7 4 es ta b lis he d in st itu tio nb a se d a b a nd o ne d p ro je c t re su sc ita tio n un it/ d e p a rt m e nt 3. 16 1. 24 4 3. 45 2 2. 43 6 3. 56 1 7. 26 8 0. 02 6 5 u se o f a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts a p p ra isa l c o m m itt e e 2. 96 1. 11 5 3. 18 5 2. 79 4 2. 67 8 1. 91 5 0. 38 4 6 a d o p tio n o f p ub lic p riv a te pa rt ne rs hi p ( pp p) a rra ng e m e nt 2. 93 1. 32 6 3. 27 3 2. 36 7 3. 00 5 4. 26 2 0. 11 9 7 g o ve rn m e nt -b a se d a b a nd o ne d p ro je c t re su sc ita tio n a g e nc y 2. 89 1. 34 7 2. 68 7 3. 14 2 3. 00 5 1. 33 9 0. 51 2 8 le vy o f b e ne fic ia rie s 2. 58 1. 31 8 2. 50 8 2. 21 8 3. 33 3 4. 26 1 0. 11 9 c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha 0 .8 16 n o te : m s = m e a ns s c o re , s d = s ta nd a rd d e vi a tio n, r k = ra nk , u = u ni ve rs ity , p = p o ly te c hn ic , c = c o lle g e , k -w = k ru sk a l-w a llis , p = p -v a lu e alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 187 abandoned projects, which at a point had received budget allocations, raised the question as to how the initial budgeted fund was appropriated. this may suggest diversion or embezzlement of the unspent budgeted fund through compromise of processes (corruption), which earlier studies had established as one major cause of project abandonment (ayodele et al., 2011; otim, alinaitwe, tindiwensi & kerali, 2012; ewa, 2013; ubani & ononuju, 2013). it can be inferred that an abandoned project may be a foregone project if the envisaged end users do not use solicitation. yearly budgetary allocation for abandoned projects (ms = 3.18) ranked 2nd. this is expected to be in use and the ranking is not unexpected, because budgeting is like an annual ritual in an institution. ‘abandoned projects resuscitation policy’ and ‘established institution-based abandoned project resuscitation unit/department’ had equal ms = 3.16. however, standard deviation of the former shows that it clustered more than the latter. hence, 3rd and 4th ranking. levy of beneficiary (ms = 2.58) ranked the least used strategy for resuscitating abandoned projects. the low ranking of ‘levy of beneficiary’ could be explained by the resistance from the end users as previous attempts to adopt this strategy has failed because end users often question the accountability of these budgeted funds. with more transparency and accountability on the part of the executor, ‘levy of beneficiary’ might gain appreciable acceptance and usage. the low ranking of ‘the use of appraisal committee’ (ms = 2.96) is unexpected, considering the trends of its adoption, as identified in previous studies (kotangora, 1993, cited in ayodele & alabi, 2011; presidential projects assessment committee, 2011; committee on needs assessment of nigerian public universities, 2012). the establishment of special committee(s) by the authority will be unnecessary if ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) are held responsible for the inadequate documentation on abandoned projects. the use of committees has been criticised as being a mere measure to douse agitation for a course. the kruskal-wallis test (see table 5) indicates that there is no significant difference in the use of the identified strategies across the institutions’ categories, except in respect of ‘solicitation for funds’ (p-value = 0.023) and ‘established institution-based abandoned project resuscitation unit/department’ (p-value = 0.026). the observed disagreement on the use of the two strategies is due to responses from polytechnics respondents, because those of universities and colleges were closely related. this implies that the polytechnics have not succeeded in using solicitation for funds to resuscitate their abandoned projects. likewise, there is no institution-based establishment with the sole aim acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 188 ta b le 6 : ef fe c tiv e ne ss o f s tr a te g ie s fo r r e su sc ita tin g a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts s/ n o . st ra te g ie s fo r r e su sc ita tin g a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts m s rk u p c kr us ka l-w a llis t e st m s rk m s rk m s rk kw p 1 so lic ita tio n fo r f un d 3. 36 1 3. 41 1 3. 21 3 3. 44 1 0. 57 3 0. 75 1 2 ye a rly b ud g e ta ry a llo c a tio n fo r a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts 3. 33 2 3. 27 4 3. 64 1 3. 00 5 1. 50 9 2. 44 1 3 a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts re su sc ita tio n p o lic y 3. 24 3 3. 36 3 3. 00 4 3. 33 2 2. 44 1 0. 29 5 4 u se o f a b a nd o ne d p ro je c ts a p p ra isa l c o m m itt e e 3. 09 4 3. 00 6 3. 43 2 2. 78 7 2. 60 6 0. 27 2 5 a d o p tio n o f p ub lic p riv a te ( pa rt ne rs hi p ) pp p a rra ng e m e nt 2. 93 5 3. 18 5 2. 86 5 2. 44 8 2. 57 8 0. 27 6 6 es ta b lis h in st itu tio nb a se d a b a nd o ne d p ro je c t re su sc ita tio n un it/ d e p a rt m e nt 2. 91 6 3. 41 1 1. 93 8 3. 22 3 14 .1 35 0. 00 1 7 g o ve rn m e nt -b a se d a b a nd o ne d p ro je c t re su sc ita tio n a g e nc y 2. 84 7 2. 95 7 2. 43 6 3. 22 3 1. 99 3 0. 36 9 8 le vy o f b e ne fic ia rie s 2. 60 8 2. 68 8 2. 29 7 2. 89 6 1. 39 7 0. 49 7 c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha 0 .7 31 n o te : m s = m e a ns s c o re , s d = s ta nd a rd d e vi a tio n, r k = ra nk , u = u ni ve rs ity , p = p o ly te c hn ic , c = c o lle g e , k -w = k ru sk a l-w a llis , p = p -v a lu alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 189 of resuscitating abandoned projects in the polytechnics, as attested to in the universities and colleges. 4.2.2 effectiveness of strategies for resuscitating abandoned projects table 6 presents the assessment of the effectiveness of strategies for resus citating tertiary education institutions’ abandon ed building projects. the rankings of the effectiveness of the resuscitation strategies and the frequency of use of the strategies are similar (table 6), except for ‘establishment of institution-based abandoned project resuscitation unit/department’ which ranked 3rd (ms = 3.16) in use, but 6th (2.91) in effectiveness. the most effective strategies identified (table 6) are ‘solicitation for funds’ (ms = 3.36), ‘yearly budgetary allocation for abandoned projects’ (ms = 3.33), and ‘abandoned project resuscitation policy’ (ms = 3.24), which ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. the kruskal-wallis test (table 6) showed that the respondents agreed on the effectiveness of the strategies based on institutions categories, except in respect of ‘established institution-based abandoned project resuscitation unit/department’ (p-value = 0.001). the observed disagreement is similar to the results on the frequency of use. this is due to the perception of the respondents from the polytechnics who may have premised their response on needless duplicity of units and level of effectiveness of existing units. 4.3. interview results based on categories 4.3.1 strategies used this category captured the interviewees’ involvement with the general strategies used for resuscitating abandoned projects. the results of the interviews affirmed that, although there are no specific resuscitation strategies to which the institutions adhere, funding for the resuscitation of an abandoned project was one of the main strategies. funding was received mainly from government or from government agencies; tetfund and capital grants are seemingly the most forthcoming strategies. add to this the attendant amount of paper work through solicitation. for example, interviewees 1 and 2 asserted this differently: “there is no specific strategy on resuscitation. if any project is suspended or abandoned, resuscitation depends on government policy which determines cash flow. however, priority of projects like building for academic, hostel, research, then acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 190 welfare of staff are put into consideration. internally generated revenue (igr) could be used if it is a large sum of money. but in most cases, the money realized through igr is limited and should be distributed to several needs. for instance, you cannot think of facing a project of 100 million naira with igr. for the structure (the interviewee was referring to an abandoned and resuscitated 7-storey office complex at the obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife) itself to get to a certain stage nuc and etf helps out, while other facilities like furniture, air conditioning and others were handled with igr. periodically, as demanded by the nuc, we send our rolling plan – plan of projection for at least the next four years, in order of priority, and for instance out of a list of 10 we may be helped out in three” (university, civil/structural engineer, c and g examiner, hnd, 39 years’ work experience in educational institution projects). “the project was budgeted for, and the money for the project was put in a bank. however, we don’t allocate money for work, we used direct labour.” (college of education, civil engineer, hnd, 33 years’ work experience in educational institution projects). this means that the resuscitation of a suspended or abandoned project depends on government policy, which determines the cash flow and magnitude of costs required in order to finance the resuscitation of a project. other strategies identified include the use of internally generated revenue (igr) and repackaging of the capital project into another year’s budget allocation. direct labour or igr may be used to resuscitate less capital-intensive projects. abandoned projects requiring over n100 million may have to be financed through other strategies such as repackaging the project into another year’s government allocation, as opined by interviewee 3: “we put it in another year’s federal allocation, and use direct labour.” (polytechnic, civil engineer, m.sc., 10 years’ work experience in educational institution projects). 4.3.2 recommended strategies this category captured the interviewees’ perception on recommended strategies to use in resuscitating abandoned projects. despite the limited capacity of the use of igr, the respondents alluded to the fact that its adoption has succeeded in funding the resuscitation of abandoned projects when solicitation for funds failed. the use of igr will involve yearly allocation. interviewee 3 opined that the current system of administration of tetfund for capital projects has encouraged the completion of projects and discouraged alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 191 solicitation to fund abandoned projects, because subsequent funds for such abandoned project would not be approved by tetfund, if previous disbursement is not accounted for. moreover, the institutions adopted the use of donations by the alumni associations, as asserted by interviewee 1: “intimate the alumni association about the proposed project and need for financial assistance, secure their cooperation and commitment and let them communicate same to the management on their position. besides, prioritize the projects and face them one after the other; avoid facing all the abandoned projects at a go.” (university, civil/structural engineer, c and g examiner, hnd, 39 years’ work experience in educational institution projects). the approach, in this instance, had been to tell the alumni association about the proposed project resuscitation for financial assistance to secure their cooperation and commitment. in addition to the identified opinions, one of the interviewees suggested a combination of government allocation and igr: “what should be done normally is to use more of government allocation; 80% of abandoned projects could be completed through federal allocation yearly, then the remaining 20% through igr.” (polytechnic, civil engineer, m.sc., 10 years’ work experience in educational institution projects). 5. proposed framework by harmonising the findings of the study, the initial conceptual framework (figure 1) for the resuscitation of abandoned projects in tertiary education institutions could be modified as shown in figure 2. the framework provides possible options which construction project developers can adopt for the resuscitation of abandoned projects. these identified strategies could be modified to suit different types of project. this will ensure the completion of every initiated and abandoned project. acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 192 figure 2: conceptual framework for resuscitating abandoned projects 6. conclusions this article examined the strategies for resuscitating abandoned construction projects by exploring some selected projects in the nigerian tertiary education institutions. the study adopted a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methodology. an in-depth literature review identified the resuscitation strategies that were assessed by means of questionnaires. whereas the findings of the quantitative assessment link up with those reviewed in the literature that were evaluated by means of a questionnaire survey, additional resuscitation strategies comprising tertiary education trust fund (tetfund) grant, federal government special allocation, internally generated revenue (igr), involvement of the institutions’ alumni associations, and use of direct labour were identified as appropriate in the specific cases of the tertiary education institutions’ projects in the study area. in both qualitative and quantitative assessments, strategies often used for the resuscitation of abandoned public tertiary education institutions’ projects were found to be solicitation for funds and yearly budgetary allocation. this implies that end users’ disposition to the abandoned projects is an excellent motivating factor for resuscitating abandoned property. on the other hand, the adoption of public-private partnership (ppp) arrangement, government-based abandoned project resuscitation agency, and levy of beneficiaries were the least used strategies. however, the adoption of the latter strategies might be improved by the application of an alao et al. • assessment of resuscitation strategies... 193 executive order. this implies that resuscitators of abandoned projects in the public tertiary education institutions in nigeria should not expect funding from end users. however, the respondents differed across the categories of institutions on solicitation for funds as a significant strategy. moreover, considering the paucity of funds and limited igr for financing institution projects, soliciting for funds to resuscitate abandoned projects is understandable. however, the administration of such funds must be properly accounted for, in order to justify future financial aid. the need for accountability is imperative because, in most instances where funds are disbursed to finance projects, it appears that nobody seeks feedback on how the funds were used. this scenario is, of course, very significant to project abandonment in the case of public projects. budgetary financing is worthwhile as the most reliable source of funds coming directly from the government. it appears that there are flaws in the utilisation of the yearly budgetary allocation for abandoned projects, because different managements leave numerous abandoned projects unattended. findings showed that the most used strategies (solicitation for funds and yearly budgetary allocation) are the most effective. the article provides both theoretical and practical implications for project financing. earlier studies identified both the causes and the effects of abandonment. this article expounds on the earlier studies on project abandonment by identifying financing strategies that could be adopted for resuscitating abandoned projects. as such, understanding sustainable cash-flow models that are appropriate for resuscitating abandoned projects would help, to a greater extent, the management of tertiary education institutions in nigeria employ the most effective strategies. besides, lessons based on this finding could be of benefit to other institutions in deciding on suitable resuscitation strategies. a number of lessons were documented based on the findings. first, accountability in respect of government funds (federal and state) is highly demanding. this relates essentially to strategies such as budgetary financing and tetfund model which seem to be the most forthcoming and robust options for the resuscitation of abandoned projects in tertiary education institutions. as such, the management at tertiary education institutions should ensure the proper documentation of budget disbursement and expenditure, as accountability for the funds is often considered a prerequisite for future tranches. a proper implementation of the projects in this regard would suggest accountability on the part of management. the fact that management at tertiary education institutions do not have a specific strategy for resuscitating abandoned projects suggests that the institutions should establish or improve the existing acta structilia 2019: 26(1) 194 units (if there are any) who could document the strategies that work best. it would also be important that resuscitation requiring less than n100 million (as at 2018) should be approached through direct labour or igr, while resuscitation requiring over n100 million may have to seek other strategies such as repackaging the project into another year’s government allocation. management may also have to build a strong network of alumni who would go along with the institutions’ strategic plans. this would enable the institutions’ governing councils to explore the alumni network strategy in order to finance abandoned projects within the institutions’ strategic plans. the approach, in this instance, would be to tell the alumni association about the proposed project resuscitation and request financial assistance, in order to secure their cooperation and commitment. however, an effective communication network and accountability would also be essential in this regard. whereas the article used the mixed methods approach, limited generalisation of the findings may be considered for resuscitating other public institutional facilities, as specific characteristics such as the use of the alumni fund are restricted to tertiary education institutions. generalisation of the findings to privately owned institutions may also be restricted because budgetary financing and tetfund model, which are the most used resuscitating strategies for abandoned projects in the public tertiary educational institutions, are not available to the same extent for private institutions in nigeria. future research may seek resuscitating strategies that are suitable for use in abandoned projects in privately owned institutions. research may also be done to explore 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e., decardi-nelson, i. & ofori, p.a. 2014. a model for reactivating abandoned public housing projects in ghana. civil and environmental research, 6(3), pp. 6-16. ubani, e.c. & ononuju, c.n. 2013. a study of failure and abandonment of public sector-driven civil engineering projects in nigeria: an empirical review. american journal of scientific and industrial research, 4(1), pp. 75-82. https://doi.org/10.5251/ajsir.2013.4.1.75.82 wegner, t. 2012. applied business statistics methods and excelbased applications solutions manual. 4th edition. cape town, south africa: juta. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v9i5 https://doi.org/10.5251/ajsir.2013.4.1.75.82 _goback 34 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as geraldine kikwasi dr geraldine j. kikwasi, senior lecturer, school of architecture, construction economics and management, ardhi university, dar es salaam, tanzania. email: <gkikwasi@ yahoo.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0157-69121 nyamagere gladys sospeter dr nyamagere gladys sospeter,* senior lecturer, school of architecture, construction economics and management, ardhi university, dar es salaam, tanzania. email: <nyamagere@ yahoo.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-6938-7018 *corresponding author. issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: april 2023 peer reviewed and revised: may 2023 published: june 2023 keywords: construction, economic development, government expenditure, inflation, interest rate how to cite: kikwasi, g.j. & sospeter, n.g. 2023. the nexus between monetary and fiscal policies and construction output in tanzania. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 34-61. the nexus between monetary and fiscal policies and construction output in tanzania research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7266 abstract there is insufficient knowledge on the influence of monetary and fiscal policies elements on the construction sector output in tanzania. monetary and fiscal policies elements are paramount in decisions pertaining to project viability or feasibility. the purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of monetary and fiscal policies elements with the construction sector output in tanzania. accordingly, this study adopts a correlational research design to examine the extant relationship between various elements of fiscal and monetary policies and construction output. time-series data was obtained from tanzania national bureau of statistics and bank of tanzania, covering a period of twenty-three (23) years from 1998 to 2021. the data obtained was tested for stationarity, followed by correlation and regression analysis. results reveal that construction output is negatively related to commercial bank’s weighted interest and inflation rates. on the other hand, construction output is positively related to exchange rate, government expenditure on construction, and total tax on product. multiple regression analysis revealed similar results, with the exception of exchange rate which has turned out to be negatively related 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 34-61 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:gkikwasi@yahoo.com mailto:gkikwasi@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0157-69121 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0157-69121 mailto:nyamagere@yahoo.com mailto:nyamagere@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6938-7018 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6938-7018 https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7266 kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 35 to construction output. nevertheless, the relationship of construction output and all elements of monetary and fiscal policies is not statistically significant. the study provides knowledge on the nexus between monetary and fiscal policies on the construction sector output within a previously unexplored tanzanian context. this can help developers make informed decisions on investments in times of high or low inflation and interest rates, and during an upsurge of exchange rates. it also informs the public on how the government regulates the construction output by increasing or decreasing expenditure on construction. abstrak daar is onvoldoende kennis oor die invloed van monetêre en fiskale beleidselemente op die konstruksiesektor se uitset in tanzanië. monetêre en fiskale beleidselemente is deurslaggewend in besluite wat verband hou met projek lewensvatbaarheid of haalbaarheid. die doel van hierdie studie is om die verwantskap van monetêre en fiskale beleidselemente met die konstruksiesektor se uitset in tanzanië te bepaal. gevolglik gebruik hierdie studie ‘n korrelasionele navorsingsontwerp om die bestaande verband tussen verskeie elemente van fiskale en monetêre beleid en konstruksie-uitset te ondersoek. tydreeksdata is verkry van tanzanië nasionale buro vir statistiek en bank van tanzanië, wat ‘n tydperk van drie-en-twintig (23) jaar van 1998 tot 2021 dek. die data is getoets vir stasionariteit, gevolg deur korrelasieen regressie-analise. resultate toon dat konstruksie-uitset negatief verband hou met kommersiële banke se geweegde renteen inflasiekoerse. aan die ander kant is konstruksie-uitset positief verwant aan wisselkoers, staatsbesteding aan konstruksie en totale belasting op produk. meervoudige regressie-analise het soortgelyke resultate aan die lig gebring, met die uitsondering van wisselkoers wat negatief met konstruksie-uitset verband hou. nietemin is die verband tussen konstruksie-uitset en alle elemente van monetêre en fiskale beleid nie statisties betekenisvol nie. die studie verskaf kennis oor die verband tussen monetêre en fiskale beleid oor die konstruksiesektor se uitset binne ‘n voorheen onontginde tanzaniese konteks. dit kan ontwikkelaars help om ingeligte besluite oor beleggings te neem in tye van hoë of lae inflasie en rentekoerse, en tydens ‘n oplewing van wisselkoerse. dit lig ook die publiek in oor hoe die regering die konstruksie-uitset reguleer deur uitgawes aan konstruksie te verhoog of te verminder. 1. introduction the construction industry’s contribution to economic development in developing countries can be realised through constructed facilities. over the years, the construction industry in tanzania has maintained a steady contribution to the national economic growth. according to united republic of tanzania (urt) (2022: 2), the industry’s share to the gross domestic product (gdp) was 14.1% in 2020 and declined to 13.8% in 2021. deloitte (2016: 5) predicted a growth in gdp of tanzania at an average of 6.4% per year in 2016-2020, highlighting the significant contribution of the construction and service sectors towards achieving this feat. similarly, in 2021, the urt (2022: 2) revealed the construction sector growth of 4.3%, which is a result of ongoing construction of classrooms, health centres, residential and commercial buildings, as well as construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and airports. these projects take a long time before completion, during which changes in monetary and fiscal kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 36 policies elements are likely. such changes are, in turn, expected to affect the attainment of project objectives. therefore, fiscal, and monetary policies elements cannot be neglected when making decisions on investments in construction projects, as these elements play a vital role in decisions pertaining to project viability or feasibility. in tanzania, as in many other countries, construction projects are mostly financed using borrowed funds that attract interest. the interest rates charged by financial institutions are not always stable to support the investment climate (sospeter & rwelamila, 2021: 328). for instance, between august 2015 and november 2015, the lending rates managed to remain stable at 16.1%, before rising to 16.28% in january 2016 (deloitte, 2016: 6). another important factor to note is that, in tanzania, construction material prices are subjected to value added tax (vat), which was introduced in 1997 and became operational in 1998. vat was introduced to replace sales tax which was in operation since the 1970s. the government is a key player in the construction sector globally, as the construction procurement-related expenditure contributes significantly to the growth of the industry. studies reveal an apparent relationship between construction output and economic development in developing economies (crosthwaite, 2000: 620; ruddock & lopes, 2006: 717; giang & pheng, 2011: 117; fulford, 2019: 785; ruddock & ruddock, 2019: 771). likewise, monetary and fiscal policies elements exert considerable influence on the construction output in any country (asamoah et al., 2020: 7). whereas monetary policy elements include interest, inflation, and exchange rates, fiscal policy elements consist of taxation and government expenditure. other studies reveal the influence of either monetary policy elements, fiscal policy elements, or both on economic growth/development. a few studies focus on the construction sector output and these include mbusi, mbiti and wanyona (2015: 18) in kenya; ayodeji (2011: 5) in nigeria, as well as bickerton and gruneberg (2013: 271) in the united kingdom. collectively, the studies focused on one or more policy elements. for instance, fiscal policy elements (ayodeji, 2011: 5; osinowo, 2015: 197), monetary policy elements (kalu et al., 2015: 173; makoye, mlinga & ndanshau, 2022) and monetary and fiscal policies (ma & fang, 2011: 165; emori, ogar & nkamare, 2014: 224; mbusi et al., 2015:19). the results of these studies are contradictory in their respective countries. however, there is insufficient knowledge on the influence of monetary and fiscal policy elements on the construction sector output in tanzania. each year, the bank of tanzania (bot) sets forth the monetary policy objectives to be achieved. these form the basis for the country’s economic growth. these objectives are set to enhance the economic growth of the country, which calls for focused evaluation of every major sector of the economy. construction is one of the major sectors that contribute significantly to the economic growth of kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 37 the country. the sector contribution is through construction output that is greatly affected by both fiscal and monetary elements of total tax on products, government expenditure on construction, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rate. the monetary policy objectives set each year by the central bank influence not only the performance of the sector, but also the investments and infrastructure development in the country. insufficient knowledge of monetary and fiscal policy elements may lead to poor performance of the industry and may affect decision-making on investments and infrastructure development. studies undertaken in tanzania by kyissima, kossele and abeid (2017) as well as makoye et al. (2022) have not explored the effect of monetary policy objectives on the construction sector. this continues to create a missing link on how the monetary and fiscal policies elements independently affect the construction output. by itself, tanzania lacks adequate information on the outcome of monetary policy objectives set by the bot, particularly on the construction sector. this study seeks to fill that research gap in the tanzanian context. 2. literature review 2.1 construction sector output the construction output is the total constructed facilities delivered by the construction sector of any given economy within a given period (t), usually a year (mbusi et al., 2015: 16). in that respect, countries invest in infrastructure which are products of the construction industry in the form of output. the production of new buildings and other structures in any given period adds to a country’s economic wealth, in the form of the built environment contributing to, and complementing its productive and social capital (ruddock & ruddock, 2019: 773). however, fulford (2019: 788) observed that not all assets contributed to national wealth creation, as such contributions were dependent on their nature and use. ruddock and ruddock (2019: 773) opined that, when economies grow by attracting investments and as such investments in terms of construction output expand, countries move to higher income classification groups. this view is shared by musarat, alaloul and liew (2021: 409), as well as by crosthwaite (2000: 620), in that the share of construction sector spending in gdp first grows during less developed country (ldc) status, peaks during newly industrialising country (nic) status, as they will require more constructed facilities, hence construction output, and then declines as countries move from nic to advanced industrialised country (aic) status. ruddock and lopes (2006: 718), giang and pheng (2011: 117), as well as ansar et al. (2016: 362) presented varied views concerning the relationship between construction output and economic development. ruddock and kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 38 lopes (2006: 720) described the relationship as ‘bon curve’, wherein the share of construction in total output first goes up and then comes down with the economic development of individual nations. giang and pheng (2011: 118) revealed the significant relationship between the construction industry and economic growth in developing countries, but they cautioned that excessive expansion of the industry would lead to waste of national resources. ansar et al. (2016: 387) concluded that investments in infrastructure do not typically lead to economic growth and that investing in underperforming projects instead leads to economic and financial fragility. these views challenge the earlier perceptions that construction output contributes positively to the nations’ economic growth. on the other hand, recent investments in infrastructure in tanzania such as sgr, construction of tazara and ubungo flyovers, tanzanite bridge, and stiegler’s gorge hydroelectric power station project aim to stimulate the country’s economic growth. this is held as true, as it is generally agreed that careful investment in infrastructure by developing countries will eventually translate to their economic development. this is also echoed by ruddock and ruddock (2019: 771), as well as by sospeter and rwelamila (2021: 326), in that a capital asset investment approach to sustainable infrastructure development requires careful planning of buildings and infrastructure for developing countries. 2.2 monetary policy monetary policies involve the use of interest rates and other monetary tools to manage macroeconomic variables such as inflation, the level of consumer spending, consumer confidence, exchange rate index, economic growth, and unemployment in an economy (musarat et al., 2021: 410; ukessays, 2018b). a monetary policy is a framework whereby the government, the central bank, or other regulatory authorities manage the provision of cash, accessibility to cash, and cost of cash within an economy (kalu et al., 2015: 175). the monetary policy is designed to influence the level of money supply and the structure of interest rates depending on the prevailing economic conditions (emori et al., 2014: 225). the monetary policy consists of actions taken by a nation’s central bank to control the money supply as well as interest rates, in order to achieve the desired macroeconomic policy objectives (musarat et al., 2021: 410). it constitutes the major policy thrust of the government in realising various macroeconomic objectives (emori et al., 2014: 225). monetary policy objectives vary between countries at different times and under different economic conditions. according to ruddock and ruddock (2019: 773), monetary policies are predicated on the attainment of the following objectives: price stability, high employment, economic growth, as well as stability of financial markets and institutions. in tanzania, the macroeconomic policy objectives for 2021/2022 were kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 39 achieving real gdp growth of 5% in 2021, attaining inflation with a target of 3%-5% in 2021/2022, and a budget deficit including grants of 3% of gdp in 2021/2022 (bot, 2022: 4). furthermore, the monetary policy has the following targets (bot, 2022a: 5): • annual growth of average reserve of money 9.9%; • annual growth of extended broad money supply (m3) of 10%; • annual growth of credit to the private sector credit of 10.6%, and • maintaining foreign exchange reserve adequate to cover at least four months of imports. central banks use several monetary tools to achieve monetary policy objectives. in an attempt to control money supply and interest rates, central banks usually use three major instruments, namely changing reserve requirements, changing discount rate, and open-market operations (ruddock & ruddock, 2019: 770). ma and fang (2011: 165) highlighted four main monetary policy tools applied by china central bank, namely open-market operations, cash reserve requirements, central bank loans, and interest rate. in the vast majority of developed countries, open-market operations are the main monetary policy tool of central banks’ throughput of currency, and regulating market liquidity, which helps central banks and designated securities dealers for foreign exchange trading, so as to achieve monetary policy objectives. likewise, the bot (2022b: 2) uses open-market operations in the market for government securities, as well as sale and purchase of foreign currency in the interbank foreign exchange market (ifem), which are complemented by periodic adjustments in the pricing of standby facilities. the seemingly effective implementation of the monetary policy by the bot has led to improved performance of some monetary policy elements. for instance, the inflation rate has slowed down from 16% in 2012 to 3.5% in 2018 (urt, 2022: 3). the overall lending rate softened to 17.34% at the end of june 2018 from 17.6% at the end of june 2017, while one-year lending rate declined to 17.61% from 18.45% (bot, 2019: 2). however, the mean exchange rate has increased from 1,409 in 2012 to 2,242 in 2018 tanzania shillings per 1 us$ (urt, 2019: 2). 2.3 fiscal policy fiscal policies involve the use of modifications in taxation and government spending to influence the level of planned expenditure in an economy and thus, the level of economic growth (bickerton & gruneberg, 2013: 270; musarat et al., 2021: 410; ukessays, 2018b). fiscal policy can be described as the deliberate manipulation of government income and expenditure to achieve desired economic and social objectives (ayodeji, 2011: 2). smith kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 40 (1991) as well as sospeter, rwelamila and gimbi (2020: 772) explained that fiscal policy is the intentional use of the government’s expenditure and taxation strategies to influence economic activities. according to amadeo (2018: 27), there are two types of fiscal policies, namely expansionary, which aims to boost the financial system and generate more growth in the economy, and contractionary, which aims to slow down economic growth. expansionary fiscal policy involves a net increase in government spending (g>t) through rises in government spending, a fall in taxation revenue, or a combination of the two (ayodeji, 2011: 3). contractionary fiscal policy occurs when net government spending is reduced either through higher taxation revenue (g<t), reduced government spending, or a combination of the two (ayodeji, 2011). the elements of fiscal policy are taxation and government expenditure (oladipo & oni, 2021: 313; mbusi et al., 2015: 19; ayodeji, 2011: 3). the main objectives of any country’s fiscal policy is to minimise unemployment and inflation. in order to achieve these objectives, government regulates its own spending or uses its taxing powers. the goals of fiscal policy (kysimma et al., 2017: 15) include price stability, full employment, reduction of poverty levels, high and sustainable economic growth, favourable balance of payment, and reduction in a nation’s debt. in tanzania, increased budgetary allocation for poverty alleviation is empowered by fiscal management. the policy has three main objectives, namely to regulate the growth of the budget deficit and achieve fiscal stability; to direct more fiscal resources to priority sectors in accordance with the country’s poverty reduction and growth facility (prgf) agreement, and to reduce the incidence of waste and abuse in the public sector (african development bank, 2003). tax remains the major source of governments’ revenues for running their planned activities. in tanzania, the total income from taxes was tanzania shillings 4,428 billion (us$ 3,143 million) in 2010, which has since increased to tanzania shillings 15,191 (us$ 6,776) in 2018 (urt, 2019: 3). government expenditure in tanzania includes recurrent, development, internal, and external expenditures. statistics indicate that the total expenditure was tanzania shillings 8,174 billion (us$ 5,801 million) in 2010, which increased to tanzania shillings 20,468 (us$ 9,129 million) in 2018 (urt, 2019: 2). 2.4 relationship between construction output and monetary and fiscal policy elements the origin of monetary and fiscal policies can be traced to the classical keynesian theory of macroeconomics in the 20th century. later in 1990 (ukessays, 2018a), economists developed the new keynesian kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 41 macroeconomics with new theories related to the classical one and is considered a macroeconomic theory which has created a foundation for microeconomics. the main objectives of macroeconomics (ukessays, 2018c) are economic growth, inflation, unemployment, balance of payment, and exchange rate. the monetarists’ opinion of the relationship between the construction industry and macroeconomics is that construction is treated as the core part of outcomes and employment resources for any country (ukessays, 2018a). monetary and fiscal policies are applied to achieve macroeconomic objectives. a change in these policies would have an impact on various sectors of the economy, including the construction industry and its output (briscoe, 2009, cited in ukessays, 2018b). monetary and fiscal policies factors that affect construction output are commercial banks weighted interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, taxation, and government expenditure (mbusi et al., 2015: 20). inflation is a general and sustained rise in the aggregate level of prices measured by an index of the cost of various goods and services (kalu et al., 2015). mbusi et al. (2015: 20) define the exchange rate as the cost of a nation’s currency when expressed in terms of another country’s currency. in tanzania, the exchange rate is pegged against the usd. interest rate is the sum charged, usually expressed as a percentage of principal, by a lender to a borrower for the use of assets. in construction, the effects of exchange rates can be felt when the materials for construction are imported in large quantities (bickerton & gruneberg, 2013: 274). inflation is experienced in the construction sector when there is an increase in construction material prices. the cost of materials in a typical construction project could be as high as 60% of the total project cost, which renders the construction industry sensitive to construction material prices inflation (musarat et al., 2021: 409). inflation has a negative impact on construction budgets and home mortgage loans which, in turn, affect construction output. high inflation leads to goods and services becoming more expensive, thereby affecting the demands from household and an ensuing decline in construction industry’s outputs (ukessays, 2018c). the bot is responsible for making decisions on interest rates. interest rates in tanzania are categorised into discount rates; deposit rates; lending rates and treasury bills rates. the bot’s official interest rate is the discount rate. construction projects are associated with mediumto long-term lending rates. hence, in this study, lending rates are used to determine their influence on construction output. government expenditure on construction covers spending on infrastructure and other projects such as buildings which are hitherto classified as developmental expenditure. for the past nine years, the developmental expenditure in tanzania has increased from tanzania shillings 2,611 billion (us$ 1,853 million) in 2010 to tanzania shillings 7,616 (us$ 3,397 million) in 2018 (urt, 2019: 2). kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 42 the effects of monetary policy elements on the construction output are apparent and are reflected in a number of studies. an increase in interest rate will raise the costs of credit loans, with consequences for the activities of the construction industry and the clients (ukessays, 2018a). osinowo (2015: 200) observed that the interest rate has a negative relationship and significant effect across all sectors, including building and construction. bickerton and gruneberg (2013: 273) studied the influence of wholesale interest rate, using london interbank offered rate (libor) on construction output. they found that there is no significant relationship between changes in libor and the annual change in construction output, regardless of the number of years lagged. emori et al. (2014: 229) established that exchange rate variables had a positive impact on the performance of nigeria’s economy, whilst inflation had a positive impact but with no significant relationship. oghenekevwe, olusola and chukwudi (2014: 3) observed that cumulative inflation rate can be used to predict the price of building materials and further affects material prices non-uniformly in nigeria. they revealed that the overall inflation rate exerts upward pressure and money supply exerts downward pressure on housing prices. chukwudi et al. (2017: 95) revealed the very strong nature of the relationship between exchange rate and the price of tiles, cement, and reinforcement bars which, in turn, influences housing prices. oladipo and oni (2021: 313) established that inflation, exchange rate, import, interest rate, money supply, and demand for money have a significant effect on the prices of building materials. likewise, a study in tanzania (makoye et al., 2022) determined that interest and inflation rates have a significant negative relationship with construction growth. fiscal policy elements, in particular government expenditure and taxation, affect construction output. the keynesian economic theory (ukessays, 2018a) recommends that increasing government spending or decreasing tax rates will be the most appropriate method to stimulate aggregate demands that could bring a greater increase in the national output. the rate of taxes determines how much disposable income consumers would be willing to spend on all services, including construction-related activities such as housing (ukessays, 2018b; sospeter, rwelamila & gimbi, 2022: 211). when governments increase demand by procuring infrastructure, the construction industry also benefits through execution of the projects and creation of employment (ukessays, 2018c). similarly, low taxation to individuals and firms may lead to an increase in demand and firms may expand more, in order to create employment and a healthy economy. ayodeji (2011: 5) determined that government spending and taxation significantly influence construction output when assessed both independently and combined. the combined effect of taxation and government spending on the construction sector output has been noted kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 43 as very high and positive. similarly, osinowo (2015: 199) found that total fiscal expenditure had a positive coefficient and was significant across four economic sectors such as agriculture, building and construction, manufacturing, and mining. kyssima et al. (2017: 13) assessed the impact of government expenditure on economic growth in tanzania and found that there is no significant relationship between government expenditure and economic growth in the short run; they found a statistically significant and positive relationship with economic growth in the long run. however, agu et al. (2015: 73) maintained that the effect of public expenditure on economic services such as agriculture, construction, transport, and communication have enormous returns to economic stability and growth. onuorah and akujuobi (2012: 48) found that there was no statistical significance between public expenditure variables and economic growth in nigeria. hansul (2015: 172) revealed that there was a negative correlation between government expenditure and economic growth in malaysia for the past 45 years. moreover, the classification of government expenditure indicates that only housing sector expenditure and development expenditure significantly contribute to a lower economic growth. fulford (2019: 786) asserted that an increase in a country’s income leads to an associated increase in the construction expenditure on products such as factories and infrastructure. 3. methodology a correlational research design was adopted in this study to establish the impact of fiscal and monetary policy elements on the construction output in tanzania. correlational research design is a non-experimental type of quantitative research that determines the degree to which a relationship exists between two or more variables (creswell, 2008: 358; leedy & ormrod, 2010). correlational research design allows for the use of correlation coefficients to express the degree of relationships, by measuring what is already present without actually changing the variables (elements) (weathington, cunningham & pittenger, 2012: 268). correlational research is also used in studies that collect time-series data and it allows for the use of multiple regression to analyse data. in this study, secondary data for construction output (dependent variable) and monetary and fiscal policies elements (independent variables) were collected and correlated by multiple regression analysis to calculate the regression coefficient (r) that shows the impact of monetary and fiscal policies elements on construction output. the monetary policy elements were commercial banks weighted interest rates, inflation rate, and exchange rate. the fiscal policy elements were total tax on products and government expenditure on construction. kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 44 3.1 data acquisition this study relied on secondary data collected from tanzania national bureau of statistics (nbs) and bot, using two data sheets. the timeseries data for monetary policy elements was collected from bot and the data for fiscal policy elements was collected from nbs. the data collected for the study was for 23 years from 1998 to 2021. the small number of observations was inevitable, due to one of the variables (i.e., total tax on products was in the form of sales tax prior to 1998 and from 1998 value added tax was introduced). hence, it was improper to mix the two data, as this would lead to unreliable results. 3.2 data analysis and interpretation of findings time-series analysis was used along with eviews tool to analyse the data (agung, 2009: 15). the analysis of time series using eviews tool is common in studies that collect time-series data (see kyssima et al., 2017: 16; makoye et al., 2022: 9). time-series analysis is a technique for trend forecasting, which is mostly based on an assumption that the continuation of yesterday’s trend is the best estimate for tomorrow (wisner, 2016: 572). eviews is a statistical package mainly used for time-series analysis (wickramasinghe et al., 2023: 29). it is easy to use as it supports timeseries data from common frequency (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly, etc.) to high frequency (hours, minutes, and seconds). the raw data was entered into a computer using microsoft office excel software and opened in eviews as foreign data which was eventually converted into an eviews work file. according to gujarati and porter (2009), any timeseries data used for empirical work is assumed to be stationary. hence, the time-series data was first checked for stationarity. data that was found to be non-stationary was consequently transformed to stationary to avoid spurious or nonsensical regression. the stationarity tests performed in this study were correlogram of first and second differences of natural log of variables and unit root tests for each variable (shrestha & bhatta, 2018: 80). the unit root test was conducted using the augmented dickey fuller test (adf) (kumar, 2021). the adf was used in previous studies on fiscal and monetary policies (osinowo, 2015: 197; kyssima et al., 2017: 16). after ensuring stationarities for all the time-series data, a test of pearson correlation coefficient (r) was performed together with multiple regressions, where construction output was regressed on all the explanatory variables (patten, 2017: 231, 252). like correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis determines the existing relationship between variables in eviews statistical program. this analysis was done to determine whether the relationship between the dependent variable (construction output) and the independent variables (monetary kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 45 and fiscal policies elements) in tanzania are statistically significant. the development of a model is not part of this study. it is, therefore, important to introduce the tests used in this study. 3.2.1 autocorrelation test autocorrelation (ac) means data that is correlated with itself, and a correlogram of first and second differences of natural log of variables test displays the results of autocorrelation. ac measures the relationship between a variable’s current value and its past values. values closer to 0 in the “ac” and “pac” columns indicate a greater degree of positive correlation between two values in a time series, assuming that the variable is stationary. 3.2.2 augmented dickey fuller test the augmented dickey fuller (adf) test is a statistical method used to determine whether a time-series data set is stationary or non-stationary. the adf test checks for the presence of a trend in the data, by testing for the presence of a unit root. if a time series is stationary, its statistical properties such as the mean, variance, and ac remain constant over time. conversely, when a time series is non-stationary, it has a trend or pattern that changes over time. the adf test is conducted to confirm the result of a correlogram test on the assumption that (kumar, 2021): • null hypothesis (ho): variable is non-stationary or has a unit root. • alternate hypothesis (ha): variable is stationary or has no unit root. the adf test produces a test statistic (t-statistic) and a p-value. a series is considered stationary if the t-statistic is less than the critical value and the p-value is less or equal to 0.05 at 95% confidence level. this indicates that the null hypothesis (ho) (which states that the variable is non-stationary or has a unit root) is false and has been rejected. 3.2.3 pearson correlation coefficient according to gujarati and porter (2009: 20), correlation coefficients (r) measure whether there is a linear relationship between two variables. it has values between -1 and 1, where: • -1 indicates a perfectly negative linear correlation between two variables. • 0 indicates no linear correlation between two variables. • 1 indicates a perfectly positive linear correlation between two variables. kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 46 in finance, an inverse correlation, also known as negative correlation, is a contrary relationship between two variables such that, when the value of one variable is high, the value of the other variable is probably low. a direct correlation, also known as a positive correlation, is a relationship in which both variables increase or decrease simultaneously (mishra & datta-gupta, 2018: 69). 3.2.4 multiple regression the regression coefficient was calculated to show the nature and strength of relationships between variables. a positive regression coefficient indicates that, as the value of the independent variable increases, the value of the dependent variable also tends to increase. similarly, a negative regression coefficient implies that, as the independent variable increases, the dependent variable tends to decrease (patten, 2017: 234). the linear regression p-value for each independent variable tests the null hypothesis that the variable has no effect on the dependent variable. if there is no effect, there is no association between the changes in the independent variable and the changes in the dependent variable. in regression analysis, if the p-value is greater than 0.05, at 95% confidence level, then the null hypothesis that there is no association between the independent and dependent variable is accepted (frost, 2023). for purposes of this study, the significance level is p<0.05. 3.2.5 independent and dependent variables figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study. the independent variables (monetary and fiscal policies) are expected to have an impact on the dependent variable (the construction output). 11 independent variable increases, the dependent variable tends to decrease (patten, 2017: 234). the linear regression p-value for each independent variable tests the null hypothesis that the variable has no effect on the dependent variable. if there is no effect, there is no association between the changes in the independent variable and the changes in the dependent variable. in regression analysis, if the p-value is greater than 0.05, at 95% confidence level, then the null hypothesis that there is no association between the independent and dependent variable is accepted (frost, 2023). for purposes of this study, the significance level is p<0.05. 3.2.5 independent and dependent variables figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study. the independent variables (monetary and fiscal policies) are expected to have an impact on the dependent variable (the construction output). figure 1: conceptual framework 4. results 4.1 test for stationarity prior to the analysis of time-series data, the data set was tested for stationarity to avoid spurious regression. gujarati (2003: 51) stated that, when analysing time-series data, the assumption that such data are stationary must be held true. for this assumption, the test for stationarity for the economic time-series data must be conducted prior to proceeding with other analyses. the values of construction output (co), commercial bank’s weighted interest rates (cbwr), inflation rate (ir), exchange rates (er), government expenditure on construction (gec), and total tax on products (ttp) were subjected to correlogram (tables 1-6) and unit root test (tables 7-9). 4.2 correlogram of first and second differences of natural log of variables tables 1 to 6 present the computed values for 12 lags in the correlogram for first differences natural log of construction output cbwrs, inflation rate, exchange rates, gec, and second differences of ttp. the table for the first differences natural log of dependent variable 1. interest rates 2. exchange rates 3. inflation rates independent variables 1. taxation 2. government expenditure monetary policy elements fiscal policy elements construction output figure 1: conceptual framework kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 47 4. results 4.1 test for stationarity prior to the analysis of time-series data, the data set was tested for stationarity to avoid spurious regression. gujarati (2003: 51) stated that, when analysing time-series data, the assumption that such data are stationary must be held true. for this assumption, the test for stationarity for the economic time-series data must be conducted prior to proceeding with other analyses. the values of construction output (co), commercial bank’s weighted interest rates (cbwr), inflation rate (ir), exchange rates (er), government expenditure on construction (gec), and total tax on products (ttp) were subjected to correlogram (tables 1-6) and unit root test (tables 7-9). 4.2 correlogram of first and second differences of natural log of variables tables 1 to 6 present the computed values for 12 lags in the correlogram for first differences natural log of construction output cbwrs, inflation rate, exchange rates, gec, and second differences of ttp. the table for the first differences natural log of ttp could not be displayed because the first differences of natural log of ttp were not stationary. instead, table 6 for second differences of natural log of ttp was displayed. results indicate that all variables were stationary at their first differencing, except ttp. this is shown by the ac and partial autocorrelation (pac) columns, where the values at different lags are closer to zero, showing a greater degree of correlation between two values. the result indicates that the construction output and explanatory variables time-series data are stationary because they correlate only to the extent of the values displayed in the ac and pac columns, of which most of the values are near to zero. in tables 1 to 6, the p-values indicate that the correlation of time-series data of both construction output and explanatory variables is not statistically significant, with p-values greater than 0.05, at 95% confidence level. the qs-stat values in tables 1 to 6 indicate that time-series data of construction output and explanatory variables are random and independent. this result is also supported by the result of ac values that, if values are significantly different from zero, then the values are not random and independent over time. the adf unit root test for stationarity confirms the results of the correlogram (as presented in tables 7 to 9). kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 48 table 1: correlogram of first differences of natural log of construction output lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prob (p-value) 1 0.005 0.005 0.0006 0.981 2 -0.339 -0.339 3.1448 0.208 3 0.148 0.172 3.7776 0.287 4 -0.110 -0.274 4.1410 0.387 5 0.106 0.312 4.4991 0.480 6 0.343 0.158 8.4681 0.206 7 -0.257 -0.147 10.850 0.145 8 -0.226 -0.089 12.807 0.119 9 0.073 -0.142 13.028 0.161 10 0.000 0.050 13.028 0.222 11 0.136 0.045 13.912 0.238 12 0.155 0.164 15.167 0.232 date: 01/27/23 time: 12:03 ; sample (adjusted): 1999 2021 included observations: 23 after adjustments table 2: correlogram of first differences of cbwrs lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prop (p-value) 1 -0.376 -0 376 3.5628 0.059 2 -0.190 -0.386 4.5125 0.105 3 0.041 -0.278 4.5602 0.207 4 0.034 -0.216 4.5933 0.332 5 0.150 0.063 5.2931 0.381 6 -0.258 -0.202 7.4880 0.278 7 0.207 0.116 8.9922 0.253 8 0.088 0.238 9.2852 0.319 9 -0.254 -0.019 11.909 0.218 10 0.136 0.120 12.719 0.240 11 -0.120 -0.115 13.409 0.267 12 0.103 -0.127 13.968 0.303 date: 01/27/23 time: 11:51; sample (adjusted): 2000 2021 included observations: 22 after adjustments table 3: correlogram of first differences natural log of inflation rates lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prop (p-value) 1 -0.149 -0.149 0.5840 0.445 2 -0.242 -0.271 2.1930 0.334 3 0.327 0.266 5.2744 0.153 4 -0.119 -0.111 5.7006 0.223 5 0.098 0.256 6.0096 0.305 6 -0.011 -0.165 6.0134 0.422 kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 49 lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prop (p-value) 7 -0.417 -0.345 12.266 0.092 8 0.080 -0.186 12.509 0.130 9 -0.080 -0.309 12.773 0.173 10 -0.083 0.102 13.081 0.219 11 0.022 -0.102 13.104 0.287 12 -0.171 0.048 14.632 0.262 date: 01/27/23; time: 12:09; sample (adjusted): 1999 2021 included observations: 23 after adjustments table 4: correlogram of first differences natural log of exchange rate lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prop (p-value) 1 -0.045 -0.045 0.0521 0.819 2 0.081 0.079 0.2329 0.890 3 -0.076 -0.069 0.3980 0.941 4 -0.112 -0.125 0.7749 0.942 5 0.051 0.054 0.8565 0.973 6 -0.245 -0.234 2.8899 0.823 7 0.190 0.161 4.1828 0.758 8 -0.349 -0.353 8.8494 0.355 9 0.057 0.040 8.9828 0.439 10 -0.034 -0.062 9.0346 0.529 11 -0.050 -0.049 9.1556 0.608 12 0.172 0.052 10.699 0.555 date: 01/27/23; time: 12:04; sample (adjusted): 1999 2021 included observations: 23 after adjustments table 5: correlogram of first differences of natural log of gec lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prop (p-value) 1 -0.436 -0.436 4.9760 0.026 2 -0.030 -0.272 5.0002 0.082 3 -0.134 -0.359 5.5145 0.138 4 0.086 -0.263 5.7363 0.220 5 0.108 -0.064 6.1069 0.296 6 -0.091 -0.111 6.3841 0.382 7 0.105 0.095 6.7806 0.452 8 -0.094 0.080 7.1188 0.524 9 -0.004 0.026 7.1194 0.625 10 0.018 0.046 7.1337 0.713 11 0.072 0.125 7.3820 0.767 12 -0.141 -0.108 8.4162 0.752 date: 01/27/23 time: 12:05; sample (adjusted): 1999 2021 included observations: 23 after adjustments kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 50 table 6: correlogram of second differences of ttp lag autocorrelation (ac) partial autocorrelation (pac) q-stat prop (p-value) 1 0.076 0.076 0.1460 0.702 2 -0.308 -0.316 2.6530 0.265 3 -0.035 0.023 2.6862 0.443 4 0.123 0.030 3.1278 0.537 5 0.066 0.051 3.2614 0.660 6 -0.347 -0.349 7.2452 0.299 7 -0.181 -0.093 8.3932 0.299 8 0.157 -0.021 9.3214 0.316 9 0.173 0.102 10.540 0.309 10 -0.045 -0.017 10.629 0.387 11 -0.158 -0.060 11.830 0.377 12 0.218 0.161 14.334 0.280 date: 01/27/23 time: 12:13; sample (adjusted): 2000 2021 included observations: 22 after adjustments 4.3 adf unit root test of second differences of all variables tables 7 to 9 present the unit root test of second differences of all construction output (co), commercial bank’s weighted interest rates (cbwr), inflation rate (ir), exchange rates (er) (monetary policy elements), and government expenditure on construction (gec) and total tax on products (ttp) (fiscal policy elements). the test statistic values are usually compared to the critical values at 1%, 5%, and 10%. the results in tables 7 to 9 indicate that the test statistic is more negative and less than the critical value. thus, the null hypothesis is rejected, concluding that the time-series data for construction output and explanatory variables is stationary. similarly, the p-values are smaller than 0.05 (range from 0.0000 to 0.0060) at second differences for construction output and explanatory variables. this confirms that the second differences of construction output and all explanatory variables are stationary and will have no predictable patterns in the long term. table 7: adf unit root test for construction output null hypothesis d(lnco) has a unit root; exogenous: constant lag length: 0 (automatic – based on sic, maxlag=3) t-statistic prob (p-value) auqmented dickey-fuller test statistic -4.316311 0.0030 test critical values 1 % level -3.769597 5% level -3.004861 10% level -2.642242 kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 51 table 8: adf unit root test for construction cbwr, ir and er null hypothesis d(lncbwr,2) has a unit root; exogenous: constant lag length: 1 (automatic – based on sic, maxlag=3) t-statistic prob (p-value) auqmented dickey-fuller test statistic -4.316311 0.0030 test critical values 1 % level -3.769597 5% level -3.004861 10% level -2.642242 null hypothesis d(lnir) has a unit root exogenous: constant lag length: 0 (automatic – based on sic, maxlag=3) t-statistic prob (p-value) auqmented dickey-fuller test statistic -5.381512 0.0003 test critical values 1 % level -3.769597 5% level -3.004861 10% level -2.642242 null hypothesis d(lner) has a unit root; exogenous: constant lag length: 0 (automatic – based on sic, maxlag=3) t-statistic prob (p-value) auqmented dickey-fuller test statistic -4.935283 0.0007 test critical values 1 % level -3.769597 5% level -3.004861 10% level -2.642242 table 9: adf unit root test for gec and ttp null hypothesis d(lngec) has a unit root; exogenous: constant lag length: 0 (automatic – based on sic, maxlag=3) t-statistic prob (p-value) auqmented dickey-fuller test statistic -7.137266 0.0000 test critical values 1 % level -3.769597 5% level -3.004861 10% level -2.642242 null hypothesis d(lnir) has a unit root exogenous: constant lag length: 0 (automatic – based on sic, maxlag=3) t-statistic prob (p-value) auqmented dickey-fuller test statistic -4.049664 0.0060 test critical values 1 % level -3.808546 5% level -3.020686 10% level -2.650413 4.4 correlation results for stationary series of variables table 10 presents the correlation matrix showing the correlation coefficients (r) of all variables. results reveal both inverse and direct correlation among kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 52 variables. the construction output is inversely correlated to commercial bank’s weighted interest rate (r=-0.398950) and inflation rate (r=-0.334103), and directly correlated to the rest of the variables. the commercial bank’s weighted interest rate is directly correlated to inflation rate (r=0.104836) and inversely correlated to the rest of the variables. the exchange rate is inversely correlated to inflation rate (r=-0.401397) and commercial weighted interest rate (r=-0.416349) and directly correlated to the rest of the variables. the inflation rate is directly correlated with commercial bank’s weighted interest rate (r=0.104836) and inversely correlated to the rest of the variables. government expenditure is inversely correlated to commercial bank’s weighted interest rate (r=-0.446709) and inflation rate (r=-0.137301) and directly with the rest of the variables. the total tax on products is inversely correlated to commercial bank’s weighted interest rate (r=-0.362959) and inflation rate (r=-0.318293) and directly correlated to the rest of the variables. table 10: correlation coefficients variable lnco lncbwr lner lngec lnir lnttp lnco 1.000000 lncbwr -0.398950 1.000000 lner 0.986404 -0.416349 1.000000 lngec 0.891116 -0.446709 0.858631 1.000000 lnir -0.334103 0.104836 -0.401397 -0.137301 1.000000 lnttp 0.993993 -0.362959 0.987944 0.879827 -0.318293 1.000000 covariance analysis: ordinary date: 01/27/23 time: 12:22 sample: 1998 2021 included observations: 24 4.5 multiple regression results of construction output on explanatory variables table 11 presents the results of the time-series multiple regression analysis. the regression coefficients and corresponding p-value for each variable obtained are as follows: • (-0.004; p=0.9901) for the second difference of commercial bank’s weighted interest rate (cbwr) • (-0.132; p=0.8735) for the first difference of exchange rates (er) • (-0.095; p=0.3078) for the first difference of inflation rate (ir) • (0.064; p=0.1605) for the first difference of government expenditure on construction (gec) • (0.384; p=0.4978) for the second difference of total tax on products (ttp) kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 53 the coefficient of government expenditure on construction is positive and near zero, meaning that these explanatory variables affect construction output insignificantly. the nature of these coefficients can be due to the short span of the time-series data used in this study. on the other hand, total tax on products has a positive coefficient, while commercial bank’s weighted interest rate, exchange rate, and inflation rate have negative coefficients. all p-values are above 0.05, showing that, although all variables have either a positive or a negative relationship with construction output, their relationship is not statistically significant. table 11: multiple regression results on stationary variables variable coefficient std. error t-statistic p-value d lncbwr 2_ -0.003620 0.288057 -0.012566 0.9901 dlner -0.131535 0.812765 -0.161836 0.8735 dlngec 0.064314 0.043698 1.471760 0.1605 dlnir -0.095389 0.090554 -1.053391 0.3078 d ln h uttp 2 0.383609 0.552063 0.694866 0.4971 c 0.083700 0.022547 3.712303 0.0019 r-squared 0.171702 mean dependent var 0.084729 adjusted r-squared -0.087141 s.d. dependent var 0.058087 s.e. of regression 0.060565 akaike info criterion -2.543194 sum squared resid 0.058690 schwarz criterion -2.245637 log likelihood 33.97514 hannan-quinn criterion -2.473099 f-statistic 0.663346 durbin-watson stat 2.021086 prob(f-statistic) 0.656472 dependent variable: dlnco method: least squares date: 01/28/23 time: 09:17 sample (adjusted): 2000 2021 included observations: 22 after adjustments 5. discussion results of the correlation analysis reveal that monetary and fiscal policies elements affect the construction output in different ways. for instance, commercial weighted interest and inflation rates have a negative influence on the construction output, thereby implying that construction output decreases when the two elements increase. this result partly supports the results presented by osinowo (2015: 199) that the impact of interest rate and the impact of inflation rate (gupta, 2018: 28) are inversely related to construction sector outputs. this finding partly negates the findings of bickerton and gruneberg (2013: 274) as well as emori et al. (2014: 229) that the impact of inflation rates is related to construction outputs. the inconsistency in these findings might have been influenced by the implementation strategies of the monetary and fiscal policies in the kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 54 respective countries. studies in europe support the finding that changes in inflation rate will affect prices. this will result in deviating the initial budget of a project and, hence, affect construction output (musarat et al., 2021: 411; sospeter et al., 2020: 781). it appears that changes in monetary policy are capable of affecting domestic price levels and output growth. this implies that, when domestic price levels are high, construction outputs are low, and vice versa. based on the regression analysis, a unit increase in interest rate, exchange rate, and inflation rate will decrease the construction output by 0.004, 0.132, and 0.095 units, respectively. however, this relationship was not statistically significant. a previous study in tanzania (makoye et al., 2022) assessed related variables with construction growth and determined that a unit increase in interest rate and inflation rate will decrease construction growth by 0.354 and 0.106 units, respectively. in this study (makoye et al., 2022), the negative relationship between construction growth and interest rate and inflation rate was statistically significant and is attributed to the study’s long duration of 58 years. the effects of monetary policy elements are currently experienced in tanzania with lower inflation and interest rates (urt, 2019: 3), leading to increasing construction output. despite the promising annual increase of construction output in tanzania, the effect of a rising exchange rate cannot be neglected. in this study, the exchange rate influences construction output, but its impact is not significant. on the other hand, the exchange rate has a negative relationship with the interest rate. the work of ukessays (2018c) points out that a change in interest rate has an effect on the exchange rate index. a study by xue, yilmazkuday and taylor (2020: 45) found that policy effects varied based on a firm’s characteristics such as size, liability ratio, profitability, and the industry in which the firm operates. they advocated that financial and fiscal policies are generally effective in the short run. this finding suggests lower levels of interest and inflation rates, in order to maintain the growth of construction output. the fiscal policy elements of total tax on products and government expenditure on construction have positive correlations with construction output, with coefficients of 0.994 and 0.891, respectively. this is expected in a developing country, where investment in infrastructure development is crucial, and governments are obliged to set aside sufficient funds every financial year for that purpose. consequently, it can be predicted that construction output might increase along with the increase in budget for infrastructure development set aside by governments. as for total tax on product, excluding tax exceptions, the more materials are imported or procured in the country, the more tax is paid. this result supports the results from similar studies such as kyissima et al. (2017: 19), hansul (2015: 195), agu et al. (2015: 10), onuorah & akujuobi (2012: 56), and ayodeji (2011: 8), as it pertains to the relationship between general government expenditure kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 55 and economic growth. the disparities and similarities in these findings might have been influenced by the duration of the evaluation in respective studies of respective countries. for instance, in this study, the duration was 23 years; hansul (2015: 198), 45 years; mbusi et al. (2015:18), 13 years; osinowo (2015: 197), 43 years; kyissima et al. (2017:17), 18 years, and makoye et al. (2022), 58 years. kyissima et al. (2017:19) also noted that, in the long run, government expenditure was found to be statistically significant and positively correlated to economic growth. makoye et al. (2022) found a negative correlation between inflation rate, interest rate, and construction growth which were statistically significant. likewise, nbs (2018: 5) as well as sospeter and rwelamila (2021: 326) related the recent increase in construction output with investments in infrastructure development projects such as kigamboni bridge, bus rapid transport, and standard gauge railway. the total tax on products influences construction output in a positive manner. this reflects parallel increase of the two variables reported in the urt (2019) and nbs (2018: 3). on the contrary, the works of ukessays (2018a, 2018b) advocated cutting down taxes to increase disposable income that will translate to increase in employment rates and national output. this finding is in line with the work which elucidates that total tax shapes macroeconomics aggregates and, hence, affects construction output (asamoah et al., 2020: 6; sospeter et al., 2022: 218). 6. conclusion and implications the study sought to determine the impact of monetary and fiscal policies elements on the construction sector output, albeit in a developing country context such as tanzania. upon testing for stationarity, correlation analysis was computed to obtain the linear relationship of variables. on this aspect, the relationship between the construction output and other variables was such that all variables are positively correlated, with the exception of commercial bank’s weighted interest rate and inflation rate which are negatively correlated. following the regression analysis, which sought to test the significance of the construction output and explanatory variables, government expenditure on construction and total tax on products were positively related to construction output, while the rest were negatively correlated. besides these results, the relationship between construction output with the explanatory variables was not statistically significant. this result was discriminated by the short duration of 23 years which is relatively short compared to previous studies by osinowo (2015), hansul (2015), and makoye et al. (2022) of 43, 45 and 58 years, respectively. the use of short duration was dictated by the need to include fiscal policy, in particular the total tax on products. despite this reflection, the findings can be useful to developers in making informed decisions on investments in times of high or kikwasi & sospeter 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 34-61 56 low inflation and interest rates, and during an upsurge in exchange rates. it also informs the public on how the government regulates construction output by increasing or decreasing expenditure on construction. this study determined a relationship between construction output with all fiscal and monetary policies elements. the findings of this study are useful to potential developers and other stakeholders of the construction sector, including consultants, contractors, and the government, by providing information on the changes in investment climate brought by changes in fiscal and monetary policies elements. this baseline study stimulates future research to monitor the changes in the relationship of construction output and fiscal and monetary policies elements. to improve the construction output in tanzania, the study recommends the following: • the government should strive to keep a steady increase of government expenditure on construction. • when setting monetary policy objectives, the central bank of tanzania should consider major sectors of the economy, including construction. • stakeholders of the construction sectors should devise various strategies to minimise effects brought by changes in monetary policy elements such as increasing production and use of locally available materials and technologies. the limitation of this study is the use of a short period of evaluation of 23 years from 1998 to 2021 and the official statistics and reports that might not adequately cover the construction output of the informal construction sector. acknowledgement we would like to acknowledge the assistance of mr joshua laizer, in obtaining additional data and analysis. references african development bank. 2003. african economic outlook 2003. 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https://www.ukessays.com/essays/economics/macroeconomic-policy-and-construction-industry-in-united-kingdom-economics-essay.php?vref=1 https://www.ukessays.com/essays/economics/macroeconomic-policy-and-construction-industry-in-united-kingdom-economics-essay.php?vref=1 https://www.ukessays.com/essays/economics/macroeconomic-policy-and-construction-industry-in-united-kingdom-economics-essay.php?vref=1 https://www.nbs.go.tz/index.php/en/tanzania-in-figures/422-tanzania-in-figures-2018 https://www.nbs.go.tz/index.php/en/tanzania-in-figures/422-tanzania-in-figures-2018 https://www.nbs.go.tz/ https://www.nbs.go.tz/ https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118342978 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118342978 https://doi.org/10.4236/ojs.2023.131003 https://doi.org/10.4236/ojs.2023.131003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2019.102113 _q08prt33v2x9 _ptcgsts1hvjc _twvqsoj8act3 _j3rgv7gay1og _hlk137025816 _3l6csghqo2jr _10zjc3dz9bue _1raxiqc28bgo _u2xaypmhr166 _hlk137116759 _87xnxvmg8ex6 _qqlbvyybbj2h _hlk127795845 _hlk137226452 _w9v6d5k4n4gh _mqy547xsii5p 108 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as progress chigangacha dr progress chigangacha, construction studies, school of engineering, university of kwazulunatal, south africa. phone: 078 869 7119, email: <pschigangacha@ gmail.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5602-8673 theodore haupt prof. theodore haupt, faculty of engineering, mangosuthu university of technology, durban, south africa. phone: 0826861852, email: <theo. haupt@mut.ac.za>, orcid: https:// orcid.org/0000-0002-2531-3789 bankole awuzie prof. bankole awuzie, faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology, central university of technology, free state, south africa. phone: 051 507 4315, email: <bawuzie@ cut.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-3371-191x issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: august 2021 peer reviewed and revised: september 2021 published: december 2021 keywords: infrastructure delivery management system (idms), public sector, organisational maturity, organisational readiness, south africa how to cite: chigangacha, p., haupt, t. & awuzie, b. 2021. examining the maturity of south africa’s government departments to implement the infrastructure delivery management system (idms). acta structilia, 28(2), pp. 108-142. examining the maturity of south africa’s government departments to implement the infrastructure delivery management system (idms) research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i2.5 abstract the purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the maturity of south africa’s provincial government departments in engaging with the infrastructure delivery management system (idms) towards facilitating effective infrastructure delivery. furthermore, the study sought to formulate evidence-based interventions that could be utilised by these government departments to engender successful delivery of infrastructure assets and associated services to their beneficiaries. this research was descriptive and employed the quantitative research approach. data was elicited from three provincial government departments in kwazulu-natal, south africa. structured maturity modelling questionnaires were deployed for data collection from the respondents. the emergent data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 26. a one-way anova, aimed at enabling a comparative analysis of differences in the degree of maturity between 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article acta structilia 2021 28(2): 108-142 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 109 the three provincial government departments that utilise the idms, was conducted. results from the study indicate that the three departments (cases) had a maturity rating between 3 and 4, signifying well-defined and documented standard processes that can be improved over time. however, an idms-ready organisation would ideally have a maturity rating at level 5. in addition, the leadership dimension was found to be a driver of all other dimensions, where a high maturity level under this dimension directly correlates with improved maturity in the other dimensions. it is recommended that adequate management and leadership support is needed to improve organisational maturity in relation to idms implementation. the study was confined to kwazulunatal, due to the short survey period for information gathering and data collection. the covid-19 pandemic also had a great impact on the undertaking of some key research processes mostly affecting the research methodology, particularly during data collection. this study is the first of its kind in south africa to assess the maturity of provincial government departments to implement the idms, which is indicative of an evaluation void gap. abstrak die doel van hierdie verkennende studie is om die volwassenheid van die provinsiale regeringsdepartemente in suid-afrika te ondersoek deur met die infrastruktuurleweringsbestuurstelsel (idms) in verbinding te tree om effektiewe infrastruktuurlewering te vergemaklik. verder wou die studie bewysgebaseerde intervensies formuleer wat deur hierdie regeringsdepartemente gebruik kan word om ’n suksesvolle aflewering van infrastruktuurbates en verwante dienste aan hul begunstigdes te verseker. hierdie beskrywende navorsing maak gebruik van die kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering. data is verkry uit drie provinsiale regeringsdepartemente in kwazulu-natal, suid-afrika. gestruktureerde volwassenheidsmodelle-vraelyste is ontplooi vir data-insameling vanaf die respondente. die opkomende data is ontleed met behulp van die statistical package for the social sciences (spss), weergawe 26. ’n eenrigting anova is gebruik, om ’n vergelykende ontleding van die verskille in die mate van volwassenheid tussen die drie provinsiale staatsdepartemente wat die idms gebruik, moontlik te maak. resultate uit die studie dui aan dat die drie departemente (gevalle) ’n volwassenheidsgraad tussen 3 en 4 gehad het, wat goed gedefinieerde en gedokumenteerde standaardprosesse aandui wat mettertyd verbeter kan word. ’n organisasie wat gereed is vir idms het egter ideaal ’n volwassenheidsgraad op vlak 5. die leierskapdimensie was ook ’n drywer van alle ander dimensies, waar ’n hoë volwassenheidsvlak onder hierdie dimensie direk korreleer met verbeterde volwassenheid in die ander dimensies. dit word aanbeveel dat voldoende bestuurs en leierskapsteun nodig is om organisatoriese volwassenheid ten opsigte van idmsimplementering te verbeter. die studie was beperk tot kwazulu-natal weens die kort opnametydperk vir die versameling van inligting en die insameling van data. boonop het die covid-19-pandemie ’n groot impak gehad op die uitvoering van enkele belangrike navorsingsprosesse wat meestal die navorsingsmetodologie beïnvloed het, veral tydens die insameling van data. hierdie studie is die eerste in sy soort in suid-afrika wat die volwassenheid van provinsiale regeringsdepartemente beoordeel het om die idms te implementeer, wat ’n teken is van ’n leemte in die evaluering. sleutelwoorde: afleweringbestuurstelsel vir infrastruktuur, openbare sektor, organisatoriese gereedheid, organisatoriese volwassenheid, suid-afrika chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 110 1. introduction infrastructure has been described as an enabler of business growth and productivity (quarterly bulletin, 2012: 1; oecd, 2015: 1). its contribution towards the actualisation of most of the sustainable development goals (sdgs) resonates in extant literature (fasoranti, 2012: 513; mahamadu, manu, booth, olomolaiye, coker, ibrahim & lamond, 2018: 2-24; manu, asiedu, mahamadu, olomolaiye, booth, manu, ajayi & agyekum, 2021). in addition, such contributions are known to extend to the achievement of goals associated with national development plans of successive governments across the globe. the attainment of these goals culminates in improved levels of economic growth, national competitiveness, and citizen well-being (watermeyer 2018: 1; oecd, 2015: 1; australian government, department of infrastructure and transport, 2012; calderon & serven, 2004: 2). the importance of adequate infrastructure is further demonstrated in its ability to impact on the well-being of individuals, as it affects several key functional societal elements such as the adequate provision of transport, electricity and water supplies, telecommunications, schools, and hospital infrastructure (oecd, 2015: 1; quarterly bulletin, 2012: 4). the need to capacitate public sector organisations to enhance successful infrastructure delivery has assumed a frontline position in contemporary infrastructure delivery discourse, globally over the past two decades (malete & khatleli, 2019: 133; thumbiran & raphiri, 2016: 4). organisations such as the uk’s infrastructure and projects authority and the infrastructure client group have played significant roles in proposing guidelines for assisting infrastructure client organisations in improving their infrastructure procurement capabilities (ice, 2021). in australia, individual agencies and scholars are publishing and adopting their own guidelines, in some instances with hardly any or no coordination by government. this led to the publication of guidelines such as the project initiation routemap (ipa, 2016), the ice’s intelligent client capability framework (madter & bower, 2015: 6-7), and the rics informed infrastructure client guidance document (rics, 2015: 1-25). within the south african infrastructure procurement landscape, the infrastructure delivery management system (idms) serves as a predominant guide for public sector organisations seeking to procure infrastructure assets and associated services (national treasury, 2012: 3). in addition, a client guide for improving infrastructure project outcomes has also been proposed to support infrastructure clients within the south african context (watermeyer, 2018). in as much as these guidelines are expected to guide clients towards effective infrastructure delivery, impediments to efficient infrastructure delivery persist, due to a seeming lack of capacity in public sector organisations to implement the idms. this much is confirmed chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 111 by thumbiran and raphiri (2016: 4), who maintain that improper and/or lack of utilisation of the idms could be the cause of the underwhelming public sector infrastructure procurement performance. this study is prompted by this observation. accordingly, this study seeks to assess the maturity of public sector infrastructure client organisations within the south african context to engage with the idms in the required manner, in order to achieve optimal infrastructure procurement. furthermore, this study stems from the central proposition that poor interpretation and implementation of the idms by these organisations can lead to poor procurement performance. the lack of studies into this aspect has been observed, hence rendering this study imperative. 2. literature review 2.1 nexus between infrastructure and national economic growth fourie (2006: 531) defines infrastructure in terms of “capitalness” and “publicness”, with the former taking into account the degree of capital intensity, comprising of capital-intensive facilities, and the latter tackling the: social significance of infrastructure. an alternative definition of infrastructure reads “facilities, structures, networks, systems, plant, property, equipment, or physical assets – and the enterprises that employ them – that provide public goods, or goods that meet a politically mandated, fundamental need that the market is not able to provide on its own” (oecd, 2015: 2). on the other hand, khumalo, choga and munapo (2017: 38) define infrastructure as a “set of facilities and systems that are necessary for a community to function”. gaal and afrah (2017: 49) opine that infrastructure is the basic equipment and structures which are prerequisites for a country, region, or organisation to function properly. in the vast majority of the developing nations, the paucity of basic infrastructure has hampered economic progress and national competitiveness (kodongo & ojah, 2016: 105; oxford analytica, 2017: 3; wethal, 2019: 2-3). the correlation between infrastructure and national economic growth, as well as the interest in this area has long been a subject of research (palei, 2015: 169-170; oecd, 2015: 2-4; seadi, 2012: 1; kim, 2006: 1; agénor, 2010: 933). as far back as 1989, researchers such as aschauer have sought to quantify the impact of infrastructure assets on economic growth. the effects of infrastructure productivity have been studied using economic models (lakshmanan, 2011: 1-12). in some instances, behavioural approaches have been used to calculate the impact of infrastructure on national growth (chatterjee & mahbub morshed, 2011: 1288-1306). irrespective of the methods used, there appears to be consensus that chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 112 infrastructure stimulates economic growth (seidu, young, robinson & ryan 2020: 225; calderon & serven, 2004: 1). aschauer (1989), cited in ramirez and esfahani (1999: 1), observed a dip in economic growth rates following a reduction in investment. furthermore, the international monetary fund (imf) (2014) reported that one percentage point in infrastructure investment in relation to gdp results in long-term gain outputs averaging 1% to 5%. seadi (2012: 1-2) went further to posit that infrastructure is crucial for the achievement of a country’s development plans and economic goals, as it drives production processes across all economic facets. despite the added benefits of infrastructure investment, the choice of investment must be carefully planned to ensure that infrastructure does not outweigh demand, as overinvestment can prove to be counterproductive (seidu et al., 2020: 219-220). the fact that infrastructure impacts on productivity and national growth can be substantiated from different angles, some of which have been summarised as: • trade, as a significant contributor of economic and national development, is largely dependent on the availability of adequate infrastructure (calderon & serven, 2004: 1; watermeyer & phillips, 2020: 2). • many governments have used infrastructure as a driver for economic growth through job creation, as they resort to funding labour-intensive infrastructural projects, especially during times of recession (quarterly bulletin, 2012: 1; watermeyer, 2018: 1). • in some instances, infrastructure yields high rates of return on investment, leading to increased national income and overall national growth (quarterly bulletin, 2012: 1; watermeyer, 2018: 1). • infrastructure has also been a key factor in the integration and augmentation of markets and industries such as linking citizens to economic hubs through transport infrastructure, hence boosting economic activity (wef, 2012: 2; watermeyer, 2018: 1). • transport infrastructure reduces time lost in traffic and the impact of distance, leading to greater productivity (watermeyer, 2018: 1). • telecommunications infrastructure allows for speedy flow of information, which is a requisite for business operations (watermeyer, 2018: 1). • electricity and water infrastructure is important for a well-functioning society and business operations (watermeyer, 2018: 1). chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 113 2.2 infrastructure delivery there is persuasive evidence that infrastructure is an indispensable panacea to the challenges faced in most of the developing countries including south africa, as it stimulates a robust and growing economic market (malete & khatleli, 2019: 129; policy brief, 2015: 3). some of these challenges include, inter alia, poverty, huge public service delivery backlogs, and job deficiencies. as such, various scholars have argued for the improved ease of public access to infrastructure as a means of contributing to a reduction in income inequality prevalent in the vast majority of countries (estache 2003; zolfaghari, kabiri & saadatmanesh, 2020: 1147; medeiros & ribeiro, 2020). consequently, south africa has increased its expenditure on infrastructure development and improvement, in order to support its economic growth and development plans in a bid to reduce poverty and inequality, whilst addressing infrastructure backlogs and shortages (national treasury, 2017: 3). according to watermeyer and phillips (2020: 1), the south african national development plan 2030 had set a public infrastructure investment target of 10% of the gross domestic product (gdp). such ambitious targets are not peculiar to south africa, as countries situated across the developed and developing world contexts have set similar targets. corroborating this trend, serebrisky, suárezalemán, pastor and wohlhueter (2017: 8) confirmed that infrastructure investments as a proportion of gdp stood at 8.5% in china, 5% in india and japan, and 4% in australia, canada and south korea, respectively. despite the increased construction spend to alleviate the infrastructure deficit being experienced in south africa, a considerable infrastructure gap persists (malete & khatleli, 2019: 129; policy brief, 2015: 2; watermeyer & phillips, 2020: 2). notably, the challenges impacting on efficient infrastructure delivery cannot be exclusively attributed only to funding challenges but also to institutional failures and a lack of requisite capacity within the public sector (rwelamila, 2007: 56-57; national treasury, 2012; khumalo et al., 2017: 35; laryea, 2019: 618; watermeyer, 2018; watermeyer & phillips, 2020: 6). the lack of organisational/institutional capacity within public sector organisations to engage in effective infrastructure procurement appears commonplace in the literature (brook, 2021: 6; khumalo et al., 2017: 35; mahamadu et al., 2018: 3; awuzie & mcdermott, 2019; laryea, 2019: 618; watermeyer & phillips, 2020: 6; manu et al. 2021: 4). various scholars admit to the criticality of institutional/organisational procurement capacity of public sector organisations in engendering the actualisation of procurement objectives associated with the commissioning of infrastructure projects. relying on quantitative data gathered from 590 respondents in nigeria and ghana, manu et al. (2021: 17) established that certain procurement capabilities contributed to the attainment of more procurement objectives chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 114 when compared to other capabilities. similarly, winch and leiringer (2016) postulated the potential of the ‘strong owner’ infrastructure client to bring about positive project delivery performance based on inherent capabilities. this resulted in the development of the ‘owner project capabilities’ based on the dynamic capabilities theoretical lens. awuzie, farag and mcdermott (2017) corroborate this through the findings of their investigation into the influence of client attributes on successful social value implementation during infrastructure procurement. lindblad and gustavsson (2021) reiterate the ability of public sector clients to foster a change in working practices within the construction industry using a bim exemplar. however, the ability to achieve this will be predicated on the procurement capabilities inherent in such organisations. based on the foregoing, the contribution of properly capacitated public sector organisations to successful infrastructure procurement cannot be overemphasised (watermeyer, 2018: 2). 2.3 infrastructure delivery management system (idms) the idms is a brainchild of the south african government, in collaboration with the national treasury, the department of public works (dpw), the construction industry development board (cidb), and the development bank of southern africa (dbsa) (cidb, 2010: 9). the idms was formulated mainly to address the need for improved and adequate quality infrastructure and to curb the various challenges affecting infrastructure delivery. the main objectives of the idms can be summarised as providing a benchmark through fostering best practice; fostering improvement in the delivery of infrastructure; addressing skills deficiencies; ensuring a balance in infrastructural roll outs; enhancing cost effectiveness, and improving infrastructure planning (malete & khatleli; 2020: 130; civilution, 2016: 2-3; national treasury, 2012; wcg, 2012: 3). this strategic guideline consists of a sequence of interrelated activities responsible for the transformation of infrastructural inputs into outputs (wcg, 2012: 2). value placed on the idms is embedded in its strategic attributes to address the four key dimensions relating to infrastructure delivery, namely institutions, people, organisational behaviour, and human resource systems. as a standardised approach to public sector infrastructure delivery and management, the idms describes and outlines the processes pertaining to infrastructure delivery, from planning to asset disposal, thereby setting a benchmark for best practice guide (cidb, 2010: 13). wcg (2012: 1) advises that the idms must be used throughout the entire life cycle of an infrastructural asset, incorporating activities such as “planning, budgeting, procurement, delivery, maintenance, operation, monitoring and evaluation of infrastructure”. chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 115 2.3.1 evolution of the idms formulated in 2004 as a tool to manage the delivery of infrastructure, the idms has evolved and has since shifted its focus from being substantially on project management to asset management, where it considers the full life cycle of infrastructure assets. figure 1 illustrates the idms evolution since its inception. figure 1: evolution of the idms and idm toolkit source: authors figure 2: relationships between key asset management terms source: iso 55000 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 116 2.3.2 idms alignment with iso 55000 asset management system asset management, according to iso 55000: 10, is a “coordinated activity of an organisation to realise value from assets”. infrastructure asset management strives to achieve a desired level of service in a cost-effective manner. similar to idms processes, asset management processes are integral to the organisation’s infrastructure planning, budgeting, and delivery processes. figure 2 shows the relationship between key asset management terms. the international infrastructure management manual (2011), cited in department of higher education and training (dhet) – university macro infrastructure framework (mif) [annexure 4] (dhet, 2019: 1) describes the key elements of asset management for infrastructure as: • performance assessment defining the level of service and monitoring performance. • gap assessment – demand management and infrastructure investment. • risk management – identifying, assessing and appropriately managing risks. • financial assessment – long-term financial plans identifying required expenditure and funding. • service life approach to developing cost-effective management strategies for the long term that meet the desired level of service. figure 3 illustrates the relationship between the idms adaptation of iso 55000 elements of an asset management system. 2.3.3 objectives of the idms the main objectives of the idms can be listed as: • best practice guide. to set a guideline and act as a benchmark to public sector infrastructure delivery (cidb, 2010: 13; civilution, 2016: 3). • improved delivery. to enhance improved infrastructure delivery (civilution, 2016: 2; cidb, 2018). • shortage of skills. to address the apparent deficiencies in the availability of a skilled and competent workforce (civilution, 2016: 2). • improved planning. the idms seeks to curb the challenges of poor planning that have bedevilled south africa’s public sector infrastructure delivery (civilution, 2016: 2). chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 117 figure 3: asset management system aligned to the idm processes placemat source: municipal infrastructure support agent (misa), 2019: 17 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 118 • cost effectiveness. the idms seeks to ensure value for money during infrastructure delivery (cidb, 2010: 101). • reduction of the infrastructure gap. the idms seeks to reduce the infrastructure gap and to make affordable quality infrastructure available (national treasury, 2012: 3) 2.3.4 impediments to optimal idms implementation the impediments affecting idms implementation are in part responsible for the failure by the relevant provincial government departments to successfully deliver infrastructure and associated services. as a result of these challenges, the economic conditions of a country are negatively impacted, due to the overt dependence on infrastructure to address developmental aspirations and policy objectives. some of these challenges include: • prevalence of poor interdepartmental relationships and unclear communication channels (thiry & deguire 2007: 653; thumbiran & raphiri, 2016: 4; awuzie & mcdermott, 2019: 115-142). • poor leadership and management structures (awuzie & mcdermott, 2019: 115-142; thumbiran & raphiri, 2016: 4). • limited technical capacity (thumbiran & raphiri, 2016: 4). • governance issues and collusion within the industry (thumbiran & raphiri, 2016: 4; awuzie & mcdermott, 2019: 115-142). 2.4 maturity modelling fowler (2014) defined a maturity model as a tool that measures the effectiveness of an individual or organisation to achieve desired outcomes. furthermore, the model enables an establishment of the capabilities required to enhance process or organisational improvement. maturity models facilitate an identification and performance of the relevant steps required by organisations and/or individuals to attain higher levels of maturity concerning a phenomenon (kohlegger, maier & thalmann, 2009: 59). the use of maturity models has been on the rise since its initial development by us-based software engineering institute (sei), in association with the mitre corporation in 1986 (willis & rankin, 2010: 87). at that point, it was saddled with an initial aim of improving the software processes of certain organisations. despite having evolved from the software industry, the use of maturity models has since spread to other industries such as project and programme management, among others (willis & rankin, 2010: 88; grim, 2009: 71). the utility of these models across various domains has been chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 119 attributed to their process-oriented nature and ease of adaptation to other domains (bayraksan, 2009: 3; grim, 2009: 74). maturity models are used to evaluate an organisation’s capability of maturity elements, usually from a rating of 1 – initial (ad hoc) to 5 – optimised. schumacher, enrol and sihn (2016: 164) as well as grim (2009: 72) posit that level 1 shows a complete lack of attributes, whereas level 5 describes world-class attributes. according to iso 8000-62 (2018: 2-3) as well as carretero, caballero and piattini (2016: 249), maturity assessments consider the following process attributes to determine the level of maturity: • process performance. • performance management. • work product management. • process definition. • process deployment. • quantitative analysis (process measurement). • quantitative control (process control). • process innovation (process optimisation. • process innovation implementation. 2.4.1 maturity scale for appraising public sector readiness to utilise the idms the main objective of maturity modelling is to drive process improvement. as such, maturity models can be applied as a control measure to ensure that processes are consistently adhered to within an organisation, consequently fostering management excellence. while heller and varney (2013: 7) identified seven tenets of a maturity model, schumacher et al. (2017: 163) identified nine. building on the foundation laid by both studies, a structured maturity model matrix was developed. this emergent maturity model matrix was divided into nine dimensions. (see table 1.) table 1: dimensions and maturity items of a maturity model dimension description strategy entails strategic understanding and informed decision-making of organisational role, positioning, and vision in support of its objectives leadership entails the role of leadership and how leaders possess the power to transform an organisation. customers entails all existing and potential new clients including strategies to expand the client base such as, for example, digitalisation of sales/ services chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 120 dimension description products this dimension is concerned with product outcomes acquired from the processes implemented such as, for example, customisation of products operations/ processes entails procedures, methods and practices which establish the manner through which activities are performed, process performance and process improvement aspects such as, decentralisation of processes culture entails organisational culture and organisational structure such as, for example, knowledge sharing and company collaboration people covers the hr function such as skills and competences of employees and their roles and responsibilities governance covers the governance and administration aspects of an entity such as, for example, labour regulation and enterprise-wide authority technology is concerned with creating an enabling technology environment encompassing information systems, applications, and infrastructure source: adapted from fisher, 2004: 1-7; schumacher et al., 2016: 164 3. methodology 3.1 research methods this study examined the maturity of south africa’s provincial government departments in engaging with the extant idms. a multi-case study research design was used, and data was collected quantitatively through structured maturity modelling questionnaire surveys. three provincial government departments of education, health and public works in the kwazulu-natal region that utilise the idms were identified and used as case studies. this allowed for an in-depth understanding of the level of maturity of each department and for comparative analysis purposes via a cross-case analysis of the findings and to subsequently evaluate the critical areas of where major variances were noted. given that the cases could not be considered without the context, only provincial government departments that engage the idms were selected for this study. 3.2 population and sample the target respondents were architects, engineers and quantity surveyors in senior, management and leadership positions with over five years’ working experience in the industry. they were required to have extensive knowledge of idms implementation. as informed by the outcome from a pilot study, the population was greatly reduced and distribution of questionnaires was streamlined to only individuals in senior positions and those in a managerial capacity with the requisite knowledge and experience relating to idms chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 121 implementation, in lieu of distribution to everyone engaging the idms. this resulted in a combined list of 54 professionals forming the population. krejcie and morgan (1970: 608) recommend that, for a population of 55, the sample size ought to be 44. this study, however, surveyed the entire population due to its small size. in addition, the study placed priority on obtaining quality results rather than population and sample sizes. questionnaires were sent to 54 participants by email and a total of 34 questionnaires were completed correctly and returned, representing a 63% response rate (table 2). taking a proposition by moyo and crafford (2010: 68) into account where survey responses within the built environment vary between 7% and 40%, the response is good to support this empirical study. table 2: provincial government department composition department frequency % responses response rate % doe 18 33.3 12 22.2 doh 16 29.6 10 18.50 dpw 20 37.0 12 22.2 total 54 100.0 34 62.9 3.3 data collection initially, expert interviews were conducted to facilitate the development of the maturity model by establishing the key maturity items to be included. thereafter, a preliminary maturity model was developed, and a pilot study was undertaken to improve the data-collection instrument (questionnaire) and to provide valuable feedback that would subsequently be incorporated. questionnaires were distributed electronically from october 2019 to july 2020. this study reports on the latter stage only. the structured maturity modelling questionnaire was divided into two sections. the first section captured data about, for example, the respondents’ years of experience with idms implementation and the government department with which they were associated. the second section collected data on the perceived maturity across the nine dimensions of the maturity model. the maturity items were developed via a two-step process, which entailed a systematic literature review and expert interviews. the proposed model, consisting of nine dimensions, was subdivided into a total of 52 maturity items. respondents were required to rate the maturity items on a 5-point likert scale (1 = not fully implemented, 5= fully implemented). however, the maturity items had differing importance towards maturity in idms implementation, as an example, on the leadership dimension, the item “we have skilled leadership which leads by example” could have a higher contribution when compared to the chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 122 item “our senior/top management are committed to implementation of the idms in our enterprise”. this, therefore, called for a practical importance rating to be included in the questionnaire, in order to establish the item’s maturity contribution, where (rating = 1) meant “not important” and (rating = 4) meant very important. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were used for section two (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of the findings the following formula was used to calculate the maturity level: where m = maturity d = dimension i = item g = weighting factor n = number of maturity item table 3 presents the proposed maturity scale. table 3: proposed maturity scale to assess idms implementation maturity scale process attribute common feature organisation level level 1: initial process performance commitment to perform competent people employed. the processes in relation to idms implementation at this level are undocumented and subject to dynamic change. therefore, they tend to be undertaken on an ad hoc basis. level 2: repeatable process performance performance management work product management ability to perform minimum specified standards are established and process discipline is unlikely to be rigorous. standard roles and responsibilities for all tasked with engagement of the idms are developed. operational units are irregularly encouraged to utilise the idms chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 123 maturity scale process attribute common feature organisation level level 3: defined process performance performance management work product management process definition process deployment activities performed standard processes are defined and in place. operational units are encouraged to utilise the idms level 4: managed process performance performance management work product management process definition process deployment process measurement (quantitative analysis) process control (quantitative control) measurement and analysis the organisation uses process metrics to effectively control its processes and operational units. at this level, adherence to idms implementation is monitored, measured, and controlled by management. level 5: optimised process performance performance management work product management process definition process deployment process measurement (quantitative analysis) process control (quantitative control) process optimisation & innovation process innovation implementation continuous improvement and verifying implementation continuous improvement via constant feedback and innovation is undertaken. in addition, the organisation must be able to cope and succeed in a dynamic environment, in order to adequately tackle changes, especially those affecting idms implementation in the wake of knowledge revolution and evolution of the idms itself (see figure 1). responsibility for idms implementation lies with operational units and management with assigned idms roles and responsibilities in the organisation source: adapted from iso 8000-62, 2018: 4; heller & varney, 2013; grim, 2009 table 3 illustrates the maturity scale in relation to organisation level of implementation of the idms. it is in the interest of an organisation to continuously strive to improve its processes, in order to transition from chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 124 one level to the next in pursuit of delivering improved outcomes. figure 4 illustrates the organisational process capabilities to foster such transition. figure 4: levels and processes of the maturity model source: willis & rankin, 2010: 90 descriptive statistical analysis was conducted, using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 25 (pallant, 2013: 134). the analysis of questionnaire data is presented in two stages, the first stage being an intra-case analysis, and the second stage being the crosscase analysis. for the cross-case analysis, the statistical analysis used is the one-way anova, which aimed at conducting a comparative analysis of differences between the three entities/organisations (provincial government departments) that utilise the idms. the collected data was subjected to a reliability and consistency test using the cronbach alpha test. the alpha values ranged between 0.70 and 0.91, which is indicative of at least a “good” level of reliability and is, therefore, acceptable. it is recommended that acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha should range from 0.60 to 0.95 (taber, 2018: 1279). 3.5 limitations of the study a small sample size was used because of the specialist or expert input required from the study participants. only those individuals with substantial experience and detailed knowledge of the idms had the capability to partake in the study, thereby significantly limiting the number of participants. furthermore, the study was confined to kwazulu-natal, due to the short survey period for information gathering and data collection. the covid-19 pandemic greatly impacted on data collection, as some of the individuals who were identified as key to providing information in relation to idms implementation were not available to contact. chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 125 4. results 4.1 respondents’ profile the results in table 4 are indicative of a good mix and a fair representation of each department in the study population. based on frequency of occurrence, most of the respondents (61.8%) were males; 8.8% of the respondents were in the age group 18-25 years, with 26.5% of the respondents having experience in idms implementation of between 1 to 5 years. this shows that there were few participants aged between 18 and 25 years. these results further demonstrate the much-needed experience in idms implementation. table 4: respondents’ profile f % f % f % f % characteristic category doe (n = 12) doh (n = 10) dpw (n = 12) total (n = 34) age 18-25 years 0 1 10.0 2 16.7 3 8.80 26-39 years 3 25.0 4 40.0 4 33.3 11 32.4 40-49 years 5 41.7 3 30.0 4 33.3 12 35.3 50-59 years 3 25.0 1 10.0 2 16.7 6 17.7 60-65 years 1 8.3 1 10.0 0 2 5.9 gender female 5 41.7 4 40.0 4 33.3 13 38.2 male 7 58.3 6 60.0 8 66.7 21 61.8 profession architect 5 41.7 3 30.0 6 50.0 14 41.2 quantity surveyor 4 33.3 4 40.0 4 33.3 12 35.3 engineer 3 25.0 3 30.0 2 16.7 8 23.5 position manage-ment 4 33.3 3 30.0 3 25.0 10 29.4 senior level 8 66.7 7 70.0 9 75.0 24 70.6 experience with idms 1-5 years 2 16.7 2 20.0 5 41.7 9 26.5 6-10 years 8 66.7 7 70.0 5 41.7 20 58.8 11-15 years 2 16.7 1 10.0 2 16.7 5 14.7 4.2 idms implementation: cross-case analysis table 5 shows the comparative maturity indices and rankings of the nine dimensions between the three governmental departments. the results indicate that doh has the highest maturity rating (mean = 3,54), followed by doe (mean = 3,08) and dpw third (mean = 3,00). it could be argued that the overall maturity index of the doh is higher than that of chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 126 the other two departments because of the high maturity of the leadership dimension. the pivotal role of upper management (leadership) is critical to setting strategic direction, policy planning as well as general management and monitoring of all employees, which are all imperative for organisational success. in other words, the leadership dimension can be viewed as a driver of all other dimensions, where a high maturity level under this dimension directly correlates with improved maturity in the other dimensions. similarly, committing to tackle any other dimension without leadership commitment could have a negative impact on the overall organisational maturity index, as leadership should be the driving force for all initiatives. it could, therefore, be argued that the lower overall maturity indices for dpw and doe could be attributed to their focus and priority being on other dimensions and not on leadership, which was ranked 4th within both departments. figure 5 is a radar chart used to provide a holistic visualisation of the comparative results in the nine dimensions between the departments. it is evident that doh consistently performed high in all but two dimensions, namely customers and culture. while the doh performed better in the leadership dimension, both the doe and dpw had the highest implementation in the governance dimension. it is notable that all three departments had a relatively high implementation level for the governance dimension, probably as an effort to curb the reported widespread poor governance issues in and across public entities. the culture dimension, however, shows a very different picture, as it was generally ranked low across all departments. evidently, doh performed significantly better when compared to the other two departments in the technology and operations dimensions. on the other hand, dpw had a seemingly low rating in the table 5: maturity comparisons between departments dimension doe doh dpw maturity index rank maturity index rank maturity index rank governance 3,542 1 3,850 2 4,063 1 strategy 3,497 2 3,629 4 2,774 5 people 3,400 3 3,780 3 3,500 2 leadership 3,347 4 3,983 1 2,778 4 operations 3,100 5 3,540 5 2,683 8 products 2,969 6 3,445 7 3,438 3 customers 2,819 7 3,050 8 2,764 6 technology 2,653 8 3,533 6 2,727 7 culture 2,367 9 3,040 9 2,300 9 overall maturity index 3,077 3,539 3,003 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 127 technology and operations dimensions. generally, figure 5 suggests that, in order to improve on organisational maturity and overall organisational readiness, the departments could improve on all dimensions, as all but the governance dimension within dpw have scores <4. figure 5: radar chart visualising maturity comparisons between departments 4.3 anova statistical analysis the one-way analysis of variance (anova) was used to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences between the means of the three departments. table 6 summarises the anova findings. the significant values, p <0.05, are indicated with a *. evidently, the three departments ranked 21 out of 52 items as significantly different. of those 21 items, the anova test further shows that four out of the nine dimensions, namely strategy, leadership, culture and technology each have >50% of their statements with a p <0.05 indicative of significant differences in these dimensions. these differences indicate that each organisation is unique and has its own management styles, further supporting the need to use the idms as a guide, and to further adapt it to be organisation specific, in order to enhance its effective utilisation. in addition, these differences could explain the disparity in maturity to implement the idms by the departments. on the other hand, for the balance of the statements across all dimensions (31 out of 52) (60%), where p value >0.05, it implies that there are no statistically significant differences between the groups. this could signify that intervention could be applied at national level to address chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 128 ta bl e 6: o ne -w ay a n o va fo r s ig ni fic an t d iff er en ce s be tw ee n de pa rtm en ts in re la tio n to id m s im pl em en ta tio n ite m d es cr ip tio n s s df f s ig st ra te g y (n =3 3) s1 w e u se a ro a d m a p fo r p la nn in g id m s a c tiv iti e s in o ur e nt e rp ris e be tw e e n g ro up s 16 ,4 04 2 18 ,0 75 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 14 ,0 67 31 s2 w e h a ve c le a rly d e fin e d c o re k no w le d g e , s ki lls a nd a b ilit ie s to b e p o ss e ss e d b y e m p lo ye e s be tw e e n g ro up s 1, 12 5 2 0, 97 8 0, 38 7 w ith in g ro up s 17 ,8 17 31 s3 w e a llo c a te s uf fic ie nt re so ur c e s fo r t he re a lis a tio n o f i d m s a c tiv iti e s be tw e e n g ro up s 6, 23 7 2 3, 36 5 0, 04 8* w ith in g ro up s 28 ,7 33 31 s4 w e h a ve a d a p te d o ur b us in e ss m o d e ls to a c c o m m o d a te id m s o b je c tiv e s be tw e e n g ro up s 19 ,6 81 2 20 ,9 18 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 14 ,5 83 31 s5 w e s tr ic tly a d he re t o id m s in st ru c tio n m a nu a ls a nd t o o lk its s uc h a s th e g a te w a y sy st e m a nd in fra st ru c tu re d e liv e ry m a na g e m e nt t o o lk it be tw e e n g ro up s 26 ,6 84 2 23 ,7 25 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 17 ,4 33 31 s6 w e h a ve s tr uc tu re s in p la c e t ha t e ns ur e w o rk e rs u nd e rg o g e ne ra l i nd uc tio n b e fo re c o m m e nc in g w o rk be tw e e n g ro up s 11 ,6 61 2 8, 49 8 0, 00 1* w ith in g ro up s 20 ,5 82 30 s7 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n e m p lo ys t e c hn ic a lly s ki lle d o p e ra tio na l u ni ts w ith t he a p p ro p ria te c o m p e te nc ie s a nd s ki lls b a se be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 07 6 2 1, 78 6 0, 18 5 w ith in g ro up s 25 ,8 33 31 le a d e rs hi p ( n =3 3) l1 o ur s e ni o r/ to p m a na g e m e nt a re c o m m itt e d t o im p le m e nt a tio n o f i d m s in o ur e nt e rp ris e be tw e e n g ro up s 13 ,6 96 2 11 ,5 79 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 18 ,3 33 31 l2 o ur e nt e rp ris e h a s th e n e c e ss a ry m a na g e m e nt c o m p e te nc e s a nd s ys te m s in p la c e fo r i d m s im p le m e nt a tio n be tw e e n g ro up s 15 ,7 52 2 12 ,8 62 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 18 ,9 83 31 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 129 ite m d es cr ip tio n s s df f s ig l3 w e h a ve c e nt ra lly c o o rd in a te d s ys te m s in p la c e fo r i d m s a c tiv iti e s be tw e e n g ro up s 14 ,9 04 2 10 ,4 69 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 22 ,0 67 31 l4 ea c h sy st e m o f t he id m s ha s a t le a st o ne q ua lifi e d m a na g e r w ith t he re q ui sit e tr a in in g t o o ve rs e e h is/ he r r e sp e c tiv e d e p a rt m e nt s be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 28 1 2 1, 18 3 0, 32 0 w ith in g ro up s 42 ,9 83 31 l5 o ur s e ni o r/ to p m a na g e m e nt e nc o ur a g e a nd s up p o rt w o rk e r p a rt ic ip a tio n, c o m m itm e nt , a nd in vo lv e m e nt be tw e e n g ro up s 4, 65 4 2 4, 56 1 0, 01 8* w ith in g ro up s 15 ,8 17 31 l6 w e h a ve s ki lle d le a d e rs hi p t ha t le a d s b y e xa m p le be tw e e n g ro up s 9, 46 9 2 7, 06 7 0, 00 3* w ith in g ro up s 20 ,7 67 31 c ul tu re ( n =3 3) c 1 w e c o nd uc t d e ta ile d c us to m e r i d e nt ifi c a tio n be tw e e n g ro up s 0, 95 1 2 0, 50 5 0, 60 8 w ith in g ro up s 29 ,1 67 31 c 2 w e c o nd uc t re se a rc h to p ro fil e c us to m e r i nf ra st ru c tu re n e e d s be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 70 4 2 1, 99 6 0, 15 3 w ith in g ro up s 28 ,7 67 31 c 3 w e a re re sp o ns iv e t o c us to m e r n e e d s be tw e e n g ro up s 0, 38 6 2 0, 21 8 0, 80 5 w ith in g ro up s 26 ,5 83 30 c 4 w e u til ise c us to m e r d a ta t o p ro vi d e s e rv ic e s a s p e r n e e d be tw e e n g ro up s 1, 19 9 2 0, 43 5 0, 65 1 w ith in g ro up s 42 ,6 83 31 c 5 w e a re c o m m itt e d t o im p ro ve d c us to m e r s e rv ic e t o e ns ur e c us to m e r sa tis fa c tio n be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 41 9 2 1, 61 5 0, 21 5 w ith in g ro up s 32 ,8 17 31 c 6 w e d ig ita lis e o ur s e rv ic e s be tw e e n g ro up s 0, 21 9 2 0, 10 0 0, 90 5 w ith in g ro up s 34 ,0 17 31 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 130 ite m d es cr ip tio n s s df f s ig pr o d uc ts ( n =3 3) p1 w e a re c o m m itt e d t o p ro vi d in g q ua lit y p ro d uc ts a nd s e rv ic e s be tw e e n g ro up s 7, 37 5 2 3, 62 1 0, 03 9* w ith in g ro up s 31 ,5 67 31 p2 w e a re c o m m itt e d t o e ns ur in g c o nt in ua l p ro d uc t/ se rv ic e q ua lit y im p ro ve m e nt be tw e e n g ro up s 1, 18 3 2 0, 62 6 0, 54 2 w ith in g ro up s 29 ,3 17 31 p3 w e e ns ur e t ha t o ur p ro d uc ts /s e rv ic e s a re p ro vi d e d t im e o us ly a nd w ith in b ud g e t be tw e e n g ro up s 0, 43 4 2 0, 22 3 0, 80 1 w ith in g ro up s 30 ,1 83 31 p4 w e e ns ur e t ha t o ur p ro d uc ts /s e rv ic e s a re a c c e ss ib le t o t he c us to m e rs t he y se rv e be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 73 2 2 1, 51 6 0, 23 5 w ith in g ro up s 38 ,1 50 31 p5 w e e ns ur e t ha t o ur p ro d uc ts /s e rv ic e s a re a ff o rd a b le be tw e e n g ro up s 6, 55 6 2 3, 03 1 0, 06 4 w ith in g ro up s 30 ,2 83 28 p6 w e e ns ur e t ha t o ur p ro d uc ts /s e rv ic e s a re a d e q ua te be tw e e n g ro up s 2, 33 2 2 1, 05 2 0, 36 2 w ith in g ro up s 32 ,1 36 29 p7 w e e ns ur e t ha t o ur p ro d uc ts /s e rv ic e s a re p ro d uc e d t o c a te r f o r p o p ul a tio n g ro w th be tw e e n g ro up s 2, 61 1 2 0, 83 7 0, 44 3 w ith in g ro up s 45 ,2 64 29 p8 w e a re s e ns iti ve t o t he im p a c t o ur p ro d uc ts /s e rv ic e s ha ve o n su st a in a b le d e ve lo p m e nt g o a ls be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 53 1 2 1, 69 8 0, 20 0 w ith in g ro up s 32 ,2 33 31 o p e ra tio ns ( n =3 3) o 1 w e h a ve d e c e nt ra lis e d o p e ra tio ns a nd p ro c e ss e s be tw e e n g ro up s 4, 61 5 2 1, 90 0 0, 16 7 w ith in g ro up s 37 ,6 50 31 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 131 ite m d es cr ip tio n s s df f s ig o 2 w e h a ve in te rd isc ip lin a ry a nd in te rd e p a rt m e nt a l c o lla b o ra tio n be tw e e n g ro up s 1, 85 8 2 1, 50 9 0, 23 7 w ith in g ro up s 19 ,0 83 31 o 3 w e h a ve p e rio d ic a nd ra nd o m q ua lit y c he c ks t o e ns ur e p ro c e d ur e s a nd p ro c e ss e s a re a d he re d t o be tw e e n g ro up s 6, 13 2 2 3, 42 5 0, 04 5* w ith in g ro up s 27 ,7 50 31 o 4 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n c o nd uc ts re g ul a r a ud its t o e ns ur e t ha t th e q ua lit y m a na g e m e nt s ys te m is a d he re d t o be tw e e n g ro up s 4, 31 6 2 3, 10 2 0, 05 9 w ith in g ro up s 21 ,5 67 31 o 5 w e h a ve p e rfo rm a nc e e va lu a tio n st ru c tu re s in p la c e be tw e e n g ro up s 5, 88 4 2 2, 62 6 0, 08 8 w ith in g ro up s 34 ,7 33 31 c ul tu re ( n =3 3) c u 1 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n p ro vi d e s a n e na b lin g e nv iro nm e nt t ha t p ro m o te s kn o w le d g e sh a rin g be tw e e n g ro up s 16 ,9 04 2 18 ,6 26 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 14 ,0 67 31 c u 2 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n p ro m o te s in no va tio n a nd c ro ss -c o m p a ny c o lla b o ra tio n be tw e e n g ro up s 5, 86 6 2 5, 50 5 0, 00 9* w ith in g ro up s 16 ,5 17 31 c u 3 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n re c o g ni se s a nd re w a rd s o ut st a nd in g b e ha vi o ur a nd a c hi e ve m e nt s be tw e e n g ro up s 2, 78 7 2 1, 68 2 0, 20 3 w ith in g ro up s 25 ,6 83 31 c u 4 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n c o nd uc ts t e a m -b ui ld in g in iti a tiv e s th a t b o o st t he e m p lo ye e s’ m o ra le be tw e e n g ro up s 2, 05 4 2 1, 27 8 0, 29 3 w ith in g ro up s 24 ,9 17 31 c u 5 se m in a rs a nd w o rk sh o p s p ro vi d e p e rio d ic t ra in in g re g a rd in g im p le m e nt a tio n o f id m s be tw e e n g ro up s 14 ,1 79 2 6, 49 3 0, 00 4* w ith in g ro up s 33 ,8 50 31 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 132 ite m d es cr ip tio n s s df f s ig pe o p le ( n =3 3) pe 1 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n e m p lo ys p e o p le b a se d o n th e m e rit s o f t he ir q ua lifi c a tio ns be tw e e n g ro up s 4, 79 9 2 1, 70 7 0, 19 8 w ith in g ro up s 43 ,5 83 31 pe 2 w e p o ss e ss t he a d e q ua te t e c hn ic a l s ki lls a nd c o m p e te nc e s to e ff e c tiv e ly p e rfo rm id m s a c tiv iti e s be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 97 1 2 1, 78 4 0, 18 5 w ith in g ro up s 34 ,5 00 31 pe 3 w e h a ve t he a ut o no m y to w o rk in d e p e nd e nt ly w ith o ut c o ns ta nt s up e rv isi o n a nd m a na g e m e nt be tw e e n g ro up s 3, 90 2 2 2, 48 5 0, 10 0 w ith in g ro up s 24 ,3 33 31 pe 4 w e a re c o m m itt e d t o c o nt in ua l p ro fe ss io na l d e ve lo p m e nt be tw e e n g ro up s 11 ,1 08 2 5, 01 5 0, 01 3* w ith in g ro up s 34 ,3 33 31 pe 5 w e a re t ru st w o rt hy a nd h o ne st be tw e e n g ro up s 6, 75 2 2 4, 36 4 0, 02 1* w ith in g ro up s 23 ,9 83 31 g o ve rn a nc e ( n =3 3) g 1 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n up ho ld s a nd s tr ic tly a d he re s to g o ve rn a nc e p rin c ip le s be tw e e n g ro up s 2, 64 2 2 1, 52 1 0, 23 4 w ith in g ro up s 26 ,9 17 31 g 2 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n c o m p lie s w ith e m p lo ym e nt p o lic ie s a nd la b o ur re g ul a tio ns be tw e e n g ro up s 2, 92 9 2 1, 84 6 0, 17 5 w ith in g ro up s 24 ,6 00 31 g 3 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n c o nf o rm s to a nd s up p o rt s p ro te c tio n o f i nt e lle c tu a l p ro p e rt y be tw e e n g ro up s 0, 37 9 2 0, 38 8 0, 68 2 w ith in g ro up s 15 ,1 50 31 g 4 w e h a ve d isc ip lin a ry m e a su re s in p la c e t o d e a l w ith a ny is su e s o f m isc o nd uc t a nd b a d g o ve rn a nc e be tw e e n g ro up s 5, 70 9 2 3, 79 0 0, 03 4* w ith in g ro up s 23 ,3 50 31 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 133 ite m d es cr ip tio n s s df f s ig te c hn o lo g y (n =3 3) t1 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n ut ilis e s m o d e rn in fo rm a tio n a nd c o m m un ic a tio ns t e c hn o lo g y be tw e e n g ro up s 0, 23 7 2 0, 12 8 0, 88 0 w ith in g ro up s 28 ,7 33 31 t2 o ur o rg a ni sa tio n p ro vi d e s c o rre c t to o ls, e q ui p m e nt a nd re so ur c e s to im p le m e nt th e id m s be tw e e n g ro up s 7, 98 3 2 3, 86 5 0, 03 2* w ith in g ro up s 32 ,0 17 31 t3 w e p o ss e ss in fra st ru c tu re t ha t fa c ilit a te s e ffi c ie nc y in t he im p le m e nt a tio n o f t he id m s be tw e e n g ro up s 5, 93 1 2 2, 67 8 0, 08 5 w ith in g ro up s 34 ,3 33 31 t4 w e h a ve c ur re nt a nd fu tu re k no w le d g e n e tw o rk s be tw e e n g ro up s 11 ,8 50 2 8, 10 9 0, 00 1* w ith in g ro up s 22 ,6 50 31 t5 o ur in fra st ru c tu re n e c e ss ita te s a d e q ua te fr e e fl o w o f i nf o rm a tio n a m o ng a ll e m p lo ye e s be tw e e n g ro up s 12 ,8 47 2 10 ,8 53 0, 00 0* w ith in g ro up s 16 ,5 72 28 t6 w e a re o p e n to n e w t e c hn o lo g ie s be tw e e n g ro up s 1, 67 0 2 1, 16 5 0, 32 7 w ith in g ro up s 20 ,0 72 28 n ot e: * in di ca te s a st at is tic al ly s ig ni fic an t d iff er en ce b et w ee n gr ou ps , p < 0. 05 chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 134 any challenges in idms implementation across the dimensions in a bid to improve both dimension and organisation maturity ratings. 4.4 comparison between maturities of provincial government departments against the maturity levels needed to effectively implement idms for an organisation to be considered mature, it has to be rated at level 5 of the maturity model, which denotes systems and processes being optimised. an idms-ready organisation would, therefore, be proactive and will possess the ability to efficiently manage and maintain its portfolio management, programme and project management, as well as operations and maintenance processes. it is, therefore, evident that, even though a maturity rating of 5.0 is required for the implementation, the departments are all ranked within level 3. this calls for the departments to constantly work on improving their processes, especially within the leadership and people dimensions that have been identified in the study and in literature, respectively as carrying more weighting with respect to improving organisational maturity. furthermore, as noted in figure 1, the idms is bound to evolve, and its evolution has seen a shift from focus being mostly on project management to asset management. this evolution consequently requires the departments to adapt to such changes by realigning their organisational processes and constantly building their capacity. previous studies have identified the leadership dimension as having a huge impact on organisational or project performance. a case study conducted by watermeyer (2018), which surveyed 130 senior officials in public office involved in infrastructure projects, found leadership, among other factors, as critical to influencing successful project outcomes. another study by chaudhry, kalyar, rehman and kouassi (2012: 21) found that leadership, responsible for providing organisational direction by giving guidelines to its employees and managing them, ought to work closely with them and address any problems as they arise. idms implementation begins at the strategic level, indicative of the need for adequate leadership and expertise in infrastructure planning and management, with calculated decision-making, in order to attain optimal project performance. importantly, sans iso 55000 identifies leadership and organisational culture as key determinants of value realisation. there is a positive correlation between effective leadership and improved project performance (watermeyer & phillips, 2020: 5; yukl, 2009: 49-53). as such, effective leadership can be considered a requisite throughout the project’s life cycle, commencing at a strategic level up to project close out (watermeyer, 2018: 3). it is, imperative to ensure that, before responsibilities are assigned, employee skills and competence levels be assessed to ensure adequate task chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 135 allocation that enhances organisation effectiveness and stability. a major impediment to infrastructure delivery and idms implementation has been attributed to the people dimension. the public sector has been cited as lacking sufficient expertise and capacity (civilution, 2016: 2; rwelamila, 2007: 56-57; national treasury, 2012; khumalo et al., 2017: 35; laryea 2019: 618; watermeyer, 2018; malete & khatleli, 2019; watermeyer & phillips, 2020: 6). 5. conclusion this study set out to examine the maturity of south africa’s government departments to implement the idms. by utilising a well-structured maturity modelling questionnaire by electronic means and purposive sampling techniques, data were collected from experienced individuals within the three government departments. appropriate analytical tools were adopted, and the study was able to make meaningful findings. the study found that, although all the nine dimensions of the maturity model, namely strategy, leadership, customers, products, operations, culture, people, governance, and technology, were critical to the state of organisational readiness, the leadership dimension carried more weight. the department of health, which had the most maturity/implementation of the leadership dimension, had a greater overall organisational maturity when compared to the departments of education, and public works. it is, therefore, imperative that, in order to improve organisational readiness, the factors that influence maturity must be improved on. the pivotal role of upper management (leadership) is critical to enhancing organisational performance and is a driver of all other dimensions because increased leadership maturity influences the maturity of other dimensions. similarly, committing to improve on any other dimension without leadership commitment would be futile and could have a negative impact on the overall organisational maturity index, as leadership should be the driving force for all initiatives. this study is the first of its kind that seeks to assess the maturity of south africa’s public sector to implement the idms. establishing the maturity level of an organisation is critical, because once assessed the areas in need of improvement will be highlighted, which if addressed would impact on improving the maturity of organisations to implement the idms. this study was also critical in establishing that the level of maturity of an organisation must be assessed prior to or accompanying the introduction of the idms to organisations. the instrument developed to measure an organisation’s maturity could prove to be a very important tool in identifying organisational weaknesses and improving the level of maturity of the organisation. chigangacha, haupt & awuzie 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 108-142 136 furthermore, this study counters the argument that the government perceives the implementation of its tools, the idms in this case, to be effective upon launching/implementation. it is apparent that the government has to do more to ensure that organisations are well equipped and are mature to an extent that ensures effectiveness in implementation of the tools before launching. in 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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.02.002 yukl, g. 2009. leadership and organizational learning: an evaluative essay. leadership quarterly, vol. 20, pp. 49-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. leaqua.2008.11.006 zolfaghari, m., kabiri, m. & saadatmanesh, h. 2020. impact of socioeconomic infrastructure investments on income inequality in iran. journal of policy modeling, 42(5), pp. 1146-1168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jpolmod.2020.02.004 chigangacha 1 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as lehlohonolo thulo mr lehlohonolo thulo, m.eng. graduate, department of civil engineering, central university of technology, free state (cut), bloemfontein, south africa. email: <lehlohonolothulo@ymail. com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0009-0004-6187-2002 fidelis emuze prof. fidelis emuze, head, department of built environment, central university of technology, free state (cut), bloemfontein, south africa. email: <femuze@ cut.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-7714-4457 elizabeth theron prof. elizabeth theron, department of civil engineering, central university of technology, free state (cut), bloemfontein, south africa. email: <etheron@cut.ac.za>, orcid: https:// orcid.org/0000-0003-4588-9440 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: october 2022 peer reviewed and revised: january 2023 published: june 2023 keywords: construction, construction material, infrastructure, materials, public works, quality improvement how to cite: thulo, l., emuze, f. & theron, e. 2023. a conceptual quality improvement protocol for free state public works projects. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 1-33. a conceptual quality improvement protocol for free state public works projects research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7115 abstract materials delivered on public works project sites deviate from technical specifications, with detrimental implications for the quality of the construction process and product. when delivered materials differ from specifications, quality issues such as defects and re-work ensue at greater cost to the clients. the inadequate application of concepts and techniques of quality improvement also appears to perpetuate the problems. this study aims to find answers as to which quality improvement protocol would ensure that materials are delivered on construction sites as specified by the engineers. a case-based design with multiple data-collection techniques and points was expedited in the study. the primary data collected through a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and purposive sampling from the department of public works and infrastructure’s technical personnel provided the platform for compiling a quality improvement protocol contextualised for the department of public works and infrastructure in the free state, which constituted the case study. the statistical and textual data outlined how the department could address quality planning, quality control, 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 1-33 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:lehlohonolothulo@ymail.com mailto:lehlohonolothulo@ymail.com https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6187-2002 https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6187-2002 mailto:femuze@cut.ac.za mailto:femuze@cut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7714-4457 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7714-4457 mailto:etheron@cut.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4588-9440 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4588-9440 https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7115 thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 2 and quality improvement concerning materials delivery for public works projects. the article’s contribution is the proposed quality improvement protocol that should guide the specification and delivery of construction materials for projects. abstrak materiaal wat gelewer word vir openbare werke projekte wyk af van tegniese spesifikasies met nadelige gevolge vir die kwaliteit van die konstruksieproses en produk. met aflewering variëer materiale van spesifikasies, en gehalte kwessies soos defekte en addisionele werk volg, met die kliënt wat addisionele kostes ervaar. hierdie probleme dui op ’n gebrek aan kwaliteit tydens beide die ontwerp en konstruksieproses rakende materiaalbestuur. die onvoldoende toepassing van kwaliteitverbetering konsepte en tegnieke blyk ook by te dra tot die bogenoemde probleme. die doel van die studie is dus om ’n gepaste kwaliteitverbeteringsprotokol te vind wat sal verseker dat afgelewerde materiale voldoen aan die nodige ingenieurs-spesifikasies. ’n gevallestudiegebaseerde ontwerp met veelvuldige data-insamelingstegnieke is gebruik om die studie te bespoedig. dit is gebaseer op pragmatisme as navorsingsfilosofie wat daarop gemik is om werklike probleme op te los. die primêre data is versamel met behulp van ’n semi-gestruktureerde, self-geadministreerde vraelys, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude en dokumentontleding. dit het die platform verskaf vir die samestelling van ’n kwaliteitsverbeteringsprotokol wat gekontekstualiseer is vir die departement van openbare werke en infrastruktuur in die vrystaat provinsie. die statistiese en geskrewe data toon hoe die departement die kwessies rakende kwaliteit-beplanning, -beheer, en -verbetering met betrekking tot materiaallewering op openbare werke projekte kan aanspreek. die artikel se bydrae is die voorgestelde gehalteverbeteringsprotokol rakende die spesifikasie en aflewering van konstruksiemateriale. 1. introduction quality variations such as wrong materials, flaws, and material amounts are widespread in construction, according to international studies (mashwama, aigbavboa & thwala, 2017: 447). many studies have been conducted to quantify the cost of re-work in the construction sector because of quality issues. the reported estimates generally specify that they only include the directly measurable cost of re-work and that additional hidden expenses are not included. re-work costs between 10% and 15% and accounted on average for 12.4% of total project costs (al-janabi, abdel-monem & el-dash, 2020: 669). south africa also experiences issues with the quality of construction. it is noted that completing a project on time, on budget, and to quality standards is a challenge because the shortest duration and lowest cost can conflict with quality (emuze & mhlwa, 2015: 1232). difficulties with material quality can harm construction projects in south africa, causing cost and schedule overruns at clients’ expense (emuze & mhlwa, 2015: 1224). when the delivered materials differ from the specifications, problems with quality arise, resulting in defects and re-work. this adds to the overall cost of a project, which is classified as quality cost. requests for information (rfis) are also common, resulting in project delays and extensions. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 3 the free state provincial department of public works and infrastructure (dpw&i) is responsible for designing and building new infrastructure, upgrading, rehabilitating, and maintaining existing facilities through public works projects in the free state province of south africa (dpw&i, 2022: online). according to monthly project reports from the dpw&i in 2020, materials delivered on public works project sites deviated from technical specifications, with detrimental implications of non-compliance with quality requirements, resulting in defects and re-work. when delivered materials differ from specifications, two quality issues ensue. first, defects and re-work lead to additional project cost, which is classified as quality cost. quality costs include the cost of prevention, the cost of an appraisal, and the cost of failure (forbes & ahmed, 2020: 100). secondly, rfis and waiting for revised designs and specifications lead to time delays and extended project duration. it is, therefore, important to investigate construction quality challenges in the free state dpw&i, in order to develop a quality improvement protocol for delivering materials on construction sites as specified by engineers. 2. literature review 2.1 construction quality challenges one of the criteria that determines client satisfaction levels is the quality of the work in the construction industry. quality-related issues such as re-work are projected for later stages of the construction process (yaghootkar & gil, 2012: 130; delisle, 2020: 426). forbes and ahmed (2020: 95) cite juran that quality may be interpreted as “fitness for use”, “fitness for intended use”, “conformance to requirements”, or “conformance to specifications”. customers could regard quality as meeting their needs and expectations at a cost that represents value. despite the knowledge of these definitions, the industry in south africa is facing problems related to the standard of construction quality expected by clients (emuze & smallwood, 2011: 5). client discontent might result in a decrease in the construction firm’s market share and profit because of the implications for the project’s productivity (el-gohary & aziz, 2014: 4; alaghbari, al-sakkaf & sultan, 2019: 88). the cost of poor-quality construction is associated with the prevention, discovery, and resolution of defects (mashwama et al., 2017: 477; kerfai, bejar ghadhab & malouche, 2016: 589). activities that generate prevention costs include developing and implementing quality inspection procedures, performing systematic product inspections, investigating the causes of quality errors, as well as educating and motivating personnel on quality management. assessment costs are a result of activities performed to thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 4 minimise the consequences of errors. these activities include inspecting purchased goods, handling damaged products, as well as registering and reporting quality defects (ellis & martin, 2019: 160). incidents of non-conformance influence the contractor, as they result in re-work penalties that can drastically reduce production (rivas et al., 2011: 317). according to emuze and mhlwa (2015: 1230), a variety of factors such as changes in quality can cause re-work. bowen, edwards and cattell (2015: 86) stated that, because of corruption and political influence, contractors are awarded contracts despite poor performance; policy formulation and governance are entrusted to people who lack the necessary expertise, education, and experience, and economic constraints have resulted in technical specifications being compromised, resulting in the use of low-cost, low-quality materials. milford (2010: 19) stated that the government’s lack of capability has resulted in an inefficient and time-consuming process of funding building projects and payment backlogs of more than six months in some instances. ramabodu and verster (2010: 137) identified the quality-related elements that contributed to cost overruns in public work projects in the free state province, south africa. they established that incomplete design information affects project cost overruns. chen and luo (2014: 65) stated that incorrect specifications and poor delivery of construction materials are the forerunners of unacceptable quality in projects. according to wanberg et al. (2013: 2), one crucial factor contributing to poor-quality design information is the designers’ reluctance to thoroughly check for errors, due to the high demands of their job. however, as evidenced in literature on construction management, design information is frequently insufficient (wanberg et al., 2013: 2). when this deficiency occurs, it can result in an increase in design revisions, coordination issues, re-work and, in the worst-case scenario, deaths (lopez et al., 2010: 399). 2.2 monitoring and control challenges quality deviation is demonstrated by the non-conformance of work to specified requirements, affecting quality. this becomes clear when a project falls short of meeting the client’s needs and specifications (biadacz, 2020: 36). bikitsha and amoah (2020: 3) suggested that productivity and construction quality have declined in south africa, and conflicts over quality deviation among unsatisfied customers are consequently frequent in the sector (bikitsha & amoah, 2020: 7; negron, 2020: 226). the monitoring and control of deviation from design specifications in the construction industry influence quality, time, cost, and productivity. deviation often results in re-work. suresh et al. (2017: 32), as well as taggart, koskela and rooke (2014: 830) highlighted five key causes of re-work: a lack of human thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 5 resource competency, a lack of leadership and communication, inefficient engineering and reviews, incorrect construction planning and scheduling, as well as an insufficient supply of materials and equipment. a severe shortage of construction skills has affected the quality of construction work output in south africa (windapo, 2016). the skills provided to the industry through the further education and training (fet) system are frequently insufficient to meet the needs of the construction industry (cidb, 2004). according to mbande (2010:18), there is a link between an increase in community protests in south africa, because of a lack of service delivery and an acute shortage of building skills. according to moschidis, chatzipetrou and tsiotras (2018: 11), design effectiveness is far more important than merely attempting to assess quality design productivity. considering that many design outcomes need to be standardised and straightforward, productivity measures are hard to achieve (ayach, anouar & bouzziri, 2019: 111). furthermore, accurate design performance indicators are discovered only later, during construction (šatanová et al., 2015: 1158). while the project team disperses once the project is completed, operation standards are not evaluated. the evaluation criteria are design and constructability cost (moschidis et al., 2018: 11). design documentation accuracy and usability are also considered. to assess the overall effectiveness of the design quality, various weights are assigned to each criterion depending on the project’s needs (glogovac & filipovic, 2018: 1540). this method is criticised because it only permits design effectiveness evaluations after a project has been completed rather than during construction (moschidis et al., 2018: 11). the degree to which management participates in and supports the implementation of quality in the construction project environment is critical in ensuring that work meets specifications. however, because of a reported shortage of skilled supervisory workers, supervision in the south african construction industry is under duress (emuze, smallwood & han, 2014: 240). there is no regular monitoring or supervision, errors are not recognised early, and continual correction of poor work is common because of the claimed shortage (chopra & singh, 2015: 1228). continuous corrective work occurs on project sites when work needs to be monitored and overseen frequently or when the quality of supervision falls short of expectations (negron, 2020: 226). quality deviations in construction work can similarly occur when upper management of a project is overly concerned with cutting costs and shortening the timeline (butt, naaranoja & savolainen, 2016: 1585; akkermans & van oorschot, 2018: 115). quality deviations might also occur when access to a firm’s quality policies and goals are not adequately conveyed (saffar & obeidat, 2020: 79). in south africa, there is hardly thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 6 any correlation between employee performance and compensation. this discourages workers from attempting to produce services of the highest quality (aghimien et al., 2018: 342). in addition, workers lack the necessary training to produce the desired quality (emuze & smallwood, 2013: 1616; verster & fourie, 2018: 67). unskilled or incompetent artisans, who continue to work in a demoralising environment, will continue to produce poor work, leading to re-work and reducing the quality of projects (davies et al., 2017: 73; raymond, james & kabubo, 2017: 30). through monitoring and control, management can commit to and show dedication to quality, and workers will logically follow suit (marin-garcia & bonavia, 2015: 3263; neirotti, 2020: 1980). 2.3 quality improvement the construction industry in south africa is facing problems related to the standard of construction quality expected by clients (emuze & smallwood, 2011: 5). to improve quality, public-sector projects should adhere to an externally approved iso 9001 quality management system (qms) (obunwo, chinyio & suresh, 2015: 764). the implementation of a total quality management (tqm) system in the construction project environment includes educating and motivating personnel on quality management (othman, 2012: 44). cost management means that adequate price escalation is allowed for in tender documents, which include a financial feasibility analysis, then proceeds to all the costs associated with purchasing all the project’s resources (enshassi, sundermeier & zeiter, 2017:14). cost escalations in contracts may be a result of unforeseen external circumstances that need to be considered and budgeted for (for example, changes to the agreed scope of work) (welde & dahl, 2021: 1007). cost control should be done to guarantee that all work is completed appropriately. thus, by adding contingency, cost overruns in contracts may be absorbed so that project overruns are avoided (welde & dahl, 2021: 1007). project planning is defined as the creation of a set of instructions that tell the project team exactly what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and what resources to use to create the project’s deliverables successfully (davis, 2014: 190). including quality specifications in project planning may improve the quality of projects. therefore, the project plan and planning processes should be well established during the planning phase of projects (davis, 2014: 190; marcelino-sádaba et al., 2014: 328). according to lopez et al. (2010: 399), the planning phase comprises nine primary components, namely objective, programme, schedule, budget, forecast, organisation, policy, process, and standard. although the project management body of knowledge (pmbok) identifies 44 processes, with 21 of them being thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 7 planning procedures (yaghootkar & gil, 2012: 130), magnaye, ssc and varma (2020: 60) identified seven planning processes for quality improvement: defining project objectives, identifying activities, establishing precedence relationships, making time estimates, determining project completion time, comparing project schedule objectives, and determining resource requirements to meet objectives. a project plan that includes an overview, project objectives, general strategy, contractual factors, timetables, resources, personnel, risk management plan, and evaluation methods for the project is essential for project managers to ensure that the project is completed correctly and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. according to lopez et al. (2010: 399) and negron (2020: 215), the quality benefits of effective project planning include reduced uncertainty, improved operational efficiency, a foundation for monitoring and controlling work, better understanding of project objectives, project finished on time, current material delivered on time, no delays during delivery, limited amount of re-work, limited confusion and misunderstanding, up-to-date knowledge of the status of the material by everyone at any given time, accurate, concise reports to management, leading indicators of potential deviations, and complete control over the material processes. appointing competent officials, workers, and service providers may improve quality in executing public-sector projects. therefore, sufficient knowledge of the work, quality standards, co-ordination of work activities, and competence in scheduling are required for supervisors and project managers during project implementation (negron, 2020: 226; emuze & smallwood, 2013: 1616). using the services of professional, skilled, and experienced engineers for design specification is essential to improve quality because correct interpretation of requirements eliminates unnecessary repetition of limited provisions and omits unnecessary information. excellent client-consultantcontractor interaction and communication on specification needs improves project performance in terms of cost, quality, and time (emuze & smallwood, 2011: 5). according to bowen et al. (2015: 86), corruption in public projects occurs primarily because of opportunities that arise during the procurement process, notably during the tendering and bid review stages. bowen et al. (2015: 86) stated further that more procedural transparency and stricter control mechanisms would aid in the fight against corruption. forensic detection approaches should be developed and used, especially in the tender review process, where more advanced statistical and analytic techniques could be used. this strategy would not only aid in the detection of corruption but also serve as a deterrent, especially if coupled with harsher punishments for corrupt behaviour (bowen et al. 2015: 72). thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 8 3. research method 3.1 research design the research design was exploratory, based on a pragmatic case study research philosophy (saunders, lewis & thornhill, 2019). the study adopted a mixed methods approach, using quantitative and qualitative data-collection methods to investigate construction quality challenges in the free state dpw&i (creswell & poth, 2016: 75). the questionnaire survey posed the same questions to senior management, engineers, project managers, inspectors, artisans, quantity surveyors, architects, gcs, client department officials, scm practitioners, as well as monitoring and evaluation practitioners involved in dpw&i projects. semi-structured interviews were conducted with officials from the design, construction, and maintenance divisions. the interviews provided valuable primary data and allowed participants to consider the difficulties associated with dpw&i project quality. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the interview results, such as similar project quality challenges suggested from the respondents’ groups (creswell & creswell, 2017: 215). 3.2 population, sample, and response rate a combined list of 163 engineering and built environment professionals was obtained from the free state provincial dpw&i and other provincial client departments. the list was stratified between professionals involved in senior management, engineers, project managers, inspectors, artisans, quantity surveyors, architects, contractors from cdp, department of social development, department of education, supply chain management practitioners, monitoring and evaluation practitioners (see table 1). using purposive sampling, 152 participants were selected to take part in the study because they worked on projects in various capacities within facilities, which represent the sample size of the questionnaire survey (creswell & poth, 2016: 75). the sample size table by krejcie and morgan (1970: 608) recommends a sample size of 118 for a population of 170. as 135 valid responses were received, this equated to a response rate of 89%. in addition to the survey, 33 respondents were identified from engineering and the built environment professionals from the free state provincial dpw&i and other provincial client departments, and invited to participate in faceto-face and telephone interviews. only 30 participants agreed to take part in the study. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 9 table 1: population, sample, and response respondents population potential respondents responses returned response rate (%) senior management 10 9 7 77.8 engineers 12 12 10 83.3 project managers 14 14 11 78.6 inspectors 34 34 30 88.2 artisans 41 41 35 85.4 quantity surveyors 11 9 9 100.0 architects 6 6 6 100.0 contractors from cdp 7 5 5 100.0 department of social development (dsd) 9 7 6 85.7 department of education (de) 7 6 5 83.3 supply chain management practitioners 6 6 6 100.0 monitoring and evaluation practitioners 6 6 5 83.3 total 163 155 135 89 3.3 data collection a questionnaire survey was conducted between may 2021 and august 2021 among 152 professionals working within dpw&i facilities in the free state province, south africa (see table 1). the four-section questionnaire included closed-ended questions to reduce the respondents’ bias and facilitate coding of the questionnaire (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the first section, on the respondents’ profile, obtained general demographics about the respondents, including education level, job profile, work position, project in which the respondents are involved, and the professional experience of each respondent. section two had eight likert-scale statements on ‘quality challenges’, and two ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions (see tables 3 and 4). section three on ‘monitoring and control challenges’ had 21 likert-scale statements (see table 5). section four on ‘quality improvement’ had one ‘yes’ and ‘no’ question, and 15 likert-scale statements (see tables 6 and 7), where participants were asked to indicate their agreement level with the statements that reflected the three project quality constructs. between february 2021 and may 2021, semi-structured interviews (creswell & poth, 2016: 75) were conducted with 30 officials from the design, construction, and maintenance divisions within dpw&i facilities in the free state province, south africa. only people with authority and relevant industry experience were interviewed. these included director of construction and maintenance, chief director, regional managers, quantity surveyors, architects, engineers, project managers, and inspectors. the thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 10 first step was to identify potential participants and then contact them by telephone and e-mail. a covering letter explaining the purpose of the interviews was delivered by hand to some of the participants, while e-mails were sent to those who requested that the letters be e-mailed when approached by telephone. questions about the three project quality constructs (qp, qc, and qi) were asked in person and over the phone in one-on-one interviews. notes were taken during interviews. the interview protocol allowed participants to consider the difficulties associated with dpw&i project quality. 3.4 data analysis the statistical data were manually entered into an ms excel spreadsheet after carefully checking for errors (data cleaning) and incomplete data. thereafter, the data was analysed using descriptive statistics to generate mean scores and percentages. for the questionnaire survey, a 5-point likert scale was used to obtain the opinions of the respondents and to analyse the results. for analysis and interpretation, the scale measurement between 1 and 5 was used. likert-type or frequency scales are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (joshi et al., 2015: 396). the rating in the ms was done on a 5-point likert scale, where 1 = never/strongly disagree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = rarely/disagree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = sometimes/ neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = often/agree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = always/strongly agree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00), as recommended by kilic (2016: 47). cronbach’s alpha values were conducted in line with wahab, ayodele and moody (2010: 67) to determine the internal reliability of the constructs. acceptable cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.70 to 0.95 (taber, 2018: 1273). thus, a cut-off value of 0.70 was adopted for this study. according to mayer (2015: 55), data coding is a model in which data is broken down, conceptualised, and rearranged to reveal theory. coding is simply the process of converting data from raw and unstructured data to theory. to accomplish this, interview transcripts were analysed, using constant comparison to create categories, and the categories were coded accordingly (creswell & poth, 2016: 76). in analysing the textual data that emerged from the interviews, the inductive data analysis approach was used, as described by creswell and poth (2016: 76). in other words, during the analysis, patterns and themes were developed from the bottom up, by arranging the units of information. transcripts, hand-written and typed with precise information, were read several times to get a general impression of them. significant phrases or sentences from each transcript that were directly related to the lived experience of construction material specification and delivery were identified. the information was compressed thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 11 into themes and quotes, and relationships between the categories were identified. finally, the data was displayed in the form of figures, tables, and discussions. 4. results 4.1 questionnaire survey results 4.1.1 respondents’ profile the first part of the survey questionnaire contained questions on the demographic profile of the respondents who are in the best position to comment on the knowledge set that participants should possess. table 2 shows the education, employment status, job title, project type, and the length of work experience of the respondents. table 2: respondents’ profile demographic characteristic frequency % education matric 4 3.0 post-matric certificate/s 15 11.1 diploma/degree 70 51.9 honours/postgraduate diploma 32 23.7 masters 14 10.4 doctorate 0 0.0 employment status full-time worker 132 97.8 part-time worker 2 1.5 unemployed 0 0.0 student 0 0.0 other 1 0.7 job title or position senior management 13 9.6 engineer 33 24.4 project manager 29 21.5 inspector 37 27.4 artisan 17 12.6 contractor 1 0.7 other 5 3.7 project type capital (new projects) 56 41.5 maintenance projects 76 56.3 other 3 2.2 work experience 0-5 years 37 27.6 6-10 years 58 43.3 11-15 years 20 14.9 16-20 years 10 7.5 more than 20 years 9 6.7 thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 12 4.1.2 quality challenges in dpw&i with an average mean score of 3.69, results in table 3 show that respondents agreed that all challenges may influence the quality of dpw&i projects. the cronbach’s alpha value was less than 0.60, indicating questionable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2019). respondents strongly agreed (ms=4.5) that the inability to develop longterm strategies is the main challenge that could affect the quality of dpw&i projects. based on mean scores between 3.41 and 3.81, respondents agreed that corruption, lack of defect prevention, delayed progress payment by the client, poor cash flow, reliance on inspection to assure quality, and lack of quality assurance (qa) are challenges that could have an effect on the quality in dpw&i projects. table 3: effect of quality challenges on a project challenges u ns ur e cronbach’s alpha = 0.393 response % (n=135) 1 = strongly disagree … 5 = strongly agree m s r an k 1 2 3 4 5 inability to develop long-term strategies 1.5 0.7 13.3 43.7 37.0 3.7 4.25 1 corruption 3.7 17.0 18.5 26.7 23.7 10.4 3.81 2 lack of defect prevention 4.4 16.3 17.0 25.2 33.3 3.7 3.78 3 delayed progress payment by the client 5.9 17.0 14.8 26.7 31.9 3.7 3.73 4 poor cash flow 4.4 20.0 20.7 19.3 32.6 3.0 3.64 5 reliance on inspection to assure quality 2.2 23.7 20.7 23.7 25.9 3.7 3.59 6 lack of quality assurance 3.7 25.2 15.6 26.7 23.7 5.2 3.57 7 lack of access to funding 7.4 33.3 17.8 26.7 12.6 2.2 3.10 8 average ms 3.69 regarding the quality of dpw&i projects, two questions were asked. first, is the quality of dpw&i projects adequate? in response, more than half (50.4%) of the respondents opined that the quality of public works projects is adequate, while 45.7% of them believed that the quality of public works projects is not adequate, as shown in table 4. secondly, do you experience quality challenges during the execution of dpw&i projects? in response, 60.8% of the respondents indicated that quality challenges are experienced with dpw&i projects, while 34.4% of the respondents stated that quality challenges are not experienced. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 13 table 4: quality of dpw&i projects question category frequency (n = 129) % is the quality of dpw&i projects adequate? yes 65 50.4 no 59 45.7 unsure 5 3.9 do you experience quality challenges during dpw&i projects? yes 78 60.8 no 45 34.4 unsure 6 4.80 4.1.3 monitoring and control challenges in dpw&i projects table 5 shows the frequency at which respondents encountered issues related to monitoring and control, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). the cronbach’s alpha value was close to 0.6, indicating questionable internal reliability for the construct, ‘monitoring and control challenges’, as recommended by hair et al. (2019). it is noted that the average mean score of 3.63 suggested that all 21 challenges occur often to always. poor project communication among parties (ms=4.00) was ranked first amongst challenges encountered during the monitoring and control of a project. damage of material during transportation (ms=3.90) and payment delays from clients (ms=3.90) were often encountered and were ranked second. table 5: effects of challenges encountered in the monitoring and control of a project challenges u ns ur e cronbach’s alpha = 0.579 response % (n= 135) 1= never … 5=always m s r an k 1 2 3 4 5 poor project communication among parties 2.2 14.8 14.8 26.7 31.9 9.6 4.00 1 damage of material during transportation 2.2 8.9 27.4 25.2 31.1 5.2 3.90 =2 payment delays from clients 5.2 20.0 9.6 19.3 36.3 9.6 3.90 =2 inadequate cash flow (lack of working capital) 3.0 18.5 14.1 23.0 37.8 3.7 3.85 4 appointment of incompetent contractors 3.7 21.5 19.3 14.1 34.1 7.4 3.76 5 poor project planning 1.5 22.2 20.0 20.0 29.6 6.7 3.74 6 non-availability of specific materials 3.0 21.5 17.0 22.2 31.9 4.4 3.72 7 variations in material quantities 2.2 19.3 20.0 25.9 29.6 3.0 3.70 8 re-work due to wrong spec or delivered materials 3.0 21.5 17.0 28.1 28.1 2.2 3.64 =9 price escalation 5.2 21.5 16.3 21.5 32.6 3.0 3.64 =9 thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 14 challenges u ns ur e cronbach’s alpha = 0.579 response % (n= 135) 1= never … 5=always m s r an k 1 2 3 4 5 wrong interpretation of specifications 3.0 23.7 21.5 19.3 25.2 7.4 3.62 11 material theft on site 3.7 20.7 20.0 27.4 23.0 5.2 3.61 12 poor material management 1.5 25.2 18.5 25.2 25.9 3.7 3.60 =13 lack of technical personnel (skills shortage) 4.4 21.5 17.0 26.7 27.4 3.0 3.60 =13 poor project coordination by parties 3.0 29.6 16.3 14.8 29.6 6.7 3.59 15 scope and spec changes by clients 4.4 25.9 17.0 20.7 25.9 5.9 3.56 16 delays in approvals and inspections 3.7 23.7 20.7 24.4 22.2 5.2 3.53 17 contractual disputes between project parties 7.4 22.2 18.5 22.2 25.9 3.7 3.48 =18 incorrect project estimate/cost 8.1 23.7 17.0 17.8 29.6 3.7 3.48 =18 specification errors 5.2 28.1 19.3 26.7 16.3 4.4 3.34 20 specification additions and omissions 4.4 30.4 19.3 25.9 17.8 2.2 3.29 21 average ms 3.63 with mean scores between 3.41 and 4.20, respondents indicated that the following challenges often occur during the monitoring and control of projects: inadequate cash flow (ms=3.85), incompetent contractors (ms=3.76), poor planning (ms=3.74), non-availability of specific materials (ms=3.74), variations in material quantities (ms=3.20), re-work (ms=3.64), price escalation (ms=3.64), wrong interpretation of specifications (ms=3.62), material theft (ms=3.61), poor material management (ms=3.60), skills shortage (ms=3.60), poor project coordination (ms=3.59), scope changes by clients (ms=3.59), delays in approvals and inspections (ms=3.53), contractual disputes (ms=3.48), and incorrect project estimates (ms=3.48). 4.1.4 quality improvement in dpw&i projects table 6 shows that more than half (62%) of the respondents indicated that qi is done during public works projects. this was favourable for the department. in addition, 35% of the respondents mentioned that no qi is done during public works projects, and 2% of the respondents are not sure. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 15 table 6: perception on quality improvement in dpw&i projects question category frequency (n=125) % are quality improvements done for dpw&i projects? yes 78 62.4 no 44 35.2 unsure 3 2.4 table 7 shows the ranking of contributors that can improve quality in a project. the cronbach’s alpha value was less than 0.60, indicating questionable internal reliability for the construct ‘quality improvement’, as recommended by hair et al. (2019). the average mean score of 3.85 indicates that respondents agreed that all 11 contributors may improve quality in dpw&i projects. with mean scores above 4.12, respondents strongly agreed that promoting effective quality management (ms=4.24), ensuring proper material procurement (ms=4.18), and allowing price escalation in tender documents (ms= 4.13) are the top three quality improvement contributors for dpw&i projects. table 7: contributors to quality improvement in a project contributors u ns ur e cronbach’s alpha = 0.573 response % (n= 135) 1 = strongly disagree … 5 = strongly agree m s r an k 1 2 3 4 5 promote effective quality management 0.7 4.4 11.9 40.7 37.8 4.4 4.24 1 ensure proper material procurement 1.5 14.8 9.6 19.3 48.1 6.7 4.18 2 allow for price escalation in tender documents 3.0 11.1 11.1 30.4 33.3 11.1 4.13 3 conduct frequent progress meetings 3.7 21.5 12.6 20.7 28.1 13.3 3.88 4 adequate coordination of the project team 3.0 17.0 17.8 27.4 26.7 8.1 3.82 5 appoint an experienced technical team 2.2 19.3 20.7 20.7 28.9 8.1 3.79 6 appoint experienced contractors 2.2 18.5 26.7 16.3 24.4 11.9 3.78 7 provide clear information-sharing channels 2.2 16.3 17.8 34.1 25.9 3.7 3.76 8 ensure timely supply of material 0.7 23.7 14.8 28.1 26.7 5.9 3.74 9 adhere to specifications 1.5 24.4 15.6 23.7 31.9 3.0 3.69 10 undertake effective strategic planning 2.2 32.6 20.0 25.2 16.3 3.7 3.32 11 average ms 3.85 thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 16 with mean scores between 3.41 and 4.20, respondents agreed that conducting frequent progress meetings (ms=3.88), adequate coordination of the project team (ms=3.82), appointing an experienced technical team (ms=3.78), appointing experienced contractors (ms=3.78), providing clear information-sharing channels (ms=3.76), ensuring timely supply of material (ms=3.74), and adhering to specifications (ms=3.69) improve quality in the execution of dpw&i projects. 4.2 semi-structured interview results 4.2.1 interviewees’ profile the interviewees’ demographic profile results in table 8 show that most of them (80%) are aged between 31 and 50 years and involved in maintenance projects (56.3%). most of the interviewees (33.3%) are inspectors and others are also employed as engineers, project managers (22.1% each), and regional managers (10%). most of the interviewees (80.7%) have either a post-matric certificate (22.6%) or a diploma/degree (58.1%), and 6.5% have a master’s degree. although 32.3% of the interviewees have between sixand ten-years’ work experience, a slight majority (54.9%) have 11 years’ work experience or more. this proves that the interviewees are qualified to work in the dpw&i and have adequate experience to give information that could help in making deductions on quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement in dpw&i projects. table 8: interviewees’ profile demographic characteristic frequency % age 21-30 years 2 6.5 31-40 years 15 48.4 41-50 years 10 32.3 education matric 4 12.9 post-matric certificate/s 7 22.6 diploma/degree 18 58.1 honours/postgraduate diploma 0 0 masters 2 6.5 position director of construction and maintenance 1 3.3 chief director dpw&i 1 3.3 regional managers 3 10.0 quantity surveyors 2 6.7 architect 1 3.3 engineers 6 20.0 project managers 6 20.0 inspectors 10 33.3 thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 17 demographic characteristic frequency % project type capital (new projects) 56 41.5 maintenance projects 76 56.3 other 3 2.2 work experience 0-5 years 4 12.9 6-10 years 10 32.3 11-15 years 7 22.6 16-20 years 6 19.4 20 years plus 4 12.9 the results of the interviews indicate how quality planning (qp), quality control (qc) and quality improvement (qi) determine the specification and delivery of construction materials for dpw&i projects. interviewees were asked questions pertaining to their knowledge of quality on the planning, control, and improvement, in terms of specification and delivery of construction materials and not on the reasons why qp, qc and qi in dpw&i projects were not followed. 4.2.2 quality planning 4.2.2.i what is your perception on the quality of dpw&i projects? from the eighteen responses received, thirteen respondents (72%) indicated that quality of dpw&i projects in the free state province is declining. interviewees 4, 7, 8, and 10 indicated that the general perceptions of quality during public works projects are negative, although interviewees 12, 14, 15, 17 and 30 indicated that it is satisfactory. interviewee 18 indicated that the quality is not good and not up to government standard. interviewee 19 commented that wrong materials are used on the projects and that projects are finished late. he stressed the importance of qp on dpw&i projects. a common concern among interviewees 3, 20, 21, 22, and 25 was that quality during public works projects has declined and is no longer up to the required standard. interviewee 27 stated that … quality is no longer important, quality dropped and officials are not competent. service providers are incompetent, even government officials are incompetent. quality has dropped immensely in the past years. interviewee 29 mentioned that quality during dpw&i projects has dropped and is no longer maintained, partly because of interferences from politicians. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 18 4.2.2.ii how is qp done in dpw&i projects? according to interviewee 1, a major part of activities performed during dpw&i are related to planning, co-ordinating, and executing projects. however, interviewee 5 commented that some dpw&i projects do not meet their targets because of the poor quality of management practices such as planning. one of the practices of the poor quality of management cited is top management’s failure to discipline individuals who do not meet key performance areas or at least provide training for them. interviewees 6, 9, and 11 stated that planning of projects has a significant impact on the success of the projects. in summary, according to the results, interviewees 16, 18, 23, and 26 emphasised that regular meetings are held with all responsible government officials and regular site visits are done. these meetings ensured that quality guidelines, regulations and procedures for specification, resources, and quality of standard practices and activities are followed. interviewee 27 mentioned that there needs to be specification and bill of quantities and also important aspects of projects should be determined. there is a design, monitoring and evaluation project team that ensures that labour and materials that are procured follow established standards. this monitoring and evaluation ensure inspection is done to check quality and also make sure service providers comply with specification. 4.2.2.iii how do you think qp processes related to specification and delivery of construction materials on dpw&i projects are expedited? interviewees 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 15 suggested that it is essential to expedite the qp processes related to specification and delivery of construction materials on dpw&i projects. for instance, some of them mentioned that planning processes could be expedited through planning for the entire project and establishing major deliverables. it is also important to deal with service providers who are able to deliver materials in time, using a supply chain management (scm) section. interviewees 16, 17, 18, and 20 indicated that the process is expedited by the use of established standards and specification, as well as identified key stakeholders responsible for the projects. the use of established standards makes work easy and makes it possible to identify specification errors during delivery. interviewee 21 mentioned that materials for the project should be available, the needs of customers should be identified, and process and controls should be developed. interviewee 22 stated that thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 19 there is the need to encourage stakeholder participation and bring all stakeholders up to speed on the project as well as establish project specification and delivery of construction materials. interviewees 25, 26, 28, 29, and 30 argued that qp processes could be expedited, using established standards, qp, qc and qi, and performance reviews. 4.2.2.iv what challenges do you come across at the planning stage of a project? overall, the responses of interviewees 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 showed that challenges are usually encountered at the planning phase of a project. for example, interviewees 11, 13, 14, and 15 identified late delivery of materials and incompetent officials with inadequate skills as some of the challenges. ineffective communication among stakeholders, lack of accountability, and differences among stakeholders are cited as some of the challenges at the planning phase of a project. interviewee 17 commented that “corruption, lack of competent officials and budget constraints affect planning of projects”. however, interviewees 18, 19, and 20 mentioned that lack of details, accountability, lack of clear goals, and unrealistic deadlines also pose a challenge to projects, especially at the planning stage. interviewee 22 revealed that limited engagement of different stakeholders and parties in the project, changing needs of clients and major decisions taken by management, even though they are not directly involved in the projects, were some of the many challenges faced at the planning stage of the project. interviewees 23, 25, 26, and 30 stated that, in some cases, there is lack of clarity on goals that affect the successful completion of projects. 4.2.3 quality control 4.2.3.i how is qc done in dpw&i projects? interviewees 2, 5, 6, 7, and 10 stated that quality is one of the most important factors in the success of construction projects. interviewees 11, 13, and 16 acknowledged that quality of dpw&i projects, as well as project success, could be regarded as fulfilment of expectations. interviewees 17 and 19 argued that qc measures in the construction industry are a key method in managing the goal to the client’s satisfaction. they expressed further that thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 20 qc measures on public works projects could be achieved by daily visits to work sites to inspect works done, hold regular meetings and discuss matters relating to the quality of the work, and ensure that the right thing is done by the contractor. interviewees 22, 24, 27, 29, and 30 explained that qc is done on public works, by ensuring the use of high-quality materials, adherence to bill of quantities, and compliance with specification. 4.2.3.ii how do you think qc processes related to specification and delivery of construction materials on dpw&i projects are expedited? interviewees 2, 4, 8, and 11 acknowledged that qc processes related to specification and delivery of construction materials to the department of public works need to be expedited. interviewees 12, 13, 14, and 15 indicated that this could be achieved by complying with government standards and by following the public works’ procedures and standards. interviewees 16, 17, 18, 20, and 22 commented that it is important to identify quality issues, record and address them, and appoint qualified and deserving contractors to undertake projects. they added that regular meetings should be held to discuss quality issues which are identified, and that materials should be stored closer to the project sites. 4.2.3.iii during the monitoring and controlling phase of a project, what challenges do you come across? interviewee 19 stated that “many challenges are encountered during monitoring and evaluation phase of projects”. interviewees 20, 22, 23, 26, and 27 indicated that some of the challenges include delayed payment to contractors or service providers, disputes between parties involved in a project which are often taken onto project sites, inability to meet deadlines, and contractors not following specified standards and specifications of the job. they cited lack of communication, lack of customer satisfaction, noncompliance with specification and bill of quantities, incorrect quantities of materials delivered to project sites and, in some cases, incorrect delivery of materials as some of the challenges encountered. interviewees 28, 29, and 30 revealed that some of the contractors are incompetent and changes during the course of the projects are some of the challenges. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 21 4.2.4 quality improvement 4.2.4.i how do you think qi processes related to specification and delivery of construction materials on dpw&i projects are expedited? interviewees 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, and 18 mentioned that qi processes related to specification and delivery of construction materials to department of public works could be expedited through a continuous qi process and proper planning with involvement of all stakeholders participating at the beginning of the project. interviewees 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, and 30 cited the use of quality materials according to standard specification, continuous training of service providers, and using competent contractors and artisans with experience as some of the ways in which qi could be expedited. 4.2.4.ii what are the challenges associated with qi of a project? according to interviewees 1, 3, 7, and 15, delivery of quality projects on time in the construction industry is critical to the clients’ satisfaction. however, interviewee 17 stressed that, in some cases, the delivery is hampered by challenges, while other interviewees revealed that lack of funding, budget constraints, slow delivery of construction materials to site, and limited resources pose a challenge to qi. interviewees 19 and 22 emphasised further that lack of an integrated model for qi management, lack of appropriate training for officials, lack of communication, lack of co-operation among the officials and staff members, and interference from management are possible challenges encountered. interviewees 23, 24, 25, 26, and 29 indicated that “employees were not interested in acquiring more knowledge to improve their level of understanding of qi”. lack of a data-collection and monitoring system was a major challenge that affects qi of projects. 5. discussion 5.1 implications of questionnaire survey results based on the findings, the major contributing quality challenges in the planning, monitoring, and control in dpw&i projects include the inability to develop long-term strategies (ms=4.5), poor project communication among parties (ms=4.00), damage of material during transportation (ms=3.90), and payment delays from clients (ms=3.90). thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 22 although all 11 contributors may improve quality in dpw&i projects, promoting effective quality management (ms=4.24), ensuring proper material procurement (ms=4.18), and allowing price escalation in tender documents (ms=4.13) were the top three qi contributors for dpw&i projects. 5.2 implications of interview results a common concern was that quality in dpw&i projects has declined and is no longer up to the required standard. interviewees mentioned poor-quality management practices, lack of accountability, lack of communication, late and incorrect quantities in delivery of materials, incompetent officials with inadequate skills, non-compliance with specification and bill of quantities, lack of clear goals, and lack of a data-collection and monitoring system as some of the quality challenges in dpw&i projects. the decline and sub-standard of quality have gradually become a norm and accepted in dpw&i projects, as confirmed by the results of this study. an example of quality deviation was illustrated by the interviewee who stated that “quality is no longer a priority; quality has deteriorated, and administrators are incompetent, incompetent service providers, and incompetent government officials”. in recent years, quality has deteriorated dramatically. as an illustration, an interviewee indicated that: “corruption, lack of competent officials and budget constraints affect the planning of projects”. as a result, it appears that non-compliance has become the ‘standard’, to the point where interviewees argued that regulations must be enforced, and specification and delivery of construction material must be reviewed and inspected regularly. they suggested that regular meetings should be held to discuss quality issues which are identified, and that materials should be stored closer to the project sites. 6. conceptual quality improvement protocol with the literature and theoretical review as a foundation, 10 steps are proposed and viewed as a qi protocol based on statistical and textual data outlining how the dpw&i could address qp, qc and qi concerning materials delivery and specification for dpw&i projects. a qi protocol (figure 1) was developed based on a case study of dpw&i, the variables identified in the survey, and the interviewees’ responses. the numerical values in the figure represent the steps to follow in the protocol. the value ranges from + to -, with + indicating a positive relationship between the 10 steps and indicating a negative relationship between the 10 steps. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 23 figure 1: conceptual quality improvement protocol 6.1 specification of designs and materials in the construction industry, it is usually assumed that the quality of designs and specifications produced for project activities are determined by the skills of the designers of these documents (lopez et al., 2010). the first three steps (steps 1-3) of the conceptual qi protocol show how specification of materials, skills of specification writer, compilation of designs, and adequacy of design information link positively toward the core foundation of the protocol, namely improved quality. results from this study show that dpw&i project managers receive or demand project specifications. project managers in the dpw&i were qualified in specific disciplines such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and construction management. in this study, engineers did the specifications for construction/infrastructure projects and works inspectors did the specifications for maintenance thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 24 projects. this shows that employing experienced engineers for design specification is essential to improve quality because correct interpretation of requirements eliminates unnecessary repetition of work. 6.2 adequacy of design information and rfis the adequacy of design information further links negatively to rfis (step 4). it is fundamental that dpw&i technical personnel have appropriate writing skills to guide the specification and delivery of construction materials. developing and improving the writing skills of both the specification writer and the designer will assist these dpw&i officials to have better knowledge of the design process. when the design process is understood well and specification skills are developed, the quality of material delivery can be improved in dpw&i projects. the study determined that, if the adequacy of information falls short of required expectations, rfis might lead to increased re-work, which might be delayed by the approval of designs (step 5). emuze et al. (2014: 230) stated that, in construction management, design information is frequently inadequate and may lead to increases in design changes, coordination problems, and re-work (lopez et al., 2010: 402). however, when the revision work is ready, after the design processes have undergone appropriate qc (step 8) procedures to remove errors, the design information might be deemed adequate, and the material specification revised (step 6). in this study, specification was linked to the delivery of construction materials in dpw&i projects. results show that incorrect specifications, the rfi, and poor delivery of construction materials was experienced during the execution of dpw&i projects. rfis and re-work (quality deviation) are, therefore, of major concern during dpw&i projects, where they have the tendency to transform into practice ‘norms’. quality deviation can be managed and modified if the people concerned are prepared to make the effort (step 6) (tabish & jha, 2015). 6.3 quality planning and quality control it is arguable that a way forward to improve quality during dpw&i projects is to embrace qp (step 7) and qc (step 8) interventions that link positively to all the other steps in the protocol. results from the study show that project managers and engineers were involved in qp and qc in dpw&i projects and that qc was done by the works inspectors (supervisors), who inspected materials for compliance with specifications. thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 25 the results indicate how qp determines the specification and delivery of construction materials for dpw&i projects. this suggests that poor qp could manifest into issues such as corruption, a lack of defect prevention, delayed progress payment by the client, poor cash flow, reliance on inspection to assure quality, a lack of quality assurance, and a lack of access to funding. a project plan that includes long-term strategies, contractual factors, timetables, resources, qualified personnel, risk-management plan, effective quality management, effective project communication, cost control, data collection, monitoring system, and evaluation methods for the project is essential for project managers to ensure that the project is completed correctly and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. still within the same analogy, the degree to which supervisors can successfully inspect the work completed, due to conducting qc, maximises project improvement (step 8). the study suggests that inspectors check materials for the correctness of specifications and damage of material during transportation. this can be done for maintenance projects, for which service providers deliver materials to the maintenance section and inspectors inspect the materials and delivery to sites. project managers should be responsible for receiving construction materials on site. nevertheless, a uniform, standard form for qc is required for neutrality and greater understanding among project managers and inspectors. 6.4 decision-making and management the skills of specification writers and management could influence the robustness of their decision-making abilities (step 9), as well as their ability to manage dpw&i officials (step 10). the result of the study shows that lack of details, accountability, lack of clear goals, and unrealistic deadlines also pose a challenge to projects, especially at the planning stage. an engineer, who was interviewed, revealed that limited engagement of different stakeholders and parties in the project, changing needs of clients and major decisions taken by management, even though they are not directly involved in the projects, were some of the many challenges faced at the planning stage of the project. other interviewees stated that, in some cases, there is lack of clarity on goals that affect the successful completion of projects. according to schoonwinkel and fourie (2019: 28), project managers make extensive use of their experience and engineering judgement for managing changes during project execution. it is, therefore, recommended thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 26 that project managers and engineers be carefully selected, based not only on experience, but also on the necessary decision-making skills and competencies. 6.5 quality improvement in the protocol, qi processes relate to specification and delivery of construction materials, qp, qc, decision-making, and the ability to lead dpw&i officials. results of the study indicate that, although qi was done during dpw&i projects, there is a negative relationship between qi and the planning stage of a project, as well as the monitoring and control phases of a project. quality project delivery in the construction industry is critical to the clients’ satisfaction. therefore, a protocol showing a positive relationship between the planning stage of a project and the monitoring and control phase of a project, as well as quality challenges on a project is ideal to improve quality. a continuous qi process and proper planning with the participation of all stakeholders from the start of the project is necessary to address challenges such as lack of funding, budget constraints, slow delivery of construction materials to site, and limited resources. quality could also improve by using an integrated model for qi management, which should include appropriate training for officials, effective communication, and enhancing co-operation among officials and staff members. 7. concluding remarks the purpose of this study was to develop a qi protocol to ensure that materials are delivered to construction sites as specified by the engineers in the dpw&i. the study examined qi protocol and the impact of specification and delivery of construction materials, qp, qc, decision-making, and the ability to lead dpw&i officials. the results support the literature that problems related to material quality on construction projects occur in south africa, causing cost and schedule overruns. in essence, the specification and delivery of construction materials requires qp and qc to enable better decision-making. the ability to lead dpw&i officials is an essential variable that must be considered as it exhibits a persistent ability to inhibit highquality performance in dpw&i projects. using the dpw&i as a case study, quality issues were identified with the clarifications about how they tend to increase in projects. notable aspects of qi such as promoting effective quality management must be addressed in dpw&i. the findings of this study reinforced the notion that quality deviation in the form of specification and delivery of construction material produces unacceptable project quality. for example, in the study, thulo, emuze & theron 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 1-33 27 it was suggested that defects, re-work, and rfis are linked through quality deviation factors that lead to additional project costs. such factors are manifested in the attitudes and behaviours of people in construction. the study further demonstrated that quality deviation can be managed and modified if the affected parties are willing to try. although the study suggested that addressing the absence of an integrated model for qi management, inadequate training for officials, lack of communication, lack of cooperation among the officials and staff members, and management interference would lessen the problem, there is reason to believe that these measures can only produce marginal improvements until there is a clear shift in the mindset of the people involved. management, specification writers, and suppliers would all need to adopt new mindsets to change their attitudes and behaviours, in order to prevent undesirable project quality outcomes. all parties involved in dpw&i projects should collaborate to accomplish the following objectives: evaluate how qp determines the specification and delivery of construction materials to public works projects, evaluate how qc affects the specification and delivery of construction materials to public works projects, evaluate how qi would ensure that the specification and delivery of construction materials to public works projects meet stipulated deliverables, and develop a protocol that will engender qi in relation to specification and material delivery to public works projects. the dpw&i should aim for best practices in enforcing the qi protocol, by considering the following factors: employment of qualified engineering and building environment professionals, as well as competent contractors. the dpw&i should make information about the qi protocol available on their website. it would be extremely beneficial to the officials if the dpw&i encouraged and enforced the implementation of the qi protocol. when it comes to construction procurement, client departments must take a consistent approach. this can be accomplished by developing and agreeing on pre-qualification criteria for principal contractors who bid 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ijproman.2011.02.005 https://doi.org/10.17159/2309-8775/2016/v58n4a3 https://doi.org/10.17159/2309-8775/2016/v58n4a3 https://doi.org/10.1680/jmapl.15.00057 https://doi.org/10.1680/jmapl.15.00057 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2 https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2014.904965 https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2018/20170427 https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0000732 https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0000732 https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981211005462 http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v14i1.750 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.02.005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.02.005 _hlk105602708 _hlk100920144 c _hlk100867566 _hlk100946558 _hlk98947755 _hlk115688896 _hlk126920866 _hlk98348150 _hlk99488422 _hlk99557182 _hlk99557229 _hlk106313714 _hlk99557633 _hlk99027755 _hlk99560310 _hlk106313759 _hlk106369768 _hlk106369787 _hlk134438819 _hlk106379201 _hlk106314005 _hlk106372170 _hlk106378817 39 how to cite: haupt, t., hadebe, w. & akinlolu, m. 2019. effectiveness of contractor development programme in kwazulu-natal. acta structilia, 26(2), pp. 39-70. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as navorsingsartikels • research articles theo haupt prof. theo (t.c.) haupt, research professor, faculty of engineering, mangosuthu university of technology, 511 griffiths mxenge highway, umlazi, durban, 4031. phone: +27 82 6863457, e-mail: <theo.haupt@mut. ac.za> weziwe hadebe ms weziwe (w.) hadebe, school of engineering, university of kwazulu-natal, durban, south africa. phone: +27 71 864 6465, e-mail: <weziwemhlongo@ gmail.com> mariam akinlolu ms mariam (m.) akinlolu, school of engineering, university of kwazulu-natal, durban, south africa. phone: +27840503384, e-mail: <akinlolumariam@ gmail.com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2019 26(2): 39-70 effectiveness of contractor development programme in kwazulu-natal peer reviewed and revised april 2019 published december 2019 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the article investigates the level of satisfaction with the south african department of public work’s contractor development programme (cdp) in terms of its effectiveness. a mixed method research approach (combination of quantitative and qualitative approach) is employed for the collection of both statistical and in-depth information on the perceptions of participants on the cdp. survey data collected from 364 participants and interview data from six focus-group participants in the kwazulunatal (kzn) province of south africa forms the data sets for the article. data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 23. descriptive statistics is used to report the reliability of the various constructs, mean scores, standard deviations, and correlations. the findings show that participants not only deemed the programme unsatisfactory, but also reported an overall negative experience with the programme. specific findings show that the cdp offers no training opportunities to registered members, lacks effective communication mediums, and benefited only those with political connections. the correlation results show that there is a strong http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as26i2.2 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 40 relation between population and registering on the cdp, thus confirming that the open and easy access when registering on the cdp allows any interested person to automatically become a contractor creating the possibility of abuse of the programme. the study was limited to kzn contractors only and may, therefore, not be generalised to the entire national population of contractors. this article is relevant, as it gives insight into how satisfied contractors are with the cdp. it may help potential contractors to consider whether the cdp will be beneficial to them, before they decide to join the programme. keywords: cidb, construction industry development board, contractor development, contractor development programme, contractor growth, contractor performance abstrak die artikel ondersoek die vlak van tevredenheid met die suid-afrikaanse departement van openbare werke se kontrakteurontwikkelingsprogram (kop) in terme van die doeltreffendheid daarvan. ’n gemengde navorsingsbenadering (kombinasie van kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe benaderings) is gebruik. die metode maak gebruik van die versameling van beide statistiese en in-diepte inligting oor die persepsies van deelnemers op die kop oor die effektiwiteit daarvan. opname-data versamel van 364 deelnemers en onderhouddata van ses fokusgroep-deelnemers in die kwazulu-natal (kzn) provinsie van suid-afrika vorm die datastelle vir die artikel. data is geanaliseer met behulp van die spssweergawe 23. beskrywende statistiek is gebruik om die betroubaarheid van die verskillende konstrukte, gemiddelde tellings, standaardafwykings en korrelasies te rapporteer. die bevindinge toon dat deelnemers nie net die program as onbevredigend beskou het nie, maar ook ’n algehele negatiewe ervaring met die program gerapporteer het. spesifieke bevindings toon dat die kop nie opleidingsgeleenthede aan geregistreerde lede bied nie, nie effektiewe kommunikasiemediums het nie en slegs diegene met politieke verbindings bevoordeel. die korrelasieresultate toon dat daar ’n sterk verband is tussen die populasie en registrasie op die kop wat bevestig dat die oop en maklike toegang tot die program deur enige belanghebbende persoon om outomaties ’n kontrakteur te word, die moontlikheid skep dat die program misbruik word. die studie is slegs beperk tot kzn kontrakteurs en mag dus nie noodwendig tot die hele nasionale bevolking van kontrakteurs genasionaliseer word nie. hierdie artikel is relevant, aangesien dit insig gee oor hoe tevrede kontrakteurs met die kop is. dit kan potensiële kontrakteurs help om te besluit of die kop voordelig sal wees voordat hulle besluit om by die program aan te sluit. sleutelwoorde: kontrakteursgroei, kontrakteursontwikkeling, kontrakteursontwikkelings program, ontwikkelingsraad vir die konstruksiebedryf, orkb 1. introduction although the government is implementing and awarding tenders in its construction-led projects through the contractor development programme (cdp), this programme of the south african department of public works focuses on the development of contractors who aim to execute public sector construction projects, especially those regarded as previously marginalised and primarily black-owned and emerging contractors. in the context of this article, an emerging haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 41 contractor is a “sole trader, partnership or legal entity that adheres to statutory labour practices, is registered with the south african revenue service and is a continuing and independent enterprise for profit, providing a commercially useful function” (ecdp, 2015: 15). by focusing primarily on emerging contractors, the programme focuses on contractors registered in construction industry development board (cidb) grades 2 and 3 who display the potential to develop and grow their businesses. through learnerships and mentoring, which are part of the development programme, the emerging contractor’s skills in the business side of contracting are developed such as tendering, pricing, financial management, marketing, and contract administration. in kwazulu-natal alone, the programme has 6 900 contractors between grades 1 to 3, of which the majority is grade 1. despite an increase in the number of governmentled construction projects, contractors remain dissatisfied with the programme operations (mgqongisa, 2018). particular to this article, the cidb’s lowest contractor grading, grade 1, offers ‘no barrier’ to entry into the industry, resulting in ‘open access’ programmes for all interested parties (greve, 2014: 1). moreover, ‘open access’ to such programmes makes it difficult for companies/clients to select highpotential entities from the ‘magnitude’ of those registered. this is counter-productive, resulting in that the programme’s goals are not being achieved (cidb, 2014: 49). this article is, therefore, approached with the assumption that, while the cdps are critical in assisting contractors to achieve overall improved performance, growth and development, the openness of registration on these programmes is, in fact, hindering the development of contractors. it is, therefore, important to examine the level of satisfaction with the cdp in terms of its effectiveness. without identifying the satisfaction with the growth and development aspects of the programme, it may be difficult to run these programmes successfully. 2. literature review 2.1 the construction industry in south africa the construction industry plays a crucial role in fostering development in the formal and informal sectors of the south african economy (cidb, 2011: 22). the industry is instrumental for overall investment and serves as a key driver of economic development. although, like other economic sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and mining, the industry contributes to the economic development, it provides means for other sectors to realise growth (cidb, 2011: 22). acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 42 for example, construction within agriculture is crucial for the sector to expand. according to statistics south africa (2016: 12), the construction industry in south africa is also the main contributor to employment and growth. in 2012, the industry created one million work opportunities, with an additional estimate of 424 000 individuals employed in the formal sector (public works, 2012: 19). in the period between september 2005 and september 2006, the annual employment growth was 9.5%, with this sector increasing its figures by 390 000 people in the period between 2001 and 2006 (provincial treasury, 2008: 16). moreover, the industry has seen a significant increase in growth of 14%, a 4% increase from 10% in 2005. furthermore, figures indicate that, notwithstanding domestic and global economic challenges, the industry’s confidence in south africa has improved slightly in the first quarter of 2017 (south african reserve bank, 2017: 55). this follows a mild improvement in construction activity and drop in the investor confidence in the period between 2011 and 2015 (stats sa, 2016: 63). while overall investment in the economy increased by 4.4% year to year in the fourth quarter, the real growth in construction works was 2.3% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2016, up from 1.3% in the third quarter (stats sa, 2016: 63). historically, public sector infrastructure expenditure has increased by 15.8% per year between the 2003-2004 and the 2006-2007 financial years (public works, 2012: 25). the construction industry alone has successfully contributed 35% to the total gross domestic fixed investment. in this process, close to 230 000 work opportunities have been created and the poverty gap was slightly decreased. combined, the total value of the construction industry in 2006 was estimated at r122 345 billion. this is 38% of the total gross capital formation. the government alone, through its public infrastructure investment, remains the single main contributor of construction, thus contributing between 40% and 50% to the entire construction expenditure. the government’s infrastructure investment has seen the construction of government houses, bridges, roads, schools, clinics and many more infrastructures. all these have seen an influx of entrepreneurs under the small and medium categories who are trying to venture into the construction sector. these entrepreneurs are attracted to the returns that the industry brings (chadhliwa, 2015: 48). the system controls in place to regulate the influx of emerging contractors appear to be weak, thus opening up to any individual to qualify to be an entrepreneur. the fact that government is the main driver of construction investment is good in that it can easily roll out empowerment programmes such as the cdp haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 43 and should be able to regulate this programme through incentives and punitive measures, if it wants to realise its goals to empower the previously disadvantaged groups (chadhliwa, 2015: 48). ntuli and allopi (2013: 91) indicated a number of challenges facing the construction industry in south africa. these challenges were assessed or observed when projects were being rolled out. the challenges include poor performance, decrease in market capitalisation, poor marketing strategies, lack of opportunities, compliance and, most importantly, lack of necessary skills to compete better in the construction market (ofori, 2007: 1; windapo & cattel, 2013: 66). in fact, shortage of skills and poor management were identified as the biggest challenges facing the south african construction industry (mbande, 2010: 213). in a survey conducted in 2013 (business live), the annual international business report from grant thornton discovered that a shortage of skilled workers is the main obstacle to expansion of 58% of medium-to-large businesses in south africa (maswangany, 2013: online). some of the main contractors have no idea of basic construction requirements. some have qualifications in construction, but they lack basic management skills. this leads to mismanagement of funds, poor operations, and not meeting project deadlines. accurate predictions of project completion and meeting completion dates result in clients being satisfied, giving contractors a comparative advantage over others (heyns & luke, 2012: 109). this lack of skills in the industry appears to link with a very low survival rate in south africa’s sme sector (mahembe, chimya & mbewe, 2011: 24). this is a major cause for concern, because those emerging without skills, resources or management skills are bound to fail. in addition, the failure of emerging contractors, due to lack of necessary skills, is linked with the fact that many obtain opportunities through corrupt means. for example, a contractor without any skill would secure a tender before establishing a business (merena, 2018: 1). windapo and cattel (2013: 68) indicate that some companies pay governmental departments to have tenders secured or fast tracked, thus leading to entity failure and other challenges. instead of possessing the necessary required skills, the vast majority of the emerging entrepreneurs required capital (thwala & mofokeng, 2012: 715). even though skills developed by the contractors on the development programme are a priority, this area remains a challenge and hindrance to achieving the objectives of the programme. the inability to wholly understand the construction process, the lack of project management skills, the complexity of the project, uncertainty, poor communication, as well as the inadequate acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 44 integration and coordination of tasks all result in delays in project delivery (aiyetan, smallwood & shakantu, 2011: 21). 2.2 historical overview of contractor development programme the economic exclusiveness of south africa emanates from the economic structures designed by the apartheid regime to protect the interests of the minority (govender & watermeyer, 2000: 3). in this process, economic opportunities favoured mostly whites and blacks were systematically sidelined. the black majority’s access to economic opportunities began in 1994, after the first democratic elections. to redress the economic consequences of apartheid, south africa, under the new government, introduced a number of reforms seeking to ensure inclusive economy. such instruments seeking to redress the effects of the apartheid system include policies, strategies, plans and programmes of actions. moreover, a number of legislative organs such as parliament and government structures are used as tools to promote inclusive socio-economic opportunities. such tools include public sector procurement systems that seek to “increase the base of economic activity, provide economic opportunities for the previously disadvantaged individuals and to address skewed racial ownership patterns as indicated in the pppfa act 23 of 2000” (bhorat, murray, muzi, servaas & ingrid, 2001: 32). employment and business opportunities for previously marginalised individuals and communities are provided by means of targeted procurement and a variety of techniques, all of which seek to provide opportunities for the targeted enterprises. according to thwala and mofokeng (2012: 715), targeted procurement, in a practical, realistic and measurable manner, allows government to achieve certain socio-economic objectives through engineering and construction works contracts. in addition, it enables organs of state to “operationalise policies in a transparent, targeted, visible and measurable manner when engaging in economic activity with the private sector, without compromising principles such as cost, efficiency, competition, transparency and equitability” (windapo & cattel, 2013: 69). in 1966, in the context of the construction industry, the government through public works introduced an affirmative procurement policy in the quest to redress the economic burdens of apartheid. for many in the industry, this was the first attempt to ensure that previously disadvantaged construction firms (primarily black owned) are awarded an equal opportunity to those owned by whites. this policy mainly targeted affirmable business enterprises (abes), defined as enterprises that are registered with the south african revenue services (sars), conforming to labour haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 45 standards, and that black persons own, manage and control, with turnovers within prescribed limits (watermeyer, gouden, letchmiah & sheze, 1998: 15-17). the introduction of abes was followed by another government policy, black-economic empowerment (bee), seeking to transform the economy to include more blacks. it follows a research by bhorat et al. (2001: 50), which indicates that the historical and deliberate marginalisation of black south africans from contributing freely in the mainstream economy resulted in a society marked by vast inconsistencies and inequalities. as a result, the government’s bee policy objective was centred on strengthening south africa’s shared economy, in order to meet the needs of all the people of south africa and significantly minimise the gap between citizens irrespective of race, in terms of skills and opportunities in the shortest possible time. however, due to the sluggish implementation of this policy, frustrations began to arise and those promised to benefit from this policy immediately accused the policy of lacking commitment and the fear that it may not meet its objectives (thwala & mofokeng, 2012: 720). sluggish transformation through bee has seen construction industry suffering transformation and inclusion (tshetu, 2014: 4). those contractors who did not possess all the necessary resources, capacity or expertise with which to fulfil contracts in their own right were the most frustrated (thwala & mafokeng, 2012: 720). in a nutshell, the construction industry was never spared from the sluggish implementation of bee. thus, the cdp was developed premised on the compelling need to unlock growth constraints, to develop sustainable contracting capacity, and to elevate the enterprise development of previously disadvantaged individuals, as per above (cidb, 2011: 43). the public sector-led cdp consists of a partnership between the cidb, the national and provincial public works, and other willing stakeholders and partners. the main objectives of the programme are to increase the capacity, equity ownership, sustainability, quality and performance of contractors registered with the cdib. the ultimate goal is to effectively raise the construction industry’s contribution to south africa’s accelerated and shared growth initiative. to achieve this objective, participants within the national contractor development programme should commit to all or some of the following developmental outcomes: • improve the grading status of contractors in targeted categories and grades; acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 46 • increase the number of black women, the disabled, and youth-owned companies in targeted categories; • create sustainable contracting enterprises by enabling continuous work through a competitive process; • improve the performance of contractors in terms of quality, employment practices, skills development, safety, health and the environment, and • improve the business management and technical skills of these contractors (cidb, 2011: 45). 2.3 contractor development programme 2.3.1 selection criteria as outlined in the programme framework, targeting specific contractors forms an integral part of the design of a cdp. the guidelines hereunder should be followed when identifying target groups: • ownership: cdps should target the development of black women, the disabled, and youth-owned companies. specifically, cdps should target the development of companies in those classes of works (cows) and grades where imbalances in such ownership exist. • supply and demand: cdps should target the development of new contracting capacity only where demonstrable shortages exist that are aligned with the service delivery objectives of the client. • performance improvement (or competence development): cdps should aim to improve the performance of contractors – particularly in those areas that align with the service delivery objectives of the client. • local economic objectives: where feasible, targeting of contractors should reflect local economic objectives (cidb, 2011: 12). 2.3.2 programme support initiatives as envisioned in the cdp implementation manual, the crucial element in any cdp is the support initiatives provided or arranged by clients. these include mentoring, technical skills development, business and financial management training, access to finance, or a combination of the above. haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 47 2.3.2.i training this initiative requires the client to organise training with an accredited institution. the training should be aligned with the requirements and guidelines for cidb contractor competence accreditation, available from the cidb, which are deemed to be minimum standards necessary for running a contracting enterprise and for supervising building and construction works within the fields of business management; building and construction works management (operational and supervision); legislative issues, and training strategy. a training strategy determines the overall training programme and logistics to conduct training. it should address the training approach, objectives and outcomes, based on the contractors’ training requirements stated earlier, as well as the process of identifying and mobilising training institutions that can provide the required training. the following logistical arrangements should be addressed: the number of people to be trained; the venue and date of the training; the training materials required; the expected input and output of the training, and the training service provider must identify suitable training service providers to provide the training. the training should be accredited with the construction education and training authority and be provided and structured to such an extent that the contractor can meet the requirements for cidb contractor competence accreditation. this typically involves the attainment of formal nqf level qualifications, or workplace training and experience leading to the equivalent competence. 2.3.2.ii mentoring a contractor’s mentorship needs are to be identified and an appropriate mentorship intervention should be developed. mentorship should revolve primarily around the contractor’s business management skills and knowledge, such as tendering and marketing. mentors must be registered as mentors with the council of project and construction management professionals. 2.3.3 contractor assessment the purpose of the assessment is to select contractors who meet the entry level requirements in line with the focus of the cdp, and to determine their developmental needs. all contractors applying for development must be registered in the cidb register of contractors (cibd, 2011: 52). acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 48 2.3.3.i criteria for access clients should apply the following criteria in order to determine which contractors get access to cdps: competence; financial upgrading; socio-economic goals, and competence (cidb, 2011). the contractors must be assessed in order to determine their level of competence, as outlined in the requirements and guidelines for cidb contractor competence accreditation. the competence assessment can be done in terms of formal qualifications and experience requirements, or in terms of the requirements for an external competence assessment undertaken by a cidb-recognised external competence assessment panel. the competence assessment will then also be used to evaluate the mentoring and training requirements of contractors who are enrolled within a cdp. 2.3.3.ii financial upgrading factor the contractor must be assessed to determine a financial upgrading factor and to measure how close the contractor is to upgrading to the next grade designation. the financial upgrading factor is determined in line with the requirements of the cidb register of contractors based on the following: best annual turnover; largest contract, and available capital (based on the current cidb requirements). once the rate for each area has been determined, the client should allocate an overall financial upgrading factor rating, using the following formula: best annual turnover + largest contract + available capital = overall financial upgrading factor rating (cidb, 2011: 14). 2.3.3.iii awarding points for socio-economic goals the selection process for the contractors should give preference to enterprises with historically disadvantaged individual equity ownership (women, the disabled and youth ownership). therefore, contractors must be scored out of a maximum of 20 points for socioeconomic goals in line with the referencing policy of the department (cidb, 2011: 16). 2.3.3.iv selecting contractors for development the contractor rating (out of 80) should be added to the points awarded for socio-economic objectives (out of 20), in order to determine the overall score awarded to the contractor. contractors should then be ranked from highest score to lowest score and the cut-off point is determined by the budget available. in order for a contractor to be selected for contractor development, a minimum haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 49 score of 20 should be obtained for the overall score awarded (cidb, 2011: 33). 2.3.4 shortcomings of the programme the assessment of the programme shows that, although the programme has achieved many successes, the following shortcomings remain a challenge to the programme and, to some extent, hinder greater achievements (hadebe, 2017: 32). 2.3.4.i poor coordination of subcontractors the vast majority of the emerging contractors are subcontracted and need to be properly coordinated by the prime contractor to ensure timeous delivery of assigned aspects of works. however, while main contractors are expected to swiftly coordinate subcontractors, this has proven to be a major challenge, which, at times, leads to the suffering of all those involved in the project. 2.3.4.ii inappropriate construction methods the construction industry is a complex industry that requires activities to be carried out using best practices, tools and techniques. when construction procedures are flawed, errors occur, thus leading to rework and delays. a plan that is not realistic and that does not conform to construction methods will lead to a delay in project completion or, in a worst-case scenario, could lead to the collapse of a project. at times, local contractors fail to comply with practicable work programmes at the initial stage of project planning. this, in turn, impairs the monitoring of project progress against the stipulated time. 2.3.4.iii inadequate experience experience in the construction industry can be a matter of life and death for a project or even the business of the contractor. particular to this study, contractors who simply gain entrance to the cdp without prior experience in construction are among those who hinder the programme’s progress. 2.3.4.iv incompetent and poor management important to this study, proper construction management is the backbone of any successful construction business. contractor’s employees who are not skilled in project management are not able to manage their project site appropriately, thus culminating in faulty work, reworks and delay in completion of tasks. in addition, a study acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 50 by the cidb (2011: 41) on lack of management shortcomings of subcontractors identified the following: • overall, management practices of specialist subcontractors were considered by main contractors to be good, but for generalist and trade subcontractors were considered to be fair to poor; • financial management skills and business management systems of general subcontractors were poor, with business management skills and management and supervision being fair; • lack of financial pricing and estimating skills; • lack of access to finances and continued support from cdib; • poor health and safety management practices; and • reluctance to train employees. 2.3.4.v lack of skills proper management, financial management, and overall technical skills in the construction industry are the apex. without these skills, construction activities could potentially be a dangerous activity, a fruitless exercise, and a losing game. although the principal aim of the cdp or emerging cdp is to address the need to unlock economic growth constraints, develop sustainable contracting capacity, and elevate enterprise development of previously disadvantaged individuals, there is limited literature evaluating the achievement of these objectives. 3. research methodology this study examines the level of satisfaction with the cdp, in the kwazulu natal province, in terms of its effectiveness. the study uses a mixed methods design, in which qualitative and quantitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell & plano-clark, 2007; grbich, 2013: 27). in this study, the focus-group interviews explored the experience, performance, growth and development of six cdp participants. the semi-structured questionnaire survey examined 364 cdp beneficiaries in terms of their overall satisfaction and experience with the cdp. the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the focus-group transcripts, and crosscheck the data against the questionnaire data set such as haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 51 similar experiences and satisfaction with the cdp suggested from the respondents (creswell & plano-clark, 2007). 3.1 sampling technique and response rate a combined list of 6 900 grades 1 to 3 contractors, registered on the cidb kwazulu-natal contractors’ list, was obtained from the cidb database. this includes 5 000 registered contractors under grade 1; 1 502 under grade 2, and 398 under grade 3 who are beneficiaries of the cdp, making it impossible to obtain responses from the entire population. for the quantitative questionnaire survey, non-probability convenience sampling (alvi, 2016: 29) was used to select 364 cdp beneficiaries, residing in pietermaritzburg city in the msunduzi local municipality in the kwazulu-natal province of south africa, who were accessible and available to participate in the study, indicating a 5% sample size for the study. for populations of 5 000 or above, population size is virtually irrelevant and a sample size of +/-400 is adequate (leedy & omrod, 2014: 136). respondents were contacted prior to the questionnaires being emailed to them, resulting in a speedy response and a 100% response rate. according to moyo and crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40%, in general. for qualitative data collection, purposive convenience sampling was used to sample six participants who simultaneously participated in the focus-group interviews. purposive sampling allows the researcher to choose participants based on their characteristics, pre-knowledge and capability of providing adequate knowledge deemed necessary for a study (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2013: 172; du plooy 2009: 123). the rule of thumb in determining the size of the focus group should range between 6 and 10, plus a moderator and an assistant (bernard, 2011). 3.2 data collection a structured questionnaire survey was distributed to 364 registered grades 1 to 3 contractors, registered on the cidb kwazulu-natal contractors’ list in south africa from august to september 2017. the questionnaire consisted of four sections. the first section obtained the biographic profile of the targeted population, namely gender, population group, position in the business, highest educational level, number of years’ experience in the business, and the type of business. section two is a set of 16 likert-scale items relating to the construct overall satisfaction with the registration process of the cdp. section three covers a set of 10 likert-scale items regarding the construct acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 52 experience with the registration process of the cdp. section four entails a set of 10 items used to rank the challenges with the cdp according to their seriousness as experienced by contractors. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections 2 to 4 (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a consent letter indicating the risks and benefits of participating in the study and that participants are not coerced to participate in the study. for the collection of qualitative data, a semi-structured interview schedule with seven pre-set questions was used to gain a detailed picture of the focus-group participant’s overall satisfaction and challenges experienced with the cdp. participants’ oral responses were digitally recorded, and additional field notes were jotted down on paper. 3.3 data analysis and interpretation the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 23 was used to conduct descriptive and statistical analysis of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations to measure central tendency (salkind, 2014: 229; bless et al., 2013: 33; field, 2013; pallant, 2013). the frequencies and percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to analyse and describe the respondents’ profile (naoum, 2007: 103). a 5-point interval likert scale was used to measure how strongly respondents felt regarding the statements in the likert-scale constructs. likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions and even perceptions (leedy & ormrod, 2014: 185). participants rated the items in the constructs satisfaction and experience to measure their level of satisfaction/agreement with the registration process and overall experience of the cdp on a five-point likert scale. the following scale measurement was used regarding mean scores, where 1 = totally dissatisfied/strongly agree (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = dissatisfied/agree (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = neutral (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = satisfied/disagree (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = totally satisfied/strongly disagree (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). for the purposes of this article, overall ‘satisfaction level’ was classified in terms of combined mean scores, where low = mean scores 1 and 2 (≥1.00 and ≤2.32); medium = mean score 3 (≥2.33 and ≤3.66), and high = mean scores 4 and 5 (≥3.67 and ≤5.00). for the purposes of this article, experience ‘level of agreement’ was classified in terms of combined mean scores, where high = mean scores 1 and 2 (≥1.00 and ≤2.32); moderate = mean score 3 (≥2.33 and ≤3.66), and haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 53 low = mean scores 4 and 5 (≥3.67 and ≤5.00). for the purposes of analysis, it is important to note that the scale intervals were equally distributed. to analyse them, descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations were reported to show the central tendency and to combine the mss of the entire set of items in the constructs to generate the composite (average) score for the elements. for the analysis of the internal reliability of the statements in the constructs satisfaction and experience, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347). taber (2018: 1279) suggests that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.60 to 0.95. in this article, a cut-off value of 0.60 reliability was adopted. using thematic data analysis, a nuanced account of the data could be presented by transcribing, coding and setting themes from the responses of the focus-group interviews (clarke & braun, 2013: 120). thematic analysis is a method of identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data (fereday & muir-cochrane, 2006: 84). for this article, all discussions during the interviews were recorded and used as the interview data. using microsoft excel (bowen, edwards & cattel, 2012: 523), the raw data on contractor satisfaction was analysed and categorised into conceptual themes as registration, objectives, identification, growth and development, performance, training, and overall experience. for the challenges experienced with cdp, themes were coded as finance, payment, communication, and training. responses were tabulated. to analyse the challenges that contractors experience with the cdp, items were ranked from most to least serious, where 1 = affect most and 10 = affect least. the frequencies and percentages were reported. to test if the sample was drawn from a normally distributed population that determines the selection of using parametric/nonparametric test to do correlation analysis, the shapiro-wilks and kolmogorov-smirnov tests were used (hain, 2010: 8). these tests (table 7) compare the observed and expected frequencies of values, in order to assess if the data are taken from a normal distributed population. for this study, the significance level was set at 0.00. this means that, if the p-value for the normality test is higher than 0.00, nonparametric tests should be used for correlation analysis (ghasemi & zahediasl, 2012: 486). for inferential statistics, the nonparametric test, spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (spearman’s rho) was used to establish the degree of association between the level of satisfaction and the level of experience, respectively, with the cdp, tested against variables acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 54 taken from the profile data of the sample of participating grades 1 to 3 contractors (tustin, ligthelm, martins & van wyk, 2005: 558). inferential statistics enabled the researchers to investigate the possible association in the variables from data about the population on the grounds of what is observed in the sample (rodgers & nicewander, 1988: 63; terre blanche, durrheim & painter, 2006: 564). in the spearman’s rho test, as the values of the test vary from -1.00 to +1.00, values closer to 1.00 show a strong relationship (bishara & hittner, 2012: 399). 3.4 limitations of the study the scope of the study was limited to grades 1 to 3 cidb-registered (gb contractors) in the kwazulu-natal province of south africa and cannot be generalised across south africa. 4. results and discussion 4.1 respondent’s profile table 1 presents a summary of the demographic data of the respondents. based on frequency of occurrence, the majority of the respondents were black (83.0%) males (62.1%). the vast majority of the respondents, 259 (71.2%) occupied the position of owners, and 105 (28.8%) of the cdp beneficiaries are co-owners of their businesses. of the respondents, 85.7% are general contractors that have between 1-11 years’ experience. whereas most of the participants (33.2%) had matriculated and 28.3% had some form of basic education, nearly a quarter (23.6%) had no education. although 66.7% of the interviewees registered on their own, the vast majority (72.8%) of the respondents did not register on the cdp on their own and were either assisted or registered by a family member or a friend (39.3%) or by a company assistant (33.5%). respondents were equally distributed in cidb grading with 33.5% in grade 1, 33.5% in grade 2, and 33% in grade 3 contractors. of the interview participants, half (50%) were registered as grade 3, 16.7% as grade 2, and 33.3% as grade 1. the majority of the interviewees (66.7%) were registered with the cdp for growth and development of their businesses. haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 55 table 1: profile of cdp participants questionnaire respondents distribution frequency n=364 % position owner/founder 259 71.2 co-owner/founder 105 28.8 gender male 226 62.1 female 138 37.9 population group black 302 83.0 white 4 1.1 coloured 33 9.1 asian/indian 25 6.9 qualifications master’s degree 1 0.3 honours/btech/bsc 3 0.8 diploma 20 5.5 certificate 30 8.2 matriculation certificate 121 33.2 basic education 103 28.3 no educational qualifications 86 23.6 experience years (max) min 1 year years (median) 6 years years (min) max 11 years type of business general contractor 312 85.7 subcontractor 12 3.3 civil contractor 22 6.0 specialist contractor 7 1.9 home-building contractor 10 2.7 other 1 0.3 cibd grading grade 1 (r0.00-0.20 million) 122 33.5 grade 2 (r0.20-0.65 million) 122 33.5 grade 3 (r0.65-2.00 million) 120 33.5 registration status registered on my own 95 26.1 registered by company assistant 122 33.5 registered by family or friend 143 39.3 registered by service provider 4 1.1 interview survey respondents distribution frequency n=6 % technical qualifications and experience prior to registration electrical engineering 1 16.7 project management 1 16.7 civil engineering 2 33.3 marketing 1 16.7 no qualification 1 16.7 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 56 interview survey respondents distribution frequency n=6 % reasons for registration financial gains 1 16.7 development and goals 4 66.7 skills 1 16.7 cibd grading grade 1 (r0.00-0.20 million) 2 33.3 grade 2 (r0.20-0.65 million) 1 16.7 grade 3 (r0.65-2.00 million) 3 50.0 registration status registered on my own 4 66.7 telephone 1 16.7 postal services 1 16.7 4.2 satisfaction measurement with overall registration on the cdp table 2 shows the interviewees’ general views on their overall satisfaction with the cdp. table 2: interview responses: satisfaction with cdp theme code (n) frequency % ease of registration on the cidb efficient/user-friendly 3 50 online skills easy 2 33.4 assisted 1 16.7 understanding the objectives of the cdp prior to registration vague/not clear 6 100 extent to which you have been identified as a potential contractor frustration with process 4 66.7 no communication 2 33.3 selection criteria unclear 4 66.7 growth and development since joining the cdp 5/10 2 33.3 3/10 2 33.3 2.5/10 1 16.7 1/10 1 16.7 performance since joining the cdp none 6 100 overall experience with the cdp 5/10 2 33.3 4/10 1 16.7 2/10 2 33.3 1/10 1 16.7 training received from cdp none 6 100 the responses in table 2 show that all six interviewees (100%) indicated that, prior to registration, the objectives of the cdp were not clear; they had no improvement in performance since joining the table 1: continued. haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 57 programme, and they received no training from the cdp. although half of the interviewees find online registration user-friendly, two thirds (66.7%) feel frustrated with the registration process, because the selection criteria is unclear. the majority (66.7%) is not satisfied with their growth, development and overall experience with the cdp and all rated below 5/10. table 3 ranks the mean scores to show the level of satisfaction with the 16 items rated in the construct ‘satisfaction’ on satisfaction aspects with the overall process of registration on the cdp as perceived by respondents in practice. table 3: questionnaire responses: satisfaction with cdp (n=364) (1 = totally dissatisfied … 5 = totally satisfied) cronbach’s alpha 0.829 low = (≥1.00 and ≤2.32); medium = (≥2.33 and ≤3.66); high = (≥3.67 and ≤5.00) descriptive statistics item measure satisfaction mean std. deviation satisfaction level rank own registration on the system 4.154 0.7774 high 1 ease of registration on the cidb 3.898 0.8833 high 2 ease of registration on the cdp 3.802 0.8873 high 3 first-time registration on cdp 3.786 0.9201 high 4 understanding of being grade 1, 2 and 3 3.679 1.1002 high 5 understanding the objectives of the programme prior to registration 3.486 0.9165 medium 6 compliance with system requirements 3.475 0.8378 medium 7 benefits of being a beneficiary on the cdp 2.297 0.9060 low 8 benefitted from tender since registered on the cdp 2.135 0.9684 low 9 extent to which you have been identified as a potential contractor 1.984 0.9089 low 10 growth and development since joining the programme 1.962 0.9670 low 11 performance since joining the programme 1.887 0.9991 low 12 overall experience with cdp 1.885 1.0030 low 13 training received from cdp 1.860 0.8263 low 14 possession of construction experience prior to registration 1.827 0.9032 low 15 effectiveness of communication 1.824 0.8076 low 16 average ms (composite score) 2.746 acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 58 table 3 indicates a composite score (average ms) of 2.746 for the satisfaction items, indicating that, on the mean evaluation scale, respondents generally have a “medium” level of satisfaction with the overall process of registration on the cdp. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.60 at 0.829, indicating good internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). the respondents expressed high levels of satisfaction with five items with mean score ratings above ≥3.67 as: own registration on the system (4.154); ease of registration on the cidb (3.898) and on the cdp (3.802); first-time registration on cdp (3.786) and understanding of being grade 1, 2 or 3 (3.679). showing ms of 3.486 to 3.475, cdp respondents show medium levels of satisfaction in understanding the objectives of the programme prior to registration and the compliance with system requirements. participants further expressed low levels of satisfaction with the remaining nine items with means ranging from 2.297 to 1.824. it appears that respondents were not satisfied with the benefits of participating in the cdp, including their actual performance, growth and development, training and effectiveness of communication about the programme itself. cidb (2009) emphasises an open and easy access for registration on the cdp. this study confirmed that registration on the cdp was easy and open to contractors. contractors indicated overall high satisfaction with system registration. this is indicative of system openness and easiness. mhulanga (2018) found that performance of contractors in cdps needed further development. respondents indicated that their time, cost, quality and health and safety management performances have not improved since they joined the cdp. 4.3 cdp experience table 4 ranks the mean scores to show the level of agreement on items in the construct ‘experience’ that measured the overall experience with the cdp as perceived by respondents in practice. table 4 indicates a composite score (average ms) of 2.412 for the experience items, indicating that, on the mean evaluation scale, respondents generally have a “moderate” level of agreement with their overall experience of the cdp. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.60 at 0.667, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). with ms ratings ranging between ≥2.33 and ≤3.66, cdp respondents showed moderate levels of agreement in that they intend to remain a member of cdp in future (3.217), that the role of the cidb is clear to them (2.975) and that contractors fully comply with legislative requirements (2.931). showing ms of 3.810, cdp respondents did not agree that the cdp benefits haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 59 them. the respondents expressed high levels of agreement with six items with mean score ratings ranging between ≥1.00 and ≤2.32. table 4: overall cdp experience (n=364) (1 = strongly agree … 5 = strongly disagree) cronbach’s alpha 0.667 high = (≥1.00 and ≤2.32); moderate = (≥2.33 and ≤3.66); low = (≥3.67 and ≤5.00) descriptive statistics item measure experience mean std. deviation experience level rank the contractor development programme is beneficial to contractors 3.810 1.0149 low 1 intending to remain a member of cdp in future 3.217 0.9733 moderate 2 the role of cidb is clear 2.975 1.2295 moderate 3 full compliance with legislative requirements as contractor 2.931 0.6456 moderate 4 it directly or indirectly worsened my finances 2.027 0.9147 high 5 enjoying support depends on geographical location (rural vs urban) of contractors 1.915 0.9005 high 6 improvements are needed in the cdp 1.893 0.9460 high 7 the programme gave me high expectations 1.802 0.9589 high 8 benefits the political connected instead of those previously disadvantaged 1.799 0.9066 high 9 it should be wholly reviewed to empower emerging contractors 1.753 0.8524 high 10 average ms (composite score) 2.412 this indicates that contractors opined that participating in the cpd affected their financial position by directly or indirectly aggravating their finances (2.027); that their geographical location (rural vs urban) affected the level of support they received (1.915); that the cdp needed improvement (1.893); that the cdp created high expectations that were unfulfilled (1.802); that the cdp benefitted only those with political connections instead of those previously disadvantaged (1.799), and that the entire programme needs to be reviewed to empower emerging contractors (1.753). findings from this study are consistent with mahlangu’s (2018) study on the effectiveness of a contractor programme in the development of small contractors in the eastern cape. the study found that cdps had been less beneficial to the end users, with beneficiaries expressing that they did not reap the intended benefits of the programme. mohlala (2015) found that cpds have not been effective in addressing the challenges experienced by south african emerging contractors. studies have emphasised that, for an effective and successful cdp, an extensive training approach for contractors must be incorporated in the programme (thwala, 2009: 31; croswell & mccutcheon, 2001: 367). acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 60 ta b le 5 : in te rv ie w re sp o ns e s: c ha lle ng e s e xp e rie nc e d w ith th e c d p th e m e c o d e fr e q ue nc y q uo te fi na nc ia l c o ns tr a in ts a nd lim ite d a c c e ss t o fu nd in g fi na nc e 3 “i t is a m us t to b e re g ist e re d in o rd e r t o o p e ra te a nd g e t w o rk ” “t o in c re a se c ha nc e s o f o b ta in in g t e nd e rs ” “o b ta in in g s ki lls , fi na nc ia l b o o st ” la te p a ym e nt s b y c lie nt s pa ym e nt 3 “i n e a rly q ui t a nd d iss o lv e d m y c o m p a ny a ft e r a n in vo ic e t o o k 8 m o nt hs a nd 3 w e e ks t o b e p ro c e ss e d ” “i w a s d riv e n to d e b t b e c a us e o f i nc o m p e te nt c lie nt s” “w e p a rt ne r a s su b c o nt ra c to r, th e d e p a rt m e nt a ft e r a w a rd in g t he t e nd e r fo rg e ts a b o ut y o u a ft e r t ha t. w ha te ve r r a te s th e m a in c o nt ra c to r i s p a c ka g in g , w e m us t w a it fo r t he m t o b e p a id b e fo re w e g e t p a id ” po o r c o m m un ic a tio n c o m m un ic a tio n 6 “i fi rs t he a rd a b o ut t hi s c o nt ra c to r p ro g ra m m e t hr o ug h a fr ie nd , t he n a g a in d ur in g a ro a d sh o w ” “o nl y th is ye a r i s a w in t he n e w sp a p e r t ha t i w a s p a rt o f t ha t p o o l b ut u p un til t o d a y ha ve n o t re c e iv e d a ny in fo rm a tio n fro m t he d e p a rt m e nt o n ho w w ill w e fu nc tio n a ft e r t ha t” “y o u su b m it a d o c um e nt a nd n o t he a r a ny th in g a ft e r t ha t” “i t is ju st t he w o rd o n th e s tr e e t; it w a s no t so m e th in g c o m m un ic a te d b y th e d e p a rt m e nt s” ; “w e n e ve r r e c e iv e fe e d b a c ks ; i d o n’ t e ve n kn o w w ho t o c o nt a c t w he n e xp e rie nc in g c ha lle ng e s” “i h a ve d o ne it t w ic e b ut n e ve r g o t a re sp o ns e . n o in fo rm a tio n is p ro vi d e d ” sk ills s ho rt a g e tr a in in g 4 “w e h a ve n o t he a rd a b o ut a ny d e ve lo p m e nt a l a sp e c t su c h a s tr a in in g ” “t ra in in g o n c o nt ra c t m a na g e m e nt , fi na nc ia l m a na g e m e nt ” “d e ve lo p in g c o nt ra c to rs m us t in c lu d e t ra in in g ” “w e h a ve n e ve r r e c e iv e d a ny t ra in in g fr o m a ny s ta ke ho ld e rs in t he c d p” haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 61 4.4 challenges experienced with the cdp table 5 shows the interviewees’ general views on the challenges experienced with the cdp. the responses in table 5 show that all six interviewees indicated that poor communication is the most serious challenge they experienced with the cdp. half of the interviewees find late payments by clients, financial constraints and limited access to funding challenging. four interviewees find skills shortage challenging and reported that lack of training and development contribute to this challenge. table 6 ranks the frequency to show the seriousness of the cdp challenges from the highest priority to the lowest as experienced by contractors (respondents) in practice. table 6: questionnaire responses: challenges experienced with the cdp n=364 (1 = most … 10 = least) descriptive statistics challenges experienced frequency % rank financial constraints and limited access to funding 303 96.4 1 late payments by clients 271 86.3 2 lack of sufficient resources and capital equipment 269 85.6 3 poor communication 266 84.7 4 skills shortage 241 76.7 5 intense competition 203 64.6 6 difficulty ensuring regular supply of materials 202 64.3 7 high-skilled workers turnover 199 63.3 8 limited access to professional advisors 171 54.4 9 complicated contract procedures 169 53.8 10 the results in table 6 show that financial constraints and limited access to funding were the top ranked challenges experienced by 94.4% of the respondents. late payments by clients (86.3%), lack of sufficient resources, capital equipment (85.6%), and poor communication (84.7%) were ranked as serious challenges experienced by over 80% of the respondents. skills shortage is also one of the major concerns for 76.7% of the contractors. just over half of the respondents experienced limited access to professional advisors (54.4%) and complicated contract procedures. these findings have been attested to of the interview participants by merena (2018) in the exploratory study of funds management by emerging contractors. mashatole (2014), hove and banjo (2015) as well as dapaah and acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 62 musonda (2014) identified that the majority of the small contractors in cdp experienced challenges such as limited access to funding such as bank loans, lack of proper communication, shortage of supply of competent staff, inability to obtain regular supply of plant and material, lack of sufficient resources for project execution, and late payments by clients which leads to project delays. 4.5 inferential statistics 4.5.1 normality of data table 7 shows the significance test results to assess if the sample was drawn from a normally distributed population that determines the choice of parametric/nonparametric test to do correlation analysis. table 7: cdp satisfaction normality test tests of normality kolmogorov-smirnova shapiro-wilk statistic df sig. statistic df sig. cdpsat .244 364 .000 .798 364 .000 cdpexp .189 364 .000 .836 364 .000 a. lilliefors significance correction in table 7, the kolmogorov-smirnov test results show that, with significance (p-value) levels of over 0.00 for satisfaction (0.244) and experience (0.189), the data is not normally distributed. the shapirowilk test results also show p-values greater than 0.00 for satisfaction (0.798) and experience (0.836). this means that the sample is not coming from a normally distributed population. therefore, a nonparametric test should be used to analyse correlation between the constructs (neideen & brasel, 2007: 94). 4.5.2 correlation analysis table 8 shows the non-parametric test, spearman’s correlation coefficients, that determine the relationship between 364 values in the constructs ‘satisfaction’ and ‘experience’. results in table 8 show that, although not significant, there is a strong positive relationship between the two constructs ‘satisfaction’ and ‘experience’ (rs = 0.190, p = 0.000). significant is that there is a strong negative correlation between registration on the cdp and ‘satisfaction’ (rs = -0.254, p = 0.000). very significant is that there is a strong negative correlation between registration on the cdp and ‘experience’ (rs = -0.154, p = 0.030). haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 63 ta b le 8 : c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt s c d ps a t c d pe xp po p ul a tio n g ro up c id b g ra d in g g e nd e r re g ist ra tio n o n c d p spearman’s rho c d ps a t c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt 1. 00 0 .1 90 ** -.0 23 -.1 04 * .0 06 -.2 54 ** si g . ( 2ta ile d ) . .0 00 .6 60 .0 47 .9 03 .0 00 n 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 c d pe xp c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt .1 90 ** 1. 00 0 .0 41 -.0 68 -.0 50 -.1 54 ** si g . ( 2ta ile d ) .0 00 . .4 33 .1 93 .3 42 .0 03 n 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 po p ul a tio n g ro up c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt -.0 23 .0 41 1. 00 0 .1 22 * .0 72 .1 73 ** si g . ( 2ta ile d ) .6 60 .4 33 . .0 20 .1 71 .0 01 n 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 c id b g ra d in g c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt -.1 04 * -.0 68 .1 22 * 1. 00 0 .0 44 -.0 39 si g . ( 2ta ile d ) .0 47 .1 93 .0 20 . .4 05 .4 61 n 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 g e nd e r c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt .0 06 -.0 50 .0 72 .0 44 1. 00 0 -.0 85 si g . ( 2ta ile d ) .9 03 .3 42 .1 71 .4 05 . .1 04 n 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 re g ist ra tio n o n c d p c o rre la tio n c o e ffi c ie nt -.2 54 ** -.1 54 ** .1 73 ** -.0 39 -.0 85 1. 00 0 si g . ( 2ta ile d ) .0 00 .0 03 .0 01 .4 61 .1 04 . n 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 36 4 ** . c o rre la tio n is sig ni fic a nt a t th e 0 .0 1 le ve l ( 2ta ile d ). *. c o rre la tio n is sig ni fic a nt a t th e 0 .0 5 le ve l ( 2ta ile d ). acta structilia 2019: 26(2) 64 there is a strong positive relationship (rs = 0.173) between population growth and registration on the cdp (p = 0.010). this result shows that contractors were not satisfied with their experiences at the cdps as a result of the open registration created for all population groups. 5. conclusion appropriate literature elicited a range of structured questions used to obtain quantitative and qualitative data from the survey and interview participants. analysis of the results from the surveys determined how satisfied contractors were with their experience of the cdp. the research results show that contractors are not satisfied with their performance, growth and development since they joined the programme. the cdp offers no training opportunities to registered members and lacks effective communication mediums. contractors did not agree with the general belief that it was beneficial to them to participate in the cdp. participating contractors felt that the cdp affected their financial position, due to late payments. their geographical location affected the level of support they received, and the cdp benefited only those with political connections. the cdp created expectations that were unfulfilled. the cdp, therefore, needs to be improved and the entire programme needs to be reviewed to ensure that the target group, namely emerging contractors, are adequately supported and empowered. the correlation results show that there is a strong relation between population and registering on the cdp. the open and easy access when registering on the cdp allows any interested person to automatically become a contractor, thus creating the possibility of abuse of the programme. without clear criteria to include only the intended beneficiaries, namely previously disadvantaged, and filter out the opportunistic contractors, it would be difficult for the programme to realise its objectives. therefore, findings indicate that open or easy access by all interested parties to participate in cdps is counter-productive with unintended consequences. these findings are imperative for the improvement of the cdp to achieve its goals. the study simply revealed that, in its current form, the programme is working against its own objectives. there is a need to reform and improve the programme so that it can benefit deserving contractors, and ultimately achieve its objectives. the success of the cdp should not depend on the number of tenders given out to contractors, but rather on the development, growth and improved prospects for business sustainability. this changed focus should target graduating public sector contractors to different grades haupt, hadebe & akinlolu • effectiveness of contractor development... 65 on 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targeted procurement: a means by which socio-economic objectives can be realised through engineering and construction works contracts. journal south african institute of civil engineering, 40(4), pp. 15-25. windapo, a. & cattel, k. 2013. the south african construction industry: perceptions of key challenges facing its performance, development and growth. journal of construction in developing countries, 18(2), pp. 65-79. _goback _hlk18014994 117 how to cite: sogaxa, a., simpeh, e. & ndihokubwayo, r. 2021. assessment of time management practices of small medium sized contractors in project delivery in the eastern cape province, south africa. acta structilia, 28(1), pp. 117-141. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels athenkosi sogaxa mr athenkosi sogaxa, lecturer, walter sisulu university, 19 manchester road, chiselhurst, east london, 5247, south africa. phone: 0437094098 email: <asogaxa@wsu.ac.za> eric simpeh dr eric kwame simpeh, centre for settlements studies, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, pmb upo, knust, kumasi, ghana. phone: +233553697932 email: <eric.simpeh@knust.edu.gh> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5123-7468 ruben ndihokubwayo prof. ruben ndihokubwayo, associate professor, walter sisulu university, 19 manchester road, chiselhurst, east london, 5247, south africa. phone: 0437094013, <rndihokubwayo@wsu.ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5855-7982 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2021 28(1): 117-141 assessment of time management practices of small medium sized contractors in project delivery in the eastern cape province, south africa received: march 2021 peer reviewed and revised: april 2021 published: june 2021 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the purpose of this article is to assess the effective time-management practices adopted by construction smes to enhance successful construction project delivery. a mixed methods approach, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative research methods was adopted. a questionnaire was distributed to small and medium enterprises (smes) management team purposively selected from cidb grades 1 to 4 registered contractors under the general building category. the quantitative data were analysed, using descriptive statistics. to validate quantitative findings, semi structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected respondents who were part of the survey study where content analysis was adopted. the findings revealed that the most adopted effective time-management practices to enhance the sustainable success rate of construction smes in south africa included progress meeting with consultants to ensure regular http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:asogaxa@wsu.ac.za mailto:eric.simpeh@knust.edu.gh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5123-7468 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5123-7468 mailto:rndihokubwayo@wsu.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5855-7982 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5855-7982 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 118 monitoring of the work progress, strategic planning to recover time lost, effective management of subcontractors, and allocation of tasks to workers according to their skills and expertise. it should be noted that the quantitative findings were consistent with the qualitative findings, and revealed that effective project planning, periodic progress meetings and labour production contribute to the sustainable success rate of smes. the results obtained from this article could be adopted as smes’ effective time-management practices to enhance sustainable construction project delivery. keywords: construction projects, leadership and sustainable success, project delays, smes, time-management, south africa abstrak die doel van hierdie artikel is om die bestuurspraktyke van klein tot medium ondernemings (kmo’s) te ondersoek vir effektiewe tydsbeplanning om die volhoubare sukses te verhoog vir die afhandeling van konstruksieprojekte. ’n gemengde navorsingsmodel bestaande uit ’n kwantitatiewe sowel as ’n kwalitatiewe aanslag is toegepas. ’n vraelys is versprei onder die bestuursspanne van kmo’s wat geregistreer is by die cidb, vlakke 1 tot 4. semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer om die resultate van die vraelys te bevestig. die kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data is geanaliseer deur beide beskrywende statistiek en inhoudsanalise tegnieke toe te pas. daar is bevind dat gereëlde vergaderings die mees aanvaarbare metode is deur die bestuur van kmo’s vir die effektiewe bestuur van tyd om die sukses van konstruksieprojekte te verhoog in suid-afrika. dit sluit in vorderingsvergaderings, beplanningsvergaderings en die toekenning van take aan kontrakteurs en konsultante. tydsraamwerke word dan ook bespreek. die kwantitatiewe sowel as die kwalitatiewe benaderings het gewys dat die effektiewe beplanning is gefokus op gereëlde vorderingsvergaderings en produksie van werkers. die resultate van hierdie studie kan aangeneem en toegepas word as ’n riglyn deur die bestuur van kmo’s vir die effektiewe tydsbeplanning om die sukses van konstruksieprojekte te verhoog. die studie bied effektiewe tydbestuursmodaliteite wat die prestasie van die kmo’s sal verbeter. sleutelwoorde: bouprojekte, leierskap en volhoubare sukses, projekvertragings, kmo’s, tydsbestuur, suid-afrika 1. introduction while small and medium enterprises (smes) are regarded as key to south africa’s economic growth (adendorff, appels & botha, 2011: 54), olawale and garwe (2010: 729) emphasise that smes create more job opportunities in south africa that are of great importance to the economy and that contribute significantly to the gross domestic product (gdp). in addition, ladzani and van vuuren (2002: 154) and lampadarios (2017: 3) describe the success rate of smes as one element that conveys social solidity and creates economic benefits globally. however, smes are faced with difficulties in competing with well-established firms in the industry, despite being the first preference in respect of government projects and government business development structures (love, irani, li, cheng & tse, 2001: 33). according to martin and root (2012: 210), newly formed smes mostly fail to be sustainable businesses, with many failures in their first five years of existence, due to ineffective management practices and techniques (love et al., 2001: 38). smes are confronted with some project management sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 119 failures (gabula, 2012: 2) and failures to execute effective planning, which is related to basic management skills and leads to non-profitable business (bikitsha & amoah, 2020: 2). in addition, bouazza, ardjouman and abada (2015) claim that smes are challenged with business operations such as legal requirements, lack of trust from financial institutions, low business capacities, lack of managerial skills to manage construction projects successfully, and lack of technological skills. moreover, martin and root (2010: 65) argue that construction smes are confronted with unprofitable tender prices, abuse by main contractors, poor general management, and technical difficulties. assaf and al-hejji (2006: 350) indicate that lack of experience, lack of planning, inadequate estimate practices, and poor managerial competence in regulating company policies are some of the factors that cause delays in smes’ project delivery. according to arditi, nayak and damci (2017: 137), these are non-excusable delays, caused by the contractor’s fault, for which the contractor is generally penalised. traditionally, the client, in consultation with the project team, sets time frames in the conditions of contracts within which the contractors have to successfully deliver a construction project. failure by sme contractors to complete the project within specified time frames eventually puts the contractor at risk of having to pay penalties to the client (bajari & lewis 2009: 6). although significant studies (martin & root, 2012; mauro, ancarani & hartley, 2020: 379; khoshnodifar, ghonji, mazloumzadeh & abdollahi 2016: 84; lande, shrivastava & seth, 2016: 615) have been conducted to ascertain the success rate of construction smes in terms of project delivery, there is no evidence of effective time-management practices adopted by smes to achieve sustainable success rates in terms of construction project delivery. therefore, it is important to assess why smes are confronted with time-management practices problems and are unable to complete construction projects on time. this article identifies the most effective time-management practices that can be adopted by construction smes to enhance construction project success. 2. literature review 2.1 smes’ time-management practices for smes to compete in a diverse environment, it is significant to monitor and understand their performances (sa’eed, gambo, inuwa & musonda, 2020: 202) in terms of completing projects timeously, in order to achieve the set objectives. in each contract, clients stipulate a time frame based on their future plans (hatush & skitmore 1997: 130; tunji-olayeni, mosaku, fagbenle & amusan, 2016: 50). according to chan and kumaraswamy (1997: 55), the vast majority of project delays occur during the project acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 120 delivery stage, where there are many unforeseen factors. thus, for smes to manage construction time effectively, all construction project participants need to have all the relevant qualities such as good leadership skills, good project understanding, and common objectives with regard to achieving construction project delivery (fapohunda, 2014: 27). in addition, le-hoai, lee and lee (2008: 368) are of the opinion that, in order to minimise construction-time delays, effective project planning during project design is needed, including the selection of a competent consulting team to develop the work plan for the smes, and a reliable contractor to undertake the required work. during construction project planning, smes need to consider work scheduling, project monitoring and controlling, leadership, progress meetings, subcontracting work, and corrective actions concerning project delays (tunji-olayeni et al., 2016: 51). 2.1.1 smes’ construction project work schedule work schedule is known as coordinating resources of works, machines and materials timeously, in order to complete a construction project within budget (wu, borrmann, beibert, konig & rank, 2010: 79). similarly, desgagnelebeuf, lehoux, beauregard and desgagne-lebeuf (2019: 1843) define work scheduling as the relationship among schedule elements that are governed by various factors such as project constraints, construction methods, code of conduct, and regulations. hence, there is a need to develop an adequate work schedule for smes, in order to successfully deliver the project on time and within the client’s budget. however, sigalov and konig (2017: 456) contend that smes are faced with challenges in developing an adequate work schedule for construction projects. this is corroborated by han, cline and golparvar-fard (2015: 890), who maintain that there is a lack of detailed planning by smes in terms of the work schedule, and subsequently and consequently a failure to capture all operational levels of activities such as reinforcement, formwork, and waterproofing on concrete. 2.1.2 smes’ construction project monitoring yang, park, vela and golparvar-fard (2015: 211) characterise ‘project monitoring’ as the process of keeping a close eye on the entire project management life cycle and ensuring that project activities are on the right track. it is essential for construction smes to anticipate potential schedule delays and exceptions at the early stages of the project (srewil & scherer, 2013: 178). in most cases, smes do not have adequate skills with respect to monitoring the project at the operational level, thus causing project delays and affecting the cost of the project (yang et al., 2015: 212). there is thus a need for smes to take prompt action on construction project delivery systems, in order to manage project time frames and be operative and productive at project level (omar & nehdi, 2016: 144). sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 121 2.1.3 smes’ leadership on construction projects smes leadership has been defined in many ways, often inconsistent but somewhat complementary to each other. archer, verster and zulch (2010: 431) describe leadership as a quality possessed by a person who understands the need for smes to develop, direct, control and motivate, including communicating the vision to the followers with regard to sharing, mentoring and coaching subordinates and integrated construction decisions. thus, smes need to engage a leader who can manage uncertainty and competition in an increasingly diverse workforce, in order to achieve the desired sustainable project success. however, nubuor, hongyi and frimpong (2014: 85) note that many work-related factors such as employee’s attitude, motivation among team members, and performance of manpower can affect sme leadership on a construction project, thus affecting the outcome of the project. jowah (2016: 11) believes that poor leadership and unsuitable leadership competencies are the principal causes of sme business failures, particularly at project delivery stage. 2.1.4 smes’ site progress meeting the sme progress meeting is regarded as the most important tool used to ensure that the project is successfully delivered with respect to time, cost and quality (ayodeji, bhekisia & clinton, 2016: 84). ayodeji et al. (2016: 84) further state that all issues arising on a project are discussed and resolved during the site progress meeting. similarly, gorse and emmitt (2009: 984) explain that smes need to have project progress meetings on a regular basis throughout the project delivery, in order to review the construction project time frames. nonetheless, emmitt and otter (2007: 1073) view the progress meeting as a shared dialogue, where the design team exchange the meanings and understandings of the project with the construction team involved. in addition, salehi and yitmen (2020 1669) allude to the fact that site meetings are the way of project data acquisition system adopted by smes to enable accurate project knowledge about processes and operations on a job site. hence, it is imperative to improve the flow of construction progress by adopting site meetings and formalising effective implementation of site progress meetings (alvares & costa, 2019: 1447). 2.1.5 subcontracting work manu, ankrah, proverbs and suresh (2013: 1018) define subcontracting as a method of transferring project performance of the work. this subsequently negatively affects manpower recruitment status in the project and the manner in which the activities are performed, in terms of the degree of control and patterns of regulations within the project. chiang (2009: 81) regards subcontracting as a response to improbability that mainly arises acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 122 from construction project complexity, given bounded rationality of the company. in construction projects, most of the work is subcontracted to specialist contractors. manu et al. (2013: 1018) confirm that roughly 80% of construction work that is tendered by the main contractor is subcontracted to smes. manu et al. (2013: 1018) also note some of the factors that influence the subcontracting of the work to sme contractors. these include the ability to motivate labour flexibility; to undertake a construction project within the stipulated time, and to reduce labour cost, as well as the transfer of financial responsibility, and the avoidance of work compensation costs. 2.2 smes sustainable business performance athapaththu and karunasena (2017: 52) define sustainable business performance as the business that has distinctive construction project practices and dissimilar priorities in various countries, due to market economies. nevertheless, labuschagne and brent (2005: 159) indicate that sme businesses constitute one of the pillars of the country’s economy and that smes have the responsibility to prioritise the significance of sustainability in the construction industry. presley and meade (2010: 436) opine that a firm intending to start a sustainable business needs to take note of stakeholders that influence or will be influenced by sustainability, including but not limited to environmental and social sustainability, while ensuring a reasonable ongoing return on investment. although government infrastructure increases job opportunities in the general african economy, it also has an impact on the sustainable construction environment (ugwu & haupt, 2007: 666). therefore, to be sustainable, the analysis of management techniques is a significant strategy that needs to be developed by smes in the construction industry (lee, lim & tan, 1999: 301). smit and watkins’ (2012: 6326) study reveals that smes need to employ competent teams, in order to ensure a sustainable and successful delivery of construction projects. moreover, olawale and garwe (2010: 731) opine that managerial competencies are the key elements to the sustainability of emerging contractors in the construction industry. 3. methodology 3.1. research design this study adopted a mixed methods approach comprising both quantitative and qualitative techniques to determine and propose effective time-management practices, in order to enhance the sustainability of construction smes’ construction project delivery. a mixed methods approach allows for both quantitative and qualitative data to be collected simultaneously, analysed separately, and thereafter merged (creswell & sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 123 plano-clark, 2018: 8; isah, shakantu & ibrahim 2020: 8). a quantitative structured questionnaire survey on time-management practices was used to collect data from respondents to enable the researchers to generalise their findings from a sample of a population (bryman, 2012: 232). semistructured face-to-face interviews were held to solicit qualitative information from some key informants on issues relating to the achievement of sustainable success rate of smes (isah et al., 2020: 8). the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the interviews, and to cross-check this data against the questionnaire data set such as similarities in the most significant time-management practices (creswell & plano-clark, 2018: 27). 3.2. population, sampling, and response rate a combined list of 2,721 grades 1 to 4 contractors who are busy with project or previously undertaken a construction project, registered on the cidb eastern cape contractors’ online list, was obtained from the cidb database. this includes 2,554 registered contractors under grade 1; 71 under grade 2; 40 under grade 3, and 56 under grade 4 as construction sme’s, making it impossible to obtain responses from the entire population. for the quantitative questionnaire survey, a purposive sampling approach (de vos, strydom, fouche & delport, 2005: 202) was used to select 128 construction sme’s, from metropoles (east london, port elizabeth, mthatha, butterworth) of the eastern cape province in south africa, who had previously completed a construction project and those who are currently busy with a construction project to participate in the study, indicating a 4.7% sample size for the study. from the recommended sample size table of krejcie and morgan (1970: 608), the recommended sample size for a population of 2,600 is 254, and this recommendation does not validate the sample size of 128 as efficient for the population of 2,721 in table 1. it must be noted that this study focuses on the quality of the results rather than on the quantity of the population. thus, the population of the study was selected based on smes’ experience and previous construction project success to determine effective modalities for smes to achieve a sustainable success rate. 128 questionnaires were sent to the participants by email and hard copies were administered to the firm’s management team available on construction sites. a total of 59 questionnaires were completed correctly and returned, representing a 46% response rate. this response rate is good to support this empirical study, as built-environment survey response rates vary between 7% and 40%, in a broader perspective (see moyo & crafford, 2010: 68). acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 124 table1: eastern cape metropoles cidb grading grade of the contractor no. of smes in general building (gb) (population) sample grade 1 2554 56 grade 2 71 20 grade 3 40 20 grade 4 56 32 total 2721 128 for qualitative data collection, purposive convenience sampling was used to sample four participants for interviews. purposive sampling allows the researcher to choose participants based on their characteristics, preknowledge and capability of providing adequate knowledge deemed necessary for a study (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2013: 172). 3.3. data collection a structured questionnaire survey was distributed to 128 grades 1 to 4 contractors (including directors, project managers, quantity surveyors, contract managers, commercial managers, site agents, site engineers and/ or any other company representative from 15 june 2019 to 17 july 2019. the questionnaire consisted of three sections. the first section obtained the biographic profile of the targeted population, namely age, gender, position in the business, highest educational level, number of years’ experience in the business, and the cidb grade. section two is a set of 16 likert-scale items relating to the construct ‘time management’ for smes to enhance sustainable success rate. section three covers a set of 7 likertscale items regarding the construct ‘leadership, project work schedule and control’. participants were requested to rate their level of agreement on the statements regarding time-management practices that can be implemented by smes to avoid time-overrun and achieve sustainable construction project delivery in south africa. the results from these measurements form the items used in the descriptive analysis. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closed-ended questions were preferred for sections two and three (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the semi-structured interview guide contains only one major question: “what are the most effective time-management practices / strategies adopted by your sme firm to avoid or minimise project delay to achieve sustainable success rate?” this question was asked to gain, from the perceptual views of the participants, a broad understanding of timemanagement practices employed by smes in the eastern cape province. sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 125 3.4. data analysis and interpretation of the findings the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 25 was used to analyse time-management, by means of descriptive statistics (pallant, 2013: 134). the frequencies and percentages of responses were generated and reported, in order to describe the respondents’ profile. to analyse which of the time-management practices could achieve sustainable construction project delivery, the measures were rated on a five-point likert scale, and ranked, in terms of their mean scores, on the following scale measurement, where 1 = strongly disagree (sd) (≥ 1.00 ≤ and < 1.80); 2 = disagree (d) (≥ 1.81 and ≤ 2.60); 3 = neutral (n) (≥ 2.61 and ≤ 3.40); 4 = agree (a) (≥ 3.41 and ≤ 4.20), and 5 = strongly agree (sa) (≥ 4.21 and ≤ 5.00). likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions and even perceptions (leedy & ormrod, 2014: 185). for the analysis of the internal reliability in the statements on the questions on time-management, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (kolbehdori & sobhiyah, 2014: 347). taber (2018: 1279) suggests that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.60 to 0.95. for this study, a cut-off value of 0.80 was assumed. using content data analysis, a nuanced account of the data could be presented by transcribing, coding and setting themes from the responses of the interviews (flick, 2011). for this article, the raw data on timemanagement was analysed and transcribed under conceptual themes such as ‘effective time-management practices’ and ‘time-management through leadership project work schedule and control’. 4. results 4.1 profile of the respondents table 2 presents the profile of the 59 sme respondents. based on frequency of occurrence, most of the respondents (62.7%) were males, aged between 18 and 39 years (64.4%). of the respondents, 10.2% are in the age group 18-25 years. this shows that there are few participants aged between 18 and 25 years in the management team of sme contractors. just over half the respondents (57.6%) are either construction managers (20.3%) or site agents/foremen (37.3%) and have between 6 to 15 years’ experience in sme contractor work (50.8%). in addition, 32.2% of the respondents were other professionals (site engineers, site representatives, and directors). this indicates that sme projects are mostly run by site agents, foremen or other professionals. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 126 most of the participants (72.9%) had either a national diploma (47.5%) or bachelor’s degree (25.4), and 11.9% had matriculated. this proves that most of the respondents within smes management team have tertiary qualifications and are qualified to work in the construction industry. respondents were almost equally distributed for grades 2 to 4 in cidb grading with 22% in grade 2, 35.6% in grade 3, and 32.2% in grade 4 contractors. most of the active firms (89.8%) employed contractors with cidb grading between 2 and 4. table 2: profile of the respondents characteristic category frequency (n = 59) % age 18-25 years 6 10.2 26-39 years 32 54.2 40-49 years 14 23.7 50-59 years 7 11.9 gender male 37 62.7 female 22 37.3 position quantity surveyor 6 10.2 construction manager 12 20.3 site agent/foreman 22 37.3 others 19 32.2 qualifications below matric 1 1.7 matric certificate 7 11.9 national diploma 28 47.5 bachelor’s degree 15 25.4 others 8 13.6 experience 1-5 years 22 37.3 6-10 years 15 25.4 11-15 years 15 25.4 16-20 years 4 6.8 20 years and above 3 5.1 cidb grading grade 1 6 10.2 grade 2 13 22.0 grade 3 21 35.6 grade 4 19 32.2 4.3 effective time-management practices table 3 ranks the mean scores to show the level of agreement with the 16 items rated in the construct ‘time-management’ on how effective time-management practices are for construction smes, as perceived by respondents in practice. table 3 indicates a composite score (average ms) of 4.03 for the ‘time management’ construct, indicating that, on the mean evaluation scale, sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 127 ta bl e 3: e ffe ct iv e tim em an ag em en t p ra ct ic es s ta te m en ts (n = 5 9) 1 = s tr on gl y di sa gr ee ( s d ) … 5 = s tr on gl y ag re e (s a ) c ro nb ac h’ s al ph a 0. 84 d es cr ip tiv e st at is tic s s d % d % n % a % s a % m ea n s td . r an k pr o g re ss m e e tin g s w ith c o ns ul ta nt s to e ns ur e re g ul a r m o ni to rin g o f t he p ro g re ss o f w o rk 0. 0 0. 0 11 .9 47 .5 40 .7 4. 29 .6 70 84 1 st ra te g ic p la nn in g t o re c o ve r t im e lo st 0. 0 1. 7 10 .2 47 .5 40 .7 4. 27 .7 15 12 2 ef fe c tiv e m a na g e m e nt o f s ub c o nt ra c to rs 1. 7 0. 0 3. 4 59 .3 35 .6 4. 27 .6 90 59 2 a llo c a tio n o f t a sk s to w o rk e rs a c c o rd in g t o t he ir sk ills a nd e xp e rt ise 0. 0 1. 7 11 .9 47 .5 39 .0 4. 24 .7 27 28 3 ef fe c tiv e d e c isi o nm a ki ng b y m a na g e m e nt t e a m 0. 0 0. 0 15 .3 52 .5 32 .2 4. 17 .6 73 45 4 re c ru iti ng m a na g e m e nt t e a m w ith re le va nt e xp e rie nc e 0. 0 1. 7 16 .9 50 .8 30 .5 4. 10 .7 35 67 5 c lie nt p ro je c t c ha ng e s d ur in g c o ns tr uc tio n st a g e in flu e nc e t he p ro je c t d e liv e ry 0. 0 3. 4 22 .0 40 .7 33 .9 4. 05 .8 39 21 6 ti m e o us ly re q ue st in g o ut st a nd in g d ra w in g in fo rm a tio n o r sp e c ifi c a tio n 0. 0 3. 4 20 .3 47 .5 28 .8 4. 02 .7 98 52 7 ef fe c tiv e c o o rd in a tio n o f a va ila b le re so ur c e s 0. 0 0. 0 22 .0 55 .9 22 .0 4. 00 .6 69 53 8 ti m e m a na g e m e nt o n p ro je c t is se t a s th e c ul tu re o f t he c o m p a ny 0. 0 1. 7 20 .3 57 .6 20 .3 3. 97 .6 93 97 9 a d m in ist ra tio n o f c o nt ra c t in st ru c tio n o n tim e 0. 0 1. 7 16 .9 64 .4 16 .9 3. 97 .6 42 36 9 a va ila b ilit y o f s uf fic ie nt fu nd s to a vo id p ro je c t tim e o ve rru n 1. 7 1. 7 15 .3 62 .7 18 .6 3. 95 .7 52 55 10 ti m e o us p a ym e nt b y c lie nt 3. 4 3. 4 23 .7 39 .0 30 .5 3. 90 .9 94 73 11 ti m e o us re sp o ns e b y th e d e sig n te a m o n re q ue st e d in fo rm a tio n 0. 0 1. 7 33 .9 47 .5 16 .9 3. 80 .7 37 65 12 c o m m o n o b je c tiv e s w ith re g a rd t o a c hi e vi ng c o ns tr uc tio n p ro je c t d e liv e ry 1. 7 0. 0 35 .6 44 .1 18 .6 3. 78 .8 10 87 13 pr o je c t b o nu se s fo r f a st -t ra c ki ng p ro je c t d e liv e ry 1. 7 3. 4 37 .3 35 .6 22 .0 3. 73 .9 06 50 14 a ve ra g e m s (c o m p o sit e s c o re ) 4. 03 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 128 respondents agree that all the measurement items are effective timemanagement practices for construction smes to achieve sustainable success rate in construction project delivery. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.80 at 0.84, indicating good internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). it is noticeable that 88.2% of the respondents agreed that effective progress meetings with consultants to ensure regular monitoring of the progress of work (ms=4.29) is the core time-management practice. only 11.9% of the respondents were neutral, whereas none of the respondents disagreed. strategic planning to recover time lost, together with effective management of subcontractors are equally ranked second, with mv=4.27. nonetheless, effective subcontractor management was most important, with std=0.69, compared to 0.72 for strategic planning, to recover time lost. it is notable that 94.9% of the respondents agreed that effective management of subcontractors, (ms=4.27) is important in respect of sme time-management. nevertheless, 3.4% of the respondents were neutral and 1.7% disagreed. with respect to strategic planning to recover time lost, an overwhelming 88.2% of the respondents agreed to adopt the modality, while 10.2% of the respondents were neutral and 1.7% disagreed. however, 86.5% of the respondents agreed on effective allocation of tasks to workers according to their skills and expertise, shown by a ms=4.24 and ranked third; 11.9% of the respondents were neutral, and only 1.7% disagreed on this modality. with a ms of 3.73, the lowest rated modality is project bonuses for fast-tracking the project delivery. 4.4. effective time management through leadership, project work schedule and control table 4 ranks the mean scores to show the level of agreement with the 7 items rated in the construct ‘leadership, project work schedule and control’ on how effective time-management practices through leadership, work schedule and control are for construction smes, as perceived by respondents in practice. table 4: time management through leadership, work schedule and control (n = 59) 1 = strongly disagree (sd) … 5 = strongly agree (sa) cronbach’s alpha 0.80 descriptive statistics statements sd % d % n % a % sa % mean std. rank progress meeting to resolve uncertainties 0.0 0.0 13.6 57.6 28.8 4.15 .63825 1 adequate sequencing of activities on site to avoid unnecessary idle time 0.0 1.7 16.9 49.2 32.2 4.12 .74475 2 sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 129 (n = 59) 1 = strongly disagree (sd) … 5 = strongly agree (sa) cronbach’s alpha 0.80 descriptive statistics statements sd % d % n % a % sa % mean std. rank effective communication between the contractor and the design team 0.0 1.7 15.3 55.9 27.1 4.08 .70192 3 effective as built project sensing 0.0 0.0 18.6 54.2 27.1 4.08 .67691 3 continuous monitoring at project level 0.0 1.7 15.3 57.6 25.4 4.07 .69144 4 effective on-time project monitoring 0.0 0.0 27.1 49.2 23.7 3.97 .71838 5 effective works schedule development and control 0.0 3.4 18.6 59.3 18.6 3.93 .71594 6 average ms (composite score) 4.06 table 4 indicates a composite score (average ms) of 4.06 for the ‘leadership, project work schedule and control’ construct, indicating that, on the mean evaluation scale, respondents agreed that all the measurement items are effective time-management practices for construction smes to achieve sustainable success rate in construction project delivery. the cronbach’s alpha was 0.80, indicating good internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). from table 4, it is notable that effective progress meetings to resolve uncertainties is ranked first, with ms=4.15. this is indicated by the fact that an overwhelming 86.4% of the respondents agreed that effective progress meetings to resolve uncertainties is a significant time-management modality that could enable construction smes to achieve sustainable success rate in project delivery. however, a notable 16.9% of the respondents were neutral, and a minority of 1.7% disagreed. in addition, adequate sequencing of activities on site to avoid unnecessary idle time is ranked second, with ms=4.12, with 81.4% of the respondents agreeing on this modality, while only 1.7% disagreed. of the respondents, 83% agreed that effective communication between the contractor and the designing team is significant, and this ranked third, with ms=4.08. of the respondents, 15.3% were neutral and 1.7% disagreed. from the results, it can be noted that the least ranked modality is effective works schedule development and control, with ms=3.93. 4.5. interview results 4.5.1. rationale of interviews semi-structured interviews were performed as a tool to validate the quantitative data. these interviews were conducted with participants who were part of the questionnaire survey. the focus was on the most effective acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 130 time-management practices and time management through leadership project work schedule and control adopted by construction smes. thus, the results from the quantitative data were adopted as the guide in conducting the interviews. 4.5.2. background information on the interviewee and the firm the first interview (referred to as respondent a) was conducted with the firm’s director on 5 september 2019 in king william’s town, a suburb of east london in the eastern cape province. the second interview (referred to as respondent b) was conducted with the firm’s director, on 6 september 2019 in southernwood suburb of east london at 14:45 pm in the meeting room of the sme contractor during office hours. the third interview (referred to as respondent c) was conducted with a firm’s director, who was the sole management executive at the company. the fourth interview (referred to as respondent d) was conducted on 23 september 2019 with the contract manager, who managed all the construction sites of the company. 4.5.3 effective time-management practices respondent a defined ‘planning’ as time-management practice, and the planning of activities carried out directly with people who are directly involved in the project. the director also pointed out that planning is carried out, using software and manual planning sheets. for instance, respondent a mentioned: “the programme is managed through weekly progress meetings, and if there are any changes to the programme, these get communicated to everyone involved in the project, who also check safety issues on the project.” the respondent also indicated that a monthly meeting is also held with the consultants and the contractor to evaluate the progress of work. respondent b revealed that the firm normally planned the time per task, using the estimated time and the experience on the task performance possibilities that were used as the basis for the construction programme at the beginning of the project. with that accurate programme developed, the firm can develop a projected cash flow for the project, and that construction programme is developed using ms project. the respondent cited examples such as: “for some small projects, the firm does not necessarily develop the construction programme, but rather the project is built based on previous experience. project plans are carried out by integrating the team involved on construction sites, and the team looking after sites are hired based on their qualifications and experience.” respondent c pointed out that when the project fell behind, the firm increases labour working hours, including working on weekends to catch up sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 131 on the programme, and working on holidays. the respondent stated: “the time required for the project was managed through effective communication among the team involved in the project.” respondent d stated that the drawings were an important part of project scope, and that periodic meetings (technical or progress) are held on site to address any missing information on the project. the firm timeously requested the missing information and put time frames on the request, as the information missing on the drawing is provided. 4.5.4 effective time management through leadership, project work schedule and control respondent a noted that leadership qualities were scrutinised during the recruitment of the management team, and that people are employed based on their skills and expertise. respondent a was quoted as saying: “a leader on a construction site has to be willing to work with the team and also to be responsible for controlling and managing the team.” respondent b noted that, at the beginning of each project, the firm organises a team-building session, where the team discusses the scope of work and how to successfully deliver the project. the respondent further stated that the key is to continuously monitor and revise the programme as work progresses and communicate the changes with the team. the respondent noted: “every month during the construction stage, the company had a team-building meeting to reflect on the progress of the work and used those meetings to avoid previously experienced mistakes. during the team-building meeting, everyone is given the opportunity to advise.” the respondent further mentioned that the firm has no manuals of timemanagement practices, as they are always rushing to work on the projects. respondent c claimed that there is effective communication among the project team, which included the team on site and the directors of the company, as a tool to keep update on the project progress. on the other hand, respondent c stated that the time on project is managed through effective communication among the team involved on the project. as an example, the respondent noted: “the drawings are an important part of project scope and periodic meetings (technical or progress) are held on site to address any missing information on the project.” acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 132 4.6 discussions of the findings 4.6.1 effective time management practices the quantitative findings revealed that effective progress meetings with consultants to ensure regular monitoring of work progress was the most significant effective time-management practice, with ms=4.29. this finding aligns with that of emmitt and otter (2007: 411) who point out that meetings are used for different purposes, from team-building and maintenance to discussions of progress, the resolution of arising problems, and closure of tasks. ayodeji et al. (2016: 85) adds that each party working on a construction project has different expectations for how to gauge the project success, which is carried out through communication between all parties involved. the quantitative results revealed strategic planning to recover time lost, together with effective subcontractor management, as the second notable time-management practice employed by smes during construction project delivery, with ms=4.27. with regard to strategic planning, hazir (2015: 808) opines that a strategic planning, monitoring and control system works to minimise time overrun from project plans and consists of identifying and reporting the project status and comparing the progress with the planned progress, including analysing the problems and implementing the corrective action. regarding effective subcontractor management, wang and liu (2005: 395) reveal that a good project management strategy is to pay more attention to subcontractors, in order to prevent any delay that might arise in construction projects. in an effort to deliver sustainable projects, smes rely on the effectiveness of both strategic planning and management, as well as communication with subcontractors. the quantitative findings indicated the allocation of tasks to workers according to their skills and expertise as the third significant modality to be adopted by construction smes, with ms=4.24. this is corroborated by nagaraju and roddy (2012: 375), who note that, in a construction project, each and every activity is allocated a specific number of resources that must be completed within the available time, in order for smes to successfully complete the project on time. qualitative analysis revealed that the following factors were significant: effective project planning, weekly progress meetings, effective communication (respondent a), using experience to determine activity duration, monthly progress meetings (respondent b), labour production, early project completion (respondent c), clear planning, setting realistic project goals, and periodic progress meeting (respondent d). using experience to determine activity duration (respondent a) is in line with shi, ye, lu and hu (2014: 237) who refer to experience as the ability of the firm to schedule and control activities during sustainable construction projects. sogaxa, simpeh & ndihokubwayo • assessment of time management practices 133 however, construction smes adopt setting of realistic goals for the team as a tool in order to complete the project on time, as indicated by respondent d. this is corroborated by hsiaw (2013: 602), who points out that people react to goals in a way that is consistent with the outcomes of the project. this is the reason why the project management team need to set realistic goals for the team working on site. 4.6.2 effective time management through leadership, project work schedule and control among effective time-management practices, construction smes manage time through effective leadership, work scheduling and control. as indicated in table 4, progress meetings to resolve uncertainties, with ms=4.15, is the most significant leadership modality adopted by construction smes to complete projects in time. this finding is supported by maki (2015: 233) who maintains that sustainable success is achieved through smes behaviour, interaction and communication in construction projects, and the clarification on issues relating to the project by different parties to share their knowledge. adequate sequencing of activities on site to avoid idle time is the second most significant time-management modality of effective leadership. this finding correlates with harris and mccaffer (2013: 99-221), who argue that effective scheduling of activities forms the basic logic to achieve planning models and help the project manager in understanding the project and interrelationships between the major activities. furthermore, table 4 also indicates that effective communication between the sme and the project design team as the third most significant leadership skill applied by construction smes, with ms=4.08. this finding is in line with normative literature such as zuo, zhao, nguyen, ma and gao (2018: 427) and ochieng and price (2010: 1160) and myers and eike (2020: 294) who suggest that effective communication among project teams is the evidence that indicates that an integrated team is significant in terms of improving productivity. in addition, baiden and price (2011: 131) conclude that effective communication adopted by construction smes and other parties involved in construction projects is central to effective performance with regard to the fulfilment of different skills required in the construction industry. with respect to effective leadership adopted by construction smes to achieve sustainable construction project success, smes employ the following: employment of human resources based on their skill, willingness of the team to deliver (respondent a), increased working hours, involving site management team in planning (respondent b), effective communication among the team (respondent c) and requesting outstanding information (respondent d). however, employment of human resources based on their acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 134 skills confirms quantitative findings in recruitment of management team with relevant experience, with a value of ms=4.10. this finding is justified by wright and mcmahan (2011: 8), who suggest that construction firms need to employ skilled human resources with multiple skills in order to fill the gap, and those individuals can be moved between the construction sites. the qualitative results revealed that requesting outstanding information from the designing team constitutes the most significant tool adopted by smes to manage time in construction projects. in support of this finding, higgins, fryer, stratton, simpson and reginato (2012: 3) opine that request for information is a tool for sme contractors, subcontractors and designing teams to record circulated information to achieving sustainable construction project success. 5. conclusions this article assessed effective time-management practices adopted by construction smes to achieve sustainable construction project success. among effective time-management practices adopted by construction smes, site progress meetings held between the contractor and the design team members (ms=4.29), strategic planning to recover time lost (ms=4.27), effective subcontractor management (ms=4.27) and allocation of tasks to workers according to their skills and expertise (ms=4.24) were perceived as the most important ones. these findings were validated using qualitative interviews. the results align with the quantitative analysis, as the respondents noted effective time-management practices that are adopted by construction smes include effective project planning by construction smes and effective progress meetings which relate to strategic planning to recover time lost. it is important that smes adopt these time-management practices to limit construction project failure as a result of ineffective timemanagement. however, the qualitative findings were not in line with the quantitative findings in respect of communication between parties involved in the project. the respondents believed that effective communication between the sme contractors and the design team members and the willingness of the team within the company to deliver is significant towards effective time-management. also, increasing working hours to recover time lost on construction projects and setting realistic goals for construction projects are the most significant time-management practices adopted by construction smes. notwithstanding, the quantitative results shows that smes does not really consider project-based bonuses to fast-track construction projects. the limitation of this study is that it focuses on small to medium enterprise (sme) contractors with cidb grading between 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(eds). proceedings of the 14th working conference on virtual enterprises, (prove), 30 september to 2 october 2013, dresden, germany, pp.172-179, https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-642-40543-3_19 taber, k.s. 2018. the use of cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. research in science education, 48(6), pp. 1273-1296. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11165-016-9602-2 tunji-olayeni, p.f., mosaku, t.o., fagbenle, o.i. & amusan, l.m. 2016. project management competencies of indigenous contractors in nigeria. african journal of built environment research, 1(1), pp. 49-58. https://doi. org/10.5171/2016.482398 ugwu, o. & haupt, t.c. 2007. key performance indicators and assessment methods for infrastructure sustainability – a south african construction https://doi.org/10.1108/14635771011049380 https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmpc-07-2019-0064 https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmpc-07-2019-0064 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-018-0320-1 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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2004.07.011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00165.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00165.x https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2010.07.002 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2015.01.011 https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-01-2016-0016 https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam-01-2016-0016 260 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as kevin wall prof. kevin wall, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x 20, hatfield 0028, south africa. phone: +27-82-459-3618; email: kevin. wall@up.ac.za; kevinwall468@ gmail.com, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-0940-7515 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: september 2021 reviewed and revised: septembernovember 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: dysfunction, local government, municipal demarcation, service delivery, south africa, white paper how to cite: wall, k. 2022. the 1998 “‘mini-constitution’ for local government”: a review of the assumptions of the white paper on local government. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 260-292. the 1998 “‘miniconstitution’ for local government”: a review of the assumptions of the white paper on local government review article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.9 abstract many south african municipalities suffer servicedelivery problems that can usually be ascribed to inadequate management, skills, and budgets. the reasons for these, in turn, invariably include weak economic base, unwise spending of available funds, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled staff. the white paper on local government of 1998, to which valli moosa, the then minister for provincial affairs and constitutional development, referred as “almost [being] regarded as a ‘miniconstitution’ for local government”, together with the municipal demarcation act of the same year, spelled out the framework in terms of which the local government system would be transformed. municipalities, covering the entire country “wall-towall”, were thereafter established and powers and functions were assigned to them. after more than two decades, there can no longer be any doubt that many municipalities are, to a significant extent, failing in their primary duty of delivering services. the author sought to investigate to what extent this failing is due to flaws in the ‘mini-constitution’. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 260-292 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 261 by examining aspects of the performance of municipalities, the article assesses key assumptions made by the drafters of the white paper in respect of a number of key attributes for service delivery. these attributes include sufficient skills and funding, prudent budgeting and effective spending, good leadership, adequate systems and data, stability of the senior leadership, and the presence of trust and credibility. the article finds that many of the assumptions were flawed, with severe consequences for service delivery. abstrak baie suid-afrikaanse munisipaliteite het diensleweringsprobleme wat gewoonlik aan onvoldoende bestuur, vaardighede en begrotings toegeskryf kan word. die redes hiervoor sluit altyd op sy beurt swak ekonomiese basis, onverstandige besteding van beskikbare fondse en probleme met die werwing en behoud van geskoolde personeel in. die witskrif oor plaaslike regering van 1998, waarna valli moosa, destydse minister van provinsiale sake en grondwetlike ontwikkeling, verwys het as “byna beskou [word] as ’n ‘mini-grondwet’ vir plaaslike regering”, tesame met die munisipale afbakeningswet van dieselfde jaar, het die raamwerk uitgespel ingevolge waarvan die destydse plaaslike regeringstelsel getransformeer sou word. munisipaliteite, wat die hele land ‘muur-totmuur’ dek, is daarna gestig en magte en funksies is aan hulle toegewys. ná meer as twee dekades kan daar geen twyfel meer wees dat baie munisipaliteite in ’n beduidende mate misluk in hul primêre plig om dienste te lewer nie. die outeur het gepoog om te ondersoek in watter mate hierdie mislukking te wyte is aan gebreke in die ‘minigrondwet’. deur aspekte van die prestasie van munisipaliteite te ondersoek, ondersoek die artikel belangrike aannames wat deur die opstellers van die witskrif gemaak is ten opsigte van sleutelkenmerke vir dienslewering, soos voldoende vaardighede en befondsing, omsigtige begroting en effektiewe besteding, goeie leierskap, voldoende stelsels en data, stabiliteit van die senior leierskap en die teenwoordigheid van vertroue en geloofwaardigheid. die artikel bevind dat baie van die aannames gebrekkig was, met ernstige gevolge vir dienslewering. 1. introduction much as the author has, throughout his extensive career in matters of local service delivery, had faith in the intrinsic ability of the current municipal model to deliver services, it is increasingly apparent that this model does not work in all situations in south africa. reform is clearly needed – it is no exaggeration to say that the economy and the quality of life of the people of the country depend, to a great extent, on functioning local government. it makes good sense to understand why – or, at least, some of the reasons why – the model does not work. only when these flaws are identified and their impact understood, can a process of reform proceed with any assurance. before investigating the reason as to why the model does not work in all situations, it is important to introduce the origins of south african municipalities that were set up to deliver services. this background (not a comprehensive history of the municipal model) is to enable an understanding of the institutional landscape at local government level that the new democratic government inherited in 1994. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 262 1.1 19th-century – britain and south africa prior to the start of the 19th century, the only settlement of any size in south africa, cape town, was administered by the dutch east india company. the company did not provide more than rudimentary municipality-type services (murray 2021: 3-5). moreover, when the british took control a few years after the turn of the century, it was not as if they brought with them a tried and tested service-delivery system that could be quickly adopted. their own existing system, historically based on parish responsibility for basic services, was, by that stage, proving unable to cope with rapid changes to the social and demographic face of britain, in particular the industrial revolution then gathering speed (warwick university, 2012: 17-18). realising the rising need to provide services especially to the fast-growing industrial towns, from the 1830s onwards, the british government crafted a series of laws that defined which services should be the responsibility of municipalities, how revenue should be raised, and how these institutions should be governed (generally, by councillors who would periodically have to stand for re-election, and be judged by voters on how well they were running the municipality – in particular, delivering services) (warwick university, 2012: 17-19). changes continued for the remainder of the century, driven by the need to provide more services for a rapidly increasing urbanised population. change was also driven, or enabled by rapid advances in the theory and practice of engineering, science and medicine, and the unprecedented industrial capacity to manufacture the pipes and pumps and to undertake the civil engineering works for service delivery that was increasingly needed. at the same time, rising educational standards and rising democracy levels (demanding widening of the adult suffrage to a more representative citizenry) required constant evolution of how local service delivery would be implemented. “local government as it is known today was established in south africa when in 1861 an act of parliament [of the cape colony] created a municipal board” (city of cape town, 1982: 395-398). the powers of these local governments were initially very limited; however, they evolved over more than a century in step with those in britain, until the stage was reached that municipal government in both countries enjoyed a wide, albeit by no means identical, range of service-delivery responsibilities. 1.2 the apartheid-era municipal model in south africa in line with apartheid policy, from the 1960s, the government then in power in south africa introduced a number of legislative changes to the local government structures in place at the time. the most important of these for this article were: wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 263 • the establishment of “coloured” and “indian” management committees as advisory bodies to municipalities.2 • in terms of the bantu affairs administration act (act 45 of 1971) (south africa, 1971), the removal of responsibility for the administration of areas in cities and towns of black residential settlement (specific areas defined in terms of the group areas act (act 36 of 1966) (south africa, 1966) from the municipalities, placing this responsibility with newly created administration boards, whose members were appointed, not elected. • “black local authorities”, created in terms of the bantu local authorities act (act 102 of 1982) (south africa, 1982), were never popular with the constituents, many of whom regarded them as politically illegitimate. although empowered to levy charges for services such as water and sanitation in their areas,3 because of payment boycotts and inability to increase tariffs even sufficient to cover annually rising costs of water supplied to them in bulk, they accumulated significant financial losses on these services (wall, 1995: 5). • in the early 1980s, the establishment of regional services councils, and the introduction by these councils of a system of levies to facilitate the transfer of funds to black local authorities. however, political changes at national level, starting in 1990 with the unbanning of the anc, formally began a process of reform at local level as well. a key enactment of that time was the local government transition act of 1993, which “did not provide a blueprint for a new local government system but simply sketched a process for change” (dpacd,1998a: 134). events subsequent to 1993, including the establishment of interim municipal councils in many (mostly urban) areas “clearly” showed “that delivery on new municipal mandates cannot be achieved within the existing institutional framework” (in other words, that inherited in 1994) (dpacd,1998a: 14). hence, the white paper on local government of 1998, together with the municipal demarcation act of the same year, spelled out the framework in terms of which the then existing local government system would be transformed. 2 during the 1970s, government announced that it was envisaged that these management committees would, in due course, become fully-fledged municipalities, with similar fundraising powers and servicedelivery responsibilities to those of the adjacent ‘white’ municipalities. that this was fanciful was shown by a number of studies (e.g. wall, 1979) which pointed, for example, to the impossibility of separating the infrastructure networks of these areas from those of the adjacent municipalities. 3 not only the user charge base, but also the property-assessment rates base of these local authorities was invariably far too low to contemplate their being financially self-sustaining. 4 the 120 pages of the white paper are not numbered, so the page numbers referenced, in this article, are numbers counted from the cover page being ‘page 1’. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 264 1.3 specific aim to be addressed it is a truism to say that correct identification of a problem is halfway to resolving the problem. however, attempts at improving local governance in south africa over the past 20 years have to a large extent no more than tinkered around the edges – for example, various strategies to ‘turn local government around’ and to ‘capacitate’ local government officials. not surprisingly, service delivery by local government continues, in the main, to deteriorate. this article returns to the foundation document – the ‘mini-constitution’ – for local government in south africa, viz. the white paper on local government of 1998 – and, in a nutshell, reviews and critiques key elements of that document. how valid, the article asks, have those assumptions proved to be? 2. methods and review approach many south african municipalities, mandated to provide specific services, are failing to do so for a myriad of reasons, including particularly insufficient skills and funding, and poor governance. the review seeks to understand if this failure, which is so widespread, can be traced back to the way in which municipalities were designed, with the powers and functions assigned to them – in other words, back to the founding document, the 1998 white paper on local government. first, the review briefly describes the origins of the municipal model. secondly, having quoted the constitutional mandate for municipalities to deliver services, it describes seven essential attributes for a municipality to deliver these services. the 1998 white paper is then described, together with a brief summary of the assumptions evident in its drafting. some evidence is then presented of the recent and current service-delivery performance of municipalities. thirdly, in the discussion section, evidence is presented of the white paper assumptions with respect to each of the attributes. qualitative research methods are employed for the study, primarily through the application of desktop research and secondary data analysis. relevant material used in this review consisted of articles, reports, the internet, and other documents obtained from the author’s extensive personal database of relevant material. particularly useful sources were (i) the reports of the auditor general and (ii) the series of infrastructure condition report cards of the south african institution of civil engineering (saice) and council for scientific and industrial research (csir) and data-intensive material typical of that which the series used, such as the reports of roads authorities and of the department of water and sanitation (dws). wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 265 3. key issues 3.1 the mandate of local government – to deliver services 3.1.1 the constitutional mandate for service delivery clause 152 of the constitution states that: “the objects of local government are — (a) to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities; (b) to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner; (c) to promote social and economic development; (d) to promote a safe and healthy environment; and (e) to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government” (south africa, 1996). 3.1.2 the attributes a municipality would require for it to deliver the mandated services the following, listed in random order, are the seven attributes most essential if a municipality is to deliver the mandated services. this is, in the author’s view,5 supplemented by, inter alia, the findings of the three most recent south african institution of civil engineering (saice) national infrastructure condition report cards (saice, 2011; saice, 2017; saice, 2022: forthcoming). • adequate funding, for capital and operational purposes. • prudent budgeting – and effective spending. • adequate skills. • good leadership: and officials and a citizenry with a high level of ethics and cooperation, and broadly compatible cultures. • adequate systems and data, linked to decision-making.6 • stability – particularly of council leadership and senior management. • trust and credibility. 5 the author has five decades of experience of municipal engineering, including 12 years at the csir with a specific brief to improve service delivery by municipalities. in addition, he has been the research manager for all four of the saice national infrastructure condition report cards. 6 for example, it is no use having systems for the collection of data on infrastructure condition if there is no system for that data to be made use of in managing the infrastructure assets. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 266 each of these positive attributes of a municipality that is able to deliver services is now described in sufficient detail, but without being exhaustive, so that it may be understood what is implied by each. 3.1.2.i adequate funding, for capital and operational purposes based on saice report cards and the author’s own experience and view, the municipality is financially viable, which implies: • able to raise a substantial amount of the revenue needed from own resources, mainly through service charges and property assessment rates; and • able to elicit transfers from other governments or private sources; • all these in the form of revenue, grants, loans, etc; and • not forgetting the importance of credit control. when it comes to service delivery specifically: • the municipality is able to obtain the funds to operate and maintain the infrastructure, so that this infrastructure can perform to specification; and • the municipality is able, when necessary, to raise the capital funding needed for refurbishment, upgrading, extension and/or replacement of the infrastructure. 3.1.2.ii prudent budgeting – and effective spending in the author’s own experience and view, the municipality, inter alia: • is able to manage its revenue; • does not incur, or incurs only very small amounts of the irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure which the auditor general reports year after year for so many municipalities; • complies with other auditor general requirements, e.g. submits returns of audits within the legislated deadlines; • spends effectively, ensuring that value matching the expenditure is received; • spends very high proportions of its annual total budgets – in the upper 90% – but without overspending; • uses its equitable share allocation entirely for its intended purpose; • makes sound budget allocation decisions, based on rational criteria – in particular, prioritises strategic infrastructure; • keeps staff costs within accepted norms. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 267 3.1.2.iii adequate skills in the author’s own experience and view, the municipality inter alia: • ensures that all those responsible for the successful operation of the municipality, from the elected councillors through to the general workers, are sufficiently skilled (qualifications and experience) and aware of what is expected of them; • has an appropriate organisational structure, organograms and job descriptions – optimum for infrastructure portfolio and/or servicedelivery responsibilities; • makes appointments on merit (especially appointments of senior staff key to service delivery – municipal managers, technical services managers, and chief financial officers (cfos); • has, even if it is in a remote location, by one or another means resolved any difficulties in attracting those higher levels of skills it needs – including, if advisable, outsourcing specific responsibilities, in order to obtain the required expertise. 3.1.2.iv good leadership: and officials and a citizenry with high levels of ethics and cooperation, and broadly compatible cultures the municipality enjoys a high level of ethics and a shared, or at least compatible culture conducive to cooperation – shared, that is, with a cooperative/supportive populace, business, community, and other spheres of government. all parties responsible for service delivery share these ethics, culture, and cooperative way of working, and all those responsible, even if indirectly, are committed to service delivery. members of civil society have and understand their particular roles, including: as guardians of the infrastructure – or ‘disrespectful’ (the 2017 saice report card euphemism for vandalism and sabotage) use of it;7 • willingness to pay service-delivery charges if able to; • monitors of service-delivery performance; 7 not forgetting the allegations of sabotage by the employees of, or contractors to servicedelivery institutions – e.g. at eskom power stations, and by johannesburg city power employees arrested for cable theft (maroma, 2022). wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 268 • volunteer or paid employment to improve service-delivery infrastructure.8 3.1.2.v adequate systems and data, linked to decision-making the municipality has effective systems in place for each of the myriad of tasks it needs to undertake (e.g., billing, procurement, revenue management, property development, community liaison and communication, water loss management, infrastructure asset management generally (not least the routine maintenance of infrastructure and prompt attention to consumer complaints of service-delivery interruptions) – and many other tasks), and undertakes these tasks efficiently and effectively. 3.1.2.vi stability – particularly of council leadership and senior management officials, businesses, potential investors, and citizens of a municipality all need the certainty of policy and programmes which best comes with a stable political leadership, at least for the usual five-year term of a council. the same benefits flow from stability of the senior management team at the municipality. 3.1.2.vii trust and credibility the municipality is one where trust in it (trust that it delivers, is effective and efficient, has justifiable priorities, is honest, and is open and transparent) has never been in doubt, and continues to grow year by year. similarly, the credibility of its policies, programmes, and plans has been built due to a strong service-delivery track record.9 3.2 evolution of the municipal model since 1994 the purpose of this section is to provide background on only those legislative changes since 1994 which have shaped the institutional framework for local service delivery – that is, only sufficient background to enable the ensuing discussion of the performance of municipalities. it does not aim to provide a comprehensive history of post-apartheid local government. 8 to which could be added the potential for infrastructure tasks to be sites of training. (not simply by epwp – there are other ways which are arguably better.) also, the potential for infrastructure tasks to create and nurture emergent microenterprises (wall, 2022). 9 simple examples, from the perspective of a household, could include: • ‘my’ service charges and assessment rates revenues are not misappropriated; and • the quality of “my” drinking water supply meets sans 247 (sabs, 2015) criteria all the time. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 269 the single document that has had the most influence on the framework of governance, institutional form, and the performance of municipalities since 1994 is undoubtedly the ‘white paper on local government’ of 9 march 1998. this laid the groundwork for legislation that subsequently followed, most notably the municipal demarcation act, act 27 of 1998, the municipal structures act, act 117 of 1998 (south africa, 1998), and the municipal systems act, act 32 of 2000 (south africa, 2000). the then minister for provincial affairs and constitutional development, mr valli moosa, in the ‘foreword’ to the white paper, emphasised its importance, describing it as “almost [being] regarded as a ‘mini-constitution’ for local government”. he stated: “local government is the sphere of government that interacts closest with communities, is responsible for the services and infrastructure so essential to our people’s well-being, and is tasked with ensuring growth and development of communities in a manner that enhances community participation and accountability … this white paper spells out the framework and programme in terms of which the existing local government system will be radically transformed.” he furthermore stated: “it [the white paper] establishes the basis for a system of local government which is centrally concerned with working with local citizens and communities to find sustainable ways to meet their needs and improve the quality of their lives.” (foreword to dpacd, 1998a: 6). a major assumption of both the 1998 white paper and the demarcation act – not stated in as many words, but certainly implied – is that the conventional municipal model, modified as necessary, would be extended to the country as a whole – in other words, all areas of south africa would be covered by municipalities. reading these documents now, nearly a quarter of a century later, one realises anew how inequitable the system for local governance and service delivery up to that time was, and how difficult significant improvement would be. for one thing, there was the sheer number of administrations, each with its own personnel, infrastructure responsibilities, and so on: wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 270 “the founding 1995/6 local government elections [had] ushered in 843 transitional local authorities from a fragmented 1262 apartheid era municipalities” (anc, 2021: 1).10 on the other hand, one is struck by how wrong the drafters of the white paper were in a number of key assumptions they made. while there is no need in this article to discover why these assumptions were made, it might suffice to suggest that not only was the ‘task’ grossly ‘underestimated’, but the ‘resources’ that might be or would become available, especially the revenue potential, were grossly ‘overestimated’. further, there was misplaced overconfidence that the incoming government would be able to win the trust of communities and that they, the communities, would cooperate as envisaged (e.g., by paying user service charges) – also that government would be able to amass and control the resources needed to support its local service-delivery objectives. a few examples of these assumptions, all drawn from the 1998 white paper, may serve as illustration. 3.2.1 white paper on local government (1998) – assumptions this section briefly summarises the white paper’s key assumptions relating to service delivery. section 4 considers, with hindsight, each of the essential attributes for service delivery that are described in section 3.1.2 – how accurate the views and assumptions of the white paper have proved to be, how has subsequent reality diverged from this and, broadly, what have been the circumstances. a very important assumption was evidently that municipalities would be able to raise substantial sums of the funding they needed, mainly through service charges and property-assessment rates. moreover, the white paper further assumed (i) that service tariffs would be set at levels that will be affordable for all households and (ii) that sufficient revenue would be generated to ensure financially sustainable municipalities. that is, there would be adequate funding, for capital and operational purposes, for financial viability while delivering on the municipality’s constitution-given mandate. these funds would come from the municipality’s own resources, transfers from national and provincial government, other governments, and from private sources. other evident assumptions of the white paper were: 10 “the first democratic local elections in 2000 resulted in wall-to-wall democratic local government structures with 284 municipalities, and after some amalgamations today there are 257 municipalities” (anc, 2021: 1). wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 271 • all those responsible for the successful operation of municipalities, from the elected councillors to the appointed officials/general workers, would be sufficiently skilled and also willing to utilise these skills to the benefit of the municipality. • the municipalities would be well led. • there would be a high level of ethics and a shared, or at least compatible culture conducive to cooperation. also, a cooperative/ supportive populace, business, community, and other spheres of government. • municipalities would from early on build a good service-delivery track record, engendering an atmosphere of trust and credibility between the municipalities and their citizens. 3.2.2 local government municipal demarcation act, 1998 – objectives the drafters of the 1998 white paper were no doubt relying on the good judgement of those who subsequently would be responsible for the demarcation of municipalities. the enabling act, the ‘local government municipal demarcation act’ (act 27 of 1998), which was signed into law in july 1998, three months after the ushering in of the white paper, aimed to enable the creation of functioning and viable municipalities, and its purpose was: “to provide for criteria and procedures for the determination of municipal boundaries by an independent authority; and to provide for matters connected thereto.” the bulk of this fairly short act related to matters such as the membership and operating procedures of the board, and to demarcation procedures (e.g., notifying the public). sections 24 and 25 of chapter 2: “part 2: demarcation criteria” are of greatest interest, because these refer to service delivery and “financial viability and administrative capacity”. s24 “demarcation objectives” stated that: “when the board determines a municipal boundary, its objectives must be to establish an area that would [inter alia] a. enable the municipality for that area to fulfil its constitutional obligations, including [inter alia] … ii. the provision of services to the communities in an equitable and sustainable manner; …. and wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 272 d. have a tax base as inclusive as possible of users of municipal services in the municipality.” s25 “factors to be taken into account” stated that: “in order to attain the objectives set out in section 24, the board must, when determining a municipal boundary, take into account [inter alia] … c. the financial viability and administrative capacity of the municipality to perform municipal functions efficiently and effectively” (dpacd, 1998b: 18). this article discusses how well the board would seem to have met these objectives and taken these factors into account. 3.3 an overview of evidence of the recent and current service-delivery performance of municipalities while many municipalities have, by and large, performed well at delivering the services expected of them in terms of the constitution, and in a sustainable manner, a sizeable number have not. a sample of indicators of the above include: • service-delivery protests (e.g., as measured by municipal iq).11 • the findings of the ‘report cards’ prepared by the saice on the condition of public sector infrastructure.12 • the ‘strategic overviews of the water sector’ produced each year by the dws (e.g., dws, 2017). • the green drop certifications (dws, 2022). 11 “… service delivery protests … numbers grew annually, reaching a peak of 237 in 2018 – during which ‘protesters raise issues that are the responsibility or perceived responsibility of local government (such as councillor accountability, the quality and pace of basic service delivery, and, in metro areas, housing)” (municipal iq 2021: 1). 12 that this exercise concluded in 2017, the most recent year for which a report has been published, with awarding south africa’s public infrastructure an overall average (i.e. across all sectors) grade of only ‘d+’, of a range from ‘a+’ through ‘e-‘, indicates a worrying incidence of infrastructure failure, or propensity to fail, with consequences for service delivery (saice, 2017: 11). while the next national infrastructure condition report card will not be published until, it is anticipated, during the fourth quarter of calendar 2022, indications from the sector reports received to date (august 2022) are that the gradings of almost all sectors have dropped or, at best, while retaining the 2017 grading, moved from “stable” to “at-risk”. note: the scale of grades runs from “a”, interpreted as “world class” through to “e”, “unfit for purpose”. “d” is “at risk of failure”. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 273 arguably, though, the most comprehensive annual assessments of the state of south africa’s local government, and the consequences for service delivery, are the auditor general’s annual reports on municipalities in terms of the local government: municipal finance management act, 2003 (mfma). the most recent of these covered the financial year 2020-2021, but also reflected on the five-year term of municipal councils, ending with the november 2021 local government elections. sadly, “the trends in the report demonstrate that the fourth administration (2016-2017) left municipalities in a worse financial position than when they took office”. moreover: “the lack of improvement in municipal outcomes is an indictment on the entire local government accountability ecosystem, which failed to act and arrest the decline that continued to be characterised by service delivery challenges in municipalities,” says maluleke (auditor general, 2022a: 1). especially delivery of services for the poor; in the previous year’s report she had pointed out that “the most jarring revelations concern the impact of service delivery failures upon the most vulnerable of our citizens – the poor” (auditor general, 2021: 7). the same conclusion had been reached some years previously by saice which, in the 2011 report card, stated that “the quality and reliability of basic infrastructure serving the majority of our citizens is poor and, in many places, getting worse” (saice, 2011: 5). none of this comes as a surprise, as the same municipalities have, for a decade or more, been identified as problematic. media reports or court judgments name the same issues year after year (auditor general, 2021; municipaliq, 2021; registrar of north west high court, 2021; ensor, 2022; masuabi, 2022; pheto, 2022; kretzmann, 2022; ryan, 2022.) each year, too, promises are made as to how improvements will be effected – very seldom can this improvement be observed. the anc ruling party is openly worried about the often-poor performance of all municipalities, usually closely related to their dysfunctionality – a concern no doubt linked to the likely effect of this dysfunctionality on its electoral performance. at the time when this article was written (august 2022), president ramaphosa was under no illusion: “five years ago, in june 2017, eight municipalities were under the administration of the national or provincial government. by june 2021, 23 municipalities were under administration, and by february 2022, this number had further increased to 33 municipalities. as we wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 274 have recognised before … this situation has contributed to declining levels of voter participation in elections and diminishing support for the anc” (masuabi, 2022). finally, several studies can be found of sector-specific examples of poor service-delivery performance – in these cases, as manifested in either the condition of municipal infrastructure or the consequences of that condition. first, gibbons et al. provide a broad overview of the water and sanitation sector infrastructure nationally; secondly, griffiths et al. concentrate on water leakage, consequent losses, and the potential financial savings from managing demand generally, and specifically fixing leaks. thirdly, chettiar et al. describe the impact of municipal infrastructure failure on the tourism sector, particularly on tourism-dependent attractions and accommodation on kwazulu-natal’s south coast. 4. discussion 4.1 assessment of the white paper assumptions what might a scorecard of the 1998 white paper assumptions look like? specifically, how do the assumptions match up to the attributes that section 3.2 states are ‘essential if a municipality is to provide the mandated services’? section 4.1, for each of the attributes in turn – • discovers the white paper views and assumptions (quoting where necessary) • and then, with the hindsight of 24 years since the white paper was approved, assesses the accuracy of the white paper views and assumptions, considering some possible reasons for this accuracy matching, exceeding and/or falling short of these views and assumptions. 4.1.1 adequate funding, for capital and operational purposes the white paper assumption evidently was that municipalities would be able to raise substantial revenue, mainly through service charges and property assessment rates. moreover, “the emphasis was on delivering services and promoting development at local level. … the main municipal services, namely electricity, water, sanitation and waste removal, were a tool to assist in reducing poverty and racial and income inequality, raise living standard and facilitate economic opportunities. … the 1998 white paper further assumed that service tariffs would be set at levels wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 275 that will be affordable for all households and that sufficient revenue would be generated to ensure financially sustainable municipalities” (anc, 2021: 1). that is, there would be adequate funding, for capital and operational purposes, for financial viability while delivering on the municipality’s constitution-given mandate. these funds would come from the municipality’s own resources, transfers from national and provincial government, other governments, and from private sources – in the form of revenue, grants, loans, etc. the importance of credit control to help ensure the payment of revenues due was also emphasised. coupled with this, wasteful expenditure would be drastically reduced if not eliminated. this assumption is evident from the following white paper statements, each of which is immediately followed by the comment of the author13: • the section on “property taxation” concerned itself solely with bringing uniformity to the rating system, “bringing currently untaxed areas into the tax net”, a review of the valuation periods, and “a need to develop the criteria for evaluating alternative property valuation systems, within the framework of alleviating and addressing poverty. a municipality needs to develop a clear policy and set of procedures regarding the full or partial relief to those who are generally too poor to pay for rates” (dpacd, 1998a: 87-88). comment: an unexceptionable statement but giving no hint that the order of magnitude of the ‘relief’ was understood by the drafters of the white paper. (in hindsight, it clearly was not – see end of section 4.1.1). • in the section on regional services council and joint services board levies, it was stated that these need to be retained “at least until such time as a suitable alternative, yielding the same net revenue, is introduced”. in the meantime, “it is proposed” that municipalities “should utilise the levies for the development and maintenance of infrastructure” (dpacd, 1998a: 88). comment: the drafters did not foresee that the amounts raised from these levies would be wholly inadequate. 13 it was not possible to comment on an individual level, referring to single municipalities because, when the white paper was formulated, the municipalities had not yet been demarcated. there is no ‘municipal a yesterday’ to compare with ‘municipal a today’, thus the only valid level at which to substantiate the comments is at the generic level. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 276 • the fuel levy was mooted (dpacd, 1998a: 88) as “a potentially important source of revenue for local government”. comment: this levy has remained firmly in the hands of national government. • the white paper (dpacd, 1998a: 89) presented, in hindsight, a very optimistic view of the credit control measures that would be possible, including that municipalities will “need to take strong measures to deal with those households who can afford to pay for services but are not doing so … such action can include cutting off services or court action to recover debts”. comment: it would seem that hardly any thought was given by the drafters to the fierce resistance that cutting services might, and has, encountered, nor to the many protracted court actions, often inconclusive. (for example, tshwane being granted a court order to attach the assets of madibeng municipality [pheto, 2022], but that municipality is going back to court to fight this.) • white paper: municipalities must develop policies “to ensure that indigent households have access to basic services” (dpacd, 1998a: 89). comment: how this would be done, or what the policies might include, was not discussed in the white paper. however, in 2001, the free basic services policy was introduced. experience with this policy has been assessed many times, and its pros and cons intensively debated (especially by the water research commission in the water and sanitation field – e.g. still et al., 2009). for the purposes of this article, however, all that needs to be noted is that the introduction of the policy, by removing a significant source of revenue, to a great extent undermined the 1998 white paper’s generally optimistic view of the amount of revenue that could be raised from service charges in many areas. • the white paper stated (dpacd, 1998a: 90) that “the institutional restructuring of existing municipalities will result in increased financial viability” (for each of them individually, presumably, rather than for the sphere as a whole). comment: the reasoning behind this statement is not given, and there is hardly any evidence that any increased financial viability has been realised. • the white paper discussed the ability of “municipalities in rural areas” to raise, from property taxes, some of the revenue they would need, concluding that wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 277 “a combination of revenue-generating options, including betterment taxes, will need to be explored further to secure the financial viability of rural local government. [and] consideration should be given to adding to the revenue-raising powers of local government” (dpacd, 1998a: 90). comment: the prospects of raising significant revenue from rural areas have proven to be very overoptimistic. statistics of revenue from rural municipalities show that the revenue-raising ability of municipalities – especially the more rural municipalities – have been wholly inadequate. according to statistics south africa, the more rural municipalities depend on grants and subsidies from government for 73% of their revenue (stats sa, 2015). whereas an evident assumption was that municipalities would be able to raise substantial sums of the revenue they needed, mainly through service charges and property-assessment rates, the white paper should have more clearly foreseen, and made provision for the extent to which, from the start, municipalities would struggle to collect the revenues due – and why they would have to struggle. there were several ways in which the white paper drafters should have foreseen not only that it would be a struggle, but also the extent to which municipalities would have to struggle: • the very large numbers of desperately indigent residents, for many of whom even a token payment towards service charges would be unaffordable. • very large numbers of people might be able to afford the charges, but would be unwilling to pay, and would try to avoid doing so by one or more of a myriad of means, including doctoring or bypassing meters (if they had meters) – or simply ignoring the bills and hoping for yet another amnesty for those in arrears. • prior to 1994, the anc had encouraged non-payment – e.g. the longrunning soweto rent boycott and the boycott of eskom charges. so, for the party, on the basis that they now formed the government, to have expected users to begin paying for services, was a little optimistic (taylor, 1994; mufson, 2013; davis, 2019.) as a consequence, the white paper did not foresee the generally parlous financial state to which a large number of municipalities have been reduced, as epitomised, for example, in the recent remarks of the departing dg of treasury, who is reported to have stated that roughly two-thirds of the wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 278 country’s 257 municipalities are in financial distress and require ongoing assistance from the treasury.14 4.1.2 prudent budgeting – and effective spending the white paper abounded in references to budgets, including issues such as the need for community participation in their preparation, that budgets, which should be structured in a manner that ensures and allows for the budgets of “service units”, to be “ring fenced” (dpacd, 1998a: 76), and that good budgeting and accounting practices must be followed. importantly, a number of principles for a ‘new system of municipal finance’ were set out. these included: • “sustainability: financial sustainability requires that municipalities ensure that the budgets are balanced (income should cover expenditure). given revenue constraints, this involves ensuring that services are provided at levels which are affordable, and that municipalities are able to recover the costs of service delivery.” • moreover: “no bailout will be provided to a municipality that overspends its budget and/or fails to put in place proper financial management controls” (dpacd, 1998a: 25). in hindsight, the white paper overestimated the skills levels that most of the newly demarcated municipalities would have available to apply to the task of drawing up budgets and thereafter managing the budgets and the spending thereof. the white paper did not foresee, or did not foresee the extent of the following (inter alia): • municipalities starting a financial year without fully funded and balanced budgets. this is widespread – according to the deputy minister of finance, in 2021, for example, there were: “… 108 municipalities that have passed an unfunded budget in 2020/21 financial year, masondo said” (anon, 2021). • municipalities drawing up budgets that do not address either their financial commitments (e.g. debt servicing, and obligation to pay for services rendered by others (e.g. eskom) nor their service delivery obligations (e.g. no prioritisation of strategic infrastructure and direction to it of budgets which are sufficient (as opposed to budgeting to spend on infrastructure of less importance). 14 according to director-general dondo mogajane, who said the “treasury cannot cope with the situation” (ensor, 2022). wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 279 • not using the equitable share grant for its intended purpose (but, for a frequent example, using part of it to pay salaries of officials). • the often gross under-budgeting for infrastructure maintenance, ignoring that this will inevitably result in higher costs (and servicedelivery interruptions) in the future (wall, 2021). the auditor general’s mfma (auditor general 2022a; 2022b) and other reports year after year describe many areas where the funding available to municipalities can be spent to better effect. the reports on each municipality outline recommended improvements which would sometimes save tens of millions of rands. much of this saving is related to more appropriate purchasing or hiring choices, and to supply-chain management to obtain better value for money and taking life-cycle costing into account when making capital purchases. but much of it is also related to money wasted in various other ways, particularly wasteful or even corrupt spending. to sum up, it would not be unfair to state that many municipalities have, in the intervening years, ignored some of the key principles of the ‘new system of municipal finance’ quoted above. 4.1.3 adequate skills the assumption of the drafters of the white paper was evidently that all those responsible for the successful operation of municipalities, from the elected councillors through to the general workers, would be sufficiently skilled and willing to utilise these skills to the benefit of the municipality. moreover, if the municipal administrations were not sufficiently skilled, it would not be too great a problem to address the shortfalls. thus, the emphasis in the white paper was on: • building skills in communities for the purposes of local economic development. • the transformation of existing municipal administrations – not merely in terms of demographics, but in order to break away from the hitherto “rigid, authoritarian and outdated management practices”. this latter would include “building a culture and commitment to results and value-for-money”. • introducing measures such as “performance-based contracts for senior staff”, tightening existing measures to prevent “corruption or financial and ethical misconduct”, and “decentralisation of operational management responsibility”. (dpacd, 1998a: 75-77). • “new capacities” (strategic capacity, integrating capacity and a community orientation) that municipalities will need to develop – these were described at some length (dpacd, 1998a: 79-80). wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 280 however, there was no assessment (e.g. numbers of qualified people, and fitting this demand in the context of national skills profiles) of the skills to match the needs of the projected-to-rapidly-grow infrastructure of the future, as the requirements of those without infrastructure would, as promised by the national government, be progressively addressed. if such an assessment had been done, and its results made available to the drafters of the white paper, they would surely have realised the extent to which a shortage of the higher levels of skills required to run a municipality – a countrywide shortage that would especially be experienced by the more rural municipalities – would inhibit service delivery at many of the soon-tobe-demarcated municipalities. there is no knowing what effect this realisation would have had on the findings of the white paper or the demarcation process that followed, but the result would very likely have been to the good of service delivery. the white paper did not foresee, or did not foresee the extent of: • inappropriate organograms (sub-optimum for the infrastructure portfolio of a municipality and/or its service-delivery responsibility);15 • vacancies, especially in senior posts; • the many, and it seems, increasing cases of senior municipal staff being suspended, at considerable cost to the municipality, and with other staff members having to do the work of the person suspended; • appointments that are not based on merit (apart from corruption, reference here to the extent to which underqualified people are appointed – of biggest concern the ceos and municipal managers, technical services managers, and cfos); • difficulty of attracting qualified staff to remote locations (e.g. to many of the mostly rural municipalities); • the largely ineffectual performance of national programmes to improve skills in the public service (e.g. project consolidate), the lack of evaluations of these extremely expensive programmes (and/ or that evaluations are seldom placed in the public domain), and the generally poor design of these programmes (especially that they are driven by “compliance” as opposed to “service performance”, that “quantities” have been prized more highly than lasting quality, and that 15 vienings and lima (2011, 2014 and 2015) (for the water research commission) challenged these organograms and assessed skills shortfalls against the organogram and job descriptions which the municipality ought to have adopted, given its service-delivery responsibilities and the infrastructure which is in its care. the method was applied to 30 water services institutions. findings on shortfalls showed that some institutions were well capacitated, but, at the other end of the spectrum, one municipality was found to have less than 10% of the capacity it needed to provide the service! wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 281 the choice of what they focus on sometimes does not seem to be determined by any process of strategic prioritisation). the then minister of finance, no less, queried the efficacy of government programmes to build capacity in municipalities: “national and provincial government have to date spent billions of rands in local government capacity building programmes. the poor performance of many municipalities shows that there was almost a zero return on that investment” (ministry of finance, 2021: 11). the above bullet points refer to officials. however, it can be argued that analogous criticisms can be levelled against the elected municipal councillors who often do not have skills sufficient or suitable to match the high level of responsibilities they carry. this is not unlikely, given that, as a criterion for nomination, it would seem that education seldom prevails against charisma, popularity, political influence – or loyalty to the party. it is understandable that the people in the municipality with the greatest influence on its policies, strategic direction, staff appointments, and budgeting, i.e. the councillors, can be appointed in this way – but it might not be conducive to growing a fully functioning, ethical, and financially sustainable organisation for service delivery. “saice has raised concerns about capacity shortages in municipalities, and worked with local government to improve the situation, for over a decade. the problem remains, in part because of population growth outstripping local government engineering capacity growth. … many municipalities still have no or only a single junior engineering professional responsible for the operation and maintenance of tens of millions of rand[s] of investment in existing infrastructure, and also for the planning of new infrastructure” (saice, 2017: 17). lawless (2016) has, over the years, researched the shortage of engineering staff in municipalities (e.g. her surveys, completed in 2005 and 2015, of the presence or absence of engineering expertise in municipalities). the data from the 2015 survey, although outdated, is still more than adequate to illustrate that municipalities, further from the amenities that a sizeable urban area can offer (those coloured red through orange in figure 1), are those that struggle the most to acquire and retain the sophisticated skills required to run even the smallest municipality. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 282 figure 1: numbers and needs in local government – update 2015 source: lawless, 2016: ppt yet, when setting up municipalities to serve mostly rural areas, the demarcation board expected that they would be able to attract suitably qualified staff. 4.1.4 adequate systems and data, linked to decision-making the systems, on which a municipality depends, extend far beyond those which relate only to infrastructure condition and performance, or even to service delivery. a functioning municipality also requires systems for, inter alia: • properties: ownership, restrictions, valuations, services; • billing: addressees, payments and non-payments, credit checks, penalties; • goods and services: creditors, debtors, value for money, stock control; • the functioning of council: correspondence, meetings, decisions, follow-ups, consequences; • personnel: qualifications, processes of appointment, salaries, and other benefits. wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 283 successful utilisation of these systems of course depends on personnel able to operate these systems, and appropriate ict infrastructure and support. no mention could be found in the white paper of any of these matters. this is despite each of the proposed new municipalities being likely to need these systems to be fully functioning from the first day of its existence – no small achievement in a sophisticated urban environment, let alone in a small town in a more remote part of south africa. 4.1.5 good leadership: and officials and a citizenry with high levels of ethics and cooperation, and broadly compatible cultures on this topic: in the opinion of saice (saice, 2017: 16): • “many of the institutions responsible for south african infrastructure are weak – poorly capacitated, ambiguously mandated and badly governed. it is not surprising then that there is a declining public confidence in the strength of the institutions entrusted with infrastructure provision and maintenance.” • “… a politicised ‘cadre deployment’ strategy … destabilises the civil service.” • “moreover, a culture of discretionary rather than evidence-based decision-making allows institutions to ignore inconvenient data and analysis.” • “at the local level, …. [i]ncreased poor governance, lack of accountability, and capacity shortages … continued to frustrate service delivery and effective asset management.” • “the desperation that deprived communities feel is often evidenced by violence and destruction …”. the drafters of the white paper evidently assumed that capable and ethical leaders would readily be found for all municipalities. moreover, that these leaders, and officials and the citizenry, would subscribe to a high level of ethics and a shared, or at least compatible culture conducive to cooperation and primarily focused on service delivery – adding to this, a cooperative/supportive populace, business, community, and other spheres of government. also, that all parties would willingly accept their responsibilities, and that there would be mechanisms to hold them accountable for their actions or inactions. however, poor leadership and fractured relationships between councillors, officials, and the citizenry have since been widely reported – not least wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 284 by the auditor general – as a prime suspect for dysfunctionality of many municipalities. ‘poor’ is variously defined, including leadership being unethical and corrupt, lacking accountability, and less than competent (see 4.2) (felix, 2022). while this applies to all levels of leadership in the municipality, for good reason – because the top leadership has the greatest effect on the futures of a municipality – the heaviest criticism can often be made of the political leadership and the level of the municipal manager. the major decisions are taken at the level of political leadership: for example, budget priorities, and key staff appointments. once these are in place, the ability of even senior staff below management level to influence bad decisions (for example, a decision that the operation and repair budget will be cut to the bone) is very limited. the deputy minister of finance pointed out a key factor in rebuilding infrastructure service delivery where it is broken: ‘… political and administrative leadership is fundamental to creating a viable municipal sector, he said. “it is also perpetuated by a failure to deal decisively with disruptive management and leadership issues. if we are serious about fixing a financial and service delivery crisis, we need to first fix the political and administrative leadership crisis”’ (anon, 2021). finally, recent years have seen a rise in criminality and, especially, criminality involving theft of, or damage to infrastructure and/or threats and/or harm to the employees of the municipality or other service-delivery organisation (such as described by tshuma [2022]). even though it is usually claimed that incidents are the work of small minorities, the citizens served by the infrastructure which, because of the criminality, is no longer operative, or which, because of the criminality, cannot be repaired, are angered, and sometimes they also express that anger by causing even more theft and damage. the extent to which infrastructure would be so subject to wilful damage, for whatever reason, evidently did not occur to the drafters of the white paper. 4.1.6 stability – particularly of council leadership and senior management continuity of service can underpin the improvement of staff performance, as individual staff members over the years gain more and more understanding of the municipality for which they work. the south african local government association (salga) gave instances of this, pointing out that “almost all of the pockets of excellence have had a stable leadership at both political and wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 285 administrative level for years” (salga, 2021: 8). ‘job-hopping’ is, however, all too prevalent in municipalities. the saice infrastructure report card agreed, noting that: “leaders develop the institutional culture by example. unfortunately, south africa sees a high rate of change of senior personnel, including leaders, in infrastructure departments. rapid turnover negatively impacts policy consistency and continuity.” (saice, 2017: 16). “stability” is not mentioned in the white paper other than in the context of financial stability and the need for “stable and enabling framework” (dpacd, 1998a: 11). it can only be imagined what the drafters would have thought of, for example, the large number of coalitions governing municipalities currently, and the rate at which these coalitions fracture and are reformed but with a different representation of political parties – and the unsettling effect of this on service delivery. 4.1.7 trust and credibility the only references to “credibility” in the white paper were backward looking – e.g. the lack of credibility of the administrative structures set up for the group areas for black people in the 1970s. ‘trust’ was discussed in the white paper in terms of the trust required to build “social capital – this sense of common purpose – to find local solutions for increased sustainability” (dpacd, 1998a: 26). there was also a long passage about building accountability and how “public trust in the local government system [can be] enhanced”. for example: “municipal councils will also find that developing some key performance indicators in consultation with internal municipal stakeholders (i.e. management and organised labour) can assist in developing a shared organisational vision and common goals for improved performance and delivery” (dpacd, 1998a: 33). however, reports of the actual trust and credibility – and ethical – track record of municipalities have, in general, not been favourable. a prominent politician admitted that: “we have to entrench and instil a culture of ethical conduct and governance within the gauteng city region and its governance and public service structures, especially in these times where the confidence of the public in us is to a large extent diminishing wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 286 because of the many scandals and exposés that have been put in the public domain. ethics are a critical element of upholding our social contract as a people, with trust between the public and those in key state positions being a crucial element within that social contract. without ethics, there can be no trust and the social contract is doomed to fail” (maile,16 2022). 4.2 the politics of failing municipalities this article set out to draw attention to how the foundational document for municipal government, the 1998 white paper on local government, oversimplified the task of setting up and running functional municipalities, relying on assumptions which, in far too many cases, have turned out to be overoptimistic or naive. however, it has not been the purpose of this article to investigate and describe the process, i.e. the timeline from 1998 until the present – what happened, why, immediate consequences, the next step, and so on. realising that much of the process can be broadly categorised as ‘political’, the author, no political analyst, carefully steers clear, in this article, of discussing the matter, let alone assigning blame to, for example, highly contentious and currently much debated topics such as the so-called ‘cadre deployment’. the author has chosen instead to focus on structural determinants of service delivery such as the revenue-raising potential of many municipalities that were created through demarcation and their ability to attract skilled staff – and more. there seems little doubt, though, that decisions made for political reasons or personal gain rather than in the best interests of service delivery, and political strife, have been responsible for at least some of the ills that have befallen local government. suffice on this (“the politics”) topic to quote, first, the president, and then a current cabinet minister. at the time that this article was being written (august 2022), president ramaphosa blamed the “deteriorating performance” of many municipalities on: “… poor management of the political-administrative interface. there is weak oversight, poor accountability and inadequate consequence management systems. there is a shortage of skilled leadership and management, and widespread fraud and corruption” (masuabi, 2022). 16 lebogang maile mpl is the gauteng member of the executive council for human settlements, urban planning, cooperative governance and traditional affairs. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-28-step-aside-resolution-key-part-of-anc-renewal-economic-transformation-head-mmamoloko-kubayi/ https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-28-step-aside-resolution-key-part-of-anc-renewal-economic-transformation-head-mmamoloko-kubayi/ wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 287 in the same month, delivering the opening address at the anc eastern cape conference, energy and mineral resources minister gwede mantashe spoke on a wide range of issues affecting the province. inter alia, he “lashed out at the party’s cadres deployed in government”, stating: “we elect mayors who are dwarfs and go further to employ dwarfs in the municipalities. then we ask ourselves why the municipalities are crumbling” (felix, 2022). 5. conclusion fixing dysfunctional municipalities – or allocating their service-delivery functions to some other more capable institution – should be a high national priority. the assumptions made by the drafters of the 1998 white paper on local government have proven more accurate for some municipalities than for others, and thus there is every reason for the continued existence of the specific municipalities. however, for those municipalities where the white paper assumptions have proven to be way off the mark, in that they are far from fulfilling their service-delivery mandate, serious consideration needs to be given to drastic modification of their municipal model and/or for the service-delivery part of their mandate to be taken over by a different (yet unidentified) vehicle. for a municipality to function, all seven essential attributes identified in this article have to be addressed. for example, good systems and data will not help if leadership is incompetent or unethical; for another example, if the skills levels are not adequate, then spending will not be effective. therefore, programmes that address one attribute in isolation are bound to under-achieve – a lesson that, given the disappointing returns from the vast amounts spent over the years on, for example, “capacity-building”, it would appear that government has failed to learn. competent – and ethical – political leadership is essential for a municipality to function. it can be argued that, in many cases, improving the political leadership should be the first priority. given that municipalities, which fail their service-delivery mandate, invariably fail in respect of not only one but several of the essential attributes identified earlier, and that these aspects of failure are so interrelated, to turn any of the municipalities around would require addressing all the attributes. thus, a programme to address only one problem area, or even simply a few areas, is bound to have limited effect. finally: is it so important that municipalities function effectively? tito mboweni, the previous minister of finance, known for his sometimes strongly, but picturesquely, expressed opinions, is in no doubt. on the wall 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 260-292 288 importance of fixing local government, under the headline “forget basic income grants, fix roads and dysfunctional municipalities instead – mboweni”, he is reported to have said: “‘what will be the preconditions for us to achieve higher growth levels? a capable state is very important. 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university of cape town. wall, k. 1995. the financial viability of racially based local authorities: a revisit after fourteen years. the south african treasurer, johannesburg, january-february, pp. 5-9. wall, k. 2021. maintenance and repair expenditure realities: what can be done? paper presented at the online southern african transport conference, july 2021. wall, k. 2022. addressing the infrastructure maintenance gap while creating employment and transferring skills: an innovative institutional model. development southern africa. doi: 10.1080/0376835x.2022.2090317 warwick university. 2012. elected mayors and city leadership: summary report of the third warwick commission. available at: <https://warwick. ac.uk/research/warwickcommission/electedmayors/summaryreport/ history/> [accessed: 16 august 2022]. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/07/29 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/07/29 _hlk26112118 ole_link2 _hlk109911173 _hlk111373311 ole_link3 _hlk118114289 _hlk111373380 _hlk74568098 ole_link1 _hlk96093269 23 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as stephen nyakala dr kgashane stephen nyakala, lecturer, department of operations management, tshwane university of technology, south africa. phone: +27 84 435 8730, email: <nyakalaks@ tut.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5160-3747 dolly ramoroka ms sekou dolly ramoroka, lecturer, department of operations management, tshwane university of technology, south africa. phone: +27 72 250 3811, email: <s.dramoroka@ webmail.co.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-1598-7429 kemlall ramdass prof. kemlall ramdass, department of mechanical and industrial engineering, university of south africa, south africa. phone: +27 11 471 2117, email: <ramdakr@ unisa.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-5480-3368 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: june 2021 peer reviewed and revised: september 2021 published: december 2021 keywords: building construction, contractors, low-income housing, poor-quality housing, quality design how to cite: nyakala, k.s., ramoroka, s.d. & ramdass, k. 2021. factors influencing the quality of low-income housing in polokwane municipality south africa. acta structilia, 28(2), pp. 23-52. factors influencing the quality of low-income housing in polokwane municipality south africa research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i2.2 abstract recent south african and international evidence highlights the broad and lasting impacts of households, particularly those on low income, when unable to afford higher income counterparts to live in apartments, maintained public housing, and other high-quality houses. a broad range of lowincome houses recently built in south african local municipalities are reportedly defective, due to poor building and construction quality. this study aims to assess and determine the factors influencing highquality housing positively impacting on the lives of a significant proportion of low-income housing projects. reasons for and obstacles to quality design, construction quality and the development of low-income housing projects were identified. to assess the research questions, a quantitative survey (n=103) was carried out, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select contractors who were active in low-income housing projects within the polokwane municipality. the quantitative data gathered were analysed using statistical package for the social sciences (spss) to determine a combination of descriptive and nonparametric statistics of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2021 28(2): 23-52 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:nyakalaks@tut.ac.za mailto:nyakalaks@tut.ac.za mailto:s.dramoroka@webmail.co.za mailto:s.dramoroka@webmail.co.za mailto:ramdakr@unisa.ac.za mailto:ramdakr@unisa.ac.za nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 24 selected results show that poor-quality and low-income housing projects are perceived to be related to the contractors, builders and construction practitioners not complying with the standards, variously because of insufficient training or accountability to public authorities and end users of low-income houses, i.e., the beneficiaries. the respondents were of the view that house builders and local government authorities could use five factors, namely quality standards, management, involvement of people, process design and process, planning and scheduling to assess non-conformance to quality requirements in low-income housing projects in south africa. the finding of this study provides a platform for improving the quality of housing design, construction projects, sustainability and an opportunity for local and international design and construction professionals to rethink design in the context of low-income housing projects. abstrak onlangse suid-afrikaanse en internasionale bewyse beklemtoon die breë en blywende impak van huishoudings, veral dié op lae inkomste, wanneer hulle nie in staat is om hoër-inkomste eweknieë te kan bekostig, in woonstelle te woon, openbare behuising te onderhou of in ander hoë-gehalte huise te kan woon nie. ’n wye reeks laeinkomstehuise wat onlangs in suid-afrikaanse plaaslike munisipaliteite gebou is, is glo gebrekkig, wat verband hou met swak bouen konstruksiegehalte. die doel van hierdie studie is om die faktore wat hoë kwaliteit behuising beïnvloed wat ’n positiewe impak het op die lewens van ’n beduidende deel van lae-inkomstebehuisingsprojekte te bepaal. redes en struikelblokke vir kwaliteitontwerp, konstruksiekwaliteit en die ontwikkeling van lae-inkomstebehuisingsprojekte is geïdentifiseer. om die navorsingsvrae te assesseer, is ’n kwantitatiewe opname (n=103) uitgevoer, eenvoudige ewekansige en doelgerigte steekproeftegnieke is gebruik om kontrakteurs te kies wat aktief is in lae-inkomstebehuisingsprojekte binne polokwane munisipaliteit. die kwantitatiewe data wat ingesamel is, is ontleed deur gebruik te maak van statistiese pakket vir die sosiale wetenskappe (spss) om ’n kombinasie van beskrywende en nieparametriese statistieke van die data te bepaal wat die frekwensies, gemiddelde tellings en standaardafwykings bereken. resultate het getoon dat behuising en lae-inkomstebehuisingsprojekte van swak gehalte beskou word as verwant aan die kontrakteurs, bouers en konstruksiepraktisyns wat nie aan die standaarde voldoen nie, en hulle verskil vanweë onvoldoende opleiding of aanspreeklikheid teenoor openbare owerhede en eindgebruikers van lae-inkomstehuise, dit wil sê die begunstigdes. die respondente was van mening dat huisbouers en plaaslike regeringsowerhede vyf faktore, naamlik gehaltestandaarde, bestuur, betrokkenheid van mense, prosesontwerp en proses, beplanning en skedulering kan gebruik om die nie-nakoming aan gehaltevereistes in lae-inkomstebehuisingsprojekte in suid-afrika te meet. die bevinding van hierdie studie bied ’n platform vir die verbetering van kwaliteit van behuisingsontwerp, konstruksieprojekte, volhoubaarheid en ’n geleentheid vir plaaslike en internasionale ontwerpen konstruksiekundiges om ontwerp in die konteks van laeinkomstebehuisingsprojekte te heroorweeg. sleutelwoorde: boukonstruksie, kontrakteurs, kwaliteit ontwerp, lae-inkomstebehuising, swak gehalte behuising 1. introduction section 7(1) of the south african housing act of 1997 mandates that the government will do everything in its power to promote and facilitate the provision of adequate housing to the local communities it serves (statistics south africa, 2015: 2). the white paper on housing (1994) provides an nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 25 overall description of the housing condition when the african national congress (anc) government took power in 1994 (statistics south africa, 2015: 2). the white paper prioritised the needs of the poor, encouraged community participation and the involvement of the private sector, providing funding assistance to disadvantaged individuals (department of human settlements, 2017: 2). these policies serve to facilitate and coordinate the provision of quality, integrated and sustainable human settlements, in order to offer a better living environment to the communities. one of the department of human settlements’ areas of obligation in the delivery of human settlements relates to the bottom end of the market, where it affords housing grants (subsidies) to the poor (south africa, dhs, 2017: 1). cloete and massey (2017: 151) remarked that the gap in the housing market (“missing middle”) includes people who characteristically earn over r3,500 but less than r22,000 per month, which is too little to participate in the private property market, yet too much to qualify for government assistance (reconstruction and development programme [rdp] house). low-income housing (rdp houses) can be described as government-built housing, which provides medium-density, affordable, housing through government subsidy to households earning less than r3,500 per month (statistics south africa, 2015: 2). the south african government has built almost 3 million low-income homes since 1994 and a further 3 million are targeted by 2025 (south africa, dhs, 2017: 1). housing beneficiaries have needs such as security, shelter, status, and fulfilment of ambitions; hence, quality of the dwelling is of concern (south africa, dhs, 2017: 1). the high quality of low-income housing projects not only contributes to improve the socio-economic conditions of communities, but also supports conformance to quality to the original set standard (ramoroka, 2021: 61). the quality of low-income housing in south africa is challenging, as there are many multidimensional tasks and operational measures to adhere to (zunguzane, smallwood & emuze, 2012: 19; aigbavboa, oke, akinradewo, aghimien & okgonne, 2019: 2). the low-income housing sector within the polokwane municipality is confronted with various uncertainties and complications such as deliberate non-compliance to specifications by the contractor, defects of materials used, accidents, competitive building processes, wrong equipment being used, and poor communication during the construction stage (george, 2016). minas (2016: 20) pronounced that there is a need for a new quality improvement strategy to resolve the common problems in the provision of low-cost housing. this study seeks to address the following research question: what factors contribute to poor quality of low-income housing within polokwane municipality? in order to address this, this study identifies factors that influence quality on low-income houses and measures the key quality nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 26 performance indicators of low-income housing projects. the study uses these as benchmark to propose possible measures to improve the quality of low-income housing. 2. literature review 2.1 poor quality of low-income housing housing quality has been broadly used to define the physical condition of a dwelling unit, the characteristics and quality of the physical environment, and end user satisfaction (mahachi, 2021: 98). for this study, in the context of low-income housing, poor housing quality refers to poor physical condition, poorer ventilation and mental health concerns, which can lead to increased spread of communicable diseases such as influenza and sleep disruption. this view is also supported by easthope, troy and crommelin (2017) who state that poor quality housing can also have a negative impact on households’ social lives, neighbourhoods and buildings, for instance, if noise is poor. according to agrawal, tausif, khan and kesharwani (2017: 19), building defects are mostly based on the performance of the physical product or service delivered to the client, that is, the expression and identification of non-conformance. studies have revealed that poor-quality houses are instigated by non-conformance with the provided building codes and existing regulations and rules (zewdu & aregaw, 2015; george, 2016; keinan, 2018). building design errors that include faulty design, specification not being properly followed, and the inability to interpret construction drawings (rumane, 2011: 65) contribute to the poor quality of low-income housing; it may lead to the incorrect use or incorrect installation of materials, foundation failure, and structural imperfections (kumar & sriram, 2017: 329). visible building defects of poor-quality low-income houses may include structural cracking, defective plaster, faulty ventilation, roof leakage, as well as timber rot fungus and mould (ramoroka, 2020 jogdand & deshmukh, 2017; kutta & nyaanga, 2014: 610). hong (2012: 114) remarks that roof leakage could result in the water penetrating inside the house, causing mould and weakening the integrity of the house structure. corrosion of reinforced steel defects are caused by the combination of inadequate concrete cover and insufficient waterproofing (kumar & sriram, 2017: 329). hong (2012: 109) and mac-barango (2017: 7) identified that the use of cheap materials, damaged materials and deliveries that are not safely covered, or exposed to the sun or rain contribute to the poor quality of lowincome housing projects. the substandard materials, mixing of inadequate concrete cover, poor waterproofing and crumbling of concrete causes the nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 27 defects (kumar & sriram, 2017: 328) that compromise the safety of the building (zunguzane et al., 2012; kutta & nyaanga, 2014: 609). skills shortage, limited quality contractors and inappropriate construction project management techniques (statistics south africa, 2015: 2) affect quality, construction project performance and service to customers. khalid, marosszeky and davis (2006: 28) argue that high levels of construction cost, time overruns, and abandonment are related to employees with limited knowledge, and poor workforce, manpower allocation as well as lack of supervision and poor management and control of building contractors affect the quality of construction projects (romeo, andrew, sarich & michael, 2014: 74; riaz, din & aftab, 2015: 286). according to kobina (2012:13), the low-income housing challenges in ghana are excessive bureaucratic locations, a weak material supply base, financial uncertainties, unregulated labour market and poor management practices, leading to poor quality. malaysia sits with the challenge of abandoned projects caused by poor management, unreliable government policies, and unstable economic conditions (aini, mohd & nor azmi, 2015: 69). minas (2016: 87) found that delays, raw material wastage, poor quality designs, workmanship and lack of resource result in the poor quality in the construction industry. in south africa, the root causes for poor-quality low-income houses are listed by mahachi (2021: 96) as inadequate structural design caused by improper soil classification, non-compliance with design specifications, poor-quality building materials, poor workmanship, inadequate or nonexistent service infrastructure such as storm-water systems, ineffective monitoring of homebuilders during construction, as well as complete ignorance and/or lack of experience of homebuilders. 2.2 quality planning for low-income housing construction according to rumane (2013: 99), quality planning can be viewed as a systematic process that interprets quality policy into measurable objectives and requirements. in addition, kutta and nyaaga (2014: 610) highlight that quality plans are useful in assuring conformance to customer expectations, facilitating quality traceability, and classifying gaps that can be occupied by the quality team. for housing construction, quality plans should clearly define the objectives to be accomplished. it is critical for housing contractors and project managers to provide specific documented standards and operating procedures to be followed by all employees during the construction process and to create authority, responsibility and resources in different phases of the process (jumah, faithy, rami & jamal, nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 28 2015: 58). this view is also supported by jogdand and deshmukh (2017) who stated that suitable testing, inspection, audit programmes as well as examination should take place at appropriate stages in the construction project. in setting housing projects, quality planning remains important, because it stipulates policies and procedures, internal guidelines and good practices, quality standards, practices, structure and resources of activities relevant to a specific job being performed (yalengama, chileshe & ma, 2016; zhang, 2000). 2.3 improving the quality of low-income housing existing literature shows that housing quality is the key source of competitive strategy in low-income housing (hong, 2012: 109; statistics south africa, 2015: 2; narsal, taylor, jinabhai & stevens, 2013: 370; mane & patil, 2015: 127). according to the 1996 housing consumer protection measures act, house builders in south africa are required to register with the national home builders registration council (nhbrc) and ensure that all houses built are enrolled for the warranty provided by standard builders; the warranty is also extended to government housing schemes (aigbavboa et al., 2019: 3). the warranty was put in place by nhbrc to regulate and maintain house delivery quality by homebuilders. aigbavboa et al. (2019: 3) and zunguzane et al. (2012: 37) list different initiatives that could be taken to minimise non-conformance to quality of low-income housing in south africa. these initiatives include contractors’ knowledge of the national building regulations should be evaluated before contract award, monitoring, and sufficient inspection of work in progress by project stakeholders such as municipal inspectors and nhbrc officials, training and education related to low-income housing building standards should be provided, proper planning and risk assessment, upper management commitment, use of skilled labour, strict supervision, effective communication among project parties, use of appropriate construction management technique, formal training in the selection of appropriate construction material and methods, fixing corruption, use of appropriate design, effective organisational culture, clear goal-setting, and focus on quality and less on production. to improve the quality of low-income housing, kutta and nyaanga (2014: 609) explain rework of building defects as the redundant process or activity that was erroneously implemented the first time. before rework, experienced engineers or designers are required to identify the defects in a building, in order to determine the causes of the defects (aigbavhoa & thwala, 2014). another initiative to minimise poor quality in low-income housing is to inspect samples (starting with the testing of the building nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 29 materials) at various stages of the housing project (fernandez-aguera, dominguez-amarillo & alonso, 2019: 103). for effective quality management, it is important for the south african local government to implement and facilitate the quality measurement of lowincome housing projects as well as the performance of building contractors (chohan, che-ani, shar & awad, 2015: 118). limited information is available on frameworks and tools that measure housing construction quality (tunji-olayeni, mosaku, fagbenle, omuh & joshua, 2016: 6). mahachi (2021) examined the development of a tool that can be used to measure and quantify the construction quality of low-income houses in south africa. external monitors and authorities should be appointed to evaluate and account on the construction process carried out by contractors towards achieving the quality of low-income housing projects. contractors and housing sector authorities should analyse their organisational values and attitudes towards the implementation process for quality assurance (nyakala, pretorius & vermeulen, 2019). together with the housing project team, the unit responsible for quality control could determine whether the beneficiaries (customers of low-income housing) are satisfied with the inclusive targets of the housing project performance (emuze & mhlwa, 2015). daily construction processes are other important considerations to be assessed by the low-income housing beneficiaries’ representative and community project leader (dwijendra, 2013: 72). housing project managers should create weekly plans and schedule daily or monthly meetings with community leaders (zunguzane et al., 2012: 20; aigbavhoa et al., 2019). research by george (2016: 23) reveals that emerging contractors in developing countries use the critical incident technique to elicit financial challenges. 3. methodology in this study, quantitative research with a descriptive and exploratory design was used to determine the key factors contributing to poor quality of low-income housing within the polokwane municipality, south africa. the quantitative approach relies comprehensively on statistics and numbers in the analysis and interpretation of findings that are generalised from the sample to the population (creswell, 2014: 11; bless, higsonsmith & sithole, 2018: 16). the quantitative research approach allows for using structured questionnaire surveys to measure objectives by counting and the use of several scales (bless et al., 2018: 16). according to brown (2011: 11), quantitative research also allows for the use of descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse data. several data analysis strategies are available, but for this study the mean scores of interval data were used to calculate the central tendency and to determine the ranking of the items in nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 30 the likert-type scale constructs (nahm, 2016: 9). exploratory factor analysis (efa) was used to reduce the measured items (variables) to smaller factors contributing to poor quality (yong & pearce, 2013: 80). 3.1 sampling method and response rate in 2020, according to the construction industry development board (cidb), 260 individuals were working in construction-related occupations registered within the polokwane municipality, south africa. purposive sampling (creswell, 2014: 50) was used to select 160 individuals from this population as participants in this study. the sample size for research done among construction-related populations was calculated in accordance with the table recommended by krejcie and morgan (1970: 608). from the table, the recommended sample size for a population of 260 is 155. this resulted in a sample size of 61%. this recommendation validates the sample size of 160 as efficient for the population of 260. from the sample of 160, 103 participants completed and returned the survey responses, resulting in a response rate of 64%. according to moyo and crafford (2010: 68), contemporary built-environment survey response rates range between 7% and 40%, in general. 3.2 data collection using the drop-and-collect and email methods, 160 questionnaires were distributed to the prospective respondents who worked on low-income housing projects in the polokwane municipality of limpopo province, south africa, from september 2019 to october 2020 (ramoroka, 2020). topics on the quality of low-income housing used in the questionnaire were extracted from reviews from the literature (rumane, 2011). the questionnaire was divided into four parts. part one, on the respondent’s profile, obtained personal information on education qualification, occupation, and years of work experience. part two set 20 likert-scale items on the construct causes of poor quality of low-income housing (see table 2). respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement, in order to determine what items/factors cause poor quality of low-income housing. part three is a set of 15 likert-scale items on the construct implications of poor quality of lowincome housing (see table 2). respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement, in order to examine what the implications of poor quality of low-income housing are for the construction industry. the data from the measurements in parts 2 and 3 forms the variables used in the exploratory factor analysis (efa), which tested the validity and reliability of the factors. part four set 18 likert-scale items on the construct measures to improve the quality of low-income housing projects (see table 7). the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 31 of different initiatives that could be taken to minimise non-conformance to the quality of low-income housing. to reduce the respondent’s bias, closedended questions were preferred for parts 2 to 4 (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter stating the purpose of the research, and the guarantee that the information given by the respondents would be treated as confidential and that no names would be mentioned in the research. the questions were compiled in sepedi and english to accommodate people who can only speak one of these languages. 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data the data analysis used the microsoft excel 2016 and statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 27 to produce a combination of descriptive and non-parametric statistics of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations (pallant, 2007; field, 2013). spss was further used to determine the feasibility of conducting a factor analysis of the quality of housing projects survey results relating to low-income housing project delivery. an item with a higher mean item score is ranked as the highest, since it represents its dominance among other items ranked. moreover, standard deviation was also used to report the variability (how concentrated the data are around the mean) in ranking those items that have the same mean score (neuman, 2000). for the purpose of analysis, the ranges relative to the ms are defined as follows: >1.00 to ≤ 1.80 (strongly disagree/not important); >1.80 to ≤2.60 (disagree/fairly important); >2.60 to ≤ 3.40 (neutral); >3.40 to ≤4.20 (strongly agree/extremely important). the mean of responses was generated, in order to analyse the factors (1) causing and (2) improving poor quality of low-income housing projects. only the mean of the items was used to show the central tendency and to rank the factors in order of having the most affect/implication to having the least affect/implication. for the analysis of the internal reliability of the factors in the questions on quality of low-income housing projects, cronbach’s alpha values were tested (taber, 2018). field (2013) suggests that the acceptable values of cronbach’s alpha would range from 0.70 to 0.95. in this study, a cutoff value of 0.70 was adopted. in addition to this, the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loadings) should range from 0.2 to 0.4, in order for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2007: 134). conversely, in the current study, a value of 0.4 and above was adopted. to confirm whether the data from the measurements was sufficient for testing the validity (factor analysis), the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) test (kaiser, 1994) and the bartlett’s sphericity test (hair, black, babin & andersen, 2014: 110) were performed. in the kmo test, as the values of the test differ from 0 to 1, nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 32 values above 0.7 are recommended as being desirable for exploratory factor analysis (efa) (hair et al., 2014), and a statistically significant bartlett test (p<0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist between the variables to continue with the analysis (pallant, 2007: 190). for factor extraction, principal components analysis (pca) with varimax rotation was used to summarise most of the information into a minimum number of factors, by concentrating the explanatory power on the first factor (rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 102). according to johnson and wichern (2007), in the context of pca, when the number of measures (variables) is between 20 and 50, it is more reliable to use eigenvalues to extract factors, as it makes interpretation simpler. thus, the highest eigenvalues in the data are the principal components in the data, which are retained to form a set of new variables (less than the original variables started with in the analysis) (rossini et al., 2016). 3.4 limitation(s) of the study using a non-probability purposive sample within one local municipality restricted the representatives of the study over the entire population of contractors involved in low-income housing projects. future studies could expand the sample to involve more local municipalities from other provinces and other countries. in addition, future research should accommodate other housing stakeholders and generational partners, such as the department of human settlements officials and homeowners’ beneficiaries. future studies should consider probability sampling methods towards strengthening the generalisability of the findings. 4. results and discussion 4.1 respondents’ profile table 1 shows that most of the participants (61%) had either a first degree/ diploma (45.6%) or an honours degree/b-tech (14.5%), and 71.7% had over 10 years’ experience in low-income housebuilding projects. respondents were almost equally distributed in their occupations, with architects (24.2%), quantity surveyors (23.3%), engineers (19.4%), construction/project managers (18.4%), and clients/managers (14.5%). this implies that most of the respondents have adequate tertiary qualifications and experience in building low-income houses to provide information that could help in making useful deductions on the factors that affect the quality of low-income houses. nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 33 table 1: respondents’ profile characteristic category frequency (n = 103) % educational level grade 11 or lower 10 9.7 grade 12/(n3) 26 25.2 first degree/diploma 47 45.6 honours/b-tech 15 14.5 masters/m-tech 5 4.8 occupation architect 25 24.2 quantity surveyor 24 23.3 engineer 20 19.4 construction/project manager 19 18.4 client/manager 15 14.5 experience less than 5 years 8 7.7 5-10 years 21 20.3 11-15 years 62 60.1 16 years and above 12 11.6 4.2 factors affecting quality of low-income housing projects table 2 shows the ranking of the factors affecting the building of poor-quality low-income housing projects in the study area, using mean score ratings. an average ms of 3.80 indicates that respondents agreed that all factors affect the quality of low-income housing. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at .784, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). table 2: ranking of factors causing the poor quality of low-income housing projects v statement (n=103) ms std. dev cronbach’s alpha rank a1 low quality of materials and equipment 4.48 1.92 .843 1 a2 unskilled/incompetent site workers 4.41 1.62 .781 2 a3 inappropriate mode of financing project 4.36 1.93 .777 3 a4 poor contract administration 4.28 1.53 .741 4 a5 project control problems 4.26 1.93 .735 5 nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 34 v statement (n=103) ms std. dev cronbach’s alpha rank a6 involvement of a large number of participants of project 4.13 1.80 .851 6 a7 problem of communication and coordination 4.00 1.57 .948 7 a8 shortage of site workers 3.97 1.29 .763 8 a9 poor relationship between project team members 3.85 1.72 .737 9 a10 poor safety management 3.79 1.38 .854 10 a11 delay in interim payment 3.61 1.29 .765 11 a12 inappropriate risk allocation among project team 3.60 1.27 .751 12 a13 inappropriate pricing/incentives of services rendered by contractors or consultants 3.56 1.32 .763 13 a14 inappropriate project planning and scheduling 2.94 2.69 .755 14 a15 unexpected bad economic conditions 2.92 2.67 .793 15 a16 unfavourable government policy 2.75 2.75 .721 16 a17 adverse weather 2.42 2.79 .761 17 a18 ambiguities or mistakes in scope of work, specifications, or drawings 2.40 1.40 .819 18 a19 difficulty of design and construction 2.38 2.10 .769 19 a20 lack of motivation of site workers 2.30 1.80 .764 20 composite score (average) 3.80 .784 respondents strongly agreed that low quality of materials and equipment (ms 4.48; sd 1.92) and unskilled/incompetent site workers (ms 4.41, sd 1.62), inappropriate mode of financing project (ms 4.36, sd 1.93), poor contract administration (ms 4.28, sd 1.53), and project control problems (ms 4.26, sd 1.93) are the top five factors affecting the quality of lowincome housing projects. involvement of a large number of participants of project (ms 4.13, sd 1.80), problem of communication and coordination (ms 4.00, sd 1.57), and shortage of site workers (ms 3.97, sd 1.29), are ranked six to eight, respectively. this study’s results are in line with hong (2012: 114), who ranked quality of materials and equipment first, while jogdand and deskmukh (2017: 1024) ranked it third, when investigating the factors influencing housing satisfaction in mediumand high-cost housing. zewdu and aregaw (2015: 190) ranked skilled/competent site workers second, while kumar and nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 35 sriman (2017: 329) ranked process design fourth. this factor concurs with ola-awo, alayande, basher and oyewobi’s (2021: 8) conclusion that, for any project to be successfully completed, there must be a proper project design and process, which is an essential requirement for effective quality of housing. furthermore, aigbavhoa et al. (2019: 8) ranked identifying the customer requirements and evaluating the current status of low-income housing third, by indicating that, the project manager/leader should have effective communication skills and be able to engage with all stakeholders affected by the project activities. 4.3 implications of poor-quality housing projects table 3 ranks the mean scores to show the implication of poor-quality lowincome housing projects. table 3: ranking the implications of poor-quality low-income housing projects v implication (n=103) ms sd cronbachs’ alpha rank b1 poor quality control 4.50 1.81 .822 1 b2 lack of cooperation from local authorities 4.43 1.78 .802 2 b3 difficulty of design and construction 4.32 1.86 .732 3 b4 unclear lines of responsibility and authority 4.32 1.23 .753 4 b5 high accident rates 4.26 1.09 .922 5 b6 faulty buildings 4.14 1.15 .923 6 b7 cost overruns 3.99 1.33 .720 7 b8 time overruns 3.96 1.62 .806 8 b9 faulty tender processes 3.91 1.49 .757 9 b10 lack of trust from the community members 3.64 1.66 .702 10 b11 litigation 3.61 1.79 .753 11 b12 court cases 3.45 1.74 .733 12 b13 impact on project performance 3.16 1.89 .805 13 b14 lack of motivation of site workers 3.11 1.29 .750 14 b15 loss of income to contractors 3.00 1.09 .790 15 composite score (average) 3.59 .785 an average ms of 3.59 indicates that respondents agreed that all factors in table 3 are implications of poor-quality low-income housing. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at .785, indicating acceptable nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 36 internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). respondents strongly agreed that poor quality control (ms 4.50, sd 1.81), lack of cooperation from local authorities (ms 4.43, sd 1.78), difficulty of design and construction (ms 4.32, sd 1.86), unclear lines of responsibility and authority (ms 4.32, sd 1.23), and high accident rates (ms 4.26, sd 1.15) are the top five implications of poor-quality low-income housing projects. others are faulty buildings (ms 4.14, sd 1.15), cost (ms 3.99, sd 1.33), time overruns (ms 3.96, sd 1.62), faulty tender processes (ms 3.91, sd 1.49), lack of trust from the community members (ms 3.64, sd 1.66), litigation (ms 3.14, sd 1.79), and court cases (ms 3.45, sd 1.74). when investigating factors contributing to waiting for a house or building in south africa, landman & napier (2010) ranked cooperation from local authorities and motivation of site workers first and fourth, respectively. these results demonstrate that quality-control activities indicate the lines of responsibility among employees in low-income housing projects. this study’s results are in line with liu, easthope and martin (2019: 13), who ranked regulation of standards and improving housing quality methods second, whilst goebel (2007) ranked it third, when evaluating challenges faced by low-cost housing in south africa. nyakala et al. (2019: 38) ranked quality control fourth, while yalengama et al. (2016: 657) ranked impact of project performance second. furthermore, george (2016: 32) ranked appropriate pricing/incentives of services rendered by contractors third. these results are consistent with the findings of a study conducted by zunguzane et al. (2012), who recommended that effective project managers should consult their subordinates, in order to integrate the key project control processes. these findings suggest that the site workers should be more informed about and trained in quality procedures as well as the planning techniques available in the construction industry. the study supports previous findings by alink (2003), who found that appropriate training and building skills are the dominant factors influencing the construction process. 4.4 exploratory factor analysis related to poor-quality low-income housing the 35 factors (tables 2 and 3) measuring the quality of low-income housing projects were subjected to factor analysis to study the trend of inter-correlations between variables and to group these variables with similar characteristics into a set of reduced factors according to the hidden components in the collected data. only the 27 factors extracted with communalities loadings of 0.4 and above were subjected to efa. the results report the factor extraction, eigenvalues, correlation, and interpretation. the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) value of 0.815 was obtained, which is nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 37 greater than 0.70, and bartlett’s test of sphericity has the significant value of (p<0.05) at 5% level of significance, as shown in table 4. therefore, the obtained results indicate that the data is robust and suitable for conducting factor analysis in line with pallant (2013). table 4: kmo and bartlett’s test results kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.815 bartlett’s test of sphericity approximate chi-square 238.526 degree of freedom 36 significance pvalue 0.00 pca, with initial eigenvalue greater than 2 criterions, the orthogonal varimax rotation and a factor loading of 0.7 were used to determine the number of factors to retain and rotate in line with hair et al. (2014). table 5 confirms the retaining of 5 components (factors), where component 1 (quality standards) explains 48, 188% of the total variance; component 2 (management), 41,484%; component 3 (involvement of people), 52,962%; component 4 (project design and process), 57,193%, and component 5 (planning and scheduling), 42,494%. table 5: total variance explained – extraction method: principal component analysis component initial eigenvalues total % of variance cumulative % 1 2,409 48,188 48,188 2 2,904 41,484 41,484 3 2,648 52,962 52,962 4 2,288 57,193 57,193 5 2,550 42,494 42,494 based on pca, orthogonal varimax rotation with kaiser normalisation rotation method and with a significant factor of .07, the correlation between components and variables after rotation are shown in table 6. correlation exists between variables a1, a2, a3, a9 and b9, as they load onto component 1: quality standards. similarly, correlations were identified between variables a7, a6, a12, b1, b4, a16, a1, a4 and a5, which loaded onto component 2: management. variables a11, a8, b14, b2 and a10 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 3: involvement of people. correlation exists between variables b11, a20, b3 and a13, which all loaded onto component 4: process design and process. variables a18, nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 38 a15, a17, a14 and a19 show correlation, as they loaded onto component 5: planning and scheduling. these 27 factor items are validated and reduced to five through factor analysis to measure housing quality when building low-income houses: quality standards, suitable management skills, implementation of quality design and process, involving suitable people and the effective planning and scheduling of projects. table 6: rotated component matrix for factors influencing poor-quality lowincome housing v factor component communality 1 2 3 4 5 f1: quality standards a1 low quality of materials and equipment 0.843 .722 a2 unskilled/incompetent site workers 0.781 .748 a3 inappropriate mode financing project 0.777 .573 a9 incompetent contractors or sub-contractors 0.773 .770 b9 faulty tender process 0.755 .673 f2: management a7 problem of communication and coordination 0.948 .480 a6 involvement of a large number of participants in the project 0.851 .454 a12 financial difficulties faced by the contractor 0.850 .519 b1 poor quality control 0.791 .642 b4 unclear lines of responsibility and authority 0.785 .512 a16 adverse weather 0.761 .647 a4 poor contract administration 0.741 .682 a5 project control problems 0.735 .646 f3: involvement of people a11 poor safety management on site 0.854 .729 nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 39 v factor component communality 1 2 3 4 5 a8 shortage of site workers 0.763 .400 b14 lack of motivation of site workers 0.764 .417 b2 lack of cooperation from local authorities 0.748 .559 a10 poor relationship among project team members 0.737 .544 f4: project design and process b11 litigation 0.849 .721 a20 ambiguities or mistakes in scope of work, specifications or drawings 0.819 .671 b3 difficulty of design and construction 0.769 .480 a13 delay in interim payment 0.765 .416 f5: planning and scheduling a18 unexpected bad economic conditions 0.793 .592 a15 inappropriate pricing/ incentives of services rendered by contractors or consultant 0.763 .770 a17 inappropriate project planning and scheduling 0.755 .465 a14 inappropriate risk allocation among project team 0.751 .855 a19 unfavourable government policy 0.721 .558 factor 1: quality standards with five sub-factors, this component accounts for 48.188% of the total variance. low quality of materials and equipment has the highest loading of 0.843; unskilled/incompetent site workers has a loading of 0.781; inappropriate mode financing project has a loading of 0.777; incompetent contractors or sub-contractors has a loading of 0.773, and faulty tender process has a loading of 0.755. zunguzane et al. (2012: 19) consider that quality standards in the housing sector are tasks carried out to ensure internal consistency and that they nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 40 are systematically applied. this includes procedures and the way in which a process must be carried out. many factors have a potential impact on poor housing and improper construction design. these include low quality of materials and equipment, unskilled labour, and unfavourable government policies (leong & zakuan, 2014: 106). a study by easthope et al. (2017) revealed that a lack of adequate governance structures and responsibilities can result in poor building and cost overruns in housing projects. factor 2: management this factor accounts for 41.484% of the total variance and comprises seven sub-factors. poor quality control has the highest factor loading of 0.791; poor contract administration, 0.741; project control problems, 0.635; financial difficulties faced by the contractor, 0.550, and problem of communication and coordination, 0.498. these results illustrate that poor quality control has a negative impact on low-income housing projects in terms of contractors’ reputation, faulty buildings, and loss of income to contractors (liu et al., 2019: 8). zunguzane et al. (2012) suggest that an appropriate quality control system must be in place, in order to facilitate set standards by the project-based organisation’s management. fernandez-aguera et al. (2019) found that poor contract administration leads to a range of quality concerns, including increased late payments to contractors and time overruns. previous studies by minas (2016) found that lack of project control has a negative impact on construction project performance in ethiopia. in support of the results of this study, goebel (2007) and agrawal et al. (2017) observed that financial difficulties, ineffective communication and coordination among project team members are factors leading to nonconformance to quality in low-income housing projects. similarly, results by hong (2012) indicated that more focus on construction process and less on quality are the major causes of non-conformance to quality, as pointed out also by findings of this study. factor 3: involvement of people this factor accounts for 52.962% of the total variance and has five subfactors. poor safety management on site has the highest loading of 0.854; lack of motivation of site workers, 0.764; shortage of site workers, 0763; lack of cooperation from local authorities, 0.737, and poor relationship among project team members, 0.737. this result corresponds with that of vermeulen, pretorius and nyakala (2018: 223) in that the involvement of various stakeholders is a vital ingredient for successful construction projects. an effective relationship nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 41 between contract parties assures the possibility of good performance. people involvement in a project leads to the attainment of organisation goals, as all allow for sharing knowledge, exchanging information, disseminating instructions, and providing supporting tasks (ola-awo et al., 2021: 24). yalengama et al. (2016: 656) asserted stakeholder involvement as a driver with a significant impact on projects. they concluded that the project manager must involve, communicate, and organise all people affected by the project activities prior to commencing any task. easthope et al. (2017) observed that unskilled site workers and communication among stakeholders in low-income housing projects could be attributed to a failure in determining the skill development and knowledge impacting on staff motivation and built-environment requirements. skills development programmes and unselfish observance to low-income housing projects and standards must be established and measured frequently (aigbavboa et al., 2019). factor 4: project design and process project design and process accounts for 57.193% of the total variance with four sub-factors: litigation has the highest loading of 0.849; ambiguities or mistakes in scope of work, specifications or drawings, 0.819; difficulty of design and construction, 0.693, and delay in interim payment, 0.645. famiyeh, amoatey, adaku and agbonohevi (2017: 196) observed that disputes affect project progress and strains relationships among parties to a contract. a study by muhwezi, acai and otim (2014) found that poor technical specification and non-compliance with design codes affect timely completion of construction projects, demonstrating that low-income housing projects suffer from defects resulting in poor maintainability considerations at the design and construction stage. a study conducted by maccarthy and jayarathne (2018) found that poor financing, as well as poor planning and scheduling are the most significant causes of project delay in construction projects. factor 5: planning and scheduling this factor accounts for 42.494% of the total variance with six sub-factors. inappropriate pricing/incentives of services rendered by contractors or consultant has the highest loading of 0.763; unfavourable government policy, 0.721; unexpected bad economic conditions, 0.693; unclear lines responsibility and authority, 0.578; inappropriate risk allocation among project team, 0.571, and inappropriate planning and scheduling, 0.555. ezeldin and ibrahim (2015: 648) stated that appropriate pricing is the decisive parameter in evaluating the competition for the implementation of construction works. a study by maccarthy and jayarathne (2018: 703) nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 42 suggest that determining the appropriate price for a project ensures that a project’s budget is on track and will be completed according to its planned scope. liu et al. (2019) argue that a low-income housing project without a cost control can easily lose money and costs can go above project profit. adebayo and omolabi (2017: 804) found that public income housing projects fail to complete within the specified time, due to unfavourable government policies in nigeria. this means that construction practitioners and policymakers need to understand and mitigate the bottlenecks in low-income housing projects. omolabi, alayiwola and okesoto (2012) found that the vast majority of construction projects go through a financial recession, with the result that project-based organisations are laying off many of their employees. a study by robinson (2017) found that lack of clear role responsibilities may prevent project owners from effectively fulfilling their roles and organisations from successfully realising benefits from their project investments. mane and patil (2015: 129) believed that effective planning and scheduling are a vital ingredient for successful construction projects. aigbavhoa et al. (2019: 8) asserted that it is important to understand project planning and scheduling for successful project delivery. 4.5 measures to improve the quality of low-income housing projects table 7 shows an average ms of 3.98. the respondents ranked as important the factors that could be considered to minimise non-conformance to quality of low-income housing projects. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at .778, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). table 7: measures to improve the quality of low-income housing projects v measures (n=103) bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.770 ms cronbach’s alpha sd rank c1 planning and scheduling 4.21 .877 1.61 1 c2 time-cost trade-offs 4.12 .710 1.40 2 c3 selecting right suppliers 4.03 .720 1.02 3 c4 budget control 4.00 .723 1.80 4 c5 good communications 4.00 .805 1.57 5 c6 teamwork 3.97 .855 1.77 6 c7 policies and objectives are defined 3.85 .890 1.72 7 nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 43 v measures (n=103) bartlett’s test of sphericity value = 0.00 kaiser-meyer-olkin value = 0.770 ms cronbach’s alpha sd rank c8 reporting corruption 3.85 .817 1.38 8 c9 workers’ participation 3.79 .802 1.24 9 c10 top-down commitment 3.61 .819 1.42 10 c11 accurate construction management 3.56 .831 1.81 11 c12 organisational structure 3.48 .802 1.29 12 c13 monitoring and controlling 3.36 .657 1.18 13 c14 architect’s designs 3.25 .690 1.90 14 c15 completion of the project on time 3.20 .715 1.90 15 c16 employees are properly qualified to do the work 3.18 .690 1.80 16 c17 accurate and reliable strategic planning 3.18 .805 1.70 17 c18 local government managers monitor and evaluate 3.15 .830 1.65 18 composite score (average) 3.98 .778 with ms ratings above 4, contractors’ planning and scheduling (ms 4.21, sd 1.61), time-cost trade-offs (ms 4.12, sd 1.40), selecting right suppliers (ms 4.03, sd 1.02), budget control (ms 4.00, sd 1.80), and good communications (ms 4.00, sd 1.57) are the four most important factors to improve the quality of low-income housing projects. with ms ratings above 3.4, respondents agreed that teamwork (ms 3.97, sd 1.77), defined policies and objectives (ms 3.85, sd 1.72), reporting corruption (ms 3.85, sd 1.38), workers’ participation (ms 3.79, sd 1.24), top-down commitment (ms 3.61, sd 1.42), accurate construction management (ms 3.56, sd 1.81), and organisational structure (ms 3.48, sd 1.29) are important measures to improve quality in low-income housing projects. this study’s results are in line with zhang (2000: 135), who ranked quality management methods first, while kulemeka, kulunga and morton (2015: 13) ranked them third, when examining factors influencing the quality of smalland medium-scale contractors in the malawi construction sector. kumar and sriram (2017: 329) ranked strong relationship between project team members second and kissi and badu (2016: 470) ranked it first. according to rossoni et al. (2016: 209), competent site workers, as well as effective communication and coordination play an important part for any project to be successfully completed. there must be a clear contract administration, which is a necessary requirement for an effective project nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 44 manager/leader. chohan et al. (2015: 655) and yalengama et al. (2016: 657) ranked appropriate project planning and scheduling first. these factors concur with claasen and cumberlege’s (2014: 42) conclusion that a model of housing quality determinants for affordable housing are vital ingredients for the successful delivery of projects. narsal et al. (2013: 380) ranked project control fourth, while addo (2015: 242) ranked appropriate mode of financing a project second. furthermore, george (2016: 32) ranked appropriate pricing/incentives of services rendered by contractors third. studies on quality for affordable housing in the construction industry show similarity to a model of housing quality determinants for affordable housing (hong, 2012; aigbavhoa & thwala, 2014: 1); good communications and better performance (chohan et al., 2015: 117), and enable quality improvement in the construction industry (nyakala et al., 2019). selecting the right supplier plays a key role in business success and presents great viable opportunities for construction organisations (kissi & badu, 2016). studies on the quality of low-income housing projects incorporated in the local government show similarity to those studies reporting that corruption is important in quality planning and development (kulemeka et al., 2015) and for top-down commitment (george, 2016: 30). in support of the results of this study, zewdu and aregaw (2015) observed that contractor cost overrun, inexperienced and incompetent workers, and poor construction design are factors leading to non-conformance to quality in construction projects. correspondingly, addo’s (2015) results indicated that poor planning and scheduling as well as delay in the delivery of construction projects are the major causes of non-conformance to quality, as pointed out by the findings of this study. these factors have an argumentative effect, indicating ineffective budget control and poor construction management. it also leads to dissatisfaction of stakeholders, particularly end users and clients. rumane (2011) notes that improving organisational performance needs to be supported by strong leadership that binds employees to form multifunctional and self-working groups. aigbavboa et al. (2019) also emphasised improving the quality of low-income housing projects in south africa. narsal et al. (2013) noted variations in housing satisfaction and health status in four lower socio-economic housing typologies. progress control and budget planning are the benefit of project managers in organising low-income housing projects. project managers not only help keep track of project progress internally, but they can also be used as justification in communicating with project stakeholders, for instance, to justify the demand for additional resources. in order to limit, manage and determine the effect of construction process implementation, keinan (2018) suggested that total quality practices, which include employee empowerment, teamwork, training and education, are possible solutions. nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 45 this agrees with the results of this study, where top-down commitment, accurate construction management, appropriate organisational structure as well as good communications are the major quality control measures. this also agrees with the proposals by kulemeka et al. (2015); george (2016); jogdand and deskmukh (2017) who affirmed that employee involvement and top management commitment are statistically significantly positively related to the high performance of construction projects. 5. conclusion and recommendation the study assessed factors in relation to non-conformance of quality requirements in low-income housing projects from the perspective of house builders in the south african local government context. prior to this study, quality measurement and monitoring in building low-income houses has not been explored. the study also investigated measures that could be considered to minimise non-conformance to the quality of low-income housing projects. the results indicate that the low quality of materials and equipment, unskilled/incompetent site workers, inappropriate mode of financing project, poor contract administration, and project control problems are the top five factors affecting the quality of low-income housebuilding projects. in addition, the top five implications as a result of poor-quality low-income housing projects are poor quality control and lack of cooperation from local authorities, difficulty of design and construction, unclear lines of responsibility and authority, and high accident rates. the measures that could improve the quality of low-income housing projects are contractors’ effective planning and scheduling, time-cost trade-offs, selecting the right suppliers, budget control, and good communication. the initial 32 items related to poor quality in low-income housebuilding projects was subjected to factor analysis; 27 factors that met the factor loading criteria were extracted and then rotated, resulting in retaining five factors: quality standards, management, involvement of people, process design and process, as well as planning and scheduling that could be used by house builders and local government authorities to assess nonconformance to quality requirements in low-income housing projects in south africa. this study has added to the existing body of knowledge of the low-income housebuilding sector within the south african context to focus on the quality of housebuilding projects. the results would help contractors and housing officials understand the key factors that influence the poor quality of lowincome housing in a south african local government. nyakala, ramoroka & ramdass 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 23-52 46 since, prior to this study, there are no specific factors assessing nonconformance to quality requirements in low-income housing projects within the south african local government context, the following recommendations are proposed: prioritisation of customer’s requirements and successfully transform these requirements into plans and specifications to construct quality low-income houses; 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from 64 randomly selected smmes participated in a self-assessment evaluation process. the performance excellence self-assessment questionnaire (pesq) was used to collect primary data. secondary data on the models of management performance was obtained from relevant publications. the study established management performance benchmarks for smmes in the built environment. smmes in the study area in south africa do not benchmark their management performance against world-class and sadc best practices. the three lowest ranked criteria out of the eleven management performance criteria evaluated were social responsibility, business processes, and planning and strategy. these criteria were the main causes of poor management performance of smmes. the study concluded with a summary of management performance scores and recommendations for improving productivity and benchmarking of smmes in the building construction industry against international comparative levels. keywords: benchmarking, building construction industry, management performance criteria, small, medium and micro enterprises prof. watson ladzani department of business management university of south africa po box 6225 halfway house 1685 south africa. phone: 083 777 0716 email: <wladzani@ unisa.ac.za> prof. nico smith department of finance and investment management university of johannesburg po box 21160 helderkruin roodepoort 1733 south africa. phone: 082 770 9929 email: <nsmith@uj.ac.za> prof. leon pretorius graduate school of technology management university of pretoria south africa po box 14513 lyttleton 0140 south africa. phone: 083 625 1756 email: <leon.pretorius@up.ac.za> ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 45 abstrak klein-, mediumen mikro-ondernemings (kmmos) in suid-afrika word onder andere gekarakteriseer deur swak bestuur en swak entrepreneursvertoning sowel as ’n lae vlak van globale kompeterende vermoё. die hoofdoelwit van die artikel is om redes vir die swak bestuur van kmmos in die bouen konstuksieindustrie te identifiseer. newedoelwitte het evaluering, vergelyking en bepaling van rangorde van bestuursvertoning van kmmos ingesluit. ’n evaluasie, vergelykende en analitiese navorsingsontwerp is vir die studie gebruik. ’n totaal van 326 werknemers van 64 willekeurig gekose kmmos het deelgeneem aan ’n self-assesseringsproses. die “performance excellence self-assessment questionnaire (pesq)” vraelys is gebruik om primêre data te versamel. sekondêre data oor modelle is uit relevante literatuur verkry. die studie het vergelykingsbasisse vir kmmos in die bou-omgewing daargestel. kmmos in die studie-gebied vergelyk nie formeel hulle bestuursvertoning met wêreldstandaarde of suid-afrikaanse ontwikkelingsgemeenskap (saog) lande nie. die drie kriteria wat die laagste rangorde ten opsigte van bestuursvertoning onder die kmmos verkry het was sosiale verantwoordelikheid, besigheidsprosesse asook beplanning en strategie. hierdie drie kriteria was dan ook op die oog af die hoofoorsake van swak bestuur in die kmmos. die navorsingstudie het afgesluit met ’n opsomming van bestuursvertoningresultate asook aanbevelings om produktiwiteit en vergelykbaarheid van kmmos in die bouen konstruksieindustrie in suid-afrika na internasionale standaardvlakke te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: basis vergelykbaarheid, bouen konstruksie-industrie, bestuursvertoningkriteria, klein-, mediumen mikro-ondernemings 1. introduction the building construction industry, also referred to as the built environment, is the third largest employer in south africa (council for scientific and industrial research [csir] 2005: 1). this industry accounts for up to 70% of a nation’s capital stock which, in south africa, is approximately r1.2 trillion. it is therefore a significant employer creating numerous economic opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprises (smmes) (van wyk, 2003: 1; lanor, 2008: 19). in most countries construction contributes more than half of the total capital investment, and this contribution can amount to as much as 10% of the gross domestic product (gdp) (van wyk, 2003: 13). the world bank (2003: 8) also emphasises the importance of the building construction industry and its continued growth. nearly half of the world’s population (47.2%) is currently urbanised and it is estimated that by 2050 the urbanised world population will be approximately 66%. for the building construction industry to cope with this growth there is a dire need for strong management. the challenge that south africa faces is the low ranking in terms of global competitiveness (naidoo, 2004: 2; shezi, 2004: 2; south african acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 46 excellence foundation [saef], 2005: 2). among this low ranking, south african smmes are also characterised by poor management (badenhorst, cant, de j cronje, du toit, erasmus, grobler, kruger, machado, de k marais, marx, strydom & mpofu, 2006: 120). good management performance is a major concern when it comes to the competitiveness in the built environment in south africa, especially as far as smmes arer concerned. 1.1 research question in the light of this concern it is critical to find principal reasons for the poor management performance of smmes in the building construction industry. the question is to identify these principal reasons. in addressing the research question, this article reports on research conducted using the south african construction excellence model (sacem) to benchmark and rank management performance. 1.2 objectives of the study the primary objective of this study was to identify reasons for poor management performance of smmes in the building construction industry in south africa. the secondary objectives were to benchmark management performance of small construction enterprises against world-class and sadc best practice averages and to determine the management performance levels of smmes in the building construction industry in south africa. 2. research methodology primary data were collected by means of face-to-face interviews using the performance excellence self-assessment questionnaire (pesq). pesq is a computer-aided matrix questionnaire research tool. this tool is based on the south african excellence model. the advantage of pesq lies in the immediate availability of preliminary results. the quantitative data collected were used to evaluate, benchmark and assess the level of performance of the sampled smmes. smmes’ owner-managers compared their scores against world-class and sadc best practices upon completion of the computer-aided self-assessment. an evaluative, exploratory and comparative analysis research design was used for data generation and analysis (hofstee, 2006: 124-126; neuman, 2006: 33-35). the reason for this was that the study evaluated, explored and compared the scores of management ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 47 performance criteria with world-class and sadc best practice. management performance criteria were also ranked and compared with one another. management performance of smmes was evaluated on a scale from zero to four. smmes that scored zero and one in management performance were regarded as being weak in management performance. those that scored two were regarded as having made good progress, those that scored three were considered best in sadc and those that scored four were considered world-class best on practice (safri, 2004: 5). the data analyses were done using the spss statistical software and an electronic self-assessment programme (batlisisa1). 3. sampling and responses two sub-populations of building construction smmes in gauteng, south africa, were used for the study, namely the gauteng master builders association (gmba) and the construction industry development board (cidb). the reason for sampling from the gmba and the cidb populations was that these organisations contain registers of leading role players in the industry. the population size of the gmba was 557 smmes while that of cidb was 532 smmes. the study population was, therefore, based on 1089 smmes. proportional, stratified, random sampling was used to select a representative sample of these smmes. the study followed a sampling ratio of 10%, as guided by neuman (2006: 241). the population and the sampling size were, therefore, calculated as follows: the total population is (n) = 557 + 532 = 1089 the sample size is (n) = n x 0.10 n = n x sampling ratio = 1089 ≈ 109 1 “batlisisa” is a south african electronic self-assessment programme developed in 2003 by ideas management southern africa cc (now operating as centre for excellence). this programme was based on the saem and the management performance excellence criteria. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 48 table 1 summarises the population, sample, response and employees interviewed in the gmba and the cidb. table 1: smmes population, sample, response and employees interviewed study area population size sample population response rate number of employees interviewdn n % no. % gmba 557 56 10 30 54 229 cidb 532 53 10 34 64 97 total 1089 109 10 64 59 326 a simple random sample of 64 smmes responded from a possible 109. this makes an average response rate of 59%. this was distributed as 54% from the gmba and 64% from the cidb. a total of 326 employees were interviewed to answer questions about the sampled smmes. these employees were purposively selected based on the total number of employees in a business and their availability at the time of the interview. they represented staff at all levels, namely top management, middle management, lower management and labourers. the number of employees interviewed per business varied from one to 21 employees. the reason for this variation was that some businesses employ fewer employees than others. the equality of variances tests were conducted to determine the variations in responses where only one respondent represented an smme compared to where the smmes were represented by several respondents. levene’s test of variances (field, 2000: 6) was used for this purpose. the results of the tests revealed that there was no significant statistical evidence from the data that the case of one employee and those of several employees vary. 4. models of management performance the study evaluated the most prominent models used to measure the management performance of businesses. the rationale for evaluating these models was to select the most appropriate and superior model to help improve the management performance of small building construction enterprises in gauteng province, south africa. the balanced scorecard, the united states’ malcolm baldrige national quality award (mbnqa) and the european foundation for quality management (efqm) were among the models evaluated. ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 49 the model found to be most suitable and superior to evaluate the management performance of smmes was the south african construction excellence model (sacem). 5. reliability and validity measurements reliability and validity are key qualities in all measurements. these qualities help to establish the consistency of scores, appropriateness, meaningfulness, usefulness, truthfulness and credibility of findings (neuman, 2006: 188; babbie, 2007: 146). babbie (2007: 146) describes reliability as the quality of the measurement method that suggests that the same results would be reached each time in repeated data collections. in this study, reliability was enhanced by using trained fieldworkers and involving randomly selected businesses from the gmba and the cidb. in addition, the researcher actively participated and checked that all the questionnaires were completed correctly. to determine the reliability of the research instrument, a computer reliability analysis, cronbach’s alpha, was used (cronbach, 1951). coefficients equal to or greater than 0.70 indicate high reliability of the measuring instrument (o’leary-kelly & vokurka, 1998: 397). the reliability coefficients in respect of the various criteria of this questionnaire are reflected in table 2. table 2: reliability analysis for the management performance criteria no. model criteria reliability coefficients: cronbach’s alpha 1 leadership 0.884 2 strategy and planning 0.916 3 customer and market focus 0.876 4 people management 0.867 5 resources and information management 0.849 6 processes 0.876 7 social responsibility 0.936 8 customer satisfaction 0.868 9 people satisfaction 0.889 10 supplier and partnership performance 0.930 11 results 0.939 average 0.893 acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 50 table 2 shows that the cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the eleven sacem criteria ranged from 0.849 to 0.939, yielding an average reliability of 0.893 for the sacem test as a whole. the results obtained in this study suggest that the reliability of the questionnaire as a whole and the individual criteria were highly reliable since they were all above the prescribed minimum of 0.70. validity is appropriateness, meaningfulness, usefulness and truthfulness, and refers to how well an idea ‘fits’ with actual reality (dooley, 2001: 76). it refers to the degree to which a research instrument measures what it is supposed to measure (oschman, 2004: 308). this study ensured instrument, as well as internal and external validity. uys (2006: 13, 14) pointed out that an instrument must measure what it claims to measure. furthermore, in order to validate a measuring instrument, it should prove that it does what it is supposed to do. proof of instrument validity in this study comes from the fact that the american and european quality models (the mbnqa and efqm) use similar instruments from which the sacem was adapted. stakeholders who successfully used the instrument in south africa include honeywell southern africa, daimlerchrysler south africa parts division and south african air force protection services (saef, 2005: 24). internal validity answers the question as to whether the experimental treatment causes the observed difference. this means that internal validity is the logic of research design, the fact whether other variables that may intervene were controlled, which is the integrity of the study (deflem, 1998: 10). in this study, internal validity was established through the use of a previously tested and validated research instrument whose outcomes are well documented (eygelaar, 2004: 75; von solms, 2006: 211). lucas (2003: 237) states that external validity “refers to whether the results can be legitimately generalized to some specified broader population”. in addition, external validity is generalising from a sample to a larger population. that is, external validity, generalisability and representativeness imply the same concept. the results of this study can be generalised to a larger population of the gauteng’s smmes in the built environment because randomisation of the sample was used to remove bias. in addition, having observed differences in the population according to the attributes of the businesses, stratification of the sample was ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 51 used. lastly, to ensure non-dominance of the stratified samples’ effect on the outcomes of the results, proportional representation wasadopted. 6. data analysis the data were analysed using the spss software package and the batlisisa electronic self-assessment programme. spss was used because it is a standard statistical software package while batlisisa is an instrument used specifically to measure management performance of businesses. 7. findings of the study management performance of small construction enterprises against world-class and sadc best practice benchmarking was established. the results of the pesq were used for this purpose. the respondents’ perceptions of the management performance of smmes were evaluated, benchmarked and their performance levels assessed. the following sections report these findings. 7.1 evaluation of management performance of smmes table 3 and figure 1 reflect the self-assessment scores of the smme respondents using the batlisisa computer-aided matrix programme. table 3 shows the overall performance of the responding smmes. the criteria points (maximum possible points) and the points scored by participating smmes are shown in the labelled columns of table 3. columns five, six and seven show the differences (gap between maximum and scored points), criteria priority scores (where the lowest number indicates higher priority) and achievement in percentage form. priority number ‘1’ in this table indicates highest priority; priority number ‘2’ indicates the second highest priority, and so on. achievement given as a percentage is the ratio of points scored to corresponding criteria points (column four to column three in the table) multiplied by 100. these criteria points are adapted from the international management performance excellence models and scaled down for the south african and sadc region (saef, 2000: 14). the criteria points were used as benchmarks for world-class and sadc best practice. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 52 ta b le 3 : o ve ra ll p e rfo rm a nc e o f r e sp o nd in g s m m es c rit e ria c rit e ria p o in ts po in ts s c o re d d iff e re nc e c rit e ria p rio rit y a c hi e ve m e nt % en a b le r c rit e ria 1 le a d e rs hi p 25 18 7 10 72 .0 % 2 pl a nn in g a nd s tr a te g y 17 2 15 3 11 .8 % 3 c us to m e r a nd m a rk e t fo c us 15 10 5 8 66 .7 % 4 pe o p le m a na g e m e nt 23 7 16 5 30 .4 % 5 re so ur c e a nd in fo rm a tio n m a na g e m e nt 15 10 5 9 66 .7 % 6 bu sin e ss p ro c e ss e s 30 13 17 7 43 .3 % to ta l f o r e na b le r c rit e ria 12 5 60 65 48 .5 % re su lts /a c hi e ve m e nt s c rit e ria 7 so c ia l r e sp o ns ib ilt y 15 0 15 1 0. 0% 8 c us to m e r s a tis fa c tio n 43 32 11 11 74 .4 % 9 pe o p le s a tis fa c tio n 22 7 15 6 31 .8 % 10 su p p lie r a nd p a rt ne rs hi p p e rfo rm a nc e 7 2 5 4 28 .6 % 11 bu sin e ss re su lts 38 3 35 2 7. 9% to ta l f o r r e su lts c rit e ria 12 5 44 81 28 .5 % to ta l s c o re s 25 0 10 4 14 6 38 .5 % ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 53 the weakest achievement of the smmes in the study was social responsibility (achievement of 0.0%) and the strongest achievement was customer satisfaction (achievement of 74.4%). figure 1 graphically represents the results of table 3. figure 1: respondents’ position in terms of performance criteria 1: leadership 2: strategy and planning 3: customer and market focus 4: people management 5: resources and information management 6: business processes 7: impact on society 8: customer satisfaction 9: people satisfaction 10: supplier and partnership performance 11: business results. figure 1 shows the respondents’ position in terms of performance criteria. the criteria points (highest points per criterion) are the world-class best practice points. below each grid (highest point per criterion) are the average points scored by all the sampled smmes. 7.2 smmes benchmarks in the built environment given the above evaluation results, a benchmark for the south african region smmes in the building construction industry could be established. table 4 shows the actual scores in percentages, the benchmarks set and the deviations from the benchmarks. table 4 shows the world-class best practice and the sadc benchmarks established in this study. each of the criterion scores in the world-class best practice equals 100% and those of the sadc best practice equal 75%. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 54 ta b le 4 : sm m es ’ b e nc hm a rk s in t he b ui lt e nv iro nm e nt m a na g e m e nt p e rfo rm a nc e c rit e ria w o rld -c la ss b e st p ra c tic e sa d c b e st p ra c tic e sm m es s c o re s a c hi e ve d d e vi a tio ns fr o m w o rld -c la ss b e st p ra c tic e d e vi a tio ns fr o m so ut h a fri c a n b e st p ra c tic e a c tu a l sc o re s eq ui va le nc e (% ) a c tu a l sc o re s eq ui va le nc e (% ) a c tu a l sc o re s eq ui va le nc e (% ) a c tu a l sc o re s eq ui va le nc e (% ) a c tu a l sc o re s eq ui va le nc e (% ) le a d e rs hi p 25 .0 0 10 0. 0% 18 .7 5 75 .0 % 18 .0 0 72 .0 % 7. 00 28 .0 % 0. 75 3. 0% pl a nn in g a nd s tr a te g y 17 .0 0 10 0. 0% 12 .7 5 75 .0 % 2. 00 11 .8 % 15 .0 0 88 .2 % 10 .7 5 63 .2 % c us to m e r a nd m a rk e t fo c us 15 .0 0 10 0. 0% 11 .2 5 75 .0 % 10 .0 0 66 .7 % 5. 00 33 .3 % 1. 25 8. 3% pe o p le m a na g e m e nt 23 .0 0 10 0. 0% 17 .2 5 75 .0 % 7. 00 30 .4 % 16 .0 0 69 .6 % 10 .2 5 44 .6 % re so ur c e s a nd in fo rm a tio n m a na g e m e nt 15 .0 0 10 0. 0% 11 .2 5 75 .0 % 10 .0 0 66 .7 % 5. 00 33 .3 % 1. 25 8. 3% bu sin e ss p ro c e ss e s 30 .0 0 10 0. 0% 22 .5 0 75 .0 % 13 .0 0 43 .3 % 17 .0 0 56 .7 % 9. 50 31 .7 % to ta l f o r e na b le r c rit e ria 12 5. 00 10 0. 0% 93 .7 5 75 .0 % 60 .0 0 48 .5 % 65 .0 0 51 .5 % 33 .7 5 26 .5 % so c ia l r e sp o ns ib ilit y 15 .0 0 10 0. 0% 11 .2 5 75 .0 % 0. 00 0. 0% 15 .0 0 10 0. 0% 11 .2 5 75 .0 % c us to m e r s a tis fa c tio n 43 .0 0 10 0. 0% 32 .2 5 75 .0 % 32 .0 0 74 .4 % 11 .0 0 25 .6 % 0. 25 0. 6% pe o p le s a tis fa c tio n 22 .0 0 10 0. 0% 16 .5 0 75 .0 % 7. 00 31 .8 % 15 .0 0 68 .2 % 9. 25 43 .2 % su p p lie r a nd p a rt ne rs hi p p e rfo rm a nc e 7. 00 10 0. 0% 5. 25 75 .0 % 2. 00 28 .6 % 5. 00 71 .4 % 3. 25 46 .4 % bu sin e ss re su lts 38 .0 0 10 0. 0% 28 .5 0 75 .0 % 3. 00 7. 9% 35 .0 0 92 .1 % 25 .5 0 67 .1 % to ta l f o r a c hi e ve m e nt c rit e ria 12 5. 00 10 0. 0% 93 .7 5 75 .0 % 44 .0 0 28 .5 % 81 .0 0 71 .5 % 49 .7 5 46 .5 % to ta l s c o re s 25 0. 00 10 0. 0% 18 7. 50 75 .0 % 10 4. 00 38 .5 % 14 6. 00 61 .5 % 83 .5 0 36 .5 % ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 55 the maximum achieved management performance for the surveyed smmes was approximately 75%. this confirms the possibility of management performance of <75%, which is categorised as full achievement and as world-class best practice (safri, 2004: 5). thus, this leads to the industry benchmark of 75%, which is world-class best practice. 7.3 management performance levels of smmes the mean ranks were used to establish the ranks of the eleven management performance criteria of the sampled smmes. the following research sub-question was used: what are the mean ranks of management performance criteria of the smmes in the building construction industry? this sub-question sought to establish the ranks of the management performance criteria of the sampled smmes. the mean ranks were generated, and then ordered on a scale of one to ten ranks of merit. a lower ranking suggests a poorer management performance and a higher ranking suggests a better management performance. thus, a management performance criterion showing low mean rank is a reason for poor management performance. the criteria were grouped according to their effect. the first group included criteria that affected the sampled smmes’ management performance positively. the second group consisted of criteria that did not affect management performance. the last group included criteria that affected management performance negatively. the initial assumption was that the highest ranked criteria affected management performance positively and that lowest ranked criteria affected it negatively. it is necessary to determine the cut-off for the high and the low ranked criteria. if, indeed, the high criteria positively affect management performance of these smmes, or do not affect it, then they cannot be considered causes or reasons for the smmes’ low management performances. on the other hand, if the low criteria were found to negatively affect the management performances of these smmes, the criteria would then be considered causes or reasons for their low management performances. table 5 and figure 2 present the ranking of the eleven management performance criteria. acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 56 table 5: ranking of management performance criteria management performance criteria mean rank order of rank 1 leadership 8.25 10 2 planning and strategy 4.65 3 3 customer and market focus 8.16 9 4 people management 5.04 4 5 resources and information 6.66 8 6 business processes 4.16 2 7 social responsibility 3.41 1 8 customer satisfaction 8.63 11 9 people satisfaction 5.36 5 10 supplier and partnership performance 6.03 7 11 business results 5.66 6 source: adapted from field 2000: online2 table 5 shows the mean ranks of the eleven management performance criteria for the sampled smmes. the last column shows the order of the ranks. social responsibility showed the lowest score (3.41). it is thus ranked number one (1) and indicates the most serious reason for poor management performance. customer satisfaction showed the highest score (8.63). it is ranked the highest score of all eleven criteria and thus indicates the least serious reason for poor management performance. the highest ranked criterion is ‘customer satisfaction’. this serves as the yardstick for all other criteria measured for the sampled smmes. thus, the other criteria will be compared to customer satisfaction mean rank. by the expectation implied, if the other criteria had allowed effect to the smmes from the effect of this yardstick criterion, it would become a suspected reason for low management performances of these smmes. table 5 and figure 2 ranked the management performance criteria in terms of the mean ranks. a criterion with the lower score leads to poorer management. social responsibility, therefore, needs urgent action in order to improve on the smmes’ management performance. customer satisfaction is the least of severe reasons for improving smmes’ poor management performance. 2 the order is given from the lowest (1) to the highest (11) mean ranks. ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 57 figure 2: mean ranking order of management performance criteria 1’: leadership 2’: strategy and planning 3’: customer and market focus 4’: people management 5’: resources and information management 6’: business processes 7’: impact on society 8’: customer satisfaction 9’: people satisfaction 10’: supplier and partnership performance 11’: business results. the results of these tests show that the criteria that ranked low are the identified reasons for the low management performance of the smmes under investigation. these tests confirmed the ‘eyeball’ observation results. that is, social responsibility, business processes, planning and strategy, people management, people satisfaction, business results and supplier and partnership performance ranked low in management performance. these criteria proved to be the causes or reasons for the smmes’ low management performance. the literature supported these results. many smmes, for example, are not involved in social responsibility programmes, do not use processoriented performance measurement, and have relatively low levels of planning. these are the businesses that struggle to survive in comparison to those that have developed highly useful and innovative strategies (gibbons & o’connor, 2005: 172; perrini, 2006: 310). in addition, the literature reported inadequate knowledge and lack of sufficient management experience as contributors to poor management performance (badenhorst et al., 2006: 120). acta structilia 2010: 17(1) 58 8. conclusion evaluating, benchmarking and ranking of smmes management performance in the building construction industry in south africa revealed a number of criteria with low scores. these were social responsibility, business processes, planning and strategy, people management, people satisfaction, business results, and supplier and partnership performance. of the eleven management performance criteria evaluated, the three worst performers (those with the lowest scores) were social responsibility, business processes, and planning and strategy. these low scores indicate the reasons for poor management performance of smmes. 9. recommendations the following recommendations resulted from the study: • all registered south african building construction smmes should be required to evaluate their management performance periodically to remain as building construction industry association members. • building construction industry associations in the gauteng province should establish an annual bulletin that publishes industry, sadc and world-class best management performance scores for benchmarking purposes. • provincial and national smmes associations should ensure that all top-performing smmes are celebrated and rewarded on an annual basis. government and corporate bodies should contribute to this initiative as part of their smmes support initiatives and social responsibility obligations. • training support institutions should provide materials and dedicate more time to management performance criteria that scored low; that is, weakest links. • smmes owner/managers should be encouraged to use standardised management performance instruments such as sacem. this management performance instrument could become a powerful tool for continually improving the individual smmes’ management performance and for industry and world-class benchmarking purposes. • institutions that support smmes and owners and managers in the built environment should use the benchmarks set out by this study to improve productivity and to benchmark themselves on an international comparative level. ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment 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[online]. available from: <http://www.csir.co.za/akani> [accessed: 5 september 2005]. ladzani et al. • benchmarking smmes’ management performance in the built environment of gauteng province, south africa 61 von solms, v.h. 2006. self-assessment as component of a continuous performance improvement strategy and quality assurance in education, training and development within the south african department of defence. doctoral thesis. pretoria: university of south africa. world bank. 2003. the little green data book, 2003. from the world development indicators 2003. washington, dc: world bank. 151 how to cite: boshoff, b. & mey, c. 2020. the building emission reduction potential of south african residential building efficiency tools – a review. acta structilia, 27(2), pp. 151-185. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as review articles • oorsigartikels brian boshoff dr brian boshoff, senior lecturer, school of architecture and planning, university of the witwatersrand, 13 waterford avenue, parkview 2193, south africa. phone: 073 267 7176, email: <brian.boshoff@wits.ac.za> cornelia mey mrs cornelia mey, sustainability engineer, ecolution consulting, 70 1st avenue, linden crest 2, linden, johannesburg, 2195. phone: 0720835725, email: <corneliaoberholzer@gmail.com> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.6 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 151-185 the building emission reduction potential of south african residential building efficiency tools – a review peer reviewed and revised september 2020 published december 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the building sector’s levels of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption are a significant contributor to south africa’s overall carbon emissions. this influences the country’s ability to meet its commitments to the paris agreement, which aims to limit the effects of global climate change. this review article focuses on the climate change mitigation strategies that are employed by the building sector, specifically the potential impact of mandatory and voluntary building energy efficiency regulations, standards, initiatives, and certifications common to south africa’s residential market. international research on the impact of green building tools tends to focus on the commercial rather than the residential sector, due to limited energy data availability. within this context and given the exploratory and evaluative nature of the present research endeavour, substantial reliance has had to be made on grey literature for this research. a review of the south african building efficiency tools shows that there is potential for a 16% reduction in the energy intensity of the residential sector by 2030. this will, however, be offset by the projected increased building floor area and is as http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:brian.boshoff@wits.ac.za mailto:corneliaoberholzer@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.6 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.6 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 152 such insufficient to meet south africa’s commitments to the paris agreement. thus, more ambitious targets are required. given the growth of the residential sector and the potential impact of the various tools, a focus on improved and timeous mandatory regulations for new builds is crucial, in order to meet our climate commitments. keywords: building energy efficiency tools, climate change mitigation, green buildings, residential sector abstrak die energieverbruik en kweekhuisgasvrystellings deur die boubedryf lewer ’n beduidende bydrae tot suid-afrika se algehele koolstofvrystelling en beïnvloed ons vermoë om ons verbintenisse tot die parys-ooreenkoms na te kom, wat daarop gemik is om klimaatverandering te beperk. hierdie oorsigartikel ondersoek die versagtingsmaatreëls wat in die boubedryf gebruik word om klimaatverandering te bekamp, en spesifiek die potensiële energie-besparende impak van verpligte en vrywillige energiedoeltreffendheid of groenbou-instrumente wat in die suid-afrikaanse residensiële mark gebruik word. internasionale navorsing is tipies toegespits op die impak van groenbouinstrumente op die kommersiële eerder as op die residensiële sektor, as gevolg van beperkte beskikbaarheid van energiedata in die residensiële sektor wêreldwyd. gegewe hierdie konteks, en die verkennende en evaluerende aard van die navorsing, moes daar aansienlike vertroue op ’n aantal grysliteratuur vir hierdie navorsing gemaak word. na ’n hersiening van die suid-afrikaanse residensiële groenbou-instrumente, is daar ’n potensiaal vir ’n afname van 16% in die energie-intensiteit van die residensiële sektor teen 2030. hierdie afname word egter teengewerk deur die geprojekteerde toename in algehele residensiële vloeroppervlakte en is sodanig onvoldoende om aan ons verbintenisse van die parys-ooreenkoms te voldoen. meer ambisieuse teikens word dus benodig. gegewe die groei in die residensiële sektor en die potensiële impak van die verskillende groenbou-instrumente, is tydige en verbeterde verpligte regulasies vir nuwe geboue uiters belangrik om aan ons klimaatverbintenisse te voldoen. sleutelwoorde: energiebesparings, groenbou-instrumente, groen geboue, klimaatverandering, residensiële sektor, versagtingsmaatreëls 1. introduction the world health organization (who, 2015: online) views climate change as “the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century”. this may necessitate a global response to the climate change crisis, akin to that required of the covid-19 pandemic (bir, 2020). according to the special report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc), disadvantaged and vulnerable populations, especially the poor in africa and asia, will be hardest hit by climate change, with an increased risk to their “health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth” (ipcc, 2019: 11). globally, cities are responsible for more intensive resource use, and 70% of carbon dioxide emissions (un-habitat, 2016: 1). this, coupled with continuous urbanisation, will lead to a “deadly collision between urbanization and climate change” (un-habitat, 2011: 183). cities can thus be viewed as major environmental culprits. however, they can also dramatically contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change (un-habitat, 2016: 17). boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 153 this, of course, has many ramifications, but the focus, in this instance, is on the building sector in cities, since this sector presents the most significant opportunity for low-cost emissions and energy-use reductions (wri, 2016: 17). given that buildings last for generations and have long renovation cycles, there is a “need for early and rapid investment to prevent locking in carbon intensive investments” (cbi, 2017: 12). since the international energy agency (cbi, 2017: 10) has projected that residential floor area would increase by 75% between 2015 and 2050, this article focuses specifically on the residential building sector in south africa. part of south africa’s attempt to meet its climate change commitments is to employ building efficiency tools, which include several mandatory and voluntary regulations, standards, initiatives, and certifications. this article thus aims to describe and especially evaluate the potential impact on emissions reduction of such tools, specifically in the formal residential sector. 2. methods and review approach the review provides both an international and a south african background to the impacts of, and responses to climate change. first, the climate change mitigation commitments made under the paris agreement are summarised, and the scope and impact of these commitments clarified. secondly, the carbon emissions impacts of the building and residential sectors are discussed, creating the impetus to focus on this area. thirdly, the climate change mitigation tools used in the building sector and their impact on the mitigation of climate change are reviewed. qualitative research methods were employed for this article, primarily through the application of desktop research and secondary data analysis. relevant materials used in this review consisted of articles, theses, reports, and other documents obtained from the university of the witwatersrand’s library database and the internet. as an initial search, relevant documents were identified through the application of a database keyword search for terms associated with the climate change mitigation potential of green building tools. search terms included climate change, paris agreement, building sector, residential sector, green building tools, and building efficiency. the primary search was performed between 15 october 2019 and 30 november 2019, with supplementary supporting information sourced between 24 february 2020 and 19 april 2020. preference was given to more recent literature so as to reflect current research on, and approaches to the topic. to expand the relevant literature for review, several of the references used in the initial texts were additionally evaluated for their relevancy to this topic. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 154 it was evident from the initial search for relevant academic material that international research on the impact of green building tools tends to focus on the commercial rather than the residential sector. this may be because residential energy consumption data are limited across the world (cbi, 2017: 8). this worldwide trend of limited energy data availability, and subsequently research output, is also evident in south africa. the paucity of relevant literature, and the exploratory and evaluative nature of the present research endeavour, required a heavy reliance on grey literature for its review. this documentation primarily consists of reports and policy documents from both governmental and non-governmental agencies, which were identified and sourced either through internet search terms, or because they were referenced or referred to in the sourced journal articles. it is important to note that this review utilises sources with varying degrees of credibility, and this may influence the final accuracy and validity of the results obtained. for example, statistics and assessment reports by the ipcc are considered highly credible, as the ipcc assesses and summarises published climate change research that has been undertaken worldwide. this could be contrasted with statistics provided by state-owned entities regarding residential energy and electricity consumption, which are inconsistent (unep-sbci, 2009: 25, 31). thus, educated assumptions need to be made regarding which data to use. data obtained from statistics south africa and the quantum database, which were used in this study, are accurate, although they may contain some unknown biases. in the discussion section, the building efficiency tools utilised or proposed in south africa are evaluated, within the context of the carbon footprint of our national energy supplier, and the residential sector’s energy demand, composition, and growth projections. this is done by considering the tools’ areas of impact (energy efficiency, carbon footprint of energy supply, carbon footprint of building materials), and ultimately their potential reduction in the energy intensity of the residential building. 3. key issues 3.1 the paris agreement and nationally determined contributions the impacts of global warming on natural and human systems have already been observed (scholes, scholes & lucas, 2015: 51-52), and some of the projected impacts may be long-lasting or even irreversible. disadvantaged and vulnerable populations will be hardest hit by climate change (ipcc, 2019: 20), and countries in africa would need to devote 5% to 10% of their gross domestic product (gdp) simply to adapt to these negative impacts (dpw, 2018: 63). boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 155 these global warming (and climate change) risks and impacts can be addressed through increased, accelerated, and far-reaching climate mitigation action (ipcc, 2019: 7). the paris agreement (climate focus, 2015: 1; un, 2015: 1) was adopted by parties at the un framework convention on climate change (unfccc) on 12 december 2015, with 195 countries having ratified the paris agreement by october 2019 (united nations treaty collection, [n.d.]). this agreement aims to hold “global average temperature to well below 2°c above pre-industrial levels” and to pursue “efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°c above preindustrial levels” (un, 2015: 3). in addition, greenhouse gas emissions are intended to peak as soon as possible, with a rapid reduction afterwards (un, 2015: 4). all parties to the paris agreement were to develop their own country-specific climate mitigation plans and commitments and provide progressively more ambitious nationally determined contributions (ndcs) every five years (climate focus, 2015: 1). intended ndcs (indcs) were submitted by 97% of the parties to the unfccc by 18 april 2016, which represented 94.6% of carbon dioxide (co2) emissions worldwide (unfccc, 2019). south africa ratified the paris agreement on 1 november 2016, having already provided its indc by 25 september 2015. the main targets of the indc (government of south africa, 2015: 6) are that: • emissions will range within 398 and 614 mt co2-eq 1 between 2025 and 2030; • the emission profile will peak between 2020 and 2025, plateau for a decade and then decline in absolute terms from there onwards, and • targets apply to all sectors of the economy. in 2018, south africa released the draft climate change bill for comment (dea, 2018: 4), which seeks to establish a legal framework to determine a national emissions reduction trajectory and to set carbon budgets and sectoral emissions targets (dea, 2019: 75). while south africa is one of the few countries to provide absolute targets in its indc, the commitment is nevertheless insufficient to place the country on a pathway that will limit warming to +2 °c or less (climate action tracker, 2019). this is consistent with the findings in the report by the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc), which states that the aggregate effect of all the indcs by countries worldwide is insufficient to meet the target warming level limit (unfccc, 2016: 13). similarly, another study (fawcett, iyer, clarke, edmonds, hultman et al., 2015: 1 mt co2-eq denotes ‘metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent’, which is used to quantify the global warming impact of emissions from different greenhouse gases, standardised to that of one unit mass of carbon dioxide. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 156 1169) concludes that a continuation of current weak policies that target a 2% annual improvement in co2 emissions per unit of gdp provides zero chance of limiting warming to +2°c. whilst current ndcs pledge stabilising the total yearly global co2 emissions, they provide only an 8% probability of limiting warming to +2°c. if the ndc pledges are “progressively tightened” from 2030 onwards, as per the intent of the paris agreement, the probability increases to 30%. no sector-specific targets or plans are provided in south africa’s indc, beyond the recognition of the large impact of the energy sector and the need for a lower-carbon supply. a united nations environment program (unep) report (2018b: 15) notes that south africa’s current 2030 upper emissions target would be reached only if the country’s future energy mix decarbonises, as per the 2019 integrated resource plan (dmre, 2019: 42), which came into effect in october 2019. south africa’s indc refers specifically to the significant impact of our energy sector on our current greenhouse gas (ghg) emission levels, and that substantial investment in transforming the sector away from coal is required (government of south africa, 2015: 9). 3.2 the climate change impact of the building sector global levels of urbanisation have increased rapidly from approximately 29% to 49% in the past half century, and south africa was already 66% urbanised by 2018 (statista, 2020). global emissions from fossil-fuel burning have increased by almost 500% in the same period, with 2016 being the hottest year in recorded history, exceeding 2019’s level by 0.04°c. cities are essential in the conversation about global emissions, as they account for between 60% and 80% of the world’s energy consumption and generate 70% of the human-induced greenhouse gas emissions (un-habitat, 2016: 1). the construction and operation of buildings is a leading contributor to these emissions, accounting for 36% of the world’s energy use and 39% of the carbon dioxide emissions in 2017, as illustrated in figure 1 (iea & unep, 2018: 11). the residential sector accounts for 22% of worldwide energy consumption and roughly 17% of global emissions. boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 157 figure 1: global share of buildings and construction final energy and emissions in 2017. source: adapted from iea & unep, 2018: 11 the picture in south africa is similar, with the residential sector responsible for 20% of the electricity consumption (deloitte, 2017: 20) and 13% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions (unep-sbci, 2009: 33), as per table 1. table 1: the building sector and the residential market’s carbon emissions in 2006 source: adapted from unep-sbci, 2009: 33 the international energy agency (cbi, 2017: 10) has projected that residential floor area will increase by 75% between 2015 and 2050, with similar growth levels projected for non-residential buildings. africa, asia and india are expected to show particularly rapid building growth, with floor area in africa expected to more than triple by 2060. the south african housing market is becoming more formalised at a rate that is higher than the average population growth rate, with the number of formal dwellings increasing by an average of 3.1% per year (quantec, 2018). despite improved energy efficiency of buildings globally, the energy needs of the building sector as a whole continue to increase, due to the floor area growth outpacing the reduced energy use per square metre that has acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 158 been achieved (cbi, 2017: 10; unep & iea, 2017: 7). with the massive increase in floor area projected in non-oecd countries, in part due to the significant housing deficit currently experienced, a focus on high-performing new builds should be prioritised in these regions (unep, 2011: 344). the built environment can be viewed as high-inertia infrastructure, where investment and construction decisions made currently can lead to a detrimental lock-in of carbon-intensive investments for decades to come (akerman & hojer, 2006: 1953; unep & iea, 2017: 13). the reason for this is that buildings tend to last decades, sometimes generations, with the thermal envelope2 and roofs being very infrequently renovated during the usable life of buildings (cbi, 2017: 12). 3.3 mitigating the climate change impact of the building sector as urbanisation brings about fundamental changes in cities’ production and consumption patterns, cities can be both part of the problem of, and the solution to climate change. they offer many opportunities to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies, with the economies of scale making it less expensive and easier to take action, in order to minimise both emissions and climate-related hazards (un-habitat, 2016: 17). as illustrated in figure 2 (wri, 2016: 17), bottom-up studies have shown that, compared to other sectors, the building sector presents the most substantial opportunity for cost-effective energy and emission reduction by 2030. in the wri’s (2016: 56) report titled “accelerating building efficiency: eight actions for urban leaders”, the first four of the eight actions identified as ways to deliver accelerated building efficiencies are building efficiency codes and standards; efficiency improvement targets; performance information and certifications, and incentives and finance. these speak directly to the building efficiency tools that are the focus of this article and are elaborated on in the ensuing subsections. these priorities broadly align with the key strategies identified by other institutes, including the roadmap provided by the global alliance for buildings and construction (unep & iea, 2017: 13). 3.3.1 building efficiency codes and standards voluntary and mandatory energy codes or certification schemes for the building sector have been in use in over 80 countries worldwide for the 2 in countries where there is a large temperature difference between the inside and the outside of buildings, thermal insulation of the envelope elements such as walls, roofs and windows, becomes a key means of passively reducing the energy required to maintain comfortable temperatures inside (szokolay, 2014). boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 159 past 30 years (wong & kruger, 2017: 310; iea & unep, 2018: 20), with this rise being correlated to the oil crisis of the 1970s (caceres, 2018: 1). a precursor to building certification and energy rating schemes was the implementation of household appliance efficiency ratings, which provide accurate energy consumption information of appliances (wong & kruger, 2017: 310). as of 2018, 69 countries worldwide have mandatory or voluntary building energy codes or standards, but this still leaves two-thirds of countries without either of these (iea & unep, 2018: 20). over half of the new buildings expected to be constructed between 2020 and 2060 are projected for so-called ‘developing countries’ that do not have any mandatory building codes requiring minimum energy efficiency levels in place (unep & iea, 2017: 8). in september 2011, the south african national building regulations (nbrs) were updated to include a section on energy efficiency, designated ‘part xa – energy usage in buildings’. this section requires that all new buildings or major refurbishments be designed and built so that their passive design (orientation, shading, services, and the building envelope) ensures efficient use of energy, and that at least 50% of hot water generation (by volume) figure 2: estimated economic mitigation potential by sector in 2030 source: wri, 2016: 17 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 160 takes place without the use of electric resistance heating.3 the intent is that this standard is updated every five years to become gradually more stringent (ecolution consulting, 2019: 30), although there are suggestions that even the best-practice norm of 3 to 5 years between updates is not optimal (gray & covary, 2015: 16). the update of the nbrs is currently overdue, as eight years have passed since the promulgation of the previous version, with the department of public works (dpw) stating that an update is “urgently needed” (dpw, 2018: 15). in january 2020, a draft version of the updated standard was released for public comment, with the window for comments closing on 24 march 2020. while the maximum annual energy consumption of commercial buildings is set to be reduced significantly if the standard is implemented in its current form, it is yet unclear to what extent the proposed update will influence the energy intensity of residential buildings (sans, 2020). 3.3.2 energy efficiency improvement targets of the 194 ndcs submitted as part of the paris agreement, only 70% referenced the building or construction sectors (figure 3), despite these sectors contributing to nearly 40% of the global greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions (unep, 2018a: 13). no sector-specific targets or plans are provided in south africa’s ndc. over 50% of ndcs referenced building energy efficiency, while 26% mentioned low carbon energy supplies (iea & unep, 2018: 18), and only 5 ndcs (2.5%) mentioned low carbon construction, despite this providing a third of the carbon reduction potential (cbi, 2017: 7). most of these ndcs do not provide specific targets or policy actions on reducing the impact of buildings, even for those countries that have such policies in place (unep & iea, 2017: 18). the lack of targets was identified as a critical gap to be addressed as part of the support provided by the global abc to countries in the update to their ndcs (iea & unep, 2018: 9). 3.3.3 building efficiency performance information and certifications quality building performance information can provide stakeholders with the ability to make informed decisions on actions to improve their buildings’ efficiency. certifications, which are often voluntary, can provide public recognition and increased value to highly efficient buildings (wri, 2016: 3 the conventional approach to water heating for domestic use uses an electrical element inside a geyser to heat water (‘electric resistance heating’). sans 10400–xa regulations require that all new buildings utilise other means of heating at least 50% of the water, such as solar water heaters, heat pumps and gas geysers. boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 161 74). green building rating tools or certifications are used in 85 countries and focus on evaluating the design (expected) or operational (measured) energy use of buildings. they are broadly voluntary outside of the european union (eu), but the uptake is growing among the high-end building sector (iea & unep, 2018: 23). where building codes typically provide the minimum (often mandatory) building standard, several voluntary rating tools offer certification against best-practice standards (dpw, 2018: 12). energy performance certificates (epcs) provide performance information as well as certification and have been used across the world to improve building energy efficiency and inform stakeholder decisions since the 1990s (pasichnyia, wallinb, levihnc, shahroknia & kordasa, 2019: 486). epcs serve to benchmark buildings against regulatory standards or industry benchmarks and to establish a database of building energy performance. epcs provide either estimated ratings based on building features, or measured ratings determined through energy meter readings. the intent is to provide accurate and valuable information with regard to building energy performance (caceres, 2018: 2), and a true reflection of this can only be obtained through energy consumption data. studies have shown that design ratings are rarely an accurate reflection of energy performance, although more accurate estimates are possible based on the estimation methodology used (wong & kruger, 2017: 321). mandatory epcs have been implemented in all 28 eu member states (bpie, 2014: 6), and are used worldwide, including in the united states 5 51 104 136 194 0 197 embodied carbon renewables energy efficiency buildings ndcs number of parties ndc submissions and building specific coverage figure 3: ndc and buildings policy coverage for 2017-2018 source: adapted from iea & unep, 2018: 18 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 162 of america, australia, singapore, japan, brazil, turkey, and india. in the eu, epcs are required when buildings are newly constructed or advertised for rent or sale, and must be placed in a visible location in public buildings (wong & kruger, 2017: 320). south africa’s department of energy published draft epc regulations for public comment in 2018 (parliamentary monitoring group, 2018). the proposed mandatory epcs (sans, 2014: 3) are not required in the residential sector and are for existing commercial buildings used for entertainment, public assembly, theatres, indoor sports arenas, places of instruction, and offices only. epcs have been shown to not only improve the energy efficiency of buildings, but highly efficient buildings also attract a sales premium of up to 10%, thus acting as economic incentives for developers to innovate further (wong & kruger, 2017: 316). an epc’s effectiveness in reducing energy intensity can be increased through the provision of cost-effective recommendations on how to improve the building’s energy efficiency (wong & kruger, 2017: 321; caceres, 2018: 3), something that is not required in the current south african scheme. globally, green building certifications are typically voluntary, and they intend to promote and reward environmental sustainability in buildings (yigit & acarkan, 2016: 4840). the world green building council (worldgbc) has approximately 70 member councils worldwide, which together administer 54 different green building rating tools (worldgbc, 2019b). internationally, several additional tools are used that are not managed by worldgbc member councils. in the south african residential market, the edge (‘excellence in design for greater efficiencies’) residential tool has had the largest uptake of the residential green building certifications available. the edge certification and other ‘design’ ratings derive their rating levels from estimated or modelled energy performance based on building features, which is poorly correlated to actual operational performance or emission intensity and has been criticised on this basis (cbi, 2017: 38; wong & kruger, 2017: 321; khosla & janda, 2019: 4). given consistent energy modelling assumptions, ‘design ratings’ do, however, allow for the comparison of the relative potential energy efficiency of different building designs (mey, 2020: 19). ‘operational’ or ‘measured’ green building ratings such as net zero carbon, which validate their energy performance or emission intensity through actual energy meter readings, are considered preferable to design ratings (cbi, 2017: 26; wong & kruger, 2017: 321). net zero certifications carry additional support in that they are compatible with the rapid decarbonisation of the building sector to meet the targets of the paris agreement (cicero, 2015; cbi, 2017: 17; worldgbc, 2017). boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 163 the worldgbc launched a ‘net zero carbon buildings commitment’ in september 2018, intending to achieve a 40% reduction in embodied carbon emissions by 2030 and 100% net zero carbon emissions by 2050. as of september 2019, the commitment has been signed by 63 organisations, including 31 businesses, 6 states and regions, and 26 cities (worldgbc, 2019a), representing over 130 million people globally (iea & unep, 2018: 10). regions include catalonia in spain and yucatan in mexico, with johannesburg, tshwane, ethekwini and cape town in south africa having also committed to actions that target improved energy efficiency in both commercial and municipal buildings (worldgbc, 2019a). 3.3.4 building efficiency incentives and finance incentives and financing promote the uptake of green new builds and the energy-efficient retrofitting of existing buildings, by alleviating the burden of the additional upfront costs, whose benefits tend to only accrue over time (wri, 2016: 7). financial incentives can take the form of grants (such as the german ‘kfw energy-efficient renovation’ programme), rebates (singapore’s ‘design for efficiency scheme’), tax incentives (brazil’s ‘qualiverde program’), and green mortgages (pilot by 37 european banks) (climate action, 2018). the eu’s building stock is dominated by existing buildings, and improving the energy efficiency of existing residential homes is considered essential to achieving their carbon emission targets (uk, 2019). as part of this, green mortgages are being piloted to encourage residential retrofits and improve their energy efficiency. the minimum performance threshold for new builds is ‘nearly net zero’ buildings, or a 20% improvement over national standards, or a 30% energy demand reduction for renovations (worldgbc, 2018b). in south africa, no national incentives exist, although two banks are offering ‘green loans’. nedbank is offering an extension to their home loan product, where renewable and energy-saving products from a specific supplier can be rolled into homeowners’ home loans (nedbank limited, 2019). most recently, absa and balwin properties have announced the ‘absa eco home loan’, which provides preferential interest rates on the 16,000 edge-certified homes under development by balwin properties (engineering news, 2020). green bonds are financial instruments that allow the raising of debt to finance eligible green projects or activities. of the $46 billion capital that has been raised on the green bond market, 28% has been allocated to the building sector. in south africa, three bonds have been issued under acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 164 the johannesburg stock exchange’s green bond requirements since its launch in late 2017, of which one was for a certified green building portfolio (css, 2019: 6). green bonds benefit the issuer in that they are often oversubscribed, allow a company to market its ‘green credentials’, and can often be sold at a premium. in return, the proceeds are ringfenced for socially responsible activities, as per the bond mandate (bagnoli & watts, 2020: 1). non-financial incentives are often aimed at developers of new builds in high-density cities, where green features or energy efficiency measures are encouraged. the incentive can take the form of allowing extra height or floor area, such as delhi’s ‘sustainable buildings incentive scheme’, which can award a bonus 1% to 4% coverage (wri, 2016: 80-82). internationally, 2017 saw a slowdown in the rate of energy efficiency investments, with a 4.1% increase (2.5% adjusted for inflation), compared to the 6%-11% annual growth rates from 2014 to 2016. overall energy efficiency accounts for only roughly 8% of total spending on buildings, with residential buildings receiving only half of the total investments, despite contributing to three-quarters of the global building energy use (iea & unep, 2018: 26). 4. discussion in order to decarbonise the building sector and stay within the +2°c limit,4 the cbi advocates a focus on ‘total building emissions’, not simply on improved energy efficiency. the iea states that only approximately a third of the required carbon reduction can be achieved through building efficiency alone (net zero buildings and deep renovations). the remaining two-thirds reduction requires a low carbon energy supply and the use of low carbon building materials (cbi, 2017: 7). the mandatory and voluntary building efficiency tools are discussed individually in the ensuing sections, first, to see with which of the three ‘total building emission’ reduction areas they align; secondly, to discuss their reach, and finally the targeted energy intensity reduction and calculated achievable impact. 4.1 impact of individual mandatory tools from the national energy efficiency strategy the post-2015 national energy efficiency strategy (nees) was developed to respond to the dual scenario of increased energy demand and a 4 the paris agreement aims to hold “global average temperature to well below 2°c above pre-industrial levels” and to pursue “efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°c above pre-industrial levels” (paris agreement, 2015: 29). boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 165 commitment to a reduced environmental footprint, as per south africa’s national development plan 2030 and its paris agreement commitments. the post-2015 nees aims to “encourage continued growth by ‘reducing energy inefficiency as a barrier’ to future progress” (emphasis in original), through the promotion of energy efficiency as a ‘first fuel’5 (dea, 2016: 3). the post-2015 nees document addresses several sectors and, for the residential sector, provides a targeted overall energy intensity reduction of 33% by 2030, using 2015 as the baseline. the overall target of 33% comprises a targeted 20% improvement of the average energy performance of the residential stock overall, and a 33% improvement in the energy efficiency of new household appliances. measures to improve the energy performance of the residential stock include the progressive tightening of the building efficiency standards; the issuance of energy performance certificates; financial incentives for improving the thermal performance, and educational programmes. the measures related to household appliances include mandatory labelling; the successive tightening of minimum energy performance standards; energy endorsement labels, and a scrappage scheme for old, inefficient appliances. table 2 provides an overview of the potential impact of the nees. 4.1.1 the impact of mandatory national building regulations and standards successive tightening of the building efficiency regulations and standards constitutes a large portion of the nees’ targeted 20% improvement in the average energy performance of the residential sector, as it is based on a 38% tightening of the south african national building regulations (nbrs) energy efficiency standards by 2030. this is discussed in terms of focus area, reach, target, and achievable impact. focus area – the national building regulations and standards’ primary focus is ‘energy efficiency’, as the ‘environmental sustainability’ portion (part x) of the national standards currently pertains only to ‘energy usage in buildings’ (part xa), specifically the efficient use of energy. the embodied energy of the material used in construction is not addressed, and the 5 the ‘first fuel’ concept is one that evolved from considering energy efficiency as a ‘hidden fuel source’, as the ability to use energy more efficiently allows the unused portion to be applied to other needs. as the energy use avoided by iea member countries in 2010 was larger than any one fuel source, including coal, energy efficiency can be considered as the ‘first’ or largest fuel (iea, 2014: 29). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 166 ta bl e 2: p ot en tia l e ne rg y in te ns ity re du ct io n by m an da to ry b ui ld in g effi ci en cy to ol s, a s pe r t he n e e s mandatory tools: national efficiency strategy (post-2015 nees) to ol f oc us a re a: e ne rg y effi ci en cy f oc us a re a: l ow c ar bo n en er gy s ou rc e f oc us a re a: e m bo di ed en er gy a ch ie va bl e im pa ct b as ed o n th e re ac h of th e to ol p ot en tia l en er gy in te ns ity re du ct io n n a tio na l b ui ld in g re g ul a tio ns ye s li m ite d t o w a te r h e a tin g n o 7. 6% re d uc tio n in t he e ne rg y in te ns ity o f t he 2 03 0 re sid e nt ia l b ui ld in g s to c k, if a m b iti o us t a rg e ts a re m e t 7. 6% th e rm a l r e tr o fit s in c e nt iv e s ye s n o n o 12 % im p ro ve m e nt o f t he e ne rg y in te ns ity o f t he 2 03 0 re sid e nt ia l b ui ld in g st o c k, if a m b iti o us t a rg e ts a re m e t. 1% re d uc tio n in t he e ne rg y in te ns ity is c o ns id e re d a m o re a c hi e va b le t a rg e t 1% en e rg y p e rfo rm a nc e c e rt ifi c a te s ye s pr o m o te s lo w c a rb o n e ne rg y so ur c e s su c h a s pv s o la r a s its u se lo w e rs o ve ra ll e ne rg y c o ns um p tio n a nd im p ro ve s c e rt ifi c a te d ra tin g n o m o st o f t he p ro p e rt ie s c o ul d h a ve e pc b y 20 30 , a lth o ug h e ne rg y in te ns ity im p ro ve m e nt s w ill o nl y b e n o tic e d la te r. a n a tio na l d a ta b a se o f r e sid e nt ia l e ne rg y in te ns ity , t ra c k th e im p a c t o f b ui ld in g p o lic ie s, a nd im p le m e nt a tio n o f m in im um e ne rg y e ffi c ie nc y re q ui re m e nt s ~ a p p lia nc e m in im um e ne rg y p e rfo rm a nc e st a nd a rd s ye s n o n o 15 % m ep s tig ht e ni ng b y 20 21 w o ul d re su lt in a 4 % t o 6 % re d uc tio n in re sid e nt ia l e ne rg y in te ns ity b y 20 30 4% t o 6 % ed uc a tio na l p ro g ra m m e s ye s ye s n o n o t q ua nt ifi e d ~ boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 167 carbon intensity of the energy used is only viewed as part of the hot water heating requirement. reach – the nbr requires that all new buildings or major refurbishments be designed and built so that their passive design (orientation, shading, services, and building envelope) ensure efficient use of energy, and that at least 50% of hot water generation (by volume) takes place without the use of electric resistance heating.6 target – to achieve its targets, the nees (dea, 2016: 22) states that it requires a 38% reduction in household energy consumption in new builds, by tightening the current national building regulations (nbrs) energy efficiency standards by 2030, assuming that at least 20% of all buildings in 2030 will be built after 2015 or the introduction of the new standard. achievable impact – to achieve an overall reduction of 38%, a significant tightening of the nbr is required, as it currently mandates only efficiency requirements for hot water systems and the passive design (orientation, shading, services, and building envelope insulation). as water and space heating accounts for only 53% of the energy consumed in urban medium and high-income households (unep-sbci, 2009: 29), it would require an average efficiency improvement of 72% for these two systems to meet the 38% target. the nbr is applicable only to formal dwellings. an evaluation of south african housing data (quantec, 2018) indicates that 33% of formal households projected to have been built by 2030, will be built post-2015. with mediumand high-income households responsible for 89% of total electricity consumption (unep-sbci, 2009: 29), the homes built from 2016 will constitute 29% of the total household electricity consumption. thus, in order to achieve the requisite minimum 20% of formal new housing for the target, the nbr standards must be tightened by the proposed 38%, by 2021 at the latest. if the target is met, it could result in a total impact of 7.6% reduction of energy consumption per square metre of 2030 residential building stock (excluding plug loads) (mey, 2020: 55). it is important to note that raising the minimum standards of the nbr by the proposed 38% would not guarantee an equivalent energy consumption reduction in the new homes implementing the improved standard. the reason for this is that implementing the requirements of the standard would only ensure that the notional energy use of buildings is improved, but no measurements are required to confirm or prove expected savings. 6 the conventional approach to water heating for domestic use uses an electrical element inside a geyser to heat water (‘electric resistance heating’). sans 10400–xa regulations require that all new buildings utilise other means of heating for at least 50% of the water, such as solar water heaters, heat pumps, and gas geysers. ta bl e 2: p ot en tia l e ne rg y in te ns ity re du ct io n by m an da to ry b ui ld in g effi ci en cy to ol s, a s pe r t he n e e s mandatory tools: national efficiency strategy (post-2015 nees) to ol f oc us a re a: e ne rg y effi ci en cy f oc us a re a: l ow c ar bo n en er gy s ou rc e f oc us a re a: e m bo di ed en er gy a ch ie va bl e im pa ct b as ed o n th e re ac h of th e to ol p ot en tia l en er gy in te ns ity re du ct io n n a tio na l b ui ld in g re g ul a tio ns ye s li m ite d t o w a te r h e a tin g n o 7. 6% re d uc tio n in t he e ne rg y in te ns ity o f t he 2 03 0 re sid e nt ia l b ui ld in g s to c k, if a m b iti o us t a rg e ts a re m e t 7. 6% th e rm a l r e tr o fit s in c e nt iv e s ye s n o n o 12 % im p ro ve m e nt o f t he e ne rg y in te ns ity o f t he 2 03 0 re sid e nt ia l b ui ld in g st o c k, if a m b iti o us t a rg e ts a re m e t. 1% re d uc tio n in t he e ne rg y in te ns ity is c o ns id e re d a m o re a c hi e va b le t a rg e t 1% en e rg y p e rfo rm a nc e c e rt ifi c a te s ye s pr o m o te s lo w c a rb o n e ne rg y so ur c e s su c h a s pv s o la r a s its u se lo w e rs o ve ra ll e ne rg y c o ns um p tio n a nd im p ro ve s c e rt ifi c a te d ra tin g n o m o st o f t he p ro p e rt ie s c o ul d h a ve e pc b y 20 30 , a lth o ug h e ne rg y in te ns ity im p ro ve m e nt s w ill o nl y b e n o tic e d la te r. a n a tio na l d a ta b a se o f r e sid e nt ia l e ne rg y in te ns ity , t ra c k th e im p a c t o f b ui ld in g p o lic ie s, a nd im p le m e nt a tio n o f m in im um e ne rg y e ffi c ie nc y re q ui re m e nt s ~ a p p lia nc e m in im um e ne rg y p e rfo rm a nc e st a nd a rd s ye s n o n o 15 % m ep s tig ht e ni ng b y 20 21 w o ul d re su lt in a 4 % t o 6 % re d uc tio n in re sid e nt ia l e ne rg y in te ns ity b y 20 30 4% t o 6 % ed uc a tio na l p ro g ra m m e s ye s ye s n o n o t q ua nt ifi e d ~ acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 168 4.1.2 the impact of thermal retrofits incentives as of 2014, low-cost state-subsidised housing has been required to meet nbr standards as well, after the release of the improved norms and standards for stand-alone residential dwellings built by the government (dhs, 2014: 1). for the past 20 years, these houses were constructed without insulated ceilings and weather-proofing, thus providing inferior thermal insulation to the homes. the updated standard requires the installation of ceilings and insulation, plastering or rendering of walls, and smaller windows with energy efficiency safety glass panes (sea, 2017: 79). focus area – as an interim measure for existing buildings or built before the proposed nbr update, financial incentives are proposed to encourage the undertaking of thermal retrofits. reach and target – the nees targets a 15% improvement for existing homes, which would amount to roughly 80% of the residential building stock in 2030. achievable impact – globally, the typical renovation rates are approximately 1% to 2% of the building stock per year, with an overall energy intensity improvement of 10% to 15% from multiple improvement measures (globalabc & unep, 2016: 16; iea & unep, 2018: 37). it is thus unlikely that the 15% improvement of the total existing stock would be achieved by 2030. if met, it would result in an overall impact of 12% reduction of energy consumption, which conflicts with a report, cited in the nees, stating that the potential for energy intensity improvements from passive thermal design is limited to 5% (dea, 2016: 12). in order to achieve the target of 15% improvement, it would require a 65% reduction in the electricity expended on space heating, as space heating accounts for only 23% of households’ average electricity consumption (unep-sbci, 2009: 29). assuming an optimistic average renovation rate of 2% per year, with a 10% energy intensity improvement starting in 2020, a more realistic, if bullish, target for south africa is a 1% improvement in the residential stock’s energy intensity, due to thermal retrofits (mey, 2020: 57). 4.1.3 the impact of energy performance certificates south africa’s department of energy published draft energy performance certificates (epcs) regulations for public comment in 2018 (parliamentary monitoring group, 2018). epcs would allow landlords to systemically analyse their building’s stock energy performance, while populating a country-wide energy intensity database of the building sector and supporting the government’s national energy efficiency strategy. boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 169 the proposed mandatory epcs (sans, 2014) are not required in the residential sector and are for existing commercial buildings used only for entertainment, public assembly, theatres, indoor sports arenas, places of instruction, and offices. epcs are, however, used extensively in the residential sector in several countries, and they may also be extended to the residential sector in south africa in the future, as per the measures to be assessed for feasibility under the post-2015 nees. focus area – energy performance certificates (epcs) report on the energy intensity of a property and serve as an informative tool for both owners and occupiers, in terms of the energy efficiency of a building. because epcs have been shown to improve the sales and rental price of properties, they drive improvement in energy efficiency and alternative energy sources (wong & kruger, 2017: 316; caceres, 2018: 3). reach and target – the nees envisions the use of epcs for both newly constructed and existing residential stock, with different strategies for owners and renters. as per the 2017 household survey (stats sa, 2017), 56% of households own the dwellings they occupy, while 30% rent and 14% occupy rent-free. for owners, the nees may explore the use of incentives such as rebates on transfer duty, if made voluntary, or making epcs mandatory upon transfer of a property. if it is assumed that south african tenure trends are similar to those of other countries (moon & miller, 2018; gbcsa, 2018), it takes between 10 and 20 years for properties to change hands, the point at which a mandatory epc on transfer would be required. the majority of properties could thus feasibly have an epc by 2030, although the energy intensity impact may only be felt later as the market matures its response to epc ratings (dea, 2016: 20). epcs may have to be made mandatory for rentals (up to 44% of the market), due to the split incentive that exists, as the tenant receives the benefits from lower utility bills, instead of the owner (mey, 2020: 58). achievable impact – international studies show a broad band of possible impacts of implementing epcs, with the most conservative in the range of 2% to 3% energy consumption reduction (wong & kruger, 2017: 316). the nees provides no targeted energy intensity improvement as a result of epc implementation. this may be due to the difficulty in separating the impact, due to policies and standards, or wholly due to the market incentive created by the epcs. as epcs serve as a national source of information on the energy intensity of properties, they can also be a tool used to track the impact of building policies and the implementation of minimum energy efficiency requirements (bpie, 2014: 8). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 170 4.1.4 the impact of appliance minimum energy performance standards the nees intends to transform the market for household appliances to more energy-efficient models, through the application of both push-and-pull strategies. the four specific strategies are minimum energy performance standards (meps) that are successively tightened; a scrappage scheme for old inefficient appliances (the ‘push’ strategies); mandatory labelling, and energy endorsement labels (the ‘pull’ strategies). focus area – energy efficiency only, with this measure not seeking to address any of the other focus areas. reach and target – minimum energy performance standards (meps), combined with energy labels, have been shown to be an effective method to encourage appliance energy efficiency (götz, tholen, adisorn & covary, 2016: 8). up to 77% of electricity is consumed by lighting and appliances used for water heating, cooking, cold storage, and laundry in urban highmedium income households in south africa (unep-sbci, 2009: 29). the meps and energy labels target this large segment, with the nees targeting an overall 33% reduction in average specific energy consumption of new household appliances purchased by 2030 (with a 2015 baseline) (dea, 2016: 22). achievable impact – as appliances typically have a lifespan of between 7 and 20 years (cbi, 2017: 12), the shorter lived appliances have only one or two upgrade cycles between 2020 and 2030. recently purchased appliances with long lifespans may not be replaced by 2030 at all. to reach the 33% nees target, it is proposed that two successive tightenings of the meps take place before 2030. assuming a uniform distribution of appliance lifespans and purchase dates, 75% of the current appliances will be replaced at least once by 2030. a study by götz et al. (2016: 8) on the impact of the south african meps that came into effect in 2015, showed that the vast majority of appliances had already met the minimum standard by 2014, indicating that no further efficiency gains can be expected, unless the current standard (2015 meps) is raised. on the assumption that a 15% tightening of the meps takes place by 2021, 54% of equipment in households by 2030 will be based on the new meps, resulting in an average specific energy consumption reduction for appliances of 8%. given that 77% of total household energy consumption is from appliances in urban high-medium income homes, the improved meps could result in a 6% reduction in residential energy intensity by 2030. with 30% of energy consumption in these homes due to water heating (unep-sbci, 2009: 29), there may be an overlap and double counting of the savings targeted under the improved meps and the boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 171 improved nbr discussed in section 4.1.1. discounting any improvements in the water-heating category to account for possible overlap in savings would then provide a potential 4% reduction in residential energy intensity by 2030, due to improved meps. 4.1.5 the impact of educational programmes according to the nees, campaigns to provide energy conservation and sustainable energy information should continue, so that consumers can positively respond to market signals such as the labelling of energy-efficient appliances. it does, however, recognise that these programmes are often aimed at middleand upper-income groups, and suggest that municipalities develop programmes specifically aimed at low-income groups. these groups often spend a disproportionate amount of household income on energy and suffer from the health consequences associated with using biomass for cooking and heating (dea, 2016: 21; sea, 2017: 1). however, it is often impossible to separate the energy improvement, due to behavioural changes from equipment replacement (lopes, antunes & martins, 2012: 4095), and the nees does not set an energy intensity reduction target based on this proposed measure. 4.2 the impact of voluntary, market-driven energy efficiency strategies and tools table 3 summarises the findings regarding the potential impact of voluntary, market-driven energy efficiency strategies and tools, before providing a review of this information. 4.2.1 the impact of small-scale embedded generation (pv solar) the pace of newly installed smalland medium-scale private generation of solar electricity in south africa is increasing, with 150 to 200 mwp capacity 7 estimated to have been installed in 2018, from an overall installed capacity of roughly 430 mwp in 2017. this is due to two key factors, namely the above-inflation increases of electricity prices of over 300% in the past decade, and the fall in the international price for solar pv installations to approximately a quarter of what they were seven years ago. locally, the cost of pv for both residential and commercial (sub-utility) is projected to drop below the cost of an eskom supply by 2020 (greencape, 2019: 10). 7 mwp, which denotes megawatt peak, is a typical measure of a solar pv plant generating capabilities under standard test conditions. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 172 ta bl e 3: p ot en tia l e ne rg y in te ns ity re du ct io n by v ol un ta ry a nd m ar ke t-d riv en b ui ld in g effi ci en cy to ol s to ol f oc us a re a: e ne rg y effi ci en cy f oc us a re a: lo w c ar bo n en er gy s ou rc e f oc us a re a: e m bo di ed e ne rg y a ch ie va bl e im pa ct b as ed o n th e re ac h of th e to ol p ot en tia l en er gy in te ns ity re du ct io n voluntary tools: market-driven energy efficiency strategies commonly utilised in south africa so la r p v n o t a fo c us a re a , b ut t yp ic a lly e nc o ur a g e d a s e ne rg y e ffi c ie nc y re d uc e c o st s o f p v in st a lls ye s n o u p t o 1 % re d uc tio n in re sid e nt ia l e ne rg y in te ns ity b y 20 30 . 1% g re e n b ui ld in g c e rt ifi c a tio n e d g e ye s n o t re q ui re d , b ut e nc o ur a g e t o a c hi e ve e d g e a d va nc e d o r ed g e ze ro ye s re fu rb ish e s g e t re c o g ni se d fo r m a te ria l r e -u se u p t o 0 .5 % re d uc tio n in t he e ne rg y in te ns ity o f t he s e c to r b y 20 30 . 0. 5% g re e n b ui ld in g c e rt ifi c a tio n n e t ze ro ye s ye s n o t c ur re nt c e rt ifi c a tio n fo c us , b ut w ill b e in c lu d e d in fu tu re v e rs io ns u p t o 0 .2 5% re d uc tio n in t he e ne rg y in te ns ity o f t he s e c to r b y 20 30 . 0. 25 % g re e n ho m e lo a ns ye s ye s n o fa c ilit a te s th e in ve st m e nt in to te c hn o lo g ie s th a t re d uc e t he se c to r’ s e ne rg y in te ns ity , i m p a c t no t q ua nt ifi e d ~ g re e n b o nd s ye s ye s ye s fa c ilit a te s th e in ve st m e nt in to te c hn o lo g ie s th a t re d uc e t he se c to r’ s e ne rg y in te ns ity , i m p a c t no t q ua nt ifi e d ~ boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 173 focus area – while the installation of solar pv or other alternative energy sources does not equate to improved energy efficiency, energy-efficiency improvements are often promoted as the first step before progressing to solar energy. lower energy consumption, due to energy efficiency improvements, reduces the size and cost of the alternative energy system required (vieira, 2006: 2; matt power for green builder media, 2016; sea, 2017: 4; gbcsa, 2019: 48; d’agostino & mazzarella, 2019: 2470). reach – solar pv has a much better business case in commercial applications than in residential applications, due to a mismatch between residential peak electricity demand and peak solar power generation, with some local suppliers advising against a solar system if it is not gridtied (green energy solutions, 2019). solar pv is also more common with owner-occupied properties than with rental properties, as the benefit primarily accrues to the occupant. some commercial property developers and managers in both the residential and non-residential sector do, however, install pv solar on their properties for on-selling the solar energy to the tenant, and to improve the ‘green’ characteristics and marketability of the property. achievable impact – depending on the system size and tariff structure, residential solar pv projects can have a typical payback period of between 12 and 20 years. commercial projects typically have a payback period of 10 years or less, making pv solar projects in this sector a more reasonable business case. due to these factors, residential small-scale embedded generation (sseg) market penetration tends to be low, with world leader australia having achieved a penetration rate of 15% by 2015, while belgium has a rate of 7% (sea, 2017: 223). while section 12b of the income tax act allows companies to accelerate capital depreciation of renewable energy assets, there are currently no tax incentives aimed at the homeowner in the residential market. a potential residential sseg consumer can either be incentivised or discouraged through the sseg tariff structure that municipalities develop, but a costreflective sseg does not pose a significant threat to a municipality’s financial sustainability, even at penetration rates as high as 20% (sea, 2017: 226). the irp 2019 currently places a cap of 500 mw additional sseg capacity per year (dmre, 2019: 42), and the market is expected to grow to this saturation point from the current rate of approximately 200 mw of new systems per year (greencape, 2019: 21). if this point is reached in the next five years, the overall installed sseg capacity will be roughly 5 gw in 2030, equating to 6% of the total installed generating capacity in the country. assuming the residential sector remains at 15% of the installed acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 174 systems (greencape, 2019: 22), it would represent a 1% reduction in the energy intensity of the residential sector by 2030. 4.2.2 the impact of edge certification edge certification, developed by the international finance corporation to stimulate the uptake of energy-efficient buildings in developing countries, is used in 140 countries worldwide. edge positions itself as both a free online assessment tool and a certification system, so that architects and engineers can quickly identify low-cost, high-return design alternatives before (or instead of) committing to perusing certification. edge can thus help determine, at a concept level, the financial viability of a project’s green building initiatives early in the design stage (gbcsa, 2017). the online assessment tool has been localised for south africa concerning the local climate, utility costs, standard construction and system specifications, in addition to building regulations, thus allowing it to accurately calculate a building’s inputs and consumption (ifc, 2018b: 2). the edge assessment tool presents the building’s potential utility savings and reduced carbon footprint against a base case (ifc, 2018a). focus area – to pursue certification, the edge standard of 20% less energy use, 20% less water use, and 20% less embodied energy in materials compared to a base case building8 must be achieved, which is then independently verified and certified. this makes edge one of the only green building certification schemes that explicitly address the embodied energy or ‘upfront carbon’ of constructing buildings. in 2019, additional levels of certification became available in the form of edge advanced and edge zero carbon, which require 40% less energy use and 100% carbon neutral, respectively. low carbon energy sources are not required for the standard edge certification, although achieving edge zero carbon would involve either renewable energy sources or carbon offsets. reach and achievable impact – many local residential edge certifications are being pursued by developers in the affordable or gap housing market, primarily due to the social co-benefits that have attracted funding by development finance institutions, but also for market differentiation. the international housing solutions fund ii has enabled the development of 5 000 edge certified residential units, of the nearly 10 000 certified units between 2017 and 2019 (css, 2019: 11). with between 40 000 and 50 000 residential buildings being completed annually, edge certified units could represent up to 10% of all new homes being constructed annually. 8 edge models its saving projections as a function of exceeding the consumption of a base case building with the same overall dimensions, which in south africa would be a building that meets the national building regulation requirements. boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 175 by 2030, 32% of the formal housing would have been built after 2030 (quantec, 2018), meaning that up to 3% of the total housing stock could be edge certified. as edge certification requires buildings to be at least 20% more efficient than the local building codes, it could equate to a 0.5% reduction in the energy intensity of the sector by 2030. 4.2.3 the impact of net zero certification net zero carbon buildings have net zero emissions, typically by being a highly energy-efficient building with very low energy demand, the remainder of which is met through zero carbon energy sources such as pv solar. while there are a variety of definitions for zero energy or zero carbon buildings (d’agostino & mazzarella, 2019: 2471), they typically all require that a building produces at least as much emissions-free energy as it uses from emission-production sources (cbi, 2017: 34; gbcsa, 2019: 13; worldgbc, 2019c). the south african national development plan vision 2030 (ndp 2030) set the objective of creating a national zero emission building standard by 2030, through the progressive strengthening of energy efficiency standards of the national building regulations (government of south africa, 2012: 288). the gbcsa’s zero/net positive certification programme launched in 2017 aims to accelerate the transformation of the market towards this goal. projects in south africa can pursue net zero certification as part of other certifications offered by the gbcsa, such as green star or edge, or as a stand-alone submission. focus area – energy efficiency and low carbon energy are generally required for net zero certifications, which will typically set a minimum level of energy efficiency. only once this level is reached can the remainder of the energy needs be produced from low carbon energy sources, such as pv solar, or by purchasing carbon offsets. embodied energy is not currently included as a focus area in most of the net zero certifications, although it may be included in future versions (worldgbc, 2019d). reach and achievable impact – to meet the 2-degree goals9 provided by the ipccc, net zero emissions for all sectors must be reached by 2050 or earlier. in support of this, several organisations are calling for net zero buildings, with typical targets set as 2030 for all new builds and 2050 for existing buildings (globalabc & unep, 2016: 18; worldgbc, 2018a). currently, net zero new builds make up less than 5% in most of the markets (iea & unep, 2018: 37). while the south african national development plan vision 2030 set the objective of creating a zero-emission building 9 the paris agreement (2015: 29) aims to hold “global average temperature to well below 2°c above pre-industrial levels” and to pursue “efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°c above pre-industrial levels”. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 176 standard by 2030, the post-2015 nees targets only a 38% energy consumption reduction, due to improved nbr requirements. in the absence of specific government-mandated net zero requirements for the residential market, it is assumed that south african new builds will not exceed the typical 5% penetration rate. as pv solar is typically key to generating the energy in net zero building, it is assumed that the residential versus non-residential split in net zero buildings will be similar to that of the pv spread in south africa, where only 15% is due to the residential market. thus, a residential penetration of net zero is assumed as reaching a maximum of 0.75% of the market. an evaluation of south africa’s housing data (quantec, 2018) indicates that 33% of formal households, projected to have been built by 2030, will be built after 2015, meaning up to 0.25% of all formal houses could be net zero in 2030. as net zero certification requires a building to produce as much emission-free energy as it consumes, it could equate to a 0.25% reduction in the energy intensity of the sector by 2030. 4.2.4 the impact of green financing internationally, there is a robust appetite for green bonds, which is evident in the scale of oversubscription and other benefits when they are issued (cbi, 2017: 13; css, 2019: 3; walker, 2019). these bonds are accessed by aggregators, including residential property investors and home loan providers such as banks and home loan companies (css, 2019: 34). green home loans and green bonds facilitate the investment into technologies that reduce energy intensity, whether through energy efficiency, renewable energy, or thermal envelope upgrades. some have argued that, in the absence of a global carbon pricing scheme, green bonds are key to financial climate change mitigation projects (blanding, 2019). still, questions have been raised as to whether those projects would not have taken place, despite the availability of green bonds (walker, 2019). the impact of green financing is thus poorly defined, and no energy intensity reduction is quantified based on this measure. figure 4 summarises the key findings of the preceding review of the common residential building efficiency tools used in south africa and an interpretation of their impact within this context. boshoff & mey • the building emission reduction potential ... 177 figure 4: energy intensity reduction potential of different building efficiency tools commonly used in south africa source: author’s own given the review of the current proposed energy efficiency improvements as per the post-2015 nees and commonly used voluntary tools in the residential market, it is possible that, by 2030, there could be up to a 16% reduction in the energy intensity of the residential sector (see figure 4). if the south african residential market continues to grow at its current pace of roughly 2% per year (quantec, 2018), the housing market will be nearly 40% larger in 2030 than it was in 2015. this means that the projected potential of a 16% reduction in the energy intensity (measured as energy consumed per square metre) will be more than offset by the increased building floor area. this shows that the current targets are insufficient to meet the peak, plateau and decline trajectory of our indc as they relate to building emissions specifically, and that more ambitious targets must be set and implemented within a reasonable time frame. the projected massive growth in the south african housing market over the next decade and beyond shows that tools focused on the new residential market are critical. over 80% of the total potential for energy intensity reduction can be derived from the mandatory tools that focus on the new build sector, namely the national building regulations and minimum performance standards for appliances. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 178 5. conclusion what then is the building emission reduction potential of south african residential building efficiency tools? the dominance of the potential impact of mandatory tools seems to confirm what others have stated, namely that voluntary green building certifications do not directly contribute to a significant change in the residential sector’s emissions, although they are becoming more common and demonstrate the tangible feasibility of low or zero carbon buildings (iea & unep, 2018: 36). mandatory regulations must thus continue to be updated timeously, with standards (based on scientifically obtained targets) being tightened, and enforcement strengthened. these areas are often sorely lacking in south africa, where draft documents can linger in limbo, and they are no longer able to provide the desired positive impact. while the projected energy reduction (due to small-scale embedded solar) is relatively small in the medium term, the impact of a decarbonised electricity grid is significant. if the irp 2019 is followed, coal-generated electricity will contribute 60% of the energy mix in 2030, down from the current level of 90%. this could result in a 35% reduction in the carbon emissions of the residential sector, due to fuel switching alone (mey, 2020: 73). finally, despite providing a third of the potential carbon reduction potential, the embodied energy of materials remains a poorly understood and a largely 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http://www.wrirosscities.org/sites/default/files/16_rep_accelerating_building_efficiency.pdf https://doi.org/10.3906/elk-1407-87 119 how to cite: tshidavhu, f. & khatleli, n. 2020. an assessment of the causes of schedule and cost overruns in south african megaprojects: a case of the critical energy sector projects of medupi and kusile. acta structilia, 26(2), pp. 119-143. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as fhumulani tshidavhu ms fhumulani tshidavhu, old mutual building, 78 hans van rensburg street, polokwane, 0699, limpopo, rsa national department of public works, polokwane, south africa. phone: 071 679 8604, e-mail: <fhumulani.tshidavhu@dpw. gov.za> nthatisi khatleli dr nthatisi khatleli, senior lecturer, school of construction economics and management, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. phone: 011 7177651, e-mail: <nthatisi.khatleli@wits.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.5 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 119-143 an assessment of the causes of schedule and cost overruns in south african megaprojects: a case of the critical energy sector projects of medupi and kusile peer reviewed and revised march 2020 published june 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract cost and schedule overruns are the most common challenges in mega construction projects around the globe, and south africa is no different. although comparatively small in number, megaprojects have an inordinate number of projects failing, due to budget overflow and schedule slippage. this article assessed the causes of cost and schedule overruns as well as the challenges with the implementation of critical construction megaprojects, using kusile and medupi energy-sector megaprojects in south africa. using a quantitative research method, which included a literature review and a questionnaire survey, identified the causes of schedule and cost overruns as well as the challenges militating against the project’s implementation success. data was collected from engineers, quantity surveyors, architects, contractors, and project managers who were randomly selected from the two megaprojects, medupi and kusile. data was analysed using mean score ratings and ranking. the results revealed that slow client decision-making, shortages of skilled review articles • oorsigartikels http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:fhumulani.tshidavhu@dpw.gov.za mailto:fhumulani.tshidavhu@dpw.gov.za mailto:nthatisi.khatleli@wits.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.5 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 120 labour, inaccurate material estimating, unforeseen ground conditions, poor material planning, changes in scope of work on-site, contractual claims, variation orders and poor site management were the major causes of schedule and cost overruns. findings show that the top five challenges (poor site management, inadequate managerial skills, poor monitoring and control, unstable management structure, and lack of experience together with poor organisation structures) is all management and organisational related, showing that there is not enough local management and organisational expertise in south africa to ensure the proper planning and effective implementation of energy megaprojects. this article is relevant, as it contributes to the understanding of key challenges faced by megaprojects in the context of a developing country. specific solutions that mitigate the causes of schedule and cost overruns should be investigated in future studies. keywords: cost overruns, energy sector, megaprojects, schedule overruns abstrak oorskryding van koste en skedules is die mees algemene uitdagings in megakonstruksieprojekte regoor die wêreld, en suid-afrika is nie anders nie. alhoewel dit relatief klein is, het megaprojekte ’n buitengewone aantal projekte wat misluk as gevolg van oorloop van die begroting en glyplanne. hierdie artikel het die oorsake van kosteen skedule-oorskrywings, sowel as die uitdagings met die implementering van megaprojekte vir kritiese konstruksie, met behulp van megaprojekte vir die energiesektor (kusile en medupi) in suid-afrika, ondersoek. deur gebruik te maak van ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetode, wat ’n literatuuroorsig en ’n vraelysopname insluit, is die oorsake van skeduleen koste-oorskrydings, asook die uitdagings met megaprojekimplementering, geïdentifiseer. data is versamel van ingenieurs, bourekenaars, argitekte, kontrakteurs en projekbestuurders wat lukraak gekies is uit die twee megaprojekte, medupi en kusile. data is geanaliseer met behulp van gemiddelde telling graderings en posisie. die resultate toon dat trae kliëntbesluitneming, tekort aan geskoolde arbeid, onakkurate materiaalberaming, onvoorsiene grondtoestande, swak materiaalbeplanning, veranderinge in werkomvang op die terrein, kontraktuele eise, afwykingsbevele en swak terreinbestuur die belangrikste oorsake van die skeduleen koste-oorskryding was. resultate toon dat die top vyf uitdagings (swak terreinbestuur, onvoldoende bestuursvaardighede, swak monitering en beheer, onstabiele bestuurstruktuur en gebrek aan ervaring tesame met swak organisasiestrukture) alles bestuursen organisatories verwant is. dit toon dat daar nie genoeg plaaslike bestuurs en organisasiekundigheid in suid-afrika is om die behoorlike beplanning en effektiewe implementering van energie-megaprojekte te verseker nie. hierdie artikel is relevant, aangesien dit bydra tot die begrip van die belangrikste uitdagings wat megaprojekte in die konteks van ’n ontwikkelende land in die gesig staar. in toekomstige studies moet spesifieke oplossings ondersoek word om die oorsake van skeduleen kosteoorskrydings te verlig. sleutelwoorde: koste-oorskryding, energiesektor, megaprojekte, skedule-oorskryding 1. introduction a megaproject is defined as a project that costs $1 billion or more (flyvbjerg, 2014: 3). megaprojects are expensive, and include many risk factors that can cause delays or failures during the project’s execution (ma, zeng, lin, chen & shi, 2017: 1). in practice, cost and schedule overruns are generally an ongoing problem in megaprojects implementation in the vast majority of sectors (aljohani, ahiaga-dagbui & moore, 2017: 137; famiyeh, tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 121 amoatey, adaku & agbenohevi, 2017: 182). the sydney opera house is an example of a megaproject that was overbudget and completed well outside of the proposed schedule; it was ten years overschedule, and its construction cost was 1 400% overbudget (flyvbjerg, 2014: 9). in the transportation sector, for instance, flyvbjerg, bruzelius and rothengatter (2003: 1) conducted the largest and most encompassing study of cost overruns on a sample of 258 major roads, tunnels, bridges, urban transit, and interurban rail projects in 20 countries on five continents. the study concluded that nine out of ten megaprojects experienced cost overruns (siemiatycki, 2015: 2). in south africa, large-scale projects are required by law to address both pro-growth and pro-poor socio-economic development goals (sutherland, sim & scott, 2015: 185). large-scale infrastructure projects in south africa are promoted as having the possibility to drive economic growth, create employment opportunities, and ensure that benefits percolate to the poor and economically marginalised (sutherland et al., 2015: 186). however, insisting on using megaprojects as a driver of economic growth and a means of social redistribution is challenging, as literature abundantly reveals their failure in addressing social concerns (dupont, 2013: 3). there are a few megaprojects in progress or recently completed in south africa in the energy and transport sectors, namely medupi power station (eskom), kusile power station (eskom), the new multi-product pipeline (transnet), and the durban port upgrade and expansion project (transnet). medupi power station is a dry-cooled, coal-fired power station that is being built near lephalale in limpopo province. it is the fourth dry-cooled, baseload station to be built in 20 years by eskom after kendal, majuba, and matimba power stations (phaahla, 2015: 2). medupi and kusile power stations have both suffered delays in construction. medupi was initially planned to be completed in four years and is currently in its seventh year of construction, and was expected to be completed in 2019 (phaahla, 2015: 2). the kusile power station project, which is located near the existing kendal power station, in the nkangala district of mpumalanga, will comprise six units, each rated at 800 mw installed capacity for a total capacity of 4 800 mw. once completed, kusile will be the fourth-largest coal-fired power station in the world (eskom, 2019: 1). kusile started in 2008 and was expected to be completed by the end of 2014; however, the project is still not completed. the original cost was estimated at r69.1 billion; by july 2016, the cost to completion (ctc) was placed at r160 billion (yelland, 2019: 1). the new multi-product pipeline is south africa’s largest pipeline project. it is designed to transport liquid fuel from durban to johannesburg. the pipeline system will transport five grades of refined fuel, and will provide three pump stations and delivery depots along the route as well as a coastal and inland fuel terminals. this new facility will provide the acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 122 capacity to meet the forecasted fuel needs of the inland market for the year 2030 (arup, 2012: 1). the initial cost was r12.7 billion; this amount later increased to r15.4 billion and it further escalated to r23.4 billion in 2012. however, the state-owned entity has stated that r30.4 billion was ultimately invested in the pipeline project. the new multi-pipeline project has been dogged by delays and cost overruns, but it will significantly improve the security of supply risk for gauteng’s fuel supply (groenewald, 2017: 1). there is also the durban port upgrade and expansion project. durban is the biggest and busiest port in south africa, and the busiest in the southern hemisphere. it currently handles 64% of the country’s seaborne container traffic. transnet is implementing this project to increase the durban container terminal handling capacity (barradas, 2017: 2). transnet stated that its contractor has unfortunately terminated this r4.2 billion contract, which was meant to create deeper berths at the durban container terminal (barradas, 2019: 1). to understand the influence of cost and schedule overruns in megaproject construction, it is important to identify and assess the challenges militating against megaprojects success in south africa. the bias will be towards energy projects, as they are the biggest in value and have received the largest publicity and media scrutiny because of their importance to the functioning of the economy. this article, therefore, assessed the causes of schedule and cost overruns as well as the challenges experienced with the implementation of critical construction megaprojects, using the kusile and medupi energy sector in south africa. 2. literature review 2.1 cost and schedule overruns cost is the budgeted expenditure that the client has agreed to commit to the execution of the project (subramani, sruthi & kavitha, 2014: 3). cost overrun is defined as the difference between the actual and the estimated cost (subramani et al., 2014: 3). according to vidalis and najafi (2002: 2388), cost overrun is a “percentage difference between the completion cost and the contract bid cost” (shrestha, burns & shields, 2013: 2). time overrun is defined as the difference between the construction bid duration and the completion duration (shrestha et al., 2013: 2). mukuka, aigbavboa and thwala (2015: 1691) describe schedule overrun as the extra time required to complete a given project beyond its original planned duration, whether compensated for or not. cost and schedule overruns is more pertinent when the failure affects the entire economy, such as in the implementation of energy projects that are critical in averting widespread load-shedding. tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 123 2.2 causes and implications of megaproject delays and cost overruns approximately only 20% of megaprojects in africa reach financial closure and can move to execution, due to cost and schedule overruns during construction (adugna, 2015: 11; deloitte, 2014: 3). schedule overrun for megaprojects affects all project stakeholders such as clients, contractors, engineers, regulators, and politicians, and is critical to both the contractor and project owner in terms of money and performance, respectively (subramani et al., 2014: 1; alaghbari, kadir, salim & ernawati, 2007: 193). the causes of schedule overruns can be related to the contractor, the consultant, the client, and/or other external factors that occur prior to and during the construction phase (mukuka et al., 2015: 1691). schedule overrun becomes a liability for contractors when the completion period becomes longer, raw materials may get more costly, due to inflation, and labour costs can increase (subramani et al., 2014: 2). in south african energy megaprojects, the client is essentially the government through its agency (parastatal) eskom. there is a perception that large projects will produce economies of scale; therefore, most of the megaprojects are financed by national governments and private capital development banks (callegari, szklo & schaeffer, 2018: 211). endemic cost overruns of megaprojects invested in, could, as a result, decrease the investment appeal of these megaprojects (flyvbjerg, 2014: 5) and the suboptimal use of taxpayers’ money (shrestha et al., 2013: 1). project environment challenges, due to weather attributes such as severe wind, precipitation, floods, or hail, can delay the project, due to reduced visibility to move equipment, delays in the delivery of materials, reduced access to the site for workers, damaged infrastructure, and the loss of electrical power (akanni, oke & akpomiemie, 2014: 92). political instability can derail a project (akanni et al., 2014: 92). research conducted in hong kong identified that causes of delay in construction projects include poor site administration and management; unanticipated ground conditions; slow decision-making by all project teams; employer-initiated variations; essential variation of works; the non-existence of effective communication, and possible preconceptions (adugna, 2015: 25). in malaysia, the main causes of cost overruns and delays in building construction projects are poor scheduling and control of time; delays in the preparation of design documents; ineffective communication between stakeholders; changes in laws and regulations; low labour productivity; lack of knowledge in executing methods (tahir, haron, alias & diugwu, 2017: 1); contractor’s financial problems that result in the shortage of construction acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 124 materials on-site; owner’s financial problems and slowness in decisionmaking; consultant’s poor supervision and delays in issuing instructions, and external factors such as materials shortage and poor site condition (musa, 2012: 5). studies in south africa on the causes of delays in construction projects, not necessarily megaprojects, include delays such as approval of shop drawings; delays in contractors’ payments; design changes; conflicts in the subcontractors’ work schedule; slow decision-making; design errors; labour shortage; insufficient labour skills; owner intrusion; inadequate contractor expertise; financing and payments problems; labour efficiency; improper planning, and subcontractors’ inefficiency (musa, 2012: 5). factors that influence cost overruns in public sector projects include change in scope of work on-site; incomplete design on tender stage; extension of time with cost; lack of cost plan and monitoring of funds; delays in pricing variation orders; changes in the scope (ramabodu & verster, 2013: 50); management style; lack of reviews of design; inadequate motivation of workers; economic policies; lack of adequate planning; lack of speedy payment to contractors, and quality of management during design and construction (olatunji, 2010: 5) some of the reasons that contribute to cost and schedule overruns in any project (also megaprojects) include design error; inadequate scope; the weather; project changes, and underestimating the time for completing a project (shrestha et al., 2013: 1). megaprojects could pose even more causes, given their complexities and the huge conglomeration of activities that are under normal circumstances not linked to one another. 2.3 the energy megaprojects a tremendous increase in energy demand is expected, as there are still roughly 1.2 billion people who do not have modern energy services, in regions such as asia, latin america, and parts of africa (gray, 2017: 2). energy projects can be categorised into nuclear, wind, coal, and biomass (globe newswire, 2019: 1). currently, the world power-generation projects pipeline is worth us$4.46 trillion. asia-pacific is currently leading, with a project pipeline (including all projects from announcement to execution stage) valued at us$1.99 trillion, followed from a distance by the middle east and africa with a project value of us$960 billion. the americas have power-generation projects with a value of us$852.3 billion, while the pipeline for europe is valued at us$739.5 billion; these projects will provide an additional 2 450 gw of power capacity globally (globe newswire, 2019: 1). global consumption of energy in 2017 reached 13 511 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe), according to the bp statistical review. asia-pacific contributed the most at 5 744 mtoe, followed by the americas with 3 473 tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 125 mtoe; europe and eurasia with 2 948 mtoe, and the middle east and africa with 1 347 mtoe (globe newswire, 2019: 1). concerning world electricity production, coal continues to have the largest share at 38%, followed by renewables (principally hydropower) at 20%, nuclear at 17%, natural gas at 16%, and oil at 9%. electricity production is expected to almost double by 2020 (sims et al., 2003: 263). over the next 20 years, an unprecedented level of investment in energy infrastructure is predicted. the capital investment required to keep pace with the world’s energy needs to the year 2035 has been estimated as $48 trillion: $40 trillion of this sum will relate directly to investments in new and replacement energy infrastructure (iea, 2014: 11). it is predicted that europe alone will invest over $3 trillion in the energy sector over this period, and the vast majority (69%) of this will be in new power plants (iea, 2014: 13). increasing energy demand fosters the development of energy infrastructures (power plants, electrical grid, pipelines, and energy storage). part of this energy demand will be satisfied by ‘small-scale projects’ (for example, gas turbine or rooftop photovoltaic plants), but some will be satisfied by large-scale and complex ‘megaprojects’, due to their capital nature; these include long pipelines, nuclear power plants, large wind farms, and large dams. with the new power plants, there are indications that three quarters of the spending will be on plants using nuclear power and renewable resources, with the remainder of the projects being fossil-fuel power plants (iea, 2014: 13). energy investment decisions are generally guided by government policy rather than by market signals (locatelli, palerma & mancini, 2015: 21). government interventions in the installations of new plants represent a highly effective tool of any government’s policy and may contribute, as it does on many occasions, to a significant level of public expenditure (maïzi & assoumou, 2014: 850). power plant megaprojects (ppms) are often implemented too late, are very costly, and usually fail the general populace by not providing the expected benefits (brookes & locatelli, 2015: 3). 2.4 importance and implementation of energy megaprojects critical infrastructure is the body of systems, networks, and assets that are so essential that their continued operation is required to ensure the security of a given nation, its economy, and the public’s health and/or safety (cisa, 2019: 4). a healthy critical infrastructure is the backbone of modern society, and is essential to national prosperity, because it enhances a nation’s productivity, quality of life, and economic progression, by driving growth, creating jobs, and improving productivity, quality of life, and efficiency (department of homeland security, 2019: 1). this underpins growth by enabling the supportive networks upon which the economy https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/security acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 126 relies (critical5, 2015: 2). therefore, national frameworks and policies must contribute to a clearly articulated message that communicates the value, meaning, and importance of critical infrastructure. resilient and secure infrastructure is vital for economic prosperity, because it underpins not only the effective operation of businesses and services, but also long-term confidence and planning in a region, and thus ongoing investment levels. resilient infrastructure should have the ability to withstand and quickly recover from disruptions, deliberate attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents, and must essentially demonstrate robustness, agility, and adaptability (cisa, 2019: 11). resilient and dependable networks enable business confidence, which leads to increased business investment and growth, and the creation of new economic opportunities (critical5, 2015: 3). disruptions of critical infrastructure have tangible and measurable direct and indirect economic impacts not only on dispersed workforce, commerce and manufacturing sectors, transportation, supply chains, and society as a whole, but also on broader regional and national impacts that can be measured in the loss of business and tax revenue generated in the affected areas (critical5, 2015: 5). according to söderlund, sankaran and biesenthal (2018: 9), there are four essential and critical issues in megaproject management: their existence and prevalence; how they are managed and organised; their performance, or, as is generally believed, under-performance, and the future of megaprojects and how they could be enhanced to address major societal challenges. the management of infrastructure investments with high benefit-cost ratios may have a significant impact on government economic objectives and can result in improved confidence in current and future infrastructure (critical5, 2015; cisa, 2019: 6). new critical infrastructure implementation such as energy projects is essentially critical, because either one has it or one does not have it, but its absence could hit the economy to a screeching halt. south africa is an example of the mismanagement of new energy-sector megaprojects. in 2007, the south african economy was healthy when power shortages happened, halting operations at mines and smelters overnight. the then president thabo mbeki admitted to the prevarication by the government in not adding generation capacity on time, although there were clear prior signs that the supply was under strain. the power utility had no choice soon after that than to unleash a spending spree. the botched and hurried implementation has haunted the country ever since (burkhardt & cohen, 2019: 1). corruption and state capture are regarded as the major reasons why coal plants medupi and kusile are not delivering electricity as planned and why south africa is facing crippling blackouts. medupi and kusile, the thirdand fourth-largest coal power plants globally, were originally scheduled to be completed in 2014 and 2012, respectively, giving tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 127 the country an extra 9600 mw of power, enough to avoid the now incessant blackouts (gosling, 2019: 1). it is thus necessary to understand the problems with the implementation of the new critical infrastructure projects, when they are in strategic sectors such as energy. 2.5 the imperativeness of megaprojects in south africa’s economic survival as a direct result of apartheid policies, south africa’s nationalist government created a unique internal colonial system (wolpe, 1975: 105), thus creating two parallel economies based on race. by the early 1990s, ‘white south africa’ had all the makings of an advanced capitalist economy resplendent with multinational corporations, a sophisticated financial sector, and a functioning welfare system. across the colour line existed a ‘non-white south africa’, largely barred from the formal economy, except as a cheap source of labour, and exhibiting features of an internal colony (padayachee, 2013: 14). megaprojects have become indispensable to easing the developmental bottlenecks occasioned by skewed apartheid societal priorities. these behemothic schemes have been operationalised for socio-economic transformation in sectors ranging from energy and extractives to manufacturing and housing. the ‘big project mentality’ currently adopted by the government seeks to “solve a whole bunch of problems” through the megaproject framework (ballard & rubin, 2017: 12). south africa’s contemporary megaprojects are being implemented amid a global projectbuilding boom. gargantuan projects and programmes are increasingly becoming a popular delivery model in many sectors worldwide (flyvbjerg, 2014: 3). siemiatycki (2017: 5) posits that megaprojects come in cycles, driven by a convergence of economics, technical advancements, political/economic ideologies, and special interest groups. post-1994 south africa has largely embraced the megaproject framework, with billions of dollars financing huge projects such as the 2010 world cup stadiums, the world’s thirdand fourth-largest coal power plants (medupi and kusile), the coega industrial zone, the large-scale ‘catalytic projects’ delivery strategy in housing, and extensions to ports, roads, and airports (including cape town, or tambo in johannesburg, and king shaka airport in durban), among others (harrison & todes, 2017: 2). politicians have hailed megaprojects as drivers of socio-economic change, despite scant evidence to support these claims. however, it must be acknowledged that the methods of achieving the intended economic growth within a statist context are intertwined with the state’s capacity and infrastructural power. moreover, megaprojects’ complexities and long timetables allow for periodic acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 128 renegotiations and, what gualini and majoor (2007: 315) term, “frame realignment”, or the reframing of project objectives when problems arise. as such, they can be a useful tool for building legitimacy and reinforcing the power of the state, particularly in difficult circumstances. however, the implementers still have to know the common problems and how to solve them. it is thus imperative to collate these problems, using current or past projects, as south africa does not have a very long history of megaprojects implementation, especially in the energy sector in recent times. 3. study area megaprojects in the context of developing african countries such as south africa are a new phenomenon; any contextual nuances have to be understood first, then collated, whereafter solutions can be sought. there are not many megaprojects in south africa, and only two could be studied in the energy sector, since they are the only ones that qualify as megaprojects ($1 billion and above). 3.1 medupi power station medupi is a greenfield coal-fired power plant project located in lephalale, in the province of limpopo, south africa. it is the first dry-cooled baseload station built in 20 years by eskom, following kendal, majuba, and matimba power stations. the name ‘medupi’ is a sepedi (northern sotho language) word meaning “rain that soaks parched lands, giving economic relief”. the power station will be the third-largest coal plant in the southern hemisphere and the biggest dry-cooled power station in the world. the boiler and turbine contracts for medupi are the largest contracts that eskom has ever signed in its 90-year history (eskom, 2014: 1). the planned operational life of the station is 50 years. the new power station will comprise six units with a gross nominal capacity of 800 mw each, resulting in a total capacity of 4 800 mw. construction activities commenced in may 2007 with the official original price tag of r79 billion, with the first of the six units of the power plant planned for first power by the end of 2014. this was not met, and in 2020, the project has not completely been commissioned. the cost has since escalated to roughly r143 billion (some sources say r300 billion) (mail and guardian, 2019). the final figures are still disputed, though, as will be explained below. on the positive side, job creation was expected to peak at 17 000 direct jobs created during construction. the town of lephalale’s gross domestic product (gdp) has increased by approximately 95% per year as a result of the project’s construction activities. the power station will directly grow south africa’s gdp by approximately 0.35% per year. on a daily basis, 22 340 meals were prepared and served to ensure that labourers were well fed to keep the morale and efficiency up (eskom, 2014: 2). tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 129 3.2 kusile power station the kusile power station project, located near the existing kendal power station, in the nkangala district of mpumalanga, will comprise six units, each rated at an 800 mw installed capacity for a total capacity of 4 800 mw. once completed, kusile will be the fourth-largest coal-fired power station in the world. the flue gas desulphurisation (fgd) plant is an integrated chemical plant using limestone as feedstock and producing gypsum as a by-product. the plant will peculiarly use an air-cooling system to help conserve water. the operational life of the power station is expected to be 50 years (eskom, 2014: 1). eleven years after construction started, not one of its six 800 mw generator units was delivering power into the grid. construction started at kusile in 2008, and all six generation units were planned to be in commercial service by the end of 2014. however, the sad reality facing the country is that, as of july 2019, five years after 2014, only unit 1 at kusile had been handed over for commercial service. on the other hand, units 2 and 3 had been synchronised to the grid; they were still undergoing mandatory testing and commissioning, meaning that the units were not in commercial service by the end of 2019 (yelland, 2019: 1). the original cost in 2007 was estimated at r69.1 billion; by july 2016, the ctc was placed at r160 billion. however, according to chris yelland (mybroadband, 2019: 1), an energy analyst in south africa, the figures hide much information, and the real costs are shown in table 1. table 1: true costs of medupi and kusile power stations costs of the project cost to complete (ctc) medupi kusile approved ctc, excluding ipc and fgd r145 billion r161 billion estimated cost of flue gas desulphurisation (fgd) plant r39 billion r65 billion capitalised interest during construction (idc) r50 billion r226 billion total cost r234 billion r460 billion source: mybroadband (2019: 1) 4. methodology the purpose of this study was to assess the causes of cost and schedule overruns in south african critical construction megaprojects, using medupi and kusile energy sector megaprojects. a quantitative research design was used, in which structured questionnaire surveys enable researchers to generalise their findings from a sampled population (trueman, 2019; creswell, 2014). the questionnaire rated the causes of cost and schedule overruns in construction megaprojects as well as the challenges when implementing energy megaprojects. a quantitative research approach acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 130 supports the use of interval likert-type scales to measure data (netemeyer, bearden & sharma, 2003) and allows for the use of descriptive statistics to analyse data (brown, 2015: 11). several data-analysis strategies are available, but, for this study, the mean scores of interval data were used to calculate the central tendency and to determine the composite (average) score of the likert-type scale constructs (bishop & herron, 2015: 279). 4.1 sampling method and response rate the population for this study consisted of 150 built environment professionals identified who are involved in the kusile and medupi megaprojects (cox, 2011; burns & grove, 1993). the identified professionals included 50 engineers, 40 architects, 35 quantity surveyors, ten project managers, and 15 contractors. since there are many activities at these projects, only respondents who were directly involved with the actual building of the power plants were regarded as the target population. seventy-five were directly involved with power-plant installation and were the target population, while the others were involved with the associated infrastructure. a sample size of 51 built environment professionals and contractors within the kusile (25) and medupi (26) megaprojects were randomly selected to participate in the survey (alvi, 2016: 35). it was not possible to survey everyone, as some were simply not available. the built environment professionals included 20 engineers, 12 architects, 11 quantity surveyors, four project managers, and four contractors. although the sample size is not valid and not within the recommended sample size of 108 for a population equal to or above 150 (krejcie & morgan, 1970: 608), the professionals directly involved with the actual building of the power plants chosen substantiate the size of the sample. after several reminders, only 17 – kusile (seven) and medupi (ten) – responses were received from the 51 respondents to whom the questionnaires were distributed. according to moyo and crafford (2010), contemporary built environment survey response rates range from 7% to 40%; 33% is thus acceptable for this study (see table 2). table 2: questionnaire distribution and responses description discipline number distributed number of respondents % responses received % responses from total consultants architects 12 5 42% 29% quantity surveyors 11 3 27% 18% engineers 20 5 25% 29% project managers 4 4 100% 24% contractors 4 0 0% 0 total 51 17 33% 100% tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 131 4.2 data collection during april 2018, an online structured (partly open-ended) questionnaire survey was distributed via email to built environment professionals involved in the kusile and medupi megaprojects in south africa. the questionnaire consisted of four sections. the first section relates to the demographics of the respondents. section two is a set of nine 7-point likert-scale items relating to the causes of schedule overrun. section three covers a set of four 5-point likert-scale items on the causes of cost overrun. section four entails a set of 13 constructs with 27 items measured on a 7-point likert scale to determine the challenges in the implementation of a megaproject. the data from these measurements forms the likert-scale items used in the descriptive analysis of this study. to reduce the respondents’ bias, closedended questions were preferred for sections two, three and four (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, along with a covering letter indicating that participation in this survey was voluntary and that participants could withdraw at any point during the study. 4.3 analysis and interpretation of the data interval likert scales was used to measure how strongly respondents felt regarding the statements or questions in the likert-scale constructs. likert scales are effective where numbers can be used to quantify the results of measuring behaviours, attitudes, preferences, and even perceptions (wegner, 2016: 11). for the purpose of analysis of the 7-point likert scale, the ranges relative to the ms are defined as follows: >1.00 to ≤1.86 (strongly disagree); >1.86 to ≤2.71 (disagree); >2.71 to ≤3.57 (somewhat disagree); >3.57 to ≤4.44 (neither agree nor disagree); >4.44 to ≤5.30 (somewhat agree); >5.30 to ≤6.16 (agree), and >6.16 to ≤7.00 (strongly agree). for the purpose of analysis of the 5-point likert scale, the ranges relative to the ms are defined as follows: >1.00 to ≤1.80 (strongly disagree); >1.80 to ≤2.60 (disagree); >2.60 to ≤3.40 (neutral); >3.40 to ≤4.20 (agree), and >4.20 to ≤5.00 (strongly agree). the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 23 (pallant, 2015) was used to process the interval scales and to analyse them, using descriptive statistics such as means, modes, and standard deviations. the mean of responses was generated, in order to analyse and rank the causes of schedule and cost overruns as well as the challenges in implementing energy megaprojects. only the mean of the items was used to show the central tendency and to rank the factors in order of the most agreed to the least agreed. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 132 4.4 limitation of the study during the time of the study, eskom, the south african public electricity utility company, was under intense public scrutiny and the subject of a number of high-profile investigations against perceived rampant graft within the organisation. the leadership instability at eskom had occasioned a climate of mistrust to outsiders, making accessing informative sources sometimes difficult. however, those who cooperated still provided valuable information. the contractors involved would have done well to respond, but their noncooperation compelled the study to proceed without their input. it is possible that, since their client was going through a difficult time, they felt it safe for the sake of their businesses to not participate in the study, as any negative utterance could result in disadvantageous reprisals. nevertheless, key individuals in strategic positions were engaged with, and their input proved to be crucial to the study’s findings. 5. results and discussion 5.1 respondents’ profile table 3 presents the profile of respondents to the questionnaire survey. the distribution shows that the majority of the respondents have between 11 and 15 years’ work experience. table 3: respondents’ work experience no. of years’ work experience) architect quantity surveyor engineer project manager total 1-5 years 1 1 6-10 years 2 2 11-15 years 1 2 3 2 8 16-20 years 1 2 3 21 years and above 3 3 total respondents 5 3 5 4 17 three architects have over 21 years’ work experience, and have 16-20 years’ and 11-15 years’ work experience, respectively. two quantity surveyors have 11-15 years’ work experience and 1-5 years’ work experience. two engineers have 16-20 years’ work experience, while three have 11-15 years’ work experience. two project managers have 6-10 years’ work experience and two have 11-15 years’ work experience. the greater majority of the respondents have more experience in the construction industry. tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 133 5.2 ranking of the factors causing schedule overrun table 4 shows the mean score, and ranks the nine factors identified from construction literature to show which factors are mostly responsible for schedule overrun in energy megaprojects. table 4: the causes of schedule overrun in energy megaprojects factors (n = 17) (1 = strongly disagree … 7 = strongly agree) discipline overall architect quantity surveyor engineer project manager ms rank ms rank ms rank ms rank ms rank incomplete drawings 3.60 8 5.00 3 4.60 7 4.00 6 4.25 8 design changes 4.80 6 5.33 2 5.80 3 5.75 3 5.41 3 slow client decision-making 6.00 2 5.33 2 6.20 1 5.25 5 5.76 1= late issue of instruction 4.40 7 4.67 4 4.80 6 5.50 4 4.82 6 shortage of skilled labour 6.40 1 4.00 5 6.00 2 6.00 2 5.76 1= poor planning and scheduling 5.80 3 6.00 1 5.00 5 6.25 1 5.71 2 labour unrest 4.80 6 4.67 4 3.40 8 5.50 4 4.53 7 shortage of manpower 5.60 4 4.67 4 5.00 5 5.50 4 5.24 5 delay in work approval 5.20 5 4.00 5 5.40 4 6.25 1 5.29 4 average ms (composite score) 5.22 the factors in table 4 were ranked per discipline, and the results indicated that architects believed that the number one cause of schedule overrun is shortage of skilled labour with ms 6.40. quantity surveyors believed that poor planning and scheduling is the number one factor causing schedule overrun with ms 6.00. the engineers ranked slow client decision-making as the number one factor causing schedule overrun with ms 6.20. project managers ranked poor planning and scheduling as the number one factor causing schedule overrun with ms 6.25. shortage of skilled labour, poor planning and scheduling, and slow client decision-making were rated as the top three causes by the architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, and project managers who participated in the survey and who are also working on megaprojects in south africa. shortage of skilled labour, which could affect planning, design, and scheduling, may be a result of the rushed implementation of these megaprojects in south africa. the rushed implementation does not allow adequate staffing and upskilling of key personnel. this means that the very acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 134 foundations of the implementation process are shaky from the onset. it also cascades to other problems downstream, such as incomplete drawings, a great deal of rework, and design changes, as depicted in table 4. this has been a very unfortunate south african trademark in the implementation of energy megaprojects. the average mean of 5.22 demonstrates that, overall, all the factors cause schedule overrun in energy megaprojects in south africa. slow client decision-making with ms 5.76 and shortage of skilled labour with ms 5.76 are ranked as the number one factors that cause schedule overrun in study area megaprojects. poor planning and scheduling with ms 5.71, design changes with ms 5.41, and delay in work approval with ms 5.29 are ranked number two to four, respectively. the results in table 4 show that these factors could contribute to project implementation sluggishness in south africa. a study by tahir et al. (2017: 3) indicated that the project teams’ slow rate in making decisions is one of the causes of delay that could contribute to project implementation sluggishness. the issues identified in this instance are indicative of project management teams that are either overwhelmed or not sufficiently knowledgeable. the results appear not to show that the influence of external factors (musa, 2012: 6) such as labour unrest and shortage of manpower is not very strong, again putting the blame on the technical capacity of the project managers/implementers. 5.3 ranking of the factors causing cost overrun table 5 shows the mean score, and ranks the four factors identified from construction literature to show which factors are mostly responsible for cost overrun in energy megaprojects. table 5: the causes of cost overrun in energy megaprojects factors (n = 17) (1 = strongly disagree … 5 = strongly agree) discipline overall architect quantity surveyor engineer project manager ms rank ms rank ms rank ms rank ms rank increase in material cost 3.20 4 3.00 2 3.00 4 3.00 2 3.06 4 inaccurate material estimate 4.60 1 2.33 3 4.40 1 3.00 2 3.76 1 shortage of skilled labour 3.60 3 2.33 3 4.20 2 4.00 1 3.65 2 client’s late contract award 4.00 2 3.67 1 3.20 3 2.50 3 3.35 3 average ms (composite score) 3.45 tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 135 the factors in table 5 were ranked per discipline, and the results indicated that architects believed that the number one cause of cost overrun is inaccurate material estimating, with ms 4.60. quantity surveyors believed that client’s late contract award is the number one factor causing cost overrun, with ms 3.67. the engineers ranked inaccurate material estimating number one factor causing cost overrun, with ms 4.40. project managers ranked shortage of skilled labour as the number one factor causing cost overrun, with ms 4.00. according to the consultants who participated in this study, inaccurate material estimates, shortage of skilled labour, and the client’s late contract award are regarded as the main causes of cost overrun in energy sector megaprojects in south africa. the findings of musa (2012: 13) show that insufficient labour skills could affect the proper estimating of materials, given the enormity and complexity of the projects. it is intriguing that there appears to be some congruence in responses from people from different disciplines. however, unlike in malaysia (tahir et al., 2017: 1), where there appears to be changes in laws and regulations during project execution, this does not seem to be a challenge in this instance, meaning that there is simply lack of knowledge on proper executing methods. the average mean of 3.45 demonstrates that, overall, all the factors cause schedule overrun in energy megaprojects in south africa. inaccurate material estimate, with ms 3.76, is the number one ranked factor causing cost overrun in study area megaprojects. shortage of skilled labour, with ms 3.65, client’s late contract award, with mis 3.35, and increase in material cost with mis 3.06 are ranked numbers 2 to 4, respectively. it is very instructive for other megaprojects that are heavily reliant on imported components and materials that the scheduling be done properly, in order to avoid any inefficiencies that could hamper implementation. the energy products were using highly specialised components produced by niche manufacturers who might be inundated with orders from across the globe. thus, any misestimated order would have to wait for a long time to augment the numbers. the actual issuing of contracts is hardly surprising, as the lack of experts working for the public sector could mean that it takes time to source the expertise or that the in-house expertise is inundated with the workload. 5.4 ranking of challenges in the implementation of energy megaprojects table 6 shows the mean score, and ranks the 27 items identified from construction literature to show the overall challenges with the implementation of energy megaprojects. from table 6, poor site management (ms = 6.71), inadequate managerial skills (ms = 6.65), poor monitoring and control (ms = 6.53), unstable management structure (ms = 6.41), and lack of acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 136 experience together with poor organisation structures (ms = 6.29) are the dominant challenges in south africa. table 6: challenges in the implementation of energy megaprojects construct items affecting the implementation of megaproject (n = 17) (1 = strongly disagree … 7 = strongly agree) ms rank overall rank communication factors lack of communication between contractor and client 5.47 2 17 inefficient communication 5.82 1 10 management poor site management 6.71 1 1 inadequate managerial skills 6.65 2 2 poor monitoring and control 6.53 3 3 slow decision making 6.18 4 7 personnel shortage of managerial and supervisory staff 6.12 3 8 shortage of skilled labour 6.24 2 6= lack of experience 6.29 1 5= low motivation 5.41 4 18 organisational unstable management structure 6.41 1 4 poor organisation structure 6.29 2 5= planning client initiated change order 5.71 2 12 inadequate design specification 5.82 1 10 rework 5.71 2 12 poor labour planning 5.59 3 14 site conditions unforeseen ground conditions 5.53 16 weather harsh weather conditions 4.94 20 project-related project complexity 5.65 1 13 project duration 4.94 2 20 material-related shortage of equipment 5.24 2 19 poor material planning 6.24 1 6= other slow decision-making, knowledge of specifications, material ordering, approved materials, increase in material cost, and market unavailability 5.57 15 process-related poor procedures 5.76 11 financial delayed payment to contractors/ consultants 6.24 1 6= poor financial planning 6.06 2 9 price-related price increase 4.94 20 average ms (composite score) 5.85 the top five challenges are management and organisational related, showing that there is not enough local management and organisational expertise in south africa to ensure the proper planning and effective implementation tshidavhu & khatleli • causes of schedule and cost overruns 137 of energy megaprojects. one essential and critical issue in successful implementation is the management and organisation of megaprojects (söderlund et al., 2018: 9) since these projects are critical to the economy, adequate planning for their implementation should have been carried out (tahir et al., 2017). with ms = 6.24, respondents agreed that shortage of skilled labour; poor material planning, and delayed payment to contractors/ consultants, which relates to personnel, material and financial issues, is challenging for the successful implementation of energy megaprojects in south africa. it is imperative for eskom that the majority of the top managers be skilled, well trained and stay employed for the long haul, in order to preserve institutional memory and to learn from their mistakes so that they can make well-informed decisions when required. 6. conclusion and recommendations this study assessed the causes of cost and schedule overruns as well as the challenges with the implementation of energy sector megaprojects in south africa. the study identified the causes of schedule and cost overruns as well as the challenges militating against the project’s implementation success. the results show that architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, and project managers, who participated in the survey and who are also working on megaprojects in south africa, rated shortage of skilled labour, poor planning and scheduling, and slow client decision-making as the top three causes for schedule overruns. inaccurate material estimate, client’s late contract award, shortage of skilled labour, and increase in material cost were rated the top four factors causing cost overrun in energy megaprojects. the top five challenges in the successful implementation of energy megaprojects in south africa were poor site management, inadequate managerial skills, poor monitoring and control, unstable management structure, poor organisation structure, and lack of experience. most of these challenges are management and organisational related, showing that there is no adequate local management and organisational expertise in south africa to ensure the proper planning and effective implementation of energy megaprojects. south africa should take the hard lessons garnered so far and accept that capacitation is needed to implement these huge critical projects. the national energy needs projections should be revised periodically, and interventions by way of new projects should never be rushed. the study has shown that, although the challenges bedevilling megaprojects are the same globally, as they are in south africa, the south african causes of budget overflow and programme slippage are particularly preventable, acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 138 as they appear to be underpinned by poor planning and management. the improvement of implementation 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[online]. available at: <https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/the-crisisat-kusile-and-medupi-continues/> [accessed: 5 january 2020]. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0301 https://doi.org/10.1177/875697281704800602 https://doi.org/10.1177/875697281704800602 https://doi.org/10.9790/3021 https://doi.org/10.9790/3021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.06.009 https://doi.org/10.1007/978 https://doi.org/10.1007/978 https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/research-methods-in-sociology/structured https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/research-methods-in-sociology/structured https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/the _goback acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 186 how to cite: oosthuizen, p. 2020. book review. english-afrikaans bilingual building dictionary. acta structilia, 27(2), pp. 186-187. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as book review • boekresensie pierre oosthuizen mr pierre oosthuizen, lecturer, department of quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, 9301, south africa. phone: +27 (0) 51 401 3322 or +27(0) 84 244 1344, email: <oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.7 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 186-187 english-afrikaans bilingual building dictionary title: english-afrikaans bilingual building dictionary/ afrikaans-engels tweetalige bouwoordeboek author: die suid-afrikaanse akademie vir wetenskap en kuns publisher: sunbonani media ninth print: 2020 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:oosthuizenpm%40ufs.ac.za?subject= http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.7 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.7 oosthuizen • english-afrikaans bilingual building dictionary 187 with originating roots scattered across the globe, this playful language derived its name from africa. what is more unique to south africa than afrikaans? a communication medium amalgamated, adapted and applied by mothers from different cultures and continents who not only chose south africa as their domicilium citandi et executandi, but also to raise their children through a unique south african mother tongue. by accommodating variety, this language tends to be inclusive against the norm, which might explain why afrikaans is the preferred lingua franca in many parts of the country. since the tower of babel, building sites are recognised as a gathering of miscellaneous cultures and languages in dire need for a bridging communication medium. phenomenally, evolved through time, building terms were and still are being born. the pregnancy period for the first bilingual building dictionary took longer than expected and was only delivered in 1960 by the “vaktaalburo”, a division of the south african academy of science and art. thirty years and eight prints later saw the last issue of this document. this year, the year of the covid-19 world pandemic, marks sixty years after the first publication and thirty years since the previous print. this 2020 edition contains over 1,480 additional afrikaans and english building terms, mainly obtained from a collection of building documents. where else will you find afrikaans and english built environment abbreviations and metric units than in a building dictionary? the appearance of this document has been renewed, revised, and attuned with page letter tags and affluent guided headers to quickly allocate terms. a surprisingly valuable educational addition to this dictionary is the 360 colourful illustrations and explanations weaved through the pages. in conclusion, this 2020 english-afrikaans bilingual building dictionary is a long overdue, well-crafted revision, now available to fill that reserved space on the bookshelves of professionals, practitioners, academics and students in the built environment. with a concrete spiral staircase on a gloss cover, the dictionary will be effortlessly distinguishable from other books in all good bookstores throughout south africa. alternatively, contact the publisher, sunbonani media (liezel@sunbonani.co.za or (051) 444 2552), for printed and electronic copies. 93 how to cite: oladeji, j., yacim, j., wall, k. & zulch, b. 2020. macroeconomic leading indicators of listed property price movements in nigeria and south africa. acta structilia, 27(2), pp. 93-119. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels jonathan oladeji mr jonathan (jd) oladeji, phd student, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield 0028, south africa. phone: +27 63 528 0244, email: <u17046701@tuks.co.za> joseph yacim dr joseph (ja) yacim, lecturer, federal polytechnic, nasarawa, pmb01, nasarawa 962101, nigeria. phone: +234 805 327 6420, email: <joseph.yacim@gmail. com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-0651-3360 kevin wall prof. kevin wall, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield 0028, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 2581 email: <kevin.wall@up.ac.za> benita zulch prof. benita zulch, department of construction economics, university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield 0028, south africa. phone: +27 12 420 2581, email: <benita.zulch@up.ac. za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-8777-2510 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(2): 93-119 macroeconomic leading indicators of listed property price movements in nigeria and south africa peer reviewed and revised august 2020 published december 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract this article aims to identify macroeconomic leading indicators that influence changes in the listed property price movements in south africa and nigeria. this serves to improve the quantitative approaches to investment appraisal in emerging markets of sub-saharan africa. the data relating to macroeconomic leading indicators, including johannesburg stock exchange (jse) listed property (j253) quarterly price data, nigerian listed real-estate data, and macroeconomic indicator series for nigeria and south africa, were collected from iress expert database, stats sa, the central bank of nigeria (cbn), the national bureau of statistics (nigeria), and the world bank. the article identifies that coincident indicators and the exchange rate have a positive and significant relationship with the jse-listed real estate in the south african market. while the bank lending rate, the consumer price index, and the treasury bill rate (tbr) are identified as reliable indicators in the nigerian listed real-estate market. the results show that investors must pay attention to these indices in their choice http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:u17046701@tuks.co.za mailto:joseph.yacim@gmail.com mailto:joseph.yacim@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0651-3360 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0651-3360 mailto:kevin.wall@up.ac.za mailto:benita.zulch@up.ac.za mailto:benita.zulch@up.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8777-2510 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8777-2510 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 94 of the market(s) within the sub-saharan african context, as this will guarantee capital appreciation or growth. keywords: indicators, investment, listed property, macroeconomic, price abstrak hierdie artikel het ten doel om makro-ekonomiese leidende aanwysers te identifiseer wat die veranderinge in die genoteerde eiendomsprysbewegings in suid-afrika en nigerië beïnvloed. dit help om die kwantitatiewe benaderings tot beleggingsbeoordeling in opkomende markte in afrika suid van die sahara te verbeter. die gegewens rakende makro-ekonomiese leidende aanwysers, insluitend die kwartaallikse prysdata van die johannesburgse effektebeurs (j253), die nigeriese vaste eiendomsdata en die makro-ekonomiese aanwyserreeks vir nigerië en suid-afrika is versamel van iress expert database, stats sa, die central bank of nigeria (cbn), die national bureau of statistics (nigeria) en die wêreldbank. in die artikel word aangedui dat samevallende aanwysers en die wisselkoers ’n positiewe en beduidende verband het met die jsegenoteerde vaste eiendom in die suid-afrikaanse mark. terwyl die bankleningsyfer, die verbruikersprysindeks en die skatkis (tbr) as betroubare aanwysers in die nigeriese genoteerde eiendomsmark geïdentifiseer word. die resultate toon dat beleggers aandag moet skenk aan hierdie indekse in hul keuse van die mark(te) binne afrika suid van die sahara, aangesien dit kapitaalappresiasie of groei sal waarborg. sleutelwoorde: aanwysers, belegging, genoteerde eiendom, makro-ekonomies, prys 1. introduction the real-estate sector significantly contributes to the gross domestic product (gdp) of countries worldwide. therefore, several countries pay special attention to making this sector attractive to both local and international investors. according to the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd) (2018), real estate contributes a total of 2.3 trillion us dollars to gdp in the united states of america (usa); 404.9 billion us dollars in the united kingdom (uk); 151.3 billion us dollars in australia, and 191.4 billion us dollars in canada. however, in comparison to these major economies, the contribution of real estate to gdp in sub-saharan africa’s emerging markets is marginal (bodunrin, 2019). in particular, real estate contributed 0.8%, representing roughly 40 billion rands (2.8 billion us dollars), to south africa’s gdp in 2018 (sa commercial prop news, 2019), while the real-estate sector contributes 6.85%, representing approximately 9.4 trillion naira (25.9 billion us dollars), to the nigerian gdp (budgit, 2018). although there is a marginal growth in the contribution of the real-estate sector to gdp in south africa and nigeria, this is attributable more to additional stream from development finance institutions (dfi), sovereign wealth funds (swf), and foreign direct investment (fdi) (pwc, 2015: 85). however, since the safety of investor(s) capital or income is foremost in decision-making, real-estate market participants are particularly interested in knowing the future trajectory of rent or price relative to their choices. oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 95 there are a considerable number of studies on finding the future direction of rent or price (karakozova, 2004: 51; tsolacos, brooks & nneji, 2014: 541; michael & almeida, 2016; harrami & paulsson, 2017). however, most of these studies were carried out in mature or more developed real-estate markets, where there is relative economic stability and historical real-estate transaction data are readily available. consequently, due to differential contextual settings and market behaviour of real-estate markets, findings from these studies could not be used to make significant inferences about other markets, especially the emerging markets. accordingly, the different contextual market settings in the two sub-saharan african countries, nigeria and south africa, necessitate an investigation into the real-estate market behaviours. in nigeria, particularly in abuja, the nation’s capital city, a high vacancy rate for real estates is reported in several locations (namnso, ighalo & sanusi, 2015: 64). in addition, the recent security situation in some parts of nigeria is a negative strain on investors’ confidence in the real-estate market. in south africa, the recent spate of xenophobic occurrences in some parts of the country is cause for concern to foreign investors in the real-estate market. it, therefore, becomes important to evaluate the responses of the real-estate market to recent changes in the overall economies. on the surface, the challenges might seem to scare investors from committing their funds into the markets; however, these could not be substantiated without a careful analysis of the leading economic indicators across the two countries. the motivation in this study is to use the indicators to unravel perceived economic consequences of the changes on real-estate investment returns. in addition, to comparatively identify the leading market indicators across these two top economies is sine qua non for real-estate investment decisions. consequently, the place of these countries in the african continent serves as an avenue for useful information on market indicators to be marginally applied across the rest of sub-saharan africa. it is, therefore, important to identify the key market determinant variables that forecast timeous recognition of turning points in commercial real-estate rents in nigeria and south africa. in order to analyse the turning points, tsolacos et al. (2014: 541) review related studies on reliable real-estate market indicators. the identification of market indicators is used to understand advance market behaviour of different periods of positive or negative growth in rents. 2. literature review this study was premised on the possibility that macroeconomic factors could drive real-estate prices and thus provide insight for better investment decision-making. leading indicators signal the fluctuations in markets that acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 96 manifest as expansions or contractions. accordingly, several technique(s) have been used to test the leading indicators, in order to reflect market performance or to predict business variations. this is achieved by means of repetitive patterns that reveal a state of growth or reduced economic activity (krystalogianni, matysiak & tsolacos, 2004). clark and daniel (2006) listed eleven leading economic and financial indicators for forecasting south african house prices: all share index, prime interest rate, gross domestic product, building plans, business confidence, motor vehicle sales, household debt/disposable income, rand/ dollar exchange rate, gold prices, oil prices, and transfer costs. akinsomi, mkhabela and taderera (2018) as well as sibanda (2013) considered the macroeconomic drivers of direct real-estate returns, and found that gdp, interest rate, and unemployment are statistically significant drivers of direct real-estate returns in south africa. the opportunity to deliver greater insight into these relationships promises better understanding of real-estate investment risks and enhances investment confidence (ntuli & akinsomi, 2017; emerole, 2018). according to boshoff and binge (2019), investment confidence indicators possess analytical signals for economic growth and are frequently accurate leading indicators and useful for detecting early warning signals for economic turning points (krystalogianni et al., 2004). boshoff (2013) opines that the information provided by indirect real-estate investment shows that analysts can rely on these data for evaluating markets, because real estate at this level is like any other asset class and could be influenced by various economic and financial drivers. the leading nature of some macroeconomic indicators has been found to serve as early warning signals of imminent significant changes in the direction of the real-estate market. accordingly, d’arcy, mcgough and tsolacos (1999) carried out a study of the dublin office rental market and found that changes in real gross domestic product (gdp) and service sector employment (sse) are significant determinants of the demand and pricing for office space. similarly, macfarlane, murray, parker and peng (2002) identified employment as the primary driver of demand for office space in sydney, australia. krystalogianni et al. (2004) examined the future trajectory of real-estate prices in the united kingdom’s (uk) industrial, office and retail properties, and found gilt yield and broad money supply (m4) as key market indicators for the direction of the real-estate markets. karakozova (2004) undertook a study in finland to identify the drivers and the best methods for modelling and forecasting property returns and concluded that the leading indicators for predicting commercial rents are growth in service-sector employment, gdp, and output from financial and business services. ng and higgins oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 97 (2007) in the united states of america (usa) investigated the critical determinants of the commercial real-estate market performance. they found the gdp, the unemployment rate, as well as office finance, insurance and real-estate services (fire) employment as leading indicators. in a related study in the usa, baba and kisinbay (2011) found labour market, housing, yield spreads, and consumption to be determinants that lead to changes in the market. similarly, harrami and paulsson (2017) investigated rent modelling for the swedish office market and found that the gdp was useful in predicting the direction of the real-estate market. similar studies in the uk and the usa (füss, stein & zietz, 2012; tsolacos, 2006; frankel & saravelos, 2012; buehler & almeida, 2016) report that, in order to create predictive models, identifying the “right” set of variables that combine to trigger changes in the market was the first step. in particular, buehler and almeida (2016), noted that the risk of downturns in the commercial real-estate prices in usa cities was attributable to several macroeconomic indicators, including inflation rates, bond yields, consumer confidence, and employment. these studies attempt to provide models for forecasting real-estate price movement in highly developed and well-structured markets. the importance of this study is underscored in tsolacos and brooks (2010), who suggested that research on early warning signals for real-estate markets should be predicated, using the leading macroeconomic indicators. leading indicators are used to capture changes in direction and turning points. thus, as noted earlier, security challenges witnessed in nigeria and south africa, though difficult to directly capitalise, could be modelled on the leading market indicators. consequently, there is a paucity of literature on identifying the leading macroeconomic indicators in the nigerian and south african real-estate markets. namnso et al. (2015) undertook a study of the drivers of office rent in three districts in abuja, nigeria, and found that real gdp growth and the vacancy rate were significant determinants of rental growth. in the real-estate market, mourouzi-sivitanidou (2020) undertook a study to identify leading macroeconomic drivers of the market direction and found employment, retail sales/wholesale trade sales, gdp (by sector), manufacturing production/factory utilisation, consumer price index (cpi), and producer price index (ppi) inflation as determinants. clark and daniel (2006) also attempted to develop an econometric model for forecasting south african house prices for 2005/2006. the study found a positive relationship between lagged stock market returns, gdp, transfer costs, and house price growth rates, while a negative relationship exists between interest rates, exchange rate movements, and house-price growth rates. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 98 monde (2008) reports that the first mark of an imminent turning point in the business cycle is typically when the composite leading business cycle indicator changes course for at least six months. the study suggests that interest rates play a significant role in the south african real-estate sector, but that it is challenging to carry out a sector-specific analysis of macroeconomic interactions. akinsomi, mkhabela and taderera (2018) considered the macroeconomic drivers of direct real-estate returns in south africa and found the gdp, interest rate, and unemployment as significant drivers of real-estate returns. despite macroeconomic variables playing a substantial role in understanding the growth and performance of real estate, modelling this relationship still poses a considerable challenge. clear identification of leading economic indicators and modelling of turning points should provide insight into the changes and direction in the commercial real-estate markets. it thus seeks to investigate how much forecasting accuracy can be achieved by modelling the relationships between listed real estate and macroeconomic time series. tsolacos et al. (2014) observed that the choice of modelling tools was particularly crucial in achieving accuracy, and thus suggested the use of a probit model and a markov switching model. therefore, in addition to the comparative analysis of the commercial real-estate macroeconomic indicators that this study undertook between the two leading economies in africa, the logit techniques employed add to its uniqueness from a pan-african perspective. 3. methodology in identifying reliable indicators for modelling the probability of turning points, this study employed a quantitative content analysis and the use of inferential statistics, as noted in frankel and saravelos (2012). through content analysis, macroeconomic indicators and commercial real-estate market information were identified and then tested. the study investigated the relationship between the identified macroeconomic (independent) variables and the listed real-estate (dependent) variable, using the correlation and logistic regression statistical measures. similar studies that informed the use of these methodologies included krystalogianni et al. (2004), tsolacos (2012), tsolacos and brooks (2010); buehler and almeida (2016), and moolman and jordaan (2005). 3.1 data collection the indicators and sources identified in the literature review were examined for preliminary selection of the independent variables. the dependent variable was extracted from the listed real-estate indices found in this investigation. the major sources of relevant data in south africa and oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 99 nigeria included the south african reserve bank; statistics south africa; iress expert, and the central bank of nigeria (cbn) statistic database. other data sources such as the amalgamated bank of south africa (absa) real-estate data, the data from the jse website and others were inaccessible or insufficient, sometimes only providing 1 to 5 years of timeseries data. ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) quarterly price data were, however, extracted from the iress expert database. the nigerian reit time-series data used were sourced from the union homes, skye shelter, and uacn properties. the historical data available covered ten years as compared to fifteen years’ data that were collected for south africa. with respect to the nigerian data, the analysis examines the nigerian stock exchange (nse) instruments for the availability of a commercial real-estate data series. the nse listed re index developed is a proxy for the listed real-estate indicator that was not provided in the nse index database. there was a limitation on the selection of time series for dependent and independent variables, in that the longest series available for some south african macroeconomic indicators was from quarter 1 of 2003 to quarter 4 of 2018. jadevicius, sloan and brown’s (2013) study suggests that the ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) is the only available realestate data that spans to the required 15 years. the availability of data spanning the required period served as a basis for selecting the real-estate time series adopted as the dependent variable. the ftse/jse property loan stock (j256) and ftse/jse real estate investment trusts (j867) were thus excluded from the analysis. this implied that other series not meeting this range were invalid for consideration. missing data for quarters not exceeding 1-5 quarters were replaced with the closest available data. olanrele, adegunle, fateye and ajayi (2019) noted the limitation of using other nigerian reit (n-reit) data such as smart products nigeria plc (smurfit) and updc reit because of their recent establishment. thus, the weighted average of sky shelter reit (sky reit) and the uacn property development company data served as a proxy for the listed realestate sector. accordingly, the available data for the nigerian listed realestate market were collected for the period 2008: q1 to 2018: q4. 3.2 data analysis and interpretation of data descriptive statistic measures employed included the minimum, maximum, median and standard deviation. all monthly data were converted into quarterly data before analyses to ensure uniformity with the exogenous data. these indicators were set as the variables tested in the two models (south africa and nigeria). in this study, several statistical tests and indicators were used to analyse and evaluate the accuracy, applicability, and statistical significance of the logistics model(s). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 100 3.2.1 the chi-square and significance level the model’s chi-square statistic and its significance level present the first test of model performance. a significant p-value is compared to a critical value, perhaps .05 or .01, to determine whether the overall model is statistically significant. the value given in the sig. column is the probability of obtaining the chi-square statistic, given that the null hypothesis is true (ncss, 2020). this test was used to indicate whether there is a significant association between the dependent listed real-estate variable and the other independent variables. 3.2.2 the omnibus test of model significance this is a test for the performance of the independent variables over the null model with only the intercept. this test evaluates how much of the variance in the dependent variable is explained by changes in the independent variables (ncss, 2020). this test was used to evaluate how much of the change that occurs in the dependent listed real-estate variable is accounted for by the independent variables in the model. 3.2.3 cox & snell r-square and nagelkerke r-square these are pseudo r-squares. these r-squared values test the model’s goodness of fit. the cox & snell r 2 can be interpreted like the r-squared in a multiple regression, but cannot reach a maximum value of 1. the nagelkerke r-squared can reach a maximum of 1 (ncss, 2020). this test measured how well the model derived fits the data and classifies the outcomes of the predictive model. 3.2.4 hosmer-lemeshow test a second test for the model’s goodness of fit is the hosmer-lemeshow test. this tests the null hypothesis that predictions made by the model will fit perfectly with observed group memberships. the higher the value of this test, the better the goodness of fit (ncss, 2020). the test helps identify the relative performance of the models in predicting the future direction (rise or fall) of the listed real-estate market. 3.3 model description 3.3.1 dependent variable used in the model(s) the nigerian reit and jse time-series data are used to create dummy binary outcomes for the purpose of logistic regression. the time-series data difference of yt-yt-1 was classified based on a rise or fall. a growth in the time series represented a 0., while a fall represented a 1. this provided the oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 101 data for the binary variable in both data sets. the south african dummy variable is denoted as south africa listed real estate (salre), while the nigerian dummy variable is denoted as nigeria listed real estate (nlre). the iress expert database provided the three top real-estate instruments, including ftse/jse property loan stock (j256), ftse/jse real estate investment trusts (j867), and ftse/jse sa listed property (j253). the ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) proved to be the only real-estate variable spanning to the required 15 years, as suggested in jadevicius et al. (2013). 3.3.2 independent variables used in the model(s) the south african macroeconomic variables that were evaluated, included the gdp at market prices (r million), percentage cpi consumer prices: cpi, excluding food and non-alcoholic beverages and fuel (all urban areas), manufacturing (2015=100), leading indicator (2015=100), coincident indicator (2015=100), lagging indicator (2015=100), m0, m1a, m1, m2, total monetary (m3) deposits, exchange, interest rates, and the gold price. the leading indicator (2015=100), coincident indicator (2015=100), and lagging indicator (2015=100) are further explained in van der walt and pretorius (2004: 29-35) as follows: 3.3.2.i the leading indicator series this is composed of: opinion survey of volume of orders in manufacturing; opinion survey of stocks in relation to demand (manufacturing and trade); opinion survey of business confidence (manufacturing, construction, and trade composite); leading business cycle indicator of major trading-partner countries (percentage change over twelve months); commodity prices in us dollars for a basket of south africa’s export commodities (six-month smoothed growth rate); real m1 money supply (deflated with the cpi): sixmonth smoothed growth rate; prices of all classes of shares (six-month smoothed growth rate); number of residential building plans passed for flats, townhouses, and houses larger than 80m2; interest rate spread (10-year bonds less 91-day treasury bills); gross operating surplus as a percentage of gross domestic product; labour productivity in manufacturing: (six-month smoothed growth rate); job advertisements in the sunday times newspaper (six-month smoothed growth rate), and opinion survey of the average hours worked per factory worker in the manufacturing sector 3.3.2.ii the coincident indicator series this is composed of: gross value added at constant prices, excluding agriculture, forestry and fishing; value of wholesale, retail and new vehicle acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 102 sales at constant prices; utilisation of production capacity in manufacturing; total formal non-agricultural employment, and industrial production index. 3.3.2. iii the lagging indicator series this is composed of: employment in non-agriculture sector; total number of hours worked by production workers in the construction sector; physical volume of mining production of building materials; value of unfilled orders as percentage of sales in manufacturing; value of fixed investment in machinery and equipment; value of non-residential buildings completed; value of commercial and industrial inventories at constant prices, and labour cost per unit of the physical volume of manufacturing production. nigerian macroeconomic variables included the total gdp, prime lending/ interest rate (%), the treasury bill rate (%), the total money asset, money supply (m1), currency in circulation, and money supply (m2). 3.4 logit modelling the logit model provides the best fitted combination of macroeconomic variables that improves on the null/naïve model. the probabilities are summed up or down between 0 and 1 to provide the forecast based on thresholds such as 0.5, 0.7, 0.9. t; being the state of the independent variable is estimated to be 1 or 0, based on the logit regression rule: t = 1 for the period that capital values decline t = 0 otherwise therefore, the objective of using a logit approach is to estimate a response probability: pr (t = 1|x) = pr (t = 1| x1, x2, ..., xk) pr (t = 1|x) = log(p/1-p) = β0 + β1x1 + … + βkxk in equation 1, the coincident indicator β = 0.479, while the exchange rate was β = 0.083. the constant or intercept value was -74.738. the south african logit model is expressed as: y = pr (t = 1|x) = log(p/1-p) = -74.738. + 0.479ci + 0.083er equation 1 where: y = binary variable outcome pr = probability β0 = model intercept βx= regression coefficient ci = coincident indicator er = exchange rate for nigeria, the coefficient for variables in the equation is summarised in the logit regression equation as: oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 103 y = pr (t = 1|x) = log(p/1-p) or ln (odds) log(p/1-p) or ln (odds) = -21.938 + 0.143(ir) 0.037 (tbr) 0.034 (cpi equation 2 where: y = binary variable outcome pr = probability ir = lending/interest rate tbr = treasury bill rate cpi = consumer price index 4. results and discussion 4.1 south african model dependent variable: south africa listed real estate (salre) independent variables: gdp at market prices (r million), percentage cpi consumer prices: cpi, excluding food and non-alcoholic beverages and fuel (all urban areas), manufacturing (2015=100), leading indicator (2015=100), coincident indicator (2015=100), lagging indicator (2015=100), m0, m1a, m1, m2, total monetary (m3) deposits, exchange, interest rates, and the gold price. descriptive statistics for the south african regression model are presented in table 1. the prime lending rate and treasury bill data are presented as percentages, while other indicators present as actual figures. table 1 provides information about the nature of the data used for the logistic regression. the south african ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) is the annual capitalization of listed real estate on the jse. the indicator shows a minimum and maximum value of r24,905,288,373 (usd1,451,472,927.71) and r585,250,954,031 (usd34,108,254,558.04, respectively with a mean of r196,738,877,374 (usd11,450,422,969.30). its standard deviation of r161,566,289,587 (usd9,416,036,138.72) represents a large dispersion of the values from the mean. the percentage cpi consumer prices has a standard deviation of 3.09, a mean of 4.33, and a range of -11.20 and 9.20. these values represent the possibilities for the investment to generate higher real-estate returns. the mean of the salre at 0.70 and a 0.460 standard deviation suggests that a growth is more frequently recorded in the time series with the maximum (1) than the fall as recorded by the minimum (0). interest rates show a standard deviation from the mean of 6.31% with a maximum of 51% and a 25.5% minimum and a 32.56% mean value. meanwhile, the gdp maximum stands at 1,236,403 (r millions). gdp also has a minimum acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 104 ta bl e 1: d es cr ip tiv e st at is tic s of s ou th a fri ca n da ta e m pl oy ed in lo gi t a na ly si s m in im um m ax im um m ea n s td . d ev ia tio n ft se /j se s a l ist e d p ro p e rt y (j 25 3) 24 90 52 88 37 3 58 52 50 95 40 31 19 67 38 87 73 74 16 15 66 28 95 87 bi na ry v a ria b le ( sa lr e) 0 1 .7 0 .4 60 g d p @ m a rk e t p ric e s (r m illi o n) 31 75 48 .0 0 12 36 40 3. 00 74 35 15 .9 0 28 31 43 .5 2 pe rc e nt a g e c pi c o ns um e r p ric e s -1 1. 20 1 9. 20 4. 33 3. 09 m a nu fa c tu rin g ( 20 15 =1 00 ) 87 .7 7 10 8. 40 98 .2 2 4. 32 le a d in g in d ic a to r ( 20 15 =1 00 ) 86 .8 7 10 8. 40 10 2. 10 4. 49 c o in c id e nt in d ic a to r ( 20 15 =1 00 ) 69 .4 3 10 3. 67 90 .6 8 10 .2 8 la g g in g in d ic a to r ( 20 15 =1 00 ) 94 .5 3 12 4. 37 10 1. 37 6. 46 m 0 59 57 9. 67 25 03 07 .6 7 14 46 81 .4 6 60 63 8. 57 m 1a 22 07 59 .6 7 84 85 55 .6 7 50 13 34 .7 4 20 28 49 .4 7 m 1 39 58 97 .0 0 17 26 13 9. 67 94 79 69 .4 4 41 32 35 .4 6 m 2 74 67 24 .3 3 28 30 70 1. 67 17 04 15 9. 54 64 07 99 .3 4 to ta l m o ne ta ry ( m 3) d e p o sit s 83 33 66 .0 0 35 08 98 3. 00 20 90 67 7. 05 81 82 84 .4 6 in te re st ra te s 25 .5 0 51 .0 0 32 .5 6 6. 31 pr ic e o f g o ld p e r o un c e ( ra nd ) 76 64 .7 5 56 66 2. 66 30 07 1. 49 16 29 0. 20 ex c ha ng e ra te s 21 2. 05 31 2. 30 26 7. 04 24 .2 1 1 1 n eg at iv e in fla tio n/ de fla tio n is n ot u nc om m on s itu at io n an d ha s be en re po rte d in th e s ou th a fri ca n ec on om y in ti m e pa st . h ow ev er , t hi s st ud y re po rts y ea r on y ea r c p i c on su m er p ric es /in fla tio n w hi ch c ou ld b e a gr ow th o r a fa ll. a n eg at iv e an nu al c p i ( ye ar o n ye ar ) i m pl ie s th at th e go ve rn m en t’s e ffo rt to c on tro l in fla tio n le d to a m aj or fa ll in m on ey s up pl y an d a de fla tio na ry tr en d. a cc or di ng to th e r es ea rc h d ep ar tm en t a nd in fo rm at io n d iv is io n (2 00 7) , w he n se tti ng m on et ar y po lic y, th e b an k de ci de s on th e le ve l o f s ho rtte rm in te re st ra te s ne ce ss ar y to m ee t t he in fla tio n ta rg et . t hi s ca n be in cr ea se d an d de cr ea se d to re sp on d to th e in fla tio n le ve ls a t a c er ta in ti m e. in fla tio n in 1 99 5, a s re po rte d by d ep ar tm en t o f f in an ce , r ep ub lic o f s ou th a fri ca (r s a ) ( n. d. ), de cl in ed to le ve ls la st s ee n in th e ea rly 1 97 0s . t he a nn ua l r at e of in cr ea se in c on su m er p ric es h as b ee n be lo w 1 0 pe rc en t f or th re e ye ar s pr io r t o it. oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 105 of 317,548 (r millions), a mean and standard deviation of 743,515.90 (r millions), 283,143.52 (r millions), respectively. the high standard deviations indicate the growth or change over the time period include values that are significantly dispersed from the mean values. these values capture peaks and troughs in the time series and should as such demonstrate significant deviations from a mean value. a logistic regression model with all 14 selected south african leading indicators was compared to the effect of selectivity, excluding variables with insignificant p-values from the model (tables 2 and 3). multivariate logit regression is performed to evaluate the perfect combination of independent variables for predicting the probability of a decline or rise (table 4). table 2: spearman correlation of south african economic (money supply) indicators with the dependent listed real-estate variable m 0 m 1a m 1 m 2 to ta l m on et ar y (m 3) d ep os its in te re st r at es p ric e of g ol d pe r ou nc e (r an d) e xc ha ng e ra te s sp e a rm a n’ s rh o ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) correlation coefficient .986** .986** .987** .984** .985** .591** -.974** .580** sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 n 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). a spearman’s correlation was run to assess the relationship between south african economic (money supply) indicators and ftse/jse sa listed property (j253), using a sample of 64 indicators. in table 2, from the south african data analysed, all money supply variables show a strong positive correlation with the listed real estate indicator, where m0 [rs=.986, p<.001], m1a [rs=.986, p<.001], m1 [rs=.987, p<.001], m2 [rs=.984, p<.001] m3 [rs=.985, p=.000] was statistically significant. there was a moderate correlation between interest [rs=.591, p<.001] and exchange [rs=.580, p=.000] rates and ftse/jse sa listed property (j253). although the price of gold per ounce showed significant value as an indicator [rs=-.974, p=.000], there is a strong negative correlation with ftse/jse sa listed property (j253). acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 106 table 3: spearman correlation of south african economic indicators with the dependent listed real-estate variable f t s e /j s e s a li st ed pr op er ty ( j2 53 ) g d p a t m ar ke t pr ic es ( r m ill io n) % c p i m an uf ac tu rin g (2 01 5= 10 0) le ad in g in di ca to r (2 01 5 = 10 0) c oi nc id en t i nd ic at or (2 01 5= 10 0) la gg in g in di ca to r (2 01 5= 10 0) sp e a rm a n’ s rh o ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) correlation coefficient 1.000 .984** .342** .450** .230 .948** -.471** sig. (2-tailed) . .000 .006 .000 .067 .000 .000 n 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). in table 3, gdp at the market price indicated a strong correlation with the dependent ftse/jse sa listed property (j253) indicator, which was statistically significant, rs=984, p=000. the cpi indicator was not significant and showed a relatively low correlation [rs=.342, p=.006] with ftse/jse sa listed property (j253), indicating almost no relationship between product prices or inflation and the listed real-estate market. although manufacturing showed significant value as an indicator [rs=.450, p<.001], there is a weak correlation with ftse/jse sa listed property (j253). with rs=.230, p=.067, the leading indicator failed to show any level of significance and no existence of any linear relationship with the listed property data. there was a strong positive correlation between the coincident indicator and ftse/jse sa listed property (j253), which was statistically significant, rs=.948, p<.001. although the lagging indicator was a significant indicator, [rs=-.471, p<.001], it shows a weak negative correlation with the listed property data. there was some degree of collinearity between the money supply variables m0, m1, m1a, m2, m3, the coincident indicator, and gdp. however, they all indicate a level of significance p<0.05, except for the leading indicator which had no significant relationship with most of the other independent variables. most of the variables with collinearity have a significant impact on the output j253 listed real-estate pricing variable, hence they could not be excluded randomly. the binary logistic modelling process solves the problems of collinearity, by excluding variables that do not contribute significantly to the model derived. in table 4, the logit model provides the best fitted combination of macroeconomic variables that improves on the oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 107 null/naïve model. the probabilities are summed up or down between 0 and 1 to provide the forecast based on thresholds such as 0.5, 0.7, 0.9. these thresholds are arbitrary and thus require the analyst understanding of the market’s sensitivity to changes in these economic variables. table 4: significant indicators accepted in the south african logistic regression indicator b (beta) s.e. (standard error) wald df sig. gdp at market prices (r million) .000 .000 .215 1 .643 coincident indicator (2015=100) .479 .156 9.467 1 *.002 m0 .000 .000 1.509 1 .219 m1a .000 .000 .403 1 .526 m1 .000 .000 1.135 1 .287 m2 .000 .000 .523 1 .469 total monetary (m3) deposits .000 .000 .169 1 .681 price of gold per ounce (rand) .000 .000 3.409 1 .065 exchange rates .083 .032 6.598 1 *.010 constant -74.738 28.311 6.969 1 .008 * significant at the 0.05 level in table 4, the wald z-test shows the values are not zero, which confirms that the selected indicators are significant and should be included in the model. the β (beta coefficient) allows comparison of the relative importance of indicators in a regression model. gdp (β=0.000, p=.643), m0 (β=0.000, p=.219), m1a (β=0.000, p=.526), m1 (β=0.000, p=.287), m2 (β=0.000, p=.469), m3 (β=0.000, p=.681), and price of gold (β=0.000, p=.065) have zero influence on, and do not predict the listed real-estate market. the β values for south african data sets show that coincident indicators (β = 0.479, p=.002) and exchange rates (β=0.083, p=.010) are significant indicators and predict the listed real-estate market trends in south africa. this signifies that an increase in these two economic indicators will impact positively towards growth in the listed real-estate market. the tests for significance of the south african model are shown in tables 5 to 8. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 108 table 5: omnibus test of logit regression model for indicators with a strong negative or positive correlation with the ftse/jse j253 indicator (r≤0.05) chi-square df sig. step 18.928 9 .026 block 18.928 9 .026 model 18.928 9 .026 table 6: pseudo-r values of logit regression model for indicators with a strong negative or positive correlation with the ftse/jse j253 indicator (r≤0.05) -2 log likelihood cox & snell r square nagelkerke r square 58.920a .256 .364 table 7: hosmer and lemeshow goodness of fit test of logit regression model for indicators with a strong negative or positive correlation with the ftse/jse j253 indicator (r≤0.05) chi-square df sig. 5.010 8 .757 table 8: classification table of logit regression model for indicators with a strong negative or positive correlation with the ftse/jse j253 indicator (r≤0.05) observed predicted null model predicted new model salre percentage correct salre percentage correct0 1 0 1 salre 0 0 19 0 9 10 47.4 1 0 45 100 3 42 93.3 overall percentage 70.3 79.7 the south african model in tables 4 to 8 is significantly a better (p<.05) fit than the null model (does not include explanatory indicators), as the omnibus test shows (chi-square=18.928, df=9, p=026). the cox and snell and nagelkerke r-squared were 0.256 and 0.364, respectively, which implies that the model explains approximately 25.6% or 36.4% of the variation (changes) in the listed real-estate market. the hosmer and lemeshow test of the goodness of fit show that the model is a good fit to the data with p=0.757 (>.05) (p-values close to 1 indicate a good logistic regression model fit). the model has a 93.3% accuracy in predicting growth (y=1), while it has a 47.4% accuracy in predicting a decline (y=0). this model correctly predicts, with a 79.7% accuracy, changes in the listed real-estate market, compared to 70.3% on the null model, thus 9.4% improvement. oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 109 4.2 nigerian model dependent variable: nigeria listed real estate (nlre) independent variables: total gdp, prime lending/interest rate (%), the treasury bill rate (%), the total money asset, money supply (m1), currency in circulation, and money supply (m2). descriptive statistics for the nigerian logistic regression model variables are presented in table 9. table 9: descriptive statistics of nigerian data employed in logit analysis minimum maximum mean std. deviation nse listed property index 4145.10 4921.11 4548.48 227.73 binary variable (nlre) 0 1 .50 .506 total gdp (n millions) 12583478.33 35230607.63 22098650.22 5959960.915 prime lending/interest rate (%) 44.65 58.27 50.72 3.11 t-bill % 5.12 44.10 27.94 10.65 total money asset 21542374.30 97307716.20 54437047.19 22378043.23 money supply (m1) 11801598.20 33680739.24 21257092.87 6650841.91 currency in circulation 2624429.50 6385845.91 4455189.75 1015721.20 money supply (m2) 21542374.30 78588158.53 47817724.05 16402868.45 in table 9, the nse listed property indicator shows a minimum and maximum value of ₦ 4145.10 and ₦ 4921.11, respectively, with a mean of ₦ 4548.48. its standard deviation of ₦ 227.73 represents a significantly high variation of the values from the mean. the mean of the nlre at 0.50 and a 0.506 standard deviation show that there are almost equal number of values closer to the maximum (1) as those close to the minimum (0). interest rates show a standard deviation from the mean of 3.11% with a maximum of 58.27% and a 44.65% minimum and a 50.72% mean value. the interest rate maintained a more stable high value compared to the south african interest rate data, which can be explained by the riskier investment market requiring higher interest rates. meanwhile, the gdp maximum stands at 35,230,607.63 (₦ millions). gdp also has a minimum of 12,583,478.33 (₦ millions), a mean and standard deviation of 22,098,650.22 (₦ millions), and 5,959,960.91 (₦ millions), respectively. the high standard deviations indicate that the growth or change over the time period includes values that are significantly dispersed from the mean values. these values capture peaks and troughs in the time-series data and should as such demonstrate significant variations from a mean value. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 110 table 10: correlation coefficient of nigerian variables relative to nse-listed re index n s e l is te d r e in de x to ta l g d p p rim e le nd in g /in te re st r at e (% ) tbi ll % to ta l m on ey as se t m on ey s up pl y (m 1) c ur re nc y in ci rc ul at io n m on ey s up pl y (m 2) n se l ist e d re in d e x pearson correlation 1 .372* -.281 .429** .385** .385** .356* .375* sig. (2-tailed) .025 .064 .004 .010 .010 .018 .012 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). a pearson correlation was run to assess the relationship between nigerian economic indicators and n-reit. in table 10, all selected money supply variables were significant, but show low positive correlation with the listed real-estate market, total money asset [r=.385, p<.010], m1 [r=.385, p<.010], and currency in circulation [r=.356, p<.018], m2 [r=.375, p<.012]. although the total gdp is a significant indicator [r=0.025, p=.025], it shows a very low positive correlation with the listed n-reit index. unlike in south africa, the prime lending/interest rate is not a significant indicator [r=-.281, p<.064] and shows a low negative correlation with the listed real-estate market in nigeria. although the treasury bill (t-bill) rate is significant, it shows a moderate correlation [r=.429, p<.004] with the listed real-estate sector. the high multicollinearity noticed between the gdp and money supply (mi), currency in circulation, total money asset, and money supply (m2), confirms the observation that south africa’s selected economic variables also applies to nigeria. this collinearity implies that not all economic variables contribute significantly to modelling the listed real-estate market. the logit regression model resolves the multicollinearity, by eliminating economic variables that do not explain much of the variation in the listed real estate data series. for the nigerian data sets, in table 4, the wald z-test shows the values are not zero, which confirms that the selected indicators are significant and should be included in the model. the β (beta coefficient) allows comparison of the relative importance of indicators in a regression model. gdp (β=0.000, p=.036), total money asset (β=0.000, p=.043), m1 (β=0.000, p=.656), m1 (β=0.000, p=.287), currency in circulation (β=0.000, p=.129), and m2 (β=0.000, p=.012) have zero influence on, and do not predict the listed real-estate market in nigeria. although not significant (β=0.143, p=.666), the β value shows that the lending/interest rate predicts the listed real-estate market in nigeria. cpi (β=-0.034, p=.695), and t-bill % (β=-0.037, p=.560), have a negative influence on, and do not predict the oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 111 listed real-estate market trends in nigeria. this signifies that a decrease in these two economic indicators will impact negatively towards growth in the listed real-estate market. table 11: significant indicators accepted in the nigeria logistic regression indicator b (beta) s.e. (standard error) wald df sig. total gdp .000 .000 4.419 1 .036 composite consumer price index (%) -.034 .086 .153 1 .695 prime lending/interest rate (%) .143 .331 .187 1 .666 t-bill % -.037 .064 .339 1 .560 total money asset .000 .000 4.087 1 .043 money supply (m1) .000 .000 .198 1 .656 currency in circulation .000 .000 2.307 1 .129 money supply (m2) .000 .000 6.249 1 .012 constant -21.938 21.429 1.048 1 .306 * significant at the 0.05 level the tests for significance of the nigerian model are shown in tables 12 to 15. table 12: omnibus test of logit regression model for nigerian indicators (r≤0.05) chi-square df sig. step 20.875 8 .007 block 20.875 8 .007 model 20.875 8 .007 table 13: pseudo-r values for the full model including all nigerian indicators (r≤0.05) -2 log likelihood cox & snell r-square nagelkerker-square 28.920 .440 .587 table 14: hosmer and lemeshow’s goodness of fit test for the full model, including all nigerian indicators chi-square df sig. 3.599 7 .825 acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 112 table 15: classification table for the null and full model including all nigerian indicators observed predicted null model predicted new model salre percentage correct salre percentage correct0 1 0 1 nlre 0 0 17 0 12 5 70.6 1 0 19 100 4 15 78.9 overall percentage 52.8 75.0 the nigerian model in tables 12 to 15 is significantly a better (p<.05) fit than the null model (does not include explanatory indicators), as the omnibus test shows (chi-square=20.875, df=8, p=007). the cox and snell and nagelkerke r-squared were 0.440 and 0.587, respectively, which implies that the model explains approximately 44.0% or 58.7% of the variation (changes) in the listed real-estate market. the hosmer and lemeshow test of goodness of fit shows that the model is a good fit to the data with p=0.825 (>.05) (p-values close to 1 indicate a good logistic regression model fit). the model has a 78.9% accuracy in predicting growth (y=1), while it has a 70.6% accuracy in predicting a decline (y=0). this model correctly predicts the outcome for 75% of the changes in the market, which is a 22.2% increase from 52.8% recorded in the null model. 5. discussion 5.1 south african model the supply of money and cash in circulation, as well as increasing money deposits indicate the availability of liquidity within the south african economy for long-term investments in commercial real estate and similar alternatives. the data shows that monetary supply variables are significant contributors to commercial real-estate pricing models. money supply variables were found to be significant predictors of the south african listed real-estate market. this was to be expected, given that real estate is a capital-intensive venture. the listed real-estate instruments, being a significant source of financing for actual real-estate supply, are affected significantly by the money supply. simo-kengne, balcilar, gupta, reid & aye (2012) also agreed that monetary policy is not neutral, as house prices decrease substantially as a result of a contractionary monetary policy. business indicators: leading, lagging and coincident, within the south african context are relied on for confirming the direction of the overall economy. however, the business leading indicators have been criticised regarding their accuracy and reliability, as noted in boshoff and binge (2019). the study found only the coincident indicator (gross value added at constant oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 113 prices – see 3.3.2.ii) contributed significantly to explaining variations in the south african listed real-estate market. the leading indicator series also indicates relatively high collinearity with other independent variables, which implies that the variance it adds to the dependent variable (salre) is not significant. the gdp has a strong correlation coefficient, which presents it as a strong economic indicator for price discovery and forecasting the south african listed real-estate market. as production increases, economies tend to experience growth in employment and subsequent demand for commercial office space. the gdp, as a major economic indicator, is bound to affect the spending capacity and general sentiments regarding long-term investment in commercial real estate. a growing gdp would signify growing interests in commercial properties, offices, warehouses, shopping centres, and serviced apartments. a strong positive correlation with the exchange rate indicates that strong growth in fdi and demand for local currency or other expansionary foreign policies would stimulate growth in the south african listed real-estate market. the cost of capital has a moderately strong positive relationship with the listed real-estate market in south africa. the higher cost of capital implies an increased risk for direct real-estate investment, which makes indirect real estate an attractive alternative. indirect or listed real-estate instruments would appreciate, as the increasing costs of capital implies that developers would require other sources of capital than bank loans. 0,00 10,00 20,00 30,00 40,00 50,00 60,00 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 interest rate vs salre salre interest rates figure 1: time series of the south african interest rate compared to the south african listed real estate index figure 1 shows that the south african bank lending rate also indicates similar growth and fall patterns with the corresponding salre index from 1 january 2003 to 31 december 2018. this does not suggest causality, but is still a good indicator for investment. acta structilia 2020: 27(2) 114 5.2 nigerian model the test for correlation was also conducted on nigerian data. all the independent variables proved statistically significant at the 0.05 level, except the lending or interest rate, which had a p-value of .064. the interest rate also had a low negative correlation of p=-.281 with the dependent variable. this implies that the regime of the lending rate over the years had a negative correlation and an insignificant impact on the listed real-estate market. this result aligns with the findings of olanrele, said, daud and ab (2015) that reits are sensitive to interest rates, but with insignificant effect. the prime lending rate or interest rate has a low negative correlation of p=-0.281, but, unlike the case in south africa, it proves insignificant to the dependent variable. as in south africa, money supply variables including total money asset, money supply (m1), currency in circulation, and money supply (m2) all have a positive significant correlation with the listed real-estate market. gdp shows a low positive correlation with the listed n-reit index, which indicates that a large increase in gdp would lead to growth in the listed realestate pricing. the treasury bill rates would cause increases in listed realestate or n-reit share prices. this indicates that an increasing treasury bill rate would have growth value for the real estate market in nigeria. 0 10 20 30 40 50 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 t-bill vx nlre nlre tbill % figure 2: time series of the nigerian t-bill rate compared to the nse listed property index. the nigerian t-bill rate indicates the government’s monetary policies. in figure 2, the growth and fall pattern of the two series (for the period 1 january 2008 to 31 december 2018, except for 2013 and 2015) align to indicate similar patterns. nigeria’s listed real and the t-bill rate share a common historical growth pattern. this similarity implies that general inferences can be made about the growth of the nlre based on the policy decisions on the t-bill rate. oladeji, yacim, wall & zulch • macroeconomic leading indicators 115 the study concluded that not all economic indicators lead to changes in price movements in the listed real-estate market in south africa and nigeria. however, a combination of some of these significant variables help explain variations in the listed real-estate indicator. the best-fitted models in south africa and nigeria also perform well in classifying the in-sample data. therefore, in relation to real-estate investment within the two leading economies, the market indicators do not altogether reveal negativity. hence, local and international real-estate investors can still undertake investments in the two countries, but careful feasibility and viability analyses must precede the decision. 6. conclusion this study used the logit regression modelling framework to identify the leading economic variables for predicting changes in the rental values of commercial real estate in nigeria and south africa. the goal was to use these macroeconomic indicators to understand the real-estate market behaviour of these two economies, so that real-estate investors could from their performance plan possible investments. thus, related and contrasting variables that are common to these markets were used to explain future trajectory and early warning signals. after a careful assessment of these macroeconomic market indicators, their performance reveals a positive outlook for the nigerian and south african real-estate market, although at a varying level of acceptability, despite the recent negative image of the two markets. this potentially reduces the risk and uncertainty associated with participation in the real-estate markets of emerging african economies such as nigeria and south africa. further study could be done towards understanding predictive probabilistic models, as there is a need to evaluate the accuracy they add to real-estate market analysis and reporting. further research could also be conducted on how econometric models should fit into business reporting for residential and commercial real-estate companies. this would make it possible to evaluate data on real-estate performance, based on consistent data sources such as listed real-estate data. acta structilia 2020: 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brooks, c. 2010. real estate modelling and forecasting. new york: cambridge university press. tsolacos, s., brooks, c. & nneji, o. 2014. on the predictive content of leading indicators: the case of us real estate markets. journal of real estate research, 36(4), pp. 541-573. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2233085 van der walt, b.e. & pretorius, w.s. 2004. notes on revision of the composite business cycle indicators. south african reserve bank quarterly bulletin, pp. 29-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/14635780610691896 https://doi.org/10.1108/17539261211250690 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2233085 1 how to cite: isah, y., shakantu, w. & ibrahim, s. 2020. utilisation of forecasting technology for improving construction logistics in nigeria. acta structilia, 27(1), pp. 1-28. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels yahaya isah mr yahaya isah, phd student, department of construction management, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (+234) 8039285865, email: <isahyahaya50@gmail.com> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-4602-3630 winston shakantu prof. winston shakantu, department of construction management, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (+27) 785147492, email: <winston.shakantu@mandela. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4334-5004 saidu ibrahim dr saidu ibrahim, senior lecturer, department of quantity surveying, federal university of technology, pmb 65, minna, niger state, nigeria, phone: (+234) 8037796321, email: <saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.1 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2020 27(1): 1-28 utilisation of forecasting technology for improving construction logistics in nigeria peer reviewed and revised march 2020 published june 2020 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the need to investigate new technology for forecasting purposes in construction logistics is due to the fact that the forecasting ability (modern technology utilisation) of the nigerian construction sector, in terms of logistics management, is relatively low when compared to manufacturing and retailing industries. this is affecting the performance of the construction sector. moreover, the current logistics technologies used for forecasting operations in the nigerian construction industry are relatively inefficient and insufficiently investigated to inspire new logistics technologies for the construction industry. hence, this article investigated how forecasting logistics technologies could be utilised in manufacturing and retailing industries, in order to improve the forecasting processes of construction logistics. lagos state and abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria, formed the selected geographical scope of the study, from which five manufacturing; five retailing companies, and five construction projects were purposely selected. a mixed methods research strategy were used. the research instruments included an observation guide (quantitative) and semi-structured interviews (qualitative). the collected quantitative data were analysed, using descriptive analytical tools: frequencies and percentiles. the qualitative http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:isahyahaya50@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4602-3630 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4602-3630 mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.1 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.1 acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 2 data was analysed, using the thematic method. the results revealed that all the observed manufacturing industries (100%) adopted the enterprise resource planning (erp) technology for forecasting purposes in the following areas: material, demand, product, and production forecast. of the observed companies in the manufacturing and retailing industries, 80% and 40%, respectively, adopted the material requirement planning (mrp) technology for forecasting purposes. only 20% (one project) of the observed construction projects adopted the mrp technology for forecasting in the following: 5% for demand forecast (demand control); 6.7% for material forecast (stock control), and 20% for product forecast (product output). it was also revealed that utilisation of the forecasting technology in construction could have the following benefits: proper resource planning; improved production scheduling; reduction in inventory; effective treatment of scheduling problems, and efficiency of the supply-chain system. results showed that effective utilisation of forecasting technology in the logistics system of the construction industry could lead to full efficiency gains in forecasting logistics of the construction industry. it is recommended that the nigerian construction industry should leverage on this, in order to create the best ways of handling the forecasting technology to improve the forecasting logistics systems of the construction process. keywords: construction, dm, erp, ires, mrp, forecasting, logistics, technology abstrak die behoefte om nuwe tegnologie vir voorspellingsdoeleindes in konstruksielogistiek te ondersoek, is te wyte aan die feit dat die voorspellingsvermoë (moderne tegnologiegebruik) van die nigeriese konstruksiesektor, wat logistieke bestuur betref, relatief laag is in vergelyking met die vervaardigingsen kleinhandelbedrywe. dit beïnvloed die prestasie van die konstruksiesektor. boonop is die huidige logistieke tegnologieë wat gebruik word vir voorspellingsbedrywighede in die nigeriese konstruksiebedryf relatief ondoeltreffend en word onvoldoende ondersoek om nuwe logistieke tegnologieë vir die konstruksiebedryf te inspireer. daarom het hierdie artikel ondersoek hoe die voorspelling van logistieke tegnologieë in die vervaardigingsen kleinhandelbedrywe gebruik kan word om die voorspellingsprosesse van konstruksielogistiek te verbeter. lagos-staat en abuja, die federale hoofstadgebied van nigeria, vorm die geselekteerde geografiese omvang van die studie, waaruit vyf vervaardiging; vyf kleinhandelondernemings, en vyf bouprojekte is doelbewus gekies. ‘n gemengde navorsingsmetode is gevolg. die navorsingsinstrumente het ‘n waarnemingsgids (kwantitatiewe) en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude (kwalitatief) bevat. die versamelde kwantitatiewe data is geanaliseer met behulp van beskrywende analitiese instrumente: frekwensies en persentiele. die kwalitatiewe data is met behulp van die tematiese metode ontleed. die resultate het aan die lig gebring dat al die waargenome vervaardigingsbedrywe (100%) die enterprise resource planning (erp) -tegnologie gebruik het vir voorspellingsdoeleindes in die volgende gebiede: materiaal, vraag, produk en produksieskatting. van die waargenome ondernemings in die vervaardigingsen kleinhandelbedrywe het onderskeidelik 80% en 40% die materiaalvereistesbeplanningstegnologie (mrp) vir voorspellingsdoeleindes aangewend. slegs 20% (een projek) van die waargenome bouprojekte het die mrp-tegnologie vir voorspelling in die volgende gebruik: 5% vir vraagvoorspelling (vraagbeheer); 6,7% vir wesenlike voorspelling (voorraadbeheer) en 20% vir produksieskatting (produkuitset). dit is ook aan die lig gebring dat die gebruik van die voorspellingstegnologie in die konstruksie die volgende voordele kan inhou: behoorlike hulpbronbeplanning; verbeterde produksieskedulering; vermindering in voorraad; effektiewe behandeling van skeduleringsprobleme en die doeltreffendheid van die voorsieningskettingstelsel. die bevindinge toon dat die effektiewe gebruik van voorspellingstegnologie in die logistieke stelsel van die konstruksiebedryf tot volle effektiwiteitswinste in die voorspellingslogistiek van die konstruksiebedryf kan lei. dit word aanbeveel dat die nigeriese konstruksiebedryf isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 3 gebruik maak hiervan om die beste maniere te kry om die voorspellingstegnologie te hanteer om die voorspellingslogistieke stelsels tydens die konstruksieproses te verbeter. sleutelwoorde: dm, erp, ires, mrp, konstruksie, logistiek, tegnologie, voorspelling 1. introduction the construction industry is often criticised for delivering projects behind schedules and over budgets, due to its over-reliance on manual modes of operations (sardroud & limbachiya, 2010: 1; sullivan, barthorpe & robbins, 2010: 19; gadde & dubois, 2010: 254; tseng, wu & nguyen, 2011: 267). according to navon (2005: 478), this is attributed to the reluctancy of the industry in realising the benefits of the current logistics technology in project performance control. the logistics technology developed to support the management of the nigerian construction industry in terms of forecasting is outdated, ineffectual, and often overlooked, due to its weak contributions to project performance (langeley, coyle, gibson, novack & bardi, 2009: 32). logistics management in the manufacturing and retailing industries and its contribution to construction productivity in the use of advanced technologies have not been adequately investigated (almohsen & ruwanpura, 2011: 1). besides, the manufacturing and retailing industries are hardly investigated to inspire new technologies and improved working practice and logistics in the construction industry (sullivan et al., 2010: 19). gadde and dubois (2010: 254) noted that huge efforts must be made in the area of forecasting logistics technology. although significant attempts have been made in developing technologies, according to ibrahim and moselhi (2016: 14), the performance of these systems is still not robust enough for most of the forecasting logistics processes. hence, choosing an appropriate forecasting technology for various logistics processes is crucial to any construction activity, in order to gain advantage in competitive markets (bhandari, 2014: 24). research evidence has shown that previous studies on construction logistics from different parts of nigeria have focused on transportation, effectiveness or efficiency in logistics supply chain, and so forth. however, hardly any research focuses on logistics technology, especially the use of forecasting technology, to improve construction logistics processes. therefore, a wide gap has been identified in the nigerian construction logistics processes (samuel & ondiek, 2014: 9; fatnani & malik, 2015: 3253; braun, tuttas, borrmann & stilla, 2015: 1). however, the technological aspect of construction logistics, especially forecasting, is overlooked, and little is understood in the nigerian construction industry. it is, therefore, important to examine forecasting-related tasks in the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries; the percentage level of usage of forecasting logistics technologies in the execution of these tasks, and the accruable benefits to construction from the utilisation of the forecasting technology acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 4 in the industries. the article assesses the level of utilisation of forecasting technology in the manufacturing and retailing industries, in order to improve the forecasting process of the nigerian construction logistics. 2. literature review in order to understand how to utilise forecasting technology in construction logistics, it is important to introduce the present theory on forecasting and logistics included in this article. the current theory focuses on construction logistics, construction forecasting logistics technology, and forecasting logistics tools used in construction. 2.1 construction logistics the term ‘logistics’ includes activities related to the physical movement of goods, and managing relationships with suppliers and customers (bhandari, 2014: 19). the word ‘logistics’ in the construction industry involves a strategic and cost-effective storage, handling, transportation and distribution of resources that enable the primary construction business activity to be accomplished (sullivan et al., 2010: 4). therefore, logistics has become part and parcel of every construction business, as no firm or project can succeed without its support (neeraja, mehta & chandani, 2014: 666). logistics is a critical component of every construction organisation that requires serious managerial considerations, since it ties up much of the industry’s capital (samuel & ondiek, 2014: 9). traditionally, insufficient attention has been paid to construction logistics, and this is obvious in the areas of wasteful procedures, poor productivity performance and inefficiencies (sullivan et al., 2011: 4; sobotka, czarnigowska, & stefaniak, 2005: 203). hence, logistics management is required at all stages of construction processes, in order to achieve the goals of a construction project (said & el-rayes, 2014: 110). in addition, said and el-rayes (2014: 110) believe that better construction logistics planning would require the coordination of supply and site activities by integrating their decisions and recognising existing interdependencies, in order to minimise the total materials management cost. the advantage of coordinated construction logistics is not only to increase productivity, but also to facilitate collaboration, learning and innovation between inter-organisational actors and lower the environmental impact (bengtsson, 2019: 305). thus, completing a construction project within budget and in a timely manner with their numerous constraints requires skillful integration of logistics (almohsen & ruwanpura, 2011: 26) and this can influence customer service levels as well as the economic and environmental performance of supply chains (ying, tookey & roberti, 2014: 262). isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 5 2.2 construction forecasting logistics technology the increasing level of competitiveness in the global construction market has led many construction firms to focus on the application of information technology (it) as a way to improve the integrated process of the construction logistics management (irizarry, karan & jalaei, 2013: 241). in a development by firat, woon and madnick (2008: 1), it was opined that any individual, organisation or nation that used forecasting technology makes proper future decisions. therefore, high-tech industries face challenges, because their success depends on their capability to grab relatively short-lived opportunities and reduce risks, in order to provide timely technology that will forecast appropriately and make the industry grow (qin & nembhard, 2012: 201). new technologies have to be developed in the logistics processes of the construction industry, in order to manage inefficiencies and lower the total production cost (mohammed & ali, 2016: 21). the various logistics technologies for overcoming human errors in the areas of forecasting, tracking and better management of materials are lacking in the construction industry (fatnani & malik, 2015: 3253). moreover, forecasting of resources on construction sites has been a challenging task to construction practitioners. forecasting technologies are thus suggested in overcoming this challenge (nasr, shehab & vlad, 2013: 1). forecasting technology is a process of using technology to estimate some future needs that include the needs in quantity size, quality, time and location required, in order to meet the demand for goods or services (rimawan, saroso & rohmah, 2018: 570). therefore, the forecasting technology should facilitate forward planning and the ability to forecast new projects accurately. this could help construction clients formulate timely and effective corporate strategies (wong & ng, 2010: 1265). in nigeria, the forecasting of the vast majority of construction sites is mostly done manually. this process is laborious, unreliable, costly and prone to error. in large and complex construction projects, automation of forecasting is required, in order to improve accuracy and reduce the manual efforts (braun et al., 2015: 1). according to park, cho and kim (2016: 1), problems with the manual process may include time-wasting and inefficient communication among project stakeholders. bhandari (2014: 24) attributed most of these problems to lack of awareness, fear of innovation and little interest in exploring the benefits of an improved and increased uptake of technology in the forecasting logistics system of the construction industry. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 6 2.3 forecasting logistics tools 2.3.1 enterprise resource planning (erp) technology the term ‘erp’ originated from the industry for integrated, multimodules application software packages that aimed to serve and enhance multiple business functions through future forecast (soliman & karia, 2015: 265). therefore, the erp system is an information system that has integrated broad business task, which is responsible for transaction processing in a real-time environment (hawking & sellitto, 2010: 1). this information system is designed to manage all the processes of an organisation to allow and facilitate decision-making from a global perspective of the organisation to suit their processes and characteristics (ramadhan & ahmed 2019: 172) soliman and karia (2015: 268) postulate that erp helps organisations meet the challenges of globalisation with a comprehensive, integrated application suite that comprises next-generation analytics, human capital management, financials, operations, and corporate services. however, many organisations found that the implementation of the erp system makes it easy for organisations to manage different forecasting tasks such as demand, sales, material, production, and product forecast (althonayan, 2013: 20). althonayan’s (2013: 20) review revealed that some important attributes of erp systems for forecast and their ability to improve organisational effectiveness and efficacy include implementing best business practice, in order to enhance productivity; reduce errors through sharing of data and practice in the enterprise; facilitate rapid and better decision-making that will lead to cost reduction in real time; improve efficiency and effectiveness; improve client receptiveness; increase performance control and data visibility; increase innovative incorporation of business management and it concepts, and improve automation of business processes in organisations. the successful implementation of the technology for forecasting can lead to reduced product development cycle, lower inventories, improved customer service and enhanced coordination of global operations (beheshti & beheshti, 2010: 446). bayraktar et al. (2009: 22) concluded that the master production schedule (mps) module in erp improved demand forecasting for the effective planning of all resources of a manufacturing company. therefore, as a task for demand forecasting, the erp technology forecasts stock requirement, purchasing and predicts customer buying habits to optimise the inventory level and meet customer demand (gbs, 2013: 1). 2.3.2 material requirement planning (mrp) technology the mrp technology is a production planning and control system used to forecast and coordinate order fulfilment, by synchronising the availability of isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 7 materials and resources to customer demand, which could result in better resource planning and reduced inventory level, through releasing purchase and/or work orders (bayraktar et al., 2009: 136). the technology provides a relatively fast, real and effective treatment of scheduling problems, diminishing cost production of orders, due to minimum inventory mitigation, time accuracy of materials and parts reception (imetieg & lutovac, 2015: 58). information about competitive products and customers’ reactions are forecast with the help of mrp technology (malthouse, haenlein, skiera, wege & zhang, 2013: 270). this technology provides good information necessary for effective decisionmaking (madapusi & souza, 2012: 24). a small saving in material cost through efficient and effective use of mrp technology for the management of materials can result in a large saving in the total project cost (deepa & eldhose, 2018: 32). shi, asce and halpin (2003: 214) further discovered that the current erp technology is primarily developed for manufacturing. they put forward the erp system for construction, by addressing the nature and business culture of the industry. the successes recorded by the manufacturing and retailing industries in advanced countries led to the trial of the erp system in the construction industry (acikalin, kuruoglu, isikdag & underwood, 2009: 245). 2.3.3 inventory replenishment expert system (ires) technology the ires technology is based on a periodic review inventory control and time series forecasting techniques, which propose the most effective replenishment strategy for each supply classed derived from an abcxyz analysis (errasti, chackelson & poler, 2010: 129). for a company to achieve a balance between efficiency and responsiveness, there is a need for ires, which is less expensive accurate information, timely, reliable and consistent (samuel & ondiek, 2014: 10). errasti et al. (2010: 135) added that ires is a useful tax for demand forecast, sales forecast, production forecast, minimizing inventory level, and increasing service quality. 2.3.4 data mining (dm) technology dm technology is a tool used for forecasting customers’ task, by analysing customers’ performance in the past (demand, sales, material, production, and product forecast) (xie, 2009: 19). chiang, lin and chen (2011: 220) found that dm technology is developed to extract useful information from the bulk of data, and discover which products commonly appear in customer orders. simultaneously, the information of product association can be used to generate storage assignment rules for improving efficiency in the industry. dm is the method of analysing data from different outlooks and summarising acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 8 it into useful information, by providing data access to business analysts and information technology professionals (dokania & kaur, 2018: 202). dm technology can help identify customer behaviour; reveal customer shopping patterns and trends; improve the quality of customer service; achieve better customer retention and satisfaction; enhance goods consumption ratios; design more effective goods transportation and distribution policies, as well as reduce the cost of business (paidi, 2012: 4660). research conducted by ramageri and desai (2013: 47) shows that dm technology performed the task of demand forecasting, sales forecasting, production forecasting, competitors forecasting and extraction of hidden predictive information from very large databases, with great potential to help organisations predict future trends and behaviours. 2.3.5 manufacturing and retailing industries’ experiences of forecasting logistics technology the manufacturing and retailing industries have recorded tremendous achievement in the development and usage of forecasting technology in demand, sales, material, production, and product forecast (althonayan, 2013: 20). the technology has been able to forecast customers, products or geography, using past data trends, which can be extended to the future, from the transaction that has been captured. althonayan (2013: 20) revealed that some important attributes of forecasting technology systems in manufacturing industries are their ability to improve organisational effectiveness and efficacy, including productivity enhancement; reduce errors through sharing of data and practice; increase performance control and data visibility, and improve automation of business processes in organisations. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this study uses a mixed methods approach where both quantitative and qualitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell & plano-clark, 2018: 8; grbich, 2013: 27). in this study, the quantitative semi-structured questionnaire survey was investigated by observations of the task performance of forecasting-related technology (erp, mrp, ires, and dm) from the manufacturing, retailing and construction sectors. the qualitative interviews explored the benefits of implementing forecasting technologies in the construction sector. the qualitative method allows in-depth understanding, discovery, and clarification of the situation. it provides the researcher with a unique avenue to probe responses or observations (guest, namey & mitchell, 2013: 21). the reason for collecting isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 9 both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the interview transcripts, and to cross-check the data against the questionnaire data set such as similarities in the use of forecasting-related technology. 3.2 population, sampling methods and response rate the geographical study areas for this study included the manufacturing, retailing and construction sectors in lagos state and abuja, the federal capital territory (fct) of nigeria. these geographical study areas were selected, because they both have many manufacturing and retailing companies and many construction projects. moreover, these two cities are among the metropolitan cities in nigeria with the highest population of professionals within the built environment with many ongoing construction projects. for the quantitative semi-structured questionnaire survey, purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 15 companies (including five manufacturing, five retailing and five construction companies) with projects of 2.8 billion naira and above, as at 28 august 2017. purposive sampling allows for the selection of individuals or organisations, based on their experiences, to yield adequate information about the topic under investigation (leedy & ormrod, 2014: 154). for this study, companies with projects to the capital base/value of 2.8 billion naira and above are deemed mature enough and presumed to have advanced technologies such as erp, mrp, ires, and dm (soliman & karia, 2015: 265). according to leedy and ormrod (2014: 67), the typical qualitative research sample size for observations ranges between five and 25 participants. for qualitative data collection, purposive sampling was used to sample 15 participants (workers each from the different sectors visited who were stationed to work on the technology) who simultaneously participated in the interviews. purposive sampling allows the researcher to choose participants based on their characteristics, pre-knowledge and capability of providing adequate knowledge deemed necessary for a study (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2013: 172). 3.3 data collection an observation guide and semi-structured interviews were used to observe only the forecasting technology utilised in five erp technology from manufacturing companies; seven mrp technology, including four mrp technology from manufacturing companies; two mrp technology from retailing companies, and one from construction projects. six ires technology were observed, including two ires technology from manufacturing companies and four from retailing. only two dm technologies were observed from manufacturing companies. the oberservation guide included seven main forecasting tasks for the manufacturing and retailing companies, acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 10 namely demand, sales, material, production, product, competitors, and advertisement as well as five main tasks for construction companies, namely demand, stock, production, procurement, and procurement process. the observations were carried out with the aid of the workers in the sectors (manufacturing, retailing, and construction) who were stationed to work on the technologies. the observations were done by taking the researcher around the forecasting technologies available. questions were asked on the task performed by the technology in the industry and the related tasks and subtasks that the same technology could perform in the construction industry. the observations were only based on the forecasting logistics technologies available (see tables 1 to 4). the respondents of the semi-structured interviews were one worker each from the different sectors visited who was stationed to work on the technology. this included five respondents from manufacturing companies for the erp technology; for mrp, four respondents from manufacturing companies, two respondents from retailing companies and one respondent from a construction sector, making a total of seven respondents from the companies; for ires, two respondents from manufacturing companies and four respondents from retailing companies, making a total of six respondents from the companies, and for the dm technology only two respondents from manufacturing companies. the semi-structured interview guide contains only one major question: how can the benefits of utilising these forecasting logistics technologies be accruable to the logistics forecasting of the construction industry? (see the last column of tables 1 to 4.) 3.4 data analysis and interpretation the collected quantitative data (observations) for this study were analysed, using descriptive analytical tools that included frequencies and percentiles. the tabulated results from the instruments were divided into two parts. the first part consisted of the related tasks in the manufacturing and retailing industries, and the second part consisted of tasks and subtasks in the construction industry. in the first part, the technologies were identified in five manufacturing and five retailing companies, thus a total of ten companies. the identification in each of these companies represented 20% of the 100% for the five manufacturing and the five retailing companies, respectively. in addition, the tasks in the five manufacturing and retailing companies were identified, with each occupying 20% of the 100%. for example, demand forecast in table 2 was used by four of the five manufacturing companies, each company occupying 20%. this means 20% multiplied by four industries equals 80% of the 100% of the five manufacturing companies. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 11 m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 10 0 0 0 ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % le ve l o f us ag e 10 0% % le ve l o f us ag e 10 0% % le ve l o f us ag e ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n b en efi ts a cc ru ed s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 d e m a nd fo re c a st 80 20 m a te ria l d e m a nd o n sit e d e m a nd c o nt ro l a c c ur a te e st im a te , i m p ro ve d b us in e ss p ro c e ss e s, h e lp in im p ro vi ng c us to m e r s e rv ic e la b o ur d e m a nd o n sit e eq ui p m e nt d e m a nd o n sit e pl a nt d e m a nd o n sit e 2 sa le s fo re c a st 80 20 3 m a te ria l f o re c a st 10 0 25 m a te ria l o n sit e st o c k c o nt ro l a c c ur a te e st im a te , s p e e d o f p la nn in g , m a xi m iz e g a in a nd m in im iz e lo ss o rd e r m a na g e m e nt m a te ria l t o b e u se d 4 pr o d uc tio n fo re c a st 60 15 la b o ur o ut p ut pr o d uc tio n o ut p ut c o nt ro l in c re a se d p ro d uc tio n e ffi c ie nc y pl a nt o ut p ut 5 pr o d uc t fo re c a st 6 c o m p e tito rs fo re c a st 40 10 bi d d in g pr o c ur e m e nt m a xi m iz e g a in a nd m in im iz e lo ss fro m fu tu re c o nd iti o n, im p ro ve d a nd fa st e r i nf o rm a tio n a m o ng d iff e re nt se c tio ns 7 a d ve rt ise -m e nt fo re c a st 40 10 in vi ta tio n fo r t e nd e r pr o c ur e m e nt p ro c e ss fo re c a st in g in re a l t im e su b m iss io n o f t e nd e r te nd e r e va lu a tio n a nd re p o rt to ta l 40 0 10 0 ta bl e 1: e nt er pr is e r es ou rc e p la nn in g (e r p ) t ec hn ol og y acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 12 the same process applies to the five retailing companies. moreover, for identification of the technologies in the five construction projects, each occupied 20% of 100%. the tasks that correspond to the manufacturing and retailing companies were also identified, each occupying 20% of 100% for the five projects in the construction industry. the tasks under the construction project were subdivided into subtasks, for which 20% occupied by each project was further subdivided into the subtasks under the projects in the construction projects. this means that demand control only occupied 20%, which will be divided among the number of subtasks that appear under demand control. for example, the corresponding task to demand forecast in construction is demand control in table 2. therefore, demand control as a main task, each occupying 20% to make 100%, the 20% under “demand control’’ was further divided into four different subtasks in demand control (material demand on site, labour demand on site, equipment demand on site, and plant demand on site) that is, 20% divided by four equals 5% for each subtask. furthermore, the total of these percentages from the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries were utilised to produce the percentage level of usage of the tasks and subtasks in the three industries. this was done by dividing each percentage unit of the task by the overall percentage total of the industries (manufacturing + retailing + construction) and multiply by 100%. for example, using this formula l=u/t x 100%, where u=unit percentage of one task of the three industries; t=total percentage of manufacturing, retailing and construction industries, and l=percentage level of usage of each unit percentage task. in addition, the total percentage and percentage proportion of tasks in the three industries were used to develop figures 2 and 3 for mrp and ires, respectively. using thematic data analysis, a nuanced account of the data could be presented by transcribing, coding and setting themes from the responses of the focus-group interviews (clarke & braun, 2013: 120). for this study, all shared experiences during the interviews with workers/operators were recorded and used as the interview data. using microsoft excel (bowen, edwards & cattel, 2012: 887), the raw data on the relevant benefits of the technology that could accrue to the tasks and subtasks in the construction logistics processes in nigeria was analysed and categorised into conceptual themes, including benefits accruing for demand, stock, production, procurement, and procurement process. 3.5 limitations in the course of the data collection, access to some organisations, particularly the manufacturing and retailing sectors, was denied, as some information isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 13 m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 80 40 20 ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % le ve l o f us ag e 10 0% % le ve l o f us ag e 10 0% % le ve l o f us ag e ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n b en efi ts a cc ru ed s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 d e m a nd fo re c a st 80 17 .7 40 8. 9 5 m a te ria l d e m a nd o n sit e d e m a nd c o nt ro l re d uc e d in ve nt o ry , f a st , r e a l a nd e ff e c tiv e t re a tm e nt o f s c he d ul in g p ro b le m s, p ro vi d e s c rit ic a l i nf o rm a tio n st re a m s ne c e ss a ry , l e ss e ni ng c o st o f p ro d uc tio n 1. 1 la b o ur d e m a nd o n sit e eq ui p m e nt d e m a nd o n sit e pl a nt d e m a nd o n sit e 2 sa le s fo re c a st 40 8. 9 3 m a te ria l f o re c a st 80 17 .7 40 8. 9 6. 7 m a te ria l o n sit e st o c k c o nt ro l im p ro ve d re so ur c e p la nn in g a nd re d uc e d in ve nt o ry le ve l 1. 5 o rd e r m a na g e -m e nt m a te ria l t o b e u se d 4 pr o d uc tio n fo re c a st 60 13 .3 la b o ur o ut p ut pr o d uc tio n o ut p ut c o nt ro l im p ro ve d p ro d uc tio n sc he d ul in g , c a p a c ity p la nn in g , m a te ria l re q ui re m e nt p la nn in g a nd in ve nt o ry m a na g e m e nt pl a nt o ut p ut 5 pr o d uc t fo re c a st 40 8. 9 40 8. 9 20 4. 4 pr o g ra m m e o f w o rk pr o d uc t o ut p ut ef fic ie nc y o f a s up p ly -c ha in s ys te m , fa st , r e a l a nd e ff e c tiv e t re a tm e nt o f sc he d ul in g 6 c o m p e tit o rs fo re c a st bi d d in g pr o c ur e m e nt 7 a d ve rt ise m e nt fo re c a st in vi ta tio n fo r t e nd e r pr o c ur e m e nt p ro c e ss su b m iss io n o f t e nd e r te nd e r e va lu a tio n a nd re p o rt to ta l 30 0 66 .5 12 0 26 .7 31 .7 7 ta bl e 2: m at er ia l r eq ui re m en t p la nn in g (m r p ) t ec hn ol og y acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 14 was considered strictly confidential and, therefore, not to be disclosed to researchers. moreover, some organisations, particularly in the construction sectors, do not have the related technology under consideration. the researcher had to move on to consider only those that have the technology. 4. results and discussion 4.1 enterprise resource planning (erp) technology table 1 shows that all the manufacturing industries adopted erp technology for forecasting purposes, of which 80% of this industry used erp technology for demand forecast. this result corroborates the findings of belbaǧ, çimen, tarim and taş (2009: 489) that, as a forecasting tool, demand planning in the manufacturing industry enhances the profitability of a product. gbs (2013: 1) and nenni, giustiniano and pirolo (2013: 1), however, opine that the profitability of demand forecasting varies according to a company and an industry. moreover, 100% and 60% of the manufacturing industry used erp technology for material forecast and production forecast, respectively. the results are in line with the findings of chryssolouris, papakostas mourtzis, michalos and georgoulias (2009: 454) and zhu, li, wang and chen (2010: 266) on the use of erp technology for customers’ products in improving efficiency. the results also corroborate the finding of bayraktar et al. (2009: 136) on master production schedule module that provides feedback for the effective planning of all the resources of a company. furthermore, 40% of the manufacturing industry used erp technology for competitors and advertisement forecasting. these results validated the findings of firat et al. (2008: 3) and althonayan (2013: 20), on advertisement. surprisingly, erp technology was not found for forecasting tasks in the retailing and construction industries. the respondents in the construction projects studied revealed that, although they did not fully utilise the erp technology, the latter could be utilised to improve the following area of construction logistics tasks: • demand control: material demand on site, labour demand on site, equipment demands on site and plant demand on site. • stock control: material on site, order management and material to be used. • production output control: labour output and plant output. • procurement: bidding process. • procurement process: invitation to tender, submission of tender, tender evaluation and report. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 15 4.2 accruable benefits of erp technology to construction table 1 clearly shows that the interviewed respondents deemed that the following benefits could be accrued to the construction industry if the erp technology is utilised in the construction industry for forecasting processes of logistics management, including determination of an accurate estimation, so that the actual construction cost does not deviate a great deal from the project cost of the undertaking; increased speed of the planning process in construction; increased efficiency of construction work by providing an overall view of the scenario of the project prior to making decisions; construction forecasting in real time; improved construction processes; improved construction customer service, as well as improved and faster information among different sections of construction. these results support the finding of althonayan (2013: 20) that erp technology provides an accurate estimate and forecast in real time. the results also validate the findings of addo-tenkorang and helo (2012: 3) and ociepa-kubicka (2017: 240), who mentioned the benefits of erp to include enhancing business processes, facilitating the smooth flow of common functional information, and that good forecasting can help maximise gain and minimise loss from future conditions (firat et al., 2008: 3). 4.3 material requirement planning (mrp) technology a total of 80% and 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used mrp technology for forecasting purposes, when compared to the construction industry that used only 20% of the mrp technology for forecasting. these results confirm samuel and ondiek’s (2014: 11) finding that mrp was used mostly in the manufacturing industry. in terms of demand forecast, 80% and 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used the mrp technology for demand forecast. however, in the construction industry, only 20% used the mrp technology for demand forecasting (demand control). moreover, 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries used the mrp technology for product forecast, whereas 20% of the construction industry used it for production forecast (production output). these results support the findings of samaranayake (2012: 435), kandananond (2012: 1) and sarkar et al. (2014: 653) on the correctness of demand forecasts to expand production scheduling. moreover, for the sales and production forecast, the manufacturing industry used 40% and 60%, respectively. the results are in line with imetieg and lutovac’s (2015: 58) findings on effective forecasting to reduce the cost of a product. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 16 therefore, the respondents in the construction projects studied revealed that, although they did not fully utilise mrp technology, the latter could be utilised to improve the following area of construction logistics tasks: • demand control: material demand on site, labour demand on site, equipment demand on site and plant demand on site. • stock control: material on site, order management and material to be used • production output control: labour output and plant output • procurement: bidding process • procurement process: invitation to tender, submission of tender, tender evaluation and report. 4.4 accruable benefits of mrp technology to construction table 2 shows that the interviewed respondents deemed that the following benefits could be accrued to construction industry if mrp technology is utilised in the construction industry for forecasting processes of logistics management. these include provision of better resource planning and reduced inventory level on the construction site; provision of accuracy of demand forecasts on the construction site; provision of production scheduling, capacity planning, mrp and inventory management in construction industries; provision of efficiency of a supply-chain system on site; provision of relatively fast, real and effective treatment of scheduling problems; reduction in the cost of production orders in construction works, and provision of critical information streams necessary for effective decision-making. these results support the findings of kandananond (2012: 1) and imetieg and lutovac (2015: 58) that mrp technology leads to better resource planning, efficiency of supply, fast treatment of scheduling planning, and lower cost of production. these also validate the findings of samaranayake (2012: 435) and madapusi and souza (2012: 24) that mrp provides the following benefits: planning of materials and resources, scheduling of operations for various units, and providing critical information streams necessary for effective decision-making. figure 1 shows that the total use of tasks using mrp technology is 300, 120 and 31.7 in the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries, respectively; each occupies a proportion of 66.5%, 26.7% and 7% across the three industries, respectively. this meant that the utilisation of mrp technology in the construction industry for forecasting was very low when compared to the manufacturing and retailing industries. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 17 figure 1: material requirement planning (mrp) technology percentage utilisation 4.5 inventory replenishment expert system (ires) technology a total of 40% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted ires technology for forecasting purposes, from which 40% and 20% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used ires technology for product forecast. these results confirm the finding of richey et al (2010: 84) in section 2 of this study. in terms of material forecast, 40% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used ires technology for material, while, for product forecast, 20% and 60% are used for ires technology in manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively. most of these results corroborate the findings of errasti et al. (2010: 129) and jaipuria and mahapatra (2014: 2405) on ires technology to offer the most effective timely replenishment strategy for each material supply, useful for prediction purposes. it is surprising that ires technology was not found to forecast tasks in the construction industry. the respondents in the construction projects studied revealed that, although they did not fully utilise ires technology, it could be utilised to improve the following area of construction logistics tasks: • demand control: material demand on site, labour demand on site, equipment demand on site and plant demand on site. • stock control: material on site, order management and material to be used. • production output control: labour output and plant output. • procurement: bidding process. acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 18 • procurement process: invitation to tender, submission of tender, tender evaluation and report. 4.6 accruable benefits of ires technology to construction table 3 shows that the interviewed respondents deemed that the following benefits could be accrued to construction industry if ires technology is utilised in the construction industry for forecasting processes of logistics management. these include provision of accurate information of material on the construction site; reliable and consistent information; minimised inventory levels in the construction industry; increased service quality in the construction industry; increased productivity in the construction industry; increased efficiency of a supply-chain system on site; improved scheduling, and material planning. these results support the findings of errasti et al. (2010: 135) and samuel and ondiek (2014: 10) who conclude that ires technology provides reliable information and increasing service quality. richey et al. (2010: 84) also focus on increased productivity. figure 2 shows that the total use of the tasks using ires technology is 100 and 240 in the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, occupying proportions of 29% and 71% in the two industries, respectively. this meant that ires technology is not found in the construction industry for forecasting. figure 2: inventory replenishment expert system (ires) technology 4.7 data mining (dm) technology a total of 40% of the manufacturing industry adopted dm technology for forecasting purposes, of which 40% of the manufacturing industry used dm technology for demand forecasting and sales forecasting. these results support the findings of krause-traudes et al. (2008: 3) and xie (2009: 19) isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 19 m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 40 80 0 ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% s ub ta sk s % l ev el o f u sa ge m ai n ta sk s ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n b en efi ts a cc ru ed s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 d e m a nd fo re c a st 40 11 .8 20 5. 9 m a te ria l d e m a nd o n sit e d e m a nd c o nt ro l a c c ur a te in fo rm a tio n o f m a te ria l, re lia b le , c o ns ist e nt in fo rm a tio n a nd im p ro ve d s c he d ul in g , a nd m a te ria l p la nn in g la b o ur d e m a nd o n sit e eq ui p m e nt d e m a nd o n sit e pl a nt d e m a nd o n sit e 2 sa le s fo re c a st 80 23 .5 3 m a te ria l f o re c a st 40 11 .8 80 23 .5 m a te ria l o n sit e st o c k c o nt ro l a c c ur a te in fo rm a tio n o f m a te ria l, m in im ise d in ve nt o ry le ve l, in c re a se d p ro d uc tiv ity a nd e ffi c ie nc y o f a s up p ly c ha in o rd e r m a na g e -m e nt m a te ria l t o b e u se d 4 pr o d uc tio n fo re c a st 60 13 .3 la b o ur o ut p ut pr o d uc tio n o ut p ut c o nt ro l in c re a se d s e rv ic e q ua lit y pl a nt o ut p ut 5 pr o d uc t fo re c a st 20 5. 9 60 17 .6 pr o g ra m m e o f w o rk pr o d uc t o ut p ut in c re a se p ro d uc tiv ity , re lia b le c o ns ist e nt in fo rm a tio n a nd e ffi c ie nc y o f a s up p ly c ha in . 6 c o m p e tit o rs fo re c a st bi d d in g pr o c ur e m e nt 7 a d ve rt ise m e nt fo re c a st in vi ta tio n fo r te nd e r pr o c ur e m e nt p ro c e ss in c re a ss d s e rv ic e q ua lit y o f w o rk su b m iss io n o f t e nd e r te nd e r e va lu a tio n a nd re p o rt to ta l 10 0 29 .5 24 0 70 .5 ta bl e 3: in ve nt or y re pl en is hm en t e xp er t s ys te m (i r e s ) t ec hn ol og y acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 20 on the use of demand forecasting for dm technology, as stated in section 2 of this study. furthermore, 20% of the manufacturing industry used dm technology for production and competitors forecast. these results are in line with the finding of chiang et al. (2011: 220) on the information of production and product for improving industries’ efficiency. the respondents in the construction projects studied revealed that, although they did not fully utilise dm technology, the latter could be utilised to improve the following area of construction logistics tasks: • demand control: material demand on site, labour demand on site, equipment demand on site and plant demand on site. • stock control: material on site, order management and material to be used • production output control: labour output and plant output • procurement: bidding process • procurement process: invitation to tender, submission of tender, tender evaluation and report. 4.8 accruable benefits of dm technology to construction table 4 shows that dm technology is not used in the construction and retailing industries for forecasting. therefore, the interviewed respondents deemed that the following benefits could be accrued to the construction industry if dm technology is utilised in the construction industry for forecasting processes of logistics management: increased worker satisfaction in the construction industry; enhanced good construction design; provision of more effective goods transportation and distribution; reduced cost of construction; help organisations make proactive knowledge-driven decisions on construction; prepare databases to find hidden patterns in construction; find predictive information about the construction; increased labour productivity on site; reduction in the processing time of material on the construction site; improved use of the plant in the construction industry, and improved construction team experience. coincidentally, all these results support the findings of paidi (2012: 4660) and ramageri and desai (2013: 47) that the technology enhances good construction. moreover, these results are in line with the findings of luis et al. (2012: 5529) and greitemann et al. (2016: 32) that technology provides a better experience for the workers and reduces processing time. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 21 m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 40 0 0 ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n b en efi ts a cc ru ed s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 d e m a nd fo re c a st 40 33 .3 m a te ria l d e m a nd o n sit e d e m a nd c o nt ro l re d uc e d c o st o f c o ns tr uc tio n a nd im p ro ve d u se o f t he p la nt la b o ur d e m a nd o n sit e eq ui p m e nt d e m a nd o n sit e pl a nt d e m a nd o n sit e 2 sa le s fo re c a st 40 33 .3 3 m a te ria l f o re c a st m a te ria l o n sit e st o c k c o nt ro l en ha nc e d g o o d d e sig n a nd m a ke p ro a c tiv e k no w le d g e d riv e n d e c isi o ns , p re p a re d a ta b a se s a nd re d uc tio n in t he p ro c e ss in g t im e o f t he m a te ria l o rd e r m a na g e m e nt m a te ria l t o b e u se d 4 pr o d uc tio n fo re c a st 20 16 .7 la b o ur o ut p ut pr o d uc tio n o ut p ut c o nt ro l in c re a se d la b o ur p ro d uc tiv ity pl a nt o ut p ut 5 pr o d uc t fo re c a st 6 c o m p e tit o rs fo re c a st 20 16 .7 bi d d in g pr o c ur e -m e nt im p ro ve d c us to m e r r e te nt io n, m a ki ng p ro a c tiv e k no w le d g e d riv e n d e c isi o ns , p re d ic tiv e in fo rm a tio n a nd b e tt e r c o ns tr uc tio n te a m e xp e rie nc e 7 a d ve rt ise m e nt fo re c a st in vi ta tio n fo r t e nd e r pr o c ur e -m e nt p ro c e ss su b m iss io n o f t e nd e r te nd e r e va lu a tio n a nd re p o rt to ta l 12 0 10 0 ta bl e 4: d at a m in in g (d m ) t ec hn ol og y acta structilia 2020: 27(1) 22 5. conclusion the technological aspect of construction logistics, especially the forecasting, is overlooked and hardly understood in the nigerian construction industry. this article assessed how erp, mrp, ires, and dm technologies could be utilised in the manufacturing and retailing industries to improve the forecasting processes of construction logistics. findings showed that all of the observed manufacturing industries (100%) adopted erp technology for forecasting purposes (for material, demand, product, and production forecasts). surprisingly, erp technology was not used for forecasting in the retailing and construction sectors. in addition, 80% and 40% of the observed companies in the manufacturing and retailing sectors, respectively, adopted mrp technology for forecasting purposes. only 20% (one project) of the observed construction projects adopted mrp technology for forecasting in the following: 5% for demand forecast (demand control); 6.7% for material forecast (stock control), and 20% for product forecast (product output). moreover, 40% and 80% of the observed manufacturing and retailing sectors, respectively, adopted ires technology for forecasting purposes; 40% of the observed companies in the manufacturing industry adopted dm technology for forecasting purposes. based on these findings, it can be concluded that erp, ires and dm technologies were not used for forecasting purposes in the retailing and construction sectors, whereas the mrp technology is not fully used in the construction projects when compared to the manufacturing and retailing industries. due to the ultimate benefit that could accrue to the construction industry for the utilisation of the forecasting technology for forecasting purposes (namely achievement of full forecasting-efficiency gains in construction), erp, mrp, ires, and dm technologies could be utilised in the construction industry to improve the following tasks in the construction industry: demand control: material, labour, as well as equipment and plant demand on site; stock control: material on site, order management, and material to be used; production output control: labour output and plant output, and procurement process: bidding process, invitation to tender, submission of tender, tender evaluation and report. to this end, the nigerian construction industry should leverage on this, in order to create the best ways of handling erp, mrp ires, and dm technologies to improve the forecasting logistics systems of the construction process. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of forecasting technology 23 references acikalin, u., kuruoglu, m., isikdag, m. & underwood, j. 2009. evaluating the integrative function of erp systems used within the construction industry. in: zarli, a. & scherer, r. 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(ed.). poms 20th annual conference, 1-4 may, orlando, florida, usa, pp. 11-26. ying, f., tookey, j. & roberti, j. 2014. addressing effective construction logistics through the lens of vehicle movements. engineering, construction and architectural management, 21(3), pp. 261-275. https://doi.org/10.1108/ ecam-06-2013-0058. zhu, y., li,y., wang,w. & chen, j. 2010. what leads to post-implementation success of erp? an empirical study of the chinese retail industry. international journal of information management, 30(3), pp. 265-276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2009.09.007. https://doi.org/10.1016 https://doi.org/10.1061 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.546 https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2010.487536 https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2010.487536 https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2009.09.007 _hlk504544795 _hlk536095580 _hlk536171491 _hlk34378913 _hlk481524154 _hlk523294958 _hlk34379025 _hlk503421919 _hlk523466535 _hlk523296995 _hlk498836522 _hlk521422163 _hlk521311009 _hlk521427146 _hlk520823813 _hlk520823701 _hlk521362008 _hlk522024960 _hlk527617766 _hlk520957498 _hlk522858251 _hlk520957285 _hlk520957957 _hlk519094839 _hlk519093019 _hlk521333189 _hlk520989629 _hlk521478613 _hlk523323375 _hlk523324141 _hlk521314454 _hlk520988297 _hlk520989068 _hlk521046234 _hlk519418923 _hlk521223694 _hlk519093237 112 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as sambo zulu dr sambo lyson zulu, school of built environment, engineering and computing, leeds beckett university, leeds, uk. phone: +44 01138127644, email: <s.zulu@ leedsbeckett.ac.uk>, orcid: https:// orcid.org/0000-0002-2724-1192. ephraim zulu dr ephraim zulu, school of built environment, construction economics and management, copperbelt university, kitwe, zambia. email: <ephraimzulu2000@ yahoo.co.uk>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5999-7808. mwansa chabala dr mwansa chabala, school of business, department of operations and supply chain management, copperbelt university, kitwe, zambia. email: <chabalam1@ cbu.ac.zm>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-5036-7631. issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2022 peer reviewed and revised: april 2022 published: june 2022 keywords: sustainable construction, sustainable buildings, sustainability practices, zambian construction industry how to cite: zulu, s., zulu, e. & chabala, m. 2022. sustainability awareness and practices in the zambian construction industry. acta structilia, 29(1), pp. 112-140. sustainability awareness and practices in the zambian construction industry research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.5 abstract the construction industry makes a significant contribution to the global green-house gas emission. it is, therefore, critical that construction industry professionals should be aware of and practise sustainable construction. however, there is a paucity of studies on the awareness of sustainability and their practices in developing countries, with some results seemingly contradicting. this article explored the awareness and practices of sustainability in the zambian construction industry. data was collected from construction industry professionals through a questionnaire survey and a total of 112 responses were received. the relative importance index (rii) and a series of linear regression analyses were used to analyse the data. the participants’ perception of sustainability was primarily enviro-centric as opposed to the economic or social context. however, social and economic sustainability practices ranked highest, while environmental sustainability practices ranked in the bottom five of the 16 practices. while the participants perceived the environmental context as more critical in their understanding of sustainability, their practice reflected a focus on the social and economic sustainability context. the findings imply that merely increasing the level of knowledge and awareness of environmental 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(1): 112-140 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:s.zulu@leedsbeckett.ac.uk mailto:s.zulu@leedsbeckett.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 mailto:ephraimzulu2000@yahoo.co.uk mailto:ephraimzulu2000@yahoo.co.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 mailto:chabalam1@cbu.ac.zm mailto:chabalam1@cbu.ac.zm https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.5 zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 113 sustainability may not lead to gross improvements in environmental sustainability practices. therefore, studies that recommended increasing knowledge and awareness, in order to increase the implementation of environmentally sustainable construction, may have neglected the effect of the other barriers to sustainable construction which may be more critical. studies with multivariate analyses such as structural equation modelling are needed to establish the contributory effect of the various barriers to environmental sustainability practices and so establish the extent to which knowledge and awareness alone, and other factors, can improve environmental sustainability practices. abstrak die konstruksiebedryf lewer ’n beduidende bydrae tot wêreldwye kweekhuisgasvrystelling. dit is dus van kritieke belang dat professionele mense in die konstruksiebedryf bewus moet wees van en volhoubare konstruksie moet beoefen. daar is egter min studies oor die bewustheid van volhoubaarheid en volhoubaarheidpraktyke in ontwikkelende lande met sommige resultate wat oënskynlik teenstrydig is. daarom het hierdie artikel die bewustheid en praktyke van volhoubaarheid in die zambiese konstruksiebedryf ondersoek. data is van professionele persone in die konstruksiebedryf ingesamel deur middel van ’n vraelysopname en ’n totaal van 112 antwoorde is ontvang. die relatiewe belangrikheidsindeks (rii) en ’n reeks lineêre regressie-ontledings is gebruik om die data te ontleed. die deelnemers se persepsie van volhoubaarheid was primêr enviro-sentries in teenstelling met die ekonomiese of sosiale konteks. sosiale en ekonomiese volhoubaarheidspraktyke is egter die hoogste gelys terwyl omgewingsvolhoubaarheidspraktyke onder die laagste vyf van die 16 praktyke gelys was. dus, terwyl die deelnemers die omgewingskonteks as meer krities in hul begrip van volhoubaarheid beskou het, weerspieël hulle in praktyk ’n fokus op die sosiale en ekonomiese volhoubaarheidskonteks. die bevindinge impliseer dat deur bloot die vlak van kennis en bewustheid van omgewingsvolhoubaarheid te verhoog, dit nie noodwendig lei tot verbeterings in omgewingsvolhoubaarheidspraktyke nie. studies wat die verhoging van kennis en bewustheid aanbeveel het om die implementering van omgewingsvolhoubare konstruksie te verhoog, het moontlik die effek van die ander hindernisse tot volhoubare konstruksie, wat meer krities kan wees, verwaarloos. daarom is studies met meerveranderlike ontledings soos strukturele vergelykingsmodellering nodig om die bydraende effek van die verskillende hindernisse tot omgewingsvolhoubaarheidspraktyke vas te stel en so vas te stel tot watter mate kennis en bewustheid alleen, en ander faktore, omgewingsvolhoubaarheidspraktyke kan verbeter. sleutelwoorde: volhoubare konstruksie, volhoubare geboue, volhoubaarheidspraktyke, zambiese konstruksiebedryf 1. introduction the construction industry is a key player in delivering sustainable development, as its products and processes have a significant impact on the environment. it contributes roughly 33% of greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions, 30% of global raw material use, 25% of water use, 25% of solid waste generation, and 12% of land use (phillips et al., 2020: 181). from a stakeholder perspective, li et al. (2018: 160) suggest that sustainable construction projects impact on different stakeholders with different social, environmental, and economic interests. however, its products such as infrastructure are critical to achieving sustainable development goals (thacker et al., 2018). zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 114 in zambia, the construction industry has noted a significant increase in its output over the past thirty years, with a contribution to the country’s gdp of 3.6% in 1995 to 10.9% in 2000 and a marginal decline to 10.3% contribution in 2017 (cheelo & liebenthal, 2018: 6). while the growth in the industry is to be celebrated, its impact on environmental degradation is an essential factor that the government and industry stakeholders should address. it is essential that, as the zambian construction industry continues to develop, it must deliver technically sound projects and still respond to the social, economic, environmental and governance challenges. while there is a push for sustainability in the construction industry, its uptake is affected by factors such as the perceived high cost of sustainable construction (hwang & tan, 2012: 343) and lack of awareness (shafii, ali & othman, 2006: 41; dosumu & aigbavboa, 2018: 86), education and training (zulu & muleya, 2017: 495; jacobs, 2015:110), and inadequate client demand (yin et al., 2018: 617). however, other studies on sustainability in the construction industry in zambia have reported that the level of knowledge and awareness are reasonably fine (oke et al., 2019: 3249). studies on sustainability in the zambian construction industry appear to be contradictory in the sense that some present knowledge and awareness as barriers needing remediation (zulu & muleya, 2017) while others present them as being reasonably sufficient (oke et al., 2019: 3429). the paucity of studies in zambia on the matter leaves an evidence gap on the level of sustainability awareness and practices among stakeholders in the construction industry. an understanding of the level of awareness and practices of sustainability could lead to a better understanding of why some studies found a mismatch between sustainability awareness and practices in the construction industry in developing countries (kibwami & tutesigensi, 2016; 76-79). because the concepts of sustainability are the same across all climes, findings from this study have implications for developing countries with a contextual background similar to zambia, notwithstanding that the current study is country specific. besides, while the worldwide construction industry is developing sustainability solutions, developing countries such as zambia should also strive to deliver sustainable construction projects. this article thus aims to explore the stakeholders’ awareness and practice of sustainability in the zambian construction industry. in addition, it explores the extent to which the conceptualisation of sustainability is reflected in the sustainability practices among the various stakeholders in the construction industry. previous studies in other countries evaluated the level of awareness and sustainability practices in the construction industry in different countryspecific contexts, including, for example, malaysia (abidin, 2010), kuwait (alsanad, 2015), chile (serpell, kort & vera, 2013), cambodia (durdyev, zavadskas et al., 2018), australia (khalfan et al., 2015), khazakstan zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 115 (tokbolat et al., 2020), ghana (ghansah, 2021; owusu-mensah, 2021), and singapore (shan et al., 2020). it should be noted that the evaluation and significance of the studies are interpreted within the country-specific context, reflecting the idea that the approach to sustainability is not a “one-size-fits-all” (oecd, 2001: 2). in their studies on sustainability measures in the nigerian context, unuigbe, zulu and johnston (2020) identified factors that were particularly unique to their study, as they had not been identified in previous studies in other countries. this study, therefore, extends the understanding of sustainability within different country contexts. this study is timely and joins other countryspecific studies in understanding sustainable construction practices. this is important as it is expected that, as the level of awareness increases, there will be a greater emphasis on the inclusion of sustainability solutions in construction projects. the findings have both practical and theoretical implications on sustainability awareness and how it affects environmental sustainability practices. 2. literature review 2.1 sustainable construction sustainability has become an issue at the forefront of discussion in many sectors of society. the world commission on environment and development (wecd) report defines sustainable development as “integrating the economic, social and environmental objectives of society, in order to maximise human well-being in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (wced, 1987: 2). it is generally accepted that this definition is broad and encompasses three strands, namely environmental, social and economic sustainability (zwickle et al., 2014: 377-380; zeegers & clark, 2014: 247). this three-pillar context of sustainability of environmental, economic and social sustainability is often referred to as the triple bottom line (tbl) of sustainability (elkington, 1998: 18; slaper & hall, 2011: 4). organisations can use this criterion to measure their sustainability performance. in distinguishing between the three, slaper and hall (2011: 5) considered that environmental sustainability reflects natural resource measures and potential influences on its viability. in this instance, issues such as air and water quality, energy consumption, waste water, and land use are considered. sustainable and resilient projects refer to projects that integrate environmental, social and governance (esg) aspects into a project’s planning, building, and operating, while ensuring resilience in the face of climate change or shocks (hebb, 2019: 252-259). phillips et al. (2020: 1) suggest that green buildings (or sustainable construction) design should zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 116 aim to improve building performance and conditions across a suite of environmental, economic, and social sustainability measures. economic sustainability focuses on money flow and reflects issues such as income and expenditure, business climate factors, employment, and revenue. social sustainability reflects community or regional dimensions and addresses issues such as education, equality, access to social services, health and safety, labour relations, and poverty. abidin and pasquire (2007: 277) distinguished between the three from a value management perspective: • economic sustainability – increasing profitability through efficient use of resources (human, material, financial), effective design and good management, planning and control. • environmental sustainability – preventing harmful and irreversible effects on the environment by efficiently using natural resources, encouraging renewable resources, protecting the soil, water, and air from contaminations, etc. • social sustainability – responding to society’s needs, including users, neighbours, community, workers, and other project stakeholders. mcmahon and bhamra (2015: 368) suggest that, in the past, the emphasis on sustainability research tended to be on environmental and economic sustainability and less on social sustainability as the former, environmental and economic sustainabilities, are tangible and can be quantified. this may be due to the difficulty in getting tangible outcomes or the unquantifiable nature of social sustainability measures (mcmahon & bhamra, 2015: 368), making it complex to measure social sustainability. goh et al. (2020: 7) suggest that the social dimension is often regarded as the most challenging pillar of sustainable construction, since the construction project has multiple stakeholders with different objectives and priorities. it is, therefore, essential that an organisation’s sustainability strategy considers the tbl, which simultaneously reflects the balance between its environmental, economic, and social performance (elkington, 2006: 523-524). in the context of the construction industry, the concept of sustainable construction has generated interest. some view sustainable construction as a subset of sustainable development (kibert, 2012: 6-7) that should be regarded as a contribution of construction to sustainable development (abidin, 2010: 422). the terms ‘green construction’ or ‘sustainable construction’ have been used interchangeably to refer to sustainability in the construction industry (li et al., 2018: 161-163; albino & berardi, 2012: 388). a review of literature suggests a number of studies that have examined perceptions and awareness of the tbl of sustainability among construction industry stakeholders. for instance, govindan, khodaverdi zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 117 and jafarian (2013), hutchins and sutherland (2008), among others, considered the tbl in their studies. the tbl has demonstrated to provide a common basis to compare and understand sustainability practices in the construction industry. the construction industry has shown a myriad of practices that enhance its sustainability credentials. kibwami and tutesigensi (2016: 65-66) identified 23 sustainability practices which they grouped under the three sustainability pillars (environmental, economic, and social sustainability). similarly, araújo, bragança and almeida (2013: 511) grouped 19 sustainability indicators under the three pillars. considering the plethora of sustainability practices, following guiding principles can help construction stakeholders decide on specific sustainability practices. this is important, considering that project priorities differ between projects. kibert (2012: 8) presented seven principles of sustainable construction to provide guidelines for sustainability practices in the design and construction phase. these include reducing resource consumption; reusing resources; using recyclable resources; protecting nature; eliminating toxic materials; applying life-cycle costing, and focusing on quality. masia, kajimo-shakantu and opawole (2020: 603-606) grouped green building practices into five categories, namely energy efficiency, water efficiency, resource efficiency, occupant health and well-being, as well as sustainable site development. zhang, platten and shen (2011: 2155) also classified sustainability practices under six categories, namely energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials efficiency, indoor environmental, quality enhancement, operations, and maintenance optimisation. 2.2 sustainable principles ainger and fenner (2014, cited in green, yates & hope, 2015: 13) identified five sustainability principles that they suggested to derive practical, realistic sustainability practices to apply to infrastructure planning and delivery. these include environmental sustainability, socio-economic sustainability, intergenerational stewardship, and complex systems. their classification can also be aligned with the tbl system. indeed, example practices under each of the four principles include factors that have been classified under the tbl pillars in other literature. ainger and fenner (2014, cited in green et al., 2015: 13) perceive environmental sustainability as reflecting issues such as the need to minimise the operational energy consumption of buildings, the carbon footprint of buildings, solutions that have the lowest practical life-cycle impact, reduction of waste through careful design and construction, careful land use, use of water and other resources, and the impact of development on ecosystems. they also include development that seeks to benefit zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 118 society, enhance community health and well-being, minimise the risk of flooding, enhance skills and employment through design, and construct and use contractors/sub-contractors/suppliers who demonstrate sustainable practices (ainger & fenner, 2014, cited in green et al., 2015: 13). these issues are addressed in other literature and include minimising solid waste materials, dust emissions, materials waste, water use, noise, and energy use (serpell et al., 2013: 279). literature addresses practices that reflect the environmental context, including energy efficiency (kylili & fokaides, 2017: 2010-2011), efficient resource use (oyebanji, liyanage & akintoye, 2017: 220), construction waste (akinade et al., 2017: 6-9), land use (doan et al., 2017: 245-246), use of sustainable materials (camara et al., 2017; 256), consumption of materials, and reduction in carbon emissions/pollution (tsai et al., 2011: 3023). on the other hand, socio-economic sustainability practices should seek to meet basic human needs for shelter, comfort, health, and social interaction (ainger & fenner, 2014, cited in green et al., 2015: 13). the social sustainability principles reflect practices that reveal the social and economic sustainability pillars of the tbl. kibwami and tutesigensi (2016: 71-74) identified issues such as health and safety at the workplace, developing capacity and skills, as well as corporate social responsibility (csr) as social sustainability measures. factors or practices such as the impact on health and community (chen, okudan & riley, 2010: 236-244; jagarajan et al., 2017: 1362-1364; oyebanji et al., 2017: 222), health and safety, access to services, equality and diversity (goh, 2017: 2, 5), quality of life (oyebanji et al., 2017: 222), and stakeholder participation (oyebanji et al., 2017: 222) are recognised as social sustainability factors. practices that reflect the economic sustainability context include life-cycle costs (araújo et al., 2013: 507-511; da rocha & sattler, 2009: 104-105; tripathy, sadhu & panda, 2016: 455), affordability (chen et al., 2010: 238-239; tsai et al., 2011: 3028), and consideration of initial construction costs (chen et al., 2010: 239; tsai et al., 2011: 3024-3028; tripathy et al., 2016: 452-453). others include employment creation such as intensive labour construction, environmentally responsible suppliers/contractors who demonstrate environmental performance, and use of local resources in construction (kibwami & tutesigensi, 2016: 71, 74), as well as financial gains for project stakeholders (abidin, 2010: 422) are addressed in literature as economic sustainability. practices under ainger and fenner’s (2014, cited in green et al., 2015: 13) intergenerational stewardship would include those that seek to use whole-life principles in the design, construction, and management of built assets; design for adaptability in function, technology and climate, as well as application of whole-life costs is a vital part of the decision-making zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 119 process. compared to other studies, these issues can be aligned to at least one of the pillars of sustainability. for example, whole-life costing is an economic sustainability practice (kibwami & tutesigensi, 2016: 69-73), while the design for adaptability can be conceived as encompassing the environmental, social and economic sustainability contexts. studies on the adaptation and re-use of buildings argue that such practices have a social sustainability value (dehbashisharif, 2017: 350-353). misirlihsoy and gunce (20162: 92) suggested that “successful adaptive reuse of heritage buildings should be economically, socially and physically sustainable”. on the other hand, whole-life principles can be considered an environmental sustainability issue as they considers energy efficiency in the building’s whole life (ibn-mohammed et al., 2013: 235-237). practices under complex systems would include considering sustainability holistically to avoid unforeseen consequences and limitations; considering building as a part of a broader system in terms of infrastructure and community, and identifying the appropriate design life to minimise life-cycle impacts and costs (ainger & fenner, 2014, cited in green et al., 2015: 13). however, it is evident that considering the complex systems perspective can also relate to the tbl context. table 1 shows the possible alignment of ainger and fenners (2014, cited in green et al., 2015: 13) principles with specific practices identified in other literature. the subthemes’ groupings have been arranged under three categories to reflect the three sustainability pillars (environmental, social and economic sustainability). table 1: summary of broad sustainability practices category practice example practice example reference social meeting basic human needs for shelter, comfort, health, and social interaction showing concern for people by ensuring that they live in a healthy, safe, and productive built environment and in harmony with nature ashley et al. (2003) social development that seeks to benefit society corporate social responsibility (csr) kibwami and tutesigensi (2016) social enhancing community health and well-being health and safety at the workplace kibwami and tutesigensi (2016) social designing for adaptability in function, technology, and climate. health and safety at the workplace kibwami and tutesigensi (2016) economic enhancing skills and employment through design and construction employment creation such as using labourintensive construction. kibwami and tutesigensi (2016) zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 120 category practice example practice example reference economic using whole-life costing as a critical criterion in the decision-making process life-cycle costs araújo et al. (2013) economic use of contractors/subcontractors/suppliers who demonstrate sustainable practices enable choosing suppliers or contractors that demonstrate environmental performance pearce et al. (2010) environmental reducing waste through careful design and construction reduce the use of resources such as energy, water, and materials during construction kibwami and tutesigensi (2016) environmental careful land use, including protecting green spaces and re-use of land sustainable site sarkis, presle and meade (2010) environmental minimising the risk of flooding sustainable site sarkis, presley and meade (2010) environmental minimising operational energy consumption of buildings reduction in ordinary portland cement for all concrete used in the construction of the building masia et al. (2020) environmental minimising the impact of development on ecosystems minimise pollutants that cause environmental degradation kibwami and tutesigensi (2016) environmental use of whole-life principles in the design, construction, and management of built assets. life-cycle assessment oke et al. (2019) environmental choosing solutions that have the lowest practical life-cycle impact responsible sourcing materials araújo et al. (2013) environmental reducing the use of water and other resources water consumption araújo et al. (2013) environmental minimising the carbon footprint of buildings use of environmentfriendly materials for hvac systems zhang et al. (2011) 2.3 sustainability in the zambian construction industry like in the vast majority of developing countries, practitioners in the zambian construction industry (zci) are fairly knowledgeable about environmental sustainability (oke et al., 2019: 3249). oke et al. (2019: 3249) classified the level of awareness of sustainable construction practices as average. however, notwithstanding the fairly high level of knowledge about sustainable construction in the zci, zulu et al. (2022) found that environmental sustainability is not an important consideration during the design stage of building infrastructure projects. it was found that zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 121 the primary focus of the design teams was to achieve design functionality that is aesthetically pleasing and meets the technical requirements of the needs of the clients. environmental design considerations were only made in an ad hoc manner when they were cost effective. this resonates with findings by phiri and matipa (2004: 1364) that professionals in zambia have an indifferent attitude towards sustainable construction, with hardly anything being done to apply sustainable construction principles. while it appears that the professionals in zambia have some fairly reasonable knowledge about sustainability in the construction industry, a number of challenges hamper the implementation of sustainable practices. for example, zulu et al. (2022) found that the implementation of sustainable construction in zambia was hindered by several barriers that clustered into three groups, namely awareness and knowledge-related factors, regulatory and industry-related factors, and economy and costrelated factors. aghimien et al. (2018: 2387-2389) found that some of the challenges affecting the implementation of sustainability practices are fear of higher investment cost, no local green certification, lack of government policies or support, and lack of financial incentives. while studies have found that the level of knowledge and awareness about sustainability in zambia is fairly reasonable (oke et al., 2019: 3250; phiri & matipa, 2004: 1361), others have highlighted knowledge and awareness as barriers to the implementation of sustainability principles (zulu et al., 2022: 7-9). knowledge and awareness as a barrier to the implementation of sustainability principles in the construction industry have been reported in a number of studies (durdyev et al., 2018: 7-8; tokbolat et al., 2020: 4373-4374). therefore, it is unclear what the level of knowledge and awareness of sustainability and its practices are in zambia among the different stakeholders in the construction industry. 3. methodology 3.1 research design the study used a quantitative research design in an online questionnaire survey to assess sustainable construction awareness and interpretation in the zambian construction industry. as stated by cooper and schindler (1998: 21), a questionnaire survey assists with the standardisation of data-gathering, decreases non-response errors, and increases response rates. quantitative design allows for the use of descriptive indexes to analyse data. the relative importance index was used as this approach enabled the comparison of rankings of items/factors across different demographic groups. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15623599.2022.2045425 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15623599.2022.2045425 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15623599.2022.2045425 zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 122 3.2 population, sample, and response rate the study targeted stakeholders in the zambian construction industry, including contractors, consultants (architects, quantity surveyors, as well as construction and project managers), and clients. the study participants were contacted via e-mail and the whatsapp social media platform. a list of 350 e-mail addresses for contractors registered with the zambian national council for construction (ncc) were obtained from their database and contacted. two reminder emails were sent to the contractors urging those who had not completed the questionnaire to do so. consultants were contacted through the professional whatsapp© groups for both the zambia institute of architects and the surveyors institute of zambia (siz). quantity surveyors, as well as construction and project managers subscribe to the same professional body (the siz). both whatsapp© groups had the maximum allowable number of members to the group of 256, meaning that there was a total of 256 potential respondents from each of the two groups. this also means that professionals who were not members of the whatsapp© groups were omitted from the population of interest. this is one limitation of the use of social media platforms, in that only active users of the platforms make up the sample. therefore, a total of 905 potential respondents were contacted. a total of 112 completed questionnaires were received, representing a response rate of 12.4%. a sample size of this magnitude is not uncommon in construction management research, including samples of less than 100 participants (muleya, zulu & nanchengwa, 2020). difficulties in accessing the target population is one of the factors that contribute to small sample sizes (muleya, zulu & nanchengwa, 2020). table 2 shows details of the target population, sample, and response rate. table 2: population, sample, and response respondents potential respondents responses returned response rate (%) architects 256 45 17.6 quantity surveyors and construction managers 256 25 9.8 contractors 350 33 9.4 clients 43 11 25.5 total 905 112 12.4 3.3 data collection the data was collected between 26 november and 24 december 2020 from the self-administering structured questionnaire that was distributed to a total sample of 905 consultants, contractors, and clients involved in building construction projects in zambia. the questionnaire was created zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 123 in google forms© and sent to the study participants by email and the whatsapp© social media platform. using an online self-administering questionnaire was the most feasible approach, given the restrictions on movement and contact due to the covid-19 pandemic. using social media to collect data in social science research has become common because of the low cost, ease of use, and convenience associated with them and has proved to be effective (zulu, zulu & chabala, 2021; dodds & hess, 2020; torrentira, 2020). the study explored the participants’ conceptualisation of sustainability. sustainability is considered a three-pronged concept, including environmental, social, and economic sustainability. the questionnaire was divided into three sections. the first section, on the respondents’ profile, obtained general demographics about the respondents, including education level, sector (private or public), type and size of organisation for which the respondents work, and the professional experience of each respondent. section two had seven likert-scale statements on ‘sustainability awareness’ (see table 5), and section three on ‘sustainability practices’ with 16 likert-scale statements (see table 6), where participants were asked to indicate their agreement level with the statements that reflected the three sustainability contexts. closed-ended questions were prefeered to reduce the respondent’s bias and facilitate coding of the questionnaire (akintoye & main, 2007: 601). 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of the findings descriptive analysis was used to summarise the respondents’ profiles, where the frequency and percentage were calculated and reported. the relative importance index (rii) approach was used to determine the ranking of the awareness and practices of sustainability in the zambian construction industry and how the conceptualisation of sustainability was reflected in the sustainability practices. the rii is used to weigh attributes and as a basis for determining their relative ranking (shah et al., 2021: 5). the rii is one of the extensively used data-analysing tools to identify and rank a set of attributes based on their weighted average values and has high reliability in predicting the most important variables from a list of variables (singh & kumar, 2021: 7; amarkhil, elwakil & hubbard, 2021: 1505). the formula below represents the approach taken in calculating the rii (akadiri & olomolaiye, 2012: 669; muleya et al., 2020: 9) 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 = ∑ 𝑊𝑊 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 where w = score; a = highest possible score, and n = number of participants zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 124 the values generated would range from 0 to 1, with a higher value representing a higher ranking and a lower score representing a lower ranking. the generated values are interpreted as low (l) (0 ≤ ri ≤ 0.2), medium-low (m-l) (0.2 ≤ rii ≤ 0.4), medium (m) (0.4 ≤ rii ≤ 0.6), highmedium (h–m) (0.6 ≤ rii ≤ 0.8), and high (h) (0.8 ≤ rii ≤ 1) (akadiri, 2012: 670). 3.5 limitations of the study the study had a sample size limitation that was influenced by many factors, including the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, which meant that some potential participants could not be reached. while there have been studies with smaller sample sizes, future studies could benefit from a triangulation methodological approach that would aid a broader understanding of sustainable construction practices in the zambian construction industry. 4. findings and discussion 4.1 respondents’ characteristics table 3 summarises the respondents’ profiles. most (93%) of the respondents had at least an undergraduate degree, while 30% had a postgraduate qualification. the respondents were from both the private (69%) and public (31%) sectors. most (48%) of the respondents worked in consulting organisations, followed by contractor organisations (22%). the respondents also had varying levels of experience. roughly 50% had been working in their current position for at least six years, while 76% had worked in the construction industry for at least six years. the sample data shows that the participants had the necessary knowledge and experience (bernard, 2002: 186), a requirement for participation in this study. table 3: respondents’ demographics demographic category frequency (n=112) % education up to undergraduate qualification 78 70 secondary education 2 2 college diploma 6 5 university degree 70 63 postgraduate qualification 34 30 master’s degree 33 29 ph.d. 1 1 sector private 77 68.8 public 35 31.3 zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 125 demographic category frequency (n=112) % organisation consulting organisations 54 48.2 contractor 25 22.3 client organisation 11 9.8 other 22 19.6 experience (years) in current job less than 1 year 7 6.3 1-2 years 18 16.1 3-5 years 30 26.8 6-10 years 38 33.9 more than 10 years 19 17.0 experience (years) in aec industry less than 1 year 1 0.9 1-2 years 8 7.1 3-5 years 18 16.1 6-10 years 47 42.0 more than 10 years 38 33.9 organisation size (employees) less than 5 20 17.9 between 6 and 50 37 33.0 between 51 and 100 23 20.5 above 100 32 28.6 4.2 instrument reliability the measurement instrument was assessed for reliability using interitem correlations and cronbach’s alpha. table 4 shows the statistics the cronbach’s alpha for all the constructs ranged between 0.705 and 0.932, and all the constructs exceeded the threshold of 0.70 recommended by hair et al. (1998: 124). the item-correlations exceeded the threshold of 0.3, as recommended by carmines and zeller (1974: 79). therefore, based on the cronbach’s alpha and the item-correlations, the study constructs exhibit good reliability. table 4: instruments reliability research constructs mean std. dev. cronbach’s alpha item-correlations environmental awareness 1 aware1 3.80 1.184 0.874 0.438 2 aware2 4.33 1.102 0.660 3 aware3 4.29 0.972 0.618 4 aware4 3.91 0.935 0.704 5 aware5 3.96 0.939 0.733 6 aware6 3.99 1.127 0.711 7 aware7 4.30 0.919 0.789 zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 126 research constructs mean std. dev. cronbach’s alpha item-correlations environmental practices 1 envp1 3.44 1.229 0.932 0.783 2 envp2 3.29 1.196 0.778 3 envp3 3.36 1.169 0.716 4 envp4 3.70 1.153 0.743 5 envp5 3.68 1.224 0.726 6 envp6 3.35 1.198 0.655 7 envp7 3.44 1.161 0.765 8 envp8 3.54 1.130 0.647 9 envp9 3.22 1.206 0.693 10 envp10 3.42 1.235 0.802 social practice 1 socp1 4.03 0.895 0.871 0.701 2 socp2 3.96 0.986 0.797 3 socp3 3.91 1.018 0.832 4 socp4 3.62 1.164 0.607 economic practices 1 ecop1 3.74 1.097 0.705 0.547 2 ecop2 3.50 1.208 0.547 the data was assessed for homogeneity, using the kruskal-wallis analysis of ranks because it came from several distinct demographic groupings within the construction industry. education, private or public sector, and type of organisation (consulting, contractor, and client) were specifically assessed. these characteristics were assessed because literature has shown that there may be differences in perceptions based on these. the results in table 5 show that there are no statistically significant differences among the responses based on education and type of organisation (p>0.05). a statistically significant difference was found on the level of awareness of sustainability by sector (p=0.018), indicating that there is a difference in the level of awareness between the public sector and the private sector in the zambian construction industry. the environmental, social and economic sustainability practices were all homogenous across both sectors. therefore, the data was aggregated and analysed at the aggregate level. because the level of sustainability awareness was statistically different at the sector level, the ranking of awareness by sector is also provided with a brief discussion. table 5: kruskal-wallis analysis of ranks awareness environmental social economic kruskal-wallis h 5.603 1.643 1.427 0.980 asymp. sig.a 0.018* 0.200 0.232 0.322 kruskal-wallis h 0.915 0.473 0.333 0.898 zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 127 awareness environmental social economic asymp. sig.b 0.633 0.790 0.847 0.638 kruskal-wallis h 3.314 6.838 7.845 7.987 asymp. sig.c 0.507 0.145 0.097 0.092 a. grouping variable: sector b. grouping variable: type of organisation c. grouping variable: education 4.3 awareness and conceptualisation of sustainability table 6 shows a complete set of the survey results illustrating the rii as well as the ranking order, where 1 shows the items contributing the most to sustainability. an initial inspection of the results shows that the rii ranged from high-medium (0.6 ≤ ri ≤ 0.8) to high (0.8 ≤ ri ≤ 1). the data indicate that the survey participants took an enviro-centric view as the top three environmental sustainability statements were ranked highest. the three environment-related statements ranked the top three in six out of seven categories. the social and economic sustainability statements shared the last four ranking positions. at an aggregate level, ‘generating profit without compromising future need’ [economic] and ‘social progress for everyone’ [social] were ranked seventh and sixth, respectively. while clients expect that the supply chains they engage will make a profit on the project, it is expected that this will not compromise future needs. it is not ‘profit at all costs’. this may be reflected in the construction industry’s current push for increased attention to social responsibility. an example of this is the zambian government’s initiative to ensure that large foreign contractors engage local subcontractors for 20% of the contract value (sikombe & phiri, 2021: 2). overall, the perception of sustainability takes an enviro-centric view. this is a similar finding to a study in uganda, where kibwami and tutesigensi (2016: 70) found that the concept of sustainable construction was interpreted mainly from an environmental sustainability context. while the data shows an enviro-centric view of sustainability, it provides evidence of the overall appreciation of the broader context of sustainability in the construction industry that the critical context should not only be on the environmental sustainability, but also on the social and economic sustainability. this reflects the tbl sustainability context espoused by slaper and hall (2011: 1-5). the fact that the rii for all the focus areas was above 0.7, representing a high-medium (0.6 ≤ ri ≤ 0.8) or high (0.8 ≤ ri ≤ 1) rating, demonstrated the perceived importance of the three sustainability contexts, although environmental sustainability seems to take a prominent position. zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 128 at the sector demographic level, there appears to be major differences in the perception of sustainability awareness related to the ‘quality of life and customer satisfaction’ and ‘generating profit without compromising future needs’. the private sector ranked ‘quality of life and customer satisfaction’ higher than ‘generating profit without compromising future needs’. this may be attributed to the fact that the private sector in the construction industry is more focused on generating profit by ensuring client satisfaction. therefore, they are very likely to favour generating profit with less regard for the longterm effect of their actions. the public sector, on the other hand, is unlikely to take a position favouring profit maximisation over the long-term effects because their work is never profit centred. table 6: sustainability awareness: focus areas sustainability focus area aggregate (overall) sector private public rii rank rii rank rii rank protection of the environment [environmental] 0.866 1 0.844 1 0.914 1 environmental planning, management and control [environmental] 0.861 2 0.839 3 0.909 2 prudent use of natural resources [environmental] 0.857 3 0.839 2 0.897 3 quality of life and customer satisfaction [social] 0.798 4 0.790 4 0.817 5 maintaining economic growth [economic] 0.793 5 0.782 5 0.817 6 social progress for everyone [social] 0.782 6 0.771 6 0.806 7 generating profit without compromising future need [economic] 0.761 7 0.727 7 0.834 4 table 7: sustainability practices item aggregate (overall) rii rank meeting basic human needs for shelter, comfort, health and social interaction [social] 0.805 1 development that seeks to benefit society [social] 0.793 2 enhancing community health and well-being [social] 0.782 3 enhancing skills and employment through design and construction [economic] 0.748 4 reducing waste through careful design and construction [environmental] 0.739 5 careful land use including protecting green spaces and re-use of land [environmental] 0.736 6 designing for adaptability in function, technology, and climate [social] 0.723 7 zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 129 item aggregate (overall) rii rank minimising the risk of flooding [environmental] 0.709 8 using whole-life costing as a key criterion in the decisionmaking process [economic] 0.700 9 minimising operational energy consumption of buildings [environmental] 0.688 10 minimising the impact of development on ecosystems [environmental] 0.688 11 use of whole-life principles in the design, construction, and management of built assets [environmental] 0.684 12 choosing solutions that have the lowest practical life-cycle impact [environmental] 0.671 13 reducing the use of water and other resources [environmental] 0.670 14 minimising the carbon footprint of a building [environmental] 0.657 15 use of contractors/sub-contractors/suppliers who demonstrate sustainable practices [environmental] 0.645 16 4.3 sustainability practices table 7 shows the relative importance index and ranking of a range of generic sustainability practices. these practices represent those identified in the literature and presented in table 1. owing to the plethora of actual sustainability practices, a decision was made to provide participants with a generic list representing specific practices. participants were asked to indicate the extent to which the sustainability practices were considered necessary on projects they had worked on in the last three years. the statements represented the three levels of sustainability, (environmental, economic, and social). results are presented in table 6. the sustainability practices that ranked among the top five included practices that met ‘basic human needs for shelter, comfort, health and social interaction’ [social]; focused on ‘development that seeks to benefit society’ [social], enhanced ‘community health and well-being’ [social]; focused on ‘enhancing skills and employment through design and construction’ [economic], and designed to reduce ‘waste through careful design and construction’ [economic]. all the top five practices reflected the social and economic sustainability context. the table shows that the bottom five practices relate to environmental sustainability. these included ‘use of whole-life principles in the design, construction, and management of built assets’ [environmental]; ‘choosing solutions that have the lowest practical life-cycle impact’ [environmental]; ‘reducing the use of water and other resources’ [environmental]; ‘minimising the carbon footprint of a building’ [environmental], and ‘engagement of contractors/sub-contractors/suppliers who demonstrate sustainable practices’ [environmental] ranked twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth, respectively. zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 130 section 4.3 focused on the participants’ conceptualisation of sustainability. however, in this section, the focus was on the broader sustainability practices they had considered on their projects. while it is expected that a predominant enviro-centric perspective of sustainable construction would encourage construction industry professionals to adopt sustainability measures that highly promote environmental sustainability (kibwami & tutesigensi, 2016: 69), this data showed that this may not always be the case. the data shows an interesting finding in that, while the participants perceived the environmental context as more critical in their understanding of sustainability, their practice reflected a focus on the social and economic sustainability context. kibwami and tutesigensi (2016: 69) also observed this mismatch between the perception of sustainability and practice in uganda by. the scope of this study did not include an evaluation of the reasons for the differences in perceptions. future research should consider this as an area for further development. 4.4 regression analysis a series of three separate linear regression analyses were run in order to establish the relationships between each of the three aspects of sustainability practices and sustainability awareness. the regression models assessed whether sustainability awareness significantly influenced the environmental, social, and economic sustainability practices. this was done to provide a better understanding of the finding that social and economic sustainability practices were ranked higher even when the respondents showed an enviro-centric view of sustainability. table 8 shows the results of the regression analysis. the results show that sustainability awareness significantly influences environmental (r2=0.102, p=0.001), social (r2=0.219, p<0.001), and economic (r2=0.108, p<0.001) sustainability practices. this means that sustainability awareness influences social sustainability practices more than either environmental or economic sustainability practices because sustainability awareness accounted for 21.90% variation in social sustainability practices while environmental and economic practices accounted for 10.20% and 10.80%, respectively. table 8: regression model summary model r r square sig. 1 0.319 0.102 0.001 2 0.468 0.219 0.000 3 0.329 0.108 0.000 1. constant and sustainability awareness predicting environmental practices 2. constant and sustainability awareness predicting social practices 3. constant and sustainability awareness predicting economic practices zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 131 the results show that social sustainability practices are influenced more by sustainability awareness than both environmental and economic practices. this means that, when construction practitioners are aware about sustainability, they will engage in more socially sustainable practices as compared to environmental and economic sustainability. this is in line with the findings from the rii, where it was shown that, even though the participants showed an enviro-centric view of sustainability, their practices mostly reflected social sustainability. this finding suggests that, while increasing the level of sustainability awareness among practitioners will result in increased levels of environmental sustainability practices, the level of social sustainability practices will be more than environmental sustainability practices. this result further highlights the mismatch between the level of awareness of sustainability and the ensuing environmental sustainability practices in tandem with findings by kibwami and tutesigensi (2016: 69-70). it is surprising that environmental awareness does not increase the level of sustainable environmental practices as much as it does social sustainability practices, considering that the understanding of sustainability among the respondents was more focused on the environmental sustainability context of the tbl. it would be expected that an understanding skewed towards environmental sustainability would also reflect in the sustainability practices by leading to more environmental sustainability practices compared to the other aspects of sustainability. the expectation is supported by studies concluding that deficiencies in the level of awareness of sustainability were a barrier to the implementation of environmental sustainability practices. the studies recommended that increasing the level of understanding and awareness of environmental sustainability would lead to more environmentally sustainable construction practices (zulu et al., 2022; aghimien et al., 2018; akadiri, 2015). considering that there are many barriers to the implementation of sustainable construction practices in developing countries, it may be that merely increasing the level of knowledge and awareness of environmentally sustainable construction would not necessarily lead to major improvements in sustainable construction practices because of the other barriers that may be more cumbersome. this could explain the mismatch between the perception of sustainability and the practices, as also reported by kibwami and tutesigensi (2016: 69-70). 5. conclusion the study aimed to evaluate the awareness and practices of sustainable construction in the zambian construction industry. sustainable construction should encompass the three strands of environmental, economic, and zulu, zulu & chabala 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 112-140 132 social sustainability. while there have been studies on sustainability in the zambian construction industry, this study shed light on the context of sustainability awareness and how the various broader sustainability practices are considered on construction projects. the data shows that the survey participants took an enviro-centric view in defining the focus areas of sustainability. regarding sustainability practices, practices related to social and economic sustainability ranked higher than those related to environmental sustainability. the data shows an interesting finding in that, while the participants perceived the environmental context as more critical in their understanding of sustainability, their practice reflected a focus on the social and economic sustainability context. this finding shows that there is a missmatch between the understanding of sustainability and the sustainability practices in the industry. that is, while the awareness context favours an enviro-centric view, the actual practice focuses more on sustainability’s social and economic aspects. the practical implication of the findings is that merely increasing the level of knowledge and awareness of environmental sustainability may not lead to gross improvements in sustainability practices. this is in contrast to other studies that concluded that knowledge and 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group medians were calculated to reach consensus, and open question responses were summarised qualitatively. the experts confirmed the existence of the factors identified in the literature. the factors that determine chsa collaboration on construction projects include mutuality, trust, enabling environment, personal characteristics, common purpose, institutional 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2021 28(2): 53-77 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:rphinias123@gmail.com mailto:rphinias123@gmail.com rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 54 support, and project context. drawing from the findings, the study suggests that these seven factors can influence chsa collaboration. the study is limited to 14 experts and more experts could have provided more information. the factors that determine chsa collaboration identified in this study may not be exhaustive and another study may provide different factors. further research could adopt other research methods such as the quantitative method, in order to determine the impact of these factors on chsa collaboration. factors that determine chsa collaboration on construction projects should be identified, implemented, and monitored, in order to increase the influence of chsa on h&s performance. abstrak die konstruksiebedryf (ki) is steeds die oorsaak van beserings en siektes vir baie werkers wêreldwyd. samewerking tussen die konstruksiegesondheidsen veiligheidsagent (kgva) en ander professionele persone in die bou-omgewing kan die impak van die kgva op gesondheidsen veiligheidsprestasie (g&v) verbeter. geen studie het die faktore geïdentifiseer wat kgva-samewerking op konstruksieterreine bepaal nie. ’n delphi-studie van drie rondtes is uitgevoer om die faktore wat kgva-samewerking bepaal, te identifiseer. ’n paneel van 14 kundiges uit die ki, is uit vier kontinente gekies. kenners is versoek om addisionele faktore te identifiseer en die faktore wat uit literatuur geïdentifiseer is, te bekragtig. microsoft excel 2016 is gebruik om die data te ontleed en groepmediane is bereken om konsensus te bereik en antwoorde op oop vrae is kwalitatief opgesom. kenners het die bestaan van die faktore wat in die literatuur geïdentifiseer is, bevestig. die faktore wat kgva se samewerking oor bouprojekte bepaal, is onder meer wedersydsheid, vertroue, omgewing, persoonlike eienskappe, gemeenskaplike doel, institusionele ondersteuning en projekkonteks. uit die bevindinge het die studie voorgestel dat hierdie sewe faktore kgva-samewerking kan beïnvloed. die studie is beperk tot 14 kundiges en meer kundiges kon meer inligting verskaf het. die faktore wat kgva-samewerking bepaal wat in hierdie studie geïdentifiseer is, is moontlik nie volledig nie en ’n ander studie kan verskillende faktore verskaf. verdere navorsing kan ander navorsingsmetodes gebruik, soos die kwantitatiewe metode, om die impak van hierdie faktore op kgva-samewerking te bepaal. faktore wat kgvasamewerking op konstruksieprojekte bepaal, moet geïdentifiseer, geïmplementeer en gemonitor word om die invloed van kgva op g&v-prestasie te verhoog. sleutelwoorde: delphi-studie, gesondheidsen veiligheidsprestasie, konstruksiebedryf, konstruksie gesondheidsen veiligheidsagent, samewerking 1. introduction several studies have been conducted to improve the poor health and safety (h&s) performance on construction sites (neale, 2013; smallwood & deacon, 2017; goldswain, 2014). h&s legislations have identified the construction health and safety agent (chsa) as one of the key stakeholders in achieving zero accident goal on construction sites (deacon, 2016: 83). in this study, the chsa is defined as “a competent person who acts as representative for clients who has the capability to design, compile, implement and manage the h&s requirements for construction projects from initiation and briefing to project close-out’’ (sacpcmp, 2013: 7). although south african construction regulations 2014 and uk construction and design management regulations 2015 (health and rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 55 safety executive, 2015: 17-18; deacon, 2016: 83) require all involved on a project to address h&s, there appears to be a lack of collaboration between the chsa and project managers, designers, quantity surveyors, engineers, and construction managers (deacon, 2016: 223). this lack of collaboration continues to frustrate construction h&s professionals and academics worldwide (benjaoran & bhoka, 2010: 396; larson & almen, 2014: 25; deacon, 2016: 223). meanwhile, erickson (2016: 28) suggested that collaboration may improve the impact of chsa on h&s performance. however, no study has identified the factors that determine chsa collaboration. as a result, this study seeks to close this gap in literature. the purpose of this study is to identify the factors that determine the chsa’s collaboration on construction projects. 2. literature review 2.1 construction industry and construction health and safety agent globally, the construction industry (ci) performs poorly in terms of h&s performance (manu, emuze, saurin & hadikusumo, 2020: 1). it is estimated that at least two construction workers die every week in south africa (department of public works, 2014: 4). likewise, according to samuel (2017: 1), at least 1.5 to 2.5 fatalities occur in south african ci weekly. the increased attention on chsa has been partly due to the accidents rate and the strong emphasis through h&s legislations (smallwood & deacon, 2017). instead of relying only on project managers, designers, engineers, or construction managers to ensure worker h&s, the involvement of chsa may add value to project processes and ensure that different project participants address h&s aspects. meanwhile, the lack of collaboration between chsas and other built-environment professionals seems inappropriate, given the importance of h&s management, more specifically, chsa to construction projects. due to client, designers and contractors’ lack of h&s expertise and experience (badri, gbodossou & nadeau, 2012: 190; deacon, 2016: 156), chsas are usually needed to manage h&s issues (chunxiang, 2012: 527: mwanaumo, 2013: 278; deacon, 2016: 233). in addition, chsas are regarded to be among the most important professionals for the management of h&s (sinelnikov, inouye & kerper, 2015: 247; deacon, 2016: 156; chunxiang, 2012: 527: aulin & caponie, 2010: 93) and also key for the development of h&s culture (nielsen, 2014: 12; wu, lin & shiau, 2010: 424). several studies have been conducted to improve the value or influence of persons managing h&s on h&s performance (smith & wadsworth, 2009; rebbitt, 2012; cameron, hare & duff, 2013; borys, 2014; smallwood & rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 56 deacon, 2017; provan, dekker & rae, 2017). these studies agree that the h&s professionals can influence h&s performance, but this influence is dependent on several factors such as personal attributes, trust, body of h&s knowledge, qualification, early involvement, roles, experience, training, line of report, and institutions such as department of labour (dol) and professional bodies. 2.2 collaboration and its related factors everyone generally knows collaboration, but the difficulties arise when they must define it. some authors use the terms ‘common purpose’ and ‘working together’ to define it. others define collaboration as a relationship between contractor and subcontractor working together to achieve a common goal (deep, gajendran & jefferies, 2019: 4), while others use process to define collaboration such as joint problem-solving (msomba, matiko & mlinga, 2018: 152). a recent study confirmed that there is still no consensus on the definition of collaboration (rantsatsi, musonda & agumba, 2020: 122). this shows that collaboration is broad and that different authors define it differently. in this study, collaboration is defined as a “process in which information, activities, responsibilities and resources are shared to jointly plan, implement, and evaluate a program of activities to achieve a common goal, and a joint generation of value” (camarinha-matos, afsarmanesh, galeano & molina, 2009: 47-48). collaboration theories provide important insights into the factors that determine collaboration and those that improve performance. the effectiveness of collaboration depends on a myriad of factors. from the point of view of social sciences, bronstein (2003) identifies four factors that influence interdisciplinary collaboration: professional role, structural characteristics, personal characteristics, and history of collaboration. from the point of view of management, roberts, van wyk and dhanpat (2016: 5) summarise five factors that determine collaboration: trust, common purpose, mutuality, enabling environment, and personal characteristics. from the perspective of construction management, deep et al. (2019: 10) identify three enablers of collaboration: trust, commitment, and reliability. previous studies on collaboration have identified mutuality, trust, enabling environment, personal characteristics, common purpose, institutional support, and project context as the critical factors (thomson, perry & miller, 2007; amabile, patterson, mueller, wojcik, kramer, odomirok & march, 2001; lu, zhang & rowlinson, 2013; bronstein, 2003; patel, pettitt & wilson, 2012; torneman, 2015; roberts et al., 2016). mutuality occurs when each party contributes unique resources from which other members can benefit (thomson et al., 2007: 28; bronstein, 2003: 299; roberts et al., 2016: 5). this occurs when one party looks after its rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 57 own interests and those of other parties. indicators of mutuality include equality in decision-making, mutual trust, and respect (ylitalo, eerikki & ziegler, 2004: 549). on construction projects, professionals are expected to rely on each other, hence mutuality becomes important. mutuality may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. on the other hand, trust refers to the belief and expectations that parties will be honest in agreements and commitments, adhere to their commitments and not exploit other parties (roberts et al., 2016: 5; liu, van nederveen & hertogh, 2017: 692; patel et al., 2012: 14). khalfan, mcdermott and swan (2007: 385) indicate that trust involves honest communication, reliance and delivery of outcomes, because reliance on one another builds trust. not only is the level of trust key for decision-making between h&s professionals and line managers, but it is suggested that the level of trust also improves team performance (rantsatsi et al., 2020: 136). since construction projects involve diverse professionals, trust becomes a necessity. therefore, trust may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. enabling environment includes provision of systems and processes that support the collaboration objectives and the removal of barriers (roberts et al., 2016: 5; bronstein, 2003: 304). according to camarinha-matos and afsarmanesh (2008: 313), collaboration requires an enabling environment that can be characterised by clear and open communication (faris, gaterell & hutchinson, 2019: 9), informal and formal communication channels (mattessich & monsey, 1992: 16), collective contributions (camarinhamatos et al., 2006: 175), and joint decision-making (ylitalo et al., 2004: 548). an enabling environment may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. personal characteristics include attitudes, motivations, knowledge, and skills that individual needs in order to collaborate (amabile et al., 2001; lu et al., 2013: 31; roberts et al., 2016: 2; bronstein, 2003: 304). membership characteristics include skills, attitudes and opinions of an individual in a collaborative group (mattessich & monsey 1992: 22). this includes the motivation and ability to collaborate effectively with others (amabile et al., 2001: 419). it is widely acknowledged that personal characteristics determine collaboration (roberts et al., 2016: 2), because individual characteristics can affect the project outcome (ozturk, 2019: 11). mattessich and monsey (1992: 22) revealed that personal characteristics are extremely significant components of successful collaborative endeavours. personal characteristics may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 58 shared purpose refers to shared vision and unique purpose that bring the team together (roberts et al., 2016: 4; d’amour, ferrada-videla, rodriquez & beaulieu, 2005: 119; faris et al., 2019: 11). shared purpose promotes collaboration and improves project performance (pal, wang & liang, 2017: 1127). working collaboratively simply suggests that members pursue a set of common goals (d’amour et al., 2005: 119). shared goals can be realised through collaboration. according to mattessich and monsey (1992: 32), a shared vision may be developed either when collaboration is in the planning stage or as it begins to function. having a common purpose is a factor that needs to be in place so that collaboration can happen (roberts et al., 2016: 4). common purpose may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. institutional support refers to the support a project member receives from his/her own institution/organisation such as own company and professional body (amabile et al., 2001 420: lu et al., 2013: 31), and even government authorities. from the perspective of education, amabile et al. (2001: 420) highlighted that there is a lack of research on the effect of institutional contexts on collaboration. in their study, barraket and loosemore (2018: 396) investigated organisational and institutional factors drive cross-sector collaboration. they found that organisational and institutional factors drive cross-sector collaboration (barraket & loosemore, 2018: 406). institutional support to chsa is provided through government agencies such as dol and professional bodies. institutional support may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. project context includes project structure and culture. project structure is important for encouraging interaction and collaboration between individuals (dietrich, eskerod, dalcher & sandhawalia 2010: 60). however, akintoye, mcintosh and fitzgerald (2000: 166) found that inappropriate organisational structure is one of the barriers for implementing an efficient and successful supply chain collaboration. dietrich et al. (2010: 10) suggested that construction organisations should adopt a flexible organisational structure. meanwhile, one of the key factors of collaboration is culture (hasanzadeha, hosseinalipourb & hafezi, 2014; hughes, 2018; akintan & morledge, 2013). culture can exist at both organisational and project levels. zheng, yang and mclean (2013: 765) state that organisational culture shapes how members behave. this is reflected in the organisation’s influence on members who are working for it or on the project. organisationally, culture influences collaboration (faris et al., 2019: 5). project structure and culture are necessary to support the collaborative activities expected on the project. project context may be an important factor in determining chsa collaboration on construction projects. rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 59 3. methodology this study sought to explore, identify, and prioritise factors that determine chsa collaboration on construction projects. a qualitative research design was used, in which semi-structured questionnaire surveys enabled the researchers to generalise their findings from a group of experts’ consensuses (brady, 2015: 6). the delphi study method was used, and the survey data were obtained from three rounds. a delphi study runs a series of rounds to explore divergence and reach consensus among a panel of experts by means of controlled feedback, anonymity, statistical aggregation of group response, and iteration (sourani & sohaila, 2014: 56; linstone & turoff, 2002: 11; rajendran, 2006: 110; skulmoski, hartman & krahn, 2007: 2-3). in round 1, extracted from extant literature, 50 initial statements were identified in seven components (mutuality, trust, enabling environment, personal characteristics, common purpose, institutional support, and project context) as factors that determine chsa collaboration on construction projects. in rounds 2 and 3, initial and additional statements relating to chsa collaboration were identified and rated, using a 7-point likert scale until consensus was reached. likert scale measurement was used because statements could be analysed on the median rating for agreement of experts. statements with the highest rating indicate that most of the experts agree that the statement or factor determines chsa collaboration on construction projects. 3.1 sampling and expert panel selection delphi sample sizes depend more on group dynamics in reaching consensus than on their statistical power (okoli & pawlowski, 2004: 19). the targeted population involved professionals and academics serving the ci that have the relevant abilities and knowledge about the study problem (etikan, musa & alkassim, 2016: 3; bhattacherjee, 2012: 69; skulmoski et al., 2007: 3). the purposive sampling method (welman, kruger & mitchell, 2005: 69; chang & karen, 2018: 317) was adopted to invite 45 experts from four sources, namely construction h&s literature, registered members of the council for research and innovation in building and construction (cib) on the cib working commission (w099), authors or speakers who featured very prominently on the cib w099 conference proceedings from 2010 to 2019, as well as registered construction professionals and academics who serve the south african built environment. purposive sampling was used to ensure that all invited participants met the inclusion criteria, namely that all participants were required to already have obtained a registered qualification in the ci; be registered with a professional body, and have at least five years’ experience in the ci, as well as field-specific knowledge (boulkedid, abdoul, loustau, sibony & alberti, 2011:2; skulmoski et al., 2007: 10; avella, 2016: 310; hallowell & gambatese, 2010: 106). the rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 60 knowledge in construction h&s was considered to be compulsory for all selected experts and their willingness to participate throughout the entire study (powell, 2003: 379; avella, 2016: 310). all experts responded to rounds one, two and three. in the delphi process, general rules-of-thumb indicate that 14-30 people for a homogeneous population (that is, experts coming from the same discipline such as, for example, ci professionals) are generally considered to be sufficient to enable consensus to be achieved (clayton, 1997: 378).fourteen experts participated in three iterations. 3.2 data collection using the delphi study technique, data were collected from three survey rounds between april and may 2021. in round 1, a two-section semistructured questionnaire was distributed among the 14 experts via email. in section one, experts were asked to rate the 50 statements related to seven factors, using a 7-point likert scale, that would improve chsa collaboration in the ci. in section two, the experts were asked to respond to an open statement: “please list other additional factors that would encourage chsa collaboration and list its related indicators or statements”. in rounds 2 and 3, the comments provided in round 1 were included in the questionnaire for round 2 and round 2 provided structure for round 3. six statements were dropped after round 1 (risks and rewards sharing encourages collaboration; professionalism supports collaboration; specialisation supports collaboration; flexibility on project schedule supports collaboration; training on information and technological resources, and availability of internet for accessing h&s legislations) and three new statements (trusting the roles more than individuals promotes collaboration; professional bodies to train chsa on construction processes, and h&s legislations to require involvement of chsa from stage one of the project) were added, based on experts’ response to section two open question. these statements were retained in rounds 2 and 3. the researcher compiled and communicated the results of each round to each expert in the form of individualised questionnaires. this included group medians. in rounds 2 and 3, the experts were also asked to comment on their ratings, if the ratings differed from the group median. statistical and qualitative feedback was provided to each expert in round 3. the outcome of round 3 indicated that there was a consensus and thus no need for round 4. this finding concurs with previous studies (skulmoski et al., 2007: 5; hallowell, 2008: 89; boulkedid et al., 2011: 7). the comments included in the questionnaire were not linked to experts, in order to ensure anonymity. anonymity allows panel members to interact freely without fear of intimidation or peer pressure (donohoe, stellefson & tennant, 2012: 40), while controlled feedback allows every panel member rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 61 to receive individualised feedback and provide inputs into the entire process (sourani & sohaila, 2014: 56). statistical group response allows for aggregation of responses in the form of group median. this can also be used to indicate consensus (rajendran, 2006: 110), and iteration allows panel members to change their views (linstone & turoff, 2002: 11). experts were made aware of the fact that the study would be for academic purposes and as such no material benefit other than knowledge advancement and findings of the study. inclusion and exclusion criteria were set to ensure that only those who understand and are able to make a decision about what is involved participate. the delphi study did not require the age, gender, and name of the expert organisation. confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the study. 3.3 analysis and interpretation of the data descriptive analysis was used for the respondents’ profile information, in which the frequencies and percentages were generated and reported. microsoft excel 2016 was used for data analysis and the results of each round were analysed using the median; open question responses were summarised qualitatively. the experts were required to rate their level of agreement on the factors/statements that would determine chsa collaboration on construction projects and identify additional factors/ statements. the following 7-point likert scale measurement was used regarding median value: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = somewhat; 4 = neutral; 5 = somewhat; 6 = agree, and 7 = strongly agree. cut-off values of group median 6 to 7 were required for reaching consensus and over 60% of the respondents rated the factors between 6 to 7. previous studies mentioned similar criteria for reaching consensus in delphi studies (von der gracht, 2012: 1529; habibi, sarafrazi & izadyar, 2014: 11). although consensus is usually only reached when 100% of the experts agree, in this study 60% of the experts agreeing on each statement was considered sufficient to indicate common agreement. this is consistent with the studies by chang, gardner, duffield & ramis (2010: 2322), suggesting that 75% should be used for reaching consensus, and agumba (2013: 150) using 50% for reaching consensus. each statement was analysed individually for consensus. 4. findings and discussions 4.1 demographic characteristics of experts table 1 shows the profile of experts. the vast majority of the experts were from south africa; 42% of the experts had a doctor of philosophy (phd) rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 62 degree; 50% of the experts were chsas, and 57% of the experts had over 10 years’ experience in the ci. these experts were from africa, europe, asia and north america. the middle east, south america and australia were not represented on the panel. table 1: experts’ profile demographic characteristic frequency percentage country south africa 9 64.28 united kingdom 1 7.14 nigeria 2 14.28 malaysia 1 7.14 united states of america 1 7.14 total 14 100.00 qualification phd 6 42.85 master of science degree 2 14.28 bachelor degree 4 28.57 national diploma 2 14.28 total 14 100.00 professional registration construction project managers 2 14.28 chsas 7 50.00 construction managers 2 14.28 engineer 1 7.14 construction health and safety manager 1 7.14 certified safety professional 1 7.14 total 14 100.00 years of experience 1-5 3 21.42 6-10 3 21.42 11-15 1 7.14 16-20 1 7.14 21-25 2 14.28 26-30 2 14.28 31-40 2 14.28 total 14 100.00 table 2 presents panel members’ publication history. based on publication, eight of the experts on the panel had published in peer-reviewed journals, conferences and books. between them, they published 8 books, 10 chapters in books, 353 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 201 conference rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 63 papers. five of the panel members served on the editorial board of journals; seven had served as referees or reviewers for journal publications, and six as referees for conference papers, while three have also served on the technical committee of the government department of employment and labour. table 2: panel members’ publication history expert publication number of publications peer-reviewed journals 353 peer-reviewed conference papers 201 editor or author of book 10 author of a book chapter 8 4.2 factor results and discussions the level of agreement was confirmed by evaluating the extent to which the identified factors and their related statements would determine chsa collaboration on construction projects. tables 3-9 show the results from rounds 1, 2 and 3 of agreement medians. a higher score represented a higher level of agreement on the statement. table 3 presents the related statements of mutuality for chsa collaboration. this factor was measured using six statements. all six statements achieved a median rating of between 6 to 7 and over 60% of the experts rated the statements between 6 to 7. two statements, namely, respect among project members and transparency, attained a high median of 7, while the other four statements achieved a median of 6. this finding concurs with past studies (henson, 1997: 79; yuming, 2014: 61). the other four statements achieved a median rating of 6. this finding concurs with past studies, which table 3: mutuality for construction health and safety agent collaboration mutuality agreement medians % of responses (6-7) r1 r2 r3 sharing information encourages collaboration 6 6 6 100 equality in decision-making promotes collaboration 6 6 6 100 respect among project members facilitates collaboration 7 7 7 100 sharing responsibility for project activities promotes collaboration 6 6 6 100 sharing knowledge that benefits others promotes collaboration 6 6 6 100 transparency promotes collaboration 7 7 7 92 rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 64 considered exchange of knowledge or ideas and equality in decision to be key indicators of mutuality (henson, 1997: 80; brinkerhoff, 2002: 23). the differences in the level of agreement of the related statements of mutuality point to the fact that experts strongly agree on the two statements and agree on the other four. the last column in table 3 indicates that, for five statements, over three rounds, 100%, and for one statement, 92% of the experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. table 4 presents the related statements of trust for chsa collaboration. this factor was measured using seven statements. five out of the seven statements achieved the median rating between 6 to 7. this finding concurs with the study by yuming (2014: 61). similarly, according to khalfan et al. (2007: 386), people tend to trust those who they think are competent. only two related statements of trust dropped out, namely trusting the position rather than personality and trusting competence of individuals based on professional registration achieved a median of 4 and 5, respectively. although these statements did not achieve the required median rating of 6 to 7, previous research suggests that personal role in the project, track record and professional standing are essential indicators of trustworthiness (wong, cheung, yiu & pang, 2008: 824). the importance of this finding was that trusting the position rather than personality and trusting competence of individuals based on professional registration were necessary despite their median rating of below 6. one of the experts mentioned that “developing table 4: trust for construction health and safety agent collaboration trust agreement medians % of responses (6-7) r1 r2 r3 an atmosphere of trust encourages collaboration 7 7 7 100 *trusting the position rather than personality facilitates collaboration 4 4 4 21 trusting that individuals will fulfil their obligations encourages collaboration 6 6 6 92 trusting individuals based on previous interactions and experience promotes collaboration 6 6 6 100 trusting the competence of individuals based on education background promotes collaboration 5 5 6 64 *trusting the competence of individuals based on professional registration promotes collaboration 4 5 5 7 trusting the roles more than the individuals promotes collaboration (statement was added after round 1) 0 6 6 92 * statement dropped out rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 65 trust in someone takes time and is based on character and competence, not personality”. the values provided in the last column in table 4 indicate that, over three rounds, for two statements, 100% of experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. table 5 presents the related statements of enabling environment for chsa collaboration. all six statements achieved the required median rating of 6 to 7. based on the comprehensive literature, enabling environment was identified as one of the main factors for collaboration (roberts et al., 2016: 4). while lack of communication can undermine the effectiveness of collaboration, frequent communication helps adjust project strategies (yuming, 2014: 120). similarly, an environment, in which decisions are made jointly and in the interest of all parties (jackson et al., 2017: 557), promotes collaboration, while the environment of open communication improves certainty and reliability of the behaviours of those involved (yuming, 2014: 62). a situation where one believes that others can contribute meaningfully to the decision-making (henson, 1997: 79) is likely to exist when there are no power imbalances. the values provided in the last column in table 5 indicate that, over three rounds, for four statements, 100% of the experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. table 5: enabling environment for construction health and safety agent collaboration enabling environment agreement medians % of responses (6-7)r1 r2 r3 joint decision-making encourages collaboration 6 6 6 100 frequent communication encourages collaboration 6 6 6 100 sharing power between project members encourages collaboration 6 6 6 100 collective contributions encourage collaboration 6 6 6 100 collaboration is encouraged when leaders of an organisation support collaboration 6 6 6 78 committed project team encourages collaboration 6 6 6 92 table 6 presents the related statements of personal characteristics for chsa collaboration. this factor was measured by eight statements and all statements achieved a median rating of 6 to 7 and over 60% of the experts rated the statements between 6 to 7. two statements, namely willingness to collaborate and respecting the inputs of others had a median of 7. this finding indicates that project members tend to collaborate more when their inputs are appreciated. a previous study indicated that respecting the rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 66 contributions and ideas of others encourages collaboration (d’amour et al., 2005: 119). this finding concurs with previous studies that personal characteristics have significant influence on collaboration (bronstein, 2003: 304; roberts et al., 2016: 4). therefore, experts agree that chsa collaboration is possible by acquiring knowledge in design, procurement, construction process, financial and cost, and h&s management. put differently, collaborating with other project team members requires chsa to have knowledge in these areas. the values provided in the last column in table 6 indicate that, over three rounds, for three statements, 100% of the experts and for five statements, 92% of the experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. table 7 presents the related statements of common purpose for chsa collaboration. six statements were used to measure this factor. all the six statements had an agreement median rating within the cut-off 6 to 7 and over 60% of the experts rated the statements between 6 to 7. common purpose is the central factor of collaboration as it helps bring other factors together (yuming, 2014: 61). some of the findings are similar to those of faris et al. (2019: 8-9). the study by dietrich et al. (2010: 59) emphasizes the importance of joint creation of value for overcoming the lack of resources and skills. not only is having a shared goal critical for collaboration; it also improves communication (khalfan et al. 2007: 387). the values provided in the last column in table 7 indicate that, over three rounds, for four statements, 100% of the experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. table 6: personal characteristics for construction health and safety agent collaboration personal characteristics agreement medians % of responses (6-7)r1 r2 r3 willingness to collaborate 7 7 7 100 respecting inputs of others 7 7 7 100 placing project interests above individual interests 6 6 6 92 knowledge of design process 6 6 6 92 knowledge of procurement management 6 6 6 92 knowledge of construction process 6 6 6 92 knowledge of financial and cost 6 6 6 92 knowledge of h&s management 6 6 6 100 rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 67 table 7: common purpose for construction health and safety agent collaboration common purpose agreement medians % of responses (6-7)r1 r2 r3 committing to the project vision supports collaboration 6 6 6 100 joint working in pursuing common purpose supports collaboration 6 6 6 100 a clear vision promotes collaboration 6 6 6 100 collaboration is encouraged by shared vision 6 6 6 100 setting common goals between project members encourages collaboration 7 6 6 92 joint creation of value encourages collaboration 6 6 6 92 table 8 presents the related statements of institutional support for chsa collaboration. this factor was measured by nine statements. six of the nine statements achieved the median rating between 6 to 7. this finding shows that experts somewhat agreed on the other three statements, while there was agreement on six statements. this is particularly important, as h&s professionals learn the h&s requirements from government regulatory table 8: institutional support for construction health and safety agent collaboration institutional support agreement medians % of responses (6-7)r1 r2 r3 *provision of information and technological resources 5 5 5 7 *availability of building information modelling 5 5 5 14 use of integrated project delivery method 6 6 6 85 *government h&s authorities provide updated h&s legislations 4 5 5 14 government h&s authorities provide guidance to ensure adherence to h&s legislations 5 5 6 71 professional bodies provide guidance to ensure implementation of h&s legislations 5 5 6 71 professional bodies to provide training on new h&s practices 5 5 6 64 professional bodies to train chsa on construction processes (statement was added after round 1) 6 6 92 h&s legislations to require involvement of chsa from stage one of the project (statement was added after round 1) 6 6 92 *statement dropped out rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 68 authorities (wang, wu & haung, 2019: 16; swuste, zwaard, groeneweg & guldenmund, 2015: 85-86) and values, standards, and codes from professional bodies (ju & rowlinson, 2013: 350). according to azhara, kanga & ahmad (2014: 215), the use of the integrated project delivery method allows a project team to effectively collaborate throughout project stages. the result further suggests that h&s legislations can determine the need of chsa on the project. deacon (2016: 203) and mwanaumo (2013: 279) highlighted the role of h&s legislations in determining the need of chsa. however, one of the experts remarked that “project members still do not respect chsa contributions to the project because they only call chsa at stage four when they need a construction work permit.” only three statements of institutional support dropped out. their median rating for agreement was below the cut-off point of 6 and less than 60% of the experts rated the statements within the cut-off point of 6 to 7. although provision of information and technological resources and availability of building information modelling were rated below a cut-off point of 6, a previous study by yuming (2014: 64) posited that collaboration requires reliable access to the latest technological knowledge and resources. likewise, azhara et al. (2014: 219) highlighted that building information modelling has the potential to facilitate collaboration. however, one of the experts mentioned that “technologies such as the use of building information modelling does not create collaboration by default but things such as emotional intelligence and interpersonal soft skills are what makes it work”. the values provided in the last column in table 8 indicate that, for two statements, over rounds 2 and 3, 92% of the experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. table 9 presents the related statements of project context for chsa collaboration. this factor was measured using eight statements. seven of the eight identified statements had a median of 6, while one had a median of 5. these support the finding of larson and gobeli (1989: 123) which revealed that clearly defined objectives were the strongest and consistent predictor of project success. it also supports the finding of faris et al. (2019: 5) and of iyer (2015: 38). based on the findings, it is suggested that lack of clear project roles and objectives may cause other project members to be less likely to engage in collaborative efforts. only one statement of project context dropped out. although this statement was rated below a cutoff point of 6, a previous study by patel et al. (2012: 7) emphasises the need of access to adequate resources such as finance, time and equipment, in order to complete the task. the values provided in the last column in table 9 indicate that, over three rounds, for five statements, 100% of the experts rated the statement between 6 and 7 on a likert scale measurement. rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 69 table 9: project context for construction health and safety agent collaboration project context agreement medians % of responses (6-7)r1 r2 r3 clear project roles 6 6 6 100 clearly defined project objectives 6 6 6 100 communication promotes collaboration 6 6 6 92 project organisational structure supports collaboration between project members 6 6 6 100 *financial resources are made available to all disciplines for completing the project 5 5 5 7 different disciplines work jointly to deal with the complexity of the project 6 6 6 92 good relationships promote collaboration 6 6 6 100 sharing of knowledge supports collaboration 6 6 6 100 *statement dropped out experts were used to identify and validate the factors that determine chsa collaboration on construction project. experts agreed on 44 statements of seven factors based on the cut-off point of 6 and over 60% of the experts rated the factor between 6 to 7. the finding not only confirms that these factors are necessary for collaboration, but it also provides the level of agreement regarding chsa collaborating with other project team members in a construction project. it can also be concluded that chsa is more likely to collaborate with project team members in a construction project when there is mutuality, trust, enabling environment, personal characteristics, common purpose, institutional support, and project context. 5. conclusion and recommendations research on the value of persons managing h&s is critical, as ci continues to suffer poor h&s performance. the poor h&s performance is exacerbated by poor collaboration between chsa and other project actors. the ability of chsas to collaborate with other professionals is critical to their long-term existence in the ci. this motivated the current study to identify the factors that determine chsa collaboration on construction projects. this objective was achieved through conducting a delphi study involving three rounds. it was found that the critical factors that determine chsa collaboration are mutuality, trust, an enabling environment, personal characteristics, common purpose, institutional support, and project context. it can be concluded that the influence of chsa on construction projects is dependent on collaboration and that construction organisations should rantsatsi, musonda & agumba 2021 acta structilia 28(2): 53-77 70 pay attention to these seven factors for improving chsa collaboration. these factors should be identified, implemented, and monitored in order to increase the influence of chsa. the study not only confirmed that these factors were necessary 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(eds). frontiers of e-business research 2004 conference proceedings, vol. 2, 20-22 september. tampere, finland, pp. 546-560. yuming, h. 2014. an empirical study of partners’ collaboration in construction joint venture (cjv) projects and its impacts on project performance in hong kong. phd thesis. the hong kong polytechnic university, hong kong. zheng, w., yang, b. & mclean, n.g. 2013. linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: mediating role of knowledge management. journal of business management, 63(7), pp. 763771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.06.005 rantsatsi 26 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as anthony yusuf mr anthony olukayode yusuf, m.sc. research student, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 003, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2347037590877, email: <anthonyoyusuf@yahoo. com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-1574-788x akintayo opawole dr akintayo opawole, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 003, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2348035125849, email: <tayoappmail@gmail. com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-8326-7824 esther ebunoluwa dr esther ilori ebunoluwa, department of quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 003, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2348066226592, email: <owoyemi_ esther@yahoo.com>, orcid: https:// orcid.org/0000-0002-1356-4142 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2022 peer reviewed and revised: february 2022 published: june 2022 keywords: building information modelling, bim implementation, building projects, organisational capability attributes, public sector how to cite: yusuf, a., opawole, a. & ebunoluwa, e. 2022. evaluation of the organisational capability of the public sector for the implementation of building information modelling on construction projects. acta structilia, 29(1), pp. 26-58. evaluation of the organisational capability of the public sector for the implementation of building information modelling on construction projects research article1 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.2 abstract organisations are required to possess certain capabilities in order to implement building information modelling (bim), one of the emerging technologies for overcoming the problem of fragmentation in the construction industry. this study examines the organisational capability attributes required for the implementation of bim in construction projects, with a view to enhancing the performance of public sector projects. the study adopted a quantitative descriptive analysis based on primary data obtained from public sector organisations in lagos state, southwestern nigeria. one hundred and ninetyeight (198) valid questionnaires, obtained from construction professionals within the organisations, provided quantitative data for the assessment. data collected were analysed, using both descriptive and inferential statistics. the findings indicate that public sector organisations possess the capability attributes for bim implementation in building projects at different levels of availability (lav) and adequacy (laq), with adequate power supply rated 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(1): 26-58 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:anthonyoyusuf@yahoo.com mailto:anthonyoyusuf@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1574-788x https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1574-788x mailto:tayoappmail@gmail.com mailto:tayoappmail@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 mailto:owoyemi_esther@yahoo.com mailto:owoyemi_esther@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1356-4142 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1356-4142 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i1.2 yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 27 at (lav = 76.00%; laq = 75.80%); speedy internet connection (lav = 70.20%; laq = 69.80%); change from traditional workflow (lav = 69.80%; laq = 64.60%); adequate work environment for workers (lav = 69.60%; laq = 64.40%); standardised process (lav = 66.00%; laq = 63.40%); sufficient number of workers (lav = 65.60%) and datasharing skills (lav = 65.00%); standardised process (laq = 63.40%), and collaborative team culture (laq = 63.00%). the study established that the organisational capability attributes with high availability rating also have high adequacy rating. the research concludes that the general organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim on construction projects are not yet sufficiently developed and thus suggests the need to strengthen specific capability attributes that are required to implement bim. abstrak daar word van organisasies vereis om sekere vermoëns te besit om bouinligtingmodellering (bim), een van die opkomende tegnologieë om die probleem van fragmentasie in die konstruksiebedryf te oorkom, te implementeer. hierdie studie ondersoek die organisatoriese vermoë-eienskappe wat benodig word vir die implementering van bim in konstruksieprojekte, met die oog daarop om die prestasie van openbare sektorprojekte te verbeter. die studie het ‘n kwantitatiewe beskrywende analise aangeneem wat gebaseer is op primêre data wat verkry is van openbare sektor-organisasies in lagos-staat, suidwes-nigerië. honderd agt-en-negentig (198) geldige vraelyste, verkry van konstruksieprofessionele persone binne die organisasies, het kwantitatiewe data vir die assessering verskaf. data wat ingesamel is, is ontleed deur beide beskrywende en afleidingsstatistieke te gebruik. die bevindinge dui daarop dat organisasies in die openbare sektor beskik oor die vermoë-eienskappe vir bimimplementering in bouprojekte op verskillende vlakke van beskikbaarheid (lav) en toereikendheid (laq), met voldoende kragtoevoer wat gegradeer is teen (lav = 76.00%; laq = 75.80%); vinnige internetverbinding (lav = 70.20%; laq = 69.80%); verandering vanaf tradisionele werkvloei (lav = 69.80%; laq = 64.60%); voldoende werksomgewing vir werkers (lav = 69.60%; laq = 64.40%); gestandaardiseerde proses (lav = 66.00%; laq = 63.40%); voldoende aantal werkers (lav = 65.60%) en vaardighede om data te deel (lav = 65.00%); gestandaardiseerde proses (laq = 63.40%), en samewerkende spankultuur (laq = 63.00%). die studie het vasgestel dat die organisasievermoëeienskappe met ‘n hoë beskikbaarheidsgradering ook ‘n hoë toereikendheidgradering het. die navorsing kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die algemene organisatoriese vermoëeienskappe van die openbare sektor vir bim op konstruksieprojekte nog nie voldoende ontwikkel is nie en dui dus op die behoefte om spesifieke vermoë-eienskappe wat nodig is om bim te implementeer, te versterk. sleutelwoorde: bou-inligtingmodellering, bim-implementering, bouprojekte, openbare sector, organisatoriese vermoë-kenmerke 1. introduction tsang, jardine and kolodny (1999: 712) as well as chuks (2022) define capability as the ability to carry out a specific function, that is getting things done in relation to quality, responsiveness and rate within a range of performance levels. in services rendering, this depends not only on technology, but human capabilities are similarly important (straub, 2010: 1190; koay & muthuveloo, 2021: 188). kangas et al. (1999: 35) and moingeon et al. (1998: 299) define organisational capability as the strategic usage and deployment of competencies. the term ‘competency’ is the ability or capacity of an organisation to use its resources, in order yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 28 to achieve specific organisational outcomes (amit & schoemaker, 1993: 35; chuks, 2022). organisational capability involves diverse concepts such as people, systems, processes, structures, and culture that determine the ability of organisations to deliver results (schmidtchen & cotton, 2014: 2; koay & muthuveloo, 2021: 170). it combines these concepts that contribute to continuous improvement in the performance of organisations (schmidtchen & cotton, 2014: 2: koay & muthuveloo, 2021: 170). building information modelling (bim) implementation by the public sector requires new processes, new technologies, and new behaviour and will inevitably cause organisational changes (juan et al., 2015: 359; hardin & mccool, 2014: 45). such changes will force much improvement of the organisational capabilities to deliver projects (arayici et al., 2009). these capabilities include personnel’s adequacies in education, training, skills development, infrastructure, internet facilities, adequate power supply, government’s support, and it-literate personnel, among others (abbasnejad et al., 2021b: 987; elhendawi, smith & elbeltagi, 2019: 11; onungwa, uduma-olugu & igwe, 2017: 27; bui, merschbrock & munkvold, 2016; kori & kiviniemi, 2015; alufohai, 2012). dim, ezeabasili and okoro (2015: 001) assert that, in the nigerian construction industry (nci), building projects are procured through the traditional system by public and private clients. this traditional system is known for shortcomings such as rework, ineffective sharing of information, lack of proper co-ordination, lack of interoperability and collaboration, as well as adversarial relationship among participants in the project-delivery process, giving rise to the poor performance of projects (abbasnejad et al., 2021a: 413; dim et al., 2015: 1; idoro & patunola-ajayi, 2009: 28). several attempts have been made in terms of initiatives, innovations, and tools such as new contractual arrangements, integrated projected delivery, modelling, and technological innovations, to achieve better performance of construction projects (isikdag & underwood, 2010: 550; olatunji, sher & gu, 2010: 68). bim is one of such processes leading healthy disruptions in construction project delivery across the globe, ensuring collaboration among construction participants, bringing about the expected changes, and leading to successful project delivery (abbasnejad et al., 2021a: 413; eadie et al., 2013: 348). bim is moving the construction industry from the current fragmented and paper-based processes to an integrated workflow, where tasks are condensed into a collaborative and more coordinated process using computation capabilities, internet communication, and data processing into information (eastman et al., 2011; saka, chan & siu, 2020: 1). this is done to manage the built environment within a realistic and verifiable decision by manipulating reality-based models (abdullahi et al., 2011). hence, the implementation of bim by public sector clients becomes imperative, owing to its ability to substantially reduce the problems associated with public project delivery. yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 29 in spite of success reports on bim and its potential to confront challenges of the public sector, olugboyega and aina (2016: 22) conclude that, in nigeria, governments at all levels are not requesting bim to be used in their projects. this could be partly due to lack of organisational capabilities by the public sector client for its implementation (babatunde, 2015). this is unexpected because bim has adequate potential to reduce disputes, address time and cost overrun, improve efficiency, and handle corruption (alufohai, 2012; saka et al., 2020: 2). saleh and alshawi (2005: 58) suggest that, in order to make effective decisions towards attaining the required capabilities, organisations need to evaluate their current capabilities before implementing ict systems. in this study, assessment of the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation is, therefore, justified for a number of reasons. the necessity of bim usage by all stakeholders in the construction industry to curb the problems inherent in the traditional method of project delivery is well established in literature. the public sector as the major stakeholder is expected to set the pace for other participants in the industry. the public sector is the major client of complex projects in nigeria. hence, there is n doubt as to the financial ability of the public sector to implement bim. moreover, bim has been used by public sectors in countries such as the united kingdom, the united states of america, and so on, and its benefits have been well established (van wyk, kajimoshakantu & opawole, 2021). this study has, therefore, become imperative to understand the preparedness of the public sector organisation for the implementation of bim in the nigerian construction industry. 2. literature review 2.1 building information modelling bim has several definitions, due to its ever-changing nature (aranda-mena et al., 2009: 426). one of these is that bim is a product, a technology, a strategy, or an innovation. regardless of its definition, the significant objective of bim is to provide a complete replication of a structure in a computerised climate, with the sole objective of giving a community stage to overseeing building data all through its life cycle (aouad et al., 2014; ibrahim, hashim & jamal, 2019: 2). this definition tends to the shortcomings of the past cad advances. hassan and yolles (2009: 53) state that bim is seven-dimensional. a bim model begins with a parametrically advanced 3d that has both mathematical and non-mathematical data. the 3d model is a highly rich three-dimensional model (x, y and z) made up of intelligent/ smart parametric objects extending to scheduling and sequencing (4d), cost estimating (5d), sustainable design, also termed green design (6d), and facility management (7d). however, as more data is added yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 30 to the parametric articles in a 3d bim model, the model becomes more extravagant and more vigorous, highlighting other dimensions (nd). specialists arrange bim as 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 7d and nd (aouad, wu & lee 2006: 152). 2.2 bim implementation stages bim stages are the multiple stages that demarcate capability milestones. bim functionality, according to succar (2010: 6), is the ability to perform a mission, produce a service, or create a product. bim capability stages (or bim stages) are described as the major milestones that teams and organisations must achieve as they implement bim. bim stages define a fixed starting point (the state prior to bim implementation), three fixed bim stages, and a variable ending point that allows for unanticipated future technological advances. pre-bim refers to the state of the industry prior to bim implementation, while integrated project delivery (ipd) refers to a method or end objective for implementing bim (succar, 2010: 7). technology, process, and policy components are all part of the bim stages (succar, 2010: 9; koseoglu, keskin & ozorhon, 2019). pre-bim, bim stage 1 (object-based modelling), bim stage 2 (model-based collaboration), bim stage 3 (network-based integration), and ipd are the stages to go through (succar, 2014: 8). the minimum requirements for bim stages are specified. for instance, an organisation must have deployed an object-based modelling software tool to be considered at bim capability stage 1 (figure 1). an organisation must also be part of a multidisciplinary model-based collaborative project for bim capability stage 2. an entity should utilise an organisation-based arrangement such as a model worker to share object-based models with any two different orders to be at bim stage 3 (succar, 2010: 7; koseoglu et al., 2019). the pre-bim status addresses incoherent venture conveyance, where antagonistic connections describe the development business. much reliance is put on 2d documentation to portray a 3d reality. in addition, the focus is not on community-oriented practices between partners, and work process is straight and non-concurrent (succar 2009: 11; saka et al., 2020: 3). under pre-bim conditions, industry experiences low interest in innovation and absence of interoperability (succar, 2010: 8). the volume and intricacy of changes needed to accomplish every one of the three bim stages are groundbreaking and surprisingly revolutionary (henderson & clark, 1990: 22; taylor & levitt, 2005; ibrahim et al., 2019: 3). notwithstanding, steady or transformative advances populate the entry from pre-bim to bim stage 1, through every one of the three phases and towards ipd. recognising these bim steps (figure 1) is instrumental in empowering organisations and people to build their bim capability and maturity in a methodical way (succar, 2009: 12; koseoglu et al., 2019). yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 31 figure 1: steps leading to/separating bim stages source: succar, 2009: 12 2.3 organisational capability attributes required for bim implementation succar (2010: 10) and dakhil, underwood and alshawi (2019: 83) refer to these attributes as bim competency set, which represents the ability of a bim player to achieve a bim requirement. the potential of the bim concept and its capacity to integrate different participants in the sector will be dependent on the adoption of standardised processes alongside the acquisition of technological equipment able to handle the necessary software, in addition to training and education needed to handle and analyse the information provided correctly. consequently, this gives rise to the bim paradigm defined by the triad of policies, processes and technology (kori & kiviniemi, 2015; yusuf, 2014: 22; succar, 2009: 11). koseoglu et al. (2019), haron (2013: 49) and olatunji, sher and gu (2010: 68) identified people, process, and technology as the three vital areas of bim investment for it to be successfully implemented. however, zahrizan et al. (2013: 391) opine that people, technology, and policy are three paramount factors in bim implementation. similarly, bew and underwood (2010) consider them to be the main variables that must be put in place for bim to be delivered. although people and process are vital to change and improvement, technology is the enabler that sustains both elements. in the implementation of e-commerce, for example, ruikar, anumba and carrillo (2006: 105) introduced a management element to justify the role of management in coordinating and managing the implementation. hence, to implement new technologies successfully, management’s awareness, vision, and mission to implement new technologies are needed, in order to plan and drive policies (abbasnejad et al., 2021b: 989). this was supported by smith and tardif (2009) and eastman et al. (2011). as abbasnejad et al. (2021b: 976) and smith and tardif (2009) further explain, the ability to motivate people, leadership, and management buy-in are critical factors to be considered, in order to implement bim within an organisation. in addition, to implement bim, haron (2013: 43) and saka et al. (2020: 17) note the need for software evaluation strategy, use of design and build type of yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 32 project delivery and compatibility, as well as interoperability of bim software. hence, some researchers identify technology, process, and policy as the key factors in bim implementation. others highlight technology, process, and people, while some include management. after thorough examination, it was found that these classifications are essentially the same, depending on the context and content of each category. hence, the classification of technology, process, and policy will be adopted as it basically encapsulates the factors of management and people in bim implementation. succar (2010: 15) and saka et al. (2020: 17) posit that for bim stage 2, which involves model-based collaboration, database-sharing skills, and collaborative processes are essential to achieve it. davenport (1993: 11, cited in bew & underwood [2010]) define process as an organised and measured array of activities aimed at producing specified outputs. in relation to bim, yusuf (2014: 24) explains that processes are the means whereby bim uses are achieved, and process redesign is vital for bim implementation. in this regard, in an attempt to implement bim, a clear definition with a consideration of the entire life cycle and monitoring of bim processes that the organisation will need to deliver its projects are extremely vital. the difference between failure and success of a bim implementation plan can be having the right process (abbasnejad et al., 2021b: 990). in addition, there will be a need to alter the conventional workflow practice, in order to provide coordination between bim and cad process flow (succar, 2010: 6). therefore, the initial compulsory attempt to achieve bim compliance will be to clearly state the due processes as the yardstick for all activities of the model (yusuf, 2014: 24). innovations are important in achieving accuracy, gaining a competitive edge, and attaining greater outcomes and outputs (bew & underwood, 2010). usage of the right technology will be required to aid the already developed bim processes, as it is a significant part of bim implementation. bim requires reasonable innovations to be carried out successfully and ought to be assessed by firms to comprehend the advantages and boundaries of each (yusuf, 2014: 24; saka et al., 2020: 17). an adequate plan to adopt international guidelines must be in place, in order to manage change effectively when a beneficial technology is identified. the bim modeller needs to specify, define, and manage suitable hardware, version and structure, certified software (bim authoring tools), interoperable data formats, storage processes, user workstation, and good internet connections, among others. it is important to match organisational capabilities with the required technology and bim authoring tools (yusuf, 2014: 25). according to succar (2010: 6) and adam et al. (2022: 825), the availability of bim tools assists in the change from drafting-based to objectbased workflow. bim implementation requires adequate infrastructure, skilled and trained workers, sufficient awareness of bim technology, and knowledge of bim tools (abubakar et al.,2013; onungwa et al., 2017: 26; yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 33 elhendawi et al., 2019: 10). ruya, chitumu and kaduma (2018: 4) and abbasnejad et al. (2021b: 976) opine that, in order to implement bim, there should be awareness among stakeholders, standards to guide implementation, investment in education, bim technology, information technology, adequate power supply, training programmes, and government intervention. arayici et al. (2009) and dakhil et al. (2019: 91) opine that the following are essential for bim implementation: continuous staff training on the new process; continuous bim education; new workflow/work process; new software and technology; new process and workflow implementation; new process establishment; adequate work environment, and the ability to mitigate risks. people are the key asset of the construction industry. therefore, the public sector must employ enough diligent people, retain them, and develop their skills and capacities to meet the ever-increasing demand of the industry (hm government, 2013; elhendawi et al., 2019: 10). to successfully implement bim, the public sector must engage the right workforce with the necessary skills and develop a collaborative work culture (gu & london, 2010: 992; adam et al., 2022: 826). for this reason, new roles such as bim modeller and bim administrator have emerged to provide coordination so as to ensure team integration and collaboration efforts in bim implementation (gu & london, 2010: 990, dakhil et al., 2019: 90; adam et al., 2022: 829). the core objective of the bim administrator is to guide the team in implementing bim. the bim administrator must work to ensure that the people, process, and technology work harmoniously (yusuf, 2014: 37). according to succar (2010: 12), alliance-based and risk-sharing contractual arrangements are essential to network-based integration (bim stage 3). laakso and kiviniemi (2012: 145) and elhendawi et al. (2019: 10) suggest that bim implementation requires contract amendment, process change, standardised process, technology adoption, and formal training to develop skill and knowledge. table 1 summarises these organisational capability attributes. table 1: organisational capability attributes required for bim implementation s/no. organisational capability attributes required for bim implementation author(s) 1 adequate power supply ruya, chitumu and kaduma (2018) 2 process redesign succar (2010); yusuf (2014); abbasnejad et al. (2021a) 3 collaborative team culture gu and london (2010); saka et al. (2020) 4 management awareness ruikar et al. (2006); elhendawi et al. (2019) 5 the ability to motivate people smith and tardif (2009) 6 effective risk-management skill arayici et al. (2009) 7 speedy internet connection yusuf (2014) yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 34 s/no. organisational capability attributes required for bim implementation author(s) 8 collaborative process succar (2010); abbasnejad et al. (2021a) 9 management’s vision and missions for bim implementation ruikar et al. (2006); smith and tardif (2009); abbasnejad et al. (2021b) 10 plan to adopt international guidelines yusuf (2014); abbasnejad et al. (2021b) 11 coordination between bim and cad process flow succar (2010); yusuf (2014) 12 the use of design and build type of project delivery haron (2013) 13 contract amendment laakso and kiviniemi (2012); elhendawi et al. (2019) 14 defined responsibilities for the bim administrator gu and london (2010); dakhil et al. (2019) 15 defined responsibilities for the bim modeller gu and london (2010) 16 formal training to develop skill and knowledge hm government (2013); laakso and kiviniemi (2012); abbasnejad et al. (2021b) 17 continuous bim education and awareness arayici et al. (2009); abubakar et al. (2013); abbasnejad et al. (2021a) 18 continuous on-the-job training arayici et al. (2009); elhendawi et al. (2019) 19 sufficient number of workers hm government (2013) 20 adequate work environment for workers arayici et al. (2009); dakhil et al. (2019) 21 change from traditional work process yusuf (2014); dakhil et al. (2019) 22 adequate ict infrastructure yusuf (2014); olatunji et al. (2010) 23 adequate technical support for bim implementation succar (2010); yusuf (2014) 24 software evaluation strategy haron (2013); dakhil et al. (2019) 25 compatibility and interoperability of bim software haron (2013); saka et al. (2020) 26 standardised process kori and kiviniemi (2015) 27 data-sharing skills succar (2010); dakhil et al. (2019) 3. research methodology 3.1 research design the study evaluates the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation on construction projects in nigeria. the methodology adopted in this study is quantitative descriptive analysis based on primary data collected through self-administered questionnaires. singh (2006: 7) explains that research design is basically a statement of the objective of inquiry, strategies for collection of evidence, analysis yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 35 of evidence, and recording of findings. the study employs a quantitative approach in collecting and analysing suitable data. in the questionnaire, the 27 organisational capability attributes identified through the literature review are presented to the respondents for evaluation with respect to their levels of availability and levels of adequacy. 3.2 population, sample, and response rate the target population for this study consists of 1,634 construction professionals in lagos state public service, obtained from the disposition list of lagos state public service. lagos is located in the southwestern part of nigeria. being a former federal capital and now the commercial nerve centre of the country, lagos hosts many of the reputable construction companies operating in nigeria. lagos is listed as one of the 25 megacities of the world with an estimated population of roughly 17 million in 2007 and a growth rate of 3.2%, which has an attendant pressure on its infrastructure. the numerous construction projects in lagos are executed by both the private and the public sectors to meet the housing as well as the economic and infrastructure requirements of the emerging megacity (ameh & osegbo, 2011: 60). the sampling frame comprises one hundred and fiftyfour (154) architects, eighty-five (85) quantity surveyors, two hundred and five (205) builders, five hundred and eighty-six (586) civil engineers, two hundred and eighty-three (283) electrical engineers, and three hundred and twenty-one (321) mechanical engineers in lagos state public service. a 20% sample was selected from each category of the professionals. this makes a total of 327 respondents. each respondent was chosen entirely by chance, not biased in a systematic manner. each member of the population had the same chance of being included in the sample (singleton et al., 1988; kothari & gary, 2004). for this reason, randomisation is employed to achieve an unbiased sample. hence, the portions selected from each professional classification represent the entire population (pilot & hungler 1999: 25). a total of 327 copies of the structured questionnaire were administered. research instruments are fact-finding strategies and tools used for datacollection (gajewska & ropel, 2011: 11). one hundred and ninety-eight (198) copies, which represent a response rate of 60.55%, were the valid copies returned and used for the analysis. the total retrieved questionnaires made the breakdown of the study sample to be 17 quantity surveyors, 23 architects, 77 civil engineers, 32 builders, 30 electrical engineers, and 19 mechanical engineers. the response rate of 60.55% is adjudged adequate for a questionnaire survey by moser and kalton (1971: 35), who recommend not lower than 30-40%. yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 36 table 2: sample size for the study respondents sampling frame sample size architects 154 31 quantity surveyor 85 17 builders 205 41 civil engineers 586 117 electrical engineers 283 57 mechanical engineers 321 64 total 1634 327 source: disposition list of lagos state public service, 2019 3.3 data collection data were collected using self-administered well-structured questionnaires where specific information was listed for the respondents to complete (bell & bryman, 2007: 15). a structured questionnaire has been considered an effective data-collection method when measuring respondents’ beliefs, attitudes, and opinions (van laerhoven, van der zaag-loonen & derkx, 2004: 833). the survey questionnaire was designed as a closedended type. according to kothari (2004), closed-ended questionnaires can be easily completed and are relatively quick to analyse. the use of a questionnaire enabled freedom of opinion of individual respondents without fear of stigmatisation, since it ensures anonymity, confidentiality of responses, and protects the identity of respondents (godfred, 1996, cited in gajewska & ropel, 2011: 11). the questionnaire was developed based on the constructs of the literature review and was administered between july and august 2021. the respondents were key professionals that are central to the execution of construction projects and bim implementation within the public sector. the questionnaire is divided into three parts. part one, on the respondents’ profiles, obtains information about their academic and professional qualifications, occupation, organisation type, and years of work experience. part two, on the construct ‘availability’, is a set of 27 likert-scale measurement items. respondents were required to indicate the level of availability of organisational capability attributes from the scale measurements, in order to examine their level of availability for bim implementation in the public sector (see table 4). part three, on the construct ‘adequacy’, is a set of 27 likert-scale measurement items. respondents were required to indicate the level of adequacy of organisational capability attributes from the scale measurements, in order to examine their level of adequacy for bim implementation in the public sector (see table 5). respondents were informed about the purpose of this study and their freedom to be anonymous. yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 37 3.4 method of analysis and interpretation of the findings both descriptive and inferential statistics are used for the analysis. these were achieved using the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 20 (pallant, 2013: 134). the respondents’ background information was analysed, using descriptive statistics, while the specific concepts were analysed, using frequency distribution, percentage, mean, and the kruskal-wallis test. descriptive statistics are considered effective tools in understanding the underlying details of a data set and putting them in a meaningful perspective (castillo et al., 2010: 168). the 27 organisational capability attributes identified for bim implementation were rated on a fivepoint likert scale. according to leedy and ormrod (2015: 185), likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure opinions. for levels of availability, 1 = never available; 2 = rarely available; 3 = sometimes available; 4 = often available, and 5 = always available. for level of adequacy, 1 = very inadequate; 2 = not adequate; 3 = averagely adequate; 4 = adequate, and 5 = highly adequate. the 5-point scales in each case were converted in the analysis such that 1 = 10%, 2 = 40%, 3 = 60%, 4 = 80% and 5 = 100%. the kruskal-wallis test was used to test whether there is any significant difference in the ranking of the attributes by the different categories of respondents (architects, quantity surveyors, civil engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and builders) at a 5% significance level. the normality test indicated that the data used in this study significantly deviated from a normal distribution as shapiro-wilk test (spw) values in all cases were < 0.05. hence, the kruskal-wallis test is considered appropriate for testing the differences in the opinions expressed by the group of respondents. 3.5 limitations the study was conducted in lagos state, the commercial nerve centre and the most populous city in nigeria. the study focuses on bim implementation on building construction projects by the public sector. the findings mainly reflect the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation in the study environment and may not be generalised, because it could only be applied to the public sector in states or regions with a similar economic, political, and social context. 4. findings 4.1 profile of the respondents the profiles of the respondents analysed include organisation, profession, years of working experience, highest academic qualifications, and yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 38 professional qualifications of the respondents. other variables analysed were the number of projects in which the respondents were involved, where bim was used, and the number of projects involved in general since employment. the results of the analysis in table 3 show that half of the participants (49.5%) worked for the ministry of housing (22.7%) and the ministry of works and infrastructure (26.8%). overall, half of the respondents (65.1%) had either a bachelor of science/bachelor of technology, b.sc/b.tech) (32.8%), or a m.sc. degree (32.8%), and 64.2% had over 10 years’ work experience in their organisation. except for civil engineers (38.9%), respondents were almost equally distributed in their occupations, with quantity surveyors (8.6%), architects (9.6%), mechanical engineers (9.6%), electrical engineers (11.6%), and builders (15.2%). this implies that most of the respondents have adequate tertiary qualifications and experience in the public service system of operation to provide information that could help in making useful deductions on organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation. the respondents had different professional affiliations, indicating their competence to practise in their various areas of disciplines. this was supported by their membership in their respective discipline regulatory institutions. over half of the respondents were affiliated with the nigerian society of engineers (62.1%), and the remainder of them were almost equally affiliated with the nigerian institute of quantity surveyors (niqs) (8.6%), the nigerian institute of building (niob) (16.2%), and the nigerian institute of architects (nia) (12.1%). the vast majority of the respondents (78.8%) were involved in over 11 public sector projects, in general, but the vast majority of them (88.9%) had not been involved in projects where bim was used. this reveals the paucity of bim usage in the public sector. in general, the background information of the respondents gives credence to the validity of information gathered. table 3: background information of the respondents demographic category frequency (n=198) (%) organisation ministry of works and infrastructure 53 26.8 ministry of housing 45 22.7 ministry of transportation 32 16.2 ministry of environmental and physical planning 27 13.6 ministry of waterfront infrastructure 25 12.6 ministry of education 16 8.1 yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 39 profession civil engineer 77 38.9 builder 32 16.2 electrical engineer 30 15.2 architect 23 11.6 mechanical engineer 19 9.6 quantity surveyor 17 8.6 education higher national diploma (hnd) 50 25.3 postgraduate diploma (pgd) 19 9.6 bachelor of science/bachelor of technology (b.sc./b.tech) 65 32.8 m.sc. 64 32.3 professional registration niqs 17 8.6 niob 32 16.2 nia 24 12.1 nse 123 62.1 other 2 1 experience (years) 1-5 18 9.1 6-10 53 26.8 11-15 57 28.8 16-20 42 21.2 21-25 17 8.6 over 25 11 5.6 number of bim projects since employment 0 176 88.9 1-5 14 7.1 5-10 4 2 11-15 1 0.5 16-20 3 1.5 number of general projects since employment 1-5 16 8.1 6-10 26 13.1 11-15 45 22.7 16-20 40 20.2 over 20 71 35.9 4.2 availability of organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation data were collected to assess the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation in building projects. in order to achieve this sub-objective, the organisational capability attributes of the public sector were examined based on levels of availability. the result is presented in table 4. adequate power supply was the organisational capability attribute with the highest rating in terms of level of availability (lav = 76.00%). this is followed by speedy internet connection (lav = 70.20%), change from traditional workflow (lav = 69.80%), adequate work environment for workers yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 40 (lav = 69.60%), standardised process (lav = 66.00%), sufficient number of workers (lav = 65.60%), data-sharing skills (lav = 65.00%), and continuous on the job training (lav = 64.80%). the low rated organisational capability attributes with respect to availability were clearly defined roles for the bim modeller (lav = 41.40%), clearly defined roles for the bim administrator (lav = 41.80%), compatibility and interoperability of bim (lav = 42.20%), the use of design and build type of project delivery (lav = 42.8%), and coordination between bim and cad process flow (lav = 44.60%). these were followed by attributes such as software evaluation strategy (lav = 45.00%), contract amendment (lav = 49.20%), management’s vision and missions for bim implementation (lav = 49.20%), and documented plan to adopt international guidelines and standards (lav = 49.40%). the high rating of adequate power supply (lav = 76.00%) and of speedy internet connection (lav = 70.20%) is presumably the result of alternative sources of power supply being used by the public sector in lagos state. these alternative sources of power supply could include generator, solar energy, and inverter, among others. most of the public offices depend on generators and are still paper based (abubakar et al., 2014; sawhney, 2014; abbasnejad et al., 2021b: 974). the dependence on generator for power supply increases the running cost of offices and affects the judicious use of the limited available resources. the current paper-based and traditional system of operation within public offices is prone to errors and omissions, and also wastes time and money. this is in consonance with ayodele and alabi (2011: 143) and saka et al. (2020: 2) who opined that the current system often leads to cost overruns, delays, and conflicts among the project team which are not favourable for bim implementation. the high rating of sufficient number of workers (lav = 65.60%) and adequate work environment for workers (lav = 69.60%) may result from the fact that the public sector remains the major employer of labour in nigeria. the large workforce in the public sector has not translated to effectiveness and efficiency because they remain incapable of managing their projects and their private sector counterpart with slim workforce performs better in project delivery (fitsilis & chalatsis, 2014: 131; olufemi et al., 2020: 846). olufemi, afegbua & etim (2020: 849) and babatunde (2015) earlier revealed that the private sector performs better in their project execution and their capability for ppp projects is higher than the public sector, despite being the major stakeholder in the nigerian construction industry. the high ranking of adequate work environment for workers is expected since lagos is the commercial nerve centre of nigeria and an emerging megacity. therefore, several projects are being executed to meet the need of the emerging megacity (ameh & osegbo, 2011: 60). in addition, the current global pandemic occasioned by covid-19 has forced several organisations, including the public sector, to make certain capability yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 41 attributes available, in order to align with the new normal in the discharge of their operation. the low rating of several core capability attributes such as clearly defined roles for the bim modeller (lav = 41.40%); clearly defined roles for the bim administrator (lav = 41.80%); software evaluation strategy (lav = 45.00%), and coordination between bim and cad process flow (lav = 44.60%), among others, shows that the public sector lacks the necessary personnel to develop these capability attributes. the reason for this is that the sufficient number of workers is ranked high, but the necessary expertise required for bim implementation is ranked low. this indicates that the public sector lacks the necessary expertise and know-how required for bim implementation, although they have a sufficient number of workers. this agrees with previous research by opawole et al. (2019), tembo and rwelamila (2008: 8), and awwad (2013) which identified the public sector as having an over-reliance on outsourced consultants in managing projects and merely obtaining the reports of the construction process. it is also a reflection of the apathy of the public sector toward bim and other related templates and software usage. it further underscores the fact that the public sector has no clear policy on the usage of computer software and other technological developments in its operations (hammaadama & kouider, 2018: 1118; ihemeje & afegbua, 2020: 60). this is not surprising because the usage of bim technologies in nigeria appears to be limited to 3d visualisation and the knowledge of bim is low (onungwa et al., 2017: 27). the low rating of capability attributes such as the use of design and build type of project delivery (lav = 42.80%), contract amendment (lav = 49.20%), and documented plan to adapt international guidelines (lav = 49.40%) portrays that the public sector in nigeria is still entrenched in the traditional method of project delivery. many professionals within nigeria’s public sector are not conversant with new development in the global construction landscape (onungwa et al., 2017: 27; ihemeje & afegbua, 2020: 60). these results reveal the absence of several basic organisational attributes for bim implementation in the study area. roughly 50% of these organisational attributes were rated below 60.00%. this agrees with onungwa et al. (2017: 27) and abubakar et al. (2014) who opine that public offices lack capability attributes to implement bim. this confirm the absence of the required facilities for bim implementation in the study area. hence, to implement bim, these organisational capability attributes must be made available and effectively deployed in public sector organisations. yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 42 ta bl e 4: a va ila bi lit y of o rg an is at io na l c ap ab ili ty a ttr ib ut es o f t he p ub lic s ec to r f or b im im pl em en ta tio n o rg an is at io na l c ap ab ili ty a ttr ib ut es o v e r a ll q s b ld r e e g a r c m e g c e g k w s ig . la v (% ) s d r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r a d e q ua te p o w e r s up p ly 76 .0 0 0. 78 0 1 74 .2 0 1 74 .4 0 1 78 .6 0 1 74 .8 0 1 83 .2 0 1 74 .6 0 1 0. 27 7 sp e e d y in te rn e t c o nn e c tio n 70 .2 0 0. 91 1 2 67 .0 0 5 71 .2 0 2 67 .4 0 4 71 .4 0 2 75 .8 0 2 69 .6 0 4 0. 56 7 c ha ng e fr o m t ra d iti o na l w o rk p ro c e ss 69 .8 0 0. 69 6 3 70 .6 0 3 70 .6 0 3 69 .4 0 2 69 .6 0 4 64 .2 0 4 71 .0 0 2 0. 34 4 a d e q ua te w o rk e nv iro nm e nt fo r w o rk e rs 69 .6 0 0. 70 3 4 71 .8 0 2 70 .0 0 4 69 .4 0 2 71 .4 0 2 63 .2 0 7 70 .2 0 3 0. 33 9 st a nd a rd ise d p ro c e ss 66 .0 0 0. 84 7 5 65 .8 0 6 68 .8 0 5 62 .6 0 7 66 .0 0 6 64 .2 0 4 66 .4 0 6 0. 93 3 su ffi c ie nt n um b e r o f w o rk e rs 65 .6 0 0. 79 4 6 69 .4 0 4 66 .8 0 7 63 .4 0 6 62 .6 0 8 63 .2 0 7 66 .8 0 5 0. 71 9 d a ta -s ha rin g s ki lls 65 .0 0 0. 91 6 7 63 .6 0 9 62 .6 0 10 64 .0 0 5 63 .4 0 7 73 .6 0 3 65 .2 0 7 0. 38 1 c o nt in uo us o nth e -jo b t ra in in g 64 .8 0 0. 85 6 8 64 .8 0 8 68 .8 0 5 62 .0 0 9 67 .8 0 5 61 .0 0 9 64 .4 0 9 0. 58 0 c o lla b o ra tiv e p ro c e ss 62 .4 0 0. 91 0 9 61 .2 0 12 66 .2 0 8 59 .4 0 13 57 .4 0 14 60 .0 0 13 64 .4 0 9 0. 36 4 a d e q ua te ic t in fra st ru c tu re 62 .4 0 0. 93 5 10 63 .6 0 9 59 .4 0 15 60 .0 0 10 60 .8 0 10 61 .0 0 9 65 .0 0 8 0. 60 3 fo rm a l t ra in in g t o d e ve lo p s ki ll a nd k no w le d g e 62 .0 0 0. 90 5 11 65 .8 0 6 64 .4 0 9 57 .4 0 17 60 .8 0 10 54 .8 0 18 63 .8 0 11 0. 18 1 a b ilit y to m o tiv a te p e o p le 61 .4 0 0. 89 8 12 60 .0 0 14 60 .0 0 14 60 .0 0 10 61 .8 0 9 61 .0 0 9 62 .8 0 13 0. 98 9 c o lla b o ra tiv e t e a m c ul tu re 61 .2 0 0. 89 9 13 61 .2 0 12 61 .8 0 12 60 .6 0 8 56 .6 0 15 59 .0 0 15 63 .2 0 12 0. 82 7 c o nt in uo us b im e d uc a tio n a nd a w a re ne ss 60 .8 0 0. 96 6 14 60 .0 0 14 62 .6 0 10 60 .0 0 10 60 .0 0 13 61 .0 0 9 60 .8 0 15 0. 99 6 ef fe c tiv e m a na g e m e nt s ki ll 59 .8 0 0. 94 2 15 58 .8 0 18 60 .6 0 13 58 .0 0 16 55 .6 0 17 57 .8 0 17 62 .4 0 14 0. 67 3 m a na g e m e nt a w a re ne ss o f b im 59 .2 0 0. 88 3 16 60 .0 0 14 58 .8 0 16 59 .4 0 13 60 .8 0 10 64 .2 0 4 57 .4 0 17 0. 83 8 a d e q ua te t e c hn ic a l s up p o rt fo r bi m im p le m e nt a tio n 58 .8 0 0. 99 3 17 60 .0 0 14 57 .6 0 16 59 .4 0 13 56 .6 0 15 60 .0 0 13 59 .4 0 16 0. 98 5 pr o c e ss re d e sig n 56 .2 0 0. 96 7 18 57 .6 0 20 53 .8 0 18 56 .0 0 18 55 .6 0 17 59 .0 0 15 56 .6 0 18 0. 92 9 yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 43 o rg an is at io na l c ap ab ili ty a ttr ib ut es o v e r a ll q s b ld r e e g a r c m e g c e g k w s ig . la v (% ) s d r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r la v (% ) r pl a n to a d o p t in te rn a tio na l g ui d e lin e s 49 .4 0 1. 07 4 19 58 .8 0 18 53 .8 0 18 44 .0 0 20 49 .6 0 21 44 .2 0 20 48 .8 0 21 0. 28 2 c o nt ra c t a m e nd m e nt 49 .2 0 1. 21 6 21 62 .4 0 11 50 .0 0 20 40 .0 0 22 52 .2 0 19 39 .0 0 21 51 .2 0 20 0. 02 2* m a na g e m e nt ’s v isi o n a nd m iss io ns fo r b im 49 .2 0 1. 10 7 20 50 .6 0 26 45 .6 0 21 52 .0 0 19 46 .0 0 23 45 .2 0 19 51 .4 0 19 0. 74 7 so ft w a re e va lu a tio n st ra te g y 45 .0 0 0. 96 9 22 54 .2 0 23 45 .6 0 21 42 .6 0 21 43 .4 0 27 39 .0 0 21 45 .4 0 22 0. 33 2 c o o rd in a tio n b e tw e e n bi m a nd c a d p ro c e ss fl o w 44 .6 0 1. 14 6 23 51 .8 0 25 43 .8 0 25 41 .4 0 23 50 .4 0 20 39 .0 0 21 44 .2 0 23 0. 46 8 th e u se o f d e sig n a nd b ui ld ty p e o f p ro je c t d e liv e ry 42 .8 0 1. 19 1 24 55 .2 0 22 39 .4 0 27 39 .4 0 24 45 .2 0 24 33 .6 0 25 44 .2 0 23 0. 08 9 c o m p a tib ilit y a nd in te ro p e ra b ilit y o f b im 42 .2 0 1. 03 6 25 50 .6 0 26 42 .6 0 23 38 .6 0 27 44 .4 0 25 37 .8 0 24 42 .0 0 26 0. 64 6 c le a rly d e fin e d ro le s fo r t he b im a d m in ist ra to r 41 .8 0 1. 21 8 26 54 .2 0 23 42 .6 0 23 37 .4 0 25 44 .4 0 25 31 .6 0 36 42 .4 0 25 0. 06 5 c le a rly d e fin e d ro le s fo r t he b im m o d e lle r 41 .4 0 1. 16 7 27 56 .4 0 21 41 .2 0 26 37 .4 0 25 47 .8 0 22 29 .4 0 27 40 .6 0 27 0. 00 8* la v = le ve l o f a va ila b ilit y; s d = s ta nd a rd d e vi a tio n; r = ra nk ; q s = q ua nt ity s ur ve yo r; bl d r= b ui ld e r; ee g = el e c tr ic a l e ng in e e r; a rc = a rc hi te c t; m eg = m e c ha ni c a l e ng in e e r; c eg = c iv il e ng in e e r; kw = kr us ka l w a llis ; * si g . p -v a lu e ≤ 0. 05 yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 44 the study established that there is no statistically significant difference in the opinions of the group of respondents regarding the availability of the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation, except in two, namely contract amendment (lav = 49.20%, p-value = 0.022) and clearly defined role for the bim modeller (lav = 41.40%, p-value = 0.008). the p-values of the attributes were ≤ 0.05 level of significance (table 4). this implies that the construction professionals have different perceptions about the availability of these two organisational capability attributes (contract amendment and clearly defined role for the bim modeller) in the study area. the respondents’ consensus on the availability of most of the organisational capability attributes might be a reflection of bias to protect and portray their organisations in good light. in addition, the different level of engagement and interaction of the respondents with these organisational capability attributes, based on their various professional roles and responsibilities, might have influenced their opinions. 4.3 adequacy of organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation data were collected to assess the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation in building projects. in order to achieve this sub-objective, the organisational capability attributes of the public sector were examined, based on levels of adequacy. the result is presented in table 5. adequate power supply was the organisational capability attribute with the highest rating in terms of level of adequacy (laq = 75.80%). this is followed by speedy internet connection (laq = 69.80% ); change from traditional work flow (laq = 64.60%); adequate work environment for workers (laq = 64.40%); data-sharing skills (laq = 63.60%); standardised process (laq = 63.40%); collaborative team culture (laq = 63.00%); the ability to motivate people (laq = 62.60%); collaborative process (laq = 62.20%), and effective risk-management skills (laq = 62.00%), which ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th, respectively. the least rated capability attributes were the clearly defined roles for the bim modeller (laq = 38.20%); the clearly defined roles for the bim administrator (laq = 39.00%); the use of design and build type of project delivery to implement bim (laq = 40.40%); coordination between bim and cad process flow (laq = 40.60%); compatibility and interoperability of bim software (laq = 42.40%); contract amendment (laq = 43.40%); plan to adopt international standards (laq = 43.60%), and software evaluation strategy (laq = 43.60). these ranked 27th, 26th, 25th, 24th, 23rd, 22nd, 21st, and 20th, respectively. yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 45 the high rating of adequate power supply (laq = 75.80%) could result from dependence on generator and other alternative sources of power supply. this agrees with abubakar et al. (2014), manu et al. (2019), as well as with ihemeje and afegbua (2020: 63), who noted that public offices in nigeria depend more on generators for power supply. although previous research (afolabi et al. 2019; onungwa et al., 2017: 26; abubakar et al., 2014) noted that the use of ict in public offices is low, speedy internet connection was rated high (laq = 69.80%). this could have improved as a result of the current global pandemic (covid-19), which has forced several organisations (public sector inclusive) to embrace the use of ict in their operations. most of the public offices operations are paperbased, with minimal usage of software, technology, and innovations that require high-speed internet connection to download and upload large files such as bim (sawhney, 2014; zhao et al., 2016: 156; afolabi et al., 2019). the high rating of collaborative team culture (laq = 63.00%) and collaborative process (laq = 62.20%) reflect the nature of the construction project execution, which entails interaction and cooperation with different professionals. this is especially the case in the public sector, where there can be diverse stakeholders on a particular project. evidently, in such work environment, collaboration is very important for project execution and day-to-day operations. in addition, the current covid-19 pandemic has forced several organisations, including the public sector, to improve on their capability attributes, in order to manage the disruptions in business operations and workflow. the low rating of many core capability attributes, which are software related, such as clearly defined roles for the bim modeller (laq = 38.20%); clearly defined roles for the bim administrator (laq = 39.00%); the use of design and build type of project delivery to implement bim (laq = 40.4%); coordination between bim and cad process flow (laq = 40.60%); compatibility and interoperability of bim software (laq = 42.4%); contract amendment (laq = 43.40%), and software evaluation strategy (laq = 43.60%) indicates that the public sector is lagging in the usage of software and modern techniques. the public sector still appears entrenched in the traditional practice, where lines and symbols on paper have been used to prepare working drawings, construction plans, bills of quantities, and engineering drawings. these results agree with previous research (muhammed & isah, 2012: 660; kasimu & usman, 2013: 126; olorunkiya, 2017). in nigeria, where public projects dominate the construction sector (alufohai, 2012; hamma-adama & kouider, 2018: 1117), the implementation of modern methods and techniques is non-negotiable to enhance the performance of public projects. this is crucial to confront fragmentation and the uncoordinated way in which projects are being executed have been yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 46 identified as the main causes of poor project performance. unfortunately, compatibility and interoperability of bim software, which is crucial for the public sector to implement bim and eradicate the disjointed practices in project delivery, were rated very low in adequacy. overall, the results show the poor state of organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation. it is noteworthy that over 50% of these capability attributes have a level of adequacy below 60.00%. a good number of the capability attributes possessed by the public sector appear grossly inadequate although available. hence, bim may not be implemented soonest. this finding agrees with afolabi et al. (2019), iwarere and lawal (2011: 23), arnaboldi, azzone and savoldelli (2004: 218), and moucsf (2015), who identify the public sector as presently not capable of managing projects using modern methods. this is especially the situation in nigeria, where there is no legislative roadmap for the use of technology, software, and innovative tools. this is unfortunate, despite the large-scale construction activities being undertaken by the public sector which is expected to take advantage of bim, in order to enjoy its enormous advantage. yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 47 ta bl e 5: a de qu ac y of o rg an is at io na l c ap ab ili ty a ttr ib ut es o f t he p ub lic s ec to r f or b im im pl em en ta tio n o rg an is at io na l c ap ab ili ty at tr ib ut es o v e r a ll q s b ld r e e g a r c m e g c e g k w s ig . la q (% ) s d r la q (% ) r la q (% ) r la q (% ) r la q (5 ) r la q (% ) r la q (% ) r a d e q ua te p o w e r s up p ly 75 .8 0 0. 81 6 1 69 .4 0 1 77 .6 0 1 77 .4 0 1 74 .8 0 1 83 .2 0 1 74 .2 0 1 0. 25 3 sp e e d y in te rn e t c o nn e c tio n 69 .8 0 0. 99 1 2 65 .8 0 3 65 .0 0 4 72 .6 0 2 70 .4 0 2 75 .8 0 2 70 .2 0 2 0. 36 9 c ha ng e fr o m t ra d iti o na l w o rk p ro c e ss 64 .6 0 0. 84 1 3 65 .8 0 3 65 .6 0 2 62 .0 0 9 64 .4 0 8 62 .2 0 5 65 .8 0 3 0. 91 0 a d e q ua te w o rk e nv iro nm e nt fo r w o rk e rs 64 .4 0 0. 84 8 4 64 .8 0 5 65 .6 0 2 62 .0 0 9 65 .2 0 3 61 .0 0 10 65 .2 0 4 0. 88 1 d a ta -s ha rin g s ki lls 63 .6 0 0. 94 2 5 63 .6 0 6 59 .4 0 12 62 .6 0 8 65 .2 0 3 68 .4 0 3 63 .8 0 7 0. 81 7 st a nd a rd ise d p ro c e ss 63 .4 0 0. 90 5 6 67 .0 0 2 63 .2 0 5 63 .4 0 6 65 .2 0 3 57 .8 0 12 63 .4 0 9 0. 70 3 c o lla b o ra tiv e t e a m c ul tu re 63 .0 0 0. 79 2 7 63 .6 0 6 60 .0 0 10 64 .6 0 4 58 .2 0 13 62 .2 0 5 65 .2 0 4 0. 44 2 th e a b ilit y to m o tiv a te p e o p le 62 .6 0 0. 82 4 8 57 .6 0 13 61 .8 0 6 64 .6 0 4 65 .2 0 3 62 .2 0 5 62 .4 0 11 0. 78 2 c o lla b o ra tiv e p ro c e ss 62 .2 0 0. 88 1 9 57 .6 0 13 61 .2 0 8 63 .4 0 6 61 .8 0 10 63 .2 0 4 62 .8 0 10 0. 94 7 ef fe c tiv e ri sk -m a na g e m e nt sk ills 62 .0 0 0. 89 3 10 58 .8 0 11 61 .8 0 6 61 .4 0 11 61 .8 0 10 57 .8 0 12 63 .8 0 7 0. 74 5 su ffi c ie nt n um b e r o f w o rk e rs 61 .4 0 0. 86 4 11 63 .6 0 6 60 .6 0 9 61 .4 0 11 59 .2 0 12 62 .2 0 5 61 .8 0 12 0. 97 1 c o nt in uo us o nth e -jo b tr a in in g 61 .4 0 0. 87 0 12 56 .4 0 17 59 .4 0 12 58 .0 0 15 65 .2 0 3 59 .0 0 11 64 .2 0 6 0. 24 5 m a na g e m e nt a w a re ne ss o f b im 60 .2 0 0. 93 4 13 50 .6 0 25 57 .6 0 15 65 .4 0 3 64 .4 0 8 62 .2 0 5 59 .8 0 13 0. 09 7 c o nt in uo us b im e d uc a tio n a nd t ra in in g 58 .4 0 0. 88 0 14 56 .4 0 17 60 .0 0 10 59 .4 0 13 56 .6 0 16 52 .6 0 17 59 .8 0 13 0. 57 4 a d e q ua te ic t in fra st ru c tu re to s up p o rt b im 57 .8 0 0. 91 1 15 61 .2 0 9 57 .6 0 15 56 .0 0 16 57 .4 0 14 57 .8 0 12 58 .0 0 17 0. 92 4 pr o c e ss re d e sig n 57 .8 0 1. 00 4 16 58 .8 0 11 59 .4 0 12 53 .4 0 18 57 .4 0 14 54 .8 0 16 59 .8 0 13 0. 70 9 yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 48 o rg an is at io na l c ap ab ili ty at tr ib ut es o v e r a ll q s b ld r e e g a r c m e g c e g k w s ig . la q (% ) s d r la q (% ) r la q (% ) r la q (% ) r la q (5 ) r la q (% ) r la q (% ) r fo rm a l t ra in in g t o d e ve lo p sk ills a nd k no w le d g e 57 .4 0 0. 89 7 17 57 .6 0 13 57 .6 0 15 59 .4 0 13 55 .6 0 17 47 .4 0 19 59 .4 0 16 0. 17 6 a d e q ua te t e c hn ic a l s up p o rt fo r b im 56 .0 0 0. 96 1 18 61 .2 0 9 56 .8 0 18 54 .0 0 17 51 .4 0 18 56 .8 0 15 56 .4 0 18 0. 68 3 m a na g e m e nt ’s v isi o n a nd m iss io ns fo r b im 51 .0 0 1. 11 1 19 55 .2 0 19 48 .8 0 19 49 .4 0 19 47 .0 0 19 48 .4 0 18 53 .2 0 19 0. 70 5 so ft w a re e va lu a tio n st ra te g y 43 .6 0 1. 03 9 20 54 .2 0 21 43 .2 0 20 43 .4 0 20 37 .4 0 26 41 .0 0 20 43 .8 0 22 0. 31 8 pl a n to a d o p t in te rn a tio na l g ui d e lin e s 43 .6 0 1. 22 9 21 57 .6 0 13 42 .6 0 21 38 .0 0 25 43 .4 0 20 32 .6 0 22 46 .0 0 20 0. 03 7* c o nt ra c t a m e nd m e nt 43 .4 0 1. 16 2 22 55 .2 0 19 40 .0 0 23 42 .6 0 21 40 .8 0 21 32 .6 0 22 46 .0 0 20 0. 05 9 c o m p a tib ilit y a nd in te ro p e ra b ilit y o f b im 42 .4 0 1. 07 4 23 49 .4 0 26 40 .6 0 22 42 .0 0 22 40 .8 0 21 36 .8 0 21 43 .6 0 23 0. 69 6 c o o rd in a tio n b e tw e e n bi m a nd c a d 40 .6 0 1. 18 6 24 51 .8 0 24 35 .6 0 24 39 .4 0 24 39 .2 0 24 32 .6 0 22 42 .8 0 24 0. 10 5 th e u se o f d e sig n a nd b ui ld c o nt ra c t 40 .4 0 1. 16 2 25 54 .2 0 21 35 .6 0 24 42 .0 0 22 40 .0 0 23 29 .4 0 25 41 .6 0 25 0. 02 5* c le a rly d e fin e d ro le s fo r t he bi m a d m in ist ra to r 39 .0 0 1. 13 0 26 54 .2 0 21 35 .0 0 26 38 .0 0 25 36 .6 0 27 26 .4 0 26 41 .6 0 25 0. 00 3* c le a rly d e fin e d ro le s fo r t he bi m m o d e le r 38 .2 0 1. 08 1 27 49 .4 0 26 36 .2 0 27 37 .4 0 27 38 .2 0 25 25 .2 0 27 41 .6 0 27 0. 01 9* la q = l e ve l o f a d e q ua c y; s d = s ta nd a rd d e vi a tio n; r = ra nk ; q s = q ua nt ity s ur ve yo r; bl d r= b ui ld e r; ee g = el e c tr ic a l e ng in e e r; a rc = a rc hi te c t; m eg = m e c ha ni c a l e ng in e e r; c eg = c iv il e ng in e e r; kw = kr us ka l w a llis ; * si g . p -v a lu e ≤ 0. 05 yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 49 it is noteworthy that capability attributes with a high level of availability (adequate power supply, speedy internet connection, change from traditional workflow, and adequate work environment for workers) also have a high level of adequacy. similarly, attributes with a low level of availability (clearly defined roles for the bim modeller, clearly defined roles for the bim administrator, the use of design and build type of project delivery to implement bim, compatibility and interoperability of bim implementation, and coordination between bim and cad process flow) also have a low level of adequacy. this finding reveals the need for the public sector to improve on the critical attributes and make the same adequate, in order to implement bim in the execution of building projects. these findings agree with ihemeje and afegbua (2020: 63), olufemi et al. (2020: 846), mayedwa and van belle (2016: 50), who posited that the public sector lacks adequate capability attributes to successfully execute its projects. the study established that there is no statistically significant difference in the opinions expressed on the adequacy of the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation, except in four as observed by the respondents, namely plan to adopt international guidelines (laq = 43.60%, p-value = 0.037); the use of design and build type of contract (laq = 40.40%, p-value = 0.025); clearly defined role for the bim administrator (laq = 39.00%, p-value = 0.003), and clearly defined role for the bim modeller (laq = 38.20%, p-value = 0.019). the p-values of the attributes were ≤ 0.05 level of significance (table 5). this implies that the construction professionals have a similar perception about the adequacy of these organisational capability attributes, except in four, namely plan to adopt international guidelines; the use of design and build type of contract; clearly defined role for the bim administrator, and clearly defined role for the bim modeller in the study area. the differences in the respondents’ opinions on these four (4) organisational capability attributes are as expected, because all these capability attributes ranked low and are more or less peculiar to bim implementation. it will be most unlikely for them to be adequate in an organisation that is not implementing bim. 5. conclusion this study examined the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for the implementation of bim and indicated the implications for enhancing the performance of public sector projects. findings revealed that the capability attributes for bim implementation with high rating are those that are not peculiar to bim implementation, but are used for general and day-to-day operations in any typical organisation. most of the attributes with low ratings are those that are specifically for bim implementation. this suggests that the competence and capability of the public sector yusuf, opawole & ebunoluwa 2022 acta structilia 29(1): 26-58 50 must be further developed, not only to capture capability attributes that are deployed in the general operational activities of the organisations, but also to include the specific requirements for bim implementation. the findings of the study also showed that organisational capability attributes with high level of availability also had a high level of adequacy and those with low availability rating have a low adequacy rating. it can be further deduced from the results that roughly 50% of the organisational capability attributes have an availability rating below 60%, while over 50% of the organisational capability attributes have an adequacy rating below 60%. this shows that the organisational capability attributes of the public sector for bim implementation are not yet satisfactorily developed. hence, the public sector 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_hlk92891179 116 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as akintayo opawole dr akintayo opawole, quantity surveying and construction management, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. phone: +2348035125849, email: tayoappmail@gmail.com, orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8326-7824 betty olojede dr betty olojede, quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 003, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2348066476639, email: bettyolawuni@yahoo.com fumbi oshin ms fumbi oshin, quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 003, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +23447036122211, email: bukkyosm@ yahoo.com anthony yusuf mr anthony yusuf, quantity surveying, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 003, ile-ife, nigeria. phone: +2347037590877, email: anthonyoyusuf@yahoo.com, orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1574-788x issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2022 reviewed and revised: february 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: construction industry, intelligent building design, intelligent building system, technology, drivers, barriers, sustainable building development how to cite: opawole, a., olojede, b., oshin, f. & yusuf, a. 2022. assessment of the level of awareness of intelligent buildings in lagos state, nigeria. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 116-149. assessment of the level of awareness of intelligent buildings in lagos state, nigeria research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.5 abstract the feasibility of achieving sustainable building development, an eco-friendly environment, and building investment conservation by integrating technological intelligence in buildings is highly viable. intelligence features are, therefore, increasingly being incorporated in new designs and existing buildings to enhance the useful life, productivity and satisfaction of occupants, and a greener environment. this article evaluates the use of intelligent building systems in nigeria. primary data were obtained with the use of structured questionnaires that were self-administered to construction professionals in the private and public sectors in lagos state. data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. findings established that 90.24% of the respondents were aware of intelligent building systems, while practitioners who have worked or were working on buildings with intelligent features were limited to 51.2%. approximately 64.60% of the respondents have used intelligent buildings previously, but only thirteen (13) notable buildings were identified to have employed intelligent building systems to a reasonable extent in the study area. the features of intelligent buildings with top level of awareness 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 116-149 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 117 were cctv system; access control and locks (mean = 3.96); alarms and alerts (mean = 3.92); hvac system (mean = 3.90), and fire alarm system (mean = 3.89). features with high level of utilisation include lighting system, which was the most utilised feature (mean = 3.57); fire alarm system (mean = 3.48); access control and lock; cctv system (mean = 3.45), and hvac system (mean = 3.43). the results showed that most of the features with a high level of awareness were also those with a high level of utilisation. the study established that the level of awareness and utilisation of intelligent building systems in the study area is high, but full adoption of the system is still low. abstrak die haalbaarheid van die bereiking van volhoubare gebou-ontwikkeling, eko-vriendelike omgewing en die bou van beleggingsbewaring deur die integrasie van tegnologiese intelligensie in geboue is hoogs lewensvatbaar. hierdie artikel evalueer die gebruik van intelligente geboue-stelsels in nigerië. primêre data is verkry deur gestruktureerde vraelyste wat deur die konstruksie professionele persone in private en openbare sektore in lagos state voltooi is. data wat ingesamel is, is ontleed met behulp van beskrywende analise. bevindinge het vasgestel dat 90.24% van die respondente bewus was van intelligente geboue-stelsels, terwyl praktisyns wat gewerk het of aan geboue met intelligente kenmerke gewerk het, tot 51.2% beperk is. ongeveer 64.60% van die respondente het voorheen intelligente geboue gebruik, maar slegs dertien (13) noemenswaardige geboue is geïdentifiseer wat intelligente gebouestelsels in die studiegebied gebruik het. die kenmerke van ’n intelligente gebou met topvlak van bewustheid was cctv-stelsel; toegangsbeheer en slotte (gemiddeld = 3.96); alarms en waarskuwings (gemiddeld = 3.92); hvac-stelsel (gemiddeld = 3.90), en brandalarmstelsel (gemiddeld = 3.89). kenmerke met ’n hoë vlak van benutting sluit in beligtingstelsel wat die mees gebruikte kenmerk was (gemiddeld = 3.57); brandalarmstelsel (gemiddeld = 3.48); toegangsbeheer en slot, en cctv-stelsel (gemiddeld = 3.45), en hvac-stelsel (gemiddeld = 3.43). die resultate het getoon dat die meeste kenmerke met ’n hoë vlak van bewustheid ook dié met ’n hoë vlak van benutting was. die studie het vasgestel dat die vlak van bewustheid en benutting van intelligente geboue-stelsels in die studiegebied hoog is, maar die volle aanvaarding van die stelsel is steeds laag. 1. introduction as a significant entity among the identified three basic needs of life, building accommodates roughly 80% of daily human activities. besides the comfort of living, working space, and shelter from harsh environmental conditions that building offers, it creates capital assets and durable consumer good (seeley, 1997: 10). the conventional good of buildings has revolutionised with the advancement in information communication and technology (ict) to garner innovative good for users and owners. the emerging technological innovations in building constructs have established the possible interaction between the building and its users and/or occupants for improved thermal comfort, increased human productivity, better morale and satisfaction, improved security and safety, enhanced energy saving, and marketability (ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015: 1; wong, li & lai, 2008: 284, 287; wong, li & wang, 2005: 144). the ability of buildings to effectively sense and interpret information from its uses, with the aid of installed technological opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 118 systems to activate mechanical responses, has made buildings more efficient and intelligent, thus, intelligent buildings (ibs). ib is an option for achieving the global sustainable building development by means of its efficient energy-management potentials. new buildings with the integration of intelligence in their designs are 70% more efficient and smart in capacities and use than conventional buildings (osama, 2018). smart and/or ibs are founded as feasible solutions to deficiencies in existing buildings and challenges of construction-related environmental threat (lilis et al., 2016: 2; barrie & paulson, 1992). ibs are a panacea for constraints in economic development because they have over 50% cost-saving potential to address energy and climate change challenges (ramesh & khan, 2013; tomlinson, 2010). such economic development challenges stem from energy waste from the deteriorating capacity of existing buildings/facilities to accommodate changing future growth, and climatic threats from greenhouse gas emissions. developed countries have records of increased provisions of ibs for residential, commercial, and office purposes, owing to the derivable value-added benefits and cost-minimisation potentials of ibs (clementscroome, 2015; braun, 2007: 4374-4375; flax, 1991: 24). for example, the installation of an energy-management control system (emcs) in commercial buildings soared by 80% in the usa from 1995 to 1999 (braun, 2007: 4374). the intelligent office building of apple company in san francisco has 70% natural ventilation construct (lonergan et al., 2015, cited in ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015: 4). the world-class bio-reactive façade in germany provides shade and a renewable fuel source (arup 2013, cited in ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015: 4). the manitoba hydro place in canada has 70% energy conservation over typical large office towers. in developing countries, particularly the hot and humid climes, the interventions of technological intelligence have gained increased adaptation in building development designs and existing building retrofits, to improve thermal comfort and conserve energy consumption. for example, the integration of intelligence (e.g., hvac) in buildings in nigeria led to an annual cost-saving potential on energy consumption of 46.3% and 3oc improvement on thermal comfort (onyenokporo & ochedi, 2018). the innovative potentials of ibs greatly contribute to the targets for energy efficiency, by alleviating the problem of rising urban growth in the world (lilis et al., 2016: 2). for example, europe and north america have a 74% and 82% urbanisation growth rate, respectively (lilis et al., 2016: 2). nigeria has a 212% increased level of built-up area (onanuga, eludoyi & ofoezie, 2022: 592). ib technology is a novel building approach in the nigerian construction industry. it is highly imperative that the country embraces the system of building intelligence in future policies for new constructions to opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 119 meet up with its rapid urbanisation growth. there is a seemingly low level of adoption of intelligent systems in the country, and scant empirical research on building intelligence in nigeria (iwuagwu & chioma, 2014; ahmed, 2009; owajionyi, 2007). this study attempts to investigate the level of awareness of ib systems (ibss) and use in the country, with a view to adding to building innovation knowledge base and providing an empirical guide for further research. 2. literature review 2.1 intelligent buildings the concept of ibs was conceived in the usa in the early 1980s (frank, 2007: 107). the first ever ib in the world was constructed in hartford, usa, in 1984 (cibtin, 2002: online). nowadays, ibs are rapidly becoming policy measures for the design and development of new buildings rather than mere conceptual frameworks for representing future buildings (ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015: 8-9). there is no consensus on the definition of an ib, as there has been no definite end to building technological innovation that is progressing daily. however, the nexus of all definitions centres on the derivable cost-benefit efficiency, energy-use management, and waste-reduction potentials of ibss (ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015: 4; wong et al., 2008: 287; braun, 2007: 4374-4375). according to the usa intelligent building institute, an ib can be defined as providing a profitable and cost-effective condition by enhancing its four fundamental components, including structures, system, services, and management, as well as the interrelationships between them (osama, 2018; wong et al., 2005: 144). the usa intelligent building institute also described ib as “one which integrates various systems to effectively manage resources in a coordinated mode to maximize technical performance, investment and operating savings flexibility” (ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015: 1). on the other hand, flax (1991: 24) described an ib as one that “creates an environment that maximises the efficiency of the occupants of the building, while simultaneously allowing effective management of resources with minimum life-time costs. an ib has, in general, been described as a technologically induced environment that interacts with and responds to users’ requirements by influencing the well-being, productivity, and satisfaction of its occupants at a more cost-effective rate (wong et al., 2005: 144). ib is a means to an end, as it is able to satisfy the desire of building owners and occupants by offering comfortable, flexible, and energy-efficient living conditions at a minimal cost. this is accomplished by the sustainable design and incorporation of advanced building technologies in new buildings (chen opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 120 et al., 2006). the ibs allows for the networking of building services and systems in a unified whole, and for exchanging information between the systems for effective management decision, thus resulting in more time and cost savings in the use of all the facilities (flax, 1991: 25). according to flax (1991), ibs, also known as the fourth utility, is an intelligent cabling infrastructure that harnesses the different life of services and systems to be compatible with the life cycle of a building, by integrating the building architecture with migration path for changing old systems and to accommodate technology advancement. nguyen and aiello (2012: 248) and wong et al. (2005: 145) opined that ibs are best described based on the selection of quality environmental modules (qems) that best meet the users’ requirements via environmental friendliness (health and energy conservation), space utilisation and flexibility, cost effectiveness (operation and maintenance with the emphasis on effectiveness), human thermal comfort, working efficiency, safety and security measures (fire, earthquake, disaster, and structural damages), culture, image of high technology, construction process and structure, as well as health and sanitation. the management of ibs is dependent on the collection and processing of information originating from components of controlled engineering systems, represented as an extensive network of sensors and actuators (pavel, khomenko & ternovay, 2019: 1). wang et al. (2004) indicated that, in china, the market pattern of ib is changing and moving to large public buildings such as exhibition centres, libraries, stadiums, culture and art centres, as well as museums. the buildings contain intelligent devices, which are connected and share information through a network (shah et al., 2019: 11). the intelligent assistant uses artificial intelligence techniques that allow users to communicate with the devices through voice control. these devices communicate through the advanced wireless networks and save data on the cloud. with the increased awareness of integrating intelligent technologies in new buildings, development of smart spaces is conceivable for solving personal and social issues (i-scoop, 2018: online; wong et al., 2008). the utilisation of edge and fog computing is the other area of ib advancement with respect to decrease response time and delay (shah et al., 2019: 17). the concept of ibs has not been exploited in nigeria to an appreciable extent because of a low degree of cognisance and awareness about the concept among construction professionals. this poses the greatest challenge to its adoption in the nigerian construction industry (mohammed, 2015). the awareness level of ibs could be attributed to the adoption of modern, developing computing and technology. the most common components of intelligence in buildings are the sensor-controlled glass opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 121 doors in numerous public buildings, the close circuit television system, and smart cards in commercial buildings (mohammed, 2015; iwuagwu & iwuagwu, 2014). however, no building in nigeria is completely intelligent (owajionyi, 2007: 112). the advancements in ibs include more comfortable living conditions, more convenience, a bundle of entertainment, and sustainability in their designs (i-scoop, 2018: online). emerging ib services include, among others, indoor positioning, occupancy detection, automated environmental monitoring, demand-based and personalised hvac control, as well as human-building interactions (jin et al., 2018: 6152). while these technologies have been demonstrated in research labs and few selected buildings within the global context, their public access in the majority of real-world buildings is still limited (jin et al., 2018: 6153). 2.2 intelligent building technologies telecommunication technologies are vital components of ibs. such technologies in buildings are the building automation systems (bas) for communication, controlling and monitoring energy services and uses, comfort, home activities, and security (shah et al., 2019; alfaris, juaidi & manzano-agugliaro, 2017: 3). the bas includes the bacnet (building automation and control network), lonworks systems, and knx that have gained popularity in the usa and on european markets over the past decades. the automation can be integrated with field devices such as smart meters, sensors, and actuators on a platform and internet on another platform, in order to enhance the level of intelligence of the building (alfaris et al., 2017: 8-12; lilis et al., 2016: 2-4). shah et al. (2019) revealed that, in smart home networks, ib devices communicate with each other through specific protocols such as zigbee, knx, and z-wave. zigbee is a wireless network that relays signals to another device by strengthening and expanding the network. zigbee can be built in dimmers, door locks, thermostats, and many other applications. z-wave is a mesh network that uses low-energy radio waves to provide wireless connectivity to home devices (shah et al., 2019: 17). knx is open source and mostly used for automation, and each system in knx is smart itself. this implies that, if a system fails, the performance of other devices connected to the network is not affected, because it operates on more than one physical layer (bharathi, 2018). the second choice of the protocol is ethernet, which is much faster than wireless networks, and in which the ib devices are connected through wires (shah et al., 2019: 17). wi-fi and bluetooth have also been used in ibs. wi-fi is a more convenient network that works within a range of 25m for the connectivity of devices, but bluetooth is preferred for shorter range communications (bharathi, opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 122 2018). in the ibss’ network, the energy management controller controls the electronic devices (shah et al., 2019: 17). iot device has also found applicability in ibs because the device is easy to come by and activated by the metrics of sensors (bradley et al., 2018: 24-26). according to luo, lin and su (2009), ib features have been developed in security and fire detection systems that are operated as multi-sensor-based intelligent systems. braun (2007: 4376-4377) established that embedding intelligence with hvac and other building services equipment offers incentives such as reduced utility costs, operational costs, maintenance, and service costs, while improving the thermal comfort and satisfaction of occupants. flax (1991: 24-27) established that ib distribution systems allow building users to benefit from new advances in technology at minimal cost without majorly disrupting existing building uses. flax (1991) identified fourteen (14) components of ibs: energy management systems (emss), temperature monitoring systems (tmss), lighting control and reduction (lcr), access and area locate systems, security system, fire life safety (fls), telecommunications (including integrated services digital network [isdn]), office automation (oa), computer systems, local area networks (lan), management information systems (miss), cabling schemes and records, maintenance systems, and expert systems. 2.3 drivers and barriers of intelligent buildings one major driver of ibs is the attention to users’ enhanced well-being (alessandra, 2018: 11). ibs have relied more on artificial intelligence (ai), which allows for exploiting the information gathered by sensors in a building, understanding the context, choosing the best activities to perform, and effectively modifying the environment. similarly, the advancement of new techniques with iot has introduced innovative concepts that revolutionised building uses and opportunities in ib models (boodi et al., 2018; lilis et al., 2016: 5-9). factors including energy saving, climate change mitigation, increase in property values, and cost-saving efficiency have been considered as drivers that have made the incorporation of intelligence in new building designs very fashionable (masia, kajimo-shakantu & opawole, 2020: 619; boodi et al., 2018: 1; nguyen & aiello, 2012: 249). the financial incentives generated from the reduced cost of installation through the evolution of the distributed system of bi controls, lower cost of software configuration tools, and cost computing have also influenced the increasing adoption of ibs (hakkinen & belloni, 2011; braun, 2007: 4376). clements-croome (2015) established the economic feasibility of ibs as one of the contributory factors for the adoption of intelligence in office buildings in the european union (eu). their added value significantly affects the economic conditions of offices through lower costs of healthcare, higher work productivity, higher opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 123 rental values and staff retention, lower operating costs, and minimised energy consumption. flax (1991: 25) described the areas of maximum benefits of ib management in usa office buildings that have influenced the increasing trends of ibs in the usa. these include the investment conservative ability of the ibs network when connected to the building systems, the hedge of the resale and lease values of ibs over conventional buildings, and staff efficiency benefits guaranteed by ibs by fast responses to customers’ needs at the lowest reasonable costs. hakkinen and belloni (2011: 247) indicated that the drivers of ibs include financial incentives, building regulations, client awareness, client demand, planning policy, taxes/levies, investment, and labelling/measurement. ang et al. (2005) emphasised that the role of the project manager, who represents the client, could significantly influence the choice of ibs in the same way that active involvement in demand specification by the end user could affect the inclusion of ib features in building. robinson et al. (2005) mentioned that knowledge management and sharing among professionals are essential drivers for all innovations, including ibs, in large construction organisations. on the other hand, barriers to the application of intelligent features in buildings have stemmed from the numerous challenges relating to energy consumption, lack of adequate knowledge of the concepts, over-estimation of capital costs and under-estimation of the potential cost savings, and the absence of a common framework that incorporates the aspects and tasks of ib with construction practices at an operational level (alessandra, 2018: 10; johnny & heng, 2008; matar et al., 2008: 1; bartlett & howard, 2000). managing ibs is also considered a challenging task, especially in the presence of contrasting goals, for example, meeting users’ needs and reducing energy consumption (owajionyi, 2007: 110). wong et al. (2008) opined that the processing of intelligence in buildings constitutes barriers to ibs. these barriers include rules of competition and tendering processes, functioning of value chains, possibilities to apply integrated design processes, lack of knowledge and ignorance of existing efficient ib technologies, lack of demand, and drawbacks in ib marketing processes. the study further noted that difficulties in adopting new processes and working methods, in order to apply new technologies, hinder the adoption of ibs. zhou and lowe (2003) identified primary barriers to the implementation of sustainable buildings, namely the misperception of capital costs and the inadequate market value. however, the study did not evaluate the extent to which these factors influence ibss. hakkinen and belloni (2011) indicated that many of the barriers to ibs can be overcome by improved professional education in various new approaches to building delivery systems. opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 124 table 1: barriers of intelligent building system barriers studies need to manage opposite goals (minimising energy consumption, maximising users’ wellness and ensuring a low level of intrusiveness) alessandra (2018) management of ib challenging task, especially in the presence of contrasting goals owajionyi (2007) rules of competition and tendering processes are complex; functioning of value chains; possibilities to apply integrated design processes; lack of knowledge; ignorance of existing efficient ib technologies; lack of demand and drawbacks in ib marketing processes; difficulty to adopt new processes and working methods so as to apply new technologies; ib solutions are not adequately valued by clients; low public awareness and knowledge about ib and its benefits; rigid normative steering mechanisms; deficient ecological inducements in the taxation system, and the fragmentation of responsibility in the construction and real-estate sectors williams & dair (2007); johnny & heng (2008) misperception of incurring higher capital costs and inadequate market value; greater expenses originate from the increments in the consultant’s fees and unfamiliarity of the design team and contractors with ib methods zhou & lowe (2003); hydes & creech (2000) lack professional education in the field of ib hakkinen & belloni (2011) cost consultants overestimate the capital costs of energyefficient measures and underestimate the potential cost savings bartlett & howard (2000) absence of a common framework that incorporates the aspects and tasks of ib with construction practices at an operational level matar, georgy & ibrahim (2008) network-based technologies are still improving, the correct communication protocol for intelligent buildings is absent, which leads towards security issues in intelligent buildings; flexibility is not accessible in intelligent buildings with respect to appliances from various vendors shah et al. (2019) 3. methodology 3.1 research design this study investigated the level of awareness and adoption of intelligence features in buildings in lagos state, nigeria. lagos is one of the 25 megacities of the world, with the highest records of construction and commercial activities in the country (ameh & osegbo, 2011). lagos is characterised by massive urban drift, accounting for approximately 11% of the country’s population in 2016 and an annual temperature range of 270c-340 c (ojeh, balogun & okhimamhe, 2016). the teeming population coupled with high temperatures led to increased energy consumption in the state. this necessitated the integration of intelligence in existing buildings opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 125 and in new building developments, in order to improve thermal comforts and conserve energy consumption (onyenokporo & ochedi, 2018). the study adopted a quantitative research methodology through the use of a structured questionnaire to obtain information from a sample of respondents (creswell, 2003: 5, cited in nasila & cloete, 2018). information on the level of awareness and adoption of features of bi founded the basis of the questionnaire design for the survey to enable the researchers to compare and contrast data generated from different professionals in the study area. descriptive analysis was employed to summarise the questionnaire data on the respondents’ level of awareness and utilisation of ibss, by using frequencies and percentages (numerical) to reduce the number of responses to a mean score (woodrow, 2014: 49). inferential analysis was used to understand the differences in perceptions on the utilisation of ibss in the study area by building professionals such as architects, builders, engineers, estate surveyors and valuers, quantity surveyors, and procurement managers. the sampled professionals were categorised as those who work with and/or as contractors (contracting firms), consultants (private firms), and government (public organisations). the kruskal-wallis test of probability-values (p-values) was extracted to explain the relationship between the three categories of professionals (bewick, cheek & ball, 2003: 452). 3.2 sampling frame and response rate the target population for the study was drawn from construction professionals who work with contracting firms, consulting firms, and government establishments in the study area. statistics obtained from the authors’ pilot survey (2020) indicated that there were 125 registered quantity surveying firms, 315 architectural firms, 438 engineering firms, 70 building firms, and one government agency (ministry of works) in lagos state, as shown in table 2. a percentage range of 10%-30% for a small population and 5% for a large population is deemed adequate for a survey (trochim, 2007). therefore, 20% each of quantity surveying firms (25) and building firms (14) and 5% each of architectural firms (16) and engineering firms (22) were selected. this made up a total of 77 firms, including one government agency. the respondents, registered professionals, in each of the categorised work settings, were sampled using random technique. random sampling affords each member of the subset an equal opportunity of being chosen as part of the sampling process (kothari, 2004: 15). opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 126 table 2: sampling frame and size respondents’ organisation sample frame % sample size quantity surveying firms 125 20 25 architectural firms 315 5 15 engineering firms 438 5 22 building firms 70 20 14 government organisation 1 100 1 source: niqs (2019); arcon (2016); coren (2019); v-connect (2018) at least two professionals in the groups (architects, estate surveyors, quantity surveyors, engineers/builders) were selected from the public and private sector organisations for the questionnaire survey. a total of 156 copies of a structured questionnaire were administered to the target respondents. eight-two (82) copies of the completed questionnaires were retrieved, representing a response rate of 52.56%. the response rate is considered adequate, as asserted by idrus and newman (2002) that the response rate of 30.0% is appropriate for construction management studies. the total retrieved questionnaires were stratified in the study sample as 30 quantity surveyors, 11 architects, 23 engineers, 16 builders, 1 procurement officer, and 1 estate surveyor. respondents who worked in contracting firms represented 24.4%; those who worked in consulting firms represented 47.6%, while 28% of the respondents worked in a government establishment. 3.3 data collection the variables extracted from the reviewed literature formed the basis for the constructs that were used for the questionnaire design. the questionnaires were self-administered between october and december 2020. a structured questionnaire is considered an effective data-collection method for measuring respondents’ beliefs, attitudes, and opinions (van laerhoven, van der zaag-loonen & derkx, 2004). the survey questionnaire is designed as a close-ended type. according to kothari (2004), a closeended questionnaire is easy to handle, simple to answer, and relatively quick to analyse. the questionnaire was divided into three parts. part one addressed the respondents’ profile and obtained information about their academic and professional qualifications, occupation, organisation type, and years of work experience. part two was designed on the awareness of ibss and was divided into two sections. section one included five tickbox questions and section two was designed as a set of eight variables with 59 likert-scale measurement items. respondents were required to choose from the tick-box options (see table 5) and requested to indicate opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 127 their level of agreement from the scale of measurements, in order to examine their level of awareness of features of ibs (see table 5). part 3 was a set of eight variables with 59 likert-scale measurement items on the construct ‘utilisation’. respondents were required to indicate their level of agreement, in order to examine the level of utilisation of ibs (see table 6). the measurement results are used in the descriptive analysis and to test the opinions of different categories of respondents surveyed on the awareness and utilisation of the features of ibs. 3.4 data analysis and interpretation of the findings data analysis was based on descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean, frequency distribution, percentage, and the kruskal-wallis test. descriptive statistics are considered effective tools to describe the characteristics of the respondents and to understand the underlying details of a data set by placing them in a meaningful perspective (naoum, 2007: 103, cited in nasila & cloete, 2018). the validity and reliability tests for the research data were conducted using the cronbach’s alpha (α) test. these ranged as 0.952< α <0.977. the extracted cronbach’s alpha values were used to analyse the internal consistency of reliability of the variables evaluated. taber (2018: 1279) stated that an acceptable range of cronbach’s alpha values is from 0.70 to 0.95. however, field (2009) established the reliability of scales as the alpha tends toward 1.000. hence, the value 0.952< α <0.975 means that the scale is reliable and can be used to measure the underlying construct for which it was designed. the kruskal-wallis test was adopted to analyse the variance of opinions from the independent groups of professionals, having unequal sample sizes (field 2009: 559-568). this explored the statistically significant differences in the variance of opinion, with p≤.05, from the extracted variables. 3.5 limitations to the study only the responses retrieved from the professionals prior to the imposition of covid-19 lockdown order (april 2020) were analysed for the purpose of research. the embargo placed on intraand intercity movement by the federal government of nigeria (fgn) at the designated period of the research survey restricted the administration of the questionnaire and the retrieval of larger samples for the analysis. the respondents were limited to industry practitioners. case studies involving academics may be considered in future studies. opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 128 4. results 4.1 background information of the respondents table 3 shows the respondents’ profile regarding their highest academic qualifications, professional affiliations, years of work experience, and number of projects handled during 2016-2020. the profile shows that nearly half (47.6%) of the participants worked for consulting firms and that the other half worked for either contracting firms (24.4%) or for the government (28%). the vast majority (97.5%) of the respondents were either quantity surveyors (36.6%), engineers (28%), builders (19.5%), or architects (13.4%), and 73.1% had either a bachelor of science/bachelor of technology (b.sc./b.tech.) (52.4%), or a m.sc. degree (20.7%). although a slight majority (68.3%) of the respondents had between 1 to 10 years’ work experience, 31.7% had over 11 years’ experience and slightly over half (67.1%) of the respondents were involved in more than 10 construction projects, in general, between 2016-2020. this implies that the respondents have adequate tertiary qualifications and experience in the building industry to provide information that could help make useful deductions on the adoption of ibss in the study area. the respondents had different professional affiliations, indicating their competence to practise in their various disciplines. this was supported by their membership of the respective discipline regulatory institutions. over half (61%) of the respondents were affiliated with either the nigerian institute of quantity surveyors (niqs) (35.4%), or the nigeria society of engineers (nse) (25.6%), and the remainder of the respondents were affiliated with the nigerian institute of building (niob) (17.1%), and the nigerian institute of architects (nia) (12.1%). table 3: respondents’ profile characteristic category frequency (n = 82) % organisation consulting 39 47.6 government 23 28 contracting 20 24.4 occupation quantity surveyor 30 36.6 engineer 23 28 builder 16 19.5 architect 11 13.4 estate manager 1 1.2 procurement 1 1.2 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 129 characteristic category frequency (n = 82) % educational level ordinary national diploma (ond)/ higher national diploma (hnd) 16 19.5 bachelor of science (b.sc.)/bachelor of technology (b.tech.) 43 52.4 master of science (m.sc.)/master of technology (m.tech.) 17 20.7 doctor of philosophy (ph.d.) 1 1.2 postgraduate diploma (pgd) 3 3.7 missing system 2 2.4 professional affiliation nigerian institute of quantity surveyors (niqs) 29 35.4 nigeria society of engineers (nse) 21 25.6 nigerian institute of architects (nia) 10 12.2 nigerian institute of building (niob) 14 17.1 nigerian institution of estate surveyors and valuers (niesv) 1 1.2 missing system 7 8.5 experience (years) 1-10 56 68.3 11–20 18 22 21-30 4 4.9 31-40 4 4.8 projects handled between 2016 and 2020 1-5 24 29.3 6-10 31 37.8 11-15 19 23.2 16-20 5 6.1 missing system 3 3.7 4.2 awareness of intelligent building systems the data obtained for the analysis of the level of awareness of ibss in the study area was generated from responses to questions as to whether the respondents have the knowledge about ibss, whether they know any building work that is completely intelligent, and specify such, how they learnt about ibs, if they have used an ib before, to what degree a building is considered intelligent, features of ibs, and level of use of ibs. findings in table 4 show that 90.24% of the respondents know what ibs are and over half (64.6%) of the respondents used an ib previously. opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 130 respondents were almost equally distributed in how they obtained their knowledge about ibs from personal experience (25.6%), self-research (25.8%), and group discussions (29.3%). half of the respondents (51.2%) were involved in the execution of ibs implementation in building work in lagos state, but the vast majority (82.9%) of the respondents did not know of any building projects that employed the ibs in the study area. this confirms that the level of awareness of ibs is high among construction professionals in the study area. these results also show that ibs are available in the study area and that the respondents had some experience in ib construction projects. although the knowledge of an ibs is very high among construction professionals in the study area, the adoption of the system in building construction is still low. however, oke, aigbavboa & omole (2020) recommended that seminars and workshops be organised to increase the awareness level of construction professionals. table 4 shows that the professionals in the study area identified thirteen (13) notable buildings that employed ibs. this figure is, however, low for a megacity such as lagos, which is the commercial nerve of nigeria and one of the top 25 megacities of the world. it is expected that such a city should have several notable buildings that used the ibs, like several other megacities of the world, and particularly in the 21st century, where the usage of modern technologies and innovations are on the rapid increase (oke et al., 2020; ahmed, 2009). table 5 presents the level of awareness of the professionals about the features of ibs. the cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 at .975, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by taber (2018: 1279). respondents were mostly aware of access control and locks (mean = 3.96; sd = 0.94), and cctv system (mean = 3.96; sd = 1.07). alarms and alerts ranked third (mean = 3.91), hvac system ranked fourth (mean = 3.90), fire alarm system ranked fifth (mean = 3.89), camera system ranked sixth (mean = 3.88), lighting system ranked seventh (mean = 3.84), surveillance ranked eighth (mean = 3.80), elevators and escalators ranked ninth (mean = 3.73), and sensors ranked tenth (mean = 3.72). the high ranking of cctv camera is triggered by its use in many public buildings (malls, supermarkets, hotels, banking halls, etc.) to ensure security. cctv cameras are usually installed in places that require continuous monitoring (smith, 2010: online). the usage of cctv cameras is on the increase in nigeria perhaps because of the spate of insecurity in the country occasioned by boko haram terrorists and various banditry groups. access control and locks ranked high because they are also a means to ensure security and control access, especially in hotels and public commercial buildings. this agrees with adejimi (2005) that access control and locks, by way of magnetic cards, are used worldwide and corroborates the assertion by iwuagwu and iwuagwu (2014) that the most common aspect opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 131 about intelligence in buildings is the sensor-controlled glass doors in numerous public buildings. the high ranking of hvac is expected because it is common in the vast majority of public and commercial buildings as it provides thermal comfort for occupants, thus improving their productivity (samuel, 2013). table 4: awareness of ibs statement/question category frequency (n = 82) % awareness of ibs yes 74 90.24 no 8 9.76 awareness of any building work that is completely intelligent in lagos state yes 42 51.2 no 40 48.8 have you used an intelligent building previously? yes 53 64.60 no 29 35.40 building projects that employed the ibs no response 68 82.9 alliance place, ikoyi 1 1.2 cornerstone capital alliance project vi 1 1.2 eko atlantic city 1 1.2 folorunshoalakija’sfolorunshoal akija’s mansion 1 1.2 kuramo beach residence 2 2.4 malls and hotels 1 1.2 maryland mall 1 1.2 nigerian stock exchange 1 1.2 residential apartment at ikoyi 1 1.2 seplat 1 1.2 sheraton hotel 1 1.2 ibis hotel 1 1.2 victoria island 1 1.2 how did you learn about ibs? personal experience 21 25.6 self-research 22 26.8 discussion with other people 24 29.3 other means 15 18.3 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 132 the professionals have a low level of awareness about health/medical/ fitness record vault and paging system (mean = 2.910), health/medical alert system (mean = 2.878), and vending machine (mean = 2.854). the low ranking of these features of ibs may be as a result of the fact that they are more sophisticated than those that ranked very high. therefore, due to the low adoption of ibs in nigeria, it is most unlikely to have the more sophisticated features of ibs with high level of awareness. the sophisticated features of ibs will probably have a better level of awareness in developed countries, where ibss have a better level of adoption. iwuagwu and iwuagwu (2014) underscored this, by positing that adoption of modern technology is evolving in nigeria. further analysis was carried out to test the agreement in the opinions of different categories of respondents surveyed on the awareness of the features of ibs, using the kruskal-wallis test (table 5). the test of significant difference is established at p<0.05. the findings established that there is no statistically significant difference in the level of awareness of the features by professionals working in contracting, consulting, and government organisations, except for six features. these include hvac system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) (p=.028), detector service (p=.034), remote audio/video (p=.043), fire suppression system (dry, wet) (p=.046), parking (p=.037), and paging system (p=.022). this finding implies that the respondents have varying levels of awareness of the features. this could be as a result of their different levels of exposure and experience in construction projects, especially with respect to ibs. 4.3 utilisation of intelligent building system 4.3.1 level of utilisation of intelligent building system table 6 shows the utilisation of the identified features of ibs in the study area. lighting system was the most utilised feature (mean = 3.57), fire alarm system ranked second (mean = 3.48), access control and lock ranked third (mean = 3.45, sd = 1.12), cctv system ranked fourth (mean = 3.45, sd = 1.13), hvac system ranked fifth (mean = 3.43), elevators and escalators ranked sixth (mean = 3.41), surveillance; power management ranked seventh (mean = 3.37), alarms and alerts ranked ninth (mean = 3.30), and video surveillance and utility meter ranked tenth (mean = 3.29). the three least utilised features of ibs were very early smoke detection apparatus (vesda) system (mean = 2.62), health/medical alert system (mean = 2.65, sd = 1.08), and zone and climate control (mean = 2.65, sd = 1.02). lighting system ranked as the most utilised feature of ibs, probably because it is a basic requirement in any functional modern building. control of lighting opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 133 ta bl e 5: r es po nd en ts ’ a w ar en es s of ib s fe at ur es fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 75 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . a c c e ss c o nt ro l a nd lo c ks 4. 20 0. 83 1 3. 87 1. 06 5 3. 91 0. 79 1 3. 96 0. 94 1 1. 52 6 .4 66 c c tv s ys te m 4. 20 0. 83 1 4. 03 1. 01 2 3. 65 1. 30 5 3. 96 1. 07 2 1. 81 6 .4 03 a la rm s a nd a le rt s 3. 95 0. 94 7 3. 97 0. 99 4 3. 78 1. 20 2 3. 91 1. 03 3 .2 59 .8 79 h v a c s ys te m ( he a tin g , v e nt ila tio n a nd a ir c o nd iti o ni ng ) 3. 95 0. 76 7 4. 13 1. 03 1 3. 48 0. 99 15 3. 90 0. 99 4 7. 15 6 .0 28 * fi re a la rm s ys te m 3. 90 1. 02 10 4. 00 0. 89 3 3. 70 1. 15 4 3. 89 0. 99 5 .9 85 .6 11 c a m e ra s ys te m 4. 15 1. 04 4 3. 87 0. 92 5 3. 65 1. 11 5 3. 88 1. 01 6 3. 03 4 .2 19 li g ht in g s ys te m 3. 85 1. 14 11 3. 87 1. 03 5 3. 78 1. 00 2 3. 84 1. 04 7 .2 37 .8 88 su rv e illa nc e 4. 20 0. 89 1 3. 74 0. 97 12 3. 57 1. 27 12 3. 80 1. 06 8 3. 53 5 .1 71 el e va to rs a nd e sc a la to rs 4. 05 1. 00 5 3. 62 1. 11 20 3. 65 1. 30 5 3. 73 1. 14 9 1. 98 7 .3 70 se ns o rs 4. 05 0. 83 5 3. 62 0. 99 20 3. 61 1. 16 10 3. 72 1. 01 10 2. 35 0 .3 09 g a te a ut o m a tio n 3. 95 1. 00 7 3. 62 1. 16 20 3. 65 1. 19 5 3. 71 1. 13 11 1. 00 9 .6 04 w ire le ss 3. 50 1. 10 24 3. 82 1. 00 8 3. 57 1. 16 12 3. 67 1. 07 12 1. 38 5 .5 00 v id e o s ur ve illa nc e 3. 45 1. 10 25 3. 72 0. 92 13 3. 61 1. 12 10 3. 62 1. 01 13 .7 06 .7 03 u til ity m e te r 3. 60 0. 94 20 3. 72 1. 07 13 3. 48 1. 16 15 3. 62 1. 06 13 .7 19 .6 98 po w e r m a na g e m e nt 3. 65 1. 14 17 3. 77 0. 99 9 3. 35 1. 11 20 3. 62 1. 06 13 2. 31 5 .3 14 d a ta p ro te c tio n 3. 80 0. 95 14 3. 59 1. 14 25 3. 48 1. 16 15 3. 61 1. 10 16 .6 78 .7 12 v e nt ila tio n sy st e m 3. 60 0. 99 20 3. 77 0. 96 9 3. 32 1. 04 22 3. 60 1. 00 17 3. 01 3 .2 22 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 134 fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 75 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . h o m e t he a tr e 3. 10 1. 07 46 3. 77 1. 09 9 3. 57 1. 16 12 3. 55 1. 12 18 4. 87 9 .0 87 pe rim e te r p ro te c tio n 3. 85 1. 14 11 3. 28 0. 97 42 3. 65 1. 15 5 3. 52 1. 08 19 4. 00 3 .1 35 d e te c to r s e rv ic e 3. 85 0. 93 11 3. 64 0. 93 17 3. 04 1. 22 37 3. 52 1. 06 19 6. 78 3 .0 34 * re m o te a ud io /v id e o 3. 75 0. 97 15 3. 72 0. 97 13 3. 00 1. 31 40 3. 52 1. 11 19 6. 29 2 .0 43 * fi re s up p re ss io n sy st e m ( d ry , w e t) 3. 75 1. 07 15 3. 64 0. 87 17 3. 09 1. 00 32 3. 51 0. 98 22 6. 16 7 .0 46 * w a te r m a na g e m e nt 3. 65 0. 99 17 3. 46 0. 97 27 3. 26 1. 01 24 3. 45 0. 98 23 1. 56 5 .4 57 to uc h sc re e ns 3. 15 0. 93 44 3. 69 0. 92 16 3. 22 1. 35 25 3. 43 1. 08 24 5. 18 2 .0 75 pa rk in g 3. 60 1. 19 20 3. 64 1. 11 17 2. 91 1. 12 45 3. 43 1. 17 24 6. 57 3 .0 37 * d a ta n e tw o rk 3. 35 1. 14 29 3. 62 0. 94 20 3. 13 1. 10 28 3. 41 1. 04 26 3. 46 3 .1 77 en e rg y m e te rin g 3. 35 1. 23 29 3. 44 1. 02 29 3. 39 0. 89 18 3. 40 1. 03 27 .2 53 .8 81 in tr us io n sy st e m 3. 65 1. 04 17 3. 28 1. 00 42 3. 39 1. 12 18 3. 40 1. 04 27 1. 44 9 .4 85 m ul tiro o m c o nt ro ls/ in te rc o m s 3. 20 1. 06 40 3. 62 1. 11 20 3. 17 1. 11 26 3. 39 1. 11 29 3. 25 5 .1 96 a ud io vi su a l 3. 30 1. 08 34 3. 38 0. 94 34 3. 35 1. 07 20 3. 35 1. 00 30 .4 40 .8 03 a ut o m a te d la nd sc a p in g /i rri g a tio n 3. 55 1. 05 23 3. 37 1. 13 36 3. 13 1. 14 28 3. 35 1. 11 30 1. 37 3 .5 03 a la rm m o ni to rin g 3. 45 1. 15 25 3. 46 1. 02 27 3. 09 1. 16 32 3. 35 1. 09 30 1. 75 6 .4 16 d ig ita l s ig na g e 3. 35 1. 14 29 3. 41 1. 09 31 3. 13 1. 10 28 3. 32 1. 10 33 1. 17 0 .5 57 v o ic e n e tw o rk 3. 40 1. 05 27 3. 38 0. 96 34 3. 13 1. 32 28 3. 32 1. 09 33 .8 97 .6 38 s d = s ta nd ar d d ev ia tio n; r = r at in g; * s ig . p =< .0 5 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 135 ta bl e 5: r es po nd en ts ’ a w ar en es s of ib s fe at ur es (c on tin ue d) fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 75 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . sy st e m c o nt ro l 3. 05 1. 19 51 3. 56 1. 07 26 3. 09 1. 04 32 3. 30 1. 11 35 4. 71 0 .0 95 m ul tim e d ia ro o m c o nt ro l 3. 10 1. 21 46 3. 44 1. 12 29 3. 17 1. 27 26 3. 28 1. 18 36 1. 29 7 .5 23 n o tifi c a tio n sy st e m 3. 30 1. 17 34 3. 36 0. 99 37 3. 04 1. 19 37 3. 26 1. 09 37 1. 37 8 .5 02 a ud io a nd v o lu m e c o nt ro l 3. 10 1. 25 46 3. 41 1. 12 31 3. 09 1. 35 32 3. 24 1. 21 38 1. 66 0 .4 36 en e rg y m a na g e m e nt 2. 90 0. 97 57 3. 36 0. 90 37 3. 30 1. 15 23 3. 23 1. 00 39 3. 85 6 .1 45 g a m e c o nt ro ls 3. 10 1. 17 46 3. 41 0. 94 31 3. 04 1. 11 37 3. 23 1. 05 39 2. 73 2 .2 55 d g s e t m o ni to rin g 3. 40 1. 05 27 3. 21 0. 86 49 3. 09 1. 24 32 3. 22 1. 02 41 1. 24 7 .5 36 ip tv 3. 25 1. 12 37 3. 36 0. 93 37 2. 91 1. 12 45 3. 21 1. 04 42 3. 62 6 .1 63 a p p lia nc e s c o nt ro l 3. 25 1. 07 37 3. 31 1. 00 40 2. 96 1. 33 44 3. 20 1. 12 43 1. 28 7 .5 25 d ig ita l v id e o re c o rd e r a nd s e t to p b o xe s 3. 20 1. 15 40 3. 23 0. 87 48 3. 00 0. 90 40 3. 16 0. 95 44 1. 39 8 .4 97 c hi lle r m a na g e m e nt 3. 35 1. 09 29 3. 28 0. 89 42 2. 78 1. 09 51 3. 16 1. 01 44 4. 59 4 .1 01 v o ic e c o nt ro l s ys te m 3. 20 1. 15 40 3. 28 1. 02 42 2. 87 1. 14 49 3. 15 1. 09 46 2. 53 1 .2 82 w a te r l e a k sy st e m m o ni to r 3. 35 1. 09 29 3. 15 0. 90 51 2. 91 1. 12 45 3. 13 1. 02 47 2. 04 2 .3 60 a v s ys te m 3. 15 1. 27 44 3. 28 0. 92 42 2. 87 1. 25 49 3. 13 1. 11 47 1. 62 6 .4 44 re m o te h o m e 3. 25 1. 16 37 3. 31 1. 00 40 2. 70 1. 18 54 3. 12 1. 12 48 4. 82 2 .0 90 en tir e h o us e a ut o m a te d c o nt ro l s ys te m 3. 20 1. 28 40 3. 26 1. 19 47 2. 74 1. 21 52 3. 10 1. 22 50 2. 65 8 .2 65 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 136 fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 75 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . pa tie nt m o ni to rin g 3. 05 1. 28 51 3. 21 1. 15 49 2. 91 1. 24 45 3. 09 1. 20 51 1. 29 6 .5 23 le a k d e te c tio n 3. 30 0. 98 34 3. 08 1. 01 52 2. 74 1. 05 52 3. 04 1. 02 52 3. 11 8 .2 10 lo a d -s he d d in g s ys te m 3. 05 0. 94 51 2. 95 1. 05 58 3. 00 1. 09 40 2. 99 1. 02 53 .0 83 .9 60 zo ne a nd c lim a te c o nt ro l 3. 00 0. 92 55 2. 90 0. 94 59 3. 00 1. 17 40 2. 95 0. 99 54 .0 47 .9 77 v es d a s ys te m 3. 10 1. 07 46 3. 08 1. 01 52 2. 57 0. 95 57 2. 94 1. 02 55 5. 07 9 .0 79 h e a lth /m e d ic a l/ fit ne ss re c o rd va ul t 2. 95 1. 19 56 3. 00 1. 03 56 2. 65 1. 19 55 2. 89 1. 11 56 2. 01 5 .3 65 pa g in g s ys te m 3. 05 1. 15 51 3. 08 0. 93 52 2. 43 1. 04 59 2. 89 1. 04 56 7. 63 1 .0 22 * h e a lth /m e d ic a l a le rt s ys te m 2. 85 1. 18 59 3. 05 1. 12 55 2. 61 1. 31 56 2. 88 1. 19 58 2. 31 9 .3 14 v e nd in g m a c hi ne 2. 90 1. 17 57 3. 00 1. 10 56 2. 57 1. 27 57 2. 85 1. 17 59 2. 64 0 .2 67 s d = s ta nd ar d d ev ia tio n; r = r at in g; * s ig . p =< .0 5 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 137 can be done in various ways, the most common method being the use of on/off switches in the vast majority of buildings. this method could waste energy as lights could be left on when not needed. however, ibs uses automatic lighting control system (ahmed, 2009). the high ranking of fire alarm system is the result of a statutory requirement in building standards. buildings, depending on their magnitude and purpose, are expected to be equipped with a fire alarm system such as smoke detectors and fire alarms. a fire alarm system plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of lives and properties of occupants allowing occupants to evacuate safely and enabling fire fighters to extinguish fires in time (samuel, 2013). the high ranking of access control and lock, cctv camera is justified by the level of insecurity in nigeria occasioned by banditry and boko haram insurgency, where public commercial buildings need to scale up their level of security. the top ranking of elevators and escalators complies with the statutory requirements designed for vertical transportation in high-rise buildings in the state. the low rankings of health/medical alert system, zone and climate control, as well as vesda system indicate the professionals’ low familiarity with innovation in buildings in nigeria (iwuagwu & iwuagwu, 2014). this finding agrees with onungwa, uduma-olugu & igwe (2017: 25) that the use of modern methods and ict are not well developed in developing countries such as nigeria. further analysis was carried out to understand the difference in the perception of the three categories of professionals surveyed, using the kruskal-wallis test (table 6). the test of significant difference is established at p<0.05. the findings showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the professionals’ perception on the utilisation level of the features in contracting, consulting, and government organisations, except for eleven features. these features include access control and locks (p=.02), video surveillance (p=.03), remote audio/video (p=.04), alarm monitoring (p=.04), appliance control (p=.04), leak detector (p=.02), health/ medical alert system (p=.02), cctv system (p=.07), intrusion system (p=.06), patient monitoring (p=.07), and health/medical/fitness record vault (p=.07). opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 138 ta bl e 6: u til is at io n of ib s fe at ur es fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 77 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . li g ht in g s ys te m 3. 35 0. 99 2 3. 74 1. 07 2 3. 48 1. 04 2 3. 57 1. 04 1 2. 40 0. 30 fi re a la rm s ys te m 3. 45 0. 83 1 3. 56 1. 07 5 3. 35 1. 23 4 3. 48 1. 06 2 0. 57 0. 75 a c c e ss c o nt ro l a nd lo c ks 3. 10 1. 02 8 3. 79 1. 13 1 3. 17 1. 07 19 3. 45 1. 12 3 7. 67 0. 02 * c c tv s ys te m 3. 05 1. 05 11 3. 72 1. 10 3 3. 35 1. 19 4 3. 45 1. 13 4 5. 46 0. 07 h v a c s ys te m ( he a tin g , ve nt ila tio n a nd a ir c o nd iti o ni ng ) 3. 35 1. 23 2 3. 64 1. 06 4 3. 13 1. 25 21 3. 43 1. 17 5 2. 70 0. 26 el e va to rs a nd e sc a la to rs 3. 20 1. 06 6 3. 49 1. 25 7 3. 48 1. 16 2 3. 41 1. 18 6 0. 91 0. 63 su rv e illa nc e 3. 20 0. 95 6 3. 46 1. 05 9 3. 35 1. 11 4 3. 37 1. 04 7 0. 96 0. 62 po w e r m a na g e m e nt 3. 35 1. 09 2 3. 38 1. 14 14 3. 35 1. 03 4 3. 37 1. 08 8 0. 15 0. 93 a la rm s a nd a le rt s 3. 05 1. 10 11 3. 51 1. 14 6 3. 17 0. 98 19 3. 30 1. 10 9 3. 04 0. 22 v id e o s ur ve illa nc e 2. 80 0. 77 35 3. 38 1. 02 14 3. 57 1. 20 1 3. 29 1. 05 10 7. 10 0. 03 * u til ity m e te r 3. 00 1. 21 15 3. 41 1. 27 13 3. 35 1. 11 4 3. 29 1. 21 11 1. 55 0. 46 h o m e t he a tr e 3. 10 1. 21 8 3. 33 1. 18 16 3. 30 1. 33 9 3. 27 1. 22 12 0. 57 0. 75 v e nt ila tio n sy st e m 3. 05 0. 94 11 3. 49 1. 05 7 3. 04 0. 98 27 3. 26 1. 02 13 4. 31 0. 12 c a m e ra s ys te m 3. 05 1. 36 11 3. 46 1. 02 9 3. 09 1. 24 24 3. 26 1. 17 14 2. 10 0. 35 se ns o rs 2. 90 1. 02 24 3. 44 1. 10 12 3. 13 1. 06 21 3. 22 1. 08 15 3. 35 0. 19 fi re s up p re ss io n sy st e m ( d ry , w e t) 3. 10 0. 72 8 3. 26 1. 07 23 3. 22 1. 24 13 3. 21 1. 04 16 0. 40 0. 82 w a te r m a na g e m e nt 2. 95 0. 76 18 3. 31 1. 10 18 3. 22 0. 74 13 3. 20 0. 94 17 2. 49 0. 29 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 139 fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 77 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . w ire le ss 2. 95 0. 89 18 3. 23 1. 06 25 3. 30 1. 22 9 3. 18 1. 07 18 1. 24 0. 54 g a te a ut o m a tio n 2. 70 0. 92 45 3. 33 1. 08 16 3. 30 1. 06 9 3. 17 1. 06 19 5. 96 0. 05 re m o te a ud io /v id e o 2. 95 1. 36 18 3. 46 1. 07 9 2. 78 1. 09 39 3. 15 1. 18 20 6. 37 0. 04 * to uc h sc re e ns 2. 70 1. 17 45 3. 31 1. 08 18 3. 26 1. 32 12 3. 15 1. 19 21 3. 93 0. 14 sy st e m c o nt ro l 3. 00 1. 03 15 3. 13 1. 08 35 3. 22 1. 20 13 3. 12 1. 09 22 0. 47 0. 79 d a ta p ro te c tio n 2. 85 0. 93 28 3. 18 1. 07 30 3. 22 1. 04 13 3. 11 1. 03 23 1. 56 0. 46 en e rg y m a na g e m e nt 2. 85 1. 04 28 3. 28 0. 89 21 3. 04 0. 88 27 3. 11 0. 93 23 3. 41 0. 18 d e te c to r s e rv ic e 3. 25 0. 91 5 3. 13 1. 06 35 2. 91 1. 12 32 3. 10 1. 04 24 1. 13 0. 57 pa rk in g 2. 95 1. 05 18 3. 28 1. 26 21 2. 91 1. 38 32 3. 10 1. 24 25 1. 70 0. 43 a ud io vi su a l 2. 70 0. 92 45 3. 21 1. 15 27 3. 22 0. 90 13 3. 09 1. 04 27 4. 11 0. 13 a ud io a nd v o lu m e c o nt ro l 3. 00 1. 26 15 3. 21 1. 13 27 2. 96 1. 07 31 3. 09 1. 14 28 0. 89 0. 64 pe rim e te r p ro te c tio n 2. 80 0. 89 35 3. 26 1. 23 23 3. 00 1. 17 29 3. 07 1. 14 30 1. 94 0. 38 v o ic e n e tw o rk 2. 90 0. 85 24 3. 31 1. 06 18 2. 83 1. 19 37 3. 07 1. 06 29 3. 28 0. 19 a la rm m o ni to rin g 2. 55 0. 83 56 3. 21 1. 06 27 3. 22 1. 17 13 3. 05 1. 06 31 6. 41 0. 04 * en e rg y m e te rin g 2. 70 1. 03 45 3. 18 1. 14 30 3. 13 1. 06 21 3. 05 1. 10 32 2. 89 0. 24 m ul tim e d ia ro o m c o nt ro l 2. 95 1. 19 18 3. 08 1. 11 37 3. 09 1. 12 24 3. 05 1. 12 33 0. 13 0. 94 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 140 ta bl e 6: u til is at io n of ib s fe at ur es (c on tin ue d) fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 77 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . d a ta n e tw o rk 2. 65 0. 75 54 3. 18 1. 07 30 3. 09 1. 24 24 3. 02 1. 07 34 3. 75 0. 15 d g s e t m o ni to rin g 2. 90 0. 91 24 3. 08 0. 96 37 2. 87 1. 06 36 2. 98 0. 97 35 0. 71 0. 70 m ul tiro o m c o nt ro ls/ in te rc o m s 2. 70 1. 13 45 3. 08 1. 04 37 3. 00 1. 17 29 2. 96 1. 09 36 1. 48 0. 48 n o tifi c a tio n sy st e m 2. 75 1. 12 41 3. 15 1. 18 34 2. 78 0. 95 39 2. 95 1. 11 37 2. 55 0. 28 in tr us io n sy st e m 2. 70 0. 80 45 3. 23 1. 16 25 2. 70 1. 18 43 2. 95 1. 11 37 5. 64 0. 06 d ig ita l s ig na g e 2. 75 0. 91 41 3. 08 1. 13 37 2. 78 1. 04 39 2. 91 1. 06 39 2. 14 0. 34 c hi lle r m a na g e m e nt 2. 85 1. 14 28 2. 92 1. 09 49 2. 83 0. 94 37 2. 88 1. 05 40 0. 18 0. 92 w a te r l e a k sy st e m m o ni to r 2. 95 0. 94 18 3. 00 1. 08 42 2. 57 0. 99 48 2. 87 1. 03 41 3. 19 0. 20 a p p lia nc e s c o nt ro l 2. 80 1. 28 35 3. 18 1. 10 30 2. 39 1. 16 52 2. 87 1. 19 42 6. 55 0. 04 * a ut o m a te d la nd sc a p in g / irr ig a tio n 2. 90 0. 64 24 2. 95 1. 02 47 2. 65 1. 15 46 2. 85 0. 98 43 1. 26 0. 53 g a m e c o nt ro ls 2. 85 0. 99 28 2. 79 1. 06 56 2. 91 1. 08 32 2. 84 1. 04 44 0. 06 0. 97 v o ic e c o nt ro l s ys te m 2. 85 1. 23 28 3. 05 1. 17 41 2. 48 1. 20 51 2. 84 1. 20 45 3. 46 0. 18 a v s ys te m 2. 85 0. 93 28 3. 00 1. 15 42 2. 52 1. 04 49 2. 83 1. 08 46 2. 56 0. 28 d ig ita l v id e o re c o rd e r a nd s e t to p b o xe s 2. 65 0. 75 54 2. 97 0. 87 45 2. 70 1. 15 43 2. 82 0. 93 47 2. 76 0. 25 re m o te h o m e 2. 70 1. 08 45 2. 87 0. 98 52 2. 74 1. 14 42 2. 79 1. 04 48 0. 70 0. 71 v e nd in g m a c hi ne 2. 80 0. 83 35 2. 90 1. 10 51 2. 52 1. 31 49 2. 77 1. 10 49 2. 30 0. 32 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 141 fe a tu re s c o nt ra c tin g c o ns ul tin g g o ve rn m e nt o ve ra ll c ro nb a c h’ s a lp ha .9 77 m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r m e a n sd r kr us ka lw a llis si g . ip tv 2. 50 0. 95 57 2. 79 0. 92 56 2. 91 1. 20 32 2. 76 1. 01 50 1. 41 0. 49 le a k d e te c tio n 2. 85 1. 04 28 2. 97 0. 99 45 2. 26 0. 75 58 2. 74 0. 98 51 7. 72 0. 02 * pa tie nt m o ni to rin g 2. 70 1. 03 45 3. 00 1. 21 42 2. 35 1. 11 53 2. 74 1. 16 52 5. 27 0. 07 en tir e h o us e a ut o m a te d c o nt ro l sy st e m 2. 75 0. 97 41 2. 95 1. 12 47 2. 30 0. 88 55 2. 72 1. 05 53 5. 86 0. 05 * lo a d -s he d d in g s ys te m 2. 50 1. 24 57 2. 82 1. 00 53 2. 65 1. 07 46 2. 70 1. 07 54 1. 67 0. 43 h e a lth /m e d ic a l/ fit ne ss re c o rd va ul t 2. 70 0. 86 45 2. 92 1. 13 49 2. 30 1. 22 55 2. 70 1. 12 55 5. 34 0. 07 pa g in g s ys te m 2. 80 1. 20 35 2. 82 1. 10 53 2. 30 0. 82 55 2. 67 1. 07 56 3. 36 0. 19 zo ne a nd c lim a te c o nt ro l 2. 50 1. 32 57 2. 69 0. 92 59 2. 70 0. 93 43 2. 65 1. 02 57 1. 28 0. 53 h e a lth /m e d ic a l a le rt s ys te m 2. 80 0. 95 35 2. 82 0. 97 53 2. 22 1. 28 59 2. 65 1. 08 58 7. 44 0. 02 * v es d a s ys te m 2. 75 1. 07 41 2. 72 1. 15 58 2. 35 0. 78 53 2. 62 1. 04 59 1. 88 0. 39 s d = s ta nd ar d d ev ia tio n; r = r at in g; * s ig . p =< 0. 05 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 142 4.3.2 percentage of utilisation of intelligent building features table 7 shows the percentage of utilisation of ib features among the respondents’ organisations in the study area. cctv system had the highest percentage (73.5%), lighting system ranked second (71.75%), hvac system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) ranked third (71.5%), camera system ranked fourth (70.5%), and ventilation system ranked fifth (70.05%). the features with the least level of utilisation were vending machines (37.75%), game controls (39.5%), digital video recorder, and set top boxes (42.25%). the varying levels of utilisation of ib features reflect the different levels at which these features are used in nigeria. this could also be as a result of the difference in the respondents’ level of exposure and experience in construction projects, especially with respect to ibs. as the feature with the highest percentage of utilisation among the respondents in the study area, the cctv system is the result of its high usage mainly for security in nigeria. cctv system is one of the simplest forms of ensuring security in buildings (smith, 2010: online; mohammed, 2015). it is used in several hotels, factories, corporate organisations, public organisations, banking halls, supermarkets, business environments, and even in religious buildings and individual residential facilities. the growing need for security and monitoring coupled with its affordability greatly influenced its high utilisation in nigeria. the high percentage utilisation of the lighting system is as expected. besides being a primary requirement in modern buildings, an energy-efficient lighting system enhances both the design and the performance of buildings. modern lighting systems are known to be energy efficient, even while accentuating an attractive environment (ahmed, 2009). due to the introduction of prepaid metering systems for electricity consumption, energy-efficient lighting is rapidly being embraced in nigeria. the hvac system also recorded a high level of utilisation. the reason for this is that, in nigeria, air-conditioning systems are now common features in many residential facilities, supermarkets, event centres, religious buildings, banking halls, hotels/motels, as well as in other commercial and public buildings. air-conditioning cooling systems are very important in african countries such as nigeria, which are characterised by hot climate and where thermal comfort of building occupants is a matter of priority to ensure comfortable and satisfactory environment for occupants. vending machines, game controls, digital video recorders, and set top boxes, which are well utilised in developed countries, were the features with the least percentages of utilisation among the respondents in the study area. the reason for this is that nigeria is a developing country, where the use of modern methods, techniques, innovations, and technology is still in its infancy. this is supported by onungwa et al. (2017: 25) that nigeria is lagging behind in the use of innovative tools in its construction industry, and opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 143 table 7: percentage of utilisation of intelligent building features components mean (%) components mean (%) cctv system 73.5 water management 57 lighting system 71.75 fire suppression system (dry, wet) 56.75 hvac system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) 71.5 entire house automated control system 56.5 camera system 70.5 energy metering 56 ventilation system 70.05 detector service 55.55 surveillance 69 digital signage 55.5 gate automation 68.25 leak detection 55 alarms and alerts 68.25 appliances control 54.75 access control and locks 67.5 load-shedding system 54.44 elevators and escalators 65.3 water leak system monitor 53.75 sensors 64.75 health/medical/fitness record vault 53.25 remote audio/video 63.75 dg set monitoring 53 perimeter protection 63.65 audio and volume control 53 data protection 63.25 patient monitoring 52.75 power management 63.15 alarm monitoring 52.5 wireless 62.5 multi-media room control 52.25 utility meter 61.5 intrusion system 52 video surveillance 61.25 automated landscaping/ irrigation 52 data network 60.75 system control 51.95 touch screens 59.85 vesda system 51.5 parking 59.75 home theatre 51.15 av system 59.1 zone and climate control 50.25 audiovisual 58.9 health/medical alert system 50 voice control system 58.5 paging system 48.5 voice network 58.25 remote home 45 multi-room controls/intercoms 57.9 iptv 44.55 notification system 57.7 digital video recorder and set top boxes 42.25 chiller management 57.5 game controls 39.5 fire alarm system 57.5 vending machine 37.75 energy management 57.35 opawole, olojede, oshin & yusuf 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 116-149 144 that it is slow in adopting modern techniques. there are several features of ibs not yet in use in nigeria and, if some are in use, they have not gained wide coverage. this accounts for the low percentage in utilisation ranking of ib features such as vending machines, game controls, digital video recorder and set top boxes, remote home, paging system, health/medical alert system, zone and climate control. 5. conclusion this article examined the level of awareness and utilisation of features of ibs in the nigerian construction industry. the study established that the level of awareness of ib features has risen higher among construction professionals (90.24%) in the study area. however, only 13 buildings employed ibs, despite the high number of ongoing construction projects and commercial activities in the study area. this study established that the adoption of the system is still low. the ib features with the top ranked level of awareness are cctv system, access control and locks, alarms and alerts, hvac system, and fire alarm systems. among these, those with a high level of utilisation include lighting system, which was the most utilised feature, fire alarm system, access control and lock, cctv system, and hvac system. the study revealed that most of the features with a high level of awareness also have a high level of utilisation. the features of intelligence with hi-tech and high sophistication such as health/medical/ fitness record vault and paging system, health/medical alert system, vending machines, game controls, digital video recorder, and set top boxes have a low level of usage. this indicates the evolving state of adoption of ibs in the nigerian construction industry. this study concluded that the awareness of the ibs and its features and the utilisation of its features are prevalent among construction professionals in nigeria. however, the overall adoption of the system is still in its infancy. the study indicated the implications for enlightenment of construction stakeholders and retraining of the professionals for an improved adoption of ibs. further study in this domain may adopt a mixed methodology with a larger sample size. references adejimi, a. 2005. intelligent building and relevance of design professionals in the global age. in: fadare, w. & ajayi, a. 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(ed.). proceedings of the rics foundation construction and building research conference, 1-2 september, school of engineering and the built environment, university of wolverhampton. rics foundation, pp. 113-126. chombo _hlk88724586 _hlk68668926 150 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as emmanuel kabundu dr emmanuel kabundu, building and human settlements, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. phone: 0729017550, email: kabunduemmanuel@ gmail.com, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-6201-465x sijekula mbanga prof. sijekula mbanga, building and human settlements, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. phone: 0729674093, email: sijekula.mbanga@mandela. ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0001-9439-7552 paul makasa prof. paul makasa, architecture, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. phone: 0840948026, email: paul.makasa@mandela. ac.za, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-3533-5276 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: october 2021 reviewed and revised: march august 2022 published: december 2022 keywords: building material, carbon tax, emission intensities, energy intensities, input-output analysis, welfare how to cite: kabundu, e., mbanga, s. & makasa, p. 2022. the 2019 carbon tax in south africa: effects on relative cost of building materials, welfare, emissions, and energy consumption for households.. acta structilia, 29(2) pp. 150-189. the 2019 carbon tax in south africa: effects on relative cost of building materials, welfare, emissions, and energy consumption for households review article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as29i2.6 abstract the introduction of the carbon tax by south africa was primarily aimed at reducing pollution, and possibly improving the welfare of south african households. one of the ways of reducing pollution in the construction industry is to discourage the use of building materials that are high carbon emitters or have high energy intensities. this article used the input-output (io) method and sensitivity analysis to study the effects of carbon tax on welfare distribution of south african households, using the 2014-2015 living conditions survey (lcs). the study also set out to determine the relative sensitivity of price changes of some building materials after application of the 2019 carbon tax. results showed that nonferrous, ferrous, and prefabricated-based building materials had higher relative price sensitivities to carbon tax compared to other materials that were predominantly based on glass, cement, and treated metals. increases in carbon tax may not discourage usage of relatively higher emissions-intensity 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2022 29(2): 150-189 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:kabunduemmanuel@gmail.com mailto:kabunduemmanuel@gmail.com kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 151 materials like cement compared to wood. operational building costs were dominated by electricity costs, with the burden being highest for lower income households. any revenue-recycling efforts of the 2019 carbon tax for welfare purposes were marginal. however, the tax can be used to subsidize energy for lower income households. abstrak die instelling van die koolstofbelasting in suid-afrika was hoofsaaklik daarop gemik om besoedeling te verminder, en moontlik die welstand van suid-afrikaanse huishoudings te verbeter. een van die maniere om besoedeling in die konstruksiebedryf te verminder, is om die gebruik van boumateriaal wat hoë koolstofuitstralers is of hoë energie-intensiteite het, te ontmoedig. hierdie artikel het die inset-uitset (io) metode en sensitiwiteitsanalise gebruik om die uitwerking van koolstofbelasting op welsynsverspreiding van suid-afrikaanse huishoudings te bestudeer deur die 20142015 lewensomstandighede opname (lcs) te gebruik. die studie het ook die relatiewe sensitiwiteit van prysveranderings van sommige boumateriaal na die toepassing van die 2019-koolstofbelasting bepaal. resultate het gewys dat nie-ysterhoudende, ysterhoudende en voorafvervaardigde-gebaseerde boumateriaal hoër relatiewe pryssensitiwiteite vir koolstofbelasting gehad het in vergelyking met ander materiale wat hoofsaaklik op glas, sement en behandelde metale gebaseer was. verhogings in koolstofbelasting ontmoedig nie noodwendig die gebruik van materiale met ’n hoër emissie-intensiteit soos sement in vergelyking met hout nie. bedryfsboukoste is oorheers deur elektrisiteitskoste, met die las wat die hoogste was vir laer-inkomste huishoudings. enige pogings tot herwinning van inkomste van die 2019 koolstofbelasting vir welsynsdoeleindes was marginaal. die belasting kan egter gebruik word om energie vir laer-inkomste huishoudings te subsidieer. list of acronyms io input-output method co2 carbon emissions co2e carbon equivalent emissions cwt complexity weighted tonne gdp gross domestic product eskom electricity supply commission (of south africa) ghg greenhouse gas gtco2 giga tons of carbon cat cap and trade system mj mega joules ras bi-proportional method of scaling of input-output tables, consistent with row and column sums vat value-added tax ktoe kilotonne of oil equivalent mtoe megatonnes of oil equivalent kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 152 1. introduction building construction contributes significantly to the economies of all countries. however, the building construction industry significantly contributes both to the global energy demands and the greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions. in 2019, the entire global building sector accounted for 35% of global energy demand and 38% of global co2-related emissions. the residential building global energy demands accounted for 22% of global total, while the global emission demands decreased from 18% in 2018 to 17% in 2019 (gabc, 2019: 12; 2020: 4). according to the report by gabc (2020: 4), the co2-related emissions from operation of buildings (residential and non-residential), in 2019, increased to the highest levels, accounting for 28% (or 10 gtco2) of global emissions. any slight reductions in percentages of emissions, from 39% in 2018 to 38% in 2019, was due not to absolute reductions in emissions output in the building sector but to increases in emissions from transport and other industry relative to buildings (gabc, 2019: 4). therefore, co2 emissions are on the increase. south african residential building energy consumption sources consist mainly of coal, oil products, natural gas, renewables and waste, as well as electricity. in south africa, electricity uses for residential buildings rose from 1930 ktoe in 1990 to 4250 ktoe in 2018. the use of renewables and waste reduced from 6330 ktoe in 1990 to 3197 ktoe in 2018, and natural gas use rose from 4.7 ktoe in 2017 to 4.9 ktoe in 2018. the use of oil products has been fluctuating since 1990 but has seen a steady decline from 1021 mtoe in 1999 to 587 mtoe in 2018. the use of coal has also been fluctuating since 1990 (the 1990 figure was 1488 mtoe), reaching a peak in 2017 at 5351 mtoe and reducing slightly to 5321 mtoe in 2018 (world bank, 2021; bp, 2021). this historical data shows that there has not been a clear effort by the building industry to transition from heavy fuel polluting sources such as coal to cleaner sources of energy. however, the steady increase in electricity use in all sectors has been and is projected to be accompanied by a steady increase in the use of renewables (iea, 2020; 2021). in 2018, south africa was the world’s 13th largest emitter of ghgs and had the 12th highest emissions per capita in the same year. the rankings have not changed much since 2014 (alton et al., 2014: 346). figure 1 shows that the estimated million metric tonnes of co2 to be emitted per quad of energy produced in south africa from 2019 to 2025 was expected to increase and thereafter gradually reduce significantly beyond 2025. this later gradual reduction in intensity would probably be due to a transition to cleaner forms of energy in the vast majority of sectors after the introduction of the carbon tax. one of the sectors, the building industry, is expected to significantly contribute to the reduction of co2 emissions beyond 2025. the intensity of emissions per unit of energy is expected to drop by 10% between 2021 and kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 153 2040. figure 2 shows the estimated emission intensity of the south african economy. the number of metric tonnes of the combined co2 equivalent ghgs that are emitted per million us$ generated for south africa has gradually reduced (improved) since 2015. the reductions in intensity of emissions generated beyond 2020 are even better. figure1: south african projected emission intensity of energy source: bp, 2021 figure 2: emission intensity of the south african economy source: word bank, 2021; bp, 2021 the intensity of emissions per unit of gdp generated is expected to reduce by 41% between 2021 and 2040. these projected improvements in the emission intensities are based on proper implementation of ghg emissionreduction strategies (such as the use of the carbon tax) in south africa (ecofys & the green house, 2014; south africa, 2019). kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 154 this article aims to apply a methodology of input-output (io) analysis to study the carbon tax effect of relative price increases of building materials, to assess the embodied emissions present at various household income levels with respect to expenditures, and to study the effects of the carbon tax on the welfare of south african households. these embodied emissions can assist with informing the estimation of energy use and co2e footprint during building operational phases in life-cycle cost analysis. the objectives of the article include the generation of relevant io tables from the most currently available supply and use tables (sut) for south africa, the use of satellite emissions environmental data to generate corresponding emission intensities for various sectors, the conducting of io analysis based on developed taxation methodology (using the carbon taxes as exogenous shocks to evaluate the induced price changes), and the additional use of the living conditions survey data (lcs) from statistics south africa to evaluate both welfare effects of the carbon tax and its relative effects on cost of some building materials. 2. literature review to understand the effects of 2019 carbon tax in south africa, it is important to introduce the concepts used in this article. the concepts include the origin of carbon pricing systems, features of their design, some features of the south african carbon pricing system, and the effects of carbon pricing systems such as the carbon tax. 2.1 origin of carbon pricing the taxation of negative externalities has its origins in the work by pigou (1932), who proposed the pigouvian tax. negative externalities occur when a third party is negatively affected or incurs damage, due to an economic activity of which s/he is not part (hafstead, 2019: 3; btce, 1998). the proper amount of tax that should be levied on pollution emissions were vague. in 1960, ronald coarse proposed a theory that favours bargaining as a path to achieving a social optimum. wherever there is a polluting firm in a neighbourhood, the most cost-effective approach would be for the firm to bargain with the community on levels of acceptable pollution and compensation for pollution emissions. 2.2 carbon pricing systems the major forms of carbon pricing include the cap-and-trade system (cat), the carbon tax (ct) system, and the fuel excise levy (hafstead, 2019; oecd, 2021). under the cat systems, any polluter must acquire certificates called pollution rights. each pollution right is set to entitle its holder to emit a certain amount of co2 emissions equivalent, say, to one kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 155 tonne annually. after determining how much total pollution it will permit each year, the government concerned will generate and distribute a fixed (capped) amount of pollution rights to the firms. the certificates are distributed by the government either for free or are sold, each at a fixed amount. a market process is then set in place for the buying and selling (trading) of pollution rights among firms, with heavy polluters buying certificates from non-heavy polluting firms at market prices (oecd, 2021). because of the need to implement carbon pricing, the south african government introduced the south african carbon offset and administrative system (sacoas). south africa introduced carbon pricing by means of the carbon tax act of 2019,2 in order to reduce the negative externality of ghg emissions. apart from being used for purposes of emission abatement, the carbon offsets in south africa will also be uniquely used for carbon tax obligations. there is no issuance of free allowances, auctions, or allocation of any emissions-related allowances in sacoas, unlike the conventional cap-and-trade (cat) systems (doe, 2016: 40). the south african carbon pricing system provides for the use of offsets to mitigate the tax liability of greenhouse emitters. however, it also has the potential to allow for the trading of offsets under a cap-and-trade system format to enable firms reach their annual carbon budgets (prometherum carbon, 2014: 4). both the cat and ct systems (in presence of subsidies) stimulate innovation into cleaner technologies and reduce emissions, but the cat system is more efficient in achieving both goals. under the ct system, firms incur losses, while the cat value will determine if firms incur profits or losses (rogge & hoffmann, 2010: 16-18). cat systems are considered more efficient than ct systems. cat systems go further to encourage afforestation and discourage deforestation through the carbon credits approach, unlike the ct system. a cost-effective and efficient carbon tax system must consider all emissions sources and should be equal to the social cost of carbon in magnitude. the social cost of carbon emissions is the long-term damage caused by an extra tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted into the environment (nordhaus, 2017: 1518). the social cost of carbon varies with the country and the discount rate used. the world bank carbon pricing report suggests that, by 2020, the effective carbon prices should range from $40 to $80 per tco2e, and, by 2030, they should range from $50 to $100 tco2e (world bank, 2019: 19). since the carbon tax level3 for south africa (r120 in 2019) is well below the social 2 the south african carbon tax act (no 15 of 2019) was published in 2019. however, there were amendments that were made to it using the south african taxation laws amendment act no. 20 of 2021. these documents can be accessed using their respective references under the references section. 3 the research used a carbon tax value of r120 per tonne of co2, which corresponded to the 2019 carbon tax rate. however, the carbon tax in 2022 was r144 per tonne of co2. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 156 cost of carbon ($50 in 2019 or r750, according to usa standards), it is inefficient (aldy & stavins, 2012). 2.3 designing carbon pricing systems the effectiveness of a carbon pricing policy can be measured by the extent of its minimization of both the financial burden on everyday citizens and ghg emissions. 2.3.1 factors affecting design when designing a carbon pricing system, three factors determine its effectiveness. these include the policy stringency, coverage, and revenue use (hafstead, 2019). policy stringency considers how the carbon tax or pricing will change over time. if efficiency is to be maintained, the change should reflect the prevailing social cost of carbon emissions. coverage deals with the sectors that will be covered by the carbon pricing system, the emission types that will be targeted, and the different levels of exemptions. revenue use considers how the revenue from the carbon taxes will be used. progressive carbon pricing policies will tend to minimize negative impacts on low-income households or even benefit these households by redistributing the revenues in areas of need. 2.3.2 emissions, exemptions, and allowances in south africa the sources of ghg emissions in south africa can be divided into scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions (nt, 2013). scope 1 emissions involve direct ghg emissions by a given firm (from sources both owned and controlled by the firm). scope 2 emissions involve indirect emissions that arise, say, from generated electricity that is used by the firm in question for heating, cooling, or another activity such as steam generation. scope 3 emissions arise due to the firm’s activities that are not covered under scope 1 or scope 2. in south africa, scope 1 emissions are subject to the carbon tax (nt, 2013: 12-13). however, tax exemptions or allowances are also provided for the firms, with the base tax-free thresholds being 0%, 60%, 70%, 75%, or 100% of emissions from fossil fuel combustion (south africa, 2019; south africa, 2021). the allowances include industrial process emissions allowances (maximum of 10%); fugitive emissions allowances (maximum of 10%); trade exposure allowances (maximum of 10%); performance allowances (maximum of 5%); carbon budget allowances (maximum of 5%), and offset allowances (maximum of 10%). allowances can be added to or subtracted from this figure, based on the emission intensity of the firm relative to the corresponding emission intensity benchmark. the emission intensity is evaluated based on both kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 157 the scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. this provides an added motivation for firms to reduce their electricity consumption even at scope 2 level so that they benefit from the allowances (ecofys & the green house, 2014: 6-8; nt, 2013: 14). 2.3.3 phases for carbon tax roll-out there are three phases under which the carbon tax will be rolled out. during phase 1 of the carbon tax roll-out, all firms that generate scope 1 emissions are subject to the carbon tax, except eskom. carbon tax allowances, as stipulated in the 2019 carbon tax act of south africa, are fully applicable in phase1. the carbon tax will be increased annually by an amount equal to 2% points above annual consumer price inflation (south africa, 2019). during phase 1, this annual increase translates into a value of from r120 per tonne at the beginning (2019) to r300 per tonne at end of december 2025. during phase 2, the annual increase is expected to range from r300 per tonne (january 2026) to r450 per tonne (december 2030). most of the carbon tax allowances (except a few such as the trade exposure allowances) are not applicable in phase 2. eskom will also cease to be exempted from the carbon tax during phase 2. this means that the effects of the tax on electricity prices will affect most of the households and firms in south africa. during phase 3, the carbon tax will be expected to reach as high as r1800 post-2050 (fin24, 2022; south africa, 2019). since eskom provides over 90% of south african electricity, electricity prices will hardly be affected by the carbon tax during phase 1. the revenue collected from the carbon tax will also be significantly low. therefore, the ability for the south african government to use the revenues as a design tool for both minimizing negative impacts and providing targeted benefits to entities such as low-income households, small businesses, rural households, and rural businesses, will be limited. exempting eskom from paying the carbon tax during phase 1 is also an indirect way of subsidizing the energy provided to all the households and businesses dependent on eskom. however, during phases 2 and 3, when eskom is not exempted, more revenue will be collected because all consumers will be affected by electricity price increases arising from the carbon taxation of eskom. there will be no carbon tax-related indirect subsidization of electricity for all consumers of eskom power. however, the government, having obtained more carbon tax revenue, will have more flexibility to provide targeted benefits to groups affected most by the negative externalities (rural households and businesses) and to groups that incur the heaviest energy cost burden, due to the carbon tax effects (low-income households kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 158 and small businesses). during these stages, the ability to use revenue as a design tool will be greater. 2.4 the effects of carbon pricing collecting information to determine the optimum pigouvian tax level is always a challenge for governments that favour the application of the nonpigouvian taxes on ghg emissions. although carbon pricing systems (including carbon taxes) reduce reliance on carbon, they do not eliminate the reliance on carbon (nt, 2013). this means that there is a likelihood of increase in the negative externalities for neighbourhoods already burdened by pollution. furthermore, in the absence of relevant exemptions, the effect of the carbon tax making fossil fuels expensive may lead to a harsher burden on lower income households by increasing costs of energy, public transport, and other consumer goods on which they heavily rely. it is also difficult to measure how much carbon is produced under carbon pricing, and hence difficult to set the exact carbon price. carbon pricing could also shift local manufacturing to other countries or regions without carbon pricing measures, leading to loss of local jobs (oke, aigbavboa & dlamini, 2017: 2375-2376; alton et al., 2014: 344). since a tonne of carbon emitted has the same effect, irrespective of the origin of emission, relocation of firms would result in greater loss for the local economy because it will still be affected by carbon emissions from other countries or regions where those firms have relocated. this phenomenon called carbon leakage is usually dealt with by using the carbon border adjusted tax (taxes on imports and rebates on exports) (nt, 2013: 58-59). this tax considers the differences in carbon pricing policies across different countries to ensure continued competitiveness of domestic manufacturers or firms. the carbon tax act of south africa provides a maximum allowance of 10% for these differences (south africa, 2019). other studies in the past have revealed that cts are inefficient in the long run and that tax subsidy schemes should be implemented, on order to improve allocation (carlton & loury, 1980). among the positive effects of carbon taxation is the added flexibility offered to firms to select from several carbon emissions minimization technologies, the ensuring of equal marginal costs of abatements that allows minimization of overall costs of emissions reduction, the encouragement of environmental conservation, and the generation of a new revenue stream by the governments (hafstead, 2019). alton et al. (2014: 344) highlight that, at a rate of us$30 per ton of ghg emissions, a phased tax can help achieve south africa’s carbon emission targets for 2025. the carbon tax implementation has the potential to abate the decline in national welfare in 2025 by 1.2%. it can also favourably lead to altering income distributions, if the revenues from the tax are appropriately recycled. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 159 regarding the nature of the redistribution of proceeds from the carbon taxes, research has explored the double dividend economic hypothesis. this hypothesis has led to emphasis being placed on a combination of both environmental tax reforms (etr) and environmental fiscal reforms (efr), as shown by freire-gonzalez and mon (2018). in efr, taxation is based on the environment rather than taxing capital, consumption, or labour. subsidies that are associated with the negative externality of pollution are also discouraged under efr (freire-gonzalez & mon, 2018). some economists suggest that both the revenue-raising taxes and the environmental taxes should be taken as complementary to each other and that raising environmental taxes above their optimum, while lowering capital taxes, may prove more beneficial to society. in their study, freiregonzalez and mon (2018: 2) found that an increase in environmental taxes and reduction in subsidies for 39 industries, while using the revenue to reduce labour, capital and consumption taxes, produces both economic and environmental benefits. the benefits after three years are in the form of higher gdp and reduction in all environmental pollutants. other studies with similar results include ciaschini et al. (2012), fernandez, perez and ruiz (2011), as well as jorgenson, goettle and wilcoxen (2013). khastar, aslani and nejati (2020), when studying the carbon tax effect on social welfare and emission reduction effect in finland, found that, although the tax was effective in reducing emissions, it had a negative welfare on the finns. the authors recommend revisiting the amount of tax levied. acemoglu et al. (2016) found in their study that, when cts are implemented together with research subsidies (for firms engaged in clean technology innovations), production and innovation in environmentally clean technologies will be encouraged. otherwise, without subsidies, firms may prefer to continue using the environmentally dirtier, but advanced technologies. in their study, malerba, gaentzsch and ward (2021) found that national carbon taxation without compensation would significantly increase poverty in peru but would have no significant effect on income inequalities. however, when redistributions from the carbon taxation are made, the reduction in national poverty head count would be as high as 17%, depending on the amounts of redistributions and the cash transfer schemes used. the above studies indicate that the carbon tax rate should be carefully selected. proper re-distributions of the carbon tax proceeds could also be a powerful tool against poverty and income inequalities. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 160 3. methods 3.1 data sets and computations the study utilized the 2015 eora data set applicable to south africa (eora, 2021). the computations related to the model equations were done using the ‘ioanalysis’ and the ‘leontief’ packages from the r cran repository to perform both the input-output and associated analysis (vargas, 2020; wade, 2020). any other computations related to matrix and data frame operations were still done using the base functionalities inbuilt into r. the most important equations used for input-output analysis were from already published sources such as un (2018) and perese (2010). the study utilized the ‘giniwegneg’ package from the r cran repository to evaluate gini coefficients (raffinetti & aimar, 2016; raffinetti, siletti & vernizzi 2017: 186-187). before being accepted as part of the r cran repository, the r packages have to undergo independent validation tests to ensure that they perform the tasks they were meant to perform. 3.2 input-output analysis the input-output analysis method (io) was used as the principal method of analysis. because of the presence of satellite energy and emissions data as an extension to the io tables, the io methodology was extended to energy and ghg emissions analysis to obtain metrics such as emission or energy intensities of industries (hasegawa, kagawa & tsukui, 2015). the io tables were generated from the supply-use tables (suts). some of the existing international sources of suts include the organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd), the eora supply global chain database (used for this study) (eora, 2021), the world input output database (wiod) site, exiobase, and the international food policy research institute (timmer et al., 2015). to implement the inputoutput model equations, the study utilized the ‘leontief’ and ‘ioanalysis’ packages from the r cran repository (vargas, 2020; wade, 2020). the process of transforming these tables to io tables is specified by perese (2010) and united nations (un 2018). the analysis was restricted to study distributional effects of carbon tax in the short term, since io tables are being used. this is in harmony with other studies that also used the io methodology (boyce & riddle, 2019; perese, 2010; mathur & morris, 2014). like the assumptions from mathur and morris (2014), this study assumed that there was no household and industry behavioural response to the after-tax increases in prices, due to implementing the carbon tax. the study considered that consumers will not switch to cleaner sources of energy and, therefore, significantly reduce the effect of the carbon tax. the study did not consider the effects of the eventual transfer of the initial kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 161 higher expenses incurred by the taxed firms to the households (mathur & morris, 2014: 5-6). due to presence of satellite data, this implied that the direct co2 emissions from households never required re-computation. the indirect co2 equivalent emissions from the burning of fossil fuels during industrial product manufacturing also never required re-computation (renner, 2017: 5-7). to convert from suts to io tables, a set of equations represented by equation 1 or equation 2 was employed. assuming the following definition of terms (un, 2018: 369-400): np = number of industries/agents mp = number of commodities let v = an mp x np supply (make matrix) let u = an np x mp (use matrix) i = an np x np or mp x mp (identity matrix) w = initial gross value added (gva) matrix x = column vector of product (commodity) output g = column vector of industry output vt = make matrix (transpose of supply matrix) – product by industry (np x mp) u = use matrix of intermediaries – product by industry (np x mp) y = initial use matrix (product by category) f = final use matrix after transformation s = final matrix of intermediaries after transformation e = gva matrix after transformation d = index for domestic origin m = index for imported origin equation 1 yields a non-negative commodity by commodity io table, while equation 2 yields a non-negative industry by industry io table (un, 2018). the possible set of equations adopted for evaluation of the final io matrix is as follows: sd is the commodity-by-commodity matrix of technical coefficients. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 162 let the chosen matrix of intermediaries be of dimensions p x p, where p is either n or m. the total output (to) across sectors is given as: where ex are total exports and j is the column index. the volumes or mass of carbon emissions per unit of total output (to) or carbon intensities (cb) is given in the following equation 4: energy use intensities can be similarly evaluated by computing energy consumption per unit of total output. the carbon equivalent emissions are computed based on environmental account data of the emissions of other ghgs and the application of the global warming potential (gwp) to each unique ghg emitted to convert it to the co2 equivalent (ggp, 2021). for each sector (or column j), the total sum of the transformed emissions (including the original co2 emissions) is computed. each element in the ith row and jth column in the matrix of technical coefficients (a) can then be computed as follows: the leontief inverse (l) is then computed as: kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 163 the total emissions embodied in final demand (cf) are given by: in this case, taxation will be based on intensity of emissions per unit of final demand for each sector. equation 7 can be altered so that taxation is based on total exports or even total inputs. the symbol ⊗ represents matrix multiplication through multiplication corresponding elements of 2 matrices. the two matrices must have the same dimensions. equation 8 holds true for the coefficients from the technical coefficient matrix elements: a carbon tax shock was then introduced on the intermediary inputs and obtain the tax effects in form of relative price increases in final demand products (tian et al., 2013: 280-281; perese, 2010: 19). the purpose of the carbon tax is to discourage heavy polluters. suppose a maximum carbon tax rate (t) is to be introduced in rands per tonne, then the tax is evaluated using equation 9: the matrix cb in equation 9 is a 1 by p row matrix of co2 equivalent intensities. the model allows for offering of tax rebates to industries that have low intensity emissions or low energy intensity usage. the rebate threshold is tt for co2 emissions. the rebate thresholds must be carefully selected so that the domestic industries maintain competitiveness when exporting commodities abroad (nt, 2010: 39-40). the price effects due to taxation are expressed in equation 10: when these ratios of sector-specific price changes are evaluated, it is possible to compute the welfare losses (renner, 2017). kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 164 validation of results: the generated emission intensities (cb) were compared against the emission benchmarks from the national treasury as part of the validation process (ecofys & the green house, 2014: 115-119). the benchmarks from the national treasury (in 2014) were expressed in tonnes of co2e per tonne of material. these were converted to tonnes co2e per rand value of the material before comparing them to the emission intensities used in this study. 3.3 conversion of price changes from base prices to purchaser’s prices since the io analysis was done in base prices and the lcs survey figures were in purchaser’s prices, the base prices were then converted to producer’s prices by adding taxes on products (excluding vat) and subtracting subsidies on products. the producer prices were then converted to purchaser’s prices by trade and transport margins and the non-deductible vat (perese, 2010: 29; un, 2018: 53-56). the data for trade and transport margins was obtained from oecd database (oecd, 2021). the study assumed a general percentage of 10% of commodities consumed by households coming from imports rather than local commodities (perese, 2010: 29). 3.4 estimation of the annual household welfare losses and gains the effective change in price vector was extracted from equation 11 and applied to the household expenditure items present in the tables from statsa (2017: 165-168). household expenditures are more correctly aligned to permanent incomes, when compared to household income (poterba, 1989: 1-2). the relevant items in the expenditure tables were mapped against the industry or commodity names from the 2015 inputoutput matrix. once this mapping was done, the relevant tax rates (from the price change vector) that apply to each expenditure item from the stats sa (2017: 165-168) tables were applied. these expenditure tables group households and their expenses into deciles. the first decile represents 10% of households that have the lowest annual expenditure, while the tenth (last) decile represents 10% of households with the highest annual expenditure. each expenditure data under a decile represents the expenditure data for a household whose expenditure is the mean expenditure of the households in that decile. application of the effective tax rates and summation under each decile yields the total welfare loss for the representative household under the decile. multiplying this total welfare loss for each decile by the number of households in each decile yields the total welfare loss under each decile. summing up these welfare losses yields the total welfare loss kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 165 for all households in the representative survey. the total representative revenue for the sample data set is computed using equation 11. the net benefit or loss, due to the application of the tax, was computed as the difference between the welfare benefit and the welfare loss. cross-sectional living conditions survey (lcs) household data for the year 2015 from statistics south africa (stats sa) was used to obtain individual information of sampled household expenditures (and incomes) on various household goods and services (stats sa, 2015; stats sa, 2017: 165-168). the total welfare loss under each decile can also be distributed among the households from the lcs which fall under the decile. the result is a table with the expenditure and filtered amount of taxes (due to io analysis price changes) per household from the survey data set. the effective expenditures for households, which were registered as renters during the survey, were reduced by 30% on assumption that they spend about 30% on rental payments. a figure of 30% on housing income is what is adopted for financial institutions in south africa to represent maximum housing expenditure. the household expenditure per annum was converted to annual household expenditure per person by dividing with the household sizes. the annual losses per household due to co2 emissions were also transformed to losses per person. the inequality measurements after income re-distributions were measured (to evaluate the potential of the carbon tax to reduce income inequality) using the technique proposed by raffinetti et al. (2017: 186-187) that dealt with negative values during analysis. 3.5 tax exemptions the carbon tax in south africa is subject to tax exemptions in phase 1, most of which would be eliminated for phases 2 and 3. in its initial state (phase 1), the first 60% of co2 equivalent emissions are exempt from the carbon tax for most of the activities. there are other additional allowances for trade exposure (maximum of 30%, to be increased to 50% in 2023) and process emissions (maximum of 10%) that would be applied to some industries kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 166 (ecofys & the green house, 2014:6-7; sait, 2020; nt, 2013:13-14). an average carbon tax free rate of 70% was used for phase 1. 3.6 carbon taxation and welfare effects to study the effects of carbon taxation on the welfare of south african households, scenario analysis on recycling of the carbon tax proceeds in the presence of varying percentages of beneficiaries, taxation exemption levels and carbon taxes was done. the assumption is that the proceeds would be distributed to all households in the population below a certain decile level. the adjusted expenditures were then computed. the gini coefficients for both original and new household expenditures were also computed. the mean income levels for both old and new household expenditure levels below the previously selected decile were also generated. 3.7 the preference index an index to provide rough preference of welfare scenarios was created. the index is built based on the maximization of recycling of the tax receipts, minimization of the gini coefficient and maximization of average incomes, and the optimization of both carbon tax and tax exemption levels. the index values were scaled so that they range from 0% to 100%. a higher preference index indicates a better scenario with respect to meeting the optimization criteria above. a table with carbon tax levels, selected deciles used for recycling revenue, initial gini coefficient, final gini coefficient, mean adjusted income, net welfare-gain, and the preference index was then generated. 4. results since io analysis was linked to households from the lcs, the io tables were generated using equation 2, which is based on industry-by-industry io tables. 4.1 validation of emission intensities equation 4 was used to evaluate the emission intensities. these were compared against emission intensity benchmarks from the national treasury. based on the published results from the national treasury, comparisons could only be made with respect to iron and steel, cement (clinker only), petroleum, and paper products (nt, 2019; ecofys & the green house, 2014). both emission intensity benchmarks for 2014 and 2019 were used (see table 1). kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 167 table 1: comparison of model emission intensities with national treasury benchmarks product intensity benchmarks (tonne co2/ t product): treasury price per tonne (rands) intensity (t co2/ rand of product): treasury intensity (t co2/ rand of product): study steel and iron ore 0.6-0.7 (steel) 0.2-0.3 (iron ore) tonne co2/ t (2014) 4.08 tonne co2e/ t (2019) for steel alone steel: 990-1238 (2022) iron ore: 19-25 (2021) 0.0071-0.0137 (2014) for iron and steel combined 0.0052-0.0065 (2019) for steel alone 0.0092 (iron and steel combined) cement (clinker only) 0.85-1.10 tonne co2/ t (2014) 1.00 tonne co2e/ t (2019) 18-300 (2022) 0.0037-0.0793 (2014) 0.0039-0.0556 (2019) 0.0092 petroleum 0.0295-0.035/cwt co2 (2014) 0.0532 /cwt co2e (2019) 76-162 (2014/15) 0.0002-0.0005 (2014) 0.0003-0.0006 (2019) 0.0005 paper 0.892-2.316 tonne co2/ t (2014) 0.600-2.529 tonne co2e/ t (2019) 9231-13116 (2014/15) 0.0001-0.0002 (2014) 0.0001-0.0003 (2019) 0.0022 source: authors the model emission intensities for petroleum, cement (clinker only), as well as iron and steel closely compare with the intensity benchmarks from the national treasury. however, using both 2014 and 2019 data, the model intensities for paper are much higher than the published emission benchmarks from the national treasury. this could be because the model does not consider carbon sequestration or storage by materials. timber and its products (including paper and wood products) sequestrate carbon. however, the tax laws in south africa consider both carbon emissions and carbon sequestration (south africa, 2019; south africa, 2021). the cost of producing the products were estimated using the product prices (tradekey, 2022; indexmundi, 2022). where necessary, the relevant consumer price indices from stats sa (2022) were used to convert the product prices to 2014/2015 values. the 2014/2015 product prices were then applied to the treasury emission benchmarks, in order to convert the emissions benchmarks to tonnes per rand. 4.2 percentage price increases due to carbon taxation the original conditions for the analysis considered the carbon tax to be equivalent to us$7.5 per tonne of co2 equivalent emissions, at an kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 168 exchange rate of one dollar for 16 rands (120 rands per tonne of co2). the price changes are due to both direct and indirect emissions, using the 95 commodities from the 2015 south african io table. the effects of carbon sequestration are not considered in this article. this means that the results for items such as paper, wood, and furniture do not consider the sequestration properties of timber. table 2 shows the price changes, due to the tax application. phase 1: table 2 shows that highest price changes would occur in direct and indirect electricity use (at 1.983%), accounting for almost 35% of all price changes. however, in the short term, this change in price of electricity will only affect scope 1 emissions from ghg emitting firms (private electricity generators), except for eskom, which is exempt from paying the carbon tax until december 2025 (nt, 2013). eskom generates over 90% of south african electricity. eventually, these private generators (except eskom) will pass on these costs, incurred through payment of the carbon tax, to their customers through higher commodity prices (including electricity). therefore, most of the south african households and other businesses (who depend on eskom for electricity) will not be affected by any price changes in table 2, due to the carbon tax. the price changes for eskom customers will be 0% during phase 1. however, customers of private electricity generators will be affected during phase 1, due to the carbon tax according to data in table 2. water use would experience a price change of 0.032%. electricity use price changes for households are 62 times as much as the price changes, due to water usage, assuming equal amounts of water and electricity are consumed by the household according to their respective units of measurement. during phase 1, households and businesses that do not rely on the electricity provided from the national grid (eskom) would experience a significant increase (accounting for 35% of overall price increases, assuming equal amounts per respective unit are consumed) in expenses on electricity, due to the carbon tax. affordability for water usage in the presence of a carbon tax would be far more likely to occur (relative price increases for water are 62 times lower than those of electricity) compared to affordability for electricity by the households and businesses that are not customers of eskom. households and businesses that rely on non-liquid fuels for energy such as some form of coal would also experience high price changes, due to the carbon tax, as the coal industry was ranked the third highest (0.285%) after the electricity and non-ferrous industries. the assumption is that equal amounts of the respective units are being consumed by the household. the households that rely on liquid fuels are represented under the petroleum industry, whose price changes were ranked 14th in magnitude at 0.067%. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 169 ta bl e 2: p ric e ch an ge s, d ue to a c ar bo n ta x of 1 20 r an ds /t on ne o f c o 2e c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % 1. el e c tr ic ity 1. 98 3 25 .j e w e lle ry 0. 05 2 49 .t e xt ile s 0. 01 9 73 .s p e c ia l m a c hi ne ry 0. 01 2 2. n o nfe rro us m e ta ls 0. 29 5 26 .o th e r c o ns tr uc tio n 0. 04 6 50 .o th e r m a nu fa c tu rin g 0. 01 9 74 .f e rt iliz e rs 0. 01 1 3. c o a l 0. 28 5 27 .g e ne ra l ha rd w a re 0. 04 6 51 .b a ke rie s 0. 01 8 75 .o p tic a l i ns tr um e nt s 0. 01 1 4. tr a d e 0. 19 9 28 .s o a p 0. 04 5 52 .b e ve ra g e s a nd to b a c c o 0. 01 7 76 .p a p e r 0. 01 1 5. in su ra nc e 0. 19 4 29 .p rim a ry p la st ic s 0. 04 0 53 .o th e r f o o d 0. 01 6 77 .a c c um ul a to rs 0. 01 1 6. a g ric ul tu re 0. 18 4 30 .r e -e xp o rt 0. 03 5 54 .w ire a nd c a b le 0. 01 6 78 .t re a te d m e ta ls 0. 01 1 7. tr a ns p o rt s e rv ic e s 0. 17 2 31 .d a iry 0. 03 4 55 .f ur ni tu re 0. 01 6 79 .a g ric ul tu ra l m a c hi ne ry 0. 01 1 8. o th e r m in in g 0. 10 8 32 .p um p s 0. 03 3 56 .c o nf e c tio ne ry 0. 01 5 80 .t e xt ile a rt ic le s 0. 00 9 9. m e a t 0. 08 4 33 .w a te r 0. 03 2 57 .m o to r v e hi c le p a rt s 0. 01 5 81 .c e m e nt 0. 00 9 10 .ir o n a nd s te e l 0. 08 1 34 .o ils 0. 03 1 58 .r e c o rd e d m e d ia 0. 01 5 82 .g e a rs 0. 00 9 11 .b us in e ss a c tiv iti e s 0. 07 9 35 .f o o d m a c hi ne ry 0. 03 1 59 .s tr uc tu ra l m e ta l 0. 01 4 83 .e ng in e s 0. 00 9 12 .g ra in m ills 0. 06 9 36 .r e a l e st a te 0. 02 9 60 .p ub lis hi ng 0. 01 4 84 .o th e r r ub b e r 0. 00 8 13 .g o ld 0. 06 8 37 .p la st ic 0. 02 8 61 .w o o d 0. 01 4 85 .l e a th e r 0. 00 8 14 .p e tr o le um 0. 06 7 38 .o th e r c he m ic a ls 0. 02 5 62 .e le c tr ic ity a p p a ra tu s 0. 01 4 86 .f o o tw e a r 0. 00 7 15 .b ui ld in g s 0. 06 2 39 .f a b ric a te d m e ta l 0. 02 5 63 .o th e r t ra ns p o rt 0. 01 3 87 .o th e r p a p e r 0. 00 6 kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 170 c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % c o m m o d ity pr ic e c ha ng e % 16 .a c tiv iti e s se rv ic e s 0. 06 2 40 .l ift in g e q ui p m e nt 0. 02 5 64 .e le c tr ic a l e q ui p m e nt 0. 01 3 88 .g la ss 0. 00 5 17 .o th e r t e xt ile s 0. 06 1 41 .f ru it 0. 02 5 65 .h o us e ho ld a p p lia nc e s 0. 01 3 89 .s tr uc tu ra l c e ra m ic s 0. 00 4 18 .c o m m un ic a tio ns 0. 05 8 42 .b a sic c he m ic a ls 0. 02 4 66 .o th e r n o nm e ta llic 0. 01 3 90 .p e st ic id e s 0. 00 4 19 .h a nd b a g s 0. 05 7 43 .e le c tr ic m o to rs 0. 02 3 67 .m in in g m a c hi ne ry 0. 01 3 91 .h e a lth a nd s o c ia l w o rk 0. 00 3 20 .f ish 0. 05 7 44 .p ha rm a c e ut ic a ls 0. 02 3 68 .l ig ht in g e q ui p m e nt 0. 01 2 92 .w e a rin g a p p a re l 0. 00 2 21 .t yr e s 0. 05 4 45 .s ug a r 0. 02 2 69 .a ni m a l f e e d s 0. 01 2 93 .r a d io a nd t e le vi sio n 0. 00 1 22 .m a c hi ne t o o ls 0. 05 4 46 .g e ne ra l m a c hi ne ry 0. 02 2 70 .p a in ts 0. 01 2 94 .n o nst ru c tu ra l c e ra m ic s 0. 00 1 23 .o ffi c e m a c hi ne ry 0. 05 4 47 .c o nt a in e rs o f p a p e r 0. 02 1 71 .c a rp e ts 0. 01 2 95 .g e ne ra l g o ve rn m e nt 0. 00 1 24 .k ni tt in g m ills 0. 05 2 48 .a c c o m m o d a tio n 0. 02 0 72 .m o to r v e hi c le s 0. 01 2 s ou rc e: a ut ho rs kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 171 phases 2 and 3: since, during these phases, the exemptions are removed, and eskom is also required to pay carbon tax, the price increases are expected to be greater than those shown in table 2, for all commodities. in addition, all the households (including those who depend on eskom for power) will spend more income on acquiring commodities. 4.3 household expenditure change phase 1: households consume various expenditure items in different amounts. the price changes shown in table 2 would need to be applied to household consumption patterns, in order to have a clearer picture of the change in expenditure patterns, due to the carbon tax. a mapping of the 2015 io table sectors was done with the relevant household expenditure items from the 2014/2015 lcs survey. the mapping was done over 31 household expenditure items. figure 3 illustrates the 31 expenditure items and the annual price changes, due to the carbon tax, on a household represented by the mean expenditure from the lcs survey. the increases in expenses were disproportionally higher for electricity (r69.4), transport (r28.9), insurance (r17.9), real estate (r7.3), and business activities (r3.1), when compared to other expenditure items. electricity contributed to 50.2% of total increase in the expenses, while transport services contributed 20.9% of total increase in expenditures, due to the carbon tax. the five highest contributors to the increases in expenditure, due to the carbon tax, accounted for 91.5% of total increase in the expenditures. because of differences in the amounts of water and electricity consumed by the households, the actual increase in expenses on electricity (r69.4), due to the carbon tax, was approximately 239 times compared to similar increases in expenses for water consumption (r0.29) and 434 times compared to similar increases in expenses for coal (solid fuels) consumption (r0.16). in the short term, this significant increase in electricity and other commodity prices would be felt by firms, other than eskom, which generate scope 1 emissions. these firms would eventually pass the increased prices on to the consumers of their products. the number of households and firms affected will not be big (during phase 1), since eskom generates over roughly 90% of the country’s electricity and is exempt from the carbon tax during phase 1. this means that the other scope 1 emitting firms account for less than 10% of electricity generation. phases 2 and 3: from 2026 onwards, during phases 2 and 3 of the carbon tax roll-out, the effect of the tax on consumers over the entire country will be significantly higher and wider in scope, since eskom will no longer be exempted from the carbon tax and most of the other tax allowances (except for a few such as trade exposure allowances) will also fall away. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 172 figure 3: price increase per item for mean representative household, due to the carbon tax source: authors 4.4 emissions per household the emission and energy intensities from the io analysis (obtained using equation 4) were transformed from intensities per rand at base prices to intensities per rand at purchase prices. they were then mapped with household expenditure items for each of the lcs sample representative decile. the purpose was to obtain patterns of both direct and indirect energy usage and co2e emissions. the total emissions, energy usage, emission intensities, and energy intensities for each decile were then derived. table 3 shows each of these four values for the 10 deciles. the rate of south african household total co2e emissions and energy usage (direct and indirect) increases with household incomes. the increase, however, does not seem to follow a linear trend. the co2e emission and energy intensities per rand at purchaser’s prices both decreased with increases in household incomes. the anomaly only lies with the 4th and 5th deciles of the energy intensities, where the energy intensity increases with income. however, the general pattern for energy intensities is for them to decrease with increases in household income. the total amount of emissions (direct and indirect) per rand for lower income households is higher than that of higher income households. similarly, the total amount of energy used (direct and indirect) per and for lower-income households is higher than that of higher income households, except for the 4th and 5th deciles. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 173 table 3: household energy, co2e emissions, and their respective intensities decile energy intensities (mj/ rand) energy (mj) emission intensities (co2e metric tonnes/rand) emissions (co2e) (metric tonnes) expenditure on electricity % tax burden % 1 48.26 467492.70 0.00075 7.29 10.56 0.25 2 44.80 739076.02 0.00065 10.77 8.31 0.19 3 44.41 988939.21 0.00062 13.83 7.70 0.18 4 44.61 1276705.46 0.00060 17.04 7.01 0.16 5 46.10 1555764.53 0.00060 20.25 6.87 0.16 6 44.42 2095474.36 0.00054 25.65 5.69 0.13 7 43.88 2860002.34 0.00051 33.38 5.04 0.12 8 43.82 4274208.34 0.00048 46.73 4.59 0.11 9 41.87 6863574.05 0.00043 70.82 3.80 0.09 10 40.64 17284948.14 0.00038 160.35 2.33 0.05 source: authors table 3 shows that electricity had the highest sensitivity to the carbon tax. lower income households (lower deciles) proportionally spend three times more on electricity than the higher income households. thus, in the absence of both exemptions to eskom, or any other energy subsidies, the carbon tax burden would be higher for lower income households compared to higher income households. therefore, the implementation of the carbon tax at whatever level will most significantly hurt the lower income households compared to higher income households, if the tax exemptions on eskom are to fall away, and no environmentally friendly subsidies are provided. table 3 also shows that lower income households emit more co2e emissions per rand of expenditure. therefore, the amount of tax per rand of expenditure will be higher among lower income households. it would, therefore, be beneficial for these households to invest in cleaner energy-saving measures. therefore, any subsidies provided for these households should be directed to cleaner energy-saving measures. 4.5 carbon tax effects on building materials table 4 shows the sensitivity of short-term changes in prices of some building materials due to carbon taxation. the non-ferrous metals used in building construction had the highest percentage price changes (0.30%), followed by iron and steel, and plastic. glass and ceramics were least affected by the price changes (below 0.01%). the relative price changes of cement were also relatively low (11th lowest among the building materials kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 174 under consideration at 0.01%). the price changes for wood were 0.014%, 1.6 times those of cement. these relative price changes reflect the cost escalations on the building materials, due to the carbon tax. building technologies that predominantly use materials with low percentage price changes would be more resilient in ensuring household affordability in the presence of an ever-increasing carbon tax. table 4: percentage price changes due to carbon tax of r120/metric tonne of co2e 4, energy, and emission intensities (rankings are in brackets) material % price change emission intensity (metric tonnes co2e/ rand) energy intensity (mj/rand) non-ferrous metals 0.295(1) 0.2228(1) 12409.859(1) iron and steel 0.081(2) 0.0092(2) 1327.737(2) primary plastics 0.040(3) 0.0020(7) 273.514(7) plastic 0.028(4) 0.0004(14) 79.941(13) fabricated metal 0.025(5) 0.0029(6) 408.383(4) wire and cable 0.016(6) 0.0015(8) 106.369(11) structural metal 0.014(7) 0.0051(4) 799.119(3) wood 0.014(8) 0.0011(10) 121.595(10) paints 0.012(9) 0.0009(11) 125.754(9) treated metals 0.011(10) 0.0030(5) 310.728(5) cement 0.009(11) 0.0092(3) 292.106(6) glass 0.005(12) 0.0012(9) 201.946(8) structural ceramics 0.004(13) 0.0007(12) 93.903(12) non-structural ceramics 0.001(14) 0.0004(13) 51.355(14) source: authors the minimization of usage of ferrous, non-ferrous, plastic, and prefabricated metallic materials would reduce the percentage price changes in building costs due to application of a carbon tax, leading to better affordability. however, a lower price change of the building material, due to the carbon tax, does not imply a lower co2e emission intensity or lower energy-use intensity. neither does a lower emission intensity of a building material imply a lower energy-use intensity of the same material (although there is a very strong correlation). in terms of emission intensities, cement would be ranked 3rd after iron and steel but would be ranked 6th in terms of energy intensity after treated metals. however, the greatest differences in rankings 4 though the carbon tax in 2019 was r120 per tonne of co2, its value in 2022 is r144 per tonne of co2. kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 175 arise with respect to price changes. the similarities between emission intensities and energy intensities are higher than those between any one of these two forms of intensities and the price changes. these differences in the price changes could be due to the transformation process that was applied to convert price differences from base prices to purchaser’s prices, by applying taxes on production (excluding vat), subsidies on production, as well as the trade and transport margins. 4.6 net welfare gain and tax analysis the population of households in south africa for 2015 was 15,307,000 households. the 2015 lcs survey sample had 23,380 households. the welfare gain for the survey sample (23,380 households) was evaluated, and a sensitivity analysis was done with respect to both carbon tax levels and tax exemption levels. figure 4 shows that if the carbon tax is increased while the tax exemption threshold is lowered, the net welfare gains will increase. figure 4: net welfare gains scenarios for the lcs survey sample, due to carbon tax source: authors however, this may reduce the competitiveness of some local exporting industries when compared to other industries abroad (oke et al., 2017: 2375-2376; nt, 2010: 39-40). trade exposure allowances, with a maximum of 10% of emissions, were implemented to take care of this negative kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 176 effect (south africa, 2019). furthermore, an increase in carbon tax would increase the energy cost burdens of the local households in south africa, which account for approximately 51% of total likely increase in expenses. figure 4 can also be used to predict the likely effects of the carbon tax in the future. phase 1: during phase 1 of its roll-out, the tax amount is low, and the exemption or allowance is high (60%-70% for most cases, and 100% for eskom), leading to lower revenue being collected. phases 2 and 3: during phase 2, most of the allowances (including eskom exemptions) will be removed, while the carbon tax will be gradually raised (r300-450/tonne). this will lead to higher annual revenue. this revenue will still be higher as the tax level is raised during phase 3 (beyond 2030). these increases come from the effect of the 2% addition to the annual inflation rate used in adjusting the carbon tax annually, and the cancellation of the allowances. therefore, there is expected to be a significant net increase in revenue in phases 2 and 3, despite the presence of inflation. this net revenue can be used as a key feature of the carbon tax design, to provide targeted environmentally friendly subsidies to special groups (small businesses, low-income households, rural households, and businesses). 4.6.1 welfare redistribution effects of the carbon tax the welfare redistribution effects of the carbon tax were also evaluated, using various levels of carbon taxes, tax exemptions, and percentages of households benefitting from recycling the revenue. since lower income (or lower expenditure) households experienced a greater tax burden compared to higher income households, they were given first preference (as beneficiaries) when it came to welfare redistribution. the income distribution of the lcs data set was representative of the actual income distribution of all the households in south africa. the results are presented in table 5. only two carbon tax levels (r134 and r1500) were used to illustrate the distributional effects of the carbon tax, using the gini coefficients. a lower gini coefficient indicates a lower income inequality. even if the carbon tax is raised by more than ten times its current value, the income distributional effects are marginal or negligible. the carbon tax would have to be much higher than r1,500 per metric tonne of co2e for it to have any significant impact on the income redistribution. the recycling scenarios were done at 5%, 55% and 95%, while the tax-exemption scenarios were done at 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. from the gini coefficient difference column, it is observable that, at a given tax level, a decrease in the level of tax exemption and a decrease in percentage of population that benefits from kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 177 ta bl e 5: d is tri bu tio na l e ffe ct s (fo r 2 01 4/ 20 15 l c s s am pl e) o f t he c ar bo n ta x w ith ta xex em pt io n re cy cl in g re ve nu e le ve ls sc e na rio nu m b e r c a rb o n ta x ta x e xe m p tio n % re c yc le to ta l r e ve nu e (r a nd s) w e lfa re lo ss (r a nd s) n e t w e lfa re g a in ( ra nd s) in d e x o ld g in i n e w g in i o ld g in i n e w g in i 1 13 4 0. 05 1 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 10 0. 00 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 2 13 4 0. 06 1 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 10 0. 00 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 3 13 4 0. 95 1 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 99 .8 4 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 4 13 4 0. 05 0. 9 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 90 .0 3 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 5 13 4 0. 06 0. 9 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 90 .0 3 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 6 13 4 0. 95 0. 9 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 89 .8 6 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 7 13 4 0. 05 0. 8 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 80 .0 5 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 8 13 4 0. 06 0. 8 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 80 .0 5 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 9 13 4 0. 95 0. 8 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 79 .8 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 10 13 4 0. 05 0. 7 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 70 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 1 11 13 4 0. 06 0. 7 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 70 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 1 12 13 4 0. 95 0. 7 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 69 .8 9 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 13 13 4 0. 05 0. 6 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 60 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 14 13 4 0. 06 0. 6 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 60 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 15 13 4 0. 95 0. 6 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 59 .9 1 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 16 13 4 0. 05 0. 5 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 50 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 17 13 4 0. 06 0. 5 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 50 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 18 13 4 0. 95 0. 5 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 49 .9 2 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 19 13 4 0. 05 0. 4 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 40 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 20 13 4 0. 06 0. 4 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 40 .0 7 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 21 13 4 0. 95 0. 4 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 39 .9 4 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 22 13 4 0. 05 0. 3 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 30 .0 6 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 178 sc e na rio nu m b e r c a rb o n ta x ta x e xe m p tio n % re c yc le to ta l r e ve nu e (r a nd s) w e lfa re lo ss (r a nd s) n e t w e lfa re g a in ( ra nd s) in d e x o ld g in i n e w g in i o ld g in i n e w g in i 23 13 4 0. 06 0. 3 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 30 .0 6 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 24 13 4 0. 95 0. 3 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 29 .9 5 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 25 13 4 0. 05 0. 2 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 20 .0 4 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 26 13 4 0. 06 0. 2 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 20 .0 4 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 27 13 4 0. 95 0. 2 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 19 .9 6 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 28 13 4 0. 05 0. 1 9, 13 4, 20 2. 91 7, 26 4, 60 3. 21 1, 86 9, 59 9. 69 10 .0 2 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 29 13 4 0. 06 0. 1 9, 08 6, 12 8. 15 7, 22 6, 36 8. 46 1, 85 9, 75 9. 69 10 .0 2 0. 61 5 0. 61 4 0. 00 1 30 13 4 0. 95 0. 1 48 0, 74 7. 52 38 2, 34 7. 54 98 ,3 99 .9 8 9. 98 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 31 15 00 0. 05 1 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 07 0. 61 5 0. 61 1 0. 00 4 32 15 00 0. 06 1 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 07 0. 61 5 0. 61 1 0. 00 4 33 15 00 0. 95 1 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 06 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 34 15 00 0. 05 0. 9 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 06 0. 61 5 0. 61 1 0. 00 5 35 15 00 0. 06 0. 9 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 06 0. 61 5 0. 61 1 0. 00 5 36 15 00 0. 95 0. 9 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 06 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 37 15 00 0. 05 0. 8 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 05 0. 61 5 0. 61 0 0. 00 5 38 15 00 0. 06 0. 8 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 05 0. 61 5 0. 61 0 0. 00 5 39 15 00 0. 95 0. 8 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 05 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 40 15 00 0. 05 0. 7 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 04 0. 61 5 0. 60 9 0. 00 6 41 15 00 0. 06 0. 7 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 04 0. 61 5 0. 60 9 0. 00 6 42 15 00 0. 95 0. 7 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 04 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 43 15 00 0. 05 0. 6 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 04 0. 61 5 0. 60 9 0. 00 6 44 15 00 0. 06 0. 6 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 04 0. 61 5 0. 60 9 0. 00 6 45 15 00 0. 95 0. 6 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 04 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 179 sc e na rio nu m b e r c a rb o n ta x ta x e xe m p tio n % re c yc le to ta l r e ve nu e (r a nd s) w e lfa re lo ss (r a nd s) n e t w e lfa re g a in ( ra nd s) in d e x o ld g in i n e w g in i o ld g in i n e w g in i 46 15 00 0. 05 0. 5 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 03 0. 61 5 0. 60 8 0. 00 7 47 15 00 0. 06 0. 5 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 03 0. 61 5 0. 60 9 0. 00 7 48 15 00 0. 95 0. 5 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 03 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 49 15 00 0. 05 0. 4 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 02 0. 61 5 0. 60 8 0. 00 7 50 15 00 0. 06 0. 4 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 02 0. 61 5 0. 60 8 0. 00 7 51 15 00 0. 95 0. 4 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 02 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 52 15 00 0. 05 0. 3 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 02 0. 61 5 0. 60 8 0. 00 7 53 15 00 0. 06 0. 3 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 02 0. 61 5 0. 60 8 0. 00 7 54 15 00 0. 95 0. 3 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 01 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 55 15 00 0. 05 0. 2 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 01 0. 61 5 0. 60 7 0. 00 8 56 15 00 0. 06 0. 2 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 01 0. 61 5 0. 60 7 0. 00 8 57 15 00 0. 95 0. 2 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 01 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 58 15 00 0. 05 0. 1 10 2, 21 8, 97 9. 53 81 ,2 92 ,5 36 .3 9 20 ,9 26 ,4 43 .1 4 0. 00 0. 61 5 0. 60 7 0. 00 8 59 15 00 0. 06 0. 1 10 1, 68 0, 98 4. 90 80 ,8 64 ,6 80 .9 3 20 ,8 16 ,3 03 .9 7 0. 00 0. 61 5 0. 60 7 0. 00 8 60 15 00 0. 95 0. 1 5, 37 9, 94 6. 29 4, 27 8, 55 4. 55 1, 10 1, 39 1. 74 0. 00 0. 61 5 0. 61 5 0. 00 0 s ou rc e: a ut ho rs kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 180 the carbon tax revenue, will both have positive, but marginal effects on increase in the income redistribution. these results show that, phasing out the carbon tax allowances (beginning of phase 2 in 2026) and gradually increasing the tax by 2% points above the prevailing inflation rates will hardly lower the income inequalities, after recycling the revenue among south african households. this is also applicable to phase 3 (post-2030). however, revenues collected during phases 2 or 3 will be significantly higher than revenue collected in phase 1. the phase 3 revenue will be highest, due to higher carbon tax rate and absence of allowances. 5. discussion 5.1 validation and effect on electricity prices the validation process revealed that the emission intensities fall within the limits of the national treasury benchmarks, except for cases where the products sequestrate carbon. the model does not account for carbon sequestration by materials. this study showed that the carbon tax will have a disproportionately high effect on electricity price changes compared to other household expenditure items during phases 2 and 3, when there are no exemptions for eskom. in addition, its effect will have a wider scope during phases 2 and 3 (post-2026). the high effect on electricity price changes could, first, be attributed to the high emission intensities (direct and indirect) of the raw materials such as coal used to produce electricity, resulting in high emissions. the second possible reason is that the subsidies on products and the trade and transport margins that correspond to electricity do not significantly decrease its relative price change from base prices to purchaser’s prices relative to other commodities (from 2.33% to 1.983%). these high electricity price increases will not affect most of the households in south africa during phase 1 because eskom, which supplies electricity to 95% of the households in south africa, is exempt from paying the carbon tax in phase 1. 5.2 tax burden and efforts to lower income inequalities the tax burden is heaviest for households falling in the lower income deciles. the tax is regressive, as indicated by mathur and morris (2014: 1). the effects of this tax burden will start being felt from 2026 and beyond (during phases 2 and 3), when eskom will no longer be exempted from paying the carbon tax. eskom will then pass on the tax effects to the consumers. the study also revealed the effects of welfare redistribution to be very marginal. a carbon tax of r1,500 with hardly any exemption (exemption at 5%) would lower the gini coefficient only by 0.008. therefore, kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 181 while the carbon tax may significantly help reduce the socially negative externality of pollution, it hardly raises the expenditure levels (in the short term) of lower income households relative to the higher income households, even when it is as high as the social cost of carbon (world bank, 2019: 19; nordhaus, 2017). 5.3 tax revenue and its use the proceeds from the tax could be successfully used for environmentally friendly energy subsidies (say, on electricity) targeted at poor households, small businesses, rural households, and rural businesses. the subsidies are more than a sufficient cover for the price escalations in energy, due to the carbon tax implementation. the net welfare gain increases (in phases 2 and 3) with an increase in the carbon-tax level and a decrease in the tax-exemption level. these findings do not contradict the findings of the national treasury (nt, 2010). the io analysis deals with short-term effects, which have been found marginal in nature with respect to welfare redistribution, while the national treasury results, using the computable general equilibrium model (cge), apply to long-term effects (25 years). the national treasury results show that a carbon tax, in the presence of various revenue recycling options, has a limited negative impact on economic growth but assists in shifting the economy to a sustainable growth path with low carbon emissions (nt, 2013: 10). this article does not attempt to measure the carbon tax effect on economic growth. the study results are in line with alton et al. (2014: 52) who used several recycling scenarios and recommended that energy subsidies are a way in which the carbon-tax revenues may be successfully recycled. environmentally friendly subsidies could be provided to low-income households and small businesses that wish to install energy-efficient retrofits in their premises or engage in any other energy-efficient, but productive ventures. subsidies could also be extended to households and businesses in rural areas to compensate for the negative externality they incur, due to pollution. however, the study recommends that fuel subsidies be removed before applying the benefits of subsidies from the carbon-tax revenue, because most of the beneficiaries of fuel (transportation) subsidies are the wealthiest households. therefore, if fuel subsidies continue to be applied to the wealthy households, they will have hardly any or no incentive to switch to cleaner transportation fuels. this lack of incentive will not lead to a socially optimal fuel price and will counteract the goal of reducing carbon emissions (aldy & stavins, 2012: 161). kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 182 5.4 effect of carbon tax on building materials the main study findings are centred around the effect of the carbon tax on materials that may be used for building. it was assumed that the materials do not sequestrate carbon. for firms that do not depend on eskom for electricity and, therefore, generate scope 1 emissions during phase 1, the research revealed that the carbon tax they pay would have a significantly higher impact on the price changes for any materials they produce. the impact will be higher for non-ferrous metals, iron, steel, and prefabricated metals in that order, compared to other building materials. higher price changes generally imply higher emission and energy use intensities for these building materials (according to table 4). sensitivities to the carbon tax are, therefore, not a perfect reflection of a building material’s emission or energy use intensity (and, hence, likely carbon footprint). however, to minimize price escalations (for capital costs) in the presence of an everincreasing carbon tax, wood would be a preferable material to prefabricated metal, while prefabricated metal would be a preferred material to iron and steel. iron and steel, on the other hand, would be preferred to materials that use non-ferrous metals. without consideration of carbon sequestration by wood, a material that predominantly uses cement (say, cement bricks) would be preferable to a material that predominantly uses wood (table 4). however, an equal amount of cement would lead to a higher carbon and energy footprint compared to wood, under these conditions (without consideration for co2 sequestration). these patterns apply when the levels of tax exemption are similar (70% exemption level). however, in practice, policy indicates that a relatively higher exemption of 80% was applied to iron, steel, ceramics, cement, and glass, compared to 70% for other products (nt, 2013: 14). these higher exemptions (of 80%) would lower the price changes (due to the carbon tax) in iron, steel, ceramics, cement, and glass relative to other products such as wood. therefore, enacted policy would further distort the relationship between the carbon tax-induced price changes in materials and both the emission and energy intensities of the same materials during phase 1. these distortions would, however, be minimized significantly during phases 2 and 3, when the tax exemptions are removed. however, since these induced price changes mostly affect affordability for capital costs, life-cycle cost evaluations may be more representative of building material preference (on the basis of carbon and energy footprints) since they consider both the embodied and operational energy and emissions of materials (guinee, 2016; moncaster & symmons, 2013). kabundu, mbanga & makasa 2022 acta structilia 29(2): 150-189 183 5.5 emission and energy intensities finally, the results showed that higher income bracket households have higher ghg emissions and vice versa, the relationship being non-linear. this trend resembles observations for studies done in western countries (buchs & schnepf, 2013; baiocchi, minx & hubacek, 2010; gough et al., 2011). this trend implies that, as the carbon tax rates are increased annually and the allowances cease during phases 2 and 3, there will be a tendency to tax higher income households more than lower income households. however, as discussed earlier, any redistribution of the revenue would hardly affect the income inequalities among south african households. the emission intensities, however, decline with higher household incomes and vice versa. 6. conclusion the carbon tax in south africa is regressive. the tax welfare redistribution efforts towards improving inequality are marginal at best, even when exemptions and allowances cease, and the carbon tax is significantly increased to the social cost of carbon emissions during phases 2 and 3 carbon tax roll-out. the tax can, however, be used as a source of environmentally friendly energy subsidies for lower income households, small businesses, and rural households. an io analysis, if detailed, can provide a guideline of preferred building materials for use in residential construction, with respect to capital cost minimization. however, capital cost minimization is not a perfect criterion for minimizing direct and indirect emissions or energy use. the results for this study are limited to shortterm analysis and do not consider carbon sequestration or absorption by materials such as paper, timber, and timber products. although the magnitude of allowances varies by activity or commodity (as indicated in the 2019 carbon tax act of south africa), the model in this study used a representative level of exemption of 70%. this may have introduced some inaccuracies in the results. methods that use bi-proportional 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at: <https://cran.r-project. org/web/packages/leontief/leontief.pdf> [accessed: 17 august 2021]. world bank. 2019. report of the high-level commission on carbon pricing and competitiveness. available at: <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ bitstream/handle/10986/32419/141917.pdf?sequence=4&isallowed=y> [accessed: 12 december 2021]. world bank. 2021. gdp (constant 2010 us$). available at: <https://data. worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gdp.mktp.kd> [accessed: 15 may 2021]. chombo _hlk79007588 _hlk79007425 _hlk79007453 _hlk79007516 _hlk113057942 _hlk79009152 _hlk79009268 _hlk79009327 _hlk79013534 _hlk113056678 _hlk79065475 _hlk113415146 _hlk85099563 _hlk85099325 186 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as gerhard bosman assoc. prof. gerhard bosman, department of architecture, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: <bosmang@ ufs.ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-2146-1482 anita venter dr anita venter, centre for development support, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: <ventera@ufs.ac.za>. phadi mabe phadi mabe, department of architecture, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: <mabepme@ufs.ac.za>. issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: may 2023 peer reviewed and revised: may 2023 published: june 2023 keywords: architecture, community engagement, collaborative online international learning, coil, litema art, service learning, sustainable development goals how to cite: bosman, g., venter, a. & mabe, p. 2023. litema artivism: community-engaged scholarship with international online learning. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 186-212. litema artivism: community-engaged scholarship with international online learning review article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7336 abstract the misconception that online learning and teaching for the building sciences is ineffective has been proven wrong. a blended learning technique, combining service-learning activities and research (community-engaged scholarship) with collaborative online international learning (coil), has shown great learning and teaching possibilities on an international digital platform. this article considers how community-engaged scholarship and coil can support an international learning experience celebrating rural art and architecture in central parts of south africa. the research used a qualitative participatory action research approach and social learning theory framework. combining practical outcomes in service-learning activities with collaborative international desk research provided a new perspective of litema wall-decorating art in rural parts of the eastern free state province. these activities developed into a collaboration opportunity as a coil exchange. a novel conceptual servicelearning approach requires good communication and networking, clear agendas, as well as dedicated staff and students. the study merged servicelearning activities by south african architecture 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 186-212 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:bosmang@ufs.ac.za mailto:bosmang@ufs.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2146-1482 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2146-1482 mailto:ventera@ufs.ac.za mailto:mabepme@ufs.ac.za https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7336 bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 187 students at the university of the free state with literature from american art history students from colorado state university through coil that resulted in a collaborative exhibition of research findings. the study follows the united nations’ sustainable development goals (sdgs) of quality education and gender equality, as well as the “art-lab for human rights and dialogue” that intervenes ethically for human rights as “activist” acts of care for rural domestic art. abstrak die wanopvatting dat aanlyn-leer en onderrig vir die bouwetenskappe ondoeltreffend is, is verkeerd bewys. ’n gemengde leertegniek, wat diensleeraktiwiteite en navorsing (gemeenskapsbetrokke vakkundigheid) kombineer met collaborative online international learning (coil), het wonderlike leeren onderrigmoontlikhede op ’n internasionale digitale platform getoon. hierdie artikel kyk na hoe gemeenskapsbetrokke vakkundigheid en coil ’n internasionale leerervaring kan ondersteun wat landelike kuns en argitektuur in sentrale dele van suid-afrika vier. die navorsing het ’n kwalitatiewe deelnemende aksie navorsingsbenadering en sosiale leerteorie-raamwerk gebruik. die kombinasie van praktiese uitkomste in diensleeraktiwiteite met ’n samewerkende internasionale literatuurstudie het ’n nuwe perspektief van litema-muurversieringkuns in landelike dele van die oos-vrystaat-provinsie gebied. hierdie aktiwiteite het ontwikkel in ’n samewerkingsgeleentheid as ’n coil-ervaring. ’n nuwe konseptuele diensleerbenadering vereis goeie kommunikasie en netwerkvorming, duidelike agendas sowel as toegewyde personeel en studente. die studie het diensleeraktiwiteite deur suid-afrikaanse argitektuurstudente aan die universiteit van die vrystaat saamgesmelt met literatuur van amerikaanse kunsgeskiedenis-studente van colorado state university deur middel van ’n coil wat gelei het tot ’n samewerkende uitstalling van navorsingsbevindinge. die studiebenadering volg die verenigde nasies se volhoubare ontwikkelingsdoelwitte (sdg’s) van kwaliteit onderwys en geslagsgelykheid en die “art-lab for human rights and dialogue” wat eties ingryp vir menseregte as “kunsaktivistiese” dade van sorg vir plattelandse woonhuiskuns. 1. introduction community-engaged scholarship combines teaching, research, and community service by a faculty member or group, while service learning is the strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction, reflection, evaluation, and reciprocity (gregory & heiselt, 2014: 405-406). the challenge in some disciplines is that community-shared activities can often be a one-sided act of goodwill from the students with hardly any interaction, reflection, or reciprocity. students are made aware of the importance of reciprocity during service-learning activities, in order to enhance the quality of the learning experience for all participants (petri, 2015: 94-95). in architectural education, the challenge will be to ensure that students learn from other lived worlds, in order to sensitise their future efforts to design solutions for the built environment, especially in rural areas. informal urban areas deserve academic attention, but more needs to be written about service-learning experiences in rural areas (harris, 2004: 41). bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 188 the department of architecture at the university of the free state (ufs) used a model in past community development engagement (see figure 1). the department of architecture has used this model since 1996 to support new skills for participants and students through service-learning. figure 1: the previous model: providing new skills through service-learning source: authors a recent conceptual method transformation in learning and teaching at the ufs’ department of architecture provides new insight into participants’ perceptions of engagement between students and communities (see figure 2). it was, however, extended to rural areas where natural earth-building skills are often practised. through acts of reciprocity, the service-learning experience is not associated with charity; it is a shared experience with transformation (pompa, 2002: 68). this new model was used for the first time in 2021 for the architecture of care and engagement (ace) project, which consists of service-learning activities modelled on a novel approach that acknowledges and celebrates existing (litema) skills through service-learning. this approach provides reversed roles between community participants and students, offering unique learning opportunities about art, architecture, and culture in a less intimidating and formal teaching environment. this new model forms a new conceptual framework for service learning to explore the challenges relating to service-learning at the ufs. project: promotion of contemporary earth construction participants provide new skills lecturers ufs service learning industry partners students figure 1: the previous model: providing new skills through service-learning source: authors a recent conceptual method transformation in learning and teaching at the ufs’ department of architecture provides new insight into participants’ perceptions of engagement between students and communities (see figure 2). it was, however, extended to rural areas where natural earthbuilding skills are often practised. through acts of reciprocity, the servicelearning experience is not associated with charity; it is a shared experience with transformation (pompa, 2002: 68). this new model was used for the first time in 2021 for the architecture of care and engagement (ace) project, which consists of service-learning activities modelled on a novel approach that acknowledges and celebrates existing (litema) skills through service-learning. this approach provides reversed roles between community participants and students, offering unique learning opportunities about art, architecture, and culture in a less intimidating and formal teaching environment. this new model forms a new conceptual framework for service learning to explore the challenges relating to service-learning at the ufs. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 189 figure 2: new model: acknowledging and celebrating existing (litema) skills through service-learning source: authors the new model method mainly relies on increased financial assistance and addresses organisational constraints and challenges. despite these challenges, it is vital in a de-colonised service-learning curriculum and it supports four concerns of unesco’s art-lab for human rights and dialogue. the first is the effect of art-based practices on human rights and peace-building, and the second is to provide a platform for underrepresented voices within dominant cultural narratives. the third concern is facilitating conversation among experienced trainers in artistic interventions in delicate situations, culture experts and practitioners, journalists, and researchers referred to as ‘artivists’. the last concern is encouraging ethical artistic practice in the assistance of human rights and dignity (wsf, 2022). unesco art lab (wsf, 2022) asks lecturers, practitioners, and researchers: “what is the actual space left for artistic research in the scientific world”? the challenges led to the research question of how service-learning and international student collaboration can celebrate litema wall decoration to support art and activism, while keeping the sustainable development goals in mind. using this new model, this article reacts to global acts of care that reflect changes in curriculum-based service-learning to include three approaches. first, to adapt teaching so that students learn from the community as a bottom-up learning approach. secondly, to combine service-learning and international student collaboration. thirdly, to provide a new perspective on litema literature on earth-constructed homesteads and wall decoration in the free state province. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 190 2. literature review to understand the new model of architecture learning and teaching and international online collaboration as acts of care for marginalised communities, it is important to introduce traditional south african art and architecture, research challenges, and the literature gap on litema perceptions. 2.1 litema and rural art various studies extensively recorded the contribution of south sotho women in designing and preserving domestic areas in rural regions of the eastern free state and lesotho (casalis, 1861; tyrrel, 1971; knuffel, 1973; motsepe, 1999). the earliest evidence of this tradition was recorded in 1812 (campbell, 1815). these records illustrate that decorative art was and still is central to the role and significance of women in the rural built environment. the importance, meaning, and methods used in the creation of litema (pronounced: di-te-ma) have been explored in a few studies by scholars (gay, 1980; van wyk, 1998) and reflections from a photographer (changuion, 1989) in the late 20th century. south african architect and academic franco frescura (1985) made substantial contributions to the practices of decorative wall art of south african cultural groups such as the south ndebele and the vendas linked to a socio-cultural order and representation. the acknowledgement that ndebele artist esther nn mahlangu received for her mural work in their vernacular dwellings highlights the importance of ndebele art and architecture as south african heritage on an international stage. van vuuren (2015: 141-143) cautions against artistic image stereotyping. he emphasised the ndebele artistic image and stereotype in the mid-1950s that affected ndebele groups by forced removals, causing a ‘disjunctive alienation’ of ndebele images and artifacts from advertising and marketing experienced from 2000 till 2005. this led to the current manifestations of an appropriation of traditional architectural expressions found in tourism-industry products. most of the ndebele women remained anonymous and forgotten. one of the most significant differences from ndebele patterns is that the south sotho litema practice is a seasonal, temporary expression of identity and culture, often repeated twice a year prior to and after a rainy season (see figure 3). the litema artists utilise four primary techniques of engraving, creating relief mouldings, mosaics, and painting murals. the geometric patterns appeared inside dwellings, and only in the 19th century did they appear on the exteriors of dwellings (frescura, 1985). creating litema is rooted in the frameworks of lineage and tradition in a multifaceted way (riep, 2014: 28). the methods and designs used are often passed down from generation to generation. many bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 191 women will learn the art of creating litema murals from their mothers at a young age. it is argued that the decorative art of the ndebele relates to the compositional and geometric litema tradition, while attempting to construct a different order and pattern of wall decoration (van vuuren, 2015: 140). the design patterns used by artists have developed into their interpretations beyond traditional south sotho litema designs, as documented by benedict lira mothibe, an art lecturer from the national teachers’ training college of lesotho, in a 1976 publication (beyer, 2008: 2-25). this was remastered in 29 litema designs at the time, all named in patterned diagrams in litema – mural masterpiece: a design manual by carina mylene beyer (2008). in 2003, mothibe further contributed with a booklet donation of documented litema designs to the central university of technology (cut). the temporal and seasonal wall decoration holds memory, identity, and culturally significant architecture (figure 3). the temporal and seasonal wall decoration holds memory, identity, and culturally significant architecture (figure 3). figure 3: an example of a litema-decorated wall art on a rural house in the eastern free state province landscape in central south africa source: image by authors, 2006. south african architect and academic heinrich kammeyer (2010) collected fieldwork data on litema existing skills in 1999. the unpublished thesis on south sotho women and their vernacular architecture investigated the making of homes as artifacts. kammeyer visited a small selection of homesteads in the eastern free state province’s ficksburg district. the fieldwork did not include interactive workshops or an outcome to celebrate litema skills. furthermore, the doctoral study by riep (2011) from 2004 to 2010 investigated the stylistic characteristics in the presentation of southern sotho identity, and only a small section of litema was covered during his investigation. this low occurrence of contemporary litema research points to the relevancy of the architecture of care and engagement (ace) project conducted by the earth unit in the ufs’ department of architecture. 2.2 service-learning in architecture hollander (2010: ix) describes service-learning participants as the bearers committed to “a revolutionary redefinition of the nature of scholarship and institutional transformation”. service-learning develops citizenship (deely, 2015: 4-5). it is also a “complex and dynamic pedagogy, which may have a profound impact on the learning of those involved” (venter, erasmus & seale, 2015: 148). architecture learning and teaching are also complex. architecture is fortunate, since physical outcomes can result in built forms useful as shelters and improved physical structures to make the built environment better. the bigger challenge for architectural academics is to stand back and first acknowledge a community’s existing building skills. to do this will practically imply spending more time in a community to establish trust and then to build a short-term relationship before a sustained relationship can develop over time. this long-term relationship can only develop with commitment from the faculty and staff. furthermore, if students are fully immersed in the community, service-learning can make a tangible contribution to the quality of rural life (harris, 2004: 41). figure 3: an example of a litema-decorated wall art on a rural house in the eastern free state province landscape in central south africa source: image by authors, 2006 south african architect and academic heinrich kammeyer (2010) collected fieldwork data on litema existing skills in 1999. the unpublished thesis on south sotho women and their vernacular architecture investigated the making of homes as artifacts. kammeyer visited a small selection of homesteads in the eastern free state province’s ficksburg district. the fieldwork did not include interactive workshops or an outcome to celebrate litema skills. furthermore, the doctoral study by riep (2011) from 2004 to 2010 investigated the stylistic characteristics in the presentation of southern sotho identity, and only a small section of litema was covered during his bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 192 investigation. this low occurrence of contemporary litema research points to the relevancy of the architecture of care and engagement (ace) project conducted by the earth unit in the ufs’ department of architecture. 2.2 service-learning in architecture hollander (2010: ix) describes service-learning participants as the bearers committed to “a revolutionary redefinition of the nature of scholarship and institutional transformation”. service-learning develops citizenship (deely, 2015: 4-5). it is also a “complex and dynamic pedagogy, which may have a profound impact on the learning of those involved” (venter, erasmus & seale, 2015: 148). architecture learning and teaching are also complex. architecture is fortunate, since physical outcomes can result in built forms useful as shelters and improved physical structures to make the built environment better. the bigger challenge for architectural academics is to stand back and first acknowledge a community’s existing building skills. to do this will practically imply spending more time in a community to establish trust and then to build a short-term relationship before a sustained relationship can develop over time. this long-term relationship can only develop with commitment from the faculty and staff. furthermore, if students are fully immersed in the community, service-learning can make a tangible contribution to the quality of rural life (harris, 2004: 41). this transformation with service-learning in architecture curricula at the ufs is well-established (bosman, 2009, 2012, 2022; nel & bosman, 2014). the experimental research of the ace project on architectural placemaking (phenomenology) supports and celebrates the role of women in the rural free state province. the ace project addresses the ownership of artistic expressions, while highlighting local traditional place-making and art-conservation efforts. the ace project hypothesis is that conserving earth-constructed homesteads and conventional wall decorations of litema art will empower rural women artists from the free state province. the ace project aims to build sustainable relationships and a mode of interaction to voice the artists responsible for existing and current practices of litema in central south africa. the ace falls under a larger long-term research project titled, the social-ecological significance of earth construction in southern africa, which was ethically cleared (ufshsd2021/1745/21), in 2021, by the ufs. 2.3 collaborative online international learning online learning has evolved pre-covid (bhagat, wu & chang, 2016: 350-351) and especially rapidly post-covid as a worldwide platform. during the first part of 2021, while doing an independent coil exchange bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 193 with a different ufs student group, bosman explored the possibilities of coil to support the ace project. coil falls under the social-constructivist educational approach, is a relatively new method, and literature is still emerging (guth & rubin, 2015). higher education institutions can provide opportunities to students for intercultural collaboration experiences designed to solve problems in architecture. these experiences afford participants the opportunity to boost their confidence and communication skills (gutiérrez-gonzález et al., 2022: 20). furthermore, coil provides learning social interaction and is the keystone of developing intercultural competence (guth & rubin 2015; hackett et al., 2023: 1). coil exchanges illustrate the potential to achieve individual course objectives, while evaluating international student groups (de santi et al., 2022: 3). criticism against the traditional and physical international exchange opportunities for mainly postgraduate students is valid for its elitist, expensive, and complex nature (leal, finardi & abba, 2022: 241-242). coil for both underand postgraduate students hopes to achieve more cross-cultural student engagements and foster intercultural awareness, teamwork skills, and problem-solving abilities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (de santi et al., 2022: 3). the coil activity, strategised as an instructional technique, facilitates an intercontinental conversation in a virtual environment between students and educators in remote positions. the method enables them to connect, despite geographical, time, cultural, and linguistic barriers (de santi et al., 2022: 4). higher education institutions not only identify the most vulnerable in society, but also endeavour to build resilience with the related pillars of teaching and learning, research, and community service (olawale et al., 2022: 14-15). the global community is furthermore committed to using the 17 sustainable development goals (sdgs) with the three university pillars. in this study, ace provided the conceptual framework and coil provided the theoretical framework for the exchange. coil allowed for the theoretical framework that investigates perceptions and relationships between the existing literature on litema practices to be compared to the ace findings. a lack of recent literature led the researchers to contact and collaborate with david riep, an american art historian from colorado state university, who investigated litema symbolism during the fieldwork for his phd in south africa (riep, 2011). the link with riep was crucial. his work on south sotho’s traditional artefacts was a good fit with the involvement of his art and art history students, which started with a semester on art and environment in the arts of the african continent. the coil exchange began in february 2022. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 194 3. methods 3.1 research design this article reflects on how service-learning and international collaboration can celebrate litema wall decoration artists to support the architecture of care as an act for global change. using a qualitative research design, participatory action research (pac) was used to gain insight into the perceptions of artists and students on the architecture of care as an act for global change. pac combines research and action, using surveys and fieldwork to collect data (katoppoa & sudradjatb, 2015: 121). in this study, three stages in the research process were used. service-learning fieldwork and research combined with a coil exchange, with the outcome of a public exhibition on two continents, promoting and celebrating the skill of rural litema artists, involved researchers, and participants, collaborating to understand litema wall decoration artists to support the architecture of care as an act for global change. 3.2 stages 3.2.1 stage one: service-learning fieldwork and research the ace project was based on a pac design (ids, 2023) and utilised critical theoretical constructs based on the social learning theory (the concept of modelling or learning by observing behaviour) (badura, 1977). the process is modelled on past experiences of the earth unit, where artisans and artists were purposely sampled and surveyed with semi-structured interviews. the ace project purposefully identified litema artists and their homesteads and mapped for future follow-up visits to sustain relationships with the artists. the semi-structured interviews were conducted in se-sotho, isi-zulu, or setswana. the voices of the women artists were transcribed into english. the artists are proud of their practice and cultural heritage and prefer to be acknowledged and identified. the fieldwork for the ace project began in early 2021 to document the mural arts and architecture of rural south sotho artists and record the experiences of both students and artists. potential homestead workshop locations for the ace project were identified in february 2021. by may 2021, the transportation, accommodation, and workshop logistics were completed. in june 2021, bosman, david van der merwe, mabe of the eu, and venter from the ufs’ centre for development support conducted three tours to farms in the eastern free state. the three sites included homesteads at duikerfontein farm (near paul roux), clear water farm (near warden), and sekgutlong farm in the slabberts district south of bethlehem. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 195 figures 4, 5, and 6: different fieldwork activities during stage one at duikfontein farm, paul roux district source: images by authors, 2021 the three different field trips had the same programme. forty-two students were divided into three groups to spend three days participating in various activities of the fieldwork assignment. activities included supervised tasks, gathering raw materials, surveying existing homes, and preparing surfaces for movable plaster panels, forming part of the exhibition. on arrival, a short introductory meeting presented the aim of the fieldwork activities to artists and participants. the introduction highlighted how the fieldwork is an active effort to build sustainable relationships between the ufs and artists. during the fieldwork, when participants could not understand each other’s languages, they communicated through body language and facial expressions. the applied model of fieldwork method is well-developed in anthropology, but seldom used in architecture for teaching and learning. social interactions between participants spontaneously developed over the three days. the focus was on a shared experience, in which 36 women and six men were asked to teach the art of traditional south sotho litema wall decoration to 42 second-year architecture students (figures 7-9). formal discussions and interviews were arranged in various languages, including sesotho, isizulu, and english, although language barriers proved challenging. qualitative data was gathered from purposefully selected and identified artists (n=11) and anonymous reflections from the second-year students (n=31) who participated in the engagement activities over three days, in three groups, on three farms. the semistructured interview schedule contained 30 questions on the background of the litema practice, the future expectations of the artist on her practice, and symbolism and emotions associated with the practice. the interviews captured artists’ perceptions of current litema practices, cultural significance, origin, and socio-ecological position in contemporary rural homesteads in central south africa. upon completion of the interviews with the artists, the recordings were transcribed into english for analysis. the interview data of the artists were coded holistically around the physical aspects of their practice, the symbolism and meaning of the practice, and the artist’s experience working with staff and students. student fieldworkers provided valuable service-learning reflections from the three groups visiting the farms. students had to reflect on 18 questions structured around their expectations and the integrations of the ace activities within their course, but figures 4, 5, and 6: different fieldwork activities during stage one at duikfontein farm, paul roux district source: images by authors, 2021 the three different field trips had the same programme. forty-two students were divided into three groups to spend three days participating in various activities of the fieldwork assignment. activities included supervised tasks, gathering raw materials, surveying existing homes, and preparing surfaces for movable plaster panels, forming part of the exhibition. on arrival, a short introductory meeting presented the aim of the fieldwork activities to artists and participants. the introduction highlighted how the fieldwork is an active effort to build sustainable relationships between the ufs and artists. during the fieldwork, when participants could not understand each other’s languages, they communicated through body language and facial expressions. the applied model of fieldwork method is well-developed in anthropology, but seldom used in architecture for teaching and learning. social interactions between participants spontaneously developed over the three days. the focus was on a shared experience, in which 36 women and six men were asked to teach the art of traditional south sotho litema wall decoration to 42 second-year architecture students (figures 7-9). formal discussions and interviews were arranged in various languages, including sesotho, isizulu, and english, although language barriers proved challenging. qualitative data was gathered from purposefully selected and identified artists (n=11) and anonymous reflections from the secondyear students (n=31) who participated in the engagement activities over three days, in three groups, on three farms. the semi-structured interview schedule contained 30 questions on the background of the litema practice, the future expectations of the artist on her practice, and symbolism and emotions associated with the practice. the interviews captured artists’ perceptions of current litema practices, cultural significance, origin, and socio-ecological position in contemporary rural homesteads in central south africa. upon completion of the interviews with the artists, the recordings were transcribed into english for analysis. the interview data of the artists were coded holistically around the physical aspects of their practice, the bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 196 symbolism and meaning of the practice, and the artist’s experience working with staff and students. student fieldworkers provided valuable service-learning reflections from the three groups visiting the farms. students had to reflect on 18 questions structured around their expectations and the integrations of the ace activities within their course, but most of the questions were on rural housing conditions, social and cultural exchange, engagement, and activities they enjoyed the most or the least. the students’ reflections were coded holistically around themes that identified their expectations, experience, and emotions during the fieldwork. the holistic coding of themes from transcriptions and reflections provided analysed categories, using the constant comparative approach (petri, 2015: 98). most of the questions were on rural housing conditions, social and cultural exchange, engagement, and activities they enjoyed the most or the least. the students’ reflections were coded holistically around themes that identified their expectations, experience, and emotions during the fieldwork. the holistic coding of themes from transcriptions and reflections provided analysed categories, using the constant comparative approach (petri, 2015: 98). figures 7, 8, and 9: different fieldwork activities during stage one at sekgutlong farm, in the slabberts district source: images by authors, 2021 the first stage of the research served as a preliminary exploration, upon which an international student online collaboration could be added. 3.2.2 stage two: coil exchange stage two combined the service-learning of the ace with coil. during the time when the service-learning fieldwork of the ace project started, bosman (de santi et al., 2022) explored a different coil exchange, supported as the ikudu project, funded by the european union's erasmus plus, in partnership with four other south african and five european partner universities. upon completing the service-learning fieldwork experiences by ufs students, bosman, riep, mabe, and roberto muntoreanu developed a 12-week coil programme. the same architecture students who did the ace research project fieldwork and service-learning in 2021, now ten months later, participated in the coil exchange from february 2022 to may 2022. the research team joined their outcomes with david riep from the colorado state university (scu) through a coil exchange to contribute to the gap in more recent literature on litema perceptions. riep’s (2011, 2014) experience and knowledge of litema symbolism, cultural connections to heritage, ancestral connections, and south sotho rites of passage make him an appropriate partner for this coil experience. the coil activity aimed to foster a sense of international solidarity among students from different parts of the world through an integrated educational experience. the students were allowed to develop their intercultural awareness and collaborative skills. students had to complete an assignment (figure 10) that resulted in a poster series for an exhibition. figures 7, 8, and 9: different fieldwork activities during stage one at sekgutlong farm, in the slabberts district source: images by authors, 2021 the first stage of the research served as a preliminary exploration, upon which an international student online collaboration could be added. 3.2.2 stage two: coil exchange stage two combined the service-learning of the ace with coil. during the time when the service-learning fieldwork of the ace project started, bosman (de santi et al., 2022) explored a different coil exchange, supported as the ikudu project, funded by the european union’s erasmus plus, in partnership with four other south african and five european partner universities. upon completing the service-learning fieldwork experiences by ufs students, bosman, riep, mabe, and roberto muntoreanu developed a 12-week coil programme. the same architecture students who did the ace research project fieldwork and service-learning in 2021, now ten months later, participated in the coil exchange from february 2022 to may 2022. the research team joined their outcomes with david riep from the colorado state university (scu) through a coil exchange to contribute to the gap in more recent literature on litema perceptions. riep’s (2011, bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 197 2014) experience and knowledge of litema symbolism, cultural connections to heritage, ancestral connections, and south sotho rites of passage make him an appropriate partner for this coil experience. the coil activity aimed to foster a sense of international solidarity among students from different parts of the world through an integrated educational experience. the students were allowed to develop their intercultural awareness and collaborative skills. students had to complete an assignment (figure 10) that resulted in a poster series for an exhibition. theme: explore the relationship between art and environment in the arts of the african continent. background: this collaborative online international learning (coil) experience will be conducted over eleven weeks between art history students from the colorado state university (csu), the usa, and architecture students from the university of the free state (ufs), sa. coil partners: david riep phd. associate professor and area coordinator, art history, department of art and art history, associate curator of african art, gregory allicar museum of art, colorado state university, usa david.riep@colostate.edu phadi mabe phd. candidate, lecturer, department of architecture, university of the free state, south africa. mabepme@ufs.ac.za gerhard bosman phd. associate professor, unesco chair: earthen architecture, construction, and sustainable development, earth unit: department of architecture, faculty natural and agricultural sciences, university of the free state, south africa, bosmang@ufs.ac.za brief: you will be assigned groups to prepare a case study exhibition based on a lived experience by ufs students that participated in a three-day workshop assignment during june 2021 in rural parts of the free state province in south africa. during these workshops, ufs students prepared decorated plaster panels of sesotho litema and marela wall art decoration, photos, and videos. the ufs will explain and share their material and experience of this celebration with csu students in groups. as a group, make use of the gathered information on google drive to prepare the following aspects 1) a poster and plaster panel exhibition on the ufs campus 2) a digital exhibition: 1. ufs students begin by writing a short descriptive background of the site, landscape, and cultural group (maximum 500 words – to be confirmed). 1. ufs and csu students then position the group's exhibition with a developed and provocative title (maximum seven words) and a descriptive sub-title (maximum 12 words) based on a theoretical understanding of how the landscape and environment information continues to shape the artist's real-world experience of this decorative art form. please read sections on "care in architecture" on pp. 38, 41, and 43 of this article by dr. hendrik auret: https://www.academia.edu/43770542/care_place_and_the_ sophia_gray_laureates_architecture_as_an_art_of_care 2. ufs students continue with a concise edited narrative of the artists that prepared the murals and panels. have a brief background of the site, context and process, a discussion, and a short conclusion (maximum 1000 words to be confirmed). add names and photos taken of the artists and students on the site that worked on these panels. figure 10: the coil assignment handout for ufs and csu students the coil exchange consists of three parts: an icebreaker introduction, the assignment of comparing preliminary findings for a poster exhibition, and the reflection and assessment of the task. students from both institutions were assigned to three working groups that completed a literature review of selected articles, ethnographic case studies, and selections from socio-religious sources. this short analysis and indepth reflection of all participants in the fieldwork were presented as themed posters. the third-year architecture students from ufs shared their field notes, videos, photos, figure 10: the coil assignment handout for ufs and csu students bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 198 the coil exchange consists of three parts: an icebreaker introduction, the assignment of comparing preliminary findings for a poster exhibition, and the reflection and assessment of the task. students from both institutions were assigned to three working groups that completed a literature review of selected articles, ethnographic case studies, and selections from socio-religious sources. this short analysis and in-depth reflection of all participants in the fieldwork were presented as themed posters. the thirdyear architecture students from ufs shared their field notes, videos, photos, and drawings from the previous years, while the art history students of csu compiled the text narrative. under the guidance of muntoreanu, 10 csu graphic design students designed three compilations of poster templates based on the provided images of the ufs students. one template was selected with an overall theme. 3.2.3 stage three: public exhibition stage three was preparing the panels for the public exhibition. the ufs underand postgraduate students from csu wrote the text and visual narrative on the litema walls and plaster panels that reflected homestead walls during the fieldwork (see figures 5 and 9). the reflection was creatively captured through a collaborative production of graphically informative posters on two continents to promote new research through knowledge exchange of cross-cultural perspectives. padlet, google drive, and blackboard as collaboration platforms allowed for real-time student engagement across two time zones (figure 11) and allowed students to set the classroom culture for the exchange collectively. the exchange drew upon the strengths of both institutions, by combining architectural fieldwork experiences with art historical research and analysis to create a body of artistic research from rural indigenous knowledge systems. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 199 and drawings from the previous years, while the art history students of csu compiled the text narrative. under the guidance of muntoreanu, 10 csu graphic design students designed three compilations of poster templates based on the provided images of the ufs students. one template was selected with an overall theme. stage three: public exhibition stage three was preparing the panels for the public exhibition. the ufs underand postgraduate students from csu wrote the text and visual narrative on the litema walls and plaster panels that reflected homestead walls during the fieldwork (see figures 5 and 9). the reflection was creatively captured through a collaborative production of graphically informative posters on two continents to promote new research through knowledge exchange of cross-cultural perspectives. padlet, google drive, and blackboard as collaboration platforms allowed for real-time student engagement across two time zones (figure 11) and allowed students to set the classroom culture for the exchange collectively. the exchange drew upon the strengths of both institutions, by combining architectural fieldwork experiences with art historical research and analysis to create a body of artistic research from rural indigenous knowledge systems. figure 11: the google drive file shows group 1 and the online time availability of all collaborators from two time zones. figure 11: the google drive file shows group 1 and the online time availability of all collaborators from two time zones. 4. findings 4.1 stage one quantitative reflections were holistically coded to establish current perceptions of the engagement activities. figure 12 shows the reflective feedback of the students from the three farms (pr, s, w). bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 200 4. findings 4.1 stage one quantitative reflections were holistically coded to establish current perceptions of the engagement activities. figure 12 shows the reflective feedback of the students from the three farms (pr, s, w). the architecture of care and engagement (ace) project, ufs the main research question: how can student care and engagement enhance or establish pride and accomplishment for builders of traditional earth constructed houses or litema artists, to support culturally significant architecture in the rural parts of the eastern free state province? 1. community service-learning: 1. before the tour, what were your expectations of community service-learning to complete this assignment as part of the cons2 module? pr my expectations were that we would help the people construct new homes, and that we would work long hours. pr i had no expectations. i was just keen on learning. pr my expectations for the tour were to engage with the community and learn different methods of sustainable design. pr i had no expectations going into the tour. pr i had no expectations. pr engaging with the people of the community, but wasn’t sure of what we were going to do exactly but maybe work on their homes and do some kind of physical labour. pr i expected to learn how to build an earth-constructed house from the foundation up to the roof. i was prepared for long days of hard work. pr to build mud huts. s my expectations were that the community we would visit would look similar to those informal settlements in cities. i was surprised by the tranquil and natural beauty of the site we visited. s i expected that we would learn more about earth construction and the traditional ways of how these communities would do these activities, and to also help them complete their homes by building certain aspects thereof with them. s my expectations were that we were going to help improve their lifestyle through helping them build and safe and structurally strong house. s i thought we would just go and follow instructions on how to complete tasks. s i thought we would only look and see what they did to construct their houses. s i wasn’t expecting anything great. i figured we would just be standing around in the blazing sun and doing something to help the community while we are being taught about their culture. s i believed that the informal settlement would look a lot like the informal settlements we see in city areas. i was pleasantly surprised with the beauty, peace, and harmony of the one we visited. s i expected to basically help the inhabitants of the site perform their cultural rituals and, in turn, learn more about their heritage. s i expected to have a fun experience serving the community. w i thought that we would be watching them work and taking notes on how they do it. w big expectation, i was very interested in learning how they build and what their lifestyle was like. w engaging with the community. learning through practical activities. giving your effort, time, and care voluntarily. w i believed that we would have a great time learning about how ‘litema’ works and what it meant for each of the ladies to paint and design their homes. w i thought it would focus much on the history of the construction methods. figure 12: the first of 18 thematic reflections on the expectation before the ace 2021 fieldwork started the reflective feedback of the students (figure 12) shows very positive experiences with temporal relationship experiences over the three days spent with the women artists. of the (n=31) anonymous reflection feedback that was received – in terms of their expectations – a student wrote: figure 12: the first of 18 thematic reflections on the expectation before the ace 2021 fieldwork started the reflective feedback of the students (figure 12) shows very positive experiences with temporal relationship experiences over the three days spent with the women artists. of the (n=31) anonymous reflection feedback that was received – in terms of their expectations – a student wrote: “i expected to basically help the inhabitants of the site perform their cultural rituals and, in turn, learn more about their heritage.” on a question of whether the assignment as a learning experience has been meaningful or successful, one student commented: “yes. it was a very effective way of learning. we got to mix the materials used on the houses ourselves and felt the textures with our own hands. we also experienced the more difficult aspects and learned from our own mistakes.” most of the students were negative about the dates of the three tours at the end of the first-semester programme. students did not like the cold bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 201 conditions, and most of them did not like to work with cow dung for the plaster and paint mixes. in terms of whether they had a positive or negative social or cultural engagement with the participants, one student commented: “yes, i think … important is the fact that i have a better picture of what it means to have culture. south african people have a unique and unprecedented way [of] living and working together. even though we as students did not speak or understand the sotho language, we found ways of laughing and spending quality time with the homeowners.” the interview data of the artists were coded holistically around the physical aspects of their practice, the symbolism and meaning of the practice, and the artists’ experience working with staff and students. preliminary findings of transcribed semi-structured interviews of the artists (n=11) showed that the practice of creating litema wall decoration is rooted in the frameworks of lineage and tradition in a multifaceted way. artists shared many practical aspects of their practice, such as: where they collect the raw material; how they prepare the material; the quantities and proportions of manure with soil; the application process and method; the design of the patterns, and the frequency of the application were discussed in detail. in terms of symbolism and meaning, some of the artists’ comments revealed that identity and culture are expressed through the hands and eyes of individual women’s perspectives: “according to our culture! it’s us … it’s our spirit, like, showing people how proud we are of our houses and our culture. that is how we prefer to build our house and how to make our house beautiful. that is why we do it … every year! because it’s our pride.” “so, everything about this house is basically the pride of being sesotho.” “sometimes we do the patterns. sometimes we do … something we feel. like now we have done the stars there, you see. the stars you see.” “the message about these patterns is that nobody does them anymore. this is a message to say that our heritage is beautiful. also, cleanliness is supposed to be sustained. yes. it leaves a message that since it is clean and beautiful, anyone may be interested in having a house like this, even if they don’t normally bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 202 ever do it. beauty is acceptable and cherished and wanted by everyone.” in terms of a connection with ancestors and a personal lineage, the women’s views were more nuanced than the limited literature suggest: “… when i do litema, i would have an honouring celebration and go to the graveyard where they [ancestors] lay, and talk to them.” “usually, the grandmothers and grandfathers are fond of these houses, because they are the same houses they normally lived in, in the past. now, they draw close to you if you’ve got these houses. because they need them.” “it has to do with our ancestors because it is part of the basotho culture that we grew up with.” “i’m going to teach her [my daughter]; this is my life’s knowledge”. for all the artists, the experience of the shared practice with students was described as joyful and sharing that reflected the positive engagement and care of the fieldwork approach. on all three farm sites, the activities created a mood for celebration. at duikersfontein near paul roux, one artist described the workshop and fieldwork as follows: “the thing that happened just now, is more like letsema, … you call upon the people and prepare meals. after that, the people begin working when they did all the work, then they feast.” during the workshop activities of the ace project, the artists were comfortable and eager to teach their art to other young women of different cultural groups. the learning occurred through the design and replication and the creative-making process. figures 13 and 14 show the final walls and panels during the handing out of certificates. “the message about these patterns is that nobody does them anymore. this is a message to say that our heritage is beautiful. also, cleanliness is supposed to be sustained. yes. it leaves a message that since it is clean and beautiful, anyone may be interested in having a house like this, even if they don’t normally ever do it. beauty is acceptable and cherished and wanted by everyone.” in terms of a connection with ancestors and a personal lineage, the women’s views were more nuanced than the limited literature suggest: “… when i do litema, i would have an honouring celebration and go to the graveyard where they [ancestors] lay, and talk to them.” “usually, the grandmothers and grandfathers are fond of these houses, because they are the same houses they normally lived in, in the past. now, they draw close to you if you’ve got these houses. because they need them.” “it has to do with our ancestors because it is part of the basotho culture that we grew up with.” “i’m going to teach her [my daughter]; this is my life’s knowledge”. for all the artists, the experience of the shared practice with students was described as joyful and sharing that reflected the positive engagement and care of the fieldwork approach. on all three farm sites, the activities created a mood for celebration. at duikersfontein near paul roux, one artist described the workshop and fieldwork as follows: “the thing that happened just now, is more like letsema, … you call upon the people and prepare meals. after that, the people begin working when they did all the work, then they feast.” during the workshop activities of the ace project, the artists were comfortable and eager to teach their art to other young women of different cultural groups. the learning occurred through the design and replication and the creative-making process. figures 13 and 14 show the final walls and panels during the handing out of certificates. figures 13 and 14: some litema walls and a plaster panel example produced during the fieldwork source: images by authors, 2021 figures 13 and 14: some litema walls and a plaster panel example produced during the fieldwork source: images by authors, 2021 the findings show that the symbolism and meaning of litema as a practice are more complex and nuanced than the literature suggests. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 203 4.2 stages two and three to promote active engagement during online learning exchanges, students’ perceptions towards this mode of learning and teaching should be determined (bhagat et al., 2016: 350). the student self-reflection of the coil exchange was compiled from the three groups on google drive. various discoveries were made when reflecting on the coil exchange (stage two). the coil exchange shows that practical challenges can be overcome over a 10-week online educational experience. findings from the coil illustrate that digitisation of the educational experience is transforming the typical classroom. the coil emulation of a global classroom illustrates that students are prompted to become more aware of intercultural diversity, inclusion, and problem-solving abilities related to diversity and equity. the graphic design students at csu provided the final poster templates for the exhibition (stage three). a student-led selection process by all collaborators resulted in one template to be used to prepare 19 posters. csu’s ufs and art history students develop the narrative and images with photos for the posters. academic writing with the practical aspects of service-learning develops critical thinking (deely, 2015: 4). the title of the poster exhibition is daughters of litema: revering temporal rural earth art, free state province, south africa. the student groups had to prepare subtitles to capture the site qualities of the environmental and social landscapes of the farm sites. this formed the organising structure of the narrative, which was arranged into three parts: the rural litema house: the families through the eyes of engaged students; women in art: the passage of time in south sotho culture, and voices beneath the mountain: curators of the process as ritual. figure 15 shows one of the 20 plaster panels with the student and the artist who inspired its design. these posters were combined with 20 plaster panels produced the previous year during fieldwork in 600x600mm and 1200x600mm formats. these posters and plaster panels celebrate the role and skills of the female artists and their student collaborators. the findings show that the symbolism and meaning of litema as a practice are more complex and nuanced than the literature suggests. 4.2 stages two and three to promote active engagement during online learning exchanges, students’ perceptions towards this mode of learning and teaching should be determined (bhagat et al., 2016: 350). the student self-reflection of the coil exchange was compiled from the three groups on google drive. various discoveries were made when reflecting on the coil exchange (stage two). the coil exchange shows that practical challenges can be overcome over a 10-week online educational experience. findings from the coil illustrate that digitisation of the educational experience is transforming the typical classroom. the coil emulation of a global classroom illustrates that students are prompted to become more aware of intercultural diversity, inclusion, and problemsolving abilities related to diversity and equity. the graphic design students at csu provided the final poster templates for the exhibition (stage three). a student-led selection process by all collaborators resulted in one template to be used to prepare 19 posters. csu’s ufs and art history students develop the narrative and images with photos for the posters. academic writing with the practical aspects of service-learning develops critical thinking (deely, 2015: 4). the title of the poster exhibition is daughters of litema: revering temporal rural earth art, free state province, south africa. the student groups had to prepare subtitles to capture the site qualities of the environmental and social landscapes of the farm sites. this formed the organising structure of the narrative, which was arranged into three parts: the rural litema house: the families through the eyes of engaged students; women in art: the passage of time in south sotho culture, and voices beneath the mountain: curators of the process as ritual. figure 15 shows one of the 20 plaster panels with the student and the artist who inspired its design. these posters were combined with 20 plaster panels produced the previous year during fieldwork in 600x600mm and 1200x600mm formats. these posters and plaster panels celebrate the role and skills of the female artists and their student collaborators. figure 15: an example of a tag next to the plaster panels exhibition that acknowledges the artists and the student collaborators source: image by authors, 2021 bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 204 figure 15: an example of a tag next to the plaster panels exhibition that acknowledges the artists and the student collaborators source: image by authors, 2021 5. discussion this article focused on artistic research that can bring about change through real-life rural engagement and celebration, by challenging the staff’s traditional academic approach to fieldwork and service-learning. the approach is rooted in rigorous, creative research, driven by imagination, and aimed at changing attitudes for staff, students, and communities. this effort was focused on addressing dignity and care through art and engagement, rather than simply science, in order to bring about change. 5.1 stage one: service-learning fieldwork and research the service-learning approach can provide a new place of interaction in a less intimidating environment, while providing contextual learning experiences for students. a new model of doing service-learning presented the opportunity of taking students on field trips to do service-learning activities. following this new model, the roles of students and instructors were swapped. the students travelled to the artists who were at ease in their well-known environment. the students were out of their comfort zones instead of the participating community. students used pac and social learning approaches, not commonly used in architectural training, to celebrate the skills of rural women artists and document their litema practices, which are slowly disappearing from the free state landscape. documenting litema art is a deliberate intention of creating a slow resistance to the inevitable dissolution of cultural practices. these experiences have strengthened and confirmed the cultural importance of litema and have shown the possibility of intergenerational knowledge and skills transfer. the art is kept alive and provides more resistance to the evolutionary disappearance from the free state landscape. the research paradigm of the ace project reflects the ethos of teaching architecture and engagement as acts of care in the theoretical framework at the ufs’ department of architecture. second-year students are introduced to issues such as care and community. according to heidegger (1927), the ecstasies of care are explained as understanding, attunement, and being-with. these notions are supported by norwegian architect and critic, norberg-schulz’s (1980) language of architecture in terms of orientation as topology, identification as morphology, and memory as typology. bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 205 the study promotes indigenous building practices elsewhere in south africa, since it addresses the loss of local heritage, while reflecting on the use of local materials, the cultural significance, symbolism, and the identity of the rural south sotho communities. students’ engagement in a reallife situation outside the classroom provides an informative environment, where students can build relationships as acts of care towards peopleand nature-centred relationships. van vuuren (2015) argues that the different ndebele homestead earth buildings and murals reflect rational decisions made in different situations. the ace preliminary findings reflected on culture but especially the identity of the artists in reaction to personal taste, own interpretation, and a close link to the availability of either natural coloured clays or to buy industrial pigments. one artist commented on this: “sometimes we look at these masolanka blankets, or maybe the books we view. sometimes we just depend upon our creativity, on our creative minds. but most times we look at books or the patterns on the blankets.” (moloi, 2021: personal communication). 5.2 stage two: coil exchange the research explored the synergetic potentials of art, architecture, servicelearning, and sustained relationships with communities. colorado state art students collaborated with south african architecture students’ qualitative reflections and qualitative data collected during fieldwork from rural women who installed litema wall decoration art as a temporal home decoration. through a coil experience, the south african students learned more from recently recorded notions on the symbolism and cultural significance of this art form that is slowly disappearing from central south africa’s rural parts. this transformed use of service-learning and coil method supports the united nations’ (2023) sdgs such as quality education (4), gender equality (5), and partnerships for the goals (17), while also presenting the participants’ perceptions and research findings. the coil exchange necessitated that all students understand their responsibilities, which required consistent reminders. to facilitate this, lecturers had to create clear guidelines and outline specific objectives and deadlines according to the time zone of each institution. in addition, the information and instructions for the joint task or assignment needed to be made available to the students before starting the ice-breaking activities. lecturers also required access to student work-in-progress on google drive to check student progress and intervene with guidance if any groups fell behind with assigned tasks. clear and consistent communication was crucial during the coil exchange. it was essential for outlining project expectations and deadlines bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 206 and was accomplished through reminder e-mails. communication helped prevent confusion if a deadline needed to be adjusted. whatsapp was a useful tool for both the lecturers and the student groups. the seven-hour difference between colorado and the free state became a challenge, slowing decision-making if messages were replied to many hours later. however, this was a worthwhile challenge, as the main aim of a coil is for the students to engage interculturally and cross-culturally, where students must get out of their comfort zones and engage with their peers. developing a detailed assessment rubric was also important and was provided to all students prior to the start of the coil exchange. the rubric made students aware of the outcome and assessment. the lecturers explained the rubric criteria carefully and reminded students of the content, proof of the process followed, and the suggested completion time frame. it was a challenge to finalise the text for the poster exhibition, as insufficient time was allocated for editing the three groups’ text narratives into a coherent storyline. for teaching staff and coil instructors, this kind of community engagement and cultural exchange asks us to be prepared to explain to students that one learns from diversity in which identity, culture, and language present a multitude of reactions and behaviours when addressing issues or solving problems. the reflective feedback and self-assessment provided by students at the end of the collaboration offered great insight into the student’s experiences. the students’ assessments will help faculty guide relationships among future student groups, academic institutions, and communities, with which sustainable relationships can be nurtured. 5.3 stage three: public exhibition the dissemination coil (stage two) made provision for the exhibition (stage three) consisting of posters with text narrative and photos of activities and plaster panels prepared after litema practices were completed on the earth walls. in some cases, the plaster panels reflect the same litema designs on the dwellings where the female students worked with the litema artists (homeowners). figure 15 shows a tag accompanying the plaster panel with the student, the artist, and her work that inspired the panel design. this is a visual dialogue between the artists and the memory of the student’s experience during the workshops of june 2021. a maximum of 20 panels can be exhibited with the posters to celebrate the role and skill of the female artist who worked together with female students. the past model used to address problems in architectural service-learning can be viewed as a top-down approach (see figure 1) that does not support the united nations’ sdgs. the use of coil, as combined in the case of the ace project, opened new partnerships and sustained relationships bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 207 between ufs’ architecture students and litema artists for follow-up workshops and engagement. recently, international collaborations have rapidly changed. coil should focus on how students manage time with deadlines, challenges with digital platforms, and interactions with different time-zone challenges. the study shows that a coil assignment can result in high-standard posters to the extent that they can be exhibited in a gallery or exposition. the poster and plaster panel exhibition, produced in collaboration, was exhibited during a high-profile event attended by international research and science organisations, heads of state, and south african members of parliament. from 6 to 9 december 2022, the exhibition was presented at the world science forum (wsf, 2022), science for social justice exhibition in cape town at the cape town international conventions centre. in may 2023, a duplicate exhibition opened at the gregory allicar museum of art of colorado state university. david riep curated the exhibition. this exhibition, with colour photos of the plaster panels, shows accompanying tags of artist names and student collaborators. the coil experience and the celebratory exhibition present the intergenerational transfer of knowledge to help keep this art form alive and provide a slow resistance to its eventual disappearance from the free state landscape. 6. conclusion the ace research project aimed to celebrate the existing skills of litema artists. the problem of combining the research with service-learning provided a new conceptual model for future service-learning and community-engaged scholarship architecture activities conducted by the ufs. this focused on a new method where students had to travel to rural areas to learn from their litema practice rather than the artists trained in upgraded earth-building techniques, as was the case from 1996 till 2018 at the ufs. within these challenges, a new conceptual model for architecture service-learning was tested. research with service-learning fieldwork activities created a flipped classroom, where the students and artists became the instructors. with continued financial support, this study opens the way to a more authentic relationship centred on connection, involvement, and participation, while exploring new architectural learning and teaching methods. the literature gap on current litema perceptions furthermore developed into the coil exchange to partner with david riep on his experience and acquired knowledge on litema symbolism. the ace data and the literature by riep (2011) gave new insight into the perceptions around rural litema practices and their significance. as a long-term effort, coil sessions with international partners can promote the advantages of contemporary earth construction. furthermore, the coil approach asks bosman, venter & mabe 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 186-212 208 of students and lecturers to rethink traditional approaches to learning and teaching that support sustainable development goals (sdgs) such as quality education (4), sustainable cities and communities (11), gender equality (5), and partnerships for the goals (17). research focusing on sdgs supports quality transformed education to accelerate curricula transformation with new learning and teaching methods. exploring all possible ways and opportunities to get students out of classrooms to participate in service-learning has many challenges. still, it can create unexpected quality learning opportunities in real-life situations. marginalised communities to reach out to can easily be found in urban and rural areas. the research shows that multidisciplinary partnerships make a difference regionally while thinking at an international collaboration level. to establish new partnerships, all possible network opportunities should be explored and pursued for international collaboration. students, lecturers, as well as art and earth-building practitioners can contribute as ‘artivists’ to encourage ethical artistic practice in the assistance of human rights and dignity. these acts show care and dignity in celebrating litema art and architecture in the rural part of central south africa. acknowledgments we sincerely thank: • the many litema artists and their families who opened their hearts and homes for use during the memorable experience of learning from their indigenous knowledge of traditional home decoration. • prof david riep, for guiding the department of art and art history at colorado state university students 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[online]. available at: <https://worldscienceforum. org/programme/2022-12-06-artistic-research-and-humanities-for-conflicttransformation-and-social-justice-a-case-study-unescos-art-lab-for-humanrights-and-dialogue-253> [accessed: 10 january 2023]. https://worldscienceforum.org/programme/2022-12-06-artistic-research-and-humanities-for-conflict-transformation-and-social-justice-a-case-study-unescos-art-lab-for-human-rights-and-dialogue-253 https://worldscienceforum.org/programme/2022-12-06-artistic-research-and-humanities-for-conflict-transformation-and-social-justice-a-case-study-unescos-art-lab-for-human-rights-and-dialogue-253 https://worldscienceforum.org/programme/2022-12-06-artistic-research-and-humanities-for-conflict-transformation-and-social-justice-a-case-study-unescos-art-lab-for-human-rights-and-dialogue-253 https://worldscienceforum.org/programme/2022-12-06-artistic-research-and-humanities-for-conflict-transformation-and-social-justice-a-case-study-unescos-art-lab-for-human-rights-and-dialogue-253 _hlk137922807 _hlk137803225 _hlk135135919 _hlk137977653 _hlk137831138 _hlk138017101 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 32 how to cite: isah, y., shakantu, w. & ibrahim, s. 2021. utilisation of order processing technology for logistics process improvement in the nigerian construction industry. acta structilia, 28(1), pp. 32-67. © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as research articles • navorsingsartikels yahaya isah dr yahaya isah, department of construction management, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, 6031, south africa. phone: (+234) 8039285865, email: <isahyahaya50@gmail.com> winston shakantu prof. winston shakantu, department of construction management, po box 77000, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. email: <winston.shakantu@mandela. ac.za> orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-4334-5004 saidu ibrahim dr saidu ibrahim, department of quantity survey, federal university of technology, pmb 39, niger minna, state nigeria. phone: +234 8037796321 email: <saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng> doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.2 issn: 1023-0564 e-issn: 2415-0487 acta structilia 2021 28(1): 32-67 utilisation of order processing technology for logistics process improvement in the nigerian construction industry received: january 2021 peer reviewed and revised: march 2021 published: june 2021 *the authors declared no conflict of interest for the article or title abstract the logistic technologies for effective and efficient ‘order processing operations’ in the areas of tracking, shipping, replenishment, dispatching and holding of inventory are deficient in the nigerian construction industry, when compared to manufacturing and retailing sectors. this is confirmed to have a significant effect on the performance of the construction sector. this article assessed how order processing technology utilised by manufacturing and retail industries could improve the order processing logistics operations of the construction industry. lagos state and the f.c.t. abuja, nigeria, were the selected geographical study areas, from which five manufacturing companies, five retailing companies and five construction projects were purposively selected. mixed methods research strategy was used. the research instruments included an observation guide (quantitative) and semi-structured interviews (qualitative). the collected quantitative data was analysed, using descriptive analytical tools: http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:isahyahaya50@gmail.com mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za mailto:winston.shakantu@mandela.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-5004 mailto:saidu.ibr@futminna.edu.ng http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as28i1.2 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i2.4 isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 33 frequencies and percentiles. the qualitative data was analysed, using the thematic method. the result revealed that 80% and 100% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, observed, adopted barcoding technology for order processing purposes. only 40% of the observed construction project adopted barcoding technology for order processing in the following: 2.4% for receiving process; 0.9% for put-away process; 0.9% for shipping process (stock control); 1.2% for dispatching process; 0.6% for replenishment process, and 1.2% for tracking inventory (stock tracking). in addition, 100% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, observed, adopted radio frequency identification (rfid) technology for order processing purposes. only 40% of the observed construction projects adopted rfid technology for order processing. it was also revealed that utilisation of the order processing technology could have the following benefits: managerial control in the construction industry; shorter processing time; easy way of tracking materials on site, and increased speed of work in the construction industries. the research concludes that effective utilisation of order processing technology in the logistics system could lead to full efficiency gains in the order processing aspect of the construction industry. it is recommended that the federal government of nigeria should mandate all major construction project stakeholders to attend workshops on the use of recent technologies in the management of construction operations. keywords: barcoding, construction industry, logistics, order processing, technology abstrak in vergelyking met die vervaardigingsen kleinhandelsektor, is die logistieke tegnologieë vir effektiewe en doeltreffende ‘bestellingsverwerkingsbedrywighede’ op die gebied van opsporing, versending, aanvulling, versending en hou van voorraad in die nigeriese konstruksiebedryf gebrekkig. dit word bevestig dat dit ’n beduidende uitwerking het op bedryfsprestasie. in hierdie artikel word ondersoek hoe bestellingsverwerkingstegnologie wat deur vervaardigingsen kleinhandelbedrywe gebruik word, die bestellingsverwerkingslogistieke van die konstruksiebedryf kan verbeter. lagos state en abuja, nigerië, was die geselekteerde geografiese studiegebiede, waaruit vyf vervaardigingsondernemings, vyf kleinhandelondernemings en vyf konstruksieprojekte doelgerig gekies is. gemengde navorsingsmetodes is gebruik. die navorsingsinstrumente het ’n waarnemingsgids (kwantitatief) en semigestruktureerde onderhoude (kwalitatief) ingesluit. die versamelde kwantitatiewe data is geanaliseer met behulp van beskrywende analitiese instrumente: frekwensies en persentiele. die kwalitatiewe data is geanaliseer volgens die tematiese metode. die resultaat het getoon dat 80% en 100% van die onderskeie vervaardigingsen kleinhandelbedrywe streepkoderingstegnologie aangeneem het vir bestellingsverwerkingsdoeleindes. slegs 40% van die waargenome konstruksieprojek het strepieskoderingstegnologie vir bestellingsverwerking in die volgende gebruik: 2.4% vir ontvangsproses; 0.9% vir bêreproses; 0.9% vir versendingsproses (voorraadbeheer); 1.2% vir versendingproses; 0.6% vir aanvullingsproses, en 1.2% vir opsporing van voorraad (voorraadopsporing). ook, onderskeidelik 100% en 80% van die vervaardigingsen kleinhandelbedrywe het radiofrekwensie-identifikasie (rfid)-tegnologie vir bestellingsverwerkingsdoeleindes aanvaar. slegs 40% van die waargenome konstruksieprojek het rfid-tegnologie vir bestellingsverwerking aanvaar. daar is ook aan die lig gebring dat die gebruik van die bestelverwerkingstegnologie tot die volgende voordele kan lei: bestuurskontrole in die konstruksiebedryf; korter verwerkingstyd; maklike manier om materiaal op die perseel op te spoor, en verhoogde spoed van werk in die konstruksiebedryf. die navorsing het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat effektiewe benutting van bestellingsverwerkingstegnologie in die logistieke stelsel kan lei tot volle doeltreffendheidswinste in die bestellingsverwerkingsaspek acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 34 van die konstruksiebedryf. daar word aanbeveel dat die federale regering van nigerië alle belangrike belanghebbendes in die konstruksieprojek moet opdrag gee om werkswinkels by te woon oor die gebruik van nuwe tegnologieë in die bestuur van konstruksiebedrywighede. sleutelwoorde: bestellingverwerking, konstruksie-industrie, logistiek, strepieskode, tegnologie 1. introduction the need to develop and utilise new technology globally has made the construction industry undergo fundamental transformations, in order to raise the levels of firms’ performance and to compete globally (mohammed & ali, 2016: 21; preidel & borrmann, 2015: 257). the logistics technology used in order processing operations in the nigerian construction industry is outdated, ineffectual, and often overlooked, due to its weak contributions to project performance (yahaya, shakantu & saidu, 2020: 3). according to bengtsson (2019: 299), these technologies are required at every stage of the logistic process, in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the process, so that projects will be completed within budget, schedule and the anticipated quality. dim, ezeabasili and okoro (2015: 1) believe that some design teams, contractors and suppliers have little knowledge of recent technologies and logistics tasks in construction. therefore, identifying the appropriate tasks and their relevant technologies in the construction industry would help integrate and facilitate the processes of logistics management practices (polacco, 2016: 12). irizarry, karan & jalaei (2013: 241) highlighted that, in the past decade, researchers such as ordoobadi and ordoobadi (2009: 371), janat (2009: 43) and xie (2009: 16) have emphasised the benefits of construction logistics management philosophy in performance improvement and reduction of waste as a result of inefficient material management. the current on-site construction process is hampered by inefficiencies and limited in terms of opportunities for technological innovation (barkokebas, bu, al-hussein & manrique, 2015: 307). sullivan, barthorpe and robbins (2010: 19) argue that there are many opportunities for change in developing countries such as nigeria and that the construction industry has been slower than other industries to realise the benefits that the application of good logistics can provide in terms of order processing. previous studies by authors such as fadiya (2012: 2) and bhandari (2014: 19) on construction logistics have focused on transportation, forecasting, effectiveness or efficiency in logistics supply chain and so forth in nigeria. there is, however, hardly any focus on logistics technology, especially in the use of order processing technology for improving construction logistic processes. a wide gap has, therefore, been identified in the nigerian isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 35 construction logistics processes (dim et al. 2015: 2041; fatnani & malik, 2015: 3253; 264; polacco, 2016: 12). the technological aspect of construction logistics, especially the order processing, is over-looked, and little is understood in the nigerian construction industry. therefore, this article examines order processingrelated tasks in the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries; the percentage level of usage of order processing logistics technologies in the execution of these tasks, and the accruable benefits to construction from the utilisation of the order processing technology in the industries, in order to improve the order processing procedure of the nigerian construction logistics. 2. literature review in order to understand how to utilise order processing technology in construction logistics, it is important to introduce the present theory on order processing and logistics included in this article. the current theory focuses on construction logistics, construction order processing logistics technology, and order processing logistics tools used in construction. 2.1 construction logistics logistics is a very critical component of every construction organisation that requires serious managerial considerations, since it ties up a great deal of industry capital (samuel & ondiek, 2014: 23). accordingly, logistics management should be considered at all phases of the construction process and throughout the construction and production periods, because poor logistics management can often affect the overall construction time, quality and budget (liwan, kasim & zainal, 2013: 5). lack of proper logistics management is a problem in the area of materials shortages, delays in supply, materials damage, wastages, and lack of storage space (kasim, 2015: 1). according to kasim (2008: 1), these problems could be attributable to inadequate utilisation of modem technologies to overcome human errors and improper integration into project management systems to make the tracking and management of materials easier and faster. thus, there is a growing trend in the construction industry to use technology in monitoring jobsites, as the majority of onsite construction works are mostly done manually, which is cumbersome and labour-intensive (azar, 2016: 123). three major resources, including people, processes and technology, are required in any construction logistics setting, in order to manage and achieve efficiency and overall success of a project. people drive change and they need to be trained and well managed so that they can contribute their best to the success of the project; processes create the environment in which people work and also form the basis of opportunity acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 36 for improvement, and technology gives people the tools to carry out and improve processes (fadiya, 2012: 7). the major problems of construction logistics, according to jafari and sadeghi-niaraki (2013: 215) include the following challenges: technology, standard, patent, cost, infrastructure, and return on investment (roi). these challenges can adversely affect the performance of construction projects (bogataj & grubbström, 2012: 755). therefore, managing the flow of materials, assuring their quality, checking the quantity, allocating the storage areas, coordinating the overall process, triggering the orders, and updating the participants are major obstacles in construction logistics management (almohsen & ruwanpura, 2011: 27). 2.2 construction order processing logistics technology recently, various approaches have attempted to automate the construction process with the help of digital methods such as barcoding, rfid and epc, in order to reduce the amount of work and simultaneously increase the quality of the planning (preidel & borrmann, 2015: 256). the movement and interaction of people, goods and energy without technology, especially during order processing processes, make the management of construction processes extremely slow, difficult and hampered by inefficiencies (zhang, cao & zhao, 2017: 1; barkokebas et al., 2015: 302). this means that absence of technology in the accomplishment of processing tasks could affect the efficiency and effectiveness of any construction process (zhang et al., 2017: 1). the reason is that many construction firms lack a clear strategy for the implementation of technology in their process (azhar, jackson & sattineni, 2015: 77). therefore, completing a construction project within budget and timely, with their numerous constraints, requires skilful integration of logistics technology (yahaya et al., 2020: 3). the various logistic technologies for overcoming human errors in the areas of tracking and better management of materials are lacking in the construction industry (fatnani & malik, 2015: 3253). moreover, locating the movement of resources on construction sites has been a challenging task to construction practitioners. tracking technologies are suggested, in order to overcome this challenge (nasr, shehab & vlad, 2013: 1). hence, nasr et al. (2013: 1) noted that technology utilisation in the construction industry could significantly improve daily performance and project management activities. therefore, the effective economic development of a country, as well as industrial and commercial business success, are not possible without logistics services that create added value for businesses, ensure the expediency of products’ time, as well as place and meet the client’s needs (yahaya, 2020: 322). isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 37 this is similar to the statement of jang and skibniewski (2009: 378) that advancement in technology and innovation in the construction industry should make it technically viable to implement an automated tracking system for material. even though the construction industry in nigeria has advanced to the point of executing large and complex projects, they still largely operate manually. furthermore, the logistics technology developed to support the management of the nigerian construction industry in the area of, among others, forecasting, order entry, order processing, requirement planning, invoicing, warehouse operations, transportation is outdated, ineffectual, and often overlooked, due to its weak contributions to project performance (langeley, coyle, gibson, novack & bardi, 2009: 32). 2.3 order processing logistics tools 2.3.1 barcoding technology as order processing logistics tool in the construction industry the barcode is a machine-readable representation of identification data that can be handled by a computer using an optical reader with shorter processing time than manual identification could ever achieve (vlahovic, knezevic & sabolic, 2015: 34). this barcode is an optical representation of the data. it is composed of parallel lines with various widths and spacings, which can further be scanned by a remote device to read the represented information (xiang, 2019). the technology is part of every purchase and has become the ubiquitous standard for identifying and tracking products, since it is a line-of-sight technology, of which a scanner has to ‘see’ the barcode in order to read it (ramanathan, ramanathan & ko, 2014: 232). according to zebra technologies coporation (ztc) (2017: 2), the barcodes are fast and accurate in performing tasks such as receiving process, putaway process, shipping process, dispatching process, replenishment process, tracking inventory and holding inventory during data entry and data processing. the barcode automates the business process and procedures and, therefore, increases the productivity and reduces human errors completely. the technology is used where a huge amount of data is to be entered into the data base instead of the manual entering. the data entry operator may simply scan the unique identification number into the database with the barcode technology, which would definitely increase the automation and reduce human error (fatnani & malik, 2015: 3252). vlahovic et al. (2015: 34) revealed that many industries benefit from using barcodes in terms of efficiency and accuracy during order entry and order processing. as such, barcoding became standardised internationally. therefore, ztc (2017: 2) pointed out that the entry and read error rates when using barcode acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 38 technology is approximately one error in one million characters, against one error per every 300 characters using manual key entry. barcode data entry is at least 100 times faster and more accurate than traditional manual keyboard entry (american barcode & rfid, 2014: 2). the barcoding technology is used for identification, handling, retrieval and storage of goods in warehouses and stores. it is the most popular technology which is assigned to a particular inventory item to show its identity during storage, retrieval and dispatch at process of placing an order (samuel & ondiek, 2014: 12). sullivan et al. (2010: 196) concluded that the trial of barcode technology in construction industry makes the processing of materials fast from the supplier to delivery on site and increases picking accuracy to almost 99.6%; it also increases the speed and certainty when validating the location of delivered goods in construction. this technology, according to huang, tsai, wu, and chung (2010: 474), provides the benefits of reduced communication and transaction time, which can lead to lower order processing cost for both the vendor and the buyer, as well as greater information accuracy, due to a reduction in paperwork. 2.3.2 radio frequency identification (rfid) technology as order processing logistics tool in the construction industry the order processing technology that monitors movement of goods and services in some industries is the rfid system. this system better tracks the status of items such as their location, temperature, and movements within the shortest time, with few numbers of or non-man power (lee & lee, 2015: 432). the rfid technology is an advancement over barcode for manufacturing and retailing industries and uses radio frequency waves (ramanathan et al., 2014: 230). valero and adán (2016: 215) stated that the advantage of rfid over barcoding is that rfid do not need to see the tag in order to identify the object and store the information. kim, kim, ryu & kim (2011: 159) also added that rfid has the following advantages over barcording: • rfid allows for countless identification as the reader does not need to touch the tag before receiving information; • multiple identification of objects at the same time, and • easy update of information to reflect the situation this rfid technology is widely used for different tasks such as receiving process, put-away process, shipping process, dispatching process, and replenishment process, because the technology is connected to an enterprise application system for data-processing in support of business activities (ramanathan et al., 2014: 231). zhu mukhopadhyay and isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 39 kurata (2012: 153) opined that rfid technology plays an important role in supporting logistics and supply-chain processes (receiving process, put-away process, shipping process, dispatching process, replenishment process, tracking inventory, and holding inventory), because of their ability to identify, trace and track information throughout the supply chain. the technology provides suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers precise real-time information about the products. this makes the rfids more attractive in the textile industry (xiang, 2019: 10) the rfid system can read several tags immediately and jointly without having to sort out the materials or set them apart (ibrahim, mohammed & varouqa, 2020: 1578). that is why all of these organisations are working on the standards for rfid technology, particularly on applications such as supply-chain management and asset management for inventory tracking and control (goh & aslam, 2020: 91626). moreover, rfid technologies improve the potential benefits of supplychain management through the reduction of inventory losses, increase in the efficiency and speed of processes, and improvement of information accuracy (sarac absi & dauzère-pérès, 2010: 77). rfid makes it possible to read data from multiple tags in one time, thus increasing the efficiency of data-processing (lu, huang & li, 2011: 102). jafari and sadeghi-niaraki (2013: 215) believed that rfid technology in construction will control the processes of production, supply, stock tracking, stock management, repair management, processing, and disposal. yahaya (2020: 290) added that employing rfid technology in construction for order processing tasks could result in increased speed of work in construction, improvement in the quality of documents, decrease in documentation errors in construction, speed up shipping process on construction sites, allow for contactless identification with hardly any or no manpower, identify objects and store information without seeing the tag, reduce inventory losses, increase efficiency and speed of data-processing in construction, and improve information accuracy. ibrahim et al. (2020: 1576) concluded that it is mandatory to use an rfid system in equipment and material management, in order to reduce time and cost and simultaneously improve quality and safety. 2.3.3 electronic product code (epc) technology as order processing logistics tool in the construction industry adoption of the epc technology forces supply-chain members to change the way they handle their respective business activities, by integrating activities, cancelling, automating, or automatically triggering intraand inter-organisational business processes (wamba, lefebvre, bendavid & lefebvre, 2008: 626). bottani and rizzi (2008: 549) believed that the adoption of epc standards for products identification is experiencing an acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 40 increasing diffusion in the logistics pipeline, and is expected to have a major impact in construction on labour efficiency, processes automation and accuracy. products with an epc tag have the ability to communicate with their environment and make or trigger basic decisions relevant to their management (wamba et al., 2008: 616). according to yahaya (2020: 322), construction could benefit from using epc as follows: improve shipping, improve business prospects, foster higher level of informationsharing, provide synchronisation between supply-chain members, provide information to the construction team, trigger basic decisions, improve the quality of documents, and decrease documentation errors in construction. the rfid-epc network in interrelated firms of a supply chain can improve the shipping, receiving, and put-away processes. it can cancel, automate, or automatically trigger business processes, and foster a higher level of information sharing/synchronisation between supply chain members (zhu et al., 2012: 161). the epc technology can perform the tasks of receiving process, shipping process, replenishment process, and holding inventory (bottani, montanari & volpi, 2010: 427) 2.3.4 point of sale (pos) technology as order processing logistics tool in the construction industry the introduction of pos makes industries now see product movement from the beginning of transaction to consumer satisfaction at point-of-use (holloman, 2015: 6). janat (2009: 43) added that, with pos technology, companies settle bills through the use of electronic printouts and smart sense coupons, respond to on-line alerts and information, and take a more customer-focused approach. the implementations allow service and sales industries to conduct financial transactions in place, improving customers’ experience, and freeing up valuable real estate that would otherwise be dedicated to a pos countertop (lin, ha & lin, 2015). pos systems consist of solutions that enable connections with external organisations, which facilitates the processing, storing, and monitoring the movement of goods and management functionality (plomp, van rijn & batenburg, 2012: 265; holloman, 2015: 6). furthermore, the pos system provides an instant record of transactions at the point of sale. it thus makes the replenishment of products more coordinated on time to ensure that stock-outs in the retail store are avoided (xie, 2009: 16; samuel & ondiek, 2014: 12). the pos system provides timely data, more efficient inventory control, reduced restocking times, and clearer sales data (ahn, andrews, deckard, iruku, lee, lue & schulz, 2011: 15). the pos system provides an instant record of transactions at the point of sale (samuel, 2012: 14). xie (2009: 16) concluded that an integrated isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 41 pos system in construction allows quick, precise information capture, so that the logistics system can act more efficiently and effectively in getting the right product to the preferred location when it is needed. 2.3.5 manufacturing and retailing industries’ experiences of order processing logistics technology the manufacturing and retailing industries have recorded tremendous achievement in terms of the shelf-replenishment process, inventory process, picking and collecting order, returning processing, ticketing and price markdowns, restocking, receipt inspection, stock auditing, as well as inbound and outbound logistics activities (hübner & kuhn, 2012: 207; reiner, teller & kotzab, 2013: 932; thiesse & buckel, 2015: 128). technology for ordering processing provides the following benefits: reduced communication and transaction time, which can lead to lower order processing cost for both the vendor and the buyer, as well as greater information accuracy, due to a reduction in paperwork (huang et al., 2010: 474). yahaya et al. (2020: 8) added that some important features of order processing technology systems in manufacturing and retailing industries are their ability to include productivity enhancement; reduce errors through sharing of data and practice; increase performance control and data visibility, and improve automation of business processes in organisations. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this study uses a mixed methods approach, where both quantitative and qualitative data are collected in parallel, analysed separately, and then merged (creswell & plano-clark, 2018: 8; grbich, 2013: 27). in this study, the quantitative semi-structured questionnaire survey was investigated by observing the task performance of order processingrelated technology (barcoding, rfid, epc, pos) from the manufacturing, retailing and construction sectors. the qualitative interviews explored the benefits of implementing order processing technologies in the construction sector. the qualitative method allows in-depth understanding, discovery, and clarification of the situation. it provides the researcher with a unique avenue to probe responses or observations (guest, namey & mitchell, 2013: 21). the reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to elaborate on specific findings from the breakdown of the interview transcripts, and to cross-check the data against the questionnaire data set such as similarities in the use of order processing-related technology. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 42 3.2 population, sampling methods and response rate the geographical study areas for this research included the manufacturing, retailing and construction sectors in lagos state and abuja, the federal capital territory (fct) of nigeria. these geographical study areas were selected, because they both have many manufacturing and retailing companies and many construction projects. moreover, these two cities are among the metropolitan cities in nigeria with the highest population of professionals within the built environment and with many ongoing construction projects. for the quantitative semi-structured questionnaire survey, purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 15 companies (including five manufacturing, five retailing and five construction companies) with projects of 2.8 billion naira and above, as at 28 august 2017. purposive sampling allows for the selection of individuals or organisations, based on their experiences, to yield adequate information about the topic under investigation (leedy & ormrod, 2014: 154). for this study, companies with projects to the capital base/value of 2.8 billion naira and above are deemed mature enough and presumed to have advanced technologies such as barcoding, rfid, epc, pos (soliman & karia, 2015: 265). according to leedy and ormrod (2014: 67), the typical qualitative research sample size for observations ranges between five and 25 participants. for qualitative data collection, purposive sampling was used to sample 15 participants (workers each from the different sectors visited who were stationed to work on the technology), who simultaneously participated in the interviews. purposive sampling allows the researcher to choose participants based on their characteristics, pre-knowledge and capability of providing adequate knowledge deemed necessary for a study (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2013: 172). 3.3 data collection an observation guide and semi-structured interviews were used to observe only the order processing technologies utilised in these companies/projects. these included four barcoding technology from manufacturing companies; five from retailing companies, and two from construction projects, making a total of 11; five rfid technology from manufacturing companies; four from retailing companies, and 1 from construction projects, making a total of 10, and 2 epc technology from manufacturing companies and 3 from retailing companies, and 4 pos technology from manufacturing companies, and 5 from retailing companies. the observation guide included seven main order processing tasks for the manufacturing and retailing companies, namely receiving process, put-away process, stock control, dispatching process, replenishment isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 43 process, stock tracking and stock holding, as well as seven main tasks for construction companies, namely receiving process, put-away process, stock control, dispatching process, and replenishment process. the observations were carried out with the aid of workers in the manufacturing, retailing, and construction sectors, who were stationed to work on the technologies. the observations were done by taking the researcher around the order processing technologies available. questions were asked on the task performed by the technology in the industry and the related tasks and subtasks that the same technology could perform in the construction industry. the observations were only based on the order processing logistics technologies available (see tables 2 to 5). the respondents of the semi-structured interviews were one worker each from the different sectors visited, who was stationed to work on the technology. this included: for barcoding, four respondents from manufacturing companies, five respondents from retailing companies and two respondents from a construction project, making a total of 11 respondents from the companies/projects; for rfid, five respondents from manufacturing companies, four respondents from retailing companies and one respondent from a construction project, making a total of 10 respondents from the companies/projects; for epc, two respondents from manufacturing companies and three respondents from retailing companies, making a total of five respondents from the companies, and for pos, four respondents from manufacturing companies and five respondents from retailing companies, making a total of nine respondents from the companies. the semi-structured interview guide contains only one major question: how can the benefits of utilising these order processing logistics technologies be accruable to the logistics order processing of the construction industry? (see the last column of tables 2 to 5.) 3.4 data analysis and interpretation the collected quantitative data (observations) for this study were analysed, using descriptive analytical tools that included frequencies and percentiles. the tabulated results from the instruments were divided into two parts. the first part consisted of the related tasks in manufacturing and retailing industries, while the second part consisted of tasks and subtasks in the construction industry. in the first part, the technologies were identified in five manufacturing and five retailing companies, thus making a total of ten companies. the identification in each of these companies represent 20% of the 100% for the five manufacturing and five retailing companies, respectively. the tasks in the five manufacturing companies and retailing companies were identified, with each occupying 20% of the 100%. for example, dispatching process in table 1 was used by four manufacturing acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 44 companies out the five manufacturing companies, each company occupying 20%. this means 20% multiplied by four industries equals 80% of the 100% of the five manufacturing companies. the same process applies to the five retailing companies. moreover, for identification of the technologies in the five construction projects, each occupied 20% of 100%. the tasks that correspond to the manufacturing and retailing companies were also identified, each occupying 20% of 100% for the five projects in the construction industry. the tasks under the construction project were subdivided into subtasks, for which 20% occupied by each project was further subdivided into the subtasks under the projects in the construction projects. this means that the receiving process only occupied 20%, which will be divided among the number of subtasks that appear under the receiving process. for example, the corresponding task to the receiving process in construction is the receiving process in table 1. therefore, the receiving process as a main task, each occupying 20% to make 100%, the 20% under the ‘receiving process’ was further divided into three different subtasks in the receiving process (processing receipt of material, processing receipt of plant, and processing receipt of equipment); that is, 20% divided by 3 equals 6.7% for each subtask. the total of these percentages from the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries were utilised to produce the percentage level of usage of the task and subtask in the three industries. this was done by dividing each percentage unit of the task by the overall percentage total of the industries (manufacturing + retailing + construction) and multiplied by 100%. for example, using this formula: l=u/t x 100%, where u = unit percentage of one task of the three industries; t = total percentage of manufacturing, retailing and construction industries, and l = percentage level of usage of each unit percentage task. moreover, the total percentage and percentage proportion of tasks in the three industries were used to develop figures 1 to 4. using thematic data analysis, a nuanced account of the data could be presented by transcribing, coding and setting themes from the responses of the focus-group interviews (clarke & braun, 2013: 120). for this study, all shared experiences during the interviews with workers/operators were recorded and used as the interview data. using microsoft excel (bowen, edwards & cattel, 2012: 887), the raw data on the relevant benefits of the technology that could accrue to the tasks and subtasks in the construction logistics processes in nigeria was analysed and categorised into conceptual themes, including ‘benefits accruing for receiving’, ‘put-away’, ‘stock’, ‘dispatching’ and ‘replenishment process’. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 45 3.5 limitations in the course of the data collection, access to some organisations, particularly the manufacturing and retailing sectors, was denied, as some information was considered strictly confidential and, therefore, not to be disclosed to researchers. moreover, some organisations, particularly in the construction sectors, do not have the related technology under consideration. the researcher had to consider only those that have the technology. 4. results and discussion 4.1 respondents’ profile table 1 shows the demographic information of the interview respondents on their highest educational qualifications and years of working experience. in lagos, the majority of the respondents in the manufacturing sector (80%), retail sector (40%) and construction sector (60%) had bachelor degrees. this is not much different from the situation in abuja, where the majority of the respondents in the manufacturing sector (80%), retail sector (40%) and construction sector (80%) had bachelor degrees. most of the respondents across the three sectors (60% to 80%) had between six to ten years’ working experience in both lagos and abuja, respectively, with very few having less than five years’ working experience. this shows that a reasonable percentage of the respondents are experienced across the three sectors and within the geographical scope of lagos and abuja. table 1: demographic information of respondents area characteristic category manufacturing % retail % construction % lagos highest educational qualifications bachelor/b.tech 80 40 60 higher national diploma 0 20 20 national diploma 0 20 20 master’s degrees 20 20 0 years of working experience less than 5 years 0 0 10 6-10 years 60 80 60 11-15 years 20 20 20 above 15 years 20 0 20 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 46 area characteristic category manufacturing % retail % construction % abuja highest educational qualifications bachelor/b.tech 80 40 80 higher national diploma 0 20 0 national diploma 20 0 0 master’s degrees 0 20 20 years of working experience less than 5 years 0 0 20 6-10 years 80 60 80 11-15 years 20 20 0 above 15 years 0 20 0 4.2 barcoding technology table 2 shows that 80% of the manufacturing and 100% of the retailing industries adopted barcoding technology for order processing purposes when compared to the construction industry that only used 40% of the technology for order processing. these results support the findings of fatnani and malik (2015: 3252) and vlahovic et al. (2015: 34) that the barcoding technology is a machine-readable representation of identification for order processing. a total of 80% of the observed manufacturing industry used barcoding technology for the receiving process, with the receiving process occupying a percentage proportion of 7.1% among other order processing technologyrelated tasks. moreover, the entire retailing industry (100%) used barcoding technology for the receiving process, with the receiving process occupying a proportion of 8.9%. only 2.4% of the construction industry used barcoding technology for the receiving process, with 13.4% for processing receipt of the material and 6.7% for processing receipt of plant and processing receipt of equipment in relation to other barcoding tasks in the construction industry. these results corroborate the findings of hübner and kuhn (2012: 207), as stated on the receiving process. moreover, 60% of the manufacturing and retailing industries used barcoding technology for the put-away process, occupying percentage proportions of 5.4% each, in relation to other barcoding technology-related tasks. however, the construction industries used barcoding for the putaway process, occupying a proportion of 0.9% for returns of material to the manufacturer with 10%, among others. in terms of the shipping process, 60% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used barcoding technology for the shipping process, occupying proportions of 5.4% and 7.1% each, in relation to other isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 47 barcoding technology-related tasks. however, 10% of the construction industry used barcoding for the shipping process (stock control), occupying a proportion of 0.9%. these results confirm the findings of plomp et al. (2012: 265), holloman (2015: 6) and ztc (2017: 2) regarding the collection of data during shipping processes using barcoding technology. regarding the dispatching process, 80% of the manufacturing and 100% of the retailing industries used barcoding technology for the dispatching process, each occupying percentage proportions of 7.1% and 8.9%, respectively, while the construction industry occupied 1.2% for the dispatching process, with 13.4% for equipment issued. these results are also in line with holloman (2015: 6) and ztc (2017: 2) that the barcoding technology is for recording during the dispatching process. furthermore, 60% of the manufacturing and 100% of the retailing industries used the replenishment process, each occupying percentage proportions of 5.4% and 8.9%, respectively. the construction industry occupied a total of 0.6% for the replenishment process, with 6.7% for material replenishment. this confirms the statement of sullivan et al. (2010: 196) and samuel and ondiek (2014: 13) that barcoding reduced the time of replenishment and stocktaking. in addition, 80% of the manufacturing and 100% of the retailing industries used barcoding technology for tracking inventory, occupying proportions of 7.1% and 8.9%, respectively. only 13.4% of the construction industry used barcoding technology for tracking inventory (stock tracking), occupying a proportion of 1.2%; 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries used barcoding technology to hold inventory, occupying percentage proportions of 3.6% each, considering other barcoding technology-related tasks. the results are in line with the findings of huang et al. (2009: 577) and ramanathan et al. (2014: 232) in identifying and tracking the product. the respondents in the construction projects studied thus revealed that, although they did not full utilise the barcoding technology, it could be utilized to improve the following area of construction logistics tasks: • receiving process: processing receipt of material, plant and equipment. • put-away process: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • stock control: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • dispatching process: plant, materia, and equipment issued. • replenishment process: material, plant and equipment replenishment. • stock tracking: material, equipment and plant tracking. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 48 • stock holding: material on site. 4.3 accruable benefits of barcoding technology to construction it is apparent from table 2 that the interviewed respondents deemed that the following benefits could be accrued to construction industry if the barcoding technology is utilised in the construction industry for order processing processes of logistics management. these include provision of managerial control in the construction industry; shorter processing time than manual identification could ever achieve in the construction industry; provision of an easy way of tracking materials on site; barcodes make the processing of work in the construction industry fast and accurate; provision of realtime data-capturing and exchange in the construction industry; reduction in errors in the construction industry; increased labour satisfaction, and increased financial control on the construction site. these results corroborate the findings of ramanathan et al. (2014: 232), fatnani and malik (2015: 3252), vlahovic et al. (2015: 34) and ztc (2017: 2) that barcoding technology was used for tracking, fast processing and data-capturing. this also supports the findings of ordoobadi & ordoobadi (2009: 371) and fatnani & malik (2015: 3252) that barcoding reduces human error and increases financial control. figure 1 shows that the total usage of tasks using barcoding technology was 460%, 580% and 80.3% for the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries, respectively, each occupying a proportion of 411%, 51.7% and 7.2% across the three industries, respectively. this means that the use of barcoding technology in the construction industry for order processing is very low when compared to the manufacturing and retailing industries. figure   0 100 200 300 400 500 600 manufacturing retailing construction p er ce nt ag es industries total percentage percentage propotion figure 1: barcoding technology isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 49 ta bl e 2: b ar co di ng te ch no lo gy m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 80 10 0 40 be ne fit s a c c ru e d ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 re c e iv in g p ro c e ss 80 7. 1 10 0 8. 9 13 .4 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f m a te ria l re c e iv in g p ro c e ss m a ke s th e p ro c e ss in g o f w o rk in t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y fa st a nd a c c ur a te , sh o rt e r p ro c e ss in g t im e 6. 7 2. 4 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f p la nt 6. 7 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f e q ui p m e nt 2 pu ta w a y p ro c e ss 60 5. 4 60 5. 4 in te rsit e m a te ria l t ra ns fe r pu ta w a y p ro c e ss m a ke s th e p ro c e ss in g o f w o rk in t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y fa st a nd a c c ur a te 10 0. 9 re tu rn s o f m a te ria l b a c k to m a nu fa c tu re r 3 sh ip p in g p ro c e ss 60 5. 4 80 7. 1 in te rsit e m a te ria l t ra ns fe r st o c k c o nt ro l sh o rt e r p ro c e ss in g t im e 10 0. 9 re tu rn s o f m a te ria l b a c k to m a nu fa c tu re r 4 d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss 80 7. 1 10 0 8. 9 pl a nt is su e d d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss re d uc e s e rro r i n th e c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y 13 .4 1. 2 m a te ria l i ss ue d eq ui p m e nt is su e d 5 re p le ni sh m e nt p ro c e ss 60 5. 4 10 0 8. 9 6. 7 m a te ria l r e p le ni sh m e nt re p le ni sh -m e nt p ro c e ss sh o rt e r p ro c e ss in g t im e , m a ke s th e p ro c e ss in g o f w o rk in t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y fa st a nd a c c ur a te , p ro vi d e s re a ltim e d a ta c a p tu re a nd e xc ha ng e in t he c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y, in c re a se d la b o ur sa tis fa c tio n 0. 6 pl a nt re p le ni sh m e nt eq ui p m e nt re p le ni sh m e nt 6 tr a c ki ng in ve nt o ry 80 7. 1 10 0 8. 9 m a te ria l t ra c ki ng st o c k tr a c ki ng pr o vi sio n o f a n e a sy w a y o f t ra c ki ng m a te ria ls o n sit e , p ro vi sio n o f m a na g e ria l c o nt ro l i n th e c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y 13 .4 1. 2 eq ui p m e nt t ra c ki ng pl a nt t ra c ki ng 7 h o ld in g in ve nt o ry 40 3. 6 40 3. 6 m a te ria l o n sit e st o c k ho ld in g pr o vi sio n o f m a na g e ria l c o nt ro l i n th e c o ns tr uc tio n in d us tr y, in c re a se d fi na nc ia l c o nt ro l to ta l 46 0 41 .1 58 0 51 .7 80 .3 7. 2 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 50 4.4 radio frequency identification (rfid) technology a total of 100%, 80% and 20% of the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries, respectively, adopted rfid technology for order processing purposes, from which the manufacturing and retailing industries used 100% and 80%, respectively, for the receiving process, each occupying percentage proportions of 9.3% and 7.5%, respectively. the construction industry occupied a total proportion of 0.6% for the receiving process, with 6.7% for processing receipt of plants considering another related rfid task. these results support the findings of jimoh, abdullahi and abdullahi (2015: 545), who opine that rfid is mostly used in the manufacturing industry when compared to other industries. moreover, 60% of the manufacturing and retailing industries used rfid technology for the put-away process, both occupying proportions of 5.6%. only 10% of the construction industries used rfid technology for returning goods to the manufacturer, occupying a proportion of 0.9%. similarly, 100% and 60% were used for the shipping process in the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, occupying a proportion of 9.3% and 5.6% each. these results confirm the findings of ferrer, dew and apte (2010: 424) and jafari and sadeghi-niaraki (2013: 215) that rfid allowed for very fast and easy shipping of materials. moreover, 80% and 40% of the dispatching process was used by the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, each occupying a proportion of 7.5% and 3.7%, even though 6.7% was used in the construction industry, occupying a proportion of 0.6% for material issued considering other related rfid tasks. in terms of the replenishment process, 60% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used rfid technology, occupying proportions of 5.6% and 7.5%, respectively. however, 100% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used rfid technology to track the inventory process, occupying proportions of 9.3% and 7.5% each. however, 6.7% of the construction industry used barcoding to track inventory under material tracking. this occupied a proportion of 0.6% considering other related rfid technology tasks. these results are in line with the conclusions of mcfarlane and sheffi (2003: 7), kim et al. (2011: 159,) lee and lee (2015: 432) and bottani et al. (2010: 427), who stated that rfid allowed for replenishment with hardly or no manpower. the respondents in the construction projects studied, therefore, revealed that. although they did not fully utilise the rfid technology, it could be utilised to improve the following areas of construction logistics tasks: • receiving process: processing receipt of material, plant and equipment. • put-away process: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 51 • stock control: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • dispatching process: plant, material and equipment issued. • replenishment process: material, plant and equipment replenishment. • stock tracking: material, equipment and plant tracking. • stock holding: material on site. 4.5 accruable benefits of rfid technology to construction table 3 shows that the interviewed respondents deemed that the following benefits could be accrued to the construction industry if the rfid technology is utilised for order processing processes of logistics management. these include increased speed of work in the construction industries; provision of improvement in the quality of documents in the construction industries; provision of a decrease in documentation errors in the construction industries; make the shipping process fast and easy on the construction site; rfid allows for contactless identification with hardly any or no manpower in the construction industries; unlike barcoding, rfid can identify an object and store information without seeing the tag; reduction in inventory losses in the construction industries; provision of an increase of efficiency and speed of data processing in the construction industries; increased improvement of information accuracy, and make it possible to read data from multiple tags at one time. these results confirm the findings of ramaa, subramanya and rangaswamy (2012: 18) on the benefits of rfid. these corroborate the findings of jimoh et al. (2015: 545), who stated that the integration of the rfid would aid the construction companies’ performance by allowing realtime monitoring and documenting of construction activities. these are also in line with valero and adán (2016: 215), who stated that rfid has an advantage over barcoding. the results validate the finding of sarac et al. (2010: 77), bottani et al. (2010: 427) and lu et al. (2011: 102) on the increase of efficiency, flow of information, speed of processes and reading of multiple tags. this also supports the findings of kim et al. (2011: 159) that rfid identifies objects and stores information. figure 2 shows that the usage of the tasks using rfid technology were 560%, 480% and 30.1% for the manufacturing, retailing and construction industries, respectively, each occupying proportions of 52.3%, 44.9% and 2.7% across the three industries, respectively. this means that the utilisation of rfid technology in the construction industry for order processing is very low when compared to the manufacturing and retailing industries. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 52 ta bl e 3: r ad io f re qu en cy id en tifi ca tio n (r fi d ) t ec hn ol og y m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 10 0 80 20 be ne fit s a c c ru e d ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % l ev el o f us ag e 10 0% % l ev el o f us ag e 10 0% % l ev el o f us ag e ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 re c e iv in g p ro c e ss 10 0 9. 3 80 7. 5 6. 7 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f m a te ria l re c e iv in g p ro c e ss in c re a se d s p e e d o f w o rk , a llo w a nc e fo r c o nt a c tle ss id e nt ifi c a tio n, in c re a se d e ffi c ie nc y a nd s p e e d o f d a ta p ro c e ss in g ; a nd m a ke s it p o ss ib le to re a d d a ta fr o m m ul tip le t a g s 0. 6 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f p la nt pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f e q ui p m e nt 2 pu t a w a y p ro c e ss 60 5. 6 60 5. 6 in te rsit e m a te ria l tr a ns fe r pu ta w a y p ro c e ss in c re a se d e ffi c ie nc y a nd s p e e d o f d a ta p ro c e ss in g 10 0. 9 re tu rn o f m a te ria l t o m a nu fa c tu re r 3 sh ip p in g p ro c e ss 10 0 9. 3 60 5. 6 in te rsit e m a te ria l tr a ns fe r st o c k c o nt ro l m a ke s th e s hi p p in g p ro c e ss fa st a nd e a sy , a nd in c re a se d s p e e d o f w o rk re tu rn o f m a te ria l t o m a nu fa c tu re r 4 d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss 80 7. 5 40 3. 7 pl a nt is su e d d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss in c re a se d s p e e d o f w o rk p ro vi d e s a d e c re a se in d o c um e nt a tio n e rro rs a nd in c re a se d im p ro ve m e nt o f i nf o rm a tio n a c c ur a c y 6. 7 0. 6 m a te ria l i ss ue d eq ui p m e nt is su e d 5 re p le ni sh -m e nt p ro c e ss 60 5. 6 80 7. 5 m a te ria l r e p le ni sh m e nt re p le ni sh -m e nt p ro c e ss in c re a se d s p e e d o f w o rk re d uc e s in ve nt o ry lo ss e s a nd is s uc c e ss fu lly u se d fo r i m p ro vi ng t he fl o w o f in fo rm a tio n pl a nt re p le ni sh m e nt eq ui p m e nt re p le ni sh m e nt 6 tr a c ki ng in ve nt o ry 10 0 9. 3 80 7. 5 6. 7 m a te ria l t ra c ki ng st o c k tr a c ki ng id e nt ifi e d o b je c t a nd s to re in fo rm a tio n w ith o ut s e e in g t he t a g , a nd a llo w s fo r c o nt a c tle ss id e nt ifi c a tio n 0. 6 eq ui p m e nt t ra c ki ng pl a nt t ra c ki ng 7 h o ld in g in ve nt o ry 60 5. 6 80 7. 5 m a te ria l o n sit e st o c k ho ld in g im p ro ve m e nt in t he q ua lit y o f d o c um e nt s a nd d e c re a se in d o c um e nt a tio n e rro rs to ta l 56 0 52 .3 48 0 44 .9 30 .1 2. 7 isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 53 figure   0 100 200 300 400 500 600 manufacturing retailing construction p er ce nt ag es industries total percentage percentage propotion figure 2: radio frequency identification (rfid) technology 4.6. electronic product code (epc) technology table 4 shows that 40% and 60% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted epc technology for order processing. moreover, 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used epc technology for the receiving process, occupying a proportion of 7.7% each. however, only 20% of the manufacturing industry used epc for put-away processes, occupying a proportion of 3.8%, in relation to epc technology-related tasks. these results are in line with bottani et al. (2010: 427) on the use of epc for supply-chain management in the manufacturing and retailing industries. a total of 20% and 40% of the manufacturing industry used epc technology for the dispatching and replenishment processes, respectively, occupying proportions of 3.8% and 7.7%. moreover, 60% of the retailing industry used epc for the shipping and dispatching processes, respectively, each occupying a proportion of 11.5%. these results support the findins of zhu, mukhopadhyay and kurata (2012: 161), who opine that the shipping process and dispatching are tasks under epc. moreover, 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries used epc technology for the shipping process and tracking inventory, respectively, each occupying a proportion of 7.7%. however, 20% and 40% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used epc for holding inventory, occupying proportions of 3.8% and 7.7%. these results confirm the findings of zhu et al. (2012: 161) that, with epc technology, shipping and tracking are made easy. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 54 the respondents in the construction projects studied, therefore, revealed that, although they did not fully utilise the epc technology, it could be utilised to improve the following areas of construction logistics tasks: • receiving process: processing receipt of material, plant and equipment. • put-away process: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • stock control: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • dispatching process: plant, material and equipment issued. • replenishment process: material, plant and equipment replenishment. • stock tracking: material, equipment and plant tracking. • stock holding: material on site. 4.7 accruable benefits of epc technology to construction the epc technology was not used in the construction industry, but the respondents noted that the construction industry could consider using an epc system, in order to enjoy the promised benefits of this technology. the following benefits could be accrued to the construction industry if the epc technology is utilised in the construction industry for order processing processes of logistics management: improved shipping and receiving of construction materials; the technology prompts more construction businesses; the technology fosters a higher level of information-sharing; provide synchronisation between supply-chain members in construction; provision of information to the construction team, such as the product category, size, date when the product was made, the expiry date and the final destination; products with an epc tag have the ability to communicate with their environment and make or trigger basic decisions relevant to construction industries; the epc network is exploited for real-time information-sharing throughout the supply; provision of improvement in the quality of documents, and a decrease in documentation errors on the construction site. these corroborate the findings of wamba et al. (2008: 616), zhu et al. (2012: 161) and bottani et al. (2010: 427) that epc triggers basic decisions and provides real-time decision between supply-chain members in construction. similarly, these results confirm the findings of ramaa et al. (2012: 18) on the benefits of order processing-related benefits. this is also in line with the findings of jimoh et al. (2015: 540) on order processing. isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 55 ta bl e 4: e le ct ro ni c p ro du ct c od e (e p c ) t ec hn ol og y m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 40 60 0 be ne fit s a c c ru e d ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge 10 0% % l ev el of u sa ge ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 re c e iv in g p ro c e ss 40 7. 7 40 7. 7 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f m a te ria l re c e iv in g p ro c e ss im p ro ve m e nt in t he re c e iv in g o f m a te ria ls pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f p la nt pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f e q ui p m e nt 2 pu t a w a y p ro c e ss 20 3. 8 in te rsit e m a te ria l tr a ns fe r re tu rn s o f m a te ria l to m a nu fa c tu re r 3 sh ip p in g p ro c e ss 40 7. 7 40 7. 7 in te rsit e m a te ria l tr a ns fe r st o c k c o nt ro l im p ro ve d s hi p p in g o f m a te ria ls re tu rn s o f m a te ria l to m a nu fa c tu re r 4 d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss 20 3. 8 60 11 .5 pl a nt is su e d d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss fo st e rs a h ig he r l e ve l o f i nf o rm a tio n sh a rin g a nd re a ltim e in fo rm a tio n sh a rin g t hr o ug ho ut t he s up p ly m a te ria l i ss ue d eq ui p m e nt is su e d 5 re p le ni sh m e nt p ro c e ss 40 7. 7 60 11 .5 m a te ria l re p le ni sh m e nt re p le ni sh -m e nt p ro c e ss pr o m p t m o re c o ns tr uc tio n b us in e ss e s pl a nt re p le ni sh m e nt eq ui p m e nt re p le ni sh m e nt 6 tr a c ki ng in ve nt o ry 40 7. 7 40 7. 7 m a te ria l t ra c ki ng st o c k tr a c ki ng pr o vi sio n o f i nf o rm a tio n to t he c o ns tr uc tio n te a m su c h a s th e p ro d uc t c a te g o ry , p ro d uc ts w ith a n ep c t a g h a ve t he a b ilit y to c o m m un ic a te w ith t he ir e nv iro nm e nt eq ui p m e nt t ra c ki ng pl a nt t ra c ki ng 7 h o ld in g in ve nt o ry 20 3. 8 40 7. 7 st o c k ho ld in g pr o vi sio n o f s yn c hr o ni sa tio n b e tw e e n su p p ly -c ha in m e m b e rs , p ro vi sio n o f i m p ro ve m e nt in t he q ua lit y o f d o c um e nt s a nd d e c re a se in d o c um e nt a tio n e rro rs to ta l 22 0 42 .2 30 0 57 .7 acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 56 the results in figure 3 show that the total use of the tasks using epc technology were 220% and 300% in the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, occupying proportions of 42.2% and 57.7% in the industries, respectively. this meant that epc technology was not found in the construction industry for order processing-related tasks. figure   0 100 200 300 manufacturing retailingp er ce nt ag es industries total percentage percentage propotion figure 3: electronic product code (epc) technology 4.8 point of sale (pos) technology table 5 shows that 80% and 100% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted pos technology for order processing. moreover, 80% and 100% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, used pos technology for the receiving processes, occupying proportions of 10.8% and 13.5%, respectively. these results support the findings of ahn et al. (2011: 16) and holloman (2015: 6) that the introduction of pos in the industries makes it easy to monitor and track products. moreover, 60% and 100% of the manufacturing and retailing industries used pos technology for the put-away process, respectively, each occupying proportions of 8.1% and 13.5% however, 40% and 60% were used by the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, for the shipping process, occupying proportions of 5.4% and 8.1%, respectively. these results corroborate the findings of samuel and ondiek (2014: 12) on fast record during the shipping process. a total of 60% of the manufacturing industries used pos technology for the dispatching and replenishment processes, occupying proportions of 8.1%, 80% and 100% of the retailing industry, which used pos for dispatching and replenishment processes, respectively, used by the retailing industry occupying proportions of 10.8% and 13.5% in relation to other isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 57 pos technology-related tasks. these results are in line with the findings of xie (2009: 16) and pepe & pepe (2012: 69) on fast delivery and the replenishment process. pos technology was not found in the construction industry. the respondents in the construction projects studied, therefore, revealed that, although they did not fully utilise the pos technology, it could be utilised to improve the following areas of construction logistics tasks: • receiving process: processing receipt of material, plant and equipment. • put-away process: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • stock control: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer. • dispatching process: plant, material and equipment issued. • replenishment process: material, plant and equipment replenishment. • stock tracking: material, equipment and plant tracking. • stock holding: material on site. 4.9 accruable benefits of pos technology to construction the construction industry could consider the use of pos system, in order to enjoy the promised benefits of this technology. the following benefits could be accrued to the construction industry if the pos technology is utilised in the construction industry for order processing processes of logistics management: provision of fast delivery and security to construction workers; allowance of easy service in construction industries to conduct financial transactions; provision of the update of the inventory in the construction industries; provision of easy access for the processing, storage and monitoring the movement of goods and management functionality in construction; provision of the visibility of product movement through to point-of-purchase to workers’ satisfaction at point-of-use; provision of real-time construction data; provision of efficient inventory control in the construction industry; reduction in restocking times and clearer data; provision of an instant transaction record in construction; provision of easy access to track workers’ purchases; and the technology creates employee schedules, purchase orders, process credit cards, view. most of these results support the findings of janat (2009: 43), xie (2009: 16), ahn et al. (2011: 15), pepe and pepe (2012: 69), samuel (2012: 14), plomp et al. (2012: 265), samuel and ondiek (2014: 12), and holloman (2015: 6), who highlighted the benefits of pos techologies to enhance order processing. acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 58 ta bl e 5: p oi nt o f s al e (p os ) t ec hn ol og y m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng in du st rie s c on st ru ct io n in du st rie s m a nu fa c tu rin g re ta ilin g c o ns tr uc tio n pe rc e nt a g e id e nt ifi c a tio n 80 10 0 0 be ne fit s a c c ru e d ta sk s in m an uf ac tu rin g an d re ta ili ng 10 0% % l ev el o f us ag e 10 0% % l ev el o f us ag e 10 0% % l ev el o f us ag e ta sk s in c on st ru ct io n s ub ta sk s m ai n ta sk s 1 re c e iv in g p ro c e ss 80 10 .8 10 0 13 .5 pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f m a te ria l re c e iv in g p ro c e ss a llo w a nc e o f e a sy s e rv ic e , p ro vi sio n o f vi sib ilit y o f p ro d uc t m o ve m e nt t hr o ug h p o in to fp ur c ha se pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f p la nt pr o c e ss in g re c e ip t o f e q ui p m e nt 2 pu t a w a y p ro c e ss 60 8. 1 10 0 13 .5 in te r s ite m a te ria l tr a ns fe r pr o vi sio n o f e ffi c ie nt in ve nt o ry c o nt ro l re tu rn o f m a te ria l to m a nu fa c tu re r 3 sh ip p in g p ro c e ss 40 5. 4 60 8. 1 in te rsit e m a te ria l tr a ns fe r st o c k c o nt ro l a llo w a nc e fo r e a sy s e rv ic e , p ro vi sio n o f e ffi c ie nt in ve nt o ry c o nt ro l re tu rn s o f m a te ria l b a c k to m a nu fa c tu re r 4 d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss 60 8. 1 80 10 .8 pl a nt is su e d d isp a tc hi ng p ro c e ss pr o vi sio n o f v isi b ilit y o f p ro d uc t m o ve m e nt th ro ug h to p o in to fp ur c ha se , c re a tio n o f e m p lo ye e s c he d ul e s, c re a tio n o f p ur c ha se o rd e rs , p ro c e ss e d c re d it c a rd s m a te ria l i ss ue d eq ui p m e nt is su e d 5 re p le ni sh m e nt p ro c e ss 60 8. 1 10 0 13 .5 m a te ria l re p le ni sh m e nt re p le ni sh -m e nt p ro c e ss pr o vi sio n o f f a st d e liv e ry a nd s e c ur ity , p ro vi sio n o f a n up d a te o f t he in ve nt o ry , p ro vi sio n o f e a sy a c c e ss fo r t he p ro c e ss in g , st o ra g e , m o ni to rin g t he m o ve m e nt o f g o o d s, a nd re d uc e d re st o c ki ng t im e s pl a nt re p le ni sh m e nt eq ui p m e nt re p le ni sh m e nt 6 tr a c ki ng in ve nt o ry m a te ria l t ra c ki ng st o c k tr a c ki ng pr o vi sio n o f f a st d e liv e ry a nd s e c ur ity , p ro vi sio n o f e ffi c ie nt in ve nt o ry c o nt ro l a nd e a sy a c c e ss t o t ra c k w o rk e rs ’ p ur c ha se s eq ui p m e nt tr a c ki ng pl a nt t ra c ki ng 7 h o ld in g in ve nt o ry st o c k ho ld in g pr o vi sio n o f e a sy a c c e ss fo r p ro c e ss in g , st o ra g e , a nd m o ni to rin g t he m o ve m e nt o f g o o d s, p ro vi sio n o f r e a l-t im e c o ns tr uc tio n d a ta a nd re d uc e d re st o c ki ng t im e s to ta l 30 0 40 .5 44 0 59 .4 isah, shakantu & ibrahim • utilisation of order processing technology 59 figure 4 shows that, the total use of tasks using pos technology were 300% and 440% in the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, occupying proportions of 40.5% and 59.4% across the three industries, respectively. this means that pos technology was not found in the construction industry for order processing. figure   0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 manufacturing retailing p er ce nt ag es industries total percentage percentage propotion figure 4: point of sale (pos) technology 5. conclusion the technological aspect of construction logistics, especially the order processing, is overlooked, and little is understood in the nigerian construction industry. this article assessed how barcoding, rfid, epc and pos technology utilised by the manufacturing and retailing industries could be used to improve the order processing procedures of construction logistics. findings showed that 80% and 100% of the observed manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted barcoding technology for order processing purposes. only 40% of the observed construction projects adopted barcoding technology for order processing in the following: 2.4% for the receiving process, 0.9% for the put-away process, 0.9% for the shipping process (stock control), 1.2% for the dispatching process, 0.6% for acta structilia 2021: 28(1) 60 the replenishment process, and 1.2% for tracking inventory (stock tracking). in addition, 100% and 80% of the observed manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted rfid technology for order processing purposes. only 42% of the observed construction projects adopted rfid technology for order processing as follows: 0.6% for the receiving process, 0.9% for the put-away process, 0.6% for the dispatching process, 0.6% for the replenishment process, and 0.6% for tracking inventory (stock tracking). moreover, 40% and 60% of the observed manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted epc technology for order processing purposes. similarly, 80% and 100% of the observed manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, adopted pos technology for order processing purposes. based on these findings, it can be concluded that epc and pos technologies were not used for order processing purposes in the construction industries, while the barcoding and rfid technologies were not fully utilised in the construction projects when compared to the manufacturing and retailing industries. conclusively, due to the ultimate benefit that could accrue to the construction industry for the utilisation of the order processing technology for order processing purposes (namely achievement of full forecasting-efficiency gains in construction), the barcoding, rfid, epc and pos technology could be utilised to improve the following tasks in the construction industry: demand control: material, labour and equipment and plant demand on site; stock control: material on site, order management, and material to be used; production output control: labour output and plant output; procurement process: bidding process, invitation to tender, submission of tender, tender evaluation and report; receiving process: processing receipt of material, plant and equipment; put-away process: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer; stock control: inter-site material transfer and returns of material to the manufacturer; dispatching process: plant, material and equipment issued; replenishment process: material, plant and equipment replenishment; stock tracking: material, equipment and plant tracking; stock holding: material on site. the federal government of nigeria should, therefore, draft regulations, mandating all construction project stakeholders to attend a compulsory workshop on how technology would improve logistics management in the nigerian construction industry. the nigerian construction industry should also leverage this, in order to create the best ways of handling the barcoding, rfid, epc and pos technology to 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[online]. available at: <https://www.zebra.com/ content/dam/zebra/white-papers/en-us/barcoding-101-white-paper-en-us. pdf> [accessed: 8 december 2013]. http://orcid.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2007.05.010 http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150487/as27i1.1 http://orcid.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2011.09.011 https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra/white-papers/en-us/barcoding-101-white-paper-en-us.pdf https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra/white-papers/en-us/barcoding-101-white-paper-en-us.pdf https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra/white-papers/en-us/barcoding-101-white-paper-en-us.pdf 122 © creative commons with attribution (cc-by) published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as emmanuel bamfo-agyei 1dr emmanuel bamfo-agyei, department of construction technology and management, cape coast technical university, ghana. 2department of civil engineering, unisa, south africa. email: <emmanuel.bamfo-agyei@ cctu.edu.gh>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-3097-1644 didibhuku wellington thwala prof. didibhuku wellington thwala, department of civil engineering, university of south africa, south africa. email: <thwaladw@unisa. ac.za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-8848-7823 clinton aigbavboa prof. clinton aigbavboa, department of construction management and quantity surveying, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: <caigbavboa@uj.ac. za>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-2866-3706 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2023 peer reviewed and revised: march 2023 published: june 2023 keywords: construction, equipment, labour-intensive construction work, labour-productivity framework, material, productivity, temperature how to cite: bamfo-agyei, e., thwala, d.w. & aigbavboa, c. 2023. optimisation of labour-intensive productivity for construction projects in ghana. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 122-154. optimisation of labourintensive productivity for construction projects in ghana research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.6988 abstract the construction industry in ghana is labourintensive and relies heavily on the skills of its workforce. no coordinated policy framework has been implemented or developed to guide and mainstream the application of labour-intensive methods in ghana’s development process. the aim of this article is to develop a framework for optimising labour-intensive productivity for construction work. the article adopted a quantitative research design, using a questionnaire survey to determine the factors influencing labour-intensive productivity in the ghanaian construction industry. records available at the ghana social opportunity project (gsop) indicate that there are 920 professionals involved in labour-intensive works on road infrastructure. a purposive sampling technique was used to select 40 districts that were into road construction projects; from these, 560 respondents were considered. descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. principal axis factor analysis revealed six components in the three labour-productivity categories with eigenvalues above 1 that may influence the optimisation of labour-intensive productivity for construction projects in ghana. these comprise equipment and 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 122-154 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:emmanuel.bamfo-agyei@cctu.edu.gh mailto:emmanuel.bamfo-agyei@cctu.edu.gh https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3097-1644 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3097-1644 mailto:thwaladw@unisa.ac.za mailto:thwaladw@unisa.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8848-7823 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8848-7823 mailto:caigbavboa@uj.ac.za mailto:caigbavboa@uj.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-3706 https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.6988 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 123 tools, material and temperature. optimising labour-intensive productivity in construction works requires the involvement of all stakeholders, including project managers, workers, suppliers, and subcontractors. by implementing the six components in the proposed labour productivity framework, construction projects can achieve increased productivity, cost savings, and improved outcomes. the framework may help policymakers in the construction industry review the existing national policies that are geared towards helping indigenous firms in improving productivity in the construction industry. abstrak die konstruksiebedryf in ghana is arbeidsintensief en maak staat op die vaardighede van sy arbeidsmag. geen gekoördineerde beleidsraamwerk is geïmplementeer of ontwikkel om die toepassing van arbeidsintensiewe metodes in ghana se ontwikkelingsproses te lei nie. die doel van hierdie artikel is om ’n raamwerk te ontwikkel vir die optimalisering van arbeidsintensiewe produktiwiteit vir konstruksiewerk. die artikel het ’n kwantitatiewe navorsingsontwerp aangeneem wat ’n vraelysopname gebruik het om die faktore te bepaal wat arbeidsintensiewe produktiwiteit in die ghanese konstruksiebedryf beïnvloed. rekords beskikbaar by die ghana social opportunity project (gsop) dui aan dat 920 professionele persone betrokke was by arbeidsintensiewe werke aan padinfrastruktuur. ’n doelgerigte steekproeftegniek is gebruik om 40 distrikte te selekteer wat in padbouprojekte betrokke was; hieruit is 560 respondente oorweeg. beskrywende en inferensiële statistiek is vir die data-analise gebruik. hoofasfaktoranalise het ses komponente in die drie arbeidsproduktiwiteitskategorieë met eiewaardes bo 1 aan die lig gebring wat die optimalisering van arbeidsintensiewe produktiwiteit vir konstruksieprojekte in ghana kan beïnvloed. dit bestaan uit toerusting en gereedskap, materiaal en temperatuur. die optimalisering van arbeidsintensiewe produktiwiteit in konstruksiewerke vereis die betrokkenheid van alle belanghebbendes, insluitend projekbestuurders, werkers, verskaffers en subkontrakteurs. deur die ses komponente in die voorgestelde arbeidsproduktiwiteitsraamwerk te implementeer, kan konstruksieprojekte verhoogde produktiwiteit, kostebesparings en verbeterde uitkomste behaal. die raamwerk kan beleidmakers in die konstruksiebedryf help om die bestaande nasionale beleid te hersien wat daarop gemik is om inheemse firmas te help om produktiwiteit in die konstruksiebedryf te verbeter. 1. introduction the labour-intensive public works (lipw) programme in ghana has been designed to facilitate and promote the local economic development agenda through the provision of local employment opportunities and the use of local resources (bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa, 2022a: 2). the cardinal principles of labour-intensive public works include equal opportunities for men and women willing to work; equal pay for equal work, emphasising local resource mobilisation, ensuring cost-effectiveness, value for money, quality output, and environmental sustainability (bamfo-agyei et al., 2022b: 120). labour-intensive works coverage currently includes 60 district assemblies in ghana. the selection of beneficiary district assemblies is based on the extent of poverty and deprivation as well as ensuring regional balance. nearly 71.7% of the beneficiary district assemblies can be found in the savannah region of the country (gsop, 2017). bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 124 bamfo-agyei et al. (2022b: 3) argued that labour-intensive techniques such as stone pitching, earth compacting, and digging trenches have been applied in various stages of the development process in ghana during the preand post-independence era of construction. based on the earlier submission in 2016, the government of ghana designed a labour-intensive public works policy that addresses the following specific issues: inadequate employable skills; weak institutional training for persons who wish to make a career in the application of labour-intensive techniques; the high cost of public infrastructure, and physical assets produced through capitalintensive methods (gsop, 2017). despite the national benefits derived from using labour-intensive methods in the past, the technique could not be sustained because of the absence of national policy and guidelines to regulate and sustain its application, where feasible. there is also evidence that ghanaians’ approach to government work is poor, due to cultural orientation inherited from the colonial era when public sector work was perceived as belonging to the ‘whiteman’; hence, this could be handled haphazardly (damoah & akwei, 2017: 33). the cultural design poses a significant influence on the ghanaian government’s construction project performance. partisanship politics could influence the failure of ghanaian government construction projects (dick-sagoe et al., 2023: 2). despite the success of labour-intensive projects in the past, no coordinated policy framework has been implemented/developed to guide and mainstream the application of labour-intensive methods in ghana’s development process. it is, therefore, important to develop a holistic construction labour-intensive productivity framework that would be available to project managers. this will guide and estimate optimal labour productivity as well as evaluate the efficiency of their construction operations. this article determines the factors influencing the optimisation of labour productivity that is needed to develop a framework for estimating the optimal construction labour productivity for labour-intensive work in the ghanaian construction industry. 2. literature review this literature review aims to provide an overview of the key concepts, theories, and practices related to labour-intensive construction work. 2.1 labour-intensive construction work labour-intensive construction work is a construction method that relies heavily on manual labour instead of heavy machinery and equipment. it is often used in developing countries, where access to modern technology bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 125 and equipment is limited. there are several definitions for labour-intensive construction work, each emphasising different aspects. according to nag and gite (2020: 308), labour-intensive construction work involves the use of “simple hand tools, human muscle power and minimal mechanical equipment to execute construction works”. this construction method requires a large number of workers and can involve tasks such as excavation, mixing, transporting of materials, and manual installation of components (wang et al., 2021: 84). the international labour organization (ilo) (2020: 5) defined labourintensive construction work as “a set of techniques which combine labour, local resources and low-cost materials to provide basic infrastructure and services, such as housing, water supply, sanitation, and access roads, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas”. this definition emphasises the use of local resources and low-cost materials, in addition to manual labour. according to hilson and hu (2022: 95), labour-intensive construction work is often associated with small-scale projects such as building homes, schools, and community centres. this definition highlights the focus on communitybased projects that aim to improve the quality of life for local communities. mccutcheon (2008: 5) defined labour-intensive road construction as the economically efficient employment of as great a proportion of labour as is technically feasible to produce as high a standard of the road as demanded by the specification and allowed by the funding available. thwala (2011: 6014) defined labour-intensive work as the combination of labour and appropriate equipment, which is generally light equipment. thwala (2011: 6018) indicates that optimal use is made of labour as the predominant resource in infrastructure projects, while ensuring costeffectiveness and safeguarding quality. it also means ensuring that labourintensive projects do not degenerate into ‘make-work’ projects, in which cost and quality aspects are ignored. for this article, the definition provided by the ilo, emphasising the use of local resources and low-cost materials in addition to manual labour, is adopted. there are six theories related to labour-intensive construction work that need introduction. to explain the development of the proposed labourproductivity optimisation framework only two (the resource dependency theory and the capability approach theory) were adopted. the institutional theory supports that institutions, or the formal and informal rules that shape social behaviour, play a critical role in shaping economic outcomes (gao-zeller et al., 2019: 1942). in the context of labour-intensive construction work, institutions such as labour laws, government regulations, bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 126 and social norms influence the way in which construction projects are carried out and the outcomes produced. the transaction cost theory argues that the cost of transactions between different elements in the market affects the behaviour of firms and their decision-making processes (govindan, shaw & majumdar, 2021: 5). in the context of labour-intensive construction work, transaction costs can be high, due to the complexity of coordinating labour, materials, and financing across multiple elements in the market. the social learning theory suggests that people learn from their social environment through observation, imitation, and modelling (broto & dewberry, 2016: 3020). this theory can be applied to labour-intensive construction work by encouraging workers to learn from one another through peer-to-peer training, mentorship, and collective problem-solving. the social capital theory highlights the importance of social networks, relationships, and trust in promoting economic and social development (teshome, de graaff & kessler, 2016: 220). in the context of labourintensive construction work, social capital can be developed by building trust between workers, contractors, and local communities, and by involving local communities in the construction process (clarke & gholamshahi, 2018: 252). the resource dependency theory suggests that organisations depend on external resources to function effectively and efficiently (govindan et al., 2021: 5). in the context of labour-intensive construction work, organisations depend on the availability of skilled labour, raw materials, and financing to carry out their projects effectively. without access to skilled labour, construction projects may be delayed, inefficient, and produce poor outcomes. by understanding the resource dependencies of organisations involved in labour-intensive construction work, strategies can be developed to address the challenges they face and to improve the outcomes of construction projects. the capability approach theory, developed by economist amartya sen (1999), emphasises the importance of human development and individual capabilities, rather than solely focusing on economic growth (andreoni, chang & estevez, 2021: 191). the capability approach theory recognises that each person has a unique set of capabilities, including knowledge, skills, and agency, which are essential for their overall well-being. in the context of labour-intensive construction work, the capability approach theory can be applied by providing workers with opportunities to learn and develop new skills, thus empowering them to take on more responsibility and decision-making roles in the construction process, and recognising the value of their work beyond their economic output. the capability approach bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 127 theory recognises the value of individual workers and their capabilities. this is important in labour-intensive construction work that relies heavily on manual labour. by empowering workers with the skills and knowledge to take on more responsibility and decision-making roles, workers are more likely to contribute to the overall success of the construction project. 2.2 construction labour productivity construction labour productivity is a measure of the efficiency and effectiveness of construction workers in completing their tasks (manoharan et al., 2023: 144). productivity is crucial to the success of construction projects, and understanding the factors that impact productivity is essential (durdyev & mbachu, 2018: 388). weng et al. (2020: 2) found that construction labour productivity can be influenced by a wide range of factors, including project management practices, the availability and quality of tools, equipment and materials, worker skills, experience and motivation, work-based conditions, as well as environmental factors. these factors affect the productivity of construction workers and can have a significant impact on project success. the study also found that improving productivity requires a holistic approach that considers all of these factors and that effective project management is crucial to achieving high levels of productivity. management factors refer to the practices and strategies adopted by project managers to optimise productivity. these may affect labour productivity (bender et al., 2018: 380; nguyen & watanabe, 2017: 781). weng et al. (2020: 3) found that project management practices such as effective communication, coordination, and planning can significantly improve productivity levels. similarly, zhang et al. (2018: 298) found that the use of lean construction practices such as just-in-time delivery and waste reduction can improve productivity levels, by reducing waste, improving communication, and increasing efficiency. tools and equipment factors refer to the availability and quality of tools and equipment used in construction projects (sheikh, lakshmipath & prakash, 2016: 5668; cheng, tran & hoang, 2017: 120). bogue (2018: 4) found that the use of advanced technology such as drones and robotics can improve productivity, by reducing manual labour and increasing accuracy of the project. material factors refer to the availability and quality of materials used in construction projects (ghanem et al., 2018: 18). liu and lu (2018: 3) found that the timely and efficient delivery of materials is essential for maintaining high levels of productivity. similarly, liao, teo and low (2018: 22) found that the use of building information modeling (bim) technology can improve material management and reduce waste, leading to increased productivity. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 128 worker factors refer to the skills, experience, motivation, as well as physical and mental well-being of construction workers (dixit et al., 2019: 557; khosrowpour, niebles & golparvar-fard, 2014: 79). research has shown that these worker-related factors can significantly impact on productivity. for example, weng et al. (2020: 2) found that training programmes that improve workers’ skills and knowledge can lead to higher productivity rates. zhang et al. (2018: 300) found that providing workers with a safe and healthy work environment can improve their motivation and overall wellbeing, leading to increased productivity. work-based conditions, including workspace design, refer to the physical conditions in which construction work takes place (udris & nibel, 2017: 79). wang et al. (2018: 663) found that optimising work-based conditions such as reducing noise and improving lighting can lead to significant increases in productivity. environmental factors such as temperature also play a significant role in construction labour productivity. li and lu (2018: 325) found that extreme temperatures can significantly impact on workers’ physical and mental well-being, leading to lower productivity rates. other researchers also concluded that the weather can negatively disrupt the activities of the project (ghoddousi & hosseini, 2012: 102; lessing et al., 2017: 69). similarly, chou et al. (2019: 12) found that regulations related to safety and environmental protection can impact on productivity, and that careful planning and management can help mitigate their effects. 2.3 optimisation and productivity momade et al. (2022: 1930) explored strategies for optimising construction labour productivity in labour-intensive projects. the study found that effective project planning and scheduling are critical to achieving high levels of productivity. this includes identifying and prioritising critical tasks and allocating resources accordingly. the ability to accomplish deadlines on time and on a budget is the most important skill in optimisation. strategies such as the fuzzy-based simulation annealing method are used to study the optimisation problem in terms of time and cost (haque & hasin, 2016: 1475). the fuzzy-based simulation annealing method works by first defining the problem and identifying the input parameters such as the type of labourintensive technique used, the number of workers, and the amount of time required to complete the task (rahmanniyay & yu, 2019: 233). next, fuzzy logic is used to create a set of rules that represent the relationship between the input parameters and the output, which is the labour-intensive productivity. these rules are based on expert knowledge and experience and are used to make decisions about the optimal bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 129 combination of input parameters to maximise the output (tsehayae & fayek, 2016: 210). simulated annealing is then used to search for the optimal solution within the fuzzy rule-based system. this involves randomly generating a solution and calculating its suitability, which is a measure of how well it meets the objective function. the solution is then subjected to a set of perturbations or changes to explore the search space and find a better solution. this process continues until the optimal solution is found (rahmanniyay & yu, 2019: 235). the fuzzy-based simulation annealing method has been applied in various construction projects, including road construction, building construction, and infrastructure development. its advantages include its ability to handle uncertainty and vagueness in the input parameters, and to find the global optimum solution rather than getting trapped in local optima. its limitations include the need for expert knowledge and experience to create the fuzzy rule-based system and the computational complexity of the simulated annealing algorithm (haque & hasin, 2016: 1475). numerous construction-related fields have employed optimisation approaches such as the critical path method, linear programming (kumar, wilfred & sridevi, 2017); non-dominated genetic algorithm (taheri amiri et al., 2018: 3745); fuzzy logic with genetic algorithm (acar yildirim & akcay, 2019: 560), and learning curve methods (abdelkhalek, refaie & aziz, 2020: 1075) for managing multiple construction projects simultaneously. lin and lai (2020:124) proposed a time-cost trade-off model to reduce project duration that used a genetic algorithm to evaluate productivity. durdyev, omarov and ismail (2017: 10) found that communication and coordination among project team members can improve labour-intensive productivity, which can be facilitated by using tools such as project management software. providing workers with appropriate training and support is another strategy for optimising labour-intensive productivity in projects. hewitt et al. (2015:948) presented a model that allocates assignments to workers with various ability levels, using mixed-integer nonlinear programming. for optimising work-based conditions, jin et al. (2020: 635) suggested a multi-objective workspace-based optimisation approach to generate the most effective scaffolding resource allocation and space-planning decisions. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 130 3. research methodology 3.1 research design factors affecting the labour productivity of labour-intensive works were investigated using a quantitative research design, with data being collected through a questionnaire-based descriptive survey. quantitative surveys collect data that can be analysed to reveal trends, averages, and frequencies (bless, higson-smith & sithole, 2018: 16; fellows & liu, 2008: 222; dixon et al., 2020: 742). a quantitative design allows researchers to extrapolate their results to a larger population (creswell, 2014: 11; bryman, 2016: 232; newman , 2020:648). in the survey, 26 factors were chosen as the benchmarks that would evaluate labour-intensive productivity. in order to distil a large number of measured variables into a manageable set, principal component analysis (pca) was used. according to rossoni et al. (2016: 201), pca can be used to extract factors, which can be used to summarise the data into a manageable number of factors based on the highest eigenvalues. the framework for optimising labour productivity was developed with the aid of regression analysis. 3.2 population, sampling, and response rate contractors, site engineers, facilitators, timekeepers, district engineers, and gsop desk officers in ghana, who are engaged in heavy labourintensive construction work, form the population for this study. according to data collected by the gsop, 920 professionals engaged in manual labour activities were eligible for inclusion in the study. the gsop has regional offices in bolgatanga, wa, temale, kumasi, and accra. an equitable distribution of survey responses across the various administrative regions was achieved, using a stratified sample technique, due to the demographic variety of the country’s population. bolgatanga has 12 district offices; wa has 10; temale has 11; kumasi has 14, and accra has 13 district offices, totalling 60 district offices for all the zonal offices. due to the fact that not all districts were involved in heavy labour-intensive construction projects, 40 districts were chosen, using the purposive sampling method. specifically, one district engineer and one gsop desk officer were chosen at random from each of the 40 districts, resulting in a total of 80 respondents. three locations were selected from each of the 40 districts, totalling 120 sites. each of the 120 sites had one facilitator, one timekeeper, one site engineer, and one contractor. the investigation comprised a total of 560 individuals, of whom only 543 returned valid responses, resulting in a 97% response rate. krejcie and morgan’s (1970: 608) table suggests a sample size of 175 for a population of 950. for a total population of 920, this recommendation verifies that a sample size of 560 is sufficient. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 131 3.3 data collection from november 2016 to august 2017, 560 questionnaires were distributed through drop-and-collect and e-mailed to potential respondents who perform heavy labour-intensive work on construction projects in ghana. the researchers compiled a questionnaire consisting of two sections. the first section contains questions on the demographic data of the respondents, including age, gender, occupation, level of education, years of experience, and region. taken from reviews of the relevant literature, the second section set 26 statements on the construct ‘factors critical for labour productivity’ in three categories, namely ‘equipment and tools’, ‘materials’, and ‘temperature’. using a 5-point likert scale, respondents were asked to rate the importance of these statements in optimising the productivity of firms in ghana that rely heavily on manual labour. the items used on the likert scale for the descriptive analysis and the variables for the inferential statistics that examined the validity and reliability of the factors were derived from these measurements. section two’s closed-ended questions were favoured to reduce respondent bias (harlacher, 2016: 9-10). cronbach’s alpha was calculated in accordance with taber (2018: 1273) to assess the items’ internal consistency. it has been established that values between 0.70 and 0.95 for cronbach’s alpha are considered adequate (tavakol & dennick, 2011: 54-55); hence, a threshold of 0.70 was used in this study. 3.4 method of analysis and interpretation of the data all of the tabular and graphical displays are the results of an spss 24.0 analysis of the data (pallant, 2013: 134). descriptive statistics were used to analyse the respondents’ demographics. frequencies and percentages were calculated and reported. using a five-point likert scale, the 26 items that could optimise the performance of labour productivity were ranked, based on mean scores. opinions can be measured with the help of likert-type or rating scales that use fixed choice response formats (singh, 2006: 202). mean scores were measured, using a scale where 1 = very poor (≥1.00 and ≤1.80); 2 = poor (≥1.81 and ≤2.60); 3 = good (≥2.61 and ≤3.40); 4 = very good (≥3.41 and ≤4.20), and 5 = excellent (≥4.21 and ≤5.00). data appropriateness for factor analysis was validated, using the meyerolkin (kmo) (lorenzo-seva, timmerman & kiers, 2011) and the bartlett’s test of sphericity (hair et al., 2014: 110). considering that the kmo test scores can be anywhere from 0 to 1, it was determined that efa could only be used if the values were greater than 0.7 (hair et al., 2014). in order to proceed with the study, the variables must show sufficient correlation, as indicated by a statistically significant bartlett test (p=0.05) (pallant, bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 132 2013: 190). this study adopted the assertion made by hair et al.’s (2014) assertion in selecting eigenvalues criterion to determine the maximum number of factors to retain in the model. using a pca criterion of initial eigenvalues greater than 1, the oblimin rotation with kaiser normalisation and factor loading of 0.4 was considered to be good, as it had 30% overlapping variance (rossoni, engelbert & bellegard, 2016: 102). a range from 0.2 to 0.4 is the optimal inter-item correlations mean (factor loading) for the factor to be reliable (pallant, 2013: 134). 4. findings 4.1 demographic profile of the respondents table 1 shows that the majority of the respondents (87%) are male, aged between 26 and 35 (51.1%) years. most of the respondents are almost equally employed as contractors, timekeepers, and facilitators (22.1%) each, and supervisors (21.9%). over half of the participants have postsecondary education, with the majority of them (66.6%) holding either a bachelor’s degree (36%) or a technical certificate (30.6%), and the remaining 16.9% having completed high school. while nearly half of the respondents (47%) have two to five years’ experience, just over half (53.1%) have six years’ experience or more. this shows that the respondents have the necessary skills and expertise to provide data that could be used to draw conclusions about parameters optimising labour-intensive productivity. the geographic distribution of respondents was nearly even: 20.6% were from bolgatanga; 20.6% from wa; 20.3% from tamale, 20.1% from kumasi, and 18.4% from accra. however, the majority of the respondents (61.5%) are employed in the three northern regions of ghana: bolgatanga, wa, and tamale. table1: demographic profile of the respondents demographic characteristic frequency (n=543) % gender male 472 87 female 71 13 age under 25 78 14.4 26-35 years 277 51.0 36-45 years 179 32.9 over 45 years 9 1.7 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 133 demographic characteristic frequency (n=543) % professional background contractors 120 22.1 site supervisors 119 21.9 timekeepers 120 22.1 facilitators 120 22.1 project desk officers 32 5.9 district engineers 32 5.9 work experience less than 5 years 255 47.0 5-10 years 202 37.2 10-15 years 51 9.4 over 15 years 35 6.4 geographical location bolgatanga 112 20.6 wa 112 20.6 tamale 110 20.3 kumasi 109 20.1 accra 100 18.4 4.2 ranking of productivity factors in table 2, average ms of 3.76, 3.93, and 4.09, respectively, for the three productivity optimising categories shows that respondents rated all 26 factors as good to have an influence on the optimisation of labour-intensive productivity of the firms involved in heavy labour-intensive construction works in ghana. with ms above 4.20 ‘use of equipment for a suitable time’ (ms=4.26), ‘the degree to which material is appropriate for the purpose’ (ms=4.21), and ‘quality of soil condition’ (ms=4.26) were rated the top three and perceived by respondents as excellent factors that influence the optimising of productivity in heavy labour-intensive construction work. the cronbach’s alpha values for each factor were greater than 0.70, indicating acceptable internal reliability, as recommended by hair et al. (2014). table 2: ranking of productivity optimising factors factors (n=543) 1 = very poor … 5 = excellent ms cronbach’s alpha rank equipment and tools (average score = 3.76) use of equipment for a suitable time 4.26 0.768 1 advanced planning to manage the use of equipment 4.09 0.788 2 appropriateness of tools to be used for the tasks 4.08 0.750 3 keeping the same crew and operator on the same piece of equipment 4.06 0.872 4 availability of tools 4.02 0.705 5 how well operators are assigned to specific tools 3.88 0.751 6 maintenance of tools 3.74 0.734 7 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 134 factors (n=543) 1 = very poor … 5 = excellent ms cronbach’s alpha rank equipment and tools (average score = 3.76) frequency of reports provided by tool room supervisors 3.72 0.736 8 keeping of a record of all toolkit assignments, as well as tools not included in the kits 3.66 0.720 9 frequency of equipment usage reports 3.64 0.778 10 issuing of tool kits based on trade 3.54 0.793 11 storage of non-permanently used tools in storerooms 3.50 0.876 12 quality of scheduling of equipment use 3.48 0.874 13 frequency of site inventories to control loss, theft, and breakage 3.43 0.701 14 the degree to which each person is held accountable for a tool kit 3.28 0.777 15 materials (average score = 3.93) the degree to which material is appropriate for the purpose 4.21 0.871 1 the condition of materials 4.14 0.771 2 quality of transportation of the material to the site 4.14 0.744 3 the quantity of material 3.98 0.745 4 quality of storage for material 3.72 0.752 5 the degree to which material is procured on time 3.42 0.741 6 temperature (average score = 4.06) quality of soil condition 4.26 0.814 1 planning for inclement weather 4.12 0.727 2 suitability of temperature for working 4.08 0.785 3 quality of site conditions 4.02 0.676 4 access to appropriate rain gear 3.85 0.744 5 in the category ‘equipment and tools’, with mean score ratings above 4, ‘use of equipment for suitable time’ (ms=4.26), ‘advanced planning to manage the use of equipment’ (ms=4.09), ‘appropriateness of tools to be used for the tasks’ (ms=4.08), ‘keeping the same crew and operator on the same piece of equipment’ (ms=4.06), and ‘availability of tools’ (ms=4.02) were ranked the top five factors that influence optimisation of the performance of labour productivity in heavy labour-intensive construction work. the factors ‘degree to which material is appropriate for purpose’ (ms=2.21), ‘the condition of materials’ (ms=4.14), and ‘quality of transportation of the material to the site’ (ms=4.14) were ranked the top three factors that have an influence on optimising productivity in the ‘materials’ category for heavy labour-intensive construction work. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 135 in the category ‘temperature’, with mean score ratings above 4, ‘quality of soil condition’ (ms=4.26), ‘planning for inclement weather’ (ms= 4.12), and ‘suitability of temperature for working’ (ms= 4.08) were ranked the top three factors influencing optimisation of the labour productivity performance in heavy labour-intensive construction work. 4.3 principal component analysis the 26 factors in the three categories that have an influence on optimising labour productivity of labour-intensive construction work were subjected to pca to assess their validity and reliability. the results report the suitability of the data to be analysed, factor extraction and rotation, and interpretation. 4.3.1 equipment and tools category as shown in table 3, the kmo measure of sampling adequacy achieved a value of 0.920, exceeding the recommended minimum value of 0.7. bartlett’s test of sphericity was also statistically significant (p<0.05), thus supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix for the equipment and tools component. table 3: kmo and bartlett’s test for equipment and tools category kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.920 bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square 9192.335 df 15 sig. .000 the pattern matrix in table 4 shows that, out of the initial 15 variables, pca extracted 15 variables in three components with factor loadings above 0.4, with the potential to influence the optimisation of labour productivity of heavy labour-intensive construction work in ghana. table 4: pattern matrix for equipment and tools category variables component 1 2 3 etc6 frequency of site inventories to control loss, theft, and breakage 0.909 -0.188 -0.04 etc8 appropriateness of tools to be used for the tasks 0.869 0.298 -0.109 etc9 maintenance of tools 0.847 0.092 0.098 etc7 availability of tools 0.830 -0.18 0.095 etc12 advanced planning to manage the use of equipment 0.655 0.487 -0.088 etc11 use of equipment for suitable time 0.640 0.281 0.149 etc1 storage of non-permanently used tools in tool rooms -0.192 0.221 0.809 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 136 variables component 1 2 3 etc2 frequency of reports provided by tool room supervisors 0.220 0.340 0.668 etc10 how well operators are assigned to specific tools 0.412 0.609 0.246 etc3 issuing of toolkits based on trade -0.305 0.17 0.958 etc14 frequency of equipment usage reports 0 -0.05 0.947 etc13 keeping the same crew and operator on the same piece of equipment 0.118 0.012 0.797 etc5 keeping record of all toolkit assignments, as well as tools not included in the kits 0.363 0.706 -0.506 etc4 degree to which each person is held accountable for a toolkit 0.488 -0.315 0.594 etc15 quality of scheduling of equipment use 0.51 -0.237 0.569 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation table 5 shows that, after rotation, three components, with eigenvalues exceeding 1.0, were extracted and are meaningful to retain. factor one explains 50.56% of the total variance; factor two, 17.97%, and factor three, 10.00%. thus, the final statistics of the pca shows that three extracted factors explain a cumulative variance of approximately 78.53%. table 5: total variance explained for equipment and tools category component initial eigenvalues extraction sums of squared loadings rotation sums of squared loadings total % of variance cumulative % total % of variance cumulative % total 1 7.584 50.559 50.559 7.584 50.559 50.559 6.389 2 2.696 17.974 68.533 2.696 17.974 68.533 2.363 3 1.500 10.002 78.535 1.500 10.002 78.535 5.533 4 .791 5.272 83.807 5 .645 4.302 88.109 6 .412 2.743 90.852 7 .336 2.238 93.090 8 .265 1.767 94.857 9 .203 1.353 96.210 10 .178 1.190 97.400 11 .128 .854 98.254 12 .094 .630 98.884 13 .080 .531 99.415 14 .055 .369 99.785 15 .032 .215 100.000 bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 137 table 6 reveals the correlation of variables based on their factor loadings after rotation in pca. three principal components with eigenvalues above 1 (see table 5) were examined on the inherent relationships among the variables. variables with the highest loadings (values of 0.4 and above) in a component are most strongly correlated with that component. component 1 was labelled appropriate tools (at); component 2, participants’ knowledge of tools (pkt), and component 3, recording of tools (rt). the names given were derived from a close examination of the variables within each of the components. table 6: rotated matrix for equipment and tools category variables component 1 2 3 at pkt rt etc6 frequency of site inventories to control loss, theft, and breakage 0.909 etc8 appropriateness of tools to be used for the tasks 0.869 etc9 maintenance of tools 0.847 etc7 availability of tools 0.830 etc11 use of equipment for a suitable time 0.640 etc12 advanced planning to manage the use of equipment 0.655 etc10 how well operators are assigned to specific tools 0.609 etc13 keeping the same crew and operator on the same piece of equipment 0.797 etc1 storage of non-permanently used tools in tool rooms 0.809 etc2 frequency of reports provided by tool room supervisors 0.668 etc3 issuing of toolkits based on trade 0.958 etc14 frequency of equipment usage reports 0.947 etc5 keeping record of all toolkit assignments, as well as tools not included in the kits 0.706 etc4 degree to which each person is held accountable for a toolkit 0.594 etc15 quality of scheduling of equipment use 0.569 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation component 1 appropriate tools explained 50.6% of the total variance and have six correlated variable loadings, frequency of site inventories to control loss, theft, and breakage (0.909), appropriateness of tools to be used for the tasks (0.869), maintenance of tools (0.847), availability of tools (0.830), use of equipment for a suitable time (0.640), and advanced planning to manage the use of equipment (0.655). bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 138 component 2 participants’ knowledge of tools explained 18% of the total variance and had two variable loadings, how well operators are assigned to specific tools (0.509), and keeping the same crew and operator on the same piece of equipment (0.797). component 3: recording of tools, explained 10% of the variance and had seven variable loadings, storage of non-permanently used tools in tool rooms (0.809), frequency of reports provided by tool room supervisors (0.668), issuing of toolkits based on trade (0.958), frequency of equipment usage reports (0.947), keeping record of all toolkit assignments, as well as tools not included in the kits (0.706), degree to which each person is held accountable for toolkit (0.594), and quality of scheduling of equipment use (0.569). 4.3.2 material category table 7 reveals that the kmo measure of sampling adequacy achieved a value of 0.889, exceeding the recommended minimum value of 0.7. bartlett’s test of sphericity was also statistically significant (p<0.05), supporting that the data is suitable for factor analysis. table 7: kmo and bartlett’s test for material category kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.889 bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square 2505.671 df 15 sig. .000 the pattern matrix from the pca in table 8 shows all 6 initial variables, in two components with factor loadings above 0.4 with the potential to influence labour productivity optimisation of heavy labour-intensive construction work in ghana. table 8: pattern matrix for material category variables component 1 2 mc3 the degree to which material is procured on time 0.956 -0.089 mc4 quality of transportation of the material to the site 0.915 -0.011 mc6 quality of storage for material 0.794 0.11 mc2 the quantity of material -0.196 1.031 mc1 the condition of materials 0.413 0.674 mc5 degree to which material is appropriate for the purpose 0.404 0.674 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 139 table 9 shows that, after rotation, two components with eigenvalues exceeding 1.0 cumulatively explained approximately 83.59% of the total variations and should retain. component one explains 63.94% of the total variance and factor two, 19.66%. table 9: total variance explained for material category component initial eigenvalues extraction sums of squared loadings rotation sums of squared loadings total % of variance cumulative % total % of variance cumulative % total 1 3.836 63.939 63.939 3.836 63.939 63.939 3.337 2 1.179 19.656 83.594 1.179 19.656 83.594 2.696 3 .413 6.876 90.471 4 .307 5.121 95.592 5 .160 2.668 98.259 6 .104 1.741 100.000 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation table 10 reveals the correlation of variables based on their loadings after rotation in pca. two components with eigenvalues above 1 (see table 4) were examined on the inherent relationships among the variables. variables with the highest loadings (values of 0.4 and above) in one component are most strongly correlated with that component. component 1 was labelled management of material (mm), and component 2 suitability of material (sm). the names given were derived from a close examination of the variables within each of the components. table 10: rotated factor matrix for material category code variable component 1 2 mm sm mc3 the degree to which material is procured on time 0.956 mc4 quality of transportation of the material to the site 0.915 mc6 quality of storage for material 0.794 mc2 the quantity of material 1.031 mc1 the condition of materials 0.674 mc5 the degree to which material is appropriate for the purpose 0.674 extraction method: pca; rotation method: oblimin with kaiser normalisation component 1: management of material, explained 63.9% of the total variance and had three correlated variable loadings, the degree to which bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 140 material is procured on time is estimated (0.956), quality of transportation of the material to the site (0.915), and quality of storage for material (0.794). component 2: suitability of material, had three correlated variable loadings, quantity of material (1.031), condition of materials (0.674), degree to which material is appropriate for the purpose (0.674), and accounted for 19.7% of the total variance. 4.3.3 temperature category the kmo measure of sampling adequacy achieved a value of 0.801, exceeding the recommended minimum value of 0.7. bartlett’s test of sphericity was also statistically significant (p<0.05), supporting that the data is suitable for factor analysis. table 11: kmo and bartlett’s test for temperature category kmo and bartlett’s test kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.801 bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square 2803.103 df 10 sig. .000 table 12 shows that, after rotation, one component with eigenvalues exceeding 1.0 was extracted. this component explains 67.10% of the total variance and is meaningful to retain. table 12: total variance explained for temperature category component initial eigenvalues extraction sums of squared loadings rotation sums of squared loadings total % of variance cumulative % total % of variance cumulative % total 1 3.355 67.101 67.101 3.355 67.101 67.101 3.355 2 .912 18.241 85.342 3 .561 11.211 96.553 4 .151 3.019 99.572 5 .021 .428 100.000 the pattern matrix in table 13 shows that, out of the initial 5 variables, pca extracted 5 variables in one component with factor loadings above 0.4, with the potential to influence optimisation of labour productivity in heavy labourintensive construction in ghana. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 141 table 13: pattern factor matrix for temperature category variables component 1 isohyperthermic impact tc3 planning for inclement weather 0.910 tc2 access to appropriate rain gear 0.874 tc1 suitability of temperature for working 0.856 tc4 quality of site conditions 0.806 tc5 quality of soil condition 0.616 based on the examination of the inherent relationships among the variables, component 1 was termed isohyperthermic impact and explained 67.1% of the variance. component 1 had five correlated variable loadings, planning for inclement weather is estimated (0.91), access to appropriate rain gear (0.874), suitability of temperature for working (0.856), quality of site conditions (0.806), and quality of soil condition (0.616). 5. proposed labour productivity optimisation framework the productivity of public works that rely heavily on human labour can now be evaluated using frameworks developed from studies of labour productivity that take into account both objective and subjective factors. figure 1 shows a proposed framework that could optimise labour productivity for heavy labour-intensive construction work. the six components derived from the three labour-optimisation categories in this article form the elements included in the framework. figure 1: proposed labour productivity framework bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 142 5.1 equipment and tools three main factors were identified to influence the equipment and tools category in optimising labour productivity of heavy labour-intensive construction work. these included appropriate tools, participants’ knowledge of tools, and recording of tools that influenced labour productivity. appropriate tools play a crucial role in increasing efficiency and reducing the time required for a task. as stated by yeom et al. (2022: 5), the use of advanced and appropriate tools such as cranes, bulldozers, and excavators helped improve labour productivity in the construction industry. rane, potdar and rane (2021: 1470) emphasised that construction companies need to establish a systematic approach to inventory management, including implementing inventory tracking systems, conducting frequent inspections, and implementing security measures to minimise losses. construction companies should establish maintenance schedules and protocols to inspect, clean, repair, and replace tools as needed. the service and maintenance of tools that need to be fixed could help avoid incidents or accidents, due to faulty equipment and tools on projects (bamfo-agyei et al. (2022c: 12). construction companies should carefully plan and schedule the use of equipment, considering factors such as project timelines, task dependencies, and equipment availability. they should engage in comprehensive project planning, considering factors such as equipment requirements, task sequencing, and resource allocation. this can provide guidance on equipment-scheduling techniques, resource-allocation models, and project-planning methodologies to optimise equipment usage. even if appropriate tools are available, if the workers lack knowledge of how to use them correctly, their effectiveness may be reduced. zhang et al. (2020: 6) argued that enhancing workers’ knowledge, workers can work more efficiently, avoid mistakes, and make informed decisions regarding tool selection and operation. assigning operators to tools based on their skills, experience, and familiarity with the task requirements can optimise productivity. by keeping the same crew and operator on the same piece of equipment, construction companies can reduce the time needed for adaptation, enhance operational efficiency, minimise errors, and promote effective teamwork (li, teng & yuan, 2018: 160). construction companies should establish efficient systems for tool management and storage. tsai et al. (2020: 15) suggested that accurate tool recording when implemented in construction projects will ensure that equipment is available when needed. accountability for toolkits means that the industry should establish clear protocols and expectations regarding the responsibility of individuals for the tools assigned to them (albert, shakantu & ibrahim, 2021: 152). this can provide guidance on tool-tracking systems, bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 143 inventory-management practices, and tool-room organisation to optimise labour-intensive productivity. by properly recording and storing tools, companies can ensure easy access, minimise loss or theft, and improve overall efficiency on construction sites. in addition, it can offer insights into accountability frameworks, tool check-out/check-in procedures, and performance-evaluation mechanisms that need to be carried out at the site. reporting mechanisms, communication channels, and reporting intervals to ensure effective information flow between tool-room supervisors and project teams is important. timely and accurate reports can aid in decisionmaking and proactive management of tools. 5.2 material materials management and material appropriateness are two elements that can improve the efficiency of labour in labour-intensive projects. according to liu and lu (2018: 325), the use of effective material-management systems helps ensure that materials are available when needed, thus increasing productivity in the construction industry. material management provides insights into inventory-management techniques, procurement strategies, and forecasting methods to optimise the availability of materials. proper management of material involves accurately estimating the required quantities of materials for construction projects. it helps reduce waste and delays, by making sure that the appropriate resources are accessible at the right time and in the right quantity (liu, yi & wang, 2020). timely procurement is crucial to avoid delays, disruptions, and additional costs (omopariola et al., 2020: 312). efficient transportation of materials to the construction site ensures that the materials are delivered on time and in good condition. appropriate storage facilities and practices are essential to preserve the quality and integrity of materials. by adhering to best practices for material storage, construction industries can minimise material damage, improve inventory control, and streamline access to materials, thus leading to increased labour-intensive productivity. the suitability of materials used can also impact on labour productivity. santos et al. (2019: 135) emphasised that the construction industry needs to carefully assess and determine the appropriate quantity of materials required for each project phase. pornthepkasemsant and charoenpornpattana (2019: 852) stated that using high-quality materials can reduce maintenance time and increase productivity. making use of quality management and material inspection can offer insights into best practices for quality control, quality assurance, and material testing. implementing these quality practices ensures that the right amount of materials is available, thus minimising waste, reducing costs, avoiding bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 144 rework and delays (sibande & agumba, 2018: 525), and enhancing labour-intensive productivity (hasan et al., 2018: 920). material selection, specifications, and performance criteria can provide guidance on identifying suitable materials for various construction tasks. 5.3 temperature in the construction industry, measures should be taken to ensure that workers work in a comfortable environment, which increases productivity. morris et al. (2021: 292) emphasised the importance of proactive planning for inclement weather conditions in construction projects. this implies that construction companies should consider potential weather disruptions and incorporate contingency plans into their project scheduling and management. weather-risk management and construction-project planning can provide insights into strategies for weather forecasting, scheduling adjustments, and resource allocation to mitigate the impact of adverse weather conditions. construction companies can enable workers to continue working efficiently, even during inclement weather, by providing suitable rain gear and implementing safety protocols on sites. temperature and humidity levels can also impact on labour productivity, as stated by bamfo-agyei et al. (2021: 170); the isohyperthermic impact on workers can reduce efficiency and increase the risk of heat-related illnesses. mahyuddin et al. (2022: 40) argued that the workforce functions most efficiently at an ambient temperature of 15°c to 22°c, with moderate 40% to 70% humidity. management should consider the expected daily temperatures when deciding when to begin the project or when to carry it out, in order to maximise the efficiency of their workforce. several reports have mentioned how poor weather can lead to disruptions, damage, and subsequent delays in projects (hurlimann, warren-myers & browne, 2019: 130; zhao et al., 2022: 1760). construction sites should be properly prepared, organised, and maintained to facilitate efficient workflow and minimise disruptions. dhakal and kattel (2019: 670) claimed that soil properties such as stability, compaction, and drainage can significantly influence construction activities. because of the low quality of the soil, the workers would need extra time to complete a given task. considering soil conditions and implementing suitable soil-management practices, construction companies can optimise labour-intensive productivity by minimising delays, improving excavation and foundation works, and ensuring stable and safe construction processes. bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 145 6. conclusion and recommendation construction labour productivity is a complex and multifaceted issue that requires a comprehensive understanding of the factors that impact on productivity. in order to maximise labour productivity in the construction industry, a comprehensive strategy that takes into account a variety of productivity-affecting elements is necessary. these factors include worker skills and motivation, project-management techniques, work base conditions, as well as the availability and quality of materials and tools. the proposed labour productivity optimisation framework contains elements of how these factors can be effectively implemented to increase productivity. the six critical components that need to be considered are appropriate tools, workers’ knowledge of tools, recording of tools, material management, suitability of material, and isohyperthermic impact. it can be concluded that the six-component framework represents an adequate description of labour productivity optimisation for heavy labour-intensive public construction work in ghana. by incorporating these components, construction projects can be completed more efficiently, resulting in cost savings and improved project completion time. optimising labour productivity in ghanian construction works requires the involvement of all stakeholders, including project managers, workers, suppliers, and subcontractors. in practice, labour-intensive construction work often involves the use of participatory approaches, which involve local communities in ghana for the decision-making process and the implementation of construction projects. implementation and use of the proposed framework relies on the willingness of contractors or owners of construction firms relative to understand the importance of such a framework. it is, therefore, recommended that the interrelated ‘tools’, ‘materials’ and ‘isohyperthermic impact’ included in the framework are of utmost importance. these include engaging skilled workers, or organsations that proffer the encouragement of contractors or owners of construction firms to take ownership in an attempt to introduce and implement this proposed labour productivity optimisation framework to their firms. it could guide contractors to ensure that all elements necessary for achieving high labour productivity of construction firms are in place and help them make decisions that impact on the labour productivity of their firms. the framework may help the ghana social opportunity project, which supervises the implementation of labour-intensive public, in providing relevant training programmes that aim at developing the capacity of indigenous firms to enhance their productivity. the framework may help bamfo-agyei, thwala & aigbavboa 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 123-154 146 policymakers in the construction industry to review the existing national policies that are geared towards helping indigenous firms improve productivity in the construction industry. optimising labour productivity in construction works is a continuous process that requires ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and improvement. by prioritising productivity and implementing best practices, construction projects can be completed more efficiently, resulting in cost savings and improved outcomes. this article does not consider the framework as a complete resolve to the plight of the labour-intensive methods in the construction industry and the relationship to good productivity. further research is needed to improve the framework developed in this article and possibly refine indicator variables to suit specific environments. further research is also needed, in order to develop an instrument to measure the level of contractors or owners of 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published by the ufs http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as adewumi badiora dr adewumi i. badiora, senior lecturer, department of urban and regional planning, olabisi onabanjo university, pmb, 2002, ago-iwoye, nigeria. email: <wumibadiora@ gmail.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0002-8740-3958 abdullateef bako dr abdullateef i. bako, associate professor, department of urban and regional planning, university of ilorin, pmb, 1515 ilorin, nigeria. email: <alibbako@ yahoo.com>, orcid: https://orcid. org/0000-0003-2904-9935 issn: 1023-0564 ▪ e-issn: 2415-0487 received: january 2022 peer reviewed and revised: march 2022 published: june 2023 keywords: corruption, bribery, urban planning, differential association-reinforcement theory, town planners how to cite: badiora, a.i. & bako, a.i. 2023. predictors of corruption among town planners: a nigerian case study. acta structilia, 30(1), pp. 90-121. predictors of corruption among town planners: a nigerian case study research article1 doi: https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7120 abstract this article examines the predictors of corruption among selected town planners in ogun state, nigeria, through the differential associationreinforcement theory. questionnaires were used to gather data about corruption, economic situation, job dissatisfaction, lack of commitment, learnt behaviour (criminal or anti-criminal), and reinforcement favourable to corruption among the sample of 81 town planners. descriptive statistics, bivariate relationships, and a series of ordinary least squares (ols) regression models were used to analyse the data. findings show that variables with the highest correlation with corruption are job dissatisfaction, commitment, learnt criminal behaviour, and reinforcement towards corruption. findings also show that town planners significantly engage more in corruption when higher levels of job dissatisfaction and higher levels of lack of commitment interact with higher levels of learnt criminal behaviour. this study makes an important theoretical contribution to the existing literature as well as to urban and regional planning practice in nigeria, considering the accountability of townplanning ‘officials’. 1 declaration: the author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. acta structilia 2023 30(1): 90-121 http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/as mailto:wumibadiora%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:wumibadiora%40gmail.com?subject= https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8740-3958 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8740-3958 mailto:alibbako@yahoo.com mailto:alibbako@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2904-9935 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2904-9935 https://doi.org/10.38140/as.v30i1.7120 badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 91 abstrak hierdie artikel ondersoek die voorspellers van korrupsie onder geselekteerde stadsbeplanners in ogun-staat, nigerië, deur middel van die differential associationreinforcement theory. vraelyste is gebruik om data oor korrupsie, ekonomiese situasie, werksontevredenheid, gebrek aan toewyding, aangeleerde gedrag (krimineel of anti-krimineel) en versterking wat gunstig is vir korrupsie onder die steekproef van 81 stadsbeplanners in te samel. beskrywende statistiek, tweeveranderlike verwantskappe en ’n reeks van gewone kleinste vierkante (ols) regressiemodelle is gebruik om die data te ontleed. bevindinge toon dat veranderlikes wat die meeste met korrupsie korreleer, is werksontevredenheid, toewyding, aangeleerde kriminele gedrag, en versterking tot korrupsie. bevindinge toon ook dat stadsbeplanners aansienlik meer betrokke is by korrupsie wanneer hoër vlakke van werksontevredenheid en hoër vlakke van gebrek aan toewyding interaksie het met hoër vlakke van aangeleerde kriminele gedrag. hierdie studie lewer ’n belangrike teoretiese bydrae tot die bestaande literatuur en stedelike en streeksbeplanningspraktyke in nigerië, met inagneming van stadsbeplanning ‘amptenare’ se aanspreeklikheid. 1. introduction compromising the public good and services for personal, professional, or political gains (also known as corruption) is a global, daily problem of human societies. almost no country is free from corruption (unodc, 2019: online). the 2018 corruption perception index (cpi) of transparency international (ti), a global organisation that measures corruption among public and private organisations, indicates that not a single country out of 180 nations surveyed received top marks, while over 120 countries scored below fifty on the scale of zero (highly corrupt) to hundred (very clean). while corruption is present in all aspects of urban development and governance globally, it has proven particularly devastating in the context of africa’s rapidly growing cities. for instance, in the 2021 cpi, the vast majority of african nations still fall in the top ten of the most corrupt countries globally. specifically, in 2020, nigeria was ranked third and, in 2021, the top sixth most corrupt country. ti (2009: online; 2015: online; 2020: online) reported that the majority of corruption happens within the confines of civil service and among the many areas of the civil service, town planning, police force, and judiciary departments that are repeatedly found to be tainted with corruption. particularly, ti (2015: online) reported that corruption related to land services is among the most serious concerns reported in countries such as ghana, nigeria, japan, russia, india, pakistan, kenya, south africa, brazil, and italy, where a range of illicit actors and acts have been (and continue to be) part of the processes and institutions of urban and regional governance and development (chiodelli et al., 2018: 88). bribery, fraud, favouritism, nepotism, and abuse of public office by planning officials are common forms of corruption allegations in the administration of land services in these countries. according to the united nations department of economic and social affairs (undesa, 2011: online), between 40% (nigeria) and badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 92 60% (pakistan and india) of people who dealt with land services were asked to pay bribes. besides, one in five people, both globally and in africa, report having been asked for a bribe when accessing basic land services; this proportion soared to an overwhelming one in three people in countries such as kenya, ghana, nigeria, and uganda (ti, 2015: online). in a recent study conducted in nigeria, nearly 50% of town planners assessed from the state and local government levels did not measure up to an evaluation questionnaire as to whether they could be considered ‘honest’ planning officers (adade, 2021: 51). the effects of corrupt urban planning decisions have long-term and often irreversible negative impacts on cities (graycar & prenzler, 2013: 22). corruption has been identified as one of the main hindrances to nigeria’s desire to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable urban development and, especially, its target to move millions of nigerians out of slums by 2030 (ajie & wokekoro, 2012: 12-20). the new urban agenda for sustainable urban development calls on all countries to promote capacity development programmes to help sub-national, state, and local governments in financial urban planning and management, anchored in institutional coordination at all levels, including environmental sensitivity and anti-corruption measures. consequently, various anti-corruption drives have been launched in nigeria. in general, the anti-corruption institutions with corruption prevention mandates include the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc), the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), the code of conduct bureau (ccb), and the bureau of public procurement (bpp) (ikpeze, 2013: 157). particularly in land-use planning and development permit process, immediate corruption measures include, among others, improving town planners’ conditions of service and salaries; unifying nigeria’s many town-planning ministries, departments and agencies (mdas), while providing them with better training and equipment; incorporating public participation into the land-use approval procedure by building public complaint mechanisms into the process; subjecting all development applications to rigorous scrutiny, in order to reduce possible fraud risks; introducing well-administered land information systems (lis) that ensure accountability and eliminate cases of missing files, dual allocations and delayed transactions, and implementing an evaluations report system of town planners’ trustworthiness, work ethics, skills, and capabilities. despite these many actions to counter corruption in town planning and the development permit process, there is a shortage of empirical research examining the characteristics of town planners and planning mdas that may be associated with increased levels of corruption practices. previous studies (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 455; chiodelli, 2018:1620; badiora & badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 93 bako, 2020: 311; badiora, 2020:7; adade, 2021: 45) have focused on planning corruption profiling, perception of corruption and its effects on the reputation of planning agencies and ‘residents’ compliance with planning law. but, without identifying these characteristics and potential causal mechanisms, it remains uncertain whether policies targeted at reducing corruption can be fruitful. besides, many researchers and policymakers have suggested that poor conditions of service and low pay are among the causes of corruption in the nigerian civil and public services (olagunju, 2012: 81; yemi, 2012: online; melaye, 2013: online; ijewereme, 2013: 111; 2015: 10; adediran, 2017: 15; badiora, 2020: 10; badiora & bako, 2020: 318; adade, 2021: 41). nevertheless, most of these studies and many of their statements and suppositions have not been tested by way of theoretically cognisant empirical analysis. this study applies differential association-reinforcement theory (dart) to analyse whether differential reinforcement and learnt behaviour (criminal or anti-criminal) are predictors of corruption among town planners. because planning agency is an organisation where values and behaviours are shared and reinforced (adediran, 2017: 2), this study first reviews the indicators of corruption and then uses the social learning concept and regression models to determine whether these indicators affect the behaviour of corruption among a sample of nigerian town planners overseeing the physical development of towns and cities in ogun state, nigeria. 2. literature and theoretical review propounded by burgess and akers (1966: 130), dart (also referred to as social learning theory) states that criminal and conforming behaviours are learnt the same way, namely through a social learning process that involves differential association, differential reinforcement, learnt behaviour, and imitation. dart hypothesises that individuals will more likely commit criminal acts (for example, bribery and corruption) when they differentially associate with individuals who commit, model, and support violations of social and legal norms; criminal or deviant behaviour is differently reinforced over conforming behaviour; they are more exposed to and observe more deviant than conforming models; their learnt behaviour favours committing criminal and deviant acts (akers, 1998: 3-4). in other words, people are first indoctrinated into deviant behaviour by differential association with deviant colleagues. then, through differential reinforcement, they learn how to earn rewards and escape punishment about the actual or anticipated costs of a given behaviour (akers, 1998: 4). this theory can be applied to almost any kind of crime, especially any crime that has some type of gain (for example, bribery and corruption). badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 94 2.1 dart in civil service organisations studies of, and research on dart in explaining organised crime within planning organisations are limited. sutherland and geis (1949: 19) were the first scholars to consider criminal the illegal use of power committed from organisations (which could be civil and public services) by respectable members of society during their professional activities (lilly, cullen & ball, 2011: 22). they referred to this corruption as white-collar crime. sutherland and cressey (1974: 12) argued that white-collar criminals are respectable members of society who engage in crime using their position of power. however, because of their social and organisational position, their crime goes largely unnoticed and unpunished. sutherland and cressey (1974: 23) believed that white-collar criminal behaviour, like any other type of criminal behaviour, is learnt through the process explained in their differential association theory. criminological views have suggested that occupational deviance is influenced by several factors, including power relations and socialisation processes among employees, structural complexities, formal control systems, and cognitive processes (monahan & quinn, 2006: 377). the occupational deviance perspective states that all occupations provide opportunities for deviant behaviours related to their practice (alston, 2010: 45). law, banking, accounting, medicine, town planning and land services, as well as law enforcement are among the professions whose practitioners often are in positions of power and are vulnerable to use their power and position for personal gain. these professions are also prone to forming occupational cultures, where the diffusion of new ideas, information, and learnt behaviour occurs. similar to the social identity theory, coleman (1987: 423), as well as den nieuwenboer and kaptein (2008: 141) argued that members from certain civil and public services work-related cultures (such as the town planning and land services authority) are expected to identify with their profession, support their colleagues, and work to advance their common interests. however, these work cultures can host favourable dispositions of certain criminal activities or even the belief that these activities are required. individuals who work for civil and public services or organisations, where deviant or illegal activities occur, feel pressured to join the organisation’s criminal culture either because they identify with it or because of their personal interests and greed. personal greed is the most frequent reason for individuals’ deviance in civil and public services organisations (coleman 1987: 425). research conducted in private and public organisations found that employees’ behavior is linked with perceived organisational ethical values. specifically, perceived permissive norms and divergent ethical values promote differential reinforcement towards corruption and badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 95 have been associated with stealing, bribery, dishonesty, and serving as a collaborator in unethical behaviour (bacharach, bamberger & sonnenstuhl, 2002: 644; dodson & coiacetto, 2006: 13; tyler, 2011: 12; chiodelli, hall & hudson, 2017: 55). while this article explains corruption among town planners by using dart, it is important to consider that planning officers’ behaviour of corruption may also be influenced by factors such as level of job dissatisfaction, economic need (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 441; badiora & bako, 2020: 319), or by control deficits (chiodelli, 2018: 1621). employees’ job dissatisfaction has been strongly associated with several forms of workplace deviant behaviors such as theft, bribery, fraud, favouritism, nepotism, abusing office and privileges, and sharing confidential information (judge, scott & ilies 2006: 131; chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 445; badiora, 2020: 2). in addition, chiodelli et al. (2017: 12), badiora and bako (2020: 319), as well as adade (2021: 41) found that town planners who have higher levels of control deficits are more likely to report fellow officers’ deviant behavior, which would go against the planning agency’s cultural norm of silence. strain caused by economic need, family, administrative duties, and work factors is also considered to influence corrupt behaviours (arter, 2007: 55; getz & volkema 2001: 6; chiodelli, 2018: 1621). for example, badiora and bako (2020: 319) found that higher levels of stress caused by administrative duties, certain experiences, as well as family, social, work, and justice factors predict higher levels of town ‘planners’’ deviance such as displaying rude behaviour toward citizens and using excessive planning authority policing power. 2.2 dart in town-planning and land services organisations town planning and land services (tpls) is an agency in civil services, which regulates the use of land within a state (badiora & bako, 2020: 304). the core objective of town planning is to balance the competing interests of various stakeholders by placing limits on proprietors’ rights on land as well as their discretion to construction. this is based on the premise that the public interest of town planning should prevail over private interests. the key enabling legislation for this objective is urban and regional planning law, which specifies a range of town-planning instruments such as federal, state, regional, and local development plans through zoning ordinances, planning standards, subdivision and building codes, as well as by-laws (adediran, 2017: 2; badiora & bako, 2020: 306; okongwu & imoisi, 2021: 108). the power accorded to tpls to control land-use development is the requirement for any citizen, group of people, organisation, or government badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 96 to obtain approval from the department before the commencement of any physical development on any land. without such an authorisation, any physical development is illegal. thus, the tpls department acts as police, ensuring that approvals are given only when applicants comply with relevant laws and regulations of the state. besides, the department usually carries out compliance checks at different phases of a development to ensure that the development meets the conditions on which the approval was granted and any applicable regulations that apply. thus, tpls’ mission is to enforce the physical planning law and to promote a pro-social and pro-environment set of values, beliefs, and behaviours. corruption committed by public officials is commonly assumed as the misuse of public office for personal gain (treisman, 2000: 442; un-habitat, 2004: online; ijewereme, 2015: 10). this may include bribery (misuse of power in favour of someone in exchange for benefits given by the person); fraud (misuse of discretion for personal gain without third parties’ involvement); favouritism, nepotism and clientelism (abuse of decision for the interest of family, clan, religion, political party, and ethnic group), among others (un-habitat, 2004: online). nonetheless, there is a wider variety of meanings and concepts on the subject of town-planning and landservices corruption, with several authors offering varied explanations and classifications (zinnbauer, 2013: online; 2015: online; chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 438; chiodelli et al., 2017: 3; chiodelli, 2018: 1612; badiora, 2020: 2; badiora & bako, 2020: 2; adade, 2021: 3). town-planning and land-services corruption is a term commonly associated with bribery (chiodelli, 2018: 1613; badiora, 2020: 3; badiora & bako, 2020: 316; adade, 2021: 27); however, it encompasses a broader range of deviant activities (zinnbauer, 2013: online; 2015: online, chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 440; chiodelli et al., 2017: 34). for example, chiodelli (2018: 1615) as well as badiora and bako (2020: 318) classified townplanning corruption into seven categories according to the seriousness of their actions. all of those categories can be collapsed into three broad groups, namely corruption that involves taking something against official town-planning and land-services duties, and acting or failing to act in exchange for money or gifts from a third party; misconduct that involves breaking internal town-planning organisation’s rules and regulations, and crime that occurs when planning officers break the planning law in grave ways. this includes using excessive policing and demolition power, sexual abuse and harassment, getting involved in illegal land dealing, or violating an individual’s ‘proprietors’ rights on land (badiora & bako, 2020: 321). like the police force, the policing power of town-planning units and decision-making processes (which is usually highly discretionary, with town planners granted a high degree of autonomy to make subjective badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 97 decisions on competing interests and matters overriding public interest) generates risk factors and unique opportunities for deviance (chiodelli, 2018: 1623; badiora, 2020: 6), as town planners are exposed to situations where free meals and gifts, sexual favours, or the possibility of earning extra money through bribes are made accessible by individuals who want to shortcut due-process, prevent planning officers from doing their job, or are sympathetic of town-planning work. town planners are also exposed to situations where they can fiddle development plans and documents; commit perjury to protect a fellow officer, or avoid organisational discipline or criminal and/or civil liability (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 444; badiora & bako, 2020: 325). it has been discussed that, in the course of their duties, town planners are exposed to several risk factors as a result of the policing and discretionary power (badiora & bako, 2020: 326). the planning officers with higher numbers of significant risk factors have a higher possibility of engaging in bribery and corruption (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 445). irrespective of the individual motivations, town planners may or may not have to engage in corruption and illegality. research suggests that their decisions are largely influenced by organisational and social factors found in their town-planning and land-services departments (badiora, 2020: 9). the organisational factors include the organisation’s culture, with an emphasis on professional opportunities and consequences for bad performance. the social factors include the culture held by town planners where they encourage esprit de corps and discourage reporting fellow officers’ illegal and illicit acts. research has consistently found that town planners working in planning ministries, departments or agencies, where corruption, illicit or illegal practices occur, are pressured into joining this abnormal culture (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 438; chiodelli, 2018: 1618; badiora & bako, 2020: 311). by relating with their colleagues, town planners learn beliefs, values, and behaviour that facilitate the acceptance of corrupt and illegal activities. accepting this planning organisation culture enables planning officers to earn approval and confidence from their colleagues and rely on their assistance, protection, and support (badiora, 2020: 11). common subcultural norms of tpls corruption include not giving up colleagues or another officer; not implicating others if one gets into trouble; not getting involved in another officer’s affairs and jurisdictions; not trusting new planning officers until well proven, and hoarding physical planning information by not telling any citizens or developer more than what they need to know about the development control process (badiora & bako, 2020: 321). in analysing the influence of corrupt planning department culture on some new officers from the ogun state town planning and land services department, adade (2021: 57) found that new planning officers are enthusiastic about licit, honesty, legality, and deviancy of their job. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 98 nevertheless, the more the new planning officers visit sites (for physical developments policing) with fellow senior planning officers or supervisors, their keen attitudes about licit, honesty, legality, and deviancy committed become increasingly more permissive. according to sheldon (1999: 2), this type of behaviour reflects an individual’s propensity to repeat behaviour that leads to differential reinforcement, and reduces behaviour that results in negative consequences. people acquire from others how to act, by imitating superior, more experienced, knowledgeable, and capable individuals. as human beings are essentially social beings, they adjust their behavior to group standards in seeking group acceptance. for instance, badiora and bako (2020: 323-325) found that town planners are influenced by a culture that leads to misconduct and impacts on the number of complaints against town-planning ministries, departments, and agencies. furthermore, they found that differential association among town planners explains the likelihood for an officer to engage in corruption. in nigeria, the corrupt planning agency culture is protected by the silence code or blue curtain (badiora & bako, 2020: 324), which maintains the togetherness of planning offices, as it keeps planning officers from reporting other misconduct, in order to protect them from disciplinary actions. a group of town planners from different planning departments in ondo state were asked to provide specific examples of corruption in their departments without disclosing names or places. surprisingly, none of the respondents answered this question. it was discovered that any planning officers who should break the silence expose themselves to various forms of punishment, including job suspension, snubbing, and negligence. the protection that planning officers receive from their peers reinforces their corrupt behaviour, as the negative consequences for their actions might be minimised. corrupt town-planning practices are also reinforced when a superior or directors fail to address them by ignoring, justifying, or tolerating them (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 88; chiodelli, 2018: 1120; badiora & bako, 2020: 321). in their study, for instance, badiora and bako (2020: 326) concluded that town planners perceive corruption more seriously when their bosses punish corrupt behaviour. on the other hand, they consider corruption less seriously when their ministry, department, or agency has a corrupt culture, and their colleagues are less likely to report illicit, illegal and corrupt behaviour to their bosses. high interdependence among the corruptive influence that individual, organisational, and environmental factors have on an organisation should be studied, in order to better understand the extent of corruption in the organisation (weick, 1979: 22). in an organisation, the normalisation of corruption comprises three mutually reinforcing elements: the institutionalisation that happens when corruption becomes part of the routine; the rationalisation that occurs when persons badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 99 who engage in corruption use techniques of neutralisation to legitimise their actions, and the socialisation that ensues when new officers are taught to perform and accept established corrupt practices. in the same way that organisational and personal deviancy impacts on corruption among townplanning staff, planning officers with honest attitudes working in conforming planning departments are more likely to avoid corruption. moreover, planning officers working for planning organisations that provide adequate training and equipment, and have strong accountability, procedural justice, and fair processes are more likely to avoid corruption (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 441; chiodelli, 2018: 1618; badiora & bako, 2020). for example, badiora and bako (2020: 325) found that planning officers who perceive their ministry’s managerial practices to be fair, impartial, and just are less likely to get involved in corruption; less likely to defend town-planning corruption, and less likely to follow the silence code. in addition, studies conducted so far have established that town planners have a set of values, behaviours, and beliefs conducive to corruption that are transmitted through a social learning process (zinnbauer, 2013: online; 2015: online; chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 444; chiodelli, 2018: 1621; badiora, 2020: 9; badiora & bako, 2020: 313; adade, 2021: 40). there are both theoretical and experiential reasons to suggest that town planners who are satisfied with their job would be more likely to avoid fraudulent behaviours (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 441). corruption is an illegal behaviour that has a negative connotation within town-planning organisations (chiodelli & moroni, 2015: 441; chiodelli, 2018: 1619; badiora & bako, 2020: 305). therefore, planning officers who are satisfied with their job and have a sense of belonging with the planning ministries, departments, or agencies should be less motivated to engage in behaviour that could endanger their position and job as planning officers (badiora & bako, 2020: 324). furthermore, scholars have found that job dissatisfaction predicts deviant behaviour in offices and workplaces (robinson, & bennet, 1995: 566; bolin & heatherly, 2001: 416; muafi, 2011: 125-126). studies conducted on town-planning organisations have found that planning officers who are content with their organisation’s management practices are less likely to justify corruption (chiodelli, 2018: 1622-23; badiora & bako, 2020: 320). nevertheless, it is also possible that town planners are more content with their job because of the benefits they receive from bribery and corruption (chiodelli, 2018: 1621). as shown in this literature review, limited research has established that differential reinforcement and learnt behaviour influence town planners’ corruption. to date, it has not been proven whether these social learning concepts (job dissatisfaction, lack of commitment, learnt behaviour [criminal or anti-criminal], and reinforcement) are stronger predictors of corruption than economic need and job dissatisfaction among town planners. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 100 3. study area ogun state, in the western region of the federal republic of nigeria, has a total land area of 16 981.26 square kilometers. lying between latitude 6.2°n and 7.8°n and longitude 3.00 e and 5.0°e, the state is bordered in the east by ondo state, in the north by oyo and osun states, in the south by lagos state and the atlantic ocean, and in the west by the republic of benin (see figure 1). the population estimate for 2022 was projected at 6 275 million people (nbs, 2016: 16). the state has a high concentration of industrial estates and is a major manufacturing hub in nigeria. consequently, these developments pose many challenges to the state land mass and physical development. hence, apt land services are needed to control all physical developments, including residential, commercial, industrial, public, and institutional land uses. for the purpose of physical planning and other administrative matters, ogun state is structured into 20 local government areas (lgas) or zonal town planning offices (zpos) (see figure 1). these include abeokuta north, abeokuta south, ado-odo/ota, ewekoro, ifo, ijebu east, ijebu north, ijebu north east, ijebu ode and ikenne. others are imeko-afon, ipokia, obafemi owode, odogbolu, odeda, ogun waterside, remo north, sagamu, yewa north, and yewa south. because of the volume of physical development and for the effective physical planning and development control, the state government created an additional 37 local council development authorities with all the characteristics and functions of the local planning offices. figure 1: map of ogun state, indicating the lgas or zpos source: authors badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 101 the zpos are responsible for controlling various physical developments and monitoring all the developments to control the growth of urban sprawl in ogun state. each of these zpos is headed by a head of department/ director, assisted by a deputy director and other zonal town planners/ executive officers in implementing the state’s physical planning policies and the coordination of physical development within the zone/area. furthermore, the zpos report to the ministry of physical planning and urban development that is the apex body of physical planning in ogun state. the ministry is responsible for formulating physical planning policies and the coordination of physical development within the state. it derives its statutory functions from section 3, line 246, of the state urban and regional planning law no. 20 of 2005. while the ministry is the policy-making body, it has the zpos as its parastatals spread across the state. the zpos act on the approval processing for residential developments, while commercial and industrial development proposals involve the ministry of physical planning and urban development. the development proposals are initiated in the zpo and then sent to the director of development control in the ministry and to the permanent secretary, down to the special adviser on physical development and to the commissioner, who is the head of the ministry. the proposed development follows the same procedures back to the zpo in charge of the proposed site for further processing and execution of the commissioner’s decision to approve or disapprove the application. 4. research methodology this study examined the causes of corruption among town planners through the lens of differential association-reinforcement theory (dart). using a quantitative research design (creswell, 2018: 147), a structured questionnaire survey set five constructs with 13 measures on the variables of corrupt behaviour and predictors (job dissatisfaction, lack of commitment, behaviour, and reinforcement) extracted from literature. a quantitative design allows for descriptive and inferential analysis (flynn, 2021: 493). in this study, bivariate correlation tests were used to assess relationships among these corruption variables and predictors (carpenter, 2018: 1599). ordinary least square regression (ols) models were used to examine the influence of job dissatisfaction, lack of commitment, learnt behaviour, and reinforcement on corrupt behaviour among town planners in the study area (olive, 2017: 1). badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 102 4.1 population, sample and response rate the population of this study are all practising town planners in ogun state, nigeria. the nigerian institute of town planners projects that there are 323 town planners in practice across various ministry, departments, and agencies, as well as different private sectors and non-governmental organisations in the study area at the time this research was carried out (nitp, 2021: 3). because of the difficulties in locating respondents to partake in corruption studies in nigeria, the first respondent was picked from the author’s acquaintances, through convenient sampling (etikan, musa & alkassim, 2016: 2). subsequent respondents were then referred by the previous respondents, through snowball sampling (etikan et al., 2016: 2). using this method, a total of 81 town planners were eventually sampled, representing a 25% sample. although the sample size is not valid and not within the recommended sample size of 175 for a population equal to or above 320 (krejcie & morgan, 1970: 608), these 81 town planners with professional registration status, substantiate the size of the sample. it is vital to report that not all the 81 respondents provided a complete set of answers to the questionnaire. only 57 respondents completed the questionnaire used in this analysis properly, representing a 58% response rate. according to baruch and holtom (2008: 1153), average response rates for studies at organisational level research are 37.2% and 52.7% at an individual level research. 4.2 data collection data were collected in march 2021 through questionnaires. questionnaires and interviews have been used in previous corruption studies (chiodelli, 2018; badiora, 2020; badiora & bako, 2020). a pilot study was conducted on 14 town planners from a conveniently available pool of town planners to test the instruments. the rule of thumb is to test the survey on at least 12 to 50 people before full-scale administration (in, 2017: 604; tavakol & dennick, 2011: 23). feedback was obtained about the length of the instrument, the format of the scales, content validity, and question ambiguity. the instrument was revised and further administered to 15 town planners. prior to its application, a social psychology expert checked the developed scale. thereafter, for analysis of the internal reliability of the items in the questionnaire, cronbach’s alpha values were tested with a cutoff value of 0.70 (tavakol & dennick, 2011: 54-55). to reduce the respondents’ predisposition, closed-ended questions were preferred (teddlie & tashakkori, 2003: 232). town planners responded to the questionnaire in a private environment mode. the questionnaire was in the english language. this study upholds avoidance of harm, confidentiality, and informed consent during data collection. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 103 4.3 variables and measurements three groups of variables were considered in this study: dependent variable, independent variables, and control variables. 4.3.1 dependent variable the dependent variable ‘corrupt behaviour’ designates the extent to which town planners have engaged in corruption. this index was formed by summing the responses of four questions as follows: have you passed a small physical development offence in an exchange of a deal, favour or personal gain? have you passed a serious physical development offence in an exchange of a deal, favour, or personal gain? have you accepted a bribe to help a developer? have you ever taken part in an act of corruption?’ each item had six possible responses ranging from 1-never to 6-always. 4.3.2 independent variables all independent variable indices included a six-option response scale to measure opinions for each variable, where 1=never, and 6=always. the ‘reinforcement of corruption index’ measured the town planners’ perception about whether corruption was encouraged in their workplaces. this index included responses to the following two questions: do your associates or supervisors encourage bribery and corruption? do your associates or supervisors allow bribery and corruption to happen? the ‘learnt behaviour index’ measured the town planners’ disposition towards bribery and corruption. this index was formed by adding the responses to the following two questions: if you want money/cash, is it okay to ask for a bribe? are bribery and corruption good? the ‘commitment index’ included the responses to the following two questions: are you committed to your work? how committed are you to your community? the ‘job dissatisfaction index’ included the responses to the questions: how happy do you feel about being a town planner in nigeria? for how long do you want to continue to be a town planner in nigeria? are you comfortable with your job in nigeria as a town planner? 4.3.3 control variables the control variables used in the analysis were gender, age, grade level in the town-planning agency/department, highest level of education attained, section in the town-planning agency/department, and years in the service. gender was coded as male and female with female as the reference badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 104 variable. for section in town-planning department/agency, two categories were determined: site inspections and office administration, with the latter as the reference category. age, highest level of education attained, grade level in the town-planning agency/department, and years in the service were also coded as dummy variables. the categories for age in years were 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-50, and over 50, with 21-25 as the reference category. for highest level of education attained, options included ordinary national diploma (ond), the nigerian institute of town planners (nitp) professional training or a professional diploma in urban and regional planning, higher national diploma (hnd)/bachelor of science (b.sc.) and postgraduate degrees, with the combination of ond and professional training/diploma as the reference category. the categories for grade level in the planning agency were enlisted, town planning officer (tpo), senior/chief town planning officer, and directors, with the combination of senior/chief town planning officer (s/cpo) and directors as the reference category. note that, although the responses for the grade level variable include a category that comprises directors of town planning, this article will use the phrase ‘town planners’ for all respondents, regardless of their grade level. the categories for years in the civil service were coded as follows: less than 2 years, 2-4 years, 5-7 years, 8-10 years, and more than 10 years. the category ‘less than 2’ was used as the reference category. the response options for the question ‘how is your economic/livelihood situation?’ were coded into values ranging from 1 to 5, representing the categories: ‘very good’, ‘good’, ‘average’, ‘bad’, and ‘very bad’. 4.4 data analysis all the data analysis for this study was done using statistical package of spss 16.0 [ibm 22] (dennis & cramer, 2011: 255). descriptive statistics was used to generate mean scores (mss) and percentages to analyse the characteristics of the respondents and the variables in the indices. for purposes of analysis, all independent variable indices included a six option response scale to measure opinions, where 1=never, 2=very rarely, 3=rarely, 4=occasionally, 5=very frequent, and 6=always bivariate correlation tests were applied to the data to show the comparative relationship between corrupt behavior, the seven control variables, and the four independent variables (indices) with test values between -1 (negative relationship), 0 (no relationship) and +1 (positive relationship) (carpenter, 2018: 1600). a series of ordinary least squares (ols) regression models were computed to determine whether the indicators of differential reinforcement and learnt behaviour affect corruption after accounting for economic need, job dissatisfaction, and lack of commitment, and other key badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 105 control variables. lastly, a series of interactions between reinforcement and learnt behaviour and economic need, job dissatisfaction and lack of commitment are analysed. the final analysis calculates planning officers’ likelihood of engaging in corruption based on an index that counted the number of significant risk factors to which each respondent was exposed. this likelihood was calculated by first identifying the risk factors that significantly increased corrupt behaviour. the sample mean of each of these factors was compared to each individual’s individual score of the risk factors identified. cases with values above the sample mean of the risk factors identified were coded as having that risk factor. the corrupt behaviour index’s mean was used to calculate the likelihood that town planners would engage in corruption. cases with a value above the sample mean were coded as high probability (1), and cases with values below the mean were coded as low probability (0). logistic regression was used to assess the effect of the number of risk factors on the corruption behaviour (wooldridge, 2002: 22; esbensen et al., 2009: 333). 5. findings and discussion unless otherwise stated, the tables that summarise the data show the results of the survey carried out by the authors in march 2021. 5.1 descriptive and correlation analyses table 1 shows that the majority (82%) of the respondents are male and older than 41 years of age (61%). the vast majority (85%) of the respondents were either town-planning officers (50%), or senior town-planning officers (35%), and 96% had either a higher national diploma/bachelor degree (70%), or a nationa diploma/professional diploma (26%). the profile shows that over half (60%) of the respondents worked in the site-inspection section of their firms. about two-thirds (70%) of the respondents had over eight years’ experience in the civil service. this implies that the respondents have adequate tertiary qualifications and experience in the civil service to provide information that could help make useful deductions on the predictors of corruption among selected town planners in the study area. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 106 table 1: respondents’ characterictics variable category frequency (n=57) % gender male 47 82 female 10 18 age (years) 21-30 13 22 31-40 24 43 41-50 10 18 above 50 years 10 18 education nationa diploma/professional diploma 15 26 higher national diploma/bachelor degrees 40 70 postgraduate graduate degrees 2 4 section site inspections 34 60 office and general administration 23 40 position town-planning officer (tpo), 29 50 senior/chief town-planning officer 19 35 directors 9 15 experience (years) less than 2 years 4 7 2-7 years 13 23 8-10 years 19 33 more than 10 years 21 37 results in table 2 show cronbach’s alpha values above 0.70, indicating internal reliability for all the indices, as recommended by tavakol and dennick (2011: 53). the response percentage summary shows that only a slight proportion of town planners surveyed “always” engage in bribery and corruption. over 22% and 9% of the surveyed town planners accepted letting small and big physical development offences pass, respectively, in exchange for a “deal, favour or private gain”. furthermore, results show that over 45% of the respondents accepted bribes to help development applicants, while over 36% acknowledged taking part in the act of corruption. slightly above 60% of the respondents indicated that their colleagues and/or supervisors encourage corruption, while slightly over 55% of them admitted that colleagues and supervisors allow corruption to take place. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 107 table 2: descriptive analysis of indices (dependent and independent variables) index category response % (n= 57) cronbach’s alphanever (1) middle values (2-4) always (5 or 6) corrupt behaviour (dependent variable) allow small physical development offence pass 75.22 22.67 1.33 0.764 allow serious physical development offence pass 89.17 9.83 1.00 accepted bribe to help a developer 50.68 45.39 3.93 participated in corruption 65.42 34.58 2.00 reinforcement of corruption encourage corruption 38.84 55.96 6.18 0.756 allow corruption to occur 44.70 50.76 7.54 learnt behaviour it is ok to ask for a bribe 74.21 25.23 0.57 0.719 corruption is good 87.13 12.38 0.49 job dissatisfaction i’m happy to be a townplanning officer 1.93 27.58 70.49 0.745 i want to continue being a town-planning officer 20.93 20.57 58.50 i’m comfortable with my town-planning job 10.21 32.50 57.29 lack of commitment i’m committed to my work as a town-planning officer 3.52 23.57 74.71 0.785 i’m committed to my city/ zonal planning area 3.46 30.56 66.49 furthermore, findings show that 25% of the town planners consider it acceptable to ask for a bribe or inducement when they need money or are economically down, while only a small proportion (slightly above 12%) of them are of the opinion that corruption is good. over 70% of the respondents are always happy about being a town-planning officer, and nearly 59% of the respondents wish to continue to be a town-planning officer for a long time, while some 10% of the respondents are somewhat uncomfortable with their job as planning officers. moreover, findings show that 74% of the town planners feel always committed to their job, while 66% of them are always committed to their city’s physical planning. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 108 table 3: bivariate correlations of corruption variables among town planners variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 corrupt behaviour 1 2 gender .07** 1 3 age −.05 .08 1 4 grade level −.09* .07 .18 1 5 economic situation −.02 .08 .01 .01 1 6 level of education −.03 −.11 −.33* −.00 .04 1 7 section −.07 −.08 −.03 −.04 .09 −.26 1 8 years in civil service .05 .20 .34 .18 .08 −.08 .18 1 9 job dissatisfaction .43* .05 −.07 −.08 .02* .26 −.08 −.12 1 10 lack of commitment .36* .02 .17 .07 −.04 −.14 −.17 −.06 .21* 1 11 learnt behaviour .55* −.03 −.05 .03 .06 −.03 .06 .04 .10 −.08 1 12 reinforcement .48** .05 −.07 −.07 .27 .19 .28 .11 .15 −.07 .22 1 note : *p ≤ .05; **p ≤ .01 table 3 shows that the variables with the highest correlation with corrupt behaviour are job dissatisfaction (r = 0.43), commitment (r = 0.36), learnt behaviour (r = 0.55), and reinforcement (r = 0.48). a positive correlation exists between lack of commitment and job dissatisfaction (r = .21), learnt behaviour (r = .10), and reinforcement (r = .15). these findings show that town planners, who are unhappy with their job and less committed to serve their city, will engage in corrupt practices. reinforcement shows positive correlations with economic situation (r = 0.27), education (r = 0.19), section (0.28), years in service (r = 0.11), job dissastisfaction (r = 0.15), and learnt criminal behaviour (r = 0.22). these findings show that learnt criminal behaviour and noticing that their colleagues and/or superiors support crime, bribery and corruption, encourage town planners to get involved in criminal behaviour, bribery, and corrupt practices. chiodelli and moroni (2015: 438), chiodelli et al. (2017: 56), as well as badiora and bako (2020: 311) noted similar findings. corrupt behaviour has a positive correlation with gender (r = .07) and years in civil service (r = .05). accordingly, the number of years in civil service and gender may impact on whether a town planner will engage in corruption or not. however, previous studies show that female town planners (chiodelli, 2018: 1621; badiora & bako, 2020: 320; adade, 2021: 40) are, on average, more compliant than male town planners. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 109 5.2 multivariate analysis the influence of the control and independent variables on corrupt behaviour was estimated in three different models. the first model in table 3 shows the influence of gender, age, level of education, grade level, economic situation, planning section, years of service, job dissatisfaction, and commitment on town planners’ corruption. the second model includes the same variables as the first model, with the addition of the variables that are considered to promote corruption: job dissatisfaction and lack of commitment. the third model includes the same variables as the second model, with the addition of the social learning variables of learnt behaviour and reinforcement. this stepwise progression has the advantage of identifying any mediating influence of these social learning variables on the effects of economic situation, job satisfaction, and commitment on the act of corrupt behaviour. table 4: ols regression models predicting corrupt behaviour among town planners variable model 1 model 2 model 3 b s.e b s.e b s.e gender (female) male 0.40 1.12 0.34 1.06 0.31 0.94 age (21-25 years) 26-30 years −0.12 1.36 −0.78 1.21 −0.49 1.09 31–35 −0.85 1.43 −0.98 1.34 −0.96 1.04 36–40 0.34 1.37 −0.31 1.88 −0.63 1.07 41–50 −1.67 1.28 −1.98 1.41 −1.23 1.06 50 years −0.16 1.37 −1.05 1.45 0.82** 1.25 diploma (ond and professional) hnd/b.sc. −0.30 0.67 −0.36 0.64 −0.72 0.59 postgraduate egree −1.56 1.36 −2.03 1.30 −2.99* 1.18 grade level ((s/cpo), and director) junior planning officer 1.65 1.02 1.77 1.08 1.17 0.84 economic situation −0.49* 0.40 −0.34 0.48 −0.46 0.35 section in town-planning department (office admin) site inspection −0.42 0.72 0.34*** 0.79 −1.01 0.65 years in civil service (less than 2) 2–4 −0.66 0.73 −1.10 0.79 −0.74 0.70 5–7 −1.55 0.74 −1.73* 0.70 −0.96 0.73 8–10 −0.67 0.99 −1.05 0.81 −0.48 0.79 more than 10 −4.01* 1.63 −2.74 1.45 −1.42 1.31 job dissatisfaction 0.30** 0.22 0.20** 0.10 lack of commitment 0.35 0.18 0.22 0.17 badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 110 variable model 1 model 2 model 3 b s.e b s.e b s.e learnt behaviour 0.74** 0.23 reinforcement 0.28** 0.29 intercept 5.50 3.24 11.17 4.22 5.66 3.79 f-test 0.671 0.084 0.000 adjusted r2 0.002 0.108 0.401 *p ≤ .05; **p ≤ .01; ***p ≤ .001; s.e = standard error for unstandardised beta; b = unstandardised beta in the first model presented in table 4, the number of years in the civil service (β = -4.01, p<.05) and economic situation (β = -0.49, p<.05) have a statistical significant influence on predicting corrupt behaviour among town planners. specifically, town planners who have been in the civil service for at least ten years engage less in corrupt practices. similar to olagunju (2012: 81), ijewereme (2015: 9), badiora (2020: 8), badiora and bako (2020: 318), and adade (2021: 44), findings show that a bad economic situation is a significant predictor of corruption among town planners. in model 2, results show that having worked in the civil service for more than 10 years was no longer significant. instead, the model reveals that having between 5 and 7 years’ work experience in civil service (β = -1.73, p<.05) significantly reduces corrupt behaviour among planning officers. in addition, findings indicate that town planners with higher levels of job dissatisfaction (β = 0.30, p<.001) are significantly more corrupt than their counterparts with lower levels of job dissatisfaction. adade (2021: 42) showed a similar finding, where officials who are dissatisfied with their job functioning were also found to be corrupt. contrary to the findings of badiora and bako (2020: 316), and of chiodelli (2018: 1623) that planning officers will engage in bribery and corruption, irrespective of the unit in the planning agency where they work, the section in town-planning department, particularly site inspection variable (β = 0.34, p<.001), became significant and had a positive regression coefficient. this suggests that units in the planning department significantly impact on whether a town-planning officer will engage less or more in bribery and corruption when job dissatisfaction and commitment are considered in their likelihood to engage in corruption. however, contrary to expectations of this study and findings by klenowski (2012: 71), commitment to job and community were not strong predictors of corruption among these officails. in the third model, the learnt behaviour and reinforcement toward corruption variables were introduced. it is interesting to note that these had a significant influence on predicting planning officers’ corrupt behaviour in the expected direction. specifically, findings show that town planners who have learnt criminal behaviour (β = 0.74, p<.01) and who have positive reinforcement badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 111 (β = 0.28, p<.01) towards corruption engage more in corruption than those who have learnt anti-criminal behaviour and who perceive a negative reinforcement towards bribery and corruption. it is important to note that the variable job dissatisfaction (β = 0.20, p<.01) remained significant in the third model and its regression coefficient decreased by 33.3%. findings in the third model suggest that the effect of job dissatisfaction on corruption is partially facilitated by planning officers’ reinforcement towards corruption and what they may define as right or wrong. similar to chiodelli’s (2018: 162) argument, planning officers who are dissatisfied with their job might be more prone to learning criminal behaviour, thus allowing them to justify their corrupt deeds. furthermore, planning officers who are dissatisfied with their job might be more likely to embrace favourable reinforcements towards corruption from colleagues and/or supervisors/directors. reinforcement towards corruption may also be more common in town-planning organisations with high levels of job dissatisfaction. thus, as found in other offices and workplaces that job dissatisfaction and reinforcement predict deviant behaviour (robinson & bennet, 1995: 566; bolin & heatherly, 2001: 416; muafi, 2011: 125-126), the situation is not in any way different in townplanning offices, at least in nigeria. while the variable 5 to 7 years’ working in civil service was no longer significant in model 3, the postgraduate degree variable became significant (β = -2.99, p<.05) and had a negative regression coefficient. this suggests that town planners with postgraduate education significantly engage less in bribery and corruption compared to the less educated colleagues when learnt behavour and reinforcement are considered in their likelihood to engage in corruption. adade (2021: 43) suggested that higher levels of education are associated with lower justifiability of corruption. furthermore, the age variable of 50 years and above became significant (β = 0.82, p<.01) and had a positive regression coefficient, suggesting that older town planners significantly engage less in bribery and corruption compared to the younger colleagues when learnt behaviour and reinforcement are considered in their likelihood to engage in corrupt behaviour. this agrees with badiora and bako (2020: 311) who argue that the town planners’ age mediates their corrupt behaviour; the older they are, the more they become sensible of self-esteem, integrity, and fairness. table 5 presents the effect of the interaction between reinforcement and behaviour with the economic situation, job dissatisfaction, and commitment in six different models. badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 112 ta bl e 5: in te ra ct io ns p re di ct in g co rr up t b eh av io ur a m on g to w n pl an ne rs v ar ia bl es m od el 1 m od el 2 m od el 3 m od el 4 m od el 5 m od el 6 b s. e b s. e b s. e b s. e b s. e b s. e g e nd e r ( fe m a le ) m a le 0. 34 0. 39 0. 29 0. 94 0. 29 0. 95 0. 54 0. 92 0. 33 0. 94 0. 31 0. 89 a g e ( 21 -2 5 ye a rs ) 26 -3 0 −0 .4 0 1. 08 −0 .4 6 1. 09 −0 .4 3 1. 14 −0 .3 0 1. 07 −0 .4 8 1. 09 −0 .4 4 1. 04 31 -3 5 −0 .7 5 1. 01 −1 .0 1 1. 04 −0 .8 8 1. 07 −1 .0 6 1. 01 −0 .7 7 1. 02 −0 .9 4 0. 97 36 -4 0 −0 .4 9 1. 05 −0 .5 7 1. 06 −0 .5 3 1. 07 −0 .7 7 1. 08 −0 .6 3 1. 06 −0 .6 4 1. 01 41 -5 0 −1 .2 4 1. 07 −1 .3 5 1. 10 −1 .2 4 1. 08 −1 .4 7 1. 09 −1 .3 7 1. 08 −1 .4 7 1. 03 m o re t ha n 50 −0 .9 9 1. 22 −0 .8 9 1. 23 −0 .8 5 1. 24 −0 .6 8 1. 27 −0 .6 9 1. 23 −0 .2 3 1. 18 d ip lo m a ( o n d a nd p ro fe ss io na l) h n d /b .s c . −0 .9 7 0. 63 −0 .6 7 0. 60 −0 .7 2 0. 63 −0 .8 6 0. 59 −0 .7 2 0. 59 −0 .9 7 0. 57 po st g ra d ua te d e g re e −2 .4 8* 1. 19 −3 .4 1* 1. 18 −2 .3 3 1. 44 −3 .3 9* 1. 16 −2 .2 9* 1. 18 −2 .2 0* 1. 12 g ra d e le ve l ( (s /c po ), a nd d ire c to r) ju ni o r p la nn in g o ffi c e r 1. 26 0. 83 1. 19 0. 85 1. 18 0. 89 1. 09 0. 83 1. 19 0. 85 1. 03 0. 81 ec o no m ic s itu a tio n 0. 24 0. 68 −1 .1 2 1. 08 −0 .4 6 0. 35 −0 .4 1 0. 34 −0 .4 7 0. 35 −0 .4 0 0. 33 se c tio n in to w np la nn in g d e p a rt m e nt ( o ffi c e a d m in .) si te in sp e c tio n −1 .2 2 0. 65 −1 .0 1 0. 65 −1 .0 1 0. 67 −0 .8 4 0. 64 −1 .0 0 0. 65 −0 .8 8 0. 62 ye a rs in c iv il se rv ic e ( le ss t ha n 2) 24 −0 .8 0 0. 70 −0 .7 8 0. 71 −0 .7 3 0. 81 −0 .8 1 0. 69 −0 .7 5 0. 71 −1 .1 8 0. 79 57 −0 .9 8 0. 73 −1 .0 7 0. 75 −0 .9 7 0. 83 −0 .8 8 0. 72 −0 .9 7 0. 73 −0 .9 9 0. 63 810 −0 .6 2 0. 79 −0 .5 3 0. 80 −0 .4 9 0. 70 −0 .5 1 0. 78 −0 .4 9 0. 91 −0 .5 7 0. 86 m o re t ha n 10 −1 .6 3 1. 30 −1 .5 1 1. 32 −1 .4 2 1. 43 −1 .6 2 1. 29 −1 .4 4 1. 31 −1 .8 8 1. 35 jo b d iss a tis fa c tio n 0. 46 ** 0. 10 0. 24 ** 0. 10 0. 30 0. 32 −0 .2 2 0. 24 0. 42 * 0. 10 0. 31 * 0. 11 la c k o f c o m m itm e nt 0. 28 0. 17 0. 23 0. 17 0. 22 0. 27 0. 16 0. 17 0. 11 0. 39 −1 .3 1* 0. 49 le a rn t b e ha vi o ur 0. 87 ** * 0. 23 −0 .1 8 1. 56 0. 91 ** * 0. 25 0. 03 0. 43 0. 91 ** * 0. 33 −0 .8 1 0. 54 re in fo rc e m e nt 0. 71 0. 43 0. 27 ** 0. 10 0. 32 0. 26 0. 37 ** 0. 09 0. 20 0. 33 0. 32 ** 0. 09 ec o . s itu a tio n x re in fo rc e m e nt −0 .1 7 0. 14 ec o no m ic s itu a tio n x be ha vi o ur 0. 39 0. 42 jo b d iss a tis fa c tio n x re in fo rc e m e nt −0 .0 4 0. 05 jo b d iss a tis fa c tio n x be ha vi o ur 0. 22 * 0. 06 la c k o f c o m m itm e nt x r e in fo rc e m e nt 0. 39 0. 71 la c k o f c o m m itm e nt x b e ha vi o ur 0. 66 ** 0. 19 in te rc e p t 4. 42 3. 45 9. 04 4. 93 6. 38 3. 15 7. 67 2. 97 3. 70 2. 21 7. 36 2. 41 fte st 0. 00 1 0. 00 0 0. 00 2 0. 00 0 0. 00 0 0. 00 1 a d ju st e d r 2 0. 40 9 0. 38 6 0. 30 1 0. 34 7 0. 29 4 0. 38 2 *p ≤ .0 5; * *p ≤ .0 1; * ** p ≤ .0 01 ; s .e = s ta nd ar d er ro r f or u ns ta nd ar di ze d be ta ; b = u ns ta nd ar di ze d be ta badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 113 the first model includes the demographic characteristics of the respondents, their level of job dissatisfaction and commitment, indicators of learnt behaviour and reinforcement, and the interaction between economic situation and reinforcement towards corruption. the second model includes an interaction between economic situation and learnt behaviour. the third model shows an interaction between job dissatisfaction and reinforcement, while the fourth model shows an interaction between job dissatisfaction and learnt behaviour. the fifth model shows an interaction between commitment and reinforcement, and the sixth model shows an interaction between commitment and learnt behaviour. findings from model 1 through to model 3 show that the interaction between economic situation and reinforcement (β = −0.17), economic situation and learnt behaviour (β = 0.39), and job dissatisfaction and reinforcement (β = −0.04) do not explain corruption among the sampled town planners. nonetheless, the interaction between job dissatisfaction and learnt behavour (β = 0.22, p<.05) significantly explains corruption among town planners in model 4. similar to previous studies (for example, badiora and bako, 2020: 318; adade, 2021: 48), this suggests that corruption significantly increases when higher levels of both job dissatisfaction and learnt criminal behaviour interact. furthermore, findings show that the interaction between lack of commitment and reinforcement (β = 0.39) is not significant in model 5. however, the interaction between lack of commitment and learnt behaviour (β = 0.66, p<.01) is significant in model 6. contrary to previous studies (badiora & bako, 2020: 320; adade, 2021: 50), this finding indicates that town-planning officers significantly increase their corrupt behaviour when higher levels of lack of commitment and higher levels of learnt criminal behaviour blend. the positive sign in the regression coefficient (β = 0.66, p<.01) indicates that when town-planning officers have higher levels of learnt criminal behaviour, their higher levels of commitment to their job/city significantly prevent them from engaging in bribery and corruption. table 6: prediction of corrupt behaviour by the number of risk factors no. of risk factors n planning officers per risk factor (%) odds ratio std. error 0 20 35.09 1 20 35.09 1.88 0.99 2 11 19.30 7.43** 5.21 3 04 7.02 23.73** 26.57 4 02 3.51 27.20*** 31.84 f-test = 0.001; pseudo-r2= 0.138; **p ≤ .01; ***p ≤ .001 note: the odds ratio presented is relative to the first category (0 risk factors). badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 114 similar to previous studies (chiodelli, 2018: 1623; badiora, 2020: 6), findings presented in table 6 show that planning officers who were exposed to higher numbers of significant risk factors are at higher risk of engaging in corrupt behaviour. however, town-planning officers who were exposed to two, three, and four risk factors have 7.43%, 23.73% and 27.20% higher likelihoods for engaging in bribery and corruption, respectively, compared to town-planning officers who were exposed to zero risk factors. 6. conclusion and implications for future research this study examined the characteristics associated with corruption among nigerian town planners through the perspective of dart. this study added to the existing literature in urban planning corruption, by considering dart in relation to town planners’ accountability. specifically, findings show that job dissatisfaction, reinforcement, and learnt criminal behaviour significantly increase the levels of town-planning officers’ corruption. furthermore, exposure to a higher number of risk factors significantly increases the town-planning officer’s prospect to engage in bribery and corruption. economic situation was also found to be a significant predictor of corruption among the respondents. the analysis also shows that learnt behaviour and reinforcement partially mediate the effect of job dissatisfaction on the behavior of corruption among the sampled town planners. the effect of years in the civil service on corruption was mediated by these social learning variables (learnt behaviour and reinforcement) such that town planners who are dissatisfied with their job and have been in the civil service for a certain number of years are more likely to have learnt some criminal behaviour that is favourable to bribery and corruption and more likely to receive, perceive, or justify reinforcement towards corruption and related criminal deeds. accordingly, efforts to address corruption among town planners must consider the social learning concepts of reinforcement and learnt criminal behaviour towards corruption. furthermore, efforts in tackling corruption must consider issues of job dissatisfaction and lack of commitment among town planners. besides, improving the economic situation of town planners should be factored into the nigerian government’s anti-corruption fights and efforts. in planning practice, the findings imply a restructuring of the present townplanning agencies in nigeria to usher in a new ethical paradigm, explaining urban planning as a noble role for those town planners who desire to serve and truly develop a sustainable environment. to address the influence of learnt criminal behaviour, a total overhaul of town planners’ psyche through ethical and moral reorientation programmes is needed. this would badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 115 provide a new template capable of modifying town planners’ learnt criminal behaviour or deviant acts to the things that matter in life: self-esteem, selfawareness and self-renewal, integrity, and fairness. furthermore, town planners should be motivated, encouraged, and adequately supported by their agencies and departments. the planning agencies should make every effort to enhance and maintain town planners’ satisfaction, by paying adequate attention to factors such as pay, benefit, and working conditions. competitive salaries should be offered to town planners, considering the reality of their living expenses in the context of the economic situation in nigeria and the rates being offered by other similar agencies, ministries, and departments. furthermore, planning agencies should conduct regular access audits of their systems to ensure that no employee has more access than is absolutely necessary to perform his/her designated duties. the ability to identify any vulnerabilities through regular analysis would be a strong corruption preventative measure. in addition, some technologies can help identify rising corruption risk behaviour such as stress and decreased engagement, which are key components of employee (dis)satisfaction that may lead to an increased propensity for corrupt acts. planning agencies’ managers need to be extra-vigilant in judging employee satisfaction and engagement. they should think of this as more than a means to prevent employee turnover and increased hiring costs. creating and maintaining a culture of happiness and engagement takes an agency-wide commitment. that effort and the dedication to scrutinising and evaluating individual job satisfaction should be priorities not only for improving productivity and decreasing costly errors, but also for reducing corruption and organised crime/fraud. while this study is a preliminary effort toward understanding the factors associated with town-planning corruption in nigeria, there are several limitations that suggest avenues for future research. the relatively low level of explained variation suggests the existence of predictors of corruption that may have been omitted in this study. these could be the pressure that town planners receive from land cartel, political figures, political blocs and settlements, colleagues, or supervisors to participate in acts of bribery and corruption. another limitation is that the study was not conducted across nigeria; thus, the findings cannot be generalised. nevertheless, because similar urban planning and development control structures operate across the nigerian states and local governments, the study may be a policy reference point to tackle urban planning and land services corruption in nigeria. one more limitation concerns the uncertain causal order between the predictor and the outcome variables. the analysis of the data found that higher levels of job dissatisfaction predict higher levels of corrupt behaviour. this association could exist because higher levels of corruption make town badiora & bako 2023 acta structilia 30(1): 90-121 116 planners feel more dissatisfied with their job. this, in turn, leads to more corruption. the learnt behaviour and reinforcement towards corruption also predicted higher amounts of corruption. this observed relation could exist because town planners who engage more in corruption, obtain money or other benefits from this practice, and hence develop or learn behaviour (criminal) that is favourable to engage in corruption. on the other hand, if a town planner engaged in corruption prior to receiving reinforcement towards it, this should not determine whether colleagues or supervisors allowed or encouraged bribery and corruption. colleagues or supervisors would then have to know about corruption by others for them to encourage or allow it. if these scenarios were true, there would be a conditioning effect between the act of corruption and learnt criminal behaviour and reinforcement towards corruption. further research would be needed to establish these conditional relationships. references adade, e. 2021. corruption and illegality in development permit process in ogun state, nigeria. unpublished bsc 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